[This project is licensed under the Open Game License, v.1.0a.]({% link open-game-license.md %})
This is a Work-in-Progress, meaning this page is not complete by any means. Keep an eye on updates through Github's repository for this project.
- What Is a Roleplaying Game?
- What Is Needed for Successful Gameplay?
- The Core Mechanic
- Rolling on a Maybe (?)
- Reading the Dice
- Dice Notation
- Rolling the Dice
If roleplaying games are new to you, they can feel daunting when attempting to tackle them as a gaming concept. Don't worry, though. Roleplaying games are quite easy to understand conceptually: They are about friendly collaboration between multiple players, including the player known as the Referee (REF), and they are about playing a fictional role or taking on a fictional role within a large, collective narrative world or universe.
Collaboration is key here. Collaboration is a form of entertainment, and it is a way to produce exciting outcomes and not boring, uneventful gaming experiences. Quite the opposite. Collaboration between players is the best way to develop each player character (PC), explore the narrative space (i.e., the game's world or universe), and craft wonderful, enriching experiences that will stick with each player, even the REF.
Like most roleplaying games on the market, players will need the following items and supplies for successful gameplay:
- Two (2) ten-sided dice
- Pens, pencils, and highlighters
- Scratch paper, 5x8-inch notecards, or even notebook paper
- A variety of colored poker chips, pennies, or glass gemstones
- These rules
- A place to play (e.g., a large room, Discord server, convention area, etc.)
- Time to play (45+ minutes minimum)
Everything a player character might possibly attempt that could result in consequential failure is accomplished by testing the character in question through a YES, NO, or MAYBE assessment. Depending on the character's stats and available action points, they can perform an action automatically (YES), after spending the requisite action points, resolving the conflict or solving the problem at hand (automatically). Characters might lack the necessary action points and/or stats that allow them to take action (NO), which means they could be facing some serious trouble. The third option results in a need to roll two (2) ten-sided dice, referred to as the d100, which means there is a serious chance of failure (MAYBE). The player under the third option will spend the requisite action points, and then they will roll dice to determine if they have succeeded or failed at a given task.
The YES (✓), NO (✘), and MAYBE (?) assessment is at the heart of all consequential actions taken within the game. YES indicates automatic success in certain areas, if the player has enough action points to spend to make it happen. NO indicates automatic failure if attempted or the character cannot possibly takcle the problem/task, as they don't have the means to do so, even if they have action points to spend. MAYBE indicates there is some chance concerning whether a character will be successful or unsuccessful. Again, this means a player must spend action points and then roll against a predetermined target number to see if they have succeeded or failed in their task.
Creatures, non-player characters (NPCs), and other such encounters must complete a YES, NO, MAYBE assessment as well—characters will need to avoid their onslaughts by taking the appropriate action or counter-action.
When rolling to determine if a MAYBE action is going to succeed or fail, the group's Referee might use the following table to determine the target number a player will need to roll under or equal to on a d100 to succeed.
| Difficulty Descriptor | d100 Target Number |
|---|---|
| Demigod | 20/30 or lower |
| Legendary | 40 or lower |
| Epic | 50 or lower |
| Fantastic | 60 or lower |
| Good | 70 or lower |
| Fair | 80 or lower |
| Easy | 90 or lower |
There are two (2) kinds of dice that are used to either determine success (or failure) or develop encounters, challenges, and locales that players will deal with in-game. The first, and most common, is the ten-sided die (referred to as a d10). The scores produced on a singular d10 range from one (1) to ten (10 or 0). The final dice type used in this game system is a hundred-sided die (referred to as a d100). This die, comprised of two ten-sided dice (see below), producing results ranging from zero (represented as 00 on two ten-sided dice) up to ninety-nine (99). Lower is always better on a d100.
There are often two kinds of ten-sided dice sold at game shops, online retailers, and elsewhere. A standard ten-sided die has results between 01 and 10 (which is represented as a zero (0) on a single, standard d10). It has become increasingly common in game shop dice sets to see a d10 that has 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 0, and a second, accompanying d10 with 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, and 00. A combination of 00 and 0 should still be read as a zero (0) score (see table below).
| d10 (Tens) | d10 (Ones) | d100 (Score) |
|---|---|---|
| 00 | 0 | 0 |
| 00 | 1 | 01 |
| 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 90 | 9 | 99 |
| 9 | 9 | 99 |
| 1 | 1 | 11 |
| 50 | 9 | 59 |
| 3 | 8 | 38 |
| 20 | 0 | 20 |
| 2 | 0 | 20 |
Dice are referred to through their shorthand dice notations: e.g., d10 (ten-sided die) and d100 (a hundred-sided die).
A d100, comprised of two (2) ten-sided dice, which designates one ten-sided die as the tens digit (say a red or black die) and the other as the ones digit (say a white or blue die), is the main die for resolving MAYBE actions.
00 is always read as zero (0) and not as one hundred (100). The lowest numeric score possible is zero (0), and the highest numeric score is ninety-nine (99).
When rolling a d100, lower is always better. Lower dice rolls mean more impactful successes. Higher tends to mean more problematic failures. 00 is an automatic success. In most cases, 99 is considered an automatic failure.
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