Introduction to the Core Rules
The name ’Verses is short for Universes. By choosing this name for this game and its rules, I hope to evoke a sense of expansiveness and boundless possibility.
’Verses can also sound like “versus” which implies contest. One of the key features that distinguishes these rules from other table-top role-playing games (ttRPGs) is the active contesting of action. Whether as a knight or a starship pilot, one doesn’t simply stand still and take what comes. Active defense is built into the way action plays out in the game.
Finally, it’s no coincidence that a “verse” is writing that has metrics, rhythm, and rhyme. Poetry and song lyrics have always been ways that people tell each other stories, and stories are at the heart of any good ttRPG adventure. One could argue that the combination of story and metrics is at the very heart of role-playing games.
Goals of These Rules
When writing the rule system for this game, I started out with the following goals.
’Verses Should Be Fast
Game mechanics invariably manage to get in the way of quick and fun play, especially when players are in the middle of an action sequence. This is unavoidable really, since no matter what the rules are, they’re going to be slower to resolve than some of the actions that players want their characters to take.
Having said that, I want these game rules to be as fast and as light as possible so that when things invariably do bog down, the GM and players can get back to moving at speed quickly.
Lightweight can mean a lot of things. In this case, I mean that wherever possible, I’ve made the rules simple and short. That means that players hopefully won’t be spending a lot of time looking up rules or figuring out how they work.
It also means new players should be able to pick up the game quickly. Session Zeros can be short on character generation complexities and move on to Session One faster.
Moreover, the rules are meant to rhyme, so if you know how one mechanic works, you can figure out another and you’ll probably be right.
’Verses Should Be Fun
There’s nothing worse than having a cool, dramatic idea of how your character can solve a tricky problem, only to be told by the GM that the rules don’t allow that. In ’Verses, the rules are always secondary to having fun and having those big dramatic moments. So these rules focus more on what’s possible than what’s disallowed. Consider this an admonition to GMs to prioritize those big dramatic moments over rules debates.
’Verses Rules Should Be Expressive
Being expressive in a rules system means that many ideas, scenarios, and narratives can be explored and resolved with a small set of mechanics. Fewer rules are better than more rules. Simpler rules are better than complex. To my mind, an elegant system is one that solves as many problems as possible with as few moving parts as possible.
It also means that in some cases realism has been deliberately sacrificed in favor of narrative expression, speed, and fun. Before adding or adjusting a rule to make a mechanic more realistic, I have asked myself “will this make playing the game with friends more fun?”
I hope you enjoy playing ’Verses as much as I've enjoyed writing & playing it.
Callout Conventions
Throughout these pages, the text of the ’Verses rules are annotated with various types of callouts. The following conventions are used to indicate different kinds of notes:
Notes that provide additional information or ideas.
Examples depicting moments from hypothetical games to illustrate rules.
"Footnotes" clarifying specific text indicated by an asterisk.
Notes of great importance or reiterating key elements of the rules.
What You Need
If you’ve played ttRPGs before, most of this section will be familiar to you (although you’ll want to check out the section on Dice).
The Players & the Game Master
Before playing ’Verses, you’ll want to figure out which part you want to play in the game. There are two main roles, and you’ll need both to make the game work.
The Game Master
The Game Master (GM) is part author, part referee, and part director. The GM’s responsibility is to organize and advance the story, keep track of the gameplay, referee rules and character actions, and most importantly, to make the game fun for the players.
The GM is not playing against the players. As a GM, you should aspire to make things challenging and dramatic for your players, not to kill off their characters or “win.”
More information on how to GM a game in ’Verses is explored in GMing a Game.
The Players
A player takes on the role of a character, decides what that character will do in various situations, interacts with other players, and helps to create exciting and rewarding storylines. If you want to focus on one character and play a part in a complex multi-faceted story, you should probably be a player.
While it’s possible to play with only one player and one GM, you’ll have the most fun with between three and six players.
Materials
Between the players and GM, at least one person will need a copy of these rules and any associated expansions in use. Aside from access to these rules, there are certain material components of play which will be needed to play the game.
A Comfortable Environment
Everyone should have a comfortable place to sit, room for their character sheets, notes, and dice, and should be close enough to each other to converse and see the map (if the GM is using one). A common place to play is a dining table.
Game sessions can last a few hours, so having drinks and snacks on hand is never a bad idea.
Character Sheets
While it’s perfectly fine to write down character details on a scrap of paper or keep track of them on a digital device, many players will find that using a printed character sheet improves their experience of the game. A good character sheet emphasizes important details and organizes a character’s abilities to make them easy to keep track of in Fast Action.
Character sheets and other supporting materials are available for download in Resources
Dice
Unlike many popular ttRPGs, ’Verses uses only six-sided dice (d6s), the kind typically used in common board games.
Each player and the Game Master (GM) should have access to at least 16 six-sided dice. While it’s possible to share, each player having their own dice allows players to use the physical dice as tactile counters for tracking things like Action Dice and Exhaustion.
You’ll be rolling many dice at once, so unless you have huge hands, you might want 12mm dice as opposed to the more common 16mm dice. Dice with pips (dots) are faster to read in the context of this game than dice with numerals. If you already have enough of these dice, there’s no need for them to be matching, however some players enjoy using matching sets of dice, which are available for sale in a variety of colors and materials.
Map Grids & Miniatures
Physical maps and miniatures are not at all necessary, but they can provide a fun, tactile way to represent Fast Action, allowing the GM and players to more directly visualize terrain and distances, and to formulate tactics.
If you choose to play using maps and miniatures, the following guidelines are suggested.
Use maps with 1 inch or 2.5cm hexagonal or square grids. Each hex or square represents one meter of distance. If using square grids, consider movement to any adjacent square (including diagonals✻) as 1m of movement.
Even though this way of determining diagonal distance is not mathematically accurate, unless everyone involved agrees that precisely measuring out distances is a fun way to spend time, stick with the simpler and faster approximation.
If you choose to use miniatures, use 28mm figures which are readily available in a wide variety of styles. There are even websites that allow you to design and 3D-print custom figures, although these can be expensive.
But your players don’t need to invest in expensive minis. Represent characters and objects with whatever you have on hand that fits on the grid. Different colored dice, board game pawns, or even buttons and coins can serve as perfectly good character markers.
