Stefano Buonocore
Before starting this review, I want to thank Nicola Santagostino for sending us a copy of Visioni. Nessundove has published this interesting appendix for Epigones, the mythpop role-playing game that we already had the pleasure of reviewing.
You can buy Visioni from Nessundove’s online shop, for 35 euros; or just half the price for the digital version. The English version will soon be available for sale on Indie Press Revolution.
To use the material from this manual you must have a copy of Epigones; you can also find it on the official Nessundove store, as indicated in the dedicated review.
What Are We Talking about?
The manual is presented as an appendix for Epigoni. A supplement, we could say. An expansion of the core book, which extends the gameplay possibilities in multiple directions. If on the one hand, the basic themes are enriched, on the other the horizons of the game are truly expanded. Always referring to the Copperhead System, developed by Nicola together with Antonio Rossetti.
The first part of the manual is dedicated to a series of new scenarios. New game contexts are thematically grouped, following the line of Epigones. In particular, the game focuses on Mexico, Russia and the city of San Francisco. New secondary mechanics are also dedicated to each of these scenarios.
The second part instead offers a completely new gameplay option. Moving an Atheist means using the engine and themes of Epigones in a completely new way. This does radically change the game experience but does not overturn it. It allows you to experience the mythpop of Visioni from a different perspective and in some ways complementary to that of the basic manual. The change is however quite important and is also underlined by the adoption of a different graphic style.
Review of the Visioni Manual
The volume is small in format, consisting of 240 pages and paperback. It is a delicate but not fragile volume, made with great care. There are some inaccuracies in the layout here and there, which are undeniable. Still, we also want to remember in this review that Epigoni is an editorial project completely financed through crowdfunding. It is therefore not a preorder disguised as Kickstarter. In light of this, it presents a very high quality.
The graphics department is once again assigned to Alessia Sagnotti, who does an excellent job. Let’s find a clean line that becomes even more effective in Visioni compared to the previous manual. Black and gold are still used as dominant colours in the first part of the manual. The illustrations help you get an idea of the contents of the pages at a glance, and the choice of colours gives a unique style. The same goes for the second part of the manual, which replaces gold with light blue. In this way, he manages to give a more nuanced and ethereal style to the volume. Something which, as we will see shortly, matches perfectly with the content of the last pages of Visioni.
Not a Setting
A fundamental premise that is made in Visioni is that we’re not talking about a setting. And not because the volume is tied to a set of rules anyway, but because it is not what Nicola wants to develop. The manual indeed provides environments ready to be implemented in the game, but it does not do so with the canonical descriptions of places and NPCs. Rather it allows you to develop the themes that will be brought into play about the elements described.
To all effects, the purpose of Visioni is to provide the player with an experience. And that he can then decline it as he sees fit, emphasizing the issues that are dearest to him. It should be noted that this is an optimum indicated by the author, but that in practice it is still possible to use this manual as a series of ready-made scenarios.
Review by Visioni: Three Glimpses of the World
The first part of Visioni is in turn divided into three specific scenarios: Aztlan, Mezzanotte a Mosca (“Midnight in Moscow”) and Mala Yerba.
Each of these has a main theme and dedicated mechanics. The setting is the same as in the manual Epigoni: a quick introduction of the scenario is followed by that of the individual factions that animate it. Each of these is associated with a series of potential threats and a starting point for adventure. Each adventure idea is in turn divided into three acts, integrated by the statistics and descriptions of the opponents and NPCs introduced.
The Aztec Empire
Aztlan it is the first of the three scenarios presented, in which the struggle between the ancient Aztec deities and their followers is staged. These try to reconquer their ancient empire, often competing for it fiercely. In addition to specific peculiarities in the favour system that can be played, as with the other scenarios, original mechanics are presented. Particularly striking is the Blood Pledge, which allows you to hurt yourself in exchange for divine favour.
All factions of Aztlan moved around the ancient Aztec empire. To the desire to restore it, or to appropriate its ancient power. The Aztlan Coalition, for example, is a faction that brings together all the various deities of the feathered serpent of Mesoamerica, who try to emerge in an incessant internal struggle. Instead, the Smokers, followers of the jaguar god Tecatalipoca (deity of deception and magic), have chosen to become involved in the criminality of the Mexican cartels.
The deity Huitzilopochtli trained the Hummingbirds, a private army that wanted to physically get the Aztec empire back on its feet. The Killjoys move under the influence of Mama Coca (yes, that Mama Coca) in a large dystopian family enslaved by addiction. In the end, Los Chicos del Maìz works hard to protect the last in this conflict, while the Ninos de la Conquista continue to chase the dream of Hernàn Cortéz.
Review by Visioni: Mezzanotte a Mosca
The second scenario proposed by Visioni takes place in Russia which has never recovered from the fall of the Iron Curtain. Here too there is a dedicated favor system together with some specific mechanics. In particular, that of the Moscow Metro, which allows you to move between the various supernatural areas of the area, provided you have a ticket.
In Moscow, the power struggle is less brazen than in Mexico. The Fratellanza del Crepuscolo (“Brotherhood of the Evening”), a congregation of ancient rural deities including the famous Baba Yaga, wants to stay at the top in the next power cycle; as well as the Corte Dorata (“Golden Court”) with its princes, kings and heroes serving the tyrannical Tsar.
Of a decidedly different nature the Blocco Sovietico (“Soviet Block”), the Programma Spaziale (“Space Program”) and the Neftoneij Lobby, or a congregation of oligarchs. Inspired by the most recent events in Russia, a past that is still clearly perceptible, they do not, however, have different objectives. Everyone fights for power, except the Teatro di Woland (“Woland Theater”). Strongly inspired by The Master and Margherita by Bulgakov, this symposium of Russian literary figures seems more interested in mocking traditions.
We Haven’t Left the 80s Alive
The third scenario proposed by Visioni is Mala Yerba. That is, we are talking about what remains of Yerba Buena, as San Francisco was known in the 1980s. This is the most symbolic section of the manual, in some ways: each faction comes to embody the hypocrisies and errors of that period. Mala Yerba also has its favour management system and some dedicated mechanics. Among these, the Cittadinanza Onoraria (“Honorary Citizenship”) stands out; characters who commit particularly execrable acts see the score that ties them to Mala Yerba increase, risking condemning them to never being able to get out. It is no coincidence that right here the authors choose to underline the importance of safety rules at the table.
Each faction of Mala Yerba talks about an issue in its context. The Marciume (“Rot”) addresses all the mistakes of 80s culture, while the Miserabili (“Miserable”) focus on the hypocrisy of his empty promises. Breakfast Cereal Club is composed of sadistic figures who feed on the suffering they manage to inflict.
The Giunta dei Dolori (“Pain Committee”), commanded by Mr. Guilt, embodies the sadistic tyranny of the political underworld tacitly supported by the silent masses. The Incorporation Inc. of Mr Monopoly is, instead, the sick side of the 80s economy. It cannot fail to complete this triptych Radio ToxiCity 88, where all the pain that in that period we desperately pretended to ignore is made spectacular instead.
Review of Visioni: Atei
Atei, to use Stefano Bitossi’s words, is a hack of Epigoni. Stefano has indeed achieved a module that allows you to radically alter the gaming experience while maintaining its mythpop spirit and mechanics unchanged.
The goal is to play Atei (“atheists”), ordinary people who have suffered a Strappo (“Tear”); in other words, they are those who have peeked beyond the Veil of Maya due to a divine whim, without having any birthright. This makes them similar to Epigoni and, normal in a world of anomalies, anomalous in turn. The comparison made by Stefano with Robert Neville, the protagonist of I’m Legend: no longer a man, in a world where normality is not men.
The main theme of Epigoni of the discovery/fight against one’s destiny is replaced by the search for one’s place in the world. And therefore adaptation and survival take on a central role. However, these are always mythpop themes in dealing with the fate that bends coincidences. An Ateo discovers the Truth; Truth leads to Freedom; Freedom inevitably leads to Madness.
Anomalies and Disturbances
An Atheist can pull the strings of fate, interacting with the Veil of Maya because he is free; at the same time, however, it cannot control the triggering causes. What he wishes he would not do by following his instructions: will come true completely independently. This power, called Sincronicità (“Synchronicity”), inevitably develops Perturbazioni (“Disturbances”); they are the absurdity that increasingly surrounds the existence of the Atheist.
Compared to the Epigone, the latter will be more fragile and less powerful; it won’t even have the same development potential. Where Epigones must understand who they are, Atheists must understand how to interact with the world. They don’t have to fight against rewriting, but against an entire reality that pushes them back. Everything is described in detail but without pedantry, in a manner suitable for a quick and exhaustive read; we also find various tables, especially to manage Synchronicity and Perturbations.
Conclusions of the Review of Visioni
Visioni it is an excellent game module; an Appendix, as the author defines it. The same considerations certainly apply to Epigoni in its entirety. It is a very particular game, which carves out a unique niche in the Urban Fantasy panorama from which, otherwise, it would be crushed.
This module delivers extremely rich content, which will surely entertain the gaming table for a long time and will offer various ideas. Furthermore, Atei allows you to try an different key to the game. In this way, Epigoni is enriched with more life and doubles the possibilities to explore the characters’ relationship with Fate.
