Before starting this review of Travelers & Outsiders, I would like to thank MS Edizioni for providing us with a copy of the manual for evaluation purposes. We are talking about a substantial and interesting expansion manual for Root – The RPG (originally published by Magpie Games), which I have already talked about in another article. To understand the basics of the game, I recommend you read it, so as to fully appreciate the innovations (both mechanical and setting-related) introduced by this supplement.

If reading this review makes you curious enough to want to buy Travelers & Outsiders, know that you can find it in Italian on the official MS Edizioni store at the price of 40 euros in a physical copy (including PDF). For the digital copy only the price is halved. In any case, using the code NoDiceUnrolled10 you will get a discount of 10%! Otherwise the English version of this TTRPG is available on the Magpie Games store.

I would also like to point out that it is also necessary to own the core rulebook in order to take full advantage of this supplement.

But let’s not delay any longer and go back to walk the paths in the woods of this roleplaying game of anthropomorphic animals involved in faction struggles and intrigues!

The New Factions

The beating heart of the setting of this tabletop RPG are the factions. With their power struggles they make each story unpredictable, while always remaining very faithful to their principles. This almost fairy-tale vision of the protagonists of the stories can also be found in the latest arrivals, who know how to embellish the scene without stealing it from those who were already present in the core rulebook.

• The Riverfolk Company is a merchant cooperative that primarily travels along waterways, but also along the roads. They are always on the lookout for new merchants and mercenaries ready to fight for their cause, which is to make a profit by trading any type of goods that may be required in the woods. Eager to control the entire supply chain, in times of war they have no qualms about selling weapons to the highest bidder.
• Lizard Cult has a religious, fanatical approach. Their ranks are very rigid and the hierarchy is so consolidated that it requires sacrifices to reach the highest ones. On their lowest level, however, its members are very charitable, helping and giving shelter to the needy and the outcasts. This cult venerates the mysterious Great Dragon, always seeking new followers ready to spread its doctrines.
• Grand Duchy is made up of wayfarers dissatisfied with their previous situations, who have decided to band together. They constantly dig and expand a dense network of underground tunnels from which they launch sneaky attacks on the rest of the inhabitants of the woods, aiming to subjugate them.
• Corvid Conspiracy is not a large organization, but it has a strong presence in the woods. They are former rebels, fed up with the old tyrannies, who move in the shadows and use criminal methods to prevent a return to such atrocities.

Review of the New Customization Options for Travelers & Outsiders Characters

To fully immerse ourselves in these new social dynamics, the manual also offers us 10 new Playbooks. In particular, we can find the Envoy, the Champion, the Raconteur, the Chronicler, the Scholar, the Pirate, the Heretic, the Harrier and the Raider. These archetypes perfectly embody the spirit of the new factions, but are also on spot with those in the core rulebook.

The characterization of a wayfarer continues with the Moves and here too additional options could not be missing. We find new ones for each category, from Weapon Skills to Reputation Skills, passing through the Rogue Deeds. There is also a new category, namely the Species Moves. They are selectable only in the case in which your character belongs to certain animal species, giving greater value to this aspect. If the wide choice is not enough, the manual also offers us a precious explanation on how to create personalized ones. In addition, the Masteries have also been introduced, namely special effects that you can learn to exploit when the result of a test is particularly high.

In general, other aspects that make the characters unique have also been strengthened. We find new Bonds, Motivations and Natures, so as to make the protagonists of the stories increasingly special. The same can be said for the Equipment, which also boast many new Tags capable of making some tools particularly impactful.

All these new features are perfectly balanced. In this way they expand the possibilities of the core rulebook, without making them obsolete.

New Mechanics and Tips for the Storyteller

The narrator also wants their part. As you will see in this paragraph of the review, Travelers & Outsiders offers many useful ideas for this role at the table.

First of all, I really appreciated how the manual explains how to create, conduct, customize and conclude a campaign. These are useful tips both for those who are new to the role of narrator, and for those who are already more experienced but want to customize their style for this roleplaying game. Reading these pages teaches you how to best insert the characters into the narrative based on their Playbook. Then it helps to disrupt the plot with effective twists and finally conclude the story in a satisfying way for everyone.

A highly valued element is the Faction Phase. It is added to the Faction Roll and allows you to go into much more detail regarding the attitudes of the various Factions. When a considerable amount of time passes during the narrative (for a journey, a rest or something else), these mechanics allow you to discover precisely how the situation of the various Factions evolves. In this way the game world appears even more alive and “real”.

To create an original initial situation in the woods, the manual suggests using the board game of the same name. By playing the first few turns, we will create the right background for our roleplaying game campaign.

Another way to provide a precise and deep context in which to set the adventures is to create a Glade with already defined dynamics. This can be very helpful to storytellers who prefer to have material on which to base their narration. For this purpose, there are also two ready-to-play scenarios: Heartwood and Sundew Bend.

Conclusions of the Review of Travelers & Outsiders

As you can see from the images included in this review, Travelers & Outsiders proves to be completely compatible and faithful to the core rulebook, even in its aesthetics. The layout, font and illustrations represent the natural, spontaneous and precious continuation of the Root The RPG manual. If the latter was a solid tree of the woods, this expansion represents the flowers that bloom on its branches, greatly enriching the gaming experience from every point of view.

Also considering the honest quality (and quantity)-price ratio, I would recommend this manual to anyone who enjoyed the core manual. It will bring a precious breath of fresh air and will allow you to easily create your own content, potentially extending Root‘s replayability to infinity.

If you enjoyed this review of Travelers & Outsiders, stay tuned for more Root and TTRPG supplements!