Intro

Under the Neighborhood is a group storytelling game for 3-6 players where you and
your friends improvise the kinds of adventures you’d find in most animated kid’s
shows. The Demo version that you’re playing is a streamlined version of the game
that simplifies and removes many of the rules, so you can get a game up and
running in 15 minutes!

If you’d like to experience a more comprehensive version of the game for free, you
can listen to Quest Friends! Hereafter, a podcast created by this game’s designer.

In order to play, all you need is:

● A handful of 6-sided dice (also called d6)
● A character sheet for each player except the GM
● A few hours to play
● A willingness to have fun and say YES to everyone else’s ideas!

Once you’ve gotten everyone together, you’ll need to decide who will control the
Player Characters (PCs) and who is going to be the Game Master (GM).
● Player Characters (PCs): The main characters of the story. Each player
(except for the GM) will control one PC, and they will decide what that PC
thinks and does. Each player should print off one of the character sheets in
this document—this sheet describes their PC and the things they can do.
● Game Master (GM): The player who controls the world and everyone else
living in it (called Non-Player Characters, or NPCs). The GM determines how
the world reacts to the actions of the PCs and plays out those reactions.

The World
The Demo version of Under the Neighborhood uses the world and characters of the
actual play podcast Quest Friends! Hereafter. In this show, the worlds of the living
and the dead are easily accessible to one another. Not only can the living and the

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dead easily access each other’s realms, but ghostly beings called Necromon are
often used in light-hearted, fencing-style duels.

The universe of Quest Friends! Hereafter is split up into three worlds.

● The Here: The realm of the living.
● The Hereafter: The realm of the dead.
● The Afterworlds: Additional layers of death that the dead go to when they
die for a second, third, fourth, etc. time.

Safety Rules
Before playing, have everyone at the table establish Lines & Veils. Lines are topics
that are forbidden from play, and veils are topics that should “fade to black” during
play.

Additionally, at any point during an Adventure, players can invoke the X-Card. If
someone taps a card marked with an X, makes an X shape with their body, or says
“X-Card,” whatever just happened is undone and different events occur, no
questions asked.

Lines & Veils were originally designed by Ron Edwards

(https://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/30906/what-do-the-terms-lines-and-veil
s-mean).
The X-Card was originally designed by John Stavropoulos
(http://tinyurl.com/x-card-rpg).

Playing the Game

Under the Neighborhood is meant to be played in episodic Adventures that last
approximately 2-5 hours. At the beginning of each Adventure, every player will
suggest a Slice of Life Complication for the player sitting on their right. This
complication should be the kind of everyday hassle that you’d find yourself
complaining about to a friend or on social media, such as getting your car towed,
not being able to find an ingredient for a recipe you really need, or having to get a
date for the school dance on Friday.

Once everyone has suggested a Complication, the group will choose one Slice of
Life Complication they really like. This Complication will play a core part in the
Adventure being played.

After choosing Complications, it’s time to play! Play is a conversation, with PCs
describing the actions they take and speaking as their characters, while the GM
describes how the world responds and speaks as side characters.

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When the PCs and GM aren’t sure how something should resolve, they will use a
Move. A Move is either a specific action players can take (as specified on their
character sheets) or a way of categorizing whatever basic action a PC made (see
Basic Moves below).

Many Moves will call for rolls. Take two 6-sided dice (called 2d6) and roll them;
then, tally up their results and add the score of the relevant stat. What happens is
based on the number you get.

● 10-12: Full Success. You succeed or the end result ends up being good for
you.
● 7-9: Mixed Success. You succeed, but at a cost or not quite in the way you
want.
● 1-6: Failure. The result is bad for you.

These are the stats we use in Under the Neighborhood. Based on what you’re trying
to do, take the relevant stat and add or subtract its value from the roll.
● Heart: How well your PC connects emotionally to those around them; how
well they communicate. Characters high in this stat believe in the power of
friendship and the heart of the cards.
● Books: Your PC’s understanding of academic information, both theoretical
and practical. Characters high in this stat are more practical, prioritizing the
things they can know.
● Fierce: Your PC’s tenacity. Characters high in this stat refuse to back down.
● Slick: Your PC’s cleverness. Characters high in this stat like to work their way
around obstacles instead of charging in headfirst, using out-of-the-box
thinking to persevere.

Finally, players can gain Advantage and Disadvantage on a roll based on the context
of the scene and their own abilities.
● Advantage: Add an additional die to your next roll (e.g. instead of rolling
2d6, roll 3) and take the result from the two highest dice.
● Disadvantage: Add an additional die to your next roll (e.g. instead of rolling
2d6, roll 3) and take the result from the two lowest dice.

When making a move related to a Skill or a Signature Item listed on your

character sheet, roll with Advantage. When making a move related to an Inability,
roll with Disadvantage.

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Confrontation
Sometimes, conflict can’t be resolved in a single roll, like in situations where
everyone is being chased by a Monster. If this is the case, you will set up a
Confrontation. Here are the steps for a Confrontation.

● The PCs choose their goal and choose a number based on the difficulty. Their
goal will be to fill this clock with this number of slots.
○ 3: Easy
○ 4: Medium
○ 5: Hard
● The Monster chooses its goal and chooses a number based on the difficulty.
Their goal will be to fill this clock with this number of slots.
○ 3: Easy
○ 4: Medium
○ 5: Hard
● One of the PCs makes a Move and rolls, if needed.
○ Full Success: The party fills their clock by 1 point.
○ Mixed Success: Both the party and the Monster fill their clock by 1
point.
○ Failure: The Monster fills their clock by 1 point.
● The PCs describe the actions they make, and the GM describes the actions
the Monster makes based on the results of the Move.
● Repeat step 3 until the PCs or the Monster’s clock has been filled. Whoever’s
clock fills first, wins!

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Character Sheets
Booker
The Animal Companion who Doesn’t Feel Pain

Pronouns: He/him
Age: Unknown
Appearance: A small crab-like creature that uses a hardcover book as his shell and
the book’s pages as his legs
Homeworld: The Hereafter (AKA the Magical)
Want: Help Hilda achieve her goals

Stats Skill & Inability

Heart Books Fierce Slick Skill Inability

+0 +2 +0 -1 Fitting into Small Resisting Challenges

Places and Dares

Signature Item: Loose paper from his shell

Character Moves
Name Description

Someone’s Best Pick a fellow PC (Hilda) who you have a good relationship with. Once per
Friend Adventure, when that PC is trying to perform a move, they can roll with
Advantage.

It’s Quiet… Too Quiet You are tuned in to danger. If the party is about to face a threat, you become
aware of incoming danger (even if you have no reason to be aware of it) and roll
with Advantage next time you make a Move.

Enough for Everyone If you gain the ability to roll with Advantage, you can choose not to and let
another PC roll with Advantage at a later point of their choosing.

Doesn’t Feel Pain You’re able to put off pain, not noticing the emotional and/or physical strains put
on you. At any point, ignore a negative bonus placed upon you, mechanical or
otherwise (e.g. Disadvantage, getting a little dizzy after spinning yourself around).
You can ignore up to three bonuses at once. However, once all three bonuses fill,
the GM is able to apply all three to a single roll for your character.

Character Bio:
Booker is a Necromon who found himself in the Here one day. He’s not sure how he
got there, but he was quickly found by Hilda and formed an attachment to her.
While he can be very stubborn, Booker is incredibly protective of his person, and he
will do whatever he can to help Hilda achieve her goals.

Notes:

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 Aurelio Enrique "Quique" Hueso Canaca
The Opportunist who Adapts

Pronouns: He/him
Age: Too old to remember
Appearance: Skeleton wearing an old-fashioned suit and a boina española beret
Homeworld: The Hereafter
Want: Help his Family, Get Some Rest

Stats Skill & Inability

Heart Books Fierce Slick Skill Inability

-2 +1 +0 +2 Non-deceptive Improvisation
Persuasion

Signature Item: Pocket Watch (with a picture inside)

Character Moves
Name Description

Loaded Dice At the beginning of the Adventure, roll +Slick and record the result. Once per
Adventure, at any point, you can use this result instead of yours or another PC’s
roll. Unlike most Moves, this Move can be activated after someone rolls.

It was a long con Once per Adventure, you can immediately follow up a Failure or Mixed Success
with a Full Success, explaining that the failure was all part of the plan.

Why would I Lie? Once per Adventure, if your character is lying, you can choose to make whatever
they’re lying about the truth, assuming no information has contradicted this
previously.

Adapts Once per Adventure, you can add a new Skill. This Skill will remain for the rest of
the Adventure.

Character Bio:
Quique is an elderly skeleton from the Hereafter who often finds himself helping out
with his younger relatives in the Here. He can be a bit standoffish to people he
doesn’t know well, but he’s extremely loving to those he’s close with; although his
attempts to “connect with the youth” don’t often pan out well. Besides spending
time with his family, Quique simply likes to relax, something Sparky seems
determined to keep him from doing.

Notes:

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 Irene Hawthorne
The Necromon Trainer who Overextends

Pronouns: She/her
Age: 11
Appearance: Small thin child with a high-collared shirt and very stiff posture
Homeworld: The Here
Want: Become the greatest Necromon trainer in the world

Stats Skill & Inability

Heart Books Fierce Slick Skill Inability

-1 +1 +2 +1 Gardening Sense of Direction

Signature Item: Seeds to feed her Mossies

Character Moves
Name Description

I Choose You! You have little creatures you travel around with called Mon. When you first take
this Move, you can start with up to three Mon. Whenever you get a new Mon,
assign it the following traits. If you start with more than one Mon, assign all Mon
the same element and signature stat.
● A name.
● An element (e.g. wind, fire, psychic, fairy)
● A signature stat (Heart, Books, Fierce, Slick)—this represents your Mon’s
prevailing personality trait, and it will vary even between the same type of
mon.
In order to keep your relationship with your Mon dynamic, they should be
controlled by another player who voices them and describes their actions
whenever they are out. The player may also make basic moves with the Mon
(these do not include unique Mon abilities, which are Playbook-specific moves, as
listed below). Mon have default stats of +0, with the exception of their signature
stat, which is +1.

Elemental Blast Roll your Mon’s signature stat to harness their element. Based on what the
signature stat is, the effect may change. Typically, the effects are as follows:
● Heart: Something meant to defend or assist you.
● Books: A circumstantially unique ability (e.g. phasing through walls).
● Fierce: An attack.
● Slick: A circumstantially unique ability (e.g. turning you temporarily
invisible).

Overextends At any point, you can act with Advantage. If you do, the GM can use 1 Hard Move
in response.

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Mon Information
Name Element Signature Stat

Pokeyo Nature Slick

Mallea Nature Fierce

Mossies Insect Heart

Character Bio:
Irene Hawthorne is excellence. From a young age onward, she’s been determined to
be the best in her family, going above and beyond in all respects. This includes
skipping a grade (she’s now in 7th Grade) and also, you know, becoming the
greatest Necromon Trainer of all time.

Don’t let her and her Necromon’s fierce exterior fool you, though; Irene adores
each and every one of her plant- and fungus-based Necromon and is so close to
them that she doesn’t even need to use Necrocards to carry them around.

Notes:

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 Sparky Malarkey
The Intuition who Investigates

Pronouns: She/her
Age: Mid-40s
Appearance: White woman wearing HIP and YOUNG and FRESH clothing (AKA
stuff straight out of the 80s and 90s)
Homeworld: The Here
Want: To find the scoop

Stats (Wild Card) Skill & Inability

Heart Books Fierce Slick Skill Inability

0 0 0 0 Investigation CPR

Signature Item: Smackbook Pro

Character Moves
Name Description

True Wild Card Your stats fluctuate each adventure. Instead of choosing a stat loadout like usual,
give each stat a baseline value of 0. Then, at the beginning of each adventure, roll
1d6 for each stat and modify it by the following value based on the result.
● 6: +3
● 5: +2
● 4: +1
● 3: 0
● 2: -1
● 1: -2

Can’t Learn Unless Roll with Advantage every time you roll using a stat that you have a negative
You Try! value in.

Shoot First, Ask If you’re trying to investigate or understand something, roll +Fierce, instead of
Questions Later +Books.

Investigates Choose a mystery your character is interested in solving, then mark down a
conspiracy board tracker with 3 points. Every time you take an effective action
toward solving that mystery, fill the tracker by 1. Once the tracker fills, you
receive a revelation related to the mystery or an overall part of the plot that your
PC wouldn’t know otherwise. Choose a new mystery and reset the tracker to 3.

Investigation Meter
Name 1 2 3

Mystery: Why is the rutabaga section of the grocery store always empty?

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Character Bio:
Sparky Malarkey is an ACE INVESTIGATOR. Years ago, she was part of the high
school mystery-solving squad Private Investigators Corporation Limited Enterprises,
or PICLE (pronounced “pickle”). In the years since, PICLE has disbanded, but
Sparky’s not torn up about it! Not at all! Why… why would you suggest that?

In either case, Sparky’s too busy working as a self-employed investigative

journalist, seeking out answers to deep questions like “what does Quique know
about the Hereafter” and “why is the rutabaga section of the store always empty?”

Notes:

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 Hilda Miszkiewicz
The Guardian who Pulls Pranks

Pronouns: She/her
Age: 12
Appearance: Young fat girl wearing outdoor clothing and a backpack filled with
books and adventuring gear.
Homeworld: The Here (AKA The Mundane)
Want: To grow up and become a great… something! She’s trying out everything
right now to figure out what she wants to be.

Stats Skill & Inability

Heart Books Fierce Slick Skill Inability

+2 +1 -1 -1 Sitting Quietly Competition

Signature Item: Babcia Ania’s Revised Book of Practical Jokes and Clownery

Character Moves
Name Description

I Fight for My Friends Whenever you try to hit someone or leap into action, roll +Heart, instead of
+Fierce.

Declare Guilty Once per Adventure, declare a particular character a threat to you or those you
care about. Roll with Advantage whenever your actions oppose that character, for
the remainder of the Adventure.

Never Say Die Once per Adventure, when a Monster is about to fill their clock or the GM is about
to make a Hard Move, you may make an additional Move before the consequences
of the Monster’s Clock filling or the Hard Move take place. This does not nullify
their clock filling or stop the Hard Move from occurring (even if your clock fills, as
well); instead, the effect of the clock filling/Hard Move should happen at the same
time as the effect of your move.

Pulls Pranks Once per Adventure, have a single-use item related to pranks or whimsy suddenly
appear (a penny behind someone’s ear, a pie behind your back, a bucket of water
set up on a slightly opened door). If this item relates to a Move, roll with
Advantage.

Character Bio:
Like most kids in 7th Grade, Hilda’s determined to be the best at what she does…
even if she’s not quite sure WHAT it is she wants to do. Outside of school, she
spends most of her time following Sparky Malarkey on her investigative ventures,
learning all that she can.

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While Hilda is very earnest and straightforward with her intentions, she’s also been
raised from a young age to understand the virtue of a good old-fashioned prank.
Hopefully Quique and Irene understand that value, as well…

Notes:

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Sample Adventure: Someone’s Very Good Day
NOTE: This Adventure is only meant to be viewed by the Game Master. It should
not be read by the other players.

Slice of Life Complication

Before play begins, have each PC suggest a Slice of Life complication and then vote
on your favorite as a group. Note this complication down; it will be the core of this
Adventure.

Part 1: The Conflict

Start the Adventure with the PCs learning about the Slice of Life Complication and
trying to resolve it. Every time they take an action to resolve the Complication,
another thing goes wrong. The issue seems unsolvable.

At some point, the PCs will encounter Falka (she/her). Falka is an old woman with
wisps of silvery gray hair that float like cotton candy. During this encounter, they’ll
either make a good or a bad impression on Falka. In order to aid the PCs or punish
them, respectively, Falka will secretly slip a Mecrocard into the pocket of a PC;
privately mark this PC as the Lucky. When Falka slips the card into the PC’s
pocket, ask the player which other PC their character is most likely to be thinking
about or looking at in that moment; note that other person as the Unlucky.

Part 2: The Monster

Continue to play out the PCs living their lives. However, things seem to keep going
super well for the Lucky, while nothing goes right for the Unlucky. If either PC needs
to roll, the Lucky should always roll with Advantage, and the Unlucky should always
roll with Disadvantage. (Note: This section shouldn’t go on for too long, so the
Unlucky doesn’t get frustrated with always getting Disadvantage.)

As the PCs notice that something is wrong and investigate further, they learn that
the Lucky was given the card for a Necromon called Luqua. Luqua is a water
dragon that is invisible unless you call out its name. It had attached itself to the
Lucky’s head, draining all of the luck from the Unlucky and passing it on to its host.
If enough time passes, the Unlucky will be permanently drained of their luck, and
Luqua will take over the Lucky for the rest of the week, leaving behind a really
awful headache.

Part 3: The Confrontation

If the PCs decide to stop Luqua, a Confrontation will begin. This will likely be a
combat, with Luqua on top of the Lucky’s head, but it could be other things, like a
high-speed chase to get to the Lucky (if they’re in a different place than the other

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PCs). The PCs will outline their goal; it will have a clock of 4 by default, but the
clock will reduce to 3 if they know how to make Luqua visible.

Luqua’s goal is to take the Unlucky’s luck and take over the Lucky. It has a clock of
5 by default.

Once this setup is done, the Confrontation begins! During the Confrontation, Luqua
isn’t actively draining as much luck, so the Lucky no longer gains automatic
Advantage, and the Unlucky no longer has automatic Disadvantage.

After the PCs’ or Luqua’s clock completely fills, play out how they win the encounter.
Then play out any other denouement the PCs or GM are interested in and wrap up
the story.

Take a moment to rest and celebrate. You’ve just finished an Under the
Neighborhood Adventure!

And if you enjoyed it, remember that you can find the full game at
questfriends.itch.io/neighborhood, or you can listen to more Adventures in the
Hereafter for free at questfriendspodcast.com!

Written By: Kyle Decker

Edited By: Hallie Koontz
Cover Art By: Jess Kuczynski
Roll20 Sheets By: Scott Casey
Copyright © 2022 Kyle Decker

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