RULES CHARACTERS

PLAY: Players describe what their characters do. ► Life on the Ring is pretty quiet, and the toughest
The GM judges when their action is impossible, jobs are automated — but as a Community First
demands a cost or extra steps, or presents a risk. Responder, you get called for everything ranging
Players can revise plans before committing so as from a cat in a tree to a hull breach. What skillset
to change goal/stakes. Only roll to avoid risk. have you found helpful? Raise it to d8.

ROLLING: Roll a skill die — d6 by default, higher
with a relevant skillset, or d4 if hindered by injury,
circumstances, or carrying more than 1 bulky
item. (If more than one skillset fits, use whichever
you want.) If you have a relevant quality, roll an
extra of that same die. If helped by circumstances,
roll an extra d6; if helped by an ally, they roll their
skill die and share the risk. Take the highest die.
1–2 Disaster. Suffer the full risk. If it’s mutually
exclusive with your goal (GM’s call), you fail.
3–4 Setback. A lesser risk or partial success.
5+ Success. The higher the roll, the better.
If success can’t get you what you want (you get up
the tree, but that’s no cat — it’s an alien!), you’ll at ► What quality stands out about you?
least get useful info or set up an advantage.
DEFENSE: Break an item turn a hit into a brief
hindrance. Broken gear is useless until repaired.
HARM: If you get banged up so badly that you’ll be
laid up awhile, make a new character to introduce
ASAP. Favor inclusion over realism.
HANDS: Helping move a sofa, swinging a baseball
bat, forcing open a jammed door, and anything
else you’d do if you’re “good with your hands.”
HEAD: Working with computers, getting a model
volcano to erupt, fixing an oxygen scrubber, and
anything else you might call “using your head.”
HEART: Swaying with words, calming down
cranky kids, sensing how folks are feeling, and
anything else that benefit from a “big heart.”
HEELS: Rounding the bases, dodging escaped zoo
animals, scrambling up a tree, and other ways to
move when something’s “hot on your heels.”
Invent, choose, or roll d6.d6 on the next page — d6
for the first digit, another d6 for the second. Roll
an extra skill die when it’s relevant, and use it
declare you have an item that would make sense
(like a gravcar nut having a garage full of tools).
► What items do you find helpful as a Responder?

ADVANCEMENT: After each session, each player
gains 1 credit (₡), and either raises a skillset they
used (none ➡ d8 ➡ d10 ➡ d12), or gains or
rewords a quality they displayed.
GM: Describe characters in terms of appearance
and behavior, not skill dice. Lead the group in
setting lines not to cross in play. Fast-forward,
pause, or rewind/redo for pacing and safety;
invite players to do likewise. Present dilemmas
you don’t know how to solve. Move the spotlight to
give all time to shine. Roll periodically to test luck
(e.g., run out of ice, or into a grumpy neighbor) —
(1– 2) trouble now or (3–4) signs of trouble.
Improvise rulings to cover gaps in rules; on a
break, revise unsatisfactory rulings as a group.
Start with a wrist comm (smartwatch), a small
gravcar, and ₡2. If you need an item later, and it’s
not clear whether you would have it, then deduct
₡1 and say you do. Don’t worry about microcredit
transactions like a meal or a single screwdriver —
think more like “power tools” or “baking supplies.”
► Who are your closest personal connections?
If it’s other players’ Responders, agree on a sign
of your bond — an inside joke, secret handshake,
Friday darts game, etc. Optionally, come up with
names and quirks for close connections played by
the GM — parents, kids, housemates, polycule, etc.
Just don’t leave the group waiting on you to finish.
► Finally, choose your name, and note pronouns.
 PEOPLE & PLACES ON THE RING
► Name Quality Quirk Often found at…

1.1 Addison 1.1 Always helping out 1.1 Bad with faces 1.1 Home
1.2 Beren 1.2 Does magic tricks 1.2 Bores easily 1.2 School
1.3 Casey 1.3 Dresses to impress 1.3 Businesslike 1.3 The café
1.4 Christmas 1.4 Knows a shortcut 1.4 Busybody 1.4 The office
1.5 Dana 1.5 Parties hardest 1.5 Holds a grudge 1.5 The park
1.6 Edin 1.6 Takes stuff apart 1.6 People pleaser 1.6 The mall

2.1 Frankie 2.1 Bookworm 2.1 Big “dad” energy 2.1 The bar
2.2 Gio 2.2 Computer whiz 2.2 Endlessly chatty 2.2 The boutique
2.3 Hira 2.3 Gravcar nut 2.3 Fiercely loyal 2.3 The cleaners
2.4 Indiana 2.4 Green thumb 2.4 Kind of in a hurry 2.4 A construction site
2.5 Jae 2.5 Loves to cook 2.5 Playfully insulting 2.5 The corner store
2.6 Kayden 2.6 Popular vidcaster 2.6 Suuuper chill 2.6 The ice cream shop

3.1 Lee 3.1 Buys the 1st round 3.1 Always in vacsuit 3.1 The gravcar dealer
3.2 Lucky 3.2 Fiercely idealistic 3.2 Band t-shirts 3.2 The hospital
3.3 Morgan 3.3 Honest face 3.3 Floral print shirt 3.3 The library
3.4 Nasim 3.4 “I’ve got a hunch…” 3.4 Hand-knits 3.4 The lodge
3.5 Omid 3.5 Knows a guy 3.5 Leather jacket 3.5 The museum
3.6 Page 3.6 Soothing voice 3.6 Vintage tracksuit 3.6 The theater

4.1 Pat 4.1 Authoritative air 4.1 Always in shades 4.1 The arcade
4.2 Quispe 4.2 Boundless energy 4.2 Cowboy hat 4.2 The record store
4.3 Reyes 4.3 Boogie shoes 4.3 Elaborate tattoos 4.3 The restaurant
4.4 Sam 4.4 Juke box hero 4.4 Monocle 4.4 The salon
4.5 Sydney 4.5 Local sports star 4.5 Pink hair 4.5 Religious services
4.6 Tenzin 4.6 Winning smile 4.6 Tons of jewelry 4.6 The Welcome Center

5.1 Terry 5.1 BFFs with own clone 5.1 Curses up a storm 5.1 The docking bay
5.2 Udo 5.2 Bonded with an AI 5.2 Gives nicknames 5.2 The factory
5.3 Vanja 5.3 Retired daredevil 5.3 Monosyllabic 5.3 The labs
5.4 Vic 5.4 Exoplanet refugee 5.4 Says “I owe ya one” 5.4 The shipping yard
5.5 Whitney 5.5 In cryo since 2030 5.5 Talks in questions 5.5 Space traffic control
5.6 Wynne 5.6 Slightly magnetized 5.6 Very loud 5.6 Storage units

6.1 Xia 6.1 Android, you think 6.1 Mutters in Russian 6.1 Food Production
6.2 Yannic 6.2 Clumsily telekinetic 6.2 Repeats self a lot 6.2 Hull maintenance
6.3 Yoshi 6.3 Intelligent ape 6.3 Says “bingo bango” 6.3 Life Support
6.4 Yuki 6.4 Just a bit telepathic 6.4 Sings softly to self 6.4 The power plant
6.5 Ziv 6.5 Might be an alien 6.5 Talks to their dog 6.5 Utility tunnels
6.6 Zola 6.6 From the year 2600 6.6 “UFOlogist” 6.6 Waste Treatment
 LIFE ON THE RING IS GOOD. There’s synth-meat
in every pot, a gravcar in every garage, a hi-fi
stereo in every living room, and a 25-hour cycle.
(There just weren’t enough hours in the day!)
► Strictly local matters
1 Chaperone school field trip to Hydroponics
2 Chief’s retiring — how should we celebrate?
3 Defend your trophy in intramural gravball
4 Ensure block party doesn’t burn down block
5 Field mouthy teens’ questions at career day
6 First day on the job — impress your partner!
7 Friend begs you to “interrupt” dinner date
8 Get ice from docking bays to the party — stat!
9 Housing Association makes strange demands
10 Is this mysterious newcomer … an alien?
11 Mayor requires bigger ribbon-cutting scissors
12 Moral panic over gory new arcade game
13 Nasty mayoral election divides town
14 Neighbor needs help moving 45° across town
15 New neighbors are really obnoxious
16 No idea what’s in this pool, but better clean it
17 Pick a shower gift for likely telepathic baby
18 Shy neighbor kid asks how to be cool like you
19 Throw the best surprise party ever
20 Your friends would be perfect for each other
► Problems that may actually demand attention
1 Alien fungus threatens O2 supply
2 Breach! Get folks to safety, or pitch in to fix it
3 Caught in a time loop … again
4 Derelict (?) ship floating worryingly close
5 Gravcar accident — and they’re still floating!
6 Ice shipment delayed distressingly long time
7 Internal faction pushes to cut outside contact
8 Little Timmy’s stuck in a maintenance duct
9 Maintenance workers stranded outside
10 Misplaced fusion cell shipment found by kids
11 Out-of-system comm relays are just … silent
12 Ship trying to dock won’t respond on comms
13 Shouts warn: “Ice cream monster! Run!”
14 Somebody’s poking holes in all the vacsuits
15 Somebody’s selling a fake “psi drug”
16 “Space fever” making folks swell up, turn blue
17 Spin altered somehow, messing up gravity
18 Star-crossed young lovers steal ship to elope
19 Wacky weather — climate system on the fritz
20 Zoo power failure, creatures on the loose
Version 1.3 • Art by NASA • Permission is granted to reproduce for personal use
Consider it as a setting for adventures of a more
mundane sort, a pleasant stopover in otherwise
stressful space travels, or a mystery to be solved.
After all, is anyplace really this good?
► Bigger situations, if you can call them that
1 Annual Garden Competition invites sabotage
2 Baseball sucks in spin gravity, kids are bored
3 Cereal-box decoder rings hint at conspiracy
4 Dance-off! Do you have what it takes?
5 Graffiti in paint only young people can see
6 Guest judges needed for school science fair
7 Hedges expertly trimmed into naughty shapes
8 Huckster convinces kids to start synth bands
9 LOST CAT: Entire piggy bank as reward
10 Mysterious scavenger hunt! Who’s behind it?
11 “Perfectly safe” jump drive exhibit at museum
12 The Ring Station Gazette needs a big scoop
13 Rival high school’s stolen mascot escaped
14 Robot workers comically malfunctioning
15 Shuttlecraft joyriders keep buzzing station
16 Substitute teachers needed right now
17 Telekinetic child needs brave babysitters
18 Washer malfunction floods streets with suds
19 Well someone has to dress up as Santa
20 Youth league ref has the flu — for playoffs!
► Beneath the surface (?)
1 Aliens fattening up the population for food
2 Brain-worms control residents, seek escape
3 Compulsory erasure of “bad” memories
4 Dissidents replaced with docile androids
5 “Happy ray” test; residents scream inwardly
6 It was built to survive an imminent doomsday
7 Never mention it’s a white-collar penal colony
8 Obedience drugs have rare side effects
9 Outsiders processed, eaten as “synth-meat”
10 Population depends upon cloning visitors
11 Psychic child overlord demands happiness
12 Researchers secretly testing stress in space
13 Residents don’t realize they’re all dead
14 Residents raised for clone-parts for the rich
15 The Ring is an AI; the residents, its neurons
16 Runs on forced labor by prisoners or AI
17 Secretly an experiment in eugenics
18 Subliminal sleeper agent training program
19 “Volunteers” who fix breaches never return
20 Worker output in service to distant, brutal war