Introduction

Welcome to Proscenium, a Tabletop Role-Playing Game designed to be approachable, inclusive, and extensible.

In this document, terms will be Bolded where they are formally defined, and Italicized otherwise. If you see an Italicized word that you don't recognize yet, fear not! It is likely going to be defined shortly.

Sitting Down to Play

Table

Your Table is your storytelling sanctuary.

At your Table are the Players who control their Characters, and the Director who facilitates the game session and controls non-player characters (NPCs). In other systems, the Director may be known as the "Game Master."

Director

The Director weaves Player actions into a cohesive story.

The Director's job is to run the table and ensure that everyone is having fun and feeling safe to explore and express themselves.

As the Director, you play the role of every non-player character (NPC) in the world, and are responsible for their decisions, actions and rolls.

Players

The Players drive the story forward. They are the central focus of the game as they control their Characters, explore the world, and grow as a party.

As a Player, you have agency to move and act within the fiction of the story. You are an equal participant in the storytelling and are in charge of bringing your character to life with the help of the other Players and your Director.

Players say what they want their Character to do, and the Director will determine how those actions will be resolved. Players can do just about anything you can think of, so long as it makes sense within the context of the current scene.

Scenes

A Scene is the current segment of the story being told at the table. A new Scene begins when the Leading Characters make a decision to move on from a location, or when the Director invokes that time is passing.

Respect the Shared Fiction

Proscenium is designed to facilitate the telling of collaborative stories through it's system. Because of this, some things which other systems may track or monitor are instead managed "In Fiction." This means that the Director and Players should respect the story and its impact on gameplay just as much as the rules and their impacts.

Characters

Characters are the people, animals, entities, and beings whose decisions and actions impact the story.

Non-Player Characters (or, "NPCs") are Characters under the control of the Director. These may be friends, foes, or just some random guy digging a big hole. Rock on, big hole guy.

Leading Characters (or, "Leads") are Characters controlled by the Players. They differ from NPCs in that they have independent autonomy from the Director, as well as having a bit more of a buffer between themselves and certain doom. Just a light bit of plot armor, if you will.

Each Character has a variety of attributes, including their Species, Stats, and Talents.

Species

The Species of a Character determines their physical appearance as well as their starting Abilities, Stats and Talent Prowess.

Stats

Stats are properties of a Character which describe the extent of their ability to adventure.

There are four stats for each Character:

Talents

A Talent is a representation of a Character's Prowess. Talents are used when making Rolls to see how your Character fares in a situation.

Each of your Character's Talents may be Novice (1d20), Adept (2d20), or Master (3d20).

There are six talents:

Dice & Rolling

We're here to roll dice and tell stories based on chaos. Let's talk about the first part. The chaos will come naturally.

Making a Roll

Rolls determine the outcome of complex Character actions in a Scene. Perhaps you are attempting to jump across a large chasm, or trying to haggle on the price of a rare weapon.

In Proscenium, you typically roll one, two, or three 20-sided dice (D20) to determine how your actions play out.

1. Determine the Talent

Determine which Talent you will roll with. If you are attacking with a weapon or using a Skill, the Equipment or Skill may specify which Talent to use. Otherwise, consult with the Director to agree on which Talent best fits the scenario.

2. Collect Your Dice

Your Prowess in the chosen Talent informs how many 20-sided dice (D20) to roll.

3. Note the Challenge

The Director will tell you what the Challenge of the roll is.

If your Prowess does not match or exceed the Challenge of a roll, you will incur a negative side effect even when succeeding your roll.

4. Make the Roll

Roll the dice! Note the highest single number from all of the dice you roll. For example, if you rolled three dice resulting in 6, 17, and 11, you would use the 17 as your roll.

If you meet or exceed the minimum successful roll for the Challenge level, your roll is a Success and you accomplish your task. Otherwise, it is a Mishap, and things go awry!

Additionally, if your Prowess was less than the Challenge of the roll, you incur an additional Complication from the Director, regardless of success. It's best to focus on your strong suits, but sometimes reaching for a harder challenge may be worth it despite the risks!

Skills and Equipment may specify unique effects that occur on Successes or Mishaps.

Fate Roll

A Fate Roll occurs when a scenario does not call for any Talent, or is completely outside the control of any Player. Fate Rolls are a single D20 and must roll at least an 11 to succeed unless otherwise specified by a piece of Equipment, a Skill, or a game rule.

Contest Roll

A Contest Roll is when two characters in a scene roll for the same Talent and compare results. Whoever's outcome is higher is the winner of the Contest Roll.

In the event that the results are equal, roll again until a victor is determined.

Consider a Twist

The Director may choose to Propose a Twist to a Player who is about to make a roll.

A Twist is an offer to reduce the Challenge of a roll in exchange for adding an additional Complication. If a Player a proposed Twist for a roll that would already create one Complication, the Twist can still add a second Complication.

Players do not need to take the offered Twist, and the Director chooses when a Twist is possible.

Methods & Skills

Methods

Methods are collections of Skills which you may unlock to enhance and customize your character. Any character may unlock Skills from any Method, provided you have the available Experience Points and meet any prerequisites.

You may choose to unlock Skills from Methods whenever you find Respite.

The Skill becomes immediately available after your Respite concludes.

Method Ranks

Methods contain groups of Skills called Ranks. Skills may only be unlocked if they are in the first Rank, or if you have unlocked at least one Skill from the previous Rank.

For example, if a Method has a Rank 4 Skill you would like to unlock, you must first unlock a Rank 1, Rank 2, and Rank 3 Skill from that Method.

You do not need to unlock every Skill in each Rank before moving to the next Rank.

Types of Skills

There are three types of Skills in Proscenium:

Props, Equipment & Economy

Equipment in Proscenium are pieces of gear you can wield or use. They are found during your adventure hidden as treasure, on the shelf at a shop, or packed away in the caravan of a traveling merchant.

The Minutia is a Given

Proscenium does not have a mechanism for tracking things which would be considered basic adventuring gear, food, or drink. Instead, these are to be handled "in fiction," letting the story drive the circumstances.

For example, if our Leading Characters are lost in an expansive desert for days on end, it would not make sense for them to have an unlimited supply of food and water. But if the party just left town, it's safe to assume they grabbed some food on the way out.

Reach for a Prop

Sometimes, the Leads will need a simple item like rope, a small knife, or a candle. These are called Props, and are handled separately from Equipment.

Once per Scene, a Player may assert that they have a given Prop with them. The prop must make sense in-fiction, and the Player should describe how they came to have this Prop, if not previously determined to be in their possession.

Props do not take up Inventory space, and if lost or broken, the Player may not reach for that Prop again until either an in-fiction moment allows it, or until the next Respite.

Leverage Equipment

Your Inventory is the list of Equipment in your possession. Each Character may hold up to 10 pieces of Equipment in their Inventory. Wielding Equipment does not remove it from your Inventory. Be thoughtful about which items to pack with you for an adventure!

Any Equipment can be Wielded to leverage its effects or use it as a weapon. Weapons list their Damage Rating and Talent Affinity which determine how much damage the weapon deals when attacking, and which Talent to use when making Attack Rolls respectively.

Wielding Equipment that does not list a damage rating or talent affinity provides no attack bonuses.

You may wield as many pieces of Equipment as you have available hands. Some Equipment may require two hands to wield.

Not all items need to be Wielded, and some items can even grant bonuses for simply having them in your inventory.

Rarity

Equipment has Rarity, denoting how prized the item itself is.

Barter & Trade

Proscenium does not use precise currencies and prices in its economy. Instead, most trading is done through directly bartering with Equipment in your Inventory, or through the use of Scales.

Scales are a representation of wealth, with 1 Scale being worth a significant sum. It is rare to hold more than a few Scales at a time.

Gear, food, lodging, and other common transactions are handled in-fiction, rather than tracking each exchange. It is assumed that the Leads are able to afford basic adventuring needs.

Examples of what a single Scale can fetch you:

• A Rare piece of Equipment
• Luxury lodging in the heart of a city
• A week of a mercenary's time

Equipment Customization

Equipment in Proscenium can be modified by both Players and the Director using Tweaks and Tempers.

A Tweak is a neutral or aiding effect added to Equipment. The effect can be anything, such as causing your weapon to be completely silent when you use it, or tweaking some fireworks to make the explosion twice as big. Tweaks cannot change Equipment's Damage Rating or Affinity.

A Temper is a secondary neutral or detracting effect added to Equipment. Tempers are used to counter-balance Tweaks, following the same set of rules. Perhaps your sword was tweaked to be far lighter than usual. A fitting Temper would be that it may shatter if you roll poorly when attacking.

Obtaining Tweaks and Tempers

To obtain modifications to Equipment, a Player must leverage the help of a skilled NPC or another Player with a relevant Skill capable of modifying items.

Typically, it is quite expensive to modify Equipment. It is rare for a skilled craftsman to offer their services for less than the value of a Rare item (or a Scale) as compensation.

Maintaining the Balance

For every Tweak applied to a piece of Equipment, a Temper should also be applied.

When creating Tweaks and Tempers, the Player who owns the Equipment should choose either the Tweak or Temper, while the Director chooses the other. Both should agree on what is fair with the goal of adding a helpful twist to the item at the cost of universal utility.

Combat & Stage Play

Upon entering combat or a complex scenario, gameplay becomes turn based as we enter Stage Play.

While in Stage Play, each involved party takes a turn as a group. The active party is In Action, while all other parties are On Cue.

When your group is In Action, your party may perform their Actions in any order. You do not need to use all of your actions before the end of your turn.

While a group is On Cue, their Cue Skills can still be triggered.

The Director determines the turn order for all parties based on the scenario. For example, if the Players are ambushed, the aggressors would have the first move.

In Action

When your group is In Action, your Character may perform up to 2 Actions from the list below:

• Move, changing Distance to a target. If you were Nearby a target, you can close the distance to be in Melee range, or the other way around.
• Make a Basic Attack with your currently equipped weapon(s)
• Use a Skill, invoking an Action or Cue from your list of learned Skills
• Use Equipment, leveraging the aid of Equipment from your inventory
• Change Equipment, switching to a new Wielded piece of Equipment. You may equip one piece of Equipment per Action.
• Interact with the world, such as opening a door, picking a lock, or snuffing out a torch

On Cue

While your group is On Cue, your Cues are active and may be triggered by anything in the ongoing scene.

You may only invoke one Cue per round until your next turn In Action.

Damage

Skills and Equipment may deal Physical or Arcane damage. Their Damage Rating describes the amount and type of damage you will deal upon a Successful attack.

Physical Damage is dealt when the material body of the target. Slashing with a sword, blowing up with a fireball, or striking with lightning are all examples of Physical Damage. Physical Damage is the most common form of damage, as well as the easier form of damage to mitigate.

Arcane Damage is dealt when the Skill or Equipment affects the metaphysical strength of a target. Psychic attacks, dimensional alterations, and unnatural expressions of magic are examples of Arcane Damage. Arcane Damage is harder to mitigate, but is not always as effective as Physical Damage.

Defense Challenge

A Character's Defense Challenge refers to how hard it is to damage them, marking what the Challenge an attack roll against them would be.

Without Equipment or Skills, a Character has a default Defense Challenge of Novice.

Dropped

If you sustain enough Damage that it meets or surpasses your Health Points, you will become Dropped.

While Dropped, you are at death's door. You will remain Dropped until the end of the Scene or the next moment in-fiction where your Character can awaken. If you receive any form of healing while Dropped, you pop back up.

Each time you are Dropped or take damage while Dropped, make a Fate roll. If the result is less than the amount of Baggage your Character carries, you will perish.

Baggage

Baggage refers to a list of permanent traumas, ailments, conditions, and complications which your Character may accrue during gameplay.

Whenever your character is Dropped or otherwise severely impacted by mental or physical trauma, gain an additional piece of Baggage. The details of the Baggage and the impacts it has on your Character can be determined between you and the Director the next time the party finds Respite, unless the effect is immediately obvious or required for fiction, such as losing a body part.

Baggage may have direct mechanical effects such as hindering roll outcomes, or may be permanent personality or physical traits that come into play in fiction.

Examples of Baggage

Distance

Distance is categorized into the following groups based on the relative space between entities.

Rest & Recovery

Rest

You may choose to Rest on your journey in a safe location. Resting takes 1 hour and costs each Character 1 Exhaustion Point. If you do not have any available EP, your character does not benefit from a Rest.

Upon completing a Rest, remove up to 5 points of accrued Damage and regain all of your Skill Points.

Some Skills may provide additional effects which occur on Rest.

Respite

When you are able to find a secure location to rest for at least a full day, you have found Respite.

This must be a scenario in which your character does not need to be "on" for a full day.

At the end of the respite, you remove all accrued Damage and restore all Skill Points and Exhaustion Points.

Respite can be as short as 24 hours, or as long as it takes. Adventuring is a full time job, but sometimes vacations are necessary. Explore other aspects of your Character's life during Respite to deepen your connection.

Glossary

A

• Adept: The middle level of Prowess in a Talent
• Affinity: Determines which Talent is associated with a piece of Equipment, usually what you will roll to attack with it

B

• Baggage: A permanent detrimental trait for a Character acquired when being Dropped
• Basic Attack: Making a simple attack unarmed or with a weapon

C

• Character: An in-fiction entity controlled by a Player
• Charm: A Talent used for mingling and interpersonal skills
• Common: The lowest Equipment Rarity
• Complication: A wrinkle in the story which occurs when attempting a Roll whose Challenge is higher than your Prowess
• Cunning: A Talent used for quick thinking and deft hands

D

• Damage: A number representing how much a Character been hurt
• Director: Responsible for weaving Player actions into a cohesive story. Sometimes referred to as the "Game Master" in other systems
• Dropped: Refers to a Character sustaining enough Damage to fall unconscious

E

• Equipment: Gear in your Inventory which can be used or equipped
• Exhaustion Points: A Character Stat which determines how hard you can push yourself during adventure
• Experience Points: A Character Stat used to unlock new Abilities

F

• Fate Roll: A basic D20 Roll to determine outcomes outside of the influence of Players and their Characters
• Focus: A Talent used for observation and precision

H

• Health Points: A Character Stat which determines how much Damage can be sustained before becoming Dropped

I

• Inventory: The list of Equipment a Character owns

K

• Knowledge: A Talent used for recollection and comprehension

L

• Legendary: The highest Equipment Rarity

M

• Master: The highest level of Prowess in a Talent
• Method: A collection of Skills a Character can unlock
• Mishap: A failed Roll outcome
• Muscle: A Talent used for feats of strength and resilience

N

• Novice: The lowest level of Prowess in a Talent

P

• Player: Responsible for playing a Character in the story
• Prop: Small items which do not need to be tracked in your Inventory
• Prowess: How good a Character is at a Talent. Determines how many dice to roll when rolling for that Talent.

R

• Rare: The second highest Equipment Rarity
• Rarity: Measurement of how unique or coveted a piece of Equipment is
• Respite: A fully restorative break lasting at least 24 hours
• Rest: A quick break to restore some energy while out adventuring

S

• Scale: An abstract unit of currency equivalent to a large sum of money
• Scene: A segment of the storytelling at the Table
• Skill: An unlockable upgrade for a Character
• Skill Points: A Character Stat which determines how many Skills can be used before needing to Rest
• Snag: A Roll Outcome representing a mixed outcome. You succeed at your task alongside a Bane.
• Spark: A Talent used for connection to the arcane or otherworldly power
• Species: Generally refers to a selectable species as the base for a playable Character. Sometimes referred to as "race" in other systems
• Stage Play: Proscenium's approach to turn-based gameplay
• Stat: A numeric attribute of a Character defining various traits of the Character
• Success: A successful roll outcome

T

• Talent: One of six measurements of a Character's general skillset

U

• Uncommon: The second lowest Equipment Rarity