TEXT: An Introductory Role-Playing Experience
  
  An Introductory Role-Playing Experience
  Stage One of The Starter System™
  
  Credits
  written and conceived by: Allyson Brooks
  edited by: Brett Brooks
  cover art by: Brian Laframboise
  interior art by: Peter Delgado, Marcio Fiorito,  
  and Brian Laframboise
  design and layout by: Allyson Brooks, Brett Brooks
  playtesters: Scott Knuchel, Mike Morrey, Bobby Pollite
  the author would like to thank:
  Mom, Dad, Beth, Schroeder, Therrel, Treva, JR, & Jean (my family!);
  Every animal that has ever accepted food from me; 
  but most of all, my best friend ever and the coolest guy 
  I’ve ever known—Brett. I love you very much.
  PLEASE, do not go outside and solve mysteries on your own! This is a game, and if
  you play it as a game, then you will have fun. Real mysteries are solved by the
  police. If you want to be a
  police officer when you’re
  older, that’s great! But
  until then, just practice
  safe at home, okay?
  The mention of or
  reference to any company
  or product in these pages
  is not a challenge to the
  trademark or copyright
  concerned.
  Any similarity between
  persons living or dead is
  coincidental.
  Meddling Kids, Meddling
  Games, Cap’n Bingo, 
  and The Starter System 
  are all ™ and © 2004
  Pandahead Productions
  
  Table of Contents   3
  Introduction: 
  Let’s Pretend! - page 5
  Chapter One: 
  Character Creation - page 10
  Chapter Two: 
  The GM’s Guide - page 18
  Chapter Three: 
  The Rules- page 32
  Chapter Four: 
  The Dragon’s Eye! - page 50
  Epilogue: 
  Does it End? - page 64
  Appendices: 
  Extra Stuff! - page 66
  Table of Contents
  
  4
  Introduction
  
  Introduction
  Let’s Pretend
  A Quick ‘Toon History
  Once upon a time, on Friday, October 28, 1892, Emile Reynaud
  showed an audience at the Musée Grévin in Paris, France a new
  invention. He took a series of hand-drawn characters on a strip of
  film and ran it through a machine he called the Praxinoscope.
  Emile’s drawings came to life on a big screen, and the audience
  laughed and clapped. The three films, “A Good Beer,” “Poor
  Pierrot,” and “Clowns and Dogs” were the talk of Paris, and they
  showed at the Musée for the next eight years to over 500,000
  people. Everyone loved the new moving “cartoons.” However,
  Emile grew tired of his films, and went on to do more important,
  more serious and more “grown-up things” with his Praxinoscope.
  But, thank goodness, not everyone at that time made the decision
  to “grow up,” like Mr. Reynaud.
  Jump forward to 1962, a time when our parents (and maybe our
  grandparents) were watching cartoons on television. They only had
  three channels to choose from: ABC, NBC and CBS. That year, the
  big three decided to give the kids of America a cool gift—Saturday
  morning cartoons! Many of those shows featured talking animals
  and superheroes—pretty fantastic, really imaginative, but not too
  easy to relate to the average kid’s life. About seven years later, a
  big (but not too grown-up) executive at CBS, Fred Silverman, had
  a new idea: why not show the kids themselves doing fun things in
  cartoons, like going on adventures and solving mysteries with a
  crazy, cartoon companion? A new kind of cartoon was born, and
  soon afterward, a lot of animation studios were making cartoons
  about kids like us having wild adventures, but still showing the
  adults that we’re just as smart as they are. Maybe even smarter.
  What’s an RPG?
  Ever play Let’s Pretend? You know the game: you say to your
  friends, “Hey, let’s pretend we’re a bunch of super-ninjas who can
  Let’s Pretend!   5
  
  summon a dragon to fight off the evil forces of the universe so we
  can save the world.” You may have even played Let’s Pretend at
  school—the teacher may say, “Okay, let’s pretend we lived back in
  ancient times.” Actors do it on stage, in movies, and on television.
  It’s the world’s easiest game to play: you decide who’s going to be
  which character, what you’re going to do, how you’ll do it, and
  then just act it out. Simply put: you tell a story.
  Now, let’s take it a step up. A Role-Playing Game (or RPG, for
  short) is just a slightly more advanced version of Let’s Pretend. It
  has guidelines, it has a setting, it has statistics, and it even has its
  own vocabulary. At first, all these things may seem real restrictive—
  why so many rules just to tell a story? Actually, the guidelines take
  care of a lot of little details and allow you more freedom to
  develop the character you play. Rules are a part of any game, even
  Let’s Pretend!
  You may already be familiar with one type of RPG: computer. They
  differ greatly from the type in this book, which is called a pen-and-
  paper RPG. Both allow you to pretend to be a character in a story,
  but, that’s where the similarity ends. Computer RPG’s, while
  action-filled and cool-
  looking, are totally
  restrictive. You can
  only go as far as the
  game’s software will
  allow. Although pen-
  and-paper RPGs
  move a little slower
  and get a little more
  involved, you can
  make your character
  do much more, like
  learn to play the
  tuba, or suddenly
  develop a fear of
  green olives. Pen-
  and-paper RPGs also
  6
  Introduction
  
  allow for a really cool
  excuse to hang out
  with your friends (or
  your family, if they
  want to play, too)
  without waiting for 
  a turn to use 
  the controls.
  There is one more
  kind of RPG—it’s
  called Live Action
  Role Playing, or LARP
  (funny word, ain’t
  it?). LARPs allow the
  players to physically
  act out the story.
  People who LARP
  dress up in costumes as their character, often using fake items, or
  “props,” to make the acting seem more realistic. Sometimes they
  may go to a park or some other location (with permission, of
  course) to give the feeling of really “being there.” LARPs also have
  their own set of rules and guidelines, such as no real hitting or
  hurting anyone. LARPing isn’t too different from being in the
  school play; the difference is that, in a LARP, there’s no script or
  audience. They just make it up as they go along, and have a lot of
  fun doing it!
  How Does Meddling Kids Fit In?
  Meddling Kids is a pen-and-paper RPG. You won’t need a
  computer or a lot of collectable cards or a fancy costume to play.
  As a matter of fact, the things you need to play this game may
  already be in your own home—a pencil or pen, paper, some six-
  sided dice, an imagination, and some friends or family. And this
  book. That’s it.
  Let’s Pretend!   7
  
  Like all RPGs, Meddling Kids has its own world, its own story
  setting. Some RPGs are set in a fantasy world full of dragons and
  wizards; some are dark and scary, full of vampires and werewolves.
  Your brother, sister, friends, or even your parents may have played
  some of those RPGs. The world of Meddling Kids isn’t as scary or
  weird as other RPGs—it’s just the world outside your door. The way
  things are today are the way things are in “Meddling Kids.” In case
  you haven’t already guessed,  the world of Meddling Kids is about
  a group of teenagers and their special friend who get together to
  solve mysteries and check out weird happenings that are going 
  on around them—just like some of your favorite Saturday 
  morning cartoons!
  Just like any game, an RPG has rules, and Meddling Kids is no
  exception. Don’t freak out; the rules in this book are very helpful
  and not very difficult to figure out. They also keep the game from
  getting boring. Really. Without the rules, everyone would be a
  super-strong super-brain. Boring!! Just like in real life, our limitations
  along with our strengths make us cool and unique people. Getting
  the characters to work together, using their strengths to solve the
  mystery, is what makes the game fun to play. Besides, the rules
  aren’t very strict at all. It’s okay to bend a rule or two, as long as
  everybody playing is okay with bending the rule. You’ll see as you
  start playing yourself!
  Another thing that Meddling Kids has (just like all other RPGs) is a
  Game Master, or GM for short. This is the person who runs the
  game, kind of like a referee in football or the umpire in baseball.
  Often, the GM has played other RPGs, or has already played
  “Meddling Kids.” If you’ve never played an RPG yourself, you may
  want to let a more experienced person (like your parents or an
  older brother or sister) take this job. The GM is responsible for
  knowing the rules of the game and making sure that everyone
  follows them. A GM is never bossy or too strict about the rules,
  either; he or she must use good and fair judgment at all times. But,
  the GM’s job isn’t always so serious. The GM also creates the
  framework of the story—this includes the setting, the people that
  8
  Introduction
  
  the player’s characters will encounter (also called Non-Player
  Characters, or NPCs), and a loose, unfinished storyline called the
  plot. To add to the fun, the GM has a special job in “Meddling
  Kids;” he or she will play a special character called a Wild Card.
  But, we’ll talk about that later on in the GM’s section of this book.
  And, as soon as you understand playing the game, you’ll get the
  chance to be a GM, too!
  So, what do you think? Are you ready to play? Then, let’s 
  get started!
  Let’s Pretend!   9
  
  10
  Chapter One
  
  Character Creation   11
  Chapter One
  Character Creation
  Who Do You Want To Be?
  Welcome to the first step in playing Meddling Kids—Character
  Creation. For many people who have played RPGs for a long time,
  making up a new character to play is half the fun.  To make things
  easier to understand, we’ll build a sample character alongside 
  each instruction.
  Creating the Background
  The biggest (and most fun) part of any RPG is deciding who you
  will be. You have many things to think about when making up
  your character. What does your character look like? What does he
  or she wear? Is your character from the town where the story takes
  place, or is your character from another town (or maybe another
  country)? How does your character act most of the time: smart,
  serious, funny, cool, crazy, absent-minded? What does he or she do
  best? What does he or she not do so well? Any hobbies or
  interests? Does he or she have any secrets? What’s their family like?
  What does he or she want to be when they grow up? All these
  things (and more!) make up your character’s history, or
  background, to use the RPG word.
  Some people will play a character that is similar to themselves; this
  can be the easiest character to play, especially if you’ve never
  played an RPG before. But, a truly creative player will stretch their
  imagination and think of a character that is quite different from
  who they (the player) actually are. For instance, are you the person
  at school who is smart, always the first to raise your hand to answer
  a question, or maybe the person who helps everybody with
  homework? Then, perhaps you could try to be someone who is
  strong and athletic, like the guy who always saves the weaker kids
  from the bully, or the girl on the soccer team who’s fast enough to
  always make the winning goal. Maybe you’re the person at school
  
  whom everyone else tends to overlook, who’s shy and kind of hard
  to notice. You could try playing a popular person, like the class
  president, or the gal who knows everything about fashion and boys.
  Playing your opposite can be really interesting; sometimes you find
  out that the people who seem the least like you can actually have a
  whole lot in common with you.
  A Very Special Note About Playing Your Opposite: It is totally cool to play a
  character that is not the same gender as you. In other words, if you’re a girl, it
  is okay to play a guy, and if you’re a guy, it’s okay to play a girl. No big deal;
  this is just a game. It takes a really clever and imaginative player to give this a
  try. And, it can be really cool to see what the other gender goes through in
  everyday life; you gain a real appreciation for what’s different and what’s the
  same. Okay, we all know that some kids (and some grown-ups, too) might give
  you a hard time about this. Whatever! This is your character, not theirs. These
  kinds of people really aren’t the people you’d want to play with anyway—they
  obviously can’t hack role-playing games and maybe should go play another
  kind of game. Be true to yourself, and to your character, too. That’s the real
  idea behind RPGs!
  And, if you just want to play someone that’s your same gender, that’s cool,
  too. No big deal; it’s just a game.
  Once you figure out your character’s background, write it down in
  a paragraph or two. It doesn’t have to be a big story; just some
  notes for you and the GM. Here’s the background for a sample
  character, a guy named Weldon “Clutch” Sellers:
  Weldon Sellers, known to everyone as “Clutch,” is a big, burly guy
  with blond hair and blue eyes. When he was a baby, he’d “clutch”
  his teddy bear real tight and not let go of it. He is from Port Juliet
  and is a sophmore at Patrick Henry High School. He plays nose
  tackle for the football team. His mom is a stay-at-home mom, and
  his dad owns and operates a used car lot (his dad used to play
  football in college, too). Clutch isn’t always too book-smart, but he
  has a big heart and very good instincts about people. He is a loyal
  friend; his best friend is Andrea, who helps him out with his
  homework. He has a secret crush on Andrea, but has never told
  12
  Chapter One
  
  anyone. Clutch also likes to go camping, and is a member of the
  Nature Scouts. He hopes one day to play pro football.
  You don’t have to go into a lot of detail about your character; after
  all, your character is supposed to grow as you play. Your character
  will experience new things in each game and, as a result, these
  things will reflect in his or her personality over time. Just like 
  real life.
  Archetype
  Ever notice that some people seem to share the same traits?
  Almost everyone who does sports seems physically fit. Almost
  everyone who reads a lot seems smart. Almost everyone who is
  outgoing has a lot of friends. And so on. In this game, these traits
  are gathered up in one character and called an archetype 
  (say “ar-ka-type”). 
  Here are the archetypes used in Meddling Kids:
  The Jock—the strong
  adventurer who’s got the
  muscle and the courage
  The Fluff—the
  attractive character that
  becomes the focus of all 
  love interests
  The Brain—the smart
  one in the group
  The Goof—the wacky
  character who always
  sees the humor in
  any situation
  The Temper—the
  emotionally driven
  character that can
  motivate others into
  action; sometimes a
  trickster or a rebel
  Character Creation   13
  
  The Sidekick—the dependable one who’s always there in a jam
  The Innocent—the optimist who always sees the best in everyone
  and everything
  Take a good look at your character, and figure out which archetype
  he or she is most like. For instance, our character, Clutch, is a very
  athletic football player. He fits best as a Jock.
  You may find that your character will fit in two or more archetypes.
  Sorry; you can only pick one archetype for your character. That’s
  the rules, and later on, you’ll see why it’s important to pick only one
  archetype. If you need help, ask the GM or maybe the other players
  for their opinion. The group may find it easiest if there is only one
  of each archetype in the Clique. The Clique is the name of the
  group of kids that are running around solving mysteries. You can
  call them a group, a team, or whatever you want in your game, but
  in this book, every time we talk about the group of characters, we
  call them a Clique. If you want more than one person playing the
  same archetype, ask the GM if it’s okay—it may work out. After 
  all, even though two characters may be Jocks, they can still be 
  different individuals.
  Stats
  So, how is it that two characters of the same archetype can still be
  two different individuals? Easy! That’s where stats come into play.
  Stats represent and measure certain aspects of each character: how
  smart you are, how strong you are, how fast you are and how
  tough you are. The four stats used in this game are:
  Strength—the physical strength of the character when
  lifting, carrying, throwing, or hitting things
  Moves—how quickly the character can run and dodge,
  and how coordinated he or she is
  14
  Chapter One
  
  Smarts—not just how much your character knows, but
  how well he or she can use it
  Health—the measure of how much of a beating your 
  character can take, as well as their immunity to disease
  and their level of energy
  You get to determine how much of each stat your character has,
  but there’s a catch: the numbers of creation points spent on all
  four stats cannot add up to more than 24, and each stat can be no
  higher than ten. In RPG terms, you have 24 creation points to
  spend, with a limit of ten per stat. A plain ordinary, everyday
  character would have six in each stat (6 + 6 + 6 + 6 = 24), but
  playing that kind of character would get very boring, very quickly.
  Mix your numbers to fit your character’s background and
  archetype. To see how this works, let’s do Clutch’s stats.
  Stats for Clutch
  Strength—9
  Moves—4
  Smarts—3
  Health—8
  9 + 4 + 3 + 8 = 24
  You can also tell a great deal about a character just by looking at
  the numbers on the stats. For instance, with Clutch, you can tell
  he’s practically built like a big, steadfast brick wall—his strength and
  his health are very high and his moves are low. If you need a
  character who can stop a charging bad guy and keep him from
  going anywhere, Clutch is your man. However, if you need a
  character to figure out where the bad guy’s hideout is, or to solve
  the Ancient Maze of the Egyptian Pharaoh, you may not want
  Clutch to help; his smarts stat is very low. Stats are a great tool to
  help with the strategy of your team; by working together and using
  everyone’s strengths, you can solve the mystery and save the day!
  Character Creation   15
  
  Abilities
  We all have something we do
  well. Some of us can juggle,
  ride a horse, draw pictures,
  cook a fancy meal, or eat a lot
  of ice cream without getting
  sick. Some of us may have a
  special area of knowledge, like
  American history, modern
  poetry, gardening, or the
  origin of every comic book
  superhero. Abilities are the
  special things that your
  character knows or can do. 
  Just as you do with the stats,
  you get to pick which abilities
  you’d like your character to
  have. On page 68 of this book
  is a complete list of all the
  abilities used in this game. Take
  time to look through them all,
  then decide which ones best
  suit your character based on
  his or her archetype and stats.
  Be sensible about this; for instance, our strong guy Clutch would
  definitely have the ability Immovable (once again, take a look at his
  high Strength and Health and his low Moves), but it would be
  unlikely that he’d have Bookworm, since his Smarts stat is very low.
  Again, there’s a catch—you can only spend 26 creation points on
  your abilities. You’ll find a complete list of all the abilities on page
  68. The cost of each ability is located next to its name. The costs
  vary according to how common or how powerful the ability is.
  Here’s the good news: remember your archetype? Each archetype
  gets one free ability! You don’t have to spend any of your points to
  get your archetype ability. 
  16
  Chapter One
  
  Here is a list of the one special free ability each archetype gets:
  Jock—Sporty
  Sidekick—Best Friend
  Brain—Bookworm
  Temper—Stir The Pot
  Goof—Clown
  Innocent—Strong Willed
  Fluff—Flirt 
  This is how the 26 points were spent on Clutch’s abilities:
  Sporty—0 (his free ability for being the Jock)
  Immovable—5
  Nosey—2
  Fearless—6
  Outdoorsman—4
  Intuition—8
  Bottomless Stomach—1
  Total Cost of abilities—26 (5+2+6+4+8+1=26)
  It’s okay for the characters in the Clique to have some of the same
  abilities. Each character will have the ability to a different degree
  because the ability is used in conjunction with a stat. But, there will
  be more on this later about using your stats and abilities in the
  “How To Play” section of this book.
  You may find that, after picking out your character’s abilities, you
  may have a point or two left over. Unfortunately, you cannot save
  leftover creation points for a later time. Creation points can only be
  used during the creation of the character. You need to use all of
  your points when building your character on abilities, or you lose
  those points.
  You’ve done it! You now have a completed Meddling Kids
  character! You can keep all of your character’s information on a
  plain sheet of paper, or you can download a special Character
  Sheet from the Meddling Kids website
  (www.meddlinggames.com). Remember to make sure it’s okay
  with your parents to go online.
  Character Creation   17
  
  18
  Chapter Two
  
  Chapter Two
  The Game Master’s Guide
  Building A Story
  Are you a leader? Are you the president of a club or the captain of
  the kickball team? Are you the one that everyone asks to read the
  rules of a new board game or video game? Are you the one
  everybody asks Where should we eat? or What movie should we go
  see? Or, maybe you’re just the one in the group who has a lot of
  cool ideas, says them out loud, and everybody seems to think that
  your ideas are pretty good.
  Then, maybe, you’d like to be a Game Master!
  The Game Master (or GM, for short) is the person who runs the
  game. He or she pulls from his imagination the world that all the
  Meddling Kids live in—the city or town, the people who live there,
  the things that happen—everything. The Game Master creates a
  living story, and weaves that tale around the players’ characters.
  The Game Master holds the power to make decisions about the
  fate of the characters, almost making him or her the King Of 
  The Universe!
  Yeah, right. Let’s get back down to earth, okay?
  In other words, since the Game Master is in charge, the Game
  Master is responsible for the game itself. You need to know the
  rules, your players, and their characters. You need to prepare your
  story, but you need to be flexible with the story, too. And you
  must always be true, fair, and balanced in all that you do as a GM.
  Sound tough? Maybe. But, you’re up for the challenge. And this
  section is here to help you. After all, this is just a game. What
  makes this game special is that you get to play as well—the GM
  plays the important role of the Wild Card. But, more on that later.
  Game Master’s Guide   19
  
  First, there are a number of things as leader that you must keep 
  in mind.
  Rules
  Of course, as a GM, it helps to know the rules. As a matter of fact,
  take a moment, right now, and go to Chapter 3, page 32, and
  read the rules. Don’t try to memorize them, just become familiar.
  Go ahead, read it now, and them come back to this spot. We’ll
  wait.
  Finished? Good. Now, here’s your Number One Rule for Being GM:
  Don’t stress over the rules. Many times, you won’t be able to
  remember a rule right off the top of your head; that’s okay, just
  look it up in your book. It’s a good idea to bookmark the rules
  section so that you don’t spend a lot of time searching. That can
  mess up the dynamic of the game and cause your players to get
  distracted while waiting for you to find out what to do. Remember:
  Meddling Kids is a cartoon game, and most cartoons only last 30
  minutes to an hour. Time is limited, so keep things going!
  Also, there is one unwritten rules for all GMs of all RPGs (this one’s
  a secret, so don’t tell!): Sometimes, there are no rules! Seriously!
  Sometimes, during play, you’ll find that the players will do
  something you don’t expect them to do, and the situation that
  arises doesn’t have any special rule written up to deal with it. As
  Game Master, you must use your best judgment. Take a guess.
  Think it out. The rules are not always hard and fast—on special
  occasions, you can bend them a little to meet a special need. 
  For instance, let’s say that your Jock character needs to jump a big
  ditch to rescue the Fluff from Bigfoot, but he doesn’t have an
  ability to help him jump. If he doesn’t make enough on his strait
  Moves roll to rescue the Fluff, then either character could get hurt
  by Bigfoot, and the game could end, not only too quickly, but on a
  real bummer as well. One way to take care of this is to make the
  difficulty for jumping the ditch much lower than you’d normally
  make it—that would make it very easy for the Jock to rescue the
  20
  Chapter Two
  
  Fluff, and the game can continue. This is a very special occasional
  rule-breaker method that has to be used sparingly, or else the rules
  themselves become useless. Again, use your best judgment. And,
  as an old GM saying goes, “Don’t let the rules get in the way of a
  good story.”
  Players and Characters
  As GM, you are King of Your Domain. But, as King, if you mistreat
  your subjects, no one will want to play in your domain, and you’ll
  be King of the Big, Fat Nothing. As leader, a GM is expected to be
  patient, responsive, flexible, and respectful towards the players and
  their respective characters. After all, games are supposed to be fun!
  No power trips allowed!
  A GM is a guider, not a pusher. You may have a wonderful story to
  tell, but remember that the players are telling some of the story,
  too. Guide them toward the haunted mansion you’ve made, but if
  they want to look for clues at the amusement park, let them do so
  for a little bit. Once they find that there’s no clues for them there,
  they’ll go to your mansion willingly without you having to 
  force them.
  Even though the GM runs the game, that doesn’t mean she is the
  center of attention. If your players are trying to role-play a
  situation, let them. Don’t interrupt. This will allow the characters to
  grow and develop—you can even award an extra point of
  experience at the end of the game if they play out the situation
  really well. You can even make reference to parts of the interaction
  in future games. The only exception to this might be if the
  monster or other bad guy overhears the characters and attacks. 
  Let the players have fun, but keep the story true, too.
  Good GMs treat players fairly. In your group, you may have your
  best friend playing. You must resist the temptation to give special
  treatment to your best friend. For instance, don’t let your best
  friend’s character always be the one to solve the mystery. This is a
  team effort, and everyone is involved in solving the mystery. Also,
  Game Master’s Guide   21
  
  22
  Chapter Two
  don’t feel that you have to always have to bend the rules just to be
  popular with your players. Treating everyone equally by sticking to
  the rules will earn you respect.
  Part of being fair is also not letting players take advantage of you.
  For instance, if a player is going to role-play his or her character to
  be foolish enough to arm-wrestle the giant gorilla in the zoo cage,
  he should get bonked on the head. It’s okay to warn the player
  that teasing the giant gorilla is dangerous, but if the player persists,
  then let him get bonked.
  Most of all, remember that the goal of a GM is to make sure the
  players have fun. Set realistic goals that the players (and
  characters) can achieve. Give them challenges to meet so that they
  feel a sense of accomplishment. If the players have goals they want
  their characters to achieve, then set aside a special game every so
  often to help them do exactly that. Remember that as a GM, you
  are a host, and any good host wants their guests to have so much
  fun that they’ll want to come back and play again!
  Story Preparation
  Now that you’re familiar with the rules, your players, and the
  characters they’ll play, you’ll need to compose a story to tell. This
  is the area where your creativity can really shine!
  Just like any story you’d write, there are many things to consider.
  One great way to start is to ask the Big Six Questions: Who, What,
  When, Where, Why, and How. Where shall the story take place—a
  city, a town, on the road? Where shall the action occur—a house, a
  hotel, a concert hall, an amusement park, a seaside dock, a
  museum, a shopping mall? Who (beside the player’s characters)
  will be involved—family, friends, well-known local citizens,
  celebrities, innocent bystanders? When is this story happening—on
  an average school day, the weekend, summertime, a holiday?
  What’s happening in the story—is the place rumored to be
  haunted, is a monster scaring people away, was something of value
  stolen? Why are these things really happening—are greedy
  developers trying to scare people away so they can buy the land, is
  
  the monster
  really a guy in a
  bad gorilla suit,
  is the item
  stolen really of
  great value, or
  is it the key to
  unlocking a
  greater
  mystery? And,
  the biggest
  question of all:
  How do I get
  the characters
  involved in 
  the story?
  GMs use many
  different
  sources to help
  compose their
  stories. Many
  will take an old book, TV show, movie, or whatever, use parts of it,
  and create a new, yet somewhat similar, story. For instance,
  perhaps you’ve read The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. You know that in
  one part of the book, Bilbo finds in the treasure horde of Smaug
  the dragon a magical ring that has special powers, and that
  another character, the greedy Gollum, wants the ring for himself.
  You can take this little snippet from this wonderful book, and make
  a story of your own. Perhaps one of the characters has an old
  family member that has passed away and left him or her an
  ordinary-looking trinket—say, an old silver ring. Perhaps another
  family member (say, someone who never was really close, or
  someone the character never really liked that much) approaches
  the character, trying to convince them that they want the ring, it
  really was meant for the relative anyway, or perhaps the relative
  tries to get the ring from the character by bullying or bribing. If
  the character looks carefully at the ring, they see a cryptic
  Game Master’s Guide   23
  
  inscription on the inside of the ring. The inscription leads to more
  clues, perhaps to some other more valuable items (land, money,
  etc.) that eventually the dead relative wanted the character to
  have, but the other greedy relative felt they deserved more. This is
  only one idea; there are many great books out there to pull ideas
  from. If you need help, ask your mom or dad, or your favorite
  teacher at school. They can always suggest cool books or movies
  to inspire you.
  Often, GMs will use real-life experiences to use as story ideas. Many
  famous story writers will tell you, “write what you know.” That
  means write stories about the things you have experienced in your
  own day-to-day life. The setting of the story could be a place you
  went to on vacation. The street your characters are walking down
  could be a street in your own hometown. The people they meet
  could be friends, family, or celebrities that you and your players
  know. This can be a great way to personalize an adventure, and
  really draw in your players.
  When you finally have your basic storyline put together, it’s time to
  spice it up with a few details. The big thing to do is carefully
  compose the non-player characters (or NPC, in game terms) that
  the player characters will meet. Normal, everyday people that the
  PCs encounter and human villains can be built just like other PCs.
  Just refer to the Character Creation section in Chapter 2. To build a
  monster, use the same rules for creation that you use for creating a
  Wild Card (page 26). In the Appendix, we’ll give you a few
  examples of some villains and monsters that you can use, either as-
  is, or you can build your own based on those guys. 
  If your story occurs in a real city, read up on the local history and its
  sites and events—you might even be able to use those tidbits to
  make your story better. Taking the time to learn a few real-world
  facts about some of your story elements can add a lot to the
  atmosphere. Is the story taking place at an Egyptian exhibit at the
  city’s museum? Reading about things like mummies, King
  Tutankhamen, the pyramids at Giza, or Egyptian mythology can give
  you great ideas that will add an awesome flavor to your game.
  24
  Chapter Two
  
  Keep in mind that you are not the only one writing your story. The
  players and their characters are helping to form it, too. Your story
  doesn’t need to be too detailed. It really should be more like an
  outline—just a loose plot and some key characters. A GM has to be
  flexible with the story. The players, just by playing the game, will
  add their own ideas and flavors to your story line. Don’t be upset if
  your players aren’t following your exact story; again, as the
  GM/host, it’s also your duty to make sure the players are having
  fun, too. When your players throw your story a curve, roll with it,
  and add it in. You’ll find it might make the story (and the game) 
  even better!
  One last very important note about preparation: a Meddling Kids
  GM’s most important tool (besides the Meddling Kids book itself)
  is… a notebook. Seriously. You’ll have a story, great ideas, notes,
  information, and all kinds of other stuff for your game, so you’re
  going to need a place to keep it. It doesn’t need to be fancy or
  expensive. Just a regular, spiral-bound composition book will do
  fine. If it has a couple of pockets for loose papers (like computer
  printouts and character sheets), that would be cool, too. You
  might even use it to take notes during the game—the players will
  do a lot of crazy stuff, and you’ll want to jot down these things to
  remember for future games. You may also have some secret stuff
  written down in your book that you’ll use to surprise your players
  with, so be careful that they don’t read it—after all, not knowing
  how a story ends will make you want to read it that much more!
  The Wild Card
  With most RPGs, the GM is pretty much a host and a referee. The
  GM will have a place for everyone to play, prep the game, and
  make sure that everyone follows the rules during the game. Many
  older, more seasoned GMs will tell you how boring that can be
  after doing just that for a long time. With Meddling Kids, that old-
  school tradition is thrown out the window—the GM not only gets
  to play, but she gets to play the coolest character of all: The 
  Wild Card!
  Game Master’s Guide   25
  
  You may have noticed in some of your favorite cartoons, there’s
  always a weird character that hangs around with the gang; a
  talking dune buggy, an electric mouse, an unfrozen, flying
  caveman, a talking shark, a genie, whatever. That character may
  act completely goofy, but he always seems to lead the gang to the
  right clues and keeps them on track. This is the Wild Card of
  Meddling Kids.
  Your Wild Card can be just about any creature you could imagine:
  a talkative boxing kangaroo, a flying toaster, a hip-hop space alien,
  a nervous but friendly ghost. Anything! It really depends on what
  would work best with the group of characters you have. 
  Just like your players, though, you have to build your Wild Card
  the same way they build their characters. The Wild Card has the
  same four stats that you can only spend 24 points on. Also, you
  only have 26 points to spend on the Wild Card’s abilities. But,
  because the Wild Card is not an average, ordinary teenager, a
  special list of Wild Card abilities are put together on pages 78 to
  26
  Chapter Two
  
  81 to choose from. You can give the Wild Card any of the abilities
  from the Player Character list, but there is a catch: you have to pay
  one point more above the listed cost for the ability. However, the
  Wild Card will get one extra point to add to the Stat roll. For
  instance, if you choose to buy the Character Ability Clown, you’ll
  have to pay six points instead of five for it. But, when you use this
  ability for the Wild Card, you get to add three (instead of two) to
  the roll. If the modifier adds an extra die (as in Actor), then you
  still add one extra point after you’ve rolled all the dice. As you can
  see, Wild Cards are a little different from regular characters, and
  this is reflected in the Abilities.
  The Wild Card does get one special trait that regular characters do
  not get: a Quirk. The Quirk is free, but the Wild Card is required to
  have one. A Quirk is any odd mannerism that the Wild Card has
  that can affect play. Some examples are always wanting to eat,
  only being able to speak its name, disappearing when frightened,
  or having a fear of green olives.
  Here is an example of our Wild Card, Cap’n Bingo:
  Character’s Name—Cap’n Bingo
  Archetype—Wild Card
  Stats—
  Strength-9
  Moves-5
  Smarts-5
  Health-5
  Quirk—
  He cannot resist bananas in any
  form (banana bread, banana splits,
  banana taffy, music by
  Bananarama, etc.)
  Game Master’s Guide   27
  
  Abilities—
  Ken
  Wild Whiz-(The Sea)
  Melee-(Sword fighting)
  Strong
  Hard-Headed
  Background Concept—
  Former lab chimp named Bingo who is now imbued with the spirit of a
  dead pirate captain (more specifically, a privateer for the budding US
  Navy of the mid-1700’s). Can’t remember his name as a pirate, so the
  kids gave him his new name. Often seems cranky towards the kids,
  but likes them very much—especially Andrea, who rescued him from
  the lab, and Clutch, who tries to protect her. Loves bananas, hates
  stuffy British seamen, and wants to own a parrot one day.
  You can write up your Wild Card in your GM’s notebook, or use
  the special Wild Card Character Sheet that can be downloaded
  from www.meddlinggames.com. Again, ask you parents for
  permission to go online first.
  The Wild Card also can be very useful for the GM. If you feel that
  the group (of players) is having a hard time trying to solve the
  mystery story you’ve set up, you can always have the Wild Card
  find a clue itself and show it to the Clique. Sometimes you may
  find that the group is getting off track (know in the RPG world as
  “going off on a tangent”); you can then have the Wild Card
  remind the Clique of what their original goal is, and have it make
  suggestions as to what they could do next. Don’t ever use your
  Wild Card to trick the players by finding false clues or making bad
  suggestions. That is truly bad sportsmanship, and you’ll quickly
  lose respect as a GM from your players. Again, this is a game
  meant to be fun for everyone.
  28
  Chapter Two
  
  Running The Game
  You’ve done your
  research, you’ve
  developed a flexible
  storyline, you’ve got
  people interested in
  playing, and you’ve even
  got an idea for a Wild
  Card. Now what do 
  you do?
  Simple! Get everyone
  together and play!
  It really is that simple.
  Meddling Kids (and any RPG, for that fact) can be played just
  about anywhere at just about anytime. At home during bad
  weather, in the car on a trip, camping, during a slumber party or
  sleepover—there’s really not any bad time or place to play. Some
  hardcore RPGers will even play using their email! (Special
  Pandahead Note to All: don’t play at school during class time—
  give your teachers some respect, and don’t get you and your
  friends in trouble!)
  If you want, you can take some time to get together with your
  players and have them build their own characters, making sure
  that all the characters can work together, and that your Wild Card
  will work with the characters. Or, if you like, you can have your
  players use the pre-made characters in the back of the book, and
  you can use Cap’n Bingo as your Wild Card. We also have for you a
  pre-made story (called an Adventure Module) in Chapter 4, page
  50, that use those characters. Many people will do this when
  trying out an RPG for the first time; it’s a great way to get the feel
  of the game, and can give players an idea of what kind of
  character they might create for themselves, as well as give you, the
  GM, an idea of what kind of story you could come up with for the
  next game.
  Game Master’s Guide   29
  
  A great way to learn how to run Meddling Kids (or any RPG) is to
  ask for help from the folks who run your local gaming store. These
  people are likely to be very seasoned players; they can give you
  great tips, and may even be happy to run a demonstration of
  Meddling Kids for you and your players.
  As far as games go, an RPG can be both very easy and very
  difficult. There are no hard and fast rules (as we’ve explained), and
  the play can be free-form and improvisational. For some players,
  this can be difficult if they are used to games where the play is
  structured. Encourage these people to stretch their imagination,
  and remind them of how they used to play “Let’s Pretend” when
  they were much younger. Other players will take to the way of
  playing an RPG very easily—these are the guys who are natural
  actors that love to ham it up and like to grab the attention. These
  players can be a challenge to keep them from overshadowing the
  more shy players. Instead of stifling their energy, encourage them
  to gently bring the more quiet players out of their shells. Players
  don’t necessarily get up in front of everyone and completely act
  out every word of dialog—most of the time, players just sit,
  relaxed, and speak out their dialog. Some simply give instructions
  to the GM as to what their character is doing. Here’s a “for
  instance” of some usual RPG play:
  GM: Okay, Todd, since you’re playing Clutch, what does Clutch
  do when he sees Andrea leave Danni’s Ice Cream Shop?”
  Todd: I ask Andrea if she saw the ad for the new exhibit at the
  museum for the Dragon’s Eye Diamond, and whether or not
  she’s going to go.
  GM: Lisa, since you’re playing Andrea, what does Andrea do
  when she see Clutch?
  Lisa: (acts like she eating ice cream) <sigh> Of course I’m
  going to the exhibit, Clutch, and you’re going, too! You know
  you have a report due in history class about it, and we need to
  do research. Besides, it might be fun! (hands Todd an invisible
  ice cream cone) Here’s your triple-scoop Fudge Licorice
  Supreme with gummy worms in a chocolate chip waffle cone.
  Blecch! (Lisa sticks out her tongue) 
  30
  Chapter Two
  
  Game Master’s Guide   31
  As you can see, each player will develop a style. Some will give
  instructions, some will actually speak out the dialog. Each way is
  okay, but encourage others to mix up their styles, just to keep play
  from getting too routine.
  Being a GM takes a bit of effort, but once you get the hang of it,
  your game play and story will flow easily. Just be flexible and have
  fun. And, after a while, don’t be afraid to let others take a stab at
  being a GM—they may even come to you for advice!
  
  32
  Chapter Three
  
  The Rules   33
  Chapter Three
  The Rules
  Let’s Play!
  Rules are a very important part of any game. They set guides to
  make things fair for all players, and also challenge your creativity to
  make you work within those guides. What makes the rules in an
  RPG cool is that they take care of a lot of little details so that you
  can spend time role-playing in a free-form fashion. Also, the rules
  help determine the outcome of any actions. If you’re playing
  Thrasher, the Goof, for example, then you can let him do a
  frontside mctwist on his snowboard, and the rules will determine
  whether he does it well, does it spectacularly, or flubs it so bad
  that he falls headfirst into the snow.
  The rules used for Meddling Kids are a special system called TSS©
  (short for The Starter System©). These rules are very easy
  compared to other games, since most people playing Meddling
  Kids may have never played an RPG before.
  Your equipment for the game should be easy to obtain: you’ll need
  your new character, written up (or use one of our pre-generated
  characters, which you can download from
  www.meddlinggames.com), a pencil with an eraser, and four six-
  sided dice. Oh, and your own Meddling Kids book. That’s it. Well,
  and maybe something to drink. And a snack. It’s up to you.
  Okay, here’s how it goes:
  Remember the numbers you put next to your stats when you built
  your character? Here’s how you actually use them. When you
  decide that your character will do something that the result or
  outcome isn’t obvious (unlike, say, blinking or breathing), you will
  use these numbers to determine that outcome. For instance, let’s
  say that Andrea the Brain is searching the kitchen of the haunted
  mansion to find a key to unlock the secret pantry. The GM will ask
  
  the player playing Andrea to “make your Smarts roll.” The player
  will then take the three six-sided dice (called d6’s, in RPG terms),
  roll them, and add up the numbers showing. Then, the player
  adds the number next to the Smarts stat on Andrea’s character
  sheet. The number the player gets must meet or exceed a pre-
  determined number (called the Target Number) set by the GM. 
  Sound complicated? Don’t worry; here’s a typical scene of how the
  above rule might be worked out between the GM and the Player:
  GM: Okay, all of you are in the haunted mansion. Andrea,
  what will you do first?
  Player: Andrea decides to look for clues by finding the key to
  the locked pantry in the kitchen.
  GM: Very good. Make your Smarts roll, and try to beat a
  Target Number of 20.
  Player: (Rolls dice) Okay, I got 13 on the dice, plus she has a
  10 in Smarts, so that gives my character a 23.
  GM: Wow! Great roll! Andrea not only finds the key, but she
  also finds the first clue inside the pantry…
  Sometimes, though, just like in real life, your character can also
  have bad luck, or just have a bad day. Here’s a scenario that could
  occur when your dice roll doesn’t work out well:
  GM: Okay, Thrasher, what are you going to do in the haunted
  mansion?
  Player: Thrasher will sneak around the back of the house to
  look for signs of the ghost.
  GM: Alright, for sneaking, make your Moves roll, and try to
  beat a Target Number of 18.
  Player: (Rolls dice) Oh, no! I only got three ones, which give me
  three plus his eight for Moves, so that’s only an 11!
  GM: Oooh, tough luck, Thrasher! Okay, this is what happens:
  in the dark of the foggy night, Thrasher carefully tiptoes
  around to the back of the house, only to slip and fall over a
  few empty garbage cans, making a terrible racket. Cap’n
  34
  Chapter Three
  
  Bingo yells from the porch, “Sorry, matey! Sounds like ye found
  one o’ me loose banana peels that didn’t make it to th’
  garbage! Arrgh!”
  Got it? The numbers you roll plus the number of your stat added
  together determine whether or not you succeed in what you’re
  trying to do. What happens as a result of your roll is determined by
  the GM and, sometimes, the players. It’s how you make the story!
  For GMs: Setting a Target Number
  This can be the biggest challenge for a GM—your sense of
  judgment really comes into play when you have to determine how
  easy or how hard a player’s task is. To help you along, we’ve come
  up with a chart to help you guess what Target Number to use. And
  yes, we said guess. You don’t have to be perfect in coming up with
  a Target Number. You just have to give it your best guess.
  Target Number Scale Chart
  4— This is the lowest number anyone could possibly roll. So, if a task is this easy,
  you may not want to make the player roll for the task. They might as well roll to
  remember to breathe or blink. Pretty boring way to play, don’t you think?
  5— Still an easy task, like chewing gum.
  6— Still easy, like pointing at something.
  7— Still really, really easy.
  8– A normal type of easy, like walking down the stars. Sometimes you might
  fall, but normally easy.
  9– Again, this one is normal easy, like writing your own name.
  10– Like swatting a baseball off a stand with your hand.
  11— At this number, there is about a 75% chance of the normal character succeeding.
  12— This is a number for a task that would be moderately easy for the
  character to perform. For instance, this is a good number if the Jock were to
  do something physical, or the Brain to do something mental. You’d still want
  the player to roll for the task, though, just in case.
  13— The only way this Target Number would be unlucky is if the player didn’t
  make the roll.
  The Rules   35
  
  14— We’re getting tougher, but this is not hard yet. Kind of like riding a bike.
  15— You can make this number most of the time, but not always. 
  16— This number would mean that the standard character has a slightly better
  than 50-50 chance of succeeding at the task.
  17— This is the mathematical middle of all the Target Numbers. Many GMs may
  want to use this as a way to pick a number. Anything below this number is
  easy; anything above is hard. 
  18— This number would mean that the standard character has a slightly less-
  than 50-50 chance of succeeding at the task.
  19— This might take a little bit of thought, like remembering what you had for
  dinner a week ago last night.
  20—This is like riding a bike with no hands. You can do it, but it can be tough.
  21— Now you’re trying rock climbing–for the first time. Small wall, but tough climb.
  22— This is like trying to catch the monster with nothing but a butterfly net.
  Not something that you can usually do.
  23— At this point, your character should be feeling challenged.
  24— Now you’re teaching someone how to ride a bike. It isn’t easy at all.
  25— You’re really hoping that luck is on your side at this point.
  26— At this point, there is only about a 25% chance of succeeding for the
  normal character.
  27— This is for a task that would be moderately difficult for a character; for
  instance, if the Innocent had to pretend to be mean street gangsta, or if the
  Fluff had to break down a door. If you feel the character is doing something
  that’s, well, out of character, then use a number close to this one.
  28— With this number, an above-average character is going to have to really
  try to succeed, but they can do it—if their luck holds out.
  29— This is like the Fluff trying to change a flat car tire in the pouring rain,
  while still keeping an eye out for the monster.
  30— This is like trying to catch the monster with a piece of string and some
  chewing gum. Unless you get really lucky, he’s gonna get away.
  31— Like making a trip to the North Pole. It’s not an easy thing to do, and you’ll
  probably need help.
  36
  Chapter Three
  
  The Rules   37
  32—No matter what, this is gonna be near impossible task, but it’s still worth a try.
  33— Even the best character is gonna have trouble here. It’s like trying to
  skateboard across the Grand Canyon.
  34—This is the highest possible roll any player could ever get. If you set the
  Target Number here, you’re saying that the task is nearly impossible, even if it
  is the character’s greatest area of expertise. The Brain would have to be a
  super-genius, The Jock would have to be able to move Mount Everest with one
  hand, and the Goof would have to be funnier than… than a screen door on a
  submarine. Well, you get the idea. Some things just can’t be done.
  Realize that these are just general suggestions; it is very possible for
  a Brain to know a lot about sports, or for a Jock to be very good at
  things like needlepoint (Rosy Grier, a famous football player, would
  do needlepoint for a
  hobby!). Know your
  player’s characters and be
  familiar with their
  weaknesses and
  strengths. Make a copy of
  the character sheets for
  your records, just to keep
  yourself familiar with
  them. The GM must
  adjust the Target Number
  to each character in each
  unique situation.
  But, the key here is not to
  stress—just give it your
  best guess!
  Now, how do the Abilities work? You’ll notice that in the
  description, the first phrase sounds like some weird, secret code.
  For instance, the ability “Flirt” says, “Hea + 2.” That phrase, in RPG
  terms, is called the Modifier. This means, if you choose to use this
  ability, you get two extra points added to your Health roll.
  Example: the player playing Roshandra the Fluff has to distract the
  
  guy who cleans the pool at the haunted mansion so he won’t see
  the rest of the gang sneaking in. Since she is dealing with someone
  who is not her gender, she can use this Ability. The player rolls the
  three dice, adds the number from Roshandra’s Health stat, plus
  two extra points for the Flirt Ability. 
  You may also notice a slight difference in the modifiers of other
  abilities. The Ability “Fast-Talker” has a modifier that reads, “Hea +
  1d6 to confuse any target person by talking fast.” This means,
  instead of just adding extra points to your roll, you get to roll an
  extra die (d6) to the three you normally roll! So, for this ability, you
  would roll four six-sided dice, and add the Health (Hea) stat. The
  extra dice can make a very big difference. You’ll also notice that
  these Abilities cost a little more than the others, too.
  Here’s your catch for the Abilities: To be fair to the GM (and the
  other players), you must tell the GM that you are going to use
  your Ability BEFORE you roll your dice. You can’t roll your dice,
  then decide to use the Ability. Knowing what Ability you plan to
  use will help the GM determine your Target Number. And, you can
  only use one ability per task.
  Bring It On!
  Rules for Conflict Resolution.
  Okay, we’re not total fools here; we all know that violence never
  solves anything (duh-huh!). That’s not what this game is about.
  But, as we all know, conflict happens, and there’s a lot of ways of
  dealing with it. When it happens in your game, there are specific
  rules that walk you through it.
  In RPG-speak, conflict is a situation wherein any two characters
  have something they want to do at the same time. This could 
  be any two player characters, or a player character and a non-
  player character. 
  38
  Chapter Three
  
  The Rules   39
  For example, let’s say the Lagoon Monster of Lagoona Bay wants
  to catch the Goof. The Goof wants to run away. Lots of things can
  occur in this scene, and making the proper dice rolls will help
  everyone determine the outcome.
  First, the right Stat to use must be determined. Since both of these
  characters are running, the player and the GM controlling Ol’
  Fishface will both use their Moves Stat. Each will roll 3d6, add their
  Stat, and add any Ability modifier they might have that would be
  appropriate (such as Sprint or Sporty). Whoever has the highest
  number wins! If the monster got the higher number, the GM
  might say that he caught the Goof. If the Goof got the higher
  number, the GM might say that he got away. It’s really that simple!
  But, what if they both roll the same amount? Then, compare the
  number of each character’s Stat. Whoever has the higher Stat wins
  that conflict.
  But (so many buts!), what if those numbers are the same? Okay,
  then, just do the roll again! No big deal! Keep rolling until one
  member of the conflict gets a higher number. Ever watch a chase
  
  40
  Chapter Three
  scene in a cartoon that seems to go on so long that you notice
  that the background keeps repeating itself? That’s what’s
  happening in the game! Just as it can be funny in a cartoon, you’ll
  find that this kind of situation can be very, very funny in a game.
  To review, the rule for conflict is: Roll 3d6, add the appropriate
  Stat, and add any useful Abilities; whoever gets the highest
  number wins. In case of a tie, the character with the highest raw
  Stat wins. In case those numbers are the same, keep rolling until
  one character finally gets the higher roll.
  Getting Bonked!
  At some point it’s going to happen. You are going to do
  something that is going to hurt. You might fall down the stairs, or
  you might get smacked on the head with a smelly fish. It doesn’t
  matter how it happens, you just know that it’s going to happen.
  So, what do you do about it in the game?
  You get Bonked, that’s what!
  In the game, there are going to be times when things happen that
  might hurt you. You represent getting hurt by taking points of
  damage. In the game we call these Health Points, because it tells
  us how healthy you are. You determine your Health Points by
  looking at your Health Stat; whatever your Health Stat is, that is
  the same number of Health Points that the character has! Let’s look
  at our sample character, Clutch, as an example: Clutch has a
  Health Stat of 8, which makes him have 8 Health Points.
  Damage can happen because of almost anything, like our example
  of falling down the stairs. And we’ll even tell you a simple rule for
  falling: for every ten feet that you fall, you will take 1d6 worth of
  damage. So, if Clutch were to fall down a ten foot staircase, the
  Gamemaster will roll a d6 to get the number of the damage. If it
  was a really big house, and Clutch fell down a twenty foot
  staircase, the Gamemaster would take 2d6 to get the worth of
  damage. With 8 Health Points, a 10-foot staircase might be
  
  The Rules   41
  annoying, but it won’t Bonk Clutch. Now, a 20-foot staircase and
  2d6 damage, that could hurt!
  But what about the smelly fish? Okay, let’s see what happens if
  Clutch gets hit with a smelly fish. Let’s say that Clutch has made
  Cap’n Bingo really mad, and the Cap’n smacks him on the head
  with a fish that he found. It’s just like resolving any conflict. You
  take Clutch’s Moves plus 3d6 and compare it to Cap’n Bingo’s
  Moves plus 3d6, and if the Cap’n has a higher total, he hits! Now,
  to determine how many Health Points Clutch takes, take his
  Strength and add 1d6, and add them together. Since Cap’n Bingo
  has a Strength of 9, even with a roll of 1, he is going to beat
  Clutch’s Health Points, so Clutch gets Bonked!
  So what does that mean? It means that the character can’t take
  any action for a number of minutes equal to the points above his
  Health Points that Bonked him. Let’s look at an example. Clutch
  got smacked on the head with a smelly fish by Cap’n Bingo. The
  Cap’n did a total of 10 points of damage, and Clutch has 8 Health
  Points, so he’s out of action for two minutes (10-8=2). The GM can
  decide whether those minutes are real time or game time.
  Traps!
  While playing Meddling Kids, you are going to find yourself
  dealing with a lot of monsters! They are the things that keep
  popping up and making the game an adventure. But monsters
  have a unique quality in the game: they can only get Bonked by
  traps! It won’t do you any good to run around trying to hit the
  monster—hitting people doesn’t solve anything. You have to use
  your brains and trap the monster so that the police can come and
  take them away. 
  To build a trap, first you need an idea! It can be as complex or as
  simple as you want, but the whole idea has to be to catch the
  monster. And the tougher the monster, the tougher the trap! It’s
  not too hard to catch a regular puppy, but catching the Werewolf
  of McCulley Manor is another matter. For the puppy, you could
  
  just say that you are going to put a hot dog on the ground and
  put a leash on him while he’s eating. For the Werewolf, you might
  need more than a leash. Maybe you would try to lure him into the
  big ballroom of McCulley Manor and drop the fancy chandelier on
  him, trapping him completely. Of course, you would need to get
  him there, and get him into position, and drop the chandelier,
  and... well, you can see that it’s more complicated.
  And we handle that in game with the Trap Rules. The Trap Rules
  are put together to help you design and execute a trap for a
  monster. Like everything else, trapping a monster has a Target
  Number. The Target Number for trapping a monster is equal to the
  monster’s Health stat AND his Strength stat. So, for our Werewolf
  (Strength 8, Health 8) that makes the Target Number 16 (8+8=16).
  Now it’s time to get the trap that can reach that target.
  First you have your idea. Remember, the bigger the monster, the
  bigger the trap. When you come up with your idea, each step in
  the trap adds one to your base number for your roll. But, you can’t
  have more steps in your trap than you have points in your Smarts
  stat. So, if Clutch is going to try to catch the Werewolf of McCulley
  Manor, he can only add three steps to the Trap, since his Smarts is
  only 3. He might want to call in some of his friends to help. If all of
  the Clique is building the trap, you get to use the highest Smarts
  plus one. So, Clutch brings in his pal Andrea, who has a Smarts of
  10, which will let them have up to eleven steps to their trap—if
  they can think of that many! Remember, your trap has to make
  sense. You can’t just say that you are taking eleven steps to the
  trap, you have to describe the steps. For our example, Clutch and
  Andrea have come up with a trap that has Clutch finding the
  Werewolf and getting him to chase him (step one), leading to a
  skateboard that he borrowed from Thrasher that the Werewolf will
  step on (step two), that will run him into a rope that the kids have
  pulled across the room (step three), making him fall forward into a
  pile of pillows that they put in the middle of the room (step four),
  that has a big horn in it making a loud noise (step five), that tells
  Andrea to untie the rope holding the chandelier (step six), that
  42
  Chapter Three
  
  then falls on the Werewolf, trapping him (step seven). See, even
  though Andrea and Clutch could have had up to eleven steps, they
  couldn’t come up with more than seven, giving them a Trap with a
  Rating of 7. So, now that you’ve planned your trap, it’s time to see
  if it works! 
  To check and see if your trap does what you want it to, take your
  Trap Rating and roll 2d6, add the total together, and try to beat
  the monster’s Target Number. With our example, that means that
  Clutch gets to roll 2d6 and add 7 to the total, and if it is more
  than 16 he traps the Werewolf of McCulley Manor. If you catch the
  monster, then it’s time to call the police. If not, they you are going
  to have one really mad monster, and you’ll have to try to catch it
  all over again, using a totally different trap; once you use a trap,
  you can’t use it again—the monsters never fall for the same 
  trick twice.
  Cool Optional Rule: Kid Points!
  One of the biggest parts of playing Meddling Kids is working
  together as a team. Kids Points are a great thing to add to really
  keep the team together!
  What are they? Kid Points are
  special points that a player can use
  to improve his or her roll,
  especially in a crunch situation.
  Before the start of a game, the
  team of players will pick someone
  to be their Points Keeper. The GM
  will then roll two d6’s, and that
  will be the number of Kid Points
  assigned to the team’s Kid Point Pool. The Point Keeper will write
  down the number, and keep track of how many points the team
  uses, and let the team know how many they do have when they
  decide to use them. Of course, when you start each game session
  the Kid Point Pool will be no smaller than two, but no larger 
  than twelve.
  The Rules   43
  
  44
  Chapter Three
  How do they help? Let’s say that a player has to get her character
  to jump a fence in order to capture The Bigfoot of Clement’s
  Canyon that’s running away with the clue the team needs to solve
  the mystery. The roll that the player makes could really make a big
  difference in the game: if she makes the roll, her character will get
  the monster and solve the mystery for the team. If she misses the
  roll, the team may never solve the mystery. As we’ve seen in the
  rules already, she’ll have to roll her Moves, plus the character’s
  Jump ability, if she has it. If the player has an extra point or two
  from the Kid Points pool to add to her roll, it could help her
  succeed and win the game for everybody! So, one player might
  say to the player whose character is trying to jump the fence, 
  “take two Kid Points!” This means, that in addition to the regular
  roll and Stat, the player also gets an additional +2 to that number.
  Of course, it doesn’t have to be two, it can be any number you
  want to give out, as long as there are enough points in the Kid
  Pool to cover it.
  The biggest rule for using is Kid Points is this: You can NEVER ask
  for Kid Points for yourself. Kid Points are only given out to the
  player by the teammates. No hinting is allowed, either! Your
  teammates must think to do this on their own, with no signals or
  suggestions from you. Kid Points are all about working and
  thinking together as a team.
  As for the team, sensibility must be used when giving Kid Points.
  You can give your teammate all the points in the Kid Point Pool
  (seriously!), but that won’t leave any points for you or your other
  teammates for later. If you want to give points, ask your Point
  Keeper what you have, think about how difficult the roll is, and
  make a decision. You can even discuss this with the other players
  (as a matter of fact, that would be the best idea!). This game is a
  team effort, and everyone should be involved.
  
  The Rules   45
  Here’s how using the Kid Point Pool might go in actual play:
  Player 1: My character, Thrasher, wants to find out about the
  Dragon’s Eye gemstone on view at the museum. He’s going to
  do research online.
  GM: Good idea! You’ll need to roll your Smarts, plus any
  computer-related ability you have. This is important
  information that may be hard to find, so try to beat a Target
  Number of 30.
  Player 1: Wow! Okay, my Smarts is a 7, plus I’m going to use my
  ability Webworm, which gives me an extra die to roll.
  Player 2: Hey, take three extra Kid Points from the pool!
  Player 1: Thanks! (rolls dice) Whoa! I got 22 on my four 
  dice, plus my Smarts give me 29, and my three Kid Points 
  makes it 32!
  GM: Excellent! You made it! Now, here’s what you find out
  about the Dragon’s Eye…
  Just as you see here, using Kid Points also means that you need to
  keep up with what your teammates are doing as well as with what
  you want to do. You are multi-tasking—doing more than one thing
  at a time—but once you get the hang of it, you’ll find this way of
  gaming very easy!
  And, again, to be fair to the GM and to the other players, you
  need to announce to the GM and everybody else that you’re
  awarding Kid Points BEFORE the player makes his or her roll. And,
  as far as the GM is concerned, the Target Number cannot change
  if a player declares Kid Points.
  This is really a fun option to add to your game that can make the
  play totally awesome! Before you try it out, though, make sure
  you’re very comfortable with all the rest of the rules. Doing too
  much at once when you’re not ready to move forward will only
  make your game frustrating.
  
  Cool Optional Rule: Chase Scenes!
  It just wouldn’t be a cartoon-like story if there wasn’t at least one
  chase scene. Have the monster chase the kids around. After all,
  these are monsters! When the characters see a monster, have them
  make a Smarts roll (make the Target Number high the first time,
  but have it get smaller each time they see the monster), and if they
  don’t make the roll, they get scared and run away! Naturally, the
  monster chases them.
  It’s at this point that the chase is on! Now, the characters have to
  get out of the chase. They can use Abilities like Fast Talk, or
  Magician, or even Gross Out or Singer if they want to distract the
  monster. In fact, anything they can think of might be what they
  need to distract the monster. Have the player make a roll, and if he
  beats a Target Number equal to the monster’s Smarts +10, the
  monster is distracted. If they are able to distract the monster, the
  characters get to run away without the monster following, and the
  chase is over!
  Hints & Tips—Not Necessarily The Rules
  There are other things that you may want to keep in mind while
  playing Meddling Kids (or any other RPG). These aren’t necessarily
  rules; they’re just good things to do that will make for great play.
  Politeness Works! It may sound real old-school, but it is for real
  in RPG-playing. Don’t talk over other players, no matter how
  exciting your idea may be. Take turns, and realize your place in
  line. Don’t waste time arguing over rules, and be respectful of the
  GM’s rulings.
  Ask Questions! You and the other players are trying to solve a
  mystery, so be a detective! Ask the GM questions about what’s
  going on in the game. What does my character
  see/hear/feel/smell/taste? What does my character know about
  that? Has my character met this person in the game before? These
  are some common things to ask the GM as a player. Don’t be
  afraid to ask questions—it will keep the game moving. And, you
  can always tell if you getting close to solving your mystery—the
  46
  Chapter Three
  
  The Rules   47
  GM may make you roll some dice before answering your question! 
  Seeing Is Believing! If you’re having a hard time understanding
  what something looks like, ask (nicely!) your GM to sketch out
  what he or she is describing. Maps are also very useful, and many
  RPGers consider them a tradition in gaming. Also, to help other
  players visualize your character, bring a sketch of your character, or
  use a picture of a celebrity who looks closest to what your
  character looks like.
  Multiple Personalities! Game play can get real confusing when
  you and your character start melting into one person. If you are
  talking, make sure you let the other players and the GM
  understand whether it’s you or your character. You may want to
  give your character a special voice—maybe a higher pitch, a small
  speech impediment, a slight accent, or maybe some funny hand
  gestures. Be an actor! Live in the moment! Another thing:
  remember that there may be some things that you know that your
  character may not know. For instance, you may know a lot about
  chemistry, but you character may not even know how to dissolve
  sugar into water! Like a good actor, remember to stay in character,
  and realize your character’s weaknesses and strengths.
  Take Notes! As play progresses, you’ll find out some interesting
  things will happen. These things could be clues to help you solve
  your mystery! Write down quick notes as you go along, and share
  them with your teammates. You may have caught something that
  they may have missed!
  Experience—The Big Reward
  As we grow, we learn. The more things we do, the more things we
  know. We gain experience. You and your character will do the
  same thing in Meddling Kids!
  At the end of each game, the GM will award to all players
  experience points. The players then get to spend those points on
  new Abilities or to bump up their Stats. You can spend your points
  right away on small things, or save them up for something big and
  
  48
  Chapter Three
  expensive. It’s up to you!
  The GM awards one to four
  experience points based on
  how efficiently the mystery
  was solved, how well the
  players role-played the
  characters, and how well
  everyone worked together as
  a team. The awarding goes
  in this manner:
  • 1 point—Despite some
  stumbles, the players did
  what was needed to solve
  the mystery.
  • 2 points—The players were quite creative in solving 
  the mystery.
  • 3 points—The players were very enthusiastic, quick to think,
  and role-played the characters well.
  • 4 points—The players put on an extraordinary show, often
  surprising the GM.
  Most of the time, players will receive two to three points. The GM
  should only give four points if the players really, truly showed their
  very, very best. But, awarding experience points is totally up to the
  GM, and players should always be respectful toward the 
  GM’s decision.
  If you ask any old-school gamer, most will tell you that their
  favorite part of playing an RPG is getting to spend the experience
  points! It’s just like taking your hard-earned allowance and going
  to buy something cool at your favorite store. But, just as it is in real
  life with real money, there are limits and rules to spending
  experience points.
  If you want to buy a new Ability, that’s no problem. Abilities still cost
  the same amount of points as they did when you first made your
  
  character. Just look in the Character’s List of Abilities (page 68), and
  the price listed is still the price you pay. Of course, if you already
  have an Ability, you don’t buy it again. Buying more of the same
  Ability doesn’t make it stronger—you only need to buy an Ability
  once. So, don’t be silly and waste points!
  Now, buying up a Stat is a different matter. In real life, an Ability
  would be easy to learn. A Stat would be harder to learn, so it costs
  more experience to do. The price of moving up one number in a
  Stat is five times the current amount of that Stat. For example, if
  your character has a two in Health, and you wanted to move up to
  a three, it would cost you ten experience points:
  2 (Health) x 5 (cost) = 10 (how many experience points you’ll
  need to get to a three in Health)
  Or, if you wanted to go from a three to a four in Strength:
  3 (Strength) x 5 (cost) = 15 (how many experience points
  you’ll need to get to four)
  Got it? It’s only a matter of knowing your multiplication tables (just
  the fives, really). If you understand, but notice that others are
  having trouble with the math, give them some help. After all,
  that’s what friends are for!
  And, don’t forget the Wild Card! It gets experience, too! The GM
  may award experience points to the Wild Card, but it gets only
  half the points (if the experience points awarded to the players is
  an odd number, round up). Buying up Stats and buying new
  Abilities work the same way as they do for Player Characters. 
  That’s it for the rules! If you think you have it down, then you’re
  ready to play. But, if you can’t remember a rule off the top of your
  head, don’t stress! That’s why you always have your Meddling Kids
  book handy for reference. Even the best and smartest GMs and
  players will still reach for their rulebook during a game.
  Now, let’s play!
  The Rules   49
  
  50
  Chapter Four
  
  Chapter Four
  Sample Adventure -“The Dragon’s Eye”
  This is a sample adventure (often called an Adventure Module, in
  RPG speak) for you and your team to try out. This one uses the
  sample characters we’ve made up—you can find their character
  sheets on pages 82-89 or download them from
  www.meddlinggames.com (ask if it’s okay with your folks, first!).
  You’ll notice that most of the story seems to be missing. That’s
  how an Adventure Module works—it just provides you with the
  beginning of a story, plus a few notes to help you along. You and
  your friends make up the rest!
  A Big Note About Adventure Modules
  Most seasoned RPG players will not read Adventure Modules. Reading the
  Adventure Module will ruin the surprise of a story. If you know what’s going 
  to happen next, the game won’t be any challenge. It’s really best to leave it 
  up to the GM to read the Adventure Module. You’ll find out what’s going on
  when you play!
  However, if you plan to make up your own characters, your own
  Clique, and your own world, then your GM will write up his or her
  own Adventure to match. In that case, feel free to keep reading so
  you can get a feel for what an Adventure is like.
  Either way, give it a try, and have fun!
  The Dragon’s Eye, or The Origin of Cap’n Bingo
  Items the GM Will Need:
  • Meddling Kids Book, four dice, paper, pencils, pens
  • Your own special GM’s Notebook
  • The Character Sheets for the NPCs (either printed out, or just
  bookmark them on page 82-88)
  • Map of Museum
  • A Secret Note
  “The Dragon’s Eye”   51
  
  Key
  1. Main entrance to museum
  2. Ticket booth
  3. Entrance to Main Exhibit Hall
  4. Ancient History of 
  Rhode Island exhibit
  5. Port Juliet local history exhibit
  6. Door to storage area
  7&8. Swinging doors into 
  back hallway
  9. Door to offices
  10. Dragon’s Eye exhibit
  11. Back entrance to 
  Main Exhibit Hall
  12. Back hallway
  13. Back doors to storage 
  & offices
  14. Back entrance to Museum
  52
  Chapter Four
  Map of The Port Juliet Museum
  
  To Prepare:
  • Using the basic map of the museum on page 52, trace or draw a
  copy of that map to use as a guide for your players.
  • Make a secret note to use as a visual for your players. On a small 
  piece of paper (about 8 1/2 inches by 5 1/2 inches), write the word
  “HOPE” in all capital letters and write the number “10:00.” Fold in
  half two times.
  The Background: All the kids in this Clique live in Port Juliet,
  Rhode Island. It’s a great little tourist town in Rhode Island sound,
  surrounded by a number of small islands and salt-water inlets that
  have some great fishing. The big attraction is the old lighthouse on
  the edge of town closest to the ocean, and a statue of Juliet, the
  woman who, according to local legend, founded the town. All the
  kids are sophomores at Patrick Henry High School. Because Port 
  Juliet is a small town, the kids will know just about all the citizens
  of the town.
  At the beginning of this story, Cap’n Bingo is merely Bingo, an
  aging chimpanzee that Andrea the Brain rescued from the
  laboratory where her parents work as animal behaviorists. He’s very
  gentle, surprisingly strong, quite smart, and can even do a few
  signs in American Sign Language. He spends his time either with
  Andrea or at a special facility at the lab with her parents.
  The Setting: Most all of the action will take place at the Port
  Juliet Museum. It is a small, one-story building, built in the late
  1700’s, and decorated outside with tall columns and a huge iron
  anchor mounted on a sturdy pedestal in front of the building. A
  great bronze seal of Rhode Island—an anchor with the word
  “Hope” floating above it on a banner—is above the grand
  entrance. The atrium is small, but well lit from the skylights above.
  Permanent displays of the history and pre-history of Port Juliet are
  always on exhibit. The main exhibit area is in the center of the
  building, and the offices and storage areas are in the back, and
  there is one back door for deliveries. See the main map of the
  museum, page 52, for a complete layout.
  “The Dragon’s Eye”   53
  
  54
  Chapter Four
  Cast Of Characters:
  Holly Bennett
  Professor Dorchester
  Nora Cochran/
  Georgianna Fortuna
  Crazy Walt/Walter Bennett
  Mysterious Visitor/
  Detective Joseph Vendredi 
  During play, if any of the
  players ask for a description of
  the NPCs that they meet,
  simply refer to the descriptions
  written up on the characters
  on pages 89-90. Be careful not
  to give away any important
  information; just stick to
  descriptions of their
  appearance.
  The Event: The museum is having a special exhibit—Gems Of The
  World. This is a very special exhibit of precious gems that are on
  loan from the MegaCity Museum of Art and History. In the
  collection is a number of famous diamonds and information about
  the history of diamonds, but the star of the exhibit is The Dragon’s
  Eye, a rare red diamond from Korea.
  The Story: The kids find out that someone is going to steal The
  Dragon’s Eye, and they have to stop them!
  How To Start The Story: It’s Friday morning, at 11:00am. Mr.
  Kepner, the kid’s history teacher at Henry High, arranges to take
  everyone on a field trip to the exhibit. All the kids have to go, since
  Mr. Kepner has also assigned a report on diamonds for everyone to
  write. They’ll all take the bus to the museum.
  Professor Dorchester • Nora Cochran 
  Mysterious Visitor
  
  “The Dragon’s Eye”   55
  Scene I—At The Museum
  As the bus drives up to the museum, read the following 
  to the players:
  “The Port Juliet museum is a small, one-story building, built with a
  red brick exterior and tall columns. A real iron anchor is mounted in
  the middle of the walkway on a sturdy pedestal in front of the
  building. A great bronze seal of Rhode Island, which is an anchor
  with the word “Hope” floating above it on a banner, is above the
  grand entrance.”
  When the kids get inside the building into the atrium, read the
  players this description:
  “The museum’s atrium is well-lit from the three skylights above. To
  your left is a permanent display of the pre-history of Port Juliet,
  with a closed cabinet filled with ancient Indian artifacts. To your
  right is a display of the history of Port Juliet, with a painting of
  Juliet and a closed-cabinet display of some of her personal items
  (diary, lace handkerchief, flintlock pistol), plus some old photos and
  other historical items. In front of you is the entrance to the main
  exhibit hall. On either side are the ticket booths, and on the 
  outside of the ticket booths are two doors with signs that read 
  ‘Employees Only.’ ”
  As you read the passage regarding the interior of the atrium, draw
  on your basic Museum map the location of the things you’re
  describing. This will help your players visualize their surroundings.
  Let the players know that the teacher, Mr. Kepner has given them
  all tickets for the main exhibit. Mr. Kepner is a very cool, relaxed
  teacher that will allow the students to take the exhibit at their own
  pace, but they must meet back at the entrance in an hour. The
  students can look at the permanent exhibits in the atrium, but
  most of them may already be familiar with (and probably bored of)
  the stuff in those cabinets. They’ll want to move on to the
  Diamond Exhibit.
  
  An armed guard stands at the entrance to the exhibit hall, and 
  he won’t let the kids in unless they get their ticket stamped by
  Holly, the girl in the ticket booth.
  If they talk to Holly, she’s cheerful at first, telling them as she
  stamps the ticket, “Enjoy the exhibit!” Anything beyond that, she
  seems a little surly, and tells the kids, “Sorry, can’t talk while I’m
  working. Professor Dorkster is here!” Then, she’ll go back to
  stamping tickets or doing clerical work in the booth and pretty
  much ignore the kids.
  Encourage the group to make their way to the main exhibit hall
  doors, then read them the following:
  “Once you have your ticket stamped, the guard will let you into the
  main exhibit hall. As you step in, you are momentarily blinded by
  bright, dazzling light. As your eyes adjust, you notice that around
  the room are ten big, glittering diamonds that have a spotlight
  aimed directly on them. Each has a plaque next to it explaining its
  history. Also, a
  few interactive
  kiosks are
  interspersed
  between the
  diamonds; they
  show the
  different uses of
  diamonds, how
  diamonds are
  mined, and other
  interesting
  things about
  gemstones. In
  the center of the
  room in a glass
  case is a huge,
  pale pink
  diamond resting
  56
  Chapter Four
  
  “The Dragon’s Eye”   57
  on red velvet. Two armed guards stand on either side of the
  diamond, and a plaque is attached to the front of the case. This is
  the Dragon’s Eye Diamond.”
  If any of the kids want to read the plaque about the Dragon’s Eye,
  they learn that divers recently found the diamond in an old ship
  that was wrecked off the coast of Rhode Island. Diamond experts
  believe that it may be the very diamond that was owned by the
  Emperor of Korea; he kept the diamond hidden in the Temple of
  Yong Wang, the Dragon King of the Seas, until it was stolen by
  pirates. The divers donated the Dragon’s Eye to the 
  MegaCity Museum.
  If the players have their characters read the plaques of the other
  diamonds, you as a GM can either tell them that those plaques
  have no useful information, or you can make up what they read.
  There are many famous diamonds you can learn about through
  research, and you can share that info this way. It’s up to you!
  The kids will also notice that Mr. Kepner is talking to two very
  important looking people. One is Professor Dorchester, the curator
  of the museum; everyone recognizes him. Next to the Professor is
  a lady. If any of the kids decide to go up to them, Mr. Kepner will
  introduce them to the lady; she is Nora Cochran, the Touring
  Exhibits Specialist to the MegaCity Museum. After the introduction,
  have all the players roll their character’s Smarts, with a Target
  Number of 20 to beat. Any character who beats 14 will notice that
  Ms. Cochran’s badge from the MegaCity Museum does not have
  the MegaCity Museum official seal. If the characters mention
  anything to her, Nora acts surprised, and excuses herself to go look
  for it; she thinks the must have fallen off her badge. 
  If the kids choose to stay and talk to Mr. Kepner and Professor
  Dorchester, the PCs will hear Mr. Kepner ask how safe the Dragon’s
  Eye is from being stolen like it was from the ancient Korean
  Emperor, and the Professor will laugh and tell everyone listening
  how safe the whole museum is with their new state-of-the-art
  alarm system. He says it goes on at the same time every night, and
  
  no one but him knows when, nor does anyone but him know how
  to disable it. He whispers to Mr. Kepner that he carefully keeps the
  code for the alarm and the time it goes off on himself at all times
  as he pats his jacket. If the players roll their Smarts and beat a
  Target Number of 17, they can hear the Professor whispering.
  If any of the kids decide to take a close look at the Dragon’s Eye,
  they are immediately startled by Crazy Walt, the custodian. Again,
  everyone knows Crazy Walt, and is only startled for a moment. He
  says to the kids, “Y’know, the Dragon’s Eye is cursed! When pirates
  stole it from the temple, a priest yelled a curse at them—’may your
  life never be the same,’ he yelled. Ever since, every pirate that had
  the Dragon’s Eye met a terrible fate! It’s true!” If they talk more to
  him, or tell him that they don’t believe him, Walt will say, “Why do
  ya think the divers who found it didn’t keep it for themselves?
  ‘Cause they knew it was cursed, that’s why!” If they push him for
  more information, he just grunts, “Nosy kids,” and walks away,
  scowling at them.
  If any of the PCs decide to walk around the rest of the exhibit,
  have them make a Smarts roll (Target Number 15) to notice a
  mysterious man near one corner talking into his shoulder. If they
  want to sneak up to him to hear him talking, they must make a
  Moves roll (Target Number 22) to sneak up, and then a Smarts roll
  (Target Number 15) to listen in on his conversation and not get
  caught eavesdropping. If the player or players make the roll, they
  hear the man say in a French accent, “Yes, yes, everything is going
  as planned. Meet me in the back at 10:30 tonight.” If they miss
  the roll, the man will look them in the eye and say very snootily,
  “Nosey children!” and walk away with his nose in the air. He’ll go
  back to talking into his shoulder very quietly, but he’ll keep and
  eye on the kids, and stay away from them. They won’t be able to
  get close enough to hear him again.
  Of course, if the kids try to report what they saw and heard from the
  mysterious man, no one will believe them; the grown-ups will laugh, shake
  their heads and tell the kids that they have really overactive imaginations.
  This would be a good time to introduce the secret note. Have
  58
  Chapter Four
  
  everyone make a Smarts roll. Do not announce a Target Number;
  instead, whoever gets the highest number is the one who finds the
  note. Hand the note to them, and tell them that they found this
  slip of paper on the ground. Let that player decide whether he or
  she will show the note to the other kids. 
  The Secret Meaning of the Note: the letters HOPE are the letters
  that correspond to the numbers on the keypad of the alarm system
  that will deactivate the alarm. The numbers “10:00” on the note
  tell what time the alarm comes on. 
  After all this has taken place, Mr. Kepner will call out to everyone
  to get on the bus—the museum trip is over, and they’re all going
  to Super
  Clucker’s for
  lunch!
  Scene II—
  Later That
  Night
  The action in
  this scene
  starts at the
  pizza place,
  “Gigi’s,”
  which is just
  across the
  street from
  the museum.
  The kids
  meets here
  every Friday
  night to eat
  dinner and
  just hang out.
  Tonight,
  Andrea has
  “The Dragon’s Eye”   59
  
  been told by her parents that she must take Bingo with her when
  she goes out with friends. If none of the players is playing Andrea,
  pick one other character to take care of Bingo for the night as a
  favor to Andrea.
  Have all the players make a Smarts roll (Target Number 19).
  Whomever makes the roll sees the mysterious man sneaking
  around to the back of the museum. Again, if the kids attempt to
  tell any adults what they’ve seen (and this includes calling the
  police), the adults dismiss them, once again good-naturedly
  making fun of their over-active imaginations. Also, any character
  with the ability Nosey will naturally want to go to the museum to
  see what the mysterious man is up to—no roll is necessary.
  The kids will notice that at both the front and back doors to the
  museum (whichever door they go to) will have a keypad next to it.
  The red LED on the keypad reads, “Auto Activate at 10:00pm
  Cancelled.” A green light on the pad is lit. All doors are open.
  Whether they come in the back door or the front door, the kids
  will notice that the place is dark, and no one seems to be about. If
  they decide to sneak, have everyone make a Moves roll and beat a
  Target Number of 21. Museums, even small ones, can echo really
  loudly, and any little noise (even whispering) can carry. Everyone
  must beat the Target Number to consider the roll a success.
  If everyone succeeds, they can hear slight scratching noises in the
  main exhibit hall. Because of the good roll, when they open the
  door to look inside, they see a huge glowing white dragon (about
  eight feet tall) with an orange crest standing next to the Dragon’s
  Eye diamond. Its back is to them, but upon hearing the door open,
  the dragon wheels around and says in a booming voice, “Who
  dares approach Yong Wang, the Dragon King of the Seas?” 
  If the roll is not a success, the noise in the hall stops suddenly, and
  the museum becomes spooky and silent. Then, the doors to the
  main exhibit hall blow open, and the kids are blinded by the sight
  of a huge (eight foot tall) glowing white dragon with an orange
  60
  Chapter Four
  
  crest standing next to the Dragon’s Eye. It roars, and says to the
  kids, “Who dares approach Yong Wang, the Dragon King of 
  the Seas?”
  At this first look, the dragon appears to be very real. To keep from
  being really scared and running away, every player must make a Smarts
  roll and beat a Target Number of 28. If they do not make the roll, they
  run away, and a Chase Scene begins. To get out of the Chase Scene,
  the kids have to trick Yong Wang in order to get away (see Chase
  Scenes, page 46). Whatever the case, the noise and action from the
  Chase Scene has locked the kids and Yong Wang inside the museum.
  The doors won’t open no matter how hard they try. The kids are now
  stuck in the museum with the dragon!
  The players now must try to capture Yong Wang by setting a Trap
  (see Traps!, page 41). If the trap is successful, the dragon is
  captured, but not defeated, and will make the speech listed below.
  The dragon laughs, and tells them all (and you can read this to the
  players), “Foolish little humans! I am the Dragon King of the Seas,
  and if you know what’s good for you, you’ll leave now, before I
  have you for dinner! I am here to get what is rightfully mine - The
  Dragon’s Eye Diamond. It was stolen from me, and now I shall take
  it back!” 
  Have all the players make a Smarts roll and beat a Target Number
  of 24.Those who make it notice that, while the dragon is waving
  its arms and talking, there is a weird little hole in its armpit. It looks
  like the same kind of hole that happens when you tear your shirt. 
  At this point—or if the trap didn’t work,—Bingo will rush at Yong
  Wang, trying to tackle him to protect his friends. In the chaos,
  Bingo and the dragon fall backwards into the museum displays.
  Bingo and Yong Wang knock over the case holding the diamond.
  The diamond dramatically rolls across the floor, making a pretty
  tinkling sound. This distracts Bingo, and he goes to retrieve it.
  When he grabs the diamond, it glows red, then gives off a huge
  flash of light. The light slowly fades, and everyone sees Bingo
  “The Dragon’s Eye”   61
  
  dressed like a pirate. He scowls at the kids and the knocked-over
  dragon. “What ye be starin’ at?” he growls. The dragon seems
  dazed, and it is very apparent now that it is nothing more than a
  person inside of a dragon suit. The head is still on, so it’s hard to
  tell who’s in the suit.
  The set of doors going in to the exhibit hall that the kids didn’t
  come through suddenly burst open, and two policemen and the
  mysterious man charge in, followed by a very confused Professor
  Dorchester. The mysterious man says to the policemen, “The
  children are innocent! Do not take them into custody!”
  The police handcuff the dragon’s arms behind it, and the
  mysterious man introduces himself to the kids. “Pardon my
  rudeness earlier today, my friends. I am Detective Joseph Vendredi
  of Interpol. And this,” as he rips the head off the dragon, “is, of
  course, not Yong Wang, but Georgianna Fortuna, an international
  jewel thief!” When they see the woman in the dragon costume,
  they notice that it’s the same woman who claimed to be Nora
  Cochran from the MegaCity Museum. The costume is nothing
  more than a big puppet made of white silk and orange feathers,
  backlit inside the costume with glow sticks. Georgianna wears a
  small microphone that is in sync with the speaker system in the
  exhibit hall.
  The Professor seems very confused, but apologetic. He feels stupid
  for having been fooled by Georgianna Fortuna, and embarrassed
  that she picked his jacket pocket and managed to steal the slip of
  paper he keeps the alarm code and auto-alarm time on. (Special GM
  note: if any of the characters return the note to the professor, they
  get one bonus experience point for honesty at the end of the game.)
  Bingo, now dressed in pirate finery, lopes over to Georgianna. He
  pokes her in the nose with a crooked monkey finger, and says to
  her, “Missy, ye ain’t no dragon, an’ ye certainly ain’t no pirate! Yer a
  common, thievin’ wench, an’ iffn ye were on my ship, I’d make ye
  walk the plank!” Detective Vendredi sees Bingo poking
  Georgianna’s nose, and laughs. He says to the kids, “It seems your
  62
  Chapter Four
  
  little chimpanzee friend thinks Ms. Fortuna stole his banana! He is
  so cute!” If the characters ask the Detective about Bingo’s pirate
  outfit, or Bingo talking, he laughs even harder, and tells them they
  have such overactive imaginations. He does not see the pirate
  clothes, nor does he hear Bingo talk. Professor Dorchester acts the
  same way. The only adult that sees what the kids see is
  Georgianna; after all, she was the only other person present when
  Bingo got his new persona. Georgianna thinks the monkey is the
  freakiest thing she’s ever seen, and won’t say anything else.
  After the grown-ups all leave, the kids can ask Bingo any questions they
  like. Bingo the chimp is now embodied with the spirit of the last pirate
  who owned the Dragon’s Eye. They can now call him Captain Bingo,
  since the pirate cannot remember his name. He was a special pirate; he
  was a privateer for the American Revolutionary Navy. He was captain of
  the ship Juliet the Beautiful, named for the woman he was in love with
  (she didn’t even know him). The last thing he remembers was riding
  the coast of Massachusetts (which later became Rhode Island) during a
  storm, and the ship started to crash on the rocks. He can’t remember
  much after that.
  Now, after such a harrowing adventure, Cap’n Bingo suggests that
  they go out to find a tavern where he can get a big banana split!
  The End!
  “The Dragon’s Eye”   63
  
  64
  Epilogue
  
  Does It Have To End?   65
  Epilogue
  Does It Have To End?
  But, that’s not all, folks!
  The game doesn’t necessarily end at the end of a story. The
  characters grow, gain experience, and learn new things. They
  become closer to their friends. Maybe they even leave their little
  home town and visit other exciting places.
  Just like real life.
  We, as gamers, often find a little of ourselves inside of our
  characters. Sometimes, we find that the adventures they have may
  mirror some of the things we come across in our day-to-day lives.
  Just remember: we live real lives in a real world. Andrea, Clutch,
  Sid, Jeff, Spike, Thrasher, Roshandra and Cap’n Bingo (and the
  other characters you make up) live in a make-believe world. It can
  be a whole lot of fun to play the game that your characters are a
  part of, but don’t forget to make your real world and your real life
  just as much fun as the game.
  Okay, enough of that! Enjoy your game, create new adventures,
  and always remember to have fun, no matter what you do!
  
  66
  Appendices
  
  Glossary   67
  Glossary of Terms
  Adventure—A story that is created for other people to participate
  in as characters.
  Adventure Module—An adventure that is conveniently pre-
  written for the GM to run.
  Background—The life story of a character up until the player first
  plays it.
  Bonked!—When a character gets knocked out.
  Character—The pretend person that a player plays.
  Chase Scene—A point in the adventure where the characters run
  from the monster and the monster chases them.
  Clique—The group of characters that are together because they
  have something in common.
  Conflict—When two characters or a character and a non-player
  character want to perform tasks at the same time.
  D6—A six-sided die.
  GM—Game Master; the person who runs an RPG.
  Health Points—A number equal to a character’s Health Stat that
  tells how tough he is to Bonk!
  LARP—Live Action Role Playing; the players act out their
  characters in a live setting, similar to theater.
  Modifier—The extra numbers added to a die roll.
  Monster—A generic term for the strange thing that is the center
  of an adventure; it can be real, or just somebody pretending in 
  a costume.
  NPC—Non-Player Character; characters that the GM creates that
  may or may not interact with the PCs.
  PC—Player Character; another name for Character
  Player—The real person that creates and plays a character.
  Plot—The plan of action or series of events in a story.
  Prerequisite—In an RPG, an ability you must have before getting
  the next higher or stronger ability.
  RPG—Role-Playing Game.
  Setting—The place where the story happens.
  
  Target Number—The pre-set number given by the GM that a
  player must roll in order to successfully have the character
  complete a task.
  Trap—A device that is used to capture a monster.
  Trap Rating—The base number that you use before you roll dice
  to see if you catch the monster.
  Wild Card—The weird, somewhat human, somewhat
  supernatural animal or object that hangs out with the Clique.
  List of Player Character Abilities 
  Abbreviations:
  Sma = Smarts
  Hea = Health
  Mov = Moves
  Str = Strength
  Actor—cost - 8; Prerequisite: Disguise 
  Hea+ld6 
  This Ability helps a character look, sound, and act like
  someone else. 
  Animal Friend—cost - 3 
  Sma+2 
  This is used to befriend any animal, including angry ones and 
  wild ones. 
  Best Friend—cost - 6
  Hea+ld6
  The character can make friends with anyone if the roll succeeds. 
  Bookworm—cost - 7
  Sma+ld6
  For any roll when researching a subject that’s in a library, or to
  remember something you’ve previously read in a book. This does
  not apply to online research. 
  68
  Appendices
  
  Bottomless Stomach—cost - 1
  Hea+ l
  The character can eat a lot of food, and not get sick. 
  Bug-Free—cost - 2
  Hea+4
  This can prevent a character from catching any colds, flu, or other
  “bugs” that are going around 
  Clown—cost - 5
  Hea+2
  The character can make anyone laugh, including villains 
  and monsters. 
  Computer Guru—cost - 8
  Sma+4
  The character can fix, build, or program a computer. 
  Connected—cost 1
  Sma+2
  You know a lot of gossip, and the best way you find out the scoop
  on anyone is through all your connections. Roll to see if and what
  you find out. Note: gossip isn’t always reliable information.
  Diplomat—cost – 3
  Sma+3
  You have a wonderful ability to make people stop arguing and
  help patch things up.
  Disguise—cost - 4 
  Hea+4
  This helps a character to just look and dress like someone else. 
  Dodge—cost - 5
  Mov+ld6
  The character can dodge any object flying at him or her. 
  Character Abilities   69
  
  Double-Jointed—cost - 5
  Mov+3
  This can be used anytime a character needs super dexterity, as with
  yoga, or squeezing into a small space. 
  Drive—cost - 6
  Mov+4
  This allows a character to drive any motorized vehicle, from a
  forklift to a semi-truck 
  Famous—cost - 13; Prerequisite: Popular
  Hea+5
  Just like Popular, but more people know who the character is
  because he or she may be a pop star, a notable athlete, or
  someone else that is easily recognizable in public. 
  Fast Talk — cost - 8
  Hea+ld6 
  The character can confuse a specific person by talking very fast. 
  Fearless—cost - 6 
  Sma+ld6 
  This helps a character to muster up any extra courage to get him
  or her through a situation. 
  Flirt — cost - 2
  Hea+ 1
  The character uses this when trying to get the attention of
  someone of the opposite gender. 
  Geek—cost - 4 
  Sma+2
  This helps a character to remember any knowledge about TV
  shows, movies, comic books, and other pop-culture trivia. 
  70
  Appendices
  
  Character Abilities   71
  Good Eats—cost - 2
  Sma+3 
  This works whenever a character cooks a meal or a snack for
  someone else.
  Gross-Out—cost - 1 
  Hea+ 1
  Yick! This allows a character to have anyone get disgusted just
  because he or she did something really gross (show chewed food,
  burp, have gas, pick his or her nose, make nasty noises, whatever
  seems right at the time). 
  Hard Headed—cost - 5
  No Roll Needed
  This is a special Ability that helps when a character gets Bonked! A
  character with this Ability is only Bonked for half the normal time.
  So, if a character with Hard Headed would normally be Bonked! for
  two minutes, he’s only Bonked! for one minute instead.
  Hip—cost - 3
  Sma+2 
  The character knows what is currently in vogue. 
  Immovable—cost - 5 
  Hea+3 
  This helps a character to stand his or her ground when someone is
  charging at the character. 
  Intimidate—cost - 7 
  Str+3
  The character can cause anyone, even monsters, to sometimes
  freeze in their tracks by trying to stare them down. 
  Intuition—cost - 8
  Sma+ld6
  This can help a character to see if he or she has any bad feeling
  about a situation or a person (sometimes called “foreboding”). 
  
  Jury-Rig—cost - 8; Prerequisite: Mechanic
  Trap Roll+ld6
  The character can build a complex device out of common items
  that could be used for trapping a monster or villain (sometimes
  called a Rube Goldberg Device). This Ability adds directly to any
  roll on a Trap.
  Leadership—cost - 5
  Hea+3
  This can be used whenever a character needs to inspire others to
  follow or do as he or she says. 
  Level-Headed—cost - 3 (The Temper cannot have this Ability!)
  Hea+3
  The character rarely loses his or her cool, no matter how stressed
  or angry the others may be. 
  Lucky—cost - 15
  Proper Stat+ld6
  This is a very special ability that you, as a player, can only use once
  per game (so use it wisely!). If you make a bad roll, this ability
  allows you a do-over. Story-wise, it means that your character often
  has great luck, especially during the crunch. Make the same roll
  you just made, but add one more die, even if you rolled four dice
  before due to an Ability. If it’s better than your previous roll, it
  counts! However, if this roll is worse than the one before, too bad;
  you still have to count this roll. It’s okay to take Kid Points with this
  Ability, too, if one of your teammates offers them. 
  Magician—cost - 2
  Mov+2
  This Ability helps the character to do any cool slight-of-hand tricks. 
  Mechanic—cost - 6
  Sma+6 
  The character can build or repair any device. 
  72
  Appendices
  
  Mega Whiz—cost - 9; Prerequisite: one Whiz Ability
  Sma+ld6
  This is an extension of an existing Whiz. The character, through a
  lot of study, knows even more about this particular school subject;
  he or she is, more than likely, in an honors program. 
  Monster Mind—cost - 6
  Sma+3
  The character knows so much about supernatural monsters
  (Bigfoot, Loch Ness Monster, aliens, etc.) that he or she can almost
  think just like them. Roll to see if your character knows what the
  monster will do next. 
  Musician—cost - 4
  Sma+ld6
  The character can play instruments from one of the following
  groups (pick one): woodwind, brass, string, percussion, 
  or electronic. 
  Nature Buff—cost - 3
  Sma+3
  This is used whenever a character needs to remember anything he
  or she knows about any plant or animal.
  Nimble—cost - 3 
  Mov+2
  This helps the character to deftly and quickly move out of the way
  of anyone charging at him or her. 
  Nosey—cost - 2
  Sma+2
  This helps a character determine whether or not to give in to the
  urge to investigate any situation. If you don’t make the Target
  Number, the character will investigate, no matter how dangerous
  it may seem. 
  Character Abilities   73
  
  Outdoorsman—cost - 4
  Sma+3
  This works when a character is doing any camping activities or
  anytime he or she is “roughing it” out in the wild. 
  Pack Rat—cost - 5
  Sma+1
  The character has a habit of keeping the weirdest stuff in his or her
  pockets or handbag. If that character or a member of the Clique
  needs an odd item, roll to see if you have it. The Catch: it must be
  an item that will fit in a pocket or a purse. 
  Perfect—cost – 1
  Hea+2
  It seems that, no matter how much filth there is in the world, it
  always manages to stay far away from you. Roll to see if you stay
  clean when you fall into a dumpster, a sewer, a mud puddle, or
  anything that could get you dirty.
  Popular—cost - 8
  Hea+2
  Everybody at school and in town knows and likes the character.
  Roll to see if he or she can convince anyone to do something or
  tell valuable information just because they know the character. 
  Really Rich—cost - 10; Prerequisite: Rich
  Hea+6
  The character has an incredible inheritance, but there are some
  things he or she still can’t afford to buy. Roll to see if the character
  can buy what is needed or wanted. 
  Rich—cost - 7
  Hea+3
  The character has a really good job, or a really good allowance,
  but some things may be out of the question. Roll to see if the
  character can afford what he or she is after. 
  74
  Appendices
  
  Rich Beyond Belief—cost – 14; Prerequisite: Rich and Really Rich
  No Roll Needed
  The character always has money-no roll needed. 
  Singer—cost - 4 
  Hea+ld6 
  This helps a character to sing really well. 
  Slam—cost - 3 
  Sma+1
  This helps a character to have a quick come-back to any insult or 
  obvious statement.
  Sleuth—cost - 4 
  Sma+3 
  This helps a character to look for clues. 
  Sneak—cost - 4
  Mov+3
  This determines how well a character can move without making 
  any noise.
  Sprint—cost - 4
  Mov+4
  This helps a character to run quickly a short distance (about 
  100 yards).
  Sporty—cost - 4
  Str+3
  This gives a character a bonus to all sport-related activities, like
  running, throwing, hitting, or catching.
  Stir The Pot—cost - 6
  Sma+3
  This can be used to convince someone that someone else is saying
  or doing things against the first one (often called “manipulation”).
  Character Abilities   75
  
  Steel Memory—cost 3
  Sma+3
  The character has the amazing ability to remember anything, even
  the most trivial stuff.
  Strong-Willed—cost - 7
  Hea+5
  Rarely will the character be bullied or even give up during a stare-
  down; the character might even giggle or just be confused by the
  bully. Roll to see if the character’s will breaks.
  Super-Slam—cost - 7; Prerequisite - Slam
  Sma+3
  This gives a character a quick come-back to any insult or obvious
  statement and to keep the target from saying anything else
  because they’re just too embarrassed.
  Super-Sporty—cost -1; Prerequisite - Sporty
  Str+6
  This gives the character a bonus to more skillful sport-related
  activities, like riding a horse, swimming in rough water, or
  balancing on a beam that’s a few stories above ground.
  Suspicion—cost - 6
  Sma+4
  This helps a character to detect whether or not someone is lying.
  The Whiz—cost - 4
  Sma+3
  The character has a good grasp of any one subject in school. The
  character can have more than one Whiz specialty, but each one
  must be purchased separately. Some examples of a Whiz Ability:
  Math Whiz 
  Geography Whiz
  Science Whiz
  76
  Appendices
  
  Total Hottie—cost - 11; Prerequisites - Flirt and Ultra Cute
  Hea+ld6
  The character uses this when trying to make someone of the
  opposite gender completely stop their action, or make them forget
  whatever they were doing. 
  Ultra Cute—cost - 6; Prerequisite - Flirt
  Hea+4
  The character uses this when trying to persuade someone of the 
  opposite gender. 
  Wallflower—cost - 2
  Hea+2
  This helps the character to go unnoticed, especially in a crowd. 
  Webworm—cost - 7
  Sma+ld6
  The character uses this when researching anything online. 
  Weirdness Magnet—cost - 3
  No Roll Needed by Character
  Another very special ability. Your character seems to naturally
  attract strange things and people. You, the player, do not roll this
  ability; the monster or whatever nearby weirdo makes a Smarts roll
  to see if it notices you. Great to have if the Clique needs someone
  as bait for a trap! 
  Winning Smile—cost - 1
  Hea+1
  The character uses this to have anyone feel at ease just because he
  or she smiles. 
  Xtreme Sporty—cost - 5
  Mov+3
  The character uses this when doing anything relating to
  skateboards, surfing, snowboarding, or bmxing.
  Character Abilities   77
  
  List of Wild Card Abilities
  NOTE: The Wild Card can also have any of the PC
  abilities, but must pay one extra point above the 
  listed cost.
  Bag O’Tricks—cost - 4 
  Mov+3
  The Wild Card has a device (not necessarily a bag; can be a back
  pocket, under floppy ears, etc.) that will produce anything it
  needs, such as food, clothes, an anvil—whatever is needed or
  wanted at the time. If the player doesn’t meet the Target Number,
  a useless or weird object (of the GM’s choice) comes out. 
  Brawler—cost - 7
  Str+6
  The Wild Card is able to fight with any natural part of its body,
  such as teeth, claws, fists, etc. 
  Call To All—cost - 2
  Hea+2 
  The Clique will instantly find the Wild Card if it calls to them. 
  Exit Stage Left—cost - 9; Prerequisite: Super Fast 
  Mov+ 10
  The Wild Card can grab one other character and quickly exit 
  the scene before the monster or villain has any idea where 
  they’ve gone. 
  Fade—cost - 5
  Hea+3
  The Wild Card can fade from everyone’s view. 
  Fish Out Of Water—cost - 5 
  Hea+ld6
  The Wild Card can adapt to any environment, regardless of 
  its species. 
  78
  Appendices
  
  Fly—cost - 4
  Mov+3
  The Wild Card can fly, but it needs a special object to do it (such as
  a flying carpet, an umbrella, etc.) 
  Ken—cost - 2
  No Roll Needed.
  The Wild Card can understand the Clique, and they understand it.
  Everyone else is clueless. 
  Martial Arts—cost – 9; Prerequisite: Brawler
  Str or Mov (whichever is higher)+8
  The Wild Card is familiar with one school of Martial Arts. 
  Mechanized—cost - 16
  Special Roll
  Automatically add ld6 to any Str, Sma, or Hea roll. The Wild Card
  can be either a partial cyborg or a full robot. 
  Melee—cost - 7
  Str+6 
  The Wild Card is able to fight with a weapon, such as a sword or a
  club. Only one weapon per Melee Ability. 
  Perfect Direction—cost - 3 
  Sma+3
  The Wild Card never gets lost because it always knows where it is. 
  Skit—cost - 6
  Sma+5
  The Wild Card has the talent to turn the situation into a funny skit
  in order to confuse the monster or villain. The skit must be
  described to all players.
  Speak—cost - 2
  No Roll Needed.
  The Wild Card can talk and everyone (not just the 
  Clique) understands. 
  Wild Card Abilities   79
  
  80
  Appendices
  Specter—cost - 16
  No Roll Needed.
  No roll needed to act like a ghost. However, the Wild Card will
  automatically get Fade, Super Fly, and Transform. The Wild Card is,
  quite literally, a ghost, able to fly and disappear, and detect and talk
  to other ghosts.
  Strong—cost - 5 
  Str+4 
  The Wild Card is strong enough to lift something or someone that
  weighs as much as it does. 
  Super Fast—cost - 8 
  Mov+7 
  The Wild Card can move faster than the eyes of anyone watching it.
  Super Fly—cost - 8 
  Mov+5 
  The Wild Card can fly all by itself. 
  Super Strong—cost - 9; Prerequisite: Strong 
  Str+8 
  The Wild Card is strong enough to lift something or someone that
  weighs two or more times its weight. 
  Telekinetic—cost - 8 
  Sma or Str (whichever is higher)+7
  The Wild Card can move objects with its mind. 
  Telepathy—cost - 6 
  Sma+5 
  The Wild Card can read the mind and speak to the mind of only
  one member of the Clique. Pick one and stick with him or her!
  Transform Object—cost - 8 
  Sma+4 
  The Wild Card can change any non-living object into another non-
  living object of the same size. 
  
  Transform Self—cost - 8 
  Mov+6 
  The Wild Card can change into anything as long as what it’s
  changing into is the same size as the Wild Card. 
  Wild Whiz—cost - 6 
  Sma+6
  This knowledge can be of any subject matter (not just school
  subjects), but only one subject per Whiz ability. Examples: Wild
  Whiz - Comic Books, Wild Whiz - Pop Songs, Wild Whiz - Italian
  cuisine, etc.
  Wild Card Abilities   81
  
  Sample Player Characters 
  The complete character sheets of these characters can be
  downloaded from  www.meddlinggames.com. The following are
  just simple character Stats, Abilities, and Background.
  Weldon “Clutch” Sellers
  Archetype- Jock
  Stats—
  Strength-9
  Moves-4
  Smarts-3
  Health-8
  Abilities—
  Sporty
  Immovable
  Nosey
  Fearless
  Outdoorsman
  Intuition
  Bottomless Stomach
  Background Concept—
  Basic football jock (plays nose
  tackle); tall, blond, bo-hunk with
  silly, puppy-dog smile on his face
  most of the time. Also member of
  Nature Scouts (uniform rarely fits
  him). Stable, traditional family life—Mom is a stay-at-home mom,
  Dad is former college football star who owns & operates used car
  dealership. Has secret crush on Andrea, whom he rescued from bullies
  in 6th grade. Will protect anyone whom Andrea feels is her friend
  (“Her friends are my friends, too!”). Gets along with just about
  anyone. Very, very slow to anger, but when he gets to his saturation
  point, becomes almost hulkish and is prone to rampaging.
  82
  Appendices
  
  Andrea Davis
  Archetype- Brain
  Stats—
  Strength-2
  Moves-7
  Smarts-10
  Health-5
  Abilities—
  Bookworm
  Dodge
  Leadership
  Steel Memory
  Wallflower
  Whiz - Math
  Whiz -Science 
  Level-Headed
  Background Concept—
  Basic brainiac girl; small, skinny
  red-haired girl with glasses,
  normally hiding behind a book.
  Really comes out of her shell
  when in her element, i.e.,
  library or science lab. Can be a know-it-all sometimes. President of
  Science and Math clubs. Loves chess. Family life is relatively stable-
  Dad and Mom both work for AmeriGen Research Laboratories, and
  they love their daughter, but often get wrapped up in their work. She
  has problems with the lab’s use of experimental animals, and rescued
  a lab chimp, Bingo, who later became Cap’n Bingo (the Cap’n chooses
  to live with her, keeping her company when Mom and Dad aren’t
  around). Has been the victim of bullies (read: learned to run fast and
  dodge dodge-balls) until Clutch chased them away from her. Does her
  best to help out Clutch (or anyone else she likes) with homework.
  Secretly thinks Thrasher is dreamy.
  Sample Characters   83
  
  Brian “Thrasher” Carson
  Archetype- Goof
  Stats—
  Strength-5
  Moves-8
  Smarts-6
  Health-5
  Abilities—
  Clown
  Bottomless Stomach
  Computer Guru
  Gross Out
  Mechanic
  Weirdness Magnet
  Xtreme Sporty
  Background Concept—
  Basic skate punk, but a lot more
  laid back. Lanky, slouchy,
  disheveled, and never seen
  without a skateboard. Never. Very
  concerned about environmental
  issues-will go out of his way to recycle. Plays a lot of computer games,
  and will also spend a good deal of time online. Member of Science
  Club, but thinks that most members (except for Andrea) are waaaay
  too uptight. Has more fun in Drama Club, but keeps forgetting to
  attend. Loves to find out how things work–habitually aggravates his
  Mom by taking apart her kitchen appliances. Parents divorced; Dad
  unknown, Mom works at Super Clucker’s fast food during the day and
  goes to night school to get her hair stylist’s license. Is currently trying
  to teach Cap’n Bingo how to be a pirate rapper. The Cap’n is amused.
  And, yes, Thrasher is always hungry.
  84
  Appendices
  
  Roshandra Ngyen
  Archetype- Fluff
  Stats—
  Strength-4
  Moves-7
  Smarts-5
  Health-8
  Abilities—
  Flirt
  Fast-Talker
  Hip
  Singer
  Rich
  Perfect
  Nimble
  Background Concept—
  Basic African-Asian-
  American girl. Well, maybe
  not. Very cute, far from
  subtle, and is often followed
  by at least three fawning
  boys. Member of Drama
  Club and is Fashion Editor
  for the school newspaper.
  Loves karaoke, shopping for the latest fashions, and being seen. Is
  convinced she could be the next pop star if she could just get the right
  connections. Empty family life—Dad is investment broker for a Korean
  bank and is often out of town. Mom is a civil rights activist who is
  thinking about running for office and, subsequently, is not around too
  often, either. To make up for it, parents shower her with a lot of money
  and gifts. Wants to give everyone in the gang a makeover, and really
  likes Cap’n Bingo’s sense of pirate style (“…my boy, CB is too fly!”).
  Secretly wants everyone’s approval, but will pretend it’s not important
  to her. Slightly envious of Clutch’s family life.
  Sample Characters   85
  
  Siddhartha “Sid” Johnson
  Archetype- Innocent
  Stats—
  Strength- 5
  Moves- 6
  Smarts- 6
  Health- 7
  Abilities—
  Strong-Willed
  Best Friend
  Bug-Free
  Double-Jointed
  Good Eats
  Nature Buff
  Musician - Strings 
  Weirdness Magnet
  Background Concept—
  Moved to Rhode Island from
  San Francisco, CA. Lives with
  Dad and Grandma, who run
  a New Age health food store
  called It’s All Good. Always
  sees the good in every
  situation and in every person.
  Total vegan (the kind of vegetarian that doesn’t even eat milk or
  eggs), but is okay if other people eat meat—he thinks it’s more wrong
  to be judgmental. Always concerned about taking care of the Earth,
  and has started a recycling program at school. Great musician, can
  play any stringed instrument, and is trying to start a band with
  Thrasher and Roshandra. Because of his good nature, many grown-
  ups think he’s not real smart; however, his real friends know better,
  and often ask him for advice.
  86
  Appendices
  
  Daniel “Spike” Spikelson
  Archetype- Temper
  Stats—
  Strength- 6
  Moves- 6
  Smarts- 5
  Health- 7
  Abilities—
  Stir The Pot
  Slam
  Drive
  Geek
  Intimidate
  Monster Mind
  Background Concept—
  Spike is the quintessential smart-
  aleck punk, at least at first
  glance. He actually has a great
  love of humanity, but gets easily
  ticked off at people who he thinks
  are acting stupidly. Oftentimes, he
  likes to play tricks on these kinds
  of people, hoping they will learn
  from their mistakes. He knows the
  whole gang thanks to Thrasher, who loves to tinker with Spike’s old
  car. He likes everyone in the Clique, and will staunchly defend all of
  them, even if his loud, in-your-face, don’t-mess-with-my-friends style
  sometimes annoys them (except for Cap’n Bingo, who likes the fact
  that Spike wears a Jolly Roger t-shirt). He has a job at the local punk
  rock boutique, Slasher’s Den, and often will update Roshandra on the
  latest club fashions; after all, he does have a secret crush on her.
  Sample Characters   87
  
  Jeff Younger
  Archetype- Sidekick
  Stats—
  Strength- 6
  Moves- 6
  Smarts- 6
  Health- 6
  Abilities—
  Best Friend
  Animal Friend
  Level-Headed
  Lucky
  Wallflower
  Winning Smile
  Magician
  Background Concept—
  Jeff is totally the “Joe
  Average” kind of guy; he
  rarely disturbs the status
  quo. He gets along fine with
  everyone he meets, and tries
  to keep the peace with all
  the people that he knows
  (he hates conflict!). His Dad
  is an accountant and his
  Mom is the receptionist at
  Clutch’s Dad’s auto dealership (he and Clutch are second cousins).
  Even his hobbies are a little ordinary; he hikes, collects coins, watches
  David Blaine on TV, and reads mystery novels. The only unusual thing
  about Jeff is his amazing ability to save the Clique when they think all
  is lost.
  88
  Appendices
  
  Dragon’s Eye Characters   89
  Other “Dragon’s Eye” Characters
  These are short write-ups on the villain and the NPCs of the
  Adventure in Chapter 4. Feel free to make up any other
  information that we may have left out!
  Georgianna Fortuna
  Type: Jewel Thief
  Stats—
  Strength- 4
  Moves- 7
  Smarts- 6
  Health- 7
  Abilities—
  Disguise
  Actor
  Sneak
  Whiz – Gemology
  Steel Memory
  Perfect
  Background—
  Not only is Fortuna an international
  jewel thief, she’s a master of disguise.
  She’s been on Interpol’s most wanted
  list for many years because the police
  never get the same description of her
  twice! She was once the director of the
  Association of Gemologists, but they let
  her go because of her arrogance and
  greed. She has vowed revenge against
  the Association, and, unfortunately,
  anyone else who gets in her way.
  
  Professor Clive Dorchester
  Type: NPC
  No stats needed.
  Background—
  The good-natured, yet absent-minded director of
  the Port Juliet Museum for the past three years.
  Originally from England, the Professor moved to
  Rhode Island to work at the museum. Has wanted
  the museum to be nationally recognized, and
  hopes that the “Gems of the World” exhibit will
  put Port Juliet on the map. Although very, very
  intelligent, the Professor will get so wrapped up in
  things, he’ll forget minor details (like checking out
  the credetials of the MegaCity Museum’s “Touring
  Exhibit Director”).
  Detective Joseph Vendredi
  Type: NPC
  No stats needed.
  Background—
  Detective Vendredi is the suave,
  sophisticated, and sometimes snooty French
  officer for Interpol. His main goal: Get
  Georgianna Fortuna! He has chased her for
  nearly a year, and has always been just one
  step behind her. This time, he’ll be in
  disguise, too—as a French visitor to Port
  Juliet to see the Dragon’s Eye.
  90
  Appendices
  
  Holly Bennett
  Type: NPC
  No stats needed.
  Background—
  Cute, smart, and normally cheerful, Holly is the intern at the museum,
  learning all she can so that she can be a museum director one day.
  She just recently graduated from Warwick College, and started
  working at the museum a few months ago. She’s a little upset that
  Professor Dorchester is the director, and not her uncle Walter, who’s
  worked at the museum for over twenty years.
  Walter Bennett
  Type: NPC
  No stats needed.
  Background—
  Crazy Walter, as everyone in Port Juliet knows him, is a fixture at the
  museum. He’s tall and skinny, with wild, unkempt red hair, and always
  has a crazy look in his eyes. He knows everything about every exhibit,
  and loves to tell anyone who’ll listen all about what they’re looking at,
  whether they want to know or not. The Museum Board offered him
  the job of Museum Director, but he turned it down; he enjoys just
  being the janitor and maintenance man. He has fewer responsibilities,
  and he can still be near the visitors, “informing” them. More like
  scaring, them, actually.
  Dragon’s Eye Characters   91
  
  Sample Villains & Monsters
  It’s just as easy to build your own villain or monster as it is to build
  a character or a Wild Card. Since villains are basically normal
  human beings, build them the same way an ordinary character is
  built. Because monsters can be a little different, build them the
  same way you’d build a Wild Card, but leave out the Quirk. You
  can make up a background for either, but it’s not always necessary.
  Here’s a few examples of some villains and monsters.
  Dick “The Worm” Kirkland
  Type: Street Thug
  Stats—
  Strength- 6
  Moves- 8
  Smarts- 2
  Health- 8
  Abilities—
  Connected
  Sneak
  Nimble
  Dodge
  Sprint
  Intimidation
  92
  Appendices
  Rupert Malachite
  Type: Greedy Corporate CEO
  Stats—
  Strength- 4
  Moves- 4
  Smarts- 9
  Health- 7
  Abilities—
  Rich
  Really Rich
  Leadership
  Whiz-Business
  
  Sample Villians & Monsters   93
  Ziagnork
  Type: Alien
  Stats—
  Strength- 3
  Moves- 5
  Smarts- 11
  Health- 5
  Abilities—
  Fly (uses a hover disc)
  Telekinetic
  Telepathy
  Wild Whiz- Outer Space
  The Undead Dude 
  of Dugout Creek
  Type: Zombie
  Stats—
  Strength- 10
  Moves- 3
  Smarts- 2
  Health- 9
  Abilities—
  Brawler
  Strong
  Super Strong
  Bottomless Stomach
  Gross Out
  Mr. Chitters
  Type: Giant Squirrel
  Stats—
  Strength- 10
  Moves- 11
  Smarts- 1
  Health- 2
  Abilities—
  Brawler
  Martial Arts (Karate)
  Super Fast
  Winning Smile
  GreenGills
  Type: Sea Monster 
  Stats—
  Strength- 8
  Moves- 7
  Smarts- 4
  Health- 5
  Abilities—
  Speak
  Strong
  Super Strong
  Super Fast
  
  Index
  Abilities
  Creation Points Allowed ................................16
  How to Use in Play ........................................37
  Player Character List ................................68-77
  Wild Card List ..........................................78-81
  Adventure Module
  Definition ................................................51, 67
  “The Dragon’s Eye” ..................................51-63
  Adventures
  Adventure Modules................................51, 67
  “The Dragon’s Eye”............................51-63
  Construction............................................22-25
  Archetype
  Examples of ..............................................13-14
  Free Ability................................................16-17
  List of13-14
  Character Creation
  Choosing Abilities ....................................16-17
  Choosing Archetype ................................13-14
  Determining Stats ....................................14-15
  Writing Background..................................11-12
  Chase Scene................................................46
  Conflict Resolution ..............................38-40
  94
  Index
  
  Experience Points
  Buying New Abilities ................................47-48
  Buying up Stats..............................................49
  For Wild Cards ..............................................49
  How to Award................................................48
  How to Spend ..........................................47-48
  Game Master
  Awarding Experience ....................................48
  Building NPCs................................................24
  Building a Wild Card ................................26-28
  Constructing an Adventure ......................22-25
  Dealing With Players & Characters............21-22
  Dealing With Rules ........................................20
  Definition ......................................................67
  Guide ......................................................19-31
  Running an Adventure..............................29-31
  Getting Bonked! ..................................40-41
  Kid Points ............................................43-45
  LARP ............................................................7
  Non-Player Characters
  Definition ......................................................67
  How to Build..................................................24
  List of Villains & Monsters ........................91-93
  Player Characters
  Definition ......................................................67
  How to Create ..........................................11-17
  RPG (Role-Playing Game) ..................................67
  Index   95
  
  Rules
  Conflict Resolution....................................38-40
  Kid Points ................................................43-45
  Hints & Tips for Play ................................46-47
  How to Use Abilities..................................37-38
  How to Use Stats ......................................33-35
  Target Numbers........................................35-37
  The Starter System® ......................................33
  Stats
  Creation Points Allowed ................................15
  Description of ..........................................14-15
  How to Use in Play ..................................33-34
  Target Number
  Definition ................................................35, 67
  How to Set ....................................................35
  List of ......................................................35-37
  Traps!
  Designing ................................................42-43
  Trap Rating ....................................................42
  Wild Card
  Definition ................................................26, 67
  Example of................................................27-28
  Experience Points for ....................................49
  How to Build ............................................26-27
  List of Abilities ..........................................78-81
  Quirks ............................................................27
  96
  Index
  
  PHD-5000                            $9.95
  www.pandahead.com
  1 STAGE ONE OF
  THE STARTER SYSTEM™
  Mysterious things down by the lake?
  Strange stuff going on at school?
  Only one person can solve this mystery… YOU!
  Meddling Kids is an introductory role-playing game,
  teaching the basic ideas and concepts for people 
  who’ve never touched a game like this before.
  And it’s perfect for kids of ALL ages.
  Recommended for ages 7+
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Kid Friendly/7. RPGs/Ages 6-8 (Attention Span of 1-2 hours, Can count over 20, Understands basic addition & subtraction, Beginning readers)/Meddling Kids.pdf