Stefano Buonocore
Today we are pleased to offer you the review of Gli Scorticati, an adventure by Andrea Tupac Mollica for the esoteric fantasy role-playing game RAYN. In thanking Aristea Editions for sending us a copy, we would like to point out that Gli Scorticati had to come up against very high expectations: RAYN was voted by No Dice Unrolled reviewers as Game of the Year 2023.
The adventure is available on Aristea digital store, for 8 euros. To play it you need to know the dynamics of RAYN; in the case of a first approach to the game, it may be useful to take a look at our review. The beautiful one is also available on the store Set Oniromante, which makes all the game material available superlatively. Remember you can have a 5% discount on every Aristea product with our code NDU5!
Review of the Manual of Gli Scorticati
Gli Scorticati is a volume of 40 pages, all in colour, and glossy. In 16 x 23 cm format, flexible cover and stapled; it is a practical and handy manual. Stapling requires a little more care than a paperback, but the format is perfect for keeping in the game set box; by doing so there is no risk of ruining it. The manual follows the graphic line of RAYN, which is already a guarantee in itself; an excellent compromise between readability and style, with each page capable of dragging you into the setting. Excellent use of text boxes in contrasting colours and a good editing phase (by Dario Leccacorvi, the other soul of the game, here as a proofreader) guarantee a very pleasant result.
The illustrations are entrusted to Fabio Porfidia, a great fan of RAYN since before being its main artist, in the early stages of the project. We are talking about artwork that is not just beautiful to look at but above all strongly themed with the setting. They perfectly convey the suffocating and oppressive sensations of adventure, with that shadow of doubt and mystery that hovers over everything. There is certainly a bit of cunning in the cover references, but that’s not a bad thing at all; It’s actually a nice wink. Where Porfidia is at its best, however, are the decorative elements and maps. A true feast for the eyes.
A Precious Writing
The first thing that catches your eye when reading Gli Scorticati it’s the quality of the writing. Andrea is a born storyteller; he has the gift of making what he writes both interesting and enjoyable. Not for the search for lyricism or forcing that at all costs gives the impression of a sustained register, a defect to which many often succumb. Gli Scorticati is well-written and told but never loses sight of the purpose of making people play.
An added value is given by the attention to detail. Never pedantic, we are not talking about the tables in vogue in the 90s which meticulously reconstruct every detail of a location. However, knowing that the Eskerra harvest is fundamental to the wheat germ and goat butter cake famous throughout the Meyr Valley makes the impact of the game three-dimensional.
The Adventure
Life is hard in the Upper Meyr River Valley, full of danger and adversity. The remote village of Eskerra holds a gruesome secret; a dangerous, arcane threat that could jeopardize the lives of all the Esardans who are colonizing the Valley.
loosely translated from the back cover of Gli Scorticati
As usual, our review of Gli Scorticati will be spoiler-free. However, we can anticipate that it is an adventure that fully conveys the esoteric fantasy of RAYN. Crepuscular atmospheres, often border on horror without ever fully resulting in it. The characters will come into contact with the secrets of a community and the horror that can arise from it. But it will always be made clear that even the greatest monstrosities of Darkness and the Abyss, in the RAYN, are linked to human action.
The adventure above all presents moments of investigation and social interaction; mostly exploration, with obviously a bit of combat to make everything more exciting. It is not written rigidly but rather has a flow that can be adapted to the players’ choices, enriched by frequent advice from the author on how they can be managed without ever influencing them. At several points, you will find various options to present to the players, each with completely different implications. This also applies to the ending, which could vary significantly depending on the group’s choices.
Conclusions of the Review of Gli Scorticati
If RAYN is a game to which it is impossible to remain indifferent, Gli Scorticati represents it as an excellent adventure. It has the ideal length to be handled as a one-shot or as an introductory adventure and takes full advantage of the original mechanics of the game. In case the plot was to fail due to some inappropriate behaviour of the characters, a reference to the card system is available which allows you to create a completely improvised story. Not only that, it also becomes an excellent introduction to the setting, suggesting various expedients to involve players who are not yet familiar with it. All seasoned with the care for the product that distinguishes Aristea.
The adventure is suitable for a group of four or five novice characters but can be played with two or three more experienced characters. This makes it ideal for both novice and veteran players. If you love RAYN,it is an unmissable little gem. Should you still discover it, it will certainly be an excellent tool to combine with Quickstart to enter this dark and wonderful world contested between Light, Darkness and Abyss.
