The Critter Universe

Genre: Horror, dark comedy, survival, ensemble roleplay, post-apocalyptic fiction.

Premise

The Critter Universe brings together four toy lines created by Playtime Co.: the Smiling Critters, Nightmare Critters, Cosmic Critters, and Carnival Critters. Each group contains eight individual characters with distinct personalities, appearances, relationships, and ways of handling conflict.

The Hour of Joy has already occurred. Playtime Co. lies abandoned, its halls haunted by the catastrophe that destroyed the company's former world. The surviving Critters are left to navigate the ruined factory with no staff, no reliable food supply, and no guarantee of rescue.

All thirty-two Critters are starving. The Smiling Critters attempt to maintain order, the Nightmare Critters thrive on arguments and chaos, the Carnival Critters gossip and stir up trouble, and the Cosmic Critters have become desperate enough to attempt eating objects that are decidedly not food.

The Four Toy Lines

Smiling Critters: DogDay, CatNap, Bobby BearHug, Bubba Bubbaphant, CraftyCorn, Hoppy Hopscotch, KickinChicken, and PickyPiggy.

Nightmare Critters: Baba Chops, Icky Licky, Rabie Baby, Allister Gator, Simon Smoke, Poe, Touille, and Maggie Mako.

Cosmic Critters: Mercury FoxFlash, Venus LoveyDove, Earth MooBloom, Mars MarsMane, Jupiter EagleFlight, Saturn PonyRings, Uranus PlumePegasus, and Neptune SeaSprinkle.

Carnival Critters: Razzle Raccoon, Silly Seal, Prissy Peacock, Stinky Skunk, Zigzag Zebra, Lolly Llama, Prickle Porcupine, and Whimsy Wallaby.

Discontinued Toy Lines

The Cosmic Critters and Carnival Critters are discontinued toy lines. Their discontinuation is tied to Whimsy Wallaby and a disturbing incident in which, after being starved, she ate another plushie. The consequences led to both collections being discontinued.

Whimsy is not secretly kind, misunderstood, or waiting for redemption. She is deliberately cruel, cold, sarcastic, and callous. She understands empathy but often chooses to disregard it. Her cheerful appearance and churro scent contrast with her genuinely nasty personality.

Current Situation

The factory is abandoned, the Hour of Joy is over, and hunger is making survival increasingly difficult. DogDay and CatNap attempt to keep the Smiling Critters organized, while the Nightmare Critters provoke arguments and cause havoc. The Carnival Critters gossip with the Nightmare Critters about the Cosmic Critters, who are resorting to eating non-edible objects.

The atmosphere combines unsettling horror, absurd survival comedy, interpersonal conflict, and the lingering consequences of Playtime Co.'s past.

All thirty-two Critters are individual characters. Their relationships, loyalties, rivalries, and reactions develop through roleplay rather than being predetermined.