fu the freeformuniversal rpg (5798234)

7/26/2019 FU the FreeformUniversal RPG (5798234)

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FUA Roleplaying Game by Nathan Russell

FREEFORM / UNIVERSAL

nic Richard (order #5798234)


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I U

B W

W

H

B

alk beore play! 4

Te Insta-Genre-Generator 4

C C

D

E D

Clichs are your riend! 6

Choosing Descriptors 6

Descriptors are clear 6

Descriptors are innate 6

Descriptors are finite 6

What type o

Descriptor is this? 6

What makes a good

Edge & Flaw? 6

Should I specialise? 6

Alternative Descriptors 6

G

E G

Choosing Gear 7

Gear is equipment 7

Describing Gear 7One adjective only 7

Specific nouns 7

alk about your Gear 7

Good Gear / Bad Gear 7

Stuff that isnt Gear 7

D

D

R

Its all about roleplaying now 8

Long or short term goals? 8

How many Relationships? 8Dont be antagonistic 8

C

C S

A S T

Who sets the scene? 10

How do you set a scene? 10

What is an objective? 10

Do scenes have to be in order? 10

Do I have to use turns? 10

B O

Closed Questions 11

Alternative Questions 11

Alternative Dice Rolls 11

S F

M

Example o Modifiers 13

Other types o rolls? 13

How do opposed

actions work? 13

Dialing in on Your action 13

Option: Matching Dice 13

FU P

Starting FU Points? 14

Can I give / share FU Points? 14Do Narrators get FU points? 14

Other ways to earn FU 14

Other ways to use FU 14

FU as Health 14

Re-Roll Everything 14

Flip a Pip 14

Use a Prop 14

Stunts and Powers 14

aking a Hit 14

A S

N T

L

W

3 Questions to

rame your game 16

What will characters do? 16

How do players want to eel? 16

What is the Narrators role? 16

R

R

C O

Te Bowl 17

Advancement 17

racking obstacles 17

What do I share with players? 17

RACE EMPLE O 18B

S

C

C

A:D B D

M D E D

F D

C S

CONTENTS



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FU is a game o action, adventure and un! It is arole playing game o grand proportions and stupey-ing simplicity. FU lets you create exciting stories in anysetting imaginable, with a minimum o uss, or even

preparation.FU is first and oremost an easy game. Tis book

will help you move rom the thought Lets roleplayin this setting...to actually playing within a matter ominutes. Character creation is quick and intuitive, al-lowing you to play any kind o character you desire,and the game system itsel is easy to learn and verysimple to use.

FU is universal. Or generic. Or whatever you wantto call it. Tese core rules are not wrapped around aspecific background or setting, and make an effort toassume nothing. It is a basic system around which youmay create your own settings and stories. With thatsaid, however, FU avours certain kinds o play. FUlends itsel to a seat o your pants style, where littlepreparation is needed. Narrators that enjoy runningadventures on the fly will certainly enjoy FU, as willplayers that are tired o being told what they cant do,instead o what they might achieve.

U Tis book is filled with two types o inormation.

Te first are the rules proper - the inormation thattells you how to play. Te rules are laid out like the

inormation on this page, with clear headings and sub-headings. FU is pretty straightorward and you arentlikely to need to do much reerring to the rule bookafer your first game, but everything you need to knowis presented clearly in this way.

Examples o rules are ormatted like this. Teyare scattered amongst the main text and will helpyou see the rules in action. You probably wontneed to read them either, afer your first game.

Tere are also sidebars at the bottom o many pages.Here you will find explanations o rules, detailed ex-amples, guidelines on using rules in play, and optionalrules that you can incorporate into your games. Tesidebars are easy to spot as they are separated rom themain text by a line, and presented in three columns.Reer to this inormation i you need to clariy thehow or why o a particular rule.

INTRODUCTION

FU: Freeorm / Universal Roleplaying GameA game by Nathan Russell

FU by Nathan Russellis licensed under a CreativeCommons Attribution 3.0 Unported License

For more details on what this license means, attributionrequirements, and a cool Powered By FU logo, visit

http://nathanrussell.net/u

www.PerilPlanet.com

Tis game was completed as part o the National Game Design Month.Find out more at www.nagademon.com

http://nathanrussell.net/http://nathanrussell.net/http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_UShttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_UShttp://nathanrussell.net/fuhttp://nagademon.com/http://nagademon.com/http://www.perilplanet.com/http://nathanrussell.net/fuhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_UShttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_UShttp://nathanrussell.net/http://nathanrussell.net/


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FU is written with the assumption that at least oneplayer is amiliar with roleplaying games and has avague idea o how they work. I you dont have a cluewhat an RPG is, then start by finding someone who

does!

W o play FU you will need to gather a ew things.

Here is your shopping list;D: Standard six-sided dice are used to resolve

action in FU. You will need at least one, but it wouldbe better i players had about three each. Six sided diceare reerred to throughout the rules as d6. I a numberappears in ront (such as 2d6 or 4d6) this indicates youshould roll that many dice.

P P:Players will need to record thedetails o their character, important notes about theirmission, and all kinds o other things. Te Narratorwill also need paper or keeping track o different ele-ments o the story.

S P: Narrators will find it useul to keepa supply o paper handy, in order to draw rough dia-grams, or keep track o the events o a story. A smallwhite board is also handy or such purposes.

W You and your riends are going to work together totell a dramatic, exciting story. You will establish partso the setting, and everyone will have a chance to in-fluence that world. Most o the players will create acharacter who is going to be a major protagonist, oneo the cool guys that gets things done. Each characterhas their own strengths, weaknesses and goals that willhelp you roleplay them. One player will be the Nar-rator, who helps everyone along, presents challenges

or the characters to overcome and adjudicate the ruleswhen needed.

Play is a kind o conversation, where everyoneworks together to put the characters in cool and/or

entertaining situations. Ten you will use the dice tohelp work out what happens next. Sometimes you willall be working together, throwing ideas around, sug-gesting things and talking over the top o each other. Itis chaos, but hopeully productive, un chaos. At othertimes you are going to take it in turns to describe whatyour character is doing, and seeing how that turns out.

H o resolve any action where the outcome is not

clear, roll a d6. Your objective is to beat the odds by

rolling an even number. Te higher the even number,the better the result. I you roll an odd number, theaction either ailed, or wasnt quite as good as neededor expected. Te lower the odd number, the worse theresult. When the environment, skills, equipment orabilities make an action easier or harder you will getto roll multiple dice and keep the best or worst result.

B Beore anything else, you and your riends must

decide what type o game you want to play, who thecharacters are going to be, and where your story takesplace. Knowing this will help players create cool char-acters, and direct the Narrator in the role they will take.

Tese decisions might already be made, either bythe Narrator, or a pre-made setting module. I not,work together to come up with something everyone isexcited to play.

THE BASICS

T !

Have a conversation about the typeo game you will play, so everyonestarts in the same space. Establishtone, theme and/or expectations. It isimportant to know whether you will becheered or jeered or outrageous over-acting, or bloody acts o violence.

Trow around ideas on setting, im-agery, set-pieces, cool clichs and unky

scenes. Tis way everyone gets a clearpicture o what the game is going to beabout.

Tis discussion will also clue theNarrator in on what players want (orneed) out o the game. It establisheswhether players want to eel like epicheroes, down-trodden underdogs, ortragic anti-heroes.

T I-G-G

For quick pick-up games, get every-one to write two genres or settings onbits o paper. Stick them all in a hat and

pick out two. Now you have ApocalypseSuburbia, Medieval Super-heroes,Kung-Fu High School or whatever,have a discussion about tone, theme,

possible plots and characters. Now play!



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In FU a character is your alter-ego. During a storyyou describe what the character does, how they re-spond to situations, and react to others.

CWhen you know the kind o setting or premiseo the adventures you will be playing you can beginthinking about your character. Tis is the kernel owho or what the character is, and should be summedup in just a ew words or a phrase.

Te concept might define the characters back-ground or occupation, such as paranormal detectiveor child prodigy. Or it might give insight into theirpersonality, such as noble savage or nutty proessor.

O course, the characters concept should fit into the

setting, background or types o adventures that youwill be playing. A streetwise cop may be out o placein medieval England, though a worldly sheriff mightbe just right. Use the setting to inspire your character.

Troughout this chapter we will ollow Daveand Nina as they create their own characters.With im, the Narrator, they have decided to playa game based on the pulp serials o the 1930s, andthat it will be airly whimsical and action-packed.Dave thinks o a couple o his avourite movies

and decides that the concept or his character willbe Daredevil Explorer. Nina wants to play some-thing a little unusual, and afer discussing herideas with im and Dave decides her characterwill be an Alien Emissary.

DDescriptors are adjectives or very short phrases that

identiy a characters skills and flaws, the things thatmake their lie easier and harder, and ultimately make

them who they are. Tey indicate the kinds o thingsthat a character is good at, their physical and mentaltraits, and any abilities or drawbacks they might have.Tey are both guides or your roleplaying and modi-fiers to beat the odds rolls.

Characters have our Descriptors; Body, Mind,Edge and Flaw. Choose an adjective or phrase to de-scribe the most distinctive eatures o your character.

Tinking about his Daredevil Explorer and thekinds o things he might have gotten up to duringhis lie, Dave decides on the ollowing Descriptors;

Body:NimbleMind:Level HeadedEdge:Use bull whipFlaw:Araid o heights

Nina, inspired by classic pulp science fictionstories, has decided on the ollowing Descriptorsor her character, the Alien Emissary;

Body: FragileMind:Observant

Edge:Read MindsFlaw:Alien Perspective

E DTis is by no means an exhaustive list, just some

ideas to get you started. Each o these is described inmore detail in the Appendix (page 20).

B: Agile, Ambidextrous, Blonde, Furry,Fake Orange an, Handsome, Huge, Overweight,Poor Constitution, Quick, Razor-sharp Claws,

Short, Slow, Strong, all, Tin, Ugly, Vigour, Weak.

M:Absent Minded, Book Smart, Comput-er-Wiz, Dim-Witted, Empathetic, Focused, Lat-eral Tinker, Mathematician, Observant, Slow,Uneducated, Wise, Witty.

E: Acrobatics, Arcane Knowledge, Cour-age, Driving, Fencing, Good Memory, Hunting,Keen Sight, Linguistics, Magic, Medicine, NastyBite, Rich, Wrestling.

F: Blind, Brave, Clumsy, Greedy, In-hu-man Appearance, Missing Leg, Old, Poor, PoorSight, Primitive, Smelly, Wanted, Young.

CHARACTERS



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C !

It is totally okay to use clichs whencoming up with your concept. Clichscontain a host o ideas and conceptsthat we are immediately amiliar with.When somebody says their character is

a barbarian, we automatically picturethem as heavily muscled, and uncivi-lised. Using clichs is a kind o a short-hand way to describe your character.

C D

You should strive to be imaginativeand honest. Consider both your conceptand the setting. Giving a character theFlaw cant swim when you know allthe stories will take place in the desert ishardly sporting.

Be imaginative, keep your concept inmind, and discuss your ideas with theNarrator. Te possibilities are endless.

D

A good Descriptor is understood byeveryone at the table. I you or another

player think a Descriptor is ambiguous,talk about it. It might need to be re-written, but it might not either. You justwant everyone to be on the same page

when it comes time to using it.D

Each Descriptor is an integral andinnate part o the character. Tey can-not normally be taken away, lost orremoved (though they might be orgot-ten or restricted under the right circum-stances). Do not make your Descriptorsitems o equipment.

D

Each Descriptor should have one ortwo obvious uses or a specific purpose.It might also be applicable in a rangeo other unoreseen circumstances, but

you will find that out in play.Medicineis better than Doctor, or example, asthe latter could be used in a variety onon-medical situations (As a Doctor, Iam well educated and quite wealthy...).

W D ?

Some Descriptors could easily allinto more than one categoryGood

Memorymight, or example, be a MindDescriptor or an Edge; Uglycould be aFlaw or a Body Descriptor. Tats fine. It

is up to you, the Narrator and the otherplayers to make a decision on whether aspecific Descriptor is appropriate or not

or the stories you are telling.

W E F?

Tings that might be called skills oreats or stunts in other games make

great Edges - stuff like sword fighting,breath underwater, and winningsmile are all good examples.

Te best Flaws are personality traitsor physical shortcomings. Tings likealways smells bad, or deaf are better

flaws than cant drive or cant speakFrench. O course, there are alwaysexceptions. I the characters are Britishspies during the Napoleonic wars, notspeaking French would be a real draw-back. Likewise, the Flaw cant swimbecomes a great eature in a game o

pirates and sea battles. Look or waysto challenge your character, add spice

to games, and present obstacles to over-come.

S I ?

You can ocus your Descriptors ona single concept and specialise. Fora really awesome warrior give themBody: Strong, Mind: Tactician, Edge:

Meleeand Flaw: Reckless. It would bevery easy to bring most o these descrip-tors into play whenever you get intoa fight. BU, there isnt a lot o depth

there and you are going to be in a bindwhen in noncombat situations. Instead,

you might replace a couple o Descrip-tors with more versatile options; Body:Tough, Mind: Focused, Edge: Meleeand Flaw: Reckless.

Describe your characters Body asHugeand their Edge as Strong, i you

want a wrestler, body builder or angrygreen super hero! Give your brilliantscientist Mind: Book-Smartand Edge:Rocket Science. Just be aware the more

you specialise, the harder you will haveto work in scenes unrelated to your

orte. Some players like this challenge.

A D

Te our deault Descriptors (Body,Mind, Edge & Flaw) are not the onlyway to define your characters. Changeor replace them to suit your game, set-ting and stories. In a game about giantmecha you might replace Body and

Mind with Chassis and Pilot, or ex-ample. In a game where everyone playsdifferent types o were-creatures one

Descriptor might become Animal Form.In these cases some o the advice in thissidebar might also need to be adjusted;

Animal Form: Jaguar is broader thanthe Descriptors discussed here, but is to-tally appropriate to capture the ideas o

your game. Use your imagination andmodiy things as needed!



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GGear is the equipment, gadgets, and weapons that

a character will use on their adventures. All charactershave the basic clothes or items that are appropriate totheir concept. Gear is the important and cool stuff thata character carries.

Like Descriptors, a characters Gear will modiy

beat the odds rolls. Gear can be anything - guns andknives to ancy clothes, credit cards, a horse, mobilephone, or even a star ship. Like Descriptors, your char-acters Gear depends on character concept, game set-ting, and the stories you want to tell. Unlike Descrip-tors, Gear is always made up o an adjective and noun;Rusting Sword, Long Rope, Fast Horse, Long-rangedRifle, Dads Camero, Heavy Armour.

Your character has two items o Gear. Choose twoitems or your character.

Dave decides his Daredevil Explorer to have aSturdy Bull Whip, since he is quite skilled with it,and a Worn Leather Jacketto keep out the coldand offer a little protection rom scrapes and alls.

Nina thinks about her Alien Emissary beoredeciding on some Official Documentsthat indi-cating her political status, and some Exotic Robes,designed to impress and inspire awe.

E GLike the example Descriptors, this list is not in any

way exhaustive. It barely scratches the surace o whatyour character might possess.

C:Designer Jeans, Slinky Black Dress(lets count black dress as the noun), Filthy Un-derpants, Worn Jacket, State-o-the-art SpaceSuit, Silk Smoking Jacket, Beat-up Fedora, allPowdered Wig.

W: Rusting Sabre, Heavy Axe, MyFathers Service Revolver, Concealed Dagger, Ex-perimental Flamethrower, Fake Revolver, ReliableAK-47, Rubber Mallet.

Transport: Faithul Horse, Beat-up Buick,Bullet-proo Limo, Squeaky Clown Shoes, uned-up Street Racer, Girls Bicycle, Unreliable Coupe,

Rickety Wagon, Fast Motorcycle, Grandmas Run-about.

O S: Huge Backpack, MiniatureFlag, Heavy RPG Books, Faithul Hound, DentedFrying Pan, Water-damaged Notebook, AncientSpell Book, My Favourite Pet Rock.

C GItems should be iconic to your

character. Tink Batmans SinisterBatsuit, the Ghostbusters UnstableProton-packs, James Bonds ReliableBerretta, or Zorros Flashing Blade.

Each piece o Gear should add some-thing to your characters background,

personality or goals. It should make astatement about who the character is orwhat they do.

G

Gear is never innate - it can bedropped, lost, broken and stolen. A Cy-bernetic Arm is not Gear, but an Ar-moured Power Gloveis.

D G

When describing gear make the ad-jective tell us something useul and/orinteresting about it. A Long Dagger isokay, a Broken Dagger is better!

Like Descriptors, the description oyour Gear should be clear - you dontwant to be guessing at the purpose ormain eature o an item.

O

Te description o your gear shouldhave a single adjective - no less and nomore. A Sharp Sabre is okay, as is a

Magic Sword, but a Sharp Magic Sabreis not allowed.

S

Choose specific, descriptive nouns;Sabre is better than Sword, BaseballCap is better than Hat. You can usemore than one noun, but keep the de-scription to as ew words as possible.

T G

Discuss your Gear. Everyone needsto be clear on what you are describing;what the Gear will be useul or, andwhen it might be a hindrance.

Gear is not innately good or bad.What you do with it and the situationsyou find yoursel in will dictate whetherhaving an item is useul or not.

G G / B G

You can, i you want, dictate thatone piece o Gear must have a goodadjective, and the other a bad one.You might have a Warm Jacket and anOld Gun; or a Fast Motorcycle and a

Maxed-out Credit Card.

S G

Any objects, items or equipment thatare not listed as Gear are props. Propshave no effect on a characters chanceo success at an action - they are merelywindow-dressing. However, you canswap, steal and pick-up another charac-ters Gear and use that!



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DBy now, you should have a good idea o who your

character is. Now it is time to fill in all the other details.Tis is the bit where you describe the characters

appearance and personality, their past, goals, riends,enemies, and any other detail you think important orinteresting.

Dave takes a moment to note a ew thingsabout the Daredevil Explorer;

ennessee Smith is a mild-mannered proessoro history, but in his spare time he travels into thewilderness in search o lost arteacts and treasure.Ruggedly handsome, he always seems to keep hiscool, no matter how much danger he is inandhe tends to get into a lot o it!

Ninas description o the Alien Emissary is;

Lumina is an important diplomat rom theplanet Jupiter, which is ruled by the Dread LordKang. Like all her kind, she has purple skin, a baldhead, and delicate eatures. Lumina works or theJupiter Underground, attempting to overthrowDread Lord Kang.

DEvery character has a purpose - a goal they are striv-

ing to achieve. It may not be world changing (thoughit can be) but it should be important to that character.Ask the ollowing questions o your character;

W ?What is it that you desire,the thing that drives you to action?

W ?What obstacle or adver-sary is stopping you rom getting what you want?

W ? What is the next step to getwhat you want? What are you willing to do to succeed?

ennessee Smith is in search o the Idol o ot,an arteact he has coveted or decades. His rival,Giles Fishburne is also afer the idol and always

seems to be one step ahead. ennessee is desperateto succeed this time and will do almost anythingto get the idol - though he would never kill or it.

Lumina seeks reedom or all the people o Jupi-ter. Dread Lord Kang rules the planet with an ironfist, and his agents are always on the look out orrenegades. Lumina is willing to put her own lie onthe line to achieve her vision.

RChoose at least one other character that will takepart in the story and write a short statement aboutyour relationship with them. Tis should be clear andadd some interesting depth to both characters back-grounds. For example; Old drinking buddies; Datedthe same woman; Fought in the war together; Weretrained by the same master.

Dave writes; ennessee Smith and Lumina metat Harvard where Lumina was giving a presen-tation on the ancient cultures o Jupiter. Nina is

happy with this, adding only that both characterswere attracted to each other but Lumina is too o-cussed on her mission to have any romantic dal-liance.

I

Your Description, Drives and Re-lationships all help develop your char-acter and put them into the world o

your stories and adventures. Te Narra-tor might occasionally give you a bonusto dice rolls because o the inormation

you reveal here, but that is by no meansrequired.

Use your Drives and Relationshipsto inorm the way you roleplay yourcharacter, the way they interact with theother players characters and the worldaround them.

L ?

When choosing your Drive you areree to pick long or short term goals. Iyou are only playing a one-off game,

then it is a better idea to pick somethingthat will have an immediate impact onthe plot. I you are planning a series o

games, then by all means come up witha longer-term goal or your character.

H R?

wo is a good number o Relation-ships to begin with. Pick two differentcharacters and decide how they knoweach other. You and another player can

work together to decide on a relation-ship, or you can have separate, unre-lated or opposed relationships (orexample; In love with/Repulsed by).

D

Dont create Drives or Relationshipsthat will have characters constantly ateach others throats. It is okay to havecharacters that dont see eye-to-eye (in

act, that can be un!), but dont havethem hate each other. You want thecharacters to unction together in orderto deeat the antagonist, solve the mys-tery or complete the mission!



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CHARACTER CREATION

SUMMARY

CONCEPTWho is your character? What is the High Concept?Clichs and archetypes are okay!

DESCRIPTORSIdentiy the our most important or interesting eatures o your character,one each or Body, Mind, Edge and Flaw.Each Descriptor should be short, punchy, clear, innate and finite.

GEARWhat cool, iconic stuff does your character carry?Choose two items o gear, describing each with an adjective and noun(e.g. Sharp Sabre; Fast Motorcycle).

DESCRIPTIONWhat does your character look like? What is their name? Where are theyrom? What makes them interesting and unique?

DRIVESWhat does your character want? What is stopping them? What will they doto get it?

RELATIONSHIPSHow do the characters know each other? What connections do they have?



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In FU you and the other players work together totell exciting stories about your characters. It is notabout winning or even competing with anyone, but itis about everyone having un while you create this col-

laborative story.

S Play is broken into scenes and turns. A scene is a

period o story involving a specific situation, locationor group o characters. Scenes are the primary buildingblocks o the story and can represent anything rom aew seconds to many hours o time. Each scene shouldhave a specific objective and the scene ends when thatobjective has been addressed. A scene should advancethe plot o the story, reveal inormation about a char-

acter, or add background colour to the events beingdescribed. Ofen a scene will do all o these things atthe same time.

During a scene players and Narrator describe whatthe characters are doing. Players act out their char-acters, speaking or them and declaring what actionsthey take, while the Narrator does the same or all theother characters, creatures and monsters in the scene.

Scenes might be resolved through dice rolls, but theydont have to be. It is entirely possible that a scenesobjective is met through roleplaying and character in-teraction.

When it is important to know the specific actionso each character and the order in which they occur,a scene is broken into turns. A turn is a period longenough or each character to take a single action,whether that be to make an attack, deliver a rousingspeech, throw an object to a companion, look up someinormation on their iPhone, or perorm some othertask.

Players declare what action their characters aretaking, while the Narrator decides what the othercharacters and creatures are going to do. Everyonethen works together to decide what order everythingoccurs. When all the characters involved have had achance to act the turn ends. A new turn will begin, inecessary.

It is worth pointing out at this point that only play-ers roll dice. Tis leaves the Narrators hands and mindree to scheme and plot and prepare or the next excit-ing encounter.

ACTION

W ?Players might suggest scenes they

would like to see or be involved in, butmost o the time the Narrator decideswhat scenes occur and in what orderthey happen. Discussion might occurabout the order events occur in, whatis happening, where it is happening andwho is involved beore the Narratormakes a final call on all these matters.

Some groups like to give everyone a

turn at setting a scene, and that is to-tally cool, too.

H ?

Setting a scene is a matter o defin-ing where and when the action takes

place, who is there, and what has justhappened or what is about to happen.Location, Characters, Event, or Where,When, Who & What.

When describing the scene draw on

all the senses; point out interesting orimportant details o the location; andall the characters involved. Consider theobjective o the scene as you create it.

W ?

An objective can be anything thata player or character wants. Characterobjectives might include finding a pieceo inormation, deeating an enemy,talking to someone, travelling a small or

great distance, preparing or battle, con-

ning a mark, or stealing an object. Play-er objectives could include seeing theircharacter in a cool fight, solving themystery, revealing a secret about theircharacter, or interacting with a specificcharacter or player. Ofen, player andcharacter goals overlap.

D ?

You can use all the techniques o sto-ries, novels and movies, which means

flashbacks and flash orwards, parallel

story lines and even montages can beplayed out in scenes. While most o thetime your scenes will occur in a chrono-logical order, you do not have to be re-stricted by this.

D I ?

urns are an optional measuremento time, useul or when a variety o stuffis being attempted by several charac-ters. Use them to organise the action asneeded. Some scenes will naturally all

into turns, while others will be resolvedwithout ever considering them.



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B OWhen a character attempts an action where the

outcome is not immediately and/or completely obvi-ous, you make a beat the odds roll.

o resolve an action roll a d6. Your objective is tobeat the odds by rolling an even number. Te higherthe even number, the better the result. I you roll an

odd number, the action either ailed, or wasnt quite asgood as needed or expected. Te lower the odd num-ber, the worse the result. Tere is a handy chart belowthat helps illustrate this idea.

Te beat the odds roll is the heart o FU. While mosto the time even numbers are good and odd numbersare bad, the precise situation will dictate the actual re-sults. It may be that the roll o a 1 does not indicate anoutrageous ailure, so much as a success in the mostminimal or ragile o ways.

We are going to ollow the trials and tribula-tions o two characters rom two different settingsin this chapter;

Sir Camden is riding afer the evil Lord Kane.He sees Lord Kane leap a tall hedgerow, disappear-ing into the orest beyond. Sir Camden now triesto leap the hedge, so you roll a d6, scoring 2. SirCamdens horse clears the hedge, butSir Camdenis jostled about in the saddle and is momentarilyconused.

Captain Vance ducks as another hail o bulletspeppers the wall he is hiding behind. Grabbing adamaged radio, he flicks some switches and triesto call HQ or back-up. You roll a d6 and score a 1.Vance ails to find the right requency anda straybullet hits the radio, destroying it.

R D

6 Yes, and... You get what you want, and something else.

4 Yes... You get what you want.

2 Yes, but...You get what you want, but at a cost.

5 No, but...You dont get what you want, but its not a total loss.

3 No...You dont get what you were afer.

1 No, and... You dont get what you want, and things get worse.

C Q

FU uses a closed question ormat tohelp resolve actions. A closed questioncan only be answered with a yes orno statement. When you reach a situ-ation that needs to be resolved by dice,

propose a closed question; Do I leapthe chasm?; Do I punch that jerk inthe nose?; Does the tavern wench all

or my easy charm and winning smile?.Te roll o the die will answer the ques-tion and guide your response.

A lot o the time you wont need toask the question explicitly - it will be ob-vious rom the action you attempt; youtake a run up and leap rom the edge othe chasm. Roll.

A Q

You can pose different questionsi you want, though you will have tochange the result chart. An obviousquestion is How well do I succeed?Tis might garner the ollowing results;

Roll How well do you succeed?

6 Legendary success

4 Complete success

2 Only just succeed

5 Fail by the smallest margin

3 Complete ailure

1 Epic ailure, and then some

Feel ree to come up with your ownquestions and answers, as suits theneeds o your group, game and story.

A D R

Some players are not ans o theeven/odd results. Many preer a 1-3Bad, 4-6 Good result. In that case theresult chart would look like this;

Roll Do you get what you want?

6 Yes, and...

5 Yes...

4 Yes, but...

3 No, but...

2 No...

1 No, and...



12/2312

S FWhen you make a beat the odds roll your character

will either succeed at what they were attempting, orthey wont. Tis is usually enough to push your storyurther along, but other things can happen too.

When you attempt an action, you are asking Doesmy character get what they want? Tere are six pos-

sible answers to this question;Yes, and...

Yes...

Yes, but...

No, but...

No...

No, and...

Yesand Noare pretty straight orward - they tell youwhether the action succeeded or not. Te andand butare qualifiers that modiy how good the success or howbad the ailure was. When you get a qualifier you makean extra statement about how the action succeeded orailed. Tis extra statement can add a Condition to acharacter or a Detail to a scene.

C:Tese are physical, mental or socialeffects that impact on the way a character behaves orattempts actions. Conditions include things like an-gry, conused, tiredand unconscious. Tere are severallisted on the FU character sheet, and there is space oryou to write your own.

D:Tese are eatures o an environment orscene that might change as a result o an action. Detailsmight include curtains catching fire, windows break-ing, animals running off, or machinery stalling. De-tails are always closely tied to the scene and the action.

E S F

Going back to an earlier example,lets see what might have happenedwhen we apply each possible answer tothe question

Does Sir Camden leap the hedge?

Yes, and he catches up with LordKane. Tis is a Detail that changes thescene.

Yes, he leaps the hedge. Tere is noand/but qualifier so no Condition orDetail is added.

Yes, but Sir Camden is disorientedand momentarily confused. Tis is aCondition applied to the character.

No, buthe spots a gap in the hedgeurther along. Tis Detail gives the char-acter another way to continue the chase.

No, the horse shies away rom thejump. Tere is no and/but qualifier sono Condition or Detail is added.

No, andhis horse rears up, throwinghim to the ground, causing an injury.Tis is a Condition.

W C D?

Anyone can suggest a Condition orDetail that they eel is appropriate tothe action taken and result achieved.Usually the player that rolled the diceand the Narrator will work together tocome up with a suitably dramatic effect.But really, anyone at the table shouldthrow in whatever cool idea they have.

Te Narrator always has final sayover what Condition or Detail is ap-

plied to a result.

W I C?

Like all qualifiers, it depends onsituation. In the examples above Con-ditions are applied to the acting playerwhen things dont quite go right orthem (Yes, but/ No, and). Te Condi-tions make lie a bit more difficult or

the character because o the minimalsuccess or outright ailure.

You can also apply Conditions tothe target o an action, when things are

going right or your character. I youare debating with a bureaucrat and geta Yes, and result you might apply theconfusedCondition to the target. I youattempt to outrun an enemy and get the

No, butresult they might catch up with

you, but have the tiredCondition. Ap-plying Conditions in this way will likelygive player characters an advantagelater in the scene.

W I D?

Apply Details when the action is like-ly to change the scene or environment insome way. Tis might be a change in the

power dynamic o the scene (Yes, he

leaps the hedge andhe catches up withLord Kane.); or a change in the physicalenvironment (No, buthe spots a gap inthe hedge.).

Details are ofen applied when theacting character gains some advantage(Yes, and/ No, but). Tey can be usedto great effect, however, to make situa-tions more entertaining and / or dan-

gerous;

Do you swing across the room on

the chandelier? Yes, but candles allloose and set fire to the tavern.

Details can provide instant or on-going effects, depending on the circum-stances. A gap in the hedge can be usedimmediately to continue the chase; aburning tavern will continue to be ahazard until someone puts the fire out!



13/2313

MSometimes circumstances, equipment and skill will

make actions easier or harder. Modifiers change thenumber o dice you get to roll when taking action.

M T E:Roll an additional dieor each Descriptor, piece o Gear, Condition or De-tail that provides some advantage to the action being

taken. Te result is the single best (not necessarilyhighest) die roll, as the player chooses.

In the woods, Sir Camden tries to track LordKane. You point out that the knight is a goodhunter, so you get an extra d6. Rolling 2d6, youscore a 5 and a 4. Keeping the 4 it is decided thatafer a brie search Sir Camden finds Lord Kanestracks and ollows them to a sinister citadel...

M T H:Roll an extra die oreach Descriptor, bit o Gear, Condition or Detail that

makes the action harder. Te result is the single worstdie roll.

Captain Vance decides to run to a near-by jeep.Te Narrator points out there is no coverbetweenVances hiding spot and the vehicle. Does Vanceget to the jeep uninjured? You roll 2d6, scoringa 3 and a 5. You must accept the 3 and CaptainVance is injuredas he reaches the jeep...

C O:One beneficial die cancels out

one hindering die, so you will never be rolling nega-tive and positive dice at the same time.

Later in his quest, Sir Camden must scale asheer (-) cliff. Te knight is strong (+) and hasa rope (+). Overall, this means a single bonus tothe action (the sheer cliff and the knights strengthcancel each other out, just leaving the rope). Youroll 2d6, scoring a 3 and 6.

E M

Captain Vance hurtles along in thejeep, when a guard tries to drag himout through the window. Will Vanceshake the guard off? It is hard (+) todrag Vance out the window, but he iswounded(-) and surprised(-), and the

attacker is very strong(-). In total youmust roll 2 penalty dice. You roll 3d6scoring a 2, 4 and 3, and must take theworst result, the 3. Te guard wrestlesVance out o the jeep.

O ?

FU has no such thing as opposedrolls or contested actions, damagerolls and rolling to hit. Te beat theodds roll is the only kind o roll usedin FU, whether you are trying to drive

a car through a crowded mall, armwrestle a giant, or shrug off the damagecaused by a stray bullet.

H ?

For a start, only players ever rolldice. You begin by actoring in all thebonuses (+) and penalties (-) that applyto your character. Ten you take stocko all the actors that would apply tothe opponent, and apply those into your

roll too. Is the opponent weak? You geta bonus die. Is the opponent a worldchampion arm wrestler? You actor ina penalty die. And so on, until every-thing is actored in. When you knowhow many bonus and/or penalty dice

you have, roll. I the result is an even

number, you win the contest; i the finalresult is an odd number, your opponenthas the advantage.

D Y

Sword fights, political debates, spaceraces, international wars, argumentsand gun battles are all resolved usingthe beat the odds roll. Te key is to dialin or out o the action through the kindo questions you attempt to resolve. Youcan fight a dramatic sword fight and ex-

change a series o blows by asking DoI hit the Count De Montie?. But youcould also resolve the entire fight witha single roll by asking Do I deeat theCount De Montie in a duel?. Or, takeit to the next level and ask Do my men-at-arms storm the Count De Montiescastle? Adjust the dial as necessary!

O: M D

Rolling doubles, triples or quadru-ples can make a success much better ora ailure ar worse. I your result die hasa match the effects will be much moredramatic. You may add one and...statement or each matching die. I the

action is ailed this statement shouldmake the situation worse. I the actionis a success the additional statement(s)should make the situation even better.

For example, Sir Camden aces LordKanes henchmen. Will Sir Camden de-

eat the henchmen? He is injured andoutnumbered so you will roll 2 penaltydice. You roll and score 3, 3, and 2. Youmust take the worst result - the double3! Normally this would be a No... re-

sult, but the matching 3 turns it into aNo, and.... I you had rolled triple 3the result would have been No, and...,and...!



14/2314

FU PFU Points are a resource that you spend to improve

a characters chance o success at an action. Tey canbe used in two ways;

B D: Spend a FU Point beore a beat theodds roll to add a single bonus die. Tis works like anyother bonus die. You can add as many bonus dice as

you have FU Points, but they must all be declared atthe same time.

R-: Spend a FU Point afer a beat the oddsroll to re-roll a single die. Te second result must stand- you cannot re-roll a re-roll. You can re-roll as manydice as you have FU Points, but you must declare themall at the same time, beore the first die is re-rolled.

You can spend multiple FU Points on any givenaction, and or either or both effects. It is completelywithin the rules to spend a FU Point to add a bonus

die beore a roll, then another FU Point to re-roll a dieaferwards.

Back at HQ, Captain Vance tries to convinceGeneral Wallace to deploy the Rocket roops un-der his command. Vance doesnt have much goingor him in this situation, in terms o Descriptors,so you decide to spend 2 FU Points on the roll. You

roll the basic die, plus the two bonus dice, gettinga 1, 1 and 3. Not happy with this, you spends yourlast FU Point on a re-roll. You pick up one o the1s and throw the die again...

E FU P:FU Points are earned duringplay or doing cool stuff and roleplaying your charac-ter. Whenever you do something that stops play andmakes everyone go Wow!, or laugh out loud at yourantics, or anything else that everyone thinks should berewarded, you earn a FU Point.

S FU P?

Te number o FU Points you begina game with should be discussed beore

play begins. Te more FU Points play-ers begin with, the more easily they willachieve successes. I playing games ohigh adventure or over-the-top action,it would be reasonable to begin with 2FU Points. Super-powered heroes mightbegin with as many as 3 FU Points. For

grittier games each player might onlybegin with 1 FU Point, or even none.

C I / FU P?

Tat is up to you and your group.Te deault is no, but...

D N FU ?

Usually, no, but they might allow apowerul villain or monster to have one,two or three.

O FU

You might like to change the way youearn FU Points. You might earn them

or dealing the killing blow to monsters,achieving your characters goal, or roll-ing multiple 1s or 6s.

Tis is a really good way to changethe tone or style o the game. Want to

play a dungeon crawl? Reward FU orkilling monsters. A gritty dystopian

game? Reward FU when the characters

lose out to Te Man. Decide i these arethe only ways to earn FU, or i they arein addition to the normal roleplayingrewards. Tis decision will also have adramatic effect on the tone o play. Seewhat you can do with it.

O FU

Play around with FU Points. Experi-ment, or adjust the ways you use them

to suit your gaming group or the typeo story you are playing. Here are somesuggestions;

FU H

Rather than having a varying andchangeable number o FU points, everycharacter begins with 3. Tey can bespent as normal, but can also be lostwhen the character suffers physical ormental stress (injuries, atigue, ear,etc). FU in this instance can be rereshed

(brought back up to 3) by roleplayingout a (non-dice rolling) scene with an-other character that reveals somethingabout your relationship.

R-R E

Spend a FU point to re-roll all yourdice. Tis is an all-or-nothing thing, so

you cant keep a couple o good resultsand roll the rest. Use this variant in-stead o the normal re-roll rule.

F P

Spend a FU Point to adjust a singledie up or down by one pip. Spend mul-tiple FU points to adjust a die multiple

pips. Tis option is more reliable thana re-roll as you will always be able toturn a no into a yes. I you used thisvariant the normal re-roll rule shouldnot be used.

U PSpend a FU point to turn a prop into

an item o Gear or the duration o thescene.

S P

Give characters special abilities,skills or powers that can only be used byspending a FU Point. Tese should bemore powerul than Descriptors - makethem break the rules or give a superhu-man knack, like the ability to fly or read

minds, teleport, or whatever.

T H

Instead o rolling, declare you aretaking a hit. All the dice you shouldhave rolled are treated as i they rolled1s (yes, i you are holding 5 dice, theycount as five 1s!). In return or your su-

ering you earn a FU Point.



15/2315

ACTION

SUMMARY

SET THE SCENEWhere does the scene take place? Who is there? What do they want? Doyou need to break down into turns?

ACTRoleplay your character and describe what is going on. Push toward theobjective.

ASK A QUESTIONWhen you need to resolve a conflict or complete an action ask a closedquestion (e.g. Do I succeed?)

FACTOR IN MODIFIERS+1 bonus die or every Descriptor, item o Gear, Detail, Condition or other

eature that makes the action easier.+1 penalty die or every Descriptor, item o Gear, Detail, Condition or othereature that makes the action harder.

ROLLRoll all your dice. Te result is the single best die (i rolling bonus dice) orsingle worst die (i rolling penalty dice).

DESCRIBE RESULTUse the die result to describe how the conflict or action turned out. Apply

Conditions or Details as necessary.



16/2316

Following is some simple, straightorward adviceor Narrators. It is all airly generic because all the spe-cific stuff is going to relate to the genre, tone and styleo game that you and your players choose to play.

Start your game with a conversation. alk about

what players want out o the game, what you want, andwhere those ideas overlap. Tose overlaps are likelywhere everyone is going to have the most un. At thevery least you should work together to establish thegenre and tone o your shared story. alk about thisstuff too, so that everyone is clear o the specifics (thereis a world o difference between Gothic horror andsplatter films, or example).

alk during the game too. Encourage players toshare ideas and give input into scenes, objectives andthe challenges characters ace. I you need to clariyideas, themes or issues then do that.

L I there is going to be talk there needs to be listen-

ing. Listen to your players and the things they tell you,either in conversation or when they do things withtheir character. Do stuff that relates to the Descriptors

written on the players character sheets, because that iswhat they think is cool.

W When running games dont plan too much ahead

o time. Te dice rolls are going to direct a lot o theaction, and you and the players will fill in the gaps byapplying Conditions and Details. Here are some tipsto keep things moving and help you enjoy the game as

much as the players do.K :Do not complicate your job

by introducing lots o sub-plots or convoluted twists.Tings will get all messed about by themselves and the

story will run off on tangents that you never dreamedo.

Y :this may seem obvious,but is worth stating. Your role is to help guide the storyin interesting directions, not to kill everyone. You cangive players hints and ideas i you think this will lead toa better story. Sometimes you will portray the adver-saries, and are expected to do so vigorously but airly.Other times you will get to be an ally, companion, orpeer, and once again you should be true to the spirit othe game.

S Y:i players make suggestions or ask ques-tions it is probably because they are interested in whatis going on. Tey probably have a cool idea to introduceto the story. Encourage this and confidently say yesto requests. Tis doesnt mean you should let playersget anything they want but you should let players in-troduce elements into the story when the time is right.

M : Every time you callor a die roll it should mean something interesting isgoing to happen, NO MAER HE RESUL. Dont

have players make rolls i the result is not important tothe story, or i ailure will stop the momentum o thestory.

NARRATOR

Q

When you begin a game talk withthe players about their expectations. ryto answer the ollowing three questions;

W

Do players want to kick in doors,kill monsters and take home piles otreasure? Do they want to eel like epicheroes? Or the underdogs, strugglingagainst ridiculous odds?

H

Do the players want to eel like theyare changing the world? Like their char-acter is gaining in wealth, prestige or

power? Or do they want to eel like theirbacks are against the wall and their livesconstantly at risk?

W N

What kinds o challenges, encoun-ters and situations are you going to pre-

sent the characters in order to achievethe above? Do you need to ensure everychallenge is accompanied by a generousreward? Are you going to make every

fight hard but air? Will you be relent-less in the pursuit o the antagonists

goals?

Answer these questions and every-one at the table will be clear on theirrole in the coming adventure.



17/2317

RDuring games characters can suffer injuries, be-

come physically or mentally stressed, and be afflictedby a range o other Conditions. Conditions are alwaysrecovered at a time and/or rate appropriate to the sto-ry. Tis is usually with the passing o time, but doesnot have to be. A good rule o thumb is that one or

more Conditions can be removed/recovered betweenscenes, though this will depend on the timing o suchencounters.

RReward players or good roleplaying and achieving

goals by giving them FU Points. You may also rewardthem or a variety o other reasons, as your group de-cides (see the sidebar on page 12). FU Points can beused to improve a characters chance o success and arethereore a great immediate, tangible reward. You dont

have to be the only one at the table offering rewards,though. All players should speak up when someonehas done something cool, unny or awesome, and re-ward a FU Point.

H , ?Be generous with yourrewards, as the positive reinorcement o earning FUPoints will inspire them on to greater acts o heroism,spectacle or depravity, as the case may be. Also, takeinto account whether this will be a one off game, ora part o an ongoing story or campaign - players arelikely to burn through FU Points aster in a singe ses-

sion game and will need their resources replenishedaster.

C OAll the characters, monsters, traps, villains, terrain

eatures, creatures and obstacles that are encounteredduring a story are defined in much the same way ascharacters. You are not confined by any rules or re-strictions when creating characters or obstacles, theonly thing you must do is make them entertaining andinteresting.

T B

One technique or rewarding FUPoints is to place a bowl o beads, chitsor tokens in the centre o the table. Eachbead is a FU Point. Te Narrator cantell players to take one rom the bowl,and other players can reach in when it isappropriate to reward a player, by pass-ing a bead rom the bowl. Tis requirestrust between players and Narrator, butmakes the running o the game verysmooth as no-one has to stop and ask;Does that deserve a FU Point?

A

FU is not a game about levellingup. While characters might have avariety o experiences and learn romthem, the real advancement comes romthe changing story and/or world.

I appropriate, players can changeone Descriptor between game sessions.Tis alteration should relate in someway to the experiences and story theircharacter just participated in. Gear canbe changed between sessions at the Nar-rators discretion.

Goals might also change rom gamesession to game session. Give playerstime to consider their goals at the starto each session and let them adjust orchange them as necessary.

T

Use sticky-notes or index cards torecord details about your characters,monsters and obstacles. Write downDescriptors, Gear and other ino. Asthey suffer Conditions, record those onthe card.

Use index cards to record importantterrain eatures, too. Write down anyDescriptor(s) pertaining to the eature

so players can take them into accountas they plan their actions.

W I ?

Some groups play open, making nosecret o the Descriptors and details ocreatures and monsters. Other groups(and/or Narrators) keep this inorma-tion hidden rom players. Both options

provide or different styles o play.

Playing an open table means eve-ryone is clear about what is going on,what opportunities exist or cool scenesand actions. Players can see what Gear,Conditions and Descriptors are in

play and incorporate them into scenes.

Keeping the details o villains, trapsand other obstacles rom the playerswill push them to test their enemies, ex-

plore the environment, and try differentthings. Tey can manoeuvre themselvesand situations in directions they thinkwill be advantageous. It is always satis-

ying to be rewarded with bonus dice oraccurately guessing an enemys Descrip-tors.



18/2318

ennessee Smith, amed explorer, has finallygot a solid lead on the whereabouts o the ancientIdol o ot, an object o reported supernaturalpower. Unortunately, Smiths arch enemy Giles

Fishburne is also on the trail o the Idol, and hasthrown his lot in with the Nazis!

Tis short adventure will get you into the actionquickly. It illustrates one way you might prepare yourown adventures, adversaries and obstacles. Use thepre-generated characters presented at the end o theadventure. Race to the emple o otconsists o a serieso set-piece encounters that you can use, rearrange andignore at your leisure. Remember that beat the oddsrolls will lead to all kinds o interesting twists and

turns and once the characters set out on the adventureanything is possible!

B Beore starting play have a quick discussion about

the tone and style o the game. Te scenario is clas-sic pulp - over the top action, outrageous villains andlarger than lie heroes. Make sure everyone is on thesame page here - talk about what makes this genre cooland perhaps point out examples o the genre (IndianaJones, Te Mummy, Te Rocketeer) and what parts o

these you enjoyed.Read the flavour text above (the stuff in italics) and

get everyone at the table to throw around some ideaso cool stuff they would like to see happen during theadventure. Note it all down - when things slow, or iyou get stuck or what to do next, chuck one o theseideas into the mix!

STe scenes presented here have a description o

where the action takes place and suggest Descriptorsyou or the players might incorporate into the action.Te italics set up the action o the scene and the objec-tive. Paraphrase the details or your players.

CTe challenges and adversaries in this adventure

are recorded in boxes with relevant Descriptors, Con-ditions and Notes. Tese are to guide you and do nothave to be used. Your own cool ideas should alwaystrump anything written here!

E B MS:Central Asia - a bustling market in the city

o Bulak - Midday. all stone and mud-brick buildingswith narrow arched windows surround the central

market; stalls and caes, bars and emporiums run offin all directions along winding, narrow streets.

D:Crowded streets, Exotic goods.

Te characters have just acquired a map to theemple o ot. Unortunately, Nazi goons have ar-rived and want the map, too. Tere are a lot ogoons, and while the characters could fight them,it might be easier to flee. Do the characters escape?

NAZI GOONS

D: Lots o goons, Beey Aryans,Not too bright

G: Noisy Sub-machine guns

C: Conused,rapped,Slowed,Out o Action

N: Tere are a number o goon squads equal tothe number o characters.

W Te characters are cap-tured; Te map is lost.

MS: A dark coffee lounge, cae or back room,somewhere in the city o Bulak. Te smell o strongcoffee and exotic ood permeates the room.

D:Private.

ennessee Smith and his companions have themap but must now translate it, puzzling out thestrange symbols and markings. Do they translatethe map?

TRANSLATING THE MAP

D: Ancient glyphs, Brittle paperC: orn,Ruined,Smudged,

Burnt to a crisp

W Te map is damaged; Techaracters misread the map; Tey cannot read the mapand must get help rom an expert in ancient languages.

RACE TOTHETEMPLE OFTOT



19/2319

G Z GS: Te majestic Gou Zou Gorge, hal a mile

deep and crossed by a single iron girder railway bridge.Wide open plains lie on either side o the gorge and theKow Mountains lie in the distance.

D:Open plains, Impassible Gorge.

Te characters ollow the map to Gou ZouGorge, by car or horse back. Giles Fishburne is ap-proaching ast, aboard the German dirigible DerVogel. Do the characters cross the bridge saely?Do they keep their lead on the Germans?

NAZI BIRD TRUPPEN

D: Tey Fly!, Agile

G: Delicate Flying Harness, DeadlyStick Grenade

C: Conused,Grounded,

Slowed,Out o ActionN: Tere are a number o Bird ruppen equalto the number o characters.

GOU ZOU BRIDGE

D: Wide but narrow

C: Rickety,Blown all to hell

N: You know you must introduce an approach-ing train, right?

W Te bridge is destroyed;

Te map is lost; the characters are captured.

S:An ancient temple ashioned into the side

o a mountain. Grand statues o sinister looking godsand daemons line the walls. Dust covers everything.Te tunnel leads deeper into the mountain.

D:Dark, Silent.

Te characters must penetrate the heart o thetemple, but the map warned o nearious traps

and terrible guardians. Do they get past the trapsand guardians?

NEFARIOUS TRAPS

D: Hidden, Deadly

G: Poison Darts, Rusting Spears

C: Disarmed,Set-off,Revealed

N: Challenge characters with one or two traps.ell them the passage is trapped, but dont tell themhow, or where the traps are until they are sprung!

STONE STATUE GUARDIAN

D: Big, Heavy, Slow, Relentless

G: Heavy Stone Weapons

C: Damaged,Off balance,Slowed,Out o Action

N: Tere is one Statue Guardian or every two

characters. Te large, heavy weapons can strikemultiple characters at once.

W Characters cannot getpast traps; characters are injured by traps.

I CS: A large stone chamber ingeniously lit by

mirrors reflecting sunlight. Te Idol o ot - a gold-en statue o a seven-headed monkey - sits on a stoneplinth in the centre o the room.

D:Large bronze mirrors.

Te characters enter the chamber o the idol,only to find that Giles Fishburne and his Nazigoons are here too! Do they deeat Giles and es-cape with the Idol?

GILES FISHBURNE

D: Smart, Arrogant, Sword fighter

G: Polished Sabre

C: Conused,Injured,Slowed,Out o Action

N:Giles is a greedy, arrogant villain, but heisnt stupid. I things start looking dire he will attemptto escape, make a deal and/or double-cross anyone inhis way. He has no loyalty to the Nazis!

CFour pre-made characters can be ound on the next

page. Tey are each examples o classic pulp charac-ter archetypes. Players may tweak or adjust them atthe Narrators discretion, beore play starts, perhapschanging a Descriptor or two, or switching out an item

o Gear. Beore starting the game each player shoulddefine one or two relationships, describing how thecharacters know each other. A quick and easy way todo this is or everyone to describe how they know thecharacter to their lef.



20/2320

TENNESSEE SMITH, DAREDEVIL EXPLORER

D: Nimble, Level Headed, Use BullWhip, Araid o Heights

G: Bull Whip, Worn Leather Jacket

D: Find the Idol o ot

C: Angry,Scared,ired,

rapped,

Blinded,

Hungry,Dazed,Injured,Dying

ennessee Smith is a mild-mannered proes-sor o history, but in his spare time he travelsinto the wilderness in search o lost arteacts andtreasure. Ruggedly handsome, he always seemsto keep his cool, no matter how much danger heis inand he tends to get into a lot o it.

R:

N:

HARVEY REED, RETIRED BOXER

D: Strong, Tinks-on-his-Feet, Boxer,Ugly as Sin

G: Roll o quarters, Poor fitting suitD: Look out or ennessee Smith

C: Angry,Scared,ired,rapped,Blinded,Hungry,Dazed,Injured,Dying

Harvey Reed is a recently retired championboxer. Finding the sedentary lie a little too bor-ing he has joined his old riend ennessee insearch o adventure.

R:

N:

JIMMY SWEET, PLUCKY KID

D: Quick, Smart-aleck,Underestimated, Young

G: Noisy Firecrackers, Dirty BaseballCap

D: See the 7 wonders o the world

C:

Angry,

Scared,

ired,rapped,Blinded,Hungry,Dazed,Injured,Dying

Jimmy Sweet is a happy-go-lucky kid who hasnever had anyone to rely on but himsel. He iswiry, tough and quick, with a cheeky attitudethat requently gets him into trouble. Jimmystowed away on a tramp steamer with the inten-tion o seeing the world and making his ortune.

R:

N:

OCTOBER JONES, GIRL REPORTER

D: Beautiul, Witty, Good Memory,Curious

G: rusty Camera, Tick NotebookD: Get the scoop on the real ennes-

see Smith

C: Angry,Scared,ired,rapped,Blinded,Hungry,Dazed,Injured,Dying

October Jones is a reporter and adventurer,afforded a great deal o reedom by her athersimmense wealth. Beautiul, intelligent and spoiltshe is a woman used to getting what she wants.

R:

N:



21/2321

Tis list is by no means exhaustive, but its a goodplace to start. Each entry lists the kinds o things aDescriptor might be an advantage or hindrance or,which makes it a handy reerence or both players and

Narrators.

B DA:helpul when dancing, leaping, doing gym-

nastics, crawling through tight spaces and balancing.A:great when shooting two guns at

the same time, or doing slight-o-hand magic tricks.B:good or getting people to underestimate

you, not good i you spend too much time in the sun.F O T:great or passing as an aging

celebrity, and or drawing attention to yoursel.

F:useul or resisting cold weather, and livingin the woods.

H:useul or flirting, selling stuff, gettingroles on .V., modelling, and being popular.

H: good or looking menacing, reaching highplaces, acting like a body builder, or getting stuck insmall spaces.

O: a problem when exercising andborrowing clothes.

P C:a hindrance when long dis-

tance running, resisting damage, perorming eats oendurance, and healing.Q: handy or ducking to and rom places,

slight-o-hand, dodging and other actions that requirespeed o action.

R- C: great or slicing up en-emies, cutting vegetables and maybe climbing trees.

S:a pain or reaching the top shel, but use-ul or crawling under low objects and getting lost ina crowd.

S:a problem when running, dodging, and re-

acting to things.S: useul or lifing, carrying, smashing

and throwing things. Wrestling and avoiding beingcrushed might also be aided.

T: good or reaching the top shel, climbing,and seeing over other peoples heads.

T:handy or squeezing into places and clothes,hiding behind poles, and perorming on the catwalk.

U:a problem when trying to seduce someone,or get a role on .V.

V:great or resisting poison, long distancerunning, and other eats o endurance.

Weak:a pain when lifing, carrying, smashing andthrowing stuff.

W F: great or swimming, but terriblewhen buying shoes.

M DA-M:good or being distracted, but a

problem when remembering where you lef the keys,or that you just pulled the pin rom a hand grenade.

B-S:great when doing exams, knowingmath ormulas, remembering dates in history, andgenerally getting into Law at Harvard.

C-W: good or programming, fixing

your laptop and getting into PC vs. Apple flame-wars.D-W:a problem when listening to jokes,

recognizing a trick, or generally keeping up appear-ances in social settings.

E:good or reading peoples emotions,doing psychological evaluations, and knowing how tocomort distressed people.

F:good or staying on task, not getting dis-tracted, and looking serious.

L T: handy or problem solving,

and approaching issues in new or unusual ways.M: great or doing sums, solvingequations and doing your tax.

O: great or spotting hidden clues, no-ticing details, doing find-a-words, and reading bodylanguage.

O: good or public speaking, debating andgetting people to see your point o view.

S:a pain when trying to understand plans, orlearn new things.

T:great or planning battles, remember-

ing military history and quoting sun su.U: a pain when reading, doing math,

remembering important dates in history and doingany school-type tests.

W:handy or sprouting proverbs, giving advice,putting unrelated clues together, interpreting peoplesreactions, and saying I told you so.

W: good or making unny comments, beingcharming and / or entertaining, and always knowingthe right thing to say.

APPENDIX - DESCRIPTORS



22/2322

E DA:great or joining the circus, leaping

through narrow gaps, and doing impressive flips.A K:good or identiying mys-

tic arteacts, recognizing the presence o evil magic,and reading ancient scrolls.

C: handy when seeing something scary,

telling your wie you orgot your anniversary, and at-tempting other dangerous acts.

D: great or car racing, car chases, and pass-ing your driving exam.

F:good or sword fighting and other civi-lized orms o melee.

G M: handy or remembering namesand aces, vital clues, and mathematical ormulas.

H:good when tracking and stalking, look-ing good in camouflage, and knowing what an angryrhinoceros sounds like.

K S: great or seeing a long way or evendoing stuff by moonlight.

L: good or speaking one (or more)oreign languages and generally communicating withothers.

M:great or knowing the mystic arts, castingspells, or acting like a stage magician.

M:good or perorming operations, diag-nosing illness, and administering first aid.

N B: great or really hurting someone in

combat, chewing your own arm off, or winning a pieeating contest.R:handy or buying luxury sports cars, getting

invited to exclusive parties, and bribing city officials.W: good or fighting unarmed combat,

and pinning opponents to the ground.

F DB: a pain when doing anything that requires

sight, such as shooting, navigating an unamiliar space,or painting.

B:good or charging into mortal danger, act-ing oolhardy, and getting into deep trouble.

C:a problem when carrying a valuable vase,

visiting an antique store, or trying to cross a booby-trapped room.

G:a pain when resisting the urge to steal, lie,or in some other way keep or obtain wealth.

I-H A:a hindrance when try-ing not to get noticed, avoiding attention, or finding apair o pants that fit just right.

M L:a problem when running, climbing,or perorming any other activity that involves move-ment, without prosthetics or a wheel chair.

O:a pain when trying to look cool, climb stairs,use a computer, or be positive about your health.

P: a hindrance when wanting to buy ood orclothes, or trying to get into an exclusive party.

P S: a pain when trying to recognizesomeone or thing, driving at night, or noticing visualclues.

P:a problem when using mobile phones,cars, and door bells, as well as interacting at more civi-lized social occasions.

S:a hindrance when trying to impress peo-

ple, or hiding rom wild animals or trackers.W:a pain when trying to keep out o trou-ble, or needing something rom your apartment.

Y:a problem when trying to get into clubs, betaken seriously by adults, avoid school, or see over thedash in a car.



23/23

NAME CONCEPT

BODY

MIND

EDGE

FLAW

DESCRIPTION

ROLL RESULT

6 Yes, and...

4 Yes...

2 Yes, but...

5 No, but...

3 No...

1 No, and...

A D

S B I

H D

DRIVESWHAT DO YOU WANT?

WHAT IS STOPPING YOU?

WHAT WILL YOU DO?

RELATIONSHIPS

CONDITIONS

FU

POINTS

THEODDS

NOTES

GEAR

FU