Editing Brancalonia (section)

==WTF is "Spaghetti Fantasy"?==
Spaghetti Fantasy is a genre largely unknown outside of its native Italy (hence the "spaghetti" part of the name), which is half the reason this setting exists - to expose it to an unfamiliar audience. At its core, one could describe Spaghetti Fantasy as [[Low Fantasy]] with a light-hearted tone, an emphasis on tragicomedy, abundant black comedy, abundant (but non-lethal) brawls and a focus on the endlessly smart-arsed lower-classes of society. Even your players are assumed by default to be "loveable rogues" who work as less-than-reputable sellswords and troubleshooters for hire; this is a world in which your adventurers are earthy, foul-mouthed mercenaries or bawdy witches (think [[Discworld|Nanny Ogg]] in her hot-and-steamy youth), not shining noble [[knight]]s or aloof, sagacious [[wizard]]s.

In short - Italian commedia dell'arte, made famous by Giovanni Boccaccio's ''Decameron'' and George Gascoigne's translation of ''I Suppositi''. Chaucer? ...''Shakespeare''? A couple of thieves.

The basic "rules" of Spaghetti Fantasy as outlined in the book itself are thus:
* '''Low (But Widespread) Magic'''
* '''Light-Hearted Tone''' - Sure, the setting's about thieves and rogues, but they're not ''all'' morally reprehensible bastards. In fact, the morality of it all is quite flexible, leaning towards the silly side.
* '''Tragedy and Comedy''' - Yes, there is plenty of tragedy in the life of a penniless charlatan, but all of this adversity is faced with a smile.
* '''Hoe and Sword''' - The setting isn't one about epic chivalric knights, but a bunch of broke pickpockets, menials and beggars who still aspire to something noble despite their brokeness.
* '''No Money for Special Effects''' - This setting is akin to a budget movie, so a canny GM can consider things like abandoned settings, recycled extras and sparingly-applied monsters.
* '''Likelihood''' - Instead of the typical fantasy logic, this setting tries to ground itself in something akin to historical accuracy.
* '''Brawly Fantasy''' - Expect plenty of tavern brawls for silly reasons.
* '''Grandguinolesque''' - Just because it's silly doesn't mean it can be dark. There are elements of [[grimdark]] and bleak here, especially in Hell.

To help emphasize its distinctive features, PCs in the world of Brancalonia are called "Knaves", because they represent a wide array of mercenaries, rogues and rascals. Normally, a PC group (or Band) is but a small sub-unit of a larger swarm of knaves, called the Company. Despite this shabby reputation, however, the general assumption is that Knaves are not truly evil, as summed up in the sidebar on Brancalonia alignments:
::''In Brancalonia, most Knaves are likeable scoundrels (CG or CN); belong to communities or covens who follow their instincts or the laws of nature (N); slobs who make a living as best they can (NG); or dreamers aspiring to honor and glory in a world not worthy of high ideals (LG and LN).''  

Play in Barcelonia is recommended for levels 1-6 at most; this is a [[Low Fantasy]] derivative that revels in being sleazy, ironic and low-powered. Because of this, all of the setting unique subclasses don't bother to include features higher than 6th level, and new system called "Emeriticence" is introduced to allow for players to continue adventuring after 6th level, replacing the normal level-up boons with a selection of feat-like bonus abilities. That's right, it's an [[Epic6]] setting.