Quick-starts are a means of trying out a roleplaying game before you buy. Each should provide a Game Master with sufficient background to introduce and explain the setting to her players, the rules to run the scenario included, and a set of ready-to-play, pre-generated characters that the players can pick up and understand almost as soon as they have sat down to play. The scenario itself should provide an introduction to the setting for the players as well as to the type of adventures that their characters will have and just an idea of some of the things their characters will be doing on said adventures. All of which should be packaged up in an easy-to-understand booklet whose contents, with a minimum of preparation upon the part of the Game Master, can be brought to the table and run for her gaming group in a single evening’s session—or perhaps two. And at the end of it, Game Master and players alike should ideally know whether they want to play the game again, perhaps purchasing another adventure or even the full rules for the roleplaying game.
Alternatively, if the Game Master already has the full rules for the roleplaying game the quick-start is for, then what it provides is a sample scenario that she still run as an introduction or even as part of her campaign for the roleplaying game. The ideal quick-start should entice and intrigue a playing group, but above all effectively introduce and teach the roleplaying game, as well as showcase both rules and setting.
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The Smurfs Roleplaying Game – Quick-start Guide is the quick-start for The Smurfs Roleplaying Game, based on the Belgian comic created by Peyo and The Smurfs cartoon series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and broadcast between 1981 and 1989. It is published by Maestro Media Ventures.
It is a twenty-page, 5.24 MB full colour PDF.
How long will it take to play?
The Smurfs Roleplaying Game – Quick-start Guide is designed to be played through in a single session, two at most.
The Smurfs Roleplaying Game – Quick-start Guide is designed to be played through in a single session, two at most.
What else do you need to play?
The Smurfs Roleplaying Game – Quick-start Guide needs five six-sided dice per player.
Who do you play?
The five Player Characters—or Smurfs—in The Smurfs Roleplaying Game – Quick-start Guide consist of Smurfette, Hefty, Jokey, Smurflily, and Clumsy Smurf.
How is a Player Character defined?
A Smurf in The Smurfs Roleplaying Game – Quick-start Guide is defined by his name which provides a broad description of him and a motivation which explains how he thinks. A Smurf also has an Advantage, a special power which ties into his name or motivation. Each Advantage provides a bonus which applies to certain situations, modifies action rolls, or grants access to certain equipment. For example, Hefty has an Advantage that grants a bonus to any test of strength, whilst Smurflily, who has the Motivation of, “I will do my best to be friends with, and not hurt, any Smurf or other creature.” has an Advantage that reduces the difficulty of skill tests to persuade, calm, or befriend any NPC. Each Smurf also has four attributes—Quick, Brawn, Mind, and Heart—rated between four and twelve.
How do the mechanics work?
Mechanically, The Smurfs Roleplaying Game – Quick-start Guide uses the BURN 2d6 published by Saltheart RPG. To have his Smurf undertake an action, a player rolls two or more six-sided dice, aiming to roll under the appropriate attribute. If the roll is under the attribute value, the action succeeds, but if it is equal to the attribute value, it is only a partial success. A roll higher than the attribute is a failure. Bonuses can come from equipment, Advantages, and Smurfberries.
The difficulty of the action is set by the number of dice a player has to roll. This ranges from two for a Challenging difficulty to five dice for an Impossible difficulty. The Storyteller can make an action more challenging by adding another die, whilst a player can add another die if he wants the outcome of the action to have greater effect. A player can also reduce the number of dice ha has to roll by spending Effort. Each attribute has a number of points of Effort equal to its value and they can only be spent on actions related to that attribute. If a Smurf runs out of Effort for a single attribute, all of his actions are penalised an extra die. If Effect is exhausted for a second attribute, a Smurf falls unconscious or rather, is smurfed...
To avoid this and other dangerous situations, for example, a dragon breathing fire on a Smurf or a Smurf falling from a great height, a player can make a Safety Roll. It is rolled on two six-sided dice and difficulty for is determined by the Smurf’s own Smurf House (but is set to three for the purposes of The Smurfs Roleplaying Game – Quick-start Guide). If the Safety Roll is successful, the Smurf wakes up in his bed, fully refreshed, but with no idea of how he got there. If a failure, the Smurf will probably start the next session in dire circumstances.
The difficulty of the action is set by the number of dice a player has to roll. This ranges from two for a Challenging difficulty to five dice for an Impossible difficulty. The Storyteller can make an action more challenging by adding another die, whilst a player can add another die if he wants the outcome of the action to have greater effect. A player can also reduce the number of dice ha has to roll by spending Effort. Each attribute has a number of points of Effort equal to its value and they can only be spent on actions related to that attribute. If a Smurf runs out of Effort for a single attribute, all of his actions are penalised an extra die. If Effect is exhausted for a second attribute, a Smurf falls unconscious or rather, is smurfed...
To avoid this and other dangerous situations, for example, a dragon breathing fire on a Smurf or a Smurf falling from a great height, a player can make a Safety Roll. It is rolled on two six-sided dice and difficulty for is determined by the Smurf’s own Smurf House (but is set to three for the purposes of The Smurfs Roleplaying Game – Quick-start Guide). If the Safety Roll is successful, the Smurf wakes up in his bed, fully refreshed, but with no idea of how he got there. If a failure, the Smurf will probably start the next session in dire circumstances.
In addition to Advantages, bonuses to any action can come from equipment and Smurfberries. Smurfberries are enjoyed by every Smurf and by every player because they are rewarded for good roleplaying. Each Smurf begins play with one and their primary use is to give a player a one-point advantage on any roll. Their secondary use is to restore a point of Effort to a single attribute. This can be for the player’s Smurf or the Smurf of another player, and is more expensive, costing three Smurfberries.
Lastly, each Smurf has access to Smurf Power! This is represented by the Smurf Power Die, and can be used in one of two ways. When rolled, it replaces one of the standard dice a Smurf’s player rolls for any action. It is a standard six-sided die, but marked with the Smurf Symbol on five of its six faces and the Smurf Critical symbol on the one face. It does not add anything to a roll, but when the Smurf Critical symbol is rolled, one of two things can happen. If the roll is a success, with the Smurf Critical symbol, it becomes an amazing absolutely smurfy success. However, if a failure, it becomes the unsmurfiest of failures possible. Alternatively, it can be used to add a narrative element to the play of the game. The ability to roll or use the Smurf Power Die becomes possible once a player rolls all sixes on a previous roll. Otherwise, it is inactive.
Besides the possibility of a critical failure, there is another downside to using the Smurf Power Die. This is that when used, it grants the Game Master a Thorn, which she can then use to make the lives of the Smurfs that much more difficult. This can be by describing a change in circumstances and adding an extra die to a roll, adding a complication by adding or removing a story element, allowing an opponent to act first (as Smurfs always act first otherwise), or cause a piece of equipment to become lost.
Mechanically, The Smurfs Roleplaying Game – Quick-start Guide is player-facing. This means that the players make all the dice rolls rather than the Game Master.
How does combat work?
Combat? In a roleplaying game about Smurfs?
What do you play?
The scenario in The Smurfs Roleplaying Game – Quick-start Guide is ‘Papa Smurf Goes Missing: An Introductory Adventure for The Smurfs RPG’. The adventure begins when the Smurfs wake up to find that Papa Smurf and his Mushroom House has gone missing, leaving a big hole in the ground where it stood the previous day. Investigating the hole reveals the wreckage of his house at the bottom and a tunnel leading deep into the earth! Where will lead and where has Papa Smurf gone? The adventure is quite straightforward, primarily involving a mixture of stealth and exploration. It also comes with plenty of staging advice that the Game Master can use simply as examples of play or inspiration for when she runs the scenario. It playable in a single session.
Yes. The Smurfs Roleplaying Game – Quick-start Guide does not come with a Smurf Power die, so the Game Master will need to provide something in its stead.
Is it easy to prepare?
The core rules presented in The Smurfs Roleplaying Game – Quick-start Guide are very easy to prepare. They are light and easy to use as much as they are to teach, making them and the quick-start as a whole suitable for running for a younger audience.
Is it worth it?
Yes. The Smurfs Roleplaying Game – Quick-start Guide presents everything you you need to play a fun, happy-go-lucky session of Smurfiness, with a little dash of mild peril. The rules are easy to grasp and teach and the scenario is an uncomplicated affair. However, this is a quick-start (and a roleplaying game) for fans of The Smurfs rather than the casual player necessarily and they are likely to get more out of this than the said casual player. Otherwise, this is a well done quick-start, one that roleplaying fans of The Smurfs will pick up with ease and enjoy. Plus, if there are younger fans of The Smurfs, this is something that they will enjoy playing and being run for them.
The Smurfs Roleplaying Game – Quick-start Guide is published by Maestro Media and is available to download here.
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