An occultist and a demon hunter walk into a bar.
She Name:
SMALL TOWN GOTHIC
Written by @chiquitafajita_
STATS
To start, roll three six-sided dice (“d6”) and divide each by 2.
Assign each value to a stat below. Round down except for 1,
which is the minimum value for a stat.
DEX: STR: WIS:
These stats represent your character’s various abilities.
· DEX (A.K.A. Dexterity): How quick and precise you are.
· STR (A.K.A. Strength): How tough and powerful you are.
· WIS (A.K.A. Wisdom): How cool and perceptive you are.
INVENTORY
Each inventory slot below can hold 1 decent-sized item.
You have 8 slots plus 1 for each STR point you have.
You start with a weapon (including 12 ammo if ranged)
and four other items from the referee’s table.
You also start with a wallet containing some money “₤”
equal to the sum of two six-sided dice, or ₤7 on average.
You can spend this in town, or offer some to demons.
HIT POINTS
You have 6 Hit Points (HP).
You lose 1 HP for each Hit you take in combat.
When you have 0 HP, you perish. Choose your battles.
Restore 3 HP after sleep. Restore 1 HP after meals.
orders a drink. She counts the totems in her pocket, and
then she counts the bullets in her revolver. She takes a
shot before leaving. A farmer has some talking pigs that
Level: 1 2 3 4 5 6
need some taking care of. XP:
You need 3 dice to play this game. Aim for the heart.
You start at Level 1. You need Level × 6 XP to advance.
HOW TO PLAY You earn # XP equal to the Level of the strongest demon
that you yourself pacify or defeat each day.
When asked to check a stat (DEX, STR, WIS):
You may also earn 1 to 6 XP for achieving difficult tasks.
1. Tell the referee your value for that stat. The referee will decide how much exactly.
2. The referee will tell you a number.
Add +1 to any stat value below 4 when you advance.
3. Roll one d6, or sometimes more.
If you roll just one d6 ≤ the referee’s number, you succeed.
Otherwise, you fail. The odds are against you. PACTS
Instead of relying on chance to solve problems in-game, You form pacts with demons, whose only stat is their Level.
You unlock +1 pact slot when WIS = 2 & WIS = 3.
rely on your own creativity and intuition. It’s more fun!
MP is restored each and every day, but HP is lost forever.
The demon breaks the pact when they lose all their HP.
ENCOUNTER MOVES If the demon is dual-type, decide each day which MP are of
Encounters are a discourse, and this is their language. which type. You may represent this using colorful tokens.
Roll a die to select a random demon for any reason.
Attack: Make a weapon check ↓ against your target’s DEX.
For each successful die, you deal Hits equal to that die roll.
Roll again if you roll a 1; you get a second shot!
1.
Alignment: L N C Level:
· Shoot: Check DEX for guns. Spend 1 ammo.
· Strike: Check STR for melee weapons. Element A: Element B:
· Spell: Check WIS for magical damage. Description:
Armor allows you to reduce the amount of Hits you take
when you are attacked. Each piece of Armor has a 1-in-6
chance to prevent just 1 Hit.
HP: MP:
Talk: Check WIS to handle conversations with social grace,
or to intimidate a poor soul into submission.
2.
· Negotiate: Roll +1 d6 if you offer what they want.
Alignment: L N C Level:
· Pact: Propose that a demon accompany you.
Element A: Element B:
You must pledge to a cosmic Alignment. If you pledge to
Description:
LAW or CHAOS, demons will respond accordingly.
LAW NEUTRAL CHAOS
If your Alignments match, roll +1 d6. If they oppose, as in
LAW versus CHAOS or vice versa, roll –1 d6. If you end up
rolling “zero” dice, roll two dice and take the worst result. HP: MP:
You may summon one demon at a time to do your bidding.
3.
Order Demon: Demons spend Magic Points (MP) for moves. Alignment: L N C Level:
A demon can make one move per round of combat, usually
spending 1 MP for 1 d6 except in the following situations. Element A: Element B:
· Synergize: Roll +1 d6 with elemental advantage. Description:
· Combust: Spend 2 MP with elemental disadvantage.
Consider how elements interact with each other. Shooting
a fireball might falter against an aquatic spirit, but not if
you somehow transform it into the other kind of ‘spirit’. HP: MP:
 HOW TO RUN MINOR GOETIA
Players check stats to succeed at difficult or risky tasks.
REFEREE REFERENCE The following 6 demons are relatively common and can be
encountered at any infested location. Roll 1d3 for Level.
They must roll d6 ≤ the number given by the COMP table
to succeed at the task at hand. More powerful demons have more important things to do.
V.S. DIFFICULTY
Only ask for rolls when there’s serious difficulty or risk, COMP 1 2 3 4 5 6 1. Bishop-fish (L): A saltwater demon covered in scales,
and never ever hide any information from your players! with a bishop’s hat atop its head. It is a literal fish out of
Let them hear behind closed doors, look for tripwires, and 1 3 2 1 0 0 0 water and cannot communicate except in vague gestures.

PLAYER STAT
throw rocks across a hallway. This is a problem-solving 2 4 3 2 1 0 0 2. Brownie (N): A household spirit who performs chores
game, and rolling dice is the final resort for when your while her host family sleeps. Her efforts are unnoticed and
players can’t come up with a good solution. 3 5 4 3 2 1 0
unappreciated, but this fact pleases her indeed.
Invent situations, not stories. A role-playing game ought 4 6 5 4 3 2 1
3. Chupacabra (C): A bipedal reptile from the Caribbean,
to be open-ended, where the solutions and outcomes can 5 6+1 6 5 4 3 2 famous for sucking blood from livestock and pets. They
only be found by the players—and not determined by you.
Let your players surprise you and even themselves. 6 6+2 6+1 6 5 4 3 operate only on their drive to quench their endless thirst.

4. Gargoyle (L): A winged grotesque statue who protects

Be considerate of your audience. Since you are the one churches from evil spirits. It has an elongated snout to
running the game, you are holding everything together. Most often, the difficulty number for tasks should be 3.
shoot water from the top of high steeples.
Don’t force anything onto the players who have entrusted This means the player need only roll d6 ≤ their own stat.
that important role to you. Decide as a group what is 5. Imp (C): A silly little devil more prone to mischief than
Other difficulties only come up during specific situations,
appropriate at the table, and check on each other. malice. They delight in trouble, but they have neither the
like during an encounter. These situations are indicated
desire nor the imagination to cause lasting harm.
when the rules say to “check [stat] against” something else.
Of course, you have the final word to set a task’s difficulty. 6. Zombie (N): A pauper’s corpse reanimated and cursed to
CHARACTER ITEMS forever work for a necromantic master. They fear that they
Players create their characters by adding 1 point to 1 stat, will never find rest.
and by selecting their starting items. Roll 4d6 and tell DUNGEONS For a random encounter, you might roll multiple times to
players their options across each table of six items. Time exploring dungeons is measured in 10-minute turns.
invent situations involving the resultant demons. Perhaps
Any of the following actions, and others, take 1 turn:
₤2 Batteries (x6) ₤1 Candles (x6) some poor bishop fish is being harassed by a hapless imp.
₤1 Cigarettes (x20) ₤1 Deck of Cards · Move 120’ inside the dungeon.
Roll d6 to determine a demon’s Attitude toward the party.
₤2 Flashlight ₤1 Holy Symbol · Rest and eat some lunch if desired (restore 1 HP).
₤1 Lighter ₤1 Marbles · Bend bars, push doors, etc. (check STR). 1: The demon is receptive and talkative.
₤1 Pork & Beans ₤1 Spyglass · Climb walls, pick locks, etc. (check DEX). 2-3: The demon is cautious or curious.
₤2 Rope (50’) ₤1 Whistle · Listen closely, search rooms, etc. (check WIS).
4-6: The demon is hostile and combative.
₤1 Beer Bottle ₤3 Grappling Hook Failing a check means that the party wasted time trying,
₤3 Crowbar ₤3 Hammer & Nails that they will attract unwanted attention, or even worse. When negotiating, each successful d6 lowers Attitude by 1.
₤3 Handcuffs ₤1 Iron Spikes Attitude may increase when the party offends the demon.
Declare the stakes before the roll; nothing never happens.
₤3 Lockpick ₤10 Leather Jacket Keep track of this so not every encounter turns violent.
₤15 Old Fiddle ₤15 Motorcycle Helmet LIGHT SOURCES
₤1 Ski Mask ₤1 Shaving Cream One battery can power a flashlight for 6 turns, and its light
will shine up to 50’ ahead. Easy to get snuck up on. MORALE
Stakes measure a non-player party’s will to keep fighting.
The party can also use old, “analog” light sources instead.
SCROLLS & SPELLS A lantern lasts for 24 turns, shines 40’ around the holder,
At the beginning of the battle, the Stakes are simply 0.
A magic scroll might take the form of an MP3 player or an and consumes some oil. You can also use oil to start fires. Increase Stakes by 1 for a non-player party when:
actual physical text. Either way, a scroll can be used once
daily to cast a spell. It lasts for 1d6 rounds of combat. RANDOM ENCOUNTERS · The first party member perishes
Shuffle 12 cards, perhaps one red and the others black. · Half of the party has perished
1. Cherub’s Flame: Shoot lasers from an angelic shotgun Every turn, draw a card. Whenever you draw the red card, · The party leader perishes
2. Exorcise: Repel # demons = COMP WIS vs demon’s Level you have triggered a random encounter. · The players intimidate the party
3. Healing Serpent: Spawn a snake who heals 1 Hit/round
4. Pillar of Fire: Call down a path-seeking pillar of fire The encounter appears 2d6 × 10’ away, and there is an Each non-player character has a Morale stat numbered 1-6,
5. Transubstantiate: Transform water, wine, or blood equal chance of them being behind or ahead of the party. where someone with Morale 1 will flee at the first chance,
6. Ventriloquize: Speak through another creature or object If they are within sight, the party notices them first. and someone with Morale 6 will likely fight to the death.
You may assume that most NPCs have a morale of 3.
Scrolls are rare to come by, and take a while to compose. After completing an encounter OR taking a rest, reshuffle
Players will most likely have to acquire scrolls by trading the deck with all cards. This represents that the dungeon’s Fight (or) Flight: Check Morale against the current Stakes.
with or stealing from various occultists. wrath toward the party has momentarily subsided. Upon failure, the individual or party will flee the scene.