Fantasy
A world where magic is common enough to be unremarkable, but still a powerful tool in the hands of those who know how to wield it. Characters may have been brought up in countryside estates, but are thrust into adventure by forces beyond their power – or they may have felt stifled and sought out adventure. Whatever their origins, they find themselves with plenty of interesting and meaningful work to take on.
Abilities
Strength (STR). How physically strong the character is. Shapes how effective they are with melee weapons.
Dexterity (DEX). How agile the character is. Shapes how effective they are with ranged weapons.
Constitution (CON). How resilient the character is. Improves defense rolls.
Intelligence (INT). How much the character relies on deduction and knowledge. Grants offensive and environmental magic.
Wisdom (WIS). How much the character relies on inductive thinking and intuition. Grants defensive and environmental magic.
Charisma (CHA). How charming the character is. Grants interpersonal magic.
CHARACTERS
Filbo, the inexperienced halfling who must destroy the necklace of power.
Hands-Off, the knowledgeable human wizard who prefers to stay out of things.
Armalas, the stand-offish elf archer who wants to demonstrate his noble heritage.
Grimly, the curmudgeonly dwarf barbarian who just wants to get home in one piece.
Non-Combat
GM: Okay, you spend the whole day traveling towards Mt. Chaos. You make it all the way to the base of these craggy, towering mountains (points to a spot on the shared map). The air around you is brisk, and you’re all starting to get chilly. There’s still around two hours before the sun sets, after which it’s going to get a lot colder. What would you all like to do?
FRANK / FILBO: (as Filbo) I hate being cold. Can we get inside somewhere?
GEORGIA / GRIMLY: Grimly shakes her head in disapproval. These halflings are so weak.
GM: Filbo, there’s no obvious place to set up camp, but you all can make a Wisdom or Intelligence roll to see what might be around.
(Each character rolls. GM has set the passive resistance to notice anything at 10 (average))
FRANK / FILBO: That’s a nice chunky 4 for me.
GM: Filbo, you’re too cold to notice anything.
ARNIE / ARMALAS: I got an 8.
GM: Did you add your wisdom or intelligence modifier to that?
ARNIE / ARMALAS: Ah! No, I hadn’t…so actually a 10!
GM: Anyone else have a 10 or better?
(GEORGIA / GRIMLY shakes their head)
HALEY / HANDS-OFF: I got a 12, but I also have a specialization of notices the details; does that apply here?
GM: Yes, definitely.
HALEY / HANDS-OFF: Okay, great. I actually got a 15 then!
GM: Great. As you all look around, two things stand out to you. Armalas, you see there is a set of climbing gear at the base of the mountain, which looks like it might have some equipment to spend the night on the mountain. Hands-Off, you recognize this mountain as being rather infamous for their intricate cave system, which will be warmer but probably more dangerous. With some further investigation, you can probably find an entrance to the caves.
HALEY / HANDS-OFF: Okay, I’m going to go search for the door.
GM: Carefully or quickly?
HALEY / HANDS-OFF: Hands-off seems like a pretty meticulous guy. I’m gonna say carefully.
GM: Makes sense. It will take you 10 minutes to search, but you can roll Intelligence with advantage. What is everyone else doing?
ARNIE / ARMALAS: I go over and grab the supplies from the base of the mountain. (as Armalas) Hey guys, look! We can be mountaineers!
GM: You get there and see 2 sleeping bags with hoods, along with a small lantern and a couple of days worth of meals. The sleeping bags look plenty toasty to keep you warm through the night.
ARNIE / ARMALAS: Just 2?
GM: Yep.
ARNIE / ARMALAS: …how cold is it going to get?
GM: Pretty cold. Not being sheltered is definitely going to prevent you from getting any rest, and you might end up taking some damage as well.
ARNIE / ARMALAS: …guess we’re sharing! (as Armalas) Hey everyone, good news and bad news…
Combat
(The group has opted to go into the caves instead of forcing someone to share a sleeping bag with Armalas. They’ve only made it a few steps in when they encounter a shimmering pool of water; after investigating pretty clumsily, they end up awakening a Kraken and its kraklings, which are creatures of all kinds who are currently being mind-controlled by the Kraken).
GM: Everyone make a Dexterity roll for me to determine what order we go in.
(Everyone rolls; GEORGIA / GRIMLY gets a 3 , ARNIE / ARMALAS a 22, HALEY / HANDS-OFF and FRANK / FILBO each get a 12. The GM rolls for the group of kraklings (who get a 19) and the Kraken (who gets a 7). The order is thus then Armalas → Kraklings → Filbo → Hands-Off → Kraken → Grimly)
GM: Okay, Armalas, you’re first up. Because you got above a 20, I’m also going to say that you can perform an extra action this turn.
ARNIE / ARMALAS: Awesome. Who can I hit with my bow & arrow?
GM: There’s only two zones here, the land where all the kraklings have crawled out, and the pool of water where the Kraken is still lurking. Because you’re using a ranged weapon, you can hit any of them, but the kraklings are all too close to aim effectively, so you’d have to take disadvantage to hit any of them.
ARNIE / ARMALAS: What about the Kraken?
GM: That’s fine, well within your range. Fire away.
ARNIE / ARMALAS: Ah yiss! (rolls a D20) Oh no…
GM: What’d you get?
ARNIE / ARMALAS: Well, assuming I get to add my talented archer specialization to this…an eight?
GM: Let’s see how the Kraken defends. (rolls a D20 to get 9). The Kraken is a relatively small tentacled being in the midst of a murky pool, and it’s quite adept at getting out of the way, probably thanks to adventurers like all of you. It dodges easily around your arrow, and you hear a distinctive crack as a tentacle snaps the arrow in half.
ARNIE / ARMALAS: Darn. I still have two actions left?
GM: Yep.
ARNIE / ARMALAS: Okay. I think I’m going to prepare for one of those, but not use my advantage right away – I want to reserve it to help one of the other players to defend. For the last action…uh…
FRANK / FILBO: You have some environmental magic, right? Could you do something like, boil the pool? I bet it won’t like hot water.
ARNIE / ARMALAS: …can I do that?
GM: You can certainly try. Water heats pretty slowly though, so I’m going to say you can’t do it in a single spell; you’ll have to successfully heat it 3 times until it gets uncomfortable for the Kraken.
ARNIE / ARMALAS: Hmm…well I don’t have anything more interesting to do. Other people have environmental magic too, right?
(GEORGIA / GRIMLY and HALEY / HANDS-OFF nod)
ARNIE / ARMALAS: Okay, let’s boil this pond. (rolls a D20) A 17?
GM: You can tell the water got a couple of degrees warmer. That’s your turn, so next up are the kraklings. There are 5 of them. 2 of them go after you, Armalas, so please roll . The other three each attack one of you.
ARNIE / ARMALAS: One of us has advantage!
GM: Oh, that’s right. Who gets it, Armalas?
ARNIE / ARMALAS: I think Filbo. (to FRANK / FILBO) You’re pretty weak, right?
FRANK / FILBO: (as Filbo) Rude. But yes, that is true.
GM: Okay, everyone roll and tell me what you get. Filbo, you have advantage. Armalas, you have to roll twice.
(EVERYONE rolls, the GM rolling 5 times to represent each of the kraklings. ARMALAS ends up with a 4 and a 15; FILBO rolls a 2 and a critical hit (20), of which only the 20 counts; HANDS-OFF gets an 9, and GRIMLY gets a 10)
FRANK / FILBO: Nat 20! Suck it, kraklings!
GM: Nice. The krakling who went after you burns a resilience point defending against your attack. It’s still standing, but looking pretty messed up. Armalas, you’re looking at losing 2 resilience points, as one of the kraklings ganging up on you lands a really solid hit.
ARNIE / ARMALAS: Can I use an energy point to re-roll?
GM: Sure. That’s your last point of the day?
ARNIE / ARMALAS: Yep. (rolls a D20) Okay, now I’ve got a 8.
GM: Okay, just 1 resilience point now to Armalas. Hands-Off, you’re in the clear, but Grimly, your krakling managed to find a weakpoint in your shoulder guard, which is going to take out a whole 4 resilience points.
GEORGIA / GRIMLY: Oof, I only have 2. So I take a consequence then?
GM: Yep.
GEORGIA / GRIMLY: Maybe a big bruise that keeps me from my full range of motion? I only want to take a mild consequence.
GM: That tracks. So, you’ll have disadvantage on attacks, but otherwise can operate pretty normally. With that, Filbo, it is your turn…
Elemental Magic
A world where the elements of the universe play a major role in the ways characters interact with each other and the environment.
Abilities
Fire (FIR). The character’s affinity towards fire or firey aspects of their personality (e.g. ambition). Grants fire magic.
Water (WAT). The character’s affinity towards water or water-like aspects of their personality (e.g. flexibility). Grants water magic.
Earth (EAR). The character’s affinity towards earth or stony aspects of their personality (e.g. loyalty). Grants earth magic.
Air (AIR). The character’s affinity towards air or airy aspects of their personality (e.g. evasion). Grants air magic.
Resilience (RES). The character’s ability to adapt to change or weather hard times.
Harmony (HAR). The character’s ability to build ties across extreme differences.
Additional Mechanics
Each school of elemental magic is only available to characters with at least a +2 in that school (unless their traits would indicate otherwise, such as the non-magical Sock).
Characters
Tang, the childish air magician who is destined to save the world.
Kiara, the stubborn water magician who is discovering her heritage.
Sock, the non-magical warrior who wants to make their family proud.
Space Western
Combining the gritty lawlessness of the American Old West and the vastness of space, characters in a Space Western world have to build fierce loyalties and wide skillsets (that don’t always fit within the law) to survive and thrive.
Abilities
Combat (COM). How effective a character is in battle, with their weapon of choice.
Focus (FOC). How in-tune this character is with their brain and its abilities. Controls psionic magic.
Subtlety (SUB). How easily this character can blend into their surroundings, either literally or socially.
Loyalty (LOY). How easily this character maintains steady relationships with others.
Sweet-talking (SWE). How easily other characters are swayed by this character’s arguments.
Empathy (EMP). How easily this character can understand the perspective of others
Characters
Mel, the impulsive captain of the crew who just wants to keep flying.
Imelda, the empathi counselor who hates that she has a crush on Mel.
Fjord, the psionically-gifted kid who discovered their powers through trauma.
Jill, the no-nonsense mercenary who’d sell his grandmother for a good payday.
Cyberpunk
In worlds where technology has developed to a degree where the line between humanity and machines are blurred, tech-based abilities sit at equal footing with core human abilities.
Abilities
Brawn (BRA). Pure physical ability, no mods required.
Stealth (STE). The ability to blend in to your surroundings or the crowd.
Perception (PER). Innate ability to notice what is happening around you.
Hacking (HAC). Capacity to manipulate the digital world, especially in unexpected ways.
Cybernetics (CYB). Comfort and capability in using technological mods to enhance your own abilities.
Networking (NET). Connecting to the rest of the world, whether human or digital.
Characters
Proto, the cynical engineer who wants to understand what the world really is.
Shifteus, the experienced hacker who needs to save humanity, no matter the cost.
Duo, the street-wise street racer who chooses to trust even when all evidence points to the contrary.
Intrigue
Worlds that center intrigue are filled with mysteries, secrets, and factions. On the surface, they may appear everyday, but as you dive deeper, you can discover deep conspiracies and the puppetmasters who control them. Direct combat is not very common in the worlds of intrigue; instead, characters seek to unravel a plot with a mix of above and below board techniques that give them the upper hand. There’s no magic in this world; just people being corrupted by power and people resisting that corruption.
Abilities
Diplomacy (DIP). How adept this character is with using formal and sanctioned methods to gather information. Official representatives and straight-shooters prefer diplomacy over subterfuge.
Subterfuge (SUB). How capable this character is when it comes to gathering information under the radar, with questionable means.Spies and private eyes prefer subterfuge over diplomacy.
Resources (RES). How well-equipped is this character, both in gadgets and in money. State-sanctioned individuals often have more resources than individual contractors.
Connections (CON). How well connected this character is to other people in the world. Individual contractors may have a wider personal network than state-sanctioned individuals.
Influence (INF). How convincing this character is with other people in the world. Using your influence brings more allies into your fold, but also introduces new expectations that can divert you.
Ruthlessness (RUT). How easily this character makes decisions that support their mission, but injure others in the process. Ruthless decisions are often the most effective in the moment, but damage your reputation.
Characters
Jane Bomms, a secret agent focused on protecting their country with a weakness for romance.
Additional Mechanics
Reputation. In the world of intrigue, how you’re perceived matters more than who you actually are. Your actions affect your reputation in the world, and how that world wishes to interact with you subsequently.
Your reputation score changes any time you level up, moving up to your level in either positive or negative directions. The change is determined by your GM. Reputation can apply at the group or at the character level.