Category: Sagas of the Icelanders

Wide roots (Matriarch’s move)

Dear Gregor Vuga, two sessions ago, we had some doubts about the Matriarch’s move Wide roots:

“Wide roots: When you meet someone new, you can tell them how you’re related through someone dead, absent or lost and you gain a bond with each other (p. 95).”

We had played a one-shot demo several weeks before, but it was so good we decided to go on and play a real saga, with the addition of a new friend as a player.

He created a new character, a Wanderer, and therefore no one gave relationships to him and he gave no relationships to the others, in return, as the rules state (p. 106).

During the game, of course, the Wanderer met the Matriarch and the Matriarch’s player wanted to use Wide roots on the Wanderer but, just to be polite and considerate, he asked to the Wanderer’s player: “Is it ok if maybe we can be relatives?”

The Wanderer’s players answered: “I’d rather not” and the Matriarch’s player said “As you wish” in return, and he didn’t use the move.

Therefore, what happened in our game was not problematic at all but, nonetheless, some questions began to form in my mind.

1. Can one use Wide roots on another player’s character or it can be used only only on NPCs?

2. Have I really to ask permission to another player every time I want to use Wide roots on their character? Is not just having the move enough justification to say “I’m going to use it!”?

3. When the move says “related”, does it mean “family related” or can it also mean just “connected in some way”?