TEXT: RUNESTAR - Two-Page RPG 
   
  PAGE ONE: SYSTEM RULES 
  What follows are both a system of rules
   
   
   
    
   
   
   
  and a setting for a roleplaying game: a
    
   
    
   
    
  game to be played by a number of
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  players
  and
  a Game
  Master (GM),
   
   
   
   
   
   
  typically around a table. The system is a
   
    
   
   
     
  modified build of the Fate system. 
   
  CHARACTERS 
  Aspects 
  At a minimum every character should
    
   
   
   
   
  have a name and the following traits: 
  ●
  Race / Species 
  ●
  Background / History 
  ●
  Class / High Concept 
  ●
  Goal / Belief 
  ●
  Flaw / Trouble 
   
  Each of these are known as an aspect -- a
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
     
  significant detail that makes a character
   
   
   
    
   
  unique and makes them matter in the
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  setting. In addition to those above, a
   
   
   
   
   
    
  character may have any number of other
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  aspect phrases. Aspects can be gained or
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  lost during play whenever appropriate. 
  Aspect Points / Dice 
  Every character begins with 3 temporary
   
   
   
    
   
  aspect
  points,
  represented
  by
  a
   
   
   
   
   
  four-side die (i.e., 3d4). Aspect points
   
   
   
   
   
   
  can be award by the GM at any time.  
  Skills 
  Characters also have a number of skills
   
   
    
   
   
   
  which have a numeric rating from -2
   
    
   
   
   
   
  (Terrible) to +8 (Legendary), with 0
   
   
   
   
   
   
  (Mediocre) being the typical default,
   
   
   
   
   
  and 1-5 representing the usual range of
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  a skilled person. 
   
  Players typically begin with 5-10 skill
   
   
   
   
   
   
  points to spend on increasing ranks for
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  their skills. (The GM should decide the
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  amount based on how veteran the
   
   
   
   
   
   
  characters should be.) Any skills that are
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  specifically tied to the character’s Class
   
   
   
   
   
   
  will gain +2 ranks for every point spent. 
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  Other Traits 
  Characters should also have a few other traits:  
  ●
  Relationships 
  ●
  Status 
  ●
  Wealth 
  ●
  Possessions 
  ●
  Consequences 
   
  These can either be written and used as aspects, or can just be
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  notes - whichever is more appropriate. Consequences are painful
    
    
   
   
   
   
   
  aspects -- usually damage -- that are gained during play. 
   
  Individual relationships, status with a particular group, and sources
   
   
   
    
   
   
   
   
  of wealth can be given a numeric ranking, similar to skills. In this
   
   
   
   
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  way, these traits can be rolled as skills or added to skill rolls
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  wherever this make sense. Consequences may have a negative
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
  value which is added to skills when they would be a hinderance. 
  ACTIONS 
  Taking Actions 
  During play, characters may take one of
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  the following basic actions: 
  1.
  Overcome an obstacle 
  2.
  Create an Advantage by freely invoking an aspect 
  3.
  Attack another character to cause harm 
  4.
  Defend against attacks or advantages 
  To resolve an action, roll 4 Fate dice (aka. Fudge dice, 4dF) and add
   
   
   
   
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  up results (-4 to +4, but typically between -2 and +2). Then add any
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  skill rating to get the final total. 
   
  If an attack is successful, then the winning character gains one
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  temporary advantage point over the defender. Once they get 3 such
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
  points, the defender will be damaged, and gain a detrimental
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
  consequence aspect. 
  Using Aspects 
  An aspect can be used in one of two ways: 
  Invoking - Spend an aspect point and roll 1d4; add the outcome to
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  either your skill roll, another character’s roll, or your passive
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  defense. 
  Compelling - Player accepts a complication for their character and
    
   
    
   
   
   
   
   
  earns an aspect point (“You have ___ aspect in ___ situation, so it
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
  makes sense that [bad thing/decision] takes place.”) 
  SYSTEM CREDITS 
  The system rules were written by Luke Nickerson and are released under the Creative
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0. This work is based on Fate Core System and Fate
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Accelerated Edition (found at http://www.faterpg.com/), products ofEvil Hat Productions,
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
   
   
  LLC, developed, authored, and edited by Leonard Balsera, Brian Engard, Jeremy Keller,
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Ryan Macklin, Mike Olson, Clark Valentine, Amanda Valentine, Fred Hicks, and Rob
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Donoghue, and licensed for our use under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Unported license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). 
  v1.0 
  1 
  
  RUNESTAR - Two-Page RPG 
   
  SETTING INTRODUCTION 
  RuneStar is a setting that explores the often
     
   
   
   
   
   
  overlooked
  trope
  of
  Dwarves
  in Space.
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Imagine a vast area of the galaxy inhabited by
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  a short, stern, bearded race of dwarves -- the
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
  same dwarves you've enjoyed in many other
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  media.
  Imagine
  the
  adventures
  and
   
   
   
   
   
  misadventures that can be had in a universe where the dwarves are nomads,
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
  living and working aboard large, bulky, metallic and stone starships with
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  rune-drives capable of ferrying them across light-years of space. This is the
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
  world of RuneStar. 
  History 
  The dwarves once lived on an idyllic planet, inhabited by other sentient races.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  The dwarven greed caused them to dig too deep in search of riches,
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  accidentally triggering a collapse of the planet’s core. Luckily they escaped the
   
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  destruction of the world on specially constructed rune ships, and spread out
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  into an area of the void known as the Dwarven Octant. 
  Life In The Void 
  Dwarves are now a space-faring race, but they live just as dwarves have always
   
   
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  lived: they eat, drink, and play music, as much as they mine, smelt, construct,
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  and hoard. Metals of all types remain the most precious resource - used for
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
   
  currency, repairing and expanding ships, and even as a supplement for
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
   
  dwarven diets. The more metal a ship collects, the happier the crew. 
   
  Gaining a wealth of metals out in the galactic void is no easy task, and life as a
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
   
   
   
   
    
  dwarf is filled with plenty of adventure and danger. Prospecting is risky and
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
   
  uncertain, and mining asteroids is grueling and incredibly dangerous. All while
   
   
   
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
  avoiding or fighting several other space-faring races. The most successful crews
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  are able to do all of this, while gaining riches and glory. New dwarves will join
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  an adventurous fleet that seems to be flourishing and can offer the best music,
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  food and drink. Eventually successful ships are physically expanded, adding
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  new rooms and new capabilities. Dwarves live for these adventures, and
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  eagerly set off in hopes of wealth and glory! 
  RACES - Friendly & Unfriendly 
  Dwarves are the builders, miners, musicians, explorers, drinkers, explorers.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Hexamen are a mechanical, intelligent race fashioned to accompany and serve
   
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  dwarves. They have a wild sense of humor. Kobbo are small reptilian/gremlin
   
   
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  humanoids; tricky and with shifting loyalties, but often allied with the dwarves.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Kobbos usually fly half-broken, repurposed dwarven ships. 
   
  Arachnoids are intelligent spiders who command deadly ships that have
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  frightening stealth and trap technology. They are the primary enemy of the
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  dwarves, and have fought long wars with them. Pigmen are short, ugly, and
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  ruthless. They range from smaller pigletmen to larger boarmen, and prefer
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  ships made of stone and earth, often made by adding a few tunnels and an
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
   
   
   
  engine onto a small asteroid. The Trealder are evil plantoid creatures who
   
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  command ships made of a mix of dead, hardened woods and living trees and
   
   
   
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  roots that deplete mineral resources. 
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  CLASSES 
  Legionnaire (L) - defender,
   
    
   
  warrior, gunner 
  Navigator (N) - leader, pilot,
   
    
   
   
  diplomat 
  Etcher (E) - engineer, doctor,
   
    
   
   
  mystic;
  specializes
  in
   
   
   
  repairing
  both
  ships
  and
   
   
   
   
  people; Special Skill: deflect
   
   
   
   
  energy 
  Sunstorm
  (S)
  -
  exotic,
   
   
   
   
  chaotic
  wizards
  who
   
   
   
  absorb/release
  energy;
   
   
  cannot wear metal; Special
   
   
   
   
  Skills: absorb energy, release
   
   
   
   
  energy, direct energy bolt,
   
   
   
   
  flight/hover (near metal) 
  Metallurgeon (M) - miner,
   
    
   
  blacksmith, alchemist, cook 
  Pirate (P) - thief, acrobat,
   
    
   
   
  warrior, brewer 
  SKILL LIST 
  The full list of skills is: 
  Agriculture, Athletics (M,P), 
  Armoring (L), Alchemy (M), 
  Burglary (P), 
  Blacksmithing/Smelting (M), 
  Brewing (M,P), 
  Crafting/Repair (M), 
  Deceive, Diplomacy (N), 
  Empathy (N), Engineering (L, 
  E), Evasion/Dodge (P), 
  Explosives (L), Fight (L), 
  Gunnery (Brimstone/Bolt) 
  (L,S), Healing (E), 
  Investigation, 
  Leadership/Oratory (N), Lore 
  (E), Melee Weaponry (L,P), 
  Music (P), Mindhelm, Mining 
  (M), Navigation, Notice, 
  Physique/Endurance (M), 
  Piloting (N), 
  Provoke/Intimidate (S), 
  Ranged Weapon (L,E,P), 
  Runeology (E), Sceptering 
  (N), Stealth (P), Voidwalking 
  (M,P), Weavology (N), Will 
   
  By Luke Nickerson © 2014 
  v1.0 
  2 
  
  RUNESTAR - Two-Page RPG 
  CHARACTER SHEET 
  Name 
  Aspect Points 
   
   
  Skills 
   
  Race 
  Agriculture 
   
   
  Athletics 
   
  Background 
  Alchemy 
   
   
  Armoring 
   
  Class 
  Burglary 
   
   
  Blacksmithing/Smelting 
   
  Goal 
  Brewing 
   
   
  Crafting/Repair 
   
  Flaw 
  Deceive 
   
   
  Diplomacy  
   
  Other Aspects 
  Empathy  
   
   
  Engineering  
   
   
  Evasion/Dodge 
   
   
  Explosives  
   
   
  Fight  
   
  Consequences 
  Gunnery (Brimstone/Bolt)  
   
  Healing  
   
   
  Investigation 
   
   
  Leadership/Oratory 
   
   
  Lore  
   
  Relationships 
  Melee Weaponry 
   
   
  Music  
   
   
  Mindhelm 
   
  Status 
  Mining  
   
   
  Navigation 
   
   
  Perception/Notice 
   
  Wealth 
  Physique/Endurance 
   
   
  Piloting  
   
   
  Provoke/Intimidate 
   
  Possessions 
  Ranged Weapon 
   
   
  Runeology  
   
   
  Sceptering  
   
  Other 
  Stealth  
   
   
  Voidwalking  
   
   
  Weavology  
   
   
  Will 
   
   
  v1.0 
  3 
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Other (Unique) Systems/Top Secret Games Two Page Tabletops/RuneStar.pdf