Playing the Game
Game Structure
Campaigns are comprised of Sessions, which have Encounters.
Campaigns
A Campaign is a series of sessions between one or more group(s) of Players.
They usually tell an overarching story, and often contain smaller stories based around each Player's character.
Sessions
A Session is a chunk of time set aside to play SimpleTop! They consist of one or more Encounter(s).
Each Encounter has different types of gameplay, like Storytelling, Exploration, Roleplaying, and Combat.
Encounters serve to progress the story and/or challenge Players characters.
After you play a session, tell your GM how you feel about these elements so they learn how you like to play.
Session Zero
Session Zero is a special session where all players discuss topics they're comfortable roleplaying, player relationships, and their expectations for the gameplay.
This is a good time to discuss what kind of character you want to play and how they'd fit into the party.
What about all the Rules?
If you forget a rule, ask your GM about it, or just focus on roleplaying your character and your GM will let you know about any rules that deal with what you're trying to do.
What Do I Do?
Roleplaying games can be overwhelming with how much freedom you have, so giving yourself constraints can help you come up with things to do.
Here are some things to think about that can help guide your decisions during roleplay:
Think about your character
What are their goals? Can they progress toward them?
How do they feel about recent events?
How would they support other characters in the group?
Think about you as a Player
Are you curious about something the GM just said?
Do you want to engage with a character nearby?
Do you want to roleplay with a player in the group?
Other Good Things to Know
Dice
Xd6 means X number of 6-sided dice.
If you don't have dice, use a site like rolladie
Rounding
Round up (1.1, 1.5, and 1.9 each count as 2).
STATs and Experience
Players have 10 max Health per Experience.
When you get Experience, distribute them into your STATs.
Levelling up a STAT unlocks all Actions & Abilities from that Level.
-For example, having 7 XP in Tenacity unlocks Overwhelming Force.
SimpleTop Acronyms
STATs: Shorthand for Sense, Tenacity, Aptitude, & Tale-Weaving.
-Your STATs may differ if you're using a custom character sheet.
XP: Experience in this STAT. Your character may have 5 Experience, with 3 XP in Sense and 2 XP in Tenacity.
-On the default character sheet, you start with 1 each, which aren't included for your max Health.
AP: Action Points. These are 'spent' to do Actions.
-The default character sheet gives you 5 of these to spend on Player Phases.
LV: A STAT's Level. 2*LV means 2 times this STAT's Level.
EP: Enemy Phase. This is used to denote when an Action can be used during the Enemy Phase.
NPC: Non-Player Character. This includes any character in the story that isn't controlled by a Player.
Roleplaying
Tell your GM what you want to do and work with them to act out what happens. ("Roll, then Play" can be useful for some)
Remember that roleplaying is cooperative, not antagonistic, with everyone at the table!
Stat Rolls
Sometimes, your GM might ask you to do a Stat roll with a Goal.
Do this by rolling 1d6 and adding that STAT's Level.
You can ask to use a different STAT than the GM requested.
To succeed, meet or beat the Goal set by the GM.
After determining success/failure, roleplay the results.
Competing Rolls
These might happen when two or more characters try to do the same thing, or accomplish contradicting objectives.
All characters make a Stat Roll, with the highest roll winning.
Involved characters don't need to be rolling the same STATs.
Player-Versus-Player (PvP) Rolls
These are Competing Rolls that Players make against each other.
Ask for consent before doing these!
Ties
GM handles ties based on their discretion.
Nothing could happen, Players might roll again, or something else entirely could come up!
Roleplay Example
Player: "I'd like to grab the treasure without tripping the trap."
GM: "Give me an Aptitude roll with a Goal of 4."
Player rolls 1d6 and gets a 3.
They add their Aptitude LV (2) for a total of 5.
GM: "You succeed!
The gem seems to beckon to you.
How does Ryker snag it?"
Competing Roll Example
John: "I grab the treasure."
Cristy: "Wait, I want treasure!
I try to swipe it from him!
Is that okay John?"
John: "Haha, yeah, you're good, but I've got a firm grip on it."
GM: "Competing rolls!
John roll Tenacity, Cristy roll Aptitude."
John rolls a 5, while Cristy rolls a 4.
John gets to keep the treasure.
Combat
Combat generally starts with the Enemy Phase, when the GM describes enemy behavior.
Some EPActions can be used by players.
After the Enemy Phase, Players and their Allies act on the Player Phase.
There are no turns, so players act however they want together!
Health
Players have 10 max Health per Experience.
While at zero Health, you can't contribute to the current fight or be healed normally. This doesn't have to mean death.
Phoenix and Guardian Angel can bring you back into the fight!
Your GM tells you how much you heal after combat ends.
Actions, Action Points, & Movement
Actions are underlined and used by spending Action Points (AP).
All players have 5 max AP, which get restored at the start of the Player Phase.
Actions cannot go through Hard Boundaries (often represented by solid lines) or further than their [Range].
Actions are listed as: (AP cost), Name, [Range]: Description.
Movement
Distance is measured in Moves.
This can be measured out of game however you like: tiles on a map, the length of a pencil, inches on a ruler, or something else entirely.
Narratively, this can scale however you want: inches a snail moves, miles a bird flies, or anything else.
Your GM might separate 'Zones' on a map with dashed lines to represent "Soft Boundaries" and solid lines to represent "Hard Boundaries.'
Hard Boundaries block Actions and Movement.
Items & Roleplaying in Combat
Items
Items are listed as: (AP Cost) Name: Description
Items that are quick or simple to use, and/or weaker than most cost 1 AP to use.
Most Items cost 2 AP to use.
Some Items are more complicated to use or stronger than most; these cost 3 AP to use.
Special Items may cost 4 or more AP to use, but these are extremely rare and unique.
Roleplaying in Combat
To do something that isn't listed as an Action, like pulling a lever or grappling an enemy, Roleplay it!
Spend 1 AP to Roleplay in Combat. If you have to roll for it, do a Stat Roll.
-On default character sheets, Help and Hinder can affect these rolls.