TEXT: EMERGENCY RULES
  LO-FI SCI-FI RPG • JASON TOCCI
  
  RULES
  YOU NEED: 2+ players (one as game moderator,
  or GM), 1+ full sets of polyhedral dice (4-, 6-, 8-,
  10-, 12-, and 20-sided — a.k.a. d4, d6, d8, d10,
  d12, d20), and character sheets (paper or digital
  records of character details).
  PLAY PROCEDURE: The GM describes environ-
  ments, situations, and the denizens of the world;
  the other players control (at least) a single char-
  acter each, and describe what their characters
  do. The GM checks in with each player to ask
  what they’re doing, striving to give everyone
  roughly equal time in the spotlight (or the option
  to opt out of the spotlight), but there’s not neces-
  sarily a rigid turn order. Players must describe
  their actions and intent; the GM responds based
  on what players describe doing.
  ■
  If it’s impossible, the GM says why, and
  advises the player to try something else.
  ■
  If it needs to be broken down, the GM
  explains what smaller goals might be possi-
  ble instead (e.g., “You could close a door
  before guards get here, but you don’t have
  time to close and barricade them all”).
  ■
  If it demands an unavoidable cost, the GM
  oﬀers that option, or multiple equally unap-
  pealing options (e.g., “You can get through,
  but it’ll either be loud or take a long time
  dismantle the door”). The player can try
  something else, or accept a cost to perform
  their intended action.
  ■
  If there’s no risk or obstacle, the player
  does what they intended to do. The GM only
  calls for rolls when the risk is greater than
  than “you’d need to try again.”
  ■
  If it risks an avoidable consequence, the
  GM advises them of the risks and gives a
  chance to change their mind. If the player
  decides not to change their mind, they roll
  dice to see if they can avoid some or all risk.
  If there is no avoidable risk, nobody rolls dice.
  Risks might include failure, missing a deadline,
  being hurt, hurting others, losing gear, etc.
  ROLLING: By default, roll a d6 skill die.
  ■
  If you have a relevant skill, use that skill’s
  die instead of the default d6.
  ■
  If you’re hindered, like by an injury or the
  environment, replace the skill die with a d4.
  ■
  If you’re helped, like from careful prepara-
  tion, roll an extra d6; if helped by an ally,
  they roll their skill die. (This only applies
  when you’d beneﬁt from but not require
  help.) Allies who help share in any risk.
  The highest die rolled indicates what happens.
  1–2 Disaster. Face the full consequences of the
  risk. The GM decides whether you are able
  to succeed at your action at all, but if the
  risk was incompatible with success (e.g.,
  “jump across safely, at risk of falling”), the
  action fails. If you risked death, you die. If
  you risked serious injury, you suﬀer one.
  3–4 Setback. You suﬀer a lesser consequence,
  or achieve only partial success. If you
  risked death, you’re hurt badly enough to
  lose a body part. If you risked serious injury,
  you suﬀer a lesser injury. And so on.
  5+
  Success. You succeed. The higher the roll,
  the better the result.
  If a success can’t achieve the player’s stated aim
  (e.g., shooting a target that turns out to be bul-
  letproof), the player should still get useful
  information or set up an advantage.
  RECOVERY: Bad rolls leave you with injuries and
  other hindrances. Recover by taking in-game
  action according to common sense. Being
  knocked down can be ﬁxed by standing. A lost
  arm can be replaced by cyber-surgery.
  DEATH: When a character is killed, their player
  should make a new one to be introduced ASAP.
  Favor inclusion over realism — ﬁnd a new ally in
  the next room, have someone wake from cryo,
  narrate a harrowing escape and then jump for-
  ward in time to recruiting a new teammate, etc.
  
  ITEMS: If an item is necessary for a task (like a
  computer for hacking, or a gun for shooting), it
  grants no bonus to a roll. Items of superior qual-
  ity might help with relevant tasks. Most items
  cost 1 credit (₡); if something in the real world
  would cost less than a few hundred US dollars,
  the only cost is the time it would take to get it.
  INVENTORY: Characters can carry any reason-
  able number of small, lightweight items. Items
  that take two hands to use, or that prove awk-
  ward to wear or carry, are described as bulky.
  Carrying more than one bulky item hinders a
  character when it makes sense (e.g., when trying
  to move quickly in normal gravity).
  DEFENSES: A player can describe how an item
  breaks to suﬀer only a momentary hindrance
  from a 1–4 roll instead of a more serious injury.
  Items speciﬁcally designed for this, like armor,
  can be broken harmlessly in this way; other
  items can also be broken as defense as long as it
  can be described believably (e.g., a cyber-arm
  deﬂects a blow, breaking it). In either case, the
  item is useless until it is repaired by a skilled
  character with proper tools and working condi-
  tions. (This usually means either paying
  someone to repair a few items, buying brand new
  items, or getting back to a player character’s
  workspace to handle repairs in peace.)
  SKILLS: If you’re skilled at something, it has a die
  rating above d6 (d8, d10, or d12). There’s no
  single, oﬃcial skill list; anything could be a skill,
  from Climbing to Robo-wrestling. If a character
  has overlapping skills, use the higher one, or the
  one that makes the most sense in context (e.g.,
  use Hand-to-hand, not Bloodshed, if you want to
  just restrain someone without hurting them).
  ADVANCEMENT: When you achieve your team’s
  goal, you advance, allowing you to raise a skill
  one die size (from no skill to d8, to d10, to d12).
  Common team goals might include a heist crew
  getting away with a score, salvagers cashing in a
  wreck, operatives completing an operation, etc.
  OPPONENTS: Characters played by the GM can
  be described by their name, how they behave,
  perhaps a memorable quirk, and, if conﬂict is
  likely, their defenses (like armor) and risks they
  present (they have guns; attacking risks injury).
  LUCK: The GM can make a luck roll when they
  want to see what happens when luck matters
  more than players’ or characters’ abilities. Roll a
  d6 to check for (1–2) immediate trouble, (3–4)
  signs of imminent trouble, or (5–6) no trouble.
  One common use is for tracking limited-supply
  items, checking whether the supply is (1–2) out,
  or (3–4) has only one “use” left. Use common
  sense; you might run out of bullets unexpectedly,
  but you’ll have some warning before running out
  of oxygen. Calibrate luck results accordingly.
  RULINGS: When a situation isn’t covered by
  rules, the GM may make a tentative ruling to
  avoid slowdown. When a ruling is unsatisfactory
  to anybody at the table, discuss during a break an
  alternative for next time.
  KEY DIFFERENCES FROM MANY RPGs
  NO “HIT POINTS”: One successful roll can elim-
  inate an enemy. One disastrous roll can kill a
  player’s character. This means 2400 can be a
  “deadly” game, or not at all deadly: If the GM
  never says you’re risking death, a bad roll will
  never kill your character.
  NOT ALWAYS BLOW-BY-BLOW: Zoom in or out
  as needed. The GM might say taking out a tough
  opponent must be broken into multiple steps
  (e.g., “You’ll have to create an opening before
  you can take him down”). Or you might be able
  to handle an entire battle with a single roll (e.g.,
  everyone risks death to “take out the enemies”;
  a 1–2 roll could mean an ally dies, while a 3–4
  could mean injuries, or some enemies remain).
  “SUCCEED” ON A 1: A bad roll doesn’t have to
  mean “failing” an action. The risk for hacking an
  airlock might not be “it doesn’t open,” but
  “alarms blare and stuﬀ gets blown into space.”
  
  PRINCIPLES
  OTHER PLAYERS SHOULD…
  Use your head. Put yourself in your character’s
  shoes. Try to think your way out of problems
  before rolling the dice. Rolling the dice when
  death is on the line can mean instant death.
  Embrace the premise. Come up with excuses to
  go adventuring and face danger together. If your
  character wants to escape to safety and retire,
  let them. Then make a character for this game.
  Keep in mind that you don’t need to be super-
  cautious: The rules might seem lethal, but if the
  GM doesn’t say that an action risks death or seri-
  ous injury, then it doesn’t.
  Be transparent about intent. The GM isn’t out to
  get you; don’t hide information from them. Don’t
  just ask, “What’s in the room?” if you’re speciﬁ-
  cally looking for a chair to stand on; say you’re
  looking for a chair to stand on, and why.
  Be ﬂexible about scene framing. In traditional
  RPGs, it’s typically the GM’s job to “jump ahead”
  in time when following along in real-time would
  be dull. The GM should take the lead in this in
  2400, but players also have the authority to fast-
  forward through boring or uncomfortable con-
  tent, pause for a break, or rewind to edit or redo
  scenes that leave a bad feeling behind. Putting
  these tools explicitly in everyone’s hands, and
  not necessarily coupling them with “safety” all
  the time, helps keep the game fast-paced and
  exciting, and makes it easier for people who do
  need such tools for psychological safety to use
  them without fear of judgment or awkwardness.
  THE GM SHOULD…
  Play to ﬁnd out what happens. Feel free to bring
  prepared materials like scenarios, locations, and
  characters, but don’t plan a plot. Don’t try too
  hard to guess what the players might do. See
  how things unfold, and be ready to improvise.
  Present problems without solutions. Don’t
  worry about “balance” or even whether a prob-
  lem can be solved. Let the players surprise you.
  Ground everything in the ﬁction. Describe what
  happens in the world, not just what happens in
  the rules. End each description with, “What do
  you do?” to prompt players to describe action
  before reaching for the dice.
  Be generous with information. When players
  ask questions, prompt them to describe how they
  search for answers, and give honest answers. If
  the players struggle, suggest ideas through sup-
  porting characters, or just say, “You notice....”
  Be a fan of the characters. Presume the players’
  characters are cautious and competent. Don’t
  demand that they describe checking every door
  for alarms; if they are someplace that might be
  alarmed, they’re checking. Introduce challenges
  not to punish them, but to give a chance to shine.
  Telegraph risks. Player shouldn’t be completely
  surprised by the results of a die roll. You might
  not describe the exact details of what might
  happen on a bad roll, but you should suggest
  possible impact, and give players a chance to
  change course before committing.
  Use what you need; ditch the rest. Roll on
  tables if you need quick inspiration, or pick what
  you want, or ignore them entirely. It’s your game.
  Put players before the game. Before play,
  establish as a group which content is out of
  bounds for your game, or okay if “oﬀ-screen.”
  (Sexual assault is “out of bounds” by default for
  many groups.) During play, lead the group in
  framing scenes both for pacing and for safety.
  BREAK OUT IN CASE OF EMERGENCY
  2400 is designed to be open to interpretation.
  But what if you need more? This document is for
  those “emergency” situations where you’re not
  quite sure how to interpret something. To ask
  questions or make suggestions, post a comment
  at jasontocci.itch.io/2400.
  Version 1.1 • Art CC BY BEEPLE (Mike Winkelmann)
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/2400 System/2400 Emergency Rules [v1.1]/2400 Emergency Rules v1.1 singles.pdf