Pigs In Grave Danger
Introduction
This is more or less a TTRPG for 2-5 players taking on the role of pigs and one swineherd (the GM). To play you will need two rollable pig figurines - referred to as HOGs (this doesn’t stand for anything; it’s just in capitals), some paper and writing implements, and a sense of forgiveness for the author of this game.
Golden Rules
- Follow the fiction.
- Go hog wild.
Normal Coloured Rules
Rolling
When acting dramatically and dangerously, say what your pig is doing to overcome an obstacle or prevent a threat, and name the attribute in use. Some actions may be ineffective or impossible, the swineherd will say if they are and the player is welcome to rethink.
Roll the HOGs in the pigpen (any suitable tray or contained area, the game will be much harder if this is too small):
- A HOG on its side is 1 point.
- A HOG on its back is 4 points.
- A HOG on its trotters is 10 points.
- A HOG on its snout and two trotters is 15.
- A HOG on its snout, one trotter and one ear is 20.
- If any HOG has bounced out of the pigpen that HOG has escaped, and cannot be counted for the rest of the roll or re-rolled.
After totalling your pig score, consult the HOG Success Table:
| Total | Outcome |
|---|---|
| 0 - 4 | Failure |
| 5 - 9 | Partial Success |
| 10 or More | Success |
Re-rolling
You may re-roll one or both HOGs for each point in the attribute you are using for the roll. (E.g. if you are rolling your Calmness and have a 3 in calmness, you may re-roll up to 3 times).
You may also re-roll once if another pig is helping you.
When you re-roll, you must accept the new result (or re-roll again if able).
Any HOGs not being re-rolled should be left in the pigpen, if they get knocked or jostled during a re-roll they should not be set back.
Any HOGs which are ‘making a break for it’ by resting up against the side of the pigpen, are re-rolled for free.
Success
Your pig gets what they want, either filling or reducing a clock by 2 or simply overcoming the obstacle.
Partial Success
On a partial success the swineherd will decide from one of the following:
- The action was less effective than it could have been, filling or reducing a clock by 1 instead of 2.
- Introduce a threat - start a new danger or threat clock.
- The pigs lose something.
- A threat or danger clock advances by 1.
- Or other roughly equivalent complications.
Failure
On a failure the swineherd will make a move.
- The pigs lose something critical.
- The pigs suffer a major setback.
- A threat or danger clock advances by 3.
- Immediately introduce a previously unnoticed threat - possibly starting a new danger or threat clock, and advance it by 2.
- Or other roughly equivalent complications.
Pigtastrophe
If the HOGs are touching it is a pigtastrophe you have critically failed and may not re-roll. This is the same as a regular failure, except your pig is out-of-action for the remainder of the scene, the GM will narrate your pathetic attempts and consequential embarrassment and/or suffering.
Super Pig
If you roll above a 30, you’ve rolled a Super Pig. You get what you want, and also an additional boon.
Ultra Pig
If one pig is on its trotters, and the other pig is astride it and not touching the floor of the pigpen you have rolled Ultra Pig. Your pig does something earth shatteringly unbelievable, feel free to take the reigns of the story for 5 minutes and narrate whatever the fuck you want. Go hog wild. At the end of it, everyone else should be confused and your pig should be somehow utterly removed from the story, whether through a noble and tragic death or through apotheosis into some kind of pig god is up to you.
Fortune Favours the Hog
Sometimes, you just want to roll to see how good or bad something is. In this case, roll the HOGs once and the swineherd will interpret the outcome based on the total score achieved, the higher the better.
Attributes
There are 4 attributes:
- Feralness (F): Your pig’s ability to go absolutely hog wild - attacking and breaking things, intimidation.
- Calmness (C): Your pig’s ability to keep it cool - persuasion and smooth talking, not freaking out.
- Zoominess (Z): Your pig’s ability to get a shift on - moving quickly, getting around and over stuff, instinctual reactions.
- Intelligentness (I): Your pig’s ability to think it through - reasoning and logic, interacting with complex objects or concepts.
Items and Inventory
Pigs can hold one item and wear one item. An item generally gives a flat +2 bonus to any roll. They also narratively do what they say they do, and can be used appropriately. The swineherd may introduce complications or setbacks based on items being used in a roll.
Clocks
The swineherd uses clocks to track stuff that’s happening in the game. Clocks generally fall into two categories: obstacles, and threats. In most cases, clocks only disappear when they fill but may also disappear whenever they are no longer really relevant.
Obstacle clocks represent things that pigs need to overcome, they can be very specific: “Convince this troll to let us pass”, or more general: “break into the nuclear missile bunker”. These are introduced naturally as the pigs come up against new obstacles. When the clock is filled, the pigs have overcome the obstacle.
Threat clocks represent things going wrong for the pigs, and are introduced as partial successes and failures are rolled. These clocks continue to fill as more things go wrong, and once they fill completely something bad happens!
Clocks can be 4, 6, or 8 segments long - as decided by the swineherd. Any less than that a single successful action overcomes the obstacle and a clock is unnecessary, any more than that and things drag on. If you want to make a longer clock, chain clocks together - when one clock ends another can take its place.
Some clocks might not fit neatly into these two categories, feel free to play with the format. For instance you can start a clock halfway full and have something bad happen if it empties and something good happen if it fills (this could be used to represent a chase sequence or similar).
If a pig can narratively interact with a clock they should be allowed to, if a threat clock “guards alerted” is filling up, any pig that has the capability to may take actions to reduce it as if it were any other clock. Remember, follow the fiction above everything else, if your pig has no physical way to stop the guards being alerted, they can’t take actions to reduce it.
What Happens When that Fills?
In general, the swineherd should be clear about the consequences for a threat clock filling up, and this is the primary way the swineherd should be interfering with or rebuffing the pigs. Give the clocks appropriate names to describe what they are going to do, especially when they are going to significantly change the situation. You might, for instance, have a threat clock “Captured”, when this clock fills up the pigs will be captured by their pursuers. At this point, the situation has shifted dramatically! Once a clock fills the thing that was going to happen happens. There’s no roll or save to prevent them, and players should respect the narrative of that thing happening! If the “Captured” clock fills, you can’t make one last break for it - you have been captured. In the next scene you can then attempt to escape your confines, but always be mindful that a clock filling represents something definitely happening.
You can introduce mystery clocks without a clear description and without explaining their consequences, but as a good rule of thumb these mystery clocks should always create a new clock which is clear - and will then resolve into real consequences. You might for instance have a mystery clock to represent a private investigator sleuthing around behind the pigs trail of destruction, when this fills introduce a new (non-mystery) clock as they seek to close in on the pigs’ positions. Mystery clocks shouldn’t be tracked in secret, put them in the open but keep their nature secret.
Pigging Out
When the pigs are doing something stupid, or just generally twiddling their thumbs, they are said to be “pigging out”. The swineherd can take any actions from the partial success or failure list to keep things moving. Remember, your actions have consequences. If you holler at the top of your lungs you bet your ass the swineherd is going to advance the “guards alerted” clock by 2 steps.
If any player at any point says “Oh lets just wait and see what happens” the swineherd should hold literally nothing back. Whatever does happen, is going to be bad for the pigs.
Creating a Pig
Roll a D4 for Feralness/Calmness. Your pig has feralness equal to the number rolled, and calmness equal to 5 minus the number rolled.
Roll another D4 for Zoominess/Intelligentness. Your pig has zoominess equal to the number rolled, and intelligentness equal to 5 minus the number rolled.
Roll or choose a background for your pig, note down your background and starting possessions:
| D12 | Background | Starting Possessions |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pig Knight | Sword and Helmet |
| 2 | Pig Thief | Grappling hook and Balaclava |
| 3 | Pig Adventurer | Bag of ball bearings and Backpack (allows pig to carry three additional items) |
| 4 | Pig Wizard | Wand of fireballs and Pointy hat |
| 5 | Pig Scholar | Magnifying glass and Monocle |
| 6 | Pig Ranger | Bow and Arrows and Ghillie suit |
| 7 | Pig Wanderer | Quarterstaff and Fancy boots |
| 8 | Pig Punk | Guitar and Cool leather jacket |
| 9 | Pig Mystic | Crystal ball and Jazzy scarf |
| 10 | Pig Cleric | Holy symbol and Fancy robes |
| 11 | Pig Smuggler | Concealed knife and Top hat with trick compartment |
| 12 | Regular Pig | You are unburdened and free, and 1 to two stats of your choice (not taking any above 4). |
Roll or choose a demeanour for your pig:
| D12 | Demeanour |
|---|---|
| 1 | Jovial |
| 2 | Truculent |
| 3 | Sneaky |
| 4 | Mirthful |
| 5 | Anxious |
| 6 | Bewildered |
| 7 | Miserable |
| 8 | Easy-going |
| 9 | Tricky |
| 10 | Hopeful |
| 11 | Boisterous |
| 12 | Violent |
Roll or choose two distinguishing features for your pig:
| D12 | Feature |
|---|---|
| 1 | Wears an eyepatch (doesn’t count as an inventory item) |
| 2 | Smells surprisingly good |
| 3 | Smells surprisingly bad |
| 4 | Really small |
| 5 | Covered in gnarly scars |
| 6 | Accompanied by a foul-tempered bird |
| 7 | Haunted by a detailed backstory |
| 8 | Mohawk |
| 9 | Markings that resemble something unusual |
| 10 | Twirly moustache |
| 11 | Thick fur |
| 12 | Wears shutter sunglasses (doesn’t count as an inventory item) |
Finally, give your pig a name.