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What you hold in your hands is the Black Cover Beta edition of Grip, role-playing
game of questionable reality in the crossbred genre of Scicho-Noir (little bit sci-fi,
little bit psychological thriller and a little bit noir) and employing a resource
management mechanic over dice, cards or other random element. It is not the
completed game, but its semi-fleshy bones. We at the Owls Nest have tested and
tweaked, prodded and poked this game in many and varied ways. Now we humbly
request you do the same, and send us your findings at:
nonefornic@yahoo.com
Regards,
Aka Owlman
A Humble Warning
What is Grip?
If you are reading this chapter chances are you are either new to tabletop, pen-and-paper Role Playing
Games (RPG) or are familiar with them, but not sure how the system translates into play. Grip is a resource
management role playing game set in a universe where reality is neither even nor absolute, but instead a
highly subjective and stridently governed experience.
To play the game, you need this book, a group of four or so players, one of which will act as a narrator,
guide and referee known as the Game master. The rule book outlines the mechanics of the game and the
world in which the game is set. It gives you a set of rules which determine how your character interacts
with the universe in which they are located. The players are you, the people who sit around a table or
lounge room and decide what their character do and how they act in certain situations. For the most part a
player will only control one character unless that person is the Game Master. The Game Master controls
everything except the playing characters. They control the universe including the extras (any character not
controlled by a player), the weather, pianos falling out of thin air and so on.
As a player you control a character and every one of their actions within the Grip universe. You will design
them, as described in under character creation, give them a background and even determine what they
look like. You will then guide that character through a series of hopefully interesting and possibly
dangerous situations and encounters enforcing the Consensus of Reality throughout the universe. Playing a
character is like being the main character in your favourite movie. However unlike watching a movie
where you have no influence over what happens, you decide what your character does. Should you open
the locked door with your trusty lock pick, kick it open, blow the lock off with a shotgun or climb through
the window next to it? The decision is up to you.
Whether or not you are successful at your desired action is then determined by the Narrator as he is the
one who knows whether there is a six foot tall, drug enhanced mad man on the other side of the door or
not. The rules also determine whether you are successful or not. Depending on what your character is
trying to do you may be required to pass a test of some sort. For example, if the door was unlocked no test
would be required for your character to open the door. If it is locked and your character wants to kick it
open you and the Narrator would check the rules to determine how many marbles are required to succeed.
Simple isnt it?
You are a Reaper, an agent of the Reality Protection Agency or R.P.A. Your jurisdiction is reality itself.
The R.P.A. is an international inter-government agency that was with much fanfare formed soon after the
The R.P.A. started out with the government response to the first instances of Outsanity those
miscellaneous, grey suited propaganda agencies that issued a few cheesy advertisements and making
recommendations about behaviour, some government reality warnings that is till insanity became an
epidemic. Thats when the government go serious about Reality Deviancy, mandating and decreeing a
consensual and agreed degree of normality with specific parameters permitted for deviancy, creating
the Reality Protection Agency to enforce it. Since then the Reapers have grown from enforces to a vigilante
police, investigating and hunting Reality Deviants, Antimatter terrorists groups and other such folks who
disagree with the Laws of Consensus.
Its dangerous work, being a Reaper, and the R.P.A. doesnt advertise in newspapers. To join the Agency,
one has to apply of their own volition and undergo some basic tests. Basic is the apt word. The tests consist
of a baseline physical, mental and psychological exam with standards far lower than any police or military
agency would ask for. Essentially, all the R.P.A. is looking for in its recruits is that theyre not any more
dangerous than any Outsanity theyre likely to encounter in the field. Or likely to cause something more
dangerous. Then its onto a month of mildly stimulating training before the agent is given a badge, given
some basic equipment and thrown into the field as part of a green recruit team. These teams consist of the
number of new recruits that can generally be stuffed around a meeting table come briefing time. Most
arent expected to live to become senior agents and some months the R.P.A. looses more Reapers than it
produces.
The problem is once reality is mined, there is no known way to restore it to the environment and this has
led to the uneven and inconsistent nature of daily existence across most parts of Earth. Due to the drastic
change reality mining has caused on Earth the industry has been outsourced to private coporations and
regulated to distant vistas such as the deepest caverns and depths of the ocean, darkest jungles and
emptiest deserts. Most of all, however, reality mining has been shipped off-world to other planets in the
solar system.
In some ways it is a self-perpetuating cycle. Reality mining has facilitated the growth of coporate colonies
on other planets that requires more reality to be mined to sustain them with the excess allowing the
colonies to expand facilitating the need for more reality mining. The colonies have also facilitated the
growth of a new underclass: The Astronaut. The colonies are seen as a dirty way of life - dominated by
derelicts, grease monkeys, and hard-boiled interplanetary traders - with Laws of Consensus set by the
corporation, and thus anywhere from mildly to wildly different to that of Earth. A kind of authorized
Paracosm populated by paid Reality Deviants. Thus an astronaut is considered the lowest form of life
8
Since reality mining started destabilizing reality, the world has become an unpredictable place where
Outsanity - disturbances in the laws of nature, physics and just about everything else - are as common as
weather. Wormhole, sudden gravity loss, evolutionary reversal, pocket reality, aberrant life form, mental
illness outbreaks, and countless other abnatural Outsane - phenomenon are mostly caused by a malicious
or unwitting Reality Deviant, the result of technology like that of the Sensitive Machines or other cause that
can be identified.
The R.P.A. has allowed governments to dictate what is and is not a normal level of reality from gravity and
geography to biological and social norms, as dictated through the Laws of Consensus. Naturally, however,
not everyone agrees with the Laws of Consensus. Many average citizens within their daily lives commit
many small acts of Reality Deviancy. Others knowingly do so in their homes late at night with the curtains
closed, within illegal anti-reality speakeasys, social clubs of like-minded individuals, or other such places.
While the R.P.A. is interested in locating and dealing with at best re-educating and at worst, eliminating
such individuals it is largely the duty of every individual citizen to observe their neighbours, friends and
co-workers and actively report instances of Reality Deviancy amongst them.
For this reason, the real enemy of the Reaper is the Reality Terrorist. These knowing and willing Reality
Deviants actively seek to disrupt and destroy what little stability remains in reality, transforming the entire
world into Paracosm. Since most organizations of Reality Terrorists are led and formed around powerful,
charismatic personalities the Flex instantly bends to their conception within Paracosm making Reality
Deviancy a dangerous lure for such individuals.
Here Flex instantly warps around the strongest personality, ideology, ideal, religion or other powerful
force of belief. Within the bubble of deviant reality that surrounds the belief hallucinations, dreas and
bizarre rules become real; objects that come into contact with the bubble are transformed to fit in with its
rules and new creatures are created that, simply put, cannot (in most cases) survive outside their particular
reality. Paracosm returns to normal once the Laws of Consensus are enforced through the actions R.P.A.
and the use of a Reality Generator, though strange lingering evidence of what had transpired remain.
Humans and other living creatures who enter Paracosm may recognize that something is... deviant. The
size of Paracosm is generally related to the distance from and power of any nearby Reality Generators, and
for this reason Paracosm generally occurs in wilderness and other areas far away from civilization.
10
11
Each character in Grip possesses four Core traits Grace (social skills), Intuition (mental ability),
Muscularity (physical prowess), and Standing (as in social standing). The player has ten points to assign to
these Core Traits and each begins at a minimum of one. Core traits function as the characters broad natural
talents and are augmented in specific areas by the characters Extensions specific skills in areas where the
character has received training or education. All Extensions begin at zero and the player has fifteen points
with which to purchase them. Next the player should calculate how many Marbles the character has to
spend during play for each Core and Extension trait. Marbles are resources the character spends during
play to overcome obstacles and difficulties. Core Marbles begin at double the Core traits rating. Extension
Marbles are calculated as the sum of the Extension and their associated Core trait. Lastly the player
purchases Psychosi little advantages and disadvantages the character might have over their fellows
calculates their Grip (both sanity and wounds, or more accurately sanity as wounds) at the sum of their
Grace and Intuition traits and Preserve at the sum of their Intuition and Muscularity traits halved..
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Characters may exchange experience points for improvements in the following manner:
Core Traits may be increased at a cost of the new level multiplied by two.
Extensions may be increased at a cost equal to the new level.
Positive Psychosi may be purchased at a cost of ten experience points at the Game Masters
discretion.
If the Game Master consents, the player may purchase a Negative Pschosi, gaining ten experience
points.
Any Eccentricities may be lowered by one level in exchange for experience points equal to their
cost.
Only one purchase of experience points may occur between game sessions.
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As a general rule of thumb, the Game Master should add up the amount of conditions or difficulties the
character will encounter during the action as a guide to how many Marbles are required. Chasing down a
foe on foot might only require one Marble as the character either catches the opponent or fails to do so.
Chasing that same foe across a frozen lake may require two Marbles due to the added danger of the ice
breaking.
Use the following table as a guide to the quantities of Marbles required performing certain tasks:
Teamwork
Some situations allow multiple characters to act at the same time. Examples include lifting and carrying
large and heavy objects, conducting research through multiple sources, and other situations and defined by
the Game Master. In these circumstances, characters are permitted to pool their Marble expenditure.
Opposed Marbles
Sometimes two characters will be locked into direct head-to-head competition such as when playing
chess, arm wrestling, vying for a ladys affection and so on. When directly contested in this way, both
players spend the appropriate type of Marbles for their character. The character which spends the most
Marbles in excess of the Difficulty is successful. If neither characters expenditure of Marbles is successful,
both characters fail. If possible, this should be done in secret with each player individually informing the
Game Master the amount of Marbles they wish to spend. For example, two particularly burly gentlemen
are locked in an arm wrestling contest. Because both are quite formidable, the Game Master deems the
difficulty four. The first contestant spends four Marbles, the second three making the former the
successful party.
Reality Deviance
Reality has rules and though those rules may be flexible, it takes a powerful force of will to oppose them.
Jet planes are faster than motorcycles, getting shot hurts, you are not attractive and interesting or whatever
else the rules of reality for a particular area might dictate. Should a character wish to outright oppose (or
the Game Master deems the characters actions are in opposition to) the rules of reality, then an added
increase to the tasks difficulty should be added as follows...
None +0
Small +1
Medium +2
15
For instance, R.P.A. G-man and all round naughty boy Duke Harrington is thrown out of a window by a
group of anti-consensus terrorists. There is nothing between Duke and the pavement but air, still Duke
reaches out and flails in the empty air desperately attempting to find some sort of soft landing. The Game
Master allows Dukes player to spend Musicality Marbles in a desperate attempt to bend his knees at the
right moment to land safely. The Difficulty is 6, but everybody knows that the pavement is hard and death
is instant, so the Game Master deems Dukes desperate belief a large break with reality increasing the
Difficulty to a whopping 9!
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All Core traits have a minimal ranking of one and a maximum level of six.
Grace
The characters inner nature; their soul and how it reflects outwardly to others. As such Grace reflects how
the character interacts and is received by others along with their inner fortitude; their ability to hold
themselves upright.
Intuition
All things requiring the use of the mental capacities. This isnt simply a measure of the characters learning-
ability. It is also a measure of how fast their Intuition works.
Muscularity
All things involving the use of the body. Not simply lifting heavy objects or hitting a foe with force. It is
also a measure of the characters health and endurance.
Standing
Standing is a measure of the characters social status and standing. It represents not whether the character
is loved or loathed in their community, but rather the social position of their birth and the social influence
they can subsequently exert.
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Unlike Core, all Extension traits have a minimal ranking of zero. However, like Core traits, Extensions
share a maximum of six.
Acrobat (Muscularity)
Flexible, bendy and bouncy able to jump, leap, twist and hurdle - the character with this Extension can
perform spectacular gymnastic feats.
Art (Intuition)
Where Mechanical is a practical form of construction; Art is an intuitive one. As the hands-on cousin to
Charisma, Art allows characters to design and construct clever, thoughtful and innovative ideas in the form
of objects; be it hologram, sculpture or painting.
Burglary (Intuition)
The art of opening locks and hotwiring cars without the proper keys, hacking computer systems, disarming
traps and other things involving breaking, entering and theft.
Brawling (Muscularity)
Brawling is the ability of your character to reach out and thump someone. It includes anything from judo,
boxing and other hand-to-hand techniques to fencing, gypsy knife fighting, bojutsu and every other form
of combat at close range.
Clout (Standing)
Clout represents the characters political influence and their ability to exercise it. While Talk or Charisma
represents eloquent communication, Clout represents the ability to emphasize social weight; stressing the
impact the character might have if things dont go their way.
Charisma (Grace)
The Charisma extension is a combination of appearance and charm. A high Charisma is important for
characters that want to influence people with words. Whereas Talk is used to get persuade, con and
otherwise influence people; Charisma is used to make you more likeable.
Connections (Standing)
The higher up in society one is, the more fingers in pies they have and the better it generally is to be their
friend. Connections represent the ability of a character to call on useful experts and friendly allies in order
to meet their ends.
Deduction (Intuition)
Research is the characters ability to search through records and data or physical locations for facts, clues
and other such important physical objects or pieces of information.
Doctor (Intuition)
The healing of wounds, illnesses and injuries. Without this Extension, the character must rely on their
natural healing capacity. Each success gained for a Doctor Draw on a patient increases the characters
Vitality by one per success.
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Mechanical (Intuition)
Mastery of engine, gear and mechanism comes with the Mechanical Extension. With this ability the
character can build, repair and maintain machinery.
Perceive (Intuition)
The ability to see, hear, taste and notice unusual things; a high Perceive is important for a sharpshooter,
detective or other clever boots.
Programming (Intuition)
This Extension denotes an ability and aptitude with computers, Reality Generators, air conditioners and
other devices that have software and coding. Programming can be used to both write such data from
scratch along with editing and deleting it.
Shooting (Intuition)
The Shooting Extension determines your accuracy with every kind of firearm, thrown weapon, projectile
attack and weapon that strikes at a distance from pistols and rifles to bows, spears and grenades. This
extension implies the belief that the character has a firearm or other means of attack to function effectively.
Sneak (Muscularity)
Quiet movement and the ability to remain unnoticed and if successful, you will be much harder to locate.
Survival (Intuition)
The Survival Extension allows you to hunt, forage or scavenge for food and drink items along with build
fires, shelters and even extract poisons, chemicals, and other substances from the characters natural
surroundings. Survival also covers tracking and animal lore.
Talk (Grace)
Both persuasion and deception; Talk the ability to communicate in a practical and efficient manner. This
extension is the art of convincing others that your position is correct, including the ability to lie and not get
caught.
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During character creation a player may purchase a single Positive Psychosi and up to two Negative
Psychosi. A player does not have to purchase Negative Psychoi for their character but for each they do they
may purchase an additional Positive Psychosi.
Where listed some Psychosi may be Positive or Negative as dictated by the player, with specific effects for
both.
Chatty (Negative)
The character with the Chatty Psychosi never shuts up, no matter what theyre doing. The character must
spend one additional Marble than the required difficulty to succeed in any use of the Sneak Extension.
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Astronaut: Always avenge an insult, regardless of the danger or personal cost. A buddys foe is
your foe. Never attack a buddy.
Gentleman: Never break your word. All insults to a lady, the nation or oneself must be avenged
with an apology or duel. Can never take advantage of an opponent, even simply by wielding
superior weapons.
Honesty: Obey the law all the time and in every circumstance.
Coward (Negative)
The character cannot stand the thought of confrontation of any sort, physical, verbal or mental. The
character with this Psychosi must flee, or capitulate, from any confrontation if at all possible. If they are
forced to fight, the quantity of Marbles spent in any attack is reduced by two. That means that if the
character spends three Marbles from their Brawling, their total is counted as one. If the character spends
five Marbles from their Shooting, their total is counted as three. Further more, the character must spend at
least three Marbles on any attack.
Eccentric (Negative)
Sometime in their recent past the character lost their Grip and gained some Eccentricities. When this
Pyschosi is acquired the player must purchase four points of Eccentricity.
Illuminated (Positive)
Schooled, book-learned, trained to look, see, think, understand and intemperate an Illuminated character
gains one additional Marble added to their Intuition Core.
Impulsive (Negative)
The character with this Psychosi hates sitting on the sidelines. They must ACT! Every opportunity an
Impulsive character has to spend Marbles they must. If the character fails to do so, they lose one point of
Grip.
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Profession (Positive)
The character with this Psychosi has trained extensively with one Profession or another, gaining three free
Marbles which may be spent with any Core or Extension when applied to their Profession. Marbles gained
from Profession are spent and replenish in the typical fashion. When Profession is purchased, the player
must define the specific area that their training occupies. If a character wishes to obtain a second area, they
must purchase this Psychosi again. Sample areas include: assassin, detective, psychologist, reporter,
scientist, taxi driver, etc.
Secret (Negative)
A terrible hidden fact about the characters past (or present) comes with this Psychosi. Perhaps they got
away with murder, maybe they have a secret lover, tax evasion, lies, scandals, an alternate identity... who
knows? Should the characters secret ever be revealed then they most certainly face dire consequences, the
least of which may be the loss of social status in the eyes of their peers with the characters Standing
reduced by two (taken from the trait, with Marbles adjusted accordingly).
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Sportsman (Positive)
A master of physical pursuits, the character with this Psychosis gains one additional Marble added to their
Muscularity Core.
Tamer (Positive)
The character with this Psychosi is particularly good with animals, gaining four free Marbles which may be
spent with any Core or Extension when applied to animals. Marbles gained from Tamer are spent and
replenish in the typical fashion.
Unbalanced (Negative)
An Unbalanced character is perpetually a little on edge, nervous, jittery, paranoid, jumpy or otherwise just
mentally ill enough to see them perpetually teetering over the edge of becoming Eccentric at all times. Any
time a character with the Unbalanced Psychosi may only regain four points of Grip at any one time.
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Endurance
Endurance measures how much of a beating the character can take before reality comes calling. The body is
a weak kind of Reality Generator, a flexible constant. And sometimes when the body is concerned it doesnt
matter how desperately you believe something. The weight of physical embodiment comes crashing down.
When a body is broken and beaten is one of those times.
Any time a character is punched, stabbed, shot or otherwise wounded they loose a point of Endurance.
Each blow reduces the characters Endurance by one, regardless of how much Grip the character loses as a
result. When a character reaches zero Endurance their body gives out, resulting in death.
A characters Endurance is equal to double their Muscularity Trait (the Trait itself, not its Marbles).
Grip
A characters Grip is a measure of how firmly they grasp reality. Characters loose Grip as the pressures of
an adventure mount up, as characters get injured, succumb to stress, spend Marbles beyond their capacity
in certain areas and so forth. When a characters Grip is reduced below zero the character automatically
spends some Marbles from all Core and Extension traits. The expenditure of Marbles is equal to the
number of points the character is reduced below zero Grip. For example, if a character is reduced to
negative four Grip then they spend four Marbles from Core or Extension traits.
The quantity of Marbles spent through loosing Grip, however, cannot force a character to spend Marbles
where they have none. That is to say, lost Grip cannot reduce any quantity of Marbles below zero. For
example, if a character is reduced from negative four Grip to negative seven then all Core or Extension
traits automatically spend three Marbles. However, if the character has only two Marbles left in Talk then
they only spend two from that Extension as they cannot spend three.
A characters Grip is equal to the sum of their Intuition and Grace traits.
Flex
Reality Deviants are dangerous because reality is malleable around them, constantly shifting and twisting.
Flex describes just how malleable reality is around the characters. And though t is derived from the
players, Flex is not a trait for players, but for the Game Master to use to mould and twist reality around the
players. Every time the Game Master wishes to spontaneously alter reality away from its set course (as
designated by the areas Reality Generators).
To spontaneously change reality, the Game Master must draw Flex from a specific character spending it
as a resource. While a Game Master may draw Flex from multiple characters (player or other) they cannot
draw more of it than any or all characters possess. The change, effect or consequence can be anything the
Game Master wishes but the difficulty for overcoming it is equal to the amount of Flex spent by the Game
Master. A Game Master can spend no more than six points of Flex at one time.
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Wilderness, wilds, outer space and other places with no stable population +3
Solidarity
Back before Reality Mining, a body with a nervous system was the only kind of Reality Generator
generating Solidarity. Despite the erosion of Unanimiter through Reality Mining, the body retains the
ability to generate Solidarity not much, but just enough to give each and every individual a small, base-
line ability to stabilize the Flex. Deviancy, however, erodes an individuals Solidarity much as Reality
Mining does for Unanimter. And so the hard-core Reality Deviant is truly at the mercy of the Flex and
thrown into ever more strange and abstract states.
A characters Solidarity is equal to their Grip minus their Flex. Solidarity, like Flex, replenishes along with
Marbles and Grip.
At any point when the Game Master spends Flex, players may also spend Solidarity from their characters.
Solidarity may be spent individually or collectively. For every point of Solidarity spent, the amount of Flex
spent by the Game Master is reduced by one.
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Effect = Reality Generators are rated in terms of their ability to twist and manipulate reality, ranging from
+1 to +3. All Effects culminate with those of like function (meaning two Dead Eyes conveys a +2 to ranged
attacks).
Use (Supportive or Victimizing) = When activated, Supportive Personal Reality Generators aid the
character in their movements and efforts, reducing the Difficulty of any Marble expenditure by their Effect.
Victimizing Generators hinder the target when activated, turning the currents of reality against them in the
area as defined by the Purpose. These increase the difficulty of any marble expenditure by the Effect rating.
Notes
Drug = The Reality Generator contains an additive element. Every time a character is subjected to the
Reality Generator they may choose to spend Intuition Marbles. The difficulty of this test is equal to the
number of times the character has been affected by the Drug this game session. Failure to do so, sees the
character gain the Personal Reality Generator Negative Psychosi for the Drug in question.
Resist Core or Extension = The effects of this Reality Generator maybe resisted by with the expenditure of
Marbles from the listed Core trait or Extension at a Difficulty equal to number of times this game session
the character has been subjected to Reality Generator this session plus the Effect of the Reality Generator.
Target: Core or Extension = The effects of this Reality Generator targets a particular Core trait or Extension.
Use X = The Reality Generator is produced in a finite form and maybe used a number of times equal to X.
26
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Turn
When combat begins everything slows down, with players taking turns in outlining their characters
actions and reactions to various events. Each action a player undertakes is called a Turn, in which a player
may do one or two things such as run to cover, attack, try and talk their opponent down or perform
whatever action in relation to whats going on. The character with the highest Grace acts first - both of
those controlled by the players and the Game Master. If the value of Grace between two or more characters
is tied, then the character with the most Marbles in or highest Intuition acts.
Attacks
Attacks generally have two parties, an attacker and defender. When making an attack the acting character
spends Marbles from the appropriate Extension (usually Brawling or Shooting). For each Marble spent
above the difficulty, the defender looses one point of Grip and a single point of Endurance. The base
difficulty for any Shooting or other ranged attack is equal to the number of between the attacker and the
target. The difficulty for any Brawling or melee attack is equal to the rating of the targets Brawling
Extension (and that alone, not Marbles or Brawling plus Musicality).
For example, Sam Smyth cowboy Astronaut is in a bare knuckle boxing match in a saloon on Mars
against a big Deviant from Jupiter. Sam makes a mighty swing, spending a whooping seven Marbles from
his Brawling. The Deviants Brawling is four. That means Sams swing is a hit! For the blow landing, the
Deviant looses a point of Endurance. Moreover, because Sam spent three more Marbles than the Devaints
Brawling Extension rating, the Deviant looses three from his Grip.
Range
How far combatants are from each other is important in a fight. It determines what ranged weapons are
useful and when melee fighting can ensue. Ranges, however, are not definitive measures in feet and inches
but instead are abstract denotations of relative distance. Remember, a role-playing game is about narrative
not precision combat (at least, not always) so cool should outweigh realism, flexibility should outweigh
rigid rules. In terms of altering distances; characters can generally move one Ranges worth of footing each
action as a free action - i.e. they may move closer or further from their targets. Circumstances such as being
attacked, grappled or chased may require the character to spend Marbles to do so, but that is left up to the
Game Master.
Generally speaking there are five Positions or increments of range on in a combat area, though some
combat areas may have less. Each Positions represents less where a character is standing but more his
range and distance from his opponents, allies and other characters - a general sense of place on the
battlefield.
Close Distance is within arms reach. This means Close is the standard Distance for most melee attacks and
is generally described as point blank Distance for shooting.
Think of Short Distance as on the other side of a room. This means characters and objects a Short distance
away can be seen, spoken to and moved to quickly; but they are out of reach. Melee combat is possible at
Short Distance, as is shooting.
Medium Distance can be described as across the road. An object or character of Medium can still be seen
clearly, but it takes more than a few seconds to get to them and any verbal conversation requires yelling.
As with Short Distance, Distanced combat is fine at Medium but Melee combat is out of the question.
Long Distance is a far off point, though not yet on the edge of sight. Any conversation in any form is quite
difficult at Long Distance and, even if successful, will probably be littered with misunderstanding.
Distanced combat still functions optimally at Long Distance, but Melee is obviously impossible.
Extreme Distance is a blip in the distance; a shimmering indeterminate shape on the horizon. Things at
Extreme Distance are hard to see and generally impossible to hit with all but the most specialized
weaponry. Needless to say; melee combat is impossible at this Distance.
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Eccentricity
Eccentricity is purchased as a result of the character loosing excessive quantities of Grip. Each Eccentricity
has a base cost of points and a number of levels denoting how severe its affect is on the character. On
purchasing a new Eccentricity, the character gains the condition at level one. Additional levels may be
purchased by paying the cost over again. For example, Filthy has a cost of four. On purchasing it, the
character gains Filthy level 1. If the player spends four more points to purchase Filthy again, the character
then gains Filthy level 2. Like Core and Extension traits, a character may possess a maximum rating of six
in any Eccentricity.
Addiction (Cost: 7)
The character with this Eccentricity has a dire addiction. Booze, drugs, Pixie Dust, cough drops; whatever
the characters poison is every time they would regain Marbles, they must indulge this Addiction or
reduce the amount of Marbles regained by the Level of this Eccentricity.
Animal (Cost: 1)
The character comes to see themselves as an anthropomorphic animal. They put on an animal mask which
they never, under any circumstances, remove. If the mask is forcibly removed the character loses Grip
equal to their level in Animal and cannot regain Grip until the mask is put back on.
Crutch (Cost: 5)
The individual has a lucky rabbits foot, a picture of a loved one or some other type object that they believe
they cannot live without. Should the character with this Eccentricity loose their Crutch or fail to carry it on
their person, the Difficulty target number of all Marble expenditures is increased by one for every level
they possess in Crutch
Filthy (Cost: 4)
Seldom washing or wiping, the character is literally covered in their own filth. Just how seldom depends
on the level of this eccentricity. Regardless, it is quite off-putting for all those around the character. Reduce
the number of Marbles (to a minimum of zero) the character possesses in Grace and all Grace-based
Extensions (Charisma, Talk, etc) by the number of levels the character possesses in Filthy.
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Inept (Cost: 1)
All skill in a particular area flies from the characters mind, leaving their abilities with a single Extension
sorely lacking. On purchasing Inept the player should pick one Extension. The character loses Marbles in
this Extension equal to the level of Inept. Inept cannot reduce a number of Marbles below zero. Nor may a
player purchase more levels of Inept than the chosen Extension has Marbles. For example, a character with
six Marbles in the Burglary Extension can have up to six levels of Inept, but not seven.
Poop-train (Cost: 1)
It doesnt matter what the character thinks they are saying. The words that really come out of their mouth
range from weird through irrelevant to just plain incoherent and all the way down to offensive, though just
how bad it is depends on the level of Poop-train. For each level the character has in this Eccentricity, they
lose one Marble from their Talk Extension.
Tyler (Cost: 3)
Call him Tyler. Call him Bob. Call him Harvey and dress him in a big bunny suit. Call him whatever you
want, dress him however you want. A projection from deep within the characters Id has sprung out.
Problematically, the character is a distinct NPC controlled completely by the Game Master. Whenever the
Tyler undertakes an action that would require Marbles to be spent, they spend the characters Marbles and
may spend a maximum number per game session equal to the level of this Eccentricity. Only the character
with this Eccentricity can see the Tyler and the Tyler may only act within the general area or vicinity of the
character. Everyone else just sees you talking, walking and acting differently from normal.
Uniform (Cost: 5)
The individual only feels "right with the world" when they are in uniform. This could apply to any
occupation that wears a distinct uniform such as a policeman, nurse, soldier and so forth, regardless of
whether or not the character is a member of such an organization. Should the character with this
Eccentricity fail to wear their uniform, the Difficulty target number of all Marble expenditures is increased
by one for every level they possess in Uniform.
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Anything by Franz Kafka: Kafkas work generally consists of bureaucracies and situations that
overpower people in surreal and nightmarish ways often with complex and illogical rules. Taken
literally, it can give a good picture of the problems (and punishments for disobedience) Reapers
might face.
12 Monkeys (Film, 1995): The act of time travel sees James Cole experience a confusion of past,
present and future, prompting others around him struggling to understand Coles seemingly
incomprehensible personal reality. The language of the scientists and debates of the psychologists
surrounding Cole makes great rhetoric for Grip.
1984 (Novel, 1949): A world where everyone is watched and is always watching, where anyone
could be a Thought Criminal and where history and society are rewritten constantly with their
acceptance forced... 1984 serves as a bleaker inspiration for what life in Grip could be like for the
average citizen.
A Clockwork Orange (Film, 1971): Deviant behaviour from delinquent youth with overbearing
governments undertaking mind-altering experiments on its citizens to solve otherwise social
problems. A Clockwork Orange provides a good picture for how both rebellious youth and
government might behave in Grip.
Alice in Wonderland (Novel, 1865): "How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice."You must be," said the
Cat, "otherwise you wouldn't have come here." Alice engages in multiple levels of reality and
altered states of existence throughout her journey through Wonderland. For Grip, take the
wonderful journey as a trip through uneven Daily Existance.
American Astronaut (Film, 2001): An Astronaut engaging in the lonely, dirty profession of trading
odd commodities between colonies filled with isolated eccentric people, American Astronaut makes
little sense but is highly quotable. And provides an interesting model of what and how Astronauts
might behave like if not showered in fame and glory.
The Bureau: Xcom Declassified (Video game, 2013): An alien invasion of the 1960s United States both
thwarted and covered up by agents of a shadowy super-secret police. Much the Reapers, the Bureau
fight to maintain a public perception of reality and the fact that anyone could be an infiltrator
without knowing it (much like anyone could be a Reality Deviant) give the Bureau a nice mixture of
themes to import to Grip guts, lies and paranoia. That said, compared to the Reapers, the Bureau
are more-or-less white hats...
Dark City (Film, 1998): A man wakes up to find he is a murderer, trapped in a ever-shifting city
locked in eternal night where everybody stops at midnight when? Dark City draws on the same
combination of genres as Grip being a little bit Science Fiction, Psychological Thriller and Noir.
Doctor Strangelove, or How I Learned to Love the Bomb (Film, 1964): Cold War paranoia gone out of
control with deadly consequences. For Grip, take Jack D. Rippers concern about losing his vital
fluids literally and you begin to see just how dangerous Eccentricities and Flex are when mixed
with real, political power.
eXistenZ (Film, 1999): A game designer on the run from assassin within reality and her videogame,
with the lines blurring all the way. eXistenZ evokes a paradoxical feeling of nothing being real and
real being nothing! eXistenZ gives an inspiration of how different levels of shifting reality might
look like in Grip.
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