After some time, we talk again about The Elephant and Macaw Banner RPG, this time with a review of the manual; it was written by Christopher Kastensmidt and Tom McGrenery who were kind enough to send us a physical copy.
After the interview with the authors and our preview at the release of the Kickstarter, we can finally browse this volume of about 200 pages.
Porcupine Publishing publishes the game; it can be purchased on the official store at a price of 40 dollars, about 40 euros, for the physical plus the digital version. If you prefer the digital version only, you can find it for 27 dollars, about 26 euros.
Before any analysis of the mechanics or the setting, I can say that I am pleasantly surprised by the presence, on the back of the cover, of a content advisory; this is the indication of the minimum age of the players who can approach the game according to the proposed themes. Know that if you want to play The Elephant And Macaw Banner then you must be 12 years old or older.
An Important Premise
The Elephant And Macaw Banner starts from a fundamental premise, explained directly by the author in the introduction: with dedication and effort, you can learn anything in life. This game therefore differs from most of the other products on the market because it totally excludes the concept of natural abilities.
For this reason, the game does not provide, for the characters building, attributes to define the physical or mental characteristics. As in life, if you want to be stronger you need to exercise. To know more, you have to study.
Likewise, don’t expect to find a list of classes in the pages of The Elephant And Macaw Banner. Instead, there are plenty of skills to choose from to define your character.
Each skill has three possible mastery levels: Apprentice, Practitioner, and Master. For each test, you have to roll 3d6 and add the skill bonus. These are defined by the level of mastery possessed and any modifiers linked to the game situation at the discretion of the narrator.
At the beginning of this review, I pointed out the minimum age required for participants. It is not a casual indication because the whole volume has, in its structure and conception, an evident didactic intent. After all, the author is also a teacher.
An Intuitive and Light Game System
Basically, the system uses the skills to determine the success or failure of the character’s actions. When a character wants to overcome a risky situation whose outcome is not certain, he faces a challenge.
The Elephant And Macaw Banner defines four different challenge levels: Easy, Intermediate, Hard, and Legendary; each has its own degree of difficulty to overcome at the time of the test. Since each skill grants a bonus to the die roll based on the skill level (+3, +6 or +9), it will be enough to match or exceed the difficulty level of the challenge to overcome it.
This means that, at the time of character creation, important choices must be made; however, keep in mind that the creation process is very simple.
The Realistic Characters of The Elephant And Macaw Banner
As I said, in The Elephant And Macaw Banner the character is extremely realistic compared to real life. The character sheet is simple, immediate and divided into boxes to be filled in at the creation; it includes characteristics, history, abilities, physical condition, defense, energy, money, equipment, and weapons. The realism, however, does not stop at the compilation of the character sheet; some mechanics also show that this game is didactic. A character can in fact increase her energy by increasing to level 3 some skills. On the other hand, once she is left with little energy, she will not be able to fully exploit his abilities.
All the indications on how to fill in the character sheet are detailed in chapters 1 and 2; but if you want to start playing right away, 8 pre-generated characters are available at the end of the manual.
The steps for creating the characters are carefully detailed. Each one is explained in a simple and clear way, accompanying the player in each phase.
An Intriguing and Complete Manual
The volume of The Elephant And Macaw Banner, as evidenced by this review, is quick to read and easy to consult. Each section is structured in a clear and practical way; it leads the players and the Mediator (the name chosen for the narrator) to understand the rules and to know the intriguing setting. Chapters 1 and 2 are also available as a separate volume: the Player’s Guide; this can be found on the Drivethrurpg website at a cost of 7 dollars, about 7 euros.
The Mediator’s chapter contains all the information that she needs to know in order to conduct the sessions; it is about eighty pages but the reader should not fear their number. The chapter contains a myriad of tips and information to read and refer to when needed.
In a game like this, a large bestiary is a must. Included in the Mediator section, The Elephant And Macaw Banner has a bestiary that details the fantastic creatures of the game world. The section opens with a clear explanation of how the bestiary entries are organized and outlines any specific rules about the abilities and the attacks of the creatures. Moreover you can find 72 creatures, from Brazilian-inspired mythology to giant versions of normal jungle creatures.
The Setting of The Elephant And Macaw Banner
The setting of The Elephant and Macaw Banner is strongly linked to the history of the Brazilian territory and draws heavily on it. In fact, it founds its bases on the historical and cultural situation of Brazil in the sixteenth century.
While taking its cue from the colonial context of those territories, the setting does not focus on the negative aspects of colonization. The focus, on the other hand, enhances the strengths of people and cultures, placing them in a slightly modified Brazil, in order to be more fantastic than strictly historical.
Once again, among the pages full of ideas and details, the desire to transmit knowledge and awareness of the territory emerges. Kastensmidt chose to put the native tribes of Brazil at the center of the setting; this however did not prevent him from including all the populations who inhabited that territory. In fact, both the European colonizers and the deported African tribes are present; the result is therefore a high-level overview of who they were, how they got to Brazil, and what influences contributed to its cultural development.
For those wishing to deepen that historical period, the appendices contain a precious chronology from 1500 to 1650. The information is concentrated on the Brazilian events, without forgetting the world context; in this way, you have further ideas to make your sessions credible and rich.
An Exciting Introductory Adventure
The Fires of Bertioga is the pre-made adventure included in The Elephant And Macaw Banner. This is an introductory scenario designed for 2 to 8 players, although I recommend a maximum of 6; it can be played and finished in one or two sessions.
The events are set in 1576, in the village of Bertioga; this is located on the island of Santo Amaro, on the coast of the Captaincy of Santo Amaro (now part of the state of San Paolo). It is an investigative and mysterious adventure in which the characters must find out what happened to their missing mentor.
The adventure is made up of multiple elements, including travel by land, strange encounters, and, of course, conflicts that could result in combat. It is obviously designed for beginner players and Mediators to explain the rules as they play, without creating confusion. You can choose one of the pre-generated characters that are varied enough to grant very different backgrounds and provide useful plot resolution skills.
The Elephant And Macaw Banner‘s Materials and Design
The choice of the layout of this volume is quite classic. All the text flows in two columns with a good margin and a font size that allows a quick and fluid reading.
The artistic component is very interesting and certainly adequate to the glossy and thick paper used. The illustrations are not bulky but accompany the text well, emphasizing, rather than overpowering, the rules or the narrative.
Usual information boxes are present to recall the rules but, also in this case, they are easy to read and well integrated into the layout; in short, they do not give an unpleasant filling sensation.
I admit that I don’t particularly like glossy pages, with bad lighting they can make reading difficult. All the product is of high quality and, despite the soft cover, it is certainly made to last for countless sessions and to pass in several hands.
Conclusions of The Elephant And Macaw Banner Review
I was pleasantly surprised by this manual that I had heard very little about.
The whole work shows the author’s passion for the territory and history; the deep desire to bring new players is evident, even and above all in school age. Also in this sense, The Elephant And Macaw Banner can be an excellent manual to approach the role-playing game, both for the players and for the Mediators.