Monthly Archives: April 2016

Shrinking/Growing Paste

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My partner and me created Michtims back in 2008, we had a lot of fun creating the hidden kingdom of Turnaya that lay just outside of humans’ perception. There was one thing we hadn’t agreed on though. Sizes. His Michtims were about cat-sized, mine were rather hamster-sized. In the end, I used my size scheme as basis for the publication, but sometimes you might think that Michtims should be bigger. Right? Haha. Yeah. You can absolutely do this.

One of the accomplishments of Felixus Honigpfote (=honeypaw), my partner’s alter ego, was creating an alchemical shrinking/growing paste. After applying (or eating) this substance, your size (including your equipment) would change either up or down.

Regarding the previous post about Sizes in Michtim RPG, there is of course also a smaller size category. Keeping with the d20 size categories, I could simply call it Diminutive (Health 1) or we could use Michtim lingo and call it mene. Michtim lingo would call Tiny mini as well.

Anyway. Applying a dose of shrinking/growing paste changes your size one step up or down from your original size. To shrink/grow further, you need a much rarer ultra-shrink/grow paste that can set your size to any point in the spectrum. Depending on the method you apply the paste, the effect either lingers for a few hours (smearing the paste onto the fur and equipment) or until it is alchemically revoked (ingesting the paste). The paste can also be used as filling of bocicne, to quite hilarious effect.

Yes. Humans can also be shrunk that way. Sometimes Michtims do that to take visitors to Turnaya. A side effect of the paste is, that shrunk humans might physically change into Michtims for the duration, while Michtims growing to Medium size might appear human because of the illusory power of the Veil.

Anyway. Have fun with this!

Sizes in Michtim RPG

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I came to realize that Michtim lacks a size system that actually works. It isn’t complicated to find something fitting though. While working on the creature cards (doing streamlining), I figured out that the following would work quite well.

Size Categories

Tiny, Small, Medium, Large. You get the picture. Each category has a typical Health attribute:

  • Tiny: 5
  • Small: 10
  • Medium: 20
  • Large: 40

That’s the basic Health pool for a creature of that size. Creature Points can increase this number, but that’s not relevant for now. Sizes have other important uses:

Attacking a smaller Creature

  • Each size category smaller means -1 die to Attack, because the target is so small, it is harder to hit.
  • In case of a hit, the damage is increased +1, because the bigger creature is more powerful.

In effect, this is like a forced “Power Punch”.

Attacking a bigger Creature

  • Each size category bigger means +1 die to Attack, because the target is much bigger and therefore easier to hit.
  • A hit does -1 damage per size category bigger though, because bigger creatures are more resilient to the damage of small creatures.

This is a pretty valid simulation as well as a direct mirroring of the above rule.

Hiding from bigger Creatures

  • hidden creatures gain +1 bonus hit per size category they are smaller than their opponents; this is a one-way rule.

Sizes and Creatures

This allows some fairly straight forward interaction with most creatures that Michtims encounter in their adventures. It also means that humans (called Mensch), really are this game’s Dragons. They suffer -2 damage from Michtim attacks, and all their attacks deal +2 damage (though they rarely hit).

Good that Michtims have other methods to solve conflicts.

Inclusive RPG Logo

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Inclusivity in RPGs is important. Use this seal to show your game's support for inclusivity!

Inclusive RPG Seal, use this for your inclusive RPGs!

Back in 2012, I created my family friendly RPG Michtim: Fluffy Adventures. It was supposed to be a happy place for all sorts of gamers. Something worthwhile to protect against human intrusion. It is kind of utopian, though troubles and intrigue are still a part of the setting, of course. One thing is set in stone though: Michtims are an inclusive lot. They do not discriminate against others based on sexuality, identity, creed or fur color.

I wanted to make a stand for inclusivity in my game. I was highly disappointed of many games I came across that always made a point about heteronormative rulings (“characters of the opposite sex…”) or forcefully separated different genders in available roles or regarding stats and social status.

I wanted a game that just doesn’t care about my sexuality. There isn’t even a gender field on the character sheet. It wasn’t forgotten, it simply isn’t important. Female characters can have typically male features and vice versa, and there are also Meschne Michtim, who are in between or completely different from Male or Female stereotypes or bodily functions. They aren’t even seldom. Many Michtims are Meschne. My alter ego, who would be identified as male, is able to breastfeed, and nobody gives a damn. He’s technically Meschne. No need for labels.

Fast forward to 2016. I read a lot of negative feedback about games that fail to be inclusive. But all I think of is: why does nobody discuss the games that handle it in a good way? What about spreading some good vibes? Recommendations? I was waiting to be featured by fellow LGBT-friendly sites, but there wasn’t much coming out of that direction. I faltered. Maybe my game isn’t queer enough? Well. I want to make inclusive games more visible! That’s why I came up with this logo you can use to show your game’s support for inclusivity.

Go on! Share this post! Let’s make inclusivity in RPGs a thing that you can actively look for!

Let me know your thoughts!