2016-08-19 Rangers & Rabbits

Rangers & Rabbits in PDF and Print, by James V. West.

Rangers & Rabbits

James V. West

Playing classic D&D (or *Labyrinth Lord*, as it were) using cartoon animals. “This is a book of cartoon animal races for old school roleplaying games. It includes a host of talking critters from Armadillos to Monkeys to Wolves. Imagine Bugs Bunny, Captain Carrot, or Felix the Cat casting spells! Imagine Usagi Yojimbo or Disney’s Robin Hood wielding swords and bows and... well...you get the idea.” I like the idea!

The illustrations are hilarious.

I like the character death table. Depending on how you go out, you get boons for your next character.

I like the character nature table that replaces alignment. Instead, you can be a bully (”+1 damage against foes of smaller Size or fewer HD; -2 to saving throws vs. fear”) or brainy (”When all else fails you have a 3 in 6 chance of knowing something useful about everything.”) or many other things beside. Awesome!

I love how size makes a difference. You can charge smaller animals! It’s also easier to intimidate smaller animals.

There are new spells with the right flavor. My players often seem a bit overwhelmed with the existing spell list, so perhaps that’s something to use sparingly at my table.

There are new magic items that seem to be fun.

Some new monsters, too… I guess that’ll be interesting when trying to add more of that cartoonish vibe.

Personally, I like my Labyrinth Lord game to be both silly *and* dreadful. I’m thinking of player characters not as murderhobos but as murderclowns. It’s all for shits and giggles until one of them goes down. This $2 PDF would certainly support my play style, as well as more cartoonish play styles, and perhaps the cartoonish veneer over old school D&D will make it even more kid friendly? I’m not sure. Perhaps if you pregenerate the characters for kids? The good part is that kids basically just have to look at the picture and the name and they’ll be good to go, I think. No buying of equipment is strictly required for an intro adventure, I guess, as they all have natural weapons (”Tooth & Claw”).

In any case: $2 well spent! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Rabbits & Rangers Character Sheet

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