Francesca Viganò
Before we start this Deimos Academy review, I want to thank Game and a Curry for sending us this collaborative horror RPG written by Austin Taylor and Banana Chan.
It was born thanks to a successful campaign on the Kickstarter platform. You can buy the digital version for only 15 dollars (just over 15 euros) directly on the DrivethruRPG website or the printed one on the editor’s website at 35 $, about 35 euros.
In recent years, the roleplaying game market has seen more and more proposals flourish, many of which are oriented toward horror themes. This is also the case of Deimos Academy, which is inspired by the atmosphere of Stephen King to bring one of the worst nightmares of many adults: going back to school for a class reunion.
The Past Knocks on the Door
The game’s incipit is an invitation to the characters, all now adults, to a meeting at the school that somehow terrified them all as children.
While everyone fears the old building, the characters have no clear memory of their years at the school and gradually realize that there may even be a monster lurking in the old classrooms and worn-out desks.
Deimos Academy is, therefore, a collaborative horror narrative RPG whose expressive medium is a little different from what has been seen on the market so far. In addition to the usual dice, the game dynamics also uses a colouring book. The players’ task is to build the story together, remembering things from their characters’ past and trying to overcome the fears they had as children.
The authors specify that real events inspire the content of the game and that the quotes used are taken from real interviews. However, the names, characters, and events presented in the game are fictitious and any references to real people and places are only hinted at.
Security Systems
Given the obvious premises, I am enormously pleased to see that the authors have already thought in the introduction to clarify what delicate elements are present within the game. In this way, you can in no way risk facing a session without the awareness that it could touch sensitive issues or, even more, unresolved situations from the past of the players.
The authors themselves refer to these issues in the introduction and reveal part of their past and the unsolved problems that the school, as a social environment, has left them with.
Deimos Academy is, therefore, not a game to be faced simplistically. However, it does not want to replace the work of an expert in the sector in the event of deep and dormant problems.
The game plans to organize session 0, to set the mood and the themes addressed in the game, to establish lines and veils, and use the X-Card in moments that could be more touching for anyone at the table.
Deimos Academy is not a game for everyone; if, after this review, you want to approach it, remember to use the tools that are presented in the manual. It’s not impossible to play it in a more light-hearted way, with results similar to Umbrella Academy. I won’t hide from you, which neither the authors do, that the basic references are quite different: It, Oculus or, among video games, Life is Strange.
A Nightmare College
Deimos Academy is a college. Students live on campus, similar to a university structure as conceived in the United States. The difference is that a college is meant for 14 to 18-year-olds.
Deimos Academy is one of the oldest colleges in the world, It has received several awards from governments and institutions. The academy prides itself on forging quality new citizens, whatever that may mean. However, this supremacy does not come without costs. Something had survived among the classrooms of Deimos Academy. The characters and players have to find out what it is. The strangest thing is that those who look back on their years at Deimos Academy only remember the good times. Kind of like what most of us do. Everyone except the characters.
The game provides an accurate chronicle of the history of the school. In the same way, it provides a detailed list of the various rectors who have taken turns under its direction, starting from Ferenc, who founded it in 1590, up to Lewis, who has still directed it since 1999.
It is the players who decide the structure of the college, from the size of the building to the type of teaching offered. For each discipline, in any case, the manual provides ideas and hints.
A Group Game
Like many other modern games, Deimos Academy lets player build the game world. For example, the group is asked to complete the invitation to the school meeting. It will be that same invitation that, delivered to the characters, will push them to present themselves at the old college.
The task of the group is also to set the mood of the game and decide on lines and veils and the relationships between the characters.
Deimos Academy Characters in the Inclusiveness
Each player plays an Alumni who graduated from the Academy 15 years ago. Just before graduation, they discovered that they had a supernatural ability in a frightening situation that involved them. Each player has to detail their character’s backstory and decide why they chose to go back to the school for that occasion.
A character sheet is available for each of the five supernatural powers. However, nothing prevents two characters from having the same power. Once the character sheets have been distributed, they must be filled out. The sheet has two sides, the front side is the one to be used at the start of the game. If the character is devoured by their fears, it will be necessary to turn the sheet and use the other side.
I especially liked that the manual specifies not only the character’s name but also which pronoun will be used.
You have to choose a name and pronoun necessary to establish in which year they graduated. The game has you go back 15 years from the year you are playing. The compilation of the form continues with the indication of the parents’ residence and the reputation of the character within the school.
However, the character’s reputation in school may no longer define them in the present. It is, therefore, necessary to establish how the Alumni is today. You can do it independently by choosing from a special table or simply by choosing randomly.
Filling out the character sheet takes a few minutes, but it always requires a reflection beforehand regarding what you want to play personally and as a group. The character sheets, the relationship sheet and the tokens that represent the characters (including the school uniforms to wear) are included in the Coloring Book, an accessory necessary to start the game.
Review of the Deimos Academy Game Rules
As we said at the beginning of this review, Deimos Academy is primarily a narrative game. However, there are rules for managing the events and supernatural powers of the characters.
The game begins with the Alumni arriving at Deimos Academy. With some bewilderment, they will discover that the building appears to have been abandoned. The characters don’t arrive together, so the order must be decided. In the Coloring Book, there is a Welcome to Deimos Academy sheet. This document, which must be filled out when the game session begins, allows players to introduce their characters narratively.
Once everyone has arrived, the group decides which rooms they want to visit. It’s time to choose the page on which that room is drawn from the colouring book and place the characters’ tokens at its entrance. Visiting a room involves completing a series of precise steps which also include answering a series of questions related to that room.
The characters then take turns choosing one of the objects in the room and trying to recall the memory connected to it. Success is determined by rolling a six-sided die. If the result is 5 or 6, the character unlocks the memory associated with the object, colours the object, and takes a memory card from the deck to tell the episode to the other characters. If the result is 3 or 4, the object to be coloured will be another one among those not yet highlighted and which is linked to the character’s fear. The player must answer the question “what is strange here?” describing it to others. If the result on the die is 1 or 2, the player removes the top memory card from the deck and adds a piece of the school uniform to the character Paper Doll.
Change Dice Results
Also, in Deimos Academy, there is the possibility to try to reverse the bad luck on the die. The game has three precise mechanics to try to achieve success; in no case is it a cost-free action.
Each Supernatural Ability can be used to reroll a die up to 2 times during the game (once for each square next to the ability). The player can interpret how they use their supernatural ability to further investigate the object. A character with telekinesis could, for example, reveal a secret compartment in the object.
The second dynamic that allows you to improve the outcome of the die is given by the character’s Reputation. This characteristic can be described about the object examined to add or subtract 1 to the result of the die.
The last mechanic that allows you to change the outcome of the die is to choose to wear a piece of the school uniform to automatically get a 5 or a 6. This move can only be done if you are not already wearing the whole uniform and, in any case, doing so can lead to dangerous outcomes.
Fear Manifests Itself
Whenever you examine a room after the memories have been revealed you must choose a character whose Fear will manifest in the room. It may or may not be voluntary, and the ideal would be for everyone to let their Fear manifest. It is not mandatory and a character’s Fear may manifest itself several times; without wanting to force anyone, however, it is clear that one would be deprived of one of the experiences of the game.
Each player describes the manifestation of their Fear marked on their character sheet using the memories that have been coloured within the room. The demonstration can take any desired form and other Alumni may not be able to see it. Once the Fear has manifested itself, the characters can move to another room until they reach the expected number, which varies according to the number of characters. The conclusion of the session occurs when the group has visited all the rooms and must face the Final Manifestation in the Coloring Book.
The characters in this place must venture into a ghostly labyrinth made out of their fears. It’s a personal journey (not just a metaphorical one) and can change depending on whether or not the character has been consumed by their Fear.
Consumed by Fear
Visually, a character is considered consumed by Fear if they are wearing both pieces of school uniform.
In this case, they must turn over the character sheet and follow the instructions noted on it. Before the other Alumni answer the questions related to the Room of Manifestation, they must draw as many memory cards as there are characters. The consumed character must read the cards and then destroy them, describing why they choose to forget that memory.
The condition of Consumed is not only linked to the loss of memory, but places the character who suffers it as an antagonist to the rest of the group. Their goal is to prevent the others from escaping by dragging them deep into the labyrinth.
Eight Premade Scenarios
At the end of the manual, Deimos Academy offers eight pre-made scenarios with pre-generated characters. These are narratives at different levels of intensity to be able to approach the game without putting directly yourself in game immediately.
Among them, Beneath Lucian’s Court seemed particularly interesting to me, which moves the narrative back to the early ’60s and deals with topics such as claustrophobia and the disappearance of some students during those academic years. Another very interesting scenario is Sagebrush, which instead introduces very varied themes, including aliens and clones. In any case, each of them is complete with everything necessary to be able to enjoy the game from its incipit to the final debriefing.
As a corollary, you can find all the indications to be able to create your scenario step by step. It is a useful and concise guide to create the most suitable story for the group with which you intend to play this game.
Deimos Academy Materials Review
As I mentioned earlier in this review, Deimos Academy is made up of two volumes: the essential one, which contains the rules, and the Coloring Book, which contains all the character sheets, the maps of the classrooms and rooms of the college, the paper dolls and school uniforms; in addition, there are also memory cards.
Deimos Academy is, in many respects, innovative. One of the elements that make it at least unusual is having to build your character. This is done physically using paper and scissors, thanks to the silhouettes offered among the game materials. Each character has the possibility, as we have already seen, of wearing (in the literal sense) the school uniform as part of the dynamics of the game.
The quality of the illustrations and the digital format are perfect for self-printing that can be repeated if needed. Each element in this game goes beyond the purely aesthetic aspect, revealing a precise care for the chosen symbols and the meanings associated with them.
Deimos Academy Review Conclusion
As I hope to have communicated through this review, Deimos Academy is a game to be approached with awareness. Certainly not suitable for everyone and without the pretension of being sure of wanting to deal with the proposed themes. However, I find that it is certainly an original game that can push those groups of players open to storytelling and introspection out of their comfort zone, even just for one evening.
For the care and passion with which it was made and for its particularities, I consider it a roleplaying game that deserves to be tried!
