Kids & Critters RPG Trilogy

&

KIDS

CRITTERS

SIMON WASHBOURNE

OLD SCHOOL RPG

TRILOGY

mark sabtato (order #6866731) 79.44.243.213

KIDS & CRITTERS

OLD SCHOOL

ROLE PLAYING GAME TRILOGY

© 2010 by Simon Washbourne

All rights reserved.


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

GAME DESIGN

Simon Washbourne & Mark George (TfTW)

Simon Washbourne (LoGB & IaDL)

ARTISTS

Gill Pearce

Meg Baker

Stephanie N Small

Helen Roberts

Jay Forster

Allan Dotson

Jerry D Grayson (BBG Logo)

PLAYTESTERS

Annette Washbourne, Nigel Uzzell, Janine Uzzell, Alyson George,

Mark George, Robert Irwin, Phil Ratcliffe, Leigh Wakefield,

Gary Collett, Phil Chivers, Mike Richards, Alison Richards,

Ian Greenwood, Paul Simonet, Robert Watkins, and members of

Innsworth Wargames and Role Playing United Kingdom

(IWARPUK)


CONTENTS

I TALES FROM THE WOOD 1

• Introduction 1

• Creating a player creature 6

• What are the creatures like? 14

• Using Abilities, Lores & Skills 20

• Tooth & Claw 23

• The Way and The Bane 27

• The Gamekeeper 30

• Gamekeeper Creatures 36

• Three Tales from The Wood 50

2 LASHINGS OF GINGER BEER 65

• Introduction 65

• Creating your kid 67

• Doing things 71

• Rolling dice 73

• Idyllic England 75

• Adventures 79

3 IT’S A DOG’S LIFE 93

• What’s this? 93

• Great Home 95

• Tribal Legends 100

• Characters 104

• Character Roles 110

• Abilities 117

• Barks 121

• Tooth & Claw 124

• Gamemastering 127

• Critters 130

• Adventuring 136

• Longer adventures 138

• Real prairie dogs 144


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 1 ~

INTRODUCTION The Wood – a place where animals live,

love, fight …...and die.

What is a role-playing game? I would imagine that if you bought this

product, you already know what a role

playing game is and what role-playing is all

about. If you haven’t role played before,

then I am honoured that you chose Tales

from The Wood (TfTW) to be your first.

Role playing means different things to dif-

ferent people. At its heart it is a

combination of storytelling, improvisational

theatre, a game of make-believe or even a

tactical wargame.

Some role-playing games emphasize one

aspect more than another and in some one

or more aspects are virtually absent. TfTW

is mainly a game of storytelling and make-

believe.

One thing that is essentially true is that all

players except one take the role of a

character in the game and, within the

framework of the game, play the role of

their characters by narrating and describing

what they are doing in response to what is

going on within the story. One player has a

different role and is called The

Gamekeeper (GK). We’ll come back to that

later.

What is Tales from The Wood? TfTW is what you and your players want it

to be. It is a framework of rules for building

your own fantasy story of adventure, fun,

tragedy and excitement. Whether you

choose to tell a tale of epic quests, great

journeys and grand adventure or whether

you prefer to weave a story based on rela-

tionships and the love of home and family,

these rules will help you to do that. How-

ever, there is the backdrop of The Wood

that will permeate all of your tales and all

of the stories you tell will ultimately be


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 2 ~

affected by The Wood and its many inhabi-

tants.

What do you need to play? You need some players and a place to play.

The former is easy, just grab a few friends

and tell them about this great game you

just found. The next may not be as easy,

but as long as you have a room and places

to sit and be comfortable, you are away.

Next you need dice (TfTW uses ten-sided

and six-sided dice called d10 and d6 re-

spectively), preferably one of each type for

each player, and a photocopy of the cha-

racter sheet for each player. Finally, you

need pencils and probably erasers too. Oh,

don’t forget a few drinks and snacks.

The player’s role TfTW is an unusual role-playing game. It

takes its inspiration from animal stories,

like Watership Down and Duncton Wood,

so the characters in this game are all ani-

mals. You are therefore playing the roles of

creatures that can typically be found in and

around the British woodland; animals such

as Mouse, Rabbit, Vole, Squirrel and Hed-

gehog.

You need to come up with some interesting

characters drawn from the thirteen species

of animal available to you, called the Crea-

tures of The Way. Through your characters,

you must live your lives in The Wood, react

to things that happen to you and your

friends and, for the length of the game ses-

sion, play the role of the characters you are

portraying.

Remember that you are helping to create a

Tale. This is a co-operative thing. There are

no winners and losers. The better you re-

spect each other’s characters and their part

in the overall Tale, the better the game

experience will be. Even the Gamekeeper is

your friend in this, although her role is dif-

ferent to yours. It may seem like she is

trying to ‘get’ you, but that’s not the case.

She is trying to create scenes that will en-

gage you and keep your interest and

sometimes these will threaten you or scare

you. Occasionally there will be a tragedy

too, but this is normally only with the play-

er’s blessing and where it helps to weave

an interesting and exciting Tale.

It may seem difficult to know how to play

the role of a mouse or a frog or whatever.

However, we have found in play testing

that generally players will pick a creature

that they already have some knowledge of

and that often helps to define the way that

they play their characters.

There is some help for you later on in these

rules but it is certainly recommended that

you are familiar with at least one of the

novels listed at the end of this publication.

The creatures do have their own individual

abilities - Mouse for example is extremely

acrobatic, Hedgehog is tough and good in a

fight, Mole can dig tunnels etc. and this

helps you to get a ‘handle’ on your charac-

ter. That doesn’t mean that all rabbits have

to cower away and all hedgehogs have to

be awkward and stupid. You can put what-

ever personality on your character that you

like and an aggressive rabbit or wise old

hedgehog would be great fun to play.


TALES FROM THE WOOD

~ 3 ~

The Gamekeeper’s role The game is coordinated by one of the

players who has a different role to play in

the game. She is usually referred to in

games of this type as the Gamesmaster or

referee. In keeping with the setting the

referee in TfTW is called the Gamekeeper

(GK). The GK has to spend time prior to an

evenings’ gaming preparing the adventure

or scenario, called The Tale, deciding befo-

rehand what the PCs are trying to achieve

and deciding what obstacles and help they

will have along the way, be they natural,

Man-made, of The Bane, or other crea-

tures. The GK will also play the role of any

creatures the PCs meet whether they are

friendly, neutral or otherwise.

Whilst the GK may have set very clear goals

for the players, the way they reach those

goals may differ radically from those the GK

had in mind. The GK therefore needs to be

flexible and ready to ad-lib, or change di-

rection partway through the Tale if the

players start to do things that she hadn’t

accounted for or written down (rest as-

sured, they will). The players can always be

steered back on course further on in the

game if needs be. It is all part of the GK’s

responsibilities to be flexible enough to see

what the PCs want to do and adapt her

version of the Tale according to the player’s

wishes. At the end of the day, whilst the

Tale is important, it is not as important as

the characters who are telling it.

The role of the dice Most of the actions performed by player-

creatures (PCs) in TfTW are normal every-

day activities where the players simply tells

the GK what their characters intend to do

and the GK simply relates to the players

what happens as a result. However, be-

cause life in The Wood is not always that

simple there will be times when the GK will

call for a dice to be rolled to determine

whether an intended action was successful

or not. This is often the case when external

conditions could affect the outcome of

what seemed to be a simple task, or when

another creature is trying to stop the PC

from succeeding. Be careful with the use of

the dice in the telling of the Tale - use them

sparingly and at dramatic moments when

the fate of the creature is in the balance.

Don’t let the dice and the rules get in the

way of enjoyment and the telling of a good

story.

The dice used in TfTW are six-sided (d6)

and ten-sided (d10). When the action calls

for the player to roll a dice the GK will ad-

vise that type of dice to be rolled. Normally

the characteristics of the creature itself will

determine which dice is to be used - if the

creature has the appropriate Ability (or

Lore) then a d10 is rolled and if the crea-

ture does not have the appropriate Ability

then a d6 is rolled. There are essentially

two types of action in TfTW - uncontested

actions and contested actions and the dif-

ferences are explained later in these rules.

The Tale: The Wood Hello, my name is Grizzlegruff. I am a Gnome, and it falls upon me to re-count this Tale. I am not a natural storyteller as was my good friend Oak-fellow, who would be chronicling this Tale but for the fact that he disap-peared recently and to date we have had no luck in finding him. I there-fore dedicate this Tale to him, and to the memory of all the many creatures who live, love, fight and die in The Wood


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 4 ~

Where does one start with a Tale of this magnitude? With The Wood itself per-haps? Yes that is most appropriate, The Wood. You should understand that The Wood is more than merely a home for the many hundreds of animals, birds, insects and other lowlier forms of life. It is a living, breathing and feeling entity. The Woods’ vitality is reflected in the health of its inhabitants and their health is good for The Wood. When The Wood suffers, we all suffer. Our rela-tionship is linked, symbiotic. We need The Wood, The Wood needs us. We crea-tures who understand this relationship and seek to perpetuate and maintain this balance are followers of what has become known as ‘The Way of The Wood’ or more simply ‘The Way’. Through the ages there have been oth-ers who have sought to upset this harmony, thinking in their own warped mentality that somehow such an imbalance could be worked to their own advantage. This perversion of The Way is known as ‘The Bane’. Some crea-tures are more susceptible to its evil design than others. These misguided creatures are the rats, the weasels, the crows and the adders amongst others, but perhaps we should not blame them entirely for we believe that Man is by far the worst culprit and surely it is from Man that The Bane was first born? When one talks of The Wood, it is gen-erally accepted that one means the whole of the environs of The Wood, not only the Brightwood wherein grow the mighty Oak, the Ash, the Elm and the Yew and where dwell Mouse and Squir-rel and Shrew and Mole who love its sun dappled grasses and quiet glades and the comforting fastness of the tall trees.

No, one also talks of the Tanglebriars, that dark shadowy region of thorn and thistle, ancient and brooding wherein live the weasels and stoats and adders and crows gathering in their twisted cabals and ever ready to pounce upon the hapless intruder. Then there is the Frogmarsh, a largely open tract and from where, at night time, one can often hear the strange song of the Frog Lord and his minions drifting eerily around The Wood. That the Frogmarsh remains wet and misty is attributed to The River which splits The Wood and after twisting its way between the boles of the mighty trees spills out to feed the Frogmarsh before it gathers itself together again and continues its course to the lands of Man and beyond. Many creatures thrive on, or in, The River including of course Water Vole and Otter, but not forgetting that Pike is ever present and ready to pounce from the reeds that border The Deep Pond. Let me not neglect The Meadows bor-dering onto The Wood. This place of course is home to many animals, but most particularly to that most wary of creatures, Rabbit with her vast network of warrens creating a labyrinth in which one such as I without the Lore to navigate those twisting tunnels could (and have) become hopelessly lost. Un-fortunately for poor Rabbit this does provide the ideal hunting ground for stoats and weasels when they venture from the Tanglebriars on their nightly forays.


TALES FROM THE WOOD

~ 5 ~

THE WOOD


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 6 ~

CREATING A PLAYER

CREATURE This is where you get to choose what kind

of animal you will play and the abilities he

or she has.

Choosing a creature The first step for you is to decide which of

the various animals that you would like to

role-play. You should generally take the

role of one of the followers of The Way of

The Wood, as many of the scenarios are to

do with coming into conflict with The Bane

in some way. Your GK could allow you to

play a different creature; especially if you

have a particular favourite and you come

up with a good reason with the creature to

be allied with the other PCs. You should be

aware though that your GK may disallow it,

as many of the creatures of The Bane are

predatory and they can be very much more

powerful than the PCs. If you want a

creature just because it is tougher than the

other PCs without a good story to go with

it, then your GK is likely to disallow it

straight away.

All creatures of the same species As an alternative, the GK could run a game

where all of the PCs are of the same

species. You could all be moles for

example, as in the Duncton Wood novels,

all squirrels as in the novels of Michael Tod,

or all rabbits, like Watership Down. In this

case the GK will let you know her

preferences at the outset.

The GK might even state that she wants all

characters to be of the same type but then

leave it up to you as a group as to which

species you choose.

Players choice of creature Assuming the choice is a free one there are

thirteen creatures for players to choose

from. The creatures described are generic

for their type; for instance there are four

species of mouse in the British Isles and

whilst they do vary slightly the differences

are not so great as to warrant four

separate descriptions.

The variety of creatures within a given

species can be handled by giving them

different Lores. The Lores are described in

detail later, but for example you could

choose Wood Lore for your Mouse

character and that would make him a

Wood Mouse. Someone else could have a

Mouse character with Field Lore, making

him a Field or Harvest Mouse and so on.

You should bear in mind that all of the rules

for animal Traits, Abilities and Lores are

subjective and although they have been

thoroughly researched and play-tested

there is nothing that cannot be altered or

changed if there is anything with which you

disagree. If a favourite animal is not listed

then there are guidelines in the

Gamekeeper Section of these rules to assist

in the creation of additional creatures for

use in TfTW.

Creature Characteristics PCs in TfTW are defined by the use of

Traits, Abilities and Lores. These

characteristics describe something about

the creature in simple numerical terms so


TALES FROM THE WOOD

~ 7 ~

that players can gauge their character’s

relative strengths and weaknesses.

TRAITS There are six traits in TfTW and these are:

Alertness, Craftiness, Fierceness,

Nimbleness, Sturdiness and Toughness

Traits are measured in numerical values.

The higher the value of the Trait the more

able the creature is in performing tasks

associated with that Trait.

A quick reference to the Player Creature

Table on P.13 will show the strengths of

some creatures compared to others as well

as their weaknesses. Mouse for example is

clearly the most nimble creature but not at

all tough or sturdy. Traits are important

because they govern the use of the various

abilities of the creatures. The Trait value is

added to the roll of the dice to determine

whether the animal has succeeded in an

action or not.

Description of the Traits Alertness (AL): Alertness measures the

overall perception and wariness of the

creature. It takes into account all of the

senses and includes ‘6th Sense’. Note that

most creatures make up for the lack or

poor ability in one of their senses by having

heightened abilities in other senses (e.g.

Mole is virtually blind but he has a very

keen sense of smell or touch).

Craftiness (CR): General cunning, wit and

intelligence are encompassed within this

Trait. Usually, it is the predators who are

the craftiest of the creatures in The Wood.

It sees most use when using the various

Lores.

Fierceness (FI): This represents the

animal’s combative ability and natural

predatory instinct, as well as natural

willingness to fight, kill and hunt.

Carnivorous creatures obviously tend to

have higher values than herbivores. A low

value is indicative of timidity.

Nimbleness (NI): This is the Trait that

represents the creature’s speed, agility and

quickness. Its use is mainly for determining

such activities as climbing, leaping and

fleeing. Small creatures tend to be more

nimble than large ones.

Sturdiness (ST): Sturdiness is again a

measure of the size of the animal.

However, it also represents the bulk and

relative constitution of the animal. It helps

in recovering from the effects of poisons or

toxins, resisting disease and shrugging off

physical punishment (particularly in Tooth

and Claw).

Toughness (TO): This Trait represents the

sheer brute strength of the creature. Whilst

size is the primary consideration, other

things are taken into account; for example

the strong forepaws of Mole. Toughness is

used to determine what an animal can

move, carry or drag, as well as the power it

can get into a bite or claw attack.

Higher Traits

Players can raise their creatures’ Traits

above the starting values by spending

‘experience’ points earned on adventures.

The only limit is that in the case of

Toughness and Sturdiness there are

maximum values (listed in brackets on the

Player Creature Table). The reason there

are maximum values for these Traits is that

these are largely determined by the actual

size of the creature and therefore there is a


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 8 ~

natural limit on how tough or sturdy a

creature can be.

The Governing Trait Each Ability (see below) has a Trait which

governs it’s use, called the Governing Trait.

When rolling the die to attempt to do

something, the value of the creature’s

Governing Trait is added to the die roll.

ABILITIES Abilities are the natural ‘skills’ of the

creatures in The Wood. Animal’s paws do

not enable them to manipulate things very

well so there are things that they can’t do.

Squirrel can hold a nut or a berry to eat it,

but she can’t tie a piece of string to a stick.

Therefore player creatures are limited to a

selection of tasks and aside from these

Abilities, they have no ‘skills’ as such. A

creature can attempt any of the abilities on

this list.

If the creature has the Ability then the

player rolls a d10 whenever the ability is

used. If not, then a d6 is rolled. The only

exceptions are Fly and Wisdom.

It sounds obvious, but has to be stated that

only creatures that can actually fly have the

‘Fly’ Ability. No other creature may choose

to fly.

Wisdom is the province of the owl.

Creatures may learn it but the cost is

double the point cost of other abilities. In

addition the ability needs to be taught by

some-creature who already has Wisdom

and is willing to take on a student.

Description of the Abilities

Climb (NI): The measure of how well a

creature can cling to vertical or near-

vertical surfaces and move around on those

surfaces (cliff faces, walls, fences, trees

etc.) as well as a measure of the animal’s

intrinsic balance (moving along tops of

walls, branches etc.). The difficulty level

will be affected by such factors as the

slipperiness of the surface being climbed,

weather conditions, speed of ascent etc. It

would normally be an uncontested roll.

Flee (NI): This is the talent of the animal to

avoid a pursuer, often by virtue of the

animal’s small size. Speed, reactions and

use of terrain features and cover are also

handy. Flee can also be used in Tooth &

Claw, substituting this Ability in an attempt

to get away from an attacker. Flee is used

only in contested situations.

Fly (NI): Only creatures that can actually fly

can use this Ability (birds, bats). The Fly

ability can be used uncontested, weather

conditions having the most effect upon the

difficulty level. It can also be used

contested if the creature is in a chase or

race situation.

Hide (NI): The capacity of the creature to

blend with and use cover and camouflage

of The Wood to remain undetected.

Usually used as a contested task verses a

pursuer’s Track Ability.

Intimidate (FI): Used to frighten other

creatures or to gain an edge in Tooth &

Claw situations. It is used in contested rolls

only. An equal result is a standoff (a lot of

growling or bluster, but with no-creature

actually frightening the other) but a result

in favour of one intimidator over another

will mean that the loser is so terrified (or

simply surprised or shocked) that it loses

one round where it cannot do anything. In

Tooth & Claw this could mean that a

creature is defenceless and the winner gets

a free bite or blow, or that the creature can


TALES FROM THE WOOD

~ 9 ~

make good his brief advantage to escape

from a much larger opponent. In non-Tooth

& Claw situations the result could indicate

much more of a willingness to cooperate or

the loser otherwise backing down from his

or her original standpoint.

Leap (NI): The skill of a creature to jump to

great heights from the ground or across

wide gaps, such as when Squirrel leaps

from the branch of one tree to another.

The use of the Ability will be affected by

adverse weather conditions, slippery take

off and/or landing etc. and will mainly be

used in uncontested situations.

Swim (NI): The talent of a creature to keep

afloat in water and move in the direction it

wishes. In contested situations it is also

used to determine the quickest swimmer.

Some creatures (Otter, Water Vole etc)

may also use the Ability for moving about

freely underwater. The Task Difficulty will

be affected by such factors as the speed of

the current, rapids, weather conditions etc.

Tooth & Claw (FI): The natural fighting

aptitude of the creature. This Ability is

described in its own section later in these

rules.

Track (AL): Using mainly the senses of

smell, sight and hearing the animal uses

this Ability to trail other creatures and to

seek out hidden prey. The difficulty will be

affected by adverse weather, the prey

crossing water, delay in picking up the

scent etc.

LORES

Lores are a combination of instinctive and

learned knowledge of the habitat in which

the creature normally dwells. A successful

Lore check will tell you about the creatures

that are usually to be found in that

location, where they live and so on. It will

also tell you about the geography and

features of the terrain and other useful

information about the area. As such, all

creatures will have at least one Lore

appropriate to the creature’s normal

habitat.

Where the Player Creature Table includes a

specific Lore, it is because that creature is

normally found in the habitat indicated by

the Lore.

Where the Lore is not specified or there is a

choice of Lores then it is because there are

a variety of different types within that

species or that the creature can be found in

a range of locations (birds for example fly

far and wide).

Description of the Lores Beach Lore (CR): A rare lore in TfTW but

nevertheless included for completeness,

Beach Lore would be used to know when

the tide is coming in (or going out) amongst

the usual knowledge of the terrain and

inhabitants.

Field Lore (CR): If you have this Lore, you

will know all about sowing and harvest

time and when the Roaring Dragon

(tractor) or when the farmer’s dog are

likely to be about and how to avoid them.

Gnome Lore (CR): This Lore is unusual in

that it does not relate to knowledge of

terrain or habitat but to a specific and

elusive creature - Gnome. It confers a

knowledge of Gnome and his habits, his

constructs, smell and where one might find

him.

A Gnome knows a simple sign language

involving placing markers of sticks and/or

stones on the ground or scratches on trees.


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 10 ~

This Lore also gives you a chance to work

out what these messages mean.

Man Lore (CR): Like Gnome Lore, this Lore

does not confer knowledge of habitat but

of Man - his constructs, tools, habits and

the smell of Man.

Man has a smell of his own, which is quite

horrible to creatures not used to Man and

this can be frightening to creatures without

this lore. Some believe this to be the

essence of The Bane.

The Lore does not give creatures the ability

to work out how to operate machinery or

how to read, but they might recognize

signs from past experience, or might be

able to figure out a simple device, such as

how to open a simple locked cage etc.

Marsh Lore (CR): Aside from knowledge of

what creatures live in the Frogmarsh areas

this would also enable creatures to cross

the marsh safely and know about the odd

furless creatures that live there.

Mountain Lore (CR): Another rare lore for

denizens of The Wood. This Lore is likely to

be known only to birds or creatures from

far beyond the boundaries of The Wood.

One specific use would be about how to

avoid (or cause) rock-falls.

River Lore (CR): Knowledge of the River, its

current and, to a degree, what is up or

downstream beyond the fringes of The

Wood.

Tunnel Lore (CR): Any-creature can dig a

hole in the ground (use Toughness as the

Governing Trait) but this is the skill of the

natural underground dweller, of digging

vast complexes of tunnels and chambers,

with confusing twists and turns, dead end

passages and escape routes. It gives

creatures the ability to navigate such

burrows as well as judging direction and

depth.

Wood Lore (CR): The most common lore

for creatures of The Wood.

Wisdom (CR): A rare and special Lore which

costs double the normal points cost (i.e. 10

points instead of the usual 5). It represents

an intimate knowledge of The Way of The

Wood, a sort of ‘animal magic’ and with the

ability a creature can perform almost

magical feats.

The GK is advised not to let this ability

come to creatures too easily. Simply finding

some-creature who can teach the character

the Wisdom could be the subject of a long

and dangerous quest.

The use of Wisdom by player creatures

should be kept to a minimum so the GK is

best advised to ensure it remains a rare

ability and is treated with a degree of

reverence. The GK should also treat it as

much as a tool for his own use to aid the

players when they are at a loss giving

appropriate prods and pushes, as for the

use of the players. Each use of Wisdom

requires the expenditure of a point of The

Way. Wisdom is split into six main

categories or levels of difficulty:

• Awareness (simple): Allows the

creature to foresee or predict the

outcome of a specific event up to

a short while into the future. How

long into the future a creature can

see and the level of detail the GK

gives depends on the needs of the

creature as well as the needs of

the story. This requires a few

moments of concentration.


TALES FROM THE WOOD

~ 11 ~

• Herb Lore (straightforward):

There are a lot of useful plants and

roots in The Wood. The animal will

know which of hese are helpful in

healing etc, and which are poisons

to which creatures etc. It also

provides the knowledge of

whereabouts and when (time of

year etc) they may be found. A

successful check will find a plant

suitable to the task needed. The

animal receiving the benefit of the

plant will recover a ‘scratch’ (see

the Tooth & Claw chapter) in three

days and a ‘maim’ in two weeks. It

can also be used to counter the

effect of poison.

• Wood Wise (moderate): This use

of the Wisdom allows the creature

to locate a specific item, thing or

creature in The Wood. It might for

example tell the creature where a

lost friend is or where a Man trap

is. This requires a few moments of

concentration.

• Charm (hard): Used to befriend an

otherwise unfriendly creature. The

ability does not give the creature

power over the other; it simply

makes the other believe that the

character is a very good friend for

a short while (dependent upon the

GK and the needs of the Tale).

• Contact Pan (very hard): Pan is

the Lord of The Great Forest. He

will give the answers to a few

yes/no questions that the creature

asks. Sometimes he will answer in

a rhyme or a riddle, sometimes he

will send an omen and sometimes

he will not answer immediately

but leave hints and clues to be

found later by the creature. He

will however always answer in

some way, and does not lie.

• Summon Pan (formidable):

Summoning Pan is something not

to be taken lightly and requires

the immediate expenditure of 2

points of The Way. If successfully

summoned he will do more or less

exactly what is asked of him.

Often he will carry out requests

exactly to the letter, so creatures

need to be wary of how they word

their request. Pan is the only deity

that creatures acknowledge (even

creatures of The Bane) and so they

are easily cowed by the

appearance of Pan. Pan appears as

whatever creature he wishes but

his aura is always that of the deity

and there is no mistaking who he

is. He will not appear to the same

creature more often than once a

month.

GNOME SKILLS Gnome Skills can only be learned and

practised by Gnomes, since they all require

a degree of manual dexterity that the other

creatures of The Wood do not have. Many

of them are things that Gnomes have

copied from Man.

Description of Gnome Skills Boating (NI): With this Skill Gnome can

build and repair a small rowboat or coracle

or even a small sailboat. This Skill also

covers the handling of such craft, although

River Lore would be handy in the

navigation of such a vessel.

Cooking & Brewing (CR): The culinary

talent of Gnomes to create lavish dishes,

intoxicating ciders, wines and ales (which

they love) and other assorted tasty food

and drink (mainly salads and cold meals if


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 12 ~

Gnome doesn’t also have the fire-making

Skill).

Crafting (CR): Gnomes like to make little

objects, containers and utensils out of the

bits of wood, shells of nuts, flint, reeds,

animal hairs and so on that they collect.

Fire-Making (CR): The ability to build and

containing a fire, using flints, sticks etc.,

just like a boy scout.

First Aid (CR): The Gnome Skill of setting

broken bones with splints, treating cuts

and bruises etc. It is not a knowledge of

herbs; it is purely the technical aspect. It

allows a Gnome to heal a ‘scratch’ (see the

Tooth & Claw chapter) in three days and a

‘maim’ in two weeks.

Marksmanship (NI): With this Skill the

Gnome can make and use simple ranged

weapons, throw stones, slings,

bows etc.

Musicianship (CR): All Gnomes like

a good sing song when they get

together and this Skill covers

exactly that - singing, playing and

even making a musical instrument.

Finalising your creature Once you have chosen a creature to

play in TfTW and copied the basic

characteristics over to a character

sheet you have 5 points with which

to improve the basic creature and

to individualise your character.

One completely new Ability, Lore or

Gnome Skill from the lists costs 5

points.

Traits cost a number of points equal to the

new level of the trait. For example to

increase the Nimbleness of Vole from 4 to

5 would cost 5 points. Only one increase

may be ‘bought’ at a time using these

points.

Every Creature of The Way also has a

natural connection with, or sensitivity to,

The Wood and this is measured by The

Way. There is more information about The

Way later in these rules, but for now simply

put a ‘1’ in the box on your character sheet.

Names in TfTW could be based on natural

things; plants, insects and so on or upon

the characters physical features or abilities.

Names like Acorn, Bracken, Thistle, Swift-

Paw and Sharp-Ear are all good.


TALES FROM THE WOOD

~ 13 ~

THE PLAYER CREATURES

CREATURE AL CR FI NI ST TO ABILITIES LORES

FROG 3 2 2 3 2(3) 1(2) Hide, Leap & Swim Marsh

GNOME 3 4 2 3 3(5) 4(6) Hide & any two gnome

skills

Wood or Field

HEDGEHOG 3 1 3 2 4(6) 3(5) Tooth & Claw or Inti-

midate

Wood or Field

MOLE

MOUSE 3 1 2 5 1(2) 1(2) Climb & Flee Field, Man or

Wood

RABBIT 3 1 1 3 4(6) 3(5) Flee Field & Tunnel

ROBIN 3 1 2 3 1(2) 1(2) Fly &

Intimidate

Any 2 except Tun-

nel

SHREW 3 1 3 4 1(2) 1(2) Flee &

Tooth & Claw

Wood

SPARROW 3 1 3 3 1(2) 1(2) Fly &

Tooth & Claw

Any one except

Tunnel

SQUIRREL 3 1 2 4 3(5) 2(3) Climb & Leap Wood

TOAD 3 2 2 3 2(3) 1(2) Hide, Swim &

Intimidate

Marsh or River

VOLE 3 1 2 4 2(3) 1(2) Climb & Flee Field & Wood or

Tunnel

WATER

VOLE

3 1 2 3 3(5) 2(3) Swim River & Wood

The Tale: Beyond The Wood Of the region beyond the Meadow I will say little. Suffice to say that the Meadow is bounded by a wall built by Man and beyond that is the Rookery, a line of trees that form a home to masses of evil-hearted rooks and crows, waiting to peck out the eyes of an un-wary fool. This line of trees hides the Farm. I’ll say no more of that other than to mention the dismal sheep and cows who seem to know nothing of The Way and have learned to accept their lot as creatures of Man. Then there is the Hard River bordering The Wood on the other side along which swoop the Roaring Owls, great beasts loosed by Man seemingly to kill or maim any-creature foolish enough to want to cross. Not that I understand why any-creature would want to cross as on the other side are the lands of Man and those creatures bent to Mans’ will. Many suggest that The Bane begins and ends with Mankind and from what I have seen of Man who am I to argue?


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 14 ~

WHAT ARE THE CREATURES LIKE? This is where you learn something about all

of the animals that make good player-

creatures.

Creatures of The Way Although a range of foodstuffs is described

for each creature, most creatures will tend

to have a nibble at almost anything

especially when hungry. Those living near

to Man in particular will have sampled

much of Man’s food waste from rubbish

bins and the like – it often boils down to

what is available. Described in the tables

are the foodstuffs preferred and normally

eaten by the creature.

Likewise enemies are far ranging - and

birds of prey for example will eat most

smaller animals, as will Rat, Fox, Stoat etc.

The enemies described are mainly those

that will prey upon the creature in question

but sometimes they are enemies simply

because they are in competition with each

other.

FROG

Where’s he likely to be found? The marsh

and the pond

What does he like to eat? Insects, slugs

and worms

How big is he? 3-5”

Who are his main enemies? Grass snakes,

foxes, stoats, weasels, adders, rats, owls,

crows and otters

Frog has a short body and long powerful

legs used for leaping and swimming. His

kind varies in colour from yellow to black

and males tend to be darker than females.

Frog likes damp shaded conditions to keep

his warty skin moist.

Frog has a huge appetite and will continue

to eat as long as food continues to be

available. He tends to be active throughout

most of the day.

During the months of April to May Frog and

his kin migrate to spawning ponds,

travelling at night. Frog hibernates during

winter months. When alarmed, which is

often, Frog issues a weird loud shriek.

Frog has a much larger cousin, Marsh Frog

(6-7”) who is more aggressive, less

common, and also eats fish, lizards and

mice.

GNOME

Where is he likely to be found? The Wood

and the meadow

What does he like to eat? Cooked fish,

fruit, nuts, roots and cider


Who are his main enemies? Man

Whilst Gnome looks like a wizened old

man, he does have different-looking

relatives scattered far and wide. These

relatives are called by many names such as

Brownie, Pixie, Sprite, Leprechaun, Knocker

and so on, depending on where they are

from. Whilst they are all essentially the


TALES FROM THE WOOD

~ 15 ~

same, Gnome insists there are differences

and gets very angry at any-creature that

gets it wrong.

Gnome dresses in simple clothing in shades

of brown, green and grey. He has already

lived to a great age, but since he hibernates

often for very long periods of time (1000

years in one known case) he seems

confused at the changes that have

occurred in The Wood since he went to

sleep and is more than a little forgetful.

Gnome is a solitary type and females are

very rare. There are a few of Gnome’s

cousins around The Wood and the

surrounding area, but they aren’t often

seen together. When Gnome does have

visitors, he loves to swap tales and make

merry. Gnome loves drinking, smoking,

drinking, eating, singing, drinking and

dancing. He also likes drinking.

Gnome likes to collect odd bits and pieces

that he finds lying around and may have

some useful bauble or trinket in his home.

He lives in a hollow tree, but some of his

cousins choose to live in small caves,

haylofts or old abandoned animal dens.

Gnomes tend to have names like

Grizzlegruff, Oakfellow, Cloudberry,

Dodderer, Sneezewort, Crimblecromble,

Itchynose and Danglebeard. A very ancient,

unpleasant but famous Gnome was called

Rumplestiltskin.

HEDGEHOG

Where is he likely to be found? The Wood,

hedgerows, meadow and in the field

What does he like to eat? Worms, slugs,

insects, grass snakes and adders


Who are his main enemies? Adders, foxes,

and The Roaring Owl

Hedgehog and his family are amongst the

oldest of The Wood’s inhabitants. Their

ancestry stretches back as long as Gnome

can remember. Hedgehog has other

ancient names too: Hedgepig, Urchin,

Hotchiwichi and Fuzzy Pig.

Hedgehog hibernates over winter months.

He is very tough and his spines are

particularly useful in his battles with his

oldest enemy the adder. Also useful against

the adder are Hedgehog’s powerful jaws

and ‘snagged’ teeth, which help him hold

onto wriggling prey. As if all of that did not

make Hedgehog one of the best fighters

around, his spines also provide excellent

defence against any would-be predator.

Hedgehog is not the quietest of creatures.

He tends to crash through undergrowth

snuffling and snorting as he goes. Although

his diet consists mainly of grubs and

insects, he occasionally eats bird chicks and

eggs as well as carrion and even some small

mammals!

(NOTE: Whenever an attacker rolls a '1' in

Tooth and Claw against a Hedgehog it

receives the equivalent of a ‘nip’ result on

the Wound Results Table (see Tooth &

Claw) against the Hedgehogs spines.


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 16 ~

Hedgehogs' spines act as a kind of armour

(see Tooth & Claw Wound Modifiers Table).

When curled into a ball, to all intents and

purposes the Hedgehog is invulnerable to

Tooth & Claw attack, but is also unable to

move).

MOLE


field, meadow

What does he like to eat? Worms, grubs,

beetles


Who are his main enemies? Owls, foxes,

stoats, weasels and rats

Mole is generally a solitary creature. He has

tiny eyes, and his vision is very poor.

However to make up for this lack, Mole has

an extremely sensitive nose which can pick

up vibrations within his warren of complex

tunnel systems. He has no external ears.

Mole, like Hedgehog and Shrew is an

insectivore. Mole’s family vary greatly in

colouring and albinism is a common feature

amongst his community. Mole’s fur is

velvety, and always lies flat, which is a

great thing for him as he can move both

backwards and forwards in his tunnel

equally well. Mole’s forepaws are

extremely powerful for his body, and his

spade-like paws allow it to tunnel

underground at a very fast rate. Mole is

also very aggressive.

The tunnel systems are really food

collecting areas and the true nest is below

a large mound of earth or so-called

‘fortress’. Close to the nest are deep

permanent tunnels, further out they

become much more shallow.

MOUSE

Where is she likely to be found? The

Wood, field, farm, meadow

What does she like to eat? Corn, seeds,

berries, acorns and nuts.

How big is she? 2-3”

Who are her main enemies? Owls, stoats,

weasels, rats, cats, rooks and crows

Mouse is the smallest rodent in The Wood.

She is a natural acrobat, fast and agile.

Mouse makes a regular winter retreat, but

does not actually hibernate. Over these

winter months, Mouse needs a large store

of food.

The Mouse family is made up of several

different types, who are generally named

for where they live. Harvest Mouse, Field

Mouse, Wood Mouse, House Mouse and

Yellow Necked Mouse. They conform to the

same basic characteristics, although there

are slight size and colour differences.

Mouse makes her nest from shredded

grass and leaves in hedges and sometimes


TALES FROM THE WOOD

~ 17 ~

in the ground. Her friend the House Mouse

makes his in buildings, and often uses

shredded paper or old cloth. In the summer

the Harvest Mouse makes a unique nest

built in the stalks of growing cereal crops,

grasses or reeds.

RABBIT

Where is she likely to be found? Field,

meadow

What does she like to eat? Crops, grass

and wild vegetation


Who are her main enemies? Stoats, foxes,

weasels, Man and disease

Rabbit is a herbivore. She particularly loves

to eat cultivated plants and crops and there

are few she won’t eat. That’s what makes

Man one of her greatest enemies.

A Rabbit bury or warren may house only a

single family or may accommodate a

number of families and cover a

considerable area of land, involving a vast

network of tunnels. There will be bigger

warrens up to 50 entrances and exists.

Rabbit is an active creature especially at

night, although she is often about at dawn

or dusk also. Rabbit is extremely wary and

timid, and will give warnings to her fellows

below ground when danger is present by

thumping the earth with her hind feet.

Her fur is a sandy brown colour, although

some of her friends have other colours

including black. She has long ears (not as

long as Hares’) and large rear feet. Rabbit’s

tail is short and pale or white.

ROBIN

Where is she likely to be found? The

Wood, field, meadow, farm

What does she like to eat? Worms, insects,

grubs, berries


Who are her main enemies? Rooks, crows,

foxes, stoats, adders, weasels and owls

Robin tends to stay well clear of her male

friends during the winter months,

preferring the company of other females.

Her male friends seldom move far from

their own territory anyway. Robin herself

likes to roam further afield, even migrating

on occasions.

Robin has an elaborate display with her red

breast, which forms part of her visual

danger signal to other robins, trying to

enter her territory. She nests in a hollow on

a bank, or in a hedge. Robin normally lays a

clutch of 4-6 eggs in her tidy nest.


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 18 ~

SHREW

Where is he likely to be found? The Wood

What does he like to eat? Insects, worms,

grubs

How big is he? 2-3"

Who are his main enemies? Weasels,

stoats, foxes, rats, and owls

Shrew looks a little bit like Mouse. He has a

pointed snout and a diet that consists of

invertebrates (making him an insectivores).

Shrew is equally active night or day.

Shrew has a mildly toxic bite, which will be

irritating to any-creature bitten by him. He

is also very highly-strung and aggressive.

Shrew’s fellows are the Water Shrew and

the Pygmy Shrew. The Water Shrew is the

largest. The Pygmy Shrew is more likely to

be found in open fields than the other

types.

(NOTE: Toxic bite; Anycreature bitten (and

receiving at least a ‘scratch’ on the Wound

Result Table) by a Shrew that has an equal

or lower Sturdiness will become affected

and suffer a -3 penalty for 2 rounds

following the bite. Creatures with a

Sturdiness of up to twice that of the Shrew

will also be affected for 2 rounds, but only

at -1. Creatures with a higher Sturdiness

will not be affected).

SPARROW

Where is he likely to be found? Wood,

field, farm

What does he like to eat? Worms, insects,

grubs and berries


Who are his main enemies? Rooks, crows,

foxes, stoats, adders, weasels and owls

Sparrow has a brown-streaked upper

plumage, grey crown, and whitish chest.

Sparrow is often found to ‘squabble’ when

he gets together with his fellows and can

be quite aggressive at times, sometimes

mobbing larger birds in small groups to

keep them away.

Sparrow nests in a hole or cavity in a

building or wall, or in tall hedges or ivy and

sometimes his fellows nest in colonies.

Sparrow’s nest itself is large and untidy. Up

to five eggs are usually laid in a clutch.

SQUIRREL

Where is she likely to be found? The Wood

What does she like to eat? Fruit, corn,

nuts, bird eggs and shoots


Who are her main enemies? Stoats,

weasels and foxes

Squirrel is a superb climber of trees and she

can leap quickly from branch to branch

with ease. However she also spends a lot of

her time on the ground, gathering nuts and

berries for storage over winter months.

Squirrel does not truly hibernate.

There are two types of squirrel generally

found in Britain, Red and the much more

common Grey. The Grey is slightly larger,

but the Red tends to be prettier and even

more graceful.


TALES FROM THE WOOD

~ 19 ~

Squirrel is active throughout 24 hours,

especially just after dawn and before

sunset. His nests or ‘drays’ are built in a

tree hole or, more commonly built close to

the trunk or main branch.

TOAD

Where is he likely to be found? Marsh,

pond

What does he like to eat? Insects, slugs

and worms


Who are his main enemies? Grass snakes,

adders, stoats, foxes, and weasels

Toad is just as greedy as Frog. Although

Toad resemble Frog, he tends to crawl

rather than jump or hop with his long hind

legs. Toad is nocturnal, and does not

hibernate in winter.

Toad has an excellent defence -he can puff

up his warty body to appear much larger

than he actually is. Toad’s skin is dry, dull

and warty. Colouration varies greatly

depending on the season, but ranges from

olive to brownish-black.

The Common Toad is the larger of the two

species found in Britain, but the Natterjack

Toad is the noisiest, with his very loud

trilling croak. When he is alarmed he has

the capacity to change colour.

VOLE


field

What does he like to eat? Corn, seeds,

berries, shoots and nuts


Who are his main enemies? Rooks, owls,

stoats, rats, foxes, crows and weasels

Vole is larger than Mouse, which he

otherwise resembles, but he has a rounder

snout, and a shorter tail. There are two

varieties of Vole, Red Vole and Field Vole,

which conform to much the same

characteristics other than different

colouration.

Field Vole has a tendency to burrowing

extensively underground, (Tunnel Lore) and

Red Vole is also called Wood Vole or Bank

Vole. The Bank Vole tends to have a russet

colouration, and his ears are more

prominent than those of a Field Vole, which

tends to have longer shaggier greyish-

brown fur. Litters vary in size from 3-6 and


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 20 ~

there are usually several litters between

spring and autumn.

WATER VOLE Where is he likely to be found? Riverbanks

in The Wood, field and marsh

What does he like to eat? Seeds, corn,

nuts, berries and shoots


Who are his main enemies? Pike, foxes,

stoats and weasels

Water Vole is sometimes referred to as

Water Rat and it is from this name that

‘Ratty’ comes in ‘Wind in the Willows’.

Although he does look a bit like a rat, with

his long tail and course dark fur, Water

Vole has smaller ears and a shorter,

rounder muzzle making him much more

attractive. He is much larger than their

cousins the Red and Field Vole, and he is an

excellent swimmer.

Litters of 4-6 young are born throughout

the summer in their extensive burrows

built into riverbanks, or sometimes on the

surface in dense reed bed.

USING ABILITIES, LORES & SKILLS

There are basically two types of dice roll in

Tales from The Wood - uncontested and

contested rolls.

Uncontested rolls When you try to use one of your Abilities,

Lores or Gnome Skills where the GK

decides that there is a chance that you

could fail, the GK will call for a dice to be

rolled. The type of dice rolled depends

upon whether or not your character

actually has the Ability, Lore or Gnome Skill

in question. If you do, then you roll a d10. If

you do not, then you roll a d6. To the

resulting number, you add the value of the

Governing Attribute for the Ability used.

The GK will determine the Task Difficulty,

which provides a target number, which the

dice roll + Attribute must exceed in order

for your character to succeed well. If the

numbers are equal the success was only

marginal. If the die roll + Trait is lower then

the creature failed.

UNCONTESTED ROLL TABLE

UNCONTESTED

DIFFICULTY

TOTAL OF

DICE ROLL

+ TRAIT

Simple 5

Straightforward 6

Moderate 7

Hard 8

Very Hard 9

Formidable 10


TALES FROM THE WOOD

~ 21 ~

Example: Mouse has fallen into the River

and it flows quite quickly at this point. The

GK assigns a ‘hard’ Task Difficulty, meaning

that Mouse needs to get a total of 8 to be

able to swim to the bank. Mouse has a

Nimbleness of 5 and does not have the

Swim Ability so has to roll a d6 and needs

to get a 3 or more (because she already has

5 from her Nimbleness).

If she gets a 1 or 2 then Mouse is rapidly

getting washed away and desperately

needs help. If she rolls a 3 then Mouse

might make it to the bank but only just. She

would be totally and utterly exhausted and

needs several moments to recover. Whilst

doing so another creature may wander past

and spot her plight.........…

If she rolls higher than a 3, then Mouse

swims ably to the bank, runs up it and

scampers off.

HOW TO DECIDE HOW DIFFICULT

THE TASK IS In uncontested tasks, it is usually better to

let the characters succeed more often than

not. Moderate is therefore the normal

maximum level for most everyday

activities, where you feel a dice roll would

add a bit of drama to the scene.

A hard roll would occur perhaps where bad

weather makes a task trickier or where you

simply want to show the characters what

they are doing is dangerous. Bear in mind

that a creature with only a ‘1’ in a Trait that

doesn’t have the ability in question can

only succeed a hard task by expending a

point of The Way (see later).

Contested rolls Sometimes, especially in confrontations

between animals and during Tooth & Claw

in particular, it is not so much the situation

that presents the obstacle to ability use but

the opposition of another creature. This is

termed a contested roll and is not made on

the above table.

In these situations both or all of the

creatures involved get to make checks. You

need to determine beforehand what is at

stake for the creatures involved. In Tooth &

Claw this is easy, because the loser will

probably be hurt or even killed. In other

confrontations or contests, the stakes may

not be so easy to determine. As long as

each creature has a clear idea of what they

stand to gain or lose, then they make an

appropriate dice roll as usual. The creature

getting the highest total wins the contest.

Example: In our example above, suppose

that Mouse managed to stay afloat by

getting the 8 result she needed. However

the dreaded Pike happens to be about and

spots Mouse on the surface. At stake for

Mouse is being caught and probably eaten.

At stake for the Pike is simply the possibility

of filling his belly. Pike sweeps in on hapless

Mouse. The GK rolls a d10 for the Pike (who

can of course swim) and gets a 6 to add to

the Pikes' Nimbleness of 3 for a total of 9.

Mouse would be wise to try to escape.

Mouse gets to roll a d6 getting a 3, which

added to Mouse's Nimbleness of 5 (for a

total of 8) is not enough. Mouse could

declare that she is using The Way (if she

has not already used all of her points) to

get a total of 9 and just stay out of the

Pike’s reach.


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 22 ~

Hedgehog’s Tale Hedgehog had finished explaining his plan to Mole. Mole emerged from be-neath his paws, which he had placed over his head in exasperation at the sheer stupidity of what he had just heard. "You can't do it" he exclaimed, "it's madness and you'll get yourself killed!" Hedgehog was unmoved. He was going to prove that he was the toughest and bravest creature in The Wood by spend-ing one whole night on the Hard River. “I’d best get going" said Hedgehog fi-nally and, dislodging the pile of leaves in which he and Mole had immersed themselves, set off across the clearing. Mole didn't know what to do. He thought for a while and then decided that running round in circles whilst wailing loudly might be the best bet, so he did. When he had finished, and whilst he lay there panting for a while, it was then that he realised he was being watched. Sniffing at the scent, he was pleased to note the watcher was none other than his friend Squirrel. "I couldn't help but notice that you seem distressed" she said "anything I can do to help?"

Mole calmed a little. Squirrel had that effect on many creatures - something to do with her soft voice large eyes and appealing bushy tail, Oakfellow always says. It's Hedgehog,” blurted out Mole "he's intent on doing something really stu-pid and I haven’t been able to stop him". Mole then proceeded to explain Hedgehogs' plan to Squirrel whose face became graver as the story unfolded. "Oh dear, I saw Hedgehog talking with a couple of those vile weasels from the Tanglebriars only the other day and I would bet a pawful of nuts that they have something to do with this whole business" she said unable to keep the tone of concern from her voice. “You’ll have to go after Hedgehog and try to slow him down” declared Squir-rel, “and I’ll go and get help” she added, as an afterthought. She turned and in one swift movement had bounded up the trunk of the nearest tree and was soon aloft in her own domain up amongst the leaves and branches. Mole started scurrying in the direction taken by Hedgehog, knowing that all the while he closed on his friend he was getting ever closer to the dreaded Hard River of legend, a place he had


TALES FROM THE WOOD

~ 23 ~

always avoided so far, and one which he had no particular desire to visit. Eventually, Mole could see the lumber-ing prickly form of Hedgehog’s rear in the undergrowth ahead. The air at this point was already tainted with the unnatural scent of The Bane from the Hard River, but Mole bravely pushed that to the back of his mind and rushed up to his spiky friend, coughing to attract hedgehog’s attention. "I thought you might get hungry so I brought this for you "indicat-ing the fat juicy worm he had found on the way. He pushed it towards Hedgehog, who promptly gobbled it up with barely a pause, licked his lips, and con-tinued on his way. "I know where there are more like that" tried Mole gamely, realis-ing that his gambit had not really worked as well as he would have hoped. "Too busy” mumbled the rapidly reced-ing form…

TOOTH & CLAW

This is where you learn all about how your

creatures defend themselves against the

creatures of The Bane.

Overview Whilst the Fierceness Trait represents a

creature’s willingness to kill, Tooth & Claw

is the actual fighting aptitude of a creature.

In pretty much all role-playing games, some

form of combat inevitably

occurs, and this provides much

of the excitement of such

games. TfTW is a fight for

survival and fighting occurs

amongst animals just as it

does amongst Man. However,

some of the reasons that

animals fight does tend to

differ from the reasons that

Man fights.

Animals do not tend to kill

wantonly and unnecessarily


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 24 ~

and in fact, except in the cases of predator

verses prey (which tend to be one-sided

affairs), death does not usually result from

Tooth & Claw confrontations. Fighting in

most cases is something to be avoided.

Reasons for fighting Having said that, there are many things

that animals fight over that correspond to

the reasons that Man fought wars

throughout history. Territory is one of the

greatest reasons for fighting amongst both

Men and animals. Animals will guard their

territory and will often attack creatures far

bigger than themselves to protect their

homes and their young.

In mating season, many animals tend to

become aggressive in order to find and

then keep a mate. Some females become

aggressive towards males after they have

mated or after they have borne their

young.

Another very good reason for fighting is

self-defence. Certain predators will hunt

and kill prey without a second thought.

Occasionally the intended prey will fight

back. When fighting for one’s life,

sometimes the intended prey can be very

difficult for a predator to bring down, so it

may be that the hunter goes off to tackle

some-creature a bit easier.

In the fantasy world of The Wood, there is

another reason that sometimes player-

creatures will become involved in conflict.

Creatures of The Way are often performing

quests in defence of The Wood and this

often leads then into the path of their

enemies, the creatures of The Bane. In this

case, there is often little alternative but to

kill or be killed.

Knowing when not to fight Tooth & Claw will not always necessarily be

fatal and will not usually be more than a

brief flurry of activity, before one or other

party flees. Sometimes, the sole purpose of

a fight is to prove which creature is the

stronger (which usually means the first one

to get in a telling blow) and once this has

been proven, the loser will just slink away.

Once an animal has been hurt this will

often be sufficient for it to quit the fight

and attempt to flee. More often than not

the victor will allow his opponent to get

away, having proven himself the stronger

(except of course in the case of a predator

who intended to eat the vanquished).

Mothers with young tend to fight to the

death if protecting their young. Most

smaller creatures will instinctively avoid

getting into Tooth & Claw situations with

larger creatures (although as mentioned

above, player-creatures may tend to have

different motives than ‘normal’ creatures).

How much conflict to include in TfTW It is really down to the GK to regulate how

much Tooth & Claw occurs in her Tale and

perhaps in each possible Tooth & Claw

confrontation give one or two options

other than simply entering into combat.

It has to be borne in mind that the player-

creatures are in the main smaller and less

aggressive (ferocious) than their enemies.


TALES FROM THE WOOD

~ 25 ~

How is Tooth & Claw resolved? Tooth & Claw is carried out in basically the

same way as any other contested Ability

resolution. If the creature has the Tooth &

Claw ability then a d10 is rolled, and if not

then a d6 is used, and the result of the dice

roll added to the Fierceness Trait of the

creature.

FLURRIES The creature with the highest roll, gains the

advantage in that flurry of combat. (Each

flurry is a mad blur of activity where the

creatures are in a tangle of fur, teeth and

claws and where each animal attempts to

land a solid blow or bite and is at most only

about a couple of seconds long).

WOUNDS The creature who wins the round of Tooth

& Claw has managed to get in a telling

blow, bite or scratch. The total by which

the ‘winner’ exceeded the ‘loser’s’ roll is

then added to the Toughness of the

winner. From this number is taken the

Sturdiness of the creature that lost the

round of combat. Any other modifiers from

the Wound Modifiers Table (below) are

taken into account to leave a final number.

This number is referenced against the

Wound Results Table to determine how

badly the loser has been injured, if at all.

Where a creature chooses to escape rather

than stand and fight, the player or GK may

make a Flee roll, rather than Tooth & Claw

roll. If the would be escaper's roll is higher

than the attacker, it is assumed the

creature got into cover, climbed out of

reach, dived into a hole or whatever is

appropriate to get out of the way.

WOUND MODIFIERS TABLE

WOUND RESULTS TABLE

EXPLANATION OF THE RESULTS Nip: The creature is knocked, nicked, or

shaken and maybe even loses some fur, but

no real harm is done. The creature might

treat this as an indicative of the way the

fight is likely to go, and attempt to flee!

Scratch: The creature has been hurt, and is

bleeding. All Ability rolls are made at -1

effectiveness, until healed. If scratched

again, the effects are cumulative so the

creature would be at -2 on all Ability rolls

and -3 if scratched for a third time and so

on.

Maim: The animal is badly hurt. Possibly an

ear has been ripped off or some other

major damage. The animal is at -3

effectiveness on all abilities. Again effects

are cumulative, so a maim result followed

by a scratch becomes -4. Roll on the table

below for the result of the maim

Kill: Exactly that. The GK may allow the

creature to expire slowly and carry out

further actions (non combat) if he is left

alone by his opponent, for a few rounds

but no longer.

MODIFIERS

+ Attacker’s (Victor’s) Toughness

- Defender’s (Loser’s) Sturdiness

+1 For Gnome using a weapon (hurled

stone or a stick)

-1 For Hedgehog’s spines

RESULT WOUND SEVERITY

6 or lower Nip

7-8 Scratch

9-10 Maim

11 or higher Kill


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 26 ~

MAIM RESULTS TABLE

DOES THE LOSER FLEE? If the GK has determined in advance what

the NPC will do if wounded, then don’t

worry about the next bit. However, if you

need a bit of guidance about whether the

wounded creature will stick around,

possibly to suffer more punishment, then

the answer is to roll a dice when one of the

above results is scored against an against

the NPC. The dice used depends on

whether the NPC has the Tooth & Claw

Ability or not, as usual.

To the result add the creature’s Fierceness

in the usual way with the difficulty number

being the wound result total. If the NPC

rolls higher then it may carry on fighting

but if is lower then the NPC will run (or

slink, fly or whatever) off. This rule can also

be used with the ‘kill’ result to see whether

the animal can continue to function, and

for how many flurries before succumbing

to the Great Forest above.

HEALING A scratch will heal in a week and a maim

will heal (apart from the permanent

affects) in one month. This time may be

reduced as a result of First Aid (Gnome

Skill) or Wisdom; Herb Lore. With

successful checks against these Abilities, a

creature will recover a scratch in three days

and a maim in two weeks.

Example of Tooth & Claw: Splash, the water

vole has come across a weasel from The

Tanglebriars on her way to the Meadow to

hunt. Rather than waste an

opportunity for an easy meal, the

weasel attacks the unfortunate

Splash who, perhaps unwisely,

decides to stand his ground.

The weasel attack is rolled by the

GK on a d10 (as weasels have

Tooth & Claw) and to the 2 rolled

is added the Fierceness of the

weasel, which is 4, for a total of 6.

The player rolls a d6 for Splash,

and up comes a 5, which added to

Splash's Fierceness of 2 gives a

total of 7 and is surprisingl,

enough to bite the weasel!

The result of 1 is added to Splash’s

Toughness of 2 for an overall

result of 3.

ROLL INJURY EFFECT

1-4 None No effect

5 Ear -1 Alertness

6 Eye -1 Alertness

7 Nose -1 Alertness

8 Limb -1 Nimbleness

9 Internal -1 Sturdiness

10 Facial +1 Intimidate


TALES FROM THE WOOD

~ 27 ~

Looking at the Severity of Wound Table,

this is below 6, so is simply a nip (even

ignoring the fact that you would need to

deduct the weasel’s Sturdiness of 2, before

applying the result). The GK makes makes

a d10 roll for the weasel to see whether he

sticks around after the shock of getting a

nip from Splash. He already exceeds the

total without the need to roll dice (as he

has Fierceness 4).

Splash is more confident now, so stays in

the fight and both the player and GK roll

dice again. This time, Splash gets a total of

6 and the weasel gets 12. The weasel has

bitten the water vole. The GK adds the

difference between the totals (6) to the

Toughness of the weasel for a total of 10,

and then subtracts Splash's Sturdiness (3)

leaving 7. Looking at the Severity of Wound

Table shows that a scratch has been dealt

by the weasel who, seeing and smelling the

blood, is driven into a frenzy (using a point

of The Bane). The water vole on the other

hand is lucky to still be alive albeit wounded

and now at -1 on any further Ability uses.

The flurries continue in this fashion until

one creature has had enough or one is

injured or killed.

Suppose Splash decides to try to Flee from

the maddened weasel. The player rolls a

d10 (thankfully this is the extra ability the

player chose for Splash at the outset) and

this time adds the creature’s Nimbleness

for a total of 10. She has to subtract 1 from

this total (for the scratch) to give the GK a

target of 9 for the weasel. This time the

weasel fails to bite (the d10 comes up 3)

and Splash safely slips away. The weasel

could however now try to follow by using its

Track ability but the GK decides that he will

continue on to the Meadow, unfortunately

for the rabbits that live there.

THE WAY AND THE BANE

“Do not hurt where holding is enough

Do not wound where hurting is enough

Do not maim where wounding is enough

Do not kill where maiming is enough The greatest creature is one who does

not need to kill”

The Way The Way of The Wood is part ancient

tradition passed down through centuries of

animal life in The Wood and part a natural

affinity with the life energy and vibrancy of

The Wood and its denizens. It has become

a way of life and a way of being. It is a

sense oneness with the environment or

with the natural order of things in The

Wood. Being a Creature of The Way


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 28 ~

doesn’t preclude a creature from eating

other animals and wildlife - far from it. Life

and death is an accepted part of The Way

of The Wood. What it does preclude

though is the urge to kill for the sake of it.

USING THE WAY Creatures of The Way can tap into the spirit

of The Wood and trust to it’s power to

improve their chances of succeeding at

tasks or to do a number of other helpful

things.

Increasing an Ability roll: A creature can

use a point of The Way to add +2 to any

use of a Trait, Ability, Gnome Skill or Lore.

The decision must be made to do this

before the dice is rolled.

Increasing a result: A creature can use a

point of The Way to add to the result after

the dice has been rolled. In this event, the

modifier is +1. This is useful if a roll was

reasonable, but not quite as high as you

would have liked.

Roll dice again: A creature can use a point

to roll a dice again. This is useful if a roll

was the minimum or very nearly the

minimum. If you select this option, you

take the result of the second roll.

Reducing wounds: A wound may be

reduced to the next more favourable

severity level. So a result of kill can be

reduced to a maim by the expenditure of a

point.

Good fortune: A point of The Way can even

be expended to effect a little bit of luck.

Where the narrative of a scene has not

clearly defined a certain piece of

information the player might suggest

something that sounds reasonable and

make that suggestion become fact. Use of

The Way in this manner should be at the

discretion of the other players and the GK

and shouldn’t be to effect major changes in

a scene and can’t be used to change

something that has already been

established as a fact. For example, if the

characters are looking for a disused animal

den to shelter in on during a particularly

bad storm, as long as they are somewhere

where one is likely to be found, one of the

players could use a point of The Way to

describe how he stumbles across and old

badger set behind some concealing

undergrowth. Or a mouse who has failed a

swim check is slowly going under the raging

river can use a point to describe how luckily

a small branch floats by which he can cling

to.

Wisdom: A number of the Wisdom Abilities

require the expenditure of a point of The

Way.

RECOVERING THE WAY Creatures who have used a point or points

of The Way are restored fully at dawn if

they are diurnal (daytime) creatures or at

dusk if they are nocturnal (night time)

creatures. Creatures who are neither can

choose when they always recover their

points.

INCREASING THE WAY Creatures can increase The Way up to a

maximum of 5 points, by spending points in

the same manner that they increase their

traits (increasing The Way to 2 costs 2

points, to increase it again to 3 costs a

further 3 points).

The Bane Creatures of The Bane have lost their

connection with The Way entirely. They no

longer feel the oneness or the spirit of The

Wood. The Bane makes them kill wantonly,

destructively and without reason. What

The Bane is exactly is not entirely certain

but some creatures who choose to

speculate on such things believe that it is


TALES FROM THE WOOD

~ 29 ~

due to the effect of Man and his machines

on the natural order of things. Some

believe that The Bane is simply another

aspect of The Way.

HOW THE BANE WORKS Whenever a Creature of The Bane smells

fresh blood and it has a point of The Bane

left, that point is automatically used to fuel

the creature into a blood lust. The creature

becomes frenzied for three flurries and will

attack any creature in sight. The creature

will always go for a Creature of The Way

first, but if there are none in sight then it

will go for whatever creature is nearby. If

more blood is drawn in those three flurries

and the creature still has The Bane points,

then that fresh blood will fuel a further

frenzy, for three more flurries. This will

continue until no further fresh blood is

drawn, the creature runs out of The Bane

or there are no further creatures nearby to

attack.

RECOVERING THE BANE Creatures who have used a point or points

of The Bane are restored fully at dawn if

they are diurnal (daytime) creatures or at

dusk if they are nocturnal (night time)

creatures. Creatures who are neither can

choose when they always recover their

points.

GAINING BANE Creatures who choose to kill unnecessarily

or commit wanton acts of violence or

destruction against The Wood or its

inhabitants are likely to start to fall towards

The Bane (or their Bane points will increase

still further if they are already creatures of

The Bane).

This game is not really about playing

creatures of The Bane, so the rule here is

really down to the GK to interpret in her

own way. Any player-creature who

commits such acts should get perhaps get a

warning (maybe via Pan or by his own

Animal Lord) and if he continues in this

way, then he should receive a Bane point.

In actual fact, it could make for some good

role-playing having one PC battling against

his darker nature, so do not necessarily

dismiss the idea of player-creatures

suffering The Bane at some point. It just

shouldn’t be the ‘norm’ and it should only

be used to develop some interesting and

searching role-playing experiences. If you

know a player is doing it just to be a

badass, then you probably shouldn’t allow

it to happen.

Creatures with both The Way and The Bane Some creatures have both The Way and

The Bane. In this instance, it depends on

which of the two aspects is the higher.

If The Way is the higher (or they are equal)

The Way keeps The Bane in check. Fresh

blood will interest the creature, especially

if it is hungry, but the creature will not

become frenzied.

However, if The Bane is higher (perhaps the

creature has used a point or two of The

Way), then use the rules for The Bane, until

The Way is equal or higher again.

The Bane cannot be lost once a creature is

affected by it so the only way to keep it

under control is to keep The Way the

higher of the two.


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 30 ~

THE GAMEKEEPER

This is where some extra help can be found

for the person running a game of Tales

from The Wood.

Overview As the Gamekeeper, you have the tough

but rewarding task of bringing all this

information together to create an

interesting and exciting Tale (at least

starting the creation of an interesting Tale,

as your players have to help you too) and

of breathing life into The Wood and its

denizens.

For most role-playing games this may seem

daunting enough, but for TfTW this would

initially appear doubly so. There are no

‘stock’ adventure ideas in TfTW - no

dungeon crawls, no barroom brawls, no

caravan guarding jobs to be had. However,

in a way this forces you to be more creative

and think the adventure through and this in

itself means the players have to also be

more inventive in their play. Just sitting

down and thinking hard about The Wood

and its inhabitants will start to give a

creative GK some simple plot ideas.

Actor, storyteller & director Your job is that of the storyteller, actor,

director and producer all in one. Added to

that you need to be at least familiar with

the game rules. The game rules should not,

however, get in the way of creativity and

the Tale is far more important than any of

the rules in TfTW. Treat the rules more as a

set of guidelines that can be dropped if

they begin to get in the way.

Adversaries In The Wood there are the villains typical in

most other role-playing games, there are

the dangers to be avoided and the other

‘evil’ roles filled by the weasels and stoats

and other Creatures of The Bane. There are

also the sages (Owls and other creatures

with Wisdom), the would be helpers, the

ones with whom careful negotiation must

take place to secure aid if needed -but a

wrong word or misplaced deed and they

can become a deadly enemy. Of course, the

adventurers are the PCs and their friends,

the Creatures of The Way.

Most animals in The Wood are not

‘adventurers’, they merely go about their

daily business of eating, rearing their

young, avoiding being eaten etc. These are

the NPCs (non-player creatures) and their

attributes are essentially taken directly

from the appropriate Creature Table.

Story ideas

Reading the books listed in the introduction

will give you some adventure ideas.

Reading some natural history books will

give further adventure ideas. However, as

the GK you should try to ensure the game

does not start to become a lesson in

natural history. The right balance between

realism and fantasy should be sought. To

help you we have included some

information about The Wood and the

creatures that live there as well as three

Tales, which may be told exactly as they

stand or may be dissected for the bits you

feel, will fit into your own style of play, or

suit the players in your group.

In addition the short stories Hedgehog’s

Tale, and Frog’s Tale have been left

deliberately unfinished in order that you


TALES FROM THE WOOD

~ 31 ~

may use the storyline presented to

commence a simple adventure. The players

create PCs from those presented

(Hedgehog, Mole and Squirrel for example

from Hedgehog’s Tale) and you read the

first part of the narrative. The players then

take up the Tale from there and see how it

unfolds.

Passing time Hours, minutes and seconds are Man

concepts. In TfTW animals do not live by

the human clock but by their biological

clock. This tells them when to wake up, eat,

sleep and mate. The day is split into four

parts Dawn, Day, Dusk and Night. Certain

animals prefer to go about their activities

at certain times of the day. Those who

operate by day are ‘diurnal’, at night

‘nocturnal’ and during dawn or dusk

‘crepuscular ’.

Player creatures do not need to worry

about when they are active. For the

purposes of their quests and adventures,

they are active when they need to be and

they can decide as a group when they eat,

rest and sleep.

You need not keep a slavish record of time

elapsed in TfTW (unless you really want to).

Generally, adventures will take place over

several days and if it is important to know

when things happen, you simply need to

say that it happens at dusk or dawn or

whatever.

On occasion, for example, during a

confrontation, you can handle what is

going on in ‘scenes’. A scene is when

something specific happens. Tooth & Claw,

it may be useful to keep a stricter sense of

time. The concept of flurries (discussed

earlier) can be used in these situations.

A flurry in TfTW is a short period of time (in

human terms a few seconds). Keeping track

of flurries may be useful, for example,

when Mole is trying to dig himself

underground while Fox is rapidly

approaching.

Movement & dis-tance Gnome measurements are generally used

to determine distance, when necessary.

Gnomes are about one-sixth the height of a

Man, so a Gnome mile is about one-sixth of

a Man-mile. A Gnome foot is about 2

inches. A Gnome yard is about six inches.

However, don’t get to hung up on

distances. Creatures do not have set ‘move

rates’ or anything similar in this game. Its

more a question of what’s right for the

story than what’s right in terms of how far

a creature can move in some

predetermined timescale.

During a day a creature may travel a

number of (human) miles equal to its (To +

St)/2. This is the maximum distance

normally possible. Birds may fly treble the

normal range.

During a flurry, movement is based on

Nimbleness. The creature with the highest

Nimbleness moves first and, relatively, the

furthest. E.g. compare Mouse (Ni 5) and a

fox (Ni 3).

Mouse moves much more quickly and

further than Fox in the short space of time

represented by a round, but in a day a Fox

may travel up to 6.5 miles compared to

Mouse who can travel only 1 mile per day.

Remember that one Man mile is equal to

six Gnome miles.


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 32 ~

Animal speech Animals in TfTW do not ‘talk’ as such. Their

method of communication is a series of

gestures, grunts, growls, squeaks, squawks,

caws, hisses, hoots and the like, all of which

together convey the appropriate message.

You may make this language system as

simple or as complex as you like. The

simple method is to say that all animals

‘speak’ the same language. An alternative

would be to say that each species speaks a

different language, so for example, for

Mole to understand and converse with

Mouse he would need to learn ‘Mouse

talk’.

There could be a common tongue (perhaps

invented by Gnome) with each animal

speaking its own language.

Other possibilities are that ‘foreign’ animals

speak a different language, for example an

escaped pet hamster or zoo escapee.

Creatures from other Woods could perhaps

talk differently, or birds could have their

own language, fish another, reptiles

another and so on.

Guns Guns (called Thunderers by those creatures

that are aware of them) kill. It is as simple

as that. If a creature is hit, it dies.

If a creature is trying to get away, it should

get an opposed Flee roll against the GK’s

roll for the Man firing the gun. If it is a

farmer or poacher then it will have the

appropriate skill (roll d10) but if it is a kid

messing about or whatever then it is

unlikely to (roll d6). Man generally has a

Nimbleness of only 1 or 2.

A point of The Way spent may either be

used in the normal way to increase the PCs

chance of escaping or in this case may be

used to reduce the wound from ‘kill’ to

‘maim’.

Cars Called Roaring Owls by the creatures of The

Wood, these horrific beasts, like guns,

simply kill any-creature hit by one. They

travel at great speed along the Hard River,

emitting a horrifying howling sound and

belching out a foul stench that seems to

cling to everything and reeks of The Bane.

As usual, a point of The Way may be used

to reduce any ‘kill’ result to a ‘maim’. Cars

are also highly intimidating, and have a

Fierceness, for intimidation purposes

equivalent to 1 point per 10 mph the car is

travelling. Of course, cars cannot be

intimidated back.

Poisons Creatures of The Wood do not commonly

come across poisonous substances.

Generally Man may use poisons for a

specific purpose (e.g. rat poison) or a

creature with Wisdom; Herb lore may seek

out a naturally growing poisonous plant for

some reason. However they should really

be used in way that is integral to, or

important to, The Tale. You simply need to

know the worst effect that is required of

the poison (e.g. it kills, paralyses, causes

sickness and vomiting etc) and the highest

Sturdiness that the poison will effect, as

well as whether there are any secondary or

weaker effects at a higher Sturdiness.

Example: The GK wants a rat poison in his

Tale and decides that he wants it to kill

ordinary rats. Accordingly he decides that

the effect works on creatures up to 4


TALES FROM THE WOOD

~ 33 ~

Sturdiness. Over this and up to 6

Sturdiness, he decides the effect is to make

the creature violently ill and at -3 on all

Abilities for a whole day. At a Sturdiness of

7 or higher there is no effect. The poison

must be ingested (eaten) and so is placed

in foodstuffs that would appeal to rats. It

might take an Alertness check to spot the

poison on the food, maybe using Man Lore

if the creature has it.

Fire Fire is extremely dangerous to The Wood

and it’s denizens. All creatures (except

Gnomes) are quite naturally terrified of

fire, some believing it is the essence of The

Bane, others believing it is one of Man’s

beasts, and others thinking it is just a mad

ravaging creature, wild and uncontrollable.

Most however are just plain scared of fire.

As the GK it is left up to you whether you

want to create a Tale that will involve a fire

in The Wood, and what ‘rules’ if any, you

will use. It is certainly best left for

individual GK’s to determine what effect

they want by putting something as terrible

as a fire in their Tale in the first place, and

besides, fires follow no rules anyway.

Man There are no stats for Man, because it is

not anticipated that you will include Man in

your Tales for the purpose of bringing them

into combat with the creatures. They may

get into some form of conflict or

confrontation, but they will not fight each

other.

Generally speaking creatures know little of

Man, unless they have Man Lore. So all of

Man’s works will be a complete mystery. In

many cases they will be something to be

afraid of. The Farm and other homes of

Man are terrible places, where even the

dog and cat are under the complete

mastery of Man. Only creatures who are

deranged will go anywhere near Man.

The Tale: The Laws Lord Stag is always aware when The Wood is endangered and on those oc-casions he goes to the Meeting Stone at the centre of the Brightwood. By clash-ing his massive antlers against the Stone, he summons the Lords of all of the other creatures to a Gathering to discuss the threat and what is to be done about it. While the Gathering is in progress, The Truce holds sway for all of the animals in The Wood. Dur-ing The Truce no hunter is able to attack his prey and so even the lowliest mouse is safe for the duration of The Truce. This is one of the most ancient of the Laws, and any creature guilty of breaking The Truce is either banished or slain by his Lord. Banishment is often considered the worse of the two punishments. Once it has been decided and agreed what is to be done about the threat, the Lords return to their own domains (still under the protection of The Truce) and gather their respective fol-lowers to let them know what is expected of them. Sometimes volunteers are chosen to perform duties, to gather information or even, on occasion, ven-ture off on a long trek, depending on the nature of the threat itself. The next time the sun rises or sets, The Truce is over and hunters are able once again to go about their business. Of course, by this stage they are often very hungry...........


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 34 ~

Glossary Animal Lord: Every type of creature is ruled

by a Lord who has gained his position by

the right of The Challenge. Some Lords are

very relaxed with their subjects and others,

particularly those of The Bane, are

tyrannical.

Bane, The: An evil that is opposed to The

Way and seems to be growing, particularly

in the Tanglebriars. It causes creatures to

kill without reason.

Brightwood, The: The main wooded area,

where most of the creatures live and where

the Meeting Stone can be found.

Clearing, The: The location of The Meeting

Stone, where Lord Stag is often found and

where the Gatherings take place.

Challenge, The: The age-old tradition of

rule by combat. The winner of the

Challenge becomes the Lord of his animal

kind.

Deep Pond, The: Where the Pike can often

be found. The place holds a fascination for

Frog and some other creatures, as the

water is cool and refreshing.

Farm: An evil-smelling place where The

Bane seems to be prevalent. Man lives

there, with his slaves the Roaring Dragon,

the cat and dog as well as the sheep, cows

and chickens that he has bent to his will.

Frogmarsh: A dank, dark and misty place

where Frog and other creatures of a furless

type gather to make weird noises at

nighttimes.

Gathering, The: The meeting of the Animal

Lords; where any issues are raised or when

danger threatens.

Hard River, The (Road): Another place

where The Bane is strong. The Roaring Owl

swoops down to kill any unwise creature

that tries to cross.

Man: A creature with only two legs. Most

are terrifying, but some creatures who

know Man better believe there are some

that are not touched by The Bane.

Meadow: A quiet sunny place, where the

rabbits live. It doesn’t provide enough

cover for many creatures of The Wood and

Man comes here too often. However, the

area is covered in holes down which Rabbit

can escape from most predators, especially

those that fly.

Meeting Stone: An ancient dolmen, which

has the quality, when Lord Stag clashes his

antlers against it, of sending reverberations

out across the whole of The Wood. This is

how the Gatherings are called.

Roaring Dragon (Tractor): The horrendous

creature that lives in the Farm and scours

the fields relentlessly to kill any-creature

that gets in its way.

Roaring Owl (Car): Related (surely?) to The

Roaring Dragon. It scours the Hard River for

its prey. Some say there are numerous

Roaring Owls.

Rookery, The: A line of old trees where the

rooks and a few crows gather to work their

evil.

Tanglebriars, The: An old, dark and dense

part of The Wood, where rats, stoats,

adders and other creatures of The Bane

dwell.

Thunderers (shotguns): Dangerous things

that the Man carries around to kill

creatures by the power of The Bane.

Truce, The: During the Gathering and for a

short while afterwards, all creatures are

safe from their predators. However, lately

there have been rumours that some

creatures, strongly tainted by The Bane,

have been ignoring The Truce.

Way (of The Wood), The: The ebb and flow

of life and death, the natural order of

things, the ‘spirit’ or power of The Wood.


TALES FROM THE WOOD

~ 35 ~

Frog’s Tale Big Eyes peered into the gloom. He blinked, gulped and swam forward to where a few twigs and dead leaves floated on the surface of the water and relative safety. The marsh behind him was strangely silent as if all of the frogs he had left behind were listening for sounds of his progress. Up ahead the tall, dark silhouettes of the trees looked both terrifying and magnifi-cent to the humble frog who had never been this close to them before. He watched for a moment and listened to the strange sounds emanating from the direction in which he had to travel. Big Eyes had of course occa-sionally caught the louder cries and squeals that came across to the Frog-marsh from The Wood but what he could hear from this close vantage point filled the poor frog with terror. He blinked and gulped involuntarily. He felt sick. Big Eyes thought briefly about turning around and going back home. That, however, would be too easy and would be an admission of failure and cow-ardice. He would never gain any-creatures’ respect and would never be-come Froglord - something he had always decided he would one day as-pire to. Even the beautiful Greenrush would not look at him ever again if he gave up now and he wouldn’t be able to bear the thought of her with any frog other than himself. Holding onto these thought Big Eyes dived again into the still moonlit wa-ters and with a soft splash and headed for the far bank. The pike was waiting patiently in the reeds at the edge of the pond. He knew that if he waited long enough some-creature would swim past and then it

would be a simple matter of darting from his cover and opening his huge jaws. The pike knew he was the master of the River and the Pond. "Aye, if I could walk I would also be the master of The Wood", he said to himself, a small stream of bubbles drifting away from his gills as he did so. The pike’s massive mouth parted in what might pass for a grin amongst fish-kind as he pictured himself strid-ing gloriously through the trees, all the creatures of The Wood cowering before him in fear. “Even the Stag, oh yes”, he thought, “especially the bloody Stag”. It was probably the fact that the Pike was not quite paying attention that saved Big Eyes’ life. The frog didn't re-alize this himself, of course. He simply saw it that he had had a tussle with the most terrifying creature that had ever lived and survived. Suffice to say that after much thrash-ing and foaming of water and several screams of fright Big Eyes the frog-hero dragged himself up the bank and flopped scared witless and exhausted onto the grass. Very soon he would be-come a Frog-Legend, if he could ever get his wobbly legs working again! The Pike meanwhile, cursed himself inwardly for a fool, but then decided he hadn't fancied frog for supper any-way and settled back into the reeds, there to await another hapless swim-mer-by, almost as quickly forgetting that the frog had ever existed.


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 36 ~

GAMEKEEPER CREATURES

This is where you learn about the animals

that oppose The Way and those that might

help out the PCs or might hinder them in

their adventures.

Creatures of The Bane These creatures are generally those twisted

by The Bane and as such are the deadly

enemies of the player-creatures, who are

all creatures of The Way. Aside from that,

most of these animals tend to find the

smaller Creatures of The Way to be very

tasty and they are often on the top of their

food lists. Creatures of The Bane have at

least 1 point of The Bane. They have no

points of The Way.

ADDERS Where are adders likely to be found?

Wood, Field, Beach

What do adders like to eat? Most small

creatures, carrion, worms

How big is an adder? 24”

An adder’s main enemies are? Hedgehog,

birds of prey, crows, rooks

Britain’s only poisonous snake, adders

prefer dry habitats and hibernate from

October to March/April. Adders are active

throughout the day.

Adders have reddish eyes and a black

tongue, which they use to scent their prey.

Adders tend to be pale grey with black

markings but females are brownish in

colour and tend to be larger than males.

Mating occurs in May or June and there are

violent battles between males over females

at this time. The young, born in egg sacks,

which break immediately, appear in August

or September and number 5-15.

Adders are one of the few reptiles that are

about for 24 hours a day.

Note: When an Adder bite causes at least a

‘scratch’ (see Wound Results Table in Tooth

& Claw section) any smaller or same sizes

creature will die (compare Sturdiness). Up

to twice the size of the adder the effect of

the poison is to become very ill for the

whole day, and all activity is at -3.

BUZZARDS Where are buzzards likely to be found?

Wood, Field

What do buzzards like to eat? Most small

creatures, carrion, worms

How big is a buzzard? 24”

A buzzard’s main enemies are? Man

The buzzard is a majestic bird of prey and

one of the most common. It has a very

large wingspan and is much larger than a

crow. Though variable in pattern, most

buzzards are brown above and creamy

below, with heavy brown spots across the

breast and dark barring on the wings. They

nest in trees and sometimes in craggy cliffs,

and make nests from sticks and stems,

often decorated with fresh sprays of

greenery. They lay a clutch of 2-3 eggs.

CROWS AND ROOKS Where are crows and rooks likely to be

found? Wood, field

What do crows and rooks like to eat?

Insects, worms, grain, carrion, mouse, vole

How big are crows and rooks? 17-19"


TALES FROM THE WOOD

~ 37 ~

A crow or a rook’s main enemies are?

Cats, foxes

A crow is slightly larger than a rook, but

they are otherwise similar. Both have black

plumage and beak, beady eyes and a

fondness for carrion (dead meat). Both are

strong fliers and are aggressive, with evil

reputations, similar to that of their larger

cousin the raven.

Crows are rarely seen in flocks, much more

often seen either singly or in pairs. They

sometimes roost with jackdaws and rooks

most often in woodland.

Rooks on the other hand roost in high

treetops in what is known as a rookery

where an average of 25 nests will be, but

larger rookeries do exist containing up to

2000 nests although this number is very

rare.

FOXES Where are foxes likely to be found? Wood

What do foxes like to eat? Mouse, Vole,

Rat, Hare, Rabbit, Birds, eggs, fish

How big is a fox? 25-30”

A fox’s main enemies are? Man

The fox is Britain’s largest surviving

carnivore, and the terror of The Wood,

with no natural predators but a wide range

of prey. Almost any creature in The Wood

is fair game to cunning the fox.

A fox has reddish fur, with a pale underside

and black on the ears and front of the legs.

The tail is bushy and tipped with white.

Foxes have proven to be extremely

adaptable, many living alongside Man even

though they seem to be enemies. Foxes are

highly vocal animals, often for several

hours after sunset. Sounds include

intermittent high-pitched barks and a

hoarse wailing bark.

A single litter of 4-5 young is born to the

female (called a Vixen) in late March, and

the family groups may stay loosely

together, although the Vixen generally

looks after the cubs.

GRASS SNAKES Where are grass snakes likely to be found?

Wood, Marsh, River bank, Field

What do grass snakes like to eat? Frog,

Toad, newt

How big is a grass snake? 48”

A grass snake’s main enemies are? Stoats,

weasels, rats

The grass snake is Britain’s largest reptile.

There are many different colours and the

upper-side may be black-brown, grey, olive

or reddish. It hibernates from October to

April.

The grass snake prefers open woodland,

grassland, hedgerows, marshy areas and

along riverbanks and pondsides. Never far

from water the grass snake is an excellent

swimmer.

The grass snake does not eat the small

mammals that are so important to adders,


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 38 ~

sticking mainly to eating Frog and Toad as

well as newts. The grass snake hunts

mainly by day.

KESTRELS

Where are kestrels likely to be found?

Field

What do kestrels like to eat? Mouse, Vole,

Sparrow, Robin, beetles, worms

How big is a kestrel? 12-14”

A kestrel’s main enemies are? Man

The Kestrel is the most common bird of

prey over most of Britain. Its most frequent

habit is that of hovering, as if hanging on a

string, its wings beating rapidly or flickering

lightly according to changes in the wind.

Kestrels have long slender wings and tail,

and often hunt their prey by the side of the

road (Hard River). They nest in old crow’s

nests, in cavities in trees, barns or other

buildings.

PIKE

Where are pike likely to be found? River,

Deep Pond

What do pike like to eat? Fish, water vole,

baby swans

How big is a pike? Ask a fisherman

A pike’s main enemies are? Man, otters,

mink

Pike are enormous and dangerous

predatory fish. They have long bodies of

mottled colouration.

Pike wait amongst rushes and reeds, where

their mottling makes good camouflage and

then they make a sudden dash to clamp

their prey in their massive jaws. Almost any

small creature finding itself in the River is

fair game for the monstrous pike.

RATS

Where are rats likely to be found? Almost

anywhere

What do rats like to eat? Almost anything

How big is a rat? 9-12”

A rat’s main enemies are? Large birds of

prey, foxes, cats, stoats

Brown rats tend to be larger than the black

rats, but otherwise the two types conform

to the same basic characteristics. Brown

rats are much the more common of the

two and have a more aggressive nature.

They have course fur of colour appropriate

to their names, although there is a little

colour variation and they have long, thick,

scaly, almost naked tails.

Rats are prolific breeders, are adaptable to

almost any kind of habitat, often found in

Man habitations, will eat almost anything

and are carriers of all kinds of diseases

because of the abundance of lice and fleas

they carry.

Gestation takes only 10 days and litters can

number up to 10, so it is easy to see why


TALES FROM THE WOOD

~ 39 ~

rumours of rats in The Wood sends shivers

down the spines of every-creature.

STOATS

Where are stoats likely to be found?

Wood, Field

What do stoats like to eat? Mouse, vole,

rabbit, hare, rat, robin, sparrow, mole, eggs

How big is a stoat? 12”

A stoat’s main enemies are? Foxes, birds of

prey

Often referred to as Hob, the word Stoat

actually means bold and this is certainly

true of this sleek predator.

Stoats use their intimidatory ability to the

full when hunting Rabbit and Hare, which

are much larger than themselves, to

paralyse them with fear before pouncing

for the kill.

Stoats have a dull brown coat with white

breast and a black tip to their long tails. In

the winter months the stoat’s coat may

turn entirely white except for the black tail

tip. The stoat’s body is long and slim.

The breeding nest may be in a litter filled

ditch, niche in a stone wall, under a hedge

or occasionally in rabbit warrens. The

young are born in April or May and the

litter numbers 6-12.

WEASELS

Where are weasels likely to be found?

Wood, Field

What do weasels like to eat? Mouse, vole,

rabbit, mole, sparrow, robin, eggs

How big is a weasel? 8”

A weasel’s main enemies are? Foxes, birds

of prey

Also known as Kine, weasels have a vicious

bite and are related to stoats, as well as to

badgers, mink, polecats, otters, pine

martens and ferrets. All are carnivorous,

and many have a bloodthirsty streak. Like

stoats, weasels have a light breast and

under belly but they have shorter tails with

no black tip and are much smaller. In fact

weasels are Britain’s smallest carnivores.

They rest in burrows taken from other

species or in crevices in walls but do not

have permanent dens, except for breeding.

Young are born from April to May and a

litter numbers 4-6.

Other Creatures of The Wood These creatures are all normally non-player

creatures. If truth be told, they are all

probably Creatures of The Way rather than

The Bane but tend either to have their own

agendas or concerns and therefore cannot

become too involved in the smaller

concerns of the player-creatures.

Alternatively, they are big enough to push

the player-creatures around and get them

to do the tasks and errands that are

required to keep The Bane in check.

The GK may however allow players to

choose from these animals if she wishes.

Be warned though, part of the fun and

excitement of TfTW is due to the fact that

the creatures the players get to choose

from are largely much weaker than the

others and therefore the fight for survival

relies more upon exceptional role-play and

less on the ‘let's fight it out again’ attitude

of other role-playing games.

These creatures have points in both The

Way and in The Bane. As long as they have


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 40 ~

at least equal points in The Way as they do

of The Bane, then they can keep their Bane

in check. However, if they have fewer

points in The Way their Bane takes over.

(See the chapter headed The Way and The

Bane for further information about this).

BADGERS

Where are badgers likely to be found?

Wood

What do badgers like to eat? Mouse, vole,

frog, snails, fruit, nuts, worms

How big is a badger? 26 -32”

A badger’s main enemies are? Man

Badger is amongst the largest and most

powerful of the creatures of The Wood.

Badger has strong legs and claws as well as

powerful jaws. It has a coat of stiff short

hairs, which are whitish with a black bend

behind the tip giving Badger a grey

appearance. Badger has a white head with

a black stripe over ear and eye.

Badger is essentially a nocturnal animal. He

is cousin to Weasel, Stoat and Otter but

prefers to eat 'easier' foodstuffs such as

windfall apples worms and blackberries

than do his more bloodthirsty relatives.

Badger lives in a network of underground

chambers and tunnels called a set and is a

sociable creature tending to live in groups.

Successive generations may continue to

occupy and enlarge the set. Mating takes

place in spring, but the young are not born

until the following year. The litter normally

consists of up to four young.

Badger has many other names such as

Grey-Pate, Bawsin, Brock and Baget

DEER

Where are deer likely to be found? Wood

What do deer like to eat? Grass, heather,

moss

How big is a deer? 48” (at shoulder)

A deer’s main enemies are? Man

Deer are herbivorous, and chewing animals

related to cattle and sheep (though they

will not thank you for reminding them of

this). They need to eat large volumes of

vegetation and whilst feeding are vulnera-

ble to predators (although only Man

remains as a hunter of Deer in Britain), so

have the habit of eating quickly then retir-

ing to the safety of thick cover, where food

is regurgitated and eaten at leisure.

Most species of deer sport antlers, but only

the male of the species. Dealt with here is

the (native) Red Deer, but also native to

Britain is the smaller Roe Deer. The stags

(males) are at their most aggressive in the

rutting season (September). Each stag will

have a 'harem' of about 15 females.

Stag is the most noble of all creatures in

TFTW. He is usually the Lord of The Wood,

and most sensible creatures will take notice

of what he says.

HARES

Where are hares likely to be found?

Mountain, Field


TALES FROM THE WOOD

~ 41 ~

What do hares like to eat? Grass, leaves,

shoots

How big is a hare? 19-24”

A hare’s main enemies are? Foxes, stoats

Hares are distinguished easily from Rabbit -

they are larger, have longer rear legs, long-

er ears and do not burrow. The hare is

much more solitary than Rabbit, and can

often outrun or outmaneuver most preda-

tors. The hare has powerful back legs with

which he can leap astounding distances, or

deliver nasty blows to would-be attackers.

He also bites and scratches.

Mountain hares are smaller than their low-

land counterparts and have shorter ears

and legs. Mountain hares have blue/grey

fur tending towards white in winter, whe-

reas brown hares have (surprisingly) brown

fur. Hare is also known as Puss, Sarah or

Grass Cat.

Hares are mainly active at dusk and at night

although sometimes in the spring they may

gather in small groups during the daytime

when the pre-mating ‘boxing matches’ and

chases take place.

Hares breed and shelter in a small surface

scrape known as a ‘form’. The young are

called leverets. The mountain hare some-

times dig small burrows or take over old

rabbit warrens.

LIZARDS

Where are lizards likely to be found?

Wood, field

What do lizards like to eat? Worms, grubs,

insects

How big is a lizard? 5-7”

A lizard’s main enemies are? Crows, ke-

strels, foxes.

Like snakes, lizards are reptiles and, also

like snakes they have a scaly skin. They love

the warmth, seeking sheltered, sunny posi-

tions. They have to hibernate over the

winter months. On the upper side, Lizards

are grey-brown or red-brown in colour,

broken by pale or dark spots. On their sides

are rows of yellow, white and sometimes

black spots.

Lizards are quite good climbers and can

swim very well. Sand lizards are bigger than

common lizards. Slow worms are also li-

zards but, like snakes, have no legs and are

by far the largest, being up to 20” long.

NEWTS

Where are newts likely to be found?

Marsh, Pond

What do newts like to eat? Grubs, snails,

worms, tadpoles, insects and even other

newts

How big is a newt? 3-5”

A newt’s main enemies are? Crows, ke-

strels, foxes

Newts can be mistaken for lizards, though

they are not reptiles but amphibians, like

Frog and Toad. They have a long slender

body with a short head and long tail. The

skin is very thin. Crested (or ‘Warty’) newts

are far bigger than their common cousins

and their skin produces an irritating secre-

tion to keep predators away.

OTTERS Where are otters likely to be found? River

What do otters like to eat? Fish, eel, Frog,

Toad

How big is an otter? 30”

An otter’s main enemies are? Pike, mink

The Otter is cousin to the badger as well as

the stoat and weasel. They have sleek

streamlined bodies (excellent for swim-


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 42 ~

ming) and usually have brown fur. Their fur

serves to trap air to their bodies when they

dive below water to keep them warm. In

some cases, otters live close to the sea, and

swim as easily off the sea coast as do fresh

water otters inland (these otters would

have Beach Lore rather than River Lore).

Otters are able to track, using their whisk-

ers to pick underwater vibrations.

Otters normally live solitary lives, apart

from the breeding period, usually late win-

ter or early spring. After a gestation period

of 9 weeks 2-5 cubs are born and it is 2-3

months before they are able to swim.

Mink are alien to Britain, but having been

introduced are becoming a pest, and cer-

tainly competition to otters.

OWLS

Where are owls likely to be found? Wood,

field, farm

What do owls like to eat? Small animals

and small birds

How big is an owl? 14-16”

An owl’s main enemies are? Larger birds of

prey, fox

Owls hunt at night (the Short Eared Owl

does most of its hunting in daylight). Owls

are extremely effective predators. They

have excellent hearing, which they use to

follow their prey before striking.

Most owls live in the woodland, but Barn

Owls tend to live in disused farm buildings

(hence the name). Long Eared Owls tend to

live in deeper woodland so that they can

also range over the fields. Short Eared Owls

sometimes visit coastal marshes. Other

owls are the Little Owl and probably the

commonest owl, the Tawny Owl.

SWANS

Where are swans likely to be found? Pond,

river

What do swans like to eat? Water plants

How big is a swan? 48 - 60”

A swan’s main enemies are? Pike

The Mute Swan is native to Britain. Others

migrate into Britain during winter months,

from colder climates - Arctic Russia and

Iceland, where they take residence on

streams, rivers, ponds and lakes across the

country.

They are extremely large white birds that

honk and hiss (if their size is not enough) to

drive off intruders. They have orange and

black, or yellow and black bills and are oth-

erwise essentially white, although young

have brown plumage at first. They nest

near water or in emergent vegetation and

lay 5-7 large eggs in a huge pile of leaves,

stems and roots.


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 43 ~

CREATURES OF THE BANE

CREATURE

AL

CR

FI

NI

ST

T0

ABILITIES

LORES

ADDER 3 2 3 3 4(6) 2 (3) Hide and

Tooth & Claw

Wood, Field

or Beach

BUZZARD 3 2 4 2 8(12) 6 (9) Fly and

Tooth & Claw

Wood

CROW/ROOK 3 2 3 2 5 (8) 4 (6) Fly and

Tooth & Claw

Man and any

other (not

Tunnel)

FOX 3 3 3 3 9(11) 6 (9) Track and

Tooth & Claw,

Wood

GRASS

SNAKE

3 2 3 3 6 (9) 3 (5) Hide, Intimidate, Tooth

& Claw and Swim

Wood, Field

or Tunnel

KESTREL 3 2 4 4 5 (8) 4 (6) Fly and

Tooth & Claw

Field

PIKE 3 1 3 3 7(11) 7(11) Hide, Swim and

Intimidate

River

RAT 3 2 3 3 4 (6) 3 (5) Climb and

Tooth & Claw

Man and any

one other

STOAT 4 2 4 3 4 6) 4 (6) Climb, Track, Intimi-

date and

Tooth & Claw

Wood, Field

or Tunnel

WEASEL 4 2 4 4 2 (3) 2 (3) Climb, Track

Intimidate and Tooth &

Claw

Wood, Field

or Tunnel


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 44 ~

OTHER CREATURES OF THE WOOD

CREATURE AL CR FI NI ST T0 ABILITIES LORES

BADGER 3 2 3 2 8 (12) 8 (12) Tooth & Claw Wood and

Tunnel

DEER 3 2 2 3 14 (21) 14 (21) Wood and

Man

HARE 3 2 2 3 6 (9) 5 (8) Flee or

Tooth & Claw

Field, Wood or

Mountain

LIZARD 3 2 2 3 2 (3) 2 (3) Hide, Climb, Swim Wood and

Field

NEWT 3 2 2 2 1 (2) 2 (3) Hide, Swim Marsh and

Wood

OTTER 3 2 3 3 7 (11) 6 (9) Swim, Track,

Tooth & Claw

River

OWL 3 5 4 3 5 (8) 4 (6) Fly and

Tooth & Claw

Wood, Wis-

dom and any

one except

tunnel

SWAN 3 2 2 3 10 (15) 8 (12) Fly, Swim River and any

one other

except tunnel


TALES FROM THE WOOD

~ 45 ~

Designing more creatures

There are many different species and varie-

ties of animals, not touched upon in these

rules. In particular amongst the bird king-

dom there are hundreds of types of bird

that either visit these shores or reside here

– magpies, jackdaws, cuckoos, thrushes,

blackbirds, starlings, kingfishers, wood-

peckers, tits, herons, hawks, jays, swallows,

to name just a few.

It is impossible to print stats for every one

in this game. All we have done is give the

flavour of the game and if other creatures

are required, where no rules exist, then the

following chapter is intended to be of help.

You should be able to design a set of stats

for whatever creature you need in your

campaign using existing animals as a guide

and of course referring to appropriate ref-

erence works. A player may particularly

want to play his favourite creature, for in-

stance a Bat, and provided the GK is happy

to do so, these rules will help in the design

of the basic creature.

Sometimes the GK will require a specific

animal for a scenario; a Wallaby for in-

stance (which, from escaped stock are now

firmly established in parts of Britain) or an

escaped pet hamster or guinea pig. One of

the scenarios at the back of this book

shows how a newly designed animal can be

used for a specific scenario idea.

RESEARCH YOUR CREATURE The first thing to do when designing the

characteristics for any new animal is to

read at least one good reference book

about that particular animal (it is prefera-

ble to read more than one, as well as

watching any nature programs that are on

TV about the animal). Make notes about

the animal (especially its size, food, habitat,

life-span, enemies etc). Once you have a

good basic feel for the animal compare

what is said about it, to animals already

described in these rules. You can use the

animals in these rules as a good guide to

the one you are designing.

WHAT TRAITS DO I GIVE IT? You should normally start with the crea-

ture’s Traits. For player-creatures these

tend to be in the range of about 13 to 16 or

so in total across the six Traits.

Alertness: This Trait is around 3 for most

creatures. There tends to be the least vari-

ation in this Trait, as predators need to be

able to find, hear or scent their prey and

animals near the lower end of the food

chain need to be aware of hunters in the

vicinity. A large number of creatures have a

limited ability in one of their senses but

invariably make up for the lack in having

heightened ability in another sense, such as

Mole, who has poor eyesight but excep-

tional ‘touch’ (hairs on his sensitive nose).

Craftiness: Craftiness is 1 for the smaller

animals or herbivores etc. Carnivores tend

to be more cunning as they have to catch

wary prey. Animals that live longer also

develop more cunning and are likely to

have a greater Craftiness. Few animals ex-

ceed 3.

Fierceness: Similarly this Trait tends to be

greater amongst predators than amongst

their prey. Some creatures can be particu-

larly nasty fighters for their life or when

defending their young. However here we

are talking about ferociousness in ‘normal’

situations. Fierceness is 1 amongst simple,

often domesticated, animals (cattle, sheep


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 46 ~

etc) and 2 for other non-predators. 3 or

higher is the level for hunters and killers. If

the creature is not noted for being particu-

larly powerful or it has a weak build, then

the value may be reduced by 1. Toughness

and Sturdiness will generally be within a

point or two of each other. These

attributes may be improved by up to half

again of their initial starting values with

points awarded by the GK after the suc-

cessful completion of adventures. This

represents growth of the animal beyond

average size and general toughening up

due to experience but not to unrealistic

heights.

Nimbleness: If a creature is small, it is likely

to be nimble. If a creature is noted for its

climbing ability (e.g. Squirrel) it again is

likely to be nimble. The average will be

about 3. Many animals are recorded as

being agile so be careful before making

your creature into a super-nimble acrobat,

only go above 3 if the creature is excep-

tionally so. Mouse has about the highest

nimbleness at 5, so starting values will not

normally be higher than this.

Sturdiness: You need to compare the ani-

mal’s actual size in inches on the table (do

not include the

tail in the ani-

mal’s length).

The length of

the animal will

be an indicator

of its Sturdi-

ness. Basically,

the score de-

rived from the

table will give

its Sturdiness

Trait. Howev-

er, if the

animal is par-

ticularly noted for its tough pelt or its resis-

tance to toxins etc (like the Hedgehog) you

then add 1 to the basic Sturdiness value.

Toughness: Toughness starts at the same

value as the creature’s (unmodified) Stur-

diness. If the animal is noted for

particularly powerful claws or limbs (such

as Mole’s forepaws), or can deliver hor-

rendous bites, or has a strong or stocky

build, then possibly add 1 to the starting

point.

WHAT ABILITIES SHOULD IT HAVE? Whatever the creature is good at becomes

an Ability in TfTW. Again, exercise caution

here. Just about all creatures can stay af-

loat and paddle to the bank when tossed

into water, but many wouldn’t choose to

go for a swim, for example. You need to

come up with around two or three abilities.

If the creature has a high total for his Traits,

then he might only have one Ability.

HOW ABOUT LORES? Wherever a creature is normally found be-

comes a Lore. Some will have more than

one Lore or a choice of Lores, because they

range far and wide (birds) or because they

have a specialist Lore (Mole).

FINISHING TOUCHES If your final creature has Traits adding up

to somewhere between 13 and 16, two or

three Abilities and a Lore or two, then you

are probably somewhere near the mark.

Compare your finished version to the other

creatures of the same type. If it doesn’t

look out of place, then you more than likely

have it. Be careful. Don’t listen to every-

thing your player says about a creature if

he wants you to design his favourite for

him. Do your own research and make sure

you stay within these guidelines.

CREATURE

SIZE

STURDINESS

1-3” 1

4-6” 2

7-9” 3

10-12” 4

13-18” 5

19-24” 6

25-30” 7

31-36” 8

37-42” 9

43-48” 10

+6” +1


TALES FROM THE WOOD

~ 47 ~

BEWARE Something else to be wary of when design-

ing the characteristics of a new creature is

that you will often find reference works

that cite examples of animals performing

extraordinary feats outside of what would

seem typical for the creature in question.

Treat such references with

a degree of care and where

the example quoted is

clearly out of the ordinary

then ignore it, or consider

it more in the terms that

this creature was no ordi-

nary example of the animal

and represents a more

unusual one, maybe even a

player-creature!

EXAMPLE: DESIGNING A BAT

A player is particularly keen to play a Bat

character and has convinced the kind GK to

allow her to play one since it is well within

keeping with the game, and should be an

easy one to integrate into the Tale. Reading

some books about bats, the GK sees that

there are rather a few species of bat in the

world -about 900 in all. There are however

only 18 types in Britain and the following

seems about standard.

Bat is a small flying mammal that lives on

insects. Bat has virtually useless eyes; how-

ever this is more than made up for by

‘sonar’. Bat relies upon sound impulses,

which she emits and then detects the re-

bound with her expanded ears, after the

sound waves bounce off an object. Bat has

inferior flight to birds -the wing membrane

does not repair well when damaged. Bat is

also virtually useless when on the ground

because she has had to sacrifice the use of

her hind legs. She does however cling well

onto vertical surfaces.

Bat is about the size of Mouse making her

Sturdiness 1 (1 -3" on the table). There is

nothing to suggest Bat is particularly strong

so Toughness is also 1 (indeed there are

grounds for reducing Toughness, but noth-

ing should start lower than 1). Nimbleness

should be 2 as Bat is next

to helpless on the ground,

and not as agile as a bird

in flight. As a predator

(albeit of insects) Crafti-

ness is 2, and equally her

Fierceness should be 2.

Bat does however have

an excellent Alertness

with her sonar and ex-

panded ears so there are

certainly grounds for giv-

ing her a 4 in Alertness.

This gives a Trait total of 13, which is fine

for a PC.

With regard to her Abilities, Bat naturally

gets Fly and a choice of any Lore. Track

(using sonar) becomes the last Ability of

Bat, making her a well-rounded creature fit

for adventure once the player has spent 5

points to increase attributes or buy a new

ability.

CREATURE POINTS TOTALS Some role-playing games require some sort

of game ‘balance’, where characters start

off equal. TfTW isn’t about that; it’s about

what makes for an interesting story. If a

player wants to simply play the most po-

werful character then this may not be the

game for that player.

However, if you really want to look at some

sort of system for determining which crea-

ture is the strongest then this may interest

you. (The animals were not created using

this system; I hasten to add, it simply

worked out this way after we had already


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 48 ~

designed the creatures based on the

framework presented previously).

First of all, each Trait costs a number of

points equal to the next level, so a Trait of

1 costs 1, to get that trait to 2 costs 3

points (1+2 =3) and so on.

TRAIT COSTS

So, for example Frog’s Traits cost a total of

22 points (1+3+6+3+3+6).

Each new Ability, Lore or Skill costs 5

points. Wisdom costs 10. Arguably Fly

should cost 10 points too. Things like Hed-

gehog’s spines and an adder’s venom also

cost 5 points each.

So Frog has three Abilities and a Lore for a

total cost 4x5=20. Combined with his Traits

the point cost of Frog is 42.

Remarkably, all the player-creatures, apart

from Gnome (who is a special case) fall

within the range 40 to 45 points in the

main, using this system. You could use this

system if you like, to ensure any new crea-

ture that you design for player-characters is

balanced compared to the others.

Here are the point costs for all of The Crea-

tures of The Way:

Here are the point costs for the Creatures

of The Bane:

CREATURE COST

BAT 41

FROG 42

GNOME 61

HEDGEHOG 47

MOLE 40

MOUSE 42

RABBIT 45

ROBIN 43

SHREW 45

SPARROW 41

SQUIRREL 42

TOAD 44

VOLE 40

WATER VOLE 41

TRAIT COST

1 1

2 3

3 6

4 10

5 15

6 21

7 28

8 35

9 44

10 54

CREATURE COST

ADDER 54

BUZZARD 98

CROW/ROOK 68

FOX 116

GRASS SNAKE 73

KESTREL 74

PIKE 95

RAT 59

STOAT 74

WEASEL 64


TALES FROM THE WOOD

~ 49 ~

Here are the point costs for the other crea-

tures of The Wood:

Experience from adventures

This is where you learn how your character

gets tougher as he survives his adventures.

EXPERIENCE POINTS In most role-playing games there are re-

wards available for the characters for

succeeding in their quests and adventures.

In TfTW, the rewards come in the form of

additional character or ‘experience’ points

that can be spent in the same way as the

five points available when creating a cha-

racter. See the following table:

EXPERIENCE AWARD TABLE

Notes:

* For the Toughness and Sturdiness Traits,

there is a maximum level dependent upon

the creature type.

** For The Way, the maximum is 5.

HOW MANY POINTS TO AWARD

This really depends on the GK and how

quickly she wants the characters in her Tale

to advance. I suggest around 3-5 points per

completed adventure, maybe with 1 or 2

additional points if the characters did spec-

tacularly well or overcame a particularly

dangerous adversary.

You could even award points based upon

the enemies encountered, using the tables

on page 40. For example, you could say

that 10% of the points cost for the animal

(round down) is earned as experience, to

be divided amongst the player-creatures,

for defeating or overcoming the animal (so

an adder would be worth 5 points and a fox

would be worth 11).

Animal Lords There is a Lord for each type of animal in

The Wood, except Gnome. The Lord is the

only one entitled to speak to Lord Stag at

Gatherings and it is the Lords who decide

what should be done in times of peril.

Animal Lords demand respect and, if they

don’t already have it, gain Intimidate for

free. If they do already have it, they gain a

bonus of +1 on any Intimidate checks they

make. Animal Lords have other advantages

and privileges, depending on the type of

animal they are.

To become an Animal Lord is as simple as

making a challenging to the current Lord.

An animal can only challenge a Lord of the

same type. There is only ever one Animal

CREATURE COST

BADGER 103

DEER 236

HARE 64

LIZARD 49

NEWT 36

OTTER 89

OWL 97

SWAN 132

CHARACTERISTIC POINTS NEEDED

TRAIT* EQUAL TO THE

NEW LEVEL

NEW ABILITY 5

NEW LORE 5

NEW GNOME SKILL 5

WISDOM 10

THE WAY** EQUAL TO THE

NEW LEVEL


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 50 ~

Lord of each type in The Wood. The chal-

lenge is always to the death.

An Animal Lord almost always has maxi-

mum Toughness and Sturdiness, Tooth &

Claw Ability and a higher than normal

Fierceness. They will certainly have The

Way (or The Bane) at 2 or higher. They are

hard to defeat, which is how they got to be

Lord in the first place.

There is nothing stopping player-creatures

issuing The Challenge, but they need to

have gained quite a few experience points

before even thinking about it.

THREE TALES FROM THE WOOD

Here you have three adventures to get you

straight into your game.

Oakfellow and the Gypsies

OVERVIEW FOR THE GK A small group of gypsies have set up their

camp in The Wood. One of the gypsies,

‘The Old Mother’ had heard tales of a ‘Little

Man’ in these woods and had set her son

the task of finding and capturing it. After

several patient days searching, the son Or-

lando, found Oakfellow’s tree-den and set

a trap for him. The trap worked and soon

poor Oakfellow found himself in a cage in

one of the gypsy caravans. The simple idea

of this scenario is that the PCs must find

out what has happened to Oakfellow and

then make a daring rescue attempt.

OAKFELLOW’S DISAPPEARANCE How the PCs find out that Oakfellow is

gone is up to you and your group. If there is

a Gnome in your group or if one of the PCs

is friendly with Oakfellow, then he could

discover that Oakfellow’s home is empty

and doesn’t appear to have been lived in

for a few days. If not, it could simply be

noted by one of the Animal Lord’s (of the

same type of creature as one of the PCs)

that Oakfellow didn’t attend a recent Ga-

thering (he never misses a Gathering) and

that Lord will ask his fellow to investigate.

Else, the whole group could be together for

some reason and stumble upon Oakfel-

low’s tree, and discover that there are signs

of a disturbance in the vicinity.


TALES FROM THE WOOD

~ 51 ~

NOSING AROUND The PCs may want to look around Oakfel-

low’s tree-den or the immediate area

around the oak tree for clues. What they

find is very disturbing. The den hasn’t ap-

parently been occupied for a few days

although it has signs of interrupted use

(half-eaten food and so on).

Outside the den, characters can find signs

of trampled grass, snapped twigs and

branches and so on. Also, with a

straightforward Awareness check, an odd

thing can be found squashed into the soil.

It defies description to those who fail their

moderate Man Lore check, other than it

isn’t large and it smells of The Bane.

Those who succeed, realise it’s something

that men use to prove to animals that they

have tamed fire (it’s a cigarette end). There

is a comparatively easy trail of Man paw-

prints leading away from Oakfellow’s den,

in the direction of The Hard River.

AN UNWELCOME MEETING At the edge of the gypsy encampment

(which is located near where the Hard River

crosses The River (i.e. near the bridge)) the

PCs will come across a small group of forag-

ing rats (in numbers, have one rat for every

PC in the group). They have come from

across the Hard River seeking food, which

seems to be in abundance here. They are

just planning how to get at it when the PCs

stumble into them.

The way you play this encounter is up to

you. If the PCs had sent ahead a scout (say

a bird or a mouse) then the scout might

spot the rats without being noticed and

report back to the group. In this case the

group might avoid the rats altogether, at

this stage.

If the group bumps into the rats as a whole,

the rats will become interested in what the

PCs are up to and will ask questions. They

will be tight-lipped about what they are up

to themselves. They could be intimidated

to go away, if there is a PC in the group

scary enough to do that. The rats are not

particularly brave, but they will hang

around a short distance away to keep an

eye on things.

However, the rats have been here a while

and they do have information. They saw

The Man (Orlando) and saw him take a sack

with something moving inside it into one of

the caravans and, when he came out, the

sack was empty (the rats have Man Lore).

They won’t pass on the information about

which caravan it was very readily or with-

out something in return.

WHAT DO THE RATS WANT? There is a dog in the camp that appears to

be a trained ratter. They need a diversion,

so that they can make a dash for the food

(which is actually in the ‘discard pile’ near

the edge of the camp, close to where the

rats have been lurking. The dog can be

seen not far from the pile (which smells

foully, but hey, that’s rats for you).

In fact the dog is tethered and can’t quite

reach the pile, so if the PCs are crafty

enough and scout the position out, they

will be able to deal with this part with little

danger.

THE HORSES There are some horses tethered nearby,

again at the edge of the trees so these are

approachable without having to leave the

cover of the undergrowth. They are rea-

sonably talkative for beasts enslaved to

Man, although they are not much interest-


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 52 ~

ed in what goes on in the encampment.

They do explain that the gypsies are gener-

ally animal friends, except the one who

owns the dog. He is cruel to his dog and to

the horses. This man is of course Orlando.

FINDING OAKFELLOW The PCs cannot see Oakfellow out in the

open. That means he is likely to be inside

one of the caravans. If they haven’t found

out from the rats which one it is and one of

the PCs has Wisdom, he could find out that

way. Otherwise, they will have to scout

around inside the encampment a little. If

they are not sneaky enough (use Hide) they

might set the dog off. He is a ferocious little

terrier. The dog is tethered near to the ca-

ravan where Oakfellow is being held.

GETTING INSIDE Characters could go in through the window

if they are capable of flying or up the steps

and through the door if they have to rely

on their paws. They have to negotiate the

dog too. Assuming they have a reasonable

plan to get in, allow this to happen, espe-

cially if they think of a good use of The Way

to do so. If they dither too much or make

too much noise, then the dog will certainly

go for them.

INSIDE THE CARAVAN Once inside, they will find that Oakfellow

has been put in a large parrot cage, which

is on a small table, in a cluttered interior.

It’s comparatively easy for creatures with

good Nimbleness to get up to the table, but

getting the cage open is a bit of a problem.

A hard Man Lore check is needed to figure

out a way of opening the cage. If they fail

or if they dither too much, the dog will

start barking outside. This will bring ‘The

Man’ (Orlando) to investigate, with a cud-

gel in his hand (thinking there are thieves

about).

(Note: If the group has no Man Lore, then

Oakfellow can tell them what to do, but

assume that this takes a little time to ex-

plain and treat it as if they failed their Man

Lore check).

THE GETAWAY Once the group has got the cage open they

need to get to the trees, probably past

both the dog and The Man (depending on

whether they were noticed earlier). This

may take a few Flee checks and maybe

even an Intimidation check on the dog, if

he corners one of the PCs. This is pretty

much a free-for-all; so let the players come

up with some good ideas or help them es-

cape.

THE RATS, AGAIN However, when and if they get back to the

relative safety of the trees, the rats are still

there. If one of the PCs was wounded earli-

er (or if not Oakfellow certainly got injured

in his struggle with The Man), then the rats

will become frenzied at the scent of blood.

They will give chase and attack them. If the

PCs manage to outwit, outfight or simply

outrun the rats then they will have no fur-

BRUTE (THE DOG)

AL CR NI FI ST T0

3 2 2 4 8 6

The Bane: 2

Abilities: Intimidate, Man Lore, Tooth &

Claw, Track

Note: Brute is a trained ratter and gets

+1 on any check where rats are involved.

If he smells blood and goes into frenzy,

he will always attack the rats first if they

are nearby


TALES FROM THE WOOD

~ 53 ~

ther trouble on their way back to Oakfel-

low’s home.

WRAPPING UP The gypsies move off the following day. If

the PCs managed to get away with Oakfel-

low, then everyone is happy and the

Gnome will throw a party. Each character

will receive 4 experience points.

If they didn’t save Oakfellow, then he will

still be with the gypsies when they move

off. The characters will receive 2 expe-

rience points each. There is a chance that

they will catch up with Oakfellow later on.

For example, if the PCs go on to do the

Wolf’s Bane adventure that takes them to

the sea, they could find the gypsy caravan

there and maybe attempt another rescue.

Along the Riverbank OVERVIEW FOR THE GK The River that feeds The Wood has been

drying up for a couple of days. This is a

cause for concern as The River brings life to

The Wood. The PCs will be selected to in-

vestigate the problem. They will have to

cross the much-feared Hard River and will

have an encounter with a nosey sparrow, a

nasty adder and some unpleasant rooks.

Their journey will bring them to a building

site where the men have packed up and

little work has been done (the developers

have run into financial problems). Unfortu-

nately some of the barrels they had stacked

up near the riverbank have fallen in, caus-

ing a blockage and creating a mucky pond

on the site. Oh, and a colony of rats live

near the site too, who must be negotiated

with in order to remove the blockage.

THE GATHERING Redflank, the Lord Stag has called a Gather-

ing of the creatures of The Wood by

crashing his mighty antlers against the

Meeting Stone. Lordly representatives of all

of the animals of The Wood are present -

Fox, Mouse, Weasel, Squirrel, Badger, Rat,

Otter, Vole, Crow and all the rest. The PCs

will be hiding at the back, behind all of the

Animal Lords. The Truce is of course in

force so all of the creatures are safe until

the sun rises in the morning for it is now

night time. Redflank brings the excited

chattering to a close with one further crash

of his powerful antlers.

When all is quiet he begins. “You will all no

doubt be aware that over the last few

weeks the level of water in the stream

which feeds The Wood has been falling”.

There are a few nods and worried glances

at this point especially from Sleek the Otter

Lord and Wash the Lord of Water Voles.

“Well, the water in the stream is now down

to a mere trickle. I went there to take a

look myself only this dusk-time, at the re-

quest of Lord Sleek, and I have to report

that the signs are not good. Certainly it is

my view that if something is not done

about this worrying situation shortly the

balance will be upset and The Wood will

suffer”

Redflank waits until the uproar subsides

and then continues. “What we need is a

volunteer or two to investigate the prob-

lem. It will no doubt mean a long and

hazardous journey upstream across the

Hard River (a few horrified gasps from

some of the creatures at this point) and

further afield than many of you will have

ventured before. WHO WILL GO?”


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 54 ~

At the last three words the PCs will feel

Redflank’s eyes boring into them as other

creatures cringe away from his gaze. Once

the PCs have ‘volunteered’ the remaining

creatures will

shout "Hoo-

rah!" in relief

that some-

creature oth-

er than

themselves is

going and

then disap-

pear into the

undergrowth

or the

branches of

the trees

around the

clearing.

Redflank will

then wish the

PCs luck, and

advise them

to go as soon

as possible,

and that

when they

get to the

Hard River

they should cross quickly and stop for noth-

ing even if they feel the eyes of the Roaring

Owl burning into them.

THE DRYING RIVERBED The PCs will presumably head straight for

the Riverbank and they will see that is

down to a very worrying trickle. The muddy

and dried out river bed reveals dead fish,

bits of washed up twigs and some Man-

things, which both look and smell a little of

The Bane.

(Note: If you are feeling really mean you

could throw in an encounter with a fox or a

couple of stoats approaching the PCs and

taunting them a little. However The Truce

is still in force so

there is little for

them to worry

about at the

moment al-

though the GK

could remind the

players that it is

very nearly dawn

by now).

THE JOURNEY

UPRIVER Following the

course of the

water upstream

the PCs will

reach the Hard

River late in the

day. Those with

Man Lore will

begin to recog-

nize the strange

and rather horrid

smell as they

approach. Others

will begin to feel

uncomfortable and more than a little inti-

midated by it. Those that have been

stuffing their faces a lot during the day may

feel queasy.

Nosing around the area the PCs may notice

that the River actually goes underneath the

Hard River through a kind of tunnel. Any

who make a straightforward River Lore

check will realize that in this tunnel is the

home of an old and surly Otter called Chas-

er. So the PCs are faced with a choice here.

They could cross the dreaded Hard River, or


TALES FROM THE WOOD

~ 55 ~

they could try the tunnel underneath and

risk upsetting a large ferocious creature.

CROSSING THE HARDRIVER If they

choose to

cross the

Hard River

you should

describe the

unnatural-

ness of the

ground near-

by and the

decaying feel

to the grass

and weeds

growing at its

edge. If they

nibble any

vegetation

nearby it will

taste foul.

Once onto

the cold sur-

face of the

Hard River

they will feel

open and

vulnerable.

There is no

cover and any-creature used to being able

to burrow to escape predators will be most

anxious that they cannot even scratch the

surface of this terrible place.

As they cross the ground will begin to rum-

ble and a loud horrendous noise will fill the

air as around the bend in the distance

comes the terrible Roaring Owl. If the PCs

cross individually, roll randomly for which

one is crossing when the car comes.

Play up the sounds, the tremendous vibra-

tions underpaw and the wicked stench of

The Bane. The car is intimidating (6) and

opposed intimidation rolls are called for. If

the PCs win (unlikely) they will safely speed

across. If they lose they will stand still in

abject terror as the Roaring Owl bears

down on them.

PCs with Man

Lore may add +2

to their dice rolls,

as they will be

more aware of

these things. The

car has a 1 in 6

chance of hitting

any PC standing

still. Using a

point of The Way

will save any

unfortunate

creature about

to be squashed.

UNDER THE

HARDRIVER If the PCs choose

to go through

the tunnel (un-

der the bridge)

they will most

likely meet Chas-

er the Otter. As

expected he is

not in a good mood. The main reason this

dusk for his surliness is that there is insuffi-

cient water left in the River for him to have

a good swim or to catch any decent fish. He

is therefore hungry and might be tempted

by a small mouse or a frog or something.

The PCs should have a chance of getting to

the bottom of his problem by talking and

role-play and certainly those with River

Lore will have a good idea why he is in an

even worse mood than usual. If they ex-

plain their quest to Chaser he will let them


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 56 ~

have passage, but if they upset him even

more he will not let them pass.

INTO THE LANDS OF MAN Having crossed the Hard River, the PCs will

be in the dangerous lands of Man. They will

mainly be traversing open fields and mea-

dows. By the Riverbank there will be

enough cover to hide themselves in so they

would be better off staying close to it.

The day will be largely uneventful but late

on a nosey sparrow called Chitter will spot

them and fly down and start to ask annoy-

ing questions. She will flit about their heads

in an excited fashion and ask:

“Where are you all going?” “What are a

strange mixture of creatures like you doing

travelling together?”, “Where have you

come from?” and “That’s a long way isn’t

it?” etc, etc. The PCs would be best not to

tell this talkative sparrow of their quest or

it may spell trouble later. Indeed they

would probably do well to scare her off

altogether.

A SLIPPERY ENCOUNTER At dusk or nightfall, there will be an alto-

gether more dangerous encounter with

Flick the Adder. He is hungry and on the

hunt for easy prey. One of the PCs may well

seem like easy prey. Flick is not daft and he

will wait until one of the PCs is alone, which

is bound to happen at this point as they are

all likely to have different eating and sleep-

ing habits. Whilst Flick is lurking, give the

PC a chance to sense his presence before

he strikes. Flick will first of all try to intimi-

date the PC but will then go for the kill.

Other PCs nearby might hear some noises

(Roll Moderate Alertness on the Task Diffi-

culty Table) and (hopefully) and come to

investigate.

Flick will not go after a Hedgehog if there is

one in the group, and if a Hedgehog comes

to the aid of the attacked PC, Flick will

probably not hang around. He may make a

few choice and sly remarks before he slinks

off though. Either way a concerted show of

strength by the PCs or a ‘nip’ result in

Tooth & Claw will be enough to see off this

mean old snake.

THE ROOKERY Early in the morning as the PCs continue

their journey they will spot dark shapes in

the line of trees edging the field ahead.

They have come across a rookery of about

50 birds. Most are asleep and not too bo-

thered by the approaching creatures.

However a few of them, namely Blackhood,

Darkbeak, Beadeye and Ragwing are look-

ing for a bit of excitement and these

approaching creatures look like easy meat

to the rooks.

You could have the PCs make hard Alert-

ness rolls to spot the fact that 4 of the

rooks have noticed them and are only pre-

tending to be asleep. The rooks will swoop

down upon the PCs and attempt to peck,

harass and bully them. They conform to

standard rook characteristics.

If the PCs are strong enough (if for example

they have a Hedgehog in their midst, or if

they collectively have reasonably high

Toughness, Sturdiness and some have

Tooth & Claw ability) then you could allow

this to develop into a fight. If the PCs are

smaller and weaker then you should allow

another escape, perhaps letting them spot

a thorny bush to hide under or a hole for

them to escape into.

This is a potentially dangerous encounter

and the GK should be prepared to let PCs


TALES FROM THE WOOD

~ 57 ~

use The Way and to listen to any reasona-

ble suggestions from the players as

otherwise they may not survive. Even

Chaser the Otter could turn up and scare

the rooks away if they are getting the bet-

ter of the PCs.

THE BUILDING SITE Toward the late afternoon, the PCs will

begin to encounter an evil stench and this

will become stronger the more they press

on. It smells of The Bane, of Hard Rivers, of

Roaring Owls and of Man. Beneath it all is

another faintly recognisable smell (make a

hard Alertness roll to discern that the smell

is of rats).

Looking ahead the PCs can now see that

the ground has all been churned up as if

the Mother of all Moles has been digging

here. Amidst all of this churned earth are

bits of shiny stuff and twigless branches

stuck in the ground and other indescribable

objects scattered around. Those who suc-

ceed Moderate Man Lore checks will

recognise the fences and signposts as ways

of keeping Men out (or in!) and the shiny

things as cans and bottles (sometimes with

nice sticky-sweet-watery-nectar stuff in

them) and other bits of Man rubbish.

As the PCs approach they will see that

there is a vast pool of water spreading over

the churned up ground in the middle of the

site, turning everything to mud and muck.

Out of the pool or lake of water comes just

a trickle of water down the streambed. It is

now easy to see that some of the larger

Man things are lying in the stream blocking

off the flow of water.

THE RAT COLONY As the PCs get closer and continue to

ponder what can be done, a group of rats

will approach them from all sides, from

tunnels and hidey-holes and from behind

mounds and Man litter.

Blacktooth, who is The Rat King’s henchrat,

will be at their head, followed by Redeye

and Greyfur. Blacktooth will begin to ques-

tion the PCs aggressively trying to

intimidate them at the same time. Any PCs

that are not intimidated (or intimidate him

back) will cause Blacktooth to be agitated,

as he is not used to this. He is certainly not

used to being questioned himself, and will

show clearly his agitation if this happens.

(Note: Blacktooth is aspiring to be The King

Rat but he is painfully aware that he is too

weak to challenge the current occupier of

that position. He does have a moderately

large number of supporters amongst the

rats in the colony and wouldn’t be adverse

to a civil war to usurp the present incum-

bent from the ‘throne’. He may see the PCs

as a way to shortcut his challenge for the

leadership especially if there is a tough

looking Hedgehog in their group. It really

all depends on the PCs and how they ap-

proach the conversation with Blacktooth.

Essentially this is a great point for the PCs

to really role play their characters).

KING RAT If the PCs insist, they will be taken before

the King Rat. Blacktooth won’t volunteer to

take them though, preferring to keep them

away from King Rat. However, at some

point a messenger from King Rat will turn

up to have a word with Blacktooth (news

travels fast in the colony and King Rat has

eyes everywhere) and to ask him to bring

the visitors to him.


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 58 ~

The PCs will be led around a huge winding

network of tunnels and twisting passages

(that will require a hard Tunnel Lore check

to negotiate without a guide) to the King

Rat’s cavernous lair. He is the largest and

fattest rat the PCs will have ever seen. He is

surrounded by mouse slaves, who are feed-

ing him and grooming him. There are

several rat bodyguards inside and at the

entrance to his lair.

DEALING WITH THE RATS There is a large network of tunnels in and

around the site. There are about 100 or

more rats in the colony. Whilst the rats

have no real reason to kill the PCs they

could easily do so, so there is always an

element of danger in any negotiations.

If it doesn’t occur to the PCs, you could

make it apparent that there are more than

enough rats here to clear the blockage in

the River, but that they need to have some-

thing to negotiate with. The henchrat

Blacktooth could probably gather enough

rats to do the job, if the characters side

with him. King Rat could certainly get

enough of his minions to remove the

blockage, but what is he after?

NEGOTIATIONS Negotiations could go several different

ways. Perhaps the PCs could side with

Blacktooth to help overthrow King Rat.

Perhaps they could tell King Rat that Black-

tooth is planning a rebellion? Other

possibilities exist. For instance, King Rat is

looking to move the colony to a better

spot. If the PCs tell him where they come

from, he will get very interested. If they

mention The Farm, then he will definitely

help out, for information on where to find

this Farm.

There are many ways this could go and it

depends on any good ideas that come from

your players as well as maybe some helpful

nudges if they become stuck for ideas.

THE CONCLUSION Once they have successfully persuaded the

rats to unblock the River, the home journey

is straightforward (unless you want to add

further adventures on the way back).

You can award some points to be spent by

the players on their creatures to improve

their attributes or to buy new abilities.

There are 5 to 7 points available per cha-

racter for concluding this adventure

successfully (as it was a very dangerous

one).

(Note: You could always use this scenario as

a way to introduce the next adventure per-

haps the Rat King had a task for the PCs to

carry out in exchange for his help in un-

blocking the River. Maybe Greyfur heard

about The Wood and decides to follow the

PCs back (with some of his own followers)

and then starts to cause trouble in The


TALES FROM THE WOOD

~ 59 ~

Wood, or maybe one of the PCs becomes

addicted, like Redeye, to beer and would

even go off on his own to the lands of Man

to find more. There are many possibilities).

The creatures met along the way:

Chaser the Otter

AL CR FI NI ST T0

3 2 3 3 7 6

The Way: 1

The Bane: 1

Abilities: River Lore, Swim, Track,

Tooth & Claw

Chaser is a grumpy and hungry old otter.

He will help the PC’s if they explain their

mission to him (and may even show up

suddenly to help out against the rooks if

the PC’s get into any trouble at the roo-

kery).

Chitter the Sparrow

AL CR FI NI ST T0

4 2 3 3 2 1

The Way: 1

Abilities: Field Lore, Wood Lore, Fly

Chitter is an annoying and nosey bird. He

will be a pest and a nuisance until scared

off.

Flick the Adder

AL CR FI NI ST T0

3 3 3 3 4 2

The Bane 2

Abilities: Hide, Intimidate,

Field Lore, Tooth & Claw

Not a pleasant creature, Flick is however

very wary of hedgehogs.

Darkbeak, Blackhood, Beadeye, Ragwing

AL CR FI NI ST T0

3 2 3 2 5 4

The Bane: 1

Abilities: Fly, Tooth & Claw, Man

Lore, Field Lore

Snaketail (King Rat)

AL CR FI NI ST T0

3 3 4 2 6 5

The Bane: 2

Abilities: Intimidate, Climb, Man Lore, Tun-

nel Lore, Tooth & Claw

Snaketail is now quite a venerable rat who

has had a long life and fought hard. He real-

ly doesn't want any more problems that

give him a hard life and knows that one of

his subordinates is looking eagerly at his

throne. He would appreciate some help in

determining which one of his Henchrats it

is and flushing him out.

Blacktooth (Henchrat)

AL CR FI NI ST T0

3 3 3 3 5 4

The Bane: 3

Abilities: Man Lore, Climb, Tooth &

Claw, Tunnel Lore, Intimidate

Blacktooth is a very sneaky Rat, who is not

above using devious means to further his

own ambitions and progress in the rat co-

lony. He has a number of rats who are

dedicated to his cause and several others

who might be ready to side with him but

are less fanatical.

Redeye (Henchrat)

AL CR FI NI ST T0

2 2 3 3 4 4

The Bane: 2

Abilities: Man Lore, Climb, Tooth &

Claw, Tunnel Lore

Redeye has acquired a taste for alcohol and

constantly searches the site for cans with

drops of beer left in them. Since his prob-

lem started his eyes have reddened (hence

his name) and his desire to be the leader of

the rat colony has lessened. He could prob-

ably only be certain of calling upon help

from one or two old friends if needed but

could be a useful ally if he could be sobered

up for a while.


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 60 ~

Greyfur (Henchrat)

AL CR FI NI ST T0

3 3 4 2 3 4

The Bane: 1

Abilities: Man Lore, Climb, Tooth & Claw,

Tunnel Lore

Greyfur is a young rat but possibly destined

for great things and favoured by Snaketail.

He has several strong allies amongst the

rats in the colony and is not satisfied to

continue living on this site, but rather fan-

cies sending scouting parties to look for

another place to live. If he hears of The

Wood he will want to learn all he can.

Wolfs Bane OVERVIEW FOR THE GK The simple premise of this Tale is that a

Wolf has recently escaped from the local

zoo and has made its way to The Wood.

The PCs are to investigate what it is and

find a means of getting rid of it. This will

ultimately lead the PCs on a long journey

further away from their homes than they

have ever been before, to the fabled Sea to

find a rare plant that only grows there. The

plant is believed to have powers to dispel

the great beast that has invaded The

Wood.

SETTING THE SCENE Maybe one or two of the PCs will see this

huge shaggy beast loping through the

trees. Maybe some-creature else will spot a

carcass of one of Redflank’s herd of deer

(and there are no animals in The Wood big

enough to bring down a deer!) Some nights

there is a terrific howling through the area

sending shivers down the spines of many a

creature - even so that badgers and foxes

are scared.

Several of the smaller creatures will be ter-

rified out of their wits and The Wood is

under a palpable pall of doom. No-creature

wants to set paw outside its den for fear of

the beast. Some-creature has to end this

reign of terror. The PCs are just right for

the job. Their respective Lords will ask

them to look into it. Stag is afraid to call a

Gathering; for fear that the Beast doesn’t

respect the Truce and slays every-creature

in attendance.

ASKING AROUND The PCs will need to visit some of the more

intimidating creatures in The Wood, to get

their information. You are welcome to role-

play the encounters in as menacing a way

as you like, with lots of licking of lips from

The Fox Lord and maybe have The Owl Lord

still picking at the bones of a small rodent

when the PCs arrive.

Nobody knows what the monster is except

the following, which have their own ideas:

Owl: Using Wisdom, the Owl Lord Shadow-

Wing, has learned that this is a ‘Wolf’ from

a place far off across the sea. He also states

that many years ago, in the dim-distant

past, wolves ruled The Wood, but that their

enemies were the cunning foxes of those

long gone days.

Gnome: (Oakfellow or Grizzlegruff per-

haps?) – The long-lived forgetful Gnome

may remember a sea plant that made a

smell that was unpleasant to Wolf-kind and

made them go away. He suggests a visit to

either or both of The Owl Lord and The Fox

Lord, if they haven’t visited them already.

Fox: Using Wood Lore (a formidable roll for

the most information) the Fox Lord will

recall ancient tales passed down through

generations of foxes that in bygone times

wolves and foxes used to battle for supre-

macy. Foxes had numbers and cunning,


TALES FROM THE WOOD

~ 61 ~

wolves had strength and size. When fox

cunning had all but wrested The Wood

from the wolves, there was a strong Wolf

Lord who came down from the far North.

However, cunning Reynard, Lord of Foxes

at that time, used the mythical Sea Onion

to rid the Wood of Greysnout, The Last

Wolf.

A JOURNEY TO THE SEA Few creatures in The Wood know of the

‘Sea’. Any with Beach Lore will. Those with

River Lore may do (Hard roll). However,

birds fly far and wide. If the PCs re-visit the

Owl, it will not be there and if they wait for

it, it will come back some time but is hun-

gry and a bit aggressive – small creatures

beware!

The other birds that fly far and wide are the

rooks, which live in the Rookery, near the

Farm. A visit to them may prove fruitful.

PCs may come up with other ways to dis-

cover where the Sea is. Don’t make this too

difficult – you want them to go there; after

all it’s where the adventure is!

ENCOUNTERS ALONG THE WAY On their long and arduous trek from The

Wood, following the river to the Sea, the

PCs will have the following encounters. As

usual, how you and your players deal with

them is largely up to you and how you like

to role-play.

A Fisherman: Any-creature interested in

grubs and maggots (Mole, Shrew and Hed-

gehog especially) will love the small box by

the side of The River that is just full of real-

ly lovely juicy ones. What the fisherman

does if he sees them is up to you.

Water Voles: Ssome feisty water voles (one

for each PC in the group - use standard

water vole stats) who tell the PCs to go

around their territory. However they are

either easily intimidated or ready to flee if

involved in a serious tussle.

Small Boys: A gang of boys with a home-

made raft-boat. They float around on it a

bit then they pull it ashore and run off

home for dinner (or whatever). PCs could

possibly use this to continue their journey –

especially if there is a Gnome amongst

them.

The Town: A particularly nasty area, where

it smells of The Bane and the water tastes

foul. Any-creature with Man Lore knows

this place for what it is. Others find it foul

and intimidating. If you are really mean you

could set up an encounter with a small dog

or cat.

Sand Dunes: Not far beyond the town are

the sand dunes that lead on down to the

beach. Amongst the dunes lurks an adder

who will attack the smallest member of the

group. Use standard adder stats.

The Beach Crab: This could be a strange

meeting. The crab is being harassed by a

seagull who is trying to turn him over to get

at his underside. The crab is scuttling this

way and that trying to get away. If the PCs

are brave enough they could make the sea-

gull fly away, for easier prey. The crab,

called Pinchme, will be grateful to PCs if

they save him from harassment and will

help them find what they are looking for.

THE SEA ONION It is a form of sea kelp, with a very strange

smell. Even the PCs don’t like it much. This

needs to be taken back to The Wood. Be-

cause the sea kelp smells so bad, animals

encountered on the way back will keep

away.


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 62 ~

THE RETURN HOME If you wish you could add an adventure on

the return journey. One idea, if the PCs

failed to rescue Oakfellow in the first ad-

venture (Oakfellow and the Gypsies), is to

have them come across the gypsy caravans

again, as they made their way to the sea-

side. (Orlando has been charging money to

tourists to view The Little Grey Man. The

Old Mother isn’t very happy about this,

because she didn’t really want to imprison

the gnome; she only wanted to talk to

him).

DEALING WITH THE WOLF How the PCs then deal with the wolf is up

to you. The wolf does not like the smell of

the sea kelp, so if they have enough of it,

they could for example place it at strategic

points around The Wood, or go to the

wolf’s den and put it in there. They might

even want to talk to the wolf and tell him

there is more where that came from. Let

anything that sound reasonable work.

WRAPPING UP There is an experience award of 5 points

per character (+2 points if they rescue Oak-

fellow from the gypsies on the way home).

They will be hailed as heroes by the crea-

tures of The Wood and Lord Stag will call a

special Gathering to honour their exploits

to date.

The creatures met along the way:

Water voles

AL CR FI NI ST T0

3 1 3 3 3 2

Abilities: Swim, River Lore

Adder

AL CR FI NI ST T0

3 2 3 3 4 2

The Bane: 1

Abilities: Hide, Tooth & Claw,

Beach Lore

Pinchme the Crab

T0 ST NI CR FI AL

3 3 2 1 3 2

Abilities: Beach Lore, Tooth & Claw, Swim,

Pincers, Shell (+2 TO, +3 ST on the Wound

Modifiers Table).

Pinchme is neither touched by The Way or

by The Bane. He is a very strange creature

and speaks very oddly. You could even

have characters make Craftiness checks to

determine whether they understand him

properly.

Lupus The Wolf

AL CR FI NI ST T0

3 3 5 3 10 10

The Bane: 4

Abilities: Tooth & Claw, Track, Wood Lore,

Man Lore


TALES FROM THE WOOD

~ 63 ~

ABOUT TALES FROM THE WOOD

Very few gamers get too enthusiastic about

role playing games where you play an ani-

mal; even less so when the animals in

question do not use swords and spears and

have no special powers. That is exactly why

myself and my co-designer Mark George

sat down one day in around 1986/87 and

started to write Tales from The Wood

(TfTW).

It didn’t take too long to thrash out the

basics into a form where we could do some

playtesting. There was one extra trait at

that time – “luckiness” (now replaced by

The Way), but other than that, the rules are

essentially the same now as they were

then.

We played a lot of TfTW during the late

1980’s and early 1990’s, whilst constantly

tinkering with the rules, adding more crea-

tures and developing the background.

Everyone who played it loved it – even so

we realized it was a niche game and not

worth the risk of publishing.

Still, I always felt TfTW was too good to just

languish in a folder somewhere and with

the growth of the pdf, I put together a free

pdf for download from my old “Geocities”

website sometime around 2002.

I was amazed that people found it, liked it

(and some even played it). I decided to put

a better version together and, with Mark’s

permission, started selling it first on

RPGNow and later, in print via LULU. I was

further surprised that it sold reasonably

well, reaffirming my view that some ga-

mers want something a bit different

nowadays.

Simon W

RECOMMENDED FICTION William Horwood: Duncton Wood, Dunc-

ton Quest, Duncton Found, Duncton Tales,

Duncton Rising, Duncton Stone (moles)

Gerry Kilworth: Frost Dancers (hares),

Hunters Moon (foxes)

A.R. Lloyd: Marshworld, Witchwood, Dra-

gon Pond (weasels)

Denys Watkins Pitchford (B.B): Little Grey

Men, Down the Bright Stream (gnomes)

Chris Freddi: Pork & other tales (several

different types of animal)

Michael Tod: The Silver Tide, The Second

Wave, The Golden Flight (squirrels)

Richard Adams: Watership Down (rabbits)

Aeron Clement: The Cold Moons (badgers)

Brian Carter: Night World (badgers)

Colin Dann: The Animals of Farthing

Wood, In the Grip of Winter, Fox's Feud,

Fox Cub Bold, The Siege of White Deer

Park, In the Path of Storm, Battle for the

Park, Farthing Wood - The Adventure Be-

gins (several different types of animal)

RECOMMENDED NON-FICTION Any good natural history books would be

highly useful, but these are some of those

consulted when designing Tales from The

Wood.

Ron Freethy: Man & Beast, British mam-

mals

Tony Soper: Discovering Animals, British

mammals

Roy Brown: Wildlife of Britain, British ani-

mals

Rob Hume: Observers Birds, British birds


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 64 ~


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 65 ~

Introduction

What is role-playing? In role-playing games (RPGs), the ac-

tion takes place in the imaginations of

the players rather than on a board as in

other types of game. By using a set of

rules, players construct game characters

to act as their alter egos living in the

world they have created. In essence, the

players are creating a story as they go

and much of this story is simply a ver-

bal interchange between the players.

One of the players takes the role of the

gamesmaster (GM). This player has the

task of creating the adventures, much

like an author writing a story. However,

unlike an author, the GM doesn’t al-

ways know what the characters will do.

This is because the other players play

the characters. The GM directs the flow

GINGER BEER RECIPE

Makes 5 litres (9 pints) Lemon -1 large, zest and juice

Cream of tartar -5 tsp Sugar -450g (1 lb)

Fresh root ginger -25g (1 oz), peeled and bruised

Boiling water -2.3 litres (4 pints) Cold water -2.3 litres (4 pints)

Fresh yeast -15g (½ oz) Toast -1 slice

METHOD

Place the lemon zest, cream of tartar and sugar in a large bowl or plastic bucket. Add the bruised ginger. Pour the boiling water over the mix and stir until the sugar is dis-solved. Add the cold water and lemon juice. Allow to cool until the mix is luke-warm.

Spread the yeast on the toast and float it on the mixture. Cover with a clean cloth and leave in a warm place for 24 hours until fro-thy. Remove any scum from the top of the mixture, discard the toast and syphon the beer into sterilised bottles, avoiding any se-diment. Seal the bottles with screw caps or corks secured with wire. Leave for 3 days in a cool place before drinking. Drink within the following 3 days or the ginger beer will taste too yeasty.


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 66 ~

of the game; describes the things the

characters see and hear and speaks for

the people the characters come across as

they progress through the adventure.

Sometimes the outcome of characters’

actions is not a foregone conclusion and

this is where the game rules will help.

These rules describe how the GM and

players can determine the success or

otherwise of actions that they take as

they adventure in the game world.

In Lashings of Ginger Beer (LoGB) the

characters are not the heroic types that

you find in most other rpgs. However,

this game does emphasize character

interaction more than many and

should therefore lead to a highly re-

warding role-playing experience.

What is this game about? You are a 13-year old kid living in

Idyllic England. Idyllic England is an

unreal place, a sort of fantasyland

along the lines of those versions of

England, which appear in such works

as The Famous Five, Swallows and

Amazons and The Secret Seven.

In Idyllic England the time period

doesn't really matter - suffice to say

that kids ride bicycles not BMXs, they

read books such as ‘Boys Own Ad-

ventures’ since there is no such thing

as Sega or Nintendo and most impor-

tantly they never swear and are rarely

rude to grownups.

All right, you may ask, but this is a

role-playing game so what is there to

do? Well, there are camping hols a

plenty, mysterious smugglers caves to

explore, ghostly haunted houses to poke

around in, secret passages in ruined cas-

tles to discover, all manner of

suspicious villains to report to the po-

lice for real (and imagined) crimes.

Nasty people can of course be spotted a

mile off, and every circus that comes to

town holds its own mystery to solve.

And, once solved PC Plod is always on

hand with his trusty bicycle to arrest the

villains of the piece, or to clip the kids

around the ears for wasting his time

(without the possibility of being hauled

before the court!).


LASHINGS OF GINGER BEER

~ 67 ~

Creating Your Kid

Attributes To play in a RPG you need to create a

character that is the persona that you

pretend to be in the game. In LoGB the

character you need to create is a nosey

kid. Kids are initially defined by four

attributes. These attributes are rated on

a numeric scale, where the higher the

number the better. They help to deter-

mine how well each kid performs in his

or her day-to-day activities, whether

they are at home, at school or more par-

ticularly when they are on an adventure.

The attributes are:

TOUGH

This is a measure of the kid's strength,

resilience, build and all round physical

ability. It is useful in sports, outdoor

activities and particularly useful in

fights. It tends to be higher as kids grow

older.

DEFT

Speed, agility, athleticism and co-

ordination are all measured by this

attribute. This is useful for many out-

door and sporting pursuits. Deft reduces

as kids grow older.

CLEVER

A bright kid is an intelligent and quick-

witted kid who does well at schoolwork

and is good at remembering things and

working things out. As kids get older,

they learn more and therefore become

cleverer.

CHARM

Being able to smile sweetly and get

away with anything. That is charm.

Younger kids tend to be more charm-

ing.

AGE

For the most part, it is the age of the kid

that you create that decides what the

initial attribute levels are. The higher

the number, the better able your kid is.

To determine your kid’s age, you need

to either choose an age from 10 to 15,

or roll a dice and add 9 to the result.

Write this age on your character sheet.

Initial attribute levels are determined by

starting age. Look up your kid’s age on

the following table and write the num-

bers for each attribute on your character

sheet. Then add 1 point to any attribute

you like. Write down the final attribute

levels (numbers) on your character

sheet.

TABLE: KID AGE &ATTRIBUTES

Age Tough Deft Clever Charm

10 1 3 1 3

11 2 2 1 3

12 2 2 1 3

13 2 2 2 2

14 2 2 2 2

15 3 1 3 1

Grown

up

4 1 4 1


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 68 ~

Kid type

After attributes have been decided, you

then need to determine the things that

your kid knows or is good at. This de-

pends on the type of kid, which can be a

Swot, a Truant (Tomboy) or a Good

(‘normal’) kid. You get to choose.

GOOD KID

Good kids -these make up the vast ma-

jority of kids in Idyllic England. They

have a father who works in the bank or

in insurance a mother who is a house-

wife (as all mothers in Idyllic England

should be - no such thing as the wom-

en’s movement here) probably an older

brother or sister and a family pet.

A Good Kid will live in a suburban

semi detached house with ample room

at the end of the garden for a tree house

or den. Father will have a Rover car or

maybe a Wolsey or Morris which he

uses for work and at weekends to take

the family on outings or drop the kids

off at the train station, when they go off

to see Auntie Mable.

Good kids will go on to become bank

managers, solicitors, doctors, accoun-

tants or politicians. Girls will of course

get married and become housewives.

SWOT

Swots are from backgrounds similar to

those of good kids but could be, for ex-

ample, an only child and therefore

molly-coddled by mummy & daddy.

They are not good at sporty things (too

rough) but they excel at schoolwork.

Swots prefer to spend leisure time in the

library or in their rooms with their nos-

es stuck in their books.

There will rarely be more than one

Swot in any gang.

Swots will go on to become Professors,

scientists, inventors and train spotters.



~ 69 ~

TRUANT OR TOMBOY

These kids are the naughtier kids of

Idyllic England. They tend to be the

opposite of Swots; that is good at sports

but poor at their studies. They may even

use strong words or phrases like ‘damn

it’ and ‘blast’ or even on occasion

‘bloody hell!’ (as long as no grown-ups

are nearby).

Truants are fond of games and pranks

that lead other kids astray, such as cher-

ry knocking and apple scrumping but

because they are better at these things,

they do not usually get caught. By

present day standards Truants are not

bad kids by any means and they do not

get into trouble with the police - they

are simply naughty by Idyllic England

standards.

There will rarely be more than one

Truant in a gang. Truants go on to be-

come footballers, racing drivers and

game designers.

What is my kid good at? These are called skills, abilities, feats or

traits in other rpgs. They are learned or

taught skills and knowledge. All player

character kids in Idyllic England are

adventurous and resourceful. They see

things that grown-ups and most other

kids do not see. Accordingly all your

kid is automatically good at two things -

Hide and Snoop. These are already writ-

ten onto the character sheet and you

have a level of 2 in each. You can spend

points to improve them from your point

allocation detailed below.

The other things a kid is good at depend

upon the type of kid she is. You have 8

points to split amongst them. Simply

assign some of your 8 points to each

thing.

If you want to choose things that are not

a part of your kid type, you need to as-

sign a greater number of your points.

Swots get Truant skills at three times


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 70 ~

the cost. Truants get Swot skills at three

times the cost. They both buy Good kid

skills at double the cost. Good kids buy

any non-good kid skills at double the

cost. So a Swot could, for example put

one point into each of his 6 listed skills,

and then put two points into Act Inno-

cently (effectively making that skill

level 1 too).

Any player can choose to increase Hide

or Snoop for one point per point of in-

crease.

Things your kid is good at GOOD KID

Act Innocently

Camping

Hobbies

Sports

Ride Bicycle

Spot Nasty People

SWOT

Sciences

History

Geography

Languages

Music

Useless Facts

TRUANT OR TOMBOY

Fighting

Wriggle (from Grasp)

Climb Trees & Walls

Catapult

Throwing Things

Lie Convincingly

Example of creating a kid I grab a character sheet and roll a

dice, which comes up 5. My kid is

therefore 14 (I could have chosen his

age had I wanted to). I write this on

my character sheet. I also come up

with a name for him at this stage

Daniel (Danny).

Looking up the attributes on the ta-

ble for a kid of 14, I see that all four

attributes will be rated at 2. I have an

extra point to add, so I increase Deft

to 3.

Next, I decide that my kid will be a

Good Kid. With the 8 points, I put

one point in each of the things listed,

except for Act Innocently. I decide

my kid is not going to be good at

pretending. I write the selected

things down on my character sheet,

with a ‘1’ alongside each. This

leaves 3 points. I want my kid to be

especially good at snooping, so I add

a point to Snoop skill, bringing it up

to 3. I also want my kid to be good

at climbing, so I can assign a level of

1 to Climb Trees & Walls (this costs

both points that were left over, be-

cause it is from the Truant list). I add

this to my character sheet too.

Danny is now nearly ready to go and

solve a few mysteries. But I still

need to know what he is able to do

with the things he is good at. There

are also a couple more things I need

to know about Danny before he is

ready for adventure.



~ 71 ~

Doing Things

Overview These are the skills of the kids in Idyllic

England. They represent the things that

kids will try to do, when they are out

searching for clues to the mysteries that

they come across every time they go on

a weekend biking expedition, or a visit

to their Aunt’s house.

ACT INNOCENTLY

The ability of the kid to make whatever

he is doing look like he is just ‘being a

kid’. Useful for covering up what your

character is doing, when spotted by

grown-ups. Usually used with Charm.

CAMPING

This represents the knowledge that the

kid has of outdoor-type things – the

way to pitch a tent, to build a campfire

and so on; this is normally based on the

Clever attribute.

CATAPULT

This is the skill the kid has to make and

fire a catapult (a short, strong ‘y’

shaped stick with a strong length of

rubber-band strung between the forks).

For making a good one it is based on

Clever, for accurately firing it use Deft.

CLIMB TREES & WALLS

This is the ability of the kid to scramble

over high walls and up trees; it is usual-

ly used with Deft.

FIGHTING

This represents how good a kid is in a

scrap. There are no martial arts and no

fancy moves – it is simply rough-and-

tumble wrestling and maybe a punch or

two. Used alongside Tough.

LIE CONVINCINGLY

The ability of the kid to tell tales and to

persuade grown-ups that they are not

doing anything they shouldn’t be doing.

Used with Charm.

GEOGRAPHY

Knowing where places are, some local

knowledge and map reading; used with

Clever.

HIDE

The skill of the kid at finding some-

where to secrete herself when she might

otherwise be spotted. Under a bush,


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 72 ~

behind a tree, in a ditch, under the stairs

or just in the shadows - they are all like-

ly hiding places for resourceful kids;

this can be based on Clever or Deft.

HISTORY

This is knowledge of people, places and

events in the past. If the kids find an old

castle, history might tell the kid some

things about the castle. It is used with

Clever.

HOBBIES

The kid might have a hobby – it can be

anything like stamp collecting, model

railways, needlework, kite flying, coo-

kery, and mechanics and so on. You get

to choose one. Normally used with

Clever, it could be Deft based.

LANGUAGES

Your character has a particular knack

for French, German and other languages

normally taught in schools in Idyllic

England. Normally used with Clever.

RIDE BICYCLE

This is exactly as it suggests. Most kids

can ride – this is doing it well; it is most

often Deft-based.

SCIENCE

The kid knows something of physics,

chemistry and biology. Probably some

first aid too. Used with Clever.

SNOOP

This is the ability of the kid to get facts

and evidence, be it getting up close to

the villains and listening in to their con-

versations and plans without being

spotted, or to find clues and evidence at

the scene when the villains are gone or

to spot ‘peculiar goings on’. All kids in

Idyllic England can do this, to some

degree. This is Clever based.

SPORTS

The kid is generally very sporty – he

could be good at football, cricket, rug-

by, horse riding, hockey, swimming,

canoeing, and archery and so on; nor-

mally based on Tough or Deft.

SPOT NASTY PEOPLE

This is the almost innate ability of the

kid to know that a grown-up is a villain,

or is up to no good. A good skill for the

GM to get the kids hooked into an ad-

venture. This skill is most often used

alongside Clever.

THROWING THINGS

The kid is adept at throwing sticks or

stones (or boomerangs). Used with Deft

for accuracy or Tough for power and

range.

USELESS FACTS

These are the sort of odd facts that a kid

might know from reading a wide range

of books or from the news and so on. It

is another useful tool for the GM to give

the players a clue about something to

help move a game along if they are

stuck. It is usually used with Clever.

WRIGGLE (FROM GRASP)

The kid is good at crawling into or out

of small gaps or tunnels. It is also useful

for getting out of a firm grip. The abili-

ty your kid needs to get away from

nasty people or bullies and so on. This

is most often a Deft-based skill.



~ 73 ~

Rolling dice In Lashings of Ginger Beer, the dice

used are the ordinary six-sided dice that

you find in board games like Monopoly.

In most cases when you roll dice to de-

termine whether your kid succeeded

when trying to do something you need

at least one five or six to come up. Of-

ten you will roll more than one die.

Where the rules are different (for exam-

ple rolling on the Useful Items Table,

the rules will explain how the dice

work).

Sometimes rolling dice can break up the

flow of the game and can get in the way

of good role-playing. So, there is a rule

of play for LoGB and that is to roll dice

only when there is a real need to do so –

i.e. where the game situation means that

it would be more exciting to do so. If it

would get in the way of a good story,

don’t do it.

Where a kid is trying to do something

that he or she has a skill in, the player

rolls a number of dice equal to the skill

level plus the most appropriate attribute

for what he is trying to do.

For example Tommy, a Truant, is firing

his catapult at an open window to try to

get a message into the room where vil-

lains are holding his friends captive (he

has wrapped a note around the stone). If

he has a 2 in catapult and 2 in Deft, then

the player gets four dice to roll. If a kid

has no appropriate skill, the player

simply rolls a number of dice equal to

his character’s most appropriate

attribute.

At least one five or six is required in

order to succeed. Where more than one

5 or 6 are rolled, the result of the action

is even more spectacular than the cha-

racter wanted.

MODIFIERS

Sometimes the GM will decide that the

task is especially easy. If this is the

case, you will require fours, fives and

sixes to succeed a task.

If the GM decides what you are doing is

especially difficult you may succeed

only if you roll at least one six.

The GM usually tells you in advance

whether the task is easier or harder than

normal so that you know what you need

to roll.

CONTESTED ROLLS

Sometimes a player will want his kid to

do something that is being opposed by

another kid or a grown-up -say a race or

a ‘scrap’ or similar. In these cases, both

players or the player and the GM roll

the appropriate number of dice.

The one who gets the most fives and

sixes is the 'winner'. Where the result of

a contested roll is a ‘draw’ - i.e. both

‘contestants’ rolled the same number of

fives and sixes this means they were

equal for that part of the action.

If, for example, it is a fight, neither side

got in a telling blow—it is a kind of

standoff and a chance to reassess the

situation. If it is a race then they are

running side by side, or in a chase the

chaser has gained no ground on the oth-

er.


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 74 ~

Fighting In a fight, the loser suffers a one-point

reduction in their Tough attribute. This

represents tiredness, being 'roughed up'

and general wear and tear. It does not

represent wounding as such -although it

could represent a bloody nose, split lip

or black eye. When Tough is reduced to

0, the kid is out of the fray -either he is

exhausted or demoralised or on his

rump crying. Either way, he has been

beaten.

You will see that there is no strict

‘round-by-round’ combat system in

LoGB like there is in other rpgs. This is

because combat is not really a feature of

the game. It is really more a case of

dealing with the whole ‘scene’ based

upon the result of the dice roll. You can

break the action up a little if you need

to or if you feel it important for a par-

ticular set piece.

Something else to bear in mind is that

kids do not fight with grownups. They

can use the skill Wriggle from grasp to

get away, or can fight them, simply to

shove them away or something, but

cannot stay in a prolonged fight with

them.

Narrative play In LoGB, you are creating a story in

Idyllic England. To help do this, narra-

tive control is passes to the players

when their kid’s succeed at doing

things.

Using Tommy as our example again,

Tommy’s player rolls 4 dice. One of

them comes up a six, so he say’s “right,

I pull back the rubber band, line up the

open window and let loose the stone. It

flies straight and true through the open-

ing”.

The more fives and sixes rolled the

more impressive the result and the more

narrative control the GM can give to the

player, within reason and within keep-

ing with the Idyllic England style.

Going back to Tommy, if he had rolled

two sixes the player could add, for ex-

ample, “the stone lands perfectly on the

lap of Sammy, who was tied to the chair

against the far wall of the room”.

Where the players fail their rolls (i.e.

they don’t get a five or six) the GM can

narrate their failure if he wants to. Al-

ternatively, the GM may want to pass

responsibility to the players to narrate

both successes and failures.

The GM can overrule anything that

seems ‘out of place’, or if a player tries



~ 75 ~

to narrate a failure into some sort of a

success.

Getting better at doing things

The kids in LoGB are at that age where

they can learn new things very quickly.

In game terms, this means that at the

end of each adventure, the kids have an

additional point to add to any one of the

things they are good at or to gain a new

one. The GM may award an additional

point to any of the players for good

role-play, within keeping with Idyllic

England. These points are ‘spent’ in the

same way as when creating a kid.

Idyllic England

Mysteries galore! Idyllic England is not a real place. It is a

place that exists only in fiction. The

kids are too clever, too nice and alto-

gether too goody-goody to be true. The

villains on the other hand are generally

a bit stupid and always have that ‘up to

no good’ look about them. They are

always frightening or of dubious cha-

racter to the kids but not really that

nasty when measured by today’s stan-

dards.

The boys in Idyllic England wear

shorts, except the older ones of 15 who

might wear long trousers almost as a

badge of seniority. The girls wear pretty

dresses unless they can get out in their

shorts without their parents seeing

them. The tomboys tend to wear dunga-

rees or shorts, like the boys, in the

summer.

In Idyllic England things are always

measured by the kids’ perspectives.

Summers are always long and hot, ad-

venture is everywhere the kids look and

most other kids are stupid, because they

are not in their gang.

There are numerous camping holidays,

cycling weekends, visits to long lost

aunts and uncles, but mysteries and ad-

ventures are always never far behind.

About The Gang The kids always form themselves into a

gang and give their gang a name.

Choose (or select by a random method)

an adjective from the first list and add it

to something from the second list. This

is the name of the gang.


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 76 ~

About Language In Idyllic England, the swear words that

exist are not as they are today and the

language used is much more quaint and

old fashioned. Try to bear this in mind

when playing the game. Here are a few

words to help you:

About Useful stuff The following is a list of items that kids

in Idyllic England might need on their

adventures. They are listed in approx-

imate order of importance to kid’s in

Idyllic England, with Lashings of Gin-

ger Beer coming top of the list, of

course.

You can choose one item from the list.

You automatically have this item. It is

yours. It was a birthday present off

mum and dad or you bought it with

saved-up pocket money or whatever. So

if your kid could choose to have a bi-

cycle or if your kid has a Hobby,

Photography, then he could choose to

have a camera.

Once you have chosen your ‘free’ item,

you can choose two more. Choose

something you want your kid to have

and roll a dice. If the dice comes up

with a number that is equal to or higher

than the number in brackets alongside

the item then your kid has the item.

If the number on the dice is higher, then

your kid does not have it. Keep on roll-

ing until your kid has a total of three

items from the list. You cannot roll for

the same thing twice.

GANG NAME, LIST #1

Admirable, Adventurous, Courageous,

Dauntless, Dynamic, Fabulous, Famous,

Fantastic, Fearless, Gallant, Glorious,

Honourable, Legendary, Magnificent,

Mysterious, Resolute, Secret, Terrific.

GANG NAME, LIST #2

Club, Crew, Gang, Dozen, Patrol,

Squad, Trio, Troop, Duo, Trio, Quartet,

Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven.... etc

SOME IDYLLIC ENGLAND

WORDS

WORD/PHRASE MEANS

Beastly Nasty, horrible

Chums Friends, pals

Corking Great, brilliant

Darn it! An expletive

Dastardly Wicked, evil

Drat! An expletive

Frightful Terrible, awful

Fuddy-duddy Boring person

Higgledy-piggledy messy,

I say Listen up, look

here, hello

Jolly jape Good laugh

Prank Joke, trick

Rotten luck Unlucky

Rotter Idiot,

Smashing Superb

Spiffing Wonderful

Wheeze Plan, caper

Wizard! Cool, excellent



~ 77 ~

USEFUL STUFF LIST

Ginger Beer (2)

Bicycle (3)

Two-man tent (4)

Sleeping Bag (3)

Bumper Boys Own Adventure Sto-

ries* (2)

Scruffy Dog (4)

Torch (2)

Penknife (2)

Wristwatch (2)

Binoculars** (3)

Camera (4)

Sketchpad & pencils (2)

Bag of Marbles (2)

Bullseyes (sweets) (2)

Aniseed Balls (sweets) (2)

Ice Cream (2)

Gobstoppers (sweets) (2)

Buns & pop in a cafe (3)

Big chocolate bar (2)

Kids cinema ticket (2)

Canoe & paddles (5)

Rope (4)

Fishing rod, hooks & gear (3)

Cricket bat, pads, ball & stumps (3)

Hockey Stick, ball and kit (3)

Football boots and kit (3)

Drums (5)

Guitar (5)

Trumpet (3)

Violin (4)

Milk, pint (2)

Bread, loaf (2)

Eggs, dozen (2)

Bacon, 1lb (2) * Swots would have the ‘Big Book of Science’ or ‘1000 Amazing Facts’ instead.

* Girls would have ‘Girls own Romantic

Adventure Stories’ instead. ** Swots may prefer to have a microscope


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 78 ~

About Currency Idyllic England uses pre-decimal cur-

rency; that is Pounds, Shillings &

Pence. In LoGB it is best to avoid get-

ting into this sort of detail - assume the

kids always have a few shillings handy.

About Getting Older These are not particularly important in

Idyllic England. There is a kind of time-

lessness about the place. No matter how

many adventures, mysteries and scrapes

the kids get themselves into; they do not

seem to get any older. Summer hols

come and go, Easter breaks seem to

occur with fantastic regularity and

school seems to be something talked of

in passing, but never encountered, like a

thing of myth.

As time does not really matter, neither

do birthdays. An adventure or game

session might involve a birthday once in

a while (often somebody else’s, like one

of the player character’s brother or cou-

sin) but do not worry about them.

Likewise Christmas is occasionally

talked about (usually as a chance for

some snowbound adventure) but other-

wise it is just another holiday. You can

let all kids take a free roll on the Useful

Items table for Christmas, if you wish.

Ignore ageing completely and simply

play all the kids through all of their ad-

ventures as if time is not passing. For

the most part time is irrelevant in Idyllic

England, so why worry that your kids

do not seem to grow up?

About Pocket Money This is vital to kids. However it often

gets spent on rubbish. Rather than sla-

vishly keep track of money, the

following rule applies. Kids must roll

the number or less on the table at the

beginning of each new adventure to see

if they have saved enough pocket mon-

ey to get any item they want. This

assumes there are at least a few weeks

between adventures.

About Brothers & Sisters A kid’s brothers and sisters are impor-

tant because it can mean extra birthday

and Christmas presents. A bigger broth-

er can also provide the means with

which to threaten the local bully.

A younger brother or sister can be a big

disadvantage -you might have to put up

with looking after them once in a while

and the kid will always tell tales on you

unless you bribe them.

To determine how many you have, roll

a d6 and subtract one from the result.

This gives 0 to 5 brothers and sisters.

Roll a dice for each - odd being a broth-

er even being a sister. Then roll again

for each - odd being older, even being

younger. Roll another dice for each,

being the age difference (from 1 to 6

years older or younger).

About Scruffy Dogs As a rule there will be only one scruffy

dog in a gang. The kid who has a scruf-

fy dog can train it. For each point of

Clever the kid has, he can teach the dog



~ 79 ~

to obey a one-word command plus two

free commands. So a kid with a Clever

attribute of 2 can teach his dog four

one-word commands. One of these must

be to come when his name is called -so

the dog must have a name.

About Playing the game The aim of the game is to have a bit of

fun. The rules are there as guidelines

only as a bit of a framework upon

which to base events. They may be ig-

nored or tailored to suit individual

gaming styles or simply to suit the situ-

ation. The rules are by no means

realistic but they do help to set the style

of role-playing in Idyllic England.

Adventures

The Big Top Adventure

INTRODUCTION

It is early in the summer holidays and

Harry Zane's Circus has come to Brim-

chester (or wherever the game is set).

The kids are full of anticipation and

excitement. They saw the circus posters

advertising the event weeks ago and

have been saving their pocket money

diligently in order that they can go.

Some of them have even had to do extra

chores around the house to be able to

save up enough money for a ticket.

GM’S INFORMATION

Harry Zane is not only a Circus Owner,

Showman and Ringmaster, but also an

international criminal and dealer in sto-

EXAMPLE COMMANDS

Sit, Worry, Chase, Attack, Guard,

Lie, Fetch, Bark, Still, Beg, Heel and

so on.


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 80 ~

len antiques and art treasures. The Big

Top is a perfect cover for his nefarious

activities, which take him all over Eu-

rope.

Three of the stars of the Circus are also

in on Harry's shady activities. These are

Hercules the Strongman, the Trapeze

Artist Marco the Magnificent and Mr.

Big the Midget Clown.

What has brought Harry’s Circus to

town is that the Brimchester Art Gallery

and Museum are currently putting on a

special display of work from the well-

known artist Victor Moylan. A while

ago an American collector, Elmer West,

approached Harry and commissioned

him to obtain a ‘Moylan’ or two.

ENTER THE KIDS

The kids will be waiting in the queue to

get their tickets to see the early evening

show. From where they are standing

they can see the hustle and bustle of the

show/people wandering around

amongst the tents and caravans -clowns

on tall stilts, fire breathers in spangled

clothes, possibly even an elephant or

the lion cages at the back! How jolly

exciting!

When the kids are about to get their

tickets, one of them gets jostled out of

the way by a large sweating man in a

pale suit and hat. The man (Elmer

West) bursts through them shouting

'Out of my way you kids (I say, how

rude!) and carries on through to the ca-

ravans and tents beyond.

A ‘Spot Nasty Person’ roll will deter-

mine that he was not a pleasant type,

and will also enable the kid to see ex-

actly which caravan the man was

heading for (Harry Zane’s). A ‘Useless

Facts’ roll would determine that the

man had an American accent.

The kids will get great seats right near

to the front of the ringside so there is

plenty of scope for the GM to get the

kids involved in one or two of the acts.

Perhaps one of the kids could be

dragged out by the clowns and have a

custard pie shoved in his face (or do the

same to one of the clowns) or maybe a

kid is made to stand against the target

for the knife thrower who will surround

the kid with well aimed knives (unless

he or she moves!).

The main purpose of this part of the

adventure is to ensure the kids see Her-

cules the Strongman, Marco the

Magnificent Trapeze Artist and Mr. Big

the Midget Clown. Their acts should be

described enough that the players take

the hint but not overdone. Certainly

other acts should receive attention too

(Lion Tamers, Tightrope Walkers,

Trampolinists and so on).

Once the show is over and the crowd

begins to disperse, the kids will notice

the ‘Man in the Pale Suit’ approaching

the Ringmaster (Harry Zane) and the

two of them will be talking in hushed

whispers and definitely acting suspi-

ciously. Any kid that can sneak close

enough will overhead snippets of the

conversation, along the lines of:

Ringmaster: “Yes, yes of course we'll

get them tonight, don't worry”

Man in Pale Suit: “Good I'll be bringing



~ 81 ~

the money tomorrow night; you'd better

have the goods”

Ringmaster: “We're professionals, Mr.

West, do not concern yourself, just have

the right money with you, £2000,

agreed?”

Man in Pale Suit: “Yes, that's right, see

you tomorrow and don't damage them”.

The Ringmaster will then return to his

caravan, where Mr. Big, Hercules and

Marco are waiting in readiness for the

robbery, which will be going ahead to-

night.

Any kids found snooping around the

site after the show will be told to leave

and if they do not take the hint they will

be forcibly ejected. What rotten luck!

THE ROBBERY

Harry Zane, Mr. Big, Marco and Her-

cules leave the Showground at the dead

of night, in Harry Zane’s Jaguar motor-

car, and drive into Brimchester and park

in the alleyway at the back of the Brim-

chester Museum & Art Gallery.

Then Marco scales the wall to the third

floor window of the old building taking

a rope ladder with him, which he fixes

to the bars of the window. He then

climbs down and Hercules climbs up

the ladder, forcing open the window

and bending the bars enough for Mr.

Big to squeeze through.

Mr. Big then enters the Gallery and

takes the paintings, passing them to

Hercules who takes them down to Harry

who puts them in the boot of his car.

When Hercules and Mr. Big have done

their bit, Marco again climbs the rope

ladder, removes it and climbs back

down the wall of the building.

NOTE

In Idyllic England there are no sophisti-

cated security devices, valuables are

protected by simple locks and bars. Be-

sides that there are very few real

criminals in Idyllic England, which is

not surprising with so many smart-alec

kids about!

THE BRIMCHESTER

CHRONICLE

The burglary makes front-page news in

the local newspaper. The kids will be

able to read their parents copies, or will

see the newspaper when they visit the

shops to buy their bullseyes.

The article mentions the forced window

and bent bars, and the fact that nobody

could possibly have climbed up the

wall, Besides there is no-one so small as

to be able to get through the bent bars;

it has the local police force completely

baffled!

The kids should have ideas of their

own, of course. There would be little

point going to the police without further

proof of their suspicions though. A fur-

ther visit to the circus would seem to be

in order. Hoorah!

TO THE CIRCUS AGAIN!

The kids will have to find a way back

into the Showground. Some may have

enough money saved up to get tickets,

but others may have to sneak in through

one of the many gaps in the hedges sur-

rounding the field, where the Big Top is

sited.


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 82 ~

The action doesn't take place until after

the show, so if the kids watch the acts

again don't forget to mention the great

strength of Hercules, the agility of Mar-

co and the diminutive size of Mr. Big.

By now the kids should be certain of

who the robbers are.

If the kids do not watch the show again,

they will have to wait around until after

the show and when the audience has

departed.

Sneaking around amongst the caravans

is likely to be a hair-raising experience.

There are all manner of show people

wandering around; lions roar from their

cages as the kids pass by, leashed dogs

bark at them and so on.

However, eventually the kids will find

Harry Zane’s caravan. Standing on

guard with his huge arms folded across

his barrel-chest, is Hercules, still in his

leopard-skin costume. The kids may be

able to sneak to a window round the

back, where they will be able to see The

Man in the Pale Suit talking with Harry.

On the table next to them is an open

case with lots of money inside, and next

to it are two large, flat, well-wrapped

parcels!

What the kids possibly do not realise, is

that Mr. Big and Marco are patrolling

nearby to ensure that Harry and Elmer

are not disturbed.

It is inevitable that one of the kids will

be spotted by either Harry Zane (whilst

they are peering through the window)

using his ‘Spot Nosey Kids’ skill or by

one of the other criminals outside. This

could develop as a chase amongst the

tents and caravans outside as the kids

scatter. Or Mr. Big could try to win one

of the kids over with his ‘Makes Kids

Laugh’ skill, and then nab one of them.

CAPTURED!

Eventually most of the kids will proba-

bly get caught. They will be rounded up

and ushered into a spare tent where they

will be tied up and gagged (try doing

that to a kid these days!), whilst Elmer

gets away and Harry decides what to do

with them.

If one of the kids gets away, he or she

could go to the police. The police will

take their time; questioning the kid very

deliberately in a disbelieving fashion

and pretending to take notes. They will

constantly ask the kid if he/she wants

some orange squash or ginger beer and

biscuits. They listen attentively and re-

peat whatever the kid says “Oh, the

Midget, I see” and “Aha, so the Circus

people did it, did they?” and so on.

ESCAPE!

Back at the Showground one of the kids

could try to work loose the bonds. If

one of them succeeds they could un-tie

the others. Then they must buy time for

the police to arrive, or one of them

could go to get help on his/her bicycle.

The ones that stay around will see Har-

ry Zane heading towards his car with

the parcels under his arm. The kids may

try to get the parcels from him. Or they

could go to Harry Zane’s caravan and

try to get the suitcase full of money.



~ 83 ~

Basically the GM should let the players

try anything which is a good idea and

within the spirit of the Idyllic England

setting.

THE VILLAINS ARRESTED!

Either way, the police can arrive just in

the nick of time (provided at least one

kid actually went for help), and after a

chase and brief, not-too-violent strug-

gle, arrest all of the villains and recover

the paintings.

The kids will be rewarded and of course

get their pictures in the next edition of

The Brimchester Chronicle.

GM’S NOTES

There are some additional ‘abilities’ in

this scenario, especially for grown-ups.

These are:

SPOT NOSEY KIDS

Works in a similar way to the kids’ skill

of Spot Nasty Person. This is the ability

to spot the sort of kids that are likely to

report the villain to the police.

SHOUT LOUDLY

Enables grown-ups to stop kids in their

tracks, whatever it is they are doing.

MAKE KIDS LAUGH

The skill of the clown to get the kids

‘on their side’ so that the Grown-up

appears non-threatening.

FIRM GRIP

This skill opposes the kids’ Wriggle

from Grasp ability.

THE VILLAINS DESCRIBED

Elmer West, Art collector

Tough 4, Deft 1, Clever 5, Charm 1

No skills of note

Harry Zane, Showman & Crimi-

nal


Shout Loudly 2

Spot Nosey Kids 2

Whip 2

Hercules, Circus Strongman


Bend Iron Bars 3

Firm Grip 3

Mr. Big, Midget & Circus Clown


Make Kids Laugh 3

Wriggle from grasp 2

Marco, Acrobat


Acrobatics 4

Firm Grip 2

The skills listed are not the only

skills these villains might have, but

they are the more important ones

that might crop up during the scena-

rio.


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 84 ~

The Mystery of The Haunted Castle

GM’S INFORMATION

Four crooks have robbed the local

branch of the Mid Counties Bank and

after a car chase have thrown off their

police pursuers. They have found their

way to the ruins of Brimchester Castle

(in the dead of night) and have stashed

the loot to be picked up in a few days,

when the heat is off.

INVOLVING THE KIDS

Of course, the kids are camping in the

woods at the foot of the hill upon which

the castle is situated. At the dead of

night, one of the PCs will awaken to the

strange sounds and eerie lights coming

from up at the castle. It is very spooky.

The GM should play this bit up as much

as possible. If the kids try to investigate

at night, have owls hoot in the woods,

have the kids getting scratched on

thorns and thistles, have branches of

trees snag in their hair like bony fingers

grasping at them.

It would be best if the crooks have al-

ready gone by the time the kids get

there and there will not be much to see

until daylight in any event.

However, when the kids start to search

the castle, they will find tyre marks

from the crooks’ vehicle and one of the

more Clever kids may also find a piece

of herringbone cloth torn from the jack-

et of one of the crooks.

CLUES & MYSTERIES

In the morning, or when the kids are

next in town, they will see the report of

the bank robbery in the local newspaper

(the Brimchester Chronicle). They will

also learn that there is a £100 reward for

information leading to the recovery of

the money.

Later on in the day one of the kids

could spot a ‘nasty person’ in the town

with a torn herringbone jacket...

The kids should not attempt to tackle

these dangerous criminals themselves

but should carry out sufficient investi-

gations and obtain enough clues and

evidence to be able to convince the po-

lice of what they are saying. Maybe the

kids could even find the loot at the same

time that the crooks return to pick it up,

possibly resulting in foot and bi-

cycle/car chases down the hill into

town. There are many other ways this

basic plotline can be developed.



~ 85 ~

The Kid Nap Caper

GM’S INFORMATION

This is the only adventure in this book

where there are actually no villains and

no nefarious deeds taking place. The

kids are supposed to assume there is

something going on and it is your job to

make sure they get hooked into the

mystery.

The kids are meant to believe that there

has been a kidnap. In actual fact the

‘kidnappers’ are the boy’s uncle and

aunt; they are looking after Thomas

whilst his parents are away on a busi-

ness trip. They do not actually mistreat

the boy, but having no children of their

own, they have very little patience with

him. It doesn't help that he is such a

spoiled brat.

KIDNAP!

Whilst cycling through the centre of

Brimchester (or the main town of your

stories), one of the kids hears a plea for

help from a car just passing by. In the

car is a young boy who has obviously

been crying, and is now apparently

struggling with a woman in the back

seat of the speeding car. The driver of

the car (a black Wolsey) has shifty eyes

and could be spotted as a ‘nasty per-

son’.

The kids can easily follow the car out

of Brimchester on their bicycles, to a

large house a mile or so into the coun-

try. The house is hidden behind a large

gate, high wall and thick bushes. If the

kids wriggle through the bushes or

watch from the gate, they will see the

boy struggling with the two grown-ups

as they take him into the house.

WATCHING THE HOUSE

By now the kids should be hooked. If

they attempt to watch the house they

will see that one or other of the adults is

with the boy at all times when playing

in the garden.

At some point, when the boy is in his

room (upstairs, and visible from the

bushes) he will have seen the kids

watching the house and will throw a

hastily scrawled note out of the window

which says that his name is Thomas and

that he has been kidnapped by these

nasty people, and they must rescue him.

THE RESCUE

If things go the right way, the kids will

plan a daring rescue or they may try to

tell the police. In the former case they


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 86 ~

will need to get rope or a ladder (there

is one round the back of the house) to

help get the boy out of his room (per-

haps under the cover of darkness).

They will then discover what a brat the

boy is and when he has had enough of

the game he will demand that he is tak-

en back to his aunt and uncle.

In the latter case, the police will require

more than just the kids’ suspicions that

Thomas has been kidnapped, to bring

them round to the house. However, if

the kids do convince the police, they

will be in real hot water when the truth

of the affair becomes clear!

Camp Raids GM’S INFORMATION

This short scenario can be introduced to

another adventure as a kind of sub-plot

or, can be used as a short stand-alone

session on its own.

The idea is that a gang of kids local to

Bassett Wood often camp near to the

stream during their summer hols. They

are very territorial and will not like it if

another bunch of kids camp nearby. The

action takes place when the PCs also

decide to camp in the woods down-

stream from the local gang.

RUMBLE IN THE WOODS

The kids are on their camping hols and

Bassett Wood looks like an ideal place

to pitch their tents. They pitch their

tents about half a mile from the other

gangs’ camp.

The kids will first know of it when they

return to their camp site having had a

day’s adventure in the nearby town or

on the beach or up at the castle, and find

all their tents pulled down, their camp-

ing gear strewn around the place, up

trees, hidden in bushes and so on. It will

take hours to sort out.

Nothing is seriously damaged or broken

kids in Idyllic England do not do that

sort of thing, but it should be enough

for the kids to want revenge.

How that revenge is taken is up to the

player characters. They might sneak to

the ‘enemy’ camp and do the same with

their tents. Or they might set a trap and

ambush the enemy gang. There are

plenty of ways they can get their own

back.

Note: The enemy gang will have the

same number of kids in it as the player

characters.



~ 87 ~

The Mysterious Manor

INTRODUCTION

One of the kids has an aunt and uncle

who live on a farm in the Summerswold

Hills and who have invited their ne-

phew or niece and his or her friends to

stay on the farm with them for a week

of the summer (or Easter) holidays.

This is absolutely smashing, because

near to the farm are some hills to go

hiking and climbing, and some woods

to explore and no doubt adventures to

be found! Uncle Fred and Aunt Mavis

are also wonderful, because they make

some great dinners and teas and they

will let you stay up really late. And you

get to see all the animals on the farm!

GM’S INFORMATION

In the woods near the farm is the old

Gresham Manor, which is reputed to be

haunted. This reputation generally

keeps people away from the place,

which has been deserted for 20 years or

more. However, it is this reputation that

makes Gresham Manor such an ideal

place for a bunch of crooks to set up

their printing presses, in the disused

cellar of the house and to go about their

criminal business of forging banknotes.

It is of course intended that the kids

somehow stumble across this activity

and once again save the day! Just what

would Idyllic England do without them,

huh?

ON THE TRAIN

The Summerswold Hills are about two

hours away by train. As train journeys

themselves are such fun, this in itself

should prove to be a great day.

Whilst on the train, have the players

make Spot Nasty Person rolls to see a

thin-faced weasely looking man in a

pin-striped suit and carrying a briefcase,

glaring at them. A little later the man

will leave his seat and one of the kids

will notice that he has dropped a piece

of paper. The piece of paper turns out to

be a crisp new £1 note. Any kid study-

ing it closely may notice that it looks a

little ‘odd’, especially if he/she has

another to compare it against.

Chasing after the man to return the note

is possible. If the kid catches up with

the Thin Man and returns the note, the


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 88 ~

man will snatch the money back and,

without a word of thanks turn and stride

away with a ‘huff’.

This will probably soon be forgotten as

the kids arrive in Summerswold Station,

where they will be met by Uncle Fred in

his old farm truck and driven the few

miles along winding country lanes, up

into the hills to the farm.

Aunt Mavis has prepared a super tea of

hot buttered crumpets and jam with

huge wedges of fruitcake and, of

course, lashings of ginger beer. The

kids will have a little time after tea to

look around the farm, and watch Uncle

Fred fetching the cows in before they

are ready for bed.

INTO THE WITCHWOODS

In the morning the kids will most likely

want to explore their surroundings and a

good place to start would seem to be the

woods, which can be seen growing over

the hills about half a mile away. Uncle

Fred is already out working, but after

breakfast Aunt Mavis will ask the kids

where they are going. When they men-

tion the Woods, she will tell them that

the woods are called The Witchwoods

and that they are to be careful. She will

also pack them some sandwiches so that

they do not need to come back for

lunch. She will however tell them that

tea will be at six o'clock.

THE MANOR HOUSE

Whilst the kids are wandering around in

the woods, they will eventually come

across the Manor. How you deal with

this depends on what the kids do, and

how you want to play it. The kids may

explore the Manor getting in through a

broken window or whatever and find

the printing press in the basement, with

the building empty. Of course, the forg-

ers could return, while the kids are

snooping around.

Or the kids could hear strange sounds

from within (the presses going) and

move closer to see what is going on….

Or they could see a thin man they rec-

ognize (from the train) going into the

house….

From here play it as you see appropriate

but make sure that it is an exciting ad-

venture!

The Secret of Demon Rocks INTRODUCTION

The uncle of one of the kids has written

to the kid’s parents recently. In his letter

he mentions that he has recently inhe-

rited an old disused lighthouse from his

old great-aunt. How she came by it is a

mystery to him, but he says in his letter

that he has been there to look it over

and it is a solid-built affair, near to the

village of Shoremouth, on the south

Cornish coast. What he hasn’t yet de-

cided is what to do with his wonderful

lighthouse!

However, he is thinking of doing it up

and using it for holiday lettings. In the

meantime (his letter goes on to say), “if

little ……….. (the kid’s name) and his

friends want to have somewhere excit-

ing to stay for the holidays, he would

happily let them be the first to try out



~ 89 ~

the lighthouse”!

He says that he has left a key with old

Jeremiah Boodle in the village, if the

kids are allowed to go and he will let

Mr. Boodle know when the kids are

coming to stay so they can get the key

from him. Directions to Mr. Boodle’s

cottage are included.

A lighthouse! What an adventure!

MR. JEREMIAH BOODLE

After the train and taxi journey, the kids

will find Jeremiah Boodle’s cottage in

Shoremouth. Outside the cottage on a

small hand-painted board is a sign that

reads “Captain J Boodle. The only real

guide to the Wrecker’s Caves. Tours

start here daily”.

He is an old man, at least a hundred (the

kids will reckon). As he hands them the

keys to the lighthouse he says “Of

course, it’s on the Demon Rocks, you

know. Them’s awful dangerous when it

whips up a storm. That’s why the ligh-

thouse was built. Course, that put paid

to the Wreckers too.”

If the kids press him, Jeremiah will tell

them more. “The Wreckers was livin’ in

the village. There was three of ‘em.

Dangerous fellows they was. They

made a livin’ steerin’ ships into the

rocks and then takin’ the stuff the ship

was carryin’. Then the lighthouse was

built, so the Wreckers made one last

haul. They heard of a treasure ship that

was due by, and so they snuck into the

lighthouse, clobbered the keeper and

turned out the light. They then put a

light further along the shore, so that the

ship thought it was missin’ the Demon

Rocks, but it crashed right into ‘em.

Wrecked it were. Then, as they was

down at the rocks picking up the trea-

sure, the keeper awoke and sounded the

alarm. Well, them Wreckers was even-

tually caught, and put in prison, where

they rotted, but the treasure was never

found, to this day.”

Jeremiah goes on “There’s plenty of

caves down there, the place is riddled

with ‘em. People thinks the Wreckers

managed to hide the treasure, but de-

spite all the searchin’ it ain’t never been

found.”

He then asks “I s’pose you kids would

like to see the caves, wouldn’t you?”

Assuming the kids say yes, arrange-


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 90 ~

ments can be made for the following

day.

THE LIGHTHOUSE

A half a mile out of the village along a

track through some rough terrain, the

kids will find some cliffs overlooking

the sea. Set in the cliffs are some steps

leading down a little way to a cause-

way.

At the other end of the causeway is a

little rocky island with dangerous rocks

all around it atop which sits the ligh-

thouse. The fact there is a causeway

may not be lost on the kids -the island

will be cut off from time to time. (A kid

who makes a Clever roll, plus any ap-

propriate skill, maybe Geography will

realise this).

Anyway, at the moment the cause-

way is clear and the kids can go

across to the lighthouse, which isn’t

that large and has an old look about

it. Kids can make a Snoop roll to

spot that above the door is a date

(1850) indicating when it was built.

The lighthouse is arranged on 3

floors-the entrance floor includes a

small kitchen area, the next floor is

the bathroom and separate wc and

the upstairs room is a small bed-

room. In the bedroom is a metal

ladder fitted to the wall, which leads

up to a trapdoor in the ceiling, open-

ing out to the outside and a balcony

running around the whole upper

area, which houses the oil-powered

light in the middle. There is also a

large bell up here.

EXPLORING FURTHER

Looking out across the sea, the village

of Shoremouth can be seen as can

another larger, more modern lighthouse,

across the other side of the bay.

The kids can settle down and explore

the island (such as it is) from here. They

can also see some caves in the cliffs,

probably the ones that they are going to

see tomorrow with Mr. Boodle. (If a

player suggests that his kid wants to go

to the caves now, remind them of the

tiring journey, the need to get them-

selves sorted out and fed and so on.

After tea and suchlike, it gets darker, it

begins to rain and the sea starts to get

up a bit, beginning to cover the cause-

way).



~ 91 ~

THE WRECKER’S CAVES

This bit of the adventure is designed to

allow the GM to give his players more

information and leads if he feels they

need them to resolve the mystery of the

whereabouts of the treasure later. Mr.

Boodle tells them that the cliffs are rid-

dled with caves, which is why the

treasure, if there ever was any, hasn’t

been found yet. It doesn’t stop people

looking though! He even mentions that

there are rumoured to be caves under

the lighthouse.

A NASTY MEETING

Partway round their tour, the group will

have a run-in with two shifty looking

characters Albert Sloop and Barney

Gribbens. One of the kids will spot

them trailing them and listening in on

what Jeremiah and the kids are saying.

The men, when spotted will come out

and sneer at Jeremiah, telling him to

stay away, the caves are theirs and they

run the tours around here and such like.

It becomes very nasty and Jeremiah will

take the kids away from the men who

threaten him and tell him not to come

back or it will be the worse for him.

Jeremiah will explain to the kids as they

are leaving the caves that these two

scoundrels have been looking for the

treasure for years, since they came to

the area from ’up north’. As they ha-

ven’t found the loot, they are trying to

take Jeremiah’s trade away from him

and have been taking tours through the

caves themselves, whilst keeping an eye

on anyone who comes and goes, in case

they find anything. He says they’ve

even threatened him with harm from

time to time, as a measure of how dan-

gerous they are!

WHAT NEXT?

From here there are many ways to go

with this adventure. The kids will prob-

ably want to explore the caves on their

own (in fact this would be a good idea -

if they don’t suggest it themselves, you

could steer them towards it).

In the caves, they would then need to

find more evidence of a cave under

their lighthouse - a very small passage

leading off in the right direction that

only a little kid (good at Wriggle from

Grasp) can get through, to see a small

cave beyond, which even he cannot get

into. Or perhaps the scruffy dog runs off

and comes back minutes later with a

gold coin in his mouth.

The villains have suspected that there is

a cave under the lighthouse for a long

while and overhearing the kids in the

tunnels convinces them. They decide to

go to the lighthouse itself to explore.

The kids will not all be able to get down

the passage, but their lighthouse might

hold a clue. They might think to go

back and search it. If they do, under an

old reed mat on the ground floor is a

rusty iron trapdoor. After a struggle

they can get it open and will see (with

the aid of lamps or torches) a cave be-

low, with an iron ladder fixed to the

wall leading into the darkness.

A thorough search below will reveal a

cave with cracks and crevices and hid-

den in a crevice is a sack with gold

coins inside, some spilling out as the


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 92 ~

sack has rotted. However, as they

search, Sloop and Gribble come to get

the treasure. They will get it off the kids

and shut them in! They are hopeful that

this will buy them time to get far away

from here long before the kids are

found. However, they haven’t bargained

for these kids!

GETTING AWAY!

There must be a way for the kids to es-

cape. Go with anything reasonable - the

trapdoor hinges snap or one of the kids

can wriggle through a gap or whatever.

When they do get out though, they see

the tide is in and the causeway is cov-

ered. They can see the villains just

clambering up the cliff steps with the

gold coins.

If they don’t think about it, you might

need to help the players here. The light

in the lighthouse still works. So does

the bell. It would make a great alarm!

The local police will soon round up

Sloop and Gribbens and the kids will be

able to claim treasure trove and receive

a handsome amount of money for their

trouble.

ABOUT LASHINGS OF GINGER

BEER

This was the first role playing game I

wrote. It must have been around 1985.

LoGB was a much different beast then

and used a percentile system. After

playing it a few times, it went away into

a folder on my RPG bookshelf for a few

years. I then broke it out to play a few

more times, after which I submitted it to

Valkyrie Magazine (sadly now long

gone). I was pleased that it was ac-

cepted for publication; appearing in

Issue # 7.

A few years later, I worked on LoGB

some more and, in about 2001, I re-

leased it as a free pdf download on the

Web, with a couple of other free RPGs .

It was at this stage, I thought about pub-

lishing the game for sale.

In 2003, after another rewrite and add-

ing a bunch of adventures, I started

selling the pdf on RPGNow. It sold

slowly but steadily, always to positive

reviews. I also printed up a few copies

(less than 50) on my home printer, put

them in zip-lock bags and sold them

locally and on ebay. These might be

collector’s copies in years to come!

After a limited print run via LULU,

LoGB has now found its place in this

little collection of three rpgs.

I hope my little homage to Enis Blyon’s

Famous Five will bring you as much

fun as it has brought me over the years.

Simon W

THE VILLAINS DESCRIBED

Albert Sloop


Spot Nosey Kids 2

Barney Gribbens


Shout Loudly 2

Firm Grip 2


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 93 ~

WHAT IS THIS?

________________________________________________

It’s a Dog’s Life is a role-playing game (RPG). In RPGs the action takes place

in the imagination of the players ra-

ther than on a board as in other types

of game. By using a set of rules as a

framework, the players create game

characters (player characters or PCs

which, in this game, are prairie dogs)

to act as their alter egos, living in the world they have created. In essence,

the players are creating a story as

they go and much of the story is simp-

ly a verbal interchange between the

players.

One of the players takes the role of

the gamesmaster (GM). This player has the task of creating the adven-

tures, much like an author writing a

story. (Interestingly, It’s a Dog’s Life

has been described as ‘Watership

Down’ on the Great Plains). However,

unlike an author, the GM doesn’t al-

ways know what the characters will

do. This is because the other players are playing those characters. The GM

directs the flow of the game, describes

the things that the characters see and

hear (and smell and taste) and speaks

for the other characters (critters) that

they come across during the course of

the adventure.

Sometimes the outcome of a charac-

ter’s action is not a foregone

conclusion and this is where these

rules will help. These rules describe

IT’S A DOG’S LIFE


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 94 ~

how the GM and players can determine

the success or otherwise of the actions

of their prairie dogs as they adventure across the plains. This is a deliberately

‘rules-light’ game. This means that

there are not rules for everything that

characters might want to do, but the

rules are simple enough to cater for

most things with a little judgment.

Even so, if the rules start getting in

the way of telling a good story, then ignore them or use them sparingly.

It’s a Dog’s Life is a fantasy game, but

not in the traditional sense of elves,

dwarves, magic and swordplay. The

prairie dogs in this game take the

place of the heroes that you might be

used to playing. Although It’s a Dog’s Life is fantasy it does have its basis in

reality and a lot of what is written

about prairie dogs in these rules is

taken from fact. There are more real-

life facts about prairie dogs in the last

chapter of this book, just in case you

are interested. Some of these facts

might even find their way into your own games and they will certainly help

you understand more about these in-

teresting critters. However, the game

is not about playing real prairie dogs

but fantasy ones. So don’t let real-life

natural history rule your games - after

all this is a game, so just go and have

some fun with it!

Dice in the game In most role-playing games dice are

used to judge whether a character

succeeded at a task and It’s a Dog’s

life is no different in this respect. The

dice used are twenty-sided dice (de-

noted as d20) and standard six-sided

dice (denoted as d6). Sometimes more

than one d6 will be rolled and this is denoted by a number in front of the

‘d6’, so if 2 dice are needed, the nota-

tion would be 2d6.

Sometimes a number is to be added to

or subtracted from the result of the

dice roll. That would be denoted as d6+1, or d6-1 and so on. Occasionally,

these rules talk about d3 or d2. In the

former case, this means that the result

of the dice roll is divided by two

(rounded up) and in the second case,

the result is divided by 3 (in effect a 1,

2 or 3 =1 and a 4, 5 or 6 = 2).

D20

The d20 is used when rolling to see

whether an ability has been used suc-

cessfully or not. The number rolled

needs to be lower than the target

number.

D6 The d6 is used when creating your

character attributes and when rolling

for damage in Tooth & Claw; in this

case, generally speaking, the higher

the number, the better.

Example of role-play GM: Recently some dogs have gone

missing including the healer, Sedge.

He was last seen yesterday around sunrise, harvesting some plants that

grow a short distance from Great

Home.

Nicky: (playing a Brave called Burrow-

Digger) That’s not good, is he our only

Healer?

GM: No, fortunately, but he is a very

wise dog, who is thought to grow the

best crop of Dropseed anywhere. He

also brought back a mighty Brave from

death once, with a single Bark.

Nicky: Wow, very skilled!

GM: Yes and several Scouts including

Moon-Dog and Swiftly-Finds-Stuff wish

to go and find him. But they need a

strong Brave and they ask you and



~ 95 ~

your twin brother, Dark-Paw (a Senti-

nel) to go with them.

Steve: (Speaking as Dark-Paw) “Sis-

ter, I think we must go with them and

find what has happened to Sedge”.

Nicky: “Yes, you are right brother.

Moon-Dog, we will go with you and

Swiftly-Finds-Stuff, if you show us the

way”.

GM: You all begin to scamper through

the wilderness of the prairie. It is par-

ticularly dry at the moment and dust

begins to settle in your fur as you tra-

vel. You come to the outer edges of

the town past the older disused bur-

rows and growing plots. Make a Watching Ability roll; if you do not

have Watching, the default is your

dog’s Alertness.

Nicky: Burrow-Digger has not got

Watching, but Alertness is 3 and (rolls

a dice) I rolled a 15….oops! Not good.

Steve: Aha, of course Dark-Paw does

have Watching 3, and with his Alert-

ness of 5, I need 8. I rolled 4 any

good?

GM: You see a small speck of red liq-

uid. You have seen this stuff before.

Blood!

Steve: “LOOK!” says Dark-Paw, speak-

ing sharply but quietly.

GM: The Scouts offer to look around

and they easily follow the path of

blood and the sick smell gets stronger.

Nicky: “This isn't good. We should be

careful”

GM: suddenly you come upon the dis-

turbing and sickening body of a

dismembered prairie dog…………..and

so on. The game is afoot!

GREAT HOME ________________________________________________

The Tribe I am Talks-With-Birds, the High

Speaker of Great Home. I speak for

High Chief Strong-Heart and it falls

upon me therefore, to tell you some-thing about the way we live.

Strong-Heart has his burrow right in

the middle of our town of Great Home.

In his burrow are his own personal

chambers and the chambers of his

immediate family, called his Tribe. The

Lodge is also here and it is in this hal-lowed hall that the Great Councils take

place between Strong-Heart and all

the other Tribal Chiefs. Of course, Tri-

bal Speakers also attend the Great

Council, so the Lodge is well known to

me. We use it for our own Tribal Coun-

cils too.

We are the Dawn Eagle Tribe and we

are ably led by Strong-Heart and his

mate Berry. Then there is myself and

the ten other Elders of the Tribe to-

gether with our own mates and pups

and other adults.

The Elders are: Leaf-Paw, the Healer (my own mate), Storm and Crow-Face

the Sentinels, the Scouts Wander-Free

and Lone-Dog and the Braves Many-

Scars, Snaggle-Tooth, Stone-Paw and

Torn-Ear. The remaining adults have

no particular role in our family other

than to share food gathering duties,

dig new chambers, look after the young pups, clean out our burrows

and so on. Some of them are old and

just happy that they are still useful to

the Tribe and others are yet young

and eager to take up more challenging

roles when they are ready.


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 96 ~

Our Tribal Totem, the Dawn Eagle

comes from our legendary hero Flies-

With-Eagles. She taught us our Tribal Bark, which has been passed down

many generations and many of our

traditions come from her time, like the

Tradition of Feathers. This is where

young adults are first given their offi-

cial Roles in the Tribe. At this stage,

we hold a ceremony whereby they re-

ceive their first feather, denoting their new status. Later, additional feathers

can be awarded for acts of bravery

and so on, as when Flies-With-Birds

fought the Eagle to save her pups.

Anyway, I digress. Our lands consist of

a number of burrows and chambers

connected by tunnels. Just beneath the entrance to our homes we have

built a listening post so that our Senti-

nels can wait and check for sounds

before risking their heads by looking

out of the entrance hole.

Above ground, we construct mounds

for our Sentinels to have a good view

of the surrounding area. From here

they can watch for predators whilst

our pups play and whilst Leaf-Paw and

her helpers work on their plots, tend-

ing the plants that grow all around our tribal lands.

The burrows of the other tribes that

make up Great Home radiate out from

our home burrows like the rays from

the sun. The nearer burrows are re-

served for the tribes of the greatest

status. This is a simple question of the size and the strength of the tribe.



~ 97 ~

The most fertile soils are right here in

the centre of Great Home. This is

where the grasses and plants are more succulent and receive the attention of

the best Healers of Great Home.

Most of the burrows are connected by

one route or another underground, but

only the Scouts know all of the under-

ground ways. Journeys across town

are usually quicker using

the best-

known paths,

which are

normally part-

ly above and

partly below.

Sentinels guard the en-

trances and

exits of the

common

ways.

The further

out from the centre of

Great Home

you go, the

tougher life is

for the tribes that live there. On the

outer fringes of the town, a little less

than half a day away, the tribes are

the smallest and have the least status. They are the first to be attacked when

there are predators about, their crops

are the poorest and beyond them is

only the vast open expanse of the un-

tamed prairie.

These lesser tribes often have no

Speaker or Healer and so tend to be poorly represented at Tribal Councils

(if their Chiefs bother to attend at all)

and they often rely upon other tribes

for help when they have sickness or

injury. Their Scouts are amongst the

most adventurous though and they

know the most about what exists

beyond the outer reaches of the town.

The burrows nearer the centre change paws from time to time as tribes gain

in strength and others lose some of

their power or status. Sometimes

there are skirmishes between the tri-

bes and these can lead to raids and

open slaughter.

The Councils are where

grievances are

supposed to be

aired, but this

doesn’t always

happen. So it is

a constant bat-

tle for tribes to maintain their

position.

We have to en-

sure that one

day, when the

time is right,

our Chief Strong-Heart is

replaced by a

powerful Brave,

lest one of the

other tribes seek to usurp our own

place at the centre of Great Home.

Fortunately, that day is far off, as

Strong-Heart is still in the full flush of his vigour and youth.

Feather Tradition The Tradition of Feathers is an old one

dating back to the time of Flies-With-

Eagles. Although the eagle is our To-

tem, feathers of many different kinds

can be worn. Other tribes have

adopted the tradition, even though

their own Totems might be some other critter. Some tribes don’t use feathers

as adornments - they use bits of

twigs, old bones, sharp thorns or por-

cupine quills - sometimes pushed


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 98 ~

through their ears or other parts.

Within the Tribe, wearing feathers de-notes the status of the wearer.

Initially, one feather is awarded for a

dog that is given a Role within the

Tribe. For many members of the Tribe,

this is the height of their status and

they are never awarded more than

one. Other, more adventurous dogs go

on to be decorated with two or more feathers.

The feathers are held in place by a

cunning method. First of all, a dog

chews the quill of the feather so that it

becomes rough and serrated. Then a

paste of plant juices and special saps

is applied to give the serrated edges extra hold. Once in place, the feather

will normally hold good for many

moons before it needs fixing again.

Feathering Ceremony

A prairie dog is

awarded her

first feather

when she has

been assigned a

Role in the Tribe. This

feather is pre-

sented by Chief

Strong-Heart in

a grand Fea-

thering

Ceremony. The

whole ceremony is presided over

by myself and is

a moment of

great pride for

the recipient

and great joy

for the rest of

the Tribe. Much merrymaking

and a lot of

playful frolick-

ing takes place afterwards (if

you get my

drift). Our Sen-

tinels need to

be extra watch-

ful on these

occasions and I

take great pains to ensure

that all of the

Dreamcatchers

hanging around

the Lodge are

in perfect con-

dition in case a

ferret or coyote should be wan-

dering past.

Earning more

feathers Whilst most

dogs only ever

receive the one

feather, some

dogs go on to

earn further

feathers, nor-

mally for acts of bravery but

there are other

things that can

earn a dog a

feather.

Braves will ob-

viously earn feathers for

courageous

acts, out-

Stancing dan-

gerous

enemies, lead-

Ceremony

For the purposes of the game, you

can assume that the player charac-ters have already

received their first feather. In fact, a

great place to start your campaign

might actually be at the Feathering

Ceremony itself. All the player cha-racters could be

young pups who have just been

assigned their Roles and are to-

gether in the Lodge nervously

awaiting the arriv-al of Chief Strong-Heart with the

feathers that mark their new status in the Tribe.

Feathers

You note the number of feathers that your

dog has won on your character sheet, in the space provided.

Each feather gives your prairie dog ex-

tra status within the Tribe. A dog with two

feathers is always classed as a Tribal

Elder and this has its own privileges. How-ever, the personal

effect on a dog with a feather or two is

extraordinary. A feather seems to

instil a sense of self-belief and pride, a

feeling that the dog is protected by the spirits of the dogs of

the ancient Legends.

This translates, in game terms, to a

resource that can be drawn upon from

time to time during the game session, to improve a character’s

chances of succeed-ing at actions they

would otherwise have failed at. For

each feather that a dog has, she can

draw upon this inner spirit once per ad-venture, to add a

bonus of +2 to a single dice roll and

turn a failure into a success. There is

more about this in the chapter headed

Abilities. If a feather is used in this way, it doesn’t go ‘away’, it

is available to be used again in the

same way in the next adventure.



~ 99 ~

ing the Tribe to victory over another

tribe and so on. Healers may earn

feathers for finding a cure for the Black Death or nursing an important

Tribal Elder back to health after injury.

Scouts can earn feathers for finding

new sources of food or for locating

new lands to build new towns.

Dreamcatchers An extension of the Feather tradition;

Dreamcatchers are fetishes made by

Speakers and Healers of great power

and wisdom. Dreamcatchers are crafted to protect against certain pre-

dators and to drive them away. There

will usually be Dreamcatchers all

around The Lodge to protect the Tribe

whilst they are at their Councils. I

have made many Dreamcatchers in

my time – sometimes alone and some-

times working with others. They are made using several varieties of

grasses and feathers from different

birds and imbued with power in a ri-

tual known only to a few of us.

Making Dreamcatchers The type of critter is specified before-

hand (because the feathers and grasses used differ for each critter type, as does the arrangement and design of the fe-

tish).

Three different types of grass and the feathers from two different types of bird

are required in the making of a Dream-catcher. In addition, the praire dog

must have Plant Lore, Critter Lore and Wisdom all of 4 or greater, before they can make one. Of course, 2 or 3 dogs

working together can make a Dream-catcher, provided each requisite is

covered by one or more of the dogs.

It also requires successful Very Hard Critter Lore and Plant Lore rolls, other-

wise all it is a very interesting but useless trinket.

A Dreamcatcher will only work once against one critter of the type it was

designed to ward against. Once used, it no longer has the power against the

critter and a new one must be made. However, if all the rolls are successful in

the making, it will never fail. How long the critter stays away is another mat-ter!


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 100 ~

Daubing Speakers have devised a way of mix-

ing mud of various hues (sometimes

mixed with plant extracts for extra

variety) and daubing this mixture onto the fur of prairie dogs—Braves and

Scouts are particularly keen on these

markings and they often wear them

when preparing for battle or adventure

as a kind of ‘war paint’. The designs

are stylised and based on the shapes

and markings of various critters of the

prairie.

TRIBAL LEGENDS ________________________________________________

The Prairie Dog and the Coyote

(Adapted from Native American Fol-

klore)

Long ago it is said that somewhere out there beyond the big prairie, prairie

dogs had a town. It is also known that

the ancient prairie dogs used to roll

big rocks over their burrows at night

whilst they were sleeping to keep out

the rattler and the ferret as even in

those far away days, these were our

enemies.

Then one day, those prairie dogs hav-

ing gathered together were

merrymaking and dancing outside

their homes. As they were continuing

in this way, Coyote arrived among

them. Coyote said, “You are all danc-

ing?”

“Yes”, they replied.

“All of you shut your houses tightly.

We will dance. All keep coming, all

keep coming”, said the Coyote. “All of

you dancing, holding paws with each

other; come with your eyes tightly

closed”.

So, the prairie dogs closed up their

tunnels with the rocks they used for

that purpose and began to dance with

Coyote. As they danced Coyote

grinned a wicked grin showing his

sharp teeth. From one end of the long

line of dancers, he came biting them. One of the more wary prairie dogs

hadn’t shut his eyes as tightly as the

others, for he was not taken in. He

saw that Coyote was biting the danc-

ers. That one, whose name was

Watcher said, “Everyone Run! He is

come killing us!”

Those ones who heard Watcher ran to

their homes. As they were unable to

get into their burrows quickly because

they had closed the entrances, Coyote

continued biting.

The Coyote then piled together all he

had bitten and ate a great feast.

Prairie dogs no longer bar the en-

trances to their homes and always

ensure that their Sentinels are watch-

ful in case Coyote should ever come

back to trick his way into their towns.



~ 101 ~

Thunderhoof and Kynos For a long time Bison ruled the plains.

They roamed where they wanted and

because of their huge size, were un-

troubled by coyotes and eagles who hunted smaller prey.

Kynos, The Lord of the prairie dogs

being mindful of what Coyote had

done to another town, saw that the

plains could be a safe home to both

dogs and bison. So went out to find

Thunderhoof, the Lord of the Bison to

seek his permission to live on the plains.

Thunderhoof laughed at the audacity

of the little dog that approached him

and was tempted to squash him under his mighty hoof. However, Kynos per-

sisted and said “If you let us build our

homes on your plains, we will forever

tend the crops and grasses that grow

there and in doing so will ensure that

even in times of drought there is food

to sustain all of us”.

Thunderhoof was impressed with the

fearlessness of the prairie dog and

could see how this arrangement would

benefit his herd. He was particularly

aware of the suffering that his herd


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 102 ~

had endured the last time that drought

came to the plain. So he removed his

hoof from over Lord Kynos and nodded his great shaggy head in assent.

Since that day, prairie dogs and bison

have become great friends. Kynos

brought his tribe to the prairie and

founded the First Town, which he

named Thundertown after the Bison

Lord.

The Scout and the Owl (Adapted from Native American Fol-

klore)

Once, long, long ago, there stood a

large prairie dog town at the base of a

mountain. This town may or may not

have been Thundertown, the tale is

not clear. All around about the base of

this mountain were the sky-holes and door-mounds and pathways of the

grandfathers of the prairie dogs. At

the very top of the mount was the

home of a wise old Burrowing-owl.

One summer it rained and it rained

and it rained. As it rained, so the wa-

ters rose to the tops of the dog’s best crops of dropseed and blue grama.

The prairie dogs did not like this for it

made them wet and threatened their

homes. Then the prairie dogs began to

curse the rain, for they could no longer

go to the fields to collect food. The

Elders decided to call a Great Council.

Every-dog trooped to the council, which was gathered in the Great

Lodge.

“Now,” said the chief, who may or

may not have been Lord Kynos, for

again the tale is unclear, “Our fields

are flooded. We are short of leg and

we can't go into the lakes to gather food, and here we are therefore going

hungry”.

They talked and talked but could find

no answer until at last a young Scout

piped up that it would be well to apply

to their grandfather, the Burrowing-owl, who lived in the top of the moun-

tain. The Scout, called Swift-Paw, was

chosen as messenger to the Burrow-

ing-owl. He climbed to the top of the

mountain and respectfully asked the

owl for his help. The old grandfather

Burrowing-owl, asked what the matter

was.

“My grandfather,” said the prairie dog,

"in council we have considered how to

stop the rains; but all of our efforts

and devices are quite futile, so that we

are forced to apply to you."

“Ah, indeed,” said the old Owl, scrat-ching the corner of his eye with his

claw. “Go down home, and I will see

what I can do tomorrow morning. As

you all know very well, I am a Speak-

er. I will set aside four days for fasting

and meditation and sacred labours.

Please await the result.”

The youngster humbly bade him fare-

well and departed for his town below.

Next morning the Burrowing-owl ga-

thered a large quantity of beans, of

the kind that smell not pleasantly. He

went about for a long time, hunting at

the roots of bushes. At last he found one of those ill-smelling beetles, with

its head stuck way down in the midst

of the roots. He grabbed him up and

took him home.

When he arrived there, he gave the

beetle a great pile of beans to eat.

Then, when the beetle had finished, he placed another great pile before him.

The beetle ate them all till he was

broad of girth.

While the feast was going on the Owl

found round piece of buckskin and he

was running a thread of twisted



~ 103 ~

grasses round about the edge of it

with his beak and claws, leaving two

strings at either side, like the strings with which one draws together a

pouch.

Then he grasped the beetle and

squeezed the beetle into the bag. Not

so strongly that he was killed, but so

that he exhaled a great deal of foul

wind into the bag. The bag was swelled until it was so full with strug-

gling wind that it could hardly be tied

up.

When the morning of the fourth day

came, and the rain still continued, in

fact increased, the old Owl took the

bag of wind out to the mount before his doorway.

Now, you know that if one goes near a

Tip-beetle and disturbs him, that Tip-

beetle will rear himself on his hands

and head and disgorge breath of so

pungent a nature that nobody can

withstand it. Woe to the nose of that dog that is in the neighbourhood! It

will be so seared with this over-

powering odour that it cannot sneeze,

though desiring never so much to do

so. You also know how too many

beans affect a dog. Conceive then, the

power of the medicine contained in

that little bag.

The old Owl hit the bag one whack of

his wing. The clouds, before so thick,

glaring with lightning, trembling and

swirling with thunder, now began to

thin out in the zenith and depart, and

the sunlight sifted through. The Owl

hit the bag another stroke, behold, afar off scudded the clouds as before a

fierce blast. Again the old Owl hit the

bag with a huge beat of his wing. The

clouds were resting on the far away

mountain-tops before he had lowered

his wing. Then, with one mighty effort,

he gave the bag a final whack, wholly

emptying it of its contents, and the

sky was as clear as it is on a summer's

day.

Out from their holes trooped the prai-

rie dogs, and sitting up on their

haunches all round about the moun-

tain, they shouted at the tops of their

shrill voices, in praise of their great

Speaker, the Grandfather Burrowing-

owl. Behold, thus it was in the days of the ancients. And for that reason prai-

rie-dogs and burrowing-owls have

always been great friends.

The Eagle and the Brave The Brave, Broken-Paw (named after

an injury from a fall as a pup) was

watching over her pups one day, when

a nearby Sentinel let out a warning

bark that told of the approach of a mighty eagle.

Broken-Paw tried in vain to get all her

pups to safety, but the shadow that

passed overhead told her that she was

too late. Without thinking, she leapt

towards the massive feathered beast


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 104 ~

that was swooping down on her terri-

fied pups. She hit the eagle and dug

her claws and teeth into its side.

The startled eagle took off not expect-

ing such a savage attack, taking the

fearless prairie dog with him. The

eagle managed to hook her into his

sharp talons and sped off towards the

mountains with its struggling prey.

Broken-Paw was not yet finished. She

bit into the eagle’s leg and started to

draw blood. The eagle was in pain and

decided that there must be easier

ways to eat and so dropped the prairie

dog, who fell a long way down to the

earth.

Broken-Paw was badly broken again,

but the Sentinels had seen where she

fell and directed the Scouts to find her.

They brought her back to be healed

and found gripped tightly in her teeth

an eagle feather. It was this, they say,

that slowed her fall and saved her life.

She earned her new name Flies-With-

Eagles and so began the Tradition of

Feathers - the wearing of feathers in

the fur, both for passing into adult-

hood and for acts of bravery.

The Sentinel and the Locust

Now many moons ago there was a

town out on the prairie where lived the

Sentinel, Stands-Tall. The Dark Death

had been striking at every town across the prairie at this time and no-dog

knew the cause, but the town was

afraid and the Sentinels were alert for

danger.

Now a little locust came hopping along

to the edge of Stands-Tall’s vision.

Many Sentinels had ignored the little locust for they are no threat to town or

tribe. However, Stands-Tall was ever

cautious and shouted to the locust to

go away. The locust smiled and said

“But I am not harmful to you”.

The Sentinel remained firm and said

again “Leave our town, or I will bite

you” and with that the locust left.

Now I am not saying that locusts are

responsible for bringing down the Dark

Death, but what I will say is that the

plague persisted and for many moons other Tribes suffered horribly. Howev-

er, not one prairie dog from Stands-

Tall’s town has ever died from the

Dark Death since that day.

CHARACTERS ________________________________________________

Creating your character The first step for a player of It’s a

Dog’s Life is to make a prairie dog

character. The GM will not do this; she

has plenty of other things to do but she will help you through the process.



~ 105 ~

For a start, the GM will describe some

of the background and stuff that your character would know about Great

Home and the prairie dog traditions.

This will help you decide what kind of

Role you might like for your character;

that is whether you want a big tough

Brave, a stalwart Sentinel or a slightly

unhinged Speaker.

The steps of the character creation

process are as follows:

• Roll attributes: You roll a

single dice for each of the four

attributes of Size, Agility,

Alertness and Wisdom. There

is an optional method, which your GM will explain if she is

happy for you to use this other

method. Put the resulting

numbers in the spaces on your

character sheet.

• Choose a characteristic: You

need to think about what physical or social feature is the

most apparent thing about

your character. Write this

down on your sheet.

• Dreams: You need to know

what are the aims or goals

that drive your dog to a life of adventure, rather than just

stay safe and secure in Great

Home like the vast majority of

prairie dogs. Write your Dream

down on your sheet.

• Feathers: All player charac-

ters have been presented with their very first feather for be-

ing accepted into their Role in

the Tribe. Put a ‘1’ in the

space on your sheet.

• Wound points: Add six plus

the Size attribute of your cha-

racter and write this number

down on your character sheet.

• Choose a Role: There are six

Roles, although the Wildling

isn’t a Role as such. Check

that your dog has the mini-

mum Attribute required for the

Role chosen. Write your cho-

sen Role on your sheet.

• Barks and Abilities: Write

down the Barks and Abilities

that your character automati-

cally receives for the Role you

have chosen.

• Select further Barks and

Abilities: You get further points to increase your dog’s

Barks and Abilities or to ac-

quire new ones. Write the final

levels down in the space on

your sheet.

• Name your prairie dog: If

you haven’t thought of a name already, you need to choose

one now.

Attributes Attributes are a numerical way of de-

fining a critter for game purposes.

They are the natural or born traits of

the critter. They help determine what

a critter is capable of and form a

yardstick for comparing the relative strengths and weaknesses of prairie

dog characters and other critters.

To determine your characters attribute

levels, simply roll one dice (d6) for

each and write down the numbers in

the order they appear on your prairie

dog character sheet. Now total up the numbers. If they equal or exceed 16,

do nothing more at this stage. If they

total less than 16, you can add points

to any attribute or attributes, so that


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 106 ~

the overall total is brought up to 16.

You cannot raise any individual

attribute above 6 at this stage.

Alternative attribute method

Some players prefer to decide the

attributes for their character in a non-

random way. This is often because

they already have a

good idea of the type

of character they want to play. If this is

the case, then this

method can be used.

Simply distribute 16

points amongst the

four attributes in any

way you like, subject

to the usual minimum of 1 and the maxi-

mum of 6 in each

attribute.

Using this method,

you have more con-

trol over your character choices. How-

ever, you do not have the potential to end up with a truly magnificent prairie

dog, with high scores in every

attribute.

Size

This attribute is a measure of not only

how big the critter is, but also its har-

diness, strength and general toughness. A big critter can get more

power into its bite, is more able to

withstand punishment and appears

more intimidating to smaller critters.

Size is most important to Braves and

therefore needs to be 4 or more for a

prairie dog to take this Role.

Agility

This is a measure of the critter’s over-

all nimbleness, speed, surefootedness

and stealth. An agile critter is more

likely to be able to scramble through

small gaps, dart swiftly over open ter-

rain and outmanoeuvre a pursuer. It is

most useful to Scouts and so prairie

dogs need at least a 4 in this attribute

to become a Scout.

Alertness

This attribute is a measure of the crit-

ter’s overall attentiveness; taking into

account all of the senses - sight,

scent, hearing and

touch. It is used to

be aware of ap-proaching predators

or to notice unusual

things a long way

away. Because of

this, Sentinels re-

quire at least 4 in

Alertness.

Wisdom

Wisdom is impor-

tant to Healers and

Speakers, both of

whom require at

least a 4 in this

attribute. Wisdom is a measure of the

critter’s knowledge, memory, reason-ing, will and worldliness. A high value

in Wisdom means the critter is likely to

consider problems before acting, whe-

reas those with low Wisdom often act

rashly.

Characteristics Your prairie dog character is different

to the other dogs of the Tribe. This is

because she has been marked by Lord Kynos for heroic things and eventually

to have tales spoken about her ex-

ploits.

Because of this, your prairie dog is

likely to have some characteristic or

trait that sets her apart from other

dogs, so that they can see immediate-ly that there is something special

about her.

Legendary Attributes Attributes for prairie dogs are a maxi-

mum of 6 at the character creation stage. Some critters have far higher attributes, particularly Size.

However, as characters are taken

through their adventures and Prairie Tales begin to be made about them,

their legendary status increases. This is measured in the game by Legend Points

(LP). These are points that are given out by

the GM at the end of adventures and they may be used to increase Attributes above their starting levels.



~ 107 ~

This characteristic

can be physical or

social and can initial-ly been as either a

strength or a weak-

ness, although this

is not necessarily the

case. It is simply

something that

makes your charac-

ter a bit unusual. It must be something

that becomes ob-

vious to other

critters, if not

straight away, short-

ly after first meeting

and associating with her.

The characteristic can be almost any-

thing that your GM deems appropriate.

There are no special rules for them as

they are simply designed to give a lit-

tle more ‘colour’ to your character and

to be role-played accordingly.

If a situation crops up where you and your GM decide that the characteristic

may prove an advantage (or handicap)

then you may be able to have a bonus

or a penalty to a roll, but this option

should be used sparingly. Characteris-

tics are simply intended as an aide to

role-playing your character, not as a

specific part of the game mechanics.

Dreams Ordinary prairie dogs do not have lofty

aims. The height of their achievement

will be finding a mate and rearing a

family. They will be quite content with

this. Let’s face it, with all those preda-

tors about, living long enough to have

a family is quite an achievement in

itself!

However, this is not enough for play-

er-characters. They are already

marked for better things when they

are born, so they

tend to have loftier

goals, which are the characters Dreams.

These are goals or

aims that they have

and it is these goals

that drive them to

their life of adven-

ture.

For many gaining

their first feather is

enough. They have a

Role in their Tribe,

so they have status

and this will mean

that their voice will be heard in Coun-

cil. They will also be more attractive to potential mates.

For a few others this simply won’t do.

They have much higher aims and their

minds are full of the legends of Thun-

dertown, Kynos, Flies-With-Eagles and

all the other myriad of Prairie Tales

recounted by their Speakers. They want to be spoken about with awe and

reverence, they want to be the centre

of the great tales; they want to do

things that mean something.

For game purposes, it is simply a mat-

ter of deciding what makes your

prairie dog opt for a life of adventure rather than taking the easy option that

most other dogs take. Why does she

want to cross the prairie? Why does

she stand up to fearsome critters

when others would just run? What

makes her tick?

Choose an interesting goal for your character; something that she could

reasonably achieve. Some of them are

fairly short-term goals, such as finding

a mate or protecting a cub or things

like that. These will tend to be achiev-

able in one or two sessions and will be

classed as easy. Others are long-term

Examples of physical characteristics

White fur, grey fur, matted fur, little or no fur, a streak of a different colour

running through the pelt, two-tone fur, large or deformed ear or ears, different coloured eyes, only one eye, long snout,

long tail, no tail, deformed tail, de-formed paw, unusual bark, unusual

scent, cute, mean-looking, scarred and so on.

Examples of social characteristics

Excitable, bad tempered, lazy, humble, dreamer, likeable, nosey, loner, forget-ful, bossy, thoughtful, kind, determined,

stuffy, artistic, taciturn, brash, bold and so on.


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 108 ~

and will only be reached after a great

quest full of perilous encounters and

difficult choices. These will be termed difficult.

You can make your dream as tough as

you like. With the GMs help you need

to determine whether it is easy, mod-

erate or difficult to achieve and assign

a number to it of 1, 2 or 3 respective-

ly. The number is the number of extra Legend Points that your prairie dog will

earn if she achieves her dream during

the adventure or during a series of

adventures. If she achieves her

dream, she can then add a new one to

replace it.

Just about every dog has dreams of finding Thundertown. All dogs talk

about it, but of course some Dream

about it. You do not need to add this

Dream to your character sheet. It is

assumed. It is known as The Great

Quest.

Feathers Your character has a Role in the prairie

dog society. Therefore she has ac-

quired her first feather already.

Feathers are more than a mark of sta-

tus to the wearer. They mean that the

character has proved herself to be

worthy of respect and therefore it is a

matter of great personal pride to be

awarded a feather. They are worn as a

badge of honour.

It is this great sense of personal

achievement that can help your cha-

racter in dangerous situations. By

drawing upon the spirit of her ances-

tor, or the spirit of her tribe, she can

add +2 to any roll once per moon for

each feather she has been awarded.

Wound points Wound points are a numerical rating that helps you keep track of the inju-

ries that your prairie dog character

might suffer during her adventures.

These wounds might be scratches and

bites given by other critters during

fights (Tooth & Claw). Wounds might

also be caused by accidental means,

like falls and so on.

Your character has a number of wound

points equal to 6 plus her Size

attribute. So, with a Size of 4, your

dog would have 10 wound points. (In

fact all critters in the game have

wound points worked out on the same

basis. So, a Bison with a size of 54 would have 60 wound points).

As your character becomes injured,

her wound points will fall by the

amount of damage suffered. When

wound points reach 0, your prairie dog

is unconscious and dying. She will

need a Healer very quickly.

When wound points fall below 0, your

prairie dog is dead.

Example Dreams The Great Quest (5)

Find a long lost sibling (1 or 2) Become a Tribal Elder (1)

Become Chief of the Tribe (2) Become Chief of Great Home (3)

Become Chief Speaker of Tribe (2) Visit five Dog Towns and learn a new

tale in each (2) Out-Stance a ferret (1) Kill a ferret single-pawed (2)

Save an Elder’s life (2) Find a cure for The Dark Death (3)

Found a new colony (2 or 3) Find a mate (1)

Gain a second feather (1) Gain several more feathers (2)

Be awarded the most feathers ever (3) Follow the Bison-Way to the end (2 or 3) Go up into the mountains (2)



~ 109 ~

Wound points may

be recovered by rest

and by healing through the Tend

Wounds ability of

Healers. By resting,

prairie dogs recover

1 wound point each

night. With a Healer

tending them, they

can recover 3 points every 2 nights of full rest.

Using Tend Wounds, a Healer can lick

a wound clean and heal injuries. Using

Plant Lore, Healers can restore lost

wound points even more quickly. See

the Tend Wounds ability for more in-

formation about this.

Sometimes, even death is not the end

for a prairie dog. There are Healers

out there who can recall the departing

spirit with their Bark of Life. Check out

the section on Barks, for more infor-

mation.

Name Sometimes in role-playing games it is

difficult to come up

with suitable names.

In It’s a Dog’s Life it

is vitally important

not to choose a

name that doesn’t

sound right. The whole mood of a

game can be

changed if you pick

an unsuitable or

outright silly name.

‘Deputy Dawg’

would be amusing,

but not at all in keeping.

Prairie dogs are of-

ten named for things

that they might see

around them, for a

characteristic of the dog or after another

critter on the plains.

Sometimes they are

named, like Flies-

With-Eagles, after

something they have

done. They may

even be given a new name as a result of their exploits,

again like Flies-With-Eagles.

Role Selecting your Role will give you addi-

tional abilities. Roles are discussed in

more detail later.

Abilities & Barks Your character will start with level 1 in

each of his Unique Ability, Unique

Bark, Tribal Bark and Second Ability.

Prairie dogs also get

a Tribal Bark. This

Bark is unique to

the Tribe and all

members are

taught it from a

very early age. Barks are dealt with

in greater depth in

a later chapter.

You then have a

further 4 points to

distribute amongst

these Barks and Abilities as you

wish.

After that, you have

a further 4 points to

obtain levels in any

other freely availa-

ble abilities or allowed Barks or to

Example names for prairie dogs Dreams-of-Mountains, Stone-Face,

Dark-Eye, Runs-With-Bison, Moon-Face, Bright-Eye, Burrow-Digger, Sharp-Sight, Never-Fear, Far-Gaze, Star-

Dreams, Snake-Friend, Wolf-Dog, Gorse, Thorn, Sand, Cloud, Eats-Too-

Much, Long-Tooth, Quick-Foot, Sees-All, Little-Mouse, Bison's-Bark, Sleepy-Head, Always-Hiding.

Example of character creation First of all I roll a dice four times, getting

2, 2, 4 and 5. The total is only 13, so I get a further 3 points to put where I like (16-13=3). I decide I want to play a

Healer, who I will call Sun-Dancer, so I put 1 extra point into Wisdom, making

that the maximum of 6. The other 2 points go into Agility and Size. The final

Attributes are as follows:

Size 3, Alertness 4, Agility 3, Wisdom 6 Sun-Dancers Size of 3 gives him 9 Wound Points (6+3=9).

Looking at the list of Abilities and Barks

for a Healer, I decide to place my 4 points equally between Tend Wounds,

Bark of Life, Tribal Bark and Plant Lore. With the extra 4 points I take another

Bark (Bark of Weakness) at level 2 and add another 2 to Tend Wounds. Abilities and Barks now look like this:

Tend Wounds 4, Plant Lore 2, Bark of Life

2, Bark of Weakness 2, Tribal Bark 2


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 110 ~

improve those you have already from

your Role. However, no Ability or Bark

may be improved to higher than 6 at this stage.

CHARACTER ROLES ________________________________________________

There are six Roles that you may

choose from. These are the Roles that prairie dogs can take up when they

reach adulthood. Some dogs never

take up such a Role - they are content

to look after tribal burrows, the pups

and the crops. Others will have had

Roles in the past and are now aged

and whilst they may be able to pass

on the benefit of their experience to younger pups, they cannot any longer

be relied upon to fulfill the very de-

manding duties associated with each

Role.

Each Role provides one Unique Ability

and one Unique Bark. These are skills

taught by Elders to dogs who take that Role. They are handed down and are

secrets known only to them. There is

also a second ability taught to dogs,

but this is not necessarily unique to

the Role.

Character creation, continued

Finally Sun Dancer has the Dream of heal-ing a dog that is suffering the Dark Death and with the GM we decide this is worth 3

Legend Points when completed (as it will be hard to achieve). I then write a ‘1’ in

the box for Feathers and Sun-Dancer is ready for a life of adventure.

I decide on a social characteristic of ‘claus-trophobic’. With the help of the GM, we

decide that my dog doesn’t go mad or get terrified underground - it is more of a strange preference for being outdoors in

the sunshine - but to other dogs it is seen as very odd indeed.



~ 111 ~

Brave

Unique Ability: Stancing

Unique Bark: Bark of Courage

Secondary Ability: Tooth & Claw

Many dogs fight. It is a part of their

nature, from their early years as pups

fighting with their siblings to get the

best food. It is the strongest of these that usually go on to become Braves.

However, simply being able to fight is

not necessarily the only resposibility of

the Brave. Braves are warriors and

they do need to be big and tough.

They also need to be fearless and ag-

gressive. They need to be aware of how to fend off critters far bigger than

themselves. They sometimes need to

work as a team in order to do this.

Most of all, they need to be able to

fend for themselves though.

Braves need to make themselves

known. They do not always need to fight. Making your opponent stand

down is often the best way to deal

with an enemy, especially one that

could hurt you badly even if you can

win the fight. Better to scare off three

opponents than kill one and be so

wounded that you cannot protect your

family against the other two.

This is why Stancing is so important to

a Brave. Some Braves are not actually

that able at fighting but never get

found out because they are more inti-

midating than their enemies.

Every Tribe must have Braves. They

are probably the most numerous of all the Roles but also lose members the

quickest. Whenever one Brave is

killed, there is always another pup

waiting in the wings for his feather to

take up the challenge of defending his

Tribe and seeking glory for himself.

Of all the Prairie Tales recounted by Speakers everywhere, it is the tales of

Braves that are most called for and

the most numerous. If there is a ferret

loose in the town, it is always the

Braves who are called upon to face it.

If a quest is to be undertaken, Braves

are always required in the party. If a

new Chief is needed, a Brave is likely to be the one to fill the vacancy.

The Braves burrows tend to be near

the centre of the tribal community,

where they can mass together to de-

fend, or receive orders from, the

Chief. Their homes tend to be sparse

and functional.

Sayings of the Braves

The Brave must be seen: What use if

your companions are attacked and you

are skulking?

The Brave must be courageous: What

use if you are seen but unable to act?

The Brave must be strong: What use

to act, if you cannot hurt your enemy?

The Brave must lead: If you do not

show boldness, why should others fol-

low?


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 112 ~

Healer

Unique Ability: Tend Wounds

Unique Bark: Bark of Life

Secondary Ability: Plant Lore

A tribe needs at least one Healer if the

tribe is to grow and be strong. No tribe

without a Healer lives in any place

other than the very outer fringes of Great Home.

Healers are present at birthing. They

ensure the mother is fit and well and

will improve the chances of both the

mother and her young surviving the

ordeal.

Healers tend the sick and injured.

They know how to clean wounds to

prevent infection and aid the healing

process. They have skill in removing

poisons from open wounds and know

how best to look after prairie dogs

with fevers and other ailments. Some

also know how to look after other types of critter with injuries or ill-

nesses (those with Critter Lore).

Healers can recognise disease, particu-

larly the early signs of The Dark

Death; the evil plague that can wipe

out entire families or even whole

towns, once it takes hold. A few of the

most gifted Healers have had some

success in curing dogs that contract The Dark Death as long as they spot

the signs early enough.

Healers also have the job of looking

after a towns food crops. Those with-

out skilled Healers tend to eat poorly

and often need to supplement their

food with a little water, which is not good as water is always in very short

supply. The best Healers make sure

that the crops they grow are the best

available and that they are lush and

succulent.

Healers are skilled in recognising other

plants too - ones that we should nor-mally avoid. They make sure that

these plants do not infest our plots so

that young pups do not accidentally

nibble at them and become poisoned.

A Healers’ burrows will normally be

fairly neat and tidy. Healers tend to

have a ‘larder’ where they keep a va-riety of plant stuffs, both for food and

for their healing properties.

Some of the wisest of Healers can

create Dreamcatchers.

Sayings of the Healers

(Adapted from Native American tradi-tion)

Everything on the prairie has a pur-

pose, every disease an herb to cure it,

every critter a mission. This is the

Healer’s theory of existence. From

Wisdom comes all power.

It is from Wisdom the Healer has the power to heal and make feather

charms. Healers know that all healing

plants are valuable and must not be

misused-used.



~ 113 ~

Scout

Unique Ability: Scouting

Unique Bark: Bark of Location

Secondary Ability: Critter Lore, Plant

Lore or Tooth & Claw

Scouts tend to be loners. They might

occasionally do their scouting in pairs

but more often than not they like to be free of their restraints imposed by the

tribe and go out alone onto the Prairie.

Scouts tend to be the wildest and un-

tidiest of prairie dogs. This is for

several reasons. One, because they

are energetic and always out and

about and have little time for the washing and grooming that goes on

amongst the other prairie dogs of the

tribe. In their Role as Scouts, they are

required to be constantly exploring

and seeking new ways, over and

above ground, through bushes and

thorns, over sun-baked dust bowls and

through muddy puddles. All this muck and dust leaves their fur grubby and

matted.

The other reason though, is that

Scouts will always tell you that the

more muck and dirt they leave stuck

in their fur, the less chance they will

have of being spotted or scented by other critters. Accordingly, there is an

unspoken competition amongst

Scouts, to see who can get the scruf-

fiest of all.

Scouts love their Daubings though.

They like to have designs of other crit-

ters on their fur as they say it helps them blend in against all kinds of

backgrounds.

Scouts are sent out to investigate ru-

mours and of critters seen in the area,

near the fringes of town. It is also the

job of Scouts to seek areas to build

new towns, or to find new sources of food and so on. Those tribes who have

no Healers might also rely on Scouts

to find water when they need it. In

any group sent out on the prairie, it is

always wise to have a Scout around

because even in areas they do not

know; they have an uncanny knack of

being able to find their way home.

Scouts burrows are often on the edges

of the tribes range. They tend to be as

scruffy and ill kempt as their owners.

Often unoccupied for long periods,

they may contain odd bits and pieces

of twig and bone from their far wan-

derings.

Sayings of the Scouts

The Scout must be quick: What use

are your findings if you tarry too long?

The Scout must be stealthy: What use

are your findings if your enemy knows

you are there?

The Scout must be nimble: When you

are seen, you must run like the wind.

The Scout must know his enemy:

What use are your findings, without

knowledge of your enemy?


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 114 ~

Sentinel

Unique Ability: Watching

Unique Bark: Bark of Warning

Secondary Ability: Critter Lore or

Tooth & Claw

The Role of the Sentinel is one of the

most important of all of the roles of

the tribe. Sentinels are charged with the duty of watching over Healers

tending their crops, the pups at play,

the entrances to our homes and the

travelling groups at sleep.

To function properly, Sentinels must

have keen eyesight, excellent hearing

and a nose for danger. They must learn where to stand for the best van-

tage point in any situation and they

must be able to stand upright for very

long periods, without stinting. Wind,

rain, hot or cold, Sentinels must en-

dure all in their duty.

The Role of the Sentinel may not seem as exciting as that of the Brave or the

Scout, or as charismatic or strange as

that of the Speaker or as welcome as

that of the Healer but they have in

their paws the key to the continued

well-being of the whole town.

When travelling with adventuring

groups, Sentinels learn how to nap

when on the move, so that they are ready for duty at a moments notice.

They are always alert and keeping a

watch on the skies for that telltale

speck in the sky, the rustling bush or a

scent on the breeze. They know which

things spell potential danger and which

ones they can ignore.

Many Sentinels can fight too. It is not

a requirement of the Role and some

swear that it hones their senses to

danger if they cannot. Some learn

more about other critters instead.

Most learn both abilities sooner or lat-

er.

Sentinels tend to have their burrows

nearest to the surface and at the outer

edges of the tribal burrows. Their bur-

rows are often designed so that any

sounds on the surface can be amplified

within and they are positioned down-

wards of the prairie wind so that

smells from above will waft around in the chamber, giving advanced warn-

ing, even when not on duty.

Sentinels also have ‘guard posts’ set

just below the surface, which serve a

similar function.

Sayings of the Sentinels The Sentinel must be vigilant: What

use are you to your companions, if

they cannot rest?

The Sentinel must know his enemy:

What use being aware, if you don’t

know friend from foe?

The Sentinel must endure: What use

your vigilance, if you are too tired to

watch?



~ 115 ~

Speaker

Unique Ability: Prairie Tales

Unique Bark: Bark of Command

Secondary Ability: Critter Lore or

Plant Lore

Speakers often seem to live in their

own dream worlds; this could be be-

cause they are always thinking up new

stories to tell. Their heads are filled

with faraway places, strange and fero-

cious critters and wonderful legends of

yore. Or, this could be due to the odd berries and fungi they eat. It is said

that Speakers best Prairie Tales are

told just after they have eaten some

unusual berry or other. One thing is

certain. Speakers are extremely know-

ledgeable and, as the saying goes,

knowledge is power. If the Braves go

on to become Chiefs of their tribes then Speakers are the voices of their

tribes.

When young Speakers are learning

their craft, they often go on long jour-

neys across the plains. They visit other

Dog Towns, passing on the tales of

their own tribe and learning new ones from the tribes they visit. Speakers

are the most welcome of any prairie

dog in any town; you should never

turn away a Speaker. They bring news

and stories from far away; it is always

a time of great excitement when a tra-velling Speaker comes to town.

Some of the other critters on the plain

are also interested in the tales that a

wandering Speaker may bring and

many are the tales of a Speaker sav-

ing herself from being on the menu of

some lonely fox or snake. Owls, in particular are known to trade Prairie

Tales with prairie dog Speakers.

A Speakers burrow is likely to be a

clutter of feathers, grasses, odd weeds

and strange herbs. There are likely to

be strange Daubings on the walls of

their homes and peculiar smells per-meating around. Like Healers, some of

the wiser Speakers are able to create

Dreamcatchers.

Sayings of the Speakers

(Adapted from Native American tradi-

tion)

All things in the world are in two. In our minds we are two, good and evil.

With our eyes we see two things,

things that are fair and things that are

ugly. We have a right paw that strikes

and makes for evil and we have a left

paw full of kindness near the heart.

One foot may lead us to an evil way;

the other foot may lead us to a good way. So all things are two, all two.

The traditions of our Tribe are handed

down from father to pup. The chief is

considered to be the most fearless and

leader of the Tribe. The Speaker how-

ever, is thought to have more

inspiration. He is supposed to be in communion with the spirits. He daubs

himself in the designs of other critters

such as the raccoon and decorates

himself with the plumage of birds,

such as the dove, eagle and hum-

mingbird.


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 116 ~

Wildling

Unique Ability: None

Unique Bark: Bark of The Wild

Extra Bark: Bark of Mimicry

Secondary Abilities: Critter Lore and

one other, of choice

Wildlings are prairie dogs that live out-

side of normal prairie dog society. They have no tribe, no status and

quite probably few friends. Often the

friends they do have are critters other

than prairie dogs. As such, the Wil-

dling is not a Role in the prairie dog

society, but for game purposes is con-

sidered a Role.

How they came to be the loners that

they are will vary from one Wildling to

another. She may have been the sole

survivor of a dog town wiped out by

the Dark Death or by a savage Ferret.

He may have been born some way

away from the nearest town, perhaps

with his mother dying in childbirth or being killed by a predator. He may be

an outcast from his Tribe. Some Wil-

dlings are prairie dogs that were

orphaned from a young age and

brought up by some other critter, like

a ground squirrel or even an Owl!

Wildlings are on the whole a bit feral

and wild - far more so than Scouts.

They are born loners and although they probably crave the company of

other dogs, they often find the rigid

tribal structure difficult to get used to.

Wildlings tend to be always on the

move and often borrow old holes and

so on rather than dig their own bur-

rows. When they do dig, they are

usually little more than scrapes in the ground.

Their ‘speech’ tends to be a little hard

to follow for other prairie dogs that

possibly see them as a bit simple or

deranged. Wildlings have two charac-

teristics rather than one, with scruffy,

smelly, bald patches, one eye, scarred, loner and similar being com-

mon.

If you want a Wildling character you

need to determine with your GM how

he came to grow up outside of the

prairie dog community. All four of the

Wildling’s attributes need to be 3 or higher. Instead of a unique ability,

they have two secondary abilities and

instead of the Tribal Bark they have

the Bark of Mimicry. They do not need

to meet the minimum requirements

that other Roles need to meet for this

Bark.

Wildling characters have no Tribal Role

and therefore do not begin play with a

feather. They can earn feathers later

however and could even take a

‘second’ Role.

Sayings

Wildlings have no sayings. They have no hierarchy and therefore no handed-

down traditions. What they have

learned, they have learned for them-

selves and each Wildling will have

different views on survival.



~ 117 ~

ABILITIES

________________________________________________

Overview

Abilities are the learned knowledge

passed down through generations of

prairie dogs. In other games they

might be referred to as skills.

Using abilities is relatively straightfor-

ward. Mostly, you will describe what

your character is doing and the GM

simply lets your character do it, espe-

cially if it is well within your dog’s

capabilities. Sometimes the GM will

ask you to make a roll, when for ex-ample, your character is trying to do

something for which the there is a

chance that she will not succeed or

that the GM simply wants to determine

how well your dog succeeded (having

already decided that you will be able

to do it).

Making an Ability check You roll 1d20. If the roll is equal to or below your character’s most appropri-

ate Attribute + Ability + Modifier, then

she succeeds. If the roll is higher, then

either she fails or there is an added

complication even though she suc-

ceeds.

The attribute used is the one most ap-propriate to the task and there are

suggestions listed for each Ability in

the Ability descriptions. If a character

does not have the Ability, but tries to

carry out an action the default roll is

based upon the Attribute + Modifier.

Modifiers Modifiers are found in the table below.

Typically they range from +5 to –5. The GM will determine what modifiers

are appropriate and some pointers are

given in the ability descriptions.

Task difficulty table

A natural roll of ‘1’ is always a success

and a ‘20’ is always a failure.

Increasing Abilities Abilities can be raised above their

starting levels using Legend points

gained from adventures. New Abilities

can also be gained by using these Le-

gend Points (LP), although some

Abilities are available only to prairie dogs who have the appropriate Role.

To increase an Ability that your cha-

racter already has costs 1 LP per level

up to 6. Over 6, the cost is 2 LP per

level. The maximum level for a prairie

dog is 12. Only 1 level can be ‘bought’

at a time using these points. New ab-ilities cost a point to level 1.

The Abilities explained Critter Lore (freely available)

The knowledge of other critters, how

to recognize them, what they are like,

what they eat, whether they are

friendly and so on. Wisdom is the base

attribute for using this ability. Modifi-

ers might be negative if the prairie dog has never come across the critter be-

fore (i.e. just heard about it) or

positive where the critter is common.

Task Difficulty Modifier

Easy +2 to +5

Straightforward +1

Moderate 0

Tricky -1

Hard -2

Very Hard -3 to -5


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 118 ~

Daubing (requires Critter Lore & Plant

Lore) This is the ability of the dog to daub

fantastic designs in a sort of mud-

plant paste onto a prairie dog’s coat.

The designs are often copied from the

natural markings on the pelts of other

critters. The task difficulty is always

moderate. Once daubed, the design

lasts for two moons and then must be replaced. The effects of a successful

daubing depend on the design being

daubed onto the pelt of the dog.

Badger +2 to Stancing ability rolls Chipmunk +2 to Scouting ability rolls

Eagle +2 to Watching ability rolls

Owl +2 to Critter Lore or Plant Lore ability rolls

Raccoon +2 to Prairie Tales ability rolls

Wolverine +2 to Tooth & Claw rolls

Rattler Protects against poison. Gives any Healer a +2 to

her Tend Wounds ability against the effect of poi-

son on the dog that has been daubed with the

Rattler design.

Any dog can be the recipient of a

Daubing, but a dog can only have one

type of Daubing on her coat at any

one time. The bonus is added to Attribute rolls if a dog does not have

the particular Ability in question.

Daubing is a Wisdom-based ability.

Fleeing (freely available)

This is the skill of being able to escape

a predator. It takes account of the

dog’s ability to make sudden sharp turns, weave between and over rocks,

uneven terrain and otherwise use any

features that might help the dog get

away.

Plant Lore (freely available)

All prairie dogs know which plants they

can eat. This ability gives them know-

ledge far beyond this. It means the

dog knows in which type of soil their

preferred foodstuffs will grow, how best to cultivate the land around their

home burrows and knowledge of

plants, roots and fungi that have me-

dicinal or poisonous qualities. Some

dogs, Speakers in particular, use cer-

tain herbs and fungi to induce visions

and dream states to open their minds

to the ancient ones and to visions of the past present and future.

Wisdom is the base attribute used for

Plant Lore rolls. Negative modifiers

may be applied if the plant is rare or

the prairie dog is looking for a very

specific plant or if the prairie dog is

out of her own habitat. The modifier will be positive if the dog is in her own

town or the plant is very common.

Prairie Tales (unique ability - Speak-

ers only)

The knowledge of the legends and lore

of the prairie dogs - Lord Kynos,

Thunderhoof, the First Town, Flies with Eagles and so on. This Ability allows

the Speaker to weave wondrous tales

from these legends and to craft their

own tales on the spot. Prairie Tales are

amongst the few entertainments in the

prairie dog world, so Speakers are

very welcome in all towns across the

prairie. Wisdom is the main attribute used for making Prairie Tales rolls,

Modifiers would be positive if about a

dog’s own tribe, or negative if making

up a tale for the first time and so on.

These are the stories and legends of

ancient times and places in dog lore.

They tell of heroic deeds, fantastic battles, wonderful adventures and ol-

den wisdom. They tell of battles and

bravery, love and kindness. They are

used to teach as much as they are

used to entertain.

Speakers are the repositories of many



~ 119 ~

of these tales. First off, they learn all

they can of their own Tribal Totem and

Traditions. Then they learn to tell them to others. Then they learn how

to create new tales or reinvent old

tales according to their own style, of-

ten bringing something new to the tale

so that they can be repeated down the

years, keeping them fresh and excit-

ing.

In this way, Speakers have become

the most respected and welcome of all

the dogs who travel across the plains.

They are well known for bringing news

from afar and a new Speaker in town

is always good for an evening’s enter-

tainment.

One of the most told Prairie Tales is

that of the First Town of Thundertown.

Its location has passed into myth and

is a place constantly sought by the

most adventurous scouts. It is be-

lieved to be located at the foot of a

mighty and virtually un-climbable

mountain that reaches to the stars.

Sentinels believe that from the top

they could keep watch over the whole

prairie and need never fear predators

again.

Scouting (unique ability - Scouts on-

ly) The ability to move around without

being seen heard, or scented. Using

the cover that is available and lying

low where necessary, a Scout can get

very close to another critter with little

chance of being noticed.

Agility is most often the attribute used for Scouting rolls, but in some cir-

cumstances Alertness might be used.

Weather conditions and availability of

cover might lead to modifiers to the

roll.

Stancing (unique ability - Braves on-

ly)

The skill of intimidation and making oneself appear bigger and tougher

than perhaps is the case. It is used to

put across a point in an argument or

more often to gain an advantage in a

confrontation.

Stancing, when used well will tend to

make fighting unnecessary as the loser in a Stancing contest will often back

off completely. Stancing can be used

against any critter - if the character

also has Critter Lore, a successful roll

will add +1 to the dog’s Stancing roll.

When Stancing, both critters in the

contest must make an ability roll (those with no Stancing ability simply

use their size). If both succeed, it is a

standoff for the time being, they are

hunched up against each other snarl-

ing, bristling, nose to nose and so on.

This lasts for a few heartbeats and

they can both try again. If both fail,

they are simply pacing around one another, slightly standoffish, but can-

not roll again. Both will back off.

If one succeeds where the other fails,

then there is a victor and the loser

may slope away with his pride dented.

(If he ever has to fight the winner at

some future point then he will have a negative modifier in Tooth & Claw of –

2). Size is the base attribute used for

Stancing rolls.

Swimming (freely available)

In the event of a dog coming across a

body of water, this might be a useful

ability if she should fall in or need to get across. The difficulty would mainly

depend on how fast the water is flow-

ing and so on.

Tend Wounds (unique ability - Hea-

lers only)

This is the knowledge of wounds, dis-


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 120 ~

ease and illness; their causes and

treatment. It is also how to staunch

bleeding cuts and bites and prevent infection. The Healer does this by lick-

ing the wound and possibly even biting

out pieces of infected flesh. Saliva,

mixed with the right plants (see Plant

Lore) may be even more effective. On

its own, a Healer can restore up to 1

wound point per 2 levels of ability

(minimum 1). Cleaned up in this way wounds will be clear of infection. Used

together with a successful Plant Lore

roll, the ability will restore 1 wound

point per level.

Tend wounds can also be used against

poisoning, disease and so on. Wisdom

is the base attribute for this ability. Modifiers might be applied for particu-

larly severe wounds, or for delays in

tending wounds. The Dark Death is

always at least a Hard roll. With Critter

Lore, a Healer can tend the wounds of

other critters.

Tooth & Claw (freely available) Tooth & Claw is the ability used when

two critters fight. The ability has its

own section later in these rules. Agility

is the base attribute used for Tooth &

Claw rolls.

Watching (unique ability - Sentinels

only) This is a great skill passed down to

Sentinels from generation to genera-

tion. It is the ability to stay alert in all

situations and in all weathers and of

standing at rest although completely

awake and ready. Using this ability,

the Sentinel will spot the swooping

hawk or stalking ferret long before they have a chance to do any harm.

Sentinels can also see much further

across the plains than other prairie

dogs, because they know how to stand

to gain the fullest advantage of their

own body size and any advantageous

features in the land around them. Most

Watching rolls will use Alertness, but

there may be occasions when Size will

be important. Poor weather conditions or rough terrain are likely to lead to

negative modifiers.

Example of using Abilities Sun-Dancer the Healer has had a few ad-

ventures and along the way has gained another Feather and the abilities of Critter Lore at level 2 and Daubing at level 1.He

is attempting to daub the scout ‘Swiftly-Finds-Stuff’ with the design of the rattler,

because the scout knows he is approach-ing rattler territory and wants to protect

himself in case he is bitten.

Sun Dancer’s player rolls a d20 to deter-mine whether the effect of his daubing is successful or not. Sun Dancer has a Wis-

dom of 6 and with his Daubing of 1, he requires 7 or less. He rolls the dice, which

comes up 9. Not enough. Unfortunately Sun-Dancer’s skill isn’t sufficient to give

Swiftly-Finds-Stuff the protection he needs.

Later on Swiftly-Finds-Stuff comes bound-ing back to the Healer in a panic. As

expected, he ran into a rattler who bit him and although the Scout was able to get

away, he is now weakening from the ef-fects of the venom.

Sun-Dancer attempts to use his Tend

Wounds ability. He has a 4 in this, which with his Wisdom means that the total is

10. The GM says it is a Moderate Ability roll to stop the poison, so rolls a d20. It comes up 12! Too high.

However, Sun-Dancer has 2 Feathers, so

the player tells the GM that Sun-Dancer will focus on one of the Feathers he has

earned, drawing upon the spiritual forces of his ancestors and invest some of this

into his healing. This gives a bonus of +2, turning a failure into a success and pre-venting the spread of poison through

Swiftly-Finds-Stuff. (Of course, had the Daubing worked in the first place, he

would have had a +2 bonus without hav-ing to draw upon a Feather). Now to deal

with the bite wounds he suffered!



~ 121 ~

BARKS

________________________________________________

What’s in a Bark? Every prairie dog barks. That is

how we talk to one another,

together with the way we

stand, make faces and so on. However, our Barks

are different. These have

power. They tap into

spiritual forces beyond

our ken.

Some Speakers say

that these forces are from within. Others say

they come from spiritual

forces all around us.

Many believe the spiri-

tual power comes direct-

ly from Lord Kynos him-

self. A few hold to the

more mundane view that we and other critters are

somehow pre-conditioned to

obey the Bark. Me? I subscribe to

the view that Lord Kynos is behind the

power that is within our Barks. I also

think that if our Scouts can ever locate

Thundertown, we might actually find

the answer there.

What we do know is that our Barks

can have an effect upon other prairie

dogs and some other critters too. Each

of the Roles in our tribes learns their

own unique Bark, taught only to dogs

who take up that Role.

Tribal Barks are a bit different. They

are taught to every dog of the tribe.

They are used as a means of identifi-

cation and have other powers too.

The use of Barks Barking takes only a heartbeat to per-

form, so a Bark can be used at just

about any point in the action, including

during flurries of Tooth & Claw. A Bark may be used once at the fullest

capability during the period

from when to moon is at

its highest, to the fol-

lowing moon (i.e. in a

day). In other words

any Barks used are

recovered at the next moon.

However, if a

Bark can be used

more than once

in this period if a

Bark of a lower

power is used. So, a dog with a

Bark at level 2

could use a level 1

bark and then still

be able to use it

again at level 1 later

on. A dog obviously can-

not Bark more times be-fore the next moon than she has

levels in the bark.

The Bark of Life differs in that it can be

used only once at its fullest capability

in the span of 6 moons. After the se-

venth moon (a week), the Bark is

again recovered in full.

No rolls are needed to determine the

success of the Bark. It works automat-

ically. The only thing that is not

necessarily automatic is another crit-

ter’s reaction to the Bark.

Some of the Barks have very specific details of the game effect, like the

Bark of Courage and other Barks are

deliberately open to interpretation,

based on the demands of the story


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 122 ~

and so on. This is really down to the

GM and what works for the situation.

You state the effect that you would

like the Bark to have and the GM de-

cides whether that is reasonable and

either allows it to happen or allows it

to have a limited effect, depending on

circumstances and so on. A Bark is as

much a plea for help from the GM, of-

ten when everything else has been tried or a way to drive the story along.

Bark of Blindness (only available to

Speakers and Healers)

This Bark affects a critter’s senses so

that whatever is that critters best

sense; he is to all intents and purpos-

es ‘blinded’. It affects a critter for a number of flurries equal to the level of

the Bark.

Bark of Command (unique to Speak-

ers)

This Bark may be used to force a crit-

ter to do something that is otherwise

against his wishes. The command is contained in a number of ‘words’ equal

to the level of Bark, so at level 1 it

might be ‘sit’ or ‘silence’ whereas at

level 6 it could be ‘attack the rattler in

the tunnel’. A critter cannot be com-

manded to die although it might be

commanded to jump off a cliff, which

might produce the same result!

Bark of Confusion (only Scouts, Sen-

tinels, Speakers and Wildlings)

Makes the Bark sound as if it is coming

from elsewhere as a distraction - it is

either specific i.e. “behind that rock”

or “from that burrow”, to more general

i.e. “all around” or “behind them”. Any critters this Bark is aimed at will be-

lieve the noises to be coming from the

place the dog suggests and at the very

least are likely to investigate or look in

that direction.

Bark of Courage (unique to Braves)

This is used to instil a sense of fear-

lessness into the Brave herself, plus a number of other friendly critters equal

to the level of the Bark. This results in

the dogs affected gaining +1 on all

their Tooth & Claw rolls until the end

of that particular combat.

Bark of Friendship (only Speakers

and Wildlings) This Bark makes critters believe the

Speaker is their very good friend. It

works on a number of critters equal to

the level of the Bark. It wears off

gradually over a period, usually com-

pletely by the next moon.

Bark of Life (unique to Healers) Using this most wondrous of Barks, a

Healer may bring a dog back to life. It

is said that the Bark recalls the de-

parting spirit. This Bark may be used

only once before the seventh moon, at

its fullest level. It will revive a dog

who has been reduced to negative

wounds equal to the level of ability. So, a dog with Bark of Life at level 1

can revive a dog (or other critter) who

has been reduced to –1 wounds.

Bark of Location (unique to Scouts)

This is used to get soundings from the

echoes of the Bark and enables a

Scout to pinpoint exactly where he is, where major obstacles are and so on.

It effectively gives the Scout a mental

picture or map of the surrounding

area. It is especially useful in tunnel

complexes.

Bark of Mimicry (only Scouts, Senti-

nels, Speakers and Wildlings) A rare and special Bark available only

to certain prairie dogs and even those

require Critter Lore at level 4 or higher

and their own Bark or their Tribal Bark

also at 4 or more. This Bark allows the

dog to mimic the sounds made by oth-

er critters, so that they could



~ 123 ~

impersonate a rattlesnake to scare off

intruders and so on. They don’t look

like the critter in question though, so if seen, it blows their trick.

Bark of Strength (only available to

Braves, Speakers and Healers)

This Bark increases the damage level

in Tooth & Claw, so that the dog caus-

es damage of the next damage dice

(see Tooth & Claw), for the duration of the fight. Can be used on one dog on-

ly, per level in the Bark.

Bark of Stunning (only available to

Healers, Sentinels and Speakers)

This Bark causes critters to stumble

and become dazed and for several

flurries or more. Small critters might be knocked senseless and larger crit-

ters might simply have to shake their

heads a little to clear the effects be-

fore carrying on.

Bark of Warning (unique to Senti-

nels)

Used to alert all the dogs of the Tribe (or nearby) of approaching danger and

the nature of the danger. It imme-

diately awakens sleeping dogs (‘let

sleeping dogs lie’ is not a maxim of

Sentinels) and causes intruders to

baulk slightly, buying even more time

for the tribes Braves to get alert and

ready. Some intruders are actually put off completely by a Bark of Warning.

Bark of Weakness (only available to

Healers and Speakers)

Any one critter this Bark is directed at

will become weaker, causing one level

of damage less in Tooth & Claw per

level of Bark, for the whole battle.

Bark of The Wild (unique - Wildlings

only)

This Bark attracts or summons a crit-

ter to the aid of the Wildling. The

critter called can be more or less any

that are nearby, but the rarer the crit-

ter called, the longer he might need to

get there. Those more likely to come

quickly are those that are friendlier to prairie dogs, but even so sometimes a

Wildling can call an Eagle to his aid.

The summoned critter will not neces-

sarily do exactly what the Wildling

wants, but sometimes just the mere

fact that a critter turns up at all will

suit the dog’s purpose.

Tribal Bark (unique to Tribe mem-

bers)

Each tribe has its own Bark. A lot of

information is passed by the Bark,

such as the name of the tribe, its sta-

tus, the Chiefs name, the location of

the tribe and so on. It is used to tell

other dogs who you are and where you are from. It even tells of your own sta-

tus if you want it to. The Bark can also

be used when approached by a critter

of the type the tribe is named after -

the Tribal Totem. The critter will very

likely recall his association with the

Tribe (the GM can make a Wisdom roll,

if required to help gauge the possible reaction) and depending on the nature

of the critter might help the dog or

stop and talk, or might simply not eat

him if he was going to or might just

turn away and ignore him.

Improving Barks with Legend Points

Legend points can be used to increase

levels in a Bark, on a point for point

basis up to level 3.

Beyond level 3 up to level 6, Barks

cost 2 points to increase by one level.

Barks cannot be increased beyond lev-

el 6.

New Barks can be bought using LP, if

the Bark is of a type available to the

dog’s Role.


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 124 ~

TOOTH & CLAW ________________________________________________

Overview

Fighting occurs amongst critters for

many reasons - predators hunting

prey (not often much of a fight, admit-

tedly), territorial, females protecting their cubs and so on. In It’s a Dog’s

Life there are other reasons too, be-

cause the characters are adventurous

and will become involved in quests and

missions and so on that takes them far

away from Great Home and to places

full of danger. Although it is usually

best to avoid combat, sometimes it is inevitable. When it does occur, it is

called Tooth & Claw.

Combat between critters is essentially

a very simple affair. Often they size

each other up first (Stancing) and then

when they get to grips, it is a simple

melee of mad activity, snarls, yelps, bites, failed bites, barks, flying fur and

slashing claws. Amongst all of this

there may be a few telling bites and

possibly lots or a little blood. Some-

times there is a killing blow.

There is no art to it, no great tactics or

anything. It is just a tangle of fur, teeth and claws.

Flurries The combat is broken down into sev-

eral ‘flurries’ of a few heartbeats or so.

During each flurry, each critter in-

volved makes a Tooth & Claw ability

roll. This is at Moderate, on the task

modifier table, unless there are any

modifiers the GM thinks are appropri-ate.

Any combatant who succeeds has ma-

naged to hurt the other during the

Example of how Barks are used The Wildling, Tangle-Fur, is scampering

around a rock, when suddenly a Ferret launches himself out at him. There is

nowhere to hide so Tangle-Fur lets out a Bark of the Wild, which he has at level

3. He decides the situation is pretty dire so uses the Bark to its fullest.

The GM reasons that a level 3 Bark is pretty powerful and so describes an

Eagle that was swooping overhead that seems to have been alerted. It won’t be

there immediately, but it gives the dog hope, so he turns and faces the ferret.

The ferret hasn’t spotted the Eagle yet

(the GM makes an Alertness roll for the ferret) and leaps at the Wildling, who backs away. Too late, the ferret is upon

him and a flurry of Tooth & Claw en-sues.

As the two separate, the ferret is un-

harmed (the Wildling has Tooth & Claw 2 plus Agility 4, requiring 6, but rolled

16) and the Wildling is badly bitten (the ferret has Tooth & Claw 8 and Agility 6, requiring 14 and rolled 11) and has

suffered 5 wound points.

However, as the two circle each other readying themselves for another flurry

of Tooth & Claw, the ferret notices the shadow of the Eagle as it passes over-

head. The GM decides that that is enough for the ferret and that he will make a bolt for cover.

The Eagle swoops past and then contin-

ues on her way. She wasn’t even hungry and isn’t actually sure why she

swooped down so low and it’s soon for-gotten as she continues her way to her

nest in the distant mountains. Tangle-Fur breathes a sigh of relief and

legs it before the ferret plucks up the courage to come back out into the open again.



~ 125 ~

flurry. Roll damage according to the

size of the critter on the Tooth & Claw

Damage Table (below). It might be a single bite or an accumulation of

scratches and nicks, but the end result

is that when the flurry is over, the crit-

ters part and one or both of them have

been hurt.

Tooth & Claw damage table

Critter Size Wounds

Caused

1 d2

2-3 d3 4-5 d6-1

6-7 d6

8-10 d6+1

11-13 d6+2

14-16 d6+3

17-20 d6+4

21-24 d6+5

25-28 d6+6 29-32 d6+7

and so on +1 per 4 Size

If they both succeed, they both hurt

each other and if they both fail, then

neither hurt the other. If one succeeds

where the other fails, then one is the ‘winner’ of that flurry. They part facing

each other, snarling (or whimpering).

It is important to note that this all

happens at the same time. There is no

‘initiative’ or similar, where one critter

‘goes first’.

At this point they can decide again whether they want to have another go

at each other. The ‘loser’ of a flurry (if

there is one) often calls it a day at this

point and would tend to back off.

There could even be a brief Stancing

conflict (again). If this happens, the

‘winner’ gets a bonus of +1 to his

Stancing roll.

If both critters decide to continue the

fight, another flurry of melee ensues.

Other actions in Tooth & Claw During a flurry, dogs that are not in-

volved in fighting can take a number

of alternative actions. They can help

their friend in the fight and if they do, both dogs in the fight get to make

Tooth & Claw ability rolls against the

one roll of their opponent.

Dogs can Bark either during a flurry or

between flurries. Barking only takes a

heartbeat.

Dogs can also choose to flee but only

between flurries. Once a flurry of me-

lee is in progress, the dog will have to

wait for a pause before she can turn

tail.

Fleeing Sometimes the only sensible alterna-

tive to fighting is running away,

especially where you are likely to be on the menu if you lose the fight. If

you decide that your character will flee

the confrontation, this essentially boils

down to a mad chase across the land,

where the pursued is trying every en-

deavour to throw off her pursuer. She

will try every trick in the book - scam-

pering over and under rocks and boulders, through bushes and shrubs

and making sudden sharp turns at in-

tervals, all the time looking for the

safety of a hole or somewhere to take

cover.

The rules for fleeing are really as

straightforward as the rules for Tooth & Claw. The pursued makes a Fleeing

Ability roll (using Agility only, if the

character does not have fleeing) and

the pursuer makes a Hunting Ability

roll. Depending on the nature of the

terrain, the pursued may need to

make a hard, moderate or a

straightforward roll. A hard modifier would be appropriate where there is


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 126 ~

very little natural cover and

straightforward would mean that there

are plenty of things to get in the way of pursuit.

Tooth & Claw Outcome There will be four possible results. The

character will succeed and the pursuer

will fail. In this case, the prairie dog

escapes and manages to get down a

hole or simply gets clean away. The

pursuer probably gives up and finds

easier prey. Alternatively, if the story-line demands it, the pursuer might

hang around the area trying to pick up

the trail (Hunting + Alertness) or lie in

wait somewhere.

The next result will be that the charac-

ter fails and the pursuer succeeds. In

this case, the character is caught and despite her best efforts is now forced

to take part in a flurry of Tooth &

Claw. After that flurry is over, she

could turn tail and run again, or con-

tinue to fight.

The final two results are that they both

fail or both succeed. In these cases, the chase is on. Neither critter has

gained or lost ground over the other.

After a short narrative describing some

detail of the chase, both roll again as

above.

Example of Tooth & Claw

A prairie dog Brave is set upon by a ferret who was lying in wait in some bushes.

There is no chance of Stancing beforehand and the Brave failed to notice the ferret.

The Brave has Tooth & Claw 2 and Agility 4. The player rolls 1d20 and gets 5. Success!

The GM (for the ferret) rolls 12. The ferret has Agility 4 and Tooth & Claw 7 for a total

of 11. However, the GM determines that the ferret surprised the dog and so gets an abil-

ity modifier of +1 and so his total is 12, meaning he succeeded too.

The Brave has Size 5, so rolls d6-1, for 2 wounds on the ferret. The ferret has size 8

and rolls d6+1, for 4 wounds on the Brave. They fly apart snarling and barking.

Facing each other now, they circle and stare

at each other. The Brave is the most wounded as he took 4 wounds and has only 7 left. The ferret took 2 and so still has 12

left (the player doesn’t know this though).

At this point, it might be sensible for the prairie dog to turn and run, but even then

the ferret might still catch him. The player decides his Brave will try Stancing.

He makes a roll. The dice comes up ‘6’. The Brave succeeds as his ability of 2 means he

needed 7 or less, with a Size of 5. The GM rolls for the ferret, who has Stancing 5. He

needs 13 or less, but rolls a 20 - a failure! (20 always fails).

The GM decides that the ferret has had

enough – he wants easier prey and was surprised at the toughness of this prairie dog. He says to the dog “You were lucky

this time, I’d watch your back in future if I were you” and turns and slopes off.

The player could say he wants his dog to

give chase, but he was lucky and he has survived a fight with a ferret. If there was a

Speaker here, he might have a Prairie Tale told about the encounter. As it is, he’ll just have to see the Healer about his bloody

wound.



~ 127 ~

GAMEMASTERING

________________________________________________

The art of being a GM

The GM has a big job on his hands. He

has to know the rules pretty well, has

to design the scenarios and has to be ready to react to the actions of the

players and apply common sense

when the rules don’t provide an an-

swer. It isn’t just his job to make a fun

game; both the GM and the players

share that responsibility.

If you’ve run games before, then you probably know many of the tricks that

you can use to keep a game going and

to keep the players interested. How-

ever, if you are new to running a game

session, then the following paragraphs

will help you. Even if you have been a

game master in other games, you

might find something helpful for your It’s a Dog’s Life campaign.

Applying the rules It’s a Dog’s Life is not primarily about

rules. It is primarily about drama, ac-

tion and telling a good story. The rules

are there to provide a structure to

your game sessions and to provide

some of the answers to what will hap-

pen when characters do things. The rules cannot possibly contain all of the

answers though.

The idea is to get into the habit of

choosing the times when to apply the

rules strictly and when to ignore the

rules, for the benefit of the story. The

dice for example, are good to build an element of surprise into the actions of

the players, but sometimes, when

your scenario demands that the cha-

racters succeed, asking the players to

roll dice can be a disaster if they fail.

A good rule of thumb is often not to let the roll of a dice determine whether a

character succeeds or fails in a task,

but to determine the level of success

or failure. So, say a character is seek-

ing information vital to the next part of

the scenario but fails the roll, you

could decide that he picks up a few

hints or finds out that some other crit-ter can help him, but he doesn’t

discover everything he wanted to

know. Thus the game doesn’t stumble

to a complete halt, the players still

have some leads and openings to con-

tinue the adventure.

GM characters There is sometimes the temptation to

create a NPC to go along with the player characters. This is sometimes

necessary, especially if the players are

short of a player for some reason, es-

pecially if they are lacking a particular

Role between them. However, you

must always remember that the player

characters are the heroes. The scena-

rios should focus upon them and their exploits, not on the characters that

you create. Keep your characters in

the background, unless the players

bring them to the fore or ask about

them. Don’t spend long parts of the

game session describing what your

characters are doing.

Don’t railroad Players are clever and often come up with ideas that you hadn’t considered.

Their characters sometimes go off in

directions that you couldn’t possibly

have detailed in your scenario. The

thing not to do here is to try to force

them back on track by making it im-

possible for them to go any further

unless they do what you want them to do. In fact the whole point of role-


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 128 ~

playing is that it is a game about

choices. The players are free to go

beyond the boundaries that would otherwise be imposed by other types

of game.

You can use various tricks to get the

players back on track, if you need to.

They could meet some critter along

the way or they could find a clue that

puts them back on course. Better still, let the players go where they will and

do what they want. You can tweak

your scenario to suit. If the players

didn’t know what was in your scenario

in the first place, it can’t hurt to

change it. You can cut out the less

important parts of your scenario if you

need to, or bring them back in later on

A prairie dog’s perspective As a GM, you have the job of ‘making

it real’ for the players. Of course, Prai-

rie dogs can’t talk, don’t make maps,

don’t really have magic barks and so

on. However, for game purposes great

liberties have to be taken with these

things. For extra colour and to help

‘dehumanise’ your games a bit, try not to use directions

like north and

south etc. Use

terms like ‘to-

wards the moun-

tains’, ‘bison-

ward’ (for the di-

rection the herd goes) or ‘home-

wards’ and so on.

Time For periods of

time, Tooth &

Claw is broken

down into flurries.

You can use

‘heartbeats’ for very short mo-

ments of time and for longer periods,

you could use times like ‘when the

shadows are long’ or ‘as the sun is high in the sky’ and so on.

Distance There are no miles, yards, feet or

inches. Use expressions like ‘a paw

away’ (very close) a ‘dog’s length’ for

a foot or so, ‘a few dog’s lengths’ or a

‘snakes length’ for a yard or so and a

‘short dash’ or a ‘bison length’ for a

couple of yards.

For longer distances, bear in mind that

critters cannot see as far as we can

(except birds) so you can be far vagu-

er with your distances. Use terms like

‘a long way away’ or ‘half a day away’.



~ 129 ~

Glossary Bark: A ‘call’ that has spiritual or mys-

tical power

Berry: Elder of the Dawn Eagle Tribe,

mate of Chief Strong-Heart Blue Grama: Lush prairie grass, one

of our favourites for eating

Brave: The defenders of our burrows,

a Role

Broken-Paw: Flies-With-Eagles’ origi-

nal name

Council: Meeting of the Tribal Elders

Council, Great: Meeting of all the Tri-bes of Great Home

Dark Death: A deadly dis-

ease that kills within

moons

Daubing: Marking

the coat with a

paste of mud and

plant juices in de-signs often copied

from markings on

other critters

Dawn Eagle

Tribe: The name of

our Tribe

Dreamcatcher: Fetish

made from grass and feathers to ward off preda-

tors

Elder: High status Tribe member, with

at least two feathers

Feathering: The ceremony that

young pups undergo when they have

been given a Role in the Tribe

Feather Tradition: The use of feath-ers to denote bravery and status.

Some Tribes use things other than

feathers, like porcupine quills and

thorns

Flies-With-Eagles: Legendary female

prairie dog

Great Home: Our town. A collection

of many Tribes Great Quest: The Dream of every dog

to some day find Thundertown Many

dogs never actually begin the Great

Quest, but they still talk about it

Healer: A Role. A dog who heals the

sick and tends the food plots

High Chief: The Chief of a whole Town. Great Home’s High Chief is

Strong-Heart

High Speaker: The High Chief’s

Speaker

Kynos: The Lord of Prairie Dogs; a

figure of legend

Leaf Paw: An Elder Healer of the

Dawn Eagle Tribe. Lodge, The: Meeting place for the

Tribal Councils

Moon: A period of time (a day)

Prairie Tales: Legends, stories

and Tribal Traditions

handed down by Speak-

ers

Role: A special posi-tion granted to a

worthy dog

Sand Dropseed:

One of the prairie

dogs favourite

foods

Scout: A Role. A

dog that finds things out on the plains

Sentinel: A Role.

Guards our pups, our

food and our homes

Speaker: A Role. A teacher and

storyteller

Stands-Tall: A Sentinel from the le-

gends Strong-Heart: The High Chief. A

Brave

Swift-Paw: A Scout from the legends

Talks-With-Birds: Great Home’s High

Speaker

Thunderhoof: Legendary Lord of Bi-

son

Thundertown: Mythical lost town across the prairie

Tribal Totem: A critter after which

the Tribe gets its name

Tribe: A family of prairie dogs under

one chief

Wildling: A feral prairie dog without a

Role


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 130 ~

CRITTERS

________________________________________________

Armadillos Size d6+6 Agility d3

Alertness d6-1 Wisdom d3

Abilities: Bony plates; Armadil-

los can ignore d6 wounds every time they are hit in Tooth & Claw.

These are weird critters indeed. You

don’t see then too often. I saw one

once, I think, many moons ago but it

was dark and I can’t be too sure. He

was kind of lumbering and snuffling

around, nose to the ground. Not much for talk, so I’ve heard. They have this

tough skin that stops most of their

predators like Coyotes. Still, they are a

bit dim, so Coyotes can often trick

them with their wily ways.

Bats Size d2 Agility d6+1,

Alertness d6+1 Wisdom d6-1

Abilities: Flight 6, Sonar 6 (as Bark of Location)

Bats are like little flying mice. You

don’t see them that often, because

they flit around in the dark of night

catching moths then disappear off to

Kynos-knows-where in the daytime.

The bats I have spoken to tell me they don’t fly as gracefully as birds because

they have different wings. They do

however have this unique ability to get

around in the darkness though a bit

like our Scouts, I think. They generally

seem to be nice little critters but diffi-

cult to talk to for any length of time.

Badgers Size d6+6 Agility d6 Alertness d6 Wisdom d6

Abilities: Stancing 3, Hunting 3,

Tooth & Claw 5

These critters are bad-tempered, po-

werful fighters: they don’t have too

many enemies, because they can take

good care of themselves. They like to

burrow, have white stripes on their

faces and nasty long claws. They like a

good story though, so you might be in

luck if you have one to tell.

Bears Size d6+30 Agility d6-1

Alertness d6-1 Wisdom d6

Abilities: Hunting 3, Fishing 6,

Tooth & Claw 9

Bears are massive great critters. They

have dark fur all over and great slob-

bering muzzles full of wicked teeth. If that isn’t enough, they can use their

massive paws quite deftly to pick us

up and shove us into their foul smel-

ling maws. Sends shivers down my

spine. Still, you aren’t likely to find

them near Great Home and if you are

questing, your Sentinel will see them

long before they become a danger to you.

Apparently, they have cousins called

Grizzlies or some such who are even

bigger and have worse tempers. Le-

gend has it that you need to pass a

cave full of these monsters to get to

Thundertown, so may Kynos be with you.

Bison Size d6+50 Agility d3+1

Alertness d3 Wisdom d6+1

Abilities: none of note

Bison are amongst our greatest

friends, ever since the time of Lord

Kynos and Thunderhoof. Bison are huge, so huge in fact that they some-



~ 131 ~

times don’t even notice us and that

represents our biggest danger from

them. They have great shaggy heads with horns sticking out on top. Bison

roam the plains in great herds and eat

grass most of the day. They are par-

ticularly fond of the grasses that our

Healers cultivate for them.

Bison like to wallow on the mounds

that surround Great Home. This can be very destructive, but our Healers know

that this helps to create hollows where

rainwater can collect and so help in

the growing of crops. Of course, the

Bison also leave plenty of dung be-

hind, which helps fertilize the area,

although you sometimes have to be

quick to avoid being covered. Being ‘splatted’ the young pups call it.

Bobcats Size d6+6 Agility d6+3

Alertness d6+2 Wisdom d6

Abilities: Stancing 5, Hunting 7, Tooth

& Claw 6

Now these critters are terrible and fe-

rocious. If you see one run; that’s my advice to you. They seem to know no

fear. I’ve heard that they will attack

animals many times their own size,

which is considerably bigger than us

prairie dogs. They’ll eat you as soon as

look at you, as well as mice, rabbits,

birds, gophers - you name it we’re all

on the menu.

Burrowing Owls Size d6 Agility d6+1

Alertness d6+2 Wisdom d6+2

Abilities: Flight 10, Hunting 7, Tooth &

Claw 4

These birds are about the same size as

we are - so they really only represent

a danger to some of our smaller cou-sins and perhaps our pups. However,

Legend has it that it was a Burrowing

Owl called Who-Who, that befriended

Lord Kynos after he led his tribe onto the prairie and became his first

Speaker. It was Who-Who that showed

Kynos’ tribe how to dig into the ground

to build their homes and also taught

them about all of the other critters on

the plains. He taught them that Wis-

dom is just as important as bravery

and this friendship has extended through to this very day. Burrowing

owls can often be found living near or

in the outer fringes of Great Home and

other dog towns.

Chipmunks Size d6-1 Agility d6

Alertness d6 Wisdom d6-1


These are friendly little critters. There

are lots of different tribes, but I can’t

really tell the difference. They some-

times get a bit uppity if you tell them

this though. Like we’re supposed to

know? Anyhow, they have stripes ex-

tending down to the base of their

tales, which are a lot longer than ours. Their colour varies from dull yellow to

grey-brown. They eat nuts, seeds and

fruit.

Cottontails Size d6 Agility d6+1



These critters are about our size. They are a bit wary (even of us) but can be

quite friendly. I reckon they are a bit

lazy too, because they like to take

over our old burrows on the edge of

Great Home, rather than dig their

own. Sometimes they just make their

shelters in brush heaps. They are a bit

simple; so don’t expect to get too much sense out of them.


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 132 ~

Coyotes Size d6+9 Agility d6


Abilities: Hunting 3, Tooth & Claw 5, Silvertongue 4 (treat as a

Bark of Command, but let characters

make Prairie Tales/Wisdom rolls to get

away)

Never trust a Coyote. That’s my best

advice to you. If he says something to

you he is only trying to win your trust, so he can get close just to eat you.

Remember the old Prairie Tale? Don’t

listen to his devious words. He eats

nearly anything, so like I said keep out

of his way. You can tell him from his

cousin the fox by his greyish coat.

Eagles Size d6+10 Agility d6

Alertness d6+1 Wisdom d6+2 Abilities: Flight 10, Hunting 9, Tooth &

Claw 6

Much as I feel an affinity with Eagles

being our Tribal Totem and all, I don’t

really feel an urge to put my Tribal

Bark to the test. Eagles are so big; I

wonder whether they would even hear it. I doubt I could get my Bark out

even if am Eagle was coming for me

anyway! As I said, they are huge

(even when seen from a distance,

which quite frankly, is close enough)

and swift and deadly. They will eat

many types of small critters, although

with the vigilance of our Sentinels and the protection of our burrows, we prai-

rie dogs are safer than many.

Ferrets Size d6+3 Agility d6+1


Abilities: Stancing 6, Hunting 7,

Tooth & Claw 8

Now this beast is a fearsome proposi-

tion, I can assure you. For a start, it is bigger than us but not so big that it

cannot come down into our burrows to

seek us out. Ferrets are light brown in

colour except for their feet and evil

killer eyes which are dark as the night.

They feed mainly upon us prairie dogs

and our cousins the ground squirrels. Why us? Kynos only knows, but they

seem to derive enormous satisfaction

from it. I have heard of whole tribes

being wiped out by just one or two of

these berserk killers.

Foxes Size d6+8 Agility d6


Abilities: Hunting 4, Tooth & Claw 5, Silvertongue 3

I must admit that I can’t really tell

much of a difference between foxes

and coyotes, but then I don’t normally

hang about when they are around.

There are even different types of fox-

es, according to one Speaker I met. These critters are quick and deadly

and, like Coyote, very wily. They are

quite happy to eat us as well as others

of our friends, so be warned.

Gophers Size d6-1 Agility d6



This is another friendly critter, the Go-

pher. They like to burrow and, unlike

us, prefer to stay in their tunnels all of

the time. So you might find them a

bit, well, sort of ‘earthy’. They also like

to store their food in their cheeks,

which seems odd to me. Doesn’t it get

all soggy in there?



~ 133 ~

Ground Squirrels Size d6 Agility d6



Now these critters are our cousins and

although they are loners, they have

the attitude of one or two Scouts I

know. There are loads of different

types, some have stripes, and some

have spots (they don’t daub them on

like we do). They like to burrow and

are about our size too. They don’t bark though. You can usually rely on help

from these guys, if you need it.

Hawks Size d6+6 Agility d6


Abilities: Flight 10, Hunting 9, Tooth &

Claw 5

Always keep one eye on the sky. If it’s not an eagle up there, you can bet it’ll

be a hawk. Not as big as an eagle, but

that isn’t much comfort to the likes of

us. Just get down your burrow as

quick as you can. These flying critters

can see the whole prairie from up

there and can spot movement almost

anywhere. If you can find a hawk feather, you’ll be lucky, so they say.

Get it to your Speaker sharpish.

Jackrabbits Size d6+3 Agility d6+2

Alertness d6+1 Wisdom d6-1

Abilities: Jumping 12

This critter is too up himself, if you ask

me. He looked down his nose at me, like he just trod in something. Still, my

Bark is worse than my bite, I like to

say, so after he had been taught a

little lesson, he was more willing to

treat me with a bit of respect. Jack-

rabbits have long ears, long legs and

seem very quick on their feet, if not in

their heads. They seem to eat almost

any kind of vegetation (no taste!) and, like us, can make do with little or no

water. The most remarkable thing

though, is how far they can jump. If

you put 20 Braves nose to tail, I am

sure a Jackrabbit could clear them in

one bound.

Kangaroo Rats Size d3 Agility d6+2

Alertness d6 Wisdom d6 Abilities: Jumping 8

Jumpy critters these and I don’t just

mean they can jump a long way. I

mean they seem edgy and nervous all

the time. Highly strung. Still, I’m not

surprised; they have more predators

than we do. There are apparently lots of different families of kangaroo rats

but, quite frankly, who cares? Still, get

one to stay still long enough and you

will find them to be friendly enough.

Lions Size d6+25 Agility d6+1


Abilities: Hunting 8, Tooth & Claw 9

You think bobcats are scary? Well, you

run into one of these terrors – makes

a bobcat look like a rabbit. Lions are

rare and I have only second paw ac-

counts. Perhaps they exist only in

Prairie Tales? Just as well really.

Lizards Size d6 Agility d6+2

Alertness d6 Wisdom d3 Abilities: Hunting 2, Tooth & Claw 2

There is an old Legend that says that if

a lizard bites you, it will hold on till it

thunders. There is another that says if

a critter catches hold of a lizard’s tail


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 134 ~

the tail will drop off. Then, later on the

lizard will come back for his tail and

join it back on again. Those two Prairie Tales just show how weird a critter a

lizard is. You’ll find them basking in

the sun by day or under a rock (or

even in our old burrows) at night.

Mice Size d2 Agility d6+2

Alertness d6 Wisdom d6


There are many types

of mouse, most of

which are a brown-

grey colour with

white bellies and

long tails. They

are nimble little

critters that eat seeds, plants and

some insects.

They build their

nests under rocks

and such. Members

of the Little Mouse Tribe

even live side-by-side with

these little guys. There are some mice, called Grasshopper Mice (who

are quite common on the plains) that

feed almost exclusively on insects.

Yum!

Pikas Size d6-1 Agility d6


Abilities: Whistle (several types, simi-

lar to Barks though fewer)

These critters are a bit like us and a

bit like rabbits. They tend to like the

mountains, so you don’t get them

around Great Home very much. They

Whistle, so that’s how you know them.

Some of our Scouts reckon their whis-

tles are a bit like our Barks, but I’m not so sure. If they are though, per-

haps they have Roles in their society

too?

Prairie Dogs Size d6 Agility d6

Alertness d6 Wisdom d6 Abilities: Tribal Bark 1, otherwise none

of note, unless the dog has a Role*

If you haven’t been paying attention,

these are the critters that this game is

all about.

Raccoons Size d6+6 Agility d6


Abilities: Tooth &

Claw 3, Hunting

2

These critters get

everywhere. They

are very nosey and love to learn

new things and have

loads of tales to tell

themselves, if you can get

then to talk to you, rather than

have you for a tasty snack. Truth be

told, they go for smaller critters than

us, as a rule. Anyhow, you can tell a raccoon by his markings - a ringed tail

and black round the eyes. These are

great designs to copy, when you are

being daubed.

Rattlesnakes Size d6+4 Agility d6-1


Abilities: Death Rattle (as Stancing) 8,

Tooth & Claw 3, Hunting 4, Poison bite (victim has to make a Moderate ability

roll using Size to avoid being paralysed

and loses one hit point per flurry the-

reafter whether he succeeded or failed

the first roll, unless he makes a further

Moderate ability roll)



~ 135 ~

If you hear an eerie rattling sound, get

the hell out of there. It means rattler

is near and about to strike. In actual fact, if you hear it, you can assume

you are dead already. They strike

quickly and their poison is deadly. Not

much a Healer can do. So don’t get

bitten.

Shrews Size d2 Agility d6+1


Abilities: Stancing 2, Tooth & Claw 1

Shrews are quite aggressive for such a

little critter. They can catch you by

surprise too, because they look a bit

like mice. They prefer watery areas

though and aren’t often seen in the

daytime. They eat loads of insects and

grubs and things. Must need it with all that aggression.

Skink Size d6-1 Agility d6+1


Abilities: Hunting 2, Tooth & Claw 2

Skinny little guys these things. No fur

either, so no wonder they like to bake

themselves in the sun and hide away at night when it goes cold. They look a

bit like snakes except they got legs too

- pretty fast runners when they want

as well. Never seen a lizard bothering

any of us. They talk kinda funny so it’s

hard to understand them. They’re ok

though.

Skunks Size d6+6 Agility d6

Alertness d6 Wisdom d6 Abilities: Odour (as Stancing) 6, Hunt-

ing 2, Tooth & Claw 2

Smelly critters, these; only when you

catch them by surprise though. Oth-

erwise they are a bit temperamental.

They might even have a go at you.

Smaller critters like mice are definitely

on the menu. Black with white stripes and bushy tales; that’s how you’ll rec-

ognise them if you don’t smell them

first. Mind you, the smell is enough to

knock you out completely. Luckily, it’s

only a defensive thing - it is intended

to ward off predators like Coyotes and

other bigger critters.

Wolves Size d6+15 Agility d6 Alertness d6 Wisdom d6

Abilities: Stancing 3, Tooth & Claw 8,

Hunting 5

Now these critters are pure legend, I

am certain. They are like big coyotes

or foxes, so the tales would have it.

More vicious though and they don’t need the trickery of those critters ei-

ther. Not as vicious of the next critter

though.

Wolverines Size d6+8 Agility d6


Abilities: Stancing 5, Tooth & Claw 9,

Hunting 7

Luckily, we don’t see these around

very much. They are large, shaggy,

brown-furred monsters. They are also

exceptionally ill-tempered. You don’t

stand a chance if one catches you

whilst he is hungry. If he is not hun-

gry, he will probably just kill you

anyway. Some even kill deer and elk. And deer and elk are real big. Probably

couldn’t kill a Bison though, but I bet

they would have a good go.


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 136 ~

ADVENTURING

________________________________________________

Overview

It’s a Dog’s Life is a game all about

adventures and quests. Adventures

can be one-off scenarios that begin

and end after an evenings play. They can be designed like short stories,

each of which starring the same cast

of characters (maybe with a slightly

changed cast, if players can’t make it,

or new players come along). Best of all

though, is when adventures are linked

in some way and so that what went in

the last adventure has a bearing on the next one. These are called cam-

paigns.

Designing adventures can be a bit

daunting. The thing is you shouldn’t

bust a gut over it. The more it is

planned out, the less easy it will be to

play. There are some sample adven-tures near the end of this book, to

give you a feel for the type of thing

that makes a good It’s a Dog’s Life

adventure.

The beginning adventures can be sim-

ple tasks given by Chief Strong-Heart,

like the adventure called Ferret Trouble. However, after a while this

approach will get a bit stale, so you

may need to vary it. There are many

ways to do this.

If a one of the players is a Speaker,

you can say that she has some sort of

vision after eating a certain plant. This vision could be in the form of a riddle

or a visit from Lord Kynos or just a

faraway place or event. A Scout could

come across something out on the

prairie - strange tracks, an unknown

critter or a dead body. A Speaker from

some distant town could come to

Great Home with a Prairie Tale that

could lead to a new adventure. Be cre-

ative. Once you begin differing the way to introduce scenarios to the

players, you will start to develop a

campaign structure to your games.

Campaigns Campaigns are a series of adventures

that usually have a common thread or

greater goal that strings the adven-

tures together. Campaigns tend to

have common elements throughout the adventures. These elements may

be that there is an ultimate aim for the

players - maybe they are trying to

track down one very powerful foe and

each adventure brings them clues that

bring them closer to their enemy. The

Great Quest is an example of a cam-

paign that will be played over several or more sessions leading to a fabulous

climax - the dream of many prairie

dogs, Thundertown itself.

Maybe the characters have their own

personal agendas - a Speaker might

want to become the Chief Speaker of

Great Home. A Healer might want to find a cure for The Dark Death. A

Scout might want to find Thunder-

town. A Brave might want to be Chief.

A Sentinel might simply want to find a

mate. These are the characters

dreams and so they should be working

towards these goals anyway. They

make a fantastic way for GMs to come up with adventures that the players

might be really keen to play.

Players might have other ideas for

their characters and often these are a

great source of material for GMs

struggling to come up with adventures

of their own. Don’t be afraid to plunder the players ideas for campaigns and

adventures. It means they have a lot

more personal stake in your game.

Campaigns work best when the player



~ 137 ~

characters have lives of their own too

and where you play out sessions that

have a real meaning for their charac-ters.

Earning Legend Points Adventures are where characters earn

status within their tribes and even gain

reputations beyond their own tribes,

perhaps throughout Great Home and

even in other dog towns. After each

adventure, the GM will award Legend

points. The number of points varies from about 1 to 3, depending upon the

nature of the adventure, the difficul-

ties faced and the way the players

played their characters to the spirit of

It’s a Dog’s Life.

If the group has a Speaker with them,

and that Speaker can succeed in tell-ing the Prairie Tale of their adventures

before the chief, or the chief or

Speaker of another tribe, then another

point can be awarded to each charac-

ter, as they bask in the glory of their

adventures.

These Legend points can be used to increase attributes, abilities or Barks

or learn new ones. Alternatively, a

character can learn a second Role, if

she has sufficient Legend points.

Attributes: 2 points per point up to 6.

Then 3 points per point up to 8, which

is the maximum Abilities: 1 point per point up to 6.

Then 2 points per point up to a maxi-

mum of 12

Barks: 1 point per point up to 3. Then

2 points per point up to a maximum of

6

New Role: 6 Legend points. The prai-

rie dog gets the Unique Ability, Bark and Secondary Ability of the new Role

all at level 1. He is also awarded a

second (or additional) Feather. It is

extremely rare for any dog to have

more than two Roles

Feather: An extra feather for the first

point spent (this is extra to the Feath-er the dog has already got from her

Role). Then 2 points for the next

(third) feather. Then 3 points for the

next and so on.

Adventure seeds Some of these are just short ideas to

throw into an ongoing campaign or

game session. Others could be fully

fleshed out into whole adventures or even longer quests and campaigns.

• A strange lost critter comes to

Great Home, from far across

the prairie

• Crops are being eaten or de-

stroyed by an unknown thief

or unknown thieves and the Healer wants to know who or

what it is

• A quest to accompany a Healer

or Speaker collect feathers and

other materials with which to

make a Dreamcatcher, to re-

place one in the Lodge that no

longer has power • Looking for lost pups or scouts

that wandered off across the

prairie

• A Speaker character trying to

learn new tales from other

towns

• Accompanying a Healer who is

looking for rare plants to com-bat the Dark Death

• Exploration; searching for new

place to establish a colony

• Tribal disputes, wars and poli-

tics

• A lost critter with strange

markings or daubings on his

fur, that could be a ‘map’ to the location of Thundertown

• The Bison haven’t been seen

for many moons. Where are

they? High Chief Strong-Heart


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 138 ~

wants some brave dogs to go

along the Bison-Way to see if

they can find out where they are or why they don’t pass by

Great Home anymore

• The Great Quest (there are

some ideas for incorporating

The Great Quest into your

campaign later on in this

book).

LONGER ADVENTURES

________________________________________________

Killer Ferret Some prairie dogs

have been going miss-

ing from the outer

fringes of Great

Home. Some of the

tribes that live out

that way have got to-gether to petition

Strong-Heart for a

gathering of the tribes

to get something done

about it.

The result of the Great

Council is that the player characters are

summoned before chief Strong-Heart,

who tells them that he wishes them to

go out to the area where the disap-

pearances have occurred and see what

they can find out. Their job is to see

what the cause is and try to reach a

solution if possible or if not, report back with their findings. He suggests

they talk to the Elders of the Running

Gopher Tribe who have lost more of

their number than any of the others

out that way.

Any Scouts in the party will know that

they need to travel mountain-ward

from the time the sun rises, till it is high in the sky. If there is no Scout,

then the characters will have to ask

around and the journey will be twice

as long. Out here, there are many de-

serted burrows; several lived in by

other critters such as mice and bur-

rowing owls. The grasses are poor and

sparse.

The characters will be treated with a

little suspicion, unless they have a

Speaker in the group or until they tell

the Tribe why they are here. They will

learn that their have been several dis-

appearances, the most recent of which

was only at sunrise. It was Grass-Fur the Tribes only Healer, who had wan-

dered too far look-

ing for a plot of

decent soil. The

Tribes only Senti-

nel couldn’t be

everywhere at

once and despite his warnings, she

wandered out of

his sight. The

group is shown by

Boulder, the Sen-

tinel, the last

place he saw her.

The group will probably want to

head in that direc-

tion, as it is about the only lead they

have and the Healer might still be

alive.

If they have a Scout, the group can

follow her trail. Otherwise they will have to just head that way and hope

for the best (perhaps having an en-

counter with a critter of some sort as

they get off track a little). They will

eventually find the remains of a critter

in a patch of longer grass. There is

blood everywhere. The body is the



~ 139 ~

Healer, but there is not much left of

her. (A Critter Lore roll will show this

to be the work of a ferret). A short distance from the body (Watching roll

for Sentinels in the party) will reveal a

strange ring of woven grasses, with

feathers attached. It is a Dreamcatch-

er. A successful Plant Lore or Critter

Lore roll will reveal that it is unfi-

nished, but only needs a little more

work. It is designed to ward off a fer-ret.

A scout will be able to find the tracks

of the killer ferret leading towards

some disused tunnel entrances at the

very outer edges of Great Home. The

ferret is in the burrow asleep, sated

after his dawn feast. However, it is not long till the sun goes down and he will

be back out for another night of hunt-

ing and killing.

The ferret needs at the very least to

be chased away from Great Home. It

would help if the characters could get

the Dreamcatcher completed. They are unlikely to be able to do it themselves

(they won’t have the necessary ability

levels), but they could find someone to

help from among the nearby tribes.

Alternatively, if the group is strong in

Braves, then they might be able to

out-Stance or out-fight him.

Dog Trouble Some prairie dogs from a dog-town

some way across the plain towards the

mountains are looking for a new home

as the soil around there own has be-

come poor and the bison don’t come

by as often as they used to.

There are a dozen of these dogs - har-

dened Braves and a couple of Scouts

and Sentinels, all under the Chief

called Rock-Claw. These dogs have

matted and ‘spiked’ fur, with bits of

bone and twigs thrust through it, and

‘war-paint’ daubed on their faces. Some even have a porcupine spine or

thorn thrust through an ear. (Think

‘punk’ or Mad Max in style here). They

are members of the Bloody Porcupine

Tribe - a cruel and heartless tribe of

thugs and murderers.

Rock-Claw is following reports from one of his scouts of a town rich in food

and comfortable burrows just ripe for

the picking - Great Home. However,

he is aware that the Chief is strong

and will not just give up his position

that easily and Rock-Claw does not

intend to risk losing his life in a chal-

lenge.

Their plan is to attack a weaker tribe

on the outskirts of Great Home and kill

the chief, Braves and any others who

put up a fight, enslaving the rest. Then

they intend to work their way around

the other tribes nearby, building their

power and strength, moving in to-wards the centre as they go taking the

females and putting down any resis-

tance.

The eventual aim is to make a chal-

lenge upon Strong-Heart for

leadership. However, even then they

don’t plan a fair challenge. Oh no.

Rock-Claws’ own Speaker, Snake-

Tongue is planning to ingratiate him-

self with the tribes of Great Home, so

that he can get close to Strong-Heart.

At the appointed time, Rock-Claw will

challenge Strong-Heart. Snake-Tongue

Black-Foot The ferret is a fairly typical one, called

Black-Foot, with stats as follows: Size 7, Agility 5, Alertness 4, Wisdom 3

Abilities: Stancing 6 (13), Hunting 7 (11), Tooth & Claw 8 (13)

Wound points: 13 Note: The figure in brackets is the total d20 roll needed, not including any mod-ifiers.


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 140 ~

will then poison Strong-Heart (using a

particular plant he knows) - not to kill

him, but to make him weak and nau-seous and easy for Rock-Claw to best

in Tooth & Claw. Then Great Home will

be theirs.

This isn’t really an adventure as such,

it is really a whole ongoing story that

you can play through either as part of

an ongoing plot-line with the charac-ters perhaps coming across bits and

pieces of the plot as they go about

there other adventures. Maybe they

find some of Rock-Claws Braves ha-

rassing some prairie dogs of another

tribe, or perhaps they find some of his

Scouts stealing some of the best crops

from around the centre of Great Home. They could run into a ‘work-

party’ of dogs being forced to dig tun-

nels by some Braves and Sentinels of

Rock-Claws tribe, or even run into an

old friend who has been beaten up and

badly disfigured, for standing up

against them.

Alternatively, they could come back

from a long adventure to find Great

Home almost overrun by the Bloody

Porcupines. Perhaps there has been a

huge civil war and members of Strong-

Hearts Tribe are now fighting a guerril-

la war from hidden tunnels in some abandoned area of town. Use this in a

way you find interesting.

Plague Town A small dog colony a few days away

from Great Home has been hit by The

Dark Death. You could allow the group

to come across this town whist they

are travelling the plain on some other

quest or mission or simply have a Scout from that town come to Great

Home for help from the Healers (in the

latter case, the Scout could actually

have brought the Dark Death with

him, meaning that Great Home itself is

at risk, bringing the whole problem

’closer to home’, especially if one of

the player characters is unfortunate enough to have come into contact with

the Scout).

Anyway, the characters will find the

colony in a rather pathetic state—

untended plots, poorly maintained

guard posts and burrows, hardly any

dog around and a smell of rot and de-cay from within and around the

vicinity. Luckily, this smell keeps most

predators at bay too.

The characters will need to come up

with a cunning plan. If they have a

Healer or Speaker, then a Plant Lore

roll will tell them that there is a very rare herb that grows near the moun-

tains (a long way away!) that is

supposed to be able to cure the Dark

Death. A successful Prairie Tales roll

will mean that the Speaker recalls the

tale of an ancient and venerable Her-

mit who lives near the foot of the

mountains, who is believed to be the sole survivor of a great plague in his

own town many dog-generations ago.

(If rolls are failed, the characters can

Rock-Claw Role: Brave (Chief)

Size 6, Agility 6, Alertness 4, Wisdom 2 Abilities: Stancing 5(11), Tooth & Claw

4(10), Bark of Courage 3, Tribal Bark 2 Wound points: 12

Snake-Tongue

Role: Speaker Size, Agility 3, Alertness 5, Wisdom 6 Abilities: Prairie Tales 3(9), Plant Lore

3(9), Critter Lore 1 (7) Bark of Com-mand 3, Bark of Weakness 1, Bark of

Confusion 1, Tribal Bark 3 Wound points: 8

(Note: The figure in brackets is the total d20 roll needed, not including any mod-ifiers).



~ 141 ~

always go and see their own Head-

Speaker or even the wise burrowing

owl that they know about, either of whom can tell them bout the above).

These stories will probably lead the

characters on the long journey to the

mountains. They will definitely need a

Scout with them, for the path is hard

and dangerous. Sentinels are a must

too. If the characters do not have cha-racters of these types in their number,

you could allow an NPC to join them.

Alternatively, you could allow them to

become lost several times (if they

don’t have a Scout) perhaps leading

them to other adventures along the

way whilst all the time dogs back

home are falling to the Dark Death, or they could be attacked by more preda-

tors along the way (without a

Sentinel).

Eventually, their path will lead to the

Hermit. He is the whitest, oldest and

frailest-looking prairie dog they will

have ever seen. He is both a Speaker and a Healer. His name (though it is

long since he heard it spoken, is Star-

Born, because his mother gave birth to

him under the brightest star there has

ever been. This was in a time, so he

says, when Great Home was but a

small colony of his old town of Bison-

Way, which fell to the Dark Death all those moons ago.

Star-Born is a bit strange, and talks in

an odd way because he is unused to

company. His home is full of little side

tunnels full of bits of bone, old dried

plants, feathers, part finished and fi-

nished Dreamcatchers and so on. He is a font of Wisdom and old knowledge

and can help the characters with their

quest.

This is a chance to learn! This scenario

gives the GM opportunity to allow the

characters to learn new Prairie Tales

or other abilities from the Hermit. He

is happy to pass on his knowledge to

the group.

They can also learn a bit more about

the location of Thundertown—as the

old dog heard a Prairie Tale from a

Speaker when he was just a young

pup, who had met a very old Bison

who knew of a herd that passed that

way occasionally.

The Old Wolverine On one of their quests, the characters

will come across a very nasty critter

indeed - a wolverine! This could be

during or part of any adventure and

would work well as a part of the pre-

vious adventure, especially as the mountains are a more likely place to

find a wolverine.

The wolverine will step out in front of

the characters from behind a boulder

and block their path, ideally in a nar-

row mountain pass or somewhere

difficult to escape from the wolverine.

However, the wolverine (called Bite-of-

Death) is old, lost and has suffered a

badly mauled paw, which he got in a

fight with another wolverine. The paw

is causing him great pain and in fact

he isn’t that hungry, having eaten

quite recently.

If a character Healer is available, he

Star-Born

Speaker & Healer (Hermit) Size 1, Agility 2, Alertness 4, Wisdom 9

Abilities: Prairie Tales 6 (15), Plant Lore 5(14), Critter Lore 4 (13), Bark of

Command 6, Bark of Life 6, Bark of Mimicry 3. Wound points: 7

(Note: The figure in brackets is the total

d20 roll needed, not including any mod-ifiers).


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 142 ~

can see that the wolverine is injured

and appears to be in pain. The Healer

may be able to help, with critter lore. Without a Healer, the characters will

have to talk to the wolverine before

they can find out about his injury. This

is possible, because the wolverine

doesn’t attack straight away as they

would perhaps expect from this beast

(if indeed they recognize it as such).

If they get talking, the wolverine tells

them his name is Bite-of-Death. He is

grateful for any help and will teach any

dog some of his best Tooth & Claw or

Stancing moves and tricks.

The Great Quest Locating Thundertown is the ultimate

dream of very many prairie dogs who

have the spirit of adventure within

them. Scouts constantly venture far and wide, seeking trails and following

paths that lead out across the plains.

Speakers swap Prairie Tales in the

hope that there will be clues in some

of the new stories they learn. Senti-

nels at watch will sometimes look to

the skies for a glimpse of the top of a

faraway mountain that might just pos-sibly be the location of that mythical

place. Many dogs give up on the idea

and settle down to a life in Great

Home. Content as they seem, there is

still an occasional ache in the hearts of

most dogs that they didn’t pursue

their Dream.

For other dogs, the yearning is too

strong. These dogs are called to The

Great Quest; that is forever following

the slightest of hints, the merest of

suggestions and the oldest of trails

with the slimmest of hopes that they

might eventually discover a route that

leads to the First Town. None so far has found it, or if they have, they have

not returned to talk of it.

How do you get to Thundertown?

This is a question for you, as the GM

to decide. You don’t need to do it

straight away, but sometime during

the adventures you are going to have to provide some answers and so you

need to think about it now. It could be

at the end of a very long and very an-

cient Bison-Way, criss-crossed several

times by other Bison-Ways, sometimes

making it difficult to find the original

trail. It could be, as one of the legends

suggests, up through a pass in the distant mountains. Some legends even

suggest that you need to pass through

a cave full of grizzlies to get to Thun-

dertown. Perhaps Thundertown is

Bite-of-Death Wolverine

Size 10, Agility 3, Alertness 2, Wisdom 5 Abilities: Tooth & Claw 8(11), Stancing 5(15), Hunting 5(7)

Wound points: 16

(Note: The figure in brackets is the total d20 roll needed, not including any modifi-

ers).



~ 143 ~

across a raging river or huge canyon.

Maybe the path to Thundertown leads

through a dark forest. It could be that all of these things are true or none of

them. But, during the course of their

adventures, you should allow the cha-

racters to pick up snippets of

information or find clues that will keep

them getting nearer to their Dream.

One Prairie Tale speaks of a critter, just known as ‘The Puzzle’, whose pelt

markings are some sort of secret mes-

sage that if worked out, will give

directions to the location of the First

Town.

What will the characters find

there? One option is that Thundertown is the

largest Prairie Dog town that there has

ever been. An ancient, yet vibrant and

beautiful town set against the back-

drop of a mighty mountain rising up

out of the land and reaching up into

the clouds. The place is dotted with

pleasant little plots, pools of sparkling water, colourful herbs and plants and

well cared for burrows. The Tribes are

all well fed and want for very little. It

is idyllic and alluring and everything

anydog ever dreamed of. The High

Chief is a direct descendent of the

Great Kynos himself and will make

anydog welcome for there is room for everyone and food is plentiful. Every-

dog is happy and their lives are

blissful.

Another option is perhaps exactly the

opposite. Perhaps the ancient town is

a run-down dilapidated dump, full of

malnourishment and disease. Maybe the High Chief is a tyrant and has a

personal army of thuggish Braves who

enforce his strict rules and keep the

populace down, cowed beneath his

spiteful paw. Maybe his Chief Speaker

has set up a weird cult of worshippers

of The Mountain - in the shadow of

which Thundertown sits in its wasted

and lifeless misery.

Perhaps the browbeaten populace is

looking for a new leader from afar

away across the prairie, spoken of in

their ancient prophecies; a hero who

will show them how to rise up and

throw off the chains of their despotic

overlord.

Maybe Thundertown is just an empty,

lifeless shell; deserted perhaps, many

moons ago and now just a place of

empty memories and weed-choked

plant beds. Maybe in the tunnels and

chambers of the town, there are some

secrets to be found; mystical powers

that were known in Lord Kynos’ day but lost in the passing of time.

The characters could explore these

echoing halls and quiet chambers un-

covering the mysteries held within.

Perhaps the chambers are now home

to some other deadly critters - a fami-

ly of ferrets or chamber of rattlers. Maybe, because the passages are old

and uncared for, there will be rock-

falls and cave-ins. It could be a bit like

a ‘dungeon adventure’. Perhaps there

are even spirits of the dead drifting

around, whispering to the characters

for good or ill.

Another option is that Thundertown is

not real. It never existed, except in

Prairie Tales. The Great Quest is just

enlightenment and Thundertown, a

Nirvana.

Take an idea from above, change it to

suit you and your players. Or make up your own version of Thundertown. You

know your players best and you know

what they will be happiest with. Go

with it. Happy adventuring!


KIDS & CRITTERS

~ 144 ~

REAL PRAIRE DOGS ________________________________________________

Prairie dogs are truly social animals

and live on the central plains of North

America, in Wyoming, Colorado, and South Dakota and so on. They are

closely related to ground squirrels.

There are five species of prairie dog;

Black-tailed (the most common),

White-tailed (slightly smaller and live

in the mountains), Gunnison's, Utah

and Mex-

ican. They all have

small ears,

short tails

and muscu-

lar little legs.

Their buff-

coloured fur

blends in with the

earth in

which they

dig their

burrows.

Size Prairie dogs

vary in size from 11 to 14 inches and

weigh from 1 to 3 pounds. They can live for up to 7 years but males tend

to live no longer than 5. The females

give birth to only 1 litter of 1 to 6 pups

and the breeding season begins late

winter to early spring.

Towns Prairie dogs live in areas known as

‘towns’, which are marked by low

mounds of bare dirt and sand where they have excavated it from their bur-

rows. Huge prairie dog towns, such as

one that covered 25,000 square miles

and supported a population of approx-

imately 400 million prairie dogs, once

were reported from Texas. Although

prairie dogs still locally are common, today less than one percent of the

prairie dog population and habitat re-

main.

Within the towns, dogs live in social

groups called coteries that work to-

gether to collect foodstuffs and nesting

materials and cooperate to fend off threats from intruders, which may be

predators or dogs from other coteries.

A typical coterie consists of between 4

to 6 adults

and their

young of up to

a year in age.

Beyond 1

year, the

young will

often relocate,

taking over

abandoned

holes, digging

new holes on the edge of

the town or

travel up to

several miles

away to start

new towns.

Many of the burrows in a town are in-terconnected, so escape routes are left

open if a predator chases a dog down

a burrow. Other critters also use little

used or abandoned burrows, including

mice, rabbits, some reptiles and

ground-nesting birds.

The towns are watched over by dogs that stand upright atop the earth

mounds and keep a sharp eye out for

signs of intruders. When they spot

danger they give a warning bark and

every dog bolts for the safety of its

burrows.



~ 145 ~

Communication These barks are the dog’s way of

communicating. They include warning

barks, territorial calls, defence barks,

fighting snarls fear screams and tooth chattering.

Prairie dogs are well adapted to avoid

predation. The eyes are located high

on the head and are able to focus on

overhead objects very well. Taller

view-blocking vegetation at the edges

of towns is cut down by the animals, who are then able to stand upright on

their mounds for an unobstructed view

of their surroundings.

Food In and around the town grow the

plants and grasses that form the diet

of prairie dogs. The volume of plant

material on the town itself is much

reduced, but because of the constant grazing, the annual production and

protein content of the plants is greater

than that growing on the surrounding

grasslands.

When most of the grasses are gone,

prairie dogs must feed on the other

plants that have become established. Some of these are preferred foodstuffs

and some are not. Accordingly prairie

dogs will begin to feed on a wider va-

riety of foods when the preferred types

are decreased.

Predators There are a number of predators that

hunt prairie dogs, such as coyotes,

bobcats, foxes, badgers, eagles, hawks, rattlesnakes and most of all,

the feared Black-footed ferret, whose

diet consists primarily of prairie dogs.

ABOUT IT’S A DOG’S LIFE

I’ve always liked reading animal books

and it was after reading Duncton Wood (and several of the follow up novels)

that I started to write a Duncton Wood

role playing game.

During the course of writing the game,

I was on a visit to the USA and my trip

took me to the Devil’s Tower in Wyom-

ing. There is a large prairie dog town at the site and seeing those cute little

critters got me thinking.

I bought a little booklet all about prai-

rie dogs and, whilst I was on my

holiday, I started to write It’s A Dog’s

Life, using the basics of the system I

had been writing for the Duncton Wood rpg.

In around 2002 I put a basic version of

the game on the web for free down-

load. All the while, I was still working

on the game and, following a number

of highly successful playtest adven-

tures, I started to add to what was already there, until it became a fully-

fledged game and more-or-less what it

is today.

I realized that a game about prairie

dogs was always going to be a niche

product. However, I have some hopes

that a small number of jaded gamers, fed up of the traditional dwarves, wi-

zards, space pirates and vampires

might just find something a bit differ-

ent in this game and give it a go.

It’s a Dog’s Life is one of my wife’s

favourite role playing games and it

certainly holds a very special place in my heart. In fact, I’m planning a new

campaign right now…

Simon W


TALES FROM THE WOODTALES FROM THE WOODTALES FROM THE WOODTALES FROM THE WOOD Player Creature Sheet

NAMENAMENAMENAME CREATURE TYPECREATURE TYPECREATURE TYPECREATURE TYPE

THE WAYTHE WAYTHE WAYTHE WAY ABILITIES, LORESABILITIES, LORESABILITIES, LORESABILITIES, LORES

((((& GNOME SKILLS& GNOME SKILLS& GNOME SKILLS& GNOME SKILLS))))

TRTRTRTRAITSAITSAITSAITS

ALERTNESS (AL) CRAFTINESS (CR) FIERCENESS (FI) NIMBLENESS (NI) STURDINESS (ST) TOUGHNESS (TO)

INJURIESINJURIESINJURIESINJURIES SYSTEM BASICSSYSTEM BASICSSYSTEM BASICSSYSTEM BASICS

• If you have the required Ability, Lore or Gnome Skill, pick up a d10

• If you do not have the required Ability, Lore or Gnome Skill pick up a d6

• Roll the die

NOTESNOTESNOTESNOTES • Add the appropriate Trait

• If the result is higher than the difficulty, you succeed

Using The Way:Using The Way:Using The Way:Using The Way: • You may add +2 if you use a

point of The Way before you roll

• You may add +1 if you use a point of The Way after you roll

• You may roll again if you use a point of The Way. However, you must take the second result

• Use a point to “edit” things


LASHINGS OF GINGER BEER GENERAL INFORMATIONGENERAL INFORMATIONGENERAL INFORMATIONGENERAL INFORMATION

NAME: KID TYPE: AGE:

ATTRIBUTESATTRIBUTESATTRIBUTESATTRIBUTES

1) TOUGH:

2) DEFT:

3) CLEVER:

4) CHARM:

THINGS I AM GOOD ATTHINGS I AM GOOD ATTHINGS I AM GOOD ATTHINGS I AM GOOD AT MY BELONGINGSMY BELONGINGSMY BELONGINGSMY BELONGINGS

1) 1)

2) 2)

3) 3) 4) 4)

5) 5)

6) 7)

8)

OTHER STUFFOTHER STUFFOTHER STUFFOTHER STUFF


NAME TRIBE

ROLE FEATHERS

SIZE AGILITY WISDOM SPIRIT

ABILITIES BARKS

WOUNDS CHARACTERISTICS

LEGEND POINTS



Look out for these great games from Beyond Belief Games & Cubicle 7:

WEBSITES CUBICLE 7 ENTERTAINMENT: www.cubicle-7.com/

BEYOND BELIEF GAMES: www.penandpapergames.com/forums/forum.php

LORDS OF LEMURIA: www.freeyabb.com/d6fantasy/portal.php

EVIL DM PRODUCTIONS: http://evildm.blogspot.com/

BARBARIANS OF LEMURIA (BoL)

The sword & sorcery role playing game, with rules that really do reflect

the genre. Available in PDF from RPGNow, or in print from it’s publisher

Cubicle 7 Entertainment or your local hobby store

SUPERS! COMIC BOOK ROLE PLAYING GAME

Fast character generation, simple rules, great fun. This is the heroic su-

pers game you’ve been waiting for. Available in PDF from RPGNow, or in

print from it’s publisher Cubicle 7 Entertainment or your local hobby store

KIDS & CRITTERS OLD SCHOOL RPG TRILOGY

Tales from The Wood

Lashings of Ginger Beer

It’s a Dog’s Life

HISTORICAL ADVENTURES OLD SCHOOL RPG TRILOGY

Go Fer Yer Gun!

Medieval Mysteries

1940 – England Invaded!

COMING IN 2011

OTHER BoL PRODUCTS:

Dogs of W*A*R

A real man’s role playing game of modern gung-ho mercenary adventures

using the Barbarians of Lemuria rules. Available in PDF from RPGNow or

in print from LULU.COM.

Legends of Steel (BoL Edition)

BoL setting book for the world of Erisa, by Evil DM Productions and

Beyond Belief Games. Available in print from LULU.COM, in PDF from

RPGNow or direct from the Evil DM website.

Barbarians of The Aftermath

BoL setting book for post apocalyptic role playing, by Jabberwocky Pro-

ductions. In PDF from RPGNOW or print from Cubicle 7


Kids & Critters RPG Trilogy

Documents

Transcript of Kids & Critters RPG Trilogy