# Mystery Flesh Pit National Park: The RPG tags: #game/rpg/mystery-flesh-pit ![[Mystery Flesh Pit National Park - The RPG (cover).jpg]] _Mystery Flesh Pit National Park - The RPG_ is exactly what it sounds like: a tabletop simulation of the hubris of mankind, specifically the kind that looks at a colossal, prehistoric, subterranean superorganism in West Texas and thinks, "We should put a gift shop in its esophagus." Based on the internet world-building project by Trevor Roberts and developed by Christopher Robin Negelein, this game allows you and your fellow disposable assets to roleplay as employees or visitors of Anodyne, the corporation exploiting the "Permian Basin Superorganism" for resources and tourism revenue. The setting is a delightful mix of 1980s corporate optimism and Cronenbergian body horror. You aren't fighting dragons; you are filing incident reports while trying not to be dissolved by gastric acid or crushed by a reflex spasm of the geography. It is a satire of capitalism, bureaucracy, and the human refusal to admit that perhaps we should not drill into elder gods for crude oil. ## Core Die Resolution Mechanics The game utilizes the **Cypher System**, licensed from Monte Cook Games. If you are familiar with _Numenera_ or _The Strange_, you already know the drill: the Game Master (GM) does not roll dice, because the universe (and the GM) is already out to get you. - **The d20 Roll:** Players roll a d20 to resolve tasks. The difficulty of any task is rated on a scale of 1 to 10. To determine the **Target Number** you must roll to succeed, you multiply the Difficulty by 3. Thus, a Difficulty 4 task requires a roll of 12 or higher. - **Effort and Edge:** You have three stat pools—**Might**, **Speed**, and **Intellect**. You can spend points from these pools to apply **Effort**, which lowers the Difficulty of a task. Your **Edge** reduces the cost of applying this Effort. Essentially, you are spending your own life force to make the math easier. - **Conformity:** This is the game's unique spin on a "sanity" mechanic. Instead of going mad from the horrors of the Pit, characters suffer from **Conformity**. As the human mind breaks under the strain of seeing impossible biology, it retreats into the safety of rules and bureaucracy. High Conformity means you become a stickler for protocol, potentially freezing up because saving your friend from a macro-bacteria violates safety regulation 7-B. - **Grit:** A resource earned via GM Intrusions (when the GM decides to complicate your life just because they can). Grit can be spent to reroll dice or influence the narrative, representing that uniquely human stubbornness to survive despite clearly being food. ### Editions The primary text is a standalone game built on the **Cypher System**. A version compatible with **Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition** was funded as a Kickstarter stretch goal and slated for release in early 2025. The core distinction is simply the engine; the Cypher version emphasizes narrative flexibility and resource management (your stats are your health), while the 5e version presumably involves more tactical combat grids—though shooting a wall of meat with a crossbow seems an exercise in futility regardless of the ruleset. ## References - [Official DriveThruRPG Product Page - DriveThruRPG](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/498633/mystery-flesh-pit-national-park-the-rpg "null") - [Kickstarter Campaign and Updates - Kickstarter](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ganzagaming/the-mystery-flesh-pit-national-park-rpg "null") - [Review of the RPG and Setting - Geek Native](https://www.geeknative.com/209174/a-review-and-time-warning-on-mystery-flesh-pit-national-park-the-rpg/ "null") - [Original Worldbuilding Project Site - Mystery Flesh Pit National Park](https://www.mysteryfleshpitnationalpark.com/ "null")