GM Advice & Adventure Ideas - The Legend of Zelda: Reclaim the Wild

28 Jan

Wild Homebrew Jam Winner: Reclaim the Bounty

Next in our series featuring the winners of the Wild Homebrew Jam is Maddie’s total conversion mod, “Reclaim the Bounty“!

I’ve been told multiple times that Reclaim the Wild could be used to run a tabletop RPG in “any Nintendo franchise”. I usually demurred, saying that each franchise had enough quirks and gameplay differences that you’d be better off making a whole-new RPG from scratch.

So of course Maddie had to go and prove me wrong with her Reclaim the Bounty homebrew! These races, items, and rules allow you to play a Metroid game using Reclaim the Wild. Races from all over the galaxy, classic Metroid items, even the notion of “rolling into a ball to maneuver through tight spaces”, it’s all here.

I spoke with Maddie at length about this project; the full interview is below.

Wild Homebrew Jam Winner: Growing Vines Dungeon

Next in our series featuring the winners of the Wild Homebrew Jam is Dethnite007’s “Growing Vines Dungeon“!

As mentioned in the previous winner’s article, we always wanted Reclaim the Wild to have some easily-accessible homebrew modules. Dethnite007’s module looks to serve that purpose by giving us a “puzzle-box” dungeon – that is, a dungeon much like one might find in a typical Zelda title.

Dethnite’s module is unique in that it reimagines a location we know from the original game, back in the time following the first Calamity. As a proper Zelda Dungeon, it offers puzzles both subtle (growing and burning vines to access new areas of the dungeon) and obvious (such as a classic sliding block puzzle). The variety of puzzles involved is solid, and should appeal to different types of problem-solving players – though of course, as this is a tabletop game, don’t be surprised if your players come up with some truly ‘out of the box’ solutions!

Speaking with Dethnite, they had this to share:

Honestly I just did this to see how hard it actually is to make a Zelda style puzzle box. I guess the process was just a lot of trial and error to make the player pathing connect properly while there still being a reason to shift the dungeon layout.

If there’s anything I learned from this, it’s that a lot of time goes into making the dungeons we play in Legend of Zelda games and having more than one Link in the dungeon really does break the whole thing, as my players have taught me. Of course, now that I’ve built a rudimentary version of one, I’m gonna have to go bigger and better for my players next time.

And they relayed this, from the adventure’s artist, StarNightGazer:

It was fun imagining a big baddie for players to go against at the end of their trial. Zelda bosses are memorable and I wanted to create one just like them and bring it to life as best as I could and keep a theme to its respective dungeon.

If you’d like to put your players’ wits to the test, remember to check out the Growing Vines dungeon here.

07 Jan

Wild Homebrew Jam Winner: Adventure: Horon Disaster

First in our feature of the Wild Homebrew Jam winners is Viyer’s “Adventure: Horon Disaster“!

From the beginning, we wanted Reclaim the Wild to have a proper adventure module. Being able to grab a quest and just run it is a huge boon for a system, and can help newcomers (both GM and player alike) better understand how to properly play and have fun.

So imagine our surprise and delight when we saw adventure modules being submitted for the Wild Homebrew Jam! Viyer’s Adventure: Horon Disaster is a breezy read, and is a suitable adventure for Heroes just beginning on their journey, featuring foes and obstacles that novice players and their novice Heroes.

Part of what makes this adventure so easy to read through is the artwork by Dormin, giving the module’s foes a lovely artistic spotlight. Between that, and the maps that Viyers created, the module has a beautiful, professional look to it.

Speaking with Viyers, they had this to say: I just wanted to try and make a starting adventure than any group could pick and play to discover the system, with a little bit of all the aspects I consider most important to the hobby. A bit of roleplay, a bit of combat and a tiny pseudo dungeon so they would get a general taste of how Reclaim the Wild function.

So if you’d like to take that taste and jump right into playing, remember to check out the module here!

01 Aug

New Item: Stone of Agony

Today, we have a new item from one of our community members and moderators, Nintaku! This is an item I never thought would really “work” in a tabletop environment, but I’m glad he’s proven me wrong. We’re happy to present his write-up of the Stone of Agony, straight from the N64 era, below.

Secrets abound in the world. Whether put there deliberately or simply created by pure chance, the sheer amount of things hidden from the casual glance can give even the most ardent explorer a lifetime’s worth of nooks and crannies to peer into, always finding something new. What if you had a way to find these things easier? A dowsing rod for the hidden things? Some might want to exploit such a gift, but even gifts can be double-edged.

The Stone of Agony is a hand-sized rock, carved into the shape of a rectangular block with the symbol of the Triforce as a cameo on its surface. Normally it does nothing, but under certain circumstances, it can reveal that which is hidden with a low rumble. The Stone needs life energy to fuel it, however, so using such a thing can be a curse if one relies on it too heavily.

Trans in Tabletop

Introduction

June is LGBT Pride month! And Zelda games have often included subtle nods and inclusions of the LGBTQ+ experience – sometimes well, but often with missteps.

As Reclaim the Wild is a tabletop game, where you are the story’s author, you have the opportunity to do better. Your table can be a safe haven for LGBTQ+ players, and you can include their story and have positive representation of them.

So in this article, we’re going to present advice of a different sort: ideas and encouragement for including characters and players of all types, but especially trans characters and players, in your Reclaim the Wild games. This article is split into two sections; first covering some general tabletop advice for including diverse experiences, and then dispensing advice specific to Reclaim the Wild and the trans experience.

This is a subject near and dear to my heart; while I am not trans, several of my friends are, and their contributions were essential to Reclaim’s development.

Check out the advice below!