The APRPG Format

THE APRPG

(Or All-Purpose Role-Playing Game)

    The APRPG is my utterly fruitless endeavor to create a grand, unified rules-lite RPG. Like GURPS, except it doesn't give you migraines. It's a sort of mix between Powered By The Apocalypse and FATE, as well as a few additional things. Sure, maybe it's not original, but that doesn't mean it can't be good. It started as a project I undertook because I couldn't afford the D&D sourcebooks, but then I kept doing it because it was so much simpler than D&D. It was easy to get into for new players (like my whole group was at the time) and I believe it's improved since then.

How It Works

    The APRPG plays along the same lines as Powered By The Apocalypse, where the GM does not have to roll (no its not because i roll terribly shut up) and all the players (of which there ought to be around 3-5) roll using two six-sided die plus their applicable modifiers. The number they roll is indicative of their degree of success. Anything above a 10 is a Full Success, the APRPG equivalent of a natural 20. It's the best possible degree of success according to the character's ability with no (or at least minimal) drawbacks. Anything from 7 to 9 is a Mixed Success, so the roll will mostly succeed, with possible drawbacks, complications, and other fun stuff. Anything 6 or below is a Failure, which, well, fails. Depending on the context of the situation, anything is possible, from mild embarrassment to instant death, and anything in between. Probably not instant death, forget I said that. 

    The roll isn't the only thing that you need, though. Remember those "applicable modifiers" I mentioned earlier? This is where they come in. There are five skills (or stats, or attributes, or whatever you want to call them) that can modify your rolls. 

Strong concerns physical fortitude, be it strength or toughness. If you wanted to punch out a goon, or stop a runaway train with your own body, you would roll +Strong.

Swift concerns speed, dexterity, and sleight of hand. If you wanted to pickpocket someone, run to cover under heavy gunfire, or do a sweet backflip, you would roll +Swift.

Smooth concerns social acumen and the ability to keep cool under pressure. If you wanted to convince someone of something, or construct a clever disguise, you would roll +Smooth.

Sharp concerns the acuity of one's mind. If you wanted to investigate a crime scene, hack into a computer, or construct an elaborate contraption, you would roll +Sharp.

Strange concerns magic, psionics, and general weirdness If you wanted to summon a demon, use telekinesis to crush a car, or read someone's mind, you would roll +Strange. Strange is unique in that it is optional to use, since not every setting has magic, psychics, or anything that would involve overall weirdness. If you don't have those things in your setting and still want to use Strange, I would recommend flavoring Strange as a unique "knack" of some sort, for those rolls that really don't fall under any category but are too awesome and important to ignore.

    These skills come with a list of modifiers to distribute among them. The modifiers are as follows: 

+2, +1, 0, -2, -1

    Each modifier can only be used once. (For example, if you chose a +2 to Sharp, you cannot assign that +2 anywhere else.)

    In addition to these skills, you also have your Aspects. Aspects are something I borrowed from FATE, and then bashed into the shape I desired with a rusty tire iron. These define your character's Traits and Flaws. A Trait is typically something good about your character (a unique talent, a proficiency, something about them as a person) while a Flaw is usually a hindrance (a past trauma that rears its ugly head, a family curse, an infestation of nanomachines that consumes them from the inside out, etc.) In this system, I usually insist on two Traits and one Flaw at character creation. Some players and/or readers may be thinking, "If I can pick my own Flaw, what's to stop me from creating something minor and convenient?" Well, nothing, technically. Except your own sense of integrity. 

    It's worth noting that these Aspects are not flat mechanical bonuses, that's crunchy and boring. Instead, you can invoke these Aspects during play to justify your character being able to do something, or to aid them in doing such. For example, here is a possible Aspect setup:

Trait- Survivalist: Your time spent in the Maddening Wilds has granted you expert survival skills.

Trait- Something Ain't Right: Living as you have, you gotta keep your head on a swivel. As such, you're pretty damn hard to surprise.

Flaw- Say That To My Face: You've got a serious anger problem, and are likely to respond to any perceived insult with violence. Just about anything could set you off.

Let's see how that would play out in a scene.

GM: You're sitting at the bar, drinking bottom-shelf booze as you usually do, when you hear a creak of floorboards behind you. 

Player: I'm gonna turn around before they get to me, tip my hat and say "Been expectin' you."

GM: The waiter seems surprised, raising an eyebrow as he takes your empty glass. 

Player: "You got somethin' to say t'me?" 

GM: "No, simply removing sir's glass. While I have you here, would sir intend on paying his tab any time soon?"

Player: That sounds like it would set me off. Should I roll anything to keep my cool or something?

GM: Yeah, just roll +Smooth. 

Player: Okay, so that's a...6. Can I invoke Survivalist to bring that up to a Mixed Success?

GM: Sure, if you can explain how.

Player: Hmm. Yeah, I got nothing. I'm gonna go off on this guy then.

    Note: you will accrue additional Traits and Flaws as the game progresses, so don't try to be good at everything at once. Some of the most fun parts of the game are contending with flaws!

Harm, Experience, Stress, and Luck

    One thing about the APRPG system is that it makes very different assumptions than D&D. D&D assumes that your party has multiple renewable healing resources and ways to prevent (or even come back from) character death. APRPG doesn't have those same safety nets, or at least it doesn't always have them. Combat is dangerous. Anything and everything has lethal potential. To that end, you have a selection of attributes representing your physical health, mental health, experience, and luck.

    The first, Harm, is how much damage you can receive without dying. However, just because you’re above your Harm threshold doesn’t mean you’re out of danger. Should you acquire more than 4 Harm, you will become Unstable. When Unstable, you could take on additional Conditions and Harm. In addition, just because you heal back past Unstable does not mean you are stabilized. To become stabilized, you will need to undertake additional healing, either through use of a healing item, resting, or visiting a doctor. 

    In addition to Harm, damage may result in you acquiring a Condition. A Condition is something that affects a character’s physical or mental state. Physical Conditions can be as mild as “Knocked Prone” to as severe as “Missing a Limb.” Mental Conditions can range in severity from “Frightened” to “Gibbering Lunatic.” If Conditions are left too long, they could become permanent Flaws. Upon leveling up, you can choose to remove a Condition.

    The second, Stress, is representative of your mental health. Witnessing the horrors of the Beneath is a surefire way to increase in Stress, but there are other ways as well. When receiving a negative physical Condition such as Unstable, you may instead choose to mark Stress equal to the severity of the Condition, decided by GM ruling. When you mark more than 4 Stress, you will become Shaken. When Shaken, you could take on additional traumas and Stress. However, unlike in the case of Harm, reaching full Stress does not mean death. Instead, it means that any negative mental Conditions you have received could become a Flaw.

    However, going insane and losing limbs is, if nothing else, a learning experience. To that end, Experience tracks how your character grows and changes over time. Experience can be gained in two ways: by rolling a 6 or below, or by answering questions at the end of every session. The questions are as follows:

• Did we complete a mission?

• Did we save someone?

• Did we win or avoid a fight?

• Did we learn something new and important about the world?

• Did we learn something new and important about one of the characters?

    Rolling a 6 or below grants one Experience, answering one or two questions grants one Experience, answering three or four grants two Experience, and answering all five grants three Experience. To level up, you will need five Experience. Leveling up happens in the moment, meaning that gameplay is paused until the player (or players) picks one of the following options:

• Add +1 to a Skill of your choice (Maximum of +3)

• Add a Trait

• Improve an existing Trait

• Lessen or remove a Condition

• Instantly heal one Harm

• Remove one point of Stress

• Stabilize yourself

After leveling up, remember to clear your Experience track.

    Despite the benefits of Experience, there are certain circumstances in which one might seek to avoid rolling low. To that end, you have 8 Luck to spend at any time to retroactively change the result of a roll to a 12 or ignore all Harm and Conditions from a wound. As you mark more Luck, your fate grows steadily worse, and your character will fall into more difficult circumstances. Once you fill your Luck track, drafting a will might be in your best interest, as your character is likely not long for this world.

Combat

    Combat is occasionally unavoidable. In Combat, the players must decide their order of initiative. Enemies cannot attack unless there is an opportunity for them to do so, or when clashing with a player. Combat is resolved the same way as most things in APRPG, by rolling 2d6 plus a Skill. The Skill can be any one of them, as long as you can justify it in-story.  Upon rolling your attack, you will have a variety of options available to you.

On a Full Success (10+)

• Strike Viciously (+1 Harm)

• Keep Your Guard Up (-1 Harm)

• Seize an Advantage (+1 to your next attack)

• Reveal a Weakness (+1 to another player)

• Force Them Where You Want Them

On a Mixed Success (7-9)

• You and your target exchange Harm, if the target is capable of fighting back.

On a Failure (6 and Below)

• You fail to strike the target, but they can strike you.

Conclusion

    And that's the entire system. It's maybe three pages in length, and super easy to learn. It can be adapted to just about any setting. At least, I think so. It's still under development and playtesting, but feel free to use it in its current form (just don't say it was your own creation.) Any feedback, questions, comments, and concerns can be commented on this post or sent to therealalanaubrey@gmail.com. I hope you enjoy!