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Under The Floorboards

Credits.................................................................................................................................................2
Overview..............................................................................................................................................3

How To Play
Character Creation...........................................................................................................................6
Basic Mechanics..............................................................................................................................14
Structure of Play................................................................................................................................16
• Phase One: Scouting......................................................................................................16
• Phase Two: The Expedition...........................................................................................21
• Phase Three: The Return.............................................................................................23

Running The Game

Locations Hazards
Inside The House Burst Pipe.....................................................43
• The Bathroom..............................26 Decorating.....................................................43
• The Cellar......................................27 Giants Abroad...............................................43
• The Doll’s House.........................28 Pest Control...................................................43
• The Kitchen..................................29 Pests Out Of Control...................................43
• The Library...................................30 Pets.................................................................43
• The Living Room..........................31 Tangled Webs................................................43
• The Master Bedroom.................32 Traps...............................................................43
• The Nursery..................................33 The Way The Wind Blows..........................44
• The Pantry....................................34 Gardening......................................................44
• The Skirting Boards...................35 In The Tall Grass..........................................44
The Garden...................................................36 It Came From Above...................................44
• The Bird House...........................37 Squirrelled Away..........................................44
• The Bone Yard.............................38
• The Bramble................................39
Extended Play & Campaigns
• The Green House........................40
• The Pond.......................................41 Improving Your Abilities.............................45
• The Shed......................................42 Non-Player Characters...............................45
Campaign Events.........................................46
Creating Your Own Locations...................47
2 3

Credits Overview
Written by Chris Bissette
Under The Floorboards
Layout by Chris Bissette
Art by Madeleine Ember
Editing by Steven Thurston Inspired by Mary Norton’s The Borrowers, Under The Floorboards provides you wilh a
toolbox to tell stories of daring and epic adventure on a miniscule scale. It is designed to be
Dedicated to the memory of Ian Holm, the first Pod Clock I ever knew. played in a one-shot format, but this book also gives you options and advice for continuing
the story beyond a single gaming session.
Under The Floorboards is © 2020 Chris Bissette / Loot The Room
In this game you take on the roles of a group of inches-tall small people who live beneath
the floorboards in the house of the big people, who you occasionally borrow from in order
to survive. For Floorboard Folk, leaving your home is rare and only undertaken when
Acknowledgements the giants have something that you desperately need. This game is not about the quiet
moments that fill most of your life, but about the Expeditions - the scary, life-threatening
This game began life as a silly hack of Honey Heist, and thus wouldn’t exist without Grant
ventures out into the land of giants, not knowing if you will ever return.
Howitt. It also wouldn’t exist if a Twitter user named @Shelbut_t hadn’t suggested The
Borrowers as a theme when I was looking for ideas for my next game.

Some of the designers whose work I looked to while writing this game were, in no
particular order, Sam Mui, Ben Chong, Michael Prescott, Lauren McManamon and Jesse
Ross, Dee Pennyway, Nathaniel de Leon, Whitney “Strix” Beltrán, Marissa Kelly and
Sarah Richardson, and Avery Alder.

I also couldn’t have put this together without the support of my partner Steph, Ash for his
constant encouragement and ideas (the SCARPER system wouldn’t exist without him),
Phil Beckwith for always pushing me to chase what I love (and giving me great advice
about running a Kickstarter), Matt Sanders for his indefatigable enthusiasm for games and
his excellent advice, and Alex Clippinger, Cody Faulk, and Chris Walz for being constantly
encouraging and infuriating in equal measure.

This also, of course, wouldn’t exist without the financial support of 310 backers on
Kickstarter during ZineQuest. Thank you for putting your trust in me, and for your
patience during this project.

Since this game was conceived of and funded in February 2020, the world has changed
beyond recognition. I hope this game brings you some small sliver of joy in what is truly
the darkest timeline.
- Chris Bissette, June 2020
4 5

What You Need Being The Guiding Voice

Along with this book, you will need the following things to pull off a successful expedition: The Guiding Voice takes on a role similar to that which many other games call the Game
• One player to be the Guiding Voice, who will run the game Master or Storyteller. You control the world itself - in this case the house of the giants and
• One to five players with big hearts and bigger plans the other creatures that inhabit it - and help to adjudicate the results of the other players’
• At least two six-sided dice, but ideally one pair per player actions. Rely on the following principles to help you:
• Something to write with
• A copy of the character sheet at the end of this book for each player, or a piece Facilitate, don’t dictate. Rather than acting like an author dictating events it is your job
of paper each to make notes on to help the players visualise a world that they have collectively built, and then help it react
to the actions and choices that they make. The players will want to try things that seem
ridiculous. It is rarely (if ever) your job to say no to them. Instead, let them try, give them
a real chance of success, and build a story together with them as their characters explore
Being Floorboard Folk the world that they have built.
As a player in this game you’re responsible for taking on the role of one of the Floorboard
Folk, the tiny people who live in the houses of giants. You will primarily make choices for Trust the fiction. While other games often ask the player taking on your role to plan out
your character, but you will often be called upon to act as a group and help make choices what is going to happen during a session in advance, Under The Floorboards works best
together. You should let the following principles guide you when playing your role: when both the Guiding Voice and the Floorboard Folk go into it with very little idea of
what is going to happen. The systems and rules are designed to enable you to build the
Floorboard folk are stronger together. When people act selfishly or make rash decisions, story with little to no advanced preparation. This may seem daunting at first, but don’t
they die. The continued survival of the Floorboard Folk rests on everyone working together, worry. The players will tell you what they want to do through the choices they make and
getting home safe, and not being seen. Floorboard Folk have no word for coward, because the actions they take, and it is your job to let the world react to them.
there is no shame in running away.
Share the work. The game functions best when it operates as a conversation between
The world is big, strange, and unsettling. Floorboard Folk don’t see themselves as tiny the Guiding Voice and the players. When a player asks you for information that you don’t
people in a giant world - they see themselves as you and I do, but everything around them have, it’s often tempting to stall for time while you think of something. Don’t. Instead,
is twenty times bigger than it is for us. As you describe the world that your character ask the player to tell you what they want the answer to be. If it’s something they want to
sees, try to imagine that you are seeing things for the first time from the perspective of know, and there’s no reason they wouldn’t know, then as part of the conversation they can
somebody no taller than your ankle. Be creative and weird in your descriptions of the simply answer their own question. This allows the game to keep moving, takes some of the
world. improvisational load off you as the Guiding Voice, and allows you to be just as surprised
by the world and the events playing out in it as the players are.
Everyone is good at something; nobody is good at everything. You and your companions
all have your own individual strengths and weaknesses. Help others to shine by giving In short, embrace the chaotic energy that your players are going to bring to the table.
them the space to say and do cool things that play to their strengths. Be happy to take a
back seat and push the action onto other people, in the knowledge that they will reward
you by doing the same for you.
6 7

Character Creation Ability Scores

Pick your pronouns and give yourself a name. You can choose any name you like, but if you Floorboard Folk is powered by SCARPER. The name is an acronym standing for seven
need inspiration you can roll 2d6 and pick the corresponding entry from the table below: of the eight primary statistics in the system: Sturdy, Cunning, Agile, Resourceful,
Perceptive, Enduring, and Reasoned. Floorboard Folk also have an eighth statistic,
Lucky, which is just as important as the SCARPER stats but simply didn’t fit into a handy
2d6 1 2 3 4 5 6 acronym. Such is life.
1 Willim Yvonnda Veronetty Winder Morgewn Llewyl
2 Chrimm Vedevier Jalc Levilry Chaser Lecture The game does not have specific skills linked to statistics. Your primary scores are drawn
3 on when you try to do something and the result is in doubt, and it is left to the players and
Floery Glanidy Percivie Tripper Ivy Maunnie
the Guiding Voice to determine which statistic is most relevant. As a general guideline,
4 Sponderisa Henerica Montygoe Linney Gewndolisa Vany
the statistics might represent your ability to do the following things:
5 Margrim Ambode Blod Adelina Clemdeary Gwenllianda
6 Ril Cydril Stumble Dangle Bucket Gwilym • Sturdy: lift, carry, push, pull, throw
• Cunning: deceive, detect, conceal, unlock
Decide as a group whether you all share the same family name or whether you have come • Agile: run, jump, dart, dodge, react
together from disparate backgrounds, then either pick one family name to share or choose • Resourceful: escape, fix, track
individual names. You may also decide that your character does not have a family name. • Perceptive: spot, notice, intuit, predict
The following table provides sample family names: • Enduring: swim, climb, run, survive
2d6 1 2 3 4 5 6 • Reasoned: remember, devise, construct, convince
1 Mouse-Hole Squeaky- Rain-Pipe Toy-Chest Doll-House Cavity-Wall
Staor Lucky represents the ways in which fortune falls on your character. While it is often the
2 Boiler Underbed Shed Plug-Socket Bird-House Bookcase score that is used least, that does not make it any less important than the core SCARPER
3 abilities. Lucky is also the only score that changes during play. Lucky can be called on
Clock Pondside Gutter High-Shelf Bell-Pull Piano
when your plan requires the world at large to be a certain way. For example, if your plan
4 Loft-Hatch Garage Chandelier Porch Back-Step Rainbarrel
requires that you scale a chest of drawers to reach the jewelry box atop it, you might call
5 Eaves Overmantle Dog-House Linen-Press Shed Windowsill on your Lucky score to determine if the drawers have been left open in such a way that
6 Stove-Pipe Cellar-Door Bird-Nest Spare-Room Chimney- Vanoty-Desk they can be climbed like giant steps.
Stack

Family names for Floorboard Folk are generally descriptive, and reflect the area in Lucky also comes into play during the Scouting Phase, covered later in this booklet.
the giants’ house where the family lives. Sometimes, of course, Floorboard Folk find
themselves displaced and are forced to move. This may be because their home comes Statistics range from 0 to 6, with each additional point above 0 indicating how gifted you
under threat - maybe the giants block up the mouse holes, or hire an exterminator who are in that statistic. A score of 0 does not mean that you are unskilled - you are simply
pumps lethal gas into the walls - or perhaps it is because they have been spotted by the average. A character with a 0 in Reasoned, for example, is not unintelligent by default,
giants and need to find a new home before theirs can be discovered. though you may of course decide to play them that way if you wish to. Similarly, a character
with a Sturdy score of 0 is not particularly weak.
As a group, discuss whether you live in the traditional home indicated by your family name,
or decide whether you had to move somewhere else. If you have had to move, you should
collectively decide what prompted this.
8 9

Character Creation Gwilym Bookcase - Scout

When creating your character, you begin with 23 points to distribute throughout your
eight abilities. Scores can go up to a maximum of 6, and you can leave an ability at 0 if
you wish. When you have to make a roll during the game, you will roll 2d6 and add your
relevant ability score to the result.

You can place scores however you like. You may wish to divide them evenly amongst your
scores, or else you may have a particular character concept or role in mind that you would
like to represent with your ability score array. If you want to start the game quickly, you
could choose one of the example roles below for your character.

When you have assigned your stats, check your numbers. SCARPER + Lucky should equal
23. If they don’t, you’ve gone wrong somewhere and should either remove or add points
until the total is correct.

On the following pages you will find an assortment of example character roles. You are
welcome to choose one of these for your character rather than assigning your ability points
yourself. Alternatively, you may want to consult them for inspiration as you consider what
kind of role you picture your character playing in the group.

The example roles are as follows:

• Scout
• Builder Scouts tend to be small, nimble, and alert, with a keen eye for detail and a good memory.
• Runner They also need to be utterly fearless. Scouts go out on their own before an Expedition
• Transporter gets underway, checking routes are clear and working out how the team will get to what
• Trapsmith they need once they enter the word of the Biggies. They need to remember everything
they see and make it back home with accurate information. Successful Expeditions often
depend entirely on the work of the Scout.

• Sturdy - 2
• Cunning - 3
• Agile - 6
• Resourceful - 1
• Perceptive - 6
• Enduring - 0
• Reasoned - 0
• Lucky - 5
10 11

Ambode Bookcase - Builder STUMBLE BOOKCASE - RUNNER

Builders take the oversized, unwieldy things that the Biggies leave lying around for Runners are fast, quiet, and agile. On an Expedition it is the runner who you rely on to dart
Floorboard Folk to take, and turn them into usable tools. They are generally smart and across an open space of floor to push the door closed before the rest of the team emerge,
good with their hands, able to visualise how a set of diverse items might fit together to or who leads the mouse away from the cheese that you have gone to collect. As well as
create something entirely new. Builders tend to be patient, willing to try and fail multiple being exceptionally fit and incredibly fast, runners need to be as fearless as a scout. On
times before they achieve their goals. an Expedition a runner tends to be the one who takes the biggest risks, and it is not a
role for the faint of heart.
• Sturdy - 4
• Cunning - 4 • Sturdy - 3
• Agile - 0 • Cunning - 4
• Resourceful - 6 • Agile - 6
• Perceptive - 2 • Resourceful - 1
• Enduring - 1 • Perceptive - 1
• Reasoned - 5 • Enduring - 3
• Lucky - 1 • Reasoned - 1
• Lucky - 4
12 13

Henerica bookcase - Transporter Winder Bookcase - Trapsmith

It’s all well and good going on an Expedition to fetch something you need, but if you can’t The world is big and hostile, and your home needs to be defended from rodents and other
get it back home then you may as well have never left. Transporters tend to be the biggest threats who would like nothing more than to squeeze their way under the floorboards and
and strongest of the Floorboard Folk. the ones who will carry the fruits of an Expedition have a tasty lunch of unwary Floorboard Folk. Trapsmiths are like Builders if Builders
home on their shoulders without once complaining. Even in a world where everything is specialised in making things that are designed to maim you unless you’re very, very careful
bigger than you and can easily kill you, having the presence of big folk like Transporters around them. On an Expedition the Trapsmith is the one who can look at a precariously
around often makes everyone feel that little bit safer. balanced stack of Biggie Stuff and tell you exactly how it’s going to fall if you push it just
like this.
• Sturdy - 6
• Cunning - 2 • Sturdy - 2
• Agile - 3 • Cunning - 5
• Resourceful - 1 • Agile - 1
• Perceptive - 2 • Resourceful - 4
• Enduring - 5 • Perceptive - 2
• Reasoned - 1 • Enduring - 2
• Lucky - 3 • Reasoned - 4
• Lucky - 3
14 15

Realising that fighting is hopeless, the character turns and runs, trying to hide behind a
Rolling Dice table leg.
In Under The Floorboards, only players roll dice.
In general, the guideline is thus: if a player wants to do something and both success and
failure are dramatically interesting, reach for the dice. If only one result is interesting then
2d6+Ability you should skip the roll and jump straight to narrating the action.
When you want to do something and success isn’t guaranteed, roll 2d6 and add your
relevant stat. The Guiding Voice will tell you what stat to use, but if you can think of a Testing Your Luck
convincing reason why another stat might be better then you’re welcome to suggest it.
(Ultimately the decision falls to the GV, but you’re encouraged to reward creative thinking Testing your Luck works differently to normal rolls. When you want to make use of your
or things that make for a better story). Lucky score - for example, to fix it so that a set of drawers has been left open enough
that you can easily climb them, or to ensure that the mousetrap you’re trying to remove
Under The Floorboards uses a system of degrees of success or failure in order to keep cheese from is faulty and doesn’t spring, do this by declaring what you want to happen
the story moving forward at all times. In general, rolls of 10+ are a success and rolls of 9 rolling 2d6 + Lucky.
or lower are a failure. Before rolling, describe what you intend to do.
On a result of 10+, you get lucky! The world is as you need it to be. Reduce your
On a result of 12+, you do what you intended to do, and the Guiding Voice will tell Luck score by 1.
you an extra benefit or advantage that you receive. Describe what it looks like.
On a result of 9 or lower, you don’t get Lucky and what you want doesn’t happen. Your
On a result of 10+, you do what you intended to do. Describe what it looks like. Lucky score doesn’t change, but you can’t Test it again in this situation.

On a result of 7-9, you do what you intended to do but with a complication or cost. Only one character can test their luck at a time. So, for example, if Barbra tests her luck
The Guiding Voice describes what happens. to try and make sure that a window the characters are about to cross in front of it closed,
and fails, Ashley can’t then test their luck to try and obtain the same outcome.
On a result of 6 or lower, your actions were unsuccessful. The Guiding Voice
describes what this looks like and how the situation becomes more complicated If your Lucky score is 0 you can still test it. There are no negative ability scores in Under
for you. The Floorboards, so your score doesn’t decrease if you fail a test. It just means that you
roll with no bonuses.
General Guidelines
Under The Floorboards is a game about telling compelling stories, not an adversarial
game between the players and the Guiding Voice. Dice should only be rolled when the
result will lead to interesting or exciting narrative decisions or introduce tension to the
story. If a player wants to try something and there is no way they can succeed - for example,
the Biggies have spotted them and a player wants their character to stand and fight - there
is no point rolling, because there is no hope of success.

Instead the Guiding Voice and the player should work together to narrate a story that is
exciting and makes sense in the world - for example, they might narrate a scene in which
their character decides to stand and fight, only to dodge out of the way at the last second
as the Biggie slaps a rolled newspaper down onto the table where they were standing.
16 17

Structure of on Expedition Establishing Questions:

The following structure of play is used for every session, moving through each phase in 1. You are gathered together in the living room of your home under the floorboards. What
turn. Try not to think of this in terms of rigid phases of play, even though that is how it is item in this room makes you feel the most content and safe?
presented. They should be used more as a framework to help you guide the conversation 2. On your last expedition out into the big world, you each picked up a small trinket that
between everyone at the table. makes you particularly happy. What is it, and where do you keep it?
3. The walls of this room are made up of an assortment of things - playing cards,
The game is played in three phases: photographs, postcards, the lid of a cigar box, and the like. What is your favourite part
of the room to sit and stare at as you daydream?
• Phase One: Scouting 4. Yesterday the Biggies moved something heavy right above your home, and everything
• Phase Two: The Expedition got covered in dust. What did you find that you thought you had lost as you were
• Phase Three: Return cleaning up?
5. If you squeeze behind the walls of your house and clamber up beyond the old mouse
nest you can peer out of an old, dirty window to the garden outside. What most scares
Phase One: Scouting you about the outside world?
In the Scouting phase, the players will decide where their Expedition is going to take place 6. What one thing about your house makes you sure that the Biggies will never find you?
and what they hope to achieve. The Scouting phase follows this structure:

• Set the scene Chart A Path & Identify The Goal

• Chart A Path & Identify The Goal
• Place Obstacles When the players have each answered the Establishing Question, it is time to think about
• Describe A Hazard why they are going on an Expedition today and where their travels will take them. This
• Test Your Memory stage of the Scouting Phase establishes the Location that will serve as the set or backdrop
• Try Your Luck for the Expedition.

Players should think about what item they hope to recover on their Expedition and what
Set The Scene purpose it will serve them once they have it. This should be a fun discussion involving all
of the group. There are no limits on what kind of thing the players will try to recover, but a
This is a short, free-form narrative section of the game that allows players to introduce
list of suggestions along with the Locations where they are most likely to be found follows.
their characters and begin visualising the world. The Guiding Voice should choose one of
the Establishing Questions to put to the group. Then each player takes it in turns to give
If the players choose an item that is not on this list, they should work together to decide
an answer to the question. This can be a discussion rather than going around the table in
where they are most likely to locate it in the House. The full Location entries later in this
order if you like, but each player should have an opportunity to narrate something about
book contain longer lists of items that might be found in each Location.
their character.

In longer campaign-style games, characters might have goals other than the recovery of
You can ask one question to the whole group, or choose different questions for each player.
an item - clearing a new route, exploring a section of the house nobody has been to before,
When you are more familiar with the game, you may want to create your own Establishing
or meeting up with other families of Floorboard Folk, for example. Ideas for other kinds
Questions. Remember that they serve to ease people into the game and the world, and you
of Expeditions are included in the section on Extended Play & Campaigns at the end of
shouldn’t yet be asking players to make big decisions about the game they are about to play.
this book.
18 19
Item Location Place Obstacles & Describe A Hazard
• The chain from a plug - and perhaps the plug itself. The Bathroom
• The pump from a soap dispenser. Once the Location and the Expedition’s goal have been established, it is time to determine
• Razor blades. what stands in the way of the characters reaching their goal. It is assumed that one
• Old newspapers. The Cellar character - the Scout if somebody has chosen that role, or nominate another person to
• Screws, nails, nuts and bolts.
take on that task - has gone out into the house on a solo reconnaissance mission prior
• A string of fairy lights.
to the characters gathering for this Expedition and returned with a report of the current
• Chairs. The Doll’s House
• A dressing table. state of the Location. In most games this happens “off screen”, and the Scouting phase
• A mantlepiece. acts as a summation of what the Scout learned.
• A potato. The Kitchen
• Laundry detergent.
Now that the Location and Goal have been decided, the group should collectively pick
• A box of matches.
two Obstacles and one Hazard from the relevant Location page. If your group would like
• An illustrated page taken from a specific book. The Library
• A brass candlestick.
the events of the Expedition to be more of a surprise, the Guiding Voice can choose the
• A miniature bust of a literary figure. Hazard secretly without revealing it to the group. Spend a few minutes deciding where
• A cutting from a particularly attractive plant. The Living Room these things are situated in the Location, and how they will impact the players as they
• A cigarette lighter. attempt to achieve their goal. These will form the basis of the scenes that you roleplay
• An assortment of coins
during the Expedition itself. Feel free to invent your own Obstacles if somebody has an
• A hair brush. The Master Bedroom
idea that seems more suitable - or more fun - than those given on the Location entry.
• A compact pocket mirror.
• A pair of socks.
•
•
Furniture from a dolls’ house.
An assortment of interlocking plastic bricks.
The Play Room Test Your Memory & Try Your Luck
• Wooden building blocks.
Even the best Scout in the world can’t remember everything - and in a House filled with
• A bag of rice. The Pantry Biggies things are liable to change. Once the Location has been populated with Obstacles
• Tins of soup.
• Jars of spices. and Hazards, it’s time to roll the dice to find out how things have changed since the Scout
• The spring from a mouse trap. The Skirting Board returned from their initial recon mission.
• Copper wire.
• Strips of adhesive. This section of the Scouting phase tells the Guiding Voice what secret changes to make
• Nuts and seeds. The Bird House to the information the players have just established. Floorboard Folk will set out on their
• Feathers.
(Garden) Expedition with a rough idea of what they are going to face: the drama occurs when the
• Woodchips and sawdust.
world has changed and the plan as to be adapted on the fly. These changes are dictated
• An old shoe. The Bone Yard
• A lamb’s breast bone. by two rolls:
(Garden)
• A wooden spinning top.
• A croquet mallet. The Bramble • One roll made by the Scout to Test Your Memory
• A red leather cricket ball.
(Garden) • One roll made collectively by the rest of the group to Test Your Luck
• A set of keys.
• Tomatoes on the vine. The Green House
• A trowel. First, players should nominate one character to be the Scout. Even though you all
(Garden)
• A small watering can. populated the Location as a group, in the fiction of the game it is the Scout who went
• A large, flat lilypad. The Pond out alone and brought this information back to the group. The Scout makes a Test Your
• A collection of smooth pebbles and stones. Memory roll to determine how accurately they recalled the Obstacles in the Location.
(Garden)
• A bunch of water forget-me-nots.
• Nails and screws. The Shed
Next, the rest of the group makes a Test Your Luck roll to determine the state of the
• A spool of wire from the lawnmower.
(Garden) Hazards in the Location.
• A length of chain.
20 21

Test Your Memory Phase Two: The Expedition

The player nominated as the Scout rolls 2d6 + Perceptive, then chooses the outcome from The Expedition phase is where the bulk of play takes place, but it is also the phase that
the list below. In the event that the Guiding Voice has to choose a Complication or a new requires the least explanation. Where the Scouting phase is quite structured to enable you
Obstacle, they should not let the players know what choice has been made until they are to build an Expedition with all the Hazards and Obstacles that you need, the Expedition
on the Expedition and it arises in play. phase sees you and the rest of the group collectively telling the story of the Expedition and
the Floorboard Folk navigating the Location and its various Obstacles to reach their Goal.
On a result of 10+, your memory is good and the Guiding Voice makes no changes
to Obstacles. This book does not endeavour to teach you how to play a roleplaying game. Run this
phase of the game as you would run any other game of this nature. Set the scene for the
On a result of 7-9, your memory is mostly accurate but you missed something. The players using the information you established in the Scouting phase and the prompts on
Guiding Voice chooses a Complication from the Location sheet. your Location card. When players want to do something and the result is in doubt, pick
the SCARPER stat that sounds the most relevant and have them roll against it. Refer to
On a result of 6 or lower, your memory of the Location is poor or you weren’t paying the Rolling Dice section earlier in this book for guidance on how to adjudicate these rolls.
attention. The Guiding Voice chooses a Complication from the Location sheet and
replaces one of the Obstacles you selected with a different Obstacle Under The Floorboards has some key differences to other roleplaying games that you
should be aware of. Firstly, there are no rules for combat or violence in this game.
Similarly, characters do not have health or hit points. Floorboard Folk are small and
Test Your Luck vulnerable, and getting into fights with Biggies and other creatures (cats, dogs, etc.) should
be discouraged, because it can only end badly for the characters.
After the Scout has tested their memory, the rest of the group collectively Tests their Luck.
First, determine which player has the highest Lucky score. This will be added to the roll. In some playtests, characters did choose to fight smaller creatures like mice and spiders.
When this occurs, you should refer back to the Rolling Dice section - characters rolled
Then each player rolls 1d6. Take the two highest rolls and add the Lucky score you chose against Sturdy, Agile, and Enduring while narrating their actions. Remember that this is
earlier to create a total result for Test Your Luck. a narrative game, and you should focus on telling an engaging story rather than trying to
injure or kill characters. It is possible for you to introduce consequences for poor decisions
Each Location has a State of Change table that represents how variable that Location’s that aren’t rooted in violence and injury.
Hazards are. The Guiding Voice compares the result of the Test Your Luck roll to this
table, and makes any changes instructed. As with the result of Test Your Memory, the Secondly, there are no lists of equipment or equipment rules in this game. Floorboard
players should not be made aware of the changes resulting from this roll until they come Folk are resourceful, and they always scout ahead before going on an Expedition. If the
up in play. players want to navigate an obstacle and decide that they could really do with a grappling
hook, for example, let them have it. You may ask them to describe what it looks like: is
Note that this check differs from a character testing the Lucky stat during the course of it made from safety pins and sewing thread? Maybe it’s made of fishing wire and still
an Expedition. No changes are made to any character’s Lucky score during the Scouting attached to the reel to allow for quick ascents? Listen to your group, encourage them to
phase. come up with creative solutions, and reward them.
22 23

Running An Expedition Phase Three: Return

What follows is some general guidance on how to run an Expedition. Once the Floorboard Folk have achieved their goal, it’s time to wrap up the session. This
is often the shortest phase of the game, but it’s the one that makes a game of Under The
• Start by setting the scene. You need not describe the journey to the Location. Floorboards feel complete and satisfying. This phase is an opportunity for players to reflect
Assume that the Floorboard Folk know how to navigate the house, and that they on the game they have just played, decompress from any tension or anxiety that has built
get to the Location with no issues. Use the prompts on the Location sheet to help up during the drama of the Expedition, and - if you are planning to play more than one
you paint a picture of the space where the Expedition will take place. Remind the session - prepare for the next Expedition.
group what their Goal is, and where it is situated in the room.
• Use the Obstacles, Hazards, and Complications you put in place during the The Return phase should be a relaxed discussion about the section. Encourage the players
Scouting Phase as scenes, or as ‘beats’ that you can guide the story towards. to answer the following questions:
Obstacles tend to be static elements, physical parts of the Location that the
characters need to navigate, but Hazards and Obstacles are often more mobile • What purpose does the item you recovered now serve in your home?
and fluid, and do not need to be present in the Location immediately. It is much • What do you collectively think went well during the Expedition?
more interesting to have the family cat enter the room as the Floorboard Folk • What do you collectively think went poorly during the Expedition?
are scaling a pair of curtains, rather than being there as soon as they arrive! Let • What did another player do that made you smile? (Each player should answer
the fiction guide you, and don’t be afraid to introduce Complications at a moment this individually)
in the story that will create the most dramatic tension. • What did another player do that surprised you? (Each player should answer this
• When in doubt, hand control of the narrative to the players. This runs counter individually)
to the way many games work, and you may worry about players “metagaming” • Is there anything you wish you’d had a chance to do that you didn’t, or anything
or simply allowing things to work out in their favour. In our experience - both you wish you had done differently? (Each player who wants to answer this should
in playtesting this games, and in playing other games that allow players more be given the opportunity to do so)
narrative control - this is rarely the case. Players enjoy seeing their characters • Was the Expedition worth the risk?
failing or in peril. Asking simple questions like, “What do you think should
happen here?”, or “How is this more complicated than you first expected it to The Extended Play & Campaigns chapter later in this book covers the ways in which the
be?” takes some of the cognitive load off the Guiding Voice, and allows you to be Return phase can be used to facilitate longer-form play.
just as surprised by the events that play out as the rest of the players.

Scenes should take as long as they need to take. Don’t rush your players, but move the
action along if things start to get dull.

If you’re working to fixed times - for example, at a convention - then a general guideline
is that each Obstacle, Hazard, or Complication that you add should take about 15-20
minutes to resolve.
24 25

A Note on the Setting Locations

Under The Floorboards is - very obviously - inspired by Mary Norton’s The Borrowers and
Location Entries Explained
its sequels, as well as the films and TV shows that have been based on it. Those books
were written in the 1950s, and drew on Norton’s own childhood for inspiration. The The Location entries that follow detail some of the places in the house and its gardens
adaptations have often emulated this early 20th century setting. where Floorboard Folk might go on Expeditions. They are relatively self-explanatory, but
a brief breakdown of each element of the Location pages follows.
Under The Floorboards places characters in a large, old house. Many of the locations,
situations, and items detailed in this book draw on the setting of the original material,
and hark back to a vaguely defined “olden times”. However, you will also find reference to
The Name of the Location
more modern things in this game, and you are encouraged to place your game in whatever Brief descriptive text that can be read aloud to the players at the start of the Expedition,
time period best suits you. The Floorboard Folk don’t have any real conception of what the or used as a guide as you set the scene.
world of the Biggies looks like outside of the house they inhabit, so you should feel free
to include things that may seem anachronistic. There is no reason the house couldn’t be Descriptors. Extra words and phrases that can be used to set the scene or convey the
full of old antique furniture and toys, but also be filled with games consoles and laptops mood of the Location.
and phones and all the trappings of the modern world.
Goals. A list of objects or other reasons why the Floorboard Folk may mount an Expedition
Ultimately, this book is a guide and a toolbox. Tell the stories you want to tell, and if things to this Location.
aren’t included in this book - invent them.
Obstacles. Obstacles specific to this Location that might stand in the way of the
Floorboard Folk and their goal. These will be chosen during the Scouting Phase.

Hazards. Unlike Obstacles, Hazards are not unique to each Location. This is a list of the
Hazards that are appropriate for this Location. They are detailed more thoroughly in the
chapter titled Hazards later in this book.

Complications. A list of six possible Complications for this Location that might be
introduced as the result of a poor Test Your Memory roll. These usually involve making
changes to the way Obstacles are presented, or might involve introducing new Obstacles.
When you are instructed to choose a Complication, you can simply pick one you like, or
ask a player to roll a die and pick the corresponding item from the list.

State of Change. The State of Change table represents how dynamic this Location is.
Compare the result of the Test Your Luck roll in the Scouting Phase to this table, and
follow the instructions given.
26 27
The Bathroom The Cellar
Wide, cold tiles span from wall to wall, a vast open space with nowhere to hide. The bathtub stands Cold, crumbling brickwork and teetering stacks of discarded treasures - folded papers, bolts of
on clawed cast iron feet. A mirrored medicine cabinet hangs high up on the wall above a wide sink. cloth stacked on old empty furniture, boxes of screws and bolts, tools hanging from rusting nails
The slightest noise echoes loudly in this room, and you never know when a Biggie might crash forced into the mortar. The cellar is a maze with no cohesion, a labyrinth of rooms filled with heaps
through the door. of objects with no apparent order or purpose. A small window high up in the wall looks out onto
the sprawl of the Garden - and sometimes things look back in through it.
Descriptors: Humid, steamy, porcelain, citrus, soapy, slippery, wet, damp, slick, bright, stark, open. Descriptors: Cluttered, dusty, dark, teetering, cold, damp, exposed brick, crumbling, labyrinthine,
dim, quiet, scuttling, musty.

Goals State of Change

1. The chain from a plug - and perhaps the Result | Outcome Goals State of Change
1. Old newspapers. Result | Outcome
plug itself. 2 - 6 | In addition to the Hazard you selected,
2. Screws, nails, nuts and bolts. 2 - 6 | The window that looks out into the Garden
2. The pump from a soap dispenser. make use of Giants Abroad. If you already chose
3. A string of fairy lights. is open and the family pet is outside. In addition
3. Razor blades. this Hazard, the Biggies enter the bathroom
4. Brass doorknobs. to the Hazard you selected, make use of Pets.
4. Soap. twice during the Expedition. 5. The wooden shaft of a hammer.
5. The cap from a tube of toothpaste.
6. Old plant pots.
6. A boar hair shaving brush. 7 - 8 | Choose a second Complication to use
7 - 10 | Choose a second Complication to use 7. Postcards and photographs.
7. Plasters, bandages, or other medical during the Expedition.
during the Expedition. 8. Keys to locks that no longer exist.
supplies.
9. The wheels from a pram.
8. Cotton pads or cotton buds (Q-tips) 9+ | No change.
11+ | No change. 10. The chain from a broken bicycle.
9. A toilet roll inner tube.
10. A contact lens tray. Obstacles Complications
The thing you need is on top of a tall, teetering pile of A Biggie has tidied and reorganised the cellar since the Scout
Obstacles Complications
magazines. How will you climb it without sending it - and came here, and the item you’re searching for has been moved.
Your entrance to the room involves lowering yourself through A Biggie has recently showered, and all the surfaces are you - tumbling to the ground?
an extractor fan in the ceiling onto the top of a high cabinet. coated in condensation. How are you going to climb wet
The item you want is inside an old cupboard. It was open A gust of wind from the open window dislodges something
porcelain?
when the Scout checked the place out, but now it’s closed. that tips over, causing a chain reaction of falling clutter that
How do you open a medicine cabinet high up on the wall? A Biggie has reorganised the room, and now the things you results in a heavy bowling ball bearing down on you in the
are after are stored in a cabinet high up on the wall instead narrow space between rows of junk. How do you get out of
of the cupboard beneath the sink. How will you get up there? the way?
A mop bucket full of hot, bleachy water has upended and You usually enter the bathroom via an extractor fan in the Something much, much heavier than you has been placed on Heavy rains have caused the cellar to flood, and the ground
flooded the floor. ceiling, dropping onto a high cabinet. The cabinet has been top of the item you need. How will you move it? is covered in water that comes up to your waist. How does
moved. How do you plan to get safely down from the ceiling? this affect your Expedition?
The bathtub is full to the brim with soapy water, and the Usually the towel rack is an excellent way of gaining height The shelf that holds the item you need is old and wobbly, The item you needed was on top of a box full of cables. A
sides are slick and treacherous. in the room - but today it has thick, wet towels thrown over and looks like it might fall straight off the wall if you exert Biggie has been here since you scouted, and now it is buried
it that threaten to slide off if you put your weight on them, too much force on it. How will you get up there? at the bottom of the box. How will you dig it out?
and that might smother you if you get caught beneath them.
An old canister has leaked, covering the nearby surfaces in You’ve got what you need, but you didn’t count on one thing - it
The heated towel rack is an excellent way to gain some The air is thick with steam, and it’s impossible to see where slick black oil. How will you traverse it without getting coated won’t fit back up the inside of the wall so that you can take it
height in the room, but it’s a tricky climb. you’re going or make out where the item you seek is located. in it - and without leaving tracks that will alert the Biggies home. How will you deal with this?
The pipes that you traverse beneath the bath and behind the The light is turned off in the room, and there are no windows. to your existence?
sink are damp and thick with mould and dust. Everything is pitch black. How will you navigate the room? Part of getting into the cellar involves traversing the tight The path between you and your goal is covered in strips of
space inside the walls that’s thick with cobwebs, cables, and old, curling glue paper. How will you traverse it?
Hazards: Burst Pipe, Giants Abroad, Pests Out Of Control, Pets the sharp tips of nails hammered through from the other
side. How do you safely climb down?

Hazards: Giants Abroad, Pests Out Of Control, Traps, Tangled Webs

28 29
The Doll’s House The Kitchen
You’ve never seen the house you live in in full, but you imagine it looks a little like this one - but High countertops, higher cupboards, knives and pans hanging from hooks, and a tiled floor that
much, much bigger. A sloped tile roof, neat little garden, everything sized perfectly for you. If you amplifies every noise you make. The kitchen is all or nothing - either it’s a chaotic space where
could live in it you would - but, of course, you can’t, so you borrow from it instead. The inanimate Biggies come and go, full of heat and light and noise, or it’s empty and silent. You never know
dolls who look an awful lot like you can be unsettling at times, but at least they never move. when it might change.
Descriptors: Neat, tidy, clean, miniature, quiet, artificial, exposed, replica, plastic, facade. Descriptors: Roasting, smoky, steaming, clean, aromatic, appetising, slick, boiling.

Goals State of Change Goals State of Change

1. Chairs. Result | Outcome 1. A potato. Result | Outcome
2. A dressing table. 2-8 | In addition to any Complications and 2. Laundry detergent. 2 - 7 | In addition to the Hazard chosen in the
3. A mantlepiece. Hazards you have chosen, a juvenile Biggie 3. A box of matches. Scouting phase, make use of Pets.
4. A small bouquet of plastic flowers. is playing with the dolls’ house during the 4. A sharp knife.
5. A mirror. 5. A corkscrew.
Expedition 8 - 10 | Choose a second Complication to use
6. Floorboard Folk-sized clothing. 6. A bag of nuts.
during the Expedition.
7. A bed frame and mattress. 7. Tealights and candles.
9-11 | Choose a second Complication to use
8. A rug. 8. A collection of clothes pegs.
during the Expedition. 11+ | No change.
9. A bookcase and miniature books filled 9. Egg cups.
with tiny print. 10. Milk
10. Miniature replicas of classic works of art. 12+ | No change.

Obstacles Complications Obstacles Complications

The door to the house doesn’t actually open - instead, the A Biggie has been making alterations to the house, and the To get to where you need to go you need to cross the hob As the Floorboard Folk are making their way across the
whole front of the building swings open. Usually it is already whole thing has been tipped over to lie on its back. This above the oven - but the flames are lit, and pots sit bubbling kitchen, a timer on the oven goes off - and summons a Biggie.
open, but a clasp halfway up the wall is holding it shut. How fundamentally changes how the building is navigated. on top of the burners. How will you get past?
will you open it? The quickest way to get from one counter to the other is The Biggies have recently returned from an outing, and the
The dolls’ house stands on a high table in the middle of the The roof has been taken off the house and set down on the by swinging across on a broom that stands against one countertops are covered in heavy bags full of food that hasn’t
room. How will you get to it? table beside it. The item the Floorboard Folk need is in the worktop. Do you go one at a time, or risk all clinging on to yet been put away. The Floorboard Folk can help themselves
attic. How will they get in now that the entrance is blocked? the handle together? to them, but there’s no telling when the Biggies might be
back.
The dolls’ house sits in the middle of a model train set, and A juvenile Biggie is in the room playing with some of the dolls
the fastest way to cross the room to get to it is on the back of from the house. They aren’t actually playing with the house Getting to the fridge is easy. Getting up to the door, and A Biggie has been chopping onions, and the vapours in the
the train. But it moves quickly, and jumping onto it without itself, but the Floorboard Folk will have to be very careful opening it while you’re up there? That’s the hard part. air affect tiny Floorboard Folk much more strongly than they
getting hurt isn’t easy. they don’t get spotted. affect Biggies. How do you navigate when you can’t stop
crying?
The dolls’ house is surrounded by a vast, labyrinthine model While the Floorboard Folk are inside the house, a Biggie
hedge maze. Do you navigate it, or try to climb over the appears and opens the front of the building. They go away A Biggie has put out a clothes airer to dry their washing. Somebody has left a pot boiling, and it’s overflowing.
prickly plastic walls? immediately and don’t spot anyone, but the Expedition just That makes it easier to get up to the countertops - but only if Navigating around it without getting badly scalded won’t be
got a lot more risky. you can climb it without making all the wet clothes tumble easy.
to the ground, with you underneath them.
The upper floor of the dolls’ house has fallen down into the For no apparent reason, someone has filled each of the rooms
ground floor, blocking off some of the downstairs rooms and of the dolls’ house with balls of wool since the Scout was It’s a short leap from one counter to the other, but if you A fault with the new fridge means that the Floorboard Folk
making the upper floor lean at a very steep angle that is hard here. miss you’re going to fall - and there’s a bin overflowing with have to contend with having ice cubes fired at them out of the
to navigate. rubbish beneath you. hole in the front of the door.

One of the Biggies has moved things around in the dolls’ One of the Biggies has repainted the outside of the dolls’ There’s a narrow gap between the wall and the side of the It’s impossible to tell how full a cupboard might be until it’s
house, and the door you need to get through is blocked by house. It is still wet, and if the Floorboard Folk touch it they’ll fridge that you can shimmy up - if you can properly brace opened - at which point there’s no holding back the avalanche
heavy furniture. Will you try and move it, or risk climbing get covered in paint - and leave evidence of their existence. yourself between the two surfaces. of bags and boxes when things start tumbling out.
around the outside of the house to get through a window?
Hazards: Giants Abroad, Burst Pipe, Traps, The Way The Wind Blows
Hazards: Giants Abroad, Decorating, Plants, Tangled Webs
30 31
The Library The Living Room
Dim light, air thick with dust and the smell of biblichor, and a heavy solemnitude that hangs over The Living Room might be the most dangerous space in the house - the place where the Biggies
you, an unseen weight that says, “Be quiet. Speak only in whispers”. Where walls should be there spend the most time, where they come and go at all times of the day and night, and where they
are only towering shelves filled with books. Thick carpet that comes up to your knees masks the can be found just lounging around. It’s high risk, but it’s also high reward. They leave things lying
tread of your feet, and a heavy desk stands monolithic in the middle of the room. around in here, and it’s a good place to find most anything you might need.
Descriptors: Reverent, hushed, still, dusty, hidden, mountainous, mahogany, old, untouched, Descriptors: Cushioned, large, airy, homely, busy, changeable, lived-in, untidy, loud, bright, casual,
contemplative. haphazard

Goals State of Change

Goals State of Change 1. A cutting from a particularly attractive Result | Outcome
1. An illustrated page taken from a specific Result | Outcome plant. 2 - 10 | In addition to the Hazard chosen in the
book.
2 - 6 | In addition to the Hazard chosen in the 2. A cigarette lighter. Scouting phase, make use of Giants Abroad. If
2. A brass candlestick.
3. A miniature bust of a literary figure. Scouting phase, make use of The Way The Wind 3. An assortment of coins. you have already chosen this Hazard then also
4. A slim bookmark from a European city. Blows. 4. A discarded sock. make use of Pets.
5. Pieces from a chess set. 5. A set of keys.
6. A stick of sealing wax and a heavy brass seal.
7 - 9 | Choose a second Complication to use 6. The batteries from a remote control.
7. A set of seven polyhedral dice, each with a 11 - 12 | Choose a second Complication to use
7. A child’s toy car.
different number of faces. during the Expedition. during the Expedition.
8. A set of nibs for a fountain pen. 8. Components from a board game that the
9. Thick sheets of expensive paper or Biggies have left out mid-game.
10+ | No change. 13+ | No change.
parchment. 9. A man’s leather wallet.
10. Long, thin lengths of ribbon taken from 10. Stuffing from the inside of a cushion.
books.
Obstacles Complications
Obstacles Complications The windows are wide open, and it’s blustery outside. The This is the most changeable room in the house. Nothing is
curtains flap and flick at random, and you’ll need to pass in the same place it was in when the Scout was here last.
Climbing books is relatively straightforward, but what The Biggies have bought new display cases for some of the
them - and possibly climb them - without being catapulted
happens when they start to fall off the shelves under your valuables in the library, which are now sealed behind glass -
across the room.
weight? and the doors are locked.
The quickest way to your goal involved scampering across A Biggie has been here recently, and they’ve left the vacuum
A Biggie has begun reorganising the library but hasn’t The library hasn’t been vacuumed in quite some time, and
the top of the TV - but there’s no telling whether it’s charged cleaner lying in the middle of the floor. It’s still running, and if
finished the job. Towers of books and papers cover the floor the thick carpet is dense with dust and other detritus. As
with static, just waiting to shock you. How will you prepare the Floorboard Folk get too close they could easily be sucked
like a mountain range that might collapse at any moment. well as making it hard to move, it starts to trigger allergies
for that? up by it.
in the Floorboard Folk.
The mantelpiece is an excellent spot to find things - but the A Biggie is asleep on the sofa. Their gentle snores might
One of the entrances to this room lowers you down from A Biggie has left a full tumbler of water on one of the shelves,
fire is burning, and everything around it is far too hot to mask any sounds the Floorboard Folk make, but there’s also
the ceiling onto a delicate chandelier. How do you get down directly in front of a book the Floorboard Folk are trying to
touch. How will you protect yourself as you scale it? the danger that they’ll be woken mid-Expedition.
into the room itself? access.
One of your favourite ways into the room involves lowering The Biggies have left the TV playing at very high volume.
You know that what you need is inside the drawers of the The drawers on the desk are locked, and there doesn’t appear
yourself down onto the ceiling fan, which lazily rotates above It means the Floorboard Folk can make more noise than
desk. How will you open them? to be a key in sight.
the room. How do you do this safely - and how do you get they normally would, but it makes it harder for them to
In every other room in the house pushing the door open is The problem with Biggies is that they can’t just leave things down from it once you’re there? communicate - and to hear if the Biggies are on their way
relatively easy, but the thick carpet in the library makes it as they are. The books in the library have been rearranged, back.
next to impossible. How do you get the door open, or get and now nothing is where it was when the Scout was here.
It’s a clear, straight run across the back of the sofa - but if you A Biggie has used this room to hang out freshly washed
around it?
slip you could easily slide down between the back and the clothes to dry. The air is damp and moist, and navigating
There are two ways of getting up to the high shelves - Somebody has overturned a bottle of ink, which covers the cushions, and getting out won’t be so easy. is much harder now that the space is filled with racks full
climbing the bookcases, or traversing the rolling ladder. surface of the desk. How will the Floorboard Folk get what of wet clothing.
they need without getting covered in pigment - and without
The Biggies own a small robotic vacuum cleaner that The sofa has been pushed up against the cabinet the
leaving tracks that will give their presence away?
constantly circuits this room. It’s good to hitch a ride on, Floorboard Folk are trying to access since the Scout was
but there’s also the danger that it will see you as something last here. They’ll have to find a new way in.
Hazards: Giants Abroad, Decorating, Pest Control, Tangled Webs to be disposed of.

Hazards: Giants Abroad, Decorating, Pets, The Way The Wind Blows
32 33
The Master Bedroom The Play Room
Soft silk coverings, plush cushioning, thick carpet, and the scent of clean laundry and lingering Soft furnishings, mounds of stuffed animals, wooden building blocks, and endless bric-a-brac
perfume. The master bedroom is one of the most serene rooms in the house, ignored by the Biggies perfectly sized for Floorboard Folk. The play room is a treasure trove of items to borrow, and when
for most of the day. That makes it the perfect place for an easy Expedition. things go missing the Biggies blame their children for losing them - but it’s also a place of danger,
where the juvenile Biggies come and go seemingly at random.
Descriptors: Cosy, comfortable, relaxing, still, airy, soft, floral, relaxing, gentle. Descriptors: Cluttered, untidy, chaotic, colourful, bright, messy, changeable, soft, juvenile,
discarded.
Goals State of Change Goals State of Change
1. A hair brush. Result | Outcome 1. Furniture from a dolls’ house. Result | Outcome
2. A compact pocket mirror. 2 - 6 | In addition to the Hazard chosen in the 2. An assortment of interlocking plastic bricks. 2 - 10 | In addition to the Hazard chosen in the
3. A pair of socks. Scouting phase, make use of Decorating. 3. Wooden building blocks painted with bright Scouting phase, make use of Giants Abroad -
4. Hair curlers. letters and numbers. ensuring that the Biggies who appear are children. If
5. A small stuffed bear. 4. Stuffing from the inside of a plush animal.
7 - 9 | Choose a second Complication to use you have already chosen this Hazard then also make
6. A wrist watch. 5. Miniature figures of elves and dwarves from a
during the Expedition. use of Pets.
7. The buttons from an overcoat. tabletop game.
8. A small tube of moisturising hand cream. 6. A small drawstring bag full of colourful glass
10+ | No change. 11 - 12 | Choose a second Complication to use during
9. The bulb from a bedside lamp. marbles.
10. Wire coat hangers. the Expedition.
7. A deck of playing cards.
Obstacles Complications 8. Playing pieces from a chess set.
9. A set of wax crayons in varying colours. 13+ | No change.
To get what you need, you have to go into the wardrobe. How A shelf that the Floorboard Folk are traversing to get where
will you get the door open, and how will you make sure you they need to go has worked itself loose over time, and begins 10. Craft supplies - glue sticks, scraps of coloured
don’t make too much noise rattling hangers while you’re in to tilt away from the wall. What will they do to prevent it paper, jars of glitter, and the like.
there? falling, with them on it?
Obstacles Complications
Climbing up the bed is difficult, because the silk sheets are When the Floorboard Folk get to the bedroom they find a
hard to grip. How will you get up there without damaging record playing on the turntable. There are no Biggies around, The cupboard in the corner of the room is known as “the A remote controlled car has been left turned on. The
anything and leaving a trace of your passage? but does this mean one will be back soon? avalanche”. It’s always full of things to borrow, but opening controller got stuck somewhere, and the car is spinning in f
it often triggers a massive collapse of items that could crush circles. How will the Floorboard Folk get past it?
The family pet always sleeps on the bed when the Biggies Something has knocked a bedside lamp to the ground, and
you if you aren’t careful.
are away. How will you lure them out of the room and the bulb has shattered. The floor is littered with shards of
make sure they don’t return before you start the Expedition glass as big as the Floorboard Folk’s legs, and sparks of Climbing up to one of the shelves means navigating the face This room is always chaos - but sometimes a Biggie comes
properly? electricity arc and crackle from the stump of the bulb at of a large old television set. Unfortunately, this also means in and tidies it. That has happened since the Scout was here,
random. contending with static shock - which is much more serious and now the Floorboard Folk can’t find anything.
when you’re only six inches tall.
The dressing table contains all sorts of boxes and drawers The Biggies appear to be packing for a trip. Large suitcases
filled with things you might need - but they’re always closed, sit on the bed, half-packed with clothes and other items. The small snooker table is relatively easy to climb up to - but A robotic toy dog is programmed to fetch things that are
often heavy, and sometimes locked. What do you need to Nothing is where the Scout saw it. the heavy balls in the net pockets are hard to retrieve, and thrown in front of it. It’s been left running, and the Floorboard
open, and how will you do it? it’s easy to get stuck in the netting. Folk have just passed it.
The back of the door is a thick mass of hanging coats and The ceiling has sprung a leak, and the Biggies have placed Navigating the room means treading carefully around A stray foot sends a stack of books toppling, causing a
dressing gowns. How will you get up to the one you need to a large bucket on a shelf to catch the dripping water. precariously piled stacks of toys and books. What happens domino effect of falling toys and books that the Floorboard
get to with the weight of all that fabric pressing down on you? Unfortunately it’s directly in the path of the Floorboard Folk. when you trip into one? Folk have to flee from.
How will they move it - or get around it - without tipping it Someone has spilled a jar of slime that has oozed across the A box containing controllers from a games console has
over? carpet and stuck everything together. How will you traverse toppled to the floor, spilling a tangle of wires. Can they pick
Climbing down in front of the window involves dropping One drawer in the chest of drawers has been left wide open, it without getting stuck? their way through it without getting tied up in the knotted
from slat to slat on the wooden blinds. They swing wildly which makes it much more difficult to climb the thing now cables?
under your weight, and there’s always the danger that they that there is a huge overhang to traverse. A race track of strips of bright orange plastic has been A bookcase that wasn’t properly mounted to the wall has
will turn or drop without warning. constructed around the room, and cars sit at the top waiting collapsed sideways, creating a mountain of books and
to be launched along the track. It’s a quick way to get to splintered wood that the Floorboard Folk have to traverse.
Hazards: Giants Abroad, Pest Control, The Way The Wind Blows, Pets where you need to go - if you can hang on to the cars.

Hazards: Giants Abroad, Decorating, Pests Out Of Control, Tangled Webs

34 35
The Pantry The Skirting Boards
Small, cool, and dark, the pantry smells like spices, old fruit, and root vegetables. A cold tiled floor Dusty, cramped spaces squeezed into the spaces between walls, where wires and the sharp tips
holds sacks of potatoes and bags of grains, and the high walls are lined with shelves packed tight of nails fight for space with insulation, lost coins, and the other inhabitants of the house - spiders,
with bags, tins, and cans. This is where you go when you need food - but the space is tight, and it’s mice, and more. The chances of the Biggies finding you here are slim, but the space behind the
a long fall to hard ground should you slip. skirting boards carries its own dangers.

Descriptors: Earthy, concealed, pungent, leftover, sealed, preserved, cramped, precarious, dense, The Skirting Boards are listed as their own Location for Expeditions, but if you want to play a longer session you could use
them as an interstitial space alongside another Location, crafting scenes in the Skirting Boards at the beginning and end of
exposed brick
an Expedition as the Floorboard Folk journey to and from their home.

Goals State of Change Descriptors: Dusty, cramped, tight, corridor, hazardous, dim, detritus, webs, leavings, forgotten,
1. A bag of rice. Result | Outcome discarded.
2. Tins of soup. 2 - 6 | In addition to the Hazard chosen in the
3. Jars of spices.
Goals State of Change
Scouting phase, choose a second Hazard. 1. The spring from a mouse trap. Result | Outcome
4. Onions.
2. Copper wire. 2 - 8 | In addition to the Hazard chosen in the
5. A jar of Marmite. 7 - 9 | Choose a second Complication to use during 3. Strips of adhesive. Scouting phase, make use of Traps.
6. Dried fruits and nuts.
the Expedition. 4. Old coins, green with oxidisation.
7. Strips of sackcloth torn from an old bag.
5. Thick cords of old spider web that are no
8. A corner of cheese wrapped in waxed paper. 8 - 10 | Choose a second Complication to use during
10+ | No change. longer sticky but still incredibly strong.
9. A set of wooden pegs and lengths of twine. the Expedition.
6. Discarded nails and tacks.
10. An assortment of lids from different sized jars.
7. Chunks of insulation from inside the walls.
11+ | No change.
8. Broken pieces of shoe lace.
9. Long splinters of wood, like wooden stakes.
Obstacles Complications 10. Shed spider skins.

Hidden traps and strips of glue paper dot the floor to keep The pantry is a breeding ground for spiders, and the Obstacles Complications
pests at bay. How do you get around them without tripping Floorboard Folk have disturbed a particularly big one that
them or getting stuck? chases them across the shelves. The space is thick with tangled electric wires that you have As the Floorboard Folk are travelling, they hear the whir
to clamber over. The insulation on one has worn through, of a drill from beyond the wall. Seconds later, an enormous
How do you climb up the sheer shelving without dislodging Rot has set in to some of the food in the pantry, and it’s spread
leaving exposed copper wire that sparks and hisses. spinning drill bit crashes through the wall beside them.
anything? to the things the Floorboard Folx want. There’s another stash
of them - but it means climbing even higher. It’s a long, hard climb up the cavity between the walls, and The family cat has smelled the Floorboard Folk behind the
finding safe places to hold on to is a difficult task. skirting boards. It can't properly get to them - but it can get
The things you are looking for are stored right at the top of The masonry in the walls is old and crumbling, and it’s
a law beneath the gap between skirting board and floor, and
the pantry. How do you get them down to the ground without liable to give way at the worst possible time - like when the
there isn't much space back here to avoid it.
doing any damage to them or yourself? Floorboard Folk are trying to climb it.
A small hole in the skirting board leads out into one of the In the bathroom on the other side of the wall, a Biggie is
One of the ways to quickly cross from one high shelf to The shelf the Floorboard Folk need to get to is packed tight
rooms of the house - but on this side of it is the home of a having a hot shower - and thick, hot steam is flowing beneath
another is along a rope strung between them that the Biggies with jars and tins, and there’s barely any space for them to
family of mice who do not welcome your intrusion. the skirting board and up into the walls.
use to hang bunches of dried herbs. It’s treacherous, though. stand - let alone to dig out the thing they need. How will they
deal with this? The pipes here carry water through the house - and they’re The protruding ends of the nails that the Floorboard Folk use
so hot that careless Floorboard Folk could find themselves to climb this space are old and rusted, and they're liable to
Potatoes are heavy, and liable to tumble all over the place Floorboard Folk are used to evading mice and spiders - but
badly injured clambering over them. snap if too much weight is put on them.
when you try to climb the bag that they’re in. what about the colony of flour beetles that just erupted from
the bag the group were standing on? A small pile of nails sits in a pool of brown, brackish Sometimes pressure builds up in the pipes back here, and
water. Their tips and edges are sharp and dangerous, and it's released in a jet of scalding hot steam.
There’s only one way into the pantry that doesn’t involve The Biggies have hung strips of fly paper in the pantry that
traversing them without doing yourself an injury won’t be
crossing the Kitchen first, and that’s through a small the Scout didn’t spot, and now one of the Floorboard Folk
easy.
ventilation grate in the brickwork at the top of the room. is stuck fast.
How do you open the grate without sending it tumbling to Sometimes scraps of food fall behind the skirting boards. One of the Biggies has tried to fix something - by pumping
the floor below? You don’t know what this was, but it’s old and rotting and a the wall full of expanding foam insulation. How will the
trail of ants as big as your feet are in the process of carrying Floorboard Folk get past it?
it away.
Hazards: Giants Abroad, Pets Out Of Control, Tangled Webs, Traps
Hazards: Burst Pipe, Pest Control, Pets Out Of Control, Tangled Webs
36 37
The BIRD HOUSE
The Garden Perched on a high pole in the garden, exposed to the elements - and to watchful eyes. The bird
house is a dangerous place for Floorboard Folk, but it carries big rewards. Seeds, nuts, fruit,
The Garden is a wide, open space at the back of the House bordered by thick, dense
feathers - and, occasionally, fresh eggs.
hedgerows and foliage. Expeditions Outside are rare, and no Floorboard Folk who have
ventured beyond the boundaries of the Garden have ever returned.
Descriptors: Towering, sheer, vertical, open, precarious, exposed, danger, hanging, unpredictable.

The Garden is vastly more changeable than the inside of the House, and Floorboard
Folk have to keep an eye out for real predators - birds, stray cats, even snakes have been
Goals State of Change
1. Nuts and seeds. Result | Outcome
known to appear. Expeditions to the Garden carry more risk than those inside the house, Feathers.
2. 2 - 7 | In addition to the Hazard chosen in the
and these locations tend to be used in extended play and longer campaigns where the 3. Woodchips and sawdust. Scouting phase, make use of Pets and add a second
mysteries inside the House have been explored - though there is of course nothing 4. Miniature roof tiles. Complication.
preventing you from using these Locations in one-shots. 5. Fragments of broken egg shell.
6. A stash of acorns.
7 - 11 | Choose a second Complication to use during
The Garden Locations each use the same set of Garden Hazards, which are found at 7. Colourful rocks, chunks of broken glass, and
the Expedition.
the end of the Hazards chapter, as well as others drawn from the normal Hazards used other small shiny items stashed by birds.
inside the House. As with the other Locations in Under The Floorboards, Giants Abroad 8. A small ceramic dish, just the right size to
12+ | No change.
function as a bath tub.
is always a possible Hazard.
9. Fine netting from the bird feeder.
10. A large brass hook.

Obstacles Complications
Reaching the bird house means climbing the smooth pole A strong gust of wind kicks up right as the Floorboard Folk
that it stands on, in full view of the House. reach the top of the pole, threatening to send them flying.
The base of the pole is surrounded by jagged rocks and It starts to rain heavily during the Expedition. Suddenly the
lengths of twisted wire. They're designed to keep squirrels ground is full of sucking puddles of mud, and the pole is slick
from reaching the pole, but they're more effective at keeping and almost impossible to grip.
Floorboard Folk away.
It rained last night and was cold this morning, and the pole The family cat appears in the garden hunting birds. It hasn’t
is slick with frosted dew. How will you climb it? noticed the Floorboard Folk - yet.
The easiest way to get from the pole onto the platform the Between the Scout getting back and the Floorboard Folk
bird house sits on is to leap out to the hanging bird feeder setting off on their Expedition, something knocked the pole
that dangles from the edge of the platform, and climb up the birdhouse stands on so that it’s leaning at a strange angle.
from there. It’s very risky, though. How will you make it safer? How will this affect their attempts to reach the birdhouse?
A string of wind chimes dangles from the platform. They The birdhouse now contains the body of a dead starling, and
tinkle gently in the breeze, but when birds land they’re much it’s beginning to attract pests.
louder - and the Biggies come running to the windows of the
House to see what’s on the platform. How do you get up to
the bird house without disturbing the wind chimes?
As the Floorboard Folk are turning to leave the birdhouse, The light is turned off in the room, and there are no windows.
a bird lands on the platform to feed from the feeder. What Everything is pitch black. How will you navigate the room?
happens next?

Hazards: Giants Abroad, Gardening, In The Tall Grass, It Came From Above, Squirrelled Away
38 39
The BONE YARD The BRAMBLE
Far at the back of the garden, behind the flower beds and the bushes, lies the bone yard. The On the edges of the garden, dense rose bushes give way to thick, choking vines lines with thorns,
Biggies have a dog, and the dog likes to bury things - bones, toys, treasures. And just as you borrow stinging nettles, and tangled root systems. The bramble is where children’s toys go to die; when
from the Biggies, sometimes the dog borrows from you - and when it does, the things it takes end the Biggies drop things here, nobody goes to get them. Except for you.
up here. Bring a shovel.
Descriptors: Overgrown, raw earth, dim, soil, damp, churned, tracks, prints, droppings, burial, Descriptors: Snarling, stinging, tangled, choking, constricting, dense, thick, dark, claustrophobic,
mounds. damp.
Goals State of Change
1. An old shoe. Result | Outcome Goals State of Change
2. A lamb’s breast bone. 2 - 7 | In addition to the Hazard chosen in the 1. A croquet mallet. Result | Outcome
3. A wooden spinning top. Scouting phase, make use of Pests Out Of Control A red leather cricket ball.
2. 2 - 6 | In addition to the Hazard chosen in the
4. A wooden doll the size of you that used to and add a second Complication. 3. A set of keys. Scouting phase, make use of Pests Out Of Control
stand in your home. 4. A plastic frisbee. and add a second Complication.
5. A bag of colourful glass marbles. 5. A pair of old boots.
8 - 11 | Choose a second Complication to use during
6. Wooden building blocks painted with bright 6. A heavy gold-plated bracelet.
the Expedition. 7 - 10 | Choose a second Complication to use during
numbers and letters, 7. An ornate wristwatch on a faded leather strap.
7. A compact pocket mirror. the Expedition.
8. The wires from a broken tennis racket.
12+ | No change.
8. A gold cigarette lighter. 9. A brass statuette of a boxer, roughly the same
9. A boar hair shaving brush. 11+ | No change.
size as one of the Floorboard Folk.
10. An ornate porcelain hair brush. 10. A slightly tarnished harmonica.
Obstacles Complications
A fallen tree branch, twice as high as the tallest Floorboard A recent heatwave has dried out the ground and baked the Obstacles Complications
Folk, blocks the path that you would normally take. Do you soil hard. How will the Floorboard Folk dig up what they have Getting into the depths of the bramble means passing As the Expedition gets underway it starts raining heavily.
go over it or go around it? come to recover? through the sprawl of the rosebush, and navigating the sharp Visibility is down, and everything becomes slick and wet. Can
A deep puddle filled with sticky, sucking mud has formed The neighbourhood cat knows that the dog buries things thorns that could be deadly to unwary Floorboard Folk. the Floorboard Folk navigate without falling into the tangle
after a recent rain storm - and it’s attracted frogs and slugs. here, and knows that this often results in small bite-sized of roots and thorns?
How do you navigate it? creatures coming to investigate. It’s lying in wait, and the A colossal toad lives in the damp, dark space beneath the The Biggies have a dog that is out in the garden, and
Floorboard Folk must distract it somehow. bramble, and it can be aggressive to those who invade its it’s sniffing around outside the bramble. What will the
The dog may have buried something - but they’ve also been One of the Biggies left a hose running, and it pumped gallons space. Floorboard Folk do to ensure it doesn’t spot them, and
digging things up. The ground is a nightmare landscape of water directly into the burial ground. The earth is a bog of doesn’t decide to come digging around where they are?
of mounds of earth, with old burials jutting out from them mud pits that threatens to suck Floorboard Folk under if they The tightly packed roots and weeds make the ground hard As the Floorboard Folk get to where they’re going, they
at random angles. The slightest mis-step could see you put the slightest foot wrong - and makes retrieving whatever to see, and there's a real danger of falling down hidden holes realise that they aren’t alone. A mole is digging up the earth
tumbling into unnoticed holes, or else bring mountains of they came for much harder, because now they have to drag it in the ground. How do you plot a safe course through the beneath the bramble, and it isn’t happy to have visitors.
dirt crashing down on you. out of the mud instead of digging it up. bramble?
This time the dog has buried their treasure deep One of the things the dog dragged here long ago was a length A giant snail has moved in, and everything is coated in thick, The bramble sometimes bears blackberries, which are a
underground - but they’ve left a tunnel open. You can get of wood wrapped in barbed wire, which it has left on top of slimy mucus. How do you press forward without getting delicacy to Floorboard Folk and can be gathered during an
to it, but it will mean venturing into the holes beneath the the mound where it buried the thing the Floorboard Folk coated in the stuff? Expedition. But blackberries attract birds, too, and they don’t
wet earth. How will you see in the dark, and how will you need. How will they move it? like to share.
navigate the maze of tunnels?
Right in the middle of the bramble, where the vines and The item the Floorboard Folk are looking for is directly
The bushed hanging over the burial ground bear fat purple While digging, the dog overturned a couple of rocks. The thorns are wound the tightest, there’s a thick trunk that’s beneath a patch of stinging nettles, which shift and wave
pods that burst in a shower of cloying, clinging yellow pollen ground is a writhing mass of woodlice and worms, and the perfect to climb up and fetch lost items out of the thorns. at random in the stiff breeze. How will the Floorboard Folk
when touched. Avoid them. Floorboard Folk have to cross them to get where they’re But it’s a hard climb, and dangerous if you fall. ensure they don’t come to any harm?
going.
For some reason, a bird has chosen this spot right in the Deep in the centre of the bramble, unnoticed by the Scout,
You’re not the only ones after something the dog has buried. The dog has buried a number of things here recently. How middle of the bramble to make a nest. Can you get around it lies a wasp’s nest. What will the Floorboard Folk do to ensure
Ants and beetles swarm the site, scavenging an old bone that will the Floorboard Folk know which spot to dig in? without dislodging the eggs and raising her ire? they don’t attract any unwanted attention?
has been unearthed. How will you get around them without
attracting their attention?
Hazards: Giants Abroad, Gardening, In The Tall Grass, It Came From Above, Squirrelled Away,
Hazards: Giants Abroad, Gardening, In The Tall Grass, It Came From Above, Pets, Squirrelled
Tangled Webs
Away
40 41
The GREEN HOUSE The POND
Enormous panes of glass marked with water spots and stained with dirt. Inside is a neat assortment A long wooden bench rests quietly beside the wide, still pond. The glassy surface is dotted with
of tables bearing plants, fruits, vegetables, and other foliage tended to by the Biggies. The air is wide lily pods, golden koi drift majestically beneath the surface, and frogs croak on the banks. At
hot and thick with moisture, and on a hot day you could almost roast inside it. But it’s an excellent first glance the pond is an oasis of secluded calm in the garden, but get closer and you’ll see it’s a
spot to get raw vegetables, fresh fruit - and even tools. hive of activity.

Descriptors: Earthy, fresh, moist, close, fragrant, ripe, thick, green, terracotta, well-tended, Descriptors: Rippling, drifting, croaking, damp, still, wet, slick, cool, shade, peaceful, serene.
overgrown, still, peaceful.
Goals State of Change
Goals State of Change 1. A large, flat lilypad. Result | Outcome
1. Tomatoes on the vine. Result | Outcome 2. A collection of smooth pebbles and stones. 2 - 6 | In addition to the Hazard chosen in the
2. A trowel. 2 - 6 | In addition to the Hazard chosen in the 3. A bunch of water forget-me-nots. Scouting phase, add a second Hazard.
3. A small watering can. Scouting phase, make use of Burst Pipe and add 4. Sections of green wire mesh.
4. Short lengths of hose pipe. 5. Empty snail shells.
a second Complication. 7 - 10 | Choose a second Complication to use during
5. A yellow hose pipe tap connector. 6. The flowers of yellow water-lilies.
the Expedition.
6. Lengths of cane and other plants 7. A ceramic fairy taken from a water fountain.
7 - 10 | Choose a second Complication to use
supports. 8. Coins pulled from the bottom of the pond.
during the Expedition. 11+ | No change.
7. A roll of garden twine. 9. An assortment of smooth iridescent rocks and
8. A pair of thick leather gloves. stones.
11+ | No change. 10. The bell from a miniature clock tower in the
9. A small orchid in a clay pot.
10. A wide clay dish with irrigation holes in middle of the pond.
the base.
Obstacles Complications
Obstacles Complications
Getting to the fountain involves hopping across the lily pads The tree that leans out over the pond is a horse chestnut
A number of hoses have been left running, snaking across One of the Biggies has left the door to the greenhouse
that dot the surface of the pond - without falling in the water. tree - and when conkers fall, they do so without any kind of
the floor and up to the trestle tables. If you knock them as open, and it’s attracted a number of wasps the size of
warning. A conker to the top of the head is not something that
you pass them there’s a good chance they’ll whip around, the Floorboard Folk’s feet. How will they deal with the
many Floorboard Folk are fond of.
sending water everywhere and bringing the Biggies running. aggressors?
Frogs are surprisingly territorial - and the pond is definitely The family cat can often be found here hunting butterflies
Getting to where you need to go involves passing through a The Floorboard Folk have managed to get out of the house
their territory. and harassing the fish in the pond - but if it realises the
patch of densely-packed cacti. How will you get around them and down to the greenhouse without being seen, but now
Floorboard Folk are there, it will be much more interested
without hurting yourselves? there’s a problem - the greenhouse door is closed, and locked
in them.
with a heavy padlock. How will they get in?
The high reeds at the edge of the pond mask the boundary The pond often attracts common lizards, who like to sun
The easiest way up to the trestle tables is by climbing some As the Floorboard Folk pass by one of the trestle tables
between land and water, and it’s easy to fall in. How will you themselves on the flat rocks. They’re harmless to Biggies,
bags of soil - but there are rips in the sides, and the mouths holding rows of plants, one of the legs gives way and the
make sure nobody gets dunked? but it’s another story for Floorboard Folk.
of them are open. How will you ensure you don’t cause an whole thing begins to collapse.
avalanche of dirt - or sink into it when you reach the top? The pond attracts butterflies, which are very nice to look A heron is wading in the pond when the Floorboard Folk get
at - until they’re on top of you, and you realise they’re often there. How will they make it leave before it decides to have
The trowels and shovels hang from a wooden board The juvenile Biggies are playing a game with a bat and a ball
bigger than you. them for lunch?
mounted high up the side wall of the greenhouse. How will in the garden. Without any warning the ball crashes through
you get to it? the roof of the greenhouse in a shower of glass - and now the Wide, flat stones form a sort of path across part of the pond Since the Scout was here, the Biggies have reinforced the
Biggies are on their way here. - but they’re wet, and it’s easy to slip off them as you jump mesh that extends across the top of the pond so that it has
from stone to stone. a double layer - and much smaller gaps between the wire.
A set of ladders propped against the wall is the easiest way As the Floorboard Folk clamber over a bag of potting soil they
to gain height in the greenhouse - but how do you get from tear it, releasing a swarm of fungus gnats. The things you’re here to get are at the bottom of the pond. The Bigges have placed a tarpaulin over the pond, blocking
them to where you need to be without knocking them over? How will you ensure you get down to them safely, when the access to it. It should be relatively easy for the Floorboard
pond is so deep and you’re so small? Folk to get beneath it - but they’ll be in darkness when they’re
The Scout saw evidence of rats nesting beneath one of the When the Scout was here earlier the tools and twine used by
under there, and it will be harder to get away if danger
tables at the back of the greenhouse - right where you need the Biggies had been left out and could be easily accessed,
appears.
to go. How will you avoid their attention, and how will you but now they’ve been tidied away - and they’re way out of
protect yourself from them if you need to? reach.
Hazards:Giants Abroad, Gardening, In The Tall Grass, It Came From Above, Pets, Squirrelled
Hazards:Giants Abroad, Gardening, In The Tall Grass, It Came From Above, Pets, Squirrelled
Away
Away
42 43
The SHED
One of the least-used parts of the house - but also one of the hardest to access. The shed stands
Hazards
alone, sealed behind lock and key most of the time, but packed with useful things - if you can get
Since Under The Floorboards is a rules-light game, Hazards do not have mechanical
in, and if you can avoid creating an avalanche of junk while you’re in there.
effects attached to them. Instead they present short scenarios that might affect the
Location where the Floorboard Folk are carrying out their Expedition. Use them as
Descriptors: Cluttered, crowded, dusty, sharp, splintered, rusting, hanging, nails, tacky, greasy.
inspiration to create new scenes during the Expedition that make it harder for the
Floorboard Folk to achieve their goal. Present them as problems that require creative
Goals State of Change solutions, allowing the Floorboard Folk to react and use their skills and imagination to
1. Nails and screws. Result | Outcome
A spool of wire from the lawnmower. traverse the unexpected occurrence.
2. 2 - 6 | In addition to the Hazard chosen in the
3. A length of chain. Scouting phase, add a second Hazard. Burst Pipe it in, and the bodies of mice lie bloated
4. A set of old, rusted keys on a heavy loop. You don’t know whether it was your fault and still inside the walls. What’s worse is
5. Lengths of wire. or if something else caused it, but as you’re that the Biggies have been pulling bits of
7 - 10 | Choose a second Complication to use during
6. A roll of adhesive tape. skirting board and wall tiles away to check
the Expedition. clambering along a pipe it bursts. Scalding
7. A tube of industrial lubricant.
water is spraying everywhere, soaking you behind them, and you never know when an
8. A set of paintbrushes of different sizes.
11+ | No change. and threatening to burn you - and, what’s enormous gloved hand is going to come
9. A half-empty tube of superglue.
worse, it will probably draw the attention of groping into the shadows in pursuit of you.
10. A large tin of lighter fluid.
the Biggies. Pests Out Of Control
Decorating You know that you share the house with
In between Scouting and your Expedition, other creatures, and over the years you’ve
Obstacles Complications figured out how to avoid the mice that live
everything has changed. The room is
The shed is packed full of things stacked one on top of the Without realising it, the Floorboard Folk stumble into a filled with ladders, paint buckets, brushes, in the walls and beneath the floor. But
other, and getting to anything means climbing a mountain of section of the shed coated in grease and oil that covers their
etc. Everything is covered in dust cloths something has changed and they’re suddenly
junk - without toppling it over. skin and clothing.
and most possessions have been moved everywhere. In fact, they’re in the room with
Getting up to the highest shelves means climbing the wall The door was unlocked when the Floorboard Folk got here,
of hanging tools - while being careful not to dislodge any, or but while they’re inside the shed a Biggie comes along and or covered up. Is the thing you need still you. Right now.
cut yourself on an exposed blade. closes it up. Now they have to find a way out. here? And what’s that big spinning metal Pets
If the door is locked, getting into the shed involves climbing Mice have made a nest far at the back of the shed, deep thing coming through the wall where you’re The Biggies have a pet - a cat or a small dog
the exterior wall and forcing the window open just enough to beneath layers of junk and rubble. They really don’t want to
standing? - and it can smell you. How will you distract
slip through the gap - without being seen, and without falling be disturbed.
down on the inside. Giants Abroad it so that you don’t become lunch?
The worktop you have to traverse to get to where you’re The Floorboard Folk manage to find what they need without The Biggies are usually away during Tangled Webs
going is covered with layers of old paint and adhesive, and any bother - but it’s pinned beneath a stack of heavy objects the day, which makes your Expeditions The problem with spiderwebs is that they’re
it’s incredibly sticky. How will you get across it without that they’ll struggle to move without being smart about it.
relatively safe. But today they’ve come home really hard to see until you’ve walked straight
getting stuck?
unexpectedly early, and you can hear them into them. The other problem is that they’re
Most of the things you might want to get in the shed are Climbing things isn’t easy art the best of times - but when an
stored in big, heavy tins and jars with hard-to-remove lids. old can of grease has sprung a leak and coated everything in coming towards the room you’re in. You’re really, really sticky. And the third problem?
How do you deal with this? lubricant, it’s even harder. way out in the open - what are you going to Well, that would be the spiders. The hungry,
How do you get a heavy tool that’s as big as you off a hook Heavy rains mean that the shed - which may once have been do to ensure you don’t get seen? scuttling spiders.
that’s halfway up the wall? weather-proof but definitely isn’t any more - has taken on
Pest Control Traps
water. The ground is flooded with enough water to come up
to the waist of Floorboard Folk, and everything else is soaked You know that you share the house with The Biggies have been having problems with
through. other creatures, and now the Biggies have mice, and have left traps out for them. One
figured that out as well. The air is filled with is blocking your route. Can you disarm it, or
Hazards: Giants Abroad, Gardenings, Pests Out Of Control, Tangled Webs, Traps thick smoke that burns when you breathe get past it without triggering it?
44 45

The Way The Wind Blows it’s fine - apart from that stretch where you
Outside the house the wind howls and the have to cross in front of an open window,
Extended Play & Campaigns
trees bend and shake. If you were out there where the curtains flutter and flap and you’re Under The Floorboards is designed primarily for one-shot play, but there is no reason
it’s likely you’d take off unless you found a in danger of tumbling out. why you could not play multiple sessions with the same characters to tell a longer story.
way to lash yourself to the ground. Inside
In campaign play, characters grow and change in response to their environment and what
they have learned on previous Expeditions.
Garden Hazards
When you successfully use one of your SCARPER stats, there is a chance that you learn
Gardening It Came From Above from it. Put a tick next to it on your character sheet. The next time you rest and reflect on
your journey - for example during the Return phase, or at the beginning of a new session -
The high-pitched whirr of a spinning blade They say that death comes on swift wings,
you may check to see what you have learned. Choose a SCARPER stat that has a tick next
is the first warning that something is amiss. and that’s been true for many Floorboard to it and roll 2d6. If you roll over your current ability score in that stat, you may increase
Then severed stalks of grass and weeds Folk. In the relative safety of the house you it permanently by 1. You may do this for up to 3 abilities.
begin to rain down around you. The Biggies only need to worry about things that you
are out in the garden, and they’re cutting the can hear and see - but outside in the garden, When you are done, remove all the ticks from your character sheet. If an ability ever
grass. Do you freeze, and hope it misses you, with the vast open sky far above you, there’s reaches 12, you can no longer improve it.
or run - and hope you don’t get seen? no telling what might be able to see you.
Non-Player Characters
In The Tall Grass Squirrelled Away
The blades of grass are twice as high as the In the base game of Under The Floorboards there are no rules for other Floorboard Folk
You’ve long become accustomed to dealing
who inhabit the world. An extended campaign made up of nothing but Expeditions to fetch
tallest Floorboard Folk, a waving mass that with mice in the House, but squirrels are items would get boring quickly, so you are encouraged to populate the House with other
obscures your view and threatens to cut your a whole different breed of threat. They’re families of Floorboard Folk.
skin open if you rub against their hard edges faster, they’re stronger, and they can climb
in just the wrong way. You won’t be seen by surfaces in seconds that Floorboard Folk Non-player characters (NPCs) do not need stats. Instead, give them personalities and goals
Biggies here, but you also don’t know what need rope, hooks, and time to traverse. And based on the story that you are currently telling. The following list of NPC Motivations
might be around the next corner; ants that what’s worse - they’re often after the same may help:
come up to your hip, moles that rear up things as you are, and they’ll fight you to • The player characters borrowed an item during an Expedition that I need,
from beneath your feet, prickly hedgehogs make sure they get them. and I want to convince them to give it to me.
- or even a garden snake, coiled and ready • The Biggies did something that disturbed my family’s home, and I’m
to strike. trying to scout out a new place for us to live. I have approached the player
characters for help.
• My family need something from the Biggies, but it’s too big an Expedition
for us to tackle alone.
• The player characters have intruded on my family’s territory, and I’m here
to tell them to stay away.
• I’ve learned something about the Biggies and the outside world that will
change everything that the Floorboard Folk know, and I’m here to deliver
a message about it.
• Our only child is lonely without any friends to talk to or play with, and I’m
looking for the other families in the house to see if anyone would be willing
to befriend her.
46 47

Campaign Events Making Your Own Locations

The following list of Campaign Events also provides you with seeds for telling more stories Locations follow a specific template, and are designed more as prompts than detailed play
that don’t revolve around the standard fetch quest form of Expeditions: areas. All Locations should contain the following information:

• The name of the Location, and a short description.

• The Floorboard Folk have lived in the same space under the floorboards
• A list of descriptive words you can use to paint a quick, evocative picture of
for generations, but something heavy fell on the floor directly above their the Location.
home and the roof is caving in. Now they need to uproot their life and • A set of 10 potential Goals that the players can choose from - though these
find somewhere new to live - and successfully move there without being should not be exhaustive, and you should always be open to the players
discovered. choosing their own goal.
• A juvenile Biggie pried up the floorboards and discovered your home! • A list of 6 Obstacles unique to this Location. When you write Obstacles,
They just want to be friends, and have been bringing you treats and things picture the Location and imagine that you are 6 inches tall and trying to
that you need - but surely it’s only a matter of time before the adult Biggies navigate it. What kinds of things would you have to contend with? What
learn about you. What will you do? would cause you trouble? Obstacles are things that have been noticed by
• The Biggies who have lived in the house for as long as you can remember the Scout prior to the Expedition, and should not be used to surprise the
Floorboard Folk.
have suddenly moved out, and a new family has moved in. Now there are
• A set of Hazards that might occur in this Location, drawn from the Hazards
new routines, new people in the house, and most of the rooms have been
section earlier in this book. If you want to write you own Hazards, think
given over to different purposes. You need an Expedition based purely on
about the kinds of events that might occur in this Location on a semi-regular
scouting, so you can learn the new lay of the land. basis. Each Location should have between 4 and 6 Hazards to draw from.
• You know there are other families of Floorboard Folk in the house - but • A set of 6 Complications unique to this Location. Complications are similar
you didn’t know there were others who live Outside. But someone has to Obstacles, but you have the freedom to spring surprises on the players
appeared, weak and tired, who tells of a very long journey through a world as these are events that occur either during the Expedition or in the time
of giants. They need help figuring out how to get home. between the Scout returning home and the Expedition beginning. Think
• A member of your family is sick, and you don’t know what’s wrong. One of about the changeable nature of the Location, and what might go wrong
the other families in the house used to be known for their remedies and during an Expedition that would make for an engaging scene.
medicines. You don’t know if they’re still around, but there’s only one way • A State of Change Table.
to find out - and you need help.
• A new family has moved into the House. They have a strong, charismatic When designing the State of Change for a Location, think about how often the Biggies
leader who has begun uniting the other families, and who wants you to use the space and how often they change things in it. A bathroom is used less often than
join them. That would mean giving up a portion of what you borrow to a Living Room, and an Office might be used daily or it might gather dust for weeks in
them, though - and also giving up your independence. What will you do? between uses. Your State of Change needs 3 results - the result of a poor roll, the result of
an average roll, and the result of a good roll. Use the following ranges as a base, adjusting
the numbers up or down to reflect more or less changeable Locations:

• Poor result (2-7)| Should usually add an additional Hazard to the

Expedition. You can specify which Hazard to use, or ask the Guiding Voice
to pick. Feel free to add a Hazard that was not already available for this
Location.
• Average result (8-11) | Should usually add a second Complication to the
Expedition.
• Good result (12+) | The Floorboard Folk get lucky, and nothing changes
during the Expedition.
48 iii
List of Backers
Aaran Mooney, Aaron Zsoldos & Emely Pul, Playing, Erik Ingersen, Etienne Chaumont, Marshall Mowbray, Martin Bailey, Mary

Abha Thakkar, Adam Brooks, Adam Fletcher, Eugene Doherty, Eugene Marshall, Eva Alderdice, Matt Kay, Matt Murtagh, Matt

Ailsa Cunningham Ek, Airsaber, Akira S, Evan Edwards, Evan Perlman, F, Wilkin, Matthew Gravelyn, Matthew J

Magamo, Alex C, Alex Clippinger, Alex Failtasmagoria, Filip Johnson, frank, Frank Weidman, May Contain Geeks, Megan

Rinehart, Alex Wilson, Alexandra Bond, “Mottokrosh” Reding, Funkaoshi, Gabriel S., Michaël Marquant, Michael Schwartz,

Alimouse, Allan Macedo de Novaes, Amanda Robinson, Gabrielle Rabinowitz, Galen Michael Spredemann - 2 Old Guys Games,

Atkins, AMDISI, Amy Gembala, Anders Olsen Pejeau, Gargoyle Soup, Geneviève Martin- Michelle, Mike Mancini, Mike W, MM,Mr.

André Tavares, Andreas Sewe, Andrew Picotin, George Quail, Georgie R, gildedlace, Vekyl, MrRPGHour, Nate Treme, Nick, Niels

Eugene Mauney, Andrew Sinsbury, Andrew Giles Pritchard, Grady Jaynes, Grakulen, Jansen, Nimaël, Ozzy Beck, Pat Eyler, Patrice

Staed, Andrew Van Ness, Andrzej Krakowian, Griffin D. Morgan, Griffin Post, Hannah Mermoud, Patrick Buechner, Paul, Paul, Paul

Andy Frazer, Ane-Marte Mortensen, Anna, Pate, Harrison Swift, hearmesnark, Helen Drussel, Pauly Paul, Peter Mazzeo, Petra

Anne Hunter, Annie, April Burns, arvid kopp, Balls, Helen Ryan, Henrique Jucá, Herman Valtonen, Phil Beckwith, Phillip Bailey, Plog,

Audrée Mullener, Baba Ghanoush, Backer Duyker, Holli Mintzer, Hunter Shumate, Ian Pookie Uk, PrettyWithHorns, R. Rook Studio,

Name, BADJRM, Bayley Gillier, BC Parker III, McFarlin, Ido Magal, Inwhat123, Ira grace, rathiri, Rex Tyler, Ricardo Sedan, Richard

belethlich, Benjamin, Bill Bicknell, blackcoat Irene, Isaac, Izzy / Praxis Descends, Jaan Berl, Richard Malena-Webber, Richard Sands,

Bradley Gardner, Bradley Macro, Brendan Eerik Sõmermaa, Jack Gulick, Jack Houston, Robert, Robert Carnel, Robert Knowles,

O’Donnell, Brian Brunson, Brian Smith, Jaime Herazo, James Firkins, James JayJay Roberta Taylor, Rom Rom, Rudy Mangual,

Buck Crutchfield, C. A. Berlitz, Cabochard, Draper, James McClure, James Torr, Jan Ryan Hennesy, Saajan 9000, Sabina Walter,

CaiusRomanus, Calum, Calvin Johns, Egil Bjune, Jason, Jason Ermer, Jason Gabel, Sara Wychlaran, Sarah Lloyd, Savannah

Carl Rigney, caroline mclaughlin, Casey Jean Lorber, Jeff Hay, Jeff Stevens, Jennifer Gale, scaryridge creative house, Schubacca,,

Clementine, chales015, Charles Kessler Sarrantonio, Jenny M, Jeremy, Jérémy Rioux, Sealed Library, Sean Hastings, Sebastián

II, Chris Baratz, Chris Fairhurst, Chris Jesse Ross, Jessica, Jim Burzelic, Joe Cirillo, Pérez, Sinisa Radovanovich, Software Bloke,

G. Williams, Chris Giesy, Chris Reynolds, Joe McGee, John Gregory, John Harper, John Stacey Allan, Stephanie Kibbe, Stephanie

Chris S. Sims, Chris Shorb, Chris Walz, Taber, Jonas Möckelström, Jonathan Carman, Novak, Stephen Munn, Steven Watkins,

Christian Malleck, Christina Sidiropoulos, Jonathan Laury, Jonathan Ly Davis, Josh Teemu Kivikangas, Terry Herc, The Ballad

Christoffer T. Timm, Christopher Justusson, Queen, Joshua, Julian Warren, Justin Cartee, of Scum, The Creative Fund by BackerKit,

Clare Southworth, Clay Gardner, Cody Faulk, Justin Spath, Space Daddy Games, JVC Parry, The ,Freelancing Roleplayer, The Grinning

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Sebs, Curtis, Dagur, Damon & Peni Griffin, Katharine Griffiths, Katherine Geogheghan, Toy203, trouser_mouse, Tyler Crumrine,

Daniel Horne, Daniel Lade, Daniel M. Perez, Katy, Kei Hawk Rose, Keith Nelson, Kenna Tyler Shaw, Tyson Vanover, Víctor Cadena

Danielle Jayne Hayes, Darren Wilson, David May, Kenneth Sutton, Kevin, Kevin Hitt, Aloy, Will Doyle, William Hinz, Yubi, zack

Danitz, David Kellum, David Millians, DBL, Kimmy Niedt, Lari Assmuth, Lavender Todd, keedy, Zargo Games, Zellotath.

Deathworks, Delaney, diana, Digital Barn, Leandro, Leanne Simpkin, Leon Barillaro,

DocSocrates, Douglas Shaffer, Dustin K. Lesley Mounsey, Liam Stevens, Liam Taylor, Thank you all!

Miller, E. Pereira, Eben Mishkin, Edgardo Lilly Ibelo, Lindsay, lizzunchbox, Lone

Cruz, Eiríkr Åsheim, Eleanor Hingley, Archivist, Loren Peterson, Lowell Francis,

Eleanor McHugh, Elizabeth Favorito, Lucas Mannell, Luke Earl, lupadracolis,

Elizabeth Munson, Elliot Wilson, Else, Ember Lynne Hunt, Mallory Welch, Marianne

+ Ash, emily carmichael, Enlightened Role- McDonald, Mark Fenlon, Mark Winnington,
iv

Under The Floorboards is a tabletop game of collaborative storytelling and

roleplaying about tiny people in a giant, hostile world, inspired by Mary
Norton’s The Borrowers.

Create your character, build a family, scout the giants’ house, and set off on
an expedition into a world frought with peril but filled with the promise of
enormous rewards. Climb tumbling bookcases, flee from house spiders, and
steal the cat’s milk without being turned in to breakfast.

2 - 6 players | 2 - 3 hours | ages 10+