Before starting this review, I want to thank Hollow Press and Ignoranza Eroica for providing us with a copy of 40 Devils – Infernal Beastiary of the NecroBriscola. This manual contains many new creatures for the roleplaying game Mano Sinistra. The latter is therefore essential to be able to adequately exploit the bestiary in the session.
If, after reading this review, you were interested in purchasing 40 Devils, you can find it on the official store at the price of 19.00 euros.
An Overview of the Contents
The manual is written from the point of view of the Dealer, a highly experienced Inhuman demonologist. In his travels he discovered this dark and intriguing setting, including the Devils that dwell there.
He shows us a Devil for each card, repeating the process for each Suit. Since the latter represent the Four Pastures, or the game regions, we will have a total of 40 Devils. This choice proves to be very spot on, both thematically and mechanically. In addition to adding charm to an already extremely intriguing setting, in fact it allows you to have a very lethal random encounters available. When a Mano Sinistra narrator wants to offer an hard challenge to their players or introduce a Devil without having to think about which one, they just need to draw s a card.
I would also like to point out that each Pasture has a couple of pages that introduce it through the words of the Dealer. For greater immersion, there are also maps of each area.
For the rest, the manual is not lost in frills, dedicating the remaining 100 pages to the protagonists: the Devils.
Review of the Protagonists: the 40 Devils
As you will soon understand by reading this review, 40 Devils is not just a list of creatures.
Each Devil occupies two pages, one of which contains a magnificent illustration. The second instead proposes the name of the creature, the card to which it corresponds, an evocative introduction narrated by the Dealer, an accurate description (both physical and behavioral), unique mechanics for combat and for the other game phases and the indispensable stat block.
In particular, to insert them in the narrative, the introduction of the Dealer and the description are incredibly useful. The first is in the form of a story and gives precious narrative ideas. The second is instead more analytical and provides very precious technical information for each narrator, such as the specific nature of the Pacts and the Fragment linked to it. For more information on these elements (and on the interpretation of the stat block) of 40 Devils, I recommend you read my review of the basic manual.
The Kings of each suit have a remarkable importance in Pastures and for this reason four pages are dedicated to them. The specific sections are the same, but greater space is given to the introduction and description.
Apart from all these technical details, I believe that every Devil is a very precious addition for the setting and the gaming experience. Reading its purposes, its nature and its darkest depravations, it is very simple to create fascinating plots and make sure that the Four Pastures are not a simple land where to kill or die.
Review of the Aesthetics of 40 Devils
All the information contained in this manual is clearly proposed and readable. Two-columns pagination (with some rare pages with a single column) and the classic font are perfectly combined with the parchment-colored background.
The real element of chaos and art are the illustrations, expertly created by the hand of David Genchi. Their profane and irreverent nature is simply perfect for accompanying the tones that the manual proposes. Moreover, it is the same artist who illustrated the basic manual, giving further consistency to the work as a whole. The same goes for the illustration on the soft cover.
The manual is also easy to transport and convenient to consult thanks to its 17 x 24 cm format. Being the same as the basic manual, they will be perfect even when you put them in your library one next to the other.
Conclusions of the Review of 40 Devils
As you have surely understood by reading the previous paragraphs of this review, 40 Devils is not a simple bestiary, but a supplement that embellishes any Mano Sinistra session. The cure in narration and writing is commendable and the contents are definitely very inspired.
For example, I particularly appreciated a Devil so fickle that it changes its shape, so as to become a temptation for any Inhuman. After offering their most hidden desires, it makes them become its servant and finally, when they are no longer useful, it devours them. And why not mention one of the four Kings, so strong in battle that he has never lost a clash. His appearance of a fallen angel is made even more disturbing by the mighty black iron sword tempered in the blood of its victims that brandishes.
If you want to discover even more hidden secrets of the Four Pastures, this is the manual for you!
