Yesterday was the last day before what we call "krokusvakantie" or "crocus vacation" also known as Carnaval Vacation. Carnaval being the Catholic dress-up feast before the start of Lent, also known as Mardi Gras, but not the Louisiana version of it. That's not to say that for some adults it's not also a bacchanal, but it's mostly a party where kids dress up and have a fun day. There's often parades etc.
But yeah. The kids were not in the mood for lessons, which I had anticipated. So, we played a roleplaying game. I only got to it with one group, which was a group of 9 year olds. I chose to run Keep on the Borderlands with RISUS, but have it more geared towards young kids. I know one of the kids in that class is easily upset by violence in stories etc.
I started the game with narrating that the kids went to school, all ready for Carnaval, wearing their outfits. But when they entered the school, they were suddenly in a castle. Their costume were also no costumes anymore. So who were they? We had a Pirate, Minecraft Steve, Angel and Respectful Army General. Taking a page out of some FATE quick start game rules, this just became their higher RISUS cliche, at 4 dice. They met a bearded jester ("Teacher! That's you!") who explained them that they were in a world of adventure and they could go where they want. He gave them options, and they chose the caves.
They did not meet anything on their way to the caves, and in the caves they wanted to explore their surroundings first to decide which cave they went into. The pirate was like "I for sure have a spyglass whit which to look", which I found awesome, the angel flew up and looked around from in the air, before giving up on the game and just keep coloring. This showed them the teamwork rules from RISUS, which turned out to work so well, that they kept trying to do things together afterward. Almost alway someone would roll a 6 to add to the result for the leader.
Anyway, I explained some of the creatures they saw, they decided to go for the giant. As I asked what they wanted to do, the Pirate asked if he had an atomic bomb. I asked him why he would have it. He explained he was basically not only a Pirate, but also an Explosion Loving Inventor. This then became his second cliche, at a value of 3. I then decided that an atomic bomb would be very hard, and set the target number to casually having an atomic bomb with you at 20. Since that would not be possible, he didn't get it, but I gave him a classic, big cartoon pirate bomb. Like that black orb with a fuse coming from it. "Aw, that's lame", he said, with a smile.
The others also wanted to see if they had some artillery. Minecraft Steve installed a mod (this kid, for real) which made it possible to craft hand grenades. And he succeeded. He had a hand grenade. The Army General also rolled to have a hand grenade and for sure had one. They all chucked their artillery n the cave, surprising the Giant (5) and with their teamwork beat him. I didn't want to extend this fight, it was basically an ambush, and it succeeded, so they won. The giant stumbled out, all covered in soot, and fell down, K.O. (Home-Alone rules of violence).
I asked what they wanted to do. Did they want to see what the giant had on him or did they want to see what was in his cave. They decided they wanted to go into the cave and see if there was something to eat. (I dunno why, but I guess they were hungry). I decided that yes, there was something to eat. But no, giants do not eat the same as humans. Inside they found, in a cave, a classmate, in their outfit, ready to be turned into a pie or something. They went about trying to open the cage and they also found a treasure chest. Then the bell was about to go as they decided to keep looking for treasure, and I narrated the end.
"... and then you wake up. It was all a dream, and today is the last day of school, before carnaval vacation. You're exited to come to school, all dressed up."
All in all, a great success.
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