TEXT: 1
  ERP
  Elegant Role-Playing Game System
  DRAFT RULES DOCUMENT for version 3.0
  Gregor Hutton
  November 2006
  © 2006 Gregor Hutton
  WISDOM
  POWER
  MASTERY
  
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  © 2006 Gregor Hutton
  0. CONTENTS
  1. INTRODUCTION
  2. CHARACTERS
  Characteristics ◉ Specialities ◉ Qualities ◉ Creation 
  ◉ An Example Character ◉ Character Sheet
  3. SYSTEM
  Conﬂicts ◉ Using Specialities ◉ Luck ◉ Damage
  4. GAMEMASTER
  Glory ◉ Playing Style
  5. DRAFT CONFLICT RESOLUTION RULES
  Conﬂict Resolution ◉ Victors, Victory Points and 
  Outcomes ◉ Examples of Play ◉ Things to Add
  1. INTRODUCTION
  Elegant Role-Playing (ERP) is a simple game 
  system for role-playing, based on a few basic 
  principles. You will need some six-sided dice 
  (called d6) to play.
  This document is made from ERP version 2, with 
  some changes made to, and many deletions from, 
  Sections 2–4. The main addition is Section 5 for 
  playtesting, which truly takes the game back to 
  elegant principles.
  
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  2. CHARACTERS
  Characters in ERP are quantiﬁed by 
   
  ◉ 
  Characteristics [Mastery, Wisdom, Power] 
   
  ◉ 
  Specialities [Attributes, Skills, Gifts]
  Characteristics
  Mastery, Wisdom and Power are the central Characteristics in ERP 
  and are described in rating points: an average human has a rating of 0, 
  while a mighty hero may have 3 or more. See page 4.
  Specialities
  Attributes, Skills and Gifts cover a broad range of additional 
  descriptions, termed Specialities in ERP. These further deﬁnitions vary 
  from one character to another and are unrated. See page 5.
  Further deﬁnition is given by 
   
  ◉ 
  Qualities [Glory, Wounds, Legend, Possessions, Ties]
  Qualities
  Glory is a measure of your character’s ‘success’ in being heroic and 
  signiﬁcant to the game world.  It is used to raise Characteristics, buy 
  Specialities and aﬀect the ongoing story.
  Wounds are a measure of how much injury, stress and fatigue your 
  character has suﬀered. This guides when a character may die.
  Other qualities are descriptive such as your Legend, your possessions 
  and how you came to be Tied to the other Player Characters.
  
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  © 2006 Gregor Hutton
  Characteristics
  Mastery
  Mastery measures physical ability and strength. It 
  is used for tasks that have a physical nature, and for 
  resisting bodily injuries.
  Aspects: dexterity, agility, endurance, strength.
  Attributes: Strong, Agile, Stealthy, Quick, Healthy, 
  Tough, Nimble, Fleet-Footed, Spring-Heeled, Well-
  Balanced, Sure-Handed, Stout, Graceful, Fit, etc.
  Wisdom
  Wisdom describes mental ability and capacity. It 
  is used for tasks that have a mental nature, and for 
  resisting insanity and shock.
  Aspects: knowledge, reason, perception, wit.
  Attributes: Wise, Intelligent, Educated, Alert, 
  Witty, Reasoned, Logical, Inquiring, Clever, Quick-
  Thinking, Cunning, Rigourous, Perceptive, etc.
  Power
  Power gauges empathy, willpower and spiritual 
  strength. It is used for tasks with a social or 
  mystical nature, and for protection from stress and 
  emotion.
  Aspects: will, charisma, determination, fate.
  Attributes: Charismatic, Attractive, Strong-Willed, 
  Empathic, Persuasive, Radiant, Purposeful, Deﬁant, 
  Divine, Inspiring, Eloquent, Forceful, etc.
  
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  Specialities
  Attributes
  Attributes describe a character having a particular aptitude for a 
  Characteristic. Each Attribute is linked to just one Characteristic and 
  examples can be found opposite. Having an Attribute allows you to roll an 
  additional die if it is appropriate to the situation.
  Skills
  A Skill covers a particular area of expertise, training or learning. Skills 
  depend on the gaming world or genre and some examples are: Music, 
  Athletics, Stealth,  Science, Teaching, Manipulation, Armed Combat, 
  Unarmed Combat, Ranged Combat, Art, Ballistics, Forensics, Mechanics, 
  Electronics, Computing, Driving, Medicine, Engineering, History, etc.
  Gifts
  Gifts allow a character to have an advantage. Some example Gifts are: 
  Cult, Wealth, Status, Rank, Allies, Contacts, Patron, Fame, Followers, etc.
  Qualities
  Glory
  Glory reﬂects karma, luck, experience, fortune and destiny. It is awarded 
  by the GM for achieving goals and for good role-playing. It can be used to 
  alter in-game dice rolls and to permanently enhance your character.
  Wounds
  Wounds are a measure of how much injury, stress and fatigue your 
  character has suﬀered. This guides when a character may die.
  Legend, Possessions and Ties
  These are additional descriptions that complete the 
  character. What is his or her Legend? Where are 
  they from? What possessions do they have? And 
  what Ties with the other characters?
  
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  © 2006 Gregor Hutton
  Creation
  Create a character using the following guidelines.
  Method
  1. Mastery, Wisdom and Power all begin at 0.
  2. Pick 1 Skill.
  3. Spend 10 Glory on improving the character 
  using the costs listed below.
  4. You may save a maximum of 5 Glory for later 
  use, but no more.
  Limits
  Attributes. You may have no more Attributes for 
  a Characteristic than that Characteristic’s rating 
  divided by 2 (rounded up). For example, Hecuba 
  has a Power of 1 and so can have up to 1 Attribute 
  associated with Power.
  Skills. There is no limit on the number of Skills that 
  a character can possess.
  Glory Costs
  Gain an Attribute for Mastery, Wisdom or Power 
  —[current rating]/2 (round up) Glory
  Gain a Skill 
  —[current number of Skills] Glory
  Raise the rating of Mastery, Wisdom or Power 
  —[new rating + number of Attributes] Glory
  Gain a Gift 
  —5 Glory
  
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  Ties
  Write down how you are Tied to the other Player Characters. For each 
  other Player Character that you have a Tie with you gain 1 Glory. If that 
  Player Character is killed in the game you must remove that Glory point 
  from your character (and if you have no Glory when this happens you 
  take a point of Bad Karma, see p. 14).
  Of course, you must also have an idea of your own character’s name, what 
  they look like and what they do. Try to create your character with ﬂair. 
  Make them more than just a sequence of numbers and words.
  Possessions
  Write down what the character owns. This list is subject to the approval 
  of the GM and your fellow players. Think about what your character has 
  very carefully. Do not make this an exercise in writing down every useful 
  piece of equipment that you can think of.
  For instance: why does your character have only the clothes he wears, and 
  why are they wet? Or why does your character have the fabled Cutlass of 
  Mandang, and why is it not in the Sultan’s Palace in Rumardia?
  Breath of Life
  Think about your character for a moment. How does the character see the 
  world they live in? Why is the character where they are? What does the 
  character believe in, and which things in life do they enjoy? And what do 
  they dislike? Try to create a well-rounded character that will be fun and 
  memorable. Also think carefully about how and why they will integrate 
  with the other PCs. Do not create reasons that your 
  character will not be a team player. When you have 
  found you character’s ‘voice’ within the ‘choir’ of 
  the group then you are ready to play.
  
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  © 2006 Gregor Hutton
  An Example Character
  Hecuba
  Mastery: 
  2 (3) 
  Agile (1) 
  Wisdom: 
  1 (1) 
  Alert (1) 
  Power: 
  1 (1) 
  Enchanting (1)
  Skills: 
  Seduction (0), Armed Combat (1)
  Gifts: 
  none
  Glory: 
  1
  Wounds: 
  0
  Possessions: Loose robes, leather armour, sword, 
  dagger, slingbag, sturdy boots, horse, blanket, 
  lantern, ﬂint and tinder. Some small coins.
  Glory costs are in brackets, e.g. (3).
  
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  WISDOM
  POWER
  MASTERY
  WOUNDS
  GLORY
  injury
  damage
  pain
  insanity
  fortune
  experience
  destiny
  karma
  perception
  reason
  knowledge
  wit
  dexterity
  agility
  endurance
  strength
  will
  charisma
  fate
  determination
  Skills
  Possessions
  My Legend
  +2 Heavily Favoured 
  +1 Favoured 
  ±0 Even 
  –1 Disfavoured 
  –2 Heavily Disfavoured
  Elegant 
  Role-Playing
  
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  © 2006 Gregor Hutton
  3. SYSTEM
  The ERP system is very simple and elegant. Note 
  that if a fraction is generated by division then 
  round-up to a whole number.
  Scores
  To get a score you roll a d6 and add it to the rating 
  of a Characteristic. There are times where you can 
  roll more than one die. In those cases you choose 
  the die that rolled the highest value.
  Results
  You want to get as high a score as you can. When in 
  conﬂict with someone else you compare scores to 
  see who won the conﬂict.
  your score – opposing score = result
  A result of 0 or lower means failure. A result of 1 
  or more means success, higher results yield greater 
  degrees of success. 
  Using Specialities
  Attributes and Skills allow an additional d6 to be 
  rolled if they are relevant to the task. The die with 
  the highest result is taken to calculate the score of 
  the attempt.
  No more than one Skill and one Attribute may be 
  used for any given roll.
  
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  Luck
  Glory, in its aspect of Luck, can be used to 
  manipulate in-game scores and events.
  Beneﬁt gained 
  Glory Cost 
  Reroll your dice 
  1 
  Add d6 to a score 
  2 
  Lucky Break 
  1 
  Immediate eﬀect 
   
  2 
  Lasts for scene 
   
  3 
  Lasts for session
  Damage
  When completely healthy a character has 0 
  Wounds. Wounds can take many forms: cuts, 
  bruises, shock, insanity, stress, a broken heart or 
  even magical injury (if the genre allows it). All 
  Wounds are added (cumulatively) to the same 
  total. There are not separate Wounds totals for the 
  diﬀerent types of damage. A physically injured 
  character is more susceptible to a sudden shock 
  than an uninjured character.
  Each result point of an attack causes 1 Wound 
  point to the victim. At the end of a conﬂict where 
  they have been wounded, a character tests their 
  Mastery, Wisdom or Power (for physical, mental or 
  mystical damage) against an opposing value of their 
  current Wounds total. A result of 1 or more means 
  the character can ﬁght on. A result of 0 or lower 
  renders the character unconscious. A result of –5 or 
  lower indicates that the character is possibly dead. 
  Only the GM and the other players can decide if 
  a character dies or not, it is their responsibility to 
  choose what is best for the story.
  
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  © 2006 Gregor Hutton
  Healing
  Characters normally heal 1 Wound (i.e. subtract 
  one from their current Wounds total) for every 
  hour of rest, but the GM can rule that Wounds may 
  take longer to heal and require either medical or 
  some other aid (e.g. psychoanalysis for insanity).
  
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  4. GAMEMASTER
  The players all have a responsibility to play their 
  characters fairly and with vigour. The GameMaster 
  (GM) has a responsibility to do likewise, but the 
  GM is responsible for the whole gaming world and 
  all its inhabitants, rather than just one PC! A good 
  GM will be fair and allow everyone to have a good 
  time, while creating interesting adventures for the 
  PCs. This is a diﬃcult task, but one that can be very 
  rewarding.
  Glory
  Awarding Glory
  After an adventure the GM awards 0 to 2 Glory 
  points to each PC. The GM may also award an 
  extra Glory point if something very signi.cant has 
  taken place (e.g. the PCs prevented what would 
  have been a bloody war). If the players are taking 
  part in ‘troupe-style’ play, where the players take 
  turns to be the GM, then the GM of the adventure 
  is normally awarded 1 Glory to one of their 
  characters, as long as the majority of players agree 
  with this.
  Using Glory
  Glory can either be used to manipulate in-game 
  rolls as described in the System section or to 
  increase your character’s Characteristics and 
  Specialities. For this second option, consult the 
  character creation list in the Character section, it is 
  used unchanged (including the limitations). Note 
  that once you are playing your character you can 
  accumulate more than the 5 Glory you were limited 
  to in character creation.
  
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  © 2006 Gregor Hutton
  Bad Karma
  You can also lose Glory for cowardly or shameful 
  acts. If there is no more Glory to be lost then the 
  GM may award Bad Karma – negative Glory. A 
  player has to buy oﬀ Bad Karma with Glory on a 
  one-to-one basis before they are allowed to employ 
  Glory for its beneﬁcial eﬀects again.
  Playing Style
  Troupes
  An alternative style of play is so-called ‘Troupe-
  style’ play where the players all take turns in being 
  the GM. This can be very enjoyable as everyone 
  gets a turn at presenting interesting adventures for 
  the others. The golden rule for this sort of game 
  is that the GM must not favour their own PCs. 
  In fact I would recommend that PCs of the GM 
  are not involved in their adventures at all. Still, as 
  mentioned above, a fair GM may receive Glory for 
  one of their PCs (their choice) should the other 
  players think the GM did a good job. This type of 
  play can prevent a series of adventures becoming 
  stale. On the other hand many players prefer to be 
  only a player or a GM, so it is not a style of play 
  that suits everyone.
  General Advice
  Role-playing is a hobby that has to be played 
  to be understood and enjoyed. Players have 
  a responsibility to each other, this is a joint 
  experience.
  
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  Adventures
  The GM creates the basis for the stories, ﬁlling 
  the adventure with mysteries, clues, vibrant NPCs 
  and dastardly foes. The GM should ensure that the 
  adventure makes sense, has a beginning, middle, a 
  climax and a deﬁnite end.
  Balance
  The GM is the ﬁnal judge of what is, and what is 
  not, allowed in the game. The players should trust 
  their GM to run the game fairly and in the best 
  interests of everyone. It can be a tricky line to walk 
  as at times the GM must put the PCs in danger. 
  Never make rash decisions or treat other players 
  with disrespect. After all, if you are not fair and 
  balanced no one will play any games you run in the 
  future.
  Atmosphere
  The mood of the game is important and the game 
  will be more memorable if the GM establishes and 
  maintains the atmosphere appropriately. As a GM, 
  whether you are fostering a mood of inspiration, 
  fear, high adventure, tension or slow-creeping 
  horror, it is up to you to convey the mood at all 
  times. Music and lighting can be an aid to this if 
  used well, and subtly.
  
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  © 2006 Gregor Hutton
  About The Author
  Gregor Hutton was born near Glasgow in Scotland. 
  He has been role-playing since the early 1980s. 
  He currently lives in Edinburgh. He has written a 
  diverse mixture of games including Frenzy (1995, 
  Venture Press) and Best Friends (2006, BoxNinja). 
  He won a prestigious Ronny Award (Full) for his SF  
  game 3:16 Carnage Amongst The Stars in 2005.
  Thanks
  Thanks to David Bruns for suggesting the addition 
  of Attributes, Skills and Gifts. David made an 
  invaluable contribution to ERP and ERS (the 
  German translation). Cheers David!
  Copyright and Legal Stuﬀ
  Elegant Role-Playing (ERP) 
  © 2002–2006 Gregor Hutton. 
  Text, design and art by Gregor Hutton. 
  Version 3.0, DRAFT TEXT of November 2006.
  Fonts and Software
  Typeset in Minion Pro and Myriad Pro.
  Created on an Apple Macintosh G4 Powerbook, 
  with Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Photoshop, 
  Illustrator and Acrobat).
  http://gregorhutton.com/erp/
  
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  5. DRAFT CONFLICT RESOLUTION 
  RULES
  These are outline notes for the conﬂict resolution system for ERP. 
  Basically, you roll a number of dice and pick the highest one. That is 
  added to a Characteristic (which for normal folks is 0, higher for Heroes) 
  and modiﬁed by your favour (-2 to +2) to give a score. Scores are 
  compared to see who has won. Higher scores are best.
  If you are active in a conﬂict you roll 1 die. If you have a relevant 
  Attribute you may roll an additional die (one only, no matter how many 
  Attributes are relevant). If you have a relevant Skill you may roll an 
  additional die (one only, no matter how many Skills are relevant). If you 
  have an appropriate Skill Specialization you may roll an additional die 
  (one only, no matter how many Specializations are relevant). If you have 
  Momentum (see below) you may roll an additional die.
  Conﬂict Resolution
  ERP uses a conﬂict resolution method to resolve in-game events.
  Intent
  In a conﬂict, what is your intent?
  Find Favour
  The GM and players discuss the situation and decide whether any of the 
  participants are favoured over any others in the conﬂict. The majority of 
  NPCs in the scene are initially taken to be neutral in the conﬂict with PCs 
  favoured or disfavoured in relation to them. The best situation is heavily 
  favoured (+2 to your roll) and the worst is heavily disfavoured (-2 to your 
  roll).
  
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  © 2006 Gregor Hutton
  Roll The Dice
  If there are intents that no one is opposed to then we can take them as 
  agreed. For everything else we must roll the dice.
  Find Victors
  Establish the Victors of the conﬂict, who they are victorious over and by 
  what degree.
  Apply Results
  The Victors spend their result points and narrating them into the ﬁction.
  Victors, Victory Points and Outcomes
  Full Victors
  You are a Full Victor if you beat all opponents in a conﬂict.
  Partial Victor
  You are a Partial Victor if you do not beat all opponents in a conﬂict, but 
  you beat at least one other opponent.
  Loser
  You are a loser in a conﬂict if you do not beat any opponents in a conﬂict.
  Victory Points
  Victory Points are worked out by comparing scores. Victory Points can be 
  spent against any opponents that you have beaten in the conﬂict. VPs are 
  narrated into the ﬁction along with their eﬀect in game terms.
  
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  On The Six
  If you have rolled a 6 on a die then any additional 
  sixes on other dice add 1 to the score. For example, 
  Gerdes’ player rolls 3 dice and gets 5, 6, 6. The 
  highest die is 6, and the additional 6 gives another 
  1 for a score of 7.
  Take Five
  For a conﬂict where a skilled participant is taking 
  their time and putting in considerable eﬀort, which 
  is often aided, then they may choose not to roll 
  the dice and they take 5 as their score instead. 
  For example, Gerdes is taking all of the winter 
  months to bind a demon into his sword. He spends 
  considerable time and eﬀort on this battle with the 
  demon and chooses to Take Five for his score. The 
  demon may be able to Take Five too in opposition, 
  depending on its own situation, support, etc.
  Take Two
  For a conﬂict where the participants are rushed and 
  you just want to gauge the likely winner and what 
  results will come of it you can declare that one (or 
  indeed all) of the participants must Take Two as 
  their score. A common example of this would be a 
  ﬂeeing target making a minimal, rushed attempt to 
  avoid blows.
  Momentum
  All Full Victors gain an extra die to roll in any 
  immediately following and related conﬂict. For 
  example, in an extended combat conﬂict you would 
  gain a die to roll for the next roll if you were a Full 
  Victor.
  
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  © 2006 Gregor Hutton
  Examples of Play
  Gerdes and the Brigand
  Gerdes happens upon a Brigand in an abandoned 
  hill fort.
  “Ay, there,” says Gerdes, trying to gauge the reaction 
  of the Brigand. Still he stays balanced and ready to 
  react—his sword hand resting on his belt, near his 
  scabbard.
  “Have at,” mumbles the Brigand, drawing his axe 
  and circling towards Gerdes.
  We have a conﬂict.
  Intent
  The GM asks Gerdes’ player: What is your intent?
  Gerdes’ player declares ‘My intent is to draw 
  my sword, close on the Brigand and best him in 
  combat, though I don’t wish to kill him.’
  The GM declares that the intent of the Brigand is to 
  slay Gerdes and loot his corpse.
  So Victory Points will be spent on Favouring and 
  Disfavouring, and Wounding.
  Find Favour
  The GM declares that both participants in the 
  conﬂict are on an equal footing and none has 
  favour over the other. So, no modiﬁers to the 
  scores—they are Even.
  
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  Roll The Dice
  Gerdes has a Mastery of 3, an attribute of Swift, and the skill Armed 
  Combat. So Gerdes’ player rolls 3 dice and will pick the best value, adding 
  it to 3 to ﬁnd his score.
  The Brigand has a Mastery of 1 and the skill Armed Combat. So the GM 
  rolls 2 dice and will pick the best value, adding it to 1 to ﬁnd his score.
  Gerdes’ player rolls 1, 3 and 5 for a score of 8.
  The GM rolls 3 and 4 for a score of 5.
  Find Victors
  Gerdes is a Full Victor in this case and has bested the Brigand by 3. As a 
  Full Victor Gerdes has gained momentum and will roll an extra die in the 
  next directly following conﬂict.
  Spend Victory Points
  Gerdes’ player spends 1 VP on favouring himself [Gerdes easily sidesteps 
  the Brigand’s lunge and moves to higher ground, advantaging himself,] 
  and 1 VP on disfavouring the Brigand [The Brigand tires at swinging at 
  Gerdes and soon his breathing is more laboured]. He also spends 1 VP on 
  wounding [Gerdes’ sword slices hard across the Brigand’s thigh, cutting 
  through his clothing and into his ﬂesh.]
  The Brigand is a loser in the combat and so the GM narrates some 
  unsuccessful swings with the axe into the ﬁction. The GM also adds some 
  cursing in the coarse language of Hinterlandia, a warlike neighbouring 
  country. The Brigand must also make a test of Mastery against a target 
  of his Wounds to see if he collapses. He has suﬀered 1 Wound and his 
  Mastery is 1. He ‘Takes Two’ for a score of 3, which 
  easily beats the target. While wounded he is not 
  unconscious or impaired.
  So, at the end of this conﬂict both participants 
  are still active and wishing to continue. This now 
  leads into to a following conﬂict, where Gerdes has 
  Momentum.
  
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  © 2006 Gregor Hutton
  Gerdes, Hecuba and the Brigands
  Gerdes and Hecuba are ﬁghting 3 Brigands (called A, B and C). No one is 
  favoured or disfavoured and no one has momentum. Their scores are as 
  follows: Gerdes (7), Hecuba (5), A (5), B(4), C (3).
  Victors
  Gerdes is a Full Victor, and has 2 Victory Points over A, another 1 over 
  B and another 1 over C. So he has 4 VPs in total and can spend up to 2 
  against A, 3 against B or all 4 against C.
  Hecuba is a Partial Victor. Hecuba has 1 VP over B and another 1 over C. 
  She can spend 2 VPs against C or 1 against B and C.
  Brigands A, B and C are losers, though Brigand A only suﬀers Victory 
  Points from Gerdes and not Hecuba (as he drew with her score).
  Outcome
  Gerdes spends his VPs as follows: 1 disfavouring A, 1 disfavouring B and 
  2 wounding C. Hecuba spends hers as follows: 2 wounding C. Brigand C 
  has sustained 4 Wounds in the conﬂict and must make a test of Mastery 
  not to fall unconscious (he must beat a target number of 4 on his Mastery 
  plus a d6). Brigands A and B are both now disfavoured (i.e. at -1 to rolls) 
  in the conﬂict until it ends.
  Furthermore, Gerdes is a Full Victor and gains an extra die to roll in the 
  next conﬂict. Note that this extra die only exists for the next conﬂict. 
  If Gerdes is a Partial Victor in the next conﬂict then he will no longer 
  have momentum. If he is a Full Victor again then he will have 1 die of 
  momentum for the conﬂict after that. Momentum does not ‘stack’, it 
  simply gives an extra die to Full Victors from a directly preceding conﬂict.
  
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  Ending Conﬂicts
  Note that when a Full Victor is Heavily Favoured, 
  all opponents are Heavily Disfavoured then the Full 
  Victor can end the conﬂict with a single Victory 
  Point.
  Or at any time a participant can choose to Give and 
  end the conﬂict. Though, in doing so, they agree 
  that their opponent’s intent comes to pass.
  
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  © 2006 Gregor Hutton
  Things To Add
  Magic 
  Weapons list and descriptions 
  Armour list and descriptions 
  Examples of Favour and conditions 
  Full Actual Play 
  Colour text and artwork 
  Example conﬂicts: 
  –court argument (Wisdom) 
  –impressing the King (Power) 
  –ﬁghting a Brigand (Mastery) 
  World building (themes, issues, baselines) 
  More granularity: Aspects 
  Skill specializations 
  Movement and maneuver in terms of Favour 
  Clear example Skill list for a setting (Scarab) 
  Clear example Gift list for a setting (Scarab)
  
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