Basic Rules v.3

Character Creation

Each character is made up of three Attributes, two Combat Ratings, and four Advantages.

The three Attributes are Brains (knowledge and the ability to think on your feet), Brawn (strength, speed, and dexterity), and Moxie (a combination of willpower and luck). One gets a rating of three, one gets a rating of two, and the last gets a rating of one.

Brains is usually used for perception, knowledge, and psychic abilities. Brawn is used in situations that call for speed or strength (combat situations, especially). Moxie is used as the base for social skills and for magical or supernatural endeavors.

The Combat Ratings are Initiative and Health. Initiative is [Brains + Moxie], and is how fast you react in combat. Health is [Brawn + Moxie] x 3, and is a measure of how much punishment you can take.

Advantages are multipurpose possessions or overarching character aspects that can apply to a variety of situations, social and combative. Advantages can be things like “Cyborg”, “Berserker”, “Pro Wrestler”, or “Magic Sword”. One advantage gets a rating of three, two get a rating of two, and the last gets a rating of one. List two or three specifics of each Advantage to flesh it out for use. “Hitman”, for instance, might have “skilled with guns”, “intimidating”, and “good at tracking”.

Checks

To see if your character can succeed at a task, you first generate a Target Number.

Target Number = [Attribute] + [Advantage]

Choose an appropriate Attribute, take its rating, and add on the rating of an Advantage that would be appropriate. If no Advantage is appropriate, then the Target Number is the Attribute.
Then, roll two ten-sided dice (2d10). If you roll at or below the Target Number on either die, you succeed at the skill check. If you do not, the check fails.

Opposed Checks

Some checks are contested—for instance, a guard might try to spot a character who is stealthing by. In that case, both characters perform an appropriate check. The one who rolls the highest number on a die without going over their Target Number succeeds.
If there is a tie, flip a coin to see who succeeds.

Combat

Combat takes place in a sequence of steps.

1) Roll Initiative – All players roll 2d10 and add their Initiative rating. Characters act from highest Initiative rolled to lowest. Characters who rolled the same initiative can roll off or go simultaneously.

2) Each player takes an action. This can be a check (to disarm a bomb, pick a lock, etc.) or an attack, which works exactly the same as a regular check. The Attribute and Advantage used will vary depending on the nature of the attack. Dice that roll exactly the Target Number are critical attack successes.

3) If either or both of the dice rolled for the attack skill check are a success, the character being attacked performs a check to defend. The Attribute and Advantage used will vary depending on the nature of the defense. Dice that roll exactly the Target Number are critical defense successes.

4) Compare the number of successes first. Successful defense dice cancel out successful attack dice, regardless of the number showing. However, a critical attack success die can only be canceled out by a critical defense success die. The defender gets to choose which attack die is canceled out if there is a choice. If all the attack successes are canceled out, the defender takes no damage. Any successful attack dice not canceled out reduce the defender’s health by the number rolled.

5) Lather, rinse, and repeat until the opponents or the PCs are all at zero Health. PCs that reach zero Health are not dead unless their players specifically state they want them to be. They are simply incapacitated.

The Bad Guys

Mooks and henchmen only roll one die for checks and are defeated by one successful attack.

Big Bad Guys get to roll three dice for checks and, if appropriate, initiative. They also get Health at [Brawn + Moxie] x 5.