Durandal - Review

After Dawnfall, Rui Anselmo (Se7en Sagas) returns to Gamefound with a new title: Durandal - Mythic Chivalry RPG.

As the name suggests, Durandal transports players to a medieval setting rooted in historical facts, but enriched with magic, the supernatural, and divine interventions.

To avoid any confusion, this review is based solely on the information provided in the game’s quickstart version.

Setting

As mentioned above, Durandal places players in a medieval world filled with moments of bravery and heroism. The quickstart does a great job of immersing players in this setting by introducing Emperor Charlemagne, who tasks them with recovering a lost artifact from a great battle and, with it, restoring the glory of the empire.

The characters who bring these adventures to life also enhance the game’s epic tone. Warrior monks, knights, sorcerers, and people from various nations and faiths come together for a common cause. Despite this shared goal, they are not one-dimensional. Each character is driven by a set of Passions that constantly influence their actions and worldview.

This last point directly connects to the game’s mechanics.

Mechanics

Like Dawnfall, Durandal is a diceless RPG that uses a similar wagering system. At the start of a session, each player has a limited pool of Effort Points, which are spent when performing dramatically significant tests. Characters are defined (among other elements) by Attributes and Skills. When making a test, the player adds the relevant Attribute and Skill values together, which determines the maximum number of points they can invest. For example, if a character has 2 in Attribute X and 3 in Skill Y, they can spend up to 5 Effort Points.

At first glance, having only 20 points for an entire session might seem insufficient, but that’s where Passions come in. Acting in accordance with their Passions allows players to regain some Effort Points, keeping them engaged in dramatic and heroic actions. In short, the game’s mechanics are designed to fully encourage role-playing in dramatically epic and epically dramatic moments!

Along these lines, the success spectrum also reflects this sense of drama and grandiosity. It ranges from critical failure to critical success and, in between, includes normal success, normal failure, and success at a cost. While this mechanic is already present in RPGs like The World of Darkness and Apocalypse World, it enriches Durandal's world of extreme heroism and ambition.

Soldiers and Armies

Durandal’s system not only allows players to experience grand adventures as individuals but also offers the opportunity to shine as leaders managing large armies.

The same mechanics described above apply to these large-scale encounters. There are some differences, of course, since factors like army size and the type of equipment they carry affect their resilience. Additionally, the inclusion of a Morale tracker for armies is a meaningful and well-thought-out addition.

The Adventure

The quickstart adventure follows a fairly generic structure. It provides the necessary tools for both players and Game Masters to understand the flow of the stories being told and when to apply game mechanics.

However, the story’s linearity is a double-edged sword. While it delivers a cohesive and epic narrative, it assumes that players will follow a predetermined path. Some moments suffer from a lack of alternatives to success, which places a heavy reliance on the Game Master’s improvisation skills.

Final Thoughts

Pros:

• A mythical and epic medieval setting

•  Strong synergy between mechanics and role-playing through character Passions

• The diceless rules system is a breath of fresh air

• Simple and intuitive mechanics

• Fantastic and visually appealing artwork

Cons:

• Many players may not appreciate the AI-generated art

• The included adventure relies heavily on improvisation in certain areas

If this review piqued your interest, you can find more information and support the project on Gamefound!