Giulia Gastaldi
In this review, I will talk about The Broken Ones, an expansion of Broken Tales where the “good guys” of fairy tales become the new Broken because of the Child Saviour and the events that happened in the core book. In addition to this, it introduces the rules for playing solo, the ability to interpret simple people within Broken Tales and new Gifts accessible to Hunters. First of all, I want to thank The World Anvil Publishing for giving us a digital copy of the manual to review it.
I specify it but, as you can deduce, to understand and play this expansion you need to be familiar with the rules of Broken Tales. If you do not know what it is, I leave my review and suggest you look at it.
If you are interested in buying, please note that it is available in the official store for 40 € in physical version (including PDF) or 17.90 € in digital version.
The Good Ones Become Broken Ones
If in the basic manual, the protagonists of fairy tales were the antagonists of the story, in this expansion they become the new protagonists after being recruited by the Order.
A Broken Hunter has the same characteristics as a normal Hunter, with the only difference being that it is not his original fairy tale to be “broken”, but brings to the breaking point the Scenario in which he was present as a PNG. It will therefore be necessary that this character has already joined the Party Scenes to be able to introduce him as a new Hunter and be able to be played later.
The Broken Hunter can be used as a character or can be adapted by the Narrator as a new Dark Presence ally.
This option is very useful to give weight to the choices of players, bringing to the scene characters who have decided to save.
Treasury of the Order
The Order has built a Treasury in the secret rooms of the church of Valea Viilor, in the Principality of Transylvania, to better control the Broken Tales. It was entrusted to the Guardian of the Pigs, a fallen noble who became an inventor and guarded by knights of the Papacy; here there are numerous artefacts hidden from the outside world.
Obtaining a Treasure of the Order is a privilege for Hunters; these are items that have a strong connection with Broken Tales and possess a Gift. Those who have the honour of obtaining a Treasure must create a Descriptor based on the Keywords related to the object. On a Flip Side, however, those who wield it must be attentive to at least one of the three rules of the Order: not revealing its power to ordinary humans, not using it to go against the Order or not abusing its power.
The Treasure can be in the hands of the Hunters temporarily; a character must then replace one of his Gifts with the Treasure for the duration of the Scenario. During a Campaign, you can get a Treasure for Reward and in this case, it becomes permanent. A Scenario may also require the use of one of the Order’s items, which may be used as an Exclusive Gift for the Scenario.
I particularly liked these artefacts because they are related to the story of Broken Tales and can be interesting to use for more advanced Hunters. An example of the Order’s Treasure is The Hair Rope, inspired by Rapunzel, which allows the owner to animate and drag objects, tie them and get in the way.
UnTold Stories by The Broken Ones
In the section of the manual Untold Stories defines the mode of solitaire play. This new way of playing allows us to rediscover the past of the Hunters and their relationship with the Order.
The first thing to do is obviously to choose the Hunter to play. Each character has a list of three points related to his past and the objectives of the Hunter. Some keywords indicate the plots and clues related to the character.
Once the protagonist is chosen, action is taken. The player will have the role of both Narrator and Hunter; using tables will randomly determine the succession of events. The Initial Situation Table serves to understand if what will happen will bring a Keyword into play to direct the Hunter towards his goal. Each Scene starts with rolls on the tables and then the player describes the actions of the Hunter; in case of doubt, he can ask a question that provides a Yes or No as an answer by rollying on the Question Table, to determine the outcome of the Scene.
The important thing is to pay attention to the components of the Scene, that is to have an Initial Situation, a Place, NPCs (if necessary), information for the Hunter but above all a Purpose, decided exclusively by the player. These elements can in turn be determined randomly through tables. Each Scene should require the Hunter a couple of Position or Defense tests to fight, overcome an obstacle, notice clues or convince a PNG, for example.
Put in play at least three Keywords, you can get to the Epilogue of the story. Joining the three words resolves the Scenario; this happens through a Final Scene with any complications pending.
The Village
If it wasn’t enough to play the Broken Tales, this manual also provides the opportunity to interpret ordinary people. I refer to humans who have dealt with the Dark Presences and begin to explore the mysteries of Broken Europe, taking the name of Villici.
Not being Hunters of the Order, the Difficulty in dealing with the dangers of Broken Tales increases, as does the Mortality of characters. The Village has a more OSR approach than the basic Broken Tales rules.
A Villico has a different card from the Hunter:
- the first step is to choose the Age, which determines Injuries, Soma Points, Gifts and Possessions (equipment);
- determine its Role through two dice rolls on a table, from which the Keywords and the Bond derive;
- Each role provides three contacts with the Broken Tales, from which to establish his past memory that led him to investigate;
- pull on the Table of Character Traits;
- choose the two Descriptors of Villico, one related to his past and one concerning his role in fighting the Fairy Tales.
The Connection of the Villian determines the relationship with an NPG; in case of death, the character will be the Bond to allow the player to immediately create another Villico. During a Scenario, each character could get new Links with other NPCs they met.
The Gifts of the Villians are characterized by being within the reach of all humans and are distinguished as Generic Gifts and an Exclusive Gift, determined by the Role.
The New Pregen Scenarios
This second part of the manual is entirely dedicated to seven new Scenarios that can be seen as protagonists the Hunters of the Order, the Broken or the Villici. I particularly appreciated the vastness of Scenarios ready to use, both to play them and to take inspiration in case a Narrator wanted to create his own.
In particular, I was struck by the Biancasangue Heart scenario, inspired by Snow White; Prince Carlo Teodoro wants to investigate the strange death of his nephew Ottone, Found his lungs and liver smashed up like a bomb exploded in his chest on his way to meet his future bride, Bianca Karenmann.
It also provided an empty Villico sheet ready to be filled and 13 prefaced cards of new Hunters of the Order, all based on known villains of fairy tales. This way you can jump into action immediately!
The Broken Ones Review Conclusions
As for the aesthetic aspect, The Broken Ones looks like a 180-page tome. As with the basic manual of Broken Tales, the predominant colours are red, black and white; the font used is simple and well-legible. The illustrations accompany the reading and give an eerily beautiful tone to the manual, making perspire the tones that characterize the Broken Tales; they are satisfying even to the eye and are characterized by a unique and intriguing style.
I found in this expansion a great attention to detail and the desire to try something new for Players and Storytellers who enjoyed Broken Tales; offers new game modes, and new Doni and transmits the passion put into this project.
To conclude this review, I would like to recommend The Broken Ones expansion to all those who loved the basic manual; in particular, I find it perfect for those who want to deepen the gaming experience in Broken Europe, playing new Hunters of the Broken Order or Villici, in company at the table or solo!
