Simple D6 3ed

-SD6 3ed. by Mads "Shadowplay" Rønne

What is it all about? Task Resolution Chart

Simple d6, or SD6, is a super-lite, free-form roleplaying Roll Success? Degree of Success
system which can be used for all settings and is written for 1 No, and... 0 Critical Failure
people who hate explaining advanced systems or just love 2 No 0 Failure
simplicity in their games. It can be summarized by taking
one dice for each skill which would help in the given 3 Yes, but... 1 Partial Success
situation and add one – then roll them and take the highest 4 Yes 2 Success
result and you are done. 5 Yes 3 Success

Character Creation 6 Yes, and... 4 Critical Success

7 Yes, and..., and... 5 Critical Success
To make a character, find a concept (a profession for
instance) and a name you like. You start with1 Quality, 5 If a task is hard but manageable without specialist
Skills, 5 Hit Points and 1 Defense in all Aspects. You may knowledge, the Game Master may impose a penalty to the
give up 1 Skill to get either +2 Hit Points in a single Aspect roll. The penalty is subtracted from the final result of the
or +1 Defense in a single Aspect per Skill you gave up. roll. This is called a Point Penalty.
Aspects are different areas of interaction and relevant Advanced Tasks are tasks which require specialist
Aspects will change from game to game. Common Aspects knowledge. When performing an advanced task, roll 1 dice
are Combat, Social, Magic or Sanity for instance. There is fewer than normal – this may reduce you to 0 dice, making
an theoretically an infinite number of aspects so make sure the task impossible. This is called a Dice Penalty.
to ask your Game Master which Aspects will be used Easy tasks are never rolled for. If a task is easy enough
before the game. to confer a bonus to a roll, just assume it was a success.
Skills are free-form and entirely made up by the player.
Skills may be as broad to cover a field of expertise but Character progression
should never be usable outside a specific area. Skills like
"Close Combat" is as broad as it should get but you can Every session the Game Master may choose to give all
build on top of this with increasingly specific skills like players 1-4 points of experience. For 2 points of experience,
Sword Fighting followed by Stabbing if you wish. players may buy a new skill relevant to what happened in
Qualities are very broad skills, jobs or stereotypes like the session. One extra hit point costs 3 experience points
Charismatic, Strong, Soldier, Diplomat, Ranger or Smart and one extra Defense costs 4 experience points.
for instance. You can only have a single Quality.
Special Powers
Task Resolution
Special powers, which are abilities such as spell casting,
When rolling for task resolution, count how many psionics or special powers granted by mutations for instance,
Skills/Qualities you have which would reasonably help you are performed like any other task resolution except that they
doing the task at hand and add one. That is the number of are always considered Advanced Tasks. You must have
dice you roll. After rolling, pick one dice which becomes specific permission from your Game Master to pick any
your result and add 1 for every natural 6 remaining. magical or psionics related skill since not all settings treat
Interactions which are not actively resisted, like such things equally.
scenery or environment, use the "Success?" column on the When using a power, the Game Master decides the
Task Resolution Chart. Rolling a Critical Failure means that outcome as per normal task resolution rules. Attack powers
you fail and a single bad thing happens, a Partial Success deal damage as normal combat but may have additional
means that you succeed but not completely (or something effects at the Game Masters discretion. Duration and effect
bad happens despite your success) and a Critical Success is determined by degree of success of the Task Resolution.
means that you succeed and a single good thing happens. 1 Some Game Masters may rule that you can only use a
additional good thing happens per point the roll exceeded 6. power if you have a skill of the same name. For instance,
Character/NPC related interactions, are all you must have the Fireball skill to cast a fireball spell.
considered a form of combat, be it social combat, physical Others may prefer more freeform and allow skills
combat or magical combat. You roll 1d6 plus a number of like ”Psionics” to mean anything from telekinesis to mind
dice equal to the Skills/Qualities which would help you in reading or any other psionics related power. Depending on
the relevant situation, the opponent subtracts his Defense in what kind of special powers your character has and how
that Aspect from your Degree of Success and the rest is lost common they are in the setting, they may require a Quality
in Hit Points from that Aspect. When a character reaches 0 to activate or even be a Quality in themselves. Ask your
or less hit points in the Aspect he loses that match. You got Game Master what approach will be used.
your information, got your discount or your opponent
dropped unconscious. Remember to deduct the opponents
Defense before resolving hit point loss.
 Simple D6 3ed
-SD6 3ed. by Mads "Shadowplay" Rønne

Q&A and clarifications

Q: How does ”and...” or "but" actually work? What, for Q: How many spells can I cast and what do they do?
instance, happens of someone rolls 8 on kicking in a door? A: It is up to the setting and the Game Master but it would be a
A: A roll of 8 gives 3 additional effects: One for rolling 6, good idea to run through some basic spells you want and agree
one for rolling 7 and one for rolling 8. Examples could be on the effect of them with your Game Master. Some will want
that you manage to kick in the door AND it hits a guard in to run free form mages able to bend space and time while
the room AND it stuns him AND his helmet flies off, hitting others will prefer to run classical DnD wizards who have to
the other guard in the room, stunning him as well. "But" is learn every spell individually. Just make sure Game Master
the reverse and in the above case, the door would be kicked and player agree what kind of spells are available.
in BUT very loudly, alerting all nearby guards to the situation.
Q: How do I play this with a Lovecraftian horror theme?
Q: How does combat work? A: Do what feels right for your style of play – that is the most
A: Exactly like any other Character/NPC related interactions important thing. Streamlining it with the rest of the system,
action. Hit points are self-explanatory and Defense is damage treat Sanity as another Aspect and have arcane horrors deal
reduction from dodge, armor, or what suits your fancy. Sanity damage when they attack and when characters cast
spells (if applicable). Psychologists can only “heal” the last
Q: How does various Defenses and kinds of Hit Points work? batch of Sanity lost by characters, ensuring that the ultimate
A: Different Aspects (or situations if you will), have different end for any character is retirement or insanity.
Defenses and Hit Points. These can be social, combat or
whatever else fits the setting. All Defenses and Hit Points Q: I still don't get those skills. How do I pick skills?
start at 1 and 5 respectively but can be increased by A: You make up your own skills. If more skills feels like they
sacrificing skills or getting experience. You only improve could help you in a given task then they add a d6 to your roll.
either Defense OR Hit Points and only in a single Aspect. Hit Generally you can go with whatever the setting and your Game
Points regenerate at a rate determined by the Game Master. Master allows but make sure not to confuse ”Skills” with
Normally Combat Hit Points, for instance, will be regained Qualities or super powers unless you are playing a super hero
over time whereas Social Hit Points will usually recover game and/or your Game Master approves. Remember that
instantly after a conversation. Hit points do not affect each more than a few overlapping skills are generally not it – partly
other between Aspects so getting beat in a debate does not because you get a boring paper cut-out of a character and
hinder combat for instance. partly because the statistical increase in effect from even 2 to 3
dice in the same task is relatively minor and increases very
Q: What do I do with different weapons and damage? slowly as you can see on the Probability Chart below:
A: It depends on the game you want to play. If you want to Probability Chart
play gritty and dangerous games, let small weapons deal 1 Result 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "hit" "crit"
extra damage, hand weapons 2 extra damage and double
DoS 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 66.6% -
handed weapons deal 3 extra damage. If you want more
relaxed and survivable games, reduce damage for not using 1 dice 16.7% 16.7% 16.7% 16.7% 16.7% 16.7% - - 66.6% 17%

weapons for instance and do not give any bonus to damage 2 dice 2.8% 8.3% 13.9% 19.4% 25% 27.8% 2.8% - 75% 31%
for using weapons. If you want more detail, give heavy 3 dice 0.5% 3.2% 8.8% 17.1% 28.2% 34.7% 6.9% 0.5% 88% 42%
weapons a -1 point penalty to hit and balance it out adding
bonus damage if they actually hit, and vice versa with
Q: Where can I see sample characters or this game online?
smaller weapons. For instance, a two-handed battle axe could A: Sample characters the original Simple d6 can be found at:
give -1 to-hit but +4 damage (effectively, +3 damage but
http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Simple_D6_-_Third_Edition
harder to actually hit with) while a rapier could give +1 to-hit
and no bonus damage (effectively +1 damage total while
About: First edition was made on /tg/ June 23rd 2011. Second
being easier to hit with)
edition is made and maintained on 1d4chan. The author of all
three editions is the same. Probability Chart is made by
Q: How do I handle combat initiative? NotBradX. 3×5 character sheet below made by Minty
A: Roll 1 dice plus a number of dice equal to the relevant
Skills/Qualities. Pick any 1 dice and add 1 to that dice for
each natural 6 remaining of the dice you rolled. The player
rolling highest goes first, then the next in line etc.

Q: How should I handle Armor in the rules?

A: Let it be the players reason for having 1 damage reduction
in the first place or give 1-2 more Defense in combat
situations and possibly some drawbacks for heavy armor as
well. Remember that 1 more defense means that opponents
must roll at least 5 to even wound the player and that is
assuming the character has the standard defense of 1 so if
you make armor give more Defense it will be very hard to
damage characters in normal combat situations
 Simple D6 3ed
-SD6 3ed. by Mads "Shadowplay" Rønne

Puck, the Apprentice Dmetriev Hemlov, Government Fugitive

- sample fantasy character for Simple D6 - sample science fiction character for Simple D6

Well, he isn't the sturdiest of apprentices, but he is determined. Educated in one of the thousands of 'Guidance Facilities' spread
Not particularly likable, or strong-willed. Capable of studying across the planet, Dmetriev was just another number in the system.
but not at delivering anything insightful or creative. Like most Average in nearly every respect, he lived just as any other
petitioners to the wizard's tower on the outskirts of the village, he unexceptional child would until the age of fourteen, when he
is turned away after the most basic of training is completed. discovered the handwritten family logs. A recording of histroy
dating well before the Revolution, the papers had been arranged
Puck knew just enough to realize how little he could contribute into a tome by his great grandfather, hand bound and hidden in
to society. For weeks after his ejection from the care of Athatos, the subcellar of the home his family had lived in for six
he laid on the straw mat in his parent's hut, picking at his boils generations under the Republic since, according the tome, his
and sobbing into the wizard's cap he had saved for. It turns out ancestors were religious fugitives.
being the smartest son of the smartest potato farmer doesn't get
you very far. He had been indoctrinated for ten years by the system, the
eduction, the Youth Leagues of Rakarskia, but his beliefs had
The innkeeper hired him though, as he wasn't a man for words been challenged the day of the discovery, and over two years he
himself, much less the foreign tongues he had to deal with as read portions of the text. He began to raise tough questions in his
adventurers passed through. Puck was eager to prove his worth. classes, citing information and events that had been buried for
nigh on centuries. Teachers became alarmed quickly at the
Things became progressively worse for the inn though, as the tendancies of Dmetriev, and reported the instances to the
King's Road was constructed. Bypassing the village entirely, the authorities. But the teen caught wind of the deceptions and read
most excitement that could be seen in the once bustling common the tome ferociously, shirking the Youth League musters to finish
room was when the blacksmith would pass out in his warm, before it was found and seized. The last entry was the most
watered down ale and sputter back awake. Puck realized he had curious, and changed his outlook on his childhood. It was made
to move on. by his mother, the second and last entry made by her on the day of
his birth. It stated the event, and his name, and the promises she
Having been rejected by every family whose daughter he made to her own mother for the child. He will be different, it said,
attempted to court, much less the daughters themselves, he had I will not let him become a statistic, not like the others.
no attachments to the village. His mother and father were more
than willing to hand him a sack of potatoes, and send him on his Two days later the Inquisitors came in the early morning, three of
way. His sticky, straw bed was summarily burned. them in a single black car. They spoke little, and Dmetriev was
only awakened by the gunshots as several of the other farm
After a few hours of trudging down the now desolate road, he workers tried to escape into the surrounding fields. One of the
was exhausted, his sack full of potatoes and broken dreams. The Inquisitors remained inside the house standing over the body of
ruts of wagon wheels and clods of hardened horse shit were the family dog as he screamed questions at Dmetrievs parents, so
constant obstacles to his slow and plodding steps. ingrained in his work that he didn't hear Dmetriev slip out the
door. As the teen started up the Car he heard the shouted warning
He had to get away from here. Far away to a better life. of his indoctrinated father and the sobs of his mother, and as he
sped away he was pursued by bullets. He ran. He had to get out of
Hit Points: 5 there - away from the pursuers
Defense: 1
Quality: Can get back on the feet after any failure Hit Points: 5
Skills: Petty Magic, Running, Herbalism, History, Sign Language Hit Points - Combat: 7
Defense: 1
Quality: Inquisitive and Curious
Skills: Self Defense, Pistol Use, Revolution History, Handyman
 Simple D6 3ed
-SD6 3ed. by Mads "Shadowplay" Rønne

Abdul Al Hamid, Freedom Fighter Jeremiah Friedman, Imperial Battle Psycher

- sample modern character for Simple D6 - sample 40k, grimdark science fiction character for Simple D6

Abdul was born in a wealthy family near Bagdad. He spent his Jeremiah was born on the mining world of Trachis IX and when
childhood being taught the Quran, the words of the Prophet he was young, the Imperial Inquisition came for him. Not because
Mohammed and the pillars on which he would later base his life. he was intrinsically bad or evil but because, they said, he had a
very special and potentially heretical gift which could cost him
Neither Abdul, nor his family were ever really religious and they his immortal soul. Jeremiah did not, at the time, know what an
were actively fighting against the local terrorist cells because immortal soul was like but his mother and father had told him to
they were a serious threat to the local economy on which the Al follow the Commissar so he did.
Hamid family depended.
Jeremiah spent the next twelve years in the fold of the Imperial
One day, the local warlord and his men came to the house. They Inquisition in training as a psyker. They taught him about the
killed the servants and the animals and caught the family in the glory of the emperor, how psykers were lucky because they could
cellar as prisoners to be bargained with. serve the emperor both in life and in death and how the evil and
filthy xenos were all trying to overthrow humanity. This scared
The Americans did not bargain. Jeremiah but at the same time the thought, that all these valiant
men and women who were protecting all of us, reassured him that
The last thing Abdul remembered was an ear sundering roar of he was in good hands. He would do whatever he could to serve
engines followed you an immense blast of flames, rocks and the emperor!
debree. When he woke up, it was night. He looked around and
saw his childhood home in ruins and his family lay dead along Then the day came – Jeremiah graduated his final tests and was
the ruins together with the warlord and his soldiers. ceremonially sanctioned as an Imperial Psyker. It was an amazing
ceremony and even the Custodes who had initially found him and
The Americans had just bombed the house without regard for rescued him from the warp, which would have surely consumed
Abdul or his family! Abdul was enraged and filled with a feeling him had he not been taken away to this divine facility for training,
of betrayal. He and his family had supported the Americans for was there. Jeremiah was proud.
all these years and actively supported them and this was the pay
he would get? The week went on and suddenly Jeremiah got a note that he was
assigned with a team of Imperial Guards the farming world
Four months later, Abdul looked out of the gate of the freedom Helsing VII which had all but vanished from the Astropaths
rebels camp where he had been in training. It was time. His network. With a team of 21 guardsmen, they took off.
superior officer shouted out the final orders and Abdul hang the
Kalashnikov by the shoulder. It was time to move out against the Helsing VII had the markings of a planet which had once been a
filthy American pigs. Time for revenge. lush world but now it was all but barren. One of the first nights
the camp was over run. No one saw who did it or what happened
Hit Points: 5 but the next morning they also found half decomposed bodies of
Defense: 1 what appeared to be the original population.
Defense – Combat: 2
Quality: Survivalist no Matter the Cost They were only a handful of guardsmen and Jeremiah left. This
Skills: Rifles, Wilderness Survival, Explosives, Killing Traitors was his final test, Jeremiah thought as they prepared for what to
do next. May the God Emperor watch over us all.

Hit Points: 5
Defense: 1
Quality: Controlled Mind
Skills: Psionic, Telekinesis, Levitate, Languages and Stuff Like
That, Shooting Stuff with Las Weapons
 Simple D6 3ed
-SD6 3ed. by Mads "Shadowplay" Rønne

Percival Winthrop Orrington, Gentleman Dennis Harlow, Nagaraja Vagabond

- sample modern/low fantasy character for Simple D6 - sample modern fledging vampire for Simple D6

It was a crisp sunday morning, and Percival Winthrop Orrington Dennis used to be in med school and was really facinated by the
was enjoying his the end of his brunch with a particularly well disection classes and anatomy. One day during a disection he
made cup of tea for this region, which he made strict note to ask accidentally stumbled while cutting, calling over and landing face
the innkeeper what leaf was used and to leave a well deserved tip. first into the cadaver, getting some of it in his mouth.
As he sipped, his companion, a lecherous rogue finally awoke
and descended the inn's stairs. A vulgar, if not useful, wretch if He was disgusted and embarressed as the rest of the class laughed
Percival had ever met one. him out of the room. A few years later, Dennis graduated in
medschool and became an attending at the local hospital. He never
quite forgot that taste of human flesh though. No matter what he did,
"Oi, Percy, wot 'ave ye got there?"
it was always nagging in the back of his head.
"Please refrain from calling me "Percy", if you would. And this is One day in the morgue he couldnt resist the temptation anymore. He
is a cup of tea, sir." cut a small piece of the cadaver he was disecting and put it in his
mouth. It was cold and the second it touched his tongue he spat it out,
"Wot ye drinkin' tea fer Percy? Ye ain't summun's mum fer cryin disgusted with himself. He looked up confused why the hell he had
out...." even considered in the first place. Suddenly he realised that the door
to the morgue was open and the chief of residence sood there in the
Vulgar. Yet as the unclean man walked towards the door, a doorway looking shocked at Dennis.
particularly large man stood up, with two others brandishing
clubs. 2 days later, Dennis handed in his letter of resignation and in the mail
he found a letter, reliving him of the rights to ever practice medicine
"We've been waiting for you, bastard! You slept with my again. Dennis became depressed and cynical. Why should be be fired
daughter!" over something as trivial as that? The guy was dead and its not like
anyone would ever have found out if that door had been locked!
The rogue backed away slowly, hand on a shortsword at his hip.
as the men in front of him tried to circle around him. He began wandering. First just for a few hours at a time, then a few
days at a time. Over a few years, he started being gone for entire
This was twice that the rogue had disheveled a maiden's virtue months at a time. With no income to pay the rent, he was eventually
evicted and left to wander the streets.
whilst travelling together. And again, Percival stood up.
One night under a bridge, Dennis was eating a can of beans - the first
"Gentlemen. I understand your feelings towards my companion, meal in 4 days - when another vagabond approached him with a knife.
and you are certianly entitled to redeem the honor of your Dennis was left there in the night, hungry and without food or even a
daughter. However, my companion would surely attempt to harm shop to steal from within many miles. He was starving - perhaps if he
you further than the situation calls for. If I could intervene on his pleaded to his robber he would be shown mercy? Dennis followed
behalf, perhaps fisticuffs could satisfy you..." the trail his assailant had left and soon found a small campfire with
the vagabond sleeping besides it, knife near the head.
The tea would have to wait. For friends, even foul friends, must
be protected. The next day Dennis woke up, covered in blood and strangely not
hungry anymore. It had just all gone black and he had no recollection
Hit Points: 5 of what had happened the night before. As he opened his eyes to the
Defense: 1 caress of the morning sun, he froze.
Defense – Social: 2
Quality: Stiff Upper Lip A half-eaten corpse was laying in front of him. Dennis was horrified.
Skills: Fisticuffs, Gentlemanly Light Conversation Facts About Had he really done this? Was this really what he had become? This
Anything and Everything, Bartitsu, Physically Fit as a Proper was never what he wanted! The rest of the day, he just sat there, back
Gentleman should Be under the bridge. Terrified, mystified and alone. What had made him
do such atrocities?

As the sun had set, a voice came from the night. Dennis looked up
and saw another man staring at him, smiling.

"I know what you did my friend, and I can help you".
"Who are you?!" Dennis screamed, terrified.
"A friend. I have been observing you for some time Dennis. I think
you will fit well into our family. Come and I will show you a world
you never dreamed of..."

Hit Points: 5
Defense: 1
Quality: Academic
Skills: Anatomy, Medicine, Basic Self-Defense, Carve all Sorts of
Meat Living or Dead, Sneaky