In recent posts I’ve covered primarily Pathfinder Second Edition, because that is what my group plays on game night most often. Today, I want to do something a little different. This review will be based not upon a play session, but upon an indie RPG which I have read and which I really hope to get a chance to bring to the (virtual) table in the near future.
Spirited Cafe is a Forged in the Dark game written by A Couple of Drakes The book is a 44-page PDF, dedicated mostly to rules text, though the cover of the zine is beautiful.
Inspirations
The title itself gives away the largest inspiration as to the setting and basic premise of Spirited Cafe. You play as a family indentured to the witch Baba in a cafe straight out of Spirited Away. Every description of character abilities and potential customers for the cafe drips with flavor straight from Miyazaki films.
On the mechanics side of things, A Couple of Drakes are masters of the Forged in the Dark game. Progress Clocks, Position, and Effect are all used to make your family’s nightly shifts at the cafe an adventure.
Mechanics
Speaking of the Forged in the Dark mechanics, those are split between character mechanics kept by each player and a family sheet which is shared among the players jointly.
Each character has three resource bars: Form, Spirit, and Aura. Form represents physical health, whent it is gone, a character dies and their player must create a new one to continue the family’s work. Spirit is a resource that can be spent for extra dice, but if lost, a character is removed from the service for the rest of the night and unable to assist. Aura is used to power special abilities. Both Spirit and Aura recharge to full with each new night.
Characters have certain “Action Ratings” which provide the dice rolled for resolution of conflicts. These are Tenderize, Finesse, Timing, Contrive, Banter, WAG (Wild Ass Guess), Flair, Vroom, and Shoo. A player will have between 0 and 3 dots in each of these ratings. Each dot translates to one 6-sided die when a roll is called for.
When rolls are called for, the game master does not call for a specific rating, but instead sets a scene and declares a position and effect for the roll, leaving the rating to how the player narrates their reaction to the scenario.
Position reflects the risk of danger the character has found themselves in. Controlled reflects a relatively safe condition, Risky means that something could go wrong if the roll is failed, Desperate position means that something serious could happen if the position is not dealt with.
There are similarly three levels of effect in the game. Limited means that there is not much a character can do to change a situation, and all rolls will be treated as one category lower. Standard is, well, standard. Greater effect means that things are going in a character’s favor and all results will be treated as one category greater, consequences are possible, but a character literally cannot fail a roll with Greater effect.
Once a rating is chosen and a character knows the position and effect of the scenario, they roll a number of 6-sided dice equal to the rating and keep the highest number. 1-3 are failures, something will go wrong. 4-5 are successes with some minor hiccup attached. 6 is a full success. If multiple 6s appear on the dice, the roll is a critical and not only does the character succeed, but they get something extra as well.
Impressions
I’ve read through this one multiple times, and every time I think to myself how much I want to get it in front of my players.
I love the flavor that comes through in the sample menus given as examples of what the players could cook up for their guests. I love the brief but evocative descriptions given of the kind of patrons who could find themselves in the cafe on a given night. I love the delicate balance of time spent on various tasks and that the game runs on a real-world clock.
As short as 44 pages is as an RPG text, it still comes through on every page how much the Drakes love both the Forged in the Dark mechanics they use as well as the Studio Ghibli films they pull inspiration from.
Personally, I’m a person who likes to cook and likes fantasy and games. This one was basically written just for me. And if any of those things bring you joy, I think this is a game that you should check out as well.
I look forward to another day where I’ll post an update about how my group thought about playing this one.
Where to Buy
(Links are not affiliate links)
- $12.00 for PDF at itch.io
- $12.00 for PDF at DriveThruRPG
Leave a Reply