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 IDEA:
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!
JUMP TO SECTION:
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 Traits (Physical / Mental / Social), Skills, and Items. 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 with the most applicable Trait (is this a Physical, Mental, or Social challenge?), Skill, and any Items.
Once the dice pool is built, roll to find out what happens! This is the time to be creative and roleplay what the outcome looks like.
DICE POOLS & BOOST POINTS
(what it all means)
MAIN IDEA:
• Traits = inherent
• Skills = learned
• Items = disposable
• Edge = specific niche (convert entire dice pool to d4s)
Succeeding with extra 1s = Boost Points (spend to reroll/negate damage/Growth)
1) TRAITS: the natural potential of a character
The three foundational Traits:
PHYSICAL
MENTAL
SOCIAL
What the dice mean:
• Below Average = 1d6
• Average = 2d6
• Above Average = 3d6
• Prodigy = 4d6
• Legendary = 5d6+
Once decided, these dice rarely (or never) change.
2) SKILLS: a list of learnable qualities that every character can improve over time
The list of Skills depends on the setting/world you're playing in. See character sheet example near the end of this page.
What the dice mean:
• Some experience = 1d6
• Familiar = 2d6
• Trained = 3d6
• Advanced = 4d6
• Expert = 5d6
• Master = 6d6+
3) ITEMS: disposable objects that characters can acquire over time
In order to use all the dice of an Item, it must be "used as intended," meaning the most common way to use it. If not, it's reduced to 1d6 or unusable, determined by Game Runner.
• NOT used as intended = 1d6
What the dice mean, when used as intended:
• Effective = 2d6
• Very effective = 3d6
• Extremely effective = 4d6
• Legendary = 5d6+
4) EDGE: a very specific niche, quirk, or theme that makes the character excel in these particular situations, usually related to backstory or previous life experience
This adds flavor and customization to a character.
Example: "Skateboarder" Edge - this character is particularly good at skateboarding and knows a lot about it. This Edge "activates" whenever a skateboarding situation occurs.
When an Edge activates, change entire dice pool to four-sided dice (d4).
* d4s have a higher chance of rolling a 1 than d6s
5) BOOST POINTS: rolling extra 1s
Any additional 1s rolled become Boost Points, which you store and use at any time until the end of the session. Any unused Boost Points become Growth Points.
Example: rolled 1 / 1 / 1 / 3 / 5 = 2 Boost Points
Spending Boost Points can do the following:
• 1 Boost Point = Reroll (only once per roll)
• 1 Boost Point = negate 1d6 damage (only once per damage roll)
• 1 Boost Point = 1 point towards Growth (as many as you want)
6) AIDING: helping another character reroll
A character can receive aid from one other character.
The aiding character rolls their applicable dice pool: on a success, the helped character can reroll their pool.
(Any additional 1s rolled become Boost Points as usual.)
The aiding character can also spend 1 Boost Point to automatically give the helped character a reroll.
* As usual, characters only get one reroll opportunity per roll - you cannot stack methods for multiple rerolls.
OPPOSED ROLLS
(resistance and competition)
MAIN IDEA:
Roll your dice pool against the opponent's dice pool, and whoever gets the most 1s wins.
This is for situations where your effort(s) are actively being resisted, or you're the one resisting. Competitions also fit within this category.
These are NOT dangerous situations, meaning no one is at risk of getting hurt. (See section below for "getting hurt".)
Examples:
• Convincing someone to do something they don't want to do.
• Trying to hack into a computer with an active security system.
• Arm wrestling.
• Performance competition.
1) Decide who's actively in this round of resistance or competition. These will be the characters who will roll.
- If there's more than one character in any party, they're treated as "one entity" when rolling, meaning their dice pool is combined.
2) Everyone in this round creates a dice pool with the most applicable Trait, Skill, and Item(s) as usual.
3) Each party rolls their dice pools - all 1s rolled cancel out the opponent's 1s. Whichever party has remaining 1s after cancellation ("winning 1s") wins the resistance or competition.
- Extra winning 1s become Boost Points as usual for the entire winning party.
- If both parties roll the same amount of 1s, it ends in a "stalemate" and both receive some benefit or positive outcome, however it make sense for the situation.
- If both parties fail, no one progresses and there may even be a negative outcome for both.
GETTING HURT
(fighting and wounds)
MAIN IDEA:
• Each Trait has a 6 Wound tracker (6 Wounds = KO)
• Each "hit" or "winning 1" = 1d6 Wounds
• Convert 1d6 to 1d8 per Wound when rolling
• Take 1d4 Wounds to reroll without using a Boost Point
• Successful heal roll = 1 Wound healed per 1 rolled
• Long rest = all Traits heal 1 Wound
WOUNDS: how hurt you are and how it affects you
Every character has a 6 Wound Tracker for each Trait (Physical / Mental / Social). Whenever a character receives a Wound in a Trait, they mark that on their character sheet.
Whenever you roll with a Trait that has a Wound, you must convert a d6 to a d8 per Wound.
* d8s have a lower chance of rolling 1s than d6s
For example, if you have 4 Wounds in Physical and are about to roll 5d6 using Physical and a Skill, it turns into 1d6 + 4d8.
If you ever reach 6 Wounds in a Trait, you're "taken out of the scene" and can't roll with that Trait until you heal at least 1 Wound.
DYING
If a character takes 12 Wounds in one hit, they become "dying" (or if Mental/Social, unwilling to continue).
When a character begins "dying", they can become stabilized by:
• Succeeding on a Physical/Mental/Social Trait roll (no Skills or Items added), whichever one they took the hit.
• Another character within reach succeeding on a healing roll.
• Spending all your remaining Boost Points (another player can do this for you as well).
If all of these fail or aren't possible, then the character is "retired."
DANGEROUS SITUATIONS: you will get hurt if things go bad
These rules are used when a situation becomes dangerous, meaning characters and parties are actively trying to hurt each other, or by failing you'll get seriously injured.
In short, whenever you get "hit" you take 1d6 Wounds (or more from combat). Yes, this means that a single hit can potentially take you out.
The Game Runner will declare when a situation becomes "dangerous," meaning you will get hurt (aka receive Wounds) if things go bad. The party can then decide to flee or take a different approach if they don't want to risk getting hurt.
FIGHTS / BATTLES / COMBAT
1) Do the same process as opposed rolls above.
- When using Items, add anything and everything that would apply, including weapons, shields, armor, etc.
2) Each winning 1 = 1d6 Wounds inflicted on everyone in the losing party.
EXAMPLE:
• Party A rolls 16d6 total and gets four 1s.
• Party B rolls 14d6 total and gets two 1s.
Party A has two winning 1s, so they roll 2d6 and get 1 / 3. Everyone in Party B receives 4 Wounds towards Physical.
- If all parties roll the same amount of 1s, everyone must take 1d6 Wounds.
- If all parties fail, the situation "escalates" and everyone rolls again with +1d6 added to their pools as a whole.
* All of this can include mental or social "battles," since fights or wounds can extend beyond physical.
DISTANCE:
If a character is using a ranged weapon/attack while everyone else is fighting in close combat, that character still contributes to the party roll but is immune to taking any damage since they're far away.
Characters can change distance and close the gap, but they'll be open to attack and can only use defensive Skills/Items until the next round.
OUTSIDE OF COMBAT
Some situations are not combative but will still hurt you from a failed roll (1d6 Wounds).
Examples:
• Falling a long distance (Physical)
• Experiencing a very stressful situation (Mental)
• Embarrassing yourself in front of many people (Social)
You can take 1d4 Wounds to "push yourself" past your normal limits and reroll your current dice pool.
* The Wounds apply to the Trait you're using in the reroll.
STRAIN: pushing yourself beyond your limits
A character can attempt to heal Wounds by rolling a relevant pool (usually Mental + healing skill).
Every 1 rolled = 1 Wound healed in the chosen Trait.
* You can only receive a healing attempt once per "new Wound" (aka after you get hit).
A "long rest" (usually 8 hours of sleep) heals 1 Wound for each Trait.
HEALING: decreasing Wounds
CHARACTER GROWTH
(increasing in skill or competence)
MAIN IDEA:
Every X amount of Growth Points = +1d6 to a Skill
At the end of every session, all characters automatically receive 1 Growth Point.
At the end of every session, all unused Boost Points become Growth Points.
Every 5 Growth Points (or number determined by Game Runner) becomes +1d6 to a Skill of your choosing, then resets.
OPTIONAL:
The Game Runner can give you a "milestone +1d6" to add to a Skill whenever you pass a certain point in the story, and/or let you increase a Trait by +1d6 (more rare).
QUICK CHARACTER SHEET
SETTING = normal kids finding and exploring a fantastical, magical world
ABILITIES: allocate 6d6 to the three Traits, minimum 1d6 for each Trait.
Example:
• PHYSICAL: 1d6
• MENTAL: 2d6
• SOCIAL: 3d6
SKILLS: allocate the following dice pools to any Skills of your choosing in the list
3d6 Trained (x2)
2d6 Familiar (x4)
1d6 Some Experience (x6)
Example:
• Climbing (3d6)
• Swimming (2d6)
• Running
• Balance
• Aim
• Scuffle (1d6)
• Research
• Technology (1d6)
• Art (2d6)
• Cooking (3d6)
• Puzzles
• Finding (1d6)
• First Aid (2d6)
• Nature
• Intimidation
• Negotiation
• Making Friends (2d6)
• Listening (1d6)
• Peacemaker (1d6)
• Tricking
• Creatures (1d6)
ITEMS: create 2-4 basic items your character would carry around
1) Define its "Intended Use" (2d6)
2) Choose one Item that's more effective (3d6)
EDGE: create one very specific thing your character is about (Example: archery, chess, knots, pop culture, etc)
WOUNDS: have this somewhere on your sheet, and check each box as your character receives Wounds
PHYSICAL WOUNDS (d8)
☐☐☐☐☐|☐ (KO)
MENTAL WOUNDS (d8)
☐☐☐☐☐|☐ (KO)
SOCIAL WOUNDS (d8)
☐☐☐☐☐|☐ (KO)
THE GAME RUNNER
• Determines the world, including the list of character Skills, discoverable Items, and Specialty 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 there will be a Game Runner section that contains more in-depth guidance for all of the above.
In short, help Players create their characters based on the setting, place obstacles in their way to build tension and the story, call for rolls as often as you can, and see what happens!
* 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.