Additional Guidance
(for Game Runners who want to go deeper)
​​The Game Runner ultimately guides the gameplay, and operates the world that the Players get to roleplay their characters in.
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As the Game Runner, your role is the following:
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1) GUIDING GROUP GOAL
The first thing you will guide is determining a GROUP GOAL for the party. The group goal is the reason why the characters are a team in the first place, and what they're aiming to achieve together. The group goal will relate to the world you're playing in, and can also be based on character concepts the Players have. The main thing here is to create a purpose for the party as a whole, which can evolve over time. Suggestions are given on the Start Playing pages.
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2) GUIDING CHARACTER CREATION
The group goal provides a foundation for the next step: character creation. This is when the Players get to customize their characters through Skills and Items. As the Game Runner, you'll guide this process by helping Players talk through their concepts, create custom Skills/Items, and connect their characters to the world, group goal, and each other.
Suggestions for this process can be found on any of the Start Playing pages, so you're mainly just keeping things moving and making sure ideas are cohesive with the rest of the group.
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* NOTE FOR SKILLS
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"Super-powers" or "magic" or any other supernatural ability are considered Skills. Also keep in mind that the more generic the Skill is, the more "overpowered" it can become if a Player puts everything into that one Skill.
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For example, a generic "Hacking" skill could be used for a wide range of things, and potentially anything related to technology. Therefore, if a Player puts everything into "Hacking," they could have a really big d6 pool every time they want to hack anything related to technology.
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This isn't a bad thing - this system is built for creativity after all - but if you think a particular Skill is too generic and you would like to "limit" it in some way, you can divide up the Skill into specifics.
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EXAMPLE: Instead of one generic "Hacking" Skill, you could divide it up with Computer Hacking / Hardware Hacking / Camera Hacking / Robot Hacking etc.
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EXAMPLE: Instead of one generic "Webs" super-power Skill, you could divide it up with Web Trap / Web Swing / Web Hit etc
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Just ask the Player to be more specific about the particular Skill if it seems to generic, and work with them in creating different aspects of that Skill.
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Steps 1 and 2 above are usually done in what's called a "Session 0" - a session dedicated to creating and understanding the world, setting, and most importantly the characters who will be taking center stage every session. Once this is established, it's time to move on to the actual gameplay and sessions:
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3) CREATING CONFLICT / SCENARIOS
Conflicts and scenarios where the outcome is uncertain are the foundation of all sessions (and therefore entire campaigns).
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The biggest things you'll be "prepping" before sessions are the conflicts the characters are most likely to run into, putting them in scenarios where they have to ultimately roleplay and roll dice to find out what happens.
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These could take various forms, such as guards, environmental hazards, robots, locked doors, politicians, and even things specific to the characters such as their family members or past relationships. Essentially, it can be anything that will cause some sort of challenge or conflict to resolve.
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This is why having a Group Goal is important - when you know what the characters want, it could be as simple as putting obstacles in their path to achieve it. It's also why talking about character backstory is ideal - it helps Players get more connected to their characters, but it also gives you as the Game Runner a ton of possible conflicts to throw their way related to their past, or what their characters want on an individual level.
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A phrase I use during this process is "anything you say can and will be used against you." I say it jokingly, but it's somewhat true.
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Put simply, place obstacles in the path to their goal(s) and see what happens.
* To help create everything in your world (during prep or on the fly during a session), see the TEMPLATES page for details.
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4) GUIDING DICE ROLLS
Lastly, you'll help guide the rolling of dice. As the Game Runner, you'll determine what's considered a "challenge" and when a roll is needed, but generally it should be anything that would be at least challenging for the "average person" in your world - any attempt that could potentially fail. As far as what Traits/Skills/Items are appropriate to roll for the challenge, you as the Game Runner will generally determine what Trait to start with, but the Players should be able to use their creativity and add Skills/Items based on their roleplaying.
Ultimately, it's up to you if a Trait/Skill/Item doesn't make sense for the situation, but overall, the default mindset should be "yes" to Players' ideas when it comes to rolling (unless it's blatantly not appropriate to the situation). And as mentioned in the Combat section, the Game Runner never rolls dice - all resolutions come from the Players rolling for their characters.
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When in doubt, have the Players roll to find out what happens. This is the heart of TTRPGs - it's what creates stories only your group could tell and what the outcome of any session will be like.
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I like to think of it this way - every time dice are rolling, the world is changing. You want to hear those dice as often as you can during sessions, knowing that your group is building a more interesting world and story with each roll.​​
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* NOTE FOR EXPENDABLE ITEMS:
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Many items can be "expendable," meaning they reduce or diminish as you use them. This could be in the form of ammunition, energy charges, money, or material.
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When listing these Items on character sheets, think about how helpful this Item is (the d6 number) and then how many times this Item can be used (the number next to "x").
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Below are examples and how to list them on character sheets.​​
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HEALING KIT (x2) +3d6
There's enough material in this "really helpful" healing kit to attempt 2 heals. Whenever this is used in a roll, you subtract 1 use (so it becomes x1). When it reaches x0, you no longer have this Item.
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ROBOTIC SCRAPS (x3) +5d6
There's enough Robotic Scraps material to attempt 3 robotic inventions. Whenever this is used in a roll, you subtract 1 use (so it becomes x2). When it reaches x0, you no longer have this Item.
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On a successful roll, the character successfully creates the new Item (Game Runner determines the d6 number based on Helpfulness - see TEMPLATES).
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BOW AND ARROW (x6) +2d6
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The character has 6 arrows, and each time they use this Item it reduces by 1 (so it becomes x5). When it reaches x0, they have no more arrows and cannot use the Item until they get more or retrieve them.
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To make it more interesting, the Game Runner can call for a Mental Trait roll for each arrow they're trying to retrieve, to determine if they find it.
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CASH IN WALLET +4d6​
In this case, the character has a lot of cash in their wallet (+4d6). If they want to purchase an Item, they add this +4d6 to their roll, which usually starts from a Social Trait roll to represent bargaining.​
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If it fails, they "don't have enough money" to purchase the Item or the seller doesn't want to sell. Nothing is spent, therefore nothing reduces and they still have the Items.
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If it succeeds, they "have enough money" to purchase the Item and they bargain successfully with the seller, and the money is spent (they no longer have this Item).
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Typically for money, you use it on one Item. However, it's up to the Game Runner if the character can try to "bulk buy" several items at once, if it makes sense (such as several smaller or cheaper items). Overall, it's best to limit this so a character doesn't try to buy an entire store with "little cash" (+1d6).
OPTIONAL MECHANICS
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ATTEMPTING THE IMPOSSIBLE
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There may come a time when a character wants to attempt something clearly impossible/absurd for "normal" character capabilities. As the Game Runner, here are several options you can use to handle this:
• Ask the Player how their character would realistically do this. You can then ask them to make rolls for each aspect that would go into accomplishing this in a realistic sense.
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EXAMPLE: Character is on top of a building and wants to jump to the next that's 100 feet away. The Game Runner asks how they would realistically do this. The Player says maybe a drone is flying by and he can jump on it. The Game Runner asks the Player to roll a Mental roll to see if they can find a drone, then a Physical roll to see if they can successfully jump onto it, and then another Physical roll to see if they can hang onto the drone as it flies through the air. If they fail, they would fall a long distance and take 4+ Hit Points of damage.
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• Have them spend 5 Boost Points to attempt the roll.
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• Have them roll d20s instead of d6s (greatly decreasing the chance of success).
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If you don't want to use any mechanics for this, simply explain that this attempt is impossible by normal means, and therefore it would be an automatic fail if they try.
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BOOST POINT REWARDS
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During sessions, you can reward players with Boost Points if they accomplish a major task, complete a story arc, or simply do something really cool.
More Boost Points give Players better chances at challenges and quicker Character Growth, so it's ultimately up to you if you want to include his mechanic. Ideally you would choose whether or not to include this at Session 0 to be consistent.
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For a guide on how many Boost Points to give for certain accomplishments, see the TEMPLATES section.
CHARACTER "DEATH"
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If and when characters drop to 0 Hit Points, you can ask them to roll a die specific to the situation (see Character "Death" table in the TEMPLATES section).
If they roll a 1, the Player must decrease their Hit Point cap by 1.
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If the Player is forced to drop their Hit Point cap to 0, the Player must retire the character any way they want to roleplay it (they don't necessarily have to die - they can choose to separate from the group for some reason).
The main purpose of this mechanic is to add a bigger-picture consequence to repeatedly getting knocked out, opening up the possibility of their characters leaving the story.