Creating a PbtA Playbook — Driver for Zoo Mafia RPG
Welcome to the Zoo. Today I’m creating the Driver — another Playbook for Nerdarchy’s first roleplaying game, Zoo Mafia RPG. Our Zoo Mafia RPG Quick Start is now live and available for free through the Zoo Mafia Newsletter. The Quick Start includes four Playbooks for the Button, Grifter, Lookout and Safecracker. We’ve also posted another Playbook here on the website we’ve renamed the Goon. We’ll continue to develop new Playbooks here and then add them for our Patreon supporters in addition to the regular rewards over there. You can become a Patreon supporter and snag the Goon Playbook here.
Wendy’s Deserved Better! A Retrospective Look at Feast of Legends RPG
Does anyone else remember that time Critical Role did a special episode sponsored by Wendy’s – yes… THAT Wendy’s? How about this one: do you remember Feast of Legends – the TTRPG made by THAT Wendy’s? For whatever reason, a lot of people in their audience got really up in arms over Critical Role’s stream of this obscure RPG, to the point that the voice actors ended up taking down the video altogether the following day in 2019.
Going Wild to Create the Free Zoo Mafia RPG Quick Start
Zoo Mafia RPG began a while ago with a simple misheard comment and now here we are releasing a free Quick Start packet of the game out into the world. It’s a wild new direction for Nerdarchy and we are more excited than ever before about what lies ahead. We’ve shared video design diaries of the development process and live streamed our first playtest and I thought it might be fun to give some looks behind the curtain of the Zoo Mafia RPG Quick Start version now available for folks to Go Wild, Do Crime and Don’t Let the Humans Catch You around their own gaming tables. I’ve also got a bit of future development plans to share, so let’s get into it.
Can 5e Races Be as Interesting as Classes? In Rule of Chaos, the Answer is Yes!
By guest poster Brave Alice Studios
For most 5e players, the race of their character is an important question in character creation. You have some set characteristics and gain some feats. And after that, your race normally stays the same from 1st level all the way up to level 20. All further customizations of your character are done on class level.
Creating a PbtA Playbook — Thug for Zoo Mafia RPG
Welcome to the Family! But first, have you downloaded the Zoo Mafia RPG Quick Start Rules? You can sign up for the Zoo Mafia RPG Newsletter here and get them for free. It’s time to build a new Playbook: Thug. (Or maybe it’ll be called Muscle.) Before going any further let me give the elevator pitch for Zoo Mafia RPG. It’s tabletop roleplaying game heavily influenced by the Powered by the Apocalypse, specifically Monster of the Week. Our design also took inspiration from Green Ronin Publishing’s AGE System. Zoo Mafia is all about being a zoo animal who is also criminal trying to get into an organized crime family.
Your Imagination is the Only Limit of RPG Stories
One appreciation both RPG and technology enthusiasts share is for customization. We love options for helping us create the experiences we enjoy the most. Brave Alice Studios understands this and put their passion into creating a platform designed specifically with your stories in mind. RPG Stories is a 3D Virtual Tabletop containing a massive world builder with models and assets for medieval fantasy, modern horror and science fiction (so basically anything at all). For a non-savvy technological person like myself the most appealing option is Auto Mode for users who like to create content easily and fast, but this is only the tip of the iceberg. Let’s get into it.
Zombies Ate My Brains And I Like It
For the past couple of months I’ve been on a major zombie binge. It started with rewatching The Walking Dead before catching up on the most recent season. In the midst of binge watching I wondered about any cool zombie videos games out there and of course tabletop roleplaying games. I found both. I’ve been thinking a lot about the zombie survival genre lately, making my brains a tasty treat for the shambling undead. Let’s get into it.
Nerdarchy on GMing Zoo Mafia RPG Design Diary #12
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUviXBVvxMg This 11-minute video on Nerdarchy the YouTube channel is Nerdarchists Dave and Ted's final design diary for the Zoo Mafia Roleplaying Game and it's about running the game and being the Game Master. The conversation starts with an overview of Zoo Mafia, the RPG where you...
Experience Your RPG Sessions Like Never Before
By guest poster Brave Alice Studios
Your imagination is our limit. “Brave Alice” studios, announced today that their 3D World-Builder/Virtual Tabletop, RPG Stories, is coming on Kickstarter on the first of September and for Alpha Testing via Steam this autumn.
Nerdarchy on Does Zoo Mafia RPG Need Safety Tools Design Diary #11
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQxu965Mbpk In this 16-minute video on Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted dive back into the Zoo Mafia Roleplaying Game. Nerdarchy is taking a crack at game design for our very own RPG by hacking Powered by the Apocalypse. In the video they discuss...
Spice Up Your Animon Story Battles with Combat Strategy and Tactics
Digimon Survive is officially out and it’s everything I wanted in a Digimon game since I was a child. The game is about 70% visual novel and 30% strategy combat in the vein of Final Fantasy Tactics, which makes for a nearly perfect simulation of a Digimon-themed RPG. Your choices influence your karma, shifting your alignment among three different paths affecting everything from the way your companions see you to the way your Digimon evolves. Needless to say I’ve had monster taming RPGs on the brain lately.
Nerdarchy on Hacking Cypher System Zoo Mafia RPG
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Xg47oB5wiw In this 23-minute video on Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted explore using the Cypher System roleplaying game from Monte Cook Games to hack our own RPG. This video is part of a Design Diary playlist presenting a sneak peek into the development...
Play Animon Story in Your Favorite Worlds
The world of monster taming video games is exploding with news at the moment. Coromon just released for Nintendo Switch, Digimon Survive releases worldwide on July 29 and Pokemon Scarlet & Violet leaks have been coming in waves. There’s even more news for even more properties but the property I’m most excited for is Animon Story RPG by Zak Barouh.
Nerdarchy on RPG Dice for Zoo Mafia RPG Design Diary #9
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UMBGAN6aFs In this 20-minute video on Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted explore making their own roleplaying game about going wild and doing crime. While Nerdarchy is mostly known for Dungeons & Dragons we do play lots of other RPGs. In this video they...
Nerdarchy on Role-Playing Game High Concepts: Zoo Mafia RPG Design Diary #8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyH4U1OJKV8&ab_channel=Nerdarchy In this 13-minute video on Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted dive deeper into the design of Zoo Mafia RPG. They explore high concepts in Nerdarchy's roleplaying game. The conversation starts with a closer look at what a high concept means as regards a...
