Indie RPG ‘Ryuutama’ is ‘Oregon Trail’ Meets Studio Ghibli
Ryuutama is a beautifully, peaceful tabletop RPG… That asks what it would be like to combine the works of Miyazaki with Oregon Trail.
This week we’re going international with Ryuutama. Originally published in Japan by Kotodama Heavy Industries and created by Atsuhiro, this game was expanded to English-speaking players after a successful Kickstarter campaign. And between the gorgeous art and the flawless Ghibli-esque vibes, we can completely see how this one was able to make the leap to international players.
Ryuutama
One of the first things to know about this game is that it is described as Hayao Miyazaki meets Oregon Trail. Only… y’know, with less dysentery. It’s a peaceful game centered around adventure and world exploration more than monsters. Don’t worry though, you can fight some monsters.
Characters are centered around the “NPCs” of other games. Players can choose from Minstrel, Merchant, Healer, Hunter, Artisan, Farmer, and Noble classes. Each with its own abilities and traits. And from there, each character can be a fighter, magic-user, or have more technical abilities depending on the player’s choice. Which is all very Ghibli. For example, Kiki would be a Merchant-Magic-User since she works in a bakery as a delivery girl but also happens to be a witch.
Together players navigate the world around them, sometimes helping build it and describe what’s there, and create the details, discover the world, and are sometimes guided by the Ryuujin, or ‘Dragon Person.’ You see, the world of Ryuutama is watched over by four Season Dragons. The Ryuujin bring the tales of your adventures, bravery, and friendship to the dragons, which gives them strength to lay eggs of future dragons that will protect the world.
It’s a weird concept, but that’s really just some background information. You’ll mostly just want to go on your adventure, grow as a character, and generally make the dragons (and dragon person) proud.
Game Play
Gameplay walks the line between simple and crunchy. The entire game can be played with D4 through D10 (so no D12 or D20 needed), and combat is designed to all work on one generic battlefield map. Players come up with useful tools and items that are on the battlefield and use them along with their spells and fighting abilities. This game is somewhat cooperative and very creative. And the encounters aren’t meant to be brutal or difficult. You’re adventuring to grow and learn as a person, not to gain glory as a monster hunter.
But this isn’t what I’d call a simple game either. If you’re familiar with the Powered by the Apocalypses games that are currently taking over in popularity, Ryuutama might seem downright crunchy. I mean, look at this character sheet.
There’s a bunch happening. Enough that it probably reminds you- like it does me- of some editions of D&D or even GURPs. I can’t say this is a bad thing. I love D&D and GURPs. But despite its friendly, beautiful appearance, I don’t know if I’d introduce prospective TTRPG players to the hobby with this system. That said…
The Book Itself
I don’t usually spend a lot of time talking about the physical aspects of these games. Good art is good, but we’re here for a fun, playable game. But in the case of Ryuutama, I think I’d be doing all of us a disservice to not highlight it. A lot of love clearly went into this system. The translation is thoughtful and thorough, the peaceful Ghibli-like feeling is on the money, and the art is frankly perfect. These aren’t the highly detailed oil-style paintings we may see in bigger-budget games. But everything about this system lends itself to feeling like Miyazaki’s take on Oregon Trail.
It’s cute, peaceful, and dream-like in a way that’s hard to describe to anybody who doesn’t already who doesn’t already get it. But if you’re one of those people who periodically think about packing up a small bag and wandering into a field to meet the friendly nature spirits, this system may be perfect for you.
If you’d like to check out Ryuutama for yourself, you can purchase a digital copy here.
Have you played Ryuutama yet? Do you like the sound of a tabletop RPG with a Ghibli feel? Did you ever finish Oregon Trail or did the dysentery and fording the river always get you, too? Let us know in the comments!
Happy adventuring!
