Although there isn't any snow on the ground where I am, it definitely feels like the holidays. New York City has decorations everywhere, with trees large and small covered in all manner of lights. The fancy stores along 5th Avenue have their amazing holiday display windows up and everyone is in a joyous rush to get home to their loved ones.
Now, it's Christmas Day!
Oh what a smurfy time of year!
What better way to close out the year* than with a Smurfs TRPG one-shot that is also holiday themed? None I dare say! Especially in the case of last weekend's great game of The Smurfs Roleplaying Game, run with a mix of old friends and new, as I got the chance to be 'Storyteller Smurf' for Andy, Brandon, Heather, and Stephen, all formerly part of The Smurfs and The Palace of the Silver Princess. Stephen was the Storyteller for that, as well as for the one-shot The Smurfs and The Bluebird of Happiness. I was very excited [and honestly a bit intimidated] to be on the other side of the table for such a talented Smurfs GM.
Unfortunately, René (Suave Smurf) couldn't join us (we couldn't get a hold of him) but we did have the addition of Julia, a friend of Heather's, who gave us a much needed additional Smurf Girl of Smurfy Grove (since my own Smurfcornflower wouldn't be there). She and Stephen established a very different dynamic between this group and our last big outing even though four of the participants (and three of the Player Characters) were the same.
Our group of Smurfs was therefore Smurfamaryllis, Apathy Smurf, Brash Smurf, Gamer Smurf, and Smurfhoneysuckle.
Smurfamaryllis (Julia) and Gamer Smurf (Stephen)
Without further adeu, here is Part I of my recap of The Nightmare Before Smurfmas!
Snow is falling, the trees are decorated, and Baker Smurf is making his annual Chocolate and Smurfberry Yule Log Cake - Yes Smurf Boys and Girls, it's almost Smurfmas!** As Smurf Village and Smurfy Grove plan one smurf of a holiday party together, something strange lurks in the woods between the two hidden places. Azrael! Gargamel's nasty ol' cat seems to be searching for the Smurfs but Gargamel himself is nowhere to be seen. Hmm. It could be a trap!
A group of Smurfs, Boys and Girls alike, volunteer to investigate. Well...sort of. Smurfamaryllis, Brash Smurf, and Smurfhoneysuckle volunteer and basically drag Apathy and Gamer along. What they discover is quite odd. Azrael seems pretty roughed up and eventually falls exhausted in the snow, whimpering softly.
While Apathy and Brash are not sure if they should go help him - I mean, he has tried to smurf many a Smurf over the years - Honeysuckle is already out there checking on the cat (Honeysuckle is a farmer and really cares about animals). Amaryllis tags along.
Gamer plays a quick Riddle/Guessing Game with the other boys. If he wins, they help Azrael. If they win, he'll follow their lead. Gamer wins! The entire group takes Azrael back to the edge of Smurfy Grove and calls on Smurfwillow's help. The wise older Female Smurf gives the cat some medicine and it begins to meow frantically! They are able to determine that Gargamel is in trouble! Something about a Magic Spell and some kind of Monster! Great Smurfs!
While Azrael rests and heals, Smurfwillow sends a message to Papa Smurf letting him know the group is headed to Gargamel's hovel/castle to investigate further. The group grabs their favored gear and receives some holiday treats before heading Northeast.
The trip is not an easy one. The region is covered in deep snow (if you're three apples tall that is) and there is a lot of slippery ice. Branches have fallen from trees and the wind wickedly whipped westward. There is also the matter of the Smurfs themselves, who smurfed each other the wrong way at every turn.
Smurfamaryllis needed to be the center of attention and kept trying to get the others to watch what she's doing. Apathy, well he's Apathy and couldn't have cared less, which just made Amaryllis try harder. The long standing competition/rivalry between Brash and Honeysuckle was friendly (flirty?) and good-natured but that took their focus away from Amaryllis and she didn't like that. She might also have been a little sweet on Brash. Gamer keeps wanting to make it all a game, which proves annoying to the others and potentially dangerous near ponds of thin ice.***
Eventually, Apathy took up the role of leader and got the party to get its smurf together. They decided to make a brief camp, warm up with some Smurfberry Leaf Tea and Smurfberry Biscuits, and smurf out their differences. After some heartfelt and humorous dialogue, Honeysuckle notices a light not too far away. She points it out to the others, believing it to be another campfire. The group gets up to take a closer look but can only see the shadows of small people.
After dowsing their fire, the party walks over to see a dozen or so (Thirteen to be exact) small, wizened elf-like beings gathered around their own campfire. One member of the group invites the Smurfs over to have a bowl of their soup, which the PCs suddenly notice is cooking over the little trolls' flame. Was that there a second ago? Amaryllis bows and says she would be honored to try their soup! After all, "I am well known as a Great Taster of Soups back in Smurfy Grove!", she exclaims. The little men laugh and slap their knees and each others backs.
"Smurfs you say? Well, *chuckle* splendid, splendid! We, my brothers and I, are the Yule Lads. Here you are lovely Smurf", said one of the 'handsome goblins'**** as he handed her a bowl and a spoon. Smurfamaryllis loved the attention and praise and gladly took the gift of food. She scooped up a spoonful of thick broth and potato chunks and downed it in one gulp. She then spewed it out, coughing and making just the most contorted of faces.
"What the smurf? What's wrong Amaryllis?", shouted Honeysuckle, her hands balling into fists.
"It's sour and spoiled. Like it went bad long ago! Yuck! Awful! But it looked and smelled so good", replied Amaryllis, trying to use her scarf to wipe the taste off her tongue.
All 13 Yule Lads roared with laughter. "Oldest trick we have and still one of the best", said one.
"The look on her silly face!" barked another.
"That's what you get for boasting", snapped a third, his face more serious than his kin.
"Let's just be on our way...", Gamer began to say but it was too late. He was traveling with Brash Smurf and Brash Smurf tended to be rather...well...Brash. Leaping forward, his hands wrapped in his signature red cape, Brash grabbed the handles of the soup pot and threw the entirety of it at the Yule Lads. Not to be outdone ('cause isn't that her way), Honeysuckle followed up by smurfing the lid of the pot at them discus (frisbee) style. Amaryllis smurfed the Yule Lad who had handed her the rotten potato soup with her baton (stick) with a rattling 'thok!'
"And take that!", she exclaimed!
The Yule Lads erupted in yelps, shouts, and at least two in a loud 'BONG!' as the pot lid struck them. Suddenly the Smurfs were surrounded by the mischevious bunch, all attempting to trick, trip, pull, push, or steal something from the group. The team fought back in various very clever ways, from Amaryllis drawing their attention so Brash could send them rolling down the hill, to Gamer distracting them with a game of dice while Honeysuckle shook a bush that buried a few Yule Lads in falling snow.
Finally as the tricky, troublemaking trolls looked like they were on the outs, one of the Yule Lads stood tall with a burning stick in his hand, laughing hysterically yet furiously as he approached the Smurfs. Most were taken aback, quite intimidated or at least wary of the threat. Apathy gently pushed passed his friends and stood right in from of the fellow, classic nonplussed***** look of calm disinterest on his face.
"Yes?", Apathy said in a bored monotone. "You have something to say?"
The Yule Lad leered at Apathy for a long moment. Then looked confused for nearly as long. Then he shut his mouth and stepped back. Apathy, face completely unchanged, took a slow and very deliberate step forward. The Yule Lad gulped, put out his torch in the snow, and grinned sheepishly. "Heh, just a bit of fun ol' nut? No real harm or foul, right? We'll be about our business and you the same."
"Not so fast!", said Honeysuckle in a deep, rough-sounding drawl, right hand clenched in a fist, "What are y'all doing here? You know what's going on up at the castle don't ya?"
The Yule Lads began to mutter and whisper among themselves, most of the conversations ending in shrugs and head scratching. The one who'd been threatening the Smurfs a mere moment ago said, "We were doing nothing of note 'til you came along. Our Master told us to waylay any who'd come to the aid of the old malcontent up there in the ruined keep. A true misanthrope if ever there was one! Who'd come to help such a churl, I mean really?"
The Smurfs all looked at each other, their feelings and thoughts twisting in knotts. Gargamel.
"Who is your Master..." Gamer Smurf began, but the Yule Lads were gone. There was no fire, no evidence they'd ever been there. Wait...that wasn't quite accurate. On a log the wee cretins had previous been sitting on when the Smurfs first met them, Gamer found a small package in a bright green box tied with a red bow. A present? He showed it to the others and they suggested he hold on to it for the time being.
With that, off they went to Gargamel's...
So ends Part I of our Yule Tide Tale! Stay tuned for more after these messages...
AD
Barking Alien
*This game was not necessarily the last one of the year but it was holiday themed, it was Smurfs, and it just felt like if I had to make this one good just in case I don't get to play again this year. I know, I know. I do it to myself.
**Smurfmas isn't so much Christmas but more the Pagan Yule Tide holidays of pre-Christian France and Belgium mixed with a few more Christmas-y trappings. I always imagine the Smurfs are some sort of Forest Spirits or Fae so it kind of makes sense.
***This group of Player Character Smurfs featured a lot more interpersonal friction than any of my previous Smurf parties thus far. This was absolutely the intention. Discussed right before the start of the game, Julia wanted to play a character that leaned in the direction of Brainy being a Smart Alec, Hefty being Bull-Headed, Baker Being Greedy (at least on the Cartoon), and the like. This doesn't mean Brainy isn't smart, Hefty isn't strong, or that Baker isn't a skilled, er, baker. She just wanted to lean into Smurfamaryllis' flaws, not her Advantage.
We talked about it to insure that the group understood issues might arise among the PCs but that had nothing to do with the players. More specifically, Julia wanted to make sure her idea didn't harsh everyone else's mellow. Everyone was cool with her character being trying sometimes and how that dynamic could generate a lot of humor and interpersonal moments.
Stephen leaned into a similar idea but to a lesser extent.
****Before letting the players and PCs know they were dealing the Icelandic Folklore beings known as 'The Yule Lads' I danced around the name with various descriptions of faerie beings like pre-Tolkien elves, brownies, lutins, and other such creatures. Julia offhandedly called them 'handsome goblins' at one point and, I don't know if it was the phrase or how she said it, but it struck me as really funny at the time.
*****Nonplussed is such a great word. It is a contranym; a word with two opposite meanings. Nonplussed can mean surprised and confused, often beyond the ability to react or completely unphased, not peturbed at all.
