Today I present to you a book and a game that talk about Orcs, Elves, dwarves and even goblins. Cozy fantasy, funny and a little crazy! Welcome to book games!
If the lyrical grandeur and the monuments of fantasy and its canons leave you unmoved, I invite you to discover the “cozy fantasy” of the novels of Travis Baldree who, after Légendes & Lattes, returns with the novel Sagas & Bone Sand. We find Viv, its Orc heroine, a young mercenary in search of happiness. In the same way, Maxime Rambourg and Théo Rivière offer an accessible and family fantasy universe in the game Little Tavern.
Sagas & Bone Sand
Legends and Lattes told the adventures of Viv, an Orc mercenary who decided to change her life by embarking on a daring enterprise: the creation of a café. This choice turned out to be risky, because of the local mafia, not to mention the jealousy of a former comrade in arms. One of the challenges proved particularly tricky: no one had ever tasted coffee.
A big success in cozy fantasy, this light read, imbued with humor, presented endearing characters evolving in a barely sketched but very rich universe. Trevor Baldree invites us once again into the world of Viv thanks to Sagas and Bone Sand.
We find Viv there twenty years earlier. The troop of mercenaries of which she is a part then confronts a powerful necromancer who is terrorizing the region.
The skeletal soldiers of Varine the Pale’s army crowded onto the oak ramparts, agile despite their emaciation. They fought in deadly silence, short swords and pikes pointed at Viv, who avoided them or brushed them aside with sabers, fierce as the tide.
Things go badly for the young orc and after a terrible injury on the battlefield, Rackham’s mercenaries abandon her to convalesce in Grise, a small coastal town which seems very dull to her.
The whole town seemed half asleep. Viv doubted she would ever wake up. A powerful feeling of having been abandoned suddenly took hold of her. Rackam had relegated her to this godforsaken hole and his gut assured him that he had no intention of coming back this way.
Depressed, she will have encounters that will change her destiny. But the meeting that will change his life forever is the one with Salvivia’s bookstore, “La graine de chardon”.
The books were piled up in a narrow, long store: squeezed along the shelves, piled up on the bookcases, stacked on the floor (…) a tiny little rat wearing a tiny red cape rushed into the light (… )
the ratelin narrowed her eyes.
“And I thought all the orcs were just eating the books and yet here you are.”
Salvinia will gradually bring Viv to reading, while Viv will help her make her business more attractive and welcoming.
She placed Ten Links of the Chain in front of her and sighed deeply. She felt like she was giving up, just contemplating reading it. Like a tacit admission that she was now a different person. Weak. Soft. Asleep (…) Viv continued reading after the drinks and food arrived. She chewed and swallowed without thinking, turning page after page (…) she was transported. She was elsewhere
Salvinia will offer Viv different readings that resonate with what is happening in her life. Enough to fuel her own reflections and put her misfortunes into perspective…but also her budding loves. Indeed, we also follow the romantic adventures of Viv and the pretty dwarf baker Méli, who abandoned fighting for the pleasures of baking.
When she arrived at the front of the line, the dwarf behind the counter looked her up and down then smiled at her, her cheeks flushed…she was glistening slightly from sweat and had blonde hair tied in a thick braid.
“Well, isn’t there a mountain of sweetness? she said, winking at him. What do I get you?”
Viv was blown away by the wink and looked at her, stunned, for a moment before composing herself.
The quest for identity is also a central theme of the novel. The characters seek to understand who they are and what their destiny is. This is particularly true for Havresac, a homunculus made of bones and slave of the necromancer, who is awakened by Viv and Salvinia.
With a slight clicking sound, the pile of bones moved until it formed legs, a ribcage, arms; Even as the metacarpals of his left hand were being put into place, the homunculus reached into the bag to take a skull, which he adjusted on his shoulders (…) the homunculus looked at them one by one before stopping on Vivi; He tilted his head, curious, then bowed.
“Madam.”
His voice was hollow, like he was speaking through a chimney, and entirely, incredibly sad.
“I exist only to serve.”
Despite appearances, he is a sensitive, devoted and very endearing person. He proves to be both a formidable warrior and a formidable reader.
“How do you read so fast?” Viv asked, waving her fingers. Is this some kind of… I don’t know, magic trick? “
Havresac turned a page with a slender finger.
“I look at the page and the words are in my mind. That’s the way to do it, yes?
– All the words on the page? In just one time ? » Sal was surprised.
He looked at them both.
“Do you read them one by one? he asked, curious.
– Yes ! “
They shouted the answer at the same time. He thought about it before saying:
“That seems rather ineffective to me, if you allow me to say so. »
As Legends and latte, Sagas and Bone Sand is a sweet read, a slightly sweet fantasy, very cozy and very addictive. The moral of this story, if there is one, is to enjoy the little joys of everyday life.
Sagas & Bone Sand by Travis Baldree published by Ynnis.
Little Tavern
If you like light and humorous fantasy you will like the game Little Tavern and its slightly crazy universe.
Crowds flock to the doors of the Little Tavern. Place the most generous customers at your table and pass on the most stingy ones to your opponents.
As a waiter at the Little Tavern, you will try to collect the most coins by having the most generous crowd at your table.
Each player takes a table and places it in front of him as well as 3 coins of value 1. The character cards and the event cards are mixed face down in the middle of the table. A player randomly draws one of the character or event cards from the center of the board. If he draws a character, he can decide to put it either at his table or at an opponent’s table.
There we find fantasy archetypes: incognito nobles, adventurers returning from a quest, drinking dwarves, rather snobbish elves…. The different clans each have their own requirements for companionship and tip according to their level of satisfaction.
Of course the Elves prefer to keep to themselves. Unlike the Dwarves who like to meet people. The Nobles whose value decreases if other nobles arrive, or the goblins who bring back no points… unless Jean-Jean (the king of the goblins) arrives and pays his round!
You will have to satisfy all these beautiful people, by keeping the good cards for yourself and breaking the nice combos of others. In the case of event cards, the player must have at least 1 coin in front of him and immediately applies the effect of the card and must then pay the cost.
When all tables have 4 characters, the game stops and the tips are counted. If at the end of the round a player has 25 points he is the big winner.
We wanted to make a game with as few rules as possible. The concept was: on my turn I draw a card and place it somewhere. The idea of table placement naturally and quickly became obvious. We also wanted to create a “minimalist” game. Maxime arrived with a fairly similar starting idea, but more complicated and we worked to make the game as easy as possible.
(Maxime Rambourg & Théo Rivière, Repos Prod)
Yes it’s minimalist and it works well. A fun party game with a gently offbeat universe. We’re not going to shy away from our pleasure, right?!
Little Tavern a game by Maxime Rambourg and Théo Rivière illustrated by Gaël Lannurien and published by Repos Production.
