No Thank You, Evil!
No Thank You, Evil! Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- What You Need To Play
- Sections of This Book
- What Does a Guide Do?
- What Does a Player Do?
- How Does the Game Work?
- Learn the Terms
- What Is Storia: The Land Next Door?
- What Is an Adventure?
- Part 1: Play the Game
- Become a Character
- For Guides: How to Play No Thank You, Evil!
- For Players: How to Play No Thank You, Evil!
- Player Levels
- How Hard Is It?
- Take Action
- What Can You Do?
- Fight
- Defend
- Interact
- Use A Special Skill
- Move
- Wait
- Refill
- Do Something Else
- Special Action: Group Action
- Special Action: Be Awesome
- Special Action: Say "No Thank You, Evil!"
- Part 2: Make Your Character
- Character Basics
- Stuff
- Noun
- Adjective
- Verb
- Companions
- Cyphers
- Equipment
- Part 3: Explore Storia
- Behind the Bookshelf
- Into the Closet
- Out the Window
- Under the Bed
- The Twelve True Treasures of Storia
- Part 4: Discover Creatures
- Filling In Your Character Sheet
What You Need To Play
2 to 5 Players: No Thank You, Evil! will work with just one player and a Guide, but it works even better with 2 to 5 players and a Guide.
A Guide: The Guide is a special player who is in charge of knowing the rules, helping the other players, and guiding the story.
Rules and Adventures: You'll need at least one copy of the rules that are included in this book. You can use one of the adventures from Let's Go on an Adventure! or make up your own.
Accessories: Each player will need a six-sided die (called a d6), a character sheet, and something to write with. They may also want to use card decks, tokens, or character stand-ups.
Time: Most beginning adventures take 30 to 60 minutes, including setup. Some advanced adventures may take longer.
Other Props: You can use miniatures, toy monsters, candy trackers, plushies, or anything else that makes the game more fun and visual for players.
Sections of This Book
Welcome to No Thank You, Evil! offers a general overview of the game. If you're new to the game or need a refresher, start here.
Part 1: Play the Game provides the general rules for No Thank You, Evil! This section is for the Guide and the players. It gives you everything you need to know how to play the game.
Part 2: Make Your Character is designed for players. This section shows them how to create characters and companions, gain equipment and skills, and prepare for their journey into Storia.
Part 3: Explore Storia is for the Guide, first and foremost. Players can read it too, but it will give away a lot of secrets of the world that you might want to save for gameplay. This section provides information about Storia, including locations, characters, and adventure ideas.
Part 4: Discover Creatures is for the Guide in the same way that Explore Storia is. Players can read this section, but it might give away things that you'd rather they discover during the game. It explains how creatures work in the game and provides information about some of them.
What Does a Guide Do?
The Guide's job is to understand the game, help players create characters and follow the rules, and be the storyteller. A Guide may also be the "voice" of other characters and creatures in the game. In most games, a parent or other adult is the Guide. Older kids can also be a Guide.
As the Guide, you don't need to have the rules down perfectly, nor do you need to read the whole book to start out. The most important thing is guiding the players in a fun experience.
What Does a Player Do?
Each player creates a character by making a simple sentence. He then pretends to be that character. He uses special skills and equipment, and decides what actions he wants to take. Maybe he wants to fight the dragon, win over the mayor, or beat a rabbit in a race. He rolls a six-sided die (a d6) to see if he fails or succeeds.
How Does the Game Work?
The Guide starts the story. The players take actions as their characters (this is called roleplaying, but kids might just call it pretending).
Whenever a player wants to take an action, the Guide decides the difficulty of the action (on a scale of 1 to 8). This number is called the Goal.
If an action is something that a regular person can do most of the time, like talk to a friend, take a walk, or have some lunch, the Goal is 1. This means the player doesn't need to roll the die. They just do the thing they want to do.
If the action is harder, like fighting a creature, climbing a wall, or charming an evil sorceress, the Goal is between 2 and 8. (An action with a Goal of 8 is so difficult, it's almost impossible.) The player makes a roll to see if their action succeeds or fails.
Learn the Terms
Guide: Typically an adult or older child who guides the flow of the story.
Player/Player Character: A character controlled by a player. They are the main people in the story. Player, player character, or character can be used interchangeably.
Character: Creatures, people, or anything else that lives in Storia. Characters (other than player characters) are played by the Guide.
Companion: A good friend that hangs out with the player character.
Group: All of the players and their companions.
Goal: All actions have a Goal. The Goal (1-8) is the lowest number a player needs to roll on a die to succeed on an action.
Cinch: Any time an action doesn't require a roll (Goal 1), it's called a Cinch.
Player Levels: There are three player levels: Triangle, Square, and Circle. These are designed to allow players of various age levels and experiences to play together.
Trait: Every action is linked to one of four traits: Tough, Fast, Smart, and Awesome. The traits are in pools.
Fun Pool: Players can use 1 Fun to refill their trait pools.
Knack: A special skill that lets you turn a specific action into a Cinch (Goal 1).
Cypher: A secret that companions know. For player levels Square and Circle.
Treat pool: A special pool that is used to get new cyphers. For player levels Square and Circle.
Talent: A special skill that lets you be extra good at something. For player level Circle.
What Is Storia: The Land Next Door?
When you're playing No Thank You, Evil!, you pretend to be someone else. You can be a Superhero, a Princess, a Robot, or a Kid that goes on wild adventures!
Storia is a world seen through children's eyes. It's home to all the elements of kids' imaginations: dragons and dinosaurs, fairies and elves, race cars and robots, and all sorts of fanciful creatures and characters.
In No Thank You, Evil!, a character's bedroom has secret doorways that lead into a world of imagination and adventure. The gateways are guarded by magical barriers. Only characters and their companions can travel back and forth.
Each gateway leads to a different region of Storia: The Land Next Door. Storia is a world peopled by fantastical new friends who help you save the day against the forces of evil.
Characters and their companions can go Behind the Bookshelf, Into the Closet, Out the Window, or Under the Bed and find themselves in a new world of excitement and danger.
Behind the Bookshelf leads to stories of superheroes and spies, dinosaurs and demigods. Go Into the Closet and encounter a fairy-tale land full of queens, witches, dragons, and trolls. When you go Out the Window, you'll find a whole new world of space travel and undersea adventures, race cars and rockets. Under the Bed is scarier, haunted by goblins, ghosts, and ghoulies.
What Is an Adventure?
An adventure is a story that everyone makes up as they go along. The Guide starts the story and then asks the players, "What do you do?" Adventures have structures similar to stories, with a beginning, middle, and end, but what happens along the way is up to the Guide, the players, and the dice.
Most adventures last 30 to 60 minutes. A typical No Thank You, Evil! adventure looks like this:
- A Call for Help
- Figure Out the Problem
- Solve the Problem
- Celebrate!
Not all adventures need to follow the format outlined here. It's useful for new Guides and players who like structure, but as you and your group advance, don't be afraid to mix up the adventure format.
Adventure Example
1. A Call for Help. A friend says that a dragon stole all of his chocolate coins and won't give them back.
2. Figure Out the Problem. The players realize that the dragon doesn't actually like chocolate! The dragon took the coins because they're wrapped in gold foil and dragons like shiny things.
3. Solve the Problem. The players decide to find something else that's shiny and see if the dragon will trade. They paint a bunch of rocks with bright gold paint and offer them to the dragon. The dragon says the chocolate coins were starting to melt from his flames anyway, and he agrees to make the trade.
On the way out, the players run into another dragon. What if he wants their chocolate? The entire group decides to try to sneak by him as a Group Action. They work together to succeed and sneak past!
4. Celebrate! The players bring the slightly melted chocolate back to their friend, who throws a party and gives them all pieces of chocolate in the shape of a dragon.
For more information on adventures and how to run them for players, see the adventure book, Let's Go on an Adventure!
Part 1: Play the Game
No Thank You, Evil! has very simple rules designed to make it easy to jump into the game and start playing. There are only a few things you need to know.
Become a Character
Players in No Thank You, Evil! pretend to be characters in the game, and they decide what their characters will do in the course of the story. Their characters might be just like them, or they might be completely different. Players can be anything from a Princess to a Robot to a Superhero and more. It's all up to them.
Part 2 of this book walks you through the process of making a character. For now, it's important to know that each character has the following elements:
- A name (the player should come up with this)
- A simple sentence (this describes what the character is and does)
- Four trait pools (Tough, Fast, Smart, and Awesome)
- One Fun pool (this is how characters refill their trait pools)
- A companion (a friend that travels with them)
- One or more special skills
The following two pages walk you through the basics of the game from both a Guide and a player's perspective. After you skim that, flip to page 12 for detailed rules.
For Guides: How to Play No Thank You, Evil!
1. The player tells you what their character wants to do.
Player: I want to hit the yawp with my frog slingshot!
2. You, as the Guide, determine how hard the task is, and thus what number the player needs to roll on the die to succeed. This is called the Goal. You also determine whether the action is a Tough action, a Fast action, a Smart action, or an Awesome action.
For Triangle players, it's good to tell them the number they need to roll and whether it's easy or hard. For Square and Circle players, use your best judgment. You may just give them hints about whether the action is easy, average, hard, or impossible.
Guide: Hitting a yawp is kind of hard. You'll have to roll a 4 or higher.
3. You and the player determine if they want to use anything—such as Try Harder or a special skill—to lower the Goal. Try Harder allows the player to use 1 point from a pool to bring the Goal down by 1.
Guide: Do you want to use 1 Fast to Try Harder? That will bring the Goal to 3.
Player: Yes! I want to use 1 Fast.
Guide: That means you'll need to roll a 3. How will you use your Fast?
Player: I'm going to use it to aim very carefully and then shoot a frog right into his face!
Guide: Okay, go ahead and roll.
4. If the action is a Cinch (meaning the player needs a 1 on the die), the player automatically succeeds without having to roll. If the action isn't a Cinch, the player rolls a d6. If she rolls equal to or higher than the Goal, she succeeds. If she rolls less than the Goal, she fails.
The player aims her slingshot carefully and lets her frog fly toward the yawp. She gets a 5.
Guide: You hit the yawp right in the face with your frog slingshot for 2 points of damage! The yawp bellows and staggers back.
For Players: How to Play No Thank You, Evil!
1. When it's your turn, tell the Guide what you want to do.
Player: I want to hit the yawp with my frog slingshot!
2. The Guide will tell you the number you need to roll on your die.
Guide: To hit the yawp, you have to roll a 4 or higher. If you want to Try Harder, it will cost you 1 Fast.
3. Decide if you want to Try Harder or use your other special skills.
Player: I want to Try Harder to hit the yawp, so I'm going to use 1 Fast.
4. The Guide tells you the new number you need to roll on your die.
Guide: By using Try Harder, you'll only have to roll a 3 or higher.
5. You roll the die. If it lands on the Goal number or higher, your action works. If it lands on a lower number, your action fails.
Guide: You rolled a 5! You hit the yawp right in the face with your frog slingshot for 2 points of damage! The yawp bellows and staggers back.
Player Levels
In No Thank You, Evil! the basic rules outlined in this section are the same for every player. What changes from player to player is the complexity of the player characters. This is explained in more detail in Part 2: Make Your Character, but here are the basics.
There are three player levels: Triangle, Square, and Circle. The Guide should decide which one is right for the players, depending on their experience and age.
Triangle is the simplest level. It's designed for very young children (as young as 4) and for players and Guides with little or no roleplaying experience.
Square is the middle level. It's designed for games with middle-age children (6 to 10, depending on their roleplaying experience and skills) and game-playing families and Guides who have some experience.
Circle is for older players (8 to 14, depending on their roleplaying experience and skills) and families with roleplaying experience.
If you have trouble remembering which shape goes with which level, think of it in terms of the number of sides: the triangle has only three sides, so it's the easiest, the square has four sides so it's intermediate, and the circle has infinite sides, so it's the most complex.
How Hard Is It?
| Goal | Difficulty | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Easy | Piece of cake. |
| 2 | Simple | You got this. |
| 3 | Standard | Pretty easy. |
| 4 | Demanding | Kind of hard. |
| 5 | Difficult | A bit harder. |
| 6 | Challenging | Very hard. |
| 7 | Heroic | You'll be a legend! |
| 8 | Impossible | Maybe no one's ever done this before! |
Take Action
Just like in most games, everyone gets a turn in No Thank You, Evil! On a player's turn, they can take an action. An action is anything that you can do in a few seconds, like open a door, grab a runaway cat, jump onto the back of a horse, or bash a bad guy with a big hammer. The important thing to remember is that the character can try to do anything the player wants to. (Trying doesn't mean they'll succeed, though.)
Some actions require the player to roll a die to see if they succeed. Swinging a sword at a creature, jumping over a big river, and opening a locked door are hard actions with a risk of failure, so the player needs to make a roll.
Other actions are so easy that a character can do them without making a roll. Putting away a weapon, walking forward, and opening a book are all easy enough that the character can just do them. (Unless, for example, the book is locked with a spell, which would require the player to make a roll to try to open the lock.)
Actions typically fall into one of these categories:
- Fight
- Defend*
- Interact
- Use a special skill
- Move
- Wait
- Refill
- Do something else
- Special: Group Action
- Special: Be Awesome*
- Special: say "No Thank You, Evil!"
* Defend and Be Awesome are unique actions because they don't occur on the player's turn. A player must defend when he is being attacked. And a player can Be Awesome by helping another player on her turn (during Felicia's turn, Henry can Be Awesome and help Felicia accomplish a task).
Taking an action involves a trait, a Goal, a choice, and a die roll.
A Trait
Every action is linked to one of four character traits: Tough, Fast, Smart, or Awesome. The Guide decides which trait is connected to each action.
It's usually pretty easy to figure out which trait is connected to an action. Something that requires strength and ferocity uses Tough, while something that requires thought and reasoning uses Smart. Fast is for speedy actions, including shooting ranged weapons. Awesome is only for helping other players.
Example 1: Sarah wants to fix her broken slime cannon. That's a Smart action because it requires her to think about and solve a problem.
Example 2: Sarah wants to shoot her slime cannon at a dinomatron. That's a Fast action because it's about dexterity and quickness.
Example 3: If Sarah wants to swing her slime cannon like a club and hit the dinomatron in the leg, that would be a Tough action, because it involves strength.
Example 4: When Sarah wants to help her friend escape from the dinomatron that is chasing them, that's an Awesome action because she's helping one of her friends.
A Goal
Every action has a Goal. The Goal is a number that shows how hard or easy the action is. A player must roll the Goal number or higher on a six-sided die (a d6) to succeed.
Some Goals are set automatically. For example, a creature's level is usually the same as its Goal, no matter what actions it's taking. So if a creature is level 4, attacking it is a Goal of 4. Other Goals are set by the Guide as part of the game.
If an action is something that everyone can do, the player can just do it. In this case, the Goal is 1, and the player doesn't need to roll the die. She just does what she wants to do. Actions like this are called a Cinch.
Some Goals are almost impossible. For example, an action with a Goal of 7 or 8 is only possible if you roll really high, Try Harder, and have a friend Be Awesome (help you).
Example 1: Sarah wants to talk to her friend about the birthday party they're planning. They can talk, get a recipe for the birthday cake, and make the guest list without rolling, because those are easy actions.
Example 2: Sarah wants to open a simple locked door with a key that she has. This is something everyone can do, so it's a Cinch. She succeeds without rolling.
Example 3: Sarah wants to shoot her slime cannon at a dinomatron. Dinomatrons are level 4. Sarah must roll a 4 or higher to succeed in her attack.
Example 4: Sarah wants to open a locked door but doesn't have the key. Let's say it's a simple lock to pick, so that would be a Goal of 2. If the lock is harder to pick, the Goal is 3. If the lock is very complicated, the Goal might be even harder—say, an 8. In order to attempt this action, Sarah would need to Try Harder, which lowers the Goal by 1, and another player would have to Be Awesome, which also lowers the Goal by 1. Together, those things would lower the Goal to 6.
If a player can't bring a Goal down to 6 or lower, they automatically fail. Since the highest a player can roll on a d6 is 6, a Goal that is 7 or 8 is impossible. The only way to try it is to bring the Goal down.
A Choice
Once the player knows the Goal, she makes a choice on how to proceed before she rolls.
Try Harder: Try Harder lowers the Goal. To do this, you use 1 point from the appropriate pool. This lowers the Goal by 1, making the action easier.
Optional Rule: The Guide can allow players to Try Harder after their rolls (if they're 1 short of their Goal, they can use Try Harder after the roll to succeed). This is a good rule for first-time players or really young players. Whichever way you choose, make sure that all the players understand the rules ahead of time.
Use a Special Skill: Special skills, such as Knacks, can lower the Goal or even turn the action into a Cinch. Knacks allow the players to use 1 point from a pool to turn a certain action into a Cinch.
Example 1: Sarah wants to shoot her slime cannon at a dinomatron. Dinomatrons are level 4, so the Goal is 4. This means that to succeed in her attack, Sarah must roll a 4 or higher on a d6. She thinks that it's really important to hit the creature, so she decides to Try Harder, using 1 Fast. This brings the Goal down to 3.
Example 2: Sarah wants to open a locked door with a key that she has. This is something that almost everyone can do, so it's a Cinch. She succeeds without rolling. Using Try Harder wouldn't be useful in this situation.
Example 3: Sarah wants to open a locked door but doesn't have the key. The lock is a complicated mechanical puzzle with a Goal of 7. She knows this is going to be really hard. She has a couple of options:
- She can Try Harder, using 1 Smart, to bring the Goal down to 6.
- OR
- If Sarah is a Robot, she can use 1 Smart and use her Solve Knack. Solve is a special skill that allows her to automatically succeed at solving a problem. This turns the action into a Goal 1 (called a Cinch), so she doesn't need to roll.
A Die Roll
Typically, a player must roll a d6 to see if she succeeds on her action. Only players roll a die in No Thank You, Evil! The Guide never rolls.
Cinch: Sometimes a player doesn't have to make a die roll to accomplish an action. If an action's Goal is 1, it's called a Cinch. When an action is a Cinch, the player automatically succeeds.
Knack: It costs a player 1 trait to use a Knack. She doesn't have to roll when she uses a Knack. Using a Knack means she automatically succeeds.
Wild Success! If a player rolls a 6, it's a Wild Success! Everything the player was hoping for happens, and then some. The Guide and the player can work together to figure out what the special success result might be.
Example 1: While shooting her slime cannon at the dinomatron, Sarah rolls a 6. It's a Wild Success! Not only does she hit the dinomatron in the perfect spot, but the creature is so surprised that it tries to run away.
Example 2: While picking the lock to open a door, Mark rolls a 6. It's a Wild Success! He easily opens the lock and discovers that in doing so, he's set off an automatic lock opener that has opened all the other locked doors in the building. Now he can go anywhere in the building without having to worry about locked doors.
What Can You Do?
In No Thank You, Evil!, characters can do almost anything they can think of as an action. Actions typically fall into one of these categories: fight, defend, interact, use a special skill, move, wait, refill, do something else, or take a special action (do a Group Action, Be Awesome, or say "No Thank You, Evil!").
Defend and Be Awesome are different from other actions because they don't take place on the player's turn.
Fight
You can fight all kinds of things in No Thank You, Evil!—including evil! When you fight, you damage the bad guys and might take damage yourself.
Fight doesn't just mean hitting things with weapons. You can distract foes, trap them, sing them to sleep, or anything else you can think of.
There are three different kinds of attacks:
Melee attacks are when you attack someone next to you with a weapon. These attacks include punching something or slashing a monster with a sword. They can be Tough or Fast actions, depending on what the Guide thinks makes sense. If you want to punch something very hard, it's a Tough action. If you want to punch something very fast, it's a Fast action.
Physical ranged attacks are when you attack someone far away with a weapon like a bow, slingshot, or squirt gun. These are Fast actions.
Mental ranged attacks are when you attack someone far away with your mental powers (if you have them). These are Smart actions.
Who Goes First?
Players always go before the bad guys in a fight (unless the bad guy has a special skill that allows it to go first). It doesn't matter what order the players go in, as long as they all get to go before the bad guys do. Going around the table in order is a good choice because it allows players to anticipate when their turn is coming.
The bad guy takes its turn last, after the other players have gone. If the bad guy attacks, this is when characters will defend.
When everyone takes their turn—players and bad guys alike—it's called a round. Once the round is finished, it starts over, with the first player taking their next action. Fights can have multiple rounds.
What Happens Now?
Once you know the fight order, the player who goes first gets to take her action. Then the next player does the same. The bad guys take their turn once all the players have gone.
Getting Hurt
Characters might take damage when they get attacked in a fight. Damage costs points out of a character's trait pool. Most attacks do Tough damage, but some attacks might do Fast or Smart damage.
Characters also take damage from things that would normally hurt a person in real life, like falling off a cliff or getting burned by fire. Typically these kinds of experiences do 2 points of Tough damage.
If a character takes Tough damage, but their Tough pool is at 0, they lose points out of their Fast pool instead. If their Fast pool is 0, they lose points out of their Smart pool. If their Smart pool is 0, they lose points out of their Awesome pool.
Players can refill all their trait pools at once by using 1 Fun out of their Fun pool.
Getting Conked Out
Characters in No Thank You, Evil! don't die, but they do get Conked Out. This happens if all of a player's trait pools go down to 0 and they have no more Fun in their Fun pool. A character who is Conked Out can't take any actions until they get points back in at least one of their pools.
Defend
Defend is a special action because it's not chosen by the players and it doesn't occur on their turn. Instead, players must defend when another creature attacks them or tries to do something bad to them.
To defend, a player has to roll the defend Goal or higher. The defend Goal is usually the same as the level of the creature that's attacking. So if a level 3 creature attacks Sarah, she must roll a 3 or higher on a d6 to avoid being hit.
A player trying to defend can use 1 trait point to Try Harder. This lowers the defend Goal by 1. So if Sarah decides to Try Harder when the level 3 creature attacks her, she would have to roll a 2 or higher to avoid being hit.
Armor and Hustle also help characters defend from attacks.
Armor: Armor protects you from physical attacks. Armor can be clothing, a shield, or a metal body. When a character wears Armor, he takes 1 less damage from an attack.
Hustle: Hustle allows characters to get out of the way of an attack. Hustle lowers a character's defend Goal by 1.
Example of Fight and Defend
Guide: You come around the corner and there's a giant skulldugger heading your way! It glances at you, and you see that its eyes are starting to turn purple. It's going to attack! Rowan, what do you do?
Rowan: I pull out my mallow cannon and I aim a flaming marshmallow at it!
Guide: Great. It's a tough creature, which means you need to roll a 4 on the die to hit it. Do you want to Try Harder? It would cost you 1 Fast.
Rowan: Yeah! I want to Try Harder. I really want to hit this guy before he gets us.
Guide: Okay, you use 1 Fast to Try Harder, so all you have to roll is a 3. Tell me how you make your attack.
Rowan: I aim my flaming marshmallow right at his head and let it fly!
Guide: Great. Go ahead and roll.
Rowan: I rolled a 5!
Guide: Nice job. You pull the trigger, and your flaming marshmallow goes flying through the air, right at his head. It sticks to his big purple skull and does 2 points of damage!
Rowan: Hurray!
Guide: Okay, Olivia. It's your turn. The skulldugger has a flaming marshmallow stuck to its head, and it's clearly hurt, but it's still running at you. What do you do?
Olivia: Is it close enough that I can hit it with my weapon?
Guide: It's moving fast, so it is now.
Olivia: Then I get out my whammer and I wham it right in the leg when it gets to me!
Guide: That's going to be a Goal of 4, unless you want to Try Harder. You have to use 1 Tough to Try Harder.
Olivia: Okay, I'll Try Harder. I really want to hit him.
Guide: Go ahead and roll. Now you need a 3 or higher.
Olivia: I got a 3! I'm glad I used Try Harder.
Guide: Nice hit! You wham him square in the leg and he lets out a yell that's so loud it shakes the ground next to you. Now it's his turn. He seems pretty mad that you smashed him, Olivia. He starts blowing a giant bubble. You can tell he's going to try to pop it right on you.
Olivia: Oh, no!
Guide: You'll need to make a defend roll.
Olivia: I need a 4 or higher, right?
Guide: That's right.
Olivia: I don't want him to eat me. I'm going to use 1 Fast to Try Harder.
Interact
Players don't have to fight the characters and creatures they encounter. They can interact in other ways. They can talk, persuade, distract, help, deceive, or anything else they want to try. They may also have special skills, such as the Charm Knack, which can be used in interactions.
When interacting with creatures, players take turns, just like they would in a normal conversation.
Example of Interact
Guide: You approach the gate. There's a stern-looking guard standing watch. As he sees you approach, he yells out, "Come forward with your paperwork in hand!" What do you do?
Olivia: Rowan, we don't have any paperwork, do we?
Rowan: No. We just have this candy wrapper from the prince. But he said that was to get inside a toy box, not a gate.
Olivia: You're a Spy. Maybe you could sneak past him?
Rowan: But then how will you get in?
Olivia: True. Okay, let's see if we can convince him to let us in. I'm going to go up to the guard and start talking to him.
Guide: What do you say?
Olivia: I say, "Hello, Mister Guard, sir, we would like to enter the gate, but we lost our paperwork."
Rowan: I yell, "A dragon ate it!"
Guide: The guard peers over Olivia's shoulder and gives Rowan a look.
Olivia: I shush Rowan and smile at the guard.
Guide: The guard says, "I'm sorry. I need to see your official paperwork, or I can't let you in."
Olivia: Oh, I know! Rowan, can I have your candy wrapper? I'm going to try to convince him that this candy wrapper is our official document.
Guide: That's pretty hard, because it's obvious that it's just a candy wrapper, and Rowan already told him that a dragon ate your papers. So to try to convince him, your Goal is a 6. If you want to Try Harder, it costs 1 Smart, and that will bring the Goal down to a 5.
Olivia: I want to Try Harder, but that's still pretty hard . . .
Rowan: I'll Be Awesome and use 1 Awesome to help Olivia so we can get through this gate!
Guide: Okay, so you're going to Try Harder, and Rowan's going to help you by Being Awesome. That means your Goal is now a 4. Tell me how you convince the guard.
Olivia: I tell him "Oh, here it is! I found it!" I smooth out the candy wrapper and read it to him in my most official voice. "This is the official paperwork to help Rowan and Olivia pass through the gate. Signed by Mister Muckymuck himself."
Guide: Pretty convincing, but you'll have to make a roll and see if you get a 4 or higher.
Olivia: Whew. I got a 4!
Guide: Nice! The guard listens to you for a moment. He looks uncertain, but as you keep talking, he finally nods. He seems to buy your story. And he says, "That sounds legitimate to me. You may pass."
Use A Special Skill
All players have special skills called Knacks that they can use on their turn. Players at level Circle also have special skills called Talents. Players at levels Square and Circle may also choose to use their companion's cypher on their turns.
Move
Characters are always moving. Sometimes moving is an action, but not always.
There are three distances that characters can move on their turn:
Within Reach: This is anything a character can reach with their hand or weapon by just taking a few steps (up to about 10 feet). Moving like this isn't an action. You can move like this as part of your action, and still do something else. So you could take a few steps forward and open a door. Or jump sideways and swing your hammer. And those are all one action.
In Range: This is the distance that your ranged weapon can shoot (between 10 feet and 50 feet). You can run this far in one round as an action, but you can't do something else at the same time.
Very Far: This is far from you (more than 50 feet away). This is too far to run in a single round. But you can run this far over a couple of rounds. So moving 100 feet would take two rounds, and moving 200 feet would take four rounds.
It's more important for the movement to make logical sense than to follow the rules exactly. If a Cool Kid who Runs Like the Wind moves, he's clearly going to move much faster than the others.
Wait
If it's a character's turn, they can choose to wait. Maybe they're not sure what they want to do yet, or maybe they want to jump in and help another character on their turn instead.
A character who waits can take their action whenever they're ready in the same round.
Refill
If a character's trait pools get low, they can use their action to have fun and refill their trait pools to full. Having fun might be eating a snack, reading a story, or playing a game. It costs 1 Fun out of their Fun pool.
Do Something Else
Characters can try anything they can think of, although that doesn't mean anything is possible. If a player wants to try something, the Guide should say yes as often as possible, as long as it makes sense in the game world. Logic and fun are more important than having specific rules in this instance.
Special Action: Group Action
Toward the end of many adventures (usually right at the end of Solve the Problem), there is a special action called a Group Action. Everyone in the group works together on a single action. Everyone tries to roll the Goal. If someone doesn't make it, other players can use 1 Awesome to let the player who failed roll again until he makes it. The goal of Group Actions is to bring everyone together for one big win at the end of an adventure.
Example of Group Action
Guide: That giant elephant isn't going to fit through that tiny door unless everyone gets together and pushes at the same time. Want to work together and make it happen?
The group: Okay, let's do it!
Guide: It's a Goal 4, so everyone needs to roll a 4 or higher.
Olivia: I got a 5!
Rowan: I got a 4!
Sarah: I got a 5 too!
David: I got a 2.
Guide: You're pushing and pushing, but you just can't quite get it. David's in the back and his feet are slipping and sliding. Can someone help him?
Olivia: I will! I'll use 1 Awesome.
Guide: David, roll again and see if you get it.
David: Ack! I got a 3 this time.
Rowan: I'll help you, David. Come on and hold my hand!
Guide: That'll cost you 1 Awesome, Rowan.
Rowan: Okay. Come on, David!
David: I rolled a 6! Yes!
Guide: Nice job! And that's a Wild Success! for the team. So not only does the elephant slip right through the door easily, but it has so much momentum that it keeps going through the next one too, all the way right into its cage.
Group: Hurray!
Special Action: Be Awesome
Being Awesome is a special action because players can use it on another player's turn.
To Be Awesome, a player uses 1 Awesome to help another player with her action. This decreases the Goal of that action by 1.
More than one player can Be Awesome on any given action.
Be Awesome can also be used when another player character is Conked Out. (Conked Out is when all of the player's pools are empty and they have no Fun left to refill the pools.) Another player can Be Awesome and use 1 Awesome to give the Conked Out player 1 Fun. The Conked Out player spends 1 Fun to refill their trait pools, and then they're back in the game.
Special Action: Say "No Thank You, Evil!"
Sometimes, our imaginations can be so good that we get scared by pretend situations. This special action gives players a way out if the game gets too scary or too intense. At any time, once per game, a player can put up their hand and say, "No Thank You, Evil!" This pauses the game instantly.
Because players may not understand exactly how to use this rule—they may attempt to use it whenever they get bored or just confused—it might be appropriate for the Guide to wait until a potential situation comes up before explaining it to them.
When a player says "No Thank You, Evil!" the Guide chooses how to handle it. He may decide that the scary thing gets teleported out of existence temporarily. Or the fierce creature may peel off its costume and reveal that it's just a person in there. Maybe a nearby guard makes a joke or handily deals with the evil entity. Or maybe the action just stops for a few moments so the players can take a breather.
It's important to let the players know that while this option is always available to them, it's something that should be used only when they are truly feeling scared by something in the game.
This is an optional rule that may not be necessary for advanced players.
Part 2: Make Your Character
Who Will You Be?
In No Thank You, Evil!, you can play any kind of character that you want. You can be a Prince, a Spy, a Robot, or even a Superhero!
Give your character a name and decide what he looks like. What's his favorite thing to do? What does he keep under his bed?
Maybe his name is Aaron, just like yours, and maybe his favorite thing to do is play video games, just like you. Or maybe your character is completely different. Maybe she's a Spy with an invisible friend who loves to sneak around. Or a Superhero with a pet dragon who loves to eat pizza.
You can be a different character each time you play the game, so over time you can be both a Spy and a Princess!
Making characters in No Thank You, Evil! is fast and simple. The rules allow both new roleplayers and experienced gamers to create characters that are fun to play. All you have to do is create a sentence that describes the character.
The sentence can have three different forms. Which form the players use depends on their experience and skill level. Each form is a bit more complex than the one before it.
Player Levels
There are three player levels: Triangle, Square, and Circle. Each of these takes the shape of a sentence. The more complicated the sentence, the more complex and nuanced the character.
The sentences are:
- Triangle: "I'm a Noun."
- Square: "I'm an Adjective Noun."
- Circle: "I'm an Adjective Noun who Verbs."
Players of all levels also choose a companion for their character. The Guide should decide what level is best for the players.
Triangle: I'm a ________.
This is the easiest, fastest level. It's designed for games with very young children (as young as 4) and for players and Guides (the person who runs the game) who have little or no roleplaying experience.
The sentence is "I'm a Noun."
At this level, the players end up with a complete, but simple, sentence for their character. The blank is filled in with a Noun, which is like a character type. I'm a Princess. I'm a Robot. I'm a Superhero. The Noun gives the players basic information about their characters, as well as trait pool points, a skill, and stuff.
All players have a companion—a friend who travels with them. This might be a robot dog, a fiery dragon, or a dust bunny. At this level, companions are there purely for the fun of it.
Square: I'm a ________ ________.
This is the middle level. It's designed for games with middle-age children (6 to 10, depending on their roleplaying experience and skills) and game-playing families and Guides who have some experience. It offers more choices and complexity for the players.
The sentence is "I'm an Adjective Noun."
At this level, the character creation sentence has two parts, the Noun and the Adjective. The Adjective tells the player something additional about their character. I'm a Super Strong Princess. I'm a Kind Robot. I'm a Fast Superhero.
At this level, companions also get cyphers! Cyphers are one-use abilities that allow a companion to do something wild and fun, like blow fire at the bad guys, tell a joke to restore points, or protect a character during a fight.
Circle: I'm a ________ ________ who ________.
This level is for older players (8 to 14, depending on their roleplaying experience and skills) and families with roleplaying experience.
Here, the sentence adds a final element, the Verb: I'm a Super Strong Princess who Loves Ooey-Gooey Things. I'm a Kind Robot who Flies Through the Sky. I'm a Fast Superhero who Eats Ice Cream. The Verb gives characters a new skill. For example, if a character Eats Ice Cream, they can take a bite of their ice cream and give their foe a brain freeze, making the foe stagger around moaning and holding his head.
As before, companions also get cyphers at this level.
Choosing Levels
If you're running a game for players who are at about the same level, choose the one that you think is most appropriate for all players. If it seems too easy, you can always increase the level later.
If you're running a game for players of multiple ages and experiences, you have a couple of options:
- Give each player a different level. You might have one Triangle player, one Square player, and one Circle player. This allows more experienced, older players to have complex character options while younger players can focus on learning the rules. However, players at the simpler levels might feel left out.
- Choose the lowest level for all players. So if you have one Triangle player, one Square player, and one Circle player, everyone plays a Triangle character. This is a good starting position for new players, but more experienced players might get bored.
- Choose the highest or second-highest level for all players. So if you have one Triangle player, one Square player, and one Circle player, everyone plays a Square or Circle character. This is often a great option. The Triangle player might not get all the nuances of her character, but she will feel like she's included. And the Square and Circle players get to feel smart for helping the Triangle player learn and understand the rules.
When choosing the player level, you might also take the Guide's experience into consideration.
I'm the Guide! Older, more experienced players can try their hand at being the Guide. This level is really designed for 12- to 15-year olds, but experienced younger players can also run games. It might be helpful to have them co-Guide with an experienced Guide the first few times.
Character Basics
Character Traits
All characters have four traits: Tough, Fast, Smart, and Awesome. Your trait pool tells you how much of each trait you have.
Tough: Tough is how strong and healthy you are. You use Tough when you punch things, carry heavy things, or push open doors. Characters who fight a lot or solve their problems with their muscles use lots of Tough. It's great for Fighters and Superheroes.
Fast: Fast describes how quick and physically coordinated you are. You use Fast when you dodge attacks, sneak around, use a ranged weapon, or run away from an enemy. Fast is great if you want to be sneaky and speedy, or use ranged weapons to attack. Spies and Kids use lots of Fast.
Smart: This is how smart, knowledgeable, and social you are. Smart is good for solving puzzles, moving objects with your mind, or making up a story. Princesses and Robots use lots of Smart.
Awesome: Awesome is how friendly and helpful you are. You use Awesome when you want to help a friend take an action. Maybe you help them to climb a wall, fight a creature, or jump over a big ditch. Awesome is great for everyone.
Awesome is a special pool because at any time, you can use 1 Awesome to help another character. This lowers the Goal of that character's action by 1. This is called Being Awesome.
Using Traits
You use traits from your trait pools in one of three ways.
1. Get Hurt: When you get hurt, you lose points out of your trait pools. Usually, getting hurt costs you Tough, but sometimes it costs you Fast or Smart.
"The arrow sticks right in your shoulder and does 1 point of damage. You lose 1 Tough out of your pool."
"The wizard blasts you with his mind spell! He does 1 point of damage to your brain. You lose 1 Smart out of your pool."
2. Try Harder: If you really want to succeed at something, you can Try Harder on your turn. Trying Harder costs 1 Tough, 1 Fast, 1 Smart, or 1 Awesome.
"If you want to Try Harder to bust down that door, it costs you 1 Tough."
"That's a really big jump. It will cost you 1 Fast if you want to Try Harder to make it to the other side."
3. Use a Special Skill: Every character has special skills that let them do one amazing thing. Some special skills, such as Knacks, cost 1 trait to use.
"You're a Spy, so your Sneak Knack lets you hide behind that barrel so no one sees you. If you want to do that, it will cost you 1 Fast."
"As a Robot, you can use your Solve Knack to figure out that problem. It will cost you 1 Smart."
Refilling Your Trait Pools
You can refill all your trait pools to full by doing something fun, like eating a snack, reading a story, or playing a game. This costs 1 Fun. All characters start with 3 Fun in their Fun pool.
Using 1 Fun to refill your trait pools is an action.
Characters gain Fun when they explore the world, accomplish tasks, or discover cool things, as determined by the Guide. They may also gain Fun at the end of an adventure.
Empty Pools
If you get hurt but your Tough pool is at 0, you lose 1 Fast instead. If your Fast pool is also at 0, you lose 1 Smart instead. If your Smart pool is also empty, you lose 1 Awesome instead.
If all of your pools are empty, you get Conked Out!
Getting Conked Out
You don't die in No Thank You, Evil!, but you can get Conked Out. If all your pools are empty and you don't have any Fun left, you are Conked Out. You can't take any actions until you get points back in at least one of your pools. When you are Conked Out, another player may Be Awesome and use 1 Awesome to give you 1 Fun.
Defense
Armor: Armor protects you from physical attacks. Armor can be clothing, a shield, or a metal body. When you're wearing Armor, you take 1 less point of damage from attacks.
Hustle: Hustle allows you to move fast to get out of the way of an incoming attack. Hustle lowers your defend Goal by 1.
Stuff
Weapons
All weapons that characters use normally do 2 points of damage. Most characters have either a melee weapon or a ranged weapon. Players can choose any weapon they want from those categories.
Melee: Melee weapons are anything you hold in your hand to attack a creature that's Within Reach.
Ranged: Ranged weapons are anything that you use to attack a creature that's In Range.
You can also throw some melee weapons as ranged weapons, but if you do, you have to go and get the weapon before you can use it again.
Encourage players to describe or draw their weapons, and talk about how they work. Weapons can work in any way that the player wants them to because it's all about the flavor of the story. No matter what weapon they choose or create, or how they describe it, all weapons do the same amount of damage. The story is all in the flair.
Melee Weapons
| Weapon | Description |
|---|---|
| Big stick | You know what to do. |
| Boxing gloves | Bam! Kapow! |
| Hammer | Use the pointy end. Or don't. |
| Knife | It's kind of like a little sword! |
| Licorice whip | If you eat it, it doesn't work as well. |
| Pillow | Comes with your choice of pillowcase. |
| Power bracelets | Shiny circles on your wrists. |
| Ring of Smash! | Giant metal ring. |
| Snake whip | You have to figure out which end to hold. |
| Sword | It's kind of like a big knife! |
| Tiger claws | Long metal claws that fit over your fists. Rawr! |
| Whammer | A giant blow-up hammer that squeaks. |
Ranged Weapons
| Weapon | Description |
|---|---|
| Boomerang | Comes right back to you. Mostly. |
| Bow and arrows | Just like Robin Hood's. |
| Brain blaster | Shoot lasers. With your mind. |
| Eel shooter | Gun that shoots live eels. |
| Flying disc | A very sharp disc that slices bad guys. |
| Frog slingshot | Shoots frogs with pointy helmets. |
| Glitter bomb | Explodes in shards of color and shine. |
| Goo gun | Covers the bad guys in goo. |
| Laser gun | Pew! Pew! Ow! |
| Magic wand | Just point and say "abracadabra." |
| Mallow cannon | Shoots flaming marshmallows. |
| Paintball gun | Paint rainbows on your enemies. |
| Rocket launcher | Shoots a very tiny rocket. |
| Rubber-band shooter | Shoots a very big rubber band. |
| Shark kite | Swims through the air to take a bite out of bad guys. |
| Slime cannon | You must supply your own slime. Don't tell us where you found it. |
| Slingshot | Shoots anything smaller than your thumb. But not your actual thumb. |
| Staff | Big stick that shoots stuff out of it. |
| Thing that goes boom | You tell us. |
| Water gun | Shoots a big stream of water. |
| Yo-yo | A toy turned into a weapon. Sneaky. |
Clothing
You wear something cool that shows something about your character. Maybe it's a princess dress, a superhero costume, or your regular kid clothes. Some clothing also works as Armor to protect you from attacks.
Hero Stuff
Your Hero Stuff kit comes with a poster-sized map of Storia so you never lose your way; a My Storia Journal to record all your adventures in; a Brave Light flashlight pen to banish darkness at night and write in your journal during the day; a Hip-n-Cool Flask for refueling after a long fight; a Hero Shirt so everyone knows you're in the business of kicking evil's butt; and your Wet Willie, the perfect watergun for chasing away monsters (and little brothers).
All of this fits into your I Gotchyer Back pack.
I Gotchyer Back Pack
You have a friend called an I Gotchyer Back pack. It hugs your back and carries all your Hero Stuff inside its belly. It can even hand you items as you need them and warn you if there's something behind you.
Coins
You start with some coins. You can use these to purchase fun stuff at places like the Monster Museum and the Mini Mall, or from creatures you meet in the world. You can also use them to purchase special equipment, such as cool outfits and unique devices.
Noun
The Noun is the core of your character. It tells you who you are, gives you traits for your trait pools, and gives you a special skill called a Knack. You can choose one of the Nouns listed below.
Who Are You?
| Noun | In three words |
|---|---|
| Astronaut | Smart. Brave. Bold. |
| Creature | Powerful. Rugged. Loud. |
| Fighter | Tough. Powerful. Daring. |
| Kid | Fun. Friendly. Adventurous. |
| Pirate | Tricky. Wily. Notorious. |
| Princess/Prince | Royal. Kind. Helpful. |
| Robot | Smart. Strong. Technical. |
| Spy | Sneaky. Secret. Hidden. |
| Superhero | Super! Strong. Heroic. |
| Wizard | Magical. Mystical. Talented. |
Nouns are the core essence of a character, but the titles can be flexible. If a player wants to be a Queen or a Knight instead of a Princess or Prince, they can. Just call their character a Queen and use the attributes for the Princess/Prince. The name matters less than the attributes the Noun provides. Players with some roleplaying experience might want to play character types that they've heard of in other games—things like hunter, healer, or magic user. It's easy to say yes and use the attributes from the Noun that is the closest match.
Astronaut
You are a space explorer. Planets, stars, solar systems, and rockets are your favorite things. You know all there is to know about aliens, black holes, constellations, and spaceships. You probably wear your space suit everywhere, which gives you lots of protection and keeps you ready in case you have to take off at a moment's notice.
Astronaut Trait Pools: Tough 2, Fast 3, Smart 4, Awesome 1. Fun: 3.
Defense: Armor (From your space suit. Protects you against 1 point of damage from attacks.)
Knack — Blastoff (costs 1 Fast): When you want to jump, leap, or otherwise leave the ground, you succeed.
Stuff: Your space suit, a melee weapon, an I Gotchyer Back pack, Hero Stuff, and 1 coin.
Astronaut Background. Choose one of these as a background, or make up your own:
- You went to space camp, where you learned how to become an astronaut.
- You were born on another planet, and your spaceship crashed here.
- Your best friend is an alien and taught you everything about flying the skies.
Alternative names for Astronaut include Spaceman, Cosmonaut, Pilot, Space Cadet, and Moonwalker.
Creature
Rawr! You're a wild thing, stomping through the world and tearing down everything in your path. Teeth, claws, and roar: those are your weapons. You are covered in fur, hide, or scales. You're not mean or scary to your friends, but your enemies run when they hear you coming!
Creature Trait Pools: Tough 4, Fast 2, Smart 1, Awesome 3. Fun: 3.
Defense: Armor (From your tough hide, fur, or scales. Protects you against 1 point of damage from attacks.)
Knack — Rawr! (costs 1 Tough): You are scary. When you want to scare or intimidate a bad guy, you succeed.
Stuff: Your hide, fur, or scales, a melee weapon, an I Gotchyer Back pack, Hero Stuff, and 1 coin.
Creature Background. Choose one of these as a background, or make up your own:
- You were raised by humans. For the longest time, you didn't know that you weren't a human yourself.
- You used to travel with a circus as part of the show. They weren't very nice to you, and you ran away as soon as you could.
- You aren't actually a creature, but you like to pretend you are. And someday you're going to figure out how to finally become one.
Alternative names for Creature include Dinosaur, Lizard, Bunny, Pony, Bear, and Dragon. You might also be a human in a creature suit.
Fighter
You are fierce and tough, and you know how to wield a weapon against anything that gets in your way. When it comes time to fight, your friends look to you to clobber the bad guys. You wear Armor that not only keeps you safe but also makes you look cool.
Fighter Trait Pools: Tough 5, Fast 1, Smart 1, Awesome 3. Fun: 3.
Defense: Armor (Protects you against 1 point of damage from attacks.)
Knack — Knockout (costs 1 Tough): You're a great fighter. When you yell "Knockout!" and try to knock out a bad guy who is already hurt, you succeed. (A knockout means the bad guy loses his next turn.)
Stuff: Armor, a melee weapon, an I Gotchyer Back pack, Hero Stuff, and 1 coin.
Fighter Background. Choose one of these as a background, or make up your own:
- You have always been bigger and stronger than those around you, even when you were a baby.
- You're not sure why you're so tough, but you believe it's because of something that happened to you when you were little.
- You weren't that strong until recently, when you started taking a fighting class.
Alternative names for Fighter include Bruiser, Hunter, Soldier, Slugger, Tank, Space Knight, and Warrior.
Kid
You are a regular kid but one who has fantastic adventures! You're good at running, jumping, playing games, and doing cool kid things. You wear regular clothes and do regular kid stuff like playing games and going to school when you're not exploring. You make things more fun and inspire your friends to go on wild adventures.
Kid Trait Pools: Tough 2, Fast 3, Smart 2, Awesome 3. Fun: 3.
Defense: Hustle (Lowers your defend Goal by 1.)
Knack — Scramble (costs 1 Fast): You're great at scrambling up and over things. Whenever you adjust your sneakers and use 1 Fast to jump, climb, or leap, you automatically succeed.
Stuff: A regular outfit, a melee weapon, an I Gotchyer Back pack, Hero Stuff, and 1 coin.
Kid Background. Choose one of these as a background, or make up your own:
- Your parents are ghost hunters, and you've been hunting ghosts with them since you were a little kid.
- Your big brother is a race car driver, and sometimes he lets you drive when he's on the track.
- You have always had a special way with animals, and sometimes they come to you when they're hurt or scared.
Kid is a great Noun choice for players who want to play one of their favorite human cartoon or storybook characters.
Pirate
Everyone's heard about you and your wily ways. You're a thief and a scoundrel, but you operate by your own code. Once someone is part of your crew, you're their best protector and friend. But everyone else had better watch their pockets! You dress in your pirate best and you're always on the lookout for hidden treasure.
Pirate Trait Pools: Tough 3, Fast 4, Smart 2, Awesome 1. Fun: 3.
Defense: Hustle (Lowers your defend Goal by 1.)
Knack — Plunder (costs 1 Fast): You always seem to spot treasure—especially if it belongs to someone else. Anytime you want to open a locked chest or box, you automatically succeed.
Stuff: Your pirate best, a ranged weapon, an I Gotchyer Back pack, Hero Stuff, and 3 coins.
Pirate Background. Choose one of these as a background, or make up your own:
- You once had a grand boat called the Hardy Skull, but it was stolen from you by another, meaner pirate.
- Your grandma was a pirate named Betty Macaw, and she taught you everything she knew about plundering.
- You used to be an evil pirate, but now you steal only from the bad guys.
Alternative names for Pirate include Captain, Brigand, Outlaw, Raider, Swashbuckler, and Thief.
Princess/Prince
You are royalty—or at least you dress and act as if you are. You wear fancy clothes, and your manners are always polite. Everyone likes you and you're always loyal and good to your friends. You know people who can get things done, even if you can't do them yourself, and you're skilled in getting people to help you out of a jam. You are just as likely to sweet-talk your enemies, sing to them, or otherwise charm them as you are to fight them.
Princess/Prince Trait Pools: Tough 2, Fast 1, Smart 2, Awesome 5. Fun: 3.
Defense: Hustle (Lowers your defend Goal by 1.)
Knack — Charm (costs 1 Smart): Everyone loves you. Whenever you sing or tell a joke and then use 1 Smart to charm a bad guy, you automatically succeed. (Being charmed means the bad guy won't attack you for one round.)
Stuff: Royal clothing, a ranged weapon, an I Gotchyer Back pack, Hero Stuff, and 2 coins.
Princess/Prince Background. Choose one of these as a background, or make up your own:
- You used to live in a giant castle with your family, but you left them to seek your own fortune in the world.
- Your family kicked you out, forcing you to wander the world on your own.
- You were adopted and don't know your real family, but a wise woman once told you that you had royal blood.
Alternative names for Princess/Prince include King, Queen, Duke, Empress, Knave, and Knight. It's also perfectly acceptable to be a Fairy Princess or an Ice Princess.
Robot
Robots come in all shapes, sizes, and skills. You might be a little flying orb that talks by beeping, or you might look just like a human. You are smart and strong. You like to help your friends solve problems and try new things. You are full of wild ideas and big plans.
Robot Trait Pools: Tough 3, Fast 2, Smart 3, Awesome 2. Fun: 3.
Defense: Armor (From your metal body. Protects you against 1 point of damage from attacks.)
Knack — Solve (costs 1 Smart): Figuring things out is your specialty. Whenever you say "Bleep-bloop!" and use 1 Smart to try to figure out the answer to a problem, you automatically succeed.
Stuff: A robot body, a ranged weapon, an I Gotchyer Back pack, Hero Stuff, and 1 coin.
Robot Background. Choose one of these as a background, or make up your own:
- You believe you were once human—or at least part of you was—but you have found no proof that this is true.
- Some part of you needs repairing, and although you have searched long and hard, you haven't found anyone who can fix you.
- For a long time, you were afraid of humans. But now you've made human friends and are starting to trust and like them.
Alternative names for Robot include Android, Automaton, and Cyborg.
Spy
You are sneaky and shadowy. You like to hide in the dark places of the world, uncover important secrets, and carry out stealth missions right under the noses of your enemies. You wear dark colors (or maybe camouflage clothing) so no one can see you. You like electronic doodads and gadgets that do cool stuff. You work with your group to distract and confuse your foes. You are smart and quick.
Spy Trait Pools: Tough 2, Fast 3, Smart 3, Awesome 2. Fun: 3.
Defense: Hustle (Lowers your defend Goal by 1.)
Knack — Sneak (costs 1 Fast): You are the sneakiest of them all. Whenever you crouch into a tiny ball and use 1 Fast to stay hidden, you automatically succeed.
Stuff: A ninja outfit, a melee weapon, an I Gotchyer Back pack, Hero Stuff, and 1 coin.
Spy Background. Choose one of these as a background, or make up your own:
- You recently returned from a top-secret mission and you can't tell anyone about it, but you have a locked journal where you write or draw about it.
- You used to have a device that turned you invisible, but you lost it. Now you want to try to get it back.
- You once saved a mechanical bird with your spy skills, and sometimes the bird comes back to see you and say hello.
Alternative names for Spy include Thief, Ninja, Rogue, Agent, and Shadow.
Superhero
You believe the world is an awesome place, and you want to do your best to save it—and the people in it. You're super strong and probably wear a cool suit with a cape. You always protect and help your friends when they're in trouble.
Superhero Trait Pools: Tough 4, Fast 2, Smart 1, Awesome 3. Fun: 3.
Defense: Armor (Protects you against 1 point of damage from attacks.)
Knack — Smash! (costs 1 Tough): No one is as strong as you are. When you yell, "I'll save the day!" and use 1 Tough in a non-fight action, you automatically succeed.
Stuff: A superhero costume, a ranged weapon, an I Gotchyer Back pack, Hero Stuff, and 1 coin.
Superhero Background. Choose one of these as a background, or make up your own:
- You believe you are not from planet Earth.
- You have a bite mark on the back of your neck. You wonder if this is where your powers come from.
- A scientist friend told you that your genes are the reason you are a superhero. You don't know if it's true.
Players who want to play superheroes may have a specific superhero in mind. It's fine to change the Noun to a specific name or type of superhero that they want to play.
Wizard
Magic is your middle name. Whether you wave a magic wand, pull rabbits out of hats, or conjure spells out of thin air, you've got the magic in you. Maybe you studied hard, or maybe magic just comes to you naturally. You might wear a cape or a robe, and a top hat or a wizard's hat.
Wizard Trait Pools: Tough 2, Fast 4, Smart 3, Awesome 1. Fun: 3.
Defense: Hustle (Lowers your defend Goal by 1.)
Knack — Ta-da! (costs 1 Smart): Whenever you want to make someone see something that isn't there, you automatically succeed.
Stuff: Your magical outfit, a ranged weapon, an I Gotchyer Back pack, Hero Stuff, and 1 coin.
Wizard Background. Choose one of these as a background, or make up your own:
- You were born with an ability to understand and manipulate magic, but you're not very good at it yet.
- You went to school to learn how to do magic.
- You saw an ad about magic in the back of a magazine, and you sent away for a potion. As soon as you drank it, you started getting powers.
Alternative names for Wizard include Magician, Magic Man, Shaman, Spellcaster, Sorcerer, Warlock, and Witch.
Adjective
The Adjective tells you what kind of person your character is. It also provides additional points to your trait pools. You can choose one of the Adjectives described below.
Cool. You look amazing. You've got a way about you that makes everyone's heads turn. Maybe it's the way you carry yourself, the way you dress, or the way your genes aligned. Whatever it is, you capture everyone's attention. Add 1 to your Smart pool.
Fantastic. You are a delight to be around. You are funny and witty, and everyone wants to spend time with you. You tell the best jokes, sing the sweetest songs, and make people laugh. Add 1 to your Awesome pool.
Fast. If someone's got a need for speed, you've got them covered. You can dash, flash, and zoom. You can outrun your enemies, leaving them far behind in the blink of an eye. Add 1 to your Fast pool.
Kind. Whatever you do, you do for the good of those around you. People appreciate you for your kind words, helping hands, and big heart. Maybe you're healing someone who's ill, fighting monsters with your best friend, or helping someone search for a lost item. Add 1 to your Awesome pool.
Powerful. You are a force of nature, moving through the world without anything standing in your way. You might have big muscles or just a powerful presence. Either way, you can easily intimidate foes, protect your friends, and knock some heads around. Add 1 to your Tough pool.
Sneaky. If you don't want someone to see you, they probably won't. You're part of the shadows, hiding in plain sight. You can sneak up on an enemy and hit it before it even knows you're there—or maybe just steal its weapon from right under its nose! Add 1 to your Fast pool.
Super Smart. You understand stuff. You might be book smart or street smart or a little of each. When it comes to knowing about, learning about, and understanding things, you're a whiz. Puzzles, problems, and pondering are your fortes. Add 1 to your Smart pool.
Super Strong. Push, pull, smash, bash! You're strong enough to move mountains, or at least pretty big rocks. If a door needs splintering, a wall needs crumbling, or a barrel needs tumbling, you're the one everyone turns to. Add 1 to your Tough pool.
Verb
The Verb tells you what you do best. It also provides new abilities, called Talents, that might come in handy during combat or other interactions. You can choose any Verb, no matter what your Noun is. So you can be a Spy who Bashes Evil or a Wizard who Eats Ice Cream.
Talents are special skills that allow you to be extra good at something. If you're someone who Bashes Evil, for example, your Talent lets you do extra damage against evil creatures.
You can choose one of the Verbs described below.
Bashes Evil. Your favorite thing is taking on evil and making it disappear. And you're good at it. You might turn monsters into friends, bonk them on the head, or scare them into hightailing it out of town. You clean up evil wherever you go. You might have a piece of clothing or an object with a NO EVIL logo emblazoned on it, and maybe you shout a battle cry each time you charge into the fray. Fighters, Superheroes, and Kids are great at smashing evil, but anyone can do it. Smite: Yelling "I smite you!" on your regular attack allows you to inflict 1 extra point of damage against all evil creatures.
Does Magic. You wiggle your fingers, shuffle your cards, wave your wand, or say "abracadabra"—and the magic just happens. You can entertain a crowd with a card trick or a rabbit in a hat. You might dress like a magician or a wizard, and you probably have a box of odds and ends that help you do your magic. Mindblow: You blow on your fingers and the magic flies from you to the nearest bad guy, confusing it so that it thinks it's your best friend for one round.
Eats Ice Cream. One of your favorite foods is ice cream. You could eat it all day long. It doesn't matter what flavor, or whether it's in a cup or a cone. You can probably name dozens of flavors off the top of your head, and you have a favorite ice cream shop where they already know what you're going to order. You might show off your love by wearing an ice cream cone hat or carrying around your very own ice cream spoon. Everyone can Eat Ice Cream, but Kids are especially good at it. Brain Freeze: You take a bite of ice cream and give a brain freeze to a foe of your choice. The creature wobbles around, holding its head and moaning, taking 1 point of damage and losing its next turn.
Experiments With Science. Doing cool science experiments in a lab, creating a chemical reaction, starting an ant farm—if there's science involved, you want to be part of it. Goggles, a lab coat, and pockets stuffed with lots of lab equipment likely make up your outfit of choice. Spies, Robots, and Kids make great scientists. Exploderate!: When you throw your scientific experiment into the air, it explodes, raining weird chemicals down on everyone. It does 1 point of damage to all creatures In Range.
Flies Through the Sky. The laws of gravity don't restrain you. All it takes is a little planning on your part and you can fly! You probably wear a cape, a jet pack, or some other gadget that lets you soar through the air. Superheroes, Spies, and Fighters especially like to Fly Through the Sky. Soar: You jump into the air and fly around really high and really fast for one round. While you're up there, your attack inflicts 1 extra point of damage.
Loves Ooey-Gooey Things. Snails, tails, slugs, slime, and mud make you happy. If it goes squish, slop, or gurgle, it makes you laugh. You probably have frogs in your pocket, mud on your face, and rain boots on your feet. Kids and Princesses/Princes love ooey-gooey things the most. Slimed: You throw a big ball of goo at anything In Range. The goo covers it in slime, giving it 1 additional point of Armor for one round.
Loves Pizza. Mmm . . . pizza. There's nothing you love better than cheese and sauce all wrapped up in doughy goodness. If you Love Pizza, you probably carry something yummy and pizza-like around with you all the time. You might even dress in pizza-colored outfits of red and yellow. Everyone Loves Pizza, but Kids and Princesses/Princes are especially good at it. Slice: You throw a piece of pizza at a foe. It slices and dices the foe, doing 1 point of damage and distracting it with the lovely pizza smell so the foe loses its next turn.
Plays Video Games. You know your way around a controller and a screen. If it's playable, you've played it, and you've probably won. Jumping on mushrooms, finding coins, and whomping the bad guys are all things you love. You might wear a shirt or buttons that proclaim your love of geekery and gaming. Robots, Fighters, and Kids are great at playing video games. Easter Egg: If you focus very hard and go very quiet, you can find a hidden object, such as a door, chest, escape route, clue, or treasure.
Reads Great Books. You love to curl up in a corner and read a book. The world slides away, and you discover all kinds of great stories. You might wear the same outfit as your favorite storybook character, or wear a shirt with their face on it, or do your hair the same way as the book's hero or villain. Kids and Princesses/Princes are especially good at reading great books. Page Turner: The hero from your favorite story jumps out of the book to help you with any action that's not a fight. Their help lowers the Goal of your action by 1.
Runs Like the Wind. When you run, no one can catch you or even see you. You're gone in the blink of an eye. You probably wear clothes that are aerodynamic and shoes that let you move faster across the landscape. Anyone can Run Like the Wind, but Kids, Spies, and Superheroes are especially good at it. Whirlwind: You go zoom-zoom-zoom, moving twice as fast as normal. This lets you move In Range (up to 50 feet) and take an action on your turn. Or you can move Very Far (up to 100 feet) as your whole action.
Sings and Dances. Stories, songs, and dancing: these are your fortes. Anytime someone is sad, hurt, or angry, you have the power to change their mood. If you sing and dance, you might wear a dazzling outfit or carry a magic wand or an instrument that makes people happy. Many entertainers are Kids, Princesses/Princes, and Robots. Distract: When you sing a song, play an instrument, or do a dance, you can entertain your friends. This lowers the Goal of all of their actions by 1 for one round.
Companions
A companion in No Thank You, Evil! is a friend that accompanies you on your adventures. A companion might be an awesome alien, an invisible friend, or a robot dog.
Just like with Nouns, companions can be flexible. If a player wants a lizard instead of a dragon or a stuffed bunny instead of a dust bunny, that's easy to do. Just choose the companion that is most similar and give it a different name. Alternate name suggestions are given for many of the companions.
You can choose one of the companions described below.
Levels
Triangle: At this level, companions don't have cyphers or Treats.
Square and Circle: At these levels, companions have cyphers and Treats.
Cyphers: Companions have cyphers. Cyphers are secrets that only companions know. Each companion has one cypher at a time, and they can use that cypher only once. There are two kinds of cyphers: short and long.
Treats: Companions also have Treat pools. They start with 3 Treats. Whenever a companion uses its cypher, they can get a new one by eating 1 Treat.
Characters get Treats for their companions when they explore the world, accomplish tasks, or discover cool things, as determined by the Guide.
Awesome Alien
You may or may not know where your alien came from, but it's been with you for as long as you can remember. It speaks gibberish to most people, but you can understand it.
Treat: Tiny planets
Starting Cypher: Lifesaver. On your defend action, jumps in front of you, protecting you from all damage. (Short)
Anything weird and unexplainable fits into this category: gibbering ball of goo, jabberwocky, mutated creature, and so on.
Big Bad Wolf
Nothing keeps you safe like your big bad wolf. For bad guys, it's all teeth and claws—but for you, it's all heart.
Treat: Ruby hearts
Starting Cypher: Big Ears. Alerts you any time it hears something dangerous In Range. (Long)
Any wild hunters fit into this category: red fox, brown bear, bald eagle, mountain lion, and so on.
Clumsy Ghost
Your clumsy ghost doesn't just say "Boo!" It says "Boo-hoo!" Probably because it stubbed its toe. It still looks scary to the bad guys. Just don't ask it to carry anything fragile.
Treat: Scareberries with whipped scream
Starting Cypher: Spark. Unleashes a stream of lightning that does 3 points of damage to one bad guy. (Short)
Anything dead or spooky fits into this category: ghoul, skeleton, lich, zombie, and so on.
Dust Bunny
You and your dust bunny are the best of friends and go everywhere together. Having him by your side always makes you feel safe and loved.
Treat: Carrot-shaped clouds
Starting Cypher: Lullaby. Your companion sings a beautiful lullaby, putting all creatures Within Reach to sleep for one round. (Short)
Anything that is a common pet or companion animal fits into this category: stuffed bunny, pet rabbit, guinea pig, hamster, kitten, puppy, snake, and so on.
Fast Car
Your car is your favorite friend. It goes vroom vroom and it gets you out of jams. You probably have designed it to look like your favorite race car or toy car. The license plate might even have your name on it.
Treat: Juice boxes filled with gas
Starting Cypher: Free Ride. On your defend action, runs over and picks you up. You avoid all damage. (Short)
Anything that you can drive fast fits into this category: spaceship, rocket ship, boat, motorcycle, bike, scooter, big truck, and so on.
Fiery Dragon
Dragons are the fieriest of creatures. Sometimes your dragon just opens its mouth to speak and a rush of fire comes out instead. But you've trained it to be careful and blow fire only when you ask it to. Mostly.
Treat: Crispy critters
Starting Cypher: Enflame. Spits fire that does 2 points of damage to all creatures and objects Within Reach. (Short)
Anything that could be fiery fits into this category: fiery lizard, monster, flaming bike, miniature pet sun, and so on.
Flying Octopus
Your flying octopus doesn't fly so much as he climbs and jumps so fast that it seems like he's flying. He uses his suckers and tentacles, and the next thing you know, he's on the roof somewhere.
Treat: Snail's mail
Starting Cypher: Squeeze. Squeezes a non-living item (like a chest, door, or box) until it pops open. (Short)
Any creature that doesn't normally fly fits into this category: flying fish, soaring dog, gliding cat, winged kangaroo, and so on.
Invisible Friend
No one can see, hear, or talk to your invisible friend except for you. What does she look like? What's her name? Does she also have an invisible friend? Only you know—and whether or not you tell is up to you.
Treat: Shadow cookies
Starting Cypher: No See 'Em. Makes your whole group invisible. (Long)
Anything that can't be seen by everyone else fits into this category: pocket pet, amoeba, tiny spider, living toy, ghost, and so on.
Little Brother/Sister
You may not have wanted a little brother or sister, but now you have one. He or she thinks you're awesome and follows you around, wanting to help you on your adventures.
Treat: Edible toys
Starting Cypher: Knock-Knock. Tells a joke that makes you laugh so hard that you add 2 to your Awesome pool. (Short)
Any other person or creature that adores you fits into this category: older sibling, grandparent, pet dog, favorite toy, and so on.
Pretty Pony
Your pretty pony is the prettiest, with a long mane and tail. She might be the color of cotton candy with a rainbow mane, or an all-black shadow creature of the night.
Treat: Silver apples
Starting Cypher: Best Buds. Calls a group of friends who can carry you and your friends back to your campsite or home base in the blink of an eye. (Short)
Any other horselike creature fits into this category: unicorn, pegasus, zebra, camel, llama, carousel horse, and so on.
Robot Dog
Your robot dog is your best friend. He loves to be scratched behind his metallic ears, get a belly rub, and sleep next to you on your adventures. He comes when you call his name and loves to fetch.
Treat: Bone-shaped batteries
Starting Cypher: Trickster. Shows off a new trick, delighting you so much that you add 2 to your Smart pool. (Short)
Anything robotic, remote controlled, or doglike fits into this category.
Scary Monster
Your scary monster seems scary only if you don't know him very well. To you and your friends, he's a big softie, always following you around and making you laugh with his antics.
Treat: Monster munch
Starting Cypher: Startle. Sneaks up behind a bad guy In Range and yells, "Boo!" The bad guy gets so scared that it tries to run away. (Short)
Anything that seems scary to other people but is really just fun-loving and goofy would work for this category: ghost, ghoul, dinosaur, tiger, and so on.
Tiny T. Rex
This little creature fits right in your pocket or your pack. He's just as fierce as those big dinosaurs, though. Rawr-squeak!
Treat: Bite-sized comets
Starting Cypher: Embiggen. Grows to giant size and stomps on something, doing 3 points of damage. (Short)
Any pocket-sized creature fits into this category: mouse, mini-monkey, microbe, ant, and so on.
Cyphers
Cyphers are secrets that only companions know. Each companion has one cypher at a time, and they can use it only once. After they use it, they can get a new cypher when you feed them a Treat.
Using Cyphers
Using a cypher takes up a player's turn. Say a Pirate asks his Tiny T. Rex to use the bookworm cypher on his turn. The Tiny T. Rex finds a book and reads it to the group. Everyone adds 1 to their Smart pool. Then it's the next player's turn.
Some cyphers are used on a defend action. Using a cypher when you defend also uses up your turn. So if a Princess is about to get attacked by a yawp, she can ask her companion to use its deflector cypher. That's her entire defend action.
Kinds of Cyphers
There are two kinds of cyphers: short and long.
Short cyphers work instantly. They do damage, protect, or add points to your pools. Once you use them, they're done.
Long cyphers have a lasting effect. These typically give you interesting new abilities. Long cyphers last until:
- the player chooses to turn them off
- the player uses another cypher
- the end of the session
Getting New Cyphers
Once your companion uses its cypher, you can feed them 1 Treat. This will give your companion a new cypher. Feeding a Treat to your companion doesn't count as an action.
Guides may choose new cyphers at random from the cypher list or by drawing a card from the Cypher Deck.
Cypher List
Best Buds: Calls a group of friends who can carry you and your friends back to your campsite or home base in the blink of an eye. (Short)
Big Ears: Alerts you any time it hears something dangerous In Range. (Long)
Bookworm: Finds a secret book for you. If you or your companion reads it aloud to the group, everyone adds 1 to their Smart pool. (Short)
Bubbler: Blows bubbles toward your friends. When the bubbles pop, everyone adds 1 to their Fast pool. (Short)
Burp: Burps so loud that it deafens all creatures Within Reach for one round. (Short)
Deflector: On your defend action, throws up a shield that sends all damage back at the bad guy. (Short)
Disguise: Instantly makes you look like someone else. (Long)
Embiggen: Grows to giant size and stomps on something, doing 3 points of damage. (Short)
Enflame: Spits fire that does 2 points of damage to all creatures and objects Within Reach. (Short)
Free Ride: On your defend action, runs over and picks you up. You avoid all damage. (Short)
Great Game: Plays a game with you. You refill all your trait pools without using 1 Fun from your Fun pool. (Short)
Hat Trick: Turns itself into a hat. If you wear it, it makes you invisible. (Long)
Key: Reshapes its hand, foot, or other body part into a key to open any locked door, chest, or box. (Short)
Knock-Knock: Tells a joke that makes you laugh so hard that you add 2 to your Awesome pool. (Short)
Know Globe: Creates a rainbow-colored globe. Shake the globe and ask it one question (Goal 3) and you will get an honest answer. (Short)
Lifesaver: On your defend action, jumps in front of you, protecting you from all damage. (Short)
Living Rope: Stretches into a living rope. You can ask the living rope to do anything a normal rope would do, and it will do that for you. (Long)
Lullaby: Sings a beautiful lullaby, putting all creatures Within Reach to sleep for one round. (Short)
No See 'Em: Makes your whole group invisible. (Long)
Shake It Off: Picks you up by the feet and shakes you until you feel better. You add 2 to your Tough pool. (Short)
Spark: Unleashes a stream of lightning that does 3 points of damage to one bad guy. (Short)
Spew Goo: Spits goo out of its mouth that coats the ground. Everything In Range is stuck in place for one round. (Short)
Spiderweb: Coats your hands and feet so that you can walk on walls and ceilings. (Long)
Squeeze: Squeezes a non-living item (like a chest, door, or box) until it pops open. (Short)
Starshine: Glows in the dark, allowing everyone in your group to see as if it were daytime. (Long)
Startle: Sneaks up behind a bad guy In Range and yells, "Boo!" The bad guy gets so scared that it tries to run away. (Short)
Tough Stuff: Blows into your thumb, giving you huge muscles. Add 2 to your Tough pool. (Short)
Trick: Does tricks for one other character of your choice. That character adds 1 to one of their trait pools. (Short)
Trickster: Shows off a new trick, delighting you so much that you add 2 to your Smart pool. (Short)
Tell Spell: Utters a secret spell that makes one other creature honestly answer any two questions that you ask it. (Short)
Equipment
Players can acquire special, unusual items called equipment. They can use coins to purchase equipment from stores around the world, as well as from traveling merchants and other characters. Occasionally, a piece of equipment might be found in the world, stolen from someone, or given as thanks, but this is rare.
The cost to buy a piece of equipment is shown by the number in the coin printed with each item.
Best Princess Dress Ever. The shiniest, prettiest, laciest princess dress you've ever seen. Comes in a variety of colors. Choose your favorite or get them all. Don't forget one for your pretty pony!
Dangerous Everdress. Covered in spines, this dress is truly bad news for bad guys. Just run into the bad guy and let the spines do the work. They poke whatever they touch for 3 points of damage.
Shining Armor. You can be a knight in this shining armor. So shiny that birds will try to steal you and bad guys will see themselves reflected on your chest. If you already have Hustle, this also gives you Armor. If you already have Armor, this also gives you Hustle.
Catarang. A ranged weapon in the shape of a cat. It spits out stuffed rats that do 3 points of damage with their sharp noses. Available in tiger stripes, calico, and Halloween black. Smells like cheese when it overheats.
Tickle Lotion. This bottle of tickle lotion prevents the wearer from being tickled, whether accidentally or on purpose. Side effects: may cause tickling sensations when applied.
Bag of Scolding. Not only can this bag carry all of your weapons, it can taunt your enemies for you. Often says things like, "That's all you've got?" to the bad guys right after they hit you.
Air Guitar. Play this air guitar and be just like the Knights of the Sound Table!
Wind Guitar. Play this wind guitar and it will really blow away the competition! Does 3 points of damage to all living things In Range.
Dingbat. A baseball bat with wings. Does 3 points of damage and says, "Ding! Ding! Ding!" every time you hit a bad guy. Available with a mute feature.
King of Swords. A giant sword made of gold and diamonds. It does 3 points of damage to bad guys. Comes with matching sunglasses so you don't get blinded by its bling.
Candy Camouflage. Don this cellophane-wrapped outfit and no one will see you. Except people who really, really like candy. Maybe this isn't as good of an idea as you think. Also comes in cotton candy and cake flavors.
Map Turtle. Each turtle comes with a different treasure map on its shell. No two are alike. Guaranteed to show you the location of real treasure. As long as you define "treasure" loosely.
That Dern Helm. This hat turns invisible whenever you are mad or sad. When it reappears on your head, you can tell it what you'd like it to look like. Most of the time, it obeys.
Third Arm. This rare attachment lets you carry extra things. Or scratch your bum without anyone seeing. Must be re-glued to your body every once in a while.
Third Arm Glue. This gallon container holds all the Third Arm Glue you need for a lifetime of reattaching third arms. Also works for gluing horns back onto unicorns.
Bunny Bomb. Attach this to any weapon, and it will turn almost anything into a bunny once.
Weedrobe. This green delight is made entirely of weeds. Provides camouflage. Good for hunters, trackers, and anyone who likes salads. It's 98% guaranteed not to give you poison ivy.
Vile Vial. This little vial of ick is brewed from a secret recipe of clouds' elbows, muddy dreams, and dead fish. Or it might just be dead fish in a bottle. Pop the top and discover the true meaning of stinking up the joint.
Tyrannosaurus Axe. An axe with the head of a Tyrannosaurus rex. When you swing it, it bites bad guys for 3 points of damage. When you're not using it, it falls asleep, snoring so loudly that it wakes itself up.
Letter Bomb. You get to pick the letter of your letter bomb. When you throw the bomb, it turns into an object of your choice that begins with that letter. The object lasts for about an hour.
Ampersand. Allows you to combine two letter bombs. With one letter bomb, you can create an apple. But with an ampersand and two letter bombs, you can create an apple tree.
Part 3: Explore Storia
Storia is divided into four areas: Behind the Bookshelf, Into the Closet, Out the Window, and Under the Bed. Each place has its own feel.
The land of Storia is one that's not modern, but not old either. It's a mix of all the times and ages that have been, are, and have yet to be. You'll find knights riding unicorns, rocket ships of the future carrying pirates of the past, and dinosaurs driving race cars.
Storia is stories itself. And that means anything—and everything—can happen!
Getting To Storia
In No Thank You, Evil!, characters discover that their very own bedrooms have secret doorways that lead into a world of imagination and adventure. All of these gateways lead to regions of Storia: The Land Next Door, a world peopled by fantastical new friends who help you save the day against the forces of evil.
Characters get to Storia simply by leaving their bedroom through a magical doorway with their companions. The doorways can be found Behind the Bookshelf, Into the Closet, Out the Window, and Under the Bed. Each doorway leads to a land of the same name.
The doorways are guarded by magical barriers. Characters and their companions are the only ones who can go through the doors. That's because they've been specially chosen to help save the land of Storia from evil.
How to Use This Part
Storia truly is a world where anything can happen. The text in this part of the book describes a few of the places, people, and creatures that exist in the land, but certainly not all of them. Feel free to create additional places, people, and creatures that appeal to your players.
As the Guide, you can add anything to Storia that you can dream up. Want to make a new city in Out the Window? Think it would be cool to add robotic dinosaurs to Dinomite Downs? Have an idea for a character that lives in the Beanstalk? The world is yours to build upon as you like.
Each section in this part of the book has a general description of the area. You can embellish it as you like, or just give the basics.
You'll also find characters and creatures for the players to interact with. Most have descriptions and their basic level (remember that almost everything, including health, is based off their level, so this gives you everything you need to know). Some creatures also have quirks. Quirks are little details about a creature that players can learn through interactions, research, or discovery.
Some creatures are listed in the text without attributes. That means you can make up your own. Or you can create a new creature for that location and give it attributes.
The Solve It section gives you ideas for adventures that you can create for your players. (If you're new to roleplaying, we recommend starting with the adventures in Let's Go on an Adventure! before creating your own.)
Introducing the World to Your Players
- Ask them to describe their character's bedroom and talk about where the doorways are. When players start out, they may know about all of the doorways and lands, or just one.
- Some players will be nervous that creatures from Storia might come into their bedrooms through the doorways. Reassure them that while they and their companions can move through the doorways in their bedroom, nothing else can. The doorways are protected by special magic.
- Remember to use all five senses in your descriptions. What does a place or creature look, smell, feel, sound, and taste like? Pick one or two senses that really matter and use them to give players important details. "As you approach Hex Kitchen, you hear the sound of evil laughter and smell fresh-baking cookies."
- It's great to ask the players to describe what they see, smell, or hear as well. "You approach the cave in the woods. What do you see? Can you smell anything?" Then add the things they come up with to your future descriptions of the place or creature.
Keywords for Locations
Behind the Bookshelf: Stories and songs and books and plays, heroes, dinosaurs, talking animals, planes, trains, automobiles, spies. Features places like Good Buys and the Monster Museum.
Into the Closet: Woods, fairy tales, witches, queens, talking frogs, dragons, curses, mad hatters, jabberwockies. Features places like the Hive, DragonSnot Falls, and Hex Kitchen.
Out the Window: The world beyond, underwater, other planets, into the sky, into the past or future. Features places like IFO, Lochtopus, and Castle Alley.
Under the Bed: Scary stories, goblins, ghouls, ghosts, vampires, spiders, haunted houses, zombies. Features places like the Ghoul School, Dead Center, and the Boo Lagoon.
Behind the Bookshelf
Behind the Bookshelf is a land full of stories. If you can open up and read about it in a book, you can find it in Behind the Bookshelf. Dinosaurs and demigods, knights and castles, talking animals and troublemaking monsters: they all make Behind the Bookshelf their home.
Big Blue
Big Blue forest is a family of talking, walking trees. They've lived here forever. They are the keepers of Storia's history. Everything that's ever happened is written on the trees' trunks in the Language of Leaves. Just follow the WayBack path to hear them whisper a story to you. Or check the trees to see if you can find your own story, carved into the bark.
Two squirrel gangs live in the forest, led by brothers Tat and Hat. Both brothers want to be the ruler of the Nuthouse, a treehouse at the very top of the tallest tree.
Tough Nuts: These squirrels paint themselves bright green. They throw acorns as their weapons. Tat is their leader. Tat has braces on his front teeth, and he carries a pistachio pistol over his shoulder.
Bushy Tails: The Bushy Tails paint their tails blue and sharpen their teeth. They are tough competitors. Their leader, Hat, wears a peanut shell helmet and throws bitternut bombs.
The gangs are always looking for new members. If you can create a new weapon using some kind of nut or seed, you're in.
Lots of other creatures and characters live in Big Blue. Flying foxes, deerlike cantelopes, and tree kraken. And don't wake the blue-eyed, black-bellied sleeper peepers. They'll fluff you up!
Solve It
- A company of beavers called Big Chompers is going to cut down some of the trees! Big Blue needs to find a way to protect itself.
- There's a giant cocoon located in the middle of the forest. It purrs when you touch it. How did it get there? And what's inside it?
Squirrel gang members: level 3. Tat and Hat: level 4. Flying fox: level 2. Cantelope: level 3. Tree kraken: level 4. Blue-eyed, black-bellied sleeper peeper: level 4; quirk: when you wake it, it covers you in fluff and stuff.
Snow's Cones
Snow's Cones is a place of tasty delight and ice-cold treats.
Snow: It's easy to find the owner, Snow. She's a cherry popsicle with bright red pigtails and a sugar-cone hat. She's always covered in splotches of ice cream and fudge sauce. Her bionic arms let her scoop ice cream so fast you can't even see her move!
Pick three of your favorite flavors, and Snow will make you a cone so high you won't be able to look over it. It comes with a special tongue extender so you can lick those flavors all the way at the tippy top.
Each week, Snow features three special kinds of ice cream like Pirate's Treasure, Dragon Eggs, and Cereal Milk. Twice a year, Snow's Cones revs up the giant cone machine. It creates a blizzard, coating all of Behind the Bookshelf in rainbow snow.
Solve It
- Someone ate all of Snow's favorite flavor of ice cream—Cherry Pit Punch. She needs five cherry pits from the trees of Big Blue in order to make more.
- Snow has ice cream imps. They're cute little creatures, but they make a big mess every night, and she's tired of cleaning up after them.
Snow: level 4; quirk: she throws a crazy curveball thanks to her bionic arms. You want her on your team in a snowball fight or a baseball game.
Muttropolis
This city has gone to the dogs. Dogs run the place and walk their pet humans on leashes through the streets. There's a dog policeman, a dog who runs the dry cleaner's, even a dog softball coach. A whippet named Mister Snout teaches all the puppies in puppy school. And a golden retriever runs the Private Investigator services Dewey, Findem, and Howe.
Here, most humans lie around all day and play games of fetch and tug. Some work as guard humans, bomb sniffers, or seeing-eye humans for blind dogs.
Every dog in Muttropolis must have at least one pet human. It's the law.
The mayors of Muttropolis are Catter Wall and Catty Whompus. You can call them Cat 1 and Cat 2. Cat 1 and Cat 2 look almost exactly the same. They are both big black labs with spotted tongues. You might be able to tell them apart by studying the spots on their tongues. If they let you.
If you're human and want to enter Muttropolis, you need a special pass. Stop at the Doggy Door on the way in. There you can get a Non-Pet Human pass from the Office of Non-Pet Humans. It explains that you aren't a lost or runaway pet. Robots and other non-human creatures don't need a pass.
Everyone who can't speak Woof, the official language of Muttropolis, needs a translator. You wear it around your neck like a collar. It lets you speak and understand Woof.
Solve It
- One of your friends wandered into Muttropolis without a Non-Pet Human pass. Now you can't find him!
- The translators around town are all going haywire. Everyone's talking like a different animal. You can't understand each other at all.
Cat 1 and Cat 2: level 4. Muttropolis resident: level 2.
Monster Museum
Want to learn all about the creatures who walk, fly, and swim through the land of Storia? Look no further than the Monster Museum. Here, you can learn everything you ever wanted to know about dragons, dinosaurs, ghosts, oogies, boogies, and more. There are creatures to talk to, books to read, and songs to listen to. If you ask Starbelly the Spider for help, she will search for information for you on her World Wide Sky Web.
You can also use the Creature Teacher. This computer simulator will ask you to pretend you are the type of creature you want to learn about. If you convince the Creature Teacher that you are that creature (Goal 4), it will share one fact about the creature with you.
Bill Zubbub and his three-headed dragon companion, Boomer, run the museum. Bill is tall, thin, and blue. He wants to learn everything about every creature in the whole world. But he has a very poor memory. This is why he built the Monster Museum.
Boomer was the first creature that came to live with Bill at the museum. The dragon and all of his heads are fond of pulling pranks, mostly on Bill. Because of Bill's poor memory, Boomer can pull the same prank on him again and again. Bill spends a lot of time running away from Boomer and his tricks.
Solve It
- Someone has stolen the Big Book of Quirks right from under Bill Zubbub's nose! Or perhaps he lost it. He isn't entirely sure.
- Boomer wants to play a harmless prank on Bill Zubbub. It involves a silly ghost, a contraption, and two pieces of paper.
Starbelly the Spider: level 5. Creature Teacher: level 4. Bill Zubbub: level 5. Boomer: level 5.
Castle Karaoke
You can't get to Castle Karaoke in a regular way. Not by following a path. Not by taking a train. Or a boat. Or a car. Or a teleporter. You can't fly.
The only way to get there is to sing. As the legend of Castle Karaoke says:
Search high, search low, search far, search close. But neither castle nor king will you find 'til you sing. Sing high, sing low, sing fast, sing slow. Just sing sing sing says the king king king.
The king, who calls himself King Singit, keeps the castle's location invisible by magic.
King Singit: King Singit is a big bear of a man. He has one mouth in the regular spot and one he had implanted on his forehead. They both sing at the same time. He's jovial and kind, as long as there's music. When the music stops, so does his good mood.
Castle Karaoke is a big sprawling castle. Allicrocs swim in the moat. Knote Knights guard the entrance. And there are many walls, turrets, and towers.
The two biggest towers are the Rock Tower and the Roll Tower. Each houses a band of knights. Rock Tower is where you can find the Knights of the Sound Table. Roll Tower is where you can find Helmut and the Armorettes.
Every week, the Knote Knights have a Battle of the Bands. They compete with music and fighting to see who will win the High Note Award.
Solve It
- It's time for a new Battle of the Bands, and they're short a band. Can your group gather instruments and write a song in time to compete?
- A barbaric yawp has been hanging around the castle, bellowing every time someone plays music. It's making the king crazy. He will pay 10 coins to anyone who can get rid of it.
King Singit: level 5, level 6 for all song-related tasks; quirk: can't stand silence. Knote Knight: level 4, level 5 for all song-related tasks. Allicroc: level 3; quirk: has no singing skills despite the voice box that King Singit had installed.
The House of Miss Terry
A funhouse of mirrors, tilting floors, high wires and shadows. Entrance ticket: 2 coins or one Daring-Do.
(The House of Miss Terry is not responsible for any mishaps, missteps, or misadventures that might befall those who enter its doors.)
Daring-Do: A Tough, Smart, or Fast feat with a Goal of 4 or higher. There are three Daring-Do options set up outside the House of Miss Terry: battling the stone door lion, convincing the doorman to let you in, or running across the high wire. Other feats may also count.
Solve It
- Has anyone ever seen Miss Terry? Is she just a name, or are the rumors true that she's been trapped in her own funhouse for years?
- One of the visitors leaving the House of Miss Terry lost his favorite shoe in what he says was "the mouth of a giant black shadow." He is too scared to go back and get it by himself.
Good Buys
If you need something, the first place to look is Good Buys. Oddly, you can't buy anything at Good Buys. But you can trade stuff for other stuff. Got a map turtle you don't need anymore? Trade it in for a compass cat. Got a book that you already read? Trade it in for a book that someone else has read.
The exchange rate is one for one. One weapon for another weapon. One outfit for another outfit. And so on.
The store owner—a grumpy-looking octopus named Hairy—loves knock-knock jokes. His favorite is:
Knock, knock. / Who's there? / Hairy. / Hairy who? / Hairy up and trade something already!
Solve It
- Hairy desperately wants an octopus hat for Kildeer, his pet dodo bird. If you find one on your travels, he'll trade you an unhatched . . . something . . . egg for it.
- Good Buys might be haunted. Shoppers say they keep hearing someone—or something—rattling chains and calling their name.
Hairy: level 3; quirk: if you tell him a knock-knock joke he's never heard before, he'll give you a free book on a topic of his choice.
KO Corral
Want to find all the really bad guys in Storia? Look no further than the KO Corral. That's the jail where Sheriff Lucy Lawful holds every criminal she's ever caught. And she's caught a lot of criminals. Once she even caught the Shadow, the sneakiest thief in all the land. But he escaped somehow and she's never found him since.
The KO Corral has a big jail, an office where Lucy Lawful keeps her WANTED posters, and a special room that holds many treasures, including the Awful Waffle, one of the Twelve True Treasures of Storia. Visitors can look at the Awful Waffle inside its case if they promise not to leave nose prints on the glass.
Lucy rides a grey and white stuffed horse named Apple. She carries a long whip that she sometimes uses as a jump rope. And she really, really likes catching bad guys.
Lucy Lawful: level 4; has a whip that does 2 points of damage. The Shadow: level 4, level 6 for sneaking and stealing.
Brain Train
The Brain Train is a loop-de-loop-de-loop train. It usually runs from the Monster Museum to the House of Miss Terry. But if you want to go somewhere in particular, you'll have to answer a question or a riddle from Main Brain, the train's driver. Main Brain doesn't talk; he just puts the question right into your brain like magic. Give the right answer, and he'll take you and your friends anywhere in Behind the Bookshelf you want to go.
Eye See You
The giant one-eyed mountain in Behind the Bookshelf is full of underground tunnels and buildings. There you can find:
- The hospital (Dr. Cy attending)
- A combo dentist and drill shop (Mole's Molars)
- A firecracker store (a subsidiary of Boom! Laboratories)
- A sweet shop (Rock Candy Mountain)
Not to mention all of the monsters, mutations, mole people, and mysteries that usually live in the dark bellies of one-eyed mountains.
Eye See You is home to the notorious, glorious gang, the BlackBacks. Members of the BlackBacks steal I Gotchyer Back packs and magically suck the color out of them, turning them entirely black. BlackBacks wear as many packs as they can steal, sometimes as many as a hundred all piled up on their backs. The more packs they wear, the higher their rank in the gang. They fight by spitting sharp rainbows out of their mouths.
BlackBack: level 4; go up one level for every ten packs they have on their back, up to level 8; spit sharp rainbows that do 2 points of damage.
Into the Closet
Here, you will encounter a fairy-tale land full of queens, witches, dragons, and trolls. The woods are the greenest you've ever seen. Houses are made of candy and mirrors. Magic books are everywhere. Potions promise spells, both good and evil. And promises spell trouble.
The Hive
This honey city is the home of Woodlynn, the Bee Queen of Into the Closet. She, or one of her worker bees, greets everyone who passes through the gateway and enters this part of Storia. Here, everything glistens golden because it's made from honey.
Beemobiles leave regularly from the Hive. They travel all over Into the Closet under Woodlynn's direction. If you need to get somewhere, Woodlynn's beemobiles can help you get there. If you're a friend of Woodlynn, you can ride for free.
Woodlynn: level 5. Worker bee: level 1.
The Beanstalk
The Beanstalk is a 100-story apartment building that just keeps growing into the sky. Someday it's going to grow right off the map!
Different people live on each floor.
On the top five floors lives Joe the Giant. He's so big that he bumps his head on the sky when he goes out on his deck to eat lunch. When he comes down, which isn't very often, he climbs down the outside of the building.
Jack and Jill and their goat Marmalade live on the first floor. They have a magic bean store called Toot. They don't just sell magic beans. They also sell potions, wands, and ingredients for spells. Their frogsicle pops are especially popular.
On floor 50, you'll find a princess named Lettuce. Her blonde hair falls all the way to the first floor. She braids it into a ladder so that her friends can climb up.
Solve It
- On floor 11, there lives a troll named Crushew. Crushew loves to play video games. But he can't find anyone who will play with him because he looks and sounds very scary.
- When the moon is full, a ghost haunts the halls of the Beanstalk. The ghost looks like a shiny goose. It says, "I've lost my golden eggs. Who will help me find my golden eggs?"
Joe the Giant: level 8; health 20. Jack and Jill: level 3. Marmalade: level 1. Lettuce: level 3.
Mirror Mirror
Mirror Mirror is a castle where everything reflects. Mirrors. Windows. Water. Even clothing. If you look, the only thing you can see is yourself looking back (and anything that's behind you!).
Queen Me is the ruler of Mirror Mirror. She spends all her days looking at herself in the mirrors. She also has one thousand invisible servants that do everything for her. She made them invisible because she can't stand to see anyone but herself. It's no surprise that she doesn't have any friends.
If you want to interact with Queen Me, you must go toward her while holding a mirror. When she sees herself, she'll think she's just talking to one of her personalities.
Queen Me has three daughters named Cinderella, Snow White, and Belle. The princesses all live in a tiny garden behind Mirror Mirror. They have never seen their own reflection. The Queen calls the princesses the Dirties. The princesses (and all of the invisible servants) call her Queen Mean.
Solve It
- Buried deep in one of the rooms of Mirror Mirror is an ancient crown that has magical powers. If someone were to find it and steal it, they could have those powers for their own.
- Cinderella wants to sneak out of Mirror Mirror and go to one of Princess Strike's Bowling Balls. But the gates are guarded by two stone gargoyles who won't let the princesses out.
Queen Me: level 4. Princess: level 3.
DragonSnot Falls
DragonSnot Falls used to be a real live dragon, but long ago someone—or something—turned him into red stone. Now he has two giant waterfalls running out of his nose. The waterfalls turn into a wide river that circles around the entire falls. There is only one rickety bridge to get across the moat.
Each dragon nostril has a long tunnel inside it. Bandits, witches, songshrooms, and other creatures sometimes make their homes in there. It's a good place to explore, look for treasure, and find unusual plants.
See Let's Go on an Adventure!, page 14, for "Lost in DragonSnot Falls," a starting adventure that takes place in this part of the world.
Howl House
The Howl House is the home of three brothers: Big Bad Wolf, Medium Bad Wolf, and Not So Bad Wolf.
Big Bad Wolf is giant, red, and always hungry. Biggie builds things out of wood, including beautiful wands, staves, and bows.
Medium Bad Wolf is medium sized, black, and often hungry. Known as Middlin, he builds things out of steel. He likes to make swords most of all.
Not So Bad Wolf is teeny-tiny and not very hungry, but he's got a very loud howl. Nowsie doesn't make anything but noise.
There are three Pig Brothers who live nearby in the Oink House and constantly annoy the Wolf Brothers. The pigs want to be best friends, but the Wolf Brothers aren't interested. The pigs have started to try to convince the wolves in odd ways. Like by planting glitter bombs in their yard. Everyone knows that the Wolf Brothers hate glitter bombs. Almost as much as they hate dancing.
Solve It
- There's something living in the chimney of the Howl House. It keeps the Wolf Brothers up all night by telling dumb jokes. Only Nowsie is small enough to get into the chimney and shoo away the creature, but he's too scared to try.
- The Wolf Brothers want to hire a flock of plastic flamingos to stand in their yard and keep the Pig Brothers away. But they have no idea where to find one.
Biggie: level 6. Middlin: level 4. Nowsie: level 2.
Whispering Woods
The cat smiles from behind the leaves. The red queen smiles from beside the trees. The white rabbit smiles as he breathes. And Alice, oh Alice, she still believes. ~from Tales of the Whispering Woods
The Whispering Woods is always telling tales. Listen closely and you'll hear its stories. Miss Muffet and her spider. Alice and the Mad Hatter. Beauty and the Beast. It has many, many stories. And some of them are still happening, deep in the dark woods.
If you tell the Whispering Woods your own tale, it will become part of the story. Maybe the next person who stops by will hear the tale of your heroic efforts throughout Storia.
The woodsman has an axe that shines. He sings as he swings and he always rhymes. He says he just wants to cut the trees. But we know what he really means. Woodsman, woodsman, save us please. There's something moving in the trees. ~from Tales of the Whispering Woods
Solve It
- If you see Mother Goose wandering in the woods, tell her a nursery rhyme. She will give you a treasure map to a toy chest that was buried in the woods.
- A man named the Haberdasher sells special equipment from inside a giant tree in the middle of the forest. Find the tree, knock on the door, and see what he has to sell. And at what price.
Hex Kitchen
"Well, hello, children. Welcome to Hex Kitchen. Here we have fresh-baked cookies. Candy bars. How about a frosted brownie or a piece of cake? Maybe a waffle?"
That's the Kitchen Witch. She looks scary and mean. She has a big nose and a big wart. She has an evil voice. Her fingers are long and crooked. When she smiles, her teeth look sharp and pointy.
But she's actually very sweet.
It's the gingerbread boys you have to watch out for. They build themselves from scraps of sweets that the witch drops on the floor. The more she bakes, the more scraps she drops, and the bigger the gingerbread boys get. They set traps all through the woods on the way to the Hex Kitchen. They want to catch all the boys and girls.
Solve It
- The Kitchen Witch needs a special jar of honey from the honey beests, dangerous giant bees that live in a nearby cave. If she gets that honey, she can make Clouds in a Jar, a special whipped dessert.
- There's a cookbook called Sweet Dreams & Other Invisible Candies. The Kitchen Witch wants it. If you ever find it on your travels, bring it back to her for a reward.
Kitchen Witch: level 4, level 5 for all sweet tasks. Gingerbread boy: level 3. Trap: level 3. Honey beest: level 4.
Out the Window
Vroom! Boom! Doom! Flume!
These are the sounds of Out the Window. There's a racetrack that looks like a video game. A laboratory that goes boom. Pirates and bowling alleys and an IFO (Identified Flying Object). Here, you'll find a whole new world of space travel and undersea adventures, race cars and rockets. Superheroes, spies, scientists, and seafarers all make Out the Window their home.
Castle Alley
Castle Alley is the home of Princess Strike and her minions, the Pinheads. She lives in a castle shaped like a bowling pin in the middle of town. She's funny and nice, but a little airheaded. She's best known for throwing big parties, which she calls Bowling Balls. Presents, especially unusual presents, are her favorite thing. She's afraid of piñatas and elephants. Someone once brought an elephant piñata to a party and Princess Strike fainted dead away.
The Pinheads are nice when Princess Strike is around. But when she turns her back, they pinch, poke, and tease. They're not mean, but they are mischievous. Don't let them out of your sight! Or into your stuff. They talk in meeps and beeps, so it's hard to tell what they're saying. They fall over a lot.
There's a town around Castle Alley. The people who live there are mostly guests who came to one of her parties and never went home. They think of Princess Strike as their leader.
The Oogy Family: The Oogy Family lives under a pile of boxes on the outskirts of the city. There are six Oogies: Mama, Papa, Floogy, Doogy, Moogy, and Bob. They steal everything they can get their hands on.
Russ Tee: This broken-down robot makes its home in a junkyard. He keeps trying to find the missing parts of himself. He would really like to find his eye.
Pegapop: You might see this turquoise pegasus-shaped balloon bobbing around from place to place. He's left over from one of the Princess's old parties. He wants to go home, but he doesn't remember where that is.
Princess Strike: level 5. Pinhead: level 1. Mama and Papa Oogy: level 3. Kid Oogy: level 1. Russ Tee: level 2. Pegapop: level 2.
Boom! Laboratories
Boom! Laboratories used to be called Shhh! Laboratories. That was before the giant explosion happened. Professor Magniferous was mixing chemicals in the new chemical set he got for his birthday and then the next thing he knew: BOOM! A giant explosion that blew the roof off. The sky was a weird orange color for days and days. It's hard to believe that no one got hurt. Although Professor Magniferous's eyebrows did get burned a little.
Now everyone just knows it as Boom! Labs.
There are six kinds of science studied at the labs:
- Let's Make Dinosaurs!
- Will This Explode?
- Will This Explode More?
- Building the Biggest Truck
- That Is So Gross
- What Does This Taste Like?
Dr. T. Bone Rex is in charge of all the experiments, but his favorite is Let's Make Dinosaurs! His secret goal is to make himself a dinosaur wife. Or at least a dinosaur snack. He has an office in the basement.
Solve It
- What happens when you mix three pinches of ghouls' souls with half a hand of creeper vine? Lord Mix-a-Lot wants to know, but he's too afraid of ghouls to go steal their souls. And creeper vines give him a little fright.
- The big boom that blew the roof off the lab also blew a hole right in the middle of the cafeteria floor. Under it was a map that says it leads to "hidden treshure of the sciense kind."
Professor Magniferous: level 3. Dr. T. Bone Rex: level 4. Lord Mix-a-Lot: level 3.
Shark Bait
This pirate ship is sinking. Very, very slowly. It has been sinking for a billion trillion years. That's a long time.
Shark Bait is a living ship. She's alive. And she's slowly sinking because she's sad.
The only way to save her is to find the ship's original captain, Captain Pearl Parker. Captain Pearl is the one who knows how to cheer Shark Bait up. But no one knows where she is. There are lots of rumors. She's dead. She turned into a mermaid. She was caught by Lucy Lawful and is in jail. She's hiding out with the BlackBack gang. Shark Bait sails the seas, looking for Captain Pearl.
Captain Jack Spider: He's the current captain of Shark Bait. He goes wherever Shark Bait takes him, and there he plunders and steals everything he can. He's not as nice as Captain Pearl, but he's not mean either. He has a big laugh and will share his grape soda with you if he likes you.
Shark Bait's belly is a big cargo hold, filled with stuff that Captain Jack has taken over the years. Some of it's worth coins, but a lot of it is junk. Captain Jack's a hoarder. Once he steals something, he has a hard time letting go of it. You can find all kinds of things in there if you can solve the mysterious riddle of the loch ness lock.
To solve the riddle of the loch ness lock, you must whisper the name of five imaginary animals into the keyhole. The lock will then ask you to find one of those imaginary animals and bring it. When you do, the lock will open for you. But only for one day. Don't get locked in.
Solve It
- A giant squid named Clarine is in love with Captain Jack. She follows him around and keeps accidentally ruining his plundering plans.
- Captain Jack needs a few new crew members to sail the high seas with. If you want to join the One-Eyed Jacks, you need to make yourself an eye patch that even Captain Jack approves of.
Shark Bait: level 8. Captain Jack Spider: level 4, level 5 in all things pirate-related.
IFO
IFO stands for Identified Flying Object. It used to be a UFO—an Unidentified Flying Object—but then someone identified it. It's a flying saucer called Chocoring from the planet Donutsrock.
The aliens who crashed Chocoring into Storia don't live here anymore. They might live in Castle Alley or at the Mini Mall. Or maybe their friends came and picked them up and took them back to Donutsrock.
Now, the giant round saucer is the Center for Astronautical Spaceperson Training and Starwalking Research. It's where astronauts and other space visitors learn how to fly rocket ships, visit other planets, and talk to alien races. Aliens like marsipans and beeples come from all over to teach classes in the language, foodstuff, and culture of their home worlds.
Solve It
- An alien named Rooopus is teaching a class in making raincloud pudding, a favorite among his people. He can't find any baby rainclouds to use in the recipe.
- Some of the astronauts are trying to build a robotic pigeon that will carry messages all the way to the moon and back. So far, they've figured out how to keep the pigeons from eating the messages. But that's all.
Marsipan: Funny aliens that look and smell like candy. Level 3. Beeple: Look like big, ferocious machines, but mostly care about protecting the baby beeples that ride in their bellies. Level 4. Baby beeple: level 1.
Mini Mall
The Mini Mall is so small. So small you can hardly see it at all. You can't be tall and get in the mall. You can't crawl into the mall. You can't even fall into the mall. To get into the mall, you must be small. Smaller than a house, smaller than a mouse. Smaller than a rug, smaller than a bug. Smaller than a snail, smaller than your nail. When you're so small you can't see yourself at all: That's how you get to the Mini Mall.
The whole Mini Mall is the size of a human foot. You could step on it and crush it if it wasn't wrapped in protective magic.
In order to get to the Mini Mall, you have to go down the Size-o-Lator slide. First, find one of your favorite toys and put it in your I Gotchyer Back pack. This is very, very important. This is how you'll get out later.
Next, climb up and up and up the Size-o-Lator, and then slide down it. The closer you get to the bottom, the smaller you get. By the time you're all the way down, you're just the perfect size to walk right through the front doors of the mall. All of your stuff and your companion shrinks with you.
The Mini Mall used to be a regular-sized mall. Until it got shrunk by an evil wizard. A good wizard put a magic spell on it so it couldn't be harmed. But the people who were trapped inside can never get out. They don't even know that they're so small.
The mall is overgrown and wild now. More like a forest than a mall. Tigers live in the movie theater and monkeys swing from the clothing racks. Aliens have taken over the toy store. There are at least two hippos living in the water fountain in the middle of the mall. And robots . . . there are so many different kinds of robots in the mall! Where did they all come from?
You can still buy things at all of the stores, although they might not be what you expect. The candy store sells umbrellas, and the umbrella store sells video games. Sometimes the monkeys forget to take your money. You can buy a pretty dress at Food 4 Less. And a pea shooter at Robots R Us.
Make sure to put whatever you buy into your I Gotchyer Back pack before you leave. That way, it will grow with you and be the right size when you get out.
After you leave the mall, take your toy out of your pack and throw it in the air. When you catch it, you'll grow big again.
Solve It
- Some aliens have landed outside the mall. They're looking for their sister alien, who was trapped in the mall when it got small. They could use a guide.
- There are some ninjas inside the mall who love chocolate. They love it so much that they've eaten all of the chocolate from the candy stores and ice cream shops. They can't leave, so they're trying to find a way to sneak more chocolate into the mall.
Alien: level 3. Ninja: level 3.
Lochtopus
The Lochtopus is deeper than deep. It might be so deep that it goes to another world. If you ask the mermaids that swim along its surface, they will tell you grand stories of those other worlds. But everyone knows that mermaids lie. Or at least exaggerate a little.
The water is so clear you can see many of the creatures swimming through it. Flying fish, cyborgators, octopi, kraken, giant snails, sharks, and things you've never seen before and never will again.
An octopus named Quag will take you down into the deep inside his glass belly if you ask nicely. As he says, "You can explore the depths of the lagoon without danger of being eaten. Or at least not eaten by anyone but me."
The bottom of the lagoon is covered in sunken ships. Pirate ships. Spaceships. Submarines. There are crashed planes there too. And at least one UFO. They call this place the Ship Crypt. The dragons of the deep have made their homes here. They circle their tails around the lost treasure and sleep.
The Mad Manatee holds a floating tea party in the middle of the Lochtopus every day at noon. He wears a teapot hat and offers his guests mud pies and dirt cookies. He hates tentacles, so be sure to disguise any octopus guests as something else. A spider, maybe?
Solve It
- A mermaid has lost her comb somewhere in the depths of the Lochtopus. She's sure that she dropped it and a mean old kraken ate it.
- Two gangs of squid in the Lochtopus are fighting for the ownership of the City of Shells. They compete by trying to successfully say the toughest tongue twister.
Quag: level 3; quirk: hates seafood. If you bring him any other kind of food, he will be your friend. The Mad Manatee: level 4. Flying fish, cyborgator, octopus, kraken, giant snail, shark: level 3.
Dinomite Downs
If you want to have tea and cake with a Tea Rex or sit on some dino eggs until they hatch, Dinomite Downs is the place to visit. You can even dig up fossils here.
The creatures of past and present—not just dinosaurs!—have built a little town on these hills where they live together mostly in peace and harmony. Despite the fact that sometimes they really, really, really want to eat each other.
They started inviting people to come and visit in order to raise money to feed everyone. The entry fee is 1 coin, a giant hamburger, or an enormous salad.
Miss Molly greets everyone who arrives and takes their money or food. She's a brontosaurus with a giant brain. So that makes her unusual. And a smarty pants. She uses lots of big words. Just nod and pretend you're listening.
Solve It
- A visitor just dug up a dinosaur . . . hat? He put it on the head of a nearby stegosaurus, and the creature went mad, trampling everything in its path.
- A dino egg just hatched. It's a dinosaur no one's ever seen before. Someone needs to draw pictures of it!
Miss Molly: level 4, level 6 for all Smart tasks; health 10.
Turbo Track
Is the Turbo Track a racetrack or a video game? It's both! Can you race your car, spaceship, speed boat, or bike around the video game track faster than anyone else? Don't forget to attach the grabber to the front of your vehicle. That lets you grab all the coins, candies, and creatures as you go by. The one with the most coins and the fastest race wins!
To race on the Turbo Track, each player takes a turn and rolls a d6. A roll of 1-3 lets you move forward one lap, a roll of 4-5 gives you a coin, and a roll of 6 lets you move forward one lap and gives you a coin. After five rolls each, count all the coins and laps. The player with the highest combined total wins.
Ampersandy Beach & Punctuation Point
This is the world of words, for those who love such things. This high-end resort is where all the Good Words hang out. You'll find them lounging on open books, chatting it up with bookworms, and having rhyming contests.
Just outside the resort, all the Bad Words get together and spend their time making up new swear words and spray-painting them across walls and book covers. Their favorites are: "Grief magician!", "Mice droppings!", and "Sandcake baker!"
Someday, there's going to be a word-off. If the Bad Words win, it will spell doom for the resort and all of the Good Words who live there.
Under the Bed
Shrouded in mist and shadow, Under the Bed is a spooky place filled with goblins, ghouls, and ghosts. Not for the faint of heart, Under the Bed is the most dark and dangerous area of Storia. The weather is often stormy and grey, the land is sharp and spiky, and even the plants seem out to eat you.
Not all of the inhabitants of Under the Bed are evil, of course, but even the kindest of creatures might seem scary at first. It doesn't hurt to give the creatures you encounter a chance—but not too much of one!
Under the Bed is an area that is generally designed to be darker and scarier than other places in Storia. For this reason, it's best for older players. You can also tone down the scarier elements and give them a more mischievous feel for younger players.
The Ghoul School
The Ghoul School is where all the ghouls and ghosties go to learn how to be scary. Witches, warlocks, wizards, skeletons, mummies, and all other Scaries go here. Non-Scaries (namely humans and robots) can also attend if they get special written permission from their parents and are friends with at least one Scary.
Students take classes like Spook 'Em 101, Boo to You: Manners for Ghosts, and Rats and Bats: The Care and Feeding of Familiars. The ghoulieball and skullball teams win every year. There's also a special game called Devilcaching, where students must use special equipment to try to find devils and demons that other students have hidden around the campus.
Principal Marrowbone seems old and frail but has a mind as sharp as a tack. The principal walks with a cane that doubles as a magic wand. When not in human form, Principal Marrowbone takes the form of a waterwitch who lives in the school pool.
The students live in crypt-dorms along the edges of the property. The crypts are decorated with spiderwebs, jack-o-lanterns, and poisonous snakes. When the students aren't studying or playing sports, they hold big parties in their crypt-dorms.
Solve It
- Someone—or something—is writing dark messages in an unknown language on the school chalkboards. Is this a threat or a call for help?
- On Halloween, the students all dress up as humans to try to win the Best Human Costume award. But they're not very good at it. They could use some tips from real humans.
Principal Marrowbone: level 4. Bonemaker elf: level 3. Foreman Salivator: level 5. Doom: level 6.
Bone Factory
Get close to the Bone Factory and you can hear the bonemaker elves singing.
Shake a bone left / Shake a bone right Make a bone / Take a bone / Give a kid a fright Wiggle wiggle wiggle / Giggle giggle giggle Make a bone / Take a bone / Build a bone tonight!
The Bone Factory has six full stories and two hidden stories. On each of the six full stories, the bonemaker elves work their machines, forging bones into being. They also make tendons, eyeballs, tentacles, and toys. No one seems to know what they make on the two hidden stories. Oddly, you can sometimes catch the scent of sugar cookies wafting from the windows.
The factory is run by Foreman Salivator. She used to be a ballerina, but now she oversees all of the elves, making sure that everyone stays hard at work. She has a giant creature named Doom that is her loyal companion.
Foul Mouth Caves
The Foul Mouth Caves dot the landscape of Under the Bed. Each of them looks like the head of a different giant creature rising from the land. The creature's open mouth forms the entrance. Teeth rise from the ground like spikes, and the tongue is a squishy slide. Whoosh! Right into the cave. Sometimes the cave mouth closes part or all of the way without warning. At least one of the cave mouths wears braces.
The caves wind deep through the underground. They are filled with creatures living and dead, plus treasures of all kinds. There are stories that tell of doors at the farthest ends of them. Doors that go to places undiscovered and unbelieved.
Tourists usually visit the Den of Fangs. This large cave is well lit and has a large waterfall at the back. You can get your picture taken with the fortune-teller known as the Toothsayer. For 1 coin, she will guess your age and tell your fortune by looking at your teeth. The Den of Fangs even has a little sweet shop that serves world-famous candies called Cackles. They turn your tongue turquoise and make you laugh and laugh.
Solve It
- A light has been seen at the mouth of the Cavity Cave. The light flickers with a bright red flame that whispers secrets into your mind.
- A group of hunters is tracking a rare creature called an octowolf down into the Cave of Halitosis. Another group wants to track the octowolf so they can save it from the hunters.
Octowolf: level 3.
Boo Lagoon
The Boo Lagoon is home to the giant skeleton turtle named Spurn. Spurn is so big you can't see it all at once. It has excellent hearing and is drawn to the surface by many sounds, including splashing, laughing, talking, and eating. It likes food, and its favorite food is humans.
Lots of skeletons, ghosts, and mummies live in floating homes and houseboats along the shores of the lagoon. The towns are called Five, Seven, and Eleven. They're named after how many people in each town were eaten by Spurn. Oops. Five is now named Six.
The lagoon is also filled with madpoles, tiny baby frogs that are insane. They're insane because they tickle each other all the time. If you get close to them, they'll say, "Are you the King? Are you King Croaker, come with tickle lotion?" Don't say yes unless you want to get covered in wiggling, giggling, crazy creatures.
Solve It
- A skeleton named Nemwell was found washed up on the shores of the lagoon. He can't remember how he got there. He needs help finding his toe bone, his elbow, and his companion, a ghost named Crikey.
- A few islands dot the surface of the lagoon. Rumors tell that if you visit the islands in the proper order, a gate to somewhere else will open.
Spurn: level 8. Skeleton: level 4. Ghost: level 3. Mummy: level 2. Madpole: level 1.
Cannibal Gardens
"Whine, twine, vine, and dine! That's all these plants ever think about!" ~Lily Cobra
Cannibal Gardens boasts the coolest, most dangerous collection of plants anywhere in Storia, and maybe beyond. Devil's Walkingstick. Bleeding Hearts. Sneezewart. Even the world-famous Resurrection Fern—the only plant rumored to bring the dead back to life.
Plant wrangler Lily Cobra cares for all of the plants at Cannibal Gardens. A tiny creature wearing all green, she sometimes blends in with the plants so well that you can't see her. She doesn't communicate with humans very well, and often seems nervous. If you ask her a question, she probably won't look at you directly when she answers.
You might find her feeding bottle flies to Mars fly traps in the nursery. Or maybe she's trying to keep the Witches' Butters from eating each other in the plant planetarium. She also keeps the Creeper Maze in line, making sure that most things that enter the living labyrinth are given a fair chance to leave.
Lily's charges regularly try to eat her—and anyone else who happens by unprotected. She loves each and every one of them anyway. And mostly knows how to keep them in line.
A big sign out front says: BEWARE OF SNAP DRAGONS! Lily says that's a joke because there's no such thing as Snap Dragons. But Lily also wears a weedrobe—an outfit made entirely of weeds!—so you can decide whether to believe her.
Solve It
- A purple people-eater named Bella Donna has escaped its pot. It's one of the garden's meanest plants. Lily wants it brought back. Alive, please.
- Rumors are that plant pirates sneaked into the Creeper Maze not too long ago. They went in to dig something up. They never came out. Whatever they were after is still in the maze somewhere. Maybe they are too.
Lily Cobra: level 5, level 6 in all things plant-related. Bella Donna: level 5.
Dead Center
Dead Center is the only graveyard in Storia. If you want to bury someone, talk to a ghost, or dig up a vampire, Dead Center is the place. The graves are all see-through, so you can look right down through the dirt and see who—or rather what—is buried there.
To get to Dead Center, take your Brave Light and your shovel and your friends. Hold your weapon steady. The hangman doesn't arrive until the stroke of midnight.
That's it. That's all you need to know. Oh, and run when you hear the sound of shuffling feet.
Solve It
- The soul of Misery Malvoy is trapped in a jar. She blinks her soul-light on and off. Best guess? She'd like to be put back to rest in her grave. To do so, you must figure out who trapped her soul in a jar and why.
- Each time the moon turns blue and shines down on the Trees of Souls, something starts attacking people throughout Under the Bed. It's believed that the creature—or creatures—are coming from Dead Center.
Spectral Belch
This deep, thin canyon is home to hundreds of creatures that slither, slink, and sneak along its vertical walls. You can take a ride inside the bellies of the see-through frogs that climb up and down the walls. Or you can just use the stairs.
Houses that look like cocoons stick to the walls. Whole cities climb up the vertical spaces. Most people wear air masks day and night.
Be wary of the spectral belch for which the place is named. Getting caught in that ghost burp makes you feel spinny and dizzy and you might fall right off the edge.
Ghost burp: level 3; if you're caught in its gasses, the Goal for all physical actions is increased by 2.
The Dark Park
Not one bit of light is allowed to enter the Dark Park. Not sunlight. Not starlight. Not a Brave Light. Tiny shadows called inklings eat up every bit of light that tries to enter. They do this to safeguard the creatures who live in the Dark Park.
Most of those who live in the park are blind. They find their way by feel, echolocation, guide companions, vision machines, or a new sense. For many of them, the tiniest bit of light hurts their eyes and skin so badly that it burns them. For others, light turns them from cuties into meanies. The worst of those are the lunes, which turn crazy at the smallest bit of light. They attack everything around them. No one knows why.
Inkling: level 1. Lune: level 2.
Twin Peaks
These two mountains are twins. Not identical twins, but they look an awful lot alike. Enough to fool their teachers and sometimes even their friends. They wander around Under the Bed, going from place to place. They're looking for their third twin, another mountain. If you ask them, they will name the places they've looked. And all the places they want to look. And all the places they want to look again.
"If you see our third twin," they will whisper (but of course a mountain's whisper is very, very loud), "please tell him to come home! We miss him."
It's a good idea to say, "There, there, we'll find your third twin," before they can get too far in their story. Try not to let the twins cry. For when they do, their tears wash down their long faces and flood the land. Their tears will make your socks wet. They will make rivers. They will sweep you off your feet and carry you far, far away.
The Skeleton Keys
Offshore lie the Skeleton Keys. This little group of islands has never been explored by a known living person. You could be the first.
What lives there? What hides there? What mysteries do the Keys hold? Could you be a king? Or a captive? You can find out. If you are brave and kind and smart.
The Twelve True Treasures of Storia
The Twelve True Treasures of Storia are rare objects, creatures, and secrets. Each treasure holds part of Storia's goodness inside it. If all twelve of the True Treasures were to fall into evil's hands, it could mean the end of Storia!
Each treasure is protected in its own way. Some, like the Awful Waffle, are in known locations but are well protected against the forces of evil. Others, like the Lost Last Page, are well hidden or long forgotten in secret locations. A few, like the Hornless Unicorn, move around the land to keep out of the reach of evil.
Characters might discover the treasures as they go on adventures through Storia. They might also be asked to help save the treasures from bad guys who wish to harm, destroy, or steal them.
The Awful Waffle. The worst breakfast food in all the land! The Awful Waffle is in a special case in KO Corral, protected by Sheriff Lucy Lawful.
The Hornless Unicorn. The world's only unicorn without a horn. Golden in color and with a pure-white mane and tail, the hornless unicorn glows like the sun.
The Two-Way Radio Head. A radio that looks like a head with two faces. You can listen to two stations at once.
Grandma's Pet Mold. This blue-green mold is in a jar in someone's cupboard. No one remembers whose. Good thing it can live for two hundred years without food or water.
The Lost Last Page. The last page of every story ever written. It disappeared many, many years ago, perhaps into the belly of a dragon.
The Lesser of Two Weevils. This bug named Steve has an older, meaner brother named Peeve. Steve is only a little evil.
The Knowwhere Key. This oddly shaped key knows where you are at all times. It might open a door somewhere, but if it does, it's not telling.
The Unsinkable Ship. This ship is shaped like a sink. So it can't sink. Because it is a sink. Unless it's in a sink. Then it might sink.
The Crown Car. This tiny car is filled to the brim with crowns. Every time it stops, a bunch of crowns climb out. No matter how many crowns come out, the car is still always full of them.
The Good Blaster. Once the favorite weapon of a great pilot, the Good Blaster was stolen or lost long ago. It's a good thing to have at your side.
The Book of Fibs. The book holds every lie, untruth, and falsity ever told. Every time you open this book, a different fib falls out and tries to run away.
The Great S-Cape. This yellow cape shrinks to fit whoever puts it on. It's rumored to make you fly.
Part 4: Discover Creatures
Creature Basics
Level: The level is the Goal for every interaction with the creature, including fighting, defending, and talking.
Health: Health is typically the same as the creature's level. So if a creature is level 3, that is also how much health it has (unless stated otherwise).
Damage: A creature typically does 2 points of damage with its usual fight move. The fight moves are just suggestions. Feel free to get creative.
Skill: A special skill the creature has. This is often, but not always, related to fighting.
Quirk: A special quirk the creature has. These can be discovered by observation, interaction, or taking a trip to the Monster Museum.
Stuff: This is what the creature might have on them if they are killed or someone steals from them.
Many players will enjoy reading about the creatures in Storia. But remember that if they do, they could learn things that their characters don't know. It might be better to have them hold off on reading about a creature until they have already encountered it in the world and discovered its quirk.
Creatures A to Z
Aminal Crackers
They might smell like cinnamon and butter and look as cute as cookies, but don't try to bite their heads off. Aminal crackers come in many forms: lions, tigers, giraffes, bears, rhinos, or other wild creatures. They typically move in packs of two to four creatures.
- Level: 2
- Health: 2
- Damage: 2 (bite or claw)
- Skill: Spits cookie crumbs that do 2 points of damage to all characters In Range.
- Quirk: Aminal crackers can't swim. If you get them wet, they dissolve in a gooey mess.
- Stuff: 1 coin per player. Plus a handful of cookie crumbs. Edible. Probably.
Argle-Bargle
Who knows what argle-bargles are made of? Eyeballs and gelatin is what the description at the Monster Museum says. When they open their mouths, they sound like sucking the last of a milkshake through a straw. You can find them anywhere, but they seem to really like Snow's Cones.
- Level: 3
- Health: 3
- Damage: 2 (melee bounce or body bump)
- Skill: Licks you with its spotted tongue and gives you blue spots until the next time you do something that adds more Fun to your Fun pool.
- Quirk: If you suck the end of a milkshake through a straw, you can "talk" to an argle-bargle.
- Stuff: 1 coin per player. Plus eyeballs. Lots and lots of eyeballs.
Barbaric Yawp
Tall, and covered in purple and gold fur, the barbaric yawp has a giant mouth right in the middle of its belly. You can hear one coming from miles away. It laughs so loud that the ground shakes beneath its feet. When it whispers, trees fall down around it. And when it yells, it can send you sprawling back into the dirt.
- Level: 4
- Health: 8
- Damage: 2 (belly bite)
- Skill: Swallows you whole. (It's a Goal 3 Tough roll to escape.)
- Quirk: If you give your own battle cry, the barbaric yawp will ask you to teach it to him!
- Stuff: 1 or 2 coins and 1 Treat per player, plus whatever (or whoever) it ate last.
Buglar
These thieving insects can be found anywhere in Storia. They always work in pairs: one buglar gets your attention while the other steals your stuff. They might look like ladybugs, beetles, or butterflies, but they never look like spiders.
- Level: 2
- Health: 2
- Damage: 2 (wing hit or body bump)
- Skill: Steals one of your items and 1 coin (if you have it).
- Quirk: If you freely give a buglar something of yours before it tries to steal from you, you confuse it and it hugs you instead of stealing from you.
- Stuff: 2 coins and 1 Treat per player, plus anything it stole from the players.
Dinomatron
Half dinosaur and half robot, this giant beast has two tails and a mouth full of sharp teeth. When it roars, you can hear it over even the loudest music. It's always hungry.
- Level: 4
- Health: 8
- Damage: 2 (bite or claw)
- Skill: Roars so loud it knocks two characters In Range to the ground for one round.
- Quirk: The dinomatron really likes other dinosaurs. If characters pull their arms into their sleeves so only their hands stick out and go Rawr!, the dinomatron will think they are friends and won't attack them for one round.
- Stuff: 2 coins per player.
Fearsum
The fearsum is a giant, scary creature. It's purple-black and has many eyes and legs. Its striped tongue lashes and smashes!
- Level: 5
- Health: 10
- Damage: 3 (tongue whip)
- Skill: Wraps you up in its tongue and holds you there. You must make a Goal 5 defend roll to escape.
- Quirk: It's afraid of math and will run away if you start doing math problems near it.
- Stuff: 3 coins per player. Plus, you can wear its long striped tongue as a scarf.
There are rumors that an even larger, scarier type of fearsum exists, called an impossum. But no one has ever seen one.
Ghost
There are many kinds of ghosts. Some are mean, some are clumsy, some are funny, and some are shy. Upon meeting a ghost, you will know right away which kind it is. Ghosts can look like people, blobs, or creatures.
- Level: 3
- Health: 3
- Damage: 2 (shoots ghost goo or uses a weapon)
- Skill: Scares one living creature, causing them to run and hide for one round.
- Quirk: If a ghost sees itself in a mirror, a still pond, or another reflective surface, it gets scared and hides behind the nearest person.
- Stuff: Nothing but ghost goo. Ghosts don't have pockets!
Jinx
Jinxes come in two colors: pink and more pink. They have three eyeballs and a pair of tiny horns at the top of their heads. They chatter almost constantly, but mostly say nonsense.
- Level: 3
- Health: 6
- Damage: 2 (horns or claws)
- Skill: Can attack two characters at the same time, doing 2 points of damage to both.
- Quirk: Loves jinxes. If everyone in the group says the same word at the same time, the jinx will do a happy dance.
- Stuff: 1 coin per player.
Killjoy
These orange and black robots hate fun. They have little detectors that tell them when people are playing games, laughing, or telling jokes. When they find someone having fun, they steal their fun away. They are always alone.
- Level: 4
- Health: 8
- Damage: 3 (whirring fists)
- Skill: Sucks the joy, excitement, and fun right out of you. You can't use your pools or skills in your next round.
- Quirk: Can't stand fun, jokes, or silly songs. If you do any of these things, it will stop what it's doing and cover its ears for one round.
- Stuff: A jar of stolen Fun (contains 1 Fun per player).
Ninja Zombie
Ninja zombies are the most irritating kind of zombie. They are strong. They are fast. And they're sneaky. Well, sneaky for a zombie, anyway. They mostly eat brains, but they aren't picky. They also like pizza with anchovies, 'Snot Soda, and brain-flavored candy. They often hunt in pairs.
- Level: 4
- Health: 4
- Damage: 3 (throwing star or knife)
- Skill: Because they're dead, they are hard to hurt. Your weapons do 1 less point of damage than normal.
- Quirk: If you hit them with their own weapons, it hurts them even more. Any time you hit them with one of their throwing stars or knives, you do 3 points of damage.
- Stuff: 2 coins and 1 Treat per player.
Saw-toothed Witch
Birdlike witches with large, saw-toothed beaks, these creatures are known for kidnapping other creatures. Sometimes they do it for the money. Other times they do it to learn the location of a secret treasure or special item. They often work in groups of two or three.
- Level: 3
- Health: 3
- Damage: 2 (beak bite or melee weapon)
- Skill: Can use retractable tongue to steal a player's weapon if it's Within Reach.
- Quirk: Saw-toothed witches are afraid of bee swarms. If everyone in the group buzzes and moves around like bees, the witches will run away for one round.
- Stuff: 1 coin per player. Sometimes a treasure map or other bit of secret information.
Skulldugger
This giant purple creature smells like grape bubble gum. It has big feet and a big mouth, and it runs fast. Very fast. When it's about to attack, its eyes turn bright purple.
- Level: 4
- Health: 8
- Damage: 2 (bite)
- Skill: He blows his bubble gum and pops it, doing 2 points of damage to all characters Within Reach.
- Quirk: If you make him laugh while he's blowing a bubble, it will pop all over his face and he won't be able to see.
- Stuff: Five pieces of bubble gum. Only one of them has already been chewed.
Slugabed
Slugabeds are the laziest creatures you've ever seen. They like nothing more than to make you lazy and sleepy, just like them. Slugabeds have little eye-shaped creatures called blinkens that live on their skin and constantly sing lullabies.
- Level: 2
- Health: 4
- Damage: 2 (the blinkens sing a dirge)
- Skill: A slugabed's lullaby makes those In Range want to lie down and take a nap for one round.
- Quirk: If you tell it about the last dream you had, it will fall asleep for one round.
- Stuff: A fluffy pillow and a sleep mask.
Vex Knight
The epitome of evil, Vex Knights have only one purpose: to destroy Storia and everyone in it. They wear mirrored armor, which makes them hard to see, and wield shadow weapons. They are dangerous, evil, and mean.
- Level: 6
- Health: 12
- Damage: 4 (shadowsword or crossbow)
- Skill: They're very fast so they always go first in a fight. They take their action before the players do.
- Quirk: The only thing that Vex Knights are afraid of is goodness. If two or more players choose to Be Awesome near a Vex Knight, interacting with it becomes a Goal 4 (instead of Goal 6).
- Stuff: 5 coins per player.
Weather Creatures
There are many kinds of weather creatures. Gloom bunnies. Unistorms. Rain deer. Ice mice. And more.
- Level: 4
- Health: 4
- Damage: 2 (hail, lightning, snowfall, and so on)
- Skill: They do funny things to the weather. Gloom bunnies bring clouds and dark skies, making it hard to see. Unistorms fill the sky with lightning and thunder. Rain deer make it rain and hail. Ice mice cause blizzards and avalanches.
- Quirk: Weather creatures flee if you make a sun out of something and flash it at them.
- Stuff: Weather in a bottle.
Filling In Your Character Sheet
For all sheets (Triangle, Square, and Circle):
- Fill in your character's name
- Fill in your Noun
- Add your Tough, Fast, Smart, and Awesome points
- Add your Fun points
- Add your stuff
- Add any coins you have
- Check Armor or Hustle
- Write down your Knack
- Fill in your companion's name
- Fill in your companion's type
- Draw your character and companion!
If you have a Square or Circle sheet:
- Fill in your Adjective
- Add any additional points to your pools from your Adjective
- Add your companion's Treats
- Fill in your companion's starting cypher
If you have a Circle sheet:
- Fill in your Verb
- Write down your Talent
General Reminders
- You can use tokens to keep track of points or write the numbers in.
- You can use the character and companion decks rather than draw them in.
- You can use the cypher deck instead of writing cyphers in.