Kult: Divinity Lost - The black Madonna

Kult: Divinity Lost

by Gunilla Jonsson (Creator), Michael Petersen

When the new year’s eve of 1941 shifts to 1942, all the candles extinguish in the churches of Leningrad. The Saint’s faces turn to black. The fabric of reality tears. When morning comes, twenty priests are found dead by their own hands.

A silent girl with many secrets is found in a closed off basement. No one knows who she is or where she lives. With no other options available, she is taken to an orphanage where nothing is as it seems.

The same cold winter night, Dimi, an old icon painter, meets a strange woman on his way home. She reveals her face to him and gives him a command, then walks away. Back in his small apartment, he immediately starts painting a new icon. An icon depicting a Black Madonna.

The Black Madonna is a legendary KULT campaign previously unreleased outside of Sweden and France. Its six separate episodes lead the player characters into a haunting adventure connected to the Death Angel Chagidiel and the Archon Binah, and their servants.

Taking place in 1991 and set in a recently reunified Germany, the journey will lead the player characters into a Soviet Union on the brink of collapse, to unlock the mystery of what actually happened in Leningrad during World War 2. During the campaign, they will be taken to a world of dark dreams, and venture into the depths of Inferno, trying to save themselves.

The Black Madonna is written for KULT: Divinity Lost and has been updated with a completely new chapter describing the world of 1991 and new rules for creating characters connected to the setting and story.

Genres: Role Playing Games, Gaming

168 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2018

Reviews

[Gonzalo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am going to say “The Black Madonna” is one of those game supplements you see advertised at the back of other book at it is always “coming soon”. It might be true or not, there is no way I can find out at my current location—not Inferno by the way. It is also possible the people at Helmgast did a phenomenal advertising campaign beforehand, and when they announced “The Black Madonna” was going to be released in a language I could read, I thought “finally!” For the record, I have never played Kult, although I have a copy of a previous edition that I actually read.
Enough of the personal introduction. I am very glad this campaign is available, and I am glad I read it, particularly after my half-dissapointment with the “Taroticum” campaign. Unlike the latter, its linearity is less of a problem, and here the characters do not look like mere spectators. If the campaign feels old, it is because otherre are a ton of maps. Seriously, I think the story is pretty good, the characters have agency, and the feeling of a world crumbling—in more senses than one—is very present. Also, most fo the locations described have a great atmosphere. It is just that it feels a lot like dungeoneering. The description of every single room and toilet are certainly not the best bits to read, but it works. I almost wish it could be turned into a survival horror video-game. That could be phenomenal.
As the authors say in the introduction, it is a story with a lot of action. Now it feels an almost unintended homage to all the action heroes of my childhood—again, in the intro you will find that T2:Judgment Day was release that year. When during the Kickstarter I read they were not updating the story to fit into a modern timeline, I thought it was just laziness on the part of Helmgast, an almost common case of having promised too much, and backtracking. I was wrong, and I apologize. The convulse 1991, both in Germany and the USSR, cannot be replicated. So, let the wings of change take you to a time when Metallica, Bon Jovi, Gun’s ’n’ Roses, and Nirvana where rocking in a free world. Because a good soundtrack is pretty much the only nicety your PCs are going to find in here.
Yup, in case you are wondering , I am about to back the next Kickstarter. And no, this is not payed publicity.

[Gaze Santos · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first English translation of one of the most popular campaigns for the mature and occult themed table top RPG called Kult. It was previously only available in Sweden and France, but is back by popular demand, and updated to fit with the new 2018 edition rules of Kult: Divinity Lost. The story is set in 1991, in a recently reunified Germany. But the events spill over in the Soviet Union one the edge of political collapse. Eventually leading the characters to Leningrad, to find out what really took place there during the Second World War. It seems that Leningrad has become the battle ground between the Death Angel Chagidiel and the Archon Binah. It is up to the Playable Characters to uncover the nature of this struggle, and seek out the mysteries of the Black Madonna. This story was originally created for another espionage themed RPG game, but was adapted into a Kult campaign at a later stage. As one infiltrates the many buildings and bases, this spy theme becomes apparent. The campaign was written to last over a long series of sessions. This will not be a campaign that will be completed in simply one sitting. The book provides many details and backstory that, depending on the actions of the Playable Characters, will not necessarily come into play. A rich story has been created, and it really seems like the best seat in the house is in the Game Master's seat. However, I should note that I have not run this campaign yet myself. The point is that this is a pre-packaged campaign where almost all the details have already been thought out, and it is up to the Game Master to implement them as they see fit. I would not recommend this as a first campaign for those who have never played Kult before as it has many special rules for character making and gameplay that only apply to this campaign. As already mentioned, this is a mature RPG with the theme of child abuse (mostly physical) factoring heavily into the story, along with a lost of dark occult imagery. As such, it is not a campaign for the squeamish. But I guess this follows for most, if not all, Kult campaigns.

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know... I admire the ambitious nature of this scenario (which ends with an Archon fighting an incarnate of a Death Angel in the streets of Leningrad), but I can't look past a number of problems with it:

* The characters are infected with some horrific ailment which only seems to serve as a Motivation to carry the PC's along the with the story. Though there is ample reason for the PC's to follow through even without it.
* I can't imagine the PC's getting very far without a herculean effort by the GM to make decisions in the PC's favor. Case in point: for the climax of chapter 1 the PC's are expected to infiltrate a fortified compound with a professional security detail, break into the house, make their way into the basement, pacify a dozen or so civilians, and then go through a final ritual in the presence of three Death Angel Incarnates to cast out the said incarnates. On this last point, they can do so, because the book says, they "freeze in horror" when the PC's enter the room. Massive eye roll.
* The PC's are routinely granted access to records, evidence, and facilities that they really shouldn't have. In Chapter 2, after paying a small bribe, they are given carte blanche to look around a medical clinic, including a secret basement where they keep monstrous humans (which also serves as an access point to Inferno). Yes, bribery is a thing, but there are some things that an NPC simply would not want to share
* There's an odd discrepancy in that the Nepharites in chapter 1 are described willing to help the PC's later in the scenario but in the very next chapter they show up to threaten the characters. Are they friend or foe?

So I suppose I might be willing to run it but I'd make some significant changes to the content.

[Jule · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading and playing the 2018 edition of KULT: Divinity Lost and I really love the system.
This campaign is a classic for KULT and has been written in the 90s, but it got a revision. I think it worked out nicely without losing the 90s charm completely. ;)

The campaign itself is dark and messy. I would not recommend playing KULT for just anyone. It is about personal horror and there are some very, very dark themes in this book. The players would be confronted with violence, racism, abuse and torture. There might be the feeling of helplessness against a disease, against a totalitarian system, against hospitalization, against creeping madness and nightmares.

However, the focus of the story is not on these dark themes, but it is on the characters themselves and how they act. It is about the players (including the game master) telling a story together. The material is presented in a respectful and helpful way and the GM gets a lot of information and tools to help with the narrative.
As far as RPG campaigns go, this is a very good one!

[Arthur B · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reprint from the game's 1st Swedish edition, translated into English - but not much to write home about since it utilises the worst of 1990s scenario design gimmicks. Full review: https://refereeingandreflection.wordp...