Before getting to the heart of this review, we would like to thank the Grumpy Bear team for providing us with a review copy of Hieronymus. In short what we have in front of us is a dreamlike role-playing game that transports us inside the paintings of the artist Hieronymus Bosch, a Flemish painter between 1400 and 1500.
You can purchase the physical copy on the Grumpy website at this link at a cost of 35 euros.
The World Around Hieronymus Bosch
Undoubtedly the focal point and greatest value of the game consists in its setting, which is impossible to talk about without analyzing its historical context. On the other hand, we are faced with an RPG that refers to an artist who really existed and therefore also to a specific historical era.
The end of the 1400s was a particular moment of strong structural and social change. In a word, the Church and the nobles had dominated unchallenged until then, but something is changing. New technologies and sciences have begun to spread to cities. This leads numerous people to challenge the Church and the luxury in which the ecclesiastics live, while the merchants face the nobles. Basically is in this transition period between the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the modern age that Hieronymus Bosch lived, and in this context, his art was born. Almost everything he painted was commissioned by the Church, and the world he depicts is almost always chaotic, corrupt, and infernal.
But in order to enjoy the gaming experience to the fullest, it is good to take all this into account, also considering the characters that can be played. Some of the playable classes are in fact alchemists, priests and scoundrels. This refers on the one hand to the iron immutability of feudalism, and on the other to the radical change of the modern age that is trying to make space for itself.
The Structure and System of Hieronymus
Hieronymus is an RPG for 2-5 people that will drag you inside the artist’s paintings; works that often refer to the underworld. In fact, this why one of you has the role of Guide (GM), who will have the task of accompanying you along this journey, commanding the Painted Worlds and those who inhabit them. Likewise, the others have to play fugitives who, through paintings, try to escape from an astral horror known as The Pursuing Entity. The cards are very simple and intuitive, allowing you not to waste time in the character creation phase and to immediately launch into the adventures.
In conclusion, from a mechanical point of view, the system is incredibly streamlined and simple. The Characters are equipped with four skills, each with a specific value which corresponds to the quantity of 6 dice to be rolled in the test. For each check, rolls of 1,2 and 3 are failures, 4 and 5 are successes with consequences, and 6 is a critical success. In case you still have any doubts, there is no shortage of examples to manage the shots and difficulties better. The Pursuing Entity deserves a mention, of which the Guide has the task of making the players feel perpetually breathing down their necks. This can be achieved by using watches and non-player characters for this purpose.
The manual is divided into two parts, one which presents historical references to the Bosch period and the game system, the other is entirely dedicated to the works and adventures to be experienced.
Review of the Painted Worlds of Hieronymus
As I have said, the second part of Hieronymus is dedicated to the artist’s paintings, in order to immerse oneself in the atmosphere of Dante’s Inferno. Together with the manual, there is a board with these works, each of which is divided into hexagons. They will have to be traversed and what is represented within them (and its interpretation) will be the inspiration for what the PCs will encounter.
In spite of this, there is no shortage of examples and helpful hints for the Guide so that he can better manage the session.
Art and Aesthetics
From an artistic point of view, the manual itself is a work of art, faithfully reporting Bosh’s style and paintings. In the first place, the illustrations are therefore splendid and laid out in such a way as to stand out in the best possible way.
The manual is contained in a box which, forgive the pun, looks like a painting; inside we can also find the board and character sheets.
The presentation of the contents is clear and the work is easy to read. It doesn’t have too many frills and goes straight to the information needed to bring to the gaming table.
Conclusions of Hieronymus Review
In the final analysis, Hieronymus presents itself as a simple, immersive and captivating role-playing game. All its elements lead to a very specific experience and do so effectively.
Definitely recommended for all lovers of art and historical and dreamlike settings, it guarantees colourful, particular and intense journeys. Now all you have to do is dive into the paintings of Hieronymus Bosch!
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