FULL PARTY STRIKE WRITTEN BY
Emanuele Galletto
Info: gallettoemanuele@gmail.com
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FULL PARTY STRIKE MADE POSSIBLE BY
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h INTRODUCTION
This is a work in progress document for Full Party Strike! (FPS), a tabletop role-playing
framework inspired by beat ‘em up videogames, arcade brawlers, run’n’guns, and similar
hack-and-slash titles.

A certainly non-exhaustive list of videogame inspirations: Borderlands, Castlevania:

Symphony of the Night, Dragon’s Crown, Guilty Gear, Hades, Metal Slug, NieR:
Replicant, Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams; Persona 5 Strikers; Returnal; Scarlet Nexus;
Valkyrie Profile: Silmeria.

A similarly non-exhaustive list of tabletop RPG inspirations: 3:16 Carnage Among the
Stars, Agon 1st Edition, Anima Prime, Blades in the Dark, Dungeons & Dragons 4th
Edition, Kamigakari, Shinobigami, Stellar Knights, Thornwatch.

If what you see in these pages inspires you for a project of yours, don’t let the work-
in-progress state of this document stop you from developing your own take on it; just
mention you were “inspired by Emanuele Galletto’s in-development Full Party Strike!
System” or something like that.

h ABOUT VIOLENCE
Reading the list of inspirations for Full Party Strike!, it’s easy to see that they all feature
abundant amounts of violence; and the FPS System itself is geared towards high-action
games involving frequent combat.

Personally, as a player I strongly enjoy combat in games and find it very engaging; but
especially when it comes to TRPGs, a medium that gives us a chance to turn every single
enemy into a person with complex emotions and objectives, I often wonder if it’s “right”
to enjoy hacking away at cultists, goblins, and so on.
I’m not saying this to initiate a complex discourse on violence in games; after all this is
a reference document, not an essay. However, I do want to urge you to think about how
you portray and frame violence when you develop a game using this system (or any
system, actually).

The next page lists a few points I personally believe should be taken into account to
critically examine our own work and design process.

2
FIGHTING THE OPPRESSOR
The Full Party Strike! system focuses its gameplay on a group of heroes who help each
other in their struggle against a powerful threat or oppressive force. It is written with
the assumption of an “underdog” perspective, never the defense of an already privileged
position; while this approach may not be outright codified in the game’s mechanics, I
strongly believe the spirit of the FPS System revolves around this struggle against those
who abuse a position of power (it’s in the name itself, if you think about it).

SO THAT WE NO LONGER HAVE TO FIGHT

Protagonists should not fight because they enjoy cruelty and violence, but because
it’s the only way they can protect themselves and the people they love from an all-
consuming evil, hopefully reaching a point where violence becomes no longer necessary.
Unfortunately, fighting evil also means hurting the people who act as its troops and
soldiers.

AVOID COLONIALIST PERSPECTIVES

Avoid dividing your world between “civilised humanoids” and “uncivilised humanoids”
and framing violence and killing against the second group as something that’s okay to do
guilt-free, and/or something that grants rewards such as riches or power (yes, I’m talking
about the “go fireball a bunch of savage goblins in the ruin near the town and get a cool
magic sword for it” premise).

This framing closely resembles the real-world justifications for imperialism and colonial
violence, and is very problematic; please educate yourself on the matter.

THE SWARM
A common “design solution” to the problem of violence is making the default enemy
a swarm of hive-minded aliens, a horde of zombies, an army of demons that reform in
hell whenever killed, and so on. These are all valid concepts for an FPS-based RPG,
of course, but also introduce an “us versus them” mindset that leaves little to no room
for nuance (then again, zero nuance might be exactly what you need for a run’n’gun or
brawler tabletop game focused on adrenalinic action).

The choice is up to you, of course, but just like the above points, be mindful of the
implications of your design.

3
h 1. GAMEPLAY CYCLE
Gameplay in an FPS game moves back and forth between two main modes: adventure
and downtime.

1.1. ADVENTURE
In your game this could be called Exploration, Dungeon Phase, Mission Phase, Road
Phase, etc.

This is where the bulk of the action takes place, with Protagonists working together to
overcome obstacles.

Adventure play generally happens in the form of moment-by-moment narration and will
probably take up most of each session. Checks (Section 4.2) and Combat (Section 5) are
also key parts of Adventure play.

The FPS System is inspired by beat ‘em up, brawlers, run’n’guns and action games, so
most conflicts are expected to take place as some form of combat.

1.2. DOWNTIME
In your game this could be called Town Phase, Interlude, School Life, etc.

These are slower-paced moments when characters may purchase or sell equipment,
recover from injuries, strengthen emotional bonds, investigate their next target and so
on (if your game features such mechanics).

Downtime play generally happens as a series of self-contained scenes involving some or

all of the Protagonists; these scenes are also perfect occasions for adding more intimate
details to each character through roleplay.

It can be a good idea to provide mechanics for the various activities Protagonists can
perform during Downtime. Try to keep these as concise as possible and allow the group
to roleplay as much as they want during these scenes.
Ideally, you also want to limit the amount of “beneficial activities” a Protagonist may
perform during Downtime. Decide how strict you want to be based on the amount of
pressure you want to put on Players (if any).

4
h 2. AREAS AND LEVELS
In its pursuit of faster gameplay, the FPS System assigns a level to each area in the
game. This level is a number from 1 to 10 and has several uses, from establishing the
general difficulty of actions to helping a GM determine what types of creatures and
treasures can be found while adventuring.

You can use this simple rule to handle dynamic shifts in the danger presented by an area,
or to tie the area’s level to some sort of narrative factor; perhaps the area grows more
dangerous with each passing downtime, or the dungeon is tied to a character’s physical
or emotional state, thus becoming more or less hostile depending on narrative and inter-
personal developments.

2.1. AREAS
In your game these could be called stages, regions, rooms, screens, etc.

Strictly speaking, an “area” is a portion of space where the game’s action can happen, and
it’s something that will probably matter only during adventure. The easiest comparison
would be the different rooms in a dungeon, each with its own encounter.

You might make adventure more linear, providing largely predetermined area layouts,
or you could even include a procedural generation system that transforms areas from
session to session.

2.2. LEVEL
In your game this could be called threat, danger, corruption, shadow, distortion, etc.

This is an abstraction of how dangerous and hostile an area is. It influences the failure
and success thresholds for Checks (Section 4.2), but can really be used to govern a
variety of mechanics, such as Enemy health increasing, better rewards, and so on.

For instance, you could create “random loot tables” divided by level ranges. If your game
features ways to increase or lower an area’s level during downtime, this could provide
Players with an interesting risk management puzzle: do they explore the area when it’s
dangerous and rewarding, or when it’s safer but grants worse rewards?

5
h 3. IMPORTANT RULES AND TERMINOLOGY
The FPS System lends itself to a style of gameplay that we could describe as “technical”;
it’s not particularly complex, but it relies on a few important rules and terms that keep
the entire framework up and running.

3.1. ADD > SUBTRACT > MULTIPLY > DIVIDE

If the same value is affected by different mathematical operations, always apply them in
the following order: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division.

3.2. ALLIES
Whenever a rule or effect mentions “allies”, it means all characters who are on a certain
character’s side, with the exception of that specific character.

In short, “you are not your own ally”.

3.3. ALWAYS ROUND DOWN

Whenever you have to divide a number, always round down to a minimum of zero unless
otherwise noted.

3.4. DENIAL EFFECTS

Whenever a rule or effect allows or forces something to happen, if another rule or effect
states that it can’t happen, the denial effect prevails.

3.5. ENEMY
A Non-Protagonist who is acting against a Protagonist.

3.6. GAME MANAGER (GM)

A person who describes the context around Protagonists, manages the actions of
Enemies, and creates game scenarios in advance if required. The name of this role might
change depending on the specific game.

6
3.7. NON-PROTAGONIST
A characters controlled by the Game Manager. When these characters act in direct
opposition to Protagonists, they are considered “Enemies”.

3.8. PROTAGONIST CHARACTER

A character controlled by a Protagonist Player. Normally, each Protagonist Player creates
and controls a single Protagonist, but this might not always be the case.

3.9. PLAYER
A person who creates and controls one or more Protagonists.

3.10. SPECIFIC BEATS GENERAL

Whenever the text on a specific effect, skill, item or rule contradicts a general rule of the
game, that specific text prevails.

3.11. TIMING
If one or more choices or effects would happen simultaneously:

Z Unless a rule says otherwise, Protagonists always make their choices and resolve
their effects before Non-Protagonists.

Z Players decide between themselves in which order to make simultaneous choices and
resolve simultaneous effects that belong to different Protagonists.

Z The GM freely decides in which order to make simultaneous choices and resolve
simultaneous effects that belong to different Non-Protagonists.

7
h 4. BASIC RESOLUTION
The FPS System assumes Protagonists to be larger-than-life figures, regardless of
whether they’re space opera rebels, martial artists, adventurers or rejected demigods;
this of course informs the way situations are resolved during gameplay.

To be fair, you could also create an FPS game where the protagonists are everyday
people but manifest supernatural powers in specific occasions, such as entering a
parallel dimension or being in the presence of hostile magical entities.

4.1. AUTOMATIC RESOLUTION

If there is no adversary or obstacle who can prevent a Protagonist from achieving a goal,
that character will simply succeed or fail based on the wishes and description of the
Player who controls them (and provided this sits well with the rest of the table).

The Game Master is the person who determines whether adversaries or obstacles are
present, and must always inform the Players.

“Sits well” means that no, you don’t get to impose your view of the scene on everyone
else without taking into account their perspectives, nor do you get to state that the
queen gives you her title because “technically she doesn’t count as an adversary”.
Always discuss the nature of the scene with the table and learn to negotiate the details
of scenes frequently.

4.2. CHECKS
If one or more adversaries or obstacles are present, the Game Master should ask the
Protagonist to perform a Check: basically, determining how things go with a die roll.

Be transparent: the Player must clearly state what their Protagonist wishes to achieve,
and the Game Master must clearly state the likely consequences of success and failure.
Alternatively, if anyone resorts to violence, Combat begins (Section 5).

You might design your game in such a way that the Game Master randomly determines
the mood or disposition of potential adversaries, ranging from hostile to indifferent (or
even helpful).

8
4.2.1. PERFORMING A CHECK
In its purest form, a Check consists in rolling a 20-sided die (abbreviated d20) and
hoping to roll as high as possible. Checks always have a failure threshold and a success
threshold, which are based on the level of the area where the Check is performed.

Z The failure threshold is equal to the area’s level.

Rolling equal to or under this number represents a failure: this means the Protagonist
doesn’t get what they wanted and the situation changes for the worse.

Z The success threshold is equal to the area’s level plus 10.

Rolling equal to or above this number represents a success: this means the
Protagonist gets exactly what they wanted.

Z Anything between the two thresholds is called a partial: this means the Protagonist
does get what they wanted, at least partially, but there are some nasty strings
attached.

The failure/partial/success tryptic is what gives the FPS System its name.

For instance, a Check performed in a level 3 area will have a failure threshold of 3 and
a success threshold of 13. When rolling a d20, a Protagonist would succeed on a roll of
13 or higher, fail on a roll of 3 or lower, and anything from 4 to 12 would be considered
a partial.

3 13
FAILURE PARTIAL SUCCESS

4.2.2. NARRATING THE OUTCOME

In general, everyone at the table can narrate the outcome of Checks. However, each
Player has final say on how their Protagonist’s actions are portrayed, and the same is
true for the Game Master when it comes to Non-Protagonist Characters.

Note that narration must always match the mechanical outcome and consequences of
the Check: first you state your general intention and roll dice, then you narrate the action
based on the quality of your result.

9
4.2.3. SWAPPING
Protagonists have a special personal resource called Spirit (which can be renamed
depending on the specific game: Momentum, Defiance, Hope, etc.); this resource can be
used to manipulate the outcome or Checks; this is known as swapping.

Spirit can also be spent to pay for powerful skills (Section 6.2).

The ways Spirit can be replenished vary depending on the game (perhaps you need
to spend time with your friends to strengthen your resolve; or perhaps all it takes is to
drink a “Spirit Potion” or similar). Spirit is also generally assumed to reset to a standard
amount at the start of each adventure.

Z After a Protagonist makes a Check, that character may swap their current Spirit score
with the result on the d20 they just rolled.

Z After a Protagonist makes a Check, a different Protagonist may swap their own current
Spirit score with the result of the d20, as long as both Players agree to the swap.

Note that you are not bound to always swap to increase the number rolled on the
Check; you may also exchange the roll with a lower Spirit value in order to replenish
your Spirit.

Regardless of who benefits from the swap, only one swap per Check is allowed.

For instance, Protagonist A (thief), with a current Spirit score of 12, rolls a 15 on a Check
to disable a mechanism. This is a level 2 area, which means a 12 would be enough to
succeed: thus, the thief swaps their Spirit score with the roll. The result is that the Check
is still a success, and the thief brought its Spirit score to a 15, three points higher than it
was before the Check.

Now, let’s move on to a different example.

Let’s say Protagonist B (sorcerer) only has 5 Spirit left, which isn’t very promising given
the cost of their skills. Protagonist C (fighter), who is striking a foe, rolls a 19 on her
Check. This is a level 5 area; wishing to help her ally, the fighter offers to take the
sorcerer’s 5 as the result of her Check (which means her success will instead become a
partial) and by doing so she allows the Sorcerer to set his Spirit to 19.

One of the most interesting challenges in the FPS System is deciding when to sacrifice
a good roll in order to recover Spirit for yourself or for others.

10
DESIGN OPTION: CHARACTER STATS
In its simplest form, the FPS System assumes Protagonists will not have stats or
attributes that increase or reduce the outcome of their Checks: the only way they may
influence the outcome is swapping (see below).

If you design an FPS game where characters have stats tied to different aspects of the
experience, those stats should initially range between 0 and +3 at most. Consider that
even just a +1 means that the character will never completely fail Checks while inside
a level 1 area, for instance!

Alternatively, you could give each Protagonist multiple “Spirit pools” tied to different
approaches, which can be used for swapping during Checks: for instance, you might
swap from Willpower when casting a spell, or swap from Agility when dodging a trap.

DESIGN OPTION: CRITICAL SUCCESS

You might make it so that a roll of 20 on the die is always an automatic success and also
triggers additional effects (Spirit recovery, additional damage and so on).

DESIGN OPTION: TRUST MECHANICS

If you want to further reinforce the importance of characters helping each other by
swapping dice during Checks, you could make it so that whoever “benefits” from a swap
(which is to say, the Protagonist who receives the higher number, whether on their roll
or as their new Spirit score) gains 1 point of Trust (or similar) towards the character
who helped them. Trust might have a variety of uses: an alternative to “health” in a
game about cognitive battles, a resource that keeps Protagonists alive when defeated,
or even something that can be spent to trigger combined attacks!

DESIGN OPTION: CONSEQUENCE LIST

If you want to provide additional guidance when establishing the consequences of
failures and partials, you might include a list of consequences (or several lists, divided
by areas, levels and/or context).

11
h 5. COMBAT
Fast paced, cinematic combat with a constant exchange of blows and clever use of
different techniques can be considered the recurring feature of games based on the FPS
System; each specific game may of course introduce variations and unique quirks, but
it’s a good idea to keep as consistent and compatible with the rules in this section as
possible.

5.1. STARTING COMBAT

Combat generally begins when the Protagonists encounter dangerous hostile Enemies
during adventure, and one or both sides resort to violence.

When designing your game, you might include tools for randomly generating combat
encounters and the combination of foes in that specific battle.

5.1.1. VICTORY AND DEFEAT CONDITIONS

Battles always have at least one victory condition and at least one defeat condition,
which will likely vary depending on what your game is about.

Z Victory conditions are often as simple as “defeat all Enemies” or “defeat a specific
Enemy”, sometimes including a time limit or additional clause (such as “defeat the
Vampire Lord before the sacrifices are eaten”).

Z Defeat conditions might be tied to the victory conditions (as would be the case with
the Vampire lord example above), or be something like “at least one Protagonist is
defeated”.

Combat also ends in defeat if all Protagonists are defeated, of course.

The Game Master is responsible for clearly communicating victory and defeat conditions
at the start of combat.

12
IMPORTANT: TYPES OF COMBATANTS
Mechanically, the FPS System features five different types of combatants: Protagonist,
Elite, Horde, Part and Solo.

Z Protagonists are the combatants controlled by each Player. If a Protagonist is

described as summoning creatures or allies into battle, those are considered
extensions of the Protagonist itself, not as separate combatants.

Z Elite Enemies are capable individual combatants.

Z Horde Enemies represent an entire gang or swarm of hostile creatures. Regardless

of how many creatures a Horde represents in the narration, they are treated as
being one combatant when it comes to gameplay.

Z Part Enemies represent an extension of an Elite creature (such as a tentacle, a tail,

or a floating shield). Each part performs individual actions during combat, and the
Elite is immune to damage unless the Parts are first destroyed.

Z Solo Enemies are extremely powerful combatants who fight alone.

5.2. COMBAT STRUCTURE

In order to allow strategic play and cleanly resolve each character’s actions, combat is
slightly more structured than normal adventure play. Protagonists still act freely, but
Enemies get to both react and act independently at regular intervals.

Simply put, combat is made of consecutive rounds; each round is divided into four phases,
which take place in this order:

Z Opening Phase

Z Protagonist Phase

Z Enemy Phase

Z End Phase

After the End Phase, a new round begins with its own Opening Phase.

13
5.2.1. OPENING PHASE
This phase marks the beginning of the round.

Resolve any effects that trigger “during the Opening Phase” now.

5.2.2. PROTAGONIST PHASE

During this phase, each Protagonist performs one action of their choice (Section 5.3).

Z Protagonists may act in whatever order the Players wish, coordinating in order to
achieve the best strategy.

Z Each Protagonist must perform exactly one action during this phase (there is no
“waiting” option).

5.2.3. ENEMY PHASE

During this phase, each Enemy performs one action as dictated by their profile.

Z If an Enemy has the ability to perform different actions, their profile will include
information on how they choose which action to perform (sometimes it’s random,
sometimes it’s tied to their current health or similar factors).

Z If multiple Enemies are present, the Game Master decides in which order they act.
You might include further rules for this in your game; such as a Speed factor for
Enemies, or a rule saying that Horde Enemies always act before Elite Enemies, or
even one that says the GM must predetermine the activation order of Enemies when
the encounter is created.

5.2.4. END PHASE

This phase marks the conclusion of the round.

Resolve any effects that trigger “during the End Phase” now.

14
5.3. PROTAGONIST ACTIONS
The following actions are available to Protagonists during the Protagonist Phase:

5.3.1. USE AN ACTIVE SKILL

The character uses one of the active skills on their character sheet.

Z Attack skills require a Check against the target, triggering a reaction (Section 5.4) on
a failure or partial. These skills may be quick or slow (see Reaction timing, Section
5.4.1) and may have different effects depending on whether the character rolls a
failure, a partial or a success.

Z For more information on skills, see Section 6.2.

5.3.2. USE AN ITEM

The character uses an item (such as a potion, a magic scroll, or a temporary weapon).

If the item is a consumable item, using it reduces its number of available uses by 1 (if this
reaches zero, the item is destroyed).

Feel free to remove this action if your game doesn’t feature item management.

5.3.3. INTERACT WITH THE SCENE

The character interacts with a feature of the scene (a lever, a mechanism, a trap...).

Z At the Game Master’s discretion, this action might require a Check, which follows the
standard rules for Checks (Section 4.2).

Z This is also the action used to make progress on objectives (Section 5.9).

5.3.4. FULL PARTY STRIKE!

The character launches a devastating group attack that instantly defeats all Enemies.

Z This can only be done if all Enemies are staggered (Section 5.6.3) and there is at
least one other undefeated Protagonist present in the battle.

Z Some Enemies (generally Bosses) are immune to Full Party Strikes.

The Full Party Strike is a vital mechanic that allows Players to save precious resources.

15
5.4. ENEMY ACTIONS AND REACTIONS
During battle, Enemies are fully automated. All Enemies have at least one action and
one reaction they can perform; some might have multiple actions and/or reactions, or
even special effects that trigger during the End Phase or when they are defeated.

Z Actions are something the Enemy does during the Enemy Phase. If an Enemy has
multiple actions available, their profile will include information on how they choose
which action to perform and also who they target with it.

Z Reactions are something the Enemy does in response to a Protagonist rolling a

failure or partial on a Check made against that Enemy.

Enemies can perform any number of reactions during a round; if an Enemy has
different reactions available, their profile will include information on how they choose
which reaction to perform and also who they target with it.

5.4.1. REACTION TIMING

When a Protagonist rolls a partial and triggers a reaction from an Enemy, it is important
to establish whiche effect will be resolved first: the Protagonist’s action, or the Enemy’s
reaction.

Z If the Protagonist was performing a quick skill, resolve the skill before resolving the
Enemy’s reaction.

Z If the Protagonist was performing a slow skill, resolve the skill after resolving the
Enemy’s reaction.

Note that, in some cases, a quick skill will defeat an Enemy before they get the chance to
respond with their reaction; similarly, an Enemy’s reaction might make them temporarily
immune to the effects of a slow skill, thus fully countering it.

16
5.5. DAMAGE, HIT POINTS AND DEFEAT
A combatant’s will to fight is measured in Hit Points, or HP.

When a combatant suffers damage, they lose that many Hit Points. If a combatant’s Hit
Points reach zero, that combatant suffers the staggered condition (Section 5.6.3); if a
combatant would lose Hit Points while already staggered, they are defeated.

Z Defeated Protagonists are no longer part of the battle, but they are not dead; hope is
not lost as long as there is at least one undefeated Protagonist in the battle.

The specifics of defeat and Protagonist death can be unique to your game. Perhaps
Protagonists may only die if the entire group is defeated; perhaps there is a list of
narrative and mechanical consequences for defeat.

Z Some powerful effects can even bring back a defeated Protagonist, healing some of
their HP and letting them rejoin the fight.

Z Horde and Part Enemies are automatically defeated when they reach zero Hit Points,
instead of becoming staggered.

5.5.1. ADDITIONAL DAMAGE

Some effects grant additional damage. Additional damage can only increase pre existing
damage: it cannot add damage to skills and effects that normally deal no damage.

5.5.2. DAMAGE REDUCTIONS

Some effects can reduce damage suffered by a combatant. In these cases, damage can
never be reduced below 1.

On the other hand, if an effect states the combatant takes no damage, then they will
actually take zero damage.

5.5.3. SPREAD DAMAGE

Some Enemies or environmental effects will inflict spread damage: this damage must
be divided as equally as possible between Protagonists, with the Players deciding how
to assign any leftover points.

For instance, if 5 damage must be divided between two Protagonists, the Players decide
who suffers 3 and who suffers 2.

17
5.6. CONDITIONS
In its basic form, the FPS System features the conditions below. A character may
have more than one condition at the same time, but never multiple copies of the same
condition (although corrosion can worsen if you suffer it again and again).

Each condition has an ongoing effect on the combatant who suffers it, but also a way for
them to recover from it.

5.6.1. CORROSION
In your game this could be called Burn, Decay, Poison...

This condition represents a gradual loss of HP, and is always accompanied by a value
(such as “corrosion 3” or “corrosion 5”).

Effect: During the End Phase, you lose 1 Hit Point; then you lower the value of this
condition by 1.

Recovery: If this condition reaches a value of zero, you immediately recover from it.

Special Rule: If you suffer this condition while already under its effect, you add the new
value to the current one.

For instance, if you are currently under the effect of corrosion 2 and suffer corrosion 4
from a source, you are ultimately under the effect of corrosion 6. It doesn’t mean you will
lose more HP per round, but the condition will last for longer.

5.6.2. SHOCK
In your game this could be called Confusion, Fear, Terror...

This condition represents a combatant being frightened.

Effect: You cannot perform reactions or use reactive skills. If you are a Protagonist, you
also cannot take part in swaps (regardless of who is making the Check).

Recovery: After you roll a success or deal damage to another combatant, you recover
from this condition.

18
5.6.3. STAGGERED
It is probably a good idea to keep the name of this condition the same.

This condition represents a combatant being on the brink of defeat.

Effect: If you lose Hit Points, you are instead defeated. During the Opening Phase,
regain 1 Hit Point.

Recovery: After you regain any amount of Hit Points, you recover from this condition.

5.6.4. TRAPPED
In your game this could be called Bound, Frozen, Paralyzed...

This condition represents a combatant being physically unable to move.

Effect: You cannot perform reactions or use reactive skills.

Recovery: As soon as you have the ability to perform an action, you must use that action
to break free: doing so allows you to recover from this condition.

5.6.5. VULNERABLE
In your game this could be called Down, Launched, Stunned...

This condition represents a combatant being in a disadvantageous position, where they

cannot fight to the best of their ability.

Effect: Whenever you take damage, you take 1 additional damage from that same
source; whenever you deal damage, you deal 1 less damage (minimum 1).

Recovery: During the Opening Phase, recover from this condition.

5.6.6. RECOVERING FROM CONDITIONS

Each conditions lists a possible way to recover it; additionally:

Z When combat ends, all combatants immediately recover from all conditions.

Z Skills, items and a variety of other effects may allow combatants to recover from
conditions.

19
5.7. END OF COMBAT
When combat ends, apply the following:

Z All combatants immediately recover from all conditions.

Z All combatants whose current Hit Points are lower than half their maximum Hit
Points (rounded down) immediately reset their current Hit Points to be equal to half
their maximum Hit Points (rounded down).

You might also make it so that a certain amount of Spirit is recovered automatically after
each combat.

5.8. DESIGNING A COMBAT ENCOUNTER

Part of the charm of any game based on the FPS System should be that you can get
playing as fast as possible. Because of this, it can be a good idea to introduce some kind
of procedural battle generation tool, or some other way to quickly assemble a set of
Enemies for a situation.

Obviously, the specific Enemies chosen for a battle and their unique abilities can make
the situation more or less challenging; in general, it’s a good idea to keep things relatively
simple and only add one or two “gimmicks” to each battle.

More information and advice for Enemies can be found in Chapter 7.

5.8.1. DEFAULT BATTLES

Default battles are the most common during adventure. They can still be challenging,
but act as more of a resource drain than anything else.

A “default battle” usually features one of the following formations:

Z One Horde Enemy, accompanied by one Elite Enemy every 2 Protagonists (round
down).

Z Two Horde Enemies.

Z Elite Enemies equal to the number of Protagonists.

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5.8.2. BOSS BATTLES
In general, there will be one boss battle in each adventure (usually at the end). These
are the most difficult fights in the game.

A “boss battle” usually features one of the following formations:

Z One Elite Enemy, accompanied by a number of Part Enemies equal to the number
of Protagonists.

Fundamentally, the Elite acts as the boss’ main body and cannot be damaged unless
all of the Parts have first been defeated.

Z One Solo Enemy.

5.9. SIDE OBJECTIVES

This is a broad term for anything not punching-related going on in the battle: disarming
a trap, closing a gate, and so on. The GM may establish objectives as part of a combat,
or they might be established after a Player states they want to accomplish something
within the scene.

Each objective has a required amount of progress, usually ranging from 1 to 10; each
partial or success scored while interacting with the objective (see Interact with the
Scene, Section 5.3.3) generates 1 point of progress (partials and failures will lead to
consequences like with any Check).

The amount of progress required to accomplish an objective should be kept public.

Do not be afraid to offer guidelines or lists for side objectives; they can make battles
much more lively. At the same time, be careful to avoid unnecessary complexity.

DESIGN OPTION: MORE CONDITIONS

Your game might feature more conditions that the ones presented in this Chapter (and/
or it might not feature some of the default ones, it’s all good).

Please remember that keeping track of conditions can be time-consuming and

might slow down the game. Since FPS games are supposed to be fast-paced, only
add conditions if you truly think they would improve the experience, and remove
unnecessary conditions whenever possible.

21
DESIGN OPTION: DAMAGE DICE
The FPS System keeps things simple by sticking to small damage numbers: 2 damage
here, 3 damage there, 4 or 5 when it’s a really big deal. If you want, you can instead
introduce damage dice (such as turning an effect that deals 3 damage into one that
deals 3d6 damage). This, in turn, will require you to multiply Hit Points by 4 (since it’s
close to a six-sided die’s average), and to change effects that “reduce damage by X”
into effects that “reduce damage by X dice”.

Please note that introducing damage dice makes things a bit slower and much more
swingy, but it’s also true that many Players draw great pleasure from the thrill of
rolling for damage. Decide based on your personal preference, and on who you want
your game to appeal to.

DESIGN OPTION: DAMAGE ELEMENTS AND AFFINITIES

Your game might feature a variety of damage elements, such as fire, ice, piercing,
crushing, bullet, and more (maybe even some weird stuff such as explosion damage or
nuclear damage).

If you add this layer of complexity, you might also want to include damage affinities:

Z Absorb (A) means the combatant takes no damage and instead regains Hit Points
equal to half the amount of damage inflicted.

Z Negate (N) means the combatant takes no damage.

Z Resist (R) means the combatant takes 1 less damage (minimum 1 damage taken).

Z Weak (W) means the combatant takes 1 more damage.

If you want to make affinities even more relevant, you might make it so that hitting
a combatant’s damage Weakness also inflicts the vulnerable condition upon them,
and extend the “instant defeat” of the Full Party Strike! action to vulnerable Enemies
in addition to staggered ones, making battles lightining-fast if the Players know the
Enemies’ weaknesses.

As a personal preference, this should be accompanied by Protagonists having a

Resistance and Weakness of their own... which Enemies can exploit.

22
DESIGN OPTION: SHOOTING AND COVER
If your game revolves around ranged combat, for instance if it’s a title inspired by
“looter-shooters”, you can introduce a simple abstract system for covers.

Whenever combat begins, the GM sketches a list of “cover zones” present in the area
(or you might have each participant come up with one, that’s also a lot of fun).

Then, draw lines to indicate which zones have line of fire to others;
no need to make it pretty, something like what
you see here on the right can work great.

Of course, there are a few points to

consider here:

Z You will need to differentiate between

short range and long range actions and
reactions; short range means “can be
used on targets in the same zone as the
user” and long range means “can be used
on targets in any zone, as long as there is
line of fire between that zone and the user.”

Z To make things fair, long range options should be slower and/or less effective when
compared to short range options.

Z You should introduce an action (let’s call it “Rush”) that allows a combatant to move
to any zone, focusing the entire action on movement.

You might also make things more complex by introducing both lines of fire and lines
of movement, and/or making it so that characters may move 1 zone freely and must
Rush to move more. But this will also require each Enemy’s artificial intelligence to
govern movement in addition to actions, so I can’t really recommend it.

Z You might make it so that the Block skill (Section 6.2) is only available against
attacks and effects that come from a different zone.

Please note that this design option is by no means “necessary” for a game whose
aesthetic centers around ranged combat. Think carefully before introducing this layer
of additional complexity.

23
h 6. CREATING A PROTAGONIST
What is offered in this Chapter could be considered the “barebones framework” for
creating Protagonists in a game based on the FPS System.

You will surely add more fields and details based on the specific game you are designing;
it might involve a friendship mechanic, a system of equipment slots, etc.

6.1. STANDARD PROTAGONIST

Below you can find a list of the default elements that compose an FPS Protagonist.

6.1.1. NAME, PORTRAIT, PERSONAL DATA

Always leave room for a character portrait and personal data! FPS Protagonists should
be colorful and unique.

6.1.2. MAXIMUM HIT POINTS SCORE

The Protagonist’s maximum Hit Points score (normally assumed to be equal to 10).

Each Protagonist begins play with current Hit Points equal to their maximum, and a
Protagonist’s current Hit Points can never go above their maximum HP value.

6.1.3. BASE SPIRIT SCORE

The Protagonist’s base Spirit score (normally assumed to be equal to 20).

Each Protagonist begins play with Spirit equal to their base score, and this is also the
value their Spirit returns to at the start of each adventure.

You are encouraged to add new ways for characters to recover Spirit, especially during
adventures: chatting with party members, consuming special items, and more.

6.1.4. STARTING SKILLS

Skills can be considered the bulk of a Protagonist’s customization. The general
assumption is that Protagonists will begin with three skills of their choice, plus the
Basic Attack skill (Section 6.2). As a rule of thumb, at least two of these free skills
should be active skills, but Players are free to choose otherwise.
At any given time, a Protagonist may have up to five active skills, and up to three
between passive and reactive skills.

24
DESIGN OPTION: ARCHETYPES
In its base form, the FPS System does not feature character archetypes (often referred
to as “classes” or “roles”): each Protagonist may acquire any skill they wish.

However, you might decide to create groups of skills tied to a specific playstyle, such
as “Warrior”, “Sorcerer” or “Blademaster”. If you do, make sure each archetype can be
taken in at least two or three interesting directions, and isn’t just a full-on railroad.

DESIGN OPTION: DAMAGE TYPES

If your game includes damage types, each skill that inflicts damage should be tied to a
specific damage type (or allow the Player to select one damage type when the skill is
acquired, renaming it appropriately: a fire-based Area Attack might become Fireball,
for instance).

It may also be a good idea to have each Protagonist be associated with an element,
thus gaining Resistance to said element and Weakness to another.

DESIGN OPTION: EQUIPMENT

If you want your game to focus partially or entirely on equipment, try to keep numbers
reasonable: even a +1 bonus to damage can be pretty powerful.

Z If you intend on having gear parameters play a major role in the game, you might
want to introduce a Defense parameter that reduces damage suffered, balancing
out the damage increase with a defense increase.

Of course, this leads into a “treadmill” effect where the goal of these stats is
to basically cancel each other out, so it could also be considered a needless
complication. Decide based on what kind of “engagement buttons” you want your
game to push.

Z If you want to go the extra mile and make the game all about equipment, you might
make it so that skills are only obtained through items (with the exception of one or
two basic skills that are always available to the character, such as a basic pistol and
close combat weapon). Full looter-shooter style.

25
6.2. SKILL LISTS
Below you can find lists of the most common skills that should be found in FPS games.
These skills are divided into three categories: active skills, passive skills and reactive
skills.

6.2.1. ACTIVE SKILLS

Active skills require a Protagonist to spend an action in order to use them.

Z Type indicates whether the skill is an attack skill or a support skill.

Attack skills require a Check against their target and may have different effects
depending on whether a partial or success is rolled (failure always results in no
effect, plus the Enemy’s reaction). They also indicate whether they are quick or slow.

Support skills do not require a Check and succeed automatically on each target;
support skills can also be used outside combat and only take a few seconds.

Z Cost indicates the amount of Spirit a Protagonist must spend to use the skill.
If the character doesn’t have enough Spirit, they can’t perform the skill.

Z Target indicates who the skill may be used on.

Z Effect indicates what happens to the target (or targets) when the skill is used, and
may vary depending on the Protagonist’s Check.

6.2.2. PASSIVE SKILLS

Passive skills are extremely simple: they provide a constant benefit to the Protagonist.

6.2.3. REACTIVE SKILLS

Reactive skills give Protagonists the ability to react to specific situations, even during
other characters’ turns. They may also be used outside of combat, if the trigger applies.

Z Trigger indicates what needs to happen for the skill to become available.
Note that a Protagonist may always choose not to use a reactive skill.

Z Cost indicates the amount of Spirit a Protagonist must spend to use the skill.
If the character doesn’t have enough Spirit, they can’t perform the skill.

Z Effect indicates what happens when the skill is used.

26
BASIC ATTACK ACTIVE CLEANSE ACTIVE

Also: Hack and Slash, Magic Dart, Pistol... Also: Encouragement, Panacea, Tonic...

Type: Attack, quick Cost: 0 Type: Attack, slow Cost: 2

Target: One Enemy Target: Yourself or one ally

Z Effect (Partial): 1 damage. Effect: The target recovers from all condi-
tions (except staggered).
Z Effect (Success): 1 damage; after this
attack is resolved, you may spend 2
Spirit to perform this skill again, against
the same target or a different target CORROSIVE ATTACK ACTIVE
(you may only do this once per turn). Also: Curse, Molotov, Poison Strike...
If your game features damage types, you
Type: Attack, slow Cost: 2
might have Players assign two damage
types to this skill (and choose which type to Target: One Enemy
use whenever they attack, describing two
Effect (Partial or Success): The target suf-
different combat moves).
fers corrosion 5.

AREA ATTACK ACTIVE

DEBILITATING ATTACK ACTIVE
Also: Fireball, Grenade, Spinning Slash...
Also: Hypnosis, Knockback, Sleep Dart...
Type: Attack, slow Cost: 2
Type: Attack, slow Cost: 2
Target: One Enemy
Target: One Enemy
Effect (Partial or Success): 2 damage, or 3
Effect (Partial or Success): the target suf-
damage if the target is a Horde.
fers vulnerable.

BACKSTAB ACTIVE
DEFENSIVE ATTACK ACTIVE
Also: Dirty Trick, Soul Harvest, Torment...
Also: Feint, Knockback Shot, Somersault...
Type: Attack, slow Cost: 2
Type: Attack, quick Cost: 3
Target: One Enemy that is suffering from
Target: One Enemy
one or more conditions
Effect (Partial or Success): 2 damage, and
Effect (Partial or Success): 2 damage, plus
the next time you would suffer the effects of
1 additional damage for every condition the
an Enemy action or reaction before the End
target is suffering from.
Phase, you instead suffer no effects from it.

27
ELEMENTAL BARRIER ACTIVE FEAR ATTACK ACTIVE

Also: Barrier, Elemental Veil, Shell... Also: Dark Eye, Flash Grenade, Nightmare...

Type: Support Cost: 2 Type: Attack, slow Cost: 2

Target: Yourself or an ally Target: One Enemy

Effect: Choose a damage type. The next Effect (Partial or Success): 1 damage, and
time the target suffers damage of that type the target suffers shock.
during this adventure, they instead suffer no
damage.

Only include this skill if your game features

GRAB & TOSS ACTIVE

damage types and affinities. Also: Dark Tentacle, Pincer Grab, Suplex...

Type: Attack, quick Cost: 1

EMPOWER ACTIVE Target: One Elite or Part Enemy

Also: Battlecry, Cheer Up, Nanomachines...
Type: Support Cost: 2
Target: Yourself and any number of allies
Effect: You distribute 3 Power tokens
between the targets.
A Protagonist with Power tokens can sacri-
fice them in the following ways:
Effect (Partial or Success): Choose one of
the following options.
Z The target suffers trapped.
Z 1 damage to the target; after this attack
is resolved, a different Enemy of your
choice also takes 1 damage.

Z When dealing damage: To deal 1 HEAL ACTIVE

additional damage (only once per single Also: Adrenaline, Blessing, Medical Drone...
damage instance).
Type: Support Cost: 3
Z When taking damage: To take 1 less
damage (to a minimum of 1; only once Target: Yourself or an ally
per single damage instance).
Effect: The target recovers 6 Hit Points.
A Protagonist may hold a maximum of 3
Power tokens at any time; these tokens car-
ry over between battles, but not between
adventures.

28
HEAL GROUP ACTIVE SUMMON ACTIVE

Also: Life Grenade, Prayer, Regen Field... Also: Clones, Drones, Golems, Skeletons...

Type: Support Cost: 4 Type: Support Cost: 3

Target: Yourself and any number of allies Target: Yourself

Effect: Each target recovers 3 Hit Points. Effect: You receive 2 Summon tokens.
You can sacrifice a Summon token in the fol-
lowing ways:
PIERCING ATTACK ACTIVE
Z When you and/or one ally are about to
Also: Charged Arrow, Laser, Spear Dive... suffer damage: You or that ally suffer
no damage instead (only once per
Type: Attack, slow Cost: 2
single damage instance).

Target: One Enemy Z During the Protagonist Phase, in

Z Effect (Partial): 2 damage.
Z Effect (Success): 2 damage; after this
attack is resolved, a different Enemy of
your choice also takes 1 damage.
REVIVE ACTIVE
Also: Miracle, Pep Talk, Reconstruction...
Type: Support Cost: 8
addition to whatever action you
perform: You deal 1 damage to an
Enemy of your choice (only once per
single Protagonist Phase).
A Protagonist may hold a maximum of 5
Summon tokens at any time; these tokens
carry over between battles, but not betwe-
en adventures.
You should design unique effects for the
summoned creatures in your game.

Target: One defeated Protagonist

Effect: The target recovers 4 Hit Points and TRAPPING ATTACK ACTIVE
immediately rejoins the battle. Also: Frost Wall, Sticky Grenade, Vine Burst...

Type: Attack, slow Cost: 2

SEVERING ATTACK ACTIVE

Target: One Enemy
Also: Chopper, Disgregator, Giant Slice...
Effect (Partial or Success): 1 damage, and
Type: Attack, slow Cost: 2 the target suffers vulnerable.

Target: One Enemy

Effect (Partial or Success): 2 damage, or 3

damage if the target is a Part.

29
ADRENALINE PASSIVE
Effect: Whenever you deal damage with an
active or reactive skill, if your current Hit
Points are equal to or lower than half your
maximum Hit Points (rounded down), the
skill deals 1 additional damage.
FAST THINKER PASSIVE
Effect: Whenever you make progress on an
objective in combat, you may make 1 addi-
tional progress.
MORE HIT POINTS PASSIVE
Effect: You increase your maximum Hit
Points by 5.
RESISTANCE PASSIVE
Effect: You gain Resistance to a single da-
mage type, chosen when you acquire this
skill.
Only include this skill if your game features
damage types and affinities.
SHIELD BREAKER PASSIVE
Effect: Damage you inflict with your active
and reactive skills ignores Resistances.
Only include this skill if your game features
damage types and affinities.
30
AMBUSHER REACTIVE
Trigger: Combat begins. Cost: 1
Effect: Whenever you deal damage with an
active or reactive skill during the first round
of this Combat, that skill deals 1 additional
damage.
BLOCK REACTIVE
Trigger: You suffer the ef- Cost: 5
fects of an action or reaction.
Effect: You instead do not suffer the effects
of that action or reaction.
You might decide to make blocking a core
mechanic of your game, thus giving this skill
to all Protagonists for free. You could also
rename it Dash or Dodge.
COUNTER REACTIVE
Trigger: You use the Block Cost: 1
skill to negate the effects of
an Enemy action or reaction.
Effect: The Enemy who performed the trig-
gering action or reaction takes 2 damage.
Only include this skill if your game also fea-
tures the Block skill above.
If your game features damage types, this
skill should deal damage of a type that the
Protagonist’s Quick Attack can inflict.
DEFEND REACTIVE FOLLOW-UP ATTACK REACTIVE

Trigger: An ally suffers the Cost: 1 Trigger: You take part in a Cost: 1
effects of an action or re- swap during an ally’s attack
action. skill, and the attack results in
a partial or success.
Effect: You suffer the effects of that action or
reaction in place of the ally. Effect: You deal 1 damage to the original
target of your ally’s attack skill.

Note that you pay for this skill’s cost after

DAMAGE CHANGE REACTIVE
the swap takes place.
Trigger: You use an active Cost: 1
skill that deals damage.
OPTIMISM REACTIVE
Effect: All damage dealt by this use of the
skill becomes of [choice type]. Trigger: You take part in a Cost: 0
Special: When you take this skill, choose swap during an ally’s attack
one damage type. That damage type beco- skill, and the attack results in
mes your [choice type] for this skill. a partial or success.

Only include this skill if your game features Effect: You gain 1 Spirit.
damage types and affinities.
Note that you regain the point of Spirit after
the swap takes place.

DAMAGE CYCLE REACTIVE

Trigger: You deal damage of Cost: 0 VENGEFUL REACTIVE

a certain type to an Enemy.
Trigger: An Enemy infli- Cost: 0
Effect: All damage dealt by this use of the cts one or more conditions
skill becomes of [choice type]. upon you.
Special: When you take this skill, choose
one damage type. That damage type beco- Effect: You gain 1 Spirit.
mes your [choice type] for this skill.
Note that you regain the point of Spirit after
Only include this skill if your game features the swap takes place.
damage types and affinities. You should cre-
ate different versions of this skill, based on
your game’s “elemental wheel” (such as ice
making the target vulnerable to fire, or fire
making it vulnerable to air).

31
h 7. ENEMIES
As previously explained, the FPS System includes four types of Enemies: Hordes, Elites,
Parts and Solos. Below you can find “sample stats” for each of them, but this is only the
tip of the iceberg - you can then customize the profiles!

Each Enemy should get at least one customization for free, and may be further customized
by adding some kind of weakness to them.

When a profile mentions the term [group size], it means the number of Protagonists who
take part in the battle.

7.1. BASE ENEMY PROFILES

SAMPLE HORDE ENEMY HORDE

Also: zombie horde, alien swarm, summoned skeletons, worms, corrupt cops, nazi squad, wolf
pack, combat drones, infantry soldiers...

Maximum Hit Points: Equal to [group size] x 3

Reaction: Deal 2 damage to the Protagonist who performed the Check.

Action: Deal an amount of spread damage equal to this Enemy’s current HP.

Special: When reduced to 0 HP, this Enemy is immediately defeated (not staggered).

SAMPLE ELITE ENEMY ELITE

Also: zombie brute, sergeant, golem, army sniper, griffin, combat mecha, giant skeleton, basilisk,
veteran knight, mummy...

Maximum Hit Points: 5

Reaction: Deal 2 damage to the Protagonist who performed the Check.

Action: Deal 4 damage to a randomly determined Protagonist.

Special: None.

32
SAMPLE PART ENEMY PART

Also: tentacle, gun arm, shield arm, tail, wing, antenna, turret...

Maximum Hit Points: 5

Reaction: Deal 2 damage to the Protagonist who performed the Check.

Action: Deal 3 damage to a randomly determined Protagonist.

Special: When reduced to 0 HP, this Enemy is immediately defeated (not staggered).

Part-type Enemies may seem like weaker Elites and nothing more, but remember that
they are always encountered alongside an Elite-type main body which is invulnerable
unless there are no Parts left (and some main bodies might even have the ability to
regenerate one Part during the Opening Phase).

SAMPLE SOLO ENEMY SOLO

Also: dragon, bomb aircraft, minotaur, army commander, giant alien brain, evil sorcerer, vampire,
giant statue, demon lord...

Maximum Hit Points: Equal to [group size] x 5

Reaction: Deal 3 damage to the Protagonist who performed the Check.

Action: If above half HP:

Deal an amount of spread damage equal to [group size] x 4.

If at half HP or less (rounded down), roll a d6:

Z 1-2: Deal an amount of spread damage equal to [group size] x 4.

Z 3-6: Deal 6 damage to the Protagonist with the highest current HP. Do this a
number of times equal to half [group size], rounded down to a minimum of 1.

Special: Immune to the shock and trapped conditions.

33
7.2. ENEMY CUSTOMIZATION
As mentioned before, Enemies can be customized in a variety of ways. Below you can
find some examples and suggestions.

On average, it’s okay for each creature to receive one customization “for free”, but further
customizations should be balanced out in some way: perhaps the creature’s attacks deal
less damage, it has a lower amount of Hit Points, and so on.

Z Conditions: The Enemy’s action or reaction could inflict a condition such as corrosion
3, shock, trapped, or vulnerable. If this is a reaction, you should seriously consider
reducing the damage it deals by at least 1 point.

Z Regeneration: The Enemy might recover a small amount of HP (such as 1 or 2) during

the Opening Phase or after each action (avoid making this trigger after reactions, it
gets frustrating).

Z Elemental Defenses: The Enemy might be Resistant or Immune (or even Absorb!)
one or more damage types. This should be balanced with one or more Weaknesses,
unless the Enemy is some kind of superboss.

Only use this option if the game includes damage types.

Z Healing: The Enemy might have a chance to perform a healing action, restoring 2 Hit
Points to all of their allies.

Z Death Counter: When defeated, the Enemy might deal damage or inflict a condition
on the character who landed the final blow, or on a variable amount of random
targets. Or, it might even heal all the other Enemies!

Z Opportunist: The Enemy might deal additional damage against Protagonists who are
suffering from a specific condition.

Z Rage Effect: The Enemy might deal additional damage or gain some kind of special
ability while at half HP or lower.

Z Perfect Guard: The Enemy might take 1 less damage from all partials (only a success
will deal full damage). Don’t overdo it with this one, it can quickly become boring.

34
7.3. BOSS CUSTOMIZATION
The following are a few customizations that should only be reserved for “boss battles”
against powerful Enemies.

Z Regenerate Part: Usable on the main body Elite Enemy in a battle that also involves
Part-type Enemies. During the Opening Phase, if the main body has not been
defeated and at least one of its Parts has been destroyed, it regenerates one of those
Parts at random (with full Hit Points).

This regeneration should not trigger if the boss is already back to its original number
of Parts (for instance, a Kraken that starts the battle with five tentacles can only ever
have five tentacles).

Z Routine: The boss always performs a specific cycle of actions round after round, such
as action A in round 1, action B in round 2, action C in round 3, then action A in round
4, action B in round 5, and so on; and/or the boss “telegraphs” its upcoming action at
the start of the round in some way.

This allows you to make the actions a bit more powerful, since they’re more
predictable.

Z Stance Change: After being hit by a specific type of damage, the boss performs a
different set of actions/reactions.

Only use this option if the game includes damage types.

Z Summon Double: This should only be given to Solo Enemies. When first reduced to
half HP, the boss summons a copy of itself in the battle, but the copy has HP equal
to [group size] x 2. Only one copy can be created during a battle, and if the original is
defeated, the copy vanishes as well.

Z Summon Horde: This is a powerful ability for bosses, and can be given to a Solo or to
an Elite main body. During the Opening Phase, the boss creates a Horde-type Enemy
with 2 current Hit Points, an infinite number of maximum Hit Points, and an action
that deals spread damage equal to the Horde’s current HP; or, if the Horde is already
part of the battle, it recovers 2 HP.

This is an abstraction of the Enemy Horde growing larger and larger at the end of
each round; even defeating the Horde won’t keep the PCs safe, because the boss will
create a new Horde at the end of the round.

35
h 8. DESIGN ADVICE
This section contains a variety of advice and considerations for those who wish to design
a game based on the FPS System.

8.1. RISING THRESHOLDS

As the Protagonists traverse areas of ever increasing level, the thresholds for partials
and successes can become very high, to the point of frustration. Imagine a level 10 area:
Protagonists will only succeed on a roll of 20, and anything below 11 (which means 50%
of their Checks!) will be a failure. Pretty much anything they do will trigger reactions and
slowly drain them of their resources. How do we address this?

8.1.1. STAT BONUSES

You could include a system of stats that grant Protagonists a bonus in different situations,
such as Strength, Coordination, Perception and the likes (I’m sure you’re familiar). Of
course, this means you need to introduce a way to determine which bonus gets added to
a Check: does the GM decide? Does each skill indicate which stat should be used for it?
If you opt for stat bonuses, keep them between a 0 and a +3 for starting characters, with
the option to increase them later (never above 9, I’d say).

8.1.2. ITEM BONUSES

Similar to the above, but this time it’s items that grant the bonuses: swords that increase
the precision of “martial skills”, staves and tomes that increase the precision of “magic
skills”, and so on.

8.1.3. LEVEL BONUS

This is an even simpler solution: each Protagonist has a level, and adds this value to any
Check they make. It’s bluntly straightforward, but if your game is meant to be simple, it
can work quite well.

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8.1.4. DYNAMIC AREA LEVEL
This solution can be very interesting, but requires for your game to tie an area’s level
to a narrative factor (for instance, a dungeon might have different levels depending on
the time of day, or be tied to a person’s distress). During downtime, Protagonists may
perform actions to lower the area’s level and make their life easier in the upcoming
adventure.

8.1.5. LIMITED LEVEL RANGE

You might simply choose to have area levels range from 1 to 5, keeping the numbers a
bit more manageable.

8.2. CONSEQUENCES OF DEFEAT

Your game will probably present some sort of “victory condition” or at least “desirable
outcome” to the players: it might be as simple as recovering a precious family heirloom
from a monster-infested dungeon, or as complex as freeing a city from an oppressive
military force. But at the same time, you need to think about defeat: what does it look
like? If all Protagonists bite the dust in combat, is it game over? Or would that trigger a
“mission failure” and return the group to downtime, perhaps with fewer resources? Do
they reform inside a cloning vat after death? Is there a ticking clock of some sort? Do we
get a week to achieve our goal, and then it’s Bad EndingTM?
Whatever your decision, I suggest you design a majority of your game experience around
it; everything should reinforce that theme, that pressure, that urgency.

8.3. PHYSICAL COMPONENTS

While not particularly complex if you compare it to most tabletop RPGs on the market,
the FPS System relies heavily on the tracking of Hit Points and conditions. Consider
implementing tokens, cards or similar components to help players keep track of
important information.

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h 9. PVP
The general expectation of the FPS System is that of a cooperative game, but you might
introduce rules for Protagonist-against-Protagonist combat.

9.1. DUELS
If two Protagonists fight each other one on one, each round only features an Opening
Phase, a Main Phase, and an End Phase. During each of these phases, the two
Protagonists use skills and perform actions as normal; however, given the competitive
nature of the battle, there are some additional rules.

9.1.1. PRIORITY
At the start of each round (before the Opening Phase) both Players secretly spend
from 1 to 6 Spirit (using a six-sided die can be a good idea), then reveal their choice
simultaneously. Whoever spent the most Spirit has priority during this round; the
Protagonist with priority makes choices, triggers and resolves skills, and performs
actions before the other Protagonist (this replaces the second rule in Section 3.11).

9.1.2. ACTIONS
During the Main Phase, each Protagonist will perform an action as normal, starting with
the Protagonist who has priority. However, if a Protagonist wishes to use an attack skill,
the following steps must be performed in this exact order:

Z The attacker secretly chooses an attack skill whose cost in Spirit they can afford.

Z The defender secretly chooses an attack skill whose cost in Spirit they can afford.

Z The chosen skills are revealed, and both Protagonists pay the Spirit costs.

Z The attacker performs their Check (including any swaps).

If the Check is a failure, only the defender’s skill is resolved (if the skill has variable
effects, treat it as if the defender had rolled a success).

If the Check is a partial, both skills are resolved as partials. If one skill is quick and
the other is slow, resolve the quick skill first; if they are both quick or slow, resolve
the skill from the Protagonist with priority first.

If the Check is a success, only the attacker’s skill is resolved.

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9.1.3. ADDITIONAL DEFEAT CONDITIONS
To avoid duels protracting for too long, Protagonists are also defeated if they reach zero
Spirit at any time during the battle.

9.2. TEAM BATTLES

If you want your game to feature opposing teams of Protagonists fighting, things get a
bit more complicated (perhaps too complicated; tread carefully).

9.2.1. PRIORITY
In a team vs team situation, it won’t be enough to simply know which Protagonist has
priority: you need to establish an order of priority. The easiest option by far is to assign
a random number to each Protagonist at the start of the round (a good way to do this is
shuffling cards and assigning a card to each Protagonist).

Z It is highly suggested to have the order of priority change between rounds, either
randomly or through some specific mechanic (see suggestions above). Use tokens,
cards or similar components to easily keep track of the order of priority during a round.

Z Another option is to have priority be team-based; this is certainly easier to manage

than individual priority, but makes it very likely for the faster team to “focus fire” and
annihilate an opponent before they even get to act. Which isn’t exactly a nice thing
to experience.

9.3. MAKE IT THE FOCUS OF YOUR GAME

If you decide to spend time on developing PVP rules for your game, you should strongly
consider making it the foundation of the game experience, and keeping your game as
simple as possible for everything else. An excellent example would be a martial arts
tournament game that is entirely structured around duels (and in which Enemies are
built very similarly to Protagonists, maybe?), where non-combat scenes are dedicated to
building relationships between the cast and recharging Spirit by performing a variety of
narrative activities (going to the beach, drinking together, watching a movie and so on).

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PROTAGONIST:

PLAYER:

Hit Points Spirit

Max Base

BASIC ATTACK ACTIVE

Type: Attack, quick Cost: 0

Target: One Enemy

Z Effect (Partial): 1 damage.

Z Effect (Success): 1 damage; after this attack is resolved, you may spend 2 Spirit to perform
this skill again, against the same target or a different target (only once per turn).

Skill: A/P/R

Skill: A/P/R

Skill: A/P/R