Welcome! So it’s players versus the TT?

You hold in your hand/viewing on your screen the
primary rules for BRAINS & BRAWN - a simple, but
complete Table Top Role Playing Game (TTRPG)!
If you’ve played a TTRPG before & want to skip this
page, feel free to flip over to the next 2 pages to see the
basic rules, though I will admit I’ll be sad to see you go
off on your own quite so quickly.
Wait... What is Role Playing?
Okay, have you ever watched a movie & found
yourself screaming that the main character is doing
something stupid? Ever pretend you’re a race car
driver while pushing a shopping cart? Ever watch a
football game & get angry because you would have
called a completely different play?
Congratulations - you’ve roleplayed! You’ve placed
yourself into the role of another person or character.
With TTRPGs you do the same thing, but, in this
case, you actually get to change the story because it’s
being written by you & your friends.
Hold up. Friends?
Yup. You do need friends, acquaintances, strangers
who have similar interests, or even just those 3 people
you’ve got tied up in the basement (Fighter Guy
Studios doesn’t condone tying unwilling people up, but
use what you’ve got).
Gosh, no. Everyone is a player. The TT makes the
story, but they aren’t the enemy. If your characters are
getting killed by a dragon, your characters are not
being killed by the TT. They are getting killed by
dragon. That’s the story. We’re all in this together.
The best way to ‘WIN’ a Role Playing Game is to
make sure that everyone has fun, whether you‘re a TT
or a player. That’s the goal.
So, the TT tells a tale & I say what my
character does or says. When the TT
asks me to roll I do & find out if I
succeed or not. Together we weave a
fun tale where we attempt to win the
day & just have lots of fun.
Um, yeah, actually. That’s exactly it.
So, how do we get started?
We make up a character & the TT starts the
tale. Turn
the page &
let’s get
going!

Okay, I’ve got... Participants..

What else do I need?
You’ll need paper, pencil & 10 sided dice.

Dice come in more than

just 6 sides?
They sure do! Lots of sizes! What we need here are
10-sided. If you don’t already have them, you can find
them at any game store. You’ll want at least 3 or 4 of
them. Can’t get to the store? Don’t worry. Type ‘roll
3d10’ into The Google, & it’ll do it for you. Neat!
When we talk about dice, the easiest way of writing
it is to say how many & what type by writing 1d10.
This means one 10 sided die. What do you think 2d10
means? Yup, 2 10-sided dice. Good job.

Got Math Rocks & players. Next?

There are 2 basic roles for the game. The first are
Characters. The second is the Tale Teller (TT). The
TT is the player who is telling the story. They make
up the scenarios, describe what is happening & then
call for the tests & dice rolls when necessary.

Inspired by LASERS & FEELINGS by John Harper & One Seven Design Studios Please visit them at www.onesevendesign.com
Brains & Brawn Adapted by Fighter Guy Studios fighterguystudios@gmail.com
 You Are What you Eat.. Not really
Who is your character & what do they do? This is
all dependent on the game you’re playing, so work with
your TT to make sure it’s appropriate.
The game is a 007-style spy mission, so Ralph gives it
some thought. His character grew up in an orphanage &
joined the military at 18. He was trained as a sniper &
then became a spy at the end of the war.
Pick a Number. (Almost) any Number.
Choose your NUMBER between 3 & 8. Higher
means you’re better with your BRAWN, the physical
attributes such as your strength or speed. Lower
means you’re better with your BRAINS, which is
intelligence, puzzle solving or social stuff.
The character isn’t dumb, but he’s not a genius
either. Ralph gives him a 6, making him a bit more
athletic than smart. Ralph notes that he is more lean &
fast versus being overly muscular for roleplaying
purposes.
What’s in a Name
Give your character a name. Make it cool, like
Peregrine the Mighty, Super-dude, Penelope, or
whatever is thematically relevant for your game.
Ralph decides that an ironic name would be best.
How about an ex-sniper war vet named Peace? For a
first name, Ralph goes with his favorite uncle’s first
name, Warren.
Boons & Banes
What is your character good at? Choose 3 skills,
BOONS, that your character has. You also want to
think of weaknesses, BANES, which will make your
character feel more real. You can have as many
BANES as you want, but the first two are special
because they each will allow you to take one more
BOON, so you can have up to 5 BOONS!
As a sniper, Agent Peace was well trained in
long-distance shooting & stealth, so Ralph chooses
those skills. He also decides that Agent Peace had some
hand-to-hand combat training, so he chooses Krav
Maga (because it’s cool). Ralph gives Agent Peace a
BANE, which is a weakness for the ladies, so he gets a
fourth BOON. Ralph picks Perception because Agent
Peace always pays attention to the world around him.
Equipment
You have the appropriate clothes & basic
equipment that you need to have. Check with the TT to
make sure it’s all correct.
Agent Peace carries a Walther PPK, naturally, at all
times. He also has his sniper rifle that fits inside a
briefcase. His tux is made out of a special material that
never stains & his cuff-links are small explosives that
he can use to blow out a door lock or a tire. Ralph’s TT
also suggests an earpiece communicator to speak with
the person-in-the-chair & a watch with a tiny laser
inside that can cut through glass windows or even steel
bars if needed.
It’s that quick - Secret Agent Warren Peace is done!
02
Rolling the Dice
Whenever you do something that has a chance of
failure roll 1d10. +1d10 if you have a BOON for it &
+1d10 if you’re prepared, for a maximum of 3d10.
BRAINS - Roll equal to or OVER your NUMBER
BRAWN - Roll equal or UNDER your NUMBER.
The number of successes will tell you how you did:
Yeah, you dun goofed. How bad is it? We’ll see,
0 but I’ll tell you what - it’s about to get worse.
Okay, you’ve got it.. it wasn’t pretty & now it’s a
1 little more complicated, but you got the job done.
Good job. You succeeded. What, you want a
2 medal or something? Keep up the good work.
You did really great! No issues & you’re in even
3 better shape. Maybe you do get a medal!
The target is small, even with the scope. Agent Peace
squeezes the trigger slowly until he feels the whump of
the gun against his shoulder. Ralph rolls a BRAWN test
with 1d10 +1d10 for his BOON in long-distance
shooting +1d10 because he took the time to prepare the
shot. He rolls a 1, 3 & 8 on the three dice. Because it’s a
BRAWN test, he wants to roll below the NUMBER. 2
Successes! The security camera explodes.
As he is escaping in his Aston Martin, Agent Peace
realizes he’s being followed. He attempts to loose the
chasing car with a series of evasive maneuvers.
Because Agent Peace isn’t skilled in evasive driving &
this is a spur of the moment thing, Ralph only rolls 1d10
for his BRAINS test. The 5 is above his NUMBER, so no
successes. Agent Peace realizes that he can’t loose his
tail, & even worse, he has drawn the attention of the
police as well.
Note: The TT could have called for a BRAWN test
while Agent Peace was driving, as it’s a physical
activity, but they picked BRAINS because the agent
was trying to trick the enemy. In the end, as long as
the TT can explain why it’s one way or the other, we’re
all just doing the best we can!
You are ON A ROLL!
If at least 1 die lands exactly on your NUMBER in
a test, not only is it a success, but it means you’re ON
A ROLL. You get one additional d10 that you can use
on any upcoming test. You can only have one extra
d10 at any one time, so use it! You can choose to roll
your extra d10 AFTER you attempt a success.
Agent Peace has been captured & is being
interrogated. Ralph wants to lie to throw them off the
trail. The TT asks for a BRAINS test & Ralph rolls his
one die & scores a 6! Not only has he succeeded, but he
also has an extra d10 that he can use on a future test.
When his interrogators leave, Ralph asks if Agent Peace
can try to snap the zip-die cuffs holding him on his
chair. Ralph rolls a d10, but gets an 8. Ralph decides to
use his ON A ROLL die & rolls a second d10 & gets a 5!
The cuffs snap! Things are looking up!
 A Helping Hand
Sometimes your character will be in a position to
help another character with a test. With the TT’s
agreement, roll one additional d10 at the same time as
the other character is rolling theirs. Use your own
BRAWN or BRAIN, whatever the other character is
rolling for, to see if you got a success to help them.
Agent Friendly is attempting to gain control of the
enemy’s computer system & Agent Peace decided to
help. Agent Friendly rolls her d10’s for her BRAIN test,
but rolls a 1 & 4 for zero successes. Luckily, Ralph rolls
a 7 & with 1 success the two are able to take control of
the computer, but their fumbling has alerted an enemy
hacker of their intrusion.
Ties
Heroes always get the benefit of the doubt, so,
unless otherwise instructed, players always win ties.
Contested Tests
Anytime two characters are participating in
something that the other has direct control over like
wrestling, dogfighting, & chess, for example, the tests
are considered Contested. Contests have both the
opponents make their tests using whatever dice are
called for. The two contestants will then compare the
number of successes. If the number of successes are
equal, it means there is a stalemate. A narrow victory
means that the initiating character just succeeds & a
larger success may give them a better advantage, but
while a narrow loss may mean they just couldn’t do
what they wanted, a larger loss might see the
character’s maneuver flipped to work against them.
Agent Peace is in trouble. His opponent stares across
the table & grins. They both lift the shot glass & gulp
down the burning liquid at the same time. The bar goes
quiet. A BRAWN contest is called & both Agent Peace &
his opponent roll their dice. Agent Peace rolls one die,
but his opponent has a BOON for being a heavy drinker
& rolls 2. Peace rolls a 2! His opponent rolls a 4 & a 6
for two successes. Because his opponent has 1 more
success than Agent Peace, he narrowly wins this round.
If he had gotten 2 more successes than Agent Peace, it
might have meant that Agent Peace had passed out. As
it is, Agent Peace feels the effects of the alcohol rushing
to his head as his vision swirls around him.
Who Goes First
How do you know who acts first in combat? The
order each character goes is called Initiative, which is
rolled to randomly determine the order.
Every player rolls 1d10 & adds their NUMBER. The
highest roll goes first, followed by the next highest &
so on. The TT will roll for any Non-Player Characters
(NPCs) by rolling only 1d10 & adding their NUMBERS.
Ties with NPC’s, as always, go to players. If two
players tie, they can decide each round who goes first
& who goes next.
Players may always choose to go on a lower
initiative, but they will always go after anyone else
with the same initiative & must maintain that initiative
order for the duration of the combat.
Multi-tasking:
Messing up multiple things at once.
In combat, a character may do 2 things. What
things? Move, attack, swing from a chandelier, operate
a device. Want to move twice? Sure. 2 attacks? No
problem. Curl into a ball & hope for rescue... I guess?
Move it, Move it, Move it
Movement is situational. In a crowded bar, a full
movement might be 5 feet. In an open field, at a sprint,
it might be 50 feet. While the TT has the final say, both
the player & TT can decide together what a reasonable
movement distance for each the situation.
Agent Peace was on the edge of the field where the
enemy was readying the surface to air missile. He had
to reach them quickly before they could bring down the
passenger jet! Ralph’s TT decided that the enemy was 2
movements away. That meant Agent Peace could
charge forward 2 movements & hope that the enemy
couldn’t fire before his next turn, or he could bring up
his pistol & fire twice, hoping to take down the targets
this turn.
Bringing the Pain
Weapons & attacks do 1 point of damage PER
success on the attack.
Physical Damage Points
You have a number of Physical Damage points (PD)
equal to your NUMBER. If you reach 0, you’re injured.
Being injured sucks- all your BRAWN tests are taken
with 1 less d10 (you always get a minimum of 1d10).
At the beginning of each character’s turn, while
injured, one of your 2 things per turn can be to make
a BRAWN test with 1 die. On a success you get back 1
PD. Rolling exactly on your NUMBER gives you 2 PD. If
you drop below 0 PD, you fall unconscious.
Dying sucks. But it happens. Each round without
medical aid while unconscious, roll a 2d10 BRAWN
test. Two failures means your character dies while 1 or
2 successes means the character remains
unconscious. Attempted medical treatment, regardless
of successes, halts the need to roll for death.
It’s Time to Wake up Now
Another character may attempt to wake an
unconscious character by making a BRAINS check. If
they have the appropriate medical equipment, add
1d10, & medical training, add another d10. The
unconscious character will gain 1 PD for each success.
Without medical aid, the character wakes up as
injured with 0 PD in 1d10 hours.
Rest & Recovery
Okay, so against all odds, you’ve survived the
battle... How do you recover? For each recovery period,
the character makes a BRAWN test with 1d10. A
success means they recover one PD. If they roll their
NUMBER they recover 2PD. In realistic campaigns the
recovery period is 1 day. Heroic campaigns have a
recovery period of 1 hour.
03
 An NP-what? Character
Name
Player
Name
Non-Player Characters (NPCs) are any character in
the game run by the TT: the quest-giver, the shop
keeper, evil minions, & even the Big Bad Evil Guy
(BBEG). Most of these characters don’t need stats, but
if the nice old guy asks you to find his grandchild, you BRAINS BRAWN
might negotiate the price he’s willing to pay to save his Roll Equal to or Roll Equal to or
grandkid (you monster!). In circumstances like that, Over NUMBER NUMBER Under NUMBER
the TT can just pick a number to roll against. The
BOON 1 * BANE 1
average person has a NUMBER of 5 or 6.
But what about that super-savy shopkeeper who
you’re attempting to bluff into giving you a good deal? BOON 2 * BANE 2

He’s been doing this a long time, so he probably has

BOONS in both Negotiation & Appraisal. BOON 3 ** BANE 3

The TT can also assign different Numbers for

BRAINS & BRAWN. The Super Strong BBEG is super BOON 4 * ** BANE 4
strong, but he’s not stupid. This allows the TT to
better balance their adventures.
BOON 5 *
A TT can also adjust the PD of NPCs. That street * This BANE will give an extra BOON. Yay!
** No BOONS, but this is more fun. If you dare...
thug might be able to throw a good punch, but there is
no reason to have a prolonged fight with a minor
character. The thug has a NUMBER 7, but with only 3 Equipment
PD, the fight won’t drag on for too long.
Below are some examples of how you can create
simple NPCs. These are only examples:

Average Person Savy Shopkeep

NUMBER 5 NUMBER 5
PD 2 PD 2
BOONS:
Negotiation
Appraisal

Thug Patrol Officer

NUMBER 7 NUMBER 6
PD 3 PD 3
BOONS: BOONS:
Fisticuffs Teamwork
Clubs Pistols Notes:

Ninja Foot Soldier Ninja- Master

NUMBER: 6 BRAINS 5/ BRAWN 7
PD 4 PD 5
BOONS: BOONS:
Ninjato Kusarigama
Throwing star Stealth
Stealth Poison
+1PD on a hit
4 5

BBEG - Brainy BBEG - Brawny Physical

3

NUMBER 3 BRAINS 4 /BRAWN 8

PD 6 PD: 8 Damage ON A ROLL
BOONS: BOONS:
Wheel
If at least 1 die lands exactly on
2

your NUMBER in a test, it is a

Perception Fisticuffs Mark out any number
success & you get one extra die to
use on a future test. You can only
Invention Wrestling greater than your NUMBER.
This is your PD 8 have one extra die at any one time.

BANES: BANES: 1 I n j u re d

Tends to Monologue Overconfident

0 How many Dice?
Stun Ray: Armor: -1 Unconscious
1 - Always
Reduces Player’s 1 PD less per hit 1 - Boon?
actions to one on Spiked Knuckles: 1 - Prepared?
next turn +1PD on a hit
04