Munchkin Country
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Munchkin Country Munchkin Country occupies the eastern quarter of the land of Oz. The people here prefer the color blue. This land was once ruled by a Wicked Witch until Dorothy’s house fell on her. The Munchkin people have not selected a ruler to replace her and have been doing a fairly good job of ruling themselves. Many heroes of Oz have come from the Munchkin Country. The most famous of these are Nick Chopper, also known as the Tin Woodman, and the Scarecrow. Other heroes include Ojo the Lucky, Scraps the Patchwork Girl, the Cowardly Lion, and the Woozy. [Sidebar] How tall is a Munchkin? In “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” the Munchkins are described as “about as tall as Dorothy, who was a well-grown child for her age, although they were, so far as looks go, many years older.” However, both Scarecrow and the Tin Woodsman were both of Munchkin manufacture and both are normally depicted as being average sized people. The easiest thing to do is to claim that Munchkins are merely on the small end of being Man-Sized, and having no impact on character abilities. If a player prefers to have a Child-Sized Munchkin character, they should reduce their Size to 2, which frees up one skill point which they may spend elsewhere. Field of Poppies They now came upon more and more of the big scarlet poppies, and fewer and fewer of the other flowers; and soon they found themselves in the midst of a great meadow of poppies. Now it is well known that when there are many of these flowers together their odor is so powerful that anyone who breathes it falls asleep, and if the sleeper is not carried away from the scent of the flowers, he sleeps on and on forever. But Dorothy did not know this, nor could she get away from the bright red flowers that were everywhere about; so presently her eyes grew heavy and she felt she must sit down to rest and to sleep. -- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz A character wandering into the poppy field may make a roll against their Brains skill to realize what’s going on before it’s too late. Rolling against Athletics to try to race through the field might work, and a successful Wits roll might help fend off the effects of the poppies for a while. Failing any of these rolls means that the character falls asleep and must be rescued. Field of Poppies Characters While a character may have a close encounter with this field in their background, living there means never waking up. An interesting character concept would be a “Rip van Winkle” who has only recently been rescued from the poppy field after an extended sleep. Adventure Hooks The Wizard of Oz needs poppies for his latest magical invention. Can you help him get some without falling asleep forever? Ozma has decided to organize a rescue team to search for people who might have become lost in the poppy field. Any crafted character may participate in the rescue, but everyone can help the poppy field’s victims pick up their old lives, or perhaps start new ones. Invisible Country Suddenly Woot, who was in the lead, looked around and found that all his comrades had mysteriously disappeared. But where could they have gone to? The broad plain was all about him and there were neither trees nor bushes that could hide even a rabbit, nor any hole for one to fall into. Yet there he stood, alone. Surprise had caused him to halt, and with a thoughtful and puzzled expression on his face he looked down at his feet. It startled him anew to discover that he had no feet. He reached out his hands, but he could not see them. He could feel his hands and arms and body; he stamped his feet on the grass and knew they were there, but in some strange way they had become invisible. … Out of the invisible country marched a huge beast with a thick, leathery skin and a surprisingly long neck. The head on the top of this neck was broad and flat and the eyes and mouth were very big and the nose and ears very small. When the head was drawn down toward the beast's shoulders, the neck was all wrinkles, but the head could shoot up very high indeed, if the creature wished it to. -- The Tin Woodman of Oz Everything in the Invisible Country is invisible and cannot be seen by anyone. You cannot even see yourself. At least one monster is known to reside in the Invisible Country. Character: Hyp-po-gy-raf Basic Skills Size 5 Athletics 3 Awareness 4 Brains 1 Presence 3 Sneaking 1 Wits 2 Optional Skills: None Special Abilities: None Notes: This template is not intended for use in creating a playable character. Invisible Country Characters Although the Hyp-po-gy-raf is the only creature we know of in the Invisible Country, that doesn’t mean that he’s the only thing there. He might have family there, or perhaps there is a community of invisible people who have lived their lives unable to see each other. Either might make an interesting choice for a player. If a player wishes to claim the Hyp-po-gy-raf as a friend for their character, they may do so. They should also make sure that their character has access to a steady supply of straw, the creature’s favorite food. Adventure Hooks The Wizard has just invented a magical paint which allows invisible things to become visible. The Invisible Country is a perfect place to test this. What will you find when you can see the invisible? Kalidahs "They are monstrous beasts with bodies like bears and heads like tigers," replied the Lion, "and with claws so long and sharp that they could tear me in two as easily as I could kill Toto. I'm terribly afraid of the Kalidahs." -- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz For those who thought Oz had no big, scary monsters, I present to you the kalidah. They live mainly in the Munchkin Country, but are sometimes found in the northern Gillikin Country as well. Character: Kalidah Basic Skills Size 4 Athletics 3 Awareness 2 Brains 1 Presence (Frighten) 3 Sneaking 2 Wits 3 Optional Skills: Fighting 3 Special Abilities: Deadly Weapon Notes: This template is not intended for use in creating a playable character. Kalidah Characters While the template above is not intended for use in making a character, the Narrator might allow you to build a similar character using the Large Animal template as a base. The main challenge would be finding a reason for a kalidah to be helpful to other characters, instead of trying to eat them. Miss Foolish Owl and Mr. Wise Donkey So they opened the door and entered the house, where a little light- brown donkey, dressed in a blue apron and a blue cap, was engaged in dusting the furniture with a blue cloth. On a shelf over the window sat a great blue owl with a blue sunbonnet on her head, blinking her big round eyes at the visitors. -- The Patchwork Girl of Oz Mr. Wise Donkey is not from Oz, but from across the desert in the magical Land of Mo. He was once an ordinary donkey until he was accidentally locked in a schoolhouse over the weekend. With nothing to eat but books, he ate every volume and wound up digesting their knowledge as well. Having provided advice to the Magical Monarch of his homeland, he decided to make the best of things when he became trapped in Oz, establishing himself as a Public Adviser with his business partner, Miss Foolish Owl. Wise Donkey’s advice is often simple common sense. Foolish Owl offers advice in the form of whimsical poems, which are not often useful. Miss Foolish Owl and Mr. Wise Donkey Characters It could be said that a foolish owl and a wise donkey make for unlikely adventurers. The same could be said of most of the heroes of Oz, so there’s no reason that it can’t happen. They would also make useful friends, providing advice when it’s needed most. Adventure Hooks Wise Donkey is jealous of the students at the Royal Athletic College. They acquire knowledge in sugar coated pills, not by directly consuming books, as he did. Now he wants some School Pills of his own. In order to keep his knowledge current, Wise Donkey must eat new books. Will you help get him some? It has been some time since the Wise Donkey has been able to gather any news from his homeland of Mo, and he is certain that the Magical Monarch of that country has gotten himself into mischief again. Is there any way to cross the desert to be sure? Mount Munch On the east edge of the Land of Oz, in the Munchkin Country, is a big, tall hill called Mount Munch. One one side, the bottom of this hill just touches the Deadly Sandy Desert that separates the Fairyland of Oz from all the rest of the world, but on the other side, the hill touches the beautiful, fertile Country of the Munchkins. The Munchkin folks, however, merely stand off and look at Mount Munch and know very little about it; for, about a third of the way up, its sides become too steep to climb, and if any people live upon the top of that great towering peak that seems to reach nearly to the skies, the Munchkins are not aware of the fact.