Hello, and welcome to the Uune Roleplaying Game! Uune is a tabletop meta-RPG designed to work with a variety of styles and genres. It is a game where you work as a team to tell a story, overcoming challenges by pooling your resources and rolling dice.
In the sections that follow, I will do my best to explain the fundamental rules and mechanics of the game, and provide guidance whenever necessary to clarify how they are intended to be used.
To get started, make sure you have the following items:
The Game Master (or GM) is the player who runs the game. They guide the story and act as the eyes and ears of the Player Characters. The Game Master also acts as all of the Non Player Characters (NPCs) in the story.
example
"The room is dark, and there's a dampness in the air. You hear the creaking of ropes, as someone shifts uncomfortably in their chair." The Game Master paused, looking to her Players for what they would do next.
Uune is a Meta-RPG, meaning that it's designed to work with a variety of game styles and genres. Your GM will have a setting picked out, or a custom one made for your table. Some example settings are available here.
example
This city had seen crime like no other. Burglars, murders, smugglers, you name it. Still though, some managed to crawl out of the muck and pull themselves up, attempting to fend off the darkness before it spreads further.
Everyone other than the GM plays as their own, singular Character, known as a Player Character (or PC).
To build a character, follow the guide below:
example
"I turn on the light, and point it right at his face!" yelled Chris. "We can make this easy on you, if you tell us the truth. We just want a confession." he said with his best Brooklyn impression.
"Or.." Walter, his partner started, wielding a baton as they stepped out of the shadows, "We can make this rather painful for you, if you prefer."
Levels represent your Character's overall experience, they're an easy way of keeping track of how many things (mainly abilities) they're supposed to have. You Level Up whenever you gain enough total Experience (XP) to reach the next level, and you gain XP by interacting with certain game mechanics.
When you Level Up, you may choose from 1 of the available options to take and add to your Character. By default, Uune gives you the options of: a Skill Level, a Boon, or a Bane (more on those later). Your Setting may add additional options that you can take from as well.
Levels start at 0 (where you have nothing added to your Character), and go up indefinitely. Your GM may want to start you off with a Level or two in order to help flesh out your Character, but there is no requirement to do so.
Bonds are things which are particularly important to your Character's story. Your Setting will have specific types of Bonds which you can take and adapt to your Character's specific needs. You start with 2 Bonds when you first build your Character.
Story Arcs are larger sections of plot taking place in the game. They can relate to something your Character specifically is doing, or your party as a whole. For example, an Arc might pertain to your party solving a mystery, and would be concluded when the mystery itself is solved.
At the end of each Arc, you may reflect on the changes your Character has had and choose a new Bond to take.
Each Bond also comes with Achievements you can complete by bringing your Bond into the story. At the end of each Arc, you gain XP from each Bond based on the number of Achievements you've completed: 5 for one, 10 for two, 20 for three, etc. You then reset your completed Achievements for the next Arc of the story.
example
The party had worked hard for this moment, tracking, tracing, investigating every thread and lead they could find. It had taken everything they had for weeks to finally track down a criminal mastermind, someone who had gone unchecked for far too long.
Chris had teethed much of his skills working for the police department a couple cities south. He'd been sent to a boarding school at a young age, and managed to escape many of the trials that city life brought around here. Walter's youth had found himself in the school of hard knocks time and time again, having gotten mixed up in mob activity before snitching his way into the department's good favor. The two couldn't have come from more different backgrounds, yet they still find themselves here.
Skills allow you to boost your rolls for things that you have knowledge around. Whenever you use a Resource that is related to a Skill you have, you may add a number equal to your Level in that Skill to your roll (more on Resources later). Each Setting will have different Skills available, so refer to that for which specific Skills you can take.
Boons represent specific bits of experience, status, or ability for your Character. Each one gives you an extra ability you can use to help you along your way. Each Setting will have it's own set of Boons for you to take whenever you Level Up.
Banes represent things about your Character that are a detriment to them, such as vices, curses, disabilities, etc. When you take a Bane, you will gain a detrimental mechanic that kicks in under certain circumstances. Banes give you Experience like Boons do, however unlike a Boon you gain XP from Banes every time you are affected by it's mechanic (as stated by the Bane itself). Each setting will have it's own set of Banes from which you can take.
There will be times when your Character will have obstacles in their path, whether physical or metaphorical. We call those Challenges. Challenges are specific to a single Character, though there are ways that other Characters can get involved (see Character Resources below)
Every Challenge has a Difficulty Level which is a number representing the amount of effort required to complete the Challenge. For example, a Difficulty of zero means that no roll is needed, while a Difficulty of 30 means that your task is extremely Difficult.
Your Dice Pool is the total amount from all the dice you've rolled towards beating your Challenge. You add to your Dice Pool by making use of Resources, which will be explained in their own section. You'll need to get your Dice Pool to a number equal to, or greater than your Challenge's Difficulty Level in order to complete your Challenge.
You can use the the list below to help narrow in on an appropriate Difficulty Level.
| Difficulty | Level |
|---|---|
| Effortless | 0 |
| Easy | 5 |
| Medium | 10 |
| Difficult | 15 |
| Hard | 20 |
| Merciless | 25 |
| Impossible | 30 |
Having too many rolls can bog the game down, but having too few leaves players wondering what their abilities are good for. To help determine what necessitates a roll, ask yourself the following questions and increase the Difficulty of the Challenge as appropriate:
Additionally, you can adjust the Difficulty of a Challenge if your player changes their goal slightly. For example, your player might decide that in addition to scoping out a spot for them to hide, they also want to plant some tools for them to use later now that they've found somewhere to put them.
Resources are dice which represent your ability to use things at your disposal in order to complete a Challenge. Using a Resource allows you to roll a six-sided die and add it to your current Dice Pool. Generally, in order for something to count as a Resource, it must be Applicable, Obtainable, and Usable.
Every time you roll a Resource, you gain 1 point of Experience.
There are many different kinds of Resources, as outlined below:
The most basic of Resources are those inherent to you, your mental and physical fortitude. Your Character has 5 points of Stamina, and may expend any number of them at any time to roll an equivalent number of dice. You regain 1 Stamina for every hour that your Character sleeps. You may only use up to your current number of Stamina points, and you may only regain up to 5 total points.
The second type of Resource are the items in your Character's Inventory. Your Character has 5 Inventory slots, and may store 1 item in each slot. Bags and containers can hold more items, but your GM may increase the Difficulty of your Challenge if you need to rush to get an item out of a container.
You may use any of the items in your Inventory as a Resource so long as they are applicable to your situation.
Next, we have the things in your environment. These can include items that you do not have on your person, but that have either been established to exist in your vicinity, or which would make sense to exist there. If your GM is unsure, they may have you roll for Luck to see if an item is present. The terrain can also provide Resources to you, if applicable in some way (such as to provide cover against an attack).
Pieces of information can also count as Resources for you, such as specific training in a field or clues about a mystery.
Other Characters can also lend you Aid with their Resources, allowing you to add their roll (and bonuses!) to your Dice Pool. Characters can also choose to Encumber you instead, adding to your Challenge's Difficulty Level instead.
At times, you can also opt to make it up as you go along. Lying, corner cutting, and doing it wrong on purpose can all work under the right circumstances. The key is to be strategic with it and make it make sense. Be warned however, that being reckless can lead to unintended consequences (but more on that later).
Finally, your Character has the possibility to take special abilities at various points throughout the game, and these often will grant you free Resources under certain circumstances. These follow whatever rules that the ability in question gives you, and aren't necessarily beholden to the guidelines here.
example
The GM leaned back in her chair, "Ok guys, this is going to be a Hard Challenge, you have to beat a 20. Now, you prepped the space to be intimidating, so you can count that as a Resource."
Walter interjected, "I'm Aiding him by looking threatening with my baton."
"Alright, go ahead and roll for that. Chris, what did you get for the room?"
Chris paused, rolled his die, and said "That's a 4, plus 2 for my Pressure Skill".
Walter, glaring at his dice, "I rolled a 1."
Another facet of Challenges is how well they are completed. There are 3 levels of Quality for every Challenge, based on how large your Dice Pool is relative to the Difficulty you needed to beat:
| Dice Pool is equal to or slightly past the Difficulty | Adequate Success |
| Dice Pool is 2 times the Difficulty | Flawless Success |
| Dice Pool is 3 times the Difficulty | Fantastical Success |
In any level of success, your Character completes what they set off to do. However, in the case of a Flawless or Fantastical success, your GM may give an additional perk or bonus depending on the Challenge. For example, if your Character is crafting a weapon and they get a Flawless Success, your GM might give you a bonus to rolls made with it to reflect the craftsmanship put into it.
Luck Checks are used for whenever something needs to be answered purely by chance. For example, your GM might call for a Luck Check to see if something exists in the environment around you that they hadn't explicitly planned for. As another example, they might also use it to see if your Character remembered to do something in retrospect that seems plausible but isn't a given.
When your GM asks you to make a Luck Check, flip a coin. On heads, the situation is in your favor. On tails, it is not in your favor. If you don't have a coin handy, you can instead roll a d6, treating a 4 or higher as a success.
Sometimes, rolling for a Resource once just isn't enough. If it makes sense, your GM can allow you to reroll a Resource if your Character takes double the time they'd normally need to complete it, taking the higher roll.
example
"If I keep at the act for the next few minutes, can I reroll?"
The GM thought about it, "That seems reasonable, go ahead and reroll.
Walter jumped, "I got a 6!"
The GM paused for a moment, "Chris, he seems uncomfortable with his situation, but not overly so. Walter, once you step into the light and start tapping your baton in your hand, immediately his eyebrows start to raise. That's a 12 so far, you guys are only halfway there if you want a confession."
When the actions you take can lead to unintended side effects, your GM may ask you to roll for Risk. Often, this is due to using a Manufactured Resource (such as a lie), but can also be a consequence for using a tool in the wrong way or in strange circumstance (such as using a walkie-talkie while trying to be quiet).
Roll on the table below, and add a relevant Skill bonus to your roll. Your GM will apply a consequence in line with your result on the table.
| 1 - 3 | Something goes wrong now. |
| 4 - 5 | Something goes wrong later. |
| 6 + | The GM gets a point of Karma. |
Karma Points are obtained by the GM through Risk rolls or other mechanics, such as those given by an Aspect. The GM uses Karma to alter the outcomes of any Character's Challenge as they see fit. They do so by spending a point of Karma to roll a die, choosing to add or subtract the result from the Character's Dice Pool.
example
Chris looked at the GM, "I'm going to lie to him, and say that we can give him a reduced sentence if he cooperates."
"Alright, go ahead and roll your resource, along with your risk."
"That's a 3 on the resource, and a 5 total on the risk."
"He's interested, but still not fully convinced. You know that you probably can't hold your end of that promise given his history, but he buys it."
At times, your GM will need to slow the game down to allow everyone to get in on the action. We call that Crunch Time.
Starting off, Crunch Time is always initiated with the actions of a Character. Then, the other Characters involved can each take their turn, completing 1 Challenge on their turn. Once everyone has taken their turn, a new round begins and everyone can take take their turns again.
If a Character wishes to take another turn within the same round, they may do so, but the Difficulty of their Challenge will be increased for each turn they take.
Conditions are active effects which affect your Character. These are given out by your GM as a result of an environmental threat, another Character's action, a Risk roll, etc. The base Conditions are outlined below:
| Name | Cause | Effect | Stacking | Resolution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battered | Sustaining a light injury or other debilitating effect | All of your Challenges have +1 to their Difficulty Level | Yes | You heal 1 level of this for every hour that you rest |
| Gashed | Sustaining a heavy injury | All of your Resource rolls are reduced by 1 | Yes | You heal 1 level of this whenever you sleep at least 6 hours |
| Helpless | Being incapacitated | You cannot use Resources | No | Determined by your GM based on context |
| Held | Being tied up, grappled, etc | You cannot move | No | You may attempt to break out with an Attack against your holder |
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