Pico: Tiny Bugs¸ Big World
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Pico is a tabletop roleplaying game for 2-6 players about small adventures in a big world. You play as tiny bugs banding together to explore¸ make friends¸ and solve mysteries!
Pico is the second full-sized game designed by Felix Isaacs¸ and uses the same Wild Words Engine previously used to power the ENNIE-award-winning The Wildsea... With a few little bugly twists thrown in to keep things fresh! This crowdfunding campaign is to fund the production and print run of a first edition of Pico. We have a robust quickstart already¸ but need your help to make the full game.
The World
Let me tell you a story.
There was a night¸ many¸ many years ago¸ when everything ended. Bugs aren't that great at writing things down¸ so nobody really thought to record the particulars of the event¸ but the effects were lasting; no more pesticides¸ no more deforestation¸ no more fish hooks or bait boxes or flypaper. Pets ran free from newly-quiet houses¸ and roach motels showed nothing but vacancies.
There's probably a lesson to be learned somewhere there. Something about the fleeting fragility of existence¸ a treatise on impermanence¸ and what we might leave behind.
But¸ as stated¸ bugs aren't that great at writing things down. They're even worse at existential musing¸ as a rule.
So the biggest change that most bugs noticed that night was that it suddenly got a lot quieter¸ especially near those black stone ribbons they'd learned not to cross¸ and the immense above-ground warrens full of beeping machines and smells so succulent they were almost impossible to resist.
So bugs¸ on the whole¸ flourished. And the world opened up to them in return.
Wild Words Engine
A WIP page spread showing one of the sets of Aspects & Augments on offer to help you create a unique bug!
Pico uses the Wild Words Engine¸ a fiction-first system with narrative and character decisions driving your interaction with the mechanics. The game uses a d6 narrative dicepool that constantly pushes the story forward to outcomes of Triumph¸ Conflict¸ or Disaster¸ with Twists (activated by rolling doubles) adding a host of special outcomes depending on both situation and player input. With Pico¸ there are a few key changes to the basic Wild Words mechanics made in service of a tiny¸ adventure-filled world:
- Bug Creation. Spend nectar to build your very own unique bug¸ choosing from Chompers¸ Suckers¸ Peepers¸ Shells¸ Slime¸ Feelers¸ Scuttlers¸ Grippers¸ Wings¸ Glands¸ Tails¸ and more! An almost endless variety of aspect and augment combinations awaits those who wish to delve deep into the bug creation system¸ with pre-generated characters and character-building shortcuts on offer for those that want to hit the ground running.
- Picotitans. These are big (and sometimes furry) friends that carry bugs around the world of Pico¸ anything from a slinky cat to a wily fox¸ a disaster-bringing goose to a solid and reliable turtle. All picotitans are larger creatures rescued and cared for by bugs¸ used as both travelling companion and - with a titanden built upon their back - a mobile home! Care for and protect the picotitan as it takes you on journeys¸ and upgrade your mobile community as you go on your adventures.
- Aspect and Track Breaks. The system of tracks and breaks from the Wildsea has been expanded for Pico¸ adding a new tactical element to taking and assigning damage. This also fuels an entirely new system for the GM¸ giving them tools to adjust the difficulty of encounters as they progress by kicking things up or down a notch in response a hazard's track breaking.li> The Mysteriocalypse. Where did all the humans go? How does a tree fit inside an acorn? How does the wind choose where to blow? Find out the answer to these mysteries¸ and more using the MYSTERIOCALYPSE mechanic! Making enough tiny discoveries as you explore the world allows you to make a grand discovery¸ solving one of the great mysteries of existence and adding to both the lore of the world and the power of your own little bug!
- Moods to dictate how your bug feels! Feeling Shy or Witty? Exuberant or Grumpy? Your little bug will always be alright in the end¸ but feeling positive or negative gives you a mechanical benefit to boot!