Renegades SRD

It Started When…

The Federation took control of the galaxy. They now govern with an iron grasp, leveraging the power of tyranny and propaganda to prevent anyone from overthrowing their ruthless empire. There are rumors in the mists about pockets of rebellion. Renegades who haven’t lost hope in the face of impossible odds. The Federation is not invincible. They have flaws, and with a bit of luck, we might overthrow their regime.

Before We Start

Before you start, define lines that should not be crossed. Pause or rewind the game if something uncomfortable happens during a session. Always make sure everyone is comfortable with the direction of the story.

The Game

One person is the game master (GM), the rest are players.

GM: Guide the story, and present challenges to the group. Make them meet friendly and shady NPCs. Design villains who think they are the good guys. Be a fan of the players. Ask them questions, fill the world with their answers. If it’s cool, let them try. Split complex challenges into multiple checks. Encourage players to change what is true in the fiction.

Player: Narrate what your renegade does. Make checks when things are risky. Give everyone a time to shine. Fill the world with your ideas. Take risks, and rise up from failures. Interact with the world, and assist the GM in finding interesting complications and plot twists

Checks

When there’s a challenge that needs to be overcome, you make a check to see how it plays out. You only need to roll if what you are doing is risky.

The GM telegraphs the risk of your action, you then pick a skill, and roll the die that matches its rating. If an ally helps you, they also make a check, but share the same risks as you.

Take the highest die and interpret the results.

On a 1-2, you fail, and there’s an additional complication.
On a 3-4, you succeed, but there’s a complication.
On a 5+, you succeed. The higher the result, the better the effect.

Fighting the Federation is hard and tedious work. Everyone who rolled reduces the rating of the skill they used by one level: d12 » d10 » d8 » d6 » d4. Skills cannot go lower than a d4.

The GM can disclaim decision-making by testing for luck. To do so, pick a die rating simply based on the odds of a thing happening, roll, and interpret the results.

Refocus

To reset all your skills to their original rating, you can ask to “refocus”.

This is a brief break in tension. It can be done at any time, even during combat, escapes, or dog fights.

When a character refocuses, the GM looks at the scene and introduces a new complication to the group.

Choose A Kit

THE PILOT: Focus skill (d10)
THE MYTHIC: Feel skill (d10)
THE SCAVENGER: Tinker skill (d10)
THE SENATOR: Sense skill (d10)
THE SMUGGLER: Contacts skill (d10)
THE DROID: Lore skill (d10)
THE EX-SOLDIER: Tactical skill (d10)

Your Renegade

On your character sheet, write down your kit, your character’s name, and preferred pronouns.

By default, skills have a d4 rating. Assign a d10, a d8, and a d6 to three skills you think your character is good at.

Characters have a total of 6 skills:

Bash: wreck, move, force.
Dash: run, jump, climb.
Sneak: hide, skulk, lurk.
Shoot: track, throw, fire.
Think: perceive, analyze, repair.
Sway: charm, manipulate, intimidate.

Declare A Truth

When the situation is dire, or if you are looking for a way out, you can declare a new truth about the world. If your fact is a small truth, it just happens, but for big truths the GM adds a “but…” afterwards.

The GM gets the final say on this, so work with them to make sure your fact works well with what has already been established. Once used, you’ll need to “refocus” to declare a new truth.

Stress

When you face a complication as a result of one of your actions, the GM can decide that you take 1 stress. If your character reaches 4 stress, they become “vulnerable”. When vulnerable, failing a dangerous action could mean being taken out, being captured, or worse.

Healing

To heal up and clear your stress track, you need to lay low someplace secure awhile. Look at the fiction and work with the GM to decide how much stress you clear when you rest.

Rolling Tables

Locales

Links

Chapters

Introduction

Breathless

Renegades

Nomadic

Gasps (Extras)