Trash to Treasure Preview Edition [Kickstarting Now]

Trash to Treasure is on Kickstarter. Get your copy right here.

This is a preview edition, all design subject to change.

Fight evil AND pollution in this tabletop roleplaying game about trash-powered, magical girl goblins who use their feral energy to clean up a city ravaged by industrial pollution. You’ll play as trash goblins whose magical familiars have gone missing, racing to save them from the effects of environmental destruction before it's too late!

Inspired by Rowan, Rook and Decard’s Eat the Reich, Trash to Treasure is built out of the Havoc Engine. It features a fast and lightweight d6 dice pool system focused on high-action fight scenes with the forces of evil in the city and slice-of-life interludes with a twist of goblin shenanigans. 

The preview edition contains everything you need to play through part of the game, including: 

• The core game rules
• A set of character sheets
• An introductory mission to get comfy with the mechanics
• One full sector with 6 scenes to play through, including a boss fight

Rules

Build a dice pool by crafting a scene around an approach guided by one of your stats, then roll the dice! Spend your successful dice to advance the narrative by defending your team from threats, scavenging for trash to fuel your powers, taking the fight to your enemies, or using a combination of tooth, claw, and magic to achieve your goals.

In addition to the core Havoc Engine and in keeping with our magical girl theme, some threats and objectives may be more difficult to achieve through fighting alone, rewarding the clever use of your skills, abilities, and resources. Not worry though: we still encourage the linear application of extreme violence in most cases.

In short, you'll craft a few shots of a scene and be rewarded with an ever-expanding pool of dice for each awesome detail you add. Work with your allies to build up powerful combo moves, and spend your successful dice to battle your foes and advance the action. Lather, rinse, and repeat until you've left each section of the city spotless! 

Momentum

As you fight, you'll build up a group resource called Momentum. When your Momentum maxes out, you can Roll the Title OST to unleash a devastating combo attack with another magical girl goblin in the party.

Scenes

The game has two modes: 

Action Sequences represent the majority of scenes. These are where you'll be at full trash goblin magical girl power, wielding your magic and fighting alongside your friends to rescue your familiars. 

Downtime episodes, where the stakes are lower and you'll have an opportunity to scrounge for resources, repair your gear, and recover from injuries taken in battle. 

Meet the Goblins

Trash to Treasure is easy to pick up for one-shot and off-the-cuff play thanks to its charming cast of pre-generated characters. You'll have the opportunity to play as one of the five following feral, trash-fueled, magical goblins (Pictured on the right):

Burnie

In a fight, Burnie does exactly what her name implies: She draws recklessly on her inner flames, incinerating any foes in her path and armoring her allies with heat-fused trash.

Burnie's powers come from urban trash, the waste that litters the streets. To her, discarded things are the perfect fuel for her magic and sparks of creative inspiration. She's a crafter at heart, and makes armor and sculptures for the forgotten creatures and people of the city.

Haze

In a fight, Haze is a whirlwind of glitter, glamor, and feral fury, redirecting attacks and wielding a fearsome arsenal of freshly recycled gear. She even knows what some of her contraptions do!

Haze's magic comes from the smog and smoke that hang in the air. Though it's an acquired taste for the other goblins, she finds it delicious, and loves nothing more than cleaning chimneys and air ducts. She's a recklessly enthusiastic inventor and thinks that exhaust grime is an underutilized makeup look.

Sludge

In a fight, Sludge is a toxin-devouring tsunami incarnate. Fighting alongside a crowd of (almost) indistinguishable clones, she'll siphon off pollutants from her foes and turn them to her advantage.

Sludge's magic comes from cleaning up the oceans and repurposing the oil and plastic therein. To her, trash is fashion! Trashion? She loves experimenting with new looks and giving fashion shows to grateful sea life.

Worm

A supreme scavenger and compost aficionado, Worm fights dirty. Empowered by the tiniest scrap of leftovers from enemies and allies alike, she's a tunneling, trash-animating terror to her foes.

Worm's magic comes from the earth and the decay that sustains it. She's all about using table scraps and the whole animal when it comes to cooking. No food should be left behind and she makes sure of it. 

Treasure

In a fight, all eyes are on Treasure and her army of lost and forgotten items. Always ready with a withering quip or an enchanting song, she'll lighten your pockets of anything you don't keep a close eye on.

Treasure's magic comes from the energy people put into objects. If people don't seem to cherish the things they own, she takes it upon herself to find a new home for them (Even if that home is her own pockets). A bat of her eyelashes, a few mesmerizing words, and they'll be none the wiser. 

The Preview Edition Adventure:

The sector available for play after the intro mission puts you right in the thick of it racing through the penultimate sector of the game to save Haze's familiar Nimbus. Soaring above the city as Miasma, the Squall that Cuts the Heavens, you'll need to chase the smog elementals out of this sector of the city (and maybe pick up some allies along the way) before you can confront them. When you're ready, ascend the skyscraper to where Miasma awaits, and rescue Nimbus! 

To Play

1. Download the preview edition and character sheet files
2. Get some friends with goblin energy
3. Gather a small hoard of d6 (8-10 per goblin, 20-30 for the Game Master)
4. Choose your characters
5. Play the Intro Mission
6. Choose your first scene and dive in!

Preview Edition Notes

This is the preview edition of Trash to Treasure, akin to an early-access video game demo. This edition of the game has been playtested and peer-edited, but is still awaiting professional editing, layout design, and finished art. The full game will release early next year (March), following the conclusion of our crowdfunding campaign. 

The full game release will feature: 

• Complete rules and guidelines for play
• 5 Sectors, each with unique action sequences, downtime episodes, and bosses
• A full list of Threats for each sector
• Guidelines for building your own scenes and threats
• Options for modifying existing characters and creating new ones
• Additional GM support for modifying the game on the fly
• Loads of additional art
• Professional editing and layout
• And more!