The

Description
System

Legal
The Description System is © Postmortem Studios (James Desborough)
1996-2012
Full permission is granted to hack, re-use, re-sell, quote and otherwise use
the material in this book for your own purposes and your own games. It is
asked, nicely, that you include a link to the Postmortem Studios website/blog
and credit me with its creation.
Introduction The ideas crystalised over the
course of the time from nineteen-
ninety two to nineteen-ninety six.
The Description System Major influences were Over the Edge
The Description System is a role-
(1992) and the first edition boxed set
playing system that, rather than
of Mind’s Eye Theatre (1994) both of
character sheets and statistics,
which hit similar themes in means to
uses a description of characters,
describe characters. Over the Edge
elements, challenges, monsters
in particular presaged the rise of
and everything else in its place.
‘Indie’ games with simple, graspable
Everything in the game is described
mechanics and greater creative and
as it would be described in a
descriptive freedom.
book and it is this description – in
particular the adjectives – that
In 1996 Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere
determine how good your character
showed on BBC television and
is at one thing or the other.
TDS (still unnamed at this point)
seemed the obvious solution to such
TDS (yes, I know, that sounds like
a descriptive and strange world to
‘tedious’) is a great introductory role-
be taken into roleplaying. The first
playing game system for beginners
edition of my Neverwhere RPG was
and for interested people with a
published as a pure fan-publication
background in writing or theatre. A
to my website as HTML pages and
description may be less intimidating
two further editions on PDF followed
than the mathematics and statistics-
with a letter of permission from the
heavy approach of more traditional
Neverwhere TV series production
role-playing games.
company.

History & Inspiration TDS seemed to strike a chord with

The idea for TDS goes back to the a lot of people and while there
early nineteen-nineties when I was are other fan-sources for playing
searching around and groping for a Neverwhere, TDS seemed to capture
different way to roleplay. Something people’s imagination and lead to a lot
I could do off the cuff with the of Neverwhere games and LARPS
most minimal resources to hand around the world as well as the
and which could be used for just system being co-opted and adapted
about anything. The idea of using for other games.
descriptions came during mammoth
reading sessions of fantasy and Most recently the third edition of
science-fiction books from the Neverwhere was used as the basis
local library and the thought that of the rules for ImagiNation and as
converting these characters, places part of the fundraiser for Neverwhere
and devices would be so much a generic version of the rules was
easier ‘without a system’. promised. This is it.
Postmortem Studios Adverb: An adverb modifies an
adjective, so that rather than
Postmortem Studios is the personal,
self-publishing imprint of James just being ‘strong’ you might be
‘Grim’ Desborough, Origins Award ‘extremely strong’, instead of ‘tough’
winning game writer and RPG you might be ‘unfeasibly tough’.
publisher for over a decade. Grim Adverbs are used to describe
makes a habit of tackling difficult and multiple traits, if you have an adverb
humorous subjects and producing in front of an adjective then that
thoughtful, independent and grown- adjective counts three times for
up RPG material even if ‘mature’ bidding. The exception is the adverb
sometimes really means ‘puerile and ‘very’ which is used to indicate an
played for laughs’. adjective that counts double.

You can keep up with developments Bid: A bid is the number total you
from Postmortem Studios at: have before you roll. It’s the total of
your adjectives and your profession
postmortemstudios.wordpress.com bonus, the higher the better. For
@grimachu example, trying to squeeze down
grim@postmort.demon.co.uk a pipe Ian bids very lithe, flexible,
Or you can find us on G+ and squirmy, slippery (from some oil he
Facebook. stole) and novice contortionist for a
total bid of six.

Terminology Description: A description is the

information used for anything in
All this word salad can seem
a little intimidating but it’s fairly TDS from a person to a weapon to
easy once you get to grips with it. a difficult situation. The description
Here’s a quick guide to what it all contains the information needed to
means, most of which will be better form – or modify – bids.
explained later on:
Down: A ‘down’ is an adjective in
Adjective: An adjective is a your description that’s normally a
describing word. In TDS adjectives bad thing that counts against you. If
are used to describe your character a Down applies then you take one
and these are then used to away from your bid where you would
determine how good you are at normally add one. Downs can, rarely,
doing things. Your character might count as a positive. A character who
be ‘strong’ or ‘tough’ for example. is very depressed for example might
For the purposes of the game count that as a positive bid against
other descriptions are considered an effect designed to make people
adjectives like, for example, the happy.
phrase ‘good with children’.
Explode: When you roll a six on Master: Master describes a level of
the dice, that six ‘explodes’. This an occupation, the highest someone
isn’t anything bad, in fact, this is can normally aspire to. A Master
something really good. You add the profession counts as five traits
six as normal to your bid and roll towards a bid.
again, if you get another six you add
one to your bid and keep rolling until Non-Player-Character: A non-
you stop getting sixes, adding one player-character or NPC is someone
each time that you do. played by the Conductor, a person
in the background, an enemy or
Games Master: This is the person anyone else your characters run into.
nominally ‘in charge’ of the game.
They make the rules calls and Novice: A Novice is just starting
determine the story of the game as out in their occupation and having
you progress through it. the Novice level counts as a single
trait towards a bid related to that
Implode: When you roll a 1 you take occupation.
one away from your bid and the dice
‘implodes’. This is bad. You take Occupation: Occupations are the
away the one and roll again, if you sorts of things you might describe
get another one you take one away yourself as and depending on the
from your bid and keep rolling until level they’re at (Novice, Professional,
you stop getting ones, taking one Master, Legendary) they add
away each time you do roll a one. between one and six traits to your
bid. A character can have multiple
Legendary: Occupations are occupations, there’s usually more
described as being Novice, than one string to someone’s bow.
Professional, Master and Legendary,
rather than being described in the Player Character: A player
same way as adjectives. A legendary character or PC is one of the
Profession counts as six traits characters played by the players of
towards a bid. the game, the main protagonists of
the story.
Loaning: If you help someone else
out with something they’re doing you Professional: A professional does
can loan them an appropriate trait, their occupation as well as someone
adding to their bid total. For example, who does it for their living; being a
if two people are trying to move a professional in an occupation counts
piano up some stairs then the one as three traits towards a bid.
with the highest bid total makes the
roll, but he could be loaned ‘powerful’
by the other fellow, increasing his bid
by one.
Prose: Prose is the sort of written Wobbly: A wobbly trait is one that
description you will be giving your can be taken as either an up or a
character. Rather than numerical down trait with about equal chance.
statistics, characters in Neverwhere A character whose description
are described by adjectives and included the adjective bland looking,
other words. for example, wouldn’t normally have
that trait apply in most bids and it
Roll: When you make a roll you roll could just as easily be a negative as
a six-sided dice and add the result to a positive. That’s a ‘wobbly’ trait.
your bid to give you a final total.
That final total determines whether
you succeed or fail at what you were
Money, Money, Money
The PDF of this system is provided
trying to do. This gets complicated
for free. If you enjoy it please
by the exploding and imploding dice
consider buying the hardcopy from
rules, but not by too much.
Lulu.com or purchasing some other
Postmortem Studios products. You
Traits: Traits is the catch-all term
can even donate via Paypal or
for all the words that describe
support any crowdfunded projects
your character, the adjectives, the
that we have going.
occupations and everything else that
helps you do things in the game.

Up: Normal adjectives and

professions count as ‘up’ traits.
Things that – if they apply – add to
your bid total. Rarely some ‘up’ traits
can become ‘down’, or negative,
traits, just as ‘down’ traits can
become positive ones sometimes.

Very: ‘Very’ is a special adverb that,

when used, makes an adjective in
your character description count
double. Someone who is very fast
and gets to include that in a bid gets
two points for the bid, rather than
one.
Core System Character Creation Checklist
1. Get something to write your
character down on.
Characters 2. Think about what sort of
Every player – apart from the Games character you want to play.
Master – has a character that they 3. Try and think of a suitable
play in the game. An avatar, just like name for your character, and
a character in a computer game, with a nickname if appropriate.
its own personality, characteristics 4. Scribble down five adjectives
and capabilities. Your character can that describe your character.
be just about anything you want to You can qualify them with
be provided that it makes sense. You ‘very’ which means they
may need to negotiate a little with count twice or use another
the Games Master but by and large adverb to make them count
you can make up anyone you want as three.
provided that it makes sense. 5. You have three occupational
skills at ‘novice’, you can
There are rules for making up a double up for ‘professional’
character, so that you can’t start or put them all into one skill
out too powerful and so that you for ‘Master’. At least one skill
have places to go and room for your should match your art or
character to develop as they have creative ability.
their adventures. The Description 6. Pick a few bits and pieces
System means that this is all done that your character might
through description, words, that you carry, have or wear as a
can write up into a paragraph much matter of course.
as you would write the description of 7. Check things over with the
a character in a book. Games Master to be sure
nothing is missed.
8. Jot down your character
description as a paragraph
and come up with some
background ideas.
Who are you? Here’s some examples that all derive
Who is your character? What is their from the word ‘strong’ in one sense
name? Where do they come from or another, just to show you how
and what’s their history? broad you can go!:

You don’t have to write all this Able, able-bodied, active, acute,
down but it’s a good idea to think aggressive, athletic, big, brave,
through as much as you can about capable, clear, cogent, courageous,
your character before you set about dedicated, deep, draconian, durable,
making them up. Strong ideas make eager, enduring, energetic, fervent,
for good characters and the more fervid, fierce, firm, firm, fixed,
excited and interested you are in forceful, forcible, gutsy, hale, handful,
your character concept the more hard as nails, hard-nosed, hardy,
invested you’ll be in the game, hearty, heavy, heavy-duty, in fine
the character and the events and feather, independent, intelligent,
the more easily the ‘hard work’ of intense, iron-willed, keen, mean,
describing your character will come. mighty, muscular, perceptive,
plucky, potent, pushy, reinforced,
resilient, resourceful, robust, rugged,
Describe Yourself sagacious, secure, self-assertive,
Your character description is made severe, sharp, sinewy, solid, sound,
up of traits. These include adjectives, stable, stalwart, stark, staunch,
occupations and any special abilities steadfast, steady, stout, strapping,
relevant to the game you’re playing. strict, sturdy, substantial, take
charge, tenacious, tough, unbending,
Adjectives uncompromising, unyielding,
Adjectives are descriptive words. vehement, vigorous, violent, well-
As applied to your character these built, wicked or zealous.
describe the things they’re good at,
the way they look and so on. You You can make an individual adjective
should try to be a bit more creative stronger by putting a ‘very’ in front
in your selection of adjectives rather of it. This makes it count twice
than just describing a character as whenever it applies. For example,
‘strong’ or ‘tough’. A thesaurus is Dwight might be ‘very strong’.
very useful for this as it can give you
any number of synonyms of more You can also make an individual
mundane words. adjective even stronger by putting
a different adverb in front of it. If
It’s said that English has more Dwight works out for a couple of
adjectives than any other language, months, perhaps he can make
so you shouldn’t have any trouble himself ‘extremely strong’ which
coming up with creative words. counts three times whenever it
applies.
You can also take strings of similar They could take one skill at Master,
adjectives and they’ll all count – two skills – one at Professional and
when it’s appropriate. You might one at Novice – or three
be, for example: ‘stout, strapping, skills at Novice.
extremely powerful and very
enduring’. Example Skills
Here’s some possible skills that a
You get five adjectives in total, ‘very’ character might take:
counts as two, and a different adverb
counts as three. Aristocrat, Assassin, Blacksmith,
Confidence Trickster, Cook,
You can choose up to two ‘down’ Cutthroat, Engineer, Fortune-Teller,
adjectives. Things that are bad for Guard, Guide, Hunter, Market-Stall
you like ‘weak’ or ‘lame’ or ‘stupid’. Owner, Office Manager, Painter,
For each one you take, you can have Personal Assistant, Poet, Salesman,
an extra positive adjective or make Scientist, Securities Manager,
an existing one more powerful. When Security Guard, Thief, Writer.
your ‘down’ adjectives apply you take
them away from your total, instead of Whether you take it as a skill or not,
adding them. you also need to choose one of the
arts that your character is focussed
What can you do? upon. You don’t have to have a skill
Skills are the other, big, important that reflects your artistic ability, but
aspect of your character and they’re it’s a good idea to have one. Besides
more wide ranging and applicable that you still need to select your art
than adjectives. A skill is a broad and that will inform you as to how
description of what you do. Skills you can twist reality on the mainland.
come in three main levels with a
fourth
that very rarely applies.

• Novice: Adds one to any bid

where it applies.
• Professional: Adds three to
any bid where it applies.
• Master: Adds five to any bid
where it applies.
• Legendary: Adds six to any
bid where it applies.

A starting character gets three

‘levels’ of skills.
Character Profiles they don’t need to worry about
making any sort of roll. It’s only when
You should write out your character
you’re attempting something more
profile according to the following
challenging, something with possible
example. You can make it wordier
consequences or that you’re directly
if you feel the need but it’s not
opposing someone that you need to
absolutely necessary:
make a roll to see how you do.
Name: John Ludd
In these instances you make a bid,
Description: John is a lean and
totting up all your adjectives and
wiry individual with a strong moral-
occupation points to come to a
compass and a rational mind. He is
numerical total. The Games Master
weak and out-of-shape but somehow
can dispute what traits you can use
seems to manage.
or can’t and their word is final.
Skills: John is a Professional Writer
and a Novice Sneak.
Once you have a number total you
roll a six sided dice:
Rules • If you roll two-five you add
that on to your bid to get a
Sooner or later you’re going to
final total.
need to dip into some rules. When
• If you roll a one you take that
a character tries to do something
away from your total and roll
or something happens to them you
again. If you get another one
need a fair and equitable way to
you take that away as well
determine who wins, who loses, who
and keep rolling until you
is affected and how. The difference
stop getting a one. Then you
between a role-playing game and a
get your final total. This is
story is that the tension is genuine.
called ‘imploding dice’.
You don’t know if you’re going to
• If you roll a six you add
succeed until you try and you could
that on to your total and roll
easily fail and have to deal with
again. If you get another six
the consequences. Rules are what
you add one to your total
makes a role-playing game different
and keep rolling until you
to just playing make-believe.
stop getting a six. Then you
get your final total. This is
The Basic Rules called ‘exploding dice’
Most of the time you don’t need
to worry about rules, most things
that a character dues during the
course of a game. If a character is
opening a door, getting dressed,
walking down the street or some
other fairly mundane activity then
Note: Making a Roll
Down traits count against you, if
What Are You Doing?
they apply they take numbers away
When you’re called upon to make
from your bid total. Wobbly traits can
a roll you need to decide – and
be up or down, depending on the
describe – what exactly it is that
circumstances and sometimes down
you’re doing. This can affect the
and up traits become the opposite,
adjectives and the occupation that
depending on the situation. It’s all
you’re bidding in order to make the
down to the Games Master!
attempt.
Example:
For example, if you described
Barney is arm wrestling. Barney can
yourself as breaking down a door
bid ‘very strong’, ‘determined’ and
using brute force, then appropriate
‘beefy’ to win, giving him a bid of four
adjectives might include ones
in total. Maybe what happens is…
describing your strength, size or
toughness.
1. Barney rolls a four, giving
him a final bid total of eight.
If you decide to try and pick the
2. Barney rolls a one, then
lock then ones that describe how
another one and finally a
dexterous and nimble you are might
three. This gives him a final
be more appropriate.
bid of two. (Four, minus one,
minus one again and the
You won’t be able to do some things
three is ignored).
without the appropriate occupation or
3. Barney rolls a six, then a six,
ability. If you’re not, say, an
then a two. This gives him
electrician, then the odds of you
a final bid of eleven. (Four,
being able to work out or fix a wiring
plus six, plus one for the
system are… remote.
second six and the two is
ignored.).
How Difficult Is It?
There are complications to how all Like everything else in TDS a
this works, some of them optional. problem is usually described by
These will be described later on. adjectives. A lock might be ‘very
tricky’, ‘solid’ or even ‘magically
protected’, bidding what’s
appropriate to foil your lock picking
attempts.

If you’re breaking it down it might

be ‘very thick’, ‘seasoned oak’ and
‘bound with iron’.
If the Games Master can’t describe What Did You Roll?
the problem in such terms then they The dice roll represents the vagaries
should pluck a suitable number out of chance and its effect on whatever
of the air. you’re trying to do. Your dice roll
adds on to or takes away from your
An average challenge for a bid to give you a final total:
professional should have a counter
bid of around five. Challenges for • If you roll two-to-five add this
unskilled people should start at to your bid total to get your
around a bid of two or so and creep final result.
up as they get more challenging. • If you roll a one, take this
away from your total and
Once the bid for the opposition is roll again. If you get another
established, either via traits or via one, take it away again and
guesswork, a roll is added on top of keep rolling. Otherwise stop
that, just as if a player were making with your current total.
a roll. Whoever gets highest, wins. • If you roll a six, add this to
your total and roll again. If
If the player is working against you get another six, add on
another player or one of the many another one to your total and
opposing characters then they make keeping rolling. Otherwise
their actions and bids as normal. stop with your current total.

What Did You Bid? The Outcome

You can only bid traits that are Whoever gets the highest result
appropriate to what you’re doing is the winner, whether it be the
but, obviously, you should try and character, an inanimate object or
play to your character’s strengths. a rival. The more you beat your
You can’t be good at everything and opposition by, the better and if you
you’re unlikely to be able to do things beat them by five or more, than can
the way you want all the time so it’s be considered a pretty devastating
generally a good idea to have a good win.
spread of traits as well as a focus -
something you’re good at. If, for example, a lock beat your lock-
picking attempt by a good amount,
The total bid you make in any whatever you were using to pick the
challenge is equal to: lock might break. If it beats you by
four or more, the snapped tool might
• Adjectives bid, plus… be caught in the lock, stopping you
• Occupation bonus (one trying to open it that way again.
occupation), plus…
• Dice roll value.
Trying Again Such as: ‘I’m going to kick him
If you fail at something, not against so hard in the balls he collapses,
an opponent but against a task like vomiting, to the floor’.
picking a lock or searching through
a mass of trash to find something, The person on the receiving end
then you find it harder to keep going. might describe how they dodge out
Each time you fail and try again you of the way to escape then both sides
get tired of doing it, then very tired, bid traits and roll, whoever gets the
then really tired. Then you can’t try highest wins, otherwise they swap
any more without at least a day’s around and the victim now becomes
rest. Each tired trait bids against you the instigator, choosing what they
when you try to do it again but only want to do next, fight back, run away
lasts against that particular task. or whatever else they might want to
do.
Helping Someone Out
Several people can work together on If you want things to be a bit more
a task and that can greatly increase formal and to prevent people from
their chance of success. In such a just declaring ‘I kill him’ all the time,
situation one person is chosen as the there’s some more complicated but
leader but the other people involved satisfying rules you can use.
can each loan them a suitable
adjective to bid. This all boosts their
bid total up higher, giving them the
chance to accomplish things that
they might not, otherwise, be able to
do.

Hurting People
When it comes down to hurting
people, beating them in a fight,
things can get a little more
complicated, but only if you really
want them to.

If you want to keep things really

simple then the two opposing
combatants both describe what
they’re going to do and what the
consequences are – within reason.
Advanced Hurting People Here’s how this can work in
If you need something a little more practice:
definite for when two people clash Jane is pursuing a demon and
with each other then you can use decides to stop and take a pot-shot
the optional rules about ‘Degree of with her crossbow. Jane is ‘fast’ and
Success’ to do so. In this version of ‘very accurate’ as well as being a
combat you can take away people’s ‘professional archer’. The crossbow
adjectives, replicating injuries, or is ‘well made’, ‘accurate’ and
give them down adjectives in the ‘powerful’. This gives Jane a total
same way, or you can choose to do bid of nine. She then rolls five, giving
various other nasty things to them her a grand total of fourteen. A very
good hit. The Games Master rules,
• One success – to push however, that if she missed, the
someone around, demon will have gotten away.
manipulate them, force
them into cover, to retreat The demon is ‘fleet of foot’, ‘very
or similar advantage without paranoid’ and a ‘master flyer’. This
hurting them. gives the demon a total bid of eight.
• Two successes – to give He rolls a two, giving him a total of
someone a down trait or to ten.
remove one of their up traits,
that’s appropriate. Jane beat him by four and now
• Three successes – to stun gets to spend her successes. She
someone, meaning that they chooses to give him the down trait
can only make a defensive bleeding, so he can be tracked more
type move on the next turn easily and is probably slowed down;
and can’t take an action she also eliminates the demon’s
back at you themselves. ‘fleet of foot’ trait, describing how she
• Four successes – to knock shoots the fleeing demon through
someone out or put them out the leg.
of the fight.
• Five successes – to kill Healing
someone outright. Healing times depend on the wounds
and the Conductor’s discretion but
without any other guidance you
should get your traits back, or get rid
of the down traits, at the rate of one
per day of in game time.
Optional Rules Optional Rules:
Degree of Success Learning New Things
As a rough guide to how well you do, People learn and grow from their
you can apply these guidelines to experiences and things that they’re
how well you beat something: taught as they progress through life.
Whatever doesn’t kill them, makes
• -1: Barely failed, such a them stronger. Simple farm boys
close run thing. become Jedi masters, the peasant
• 0: Barely succeeded, just by who
the skin of your teeth. never knew his destiny becomes
• 1: You succeed with a a great king and our simple artists
normal, acceptable level of become something far more than
competence. they used to be.
• 3: You do really well, good
work. Every session you play every
• 5: Exceptional, beyond character gets one improvement
normal expectations, you point, if it’s a really long session –
were in ‘the zone’. four hours or more perhaps – you get
another one. If you’re a good player
Optional Rules: and bring attention to your down or
wobbly traits – or your up traits when
Equipment they’re against you – through the
Optionally, items, weapons and game you get another one.
equipment can loan you traits
which you can bid as though they You can then spend these
were your own. A suit of chain improvement points to make your
mail, for example, might be ‘hardy’, character better, stronger, faster.
‘protective’ and ‘heavy’. Weapons
have their own traits but remember
that these adjectives have to fit
what you’re doing, the action you
describe, you can’t just throw them in
anyway.
 • Increasing your adjectives Live Action Role-playing has different
costs a number of demands to normal role-playing, it
improvement points equal can be fiddly to mess about with dice
to the total value of all your and character sheets while you’re
adjectives thus far. For trying to play and it can slow things
starting characters, this down.
would normally be five.
Down and wobbly traits don’t Some alternative systems on how
count. to work out who wins are presented
• Wobbly traits cost half as here:
much, rounding up.
• You can buy off a down • Use dice anyway: If you
trait or a wobbly trait for five want a completely ‘true’ to
improvement points. the standard game feel, just
• You can buy a new carry a dice around with you
occupation for three in your pocket. The system
improvement points. is simple and light so this
You can raise one from shouldn’t be too much of a
Novice to Professional for problem.
five improvement points, • Rock-Paper-Scissors:
Professional to Master for You can work out who wins
ten improvement points, by totting up bids and then
Master to Legendary for playing rock-paper-scissors.
twenty improvement points. The aggressor or challenger
is the one whose bid is
modified. If you win, you
Playing for Real add one to your bid and play
TDS can lend itself very well to again. If you lose you take
‘salon style’ live action role-play. one away from your bid and
These are the live-action role-playing play again. If you tie you
games where you get together stop and leave your bid as
somewhere, in costume and mostly it is.
talk, rather than running around and • Coins: You can carry six
actually hitting each other. coins in your pocket and,
when called upon to make
If you want to play this way it takes a bid, draw these out in a
quite a bit of work to get a good handful and slap them down
game up and running, but once it on the table. Each head is
is players can almost keep it going plus one while each tail is
themselves. minus one, giving you your
final total.
• Cards: Get the 1-6 cards
from each suit and make Playing in Fora
them into a deck. When Playing in a forum environment
called upon to make a bid, can be tricky, but is very popular,
draw a card from the deck especially amongst people who role-
and treat it like a dice roll, play
complete with implosions but who don’t really know about the
and explosions. When you culture of role-playing games as a
finish a bid, shuffle the cards whole. Playing in a forum tends to
again and put them back in be much more free-form and a forum
your pocket. is unlikely to have the necessary
• Finger Counting: You tools for handling dice rolls or other
and whoever is doing the conventions for solving problems.
bid for the challenge or
the other person put your If you’re playing in a forum it’s
hand behind your back and important that someone – or
choose between one and several people – are there to act
five fingers, on the count of as moderators or Games Masters.
three you both reveal your They will tell you who wins an
hands. Add the total number encounter or challenge and by how
of fingers together, if you go much, determining the result via
over five, start again at one. dice rolls or other techniques at
Add the final result to your home and passing the result back
bid and do the same for your for the players to determine the
opponent. Whoever gets the consequences.
highest, wins.
• Hitting Each Other: Feel Forum posts should be longer and
free to come up with your more detailed than normal role-
own system to govern play and, as otherwise fights and
hitting each other with latex encounters can go on for days,
weapons, but given TDS has combat encounters should try to
an urban setting I really don’t be limited to a single roll and an
recommend running around appropriate outcome.
down belting each other or
wielding toy guns. The police If players can be honest and
get really, really shirty about accommodating with each other,
that sort of thing. there’s no reason they can’t post
the rolls they get themselves and
self-moderate their role-play. After
all, winning all the time just isn’t that
interesting!
Playing in Chat
You can also play online in Fantasy
The fantasy genre has grown
chatrooms or over Internet Relay
Chat (IRC) or across instant broader over the last decade with the
messenger or conference calls emergence of ‘The New Weird’ and
over Skype, Google Plus and the harder, grittier, more low-magic and
like. Many dedicated role-playing adult oriented sagas. Nonetheless,
chat services exist – just be careful the fantasy genre has some common
you’re not getting into a Cybersex elements within it. Magic, non-human
room – and many of them have races and the existence of strange
tools, or ‘bots’ for handling dice rolls. and peculiar monsters – whether
This makes it quite easy to play and ubiquitous or rare. In taking TDS into
text-chat role-playing has some of fantasy you mostly need to worry
the advantages of both tabletop about the influence of this magic
and forum play, it’s quite easy to get and the nature of fantasy races as a
into your character and suspend whole.
disbelief.

The disadvantage of computer-chat Fantasy Races

play is that people don’t take it as Fantasy races tend to conform to
so important a commitment and certain racial stereotypes and while
miss sessions more frequently, it this isn’t especially realistic it means
also takes longer to play things out, that the fantasy races – typically –
especially if you have slow typists in embody some particular aspect of
your group or people whose English human psychology or life. Elves are
skills aren’t so great. reserved, aloof, in touch with nature
(typically) while dwarves are hard-
Another possibility would be to set working, doughty and stolid.
up some sort of TDS ‘sim’ on Second
Life, a 3D, customisable, online Obviously the best way to fit these
game world. There are all sorts of traits into a character is through
scripts, props and costumes that their adjectives. Given the heroic
could be used in Second Life and nature of most fantasy games and
public dice rolling scripts to help campaigns it is my suggestion that
handle bids as well as live combat you give characters in fantasy games
systems to handle that side of things. two extra adjectives. One for race
and one for culture. The following are
suggestions for typical fantasy races.
Dwarf Human
Dwarves are a doughty race of Humans are an adaptable and
miners, crafters and stonemasons. varied people who inhabit every
Somewhat insular they have a long environment and every corner of
antagonism with orcs and goblins the world. Simultaneously they
and a rivalry with and distrust of are divided and fractious, fighting
elves. each other constantly over ideas,
Race: Dwarves are stoic. ideologies, religions and territories.
Culture: Dwarves are hard-working. Race: Humans get a free extra
adjective to choose.
Elf Culture: Humans choose an
Elves are a haughty race of great adjective appropriate to the culture
age and delicacy. They regard they come from, examples might
themselves as superior to the ‘quick’ include cosmopolitan, well-travelled
races and have a refinement that or born to the sea.
can only come from a long lifespan.
In touch with nature they often live Orc
in the wild places, turning them into Orcs are a violent and rapacious
their homes through tending and tribal culture who live for warfare
care over centuries. and destruction. Why make a thing
Race: Elves are perceptive. when you can take a thing? Why
Culture: Elves are patient. farm for food when you can hunt and
can take it from other, more sedate
Fairy peoples?
Fairies are a spritely race of tiny Race: Orcs are brutish.
creatures given to mischief and Culture: Orcs come from a violent
anarchy. They come in a wide variety culture.
of colours and types but share a
sometimes malevolent sense of
humour.
Race: Fairies are tiny.
Culture: Fairies are mischievous.
Note: If the fairy wants to fly, they
need to take it as magic or as a skill.
Mundane Items Rope: Rope is strong and rough.
Short Sword: A short sword is quick
Where would a thief be without his and sharp.
tools? What adventurer can make Spear: Spears are long and pointed.
do without two large sacks and a Two-Handed Sword: Two handed
ten foot pole? Gear may be more swords are slow but brutal, sharp
important in some games than others and powerful.
but it’s a good idea to have a way to
handle it.

Mundane equipment should have

Magic Items
Magical items are a little trickier to
between one and three adjectives, describe and to incorporate into
though it may also have down traits games. The items should have the
on top of this. These traits can be normal traits that describe them but
bid, like your normal adjectives, there are several other ways you
when you can use the equipment or can add to them to represent their
weaponry in a way that will actually magical powers.
help.
Enchantment: An item that is
The following are a few examples of magically enhanced may gain the
typical fantasy equipment: trait enchanted, very enchanted or
powerfully enchanted. This does
Chainmail Armour: Chainmail is nothing but add +1 to +3 to the bid
heavy and noisy. It is protective and when the item is being used for its
dense. intended purpose. An enchanted
Crossbow: A crossbow is slow, but sword would get +1 when used as a
powerful and accurate. weapon, for example.
Dagger: A dagger is short, but quick
and sharp. Powers: Items that have special
Hand Axe: An axe is crude, but powers or that bestow special
heavy and brutal. powers can be purely descriptive. A
Leather Armour: Leather armour is ring of levitation, for example, allows
protective. you to levitate – which opens up all
Lockpick: Lockpicks are finely sorts of roleplay possibilities – but
made. how well you levitate depends on
Long Sword: Long swords are long your own personal traits. This covers
and sharp. invisibility and all manner of other
Longbow: Long bows are powerful powers.
and penetrating.
Platemail Armour: Plate armour is
very heavy and noisy, it is very tough
and protective.
Effects: Some magical weapons You might want to limit how much
might have special effects. These these powers can be thrown around
are a sort of combination between and there are several ways you can
enchantment and powers and can do that. You could limit spell-casting
be combined with them. A specially to a number of times per day related
enchanted sword might be flaming, to how many appropriate traits the
for example. A relic placed into the character has, or limit the number of
pommel might make it holy. spells they can ‘memorise’ by their
skill and appropriate traits if you
Between these approaches you prefer Vancian magic.
should be able to create or replicate
most magical items from myth, Failed spells or particularly powerful
legend or fantasy. The nature of TDS spells might tire someone out and
means it’s hard for them to become drain them, giving them down traits
completely unbalancing while they each time they use their magic.
can still provide advantage, colour
and flavour to the game. You could also limit magic by having
it require long rituals, rare ingredients
or other limited or expensive articles.
Magic Spells Magic is powerful and needs some
Magic spells, psychic powers and kind of limitation to be balanced with
other special abilities are best non-magical characters, but that may
represented by using the skills not be a worry for you!
mechanic. Different skills can
represent different schools and
types of magic and in combination
with adjectives will allow for most
kinds of spells, incantations and
enchantments to be worked.

A novice wielder of the secret fire,

can conjure fire and flame as though
it were a skill and perform all sorts of
deeds with it.

A professional enchanter might be

able to magically enhance and fortify
weapons and devices.
Modern
Modern games might be criminal
Automatic weapons
Automatic weapons can let off a
large number of rounds all at once
enterprises, techno-thrillers, military and that means they can fill an area
operations, police operations or CSI with bullets to hit multiple targets or
type investigations. They might cross hose down a single target. Automatic
over with horror, so much of what’s weapons have the optional trait
mentioned here is also applicable to ‘hail of bullets’. The attack roll can
the horror genre. be made without this trait against
multiple targets, or with it added on
Technology and equipment is of against a single target.
great importance here, minus the
complications that magic brings. Example Devices
Vehicles – rather than pack or Computer: A computer isn’t much
riding animals – also become use in and of itself but specialist
important. Without access to certain programs can have adjectives that
technologies – and skills – there are they lend to someone using the
simply some things that you cannot machine. Access to good databases
do in the modern world and those or the internet when doing research
are the things the Games Master gets the trait ‘well informed’, ‘very
needs to be particularly aware of. well informed’, or ‘huge amounts of
information’.
Weapons & Equipment Forensic kit: A forensic kit helps
gather information and evidence
In the modern era guns create a big
balance-of-power shift in combat and without contaminating it. Using one
have some peculiarities that need a grants access to a bonus trait of
bit of extra guidance to be handled. ‘careful’.
Though not too much. You can Microscope: Using the microscope
also modify weapons and devices can grant access to hidden
with add ons. A scope might add information that you wouldn’t
‘perceptive’ or ‘steady’, a laser sight otherwise see. If used to investigate
might add a more general ‘accurate’. it can grant the ‘perceptive’ trait.
Smartphone: Applications on a
smartphone can provide traits of their
own. A map and GPS function will
functionally stop you getting lost but
may also grant access to a ‘sense of
direction’ trait. Other applications and
functions may give access to other
traits.
Torch: A torch provides ‘light’ or
negates down traits like dark, or
shadowy.
Example Weapons & Armour Assault Armour: A full set of assault
Players with particular knowledge armour is heavy and uncomfortable,
of weapons may want to give guns bullet-proof, protective and solid.
traits that better represent the Concealed Flak Vest: A hidden flak
strengths and failings of a particular vest is bullet-resistant, hidden and
type. That’s fine, just don’t have any uncomfortable.
more traits than usual. Flak Vest: A flak vest is: Heavy,
bullet-proof and protective.
Anti-Material Rifle: These heavy
rifles are heavy, brutal, powerful and
piercing. Vehicles
Assault Rifle: Assault rifles have Vehicles are described with traits in
access to automatic fire. They are the same manner that everything
powerful and accurate. else is. They’ll have up, down and
Bazooka: The rockets fire from wobbly traits just the same. When
bazookas are explosive, piercing and driving the vehicle the driver can tap
powerful – but inaccurate. into those traits and maybe suffer
Grenade: A grenade is explosive their drawbacks. Cars, bikes etc can
and powerful and affects many suffer damage in the same way that
targets, in much he same manner as people do.
automatic fire.
Heavy pistol: A heavy pistol is As an example a racing motorbike
powerful, brutal and loud. might be fast, manoeuvrable, light,
Light pistol: A light pistol is loud and fragile and goes like shit off a stick.
accurate.
Machine Pistol: Machine pistols are A tank might be excessively
loud, capable of automatic fire and armoured, slow, very powerful, very
handy. heavy and off-road.
Medium pistol: A medium pistol is
loud and powerful.
Rifle: Rifles are accurate, loud and
powerful.
Sniper Rifle: Sniper rifles are
pinpoint, deadly and long-ranged.
Submachinegun: Submachineguns
have access to automatic fire and
are loud and powerful.
Horror
The horror genre doesn’t need a
Developing a phobia, madness or tic
should be appropriate to the fears
that have triggered it. Encountering
lot of specific attention in TDS. The a foul and be-tentacled being from
descriptive nature that wounds and beyond might give someone a
damage can have covers a lot of the lifelong fear of tentacles. Too many
gore side of things so the only theme nasty surprises and they might
that really needs to be covered by develop a nervous tic.
extra rules is fear and madness.
As with much in TDS trust and
negotiation between players and GM
Terror & Fear is much more important than specific
rules.
A fear attack is a new kind of
attack against someone’s mind and
courage. The creature (or slasher,
or situation) causing the fear makes
a bid and roll as usual, though they
might be able to tap into surrounding
factors – like darkness – to add on.
The target resists with their will,
courage and strength of mind. If they
fail they react in terror.

Terror can take many forms,

catatonia, fleeing for one’s life,
even frenzied attacking. The
Games Master has final say but
the character’s reaction should be
negotiated between the player and
the Games Master.

Madness
A character repeatedly traumatised
and subjected to terror is going to
start to show wear and tear and
to fray around the mental edges.
Judging when that goes from in the
moment to something more long
lasting is a delicate decision to make
and ultimately in the hands of the
Games Master.
Science Example: Push-Pistol – Silent,
crushing, powerful (projects a fist-like
force-field that pushes through the

Fiction target)

Science Fiction is a huge and

sprawling genre with a hell of a lot Scale
of ground covered. It’s impossible to Science Fiction plays with scale a lot
summarise anything and everything more than the other genres though
that can be covered by the genre but you may find these rules useful for
TDS is nice and flexible that way. So giants, vehicles and other factors in
long as there’s a toolkit and a bit of the other genres.
description then it’s all good.
One problem TDS has is that a
gigantic battlecruiser will likely have
High-Tech Gear the same number of traits, or even
less traits, than a small fighter craft.
High tech gear has more in common
with magical items in the fantasy The battlecruiser should have an
genre than with devices in a modern advantage of scale sometimes,
era game. The things that high-tech allowing it to be more resistant to
devices can do are more like magic damage or to unleash a truly scary
or superpowers. An anti-gravity amount of firepower.
harness might let you fly. Heat-rays
might be able to set things on fire. When scale comes into
Devices might do all the work of consideration you use a different
analysing a sample for you without dice and still ‘explode’ or ‘implode’ on
you needing to roll yourself. Giving the highest or lowest roll.
these devices traits, skills and
descriptions of what power they For very small devices, robots and
might have should handle this for remotes you use a D4.
you. For normal, human-scale things like
hoverbikes or humanoids you use a
D6.
High-Tech For something fighter/car or APC
scaled you use a D8.
Weapons For something like a truck or cargo-
ship you use a D10.
High tech weapons have traits much
as modern weapons do and in the For truly big ships – such as
same sort of quantities. They’re likely battlecruisers – you use a D12.
to be a lot more variable in their
descriptions and may – in the case
of very high tech weapons – have
beyond that normal number of traits.
Scale has decreasing benefit and
a d12 is the limit. You only use this
dice when scale applies and not at
other times. Otherwise you use the
normal dice and roll as normal.
Superheroes
Superheroics are really hard to
Abilities that are extension of natural
abilities use the scaling rules found
in the Science Fiction section.
model in RPGs as you have to deal So a character with superhuman
with vast gulfs and differences in intelligence might have a d8 for
power level without allowing one that, a hulking brute with unnatural
hero to particularly overshadow strength might have scale d12
another. These are universes where strength. A character with such a
rodent-themed detectives and super- super-ability must have at least one
powered aliens have to coexist and adjective that fits the category.
both be useful in their way.
Professor Fabulous, for example,
might have superhuman Intellect d8
Superpowers and professional stretching powers.
Superpowers need to be covered The Indelible Bulk might have
in two separate ways. There are superhuman strength d10, and
the powers that outright defy the superhuman toughness d8.
laws of nature, and those where the Rat Man might use his superheroics
character is purely exceptional. suite to, instead, boost some of
his skills such as hand-to-hand
Powers for starting characters combat and detective to legendary
probably work best as ‘suites’ of levels, rather than using them for
three powers. superpowers per se.

Abilities that defy nature are defined

in the same manner as skills. So
you might have novice laser-vision,
or professional regeneration. These
partly just define what can be done
in the narrative – if you can fly then
you can fly. If you can phase through
walls you can do that naturally
without needing to roll (unless
phasing through something super-
dense or dimensionally scrambled).
Otherwise roll them as skills.