The Rules of the Game

Few rules, by design

RpgMeister leans on a small core of rules and trusts the table to narrate the rest. The mechanics covered across these pages handle the moments that genuinely need a number: dice rolls, combat, damage, and recovery. Everything else is described — by the GM, by you, between you.

That keeps the rulebook short and easy to remember, and it leaves the table free to play instead of paging through references mid-scene.

What's deliberately not here

• No movement chart. A character moves roughly a metre per second — specific enough to plan a chase, loose enough to skip the squares-per-round bookkeeping.
• No jump or climb tables. Agility and a relevant skill (Acrobatics, Climbing) tell the GM whether to ask for a roll and how hard it should be.
• No per-weapon speed factor or exhaustive weapon stats. Weapons have a few practical properties — damage type, strength required, reach, range — that colour the fiction and feed the combat numbers. The core mechanic stays the same either way: 3d6 ≤ skill target.
• No encyclopaedia of combat moves. A handful of named manoeuvres (dodge, swipe, charge, bind, grapple, shield bash, placed shot, surprise move) appear on the Combat moves page because they come up often enough to deserve a shorthand. Anything else is "tell the GM, describe what you're doing, take your modifiers."

How a moment of uncertainty plays out

1. The GM describes the scene — what your character sees, hears, and can reach.
2. You ask for clarification on anything that matters but wasn't called out. Is the door open? Can I see the captain's hands? Is the rope load-bearing?
3. You state what your character does. Be specific enough that the GM can picture it.
4. If it's likely to go sideways, the GM says why — and what positive or negative modifiers apply to the roll.
5. Roll the dice. See Dice rolls for what the numbers mean and how margin matters.

Some actions need no roll at all. Some need a roll with no modifier. The interesting moments are the ones where the GM picks up a modifier and tells you exactly why.

A short example

That tiny exchange has all the moving parts: the GM replayed the scene so everyone shared the same picture, called out the bits that matter (underwear, kitchen knife, opponent's huge two-hander), and politely declined a mechanical claim that didn't match the fiction. No table was consulted. The roll still happens — just with the modifiers the situation actually earns.

The rules, page by page

The mechanics live on focused sub-pages so you can flip to the bit you need without scrolling through the bits you don't. Start anywhere — they cross-link.

• Dice rolls — the 3d6 ≤ target mechanic, the margin of success, and the eleven-step outcome scale every roll uses. Go to Dice rolls →
• Stat & skill rolls — the targets each kind of roll is built from, the modifiers (Extra Time, Preparation, Supporting Skill), and how opposed rolls are resolved. Go to Stat & skill rolls →
• Combat — the round flow, Initiative vs the Speed Bank, the Hit / Parry / Dodge rolls, Stunned and Unconscious states, and morale. Go to Combat →
• Combat moves — a reference for every named manoeuvre: Set weapon, Charge, Surprise move, Placed shot, Throw, Use extra strength, Bind, Grapple and the rest. Go to Combat moves →
• Damage, armour & recovery — the Impact and Piercing damage tables, how armour and shields actually absorb damage, the in-fight Recovery roll, and rest-and-heal rates. Go to Damage, armour & recovery →

Anything not listed

Be creative, role-play. Tell the GM what you want to try, what skills will support it, and what you'd do to make it work. The GM will pick the rolls, sketch out the likely upsides and downsides, and let the dice do their bit.

That's it. Go do it!