Core Rules

Ability Scores

When creating a creature, you have a total of 9 Ability Points for the creature. You can put up to 6 in one Ability Score. You can put 0, but it will be dead at the start of game play… and for the rest.

• Kick Ass

  • The ability to destroy both creatures and objects, whether through physical strength or skill.

• Bad Ass

  • The ability to resist damage and stress, both in mind and body.

• Smart Ass

  • The ability to use higher reasoning and finesse, both intellectually and socially.

Actions

Actions represent the time investment performing a Check or activating certain Features requires. Actions exist to determine the relative time needed for different creatures to complete different tasks.

For example, if Alex is 20 ft from Sam, Alex may take 2 Actions to sneak up on Sam. If Sam does not know Alex is there, Sam may make a Check to notice Alex (requiring 1 Action). With both attempts beginning at the same time, Sam might notice Alex still 10 ft. away and have 1 Action to use before Alex reaches Sam.

Actions are only needed when the order of events must be determined and can normally be left abstract. If an Action cost needs to be translated into a fixed period of time, 1 Action can be treated as 2 seconds.

If an Action cost is not specified by a Feature or rule, the Game Master sets the Action cost. Actions are used more often in the Slow Dungeon Dance optional rules.

Check

Checks are dice rolls to determine the outcome of something attempted by a creature or events that have an aspect of randomness. They usually involve rolling 1d12 and adding a relevant Ability Score, although other Features and bonuses may affect the Check.

If the Game Master chooses, they may implement natural 12 and natural 1 rules to make play more extreme.

If they do, whenever any creature rolls a 12 on 1d12, they succeed far out of proportion to the resulting number. Similarly, if they roll a 1 on 1d12, they fail beyond what seems possible. Exactly what this entails is up to Game Master discretion.

Clan

A clan is the sum of all a creature’s Features. Features are purchased with Feature Points (FP). The prices of Features are set by the Game Master.

A creature’s distinguishing abilities are determined by their Features.

Combat

Combat is treated like anything else a creature attempts, being determined with Checks. Each creature involved in the combat makes a Kick Ass Check (1d12 + Kick Ass) and a Bad Ass Check (1d12 + Bad Ass).

The Game Master determines how many sides the combat has and which side each creature is on. This may be as simple as two sides (the players and the non-players) or as complicated as every creature involved fighting against every other creature involved.

Creatures on the same side add the results of all their Kick Ass Checks together (with the total being that side’s Combat Kick Ass) and add the results of all their Bad Ass Checks together (with the total being that side’s Combat Bad Ass). The Game Master then narrates the combat and assigns Damage Conditions based on the results, with higher Combat Kick Ass meaning more Damage Conditions caused to the enemy side(s) and higher Combat Bad Ass meaning more Damage Conditions are avoided.

The Damage Conditions gained or avoided are not only determined by who has the higher results. It is up to the Game Master to determine how the combat plays out, based on the situation and intentions, choices and strategies of the creatures involved. For more blow by blow combat, see the Slow Dungeon Dance optional rules.

It is important to remember that players do not lose control of the creatures they are playing during combat. Combat Kick Ass and Combat Bad Ass determine how well a side does during a battle, similar to how a Smart Ass Check can determine how well a creature does at decoding a book written in cipher.

A creature part way through deciphering a coded book may (based on what has been narrated to that point) redirect the narration by shelling out money to hire an outside consultant on advanced ciphers. In the same way, a creature in combat may choose to use a Feature, item or novel strategy during combat, affecting the events and Game Master’s narration.

Creature

The term “creature” is used in many Features and rules. It both refers to a character played by any of the players, as well as anything that is mechanically treated in the same way.

This means a creature has a clan, Features, Ability Scores, Luck and similar mechanics players use in game play.

Because of this, creatures controlled by the Game Master and those controlled by the players are both referred to as creatures.

Damage Conditions

Any harm caused to a creature is represented by a Damage Condition. The Game Master tells a player that the creature they are playing has a Damage Condition, giving the Damage Condition a name and mechanical effect.

For example, if Alex fails their Bad Ass Check and is pushed off a cliff, the Game Master may give Alex a Damage Condition named Broken Leg. Broken Leg reduces Alex’ Speed to 1 ft. and reduces the results of Kick Ass Checks by 3.

The player playing Alex writes down the new Damage Condition. Based on what occurs in the game, Alex may heal with medical aid and time or be healed by outside effects, losing Broken Leg and the penalties it provides. It is also possible Alex will be unable to treat the injury, gaining a new Damage Condition named Infection with its own penalties.

Certain Features remove Damage Conditions from targeted creatures (such as Revivicist or Heal) or from the creature with the Feature when certain conditions are met (such as Siphon or Recuperate). For Features that do not specify which Damage Conditions can be removed, it is up to the Game Master to determine if a single use of the Feature removes entirely or only reduces in severity Damage Conditions representing more grievous injury.

While these Features should heal most injuries, it can improve game play if each use of the Feature reduces the penalty from the Damage Condition, until the penalty reaches zero and the Damage Condition is removed. When or if Damage Conditions require multiple uses of a Feature is at Game Master discretion.

Death

Death is a Damage Condition referenced in various Features and rules. A creature with the Death Damage Condition cannot take actions, perceive the environment or have conscious thoughts, unless a Feature says otherwise.

DC

DC stands for Difficulty Class, being the number that has to be met by a Check to achieve whatever the Check is meant to do. Certain Features may give a consistent equation that determines a Check’s DC, but most are an arbitrary number chosen by the Game Master based on what is being attempted.

The average result of a Check is 9, since an average Ability Score is 3 and the average of 1d12 rounds down to 6. A DC of 9 represents a task that an average person has even odds of succeeding in.

Feature Points

At the start of the game, a player has 12 Feature Points (FP) to spend creating a creature to play as their character. Each session of gameplay, the player gains 1 FP to add to the creature they are playing.

FP can be used to buy new Features. If a creature has unspent FP, that FP goes into its Luck. Unused FP can be used to buy Features at any time, not just when it is acquired.

The Game Master can change the initial quantity of FP or rate FP is gained. They may also use variant rules to determine how FP is gained, such as the Leveling variant rule.

Full Rest

A full rest is when you rest enough to physically and mentally recuperate. It normally takes 8 hours of sleep, 10 hours of minimal activity while awake or a time determined by the Game Master.

Luck

For every 2 FP that has not been spent on a Feature, the creature gains 1 Luck. You can use a Luck to roll twice on a 1d12 and use the higher number.

You can choose to use Luck after the first roll has been made, but not after the result has been narrated. More than one Luck can be spent on a single roll, rolling an extra 1d12 for each Luck spent, the highest result being used. Luck is renewed after a full rest.

Movement Speed

As one Action, a creature can move a number of feet equal to its Speed. Every creature’s Speed is 10 ft., unless a Feature says otherwise.

Running

As three Actions, a creature can move a number of feet equal to six times its Speed.

Unconscious

Unconscious is a Damage Condition referenced in various Features and rules. A creature with the Unconscious Damage Condition cannot take actions, perceive the environment or have conscious thoughts, unless a Feature says otherwise.

After a full rest, the Unconscious Damage Condition is removed. More severe conditions may have the effects of Unconscious, but not be removed by a full rest.