Alessandro Rocchi
In this review, we talk about Dimday Red, an apocalyptic and dystopian fantasy RPG in which humanity is doomed to die and, in its final days, will have to choose whether to maintain its morality or give in to power.
Dimday Red was created and published (in English only) by Spiros Drakatos, whom we thank for sending us a copy of the quickstart + zine Nodus 01 bundle for review. We recommend following the project on the author’s official website and Patreon . In addition, we also point out the Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube pages to stay updated on the news.
If you are interested in buying it, you can find it for 70 euros in the Collector’s Edition version on the official website. Otherwise, you can buy the entire bundle digitally for 35 euros always on the official website.
Dimday Red + Zine Nodus 01 Bundle Materials Review
The bundle is really pleasant and well-kept; all the material is contained in an intriguing cardboard dossier finely decorated in every part; the touch of class is the lacquer wax stamp that seals everything. It seems to have something confidential in its hands and destined only for our eyes. The only criticality is that being cardboard, it must be handled with care to avoid possible damage.
Inside we find the quickstart, a 40-page stapled dossier by Dimday Red ( containing the complete rules and the setting), the Tenets and Moribus cards, the booklets for the PG archetypes, a sticker and a letter that introduces us to the game world. It closes the zine 01 Nodus, a 32-page stapled dossier that delves into an aspect of the setting. We also find, digitally, a compelling comic that allows you to immediately enter the mood of the game.
A really pleasant detail is that the card holders in which the cards are inserted are made of fine cardboard and are illustrated; they also show the uses of the cards so that they are always at hand.
We are therefore faced with a beautiful bundle with so much quality material that shows the love and care in the realization. This is also confirmed by the details of the illustrations of the two books and of the entire project in general; in fact, the artistic direction also proves to be a very powerful means to capture the reader and immerse him even more in the setting.
The captive and witch writing is also easy to read and, above all, easy to read; consulting the manual is therefore quick and convenient.
Dimday Red Setting
Dimday Red is set in a dystopian world where it is public knowledge that humanity is destined to become extinct in 52 years. So we are in a truly innovative scenario where mutations, social struggles and moral decisions are intertwined.
The Earth, due to a perturbation of its orbit that happened 99 years before, is heading towards the sun and nothing can stop this march; all this has generated chaos in the cities and on the various continents, leading to a complete change in human society. In addition, due to solar radiation, some humans have begun to develop mutations and powers.
The quickstart and Nodus 01 delve into the city of Neu Bonn, which will be the hub of the adventures. It is a metropolis with castes, factions, intrigues, subterfuges, social struggles and much more.
In addition to the insights of the zine, we also find a World Anvil page with lots of lore information to deepen the setting for free.
In case you were even more curious, on Wattpad there is a book to read set in the game world.
Game Mechanics
The system belongs to the genre of PbtA (Powered by the Apocalypse), so the focus is on storytelling and relationships between characters.
The basic mechanic is that each character has a series of moves; each of them can only be used in certain cases, depending on its activation conditions. When this happens, you roll 2d8 and, depending on the result, you can have different outcomes. Every possibility, from positive to negative, is carefully described. The nuts included are special because they are numbered from 0 to 7; if normal nuts are used, 8 will count as 0.
Each character has access to basic moves common to all and their own set determined by the chosen archetype. The wide variety of moves allows you to create and solve very varied and original situations. The Doom Monger (abbreviated to DM, or the narrator of Dimday Red) also has his own moves that he can use in many ways, but the main rule is that the DM never rolls dice: his moves have predetermined outcomes.
When using a move, you don’t just roll the dice, you add the linked Attribute. There are four of them:
- Passion: encompasses all situations where brute force or physical readiness is needed.
- Intellect: represents the ability to think critically, memory and cunning.
- Affinity: used in social situations and to empathize with others.
- Ego: it is the willpower and determination of the character.
Attributes may have a value ranging from +3 to -3. At the beginning, each character will have one at -1, one at 0 and two at +1.
The manual presents a large collection of the various moves so that you always have them all at hand.
Protagonists in a World Doomed to Perish
The characters in Dimday Red belong to any of Neu Bonn’s social classes and struggle both to maintain their morality and to survive.
To immerse yourself in this apocalyptic world, the first thing to do is choose anArchetype or, as it is called in other PbtA, a Booklet; there are a total of 5 and each of them has specific strengths and weaknesses that allow you to tell a certain type of story. A very pleasant advantage of physical copying is being able to always have their characteristics available.
Once the Archetype has been chosen, the creation is really quick and intuitive since the steps are written directly on the card.
The second step is to choose a Name, Appearance and a keyword that defines the Character. Subsequently, we will have to answer a series of questions to better frame our character and his role in the world.
In addition, you will have to decide the starting object and an exclusive element for your Archetype. For example, the Zealot, being a devoted and loyal warrior, will have to choose a mission to carry out.
Finally, we will have to place each of the adventure companions inside a semicircle divided into sectors to indicate the relationships with each of them.
With these simple steps, we will have a ready-to-use character.
Moribus
One of the new mechanics compared to the classic PbtA is the Moribus. These are cards (but you can also use a table included in the manual) that players can keep and play at the right time to get valuable temporary bonuses. A player can only have three Moribus in hand at a time and, once used, they must be discarded. There are 49 in total, so we have a great variety here too.
There are two ways to obtain Moribus: the first is to make the character grow and reach balance, in this case, you will draw three random cards; otherwise, when you have to make an important choice, the DM will propose three Moribus to the player involved and the latter will have to choose only one to keep; it will influence the action that the character involved is performing through a keyword.
Seven Moribus represent deities and guarantee great bonuses accompanied by great dangers; therefore, you will have to be even more careful when you decide to use them.
Sins and Virtues
Another fundamental component of our character is Sins and Virtues; we find seven per type, representing the deadly sins and their opposite virtues. For example, we find the sin of Lust as opposed to the virtue of Chastity. Also in this case, if you do not have the cards in the manual, there is a convenient table.
On the character card, they are represented with bars that must be filled tending either to virtue or sin; this is done by performing impacting actions or by fishing for certain Moribus. There is also another way to progress in one of these two directions; when a die shows the result of 8, you can roll the Sin die or the Virtue die and based on the result you will score a point on a Sin or a Virtue. If you do not have these special nuts, you can comfortably use a table in the manual.
After finishing the Sin or Virtue bar, we will acquire the relative card that gives us a bonus to one or more attributes, a malus and an exclusive move. This move can only be used once, after which the card must be returned to the deck.
Each Archetype is linked to its Capital Sin, which a character can always decide to follow to get the relative move. Obviously you will also have to act consistently with this emotion.
The mechanics of Sins/Virtues and Moribus are very particular and innovative in the world of PbtA, allowing a good development and a psychological deepening of our character.
Dimday Red Advance System Review
In the world of Dimday Red, leveling up means growing up, dealing with your own morals and figuring out whether to tend to the light or the dark. This is mechanically represented as earning points that we will have to spend immediately; the interesting part is to understand whether to use them to tend to the light side or the dark side of our PG.
These points can be earned in three different ways:
- each time the roll fails and at least one of the two dice has a 0;
- some Moribus can give a point;
- otherwise, the DM can assign a point after a significant event for the campaign.
Once you spend 5 points towards darkness or light, you will earn a level and you can choose an advance that will make the PG more powerful. In addition, you will have to put a point in one of the Sins or Virtues.
Another very interesting mechanic is the Pivot Points, that is, critical moments in the story in which the character can reset completely. In this case, all the progress made will be lost but you will be able to boost the Attributes and have other bonuses; surely it is an interesting way to start again if the development of your PC does not satisfy.
Combat System
As the regulation is purely focused on storytelling, we do not have rigid mechanics for combat. It all comes down to the move we want to use and how much damage it does in its effect.
In addition to reducing or avoiding damage with specific moves, there are also armours that can help mitigate it. Each time damage is suffered, it must be marked on the card and, once the relevant counter is filled, the PG will enter the state of Purgatory.
In this state the player can decide whether to let the character die or bring him back into play; in the second case one of our attributes will be reduced by 1 point but we can fight one more day. If instead, we decide to let go of our PG, we can activate its Exodus move, a powerful move specific to each Archetype.
Another factor that we will have to take into account is the Heat; in fact, due to the proximity to the sun, the PG could overheat in certain situations, such as when it suffers damage or uses certain equipment. There are three levels of heat: Hot, Blazing, and Scorching. These states are reached by accumulating heat points; the maximum is always 7 and once we reach the Flaming state we will suffer several maluses.
The world of Dimday Red is dangerous and you must always be careful.
Dimday Red: Zine Nodus 01 Review
Nodus 01 is the first zine available to deepen and add elements to the Dimday Red universe. Among its pages, we find the same great care of quickstart both in writing and in artistic direction.
This is a 32-page booklet where we find an in-depth look at the past and an outline of the most important historical events. In addition to this, the focus of the zine is on the city of Neu Bonn and the Faust district.
We find a much more in-depth study of the city and the social situation, including valuable elements on which the DMs will be able to embroider even more peculiar plots. Readers will find themselves in front of a cosmopolitan and lively metropolis, with many points of interest worthy of note.
The Faust district is then presented, providing a general presentation, a map and various tables with which to generate places, meetings, NPCs, objects and much more; in addition, we also find a collection of larger NPCs to be included in the campaigns and other generic tables to be used not only in this specific district.
Despite being short, this zine is full of content, becoming almost mandatory to fully appreciate the world of DimDay Red.
Dimday Red Review Conclusion
To conclude this review of Dimday Red, I can say that we are facing an excellent product with a light and simple system that allows you to play great adventures focused on the morals and psychology of the characters.
In addition to this, we also find a truly intriguing, detailed and original setting, which gives the narrator many ideas and ideas. Both on the artistic and writing side, you can see the love that the creator has put into the project. A round of applause also goes to the choice of the colour palette. Apart from the inevitable black and white, the other colours oscillate between various shades of yellow, orange and red which, in their dark tones, very effectively recall the concept of “solar apocalypse”.
As for me, Dimday Red is a role-playing game approved with full marks, which I highly recommend to all lovers of apocalypses and dystopias looking for some news.
