I recently ran a one-shot of Troika! using the Leafpunk (DrivethruRPG) setting by J. Kap. It’s a great, strange little setting, full of fun ideas.
Here’s what it’s about:
- A post-apocalypse world overrun with greenery, over a thousand years in the future. The ecosystem is dominated by plant life.
- Other than humans, there are few or no mammals, only large insects and lizards.
- Two rival human factions, the Greenery, a regimented, dystopian biotech society ruled by the Red Queen, and the Thorns, a rougher low-tech band of anarchists.
- The world is divided into a chessboard pattern, so everything can be located by its square.
- A new species of sentient plants, called Blooms.
Here’s what you get with the setting:
- A D66 (36 item) list of character backgrounds. Highlights include:
- Aloe the Homeopathist – who can create a brew with a randomly rolled effect
- Atropae the Venomist – whose skin is poisonous to the touch
- Basidio the Moon Hunter – who can harness the power of the moon to do extra damage.
- A short list of plant-based spells. My favorite is Petal Power – the caster produces an “infinite whirlwind of petals shed from your luxurious locks at will, giving you pushing power that’s also sassy…”
- A long list of Advanced Skills to match the Leafpunk setting – i.e. Beehive Hair, Embedded Nanoenhancements, Flowering Feet
- A D66 table of setting appropriate equipment – i.e. Solar Flowers, Spore, Guns, Sap Armor
- A D66 of enemies. My favorites:
- Dandy Lions – “Fluffy, yellow, and terrifying” Lions literally made of flowers
- Gaea, the Foreverfree Scout – Basically the Greenery’s version of 1984’s Thought Police
- Parasitic Bloom – Vines that wrap around your head and drain away your skills.
- A D33 list of useful critters for use as companions or servants.
- D66 lists for locations and NPCs
- 24 Story Seeds (presumably pun intended) with short ideas for adventures.
- A Glossary – This is the most useful part of the book. I’d recommend reading this section first. It lists all of the major concepts, factions, and ideas to get you up to speed on the world of Leafpunk.
I’d highly recommend this book, even if you don’t play Troika!. It’s a got a very specific vibe – sort of a comic version of Brain Aldiss’ Hothouse. With a little work you could adapt it to almost any sort of fantasy game.
Custom Character Sheets
I’ve taken my custom Troika! character sheet and given it a slight redesign to match the Leafpunk setting. It’s fillable, and a character image can be added to the upper right-hand corner by clicking on it. I’ve added it to my ever-expanding, poorly organized list of character sheets.
I used this sheet to make a few pregens for my players. The names and descriptions are taken directly from the Leafpunk book:
Polyhedral Nonsense 