One of many enjoyable components of mythology is watching it change over time. From tales of King Arthur that add in later knightly legends like Sir Lancelot to modern-day characters like Superman studying to fly for his radio present, these tales endure due to their flexibility and authors making contemporary takes with new views. Damaged Tales, from designer Alberto Tronchi, provides gamers an opportunity to rewrite their favourite fairy tales and fables in a approach that turns unhealthy guys good, good guys unhealthy and some highly effective legends into uneasy allies that might go both approach. I acquired a evaluation copy of the sport at Gen Con. Does the sport finish fortunately ever after? Let’s play to search out out.
The setting takes place in 18th-century Europe the place a want has damaged the world. Somebody tapped into the facility of tales and introduced them into our world–except the method modified them. The myths and legends had been all damaged and have reformed in uncommon methods. On a fundamental degree, which means characters like Little Pink Driving Hood and The Large Unhealthy Wolf have modified groups with Pink operating round as a werewolf like creature and the Wolf looking different legends like himself which have gone unhealthy. There are additionally these characters who’re someplace within the center, similar to a Merlin who’s extra involved with determining how magic works now that he’s actual. The setup offers gamers an opportunity to dial in how clear reduce they need the heroes and villains of their story to be.
Damaged Tales makes use of a lightweight system of d6 cube swimming pools to resolve rolls. These rolls are damaged down into two broad classes based mostly on fictional positioning and avoiding hazard. There are three ranges of issue within the sport with three successes, 5 successes and 7 successes. If a personality has a descriptor that matches the duty at hand, they routinely begin out with three successes. In the event that they need assistance, they’ll both spend Soma factors to purchase extra successes or they’ll select to make a roll. As an alternative of searching for successes, the participant chooses what number of cube they need to roll hoping to keep away from any of them turning up a 1. If that occurs, the motion is a failure. In the event that they hit the goal, they acquired a blended success, with one success above being a clear success and two above a hit with advantages. You’ll be able to solely get the later two outcomes by selecting up extra cube than you want or overspending your assets. This method offers an fascinating threat versus reward alternative that turns one of many weaknesses of cube pool techniques the place the extra cube you roll the extra doubtless you might be to roll a 1 into the central focus of the roll. There’s one thing novel and enjoyable about selecting up the cube and hoping for “No whammies” as a substitute of searching for successes.
The setting itself is pretty gentle with most of it popping out within the write ups of assorted twisted legendary characters. It’s a mix of ones most individuals would count on, like The Pied Piper and Krampus to ones that bend the timeline somewhat like Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan. The extent of element feels much like the gorgeously grim artwork from Daniel Comerci. It’s darkish and stuffed with broad strokes permitting for interpretation by the viewer. There are a number of write ups of villainous legends within the core guide plus extra heroes within the enlargement books that make it doubtless gamers received’t should go far to decide on a personality based mostly on a legend they like. If the legend seen within the books doesn’t suit your group’s imaginative and prescient there are a number of methods to vary that. The primary is making their redemption a part of a quest. Whereas gamers may throw down with The Three Little Pigs recast as a gang of sledgehammer wielding window smashing thugs they’ll additionally deliver these characters over to doing good by reawakening the kernel of fine that’s inside them. Simply as these characters nonetheless have a small reminder of their earlier character, the pliers even have a contact of darkness as properly that they’ll set free if they’re determined. The kid witch Baba Yaga (which, I’m sorry, I’m calling Child Yaga and you’ll’t cease me) can faucet into the huge powers of her aged kind if she must, although utilizing these darkish items trigger the characters to take wounds and run the chance of disappearing in the event that they take an excessive amount of punishment.
The second technique for customizing a legend is utilizing the foundations to construct your personal. There’s a whole lot of assist for sport masters within the guide together with a number of characters and adventures. However I actually loved the recommendation on methods to use the system to run their sport. In addition to having powers that can be utilized to construct legends there’s in depth recommendation on methods to regulate and retheme skills to suit a selected legend. I believe followers of Oz may do their very own tackle a narrative like Depraved with out an excessive amount of fuss. Whereas the legends included are pretty Eurocentric, there are a number of that step past that class and the instruments introduced give tables a stable basis on methods to construct their very own.
Backside Line: Damaged Tales offers gaming teams the facility to remix basic tales into contemporary adventures that may appear acquainted proper up till the lights end up.
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