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Cozy tabletop RPG RiverBank is coming soon to Backerkit, and it looks as if it's going to be one of those wonderously childhood nostalgia-inducing TRPGs. Complete with anthropomorphic animals or "sophisticated critters", as it calls them, this cozy little tabletop number is written by Hugo and Nebula award winning author Kij Johnson, so you know the story is in good hands.
RiverBank is going to be a game of "tea, poetry and total disaster". Unlike most of those on our best tabletop RPG list, it'll let you take a rest from all the dragonslaying of D&D, and spend some quiet quality time as you "navigate the intricacies—and often the bedlam—of polite Animal society", taking in the precarious tranquility along a "slow part of the river".
The game comes from the heavily D&D associated Kobold Press – one of the largerst publishers of third party Dungeons & Dragons material, and one that worked with Wizards of the Coast on D&D 5e adventure Hoard of the Dragon Queen and Rise of Tiamat (D&D 5E: Tyranny of Dragons, as it's called today). And while their docket is bursting with sword and sorcery style games, there'll be no dragon fighting here.
This is a game full of "elegant animals, chaos & whimsy", which even does away with any kind of d20 style system. Instead players will be reaching for their d4, d6, and d12 as they learn to balance their more poetic tendencies with their animalistic side. "Fall too far into one side or the other, and total disaster may follow!"
You can expect not only poetry in the world of RiverBank but also tea parties, village fairs, garden-strolling and fancy balls. It all sounds very Wanderhome to me, and with cozy games like this and Stewpot on the rise, it's sure to be a hit. If it can transport me to the cottagecore world of my dreams, I'll most certainly lay down my casting focus and come sit by the bulrushes for a spell instead.
Optimised for 3-5 players, RiverBank looks to be the cozy but potentially disastrously chaotic setting I've been waiting for this year and I can't wait to give it a go. You can keep an eye on the crowdfunding campaign by signing up for updates on Backerkit. The campaign is set to launch come April; the perfect time of year for a riverside jaunt.
For more recommendations, why not check out some funky solo RPGs.
