Sneaky tooth fairies and animal rescue in a new TTRPG for kids

 i have made my first ttrpg!

pic: old fairy scrap pictures from my stash

i wanted to try a role-playing game with three children ages 5 to 8. i couldn't however find a non-violent ttrpg to buy. in every game i checked the players were supposed to defeat monsters. that's another discussion though, why isn't there any variety in problem solving in role-playing games for kids. since i couldn't find any i had to make my own.

 

pic: fairy game character sheets

while pondering i realized that tooth fairies might be a non-violent option. afterall they are known for sneaking around and changing children's milk teeth into coins. if the theme of sneaking around in the dead of the night would feel too scary for the players, i decided that the fairy characters  would volunteer during day time to rescue lost and/or injured animals from the fairy forest. in addition i thought these two themes would give me ample story ideas.

the game rules and a couple of adventures are downloadable for free from the next links:

Tooth Fairy RPG

Fairy Adventures 

note! the game material is only free for non-commercial use and all rights are reserved.

well, how was it playing the game?

i tried the game with the three children. the 8 year old found the game quite easy, but they were excited to help the storyteller read the dice. the 5 and 6 year olds could not interpret whether the test was successful or not, i.e. the pictures on the character sheet were too difficult for them to understand. they always asked to know what number they would try to roll, i.e. what number would pass the test (however, both understood the dice numbers with dots).

i thought beforehand that the kids would be really creative and come up with surprising solutions, but i had to help them quite a lot and they went largely with the solutions i came up with beforehand. so i got to be creative myself, even though i was well prepared. this was certainly influenced by the fact that the children were not used to role-playing games beforehand.

the first game was a bit longer because it required telling the players the initial setting and negotiating the characters and what they would like to do. i think the game lasted 30-45 min. the second game went faster and i sped it up myself. the second game was not at the most opportune time because it was morning and raining and the kids had not had time to spend their energy outside. their concentration was weaker and i found that a shorter game was then to everyone's liking. as i recall, the second game lasted only 15-20 min.

if it is possible to play with a more equal age group, the game can be more easily adapted to the difficulty level of the children. i have written down my thoughts in the rules, how to make the game more difficult if needed.

happy gaming to you all!

 äitisuomennos: ks. ed. postaus.

Hammaskeijut hiipivät ja pelastavat eläimiä TTRPG

olen julkaissut uuden pöytäroolipelin!

kuva: vanhoja keijukiiltokuvia omista kokoelmistani.

halusin kokeilla pöytäroolipelin vetämistä kolmelle läheiselle 5-8 vuotiaalle. en kuitenkaan löytänyt sopivaa peliä, joka olisi ollut väkivallaton. monessa pelissä täytyy nujertaa hirviöitä ja ajattelin, että miksi kukaan ei ole keksinyt jotakin muuta aihetta. siispä tuumasta toimeen ja tekemään itse peliä.

 

kuva: keijupelin roolihahmokortit

keksin, että hammaskeijuthan voisivat olla mielenkiintoinen aihe, jossa ei tarvitse taistella. hehän tunnetusti hiipivät nukkuvan lapsen luo ja vaihtavat hampaan kolikkoon. mietin, että jos yöaikainen hiiviskely tuntuisi silti pelottavalta, keijujen päiväaikainen harrastus voisi olla loukkaantuneiden tai eksyneiden eläinten pelastaminen keijumetsästä. näistä aineksista ajattelin saavani useita erilaisia peliaihioita.

säännöt ja muutama peliaihio on ladattavissa maksutta täältä:

Keijupelin säännöt

Keijuseikkailuja 

huom! pelimateriaali on vain ei-kaupalliseen käyttöön ja pidän kaikki oikeudet itse tekemääni materiaaliin.

kuinkas sitten kävikään? 

kokeilin peliä lasten kanssa. 8-vuotiaalle peli tuntui aika helpolta, mutta hän innostui tarinankertojan avustamisesta nopan lukemisessa. 5- ja 6-vuotiaat eivät osanneet tulkita, onnistuiko testi vai ei eli hahmokortin kuvat, millä nopan lukemilla testi onnistuu, olivat heille liian vaikeat ymmärtää. He pyysivät aina saada tietää, mitä lukemaa he yrittäisivät heittää eli millä numerolla testi onnistuisi (molemmat kuitenkin ymmärsivät pisteellisen nopan lukemat).

ajattelin etukäteen, että lapset olisivat tosi luovia ja keksisivät yllättäviä ratkaisuja, mutta jouduin avustamaan heitä aika paljon ja mentiin pitkälti minun etukäteen keksimillä ratkaisuillani. sainkin siis itse olla luova, vaikka olinkin valmistautunut hyvin. tähän varmasti vaikutti, että roolipelaaminen ei ollut lapsille ennalta tuttua.

ensimmäinen peli oli vähän pitempi, koska peli vaati alkuasetelman kertomista ja pelaajien neuvottelua hahmoista ja mitä he haluaisivat tehdä. muistaakseni peli kesti 30-45 min. toinen peli meni nopeammin ja nopeutin sitä vielä itse. toisen pelin ajankohta ei ollut otollisin, koska oli aamupäivä ja satoi, eivätkä lapset olleet ehtineet purkaa energiaa ulkona. näin ollen heidän keskittymisensä oli heikompaa ja totesin, että lyhyt peli oli silloin kaikkien mieleen. muistaakseni peliaika oli toisella kerralla 15-20 min.

jos on mahdollista pelata iältään tasaisemmalla ryhmällä, voi pelin soveltaa helpommin kohderyhmälle sopivaan vaikeustasoon. olen kirjannut sääntöihin ajatuksiani, miten peliä voisi vaikeuttaa.

mukavia pelihetkiä kaikille! 

Why Tiamat is the best!

tiamat's first appearance was in 1975 and she was obviously grossly misrepresented by misogynists who are afraid of powerful women. in the the lore about tiamat and bahamut's rivalry, she is the only one with any agency. only her deeds are recorded.

tiamat and bahamut's father io is said to have created the two to be lovers. he is said to have created a perfect combination, both being opposites but completing each other. instead tiamat said no and proceeded to have several lovers, at least of which 5 current and 5 previous ones are recorded in the lore. bahamut has no recorded lovers but a council of seven who have a very platonic relationship with him and who council him to be good and just. they are called his friends but there's still a clear hierarchy where bahamut is their god.

there is a malicious rumour going around that tiamat is twistedly in love with bahamut. i bet that rejection hurt bahamut and this rumour is just his wishful thinking. according to the lore that guy never did anything without a prompt from tiamat. 

tiamat's father wasn't a big fan of fatherhood. after he created his children he was pretty much hands-off parent. nowadays we call that neglect and child abuse. it's recorded that tiamat continually tried to get attention from her father with extreme actions. clearly if io had paid any attention she wouldn't have had to resort to those. when tiamat decided to be evil and to look only after herself after her father grossly neglected her, only then did bahamut decide to be good to oppose her. so who is in twisted love with their sister? clearly he was never able to forget her and io's "great" plan. if bahamut was so good always why did he need to decide to be good after tiamat turned evil. also, why does bahamut need a council to guide him to be good, just and moral?

tiamat is also wrongly accused of greed. she just wishes to be independently wealthy! if every dragon has a hoard why is hers the only one judged?

tiamat is obviously gorgeous (remember at least 10 lovers) and the truth is, also arrogant. if one has the goods to be proud... be proud! anyway, who is spreading the malice on tiamat? bahamut, is that you, again? 

after having such a neglectful home, can you truly blame tiamat on her actions? oh, and they say she never forgives a slight. why should she? all that trashtalking doesn't make one exactly a forgiving person. all tiamat asks of her subjects is reverence, homage, supplication from non-dragons and tribute like a true goddess. tiamat is the best! 

äitisuomennos: tiamat on paras! 

My first hoya is vining!

almost exactly four years ago i got myself a hoya kerrii leaf. i have watered and fertilized it with my air plant tillandsia ionantha. now it is showing a sign of a new leaf growing! i never thought i'd see this day.

hoya kerrii in serious need of repotting

first new leaf

i still have my air plant tillandsia ionantha which bloomed last year and is now creating a pup.

tillandsia ionantha and its pup

äitisuomennos: posliinikukan lehti tekee ensimmäistä lehteä. lehti on ollut mun hoidossa jo neljä vuotta. ilmakasvikin on pieniin päin...

Two new favourites

ah, english language, somtimes you are quite clever...

claptrap - aplodiansa (kalastella aplodeja)
shortchanged - huijattu (annettu liian vähän vaihtorahaa)

i know exactly how these feel!

My first Hoya...

A Valentine's day horticultural rip-off

luckily i was interested in the shape of the leaf (aesthetics, i know so shallow of me) so i am not so disappointed that it doesn't actually grow into a plant... it turned out to be the most aesthetic choice - leaf that never changes (except when it dies)! luckily i also picked the best shaped one since it's not going to change!

i thought it was a succulent and the flower store clerk didn't know any better... though she said that during the time they had had those plants they hadn't grown and remained the same.

found an air plant (possibly tillandsia ionantha) from another local store and couldn't resist it either. unfortunately this clerk was clueless about air plants in general and said it doesn't need any care (water or sun). if you click the pic you'll see that the ends of the leaves are already browned. i hope it gets better in my care.

in finland air plants are rarely sold in stores. i have heard a good review of this store:

till herba caeli

you can order plants to finland too and they promise to send the plant in excellent condition. i would still order from them only during summer time to avoid freezing accidents.

seasonal repotting is finally over! phew!

happy spring!

äitisuomennos: ensimmäinen posliinikuk...an lehti. :D ensimmäinen ilmakasvi ja kauden ruukun vaihdot on vihdoin saatu päätökseen.

Mammillaria hahniana

i did it! i enrolled in a french tour of the greenhouses (the info point clerk didn't speak any english btw... and asked if i was anglaise. :D) at nantes, jardin des plantes and found out which genus 

and species my cactus at home belongs to.

may i present you the humble mammillaria hahniana (old lady cactus???).

(the lowest plants have the same coloring of the needles, white dipped into brown. a major point why i was never sure of the classification when looking at other people's photos.)

the tour was btw for free. as i didn't understand much of it i had more time inspecting the plants and could have taken more photos if i wasn't so intensely trying to find the right species. anyway we only visited the cacti and succulents house plus the rainforest house (no pictures there, intermittent "rain" ensured that). the rainforest greenhouse was awesome inside but it looked very sick from outside - all glasses were brown and muddy. apparently it was from some bacteria 

which was growing on some leaves as well or maybe algae that was good for the plants.

too bad we were there too early for la folie des plantes -

plant fever in nantes 

(and that the airplant shop was en vacances)

my happy cactus :)

(though still not that happy - not yet flowering after a year and two summers...)

äitisuomennos: kaktuksen lajike tiedossa!

kaktukset.blogspot.fi: mammillaria hahniana

Relaxation stress

i must be mad, at least it feels so...

i wanted to have a simple, mundain, long lasting crafts project that i could pick up anytime for 15-20 min. when i would feel like it. i chose to make a double bed cover (160-200cm) with this pattern super simple hexagon. i chose it especially for the good marketing line "super simple".

recently i did the math after crocheting 5 hexagons and joining them on the go. so 160 cm x 200 cm = 17-18 hexagons in a row and 29 rows = 508 hexagons.

ok, seems to be what i want: big, mundain and easy pattern. BUT i'm working on it using leftover yarn (nailing an eco-project tag at the same time) and now my biggest stress factor has become choosing the prettiest yarn from the mix!!! (plus i tend to forget the super easy pattern after i haven't been in the mood for it for some time stressing even magic loop for 20 min.!!!) at least i shouldn't be getting dementia anytime soon when i challenge my brain so - hm... should i pick a pink yarn, no no, next one is supposed to be a stronger color, that one doesn't really go with that etc... (help! maybe the beginning row should have an odd number of hexagons so i can end both ways with stronger colors since i have alternated dark with pastel :P )


äitisuomennos: virkkaaminen ja matikka + värien suunnittelu = stressi!!!

Harry Potter fanfiction

for some time now i've read a fanfiction called harry potter and the methods of rationality. the author states that:

Rule of Rationalist Fiction states that rationality is not magic; being rational does not require magical potential or royal bloodlines or even amazing gadgets, and the principles of rationality work for understandable reasons. A rationalist!hero should excel by thinking - moreover, thinking in understandable patterns that readers can, in principle, adopt for themselves. As opposed to the hero just being a born “genius” who comes up with amazing gadgets through an opaque discovery process, or who flawlessly pulls off incredibly complicated gambits that would fail miserably if the reader tried something similar in real life.

All fanfiction involves borrowing the original author’s characters, situations, and world. It is ridiculous to turn around and complain if your own ideas get borrowed in turn. Anyone is welcome to steal anything from any fanfiction I write.

 harry potter and the methods of rationality

basically in this story harry potter is a rationalist and a scientist to the core. he explores the laws of magic the same way he would do science experiments. the characters are more complex than in the original story and "good and evil" are not so easy to distinguish. the story loosely follows some of the main events of the original story, so it's best not to read it if you don't want to know any spoilers (in case you have for some reason lived in a barrel since 90's potter craze). 

the story has odd rewritings and chapters that don't belong to the "finished" version and harsh criticism of j.k. rowling so it's not for people who expect book like read or fans who worship rowling. especially the grim rationalistic touch made me also question my viewpoint on harry potter and if i can feel the same about the original story like ever. then i just made the distinction that the original story is a magical fairytale and the other well grimmer, "rational" take on the matter (i wouldn't call it realistic as it is still situated in the magical world).

i really enjoyed reading "harry potter and the methods of rationality" which made me rethink a lot of things (especially moral dilemmas were interesting). it's not easy to read but it's worth a try.

word of warning: in case you get hooked on - the story is not complete yet!


äitisuomennos: olen lukenut englanniksi netistä harry potter fanifiktiota (nettiosoite ylempänä hyperlinkkinä)

Finnish cuisine

frozen cranberries with russian candy.
nam :)

good guidance in finnish: kinuski


äitisuomennos: kinuskia ja jäisiä karpaloita...

Tin can lantern

 

i put  a small tea light in and it smothered after a while. should i open the holes wider or what? others didn't use a cap but i'd like my candle to be a bit more sheltered. (oops, i read that they can flame if the temperature gets too hot... hm... on the other hand i was going to burn them in cold weather outdoors...) notice that i didn't ice the can before banging... ;)


äitisuomennos: metallipurkkilyhty

Purging

what a better way to start a new year than purging unused items!

tip: i've already donated several books to the local library for community use.

sometimes it's difficult to decide which items should go and which to keep. i recently heard about a new book (in finnish) that promises to end all my clothing troubles: Rinna Saramäki, Hyvän mielen vaatekaappi. source: pupulandia
i'm interested in to give it a try. i hope the local library has it already.


äitisuomennos: uuden vuoden siivous...

Madrid in May 2013

 

 calamari sandwich

 mikä oli todistettavana.

 paikallinen agronomiliitto ;)

 hih hih ;)

 frozen yoghurt - best eaten in madrid!

 slapstick humor - did he have to park there, did he???

 Lauri Kentän kaupunki

äitisuomennos: toukokuussa madridissa...