Review of Kult: Divinity Lost - Archetype Bundle

Blurb from the publisher: 'The Archetype Bundle for Kult: Divinity Lost contains reference sheets for the 25 Archetypes available in the Kult: Divinity Lost Core Rules, for easy access during character creation.

Kult: Divinity Lost is a reboot of the highly acclaimed and infamous contemporary horror role-playing game "Kult", originally released a quarter of a century ago, in 1991. This anniversary version of the game features a completely new rule-set, and the setting is updated to present day. Escape your nightmares, strike bargains with demons, and try to stay alive in a world full of pain, torture, and death.'

What you get: Your EUR 12,40 or USD 12 or GBP 11 will buy you the Kult: Divinity Lost - Archetype Bundles for use with the Kult: Divinity Lost 4th Edition game line. The product only comes in a physical edition; not in an electronic one.

Contents: The Archetype Bundle does not include new content; rather it combines content found in the core book, namely Kult: Divinity Lost. All pages in the product are loose; this is no book.

Each double-sided page reproduces the Archetypes as found in pages 46 to 86 of the core book, with three important differences. First, the image is not reproduced. Second, all the suggested Dark Secrets, Disadvantages, and Advantages, are not just named. They are fully presented inside the loose page. In other words, instead of having a list of five Dark Secrets for the Agent, these five Dark Secrets are reproduced as is from pages 93, 94 and 95. Third, each Archetype ends with a short paragraph about Advancement taken straight from the Aware character sheet, complete with tick boxes.

The six Move Sheets reproduce the last two pages of the rulebook exactly as seen there. These cover the 11 Player Moves. The format is identical.

The six character sheets reproduce only the General Character sheet; the Aware, the Sleeper and the Enlightened are not reproduced.

The strong points: I had written in the review of the core book that 'for a game that is about horrific exploration, it is still very dependent on the rolls of the dice.' The Archetype Bundle does not reduce the importance of the rules in the game; it reduces the learning curve and increases the rules' accessibility and ease of use.

The time needed for character creation is greatly contained. Most things are now in one place. The fact that a large chunk are suggestions is irrelevant. Take the time and insert any additional Dark Secrets, Disadvantages and Advantages you take with their full text. It is one thing to have them listed by name on the character sheet, and another to have the full entry in front of you all the time. If one plays Kult often, or if you are into convention play and pick up games, this is an indispensable accessory...

...and even more so because of the six copies of the Player Moves. Indeed, one could copy them from the last pages of the core book. Yet, they are here, and they help a lot for those of us who don't have easy access to a printer.

The blank character sheets are useful, even though Kult doesn't have the most demanding sheets on earth.

The paper is matte. You can easily write and erase with a pencil. Nice! You can effectively keep these sheets as originals, scan and print the Archetypes your players choose, and hand them out the copies to use concurrently with their character sheets. If they use the suggestions of each archetype, they will have half the game's rules in front of them already. I also recommend that each player highlights the aspects he uses the most in the game. There is a lot of info in these pages, and the font is rather small.

The weak points: If your budget is tight, it is clear that you do not need this product. There is no new content. The sheets and the player moves can be printed straight from the core book's pdf as is. As to the Archetypes, one could waste some time in order to print both the Archetypes themselves as well as a primer of Dark Secrets, Advantages and Disadvantages. Here the work has been already done for you. If you destroy any of these documents through use, abuse, or sheer clumsiness, they are gone; there is no pdf for you to print a brand new copy.

There is no art on this accessory. I don't mind in the least; this is a utilitarian accessory that makes the rules more transparent, in order for you to focus on the game's feeling. Other horror games opt for more elaborate sheets, yet Kult doesn't need art there to scare you shitless.

The differences between General, Aware, Sleeper and Enlightened character sheets are outright minimal, pretty much 10% of the whole sheet. I would have preferred a format where all types of characters are accommodated in a single sheet, and where one simply strikes out the irrelevant entries. This didn't happen; we get the General sheet, with the reference material of the Aware sheet on the Archetypes themselves. It's not a biggie, but it could have been handled better.

Conclusion: The Kult: Divinity Lost - Archetype Bundle is nowhere near an indispensable product. Once you have it however, character creation becomes much faster while sessions become more fluid. Recommended for those who venture into Kult's horrific landscapes often.

For more info on the Kult: Divinity Lost - Archetype Bundle and Kult overall, visit Helmgast and Modiphius Entertainment at https://helmgast.se and http://www.modiphius.com respectively.

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