Roberto Villa, known to everyone simply as “Master,” is a Milan-based psychotherapist and the author of the science-fiction novels Le Cronache di Ishtar (2018, Illiterate Move) and Samsara Gambit (2024, Illiterate Move), as well as the narrative role-playing game Saga (2017, Illiterate Move) and its expansion Saga Svelata (2019, Illiterate Move). But titles and publications only tell part of the story.
He is, without exaggeration, the greatest role-playing game master I have ever met.
If I had never known him, I would never have played Pendragon. And if I had never played Pendragon, I would never have become the designer I am today. Through his way of running games—patient, rigorous, imaginative, and deeply human—he taught me what role-playing could truly be: not escapism, but a form of shared authorship, responsibility, and emotional truth.
I owe him more than I can ever repay. That debt can never really be settled—but that doesn’t mean I won’t spend a lifetime trying.
Roberto and I spent a morning shooting at Filanda Pregiata, having fun experimenting with different poses and moods. Even though Roberto isn’t a professional model, he was absolutely fantastic in front of the camera—naturally expressive, comfortable, and surprisingly powerful both in his body language and in his facial expressions.
I enjoyed the session so much that I’m certain we’ll plan another one in the future, this time in a more deliberately staged environment. I can easily imagine something with a gothic atmosphere, inspired by Edgar Allan Poe or H. P. Lovecraft, which feels perfectly suited to the aura of mysticism that seems to surround Roberto so effortlessly.