The Riverbank · A Talking Animal Adventure

About the Campaign

The Riverbank is a tabletop roleplaying game set in a world of talking animals — think Wind in the Willows, but with more scheming, more baguettes, and considerably more dreadful relatives to survive.

Players take on the roles of riverbank denizens navigating the gentle chaos of village life, afternoon hijinks, and the occasional truly unreasonable social obligation. Combat is rarely the answer. Charm, cleverness, and an impeccable sense of timing almost always are.

Our campaign is set in and around the village proper — the river, the meadows, the old orchard, and whatever trouble five quite different animals manage to find before teatime.

"There is nothing — absolutely nothing — half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats." — Ratty, The Wind in the Willows

The Company

Caroline Smalls

Fox · Age 15 · she/her

Brown and blends in. Exceptional fleetiness, speediness, trickiness. Has a pet dormouse named Elliott.

HomeForest burrow, flat, Southern England. No windows, door is a hole in the ground.

VehicleMotorcycle

KnacksGood with numbers, first edge, good words, handy.

RelativeCollie (cousin, age 24, maternal) — lives in a large cottage in Southern England, sends unfinished mystery puzzles.

WeaknessWrong place at the wrong time.

Hazel Badger

Badger · Age 17 · they/them

Large, solitary, night vision. Digging underground, thrives with vision. Pursues their higher self.

HomePennywhile, tree house, a mere manse, Northern England valley. Warm and cosy but expensive kitchen.

PetDummy (Bunny)

VehicleSailboat

KnacksOutdoorsy, swimming, pinch a penny, acrobatics.

RelativeEaire Pipi (uncle, age 25, paternal) — really irresponsible, can't say no. Lives in Violet Nightsheen Cottage, a meadow in Eastern England.

Ivy Nettle

Dormouse · Age 22 · she/her

Small, solitary, nocturnal. Artsy-crafty. Makes herself mild before she won't can intervene.

HomeWillowroot Cottage — everything flows to the kitchen. Visitors are always free to bake. Game always ready.

KnacksDeft, climbing, clinging. Independent — makes up her mind before anyone can intervene.

RelativePenny Nettle (age 38, maternal) — always drags you into situations you're not crafty enough for.

WeaknessInertia on any deed involving moderate or greater strength.

McKenzie Trask

Otter · Large · nocturnal/diurnal

Comfortably off, has wanderlust, believes in self-reliance. Fascinating to ordinary animals.

HomeCakesway Cottage, waterfront, 3 rooms. Well-stocked workroom, gas laid in. Heart of the home: the oak kitchen table.

VehiclesRowing boat & sailboat (Night's Dream)

KnacksSharp eyes, aquatic, deft on water, playfulness with games.

RelativeMr Alistair Godfrey Trask (cousin, paternal) — obsessed with gardening & screaming. Drags her to Rackham House & Paxton House, Scotland.

Rabbie Radder

Rabbit · Age 15 · he/him

Believes in self-reliance, has a lot of family. Exceptional healing, nibbling, speediness. Thrives underground.

HomeUnderground burrow, Elmlee meadow by Mavorbrook Lake. Fireplace in his room — gas laid in, +1 to cooking & baking.

VehicleMotorcycle (bright red, sleek)

KnacksFirst aid, helping people, good in the kitchen, rescuable.

RelativeBeullee (great-uncle, age 712) — hosts monthly family dinners in Southern England, always corners you. His wife is the only one who can tolerate him.

The Garden · Inspiration & Setting

The Riverbank campaign draws its mood from the real world — a pollinator garden through all its seasons, where monarchs migrate through dahlias, mantises guard plumeria in the greenhouse, and the yard is, quite genuinely, a talking animal world in miniature.