Today we submit to you a review of Kisarta. First of all, we want to thank Isola Illyon Edizioni for having sent us a physical copy of the manual. Kisarta is an original setting for D&D5e that immediately gave us strong “souls like” vibes. The manual is available at the official store of Isola Illyon Edizioni, for 40€. The PDF is included, or it can be bought individually for 20€. For the skeptics there is a free downloadable quickstart.
Souls Like Vibes
As I said, the work of Lupo Condotta on the setting and Guido Maicol Campanini on the mechanics, gave me strong “Dark Souls-like” vibes. That’s exactly what Kisarta sets out to do: to show you what it means to play in a gloomy and distressing world, where death loses its meaning. All that matters is the ability to keep one’s sanity intact. The characters of Kisarta have in fact an attribute called ‘Soul’, whose score is consumed at each death. Once completely exhausted, they “dissipate”. In this way, a “dead” character becomes Ether, the substance of which the entire game world is composed, shaped by the collective will that is grafted onto the memories of individuals.
Perfectly matched with Dark Souls, characters wake up in an endless graveyard. From this moment they are Souls, pure Aether whose form is sculpted only by will and self-consciousness. Under the white sun called Kisarta, the Souls reach the city of Limbo and the surrounding Dominions, where dark and mysterious entities manage the Great Game and alter even the very laws of physics.
From this moment they are involved in a dense web of plots, intrigues, and alliances whose ultimate goal is unknown, but in which anyone with a even a modicum of potential does their best to influence. The Great Game is part of what are presented as Truths capable of driving even the most resilient of Souls to madness, the details of which are analyzed in the concluding pages of the manual. We, as always, are spoiler free, and we leave you the pleasure of discovering them.
Kisarta: Review of the Volume
Kisarta is an excellently crafted product. The manual is pleasant to hold in your hands, with good heft and hand-feel, and has a truly captivating graphic line. It is important to underline how the volume is able to give an idea of the themes and atmospheres of the game from a the very first glance without sacrificing the clarity of presentation and the practicality of in-game reference typical of D&D5e.
The illustrations would look good on one of the official Dungeons & Dragons manuals, with the added bonus of always being faithful to the setting. The only flaw that I detected from this point of view is that it would have been nice to have more illustrations of the character options and for the short bestiary contained in the manual. Of course increasing them would have increased the costs and therefore the prices, but some of the works of art are so beautiful they make you want to see more.
Kisarta: What to Expect?
While not a particularly bulky tome, Kisarta is quite rich in material. A good half of the manual is devoted to the description of the game world; and even if the descriptions are rather tightly focused, they are complete. A first reading guarantees finding many ideas, while a large margin is still provided for customization. I appreciate that enough space is dedicated not only to the description of the places, but also to describe how to manage everyday life and social relations, which the authors took the time and care to investigate, an aspect all-too-often taken for granted.
In regards to rules, several character options are presented in addition to the mechanics of the Soul score that is consumed at each death of the character.
New Options for the Characters
This tome presents five new playable races.
- Forgottens have resided in one of the Kisarta Domains for so long that they have forgotten their identities.
- Disembodied, in contrast, have forgotten their own features before awakening, incarnating themselves in the bodies of statues.
- Dissognators are the manifestation of a predator of the unconscious, which feeds on nightmares.
- The Effigyies are a sort of elemental, a part of Aether that comes to life spontaneously.
- The contrary Fetishes are a sort of patchwork of what remains of some Souls following their final consumption.
There are also five new classes.
- Abominations are altered by the mystical energies of Kisarta, allowing them to exploit lethal mutations.
- Bewitched Knights combine their martial prowess with the arcane arts.
- Demiurges, probably the most interesting class for me, learn to manipulate the very nature of the Aether that surrounds them, combining limited martial skills with the possibility of distributing bonuses or penalties to influence the final outcome of a fight.
- Ravagers are animated by an infinite torment, venting their frustration on the world by summoning weapons created out of the Aether itself.
- Finally, Travelers are motivated by the desire to know the Kisarta Domains more deeply, specializing in their exploration.
New subclasses are proposed too, one for each class of the D&D5e Core manual, and new spells – not many, but choice of making each new spell deeply in theme with the setting, not simply a race for novelty, is a particularly successful tactic.
Kisarta Analysis
Overall, Kisarta is a highly successful setting. It cannot be denied that the ‘Souls-like’ style is one of the greatest successes of recent years in the videogame field. With a few simple interventions, the manual manages to showcase it again at its best. The changes from D&D5e are few but effective, especially the more realistic rest; the game options are interesting and the ability to re-use dead characters in other campaigns, regardless of their origins, is definitely an added value.
It should be noted for lovers of Dark Souls that the gaming experience is still very different. Kisarta envisions a much more extensive form of society and interactions with intelligent creatures. While this may make some purists angry, it should be remembered that we are talking about a role-playing game to start with. Moreover, it is one adapted to D&D5e, which offers very specific types of experiences. Kisarta is probably the best possible way to convey the sensations of games like Dark Souls, but a lot of adaptation work in this sense was inevitable for this use. The result would have been unplayable, otherwise.
As far as aspects that could be improved, surely there are some continuous repetitions of concepts already defined in the beginning, which could have been avoided. Even on a quick reading, some concepts concerning the nature of Kisarta itself are very clear, so repeating them whenever the opportunity arises was not necessary.
Also, the start of a campaign or adventure can happen in two ways: with characters who have just awakened, or with characters who have already become familiar with the world they are in. While both options have their advantages, the first would be much more fascinating. It is a pity that the manual neglects it a bit, mainly offering material for the second type.
Conclusions about the Review of Kisarta
After importing a small masterpiece like Spire: the City Must Fall (you can find our review here), Isola Illyon Edizioni offers us an original, made in Italy, setting for D&D5e. As you can read in this review, Kisarta promises a certain style of play with specific atmospheres, and lives up to what it promises.
Rich as much in ideas as in original mechanics, it has the intelligence to ride a theme of the moment without limiting itself to providing mere fan service. For those who love dark fantasy applied to the most famous role-playing game in the world; for those who loved the Dark Souls saga and want to try to convey its sensations to the table; and even for those who simply want to change their approach, it is certainly highly recommended.