Welcome

You are reading this because someone handed you a character sheet and a handful of d6 — or because you are about to build a life and a world with a game master. Either way: welcome.

This is a single-player roleplaying game about one person having extraordinary days. One scene you are kicking down a door in a forgotten ruin. The next you are at the market before dawn arguing with a flour merchant, repairing a damaged tool, or making a promise you may regret. Both are the game. Neither is the "real" game — the game is whatever your character cares about today.

What you need

• A GM to run the world, play everyone else, and set consequences.
• One player controlling one protagonist.
• A character sheet — four stats, a species, a background, a profession, status, and a few possessions.
• A few d6 dice — four dice are enough for ordinary checks.

The core loop

Most of the game is plain conversation: you say what your character does, and the GM says what happens. Dice enter only when the outcome is uncertain and it matters.

1. Say what you do. "I want to talk the guard into letting me through." "I want to finish this commission before the morning rush."
2. The GM calls for a check when the result is in doubt, naming one of the four stats.
3. Roll. Roll a number of d6 equal to that stat; each die that shows 5 or 6 is a hit. More hits is better.
4. The GM narrates the result — a failure, a mixed success, or a full success.

The four stats and character options are explained in Making a Character. The full rules for checks live in Rolling the Dice. If you want to make things, forge, sew, build, or invent, read Crafting and Making Things. Health and standing are covered in Health and Status.

The feel

Two promises shape every ruling in this game:

• Failures are not dead ends. A failed roll makes things harder or more complicated — it does not stop the story. The guard wants a bribe. The cake falls. The door is barred, but there is a window.
• Mixed successes are the heart of the game. You get something useful, and the world gets a little more complicated. Nearly every interesting thing that happens can grow from a mixed success.

You can be a hero and a homebody. You can explore ruins, run a trade, build a relationship, change careers, or forge a reputation out of iron and nerve. That is the whole point.