Is Kingdom Death: Monster a good canva for classic RPG?
Hello Wargamers!
I’d like to use this post to sum up a unique experiment. Our group decided to explore „Kingdom Death: Monster” (KDM) as a foundation for a more story-driven campaign, taking inspiration from traditional RPGs. We’re all big fans of immersive sessions, so stepping into KDM’s dark world with its complex mechanics felt like the start of an incredible adventure. Below are some thoughts and observations on how it worked for us.
„Kingdom Death: Monster” is a cooperative board game where players work together to help a small group of survivors fight terrifying monsters in a dark, unsettling world. You’ll battle huge creatures, gather resources, and build up your settlement while dealing with tough choices and permanent character deaths. The game is known for its detailed miniatures and grim, unique style, with each campaign filled with surprises and difficult challenges. It’s intense, strategic, and every decision can lead to big consequences for your group.
The Experiment’s Concept:
Our goal was to blend as many elements from classic RPG sessions into a KDM campaign as possible. We played with four people: one took on the role of the Storyteller (similar to a Game Master), while the others controlled the Survivors.
The Role of the Storyteller:
Adding Narrative Layers to Events
The Storyteller enriched key moments, such as settlement and hunt events, by adding an extra layer of narrative, occasionally introducing custom events for deeper storytelling. These special events didn’t necessarily affect the mechanics (though they could, with the group’s agreement), but they helped expand the world and added an adventurous element to the campaign. For inspiration, we used random event tables from solo RPGs (*Game Master Emulator 2nd Edition* worked for us), though experienced groups could rely entirely on their imagination. These scenes let us create new locations around the settlement, meet NPCs, and give the settlement more character. I’ll explain this in more detail later in the post.
Enemy Control and Tension Building
During combat, the Storyteller took control of the enemy’s movements, managed its deck, and handled the dice rolls. This kept the players fully engaged. Alongside the mechanics, the Storyteller added flair to key moments, vividly describing critical hits and creatively adjusting descriptions of hit locations based on the player’s attack (without altering the effects, of course).
Keeping Gameplay Flowing Smoothly
As the most experienced player, the Storyteller made sure the rules were followed and the game moved along at a good pace. This sped up each session and nearly eliminated the need for players to check the rulebook mid-game.
Explaining New Equipment and Locations
When new locations were built in the Settlement, the Storyteller gave quick overviews of new items or gear sets that could be crafted. This helped everyone, especially newer players, understand the mechanics and think about potential gear combinations.
Managing Campaign Bookkeeping
KDM can be overwhelming with all the information and data to track during a campaign. By assigning this task to the Storyteller, we were finally able to organize everything, keep records, and maintain some order throughout the game.
Player Roles:
– Interpreting and Creating Stories
Players helped shape and interpret random events (more on this below).
– Role-Playing Survivors
Players brought their Survivors to life based on traits rolled during the game, adding a personal touch to their characters’ actions and decisions.
– Contributing to World-Building
Each player helped describe the game world, adding details to enhance the setting and make it feel more lived-in.
Additional Mechanics We Used:
Scene Cards
Each player and the Storyteller had a card to signal when we’d shift into RPG mode, focusing on role-playing the scene with descriptions, dialogue, and interactions.
Character Traits
After the first Age Event, each Survivor received two random traits to define their role-playing. We rolled on a d100 table (e.g., Curious and Protective). This gave each player a foundation to uniquely portray their characters.
Random Event Interpretation Table
Similar to character traits, this table influenced event phases. For example, during a hunt, the team would roll for a narrative event. In one case, the words “Fortunately” and “Illusion” came up, which we interpreted as a lost soul guiding the party to the White Lion’s lair, allowing them to ambush it during a feast.
World-Building
During the Settlement phase, each player and the Storyteller described a location or event, shaping the lore of our Kingdom Death. This helped us feel more connected to the world and created a foundation for future exploration.
Our Experience
We had an amazing time! Each session lasted around four to five hours, and by the end, everyone was excited for the next one. It felt like a “supported RPG session” where the core mechanics—combat, gear, and settlement management—were driven by KDM’s components, while the narrative relied heavily on improvisation and player-driven events.
Notable Moments (Spoilers for the Early Game):
– An extended prologue where the players woke up on a field of stone faces, discovered their characters, and ran from a Lion.
– Celebrating their first victory, founding the settlement, and interacting with other survivors.
– Engaging in deep discussions about early important choices (new life, first death).
– Creating new locations on the “map”—the Lantern Hoard became a gathering hall, a majestic black tree with a ritual altar was erected, and a river near the settlement turned acidic at intervals.
– Meeting a wanderer who spoke of ruined settlements to the north, whose survivors had all perished.
– The first hunt, where the team ambushed the White Lion in its lair.
– An epic battle ending with a Founding Stone thrown straight into the White Lion’s heart.
– Organizing a small competition to determine the best Survivor in the settlement, followed by a celebration.
– An epic confrontation with the Butcher, ending in the heroic sacrifice of one of the eldest Survivors.
– The settlement leader slowly descending into madness, leading to a division among the community between those who supported him and a faction demanding a new leader.
– The creation of a detailed Survivor family tree.
And many more!
If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading! I highly recommend trying this style of play with *Kingdom Death Monster*. It feels like a vast system that you can adapt and shape to suit your group’s preferences. I searched extensively but found little discussion of others playing this way, so I hope this post inspires more to give it a shot.
Thanks again, and happy hunting!
Bart