Ryuutama – Review, the traveler’s diary

Ryuutama it’s a Natural Fantasy RPGcreated by Kotodama Heavy Industries and published in Italian by Illyon Island editions. Ryuutama (“Dragon Egg“) is a game of Japanese origin written by Atsuhiro Okadaand tells the story of a group of travelers followed by a Ryuujin (Humanoid dragon). These, as expected, set off on a journey to broaden their horizons and realize their desires.

The world of the four seasons

Ryuutama introduces players to an ever-changing, natural-rich world set in a medieval or Renaissance period and strongly influenced by magic and from Japanese culture.

The four dragons of the seasons they are the creators of this world, and together with their offspring they have shaped its environments and given life to it climate chaos that characterizes them. The inhabitants of the world of Ryuutama respect an ancient custom: all men and women at least once in their life they have to leave their hometown and go on a long trip. The destination, however, is not the most important part: this is represented by the stories experienced by the travelers during their adventures, which are collected in diaries written by the group and the Ryuujinmysterious draconic patrons who watch over them, sometimes even putting them to the test.

THE travel diaries collected by the Ryuujin are used as a source of sustenance for the young dragons of the seasons, in order to guarantee continuity and enrich the world of Ryuutama with new experiences.

The travelers

The players in Ryuutama they play i travellers intent on leaving according to ancient customs. These groups are made up of the inhabitants, who before embarking on the journey were an active part of the community (classes or archetypes), as Craftsmen, Hunters, Farmers, Healers, Minstrels, Merchants And Nobles.

Travelers are distinguished from each other not only by the role they play in society, but also by talents and affinities relating to the three main macro-typologies (specializations), divided into:

• Martial type: specialized in combat (life, weapon mastery and physical damage);
• Technical Type: expert in resolving difficult situations (initiative, evidence and usefulness);
• Magical Type: master of witchcraft And magic of the seasons (magic damage, support and utility based on spells known);

The world of Ryuutama it is full of unique views and places, however with every wonder comes a new one danger or complication, making every trip a real adventure. Everything is fine biome visited presents problems and climates different, which require the right tools to be navigated. These tools can be purchased by spending gold within the cities and follow mechanics based on survivalsuch as theusury of the equipment, the resource managementand their conservation in dedicated containers.

The guardians of the world

The Game Masters in Ryuutama he takes a more active role than in classic RPGs, revealing himself to travelers as Ryuujin and taking on the role of guide and support during the adventure.

Every Ryuujin has legendary artifacts and is skilled at delivering blessings capable of altering the game world, yet these great gifts require a price which can only be satisfied by consuming the Ryuujin’s vital energy, thus limiting the number of interventions by the Game Master and leaving room for the players’ narration. The Ryuujin can be of four different types based on the adventures covered:

• Midori-Ryuu (Green dragon): lord of wayfarers and adventurers (novice travellers, explorers and scholars);
• Ao-Ryuu (Blue dragon): the master of bonds (love, friendship and good heart);
• Kurenai-Ryuu (Crimson Dragon): the lord of the battlefield (dungeons, battles and heroes);
• Kuro-Ryuu (Black Dragon): the dark lord (betrayals, dark pasts, terror and revenge);

A world to live

Ryuutama adopts a game system particular. Creatures and travelers possess four parameters main: Force, Dexterity, Intelligence And Spirit. These parameters are defined by even numbers that can vary between a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 12. These numbers do not indicate a bonus score, but the type of dice to be used in one trial.

To give an example, the initiative tests require Dexterity + Intelligenceand this implies that a character with 4 on Dexterity and 8 on Intelligence will have to add the result of the roll of 1d4 + 1d8.

THE successes hey critical failures are divided into extraordinary successes And Misfires. To achieve extraordinary success the dice rolled must have 6 as a result, or theirs maximum achievable values. For example, rolling a D4 and obtaining a score of 4 together with a D8 with a result of 6 or 8, the requirements for extraordinary success are still met. Critical Failures or Misfires are obtained when the two rolled dice have 1 as a resultresulting in the disastrous outcome of a test and the assignment of a fail marker for the entire group. These markers can be spent to get a advantage point in solving a test.

The failure of a test may result in the assignment of one negative statereducing by one value the type of die that can be used in subsequent tests (for i bonuses the value of the die is increased by one category). For example, a traveler with an 8 on the parameter force affected by a negative state related to it, during a test he will use a D6 instead of a D8.

The end of the journey

Ryuutama from Kotodama Heavy Industries represents a Optimal Natural Fantasy RPG, capable of actively involving players and the Game Master in the exploration of a constantly changing world. The main mechanics of Ryuutama are focused on management elements and survival, while the game system And easy and intuitivelimiting itself to four main parameters, which, instead of adding additive bonuses, manage the type of die used.

The manual looks like a storybookmaintaining lively tones in the comic style illustrations inside. The dynamics of Game Masters seen how Ryuujin offers excellent immersive elements during the sessions and, thanks to the artifact system and blessings, allows you to alter and enrich the implications of the adventures.

Ryuutama grants a excellent level of challenge for both novices and veterans of the genre, highly recommended for lovers of survival-based games and classic fantasy with a pinch of oriental culture.