Elisabetta Golzio
Before starting this review of the horror TTRPG Tenebrae, we would like to thank Serpentarium for the physical copy provided to us.
You will find this manual on sale here in Italian at the price of €49.99 (there is no digital edition).
The authors, Matteo Cortini and Leonardo Moretti, will try to flush out the deepest fears from the depths of our minds. Let’s see together if and how they will succeed.
Tenebrae Review: “Let’s Play a Game…”
Let’s dive right into its mechanics, which will be quite basic to the more experienced players. We will therefore find ourselves with an Observer, or rather the one who will pull the strings of our fate. At his disposal he will have a group sheet, on which he can check Traumas, Nightmares and Flaws of the various characters.
Each player will have their own character sheet, which they will have to try to keep as secret as possible from their companions to make their interaction more realistic. On it we will find six characteristics: Evasion (which includes hiding and avoiding enemy shots), Coolness (or the degree of lucidity in extreme situations), Intellect (knowledge and use of logic), Perception (the ability to identify details and clues), Sociality (what you transmit about yourself to others) and Vigor (health and muscle development). Each of them will have a specific score and, when we are asked to pass a test, with the d20 we will have to obtain or exceed that number.
To begin our adventure we will need a set of polyhedral dice, character sheets that you can find here and, inevitably, paper and pencils.
Before deciding who we will play in the plot, the Observer will have to give us a short introduction about the place and time in which the events will take place, so as to allow us to make an appropriate choice. Some defects or fears will also have to be adapted since they are not yet feasible for the game era. For example, in ancient Rome we cannot have a character who is afraid of taking a plane.
So let’s see how to create our alter ego in this world of fear.
Player Character Creation
So let’s understand how to generate the Characteristics. We roll a d8 for each of them and add 6, remembering that the lower the score obtained, the better.
Now it’s the turn of the Flaws. Rolling a d4 for the tens and a d10 for the units, we will find the corresponding number on the table to indicate what our Flaw will be. Examples could be alcoholism, paranoia, greed, etc.
What would a descent into horrors be without a Trauma? As with the Flaws, we roll the same dice to get a number from 10 to 49. In this way we can find out, for example, if we have had episodes of domestic violence, if they have tried to kill us or if we have been hospitalized for a long time.
With the same method (but using a d6 and a d10) we will verify our Nightmare. Will it be the fear of being buried alive? That of ghosts? Or, simply, loneliness? In any case, it will be a very powerful weapon that the Observer can use to play with our psyche.
With a d8 and a d10 we will also get a deeper insight into our current situation among 79 possibilities. Among them could be suffering from insomnia or never speaking first.
We can then choose two Fields of Expertise, which indicate what we deal with. Antique dealers? Architects? Obviously, we continue in the search for coherence with the introduction given to us.
The last rolls will be related to our Equipment and to decide our relationships with the other characters. A jealousy or an unrequited love will surely change the fate of the story.
Now we are ready to start!
Tenebrae Review: Threat
In a roleplaying game like Tenebrae we can only expect to face a Threat, represented by one or more non-player characters or events that put our safety at risk. Since it is possible to set the sessions in various eras, the Threats also offer a great deal of variety.
Their creation is at the sole discretion of the Observer.. So we won’t have a list of possible threats, but we are given the example of a Gang in the Bronx in 1981. We can assume that they are eight individuals with rather makeshift weapons, so we will roll a d8 to see how many of them will attack and our characters will be able to make an Evasion Test to avoid damage.
In these cases, the characters can decide to face the Threat or flee. If we choose the latter, an Evasion Test will be necessary during our action. In the case of an attack by the characters on some enemies, the test will change depending on whether they use a melee weapon (Vigor Test) or a ranged weapon (Perception Test). We will have different weapons and armor from various historical periods at our disposal, each with different characteristics. When our Attack Test is successful, we will have to roll the Damage, usually represented by a d10; the result will be equivalent to the number of wounds inflicted on the enemy.
Experience Phase
This role-playing game offers narrative arcs of variable length that are called Tenebra. Some could be self-contained one-shots, others could be more extensive adventures. At the end of each final session of a Tenebra, the character will face the Experience Phase, consisting of the following points.
- First of all, each character will recover their wounds and cancel all stress.
- We could then try to improve our characteristics by performing a test on one of them. If it succeeds, the characteristic remains unchanged; if instead it fails, the characteristic will go down by one point, thus becoming better.
- Finally, as a consequence of the Darkness just passed, each surviving character will take an Intellect Test. If passed, they will add a new Skill to those already possessed.
- Similarly, a Coolness Test will be performed which, if failed, adds a new Trauma to the Traumas.
This proves that what doesn’t kill you doesn’t always make you stronger.
Review of Tenebrae: Scenarios for the Watcher
In addition to numerous suggestions on how to manage your own original campaign, the Observer will also find 8 pre-made scenarios with already defined character sheets to delve into the Tenebrae universe without too much effort. We will therefore go from Ohio in the eighties, to the Congo of today, up to a futuristic space station. No era and no place are safe from the Darkness! Being so diversified they allow you to have a very interesting overview of the possibilities offered by this game. At the same time and for the same reasons, however, keep in mind that they cannot be linked to compose a single narrative.
If you are a fan of teen horror, you can start right from the first scenario, Camping, in which a group of kids decide to reach the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines in 2023 for a weekend of fun in contact with nature. Perhaps, too much nature. Designed for a group of 2-4 players, you can create your own character or use 3 sheets already created specifically. Will our young protagonists be able to survive something that definitely shouldn’t have been in those places?
The advice is to initially orient yourself with these stories that guide us step by step within the potential of the game. It will also be easier for the players to find themselves in front of characters already created specifically for the setting. The traumas and nightmares selected specifically for the occasion are in fact perfect for making the participants shiver.
Conclusions of Tenebrae Review
Tenebrae it’s an tabletop RPG that plays a lot with the irrational. It keeps its promises, but with due precautions. The advice is to play it within a group in which the Observer knows the other players well. Involving the psyche can bring to the surface unpleasant experiences lived in real life and it is good that all players at the table are aware of the fact that this is a product that can make them resurface. Once you have put on the table the topics that you absolutely do not feel like dealing with, go ahead and face this journey into the darkness. Given the essential nature of these elements, there are no further safety systems. Manual warns of their presence and it is up to the players to decide whether they feel like dealing with them.
Manual is very well made and it is all based on dark colors, except for the cards. The illustrations, by Elena Bonamoneta and Giulia Mannucci, are few and simple, but always very disturbing and evocative. In the approximately 230 pages in single-column A4 format, Tenebrae’s clear and simple fonts will make our reading easy.
Ultimately, this is a product recommended for lovers of the horror genre, but also psychological thrillers. It provides all the tools to shock players, so handle with care and prepare for the thrill!
