Six new “Made in Italy” roleplaying games and volumes, published in English by MS Edizioni, are now arriving in the US market through Ares Games: Green Oaks, Five Days, and Last Resort, created by Fumble GDR, a game studio focused on narrative RPG, and produced by MS Edizioni; and Cthulhu Bay, Forsaken Scriptures, and Flail Kült, by the indie studio Nigredo Press.

Green Oaks, set in a haunted retirement home.

Each of the Fumble GDR games offers a unique twist, immersive stories and innovative mechanics that bring a wide range of stories to life.

Green Oaks is set in a small town where dark mysteries lie hidden beneath a seemingly calm surface. This title invites players to impersonate elderly people grappling with the paranormal events and disturbing secrets that will emerge during the adventure. The Green Oaks game system is just as unique: instead of dice, you use a deck of Bridge cards, and you accumulate Bother points that allow the player to Make a Scene! and behave like an old man ranting and railing against the villain on duty, the youth, or his own party. This combination of elements is perfect for groups looking for a light, adrenaline-fueled adventure without giving up complaining about bad weather like a true elder.

Five Days: an emotionally immersive RPG.

In Five Days, the focus is on personal relationships. A group of people with a shared trauma that no one wants to talk about must face their past through the five stages of grief acceptance. Five Days is about what unites us, what can break these bonds, and the resulting guilt. The system, inspired by Avery Alder's “Belonging Outside Belonging,” allows players to make difficult choices and experience highly emotional scenes, while remaining in control of their character.

Last Resort: a cooperative zombie apocalypse survival RPG.

Finally, Last Resort is set in an abandoned luxury resort, now a shelter for survivors in a post-apocalyptic world. Players must navigate the complexities of interpersonal relationships in a setting that combines psychological horror and social tensions. Dynamics of trust and betrayal are central to Last Resort, resources are scarce, and every choice can prove crucial to survival. Inspired by games such as Cthulhu Hack and other OSRs, Last Resort offers a simple, fast-paced system in which the management of personal and community resources is central.

Another fledgling Italian publisher that is making a name for itself in Italy on role-playing game discord channels and among authors is Nigredo Press, debuting in the international market with its first English-language titles.

Cthulhu Bay: Lovecraftian horror, innovative mechanics and pulp-style storytelling.

Lovecraft and his myths have always provided fertile ground for role-playing games, but Cthulhu Bay takes a different approach. It is a quick-to-set-up game, designed specifically for one-shots and without a pre-generated plot: not even the GM knows how the events of the Tale (the scenario) will unfold. Each Tale is a story unto itself, set in ever-changing locations, times, and situations, offering all the necessary cues for a horrifying and engaging session - except the ending. The ending is up to the players to decide, as they combine clues to create a coherent explanation of events. In the Epilogue, they will discover what fate awaits their characters.

The mechanics are easy to learn and based on four resources - two for investigation and two for survival - each tied to a die whose size decreases as the Tale progresses, making the investigation increasingly difficult and the Epilogue's outcome increasingly ominous. The manual, with aesthetics inspired by early 20th-century pulp horror magazines, includes four ready-to-play Tales: The Stele Within the Ice, The Monastery, Unknown Planet, and The Sauna, each evoking different eldritch vibes.

Forsaken Scriptures: word-maps for Mörk Borg and other fantasy RPGs.

Forsaken Scriptures is a unique and original collection of word-maps written and devised by author Nyhur, compatible with the role-playing game Mörk Borg or other fantasy setting game systems. The word-maps are a revolutionary idea and condense architecture and dungeon descriptions into a single image. A new minimalist approach for adventures without preparation and a visually impressive alternative to traditional dungeon maps.

The fifteen different maps within the manual contain all aspects of the dungeon the players will explore. The words, which explain the contents of each individual room or corridor, also shape its form, making Forsaken Scriptures a completely new experience. The volume stands out for its high printing quality and is presented inside a slipcase.

Flail Kült: a haunting and visceral artbook.

The third release from Nigredo Press is Flail Kült, the first in the Pseudobiblia series, coming across as a visionary art book by Arcane Throne, a well-known artist in the music scene. The book delves into the black-and-white aesthetics of doom metal and grim fantasy, depicting the effects of spiked maces and flails on the human body. Flail Kült is a visceral reflection on the infinite cycle of time and death.

This article was originally published on Game Trade Magazine issue 299 (January 2025).

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