Orsa The Fearless: Ragnarok

With the death of the Mountain King, Orsa is able to forge and alliance between the Northern Tribes, the Svartalfar and, after learning to accept her dark heritage, even the feral Vild flock to her cause. They march to meet the forces of invading Altan Empire on the Barrow Hills.

However, as battle is about to be joined, Orsa learns that Skadi, the corrupted Norn, will perform a ritual to strip the essence from her sister Skuld and give Skadi dark power of untold levels. With this power, there would be no hope of stopping Skadi's dark legions from destroying everything.

Making the hard decision to leave her allies on the eve of battle, Orsa leads a combined force to stop the ritual from taking place and defeat Skadi once and for all.

***

And we're back for the finale of the Orsa the Fearless feature pack for 7TV Fantasy. This scenario is pretty much a straight fight between our heroes and the forces of evil. The only wrinkles are Skadi's ability to generate new undead warriors whilst inside the stone circle and the burial mounds rules from the encounters booklet which cause random events each time a star or co-star takes two move actions in a turn (a rule we remembered...sometimes...).

For this finale, I was joined by JP. He'd brought his undead legions forth and I would be controlling or so far unsuccessful heroine, portrayed by glamour model Alessandria di Napoli in this even lower budget remake of the already pretty low budget remake of the 1980's (fictional) cult classic.

***

Bale-fires burned in the Barrow Hills at a site of ancient power and significance to the Northern Tribes. Here they believed was a place where the gods could be communed with, and as such for generations, great chieftains had been interred into burial mounds in this place to ease their passing to the netherworld.

Into this ominous landscape comes the Norn-Crone Skadi and her unnatural minions drawn from the ancestral tombs of the very peoples that she seeks to enslave. The reanimated corpse of Ingrum the Fallen, the Executioner King, orders forwards his eternal servants, still mounted on their spectral steeds, whilst beside Skadi lumbers an Ofarr, an abomination of wickedness forged from the flesh of the newly slain.

Meanwhile, Grissle of the Hoarfrost is also risen and glides forwards ahead of Skadis legion of Draugr, those poor Altan warriors who had been assigned as an honour guard. Their bones still served in death, but their flesh was all gone, used in the vile magic that had created the Ofarr.

This shambling hoard made its way forward, its only purpose to prevent anybody from impeding the ritual that would give Skadi ultimate power over the Northern Tribes, their allies and even the Altan Empire.

Suddenly, figures appear on the hills. Skadi looks up and recognises the mercenary Wulf leading a combined force of Vild and Svartalfar to stop the summoning. The Norn-Crone snarls, there are not enough of them to stops her, but a familiar roar echoes through the barrows and Skadi curses.

As sure as day follows night, Wulf's force is joined by a war-party of Northern Tribesmen, led inevitably by that Vild foundling of Skuld's, Orsa, and her damnable bear, Karhu.

Skadi would needs to slow them down if she was to complete the ritual.

Skadi muttered words in a foul and forgotten language. As the Svartalfar rushed forwards they were assailed by spectres emanating from the barrows around them.

Ingrum the Fallen screeched and his dark knights surged forward towards the stricken Svartalfar, and were followed by the unholy form of the Ofarr.

With one flank of the enemy engaged, Skadi scuttled forwards to begin the ritual of power...

...whilst Ingrum led the Draugr forwards to engage Orsa.

Although seemingly slashing at thin air, the Svartalfar were able to drive off the spectres before the enemy forces arrived.

However, a volley from Wulf and the Vild failed to slow the massive forms moving towards them through the mist, battle would be joined too far from the stone circle for any of them to intervene in the ritual.

Meanwhile, on the other flank, the Northern Tribes paused to unleash a volley of arrows that dropped several of the Draugr, but the shambling undead kept moving. The mist briefly parted and Orsa briefly had a clear shot at her foe...

She bent her great hunting bow and let fly a shot that flew straight and true, puncturing Skadi's shoulder and crucially breaking her concentration. The Norn-Crone screeched as the impcat knocked her to the floor.

However, her screech urged her minions forwards. Dark riders galloped up the burial mounds and thundered into the Vild lines.

Meanwhile, Draugr rained arrows down on the Northern Tribesmen whilst Grissel of the Hoarfrost drifted out of from behind an obelisk. Her deathly chill seemed to draw Karhu's spirit out of his body and sent Orsa's normally stoic companion running, seeking a place to cower.

She then turned her baleful gaze upon Orsa and the warrior-maiden was gripped the with instinctual rage and bloodlust of the Vild.

She leapt towards her companions, cutting down the cheiftain from behind. His bones would rest with his ancestors, but not before Orsa hate sated the long denied hunger for human flesh...

...but before she could commit such a terrible atrocity, the chanting of a Shaman brought her back to herself and she looked down on the crime she had committed and considered the even worse crime she has been about to commit.

Hatred burning in her eyes, Orsa charged towards Grissel, her blade slashing out and driving the shade backwards. Somehow Grissel was able to parry Orsa's lighting strikes, but was being slowly driven down to the ground.

It cackled at Orsa, "You'll never defeat me alone!"

"But she's not alone, " came a voice from behind the creature, "she's built an alliance to stop you," and the blade of a Northern Tribesman emerged through Grissel's shifting form, breaking the spell that was holding it together.

The Svartalfar now counter-charged into the minions of Skadi, driving the foul creatures back and allowing Wulf to slip away unseen.

With her attention fixed upon Orsa, Skadi didn't see Wulf sneaking up. He grabbed her by the neck and dragged her over to where Orsa was making a fight back.

He knew that the Svartalfar would fight bravely, but they were over-matched and would eventually be ground down. However, they had sworn their allegiance and they could and would buy Orsa time with their deaths.

Wulf had captured Skadi, but keeping control of her was a more difficult issue. Foul magic surged out of her, killing the warrior who had aided Orsa in a foul explosion of flesh that required cutting out of the film in some territories. Wulf and Orsa were knocked flat, stunned and immobile as everything went blurry and slow-motion.

The disgusting form of the Ofarr lumbered into view, striding towards where Wulf lay, picked him up by the throat and, in scene that also didn't make it past many censors, bit his head clean off.

More Draugr arrows fell amongst Orsa's allies, and she thought she could hear the voices of the gods as she lay sprawled suggestively one the floor (it was actually a contractual requirement that Di Napoli would have one scene like this in each episode) Time seemed to slow down and the foul Ofarr began to move towards her, whilst Skadi screamed in victory.

Suddenly, there was a growl as loud as the great Fenrir and Karhu leapt in to the fray defend Orsa, the fight between the Ofarr and the bear a masterpiece of special effects technology, as the stop-motion Ofarr swiped at the man-in-a-bear-suit, only to have it's own throat ripped out.

Karhu roared in triumph.

However, Skadi wasn't done and the ritual was near completion. Dark magic seemed to suffuse her, healing her wound and drawing Ingrum the Fallen to her side, knocking the bear back to where it would not be able to stop to the Norn-Crone from ascending to absolute power.

Orsa got to her feet, a single warrior by her side. Karhu was down, Wulf was dead and her allies were gone. Only she stood between Skadi and ultimate power. Remembering the gift of mandrake root Skuld had given her in a cutaway scene in the first episode, she thought of what her foster-mother had told her:

"Keep this with you. Dark magic cannot abide the mandrake root. When it's time, remember me and remember you are Orsa. The Fearless."

Alone, outnumbered and injured, Orsa grabbed the mandrake root and rushed headlong towards Skadi, plunging it into the swirling energies surrounding the Norn-Crone. A purple light swelled around them and suddenly burst outwards, dissipating the energies and freezing Skadi and Ingrum in place.

The ritual was over. The undead collapsed where they were and the sun bean to peek through the clouds. Orsa plunged her blade into the heart of the still frozen Skadi, looking deep into the witch's eyes as she did so, the failure written there little comfort for those she had lost.

Wulf and the the others were laid to rest in the barrows of the ancestors. The lone survivor took the tale back to the tribes who had fared badly against the Altan Empire forces, and yet hope had been kindled and the fight would continue.

Orsa and Karhu stood silhouetted on the hill top. Skadi may have been stopped, the Altan Emperor had put these events in motion. She looked southwards with vengeance in her heart.

***

That was a brilliant game with an epic conclusion.

It swung backwards and forwards with heroic deeds and vile magic tipping the balance. The good guys felt overwhelmed simply because of how many plot points the evil cast generated, and when JP used the voodoo doll artefact to dominate Orsa, I thought it was over.

However, killing Grissel and then capturing Skadi with the staff of the serpent gave me a chance as Wulf stole the scene and used the opportunity to get his prisoner nearer to Orsa for the death blow until a terrible combination of spells and trilogy cards saw both Orsa and Wulf stunned and immobilised and having to pay double plot points to remove the statuses.

Wulf being killed made things desperate for the good guys unless I could pull off the kind of endings that only happen in 80's fantasy movies like Willow or Red Sonja. The Winter of the World trilogy card had immobilised much of the evil force and therefore, despite absolutely slaughtering the good guys, the villains were on the edge of being axed.

Orsa, who was on one wound, rushing in with the mandrake root on the last turn of the game immobilised both Ingrum and Skadi, axing the villains and causing a three point swing to give a 4-2 victory to the heroes.

However, because of previous losses, the game began with the villains having a 3 point head start, meaning that ultimately the campaign was a minor victory for the villains.

This just means that there will be a sequel.

Orsa The Fearless: Trollhold

Following the kidnapping of Skuld and the devastation of the Thing of the North, Orsa sets out to recruit the Svartalfar, the ancient allies of the northern tribes, to her cause of vengeance.

With her go her faithful pet, Karhu the black bear, and Wulf and his Cuhlan mercenary band.

***

Yes, we're returning to 7TV our Italian TV remake of the 1980s fictional cult classic fantasy movie, Orsa the Fearless, starring amazonian glamour model Alessandria di Napoli as the titular warrior maiden.

The second scenario of the feature pack, Trollhold, sees Orsa and her chums trying to rescue King Snorri of the Svartalfar from the clutches of the Marsh King.

***

Upon making contact with the Svartalfar, Orsa learns that they will only aid her if she rescues their king, Snorri, from the fearsome Jotun of the Trollhold Swamps.

If Snorri still lived he would doubtless be being kept in some dank pit or hole until his fate is decided.

King Snorri was lured into a trap by the grossly cunning Marsh King of the Jotun, who is constantly protected by his loyal brute of a bodyguard, Gudrun the Ettin.

What's more, the Trollhold Marshes are haunted by all sorts of aquatic monsters, including the legendary sharktopus, all teeth and tentacles.

Rescuing King Snorri will be no easy feat.

Nevertheless, Orsa, Wulf and Karhu plunge into the Trollhold Swamps, intent on searching every inch of it for the captured Snorri. Wulf sends his Cuhlan Mercenaries on a sweeping flanking manoeuvre to draw the attention of the Jotun whilst the search continues.

Before long, the travellers have drawn the attention of several hungry sharktopi, which begin slithering and squelching their way towards our heroes.

However, the beasts are no match for the cold steel of Orsa and Wulf, and Karhu proves to have a taste for seafood as the creatures are despatched quickly.

Meanwhile, the mercenaries find themselves assailed by the towering forms of the Jotun lumbering out of the mists. The sounds of battle ring out across the swamp, and Wulf believes his distraction is working.

He is disabused of this notion when the Marsh King, who is too cunning to fall for such a ruse, comes rushing towards them, his bellowing roar and thundering stride knocking both Wulf and Orsa from their feet, leaving them stunned and vulnerable.

Just as the Marsh King seems about to end Orsa's tale with his mighty club, Karhu erupts from the water, distracting him long enough for the prone Orsa to slide her blade in between his ribs, felling the monstrous monarch for good.

Despite having taken significant casualties, the mercenaries begin to get the upper hand on the thinning ranks of Jotun causing them to retreat. Is this another trap?

Small parties of mercenaries are seen prowling through the swamps, taking shots at the huge creatures as they disappear into the mist.

A weary Orsa tries to get to her feet , but is struck down again by the two-headed form of Gudrun, the Marsh King's bodyguard, trying to make up for his failure to protect his king.

It's at this point that Orsa mysteriously disappears from the narrative for some time. Several of her scenes were cut from the broadcast version of the series, more on this later, which gave the impression that Gudrun had slain her. This was not the case.

With Orsa apparently out of the fight, Wulf is also stricken by the fearsome Gudrun and struggles to retain his feet in the face of such an onslaught.

The mercenaries across the swamp are also seen being beset by dangers as the are picked off one by one by the denizens of the swamp.

Wulf distracts Gudrun and fights bravely to give Karhu time to search for Snorri (don't ask me how he was able to communicate with the bear, it probably works a bit like Lassie).

What happens next is the most confusing part of the final edit. Wulf appears to be overcome by Gudrun, who then unleashes the Ymir Mother and her brood from their lair. However, what was meant to happen was that Orsa would reappear, save Wulf's life, slay Gudrun and battle the Ymir. However, the scenes where the scantily clad Orsa was assailed by several pink, fleshy, tentacular appendages were considered far too suggestive, even for Italian TV, and were cut from the final version.

Continuity errors are apparently better that dealing with the censors.

Instead of this climactic fight scene, we cut away to Karhu searching for King Snorri.

Many fans still feel shot-changed to this day given that all the promotional material feature shots of Orsa battling the Ymir Mother.

The Ymir brood (who should have been driven away by Orsa) inexplicably now show up battling the last of the mercenaries.

The Ymir begin to fall to the blades of the mercenaries. Again, Orsa should have joined this fight, however, any and all shots featuring both Orsa and the Ymir were removed from the final cut, and so it appears that the mercenaries are doomed.

The editing decisions made in this episode made for a confusing mess of a TV show. Over the years numerous animators and artists have 're-imagined' what Orsa's battles with the Ymir might have looked like. Given the frankly indecent nature of some of these re-imaginings, the studio was probably right to remove the footage.

Anyway, the final scenes of the episode show Orsa, Wulf and Karhu rescuing Snorri with no clear explanation of how this happened. Snorri pledges the Svartalfar to helping Orsa in their final confrontation with Skadi.

***

In game terms, both Wulf and Orsa were defeated by the frankly indestructible Gudrun, and Snorri was never found. However, the battle was closer than it appeared as the loss of several sharktopi (polar bears in the scenario), the Marsh (Mountain) King and some Jotun meant that Matt was taking axed tests for most of the game until the Ymir were released. Annoyingly, he passed them all and then the heroes (i.e. me) went on to fail the first test they were required to take as the scattered soldiers and mercenaries had kept the cast above the axing point despite the failure of the stars.

The final score was 6-3, meaning that Orsa and Wulf will begin the final battle with the weakened status.

I'm not sure when we'll get to the final chapter as we only got through two of the scenarios on the day we played. Hopefully it will not be too long as I have several other feature packs to work my way through.

Orsa The Fearless: The Thing of the North

Over the last year I've been putting together the various miniatures and bits of terrain to allow me to play through the Orsa the Fearless feature pack for 7TV Fantasy. 

All I needed was someone to play and the requisite amount of time. So, when Matt, JP and I planned for a mini 7TV day, Orsa the Fearless seemed the obvious choice for a theme.

The version you are about to see is not the original (fictional) 1981 classic fantasy action movie following the adventures of the beautiful warrior orphan Orsa, her stalwart ally and ex-mercenary Wulf, and her pet bear Karhu, as they seek to foil the evil machinations of the Witch-Queen Skadi in her attempt to subdue the free lands of Valhannon on behalf of the wicked Atlan Empire.

No. This is the low budget and copyright infringing Italian version, starring glamour model Alessandria di Napoli. This low budget made-for-TV three part series took more than a few liberties with the story, not least the setting of it in warmer climes, facilitating skimpier and more revealing outfits for di Napoli in a cheap attempt to increase ratings.

Nonetheless, Orsa Gli Impavidi gained a cult status of its own for its effective use of a limited budget and managing to completely miss the point of the original film.

***

The movie begins with the sun coming up on a typical Valhannon village in which the 'Thing' (a gathering of the clan chieftains) has been called to address the growing threat of the Atlan Empire to the south.

Suddenly horns sound in alarm and the chieftains, their warriors and turncoat mercenary Wulf rush out to meet the threat.

With them is the warrior maiden Orsa, and her faithful ursine companion Karhu.

The threat is revealed to be Atlan Hoplites, who are pushing into the village, searching for something...or someone.

They are lead by the fierce and intimidating figure of General Aeolus, the strong right hand of the Atlan Emperor.

With the Atlan invaders is the hag Gullveig, who has allied the feral Vild to the Atlan cause. These cannibalistic men-like beasts seek only to sow carnage amongst the clans and feast on the fallen afterwards.

Deep within the village, the ancient seeress, and Orsa's foster mother, Skuld emerges from her hut. She knows the invaders have come for her on behalf of her sister, the treacherous Skadi.

She dies not flee, but awaits whatever fate has in store for her and Valhannon.

The Atlan hoplites plunge deep into the village, driven on by Aeolus.

Meanwhile, Gullveig urges the Vild into the other side of the settlement. Arrows are loosed and several northern warriors fall.

Wulf is an experienced soldier. He knows a diversion when he sees one. He spots that the Atlan hoplites are the real threat and at his insistence the chieftains order their men to get between the imperial troops and their quarry, Skuld.

The Vild riding with Aeolus is unhorsed when his mount his killed by a flung spear ensuring that Skuld cannot be spirited away.

Meanwhile, a party of warriors are despatched to slow down the marauding Vild.

However, they run straight into a storm of arrows and find themselves horribly outnumbered by the man-eating fiends.

The hoplites plunge into the defensive line and cut down many warriors and even a chieftain. Things look grim for the tribes of Valhannon.

Suddenly a stirring score strikes up and the lithe figure of Orsa strides into the fray. With balletic skill and the aid of Wulf, she cuts down the hoplites to a man.

As the men fall to her blade she feels a ferocious and bloodthirsty hunger come upon her. Although raised by Skuld, she is Vild by birth and faces a constant struggle to contain her brutal urges.

Suddenly isolated, Aeolus is set upon from the rear by the ferocious form of Karhu.

However, with the aid of the dismounted Vild, Aeolus is able to drive off Orsa's companion and continue his terrifying march forwards.

Aeolus launches towards Orsa. His brute strength overpowering the warrior maiden, tearing her clothing in a fetching manner and leaving a small cut on her perfect cheekbones, just below her heavily made up eyes.

In a desperate and chivalric bid to protect this valiant lady, Wulf manages to grab Aeolus in a headlock and starts dragging him out of the village.

Despite this, the Vild continue to drive through the village, their arrows scattering their foes, but repeatedly failing to bring down the clansmen.

Wulf is unable to hold on to his prize and Aeolus breaks free, kicking Wulf heavily in the back. Despite a warrior rushing to his aid, Wulf looks to be overmatched by the towering warrior.

The poor accuracy of the Vild allows the northern warriors to launch a viscious counter attack, cutting several of the cannibals down.

Recovered somewhat from Aeolus's frightful assault, Orsa joins the fray and finishes off all but one of the Vild and the hag Gullveig.

Famously, there follows a few frames of what appears to be Gullveig and Aeolus on fire. The story goes that somebody had meddled with the pyrotechnics for the burning of the village later in the scene and they went off too early, delaying filming for several hours.

These few frames slipped into the final cut by accident, but a more lasting effect was that the burning of the village was dropped from the film as there wasn't enough money to redo the effects.

Despite his bravery, Wulf was not match for Aeolus and was knocked sprawling and unconscious into the unlit warning beacon (this was the moment that was supposed to start the fire).

With the burning of the village cancelled, what was left of the pyrotechnics were redeployed to give Gullveig some magical fire, which briefly engulfed Orsa and the last Vild, but both walked away unharmed as the script demanded it.

With revulsion in her heart for what she truly was, Orsa and the northmen cut down Gullveig and the last of the Vild raiders. Orsa wondered aloud if her people could be redeemed now the baleful influence of the hag had been removed.

With Wulf out of the fight, Aeolus unceremoniously cuts his way through the only warrior standing in his way.

Despite being truly alone, Aeolus stands tall and strides towards Skuld. He casts a spear in the direction of Orsa, striking her in the chest (which is seen in slow motion and close up as this is a low budget Italian movie in the eighties). Although protected by her improbably uplifting armour, Orsa is flung backwards and falls unconscious, draped glamourously and provocatively amongst the long grass, as if she's sleeping.

We do not see the rest of the fight, and Orsa does not see Aeolus bind Skuld and lead her out of the village as a captive to whatever fate Skadi has in store for her.

Upon waking in a devastated (but not burning) village, Orsa learns that her foster mother has been taken. 

Realising that the north needs help if they are to resist the Altan Empire and rescue Skuld, Orsa, Wulf and Karhu set out to seek the land of the Svartalfar to renew the old alliances.

***

This game was lots of fun, had a brutal death toll and went to the wire, with both sides needing to take axed tests from Act Two onwards. Aeolus was a terrifying foe who got the drop on Orsa and was able to complete his mission single-handed.

For those that care, the final score was 7-4 to the villains.