u/C0d3M3chan1c

A lot of RPGs have things like food, sleeping, weather, injuries or camping, but they’re often either very light flavour systems or optional difficulty modifiers.

I’ve always liked the idea of survival mechanics being part of the role-playing itself.

For example, preparing for a journey could mean thinking about food, equipment, shelter and weather rather than just checking whether your level is high enough. An injury could affect how you approach the next few encounters instead of disappearing after drinking a potion. Camping could be an actual decision about where and when to stop rather than just a button that restores everything.

At the same time, I can see why these systems often get simplified. If eating just means clicking on bread every ten minutes, it isn’t really adding anything to the RPG.

So what survival element do you think RPGs are currently missing or underusing?

And are there any RPGs where you think survival mechanics genuinely improved the role-playing rather than just adding maintenance?

Mine is hunger and thirst systems where you somehow need to eat an entire deer and drink a lake every 15 minutes.

I like survival mechanics when they change how I prepare or explore. I hate them when they’re just bars demanding attention.

What would you remove?

Hi everyone,

We’re a small independent team from Switzerland creating Arafinn, a dark fantasy world we’ve been developing for many years.

Our game, Return to Nangrim, takes players into the ruins of a lost dwarven kingdom, where they gradually uncover what happened to its people. While building that world, we realized there were many stories from Arafinn’s past that deserved to be told through the eyes of the dwarves themselves.

That is how Mountain Tales was born.

Chapter One follows a dwarf whose search for immortality draws him into forgotten history, ancient beliefs, and secrets that may have been buried for a reason.

We wanted the dwarves of Arafinn to feel like more than a familiar fantasy archetype. They have their own clans, traditions, language, religion, craftsmanship, conflicts, and history. Mountain Tales allows us to explore this culture while also expanding the world behind Return to Nangrim.

The trailer gives a first look at the atmosphere and artwork of the comic.