Stefano Buonocore
Today we have the pleasure of presenting the review of Kulthos, a dark roleplaying game published by MS Edizioni. First of all, we would like to thank Claudio Serena, the author of the game and a well-known content creator in the Italian TTRPG scene, who, along with his publisher, provided us with a copy of the manual.
Those who find this review interesting can purchase the manual from the publisher’s online store. The price of the physical manual is 40€, and it already includes the digital version. Moreover, use the code NoDiceUnrolled10 for a 10% discount!
Kulthos is a dark fantasy-horror roleplaying game centered on the relationship between divinity, enlightenment, and identity. Players take on the role of the Sleepers, human beings trapped in an illusory reality by a cruel Demiurge. It is not a game about adventure, but about a reality that crumbles, consumed by a terrible power.
Review of Kulthos: a Linguistic Choice
For the sake of precision, the manual actually speaks of “le Dormienti”, the Sleepers, in the Italian feminine form. MS Edizioni has always made inclusivity one of its strong points, and therefore makes various choices in that direction. Unfortunately, it also runs into the risks of a strongly inclusive language, especially in a text of 246 pages. Its use of “who plays” instead of “player” and the inclusion of the “schwa” can become cumbersome in the long run, and not everyone will easily get used to reading them.
The justification for using the extended feminine form to replace the masculine reveals a certain weakness in the underlying structure; the author explains it as always referring to People or Creatures (both feminine in Italian). The Sleepers, therefore, are the Sleeping Persons. In doing so, the arbitrariness of the choice becomes evident, and at that point, it would have been more effective without attempting to justify it. The Italian version of this review will instead use the extended masculine form, since the writer, while understanding the author’s intent, believes that inclusive language should seek different paths.
A Cathartic Experience
Moving on to examine the game itself, the author builds a dark and theological experience. The manual does not present a traditional epic, but a sacred tragedy, where the boundary between free will and fate is a struggle against illusion. Those who play Kulthos do not seek victory, only to discover how much truth their character can bear before being overwhelmed by it.
The tone is apocalyptic yet intimate. Kulthos speaks of a world that will not end in fire, but in the acceptance of truth. The search for enlightenment is the central theme, in a context clearly rooted in fear and revulsion. Enlightenment leads to liberation, but that does not mean it should not inspire fear.
Kulthos: Review of the Thread System
The rules are based on the Thread System introduced in Klothos, which we have also reviewed (along with its expansion, Monogatari). Over the years, this system has evolved to the point of becoming almost a second edition, but the core principles remain unchanged. The Sleepers have four approaches, inspired by medieval European alchemy: Acumen, Resolve, Impulse, and Prudence. Each approach is linked to a die type: the higher the die, the easier it is to obtain a good result during a test, and therefore to succeed.
Each character gains Portents during play by following one of six Paths of Enlightenment: Love, Knowledge, Despair, Pleasure, Power, and Sacrifice. These “powers” help to pierce the illusions that enshroud the Sleepers. But the Thread System is designed to replicate a very specific narrative structure: unraveling the final knot means ending one’s character’s story.
A Manual Built with Care
It is no coincidence that Kulthos is strongly inspired by Gnostic doctrine, which we will not explain here since it is thoroughly covered within the manual. The book is well designed, offering a solid framework for how to play the game. It helps not only to learn the rules but also to recreate a very specific experience. Above all, it pays great attention to safety tools. From classic lines and veils to the more innovative script change, Kulthos provides the table with many essential means for a game so distressing that it could otherwise become unsettling.
And if the structure of the manual is solid, its aesthetics are a masterpiece. The entire book is laid out like a breviary, black text on parchment-colored pages, with a dark red hue used for titles and boxes. The artistic work is incredible. Public domain images and some plates taken from the US Library of Congress are evocative, but the illustrations by Martina Casadei Parlanti, which mimic the style of etchings, are very evocative. They make the manual an experience to leaf through, turning its aesthetics into a meaningful part of the gaming experience.
Conclusions of the Kulthos Review
Playing Kulthos means accepting a logic of loss. There are no missions, no “good” endings: only the pursuit of an enlightenment that tears apart both lies and characters. It is not a psychological game in a cerebral sense, but in an etymological one: it digs into the soul and uses it as a thread to unravel an entire story, freeing it from falsehood. Yet, compared to other roleplaying games that deal with similar themes, it does so with a calm delicacy, without holding anything back.
Kulthos is a difficult, uncomfortable, and deeply authorial game, the product of great care and meticulous research. It is not perfect, but it fulfills its purpose completely. Those who love games that use horror and alienation to explore the deconstruction of identity and the search for a new truth, delving into the soul while staying on the edge of personal pain, will not want to miss it in their collection.
