Monster Kart Monday #9: Fairyland Progress, Playtesting

This entry is part 9 of 21 in the series Monster Kart Monday

Progress on MKM: Fairyland has been slower than on some of the other adventures, but I still feel it’s coming along quite nicely. After I”m done with Fairyland I’m going to begin work on MKM: Circus Carnage, which is a departure from the mythology theme of some of the other race courses but brings the game back to its monstrous roots.

I hope to launch a Kickstarter campaign for MonsterKart Mayhem in October, just in time for Halloween. My goal is to have the core book and four adventures finished with enough detail to show off when the Kickstarter goes live. Stay tuned for more details.

Additionally, I have had some renewed interest in playtesting lately. The offer still stands to let playtesters create new content for the game and gain a free copy of the book, so if you’re interested head on over to this post for more details.

Fairyland Progress

I’ve been hard at work this week on MKM Fairyland, and here’s what I have so far.

* 8 new characters, fully fleshed out. These include the 7 characters mentioned last week as well as Nell the Nymph.

* A race course with several locations: the Seelie Court, Loch Arthur, The Barrows, Up the Beandstalk, the Cloud Giant’s Domain, Down the Bean Stalk, Troll Toll Bridge, Fairy Falls, and the Fairyland Gift Shop. The course isn’t fully finished yet and is still subject to change.

* 6 out of 9 new Power-Ups, including: Bottled Boggart Belch, Sad Song, Sparkle Dust, Fairy Wings, Pot of Leprechaun’s Gold, and the Purple Polka Dot Parachute.

Of these, I’m particularly fond of a new mechanic I devised for the Bottled Boggart Belch, which I think the kids are going to love:

Burrrp. Boggarts are known for being nasty creatures, and it seems like some enterprising young faerie has figured out a way to store their nasty burps inside a bottle for later use. But why would you want to use a boggart belch? Simple: it’s completely disgusting and makes other racers squeamish.

Use this in place of a Hurt Someone action to gross out another racer.  The target takes a -2 penalty to their Speed for one round. If you make a burp in real life, that target takes a -3 penalty instead.

That’s right. If you real-life burp, the Boggart Belch gets even better. Now kids can really get into their role-playing!

Finally, I’ve developed 9 new Faerie Pranks. You may remember from last week’s update that Faerie PRanks are effects which happen every round and affect all racers for that round. The Starting Player rolls on a chart similar to the Power-UP chart to determine the effect, and it persists until the next round.

Here’s what we have for the Faerie Pranks. I think they’re going to add a lot to the game and will really change the dynamic of the race.

Fairie Pranks

You didn’t think a ride through fairyland would be without its challenges, did you? In addition to the normal Terrain Effects of the Race Course, the Starting Player of each round must roll on the following chart. For the rest of that round, apply the effects of the Fairie Prank to all racers.
Roll 2dF and use the chart the same way you use the Power-Up chart to determine which Fairie Prank happens that round.

Copycat

Don’t you hate it when someone plays copycat? (Don’t you hate it when someone plays copycat?) Well the faeries love it! (Well the faeries love it!) For the rest of the round, every action you take happens twice. (For the rest of the round, every action you take happens twice.) For example, when you Grab a Power-Up, you Grab a Power-Up twice; when you Hurt Someone, you Hurt Someone twice. (For example, when you Grab a Power-Up, you Grab a Power-Up twice; when you Hurt Someone, you Hurt Someone twice.) The only thing you don’t do twice is move your Speed along the track—that only happens once. (The only thing you don’t do twice is move your Speed along the track—that only happens once.)

Disappearing Dust

Fairies douse everyone in disappearing dust! For the rest of the round nobody is able to see one another. No racer may use a Hurt Someone or Cause a Complication action this round, nor may they use actions (such as Attack Power-Ups) which replace one of these actions.

Freeze Frame

Red light. Green light. Red light! Everybody freeze! For the rest of the round, nobody may move forward. You may still Grab a Power-Up, Cause a Complication, or Hurt Someone (as long as you are within 1 Space of them).

Horrible Hijinks

Wouldn’t it be funny if someone spread hot tar all over the road? No? Well some faerie seemed to think so. For the rest of the round, everyone’s Speed is reduced to Terrible (-3). Next round, everyone’s Acceleration is reduced by 3 levels because the tar is gunking things up.

Jolly Jig

Sometimes you just need to be happy and dance a little jig. The fairies are going to see to that. For the rest of the round, all racers take a -1 penalty to Speed because they have to stop their car and do a little dance. Thankfully it’s a happy dance, and nobody is able to take a Hurt Someone action this round because that would just spoil everyone’s fun.

Magical Mishap

A Faerie Prank just backfired, and everyone’s going to feel it! For the rest of the round, swap your highest Trait with your lowest. For example, if your Maneuvering Trait is Superb and your Hurting Trait is Fair, switch them around; your Maneuvering Trait becomes Fair and your Hurting Trait becomes Superb until the end of the round.

Malevolent Melody

Some faeries have a mean sense of humor. When you hear this discordant tune, watch out! For the rest of the round, all racers’ Acceleration Traits are reduced to Terrible (-3) but their Hurting traits increase to Superb (+3).

Silly Song

Fairies love to sing, and right now they’re singing a very silly song. All racers take a -2 penalty to their Maneuvering Trait this round due to uncontrollable laughter.

Slippery Slick

Those slippery faeries are at it again! They’ve put faerie oil all over the road, and it’s making it hard to drive. At the start of your turn, make a Great (+2) Maneuvering check to avoid the oil slick. Failure means you take a -2 penalty to your Speed this turn.

Series Navigation<< Monster Kart Monday #8: Now With More FaeriesMonster Kart Monday #10: New Alpha, Upcoming Kickstarter >>