CREDITS

WRITING & LAYOUT

Richard Woolcock

COVER ILLUSTRATION
Luigi Castellani

INTERIOR A RTWORK
Rick Hershey, Storn Cook

FEEDBACK & PLAYTESTING

Mathew Halstead, Steve Read, Eli Kurtz,
Conrad Erasmus Neubert, Jan Jetmar,
Drew Mierzejewski, Nathan Carmen

LEGALESE
Tricube Tales version 4 © 2019 Richard Woolcock
All text (not art) released under the CC BY 3.0 license

Tricube dice symbol on cover by Lorc, available from

https://game-icons.net under the CC BY 3.0 license

Publisher’s Choice Quality Stock Art © Rick Hershey

/ Fat Goblin Games (www.fatgoblingames.com)

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 CONTENTS
PREFACE 4
INTRODUCTION 5
CHARACTERS 9
Creation 10
Advancement 12
GAME RULES 19
Challenges 20
Combat 26
Archetypes 28
Perks 31
Quirks 36
GENRE RULES 37
Cybernetics 38
Fear & Insanity 38
Hack-and-Slash 39
Magic & Psionics 42
Mounts & Minions 45
Non-Human Races 46
Power Levels 47
Sieges & Battles 48
Superheroes 49
Supernaturals 51
Vehicles 53

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 PREFACE
Tricube Tales started as a simple set of
guidelines for roleplaying with my five-
year-old son. I wanted a system where
the GM could handle all the complexity,
so the player could roll 1-3d6 and then
interpret the results, without needing to
apply any arithmetic. The use of tokens
also provided my son with a visual and
tactile reminder that worked better than
using a pen and paper.
However, I found the rules appealed
to adults as well—so I decided to expand
and flesh out the system.
When Drive Thru RPG promoted the
“Phone PDF” format recently, I thought
it was a good fit for Tricube Tales—it’s a
portable RPG you can play anywhere, so
where better to keep the rulebook than
on your smartphone?
But I also decided to offer a print-on-
demand version, as some people dislike
reading books on their phone, or having
electronic devices at the table.
— Richard Woolcock, November 2019.

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5
ABOUT THE GAME
Tricube Tales is a minimalist, narrative-
driven tabletop roleplaying system. It is
designed to handle a variety of different
genres and settings, and doesn’t require
much setup or bookkeeping.
This book assumes that the reader is
already familiar with tabletop RPGs, but
the rules are reasonably straightforward
and should be easy to explain, even to
beginners or younger players.

GETTING STARTED
One person assumes the role of Game
Master (GM), and they create the world
and control the Non-Player Characters
(NPCs). Everyone else controls a Player
Character (PC), narrating the actions of
their protagonist as they drive the story
and interact with the game world.
Each player will need three six-sided
dice (3d6), as well as three “resolve” and
three “karma” tokens. The GM will need
some “effort” tokens for challenges, but
they don’t require any dice.

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SYSTEM O VERVIEW
Players roll 1-3 dice (depending on their
character archetype) against a difficulty
of 4-6 (depending on the situation), and
need to succeed with at least one die.
Perks can reduce the difficulty, while
quirks can increase it. The players spend
karma on perks, and can recover karma
from quirks.
The players make all of the rolls. The
GM never rolls dice—they only describe
challenges, assign the trait and difficulty,
and narrate the outcome.

CHOOSING A SETTING
Before you begin play, it is important to
define the setting. The story could be set
in the same world as a popular movie or
novel, or you could adapt an established
setting from another roleplaying game.
When using material from a different
RPG, focus on copying the flavor rather
than game mechanics. System-agnostic
settings are a good fit for Tricube Tales,
as they come without any baggage.

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E XAMPLE OF PLAY
A crafty mage explores an ancient crypt...
GM: At the end of the tunnel, a heavy
wooden door blocks your way.
Mage: Can I open it?
GM: The door is solid, but its lock is
crude. You could pick the lock with an
agile roll at difficulty 4, but that requires
special knowledge, so you’d lose one die.
Alternatively, you could break open the
door with a brawny roll at difficulty 5.
Mage: I will summon a fire elemental
with my “pyromancy” perk, and order it
to incinerate the door!
GM: Nice! Make your brawny roll.
Mage: c d—I’ll spend a karma token
to reduce the difficulty to 4.
GM: Okay, your fire elemental blasts
the door apart. On the other side, a pair
of skeletons turn to face you.
Mage: I’ll hurl a fireball at them!
GM: That’s a crafty roll at difficulty 5,
with one effort token per skeleton.
Mage: f f b—Boom! I fry them both
with my fireball!

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9
 CREATION
To create a character, choose a name, an
archetype, a perk and a quirk. If it makes
things easier, you can even write out the
character as a descriptive sentence, such
as “a brawny knight of noble upbringing
with a strict code of honor,” or “an agile
journalist with spider-like superpowers
and a propensity for cracking jokes.”
Just make sure your character fits the
genre and setting!

A RCHETYPE
A character’s archetype consists of a trait
(agile, brawny, or crafty) combined with
a concept (often a profession, but can also
include race or other descriptors).
If your character concept has magical
powers, you’ll be able to overcome many
challenges with magic—but if you don’t
also have an appropriate perk, you won’t
be able to spend karma on your spells.
Examples: Agile assassin, agile elven
ranger, brawny soldier, brawny paladin,
crafty journalist, crafty sorcerer.

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PERKS
Perks represent special talents, abilities,
skills, arcane items, professions, etc. You
begin with one perk of your choice.
Examples: Charming, magical sword,
necromancy, noble bloodline, psionicist,
quick reflexes, scholar of the occult.

QUIRKS
Quirks represent hindrances, handicaps,
and negative personality traits that can
make life difficult for the character. You
begin with one quirk of your choice.
Examples: Arrogant, bad eyes, mean,
peg leg, ruthless, ugly, vindictive.

KARMA & RESOLVE

Karma represents luck and providence,
while resolve represents tenacity, spirit,
health, and determination.
Players begin each session with three
karma tokens and three resolve tokens.
These can be recovered during play, but
can never exceed the character’s starting
quota for the session.

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GEAR
Gear is considered a narrative tool, used
to justify a character’s capabilities rather
than give bonuses. Players can describe
their gear for flavor purposes, but they
are usually assumed to have whatever is
needed for their archetype and perks.
If you want your character to own an
exceptional or arcane item that provides
significant benefits, take it as a perk.

ADVANCEMENT
Characters generally advance every 1-3
sessions, at the GM’s discretion, based
on the desired length of the campaign.
When your character advances, add a
new perk or quirk of your choice—or
else convert an existing affliction into a
quirk! This represents an ability, foible,
or item your character has discovered or
developed during the story.
Every second advance may be used to
increase either your karma or resolve by
one token (up to a maximum of six each)
instead of adding a perk or quirk.

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 A RCHETYPE
Agile cyborg gunslinger

PERK
Cybernetic arms

QUIRK
Arrogant

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A RCHETYPE
Agile starship pilot

PERK
Lightning reflexes

QUIRK
Loose cannon

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 A RCHETYPE
Brawny draconian knight

PERK
Draconic heritage

QUIRK
Ruthless

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 A RCHETYPE
Brawny orc mercenary

PERK
Blademaster

QUIRK
Greedy

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 A RCHETYPE
Crafty inventor

PERK
High-tech power suit

QUIRK
Vigilante

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 A RCHETYPE
Crafty psychologist

PERK
Psychic powers

QUIRK
Stubborn

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19
 CHALLENGES
Gameplay involves overcoming various
challenges, each with a difficulty of 4-6
(easy, standard, or hard). Most should be
difficulty 5, but the GM may decide that
some challenges are easier or harder.
Players roll 1-3d6 depending on their
archetype. If a die equals or exceeds the
difficulty, they succeed—if not, they fail.
If they equal or exceed the difficulty on
2-3 dice, it’s an exceptional success.
If the player rolls “1” on all of their
dice, the result is a critical failure, and
this is always very bad—the GM should
come up with a particularly interesting
complication to introduce to the scene!
Some challenges require extra effort
to overcome. This is represented using
effort tokens; each die to equal or beat
the difficulty removes a token, and the
challenge is defeated once all the tokens
are gone. PCs can usually work together
to overcome such a challenge, and it will
require several rolls; failing any of these
rolls will have consequences.

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FAILURE & SUCCESS
A challenge has four possible outcomes:
exceptional success, normal success, normal
failure, or critical failure.
These results are relative to both the
character and the situation, as decided
by the GM, and neither the worst-case
nor the best-case outcomes should be so
extreme that they require suspension of
disbelief. A master thief would never
believably fail to pick a simple lock, but
it might take her longer than expected,
or lead to a complication. Likewise, an
unarmed scholar couldn’t defeat a dozen
elite warriors in melee combat—at best,
he might make a clean escape.
If someone is attempting to translate
a magical text, and they have absolutely
no background in magic or the language
used, then even an exceptional success will
probably provide them less information
than a scholarly mage would obtain on a
normal failure!
However, there must always be some
price for failure—otherwise, the players

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shouldn’t be rolling! This price is usually
obvious—the character might be spotted
while trying to sneak past a guard, miss
in combat, or fail to climb a tree. The
GM could also remove one of the PC’s
resolve tokens, or perhaps introduce a
complication to the scene.
A critical failure is always very bad,
no matter how skilled the character, and
often represents a stroke of bad luck. If
the character would lose one resolve on
a normal failure, they should lose two
resolve on a critical failure.

NARRATE THE O UTCOME

Don’t simply announce that a character
has failed—describe the consequences of
their failure, and try to explain what does
happen rather than what doesn’t. Instead
of saying the character “critically fails to
pick a lock,” describe how the tip of the
tool snaps off inside the lock. Don’t just
say that the character “fails to dodge the
attack”—describe how the foe lunges at
them and slams a fist into their jaw.

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D EFEAT & A FFLICTIONS
Characters are defeated when they run
out of resolve, and the victor (player or
GM) decides their victim’s fate.
Defeated characters gain an affliction
appropriate to the situation, such as a
broken arm, a phobia, a bruised ego, etc.
They recover all of their resolve, but are
usually unable to actively participate in
the remainder of the scene—they might
be unconscious on the ground, fleeing in
terror, or just too injured to continue.
Afflictions are described by the victor
and are treated as temporary quirks (or
permanent quirks if caused by a critical
failure), except the GM decides when to
apply them. A PC with more than three
afflictions is retired from play, although
they can be brought back if one or more
of their afflictions are cured.
Death is a matter of narrative. While
a player might decide to kill their foe in
combat by giving them a fatal affliction,
the GM should always warn players if a
challenge could result in death.

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RECOVERY
Certain afflictions (e.g., “fleeing in fear”)
are removed automatically at the end of
a scene, but others may last hours, days,
or longer, at the GM’s discretion. A PC
with a suitable perk can spend karma to
cure an affliction (e.g., “regeneration” to
heal a wound)—but permanent afflictions
cost permanent karma (unless converted
into quirks using advances).

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O PPOSED CHALLENGES
Most challenges consist of PCs working
together against external threats, but on
occasion, they may wish to oppose each
other. If this occurs, both players roll as
normal, but each should treat the other’s
highest die roll as the difficulty of their
own challenge (i.e., highest roll wins).
On a tie, the player who matched the
difficulty with the most dice achieves a
normal success (e.g., d d d is a normal
success against d d c or d c c). Should
the players each roll the same number of
matching dice, try to interpret the result
in a way that favors both sides equally.
If both players roll a critical failure,
then each suffers a terrible outcome.

NPC CONFRONTATIONS
There may also be situations where two
NPCs have a direct confrontation with
each other, rather than against PCs. The
GM can usually just decide the outcome,
but if an unpredictable result is desired,
ask the players to roll for the NPCs.

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 COMBAT
Combat and other conflicts can easily be
resolved as regular challenges, but if you
prefer to have a turn-by-turn exchange
of attacks, use these guidelines.

NPCS AS CHALLENGES
The GM assigns foes a difficulty of 4-6,
based on their power relative to the PC.
Most enemies should be difficulty 5.
Each foe also has one or more effort
tokens to represent their resolve. If you
have a group of similar enemies, such as
a horde of goblins, treat them as a single
challenge with extra effort tokens.

RESOLUTION
Turn order should follow the narrative
where possible, and players make all the
rolls—they roll to attack on their turn,
and to defend on their enemy’s turn.
As a general rule, players should only
make one defense roll each turn. If they
are facing multiple foes, make them roll
against the most dangerous attacker.

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E XAMPLE OF COMBAT
A brawny dwarven battle priest and an agile
elven ranger encounter a group of goblinoids
while exploring some ruins.
GM: Four goblin archers ready bows,
while two hobgoblins draw cudgels. You
can attack first if you use ranged attacks.
Standard difficulty; you need 5+ to hit.
Elf: I shoot! e c b—one goblin drops
dead, my arrow buried in its throat!
Dwarf: I draw my warhammer, raise
my shield, and charge the hobgoblins!
GM: Okay, but first roll to evade the
goblins’ arrows, standard difficulty.
Elf: a f e—I easily dodge aside.
Dwarf: c e—an arrow gets lodged in
my shield, and I carry on charging.
GM: Okay, you rush the hobgoblins.
Make your attack, standard difficulty.
Dwarf: d b d—I use my “berserker”
perk to reduce the difficulty to 4, then I
smash their skulls as I roar with rage!
Elf: New turn? e d d—I will use my
“marksman” perk and kill the remaining
goblins with one arrow! Shish kebab!

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 A RCHETYPES
A character’s archetype consists of a trait
(agile, brawny, or crafty) combined with
a concept (usually a profession), and this
combination determines how many dice
they roll for challenges.
Agile characters roll 3d6 for anything
related to quickness, dexterity, reflexes,
or stealth. They also roll 3d6 for ranged
combat (but see next page).
Brawny characters roll 3d6 for any
challenges based on strength, toughness,
stamina, or athletics. They also roll 3d6
for melee combat (but see next page).
Crafty characters roll 3d6 when they
perform challenges related to charisma,
intellect, willpower, or perception. They
also roll 3d6 for mental combat (but see
next page).
When characters lack the appropriate
trait for a challenge, they only roll 2d6.
If a particular challenge requires special
knowledge that falls outside the scope of
their concept and perks, then reduce the
number of dice they roll by one.

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E XAMPLE A RCHETYPES
A brawny barbarian rolls 3d6 to swing a
sword, 2d6 to throw a spear, and 1d6 to
pick a lock. An agile elven ranger rolls
3d6 to sneak silently through the forest,
2d6 to spot a hidden enemy, and 1d6 to
negotiate a legal treaty. A crafty wizard
rolls 3d6 to throw a fireball at someone,
2d6 to climb a rope, and 1d6 to swing a
greatsword in combat.

COMBAT STYLES
A character’s preferred combat style (i.e.,
melee, ranged or mental) is usually based
on their trait. However, this can also be
changed if another style better suits the
character concept. For example, an agile
thief might prefer melee weapons, and a
crafty gunslinger would most likely use
ranged weapons.
The character’s combat style must be
chosen during character creation, and it
cannot be changed later.
Note: Mental combat includes magic
attacks, persuasion, intimidation, etc.

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CONTEXT IS I MPORTANT
Crafty characters generally roll 3d6 for
social challenges, but that doesn’t mean
they’re always better at them.
A crafty old witch normally rolls 3d6,
but courting a young man falls outside
the scope of her concept, so she’d only
roll 2d6 in such a situation. Perhaps she
also has a “warty nose” quirk—if so, that
might well increase the difficulty of the
challenge, or add a complication.
An agile rake normally rolls 2d6, but
courting a young lady is well within the
scope of his concept, so he wouldn’t lose
a die—and he might have a “charming”
perk, which could reduce the difficulty
of the challenge. He could even spend a
karma token to describe the young lady
becoming infatuated with him.
But of course, the rake would roll 1d6
to persuade a jilted husband to give him
a break, and the crafty old witch would
roll 3d6 to convince a young woman to
try out her spinning wheel, or take a bite
from a juicy red apple.

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 PERKS
Characters with a relevant perk can ask
the GM for insight or clues about one
particular situation, receive a temporary
benefit (such as special gear or aid from
an NPC), overcome obstacles that would
generally be impossible for other people
(such as using their wings to fly onto a
rooftop), and so on.
The exact benefits and uses of a perk
are always at the GM’s discretion, but a
broadly defined perk has a wider scope,
therefore a more narrowly defined perk
(including any perk that is particularly
niche for the setting) should have more
impact when it does come into play.
If a player wants to use their perk to
significantly impact the story, they must
spend a karma token to do so.
Karma can also be spent to reduce the
difficulty of a challenge by 1—make this
decision after rolling, and make sure you
narrate how the perk gives you an edge.
No more than one karma may be spent
in this way for each challenge.

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A D EEPER LOOK
If you want to do something that regular
people couldn’t even attempt, but which
your perk really should allow you to do
automatically, you must spend a karma
token. For example, using “necromancy”
to conjure and interrogate the spirit of a
murder victim, or perhaps “investigative
intuition” to glean extensive insight into
a murder scene.
If you want to do something that isn’t
normally possible, but which your perk
should allow you to at least attempt, you
don’t need to spend any karma, but you
must still roll. For example using your
“superhuman strength” to lift a bus.
If a perk allows you to automatically
bypass a challenge while others have to
roll, you must spend a karma token. For
example, using “flight” to fly over a river
that everyone else needs to swim across,
or throwing lots of money at a problem
because you’re “filthy rich.”
If the challenge is usually possible for
everyone, you can still describe how you

32
use your perk to increase the odds, and
may later spend karma to retroactively
reduce the difficulty. For example, using
your “kangaroo legs” to leap onto a roof,
while everyone else has to climb.
If you only use a perk to add flavor to
the scene (e.g., overcoming a challenge
through magic that others could just as
easily overcome through skill), you don’t
need to spend any karma. For example,
you might shoot a firebolt at a foe, while
another character shoots an arrow; the
difference is just a matter of narrative.

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ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE
Always try to think of perks in terms of
overcoming challenges. Players only roll
if it’s important to the story, but if they
can use a perk to automatically succeed
without rolling, it costs karma. Likewise,
it costs karma to reduce the difficulty of
a challenge—but if a perk gives no other
benefit, then it doesn’t cost any karma.
If a player has no karma, the GM may
offer them a complication instead.

RELATED KNOWLEDGE
Perks generally imply lesser knowledge
in any related field. For example, a “car
mechanic” would also have some degree
of general mechanical knowledge—they
might not know much about aircraft, for
example, but they’d still have a far better
chance of fixing one than someone with
no mechanical skills. Similarly, someone
with a “swordmaster” perk could apply
their martial expertise to other combat
situations, a “surgeon” perk also implies
general medical training, and so on.

34
A SSISTING A LLIES
Players can also use perks to assist their
friends and allies. For example, a “divine
healer” might spend karma to remove a
wound affliction from an injured friend,
while a “brave commander” might spend
karma to inspire a companion, reducing
the difficulty of a fear-based challenge.
Assisting someone doesn’t change the
standard expenditure limit of one karma
per challenge; if you spend karma to aid
an ally, they cannot also spend their own
karma to reduce the difficulty further.

STACKING PERKS
Although it isn’t possible to spend more
than one karma per challenge, a PC can
still use multiple perks at once—success
and failure are relative to the character’s
competencies, so the GM should take all
applicable perks into account.
Likewise, just as the impact of a perk
depends on how narrowly defined it is,
multiple relevant perks should also have
more impact than a single perk.

35
 QUIRKS
Players must declare their intent to use a
quirk before rolling for a challenge. They
should describe their character’s actions
in a way that incorporates the quirk, and
then increase the challenge difficulty by
1 (this can take it above 6).
Players usually recover one karma for
using their quirk, but if they succeed at
the challenge roll, they may recover one
resolve instead (if they wish). Only one
quirk can be used for each challenge.

COMPLICATIONS
The GM can also offer players karma in
exchange for a complication. Should the
player accept this offer, use their quirks
for inspiration—the professor with “bad
eyes” may have overlooked a major clue,
while the “mean” thug may have insulted
the wrong person.
Of course, complications can also be
based on the situation, or perhaps even
archetypes or perks. But when possible,
try to tie them to a character’s quirks.

36
37
 CYBERNETICS
Just like mundane gear, cybernetics can
either be handled as background flavor
or treated as a perk, depending on how
much impact you want it to have within
the game. An individual with extensive
cybernetic augmentation may also wish
to take a suitable quirk, to represent the
physical and psychological drawbacks of
their various implants.

FEAR & INSANITY

A frequent staple of horror stories, fear
should be treated the same way as other
challenges: crafty characters should roll
3d6, while other characters roll 2d6, and
individuals without prior experience or
exposure to the particular source of fear
(as indicated by their concept and perks)
reduce the number of dice they roll by
one. Failure on a fear challenge results
in the loss of one resolve token—if the
character loses all resolve, they generally
flee the scene, or receive an appropriate
form of mental disorder.

38
 HACK‐AND‐SLASH
If gameplay involves dungeon crawls or
lots of monster-bashing, you might wish
to assign your NPCs traits and ranks.

TRAITS
Foes can have one or more traits: Agile,
brawny and crafty increase the difficulty
of challenges against them that use those
traits; clumsy, weak or stupid reduce the
difficulty. Shooting an “agile and weak”
goblin is difficulty 6, for example, while
hitting them in melee is difficulty 4.

RANKS
PCs start at rank 1, increasing their rank
every 4th advance (i.e., at 4, 8, 12, 16 and
20), to a maximum of rank 6. NPCs also
have a rank, chosen by the GM.
When facing someone of higher rank,
increase your challenge difficulties by 1
(even if this takes them above 6). Against
a foe of lower rank, reduce them by 1. For
opponents 3+ ranks higher or lower, use
the “Power Levels” genre rule.

39
D EFEATING MONSTERS
As a quick rule of thumb, most monsters
require a number of effort tokens equal
to their rank to defeat. A “boss” monster
should require double that number, and
may also be one rank higher than his or
her lesser kin—these fearsome foes can
represent major antagonists, or the “Big
Bad” at the end of an adventure, and the
GM should use them sparingly.

TRAPPINGS
The GM must also make common sense
judgment calls. A non-magical arrow is
unlikely to cause any damage to an iron
golem, no matter how skilled the archer,
whereas a flaming torch would probably
destroy an animated scarecrow in one
hit. Equally, the types of attack a foe can
make depends on their gear and implied
capabilities—a goblin armed with a club
can only make melee attacks, but if they
have a spear they can choose to throw it,
and of course, goblin shamans can make
mental attacks using their magic.

40
E XAMPLE BESTIARY
Bear: Rank 2. Brawny.
Dragon: Rank 5. Brawny and crafty.
Goblin: Rank 1. Agile and weak.
Golem: Rank 3. Brawny and stupid.
Kobold: Rank 1. Stupid and weak.
Lich: Rank 4. Crafty.
Mummy: Rank 3. Clumsy.
Ogre: Rank 2. Brawny and stupid.
Orc: Rank 1. Stupid.
Skeleton: Rank 1. Stupid.
Troll: Rank 2. Brawny and stupid.
Vampire: Rank 3. Agile.
Wolf: Rank 1.
Wraith: Rank 2.
Yeti: Rank 2. Brawny.
Zombie: Rank 1. Clumsy and stupid.

41
 M AGIC & PSIONICS
Many fantasy, horror, and even science
fiction settings describe characters with
supernatural powers such as telekinesis,
alchemy, psionics, etc. These arcane gifts
can be easily represented as perks.
A character with such a perk can do
anything a trained person in the setting
could achieve with appropriate tools, as
long as it thematically fits their type of
magic. Spending karma allows the mage
to perform even greater feats of magic,
overcoming any challenge a professional
could manage with specialized gear.
Always think of magic in terms of the
result. It doesn’t matter if the psionicist
disintegrates the door, or just causes the
lock to spring open—if the goal is to get
through the door, they’ve succeeded.
But don’t forget, magic is primarily a
narrative tool, and it doesn’t change the
mechanics. If the GM calls for an agile
challenge to open a lock, the mage must
still resolve it as an agile challenge, even
if they use magic to bypass the door.

42
M AGIC LIMITATIONS
If a magic perk is overly broad in scope,
the GM should ask the player to choose
a limitation. Here are some examples:
Destructive: Your spells cause lots of
environmental and collateral damage.
Draining: Your spells drain you, and
may involve blood sacrifices. You spend
resolve instead of karma for magic.
Focus: You require a focus to channel
your spells, such as a wand, staff, or holy
symbol. If lost or broken, the focus item
requires several days to replace.
Personal: Your magic works on your
own body and possessions, but can’t be
used directly on others.
Ritualistic: Your strongest spells take
time to cast. You can’t spend any karma
unless you’ve a few minutes to prepare.
Source: Your magic requires a nearby
source of suitable energy or matter, you
cannot conjure things from thin air.
Unsubtle: You need to make gestures
and incantations to cast spells, making it
obvious when you’re using magic.

43
SPELL LISTS
In some settings, spellcasters learn fixed
lists of predefined spells. You can easily
simulate this in Tricube Tales, by adding
some further requirements to those who
have taken an arcane perk.
Mages can choose three spells during
character creation; these determine how
and when they can use their magic.
Each spell needs to have a name and a
limitation—e.g., “fiery bolt (destructive),”
“lightning shield (personal),” “illusionary
disguise (ritualistic),” etc.
You can create more potent spells by
giving them additional limitations. This
narrows their scope, and the GM should
be more flexible when interpreting their
effect. Perhaps your “invisibility sphere”
is ritualistic and requires a focus, but can
be used to conceal the entire party.
New spells are learned during play, at
the GM’s discretion—perhaps a wizard
can learn from scrolls or spellbooks, or
maybe the GM awards sorcerers a new
spell each time they gain an advance.

44
MOUNTS & M INIONS
Armored knights frequently ride their
loyal steeds into battle, while fearsome
necromancers raise undead minions to
serve them in combat. These helpers can
generally be abstracted away much like
gear—either handle them as background
flavor, describing their actions as part of
your challenge rolls, or treat them as a
perk if you would like them to provide a
mechanical benefit.

45
 NON‐HUMAN RACES
Fantasy settings frequently include non-
human races, such as elves and dwarves,
just as science fiction settings often have
alien species. Even many horror settings
include supernatural creatures, such as
vampires and werewolves.
In many cases, the race can simply be
part of the archetype—for example, an
agile elven ranger, or a brawny dwarven
soldier, or a crafty gnome illusionist.
Another option is to handle the race
as a perk (perhaps an elf can spend one
karma to see in pitch darkness or recall
ancient elven battle techniques), or even
a quirk (maybe the half-orc is treated as
an outsider, and has little understanding
of human etiquette or culture).
If the GM wants character races to be
a more influential part of the game, treat
them as a separate option chosen during
character creation. In this case, the race
can be handled (from a game mechanics
perspective) as both a perk and a quirk,
depending on the needs of the story.

46
 POWER LEVELS
In a fantasy world, a demigod can easily
overpower a normal human. Similarly, a
vampire or werewolf in a horror setting
would outmatch a mere mortal, a mech
pilot would completely outgun regular
infantry, and a cosmic superhero could
obliterate a street-level superhero.
In most cases, these scenarios can be
handled using relative interpretations of
success and failure, assigning afflictions
appropriate to the character and story.
An invulnerable alien superhero might
not be harmed by bullets, but ricochets
could still kill the innocent bystanders
he’d sworn to protect, resulting in a loss
of resolve. Running out of resolve would
still lead to defeat—perhaps he receives
a “humiliation” or “despair” affliction, as
the gangsters escape from the shootout,
leaving the poor superhero to deal with
the angry press and a pile of corpses.
In other cases, a foe might simply be
no threat at all. In this case, there is no
need to roll, just narrate the outcome.

47
 SIEGES & BATTLES
Sometimes, combat takes place between
armies rather than individuals, each side
maintaining its own pool of tokens. The
PC commander uses crafty challenges to
control their forces and eliminate all of
the opposing side’s tokens, with the GM
assigning a difficulty to attack or defend
based on the relative power and tactical
advantages of the two armies.
Individual PCs can make a difference
in such conflicts, but the risks are great.
These heroes can eliminate tokens from
the opposing army, but if they fail their
defensive challenge rolls, they lose their
own resolve tokens.

INDIRECT BATTLES
This approach can also be used for other
scenarios, such as a legal battle between
two businesses, turf wars between gangs
or guilds, cyber warfare between nation
states or high-tech organizations, etc.
As always, individuals can contribute
their efforts, but the risks will be high.

48
 SUPERHEROES
One quick and easy solution for creating
superheroes is to base their concept on
their mundane persona and handle their
superpowers as perks. Thus you might
have an agile journalist with his “spider
powers” perk, or some crafty filthy-rich
inventor with an “iron power suit” perk.
As always, the GM should give narrowly
defined perks more impact than broadly
defined ones. Overly broad superpowers
can also be given limitations in the same
way as magic (see “Magic & Psionics”).
If you’ve decided to base your game
on a particular movie or book, you can
keep things simple by allowing players
to base their concept, perk and quirk on
a specific superhero. If the player wants
to attempt something the superhero can
do in the film or comics, then it would
fall within the scope of their archetype,
and could be further enhanced as a perk.
If the character in the film or comics has
any notable flaws or foibles, then those
can also be used as a quirk.

49
POWER LIMITATIONS
As with magic, if a superpower is overly
broad in scope, then it should be given a
limitation. Here are some examples:
Devices: Your abilities are granted by
special gadgets or equipment, which can
be temporarily disabled or lost.
Grounded: Most superheroes possess
some form of airborne locomotion, such
as flight, web-slinging, ice slides, super-
leaping, etc. But you are limited to using
mundane means of travel.
Intimidating: Your abilities manifest
in a way that can invoke feelings of fear
and dread, terrifying the innocent.
Negation: You can’t use your powers
while exposed to a specific substance.
Non-Offensive: Your powers can’t be
used to attack someone directly.
Suit-Up: You must change your form
or appearance to utilize your powers.
Unreliable: You lack full control over
your powers. Whenever you attempt to
spend karma on this perk, the GM may
introduce a complication instead.

50
 SUPERNATURALS
When someone is defeated, they gain an
affliction. Should a PC be defeated by a
supernatural creature’s infectious bite or
claws, the GM can assign an appropriate
affliction, such as “lycanthropy,” “zombie
virus,” “vampirism,” etc.
Unlike quirks, which are activated by
the player, the GM can decide when and
how afflictions are used during play. A
newly infected werewolf has no control
over their transformation or the carnage
they cause—but they could later convert
their affliction into a quirk, as they learn
to control their condition.
Likewise, afflictions give no benefits,
but a player can later take supernatural
perks such as “preternatural strength” or
“rending claws.” If the PC takes a broad
perk encompassing a range of abilities,
they should also pick a limitation (much
like Magic Limitations)—for example, a
“werewolf gifts” perk might only apply if
the character first shapeshifts into their
wolfman form.

51
REMOVING A FFLICTIONS
If an affliction isn’t permanent, the GM
might offer a story-based way to remove
it—perhaps slaying the vampire who bit
them reverses their condition, or there’s
a cure for the zombie virus. Permanent
afflictions can also be removed, but this
costs permanent karma.
More drastic solutions might also be
permitted, such as converting a “zombie
virus” affliction into an “amputated leg”
quirk (at the usual cost of an advance).

GRADUAL D ECLINE
Some conditions offer no benefits at all.
While many novels and TV shows depict
supernatural creatures as sapient beings,
others portray them as mindless beasts
driven by rage, instinct, and hunger.
Such infections may take the form of
a slow decline—victims of a zombie bite
might survive hours or even days before
they eventually succumb. The GM could
even use future afflictions to represent a
character’s gradual transformation.

52
 VEHICLES
Whether you’re a pirate captain, a tank
driver, a starship commander, a ghostly
biker, or a mech pilot, all vehicles can be
handled in a similar way.
The easiest approach is to treat them
like mundane gear, or as perks if they’re
particularly powerful. But if the vehicles
are a major part of the setting, they can
instead be built like characters.

VEHICLES AS CHARACTERS
Major vehicles start with a concept (but
not a trait), a perk and a quirk. They do
not have any karma, but they begin with
three resolve tokens, and can advance at
the GM’s discretion.
The driver (or pilot) makes challenge
rolls using their own trait, but they can
utilize their vehicle’s concept, perks, and
quirks as if they were their own.
Use the “Power Levels” genre rule for
combat between vehicles of significantly
different strength—such as a starfighter
against a dreadnought.

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 S CENARIO
The PCs are an outlaw motorcycle gang,
causing trouble as they drive from town
to town. Can the bikers remain one step
ahead of the law, or will the cops finally
catch up with them?

A RCHETYPE
Cruiser motorcycle

PERK
Manueverable vehicle

QUIRK
High-profile

54
 S CENARIO
The PCs are highly-trained mech pilots,
each controlling their own war machine
in defense of the planet. Can they defeat
the invading aliens, or will the people of
Earth be exterminated like bugs?

A RCHETYPE
Light battle mech

PERK
Fast

QUIRK
Lightly armored

55
 S CENARIO
The PCs are a crew of firefighters who
drive a tiller truck. They must fight fires
and deal with other hazards, while also
rescuing people (and the occasional pet)
from dangerous situations.

A RCHETYPE
Tiller fire truck

PERK
Quint (fire apparatus)

QUIRK
Requires two drivers

56
 S CENARIO
The PCs are a ragtag crew of interstellar
explorers, seeking out new life and new
civilizations among the stars. The galaxy
is a vast place—who knows what secrets
are out there, waiting to be discovered?

A RCHETYPE
Exploratory starship

PERK
Powerful sensors

QUIRK
Malfunctioning AI

57
 S CENARIO
The PCs are the crew of a battle tank, on
tour in hostile territory. But some of the
enemy soldiers appear to be more than
human. Are they part of a secret military
experiment, or something else entirely?

A RCHETYPE
Battle tank

PERK
Heavily armored

QUIRK
Conspicuous

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