Regulus

Rudimentary Rules for Regulus

Below is the simple framework for Regulus and how it operates when not resolving a Job. When on a Job the Job Resolution rules are used instead.

Prerequisites

Before diving into these rules, It is assumed you have read and digested two short wiki pages:

• Quick Introduction
• Getting Started

Narrative Play

Contests

As the game's story is narrated by the players, something risky will eventually come into play. A player's character might pull out a pistol and shoot a security droid, or they might hack into a secure system. In these risky cases, where the outcome of an action or sequence of actions is heavily influenced by chance, dice are rolled to determine the outcome. The Director is the ultimate authority on what is and what is not a contest, see COST.

The first step of this type of roll is to define what the player wants for their character, the desired outcome. The die roll will determine whether they get that outcome, along with any additional issues that might arise. If the character draws a pistol and shoots a security droid, the player might define the outcome as 'incapacitating the droid'.

The second step is figuring out the type of action the character is taking. Once you have a grasp of that, the player can determine whether they have Leverage to attain their outcome. Leverage is anything on the character sheet that gives the character an advantage in the situation. Continuing the pistol example, a Quality like 'Soldier' or 'Marksman', even 'Lightning Reflexes' would provide Leverage for the contest.

The player may now also find additional Leverage towards the outcome. This means that if they have more rules on their sheet that apply in this situation, they get Leverage on their roll for each one, up to a maximum of three. For each Leverage in excess of the first, the player can choose one of the options for the rolls below:

• Add one additional die to the roll.
• Replace one of the rolled dice with an eight-sided die.
• You may discard a single result of 1 from the roll.
• You can re-roll one rolled die.
• Mark up Luck.

Each of these options is available only once in a contest. The player may now also decide to spend one Fortune token to add one additional die to the roll (this can be combined with the die option above to get 3 dice in total).

Now, once we have figured out Leverage, the roll can be made, and the dice are cast! If there is no leverage, use the 0 leverage column below; if you have 1 or more Leverage, use the 1+ column instead. If more than one die is rolled, keep the highest as the result, but always note if any dice show a 1 because that is bad. Look up the result in the table below:

The outcome in the result table is a direct indicator of whether the player gets what they want for their character. That said, each result that isn't as simple as No or Yes needs some clarity:

• Maybe: Things got complicated, and the outcome isn't immediately in favor of the character. The Director creates the complication in the narration, and the player can either accept the result of No or push the contest. If choosing to push, re-roll with one more die (max of 3), using the 0 leverage column.
• Possibly: An issue has arisen. The Director (or a player with the Director's approval) creates an interesting issue that arises from the contest's narrative, then either accepts that issue to earn a Yes result or does not and takes a No. Taking a No avoids the issue.
• ! - Exclamation: This is narrative code for 'and'. A Yes! result is 'Yes, and ...' where the player gets even more than they wanted in the end. No! is 'No, and ...' where not only did the player not get what they want, but an issue is now narrated (like 'Possibly, but no choice here').
• Hell No: Where to start! Well, this result has gone sideways in a way where the character might be telling stories about the incident for years to come. Crowd source this kind of disaster of an outcome with the playing group, with the Director having final approval.

Paying Luck

If the contest has 0 Leverage, the player may pay 1 level of Luck to create 1 Leverage. The Director and player create a lucky circumstance that provides that for the contest.

Challenge

If the Director thinks the outcome is particularly unlikely, because the contest in the fiction is exceedingly difficult, for example, they may give it levels of challenge:

1. Use one level of challenge for a quite difficult or unlikely outcome.
2. Use two levels of challenge for a contest that is wildly unlikely or challenging.
3. Use three levels of challenge for a Herculean, almost impossible contest.

For each level of challenge, the Director rolls a six-sided die; if it comes up 4+, the player's roll result is reduced by 1 (gets a -1 penalty).

Checks

Checks are situations that test a character’s ratings. Ratings may come directly from a character sheet, or be something established in a Situation for a character. In either circumstance, the character will have a level rating, and we will use that for the check dice roll.

A Check is triggered by something in the fiction and is a passive ordeal. Here are some examples of Checks:

• Your character attempts to secure expensive tickets for an important gala to attend and meet a diplomat. This is a Wealth Check for the character.
• Your character is stopped at a secure checkpoint during a sweep for illegal software. This is a Security Check for the character.

Checks are handled simply: the player rolls two six-sided dice, adds them together, and adds their Rating Level. If the total of the dice and Level is 10+ (or higher for difficult checks), they pass.

The exact meaning of success or failure is determined by the Director, given the narrative. For the tickets example, the character would not be able to secure the tickets and would need to find another way into the gala.

Difficulty: The Difficulty of a Check depends on how high the Director sets the bar for success. The Director should think in terms of reasons, each reason being one aspect of the Check that makes it harder to pass. The basic rule is that for each reason that hinders the character, add 2 to the target number, never exceeding 16. To continue the ‘tickets to the gala’ example, if the Director decides it is ‘THE gala of the year’, that would be a reason to increase the target from 10 to 12.

Tests

A Test resolves a simple question in the fiction. A Test is warranted for simple situations. Complicated ones are resolved with Contests and Challenges above. Usually, the framework for a Test is the player asking the Director a question. Here is an example:

Tests are a simple die roll that succeeds on 4+ at the start. If a player has clear Means to succeed, decrease the target by one: 3+. If they can leverage more, reduce again: 2+. If the Director feels the test is particularly hard or unlikely, they may shift it up one: 5+ to start.

Success means the character gets the answer to their question properly and accurately. Failure means the character gets the opinion of the Director instead, for better or worse.

Luck: For any test a player may opt to mark down Luck to succeed without rolling, or mark up Luck to fail without rolling.

Strings

Strings are the main way in which the rules support the core idea of narrative matters. A String at its core is a short phrase or single sentence with impact on one or more characters. Let’s explore a simple example String: ‘Hunted by Inspector Luther’. This String establishes a narrative state or condition. Now let’s attach a character to the string, after a colon: ‘Hunted by Inspector Luther: Iris’. This means that Iris (player character) is affected by the String's condition.

The Director has implicit authority to introduce Strings into the game, though they should also be willing to allow dispute and resolution via Contest or Challenge if a player can make a valid argument for that case. Players can introduce Strings into the game via the Yes! (and Yes!!) results in Contests. This occurs at the end of the Contest or Situation (enclosing the Contest).

If a Player wants to introduce a String outside the result of a Contest, the Director should decide if it’s possible. If so, then the Director should set up fictional conditions that must be achieved to establish the String. Let’s explore how that works with an example.

Strings can be marked (each a markdown or markup) and have a level. When a String is introduced, it is level 0. Strings that conflict and are of the same level don’t resolve, but the Director and player can use them as Means or leverage in Contests & Challenges. Strings that exceed the level of another trump them. When a String has three marks, they are removed, and it resolves. If it has more markup marks, it increases by one level of truth. If it has more markdown marks, it decreases one level of truth. If a String hits -1 level of Truth it becomes a special String called a Lie that the Director gets to use in play from that point on.

Props

Sometimes you just need the right tool to get the job done. Enter props. These are important and influential things your operative might employ to complete a task. Props in general provide Means/leverage for Contests and Challenges, but they also can be used to bolster the job workup made before Job Resolution is started.

Situations

A Situation is a set of circumstances that must be expressly resolved before narration can continue. This is a pressing matter that can’t be ignored, and may involve one or more players’ characters. Example Situations are Combat, Chases, Escapes, Interrogations, Diplomacy, and so on. Loose ideas for handling them are presented below. However, any pressing matter can become a situation, and these are just guidelines for play.