RPG Review: Monsters of Murka

As I previously talked about, Monsters of Murka: Restaurants and Retail is on Kickstarter right now, but it’s a supplement for the larger Monsters of Murka setting. Today, we’re going to take a look at this bizzare and surreal setting, and how I think I may need to use as my preferred Gamma World setting. Action Fiction was kind enough to send me a copy of the book, so let’s dive into it.

Monsters of Murka is a satirical world that looks strangely like our own. Characters seek out the mythical artifact of the Murkan Dream, while casting Yee Haw (a 3rd Level Abjuration spell) and battling Draguns, massive draconic creatures with guns for heads. I’m not lying. 

The setting has been fully fleshed out with the history of Murka, from a colony of the Braggish Empire, forming into the 13 Kingdoms. The book does not shy away from talking about the slaughter of Natives, to its dark history of slavery. The Nightmare War is the massive war that spanned continents, followed closely by the Frozen War, where Murka waged a battle of attrition with Rutha, the former ally of Murka during the Nightmare War.

Now, The Don’s Party rules Murka, with his minions the Trumplins and Drumpfs, who hang on his every word and are slavishly devoted to him. The Shadow Kingdom fights back against him acting as operatives to undermine everything he does to dismantle the Kingdom.

The book features a new subclass for every class, including the Fighter: Action Hero, the Cleric Explosion Domain, the Barbarian: Path of Gainz, and the Affluenza Sorcerer. Each one, while sill a parody, is nevertheless a solid subclass option for your characters. A slight reflavoring, or a DM who’s fine with parody, could easily allow these into your non-Murkan D&D game.

The book highlights three major cities of Murka: Washtown, the capital, where The Don rules with a greasy iron fist; Sea-Addled, the home of the powerful cabal “The Warlocks of the Shore”; and Holly Woods, home of the most powerful thing in Murka: Entertainment. Each city is fleshed out in detail, and I definitely feel like those who wrote these particular chapters are either from their real-world counterparts, or have spent a good deal of time there, because they know the cities pretty well, well enough to parody.

THIS IS NOT A DRILL, THIS BOOK HAS GUNCHUCKS. Because firearms are so important in the world of Murka, there is an extensive firearms section, both standard and… this amazing thing.

The equipment chapter is where the best stuff in the book is, in my opinion, if you’re looking at incorporating anything into your non-Murkan game. The Baker’s Dozen Donut Box which features treats that offer a wide range of boons and banes, a Corporate Sponsor which grants you the ability to make a Sponsorship Plug (You make a performance check to promote your sponsor. Any creature affected hands over gold), or a potion of Mountain Mist which grants Haste for one hour (after which you take THREE LEVELS of Exhaustion!). They also feature a new form of currency: Exposure, which is worth 1/10 a copper.

Each god of the setting is detailed as well, from Belle, the goddess of Games and Thoughts, Stan-Ley, god of Creation and Magic, or Raddenbury, God of Logic and Utilitarianism. Each one is detailed in their shrines, their myths, symbols and books. For something that could just be a page of throwaway joke names, it’s instead a chapter devoted to each one, in a way that really builds up the details of the world.

As I read through this, it really took me back to the days of when everyone was so excited about Gamma World in the days of 4e D&D. There was so much room for parody and satire that people played with. This Murka detailed here in the book would be perfect for it. This world would also be perfect for one-shots or short mini-campaigns to play around in. I’m not sure how well it would work to keep up sustained parody for so long in a longer campaign, so I’d recommend keeping it to shorter games.

The art throughout the book is absolutely fantastic, as is the map of Murka. The maps of each city are well detailed, and the parody artwork for all of the celebrities representing the different subclasses is really great. 

I definitely recommend you pick up Monsters of Murka, the Tiger Throne supplement, and back the Kickstarter for their large supplement, Restaurants and Retail, now.