Zootopia

[Pepsi Jedi]

Just saw the trailer for this.

Not trying to covert anything. Just chuckled and thought it'd be good to add to the list of "Inspiration" for mutant animal games.

The "World where humans never happened, or are gone" isn't new. But a 'non post apocolyptic" one is seen a bit less frequently. Could be fun to play in a game set that way. Modern day, but with mutant animals in society instead of people.

[The Baron of chaos]

Thought the same. Plus is one of the first time where size level are respected

[Zer0 Kay]

Best laugh EVERRRRRRRRR!!!

[Pepsi Jedi]

Saw the film.

I'm seriously planning a game of this 'type'. ((Again. Not converting, so mods need not freak out))

It's an option mentioned some where in one of the Palladium books. Instead of playing Mutant animals in a world of humans where you're strange or a freak that must hide. (Or even a hero that's out and proud), but instead the 'Setting' is a world of animals in their own society that is similar to human society but with differences. NOT post apoc-end of the world setting. But a modern day sort of setting.

How do they handle the Predator prey thing? Predators are seriously and hugely out numbered by prey animals in the real world. Would that be held in the game world? Because most people want to play predators or 'cool' animals and not 'prey' animals. (Palladium has a some what STRANGE Fixation on barnyard animals. Almost to a rather disturbing degree).

Personally in my almost 3 decades of Role playing, I've rarely encountered people that -want- to play pigs and cows and sheep. Chickens, turkeys and such. Most people want cool animals or at least animals with a hook. They want to play the wolves and panthers and lions and tigers. Fun animals are a bit of an exception. Porcupines for the quills. Otters, red panda's etc. But still.

But anyway, in general, yeah I'm planning a game set in that sort of game world.

How would you guys handle it?

[Pepsi Jedi]

As a side note. My games aren't 'cutsey'. It'd be a serious game. Not a Disney adventure. We'd have heroes and villain types and what not. It's not going to be all hugs and "we should all get along" Type things.

If you've seen the movie it IS a Disney film but it shows that even in the Disney film that you can have some dark themes and good and bad guys with out super villains or the like.

[The Oh So Amazing Nate]

Iirc, the movie handled the predator prey relationship in a post racism enlightened sort of way. Everyone was evolved and got along and were all buddy buddy, until something happened which caused everyone to freak right the F#$& out. Sure there were individuals who were jerks/bullies about their genetic heritage, but I think the movie wanted the audience to view that behavior as aberrant. Sort of a 'just because someone is different doesn't mean they want to hurt you' type message. It then went on to show that there were bad prey animals to.


All that being said you can play a predator character without being a jerk or a murderous rage machine. So you have sharp teeth and claws, doesn't mean you don't wish for the nice, warm, woolly coat of Mr. Sheep. If you are playing ATB2 you might want to limit vestigial traits like reptile brain predator, predatory blood lust and maybe diet carnivore. Or make sure the players know there will be sociological and maybe even criminal consequences for trying to eat your neighbor.

[CyCo]

Just got back from seeing this, and I must say it was a darn good flick. Enjoyed it a lot. Went to a late nite session and eveyone in the theater was an adult, and there was quite a bit of chuckling or out right laughing. Jolly good romp, and I seriously hop(e) there's a sequel.

As to running a game where everyone is a 'mutant' animal, that was mentioned in Transdimentional TMNT as one of the possible dimensions randomly located. Something along the lines that the world looks pretty much like home, other than there are no humans and that they're replaced by a random base animal type.

While I do agree most people seem to want to grab a cool/fun animal, I have seen a few play other types. I remember a budgerigar that ended up like size level 14 or something and carried a tommygun, a chicken with a penchant for talking with a distinguished English accent and used a sword cane, and a skink who was doing a law degree via correspondence.

[Pepsi Jedi]

Yeah I understand not all predators need to be jerks.

Was giving some more thought to it last night. For the Predators, I think I'll handle it like I typically have in ATB. Predators still eat 'meat' but the 'meat' has changed. As the animals ... for lack of a better term, evolved (Became anthropomorphic ) The bugs evolved as well Much like in ATB. Some ants are the size of horses. Some beetles are huge, bigger than cows, but their intelligence didn't skyrocket like the mammals and reptiles (Anyone notice a decided lack of reptiles in the Zootopia/Zootropolis movie? Mammals all). So 'bugs' are largely taking the place of 'animals' in ourworld. That, and fish. Fish didn't 'evolve/mutate' so they're still fish.

So the average wolf or puma, still likes to eat meat (Though are likly more omnivores than pure carnivores) And can get a Bug Burger, or a Fish sandwich, instead of always eating Salad.

in ATB there's a meat patato plant you can find in the back, which is how I often skirt the issue in ATB but this setting isn't going to be ATB really. It's more a Modern present day analog, but with animals instead of humans. So advanced genetic meat plants don't quite fit.

I think the Insect/fish analogs for our 'meat' works fine.

[Axelmania]

The webcomic Kevin and Kell addressed the predator/prey coexitence thing I think.

So much fun fan art produced for Zootopia years before its debut, thanks furfans.

[Nightmask]

The webcomic Kevin and Kell addressed the predator/prey coexitence thing I think.

So much fun fan art produced for Zootopia years before its debut, thanks furfans.

Except Kevin And Kell everything except the rocks is sentient and everyone's psychologically inhumane in nature due to their acceptance of predators killing prey as a natural part of reality. Doc Rat is probaby closer to the Zootopia setting, where there's not just sentient predators and prey species but non-sentient animals for consumption where predation is a holdover tradition from more violent primitive times where it's still legal but some are working to change cultural mores to bring an end to it. We can't be sure though since we've no idea what if any non-sentient animals exist or if the end of predation in Zootopia came from the discovery of ways to provide other means of nutrition to make up for not eating meat. It might be like the Spellsinger series by Alan Dean Foster where reptiles never evolved so varieties of snake provide the meat for the carnivores and omnivores.

[Axelmania]

Sheriff Callie's Wild West is interesting because there's a humanoid cow who runs a milkshake shop and then non-humanoid cows who are herded about like property.

The Mysteries of Alfred Hedgehog is also funny since Camille is a humanoid bird but there are also normal birds flying around as well.

[arthurjeremypearson]

How do they handle the Predator prey thing?

Cannon explanation is that predators eat bugs.

Dogs can sniff out disease. My headcannon says that predators are seen as valuable diagnostic tools, sniffing out and alerting prey to medical conditions.

Then, when prey die, it's just a part of the culture that the morticians prep the bodies of prey for donation to predators as a way of saying "thank you" for all the times they alert prey to medical conditions.

Sorry for the necro post

[Axelmania]

I just remembered, there is also Adventures of Puss in Boots but there are humans in that.

Also sometimes cats are not cats.

But cow ladies own bars and serve delicious milkshakes to the town.

[glitterboy2098]

Iirc, the movie handled the predator prey relationship in a post racism enlightened sort of way. Everyone was evolved and got along and were all buddy buddy, until something happened which caused everyone to freak right the F#$& out. Sure there were individuals who were jerks/bullies about their genetic heritage, but I think the movie wanted the audience to view that behavior as aberrant. Sort of a 'just because someone is different doesn't mean they want to hurt you' type message. It then went on to show that there were bad prey animals to.

in supplementary materials (behind the scenes books, etc) they also established that only mammals were intelligent, so for the carnivores you had avians and reptiles available for livestock type uses, as well as bugs. so Dietary needs could be handled without having to hunt intelligent people.

which is something that ATB handles by having lots of non-mutant animals around, though that sometimes brings up existentialist identity issues when your mutant pig encounters a village that raises non-mutant pigs for food.

How do they handle the Predator prey thing? Predators are seriously and hugely out numbered by prey animals in the real world. Would that be held in the game world? Because most people want to play predators or 'cool' animals and not 'prey' animals. (Palladium has a some what STRANGE Fixation on barnyard animals. Almost to a rather disturbing degree).

part of the reason PB focused on farm animals is because, given the scenario in ATB, it is statistically far more likely that a mutant animal would have been born to livestock than to anything else. i mean 94.4 million cattle in the USA. vs maybe 12,000 wolves. if even only one in a thousand infected animals produced a mutant offspring, that would be about a dozen wolves but 94,400 mutant cattle. an so on. 328 million chickens. 5.21 million sheep. etc. even with prey species added in like deer (30 million in the US) the domestic animals would massively outnumber the wild ones.

[The Baron of chaos]

On extra notes, if you like Zootopiayou should check Beastars manga(saying this becasue next season should arrive the anime). It take the premise of Zootopia and pushing a littler further.
And give some intriguing ideas for a AtB adventure or campaign. Here some of the stuff(thart can be very dark) that made me think AtB:
-Black market of prey body parts smuggled from hospitals where predator can take a taste of ti without indulging in murder
-Disenfranchised prey selling expendable body parts to predator for money
-prey blood being like a drugs for predators(i assume Brain:predator vestigial trait is at work here...)
and much much more....