RAW SIX

THE SIMPLEST OF D6 SYSTEMS

VERSION 1.2 (AUGUST 2021)

Draft 1.2 (August 2021)

WRITTEN BY MARCUS D. BONE

Raw Six is a member of the OpenD6 family, specifically following the Open D6 OGL and owes much to the Mini Six game published by AntiPaladin Games

Version change notes

Version 1.0 - DEC 2020

Initial release developed for running Summerland at a local convention.

Version 1.1 - FEB 2021

Removed reference to D6 Legend and other various hangovers from the copy & paste out of Simple Six.
Added a Table of Contents page and an introduction as to why this set of mechanics exists.
Reworded dice rolling formula based on feedback from Michael W.
Provided some examples of Attribute Tags and how they are used.
Added Exceptional Success rules.
Added some Non-Combat action options.
Added detail to Recovering Stress
Added in NPC Wounds and example.

Version 1.2 - AUGUST 2021

Fixed up various typos and grammatical errors.
Added an Example of Play and Example of Conflict
Added Example Tags
Added Example Perks and Complications
Added rules for gaining benefits of playing character over multiple scenarios
Added a section for Powers and special Abilities.
Added a short section on how or when Tags can be invoked.
Added a sixth Attribute (Charm) to separate charisma from willpower type abilities.
Added rules for Mental Toughness and defence, allowing to account for horror or psychological effects.
Added the sample setting of Jericho.

The Basics

Raw Six is an experiment to create a light, very simple implementation of the Open D6 game system. It is designed to "get out of the way" of play at the table and allow the narrative story to continue without interruption.

Conventions

Raw Six uses only regular six-sided dice, with each player needing about 5 or 6 with one of a different colour or size to represent the "Wild Die".
For ease of management, Raw Six use the following convention when noting numbers - XD+Y. Where X represents how many dice (D) are rolled, and Y notes if anything additional (pips) should be added to the total rolled on the dice.

For instance, 3D+2 means that three dice are rolled and added together, and then two more is added to that total.
The Wild Die "explodes" when a 6 rolled. Not only does this add 6 to the total but it can be rolled and added again. A Wild Die continues to explode until no further 6s are rolled!

Rolling dice

The following process outlines the basic mechanics of all dice rolling in Raw Six.

Completing a task

Determine Difficulty: The Game Master picks which attribute the activity falls under and its Difficulty. To succeed the player must roll a total equal or higher than the target number.
- This target number can either be a set number (as noted in the Target Difficulties section) or a number noted on an opponent's character sheet (such as their defence or resistance to wounds).
Build a Dice Pool: A dice pool is made up of a number of dice equal to the appropriate Attributes plus:
- An additional die for each applicable Tag the character has.
- An additional for each point of Stress the play which to gain.
- Any bonuses from Equipment.
- An additional die for each other character supporting the task attempt.
Identify the Wild Die: One of the dice in the pool is assigned the "Wild Die" (and is usually a different colour from the rest for ease of identification).
Roll the Dice: The Dice Pool is rolled, and the total of all dice are added together (remembering the Wild Die explodes).
Determine Success: Compare the total rolled versus the Target Number. If this total equal or exceed the Target Number, then the task is a success. If not, the Task is a failure.

Task difficulties

As noted above the total needed to succeed on a roll is set as a Difficulty. In most circumstances this is a set number (as noted in the table below), although for some tasks this can be based on a characters (or non-player character's) Defences.

Difficulty	Target Number
Simple	7
Average	9
Hard	11
Very Hard	13
Formidable	15

Example of Raw Six tasks mechanics

The following is an example of how the core dice rolling mechanics works when attempting tasks in Raw Six:

Jon's character Heldaw needs to attempt to climb a wall to sneak into a bandit's castle. The Game Master determines that this is a Hard task to complete, which requires that Jon rolls 11 or more on his Task roll and will utilise Physique as the Attribute (in which Heldaw has 2D+2).

To build his Dice Pool, Jon, grabs 2D (his Physique attribute dice) and puts to the GM that Heldaw should add a die for his Tag "Tough". The GM disagrees however, and so instead Heldaw burns a Stress point (representing him putting extra kevels of concentration and effort into the task) to gain an extra die, giving him a total of 3D+2.

Jon then decides that his red die (the others are green) will be his Wild Die and rolls all the dice together. This results in the numbers, 1, 2 and 6 (on the Wild Die) coming up. Adding these three together and adding the plus two, Jon can see he has the 11 required (1+2+6+2) to succeed in the task.

However, for fun, as the Wild Die came up a 6, Jon rolls it again getting a 5. This means that Jon rolled a final total of 16, much more than was needed. As a result, with barely a grunt, Heldaw scales the walls of the keep, and is soon in the confines of the fort…

Creating character

Every player has a character. All characters are defined with the four aspects: Attributes, Tags, Perks and Complications. To differentiate the Player Characters from the individuals and opponents they will encounter in play, they also have Fate Points and a Stress Pool.

To create a character the player should complete the following steps.

Distribute 15D between their six Attributes.
For each Attribute select a number of Tags.
Select a character Perk
Determine a character's Complications.
Note the character's Defences, Stress Threshold and Fate.
Select any equipment.

Attributes

Each Character has five attributes which measure the basic physical and mental abilities that are common to every creature. Characters distribute 15 Attribute Dice among these attributes. These are normally rated on a scale of 1D to 4D, although some factors may change this range.

Physique represents physical strength and toughness.
Co-ordination represents aim and manual dexterity
Agility represents speed and responsiveness.
Wit represents mental creativity and intelligence.
Charm represents charisma, presence and natural leadership ability.
Will represents mental resolve, and mental fortitude.

Attribute dice may be split into "pips", with each die is equal to three pips. An Attribute may have dice only (no bonus pips), +1 or +2. Going to "+3" advances the die code to the next largest die (you get +1D instead of +3 pips).

Perks & complications

Perks are benefits innate to the character. This could represent their race in the setting, special skill, or talent. Each character has 1 free Perk to select. Perks should bend the core mechanics without breaking them (i.e. might provide the character with an additional Fate Point, or allow them to act as if one of their Static Defences is one D higher, etc.)

Complications represent the hindrances or difficulties in the character's life. A character may choose up to 2 Complications during character creation, these represent limitations or restrictions on the character and are used as a roleplaying aid. When a character acts based on their complication or are compelled to by the Game Master, they receive a temporary Fate Point.

Example perks

The following provides some generic Perks players might want to assign to their characters. Often a setting will provide a selection of Perks used to reflect the style of game play in that world.

Bag of Junk: Over the months you've collected a variety of odds and ends in a carryall. For the cost of one (1) Fate you can find something important within.
Martial Artist: You have trained as a martial artist and known how to defend yourself. Gain +1D for melee damage and +3 Block.
Combat Reflexes: You are always alert and ready for action. You don't need to roll for Initiative in the first round of any conflict; you always go first. In subsequent rounds you gain +1D to Wits when rolling for Initiative.
Lucky: To date you've led a charmed life, although you never know how long this is going to last. You start each game session with one (1) more Fate.

Example complications

Similarly, below is listed a number of sample complications players can use as examples to create their own.

Age: You are either every young or elderly and as such many people often ignore you. If you decide that this contributes to a scene, regain one (1) Fate.
Sense of Honour: Despite your desire to not get involved in other people's problems, you often struggle to look away in the face of injustice. If you decide that this contributes to a scene, regain one (1) Fate.
Weak Willed: For whatever reason you find yourself falling in line with others even when you know you should make up your own mind! If you decide that this contributes to a scene, regain one (1) Fate.
Kleptomaniac: You don't know why, but "things" of all sorts seem attracted to you. Of course taking other people's things without asking often gets you in hot water. If you decide that this contributes to a scene, regain one (1) Fate.

Static defences

Each character has three static defence numbers:

Block represents the character's ability to defend themselves in melee. This is calculated by multiplying their Co-ordination by 2 and adding any pips.
Dodge represents their ability to avoid ranged or melee attacks. This is calculated by multiplying their Agility D by 3 and adding any pips.
Toughness represents how resilient they are to wounds. This is calculated by multiplying their Physique by 3 and adding any pips.
Mental Fortitude represents how resistant the character is to otherworldly or psychological effects. This is calculated by multiplying their Will by 3 and adding any pips.

Stress threshold

Stress represents mental damage taken by the character either through encounters or their actions. The character's Stress Threshold is equal to their Will plus Physique dice (ignoring any pips) expressed as a number.

Additionally, Stress can be gained to allocate additional dice (at a rate of 1D per point of Stress) when attempting a Task. Note that characters taking enough Stress to reach their Stress Threshold may be seriously impaired.

Fate points

Each character starts each game session with 3 Fate Points. These are used to represent the special nature of player characters. Fate points can be used to:

Reroll any number of dice non-Wild Dice in a task
Remove one (1) level of Wounds immediately after it is taken
Remove three (3) stress points after a short rest.

Fate can be gained by:

Invoking a Complication
As the result of good roleplaying

Equipment & gear

Equipment comes in a number of forms. In general, it either:

Allows a character to undertake an action (i.e. lock picks to unlock a door). In this case, the task could not be attempted if the gear wasn't available.
Provides a benefit to the character in their task (i.e. undertaking an operation in a well-equipped surgery). Generally, this will provide an additional Die (or 2) to the character when they attempt the task at hand.
Provides specific statistics or mechanics that detail a particular rule in the game. For example, weapons are used to define damage and effects of hitting with a weapon, while armour increases a character's Toughness.

Weapons & armour

All weapons and armour have a number of details and statistics that that used to determine how they function and how effective they are (see Sample weapons & armour).

The following table summarises how these specific rules for weapons and armour is utilised.

Statistic	Description
Damage	This is the number of Base Damage dice rolled on a successful hit to calculate the weapons effect.
Penetration (Pen)	The effectiveness of the weapon against armour. The target's Armour Rating (AV) - if they are wearing any - is reduced by this number when successfully hit.
Range	Range in Yards before the Range modifier is applied. A weapon can effectively fire 4 times this range, but for each range step the Range modifier is applied.
Armour Rating (AV)	The effectiveness of the armour. This isadded to the characters base Toughness.
Era	A note on what period the weapon or armour comes from. All armour has its armour rating (AV) halved (round down) vs weapons from a later era (i.e. verse a pistol Plate is AV 1).
Notes	Any additional information or special rules for the weapon or armour.

Playing a character again

Although Raw Six was designed for one-off play, characters might find their adventures continued at some later date. While there is no experience system, characters successfully completing a quest or mission, or simply surviving a scenario relatively intact may choose one of the following rewards:

Gain a New Tag: This Tag should reflect the experience the character gained on their adventure.
Gain +1 Pip to any Attribute: Characters get stronger, faster and wiser as time passes. As with Pips allocated during character generation going to "+3" Pips advances the die code to the next largest die.

Sample weapons & armour

Melee weapons

Weapon	Damage	Pen	Notes
Axe	Physique+3D	1	-
Club	Physique+2D	0	-
Blackjack	Physique	0	Doing any damage will knockout a surprised character
Knife/Knuckle Dusters	Physique+1D	0	-
Sword	Physique+3D	2	-
Two Handed Sword	Physique+5D	2	Strikes last in combat
Warhammer	Physique+3D	0/3	Pen is 0 for any non-metal armour/3 for metal armour
Spear	Physique+3D	1	Strikes first in Melee combat, +2D damage vs Mounted
Plasma Blade	Physique+3D	4	This weapon is from the Future Era

Ranged weapons

Weapon	Damage	Pen	Range	Notes
Blunt Object	4D	0	Short	Covers any improvised throwing weapon
Knife	5D	0	Short	-
Bow	6D	2	Long	-
Crossbow	8D	3	Long	-
Light Pistol	4D	2	Medium	-
Heavy Pistol	5D	3	Medium	-
Hunting Rifle	5D	4	Extreme	Aiming bonus doubled
Assault Rifle	6D	3	Long	-
Shotgun	8D/5D	0	Short	Slug rounds do 8D, With Shot rounds (5D) additional free attacks can be made on other nearby targets
Laser Pistol	5D	4	Long	-
Laser Rifle	7D	4	Extreme	-

Armour & protection

Type	AV	Era	Notes
Leather	1	Archaic	-
Chain	2	Archaic	-
Plate	3	Archaic	-
Stab Vest	2	Modern	-
Ballistic Vest	3	Modern	Reduce Weapon Pen by 1
Body Armour	5	Modern	Reduce Weapon Pen by 2
Space Suit	4	Future	-
Combat Survival Suit	5	Future	Reduce Weapon Pen by 1
Exo-Suit	6	Future	Reduce Weapon Pen by 2

Powers & Abilities

In various settings characters can display powers of one sort of another. These might represent arcane magic, superpowers or even special one-off abilities provided by a Perk or to a specific species within the game world.

How characters gain access to powers depends on the setting and style of game being played but will usually require the acquisition of a specific Perk.

Stress Points

To manifest powers or abilities characters Raw Six use Stress. This represents everything from the effort to memorised arcane magic, the raw willpower to manipulate reality through to energy needed to invest a device to activate it.

In some setting characters might have access to pools additional Stress points or ways of generating Stress points specifically for manifesting powers.

Activating the power

In most cases, it costs 1 Stress to trigger an ability, and will usually require the Task roll to successfully achieve its effects. Some powers can be enhanced or extended for the cost of extra Stress.

Regaining stress used for powers

As with the expenditure of Stress in all other cases (taking stress or getting wounded, etc) recovery of Stress used for powers is at the discretion of the Game Master, but usually regenerate after a refreshing rest is completed. This might represent the character getting an hour's sleep, or reflect a sorcerer spending his time memorising his spell book.

Aquiring powers

Again the list of powers or abilities a character might have depends greatly on the setting in which they are playing. A Wizard or Cleric might have access to a number of "spells", while a future-world might only have one or two.

Using a power or ability

An ability is usually requires a Task roll based on the powers' Controlling Attribute to be activated.

"Always on" abilities

Some abilities may be deemed to be "always on" (such as a superhero with the ability to fly for example). For each "always on" a character has their Stress Point pool is permanently reduced by 1.

For example, Thomas' Post-Apocalypse Mutant character has 4 Stress Points (equal to his Will plus Physique), and as one of his powers decides to take the Telepathy ability. As this ability is deemed to be "always on" it costs 1 permanent Stress Point, which reduces his Stress Point Pool for his other abilities.

Example power task modifiers

These may be modified by various situational circumstances or events.

Situation	Modifier	Description
No Pressure Situation	+1D	Activating a power when there is no time or situation pressures.
Focus Activation	+2D per Stress Point	Some powers can be enhanced to ensure they succeed.
Wounds	As per the Injuries chart	Injuries may impair a character's competency to use an ability correctly.
Targeting an Ability	-1D per ally	Targeting an ability into melee is difficult, especially when allies might be affected by an ability's outcome.

Example powers

Below is a list of powers that can be used as example of how such abilities manifest mechanically.

Strike

This is a blast of energy that strikes out at target close to the "caster".

Base Cost: 1 Stress
Range: One target in Melee
Task Roll: Controlling Attribute
Target Number: Target's Block Defence
Effect: Causes damage equal to the casters Will Atrribute+2D.
Enhancements: For each additional Stress spent chose two additional effects:
- Target an additional enemy in melee range.
- Add +1D to the damage effect (for one target)
- Move the target away from the caster.

Shield

The caster creates a barrier to protect them or their allies.

Base Cost: 1 Stress.
Range: One Ally within Touch range
Task Roll: None required
Target Number: None Required
Effect: The target's Block Defence is increased by 2 until dusk or dawn.
Enhancements: For each additional Stress spent chose two additional effects:
- Extend the effect to additional Ally
- Increase the Block Defence bonus (for one target) by 1.

Fly

Base Cost: 1 Stress
Range: One Ally within Touch range
Task Roll: None required
Target Number: None Required
Effect: The target can fly at the speed of a run or 1 hour.
Enhancements: For each additional Stress spent the caster can extend the effect to 2 additional Allies.

Healing touch

Base Cost: 2 Stress
Range: One Ally within Touch range
Task Roll: None
Target Number: None Required
Effect: The target immediately heals one level of wounds.
Enhancements: None

Mechanics

The following expands on the base process detailed in the Completing a Task.

Modifiers

There are various circumstances that may modify the number of dice a character or Non-Player Character might roll.

Scaling

To reflect a difference in size, when targeting:

larger targets, the attacker adds +1D to their Attribute for each scale size difference.
smaller targets, the defender may add +1 to their Dodge Static Statistic for each scale size difference.

Ranges

Range in Raw Six is generally abstract with an object or target said to be at one of the five ranges steps from the character (Melee, Short, Medium, Long, Extreme).

Melee weapons can only be used in Melee range step.
Range weapons can fire at any range but incur a -1D modifier for each range step beyond that listed on the weapon.

Situational modifiers

The following modifiers reflect an increase or decrease in the character's chance of success in a task.

Type	Modifier
Ganging-up	+1D for each ally currently attacking an nemy in melee
Aiming	+2D per action spent aiming at a target
Wounded	See Wounding a Target.
Cover	-1D to -5D depending on the type and impact of cover.
Called Shot	-1D to -5D depending on the size of the target.
Unsuspecting Target	+3D to strike at a target not suspecting an attack.

Critical failures

Critical failures occur when, in a task roll, more than half the dice in the Dice Pool roll a "1". I.e. if 2 or 3 dice are in the Dice Pool, 2 roll "1s". When 4 are in the Dice pool 3 must roll 1s.

If a critical failure occurs the worst possible outcome of the task is applied.

Exceptional Success

If the total rolled ever exceeds the Target number of the task by 10 or more, an exceptional success occurs.

In this event, the player may immediately select one of the following bonuses:

Recover 1 point of Stress
Add 1D to the damage of the weapon used in the task roll.
Move to the top of the Initiative order in the next round.
Gain some non-mechanic bonus at the Game Master's discretion.

Invoking tags

Tags are how Raw Six represents an individual's skills, talents, and worldly experience. Tags can be invoked any time a Task is attempted and, if appropriate, multiple Tags can be used in a Dice Pool.

Each Tag adds 1D the character's Dice Pool, with the Game Master as the final arbiter on when Tag can be invoked.

Resolving conflict

In a conflict situation, the action is played out over a number of rounds. These rounds continue until the conflict is resolved.

Order of conflict

Each Round the following steps are completed.

Determine initiative: Each character rolls their Initiative for the round.
Declare: In reverse order (from lowest to highest initiative), each character declares their actions for the round.
Act: In the order of Initiative, the character act out their actions.
Recover: As required, the players and Game Master complete any "house-keeping" of statistics, effects, or other mechanics.

Initiative

At the beginning of each Round of combat, the combatants determine the order by rolling their Wit Dice and totalling the number rolled. In the case that to characters tie in Initiative, a D6 should be rolled to determine who goes first.

Once the initiative order is determined each round of the conflict is divided into three phases.

Actions

There isn't any set timeframe or limit to what a character can do in a Round. The Game Master remains the final arbiter of any actions. Some specific actions are detailed below.

Non-combat actions

Conflict isn't only about shoot and hitting each other, and characters may want to do one of the following instead of attacking.

Assist: The character spends their action helping their fellows by pointing out enemies and weak spots or assisting with reloading weapons, etc. Each assisting character provides a +1D to all allies" dice pools until they next act.
Assess: Spending an action looking down a scope at an enemy (as per the Situational Modifier: Aiming) or sizing up an opponent provide +2D on the next action against the target.
Full Defence: Doing nothing else but actively dodging as an action they gain +10 to their Dodge until their next action.

Melee Combat

The action of striking at an opponent with a hand or close combat weapon.

The attacking character selects a target that is within Melee range.
The attacking character makes a Physique task roll versus using the defending character's Block Defence or Dodge Defence as the Target Number (the defender may choose which to use).
If the roll equals or exceed the selected defence, then the defender is hit (see Wounding a Target).
If defender opted to Dodge and the roll is less than that defence then the attack misses.
If defender opted to Block and the roll is less than that defence then the attack misses, and the defender gets a free melee attack back versus the attacker's Block defence.

Ranged Combat

The action of shooting or throwing a weapon.

The attacking character selects a target and checks its range.
The attacking character makes a Co-ordination task roll using the defending character's Dodge Defence as the Target Number.
If the roll equals or exceed their Dodge, then the defender is hit (see Wounding a Target).

Wounding a target

When him the attacker must determine the extent to the injury.

The attacking character rolls the damage for the weapon they have successful hit with. For ranged weapon, this is a set number of D, while for melee weapons this is equal to the character's Physique attribute plus additional D.
Compare the total rolled for damage versus the defenders' Toughness and consult the injuries table.

Injuries table

This table details the effects of injuries. If a character takes the same injury twice, the effect moves up one level of effect.

Difference	Effects
0 or less	No effect, the target is unharmed
1-3	Stunned: Either take 1 Stress Point or -1D on the next action the character attempts.
4-8	Wounded: -1D to all actions until healed. If a second wound is taken the character becomes Severely Wounded: -2D on all actions until healed.
9-12	Critically Wounded: The character barely remains in the fight. -2D on all actions until healed, but every turn the character must make a Simple Physique test or become incapacitated.
13-15	Mortally Wounded: The force of the attack renders the character unconscious and near death. The character make a Simple Physique test each turn or die.
16+	Dead: The character has perished. The Game Master may allow a First Aid roll to save the character.

Taking stress

A character accumulating enough Stress to reach their Stress Threshold, they are immediately rendered unconscious (unless the event pushing them over the Threshold states differently.

Characters can take Stress voluntarily or as the result of an event or encounter. This includes:

To add addition dice when attempting a Task.
As the result of Wounds (i.e. when a Stun or special effect impacts the character), or
When affected by a psychological effect as the result of fear, chemicals, or encountering otherworldly horrors.

Resisting psychological effects

Character use their Mental Fortitude to resist the effects of any psychological attack. Each effect, monster or event will utilise specific Attributes to roll against this defence.

Additionally any attack rolling higher than the character's Mental Fortitude will inflicts Wounds, Stress or other effects as individually noted.

Reaching your stress threshold

If a character takes enough stress to reach their Stress Threshold, they are immediately render incapacitated and take one level of injury.

Healing

As time passes, character heal from their wounds and recover from Stress.

First aid

Characters can attempt to immediately heal a character one level of injury. This is done as Wit task with the following difficulty.

Injury Target	Number
Wounded	7
Severely Wounded	9
Critically Wounded	11
Mortally Wounded	13
Dead	15

Only one level of injury can be healed by First Aid each day.

Naturally healing wounds

If a wounded character rests he is allowed a Physique test and if successful heals an injury level. The frequency of the check depends on the severity of the character's wounds.

Injury	Frequency	Target Number
Wounded	1 Day	7
Severely Wounded	3 Days	7
Critically Wounded	1 Week	9
Mortally Wounded	3 Weeks	11

Recovering stress

Stress can be recovered in a number of ways:

As an option as the result of an Exceptional success.
As a reward for an outstanding action or milestone situation.
After a full and restful night's sleep (or similar) period of recovery.

The amount of Stress recovered depends on the circumstance of the rest and can range rom one to three points.

Example of conflict

The following is an example of how a round of conflict can occur in Raw Six:

Jon's character Heldaw has snuck into an enemy castle and is making his way to the bandit chief's sleeping quarters. Turning a corner he runs straight into one very awake guard, who drawing his blade, challenges the intruder. Never one to parley when a good fight is in the offing, Jon states that Heldaw attacks the guardsman!

As it is the beginning of a round, both sides roll their Initiative rolls. The Guard has 2D+1 for his Wits, while Heldaw has 3D. Unfortunately for Jon he rolls only 6 on his dice, while the Game Master rolls 11.

The players then declare their character's actions, and given that Jon lost this rounds initiative, he must declare first. Thinking on it for a moment, he states that Heldaw will attempt to strike the guard down, while the Game Master says that his guard will also attack the intruder. As these actions resolve themselves in a pretty straight forward manner, the Game Master and Jon agree just to move into the Act phase of the ound.

The Guard attacks first and determines their dice pool to be 3D+1 (the NPCs Physique dice of 2D+1 and adding +1D for the Guardsman Tag). The Game Master rolls the dice and gets a total of 15. As Heldaw's Dodge Defence is only 11, the adventurer is hit

Non-player character

For the most part Non-Player Characters of all types (friends, enemies, allies, or opponents) can be treated the same as the Characters. They will have Attributes, Tags and Equipment. They should not have access however to Fate or Stress points (these should remain unique to the Player Characters). When conflict occurs, however, the Game Master needs a simple way of tracking the effects and injuries inflicted on these individuals.

NPC damage & wounds

Rather than using the Injuries table most NPCs/Creatures damage have a number of Wounds they can take and a number of Scratches they can absorb.

Scratches: This represents a level of toughness the creature has before it starts to take any wounds. The number of Scratches an opponent can take varies, with minor NPCs have likely having none, and Dragons or Giants having many.
Wounds: Most regular NPCs can only take one Wound before being incapacitated (such as Goblins or normal humans etc.), but some might be able to multiple before they are out of a fight.
Wound Thresholds: For NPCs with multiple wounds this is the number they can take before have some mechanic effect on their dice pools (as occurs with Character Injuries).

NPC damage table

When an NPC or creature is hit use the following table instead (rather than the injuries table used for Player Characters).

Difference	Effects
0 or less	No effect, the target is unharmed
1-3	1 Damage
4-8	2 Damage
9-12	3 Damage
13-15	4 Damage
16+	5 Damage

Allocating damage

Damage is allocated to Scratches before Wounds. For each Damage noted a Scratch is taken by the NPC/creature when they can not take any more Scratches, Damage is allocated to Wounds. When an NPC/creature can take no more wounds they are unconscious, dead, or otherwise removed from play.

Scratches

Scratches are used to absorb damage without any mechanical impact on the NPC or creature. Think of this as luck, minor wounds or not having enough impact on a creature to substantively slow it down.

Effects of taking wounds

Some NPCs/creatures are immediately removed as soon as they take a Wound, others have Wound Thresholds. When a Threshold is reached the NPC is at -1D for all actions until heal. Some creatures or threats might have multiple Wound Thresholds, each one reached, resulting in another 1D being removed.

Example of NPC damage

The following is an example of how NPC damage and wounds

Jon's Heldaw is amid combat with angry villager and his crazed cultist ally. The villager is a regular human, so has 2 Scratches and 1 Wound. The cultist however is driven by the power of his dark god (and more than a few drugs) with 4 Scratches and 2 Wounds. He also has a Wound Threshold of 1.

Early in the fight Jon hits the villager with his Axe and rolls a difference of 8 his Injury roll. Looking at NPC Damage Table this results in 2 Damage, which is absorbed by the villages Scratches (resulting in no real effect outside of the narrative one of the villager leaping backwards at the last second as Jon's blade splits open his jerkin). The next round Jon hits again and only rolls a difference of 3. This however is 1 Damage, enough to do the single wound to the villager and take him out of the fight (The Game Master narrating a wrist being lopped off, and the screaming man collapsing to the ground grasping at the stump).

Later in the fight, facing the more dangerous cultist, Jon again hits, and - with a couple of exploding Wild Die 6s - roll 18 above the crazy's Toughness. This however only does 5 Damage, and the cultist Scratches absorb the first 4. As he also has two Wounds the single remaining damage doesn't take the mad man out. However, as he does have a Wound Threshold at 1, the cultist will be at -1D for the result of the fight.

The Game Master describes the scene with the two combatants swirling past each other in a flurry of limbs and metal, with Jon's blade solidly connecting with the cultist's skull. The lunatic stumbles, and almost falls, but recovers at the last moment, swings around to face his attacker. Jon's character blanches as he sees the cultist's face is a bloody ruin of teeth, bone, and a loose hanging eye… but is unsurprised to see the "man" lick the mess from his lips and half stagger, half run back into the fray!

Sample Setting: Jericho

It's been only five years since the Republic of Luna broke away from the vice-like grip of the Earth's Council of Outer Planets. Five years since a bloody uprising that saw thousands die and hundreds of thousands displaced. For those who lived through this dark and dangerous time it was upheaval like no other; almost overnight all the registered citizens of Earth were expelled from the Moon, while all those of selenic origin returned to their new nation

But not even a rebellion can stop the flow of commerce. Quickly, too quickly for some, Earth's corporations returned to the Moon, driven by its inviting tax policies and its proximity to the most important element now known to man - Helium-3.

Of course, where the corporations go so do their silent wars. From the highest towers of Cynthia through to the deepest mines of Theia, these organisations plot and plan their next power plays. But the republic is strong, and while it opens its arms to the corporations, both as a source of income and as a secure tie back to the Earth, it does not tolerate open conflict. To undertake a brazen act of "war" would immediately exclude a corporation from access to 3He, and such a deed is paramount to one signing their own death warrant.

So it is that the corporations battle instead through proxies, mercenaries and spies that infiltrate, hack or kill their way to the most secret of secrets. Soldiers that can be plausibly denied, and resources that can chewed up and spat out as easily as the republic extracts Helium-3.

You are one of these proxies… Just how long will you survive?

Themes of Jericho

Jericho is a game of espionage, heists and intrigue. In this setting the characters take on a variety of roles, from cyber criminals out to make the most of the chaos, elite Luna Security representatives desperate to protect the interests of the fledging republic or agents of the Earth corporates willing to go to any length to secure access to 3He.

In Jericho, the characters will be thrown into a world where today's enemies are tomorrow's allies and the need for profit outweighs the price of any human's life. Specific, it should include elements of:

Cyberpunk and Experiments: It is a new dawn of man, and technology and science makes everything better… or worse. Jericho is free of oversite and responsibility, prefect or those wanting to change the world in their image.
Corruption and Greed: Everyone is out for themselves, from the corporates desperate to secure the 3He, to the Republic determined to survive alone - damned be the impact n its citizens.
Betrayal and Bargaining: Jericho is at war, with Earth, the corporations and itself. There are no such things as allies, just temporary bed-mates desiring the same outcomes.

Creating characters

The characters of Jericho are elite operatives, capable of taking on missions that simple citizens of Earth or the Moon could never contemplate undertaking. They are assassins, hackers, spies and cyber warriors battling over a new technical frontier.

Setting specific tags

In addition to general Tags, the following might be found on characters in the Jericho setting.

Hacker: Accessing systems and the workings of technology are second nature to this character.
Bureaucrat: The character knows the "ins and outs" of administrative machine running Jericho.
Fixer: You know where to find things and how to make thing disappear.
Zero G Trained: Not everyone is cut out for life in space, and there are plenty of places where gravity just doesn't exist.
Ex Corporate: Terran or Republican all corporations want the same thing; it's knowing how to get them to believe you know what's in their best interests.
Moon born: You were born and raised in Jericho, and know it's people and places like the back of your hand,
Special Forces Trained: You were the best of the best of the best and have skills and talents that support you well in Jericho.

Setting specific perks

The following Perks might be available for characters in the Jericho setting.

Synthetic: You were born in test tube and grown in a vat. You body if full of redundant systems and all it takes is a bit of Snythflesh to repair the holes. Your wounds (including Mortal ones) heal with a Physique test (with Target Number 7) and one day's rest, although you still die with enough damage.
Cyber Senses: You have the latest in hearing and sensing technology. You are never surprised and can always reroll any dice rolled when undertaking observation or erception focus tasks.
Weapon Interface: You are connected to your weapon via a direct interface. Not only does this mean you gain the Tag of "Marksman" but you also gain +1D to your selected weapon's damage.
Jacker: You can jack directly into most technology. This allows you to reroll any computer or hacking dice in any tasks you might make.
Morph Flesh: You can make your skin change colour and shape. This ensures you can look like any person you can visualise.
RAM Slot: You can load up specific programmes to ensure you are ready for anything. Each adventure you can define up to 3 Tags that represent this knowledge.
Dura Tough: You have inbuilt armour providing for a natural Amour Value of 3.

Setting specific complications

The following Complications might be appropriate for characters in the Jericho setting.

Countdown Clock: For Sythentic characters only. You have been designed with a limited life span, and as such are determined to do everything you can in the time you have.
Idealist: You are determined that the Republic will survive and thrive, even if everything you see around you indicates it is just a matter of time before it all collapses.
Earthborn (or Vatborn) - You aren't from Jericho and so people don't like you. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, you stand out as not being from the Moon and this is a constant cause of trouble.
Outlawed: The authorities of Jericho maintain a length blacklist of those they see is undesirableand you are one of them. Of course, just because the Representation don't want you, doesn't mean you aren't useful.

About Jericho

Jericho, a city of light in the darkness of space, is located across numerous craters in the South pole of the Moon. Built into the edges of these features, and enclosed with numerous domes and environmental protection systems, the city looks - to those landing at its various spaceports - like great colourful bubbles rising from the Moon's surface. The crater rims themselves protect the settlements, while also providing excellent locations to house the massive field of solar panels needed to power the republic.

Much of Jericho is located underground, connected by vast tunnels and cave complexes, which in turn create somewhat of a natural segregation of the vast "neighbourhoods" of the republic. Cynthia is centred around Shackleton's crater and is the hub of the Representation (the governing body of Jericho). It houses the various corporate headquarters and enough comforts to make one almost believe they were back on Earth. Selene, located within the de Gerlache crater, is connected via various roads, tunnels and complex to Cynthia and it is here where much of the real business of the moon takes place. A multitude of semi-autonomous communities buried in its walls many with their own private labs, research facilities and launchpads. It is at Theia, the name given to deepest parts of the Sverdrup crater that the rich abundance of Helium 3 is found and mined. The corporations and companies with rights to this precious resource defend their claims with their lives. Life in Theia is dangerous but offers those willing to work there access to untold riches.

Non-player characters

There are a vast number of difference types of Non-Player characters, operatives on ericho might encounter, including:

Cyber-mastiff

These robotic dogs are often used to protect sensible sites or private homes. They have unequalled senses and a vicious bite.

Street thug/corporate guard

The run of the mill corp guard, street soldier or soldier found almost every corner or building in Jericho.

Synth assassin

The best killers are created not trained, and Synthetics assassins are built to be silent, deadly and almost unstoppable.

Adventure seeds

The following adventure ideas couple used in the Jericho setting.

The Package: The characters are directed to locate and protect a package. Unfortunately their employers are the only ones who want it.
Lab 220: Located outside of the Jericho craters many legal and not so legal labs and habitats exist. Lab 220 is causing trouble for the republic.
Mr Holmes: Holmes is a corporate who looks and acts a bit too much like an ex-Terran official who is wanted … well by everyone. The characters need to locate their target and ensure they have the right man.

Addendum

Why Raw Six Exists

Raw Six began as I looked for a system to use for a one-off session of the Summerland RPG late in 2020.I needed something that was easily to teach but could also be adapted on the fly. These requirements soon extended as I found myself booking in to run a few games a local roleplaying convention to run a few games. The Open D6 mechanics seemed a logical option to these challenges, and as it is likely obvious, I've long been a fan of the Mini Six interpretation.

However, while the Open D6 (and its various family members) come with incredibility light touch mechanics, I have always struggled with balancing a Task driven game that also allows the totals of its dice rolls to vary so wildly. To explain, in Open D6 character dice pools (Attributes and Skills) can range anything from a single D6 through to 6 or more. This makes it hard to determine a fair target number when one player might have only 2 dice to roll (resulting in a number from 2 to 12) and another might have 5 (giving them results from 5 to 30!). I realise that this is a pretty minor complaint to make, but to me it was one that I could never reconcile.

Raw Six, therefore, is my attempt to "fix this problem".

As this document lays out, my solution is threefold; a) limit the dice range being rolled b) remove the need for specific skills c) ensure that the players still maintained some control over their task actions (i.e. to empower and provide options on those important rolls). The first was easy, just reduce the number of dice the players had to distribute in character creation. The second was two get rid of "traditional" skills, and instead provide ways that you could reflect the characters unique abilities, knowledge and talents in the game. This is where Tags come in, an open way of describing the above but ensuring that they provide a bonus that doesn't push the number of dice rolled out too far. Finally, I needed a way to provide the players with some in-game currency to allow them to have an advantage over non-player characters and opponents (although I was aware that it couldn't be unlimited resource, otherwise we'd be back at square one). This is where Stress dice (representing willpower, concentration, and determination) comes in, a pool that a player can spend to increase their chances of success. Stress is a balancing mechanic that allows the characters to be heroic but comes with risk and consequence if pushed too far (as a note I have some future ideas to make Stress a bit more interesting than just a pool of numbers).

With that all said, I'll leave it to you to decide whether Iwas successful of not….

Marcus Bone (February 2021)

OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a

Definitions: (a)"Contributors" means the copyright and/or trademark owners who have contributed Open Game Content; (b)"Derivative Material" means copyrighted material including derivative works and translations (including into other computer languages), potation, modification, correction, addition, extension, upgrade, improvement, compilation, abridgment or other form in which an existing work may be recast, transformed or adapted; (c) "Distribute" means to reproduce, license, rent, lease, sell, broadcast, publicly display, transmit or otherwise distribute; (d)"Open Game Content" means the game mechanic and includes the methods, procedures, processes and routines to the extent such content does not embody the Product Identity and is an enhancement over the prior art and any additional content clearly identified as Open Game Content by the Contributor, and means any work covered by this License, including translations and derivative works under copyright law, but specifically excludes Product Identity. (e) "Product Identity" means product and product line names, logos and identifying marks including trade dress; artifacts; creatures characters; stories, storylines, plots, thematic elements, dialogue, incidents, language, artwork, symbols, designs, depictions, likenesses, formats, poses, concepts, themes and graphic, photographic and other visual or audio representations; names and descriptions of characters, spells, enchantments, personalities, teams, personas, likenesses and special abilities; places, locations, environments, creatures, equipment, magical or supernatural abilities or effects, logos, symbols, or graphic designs; and any other trademark or registered trademark clearly identified as Product identity by the owner of the Product Identity, and which specifically excludes the Open Game Content; (f) "Trademark" means the logos, names, mark, sign, motto, designs that are used by a Contributor to identify itself or its products or the associated products contributed to the Open Game License by the Contributor (g) "Use", "Used" or "Using" means to use, Distribute, copy, edit, format, modify, translate and otherwise create Derivative Material of Open Game Content. (h) "You" or "Your" means the licensee in terms of this agreement.
The License: This License applies to any Open Game Content that contains a notice indicating that the Open Game Content may only be Used under and in terms of this License. You must affix such a notice to any Open Game Content that you Use. No terms may be added to or subtracted from this License except as described by the License itself. No other terms or conditions may be applied to any Open Game Content distributed using this License.
Offer and Acceptance: By Using the Open Game Content You indicate Your acceptance of the terms of this License.
Grant and Consideration: In consideration for agreeing to use this License, the Contributors grant You a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, non exclusive license with the exact terms of this License to Use, the Open Game Content.
Representation of Authority to Contribute: If You are contributing original material as Open Game Content, You represent that Your Contributions are Your original creation and/or You have sufficient rights to grant the rights conveyed by this License.
Notice of License Copyright: You must update the COPYRIGHT NOTICE portion of this License to include the exact text of the COPYRIGHT NOTICE of any Open Game Content You are copying, modifying or distributing, and You must add the title, the copyright date, and the copyright holder's name to the COPYRIGHT NOTICE of any original Open Game ontent you Distribute.
Use of Product Identity: You agree not to Use any Product Identity, including as an indication as to compatibility, except as expressly licensed in another, independent Agreement with the owner of each element of that Product Identity. You agree not to indicate compatibility or co-adaptability with any Trademark or Registered Trademark in conjunction with a work containing Open Game Content except as expressly licensed in another, independent Agreement with the owner of such Trademark or Registered Trademark. The use of any Product Identity in Open Game Content does not constitute a challenge to the ownership of that Product Identity. The owner of any Product Identity used in Open Game Content shall retain all rights, title and interest in and to that Product Identity.
Identification: If you distribute Open Game Content You must clearly indicate which portions of the work that you are distributing are Open Game Content.
Updating the License: Wizards or its designated Agents may publish updated versions of this License. You may use any authorized version of this License to copy, modify and distribute any Open Game Content originally distributed under any version of this License.
Copy of this License: You MUST include a copy of this License with every copy of the Open Game Content You Distribute.
Use of Contributor Credits: You may not market or advertise the Open Game Content using the name of any Contributor unless You have written permission from the ontributor to do so.
Inability to Comply: If it is impossible for You to comply with any of the terms of this License with respect to some or all of the Open Game Content due to statute, judicial order, or governmental regulation then You may not Use any Open Game Material so affected.
Termination: This License will terminate automatically if You fail to comply with all terms herein and fail to cure such breach within 30 days of becoming aware of the breach. All sublicenses shall survive the termination of this License.
Reformation: If any provision of this License is held to be unenforceable, such provision shall be reformed only to the extent necessary to make it enforceable.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE

Mini Six, and APG are trademarks and properties of AntiPaladin Games.

PRODUCT IDENTIFICATION:

Product Identity: The D6 System; the D6 trademarks, the D6 and related logos and any derivative trademarks not specified as Open Game Content are designated as Product Identity (PI) and are properties of Purgatory Publishing Inc. All rights reserved.

Open Game Content: All game mechanics and material not covered under Product Identity (PI) above; OpenD6 trademark and OpenD6 logo.

This is the end of the Open Game License.

Files

rawsix-redo.md

Latest commit

History