control+V of draft rules (enjoy!):
The Game:
A long time ago Role Playing Games were fun and simple. Over time they grew more and more complex. The focus shifted from combat to role-playing. This shift unintentionally made Role Playing Games inaccessible to many potential players.
This game is a very light version of a modern Role Playing Game. The focus of this game is a classic dungeon crawl where the players fight monsters and creatures to gain power and treasure. This is a pure combat version which has more in common with a video game than role playing game.
To play this game you will need: players, 6 sided dice (at lest one) and pencils and paper (graph paper is best). The game requires the ability to read and do addition and subtraction. With some assistance a 6 year old could play the game. It was designed to be picked up and played quickly over short gaming sessions.
In this document character attributes will be in bold font, the use of the lower case "d" following a number indicates rolling the preceding number of dice. For example: 3d indicates to either roll 3 dice or one die 3 times, 1d+2 indicates to roll one die and add 2 to the result. All abbreviations and acronyms will be defined the first time they are used.
The World:
In the ancient times of wonder, Wizard-kings took the power of the stars and ruled the world with magic. They ruled entire nations with their spells and magic. In the centuries of their rule great cities were built around their palaces. Great treasure was taken from the depths of the world and wrought into magical items of wonder and beauty. Magical races rose from the very ground to live in all corners of the world.
After many centuries of peace the Wizard-kings grew mad with power and the age of darkness came. Twisted with age and insanity, these Wizard-kings created armies of magical monsters. They attacked and corrupted the lands with the evils of death and war. The great cities fell, the magical creatures disappeared. Treasures were hidden below the ground in vast labyrinths to protect them from armed invaders and thieves.
Now is the time after the age of darkness, the age of adventure. The Wizard-kings are now fallen. Their power is only in the shadows of forbidden places. The races of creatures that once served the Wizard-kings are now nations. Farmers till the fields, merchants travel and trade with other towns and nations along well-traveled roads and waterways.
5. Creation
Character Concept:
To play the game you must create a character. In this game this process is very simple. The game is all about combat, but that does not prevent you from thinking of your character as an individual. How they look, how they dress, where they are from and how they fight are all important considerations. A character might be a human blacksmith seeking adventure, or a exiled elf who is on a quest to be able to return to his people with honor. The character might be a spy for the goblin king or a mixed-breed half giant who townsfolk consider evil. The character might have been a normal human who changed after contact with a magical artifact and is seeking a cure. The character might be a student of the old ways of magic and is seeking the knowledge hidden ages ago. Let your imagination run wild.
This will be your character sheet when you play the game. It will contain all the details you need about your character to play the game. It is important to use pencil when using this sheet. In this game details about your character will change and it is no fun to constantly cross out things or use extra paper, the ability to make changes is important.
To begin using this sheet, you can immediately fill out the Name and Description of your character. Use any name you wish and make the description enough to help you remember your mental picture of this character.
On the left side you will see 3 attributes; Attack, Defend and Move. Attack is your ability to attack and do damage in the game. Defend is your ability to avoid attacks in the game. If you have an Attack or Defend above 10 then you get a bonus of 1 per point, below 10 then you get a penalty of 1 per point. For example, an 11 will get you a +1 while a 8 will get you a -2. Move is how far you can run in a turn, roughly it is equal to 3 feet per point. Attack and Defend both start out at 10 each, Move starts out at 5.
The points may be moved to different attributes to customize your character. If you imagined a strong warrior who was not fast but very tough then you might make Attack 11 and Defend 10 and Move 4. If you imagined an elf who was fast then you might make Attack 9 Defend 10 and Move 6.
Finally determine equipment you have to start with. Roll 1d for your starting Gold. You may use this gold to purchase equipment, weapons, armor or spell training or you can use it to increase Attack, Defend and Move. Any remaining gold should be written on your character sheet under equipment. If you don't buy a weapon or spell then you are limited to physical attacks like punching or kicking.
The chart below lists common equipment and prices for the equipment. Armor, weapons and spells affect the player's attributes while the item is in use. In the chart a D stands for Damage and refers to the average amount of damage the item can do. A weapon with a D of 3 can do 3 points of damage or 1d can be rolled. In the chart R stands for Range and like move is measured in squares (which are about 3 feet). This is the range a weapon is most effective, to use a weapon out of range you have a penalty of -1to Attack per 2 squares. In the chart AOE stands for Area of Effect and is the number of squares which receive damage when the weapon or spell is used. In the chart ROU stands for Rate of Use and is the number of times per turn the item can be used. A decimal ROU means that the item can't be used every turn, so the player must only defend until the item can be used again.
If you are a magic user, you can spend points to learn the following spells:
Your character should now be complete and ready for your first adventure. To add fun to the game, be sure you have thought about a good reason why your character is willing to go into the unknown places and face new challenges and possible death. As you will hopefully be playing with other characters, try to be friendly to other players and treat them the way you like to be treated.
6. Mechanics
In this game, there are the players who have characters of their own and play together to achieve victory. There is also a Game Master who understands the rules of the game and is in control of everything the players are not in control of, such as Non Player Characters.
Most of the action in this game comes from getting your character in combat. There are plenty of things that happen other than combat, but the real focus of the game is combat situations. Combat flows through a predictable pattern of Initiative, Movement, Attack, Defense and Damage.
Initiative:
When the players and Non Player Characters are about to get into a fight, a roll is made to see who can go first. Each player and non player rolls 1d and adds their Move attribute. The combat round flows in order from highest to lowest.
Movement:
The winner of initiative can move their player first. In combat movement is essentially running, smooth movements and turns are likely and sharp turns will cost more movement points. A movement point is for each square which is crossed, the square you land on is not counted in the use of movement points.
If a player uses all their movement points to get to a target then once they reach the target they will not be able to attack or defend, as the whole turn was taken up by running as fast as the character is able. It is important to reserve two points when moving, one for an attack once the character stops moving and another to defend.
Not moving will not allow the character to make multiple attacks, the character can attack only one target at a time (for the most part, see the Game Master Section on Combat). If a character has a thrown weapon such as a spear or axe they must use the movement round to get their thrown weapon to use it again. Missile weapons like Bows with arrows are treated as essentially unlimited ammunition during combat itself. It is assumed the user of such weapons has the materials to make more ammunition or recycle used ammunition once combat is over.
Attack:
If everyone is not surprised the fight is coming, and the character is done moving and has movement points left to attack, the player can make an attack to a target in range. Weapon ranges are counted like movement points, squares crossed are counted.
The attacker will roll 3d and adds the Attack modifier for their current attack attribute. Attack above 10 gets a bonus of +1 per point above 10, Attack below 10 gets a penalty of -1 per point below 10.
Defense:
If the target is aware of the impending attack, they become ready to dodge or block the attack. The defender must roll the same number as the attacker or below to avoid damage. On a tie, the defender wins and takes no damage from the attack. The defender rolls 3d and adds the current Defend attribute modifier. There is no extra effort possible in defense, only good modifiers and rolls.
Damage:
On a successful attack, the damage is determined and deducted from the defender's highest attribute. A weapon can do the listed damage (D) or the damage can be rolled. A D of 3 is the same as rolling a 1d, a D of 2 would be 1d-1 and a D of 1 would be 1d-2. Rolling for damage might result in a higher amount of damage just as much as it might result in no damage at all. Write the attribute's current value next to the original value since damage is not permanent and can heal back.
If the target's attributes of Attack or Defend drop below 10, they will suffer a penalty modifier when they attack or defend. If these attributes get too low they will fail all their rolls and become useless in combat and in further danger of death. Once any character is -5 to any roll, they should consider fleeing the battle.
After Combat:
If the characters have access to food and shelter, they can rest for a day or two and heal back to normal. There is no specific rate and it is assumed that adventurers can perform necessary first aid to heal most injuries. The goal of damage in this game is for short combat resolution and not for longer term role playing, so while a realistic approach to injuries would dictate a person with a broken leg can't just sleep it off, in this game they can.
Treasure and items can be traded in towns or between players. 100 silver coins is basically equivalent to 1 gold coin and one gold coin can be used like one point in the character creation process.
A long time ago Role Playing Games were fun and simple. Over time they grew more and more complex. The focus shifted from combat to role-playing. This shift unintentionally made Role Playing Games inaccessible to many potential players.
This game is a very light version of a modern Role Playing Game. The focus of this game is a classic dungeon crawl where the players fight monsters and creatures to gain power and treasure. This is a pure combat version which has more in common with a video game than role playing game.
To play this game you will need: players, 6 sided dice (at lest one) and pencils and paper (graph paper is best). The game requires the ability to read and do addition and subtraction. With some assistance a 6 year old could play the game. It was designed to be picked up and played quickly over short gaming sessions.
In this document character attributes will be in bold font, the use of the lower case "d" following a number indicates rolling the preceding number of dice. For example: 3d indicates to either roll 3 dice or one die 3 times, 1d+2 indicates to roll one die and add 2 to the result. All abbreviations and acronyms will be defined the first time they are used.
The World:
In the ancient times of wonder, Wizard-kings took the power of the stars and ruled the world with magic. They ruled entire nations with their spells and magic. In the centuries of their rule great cities were built around their palaces. Great treasure was taken from the depths of the world and wrought into magical items of wonder and beauty. Magical races rose from the very ground to live in all corners of the world.
After many centuries of peace the Wizard-kings grew mad with power and the age of darkness came. Twisted with age and insanity, these Wizard-kings created armies of magical monsters. They attacked and corrupted the lands with the evils of death and war. The great cities fell, the magical creatures disappeared. Treasures were hidden below the ground in vast labyrinths to protect them from armed invaders and thieves.
Now is the time after the age of darkness, the age of adventure. The Wizard-kings are now fallen. Their power is only in the shadows of forbidden places. The races of creatures that once served the Wizard-kings are now nations. Farmers till the fields, merchants travel and trade with other towns and nations along well-traveled roads and waterways.
Adventurers seek fame, power and wealth as they expand the frontiers of nations into the forbidden lands of magic. Where the Wizard-kings used to dwell great treasure is guarded by powerful forces. Evil still hides in low places and in shadows of the old places. Still, the people who seek adventure go out into the forbidden lands hoping to return victorious and wealthy.
5. Creation
Character Concept:
To play the game you must create a character. In this game this process is very simple. The game is all about combat, but that does not prevent you from thinking of your character as an individual. How they look, how they dress, where they are from and how they fight are all important considerations. A character might be a human blacksmith seeking adventure, or a exiled elf who is on a quest to be able to return to his people with honor. The character might be a spy for the goblin king or a mixed-breed half giant who townsfolk consider evil. The character might have been a normal human who changed after contact with a magical artifact and is seeking a cure. The character might be a student of the old ways of magic and is seeking the knowledge hidden ages ago. Let your imagination run wild.
Once you have a mental picture of what your character might look like, copy the following on a piece of paper:
| Name: | Description: |
| Attack: | Current: |
| Defend: | Current: |
| Move: | Current: |
| Equipment (Weapons/Armor/Spells): |
This will be your character sheet when you play the game. It will contain all the details you need about your character to play the game. It is important to use pencil when using this sheet. In this game details about your character will change and it is no fun to constantly cross out things or use extra paper, the ability to make changes is important.
To begin using this sheet, you can immediately fill out the Name and Description of your character. Use any name you wish and make the description enough to help you remember your mental picture of this character.
On the left side you will see 3 attributes; Attack, Defend and Move. Attack is your ability to attack and do damage in the game. Defend is your ability to avoid attacks in the game. If you have an Attack or Defend above 10 then you get a bonus of 1 per point, below 10 then you get a penalty of 1 per point. For example, an 11 will get you a +1 while a 8 will get you a -2. Move is how far you can run in a turn, roughly it is equal to 3 feet per point. Attack and Defend both start out at 10 each, Move starts out at 5.
The points may be moved to different attributes to customize your character. If you imagined a strong warrior who was not fast but very tough then you might make Attack 11 and Defend 10 and Move 4. If you imagined an elf who was fast then you might make Attack 9 Defend 10 and Move 6.
Finally determine equipment you have to start with. Roll 1d for your starting Gold. You may use this gold to purchase equipment, weapons, armor or spell training or you can use it to increase Attack, Defend and Move. Any remaining gold should be written on your character sheet under equipment. If you don't buy a weapon or spell then you are limited to physical attacks like punching or kicking.
The chart below lists common equipment and prices for the equipment. Armor, weapons and spells affect the player's attributes while the item is in use. In the chart a D stands for Damage and refers to the average amount of damage the item can do. A weapon with a D of 3 can do 3 points of damage or 1d can be rolled. In the chart R stands for Range and like move is measured in squares (which are about 3 feet). This is the range a weapon is most effective, to use a weapon out of range you have a penalty of -1to Attack per 2 squares. In the chart AOE stands for Area of Effect and is the number of squares which receive damage when the weapon or spell is used. In the chart ROU stands for Rate of Use and is the number of times per turn the item can be used. A decimal ROU means that the item can't be used every turn, so the player must only defend until the item can be used again.
| Adventurer's Pack: Backpack with Rope, sleeping blanket, flint, tinder, torch, water skin, cooking items. | 1 gold |
| Clothing (cloak, robe, sandals, leggings, etc): | 1 gold for an outfit |
| Very Small Hand Weapon (dagger, bat, etc): D: 1 R: 0 | 1 gold |
| Small Hand Weapon (mace, club, knife, etc): D: 2 R: 0 | 2 gold |
| Large Hand Weapon (sword, staff, axe, etc) D: 3 R: 0 | 3 gold |
| Thrown Weapon ( throwing knife, dart, etc): D: 2 R: 4 ROU: .5 | 2 gold |
| Large Missile Weapon (Spear, Bow, etc): D: 3 R: 10 ROU: .5 | 4 gold |
| Light Armor (shield, buckler, leather, etc): Defend: +2 | 2 gold |
| Medium Armor (Mail, Breastplate, shield, etc): Defend: +3 | 3 gold |
| Physical attack (Punch or Kick, etc): D: 1 R: 0 Attack: -1 | 0 |
| Big Physical attack D: 2 R: 0 Attack: -1 ROU: .5 | 0 |
If you are a magic user, you can spend points to learn the following spells:
| Magic Arrow: D: 1 R: 4 | 3 gold |
| Damaging Touch: D: 3 R: 0 | 3 gold |
| Flying Fist: D: 2 R: 4 | 4 gold |
| Ring of Fire: D: 2 R: 0 AOE: 4 ROU: .5 | 4 gold |
| Invisible Armor: Defend: +2 | 2 gold |
| Eye of the Tiger: Attack: +2 | 2 gold |
Your character should now be complete and ready for your first adventure. To add fun to the game, be sure you have thought about a good reason why your character is willing to go into the unknown places and face new challenges and possible death. As you will hopefully be playing with other characters, try to be friendly to other players and treat them the way you like to be treated.
6. Mechanics
In this game, there are the players who have characters of their own and play together to achieve victory. There is also a Game Master who understands the rules of the game and is in control of everything the players are not in control of, such as Non Player Characters.
Most of the action in this game comes from getting your character in combat. There are plenty of things that happen other than combat, but the real focus of the game is combat situations. Combat flows through a predictable pattern of Initiative, Movement, Attack, Defense and Damage.
Initiative:
When the players and Non Player Characters are about to get into a fight, a roll is made to see who can go first. Each player and non player rolls 1d and adds their Move attribute. The combat round flows in order from highest to lowest.
If the fight is a surprise, the first winner of initiative who is ready to make an attack can do so without the defender having a chance to defend. To be a surprise the attacker must have a ready missile/thrown weapon (and be in range) as well as moving quietly (using less than full Move).
Movement:
The winner of initiative can move their player first. In combat movement is essentially running, smooth movements and turns are likely and sharp turns will cost more movement points. A movement point is for each square which is crossed, the square you land on is not counted in the use of movement points.
If a player uses all their movement points to get to a target then once they reach the target they will not be able to attack or defend, as the whole turn was taken up by running as fast as the character is able. It is important to reserve two points when moving, one for an attack once the character stops moving and another to defend.
Not moving will not allow the character to make multiple attacks, the character can attack only one target at a time (for the most part, see the Game Master Section on Combat). If a character has a thrown weapon such as a spear or axe they must use the movement round to get their thrown weapon to use it again. Missile weapons like Bows with arrows are treated as essentially unlimited ammunition during combat itself. It is assumed the user of such weapons has the materials to make more ammunition or recycle used ammunition once combat is over.
Attack:
If everyone is not surprised the fight is coming, and the character is done moving and has movement points left to attack, the player can make an attack to a target in range. Weapon ranges are counted like movement points, squares crossed are counted.
The attacker will roll 3d and adds the Attack modifier for their current attack attribute. Attack above 10 gets a bonus of +1 per point above 10, Attack below 10 gets a penalty of -1 per point below 10.
Before the dice are rolled, the player can choose to use extra effort. The difficulty of the attack can be raised to increase damage, or the damage can be lowered to ensure a easier attack. A harder area to hit on the target might do more damage, for every -1 to the Attack the damage inflicted will go up 1. A easier area to hit on the target will have the opposite effect, for every +1 to the Attack the damage inflicted will go down by 1. The range of an attack can also be extended in the same way, for every -1 to damage or Attack the range is increased by 2 spaces.
The roll is made, then modified (by Attack attribute modifier and then by any difficulty modifier) and the result is determined.Defense:
If the target is aware of the impending attack, they become ready to dodge or block the attack. The defender must roll the same number as the attacker or below to avoid damage. On a tie, the defender wins and takes no damage from the attack. The defender rolls 3d and adds the current Defend attribute modifier. There is no extra effort possible in defense, only good modifiers and rolls.
Damage:
On a successful attack, the damage is determined and deducted from the defender's highest attribute. A weapon can do the listed damage (D) or the damage can be rolled. A D of 3 is the same as rolling a 1d, a D of 2 would be 1d-1 and a D of 1 would be 1d-2. Rolling for damage might result in a higher amount of damage just as much as it might result in no damage at all. Write the attribute's current value next to the original value since damage is not permanent and can heal back.
If the target's attributes of Attack or Defend drop below 10, they will suffer a penalty modifier when they attack or defend. If these attributes get too low they will fail all their rolls and become useless in combat and in further danger of death. Once any character is -5 to any roll, they should consider fleeing the battle.
After Combat:
If the characters have access to food and shelter, they can rest for a day or two and heal back to normal. There is no specific rate and it is assumed that adventurers can perform necessary first aid to heal most injuries. The goal of damage in this game is for short combat resolution and not for longer term role playing, so while a realistic approach to injuries would dictate a person with a broken leg can't just sleep it off, in this game they can.
Treasure and items can be traded in towns or between players. 100 silver coins is basically equivalent to 1 gold coin and one gold coin can be used like one point in the character creation process.
