Yōkai! | Review

Before starting the review of Yōkai! I want to thank the author Moreno “Mopollas” Pollastri for providing us with a physical copy of the manual.

Yōkai! is a role-playing game that allows you to interpret creatures from Japanese folklore, in a universe where humans almost no longer recognize their existence. The Yōkai need to feed on the fear and adulation of human beings, as they are born from the frightening dreams and thoughts of the latter.

Se siete interessati all’acquisto di questo gioco di ruolo, vi segnalo che è disponibile sullo store de La Terra dei Giochi in versione fisica al prezzo di 29,90€ (comprensiva di PDF) e in versione digitale al prezzo di 15,60€.

If you are interested in buying this role-playing game, I point out that it is available on the La Terra dei Giochi store in the physical version for 29.90€ (including PDF) and the digital version for 15.60€.

Review of Yōkai!’s Setting

This role-playing game takes us to Japan in contemporary times. Inside the manual, you can find a section dedicated to the World of Yōkai! with everything there is to know about the setting. Surely this section is a precious inspiration for the Sensei (storytellers) and a starting point for new adventures. All this is possible because the notions collected in this volume are the result of careful research work by the author; thanks to trips organized specifically to deepen the subject, We are in front of a very interesting manual to expand our knowledge of Japanese folklore.

The World of Yōkai section describes all the most important places in Japan, starting from its regions and going to discover towns, lakes, temples and islands. At the end of this paragraph are also told the urban legends that make the Yōkai still popular today, the beliefs of humans and their actual authenticity.

If you don’t know the details about Japan you need to tell these stories then don’t despair; the manual accompanies you and fills all these gaps.

In the volume, there are also some pages dedicated to a story that, with a simple narrative device, combines the notions related to places and creatures that inhabit them.

Kami and Yōkai

In Japan reside millions of divine entities linked to the manifestations of the forces of nature. Every place where one of these essences is present is a shimenawa, or straw rope with sheets of lightning-shaped paper that warn humans of the presence of Kami and Yōkai. The former are considered benevolent beings, while the latter are considered more insidious and can be confused within human society by their ability to transform.

In modern times, the Yōkai have organized themselves into Clans or Feudal Families, often headed by a Clan Leader or Head of the Family to achieve their personal goals; one of them is to intimidate human beings. Each Yōkai group has its interests and ambitions, whether ethical or not; in fact, it is common for a Clan to deal with the drug trade and be in contact with the Yakuza, the famous Japanese criminal organization.

Players will then play a group of Yōkai (of the same clan or not) to climb the ranks and spread fear in human beings; these, of course, are also intertwined for many personal purposes. The characters can act freely, accompanied by the narration of the Sensei.

As we will see in the next section of this review, the first step to getting started entering the fascinating world of Yōkai! is therefore deciding which creature you want to interpret.

The Creation of the Character…

The first step to creating the character is choosing the Race (or its Sub-Race), which determines Abilities and Powers:

• Babaneko: domestic cats that can talk and turn into humans. One of their Sub-Races is the Nekomata, felines that have been wronged by human beings such as to make them violent; with their supernatural powers, they can use human corpses as puppets.
• Kappa: amphibious beings very skilled in moving in aquatic environments; they have a strange magical liquid in their heads that makes them very strong despite their small size. Their relatives are the Garappa, who assume the role of protecting spirits.
• Kitsune: anthropomorphic foxes with multiple tails, able to fascinate humans and Yōkai thanks to their beauty and cunning; they can also possess the bodies of human beings. The Zenko (often recognizable by their white hair) spend their lives dedicating it to the deity of rice and agriculture. The latter have a more benevolent disposition and try to protect men from the Kitsune.
• Oni: in the Western imagination we can associate them with violent and brutal orcs and devils, with long fangs and severe faces. Aka-Oni are large and related to the element of fire; Ao-Oni have green or blue skin and are tied to lightning. The Oni serve the God of the Underworld Emna, resulting in one of the greatest dangers to humans.
• Tengu: Crow-like beings with large wings and unpredictable characters. Many of them enjoy kidnapping humans, while others act on behalf of the humblest people. The most common Tengu are the Karasu, who are used to stun opponents and send them into a confusing state. The Yamabushi, on the other hand, love the physical contrast and can create gusts of wind with their wings.

… Start with the Folklore Creatures

• Tanuki: Japanese raccoon dogs, distant relatives of the Kitsune, love to eat, drink and annoy beautiful girls. Their peculiarity is to be able to enlarge their testicles and create scary melodies drumming on their belly. The Mujina, a Sub-Race of Tanuki, are much more shy and introverted than their cousins and tend not to expose their disguise in human society.
• Yuki-Onna: wind spirits and female-like snow incarnations; they are attracted to the vitality and feeling of love of humans since they cannot experience them. Child abductors and ruthless assassins, manage to freeze humans to death. The Tsurara-Onna have a passion for the daily life and traditions of men; they try to learn the customs and often, marrying them, end up freezing them alive for their lust for carnal love.
• Han’yō: when a Yōkai and a human come together, the Han’yō, also known as Half Yōkai, can be born. They can perceive supernatural entities and, because they resemble humans, can easily enter society and make a career as supernatural hunters. Others, however, try to actively integrate into the Yōkai society.
• Guardian of the Garden: Completely human-looking, their ability to blend in makes them perfect spies for the Clans. They stand out in Rokuro-Kubi, girls with extendable necks acting as informants, and the Nuke-Kubi, capable of floating their heads away from the body; they feed on blood, taking advantage of the sleep of their victims. Moreover they can discover with a single glance the vices and ailments of their interlocutor.

Review of Other Yōkai Features

Then you have to choose the gender, name, physical appearance and background of the character. The latter can be in common with the other characters if you are part of the same Clan or Family or you can decide to play a Ronin, ie a solitaire not affiliated with a Clan.

Then we move on to the more mechanical part, the choice of the initial Characteristics. Each character has a score of 10 in each of the Characteristics and 70 points to be distributed among them at their choice.

The Characteristics are:

• Strength: the character’s physical strength and mastery in hand-to-hand combat.
• Agility: how fast it is to act and coordinate.
• Physical Endurance: how many injuries can withstand and disease resistance.
• Intelligence: the intellect of the character and the languages known.
• Creativity: how inventive and able it is to improvise.
• Ascendant: it indicates the fascination of the creature and how much it is able to seduce.

In addition to these, each Yōkai has two Supernatural Characteristics, Arcane Mastery and Arcane Resistance. The first is related to the use of magical powers, spells and rituals; the second indicates resistance to supernatural or malice spells. As with the others, these Characteristics also have a base score of 10.

Vitality Points for creatures and Shape Points for supernatural creatures are health and how stable a creature can remain on the material plane. These values are the result of the sum of the creature’s Physical Endurance and Arcane Resistance.

Each character has access to a list of Abilities divided into Generic Abilities and Monster Abilities. The former can be related to background or physical abilities, and the latter is determined by Race. During creation, each Yōkai has 100 points to distribute in Generic Abilities and 50 in Monstrous Abilities.

Skill, Fear and Fame

Character Abilities indicate their knowledge, how to handle weapons, and how to perform certain actions. When an action has an uncertain outcome during a scene, the Sensei requires an Ability Test for the character to determine the consequences. The player must add up the Ability score involved with the Characteristic. The first digit indicates how many 12-sided dice you can roll, the second digit indicates the bonus points that can be added to one of the dice results.

Successes are equal to or greater than 8, while when you get a 12 on the dice occurred a Subarashii, this allows you to roll an additional dice. Conversely, if you get a 1 on the dice, it is a Failure that cannot be modified by bonuses. If unfortunately, you get a result of all 1, it will be a Critical Failure. Each test has a number of required Successes ranging from 1 to 6.

Yōkai can Awaken Fear in humans to gain Fear Points. Fear Points are useful for programming the character, increasing Characteristic Points and skill Points and building his Fame. Each player during the sessions can accumulate Fear Points to spend as they like making their Yōkai more powerful.

Review of Fight in Yōkai!

The characters will be able to interface with creatures or people that will give them a hard time. In these cases, the time is divided into 5-second Turns. Each creature during their Turn has two Actions in which they can choose to Move, Act, Interact, Attack or Use Power. At the end of the turn, the opponent will act.

When a fight involves two Yōkai, it is called Challenge, whether it is for Fame or Life. Generally, characters will be more likely to take on a challenge for Fame than risk their life, as refusing a Challenge is somewhat dishonourable in the eyes of your Clan.

When the characters face a Fight or a Challenge you have to:

• In the event of a Challenge, you must declare your Fame Points to your opponent.
• In the case of Challenge, whether it will be for Fame or Life accept or reject the conditions.
• A Reaction Readiness Test is carried out, who will have more Successes will be the first to act (going in order of successes, in case there are more participants in the fight).
• The attacker performs his Actions, which he can decide to use as he wishes.
• In case of Attack, the defender can decide to Score the shot, Dodge or Deal, for example trying to parry a shot with the weapon.

At the end of the sequence, if the attacker has had more Successes, the opponent will suffer damage; however, if the defender has drawn or obtained more Successes, the attack has not scored. If the Challenge was based on Fame, the loser grants all his Fame Points to the winner. If the Challenge is for Life, they will be banished and will return if they go to a temple or try to reincarnate.

Conclusion of Yōkai! Review

Finally, an introductory adventure titled The Kakemono of Kappa was added, designed for 2-5 players. The Yōkai must travel from Tokyo to Hokkaido to ally with the Kappa family, escorting Kakemoto’s precious scroll. During their journey, they will have the opportunity to clash with other clans, unhappy with the upcoming alliance. This adventure can be a good start to getting acquainted with this RPG.

Finally, there are the Appendices, which are useful tables to consult for the Sensei during the sessions, such as the Characteristics for Race rather than Monsters and Creatures for Vitality Points.

As you can see from the images included in this review, the Yōkai! the manual is presented as a volume of 250 pages in A4 format with flexible binding. The pagination is partly on two columns and partly on only one. In some sections of the manual, this choice is a bit heavy, but it is justifiable as it is self-handling. The font used is well readable, although that of the story that alternates with the canonical pages of the volume is not so immediate. The illustrations are many and I particularly appreciated them for their simplicity and adherence to the game world. There are also black and white photographs documenting inspirations from Japanese folklore.

The author’s passion can be seen from the attention to detail of the company and adherence to Japanese legends about the Yōkai; reading the manual you can see that great research was done behind it. These qualities have also been recognized by exhibitions and cultural events that have welcomed the volume within them.

To conclude this review, I would like to recommend Yōkai! to all lovers of Japanese folklore and to those who want to interpret creatures that can make humans shiver!

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