Gobbos is a role-playing-game. The following rules assume you have some understanding of that fact, if not do a search in Google and you will find numerous references.
Try these: http://www.rpg.net/oracle/essays/whatisrpg.html, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Role-playing_game
Players are represented by characters. Your character is defined by a set of traits and characteristics to assist with the resolution of your activities. Those traits and characteristics are graded by levels as follows.
Gobbos uses a tiered trait system where each tier gives access to a larger dice type.
There are 9 basic tiers, as follows (average result is shown in brackets):
1 - d3 (2)
2 - d4 (2.5)
3 - d6 (3.5)
4 - d8 (4.5) - Softskins average
5 - d10 (5.5) - Softskins trained
6 - d12 or 2d6* (6.5/7) - Softskins veteran
7 - d12+1 or 2d6+1* (7.5/8)
8 - d12+2 or 2d6+2* (8.5/9)
9 - d20 or 3d6* (10.5/10.5)
*The choice of using 1d12 or 2d6/3d6 is made when the tier is reached and is binding from that point onward. As a new tier is gained you may change.
Non-player characters come in two broad types: Boss and non-Boss.
Boss mobs are controlled fully by the GM and are generally the focus for an encounter. They are nearly always a single individual, the nemesis of the players and driving force of the current adventure or sequence. Boss mobs should be fully developed as characters, similar to a player character.
Non-Boss mobs (NPC's) are controlled (mostly) by the players and follow a standard, predictable, action set. NPC's will be rated as to their effectiveness as follows:
Rating - Description - Dice.
3 - Weak (d3)
4 - Untrained (d4)
5 - Trained (d6)
6 - Seasoned (d8)
7 - Veteran (d10) - probably should be a Boss mob at this level.
8 - Elite (d12)
9,A,B,C,D - Master level Boss mobs.
The Rating is generally used as a target number for the player to reach. When an NPC attacks it does not make any rolls, instead the player makes a defence roll vs the NPC rating to avoid the attack. When a player attacks they need to make the NPC's rating to get a hit. When a player contests with an NPC their rating is automatically their result.
NPC's can (although it is probably over complicating matters) be rated as STRONG in a certain specific areas and their rating will be one level higher in that area. So soldiers could be rated "Trained (Strong-Melee)" and be rated 6 for melee but only 5 in all other areas. Alternatively you can look at it the other way and assume the rating is the strong value related to their primary role, and all other roles are at one less. Eg a soldier has rating Trained(Melee), so is 5 in melee, but only 4 in shooting or cooking etc.
You should decide on one format and stick to it.
The dice roll for your skill + characteristic is matched against a target number (generally 4, depending on the resolution type or the NPC skill rating).
The following are some guidelines on modifying the target number. Modifiers can be applied to NPC ratings.
Resolution Types.
There are four types of skill resolution systems as follows.
1. Contested.
Skill, Rating or Characteristic in use is being matched directly against another's skill, Rating or Characteristic to determine which was successful. This implies that only one contestant wins, or the active character fails or succeeds.
A contested test requires rolls by all player or Boss participants, the one who rolls the highest wins. If they end up with exactly the same number then a Gobbo always wins, which Gobbo is upto them.
With higher rolls you may gain Boost effects (see below).
NOTE: non-Boss NPC's will not contest with players. Non-Boss NPC's will always be rated and the player need only perform a General resolution vs the set target number.
2. General.
This is a Skill, Rating or Characteristic use where no competitive element is present, it simply requires the successful use of your Skill or Characteristic dice roll (one success) vs a target number. Rolls higher than the target may give Boosts (see below). The base target number is usually 4.
3. Passive.
When a Skill, Rating or Characteristic is used to achieve something, to create some effect that will endure from then on, then that Skill or Characteristic use is Passive. The degree of success here will determine what happens at a later date. The GM may roll Passive tests and keep the result secret if it would seem suitable to the situation, or increase dramatic tension.
The target number rolled is used for any future attempts to defeat or compete with the original.
NPCs do not make rolls, they only use ratings, so if the passive target is higher than the rating of the NPC they always fail. Modifiers may adjust an NPC's rating.
eg: A locksmith builds a lock, he rolls dice and gets a target of 7. To pick that lock would then require an active skill use of 7 or more.
eg: A thief hides a small gem on her body to prevent it being found during a search. She rolls 9, which means anyone searching her must roll 9 or more to spot it.
Remember that Passive skill rolls may have plenty of time so should gain a favourable modifier. At the opposite end however the skill user may be pressed for time so apply appropriate modifiers.
4. Active.
Skill, Rating or Characteristic is used to determine if the user can overcome some other users past (passive) Skill or Characteristic use. It is similar to a Contested roll. Combat is reflective of this where your attack must overcome the passive Defence value of your enemy.
eg: A thief tries to pick the lock created above (target 7) in the middle of the night whilst a guard is due to arrive any minute. He has Stealth/Body of 1d8+1d6. The GM says he is pressured, +1 , and also applies a conditions modifier of +1 due to poor light (picking a lock is not really a visual skill, it is tactile, so the light penalty is reduced). The thief will need to roll 9 or more (7+2).
Results only apply to Players and Boss Mobs. NPC's do not use results as they do not make rolls.
To resolve a task you generally roll 2 dice (a Skill and a Characteristic), and you may select one of those dice as your result. It is possible to have more than 2 dice to roll. You do not have to take the highest roll. There will be times where taking a double will be better than the highest result (see Doubles and Support below).
Success: A selected roll equal to or greater than the target number indicates a success. Where you have two or more dice to roll you may select ONE of them as your result (see Doubles however). Normally the highest roll should be taken but there may be times when this is not optimal.
Boosts: for each 2pts you roll over your target number you can increase your damage +1 in combat, or gain access to a minor special effect with other skill rolls. If more than a single boost is rolled the effect should stack (+2, +3 etc) or increase in power, or allow multiple minor effects.
Miss: if you roll less than the target you miss or are unsuccessful.
Fails: if you miss your target by more than 2pts you have failed and will suffer 1pt of damage. For each extra point you miss by, the dice level increases one type. Such damage represents not just you failing but your opponents taking advantage of it in some manner. It can also represent lose of confidence, fumbles or an unwillingness to repeat the task. For simplicity we will reflect all of these via HPs loss.
Eg target is 6, so fails on 3=1pt of damage, fail on a 2=d3 damage, fail on a 1=d4 damage, etc.
Doubles: When your roll is a double (say 2+2) you gain the total of the roll (4) AND may roll an extra d6 and add that to the chosen result. If you again match the number (eg 2+2+2) you may keep adding d6 until you fail to roll the same number. Regardless you will keep adding the extra rolls to the total. If your last roll was a 4 you end with 2+2+2+4=10.
Eg: A Gobbo might Strike at a human with Defence Rating 6. The Gobbo has Striking d6 and Brawn d6. He rolls 4 & 4, so his result is 8, to which is added an extra d6 because of the double. If they rolled another 4 (total now is 12) with that d6, they would gain yet another d6 to add to the roll.
Eg: So your Gobbo might roll damage: 4 (d6 weapon) + 4 (d8 Brawn) + 3(Bulk), this is a double so gains an extra d6. They roll 4 (d6 bonus for double - rolls a triple) +4 (d6 bonus for triple - rolls a quadruple) + 6 (d6 bonus for quadruple) = 4+4+3+4+4+6=25 damage. If you are rolling 3 dice, a triple (some special effects do this) will stand as a total and gain an extra d6. (Also note that it is a lot easier to get a double with 2x1d4 than it is with 2x1d6, this is intended. This erosion of the doubles effect as you gain in power is deliberate and reflects movement from blind luck to improved skill.)
Where you have optional dice and can select which dice to apply to the result, then only the dice that are actually used count.
Support: early on Gobbo's will often have dice less than their target number (d4 vs 6). Which means you will need a double to make such rolls. For that reason it is wise to keep your dice types close to each other so that doubles are more possible, eg getting a double with 1d4+1d4 is much easier than doing so with 1d4+1d8. The other method you can solve this problem with is the Support Skill (see Skillz). It is intended that this will happen, and that Support will provide the solution. Nobody ever said a Gobbo's life was meant to be easy.
Penalty dice are an option you may elect to take rather than HP damage. When you take damage you elect to accept a PD, you roll the dice and that number of damage points are taken off what you suffer. The PD is then placed on your character sheet as an ongoing effect. Each PD on your character sheet will inflict a +1 to your target number for any task roll you make as follows.
PDs come in Physical and Mental forms. Physical PDs effect any roll that involves Brawn, Body (health, torso and limbs) or Bulk or any skill that uses those as one of its base options. Mental PDs effect any roll that involves Brainz, Body (related to the head or senses), Morale, Fear or Control. You should either use two different coloured dice or have a pad with sections.
PDs can be removed by magical healing (quickly) or natural healing (slowly). Players can also use Boosts to remove existing PDs related to the type of action being undertaken (Physical or Mental). Each Boost allocated to removing a PD gives you a 2 in 6 (roll 5-6) chance of success at removing one PD.
You are limited to the number of PDs you may accumulate, equal to the tier level of the lowest characteristic, ie lowest tier of Brainz # Body for Mental, or lowest tier of Brawn # Body # Bulk for Physical.
Special Decision Resolution System (Gobbo's only).
When a group of Gobbo's are unable to decide what to do the GM or any one of the players may call for the SDRS to be used. This consists of each gobbo inflicting a damage roll based on Brawn+Brainz, on one other gobbo of their choice until only one gobbo remains, and their decision is agreed to. One initiative card is dealt to each player and they declare their target, roll damage, then move on to the next player, until one remains. No actual damage is inflicted, it is merely a metaphysical debate to decide the dominant point of view.
Where an SDRS is called for, or used, to decide the course of action the GM and winner should ensure that the story path and action reflect that victory and the rest follow. Even if the player thinks it is insane and stupid their Gobbo has been beaten into compliance and will follow meekly for a time.
Hate is an optional trait you may elect to accrue during an encounter, or even from encounter to encounter. Hate is used to determine who NPC's will attack, the more Hate you have the more likely you will be attacked.
At the start of the first encounter (normally) everyone will have 0 Hate and NPC actions are generally resolved on a Line of Sight, Range to Target basis (ie move to attack the closest enemy you can see).
You may, for ease of recall, set out a Hate Pool of tokens for everyone to use. As the encounter progresses and specific actions occur each player will take Hate Tokens from the pool. Players with greater numbers of Hate tokens will become the target of NPC actions, in preference to players who have less Hate. Generating Hate can also be performed as an Action, you yell and abuse the Boss and gain a Hate token for your efforts.
The following list of events will generate one Hate token each:
Take a Hate action vs Boss (once per encounter)
Make an attack on a Boss Mob for first time during an encounter
Inflict damage on a Boss Mob.
Use Magic for first time during an encounter
When an NPC comes up for an action you should consider the following default Hate values:
Any enemy they are in melee with will also be considered to have 2 Hate
Range of Hate: Hate reduces 1 (for effect) for each zone separating them (adjacent zone -1, next zone -2 etc).
By default NPC's will close to attack the enemy with the most Hate. This means that enemies with a lot of Hate will become a target. An NPC locked in melee with someone however will have a default 2 Hate to start with so will tend to stay in melee. If an opponent becomes very highly Hated however it is possible that NPC's will actually break out of combat and try to close on those Most Hated.
Hate is a player trait only, so each player will accumulate Hate tokens. NPCs in the service of a player are considered part of the player, and are thus a valid target for that players Hate. All NPC's in service to players must therefor be assigned to the control of a specific player. Likewise, NPCs in the service of a player will generate Hate for that player as if the player had performed the task. Lesson to be learned - dont put your soldiers under the control of the magic user. There will be rules about NPC control in the Skills section (see Scamming).
When dealing with a Boss Mob that isnt killed during an encounter you may carry over Hate for later encounters. In this case the player will have to record the Hate for later use, but halve the amount you end the encounter with. So if you end the encounter with 5 Hate you would record 2 Hate vs that Boss for the next encounter, you would then start that encounter with 2 Hate, and then carry over any you end that encounter with (reset the old value to the new, dont add them).