Silent Night RPG

December 21, 2020

As I write this the sun has set on the shortest day of the year — Winter Solstice. (For my friends of the Goddess: have a peaceful solstice.) My semester finally ended with a flurry of papers (the last being thirty pages long.) Now it’s a waiting game. So now, what to write about? Hmm. Last year I wrote about the Deities & Demigods book I received for Christmas decades ago. Shall I write about the many different ways St. Nick has been adapted for D&D? Been done. No, instead I’ll write about April Fool’s day.

Ghost of holiday RPG stories past

‘Twas April Fool’s day 1992 and I was working for Chessex Game distributors, which at the time was still in the Byrne Building in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. By this point I’d been promoted to the phones and one of my duties was creating the daily and weekly fax updates. I decided as an April Fools joke I’d create my own game. Occasionally I’d send one page ads soliciting upcoming products out to the stores in the fax queue, so I’d do that. Hmm… what to send? Well, I still had a Christmas card laying around in a desk drawer… I know!

And so was born Silent Night, the Christmas RPG!

I did this at work so my tech was non-existent. (At the time the fax was the extent of the technology there.) I photocopied the card and hand lettered everything else. It was a rush job and looked like it! Still, the industry wasn’t exactly as polished as it is today.

Silent Night

The Role Playing Game

Now YOU can be your favorite character from Christmas stories and carols! S.N. includes:

Magic: Rules for the Three Magi!

Music: BE the Little Drummer Boy!

Mythology: Pit yourself against Heat Miser or Mother Nature!

Monsters: The Abominable Snow Man! Look for a full line of support items to be a hot seller!

XMAS I: DRUM QUEST — Rudolph and the Little Drummer Boy team up to find the lost drum hidden in the lair of the evil Grinch!

XMAS II: CITY NIGHTS –– Tiny Tim, Herbie the Dentist, and Cindy Lou Who are kidnapped by crack dealers. Can Yukon Cornelius, Burgomeister Meisterberger, and Linus find the Silver Bells to free their friends?

NORTH POLE BOXED SET –– meet Santa, Mrs. Claus, and all of your favorites in this huge box set.

COMING SOON: Frosty of Arabia, Death on the Island of Misfit Toys Coming Soon!

S.N. Miniatures by Lance & Laser

KEEP THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT ALL YEAR ‘ROUND!

SILENT NIGHT

The Role Playing Game At fine book and hobby stores near you!

Game Design: C. Bickley & L. Kandler

It looked sloppy and goofy and contained from office in-jokes but off it went. And preorders came pouring in! One retailer ordered 24 copies! In the end we had over 70 preorders for a product that was a complete joke. We had a good laugh all around, as did the retailers who got the joke.

A few retailers thought I should actually write it. I was too busy writing adventures for my D&D group and editing pieces for TSR at the time. Funny thing is I think someone made something like this! I also saw a miniatures game with a Christmas theme (War in Christmas Village). If I actually cared about the holiday maybe I’d try it. As it stands I’m busy relaxing — and working — after another brutal semester of PhD studies.

May your holidays be safe and peaceful.