Before we begin to delve into the world of Argentum Res Novae (or simply ARN) for this review, I would like to thank the authors Leonardo Burberi, Vittoria Mori and Graziano Davoli for sending us a physical copy of their original setting for D&D5e.

If after reading this review you would like to purchase the manual, you can find it on the MS Edizioni website at 39,99 euro.

As we will see in this review, the setting of Argentum Res Novae recalls Victorian England and 19th-century Europe from the very first pages. The laws that govern the world of ARN draw liberally from popular folklore and fantasy imagery by placing silver, the precious metal, at the centre of the energy and magic of the game world. ARN, therefore, mixes socio-economic issues such as savage industrialization, social inequality and labour exploitation with more “traditional” threats of classic fantasy: dragons, goblins and power-hungry cultists.

A Setting with Fusion Tones

The Bipelagus is the vast geographical area in which the game world develops. As the name suggests, it deals with two islands; the largest is called Isola Prima, and the other is called Isola dell’Estate. To complete the view, we find a myriad of smaller islands.

According to the game’s timeline, nearly two millennia ago waves of humans, elves and dwarves colonized these island territories, giving birth to the first civilizations. A fourth was added to these populations, the Caluptians; they are anthropomorphic reptiles that landed on the Bipelago with a small fleet about three hundred years ago. Finally, the Isles are inhabited by two other bloodlines: the half-elves and the half-orcs. If the former result from relationships between humans and elves, the latter is the result of a thousand-year-old Curse.

The Bipelagus is now made up of City-States united in confederations. There are also three larger cities, called “Major Cities”; each of them is the point of reference for its confederation. Each city reacted differently to the social and cultural change of the industrial revolution; however, what underpins the game is that in no case was the change without consequences. New social disparities, contradictions and struggles have arisen transforming cities into real battlefields.

Silver, Fulcrum of Magic and Engine of Technology

The arcane and invisible energy that surrounds everything is the Primeval Echo and the Bipelagus is saturated with it. Arcanists are those who manage to absorb the energy flow of Primeval Echo and shape it according to their will to give life to spells. Runic Silver is the only substance capable of resonating with Primeval Echo, absorbing and dispelling it. This material is therefore not only precious and decorative but necessary to create tools useful for the fight against magical creatures and mad enchanters.

With this material pistons, gears and coils were then created, making the Primeval Echo a source of energy for their activation. Within the setting, the use of Runic Silver is nearly endless; it is essential for illuminating city streets with street lamps, cooling the air and also has uses in the medical field. It is the most widespread and important energy source of the Bipelago.

As always, however, all that glitters is not silver. Whenever an arcanist channels Primeval Echo to cast a spell, he does not transform all of the stored arcane energy. A small part of this energy is released into the environment creating a new type of unstable Primeval Eco creating an Imbalance. The massive use of silver has therefore generated a high amount of Imbalance, which ends up magically contaminating objects and people in a phenomenon that generates Curses.

Each Curse can have unique effects, although there are essentially two types. The first creates the so-called Bound, arcane creatures born from the Imbalance present in a specific area; the second produces the Vessel or objects that can influence people.

Review of the Rules of Argentum Res Novae

Argentum Res Novae game rules, as we said at the beginning of the review, are based on the D&D5e rules. There is a lot of content that expands on them (and we will analyze them later in this review), but this is the skeleton and it will be familiar to many players.

As with the other settings based on these mechanics, however, there is no chapter dedicated to them. It is assumed that those approaching ARN are already familiar with the most famous role-playing game in the world (or possess the basic manuals). Anyone who is not familiar with the system can always refer to the System Reference Document; it is an open and free version of these basic rules to play.

Character Sheet

We continue this review of Argentum Res Novae by analyzing the character sheet. It refers very much to the official one of D&D5e but has customized graphics and a spatial reorganization of the boxes. After all, as we have already said, there are no real novelties from a regulatory point of view in this Victorian silver punk setting.

The saving throws and the corresponding skills have been merged next to the characteristic they refer to; this choice makes a lot of sense and can help a novice player.

A New Lineage to Play

As we said at the beginning of this review, the classic lineages of Dungeons & Dragons are present in the setting of Argentum Res Novae; humans, elves, dwarves, half-orcs, and half-elves. Each lineage is inserted into the setting by adding references to Runic Silver and Primal Echo. Thus it turns out that the elves are naturally akin to the Primal Echo while the dwarves are resistant to it, thus justifying the absence of arcanist dwarves.

However, ARN also introduces a new playable bloodline: the Caluptians. They are anthropomorphic reptiles with scaly skin in many shades of green, thick as armour. Like humans and elves, Caluptians are also capable of using magic, and the discovery of the Gift occurs at a similar age to humans. They are particularly long-lived, though not as long-lived as elves.

New Classes for a New Setting

Argentum Res Novae introduce, come è giusto aspettarsi, otto nuove classi perfettamente adatte all’ambientazione proposta, arricchite dalle relative sottoclassi. Dall’Accademico all’Esorcista, dal Pioniere al Ganger, ognuna ha i propri privilegi e le proprie peculiarità tra cui scegliere nella progressione del personaggio. Il sommario a inizio manuale aiuta a destreggiarsi nel capitolo dedicato alle classi aggiungendo una pratica lista di background di esempio da usare in fase di creazione del persionaggio.

Overall I can say that the effort to provide as much material as possible to immerse yourself in this original world is evident. For this purpose, I also found the chapter dedicated to equipment certainly useful; is almost 30 pages of items, weapons, poisons and various tools with special rules for their use. There are also mechanics for land, sea and air transport.

Safety at the Table Can’t Miss

Argentum Res Novae, as well as many recently published manuals, dedicates a part of the text to safety at the table. Thanks to a setting inspired by a historical period full of conflicts and social injustices, the chapter dedicated to the Game Master introduces the importance of communication at the table. Indeed, he suggests organizing a zero session and establishing the issues not to be addressed or overlooked using lines and veils.

I always appreciate this kind of approach. However, I believe that the task of addressing these topics is not the absolute responsibility of the Game Master but should be equally distributed among the members of the game group.

Review of the Aesthetics of Argentum Res Novae

Aesthetically Argentum Res Novae is a pleasant product; the soft colours, with a predominance of pink and purple, do not tire the eye and the font chosen is undoubtedly legible and consistent throughout the text.

The graphics are sober and recall the Victorian style in the finishing of the layout, also evident in the decorations on the margins of the pages. All the illustrations alternate between colour and black and white and pleasantly embellish the entire volume, underlining the chapters promptly.

When Details Make the Difference

It’s always nice to see a product born from the passion of its authors and, undoubtedly, Argentum Res Novae is the result of dedication and passion.

However, these two aspects are not always sufficient for an editorial product. In my opinion, ARN suffers from the lack of a professional editor or, at least, a proofreader for reviewing texts. Although overall it is a pleasant-looking manual, when you pause to read it, you realize that greater care in the construction of the sentences would have benefited the work. I also encountered some layout problems and a certain number of printing errors that clash with a work that was born with the best intentions.

Conclusions of the Argentum Res Novae Review

To conclude this review, Argentum Res Novae is an interesting manual but it deserved more attention for some details. In my opinion, more insights into the new playable lineage and some parts of the setting would have been beneficial; in particular, similar insights would have been useful for less experienced narrators. Some recommended readings are indeed listed in the manual, but integrating some of those contents would certainly have given the work more weight and completeness.

Undoubtedly this manual is suitable for D&D5e enthusiasts who are already familiar with the game system. It can be interesting to weave Victorian-era themes and tones into your sessions, without giving up the classic aspects of a fantasy world.

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