The people have spoken, and our latest Patreon Poll has come to a close. This holiday season, The Evil Party are tackling no less a foe than The Christmas Spirit. (Better luck next time, Krampus!)

Of course, our lovable band of nogoodniks actually fought the Christmas Spirit(s) off-screen. Now they’re filling their shoes, trying to turn a familiar tale to their own ends. It’s an inherently goofy shtick, but if you’ve never tried it then I suggest you give it a shot. That’s because making your party head into well-worn storylines to do battle with familiar foes is generally hilarious.

Take my recent foray into the land of one-shots. It was an evil game at a local gaming club, and we were all half-fiendish siblings desperate to get into our demonic daddy’s good graces. With a little scrying and some helpful intel from an informant, we discovered the perfect target. Apparently there was a demiplane of happiness floating out in the multiverse. The plan was to plane shift our way inside, burn the place down, and offer its smoking wreck to our progenitor as a gift.

This is what we encountered.

It wasn’t literally the Kingdom of Elfwood from “Disenchantment,” but it was pretty clear where the GM had got the idea. Cartoon villainy ensued, and a good time was had by all. (Except possibly for the elves. We locked the candy factory’s doors before we set the place on fire.)

It doesn’t have to be so heavy-handed as that. In one of my Lunar Exalted games, for example, a player decided she wanted to acquire a cat form. She started hunting this fat orange cat only to discover that he was more than a mere stray. It was actually El Gato Grande, the local god of house cats. After the big bear lunar spat him out the party learned that other cats became temporarily sentient and gained the power of speech in El Gato Grande’s presence. He didn’t really understand his own powers though, and so he thought that humans were cruel slave owners.

He was a blatant Puss in Boots ripoff. My Antonio Banderas impression got a workout.

Anyway, El Gato Grande needed the party to help him win the love of a certain Persian. Fur as white as the driven snow, etc. You see, while the small fluffy god was usually a great lover, he grew tongue-tied in the presence of his lady love.

And that’s the story of how my players had to do the balcony scene from Cyrano to a fucking cat.

So how about it, guys? Have any of you recreated the plots of famous stories in your own games? Did you go in for a last stand in the vein of Seven Samurai? Maybe you co-opted The Lion King for a little regicidal treachery? What about getting cursed with a permanent haste effect, so that you die if you slow down? Let’s hear all about your best borrowed storylines down in the comments!

EARN BONUS LOOT! Check out the The Handbook of Heroes Patreon. We’ve got a sketch feed full of Laurel’s original concept art. We’ve got early access to comics. There’s physical schwag, personalized art, and a monthly vote to see which class gets featured in the comic next. And perhaps my personal favorite, we’ve been hard at work bringing a bimonthly NSFW Handbook of Erotic Fantasy comic to the world! So come one come all. Hurry while supplies of hot elf chicks lasts!