Tyrannosaur Inside RPG Review

Written by Arlie Pallant

Tyrannosaur Inside RPG Using Mork Borg

It’s both compatible with Mork Borg and D&D 5e so I’ll try to give you a review of both experiences. Spoiler alert: it’s very different in each!

My initial play was using Mork Borg, and aside from struggling to learn the system from their cryptic online resources, I didn’t need any prep to run it. I wish they could have added condensed Mork Borg rules to the zine to make this easier. I had two players and I would recommend very low player counts if you are using Mork Borg because characters will die a lot and you need the screen time to feel invested in each new one.

My players started off with one as a T-Rex pretending to be a human and the other as a heretical priest that kept changing religion, but over the span of the session we also had: a herbmaster with a chihuahua, a heroic Australian, an alien, and an axe-wielding madman. The darkness of Mork Borg and the struggle of keeping the characters alive contrasted the light-hearted story beautifully. We ended up really rooting for the longest lived character – on the edge of our seats to see if they could survive to the end. The best part of this run was writing a funny epitaph for every death and the challenge my players had to make a more crazy character concept each time they needed a new one.

Tyrannosaur Inside RPG Using D&D

DnD 5e is more hero focused so the characters were far harder to take down. One of the players revisited their guy pretending not to be a T-rex concept with a mutant bloodhunter, whereas the other did something new with an artificer that wanted to take over the T-Rex for himself. This worked with two players but if your players aren’t roleplay lovers then I’d make the group bigger to have more going on.

Finding resources to use was the biggest prep issue as an actual T-Rex stat block would have required very high level characters which would have taken a long time to build and distracted the group from the story. If your group is combat focused and enjoys high level encounters then this may be just what you’re looking for. Instead, I reflavoured other stat blocks which weren’t too time consuming but may be overwhelming for a new game master who isn’t used to balancing combats.

Is Tyrannosaur Inside RPG Good?

The story itself is definitely the highlight so I’m trying not to say too many cool moments! My favourite part of playing was the way it prioritises the game master’s enjoyment. The zine is so packed with funny lines and silly situations that I found myself reading it cover to cover for a good laugh. For example, there are ten different possible motivations for the T-Rex including such gems as “insurance fraud.” It has a great amount of randomisation for the game master generally too, like in one encounter you roll to see if the opponent will fight the players, talk to them, or wait to be approached. This keeps it really exciting to run, although I don’t think it has much replay value with the same group of players as the story is the same each time.

Overall, a great TTRPG to have on your shelf for a board game night or if you want a break from your campaign. It’s fun for TTRPG novices and fanatics alike.

Should you play Tyrannosaur Inside?

Yes

A fun premise with hilarious writing that’s perfect for a silly night in.

By Tyrannosaur Inside at Beyond Cataclysm Books

TRY THIS IF YOU LIKED… Masks – A New Generation

If you liked the thrill of normal citizens taking down incredible foes in Masks – A New Generation, try Tyrannosaur Inside.

Buy Masks: A new Generation on Drive Thru RPG

Designer: CM Lowry

Publisher: Beyond Cataclysm

Pages: 40

Age: 14+

Price: £12

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