Game system based on vs . Monsters by Philip Reed.

Credits
Author: Rick Hershey
Editor: Lucus Palosaari
Copy Editor: Troy Daniels
Design and Layout: Rick Hershey
Fat Goblin Hoarde: Eric Hindley, Ismael Alvarez, J Gray, Jeffrey Swank,
John Bennett, Justice Mora, Kalyna Conrad, Kiel Howell, Lucus Palosaari,
Michael Ritter, Rick Hershey, Tony Petrecca and Troy Daniels
Publisher: Rick Hershey

vs. Stranger Stuff © 2016 Fat Goblin Games

vsM Engine and the vsM Engine logo are trademarks of Philip Reed and are used
with permission. Visit www.philipjreed.com for more information about the
designer. Game system based on vs. Monsters by Philip Reed.

Open Game Content: All material — including but not limited to art, place and
character names, character and setting descriptions, background, and new class
descriptions—is Product Identity. All other content is considered Open Game
Content. Reference in non-Open Game Content (thus not covered by the Open
Game License) in this work to content owned by others is not a challenge to their
ownership and is used under Fair Use.

About Fat Goblin Games

Based in South Carolina, USA, Fat Goblin Games was founded in 2011 to
create Pathfinder Roleplaying Game compatible products. With a focus on
high quality production values and providing a creative environment for
our writers, Fat Goblin Games has quickly become a recognized force in
the world of third party publishers.
With hundreds of support books, visual aids, campaign settings, and
quality stock art, Fat Goblin Games continues to provide exciting content
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 Intro
“Sometimes, people don’t really say what they’re really thinking.
But you capture the right moment… it says more.”
- Jonathan Byers, Stranger Things
vs. Stranger Stuff is a mini-rpg of 80’s inspired adventure/horror/
sci-fi, typically involving children and teens. Of course
we were influenced by the recent hit Netflix series
Stranger Things, but also those great films
that inspired that series. What does this
mean? It means that a game of vs. Stranger
Stuff will involve you playing an adolescent
during the 1980’s going against strange and
unusual adversaries (often supernatural)
with the aid of your loyal group of
childhood friends.

Before strapping on your high-tops

and grabbing your bookbag you need
to familiarize yourself with the rules (it
won’t take long, I promise). After that is
out of the way, order a totally awesome
pizza, put your best synth-pop audio
cassette on, and invite your best dudes and
dudettes over for game time. Make sure you have pencils,
paper, and a deck of your mom’s playing cards. That’s it.

If you really want the full experience you should plan a

movie night before playing and revisit those films that inspire
vs. Stranger Stuff.
Inspiration
E. T. the Extraterrestrial Beetlejuice The Gate
The Thing Gremlins Stephen King’s IT
The Goonies Poltergeist Monster Squad
Stand By Me Explorers Phantasm
Firestarter Starman D.A.R.Y.L.
 The Kids
In vs. Stranger Stuff, the game
assumes you are playing as a “kid.”
If you want to play an adult, talk to
your GM, but this game assumes
you’re between 11 and 17 years old.
To create a “kid” you will need this
section, some paper, and a pencil to
write down the following;
Nickname
This can be your kid’s real name,
but just going by your last name fits
better (Smalls, Galvez, Riggs, Ripley,
Spengler, MacGyver, Murdock, etc.)
You might also just want to go
by a clever nickname (Mullet, Bull,
Coop, Duckie, Booger, Chainsaw,
etc.), just make sure it fits the times.
Toughness
This is how hardy your kid is
and everyone starts out with 10
toughness points. If a kid gets hurt
their Toughness points are reduced.
In other RPGs, your Toughness
would be called your hit points (HP)
or Health.
Qualities
Each kid has two qualities that
define them:
Muscles: This covers the physical
aspects of the kid and include
speed, strength, endurance, and
agility.
Brains: This covers the mental
aspects of the kid and include
intelligence, reasoning, and
common sense.
We assume you’re either a smart
kid or a strong kid, so all kids start
with quality values of 6 and 4;
scribble a 6 for either Muscles or
Brains, and a 4 for the other one.
Stuff
Here is where we make your kid
special and unique, just like your
mother always said you were.
There is good stuff and bad stuff.
You pick one of each from the list for
your kid. While picking these, make
sure to think how these things can
help define your character.
• Cousin/Sibling (Good): You have an
older cousin/sibling you can rely
on in a pinch. Once per game you
can call upon them for help (the
GM is the final judge on what they
can do for you).
• Clumsy (Bad): You are always
tripping up at the worst times. Any
action involving manual dexterity
causes you to draw 1 less card.
• Clever (Good): You tend to be a
cunning kid. Increase your Brains
by 1.
• Daily Vitamins (Good): Mother
gives you chewable vitamins every
morning and they are paying
off. You start with 12 Toughness
instead of 10.
• Frail (Bad): You are a bit scrawny
for your age. Reduce your Muscles
by 1.
• Good Kid (Good): You are well-liked.
Whenever you are interacting
socially with an adult, draw a
bonus card.
• Lucky (Good): That rabbit’s foot is
paying off. Once per encounter you
may redraw cards for one action.
• Overbearing Parents (Bad): Your
parents never let you get away
with anything. No sleepovers, no
parties, no staying out late.
• Poor (Bad): Your family is poor. You
only get generic equipment and
can never draw any equipment
over a value of 3. Other people of
course can give you things, or you
can try to steal them.
• Schooled (Good): Pick a subject
or area of interest. Whenever
an action related to this subject
comes up using your Brains, draw
two addtional cards.
• Sickly (Bad): Asthma or allergies
keeps you ill on most days. You start
with 8 Toughness instead of 10.
• Timid (Bad): You are not interested
in adventure or danger. On your
turn draw a card and show it to the
other players. If it’s a club card you
take no action this turn.
Equipment
Kids start off with whatever you
managed to get your parents to
buy you. It is assumed you have
a room, school and play clothes,
various toys, bike, etc.
If you want to something beyond
the standard you’ll need to talk
to the GM first. If it is possible for
you to get this item you’ll need
to draw a card and compare the
cards number to the equipment’s
value (each piece of equipment
has a value based on its price and
availability). If your card is equal to
or greater than the item’s value, it
is yours. You can secure as many
items this way per game as equal to
your Brains quality.
Failing to match or beat an
equipment’s value ends your
ability to secure the item and any
remaining attempts. Most likely your
parents are making you wait for your
birthday or worse, Christmas.
Example Equipment
Item Value
Video Game 6
Pocket Knife 2
Super Water/Dart Gun 3
Skateboard 3
Slingshot 4
Polaroid Camera 6
Boom Box 5
 Fighting
“I am going to hit you all so hard that when you wake up, your
clothes will be out of style!”
-Brand Walsh, The Goonies
Sooner or later, the kids are going Really Close 4
to get into some trouble. Here’s
Close 6
how to handle a fight.
Far 10
Really Far King
Turn

Once around the table, where Damage

everyone has a chance to have an
action is a turn.
Initiative
The player to the GM’s left goes
first and so on until it’s the GM’s turn,
when all the NPCs take their actions.
Fight
If you hit someone, or some thing,
you hurt them. For each successful
hit, your opponent loses 1 point of
Toughness. Hitting someone with
a weapon deals more damage,
reducing additional Toughness.
Simple weapons remove 1
Toughness on a hit, Advanced
weapons remove 2 Toughness.

You can take one action once per

S imple W eapon E xample s
turn, including either a melee or
ranged attack. Pocket Knife, Baseball Bat, Lawn
Melee Attack: Punching, kicking, Darts, BB-Gun, Slingshot, etc.
wrestling, etc. Draw a number of A dvanced W eapon E xample s
cards equal to your Muscles and
Firearms, Fireworks, Swords/Axes,
compare the value of the highest
Crossbow, Chainsaw, etc.
card to your opponent’s Muscle. If
it’s equal or higher, you hit.
Ranged Attack: Shooting and
throwing. Draw a number of cards
equal to your Brains and compare
the value of the highest card to the
appropriate range value. If the card
is equal or more, you hit.
Pain

Once you’ve been hit enough

times and lost Toughness, you are
in pain and its harder to do things,
so you reduce your Qualities till you
recover Toughness.
Toughness 5 -1 to Qualities
Toughness 1 -2 to Qualities
Toughness 0 Unconscious

For every good night of sleep you

get back a Toughness point. If you
get medical help, draw a card. If
the card is a Heart, you get another
Toughness point.

Dying

The default assumption in vs.

Stranger Stuff is, you don’t die
Draw a number of cards equal
when you run out of Toughness,
to either your Muscles or Brains
you go unconscious. Its between
(whichever is appropriate to your
you and your GM if you’re playing
GM) and compare the highest
on Hard mode or not, but the
card drawn against a target value
assumption is you’re just lights out
chosen by the GM.
till you regain 1 Toughness.
Easy 4
Average 6
Doing Anything Besides Hard 10
Fighting Near Impossible King
When you are fighting, use the If you equal or beat the target
rules under “Fight” - for everything value, you succeed.
else use these rules. That means
if you are taking a math test,
jumping a ramp with your bike, Cards
climbing a rope in gym class, you’ll Everyone draws from the same
do the following. deck of cards. After a card is used it
goes into a discard pile.
Gamemaster
This section is for Gamematers
(GM) only. All others go away.
NPCs
The kids are going to need others
to interact with or the players are
going to think this entire RPG is
bogus. So, here you go.
Children: These are all the other
kids in the neighborhood, town,
etc. They are not really important,
but might be the most common
person the kids interact with. They
have quality values of 4 and 2.
Adults: These tend to be major
NPCs and the most likely to try and
restrict the kids from doing things.
These include parents, neighbors,
store owners, etc. They have quality
values of 6 and 4.
Villains
Some NPCs are more important
to the kids than a typical NPC,
these characters are those actively
against the kids. These villains and
monsters often have unique special
abilities that make them more
challenging to encounter.
The following is an assortment
of Villains that you can use in your
game sessions.
Henchmen
These NPCs can be used for
security guards, cultists, town
bullies, etc.
Muscle: 4
Brains: 3
Toughness: 4
Gremlin
A small monster (about 2-3ft. tall)
that wreaks havok and works in
groups of 3-6.
Special: Break Stuff (3). If a
gremlin gets into any mechanical
equipment the GM should draw
three cards against a target value
of ten. On a success the gremlin has
rendered the machine useless.
Muscle: 2
Brains: 4
Toughness: 3
Critters
Any little furry thing with teeth
and claws. They always travel in
swarms, even if you only see just
one of them.
Special: Frenzy. Critters always
attack twice per turn. Yes, always.
Muscle: 3
Brains: 1
Toughness: 2
Psychic
This is someone who has highly
developed mental abilities. It could
be a person, or alien, or some evil
entity that used to be a person. It
could even be a mutant.
Special: Psychic Power (6
Quality). You should pick one of the
following, but nothing’s stopping
you from picking all of them:
• Pyrokinetics. The psychic can set things
on fire, including the players. This is an
opposed action (the psychic’s Special
Ability against the player’s Thinking).
If the psychic succeeds, the player’s
clothes catch on fire they suffers 3
points of damage every turn until the
fire is put out.
• Telekinesis. The psychic can move
objects with her mind. How big an
object is up to you. She can also hit
the players with these objects. This is
a ranged attack (the psychic’s Special
Ability against the player’s Muscle or
the range value, whichever is greater).
• Mind Reading. The psychic can read
minds, if given time to concentrate
and allowed to make contact with the
player (although you may not require
the contact). This is an opposed action
(the psychic’s Special Ability against
the player’s Brains). If the psychic
succeeds, she can get what information
she was after.
Muscle: 2
Brains: 7
Toughness: 10
Beasts
These strange creatures cover a
large range of monsters; mutant
animals, mindless creatures from
the stars, government experiments,
etc. What they have in common is
that the are generally nocturnal,
predators, and good at sneaking up
on kids.
Special: Sneakiness. Beasts know
how to hide and move quietly, so
unless there’s a real reason for them
not to have it, beasts always gets
surprise (go first for initiative) at the
beginning of an encounter.
Muscle: 4
Brains: 3
Toughness: 10
Trained Responder
Uniformed police officers,
firefighters, private security, military
personnel, and others trained to
respond to various situations.
Muscle: 6
Brains: 4
Toughness: 8
Trained Specialists
Teachers, scientists, doctors,
cooks, artists and all others that
have trained in a special field of
expertise.
Muscle: 4
Brains: 6
Toughness: 8
 The World
It is up to you to figure out the this is the place to go to for those
world your players are going to overpriced and hard to find items.
explore, but here are some ideas The Government/Military Base:
that might help. Located outside of town, often
in the woods, these facilities are
The Home: This could be your guarded and surrounded by a fence
house, your room, basement, attic, to keep out trespassers and guard
etc. All the kids hang out at this their secrets and experiments.
location when not at school or their The Town: The hometown of
clubhouse. All the kids are welcome the kids. You know all the stores,
here and are often invited over for backroads, shortcuts, urban legends
meals and sleep-overs. and most of the people. This is
The Clubhouse: Crafted from where the Strange Stuff takes place
discarded wood, scavenged nails, and encompasses all other locations.
and various junk, the clubhouse is
the kids private residence.
The School: The kids spend
about half their days here,
surrounded by teachers and other
students.
The Library: This can be a public
library in town or at the school.
Anytime the kids need to
research something, this is the
place they have to go. . . oh, and
the Dewey Decimal System.
The Woods: Full of winding
trails and urban legends, the
woods surround every town and
are the preferred stomping ground
for all youth.
The Mall: Where all the cool kids
go to get the latest bodacious items.
With dozens of different stores,
kiosks, and department stores
 Plots
“I’ll kill you all! Aha, I’ll drive you crazy, and I’ll kill you all! I’m every
nightmare you’ve ever had. I am your worst dream come true! I
am everything you ever were afraid of!”
-Pennywise, Stephen King’s IT

Alien Assimilation

Extra-terrestrial beings are assimilating the people of your town (and

even some pets) and the kids must discover the menace and put a stop to
it, but who can they trust?

Deadly Dogs

A strange virus affecting animals is spreading through town, turning

beloved house pets into viscous monsters. What is the cure? How can it be
stopped? And how do we defend from man’s best friend?

Experiments on Y outh

The government has been doing medical experiments on children who

now show signs of psychic powers. Escaping and hiding out in your town,
can you help these kids escape their captors?

Ritualistic Neighbors

Several people in your town belong to a secret cult that has been trying
to summon otherworldly beings, and they might have succeeded. As
the news of a child sacrifice makes the rounds on the news, more savage
murders from something bestial are being covered up.

Urban Slasher

Local legends tell of a grizzly death on some special holiday. Since then,
the anniversary marks the return of the murderer to seek revenge on the
town. His victims of choice, teenagers.
Character Sheet Character Sheet

Name: ______________________ Name: ______________________

Player:______________________ Player:______________________

Qualities Qualities

Muscle Brains Muscle Brains

Toughness:_________________ Toughness:_________________

Stuff: Stuff:

Equipment: Equipment:

Bio: Bio:
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Open Game License v 1.0 Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

vsM Engine, Copyright 2005 Philip Reed, published by Ronin Arts; vsM Engine by Butch Curry, based on vs. Monsters by
Philip Reed with input from Michael Hammes, James Losub, Stephen David Wark, and others.
Also
Available