Nerdarchy on Hacking Quest RPG for Zoo Mafia RPG Design Diary #3

Nerdarchy on Hacking Quest RPG for Zoo Mafia RPG Design Diary #3

May 13, 2022

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 at another RPG system to hack and transform into this new game concept. This design diary looks at the Quest RPG as a potential system.

Quest uses a very simple d20 system for all resolutions weighted heavily towards success with some variation in the degree. Character creation is also very simple. Players choose a role, which provides a static number of powers they can select from a variety of disciplines within each role.

And that’s it.

In Quest characters do not have ability scores or mechanical traits related to any other aspects of the character. Players are free to choose their characters’ appearance and origins. Aside from their role a character only includes two other components. One is an ad lib like narrative wherein a player literally fills in the blanks of a short passage. The second component of character creation is the items they carry with them, which a player is free to create of their own accord, within reason for the game in which they’re meant to participate.

Advancement in Quest is unsurprisingly simple too. Whenever a player participates in a session their character can select a new power from within their role at the completion.

The appeal of hacking a system like Quest, which offers a Community Creators License, lies in the very obvious theme you’ve already guessed — the simplicity. In many ways it’s easier to hack a system like this because there’s little beyond the extremely streamlined base game. Adding additional components to achieve the desired game experience means less chance of running into difficulties because of interactions with more complex rules.