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...
You Should Play Zoo Mafia RPG
Here at Nerdarchy we are known for playing fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons not creating new roleplaying games like Zoo Mafia RPG. I suspect people think we don’t even play other RPGs but we do. There’s actually a bunch of game play videos at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel if you sift through 3,500+ videos. Nerdarchist Ted and I love D&D and probably always will. Sometimes you get an itch that can only be scratched by playing something other than D&D. In the case of Zoo Mafia RPG the itch was not just to play but create our own RPG.
Nerdarchy on PbtA Playbooks: Zoo Mafia Design Diary #7
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Zu4AnqaJmw In this 23-minute video on Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted explore playbooks using the Powered by the Apocalypse system. The conversation dovetails with an earlier design diary wherein they focus on PbtA as a potential system to hack for creating Zoo Mafia. Playbooks...
Nerdarchy on Playing the Game: Zoo Mafia RPG Design Diary #6
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cn4LFEnvpXE In this 29-minute video on Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted dive into the world of Zoo Mafia RPG as they discuss our playtest of this RPG. We've decided to do it as an actual play or live play. They discuss the experience...
Nerdarchy on What’s in the Zoo: Zoo Mafia RPG Design Diary #5
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKqIMxrI6ak In this 19-minute video on Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted explore the zoo and surrounding area of the zoo as a roleplaying game campaign setting. There are tons of areas within the zoo for crime, adventure and exploring in the Zoo Mafia...
RPGs Helped My Mental Health
There’s a such a broad swath of tabletop roleplaying games out there and I’ve only discovered more since working with Nerdarchy. One of the best parts of delving into this hobby is the connections I’ve made with others who share my interests and this sense of community has vastly improved my mental healthscape. With May being mental health awareness month I wanted to share a more personal story, talking about how TTRPGs have helped me with my own mental health journey.
Nerdarchy on Powered by the Apocalypse Hack for Zoo Mafia RPG Design Diary #4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJB1Gh3jo4A&ab_channel=Nerdarchy In this 17-minute video on Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted continue their exploration of creating their own roleplaying game -- Zoo Mafia RPG. They are now looking at the merits of Powered by the Apocalypse. The conversation begins with a quick overview of Zoo...
Nerdarchy on Hacking Quest RPG for Zoo Mafia RPG Design Diary #3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dgqg0rFu_w&ab_channel=Nerdarchy In this 13-minute video on Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted explore roleplaying games to hack for Zoo Mafia RPG. This time we look at the Quest RPG. The conversation begins with a quick overview of Zoo Mafia and continues with a closer look...
Nerdarchy on Hacking Mork Borg Zoo Mafia RPG Design Diary #2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfrHLMbALwg&ab_channel=Nerdarchy In this 17-minute video on Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted finally decide to create their first roleplaying game — Zoo Mafia RPG. The video goes into their ideas for creating an OSR hack using Mork Borg, which has an open gaming license. The...
Nerdarchy on Zoo Mafia RPG Design Diary #1 (Overview)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBuvBNib00g In this 17-minute video on Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted finally decide to create their first roleplaying game -- Zoo Mafia RPG. The video goes into their ideas and overview of an RPG they want to create. The conversation begins by explaining the...
Capture the Classic Spelljammer Feel in Your 5E D&D Games
Spelljammer is coming to fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons! For years 5ED&D has expanded into Magic: The Gathering worlds, Critical Role’s Exandria and even universes like Rick & Morty and Stranger Things. However, some classic settings like Dark Sun and Planescape have yet to make an appearance. It occurs to me there might be those who aren’t familiar with Spelljammer so let’s talk about how to get the feel for the setting and how it might be used in my own campaigns.
