Grip Black Cover Beta

1
Robert DeVere (order #5678279)

Dearest reader,
What you hold in your hands is the Black Cover Beta edition of Grip, role-playing
game of questionable reality in the crossbred genre of Scicho-Noir (little bit sci-fi,
little bit psychological thriller and a little bit noir) and employing a resource
management mechanic over dice, cards or other random element. It is not the
completed game, but its semi-fleshy bones. We at the Owls Nest have tested and
tweaked, prodded and poked this game in many and varied ways. Now we humbly
request you do the same, and send us your findings at:
nonefornic@yahoo.com
Regards,
Nicholas William Moll,
Aka Owlman

Grip
Marbles Mechanic by Aaron Vissers
Grip by Nicholas Moll & Aaron Vissers
A Humble Warning
Grip is a role-playing game intended

for mature players. Parental discretion
is recommended for readers under the
age of eighteen.

Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................... 7
What is Grip? .............................................................................................................................................................. 7
Welcome to the Reality Protection Agency ............................................................................................................ 7
Reality Mining: The Cause ........................................................................................................................................ 8
Reality Deviants & Outsanity: The Enemy & the Problem .................................................................................. 9
Reality on and off ....................................................................................................................................................... 9
Character Creation ....................................................................................................................................................... 12
Experience ................................................................................................................................................................. 13
Marbles .......................................................................................................................................................................... 14
How Many Marbles? ............................................................................................................................................... 14
Using Your Marbles ................................................................................................................................................. 14
One Marbles or Two? .............................................................................................................................................. 14
Using More Marbles ............................................................................................................................................ 15
Doing Multiple Things At Once......................................................................................................................... 15
Teamwork ............................................................................................................................................................. 15
Opposed Marbles ................................................................................................................................................. 15
Reality Deviance ................................................................................................................................................... 15
Core ................................................................................................................................................................................ 17
Grace .......................................................................................................................................................................... 17
Intuition ..................................................................................................................................................................... 17
Muscularity ............................................................................................................................................................... 17
Standing..................................................................................................................................................................... 17
Extensions ..................................................................................................................................................................... 18
Acrobat (Muscularity) ............................................................................................................................................. 18
Art (Intuition) ........................................................................................................................................................... 18
Burglary (Intuition) .................................................................................................................................................. 18
Brawling (Muscularity) ........................................................................................................................................... 18
Clout (Standing) ....................................................................................................................................................... 18
Charisma (Grace) ..................................................................................................................................................... 18
Connections (Standing) ........................................................................................................................................... 18
Deduction (Intuition) ............................................................................................................................................... 18
Doctor (Intuition) ..................................................................................................................................................... 18
Drive (Muscularity) ................................................................................................................................................. 19
Education - Area (Intuition) ................................................................................................................................... 19
Mechanical (Intuition) ............................................................................................................................................. 19
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Perceive (Intuition) .................................................................................................................................................. 19
Programming (Intuition) ......................................................................................................................................... 19
Shooting (Intuition).................................................................................................................................................. 19
Sneak (Muscularity) ................................................................................................................................................. 19
Survival (Intuition) .................................................................................................................................................. 19
Talk (Grace) ............................................................................................................................................................... 19
Psychosi ......................................................................................................................................................................... 20
Astronaut (Negative & Positive) ............................................................................................................................ 20
Attentive (Negative or Positive) ............................................................................................................................ 20
Authority (Negative or Positive) ........................................................................................................................... 20
Can't See Me (Negative or Positive) ...................................................................................................................... 20
Chatty (Negative) ..................................................................................................................................................... 20
Compatriot (Negative or Positive)......................................................................................................................... 21
Conduct - Type (Negative) ..................................................................................................................................... 21
Coward (Negative) .................................................................................................................................................. 21
Eccentric (Negative) ................................................................................................................................................. 21
Famous (Negative or Positive) ............................................................................................................................... 21
Illuminated (Positive) .............................................................................................................................................. 21
Impulsive (Negative) ............................................................................................................................................... 21
Luck (Negative or Positive) .................................................................................................................................... 22
Personal Reality Generator Addiction (Negative)............................................................................................... 22
Profession (Positive) ................................................................................................................................................ 22
Reality Generator Serviceman (Positive) .............................................................................................................. 22
Reality Watchdog (Positive) ................................................................................................................................... 22
Secret (Negative) ...................................................................................................................................................... 22
Silver Tongue (Positive) .......................................................................................................................................... 23
Sportsman (Positive) ................................................................................................................................................ 23
Survival Instinct (Positive) ...................................................................................................................................... 23
Tamer (Positive) ....................................................................................................................................................... 23
Tight Grip (Positive) ................................................................................................................................................ 23
Unbalanced (Negative)............................................................................................................................................ 23
Derived Traits ............................................................................................................................................................... 24
Endurance ................................................................................................................................................................. 24
Grip ............................................................................................................................................................................ 24
Flex ............................................................................................................................................................................. 24
Solidarity ................................................................................................................................................................... 25
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Personal Reality Generators ....................................................................................................................................... 26
Combat .......................................................................................................................................................................... 28
Turn ............................................................................................................................................................................ 28
Attacks ....................................................................................................................................................................... 28
Range ......................................................................................................................................................................... 28
Movement & Position .......................................................................................................................................... 28
Range & Attacks ................................................................................................................................................... 29
Recovery: Finding your Marbles, Regaining your Grip ......................................................................................... 30
Eccentricity ................................................................................................................................................................ 30
Addiction (Cost: 7) ............................................................................................................................................... 30
Animal (Cost: 1).................................................................................................................................................... 30
Cannibal Lycanthropy (Cost 2) .......................................................................................................................... 30
Crutch (Cost: 5) ..................................................................................................................................................... 30
Filthy (Cost: 4)....................................................................................................................................................... 30
Freak (Cost: 2) ....................................................................................................................................................... 31
Im That Man (Cost: X) ........................................................................................................................................ 31
Inept (Cost: 1)........................................................................................................................................................ 31
Poop-train (Cost: 1) .............................................................................................................................................. 31
Really Inept (Cost: 2)............................................................................................................................................ 31
Tyler (Cost: 3)........................................................................................................................................................ 31
Uniform (Cost: 5) .................................................................................................................................................. 31
Walking Black Hole (Cost: 5) .............................................................................................................................. 32
Inspirationals ................................................................................................................................................................ 33

Introduction
Grip is a Role-playing of questionable reality. Using the Marbles system, luck is removed from the game as
a means of determining character success. Every choice, every action, every success is a resource that must
be managed. Characters will have to accept their limitations or push beyond them and choose to face the
madness that lies beyond!
What is Grip?
If you are reading this chapter chances are you are either new to tabletop, pen-and-paper Role Playing
Games (RPG) or are familiar with them, but not sure how the system translates into play. Grip is a resource
management role playing game set in a universe where reality is neither even nor absolute, but instead a
highly subjective and stridently governed experience.
To play the game, you need this book, a group of four or so players, one of which will act as a narrator,
guide and referee known as the Game master. The rule book outlines the mechanics of the game and the
world in which the game is set. It gives you a set of rules which determine how your character interacts
with the universe in which they are located. The players are you, the people who sit around a table or
lounge room and decide what their character do and how they act in certain situations. For the most part a
player will only control one character unless that person is the Game Master. The Game Master controls
everything except the playing characters. They control the universe including the extras (any character not
controlled by a player), the weather, pianos falling out of thin air and so on.
As a player you control a character and every one of their actions within the Grip universe. You will design
them, as described in under character creation, give them a background and even determine what they
look like. You will then guide that character through a series of hopefully interesting and possibly
dangerous situations and encounters enforcing the Consensus of Reality throughout the universe. Playing a
character is like being the main character in your favourite movie. However unlike watching a movie
where you have no influence over what happens, you decide what your character does. Should you open
the locked door with your trusty lock pick, kick it open, blow the lock off with a shotgun or climb through
the window next to it? The decision is up to you.
Whether or not you are successful at your desired action is then determined by the Narrator as he is the
one who knows whether there is a six foot tall, drug enhanced mad man on the other side of the door or
not. The rules also determine whether you are successful or not. Depending on what your character is
trying to do you may be required to pass a test of some sort. For example, if the door was unlocked no test
would be required for your character to open the door. If it is locked and your character wants to kick it
open you and the Narrator would check the rules to determine how many marbles are required to succeed.
Simple isnt it?
Welcome to the Reality Protection Agency

Reality must be consensual and democratic. We must all agree what reality is and how it is to function, what is
normal and what is abnormal. If one or more of us disagree then the entire fabric of our existence begins to crumple.
That is why your elected officials have, in discussion with the Reality Protection Agency, created a detailed definition
of reality. They have agreed on your behalf the parameters of normality.
-Government records.
You are a Reaper, an agent of the Reality Protection Agency or R.P.A. Your jurisdiction is reality itself.
The R.P.A. is an international inter-government agency that was with much fanfare formed soon after the

effects of reality mining were fully realized, quickly becoming an ordinary part of peoples daily lives. As
an agent of the R.P.A. it is your job to prevent, contain, and resolve breaks of Outsanity and protect the
world from those already in existence, enforce the Laws of Consensus and make sure, at any cost, the
Human species remained within the government-enforced parameters of their existence.
The R.P.A. started out with the government response to the first instances of Outsanity those
miscellaneous, grey suited propaganda agencies that issued a few cheesy advertisements and making
recommendations about behaviour, some government reality warnings that is till insanity became an
epidemic. Thats when the government go serious about Reality Deviancy, mandating and decreeing a
consensual and agreed degree of normality with specific parameters permitted for deviancy, creating
the Reality Protection Agency to enforce it. Since then the Reapers have grown from enforces to a vigilante
police, investigating and hunting Reality Deviants, Antimatter terrorists groups and other such folks who
disagree with the Laws of Consensus.
Its dangerous work, being a Reaper, and the R.P.A. doesnt advertise in newspapers. To join the Agency,
one has to apply of their own volition and undergo some basic tests. Basic is the apt word. The tests consist
of a baseline physical, mental and psychological exam with standards far lower than any police or military
agency would ask for. Essentially, all the R.P.A. is looking for in its recruits is that theyre not any more
dangerous than any Outsanity theyre likely to encounter in the field. Or likely to cause something more
dangerous. Then its onto a month of mildly stimulating training before the agent is given a badge, given
some basic equipment and thrown into the field as part of a green recruit team. These teams consist of the
number of new recruits that can generally be stuffed around a meeting table come briefing time. Most
arent expected to live to become senior agents and some months the R.P.A. looses more Reapers than it
produces.
Reality Mining: The Cause

Reality mining is a process by which Sensitive Machines draw on reality in the surrounding environment
and convert it into whatever type of energy real or imaginable is required. It arose out of the
desperation that came when this dead rock ran out of resources to be torn from its grip, except for the last
few scrapes and scraps. The cities were going black and the gears of factory and industry grinding to a halt.
Everything ever built by a human anywhere and any-when was on the verge of collapse. Thats when the
Sensitive Machines were built. They allowed us to bend reality. Push it. Pull it. Stretch it. Spin it. Cut reality
up into smaller, bite sized pieces. Things started to get back on track as a whole range of weird Ersatz
alternatives started to emerge from the fringes.
The problem is once reality is mined, there is no known way to restore it to the environment and this has
led to the uneven and inconsistent nature of daily existence across most parts of Earth. Due to the drastic
change reality mining has caused on Earth the industry has been outsourced to private coporations and
regulated to distant vistas such as the deepest caverns and depths of the ocean, darkest jungles and
emptiest deserts. Most of all, however, reality mining has been shipped off-world to other planets in the
solar system.
In some ways it is a self-perpetuating cycle. Reality mining has facilitated the growth of coporate colonies
on other planets that requires more reality to be mined to sustain them with the excess allowing the
colonies to expand facilitating the need for more reality mining. The colonies have also facilitated the
growth of a new underclass: The Astronaut. The colonies are seen as a dirty way of life - dominated by
derelicts, grease monkeys, and hard-boiled interplanetary traders - with Laws of Consensus set by the
corporation, and thus anywhere from mildly to wildly different to that of Earth. A kind of authorized
Paracosm populated by paid Reality Deviants. Thus an astronaut is considered the lowest form of life
8

spending their lives on the mining colonies throughout the solar system most working the reality mines
or else moving up and down the drifts. Homeless, raceless, speciesless on most planets there are half-a-
dozen or more major mining corporations at work and countless tiny ones. Each of these entities sets their
own Laws of Consensus if they can be bothered at all. As a result, the Astronaut is exposed to countless
vistas and individuals that are out of sync with what we might call a consistent daily existence and
probably falls into the latter category. Nothing is too weird and no act is too depraved to bother an
Astronaut
Reality Deviants & Outsanity: The Enemy & the Problem

Started out that just the government had Sensitive Machines, but soon they were poached by the private
sector as well. And then homes got access to them. Soon consensual reality management became the
catchphrase of the day. Some of the higher up-and-ups and know-it-alls started saying it was too much.
Still, government regulations and limitations were slow to kick in and hardly effective when they were
present. Stability and consistency of reality became a commodity.
Since reality mining started destabilizing reality, the world has become an unpredictable place where
Outsanity - disturbances in the laws of nature, physics and just about everything else - are as common as
weather. Wormhole, sudden gravity loss, evolutionary reversal, pocket reality, aberrant life form, mental
illness outbreaks, and countless other abnatural Outsane - phenomenon are mostly caused by a malicious
or unwitting Reality Deviant, the result of technology like that of the Sensitive Machines or other cause that
can be identified.
The R.P.A. has allowed governments to dictate what is and is not a normal level of reality from gravity and
geography to biological and social norms, as dictated through the Laws of Consensus. Naturally, however,
not everyone agrees with the Laws of Consensus. Many average citizens within their daily lives commit
many small acts of Reality Deviancy. Others knowingly do so in their homes late at night with the curtains
closed, within illegal anti-reality speakeasys, social clubs of like-minded individuals, or other such places.
While the R.P.A. is interested in locating and dealing with at best re-educating and at worst, eliminating
such individuals it is largely the duty of every individual citizen to observe their neighbours, friends and
co-workers and actively report instances of Reality Deviancy amongst them.
For this reason, the real enemy of the Reaper is the Reality Terrorist. These knowing and willing Reality
Deviants actively seek to disrupt and destroy what little stability remains in reality, transforming the entire
world into Paracosm. Since most organizations of Reality Terrorists are led and formed around powerful,
charismatic personalities the Flex instantly bends to their conception within Paracosm making Reality
Deviancy a dangerous lure for such individuals.
Reality on and off

Reality Generators are a technology employed for indoor and automotive reality comfort. Their design is
an off-shoot and opposite of the Sensitive Machines employed for Reality mining, based on the principles
of consensus. In the most basic terms, Reality Generators gather, store and replicate a pre-programmed
notion or law of reality and pump it outwards, filling the surrounding environment with it. Naturally, this
means that Reality Generators work best in the home, car, office or other confined environment. While it is
possible to set Reality Generators to most notions even the deviant most are preset and locked at
government acknowledged standards with employed Consensus Engineers checking the Reality
Generators are regular intervals.

In short, Reality Generators manage and reduce the Flex the amount of which reality can bend and twist
around specific individuals. Without a Reality Generator, daily existence becomes Paracosm the land of
personality and imagination.
Here Flex instantly warps around the strongest personality, ideology, ideal, religion or other powerful
force of belief. Within the bubble of deviant reality that surrounds the belief hallucinations, dreas and
bizarre rules become real; objects that come into contact with the bubble are transformed to fit in with its
rules and new creatures are created that, simply put, cannot (in most cases) survive outside their particular
reality. Paracosm returns to normal once the Laws of Consensus are enforced through the actions R.P.A.
and the use of a Reality Generator, though strange lingering evidence of what had transpired remain.
Humans and other living creatures who enter Paracosm may recognize that something is... deviant. The
size of Paracosm is generally related to the distance from and power of any nearby Reality Generators, and
for this reason Paracosm generally occurs in wilderness and other areas far away from civilization.
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The Laws of Consensus
The Law of Focus

Focus generates energy. Where
one focuses their mind they
generate energy. If the focus is
unwholesome, then so is the
outcome. One should keep their
energy focused on the following
three areas in this order: Work,
family, community. These are
the only wholesome areas of
focus.
The Law of Collective

The world as we know it is
shaped by individual minds.
Each mind is free to enjoy their
personal reality but attempting
to alter ones reality may impede
on the reality of ones
neighbour. Elected
representatives have, consulting
with your requests, agreed on
the freest form of reality you
may enjoy without impeding on
any one individuals personal
reality. It is ones social and
moral obligation not to question
your reality.
The Law of Axis

Reality has a socially agreed
upon axis, or middle line. Any
event, individual or action
above or below this axis is an
expression of personal rather
than public reality. Personal
expression is neither a right nor
a privilege but an
endangerment.
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Character Creation
Grip is a Psycho-Noir. Characters in Grip will be hardboiled detectives, street-smart criminals, two-fisted
cops, femme fatals and other such individuals all living in a world of fraying reality; a world where the law
of gravity, homogeneity of biology, certainty of life and death and other firm rules of exist we take for
granted (and probably seldom think about) are unevenly spread. Due to the uncertainty of life, a strange
kind of mental affliction known as Outsanity has began spreading like a plague. And while the
governments of the world try desperately to police reality, big business, organized crime and just about
everyone else is cashing in on the chaos caused by Reality Mining serving only to lengthen the shadows
and create a heightened sense of danger and mystery.
Each character in Grip possesses four Core traits Grace (social skills), Intuition (mental ability),
Muscularity (physical prowess), and Standing (as in social standing). The player has ten points to assign to
these Core Traits and each begins at a minimum of one. Core traits function as the characters broad natural
talents and are augmented in specific areas by the characters Extensions specific skills in areas where the
character has received training or education. All Extensions begin at zero and the player has fifteen points
with which to purchase them. Next the player should calculate how many Marbles the character has to
spend during play for each Core and Extension trait. Marbles are resources the character spends during
play to overcome obstacles and difficulties. Core Marbles begin at double the Core traits rating. Extension
Marbles are calculated as the sum of the Extension and their associated Core trait. Lastly the player
purchases Psychosi little advantages and disadvantages the character might have over their fellows
calculates their Grip (both sanity and wounds, or more accurately sanity as wounds) at the sum of their
Grace and Intuition traits and Preserve at the sum of their Intuition and Muscularity traits halved..
The steps of character creation can be summarized as follows:
1. Devise a character concept.

2. Purchase Core traits: All Core traits begin with a default rating of one. Players possess eight points
which they may assign to their Core traits in any way they wish (without exceeding the maximum
rating of ten).
3. Purchase Extensions: All Extensions begin with a default rating of zero. Players possess a number of
points to purchase Extensions equal to their Intuition plus Standing doubled. These points may be
assigned to any or all Extensions in any way they wish (without exceeding the maximum rating of
ten).
4. Calculate Marbles: Core Marbles are equal to double the Core traits rating. Extensions Marbles are
equal to the sum of Extension traits rating and the rating (not Marbles) of its associated Core.
5. Choose Psychosi: Players may choose one Postiive Psychosi and up to two Negative Psychosi. For
every Negative Psychosi they have chosen the player may purchase an additional Positive Psychosi
for their character.
6. Calculate Other Traits (Endurance, Flex and Grip): Endurance (how much physical damage the
character may endure) is equal to double the characters Muscularity. Flex (how loose reality is for
the character) is equal to the sum of all Eccentricity Levels (note, Levels not points value). Grip
(how firmly the character grasps reality) is equal to the sum of the characters Intuition plus Grace
Core traits (not their Marbles), modified by any applicable Psychosi.
7. Requisition: The characters are issue a requisition equal to the value of ten with which to purchase
Personal Reality Generators.
8. Name the character and flesh out any background details.
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Experience
At the end of every game the Game Master should award players experience points for the improvement of
their characters, generally between one and six points. As a general rule of thumb, it is recommendable the
Game Master award experience points along the following lines:
One point for the characters survival of an adventure.

One point for each objective successfully met during the course of an adventure.
One point for good role-playing from the player.
One point if the character (or player) did something particularly awesome during the game session.
Characters may exchange experience points for improvements in the following manner:
Core Traits may be increased at a cost of the new level multiplied by two.
Extensions may be increased at a cost equal to the new level.
Positive Psychosi may be purchased at a cost of ten experience points at the Game Masters
discretion.
If the Game Master consents, the player may purchase a Negative Pschosi, gaining ten experience
points.
Any Eccentricities may be lowered by one level in exchange for experience points equal to their
cost.
Only one purchase of experience points may occur between game sessions.
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Marbles
Marbles represent the bits of reality which the character has a firm grip on. These are the solid, inflexible
truths that they experience and affirm to themselves each and every day. When the whims of a
disintegrating, insane reality threaten or challenge the character it is their Marbles that give them a degree
of control in an increasingly uncertain world.
How Many Marbles?

In each of the four Core traits a character possesses Marbles equal to double their rating. For each Extension
your character has a number of Marbles equal to your Core rating plus Extension rating. Additionally,
characters have Marbles in every Extension regardless of whether or not you have purchased levels in it.
Basically, your Core alone confers a degree of raw talent to your Extension, but this potential may be
refined and improved through training and practice.
Using Your Marbles

Whenever your character goes to do something that the Game Master deems difficult, he may ask you to
spend some Marbles. Generally speaking walking down the street, eating a sandwich, driving a car and
other mundane actions doesnt require a character to spend Marbles. These are boring, normal things that
people do every day. Running serpentine to dodge sniper fire, trying to your body to fight the effects of
poison, driving in a high speed street drag race and other adventurous or daring deeds are a different
story. Not only do they carry a chance of failure, but one with dire consequences should the character not
succeed - conveying a sense of drama. It is for such actions the Game Master should ask you to spend some
of your characters Marbles.
Once Marbles are spent they gone, albeit temporarily.
One Marbles or Two?

Sometimes it only requires one Marble for a success. However, particularly difficult tasks such as
shooting a tiny target or leaping across a particularly wide gap may require multiple Marbles to be spent
at the Game Masters discretion.
As a general rule of thumb, the Game Master should add up the amount of conditions or difficulties the
character will encounter during the action as a guide to how many Marbles are required. Chasing down a
foe on foot might only require one Marble as the character either catches the opponent or fails to do so.
Chasing that same foe across a frozen lake may require two Marbles due to the added danger of the ice
breaking.
Use the following table as a guide to the quantities of Marbles required performing certain tasks:
Difficulty Example Marbles
Easy Shooting a stationary target. 1
Routine Driving in wet weather. 2
Challenging Swimming against a light current. 3
Difficult Hearing a whisper across the room. 4
Troubling Convincing your landlord not to collect the rent. 5
Impossible Escaping a straitjacket. 6

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Using More Marbles
Sometimes the fights dont stop, the journey is longer than expected, the pressures are high. Sometimes,
characters will need more Marbles than they have left or even first possessed. Sometimes, when a character
is out of Marbles they may still be required to spend them as dictated by the situation. And they may do so,
freely. However, whenever the character spends Marbles from an area where they have none, they gain
loose some points in Grip. Grip is lost in equal quantities to the amount of Marbles spent below zero. I.e. if
the character has two Marbles in Burglary but wishes to spend four picking a particularly difficult lock,
they lose two points of Grip.
Doing Multiple Things At Once

Some situations call for a character to be juggling tasks, such when using Burglary to defuse a bomb whilst
using Intuition to read the schematic for the device. This is particularly pertinent in time-sensitive
situations such as combat when it can be all over in the blink of an eye. When a character attempts to do
multiple things at the same time they must spend a number of Marbles from all Core or Extension traits
employed in one or more of the actions equal to the number of actions conducted. No Marbles spent in this
fashion count towards success. For example, if a character wants to do push-ups while studying for their
big exam then they are required to spend at least three (one for each action and the third to be successful)
Marbles from both their Intuition and Muscularity.
Teamwork
Some situations allow multiple characters to act at the same time. Examples include lifting and carrying
large and heavy objects, conducting research through multiple sources, and other situations and defined by
the Game Master. In these circumstances, characters are permitted to pool their Marble expenditure.
Opposed Marbles
Sometimes two characters will be locked into direct head-to-head competition such as when playing
chess, arm wrestling, vying for a ladys affection and so on. When directly contested in this way, both
players spend the appropriate type of Marbles for their character. The character which spends the most
Marbles in excess of the Difficulty is successful. If neither characters expenditure of Marbles is successful,
both characters fail. If possible, this should be done in secret with each player individually informing the
Game Master the amount of Marbles they wish to spend. For example, two particularly burly gentlemen
are locked in an arm wrestling contest. Because both are quite formidable, the Game Master deems the
difficulty four. The first contestant spends four Marbles, the second three making the former the
successful party.
Reality Deviance
Reality has rules and though those rules may be flexible, it takes a powerful force of will to oppose them.
Jet planes are faster than motorcycles, getting shot hurts, you are not attractive and interesting or whatever
else the rules of reality for a particular area might dictate. Should a character wish to outright oppose (or
the Game Master deems the characters actions are in opposition to) the rules of reality, then an added
increase to the tasks difficulty should be added as follows...
Break with reality... Added Difficulty
None +0
Small +1
Medium +2
15

Large +3
For instance, R.P.A. G-man and all round naughty boy Duke Harrington is thrown out of a window by a
group of anti-consensus terrorists. There is nothing between Duke and the pavement but air, still Duke
reaches out and flails in the empty air desperately attempting to find some sort of soft landing. The Game
Master allows Dukes player to spend Musicality Marbles in a desperate attempt to bend his knees at the
right moment to land safely. The Difficulty is 6, but everybody knows that the pavement is hard and death
is instant, so the Game Master deems Dukes desperate belief a large break with reality increasing the
Difficulty to a whopping 9!
16

Core
Core traits are those all humans have. True, some people might lack grand social graces; but they can still
interact on some level with another person. Likewise, not everyone is an Olympic weight lifter; but they
still have enough muscle to keep them up and walking. Because there are many different areas of life, Core
is divided into four subcategories; Grace, Intuition, Muscularity and Standing.
All Core traits have a minimal ranking of one and a maximum level of six.
Grace
The characters inner nature; their soul and how it reflects outwardly to others. As such Grace reflects how
the character interacts and is received by others along with their inner fortitude; their ability to hold
themselves upright.
Intuition
All things requiring the use of the mental capacities. This isnt simply a measure of the characters learning-
ability. It is also a measure of how fast their Intuition works.
Muscularity
All things involving the use of the body. Not simply lifting heavy objects or hitting a foe with force. It is
also a measure of the characters health and endurance.
Standing
Standing is a measure of the characters social status and standing. It represents not whether the character
is loved or loathed in their community, but rather the social position of their birth and the social influence
they can subsequently exert.
17

Extensions
Extensions are learned skills of your character. Whilst Core traits are innate, Extensions have required time,
effort and practice to acquire. The amount of Marbles within an Extension shows how good your character
is at that skill.
Unlike Core, all Extension traits have a minimal ranking of zero. However, like Core traits, Extensions
share a maximum of six.
Acrobat (Muscularity)
Flexible, bendy and bouncy able to jump, leap, twist and hurdle - the character with this Extension can
perform spectacular gymnastic feats.
Art (Intuition)
Where Mechanical is a practical form of construction; Art is an intuitive one. As the hands-on cousin to
Charisma, Art allows characters to design and construct clever, thoughtful and innovative ideas in the form
of objects; be it hologram, sculpture or painting.
Burglary (Intuition)
The art of opening locks and hotwiring cars without the proper keys, hacking computer systems, disarming
traps and other things involving breaking, entering and theft.
Brawling (Muscularity)
Brawling is the ability of your character to reach out and thump someone. It includes anything from judo,
boxing and other hand-to-hand techniques to fencing, gypsy knife fighting, bojutsu and every other form
of combat at close range.
Clout (Standing)
Clout represents the characters political influence and their ability to exercise it. While Talk or Charisma
represents eloquent communication, Clout represents the ability to emphasize social weight; stressing the
impact the character might have if things dont go their way.
Charisma (Grace)
The Charisma extension is a combination of appearance and charm. A high Charisma is important for
characters that want to influence people with words. Whereas Talk is used to get persuade, con and
otherwise influence people; Charisma is used to make you more likeable.
Connections (Standing)
The higher up in society one is, the more fingers in pies they have and the better it generally is to be their
friend. Connections represent the ability of a character to call on useful experts and friendly allies in order
to meet their ends.
Deduction (Intuition)
Research is the characters ability to search through records and data or physical locations for facts, clues
and other such important physical objects or pieces of information.
Doctor (Intuition)
The healing of wounds, illnesses and injuries. Without this Extension, the character must rely on their
natural healing capacity. Each success gained for a Doctor Draw on a patient increases the characters
Vitality by one per success.
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Drive (Muscularity)
The Drive extension is the ability to operate vehicles effectively. This extension requires the aid of a vehicle
to function effectively.
Education - Area (Intuition)

Education is something of a catch-all skill that covers all knowledge gleaned from formal education such as
high school or university. When Education is purchased, the player must define the specific area that the
Education occupies. If a character wishes to obtain a second area, they must purchase the Education
Extension again. Sample areas include: academics, computers, biology, geology, history, literature,
mechanics, physics, semiotics, zoology, etc.
Mechanical (Intuition)
Mastery of engine, gear and mechanism comes with the Mechanical Extension. With this ability the
character can build, repair and maintain machinery.
Perceive (Intuition)
The ability to see, hear, taste and notice unusual things; a high Perceive is important for a sharpshooter,
detective or other clever boots.
Programming (Intuition)
This Extension denotes an ability and aptitude with computers, Reality Generators, air conditioners and
other devices that have software and coding. Programming can be used to both write such data from
scratch along with editing and deleting it.
Shooting (Intuition)
The Shooting Extension determines your accuracy with every kind of firearm, thrown weapon, projectile
attack and weapon that strikes at a distance from pistols and rifles to bows, spears and grenades. This
extension implies the belief that the character has a firearm or other means of attack to function effectively.
Sneak (Muscularity)
Quiet movement and the ability to remain unnoticed and if successful, you will be much harder to locate.
Survival (Intuition)
The Survival Extension allows you to hunt, forage or scavenge for food and drink items along with build
fires, shelters and even extract poisons, chemicals, and other substances from the characters natural
surroundings. Survival also covers tracking and animal lore.
Talk (Grace)
Both persuasion and deception; Talk the ability to communicate in a practical and efficient manner. This
extension is the art of convincing others that your position is correct, including the ability to lie and not get
caught.
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Psychosi
Psychosi are special advantages and little hindrances a character may possess, pushing them out from the
crowd and marking them as exceptional in a particular area or manner. Psychosi come in two varieties
Positive and Negative; the former being beneficial forms of mental infirmity and the latter being
obstructions to day-to-day activity.
During character creation a player may purchase a single Positive Psychosi and up to two Negative
Psychosi. A player does not have to purchase Negative Psychoi for their character but for each they do they
may purchase an additional Positive Psychosi.
Where listed some Psychosi may be Positive or Negative as dictated by the player, with specific effects for
both.
Astronaut (Negative & Positive)

You are an Astronaut. A filthy, disgusting, vagabond of the stars. And it sickens me that youre reading
this book. Seriously, stop. Your kind arent welcome to play any game I wrote. Even if you arent an
Astronaut anymore, the stench never really wears off. And once you have your space-legs, you never lose
that particular walk. Astronaut is both a Negative and a Positive Psychosi. It grants the character four free
Marbles which may be spent with any Core or Extension when applied to rockets, space-stations, colonies
or other space-orientated environments and vehicles. Marbles gained from Astronaut are spent and
replenish in the typical fashion. However, the stigma of being an Astronaut is so great that the character
permanently looses one Marble from their Grace.
Attentive (Negative or Positive)

Noticing even the smallest inconsistencies, irregularities, movements, motions or not. As a Positive
Psychosi, Attentive adds an additional two Marbles to the characters Perceive Extension. If a Negative
Psychosi, Attentive removes two Marbles permanently from the characters Perceive Extension.
Authority (Negative or Positive)

The character with this Psychosi believes they are a police officer, marshal, government intelligence agent
or other representative of the law. If Authority is taken as a Positive Psychosi then this belief is true and
generally within the jurisdiction, this authority gives the character the right to go where they need to under
the guise of their job. If Authority is taken as a Negative Psychosi then this belief is a fabrication of the
characters own imagination. If Negative the characters talk of rank and authority may sometimes allow
them to push themselves into situations and areas outside normal civilian access at the Game Masters
discretion any investigation into their claim uncovers the truth.
Can't See Me (Negative or Positive)

The individual strongly believes that they are a master of disguise or have the power of invisibility. If taken
as a Positive, the belief is true and the character receives a two Marbles increase to their Sneak Extension. If
taken as a Negative, the belief is a delusion and removes two Marbles permanently from their Sneak
Extension.
Chatty (Negative)
The character with the Chatty Psychosi never shuts up, no matter what theyre doing. The character must
spend one additional Marble than the required difficulty to succeed in any use of the Sneak Extension.
20

Compatriot (Negative or Positive)
A Compatriot is an ally, buddy, lover or other individual willing to perform tasks or favours for the
character. Any act the Compatriot is willing to commit is entirely within their skills or function (there is
little point in asking a housewife to perform an assassination). If Compatriot is purchased as a Negative
Psychosi then the Compatriot is entirely imaginary.
Conduct - Type (Negative)

The character with this Psychosi abides by some kind of code of conduct that restricts their behaviour. The
specifics of this code depend on which one the character is following as determined by the player and
Game Master. Regardless of the specifics, the character will lose one Grip every time they break their code
of conduct. Sample codes include:
Astronaut: Always avenge an insult, regardless of the danger or personal cost. A buddys foe is
your foe. Never attack a buddy.
Gentleman: Never break your word. All insults to a lady, the nation or oneself must be avenged
with an apology or duel. Can never take advantage of an opponent, even simply by wielding
superior weapons.
Honesty: Obey the law all the time and in every circumstance.
Coward (Negative)
The character cannot stand the thought of confrontation of any sort, physical, verbal or mental. The
character with this Psychosi must flee, or capitulate, from any confrontation if at all possible. If they are
forced to fight, the quantity of Marbles spent in any attack is reduced by two. That means that if the
character spends three Marbles from their Brawling, their total is counted as one. If the character spends
five Marbles from their Shooting, their total is counted as three. Further more, the character must spend at
least three Marbles on any attack.
Eccentric (Negative)
Sometime in their recent past the character lost their Grip and gained some Eccentricities. When this
Pyschosi is acquired the player must purchase four points of Eccentricity.
Famous (Negative or Positive)

A Famous character believes they are a known actor, bestselling author, crime-lord, political mover-and-
shaker or other famous individual. If taken as a Positive Psychosi, the belief is true and shared by the
world. As such, the name and face of the character carry weight and may open doors and opportunities at
the Game Masters discretion. If taken as a Negative Psychosi the character is a legend in their mind alone,
seeing the character often spout the phrase dont you know who I am?
Illuminated (Positive)
Schooled, book-learned, trained to look, see, think, understand and intemperate an Illuminated character
gains one additional Marble added to their Intuition Core.
Impulsive (Negative)
The character with this Psychosi hates sitting on the sidelines. They must ACT! Every opportunity an
Impulsive character has to spend Marbles they must. If the character fails to do so, they lose one point of
Grip.
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Luck (Negative or Positive)
Just what it says on the tin, buddy Luck, good or bad! At the start of every game session a character with
the Positive Luck Psychosi gains four Marbles which they may spend at any time throughout the game in
conjunction with those from any Core or Extension trait. Likewise, at the start of every game session a
character with the Negative Luck Psychosi must spend any four Marbles from any Core or Extensions trait.
Marbles spent due to the Negative Luck Psychosi can never be regained until the start of the following
game session, when four more Marbles must be spent.
Personal Reality Generator Addiction (Negative)

Select one Personal Reality Generator. The character has become so completely reliant upon a particular
Personal Reality Generator to perform the task specified in the Purpose of the item that they struggle to
perform without it. For Supportive Generators, the difficulty of the specified task or test is thus increased
by the Effect of the Personal Reality Generator. For Victimizing Generators, the difficulty for the target is
lowered when focused on the character. The Personal Reality Generator still confers its regular bonus, but
the increased difficulty remains regardless of its presence or not. In the case of Victimizing Generators, the
characte In the case of Personal Reality Generators with the Drug property, a single dose of the Drug affects
a single task or test.
Profession (Positive)
The character with this Psychosi has trained extensively with one Profession or another, gaining three free
Marbles which may be spent with any Core or Extension when applied to their Profession. Marbles gained
from Profession are spent and replenish in the typical fashion. When Profession is purchased, the player
must define the specific area that their training occupies. If a character wishes to obtain a second area, they
must purchase this Psychosi again. Sample areas include: assassin, detective, psychologist, reporter,
scientist, taxi driver, etc.
Reality Generator Serviceman (Positive)

Trained in the construction and maintenance of Reality Generators, the character has been indoctrinated
into a fraternity of specialist and highly policed craftsmen and learnt to create incredible and unbelievable
Daily Existences with the twist of a knob and push of a button. Due to this knowledge, the character gains
two free Marbles which may be spent with any Core or Extension when applied to a Reality Generator.
This Psychosi cannot, however, be employed to improve the effectiveness of a Personal Reality Generator,
which is a relatively static lump of daily existence and thus somewhat immutable.
Reality Watchdog (Positive)

With this Extension, the character gains a keen eye trained (or just plain naturally talented) to spot the signs
of reality shifts before they hit. Any time the Game Master would spend Flex, they must notify this
characters palyer.
Secret (Negative)
A terrible hidden fact about the characters past (or present) comes with this Psychosi. Perhaps they got
away with murder, maybe they have a secret lover, tax evasion, lies, scandals, an alternate identity... who
knows? Should the characters secret ever be revealed then they most certainly face dire consequences, the
least of which may be the loss of social status in the eyes of their peers with the characters Standing
reduced by two (taken from the trait, with Marbles adjusted accordingly).
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Silver Tongue (Positive)
Possessing a certain way with words, the character with this Psychosis gains two additional Marbles added
to the characters Talk Extension.
Sportsman (Positive)
A master of physical pursuits, the character with this Psychosis gains one additional Marble added to their
Muscularity Core.
Survival Instinct (Positive)

Military, police or similar combat situation based training has given the character a sharp survival
instinct. Any attacks directed at the character during combat are treated as Opposed Marbles. The character
with Survival Instinct employs their Brawling Marbles for this purpose.
Tamer (Positive)
The character with this Psychosi is particularly good with animals, gaining four free Marbles which may be
spent with any Core or Extension when applied to animals. Marbles gained from Tamer are spent and
replenish in the typical fashion.
Tight Grip (Positive)

This Psychosi grants the character a particularly tight Grip on reality. On gaining this Psychosi increase the
characters Grip by one. This Psychosi may be purchased up to six times for a cumulative effect.
Unbalanced (Negative)
An Unbalanced character is perpetually a little on edge, nervous, jittery, paranoid, jumpy or otherwise just
mentally ill enough to see them perpetually teetering over the edge of becoming Eccentric at all times. Any
time a character with the Unbalanced Psychosi may only regain four points of Grip at any one time.
23

Derived Traits
Aside from Core, Extension and Perks characters possess two derived Traits: Grip and Flex. Grip governs
things like mental and physical damage while Flex measures how much the character is in line with the
Laws of Consensus.
Endurance
Endurance measures how much of a beating the character can take before reality comes calling. The body is
a weak kind of Reality Generator, a flexible constant. And sometimes when the body is concerned it doesnt
matter how desperately you believe something. The weight of physical embodiment comes crashing down.
When a body is broken and beaten is one of those times.
Any time a character is punched, stabbed, shot or otherwise wounded they loose a point of Endurance.
Each blow reduces the characters Endurance by one, regardless of how much Grip the character loses as a
result. When a character reaches zero Endurance their body gives out, resulting in death.
A characters Endurance is equal to double their Muscularity Trait (the Trait itself, not its Marbles).
Grip
A characters Grip is a measure of how firmly they grasp reality. Characters loose Grip as the pressures of
an adventure mount up, as characters get injured, succumb to stress, spend Marbles beyond their capacity
in certain areas and so forth. When a characters Grip is reduced below zero the character automatically
spends some Marbles from all Core and Extension traits. The expenditure of Marbles is equal to the
number of points the character is reduced below zero Grip. For example, if a character is reduced to
negative four Grip then they spend four Marbles from Core or Extension traits.
The quantity of Marbles spent through loosing Grip, however, cannot force a character to spend Marbles
where they have none. That is to say, lost Grip cannot reduce any quantity of Marbles below zero. For
example, if a character is reduced from negative four Grip to negative seven then all Core or Extension
traits automatically spend three Marbles. However, if the character has only two Marbles left in Talk then
they only spend two from that Extension as they cannot spend three.
If a character is reduced to negative ten Grip they are considered dead.
A characters Grip is equal to the sum of their Intuition and Grace traits.
Flex
Reality Deviants are dangerous because reality is malleable around them, constantly shifting and twisting.
Flex describes just how malleable reality is around the characters. And though t is derived from the
players, Flex is not a trait for players, but for the Game Master to use to mould and twist reality around the
players. Every time the Game Master wishes to spontaneously alter reality away from its set course (as
designated by the areas Reality Generators).
To spontaneously change reality, the Game Master must draw Flex from a specific character spending it
as a resource. While a Game Master may draw Flex from multiple characters (player or other) they cannot
draw more of it than any or all characters possess. The change, effect or consequence can be anything the
Game Master wishes but the difficulty for overcoming it is equal to the amount of Flex spent by the Game
Master. A Game Master can spend no more than six points of Flex at one time.
The effects of the Flex affect all characters in the area.
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A characters Flex is equal to their total levels in all Eccentricities plus ambient Flex. A characters Flex
replenishes along with Marbles and Grip. However, characters may voluntarily increase their Flex by
pushing against the boundaries of reality. At any time a character would spend Marbles, they may also
increase their Flex, adding each point of increase to the total quantity of Marbles spent. As with the Game
Master, however, only Flex may only be increased to a maximum of six at one time. Be warned, however,
increasing Flex voluntarily for bonus Marbles is the act of a Reality Deviant. Naughty, naughty.
Area Ambient Flex
Dense urban area with lots of large Reality Generators in use +0
Suburbs or towns with smaller but numerous Reality Generators +2
Small towns, built up countryside or other sparsely populated area +1
Wilderness, wilds, outer space and other places with no stable population +3
Solidarity
Back before Reality Mining, a body with a nervous system was the only kind of Reality Generator
generating Solidarity. Despite the erosion of Unanimiter through Reality Mining, the body retains the
ability to generate Solidarity not much, but just enough to give each and every individual a small, base-
line ability to stabilize the Flex. Deviancy, however, erodes an individuals Solidarity much as Reality
Mining does for Unanimter. And so the hard-core Reality Deviant is truly at the mercy of the Flex and
thrown into ever more strange and abstract states.
A characters Solidarity is equal to their Grip minus their Flex. Solidarity, like Flex, replenishes along with
Marbles and Grip.
At any point when the Game Master spends Flex, players may also spend Solidarity from their characters.
Solidarity may be spent individually or collectively. For every point of Solidarity spent, the amount of Flex
spent by the Game Master is reduced by one.
25

Personal Reality Generators
The kind of reality generators a city has, those air-conditioner-sized silver cubes found on the outside wall
of every suburban home or those massive black-box-rectangle units kept in the basements of government
buildings, help stabilize and mediate a consensual reality. But there are infinitely smaller and more varied
Reality Generators that work in a much more finite manner for the individuals who carry and activate
them. These personal reality generators are, in a world of flexible laws of existence, the only meaningful
tools one may wield... Naturally, these Reality Generators are not the large machines that create and govern
a particular kind of existence. Rather, these Reality Generators are little more than solid lumps of existence
that warp reality in the users favour towards a certain end.
Purpose = The use or function of the Generator.
Effect = Reality Generators are rated in terms of their ability to twist and manipulate reality, ranging from
+1 to +3. All Effects culminate with those of like function (meaning two Dead Eyes conveys a +2 to ranged
attacks).
Use (Supportive or Victimizing) = When activated, Supportive Personal Reality Generators aid the
character in their movements and efforts, reducing the Difficulty of any Marble expenditure by their Effect.
Victimizing Generators hinder the target when activated, turning the currents of reality against them in the
area as defined by the Purpose. These increase the difficulty of any marble expenditure by the Effect rating.
Value = The overall value of the Reality Generator.
Notes = any other necessary information.
Notes
Drug = The Reality Generator contains an additive element. Every time a character is subjected to the
Reality Generator they may choose to spend Intuition Marbles. The difficulty of this test is equal to the
number of times the character has been affected by the Drug this game session. Failure to do so, sees the
character gain the Personal Reality Generator Negative Psychosi for the Drug in question.
Resist Core or Extension = The effects of this Reality Generator maybe resisted by with the expenditure of
Marbles from the listed Core trait or Extension at a Difficulty equal to number of times this game session
the character has been subjected to Reality Generator this session plus the Effect of the Reality Generator.
Target: Core or Extension = The effects of this Reality Generator targets a particular Core trait or Extension.
Use X = The Reality Generator is produced in a finite form and maybe used a number of times equal to X.
Name Description Purpose Effect Use Value Notes

Black Junk Black milk of a Stupefy an +3 Victimize 5 Drug, Resist:
lactating injected target. Intuition, Use
centipede 1
Barrier Tiny ceramic Escape pursuit, +1 Victimizing, 4
brick protection from targets
attacks pursuer &
attacker
26

Bug A cockroach, Hiding or stealth +2 Supportive 3 Drug, Use 1
Powder ground to dust
Bulb Spherical light Search/spot +3 Supportive 8
bulb
Dead Eye Human eyeball, Ranged attacks +1 Supportive 3
dried
Wall Carpet Roll of carpet Climbing +1 Supportive 2 Use 1
with an adhesive
underside
Pixie Dust White, sparkly Self-propelled +1 Supportive 1 Drug, Use 1
powder flight
Key A key Lockpicking +3 Supportive 8
Matchbox Matchbox Melee attacks +2 Supportive 3
depicting a spark
Maze Toy Circular plastic Hiding or stealth +3 Supportive 8
maze containing
a ball bearing.
Razors Razor blade Melee attacks +2 Supportive 3
Edge
Red Eye Bloodshot human Ranged attacks. +2 Supportive 5
eyeball, dried
R.P.A. Police badge with Persuasion or +3 Supportive 8
Badge the words intimidation.
Agent and
Consensus.
Silk Three-ply square Protection from +1 Victimizing, 3
of silk attacks. targets
attacker
Shield Star shaped Protection from +3 Victimizing, 8
badge of tin attacks. targets
attacker
Toy Car Red matchbox car Travel and speed +1 Supportive 3
Umby Cord Cross between an Direct memory +2 Supportive/ 6
umbilical cord sharing, generally Victimizing
and an octopus employed for
tentacle intimidation or
persuasion
Window Glass diamond, Locating exits +3 Supportive 8
palm-sized
27

Combat
Giant cockroaches, a violent and angry underclass, strange bald men with spirals tattooed on their heads,
some guy looking for a fight... sooner or later the characters will come to blows with someone or
something.
Turn
When combat begins everything slows down, with players taking turns in outlining their characters
actions and reactions to various events. Each action a player undertakes is called a Turn, in which a player
may do one or two things such as run to cover, attack, try and talk their opponent down or perform
whatever action in relation to whats going on. The character with the highest Grace acts first - both of
those controlled by the players and the Game Master. If the value of Grace between two or more characters
is tied, then the character with the most Marbles in or highest Intuition acts.
Attacks
Attacks generally have two parties, an attacker and defender. When making an attack the acting character
spends Marbles from the appropriate Extension (usually Brawling or Shooting). For each Marble spent
above the difficulty, the defender looses one point of Grip and a single point of Endurance. The base
difficulty for any Shooting or other ranged attack is equal to the number of between the attacker and the
target. The difficulty for any Brawling or melee attack is equal to the rating of the targets Brawling
Extension (and that alone, not Marbles or Brawling plus Musicality).
For example, Sam Smyth cowboy Astronaut is in a bare knuckle boxing match in a saloon on Mars
against a big Deviant from Jupiter. Sam makes a mighty swing, spending a whooping seven Marbles from
his Brawling. The Deviants Brawling is four. That means Sams swing is a hit! For the blow landing, the
Deviant looses a point of Endurance. Moreover, because Sam spent three more Marbles than the Devaints
Brawling Extension rating, the Deviant looses three from his Grip.
Range
How far combatants are from each other is important in a fight. It determines what ranged weapons are
useful and when melee fighting can ensue. Ranges, however, are not definitive measures in feet and inches
but instead are abstract denotations of relative distance. Remember, a role-playing game is about narrative
not precision combat (at least, not always) so cool should outweigh realism, flexibility should outweigh
rigid rules. In terms of altering distances; characters can generally move one Ranges worth of footing each
action as a free action - i.e. they may move closer or further from their targets. Circumstances such as being
attacked, grappled or chased may require the character to spend Marbles to do so, but that is left up to the
Game Master.
Generally speaking there are five Positions or increments of range on in a combat area, though some
combat areas may have less. Each Positions represents less where a character is standing but more his
range and distance from his opponents, allies and other characters - a general sense of place on the
battlefield.
Movement & Position

Each turn characters in combat may move one Position increments within their turn. Generally speaking
horses and vehicles and do so a lot quicker than people on foot, but even then, it requires a number of turns
to cover ground. Additionally, each character sense of space and action based on how may Positions there
are between themselves and other characters as follows:
Sharing a Position: Tight

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Tight Distance is generally that of a hug or other proximal activity. Any attack at this Distance has a one
card penalty, reflecting the fact that weapons must be angled right to reach an opponent whose mere
movements can throw an aim off or who may actively wrestle their foe, which fighting at this Distance
generally is. As such, combatants may, if they have a free hand, use their opponents weapons for the
purposes of damage; reflect the act of overpowering their foe. Likewise, players whose characters
undertake successful Ranged attacks targeting a target in Tight Distance with another must spend an
additional Marble per Combatant to hit their intended target or else allow the Game Master to designate
the target of the attack.
Adjacent Position: Close
Close Distance is within arms reach. This means Close is the standard Distance for most melee attacks and
is generally described as point blank Distance for shooting.
One Position Between: Short
Think of Short Distance as on the other side of a room. This means characters and objects a Short distance
away can be seen, spoken to and moved to quickly; but they are out of reach. Melee combat is possible at
Short Distance, as is shooting.
Two Positions Between: Medium
Medium Distance can be described as across the road. An object or character of Medium can still be seen
clearly, but it takes more than a few seconds to get to them and any verbal conversation requires yelling.
As with Short Distance, Distanced combat is fine at Medium but Melee combat is out of the question.
Three Positions Between: Long
Long Distance is a far off point, though not yet on the edge of sight. Any conversation in any form is quite
difficult at Long Distance and, even if successful, will probably be littered with misunderstanding.
Distanced combat still functions optimally at Long Distance, but Melee is obviously impossible.
Four Positions Between: Extreme
Extreme Distance is a blip in the distance; a shimmering indeterminate shape on the horizon. Things at
Extreme Distance are hard to see and generally impossible to hit with all but the most specialized
weaponry. Needless to say; melee combat is impossible at this Distance.
Range & Attacks

All weapons work at an optimal range. The further one is beyond this range, the more likely it is for an
attack to miss if the weapon is able to reach or attack at all. Likewise, targets that are shorter than the
weapons optimal range are more likely to be dodge, wrestle, manoeuvre or otherwise react to the
attackers aggressive action. Every Position the target occupies outside a Weapons optimal range (be it
longer or shorter) requires the expenditure of one additional Marble on the attack. Likewise, as noted
above, some Weapons may simply not be able to reach certain ranges, as listed under their profile.
29

Recovery: Finding your Marbles, Regaining your Grip
When a character takes a moment to rest and have a bath, cup of coffee, read or other non-strenuous
activity they regain all expended Marbles and all lost Grip. However, if the character was reduced below
zero Grip they suffer long-term consequences. For each point of negative grip the character has gained in
the meantime, the player must purchase equal points of Eccentricity for their character. All points in total
must be spent. For example, if a character is reduced to negative six Grip they must purchase six points of
Eccentricity.
Eccentricity
Eccentricity is purchased as a result of the character loosing excessive quantities of Grip. Each Eccentricity
has a base cost of points and a number of levels denoting how severe its affect is on the character. On
purchasing a new Eccentricity, the character gains the condition at level one. Additional levels may be
purchased by paying the cost over again. For example, Filthy has a cost of four. On purchasing it, the
character gains Filthy level 1. If the player spends four more points to purchase Filthy again, the character
then gains Filthy level 2. Like Core and Extension traits, a character may possess a maximum rating of six
in any Eccentricity.
Addiction (Cost: 7)
The character with this Eccentricity has a dire addiction. Booze, drugs, Pixie Dust, cough drops; whatever
the characters poison is every time they would regain Marbles, they must indulge this Addiction or
reduce the amount of Marbles regained by the Level of this Eccentricity.
Animal (Cost: 1)
The character comes to see themselves as an anthropomorphic animal. They put on an animal mask which
they never, under any circumstances, remove. If the mask is forcibly removed the character loses Grip
equal to their level in Animal and cannot regain Grip until the mask is put back on.
Cannibal Lycanthropy (Cost 2)

Every full moon the character loses control over their actions and flies into an animalistic, cannibalistic rage
(ultimately under the control of the Game Master) attempting to hunt, kill and eat their fellow man.
During this time the character is governed by base and ultimately animal instincts and will not use
weaponry or display sophisticated human abilities (speech, manual dexterity, etc) in any way. During this
time, the character gains a number of bonus Marbles to spend on their Muscularity equal to levels in this
Eccentricity.
Crutch (Cost: 5)
The individual has a lucky rabbits foot, a picture of a loved one or some other type object that they believe
they cannot live without. Should the character with this Eccentricity loose their Crutch or fail to carry it on
their person, the Difficulty target number of all Marble expenditures is increased by one for every level
they possess in Crutch
Multiple crutches are permitted.
Filthy (Cost: 4)
Seldom washing or wiping, the character is literally covered in their own filth. Just how seldom depends
on the level of this eccentricity. Regardless, it is quite off-putting for all those around the character. Reduce
the number of Marbles (to a minimum of zero) the character possesses in Grace and all Grace-based
Extensions (Charisma, Talk, etc) by the number of levels the character possesses in Filthy.
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Freak (Cost: 2)
The character has undergone some sort of metamorphosis into some sort freak-thing sprouting fur,
feathers, or scales, growing additional eyes, transforming their hands into paws or countless other aesthetic
and biological changes. Just how freakish a character appears is up to the player and their level of Freak.
However, any application of the Education (Medical) Extension to the character requires one additional
Marble per level than the Difficulty (i.e. difficulty five on a character with three levels of Freak requires
eleven Marbles to be successful five plus an additional six for Freak). Likewise, any attempt to conceal
how freakish the character has become (to pass as a normal human) has a difficulty equal to the characters
level in Freak.
Im That Man (Cost: X)

Napoleon? Jesse James? Cleopatra? Robin Hood? Kevin Rudd? The character with this Eccentricity believes
that they are some sort of historical or popular cultural character - acting and play out the notion in their
dress, behaviour, speech and day-to-day life. The character can generally, with some difficulty, work the
persona into their daily life,
Inept (Cost: 1)
All skill in a particular area flies from the characters mind, leaving their abilities with a single Extension
sorely lacking. On purchasing Inept the player should pick one Extension. The character loses Marbles in
this Extension equal to the level of Inept. Inept cannot reduce a number of Marbles below zero. Nor may a
player purchase more levels of Inept than the chosen Extension has Marbles. For example, a character with
six Marbles in the Burglary Extension can have up to six levels of Inept, but not seven.
Poop-train (Cost: 1)
It doesnt matter what the character thinks they are saying. The words that really come out of their mouth
range from weird through irrelevant to just plain incoherent and all the way down to offensive, though just
how bad it is depends on the level of Poop-train. For each level the character has in this Eccentricity, they
lose one Marble from their Talk Extension.
Really Inept (Cost: 2)

As per the Inept Eccentricity, but applied to Core traits as opposed to Extensions.
Tyler (Cost: 3)
Call him Tyler. Call him Bob. Call him Harvey and dress him in a big bunny suit. Call him whatever you
want, dress him however you want. A projection from deep within the characters Id has sprung out.
Problematically, the character is a distinct NPC controlled completely by the Game Master. Whenever the
Tyler undertakes an action that would require Marbles to be spent, they spend the characters Marbles and
may spend a maximum number per game session equal to the level of this Eccentricity. Only the character
with this Eccentricity can see the Tyler and the Tyler may only act within the general area or vicinity of the
character. Everyone else just sees you talking, walking and acting differently from normal.
Uniform (Cost: 5)
The individual only feels "right with the world" when they are in uniform. This could apply to any
occupation that wears a distinct uniform such as a policeman, nurse, soldier and so forth, regardless of
whether or not the character is a member of such an organization. Should the character with this
Eccentricity fail to wear their uniform, the Difficulty target number of all Marble expenditures is increased
by one for every level they possess in Uniform.
31

Walking Black Hole (Cost: 5)
A small black hole has become lodged in the characters stomach. The next time they are reduced to zero
Grip it opens permanently. The character is instantly sucked inside and considered dead for the
purposes of the game. Everything directly near the character also slowly begins to be drawn in, including
other characters. To avoid being drawn into the black hole, all nearby characters must spend Muscularity
Marbles equal to the level of this Eccentricity. Once open the black hole is permanent (though the Global
Bureau of Reality will probably be able to close it with some effort) and will draw in first loose objects such
as cars, chairs, people and so on and slowly, over time depending on its strength, drag in larger and fixed
objects such as buildings, trees, concrete, etc.
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Inspirationals
Grip is a blend of three genres, Science Fiction, Psychological Thriller and Noir. For that reason we term the
idea behind Grip as a Scicho-Noir; a speculative game of unstable emotional crimes. You may choose to
emphasize any one or more of these genres within your own games of Grip. Heres a few inspirational
materials that evoke similar concepts:
Anything by Franz Kafka: Kafkas work generally consists of bureaucracies and situations that
overpower people in surreal and nightmarish ways often with complex and illogical rules. Taken
literally, it can give a good picture of the problems (and punishments for disobedience) Reapers
might face.
12 Monkeys (Film, 1995): The act of time travel sees James Cole experience a confusion of past,
present and future, prompting others around him struggling to understand Coles seemingly
incomprehensible personal reality. The language of the scientists and debates of the psychologists
surrounding Cole makes great rhetoric for Grip.
1984 (Novel, 1949): A world where everyone is watched and is always watching, where anyone
could be a Thought Criminal and where history and society are rewritten constantly with their
acceptance forced... 1984 serves as a bleaker inspiration for what life in Grip could be like for the
average citizen.
A Clockwork Orange (Film, 1971): Deviant behaviour from delinquent youth with overbearing
governments undertaking mind-altering experiments on its citizens to solve otherwise social
problems. A Clockwork Orange provides a good picture for how both rebellious youth and
government might behave in Grip.
Alice in Wonderland (Novel, 1865): "How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice."You must be," said the
Cat, "otherwise you wouldn't have come here." Alice engages in multiple levels of reality and
altered states of existence throughout her journey through Wonderland. For Grip, take the
wonderful journey as a trip through uneven Daily Existance.
American Astronaut (Film, 2001): An Astronaut engaging in the lonely, dirty profession of trading
odd commodities between colonies filled with isolated eccentric people, American Astronaut makes
little sense but is highly quotable. And provides an interesting model of what and how Astronauts
might behave like if not showered in fame and glory.
The Bureau: Xcom Declassified (Video game, 2013): An alien invasion of the 1960s United States both
thwarted and covered up by agents of a shadowy super-secret police. Much the Reapers, the Bureau
fight to maintain a public perception of reality and the fact that anyone could be an infiltrator
without knowing it (much like anyone could be a Reality Deviant) give the Bureau a nice mixture of
themes to import to Grip guts, lies and paranoia. That said, compared to the Reapers, the Bureau
are more-or-less white hats...
Dark City (Film, 1998): A man wakes up to find he is a murderer, trapped in a ever-shifting city
locked in eternal night where everybody stops at midnight when? Dark City draws on the same
combination of genres as Grip being a little bit Science Fiction, Psychological Thriller and Noir.
Doctor Strangelove, or How I Learned to Love the Bomb (Film, 1964): Cold War paranoia gone out of
control with deadly consequences. For Grip, take Jack D. Rippers concern about losing his vital
fluids literally and you begin to see just how dangerous Eccentricities and Flex are when mixed
with real, political power.
eXistenZ (Film, 1999): A game designer on the run from assassin within reality and her videogame,
with the lines blurring all the way. eXistenZ evokes a paradoxical feeling of nothing being real and
real being nothing! eXistenZ gives an inspiration of how different levels of shifting reality might
look like in Grip.
33

FBP: Federal Bureau of Physics (Graphic Novel, 2014): When the laws of physics become inconsistent,
with everything from spontaneous gravity drop outs to the appearance of clone dimensions, a
government agency is formed to police them. FBP: Federal Bureau of Physics is a great bit of
inspiration into the day-to-day work and operations for the Reapers.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Book, 1971. Film, 1998): Hunter S. Thompsons savaging of the
American Dream is savage and unrelenting. Shifting in and out of drug-induced hallucinations,
breaking into and out of vivid levels of reality seeing and interacting with things that no one else
can, Raoul Duke makes an extreme example of the Reality Deviant.
Fight Club (Book, 1996. Film, 1999): All about the questioning of social norms, the films mess-up,
damaged cast of characters embodies the attitude, anxieties and problems of just about every
average citizen in Grip.
The Matrix (Film, 1999): Reality is a lie? Take the red pill and reject the consensus shared by the
masses? The questions Neo asks and the answers he seeks - in the Matrix are the kind of questions
and answers the Laws of Consensus work against. Take away the computers, take away Zion, make
Agent Smith the protagonist and you have a great allegory movie for Grip.
Shade: The Changing Man (Graphic Novel, 1990): A Superhero who fights a tangible form of insanity
that can twist reality on a whim. From the perspective of Grip, Shade is perhaps the least interesting
character with the average people who are routinely both the cause and victim of shifting realities
that are the most interesting!
Wanted (Film [not graphic novel], 2008): A secret order of stylish assassins who kill people because
their clothing tells them too? Sounds like a bunch of Reality Terrorists to me! Plus, the kind of
reality bending the assassins engage in within Wanted and the visceral effect this has on the world
around them makes some great description to poach for the Flex!
Watchmen (Graphic novel, 1986. Film, 2009): Cold war paranoia, deviant behaviour, totalitarian
governments, the death of wonder... and a big blue god that glows in the dark. Watchmen presents
a world whose sense of reality is slowing growing thinner by the day and people start acting nuts as
a result. Good stuff for thinking about daily existence not off the Reality Generators, but on a
rationing of them.
34

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1

Robert DeVere (order #5678279)

Nicholas William Moll,

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Marbles Mechanic by Aaron Vissers

Grip by Nicholas Moll & Aaron Vissers

Grip is a role-playing game intended

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Welcome to the Reality Protection Agency

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Reality Mining: The Cause

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Reality Deviants & Outsanity: The Enemy & the Problem

Reality on and off

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The Law of Focus

The Law of Collective

The Law of Axis

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The steps of character creation can be summarized as follows:

1. Devise a character concept.

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One point for the characters survival of an adventure.

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How Many Marbles?

Using Your Marbles

Once Marbles are spent they gone, albeit temporarily.

One Marbles or Two?

Difficulty Example Marbles

Easy Shooting a stationary target. 1

Routine Driving in wet weather. 2

Challenging Swimming against a light current. 3

Difficult Hearing a whisper across the room. 4

Troubling Convincing your landlord not to collect the rent. 5

Impossible Escaping a straitjacket. 6

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Doing Multiple Things At Once

Break with reality... Added Difficulty

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Education - Area (Intuition)

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Astronaut (Negative & Positive)

Attentive (Negative or Positive)

Authority (Negative or Positive)

Can't See Me (Negative or Positive)

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Conduct - Type (Negative)

Famous (Negative or Positive)

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Personal Reality Generator Addiction (Negative)

Reality Generator Serviceman (Positive)

Reality Watchdog (Positive)

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Survival Instinct (Positive)

Tight Grip (Positive)

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If a character is reduced to negative ten Grip they are considered dead.