A comedy improv scenario. One person plays Kermit and tries to wrangle the other players pseudo-GM style into putting together a show for the night, including thinking up a guest star for this new season of the show.
To make it snappy, rotate roles and enforce an actual showtime of around 20 actual minutes on each episode. With half a dozen players, a 2-3 hour game session with breaks of as many episodes as there are players, if a longer game is desired.
Much opportunity for social conflict, with the odd shooting out of a cannon or kung fu chop to be had. Or literal dropping of the curtain on someone with the addition of an occasional monster stomping.
Who can inflict Wayne and Wanda, dancing haggis or Russell Crowe singing on people the longest? Have a terrible opening number, a star vehicle, a couple of others and a star finale if you want a possible structure. With between number craziness backstage in between.
Fate points should be gained for making people laugh, limelight hogging, terrible puns and outlandish acts. And perhaps incredibly flamboyant failure. Twenty minutes of cross-table invoke and compel chaos. Bonus for survived pig jokes.
Another fun wrinkle might be to put the characters into a hat and pick at random, with more in the hat than there are people to play them, to get a rotating cast. Or guest MC even, if no-one picks Kermit.
Feel free to add more muppets into the hat, as you think of them, but these are the major talking players.
A suggested added problem. If ANYONE rolls – – – – on 4dF, Crazy Eddie shows up and starts blowing things up at random.
Muppet Theatre
Mostly Menagerie Proof Building
Surviving from payment to payment
Hardworking, slow and long-suffering handyman Beau
Backstage madhouse
THE MUPPETS
Ex-criminal Superspies versus current criminal depraved supervillains thanks to Peter O’Donnell, Jim Holdaway and Enrique Badia Romero.
Draft 1.0 Â April 15, 2013 – Blue Tyson
SETTING
Pre-mobile phone modern. Â Fancy radio communication is cool. Â Sixties to eighties works nicely. Modesty Blaise is the retired ex-head of the criminal Network organisation, rising from wandering orphan at a very young age. Â Blackmailed agreeable into helping out the British Secret Service by Gerald Tarrant she is officially a British citizen. Platonic best friends with Willie Garvin, turning his life around after pulling her out of prison. Previously her second in command the partners are ultra-competent and deadly adversaries, more than capable of taking on greater odds. Â Stylish and sophisticated and witty, their adventures are brilliant in prose and comic. Allies and previously outdone enemies abound throughout the world.
ISSUES
Sir Gerald has a problem. Â Again. The British Secret Service is still useless.
If it doesn’t involve a sociopathic, psychopathic or depraved supervillain we’ll be disappointed.
Too tough? Â Target their friends.
Crime doesn’t pay if we disagree with it.
THE PLAYERS
Modesty Blaise
Ex-Crimelord
Retirement is boring
Willie, I Really Need You Now!
Orphan Out of Everywhere
No drugs!
Yes, I’ve got a place on this continent.
F: Incredible +4
A: Incredible +4
S: Good +1
E: Remarkable +3
R: Excellent +2
I: Incredible +4
P: Incredible +4
Resources  Incredible (+4)
Popularity  -Remarkable (-3)
Other Skills
Amazing (+5) Â Leadership, Linguist, Kongo, Pistol, Quarterstaff, Survival
Close At Hand, Face the Pain, Money Talks, Preemptive Grace, Quick Draw, Shot On the Run
Acrobat, Big Name, Cold Read, Con Man, Criminal Mind, Death Defiance, I Know A Guy Who Knows A Guy, Inner Strength, Martial Arts, Mental Blueprint, Signature Strike, Tripwire Sensibilities
Danger Sense [His Ears Prickle], Everybody’s Friend, Good Arm, Headquarters, Scary, Scientific Invention, Uncanny Hunch
Acrobat, Big Name, Cold Read, Con Man, Criminal Mind, Death Defiance, I Know A Guy Who Knows A Guy, Inner Strength, Martial Arts, Mental Blueprint, Signature Strike, Tripwire Sensibilities
Sir Gerald Tarrant
British Secret Service Chief.
I Must Have Modesty Blaise!
What’s a bit of blackmail between friends?
F: Typical +0
A: Good +1
S: Typical +0
E: Good +1
R: Excellent +2
I: Excellent +2
P: Remarkable +3
Resources  Incredible (+4) [In government capacity, otherwise Excellent (+2)]
Popularity  Excellent (+2)
Other Skills
Incredible (+4) Â Bureaucracy, Contacts, Espionage
Remarkable (+3) Â Deceit, Intimidation, Investigation
Good (+1) Â Guns, Stealth
Stunts
Center of the Web, Expert Staff
Weng
Houseboy
Reformed druggie
Quite happy in this job, thanks very much
F: Typical +0
A: Typical +0
S: Typical +0
E: Good +1
R: Good +1
I: Good +1
P: Good +1
Resources  Good (+1)
Popularity  Typical (0)
Other Skills
Excellent (+2) Â Administration, Drive
John Dall
Billionaire businessman
Occasional boyfriend of Blaise
F: Good +1
A: Good +1
S: Good +1
E: Good +1
R: Excellent +2
I: Good +1
P: Excellent +2
Resources  Amazing (+5)
Popularity  Remarkable (+2)
Other Skills
Incredible (+4) Â Bureaucracy
Excellent (+2) Guns, Leadership
Good (+1) Ride, Pilot
Stunts
Center of the Web, Fantastically Rich
Steve Collier
Retired mathematician and textbook author
Psychic Investigator
Ex-Lover of Blaise
Husband of Dinah
F: Typical (+0)
A: Typical (+0)
S: Typical (+0)
E: Typical (+0)
R: Good (+1)
I: Good +1
P: Typical +0
Resources  Typical +0
Popularity  Typical +0
Other Skills
Excellent (+2) Â Academics, Mathematics, Mysteries
Good  (+1)
Dinah Pilgrim
Blind Diviner
Ex-Lover of Garvin
Wife of Steve
F: Poor (-1)
A: Poor (-1)
S: Typical (+0)
E: Typical (+0)
R: Typical (+1)
I: Excellent +2
P: Good +1
Resources  Typical +0
Popularity  Typical +0
Other Skills
Mysteries (+2)
Stunts
Fortuneteller, Secrets of the Arcane
Doctor Giles Pennyfeather
Adverse Conditions Medical Genius
Bumbling Goofball
F: Poor (-1)
A: Typical 0
S: Typical +0
E: Typical +1
R: Typical +0
I: Good +1
P: Typical +0
Resources  Poor (-1)
Popularity  Typical (+0)
Other Skills
Excellent (+2) Â Medicine
Good (+1) Â Science
Stunts
Doctor, Medic, Surgeon
ADVENTURING
Most definitely a Spirit of the Century via Shadows of the Century style game.
TWO PLAYERS
A perfect two player scenario team, Blaise and Garvin can be easily Compelled into whatever outlandishly led super spy or crime scenario Tarrant can come up with for them to solve. Â The most likely abduction victims in their oeuvre are detailed above, for added spice. Others include Tarrant’s 2IC and Maude, an operative they have worked with in the field before.
ONE PLAYER
The ‘needs the other’ Aspects can be used in there is only one PC. Â Got to get to the other.
THREE PLAYERS
Or if three players, an abduction victim attempting to use their brains to survive until Blaise and Garvin can get there. Â Then surviving to escape with them.
MORE PLAYERS
A possibility is a support team for the two heroes, particularly competent local talent, ex-Network members or others provided by Tarrant to assist in a particular caper that could be on the level of a standard FATE Core beginning character. Â Which the players could design and based on what they come up with, the actual scenario can then be designed aorund them.
THE LADDER
Being a big Marvel Super Heroes fan from way back, this is how I like to think:
Value    Adjective
+13 Cosmic 5 (Class 5000)
+12 Cosmic 3 (Class 3000)
+11 Cosmic 1 (Class 1000)
+10 Legendary Z (Shift Z)
+9 Â Legendary Y (Shift Y)
+8 Â Â Â Legendary X (Shift X)
+7 Â Â Â Unearthly (Epic)
+6 Â Â Â Monstrous (Fantastic)
+5 Â Â Â Amazing (Superb)
+4 Â Â Â Incredible (Great)
+3 Â Â Â Remarkable (Good)
+2 Â Â Â Excellent (Fair)
+1 Â Â Â Good (Average)
+0 Â Â Â Typical (Mediocre)
-1 Â Â Â Poor
-2 Â Â Â Feeble (Terrible)
-3 Â Â Â Awful 0 (Shift 0)
-4 Â Â Â Abysmal
FASERIP – basic human attributes
Physique is split compared to Core, into a Strength component and an Endurance component, the latter of which should be used for the Stress track. Â Reason is native intelligence.
Fighting (Fight)
Agility (Athletics)
Strength
Endurance
Reason
Intuition (Notice)
Psyche (Will)
secondary
Popularity is a measure of charisma, reputation and public influence. If you like, bad people can have a negative popularity ladder equivalent. Â Supervillains, mass murderers, ruthless thugs in The Ball, etc.
