Each player begins the game session with a single action point. Action points are spent during the game to reroll the dice, add dice to a roll, influence the narrative of the game, or temporarily alter the rules of the game. Additional action points are earned during the game for accepting complications based on the hooks in a character’s description or at the Game Master’s discretion for exceptional role-playing that entertains the table in a memorable way.
Whenever an action point is spent, the player describes an event or action that allows them to benefit from the action point. The action point then either provides a specific dice benefit, narrative effect, or change in the rules.
Action points may be spent to reroll the dice for any ability check. If the player is not satisfied with their first ability check, they may roll again and choose which dice total to accept.
Action points may be spent to add dice to a roll at a 1:2 exchange. One action point adds 2D to a single ability check. The point may be spent after the initial roll has been made.
Action points may be spent to influence the narrative of the game in a way that does not necessarily provide a dice benefit. Spending an action point allows the player to add a new element to the scenario, alter an existing element in the scenario, or to describe an event that occurs in the scenario.
Action points may be spent to alter the rules of the game. This allows characters to temporarily gain 1D in skills in which they are not trained or to substitute one skill for another skill in an ability check.
For example:
The Gray Maus attempts to cast a spell on his hated enemy but fails his skill roll and the GM informs him that his magic is not strong enough. The Gray Maus delves into his slain master’s spellbook for a more powerful ritual and the player offers the GM an action point to try casting the spell again.
Dr. Hu tackles a complicated sonic engineering problem with only his screwdriver. “If only I had a hydrospanner, that would be something!” he declares. The player offers the GM an action point; the GM accepts and declares there is a hydrospanner in the toolbox that will add 2D to the ability check.
Rick O’Shea is getting pummeled by The Viper but can’t seem to get away. After a hard hit, the player says it would be nice if the floor gave way and Rick fell down to the first floor out of the Viper’s range. He offers the GM an action point.
Sure-Luck Homes is tailing a suspect through the streets of Lundyn. He asks if the fog rolling in from the River Tims is thick enough to provide concealment, and offers the GM an action point.
Cloon-E finds himself the last cyberclone standing after a firefight. Bending over his injured pod mate, Cloon wants to help out but does not have the cybernetics skill. The player states that Cloon-E just binged a popular medical drama and some of it ought to apply. The GM agrees and awards Cloon a temporary 1D skill in the trained skill cybernetics.
Roz insists that all of the paperwork be filled out correctly. Sullivan doesn’t have the communications skill he needs, but says that he knows how to talk to people. The player offers the GM an action point to let Sullivan use his contacts skills instead.
Action points may be awarded by the Game Master if a character accepts a negative narrative effect based on a character’s narrative background hooks. The complication may be offered by the GM or prompted by the player. The narrative effect should make the character’s situation more complicated by requiring them to make a decision that incurs a narrative cost, by making their actions more difficult, or both. The complication should not be easily overcome by a single skill check. The action point is awarded at the end of the scene.
Action points may be awarded at any point in time by the GM for exceptionally entertaining role-playing or for memorable gaming that involves the entire table.
Every element in the game is first described by its narrative before any abilities or die codes are ever assigned. The narrative description either directly or indirectly references abilities and hooks. The narrative description , or portions of the description, are summarized in a short phrase referred to as the concept.
An element’s concept determines whether or not the element has agency. An element with agency can make decisions and take actions; characters, opponents, and animals are examples of elements with agency. An element without agency may react to actions if appropriate but will not initiate them; traps, hazards, and computers are examples of elements without agency. The concept describes an element’s abilities in terms of the nature of those abilities, the scale of those abilities, and the scope of those abilities. The concept describes one or more hooks that are used to provide narrative happenstance and to stimulate the action point economy. An element may have as many concepts as needed and that make sense together.
The Nature of Abilities
An element’s concept describes what abilities are natural to the element. In the context of the game, every element is going to possess one of these natures.
Character: a character can move, speak, and manipulate objects. A character possesses agency. They possess the normal abilities of: Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, Perception, Presence, and Wits. Any element of the game that possesses agency is treated as a character, even if it does not possess the usual normal abilities.
Vehicle: a vehicle is a tool for transporting things and does not possess agency. A vehicle possesses the normal abilities of Body, Handling, and Speed.
Weapon: a weapon is a tool for damaging things and does not possess agency. A weapon possesses the normal abilities of Damage, Ammo, and Range.
Equipment: equipment is any tool that enables, disables, or modifies abilities but it does not possess agency. Equipment may have any ability in the game as a normal ability. Any ability the equipment allows a user to use is considered a normal ability for that user. Any ability used by equipment but not by its user is considered extranormal for that user.
Object: an object is any element in the game that is not a character or a tool and does not possess agency. Objects may have any ability in the game as a normal ability.
The Scale of Abilities
An element’s scale describes the level of effect at which abilities operate. A element is said to have parity of scale with something if it can reasonably affect or compete with it. Acting against something of a different scale results in a disparity of scale. Abilities that operate at a lower scale than their target are less effective or not effective at all. Abilities that operate at a higher scale than their target are more effective or overwhelmingly effective. Scale is necessarily progressivein the same way as conditions. Disparity of scale affects the result points of an action by reducing (lower scale) or adding (higher scale) 5 result points to the action total per level of disparity.
Size
Damage
Speed
Social Status
Tiny
Mouse
Human
Serf
Small
Housecat
Horse
Peasant
Medium
Human
Car
Merchant
Large
Bear
Airplane
Knight
Huge
Truck
Jet
Ruler
Examples of Scale
The Scope of Abilities
An element’s scope describes the range of effects upon which an ability operates. Elements may affect things which are within their scope normally, and things which are outside their scope to a lesser degree or not at all. Scope is not progressive; a broader scope may include more limited scopes wholly or partially. The degree and way in which an element affects something outside of its scope is determined by the Game Master on a case-by-case basis.
There are many ways an element may affect something outside of its scope. When a target is outside the scope of an element, it may, for example, have an increased difficulty to create conditions, the possible effects may be different, or the result points may be affected. If a scope partially or fully encompasses another element’s scope, it provides no additional effects to the results.
Tech Level
Jurisdiction
Movement
Mental Telepathy
Stone Age
Own Property
Underwater
Animals
Iron Age
Neighborhood
Land
People
Electronic Age
City
Vertical Surfaces
Living Creatures
Nuclear Age
County
Flight
Monsters
Quantum Age
State
Micro-Gravity
Energy Beings
Examples of Scope
Hooks
Hooks are short phrases or single words from the narrative description that provide a narrative justification for a happenstance or an extranormal ability. Conditionsare a type of hook with some pre-defined mechanical and narrative effects.
Hooks Provide Abilities
An ability hook allows a character to posses an extranormal ability. Ability hooks do not require activation. A character with an ability hook has access to extranormal abilities, but they must spend action points to make extranormal ability rolls until they have at least 1 full rank in the extranormal ability.
Examples of ability hooks:
Trevor Stevens was a test pilot in a plane crash. He was rebuilt with bionic limbs. Trevor has the extranormal ability: cybernetics, which augments his athletic ability.
Carra Radine is a monk who has spent years honing his martial art skills and mastering mind-over-body. His fists can shatter steel. Carra has the extranormal ability: chi mastery, which allows him to match the damage scale of an opponent.
Man-Spider is a man who bit a radioactive spider; he has developed great powers which he uses responsibly. Man-Spider has the extranormal ability: totem power (spider), which allows him to walk on vertical surfaces.
Hooks Influence the Narrative
A narrative hook uses the action point economy to create narrative happenstance, to allow characters to temporarily use abilities they don’t have, or to allow characters to use abilities in normally disallowed ways. A narrative hook always requires activation by making an ability check with a relevant skill or through the expenditure of an action point. A narrative effect makes the character’s actions more efficient or effective in a specific way.
Just as a player can spend an action point to influence the narrative of the game in a character’s favor, the Game Master can award an action point to a player in order to make a character’s life more complicated. Players need not wait for the Game Master to do this. A player can suggest a narrative complication for their character; if the Game Master accepts, the scenario gets more interesting and the character is awarded an action point at the end of the scene. A narrative complication should involve hooks that make the character’s actions more costly or difficult in a specific way.
Examples of narrative hooks:
Trevor Stevens is staring at a nuclear device with only moments left until detonation. He does not have any skills that would let him disarm the bomb. Trevor’s player declares that if Trevor can interface his cybernetic arm with the bomb’s detonator, he might be able to disarm it, and he offers the GM an action point. The GM accepts, and Trevor attempts to disarm the bomb using his ranks in cybernetics.
Carra Radine is fighting an armored battlesuit in an abandoned warehouse. The battlesuit is tracking him with laser imaging and Carra can’t get close enough to punch. Carra’s player declares that if Carra triggers the fire suppressant system, the constant heavy downpour would interfere with the laser imaging. The GM assigns an ability check and difficulty number to the action; if Carra’s ability check is successful, the battlesuit will have Disadvantage on its targeting checks.
Man-Spider is fighting his arch-enemy The Octopus Doctor and it looks like the fight is about over. As the fight is about to end, a street punk grabs an old lady’s purse and flees. The Game Master notes that Man-Spider must use his power responsibly, and should try to stop the purse-snatcher as well as the arch-villain. Man-Spider’s player accepts the complication, and is forced to split his actions between the two opponents. The action point is awarded at the end of the scene.
A System Reference Document and Development Forum for OpenD6.
