RISUS

THE ANYTHING RPG

By S. John Ross
Welcome to Risus: The Anything RPG, a complete pen-and-paper roleplaying game! For some, Risus is a handy emergency RPG
for spur-of-the-moment one-shots and rapid character creation. For others, its a reliale campaign system supporting years of play.
For others still, its a strange little pamphlet !ith stic" figures. For me, its all three, and !ith this edition, Risus celerates not only
t!o decades of e#istence, ut t!o decades of life, olstered y an enthusiastic gloal community de$oted to e#panding it, celerating
it, sharing it, and gaming !ith it.
Character Creation
%he character Clich is the heart of Risus. &lich's are shorthand for a "ind of person, implying their s"ills, ac"ground, social role
and more. %he character classes of the oldest RPGs are enduring &lich's( Wi)ard, *etecti$e, +tarpilot, +uperspy. ,ou can choose
&lich's li"e those for your character, or de$ise something more outr', li"e Ghostly Pirate &oo", Fairy Godmother, -ruce .ee /for a
character !ho does -ruce .ee stuff0 or Giant 1onster Who 2ust Wants %o -e .o$ed For 3is 1acrame 4 anything you can tal" your
G1 into. With a very permissi$e G1, you could e all these at once. 5ach &lich' has a rating in dice /the ordinary si#-sided "ind0.
When your characters pro!ess as a Wi)ard, +tarpilot or -ruce .ee is challenged, roll dice e6ual to the rating. %hree dice is
professional. 7ne die is a put). +i# dice is ultimate mastery. 8 complete Risus character loo"s li"e this(
Grolfnar Vainsson the Viking
Description: %all, lond, and grinning. .i"es to drin" and fight and drin" and chase 9i"ing !omen and fight and sail the high seas
and raid. Wants to !rite great sagas aout himself.
Clichs: 9i"ing /:0, Gamler /;0, Womani)er /<0, Poet /=0
%o create Grolfnar, all !e had to do !as name him, descrie him, and assign his &lich's. ,ou get => dice to spend on &lich's,
distriuted ho!e$er you li"e, on as many or fe! &lich's as you decide /ut more than => !ould e odd, considering0. %he first &lich'
listed for your character /9i"ing, in Grolfnars case0 is his Primary Clich 4 the &lich' that most clearly e#presses ho! your
character sees himself. ?n general, ne! characters may not ha$e &lich's rated higher than : dice, so Grolfnars 9i"ing is ma#ed out
for a eginning P&. ,our G1 might choose to e#pand, rela#, or other!ise transmogrify such parameters for his game /as" if youre
not sure0.
Powers, Tools, and Power Tools
5ach &lich' implies a lot aout a character, most crucially including his li"ely abilities and equipment. ?f youre playing a 3irsute
-ararian /;0, !e can assume your character is comfortale !ith lades and attle. 3es proaly a climer, a runner, and all-night
re$eler. 3e proaly o!ns at least one sturdy hand-!eapon and /hopefully, mercifully0 a complete loincloth. ?f youre playing a
Psychic +choolgirl /;0, you proaly ha$e the po!er to sense /and e frea"ed-out y0 the psychometric residue lingering at a murder
scene, and might o!n a cute plushy ac"pac" filled !ith school supplies. ?f youre playing a Roguish +pace Pirate /;0, you can do all
"inds of piratey roguey space-things, and you proaly o!n a raygun, and maye a secondhand star freighter. When theres any dout
aout your characters ailities or %ools of the %rade, discuss it !ith your G1.
%ools of the %rade come free as part of each &lich', ut theyre $ulnerale to loss or damage, !hich can /sometimes0 cripple or limit
the po!er of the &lich'. 8 Roguish +pace Pirate, stripped of his star freighter, loses all aility to haul ooty to distant suns @ !hile a
Psychic +choolgirl loses none of her aility to e frea"ed out y murder scenes if her plushy ac"pac" is stolen. 8 3irsute -ararian
/;0, forced into a pit-fight !ithout his trusty lade, can still rely on his are hands, ut hell operate at half-dice 4 a mere 3irsute
-ararian /<0 4 until hes once again properly armed. %he ac"pac"-depri$ed +choolgirl might face similar penalties !hen its time to
do her home!or".
?n the course of ad$enturing life, luc"y e#plorers may disco$er enchanted andAor cutting-edge andAor other!ise special e6uipment.
%he most asic sort is called Bonus-Dice Gear /such items let you roll an e#tra die, or more, !hen using them0 ut there are other
"inds of special to e found, in the form of alternate game mechanics /With this e#perimental piloting soft!are, you can reroll any
=s0, in-!orld po!ers /7nly a +tradi$arius can e used to seduce a 9ampire Prince0 or e$en mi#ed enefits and restrictions /While
!ielding the +!ord of 1ercy, you al!ays roll dice at least equal to your foe, ut you must spare his life if you !in.0
The Game System
Whene$er anyody !ants to do anything, and noodys acti$ely opposing it, and the G1 doesnt thin" success !ould e automatic,
the player rolls dice. ?f the total rolled eats /e6uals or e#ceeds0 the %arget Bumer set y the G1, success! ?f not, failure! %arget
numers follo! this scale(
5: 8 cinch. 8 challenge for a schmuc". Routine for a pro.
!: 8 challenge for a professional.
5: 8n 3eroic challenge. For really in$enti$e or tric"y stunts.
"!: 8 challenge for a 1aster. Bearly superhuman difficulty.
#!: ,ou$e G7% to e "idding. 8ctual superhuman difficulty.
%he %arget Bumer depends on the &lich', and anyone can try anything. &rossing a chasm y s!inging on a rope or $ine !ould e
childs play /automatic success!0 for a +!ashuc"ler or a .ord of the 2ungle, easy /%arget C0 for a Pulp 8rchaeologist, and challenging
ut definitely doale /%arget =>0 for a Gymnast, -ararian, or &at--urglar. 5$en a Wheelchair--ound 5ccentric 7ccultist could try it
/*ifficulty =C, ut the !heelchair is lost unless the roll eats a ;>0!
The Com$at System
?n Risus, comat is any contest in !hich opponents Doc"ey for position, ma"e attac"s, ring defenses to ear, and !ear do!n their
opponent to achie$e $ictory. iterally or metaphorically. 5#amples of comat include(
%rg&ments: &omatants !ielding logic, stuornness and cheap rhetorical tric"s to ma"e their point.
'orse()acing: People on horses running around a dirty trac", trying to get no!here first.
Dogfights: Pilots in airplanes or spaceships trying to lo! each other out of the s"y.
%stral*Psychic D&els: 1ysticsApsionics loo"ing ored or sleepy, ut trying to rip each others ego apart in the 7ther!orld.
+i,ard-s D&els: +orcerers using strange magics, trying to outdo one another.
D&eling .an/os: -anDo players using strange melodies, trying to outdo one another.
Sed&ction: 7ne /or more0 characters trying to score !ith one /or more0 other character/s0 !ho is/are0 trying to resist.
Co&rtroom %ntics: Prosecution $s. *efense. %he goal is $ictory. 2ustice is incidental.
%ct&al )eg&lar Com$at: People trying to inDure or "ill each other.
%he G1 decides !hen a comat has egun. 8t that point, go around the tale in rounds, and let each comatant ma"e an attac" in
turn. What constitutes an attac" depends on the nature of the fight, ut it should al!ays e roleplayed /if dialogue is in$ol$ed0 or
descried in entertaining detail /if its physical andAor dangerous andAor doesAshould in$ol$e contracepti$es0. %he G1 !ill determine
!hat type of &lich' is appropriate for the fight. ?n a straightfor!ard physical ra!l, &lich's li"e 9i"ing, +oldier, +!ashuc"ler, and
5rnest 3eming!ay are e6ually appropriate, !hile &lich's li"e 3airdresser and .atin .o$er are not.
8ttac"s must e directed at an opponent. -oth parties in the attac" /attac"er and defender0 roll against their chosen &lich'. o! roll
loses. +pecifically, the lo! roller loses one of his Clich dice for the remainder of the fight 4 hes een !ea"ened, !orn do!n,
demorali)ed or other!ise pushed one step to!ards defeat.
5$entually, one side !ill e left standing, and another !ill e left !ithout dice. 8t this point, the !inners decide the fate of the losers.
?n a physical fight or magical duel, the losers might e "illed /or mercifully spared0. ?n &ourtroom 8ntics, the loser is sentenced y the
Dudge, or fails to prosecute. ?n a +eduction, the loser gets either a cold sho!er or a !arm e$ening, depending. While the G1 !ill reDect
comat outcomes that ma"e no sense in conte#t /if you eat someone at tennis, you arent normally allo!ed to decapitate them and
drag their corpse through the city s6uare0, the spoils of $ictory are other!ise do!n to the choice of the $ictor.
,ou neednt use the same &lich' e$ery round. ?f a 9i"ingA+!ashuc"ler !ants to lop heads one round, and s!itch to s!inging on
chandeliers the ne#t, thats groo$y, too. 3o!e$er, anytime a character has a &lich' !orn do!n to )ero dice in comat, hes een
defeated, e$en if he has other &lich's left to play !ith.
*ice lost in comat are regained !hen the comat ends, at a healing rate determined y the G1 /ased on the nature of the attac"s
in$ol$ed0. ?f the comat !as in $ehicles /space fighters, mecha, !ooden sailing ships0 then the $ehicles themsel$es are li"ely
damaged, too, and must e repaired. +ometimes, healing ta"es not only time, ut conditions specified y the G1 /no! that you$e
een soundly defeated, you cant e$en loo" at your anDo until your girlfriend assuages your ego0.
%heres no standard time or distance scale in RisusE e$erything depends on conte#t. ?n a physical ra!l, each round might represent
Dust a fe! seconds @ !hile in a long-term fight et!een a married couple, each round might represent an entire day /*ay 7ne(
3usand accidentally urns Wifes fa$orite dress in the o$en, Wife accidentally feeds *rano to 3usands pri)e goldfish, and so
on0.
0nappropriate Clichs
8s stated ao$e, the G1 determines !hat sort of &lich's are appropriate for the fight. 8ny &lich's left o$er are inappropriate. ?n a
physical fight, 3airdresser is inappropriate. ?n a magical duel, -ararian is inappropriate.
?nappropriate &lich's arent forbidden from the fight. %hey can still e used to ma"e attac"s, provided the player roleplays or
describes it in a really, really, really entertaining manner. Furthermore, the attac" must e plausible !ithin the conte#t of the
comat, and the genre and tone that the G1 has set for the game /ma"ing this "ind of attac" more often useful in $ery
pulpyAs!ashuc"ly games, or $ery silly ones0.
8ll comat rules apply normally, !ith one e#ception( if an inappropriate &lich' !ins a comat round $ersus an appropriate one, the
losing player loses three dice, rather than one, from his &lich'! %he inappropriate player ta"es no such ris", and loses only one die if
he loses the round. %hus, a creati$e hairdresser is dangerous !hen cornered and attac"ed unfairly. -e!are.
When in dout, assume the aggressor determines the type of comat. ?f a !i)ard attac"s a ararian !ith magic, then its a magical
duel! ?f the ararian attac"s the mage !ith his s!ord, then its physical comat! ?f the defender can come up !ith an entertaining use
of his s"ills, hell ha$e the edge. ?t pays in many genres to e the defender! -ut @ if the !i)ard and ararian both obviously !ant to
fight, then both are aggressors, and its fantasy comat, !here oth s!ords and sorcery ha$e equal footing.
Teaming 1p
%!o or more characters may form a team in comat. For the duration of the team /usually the entire fight0, they attle as a single unit,
and may only e attac"ed as a single foe. %here are t!o "inds of team( full-on Character #eams /for P&s, and sufficiently interesting
BP&s0 and Grunt-$quads /for nameless BP& hordes0.
Gr&nt(S2&ads: %his is Dust special effects. When a horde of F>> rat-s"eletons attac"s the P&s !ithin the lair of the Wic"ed
Becromancer /C0, the G1 proaly !ont feel li"e "eeping trac" of F>> tiny s"eletal sets of dice. ?nstead, he can declare them a Grunt
+6uad, fighting as a single foe% a +"eletal Rat-3orde /F0. 1echanically, the Rat-3orde is the same as any single foe 4 e#cept it
sometimes has more dice /as many as the G1 cares to assign it0. Grunt-+6uads stic" together as a team until theyre defeated, at
!hich point some sur$i$ors may scatter /though at least one !ill al!ays remain to suffer !hate$er fate the $ictor decides0. %a"en to
logical /or !himsical0 e#tremes, an entire ships cre!, or e$en !hole forests, dungeons, cities or nations might e represented y a
single &lich'.
Character Teams: When P&s /andAor BP&s !orth the attention0 form a team, the %eam .eader is the character !ith the highest-
ran"ing applicale &lich' /if theres a tie, the team must designate a %eam .eader0. 5$eryody rolls dice, ut only the %eam .eaders
dice completely count. 7ther team-memers contriute only their si&es, !hen they roll any.
&lich's Doined in a team need not e identical, and /pro$ided the G1 can e con$inced0 they can e$en e a mi# of appropriate and
inappropriate for the fight /a group of !arriors might e aided y their ale minstrel, for e#ample0. 3o!e$er, they dont triple
enemy dice-loss unless the entire team is e6ually inappropriate /!hich means the players get to e#plain to the G1 e#actly ho! a
3airdresser, a Para"eet %rainer, and a .ife &oach are coordinating their talents to ta"e *arth 9ira#is to the mat0!
Whene$er a team loses a round of comat, a single team-memers &lich' is reduced. 8ny team-memer /%eam .eader included0 may
step for!ard and $oluntarily suffer this loss. ?f so, the nole $olunteer is reduced y t!ice the normal amount /either t!o dice or si#,
depending0, ut the %eam .eader gets to roll t!ice as many dice on his ne&t attac", a temporary oost as the team a$enges their heroic
comrade. ?f no $olunteer steps for!ard, the %eam .eader must assign the /undouled0 hit to a team-memer, and there is no
$engeance onus.
Victory 3 Defeat: With teams as !ith indi$iduals, the $ictor determines the fate of the loser @ ut !hen the loser is part of a team,
his fate is generally reser$ed until the end of the teams e#istence /e$en if hes defeated !hile the fight rages on0. +o, if his team
!ins, his team 4 not their opponent 4 gets to decide. %here are some fights !here this !ont e so, !here the P&s are under such
precarious circumstance that their fates must e resol$ed immediately. -ut, in most cases, eing part of a team 4 especially a
!inning team 4 is e#cellent insurance.
Dis$anding: 8 team may $oluntarily disand at any time et!een die-rolls. When disanding, each team-memer instantly loses a
single die from the &lich' theyd een contriuting to the team /e6ual to damage suffered in the fight itself0. *isanded team-
memers may freely form ne! teams, pro$ided the die-loss from disanding doesnt defeat them. ?ndi$iduals may also drop out
of a team, ut this reduces them to )ero dice immediately as they scamper for the rear. %heir fates rest on the mercy of !hoe$er
!ins the fight!
4ost 4eader: ?f the %eam .eader e$er lea$es the team for any reason /either y dropping out or ha$ing his o!n &lich' dropped to
)ero0, the team must disand immediately, !ith conse6uences as ao$e. %hey may immediately opt to reform as a ne! team /!ith
a ne! leader0 ho!e$er, and if the old leader !as remo$ed y ha$ing $olunteered for personal damage, the ne! %eam .eader gets
the doule-roll $engeance onus to a$enge his predecessor!
Single(%ction Conflicts
&omat depends on multi-round Doc"eying and !earing each other do!n @ ut many conflicts are too sudden to e played that !ay
/t!o characters graing for the same gun, for e#ample0. +uch +ingle-8ction &onflicts /+8&s0 are settled !ith a single roll against
appropriate &lich's /or inappropriate &lich's, !ith good roleplaying0. 3igh roll !ins. Bote that, in nearly any case, the Game 1aster
may Dump et!een the three resolution methods /%arget Bumer, &omat, +ingle-8ction &onflict0 to suit the pacing and mood.
+ometimes, an arm-!restling match !or"s est as a comat @ sometimes it !or"s est as a +ingle-8ction &onflict, and sometimes
/preferaly if its against some "ind of coin-operated arm-!restling machine0 e$en as a simple %arget Bumer.
+hen Some$ody Can-t Participate
+ometimes, characters find themsel$es facing a &omat or +ingle-8ction &onflict !here they simply ha$e no applicale &lich', e$en
y stretching the imagination. Perhaps one character in the party enters a pie-eating contest !ith his *isgusting Glutton /<0 &lich', ut
the rest of the characters are astronauts or accountants, neither of !hom traditionally engorge themsel$es on pie. ?n situations li"e this,
the G1 might grant everybody t!o free re$et dice to play !ith for the duration of the conflict. %his means the *isgusting Glutton
/<0 !ould ecome, temporarily, a *isgusting Glutton /:0, !hile e$eryone else !ould get a Regular Person %al"ed ?nto a Pie-5ating
&ontest /<0 &lich' on loan until the last crum urps forth. %he Glutton, naturally, retains his !inning edge, ut e$eryone else can
still ury their noses in pie. %his rule applies only to &omats and +8&s, ne$er to rolls against %arget Bumers /since, !ith %arget
Bumers, the %B itself simply mo$es !here$er it needs to, for any &lich' attempting any action0.
%d5anced 6ption: 4&cky Shots
%his option allo!s players to spend some of their => starting dice on something other than &lich's. 8 single &lich'-die can, instead,
uy three uc"y $hots /spend t!o dice for si# .uc"y +hots, and so on0. Gsing a .uc"y +hot oosts any &lich' roll y a single die, for
a single die-roll. .uc"y +hots reset et!een game-sessions. .uc"y +hots can represent random good luc", the fa$or of a deity, a
strea" of resourcefulness, etc.
%d5anced 6ption: 'ooks 3 Tales
With this 8d$anced 7ption, players can argain for e#tra character-creation dice y gi$ing their character a 3oo" andAor a %ale. 8
'oo" is some significant character fla! 4 a curse, an osession, a !ea"ness, a s!orn $o!, a permanently crippling inDury 4 that the
G1 agrees is so (uicy that he can use it to ma"e the characters life more interesting /!hich usually means less pleasant0. 8 character
!ith a 3oo" gets an e#tra die to play !ith.
8 #ale is a !ritten iography of the character descriing his life efore the e$ents of the game. %he %ale neednt e long /a page or
t!o is plenty0E it Dust needs to tell the reader !here the character is coming from, !hat he li"es and disli"es, ho! he ecame !ho he is,
!hat his moti$es are. +ome %ales are est !ritten from the players omniscient perspecti$eE others are more fun if !ritten as e#cerpts
from the characters o!n diary. 8 character !ith a %ale pro$ided efore gameplay egins gets an e#tra die to play !ith.
%d5anced 6ption: P&mps
&haracters may pump their &lich's, e#pending e#tra effort at the cost of certain inDury /loss of dice0. 8 pumped &lich' recei$es a dice-
oost lasting a single round of comat /or single significant roll, other!ise0. 8fter that round or roll is resol$ed, the &lich' returns to
normal, then suffers immediate dice-loss equal to the oost. +uch loss is comparale to comat losses, and must heal.
78ample: Rudolph the BinDa /;0 is attac"ed y a 1onster /H0! Rudy doesnt ha$e much of a chance against such a po!erful foe,
so he opts for a tric"y tactic( since the 1onster is attac"ing physically, Rudolph decides his first-round response !ill use his s"ills
as a &aDun &hef /;0 4 a decidedly )nappropriate choice! 3e also opts to pump it by t!o dice to &aDun &hef /C0, putting his all into
his coo"ing!
7n round one, the 1onster rolls si# dice, and Rudy /6uic"ly !hipping up a tempting Gumo spi"ed !ith BinDa sleeping drug and
offering it to the 1onster0 rolls fi$e. ?f the BinDa loses, hes instantly defeated( his &aDun &hef &lich' !ould drop to &aDun &hef
/=0 for the pump, then to &aDun &hef /)ero0 for losing the round. %he 1onster !ould eat Rudolph instead of the Gumo. ?f the
BinDa !ins, ho!e$er, the 1onster /H0 drops to 1onster /;0, and Rudys &aDun &hef /;0 drops to &aDun &hef /=0. ?n round t!o,
Rudolph can s!itch ac" to BinDa /;0, !here hell e on e6ual footing !ith the groggy, !ell-fed 1onster.
Pumps are legal for any "ind of &lich' roll, pro$ided the G1 agrees that pushing it fits the action in$ol$ed.
Do&$le(P&mp Clichs: ?f permitting pumps, the G1 might also allo! double-pump Clichs, !hich ta"e only half damage from
pumping. %hus, a +orcerer ICJ could roll ele$en dice for a single comat round /si# e#tra dice!0 ut ta"e only three dice of loss from
the e#tra effort. *oule-pump &lich's cost t!ice as many dice to uy during character creation, and are especially appropriate for
&lich's representing supernatural ailities /in fact, some Game 1asters may require that supernatural &lich's e purchased this !ay0.
%he use of Is6uare rac"etsJ instead of /parentheses0 indicates a doule-pump &lich'.
%d5anced 6ption: Character %d5ancement
8t the end of each ad$enture, each player rolls against each &lich' challenged during the course of play /ignore lingering inDuries
for this purposeE roll as if the &lich' !ere !hole0. ?f the dice land sho!ing only even numbers, the &lich' ad$ances y a single die
/increasing it permanently0. Bo &lich' ad$ances past &lich' /H0.
9idgame 4eaps: 8nytime you do something really, really, really spectacularly entertaining that !o!s the !hole table, the G1
may allo! you to roll instantly /in the middle of the game0 for possile ad$ancement, in addition to the roll/s0 at the end of the
ad$enture.
%dding :ew Clichs: %here may come a time !hen a character has gro!n and matured enough to Dustify adding an entirely ne!
&lich' to his character sheet. ?f the player and G1 agree this is the case, and agree on !hat the ne! &lich' is, the player rolls for
ad$ancement as usual, ut ne! dice earned for that ad$enture may e put to!ard the ne! &lich' instead of the ones that earned
them. %his can also e applied to in-game impro$ements, if the situation !arrants it!
4ong('a&l Variant: ?nstead of rolling against every challenged &lich', roll against a single &lich' of your choice.
Credit +here 0t-s D&e
Risus gre! from inspirations pro$ided y the sadly out-of-print classic, Ghostbusters /=st 5dition, West 5nd Games0, spar"ed against
an idea from 1ayfairs DC Heroes. 7ther note!orthy influences ha$e included GURP, T!"RP, #udge, Tunnels $ Trolls, %ver
the "dge, and Dragon&uest' %he list of people on !hom Risus depends is too long to e$en contemplate in a space so tiny, ut ?d e
remiss if ? didnt mention a fe! of them( Guy 3oyle, +pi"e ,. 2ones, *an 1oose 2asman, Fran" 2. Perricone, 2ason Puc"ett, *a$id
Pul$er, +ean *r. Kromm Punch, .i) Rich, *an +uptic, -rent Wol"e, Ren' 9ernon, and the thousands of cool gamers, old and ne!,
!ho$e populated and enli$ened the Risus community.
Risus: The Anything RPG is +. 2ohn Ross trademar" for his 8nything RPG. %his is Risus 9ersion <.>=, &opyright L=MM;-<>=; y +.
2ohn Ross, 8ll Rights Reser$ed. Permission granted to ma"e unlimited copies for pri$ate, non-commercial use, and rememer(
#here*s +o ,rong ,ay #o Play-