A world where fragility fuels creativity, and teamwork is your lifeline.
Precipitate is a story-first fantasy tabletop role-playing game that features:
Deep Immersion: Rules are secondary, players think like their characters and interact with the world in a logical way
High Stakes: Characters aren't immortal gods -- combat is lethal and decisions have consequence
Non-stop Action: Simultaneous combat, players work together to come up with a plan every turn without downtime
The point of roleplaying is gathering your friends together, escaping to a different world, and sharing the creation of a story. This unique experience tends to create unforgettable memories.
Being a Game Master should be a blast. But session prep can turn into a chore.
Precipitate is attempting to solve this:
Online tools built into this website
Note taking and organization strategies
Game mechanics that reduce session prep time and overwhelm
Modable to the core, Game Masters should customize Precipitate for their table and players. Or take the parts they like to integrate with any other system.
A game of Precipitate consists of a Game Master that plays as the narrator and creates the world, and 1-5 other players that each take the role of a character. The Game Master and players are not opposed, everyone is working together to tell a shared story.
Precipitate is intended for standalone games known as one-shots, a few games linked together to form a short story arc, and up to full campaigns that can continue for years.
Everyone should know the core game-loop:
Game Master describes the situation
Players decide what actions to take
Game Master narrates the result (sometimes using dice for unpredictability)
Players interact with the world as their characters would. Want to search a bedroom? The player describes to the Game Master how they flip over the bed to look under it, actions should be detailed and specific. If there is a chance for danger, the Game Master will tell the players the risk and odds before hand so players can decide what to do about it.
Players looking for specific details should ask the Game Master for them. Is there a nightstand next to the bed or a chest at the foot of it? Game Masters should incorporate these details as they see fit. Maybe the Game Master didn't originally invision a nightstand or a chest, but they can use the player's hints to say that there is actually a chest at the foot of the bed, but it's locked.
A character with a background related to locksmithing can probably pick a lock with the right tools or enough time. Often, logic determines outcomes rather than die rolls.
In general, players use their actions to inject what they are interested in into the world. It's a hint to the Game Master about the details that they are interested in. A table that doesn't have anyone interested in something naturally skips over the related details to keep the game moving.
The Game Master uses logic-based rulings to keep the game flowing and provides interesting choices and hard decisions for the players to use to roleplay together as their characters.
The rules that follow are guidelines rather than law. It's a framework for the players and Game Master to have a common understanding of how situations are resolved. The Game Master is the final arbiter and may adjust these rules as required for a smooth experience. Players are encouraged to think critically and not let the rules stand in the way of creativity.
Precipitate is intended to be played with paper, pencil, and a set of dice (at least one each of the following: 4-sided, 6-sided, 8-sided, and 20-sided) or their digital equivalents.
Each player, including the Game Master, should have their own set of materials.
Dice Notation is a shorthand for describing each of the different sided die, telling how many should be rolled, and what modifiers to apply to the result.
A simple example is d20 -- which means roll one 20-sided die, to get the final result.
A full example is 3d6+4 -- which says roll three 6-sided die, add the result of each die together, then add 4 to get the final result.
Characters are assumed to be human, but the table should work together to create the kind of characters they want to play as.
To create a character, players should record the following on a custom-made or official character sheet:
Coins (c): Roll 3d6 and multiply it by 100. This is a character's starting funds that they can spend immediately on items or save for use during play. Characters can carry up to 1000 coins.
Luck: Roll a d6 on the chart below. This is how many luck slots you have available. Luck is persisted between sessions and cannot be used during character creation.
d6 Roll
Starting Luck
1-3
1 slot (start with 0 luck)
4-5
2 slots (start with 1 luck)
6
3 slots (start with 2 luck)
Set your Luck Experience to the Experience Threshold of your starting Luck Slots
Stamina (st): Roll a d6+4. This is how well a character can defend themselves before their defenses are overwhelmed and are open to taking hits and Critical Injuries. Stamina reserves are spent by traveling and casting spells. Stamina is restored to the reserve value whenever a character has a minute to catch their breath. The reserve value is recovered during rest and can go up to the max stamina value.
Stamina is made up of 3 parts, record each to be the same rolled value to start: Current, Reserve, and Max
A character is killed if their Reserve Stamina hits 0 or below
Set your Stamina Experience to the Experience Threshold of your starting Stamina
Abilities: Roll 3d6, three times. Assign each result to choice of Strength (str), Agility (agl), or Willpower (wil). Higher numbers are better where every point represents a 5% better chance at succeeding at a related action. Abilities can be damaged and a character is killed if any of their abilities ever hit 0.
Strength (str): Grit and muscle, how much of a beating a character can take and their raw physical ability
Agility (agl): Reflexes and precision, technical ability to move and control their body
Willpower (wil): Mental fortitude, their ability to resist temptation, avoid mental breakdowns, and cast magical spells
World Connection: Players work with the Game Master to figure out how their characters fits into the world. If someone has ideas, they should work with the Game Master to add to the world.
One-Sentence Backstory: A single, open-ended, sentence that sums up a character's past.
As players learn about the world, they can thread the elements they like into the character's backstory during play.
Players should work with the Game Master to refine their characters' backstory as the game unfolds.
Characteristics: These are the elements that make up a character's personality. They have a dual nature where every Characteristic should have both an upside and a dark side depending on how they are interpreted. Players can use them as reference notes to help think as their characters would during play. They may evolve as characters are played.
Core Belief: The mantra a character lives by. Their ethical or moral North Star.
Dominant Trait: The first thing someone would notice about a character if they started interacting with them. What trait comes to the forefront during interactions?
Greatest Fear or Vulnerability: A character's Achilles' Heel, something they dread or can't escape.
Signature Quirk or Habit: The little behavior or routine that makes a character uniquely them.
Hidden Desire or Goal: The secret wish or objective that a character is working towards.
Name and supporting details: Players decide on a name and any details that a random person on the street would notice about the character and how they conduct themselves.
Precipitate is a lethal game, characters will come and go with some making it to retirement. Players should write down character ideas in case they want or need to create a new one.
Characters improve their stats through trial and error. Characters that earn enough experience points to hit the threshold for the next stat level, levels up that stat by increasing the maximum, not the current, value and carrying over all earned experience points for use towards the next stat increase.
A failed ability save or hard ability save is +3 experience to the related ability (no experience for failing an opposed save)
A taken critical hit is +15 experience to Stamina
Using a luck is +1 experience to Luck
If a stat is at its maximum value, then experience is still earned in the same way, but that experience can be applied to another stat of your choice that is not capped.
Stats cannot be raised above their cap, even by means of item bonuses or magical effects.
Characters and all other beings have 10 inventory slots which includes their worn and held items unless otherwise noted. Each slot can hold 1 item unless specified.
Creatures may hold up to 1000 coins
Creatures may only wear 1 armor set at a time
Armor is fitted to the wearer and must be re-fitted before someone else can wear the same armor set unless their physical build is very similar
May only wield 1 shield at a time
Maximum armor is 3
Some items are bulky and might take up more than 1 inventory slot. These items will say so in their description.
Other items are small and may stack with with other small items up to 5 in an inventory slot.
Items can be held and used in 1 hand unless they are marked as 2-handed (2h).
Characters holding 1 item with two hands or who have one of their hands empty are considered to have a free hand.
Items that provide stat bonuses apply their stat bonus to the current stat level, not the max stat level. The current and max stat levels can never go above the stat's cap.
The Game Master will alert players to dangerous actions before a player tries it. The description will include what the danger is, what the related ability is, and what the consequences of failing the save will be.
To make a Save, the player rolls a d20 and if the result is equal to or under their related ability level, then they succeed, otherwise they fail.
Some saves may be so difficult that they are considered Hard Saves. A Hard Save means that the related ability level is halved for the roll (rounding up to a whole number).
While exploring a cave, the party used illusion magic to spook the goblins to get them out of their room. The party went in and found the captured guards and their equipment they were looking to rescue.
After a few minutes of figuring out how to free them, the goblins come running back with reinforcements. As a snap decision, Rolf slams the unlocked door shut and braces it with their body.
The hobgoblin the goblins retrieved wants to break down the door before the players free the guards and re-arm them for the impending fight.
Rolf and the hobgoblin make strength saves since Rolf is bracing the door while the hobgoblin is trying to knock it down
Rolf rolls their d20 and gets a 13
The hobgoblin rolls an 11
Both subtract their rolls from their relevant ability, strength for both of them in this case
Rolf has 10 strength and subtracts their roll of a 13: 10 - 13 = -3
The hobgoblin has 12 strength and subtracts their roll of an 11: 12 - 11 = 1
The hobgoblin's 1 beats Rolf's -3, so the hobgoblin is able to break down the door with their goblin friends before the party can free the guards. The party is in for a tough fight.
Does not have to be comfortable, but characters restore an extra Reserve Stamina if they sleep in a bedroll or a tent
6 hours of sleep
Does not have to be continuous, but characters restore an extra Reserve Stamina if it is
2 hours of a downtime activity
A character can keep watch while doing their downtime activity
A character must consume a ration to complete the rest and to receive the following benefits:
Restore d4 Reserve Stamina
Restore an extra Reserve Stamina if the character slept in a bedroll or a tent
Restore an extra Reserve Stamina if the character got at least 6 hours of continuous sleep
Heal each damaged ability by d4, up to their maximum
Do one of the following as a downtime activity:
Train: Gain 5 experience in an ability of your choice or to your Stamina
Reflect: Gain 1 luck
Pray: Gain some favor with a higher being
Craft (with the right knowledge and equipment):
Work towards crafting an item
Refit armor for someone else
Fix an item
Brew a potion or poison (agility save to create -- grain (contact or inhale), liquid (contact, bloodstream, or ingest), or gas (contact or inhale). Poison can be applied to 5 missiles or to a blade for 3 rounds worth of attacks.)
Create a scroll (small item, try to cast the spell you want the scroll to perform)
Hunt: Gain d4-2 rations or d4 rations if skilled with the right equipment. Must be in an appropriate area.
Cook: Everyone that completes their rest restores d6 ability damage instead of d4. Only 1 person can use cook for the group per rest.
Rally: Everyone that completes their rest gains 2 Current Stamina over their Reserve Stamina for 4 hours. Must be able to describe how you are encouraging the group and only 1 person can use rally for the group per rest.
Scout: Gain knowledge of the surrounding area and instead of being surprised by a potential threat during your watch, you suprise the threat.
Characters may only rest and do a downtime activity once every 16 hours.
Weather is an abstract intensity rating from 1 (calm) to 6 (extreme). Current weather conditions are interpreted by the Game Master and should align with the setting, location, and season.
The Game Master rolls against this table every few in-game hours, the timing isn't specific. Weather should change enough to be interesting, but not so often that it's disruptive to the story.
Magic is wild, weird, and wicked -- it is not for the faint of heart. It requires equal parts of creativity, precision, and restraint.
The powerful corrupt their bodies and burn out quickly in extraordinary display
The corrupt use the mere threat of it to get their way
The wise learn to use it only at the most opportune times
Spells are cast using 1 each of 3 different kinds of aspects that a caster has on them through a spell focus they are wielding such as a wand, staff, or orb. Each aspect is 1 word.
Catalyst: The effect on the spell itself
Intent: The effect on the subject
Subject: The target of the spell
The caster than declares a Power Level and Desired Effect based on the chosen aspects.
A Tome contains 5 aspects. A being has access to all of the aspects in the tomes and magical items in their inventory and any other relevant sources.
Strong tomes with rare and powerful aspects are rare to generate from shops and such. They are typically collected by powerful casters in the world. Either protected by dark casters in deep dungeons, wise and important casters in high towers, or locked in the restricted section of important libraries. Buy tomes to get started, then seek out more powerful ones from other casters. A powerful tome might just be one good deed or one well-placed spell away from your grasp. If you have some, remember to watch your back -- you aren't the only ambitious one.
While holding a spell focus, a being can spend 7 seconds, or 1 combat action, to cast a spell:
Select a Catalyst, Intent, and Subject
Choose the spell's target
Pick the power level of the spell and take the related amount of Reserve Stamina damage
Announce the spell's desired effect
If damaging, the caster must declare an appropriate damage type
Make a Willpower save, or a hard Willpower save if the spell is cast at an epic or ancient power level
If the save result was:
1: Critical success, the caster has full control of the spell at an increased effect
Pass: The spell is cast for intended effect
Fail: The caster tries a recovery Willpower save against the power level of the spell (never a hard save)
Pass: An unintended spell effect happens
Fail: The caster loses control of the spell as it takes on a form of its own. A more powerful, unintended, and uncontrollable effect fires and the caster is permanently changed in related and minor way.
20: Same as a Fail, but the caster is instead permanently changed in a related and major way
The Power Level of the spell is determined by finding the 2 aspects with the highest power level in the spell being cast and using the most common power level between them. A caster may choose to downcast the spell at a lower power level.
Each power level is relative to each other. A spell to turn something invisible, such as Subtle Mask Body, has different grades depending on the desired effect of the caster. For example:
Minor might make a small object invisible or a human-sized one harder to see
Major might make a human-sized object, or a human themselves, invisible while it is at rest or in shadows
Epic might make a human-sized or larger object invisible while in motion, including attacking
Ancient might make multiple objects perfectly invisible for some time period or use the added power to stretch the idea of what the aspects Subtle Mask Body imply. Maybe it means that an object is literally invisible as in people don't even know the concept of it while the spell is on. Yeah, go crazy with the interpretations of aspects of all power levels (not just Ancient) and have fun with it -- as long as the table is on-board and having fun, then let it go.
Magic does have an upper limit, so we should define that. The most powerful ancient magic might allow a small group of individuals to achieve some important goal at high risk. Think breaching a hole in an impenetrable defense, creating an elaborate illusion to lure and allow an assassination attempt on an important leader, reversing time from the last few seconds, or stealing the soul of someone as they are killed from the gods.
Effects more than this, such as bringing on the apocalypse, requires a ritual.
Think about restrictions, time limits, conditions, area, size, lesser effects, pre and post cast effects, and whatever else comes up in the moment to suggest creative ways to interpret the different levels a spell might have. The player should record the results in their spellbook and the game master, caster, and rest of the table should work together to hone in on a spell that works well for everyone.
Ancient spells are risky and costly, make them worth the significant risk.
The Damage Effect die can be used to give a rough idea of how much damage a spell of that power level might do. In general, single target spells should do the damage die amount along side of their desired effect and multi-target spells should do a lesser effect to the affected targets. A spell over a more concentrated area has more of an effect than a spell over a wider area.
A Spellbook is a caster's personal notes on different aspect combinations and how they used them and what went wrong or right with their cast attempts. It is not a formal requirement for casting a spell, but the related player notes are treated as an in-game item that can be lost and found. Many casters have invaluable notes on the spells they rely on most often.
At a meta level, spellbooks are a way for players and Game Masters to work together on balancing the spells the players like to use. The same spell may work slightly differently each time it's cast while the table finds the right balance for it.
This can be explained as the caster honing in on a clean and consistent way to invoke the desired effect.
A spellbook item is represented by a real-life 8.5 by 11 inch singled-sided sheet of paper or up to about 500 words or 2,500 characters.
Like tomes, the most creative, valuable, and insightful spellbooks are locked away and treated as sacred knowledge.
Any creature with a tome may take 3 seconds, or 1 combat maneuver, to make 1 of their aspects available to all others of their choice within a medium distance of them for 10 seconds, or the current combat round.
Rituals are a powerful and slow form of magic. Rituals range from staying up all night to summon a demon in your bedroom to spending a month with 1,000 cult followers to start an apocalypse.
The more elaborate, detailed, and involved a ritual is, the more powerful and specific the effect will be. Rituals can involve many casters and the aspects of each present are all available to be used for a part of the ritual.
Rituals might use multiple spell casting checks over a period of time where every success and failure layer together for some final grand desired effect. But if you have a knife, someone you care about, some candles, and a few hours to spare, you might have what it takes to make a demon friend without having any tomes at all.
Said better, rituals may be powered through dedication and intent alone than by aspects in tomes. Get creative and roll with it -- sensing a theme yet?
Everything you can do outside of combat, you can still do inside of combat. Interact with the world around you, use the items you have, and talk it out.
Starting combat is nothing more than dropping the game down into a slower and more structured style of play. This allows all characters to get a fair amount of time to act.
This happens whenever the Game Master deems it necessary.
During the 90 second huddle, each player needs to describe what their character is doing and what their intent is.
Every round, each character gets 1 action (about 7 seconds of in-game time) and 1 maneuver (about 3 seconds of in-game time) that they can spend on attacking, moving, accessing items from their inventory, or anything else they can think of.
Distance is relative and abstract. Game Masters should focus on providing interesting decisions rather than having players count and measure distances.
Players should describe intent to the Game Master for them to make a ruling.
Engaged: Handshake distance (about 1 meter). It takes 1 maneuver to engage or disengage with a hostile creature or a dangerous object.
Short: Diving to the ground distance (about 2.5 meters). Costs 1 maneuver.
Medium: Distance between home place and first base in baseball (about 30 meters). The maneuver cost matches the cost of the distance you are going to or coming from.
Long: A football field (about 100 meters). Costs 2 maneuvers spent in the same round.
Extreme: A distant shout away (about 150 meters). Costs 2 maneuvers spent in the same round. Any further requires multiple rounds worth of movement depending on how far away someone is.
To help with rulings, a galloping horse can travel about 150 meters in 10 seconds (a round of combat) and a running human can travel about 30 meters in 10 seconds (a round of combat involving movement).
Although an attack is modeled as a single die roll in most cases, the in-game story is more nuanced. An attack is a dance of jabs, blocks, and feints or a single well placed arrow or slung spell. Characters are always trying to hit in the most advantageous way possible and defend to the best of their ability.
All numbers have a minimum value of 0.
Roll Damage: Roll your weapon's damage die. Unarmed attacks use a d4.
Armor Reduction: Reduce the damage result by the target's armor.
Stamina: Reduce the damage result by the target's Current Stamina, reducing the target's Current Stamina by the amount of damage reduced in this way.
Hit Damage: Reduce the target's Strength Ability by the remaining damage result. This is a strike or series of strikes that have connected and did some amount of physical damage.
Critical Injury Save: If the target took Strength Ability damage, then the player that either dealt or took the Critical Injury rolls a Strength Save for the target using the newly reduced Strength Ability. If the target fails the save, they take a Critical Injury.
More than just a hit, a Critical Injury is a setback caused by the damage taken.
Roll a d20 to see what the fates have in store. The Game Master will interpret the result unless the player has an idea that the table agrees to.
d20 Roll
Severity
Effect Ideas
1-10
Temporary (about an hour)
Sore Ankle: Movement is slowed, making it difficult to keep up in fast-paced situations
Hazy Vision: Struggles to see clearly, leading to missed details or misjudgments
Tight Chest: Short of breath, causing difficulty in speaking or performing strenuous activities
11-16
Minor (a few months)
Weakened Arm: Struggles with lifting or holding objects, making physical tasks more challenging
Lingering Headache: Persistent distraction and irritability, affecting focus and decision-making
Damaged Gear: A piece of equipment is unreliable, leading to potential failure at critical moments
17-19
Major (permanent)
Partial Vision Loss: Difficulty with depth perception and awareness, altering how the world is perceived
Permanent Impairment: A limb is severely injured or lost, requiring adaptation in how you perform daily tasks and engage in physical activities
Notable Scar: A visible mark that changes how others perceive and react to you, for better or worse
20
Death
Instant death. It's time for a new character sheet.
Taking a critical injury doesn't take a creature out of the fight. They are still up and fighting, but with whatever challenges they are now facing.
Critical injuries have a high impact on the tone of the game depending on how they are narrated at the table. Make sure every player agrees to each other on the level of gore they want in the game.
Once a character sustains a Critical Injury, it's more than just a scrape -- it's a lingering threat that needs attention. Without intervention, the injury will progress as it would naturally, with all the complications and risks that come with it.
Healing Potions are the go-to remedy. After consuming one, the healing process kicks into overdrive, cutting recovery time significantly:
Temporary Injuries: Normally lasting about an hour, a healing potion reduces the recovery time to 10 minutes.
Minor Injuries: These would typically take a few months to mend, but with a potion, the recovery timeline is about 5 days. Expect the first day to be the roughest, but be nearly back to full strength by day 5.
Major Injuries: Permanent without specialized treatment, these severe wounds might be beyond a potion's power to fully heal. However, the potion will stabilize the injury, preventing infections and other nasty side effects. Full recovery may require more potent magic, skilled healers, or even divine intervention.
Each healing potion aids the recovery of only 1 critical injury of the drinker's choice. A character with 4 different injuries would require 4 healing potions.
When a target is damaged by multiple sources such as twin blades or a swarm of attackers, all damage is calculated individually, but only the highest damage source is used for the final damage against the target. The secondary effects of each damage source are still applied and accounted for.
Someone wielding a weapon in each hand can use both with a single attack action, either both on the same target or each on different targets.
Ranged and thrown weapons include unlimited ammo required to use them.
Quivers provide alternative ammunition that the attacker may choose to use in place of their default ammunition
Friendlies within a short distance of a worn quiver or anyone within short distance of a quiver or other ammunition source may use them for their own ranged attacks
A ranged attacker cannot use ranged attacks while being attacked by a melee weapon when they intend to fire.
A spell caster must target themselves, their attacker, or something that would otherwise disrupt their attacker, while being attacked by a melee weapon when they intend to cast the spell.
Short-ranged melee weapons may be used while under attack by another melee weapon.
Targets in cover are attacked by ranged attacks with disadvantage.
Grappling an unaware target just happens. An aware target can attempt to:
Resist the grapple by making a strength or agility save. If successful, the target avoids the grapple and can take their normal planned action. Otherwise, the target is grappled and their planned action might be interrupted based on the timing and nature of the grapple.
Accept the grapple by canceling their planned action and making an agility save. If successful, the target may take a grapple-related action that isn't escaping. Otherwise, the target is grappled.
While grappled, each grappler cannot take normal maneuvers or actions and instead makes an opposed save against each other every 10 seconds (1 combat round). The winner is able to perform a grapple action such as:
TODO The process for sorting what was found and the related loot table rolls -- real player time taken rolling on tables is character time taken to examine the item
Hirelings can be used to fulfil a specialized role for the party. They require some kind of payment and focus on self-preservation and keep to their personal moral codes.
They have their own gear to carry and won't personally transport items for others.
Unskilled Laborer: Does manual labor in areas they feel safe in and doesn't fight. Costs 10 coins per day.
Scout: Dives into danger zones, but doesn't fight. Stealthy and keenly aware. Costs 20 coins per day.
Brawler: Won't go into danger zones or other areas that spook them, but will fight until their morale is broken. Costs 30 coins per day.
Expert: A specialist in some non-combat activity that would require lots of training and practice to master. Costs at least 50 coins per day.
"Luck is very real... I can actually feel when I'm in it and when I'm out of it... I know I can make the far jump to the next roof and that my foot will miss the loose tiles."
Luck is a resource. A player can spend luck to force any die to be re-rolled within 3 seconds of seeing the result or to impose an event on the story if they can describe what happens to impact the scene.
Seeing the ranger nock their arrow, I use my luck to jump in front of Rolf to take the hit instead.
For the above example, the Game Master might make Rolf roll the damage die for that arrow to add some guilt if things go sideways.
Any player can suggest an unlucky event to occur. If the affected player or players accept the event, then the event happens and they are compensated 1 luck point each.
Estoc. Advantage against chain mail. d8 piercing. 2-handed. 2 slots
135c
Falchion. Advantage in first 2 rounds of combat against unarmored and light armored opponents. d6 slashing. 2 slots
100c
Flail. Negates armor provided by target's shield. Cannot be used in cramped areas. Takes entire action to attack with a flail, cannot use another item even while dual wielding as part of the action where the flail is used. d6 bludgeoning. 2 slots
75c
Glaive. Advantage when within short range of 3 or more opponents. Short d8 slashing. 2-handed. 3 slots
95c
Greatsword. Advantage when fighting 2 or more opponents in melee. d8 slashing or piercing. 2-handed. 3 slots
180c
Halberd. Advantage against mounted. Short d8 slashing or piercing. 2-handed. 3 slots
120c
Katana. Free action to draw. Has advantage on the round it's drawn. d8 slashing. 2-handed. 2 slots
200c
Lance. Single use. Must be used when attacking while moving past the target at a speed faster than a human sprint. May be used 1-handed if wearing a plate armor set with a shield. 2d6 piercing. 2-handed. 4 slots
50c
Long Axe. Advantage against mounted opponents and unarmored opponents. Negates armor provided by target's shield (a target with a shield is not considered unarmored). d8 slashing. 2-handed. 3 slots
110c
Longsword. d6 if 1-handed or d8 if 2-handed — in either case, slashing or piercing. 2 slots
150c
Mace. Ignores 1 armor from opponents in plated armor. d6 bludgeoning. 2 slots
60c
Polehammer. Attacked target makes agility save or is knocked down. Advantage if attacking a knocked down target. d8 bludgeoning. 2-handed. 3 slots
130c
Rapier. Advantage when fighting a single melee opponent that is wearing light armor or is unarmored. d6 piercing. 2 slots
140c
Scimitar. Advantage when attacking while moving past the target at a speed faster than a human sprint. d6 slashing. 2 slots
120c
Spear. Advantage against mounted. Short d6 piercing. 2 slots
25c
Swordstaff. Short d8 slashing or piercing. 2-handed. 2 slots
115c
Trident. Attacked target makes agility save or is disarmed, dropping a random wielded item to the ground. d8 piercing. 2-handed. 3 slots
Bolas. Thrown. Must be retrieved to be used again. Running target makes an agility save or is knocked prone. Medium, no damage.
30c
Chakrams. Thrown. With 2 free hands, may throw up to 2 per 7 seconds or 1 combat action. Otherwise may use a free hand to throw 1 per 7 seconds or 1 combat action. Medium d6 slashing.
50c
Javelin. Thrown. Must be retrieved to be used again. Disadvantage against heavy armor. Medium d8 piercing.
25c
Shurikens. Thrown. With 2 free hands, may throw up to 4 per 7 seconds or 1 combat action. Otherwise may use a free hand to throw up to 2 per 7 seconds or 1 combat action. Medium d4 piercing.
35c
Blow Gun. Medium d4-1.
35c
Composite Bow. Advantage when used while riding or after spending 2 maneuvers for movement in the same round as the attack. Can only shoot arrows. Medium d6 piercing. 2-handed. 2 slots
150c
Crossbow. Advantage against all targets. Ignores target armor granted by worn armor (not shields). Takes 30 seconds (3 combat rounds) to reload. Can only shoot bolts. Medium d6 piercing. 2-handed. 3 slots
200c
Longbow. Advantage when target is at long distance. Can only shoot arrows. Long d6 piercing. 2-handed. 3 slots
120c
Repeating Crossbow. Can shoot up to 4 times per 7 seconds or 1 combat action. After 3 uses, spend 10 seconds or 1 combat round to replace magazine with a new one. Can only shoot repeaters. Long d4-1 piercing. 2-handed. 3 slots
400c
Sling. Disadvantage against plate armor. Requires free hand and maneuver to reload. Medium d6 bludgeoning.
10c
Shortbow. Advantage when used in tight or cluttered environments. Can only shoot arrows. Medium d6 piercing. 2-handed. 2 slots
60c
Bodkin Arrow Quiver. d4 piercing (2d4-1 piercing against armored targets).
8c
Barbed Arrow Quiver. d4 piercing (2d4-1 piercing against unarmored targets).
12c
Fire Arrow Quiver. Can be lit on fire. d4 fire if lit (ignites flammable objects) or d4 piercing if unlit.
10c
Whistling Arrow Quiver. Whistling sound that can be heard a long distance away as the arrow flies. d4 piercing.
Horse. 8 stamina. Transports 10 inventory slots and holds up to 1,000 coins. Can carry a rider and a passenger.
300c
Horse-Pulled Wagon. Transports 40 inventory slots and holds up to 10,000 coins. Requires a horse to pull (may be burdened, but not ridden). Can carry a driver and 4 passengers.
Disguise Kit (takes 10 minutes to an hour depending on detail to disguise as someone you've seen or studied, bonus points for specific details such as mannerisms and personal items)
25c
Drum
15c
Earmuffs (small)
3c
Fishing Line (small, 50 feet, not required for fishing)
6c
Flint and Steel (small)
2c
Grappling Hook
25c
Hand-Harp
20c
Hourglass (small)
15c
Incense (small)
4c
Iron Chain (10 feet, 2 slots)
20c
Iron Hook
5c
Iron Piton (small)
3c
Iron Rake
10c
Iron Skewer (small)
2c
Juggling Balls (small)
5c
Sponge (small)
2c
Leather Flask (2 liters)
10c
Leather Strap (small, 5 feet)
4c
Lockpicking Kit (small)
100c
Lute
30c
Magnifying Glass (small)
20c
Manacles
8c
Metal File (small)
10c
Metal Tongs
4c
Net (5 feet x 5 feet)
10c
Noble Clothing
75c
Nose Plug (small)
1c
Oil (small)
1c each
Oil Lantern (uses oil, 1 hour per oil, long distance in cone, shutter to turn light on and off within 3 seconds or 1 combat maneuver)
15c
Paint (1 color) (small)
5c
Portable Hand Drill
12c
Rope (25 feet)
5c
Set of Dice (small)
2c
Set of Playing Cards (small)
3c
Shovel
10c
Signal Whistle (small)
2c
Hand Bell (small)
5c
Steel Mirror (small)
12c
Soap (small)
1c
Spiked Boots
15c
Spyglass (small)
100c
Stone Mortar and Pestle (small)
12c
Tarp (5 feet x 5 feet)
10c
Tongs (small)
4c
Torch (1 hour, lights medium distance, d4 fire damage)
Mix, match, and customize these with any other rules (these assume 5e) to make the best game possible for your table. Ordered for convenience of referencing only.
Players roll own death saves in private. Player rolls every round even if they already know the result.
Still standup with 1 hit point on a natural 20
Only reveal results to the specific player that checks on the character's body
For optional bonuses and follow-on rolls, choose to use them or not after seeing the initial roll result
Players track their own standings with relevant factions and gods
Reputation acts as an ability score and defaults to 10 (+0) for neutral
Reputation can be used as an ability check when relevant
Game Master may award or remove reputation based on the character's actions
Characters can carry unlimited gold and other coins
Gold is an abstraction for wealth
A player might have 10,000 gold but the character isn't literally carrying 10,000 gold pieces, but has expensive jewelry and such that can be bartered with
Casters always have their spell components & spell book unless there's a narrative reason to not have one or both of them
Don't track mundane consumables such as arrows and rations, assume that characters are smart enough to keep themselves stocked
In general, equipment is only really tracked if it's unique, valuable relative to the wealth of the party, or otherwise narratively interesting
A Game Master may not care how many torches you have, but if you've been in the depths for too long and there's a reason to, then they might start a timer to tell you when you'll be out of torches
Encumbrance is done by eye if it would have a narrative impact
Don't apply Constitution bonuses to Hit Point rolls during level ups (or to monsters), but if a Hit Point rolls is less than or equal to the character's Constitution modifier, then player may choose to re-roll once
Short rest hit die still get the Constitution bonus applied
Characters roll for their stats, 4d6 drop lowest, six times -- player assigns the results to the stats of their choice
The sum of all ability modifiers should be at least +1, if it isn't the player may choose to re-roll all of their stats to try again
At first level, hit points are set to the Hit Die max value (a 1st level character with a d8 hit die would have 8 Hit Points)
Potion and poison use are actions
Excess melee damage cleaves through the target and is applied to another nearby enemy
Use rough distances and interesting decisions instead of counting squares ("I don't think you can make it to the tree and cast the spell, so you can make it to the tree with a sprint or go part way to this rock and still be able to cast your spell -- up to you")
Use a mix of theater of the mind with physical and exact squares -- players should have a fuzzy visual reference of where creatures and interesting features are so everyone is in the same ballpark, then take advantage of people filling in the minor details themselves
Roughly: Short --30 feet-- Medium --60 feet-- Long --120 feet-- Extreme
Game Master rules how opportunity attacks and the weird spell shapes might play out in different locations -- remember, interesting decisions is the most important, otherwise default to "yes"
No initiative rolls, simultaneous combat adjudication
Each round:
Game Masters set the scene and clearly describe monster intent
Where are creatures moving and looking
Where are they aiming and what does their intent seem to be
If a creature is starting to cast a spell, what does their intent seem to be (require skill check (likely Intelligence (Arcana)) as bonus action during Planning to identify the spell)
Players work together to come up with each of their plans (include movement, actions, and bonus actions -- can use reactions as they come up and set triggers during planning)
Players can ask the Game Master questions
I encourage tables to explore using a 90 second timer for this phase (for the sake of game pacing), new groups will naturally be uncoordinated but after working together players will find creative ways to speed up their planning process such as having standard plays to work off of or just knowing how each other tends to think and fight
Game Master narrates the results, calling for die rolls as necessary to resolve different actions
Everyone should move roughly the same percentage of distance to their destination over time
If a creature's plan is interrupted, give them a Snap Decision to change their plan
If a major event happens, such as a friendly character getting downed, allow a Snap Decision for players to change their plans
Move order matters -- "I move to the tree for cover, then shoot at the goblin" is different from "I shoot at the goblin, then move to the tree for cover"
Adjudicate accordingly, the timing might be the difference of if that goblin gets downed before they do what they want to do
Creatures attacking at the same time both roll their attack and damage and apply them to each other, even if one would down the other
Combat is messy and there are many ways to rule how a combat round might play out (many of which you may not agree with!) -- players may give a 2 second thought of why something might play out differently if the Game Master misunderstood the player's intent, but otherwise, players should accept the Game Master's rulings to keep the game flowing
Surprised creatures don't get an action on the 1st round
An attack roll of 1 under target armor class is 1/2 damage and 2 under is 1/4 damage
For rolls, inject these when it makes sense:
20 is critical success (success and something good): Roller gives inspiration to another creature
1 is critical failure (failure and something bad): Damage equipment, injury that lowers ability score until a rest, or out of arrows or material spell components until a rest
1 or 2 under DC (failure but something good)
0 to 2 over DC (success but something bad)
Base level ups for characters on narrative advancement according to their relative impact on the world
Roughly:
Level 1 is local impact
Level 5 requires regional impact
Level 11 requires worldly impact
Level 17 requires godly impact
Use Snap Decisions -- during a time-sensitive moment, give a player a 5 second count down to make them act or otherwise have their character do what they were doing or to do nothing
Roll attack & damage at same time: "14 to hit 7 slashing damage"
Favor mechanical interaction with the world over die rolls
For social encounters, players can opt to roll instead of coming up with what to say
Describe action & intent, the Game Master will narrate the results of actions or, if necessary, ask for a roll or do the roll themselves if the character wouldn't know the outcome of
Mundane shopping is done outside of session play
Hit points are an abstraction of defenses, losing all of them means a fight-ending series of hits made it through and has taken a creature out of the fight
Provide frequent, impactful, and interesting decisions for the players to make
Game Master sets the spell, class, and race limits
Mix and match skills with different abilities depending on the approach and always call out both when making a player roll: "Roll Constitution, Acrobatics to see if you can keep this performance up"
Default to "yes", rolls are special
Use the following to narrate remaining hit points and effectiveness of attacks
More than 2/3rds hit points remaining is fresh
More than 1/3rd hit points remaining is winded
Less than 1/3rd hit points remaining is tired
Less than 1/3rd hit points of damage is a little damage
More 1/3rd hit points of damage is good damage
More than 2/3rds hit points of damage is great damage
Attack the players' equipment, ability scores, and social standings -- not just their hit points
Use monster hit point rolls to narrate their skill level
Narrate based on class, race, weapons, equipment, die results, and whatever else
Add a healthy amount of flavor to narration
Only mention critical details in scenes -- let player imagination fill in the gaps
Keep the game loose and narrative-focused
Ensure players have a timer, goals, and obstacles
Focus on plot narrative during NPC conversations -- keep interactions short and punchy
For travel, focus on destination and impact, use fast-forwards ("After 2 days of travel, crossing Dragon Back's Bridge, you arrive in the port town of West Creek")
Add mechanics to fit what the players want to get out of the game
Collect a copy of all player's notes after each session (and write down a session summary for everyone or find a willing player to do it for you)
Have a copy of every player's character sheet for off-hand reference of backstory, abilities for private rolls, and notable equipment
The author generated parts of this text with GPT-4, OpenAI's large-scale language-generation model. Upon generating draft language, the author reviewed, edited, and revised the language to their own liking and takes ultimate responsibility for the content of this publication.