As always, before delving into the review of Vileborn, I would like to thank the author, Claudio Pustorino, and the publishers, Mana Project Studio and Horrible Guild, for providing us with a physical copy.
If you would like to purchase the game after reading this review, you can find it on the publisher’s website for 40€, which includes the digital copy. You will also find Apocrypha, the adventure manual, priced at 27€, and editable character sheets are available in the game’s dedicated section, alongside pre-generated sheets and a quick start guide.
Vileborn and Its Nobledark Setting
Five years ago, Darkness appeared in the skies above Egas. It is getting colder and colder, food is scarce, and the Reviled are everywhere. Vampires, Fallen, Werewolves, and every creature of the darkness have crawled out of hiding. They intend to claim dominion over days dominated by a sun veiled in black. The Luminarian Church, spiritual guide of the Empire, rails against these creatures and their progeny —such as you, half human and half dark. Your dark heritage manifested itself when you were children, and the Empress turned you into weapons. Through the Lex Umbrae, she placed every Stirpevile under the authority and protection of the Order of Dusk, an ancient brotherhood dedicated to protecting the Empire.
Vileborn’s characters are in an uncomfortable position as the first vileborn to be recruited by the Order of Twilight, caught in the middle of the conflict between the Church and the Empire. Following in the footsteps of a hugely successful literary genre, especially in recent years, comes the first nobledark roleplaying game.
Claudio Pustorino, with the help of Stefano Mancuso, has created a rich and profound setting for the game, which is both credible and extremely interesting. The game begins here, with a series of contrasts opening up scenarios of conflict and redemption, awareness and sharing. In an increasingly crowded gaming landscape, this is no mean feat.
Review of the Characters of Vileborn
If Vileborn were a novel, it would be a young adult novel. Its protagonists are young people on the cusp of adulthood who must deal with not only the problems of their age, but also their own nature. They are, in fact, the Stirrevillians (Vileborn, hence the name of the game): humans with a touch of darkness that has altered their character and appearance, giving them powers they have yet to understand or control.
It is a dark legacy that was reawakened when Darkness appeared in the skies above Egas five years ago. Caught up in a conflict with dark forces and themselves, they became controlled and feared weapons in the hands of a church willing to eliminate them if they no longer serve its purposes or escape its control.
Conflict is central to character creation and must therefore be part of the narrative, serving as the fulcrum of the stories told at the table. For this reason, character sheets are extremely straightforward to complete and manage.
The Character Sheet: Essential and Practical
Creating your Vileborn is both quick and profound. The first step is to select your character’s Origin, which represents the period of their life before they were recruited by the Order. In the manual, you can find seven origins to choose from: bourgeois, believer, outlaw, noble, nomad, orphan and commoner.
The next step is to define the character’s Dark Heritage, which is their connection to Darkness. There are seven possible Dark Heritages to choose from: Ghostwalker, Bloodsinger, Clawshrouder, Wildseeker, Hexbringer, Shadowdancer and Fateweaver.
Origin and Dark Heritage grant modifiers to the six dice rolls needed to resolve trials. The final touches are added by choosing a name and a particular detail, and an important event from the character’s past can also be added if desired.
The prospect of combining Origins and Dark Heritage is highly intriguing, particularly if we wish to deviate from the tropes of the noble scion with vampire blood (the Bloodsinger heritage) and the young woman raised in the woods who possesses the strength of the Ferali (the Clawshrouder heritage). However, the manual encourages players to make their own choices and suggests evaluating the chosen Origin and discussing it with the group to achieve the best possible harmony with the other players.
The manual describes each Dark Legacy, indicating any modifiers to the character sheet for approaches. It also suggests possible character personality, the type of training they have undergone, and what drives them. It also lists the gifts of the Dark Legacy; one must be chosen during character creation, and the others can be discovered during the story.
Review of Vileborn’s Rules
The rules of Vileborn are extremely simple, using the same mechanics to resolve all challenges. This allows the narrative to focus on the characters and their conflicts. Let’s take a look at how challenges are resolved. First, the player must decide how to approach the current challenge. They must then choose from one of the following: Impetus, Will, Ascendant, Reason, Precision or Subterfuge. Depending on the character’s Origin and Dark Heritage, each approach will be associated with a type of die (d6, d8 or d10) that represents how predisposed the character is to that type of action.
According to the following principle, the player will then roll a variable number of dice of that size (up to a maximum of three): one basic die is given by the approach; an additional die is given if the character brings their personality into play; and a third die is given if they use their training. To determine whether the test has been passed successfully, the highest result is taken and compared with the test’s difficulty level. If the result is higher, the character succeeds. In case it is lower, they fail and suffer a complication. If it is equal, they succeed but suffer a complication.
It is the player’s job to narrate successes. Failures and complications are in the hands of the master, who can impose conditions and make the scene more complicated, dangerous and interesting.
When a character faces the Darkness, such as confronting a Dark One, exploring their Dark Legacy or interacting with traces of Darkness, the Darkness Die is rolled. This is a 12-sided die. The result of this die roll will add complications to any existing complications associated with the trial itself.
Structuring Stories in Vileborn
Although it is possible to imagine Vileborn as a one-shot story, this is certainly not the form in which it finds its true calling. The manual clearly states that the story unfolds in three acts: ‘The Order’, ‘The Hunt’ and ‘The Darkness’. Thirty pages provide suggestions and narrative ideas for structuring adventures in this fascinating setting.
There are plenty of tips and tricks for finishing one act and starting the next. These suggestions are extremely useful for novice game masters and those approaching a distinctly narrative game for the first time.
Although there is no real plot to follow in the manual, there are many ideas to draw upon. Themes to explore and suggestions on how and when to develop the characters are divided by region of the continent of Egas.
Review of the Aesthetics Vileborn
The manual is compact and extremely sturdy. Its hardcover and thread binding make it attractive as well as functional. Inside, there is also a fabric bookmark, a detail that I always appreciate.
The B5 format is an interesting choice that makes the volume compact and portable. The font size is suitable, and the tips are often found at the edge of the page in coloured boxes or highlighted for immediate visibility and ease of reference.
Corebook’s layout is definitely very well done. The decision to use contrasting blue background pages to detail specific features of the game mechanics is clever. This detail forces readers to pay more attention and makes the volume more dynamic.
The illustrations skilfully complement the text. Each Vileborn has its own reference image, as do the territories and creatures encountered. Cecilia Gordigiani and Annachiara Rossi do a splendid job of suggesting rather than imposing when it comes to sketching a setting that can be truly profound.
Conclusions of the Vileborn Review
As you can read in this review, Vileborn is an easily accessible game with simple, straightforward rules. However, don’t be fooled by how easy it is to play.
Addresses sensitive issues that may strike a deeply personal chord. Halfway through the book, it takes care to remind masters and players of this, suggesting which topics to raise and how to deal with them. Personally, I would have preferred this information at the beginning, but as I said, it’s a matter of personal preference. The important thing is that the information is there and easy to understand.
VIleborn is a product designed for young players in terms of themes and context, but I am sure that even the most experienced ones will enjoy it.
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