There are three pillars of gaming in a FreeD6 game: skirmish, social interaction, and problem-solving. Role-playing means approaching each of these pillars using the attitude and abilities of a created character. The results of the game create the emergent narrative which feeds memorable role-playing. The three pillars are the ways in which characters interact with the setting of the game.
The Skirmish Game
The skirmish game allows players to make tactical decisions and resolve conflict within a tactical framework. Skirmish conflicts involve tactical scenes in which the order of action is important and in which the players are being actively opposed by the environment or other characters. Some common skirmish conflicts are melee combat, ranged combat, and pursuits.
The skirmish game is essentially a contest of resource depletion, where characters try to create damage or composure conditions on their opponent in an attempt to take them out of action.
| Melee Skills | Shootout Skills | Pursuit Skills | Vehicle Skills | Argument Skills |
| brawling | stamina | athletics | pilot | discipline |
| melee weapons | acrobatics | acrobatics | operations | insight |
| lifting | stealth | stealth | communications | fast-talk |
| stamina | shooting | pilot | repair | taunt |
| light weapons | survival | survival | tactics | pressure |
| survival | tactics | tactics | command |
The Social Interaction Game
The social interaction game allows characters to interact with non-player characters and cause them to make decisions or take actions. Social interaction conflicts involve dramatic scenes or simple checks in which the order of action is not important, and which allows the characters to influence the behavior of NPCs. Some common social interactions are bluffing your way past a guard, interrogating a source of information, and charming your way into a mark’s good graces.
Social interaction is a way to control the actions and decisions of other characters in the setting. Social interactions allow players to force a reaction, prompt an action, coerce a decision, or weaken an opposing character’s resolve. The social interaction game involves an attempt to influence and control the decisions and actions of opposed characters.
A back-and-forth argument, or any type of verbal battle, is a type of social interaction. An argument conflict typically takes place for the purpose of impressing an audience rather than as an attempt to influence a character. Some examples of argument conflicts are: courtroom trial, formal debate, stage microphone battle (eg, rap or poetry), or schoolyard put-downs.
The social interaction game is essentially a press-your-luck exercise in which characters attempt to gain advantages or concessions from their target until they either cease to press their influence or they fail badly enough to lose all of their progress.
| Skills to Convince | Skills to Coerce |
| insight (resistance) | discipline (resistance) |
| bluff | rapport |
| fast-talk | taunt |
| charm | intimidate |
| command | pressure |
The Problem-Solving Game
The problem-solving game allows players to interact with otherwise passive elements of the setting in a dramatic scene or a simple check. Problem-solving conflicts involve dramatic scenes or isolated decision points in which the order of action is not important, and which allows characters to explore the setting and to react to the actions of the environment or other characters. Some common problem-solving conflicts are disabling traps, crossing treacherous terrain, and tracking a target.
Exploring the setting and making decisions about where to go and what to do next are also forms of problem-solving. Any time a player is presented with incomplete information, confronted with a situation that requires a reaction, or offered a choice between courses of action, they engage in a form of problem-solving. The problem-solving game includes interaction with characters and obstacles that are not actively opposed to the players in order to determine the outcome and effectiveness of the NPC actions. Problem-solving includes crafting traps, preparing equipment, conducting investigations, and exploring locations.
The problem-solving game is essentially a timed opportunity-cost game in which a player attempts to accomplish a goal within a limited time frame.
| Investigation Skills | Preparation Skills | Exploration Skills | Infiltration Skills |
| technical | research | survival | stealth |
| contacts | repair | technical | tradecraft |
| research | tactics | repair | fast-talk |
| surveillance | operations | acrobatics | communications |
| survival | tradecraft | athletics | bluff |
| communications | contacts | tradecraft | charm |
