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.
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.
But people DO live there, just the same. The top of Mount Munch is shaped like a saucer, broad and deep, and in the saucer are fields where grains and vegetables grow, and flocks are fed, and brooks flow and trees bear all sorts of things. There are houses scattered here and there, each having its family of Hyups, as the people call themselves. The Hyups seldom go down the mountain, for the same reason that the Munchkins never climb up: the sides are too steep.
At the base of Mount Munch lives the Tin Woodman’s former fiancee Nimmie Amee and her husband Chopfyt. Chopfyt is actually made up of the meat parts that the Tin Woodman replaced with tin, along with parts that used to belong to Captain Fyter, the Tin Soldier, except for one arm which is made of tin. They have surrounded their home with an invisible Wall of Air, made with a bit of magic stolen from the Wicked Witch of the East, as neither of them care for company.
Hyup Characters
The Hyups that live at the top of Mount Munch are not particularly different from people in the rest of the Munchkin Country. The main challenge for them is getting down the mountain to explore the rest of Oz. The only Hyup to enter the History of Oz, Kiki Aru, did so by learning a powerful Word of Transformation which allowed him to change into a bird, among many other shapes.
Adventure Hooks
Nimmie Amee and Chopfyt have had a baby! Santa Claus would very much like to give the child a Christmas present, but cannot penetrate the Wall of Air that surrounds the home. Can you help?
Royal Athletic College of Oz
Before long they came to a stately building that stood upon a green plain with handsome shade trees grouped here and there.
"What is that?" asked Uncle Henry.
"That," replied the Wizard, "is the Royal Athletic College of Oz, which is directed by Professor H. M. Wogglebug, T.E."
"Let's stop and make a call," suggested Dorothy.
So the Sawhorse drew up in front of the great building and they were met at the door by the learned Wogglebug himself. He seemed fully as tall as the Wizard, and was dressed in a red and white checked vest and a blue swallow-tailed coat, and had yellow knee breeches and purple silk stockings upon his slender legs. A tall hat was jauntily set upon his head and he wore spectacles over his big bright eyes.
-- The Emerald City of Oz
Professor Wogglebug was once a rather ordinary insect. He spent quite some time residing in a schoolhouse, where he became Thoroughly Educated. While there, he was caught by the teacher, who magnified him so that the students could study him more closely. It was while in this state that the Wogglebug escaped the classroom, rendering him Highly Magnified ever since. He first enters the annals of Oz history shortly before Ozma deposed General Jinjur and took the throne of Oz. He next appears in the role of Public Accuser for the trial of Eureka the Kitten, who stood accused of eating a piglet. The piglet was later discovered, uneaten, and Eureka was found innocent. It is actually the Wizard of Oz himself who contributed the most to the establishment of the College, having devised the famous School Pills: education which could be easily swallowed. Now students could spend the majority of their time perfecting their athletic prowess.
Royal Athletic College characters
A student at the Royal Athletic College will likely have a strong Brains skill rating, as well as Athletics. A regular diet of Elocution Pills could justify a notable Presence skill, or simply the Presence (Public Speaking) specialty.
Adventure Hooks
While eliminating the tedium of study with School Pills can be fun for a while, the students are getting bored with nothing to do but exercise. Professor Wogglebug must stock the school library with books before the student body decides to throw him in the lake again!
The Wizard is hard at work on a new kind of School Pill, but he needs a few more ingredients from the far corners of Oz. Can you help him?