2D10 ROLEPLAYING GAME
com | ©2017 mystic ages publishing |
2D10 is a free, fast, action-oriented
roleplaying game. To play, you’ll need
imagination, friends, and ten-sided dice.
CREATING A HERO
First, brainstorm a concept for your hero
that fits the setting. Who is she? What is his
story? What makes her special?
Second, distribute 10 points among your
hero’s 3 attributes. Attributes are three broad
descriptors that define a hero’s overall
physical, mental, and social capacity. Each
begins at 0, cannot have a negative value, and
cannot exceed a maximum of 5 during
character creation.
Prowess represents your hero’s
physical strength, athleticism, and agility.
Acuteness represents your hero’s
m e n t a l c a p a c i t y, e d u c a t i o n , a n d
cleverness.
Magnetism represents your hero’s
leadership, attractiveness, and gift for gab.
Third, choose an occupation, a
representation of the hero’s training, education,
and experience. Examples include soldier,
private investigator, starship pilot, wizard, petty
thief, psychologist, librarian, and hunter. Your
hero’s occupation should match the setting and
be something reasonable and narrowly
defined. For example, “the greatest sorcerer in
the world” is not a suitable occupation. If
unsure, work with your GM.
Fourth, choose a single feat. A feat is an
offensive, defensive, magical, or superhuman
act or gift. Examples include “mighty blow”,
“natural born mechanic”, “master of disguise”,
“golden tongued orator”, “stone skin”, “blinding
speed”, “mind fortress”, and “fire breather”. Be
sure the feat matches the setting and the feats
of other heroes. If in doubt, consult your GM.
Fifth, choose your hook. In a few words,
describe a flaw, fear, or passion that fuels your
hero. Examples include “never leave anyone
behind”, “find my parents”, “hates to be called
chicken”, “settling the score”, “overthrow the
king”, “help the weak”, “defend my honor”, and
“on the run”.
REGINALD: Reginald is a stubborn
farmer’s son, hunting down the orc band
that took his mother and ravaged his farm.
Prowess: 5, Acuteness: 3, Magnetism: 2.
Occupation: Hunter. Feat: “arrow to the
skull”. Hook: “Orcs are scum.”
ACTIONS
Your hero will encounter grave evil, battle
those who aim to do her harm, solve mind-
bending puzzles, win over reluctant allies, and
perform tasks of daring physical and mental
fortitude. These are called actions. Follow the
steps below to resolve such daring actions.
First, describe your hero’s action. The
more creativity you put into the it, the more
exciting and engaging the story.
Second, select the attribute that closest
matches the action.
Third, roll 2D10. Remember to count a “0”
as a zero, giving you a range anywhere from 0
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to 18. Add both dice together then add your
selected attribute’s value.
Fourth, compare your hero’s result to the
Difficulty Rating for the action. For most
actions that do not involve an enemy foe, the
DR is 15. A GM can raise and lower the DR
based on the complexity of the action. If the
action involves an opponent, compare your
result to your enemy’s counter action. For
example, an attack by a hero might be
countered by a defensive maneuver from his
opponent.
Fifth, if your result is higher than the DR or
your opponent’s result, your action is
victorious. If it is lower, than your action has
failed. If it is a tie, your hero’s action succeeds
but barely. The GM and players can narrate the
outcome of an action.
Reginald grabs the orc chieftain by the
throat and dangles him off the cliff. He rolls
2d10, gets a total of 11, and adds 5 from
his Prowess. His result is 16, 1 above the
DR of 15, meaning his action is a success.
The chieftain pleads for his life.
OCCUPATIONS
If your hero’s action involves her
occupation, add your selected attribute’s value
again. For example, if you hero was using his
Magnetism of 5 in an action with his
occupation of “Diplomat”, you would add an
additional 5 to your roll. Opponents and villains
may also make use of occupations, even in
counter actions.
FEATS
If your hero’s action makes use of his feat,
roll an extra D10. Add the two highest dice
results for your action. For example, if Reginald
ambushed an orc party, using his feat, “arrow
to the skull”, to take down the lead warrior, he
would roll 3D10. If his dice resulted in 4, 7, and
3, Reginald would add the 4 and 7 together,
discarding the 3.
SPECIAL ITEMS
Typical equipment, weapons, and armor
are useful to heroes but have no special use in
play. Magical, sophisticated, or expert-crafted
items do. If your hero obtains one, it serves as
an additional feat but only applicable to one
particular attribute. When used for its intended
purpose as part of an action, roll an additional
D10. Once again, no matter how many dice
you might roll, keep the two highest results for
your action. Items should list the particular
attribute in parentheses, like “shield of courage
(Prowess)”, “alien repair tool (Acuteness)”, or
“fedora of the archaeologist (Magnetism)”.
CONTESTS
Tense battles, persuasive stories, or
psychic duels are examples of contests when
heroes and enemies take turns hitting,
debating, or outwitting each other. When a
contest occurs, each hero and enemy gets one
turn to act. Depending on the type of contest,
the hero or opponent with the highest
applicable attribute goes first until all have
taken an action. If the contest is not resolved,
start another turn. Counter actions do not count
as a turn.
Hand-to-hand combat might use Prowess.
Wizard duels might use Acuteness.
Debates might use Magnetism.
GIVING AND TAKING DAMAGE
If your hero succeeds in harming his
opponent, the amount of damage dealt is
equal to the difference between your hero’s
result and the difficulty rating. For example, if
your hero had a result of 18 and the DR was
15, the attack would deal 3 damage. This
difference can also be used to define other
effects - how many turns an opponent is
unconscious, how many guards are distracted
by an illusion, or how long it takes to heal.
All heroes can take damage equal to their
Prowess before being Wounded. While
wounded, a hero cannot make use of any
feats. If a wounded hero takes an additional
amount of damage equal to his Prowess, he
becomes unconscious and must eventually be
revived. Heroes get to choose when and
where they die, so if such an epic event fits the
story, the player gets to joyfully describe their
hero going out in a blaze of glory.
HOOKS
In epic, inspiring stories, heroes are
constantly “hooked” into adventure. For a GM,
hooks are a great tool to help launch a story
with instant drama and action. For example, a
GM could open an adventure for a hero like
Reginald with the discovery of orc tracks at the
edge of a destroyed farm, more than enough
to plunge the revenge-minded hero on a new
quest. For players, hooks shape their hero’s
destiny, legend, and arc. Will they seek to
overcome, fulfill, or embrace it? Once per
game, a hero, usually in a desperate situation,
can use his hook to re-roll an action. The
action must connect with his hook in a
significant way. Re-roll all dice, even if they are
from feats or special items.
Reginald curses as his attempt to find the
tracks of the orc band in the blinding rain
meet with failure. Sinking to his knees, he
is ready to give up but feels a rush of
anger well up in him. He clambers back to
his feet. His player decides to invoke his
hero’s hook and roll again.
GROWING AS A HERO
In between sessions, heroes may grow by
learning new occupations or gaining feats.
Learning a new occupation requires training
with a teacher, professional, or mentor for an
extended period of time. This should happen
only when it makes sense to the ongoing story
of your adventures. Feats are gained after
heroic actions or events that save lives or
greatly alter the setting. In both cases, players
and the GM should suggest moments in the
story when it makes sense for either to
happen, reflecting a hero’s progress toward
greatness.