TRASH

PALS
A CALTROP CORE RPG
OF EATING TRASH
AND DOING CRIMES

BY
goth Hoblin
 TRASH PALS - A CALTROP CORE GAME

TRASH PALS
Trash Pals is a fun tabletop RPG where
players work together as a group of While Trash Pals is
written with a
animal friends looking for the best trash group in mind, it
haul of their lives! Play as a raccoon, an can also be played
opossum, a stray cat or an urban fox as with one player and
you sniff out only the best half-empty one GM, or even
without a GM at all -
takeout containers and cheese wrappers players can easily
that humans can throw away. You only take turns narrating
have one night! the story for a
collaborative
experience. Each
game should last
between 1 and 3
hours, but is
Rules variable depending
on how the dice roll
and how in depth
To play, you will need these rules, a piece of paper you choose to make
and writing utensil, and some four sided dice (4 is your scenes.
ideal). The dice are used to randomly generate
options during character creation and scene
creation, to resolve actions and to advance time.

GAMEPLAY
The GM of the game (or player acting as GM at the
time) rolls dice at the start of the game, and at the
beginning and end of each scene only. During
scenes, the GM should ask players to roll their dice
in order to resolve actions. For example, if a player
wants to try and work out the best way to get to a
bin, the GM might ask them to roll Smart. If they
want to climb a fence, the GM should ask them to
roll Body. The dice can also be rolled to determine
the answer to situations where an outcome is
uncertain.

EAT TRASH - DO CRIMES

 TRASH PALS - A CALTROP CORE GAME

AT THE START OF THE GAME:

• Players create and introduce their characters.
Rolling tables are provided in order to do this
(see 'Character Creation').

• The GM rolls 1d4 on the Locations table to

determine the overall environment of the game
and describes this to the players. Some
examples have been given at the end of the
book, however further details are up to your
imagination. If you are playing without a GM as
a collaborative group, decide on the details
together.

The Trash Situation

determines what AT THE START OF EACH SCENE:
kind of bins you’ve
found! It might be • The GM rolls 1d4 to determine the Trash
some household Situation (see Rolling Tables at the end of this
trash cans, a book) and describes the scene to the players.
dumpster, or even a
row of black sacks
• The GM also rolls 1d4 to see how many
to rip apart!
Obstacles present themselves to the characters,
and decides on what the obstacles will be.
Obstacles are These obstacles may not always be immediately
things that might
apparent to the players; announce them as they
get in the way of
you reaching your occur.
supreme trash haul.
You’ll need to work • Players resolve the scene through both roleplay
together to and actions of their choosing (see 'Actions') in
overcome them in collaboration with each other and the GM.
order to get to the
trash!

AT THE END OF EACH SCENE:

“THERE IS NO • Whether the characters succeeded or failed in
TRASH CANNOT. their attempt, the GM rolls 1d4 to determine

THERE IS ONLY how many hours have passed. Keep track of this
number as it encompasses both travel time and
TRASH CAN!” the time spent resolving the previous scene.
Add up time rolls as you go; once 12 hours is up
- A TRASH PANDA, then the night (and game) is over.
PROBABLY

EAT TRASH - DO CRIMES

 TRASH PALS - A CALTROP CORE GAME

ACTIONS
This game largely relies on roleplay, and players should roll
dice only to resolve actions (anything that can be phrased
as "I want to…"). To do so, roll a number of d4 equal to the
relevant stat. For example, with a Cute score of 2, a player
would roll 2d4. Then, take the highest number as the result.
The GM should describe how the action is resolved, and
insert consequences and/or rewards based on the d4 result
in the table below.

D4 RESULT
1 - Absolute Failure.
You don’t get what you want and things get a lot worse.

2 - Partial Failure.
You don’t get what you want.

3 - Partial Success.
You get what you want, but things get complicated.

4 - Absolute Success.
You get what you want — and more.

NOTICE LEVEL
Notice is a number shared by the whole group. It starts at
zero and increases as the players draw attention to
themselves. The GM keeps track of this value and decides
when an action creates notice; this could be as a
consequence of a failure or partial success, or within the
course of roleplay. Once the notice level reaches 4, the
group has drawn too much attention, and animal control
has arrived.

EAT TRASH - DO CRIMES

 TRASH PALS - A CALTROP CORE GAME

Optionally, if you do not wish to run The group has one final chance to
the risk of players losing characters avoid capture before the scene
partway through a game, animal ends. This can be either a Body or
control can be substituted for other Smart roll (players choice). Failing
types of humans, e.g. security the roll means their character has
guards or homeowners, and the been captured, and is out of the
scene can end with the pals being game.
chased away without the need to
The notice level resets to zero at the
attempt escape.
beginning of each new scene.

Character creation
Create your character by rolling 1d4 on each of the tables below, or choose
one option from each. Give your character a name and briefly describe their
personality to the other players.

WHAT SPECIES ARE YOU? WHAT IS YOUR SPECIAL TALENT?

1. Raccoon (+1 Cute, +1 Smart) 1. Sniffing for trash (+1 Senses)

2. Opossum (+1 Senses, +1 Cute) 2. Being adorable (+1 Cute)

3. Stray cat (+1 Body, +1 Smart) 3. Moving quickly or climbing (+1 Body)

4. Urban fox (+1 Senses, +1 Smart) 4. Problem solving (+1 Smart)

WHY DO YOU WANT TRASH? WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE SNACK?

1. Hungy babies 1. Apple cores

2. Trash for the trash god 2. Cheeto dust

3. CHAOS ALWAYS 3. Cat food

4. My reasons are my own 4. Fried chicken

EAT TRASH - DO CRIMES

 TRASH PALS - A CALTROP CORE GAME

STATS
Characters begin with 1 in each of the following stats. These
stats are then increased according to the species of the
character, and their special talent (as per the tables on the
previous page). The most any character can have in any
stat without using the optional rule below is 3.

“LIVE LIKE EVEHRY

Senses DAY IS TRAS
Use this when you want to sniff for trash, listen out for DAY”
danger, etc.
- ANCIENT PROVERB
Cute
Use this when you want to try and diffuse a situation, such
as making a frightened human go 'awww!' and accept your
presence.

Body
Use this when you want to do something using your body,
for example running, climbing, jumping, etc.

Smart
Use this when you want to use your brain to solve a puzzle,
like unlocking something or figuring out how to get the
food out of the container it's been thrown out in.

OPTIONAL RULE: LIVE FAST OR DIE TRYING!

After assigning all of your stats, you may reduce one
unmodified stat to 0 in order to raise a modified stat by 1.
Doing so attracts an automatic absolute failure (the equivalent
of rolling a 1) on any rolls using the zeroed stat, but raises
another stat's potential maximum number to 4.

For example, Reggie Raccoon's stats are 1 Senses, 2 Cute, 1

Body, 3 Smart. He chooses to sacrifice his Body stat to boost
Smart. This means he will always fail when trying to run away
from something or complete a physical action, but he has a
much higher chance of being able to outsmart any pursuers.
His new stats are 1 Senses, 2 Cute, 0 Body, 4 Smart.

EAT TRASH - DO CRIMES

 TRASH PALS - A CALTROP CORE GAME

SPECIAL MOVES
Each species receives their own special move. Each move may
only be attempted once per game.

Raccoon: Breaking & Entering

Your life of thievery has made you an expert at
using your paws and getting into places you
shouldn't. You may roll Body+Smart in an
attempt to pick or dismantle a lock.

Opossum: [ scream ]
Invoke the unholy power of
AAAAAAAHHHHHH! Roll Body+Senses; if you
succeed, you may add +1 to your next d4 result
(for example, turn a 1 into a 2). Doing this raises
your group's notice level by 1.

Stray Cat: I'm Baby

Roll Cute+Smart to attempt a display so adorable
that you turn the minds of any nearby humans to
mush, forcing them to engage in baby talk and
distracting them from the heist. On a success,
lower the group's overall notice level by 1.

Fox: Glass Cleaner

Some of your more meme-able habits have
given you a taste for window cleaner and other
chemical solutions humans use on and around
their homes. Roll Senses+Smart to attempt to
bypass any obstacles in the form of chemical
deterrents.

EAT TRASH - DO CRIMES

 TRASH PALS - A CALTROP CORE GAME

ROLLING TABLES AND LISTS

LOCATIONS
1. Suburban
Did you know that the average American family produces about 18
pounds of trash per day? You bet you did, which is why you've established
your hunting grounds here, among the homes of middle class humans.
Food scraps are almost always on the menu, sometimes even still warm,
but you also often have to deal with enclosed yards, security systems, pets,
bin storage and other obstacles in order to get your fill.

2. Urban
Urban environments - the back alleyways of city streets behind cafes,
restaurants and the like - often have the desirable effect of not being filled
with people once the sun has gone down, and you're much less likely to
encounter a guard dog or angry pet chihuahua. However, most places
use dumpsters which are a lot harder to get into, and street lighting
makes it much more difficult to stay unnoticed.

3. Rural
You've roamed far tonight, out towards where things are much more open
and quiet. Though it's far from your usual haunt, in the countryside you
don't feel quite as out of place when there are plenty of other animals
roaming around in paddocks. The grass beneath your paws and an open
sky above you feels strangely natural. Cows and the like generally won't
bother you; but farm dogs can be nasty, and are often left outside.

4. Industrial
The industrial part of town is hit or miss at the best of times, but you've
learned that in-between the mechanics, cabinet makers and furniture
refinishers are a number of small food stores and coffee shops which cater
to the workers in the area. The food from these places is often plentiful
and greasy, but these industrial estates feature high tech security systems
and sometimes even have patrolling guards with dogs.

EAT TRASH - DO CRIMES

 TRASH PALS - A CALTROP CORE GAME

TRASH SITUATIONS Feel free to make up your own

Locations, Trash Situations and
1. A single, medium sized bin or
trash can Obstacles! These are presented as a
guideline to get you started. Trash
2. A d4 number of small bins Pals works in literally any setting - so
use your imagination!
3. A large dumpster

4. A row of black sacks

OBSTACLE IDEAS
Dogs

Lighting

Security guards (human)

Tall fences

Locked gates

Large dumpsters

Metal bins

Locking bin lids

Padlocks

Humans

Hot peppers

Sassy pet cats

Bin storage/sheds

Distractions (cat food!)

Competition
REMEMBER: YOU M
AY BE Animal repellent
TRASH,
Tied or weighed down lids
BUT THAT MEANS Y
O
SOMEONE’S TREASUU’RE Chemical smells
RE! Mothballs

EAT TRASH - DO CRIMES

 TRASH PALS - A CALTROP CORE GAME

goth Hoblin
Created by gothHoblin

Find me on Twitter @gothhoblin or at

https://gothhoblin.itch.io/

BUILT ON CALTROP CORE

This game runs on the Caltrop Core System by @titanomachyRPG. The Caltrop
CoreSRD is an introductory game design SRD. Trash Pals is built using Caltrop
Core! Be sure to pick up Caltrop Core at https://titanomachyrpg.itch.io.

Trash Pals is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0

International License.

CREDITS
"FWNCR Opossum.jpg" by Simmy27star used under CC BY-SA 4.0 / Desaturated and
cropped from original

Trash can photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

Raccoon photo by Joshua J. Cotten on Unsplash

Orange tabby photo by Mayer Tawfik on Unsplash

Fox photo by Peter Lloyd on Unsplash

Raccoon photo by Richard Burlton on Unsplash

Trashed font by Segments Design

Aliens and cows font by Zetafonts

Barloesius Schrift font by Peter Wiegel

EAT TRASH - DO CRIMES