Blue Smurf Group

Before I get any further into how the first session of The Smurfs and The Palace of the Silver Princess went, I'd like to introduce the cast:

We (all the players and the GM) met up online a day before the first session to create our characters; a sort of Session 0. Most of us already had an idea of what we wanted to play, though I made one fellow change his mind (Heheh). 

Character Creation is very easy and quick in Smurfs, even going mostly rules-as-written as Stephen wanted. There were some tiny tweaks here and there and a few concessions/decisions needed for PCs with unusual abilities (like my character's Potion Making). 

In addition, we were each allowed to come up with one starting Room in our Mushroom Cottages (the Smurfhouses I've discussed in prior Smurf and Base posts). 

Left to Right: Smurfhoneysuckle, Brash Smurf, Apathy Smurf, Smurfcornflower, Suave Smurf. 

Apathy Smurf (played by Andrew) 

I actually created Apathy Smurf as a background gag NPC in one of my earliest Smurf RPG runs. Andrew thought the idea was so funny he asked if he could write him up and play him and I said of course! He was amazing!

Apathy Smurf couldn't care less. He just isn't that interested in what you're doing and can't be bothered to put on his shoes to join you. Eventually you might get him to come with you on an adventure by pointing out that he really has nothing better to do. 

Andrew's portrayal is hilarious. There is a nuanced sense of melancholy and ennui to Andrew's version of the character that I didn't expect but very much appreciate 

Apathy is noticeably shorter than a typical Smurf, with a face that says 'I don't care' and 'I'm tired of this' simultaneously. He wears a short sleeve shirt, short pants, a standard Smurf [Phrygian] cap, and often goes barefoot (Andrew says it's because he can't be bothered to put his shoes on or remember where he put them).

This fellow's special Advantage is to reduce the Difficulty Level of an action or situation by audibly, verbally dismissing the obstacle as uninteresting, unimportant, or irrelevant. 

His starting signature item of Equipment is a pillow, which he usually sits on when bored (which is often) or places behind his head when leaning on trees, walls, etc. 

Apathy's Smurfhouse has An Old Couch +2 where he can rest before or after an adventure. It's worn out and most find it hard to get comfortable on it but Apathy doesn't seem to mind the lumpiness.

Apathy Smurf and his Smurfhouse

Brash Smurf (played by Brandon)

Don't worry about potential threats or dangers on our journey; Brash Smurf sure doesn't! He is the first one in and the last one out and never the one to make or follow a plan. Brash is brave, bold, more than a little reckless, and perhaps not the sharpest smurf in the smurf shed. He means well though, that's undeniable.  

In some ways Brash is the least peculiar and most traditionally Smurfy of the PCs and that was exactly what Brandon intended. He wanted what he saw as a 'Classic' Smurf. At the same time, Brash is distinct because Brandon portrays him with gusto and is focused on keeping the game exciting and constantly moving forward. 

Brash has a long sleeve shirt, pants that end above the ankles, a distinctive red 'cape' tied around his neck, and red shoes. He often has a determined look in his eyes and a smirk on his lips.

This character's Advantage is to decrease the Difficulty Level of a challenge by charging in head first without a plan (or by ignoring the one presented) or by (at the very least) by going first. Brash is the 'Leeroy Jenkins' of Smurfs.

Brash's starting piece of Equipment is his Cape, which he can use in a variety of ways such as carrying things in it, waving it as a distraction, or using it to block water, wind, or dust. 

Brash Smurf's Smurfhouse has an indoor Obstacle Course +2 which can temporarily improve his ability to overcome troublesome terrain, scale walls, or jump a chasm (and other similar hindrances). 

Brash Smurf and his Smurfhouse

Smurfcornflower (played by me!)

Smurfcornflower, or just Cornflower, is a Smurf Girl from Smurf Grove. She is very focused on the study of magical ingredients and the brewing of potions. She'd be happy to make some for you to take on your adventure if...what's that? You want her to come with you? Er...hmm. You think she'll be helpful in the field? Um, well gee, I don't know...who's going to dry the Mandrake Root and powder the Snail Shells? Besides, Smurfwillow might need my help. 

*Smurfhoneysuckle rolls her eyes and yanks Cornflower out of her Smurfhouse*

I had some much fun playing Smurfcornflower and I'll be honest, that's pretty amazing. I rarely play, prefering to GM. I practically never play a female character (for fear of not quite doing the role justice). It often takes a bit of time to get the charactetr's voice, literally and figuratively. This was a totally different experience: Got the mindset and voice right away. Love her design. Loved playing her. 

Cornflower is a Smurf Girl with oddly large hands and long fingers. She is a little shorter than normal height for a Smurfy Grove Smurf but has pretty bad posture which makes her seem even smaller. Her hair is a lighter, slightly aqua blue color than her Smurf blue skin. She wears a tan dress and often no hat, instead keeping her hair in a bushy pony tail. Cornflower has aqua blue eyes. 

Smurfcornflower's Advantage covers her skill at brewing potions. Her Difficulty Level in making a given potion is lowered by -1D6. The Advantage is also useful in finding the right ingredients for a given potion, as long as she knows what she's looking for. 

As far as Equipment, Cornflower is a special case. Her standard item is an Ingredients Pouch +2, that gives her a really good chance of having the component she needs. She also carries three Potions, each having only one use unless she spends a Mind Effort. Even then, she can't spend Mind Effort on a Potion noted as having the bottle emptied or thrown. Once all three are used, Cornflower needs to stop and spend time brewing three new ones. 

In the first session I declared that Smurfcornflower had:

Boom Juice (aka Potion of Bad Brewing): When a potion is brewed very poorly it has a chance of exploding. Cornflower realized she could make potions wrong on purpose to create a throwable bomb. It often has side effects if you are hit or even too close to the resulting explosion, such as turning your skin yellow with red pokadots or causing you to lose your voice.

Invisibility Potion: This potion can be poured over an object, Smurf, or other creature causing it to disappear from sight. The recipient is still there of course but it can not be seen for 3D6 moments. 

Web Water (aka Web Fluid): A gray, milky potion that is liquid until exposed to air. Once it touches the air it thickens and hardens, turning very sticky and gummy. It has several uses, the most basic of which is as a glue. It the container is shaken, the cork removed, and the container 'whipped' towards a solid object, a long and thick strand will come out forming a 'Web Rope'. The person holding the bottle can then swing on the web-like cord. Finally, the bottle can be thrown as a 'Web Bomb' that covers an area in gooey clumps and strands. Those caught are trapped like flies. (Spider-Smurf, Spider-Smurf, Does Whatever a Spider-Smurf can!)

Smurfcornflower's Smurfhouse has a Potions Room +2 with a [Smurf scale] medium-sized cauldron and firepit in the center of the room. There is a small alcove in the room with an open pantry, it's shelves covered in bottles, jars, and boxes of magical ingredients. 

Smurfcornflower and her Smurfhouse

Smurfhoneysuckle (played by Heather)

Honeysuckle wants to be the fastest, strongest, toughest Smurf, though there may be more to it than simply a strong sense of competitiveness. The only thing she won't try to compete with is potion brewing and spellcasting. She knows full well that she doesn't have any magical talent. This might be one of the reasons Smurfcornflower is her best friend; they're not in competition. Other than that she'll pretty much go for the gold when it comes to showing the world which Smurf is the most capable at, well, almost everything.   

Her life and job back in Smurf Grove is that of a rancher/cowgirl type. She has a small barn next to her Smurfhouse with 'Hen House' of small bird nests and a 'Stable' for riding Martens. As she is always carrying a Pail one has to wonder...what animal is she milking?

Heather (Smurfhoneysuckle's Player) and I hit it off pretty much immediately and it didn't take long for us to determine that Honeysuckle and Cornflower weren't just friends but the very best of friends. Heather is full of surprises; a native of the Southern Mid-West of the USA, she naturally has a regional accent that is fairly light usual. When speaking as the farmgirl/tomboy Honeysuckle she cranks the accent up to 11. She's positive, funny, and she can sing! (More on that in the next post). Apparently, the character is based on tales her grandmother told her about her mother as a youth. There is something about this that gives this Smurf PC another layer and I am here to find out what that is.

Smurfhoneysuckle is a little taller than average for a Smurf Girl from Smurfy Grove, with platinum blonde-white hair, blue eyes, a red and black checkered flannel shirt, cotton blue jeans, and dark brown leather boots. She wears a traditional Smurf cap as well as a white apron. 

Honeysuckle has an Advantage that Stephen allowed for giving the very specific parameters regarding its use. When competing against another Smurf, Smurfhoneysuckle can add a +2 to either her Brawn or Quick stat as is appropriate to the challenge. Usually you would pick only a single Stat capable of receiving a bonus. Here, Shephen allowed this PC to Brawn or Quick because of the limitations in her use of the Advantage:

The Advantage only works in response to another Smurf's actions; i.e. Honeysuckle can only take an action with a bonus after another Smurf has taken an action. Smurfhoneysuckle must perform [essentially] the same feat as the Smurf she's trying to best. 

Honeysuckle can also get the Advantage bonus if she challenges another Smurf to compete with her and the other Smurf accepts. 

The Advantage can't be used to do things she can not physically do, such as breathe underwater or fly for example. However, if Scuba Smurf goes underwater in his scuba gear, Honeysuckle can attempt to hold her breath (Brawn) in order to swim submerged as long as Scuba Smurf can. 

Based on her nature, Honeysuckle often attempts to challenge and/or compete with non-Smurfs and so far she still gets her Advantage but at only +1, indicating she doesn't care as much about besting non-Smurfs. Once again, she can't use it to do exactly what her rival is doing if said rival is using a special ability she does not possess. 

Her equipment is a Pail+2 that she always carries around. It is can be used in several ways, most notably carrying items in it, using it to boost a Smurf's height (like stepping up on a box), and wacking someone upside the head with it. 

Honeysuckle's Smurfhouse is located right next to a Smurf Barn. The Barn +2 is her special 'room', enabling her to obtain food supplies before a journey, like Eggs, Grain, and Milk. 

Smurfhoneysuckle and her Smurfhouse and Barn

Suave Smurf (played by René) 

This guy. I mean seriously, THIS GUY! My sides still hurt from laughing. 

Suave Smurf is dashing, debonair, charming, and of course impeccably dressed. 

His manners, his sense of chivalry, it's all so that people will think highly of him. That doesn't mean he isn't truly a sophisticated individual but he is definitely in it for the optics. It would appear Suave owe alot of his charm and 'proper behaviour' to his item of Equipment, a Book of Etiquette (See below). 

So far this character is the most comical of the bunch, played almost totally for laughs by a very charming fellow in his own right named René. Like myself, he is a Smurf fan since before seeing the 1980s cartoon. This is because René was born in Belgium and is of French descent. Funny enough, his family moved to the US just before 1980 and therefore saw the same Smurfs cartoon we [here in the States] did at the same time. René's comedic timing is naturally impeccable and he had some of the best lines and moments in the game.

Suave Smurf is slightly taller than most Smurf's, though it is unclear if that is natural or the result of his perfect posture and having thick soles on the bottom of his Smurf shoes. He dresses in white ruffled shirts like those common in the mid-16th to 17th centuries and his pants and shoes are usually black. He changes clothes fairly often, though keeping the same style the details vary. He has a black Phrygian cap but several others as well as likes to wear different ones for different occasions. He has a small tuft of white hair grown from the top of his forehead 'Charlie Brown' style. 

The special Advantage of Suave Smurf is to reduce the Difficulty Level of swaying another's opinion or outlook by -1D6 simply by speaking with them like two (or more in some cases) civilized men of the world. He is extremely charming and convincing. The Advantage is limited to beings that can converse of course and he must face off against the other individual's convictions. A Knight sworn to an oath is must harder to sway than a Mercenary who doesn't like his employer for example. 

Now, Suave Equipment item is very interesting and different; he carries a Book of Etiquette +2 that gives him the protocols for dealing with a wide range of situations. Having dinner with a Witch from the Lands Beyond the River to the Sea? Here's some things to say and some to avoid. Negotiating trade with a Western Ogre? Never show fear and lie if you have to. They appreciate that you'll go that far to make the trade.

Now here's the really cool part - the book is in excellent condition but not 'perfect condition'. It is extremely old and some of the writing on the cover has faded. Suave doesn't know who wrote it and apparently neither does Papa Smurf! It is a very thick tome, Smurf sized, and written so Smurfs would understand it but no Smurf Suave has ever met is familiar with it. It's origin is quite the mystery. 

As far as his Smurfhouse, Suave lives in a 'fancy' Mushroom Cottage, almost a townhouse, and his special room is his Wardrobe +2. It's a walk in clost filled with all manner of ruffled shirts, pants, stylish hats, shiny shoes, and other articles of clothing to ensure Suave Smurf is almost properly dressed for the occasion, whatever it might be. 

Suave Smurf and his Smurfhouse

Well, that's our party. Pretty interesting group, huh? Next up, a recap of the first session of the adventure itself. 

Smurf you then,

AD

Barking Alien