Review by C.J. Bunce
Is the world getting you down? If you’ve ever thought about trying out roleplaying games or you’re tired of the same old sword and sorcery, Snowbright Studio has created something special for you. When the bitter cold winter has you down, when the dreary, windy January makes you want to climb back into bed, and you’re eager for a picnic on a sunny day, you’ll want to check out Teatime Adventures. Set in the fantasy Verdant Isles, this is a low-key, dialed back world nearly devoid of conflict and controversy, a place to celebrate heartwarming characters in a cozy mystery setting where you explore and solve problems with a group of friends. Best of all it takes roleplaying to the next level–the only game where you stop play to bake apple turnovers or corn cake or a loaf of pumpkin bread. How could you not love that? Teatime Adventures is available now at the Snowbright Studio website, DriveThruRPG, and other RPG outlets in print and digital formats.
In Teatime Adventures you swap exciting and harrowing for pleasant, relaxing, and chill. You are first beckoned to put the tea kettle on. It teleports you to a realm not unlike that of the anthropomorphic characters of Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows. The roleplaying game system is based on the same system with D20 dice and a Game Master that most gamers already know, including pre-generated characters and the ability to make your own. But all you need to play is in the Core Rulebook, which is now in its second edition.
Just compare some of the features with other RPGs you’ve played or heard about. Your character has six ability types: Bustle, Fidget, Vigor, Wits, Sensibility, and Personality (it sort of feels like you’re in the era of Jane Austen’s stories). Instead of the race designations of other RPGs you have Ancestry. You can be Deerkin (furry, antlered), Finfolk (beings resembling Admiral Ackbar), Floradop (fuzzy and winged), Hoptops (who look like frog people), Puffwing (bipedal bird people), and Snootlings (who look like happy, walking alligators).
Skills fit the pastoral setting to a T, like Burrowing, Cooking, Daydreaming, Event Planning, Fauna and Flora friendship, Gardening, Random Facts, Snooping, Wallflowering, and Not Getting Lost. Similar to horoscopes characters have a simplified alignment with magic, and the game incorporates harmony spells. But take care: combat is possible in this realm, but it is considered very rude.
The maps throughout the rulebook are exquisite, especially three full-page color maps at the back of the book. The first part of the book immerses players into locations, setting, and culture, like the important holidays each month. But the best feature may be the incorporation of recipes into play, and six are included. Cosplay is suggested, too.
The RPG includes an introductory solo adventure to begin your journeys, and leveling mechanics to increase your characters’ coziness, harmony, and kitchen magic. Players around the table imagine themselves in the Village of Oakenbend where they will help uncover the truth behind a series of mysterious mysteries, with fifty spells, a host of magic items, and custom spell creation rules that let you mix and match spell components. The four mystery adventures include The Curious Case of the Hoptop Harvest Pie, The Missing Star’s Light, Shadow at the Mill, and The Lavender Spirit.
The rulebook is 200 pages with great illustrations and hand painted art, with 20 pages of character stats for 30 pre-generated characters, 5 pages of spells, and other helpful appendices including printable forms for your own recipes and detailed character sheets with elements specific to the setting.
Look forward to quaint shops, gardens, and homes as you explore in the Village of Oakenbend and other fantastical locations that can take your adventure out across the Isles. Teatime Adventures is available now at the Snowbright Studio website, DriveThruRPG, and other RPG outlets. The Snowbright Studio website also features more opportunities to expand into new adventures with new play components. Its tie-in Cozy Companion magazine is available via a subscription, and it features all sorts of content, including nature facts and information as well as new adventures. Highly recommended to improve your moood, your day, your week. Check it out now!
