A 1-page RPG by Claytonian, inspired by a post at Wizard of Macketown

Everybody in your merry band has Technique Points (TP). These represent free uses of talents. After they run out of TP for the day, PCs have to start pushing their luck. Get your TP back each dawn.

Ability scores=HP. To make a character, roll a d3 for each of six ability scores (PROWess, AÞLEtics, INSTincts, INFLuence, HALEness, and LÜCK). The number you rolled for each score is your bonus to do things concerning it. For instance, to hit a foe, roll 2d6 and your PROW bonus. Basic foes and problems are AC (Adjusted Challenge) 7 to hit. Never roll if there is nothing at stake.

Then choose a type (Raptor, Magpie,or Owl), species, and background, consulting the game judge for setting appropriateness. A round-robin, one-sentence backstory might be appropriate too, but do get a move on, we’ve got dice to roll!

Damage is done to your ability score bonuses. The players and judge work together to fictionally describe injuries based on what caused them and what ability was affected. Healing is as per the logic of the injury, so time tracking, restoratives, achievements, and good meals may all play a part in recovery. No more bonuses to reduce=death. The golden rule of damage is that sometimes the game judge may have to deem that you just die. Falling a fair distance, for example, would do the trick. Keep your wits about you.

For each PC, the playing group passes around a blank list with 6 slots. Each person in turn writes a thing which that sheet’s PC can do thanks to their class/race/past. Spells, maneuvers, quivering palms, infamy, legerdemain, &c are all fair game. When a player wants to use one of these things, they describe how they are applying the thing and negotiate with the game judge about how many TP the thing should cost. If a PC is out of TP or they want to act without them, they gots to roll the bones and roll at least a 6+dungeon/threat level to do the thing (if you fail, you have to approach the problem in a new way). If there are 🎲🎲, roll the dice again until there aren’t; a success plus snake-eyes means something odd taints your success; a fail plus snake-eyes means something bad happens to you to make your failure particularly sting.

Once all PCs have gained a level, the person to each player’s left adds a new thing to the list. All level up bonuses happen immediately. If the group achieves a major goal, they all gain a permanent 1-point increase to a random ability bonus, and their TP permanently goes up by 1.

Each PC gets 4 items, the 1st of which should be their weapon, round-robin style as well.

The Types (not literally birds)

Raptor types get AC 8, plus 1 more each level. They get 14 TP to start, and 1 more every level. They can burn 1 TP to negate a hit to their self. They level up whenever they deal the killing blow to a boss or hold a dying compatriot and cry to the heavens, “Whhhhhhyyyyyy?!”

Magpie types get AC 7, plus 1 more every other level. They get 10 TP to start, plus 2 more every level. They can spend luck bonus points and slices of pizza^[1] as TP. They level up whenever they throw a lavish party and waste-away the party’s considerable gold reserves. I said considerable! Gotta find treasure to spend treasure.

Owl types get AC 6, plus one more every third level. They get 7 TP to start, plus 3 more every level. Rituals with rare components can really reduce TP costs for them. They level up for each area they build onto their sanctum, or for just taking over someone else’s dungeon.

Basic Enemies get AC 7 or so. Minor monsters will have one or two tricks with 3~5 TP/HP (if they use TP, they get easier to kill). Solo monsters might have 10 TP, half a dozen abilities, and multiple attacks. Difficult monsters may use bigger dice to attack and such.

Initiative: If the party’s combined current Athletics bonus is less than the difficulty level of the area, monsters will act first (baring PC’s TP shenanigans).

For a printable character sheet, please refer to the easy on the eyes edition.

Name:

Class/type:

Species:

Background:

Ability Bonuses (current/total):

Prowess __/__     Athletics __/__

Instincts __/__   Influence __/__

Haleness __/__        Luck __/__

Current TP __/__

Injuries:

Talents/powers/spells that use TP (# of slots up to judge):

Carrying (just keep it honest and realistic)￬

Assets stored elsewhere that the thief will never, ever find and spend on a lavish party. Nope. Never:

Paramors, lingering dooms, deals with demons, even more talents, and other notes: