Review: Our Brilliant Ruin

Our Brilliant Ruin is a tabletop role-playing game that immediately captures you with its breathtaking beauty and richly imagined world. Spanning nearly 300 pages of full-color art and engaging content, it stands out as one of the most visually stunning RPGs I’ve ever encountered. The game blends elements of Victorian and Edwardian eras with a touch of 1920s flair, adding a bit of Lovecraftian horror, creating a unique setting that’s both familiar and intriguingly different.

Set in a realm known as The Dramark, Our Brilliant Ruin transports players to the last bastion of civilization in a world ravaged by a mysterious force called The Ruin. This corrupting influence emanates from a tainted star, bathing the planet in energies that decay metal and transform living beings into monstrous entities like ghosts and vampires. The setting is evocative of a society teetering on the brink, where luxury and decay coexist, and the upper echelons choose to revel in grandeur even as the world crumbles around them. The rich have chosen to ignore the world-ending calamity, while the poor suffer.

That’s not timely at all…

The social structure of The Dramark is intricate, dominated by aristocratic families who rule their domains with an iron fist, often more akin to crime lords than traditional nobility. Serving them are the Truefolk, skilled artisans, servants, and mercenaries organized into guilds that offer some degree of protection and solidarity. Outside of this hierarchy are the Unbonded, free agents who operate without masters but also without the security that comes with guild affiliation. This layered society provides an amazing and detailed backdrop for storytelling, rife with intrigue, power struggles, and the ever-present tension between different social classes.

One of the best aspects of the setting is the concept of Shivaree, a form of communal justice that keeps the aristocracy in check. While the nobles wield significant power, the masses hold a latent strength that can be unleashed when pushed too far. This delicate balance offers myriad opportunities for players to navigate complex relationships and moral dilemmas.

Our Brilliant Ruin employs a streamlined system that uses only six-sided dice, making it accessible while still offering depth. The mechanics emphasize narrative and player agency, focusing on the “why” and “how” of character actions rather than just raw statistics. Players build dice pools by combining one of nine Personality attributes with one of nine Skills, allowing for a flexible approach to problem-solving. This design encourages players to think creatively about their actions and to describe their approaches in detail.

Success and failure are determined by rolling for Brills (sixes) and Glooms (ones). Rolling at least one Brill results in success, while Glooms can lead to catastrophic failures if they outnumber the Brills. The inclusion of Passion points adds another layer, allowing players to boost their rolls by tapping into their character’s emotions and motivations. This mechanic gives you strategic options and also reinforces role-playing by tying mechanical benefits to character-driven choices.

Another innovative feature is the Portfolio system, where characters have nine assets such as Mentors, Tools, or Wardrobe. These assets can be spent to automatically succeed in situations where they might otherwise be unable to act, or to gain advantages in challenging circumstances. This resource management aspect encourages players to consider how and when to utilize their assets effectively.

The visual presentation of Our Brilliant Ruin is absolutely gorgeous. The full-color pages are adorned with amazing artwork that brings The Dramark and its denizens to life. Every illustration is rich with detail, capturing the essence of a world that’s both elegant and decaying. The aesthetic blends the grandeur of Victorian and Edwardian design with hints of steampunk elements.

The layout of the book is clean and user-friendly, with thoughtful organization that makes navigating the extensive content easy. From the intricate maps of locales to the depictions of the various monstrous transformations caused by The Ruin, each page draws the reader deeper into the world. It’s evident that immense care and artistic vision have gone into crafting every aspect of the game’s presentation.

At its core, Our Brilliant Ruin explores themes of decadence in the face of impending doom, societal decay, and the human (or inhuman) response to unstoppable forces. The Ruin serves as both a literal and metaphorical agent of change, mirroring real-world concerns about environmental collapse and societal apathy. Players are not cast as saviors destined to halt The Ruin but are instead individuals navigating a world where many have chosen to indulge in hedonism rather than confront the inevitable.

The game provides a wealth of narrative hooks and encourages players and game masters to collaboratively build their own estates and stories within The Dramark. The flexibility of the setting allows for a variety of playstyles, from political intrigue and social maneuvering among the aristocracy to exploring the haunted remnants of the world and confronting the horrors spawned by The Ruin.

Our Brilliant Ruin is a masterpiece. Its combination of an immersive and thought-provoking setting, elegant mechanics that promote storytelling, and some of the most beautiful artwork I’ve ever seen in an RPG make it an exceptional offering. The game invites players to delve into a world that’s both fantastical and eerily reflective of real-world issues, all while providing the tools to craft deeply personal and engaging narratives.

Whether you’re drawn to the allure of a decaying aristocracy, the existential dread of an unstoppable cosmic force, or simply appreciate a game that places a premium on aesthetic and thematic richness, Our Brilliant Ruin is a title that deserves a place on your shelf. It’s more than just a game; it’s an experience that captivates the imagination and lingers long after the final dice are rolled.

The folks over at Studio Hermitage sent me a copy of Our Brilliant Ruin for review. If you’re interested in checking it out, you can get the core rulebook, which contains EVERYTHING I’ve mentioned, here. Thanks to Studio Hermitage for sending a copy. I’ll have videos up on YouTube and TikTok talking more about the game soon!