CHECKS COMBAT
Only make a check if both success and failure offer All forms of conflict uses the above rules. When a
interesting outcomes. character “attacks”, they roll to cause hits. When a
character is attacked, they roll to avoid the hits.
Only players roll dice.
ORGANISING THE SCENE
Create a dice pool of power Ý dice and challenge Þ dice. The GM describes the scene and the actions of opponents.
Power and challenge dice should be different colours. Players respond by describing their character’s actions.
You are a band of bold adventurers, seeking out the lost and dangerous places of the kingdom. You are
Begin with Ý and add another for every helpful tag Everyone acts in the most logical order.
and advantageous situation. Add Ý if thee character is
the slayers of foul beasts, the banishers of evil. You are warriors and wizards, thieves and heroes. You
being assisted. The GM adds Þ if the action is hard and DAMAGE
are adventurers, tomb robbers, and legends-in-the-making. You are the dungeon crawlers!
additional Þ for each tag or scene feature that impedes A successful attack deals hits equal to the single highest
the action. Add further Þ for any trauma the character die used to resolve the action. When a character has lost all
has that might impede the action. their hits they are out of the scene (captured, unconscious
or dying).
TAGS BUILDING YOUR DICE POOL TRAUMA
All of the important, interesting and noteworthy features Start with Ý Action is hard Þ Instead of suffering hits a character can take a trauma.
of the world are described with tags - a word or short Each helpful tag Ý Rushed Þ Write an appropriate physical, mental or social injury.
statement that conveys an important detail about a Being assisted Ý Poor position Þ This is a new tag that will apply Þ.
character, location, object or situation. A character might Taking your time Ý Outclassed in skill Þ HEALING
be quick or covered in mud, a magic sword razor sharp, Well prepared Ý Outclassed in scale Þ All hits are healed at the start of the next scene. Traumas
and a room on fire. Each enemy trauma Ý Each trauma Þ are removed when an appropriate amount of time has
CHARACTERS Roll the dice pool and compare the highest Ý with the passed or medical/magical attention given.
Create a bold adventurer by giving them an evocative highest Þ. If one or more Ý are higher than the best Þ,
name and then: the action is successful. If a Þ is higher the action fails. If
Choose your most obvious attribute: Bold, Charming, the highest Ý and Þ are the same, discard the pair and
Cunning, Educated, Graceful, Strong, Tough, Quick, or compare the next highest dice.
Wise. (Or write your own.) Check the oracle and resolve the action.
Choose your background: Aquatic, Dwarven, Elven,
Halfling, Half-Orc, Military, Orphaned, Rustic, or Urban. THE ORACLE
(Or write your own.) Ý Yes but / Partial success: the highest die is a
Choose your role: Archer, Bard, Cleric, Druid, Knight, power die – tell everyone what price you paid
Mage, Scout, Thief or Warrior. (Or write your own.) or how the situation got complicated.
Write your trademark: what is your character really good ÝÝ Yes / Success: any two power dice are higher
at? For example, brawling, cleave hordes, summon spirits, than the best challenge die – describe your
Movie Night Inspiration: Conan the Barbarian, Clash of swinging my mighty axe, crush skulls, stealthy. success.
the Titans, Dungeons & Dragons, Hawk the Slayer, Krull, EXPERIENCE & ADVANCEMENT
GEAR ÝÝÝ Yes and / Critical success: three or more At the end of a game session, or when characters have
Legend, The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Willow power dice are higher than the best challenge
Your character has the clothes on their back, a backpack an opportunity for significant downtime check for
and 10 gold pieces (gp) to spend on gear. die – describe what other advantage you gain. experience. Each character gains 1 experience point (XP)
BASIC CONCEPTS
As you play keep the following in mind: HITS Þ No but / Just failed: a single challenge die is for each of the following that is true:
All characters begin with 10 hits. the highest result – tell everyone how your • The party overcame a significant enemy, monster or
• Story first: tell a cool story, describe scenes like a
failure wasn’t a total loss.. threat
movie and worry about the rules later.
• Common sense: let logic, your sense of fun and eye A character’s attributes, background, role, ÞÞ No / Failure: any two challenge dice are • The party won a mighty, magical or significant
for cinematic action guide your story. trademark and gear are all tags. higher than the best power die – describe the treasure
• Play to find out: don’t plan too far ahead, let the dice consequences of your failure. • The party learnt something important about the
roll and embrace the adventure. ÞÞÞ No and / Critical failure: three or more world or their mission
PLAYING THE GAME • The character was “taken out” in at least one scene
Work together to tell a cool story, putting the characters challenge dice are highest – describe how
This game is based on Freeform Universal things just got a lot worse. • The party completed their mission / cleared the
in exciting situations. Explore the world. Face foes. When
and is copyright © Nathan Russell, 2019. dungeon
the outcome of actions is uncertain make a check. Botch: If all the dice have been cancelled out the roll
Find out more at www.FreeformUniversal.com Spend 5 XP to add another trademark to your character,
Art by Jason Walton. counts as a critical failure. or increase their total hits by 2 points.
EQUIPMENT QUICK & DIRTY ADVERSARIES
Equipment and other objects are tags. Some equipment
has further tags, such as being heavy. Difficulty Hits Challenge Traumas Examples
• Adventuring gear (1gp each): 10’ pole, 20’ rope, Minor 6 0 A few goblins, a wolf, pixies, a large serpent, a zombie or two
Bedroll, Caltrops, Daily rations (5), Iron spikes, NAME:
Modest 6 Þ 1 Orcs, giant spider, several wolves, well prepared bandits
Torches (5), Wineskin
• Melee weapon (2gp) Mighty 12 Þ 2 Troll, golem, kobold horde, necromancer, a few orcs, a werewolf
• Great weapon (4gp): +1 hits, two handed Monstrous 24 ÞÞ 4 Giant, several ogres, a small dragon, a master vampire
• Bow (5gp) Attribute
Mythic 24 ÞÞÞ Any Dragon, demon prince, demi-god
• Crossbow (6gp): +1 hits, slow
• Shield (2gp): -1 hits ADVERSARIES ADVENTURE GENERATOR
• Light armour (3gp): -1 hits Background
Use common sense when creating your monsters. A brief Roll or choose items to complete the quest.
• Heavy armour (6gp): -2 hits, heavy description will give you their most obvious tags and they
• Tools of the trade (3gp each): Animal traps, Elaborate will have hits based on their general size or durability. You have journeyed to the of to the . Role
clothes, Healing salves, Holy water, Lock picks, Map
and compass, Musical instrument, Spyglass
QUICK & DIRTY ADVERSARIES However, it is guarded by .
Use the above chart to create adversaries on the fly.
* Weapons and armour only add / subtract hits from Trademark
physical combat attacks. Hits: number of hits they can take. Location: Cavern, Lost City, Forest, Mount, Palace,
Challenge: guide to how many challenge dice to add to Pit, Temple, Tomb, Tower
MAGIC checks. Trademark
Using magic requires a check but only characters with Noun: Bats, Bones, Despair, Eyes, Fear, Golems,
appropriate tags can cast spells. Magic is freeform, Traumas: how many traumas you can give the adversary, Hounds, Ice, Stars, Tears
meaning that there are no lists of spells or strict rules on instead of taking hits. Traumas will grant characters Ý in
Trademark
what is possible - it’s magic after all! Players be clear about the right circumstances. Action: Banish, Destroy, Find, Kill, Rescue, Steal
the effect they are trying to achieve. Add Þ to the check if EXAMPLE ADVERSARIES
the magic persists for more than a moment, affects more Use these examples to create your own adversaries. Apply
McGuffin: Black Crown, Chalice of Life, Fire Lord, Trademark
than one target or does more than one thing. Ghost Queen, Heart of the Sky, Last Prince of Arak, Ring
Þ and traumas based on situation and common sense.
of Night GEAR
EXAMPLE SPELLS Bandit [6 hits]: mean and wants your money.
Bolt: a blast of energy that harms a single target is no
Dragon [24 hits]: huge, fire breathing winged lizard. Enemy: a horde of goblins, the King’s champion, a
different to a physical attack. clockwork vampire, elven rebels, frost giants, an ancient
Armoured, wise and cunning.
Fireball: a fiery blast that can injure many targets Þ and witch, holy knights
set things on fire Þ. Any success will do one of these, and Giant spider [6 hits]: Quick, scary and hard to pin down.
a critical success will do both. They trap you in sticky webs and their bites are poisonous. THE 5-ROOM DUNGEON
Goblins [4 hits]: small and wicked, with a strong sense of The 5-room dungeon is a quick and easy way to get
Heal: restore d6 hits or remove a trauma. characters kicking down doors and fighting monsters. It
self preservation.
Illusions: create a sound or image. The environment and can have any number of rooms / chambers / encounters,
the target’s intellect will affect the difficulty. Horde of goblins [12 hits]: a teeming mass of teeth, rusty but make sure to include the following parts:
blades and wicked intent.
Summon: call a spirit or creature to do your bidding. This Entrance: what is stopping the characters from
could be large scale Þ, persistent Þ, or dangerous Þ. Medusa [6 hits]: her gaze will turn you to stone. entering? Make it physical to kick things off with a bang. HITS ££££££££££
Success will bind the creature for a short period. Failure Necromancer [12]: an evil sorcerer intent on living It could be trapped, guarded, or just hard to find / get to.
TRAUMAS
might summon a creature not under your control! forever, no matter the cost to the living. Challenge: what non-combat challenge is stopping
Telekinesis: move objects about with merely a thought. Orc [6 hits]: strong and stubborn. progress? It could be a mental or social challenge, like a
Big or heavy objects are harder to move Þ. puzzle, NPC, maze, prisoners or non-combat monsters.
Skeleton [6 hits]: rattling bones and rusty blades.
EXAMPLE MAGIC ITEMS Attacking them with arrows or pointy weapons suffers Þ. Setback: what unexpected thing is between the
• Boots of Swiftness: double your speed. characters and victory? The plan goes wrong, the
Troll [12 hits]: big, stupid and able to regenerate their characters were tricked, someone/thing is not what it
• Cap of Grace: Ý when dancing. injuries (take an action to heal d6 hits or remove a trauma). seems, or something is lost or stolen.
• Dungeon Clock: tells you the time of day.
Vampire [24 hits]: charming and cunning, with a thirst Big finish: a boss fight with a cool, powerful enemy in
• Goblin Slayer: Ý when attacking goblins.
for blood. Turns into a bat and uses magic. an interesting environment.
• Ring of invisibility: turn invisible for d6 minutes.
• Scrying mirror: on a successful check, see a specific Zombie [6 hits]: a shambling body intent on eating your Mix adversaries, environments and physical and mental XP GP
person, place or thing. brains. A called shot to the head Þ will instantly kill it. challenges to keep characters on their toes.
