Something from another world has possessed Mrs Claus and turned her into a giant, bloodthirsty monster. She has slain Santa. Much of the workshop lies in ruins, and many elves have died. You have cornered her into the warehouse and locked it up, but in order to kill this monstrosity you're going to need something powerful. And legend has it that Santa's old frenemy Krampus has just the thing. So you gather a small group of survivors to journey to Krampus' lair, and either convince him to help, or steal the weapon.

You are elves

Choose one:

  1. Santa's Little Helper. Toy-makers, packers, workshop crew. Superfast toy-making, expert tinkering, mild manufacturing magics.
  2. Elf on the Shelf. Secretly observe children and report back. Invisibility, short distance teleportation.
  3. Wichtel. Garden gnome. Pointy hat of holding, appear as porcelain statue.
  4. Light Elf. Tall, radiant, beautiful. Highly intelligent, arcane magics.
  5. Dark Elf. Dark-skinned, cruel, also beautiful. BDSM stuff, levitation, spider magics.
  6. Night Elf. Small, grotesque. Cause nightmares or sleep paralsysis, sit on chests.
  7. Leanan Sidhe. Stunning muse. Inspire others in return for love or devotion. Or eat them.
  8. Sea Elf. Tall, gilled, fishtailed. Swim and dive hella fast. What on earth are you doing at the north pole?

You have two stats

  • [ ] Elf—Anything related to your special elf abilities, and doing your job well and professionally.
  • [ ] Mischief—For when you get distracted and launch into pranks, impuls actions, breaking into song, escalate hitherto harmless situations.

Both stats start at 3.

Core mechanic

If the outcome of an action is uncertain, roll 1d6 against the relevant stat. Equal or under the score is a success. Over is failure. If the action is tied to one of your elf abilities, roll 2 dice and take the lowest.

Elfing out or going off-script

If your lowest die rolled comes up 6, your score in that stat decreased by 1 and the other increases by 1. Similarly, if the highest is a 1, that stat increases by 1 and the other decreases by 1. This represents your shifting mindset.

But beware! If your Elf stat goes down to 1, you go full elf, so devoted to your north pole duties that you become so bland and one-dimensional that no one wants to associate with you. If, on the other hand, your Mischief goes down to 1, you go completely off-script, ditch your duties, and become a joker incarnate.

  • To avoid elfing out, briefly but forcibly reminisce about a prank you orchestrated. This increases your Elf by 1 and decreases your Mischief by 1.
  • To avoid going off-script, stop a prank and remind someone of the importance of the mission. This increases your Mischief by 1 and decreases your Elf by 1.

Constructing the adventure

Mrs Claus. Make up two terrifying, destructive powers, and one weakness.

Journey to Krampus. Think of two, three dangerous encounters in the snow.

Lair. What does Krampus' lair look like? What is the difficulty in getting in?

The weapon. What is the weapon that can kill or unpossess Mrs Claus? How does it make use of her weakness?

Krampus. What's his relationship with Santa? Would he want to help, and if so, under what conditions?

The showdown. Handwave the journey back, go straight to the confrontation. Describe 4–5 features of the room the Mrs Claus monstrosity is locked in, and make them potentially useful in the confrontation.

Conclusion. Does Krampus turn up at the last moment? Does he want to take over as Santa? Or select a new Santa?