Last month, Geek Native ran a news story about Sentient pizza and cybernetic hamsters. The exciting project at the heart was a new tabletop RPG called Tavers.
Tavers will be the result of the immersive arts company Meow Wolf, Genuine Entertainment and TTRPG publisher Exalted Funeral working together. After running the story, we were cheeky enough to ask for more!
Now, I’m delighted to share a whole bunch of questions answered by Matt Kelley, Co-Founder of Exalted Funeral, and Luke Dorman, Senior Creative Director – Visual Development at Meow Wolf.
Tavers Interview
For our readers who only know Meow Wolf for its incredible, mind-bending art installations, what was the spark that led to the decision: ‘We need to turn this into a tabletop RPG’?
The decision was pretty easy. We like to take risks and recreate authentic fan experiences in the gaming space and Meow Wolf is THE art experience. Merging the two was really a no brainer.
– Matt Kelley, EF
When working on my first Meow Wolf exhibition, I thought the main goal was to build a space where visitors could experience our stories. But after seeing how people react to the exhibitions, I realized that we’re doing way more than that – we’re making spaces in which to create your own stories. The desire to find more ways for people to create their own stories within our worlds made an RPG feel like a natural fit, and the format will allow us to go even further with this idea in ways unlike anything we’ve done before.
– Luke Dorman, MW
Matt, the press release has a brilliant quote about Meow Wolf looking for a publisher “brazen and batshit crazy enough to break the mold.” Could you tell us the origin story of this partnership? Who reached out to whom to get this portal-hopping party started?
There’s a bit of a long and winding road behind this journey, starting with Joe LeFavi at Genuine Entertainment. He had previously spoken with Meow Wolf about a potential roleplaying game but was waiting for the right fit. Then Joe and I reconnected personally, and things snowballed from there, with Joe really leading the charge. Once Meow Wolf and Exalted Funeral connected, it all came together like serendipity!
– Matt Kelley, EF
Let’s talk about the game itself. For someone who just saw a headline about “sentient pizza and cybernetic hamsters,” how would you describe the core experience of playing Tavers: The Meow Wolf Roleplaying Game? What will players be doing at the table?
So I have to be sort of vague here as the mechanics are in playtest and much is still in development by our lead designer Tiger Wizard. But I can share the goal is for players and fans to take the experience of Meow Wolf from the installation into their homes and for those that cannot visit installations to create the art experience outside of those installations.
– Matt Kelley, EF
The game is described as using an “exquisite corpse” style of storytelling. That’s a fascinating concept for an RPG. How are you designing the rules to encourage that level of surreal, collaborative creativity without it becoming chaotic?
Once again I gotta be vague right now; sorry! But there will be elements familiar, unfamiliar, and soon to be known from Meow Wolf’s unique brand of storytelling that will be incorporated into the game itself. The rules will be unique with enough bones to hold things together but with freedom to transform your storytelling experience as you see fit.
– Matt Kelley, EF
How much will the game draw from existing Meow Wolf exhibits like Omega Mart or Convergence Station? Will players get to explore familiar places, or is Tavers building a whole new corner of the Meow Wolf multiverse?
In short, yes to all. Meow Wolf has been gracious enough to collab with us on this title, so while you will be getting some amazing integration with their stories, it will also have something new for fans as well!!
– Matt Kelley, EF
Who do you see as the ideal audience for Tavers? Is this a gateway for Meow Wolf fans to get into TTRPGs, a new flavour of weird for indie RPG fans, or a mix of both?
This is typically a copout answer but I feel games are art, and art is for everyone. It is a vital part of human history and this game will be accessible for hardcore fans or those who have zero knowledge of EF or MW.
– Matt Kelley, EF
I think Matt nails it with his answer.
– Luke Dorman, MW
Meow Wolf’s installations are all about physical exploration and sensory experience, while RPGs are often called ‘theatre of the mind’. What have been the most interesting challenges and discoveries in translating that physical Meow Wolf ‘vibe’ into a tabletop game?
The sheer amount is really the difficult part, to be honest. Every nook and cranny of the installations have a story told, and every nook and cranny has a story told by the person experiencing it. No one comes away with the same experience and that is a wonderful thing. The goal is for the fans to build this experience they create with inspiration that comes from the Meow Wolf installations. For me, EF and MW are just conduits for the players and fans to harness their ability to create those Meow Wolf inspirations.
– Matt Kelley, EF
Everything we do is about trying to connect people to the idea that their imaginations and their unique creativity can change the world – that the world is something we make, so we can make it differently. The exhibitions work to do this by bending your sense of physical reality, hoping that you’ll kind of reattune yourself to your environment, see things with a different sense of possibility, and carry that sensation with you after you leave the space. I think the RPG works with the same goals, but we’re trying to fit this idea inside a book instead of inside a building.
– Luke Dorman, MW
The Kickstarter is planned for Spring 2026, which gives us all something to look forward to! What can fans expect between now and then? Will there be any public playtests, art previews, or maybe a quickstart adventure to give us a taste?
From here on out the goal currently is to hit those deadlines (ha!) but we certainly want to share this entire endeavor with everyone. We plan to roll all those out in eventual phases !!! Stay tuned!!!!
– Matt Kelley, EF
We definitely want to keep people updated on development and highlight a lot of the artists and creatives who are working to bring this project to life. There are a lot of illustrators and other 2D artists that we’ve always wanted to work with and it’s really cool to have this opportunity for collaboration. I’m sure we’ll be sharing some sneak peeks of the collabs, but holding enough back so that there are some welcome surprises once the full project is revealed.
– Luke Dorman, MW
And finally, looking beyond this exciting project:
For Meow Wolf: With an RPG now in the pipeline, are you exploring other types of games or interactive media to bring the Meow Wolf experience to even more people?
While I can’t say anything specific, I will say that a sense of curiosity and exploration is a really important part of who we are. So I can’t imagine a world in which we’re not always searching for new ways to express ourselves and new ways of both sharing our art with the world and inviting others to explore along with us.
– Luke Dorman, MW
For Exalted Funeral: What other strange and wonderful projects are currently brewing that our readers should be getting excited about?
We have a ton of stuff percolating ! You can always find new releases every (yes every) Wednesday at our website from us and other creators we cherish. Major projects are a little secret at the moment so keep checking back!
– Matt Kelley, EF
