31 Days of Character Creation #30 – Ryuutama

Not all fantasy tabletop RPGs are the same. Ryuutama is a great example of that. World building is a collaborative effort between players and GM with a world creation sheet passed around the table allowing everyone to add an element. XP isn’t typically derived from killing monsters, but from traveling and exploring. The more difficult the terrain the greater the reward for passing through it. The general feel here is of a Hayao Miyazaki game with a lush, verdant world to explore.

Here is what the official website says about the game:

Ryuutama is a Japanese tabletop role-playing game, now translated into English. The original author is Atsuhiro Okada, a lifelong gamer who works in a “Tabletop Gaming Cafe” in Tokyo, the first of its kind in the country. He wrote this game to bring new people into tabletop role-playing, as well as to provide a heartwarming experience which other games at the time did not.

Ryuutama calls itself a “Natural Fantasy RPG”. It is a fantasy role-playing game set in a western medieval-style setting. The conceit of this setting is that at one point, in everyone’s lives, people get this intense feeling of wanderlust. They put their daily lives on hold and travel the world with new-found companions. They find out more about the world, and at the same time learn about themselves.

Ryuutama emphasizes travel, exploration, community, friendship, harmony and growth. There is also a “Console RPG-like” combat system: But while combat certainly happens, it’s not the central focus of the game. Adventures usually involve traveling from one town to another, packing gear, crafting items, cooking and sharing along the way; getting lost, meeting people and (sometimes cute) monsters along the way; braving the elements and trying to set camp properly.

Ryuutama is a game that gives off a “feelgood”, or in Japanese, “Honobono” feel. The feeling of the game is like a Hayao Miyazaki anime: While there is adventure and excitement, there is also a warm sense of wonder, exploration, and companionship (versus an emphasis on violence and extreme action).

I rolled some dice to randomly put together a character. Meet Emmeline Lunaris.

She grew up among healers and herbalists, learning the delicate balance of nature’s gifts. But a creeping sickness has begun to spread through her homeland, withering crops and sapping the strength of those she loves. No known remedy has slowed its advance, and so, with her spear in hand and a single coin from home tucked safely in her pocket, she set out on a journey across unknown lands. She travels from village to village, trading her knowledge of herbs for new wisdom, ever searching for the elusive cure that might save her people.

Though she carries the warmth of her homeland in her heart, Emmeline is no stranger to hardship. Her journey has tested both her skill and her resolve, forcing her to wield her polearm in defense of herself and others. Yet, despite the trials of the road, she remains steadfast in her purpose, gathering fragments of knowledge like scattered seeds, hoping one day to return home with the answer her people desperately need. Until then, she walks the winding paths of the world, offering healing where she can, and keeping the silent promise that she will not let her homeland fade into sickness and shadow.