Aperture RPG

A fast, grounded microsystem for any world

Actions: Roll a d20.

• Under Target (Attribute + Skill) to succeed
• Over Difficulty (0–5) to avoid any complications
• When opposed, the highest successful roll wins. Ties add a twist.

Attributes: Distribute 20 points (max 15) among:

• Body (physical): strength, force, endurance
• Mind (mental): cognition, awareness, knowledge
• Soul (social): influence, empathy, presence

Skills: Distribute 5 points (max 5 per Skill) as freeform specialties,
each framed as something you’ve done enough to trust yourself doing.

Conditions: Bonuses/advantages raise your Target ceiling by 1–5,
while penalties/disadvantages similarly raise your Difficulty floor.

Initiative: Roll the most relevant Attribute for a conflict as it starts.
Successful characters act before NPCs each round.

Defense: The GM doesn’t roll. When you’re targeted by an NPC:
roll vs. defensive Target, applying any attacker’s abilities as Difficulty.

Equipment: Has a Quality rating (1–5) that applies its effect:

• Weapon damage: reduces the relevant attribute
• Armor rating: prevents incoming damage
• Restorative item: recovers attribute points
• Substance potency: as Difficulty to avoid ill effects

Knocked Out: When an Attribute hits 0, you can no longer act in the scene:

• Body: You fall unconscious.
• Mind: You’re incapable of acting sanely.
• Soul: You panic and act out anxiously.

Recovery: Any zeroed Attributes recover to 1 at the end of a scene.
Attributes fully recover after a full scene spent resting.

Corruption: Corrupting damage reduces the affected attribute’s max.
Once an attribute is corrupted to 0, you’re lost forever.
Restoration requires supernatural healing.

Advancement: At the end of a story arc, choose one:

• Increase an Attribute by 1 (max 15).
• Distribute 2 points into Skills, new or existing (max 5 per Skill).