The Obojima Podcast the Blog | Episode 4: Creating a New D&D Race: The Nakudama

This blog post was made using dictation summary software, and posted for SEO purposes. If you really want to know what this episode is about, check out the full episode here: https://youtu.be/ChkNRDSqRj4?si=IeoQ-MaahiJU1QQl

Welcome to episode 4 of the Obojima Podcast! This podcast is a deep dive into the creative process of creating Obojima: Tales from the Tall Grass. First things first, let’s meet our intrepid crew of writers. 

• Jeremiah Crofton - The Creative Director of 1985 Games and the creator of Obojima. 

• Ari Levitch - Head Writer

• Adam Lee - Head Writer

The writing crew is back, and this week’s Obojima deep dive hops into the exuberant world of the Nakudama—Obojima’s fun-loving, frog-like inhabitants—as well as brand-new backgrounds and mechanics that give your players a whole new reason to care about broken radios and spirit-charged scooters.

Nakudama: Frogs Who Party

The Nakudama are ancient. Like, really ancient. Their crumbling temples and sunken strongholds suggest a once-great civilization, but these days? They’re all about flavor—literally and figuratively. Think “extroverted, amphibious hobbits with a taste for the good life.” They live for food, music, and comfort. They’re scattered all over the island, influencing its architecture, cuisine, and party culture. You’re just as likely to find a Nakudama throwing a festival as you are to find them lounging in a tree hammock.

The team muses over whether the Nakudama once had a strict, perhaps even militaristic society, only to collectively decide one day, “Let’s just… chill.” A past queen may have ditched the seriousness and ushered in an era of joy-seeking and exuberance. Now, their stories are told by half-truth-spinning historians who may or may not be embellishing everything for dramatic flair.

Birthing Pools, Queens, and Amphibious Cool

Lore-wise, Nakudama might operate under a matriarchal system, with hatching grounds and sacred birthing pools playing a central role in their culture. Maybe they’re communal, maybe they’re tucked away in treetop puddles or swampy hollows. Either way, they reinforce the Nakudama’s connection to nature and their unique life cycle. Adult at 12, elderly by 45—these frogfolk live fast, leap far, and soak up every moment.

On the game mechanics side, two core traits define them:

• Amphibious movement (walk 25 ft, swim 30 ft)
  

• Prehensile tongue: This one’s the showstopper. A 15-foot hookshot-style tongue lets them grapple objects or critters, swing from vines, or snatch shiny things off high shelves.
  

There was some internal debate over how much to let the tongue do—can you cast touch spells with it? Can it heal? Is it Strength-based or Dexterity-based? The final vibe leans toward non-touch spell use only, with weight restrictions and finesse flexibility. 

As for other abilities, the team tossed around two ideas: a “healing croak” vs. “healing saliva.” Ultimately, the visual of a Nakudama lovingly licking their injured companion won out.

Jump Mechanics & Flavor Text

Another debated ability was the Standing Leap—should Nakudama be able to leap 15 feet without a running start? Whether it’s baked into Strength or given as a fixed number, the image of a little frog-person launching themselves across a chasm is just too good to ignore.

Backgrounds: From Faction Acolytes to Scrapyard Pickers

The team also dipped into Background design, focusing on how to root players in the world without front-loading tons of exposition. They wanted to make sure the backgrounds stood out as unique to Obojima compared to the backgrounds you might find in D&D. 

First up is the Faction Acolyte or Apprentice background—a flexible origin story for characters still earning their stripes. Maybe you’re a junior cartographer for the Society of Young Stewards or a greenhorn spell-ranger out of Arko’s Library. This background gives players some niche perks—think orienteering, survival, or mountaineering—and acts as a great on-ramp into faction-based storytelling.

Then there’s the Scavenger/Scrapper background—perfect for players who want to root around in rusted mechs and turn a busted camera into a spirit-powered flashlight. These characters know their way around abandoned tech, giving bonuses to understanding, dismantling, or repurposing machines. If there’s a junkpile, a scrapper’s digging through it.

Mechanics, Magic, and Machines

This spiraled into a broader discussion about mechanical skills. Should there be a new “Mechanics” skill, or just use existing ones like Survival and Intelligence? The verdict’s still out, but one thing is clear: scavenging will be central to gameplay. The team floated ideas like:

• Salvage checks to repurpose 80s-era tech
  

• Mechanical parts as potion ingredients
  

• Differentiating between spirit-powered and purely mechanical devices (e.g., a glider is tech, but a glider powered by a minor wind spirit? That’s magic-tech)

check out the full episode here: https://youtu.be/ChkNRDSqRj4?si=IeoQ-MaahiJU1QQl