Lights In The Night RPG

There are things out there that prey on the innocent. With abilities defying mortal comprehension,
they hide in the dark places of the world, sneaking out at night to strike fear into the hearts of
people everywhere, condemning them to terrible and unknowable fates.
You are not one of them. You know them all too well, and you won’t let them succeed. You live to
protect and comfort those innocent, ignorant people. Your otherworldly powers are at humanity’s
service, and while you are still able, they will be protected from the things that form nightmares.
You are the Lights In The Night
And you will see that the next dawn comes

What is a tabletop roleplaying game (TTRPG)?

A TTRPG is a co-operative storytelling exercise, in which a group of people come together to write
a story. Despite the term ‘game’, there is no winner or loser. The system provides a framework for
telling the story, providing things like guidelines to ensure everyone has fun, and balanced methods
of resolving uncertain events.

What is The Lights In The Night?

The Lights In The Night is a small Tabletop RPG about those with extraordinary powers defending
innocent people from the things that go bump in the night, feeding humanity’s nightmares. You do
so not out of hope for reward, but simply because if you don’t, who else will?
You’re not just limited to defending your charges from supernatural threats, of course. When the
dawn comes and the creatures of darkness return to their lairs, you are free to use your powers to
comfort the innocent in the face of their mundane challenges.

How to play The Lights In The Night

The Lights In The Night needs 3-7 players to play. One of these players is the Game Master (GM).
They formulate a scenario, and control Non-player Characters (NPCs). They present the other
players with a challenge that they must resolve. The other players take control of Player Characters
(PCs), controlling their actions and interactions with the world.

Action Resolution
Most actions within the game, such as a character going to grab a glass of water, can be resolved
just using basic logic about what would happen. If the task is difficult and has a notable chance of
failure, however, then use the following process.
First, the player selects one of their relevant abilities. Then, the GM secretly sets a difficulty as a
number, according to the guideline below
0 – If you can do it, you can always do it
1 – Straightforward
2 – Tough
3 – Challenging
4 – Immense
Then, for every rank in the relevant ability, the player rolls a d6. For every one that comes up 4, 5 or
6, the player gains a ‘success’. If the player has equal to or more than the difficulty rating, the
character accomplishes whatever they were trying to.

Assistance
Sometimes, multiple characters wish to work together on a task. If this is the case, one is selected to
be the main actor, and others assist. First, the assistants roll the abilities they’re using. For every
success they get, the main actor rolls an additional dice when they make their roll, performing the
action proper
It’s likely that it doesn’t make sense for more than a certain number of people to assist, or that every
additional assistant would have diminishing returns in terms of help. In these cases, the GM can set
a maximum number of people that can assist. If the GM allows, characters may instead assist other
assistants, helping them get more successes.

Simple check
If conducting a mundane task that everyone of their skill level should be able to do easily, a PC may
request a Simple Check. In this case, the PC is treated as having rolled half (rounded down) their
skill in successes.

Character creation
Each character consists of a list of abilities with a given number of ranks, and a base willpower. The
base willpower of any starting character is 10.
To determine a PCs abilities at character creation, each player gets 45 ranks to distribute between as
many abilities as they wish. Each ability must not have more than 10 ranks

Abilities

Human abilities
The following abilities are standard for any human, who will have at least one rank in each of them
(with the possible exception of the very young). The average human will have 3 or 4 ranks, though
well-trained ones might get up to 8

Athletics
This ability covers using moving your body in the way you want under your own power. All
animals have this ability, and some machines have it too.
0: Walk down the street, pick up a small rock
1: Jog for a minute or two, catch a fast ball
2: Jump a few meters, keep several kilos above your head
3: Sprint for a minute, do complex acrobatics
4: Lift over a hundred kilos, climb a tall wall

Knowledge
This ability handles knowledge about the natural world, still useful even considering your task. It
also handles processing information. Almost all intelligent beings have this ability, except maybe
those that deliberately pay no attention to the human world.
One may use this skill to introduce a fact. To do so, one states the fact that they wish to introduce.
Then, the GM sets a difficulty based on how beneficial it would be to the introducer and how
experience on would need to be to know it. The GM is encouraged to make the difficulty very high.
Then, the character makes the Knowledge roll. If successful, the fact becomes true for the
remainder of the game.
0: Speak common knowledge, do simple one-line mathematics.
1: Know high-school level science, solve a logic problem
2: Perform algebra calculations, know unusual trivia
3: Solve complex logical problems, know university-level science
4: Know cutting-edge scientific breakthroughs, Prove complex mathematical theorems.

Lore
This ability covers knowledge about the supernatural, and how it works. While it confers no ability
to cast spells itself, it will allow you to manipulate existing sorceries, such as redirecting a spell.
Unlike the other human abilities, most people don’t have this, though they require little additional
help to get it other than a source of information on the supernatural.
This skill may introduce facts like the Knowledge ability, but on things concerning the supernatural
rather than the natural.
0: Summarise the traits of famous supernatural entities, know the supernatural exists
1: Detail famous supernatural powers, slightly weaken a hostile spell
2: Summarise obscure supernatural entities, recognise supernatural phenomena
3: Detail obscure supernatural entities, significantly boost a friendly spell
4: Analyse a previously unknown supernatural entity, recognise subtle magics

Influence
This ability covers communicating ideas and handling people’s emotions. This can be used to
comfort someone in fear, or persuade them to help you. Pretty much anything that can talk has this
ability.
0: Tell someone a basic fact, ask someone to calm down
1: Convey an unusual idea, sooth someone that has seen something mundane but disturbing
2: Trick someone into revealing a secret, calm someone angry down
3: Lie to a practised mentalist, soothe someone that has seen something horrible for the first time
4: Calm someone in an irrational rage, convey knowledge not meant for human minds

Courage
This ability is one’s capacity to control their emotions, especially fear. It allows to to resist social
pressure, and face down horrid creatures. All creatures that can make decisions for themselves have
this ability
0: Ignore an obvious falsehood, look at something unpleasant
1: Reject a friend doing something wrong, face something disturbing
2: Reject a tempting offer, stay calm in a scary environment
3: Ignore charismatic political discourse, stay sane fighting something unfathomable
4: Reject a very valuable offer, dive into an extremely dangerous situation.

Fighting
In the situation that you’re faced with creatures that cannot listen to reason, or in the regrettable
case that a human wishes to do you harm, you might call on this skill. Everything than can cause
harm to another directly has this ability.
0: Put up token resistance, throw a wild punch
1: Fend off a deranged attacker, demonstrate correct punching technique
2: Fight off a prepared fighter, deal a damaging blow
3: Block a rapid strike, demonstrate knowledge of advanced fighting techniques
4: Defeat a professional soldier, break down a sturdy material

Searching
One calls upon this ability to find things, even things that would rather not be found. Anything that
can perceive the outside world to an appreciable extent has this ability.
0: See or hear something obvious
1: See something in an out-of-the-way corner, notice an unskilled eavesdropper
2: Notice someone lying, find something hidden
3: Notice someone in camouflage, hear an accomplished infiltrator sneaking behind you
4: Spot something very small and carefully hidden, catch a trained actor in a lie

Manipulation
When good hand-eye co-ordination is required, this is the ability that is called on. It covers all sorts
of slight-of-hand tricks, as well as fine control of many machines. Anything capable of manual
dexterity, including almost all animals, has this ability.
0: Pick something off of the ground, enter in a number on a keypad
1: Pick a simple lock, throw and hit anywhere on a dart board
2: Lob something unbalanced into something a few metres away, take something unnoticed
3: Pick a pocket, make a very sharp turn in a car
4: Bullseye a dartboard at distance, pickpocket someone alert and looking at you

Resources
This skill represents how much human society thinks is one’s fair share of resources, covering
everything from presence of paperwork to money. Everyone that legally exists has this.
0: Provide a birth certificate, scrape together a few dollars
1: Provide a driver’s license, afford something worth under $100
2: Get access to low-security facilities, provide a passport
3: Afford something worth under $10000, access controlled substances
4: Access high-security installations, get something normally illegal

Supernatural abilities:
These are abilities that ordinary humans simply can’t have (though there’s no reason why the
human you play has to be ordinary)

Phasing
Things with this skill can briefly become incorporeal, allowing themselves to pass through solid
objects.
0: Slowly pass through a thin wall
1: Quickly pass through a thin wall
2: Pass through a wall made of dense materials
3: Phase through an incoming attack
4: Snap quickly between realspace and phasing

Transformation
You have an alternate form, with a different appearance and a whole new set of abilities. When you
take this ability, create another character, that must take the same amount of ranks in this ability.
You can use this ability to swap between the two
0: Slowly swap over about an hour
1: Swap over 15 minutes
2: Swap in 5 minutes
3: Swap in 1 minute
4: Swap in a few seconds

Polymorphing
Your form is malleable, letting you pull out disguises of all kinds. It can also let you squeeze into
more awkward places
0: Change minor cosmetic details
1: Change noticeably, but still in your same species
2: Change to a different species, but only a few clades away
3: Change into a different shape, but with still roughly the same mass
4: Change into something with largely different mass

Warding
This ability allows one to erect magical wards around an area to make it harder for dark entities to
access. It works better for smaller areas, and against specific beings you know well
0: Block a small circle against a beast you know well
1: Block a room against a dark creature
2: Quickly erect a ward in a circle
3: Block a room against an unknown entity
4: Ward a large building

Telekinesis
This skill lets you indirectly pick up and manipulate objects. It’s generally slower and clumsier than
touching something, but slightly more versatile
0: Cause something to slowly float
1: Slowly manipulate a keypad
2: Quickly sling something
3: Move something very heavy
4: Trace a very fine line with a manipulated object

Calming
Facing the creatures of darkness can be a traumatic experience, especially for mundane humans.
You have the supernatural ability to relax someone’s emotions, an help them think rationally in the
face of unknowable horrors
0: Relax someone unnerved
1: Help someone already calm remain so
2: Calm someone distressed
3: Calm someone quickly
4: Calm someone facing an eldritch abomination

Smiting
There are creatures lurking in the night that will not offer compromise or mercy. This ability gives
you the grim power to destroy these for the greater good, even if they’re impervious to mundane
attacks
0: Make a show of this power
1: Damage something weak
2: Destroy something weak
3: Destroy something strong
4: Banish a whole swarm of dark creatures

Scrying
This ability allows one to cast their senses away from their body, possibly great distances. A useful
skill for detecting those dark forces that rely on stealth. Using this ability generally requires
substantial focus
0: See into an adjacent room
1: See up to 100m away
2: See up to 1000m away
3: See up to 1000m away and up to 10 minutes in the future or past
4: See up to 100km away

Flight
You are not bound to movement in two dimensions like your walking brethren. You’re generally a
bit slower, but the added manoeuvrability compensates for that most of the time.
0: Float slowly
1: Propel yourself at running speeds
2: Perform complex aerial manoeuvres
3: Manoeuvre in bad weather
4: Fly at Olympic running speeds

Teleportation
With some time and concentration, you can disappear in one location and reappear in another. You
have to be able to accurately specify the location, and if you can’t perceive it you may find yourself
teleporting into an awkward situation
0: Teleport yourself a few metres
1: Teleport yourself a few hundred metres, after a minute of substantial concentration
2: Teleport yourself a few hundred metres after a few seconds of concentration
3: Teleport yourself a few hundred metres in a moment
4: Teleport yourself several kilometres after a minute of concentration

Telepathy
You can send messages directly to, and read directly from, the minds of sentient beings. It’s easiest
to do in short ranges with willing people.
0: Send a message to a willing recipient
1: Read the mind of someone nearby and weak-willed
2: Read the mind of someone distant
3: Read the mind of someone strong-willed
4: Send a long message to someone you can barely perceive

Camouflage
The art of hiding in plain sight, Camouflage lets you turn into something mundane in the
environment.
0: Hide among dozens of samples of what you hide as
1: Hide in a room where one would expect your camouflage to be
2: Hide in a room where someone is actively searching for you
3: Hide from someone that knows what your disguise is
4: Hide from an active searcher while acting yourself

Worldwalking
There is far more to the universe than the material plane. In other worlds like things so beautiful
humans can’t imagine them, and terrors so awful that humans can’t conceive of them. You have the
capacity to walk between these worlds. The ability is slow an imprecise, but it is nigh-impossible to
replicate
0: Send yourself to another world you know well with a week of preparation
1: Send yourself and half a dozen others to a world you know well with a week of preparation
2: Send yourself to a world you don’t know with a day of preparation
3: Send a large group to another world
4: Jump to another world in a few seconds

Willpower
Willpower is one’s measure of their capacity to keep going in the face of hardship. At the start of
every session, a PC has willpower points equal to their base willpower.
Willpower can be spent before one makes a roll to add an additional dice per point spent. In
addition, after one has rolled, they may spend willpower to get additional successes, 3 for 1.
One can regenerate a single point of willpower for a few hours spent resting, and an additional one
for a full night’s sleep.

Conflicts
When two people, be they PCs or NPCs, want to achieve mutually exclusive things, a conflict is
entered. When this happens, both parties start by stating what they wish to achieve in the conflict.
Should one party wish for something notably more ambitious or humble than the other, the GM may
give them a penalty or bonus to the coming roll respectively. As a rule of thumb, the bonus should
be about equal to one dice per difference in difficulty were the parties trying to achieve the goals
separately.
Then, both parties roll the relevant skill. Whoever gets the highest result obtains their goal. Should
the parties draw, either neither get their goal, or both get some compromise on their goal, the GM
determining per whichever makes more sense.

Example characters

The Occultist
An otherwise normal human, the Occultist has experience with the supernatural. They use this
experience to defend their fellows.
Athletics 4
Knowledge 4
Lore 6
Influence 6
Courage 6
Searching 6
Fighting 5
Manipulation 4
Resources 4

The Teddy
A magical teddy bear, the Teddy is sworn to defend innocent human children. To this end in times
of need, they can transform into a mighty celestial bear to battle the denizens of darkness.
Athletics 2
Knowledge 3
Lore 5
Influence 4
Courage 6
Fighting 2
Manipulation 1
Camouflage 6
Transformation 8
Calming 6
ALTERNATE FORM
Athletics 6
Knowledge 3
Lore 5
Influence 3
Courage 8
Fighting 8
Manipulation 4
Transformation 8

The Dog
A faithful companion to humanity, the Dog carries on their ancestor’s ancient tradition of protecting
their masters. Neither loneliness nor darkness will hurt their charges.
Athletics 6
Knowledge 2
Lore 4
Influence 1
Courage 6
Searching 10
Fighting 6
Manipulation 2
Calming 8

The Angel
From somewhere far beyond earth, The Angel arrives to defend humanity. They bear great
supernatural power, to aid their allies and smite their enemies
Athletics 4
Knowledge 2
Lore 5
Influence 4
Courage 6
Searching 3
Fighting 4
Manipulation 3
Flight 2
Worldwalking 6
Smiting 6