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Written by Zak Arntson
Illustrated by Jon Morris |
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Welcome to Superpets!
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| Welcome to the Animal Super Hero roleplaying game. No, these aren't Ninja Turtles or furry heroes. Superpets are great animals like Wonderdog, Gleek and Krypto. These are Regular animals with amazing super powers! | |
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Stuff You Need
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You will need: Paper, pencil, bunches of dice (all having the same sides). Each player needs
ONE die of a unique color (but the same sides as the others). This is called the Master Die.
Superpets also requires a bag of doggie treats, called Stinky Treats during play. You will be eating these, so you may substitute something else that tastes a little off. Try garlic-stuffed olives or plain rye crackers. Gamemasters should take note that there are no rules covering Superpet vs. Non-Superpet rolls. If something like this ever comes up, as Gamemaster, you simply make up a number of dice to roll (don't forget to include the Master Die). Roll half the Player's dice for an easy task, equal the Player's dice for a moderately difficult job, and one-and-a-half times the Player's dice for something super tough. This game can be played with or without a Gamemaster. If no Gamemaster is present, the Players should vote on how best to resolve disputes. |
Torto
Telltale: Super Cape Tricks: Fly 2 Problems: Really Really Really Slow 2 |
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Adopting a Superpet
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This part's pretty darn easy. Pick an Animal and Name for your Superpet.
Every Superpet also has a Telltale, which is a feature that readily identifies it as Super.
This can be anything from a costume, to a skin color, to weirdly visible magnetic rays.
Now you pick Tricks and Problems. A Trick is any superpower, like turning into a gorilla (if you're already a chimp), flying or an incredibly sensitive nose. Problems include any weakness that could be taken advantage of, such as an addiction to bananas, severe aluminum allergies or an overprotective Superhero owner. Every Superpet is required to have one Trick and oneProblem at level 1. In addition, you can improve a Trick by one level or gain a new Trick as long as you increase a Problem by one level or gain a new Problem. New Tricks and Problems begin at level 1. To keep you from going overboard, I suggest you never give your Superpet more than five levels in any one Trick or Problem, and to choose no more than three of each. |
Belfry, Super Giraffe
Telltale: Goggles Tricks: Supervision (x-ray, heat, you name it!) 2 Problems: Insatiably Snoopy 1, Nearsighted Without Goggles 1 |
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Stinky Treat Dish
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Everyone begins with an empty Dish of Stinky Treats. This is more fun with a physical dish,
but you could just draw a big circle on a piece of paper. Any Stinky Treats you earn will be placed
in this Dish.
Remember that you can never be brought down to less than zero Stinky Treats. An empty Dish cannot get any more so. |
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Conflicts & Rolling the Dice
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When Superpets come into conflict, dice are rolled to discover the result.
Superpets places the rolling at the beginning of a conflict. This allows for an incredible
amount of improvisation afterwards.
Anyone involved in a potential conflict states their Goal only, which in no way is carried out in the game world.
If nobody opposes anybody's Goal, then everyone gets to roleplay without rolling. Otherwise, you'd better
grab some dice:
Your Master Die - You always get this with every roll you make. Your Trick Dice - For every level of a Trick that applies your Goal, you get one die. Your Problem Dice - You lose a die for each level of a Problem that currently hinders your Superpet. Your Stinky Treat Dice - Stinky Treats can add or remove dice from your grasp, as explained below. Remember that your Master Die can never be removed, even if you Problems far outweigh your Tricks. Stinky Treat Dice affect rolls in the following ways: Filling Your Dish - For every Stinky Treat you add to your Dish, you get one more die for your current roll. The Other Guy's Dish - Look at the Dish of every Player opposing your Goal. For every Stinky Treat in their Dish, you add a die to your roll. Eating Your Treats - For every Stinky Treat in your Dish that you eat, you can remove one die from your roll. Done getting your dice? Now roll 'em! |
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Conflicts & Reading the Dice
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Take the highest value you rolled and compare it with the other rolls.
Whoever rolls highest succeeds at her Goal. But wait! Don't narrate any outcomes just yet!
Everyone now compares their Master Die. Whoever rolled highest on her Master Die is now the Master of the situation. As Master, you narrate events up to and including the completion of the successful Goals. You must eventually narrate the Goal, even if your own Superpet failed. Note that this doesn't prevent you from narrating an almost-failure that turns into a success for dramatic effect. Or providing a loaded success, where the Goal could leads to possible future trouble. As long as the successful Player's Goal is reached at the end of the narration things are fine. To keep the Master from rambling, there is a five minute time limit on a single narration. Voice-Over Option If your group decides that the Master's narration controls too much, whenever a Superpet is queued to speak, the Player of that Superpet says her lines. The Master then has to accomodate the situation to the dialogue. This allows Players to throw wrenches, play nice and all things in between. |
Atmoic Snail, Super Mollusk
Telltale: Atomic Tattoo Tricks: Atomic Sonar 1 Problems: Atomic Radioactivity 1 |
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Improving Your Superpets
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| Improvement is normally reserved for human superheroes, who do things like move plots and make sense. It is possible, however unlikely, that you may grant your Superpet new Tricks. Given certain conditions or events throughout the game (like exposure to gamma rays), a Superpet may gain new powers. Use the same methods from Superpet Creation to increase/add Tricks and Problems (i.e., for every level of Trick or new Trick, you must gain a level of Problem or a new Problem). | |
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Pet Death!?
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| A Superpet cannot die unless his own Player wishes it. No other Player (or the GM, if a GM is present) can kill another Player's Superpet. This is an ASPCA mandate, the ASPCA being run by the most superpowered of pets, who insure death by natural causes for all Superpets across the universe (especially in film). This does not prevent injury, emotional stress, or all other sorts of non-lethal trouble. | |
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Afterword
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Acknowledgements
Gone & Forgotten - Jon Morris' wonderful tribute to terrible comics. Sorcerer - Ron Edwards' amazing game, from which I ripped off the Telltale in name only. I am indebted to his introducing me to concepts like Currency. Check out this game. The Forge - Indie roleplaying at its very best. Superpets picked up explicit Fortune in the Middle from discussions at the Forge. Mike Holmes - Pointing out that Superpets uses Fortune in the Middle, not Fortune in the Beginning. He also asked me about the Premise, which led to me actually analyzing this game. Shame on you, Mike! Copyright Notice The written content in this document is Copyright © 2001, by Zak Arntson. Permission to duplicate writtenfor personal use and captions for review purposes is granted. You must receive explicit permission from the author (email: zak@mimir.net) to use this game and any portion therein for public use, such as publication or convention play. All Superpet artwork (save the title image) is Copyright © 2001, by Jon Morris. Any questions about using his artwork should be made to jon@ape-law.com. |
Daffodil, Super Monkey
Telltale: Yellow Dress and Accessories Tricks: Laser-Shooting Eyes 1, Amazing Flying Power 1 Problems: Potassium Addiction 2 |
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