Humans, goblins, ethereal and nocturnal this and much more is the bleak world of Nightfell, the new RPG (RPG), created by Angelo Peluso. The designer launched his idea on the platform Kickstarter, and in the middle of its path it has already been very successful (this is the link if you want to support the project). Fortunately for us - and yours - we received a preview of the campaign Quickstart di Nightfell and we are here to describe it.
The night won over the day
The lore created by Angelo is obviously not reported in this first campaign Quickstart, but from the very first pages it manages to convey the esotericism and darkness of the world of Lùrmen. The world has fallen on a perennial night, the sun no longer shines higher and prouder, and the only things that shine in the sky during daylight hours are only pale astral fires or distant celestial bodies. This disastrous calamity has destroyed the beauty of the world as the few surviving inhabitants from the last sun to today knew it, living with the hope of not falling under the greed of evil spirits.
In this wasteland where the only thing that lights up the sky is the Moon, players will be transported to a territory corrupted by arcane lore from mystical and primal sources of power. Among the population of Lùrmen there is still a handful of people willing to sacrifice their spirit and body to change the fate of this gruesome and dangerous world:
The use of magic has radically changed: in the Lunar Age, the sources of arcane power are now corrupted by darkness and the use of spells is a dangerous practice. The arcane balances have almost vanished and the use of powers and witchcraft can easily wear down the soul of the practitioner. Today, few wisely control spells and most are corrupted by them.
As in any self-respecting RPG, even in Nightfell players will be able to choose between several races, which in this case are the only ones who have managed to adapt and survive the corruption of the Black Reflection:
- FIRST MEN (ANIRETH)
- MOON SATIRES (RIZADRIN)
- NIGHT ELF (LYVAR)
- OVERSEAS PEOPLE (ISHDRIM)
- ALPERNI (GARNAR)
- PRIMEVI (EJRE)
- GRAY PEOPLE
- HEROES IN THE NIGHT
Obviously, the type of breed must also be accompanied by a class and an archetype. The classes there are many, but the thing that seemed most interesting to us about this title is the possibility of being able to take advantage of two options of the same character. Every single player will have gods with them Spirit points, which indicate the degree of corruption of our character. Our characters facing challenges, will be brought to use ability or make choices that will burn our spirits. One time reached zero spirit points the characters will fall into temptation becoming real spirits. In this phase where it is also possible to die, players will have to interpret this possession very well, trying to exploit it as much as possible:
Players who play a character affected by the Possessed condition should strive to interpret their vices, their character flaws and the darkest thing in the character's heart with macabre obsession, remaining true to their identity while distorting it. Courage becomes recklessness. Fear becomes aggression. Distrust becomes xenophobia, racism and contempt. The search for justice turns into a spasmodic desire for
vengeance. A knight determined to defeat evil could become a ruthless fighter unable to reason except for absolutes.
These guidelines are somewhat reminiscent of Irresistible Temptation, only taken to the extreme and prolonged over time.
This duality of personality makes the gaming experience very deep and not very trivial, also because there is the possibility that, if interpreted in a big way, the Grand Master you reward yourself by giving yourself some very interesting bonuses. A well-matched company will still be able to try to recover the health of your ally, trying to launch an exorcism that could lead to unexpected events. Along with your spirit and your disposition, even the weapons in your possession will suffer corruption, and that is why choosing to equip yourself to the teeth may not be a very viable solution.
As the title of this paragraph suggests, we are in a world dominated by the Night and that is why the moon phases they take a central place between life and death. THE GM they can even choose if follow the moon phases of the real world or set a lunar cycle as you see fit during the sessions. Among the things to choose, when composing our characters, there is also which one Birth Moon it belongs to us, so that during the chosen moon phase of birth we will receive bonuses and privileges:
- New Moon (rest, do not act, destruction before rebirth) "I feel in me the ability to overturn fortunes and turn every failure into success."
- Ascending Moon (novelty, beginning, growth) "My ambitions have never seemed so close, I improve every day."
- Full moon (prosperity, fruitfulness, confirmations and knowledge) "I have full confidence in my abilities and resources, my determination never waver."
- Descending Moon (removal, purification, diminution) "I don't let myself be weighed down by worries and regrets, everything slips on me."
Factors that influence the Lunar Divination, which will cyclically affect all the characters of the company with positive and negative effects. As if this were not enough, in this gloomy world, real schools of the Moon have been established, so as to learn spells and spells at will to channel the benevolent flows of the goddess. Mirithlen.
The lady of the Beasts
In this Quickstart of Nightfell we find a Adventure module written by Marco Bucci and Michele Paroli. The campaign will bring us a dense story, which aims to keep the tension between the players very high, who will have to face 6 game chapters. Being a campaign already written and designed by the two GM di Nightfell we found it very interesting and capable of introducing us to the ghostly and dreamlike world created by Angelo Peluso. The company of fortune, after realizing that it has been cheated by a false tip, will soon have to find refuge in the hermitage of Sognofreddo not to succumb. In this place the story of the Saint is handed down:
It is said that the Saint had reached the cave with a staircase carved into the stone that no longer exists today. In the cave he slept restlessly, devoured by the cold.
When after more than a hundred years his body was found intact everyone remembered his story. That of the Man kissed by the Moon engaged in daring battles against the mountain devils. The body was uncorrupted, as if just asleep, but unquestionably passed to the Kingdom Beyond the Way. Since,
whoever touches something that belongs to him dreams of his most terrible enemy: The Lady of the Beasts. The one who drew her to the top of the mountains. She had her life, but she never managed to pervert her heart.
Obviously the story is not quite this: many things have been omitted and many even hidden, all to honor the Saint. The players will therefore find themselves catapulted into the moment in which the Lady of the Beasts has reached the end of her days and a new Lady of the Beasts she is about to take her place, free from the chains of the Saint, ready to carnally unite with the krampus to give birth to a new generation of feral devils. This is the beginning of the story that unfolds in 6 structured chapters full of adventures:
1. The Hermitage of Sognofreddo and the Sacking of Mairan
2. Vorvuk the Rhodos and the Stolen Relic
3. The Sleep of the Saint
4. The Antro della Perchta
5. The Heresy of the Saint and the vigil of the Krampus
6. Epilogue
Each chapter contains tons of choices to take and paths to take. It has been perfectly thought to make us better understand the basic idea of Nightfell and the many possibilities it can offer us. We can see how the difference between this and the others stands out GDR: in this case we have constant corruption at the gates, which must be well balanced not only by the players but also by the players GM, because even the vision of gloomy, blasphemous or terrible scenes will take away Spirit Points. As previously said, this dualism with our possessed alter-ego offers us different ideas to play and interpret our character.
Following the campaign to the letter we found ourselves faced with difficult and emotionally touching choices, it is not difficult to lose the way and be embraced by the eternal darkness, leaving behind that little dim moonlight. In the second run the GM can choose and correct the shot according to his own imagination, but what we highly recommend is to live it at least once in a faithful way to the original, so as to better understand the gloomy world of Lùrmen and all the adventures that it will be able to offer us.
The Black Moon
The quickstart of Nightfell it hit us positively, we really enjoyed diving into it for the first time, minimally testing everything that we will be able to experience in a more full-bodied and complete way in the future. Currently there are still 13 days left for the campaign to close Kickstarter of the title, which we have already supported and will continue to do so, because we can't wait (early 2021) for this to be able to see the light of the sun ... of the Moon. If you are curious to know more about the project or what you can find by pledging Nightfell keep following our articles and our specials. We also advise you not to miss the appointment on Monday on Twitch, because we will meet and can finally talk openly with Angelo Peluso.
