How to Build the Perfect Setting for Your Zoo Mafia RPG
When diving into a game of Zoo Mafia, creating a vibrant and immersive setting is a crucial first step. The game’s premise is delightfully unique, offering two distinct approaches for players and 
Game Masters (GMs) to craft their world: a dual-life zoo animal narrative or a fully anthropomorphic animal society. Both styles bring their own charm and challenges, so let’s explore how to develop each setting to enhance your Zoo Mafia experience. Get access to all the Zoo Mafia info in one place.
The Dual-Life Zoo Animal Setting
In this style, the characters are zoo animals leading double lives. By day, they reside in enclosures, playing the part of ordinary animals observed by unsuspecting humans. But when the sun sets, their secret nature emerges. They don human clothes, navigate the bustling nightlife, and engage in the seedy underworld of organized crime—all while keeping their true identities hidden from the humans around them.
Key Features:
- Blending Two Worlds: This setting thrives on the tension between the animals’ public and secret lives. How do they maintain their façade while committing daring heists at night? What measures do they take to ensure the humans never uncover their secret?
- Glossing Over Logistics: In this approach, the game leans into its absurdity. Animals wearing clothes, driving cars, and wielding firearms are accepted without question. The focus is on the drama, humor, and high-stakes tension of living a dual life.
- Potential Conflicts: This setting naturally lends itself to challenges like avoiding human suspicion, escaping enclosures, or dealing with the consequences of a zookeeper getting too curious about their nighttime antics.
Tips for GMs:
- Play Up the Danger: Human discovery could spell disaster for the characters. Incorporate storylines where players must outsmart nosy zookeepers or rival mobs threatening to expose their existence.
- Emphasize Setting Details: Describe the zoo vividly. From the creak of enclosure gates to the bustling food court, the zoo should feel alive both day and night.
The Fully Anthropomorphic Animal Setting
For those who prefer a more expansive and less human-centric world, consider running Zoo Mafia with fully anthropomorphized animals. In this version, animals live in a world of their own—talking, walking on two legs, and fully integrating human-like abilities into their culture. The zoo and humans fade into the background, giving way to an all-animal society teeming with opportunities for exploration and intrigue.
Key Features:
- A World of Animals: Without the limitations of the zoo, the setting can expand to an entire city or even a sprawling countryside, with animals as the sole inhabitants.
- Heightened Believability: Anthropomorphic animals naturally drive cars, wield weapons, and conduct business without the need for explanation, offering a more seamless and immersive
Zoo Mafia RPG Chicks Don’t Mess Around.
experience.
- Broader Story Possibilities: This setting opens up opportunities for larger-scale adventures, like political intrigue among rival crime families or cross-country smuggling operations.
Tips for GMs:
- Build a Rich Animal World: Develop diverse neighborhoods, cultural quirks, and societal norms unique to your anthropomorphic society. How do predators and prey coexist? What customs or taboos govern their interactions?
- Focus on Exploration: With more territory to roam, encourage players to uncover new areas, form alliances, and expand their criminal empires.
Choosing the Right Setting for Your Group
The decision between these two settings ultimately depends on the tone and style of game your group wants to play.
- If you enjoy slapstick comedy, sneaky escapades, and high-stakes tension, the dual-life zoo animal setting is an excellent choice.
- For groups that prefer world-building, character-driven drama, and open-ended exploration, the anthropomorphic animal setting provides endless opportunities.
Combining the Two Styles
Don’t feel restricted to just one approach! Zoo Mafia thrives on creativity. Perhaps your game starts in a zoo and expands into a fully anthropomorphic world as the story progresses. Or maybe the
The mob has just made a big score in tonight’s session of Zoo Mafia RPG.
zoo itself is a microcosm of the larger animal society, with rival enclosures operating like neighborhoods in a bustling city.
Final Thoughts
Zoo Mafia’s flexibility is one of its greatest strengths. Whether your players are pulling off daring heists under the noses of humans or engaging in cutthroat turf wars in an all-animal metropolis, the setting you create will be the foundation of your adventure. Embrace the absurdity, dive into the drama, and let your imagination run wild—because in Zoo Mafia, the only limit is the one you set.
By crafting a setting that resonates with your group, you’ll set the stage for a game that’s as engaging as it is unforgettable. So, grab your fedoras, load your tommy guns, and get ready to take Furton City (or your own creation) by storm!
If you are a fan of Zoo Mafia and want to be notified when we go live on Kickstarter make sure you head over to the follow page to get notified. If you want to be on the newsletter to get all the details as we release them you can sign up here.
Thanks for reading. Until Next Time, Stay Nerdy!!
No Comments