RPGaDay Challenge 2015 - Day 17 (Belated)

Geez...

What kind of question is that to ask Adam 'Barking Alien' Dickstein?

"Hey, of the foods you find unpalatable, which one do you like the best? If you could be poisoned by any venomous insect, which one would you most like to get bitten, or stung by?"

Bleh. Fantasy RPGs.

OK, ok, let me pull it back a notch. I've got my Snark Meter turned up pretty high this month, don't I? My apologies. I don't hate Fantasy as a subject as much as I sometimes make it seem. It's not my preferred genre is all. I do like a certain kind of Fantasy, but I rarely find games that cover the subject the way I want it to be approached.

Fantasy RPGs though, I do not tend to like them.

Let me clarify. Anyone who's been reading this blog regularly, or even somewhat irregularly, knows that I don't much care for D&D/Pathfinder style Fantasy. This means, I don't care for those games that are in the same category. What category is that? Whatever one contains all those Sword and Sorcery meets Weird Fantasy meets mock-Medieval Fantasy that is typified by D&D.

The vast field of Fantasy RPGs contains a lot of games that have the same mindset when it comes to the genre. The majority tend to be too complicated, too technical, and do nothing to create, or instill a sense of wonder, and magic. As a matter of fact, many feel like they're going for a scientific approach. They strive for a 'realistic simulation' of what combat, trade, and such were like in the Medieval era of Eastern Europe. Complete with a dozen intelligent species, spells, and wizardry, magical treasures, and of course, numerous, ferocious monsters. Because, you know, 'realism'.

Now D&D itself doesn't do that as much, far more focused on a sort of abstraction of how things work. Unfortunately, at least for me, the abstraction creates a huge disconnect between the genre, and the rules.

Elves are long lived, and magical, but possess no magical abilities, and PC Elves have no more knowledge, or experience then any other character.

Wizards can't use swords because, um, reasons. Meanwhile the archetypal mages, Gandalf, and Merlin, both used swords. So, huh?

My favorite Fantasy RPG would be the one that doesn't pretend it's something it isn't. If it's going to be Medieval European Fantasy, it should be that. No Elves, no dwarves running around, at least not where they can be viewed by prying, and judgmental eyes of man.

Magic may be studied as a science, but it is not truly understood, nor can it be completely mastered.

Monsters are what you tell children about to get them to behave, or to entertain them. Beasts on the other hand are real, and they roam the untamed parts of the land, which is most of it. The wolf knows the way through the woods, but his price may be high. Still, if he gives his word he keeps it. Hunt not the stag in evening, the last you've seen of the day, for he is the guardian of the green places. If he dies, if you killed him, things will not bode well for you. The sea serpent is not more, or less real than these, or the fish, just less often seen.

The game that does this, and has rules to match this atmosphere, that is my favorite Fantasy RPG.

Ars Magica is, for me, the perfect Medieval Fantasy RPG, as it not only accomplishes what I need it to as far as atmosphere, and mechanics, but it also enables you to easily create interesting characters, and has the cool 'troupe play' aspect where you play multiple PCs in different positions for different adventures. I also love that it's a Medieval European Fantasy game set in Medieval Europe. WOW! What a concept!

No, no, please, let's go back to having a million different, far off worlds that could be anything at all, but instead all freaking look just like 12th century England, and Germany. That's much better than actually being in 12th century England, or Germany. Never understood the appeal.

The next runner up to Ars Magica would have to be Pendragon for very similar reasons, especially how the mechanics actually work with, and are reflective of the subject matter.

After that, probably Faery's Tale Deluxe. Simple, easy, no fuss, no muss, but brilliantly playable.

There you go. Next up, 'Favorite Type of Wood to Get a Splinter From' I assume.

AD
Barking Alien

More Than Not Half Bad

With the plethora of Fantasy Role Playing Games that have been and currently are on the market, surely I can't dislike them all.

No, of course not. But I can try.

Kidding.

***

Ladies and Gentlemen, Barking Alien proudly presents...

Fantasy Games I Don't Hate!

Ars Magica

If there is any one dedicated Fantasy Game I can actually say I like, I mean really and truly like, it's Ars Magica.

While I probably play the game largely badwrong from a traditional standpoint, there is a lot to like in this game even in it's original Before-Adam-Screws-With-It form.

For those unfamiliar with it (and what a travesty that would be), Ars Magica is a fantasy-historical game set in 'Mythic Europe', a medieval Europe where magic, myth, legend and folklore are all very real.

Originally published in 1987 by Lion Rampant (cover shown above left), the game has been updated several times with the 5th Edition (above right) having been released in 2004. The game uses an unusual system (in that there are not many other games exactly like it) in which, when a common action is performed, one of the character's attributes is added to their rating in an appropriate skill and a d10 is rolled. The total achieved is  then compared to a target difficulty number. The action succeeds if the total is equal to or greater than the difficulty.

Now, in some cases, instead of a common or 'Simple Roll', the Player may need to make a 'Stress Roll'. A Stress Roll is called for when there is a likely chance of exceptional success or failure. In that case, results of '1' and '0' follow special rulings. A One is rerolled, and the result doubled (additional '1's lead to successive doubling: x2, x4, x8, etc; the final non-One rolled being enlarged by the multiplier. A Zero on the other hand is treated as a zero (instead of a ten) and one or more additional d10 'Botch Dice' are rolled. If any of these Botch Dice come up a zero, the character has suffered some kind of critical failure. If no zeroes come up, simply treat the original zero as the roll, i.e.: don't add anything to attribute + skill.

It is really the Magic System of Ars Magica where the game shines and while I don't want to go into it here (as that would take a while) I highly recommend reading up on it. It allows for both flexibility and practicality and overall has some of the best atmosphere I've seen in a (semi-traditional) fantasy role playing game.

I have simplified some parts and tweaked others and the end result has been a game that past players and I have really loved. I ran a campaign of it not long ago and while a lot of fun, it wasn't really what I had in mind. Aside from being very political and touching on a number of historical events, it was really just a game of Dungeons & Dragons with a cooler rule system. It didn't have the feel or genre elements I wanted it to have and intended to add in. I am not sure why exactly. Somewhere along the line I think I let the players dictate the style of play too much which caused me to shift my attention toward intrigue and warfare and away from folklore and legend.

***

Pendragon

Another quasi-historical, mythic European game, this one based, nay embodying, the majesty and beauty of the Arthurian legends.

I could hardly do justice to an explanation or review of this game that is better than that which James Maliszewski of GROGNARDIA gave on the 5th of May in 2010. I whole heartedly share his enthusiasm for this game.

Now the truth of the matter is that this is one of the few games in my 36 years of gaming that I have played and never run. That's unfortunate but perhaps a blessing in disguise. While very familiar with the story of King Arthur, his Knights of the Round Table and the Kingdom of Camelot, I am by no means an authority or even a fanatic. I forget names. I get some of the Knights mixed up on occasion. I am certain the 'timeline' of the story events in my head is quite off.

I wonder how hard it would be to port this game over to an original world or a world of vaguely Western European themes and style but one which would never pinpoint or identify the nation, ruler or era. More about this idea in an upcoming post.

This game does one thing very right for my purposes; The feel of the setting is built into the rules. Perhaps my biggest gripe with Dungeons & Dragons is, as noted in my previous post, the game's mechanics feel technical and almost scientific. There is little if anything in it to reflect the heroic, romantic or epic mood one gets from reading Lord of the Rings or Le Morte D' Arthur. With their system of Traits and Passions, each Knight has a drive and a set of personal elements that help or hinder his personal quests and goals. Add in the idea that you are expected to hold land, wed, have children and perhaps play them later in your tale reinforces that impression of campaign at literary epic. I love that.

***

Um...yeah. That's it. Thanks everyone for coming. See you next time when...

"Wait! Hold on there buddy. That's it?! Two? There are two Fantasy RPGs in the history of Fantasy RPGs that you like?"

OK, yes, maybe there are a few more but really, most of them are...special cases.

"Do tell."

Well, I like Sword World from Japan, the Studio SNE RPG originally based on the Manga and Anime studios own Dungeons & Dragons and Runequest campaigns. They eventually developed their own system, which over the years has become one of the most popular in Japan.

Honestly, Sword World is very D&D like but there are a lot of things about it that I believe Sword World does better than it's American cousin. Classes seems more interesting, they are designed to be mixed and matched if the Player wishes in order to create a much wider range of character options.

I like their magic system better as it has a lot more atmosphere and, quite frankly, D&D's magic system is among my least favorite elements of the game. How can you have a game with Wizards and Magic Items and have your magic system be so, so, bleh. Grrr.

I also like a lot of the ideas in White Wolf's Mage: the Sorceror's Crusade. Granted, I am not a huge fan of the system (though I don't hate what you can do with it with a little modification) and it is somewhat like a stepsister to Ars Magica but still, its got some cool stuff in it.

Lastly, Faery's Tale Deluxe deserves a mention, though it isn't really a Fantasy RPG in the sense of many of the others. Perhaps that is why I like it so much.

***

Well great, I am no closer to figuring out what I want to run. All I know is there is a lot I don't like, a few things I do and unfortunately, I don't own too many Fantasy games to look through for inspiration.

What to do, what to do...

AD
Barking Alien


Barking Alien notes the passing of Japanese animator, character designer, writer and director Hiroshi Ogawa.

Ogawa is best known for his work on the comedic animated series Crayon Shin-chan (aka 'The Craziest Show on TV') and his animation direction on Grave of the Fireflies, (aka 'The Saddest Film in Cinematic History'.)

Reflections on RECESS

Attending RECESS is fast becoming my favorite venue for gaming outside of running a long term campaign with my closest buddies.




Since running a long term campaign seems to get harder and harder, the thrice a year RECESS events are starting to feel like oasises in times of gaming drought.

As it stands right now, my Champions campaign is on indefinite hold because one of the three players just got married (Congrats again Jeff!). No matter, that universe is frozen in time until it's needed once more and we move on to something else. But what?

The game most in demand is, of course, my least favorite, Dungeons & Dragons. Granted, my version of D&D is a bit atypical in style but seriously, I just don't want to play D&D. I'm bored of it. Even my own.

This leads me back to my affection for RECESS...

While there is no short supply of people running and playing D&D in its various incarnations (including Pathfinder), I am constantly astounded and heartened by what else I see at the RECESS events.
This past RECESS saw people running a hack of Dogs in the Vineyard, Dread, Leverage, MAID, Psi Run, Steal Away Jordan and even some wacko's homebrewed Muppets RPG. Heheh.






It is an amazing feeling to see this kind of gaming diversity, at least for me. It is moving, inspiring and just so dang cool in my opinion. There are times when it feels like no one is playing anything out there except the one game I don't particularly care for. That can make you feel lonely and even a bit singled out. Then you enter a room of 75 to 100 people and overhear discussions about Gumshoe and Carnage Amongst the Stars.

With all the buzz about D&D 5th Edition coming out, I can't help but wonder what you happen if we actually started teaching our next generation 'next generation' RPGs. D&D, even the original Basic set, is no where near as simple in mechanics or concept as Toon, Faery's Tale Deluxe and even Psi Run. If we started with those and then when on to D&D and others, would we still see D&D have such a dominant position. We as a hobbyist community seem to be reinforcing Wizards of the Coasts prominance ourselves. Even if you play Labyrinth Lord or Pathfinder, you're playing D&D and WotC is the owner of that game.

Start a young player on a diet of diversity and maybe they'll be more likely to taste new things as they grow up. Or, we can continue to feed them Happy Meals and wonder why they end up being so picky the only thing we can get them to eat is Mickie D's.

Sorry, entered rant space there for a bit.

Anyway, one last little tidbit that made me feel great about RECESS...

I walk into the room where they are calling out the numbers each person has so that individual can come up and sign in for their game of choice. I hear someone call me name. I turn and see a fellow I don't recognize. As I smile and go to shake his hand, he tells me that no, we don't know each other. He says he reads my blog. This blog. He tells me how much he enjoys it. Highlight of my day, maybe my week. Thanks again, man.

OK, off to bed and dreams of my new projects. I've got a bunch.

'Night,

AD
Barking Alien

Indescribably Blue

I'm been sick of late and it's slowed down my posting which is quite frustrating to me as I want to talk more about this idea.

I've gone from interested to excited to clearly obsessed with my Smurfs RPG concept and as such, I am preparing to run a campaign of it. The first session, if all goes well, will be this coming Saturday, from 12-6 pm roughly, at the Compleat Strategist in New York City. If you have both the time and an open mind, come on down and Smurf it up.

A few more notes on the setting...

While I intend to have things take place in a fictious kingdom, the guidelines for the campaign region are based on a faux-historical, early 13th century Flanders. While the cities to the North East of the campaign kingdom begin to show increasing trade and prosperity, our own home setting, situated just outside the border of Flanders, suffers under a curse of poor harvests, foul weather, ill livestock and infighting. It is, after all, 'The Cursed Land'.

I will be playing up the faerie angle a bit more, with opponents such as hags, trolls (who've obviously migrated South from Scandanavia and Denmark), Crogue-Mitraine (a particularly frightening french nursey bogey)and even dragons being the real threat Gargamel tries to be but can't quite nail down.

Still, I have some ideas from him as well...

***

On to the rules...right now this is the character sheet:

This is a rough draft. A preliminary sketch if you will. While it does everything I want it to do, it has me wondering, "Do I need Gifts and Connections?"

In Faery's Tale Deluxe 'Gifts' are the magical powers, abilities or whatevers of the various types of fae. Here in the Smurfs RPG however, pretty much everyone has the same chance of doing anything with the except of your Trait, at which you exceed. As always, moments like this get pondering the nature of skills in every game.

Does a fighter need climbing skill? Does a thief really climb better than a fighter. So, you've got a world class mountain climber and a high school guy teacher with not climbing experience of note. The world class mountain climber is definitely going to know more about the proper way to scale Mt. Everest. Let's say that instead of Mt. Everest, both individuals run full speed down an ally and need to climb up and jump over a fence. Is the world class climber's skill going to give them any real advantage?

Hear it's simple if both are Smurfs. They each roll their Body, which both have at 2D. But wait, I forgot to mention the participants in this example are a Smurf and Wild Smurf. Wild Smurf uses his trait of 'Raised By Squirrels' and probably double times it over the fence without braking a sweat. I can live with that.

So your Trait gives you +2D to any roll that involves using it or falls under it's parameters.

Which in turn got me thinking about Clumsy.

Clumsy, Grouchy, Lazy and Greedy...all Smurfs...all Smurfs with essentially negative traits. What if, by taking a Negative Trait, you gain a floating +2D you can put to any action at any time by spending a SMURF point. The catch of course is that the PC whose Smurf has a Negative Trait has to role play it and if he has no successes on a given roll he not only botches (heck everyone can botch) but his botch effects the party or at least those Smurfs smurfing closest to him (or her, but ya'know, it's the Smurfs so they're mostly hims).

So that brings me back to a listing for 'Gifts'. Do I need them? Can I actually run an entire campaign with everything boiling down to three stats and a special trait? The question is somewhat rhetorical...yes, of course I, Adam, can but will this just blow people's minds? Are we gonna need sanity checks on the "I just looked into Cthulhu's sock drawer" level?

I'm kind of torn. I can't believe I am going to say this but I'd like the game's mechanics to have a little more to them than that. Am I right? Hmmm...

As for the rest of it I am looking to rename of a few things.

The Boons section layout will be changed and expanded. It's going to be for things you have done for someone else or them for you and which one of you needs to pay back the other. I'm also thinking you'd start with a third one that could lead into a new arrangement. OK, like this...

Handy's Boons:

"I built a new oven for Baker. He's going to make me my favorite pie."
"I borrowed some paint from Painter. I need to repaint my roof and give it back."
"Brainy said he found a book about designing better bridges, I could really use that."

So in one case, Baker owes Handy a Boon.
Handy owes Painter a Boon.
Handy wants to talk to Brainy to set up a Boon.

Personal Smurfs are items, things that you own. I want to find a way to create rules, or at least guidelines, for players to have their own Mushroom House, and what it contains.

Maybe a little SMURF point resource management so you can get stuff for your place. Perhaps Judo Smurf wants to add a Dojo or Cowboy Smurf needs a stable out back for his...um...what the heck do Smurfs ride? Ooh, I could take a page or two from my Gnomes book, and he the Smurfs highly involved in the societies of forest animals. Cool.

Charms & Smurf Magic refers to magical items, potions or things you may have found that maybe alchemy ingredients or similarly magically useful.

As far as Connections, originally I intended to make this a relationship mechanic area but now I'm thinking it seems redundant with Boons, which are more fun. Boons as used in the above description, could constantly change, with new ones being added and completed all the time.

OMS! (That's 'Oh My Smurf!' by the way) I love where this game is taking my head but I'm still not finished with the rules and I need to run this on the coming Saturday.

See, setting and adventure ideas - easy. I already have about three dozen of them. Rules? I've barely completed character creation.

I absosmurfly hate rules."

Me too Grouchy. I am with you brother.

Sigh.

More when I figure this out...

AD
Barking Alien

Blue In The Face

The Anatomy of a Smurf...




Blue skin? Check.
Three apples high? Check.*
Says "Smurf" A LOT! Check.

OK, so here's the inside smurf on Smurfs...

I am imagining that Smurfs are a strange sort of Faerie folk, originating, like all fae, beyond the misty veil of dreams. They are brought into being by an ancient, mystical ritual that involves alchemy to some degree. If you'll notice, both Papa Smurf and Gargamel are usually creating potions or items to perform a good deal of their magic. Papa is definitely an herbalist as he often heals injured or sick Smurfs with leaves and ointments. Smurfette was made using blue clay, a recipe like spell and a cauldron.

This also explains Gargamel's sometimes fluctuating objectives...Sometimes he wants to eat them, some times he wants to use them to create a potion that turns things into gold and in the film he believes that creating an elixir out of their essence will make him a more powerful sorcerer.

What if he's right?

A mix of Earthly plants, ancient alchemy and Faerie magic, a Smurf is quite an unusual entity. Maybe a Smurfs' essence (or life force if you will) can be used to create a reliable Philosopher's Stone. Process the essence another way (same main ingredient, different recipe) and it can increase your magic powers or make you live forever (Immortality being another power attributed to the Philosopher's Stone). Eat them directly, while a crude method to be sure, and some of their essence must surely be transferred to the consumer.

Surely.

***

 

The base rules I am using here are my variant set for Faery's Tale Deluxe, which only seems apropos considering the subject matter.

So the stats remain Mind, Body and Spirit, with each starting at 2D (two six-sided dice) as per Blacksteel's suggestion. Coincidentally, that is the stat breakdown of a Brownie in Faery Tale Deluxe. Not too far off in my opinion.

The figured stat of Essence is simply perfect. A Smurf's 'Essence' is mentioned continuously. I use Essence as Life and the final resort to turn to when you've lost your 'Glamour' (my additional stat) in Faery's Tale Deluxe. But that doesn't quite work here. Instead, you have your SMURF (or Smurf Points if you prefer). When you want to do anything that will require a special effort, when you want to add extra effort to a mundane task or when you get hurt, you spend a point of SMURF.

Can you see it?

GM: "It looks like the damn is about to break. As the water begins spilling over the lip of the damn, the sound of stressed wood begins to echo in your ears."

Hefty: "I push against the damn and hold it so Handy can get to work fixing or bracing it."

GM: "You...hold back a river with hands the size of peas?"

Hefty: "You bet your smurf I do. I SMURF my Body roll."

GM: "Wow. Good luck you brave, crazy Smurf."

Now as far as Gifts (the magical abilities that faeries come with in FTD) go, here in the Smurfs RPG you get but one. It is one that is directly linked to your character's identifying trait. When performing an action, skill or whathaveyou that falls under this trait, you can perform it with no penalty and one success under normal conditions. You may need to spend a SMURF to perform it under unusual or dangerous conditions or to perform it at an abnormal level of quality. Spending three SMURF would enable you to perform almost magical effects or complete a normal task when plummeting toward the ground, avoiding eagle attacks, while on fire.

I intended on adding some additional info and game mechanics linked to Risus but as of now I can't decide exactly how I want to approach it. I'm going to think on it and get back to you all very soon.I highly recommend checking out Faery Tale Deluxe for the full details on the rules.I intend to do quite a bit of additional reading and research on the flora and fauna native to the region, as well as more stories from French faerie folklore. I've gone from screwing around with this crazy idea to actually wanting to run this. You'll see why soon enough... In a moment, we make a Smurf PC and look at the world of the Smurfs that lies beyond the Smurfs.

AD
Smurfing Smurf

*"Three Apples High" is a French colloquialism meaning very, very small. The American equivalent would be, "Knee high to a grasshopper." It was not intended to be an accurate measure of how tall they are. However...a number of fans have noted that Europeans crabapples are much smaller than their American cousins and if you stood three of them up on top of each other you would be pretty close to Smurf height.

Also, I just wanted to smurf that this RPG is a smurfy work of Smurf fan fiction and as such is not intended to smurf on any copyright or trademark of the those who hold such things for the Smurfs. This game is for smurfing fun only. It will not be sold and a will not make a single smurf off of it. If however, the powers that smurf want to smurf an official Smurf RPG, please smurf me at BARKINGALIENatGeeMailDOTcom.

Thanks for not suing the smurf out of me. :)

My Blue Heaven

Sorry it's taken me so long to continue with this post and the last but I am totally wiped out from work and what appear to be allergies. I've never really had serious hayfever or pollen allergies but damn if I am not feeling like they've joined forces and hit me with some kind of combo attack.

So...where were we? Ah, Grandpa, Nanny, Papa and what my theory on the nature of Smurf existence does for a Smurfs campaign...

Let's say it's the 8th century and a dark curse has been placed over this small kingdom nestled somewhere in the region of French Belgium.

A good natured wizard tries to summon forest spirits to counteract the black magic. Low and behold, fading into view in the morning mist is a village of mushroom cottages. In the moment it takes the old wizard to catch his breath at this wonderous site he thought might only be legend, a tiny, blue skinned man with a beard comes out of one house. This is Papa Smurf (actually Grandpa but Papa at the time).

Using his mystical powers and his keen insight into the true hearts of Humans, Papa determines this man and his plight worthy of help. He summons into being 99 near identical blue, male fellows with phrygian caps. The Smurfs.

The Smurfs and the Wizard have many exciting adventures but all too soon the village fades back into the mist.

This happens oft and again many times through the centuries. Sometimes a wizard will summon the Smurfs only to pass on or be felled by evil. Perhaps his apprentice can summon them. Indeed! But alas, his power is not strong enough the first time he tries and they fade too quickly.

Now I see Papa/Grandpa as a shrewd and adventurous fellow. What if he gives an allied mage the formula and incantation to create a female Smurf. Why? Papa/Grandpa knows their time on this Earth is limited (in a quite literal fashion) and he needs help raising the 99 Smurfs so that they can help fight the dark forces of the Cursed Land. This is my personal idea for the origin of Nanny. Grandpa wanted a Nanny Smurf and got someone to make one. Unfortunately, it's entirely possible this spell fell into the wrong hands and/or was lost. This is how Gargamel was able to create Smurfette.

Eventually, Papa/Grandpa discovers The Long Life Stone (called The Life Long Stone in some translations - I actually like that better), the magical crystal that maintains the Smurfs' long lives in the mortal world (time is different in Faerie), needs to be magically recharged. So, he officially takes the name Grandpa, dubs the most magically gifted of his Smurfs Papa (the Papa Smurf we all know and love) and he (Grandpa) leaves the village on his quest to empower the stone once more. Nanny follows him but gets lost, eventually becoming trapped in the enchanted Castle Captor.

The next time the village fades, Grandpa is no where near it (and neither is Nanny). Having walked beyond the Cursed Lands, Grandpa does not disappear when the Mushroom Village returns to the realm of the Fae.

The coming and going of the village is a great frustration to Papa Smurf. He wants his little Smurfs to learn and grow. Luckily, an encounter with a young knight-squire from the nearby kingdom and his court jester friend give Papa Smurf (and the Smurfs) a chance. Apparently, a magically flute, originally created by the Smurfs, has been stolen by a wicked rogue. The Smurfs need to create a new one to counter the originals effects. As told in, The Smurfs and The Magic Flute.

Now my thinking is that this was the first step toward weakening and eventually getting rid of the curse plaguing the Curse Lands. The more victories for good, the more good done, the weaker and less powerful the dark powers become.

So this makes a Smurf RPG campaign one part light-heart comedy in the smurfiest of Smurf traditions, one part classic Medieval Fantasy campaign and one part fairy tale/folklore game. Basically, it's Perfect!

I can easily see the PCs as being heretofore unheard of Smurfs sent on various missions by Papa Smurf, Grandpa or even other Smurfs who really need their help. Even various woodland creatures or other faeries or magical entities like Wood Nymphs, Mother Nature or Father Time.

Perhaps they are privy to the workings of the court of the local kingdom since they can easily sneak in to the castle undetected (or at least difficult to detect). Mix in a bit of real world history and you've got Ars Magica with Smurfs!

OK, next up - the actual game rules!

AD
Barking Smurf 

Bluer Than Blue

And so the story goes that when cartoonist Pierre' Culliford, who the world would come to know as 'Peyo', could not, for some reason or another, remember how to say “sel” (“salt”) while dining with a friend, he asked his companion to pass the "Schtroumpf".

Colloquially speaking, Culliford had what we in the USA would call a brainfart. He ended up pausing for a moment after saying, in his native French, "Can you please pass the..." and then searched in vain for the right word. Unable to find it he asked for "the thingie"* or "le schtroumpf". His dinner mate, Franquin, took the opportunity to mock and tease Culliford and replied (as translated into English), “Here’s the Schtroumpf. When you are done schtroumpfing, schtroumpf it back.” The two, on vacation together, shared a laugh and found a new game; for the rest of the weekend, they continued substituting “schtroumpf” and derivations thereof for various words.

Now Peyo was a cartoonist and one of his comics was Johan, the tale of a page in medieval times. In October of 1958, Johan and Pirlouit (Johan's trusty if comedic sidekick) encounter a strange, little blue man who leads them through the enchanted forest of The Cursed Lands** and into the hidden, mushroom village of his people. Needing a name for these faerie like creatures, Peyo dubbed them Schtroumpfs or in English...Smurfs.

The rest, as they say, is history.

The Schroumpfs/Smurfs were so popular in their first appearance that Peyo brought them back a few times until they received their own spin-off. A few books in and the Smurfs were a smash hit. Now distributed world wide and translated into dozens and dozens of languages, the Smurfs remain a favorite of childern and adults alike.

There are several interesting elements to note about the Smurfs that may not seem obvious at first. Canon information is in blue. My own ideas and interpretations are in white.

Their appearance resembles the faeries of various sorts but most notably early descriptions of pixies (more accurately the root term 'Pictsies', little Picts, which were often said to be blue).

The color actually came from Peyo's wife, who was at the time the colorist on many of his works. She felt green people would fade into the background as the Smurf stories mostly look place in the forest. Red would stand out too much and be too jarring. Yellow? Well, believe it or not, Yellow is considered an unlucky or unfavorable color to the French-Belgians. The only logically color left was blue.

Now lets take a look at the Smurfs themselves for a moment.

There are originally 99 Smurfs, plus Papa Smurf, all male.

Smurfette and Sassette (two of the three known female Smurfs) were created by means of magic and clay. The origin of the third female Smurf, Nanny, is unrevealed.

The Smurf Village, also known as the Mushroom Village, was originally located in a region called 'The Cursed Lands'. As time went on this was dropped and the dark forest began looking much more hospitable. Only the area around Gargamel's house was sometimes depicted as not as nice as the rest of the land.

The Smurf village is protected from discovery by an enchantment. The only way for a Human to find it is to be lead there by a Smurf, or be considered a trusted friend of the Smurfs.

The Smurfs are each 100 years old. Papa is 542 years old. Smurfette and Sassette are more recent creations. The Smurflings were normals Smurfs magically reduced in age (they count within the 99). Grandpa Smurf is twice the age of Papa Smurf. It is said he was Papa Smurf when Papa was a regular Smurf. Nanny's age is unknown but considered a contemporary of Grandpa. Lastly, Baby Smurf was brought to the village by Stork on the night of a rare Blue Moon.

So...many questions arise...

Why is Papa so much older than the rest? Where are the other Smurfs of his youth?

Likewise, if Grandpa is twice as old as Papa, well the same query applies.

Where did Nanny come from?

What was the curse of the Cursed Lands and is it still in effect? If they stopped calling it that and the place kept being illustrated nicer and nicer perhaps the curse faded. That would explain...Holy Smurf! I got it!

***

So there is a curse on this land nestled somewhere in middle-ages Belgium that makes it very difficult for magic or faerie folk of a good nature to exist. Black Magic, Dragons, Trolls and other nasty things do just fine (Peyo's Johan and Pirlouit - Peewit in the USA and England - featured such things).

There is a spell that can summon, for a time, a small village of magical creatures to help the caster do good. When the village is brought into existence it contains but a single, tiny, blue, bearded inhabitant. A Papa Smurf.

The Papa Smurf determines if the the caster's goals and intentions are good and just and if he feels they are he brings forth 99 additional, identical Smurfs. Over time, if any of these Smurfs show a strong interest or predisposition toward a particular emotion, mindset, occupation or hobby, they will be gifted with becoming 'that' Smurf. (Hefty, Handy, Brainy, Grouchy, etc.).

Problem is, as I imagine it, the curse of the Cursed Lands means the village won't exist indefinitely. Eventually, the village will fade back into the realm of Faerie. Now, let's say a Smurf was not at the village when it leaves this world? Well, it would seem they stay here. Grandpa Smurf was on a quest for a magic stone and far from the Cursed Land (when it disappeared?). Nanny was lost in an enchanted castle.

Now, if Papa Smurf and his era of Smurfs allied with Johan, Pirlouit and the good natured king of their kingdom, perhaps he made inroads that made more good than evil in the land and as such, the curse is lifting. Also, the originator of the curse was perhaps an ancestor of Gargamel and since Gargamel is such a lousy wizard, he hasn't the power to keep the curse going.

If the curse lifts and good faerie magic can return in ernest, then when the next blue moon appears in the night sky, a stork will bring a new baby Smurf, a great sign that evil is fading.

More to smurf,

AD

Smurfing Alien

* By 'thingie' I don't mean to imply that 'schroumpf' actually means thing. It is a purely nonsense word created by Peyo on the spur of the moment.

** It is interesting to note that 'The Curse Lands' of Johan and Pirlouit were fairly well worked out and make for a interesting setting in their own right. I don't know that too many fantasy RPG supplements focused on the cultural and geographic region of Belgium during the Middle Ages.

Considering the history of the country and it's connections to the Franks, the Dutch and many other groups, I think setting the Smurfs RPG in a magical medieval Belgium would be fascinating.

O is for Oz and it's Emerald City

We leave the world of nightmares for a strange land located somewhere between dreams and fairy tales. Beyond the rainbow, at the end of the Road of Yellow Brick, lies Oz.

Welcome to the Emerald City.

I have noted before that L. Frank Baum is one of my literary heroes and I've been fascinated with the land of Oz and it's nonestic neighbors since I was very young. A more perfect setting for a role playing game of magic, faeries, dragons, wizards, and witches I can not fathom dear reader. While I have read the likes of Tolkien, Vance, Howard, Moorcock, Lieber, and many others that make up the foundation of modern medieval fantasy fiction and gaming, none of those writers do it for me the way Baum, Carroll, Byron, Yates, Aesop, and the Grimms do.

Now in regards to gaming in the Land of Oz, there are several interesting options. First and foremost I would have to recommend Adventures in Oz, the Oz RPG by the talented F. Douglas Wall and art by a variety of skilled illustrators including yours truly (ah the joys of the shameless self-plug). This is a good choice because aside from being one of the few if not the only RPGs truly based on the source material and its unique style (more on that in a bit), I can vouch for the fact that it's an Oz game by an Oz fan. Doug Wall and those that provided additional material for this game are individuals who care about and have a deep passion for the original stories and making sure the tone is right.

This is not Wicked or an American McGee take on the setting but a faithful tribute to Baum and the wonderful world, at once both whimsical and exciting, that was created over 100 years ago. That is an IP with staying power if ever I've seen one. While Adventures in Oz retains the darker aspects of the setting, it doesn't dwell on them. There are games that focus more on those elements but sometimes in doing so they lose the charm of OZ, that American fairy tale nature that is easy to perceive but difficult to explain.

As with other settings I enjoy, this isn't one where killing your enemy, finding gold, or becoming more powerful are primary goals that drive the PC's lives. Everyone in Oz gets what they need as far as food and a place to stay. No one gets sick and no one ages. These are adventures about hope, love, helping others, overcoming problems, and vanquishing evil because it's doing bad things to people who you care about.

Also in the same category is the Zantabulous game The Zorcerer of Zo, an Oz-But-Not-Oz RPG created by those wacky guys over a Atomic Sock Monkey. I recommend this game as it too captures the correct atmosphere, and interestingly enough lends itself quite easily to adaption of non-Oz settings that hold the same general mystique such as Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, Bridge to Terabithia, and the like.

Obviously I can't pass up the chance to suggest using Faery's Tale Deluxe or a modified Teenagers from Outer Space. I actually used a mix of TFOS and Ars Magica (yes...TFOS and Ars Magica. Do not question me! The Great and Terrible Adam has spoken!) to run my Oz campaign those many years ago.

Now this being a Monday I am predisposed toward mentioning the Muppets somewhere and there were certainly instances where Oz and the Muppets crossed over.

A number of instances in fact. Most notable of course was The Muppets Wizard of Oz, which had some elements unchanged from the books that were altered for the famous MGM movie. In the Muppets special The Muppets Go to the Movies there is a different take of the classic story. In addition, Fozzie alone makes the mistake of thinking the Tin Man is a character in Wonderland in the Muppet Show episode featuring Brooke Shields.

AD
Barking Alien

Tinkerbell Is Doomed

I was kind of surprised to see such a lackluster turn out of responses to my last post on Faery's Tale Deluxe. Perhaps I didn't sell it well but I really think its an amazing game and I hope you give it a look either at your FLGS or on PDF. If you have kids I recommended it even more.

I remember seeing James at GROGNARDIA post about what game readers thought would be good to get his son interested in starting to play RPGs and most people responded with some version of old school D&D or other. To me, games need to speak to the interests and experiences of their target audience. One reason D&D never really grabbed me was that at the age of 8, living in Brooklyn, NY in 1977, I had no idea what medieval really was. I didn't see castles on TV or see magazines at the local luncheonette/candystore with pictures of Knights and Wizards.

We had comic books with superheroes. We had TV shows with starships and aliens. We understood these things and so we wanted to emulate them in games. We had D&D until we could figure out how to do that.

The modern child is exposed to far more media than my generation ever was. There's the internet, youtube, streaming video, manga, anime, video and computer games and much more. You get the picture. I'm not saying anything that hasn't been said a thousand times before by intellectuals much smarter than I.

You're unlikely to get modern children excited by handing them something that looks like a school text book and saying, "This is what I used to get started many years ago/when I was young/when I just about your age." All this says is, "Old stuff Dad likes or Call of Duty. Hmmm. I think I'll fire up the X-Box."

What I'd like to see is someone pitch their kid a game like Toon, Happy Birthday, Robot or Faery's Tale Deluxe. Start simple and small with room for expansion. Also don't forget to keep it realtively simple and straightforward for the youngsters but don't talk down to them. This is one feature of Faery's Tale Deluxe that really impressed me. It can be read by anyone. It doesn't treat the reader like a novice but not does it go on and on like you've already been gaming for years like some games do. I think it reaches a very workable balance.

Anyway, I was originally going to talk more about this nifty little stroke of genius but I'll wait until the time is right. Currently a lot of blogs seem ablaze with talk of superhero gaming. Its a subject near and dear to my heart so I totally understand and approve.

Oh! That reminds me...

Stay tuned,

AD
Barking Alien

Like A Good Neighbor

A Faerie Kissed By Pixies by Brian Froud

"We call them faerie. We don't believe in them. Our loss." ~Charles de Lint

The fantasy stories that stir me most were not written by Tolkien, Howard, or Vance. No dear friends, while I respect those men they have never drawn me in as does the will o' the wisp, wondering with no purpose except to capture its brilliance in my eyes and hands. I look to Byron, Yeats, Barrie, Baum, Briggs, Froud and Lee, Black, and DiTerlizzi. These are my muses for things magical. These, and others, are my guides through the secret places under the hills.

One of my favorite RPGs ever has to be Faery's Tale Deluxe, published by Firefly Games and Green Ronin. Written by Patrick Sweeney, Sandy Antunes, Christina Stiles, Colin Chapman and Robin D. Laws (Robin Laws people!), the game is a perfect introduction into the world of Role Playing for your kids while at the same time being a fun and light change of pace for adults. Of course, being Adam 'Modify'em-If-You-Got'em' Dickstein, I made a few adjustments that turns the game, IMHO, into a workable long term campaign system.

 

First the basics...
 
Set in the fantastic woodland forest of Brightwood, the default fairy tale setting of the game, players choose one of four faerie types (referred to both as forms and patterns). Each has a predetermined number of dice to each of the games three attributes, Mind, Body and Spirit. The total number of dice always add up to 6. So for example the Brownie has 2 dice in each stat while the Pixie has 1 Body die, 2 Mind dice and 3 Spirit dice.

Each faerie form also has special abilities that come with their particular type. This is one area where I changed things up based on my knowledge and love of faerie folklore. I took away the Pixie's ability to fly and gave it to the Sprite, switching it for the Sprite's Animal Friend.

One figured stat is Essence, determined by doubling your Spirit stat for the start of every session. Essence goes up and down during play and you can be awarded Essence points in a manner similar to Force Points in Star Wars D6 or Hero Points in other games. Essence is used to power the more impressive feats of magic you can do with the aforementioned abilities. It is also your hit points. It is also one of the things I changed right away.

In order for the game to last longer and the magic to be more common, I determined that before a faerie takes damage to their Essence they take it to their Glamour, a new stat I added. Glamour is figured out by adding your Body to your Essence. In my games, damage, magic, and last minute saves are pulled from your Glamour, keeping Essence well protected and hidden. If you have no Glamour left than Essence is used. A Glamourless character is unconscious unless a Body save is made. A character with no Essence no longer exists.

Essence also comes in two 'flavors'. Bright Essence, possessed by good natured fae of the Seelie Court and Dark Essence, the life force of nasty and foul tempered denizens of the Unseelie Court. These are handled in a fashion similar to Force Points and Dark Side Points in the Star Wars D6 game. If a Bright Faerie has more Dark Essence than Bright Essence they may find themselves changing into a Goblin or slipping into madness. Once your Essence is all Dark you change into a Goblin for sure and you loose your original form's abilities which are replaced with Contortion and Black Magic. A Dark Faerie can attempt to redeem itself and gain Bright Essence. In my homebrew a Dark Faerie with Bright Essence is a Hob (i.e., Hobgoblin, Hobnob, Hobdobie).

The basic mechanics are ridiculously simple. Good or 'Bright' faeries score a success when they roll an even number on one of their dice. Bad or 'Dark' faeries and other enemies need to roll odd numbers to succeed. Magical items (called Charms) can give you a free or bonus success. The more successes the better. Some actions may require a minimum number of successes to really work. I sometimes determine more successes than you need gives you a critical success and less gives you a less than critical failure. No successes is bad news.

There are a number of other elements to the game such as the aforementioned Charms, Titles, Boons and my added houserules of Banes and Bunks (things dangerous or detrimental to the fae - the latter term borrowed from the 1st Edition of White Wolf's Changeling: The Dreaming).

I could go on and on about this game and I most likely will but first I'll let you absorb this bit. I leave you with Yeats...

"Faeries, come take me out of this dull world,
For I would ride with you upon the wind,
Run on the top of the dishevelled tide,
And dance upon the mountains like a flame."

~William Butler Yeats
The Land of Heart's Desire

AD
Barking Alien

UPDATE: I didn't like the original title of this entry as it didn't quite have that 'double meaning twist' I like to include whenever possible. I like this one better.

Storm Before The Calm Before The Storm

So, in about 15 minutes or so I'm going out into New York City's winter wonderland once more. When I return I have a very cool post I want to make. But before that I want to make this somewhat less cool, slightly snarky post. Teasing and humor is involved. If your Wisdom and Constitution do not add up to at least 22 you may want to avoid this post.

I periodically mention various RPGs I've played, run and loved on my blog. These are not quite reviews and not quite retrospectives but they come close to both. Some are obvious discussions of a particular game like Mekton, Teenagers from Outer Space, Star Wars or Star Trek. Some are mentions of lesser known but very cool games and how I'd like to play them more than I have. Examples include Faery's Tale Deluxe, Hunter Planet and Apocalypse World.

When it comes to the comments section of these entries I often see things like...

"I never picked up TFOS as I knew there was no way it would ever get run in my rather hardcore gear-headish group."

"Never played Mekton, but I do remember the ads for it"

"Star Trek is always something I wanted to play. Way back in teh day Dragon ran an article on GMing tips for FASA's Star Trek and I was all inspired. Perhaps someday..."

And its not just here on my site but on other sites as well. People mentioning cool, not-so-obscure games and others going, "I always wanted to check out that game that was really popular 10-20 years ago but I never did."

Now comes the snarky part, purely in jest (if you are an immature dipstick with no sense of humor who thinks I'm somehow mocking you personally, please look away from my blog site now and go read the nutritional information on the side of a cereal box or something equally non-antagonizing)...I have to ask...

What the Hell were you People Playing?!?

Are you seriously telling me you've only ever played one game? Has it been D&D or the highway since 1976? There's a whole wide world out there my friends, just waiting for you to explore it. It won't bite. And if it does that'll be a learning experience. Come out now...don't be shy.

OK. Snark Wave Generator deactivated.

I'm just teasing but seriously, has anyone been playing RPGs for 15 years or more played fewer than 3 games? I'm just curious.

AD
Barking Alien