Hi /tg/ I want to run Dinotopia as a setting. Yes yes, I know

GURPS I guess.
I know nothing about Dinotopia so I'll just pretend it's middle eastern Flintstones.

>>53650879
>I know nothing about Dinotopia so I'll just pretend it's middle eastern Flintstones.
Prepare to get hooted at by a bunch of manchildren who are enraged that you didn't experience the exact same set of media properties growing up as they did.

You should read it, gorgeous artwork.

>>53650813
Hey if you want potentially non-violent conflict resolution, Dogs in the Vineyard would be a good shout. It's about not!mormon cowboys travelling not!utah, but the mechanics are solid and I'd consider them easy to refluff.

>>53650907

That'd be nice but I'm pretty sure Dinotopia is /nogunz/

Is there a non setting specific version of the rules somewhere? Maybe a general hack?

>>53650813
Golden Sky Stories or Ryutama sounds about right.

>>53650991
>That'd be nice but I'm pretty sure Dinotopia is /nogunz/
Lucky for you, Dogs in the Vineyard isn't "D&D but with cowboy hats", so "gun" as equipment is represented as "1d4+1d6", just like "has a triceratops for a friend" as a relationship is represented as "1d8".

You don't need a hack for DitV because the system is built to tell an interesting story, not a four-hour combat scene.

You could look at the two novels that were written for inspiration, particularly the first in which a ship of pirates managed to get washed up and over the reefs in a big storm, leaving them in the mood to explore and plunder rather than adapt and seek more peaceful pursuits.

Also, as memory serves, Dinotopia experienced several periods of intense warfare between long ages of peace in its history. Conflicts involving Poseidos and Chandara come to mind. You could set your game during the continent's ancient past or have relics of that past like Poseidos' war machines cause problems in the present.

>>53650813
Dinotopia is a Utopia (clue's in the name), which many hold to be boring settings because everything's pretty decent all the time. But there are still very good ways to write stories/games about utopian systems.

The way you make things interesting is to focus on the edges. What happens when the utopia meets another non-utopian culture? How do they adapt when they discover something unplanned for (new technology always causes social change)? What do people who wish to live differently (eg dissenters) do?

Both Star Trek and the Culture books mostly focus on the people and events at the edges of their societies, and are very popular and enjoyable for many people to read. The original Dinotopia books were about an explorer from outside being introduced to their society, and his son exploring the corners of the world.

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>>53651554

>That bit where the baby Allosaurus literally bit that one pirate's ass off his body

That book was fucking brutal. Made the YA novels look like absolute dogshit in comparison. I love them each for their merits but the pirate book's adult themes really drove home how delicate the island was and how even a few assholes from outside could create a huge problem for them.

>>53651220

Downloaded it, I like the rules but the theme and tone don't really match Dinotopia. I'll have to tinker with it a bit.

>>53651687

>New technology

I mean, the entire underneath of the island is filled with crazy ancient mechs, so that shouldn't be too hard. Fuckin' sunstones brah, that shit was OP as fuck.

>>53651866
Don't forget that you can't make everyone happy all the time, so even if the vast majority of Dinotopians are happy and contented with their lives there will still be people like Lee Crabb who chafe under the rule of law and don't want to play by society's rules.

You could also play with the idea of antagonists that are not actually villainous. Well meaning but pompous bureaucrats, inventors who can't see the dangers of their inventions, new arrivals who don't understand what sort of place the island is.

There are a lot of options available.

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>>53652321

>Lee Crab

That man was alpha as fuck. Look at this fucking hat.

>>53651153
>Ryutama

I was just going to suggest this.

>>53652646
He was a pretty relatable and Human antagonist within the series. He was an angry, selfish man who couldn't find peace of mind in a peaceful land. His hat was also pretty damned fantastic.

>>53650813

> how do I run a setting where everyone is pacifist?

Literally Golden Sky Stories. Or a more pacifist-oriented Dogs in the Vineyards. But I see /tg/ did their homework and already suggested it.

MAYBE Do:Pilgrims of the Flying Temple can be used as a base? Check it out OP

>in general terms, I do feel "utopia as a setting" is an interesting challenge, seriously

>>53652646

Basically That Guy but done well.

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>>53653021

Pacifist characters in general are really hard to do right. Aside from the whole group calling you a pussy it's just kind of tricky mechanically. I prefer to offer all players the option to not kill if they feel like avoiding it, that leads to more interesting stories and captive mobs can be fun to interact with. Slaughter is boring.

Have a few potential plot hooks:

>One particularly new arrival was once a world-famous writer before his shipwreck, and has decided to pen a travelogue of his time on the island. He hires the PCs to guide and guard him in his exploration.

>Dinotopia has never been entirely crimeless, but there seems to be a sharp uptick in burglary lately in the city of Volcaneum. What's odder still is that there have been whispers that some sort of thieves' guild is to blame.

>Exhibiting a sense of curiosity that is uncommon amongst the large carnosaur, a rebellious young ceratosaurus has found her way out of the Rainy Basin, looking to see one of these "cities" she's heard about.

>The local children talk about a "ghost" that supposedly haunts the ruins high in the hills above their sleepy little town. The PCs discover that this "ghost" is actually a product of ancient Poseidos technology.

>>53653400
I like these ideas. Man, I so much nostalgia.

>>53653021
Savage World of My Little Pony has a nonlethal combat mechanic which is really simple.

>>53655356
It can be a fun challenge to think up quests and plot hooks that don't rely on the old "go there and kill that" formula when you've been playing more back and slash style games for a while.

>Timekeeper Malik sends the PCs to a particular shop to pick up a rare clock he'd received from a dolphin back friend long ago. Unfortunately, this clock was accidentally sold, forcing the PCs to track the wayward timepiece down.

>An ancient war machine from Poseidos' ill-fated assault against the mainland is somehow reactivated and is beginning to wreak havoc up and down the eastern coast. The PCs must figure out how to stop its robotic rampage before it's too late.

>A skybax and rider were blown off course durring a terrible storm and have not been heard from in several days. With their families getting worried, the PCs take it upon themselves to help with the search and rescue efforts.

>A new boatload of arrivals have brought with them a strange and terrible disease from the outside world. A certain medical text at the Great Library in Waterfall City seems to detail the recipe for a cure, but the ingredients are hard to find.