The Urd-Tree Burns

In the Beginning...

It may not have made The A.V. Club’s list of Top 100 Science Fiction Novels of the 20th Century, but any true student of the genre is familiar with The Urd-Tree Burns by Llewyn T. Zappino. Written in 1951 while still under contract at Thrilling Tales Press to publish five pulp novellas a year, it stands above the rest of his work, as well as that of his peers, for its introduction of the “where have I misplaced my magical hammer?” trope and its deliciously gory depictions of the Beast of Urd.

While TSR’s 1988 adaptations of the novel into the classic AD&D modules Shadow of the Urd-Tree and Heart of Tonnbrekka are timeless, I’ve always been more interested in Zappino’s story than his lengthy descriptions of the landscapes and caverns in and around Mount Tonnbrekka.

In particular, I have always been fascinated by the moment near the end of the tale when the generations-long feud between the families of proud Asmundur and vile Ragnar finally comes to a head. If you need a refresher: to settle the feud between their families, Asmundur becomes engaged to Ragnar’s sister Freya. To consummate their marriage, they must do as every pair of beloveds has done for generations and share a fruit from the Urd-Tree. But when Ragnar discovers the engagement, he is overtaken by fury. He climbs Mount Tonnbrekka himself and sets the Urd-Tree ablaze. The brutal and bloody duel that follows between Asmundur and Ragnar leads to the untimely end of both family lines.

But what I’ve never been able to shake is a scene that Zappino lets pass by in half a sentence, the moment when the local goði Bjorn appears with the last surviving fruit of the Urd-Tree and gifts it to Ragnar's own betrothed, Orlun. How did they two of them feel in that moment? Why did Ragnar not stay to be with Orlun? And why did Asmundur and Freya not fight to take the fruit for themselves?

So today, for the Appx. N Jam, I thought I’d make a game about it. I’ve taken some liberties with the original fiction, but I encourage you to otherwise stay as close to the original source material as you can. I think this game is most interesting when played in the context of a “what if...?” about the original canon instead of as an excuse to run off an invent your own, potentially breaking the story in the process.