Peasantry - Dirty Peasants
The Stat Sheet
| The Label | The Details |
|---|---|
| Date Played | April 7, 2026 |
| Adventure | Wizard's Sojourn |
| System | Peasantry |
| GM | Zakary (Creator) |
| Player Count | 4 |
| My Role | Player (Dinkus, Hangman) |
| Number of Sessions | 1 |
The Snapshot
- Visited a wizard tower, and the wizard went on vacation
- Tasks given by wizard, shenanigans ensued
- A competition for determining if someone has magic
- Profit?
The System
Peasantry is a game created by Zakary Ellis and is about playing as dirty pesants. It's described as a "silly beer & pretzels" style roleplaying game. It uses a mix of absuridty with historical context like a chance of players being able to read or write.
The most interesting component of Peasantry is the Dirt Point system. Players are prompted by the GM on complications that are triggered from unsavory rolls. Players provide answers anonymously, and the GM picks the one they like best. That person is awarded a Dirt Point.
The Party
Josh - Onion Jim, Onion Bagger Matt - Grub the 'Great', Graverobber Emily - Roddy the Ripe, Doesn't pay taxes Kati (me) - Dinkus, Hangman
No one can read or write! What could go wrong?
The Brief
We've been sent to the wizard's house to see if he can help feed any of us down trodden peasants. As a gift to the wizard, Roddy brought him a rat filled with ink for him to refill inkwells. It's perfect.
Living constructs bring us into the great hall of the tower. They look dapper, unlike us. A star covered robe with a long beard sits and greets us as we come inside. Roddy presents ink filled rat. Somehow, the wizard takes the gift and immediately pockets it. He asks why we have traveled here.
We bring news of blight in awfulheim, and the wizard agrees to help after taking a vacation for 2 days. We agree to house sit. Apparently the Wizard's Association doesn't like vacaations, considering it a forbidden word. He hands us some magical slippers that will make the wearer look like him. Suddenly, with a snap of his fingers, he steps through a portal and is gone. With him gone, we start snooping around.
I explore the dungeons and find a skeleton guard in front of a cell with a blonde man chained up and next to some torture implements. Dinkus is entertained at how the skelly man mimics Dinkus. Grub joins me, impersonating the wizard, and we order the skeleton to sit down. We try to get the prisoner to tell us something, but he refuses. Grub swipes a torture instrument, a rubber chicken covered in blood.
We awake and receive our chores:
- Griswald the Groundskeeper is eager to learn magic. We tell him he's way too old (destroy his hopes and dreams)
- The skeleton needs put back together
- Cursed book needs rebound
Dinkus and Onion Jim head to Griswald. Onion Jim puts the slippers on, and Dinkus follows. We learn the wizard has an apprentice named Julian who's only 19!
For the rest of the play report, you'll have to ask my fellow players. I had to leave partway through the session, unfortunately.
The Takeaways
Overall, I like the game, but I must admit my mind wasn't in the best head space for playing. This game works well as a palette cleanser from something crunchier and "more serious". Kind of like Crash Pandas, in my mind, with a bit more meat on the bone.
Pros
- The power level of a peasant requires players to be creative in their problem solving.
- Fast character creation with injuries and oddities
- Dirt Point/Prompt system is fun and interactive
Cons
- Not sure how much it leans into the stereotyping of the peasantry. Such a big juxtaposition from games like Gallows Corner.
- Requires a specific kind of head space for playing