surviving the complete and utter destruction of all life in Rhune A majority of the realm reflects this hate-filled future, and it is a bane to all Smaller, hidden pockets shelter the dead the Ỉssinyr haven’t claimed, each awaiting their place in Ragnarök In these pockets, Thodheim maintains its original identity, a place of primordial, punishing fire NIFLỈHEIM All-Winter Forbidden to all of the Ỉssinyr, and nearly all of the Thrall Lords, Niflæhem is a frozen realm encased in primordial ice Mhamnoch stirs here, caught in a lucid dream, awaiting All Winter This realm mirrors a Midgard seized by endless winter, where glaciers slowly clutch the once proud cities and barren lands starve the ill prepared It is a white, bitter, and cold place in which heat and life slowly ebbs from all but the strongest The giants of winter dwell here, slumbering amongst the treasures of the Thrall Lords and their servants SOMMERFỈTH The Forrest Unburning Hidden in the heart of the Great Tree, this is the home of the Ỉssinyr and their most trusted servants Untouched by the shadow of Ragnarök, this realm is a place of primordial beauty Its forests are vast and green, its mountains tall and proud, and its waters pure and deep While much of the realm is untouched by civilization of any sort, each of the Ỉssinyr has courts here These courts vary according to their tastes, and all of them remain hidden to everyone but their most trusted followers Dægr, Hothur, Oridynn, Nayadia, and VellunaAkka all dwell here, planning for the eventuality of Ragnarök and how they might best guide their children through the coming war THE RUNES ARE BASED ON THE ELDER FUTHARK, an ancient Germanic runic alphabet This alphabet existed between the 2nd and 8th centuries CE, and unlike the Younger Futhark—which was used continuously in Scandinavia from the late 8th century on—was rediscovered in the 19th century Players and GMs looking to enrich their games might find The Poetic Edda and Prose Edda, as well as countless books about Runology to be beneficial RUNES OF RHUNE THE ELDER RUNES R HUNE: DAWN OF TWILIGHT has several pivotal concepts that drive it as a setting The runes are one of the most important While technology represents the various mortal races’ desire to reach the stars and to win Ragnarök, many—like the dwarves—believe it directly ties to the runes, and by extension, the gods themselves The runes are both mysterious and prophetic, gifts from the ancient gods to the ælves, dwarves, giants and men The runes are divided equally into three groups of eight These are the World Runes, the God Runes, and the Heart Runes According to legend, Oridynn placed the World Runes in the secret places of Midgard for the heroes of the world to discover He hid the second set of runes among the stars and in the secret places of the Great Tree, for the wise to find Finally, he hid the last group in the hearts of men, to be discovered in the final days before the Great Winter While some of the Thrall Lords’ servants have runes, many believe they are corrupt, twisted versions of the originals The original 24 Elder Runes, and what they mean in RHUNE: DAWN OF TWILIGHT, are described below FEHU (WORLD RUNE) Rune of Wealth: “And from Midgard the Dwarves did bring treasures untold And with forges red and bright did they turn them into art of mithral and gold And the kings and princes bore them with pride With these little treasures did men ride.” Chapter One: INTRODUCTION 11