When it comes to tabletop role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons, most groups separate role-play and mechanics for a greater focus on combat and skill challenges. In most D&D campaigns, role-playing is a task rather than a mechanic of the game itself. However, for those groups that want to primarily focus on role-playing, there is The Questing Beast, a TTRPG that uses a character’s backstory in place of stats and collaborative storytelling in lieu of grids and miniatures.
The Questing Beast was developed by James V. West of Random Order Creations and is a modified version of an earlier system of his known as The Pool. These tabletops are designed with storytelling in mind over combat. For those familiar with D&D, the game a drastic change that sees players taking more control of the story and their characters from the Game Master, or Guide.
The game’s setting is Arthurian with anthropomorphic animals similar to Disney’s Robin Hood. Character creation works based on a writing system. Players start by selecting their animal, as well as three traits from that animal’s list that they feel best represent their character’s archetype. After that, they must write the start of their character’s adventure, no longer than a page.
It is important to set this boundary, as this story (called a character’s ”Romance”) is essentially a character sheet. From that story, players select or create specific motifs that they feel will aid their character on their journey. For example, if a character’s backstory details them training to be a knight, they may select a trait such as “+2 Trained in Swordplay” or “+1 Pupil to Lancelot.” These traits give the character extra influence in the world.
The Questing Beast functions with players rolling multiple d6s to take actions and make changes to the story. If their action or change is affected by a Motif’s bonus, they roll that many dice. The guide will also give between one to three bonus dice depending on how big of a change is made or action is taken. Players may then add additional dice from their pool as a gamble in an attempt to increase their odds of success.
Success in The Questing Beast is not binary, however. While a six on any dice rolled makes the attempt a success, the player only fails if they roll a one with no sixes. If neither a success or a failure occurs, it’s up to the Guide to decide how the story progresses. Failure or Success means the player has to give a monologue. For one minute, they have complete control over the story, dictating the character’s triumph or defeat in however much detail they like. Once it’s spoken, it becomes reality in the game’s story.
Interestingly, The Questing Beast‘s rules do not allow the Guide to kill any player characters. This makes it easier for players to take otherwise risky actions like splitting up the party. In D&D, separating is usually a horrible idea that can quickly lead to a Total Party Kill and frustration, but here, it’s just another storytelling tool players can use as they please.
These aren’t the only ways The Questing Beast gives players the kind of control over the story that’s usually reserved for the GM. In this game, players don’t just have control over their own character’s story, but can impact everyone’s. At any time during the Guide’s narrative, a player can jump in and change the world around the another character, rolling to see if their change is a success or a failure.
For example, if the active character pickpockets a beggar to steal a map that leads to an ancient treasure, another player can call that they would like to make a change. On a success, the guards will spot the thief and attempt to apprehend them, but on a failure, the map is easily stolen and the beggar has a knowing grin on his face. Whatever happens, the player has one minute to dictate how the map is (or isn’t) stolen and what becomes of the guards, beggar and active character. Then, the scene proceeds with the new changes.
Finally, at the end of every session, players add another page to their Romance, using any dice they’ve acquired during the game to purchase or upgrade their Motifs. In a sense, each page added to a character’s Romance serves as a level up. That being said, The Questing Beast is a game with a lot of depth and complexity. It eschews the common mechanics of other tabletop games to shift its focus firmly onto role-playing, making it perfect for those who would prefer their adventures to have fewer combat rolls and more collaborative storytelling.
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