HOW TO RUN THIS GAME

TIPS AND GM ADVICE

 RUNNING THIS GAME
-GENERAL ADVICE:

-First, read the system rules before reading this material.

-The gamemaster presents situations and challenges for players to face, reacting to
their choices and dice rolls results (player-faced game). The gamemaster rarely rolls
dice (exceptions: random encounters, morale checks, and reactions tests).

-To make the most out of this system, don't try to create a predetermined story where
players have little freedom. “Don't prep plots”, prep situations, locations, challenges
and NPC’s.

-Create situations, backstories, locations, obstacles, challenges, factions, NPCs with

their own goals, quests with clear objectives and time limits/countdowns.

-Put yourself in the role of a movie director, focus the game on action and drama,
make necessary cuts, and advance the narrative when needed, keeping the session
fast, dynamic, and exciting. But, don’t forget that calm and relaxing moments are also
important for maintaining a good pacing.

-Be minimalist. Don’t prep too much, leave blanks, and let the story emerge at the
table (emergent narrative). “Play to find out” what happens, shaping the narrative
based on the characters' decisions.

-Make the characters' decisions have impact and effective consequences on the
world. Respect the player’s agency.

-Improvise and be prepared to improvise. Decide according to fiction and what is

reasonable and logical.

-You can use random tables and oracles when needed, but usually go with your guts.
Remember all the movies/tv series you watched and all the books you’ve read.

-Utilize the techniques of “Yes”, “Yes and”, “No but”, and only rarely just say “No”.
Build up on player ideas and their narrative cues.

-Always be transparent with the players, foreshadow dangers appropriately, and be

clear about the criteria used before the dice rolls.

-Be fair and impartial, and when in doubt, decide in favor of the players or let fate
decide (roll a die).

-Use all other good GM advice and tips that can be found in PBTA and OSR games.
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 RUNNING THIS GAME
-ATTRIBUTE CHECKS: -In failures, you decide the weight and
intensity of the failure, but it's
Attribute checks should only be made in recommended to make failures
significant moments with risks and significant and relevant, with things
consequences. Avoid making dice rolls spinning out of control, increasing the
routine and irrelevant. drama/action.

-Remember that, sometimes, you can -Try to create chain reactions and
also use probability checks (X-in-6 snowball effects with the results of
checks), especially when there is no partial successes and failures, increasing
attribute being used or you don’t know tension and drama.
an answer for a question (random
chance). -Most of the time, give characters a
chance to react to traps, dangers,
-Depending on circumstances (time, obstacles, and enemies’ attacks, allowing
resources, tools, skills, description, them to describe how their character
fiction), there may be no need for a reacts, requesting a test when necessary.
check.
-TURN ORDER, INITIATIVE & COMBAT:
-The maximum bonus/penalty for a
check is always +3/-3 and will never
-During exploration, there's no strict turn
exceed this value. If necessary, grant
order. Try to ensure that all players
advantage or disadvantage depending on
participate and have their moments on
circumstances.
the spotlight, declaring what they want
to do.
-After a test, be it a complete success,
partial success, or failure, the fictional
situation always changes, and the -Don't worry too much if a character acts
narrative moves forward. more than once, but keep in mind that
your role is to ensure everyone
-In complete successes, usually, let the participates and engages in the game.
player describe the result since their
character is in control of the situation. -Despite there isn’t a strict turn order, it's
important to record how many turns and
-In partial successes, present costs, rounds have passed, which is relevant to
consequences, twists, or hard choices for time control for random encounters
the players, keeping the game dynamic checks, resource depletion, and existing
and focused on action/drama. countdowns. Use dungeon clocks and/or
progress clocks for that purpose.
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 RUNNING THIS GAME
-In combat, also there's no initiative roll -An interesting moment for enemies to
or strict turn order. Ensure each player attack occurs when players have partial
has their moments on the spotlight, success or failure in their dice rolls.
making sure everyone can participate in Therefore, it is also possible to have
the action. enemies take actions or even deal
damage after a partial success or failure
-Use the fiction to determine who acts in the character's attack roll.
first, but if in doubt, rolling a die is also
possible (1-3 enemies act first, 4-6 -As a general initiative guideline, as long
players act first). as there are complete successes (10+),
players retain the initiative. When there
-You can also manage the turn order is a partial success or failure, or after all
based on the place players are seated (or players have taken their turns in the
listed if online). round, enemies may seize initiative from
the players, and so forth.
-Anyhow, make initiative and turn order
easy, quick and flexible. -Enemies do not roll dice when
attacking. Describe the enemy's attack
-I suggest that during combat, you also and give the player a chance to react by
be flexible with the action economy, asking for an attribute test according to
according to the fictional narrative. the player's description.
Sometimes the same character may act
more than once, as long as it makes -On a complete success, the enemy
sense or it’s impactful or dramatic. If a missed the attack and may have lost
character wants to do various things at initiative.
once, analyze the situation, but you can
allow it if reasonable (e.g., throw an -On a partial success, the damage may be
object and attack). reduced or the attack may have missed
the target, but the situation could have
-There's no specific moment or strict rule worsened.
to determine when and how many times
enemies attack. You decide this based on -In case of failure, inflict the
the narrative, the power and number of predetermined damage and worsen the
enemies, the results of the dice rolls, and situation, retaining the initiative of the
by noticing who already acted in the enemies.
round.

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 RUNNING THIS GAME
-CREATING YOUR OWN MONSTERS: -To determine the number of enemies,
think about what makes sense in the
-Create your own monsters. To do this, fiction, rolling dies if necessary.
think about their description,
appearance, health points (HP), morale -Don't worry too much about encounter
score (2-12), attack’s damage, special balance, but try to foreshadow when
attacks or powers, weaknesses, monsters are too powerful or numerous,
resistances and immunities, motivations, allowing players the opportunity retreat
objectives, and combat strategies. or flee (this is a great opportunity to
create a dramatic escape or chase).
-When determining a monster’s HP,
remember that a human has 6 HP, so a
weak monster will have 3-4 HP, a normal
DMG LEVEL DMG Examples
monster 6-8 HP, while a powerful
monster will have 12-25 HP. A legendary
Improvised and unar-
monster may have 30-50 HP.
Minor 1 med attacks. Falling,
per meter.
-When determining the damage dealt by
the monster, remember that 6 damage is Small and improvised
Small 2
usually enough to kill a human or even weapons.
an adventurer without armor. Also, Common weapons,
Normal 3
remember that characters start with 6 standard damage.
HP and gain little HP as they level up, so Heavy and two-handed
there's little HP scaling. Significant 4
weapons.
Two-handed swords,
-With this, a weak monster may deal 1-2 Large 5
massive attacks.
damage, a normal monster will deal 3-4
damage, a powerful monster can cause 5 Explosions, dangerous
-7 damage, and a legendary monster Dangerous 6-7 traps and powerful
may cause 8+ damage. enemies.

Potentially lethal
-When creating negative effects and Lethal 8-12+
attacks and damage.
negative conditions for monster attacks,
remember the Resistance check and the
three levels of results (complete success,
partial success, and failure), creating
consequences for each one of these
results. Or use a binary check (8+ equals
a complete sucess).
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 RUNNING THIS GAME
-MAGIC: -When a player uses magic, they can try
almost anything, as long as it makes
-This game uses an open-ended magic sense in the fiction. Ask them to describe
system and there are no specific spell what they want the spell to do
lists or spell slots. Players will use their beforehand, according to the chosen
creativity when casting their spells. type of magic/element.

-Nevertheless, magic is always dangerous -Provide suggestions and negotiate with

and risky, leading over time to the player, establishing spell effect,
corruption, potentially resulting in the power, damage, range, number of
character's loss. targets, etc., reaching a common
agreement, before the dice rolls. Also,
-Also, in case of minor or major spell consider the character's level and
failures, magic will produce harmful and corruption level when determining the
unwanted effects. magic spell power and effect.

-Usually, corruption is difficult to recover -In case of a partial success, the spell
from, so players must think carefully works with reduced effectiveness, if the
before using spells and risk gaining player chooses to gain 1 corruption.
corruption. Explain this to the players Otherwise, a minor spell failure occurs
during character creation. (the spell fails, causing a minor harmful,
collateral, or unexpected effect,
-Sorcerers are a bit more competent in worsening the situation).
combat than in other RPGs. They can use
various weapons, including ranged ones, -In case of a complete success, give the
except two-handed weapons. However, player an opportunity to describe in
they are still fragile since they can’t cast detail how their character casts the spell
spells when using armor or shields. and what happens.

-Sorcerers choose a type of magic/ -Also demonstrate the risk of magic

element and become linked to it. They spells through minor (7-9), major (6-) and
can learn new magic types as they level critical (natural 2) spell failures, causing
up (maximum of 3). them to create harmful, unwanted, and
unexpected effects. Use random tables if
-For Healers, magic will always be necessary or improvise based on the
healing, support, defensive, or utility logic of the fiction.
spells, and may cause damage only to
undead or demons.
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 RUNNING THIS GAME
-FINAL GUIDELINES: -Magical items: Create or adapt magical
items with a focus on utility effects
-Swords: are very rare and powerful in rather than bonuses. Limit the number of
this game. Only renowned adventurers uses and/or create a chance of
wield swords (but feel free to change this expiration. Anyhow, magical items may
if you don’t like it). provide bonuses such as increasing HP,
attributes (max +3 always), rerolling dice,
-Regarding gold: in this game, gold magical bonus damage (+1, +2, +3), being
accumulation is not too high, keeping lighter than usual (fewer slots), etc.
characters at a low/normal level of
wealth. Therefore, there are only gold -Magic scrolls: can provide spellcasting
pieces (gp), and items cost more than check bonuses, can permit spellcasting
usual (but feel free to change prices as check advantage, spellcasting check re-
you see fit). rolls, can allow a spell to succeed
automatically, among other effects.
-Guidelines for converting gold from
premade adventures: I suggest dividing -How to use D66 tables: you just roll 2d6
the gold amounts by 10. and let one determine the tens digit and
the other the ones digit (this is similar to
-Guidelines for converting monsters
the way 2d10 can be used to simulate a
from other RPG systems: Remember that
d100). This gives 36 equally possible
a human has 6 HP, so a weak monster
outcomes between 11 and 66, in which
will have 3-4 HP, a normal monster 6-8
the only digits are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6.
HP, while a powerful monster will have
12-25 HP. An epic monster may have 30-
-Finally, don't hesitate to change any of
50 HP. Also consider this when deciding
these rules to better adapt this game to
the monster’s attacks damage.
your taste and your table.
-Magical armors: They can provide
defense bonuses, specific resistances, be -Most importantly, give me feedback,
lighter than usual (occupying fewer suggestions, and ask questions through
slots), among other effects. Remember my personal contact. Tell me about your
that magical armor, normally, cannot be experience with the system, what
reduced to 0 defense/durability and worked for you, what didn't work, what
destroyed. was easy, and what was challenging.

-Thank you very much and I hope you

have a lot of fun with this game and your
friends!
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