The Warren

The Warren is a rules-lite survival RPG about intelligent rabbits facing a hostile world. Powered by the Apocalypse mechanics emphasize speed, wits, and community over combat. Classless and generational, it follows rabbit families through seasons of danger. Ideal for fans of Watership Down seeking tense, poignant storytelling.

At-a-glance

PbtA survival • 2d6 + modifiers • 3–5 players • Low prep • Rules-lite • 2–4h sessions

The Warren

The Warren casts players as intelligent rabbits navigating a world filled with predators, harsh weather, and scarce resources. Drawing from Watership Down, Fifteen Rabbits, and Peter Rabbit, the game explores survival through community rather than individual heroism.

Theme and Setting

Rabbits are small, fragile creatures in a dangerous world—cats, dogs, foxes, humans, and even other rabbits pose threats that cannot be faced head-on. The setting emphasizes the tension between bucolic surface beauty and the constant peril lurking beneath.

How Play Feels

Built on a heavily modified Powered by the Apocalypse framework, The Warren uses shared move pools rather than individual character sheets. Players choose from playbooks like the Seer, the Runner, or the Protector, then draw from communal moves that reinforce the generational nature of rabbit life.

What Makes It Distinct

Resolution uses 2d6 with modifiers: 10+ is a success, 7–9 is a partial success with complications, and 6- means trouble. Rabbits do not fight—they flee, hide, negotiate, or outwit.

Where It May Not Fit

You want denser mechanical crunch or build complexity You want combat and action to drive most of the session.

Decision guide

What this game is about

Key facts
Players
3-5 players + GM
Session
120-240 minutes
Prep
Low
Play profile
Complexity
2/5
New GM Fit
5/5
Roleplay Focus
5/5
Combat Focus
2/5
Tactical Depth
1/5
Campaign Depth
3/5
Who it suits
Best for
Tables that want fiction-first play and scene-level consequencesTables that want quick onboarding and low mechanical dragGroups already comfortable with fiction-first move-based play
Avoid if
You want denser mechanical crunch or build complexityYou want combat and action to drive most of the sessionYou want the system to stay almost invisible at the table

A strong fit for groups that want fiction-first play and scene-level consequences, with narrative-Driven helping define the experience.

Agent data

Structured data and an explicit decision profile JSON document are available for remote agents.

Open agent JSON