Bunnies & Burrows RPG 3E (2019) [/]
Jun 13 2022
Bunnies & Burrows RPG third edition is a totally rewritten version of the very old FGU RPG done by the same designers. It is hardcover with full-color glossy pages and plenty of illustrations.
Characters have eight Traits (Strength, Speed, Intelligence, Agility, Constitution, Mysticism, Smell, Charisma) generated with 3d6. The Trait value itself is not used other than for determining a Trait Bonus (13-15 = +1, 16-17 = +2, 18+ = +3) and Maximum Trait Level (from 4 to 8). Trait Levels are like skill levels in other games and you increase them one point at a time by spending Advancement Points (AP) equal to the new Trait Level (as I like to think of them, Ars Magica style).
Trait Rating = Trait Bonus + Trait Level. The base mechanic is 1d6 + Trait Rating to match a Difficulty Class (DC). Combat is opposed rolls of Agility vs Speed.
There are eight Rabbit professions, one for each Trait: Fighter, Runner, Scout, Maverick, Empath, Seer, Herbalist, Storyteller. Each profession has special abilities for being that profession and extra abilities at Trait Level 3 and 6. Most special abilities are modifiers to regular rules, for example most Rabbits can carry Agility Bonus +1 of small items (basically tucked in their fur) while Mavericks can carry Agility Rating of small items.
There are also eight non-Rabbit professions, one for each Trait: Raccoon (Bandit), Jackrabbit (Herald), Chipmunk (Spy), Skunk (Burglar), Porcupine (Guardian), Opossum (Shaman), Armadillo (Trader), Squirrel (Grifter). Besides profession special abilities these different races have their own Trait generation rolls (from 1d6 to 4d6), hit point progression (Hit Points = base + Constitution Bonus, each Constitution Level adds a level base + Constitution Bonus), and languages (the game lists 16 languages which are by animal behavior, e.g. Grubbers include armadillo, mole, pig, javelina, wild boar, opossum).
Combat is a bit complicated in that you have a Pursuit mode and a Combat mode. In either mode there are Tactics each character can use. There are Fugitive Tactics and Predator Tactics and each character knows a few (some are from being that species and some can be chosen). Combat is a move+attack or attack+move system and both Pursuit and Combat are meant to be played on a battle board (the rulebook has a dozen Battle Boards at the end which you can photocopy, there is also a couple pages of counters; the Kickstarter had printed copies on cardboard stock but no longer available).
There is a whole big chapter on Herbs. There are four herb classes and Herbalists can modify herbs to change their behavior. It's set up so that the 100+ herb varieties are about 1/4 known and the rest filled in by the GM (the herb appendix lists all the herbs with their characteristics and blank lines for GMs to fill in). It's a somewhat complicated system but I guess this is like the magic system of other RPGs.
There are a bunch of smaller rules for adventuring and living. Overall it feels like a complete game (though the original edition was also pretty complete at 36 pages, this edition expands on everything and more explanatory writing in its 224 pages).
Still, I've been running a B&B 3E campaign and don't use many of the rules. Every thing is its own little subsystem. I think the combat and herb rules are overly complicated. It's not an easy system to pick up and run. Hence why I added GURPS skills (each Trait is a skill of level Trait Value + Trait Level) then use whatever GURPS rules I feel like using as needed. (And although GURPS is a much more complicated system than B&B, mechanically almost everything is rationalized to a 3d6 roll low mechanic so as a whole it makes more sense to me than B&B).
In the end, this is a gorgeous deluxe edition of Bunnies & Burrows, by the same authors who've poured their knowledge of nature into the game. If you've read my adventure reviews two of the B&B published adventures are very good but all four combined make for a good six sessions of play (more if you do the full random encounters and battle board combats).
Characters have eight Traits (Strength, Speed, Intelligence, Agility, Constitution, Mysticism, Smell, Charisma) generated with 3d6. The Trait value itself is not used other than for determining a Trait Bonus (13-15 = +1, 16-17 = +2, 18+ = +3) and Maximum Trait Level (from 4 to 8). Trait Levels are like skill levels in other games and you increase them one point at a time by spending Advancement Points (AP) equal to the new Trait Level (as I like to think of them, Ars Magica style).
Trait Rating = Trait Bonus + Trait Level. The base mechanic is 1d6 + Trait Rating to match a Difficulty Class (DC). Combat is opposed rolls of Agility vs Speed.
There are eight Rabbit professions, one for each Trait: Fighter, Runner, Scout, Maverick, Empath, Seer, Herbalist, Storyteller. Each profession has special abilities for being that profession and extra abilities at Trait Level 3 and 6. Most special abilities are modifiers to regular rules, for example most Rabbits can carry Agility Bonus +1 of small items (basically tucked in their fur) while Mavericks can carry Agility Rating of small items.
There are also eight non-Rabbit professions, one for each Trait: Raccoon (Bandit), Jackrabbit (Herald), Chipmunk (Spy), Skunk (Burglar), Porcupine (Guardian), Opossum (Shaman), Armadillo (Trader), Squirrel (Grifter). Besides profession special abilities these different races have their own Trait generation rolls (from 1d6 to 4d6), hit point progression (Hit Points = base + Constitution Bonus, each Constitution Level adds a level base + Constitution Bonus), and languages (the game lists 16 languages which are by animal behavior, e.g. Grubbers include armadillo, mole, pig, javelina, wild boar, opossum).
Combat is a bit complicated in that you have a Pursuit mode and a Combat mode. In either mode there are Tactics each character can use. There are Fugitive Tactics and Predator Tactics and each character knows a few (some are from being that species and some can be chosen). Combat is a move+attack or attack+move system and both Pursuit and Combat are meant to be played on a battle board (the rulebook has a dozen Battle Boards at the end which you can photocopy, there is also a couple pages of counters; the Kickstarter had printed copies on cardboard stock but no longer available).
There is a whole big chapter on Herbs. There are four herb classes and Herbalists can modify herbs to change their behavior. It's set up so that the 100+ herb varieties are about 1/4 known and the rest filled in by the GM (the herb appendix lists all the herbs with their characteristics and blank lines for GMs to fill in). It's a somewhat complicated system but I guess this is like the magic system of other RPGs.
There are a bunch of smaller rules for adventuring and living. Overall it feels like a complete game (though the original edition was also pretty complete at 36 pages, this edition expands on everything and more explanatory writing in its 224 pages).
Still, I've been running a B&B 3E campaign and don't use many of the rules. Every thing is its own little subsystem. I think the combat and herb rules are overly complicated. It's not an easy system to pick up and run. Hence why I added GURPS skills (each Trait is a skill of level Trait Value + Trait Level) then use whatever GURPS rules I feel like using as needed. (And although GURPS is a much more complicated system than B&B, mechanically almost everything is rationalized to a 3d6 roll low mechanic so as a whole it makes more sense to me than B&B).
In the end, this is a gorgeous deluxe edition of Bunnies & Burrows, by the same authors who've poured their knowledge of nature into the game. If you've read my adventure reviews two of the B&B published adventures are very good but all four combined make for a good six sessions of play (more if you do the full random encounters and battle board combats).