The Anywhere RPG (a rules-lite system using a 52-card deck)

https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/comments/105u1w9/the_anywhere_rpg_a_ruleslite_system_using_a

Below, a small system I came up with. It uses a standard deck of playing cards for everything - including
character sheets, randomisation and tracking health. Could be useful for, say, one-shots on a camping trip where
you don’t necessarily have access to paper, dice or even a table?
It's a bare-bones ruleset but I hope somebody will have some fun with it. Please let me know what you think!

Setup: One 52-card deck with two Jokers is enough for a Game Moderator (GM) and 3 players. Separate the face
cards (J, Q and K) and shuffle them to create the Character deck. Shuffle the rest (Aces, 2–10, and two Jokers) to
form the Fate deck.

Characters: The card suits stand for different abilities.

 Diamonds = intelligence & perception
 Hearts = charisma & social skills
 Clubs = dexterity & speed
 Spades = strength & agility
Your character’s abilities are defined by four face cards: one from each suit. The rank of the card describes your
capability in that area, with J = poor, Q = fair and K = great.
To create characters, reveal four cards from the Character deck. Take turns drafting these, replacing the cards you
take from the deck as you go. When you take a card, tell a fact about your character. Continue until every player
has one card of each suit. Then set any remaining face cards aside.

Checks: In difficult or dangerous situations, the GM can ask for a check using one of the four suits. Reveal a
number of cards from the Fate deck corresponding to your face card: 1/2/3 if you have a J/Q/K, respectively.
Choose one to keep: a 7 or higher means you succeed. Aces have a value of 1. Place all revealed cards in a
discard pile. Whenever a Joker is drawn, draw a replacement card; then, after resolving the check, shuffle the
discard pile back into the Fate deck.
All checks are performed by players. The GM can ask for a check as a reaction to what a non-player character
does, but the GM themself does not draw cards.

Health: Whenever you fail a dangerous check, flip one of your face cards face-down. That card is no longer
available; in future checks of that suit, draw two cards and keep the lower one (your choice if tied).

Optional rules: These are some of many possible tweaks to the game experience.
 Critical success and failure. If your kept card matches the suit being tested and the check is successful,
you gain some extra benefit. If the check fails, there is an extra setback.
 Variable difficulty. The GM can modify the target value to pass a check. Very easy tasks could pass on a
4+, while particularly difficult tasks might require a 9+ or even a 10.
 Success at a cost. If your kept card is just short of the target value (e.g. 6 when 7+ was required) the GM
may allow a success at the cost of an extra setback.
 Group checks. If multiple cards beat the target value of a check, you can gift them to other characters
attempting the same task.
 Ace up your sleeve. Whenever you keep an Ace, you may store it for later. In a future check, the Ace can
be discarded for an automatic success of its suit instead of resolving the check normally. (The Ace will
not get shuffled back into the deck if a Joker is drawn.)
 Push your luck. On a failed check, you have the option to reveal another card, but must flip one of your
face cards if you still would fail.
 Twists of fate. The red Joker on a check signals automatic success; the black Joker, automatic failure. (If
you draw both, they cancel each other out; draw replacement cards as normal.)
 Countdown. When reshuffling the Fate deck, the Jokers are set aside, not returned. After both Jokers
have been drawn, any failed check has the potential to end the scenario in a catastrophic way.
 Turn the tables. Jokers shift narrative control. The red Joker lets the player make up a detail about the
game world, while the black Joker lets the GM declare something about the character.
 Deckcrawl. Use another deck to form a grid of face-down cards: this is a map for the players to explore.
Flipping over certain cards trigger encounters specified by the GM.