A minimalist Sword & Songs RPG

by Fellipe da Silva @cueinn

 isten, kid. The Enemy power is growing
again. This old world had survived many
calamities. Our people are few, simple and,
scared. It gives us hope to see you with all that
courage. You can fight back if you find those
relics and forgotten songs buried in old ruins.

But it's dangerous to go alone, gather your

friends and take this with you.

Create your Hero

Choose a weapon and an instrument. A
goodbye gift from your village.

Mark 3 . All adventurers have humble

beginnings.

Describe how your hero looks like.

Give them a name and pronouns. The ones that

people will sing in the future.
 How to play

This is a TTRPG, designed to be played with a

GM and one or more players. And because of its
size, we assume you are familiar with this kind of
game.

In this game, the conversation is the main

mechanic. Always start with the fiction created
by the group.

Rolling
When heroes take a risky action or do something
with an unclear outcome, their player rolls a 1d6
and:
• +1 die from getting help from an equipment
• +1 die from any advantage in the fiction
• +1 die for being helped by other characters

If any die gets a 6 the result is a success.

Hearts

They are the hero's resistance to damage.

• Heroes start with 3

• They gain a new when they defeat a Boss
in a dungeon
• They can also gain a quarter of from
helping people around the world
 Equipment

Inventory
Heroes can carry up to 12 items: 6 are equipped
items such as weapons, armor, a shield, and
worn items. And 6 are items held in belts and
backpacks.

Weapons
These are rare and usually kept as family
heirloomst. But there are many tales about
legendary weapons hidden in ancient ruins in the
wilds.

When a weapon hits, it always causes the same

amount of DAMAGE:

• 1 DAMAGE: Ordinary weapons and fists

• 2 DAMAGE: Refined and special weapons
• 3 DAMAGE: Legendary weapons
• 4 DAMAGE: Big explosives

Shields & Armor

Equipment used for protection has a DEFENSE
value, usually 1. This represents the amount of
DAMAGE reduced. So, when a character is hit,
subtract their DEFENSE value from the DEFENSE.
 Magic
The old ways of magic are lost. But heroes can
access their powers through some songs and
items. Powers can be used for half of a hero's
daily.

Harm
When a character takes a hit, the weapon
DAMAGE reduces their . If the target has any
DEFENSE value, reduce it from the DAMAGE.

Any damage that reduces a hero's to 0 is

lethal. That hero will die unless the hero had a
fairy in their pocket. Otherwise, the player should
make another hero and introduce them as soon
as possible.
 Building Dungeons

I. Create a Magic Relic. A weapon, armor,

instrument, utility, or unusual treasure
II. Then choose a Theme for the dungeon

III. Create a giant monster to be the Boss. It

should have a vulnerability related to the
Magic Relic
IV. Create 2 to 5 enemies to populate the
dungeon
V. You can also create some traps and
environmental challenges related to the
Magic Relic and Theme of the dungeon

VI. The Boss and a Magic Song are in a room

locked by 3 keys distributed in the dungeon.
The keys don't need to be literal keys
VII. The entrance of the dungeon is locked by
something related to the Theme. Usually
something present in the Region
VIII. The Region around it is usually related to
the Theme, and suffers some influence
from the Dungeon and its Boss

Dungeon Layout
Make a 6x6 matrix.
Roll 2d6. Mark the
correspondent cell (a
die for the column
other for the row).
Repeat and connect
the cells as you like.