Full rules for universal gameplay across genres.
Extensive examples of weapons and armor to choose from.
An innovative Combat Ring “health meter” system.
Easily Understood Key Feats to cover all scenarios.
Customizable Feats for personalized characters.
Simple and automatic character upgrade options. Level up your character in the middle of a fight!
An included game module HOLLOWED GROUND with ten ready-to-play character types for immediate fun in a classic fantasy setting.
The NO DICE Core Rules contains:
No Dice is a role-playing system that empowers players by allowing them to control their successes and failures, fostering collaborative and character-driven storytelling. Instead of relying on random die rolls to determine the outcomes of actions, called Feats, results are decided by spending Success Tokens. Spent tokens are added to the relevant character Stat and the total determines the success of that Feat.
The Basics of NO DICE Gameplay
The Name of the Game Means Failure, Because Failure is Important!
Tokens can be earned when players choose to fail a Feat. This is also when players can earn experience points that grant them new Feats and other improvements. Each character has unique Feats from their Character Playsheet, alongside the game’s Key Feats that all players can do. These abilities will allow a character to navigate the challenges the adventure throws at them.
The Combat Ring
Rather than utilizing a standard “Health Meter” player characters in the NO DICE Role-playing System each have a customized “Combat Ring” to help them predict how injured they might become during a fight. The Combat Ring allows players to gauge what is likely to happen as they battle and provides opportunities to avoid injury through clever gameplay. Players can judge how much damage (or “Stress”) enemies are inflicting, and use that information to react to those attacks in such a way that the “Injury Spaces” on the Combat Ring are skipped over instead of landed on. Getting good at manipulating a battle like that takes practice and is not easy, but this is combat… it’s not supposed to be easy.
The NO DICE system uses a unique set of core actions, called Key Feats, that allow players to interact with the game world and perform significant actions. Each Key Feat represents a broad category of activities, covering a wide range of potential actions a character might take. They act as the foundation for the system’s storytelling and combat mechanics, providing players with a structured yet flexible way to succeed, fail, and earn rewards.
Whenever a character attempts a meaningful or risky action, they will likely use a Key Feat. Players determine how successful they want to be by choosing a level of success and paying the appropriate number of Tokens to boost their character’s Stat. Each Key Feat uses a specific Stat to modify the action, helping to determine the final result.
Key Feats are designed to make every action significant and purposeful. The NO DICE system lets players decide when to succeed and when to fail, making gameplay dynamic and driven by character decisions rather than random dice rolls. Using these Key Feats effectively can turn a good story into a great one and ensure every character has a chance to shine in the adventure!
Key Feats in NO DICE gameplay
The character playsheets include several sections to help define your character, such as “Portrayed By,” “Physical Info,” and “Style of Dress.” Players are encouraged to fill these out before the game starts to provide a clear visual reference for their character’s appearance.
The "Portrayed By" section allows everyone to imagine the character as played by any actor at a desired age, offering a quick and easy visual touchpoint. The "Physical Info" space is for unique traits that set your character apart: purple hair, a scar, an eyepatch, etc. "Style of Dress" describes the general style of clothing a character wears rather than listing specific garments.
Additionally, players can note their character’s general personality, motivation, and personal struggles. Players may fill these out before gameplay but are not required to. It is understandable to develop such traits as the game progresses. These initial choices help guide the player’s actions but are flexible, allowing for character development as the story unfolds.
Character Traits
In NO DICE, characters manage their equipment through a concept called the “Kit.” Instead of itemizing every piece of equipment, players simply describe the type of gear they carry, such as “camping gear,” “film equipment,” or “a lunchbox.” This broad description allows players to creatively justify having specific items when needed.
For example, a player with a “camping gear” Kit might say, “My kit includes a mallet for pounding in tent stakes” to use it as a weapon after losing their knife. Similarly, a player with “film equipment” could argue, “I can bind their hands with the charging cord to my video camera.” A lunchbox might hold food for luring creatures, plastic baggies for preserving evidence, or a thermos for capturing a dangerous insect.
The goal is to encourage creativity and imagination, freeing players from the burden of tracking every item in their inventory.
Your Kit
Custom Feats are designed to highlight your character's unique abilities or traits, establishing rules that reflect their existing skills or introduce new options tailored to them. To create a Custom Feat, follow these two simple steps:
Determine When the Feat Applies: Identify the specific situations or conditions that will trigger the use of this Feat. It shouldn’t be applicable at all times, so choose contexts where it will be most effective.
Decide What the Feat Does: A Custom Feat typically provides a special effect when the triggering conditions are met. Common effects include:
Increasing the number of Tokens spent or gained
Boosting the amount of Stress inflicted on an opponent
Raising a character’s Armor Rating
Adding a ⊕Bonus-Effect during a Clash or Snipe
Granting special access to the Spellcast Effects Table
However, Custom Feats can extend beyond these examples; they can be tailored to fit your character's theme and playstyle. Some may be situational, while others could be quite powerful. The aim is to create something that enhances the character's narrative while maintaining game balance. Collaboration between players and GMs is essential, and if issues arise during gameplay, they should work together to adjust the Feat for balance and functionality.
Custom Feats
Combat begins when a player or the GM decides to attack. If an NPC attacks a player's character, the player will choose to Defend or Help. On their turn, players can use actions like Clash, Snipe, Spellcast, or Achieve. As combat unfolds, other players and NPCs may join the fight.
Gameplay proceeds in organized turns, with each player and NPC getting an equal chance to engage. The GM determines the order of turns, reflecting the narrative, but players should plan their actions or jump in as appropriate. As long as everyone participates once per round, the flow remains smooth.
Standard attacks are not "Called Shots." While players can specify a target area, these attacks are generally less precise. Unless a "Bypass Armor" effect is used, attacks may hit different areas of an enemy, impacting how much health is lost. Significant damage may result in an Injury, while less effective hits might lead to the GM narrating a near miss. Regardless, all attacks inflict Stress as players reduce the enemy's Health Meter, with more impactful hits potentially inflicting Injuries.
How Combat Works
In NO DICE, spellcasting is a dynamic and collaborative process that empowers players to create unique and powerful magic tailored to their characters. Here's how it works:
Choose a Spell Effect: Select a spell effect from the Spellcast table. This table includes common spell effects like strengthening or weakening armor, summoning a creature, inflicting Stress, moving an object, etc. If you want to perform an effect not listed, discuss it with the GM to determine where it fits on the table. If the spell effect is within your experience level, you can access it.
Create the Spell: While the spell effect may come from a table, the spell itself is your creation. Collaborate with the GM to decide the spell's appearance and casting method. For example, a "Move a small object" effect could involve a spectral hand materializing, the object sprouting legs, a tremor shaking it loose, or a spider carrying it away. This approach fosters creativity and ensures the spell aligns with your character's theme.
The GM may require some criteria to cast a spell, such as: Specific gestures or movements, certain magical components, writing magical symbols maintaining focus to sustain the spell, or using a magical item (staff, wand, rod, etc.).
The player must then decide how successful they wish to be at the spell, and spend the appropriate number of tokens.
Amazing Result: The spell exceeds expectations. You can add an additional label to enhance the effect, such as a wider area of effect, additional stress inflicted, increased range, a called shot, extra effects like “Stun,” “Bypass Armor,” or “Disarm,” etc.
Big Success: The spell works perfectly, without any issues.
Success: The spell works, but with an issue. Possible issues include: You take Stress Bypass-Armor, the spell has a reduced range, the spell has a shortened duration, etc.
Fail: The spell fizzles and does nothing, potentially attracting unwanted attention.
Penalty Token Fail: The spell goes haywire, causing escalating trouble as long as you possess a Penalty Token. The GM uses this to disrupt your plans and harm you and your allies.
Once the spell's details are decided, the spell is cast, and the narrative continues with this new, fantastic event having occurred.