Great product. Great production values. Super creative. Great version of 5e. Now we just need to get them to make a conversion to a rules system I'm more into like Fate or Savage Worlds ;-)

I have just recently started to prep for my first session of Brancalonia. I was a duca-conte level supporter of their Kickstarter but only just recently managed to bring together a game and I've got to say: I expected more. Here are my pros and cons for the product.

TL;DR: This book works best as a system agnostic setting book. Just rip out their original host system and plug in something else that was built for a grittier, low magic gameplay from the get go.

(+) The fluff. Anything not directly tied into the rules is just great. The entire book oozes atmosphere.

(+) The art. Combined with the written fluff, the high quality art helps to immerse the reader into the setting.

(+) The "Dive Games" rules. Despite this being our first, full-on Brancalonia game, I've been using these rule subsets in every other game I've been wanting to have the players to play some interesting minigames in the inns they visit.

(+) The concept of the Den and the Company. Very much seems like something out of Blades in the Dark. I really like it, gives a structure for your game and simplifies swapping PCs in and out of the campaign.

(-) The host rule system. I came to the conclusion that writing this for D&D 5th Edition was most likely a business decision. Problem is that low magic, low fantasy gameplay doesn't tend to work with this ruleset. Their new setting rules try to "hardcorify" the game, but here's the problem. The rule sets that do this kind of gameplay very well are the OSR or the completely new wave rules. Why? Because they are very, very loose, leaving a bunch of room for player creativity. D&D 5E tries to be somewhat complex, but not too complex, but still not rulings before rules, fast and dirty. This results in a rule set that works best for heroic fantasy games, does some other settings in a "meh" quality, and does more gritty play horribly.

(-) There is almost nothing here for those who'd like to play beyond 6th level. Yeah, I know, it's a setting book and not a supplement, but still. Do NOT buy this if you like mid to high level play. In fact, do NOT buy this if you just want some extra options for your games outside of Brancalonia.

(-) You kind of have to have MM to play. I suppose this boiled my brain way more than it should have, but still. One of the starting adventures is an interesting experiment in providing an adventure which can be (and, honestly, is designed around being) solved non-violently. To each their own I suppose, but I was bored out of my mind just reading through it as a DM. The second starter adventure uses the stat blocks of some human NPCs detailed in the Monster Manual. And I flipped out on this. One could say "hurr-durr, how hard it is to come up with some stat blocks on your own for these enemies as a DM", which is, okay, fair enough, but if it isn't so hard then how come the writers couldn't do it? Especially in a setting which centers around low level gameplay? Which brings me to my next point.

(-) Their bestiary is almost useless for 1st and 2nd level gameplay. More than 20 new enemies. Sounds awesome, right? Well yes and no. Again, these new enemies and NPCs just ooze atmosphere. However, 3/4 of these new monsters are CR 2 or higher. Most of the enemies are CR 3+, which means that you are going to have to improvise a lot of enemies for levels 1-3. Agggaain, if the host rule system would be something other than D&D, then this may not be such a huge problem. There are systems out there which enable the DM to come up with stats for new monsters very quickly or even on the fly. Not to mention that I think they regularly underestimate their CRs. Have your Monster Manual at the ready or perish. I think I'm just going to plug in ICRPG instead of 5E rules.

(-) The pre-written adventures. Remember when I said that anything not directly tied into the rules is just great? I lied. The structure of the pre-made adventures expect way too much compliance from the players. The one thing they do right is that they outline potential scenes and that's about that. Honestly, seeing that start, I was hoping they adopted the Lazy Dungeon Master's Checklist, but no. After the scene outlines the adventure just becomes "then the players will do this, and then the players will do that, and then the players will speak to this NPC and learn how that NPC is involved." My brothers in the Ternal Father: have you EVER ran ANY games at the table? If anything, I bet that your players will do something completely different, hairbrained, borderline suicidal but all-in-all VERY entertaining shenanigans, which will probably lead to the death of at least one of your key NPCs and possibly the collapse of a key location.

Excellent setting. My one complaint is that the ENG Translation/Localisation just needs tightened up slightly.

"Where's the codpiece Lebowski?"

Yes. This is the actual title of the Zoom meeting for our Bratncalonia session this week.

Full disclosure, I was an early backer of Brancalonia. The writing was top-notch, the setting seemed like a perfect fit for my style of play, and I just connected with the whole vibe of the world. When the books finally dropped they did not disappoint. I love this setting.

I strong-armed my group into a one-shot during a break in our regular campaign, and to say they were unenthusiastic was an understatement. They begrudgingly agreed to the one-shot, which turned into a three-session bought of mayhem where the players intentionally broke up Romero and Giulietta, unintentionally brought them back together, saved the life of the Brigand Duke’s son, ruined the Redingotte’s marriage in the process, and constructed a pantomime donkey in order to win a contest. Yes, totally normal D&D stuff.

They were hooked and after completing the arc in our current campaign we jumped right back in where we left off. Several weeks in, this has been some of the most fun I’ve had playing D&D in ages.

I think the most telling example of why I love Brancalonia is this: it was our fifth or sixth session, probably only the second or third time we rolled initiative, and the very first time our knaves killed a living creature (Gabby the Talking Turkey), and it wasn’t even their fault! This is not a setting for players whose first approach to a challenge is to stab it, but if your group is just as excited to hear “give me a Persuasion/Deception roll” as they are to hear “roll for initiative,” this is 100% for you.

The two major complaints about the setting are the low power (up to Level 6) and the low magic of the setting. The first is somewhat valid, mainly because there are SO MANY interesting places to visit in the Bounty Kingdom it’s impossible to explore it all without crawling advancement to a halt. However, there are rules to extend beyond level 6 and an experienced DM should be able to easily adapt for advancement to level 8 or even 10 with a bit of imagination. Personally, I like the limited power and the scaled-back nature of the economy is having my players truly appreciate finding 3 gold in a purloined purse.

For people who complain about the low magic, I want to ask if they’ve fully read the setting books. While “low-powered magic” is a fair critique, the Extravaganza is everywhere in Brancalonia and magic abounds. My players have partied with a fairy godfather, struck a deal with (and owe a kiss to) a powerful hag, saved Romero’s life with the Cup of Saint Polenta, and are now currently trying to figure whether to fence the titular codpiece or keep its magic for themselves (and infuriate their Condottiero in the process).

If you want a dark setting with extreme power and edgy characters, Brancalonia isn’t for you. If you love heists, plans that inevitably go horribly wrong, the looks on your players’ faces when one of them goes absurdly off-script (“you see, we are the regional talking animal inspectors…”), and magic items that don’t quite work the way you expect them to, grab this book and join us in the Bounty Kingdom.

I was hooked from the start, completely satisfied with the delivery, and can’t wait to Whack back at the Empire with their new campaign.

This book is of limited use to many DMs- the subclasses aren't designed for play above level 6 and the monsters are also limited to low level.

The setting of course is very well written and the concept of a low power setting is interesting; however, if you're like me, it has the issue that although the content works with DnD 5e, it isn't fully compatible. You can't drop the subclasses into a non-Brancalonia setting and all the enemies aren't very interesting past low levels. It's not a book you can use as a toolbox- it's a narrow scope product, which is not useful if you don't intend to use it in that way. Realistically even non-Brancalonia subclasses are going to be a weird fit within the game, as the Brancalonia specific subclasses don't follow classic progression and could easily overshadow or underwhelm compared to other 5e player options.

My initial intention was to drop the entire book in as a part of a larger world- with the current situation it's basically a low level starter zone.

I will mention that this review has been coloured by backing the Kickstarter, then learning what I'd actually backed after the campaign closed and not being informed. I'm aware that colours my review, but I still think giving this one a miss unless you are specifically interested in a low power campaign- and at that point, you may as well go and play Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. I'm just aware that most of my 5e players don't enjoy 5e at low level for long, which is awkward, given that's what this book provides.

great book if you like more realist campaigns and haist movies

Brancalonia: Spaghetti Fantasy

Billing itself as a spaghetti fantasy, Brancalonia is based on Italian tradition, folklore, history, landscape, fiction and pop culture. It’s a setting unlike any we’ve seen in the English-speaking gaming world. But its appeal does not lie in being a novelty. Rather, Brancalonia is noteworthy because it’s a superlative game setting. Full stop.

You know how there are shining knights riding majestically through the lands? In Brancalonia, player characters aren’t them. Instead, PCs are ‘knaves’, members of a company (known as a ‘band’) of mercenaries, rogues, and rascals engaged in often questionable jobs across the remains of an ancient kingdom, now in ruins. Knaves are hired to do all sorts of jobs, generally illicit or dangerous, that no one else wants to do.

Unlike in high fantasy, we don’t find demi-humans for players to choose from in Brancalonia. Instead, there are a range of unique races specific to the setting: Humans; Gifted, humans born with a magical blessing and who usually bear a visible mark of their exceptionality; Morgants, 7 foot tall giants famed for brawling and drinking; Sylvans, the remnants of a race of hominids with traits more feral than humans; Marionettes, artificial beings crafted from wood (think Pinocchio); and Malebranche, devils that turned away from Lucifuge to once again walk under the sun.

We also find 12 subclasses, one per core class: Pagan (barbarian); Harlequin, masked comedian (bard); Miraculist, destined one day to be a saint (cleric), Benandante, follower of the Old Way charged with protecting people from devils and hags (druid); Swordfighter (fighter), Friar, who believes a good shepherd must kick the wolf to defend the flock (monk); Knight Errand, the offspring of a fallen noble family (paladin); Matador, who captures and trains beasts for circuses and pit fighting (ranger); Brigand (thief), Superstitionist, a witch (sorcerer), and Jinx, a mystic who casts curses (warlock). Each has their own distinct appeal, and all evoke the unique atmosphere of Brancalonia.

Rounding out character generation is a list of new personalities and backgrounds, ranging from ambulant – those who travel from town to town peddling their wares or abilities – to fugitives and toughs, as well as new feats, 15 in all.

Brancalonia is low magic game; level cap is set at 6th, after that progression slows to a crawl in keeping with the tropes of the genres it is based upon. It’s a game where barroom brawling, dive games, partying and drinking are as important as fighting monsters and devilish villains. This is built directly into the mechanics of the game, with new situational rules and an emphasis on the recuperation period between adventures – here called the Revelry phase – where Knaves carouse in their Company Den. Dens can be improved with the addition of such things as a distillery, forge, black market, cantina, or stable.

The book also includes a small but excellent bestiary with a dozen creatures which, when one considers most foes that knaves will confront will be human or unique monsters created by circumstance, seems about right to get the game started. Among those featured in the bestiary are befana (hags from Italian lore), the beautiful but predator half-snake anguana, and the powerful Malacada, devils that can leave Inferno for short periods of time to wreak destruction. There’s also a range of human opponents, like cutthroats, duellists, slickers (‘street magicians), and Royal Bounty Hunters.

We are treated to an extensive 43-page gazetteer of Brancalonia (essentially the Italian peninsula) and its varied regions. We learn that the territories of Brancalonia and neighboring islands “are but minor possessions of the Empire of Altomagna, ceded to Queen Menalda of Catozza as a vassalic benefit a hundred years ago and never recovered, even after the dynastic line of the Catozzi was broken by intrigues, plots, and a dozen suitors.” With no one to claim the crown of Brancalonia, the Kingdom split into over a dozen independent regions which, in turn, are fragmented further into independent counties, duchies, baronies, municipalities and commercial leagues – a situation not dissimilar to medieval-renaissance Italy. And like Italy of that time, the people of Brancalonia can look back to a time in the distant past when the peninsula was the heart of a brilliant civilization, the ruins of which scatter the landscape as reminders of past glories. It’s a setting rich with intrigue, lore, and adventure potential.

Also within these pages are seven adventures, designed to take Knaves to 6th level – essentially a full campaign. Each one offers different opportunities. All are whimsical, adventurous, and rollicking fun with tons of opportunity to roleplay and dive into action. There isn’t really a weak link among them.

The writing is topnotch, full of charm and inspiration. Editing is flawless – you’d never know English was not the authors’ primary language. And visually, Brancalonia one of the most appealing rpg products I’ve seen in a long time, with stunning maps and artworks. it’s a pleasure both to read and look at.

There are a lot of adjectives I can use to describe Brancalonia: endearing, fun-loving, exciting, innovative, colorful. All are accurate. But I’ll sum the setting up with one word: Spectacular.

I like Brancalonia a lot, but I think it is more useful as a collection Optional Rules than as an actual campaign setting. The Rulebook is split up into three major sections which I will go over and then I'll also speak brieflly on the presentation.

New Rules This section presents some new races and a new subclass for every class (sort-of, more on this later) all with the intention of creating a certain play-style. It is a gritty, low-powered fantasy, but it isn't dark. It's bright and cheerful and a little bit comical. I think Robin-Hood is a great idea of the tone here even though it isn't mentioned as is the Princess Bride (which is mentioned.) I love all the rules. You have a hideout called a Den which gives you bonuses when you rest there, which gives the players a sense of ownership and something to spend their money on. It utilizes the optional rules in the DMG for longer rests. All players have a notoriety, which can cause problems on adventures with bounty hunters and other outlaws. I love it. It also makes use of the "Epic Six" house-rule that's been on the internet for awhile. In short, characters don't gain any levels after 6th level. However, there are rules for continued advancement after Level 6 where you can gain feats and other abilities. The new races are. . . fine. I feel like some are a little boring because of the Low Fantasy feel. The subclasses are the problem, while I love them they don't go beyond Level 6 making them entirely useless in a normal D&D campaign. Given that all the rules are presented as optional, this really stinks.

Campaign Setting The most lackluster part, this section goes over the "Bounty Kingdom." A quirky medieval pastiche of the Italian Peninsula. While I enjoy the flavor and description of the world, I don't find it very useful as a dungeon master. Each region gets a two page spread which briefly outlines the thematic quality of each area and one major city or town and that's about it. There is very little description given for those towns and there are no numbers such as population demographics. There's also only one town in each section, without any smaller towns, ruins or other points of interest. It means to run adventures in this setting you will probably need to do a lot of world-building yourself, which is not why I buy a campaign setting.

New Adventures Another good section, the game presents about 6 adventures, 2 for first level and one for every level after that. One of the first level adventures is described as being kid-friendly, which is ncie, but not a big sell. The adventures are decent and have a medieval folk-tale feel which is fun. Most of them are just loose frameworks, a list of scenes with monster statblocks listed. As such they require a lot of improv, being more like fleshed out hooks or outlines than underdeveloped adventures. Useful but it might be a challenge for new GMs

Presentation Gorgeous, it is a beautiful book and the artwork inside really sells the feel of the setting. Text is a little small but they added lines to make it easier to read. I spotted a few typos and even a line or two that wasn't translated from Italian but that doesn't affect it much and I'm sure it will be edited.

Verdict I like the book a lot, but as I mentioned I think the most useful part are the optional rules. I think using them would create a very fun game-experience. The adventures are barebones but I'll probably use some or most of them to run a Brancalonia campaign. The setting itself, the Bounty Kingdom, is neat but not detailed enough. I'm very excited to run a Brancalonia game, but I think I'll use Kobold Press' Midgard, which has a similar Italian-themed region with much more detail.

I took a look at Brancalonia mostly out of curiosity; I don't particularly enjoy the "Low Fantasy" genre nor am I a big fan of comedy, but the term "Spaghetti Fantasy" was something I had never experiencede before and I was curious. The end result leaves me with some very mixed feelings.

In terms of the rules, Brancalonia does very well at creating the kind of game the setting is meant to be run at; low-lethality tragicomic low fantasy with an emphasis on "loveable rogue" type heroes. The new subsystems, the breakdown of alignment (if you actually want to use that system), it all comes together very well.

As for the setting, whilst I'm too ignorant of the wider realities of Italy and Italian pop-culture to truly appreciate the nuances of the lore here, the result is detailed enough that even a complete novice such as myself can easily understand what each region's defining traits and characteristics are, and see how to run adventures there. Very nicely handled indeed.

And then we come to the Races and Subclasses of Brancalonia. Being a relentless homebrewer who largely approaches other peoples' settings for inspiration or outright material to lift, these are the sections of any setting book I am always the most interested in. And here was where I found myself having problems with Brancalonia...

I really like the Gifted both as a concept and mechanically, because they do something really interesting by starting with the "Variant Human" base rules from 5e and then swapping the bonus feat and skill for a free cantrip and 1/day level 1 spell. I do not understand the point behind their Magical Resonance racial trait; spellcasting classes already regain all their spell slots on a long rest, and their racial 1st level spell also resets on completing a long rest. This trait is thus utterly pointless.

Morgants, the setting's replacement for Half-Orcs and Goliaths, are prefectly functional, with nothing that stands out as positive or negative about them to me. I'm not a huge fan of "big bruiser" races, admittedly.

Sylvans were the first race where I found myself outright let down. I didn't have the highest hopes going in because Low Fantasy and I don't get on that well, but Sylvans just confuse me. The mechanics work fine, and maybe it's just because I don't have that background in Italian pop culture, but I really don't get why a bunch of nomadic humans with hairy arms and pronounced facial/scalp hair depending on gender would have been demonized as "troglodytes" or mistake for beastfolk or werebeasts. Mechanically, they're sound enough, but I just don't get where the lore is taking its inspiration from.

The lack of an option to play talking animals, which lalter parts of the book establish are actually relatively common in Brancalonia, is kind of a blow, even though I can understand it was left out due to that pesky Low Fantasy thing.

Marionettes are wonderful; they have great lore, even I can recognize their archetype, and the mechanics, which clearly used the Warforged as a building block, are solid. But I think it's rather cheeky to ask us to pay for this book, give us stats for two marionette subraces and then write up about three more marionette subraces in the setting portion of the book without giving us mechanical support to play as them!

Malebranche are hands down the best race in the splatbook, managing to elegantly recapture a lot of that "build a fiend-touched" feel of AD&D tieflings after the customization table debuted in the Complete Planeswalker's Guide. Nothing but love and respect for these.

Then we get to subclasses, and here's where the ambivalence really kicks in. On the one hand, I love the subclasses presented in this book. They're all solid built on a mechanical and flavor level, they fit into the setting very well, and in particular the Sorcerer (Superstician), Warlock (Jinx) and Wizard (Guisard) subclasses all tap into great archetypes that would very well in almost any setting, especially the relic-hunting-and-tapping Guisard. The problem is that, because Brancalonia is intended to be used for 6th level or lower PCs, none of these subclasses bother including higher level subclass features! I get why the author did this, but as a purchaser, I feel let down; I want to use these subclasses outside of Brancalonia, but unless I patch them up with my own homebrewed material, I can't do that. That's a huge letdown, and my biggest problem with this book... ironically, I wouldn't mind so much if I didn't think that these subclasses weren't all so well designed.

It feels a little like WFRP, but more lighthearted. It isn't grimdark, but it is gritty. I love the brawling system in particular, allowing players to get out their aggressions against their rivals or annoying townies without being murder hobos. Then they can go out on jobs and murder monsters instead.

Brancalonia is a spaghetti fantasy game. It's a setting for D&D 5e that turns down the power, with a level limit of 6, long rests being a week, and generally being low powered. But the really cool thing is that it's a low fantasy setting that fits the sensibilities of most games I play/run. You're not trying to save the world, you're just a schlub trying to survive in a world where most things are shoddy or fake.

The default setup is that you're a likable rogue and the party is a band that's part of a larger mercenary company or gang taking jobs of borderline legality. There are rules for having a hideout, blowing your money on binges, and bar games. A key new feature is a brawling system that lets you engage in the sort of nonlethal fights you see in saloons in movies.

It's still fantasy but it's not the typical Tolkien ripoff of vanilla D&D. There's talking animals, fairies, witches, and stuff. No elves or dwarves; new races include marionettes and malebranche - demons who said 'screw this' and became mortal. Every class has a new subclass that fits the setting. The book introduces a fantasy version of Italy with a reversed map to emphasize that this it not historical fantasy. It finishes with 30 pages of adventures and 20 pages of new monsters. It's a complete package to take the game in a new direction.

The art is great and the layout works. This is the most fun I've seen in a game book in quite a while.