Alessandro Rocchi
In this review we talk about the Shade Green for Prism, a manual that adapts the famous role-playing game to fantasy settings and stories.
Like the basic manual, Shade Green was born from the mind of Claudio Pustorino and is published by MS Edizioni. Thank you to the publisher for providing us with a review copy. We recommend that you follow them on their Facebook page, Instagram page and on the official website to discover many new projects.
If you are interested in buying, you can find the physical version (including PDF) for 22 euros on the official store. Instead, for 13 euros you can buy the digital-only version.
I also remind you that in order to take advantage of the Shade Green, you must also have the basic Prismmanual(of which you can find more details in our review).
Prism Shade Green Structure and Aesthetics Review
The Shade Green is in all respects the descendant of Prism, preserving its excellent structural organisation and its phenomenal artistic side.
In fact, the manual comes with an elegant soft cover edition with flaps, containing 88 pages in 21.5 x 24 cm format. Structurally, the manual is organized into several chapters that are independent of each other and written in a clear, concise and effective manner.
A point in favor is the skilful use of bold, colors, titles and bulleted lists. Thanks to this, the information is organized in a precise way, guaranteeing a very easy reading.
From an artistic point of view, like the basic manual, the Shade Green is a masterpiece. It is taken care of in every detail and above all it is consistent both in style and in the themes of the various illustrations present. In addition, the use of green, a constant among its pages, allows to give a strong and precise identity to the product.
The New Pilastri (Pillars) and Changes
One of the most important changes that Shade Green brings to Prism concerns the Pilastri (Pillars) and the Parti (Roles).
Compared to the possibilities of the basic manual, we will not play a dystopian story but a fantastic one. Precisely for this reason, the Pilastri (Pillars) of the game have been modified to give that specific tone to all the sessions and, which is very appreciated, for each of them we find references to books and films useful to get a more precise idea.
Another revolutionary aspect is the Setting. In fact, the creation process has remained unchanged; we must always eviscerate its various aspects with questions, but they are profoundly different from those of the basic manual. We will then find the Cornice (Frame), that is, the context in which the events take place, the Magia (Magic) that influences the world, the Fazioni (Factions), the Eroi (Heroes) and the Minaccia (Threat) that must be faced.
All the questions are well structured and allow you to define the game world in a very deep way, creating interesting and vivid scenarios. A big plus point is the pre-made settings, which can be taken and played instantly.
In addition to all this, the Parti (Roles) are also modified. In fact, whoever tells the story will be called Adventure and instead the PCs become the Heroes, but the concepts and roles remain unchanged compared to the basic version of Prism. Already thanks to these changes, the Shade Green is configured as a radically different experience compared to the base.
Shade Green‘s New Mechanics
Paura (Fear), which was the core element of the base game, is replaced by Meraviglia (Wonder). During the Punti di Svolta (Turning Points), the Hero will put the Traits, Adversities, Danger and Meraviglia (Wonder) labels in the bag. Once this is done, it will extract them and the mechanics remain unchanged with respect to the base. However, no further details are provided in this regard and, for this reason, it is necessary to have the basic manual.
The real novelty is that, when extracting Meraviglia (Wonder) labels, you can decide to spend them to create new Traits or modify existing ones, representing the change of the Hero who is influenced by the sense of amazement and wonder (precisely) he feels during the adventure. Or the Meraviglia (Wonder) labels can be spent to make Scoperte (Discoveries). In practice, full narrative authority is given to the player, allowing them to insert an element to make the Adventure more interesting.
We also find the mechanics of Disastri (Disasters). In practice, when a Hero wants to take a risk, the Adventure can decide to rely on an Adversity or Danger tag to bring a Disastro (Disaster) into play, i.e. a very serious consequence based on the actions of the PC. This allows you to make the story more engaging and bring into play even more themes related to PCs.
These new mechanics are all well explained and enriched with examples so as not to leave anyone confused. In addition, the section on how to represent the Wonder (Meraviglia) and how to bring it into play is a flagship that makes the intent and type of play of the Shade Green even clearer. In fact, you can play fantastic stories in which PCs will be amazed and immerse themselves in the story.
Conclusion of Prism‘s Shade Green Review
The Shade Green radically modified the Prism experience, allowing you to live fantasy adventures of all kinds. The basic system remains the same, but it is enriched and some details are modified to achieve the goal. All this, however, without being frightening or distorting the base game experience.
Certainly, the writing and aesthetics of this manual are also of the highest level and further increase its value.
Having said that, I recommend Shade Green to all Prism fans and those who want to find a new system and way to play fantasy adventures.
