Nests & Insects, a Roguelike TTRPG

[YeGoblynQueenne]

Hello all. I'm making a game. It's called Nests & Insects and it's a hack-and-slash dungeon crawl where the characters are arthropods raiding the Nests of eusocial insects. The character classes are: Ants (plural), Beetle, Ladybug, Scorpion, Spider and Wasp (hence "arthropods" because Scorpion and Spider are arachnids, not insects).

I call the game a "Roguelike TTRPG" because it is inspired by Roguelike computer RPGs (CRPGs) like Nethack and because of elements that it borrows from Roguelike CRPGs, like procedural generation, hack-and-slash gameplay, lethal combat, a hunger mechanic, and a focus on exploration and experimentation with the game world.

I'm about 60% in writing up the rulebook. In the rulebook linked below you can find pre-set character sheets for the six character classes, rules for rolling and reading dice, rules for the combat "minigame" and rules for some Termite opponents. I've yet to start on the procedural generation, Nests, Bee and Ant enemies and the other three minigames besides Combat (Survival and Exploration, Resting and Healing and Hunting and Foraging). I've written all I could in the last couple of weeks on a big break from work but I'll probably slow down now because there's more work coming in.

Last thing: the rulebook is all text-based. Familiarity with a decent text editor (vim, emacs, notepad++) will be useful in order to read it.

You can get the rulebook from the game's repository:

GitHub - stassa/nests-and-insects: A Roguelike Tabletop RPG

A Roguelike Tabletop RPG. Contribute to stassa/nests-and-insects development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

I'd be absolutely delighted to get some feedback. I'm particularly interested in feedback on the language and the clarity of the rules descriptions. Most rules lack examples, which I plan to include many more of in a future commit. Thanks in advance!

 

[xanther]

Cool, have you read "Children of Time" ? Or are you familiar with the game "Chitin"?

Couldn't really navigate to the rulebook. Could you attach a pdf or word file?

 

[YeGoblynQueenne]

Thanks! I had to look those up. The book looks interesting, I like the premise, kind of turns around SF tropes about bugs. The game actually rings a bell... I might have seen it before. Maybe an unconscious influence...

I did initially consider setting the game on a sci-fi world with insects as alien species. Then I guess I read up on Earth insects a bit and I realised they already are alien species. I just can't believe the adaptations that some of those creatures have, let alone the social organisation of some. And don't let me get started on spiders. Spiders are scary smart. If they were any bigger, we'd be in trouble.

If you're thinking about the incogruity of ordinary insects taking on jobs etc, I'm considering adding an optional "secret" to the setting: characters are psychics trapped in arthropods' bodies and forced to clear a Nest before they can be free. "Optional" in that it's only used if the player group finds playing arthropods too silly.

 

[xanther]

The author of "Children of Time" also wrote a whole series of books with insect inspired peoples (I haven't read them, yet, so not sure if they are actually insects or humans) that were based on a table top RPG he ran.

Even though it is sci fi the spiders in "Children of Time" are followed from proto-sentience on....plenty of cool ideas about how society, cities, and technology would be different for them...and how they interact with the ants. Let alone "language" for creature that don't really hear.

Hey influence or not I think it is great you are doing this, I love "Chitin" (it's an old Metgaming microgame by Steve Jackson).

In related sci-fi books there is one called "The Bug Wars" by Asprin...classic but lizards v bugs.

I'm with you in insects and spiders etc. Love the concept.

Lastly, thinking about sci-fi tropes about bugs, if you read Starship Trooper...and read between the lines. It's more likely than not the humans started all the trouble, especially given how the humans treated the Skinnies.

 

[YeGoblynQueenne]

The author of "Children of Time" also wrote a whole series of books with insect inspired peoples (I haven't read them, yet, so not sure if they are actually insects or humans) that were based on a table top RPG he ran.

Looking up the author on wikipedia, that must be the "Shadows of the Apt" series. It seems it's about humans, with insect traits:

The series is set in a fictional universe populated by different "kinden". Each kinden is a fictional race of humans, named after (and having certain characteristics of) an insect.

Apparently it was based on a game called Bugworld he ran, where the Wasp empire is being a dick to other insect-folk. Well, now I want to read "Bugworld"! But it was probably his homebrew, never published. Meh. I guess I could try the books... thanks for the pointer!

Lastly, thinking about sci-fi tropes about bugs, if you read Starship Trooper...and read between the lines. It's more likely than not the humans started all the trouble, especially given how the humans treated the Skinnies.

Yes, I think I've heard this before. It's been a while since I've read Starship Troopers and proclaimed it my favourite SF novel (and then been accused of being a fascist for liking it ...by a 40k grognard with a Space Wolves army, of all people). I don't remember getting this impression but there was probably a lot I missed. I didn't even remember the Skinnies. I kind of focused on the Bugs and the armoured suits :0

 

[xanther]

....Yes, I think I've heard this before. It's been a while since I've read Starship Troopers and proclaimed it my favourite SF novel (and then been accused of being a fascist for liking it ...by a 40k grognard with a Space Wolves army, of all people). I don't remember getting this impression but there was probably a lot I missed. I didn't even remember the Skinnies. I kind of focused on the Bugs and the armoured suits :0

Yes it is definitively between the lines. It is very vague IIRC how the war with the Skinnies started, but they are so outclassed militarily and the troopers indiscriminately kill civilians it seems pretty clear the troopers are not the good guys to me. Then there is hints about colonies in "bug space" as provoking hostilities, so basically invasion by the humans...and one wonders how such a large asteroid can go completely unnoticed before it hits earth so there is zero warning. Kind of makes you think they needed a casus belli.

Enough for getting far afield.

 

[YeGoblynQueenne]

Well I do remember thinking the humans weren't the good guys, in the book. I mean, I didn't exactly miss the public floggings and so on. I had no idea of Heinlein's real-world politics when I read it (translated in my native Greek) so I thought the society he described was just a standard SF dystopia, invented for the fluff.

I should probably read the book again. I got a bit of a backlog of James Tiptree Jr. and Cordwainer Smith to go through first. And one Iain M. Banks book that I'm still keeping unread as future insurance against difficult times.


And now it seems I'll be reading some Shadow of the Apt also! I emailed Adrian Tchaikovsky to ask him about "Bugworld". He said the original game was terrible and the setting has been much better developed through the books. He recommended I start with Tales of the Apt, a collection of shorter stories. That sounds like a great intro. I'm much more into short stories than novels.

 

[xanther]

That is so cool he got back to you!

Yah Heinlein also wrote "Stranger in a Strange Land" after so not so convinced he was a promulgating the way things should be in "Starship Trooper."