What Drives Your Campaign?

In a comment on my A World of Adventure post, the ever emerald TheKelvinGreen responded to my desire for a open world exploration focused campaign by saying, "I've always wanted to play in a completely open exploration game. Alas, I only ever get to play mission-based or plot-heavy games, with little exploration."

My hearts go out to Kelvin to be sure. At the same time, his statement got me thinking about I what such campaigns would be like. TRPGs with 'little exploration' are not something I'm deeply familiar with. More or less exploration I can conceive of but 'little' just doesn't compute in my adventuring-into-the-unknown oriented brain.

I thought I would take this opportunity to talk about campaign design as it relates to games that are Mission Driven, Narrative Driven, and Exploration Driven. 

Mission Driven

In my mind, a Mission Driven campaign has the PCs largely reacting to and engaging with adventures given to them by an outside entity. The typical Mission comes from a patron; an individual or group capable of hiring you to go perform a task for them. It could be a wealthy merchant, a secret government agency, or even a regular person who needs your character's/party's particular set of skills and abilities. 

Examples of strongly Mission Driven campaigns would be most Superhero games, most Star Trek games, Espionage, and Ghostbusters. 

Superheroes are alerted to criminal activity by the Major or the Trouble Alert.

Star Trek characters are sent to investigate strange anomalies by Starfleet Command. Espionage parties get assignments from Control.

Ghostbusters receive a call from the Manager of a Fancy Hotel about a Ghost.

It is also possible the one giving you your Missions is antagonistic towards your party; you work for them to pay off a debt or their harm you or someone you care about if you don't. In either case, the scenarios come to the PCs and they largely wait for that to happen. Like Firefighters, they don't [usually] roam the streets looking for fires but instead are on stand-by until a call comes in. 

Narrative Driven

Narrative Driven campaigns feature the party of PCs going on an adventure for reasons conditional to the story being told. Maybe its to avenge the destruction of their homeland, to prove they are worthy of being the rulers of a kingdom, or because their dying mentor told them of a great treasure hidden in a distant place. The adventures they go on are all tied to a story and driven by emotions and personal goals. It could be THE story, an overarching tale that influences the entire campaign but it could just as easily be about the members of the group helping one another in pursuit of all of their individual stories. 

Examples of this are tough for me to come up with as this sort of campaign can be created in nearly any kind of setting or genre. A Dungeons and Dragons campaign COULD be Narrative but so could a Horror, Superhero, or virtually any other kind of game. The key is story first and everything else after. 

I can see a number of games of this nature also have Missions and Exploration within them, though I'll address more on this towards the end of the post.

Exploration Driven

By far my favorite type of campaign and the one hardest to execute these days (see below) is the full on Exploration game where a map is made or a region described and the 'adventures' depend on where the PCs want to go and what they want to do there.

Often the Exploration is connected to some idea or theme that governs why the group of Player Characters are exploring the area they're in but what happens because of that motivation is anyone's guess. Once the PCs interact with whatever their destination has in-store for them things can literally go in any direction.

This is my preferred way of running Medieval Fantasy games, Traveller and other Spacefaring Sci-Fi, and I've used it to good effect in other genres as well. There are several games that are traditional viewed as Mission Driven that I think benefit from being a mix of Mission and Exploration (keep reading and you'll see what I mean). 

What Actually Drives Campaigns

Generally speaking, most campaigns are a mix of all these classifications. At least mine are and I would imagine so are most of yours.

Granted, the particular 'levels' of each would vary from Gamemaster to Gamemaster, Genre to Genre, and Campaign to Campaign. For the most part, my Star Trek campaigns are mainly Mission Driven with a great deal of Character Narrative and a good amount of Exploration. Likewise for Superheroes. My Traveller, Star Wars, and other Sci-Fi Space Adventure campaigns are mainly Exploration, with a great deal of Character Narrative and a good amount of Missions. While my Fantasy campaigns tend towards a Exploration, Narrative, Mission format, The Winghorn Guard games [being heavily influenced by the Superhero genre) are Mission, Exploration, Narrative. I think Ghostbusters would be considered Mission, Narrative, Exploration. 

A campaign missing any one of these elements would be pretty odd. These are the key ingredients of Tabletop RPG campaign and adventure design at its most basic after all [IMHO]. I can honestly say I would want to run or play in a campaign with no exploration and no story of any kind. No missions? It's weird to say maybe but I feel that's the only one I could do without and at the same time, I can't imagine an ongoing game that doesn't include missions.

The biggest issue I face these days is that Exploration Driven games require proactivity on the part of the players. You need the people participating to enjoy looking around and interacting with your world or universe. I ran a Traveller campaign not that long ago wherein the PCs were hired by the Imperial Interstellar Scout Service to help them complete the Grand Survey, since the IISSS didn't have enough ships to cover the entirty of Charted Space. Basically their job was to explore the planets in a particular Subsector, catalog key stats and information on them, and report back to the IISS on their findings. If they found particularly useful data such as major resource deposits, a hidden pirate base, an unusual lifeform, or whathaveyou, the PCs would get a 'finder's fee' bonus.

One of my players just couldn't wrap his head around the idea. He didn't understand what we were doing. What was the 'Mission'. He needed to be told, 'Go to Planet A. Do X thing', or it was all too vague for him. Exploration for exploration's sake wasn't a strong enough motivator for him [even though I made it clear he and the other PCs were also getting paid with bonus for more interesting finds]. The game didn't last that long and it made me overly nostalgic for my own High School campaigns of exploring just for the thrill of finding something new. 

What about you? What's your preferences and what do you actually end up running? 

Let me know. I'm really curious!

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Barking Alien

RPG Campaign Tour Challenge 2026 - DAY 11

Day 11-Where would we go to find 'adventure'?

"This is the Final Frontier. Adventure is everywhere."

To be perfectly honest, I didn't include this one for me. It's in here for the Dungeon Master/D&D types who see Adventure locations and Non-Adventure locations as two separate things. 

That's not the case in my games and Star Trek: Prosperity is no exception. We've had entire sessions where we never leave the ship but still have an adventure and ones where we leave the ship for Shore Leave and mostly deal with the characters' personal lives and something like the Hopper Race mentioned in past posts.

Just like I don't separate Combat and Non-Combat sequences, basically everything the PCs do and say is part of 'the adventure'.

"As Starfleet Officers, my crew and I don't go on 'adventures'. We definitely have adventures but they are usually not sought out. The ship might be assigned to a mission by Starfleet Command. We might have detected a strange energy reading that the Captain deems is worth investigating. It's possible we've received a distress call and we are responding to render aid.

Any or all these situations might lead to adventure but it isn't our duty to 'find adventure'. We don't go out of our way to face danger for no reason, nor are we searching for treasure or the like. If that is what you're after I wish you well but please be very, very careful. As I've noted, adventure is everywhere in outer space but without training, study, experience, and the proper gear, you're unlikely to survive long enough to tell your harrowing tale. 

I do enjoy a harrowing tale but I'd rather enjoy one with you than hear how you disappeared into a black hole or perished fighting a ravenous alien beast. Enjoy the galaxy but stay sharp, be smart, and know your limits."

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Barking Alien

A Happy Birthday to my friend, the late, great Dave Cotton. Gone roughly 6 years now, not a day goes by where I don't miss this dude. Thinking of you on your special day brother. 

31 Questions For Barking Alien - Phase II - Question 6

Sorry this is so late everybody but I've been really busy and really tired of late. Trying to use this weekend to catch up a bit.

Today's question is a fascinating one that I confess to having difficulty answering. Because of the way I devise and execute adventures, the question is almost, though not completely, not applicable. That is what makes it so intriguing to me. 

Without further ado, Question #6 from Croaker goes like this:

What is/are the coolest thing(s) you've ever designed for a game you were running that your players ignored or just totally missed? I know that on good days, my players tend to hit most of the "cool" stuff I've planned out, but in my current group, my people are missing things left and right, and I have to resist the urge to semi-railroad them around just to please myself.

While many of my RPG settings have mysteries that remain unsolved or even undiscovered by any PC, I don't think that's what you're referring to. I'm assuming [and please correct me if I'm wrong] you mean something I've placed in a particular room in a 'dungeon' and the players/PCs simply skipped going to that room for whatever reason. 

That is highly unlikely to happen in my games. Nigh-impossible actually. 

In a traditional adventure you might be exploring a dungeon like this one for example:

Map created with Dungeon Scrawl and Photostudio

PCs would enter by going down the staircase in the Northwest/Upper Left-hand corner. You, the GM, have a note that says the staircase is trapped. If the Player Characters use that staircase and don't check for and/or find the trap, it goes off.

The various rooms and other locations you see would be numbered and as the Gamemaster you'd have corresponding notes as to what is in each room. One such area contains your Cool Original CreationTM. If the PCs enter that room they will encounter it. If they walk right past it, oh well. 

This concept has always baffled me. This and there being so many rooms with essentially nothing in them really turned me off to using pre-made adventures after a while. Sure you can provide setting color and atmosphere by filling chambers with old bones and decrepit furniture made of rotten wood but it gets old fast. 

So how does it work in a 'Barking Alien' game? Well, assuming there even is a map...

The PCs enter by going down the staircase in the Northwest/Upper Left-hand corner. Sound familiar? Here's where things change...If the PCs had been discussing this dungeon at the local tavern and expect it to be well defended, ladden with traps, etc., then I will absolutely place a trap on that staircase. If the group included a Rogue/Thief or hired one even more so.

If on the other hand the PCs spoke to a reliable contact who told them the dungeon's reputation has been exaggerated. "It has been ages since the traps of that ancient place fully functioned. It would not be the home to so many monsters were they tripping over traps every few feet", says the wise old Dwarf. Of course, this is a hint that there will be a lot of encounters with beings and beasts.

So which is it? I don't know. I'll figure it out based on the vibe at the table and decide on the fly. And that's how I run everything in an adventure. I will move encounters around, add more, take some away, place an extra trap somewhere, remove one, and do it all ad lib.

So the Cool Original ThingTM I created is located...where PCs will meet up with it. Where will that be? I don't know. It doesn't have a set location. Nothing does*. Stuff is placed where it needs to be. It's where it will be the most dramatic, the most cinematic, the most fun based on everything else that's been and is being seen and said. 

'That's just railroading!', you say. 

'The players only have the illusion of choice!' you scream. 

'This approach removes Player Agency!', you exclaim.

No. Pay attention.

What appears and where it appears is based on what the Players and their PCs say and do. Everything is adjusted based on the Players/PCs' reactions to 1) what has happened before, 2) what elements they have been interested in and what avenues they have pursued, and 3) what feels right based on the energy at the table (real or virtual). 

If the PCs are not in the mood for a knock-down-drag-out encounter and the Cool Original ThingTM is a big, bad opponent, I am totally going to pivot 360° and take out the creation completely or modify it into someone they can have a philosophical discussion with. This is why, IMHO, it isn't railroading. Railroading implies the GM has a particular, specific course of events the PCs must follow and an end goal/outcome the GM is aiming for. I do not have that. I have no idea where the adventure is headed or how it will end up and I wouldn't want it any other way. 

Think of it this way...

If The Cool Original ThingTM included in the adventure by you or the game company that wrote the adventure is located in Room 5 but no one goes into Room 5, how would anyone know that? How would they know it was supposed to be in there, let alone that it even exists? So when that thing appears in Room 7 in my version, not Room 5, because the PCs went to Room 7 and not Room 5, all they know is that the thing exists in the adventure. The adventure itself is likely not about this neat monster, puzzle, trap, or artifact anyway. It's about the characters, their ideas, their choices, and their stories.

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Barking Alien

*I usually have a set of ideas for each adventures and a bunch for other potential adventures. I will place any, all, or none of these into a given session. Picture the Map above is a diorama on the table but the contents of said Map, all the things that could go in it, are in a box sitting on the floor next me. I take out what I want when it is warranted and place it where I think it fits best.

Also, to say nothing has a set location is inaccurate based on genre and setting. If I am using a map of a Starfleet Vessel interior [for a Star Trek Adventures game] you can be rest assured that the bridge is on top of the saucer and the engine room is where it is likely to be, etc. What is in those rooms relating to the mission is flexible though.

My Bluebird of Happiness

Saturday I got the chance to smurf the Smurfs Roleplaying Game again and I couldn't be smurfier. 

The Bluebird of Happiness

I have missed running and playing this game something fierce. I'm not kidding! I absolutely love this game.

Once again my friend Stephen (The Smurfs and The Palace of the Silver Princess) ran the adventure, an original one-shot of his own design, and I got to play my Smurf girl alchemist, Smurfcornflower once again. 

Left to Right: Frontier Smurf, Smurfcornflower, Helpful Smurf.

The other two Player Characters for this outing were Frontier Smurf (played by a clever fellow named Emilio) and Helpful Smurf (played by a really funny guy named Bob).

Frontier Smurf reduces the Difficulty of his Action Roll by 1D6 when foraging for supplies or making something out of foraged supplies. He does not get a Difficulty reduction when using the things he finds or makes. Luckily, Helpful Smurf gets a +2 Bonus to the appropriate Attribute when helping another Smurf with a task. This bonus only applies when helping another with what they want to do and does not benefit Helpful with anything he decides to do on his own.

Frontier Smurf's Item is what he called his Foraging Axe (more a tool then a weapon) and Helpful's is a Bindle full of small, useful items (like a length of string or an empty jar).

For this adventure, Cornflower got to make three Potions: A Potion of Healing (Restores Brawn Effort), a Potion of Invisibility, and a Potion of Reflecto Reverso (.Based on the Spell Smurfo Reverso in the Core Rules but a slightly tweaked - Magic Spells and Item effects are reflected back at the sender. Doesn't reflect Potions or their effects). 

The scenario was called 'The Smurfs and The Bluebird of Happiness' and revolved around the Smurfs encountering an injured bird while picking the last Smurfberries before Winter set in. The little avian in question identified itself as the Bluebird of Happiness, on its way to visit a man desperately in need of joy. Unfortunately it was unable to continue on its mission as a Cat scratched its wing badly while it was sipping water from a stream. 

To summarize, we all aidied in healing the little bird and proceeded to accompany it in the direction it was going until its wing fully healed. Gargamel and Azrael showed up to catch us but then turned his attention to the Bluebird, assuming it was magical and important since we were escorting it (not incorrect).

As it turned out, it was Azrael that had injured the bird. A few scenes of dodging the pair, followed by a brief battle of wits and wizardry, and we managed to escape and leave the two of them rethinking their life choices for that day. The Bluebird noted what a sad individual Gargamel was and how she should probably add him to her list of people to help. 

Eventually, the healed Bluebird bids us farewell and flies on to her destination as we wave it goodbye and head back to Smurf Village. The Bluebird travels to Gargamel's Hovel/Tower, as he was the sad man it had come to cheer up, but seeing no one home it flew on to bring joy to the next person on its list.

THE END

Incredibly fun, lots of funny dialogue, and some narrowly avoided danger made for a great time. Thanks to Stephen, Emilio, and Bob for a wonderful game and I can not wait to run Smurfs again myself sometime soon.

Hoping you are all visited by the Bluebird of Happiness yourselves,

AD

Barking Alien

 

Behind Blue Eyes

Hello my little Smurfs!

Welcome to my totally smurfy 'Behind the Smurfs' look at our 5 session Smurfs RPG mini-campaign, 'The Smurfs and The Palace of The Silver Princess', based on the Basic Dungeons & Dragons adventure of a similar name, designated module B3. 

As I've expressed in [too few of] the posts recapping the game, this was an amazing games and one of the best Tabletop RPG experiences I've had online. In fact, given my commemorating 48 years of gaming last month, I would place this short campaign among the Top 20 of all time. It was that much fun. 

This is the part where I attribute much of the game's success to the incredible efforts of our Storyteller (Stephen) and my fellow players (Andrew, Brandon, Heather, and René) and yes, they do deserve tons of credit for how well they pulled off their respective roles.

At the same time, I don't want to be remise in failing to give kudos to the game itself. The Smurfs Role Playing Game is a really, really good game. I mean REALLY good. I try out a lot of new RPGs each year. I like too few of them lately but a small number definitely have an impact on me. There aren't many I fall in love with. This game, this ridiculous premise for a licensed TRPG, is one such game. I absolutely adore this system and its handling of the IP. Fan-Smurfing-Tastic! 

B3 or not B3? That is the question!

Palace of the Silver Princess is a module with a fascinating and sordid history. I highly recommend reading up on this most peculiar adventure if your at all interested in 'inside baseball' stories about the TRPG industry from 'back in the day'. 

Stephen revealed that he'd initially picked this adventure because he'd wanted to "Run a group of Smurfs through a classic D&D scenario". He had played through this particular module years ago and recalled it having a distinctly fairytale quality. 

All that said, our version of this scenario was a huge overhaul of the old adventure. The final result was definitely more 'inspired by' the original than a faithful rendition of it. In all honesty, as Stephen himself put it, "The adventure is Palace of The Silver Princess in name only. Many elements were burrowed but playing through this as we did was a completely different endeavor and experience from playing through the real B3 module."

Order of the White Drakes

Sir Ellis is a Knight of the Order of the White Drakes, though we never really learn much about who they are and what that really means. I forget whether or not the original module goes into it but our Storyteller Stephen worked out some details should the subject come up. 

The basics were that the Order was from a nation far to the Northwest of Haven (likely the Netherlands or Germany), known for a rare breed of albino, fire-breathing dragons that live in their Southern mountains. Prospective Knights connect with one of these dragons and bond with it, enabling the two beings to sense each others whereabout and condition. 

Though the Order is a bit secretive, they are also known to fight on the side of the good and the just.

Whistling While They Work

Originally, Stephen intended to have the Dwarves play a larger part and did some research on how the folklore and mythology of France and Belgium treat these now iconic Fantasy beings. 

What he found was the Alsatian Dwarves, named for the Alsace region of Northeastern France, who are craftsman and artisans living deep underground. Heavily influenced by German and Norse legends, they are not too different from the concept of them we generally think of. There are some minor differences but more interestingly, there are other dwarf-like beings more akin to the German Kobold that might be fun to use in future Smurfs games.

Three Apples High

I made this image using a combination of Midjourney AI and my own art skills, through Photostudio, during the course of our third session and then continued to modify it up to the very end of the campaign. I eventually presented it to the group to a very positive reaction. 

Beginning with Brash Smurf at 3 apples tall and going left to right, we have a Green Fairy Protector of Haven, a Growler, a Goeblin, a Dwarf, two average Humans, and an Ogre. In the upper left hand corner we have the original creature known as the Decapus, a monster created specifically for and appearing in B3 - Palace of The Silver Princess. In the background is Fellbane, the 'White' Drake. 

As for the Player Character Smurfs, a funny running gag throughout the game was related to their heights; they were all repeatedly referred to as '3 Apples Tall' even though they're also very clearly not the same size. Apathy is the shortest, followed by my character, Smurfcornflower. Brash is specifically noted as being 'average or standard height for a Smurf' so he alone is three apples high. Next is Smurfhoneysuckle and finally, Suave is the tallest. 

***

Got to play a one-shot not too long ago but other than that I am definitely missing this game and really hope to be able to play Smurfs again in the near future. I would also love to game with this group again. What a great bunch!

Anyway, smurf you all soon,

AD

Barking Alien

Red versus Blue - The Grand Finale!

This is it! No really this time! The final recap of our mini-campaign based on the classic Dungeons and Dragons Module B3 using the upcoming Smurfs Roleplaying Game from Maestro Media...

Following this post there will be a single post 'After Action Report' talking about the game from a real life, out-of-game perspective but this - this right here - is how the story ended. For now! LOL I'd love to get back with this group and play another outing. Great GM, great group, and I absolutely adored the PC Smurfs, including my own character. I loved playing her! 

OK, the big finish...

Season Five, Part 3

When we last left our heroic Smurfs, Fellbane the Dragon had breathed a powerful stream of flames at the Sword of Arik and in the process set the entire Royal Armory ablaze! Everything within was either charred, melted, or on fire. The blade of the Sword was blackened but not completely destroyed. Unfortunately, in attacking the Sword, Fellbane burned the area around it and terribly so. Not far from the evil weapon, the five Smurfs had stood.

How could they have survived something like that?!?

As the smoke and flame died down a bit, one could see a small glass sphere, or perhaps a soap bubble, sitting on the ground besides the Sword of Arik, or what was now left of it. Inside this bubble were the Smurfs, unharmed save for feeling very hot and sweaty. "How are we not smurfed to a crisp?", exclaimed Suave, "I was certain our smurfs were flambed for sure!"

Smurfcornflower shook a half-full potion bottle that looked to contain soapy water. As she spoke, tiny bubbles came out of her mouth. "Bubble Brew! A Potion version of the Bubble Block Spell." Honeysuckle gave her a hug. Brash tussled her hair. Suave bowed. Apathy squeezed her hand and smiled.

"Oh my Smurf! Ya'll, we gotta follow that Dragon! He's headin' for the Eye sure 'nuff!", shouted Honeysuckle, shaking with intent. Apathy and Suave tried to calm her down as Brash of all Smurfs caught on to what she was getting at. 

"She's right! The Dragon wasn't trying to destroy us, it was trying to destroy the Sword. It aimed right at it. He must have been saving up his strength and sensed we'd opened the secret panel", said Brash.

"Of course, " began Suave Smurf with a snap of his fingers, "the spirit told us 'The Sword is guarded by one who can not use it'. If Suffertooth opened the panel and used the Sword, the Dragon would've come at once! That encounter would not have been pleasant for the Ogre."

"Problem is, the Dragon's fire didn't destroy the Sword. The handle yes but not the blade. The Dragon is powerful but I don't think it can eliminate the Eye of Arik." Brash pulled out the sliver of broken red crystal he'd picked up. It was about the size of a toothpick, roughly a short sword for a Smurf. "I think only this can do the job."

Everyone nodded.

Following the charred footprints and thundering movements of the Dragon, the Smurfs eventually came upon the creature as it smashed through the double doors of a large bedroom further down the hallway. The Royal Bedchamber of Princess Argenta! As the Smurfs ran to the room as fast as their tiny legs could carry them, they saw the Dragon attacked and being rebuked by some unseen foe who was deeper into the room. The Dragon's massive size was a hinderance here, not an asset, as it couldn't get in close.

 

As this point I am going to summarize certain elements...

Suave Smurf focused his charm and eloquence on convincing the Dragon to back up and allow the Smurfs to assist. Master Magician Miribellis showed up at this point with a freed Rowena the Bard. Suave also negotiated here, as the Dragon, whose name was Fellbane, initially thought Miribellis was still possessed and wanted to tear him apart. After some deft social interaction, Fellbane backed away into the hall, Miribillis cast a protective spell on Rowena, and Rowena started playing and singing an uplifting song that irritated the person in the room to no end. Whoever it was shrieked in extreme discomfort at the joyful tune.

Into the room went the rest of the party - Apathy, Brash, Cornflower, and Honeysuckle - who found Sir Ellis within. He stood in front of a bed upon which the Eye of Arik lay, his own eyes as red as the ruby sphere. Within the facets of the red gem Princess Argenta could be seen in distress, shouting to break free. The Silver Princess was trapped inside the Eye and Arik had possessed her betrothed, The Dragon Knight!

By Papa Smurf's Beard!

Noting the possessed Sir Ellis' reaction to Rowena's music, our Smurf adventurers went into action immediately. Ellis shouted at Fellbane the Dragon, saying it was too late and his master was "Mine Now! Soon I will have the power to manifest fully. I will wed the Princess, making me The Ruler of Haven! Finally!" Periodically he would also yell out, "Cease that infernal song!"

Apathy and Cornflower distracted Sir Ellis, using the remaining Bubble Brew to protect them from his sword swings, which were far more powerful than that of any Human. Stronger even than the Ogre, leaving gashes in the rug and gouges in the stone floor.

Meanwhile Brash Smurf and Smurfhoneysuckle ran around him and tried to climb up onto the bed. Brash, now holding the red crystal shard he had like a sword, started to act a little strange. He was becoming more and more angry and aggressive. He suggested they should just stab Sir Ellis with the sliver of the Red Crystal Sword. Honeysuckle kept him focused and it was obvious from her dialogue there was a special bond between her and Brash at this point. It helped but he was clearly struggling with the weapon's corruption as the two of them neared the Eye.

After three solid hits, Cornflower's bubble shield popped. She and Apathy scattered. Cornflower dove under the bed while Apathy ran in the opposite direction to confuse Sir Ellis/Arik. Unfortunately, the possessed Dragon Knight kicked Apathy across the room. He lay crumpled near a dresser as Cornflower called out to him.

Sir Ellis suddenly realized the others were behind him on the bed and whirled around to try and slice Brash with his sword. To everyone's surprise, including Brash's, he was able to block the attack with the Red Shard! Brash gave and mad laugh as fought to push back the possessed Dragon Knight. The continuous music from the Bard made Arik/Ellis wince and groan. Suddenly, so irritated was Ellis/Ark by Rowena's music that he turned in her direction and insisted she stop, moving towards her and gesturing at her with his sword, momentarily ignoring Brash and Honeysuckle.

The latter told the former that this was their chance but the increasingly enraged Brash only wanted to stab Sir Ellis, forgetting the goal was to strike the Eye with the crimson crystal sliver. Then, in a flash of foolhardy brilliance, Honeysuckle taunted Brash, saying he was scared to face the Eye and that she could just destroy it without him. He lunged at her with a growl as she positioned the Eye of Arik between them.

Meanwhile, Smurfcornflower reached Apathy and with the help of Suave, moved him just past the threshold of the doorway. Cornflower took out a Healing Draught, one of her two remaining potions, and helped him drink it down. As his head cleared, Apathy looked up at her and she smiled down on him. Cornflower asked if he was OK and he replied by giving her a big hug. The two stayed embraced for a good, long moment as Suave and Mirabillis looked on with smiles of their own. 

As Ellis/Arik moved towards the young troubadour intent on stabbing Rowena with his blade, Fellbane the Dragon swifty came to her aid. It moved incredibly fast for a creature so large, hindered by so confined a space as the Palace hallway and blocked the strike with its head! This caused it pain and it roared so fiercely it shook the walls. 

Back to Brash and Honeysuckle, the two danced around each other as Brash tried to get at her with his weapon while she tried to move the Eye in the way so he would hit that instead. Finally, in an appeal to their friendship and their bold natures, Smurfhoneysuckle got close enough to Brash Smurf to tell him to fight the sword sliver's corruption, to remember why they were they, and to be the hero she knew he was. With all the smurf he had in him (as well as an expediture of Effort, a Smurfberry, AND Smurf Power!), Brash overcame his weapon's evil sway and he struck it against the Eye of Arik as Honeysuckle held it steady...

The 'Lady's Heart', the Eye of Arik, Ruby Red Crystal of Ill Omen, EXPLODED in a flash of scarlet light and billion tiny pieces of now colorless gravel! Brash's sliver sword blew up as well, becoming little more than a fine powder. Lighting burst forth from the exploding sphere and traced the edges and corners of the room, running over Sir Ellis, Brash, and the figure of a woman who was otherwise invisible. When things calmed down and a feeling a stillness fell over the assembled, the figure was revealed to be none other than Princess Argenta! The Silver Princess was free! 

"Princess? Argenta my love? What have I done?!", Sir Ellis cried out, dropping his sword, falling to one knee, and grasping the hem of her dress. He sobbed quietly into it, becoming vaguely aware of what he'd done. 

"Rise my love. It was not you. I knew the entire time your heart was true. It was the evil of the spirit of Arik. A spirit that is still present", said Princess Argenta, fighting to keep her voice even. She raised her head and all the others looked up to meet her gaze.

Floating high in the center of the room was shadowy, red-hued spirit...all that remained of Arik the Vile. Thinking quickly, Smurfcornflower remember something she'd seen in a book in the Court Magician's workshop. She instructed the Princess to raise her necklace, which had upon it a bright blue crystal. She then called out to Master Magician Mirabillis to trap the spectre in the crystal, just as Arik had done to Argenta with the ruby 'Eye'*. "Brilliant!", Mirabillis called out, as he quickly cast the necessary spell. Converted into red lightning, the bolts flew into Argenta's amulet and with a shower of azure sparks, Arik's essence was stuck. 

"HURRAY!", cheered the Smurfs and Rowena. Mirabillis beamed. Fellbane let out a joyful roar! Princess Argenta and Sir Ellis held each other ever so tightly. Everyone hugged in fact and collectively let out the breaths they'd all been unknowingly holding.  

Within moments, sounds filled the castle. The petrified Wedding Guests were restored to normal. The Skeletons walking the halls all collapsed to the ground. The castles' hounds barked and chased out the Goeblins who ran for their lives. Green light sparkled in from the windows as the Fairy Protectors of Haven arrived to aid the people of the palace now that the curse of the Eye was lifted. 

"Princess Argenta, Sir Ellis, and all those present," began Mirabillis, his voice echoing loudly off the Palace walls, "three cheers for our heroes, the ture saviours of the Silver Palace, and the bravest of the brave - The Smurfs!" Clapping and cheering came forth from those gathered and it quickly spread, sweeping throughout the castle. Sir Ellis and Princess gathered the Smurfs up and carried them downstairs to the Grand Ballroom. Each person they passed sang the praises of the little, blue adventurers. 

***

EPILOGUE:

Many Humans young and old, four Dwarves, three Green Fairies, a Pale Dragon, and of course a party of Smurfs - plus Papa Smurf and Smurf Willow - all assembled in the courtyard of the Silver Palace of Haven to see Princess Argenta and Sir Ellis finally wed. They kissed to much fanfare and a great celebration followed, the likes of which had not been seen in the Lands Beyond, let alone Haven, in decades. 

The Goeblin were gone, the Ogre arrested, and the Blue Crystal containing the remains of the spirit of Arik the Vile sat in a locked metal box, engraved with runes and double enchanted by Mirabillis and Papa Smurf. Smurf Willow had helped with the food and drink and a few enchantments of her own to ward off any future evil phantoms. 

At the party, Suave entertained Humans and Dwarves alike recounting the adventure of the Smurfs and their allies. Brash Smurf and Smurfhoneysuckle played games, competed to see who could in the most cake the fastest, and laughed their little blue tails off. Apathy saw Cornflower standing around and watching everyone with a big smile on her face. He tapped on the shoulder and asked, "Would you, um, that is...care to dance?" Her smile widened, almost too wide for her face, as she took his hand and skipped to the ballroom floor.

High above on one of the tall towers of the Palace, Fellbane swayed to Rowena's music playing below, and shot a burst of flame into the air. Green Fairies flew past him sprinkling magic dust into the fire, creating brilliant fireworks that could be seen for miles. 

The Smurfs had saved the Silver Princess and her Palace and they all lived happily ever after.

THE END

Created by fans, for fans, this was in no way officially connected to Maestro Media, TSR, or Wizards of the Coast. Just a bunch of Smurfs smurfing around for the smurf of it.

Thank you everyone for following this series. As noted, there will be a post-campaign write-up with some additional thoughts, notes, and art coming very soon. 

Until then, I smurf you all a wonderful smurf,

AD

Barking Alien

*When Smurfcornflower (my Smurf PC if you recall) was making Potions back in Mirabillis' lab, I looked at a Spellbook and Scrolls he'd left out in the open. It was there that I noted and learned the Reverse Petrification Spell and saw references to a 'Spirit Jar' type rote as well.

I assumed it might have something to do with Arik's essence being inside the Eye or trying to trap someone inside it but as Cornflower is an Alchemist and not a Wizard or Witch I let it be, simply making a mental note. I remembered it at the climax of the adventure and, funny enough, the GM had all but forgotten that he mentioned it. LOL

Having A Blue Fit

This is it! The near-Grand Finale of our mini-campaign, The Smurfs and The Palace of The Silver Princess, a super smurfy adventure based on the classic Dungeons and Dragons module 'B3', run using the Smurfs Roleplaying Game by Maestro Media.

That is to say, this post recaps the final session but it is not the final recap.

I'll explain...

I had planned to make just one more post - this one you're reading now - about this game, recapping our last session before doing an 'After Action Report' follow-up but there is just TOO MUCH STUFF! A lot happened and it become quite lengthy in the re-telling.

This last 'episode' was our second longest session at 5 hours and it was abso-smurfly chock full of smurfy action, humor, lore, and romance! No, you read that right. I decided about two-thirds of the way through this post that there had to be an additional entry, a Session Five, Part 3 to get it all down.

Even so, this is a smurfing big post! ENJOY! 

Before we get started, let's get to know party once more. You can meet them here. 

For a recap of the entire story thus far, check out:

Something Burrowed, Something Blue - Session One, Part 1

Singing The Blues - Session One, Part 2

Blue Green Red - Session Two, Part 1

Cry Blue Murder - Session Two, Part 2

Tangled Up in Blue - Session Three

Blue Blazes - Session Four, Part 1

The Thin Blue Line - Session Five, Part 1

On to the adventure...

Session Five, Part 2

Having drank Smurfcornflower's Growth Potion, Brash Smurf and Smurfhoneysuckle stood face-to-face with a very surprised Ogre. His confusion turned quickly to anger as he raised his massive club and swung it in an attempt to hit both Smurfs.

Brash instinctively ducked and moved to close the distance between them. Honeysuckle saw his move, guessed what he was doing, and followed suit. With a bit of Effort on their part, the Smurfs managed to completely avoid the blow. 

Then, in unison, the two towering blue heroes punched Suffertooth right in the smurf! The Ogre stumbled backward, caught off guard by the pair's coordinated strike!

Meanwhile, Apathy, Cornflower, and Suave searched the room for the Sword of Arik. "These sorts of things tend to stand out, no?", asked Suave over his shoulder to the rest. They continued looking, silently returning nods of agreement. 

SMASH! Brash was hit hard by Suffertooth's club, sending him into a rack of weapons that fell onto him. [Brash had used Smurf Power but got a Critical Failure. This resulted in him being hit , hurt, and now the Storyteller had a Thorn to use to activate Suffertooth's special Advantage!]. The Ogre advanced on the prone Brash Smurf and prepared to strike him with Ogre Strength!

Using Effort and a Smurfberry, Smurfhoneysuckle grabbed a shield off the wall and tried to use it to protect Brash. She succeeded but the Ogre's punch sent her flying! She crashed into a shelf of helmets and other armor pieces. She was likewise hurt and could feel the Growth Potion wearing off. Brash felt it too, even as he struggled to his feet. 

Cornflower was getting worried. Her friends were getting beat up even though enhanced by her potion. Was it not good enough? Had she not make it well? Was she actually bad at the one thing she thought she was good at? Smurfcornflower became visibly panicked.

Suddenly, though gently, someone took her hands in theirs and gave them a reassuring squeeze. "Who? Ah...Apathy?", she said blushing a deeper blue. 

"Don't worry. They'll be OK. We'll be OK. It's all going to work out fine", Apathy said in his usual nonchalant manner but somehow warmer, kinder, yet more determined, and more personal between the two of them. She took a deep a breath and released it slowly and audibly. She gave a goofy shy smile and Apathy returned it.

Suffertooth and the two Smurfs, who were now about the size of Goeblins, continued to have at each other, wearing down all combatants. Desperate to buy time for the other Smurfs to find the Sword of Arik, and make a decisive attack against the Ogre, Brash Smurf and Smurfhoneysuckle decided to combine their actions into a single strike. In a way, this was counter to both of their natures; Brash was willing to follow Honeysuckle's plan and Honeysuckle was willing to cooperate with Brash instead of competing with him. 

Big roleplay moment! Short, sweet, moving, and heroic!

The plan was to have Brash launch himself at Suffertooth [He had the higher Brawn] while Honeysuckle sprinted to move behind the Ogre's leg to aid in tripping him [Honeysuckle is doing a Helping Action and so adds +3 to Brash's 7 Brawn. Additionally each spent 1 Brawn Effort, putting both of them really low. Maybe 1 Brawn Effort remaining for each. Finally, Brash activated Smurf Power again, this time award by the Storyteller specially because of Brandon and Heather's roleplaying here. This was a big one.].  

Brash ran at the Ogre like a charging tiger, such that Suffertooth didn't even notice Honeysuckle coming around on his right. Brash leaped into the air and slammed into Suffertooth's stomach. With Brash only a little larger than a Growler (See Session One, Part 2), this wouldn't normally enough to topple him but that is exactly what happened as Honeysuckle was crouched behind his right ankle. [SMURF POWER CRITICAL SUCCESS!]. The Ogre went crashing through displays of flails, maces, and morning stars of all sorts and did not get back up. Suffertooth was down for the count. 

Meanwhile, Apathy, Cornflower, and Suave had climbed up onto a table near the North Wall where Apathy had noticed something interesting. He saw a dim red glowing coming from inside the wall somehow. When they all reached the top of the table, Suave spotted a book and directed the others over to it. 

"The Key to Winning at War?", said Suave reading the title aloud. "Seems a foolish proposition if you ask me."

Apathy's eyes popped wide open for a moment and then he said, "The Key! Who has the Key?" It turned out Brash had given it to Suave right before he and Honeysuckle started engaging the Ogre. 

Apathy took the Magic Key and said clearly, loudly, and with convinction, "The Key to Winning at War is not to participate. No one wins in war." Suddenly the sound of stone grinding and sliding could be heard and as the group looked up, the brinks of the castle wall moved away magically, revealing a hidden chamber with dark metal brackets upon which was mounted The Sword of Arik!

"Well, that was easier than expected", said Suave Smurf with a sigh of relief.

The rest if the party stared burning daggers at him.

"Relatively speaking, of course", he added with a nervous chuckle. 

Suddenly, the entire palace shook like an it had been hit by an earthquake. This was followed by a series of rhythmic tremors and the occasionally seemingly random boom of something big and heavy hitting a wall here and a floor there. The Smurfs were completely smurfed, having no idea what this could be. They decided to try and remove the Sword of Arik from it's hiding place as quickly as possible. 

Just as they were managing to draw it out, the door to the room essentially exploded, a thousand shards and splinters of burning wood bursting towards them! They dropped the Sword to the desk and dove for cover. Unfortunately, the Sword fell from the desk and hit the stone floor, tiny pieces of it having broken off. As Apathy, Cornflower, and Suave climbed down to meet with Brash and Honeysuckle, the head and neck of a pale, almost albino looking dragon came through the door. Cornflower immediately reached for a Potion. Brash and Honeysuckle scooped up the broken bits that had come off the Sword of Arik as fast as they could. 

That's when the dragon sniffed the air, looked towards the fallen Sword and breathed a jet of powerful flames right at it! Brilliant fire tore through the room, focused on the Sword of Arik but melting all metal into slag and setting wood and leather ablaze! The Sword's handle all but disintegrated, though the blade was still intact and only appearing charred.

But what of the Smurfs?

After what seemed a terrible stretch of time, the Dragon's breath ceased and it pulled itself back into the halfway. That was the thunderous noises they'd heard! A Dragon walking through the halls of the Palace! It must be Fellbane, the ally and mount of Sir Ellis. betrothed of the Argenta, Silver Princess. The horribly beautiful and majestic creature continued on its way down the hall, leaving the room is utter ruin. 

The Smurfs! What about the Smurfs!?!

Tune in for the truly last recap post to find out! The end of our Dungeons and Dragons meets the Smurfs fairy tale is right around the bend...

AD

Barking Alien