Post

Unlike other fantasy settings, the Snarl -- our upcoming weird fantasy RPG -- is not awash with murderous tomb robbers. 🧵↓

When we set out to design the world of The Snarl, we specifically avoided certain fantasy tropes. Specifically, we steered away from the faux-feudalistic politics and economies that are the default for most games.

The vertical environment of skyscraper-sized trees makes farming and agriculture challenging, which puts constraints on the number and sizes of large settlements.

With society organized on a smaller scale such as clans and towns, things are more collectivized. Amongst locals, resources are shared and gifted. When traveling or interacting with strangers, barter is common.

So how does this work within an RPG, where PCs are normally incentivized to kill monsters and take their treasure? In The Snarl, people do not adventure for gold and wealth — they are driven by other motivations: protection, exploration, archeology, socio-political conflicts, etc.