TWERPS [ EDIT ]
This game has been retired! That means it's no longer being run.
This game will begin on December 7th, 2015... Or earlier if it fills up before then.
TWERPS (short for The World's Easiest Role-Playing System) is a very simple d10 system first published in 1987. I originally purchased the Basic Rules and a few campaign books from an advertisement posted in the classifieds section of Dragon Magazine when I was a kid (the 80s, man... It was a radical time). At about $2 or $3, I thought it was a heck of a deal for a complete RPG system until it showed up in the mail and I discovered it was only 8 half-pages... printed on pink colored paper.
Out of sheer boredom and to pass the time in the crowded bleachers between our matches at wrestling tournaments (as well as a stubborn determination to not let these game creators "rip me off"), I decided to run a couple of games for some teammates using the "SUPERDUDES" and "ROBO-PUNKS" campaign books and it was then that we realized it was exactly what we were looking for in a game system: quick and easy to learn, fast to play with zero preparation or planning, and not a bunch of books and notes and maps to haul around (using our stopwatches as d10, we didn't even need to chase those pesky dice under the bleachers anymore).
The character creation process requires one roll for one stat called "Strength", which not only determines the character's overall competency to accomplish tasks, but also their movement speed and current health. The game can be considered fairly deadly as any damage taken reduces this Current Strength score, thereby making the character slower and less able to succeed at combat or other "Savings Rolls". If a character's Current Strength reaches 1, they become unconscious, and if it hits 0 or less they're dead and all those hours of planning out your perfect character are down the tubes... Take the fast food receipt you made your character sheet on the back of and tack it to your wall when you get home.
There are two phases for each turn in TWERPS: MOVEMENT and ACTION.
Movement Phase is first and goes in order of each character's Current Strength from lowest to highest (on ties, PCs take priority. On PC or NPC ties, sort it out among yourselves or the TM will get bored and pick for you). The character can move as many spaces as they have Current Strength and still take an action during Action Phase. Or they can run by doubling their movement, but they forfeit their action during Action Phase. Only two characters per team are allowed on any hex at a time. If you land on a hex with an opponent on it you have to successfully attack them without being successfully attacked back before you can move off the space the following round. After all movement has been done Action Phase starts.
Action Phase goes in order of Current Strength from highest to lowest. Ties are determined the same way as during movement phase. It usually consists of fighting stuff. To fight something the attacker and defender both roll 1d10 and add their Current Strength. If the attacker's total is HIGHER than the defender's the attack is successful. Unarmed attacks do 1 point damage to the defender's Current Strength. If a character's Current Strength reaches 1, they are unconscious, and cannot do anything until the fight is over or another character uses their action to wake them up. If a character's Current Strength reaches 0, they are usually dead.
To do something that isn't attacking, the character rolls the same way: 1d10 + Current Strength versus 1d10 + Difficulty Level determined by the TWERPSMaster (or "TM"). If the character?s total is GREATER they succeed at their task.
This system is about as far from realistic or crunchy as RPGs can possibly get, so players who are looking for strong simulation systems, lots of rules, cool tables full of neat things, or general "crunch" would be better off playing that other game. I hear it can be pretty neat, but this one isn't that one.
TWERPS (short for The World's Easiest Role-Playing System) is a very simple d10 system first published in 1987. I originally purchased the Basic Rules and a few campaign books from an advertisement posted in the classifieds section of Dragon Magazine when I was a kid (the 80s, man... It was a radical time). At about $2 or $3, I thought it was a heck of a deal for a complete RPG system until it showed up in the mail and I discovered it was only 8 half-pages... printed on pink colored paper.
Out of sheer boredom and to pass the time in the crowded bleachers between our matches at wrestling tournaments (as well as a stubborn determination to not let these game creators "rip me off"), I decided to run a couple of games for some teammates using the "SUPERDUDES" and "ROBO-PUNKS" campaign books and it was then that we realized it was exactly what we were looking for in a game system: quick and easy to learn, fast to play with zero preparation or planning, and not a bunch of books and notes and maps to haul around (using our stopwatches as d10, we didn't even need to chase those pesky dice under the bleachers anymore).
The character creation process requires one roll for one stat called "Strength", which not only determines the character's overall competency to accomplish tasks, but also their movement speed and current health. The game can be considered fairly deadly as any damage taken reduces this Current Strength score, thereby making the character slower and less able to succeed at combat or other "Savings Rolls". If a character's Current Strength reaches 1, they become unconscious, and if it hits 0 or less they're dead and all those hours of planning out your perfect character are down the tubes... Take the fast food receipt you made your character sheet on the back of and tack it to your wall when you get home.
There are two phases for each turn in TWERPS: MOVEMENT and ACTION.
Movement Phase is first and goes in order of each character's Current Strength from lowest to highest (on ties, PCs take priority. On PC or NPC ties, sort it out among yourselves or the TM will get bored and pick for you). The character can move as many spaces as they have Current Strength and still take an action during Action Phase. Or they can run by doubling their movement, but they forfeit their action during Action Phase. Only two characters per team are allowed on any hex at a time. If you land on a hex with an opponent on it you have to successfully attack them without being successfully attacked back before you can move off the space the following round. After all movement has been done Action Phase starts.
Action Phase goes in order of Current Strength from highest to lowest. Ties are determined the same way as during movement phase. It usually consists of fighting stuff. To fight something the attacker and defender both roll 1d10 and add their Current Strength. If the attacker's total is HIGHER than the defender's the attack is successful. Unarmed attacks do 1 point damage to the defender's Current Strength. If a character's Current Strength reaches 1, they are unconscious, and cannot do anything until the fight is over or another character uses their action to wake them up. If a character's Current Strength reaches 0, they are usually dead.
To do something that isn't attacking, the character rolls the same way: 1d10 + Current Strength versus 1d10 + Difficulty Level determined by the TWERPSMaster (or "TM"). If the character?s total is GREATER they succeed at their task.
This system is about as far from realistic or crunchy as RPGs can possibly get, so players who are looking for strong simulation systems, lots of rules, cool tables full of neat things, or general "crunch" would be better off playing that other game. I hear it can be pretty neat, but this one isn't that one.
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A character sheet looks like this:
Name:
Strength (ST): / VPs:
Profession:
Equipment (C):
Other Information:
Note that this will be a modern setting. If your character wants to wear green leotards and a feather in a tiny hat, that's fine but they'll probably be laughed at by teenagers. If they want to wear a plastic space suit, that's fine too and little kids will probably think they look pretty cool, but they'll probably be laughed at by teenagers and adults (the LAME adults, anyway). The creation process goes like this:
Name: Pick a name. Just make one up. If you're not creative go to a store and buy one of those books full of baby names that you buy when you're having a baby but don't know what to call it, or are afraid that you'll forget it the way you do all of your internet passwords. Or just name your character your internet password and then you won't forget either of them.
Strength (ST): Roll 1d10 and consult this thingy: 1=3, 2-3=4, 4-7=5, 8-9=6, 10=7. I would prefer if you used the dice rolling feature, but as I've never run a game before, I'm not sure if we can do that here yet. If you have to, just be honest. / Write this number again after the slash. This second number is your Current Strength. While your character's starting Strength rarely changes, with the exception being if they advance a level, their Current Strength can change constantly, though it can never be higher than starting Strength.
VPs: These are Victory Points. They're like Experience Points in other games, but they have a cooler name. Your character starts out with 0 VPs? They'll need more victories if they want to be cooler.
Profession: This is your character's job, or what they're good at but too lazy to do for a living because at some point after they learned all the skills necessary to make a living doing it they realized if they made it their job they'd have to do it for about 8 hours every day, even if the weather was crappy. Here are some examples:
ARTIST: +2 to all art knowledge and skill rolls.
CELEBRITY: Start game with 40C instead of 20C.
DETECTIVE: +2 to all detection and perception rolls.
DRIVER: +2 to all land vehicle actions.
DOCTOR: +2 to all first-aid rolls.
GAMBLER: +2 to all con and gambling rolls.
MECHANIC: +2 to all equipment repair rolls (tools add an additional +1 to all equipment repair rolls).
PILOT: +2 to all air and space vehicle actions.
SAILOR: +2 to all water vehicle actions.
SALESMAN: buy items at 1/2 price, and sell captured items at full price.
SCAVENGER: +2 when scrounging for specific items in environment.
SCHOLAR: +2 to research or library use, -25% starting money
SCIENTIST: +2 to all science-related Difficulty rolls.
SOLDIER: +1 with gun, +1 to Defense
SURVIVALIST: +2 to all survival and tracking rolls.
THIEF: +2 to all thief-related Difficulty rolls.
If there is some sort of job that you absolutely need to have but can?t find it on here, let me know and we?ll figure out what sort of stuff your character is good at doing.
Equipment (C): The character starts out with 20C. C is basically money. It?s like gold pieces or dollars except gold pieces uses a "G" symbol, and dollars use a "$" symbol. "C" probably means "credits", or "cash", or "coins"? I don?t know; money's just called "C" in TWERPS regardless of what campaign you're playing. Anyway, you get 20C to start out, unless you're a CELEBRITY by profession. Then you get 40C in exchange for absolutely no marketable skills. Now you can use the C to buy cool stuff. Here is a list of some different stuff you can buy; if there is something you need that's not on the list, let me know and we'll figure out what it does (don't forget to write down any unused C in the parenthesis; it can still be spent later). Also note that some items are accessible strictly by certain professions. Very few doctors carry riot shields and very few outside the soldier professions would have access to a machine gun. The TM reserves the right to deny any character access to certain items such as these without a VERY valid reason for having one:
ITEM/EFFECT/COST
Arrows (12)/1C
Backpack/Holds as many items as character?s starting Strength/3C
Bicycle/2C
Bow /+1 to hit, 2 points damage, 7 hex range/4C
Bulletproof Vest/+2 Defense/8C
Car/20C+
Chainsaw/-1 to hit, 5 points damage/8C
Computer/5C
Club/+1 to hit, 1 point damage/1C
Crowbar/+1 to hit, 2 points damage/3C
First-aid Kit/4C
Food (meal)/1C
Helicopter/50C
Helmet/+1 Defense/4C
Horse/8C
Knife/2 points damage, 4 hex range/2C
Lighter/1C
Leather Jacket/+1 Defense/2C
Machine Gun/4 points damage, 8 hex range/8C
Motorcycle/15C
Pistol/2 points damage, 5 hex range/4C
Pocket Compass/5C
Rations (1 week)/3C
Rifle /+1 to hit, 3 damage, 10 hex range/6C
Riot Armor/+4 Defense/12C
Riot Shield/+2 defense/4C
Rock/-1 to hit, 1 point damage, 3 hex range/0C
Rope (50')/1C
Shotgun/-1 to hit, 6 points damage, 4 hex range/6C
Skateboard/2C
Tool Kit/6C
Note: IT IS UP TO THE TM'S DISCRETION HOW MUCH STUFF YOU CAN CARRY WITHOUT A BACKPACK OF SOME SORT! IT'S USUALLY ABOUT AS MUCH STUFF AS THEY CAN CARRY IN EACH HAND, WHICH IS ABOUT ONE THING PER HAND! UNLESS YOUR CHARACTER DECIDED TO BUY A TRIDENT, IN WHICH CASE IT'S ABOUT ½ THING PER HAND! THE TM IS THE FINAL WORD ON ENCUMBRANCE!!!
If you think you need to carry a bunch of gear, invest in a backpack or a duffel bag or a shopping cart or whatever. All these items fall under "Backpack" on the equipment list. With a backpack, a character can carry one item per hand and as many items stuffed in their backpack as equal to their starting Strength.
Other Information: This can be anything you feel is important to write down. Maybe a little bit about your character's back story and why they decided to become a hard-boiled, alcoholic, Postal Investigator. Maybe it's your grandmother's Grumbetty Nifflas Soup recipe (I'm not sharing mine; it's a secret. But YOU can if you want to). Basically, this is just for "other information".
That's it; your character is done!
Here's an example character:
Name: Bob Bobcat
Strength (ST): 7 / 7 VPs: 0
Profession: Mechanic +2 to all equipment repair rolls (tools add an additional +1 to all equipment repair rolls)
Equipment (8C): Club - it's a big wrench (+1 to hit/1DAM), Knife (2DAM/4Hex), Leather Jacket (+1Def), Lighter, Tool Kit
Other Information: Bob Bobcat is a retired Navy Mechanic. He didn't ever get to steer the boat, though; he was down in the belly of the boats banging on things with hammers. That made him mad, because he wanted to steer the boat sometimes. He was mad for so long he eventually became an angry drunk. Nowadays he sits around and drinks beer and fixes cars and toasters and other things for people. He also has one of those cool mustaches that attaches to his big sideburns. Ladies really like his sideburn-mustache but when they tell him so he usually growls at them? Not like a bobcat growls; like an angry drunk growls.
Name:
Strength (ST): / VPs:
Profession:
Equipment (C):
Other Information:
Note that this will be a modern setting. If your character wants to wear green leotards and a feather in a tiny hat, that's fine but they'll probably be laughed at by teenagers. If they want to wear a plastic space suit, that's fine too and little kids will probably think they look pretty cool, but they'll probably be laughed at by teenagers and adults (the LAME adults, anyway). The creation process goes like this:
Name: Pick a name. Just make one up. If you're not creative go to a store and buy one of those books full of baby names that you buy when you're having a baby but don't know what to call it, or are afraid that you'll forget it the way you do all of your internet passwords. Or just name your character your internet password and then you won't forget either of them.
Strength (ST): Roll 1d10 and consult this thingy: 1=3, 2-3=4, 4-7=5, 8-9=6, 10=7. I would prefer if you used the dice rolling feature, but as I've never run a game before, I'm not sure if we can do that here yet. If you have to, just be honest. / Write this number again after the slash. This second number is your Current Strength. While your character's starting Strength rarely changes, with the exception being if they advance a level, their Current Strength can change constantly, though it can never be higher than starting Strength.
VPs: These are Victory Points. They're like Experience Points in other games, but they have a cooler name. Your character starts out with 0 VPs? They'll need more victories if they want to be cooler.
Profession: This is your character's job, or what they're good at but too lazy to do for a living because at some point after they learned all the skills necessary to make a living doing it they realized if they made it their job they'd have to do it for about 8 hours every day, even if the weather was crappy. Here are some examples:
ARTIST: +2 to all art knowledge and skill rolls.
CELEBRITY: Start game with 40C instead of 20C.
DETECTIVE: +2 to all detection and perception rolls.
DRIVER: +2 to all land vehicle actions.
DOCTOR: +2 to all first-aid rolls.
GAMBLER: +2 to all con and gambling rolls.
MECHANIC: +2 to all equipment repair rolls (tools add an additional +1 to all equipment repair rolls).
PILOT: +2 to all air and space vehicle actions.
SAILOR: +2 to all water vehicle actions.
SALESMAN: buy items at 1/2 price, and sell captured items at full price.
SCAVENGER: +2 when scrounging for specific items in environment.
SCHOLAR: +2 to research or library use, -25% starting money
SCIENTIST: +2 to all science-related Difficulty rolls.
SOLDIER: +1 with gun, +1 to Defense
SURVIVALIST: +2 to all survival and tracking rolls.
THIEF: +2 to all thief-related Difficulty rolls.
If there is some sort of job that you absolutely need to have but can?t find it on here, let me know and we?ll figure out what sort of stuff your character is good at doing.
Equipment (C): The character starts out with 20C. C is basically money. It?s like gold pieces or dollars except gold pieces uses a "G" symbol, and dollars use a "$" symbol. "C" probably means "credits", or "cash", or "coins"? I don?t know; money's just called "C" in TWERPS regardless of what campaign you're playing. Anyway, you get 20C to start out, unless you're a CELEBRITY by profession. Then you get 40C in exchange for absolutely no marketable skills. Now you can use the C to buy cool stuff. Here is a list of some different stuff you can buy; if there is something you need that's not on the list, let me know and we'll figure out what it does (don't forget to write down any unused C in the parenthesis; it can still be spent later). Also note that some items are accessible strictly by certain professions. Very few doctors carry riot shields and very few outside the soldier professions would have access to a machine gun. The TM reserves the right to deny any character access to certain items such as these without a VERY valid reason for having one:
ITEM/EFFECT/COST
Arrows (12)/1C
Backpack/Holds as many items as character?s starting Strength/3C
Bicycle/2C
Bow /+1 to hit, 2 points damage, 7 hex range/4C
Bulletproof Vest/+2 Defense/8C
Car/20C+
Chainsaw/-1 to hit, 5 points damage/8C
Computer/5C
Club/+1 to hit, 1 point damage/1C
Crowbar/+1 to hit, 2 points damage/3C
First-aid Kit/4C
Food (meal)/1C
Helicopter/50C
Helmet/+1 Defense/4C
Horse/8C
Knife/2 points damage, 4 hex range/2C
Lighter/1C
Leather Jacket/+1 Defense/2C
Machine Gun/4 points damage, 8 hex range/8C
Motorcycle/15C
Pistol/2 points damage, 5 hex range/4C
Pocket Compass/5C
Rations (1 week)/3C
Rifle /+1 to hit, 3 damage, 10 hex range/6C
Riot Armor/+4 Defense/12C
Riot Shield/+2 defense/4C
Rock/-1 to hit, 1 point damage, 3 hex range/0C
Rope (50')/1C
Shotgun/-1 to hit, 6 points damage, 4 hex range/6C
Skateboard/2C
Tool Kit/6C
Note: IT IS UP TO THE TM'S DISCRETION HOW MUCH STUFF YOU CAN CARRY WITHOUT A BACKPACK OF SOME SORT! IT'S USUALLY ABOUT AS MUCH STUFF AS THEY CAN CARRY IN EACH HAND, WHICH IS ABOUT ONE THING PER HAND! UNLESS YOUR CHARACTER DECIDED TO BUY A TRIDENT, IN WHICH CASE IT'S ABOUT ½ THING PER HAND! THE TM IS THE FINAL WORD ON ENCUMBRANCE!!!
If you think you need to carry a bunch of gear, invest in a backpack or a duffel bag or a shopping cart or whatever. All these items fall under "Backpack" on the equipment list. With a backpack, a character can carry one item per hand and as many items stuffed in their backpack as equal to their starting Strength.
Other Information: This can be anything you feel is important to write down. Maybe a little bit about your character's back story and why they decided to become a hard-boiled, alcoholic, Postal Investigator. Maybe it's your grandmother's Grumbetty Nifflas Soup recipe (I'm not sharing mine; it's a secret. But YOU can if you want to). Basically, this is just for "other information".
That's it; your character is done!
Here's an example character:
Name: Bob Bobcat
Strength (ST): 7 / 7 VPs: 0
Profession: Mechanic +2 to all equipment repair rolls (tools add an additional +1 to all equipment repair rolls)
Equipment (8C): Club - it's a big wrench (+1 to hit/1DAM), Knife (2DAM/4Hex), Leather Jacket (+1Def), Lighter, Tool Kit
Other Information: Bob Bobcat is a retired Navy Mechanic. He didn't ever get to steer the boat, though; he was down in the belly of the boats banging on things with hammers. That made him mad, because he wanted to steer the boat sometimes. He was mad for so long he eventually became an angry drunk. Nowadays he sits around and drinks beer and fixes cars and toasters and other things for people. He also has one of those cool mustaches that attaches to his big sideburns. Ladies really like his sideburn-mustache but when they tell him so he usually growls at them? Not like a bobcat growls; like an angry drunk growls.
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