TEXT: THINK YOU’RE A TOUGH GUY?  THINK YOU AND YOUR BUDDIES ARE A TEAM OF BAD-ASS CHICKS?  
  TIME TO PUT UP OR SHUT UP AT THE TOUGHEST BAR IN THE HISTORY OF ALCOHOL AND FIGHTING: 
  THE 3 COBRAS 
  By Rowan MERIDITH 
  TEAMS ENTERING THE 3 COBRAS MUST HAVE… 
   Three fighters.  Fill in their Team Name, Abilities/Moves, and other 
  information on your Team Entry form.  Players are considered 
  “commanders” to the team and will be role-playing each member. 
   10 chips to count health per player. 
   Dice: 1d20 (who lands a blow?), 1d10 (how hard?), 1d6 
  (criticals/tie breakers/initiative). 
   Pencil and paper 
   A Referee (game-master).  Their job is to draw up the evening’s 
  fight bracket with both the actual human player-character teams 
  (PCs) and a slew of maniac tough guy teams for them to fight (non-
  player characters or NPCs).  Remember that multiples of 4 and 8 
  work best for brackets: 4-8-16-32-64 etc.  This makes sure there 
  aren’t a ton of byes or people sitting around waiting to fight. 
   
  …AND FOLLOW THESE RULES: 
   Each Team of three fighters sends one fighter at a time.   
   Fighters are assumed to have access to anything they normally 
  would in their own world within reason AND provided it is 
  something they could bring to a fight in both/one hand.  Also, 
  during the role-play, looking around where the fight’s happening 
  and finding stuff to use?  TOTALLY LEGAL. 
  o For instance: that famous vigilante/billionaire playboy with the 
  Butler and the cave hideout?  Dude would have access to his 
  entire belt of gadgets, but can’t call in any of his planes, cars, or 
  cycles.  Gotta draw the line somewhere. 
  o What about guns in a fist fight?  Or chainsaws in a knife fight?  
  TOO BAD.  Best find a way to avoid the gunfire and whirling 
  blades then, bucko! 
   All fighters have 10 Hit Points.  Why?  Well, as much as straight 
  murdering the dude opposite you in the ring might be satisfying, 1) 
  murder’s crazy illegal and 2) Let’s say that team wins and moves 
  on…now they’re short a fighter.  So 10 HP to a fighter; when they 
  have 0 left, they’re KO’ed and replaced.  More on KO’s and 
  swapping fighters later. 
   Each MATCH has up to 5 ROUNDS; the winning team being the 
  one who KO’s all three of the opponent’s fighters first. 
   Each team has to have some kind of actual thread running through 
  their members.   
  A FEW EXAMPLES: 
  o McDerp Comics and their top three heros/villains/both  
  o three fighters from a dojo or gang,  
  o three random guys out for a beer and bull session who wander 
  into the Three Cobras. 
   
  ABILITIES: 
  Each team is permitted a special ability and each fighter is permitted a special move.  Write the name for this effect on your Team’s Entry 
  Form.  Team Abilities can be used once per ROUND (all the fights); Special Moves can be used once per FIGHT.  A partial list is below; if 
  you’re stuck for bonuses, roll 1d20 and select the abilities from the table. 
  1) Better Training 
  +1 to d20 
  2) Bigger Fist  
  +1 to d10 
  3) In Your Face, Ace 
  +1 to d6 
  4) The Finisher 
   +1 to all damage 
  5) Sense Weakness 
  +1 to Critical Hit damage 
  6) Hurtmore 
  +1 to d10 damage roll 
  7) Move Quicker 
  +1 to initiative rolls. 
  8) You and who? 
  +2 to a die roll if 2 or more of 
  your team are NOT KO’ed 
  9) No matter what 
  When you roll a Critical Fail, 
  everyone takes 1 Damage 
  10) Dojo Pride 
  You get an extra non-KO 
  swap this Round. 
  11) No Mas! 
   KO at 9 Damage instead of 
  10 
  12) Armor 
  -1 to any d10 Damage roll. 
  13) Amped Up 
  -2 to total damage. 
  14) PSST! 
  -2 to opponent’s initiative. 
  15) Eye Candy 
   -1 to opponent’s d20 roll. 
  16) War Chant 
  +/-1 to any roll (your choice) 
  17) Spin Away 
  Reroll your d20. 
  18) Blinding Flash 
  -1 to any single roll by 
  opponent 
  19) Wait, What? 
  Everyone rerolls their last 
  die. 
  20)  Break it Up 
   Both fighters get Sidelined 
  and take a damage. 
  These are all just jumping off points, however.  Feel free to come up with your own.  Referees have the final say for tweaking overpowered 
  abilities, but creative play here is absolutely to be rewarded! 
   
  SO WAIT.  HOW IS THIS A ROLEPLAY SYSTEM AGAIN? 
  Yeah, there’s a lot of action here.  It’s all combat right?  That’s a valid point.  But the players, as the team commander, have to talk it through.  
  NOTICE THAT DOES NOT SAY: “ACT OUT/LARP/STAGE/GO DO AN ACTUAL FIGHT.”  TALKING. The more brutal and hilarious your 
  fighter’s style, the more fun it is.  On occasion, the Referee can reward rerolls, bonuses, or penalties for these various descriptors 
  “’The Crimson Fist has had enough of your $#!+, Blobbo.’  He rushes at Blobbo and hits him 
  with a jackrabbit punch to the temple.” 
   
   
   
  
  ENOUGH TALKING.  NOW FIGHT! 
   INITIATIVE: Players each roll 1d6; higher score will choose their 
  first fighter.  The Fight itself does not use initiative though; 
  everything is happening essentially at the same time.  You know.  
  LIKE HOW A FIGHT ACTUALLY HAPPENS. 
   START SWINGIN’: Both players roll 1d20; the higher number lands 
  a blow. 
   LIGHT ‘EM UP: The player who landed the blow then rolls 1d10 
  damage.  Remove counters from the target equal to this roll. 
   CAN YOU FIGHT?: Check each fighter’s HP.  Any player with 0 
  HP is knocked out and a teammate takes their place. 
  OTHER STUFF THAT OCCASIONALLY COMES UP:  
   Natural 1’s on Swingin’ rolls always miss.  Conversely, Natural 20’s 
  always hit and are called “Mega Hits.” 
   Players tying on any d20 roll that is not a natural 20 roll 1d6 to 
  break the tie.  On tied Natural 20s, both players land punches at 
  the same time.   
   Mega Hits roll an additional 1d6, to max of +3 damage: Rolls of 1-2 
  deal +1; Rolls of 3-4 deal +2; rolls of 5-6 deal +3 damage. 
   If a fighter hits 0 health, they are KO’ed, and if something causes a 
  both fighters to simultaneously KO, this is legal.  Both teams select 
  a new fighter.  If a double-KO were to end the Match, a single roll-
  off of all 3 dice determines the winner. 
   A player may switch fighters who have not been KO’ed once per 
  Match.  The active fighter takes 1 damage and is Sidelined when 
  his teammate comes into the fight. 
   If a PC’s team is completely eliminated by NPC fighters, that PC 
  assumes the role of that NPC team on their next Round.   
  HOW 
  DO 
  ABILITIES/SPECIAL 
  MOVES 
  AND 
  BONUSES/PENALTIES WORK?  
  REMEMBER: TEAM ABILITIES CAN BE USED ONCE PER MATCH 
  AND FIGHTERS’ SPECIAL MOVES CAN BE USED ONCE PER 
  ROUND.  If anything adds a bonus or subtracts a penalty, it will do it 
  to the specific die roll.  For instance, ARMOR states: “-1 to any d10 
  roll to damage.”  If that fighter takes damage, the d10 roll would be 
  one lower (but, since Mega Hit damage rolls d6, that d6 roll is 
  unaffected).  Referee bonuses/penalties work the same way. 
  Abilities/moves that do something like reroll or heal do so as soon as 
  they are announced.  This can occur quite literally any time 
  depending on the ability/special.  However, if the referee sees you 
  absolutely screwing around and attempting to cheat, he can issue a 
  single warning about fair play.  A second offense KO’s the current 
  fighter and deals a damage to the next one brought out. 
  WHAT ABOUT SPECIALS NOT FROM THE TABLE? 
  The general rule here is that your team’s roster and specials—both 
  team and fighter—are reviewed before the night’s tournament begins 
  by the Referee.   
   
  Rulings: Referee verdicts on changing or limiting specials are 
  final.  Typically this will result in a fighter’s special being made a team 
  one or dropping a +/- by a point or two. 
   
  SO WHO WINS? 
  That is the simplest thing ever: the last team standing, NPC or PC.  No points to tally.  No objectives to score.  Whoever beats the most face 
  wins.  The end.  
   
  TEAM ENTRY FORM 
  The 3 Cobras corporation, now and in perpetuity denies any responsibility to patrons’ health and well-being.  We serve booze and host fights.  You’re on your own, pal. 
   
  TEAM NAME: 
  TEAM ABILITY: 
  FIGHTER #1:  
      SPECIAL MOVE: 
   
  FIGHTER #2:  
      SPECIAL MOVE: 
   
  FIGHTER #3:  
      SPECIAL MOVE: 
   
   
   
   
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Other (Unique) Systems/Top Secret Games Two Page Tabletops/The 3 Cobras.pdf