Biomutant is an open world RPG from Experiment 101 and THQ Nordic. It’s a blend of familiar games such as Fallout and Skyrim and looks about as stunning as Breath of the Wild. We’ve put a lot of hours into it traveling it’s massive open world and while it is fun to play as a video game, we feel it would work even better as a tabletop RPG.
It isn’t a new concept to take a video game and turn it into a board game. Divinity: Original Sin II, Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Dark Souls all created some form of board game or tabletop version of their video game.
We think the Biomutant developers should give it a go. If they’re looking for anyone to help write or create it, just hit us up.
Biomutant
Biomutant is a world full of anthropomorphic creatures all mutated by a chemical spill. Humans have abandoned the world and left it to die. The creatures now thrive off of the Tree of Life and six tribes rule sections of the world. Each one wants something different and they are split on saving the world of letting it end.
Characters are mutated to have different colored fur, amphibian skin, and magical abilities. The world is urban fantasy and a blend of science fiction. It’s all very Dungeons & Dragons like and the popular tabletop game is the perfect place to build a Biomutant TTRPG.
Biomutant as a TTRPG
Species. Every character you interact with in Biomutant is an animal of some kind. There are foxes, rats, otters, badgers and a whole lot of other weird and unique creatures. Players could range from any one of these interesting animals and each different species could have its own fantastic trait.
Aquatic creatures could be more acclimated to swimming in all types of biomes including water, acid, lava, and radiation. Whereas foxes and land mammals could be more agile on land or jump higher.
While Dungeons & Dragons may relate stats to certain races, a Biomutant TTRPG could rather corelate states with a specific class.
Classes. There are five classes available in Biomutant and all provide a different playstyle.
The Dead-Eye is a ranged fighter that relies on guns and can dominate the battlefield from a distance. Reloading is near instantaneous.
The Commando is similar to the Dead-Eye but their attacks are a bit stronger. The closest D&D class they’d come to is a fighter or ranger.
Psi-Freaks use psionic energy to attack and defend. Whether it’s levitating above the enemy or firing off electricity or flames, they have access to a number of powerful abilities. They’re like the Scarlet Witch of the bunch or a Wizard in D&D.
Saboteur’s are quick, agile, and nimble. They focus on using lighter weapons like sai’s and daggers. They’re a mix of rangers and rogues.
Sentinel’s are the heavy hitters. They act as tanks and can take a beating and deal it out just as well. Think of them like D&D’s Barbarians.
Weapons. One of the best features of Biomutant is it’s weapon system. There are well over two million crafting options you can choose from and not one is the same. While exploring the world, characters will come across resources ranging from plungers, trumpets, wrenches, and more odd assets that are used to build weapons.
Setting a skill check difficulty class (DC) for each weapon is a simple way to have players build certain weapons. The more gear they collect could help reduce the check. As for figuring out damage, they weapons could each range from a d4 to a d12 to even multiple of the same dice. Even if the player fails in reaching the target DC, the weapon could still be built but the damage may be reduced or it may break after a certain amount of shots.
Narrative. Biomutant’s story is pretty straightforward and could easily be worked into a tabletop setting. Massive creatures called worldeaters are destroying the Tree of Life all while different tribes are plotting to assist them or kill them. Characters could each be from one of the different tribes and their backgrounds could give them bonuses to their stats.
Mutations. One big aspect in a Biomutant tabletop game will be dealing with mutations. If the characters interact with a chemical spill, they can alter their DNA and gain new abilities or change their appearance. Interactions could be based randomly to make each one more interesting and to drive roleplay. Creating a random roll table would help achieve this.
While another example could be having the players describe how the chemical alters their character’s psyche and body. Instead of rolling randomly on a table, players could just choose what they prefer so they can roleplay how they wish.
The chemical spill could then be inactive for a while and they could visit it again or bottle it and use it as needed to mutate their body again.
A simple rundown on converting Biomutant to a tabletop setting:
- A crafting system for weapons
- Psionic and mutated abilities
- Levitation, electricity, fire, ice, mucus, and growing a literal turtle shell on your back to ride down slopes.
- Cute and fluffy animals with their own unique abilities and appearance
- The overarching plot of saving the Tree of Life and killing the worldeaters or joining the tribes focused on its destruction.
- Don’t take it too seriously.
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