STUDIO 13 - Game rules
The system for this game is deliberately light and fast, rather than detailed and involved.
Rule One: All involved should adhere to Wheaton's Law ("Don't be a dick".)
(Caveat: Wheaton's Law Revised, ie your character can be a dick as long you, the player, are not being a dick.)
Rule Two: If all involved are in agreement, there is no need to use the system.
(Caveat: What is agreed must be reasonable, considering system and genre)
Rule Three: Don't block others. When someone offers you story; try to say "Yes, and..." or "Yes, but...".
(Caveat: If you have a good reason to say "no", do so, but try to make it a "No, but...")
If tensions arise then everyone should invoke the Modified MST3K Mantra ("It's just a game, I should really just relax.")
Conflict Resolution
See Rule Two above.Otherwise, everyone takes turns to say what they want to try to do, and how they want to do it, and if then give their "stats + roll" result. Results are compared to the other person's relevant stat, or to a GM set difficulty (for traps, situations, objects, etc).
The dice. These have the symbols "=", "-", " ", "+" and "++". "=" is -2 from your stat, "-" is -1 from your stat, " " adds nothing to your stat, "+" is +1 to your stat, and "++" is +2 to your stat. They are kinda like fudge dice.
Roll and compare appropriate stats to determine who wins. Powers and abilities often give a bonus of +1 or +2 to your core stats. Similarly flaws can subtract -1 or -2 from your stats. The dice roll is added to the stat of the person who is initiating the action and compared to the unmodified stat of the one resisting the action. ie: a werewolf who uses her Strength ability to try to wrestle a vampire to the ground rolls her dice. She adds the result to her Action and compares that total number to the Action of the vampire. Note that the defender need not use the same stat as the instigator. ie: A person can use their Horror stat to resist an Action based physical intimidation. Similarly a fast talk using Romance could be resisted by careful analysis using Crime.
Success on an attack does damage. GMs will mark Determination damage on nametags with a whiteboard marker, and will wipe it off when it is healed. Similarly for spent drama points.
Failures can cause Collateral Damage. Normally this is just descriptive and does not directly alter the conflict, but it may complicate things.
Special cases:
* If the instigator and the defender are both trying to achieve the same mutually exclusive result in direct competition (like an arm wrestle), then they both roll and compare totals. Highest wins, ties normally mean the contest has temporarily stalemated. ie: the werewolf enters an armwrestling contest with the vampire. They both roll their dice, and both add their results to their Action stats and compare their totals.
* If the instigator and the defender are both trying to achieve the same result, but it is not mutually exclusive, then they both roll and compare totals to the Difficulty. If they both succeed, they both achieve the result. ie if you both try to grab a falling gun, and you both succeed in rolling a total over the difficulty of 3, then you both have a hand on the gun.
* If the defender is just defending themself and not trying to achieve anything else, then they get +1 to their stat. Defending others does not get this bonus, nor does blocking the instigator from doing something else. ie this is the purely defensive bonus.
* If the defender is trying to achieve something else, then they both roll and compare their totals to the others stat as two seperate but simultanious actions. ie: the werewolf in is trying to wrestle the vampire to thr ground. The vampire, however, is using this grapple as an opertunity to seduce the werewolf. The werewolf rolls their dice, adds their action stat and compares it to the vampire's action. Simultaneously (in game terms), the vampire rolls their dice, adds it to their romance and compares it to the werewolfs chosen defence stat. They may both fail, or both succeed, or get one of each. While these may be done one after the other by players, they are treated as happening simultaniously in game.
Modifiers: Due to the small numbers used in this system, it needs to be a quite significant advantage to get +1 (ie surprise, attacking from behind, etc), and a likewise problem before they get a -1 penalty (ie blind, prone, tied up, hurricane, etc). Minor advantages like having the high ground or attacking from the side don't help.
Big events:
In mass combat or similar large events the GMs will get people to stand in rows for melee, ranged and support (it helps keep things organised). NPCs go first in play (even though it is simultanious in game). For convenience think of turn as these phases:-
(1) GM states NPCs intent,
(2) GM will ask for PCs defences,
(3) GM narrates results of NPC actions,
(4) PCs (by row; Support row then Melee row then Range row) states their intent, ability (if any), roll dice and give totals,
(5) GM narrates results of actions. Repeat as needed.
Death : PCs should only die in exceptional circumstances. And even then, death is rarely the end.
Experience : Everyone gets experience every 3 months, regardless of attendance. Turn up for a good game, not just the XP.
Wealth : Characters are struggling actors, they do not have money. Necessary items can be borrowed from the props department as needed. Characters are responsible for items they borrow, and will be held accountable for losses and damages.