Roll 1
A customizable Tabletop Role-Playing Game system for all ages and experience levels!
About
- a quick overview -
My name is Eric and I've been running tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) for over 10 years.
Throughout this time I've realized that what separates the TTRPG medium from others is one fundamental concept: improvisation with a chance of failure.
In other words, "let's see if you succeed or not" is at its core, and this simple mechanic is what enables countless stories, adventures, and legends to be born from the creativity of friends around a table, virtual or in-person.
Experiencing the joy this medium brings to others over the years, I wanted to contribute to the community by developing a system that:
1) highlights this simplicity
2) is customizable to many different themes, settings, and worlds
3) is accessible to all ages and experience levels
What resulted after many playtests and tweaks is a system that hopefully accomplishes this, and at the very least, celebrates the heart of TTRPGs.
I look forward to hearing about the stories you create with Roll 1 RPG!
-Eric
How To Play
MAIN CONCEPT:
PLAYERS roleplay characters through conflicts and scenarios created by the GAME RUNNER. To see if characters succeed at tasks or attempts in these scenarios, they roll dice. Anything can happen, and every story told through roleplaying and rolling is unique!
ROLLING DICE
(the foundation)
• When a character attempts to overcome a challenge: roll a pool of six-sided dice
• Success = you roll a 1 on any die
• Failure = you don't roll a 1 on any die
Each character has three Traits (Physical / Mental / Social), a list of Skills, Items, and Tags. A specific amount of six-sided dice (d6s) is assigned to each.
When a character attempts to overcome a challenge (anything that has the potential to fail), a dice pool is built starting from a Trait: is this a Physical, Mental, or Social challenge? Once that's determined, additional dice can be added for any Skills, Items, and/or Tags that seem appropriate to the situation (determined or approved by the Game Runner).
Once you have your dice pool, roll and find out what happens! This is the time to be creative and roleplay all successes/failures however you and your group want.
BEFORE YOU READ ANYTHING ELSE
The overall philosophy of the system is simply "build a dice pool and see if you succeed/fail".
Therefore, all of the rules below are meant to cater to that.
If things start to get too complicated or confusing, just default to these two questions:
1) How does this affect the dice pool?
2) What happens with a success/failure?
When in doubt, keep this motto in mind:
"BUILD A POOL. ROLL FOR OUTCOME."
BUILDING DICE POOLS
(what it all means)
1) TRAITS: the natural potential of a character
2) SKILLS: a list of learnable qualities that every character can improve over time
3) ITEMS: disposable objects that characters can acquire over time
4) TAGS: special features, powers, or talents unique to each character
5) AIDING: when other Players want to help with a roll
The Game Runner will always walk you through building the dice pools, by first deciding what Trait and Skill fits the situation best. You can then ask if a particular Item you have can add to the dice pool (you can argue the case, if the group is open to that). Items may not come into play for a lot of situations Then if the situation triggers any of your custom Tags, dice can be added depending on what your Tag says. You then roll and find out what happens! (all of these rules also apply to the Combat section below) Since every situation will fit into one of the three Traits (Physical / Mental / Social), think of Traits as qualities all characters have to some degree. They are the inherent capabilities your character is naturally strong/weak at - the "DNA" or genetic makeup of your character. If they're older or have more experience, think of them as what your character would have naturally grown into. EXAMPLE: 2d6 is the "average person" in your world for each Trait. If your character is naturally gifted in Mental capabilities, they could have 3d6 (a prodigy can have 5d6). If they're not that physically gifted or generally socially unaware, they could have 1d6. Since these are important numbers as they form the foundation of your character's natural abilities, they will always have at least 1d6 as a base, and they will never (or very rarely) permanently increase/decrease. The rare cases they do will be determined by the Game Runner and should be a very big moment or a long time has passed (like getting older). Think of Skills as qualities that anyone can learn and increase/improve over time. These are the "building blocks" of your character - a mechanical way of showing growth and getting better at something. You could start out at 0d6 for a Skill, and over time it can increase drastically if you focus on it. The set of Skills you can improve will always be pre-determined by the Game Runner before the campaign starts, which will be specific to the world you're playing in. In other words, all characters will have the same list of Skills they can choose from and improve over time. Therefore, the list of Skills never change, and your character's proficiency in them can increase if you choose. (You can have 0d6 in a Skill, which just means you don't add any dice to the pool if that Skill is called - your character hasn't trained it.) Items are any objects you can acquire and utilize. They're usually disposable, and can have a limited number of use and/or break (determined by the Game Runner). Whenever you're building your dice pool and a particular Item could be useful in the situation, ask the Game Runner if that Item bonus could be added to your pool - be prepared to roleplay how your character uses it! Think of Tags as the biggest way to add custom "flavor" to your character - what really makes your character unique and special that no other character has. You and the Game Runner will work together to create these Tags, specific to your character concept. They can include a set of triggers and features, or just one. EXAMPLE: Hunter Tag - When in a forest, gain +2d6 bonus to all rolls. - When tracking, gain +2d6 bonus to roll. EXAMPLE: Super Strength Tag - When a situation calls for using raw strength, gain +10d6 to your Physical Trait roll. Lastly, you can try to aid another character by rolling your own pool. You build the dice pool following all the rules above, and any 1s that are rolled are added to the dice pool of the character you're aiding. However, if you fail the roll, that character subtracts -1d6 from their pool. Any number of characters can aid at the same time (if it makes sense). Aiding in this way is different than aiding with Boost Points (see Boost Points section below). In the GAME RUNNER SECTION, you can see templates and tables on how certain amounts of dice translate to "power," effectiveness, or helpfulness.
BOOST POINTS
(rolling extra 1s)
• Any additional 1s on a successful roll gets added to Boost Points.
• At any time, 1 Boost Point can be spent to add 1d6 to a roll.
* You can spend as many Boost Points as you want at one time.
* You can spend Boost Points to aid other Players' rolls.
* You can spend Boost Points after a failed roll.
• All character Boost Points NOT used by the end of the session are added together. Everyone's "Growth" points increase by this number, then all Boost Points reset to 0.
• Character Growth: when your Growth points reach a pre-determined number (chosen by Game Runner), your character gains +1d6 to one Skill AND one Tag of your choosing.
* Growth points reset to 0 after reaching the pre-determined number.
EXAMPLE: you roll a pool of 5d6 and get - 1 / 3 / 6 / 1 / 1 In this case, you have two extra 1s on top of your successful 1. This means you now have 2 Boost Points to use at any given time, and you can continue to stack up Boost Points as you play. You can also use as many Boost Points as you want at one time. For example, you can use 5 Boost Points to add 5d6 to your roll. You must utilize Boost Points BEFORE you roll - you cannot use Boost Points after a failed roll. You can also do all of the above to help other Players, spending Boost Points to give another Player extra 1d6s for their roll. CHARACTER GROWTH: If you have any unused Boost Points at the end of a session, you must add those together with all other character's unused Boost Points. This total is then added to your Growth point section, and your Boost Points reset back to 0. Whenever your Growth points reach a pre-determined number (set by the Game Runner), you add 1d6 to a single Skill AND a single Tag. Growth points can carry over after reseting, meaning if the Growth number is 20 and the group ends the session with 22, they level up and also have 2 Growth points after reset. You can change the Growth number if you feel that "leveling up" is happening too fast/slow. Since Players are only increasing one Skill and one Tag at a time, you may need to play around with this number to find a good balance, based on the nature of your group. 20 is a good place to start. REMINDER: If your character gets knocked out at any point during the session, you lose all your current Boost Points and reset to 0. The Game Runner can/should also give the party Growth Points at the end of each session, based on party accomplishments/victories/memorable moments (see TEMPLATES in the GAME RUNNER SECTION for a guide).
CONDITIONS
(combat / hits / knock-outs)
• Combat = Whenever someone or something can get damaged, or an effort is being resisted against.
• Action-Response Setup: a Player does an action, an opponent responds with an action. Repeat.
• Combat Rolling: Offense dice pool vs Defense dice pool:
* Same number of 1s rolled = Nothing happens.
* Offense rolls more 1s = Defender is hit and must mark the "Shaken" condition (attacker also gains Boost Points in the amount over the 1 that hit)
* Defense rolls more 1s = Defender is not hit AND gains that amount of Boost Points (the difference).
OPTION: if the Offense rolls double the amount of 1s as the Defense, Defender is automatically knocked-out.
NOTE: if the situation is more of a "contest" and doesn't involve damage/getting hurt, build and roll the pool that makes sense for each character and just see who wins.
• Fleeing Combat: If you receive the "Shaken" condition, you can flee the combat scene as a free action.
* If you don't flee, you commit to the combat and must fight until the end.
• Shaken Condition: You get the following penalties until healed:
* Dice pool is halved (round up)
* Boost Points are locked (can't gain or use)
* The next hit you take = knocked out
• Knocked Out: You're taken out of the scene, lose all Boost Points, and must mark the "Wounded" condition until healed.
• Wounded Condition: Next knock-out = retire character
• Healing: If your roll succeeds, character can take off one marked condition.
* A character can only receive one healing attempt per long rest.
* One condition is healed after a long rest.
When characters enter situations where failure could "wound" them in some way or be detrimental to their well-being (to the point of being knocked out or incapacitated), Combat comes into play. Keep in mind that "combat" or being hit doesn't always have to be in the context of physical fighting - it could also be in the form of mental, emotional, or social "combat," as not all situations are physically threatening. COMBAT ROLLS: For any situation that could cause damage or where there’s active resistance against an effort, this is resolved through an Offense dice pool vs a Defense dice pool. When "attacking" (offense), as usual the Game Runner will help you build the pool that's most appropriate to the situation (Traits + Skills + Items + Tags). * If you roll more 1s than the defender, they must mark the "Shaken" condition and receive all the penalties that come with it (your dice pool is halved / you cannot gain or use Boost Points / the next hit you take will result in a knock-out). EXAMPLE: you roll THREE 1s, the defender rolls TWO 1s. The defender must mark "Shaken". When "defending" against an attack/obstacle, as usual the Game Runner will help you build the pool that's most appropriate to the situation (Traits + Skills + Items + Tags). * If you roll more 1s than the attacker/obstacle, you gain Boost Points equal to that amount of 1s (see Boost Points section below). Essentially, any "extra 1s" you roll is the amount of Boost Points you gain. EXAMPLE: you roll THREE 1s, the attacker/obstacle rolls TWO 1s. You gain ONE Boost Point (3 minus 2). FLEEING COMBAT: The moment you receive the "Shaken" condition, you get the opportunity to flee as a free action (your character can leave the combat scene). However, if you choose to stay, your character is committed to the combat and must fight until the end (no more option to flee). Sometimes an NPC can try to prevent you from fleeing - in this case, another appropriate combat roll will happen to see if your character is convinced to stay (you'll be on defense). If you get hit while you have the "Shaken" condition marked, you're knocked out and lose all Boost Points (resets to 0). Being knocked out can simply affect the narrative, and as a group you can roleplay that however you want, but if your group decides to use the "Wounded" mechanic, you must also mark that condition when knocked out. Optional mechanic: if the Offense rolls double the amount of 1s as the Defense roll, the Defender is automatically knocked-out. This can make fights grittier and deadlier, so be cautious with adding this in. Example: Offense rolls six 1s, Defense rolls three 1s = Defender is automatically knocked-out. WOUNDED CONDITION: Your character is "wounded" from getting knocked out. This could be a physical, mental, or social wound, or all three. In other words, you can roleplay how this recent knock-out deeply "wounded" you in some way, to the point that if you get knocked out again, your character leaves the party due to not wanting to continue, or even death. In other words, if you get knocked out while you have the Wounded condition marked, your character should be retired - you and/or the Game Runner can make this decision and roleplay what this looks like. When “healing” yourself or another character, as usual the Game Runner will help you build the pool that's most appropriate to the situation (Traits + Skills + Items + Tags). • Success = character can take away a condition (Shaken / Wounded) • Failure =nothing happens A character can only receive one healing attempt per "long rest" (your group can determine what that means). In other words, if someone tried to heal you and failed, you must wait until after a long rest to try again. One condition is "healed" after a long rest. ACTION-RESPONSE SETUP: There is no initiative or turn order - opponents respond to Player actions and vice versa, one by one. Try not to get too bogged down with strict mechanics like distance and actions per turn - treat it like other conflicts where there's a "realistic" action then reaction, giving the Players space to improvise and take turns. If you need to have mechanics for distance, a simple way to measure it is: close (1 action) / far (2 actions) / very far (3 actions) That being said, prior to playing, the group should generally agree on what an "action" means, such as running toward/away, reloading, taking a weapon out, persuading, etc.
THE GAME RUNNER
• Determines the world, including the list of character Skills, discoverable Items, and Tag possibilities.
• Helps Players create their characters, based on the world.
• Creates conflict/scenarios for the characters to interact with.
• Roleplays everything in the world.
• Guides dice rolls and outcomes.
The Game Runner ultimately guides the gameplay, and operates the world that the Players get to roleplay their characters in (which includes roleplaying everything in the world).
There's a lot that can be said for being the Game Runner, so I've created an ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE section that contains more in-depth guidance for all of the above. I'll also be putting out a "Quick Start Guide" soon to help create your own world.
In short, help Players create their characters by allocating points (+6 to Traits with a minimum of +1 in each / +10 to a list of Skills that you create relevant to the world / +4 to Items / +4 to Tags), place obstacles in their way, call for rolls as often as you can, and see what happens!
* See the TEMPLATES page to help customize/populate the world during preparation or on the fly.
EXAMPLE CHARACTER SHEET
(from Superhero world)
* To read more about my philosophy of Roll 1 as a system (the mindset, development, reasons for choosing mechanics, and more), click HERE
* For a fun idea, you can buy blank d6s and mark one side with a sticker or marker, so if you see that mark you know you succeeded.