In this review, we will talk about Snow, an adventure for Yokai Hunters Society in which hunters will have to face a yokai on the cold slopes of Mount Asahi.

Born from the ideas of Chema Gonzàlez and published in English by Punkpadour, the adventure is localized in Italian by Nigredo Press and published by MS Edizioni, who we thank for providing us with a copy to write this review. We recommend you follow Nigredo Press on their Facebook and Instagram pages to stay updated on their many projects.

You can find the adventure on the Punkpadour Itch.io page for 3 dollars for the digital version; the physical version instead is available on Lulu for 5.66 euros.

Review of Snow‘s Writing and Art

Snow is a small stapled manual of 24 pages completely in black and white.

As in the basic manual, we find a very simple and flowing writing style, which makes reading a pleasure; a plus point is the presence of italics to highlight the Japanese terms; they are also explained, to facilitate understanding and clarify the context.

Even the artistic side follows the canons of the basic manual; in fact, we find very minimal illustrations, in black and white inspired by classic Japanese hand drawing. They are all truly beautiful and help you immerse yourself in the climate that the work wants to recreate.

The Setting of the Scenario

The scenario is set on the island of Hokkaido, near Mount Asahi.

In particular, the first part of the adventure is set in the village of Asahikawa, at the foot of the mountain. The village is adequately described, providing both its history from its foundation to the present, as well as its social structure. This allows the Grandmaster (the narrator) to have a lively and well-contextualized environment in their hands, in which players can explore and always remain involved.

Another very interesting detail is the Rumors Table, a tool for generating minor events within the village; it is very useful and functional for giving clues or misleading the Hunters (the characters).

In the second part of the adventure the protagonists will have to climb Mount Asahi and this is where the latter’s map comes into play; players will have to choose one of the three proposed paths, each with different challenges and events.

After choosing one of the routes, the players must discover how long it takes to complete the various stages by rolling the dice. This has a very interesting impact on the narrative, as the lack of rest could cause problems for the protagonists; furthermore, unwanted encounters could be a further variable to make the adventure more unpredictable.

All the places of interest on the mountain are intriguing and very different from each other; surely players will be curious to explore them all, but obviously, this will also increase the risks.

The Plot of Snow

Snow is inspired by The Blizzard, an episode of the movie Yume (Dreams, 1990) by Akira Kurosawa, and makes you feel inside a classic Japanese story.

The incipit that brings players to the village of Asahikawa is the delivery of a package with materials for a ritual in the sanctuary at the top of Mount Asahi to stop the disappearances in the village. Although it is quite common as a start, I must say that it manages to be mysterious and intrigue the players, giving the right push to the scenario.

The development is quite linear and first requires the players to investigate the village to understand the situation, the various disappearances and the roads to get to the top of the mountain; then they will have to face the climb and manage the various unexpected events that arise, finally discovering the truth behind the disappearances.

We therefore have a linear plot, which however manages to surprise with some twists that will leave players stunned. Even the endings are all very particular, proving satisfying due to the possible evolutions of the plot generated by the protagonists.

Snow NPCs Review

Another strong point of the adventure is its NPCs who, although few, are all well-characterized and written in a very peculiar way.

Each NPC is presented individually with its illustration, age and history. Each has its sheet with characteristics and equipment. They belong to different social backgrounds and among them, we find for example the priest, the village head and also the person who manages the village “tavern”.

In addition to all this, we find an excellent cultural and social description of the village population; a fairly extensive paragraph in the manual accurately describes the population of that area of Japan, the Ainu, and their political and social relationships with the Wa-jin (ethnically Japanese) who live in the South. Thanks to this information, you feel even more inside the plot and setting, allowing you to better understand some details.

The new yokai introduced in this supplement is also associated with the NPCs but, being very linked to the plot, I won’t tell you more about it. However, it is a very welcome addition to the bestiary of the basic manual and will make many fans of Japanese mythology happy and will allow storytellers to use it in other contexts as well.

Conclusions of the Review of Snow

To conclude the review, I can say that I consider Snow an excellent supplement in all its parts; it adds details that could also work with other Yokai Hunters Society adventures, effectively increasing its usefulness over time.

Just like the basic manual, its quality-price ratio is excellent too; for a few euros, you can have an entertaining product with attention to the smallest details.

So I can’t help but recommend this adventure; but be careful not to get lost among the cold landscapes of Mount Asahi!

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