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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction 3

The Challenge system 4

Character creation 24

Solo gaming tools 33

Designer notes 41
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BLADE & LOCKPICK

INTRODUCTIONS

Blade & Lock-pick is a collection of mechanics that together form a simple role playing system,
intended especially for solo gamers and “one player, one game master” situations.

It can also be played as a conventional group game.

THE COMPONENTS

The rules consist of three distinct components, each of which can be used individually or all
together.

The Challenge section explains how to use the resolution mechanics.

The Character section details how to build characters specifically for this system.

Finally, we include a Solo section, offering an Oracle and other mechanics of interest to solo
gamers.

The components are intended to be modular, allowing you to use one, two or all three modules
in your gaming.

GENERAL NOTES

We have assumed that players are familiar with the concept of role playing games already.

Likewise, we assume that this is not your first solo oriented game.

Many games have served as inspiration, but it seems almost all solo gaming material owes a
debt to the Mythic Game Master Emulator and this product is no different.

The mechanics for game resolution are inspired by Tunnels & Trolls and GW’s Lord of the Rings
miniatures game, as well as my old work on the Fast and Dirty miniatures rules.

Most of these rules were written while listening to Cytotoxin, Crystallion and the Dragon Age
Origins sound track. If you like all three of these, you’re probably a weirdo. I approve.


All feedback and suggestions can be forwarded to the author at

[email protected]

Feel free to ping me on google plus as well.

Love and Peace

Ivan Sorensen 

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THE CHALLENGE
SYSTEM

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CHALLENGES

Purpose

A quick system for resolving situations in role-playing games.

Intended users

*Groups desiring a very simple game system.

*Groups desiring a more group-oriented resolution system.

*Solo or “one player one GM” gaming situations.

*Games where each player controls multiple characters.

*Groups that favor quick resolution over blow-by-blow details.

Presentation

First, we present the Fundamental rules. (Page 5)

Then we delve into explanations and details. (Page 7)

Third, we offer a wealth of variations, suggestions and mechanics to tailor the system (Page
12).

A sub-system for handling magic is available. (Page 21)

At the end, we present the Fundamentals again, but with all the options written into the system.

This serves as a solid, one page reference guide (Page 22)

Where possible, rules terms are presented in bold to help distinguish from regular use of terms
such as “group” or “challenge”.

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THE SYSTEM

Fundamentals

When the outcome of a situation is in doubt, it is considered to be a Challenge and is resolved

using the system provided here.

When a Challenge takes place, simply work through the following steps one at a time.

The process looks intimidating on paper, but works very quickly in practice.

All dice are D6.

Step 1 - Type of Challenge Step 3 - Roll dice

Any Challenge will have two opposing forces.

Roll the dice for each Group.

One of these will be a Group of characters (a Pick out the single highest roll. Set the remaining
Group can one or more individual characters).
dice aside.

The other may be a Group of characters or it may Step 4 - Compare results

be an Obstacle.

Obstacles are passive difficulties to be

Compare the highest score for each Group.

overcome.

Obstacles use their Difficulty.

Obstacles must be established as Simple or

If the results are equal, the contest is a Draw.

Complex.

Otherwise, the lower side Loses.

Examples:
Step 5 - Apply results
If the players are trying to get past a security
guard, it’s a Group.
If we’re trying to pick the lock, it’s an Obstacle. A Losing Group must remove one of its
characters from the Challenge.

Step 2 A - Determine dice pools A Losing Obstacle is Resolved if it is Simple.

A Losing Obstacle lowers its Difficulty by 2 if it

is Complex.

Each Group in the Challenge receives a pool of

If Difficulty is reduced to 0, the Obstacle is
dice.

Resolved.

The basic dice pool is 1D for each character able

to contribute to the contest.

On a Draw, both sides Lose.

Step 2 B - Determine Difficulty

Step 6 - Establish victory

An Obstacle will have a Difficulty set from 3 to 7.

If an Obstacle is Resolved, the Group

Challenging it has won.

If a Group has all its characters removed, it has

lost and the opposition wins.

If Victory is not established, begin again at Step

2.

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Game Example

An adventuring party of 4 characters need to get inside a crumbling castle and decide to hack
their way through the walls.

The GM sets this as a Complex Obstacle with a Difficulty of 5.

The players roll 4 dice, getting 2, 3, 5, 5.

As the two sides are evenly matched, it’s a Draw and both lose.
The Difficulty drops to 3 as the party makes head-way but one of the characters must be
removed, probably exhausted or suffering a minor injury.

Next round, they roll 3 dice, scoring 1, 4, 5.

The difficulty is now only 3, so they win, reducing the difficulty to 1.

At this point, there’s no chance of failure, since even if they rolled all 1’s, they’d still have 2
characters left and the difficulty would reach 0.

The party makes their way through the wall and are ready to continue the adventure.

Game Example

Our 4 characters run into 3 goblins that try to rob them. Arrows fly and swords are drawn.

The players roll 4 dice, scoring a 1, 3, 3, 6.

The goblins roll 3 dice, scoring 3, 5, 5.

As the highest player die beats the goblins score, one of the goblins is struck by an arrow and
falls.

For the second round, the players roll 1, 2, 5, 5 while the goblins score 2, 3.
The fighter smites one of the creates with a mighty blow, leaving one standing.

The final roll is 1, 2, 3, 6 while the goblin scores a 6.

As a draw requires both sides to remove a character, we narrate that the last goblin flees but
one of our heroes stumbles. Turns out one of the initial volley of arrows struck them and they
had just managed to retain their footing for a few minutes. 

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THE DETAILS

This chapter provides suggestions on how to handle the various elements of the system.

Consider it as a set of guide-lines except where suggested otherwise.

Run away! Talk it up!

Typically, either Group can end a Challenge The system is intended to be narrative,
after any round has been finished.
meaning each roll, round and character
This generally means the Group opts to removal should be accompanied by
concede the Challenge but prefers to avoid narration.

a worse outcome by sticking it out to the In a conventional game, the GM typically

death.
does this, though there’s no inherent reason
you can’t let the players do it for themselves.

If the Group initiated the Challenge, it fails

to attain its goals.
If you are playing solo, you can obviously
narrate things any way you like.

What else can I do? Since we’re playing a role-playing game,

narration is what elevates the proceedings
from a mechanical system to a story. (Of
It’s customary to check for desired actions course, you may prefer a mechanical
between each round.
system, if so, skip this step as you see fit!).

A character may have an item that could turn

Consider the difference between “Rath the
the tide of a battle or a coward may wish to
flee the scene, leaving their comrades to slug Dwarf is removed from the fight”

it out.
and

“As Rath charges the raiders, a blow to his

A pair of characters may wish to go after the helmet sends him staggering backwards.
opposing commander, while an evil wizard After a few stumbled steps, he collapses in a
may summon additional reinforcements.
heap”.

In a group game, ask each player for any

desired actions and then adjudicate them as Who rolls the dice?
you would in any other role playing game.

If you have a single player, this is easy of

Often, such actions may produce course:

Advantage or Deception (see the following Tally up the dice and roll them.

chapter) or cause two larger groups to split

into smaller Groups for the next round of a In a group game, it’s often more satisfying if
Challenge.
each player rolls their own dice, though that
can make the game move a little slower.

If a particular character is in charge of a

given action, you may consider letting that
player roll the dice pool.

Other groups may prefer just taking turns to

roll the pool.

Establish whatever norms work for you.

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Who can contribute? When is an Obstacle Simple or Complex?

The first question any Challenge will present A Simple Obstacle is one that can be
is: “How many characters can be involved?”.
resolved in a single dice roll.

In many cases, the answer is “the entire This typically assumes a high chance of
group”.
success.

If the party is crossing a mountain chain and

have to roll to progress safely, then everyone Thematically, it is often a binary task:

will be contributing.
Either the heroes make it or they fail.

In a battle against the orc raiders, everyone The outcome may rely on a snap decision or
is at risk and will roll dice.
it may come down to the party lacking a
required resource or knowledge.

But what about picking a lock?

Persuading a guard?
Examples might include avoiding a trap,
Researching in a language only one picking a lock or talking your way past a
character speaks?
sentry.

It is fine if a test relies on only a single Complex Obstacles are by definition

character, though be advised this extended rolls that require multiple tests.

dramatically increases the chance of the

Challenge failing.
This works well for tasks that take a
significant amount of time, represent a high
In most cases, it’s easy to justify a second degree of attrition or which are time
characters involvement:
sensitive.

Browbeating a guard is a lot easier if your Examples might include traveling through
warrior friend is looking menacing behind inhospitable territory, fighting an opposing
you, while the thief could “acquire” a few squad or researching an ancient document
books to help out the scholar do their before the evil wizard finishes their ritual.

research.

Likewise, a crafter could have fashioned

some high-quality lock-picks for the thief to
use.

In general, lean on the side of permitting at

least two characters to be involved, if at all
possible.

It is fine to establish a maximum number of

involved characters.

Expecting 8 people to all huddle around a

book is probably unrealistic, but it might well
be feasible for a large work-party doing
manual work.

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How are Difficulties assigned? Who decides who to remove?

As a rule of thumb, Difficulties of 3 or 4 Any method you feel like.

should be assigned to Obstacles that are of

modest or average difficulty.
The players may agree on it (or vote), you
Such Obstacles will take two rounds to might pick someone based on the narrative
overcome if they are Complex and a party so far or you might roll at random.

with 3 or more dice can generally expect to

succeed.
We generally assume that groups of bad
guys will remove the least valuable members
This is a good “standard” Difficulty level for of the group first (ruthlessly sacrificing the
many in-game situations.
minions to save the boss).

Difficulties of 5 or 6 have a significantly What does it mean to win?

increased chance of failure.

If they are Complex, they will require a

minimum of three rounds to overcome.
Winning over an Obstacle means the party
overcame the problem and got what they
7 is the highest Difficulty possible.
wanted.

This will require a Group with significant

manpower to throw at the problem as well as In most cases, an Obstacle will not need to
specific skill sets.
be overcome again later, once it has been
Use this level only sparingly and for tasks Resolved.

you don’t expect the party to succeed with.

For example, if they managed to climb the
castle-wall, they can climb back out again
without rolling dice.

What does it mean when a character is

removed? When defeating an opposing Group, that
Group loses the ability to oppose or hinder
A removed character cannot contribute to the party.

They must rest, recover and regroup before it

the Challenge any longer, whether by dice or
can be regained.

other mechanics.

It is up to the GM to determine how “final”

Depending on the nature of the Challenge, any such defeat is.

this might mean they are no longer capable Defeating a bunch of cannon-fodder minions
of assisting, though it might also mean that might result in most of them being dead,
they have reached the limits of their abilities with survivors fleeing in panic never to
or endurance.
return.

In a battle, a character may be wounded or A squad of tough, veteran soldiers on the

knocked out, while when picking a lock, a other hand may have taken a few losses, but
character may realize the complexity of the have retreated in good order.

device is beyond their talents.

They won’t present any hindrance currently,

In group-endurance oriented Challenges, but could show up again in the future.

you will find characters getting exhausted

and struggling on as long as a few remaining
motivators remain.

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What does it mean to lose? The end of the line

When a Challenge is lost, it means the If a Challenge has the potential to end the
players must face the results of failure.
game or end the primary objective of the
party, then two new rules kick in:

If a Challenge was instigated by the players,

it typically means they do not get what they The loss condition MUST be clearly stated
were hoping to get.
up front.

Failing to make it through the lock means

you have to go around for example.
The players MUST be given the chance to
avoid the confrontation.

Be resistant to the idea of simply trying

again: The party needs to find a new If you are GM’ing the game, you don’t have
method, approach or tactic.
to explicitly tell them what alternatives they
have, let them figure that out and be open to
It helps to look at the larger picture of the their suggestions.

scene:

If the goal is to get inside the mansion and Likewise, you’re not required to give them
bluffing the guard didn’t work, you could try alternatives that they will like:

climbing the wall, picking the lock on a back- If it’s the show down with the epic villain and
door or simply knocking the guard out and they opt to run away and let him rule the
storming the building through the front door.
world, they won’t like what happens next but
it’s still a choice they can exercise.

What you cannot do however is the same

action, with a slightly different wording. 
 Be careful about using such scenes too
If “bluffing” the guard didn’t work, “fast frequently:

talking” or “charming” won’t work either.

We suggest no more than once per
adventure, typically at a climax or finale.

Losing a Challenge forced on the party can

be more dire.
Of course, if the players insist on throwing
A party that loses a combat encounter may themselves into such encounters, let them
be captured or they may be fleeing in a live dangerously.

panic.
Some players prefer high stakes and if so,
If you failed to bluff the guard when they there’s no reason not to indulge them.

came for you, you’re probably in chains.

It is strongly encouraged to establish what

the outcomes are going to be before rolling.

That way you avoid ill feelings when the

players expected one thing and another
happened.

Where possible, aim for Loss conditions that

present an interesting story possibility:

Having the guards execute the party in the

street ends the game.

Having the party arrested instead is pretty

typical adventure stuff.

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Large Groups Keeping your head down

Due to the nature of the dice mechanics, If the situation warrants it, a character can
once a Group has 5 or more members, the usually keep their head down and avoid
benefit of throwing more bodies at the taking part in a Challenge.

problem tends to simply be endurance.

This may be for a single round or for several.

More importantly, the dice mechanics can

get a bit predictable between big Groups, as Some Challenges may not allow this as an
most rolls will end in a draw.
option, though we suggest allowing at least
one character in the Group to stay in the
The simplest way to handle this is to simply back.

break up the Groups into smaller ones:

Instead of resolving a battle between 8 If a character is heads down, they cannot

heroes and 11 goblins, you might create 3 contribute any character benefits but cannot
Groups of heroes and 3 Groups of goblins.
become removed either.

Then each Group can resolve their own Note that this cannot be used to delay a
Challenge.
loss, unless the players come up with an
extremely good explanation.

This works well when characters are If you’re the last man standing, expect that
engaged in different activities, are separated you will have to contest the Challenge.

or would face different opposition.

If characters from one Group come to the

aid of another, simply add them to the Group
from the next round onwards.

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MECHANICS

This chapter offers various mechanics to detail (and complicate) your game as much as you
want.

Abilities Examples:
A “Clever” character would grant a benefit to
solving a problem while a “Strong” character
Abilities refer to the innate qualities of a
would grant a benefit to knocking down a
given character.

Whether a character is particularly strong, door.

fast or clever, it’s an Ability.

It is often better to apply Abilities somewhat

Each Ability should be listed with one or two narrowly, rather than trying to make tortured
keywords on your character record sheet.
explanations for why being “Lucky” will
assist every possible Challenge.

Abilities are by nature open-ended:

You can come up with most anything that fits

the character as a descriptor, though if you Advantage
are uncertain, you can use the ability scores/
statistics/characteristics of almost any
existing role-playing game as inspiration.
A Group that can claim a situational
Advantage in a Challenge may add 1
Don’t hesitate to be creative though:
additional D6 to the pool.

Being “Patient” is an Ability as much as

being “Strong”.
This may stem from organization, surprise,
planning, equipment or any other factor you
can think of.

When a Group engages in a Challenge, if

any member of the Group has an Ability that It is possible for both sides to claim
would be an asset in the type of Challenge, Advantage.

they receive the following benefit:

For example, a surprise attack against an
enemy in a fortified position.

When the dice for the Group have been

rolled, they may pick up any die that scored An Obstacle can have Advantage in some
a 1 and roll it again.
cases.

In this case, roll a single D6 and use the

The new roll stands, even if it’s another 1
higher of the D6 roll or the Difficulty.

(Everyone can have a bad day).

This benefit applies to all dice, as long as The GM may judge an Advantage to be
one Group member has a relevant Ability.
Momentary (affects one roll) or Persistent
(lasts until removed).

Multiple characters with relevant Abilities do

not grant an additional benefit, however such A Persistent Advantage can be removed
instead of removing a character.

a Group may retain the benefit even if one of

the characters are removed, making them
more robust.
Example:
We manage to sneak up on the bandits,
gaining us Advantage in the ensuing fight.
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The GM might rule that the Advantage is Mechanically, they essentially act as an
Momentary and lasts only for one roll, ablative shield.

particularly if the enemy was expecting

trouble in any event. Be wary of players trying to set up a situation
herding along 20 villagers and claiming them
If the bandits are caught completely all as Bystanders.

unaware, the Advantage might Persist until

we opt to remove it when losing a round. Typically, don’t permit more than one or two
This might represent the bandits regrouping Bystanders to count.

to face us.
The rest will get in each others way, stand
around looking stupid or simply run away.

Assistance
Cannon fodder
The simplest way of handling assistance
from a remote character is through letting In some genres of gaming, it is custom to
them contribute to the Challenge.
have “mooks”:

Disposable enemies that the heroes can

This can be used in cases where a character chop to bits in droves.

has received extensive instruction on how to

tackle a particular problem, the action We call this Cannon Fodder.

depends on the success of another

character elsewhere or the character is in Simply treat 3-5 Cannon Fodder characters
constant communication with a coordinating as one character for game purposes.

ally.
This “character” is known as a Blob.

Such an Assistant can provide a bonus die For example, a Blob of 4 goblins might roll a
and be removed from the Challenge (the single die in a battle and if they are selected
benefit of their advice runs out) but CANNOT for removal, they are all removed.

provide any other mechanical advantages,

including Abilities, Skills or any additional Typically, killing one or two members of a
dice beyond one.
Cannon Fodder Blob causes the rest to run
away, but feel free to let player describe
mangling and eviscerating the lot, if you
Bystanders
prefer.

You may have a situation where a character

is present to help, but doesn’t realistically
have a chance of contributing.

An example might include a non-combatant

in a battle or an apprentice to a researcher.

Such characters are Bystanders.

They are assumed to always roll a 0 on their

die but can be removed in the event of a
Loss.

It’s convenient to place a D10, with the 0

facing up, to track them.

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Adjust as appropriate.

Consequences

Roll Easy Moderate Hard Punishing

Typically, a removed character may have no
ill effects.
1 Trivial Trivial Trivial Trivial
If the character is removed from a research
Challenge, they may just have come to the 2 Trivial Trivial Trivial Minor
end of their talents and have sat around
doing little of value.
3 Trivial Trivial Trivial Major

4 Trivial Trivial Minor Major

Meanwhile, being removed while scaling
mountains or battling a dragon might be a lot 5 Trivial Minor Major Fatal
more risky.

6 Minor Major Fatal Fatal

If you wish to add risk, use one of the tables
below for any character that was removed.

It’s usually easier to roll after a Challenge is Deception

completely resolved.

There are four outcomes possible:

Trickery can usually be handled as an
Advantage, however, if you prefer a more
Trivial Consequence distinct mechanic, allow a Group employing
The character is inconvenienced but some sort of deception or trick may pick up
otherwise unaffected.
one of the opposing dice and roll it again.

They may haven roughed up or their ego 


may be smarting a bit.
The new score applies, even if it turns out to
be better than it was before:

Sometimes a clever plan can indeed

Minor Consequence
backfire.

Minor injuries or a bit hesitant.

This should factor into roleplaying and may Deception doesn’t affect Obstacles (since
provide an Advantage to the opposition in a they don’t employ dice).

similar Challenge.
If the party engages in some particularly
witty trickery that ought to still benefit them,
Major Consequence treat it as an Advantage instead.

A character is seriously wounded, ostracized It’s completely possible for two groups to
or severely shaken in their confidence.

Deceive each other.

This will often cause the character to be

unable to contribute to the same type of
Challenge again.

Fatal Consequence
The character is grievously wounded, slain,
exiled or falls into a deep depression.

Typically, this removes the character from the

campaign.

Typically, Major Consequences will take

until the next adventure to recover from,
while Minor Consequences require a week
or so to get over.

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Double-dice system Endurance

If you want to have fewer rounds in a It can feel unsatisfactory for an epic monster
Challenge or are concerned about large battle to be over in a single round.

groups being “grindy” to defeat, you can use If so, assign Endurance to the character.

the two highest dice for each side.

An Enduring character removes a single die

Compare the highest die to the highest die when it is selected for removal.

and the second highest die to the second

highest die.
Thus, a 4 die troll would require four defeats
to lose a Challenge.

With this approach, you will see at least two You can adjust the rate of loss, to adjust the
characters removed each turn, which can toughness of an individual creature (or length
whittle down larger groups rather quickly.
of encounter).

For a player-friendly twist, roll for the

enemies first, pick out the two highest dice Example:
they get, then let the players assign their two A troll with Monster 4 and Endurance (-1) has
highest dice as they see fit.
4 dice and loses 1 each time it’s selected for
removal.
This method won’t tend to work well if you A troll with Monster 4 and Endurance (-2) has
are breaking the Challenge up into several 4 dice but loses 2 each time it’s selected for
smaller groups.
removal.

You could apply Endurance to player

characters in general, if you are playing a
very high-powered, fantastical or super-hero
inspired game.

Do note that Endurance only matters for

characters with multiple dice to begin with.

If you wish to grant some survivability to a 1

die character, use Resistance instead.

 Page 17 of 43

Epic battles Equipment considerations

When you have particularly large Groups Most Challenges assume that the
facing each other, you will be faced with the characters have any equipment they need.

dice totals often being a draw at the end of

each round.
If the Group as a whole is under-equipped
for the task at hand, raise the Difficulty of an
This leads to a slow repetitive attrition as Obstacle or grant Advantage dice to the
each Group takes a removal then dices opposition.

again.

If a single character lacks required

As discussed earlier, this is often handled equipment (such as being unarmed in a gun
better by splitting the Groups into several battle) they can’t contribute to the Challenge
smaller affairs, then having them face off though they could be Removed as a loss.

individually.

If the limitations of equipment is a hindrance

Another option is to declare the Challenge but does not prevent a character from
to be Epic.
contributing, the best solution is typically to
prevent them from adding any Skill benefits
An Epic Challenge is determined as normal, (including Expertise or Mastery).

but add up the two highest dice (instead of

picking the single highest).
Superior equipment can be treated as a
Skills are still only eligible to provide a +1 Talent if it is far above the expectations of
bonus.
the Challenge.

This is the typical way to handle enchanted

The losing side must suffer two removals, items, though it can also apply to the type of
while on a draw, each side suffers 1 removal item.

as before.
A fully plate-armored knight fighting a group
wearing leather armor might well count
The GM must determine at what stage the “Plate” as a Talent.

battle is no longer Epic and transitions to the

normal system.

You may wish to institute a Very Epic stage

above even that. 

In a Very Epic Challenge, do not add up
more than two dice, but each side suffers
two removals on a draw and three removals
on a loss.

If your Groups are shaping up to be

unwieldy even at that scale, it’s a good sign
they need to be broken down into smaller
Groups instead.

 Page 18 of 43

Henchmen Monsters and epic characters

If a character has a henchman, follower or The core system assumes relatively human-
servant, they can rely on them in Challenges level characters, but many game settings
as appropriate.
require monsters that can fight an entire
party on its own, while other worlds have
If the particular capabilities of the epic heroes that can single-handedly defeat
Henchman aren’t significant (a butler when a small horde.

trying to fight a werewolf), simply count them

as a Bystander.
Such an entity is simply given a Monster or
Epic rating which is expressed numerically.

A Henchman with relevant training or

experience grants an additional die that In a Challenge, roll as many dice as the
always rolls a 3.
Monster/Epic rating.

Simply take an extra die and put it on the For example, a troll with Monster 3 has 3
table with a 3 showing.
dice to roll.

This makes it easy to adapt creatures from

A character cannot benefit from more than games that use “Levels” as a way to gauge
one Henchman and the Group as a whole power: A “level 4” monster could simply be
shouldn’t include more than two.
given 4 dice.

We strongly suggest reviewing the

Minions Endurance rule if using Monsters.

Any proper villain needs minions to do their

bidding.

Minions are handled the same way as

Henchmen:

Each Minion adds a die that always rolls a 3.

Simply place a die with 3 side showing.

Unlike Henchmen, a given villain may have

multiple Minions and will of course gleefully
sacrifice them for the cause.

 Page 19 of 43

Resistance Skills

A monster, alien or creature that is Skills refer to the learned and practiced
particularly resilient to a given attack form (or qualities of a character.

all attacks) receive a number of Resistance

dice.
Many role-playing games use skills in some
form, so this should be a familiar concept.

This mechanic may also be fitting for robots,

troopers in powered armor suits or those As with Abilities, they function as keywords
with magical defenses.
such as “Fighting”, “Riding”, “Lock Picking”
and so forth.

Each Resistance die is a virtual die that

always rolls a 0.
When a Group engages in a Challenge, if
any member of the Group has a Skill that
When rolling your dice, place a D10 with the would be an asset, you may add +1 to the
0 showing for every point of Resistance.
final die score.

Resistance then cannot win Challenges but Note that as with Abilities, only a single +1 is
these dice can be removed individually permitted.

instead of removing a character.

Multiple Skilled characters simply makes the
Group more robust against character
removal.

Example:
A Troll might have Resistance 1 because it For a given game, you may prefer a very
regenerates wounds. wide Skill system (here your combat skill
This means the first time it loses a round, it may be Fighting) or a more narrow and
could give up the virtual die obtained from specific one (where your combat skills may
Resistance. be Sword or Spear).

The author finds that character-oriented

Resistances should always be narrated and skills tend to work great.

are specific:
A soldier may have a Soldier Skill, usable for
any common activities related to that
A zealot who is willing to die for the cause profession.

may be Resistant to persuasion attempts

while our regenerating troll is Resistant to Experts
physical injury (except from fire or acid).

A character with an unusually high level of

expertise is termed an Expert.

In addition to qualifying the Group for the +1

Skill bonus listed above, it also permits an
additional die to be rolled, as long as the
character is contributing to the Group.

Mastery
Complete Mastery of a skill allows the
benefits of being an Expert, but permits an
additional die to be added on top.

This means the character contributes a total

of 3 dice.

 Page 20 of 43

Multiple characters CAN contribute Expert

Talents
and Mastery dice to the pool.

Characters may have all manner of innate

Example: knacks, species traits, supernatural
A Group has 5 characters, two of which are capabilities and magical/technological
Experts at Basket Weaving. widgets to aid them.

When the Group enters into the galactic 


basket weaving tournament, they would roll 7 We broadly call these Talents.

dice (5 characters, plus a die for each Expert) Every suitable Talent a character has will
and add +1 to the final score. add 1 die to the Group total.

When a character is removed from a A character could contribute multiple Talent

dice and multiple characters may all
Challenge, all their dice are lost.

contribute Talent dice.

Stunts Note that we suggest interpreting Talents

somewhat narrowly.

The default system does not typically allow If the same Talent keeps being invoked for
you to target specific enemies, though this
wildly different types of Challenge, it’s a
can be a vital tactic in a real-life encounter.

good sign you are being too generous.

If a Group rolls more than a single 6 and However, if you desire a more heroic-feeling
wins, it may pick the removal target.
game, you could issue every major character
a Heroic Talent that DOES apply to every
For particularly large Groups (or Epic action they take.

conflicts) you may prefer to require three 6’s

to trigger this ability).
This can work particularly well for an action-
This is also worth considering if you’d like movie scenario with relatively few
the Stunt option to be less commonplace.
characters.

It can be recommend to offer this rule to the If a Talented character is removed from a
players but not their enemies.

Challenge, their dice are lost.

Example:
We are facing an orc warlord (Epic 3) and 4 of
his minions.


We manage to roll a pair of 6’s, allowing us to
select the target for removal and opt to go
after the warlord, seriously reducing the
enemy dice pool.


We narrate this as the groups fighter
stepping up to challenge the warlord to a
one-on-one duel and smiting him in single
combat.
 Page 21 of 43

Vulnerability

A character or monster may be Vulnerable

to a particular threat, approach or weapon.

This is a common combat ability but an

alcoholic might be Vulnerable to an offer of
booze, while a locked door is Vulnerable to
an enchanted lock pick.

A Vulnerable character cannot remove

Resistance dice and must remove an
additional die per defeat if they are
Enduring.

Example:
A sword of Troll slaying would prevent trolls
from discarding Resistance dice when I
defeat them.
If the trolls had Endurance (-2) they would be
treated as Endurance (-3).

In most situations, if a Group has access to

a Vulnerability, it is applied even if only a
single character benefits from it.

For example if a party of 4 adventurers have

a sword of Troll Slaying.

Even if rolling all 4 dice, the effects of the

sword can still be applied.

This can get a little messy if the opposing

Group is only partly Vulnerable.

If a Group of orcs and trolls opts to take a

removal on an orc, then the benefits of the
troll slaying sword won’t apply.

 Page 22 of 43

MAGIC AND MIRACLE

The Basics Grant Magic Dice

Many settings involve mystical and magical If you prefer magic to be more distinctive,
abilities such as psionics, spell-casting, give magic wielders Magic Dice.

super powers or more.

At the beginning of the gaming session, roll

These can be handled in a few different ways 3-6 dice (depending on level of magical skill),
presented below.
and track the results.

Whenever the Group enters in a Challenge,

Treat them as a Talent after making all of their dice rolls, the magic
user may add any of their Magic Dice to the
Smaller magical acts can be handled as rolled scores as additional dice.

Talents, granting a bonus die to relevant

situations.
Magic Dice are committed after the dice for
both sides are rolled and any re-rolls have
A petty wizard with a Talent for “Trickery” taken place.

might be able to utilize small illusions, tricks

of voice and subtle social manipulations for If the Group takes a loss, two un-used Magic
example.
Dice can be sacrificed instead of taking a
Removal.

This has the advantage of being very simple

to use mechanically and uses an existing In both cases, the use of magic must of
rules option.
course be narrated appropriately.

It’s all about the story

Treat them as a Skill

Magic use (and any traits resembling it)

An alternative is to consider each brand of should always be clearly defined for each
magic as a Skill set, with all the rules that character, unless you wish for a game that is
apply to such.
VERY open-ended.

A magic user may be Skilled, Expert or If a character learned their magic from the
Master of a given type of magic the same spirits of the forest, they won’t be able to
way you may be Skilled, Expert or Master of apply those traits to hacking into a computer
any other craft or trade.
system, but they could probably turn into a
wolf and sniff out a trail.

For this to work, magic types typically have

to be fairly well defined.
Be consistent even with something as
Many game worlds have schools or ephemeral as spell slinging. 

philosophies of magic that serve this
purpose:

For example an Expert in spirit magic would

add +1 and a bonus die, if the group is trying
to get information from a ghost.

 Page 23 of 43

SUMMARY OF OPTIONS

In this chapter, we present the system again, but with the various options included.

Note that this may give the impression you are intended to use every option. This is not the
case.

We have simply included them here, for the sake of thoroughness.

Step 1 - Type of Challenge Step 4 - Compare results

Group Pick highest die.

Simple Obstacle
Epic battle, pick two highest dice and add
Complex Obstacle
together.

Add +1 with suitable Skill.

Step 2 A - Determine dice pools Obstacle counts the Difficulty.

1D6 per Character or Blob.

Step 5 - Apply results
1D6 per Assistant (does not qualify for other
bonuses)
Lower score loses.

1D6 per Monster or Epic rating.

On a Draw, both sides lose.

+1D6 per Expert or Talent.

+2D6 per Master.

On a Loss:

+1D6 for Advantage.

Simple Obstacle is Resolved.

Each Minion or Henchman adds a (3)

Complex Obstacle reduces Difficulty by 2.

Each Bystander adds a (0)

Group must: Remove a character /
Each Resistance adds a (0)
Advantage / Resistance / Lose a die from
Enduring character.

Step 2 B - Determine Difficulty

If winner scores two or more 6’s (optional 3)
Obstacle Difficulty from 3-7
they may pick target for removal.

Step 3 - Roll dice Epic battle loser must take two removals.

Epic battle draw each take one removal.

Roll all dice.

Re-roll 1’s with suitable Ability.

Step 6 - Establish victory
Opponent may force re-roll of 1 die with
Deception.
If an Obstacle is Resolved, the Group
Challenging it has won.

If a Group has all its characters removed, it

has lost and the opposition wins.

If Victory is not established, begin again at

Step 2 unless either Group Concedes.

 Page 24 of 43

THE CHARACTER
CREATION
SYSTEM

 Page 25 of 43

CHARACTER CREATION

Purpose

A simple character creation system intended for use with the Blades and Lock-Picks resolution
system.

The aim is to allow a player to quickly create multiple characters on the fly.

Intended users

*Players wishing for characters defined by keywords rather than numeric values.

*Solo or “one player one GM” gaming situations where multiple extensive character sheets are
impractical.

*Story oriented players.

Presentation

First, we will present the building blocks of a character, along with examples. (Page 24)

We also summarize the rules function of each building block.

You will receive three methods for creating a character. (Page 26)

Finally we offer a character progression system. (Page 28)

Where possible, rules terms are presented in bold to help distinguish from regular usage of the
same word.




 Page 26 of 43

THE FUNDAMENTALS

A character that qualifies as an Expert may

Building blocks of a character also add an additional die to the dice pool.

A character that qualifies as a Master may

Characters consist of a number of “building add two additional dice to the pool.

blocks” that provide a complete picture of

who the individual is.

There’s no inherent reason every character Talents

must possess every type of building block,
though for primary or main characters it is Talents cover all aspects of the character
customary.
that cannot be quantified above.



Abilities Some Talents may be an unusual knack for
a given activity. A character that has
unusually keen senses may have the Talent
The key characteristics of a character are the Sharp Senses for example.

Abilities.

These are broad attributes such Strong, In more fantastical games, characters often
Agile, Charming and Cunning. have unusual abilities even beyond this.

An elf ranger may have a Talent for moving

An Ability covers a fundamental keystone of quietly in the woods while an Orc may have a
the character, often something that becomes Talent related to berserk rage.

readily apparent to anyone interacting with

them.
In the Blades&Lock-picks system, each
relevant Talent permits one die to be added
Abilities are best described in a single word to the Group dice pool.
and should be concise and clear, so it is
clear what type of situation it will apply to.

Flair
In the Blades&Lockpicks system, a relevant
Ability permits the group to re-roll all 1’s on
There’s more to role playing than the
their dice.

mechanical side.

Any details that are relevant to your

Skills character but which aren’t reflected in a
game mechanic is considered Flair.

A Skill covers an area of expertise, training Flair can be unusual habits, a style of dress,
or practice.
a noteworthy appearance and a favorite
Decide if you wish to use wide Skills (e.g. drink.

Fighting. Outdoors. Athletics) or more

specific Moderate Skills (e.g. Fencing. Even if Flair isn’t reflected in the game rules,
Tracking. Running).
in a creative game, it’s not inconceivable that
your fate could end up depending on it some
A popular choice is occupation skills such as day.

Woodsman, Knight and Fire Fighter.

In the Blades&Lock-picks system, a relevant

Skill permits the Group to add a +1 to their
final score.

 Page 27 of 43

Flaws Connections

What makes a character stand out is often Nobody exists in a vacuum and good
not their areas of mastery, but where they fall gaming tends to come from a well-
utterly short.
connected character.

A Flaw might be physical, such as missing A Connection is a link between your

an arm or it might be psychological, such as character and the world they exist in.

being unable to hold your alcohol.

This can be heavily setting-dependent, but

In some settings, Flaws may even take the examples of Connections include people
shape of a code of conduct such as the above or below you in a hierarchy, mentors
warrior code of a knight or samurai.
and enemies, favors owed, organizations you
belong to and organizations you wish to
Such a character would not view their Flaw bring down.

as a hindrance at all, quite to the contrary,

but to the game rules, we term all these Connections tend not to factor into the
Flaws.
Challenge mechanics but can be vital to
creating an interesting story.

A Flaw should be stated in a word or three.

Having an interesting Connection may

In the Blades&Lock-picks system, if a Flaw suggest a future scene, a course of action or
applies to a given situation, the character even an entire story line.

can contribute no other mechanical
advantages to a Challenge:

Their Abilities, Skills and Talents are all

cancelled.

 Page 28 of 43

CHARACTER CREATION

Power levels Flair

Campaigns, and indeed characters, can exist Each character should have 4 pieces of Flair
in a variety of power levels.
assigned, whether mannerisms,
We primarily govern that through the number appearances, habits or trinkets.

of things that go on the character sheet.

It should be noted that due to the group Flaws

oriented system, highly proficient characters
tend to become widely flexible, rather than Assign a single Flaw to each character (2 if
ever-increasing paragons of a single skill or playing a more comedic game).

in-game expression.

We use four fundamental power levels:

Connections

Mundane. Each character should have 2-3 Connections

Veteran to people, places or organizations.

Elite
Champion Going above and beyond

The table below offers how many choices

you get from each of the three main building Review the Challenge rule options for Epic,
Resistant and Enduring characters if they
blocks
would be applicable to your character
concept.

Abilities Skills Talents A caped super hero will likely need to be

Mundane 1 2 0 Epic, while a werewolf should have some
Resistances (and Vulnerabilities).

Veteran 1 3 1

Elite 2 4 1

Champion 2 5 2

If the game will use very wide Skills, reduce

the Skill total by 1.

For a more high-powered, exotic or

fantastical game, raise the number of Talents
by 1.

Characters that are Veteran and Elite may

trade their Talent for upgrading a Skill to
Expert.

Champions may trade both Talents for

upgrading a Skill to Master.

 Page 29 of 43

The notepad method The character path

A way of guiding character creation is to This is a more structured approach to

simply write out a paragraph or two detailing character building, without inhibiting your
the characters strongest characteristics, ability to create what you wish.

occupation or prior training, physical

appearance and a few facts you would Simply proceed through each stage and
notice upon interacting with them
finish the sentences with as much or little
detail as you like.

Think of this as a character bio for an online

encyclopedia.
In many cases, especially if you are creating
an entire adventuring party, there’s no need
When you are done, simply underline the to answer in long paragraphs. A line or two is
keywords and then assign them as Skills, usually all you need to move on.

Abilities or Talents as needed.

Anything that seems like it adds character

can be a Flair.

This method is ideal if you are a bit of a

writer. It can also be great for people who
aren’t sure how to go about assigning
mechanical traits to their character concept.

Flair can be assigned at the conclusion or

you may assign a piece at each stage
beyond the first.

Phase Mundane Veteran Elite Champion

“I grew up in…” Select 1 Connection Select 1 Select 1 Select 1

Connection Connection Connection

“When I got older, I Select 1 Ability

Select 1 Ability Select 1 Ability
Select 1 Ability

decided to…” Select 1 Skill Select 1 Skill

“However, events Select 1 Skill Select 1 Skill

Select 1 Skill
Select 1 Skill

beyond my control Select 1 Talent Select 1 Talent Select 1 Talent

resulted in me..”
“Everything was Select 1 Flaw Select 1 Skill
Select 1 Ability
Select 1 Ability

going great until…” Select 1 Flaw Select 1 Skill

Select 1 Skill

Select 1 Flaw Select 1 Talent

Select 1 Flaw

“And now I am …” Select 1 Skill

Select 1 Skill
Select 1 Skill
Select 2 Skills

Select 1 Connection Select 1 Select 1 Select 1

Connection Connection Connection
 Page 30 of 43

CHARACTER PROGRESSION

As characters adventure, we expect them to Single player games

grow, change and develop.

If a single player is handling a party of

We offer several systems for doing so. Pick characters, a good rule of thumb is that each
the one that fits your campaign the best.
play session you can add one trait and
change one trait anywhere in the group.

This could be the same or two different

Narrative experience characters as desired.

Group games
In a Narrative system, simply make changes
to the character sheet when it seems With a group of players, permit each player
appropriate:
to add a trait or change one after each
session.

If a character saved the day, found We recommend the use of the Prep Time rule
themselves in a position to learn something, below in group games.

met a mentor or had a revelation review their

character sheet.
Prep time option

New Skills or Abilities can be added as a Any new trait to be acquired is explained and
result of experiences had (and survived) written down, however it does not actually
while Talents typically require something take effect until after the FOLLOWING
significant to have happened in the story.
gaming session.

This is an abstraction to reflect the time

Sometimes, a character may lose a feature needed to practice, train, familiarize yourself
or replace it with something else.
or go through the lesson plan.

A character might turn their back on their

own lifestyle and embrace something new.
Experience interval
If so, simply cross off the old Skill and add a We assume relatively long gaming sessions
new one that fits better.
where players get to “level up” each time.

However, if you prefer a slower-paced game,

This can also work when you realize that you have shorter gaming sessions or want to
made a choice that feels wrong.
limit the number of things on the character
Sometimes when you start playing, the sheet, you might instead award experience
image you have of your character will end up very 2, 3 or even 4 sessions.

being dramatically different from what you

had in mind when you wrote it.

If so, adjust as you need, though be wary of

changing traits that have come up in game-
play.

A more realistic campaign may demand

training times and extensive practice to
manifest a given trait, while a more
fantastical one can justify sweeping changes
with relatively little set-up.

 Page 31 of 43

Milestone based experience Points based experience

Under this system, characters grow when This system uses Experience Points (XP) to
they experience a significant Milestone in purchase modifications to your character.

their existence (or in the campaign).

XP are awarded for each gaming session you

This system is excellent for smaller groups of play.

characters or for games where you want to

get a bit deeper into the role-playing.

It will also tend to shape the nature of your Short gaming session 30 XP

campaigns a little, which is completely Long gaming session 50 XP

intentional.
Overcame a significant threat 10 XP

Progressed a major plot point 15 XP

If you typically run a very particular style of Resolved a major plot point 30 XP

game, you will want to create some

Milestones of your own.

A super hero game would have very different It is up to the group or GM to determine what
Milestones from a gritty war drama, for constitutes a Short or a Long session.

example.

In a group game, if a player is particularly

Milestones can exist for a particular creative or really pushes the game to new
character and for the group as a whole.
heights, they can be awarded from 5-20
bonus XP.

Some examples include:

If the group would have been doomed, lost

*Defeat, overcome or persuade a lifelong rival or defeated without the efforts of a single,
particular character, that character may
*Experience a harsh lesson in life receive 25 bonus XP for fore-sight in
character design.

*Lose a lifelong friend

*Discover something about the universe

*Save your home from threat

*Change the world (a tiny bit)

*Achieve a lifelong ambition

*Realize you were wrong all along

*Do something that shouldn’t be possible

*Defend the innocent.

*Punish the guilty.

With practice, you can often estimate

Milestones on the fly, rather than have an
exact list.

Writing them down in advance can work

wonders to guide the game however.

 Page 32 of 43

XP can be spent to purchase upgrades and

changes:

Change Ability 50 XP

New Ability 100 XP

Change Skill 75 XP

New Skill 150 XP

Improve Skill to Expert 150 XP

Improve Expert to Master 150 XP

Change Talent 100 XP

New Talent 200 XP

Gain highly unusual trait 300 XP

Gain Magic Dice 100 XP

(+ 25 XP for each Magic Die already known)

If a desired trait is very wide-ranging, open-

ended or magical in nature, increase the cost
by 50%.

More realistic campaigns will expect that

new Abilities and Skills are matched to
events in the game.

If so, charge a 25 XP premium cost for any

Ability, Skill or Talent that is not justified by
the on-going story. 

 Page 33 of 43

SOLO
GAMING
TOOLS

 Page 34 of 43

SOLO GAME MECHANICS

Purpose

Mechanics and tables to conduct a solo or collaborative role playing game.

Intended users

*Solo gamers.

*Players wishing to run a game without a conventional Game Master.

*GM’s wanting to experiment with a more spontaneous game experience.

Presentation

The first tool presented is a set of tables for setting up a brand new game.

If you already have a setting or story idea in mind, this can be skipped. (Page 32)

The second tool is an “Oracle”: The corner stone of solo gaming. (Page 34)

Third, we provide some random event tables. (Page 35)

Finally we offer tools to help structure the on-going story as it unfolds. (Page 37)

Where possible, rules terms are marked in bold to avoid confusion.

Players notes

Throughout we assume that you are familiar with the basic concepts of how to play a solo role
playing game.

 Page 35 of 43

THE GAME BUILDER

Fantasy Genres may roll again:

1-45 Low Fantasy

Basics
46-90 High Fantasy

91-100 Historical or Folklore Fantasy

This section can be used if you wish to set Low Fantasy tends to take place in a world
up a new campaign completely from scratch.
that’s recognizable without the magical
aspects while High Fantasy tend to have
It will help you set up a genre of game play, fantastical elements as a core foundation.

along with key words to get you started.

Game of Thrones vs Lord of the Rings is a
good example.

If you are stuck and inspiration just seems to

be evading you, give it a spin.
Science Fiction Genres may roll again:

If you already know exactly what you want to 1-20 “Hard” sci-fi

play, go ahead and skip this chapter.

21-50 Space Opera

51-80 Space Fantasy

It is very likely that a given player or group

81-100 Cyberpunk

may have no interest in particular genres or

themes or wish for a different distribution of
Space Opera is typically defined by “cool”
probabilities.

over “practical”. Firefly or Trigun are

examples of Space Opera.

For this reason, we’ve added a blank column

Space Fantasy is things like Star Wars or the
so you can print out the rules and pencil in
Destiny video games.

your own dice roll tables instead.

Historical Genres may roll again:

Genre 1-10 Pre-Medieval

11-40 Medieval

The Genre of a game tends to define a lot of 41-60 Black Powder

other aspects, such as the type of characters 61-80 Industrial Age

to expect.
81-100 20th Century

The Black Powder period covers the era of

D100 roll Your Genre musketry and swashbuckling from roughly
rolls the 1500’s to the Napoleonic Wars.

here The Industrial Age covers the mid 1800’s

through to the outbreak of the first world war.

1-25 Fantasy
You can roll on this sub-table to define a
26-50 Science Fiction
Historical Fantasy.

51-65 Historical
Add a 25% chance of the Historical Genre
66-75 Contemporary being “Pulpy”. (Indiana Jones or The
Mummy)

76-90 Urban fantasy

91-100 Horror
 Page 36 of 43

Urban Fantasy may roll again:

Mood
1-50 Secret societies

51-75 Super Hero

76-100 Magical world

The mood table can establish an intended
tone.

A Magical World is one where the Some moods can seem difficult fits, but give
supernatural is widely understood and it a bit of thought.

known (many Young Adult novels, arguably

Harry Potter), while a Secret Societies world As an example the film Saving Private Ryan
is one where the supernatural is secret and would be a Gritty War story, while Black
concealed (Such as the Blade or Underworld Adder Goes Forth would be a Comedic War
movies)
story.

Horror Genres may roll again to find the base

Genre (such as Horror Sci-fi or Urban D100 roll Your Mood
Horror).
rolls
here

Theme 1-13 High adventure

14-26 Gritty
The theme can be thought of the type of
scenario you will be playing.
27-37 Comedic
Some themes may be best suited to
particular genres but we have opted to make 38-51 Dark
each table function independently.

52-65 Light-hearted

D100 roll Your Theme 66-78 Serious

rolls
79-90 Fantastical
here

1-10 Exploration 91-100 Dramatic

11-20 Mystery

21-30 Treasure hunt

31-39 Special mission

40-48 War

49-58 Survival

59-66 Heist

67-74 Revenge

75-80 Character drama

81-91 Epic quest

92-100 Intrigue
 Page 37 of 43

THE ORACLE

These rules assume you are familiar with the idea of an Oracle in solo-roleplaying but we will
provide a small introduction:

When establishing facts in the game world, you frame a Yes/No question to the Oracle and roll
the dice to obtain an answer.

In most cases, it is best to use 3-4 questions to establish the scene, then set up any likely
outcomes once you have a good idea.

You can always drop back into the Oracle later in the scene, if you need new information.

For example if our characters are approaching the bridge to an occupied village, a good
question might be “Is the bridge guarded?”.

If the answer is “Yes” we may want to make a follow up question such as “Are the guards
heavily armed?”.

Almost any piece of information you need about the game world can be established on the fly
using the Oracle and any player can frame a question.

Oracles work best if you do not try to “game” the system (“Do I randomly find the epic sword
of monster slaying in my backyard?”) or ask repeated variations of the same questions.

Note that the table is weighted slightly towards Yes answers.

Roll Answer is Roll Answer is

1-5 Definite No 46-60 Likely Yes

6-25 No 61-70 Yes But

26-35 No But 71-95 Yes

36-45 Likely No 96-100 Definite Yes

All examples use “Yes” for simplicity.

Yes The answer is a Yes.

Yes But The answer is a Yes but with a condition, modifying factor or limitation.

Likely Yes If Yes is the most likely or plausible answer, the answer is Yes.

Definite Yes A strong Yes.

Example question “is the bridge guarded?”

Yes - There are guards on the bridge.
Yes But - There are guards but they are not very attentive.
Likely Yes - Given the location, it seems likely the bridge should be guarded, so it is guarded.
Definite Yes - It’s heavily guarded with sentries and check points.

 Page 38 of 43

THE WORLD ISN’T STANDING STILL

The characters exist in a living, breathing world that has an agenda of its own.

In a conventional role playing game, this is injected by the GM, however in a solo game, it can
tend to feel like nothing happens unless you are there to witness it.

The tables in this chapter can help create the illusion of activity.

Intended for a multitude of settings, worlds and realities, they must of course be quite generic
and open-ended.

Event rolls can be fit in whenever it seems needed, such as during a period of down time or
after a short adventure has been completed.

If an event seems to dramatic for your campaign, it can always be something heard about from
far-away lands/planets.

Roll Character events Roll Background event

1-5 Receive a message 1-5 Change of leadership

6-10 Meet an old friend 6-10 Threat of conflict

11-15 Meet an old rival 11-15 Disease epidemic

16-20 Catch a minor disease 16-20 New philosophy or religion

21-25 Make a local friend 21-25 Political disorder

26-30 Make a local rival 26-30 Natural disaster

31-35 Make a bit of money 31-35 Scandal among the rich and famous

36-40 Witness an injustice 36-40 Social disorder

41-45 Witness a crime 41-45 Peace and quiet

46-50 Hear a rumor 46-50 Discovery

51-55 Offered a job 51-55 Unusual person becomes famous

56-60 Asked for help 56-60 Fad of music or fashion

61-65 Victim of crime 61-65 Festival or celebration

66-70 Friend in trouble 66-70 Outspoken activist

71-75 Mysterious event 71-75 Tensions boiling over

76-80 Premonition 76-80 Mass hysteria

81-85 Learn something interesting 81-85 Heated political debate

86-90 See something strange 86-90 Crime spree

91-95 Gain a strange item 91-95 Abundance of resource

96-100 A moment of introspection 96-100 Shortage of resource

 Page 39 of 43

These events can be as dramatic or minor as you see fit and should be interpreted with your
campaign style in mind.

The two tables below offers results for enemy forces, if you wish to get surprised at what your
arch rivals might be up to, as well as results for large organizations your party may be involved
with.

Roll Enemy actions Roll Organization events

1-10 Inactive 1-29 No event

11-19 Direct attack on characters 30-31 Splinter group

20-28 Indirect attack on characters 32-36 Gain allies or support

29-37 Enemy gathers allies 37-41 Lose allies or support

38-46 Enemy fortifies or gathers support 42-46 Gain popularity

47-55 Allies of characters attacked directly 47-51 Lose popularity

56-64 Allies of characters attacked indirectly 52-55 Leadership struggle

65-73 Sabotage or espionage 56-60 Conflict with another organization

74-82 Subversion of allies 61-66 Players make a new Connection within

the organization

83-91 Attempt to deprive characters of 67-72 Players make a new Connection with a
support or resources rival of the organization

92-100 Show of strength 73-75 Change of leadership

76-77 New rival organization

78-81 Corruption or disorganization

82-84 Organization is infiltrated

85-92 Organization needs something done

93-96 Internal reforms

97-100 Improvement in loyalty

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SCENE BY SCENE

Games usually progress in a series of scenes.

As each scene is completed, take a moment to write down any Story Threads that have been
created.

This may be people you’ve heard of, possible plot hooks, potential risks, areas of interest and
so forth.

In the verbiage of video games, think of these as “side quests”.

If a given Story Thread was resolved in the scene you just played, cross it off the list.

Establish what the next scene is going to be: Typically this depends on what you want the
characters to do, though in some scenarios, a course of action may be dictated by the story.

Use of the random event tables can also trigger a scene that you may not have expected.

When you’ve established what you intend to do and where it is going to take place, roll below
to determine if things go as you expected.

Roll Next scene is Roll Next scene is

1-4 Complicated 13-16 Opportunity

5-8 Unlucky 17-20 Interrupted

9-12 Lucky 21-100 Exactly as planned

Complicated

The scene is made more confusing or chaotic, usually by the presence of someone or
something unexpected.

Unlucky

The scene will be more difficult than expected.

Lucky

The scene will be easier than expected.

Opportunity

The scene will have an unexpected chance to advance the plot.

Interrupted

Events, forces or happenstance interferes and causes a different scene.

Exactly as planned

Play the scene as you intended to.

Example:
After fighting our way past the guards, our next scene is going to be infiltrating the occupied
village and finding our contact.
Complicated - Allied artillery are planning to shell the village within the hour.
Unlucky - The town is particularly well defended.
Lucky - The villagers are extremely angry with the occupiers and will help us.
Opportunity - An enemy intelligence officer is visiting the town right now.
Interrupted - An enemy patrol spots us as we’re nearing the town and we must escape.

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DESIGNER NOTES

So why does this entire thing exist?

Largely out of three impulses:

First, I have really enjoyed a lot of the work and creativity of the solo gaming communities
online, especially the Lone Wolf Roleplaying Google + community.

I wanted to contribute something meaningful myself, with the modest hope that it’d end up
improving the gaming experience of someone out there.

Second, I often become frustrated with running conventional RPG systems solo.

It’s strange, I can GM a 5 player Rolemaster battle no problem, but the second I am in charge
of the characters, shuffling character-sheets becomes an annoyance for me.

I wanted something that would let me play with a full party of characters, while keeping
everything potentially on one piece of paper (or a couple of index cards).

Thirdly, having read and experimented with, but never played “proper” Tunnels & Trolls, I was
intrigued by how it handled combat as a group activity: Each character on both sides
contributes to an overall “pool” and then you compare to the bad guys to see who got beat up.

This got me thinking: What if you could extend that to everything in the game?

This meant finding a dice mechanic and I didn’t have to look too long.

I didn’t want to add the dice together, the way T&T had done, because it can create situations
where one side is overmatched and stands no chance.

This isn’t automatically a bad thing, but in a solo oriented game, I felt it would be boring.

The solution came from a few sources simultaneously: The Games Workshop Lord of the Rings
miniatures game as well as my old design work on the Fast and Dirty war game rules:

Roll the dice, pick the highest and then compare.

This both creates a nice averaging effect where large groups will typically perform as expected,
but also puts two groups within the same theoretical frame work (a 1 to 7 range in our case).

Perfect!

With a pretty universal mechanic in place, it was just a case of filling it all the fringe cases:
What if the bad guys has cannon fodder minions? What if you fight a troll? What if you are a
ninja master? All that stuff.

I included a few random tables I’ve been using for my own solo games. Knowing that solo
gamers tend to find a tool set they like and stick to it, I wanted to make sure each component
of the game rules was as modular as possible.

As such, there’s nothing stopping you from using the resolution mechanics along with another
oracle such as Mythic. Or for that matter using my oracle with a conventional game system.

After all, if you’re playing solo, who is going to tell you no?

Best wishes and happy gaming

Ivan Sorensen

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SAMPLE CHARACTERS

This section presents a few sample characters, created using the Veteran template for a
fantasy campaign:

Sir Arren Noble knight.

Abilities: Fortitude.

Skills: Swordsman. Horseman. Chivalry.

Talents: Willpower.

Flair: Uneasy around law-breakers. Prefers green clothing.

Strokes beard when thinking. Carves wood figurines.

Flaws: Afraid of swimming.

Connections: Local duke. Old priest. Forbidden love.

Miriam Cut-throat mercenary.

Abilities: Speed.

Skills: Soldiering. Dirty fighting. Foraging.

Talents: Looting.

Flair: Swears constantly. Hates elves.

Always carries a dagger. Doesn’t drink.

Flaws: No tact.

Connections: Former commander. Local thief. Crazy old man.

“Ferret” Street urchin.

Abilities: Charisma.

Skills: Sneaking. Thievery. Persuasion.

Talents: Avoid detection.

Flair: Nervous. Always hungry.

Quiet. Eager for approval.

Flaws: Physically weak.

Connections: Beggar king. Step father. Friendly monk.

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CHARACTER CREATION EXAMPLE

We set out to build a Veteran character, using the Path system.

We have an idea of a forest-dwelling ranger type, so we start with “I grew up in..” And finish the
sentence with “The deep forest, raised by elves”.

This gives us a connection, which we’ll take as an “Elven Mentor”.

The next step is “When I got older, I decided to…” which we finish as “roam the land, looking
for adventure”.

We get our Ability from this, so something like Perception would fit well.

Next step is “However, events beyond my control resulted in me…”.

This is the step to add a bit of tragedy so we’ll say that “..being cast out due to a false
accusation”. Ouch!

This gives us a Talent and a Skill, so we’re going to pick up the Stealth skill and a Talent for
Revenge. The former will be generally handy and with the Talent, we can justify a bonus die on
all manner of things relating to our past.

“Everything was going great until..”. Since we went a bit dramatic, we reason that our character
found the wandering life to his liking, maybe picking up odd jobs scouting and tracking.

We’ll finish that as “I met a group of adventurers”.

If this is our current adventuring party, it adds a little bit of light-hearted fun to the proceedings,
which is fine: We don’t want our character to be a brooding type.

We get another skill here, so we’ll take some Archery. The adventurers probably took an
interest in our martial skills.

For a flaw, we’re going to take Trust Issues. This might hinder us if we have to make certain
social rolls, but seems fitting and interesting.

Final step “And now I am…” “Searching for my place in life”. Boom. We now have a reason to
adventure.

Our final skill will be Tracking and we’ll take a Connection to a Loyal inn-keep we’ve met in
our travels.

Now we just need to assign some Flair and we’re good to go.