Simple Solo System

SimpleSoloSystemisagamesystemintendedforuseininteractivefiction,otherwiseknownas
Quests.ItisdesignedaroundasingleStarencounteringobstaclesduringthecourseoftheir
adventure,beitfantasticormundane.TheStarisguidedbytheAuthor,whocreatesthe
oppositionandcreatesthestorysworldandpremise.

How to Play
SimpleSoloSystemusesfourStatisticsandpercentiledicetodetermineoutcomes.Percentile
dicecanberepresentedasasingle100sideddieortwo10sideddice.Thesedicearerolled
andcomparedtotherelevantStatisticorTargetNumber.Iftheresultisequaltoorlesserthan
theStatisticorTargetNumber,theactionsucceeds.Ifitisnot,theactionfails.

100 and 1
Arollof100isalwaysafailure.Arollof1isalwaysasuccess.Notethatneithera100nora1
canmakeimpossibleeventshappen.

DifficultiesandTargetNumbers
Mostofthetime,youwillberollingagainstyourStatisticwithnofurtherchanges.Inothercases,
circumstancesinthegamemaymakeataskeasierormoredifficult.Thisissimplyknownas
theDifficulty.WhenyourStatisticismodifiedbyaDifficulty,itisknownasaTargetNumber.If
multiplefactorswouldapplyabonusorpenalty,onlytakethehighestapplicablemodifierfrom
eachcategory.SubtractanypenaltiesfromanyapplicablebonusesfromDifficultyorother
circumstancesbeforeapplyingthemtotheStatistic.AchartlistingtheDifficultiesandtheir
associatedpenaltiesorbonusesisprovidedbelow.

Difficulty Modifier Chart

Difficulty

Modifier

Effortless

+60

VeryEasy

+50

Easy

+40

Simple

+30

Routine

+20

Ordinary

+10

Challenging

+0

Tricky

10

Taxing

20

Demanding

30

Hard

40

VeryHard

50

Improbable

60

Degrees of Success and Failure

Mostofthetime,youonlyneedtoknowifyousucceededorfailed.However,sometask
resolutions,suchascombat,requireyoutoknowhowwellorhowpoorlyyoudid.Justfor
succeeding,yougain1DegreeofSuccess.Foreverymultipleof10yourollunderyourStatistic
orTargetNumber,yougainanadditionalDegreesofSuccess.Failurealwaysproduces1
DegreeofFailure.Foreverymultipleof10yourolloveryourStatisticorTargetNumber,you
sufferanadditionalDegreeofFailure.

Statistics
SimpleSoloSystemabstractstheStarsvarioustalentsdownintofourStatistics,each
concerningdifferentareasofcompetence.

Sinew
SinewrepresentstheStarsphysicalityandtoughness.SinewistestedanytimetheStarneeds
torun,jump,liftormoveobjects,andgiveortakeblowsinclosecombat.

Sleight
SleightrepresentstheStarsfinedexterityandadroitness.SleightistestedanytimetheStar
needstomanipulatesmallobjectswithprecision,balanceonnarrowsurfaces,operateavehicle
skillfully,andaimrangedweaponsincombat.

Smarts
SmartsrepresentstheStarsmentalacuityanddepthofknowledge.Smartsistestedanytime
theStarneedstorecallobscurepiecesofinformationnotpreviouslyrevealedtothem,notice
finedetails,operatecomplexmachinery,orcreateadeviceofsomesort.Incertainsettings,
SmartsalsoservesastheStatisticwhichgovernsarcanemagic.

Sass
SassrepresentstheStarssocialacumenandstrengthofcharacter.Sassistestedanytime
theStarmustconvincesomeonetodosomethingtheynormallywouldnt,seethrough
deception,resistcoercion,andotherwisemanipulateothers.Incertainsettings,Sassalso
servesastheStatisticwhichgovernsholymagic.

Creating a Star
Inmanycases,theAuthorwillcreatetheStarforsomeoneelsetouse,butsometimesthe
AuthorwillallowtheStartobecreatedbytheplayers.Ineitherevent,therulesformakingaStar
arethesame.

Step 1: Concept
First,sketchoutwhatyouthinktheStarshouldbelike.Whatistheirhistory,whataretheir
talents?Istheresomethingspecialoruniqueaboutthem?Dontgettoodetailedhere,some
basicnotesarefine.

Step 2: Assign Statistics

StarsbeginwithallStatisticsat30,andyoumustraisethemwithStatisticPoints.Spendinga
StatisticPointonanygivenStatisticwillraiseitsvalueby1.HowmanyStatisticPointsyouhave
dependsonhowcompetenttheStarismeanttobe.Afewexamplesofgeneralpowerleveland
associatedStatisticPointsarelistedbelow.RegardlessofhowmanyStatisticPointsyouhave,
youcanneverhaveaStatistichigherthan60.
Weak:20StatisticPoints
Underperformer:30StatisticPoints
AverageJoe:40StatisticPoints
Gifted:50StatisticPoints
Heroic:60StatisticPoints

Step 3: Any Specials

SomeAuthorsmayhaveadditionalmechanicsforyoutouse,suchasspellsorspecialskills.
Thisisthepointwhereyouwouldapplythem.

Step 4: Strikes and any Derived Values

Bydefault,yourStrikeLimitisequalto3.ItisrecommendedthatStrikeLimitnotbehigherthan
4orlessthan2.Ifthereareanyotherderivedvalues,thisisthepointwhereyouwouldcalculate
them.

Scenes and Skirmishes

What are Scenes?
ScenesaretheperiodsoftimewhenwereactuallypayingattentiontowhattheStarisdoing.A
Scenelastsanindeterminateamountoftime,butitcanbethoughtofasalloftheeventsrelated
toaccomplishinganimmediategoal.AlmosteverythingtheStaraccomplishesisduringa
Scene.TheonlytimeaStarisnotinasceneiswhenmundaneactivitiesorunimportantdetails
arebeingtakencareofoffscreen.Forexample,iftheStarisattemptingtogatherinformation
ataseedypub,thatisaScene.However,ifnothingimportantisgoingtohappenbetweenthe
Starleavingthepubandheadingtohisapartment,thenthatentiretripisnotaScene.

What is a Skirmish?
ASkirmishisaspecialkindofsceneinwhichtheStarisindangerofimmediate,grave
consequences.ThemostcommontypeofSkirmishisaFightScene.Unlikefightsinother
games,onlytheStaractsinaSkirmish,withenemiesprovidingpassiveresistance.ASkirmish
isdifferentfromaregularSceneinafewkeyareas:StrikesandSpine.

Strikes
StrikesrepresenttheStarsdwindlingchancesofescapingaSkirmishintact.Theycan
representwounds,blunders,FateconspiringagainsttheStar,oranyothernumberofthings.A
Starcantolerateupto3Strikes.IfaStarhas3StrikesandsuffersanotherStrike,theyreout
andareSidelined.

Gaining and Resisting Strikes

WheneveryoufailatestwithinaSkirmish,thereisachanceyoucangainaStrike.Countthe
DegreesofFailurewhenyoufailatestinaSkirmishandcompareittoyourStrikeLimit.Ifthe
DegreesofFailurearegreaterthanyourStrikeLimit,yougainaStrike.IftheDegreesofFailure
arelessthanyourStrikeLimit,nothinghappens.NomatterhowmanyDegreesofFailureyou
accrue,youcannevergainmorethan1Strikefromasingletest.

Recovering from Strikes

AttheendofaSkirmish,winorlose,youclearawayanyStrikesyoumayhavegained.

Being Sidelined
Ifyougainmorethan3Strikes,youareSidelined.WhentheStarisSidelined,theydonot
necessarilydie,especiallyiftheSkirmishinquestionwasnotactuallyaphysicalfight.Many
times,theStarissimplyknockedout,castaside,escortedout,orotherwiserenderedincapable
offurtheraffectingaScene.

What is Spine?
Sometimes,especiallywhenfightsareconcerned,obstaclesinSkirmisheswontgoawaywith
justasimplesuccess.Instead,theyrequireanexceptionalsuccessoraseriesofmoderate
successes.ThisisrepresentedbySpine.Simplyput,SpineistheDegreesofSuccessthe
StarneedstoaccruetofavorablyendaSkirmish.

How to use Spine

CounttheDegreesofSuccesstheStaraccruesfromanysuccessfultestandsubtractitfrom
theobstaclesSpine.WhentheobstaclesSpinereaches0,theStarhasovercomeit,eitherby
findingawayaroundthisroadblockorbeatingitintoabloodypulp.Mostobstacleshave
between3and10Spine,andshouldneverhavemorethan20Spine.

Sessions, Star Points, Steps, and Specials

What is a Session?
ASessionishoweverlongyouplay,fromstarttofinish.Usuallybetween4to6realworldhours.
Sessionsareimportantbecausethatswhenyouplayandtheydeterminehowoftenyourecover
StarPoints

What are Star Points?

TheStarofastoryisspecial.Theworldbendsaroundtheirnarrativeimportance,evenifbythey
arecompletelyaveragebythestandardsofthesetting.StarPointsrepresentthecenterstage
natureoftheStar,andgivethemthepowertosucceedwhentheyshouldhavefailed.Atthe
beginningofeverySession,theStarlosesanypreviousStarPointsandgains3StarPoints
back.1StarPointcanbespenttodoanyofthefollowing.

RemoveaStrike
ImproveaStatisticby20foroneroll.YoumustspendtheStarPointbeforeyouroll.
IftheStarisunsatisfiedwitharoll,theymayspendaStarPointtorerollit,takingthe
betterresult.
Addaminor,usefuldetailtoaScene

What are Steps?

Bydefault,StarsinSimpleSoloSystemdonotimproveovertime.Theyenterthestorywitha
goodamountofskillandstayrelativelystatic.Forthosewholiketomodelgrowthovertime,
thereareSteps.AStepworksjustliketheStatisticPointsyouusedwhenyoumadethethe
Star.YoucanspendthemtoimproveanyStatisticby1.NomatterhowmanyStepsyouspend,
youcannotraiseaStatisticabove95.YoucanspendStepsatanytimeduringplay,butonce
spent,thoseimprovementsarepermanent.IfanauthorwishestouseSteps,theyshould
considerusingasmalleramountofStatisticPointswhenmakingtheStar.

What are Specials?

SpecialsarelittleexceptionsthatallowtheStartobreaksomeoftherulesofthegame.They
canbeanythingfromarmsandarmortomagictospecialsecretmoves.Specialsshouldnever
allowyoutoautomaticallysucceedandshouldnevermaketheStarinvincible.Beyondthat,the
AuthorhasalotoffreedomindesigningSpecials.AfewexampleSpecialshavebeencreated
below.

ExtraHeroic:AtthebeginningofaScene,iftheStarhasnoStarPointsremaining,the
Starrecovers1StarPoint.
WeaponsandArmor:Weaponsareratedonascaleof1to5andArmoronascaleof1
to4.WeaponsaddtotheDegreesofSuccesswhentheyareusedtoattackanobstacle
andArmorreplacesyournormalStrikeLimitwhenyoufailarollinaSkirmish.
Magic:TheStarcantesttherelevantStatistictoactivateaMagicalSpelltheyknow.
ProtectionfromEvil:TheStarincreasestheirStrikeLimitby2againstEvil
Creatures.
MagicMissile:TheStarcanusetheirSmartstoattack,insteadofSinewor
Sleight.

Alternate Resolution System

Somepeoplelikerollingalotofdice,orhavealotofplayersthatwishtobeincluded.This
alternateresolutionsystemisgearedtowardsthoseplayers.Inthissystem,thepercentiledice
aredroppedinfavorofrollingpoolsofd10s.

Creating a Dicepool
EachStatisticgeneratesadicepoolequaltothevalueofits10sdigit.Therefore,aStatisticof30
equals3dice,40equals4dice,andsoon.

Rolling the Dice

Whenyourollthedice,checktheresultsoneachdie.Foreachdiethathas6orabove,you
gainoneDegreeofSuccess.

10s and 1s
Anydiethathasanaturalresultof10countsas2DegreesofSuccess.Anydiethathasaresult
of1subtractsaDegreeofSuccess.

Difficulty, Success and Failure

CounttheDegreesofSuccessandcomparethemtotheDifficultyoftheactionattempted.Ifyou
meetorexceedthisnumber,yousucceed.Ifyouexceedthisby4ormore,yoursuccesshasa
particularlybeneficialeffect.IfyoudonotmeetorexceedtheDifficulty,subtractyourDegreesof
SuccessfromtheDifficulty.YousufferDegreesofFailureequaltothatamount.Inotherwords,
yousufferDegreesofFailureequaltothedifferencebetweenyourresultandtheDifficulty.

Difficulty

Difficulty

Easy

Ordinary

Challenging

Tricky

Demanding

Hard

VeryHard

Improbable

Botches
Ifyoudonotrollanysuccessesandrolloneormore1s,youBotch.Thisisanexceptionallybad
resultwhichcomplicatestheStarsstoryinsomefashion.

Star Points and Dice Rolls

StarPointshavedifferentfunctionsinthisresolutionsystem.YoucanneverBotcharollyou
spentStarPointson.

SpendaStarPointtoadd3Dicetoaroll
Rerollallyourdice
RemoveaStrike

Multiple Players
Inthisresolutionsystem,eachplayershouldrolloned10,unlessyouhavemoredicethan
players.Dividetheextradiceupasevenlyaspossible.

Strike Limit
StrikeLimitshouldbelowerinthissystem.2isthesuggestedStrikeLimit.ABotchisalwaysa
Strike.