TEXT: LEGO FU: Heroic adventures in the Lego universe 
  by Andrew Smith
  A free supplement for the FU (Free Universal) role playing game based on concepts 
  and themes created by the Lego Group as well as the FU story game system developed 
  by Nathan Russell
  
  Welcome to Lego FU 
  This FU expansion will guide you in playing stories set in the 
  Lego universe. It contains information about the setting and 
  customisations of the rules to give your play a Lego ‘feel’,  
  as well as tips to convert just about any other roleplaying game 
  into a Lego game. The ideas in this expansion are based on the 
  many Lego short movies available online, Lego video games, 
  and the feature length film The Adventures of Clutch Powers.
  In Lego FU, you play adventurer minifigs (the small, plastic 
  articulated minifigurines in the Lego universe) exploring the Lego 
  world, helping others along the way. Your stories will take you 
  across the many Lego worlds playing a variety of characters 
  from pirates on the high seas to space police protecting colonists 
  on far-flung planets. While you venture forth, your minifig 
  will build the world around you, creating solutions out of Lego 
  technology to make the world a better place.
  
  Table of Contents
  1. The World of Bricks ............................................................................................ page 1
  2. Creation Sparks, Creativity, and Creative Blocks ........................................... page 1
  3. Disassembly and Reassembly .......................................................................... page 2
  4. Lego Principles ................................................................................................... page 2
  5. Building ............................................................................................................... page 3
  6. Minifigs ................................................................................................................ page 4
  7. Lego Stories ........................................................................................................ page 5
  8. Beyond the FU: Incorporating Lego into Any Game ....................................... page 6
  Opportunities to spend or gain a FU 
  point
  When you see this icon in the text, it 
  will indicate a situation where your 
  minifig will spend or gain a FU point.
  +-FU
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  When you see blue boxes like this one in the text 
  they will contain an example to further illustrate 
  a concept.
  Disclaimer
  This is a supplement for the FU story game system—
  developed by Nathan Russell—based on concepts 
  and themes created by the Lego Group. Lego FU is 
  a fan-based creation intended as a free document. 
  It is not for sale and no revenue will be generated for 
  its creators. 
  Credits
  Written by Andrew Smith  
  of Them, They, and Those Guys 
  amgsmith.net
  Design by John Reid of Lovehate Design  
  Editing by Leith Reid of Lovehate Design  
  www.lovehatedesign.com
  Playtesters
  Peter Edwards, Pamela Norrie,  
  Oskar Ormsby, Michael Sproule
  This game was completed as part of NaGaDeMon.
  ©2012 Andrew Smith
  
  1
  LEGO FU
  The World of Bricks
  The centre of the Lego universe is Lego 
  City—a mighty metropolis that is home to millions 
  of minifigs. Lego City resembles 21st century 
  Europe with a few additional advances in technology 
  and society: electricity is produced by renewable 
  and non-polluting sources; wind farms surround the 
  city; and explorers retrieve crystals from under the 
  earth to generate additional power. 
  Perhaps the most amazing technology of all in 
  the Lego universe is Lego itself—a system of 
  construction that minifigs use to create buildings, 
  transport, machinery, computers, and much, 
  much more. When assembled and combined with 
  the ‘creation spark’ of a minifig—their life force—
  an assortment of pieces can be transformed into 
  anything imaginable. In Lego FU, minifigs enjoy all 
  the possibilities of their own imaginations made 
  real: if a device can be imagined and assembled, 
  then it can become real. For example, with the right 
  combination of pieces, a minifig could build the 
  Acropolis and then disassemble one of the columns 
  of the temple to use those same pieces as rocket 
  engines on a spacecraft. In both cases, the Lego 
  pieces are sections of a cylinder, but the function of 
  the pieces changes as a result of their inclusion in 
  a different construction. 
  Culturally, the Lego universe is a positive one, filled 
  with optimism and altruism. Minifigs go about their 
  lives with passion and vigour. For example, a baker 
  minifig doesn’t just consider baking his profession; 
  it’s his passion. Minifigs are happy to live their lives 
  honestly and sincerely, contributing what they can 
  to Lego society. Fame and fortune go to the minifigs 
  who contribute the most to their society, regardless 
  of their profession. The Lego universe contains very 
  few grey areas in its moral code: heroes are heroes, 
  and villains are villains.
  Creation Sparks, Creativity, and 
  Creative Blocks
  Minifigs are animated by a creation spark that gives 
  them life and fuels their creativity. The creation 
  spark makes the minifig more than just a collection 
  of plastic: it’s the soul and personality of the 
  minifig. The creation spark is also the power that 
  minifigs imbue into their Lego creations, enabling 
  them to build. The act of creation strengthens a 
  minifig’s creation spark. Minifigs who don’t engage 
  in creativity will soon see their creation spark fade 
  away to nothing. When the spark is extinguished, 
  the minifig has reached the end of its story. 
  In Lego FU, your minifig is allocated three check 
  boxes called Creative Block, which are used to 
  monitor the decline of your minifig’s creation spark. 
  A Creative Block is a Condition, which will be gained 
  if your minifig doesn’t create something out of Lego 
  at least once each hour of play. The GM will need 
  to keep track of the time elapsed since each minifig 
  last created an item.
  A Creative Block check box can be removed 
  only through creativity. When your minifig builds 
  something out of Lego you are required to make 
  a Beat the Odds roll to determine if the construction 
  was successful. You can remove a Creative 
  Block if the result is a “Yes, and...” or a “No, 
  but...”—the ‘and’ or ‘but’ can be used to remove 
  a Creative Block.
  Jasmine Hammond hasn’t built anything out of Lego 
  for a long time and has picked up two Creative 
  Blocks. She’s been chasing a gang of jewel thieves 
  all night long and has just stumbled onto a pile of 
  leftover Lego bricks. Seeing her chance to catch up 
  with the thieves quickly, she starts to build a rocket 
  sled. Her Beat the Odds roll comes up with a 5 
  (“No, but...”). Her rocket sled doesn’t come together 
  with the pieces she has, but she is able to remove 
  a Creative Block.
  If your minifig accumulates all three boxes of 
  Creative Block, their story comes to an end: they 
  fade away from the adventuring life and lose the 
  ability to create with Lego. You should take a 
  moment to tell the epilogue to your minifig’s story. 
  1
  2
  
  2
  LEGO FU
  Disassembly and Reassembly
  Minifigs are quite durable and can be disassembled 
  and reassembled. Made of separate components for 
  legs, torso, head and hair, they can rebuild themselves 
  as easily as they can fall apart. Of course, if 
  reassembly is attempted during a chaotic or confusing 
  situation, the result may not be perfect. Minifigs have 
  been known to re-attach their legs facing the wrong 
  way and must continue their adventure in this state 
  until they are able to reassemble themselves correctly. 
  If the situation is sufficiently chaotic at the time of 
  reassembly, the GM should call for a Beat the Odds 
  roll to ensure all minifig body parts face the right way.
  During reassembly, it’s possible to swap parts with 
  other minifigs. If a minifig uses the parts of another 
  minifig it will add a Condition, resulting in a bonus 
  or penalty die as appropriate. A penalty die may 
  be added if the original owner of a minifig part 
  has different goals to the minifig head to which it’s 
  attached (for example, if the head belongs to a hero 
  and the legs to a coward, then the player must add 
  a penalty die).
  Caught in a high-speed car accident, Jasmine 
  Hammond and her companion, Shorty McDougal, 
  have both fallen apart. In the confusion, Jasmine 
  grabs Shorty’s legs by mistake and fits them to her 
  torso. This turns out to be a great move for Jasmine 
  because Shorty’s Body Descriptor is fast and now 
  she can use that descriptor to help her catch the 
  crooks. Shorty, however, is left alone with Jasmine’s 
  legs and will be unable to call on the fast Descriptor 
  until he gets his legs back.
  Rebuilding your minifig
  It’s also possible for you to rebuild your minifig 
  with spare Lego pieces (typically in place 
  of legs), allowing you to temporarily add an 
  item of Gear to your minifig. This temporary 
  modification will cost a FU point in addition to 
  normal costs for the build. You should treat the new 
  Gear as you would any other constructed Gear.
  Rather than put up with using Jasmine’s legs, 
  Shorty decides to build something else to use in 
  their place. He spends a FU point to declare a pile 
  of Lego within reach, and then makes a successful 
  Beat the Odds roll to construct a set of insectoid 
  legs. He spends another FU point to attach the new 
  legs to his torso and animate them. For the rest of 
  the scene, he’ll have the extra legs as Gear. If he 
  wants to keep them into the next scene, he’ll have 
  to spend another FU point. As FU points are limited, 
  he can’t keep this up forever; he’ll have to find 
  Jasmine soon and get his own legs back!
  Lego Principles
  One of the most famous heroes in the Lego world 
  is the creative and daring explorer Clutch Powers, 
  known for his adventures in service of Lego City. 
  As a Lego celebrity, his story encapsulates much 
  of what Lego is about. He works as an agent for 
  Lego City, exploring dangerous places, investigating 
  mysterious circumstances, and fighting the enemies 
  of Lego City. His most famous adventure took 
  him from caves deep within the earth to a world 
  of wizards and trolls in order to restore a king to 
  his throne and recapture an evil wizard who had 
  escaped from prison. To succeed, he had to turn 
  a group of individual heroes into a team, inspiring 
  them to do more than adventure for themselves. 
  Playing your minifig as a character who embodies 
  the Lego principles, you will have the opportunity 
  to earn FU points. 
  “What’s gotten into all of you? Have you lost sight 
  of the Lego mission? Have you forgotten what this 
  organisation represents?” 
  Kjeld Playwell, Lego Director
  Like Clutch Powers, some minifigs are lucky 
  enough to be Lego City agents who work for Lego 
  City itself and are charged with representing Lego 
  interests and furthering the Lego way. The agents 
  report to their director—a senior official within the 
  Lego hierarchy—who assigns missions to them. 
  No matter what a mission entails, the following 
  values and principles of Lego must be upheld for 
  the mission to be considered successful.
  Altruism
  “Well, it’s about helping others.”  
  Peg Mooring, Lego Explorer
  Lego agents are trained to be selfless; they serve 
  the needs of other minifigs before their own. This 
  often complicates their activities, particularly when 
  unexpected needs arise during a mission. 
  Successfully aiding a non-player minifig will 
  earn you a FU point.
  Heroism
  “Fighting the good fight.” 
  Brick Masterson, Lego Firefighter
  Lego agents are heroic minifigs of action. They’re no 
  strangers to conflict or physical challenges, but they 
  aren’t violent for the sake of it. There is always a just 
  cause behind every step, whether during battle or a 
  difficult exploration. 
  Seeing a heroic cause through to its 
  conclusion will earn you a FU point.
  +-FU
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  4
  3
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  3
  LEGO FU
  The Engineering Spirit
  “Engineering better solutions.” 
  Bernie Von Beam, Lego Engineer
  Lego provides a versatile solution to many 
  problems: almost all problems can be solved by its 
  application, no matter how circuitous that solution 
  might be. Is there a stone wall between your minifig 
  and their goal? You could solve this problem by 
  building a demolition ram, which is the obvious 
  solution. A more inventive solution, such as building 
  an insectoid climbing exoskeleton, will enrich the 
  game and benefit your minifig. 
  Coming up with a creative Lego solution will 
  earn you a FU point. 
  The Spirit of Adventure
  “Doing whatever it takes, wherever it takes us.”  
  Clutch Powers, Lego Explorer
  Staying at home on the couch just isn’t an option 
  for Lego agents: they have a taste for adventure. 
  Missions are full of danger and excitement. Every 
  explorer minifig knows that their missions will 
  test them, but they’re ready for the challenge. 
  No obstacle is too great to withstand the right 
  combination of creativity and heart. 
  Following a mission into a dangerous 
  environment will earn you a FU point.
  The Principle of Teamwork
  “And how do we do all that? We build on each other.” 
  Kjeld Playwell, Lego Director
  The most important principle of Lego combines 
  Lego technology and Lego life together in one 
  phrase: “build on each other”. Just as Lego pieces 
  fit together to create something greater than the 
  sum of its parts, minifigs work best when they work 
  with each other. Whether creating the opportunities 
  for others to shine, or seizing opportunities offered 
  by others, teamwork is vital to the Lego mission.
  Donating your “and” from a “Yes, and...” 
  to another player minifig will earn you a 
  FU point.
  Building
  Building is a core activity in the Lego universe. All 
  those pieces aren’t meant to simply lie around in piles 
  all day; they are begging to be put together in new and 
  interesting ways. Here’s how you do it in Lego FU.
  Building requires Lego pieces, which can be 
  acquired in two ways. 
  1. Declare a Lego pile
  Spend a FU point to declare a pile of pieces 
  in the scene—one FU point is enough for 
  pieces to build a single-function creation.
  2. Disassemble something else
  Take an action to disassemble something else in the 
  built environment. If there is similarity between the 
  object you disassemble and the object you build 
  from it, add a bonus die to your building roll. If there 
  is little similarity, add a penalty die. 
  Pulling apart a car to build two motorbikes involves 
  a lot of similarity (for example, both constructions 
  share an identical number of wheels and similarity 
  in use—road transport converts to road transport), 
  whereas pulling apart a castle wall to build a satellite 
  involves little similarity.
  Disassembly needn’t be complete: removing a 
  single function from an existing creation to be 
  used in a new item might suffice. For example, 
  a battleship has plenty of guns and propulsion to 
  spare, and a minifig might pull apart one of the gun 
  turrets and use the pieces to build something else 
  (for example, a hand cannon).
  Built objects become temporary Gear
  Anything built out of Lego pieces immediately and 
  temporarily becomes an item of Gear. It remains that 
  way only for a single scene or until its function has 
  been used for one significant use (determined 
  by the GM). Extending an item’s function as 
  Gear beyond its first useful scene will cost 
  one FU point for each additional scene.
  A creation gets larger with each additional function. 
  Each time you build, describe your creation; feel 
  free to add details that are fanciful and preposterous. 
  Don’t just say “I roll the dice and I get to climb the 
  wall with new legs I build”. Be creative, for example, 
  “Using the wreckage of the science lab, I construct 
  a set of Gecko boots that allow me to use Van der 
  Waals forces to nimbly and stealthily climb the 
  exterior of the office building”.
  5
  +-FU
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  4
  LEGO FU
  When you attempt to build an object, you must 
  make a Beat The Odds roll, which will determine 
  how successful and how complex your construction 
  will be. A successful build requires a “Yes”, which 
  allows you to create an object with a single function. 
  In order to add a second function, you must have 
  achieved a “Yes, and...” on your Beat the Odds roll. 
  Any “No” results indicate that the right parts weren’t 
  available for your build. You are free to try again on 
  your next turn, as long as you attempt to build 
  something significantly different to the item you 
  failed to build on your previous attempt. 
  Shorty McDougal wants to build a stun gun to 
  capture the crooks. He gets a “No” result and 
  is forced to depend on his teammate, Jasmine 
  Hammond, to keep the crooks occupied while he 
  comes up with a different build. On his next turn in 
  the scene, he decides to build a giant claw. His Beat 
  the Odds roll achieves a “Yes, and...” result, and 
  Shorty decides to add legs to the claw so that he 
  can transport the crooks to prison immediately. 
  Building cannot be interrupted under normal 
  circumstances. When a player declares that they 
  are building they take the spotlight until the build is 
  finished. Building minifigs must make their Beat the 
  Odds rolls before any other minifigs are able to add 
  to the scene with action or fighting.
  Optional rule: Building with real Lego
  If you’re playing Lego FU, you probably like building 
  things with Lego. This optional rule allows you to 
  incorporate an actual build into the game instead of 
  using Beat the Odds rolls. A Creationary set—or a 
  collection of similar size and complexity—is required 
  for this rule.  
   
  If your minifig is building something in the 
  story, you must complete your build within 
  the time limit of one minute per function 
  you are building. If you are able to build your 
  item at the game table to the satisfaction of 
  the other players and GM within the time limit, then 
  you have successfully built the item AND have 
  earned a FU point. If you are not able to beat the 
  time limit and/or satisfy the players and GM with 
  your build, you lose a FU point. Therefore if you do 
  not have a FU point spare before you attempt the 
  build, you are not permitted to make the attempt. 
  Just like a Beat the Odds roll, your minifig will suffer 
  a story consequence for failure. If your build was 
  unconvincing or incomplete by the end of the time 
  limit, this also counts as a “No” result.
  Minifigs
  Follow the same rules to create your minifig as you 
  would for a typical FU character. If you feel that your 
  minifig is going to have something like Creative or 
  Brilliant Engineer as a Descriptor, you should talk it 
  through with the GM so that you both agree about 
  the circumstances where that Descriptor will give 
  your minifig a bonus die. 
  Sample Minifigs with Descriptors 
  Name: Jasmine Hammond,  
  Profession: Lego City Agent 
  Body: Acrobatic 
  Mind: Playful 
  Edge: Trustworthy 
  Flaw: Easily distracted 
  Gear: Jet pack, Net gun
  Name: Shorty McDougal,  
  Profession: Lego City Agent 
  Body: Fast  
  Mind: Determined 
  Edge: Intimidating 
  Flaw: Short-temper 
  Gear: Book of contacts, Blaster
  Minifig Conditions
  The normal Conditions of Injured and Dying are 
  replaced with No Legs and Disassembled. For 
  named minifigs, such as the ones used by the 
  players or significant non-player minifigs, you 
  should progress through these unless the story 
  drives it otherwise. A blaster shootout is a good 
  example of where you should progress through 
  No Legs first, whereas a deliberate and successful 
  attempt to chop off a minifig’s head could go directly 
  to Disassembled.
  A Disassembled minifig isn’t dead; it has just gone 
  to pieces. Unnamed minifigs— such as minions—
  should be taken out of the game at this point. More 
  significant minifigs can simply be reassembled. This 
  might require the help of a friend, or perhaps some 
  other creative solution. Disassembly is not the end 
  it’s just a delay.
  +-FU
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  6
  
  5
  LEGO FU
  Lego Stories
  There are so many Lego worlds to explore that 
  you need never run out of stories to play. Even the 
  central setting of Lego City is rich with possibilities. 
  Keep it pulpy and challenge the players to show 
  the Lego principles at work. Be sure to plan your 
  encounters and scenes to give the players plenty 
  of opportunities to build a solution from Lego, or 
  to build on each other with teamwork. Here are 
  some ideas to get you started on a campaign within 
  Lego City.
  Agents of Lego City
  All the player minifigs are agents of Lego City 
  sent on missions to explore, retrieve, rescue, or 
  investigate. Set up the group with a Lego director, 
  and run missions across any of the Lego worlds.
  Explorers
  The minifigs are an exploration team who go on 
  quests to find new resources or learn about new 
  planets. The minifigs must contend with dangerous 
  environments, unknown life forms, and other 
  unexpected mission hazards.
  Lego City Police
  Despite its advanced technology and generally 
  positive culture, a criminal element still exists in 
  Lego City. Most crime constitutes theft, and police 
  are called in to catch the crooks. Criminals are just 
  as creative as any other minifig; criminals will find an 
  extraordinary number of ways to separate minifigs 
  from their money, and then escape with it.
  Private Agency
  Whether it’s a detective agency or an exploration 
  agency, let the group create it. The agency doesn’t 
  have any special gear for the group other than a 
  location (office, depot, etc.). If something more 
  functional is required (for example, an orbiting 
  space station with armaments and global scanning 
  systems) then it should be accounted for out of the 
  Gear for each minifig.
  Beyond the City Limits
  Stories aren’t limited to Lego City. The Lego 
  universe is teeming with life. Each of the Lego 
  worlds is a separate planet somewhere in the 
  universe. Travel between worlds is possible, and is 
  actively pursued by minifigs with access to the right 
  technology. Interplanetary travel is complicated by 
  distortions in time around each planet, which affect 
  the development and use of technology across 
  the planets: visitors may find that something they 
  brought with them doesn’t work on the new planet. 
  Such hindrances aren’t universal, and may only 
  affect one kind of technology, leading to situations 
  where an interplanetary visitor may be able to use 
  their own weaponry, but not their computers or their 
  transportation. This makes interplanetary travel 
  risky at best, and at worst can turn the voyage into 
  a one-way ticket. Whenever you add another planet 
  to your game, decide on the time continuum. If the 
  new planet’s time continuum differs from the home 
  continuum of the player minifigs, then choose at 
  least two of the following to be dysfunctional:
  •	 Weapons
  •	 Transport
  •	 Communications
  •	 Computing
  •	 Magic
  If you’re stuck for ideas, take the time to visit the 
  Lego website. Their product pages cover the various 
  themes of the Lego universe and offer up great 
  source material for both their own settings, and for 
  licensed properties such as Star Wars and Lord of 
  the Rings.
  7
  
  6
  LEGO FU
  Beyond the FU: Incorporating Lego 
  into Any Game 
  If you aren’t interested in playing in an existing 
  Lego setting but would like to bring Lego into your 
  regular game, you can. You can make this change 
  permanent, or try it as a single episode variation—
  much like the phenomenon of the musical episode 
  in TV shows. 
  Lego reality, including Lego technology, can form 
  the basis of any setting. All you need to add to your 
  regular game is the flexibility to recreate the world 
  by building it. The rules in this supplement allow you 
  to do this easily because the FU system requires 
  only one type of roll to determine if something (like 
  building) is successful. Rules for building in other 
  systems have often been the bane of story games, 
  resulting in loopholes, power creep, or a host of 
  other problems. Adding Lego to Burning Wheel, for 
  example, would be very difficult. Adding Lego to 
  Spirit of the Century, however, would be a great fit—
  particularly since they’re both pulpy in theme and 
  Spirit of the Century already has rules for building.
  If the system you want to hack with Lego doesn’t 
  have its own building rules, consider using a roll with 
  roughly a 50% chance of success or failure, adding 
  a Beat the Odds roll, or using the optional rule for a 
  Creationary set.
  Adding Lego to a setting isn’t always about the Lego 
  pieces, it can also be about the Lego principles; 
  to really add the Lego theme to your game, offer 
  rewards for demonstrating the key Lego principles 
  at important moments. Encourage an altruistic, 
  collaborative, adventurous style of play wherever 
  possible, and your game will become a Lego story 
  in no time.
  8
  
  NAME
  CONCEPT
  LEGO FU
  BODY
  DESCRIPTION
  RELATIONSHIPS
  NOTES
  DRIVES
  What do you want?
  What is stopping you?
  What will you do?
  MIND
  EDGE
  FLAW
  GEAR
  THE ODDS
  Roll
  Result
  6
  Yes, and ...
  4
  Yes ...
  2
  Yes, but ...
  5
  No, but ...
  3
  No ...
  1
  No, and ...
  FU POINTS
  CONDITIONS
   Angry 
   Trapped 
   Dazed
   Scared 
   Blinded 
   No Legs
   Tired 
   Hungry 
   Disassembled
  CREATIVE BLOCKS
  
  
  
  
  a Them, They, and Those Guys game
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Kid Friendly/7. RPGs/Ages 10-13 (Reads chapter books with complex sentences, May write or journal, speech patterns of an adult, Can do all basic math)/LEGO/Lego-FU.pdf