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...
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...
