QUICK TAKE
* Task Roll: d20 + two aptitude modifiers. Highest total, or total 15 or more, succeeds.
* Saving Throw: Negates an effect or reduced damage by half.
* Advantage: Uses higher of two d20 rolls. Disadvantage: Uses lower of two d20 rolls.
SHARED STORIES WITH DICE: How to play…
* Tabletop role-playing games are stories involving characters overcoming challenges set in an imagined world.
* Players take turns narrating and speaking as their individual characters, sometimes rolling dice to determine results of decisions.
* When considering aptitude modifiers, players explain which apply to an action and intended outcome (how and why).
* A Game Masters (GM) is the person who describes situations, scenes, the story’s world, and non-player characters (NPCs).
* The GM also adjudicates rules as a referee, such as which aptitudes are allowed to modify an attempted task action.
THE X-CARD: A safety tool to flag uncomfortable content and steer play away from it…
* Any player may tap or display an X-Card to stop, reset, and redo a scene.
* The X-Card changes tone and topics, not outcomes from dice or decisions.
* More info from creator John Stavropoulos: https://shorturl.at/YG3UJ
TASK ROLLS: Used when an action has an uncertain outcome…
* Roll one 20-sided die (1d20) and add two modifiers from the character’s aptitude scores, equipment, or powers. (NPC shorthand may just add Hit Dice.)
* A circumstance benefiting a character gains Advantage, rolling two d20s and using the higher-rolled number. An impairing circumstance causes Disadvantage, rolling two dice and using the lower result.
* For two sides directing competing against or opposing each other, the higher total wins.
* For challenges without an opponent, the total result must equal 15 or more to succeed on hard tasks, 5 or more if easy or 25 or more if extreme.
* A d20 roll of a 20 (“natural 20”) is a critical success, causing the maximum beneficial outcome.
* A d20 roll of a 1 (“natural 1”) automatically add a negative complication to the character or story.
CHARACTER LEVELS: A rough rating on a character’s power…
* Levels 1 to 4: Local figures stepping into danger. Potential heroes.
* Levels 5 to 8: Known problem-solvers. Action heroes. Adventurers. Experts.
* Level 9 to 12: Movers and shakers. Known across the region. Master heroes.
* Level 13 to 16: Heroic living legends. Known across nations or history.
* Level 17 to 150: World shapers and saviors. Epic heroes. Superheroes.
* Level 150 to 500: Mythic figures. Demigods. Elite superheroes.
* Beyond Level 500: Entities of cosmic power.
BASIC CHARACTER APTITUDES: All characters may have modifiers in these traits…
* Awareness (perception, intuition, keen senses, reactions)
* Charisma (appeal, confidence, inspiration, leadership)
* Combat (fighting, using weapons, leading others into battle)
* Communication (persuasion, performance, languages)
* Constitution (health, toughness, vigor, stamina)
* Cunning (deception, stealth, bypassing security, thieving)
* Dexterity (agility, reflexes, dodging, precision)
* Faith (devotion, working miracles, favor of the divine)
* Intelligence (deduction, logic, memory, reason, wits)
* Lore (understanding history, natural and social sciences)
* Luck (avoiding harm, good fortune, benefiting from chance)
* Magic (arcane powers, knowing the occult and supernatural)
* Medical (diagnosis, healing methods, drugs, diseases)
* Privilege (influence, authority, high status in society)
* Strength (physical prowess, brawn, encumbrance)
* Tech (working with machines, vehicles, complex networks)
* Wild (animals, plants, weather, outdoor survival, tracking)
* Wisdom (empathy, courage, insight, resolve, willpower)
SPECIALTY APTITUDES: These traits vary by story, genre, and level; examples might include…
* Alchemy (brew potions, identify substances, transmute or neutralize materials)
* Analyze Anomaly (determine origin, function, and threat from strange things)
* Appraise Cargo (evaluate value, legality, and market potential of trade goods)
* Camouflage (blend into surroundings to hide from observers)
* Electronic Surveillance (hide recording devices or sweep for hidden transmitters)
* Witchcraft (curses, charms, folk magic, spirits, omens, ritual protections)
* Xenology (alien lifeforms, cultures, psychology, communications)
POWERS: Tasks beyond normal abilities…
* Powered character get a certain number of power points per Level.
* Each use of a power requires a power roll (d20 + two aptitudes, such as Intelligence and Magic) and a power cost (1d6).
* A unwilling target makes a saving throw to resist or reduce damage if greater than the power roll. (Objects get an automatic saving throw result of 15.)
* Whether successful or not, a power attempt reduces a character’s available power points by 1d6. At 0 power points, characters may reduced their hit points instead.
* For each hour of rest, a character at less than full power recovers expended power points equal to Level + one power aptitude (typically Magic).
SAVING THROWS: A “free” roll (not an action) made to avoid harm…
* Roll d20 + two appropriate aptitudes (usually including Constitution to endure, Dexterity to dodge, or Wisdom as will).
* If the harm causes a condition (immobilizes, mind control), the effect is wholly avoided, resisted, or ignored.
* If the harm causes damage, the amount of damage is reduced by half.
COMBAT & RECOVERY
* Combat is resolved in 6-second rounds of actions during which each character takes one turn.
* Roll for initiative (d20 + Awareness + Dexterity or Combat); higher totals take turns before lower totals.
* During a turn, a character may move 30 feet (10 meters) and attempt one action, or take no action and move 60 feet (20 meters).
* Characters may choose to push an attack (reckless swings, firing multiple shots) to gain Advantage on an attack, but doing adds Disadvantage to saving throws and gives opponents Advantage to target them.
* An attack roll (d20 + two appropriate aptitudes) must be equal to or higher than a target’s Armor Class to hit enough to cause damage to reduce the target’s hit points.
* Armor Classes (AC): None (10 + Dexterity), Light (12 + Dexterity), Medium (15), or Heavy (18).
* Weapon Damage: Roll 1d6 + one aptitude from attacker (usually Strength for melee, Dexterity for thrown or ranged weapons, or Combat for either).
* Light weapons (punches, clubs, daggers) cause half damage, while heavy weapons (two-handed sword, pole arm, shotgun) cause double damage.
* For each hour of rest, a creature at less than full points recovers a hit points equal to Level + Constitution. Under hospitalization, add the caregiver’s Medical aptitude to recovery per hour.
* For each hour of repair, an object recovers hit points equal to an appropriate task roll (such as d20 + Intelligence + Tech). Special workshops may add to the repair rate per hour.
* A creature reduced to 0 hit points dies, while an object at 0 h.p. breaks or becomes inoperable.