Wilderfeast is like Monster Hunter as a tabletop RPG, and it looks very tasty indeed

New RPG Wilderfeast looks to bring the spirit of video game Monster Hunter to the tabletop in a gorgeous game about exploring, hunting and cooking.

KC Shi’s RPG puts players in the boots of wilders, a party of hunter-chefs who use oversized kitchen utensils to take down their massive prey. To help gain the advantage over their mighty foes, the characters can chow down on meals and snacks that provide different buffs, restore stamina and enable powerful mutations depending on what’s consumed.

As the name implies, this cooking element is a key part of Wilderfeast, with dedicated rules to allow players to experiment with a variety of ingredients, seasonings and combinations both during adventures - with temporary effects - and between hunts as part of bigger wilderfeasts, which provide permanent benefits. The game remains conscious of the impact of hunting on the setting’s One Land, with players feeding and rehabilitating monsters to ensure nature remains in harmony.

The monsters encountered in the One Land take inspiration from real-life animals, albeit with supernatural size and abilities. Examples include the metal-feathered peacock-like bird Kakwari, the ability-absorbing bat creature Botabo, the fire-sparking ape Flintknuckle and tree-dwelling cephalopod Zaswang.

Players will be able to explore the world, interacting with their companions, other inhabitants and creatures as they gather ingredients and track monsters across the landscape. During tests, Wilderfeast’s gameplay assigns different dice to humans - who use d8s - and monsters, who wield a d20. With wilders able to harness the power of monsters via meals, they can swap between the two or even use a combination of dice as influenced by which side of their nature they unleash.

These action dice are combined with a pool of six-sided style dice, representing their approach to a given situation - such as being ‘mighty’ or ‘precise’. Other dice can be added or removed based on the character’s current level of focus or decision to ‘go wild’, potentially leading to an increased risk in return for more powerful abilities.

Combat adds an action-based turn system, with each participant having three actions during their turn. These actions can be used to attack with melee or ranged weapons, defend, move, taunt a monster - drawing its attention - prepare to gain an additional action on the next turn, eat a snack and recover stamina, or attempt to flee.

Wilderfeast’s core rulebook will include guidance for creating characters using six starting tools - each with unique traits - and eight class-like specialties, along with a tutorial scenario to introduce newcomers to its gameplay.

The book will also include a bestiary containing 32 different monsters, and detail the One Land’s region of the Sen Coast, inspired by the geography and climate of southern California and the cultural influence of four regional Chinese cuisines.

Publisher Horrible Guild will launch a Kickstarter campaign for Wilderfeast later this year, with a release date yet to be announced.