The “Spaghetti Fantasy” Shared Universe by Acheron Books (together with Ignoranza Eroica) is arriving: Brancalonia is an Italian brand-new Campaign Setting for the 5th Edition of the world’s most famous role-playing game.
“Enter the Kingdom, a land full of perils and profit possibilities, in the most incredible and roguish Italian role-playing game you have ever joined!
Create your band of Knaves, enlist in a free Company, pick up some well-paid Jobs, and give a fist and knife buffet to those deserving it.
When you have collected a nice loot and climbed the ranks of your company a bit, you will be ready to try your luck, in that final job that could let you go out in style…
After all, what could possibly go wrong? “
Brancalonia is the all-Italian setting for the most famous role-playing game of all time. This fairy-tale-influenced, picaresque and roguish world is a “reverse” version of Medieval Italy. It quotes, collects, and combines together references from contemporary Italian fiction and over a hundred works from the Italian fantastic tradition, pop culture, and collective imagination:
- Italian folklore and fairy tales, from The Facetious Nights of Straparola (the very first European storybook to contain fairy-tales, centuries before the ones by Charles Perrault or the Grimm brothers), to the 17th-century Lo Cunto de li Cunti (The Tale of Tales), and Carlo Collodi’s Pinocchio.
- Chivalrous and courteous tradition, from medieval “cantari” (Italian typical minstrel ballads) to Renaissance epics.
- Costumed films from The Incredible Army of Brancaleone to The Profession of Arms, and international hits set in Medieval and Renaissance Italy, like Ladyhawke and Flesh + Blood.
- Fantasy 20th-century writers such as Pederiali, Eco, Buzzati and Calvino.
The crowdfunding campaign will be carried out both in Italian and English, will begin on March 23, and will end on April 12.
A few days before that, we will release the Quickstart in PDF English version for free, as a preview (while the Italian version has been already released). We will be available to direct play at official events together with associations, shops, libraries and gaming clubs.
The Quickstart contains a general presentation of the game and the setting, the map of the Kingdom, and the long adventure “The Valley of the Bigàt“. There also will be 6 Pregenerated Characters associated to it.
The Brancalonia Campaign Setting will contain further in-depth details on the setting, new rules, feats, game options, new subclasses, backgrounds, playable races, 24 new monsters and enemies, and an original game campaign.
Brancalonia is a creation of Mauro Longo, Davide Mana, and Samuel Marolla from Acheron Books, with the fundamental contribution of Masa Facchini, of Jack Sensolini and Luca Mazza from Ignoranza Eroica, of Andrea Macchi and Max Castellani (Epic Party Games), and of Valentino Sergi (Officina Meningi)
Collaborating on the project as concept artists and illustrators: Lorenzo Nuti and Fabio Porfidia.
Hero Engine 