ARSE! A R e l a t i v e l y S i m p l e E n g i n e
A Simple, Universal Roleplayi Roleplaying ng Game System Created for quick and easy play
Contents Character Creation Primary Stats Secondary Stats Skills Character Generation
2 2 2 2 2
Core Game Mechanics Skill Checks Opposed Checks Untrained Skills Automatic Passes & Failures Critical Successes & Failures
3 3 3 3 3 3
Combat Initiative & Combat Actions Attacks Damage Critical Successes & Failures In Combat
4 4 4 4 4
Expanded Rules Inventory Skill Check Modifiers Climbing Crouching & Crawling Detecting & Searching Dodging Drowning & Asphyxiation Falling Fire Jumping Swimming Unarmed Combat & Improvised Weapons Fleeing From Combat Experience & Training
Character Sheet
5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 6 6
7-8
Some Stuff You Might Need To Know Tis system uses a six-sided die (d6) or just about every roll. At least one d6 or each player (and the Game Master) will be needed or speedy play. GM’s are welcome to introduce other denominations o dice, but the d6 is a common die that just about everyone can get a hold o without spending money. Tere may be reerences to a d3. A d3 is simply a d6 divided by two (rounded up) Tese are just the basic mechanics behind the rule system and are airly genre neutral. You will need to obtain or create your own supplemental rules to run a specific genre (eg. Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Cyberpunk, Horror, Steampunk, etc). Supplements or ARG will be available as they are created, but the ollowing rules provide the basic ramework or every type o ARG game. Tese rules assume that you have some experience with roleplaying games already and as such don’t really go in to the explanation o RP tropes and the “why” o certain rules. It does however give the Game Master and players great leeway in customising the rules to fit any situation needed. 1
Character Creation Primary Stats: ALPHA / BETA / GAMMA
Te above “statistics” represent three broad categories that your game ocuses on or an individual’s capabilities. Tese could represent anything important to your game. Te idea is to customise these Stats or whatever genre you might play. For instance, i you are playing a typical antasy game, you might rename them to Strength/Agility/Intelligence. Each stat is ranked rom 0-6. 0 being poor, 6 being peak o human ability. Secondary Stats: Hit Points (HP) - [SA*6] How much damage you can take. You base this number off your highest Stat. Tis number can be raised urther by spending Skill Points (SP) at a rate o 1SP:3HP. You regain [SA*2] HP per 6 hours o rest. •
•
•
Defense (DEF) - [3] How good you are at avoiding damage. All characters start with a DEF o 3. Tis can be raised or lowered with different equipment or effects. •
•
Speed (SPD) - [6] Tis is how ast you can move. All characters start with a SPD o 6. Tis can be raised or lowered by different equipment or effects. 1 unit o SPD is equal to 1 meter moved.
Skills:
Skills dictate what a character is particularly good at doing and may be called upon to overcome various challenges. Tere are three skill trees, tied to the primary stats o ALPHA, BEA & GAMMA. Each Skill is ranked rom 0-6. 0 being untrained, 6 being master. Skill lists can be made up by the GM and players and can be as general or specific as you like, however a good rule o thumb is to have at least six worthwhile skills in each tree so that players can make meaningul choices during character creation and not eel cheated that a stat they put points in to isn’t properly represented in the game. Also, skills should be grouped in such a way that they at least somewhat thematically fit the stat they are listed under. Below is an example o a airly generic and minimalist skill list: Strength (STR) Athletics Endurance Ride Strength Intimidate Melee Combat**
Agility (AGI) Acrobatics Stealth Tievery Bluff Streetwise Ranged Combat**
Intelligence (INT) Heal Perception Knowledge* Proession* Diplomacy Empathy
*Tese two skills represent a specific sphere of knowledge and could be taken multiple times for different subjects/trades. **Tese two skills could be separated in to individual weapons or weapon types and taken multiple times for different ones.
Character Generation:
•
•
•
On character generation a player has 24 skill points they can spend on their primary Stats and Skills. No Stat or Skill can be raised above 3 at character generation. Te higher you wish to raise a Stat or Skill, the more SP it costs. Te ollowing table shows how many SP you must spend to raise a Stat/Skill rom the previous rank to that one: Rank: 1 Stat: 2SP Skill: 1SP
2 4SP 2SP
3 6SP 3SP
4 8SP 4SP
5 10SP 5SP
6 12SP 6SP
So, to raise a Stat rom 0-6 it costs a total o 42SP (2+4+6+8+10+12), and to raise a Skill rom 0-6 it costs a total o 21SP (1+2+3+4+5+6). During the course o a game the GM will award players with more Skill Points (SP) that you can spend on urther raising your skills, stats and HP.
2
Core Game Mechanics Skill Checks:
During the course o a game, a player will be given many opportunities to perorm actions. Sometimes they will just want to perorm mundane things like walking rom one side o the room to the other. Unless there is an obstacle or hidden trap in the way there isn’t a significant chance o ailure, so the character simply does what the player says. However, when a player wants their character to do something that carries risk or a chance o ailure then they must make a Skill Check against an appropriate Skill. o make a skill check, the GM and player first decide which Skill (i any) most applies to the situation. Te player then adds the value o their Skill to the value o the Stat it alls under together. Finally, the GM assigns a Difficulty Level (DL) to the task that is trying to be achieved and adds that to the player’s total; Easy (+4) Moderate (+2) Very Hard (-2) Impossible (-4).
Hard (0)
Te final number called the Difficulty Class (DC). Te player must then roll 2 six-sided die (2d6). I you roll less than or equal to the DC you pass the check. I you roll greater than the DC then you have ailed the check.
Example: Jim wants to convince a guard to let him pass in to a restricted area. Te GM decides that he must roll his Diplomacy skill vs the guard’s Empathy skill. Jim has a GAMMA score of 4 and a Diplomacy rank of 2 (6). Te Guard has a GAMMA score of 2 and an Empathy rank of 3 (5). Te DL is therefore +1 (6:5). He must roll less than 7 on 2d6 (4+2+1). Jim rolls a 4 on 2d6, passing the check. Te guard lets him pass. Untrained Skills:
Every so ofen, a player may be required to roll against a skill in which they haven’t invested any skill points (Rank 0). When rolling with an untrained skill, the player receives a -2 penalty on the roll due to their ineptitude. However, the GM may rule that some skills require training to be used at all, and thereore cannot even be tried. Example: Jim wants to climb a 3m tall stone wall. Te GM decides that it is an Easy check against either Acrobatics (BEA) or Athletics (ALPHA). Jim doesn’t have points in either skill, but has a higher ALPHA score (5) so chooses Athletics and gets a -2 penalty to his roll for being untrained. His DC is therefore 7 (5-2+4). He rolls 9 on 2d6. Unfortunately he did not roll less than the DC and was unable to climb the wall. Automatic Passes and Failures:
Skill Checks: [Skill]+[STAT]+[DL] = [DC] Roll [2d6]; <=[DC] = Success / >[DC] = Failure
Sometimes the DC o a skill check can be raised or lowered out o the normal range o a 2d6 roll (2-12).
Example: Jim wants to pick a lock on a door. Te GM states that it is a Moderate Tievery check. Jim has a Tievery rank of 2 and the skill is under BEA, of which he has a score of 2. Terefore he must roll less than 6 on 2d6 (2+2+2). He rolls 2d6 and gets 5. He has rolled less than DC of 6 and so has successfully picked the lock!
When the DC o a skill check is 1 or less then it is assumed that the character will automatically ail the check. In most circumstances it can be agreed that the task cannot even be attempted by the player and they must thereore try something else. I a check is unavoidable then the player must live with the consequences o certain ailure.
Opposed Checks:
I the DC is 12 or more it can be assumed that the task is an automatic success, but you should still make the player roll, because o:
Opposed checks are similar to skill checks. However, instead o a DL, you are rolling to beat the appropriate skill and stat o an opponent. Tis could be used in any situation where you are working against another individual to achieve a goal. In order to work out the DL o the roll, you compare the Skill and Stat o the person rolling the check to the skill and stat o their opponent. Sometimes the player and opponent will be using the same skill, but other skills can be used to oppose a check i appropriate. Opposed Checks: [Skill]+[STAT] vs Opponent’s [Skill]+[STAT] = DL [Skill]+[STAT]+[DL] = DC Roll [2d6]; <=[DC] = Success / >[DC] = Failure
3
Critical Successes and Failures:
No matter what the DC o a skill check, rolling double 1’s on 2d6 is considered a Critical Success. Likewise, rolling double 6’s is called a Critical Failure. Tese only apply to skill checks and combat checks. A Critical Success means that the player has passed the check so spectacularly that something extra special happens (exactly what is up to the GM to decide). A Critical Failure means that the player has ailed the check so spectacularly that they’ve made a ool o themselves or caused irreparable harm to themselves or the situation (GM’s decision).
Combat
Attacks:
Initiative & Combat Actions:
An attack against an opponent works much the same as an opposed check, however you are comparing your appropriate combat related skill against the target’s DEF score to determine the DL.
Most RP games involve combat at one point or another. In ARSE, combat is resolved over a number o rounds where each combatant takes turns attacking each other until one side is incapacitated, has surrendered or fled. Te first thing that must be done when entering combat is determining initiative. o do so, ever yone involved in the combat must roll 2d6 and add their Speed. Each combatant then acts in order rom highest roll to the lowest. In the case o a tie the combatants roll 1d6 vs each other with the highest roll going first.
Combat Checks: [Skill]+[STAT] vs Opponent’s [DEF] = DL [Skill]+[STAT]+[DL] = DC Roll [2d6]; <=[DC] = Success / >[DC] = Failure Example: Jim wants to hit an Orc with his sword. Jim will roll against his Melee Combat skill of 3 and his ALPHA of 5. He compares this to the Orc’s DEF of 8 (8:8). No difference, so he must roll 8 or less to hit the Orc. Jim rolls 2d6 and gets 7, hitting the Orc.
Initiative: 2d6 + [SPD]. Damage:
When a combatant’s turn comes up they can perorm one o each o these types o actions in any order they wish: •
•
•
Standard Action: A Standard Action is most commonly an attack against an opponent or some other skill check. It is generally reserved or major actions that take more than a second or two to perorm. Move Action: A player can use their Move Action to move a number o meters equal to their SPD. You can also choose to “run” with your move action which allows you to move up to twice your SPD, however or each extra meter you move over SPD your deense is lowered by 1 point (minimum o 0 DEF) until the start o your next turn. Minor Action: A minor action is anything small, but not totally inconsequential and does not require a skill check to perorm. Examples like switching weapons, reloading, picking up items rom the ground, opening/ closing unlocked doors, etc.
GM’s discretion is advised when deciding upon what can be counted as a standard/move/minor action. However, a Standard Action can be traded down to a Move action and a Move action can be traded down to a Minor. When all o a combatant’s actions have been expended (or skipped) the next person in initiative order can take a turn. A combatant may choose to delay all o their actions until later in the initiative order. However doing so will put them in that initiative position or the remainder o the combat. You cannot delay i you have already perormed an action in your turn or are already at the bottom o the initiative order
I you do manage to land a hit on a target, you may then apply damage rom the weapon used to make the attack. You subtract the damage rating value (or the result o the die roll) rom the target’s HP pool. Weapon Damage: Low Moderate
1d3 (2) High 1d6 (3) Very High
1d6+3 (5) 2d6 (7)
When a Player Character (PC) reaches 0HP they have been incapacitated. Tey are still alive but likely unconscious and cannot perorm any actions. Tey still retain their initiative order but their turn is skipped until they are raised above 0HP or the combat ends. An incapacitated combatant can still receive urther damage. An incapacitated but still conscious character is reduced to hal their DEF (rounded down) and an unconscious character has a DEF o 0. At -6HP a character is dead. Non Player Characters (NPC’s), or monsters controlled by the GM can either be considered dead at 0HP or subject to the same rules as a PC. Critical Successes & Failures in Combat:
Double 1’s on an attack roll are Critical Hits. All damage dealt by that attack is doubled. Double 6’s on an attack roll are Critical Misses. When you roll a critical miss, roll 1d6 on the ollowing table to determine the outcome: Critical Miss able: 1) Your weapon breaks! 2) Te target gets a ree counter-attack on you. 3) You drop your weapon! 4) You hurt yoursel (1d6 damage) 5) You umble, skipping the rest o your turn and your next standard action. 6) Reroll on this table twice and suffer both effects (reroll i you get the same effect multiple times).
4
Expanded Rules
Detecting & Searching:
Inventory:
A player may wish to search an area or hidden items or traps, and will generally roll against an appropriate perception skill. However, the GM may wish to make secret rolls on the players’ behal so that they can notice things without actively looking or them. For this reason, it is a good idea or the GM to note what each player’s value o the appropriate skill check is. Te GM will apply modifiers to detect hidden things based on how well concealed they are.
Everyone carries things with them. You might need some way to adjudicate how much someone can carry. •
•
•
A character in ARSE can carry [STAT*20]kg A character carrying hal their carry weight is considered Encumbered and suffers a -1DL penalty to any skill checks where carrying such a weight would have a noticeable effect on the success o the task. Teir SPD also suffers a -1 penalty A character carrying more than their carry weight is considered Overburdened. Tey suffer a -2DL penalty to appropriate skill checks, -2 to SPD and must pass a Moderate difficulty strength related skill check (eg. Strength, Althetics, Endurance, etc) in order to move at all.
Dodging:
At some point, a ast moving object is likely to make its way towards a player, and that player is going to want to move out o the way post-haste. A dodge check can be made to avoid most out-o-combat hazards. DL’s should be based on the speed o the moving object. Example DL’s:
Skill Check Modifiers:
Most o the time, the GM will assign a DL on a task through a rough estimate in their heads o how hard it should be. However, i you eel that an arbitrary number isn’t accurately portraying the difficulty o a task, you can orego the use o a standard DL and instead add up all o the actors one by one to determine the difficulty o a task: Minor Favourable: Moderate Favourable: Major Favourable:
+1 +2 +3
Minor Unavourable: Moderate Unavourable: Major Unavourable:
-1 -2 -3
What all these individual actors are is up to you to decide. Some examples might be a -1 penalty on attack rolls in low light. -2 on a climbing check or attempting to scale a smooth surace with no handholds. +3 to a diplomacy roll or providing a suitable bribe to a corrupt individual.
Easy (+4): Slow moving, large objects at a distance. Moderate (+2): Slow moving, close, large objects. Hard (0): Fast moving objects. Very Hard (-2): Very ast moving objects. Impossible (-4): Speeding Bullet.
Drowning & Asphyxiation:
All situations in which a character is unable to take a breath are resolved in the same way. Tis is generally a Moderate-Hard skill check against an endurance or toughness skill. For every minute or combat round a character is underwater or enveloped in gas a player must make a check to avoid choking/suffocating. A ailed roll deals damage according to its nature. Asphyxiation Damage: Water Poison Gas
1d6 (3)/round 1d6 (3)/round
Smoke Dense Smoke
1/round 1d3 (2)/rnd
Climbing: Falling:
When climbing vertical or near-vertical suraces, an athletic or acrobatic skill check is usually called or. In some circumstances, the climb might be more or less difficult due to any number o actors. Also, or climbing long distances, multiple checks might need to be made to make a sae journey. For every [SPD]m climbed, a character must make a new skill check. Example DL’s: Easy (+4) - Climbing a stable surace with climbing gear. Moderate (+2) - Climbing a stable wall with some handholds. Hard (0) - Climbing an unstable wall Very Hard (-2) - Climbing a slippery surace Impossible (-4) - Climbing a slippery, unstable surace
Crouching & Crawling:
A crouching character moves at hal SPD (rounded up). A prone character moves at 1/4 SPD (rounded up). 5
Generally speaking, a character can all 2 meters without sustaining damage. Falls o over 50m will kill a character outright. For every 6m allen, a character will take 1d6 damage. Tis damage can be reduced somewhat by making successul acrobatic skill checks or every 6m, but only i the character is able to grab a hold o something to slow their decent. Fall Damage: For every 6m allen +1d6 On o Sharpened Spikes +2d6 On o A Sof Surace -1d6 In o Deep Water -2d6
In Heavy Armour Encumbered Overburdened Successul Skill Check
+1d6 +1d6 +2d6 -1d6
Fire:
Unarmed Combat & Improvised Weapons:
I a creature finds themselves enguled in flame, the GM can use the ollowing inormation to determine how much damage they receive or each round they are exposed and how difficult it is to put out:
A character is bound to find themselves in a combat situation without a weapon at some point. When fighting unarmed, combat is played as normal, including penalties or being untrained (i applicable). A fist does 1d3 damage (or 2 damage i using static damage). Tings worn over the fist may increase this damage (eg. a gauntlet, or brass knuckles), generally by +1 or +2.
Fire Damage: Small Flame Small Fire
1 (Easy) Large Fire 1d3 (Moderate) Intense Blaze
1d6 (Hard) 2d6 (V. Hd)
Fires can be started on inflammable objects. A typical fire will start off as a small flame or one combat round (or equivalent time), then become a small fire, and provided it has enough uel, will upgrade to the next sized fire every 3 rounds or as long as the fire continues to be ed. Te fire will spread in all directions that it has uel to burn on by 1m each 3 round increment. When it runs out o uel to burn, the process will happen in reverse.
A character may also want to pick up random objects ound nearby to throw or attack others with. Again, combat is normal, usually making an untrained skill check. Te GM could rule that the improvised weapon is similar enough to another weapon that it alls under a combat skill. Damage is adjudicated by the GM, but you can generally base damage on the size and weight o the object being thrown or swung.
o put out a fire, one must stamp or throw water on it and roll a skill check vs the fire size. A success reduces the fire to the next level down. Multiple people can work together to put the fire out by rolling and combining their rolls in to a single check. Suffocating the fire with a blanket (or similar cloth) provides a +2DL bonus to the check. A bucket o water will add +3 to the check.
Small/Light items = 1d3 (2) damage. Medium size/weight = 1d6 (3) damage. Medium-Large/Heavy items = 1d6+1 (4) (2 handed weapon) Large and heavy items = 1d6+3 (5) (2 handed weapon)
Fire in confined and unventilated areas will also produce thick smoke. See Drowning & Asphyxiation. Jumping:
From a running start o 3m or more, someone may attempt to leap across a distance o 1m or more. Past the first meter the player must make a skill check. For every meter past the first, the DL increases. 2m: Easy 5m: V. Hard
3m: Moderate 6m: Impossible
4m:Hard 7m+: -2/m
I the check is passed, you have jumped the required amount. I ailed, you must roll vs the next meter down until you pass a roll or ail all o them. Depending on which roll you passed is how ar you have actually jumped. Tis may result in a all. See Falling . Te maximum height someone can jump rom a running start is 0.5m (how high your eet lif off the ground). Jumping rom a standing position is harder, so treat the DL as one higher compared to a running jump. Te maximum height someone can jump rom a standing start is 0.5m (how high your eet lif off the ground).
Fleeing From Combat:
Players or their opponents may wish to disengage rom a fight to flee or move to a different target. When someone is using their move action to move out o the threat range o an opponent they are adjacent to, that opponent gets a ree melee attack on them. I the opponent misses, movement can continue. However, i the attack is a success, they will receive damage and lose their movement turn. A creature can be attacked in this manner only once per round rom each opponent they are disengaging rom. Tereore, someone who was hit when trying to flee can trade their standard action down to a move and still get away. Experience & Training:
During the course o play the GM will award players with Skill Points (SP) which can be spent at any time to raise Primary Statistics, Skills or Hit Points. SP do not need to be spent straight away, and as the game progresses players will need to save up their SP to be able to afford higher ranks in Stats and Skills. Te GM should decide when the players are allowed to spend skill points and any restrictions that may apply. Eg, a player may be required to train in a sae place or several days in order to gain the next rank in a skill.
Swimming:
Swimming requires an appropriate skill check or every 30m travelled. Te DC or swimming through normal water is Moderate. Swimming through thick substances like mud or a swamp are Hard. For ailed checks, see Drowning & Asphyxiation.
6
) A l T a E t B (_ o T __ __ __ k __ n __ a R __ __ d __ o __ M __ t __ a t __ S __ __ __ __ __ __ __ l i t__ l k e_ S e__ h S___ __ r e___ t_ c
a r a h C E S R A
: P S
s t a t S y r : a e m m a i r N P
__ __ ) __ A M __ M __ A G __ ( _
__ __ __ ) A __ T E __ B ( __ _
__ __ ) __ A __ H P __ L A ( __ _
)
d D e P e S S p (
) e F s e E n f e D D (
s t a t ) S s y t i r P n o a H P d t i ( n H o c e S
) A l M a t M A o T G (_ __ __ k __ n a __ R __ __ d __ o __ M __ t t __ a __ S __ __ __ __ __ __ __ l l __ i k S __ __ __ __ __ __ _ ) A l H t P a L o A (_ T __ __ k __ n __ a __ R __ __ d __ o __ M __ t a __ t S __ __ __ __ __ __ __ l __ l i k __ S __ __ / __ s l __ l i __ k__
S
M o n e y : I t e m
E q u i p m e n t B T o a c k t a l :
R A r m
L A r m
F e e t
B o d y
N o t e s :
B a c k g r o u n d :
R G a c e n e : d e r:
C l a s s :
A g e :
H S l e o a d t W e i g h t
I t e m
I n v e n t o r y T o t a l :
A m o u n t W e i g h t
