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.
Making D&D Memes and GIFs Round-Up Vol. 6
Our D&D meme drops are a little bit behind but here we go again. This D&D meme and GIF round-up is a little light compared to Vol. 5. but Vol. 7 will be back to normal. In this round-up we’ve got themes like pizza, beholders, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves and D&D dice.
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.
Nerdarchy on 3 New Ways to Elf in D&D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNXWMS_Qs5E In this 15-minute video on Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted explore elves in D&D and how make different kinds of elf societies. The conversation begins with Dave and Ted asking the question, "Should we change D&D monsters, races, and other D&D tropes?" Of...
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.
Stuff D&D People Like No. 6: Elves
In the realms of fantasy no other fictional creature gets as much attention and affection than elves. In the worlds of D&D you could make a strong case for dragons too but when it comes to relatively mortal humanoids the magical, pointy eared folks stand...
Book of Ebon Tides Holds a Dark Mirror Up to Your D&D World
The concept of other dimensions overlapping the real world captured my imagination decades ago with an RPG called Wraith: The Oblivion and in my D&D setting this holds true. Like the Dungeon Master’s Guide describes the Feywild and Shadowfell exist in parallel to the Material Plane, occupying the same cosmological space but distorted and exaggerated (in my setting they’re combined into a singular Dreaming World to mirror the Waking World or Material Plane). Despite presenting a compelling dynamic with very little exception neither the DMG nor any other official material really explores any of this space. Book of Ebon Tides from Kobold Press, like so many other titles in their library, represents a terrific grab bag of ideas to help make your shadowy fey realm exciting, engaging and unforgettable. Let’s get into it.
Nerdarchy on Zero Prep D&D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzoP2zrwRAw In this 15-minute video on Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted explore a new TTRPG tool for Dungeon Master and Game Master alike. Check out Hex Roll from Pen, Dice, and Paper with us. The conversation begins with Dave and Ted sharing the inspiration...
D&D Ideas — Plants Revisited
Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is plants, which we revisited for discussion in our weekly live chat. We hangout every Monday evening at 8 p.m. EST at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel talk about D&D, RPGs, gaming, life and whatever nerdy stuff comes up. Speaking of plants there’s no shortage of different ways your characters can interact with the plants in your games with the power contained inside magic items from the Mage Forge! We’ve got the digital versions done and production on the physical card decks begins very soon. There’s still time to preorder — but not too much! Learn more here. You can get Nerdarchy the Newsletter delivered to your inbox each week, along with updates and info on how to game with Nerdarchy plus snag a FREE GIFT by signing up here.
Make an Unexpected Alliance in the Battle Against Mind Flayers
In D&D the neothelid monster is a remnant of a destroyed mind flayer colony. Neothelids are vicious creatures lacking the intelligence of the society from which they spawn. Typically roaming the underground passages in the wake of the destroyed colony they seek only to sate their ever growing hunger.
Create an Immersive RPG Campaign Using These Two Principles Just Like Those Bastards!
For years now Nerdarchists Dave and Ted, Nerditor Doug, Robin Miller and I have been gaming on YouTube. It all started with a simple concept story: all of us were half-siblings with a human father. We needed to find him. Why? We didn’t know but we did have destiny on our side! This plot was a fantastic setup and just one of the many elements of what makes this game great.
Nerdarchy on Worst D&D Advice Don’t Split the Party
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEA8QJKfwLM In this 18-minute video on Nerdarchy the YouTube channel Nerdarchists Dave and Ted challenge the age-old conventional wisdom of never splitting the party in a D&D game. The conversation begins with Dave and Ted posing the question, "How many times have you heard to never split...
Brains vs. Brawn when Faerie Dragons Square off With Ogres in D&D
Sometimes an idea hits you and you have to do something with it for fear of losing something interesting. Such an idea hit me like this and who better to share it with than all of you out there? I found a pair of D&D monsters that are as opposite as you can get but are on almost the same power level exactly as one can be. An ogre and a faerie dragon (older) are both a challenge ratting 2 monster, though I would have to say it would be a different fight going against one than the other.
Make NPCs Essential in Your D&D Games
In my games I have seen characters develop long lasting relationships with NPCs. Nerdarchist Dave’s dwarven wizard Uthen-Gar crafted a magic item as a gift for the elven librarian who initially looked down on him for being a dwarf. I felt it was a rich relationship built over years of game play. That same dwarven character found a wife, even though we did not play out a romance, and became wed before the campaign was over. While romance can happen we developed that dwarves often wed as political arrangements to strengthen the clan. It was not originally planned that way but that’s how it panned out and it was awesome! I have had non-player characters on my mind and I’m interested in exploring concepts surrounding them from both the Dungeon Master and player perspectives.
D&D Ideas — On the Fly
Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is on the fly, which we discussed in our weekly live chat. We hangout every Monday evening at 8 p.m. EST at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel talk about D&D, RPGs, gaming, life and whatever nerdy stuff comes up. Speaking of on the fly some unexpected circumstances kept us away from the usual weekly live chat so this week it’s anything goes! You can get Nerdarchy the Newsletter delivered to your inbox each week, along with updates and info on how to game with Nerdarchy plus snag a FREE GIFT by signing up here.
