#125: The Goblin's Guide to Holiday Courtship | A Christmas Date Night RPG for Two Players, Fifth Edition Compatible

The perfect Christmas date night RPG for two players: no Game Master, no prep, one snowed-in town and a goblin with the worst holiday romance advice ever written.

The mountain town of Brindlecrest is snowed in for Longnight, the midwinter festival of lamps. Ember, a traveling lamplighter, is stuck until the pass opens. Tobin, the toymaker who has kept his late grandmother's shop dark all year, wants nothing to do with the festival. Then Ember backs into his window display with a brand-new copy of The Goblin's Guide to Holiday Courtship in her hand.

One of you plays the Holder, who carries the Guide and decides, turn by turn, whether to follow the goblin's advice or speak from the heart. The other plays the Heart, who reads the story aloud and chooses when Tobin's walls come down. The Affection Track tells you both, honestly, whether it is working.

Fall on the ice on purpose. Sing his name at the town carol. Survive a fruitcake that will not let go and a family supper where a ledger imp reads everyone's secrets aloud. Then, when the pass opens at dawn, decide whether to throw the book in the fire.

How a night plays:

Each scene, you both roll a Mood, the Heart reads a short boxed scene, and the Holder makes two plays. Follow the Guide and roll for an accidentally perfect gesture or a glorious disaster, which the Heart can tease into a win if you laugh along. Speak from the Heart for a slower, safer climb. Plant threads about your characters' pasts and cash them in later for the honest moments that win the night. A Secret Insecurity you each write at the start will surface in Act Three, when the goblin's final chapter tempts you into one very bad idea.

The goblin's twenty Interrupts are real dares for your real table: snarl for three seconds, wrap a spoon and insist it be opened, describe the exact blizzard you would cross for them. The rules reward nerve, so the bravest, silliest play is usually the best one. And the ending belongs to both of you: each of you writes one sentence in secret, and the dice decide whether they meet.

A standalone sequel to The Goblin's Guide to Courtship, built on the fifth edition tradition. You never need to have played the first book: every rule is inside. Played the first one? Ember and Tobin are new, the rules are tightened so the dice matter more, and the goblin has learned nothing.

What's Inside:

• 83 pages, zero prep: four acts, 13 scenes and three endings (In Love, Dear Friends or Beautiful Disaster)
• No Game Master needed: the book runs the game and tells you when to roll and what to read aloud
• Two ready-to-play characters: Ember the tiefling lamplighter and Tobin the dwarf toymaker
• Twenty new goblin Interrupts, each with a silly action to perform at your real table
• New holiday rules: the Secret Gift you write for each other, and Mistletoe that doubles the stakes
• Two cooperative "monsters" with stat blocks, beaten by teamwork instead of damage
• A photocopyable Play Aid, a one-page Quick Reference, and ways to play as friends, over a video call or in 90 minutes
• About two hours for two players; no miniatures, maps or rules knowledge needed, just dice and two pencils

Perfect For:

Couples who want a cozy, funny Christmas night in

New players: everything is explained, and a goblin does most of the talking

A stocking stuffer for the gamer you love: add two dice and a sprig of mistletoe

A first taste of tabletop roleplaying for anyone who has always wanted to try it

A second night later in the season: swap seats, and the game plays completely differently

Open the book. Share the fruitcake. Burn it when it matters.