Game Rules

Overview

Campfires and Company is a tabletop RPG. The game requires at least two people, a and one or more . You can play with as many people as you want, but a game with 3-6 and 1 tends to work best.

What is a Tabletop RPG?

This section introduces you to the basics of what a tabletop RPG is and how to play. This section can be skipped for those who have experience with other tabletop RPGs such as Dungeons and Dragons, Numenera/Cypher System, World of Darkness, Shadowrun, Pathfinder, GURPS, or any one of many others.

A tabletop RPG (TTRPG) is a cooperative storytelling game. Everyone who wants to play will gather together, either in-person or online, forming a . One member of the will be designated as the (sometimes called a "Dungeon Master" in other games). The rest of the members of the are called .

The will decide together what kind of setting and tone they'd like to play, such as a rough-and-tumble wild west tale set in a futuristic cyberpunk city, a grand adventure set in a fantasy world with elves and dragons, or a high-drama thriller taking place during a modern-day zombie apocalypse. Then, the will come up with a loose narrative outline and maybe some details about the world, while the each make a that lives in the world that will be their avatar that they control while playing the game.

During play, the will set the scene and establish who is present and what's going on, and the will act and react as their within the world. Together, the Play Group pushes the story forward. Occasionally, a might want their character to do something difficult or dangerous, or the might present the with an unexpected obstacle. When this happens, the roll dice and refer to the capabilities of their to add bonuses to the die roll, and the determines whether or not the roll (and therefore, the action or obstacle) was accomplished or resolved. In this way, the Play Group creates a story together with unexpected twists and turns, and both the and the have ultimate freedom in choosing how the story progresses, unlike something like a video game where your choices are limited by the design of the game and the available buttons you can push.

Glossary

This section contains some definitions of terms you will encounter throughout this rulebook.

Play Group

The is everyone playing the game, the and the . A typical contains 3-6 and 1 , but as long as you have at least 1 and 1 , anything goes.

Game Master

The is the one narrating most of the story and ensuring the game runs smoothly for everyone. The are each responsible for playing their own through which they navigate the world, but the is responsible for narrating and roleplaying as the world itself, , monsters, and obstacles that are encountered by the .

Player

A is anyone in the who is not the . Each roleplays as their single .

Player Character

A is a character in the narrative that is roleplayed and controlled by a , as opposed to a who is controlled by the .

Non-Player Character

A () is a character in the story or the world that is not controlled by a . This could be a king that gives the a quest, a goblin attacking innocent villagers, or any other entity in the world. are controlled and roleplayed by the .

Adventuring Party

An is the group of characters made up of all the played by the .

Session

A single instance of when the gets together (whether in-person or online) to play the game together. Typically a Session lasts about 4 hours, but can be much shorter or much longer depending on the schedules and preferences of the .

Adventure

An is a single story or quest that the goes on. Typically, an will last exactly one , but it's largely up to the and will vary according to how they prefer to structure their .

Campaign

A is the sum of all and that the experiences together. Some last only a single (often called a "one-shot"), while other might last for decades.

Basic Rules

A Note on Rules

Before we get started, I want to clarify a few things about the rules contained in this book.

The rules are there as guidelines for the game. You can pick up the standard ruleset and play faithfully, you can discard your least favorite rules or mechanics, you can alter rules you think could be improved, or you can add entirely new rules and mechanics. You can even take one or two of the pieces of this game and swap them into another tabletop RPG system like Dungeons and Dragons or Pathfinder.

Moment-to-moment, the has final say on what the rules are. It doesn't matter if the has misunderstood a rule, or if they've changed it suddenly and unfairly; the role of the is to keep the game running smoothly. To that effect, they are the arbiter of the game world, and generally their word is law when it comes to what happens in the world.

With the above said, the itself is of course, the actual final authority on the rules. The shouldn't force the to play their vision of the game if nobody else is on board.

A great game requires the and the to trust each other and work together as a to keep the game running smoothly and enjoyably for everyone.

Challenges

A is a task, obstacle, or danger set before the where success is not guaranteed. are issued by the in response to a attempting to accomplish something difficult or the appearance of a new danger or obstacle. The success or failure of a is determined by rolling dice.

When the issues a , you roll 1d20 (one 20-sided die). The result of the die determines the outcome of the .

Each has 3 possible states: , , or . Each has a ( for short). Die roll results that fall equal to or above the are considered a . Results less than the by 5 or less are considered . Die rolls less than the by more than 5 are considered .

Consider a with a 15.

If you roll a total of 15 or higher, the results in . Your character overcomes the obstacle before them and does not suffer any danger or as a result.

If you roll a total of 10-14, the has . The obstacle is overcome, but there is a complication. Your character may receive a , a new obstacle may present itself, or the obstacle may only be partially dealt with. With a , the outcome should generally take the form of "you Succeed, but..."

If you roll a total of 9 or less, the results in . The consequences of should be decided by the , but generally be commensurate to the risk of the action taken. Failing to break down a door might have no real consequences other than remaining trapped, but failing to jump across a chasm might lead to injury or death.

When determining the of a that doesn't have one already specified, the should use their best judgment. Here's a table to contextualize of various .

CR	Difficulty	Description	Example
5	Basic	Something most people can do most of the time	Cooking a basic meal
10	Easy	Something most people can do, but success may vary	Convince someone of a reasonable lie
15	Tough	Requires a reasonable amount of skill or luck to accomplish	Break down a wooden door without tools
20	Impressive	Only the best in the world can do this consistently	Jump across a 10 meters/30 feet gap
25	Formidable	Accomplished only with extreme luck or supernatural skill	Hit a bullseye from 300 meters/1,000 feet
30	Awe-Inspiring	Stories of this event will be told for generations	Lift a loaded wagon overhead

Open Challenges

Some may not have a associated with them, but instead are used to determine how well a performs an action. These are called For example, when a is trying to recall information about an ancient empire using the History , rolling a 5 might get you very little, while rolling a 23 means the can ask the almost anything they want and get an answer (and the might choose to have the decide on what's true about the ancient empire!)

When rolling an , the should try to offer a provisional , such as "you'll need at least a 10 to gain any useful information about the empire, but higher is better."

Rule Variations

Critical Success

When you roll a 20 on the d20 (called a ""), this is a "". On a , the obstacle is overcome as it would be with a normal and the party gets an unexpected boon in addition, such as dealing more damage than usual to a monster, finding extra treasure in the chest, or getting an unexpected concession during negotiations.

Critical Failure

When you roll a 1 on the d20 (called a "") this is a "". On a , the obstacle is not overcome, and the or suffers a more severe consequence than they would for a normal . The might receive two , a much more severe or a as well as a new, unexpected danger or obstacle.

Bonuses and Penalties

If your has factors that make a particular task easier, those factors may manifest as a flat to your roll. are simply added as a flat number to the die result. For example, rolling a 15 with a +2 results in a 17. work the same way, but are subtracted from the roll instead.

Advantage and Disadvantage

If your has factors that make success more likely, such as a relevant , a favorable environment, or additional tools or help, they gain +1 on the roll.

Similarly, if your has unfavorable factors, they gain a on the roll.

For each , you add 1d6 (one six-sided die) to the roll.

Correspondingly, for each , you roll a 1d6 and subtract its total from the roll.

You can get multiple and on a single roll. When making the roll, and nullify each other. For example, 3 and 2 cancel out to 1 , so you'd just roll 1d6 and add it to the result of your d20 roll.

Character Creation

The first step in creating a character is usually to choose a .

After choosing a class and following its instructions for achieving first level:

Your character begins with the following Arms scores:
- 0 Melee Attacks
- -2 Ranged Attacks
- 0 Defense
Select at least 1 Motivation
Select at least 2 Bonds

Each 's character creation steps are slightly different. Refer to the First Level section for your chosen for details.

Keep in mind that some character creation steps say Gain X, which means you add the value X to your current value for the , or other stat. Other steps may say Raise to, which means you set your current value to the value listed (assuming the new value is higher).

For example, If your starts with 1 level in Warrior, you'll have a +2 . Then gaining 1 level in Arcanist says "Raise your Bonus Cap to +2". This would result in a of +2, because both raise your to the same value. They are not added together.

Theming your Character

While creating your , keep in mind what a typical fight might look like for them. Your basic close-combat and ranged attacks are not listed as on your character sheet, so you're free to determine what kind of weapons or fighting style they use. For example, an Elementalist with might create icicle spikes and launch them toward enemies, or they might cover their fists in icy boulders and punch enemies into submission. When defending, they might create ice patches on the ground and slide around to dodge, or they might cover their body in frozen armor to protect against the impact of attacks.

You should work with your to decide on a theming for your that you're excited about to ensure that your embodies the archetypes and fantasy you had in mind when creating them.

Resources

are granted by your specific selected and . For example, Arcanists will get a for each type of Arcane Knowledge they have access to, used to cast spells from that line of Arcane Knowledge. Warriors instead have an Exertion used to physically exert themselves.

Each has two values, and .

The value represents the depth of your reserves in that . The more you have, the more you can spend before you need to rest, and the more you can exert yourself to overcome an obstacle. can be spent to activate related to that resource.

The value represents how experienced and trained you are in the . For each point of , when spending points from the 's , you may subtract 1 from the amount spent (to a minimum of 0, causing it to become free).

Arms

represent your 's skill in combat. There are 3 :

Melee Attacks governs your Player Character's ability to fight in close combat.
Ranged Attacks governs your Player Character's ability to aim and hit targets from a distance.
Defense governs your Player Character's ability to dodge, block, or withstand attacks of all types from Enemies.

You add the relevant to rolls when using weapons or a means of combat your is in. Your is always considered when making a Defense roll.

If your is not in a weapon or means of combat, you instead add the relevant minus 5.

Arts

represent your character's knowledge and skill in a particular area. When rolling a to perform an action, if the action is related to one of your , you may add the 's value to the roll as a . There are 20 , described in the section below.

Arts Descriptions

Art	Description
Strength	Lifting heavy objects, breaking down doors, etc
Endurance	Defending against mental attacks, withstanding poison, etc
Athletics	Distance running, stamina, swimming, etc
Acrobatics	Jumping, flipping, balance, swinging from rope, etc
Dexterity	Playing an instrument, sleight of hand, lockpicking, etc
Stealth	Sneaking, hiding, performing an action silently, etc
History	Knowledge of events in the past
Culture	Knowledge of the ways and habits of a particular people in a particular place
Arcana	Knowledge of magic, enchantments, and spellcraft
Herblore	Knowledge of various plants and fungi
Beastlore	Knowledge of different types of animals, ability to interact with them safely
Treatment	Ability to treat wounds and illnesses
Wayfinding	Navigating both natural and artificial environments
Insight	Detecting someone's true feelings or motives, powers of deduction
Perception	Searching, scouting, seeing small details or far away objects
Deception	Lying, cheating, disguising, etc
Intimidation	Threatening someone, appearing competent or menacing, etc
Performance	Storytelling, dancing, acting, music, etc
Persuasion	Getting someone to listen to what you're saying and agree with you
Linguistics	Knowledge of other languages, regional accents, writing systems, etc

Proficiency

If your character is considered in a weapon or means of combat, you may add the relevant to rolls made with that weapon or means of combat.

If your is not in a weapon or means of combat, you instead add the relevant minus 5.

Your is always considered when making a Defense roll.

There's no set list of weapons or means of combat that a can select, but you'll typically choose things that your uses regularly, such as swords for a Warrior, bows for a Marksman, and so on.

Abilities

are powerful techniques that your can activate for an cost. Typically, are things that require specialized physiology, knowledge, or characteristics. In many settings, this is often a superhuman feat like conjuring fire, summoning spirits, or turning invisible. They also might be things that would be near-impossible even with the best training, like landing an extremely precise shot, or cobbling together scraps into a working piece of technology. Generally they're things that to even attempt to do, you would need a large amount of training or a mystical power of some kind.

must be able to be used at a single point-in-time. Things like "detecting undead" or "has superhuman strength" are great, but the is not active all the time, the must choose to use it at some point during their adventure.

There are some ready-made available in this rulebook, but should feel empowered to work with their and to create new that fit your , the game's setting, and the vibe that the wants to evoke.

Often, abilities will have multiple tiers, allowing greater scale or effectiveness for a corresponding greater cost.

A list of example is provided below; feel free to choose one of the below instead of coming up with your own.

Ability examples TBD. (See Abilities page)

Feats

are extra game mechanics that improve your 's effectiveness. They are quite freeform and can do any number of things. They often represent passive effects that don't quite fit into either being an or an .

examples TBD. (See page)

Requirements

Many and have Requirements associated with them. They may require that you've reached a certain level in a class, or that you have a different feat or ability.

Some and list "Granted" as a Requirement. This means that the feat can't be selected freely during level up when granted a choice, it can only be obtained by being specified as part of a 's specific leveling features.

Motivations

are more than a collection of stats. Your should have a personality and desires. Some love to write pages of backstory, even if unrequired by the system and unprompted by their . That's all well and good! However, in this system, we codify some of your 's desires as explicit . Your should begin with at least one they haven't yet accomplished. These can be as abstract as "become more powerful" or as specific as "find a cure for my ailing father". These do not affect numerical gameplay in any way, but should help you understand your 's motivation, and as a result, their actions. It also helps the know where to focus and direct the story.

Remember that your is an adventurer. They should have at least one that compels them to seek danger and adventure out in the world. For example, if your 's highest is to avoid conflict, why wouldn't they have become a farmer, or a hermit? A good question to ask about your is "If my is safe, comfortable, and healthy in a remote village somewhere, what would compel them to give that up and strike out into the most dangerous parts of the world?"

Example Motivations

This list is not meant to be exhaustive. Your can have whichever you feel appropriate. This list is just meant to help stir your creativity. In general, a should be somewhat abstract, rather than a specific task. These are meant to guide your character's motivations, not serve as a checklist of things to accomplish.

Atone for a past transgression
Uncover secret or ancient knowledge
Gain mastery over some skill or artifact
Become wealthy beyond your wildest dreams
Become the most powerful person in the land
Serve your kingdom or patron deity faithfully
Protect the weak from danger
Protect the natural order
Spread knowledge across the world

Bonds

Each should feel like a part of the world of the game. The has lived in the game world for many years in most cases, and they have entire histories that should be relevant at the game table. In addition, the are adventuring together as an , and must have some reason to do so. They should be a part of each others' histories! To represent this, each newly created should create at least two with other 's . Two might have been childhood friends, or have fought together in battle, or maybe they were mutual acquaintances of someone recently deceased. need not be mutual though, one might have a reason to hate the family or faction of another, but the hated need not be aware of this spite. In fact, both may be unaware if neither has yet shared their history with the other!

primarily help to drive the narrative forward as an .

Example Bonds

This list is not meant to be exhaustive. Your characters can have any kind of with the other . This list is just meant to help stir your creativity.

You and another Player Character come from a similar cultural background
You and another Player Character have differing ideals that sometimes cause friction between you
You've saved another Player Character from certain death
You've previously fought alongside another Player Character
You grew up in the same community or region as another Player Character
You and another Player Character are siblings
You mentored another Player Character
You and another Player Character share a Motivation
You and another Player Character fought on opposite sides of a long-forgotten conflict

Combat

Combat in Campfires and Company is not intended to be a tactical wargame simulator in the same way as many other popular tabletop RPGs. Instead, combat in Campfires and Company is simply another way to interact with the setting narratively.

As such, the combat rules are designed to be extremely flexible and to drive focus on the narrative consequences of combat and the frantic emotions brought out by the danger of the situation, rather than the meticulous strategizing of positioning and attack options.

Taking Turns in Combat

For short combats, or during the initial frantic scramble to take up arms, an explicit turn order may not be needed. However, generally once combat begins, turn order progresses clockwise around the table, starting with the that initiated combat, or the if initiated the combat.

All take their turn together when the turn order reaches the . are an exception to this rule, and take one turn after each 's turn.

Combat Challenges

Similar to encounters that occur outside the game, combat is resolved through a series of with corresponding values.

Attacking

When attacking, will attempt a with a specified equivalent to the 's () representing their attack.

A on the means no damage is dealt, but typically there is also no corresponding or penalty (except potentially on a ).

A on the deals 1 point of damage to the .

A on the deals 2 points of damage to the enemy.

Defending

Similarly to attacking, defending works the same way in reverse. When an attacks a , the rolls a against the of the 's value ().

A on the means the receives a .

A on the means the avoids or blocks the attack and suffers no , but is placed off-balance or otherwise hindered such that the has +1 on their next defense .

A on the means the completely avoids or blocks the attack.

Defeating

A is considered Downed if they have 3 or more at any point during combat. If they are Downed, on the 's turn the rolls a with 10. On a , the receives 1 additional . Another can spend their turn to aid the Downed , granting them +2 on their next roll.

Enemies

in Campfires and Company are meant to be extremely easy to use, without complicated stat blocks or rules.

An is generally made up of the following parts:

Its name
A short description of what the creature is
Its Hit Points (HP)
Its Attack Rating (AR)
Its Defense Rating (DR)
Its Traits

An 's is essentially how offensively powerful the is. will need to roll a with a equivalent to an 's whenever they are attacked by an . When attacked, a or prevents the from receiving a .

Conversely, an 's is a measure of how difficult the is to damage. When attacking, will need to roll against a with a equivalent to the 's . A or damages the enemy.

After have damaged an enemy an amount equal or greater than its amount of , the is Defeated.

An 's Traits describe the rest of the 's capabilities. These are described narratively. For example, if an flies, it might be described with a Flying trait. The might then decide that the can't be reached by melee weapons except when attacking. Or they might decide that the is flying low to the ground, so it's not an issue, but the moves very quickly, or is more difficult to hit (granting 1 ) using weapons with short reach, like daggers.

Let's look at some example that are staples of the fantasy genre to get a feel for how work.

Wolf

A wild canine that hunts in packs.

Night Vision
Pyrophobic
Pack Tactics

City Guard

Enforces the law within the city.

Calls for Reinforcements
Well-Equipped
Disciplined
Prefers Non-Lethal Force

Vampire

A bloodsucking undead creature of the night.

Night Vision
Bloodless
Sustained by Blood
Sunlight Weakness

These are just examples of you might create; and they're not even the canonical versions of these examples. If in your game, you want a vampire to have much more health because it's an ancient count or countess, go for it. Maybe your vampires aren't weak to garlic, but they are weak to holy water, or running water, or large numbers of small objects being dropped in front of them, or remaining uninvited into a building. Maybe they can fly, maybe they sparkle, maybe they don't drink blood.

Combat should feel fast and dangerous, so keep in mind that even very durable and powerful creatures should have a relatively low value (5 or less).

Elite Enemies

are the boss monsters of Campfires and Company. will generally have a much higher value than normal to allow the fight to last longer. also should generally take one turn for each , allowing them to show off their fearsome capabilities more effectively.

When designing , consider how they will interact with the environment around them, and how the will interact with their attacks and maneuvers.

Here are some examples:

The Elite Enemy smashes the arena-like platform they're fighting on, removing space that players need to effectively maneuver
The Elite Enemy uses their turns to cast a spell by uttering a long incantation, if they successfully finish the incantation over 3 turns, an extremely powerful spell is cast
The Elite Enemy summons minions through portals, but the summoning can be interrupted by the players if they walk through the portal dissipating it
The Elite Enemy is guarding an object that is the secret to their power, taking hold of the object will considerably weaken them

Running Combat

Whether against normal or , combat in Campfires and Company is not intended to be a tactical wargame where the rules of the game provide difficulty and interest. Instead, combat is another avenue to offer interesting narrative twists and turns to the party. Consider alternative win conditions or complications that arise during battle to spice up encounters and give players more options during combat than simply choosing which enemy to attack.

Here are some ideas for making encounters more interesting:

The encounter takes place un unstable terrain such as quicksand
There's dangerous weather such as a heavy rainstorm or blizzard
The goal of the encounter is to retrieve an artifact the enemies possess, meaning defeating all the Enemies is not necessary to achieve your objective
The Enemies are much more powerful than the Player Characters, making fleeing the most attractive option

Rule Variations

Enemy Crises

When an takes damage to its Health but is not yet Defeated, the can choose to impose a on the , the same as would happen to a . This can help make combat feel more dynamic and exciting, as the begins to show signs of struggle and weakness as the battle progresses.

Frantic Combat

For a more stressful experience, the can describe a situation and ask any "what do you do?!" If the doesn't begin to respond in a short period of time (3-4 seconds), their fumbles and does nothing with that time during the combat.

This optional rule keeps on their toes, but makes the game more stressful for everyone, and may end up in some strongly negative experiences if a misses their turn because they didn't respond fast enough.

This rule should only be used if the entire is on board with it, since it can be quite polarizing. Don't be afraid to remove this rule if it causes conflict during play.

Crises

When your character is hurt or put into danger, they may receive a . A has two key parts: the nature of the and the effect that the has on the .

Let's look at some examples.

Crisis	Effect
A slash over one eye	1 Disadvantage on Challenges relating to accuracy or perception
Blinded by darkness	3 Disadvantage on Challenges relating to accuracy or perception
A deep gash on your main arm	2 Disadvantage when using the arm
Running out of food	2 Disadvantage
Your weapon becomes rusted	1 Disadvantage when attacking or damaging something with the weapon
You run out of ammo for your ranged weapon	The weapon cannot be used
Being lost in the woods	1 Disadvantage when scavenging, navigating, or preventing surprise attacks
You receive a bad reputation in town	1 Disadvantage on social Challenges in the town, cannot use reputable inns or shops
You are caught in a trap	You cannot move, and you have 1 Disadvantage on tasks which might require you to maneuver the trapped body part

are resolved (removed from your ) when the situation causing the is resolved. For example, if your is starving, they may resolve the related by hunting an animal, reaching a town, or foraging for food. If a is wounded, that wound may recover the next time you're able to rest for an hour (for a minor wound), or for a night (for a major wound), or perhaps for an entire week or more (for a grievous wound).

In addition to the above, typically all are resolved at the end of an . Also, after combat, any injury can be resolved with a Treatment with the following results:

Result	Effect
0-9	Resolve no injury Crises
10-17	Resolve one injury Crisis
18-20	Resolve two injury Crises
21+	Resolve three injury Crises

Additionally, if playing with the rule variation, a on a Treatment might immediately resolve all injury .

Rule Variations

Traumas

When your character reaches 3 or more , they will suffer a . They may choose a consequence from below, or discuss alternative options with the . The should ideally be narratively related to one of the that caused the to occur.

An important item is permanently lost or broken
You are permanently physically scarred
You develop a phobia
You harbor irrational resentment and animosity toward an entity or group that caused one of the Crises
Your journey comes to an end

The does not always happen immediately after receiving the 3rd . It is often best to wait until the end of a Session and use it to provide a climactic conclusion, but in some cases the or will want to wait until a major story beat has been accomplished, such as completing a dungeon, finishing a quest, or encountering a major villain. The , the , and the whose will suffer the consequence should decide what's best for the narrative, the characters, and the players involved.

Random Traumas

Instead of allowing to choose their own , you can roll randomly to determine which they receive. This results in more of a punishing, unpredictable play experience.

This rule variation is not for every because many players won't find the lack of control over their own to be particularly fun. It's also not for every , because it may not make sense for an unfeeling, robotic type character to develop a phobia, for example.

Always End the Journey

Instead of allowing to choose their own , you can instead have the always be ending the journey. This results in an extremely punishing, grimdark type play experience. This rule may be suitable for one-shots, short campaigns, or for a looking to try a darker, grittier tone. If a chooses to use this rule, each should have additional ready to go, since characters will be ending their journeys more frequently.

End of the Journey

If a chooses for their character to come to the end of their journey, the doesn't necessarily die. They may not even necessarily leave the story. They simply can no longer be controlled by a , and maybe become an instead. The must create a new character to continue playing.

Maybe the events of their latest adventure have shaken them to their core and they can't stomach risk or danger anymore. Maybe they've suffered an injury that means they'll never adventure again. Maybe their moral core has been fractured and they begin to see things from the villain's perspective and switch sides. Or maybe they heroically sacrifice their life to save one of the other party members.

Whatever you decide, you should aim for an interesting narrative for the

and the . Whether the goes out with a memorable bang, or fades quietly into the background to surface later in the story, the end of the journey is an incredibly important piece of the both the 's and the 's narrative.

Items and Inventory

Items and inventory contents are not intended to be tracked in detail. A might have an "adventuring pack", but the contents of the pack do not need to be spelled out in detail. When the contents become relevant, the can discuss whether it's reasonable that a particular item would or would not be contained in the pack, and the makes a final judgment call. The may even decide to issue a to determine whether the item is present or not, with the difficulty of the depending on how likely it is that the item would be readily available.

Similarly, currency is more of a feeling thing. You don't need to track that you have 100 gold coins and 3 rubies worth 20 gold each. Like other asbtractions in the game like hunger and exhaustion, if it becomes narratively relevant, the will be given a rough idea from the how much wealth they have. For example, when in town the might say, "You know you have enough currency to replenish your supplies and maybe add a few small items to your packs, but not enough for any new weapons or clothing." After delving to the bottom floor of a dungeon, the might say, "Stepping into the final room, you find ancient treasures hoarded by the lich during their long undeath. Having defeated them, the treasure is now yours for the taking. Wealth is piled high, reaching halfway to the ceiling in places, and such an abundance means you can't take everything with you, but what meager portion you can carry will give each of you wealth enough to buy your own castles if you wish."

A Note on Powerful Items

If during the journey, a acquires a powerful item of some kind, like a magical sword or ancient technology, there are two ways to handle the item smoothly within the game rules.

First, the could make the item usable only once. This way, the item is powerful and impactful, but the 's innate abilities are not outshone by a disparate collection of trinkets they've acquired on their journey.

Second, the and the could decide to incorporate the item more permanently into the 's progression. When the and gains a new , the can be tied to the powerful item narratively. See the section on for details.

Advancement

As the continue their adventure, their become more experienced, benefitting from the skills, knowledge, and items they've acquired on their journeys. This is represented in the game rules through .

When a , they take an additional level in one . The does not have to be one they already have levels in, can take levels in as many as the wants.

When advancing a level in a , consult that 's page to see what benefits the receives.

When to Advance

Ultimately, the decides when a . However, in general, should at the conclusion of a major story beat, such as finishing a quest or progressing toward a 's . Ideally, , even if earned in the middle of a game Session, takes place after play has concluded so as to not interrupt the flow of the game, unless the knows in beforehand exactly which option they want to take.

Advancement and the Story

When a , the should attempt to integrate that with the narrative of the 's journey. For instance, a could find a powerful magical item that is the narrative reason behind their new , or the timeline of the adventure could jump forward in time, and in the interim, the have honed their skills and their are a result of that practice. The could even suggest that write a short story about what happened during the timeskip!

Inspiration

Below is a list of some of the games that inspired this one. A huge thank you to all the creators responsible for the games below. And if the game in this book isn't a perfect fit for you or your , consider checking out one of the games below!

Rogue 2E by Kazumi Chin
Perilous RPG by Jordan Palmer
Dungeon World by Adam Koebel and Sage LaTorra
Cypher System by Monte Cook Games
Dungeons & Dragons by Wizards of the Coast