Puppets take centre stage in a TRPG inspired by The Muppet Show

A tabletop roleplaying game inspired by The Muppets called Felt, Friendship and Feelings, lets players create a puppet persona and find a rainbow connection.

Felt, Friendship and Feelings sees players portraying a puppet – whether person, animal, monster or other – who goes on adventures with their puppet friends. Similar to many beloved puppet-focused television shows, such as Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock, Felt, Friendship and Feelings provides a platform for players to go on adventures themed around teamwork, connections, love and support, with the player characters learning about caring for one another and the importance of found family. Whilst one person takes on the role of games master, who is responsible for setting the scene and driving the narrative, the other people in the group become players in the adventure.

Players create their characters using Felt, Friendship and Feelings’ character sheet, which contains options for a name, a concept and general physical description. Every character will have a schtick – or a fundamental aspect of their personality, such as Gonzo’s love of chickens in The Muppet Show – as well as a catchphrase that they like to say. There are also sections for each major aspect of the RPG, with felt representing the various puppet things characters can do, friendship featuring the actions characters can do to establish bonds with others and feelings listing the various emotions puppets can experience.

Once players have created their puppet characters – which takes very little time in the rules-light RPG – they are then encouraged to roleplay their puppets’ personalities. The roleplaying game is split into a series of scenes that will have one or more player characters interacting with something in the environment or someone else. A dice roll is made to determine the outcome of a scene, with players free to share their dice to help others get a better outcome. If scenes do go well, then players can acquire trademark points which can help them with their catchphrase or general persona later on.

Felt, Friendship and Feelings was created by Craig Campbell, the owner of publisher NerdBurger Games and the designer behind RPGs such as the adventurous Capers RPG and the What We Do in the Shadows inspired Low Stakes. The illustrations were created by Beth Varni and editing duties were handled by Ginny Loveday, the host of the Designer’s Den TRPG show on Twitch.

The Muppet Show is a comedy sketch series created by Jim Henson in 1974 which featured a cast of puppet characters, each with their own unique personalities and foibles. Popular characters from The Muppet Show include Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzy Bear, Gonzo the Great and Animal. The show eventually spun-off into a series of films such as The Muppet Movie, The Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island.

A Kickstarter campaign for Felt, Friendship and Feelings is live until February 18th, with a pledge of $12 (£9) getting backers a copy of the physical book in March. Alternatively, a PDF of the RPG is available for a pledge of $6 (£5).