Francesca Viganò
Before we cross the centuries and dive into Il Tempo della Spada review, I want to thank authors Errico Borro and Ian Foss Hathaway for providing us with a copy to tell you about it.
If after reading these lines you want to buy the game, you can find it on the publisher Acheron Books website at the price of 49 euros.
A Game with a Long History Behind
Il Tempo della Spada is a product that has a long history behind it. And not only because its setting and structure originate from the Middle Ages. Every detail on every page reveals the authors’ deep love for history and role-playing.
The release of the quickstart dates back to 2020 and it took four years to have the finished product in our hands, resulting in dozens of playtests and absolute care in the creation.
I am enthusiastic that this product has finally found space in my library and many others.
Review of the Aesthetics of Il Tempo della Spada
The aesthetics of a manual is not, generally, the first element that catches my attention even if, undoubtedly, the eye wants its part. Compared to other publications, this is a thin manual; you can count more or less 260 pages enclosed in a splendid hardcover. Pages, thanks to their colour and wonderful historical illustrations, recall those of ancient illuminated texts. I would have appreciated the choice to print on a matte page, to give even more the impression of leafing through a precious ancient tome, but the effect is still beautiful.
The print remains, as in almost all publications of recent years, in a double column. All the tables (not very many to be honest, which I appreciate) integrate organically, almost becoming a decoration to the text. The font size is adequate for immediate reading and the possibility of the digital format included is always a big advantage.
To help us navigate between the topics, as long as we don’t get carried away by the wonderful illustrated pages, we find a practical index at the beginning of the volume.
It is clear that the entire volume is the result of an organic and structured study, and will undoubtedly satisfy the attention of all readers, especially history enthusiasts.
Medieval Europe, more than a Setting
To help Magister (the name given to the narrator) and players immerse themselves in the dynamics and themes of the game, Il Tempo della Spada dedicates an entire chapter to Medieval Europe.
I think that this is perhaps the most beautiful chapter in the manual and could be used as an example in schools of any level to describe the atmosphere of that historical period.
In its 26 pages, all the characteristics of that era are summarized in a simple and sometimes poetic way. Faith and travel are analysed, passing through fashion and cuisine. I have rarely found a manual so attentive to detail, without being unnecessarily verbose.
The Characters, Men and Women in the Middle Ages
The characters in Il Tempo della Spada are called Adventurers. They are young women and men who emerge among the people of the Middle Ages to experience exceptional events.
The second chapter of the manual deals with all the steps of character creation in a simple way, identifying what is necessary by points.
Creating your character is extremely simple but requires a little attention when filling out the form. First of all it is good to define the character’s details. We must outline the name when he was born, in which part of the continent, what social class he belongs to, which languages he speaks and what profession he learned. If the character has a particular weakness, indicated by Temptation, he may fall prey to it during the game.
The characters have 6 characteristics: Audacia, Celeritas, Fortitudo, Gratia, Mens and Prudentia. Each has 5 skills connected to it. While characteristics have a score (i.e. the value not to be exceeded when rolling the dice), skills instead have a level of training, which defines the character’s experience in exercising that skill.
The game involves a certain historical verisimilitude, therefore at the end of building the character, it is important to consider the class and evaluate the degree of the Liberal Arts skill.
If class on the one hand allows access to greater social rights and specific skills for the use of horses, weapons and armour, a character who does not have at least 1 rank in Liberal Arts will be illiterate.
At the end of the chapter, to summarize all the steps, there is the example of creating a character to make the process even clearer.
Review of the Ruleset of Il Tempo della Spada
The game rules of Il Tempo della Spada are not among the most innovative in the sector. As with many other games on the market, many of the adventurers’ actions will be described and told without dice rolls. However, when the outcome of an action may be in doubt, it will be necessary to make an ability check.
Generally, the players will propose the skill to carry out the test when they want to change an ongoing situation. Instead, the Magister will submit the test to the characters when they must resist or face danger, for example.
In all these cases, players roll two or more 6-sided dice to obtain as many successes as possible. To obtain success it will be necessary to obtain a result on the die equal to or lower than the value of the characteristic linked to that skill. To improve the result of a die, it is possible to subtract the ranks possessed by the character in that skill from the score obtained. We also add that rolling a 1 on a die provides additional success.
As we were saying, the minimum number of dice to roll is 2 but you can roll more by accepting to take a risk in doing so. After all, the more dice are rolled, the higher the chance that the results will exceed the value of the characteristic involved.
The rulebook provides several situations that allow you to add dice to the roll pool. Each situation is perfectly exemplified at the beginning of the manual.
The Fight in Il Tempo della Spada
Let’s start with the assumption that in Il Tempo della Spada, combat is really dangerous. A man can be killed by a single sword swing if he is not wearing armour.
However, if our characters find themselves fighting, it is good to know that the game identifies three types of combat: ranged, melee and brawling.
In any case, the fight is divided into turns of approximately 5 seconds each and proceeds in order of initiative, i.e. the actions are resolved starting from the character with the highest Reflex value.
During his turn, each fighter can move and act. The allowed movement (in meters) is the character’s Movement value. Acting instead includes: attacking, defending, nocking an arrow and studying the battlefield. Some actions are considered free, such as speaking short sentences, attacking or parrying with your secondary weapon, and dropping an object.
To use a weapon in combat you must roll check in the appropriate skill. If the shot hits, the base damage of the weapon is dealt plus one damage for each success not countered by the defences. Anyone who is attacked can declare a parry (using the appropriate weapon skill) or a dodge (making an Agility check). Each success of the defences cancels one success of the attack. When an attack is reduced to 0 or fewer successes, it causes no wounds to the target.
In the chapter dedicated to combat, the manual introduces combat on horseback and field battles. Furthermore, it provides an extremely accurate and detailed example of a clash following an ambush.
Damage, Injuries and Fatigue
In Il Tempo della Spada an entire chapter is dedicated exclusively to the wounds. If this may seem excessive, I remind you that we are talking about a game that relies heavily on likelihood. It follows that this element also requires absolute attention.
Talking about wounds in Il Tempo della Spada is not limited to damage from possible fights. The game provides that characters lose fatigue points when they undergo tiring actions or are subjected to extreme climatic conditions. Just think that it will take 30 days in the game to heal from a fracture and that, for example, not drinking for an entire day involves the loss of 2 fatigue points.
By losing Fatigue, characters go from Fresh to Tired and Exhausted. Any level below Fresh imposes a cumulative -1 penalty on successes on all checks. Being injured and tired will therefore cause heavy and debilitating consequences to the characters.
Review of the Bestiary of Il Tempo della Spada
As is right to expect, within the manual of Il Tempo della Spada we find a large and detailed bestiary. The dedicated chapter offers a description of the main animals that populated Europe in the Middle Ages. It also includes exotic species, ranging from fantastic creatures to demons and fairy folk.
Each creature is presented with a quick and exhaustive description and the relevant table, useful in case of clashes.
I appreciated the extreme variety offered. In particular, I was struck by the basilisk, which exudes a poisonous aura that causes the death of vegetation and whose gaze and breath are lethal for humans.
A Chapter Dedicated to the Magister
Among the pages of Il Tempo della Spada, there is a section dedicated to the narrator who, as we have said, is called Magister.
The chapter is really interesting and offers a series of useful suggestions to start managing sessions. Starting by talking about the gaming group and session 0.
Perhaps it may seem difficult to tackle a game that bases its origins and the framework of the rules on solid historical foundations. I can assure you that the authors are very good at tickling the reader’s imagination so much that, at the end, you’ll already have a story to propose to your gaming group. Maybe a trip or a real event will inspire you? Perhaps you will be inspired by a historical figure or you will decide to invent something taking inspiration from a film or a novel or, why not, from a legend?
The whole chapter is a useful toolbox that accompanies the Magister step-by-step creating plots. This is also thanks to many examples and a basic structure that leads to answering simple questions: who, how, where and why.
If that’s not enough and you still need a hand, in chapter 10 there is an extensive overview of NPCs with scores and suggestions for interpretation.
Diamonds and Rust
Inside the manual, a plot could not be missing with which to begin to savour the atmosphere of Il Tempo della Spada. This is Diamonds and Rust, an introductory adventure which includes (in addition to the Magister) several adventurers between 3 and 6.
It is set in the summer of 1304 in Genoa. The introduction to the plot presents an exhaustive amount of information on the historical context of the city, on the important characters of the time and a brief chronology.
As always our reviews are as spoiler-free as possible. I will therefore limit myself to telling you that the adventurers are summoned by the notary Simone Vatacio near the city cathedral because only they are the heirs of the old priest Ademaro, a constant and affectionate presence for them and their parents.
It will be precisely taking possession of the inheritance that will kick off the adventure which gives players great freedom. The structure and the ideas are such as to offer numerous clues that lead to a panorama of stories that embrace the entire Mediterranean,
Conclusions of the Review of Il Tempo della Spada
To conclude this review, I can say that Il Tempo della Spada is not just a role-playing game. In addition to being a volume created with extreme care and attention, it is robust, easy to handle and is not excessively heavy. This makes it easily transportable despite its A4 format.
Each page is a declaration of love for the story and the game and the authors’ ability to convey the atmosphere making it vibrant is undoubted.
If you are curious about the Middle Ages, if you like historically realistic games and can’t wait to explore a mysterious and fascinating era and you are looking for coherent and structured mechanics, then Il Tempo della Spada is the game for you!
