Giulia Gastaldi
Before starting the review of Household Second Edition, the smallest roleplaying game in the world, I would like to thank Two Little Mice for giving us a physical copy of Volume I, a Practical Guide for Living inside the House and The Saga of Fragile Peace.
Household is a roleplaying game that allows you to play tiny characters of European folklore that are part of the Little Folk; they all live inside an abandoned house, in a setting that atmospheres refers to the early nineteenth century.
If you are interested in buying this roleplaying game, you can contact the authors on their official website.
The History of the Little Folk
During the Construction of the House, there was only one Little Folk united and united. When the House was finished, the Little Folk held a council on what to do; some wanted to leave because they were intimidated by the Great Master, while others would have preferred to stay or move inside and others even wanted to serve the Master. The harsh decision to divide came, so the divided Little Folk faced Enormous dangers.
The folks trusted an Ancestral Force that could protect them. Every person made a contract, therefore, binding themselves to an entity capable of giving them unique powers; however, not respecting these agreements is very serious and brings ugly things. The Boggarts are those who have declared allegiance to the Master, making a Contract with the Fireplace. The Fairies turned to the Stars, who gave them magnificent wings. Instead the Sprighi have enlisted the help of the Domestic Forces, while the Sluagh has made a pact with the Forces of Oltrelontano, their former home.
But the Little Folk is now reunited again after the announcement of the First of the Boggarts: the Master has disappeared… And this is where History begins.
Now the House inhabited by the Little Folk, which transformed it into a living micro-world divided into Nations: the Realm (the dining room), the Fireplace (in the living room), the Free Domains (on the first floor) and the Horde (in the cellar).
Review of the Peculiar Folks of Household Second Edition…
The Boggarts were the first to enter the House. Thanks to their devotion to the Master (expressed also by driving away insects and protecting the Family), the Family has allowed them to settle inside. They are taller than normal men and have a physical prowess that makes them unstoppable in battles. They have a rather angry temper and prefer to solve problems with a fistfight rather than with words. Moreover they are outspoken and hardworking. Thanks to their contract, they have an inimitable strength and can change the size of their body; however, they are bound by the Word of Honor and can never shirk a duty.
The Fairies arrived in the House after the fall of their Dominion, the Tree Dèndronaos. Much more graceful and colourful than the Boggarts, they are always looking for beauty in the little things. They are polite and friendly, although very attentive to the attitudes of others. Every Fairy has the Son of the Stars contract, which allows you to have dragonfly wings to hover in the air. Also bound by the Signature, each Fairy must respect the written agreements on which his name is present.
…And its Unique Characteristics
The Sprighi have lived in the House long before the Master arrived. According to their specific characteristics, they are divided into three groups. The Silfidi are light as feathers, they are carried in the performing arts and have sensitive and diplomatic souls. The Ondini are stocky and muscular, rich in practical and rough sense. Finally, the Soladini, charming and intelligent, have brilliant minds in many areas. When a Sprigo is born, it inherits a Contract with the Domestic Forces. The Silfidi, born from the Draft, get lightness and Aerophagy. The Ondini, born from the Drain, are linked to the domestic water that makes them heavy and gives them water retention. Finally the Soladini, born of the Spark, are bound to the Domestic Fire and obtain the gift of Enlightenment and their fastness. But they are bound to the Penny: they must respect any agreement for which they have compensation.
Finally, there are the Sluagh, the last people to arrive in the House; their arrival is called “Samhain” or “Wild Hunt”. Their coexistence with other peoples did not initially go smoothly and for this reason, they are covered by prejudices. They are very particular and different from each other; the only thing that unites them is their black and viscous blood. They have a strong devotion to their traditions, derived from the cults of Oltrelontano. Every little man of this Folk has returned from beyond; the Black Blood that flows in his veins gives him the ability to regenerate wounds. They have a debt, which is to honour lost bets.
How to Create a Folk…
The Character Sheet is a document that contains everything you need to know about the little man. The first things to choose are the Name, the Folk to which they belong with their Hereditary Contract and the Nation where they lived.
A fundamental element of the Character is the Profession, which reflects his abilities and confers a Trait of Profession. In addition, it allows you to access a Maneuver and choose one of the six Vocations, useful to have an additional Trait.
- Soldiers: folks who are strong and trained to become escorts or soldiers who serve their nation. Their distinctive feature is the Master of Arms. His Vocations are Cadet, Guardian, Elite, Gendarme, Officer and Mercenary.
- Scholars: endowed with knowledge and ingenuity, they study in the universities of the House to become diplomats, politicians or men of science. Their Trait is Educated and the Vocations to choose from are Artist, Diplomat, Researcher, Doctor, Investigator and Scientist.
- Hunters: they spend their lives facing beasts in the House, working on their own or for a lair. The Trait is Skilled Shooter and the Vocations are Guide, Champion, Nomad, Sentinel, Solitaire and Bounty Hunter.
- Criminals: small men belonging to the underworld and experts in fraud and theft. Their Trait is Furtive, and the Vocations related are Courtier, Cheater, Thief, Professional, Spy and Brigand.
- Duelists: they preserve the ancient art of almost lost romantic combat, the duel. The Duelists’ Trait is Fencing and their Vocations are Libertine, Hero, Virtuoso, Captain, Daredevil and Rebel.
- Ranchers: they dedicate their lives to training house beasts, running farms or becoming instructors and tamers. Their Trait is the Animal Companion that gives them a pet such as a bumblebee. Their vocations are Veterinarian, Aristocrat, Ranchero, Trainer, Street Artist and Itinerant Merchant.
…And Choose His Skills
Profession and Vocation determine Scope and Ability points. There are twenty Skills in total and they are divided into four Domains. The table lists a Scope and ten Abilities with four additional points to be distributed at choice among the remaining, without exceeding a score of three for each. The Domains are:
- Society (Hearts): associated with elegance and interaction with other folks, to make a good impression and know how to manipulate them.
- Accademia (Quadri): drawing on their knowledge with ingenuity and readiness.
- War (Flowers): linked to physical strength, hand-to-hand combat and command.
- Road (Spades): act in the shadows, use shooting weapons and be attentive to the surrounding environment.
The Aces (one per Domain) and the Joker are useful to get additional dice to roll, heal from the Conditions or overturn the outcome of a failed test. Initially each character has two Aces corresponding to the main Domains.
Traits and Maneuvers are special abilities of the character. A Trait allows you to have an additional dice or a Safety Raise in a test. An example of a Trait is Gentile Soul, which gets an extra die to console others or heal emotional conditions. A Maneuver can be used only once per session if you do not choose to use an Ace. An example of a manoeuver is Gossip, with which the character obtains information by interacting with other folks.
To conclude the Character Sheet, it is also necessary to establish the Decorum (the elegance of the little man), the Spoken Languages and his basic Equipment, which can be bought with the initial money by consulting the table in the manual. Finally, it is necessary to write the Prologue, that is, a summary of his past with the Memories and the new Experiences he will have during the adventure.
Review of the Second Edition Household System
As we will see in this review, Household Second Edition has an extremely simple and intuitive rule that uses a six-sided dice pool to determine the outcome of the tests.
There are two types of shots: Action Roll and Reaction Roll. The first occurs when a player declares an action and this can lead to consequences in the course of events. The player then defines his Goal and the Approach by which to achieve it, the Narrator determines the Difficulty of the test and you throw the dice with any modifiers also determined by Aids or Hindrances. You count the Successes, determined by how many faces are equal to each other, and you determine the Consequences of the action. Reaction Roll is mechanically similar but comes into play to react to external factors and the narrator chooses the features brought into play.
There are five degrees of Success:
- Couple: Base Success.
- Tris: Critical Success.
- Quatrain: Extreme Success.
- Quintet: Impossible Success.
- Sestina or more: A Blockbuster! In this case you have a right to take over the game.
If you get a Success higher than the Difficulty, you then have an additional Success with which you can perform other actions. If the Success is lower than required, the Narrator will decide the consequences of the Failure. Moreover if you have made at least one Base Success, you can Raise the other dice to get higher levels of Success (but risk losing everything in case of bad luck).
The Failure can have several consequences, determined by the Narrator depending on the situation: an unexpected, a Success with a cost, an additional opportunity or Stress. The latter outlines the emotional and physical state of the characters and can cause adverse Conditions or even lead to their Exit.
Review of Conflicts in Household Second Edition
During the adventure the characters find themselves facing awkward situations that require more than a simple shot to solve the scene. One of them could be a chase in which a Prolonged Roll is required, that is a succession of dice rolls to reach the final goal; so the final outcome depends on how many Successes are achieved in the various shots.
The most common of the Conflicts is the Combat, in which the little men find themselves facing the Opponents in a real direct clash. The Initiative is determined by who attacked first, in case they started the characters take place first the Action Turn of all the players and next the Reaction Turn of the Adversaries, obviously controlled by the Narrator. Then the process repeats; the objective of the characters remains to not be overwhelmed and try to defeat the Adversaries, which are characterized by the Difficulty of the Opponent based on how skilled or not in Combat.
The Brawl occurs when an Unarmed Conflict occurs, which generally never resolves drastically for the characters. In this case, their goal will be to Knock Out Adversaries.
A Conflict that is very different from the idea of Rissa is the Duel, a real romantic clash between two folks of honour that can take place both in words and using classic weapons.
History of the House
With the Master gone, the Brownies (as the Boggarts were once called) found themselves taking care of the House, electing Big Ben as their chief administrator. On the First Floor of the house lived the Sprighi, who took the opportunity of the sudden disappearance of the Master to expand, led by Mastro Paracelso. This expansionist policy sparked a war for control of the House between Sprighi and Boggart that lasted eight years and culminated in the Battle of Yule, followed by a momentary truce between the two Folks. After twenty years, the Boggarts managed to overpower the Sprighi by forcing them to stay in the Master’s Bedroom, offering the Mastro to negotiate terms of surrender.
The same year the Tree Dèndronaos, the home of the Fae (now Fairies), was struck by lightning and collapsed. Led by Zar Oberon Euxodia, the Folk decided to conquer the Dining Room. As the Boggarts had left few troops to control the ground floor, they were overwhelmed by Fae chivalric ability. Big Ben, who did not expect invaders, then asked his enemy Paracelso to join him to fight the Fae people in order to drive it away. The Mastro agreed, but what he had in mind was far from helping the Boggarts; when his Folk had to step in to rally against the Fae, the Sprighi hit the Boggarts behind, slaughtering them.
Paracelso had made a deal with the Zar, promising to help him exterminate the Boggart in exchange for control of the First Floor. The Great Betrayal was decisive for the Boggart; many died in battle, including their leader Big Ben, and the survivors were exiled to the Outer Domains, led by the former leader’s son, William. Only a few Boggarts decided to stay, becoming servants of the Fairies.
War and Peace
Oberon was elected Emperor of the House, with the title of Trismegistrus. I raised the Fairy Realm in the Dining Room, while on the Upper Floor the Sprighi founded the Free Domains. Paracelso researched animal husbandry and created moulds and fungi for sustenance. William founded the City of Brambles.
Fifty years after the Disappearance, the Wild Hunt took place; the Cellar Pipes were filled with little folks from Oltrelontano, the Sluagh. After taking the Cellar, they wanted to expand into the upper floors and the Fairies, not knowing the new enemy, found themselves unable to drive him away. Over twenty years of plundering followed in the Realm and the Free Dominions, but without going further because of their division into tribes. However, the day came when Kulabai, able to control spiders, became the Great Lama’s Horde Khan and attacked the Fairies.
The Zar found himself asking the Boggarts for help. With the Restoration Pact, the Fairies promised to bring the House back to the original situation, offering a peace to drive out the Sluagh: this began the First Household War. The conflict lasted years, the Zar was assassinated and his daughter Arcadia was elected, who mobilized to end the conflict. It lasted, however, until an enemy common to all Folks came: a White Dragon; a swan, in fact, occupied the Fountain. Frightened, the Folks united to fight him; after several attempts, they finally succeeded.
To celebrate this victory, Arcadia proposed to establish the High Council, aimed at representing all Folks. It included Furiospino (general and descendant of Big Ben) for the Fireplace, Paracelso for the Free Domains, Captain Rodomonte (the Sluagh who killed the Khan and the White Dragon) for the Horde and Arcadia for the Realm.
The Saga of the Fragile Peace
One of the manuals of Household Second Edition is a Saga that takes place during the period of the Fragile Peace, five years after the foundation of the High Council. This adventure consists of five Chapters divided into paragraphs, representing the five years of the Saga itself. Each Paragraph corresponds to a short adventure and can be played in one or more sessions. Once the party has played all five Chapters of the Saga, you can face the Epilogue or the conclusion of the story.
Each Chapter begins with a Historical Event important for the history of the House, for example in the first Chapter, there is the Opening of the Borders, giving full freedom to the little men to visit other nations. The 67 Historical Events are nothing more than the incipit for adventures, which will lead the little men to immerse themselves in an engaging way in the lore.
Within the Saga, there are 24 Characters, who deserve to go down in history thanks to their deeds during the period of the Fragile Peace. Among these we can find for example Gwen Summers, a Boggart scholar of History, Philosophy and Cartography; now he covers the role of librarian but is always curious to start new research. Or we can find Pryscilla Urbina, a Spriga Ondina breeder accompanied by her gecko Zagor with whom she performs in the Free Domains of the House.
Each Paragraph is played by different Characters, so each player can play each time a different character that will return in the next Chapter of the Saga. The plots are intertwined, generating a consistent and deep narrative.
The Novelties of Household Second Edition
This Second Edition of Household differs from the first by having a simpler regulation, focused on narration and enriched by the Maneuvers (which we talked about in the System section of this review). The setting has remained the same, but the Master’s Child’s Room and the Porch in a Practical Guide for Living inside the House. The latter also contains six new Vocations, a new Animal Companion (or the Snail), six new Characters and an Atlas with maps of the House. Obviously, this volume described all the Rooms of the House, as well as the Domestic Mysteries, that is, anecdotes related to the Nations.
As for the graphics, Daniela Giubellini added some aesthetic details and changed some colours compared to the First Edition of this roleplaying game.
Conclusions of the Household Second Edition Review
The volumes of Household Second Edition have the hardcover, as you can see in the pictures at the beginning of this review; are accompanied by a wonderful map of the House in A2 format made by Fabio Porfidia and a practical screen of the Narrator containing all the useful information to consult during the game sessions. The layout is clean, and each section of the manual is divided into well-distributed and practical chapters. The font used and the attention in writing allows you to read the manuals, albeit many pages, quickly and clearly. Moreover the art of Household Second Edition, thanks to the skilful hand of Daniela Giubellini, makes the manual not only aesthetically satisfying but also invites you to browse the pages in order to grasp the spirit of this role-playing game (and I hope that the images included in my review do him justice).
The elements that I enjoyed most about this role-playing game are the simplicity of the mechanics, the extreme depth of the lore of the House and the magnificent illustrations that accompany the reading.
To conclude this review, I would like to recommend Household Second Edition to all players and masters who want to look at the world from another perspective, narrating the adventures of tenacious folks that will change the history of the House!