Bright-Dark 3d6 Role-Playing Game - QuickStart

What This Game is

Bright-Dark 3d6 Role-Playing Game (Bright-Dark) is a table-top fantasy role-playing game about creating a specific feel. It is:

• Rules-Lite
• Fiction-First
• Player-Skill-Forward
• Human-Scale Stakes
• Grounded Fantasy
• Low Magic
• Low Fantasy
• Simple, Fast, Intuitive
• Assumes realism as a basis for how the world works
• Class-less
• Skill-less
• Tone-Driven
• Combat is deadly, not a sport

Bright-Dark Tone

Bright-Dark is not bright against dark, it's bright within dark. Light does not triumph, but darkness does not fade.

The world is wounded. The is not a literal wound, it's a metaphor for a central tension that affects everyone, everywhere. It characterizes the world and the people in it.

People carry a quiet grief. Wonders are fading, but they remind us that there are things worth struggling for. Kindness, courage, and hope are important because they're needed. It's melancholy but warm, and without nihilism.

Heroes are ordinary people with small but meaningful goals. They face danger because they care. They want to help one significant person, one forgotten village, or one lonely shrine.

The Core Mechanic (3d6)

This game uses a 3d6 roll-over mechanic. You roll three six-sided dice (3d6), add a bonus or penalty from an attribute, and a bonus from one appropriate Talent. Try to roll equal to or greater than a Difficulty Target Number (TN).

Rolls of 3-4, before bonuses and penalties are added, are automatic failures. The GM may add a narratively appropriate consequence to the outcomes of these actions. Magic backfires. Complications arise.

Rolls of a 17-18, before bonuses and penalties, are critical success! The GM may add a narratively appropriate consequence to the outcomes of these actions. Attacks add a bonus 2d6 damage. The action goes just right! 

The 3d6 produces results that, when graphed, create a bell-curve distribution. About 67% of all rolls fall between 8 and 13. This means that the middle results are common, and the highs and lows are uncommon and rare. Dice rolls feel less swingy. Your characters will more reliably succeed at what they specialize in which encourages niche protection and teamwork.

Light Bonus & Dark Penalty

This game uses a variation on the 3d6 mechanic that reinforces tone. The GM applies these when they are emotionally meaningful in a scene.

Light Bonus

When acting with hope in a bleak situation, when protecting someone at personal risk, or when facing great fear with others would ordinarily run, players gain a Light Bonus. They roll 4d6 and drop the lowest.

Dark Penalty

When giving into temptation and taking the easy path, when abandoning others to protect yourself, or when giving into despair, players gain a Dark Penalty. They roll 4d6 and drop the highest.

Character Creation

Players must make characters who suit the tone and setting. A pdf of the character sheet is available here.

Wounds

Start by creating a wound. A wound is an internal conflict caused by a past trauma, a mistake, a fear, a lie, a burden, or a betrayal. This wound is an internal conflict or struggle, and it should inform how you play your character.

Goals

Your characters need a personal goal to pursue in play. What do they want and why is it important to them? What happens if they fail? These are what motivate your character.

Discuss your wound and goal with your GM before play.

Attributes & Modifiers

There are six attributes:

• Strength: Melee, physical exertion
• Endurance: Physical resilience
• Agility: Ranged, physical coordination
• Mind: Knowledge, Tools, Gadgets, Crafts
• Will: Resistance to external influence and control
• Emotion: Expression and passion

Next, assign each of these modifiers to your attributes as desired:

+2, +1, 0, 0, -1, -2

Talents

Talents distinguish your character. Some talents add small bonuses, some grant use of skills or powers. At character creation, choose one talent. A short list of talent is provided in these QuickStart rules.

• Attractive Presence: When you trigger a reaction roll, roll 4d6 and keep the highest three instead of 3d6. Something about your presence draws attention or eases tension. It might be beauty, confidence, authority, or an inner quality that others respond to.
• Brute: Add +1d6 to melee weapon damage, but subtract 1 from your Defense. You hit harder than most, but your aggressive style leaves you more exposed.
• Diehard: Add +1 to resist fatigue, disease, poison, harsh conditions, long exertion, or heavy physical strain.
• Marksman: You do not suffer penalties to hit due to range, and you do not suffer penalties to called shots while in Near range. 
• Magic-User: You can use magic. Refer to the Magic section for rules and additional magic talents for magic-users to choose as part of character improvement.
• Signature Weapon: Choose a weapon type (staff, mace, hammer, sword, great sword, dagger, longbow, etc.). When you use this weapon, you gain a +1 to hit and damage rolls.
• Thievery: add +1 to rolls to sneak, hide, pick locks, palm, lift or plant objects without notice, and perform delicate tasks with your hands.

Resources

Your character has three resources: Health, Stamina, and Ether.

Health

Health describes your body's capacity to sustain wounds and injuries. Any lost health abstractly represents a wound or injury. Characters begin maximum health equal to 10 + Strength.

Stamina

Stamina describes your ability to exert yourself. Spend 1 Stamina to roll 4d6 and drop the lowest on an action. Characters begin with Stamina equal to their Endurance, minimum 1.

Ether

Ether is the substance that magic and spirits are made of. Spend 1 Ether to cast Minor Spells, or 2 Ether to cast Major Spells. Characters begin with Ether equal to either their Mind, Will, or Emotion (their choice), minimum 1.

Bonus Resource Points

Once your resources are determined, you have three bonus resources points you may add to your resources as desired to finalize your resources. For example, if your Health is 12 (10 + 2 from Strength), you may add all three of your resource points to raise it to 15.

Equipment

Equipment exists within the fiction, not the character sheet. Encumbrance is not tracked. Your characters can begin with anything they need that suits their character (but not everything they want).

Armor and Defense TN

Your Defense TN does not describe the character's skill; it describes how exposed they are. Armor provides protection.

• Unarmored = 8 Defense TN
• Light Armor (cloth or leather) = 9 
• Medium Armor (banded, scale or chain) = 10
• Shield (Wooden) = +1 to Defense TN

Weapons

All weapons deal 1d6 + attribute damage as a base. Some Talents may apply. For variety:

• Barehanded strikes deal 1 + Strength
• Improvised weapons deal 1d3 + Strength
• Small, light weapons deal 1d6-1 (minimum 1) + Attribute
• Average weapons deal 1d6 + Attribute
• Large, heavy weapons deal 1d6+1 + Attribute

How to Play

The medium of the game is conversation, not mechanics, procedures, or rules. The gameplay loop looks like this:

• First, the GM describes the scene.
• Second, the players describe what they do and how.
• Third, the GM determines and describes what happens.
• Repeat until the scene is resolved, then establish a new scene.

This is how combat, exploration, and social interaction work.

Social interaction

Dice are not used. Social interaction is resolved with conversation, roleplay, and descriptions only. Think of it as exploration of a character (the NPC). Players goals are:

• Find out what the NPC needs
• Offer the NPC something in exchange for something the players need
• Hear out the NPCs objections, if any, and adjust there offer

Combat (Basic Rules)

Side-Based Turn Order

Each side gets a turn in combat:

• The GM side
• The Player side

Transitioning into and out of combat should feel seamless; Turn order is determined by the fiction, not die rolls.

Player Turns are handled in two phases: first a declaration phase, then a resolution phase.

• Declaration Phase: All players declare their action. Players can make one action, and they can move up to their normal move (a pencil length) as part of their action.
• Resolution Phase: All players roll their dice, then the GM determines what happens.

GM Guidance

Think of yourself as a narrator of a story in which the players are the characters. It's the kind of story where the narrator can talk to the characters but does not give anything away. Describe the world around them freely and honestly, including danger, and give them opportunities to make choices. Let consequences follow naturally.

The GM takes on the role of the setting and the characters who live there. The GM prepares a situation, not an outcome. There is no right solution, only the player's solution. Let them surprise you and react to their choices with improv.

Sample Scenario

I have three scenes for you. Together they describe a short story that your characters can play through. They are the characters and they make the decisions.

Scene 1. Village of Fairbaren

An Evrwyr traveler is panicked and angry at the villagers and is making a scene. 

Players need to reveal the conflict.  

• Intervention: They can interrupt the Evrwyr traveler before he says something he can't take back, earn his trust, and learn what the conflict is.
• Observe: They can observe and do nothing as the Evrwyr yells furiously and incoherently at the villagers until the sheriff will eventually arrest the man and put him in the pillory. He may be open to talking to the players if they're kind.
• Investigate: After the scene, the players can ask anyone who may direct the players to the young boys of the village, or their parents.

Revelation: The conflict is that the Evrwyr travels with his daughter Nelly and his dog Odo. The boys in town have dared the daughter to test her bravery by going inside the abandoned watchtower outside of the village. They showed her the way and left her there. The Evrwyr traveler is furious at the villagers who don't offer him any help and little remorse because he's an outsider.

Bonus: Curious players can inquire about the history of the abandoned watchtower. Only then do the villagers explain that the abandoned watchtower is home to a cursed guardian who defends it against any mortals. This is why the tower is still abandoned.

Scene 2. The Wolf Woods

The watch tower is built on top of a hill that stands out of a forest. The players can take the winding road which is the longer but safer path, or they can take the dangerous, shortcut through the dark, dangerous forest and up the steep rear side of the hill.

• The road: Players who take the road will arrive at the old fortress with a one-hour delay, but they will be safe. The one-hour delay means that Nelly's dog Odo will become impatient and alert danger to Nelly.
• The forest: Players have a chance to encounter something dangerous. Roll 1d6:
• 1 = A pack of hungry wolves.
• 2 = a group of brigands who want to collect a toll, possibly by force.
• 3 = a hypervigilant troll who mistakes the party for monster hunters.
• 4-6 nothing.

Scene 3. The Abandoned Watch Tower

Players who arrive at the back will be find that there is no rear entrance and will have to walk around to the open front gate (unless they want to climb). The gate is broken it. Anyone can walk inside.

The Evrwyr girl, Nelly, fulfilled her dare and went into the watch tower. She's trapped on the top floor with her loyal, protective pet dog, Odo. She's too afraid of Garrison to come out of hiding or call or help.

What the GM Knows: Fifty years ago, there was a surprise attack on the watch tower. One of the defenders betrayed the others and let opened the doors for their attackers in exchange for his life. One known only as Garrison was desperate to repel the invaders and defend the village - his home. He watched it burn in the distance from the top of the watchtower. He gave his life, but he didn't perish. His undead form still guards the watchtower, mistaking anything as an invader and attacking.

Garrison has a 1 in 1d6 chance of appearing on any floor of the tower. There are three levels and a basement.

Garrison

An undead swordsman concealed by armor and a helmet.

Health: 15

Attributes: +1, -1

Damage: 1d6+1 (longsword)

Defense TN: 11

Morale TN: 7 (very brave)

Wound: He failed the village.

Shield: He won't fail again.

Goal: Protect the village.

Obstacle: In his undead state, is unaware that the village survived.

Redeeming Traits: Honorable, brave

Note to GM: Garrison is a complex NPC. In Bright-Dark, complex NPCs have a wound, a shield, a goal, and obstacle, and redeeming traits. These help you to portray the NPC, and it can help the players diffuse the situation.

The Wound of The Abandoned Watchtower

Searching the barracks reveals that one man called Tanner kept a journal in which he detailed his betrayal. He was desperate to survive and deeply conflicted about his decision. He is responsible for food poisoning which caused the men to be unable to defend the watchtower. This can always be read out loud to Garrison. Upon completion, he will stop swinging his sword at the players, appreciating them as allies for this revelation.

Possible Resolutions

Ultimately, escaping with Nelly will end the scenario.

• Garrison's undead body takes only 1 point of damage from mundane weapons. If magic is used, make a morale check with a Morale TN of 10. He returns with a crossbow and fights from range. Magic damage can destroy him.
• Players notice Garrion's movement is slow, and so he can be kited around. If they're careful, some of the players can distract Garion's while the others search for Nelly.
• If the players took the long, safe route, the one-hour delay has cause Nelly's dog Odo to give them away. Odo is prepared to defend Nelly to the death, but Nelly is not prepared to abandon her beloved pet.
• Garrison doesn't speak and ignores attempts at persuasion or intimidation, believing it to be deception. However, if the players can convince him that the village survived, or appeal to one of his other complex NPC traits in a way that makes sense within the fiction, the conflict may soften.
• Discover Tanner's journal and read it aloud to Garrison.

Main: Table of Contents - (Full game single post)

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Bright-Dark 3d6 Role-Playing Game - Designer Notes

This section explains the philosophy behind Bright‑Dark: why the mechanics are simple, why the tone matters, and how the game evolved. It’s a behind‑the‑scenes look at the design process. I plan on expanding designer notes over time.

DESIGNER NOTES

How to Interpret Rules

The rules are intended to reinforce tone. They are written to describe what they allow. They are not written to list and describe everything that's not allowed. If the rules don’t mention something, it simply isn’t part of the game. They don't imply that anything that is not mentioned is allowed. Avoid loopholes like "well the rules don't say I can't do that." This keeps Bright‑Dark focused, clear, and easy to run.

Meet This Game Half-Way

Managing expectations in TTRPGs is the biggest obstacle. Some games try to set a tone by creating a specific setting. This can help manage expectations, but the downside is you can get a world that's too specific and doesn't have strong appeal. Those games seldom explicitly frame tone as the goal. As a consequence, even though a game might be urban fantasy noir, you still have players showing up with caricatures or parodies rather than characters, and their habits and expectations as hobbyists and genre enthusiasts carry over.

My goal was to create a game that I might want to run or play. I discovered along the way that meant I was going to have to teach people not just how to play it, but also how to think about it and how to feel about it. I didn't see that coming.  Bright-Dark 3d6 Role-Playing Game reinforces tone through mechanics but does not enforce it with rules. I am setting the bar for tone a little high hoping that you try to meet it half-way but are not driven away.

"It's Part of the Fiction, not the Rules"

This is the logic that simplifies aspects of the rules. I didn't think of this idea myself, but I took it. It's a brilliant way to explain something that some of us already do, and by phrasing it so elegantly, it becomes a tool. I use this logic in a few places in this game, conditions and status effects for example, and the crap in your adventuring backpack.

Beginner Friendly?

I'm not stupid. I recognize this may not be beginner friendly and it may be niche. I suspect you need emotional intelligence, subtlety, and nuance, and plain interest in a game about that. Further, this is a game that de-emphasizes if not removes loot and experience, things that typically reward participation and investment. And uh, power scaling is a bit limited. Some people call that bad design. Others call it light gate keeping. Make a niche game, get niche interest.

Why 4d6 Drop the Highest/Lowest Matters

4d6 drop the lowest/highest is not intended to be a trivial mechanic for simplifying stacking situational bonuses. For that, use the Situational Modifiers rule in the core mechanics instead. Rolling 4d6 and dropping the lowest die subtly encourages players to grow in depth rather than breadth. On a standard 3d6 roll, the chance of a critical hit (a natural 17-18) is 1.85%, but with 4d6 drop lowest, that rises to about 6.9%, nearly four times more likely. Also, the bell curve shifts! This doesn’t make characters superhuman; instead, it makes moments of mastery feel earned, and it makes a Light Bonus, a moment of hope, courage, or kindness, feel rewarded. A rare, powerful talent that grants 4d6 drop the lowest feels like someone who has honed a craft to a razor edge. Specializing deeply creates meaningful, reliable advantages. Likewise, spending 1 Stamina to roll 4d6 drop the lowest makes Stamina feel valuable and emotionally charged: a resource you spend when you must succeed. These mechanics reinforce niche protection, reward commitment, and support Bright-Dark’s tone of grounded competence shining through a wounded world

Low Numbers Are Faster and More Meaningful

When you have 10-20 hit points and everyone is rolling 1d6 for damage, every hit feels like it matters. Other RPGs have scaling problems. Think about having 88 hit points and rolling 8d6 damage. Bigger numbers of hit points are less intuitive for our lizard brains. More damage dice means more rolling and counting. This slows the game down. "It's OK, I still have 60 hp" is metagaming, but it's not as bad as the real problem that massive pools of health spoil tension and abstracts damage too much. If you stab a creature for 2d6, is it stabbed or is it missing only a few hit points?

Related Post: Scaling Problems in TTRPGs - An Argument for Small Numbers

Capping hit points low means damage as a way of abstracting wounds and injuries stays grounded. Fewer damage dice mean faster resolution. Some hits might not hurt that bad. Some might hurt a lot. You can tell right away because the remainder is lower than you want and it makes you feel unsafe. Restrictions to recovering health (1 per day) means the wounds matter more. Healing is not trivial; it takes time or resources. It supports emotional stakes and human-scale stories. It keeps the mechanics simple, fast, and flexible for players and especially for GM.

Reaction Rolls / Morale Checks

Please, please, please use these mechanics! Reaction rolls make first-time encounters with an NPC unpredictable. That is the point. It randomizes one aspect people in the world. Morale checks are very important for portraying NPCs as characters who don't want to die. These rules mean that the GM does not prepare the story, the story emerges.

Loot and Progression

The lizard brain wants shiny things. Gamer brains want that feeling of growth and progression, and loot is sometimes a part of that. Unfortunately, this is antithetical to Bright-Dark. No bookkeeping or resource management. Players can't have whatever equipment their character wants, but they can have whatever equipment their character needs. The 3d6 roll-over system limits power scaling so that the upward cap is very low. Participants have to be open to accepting lore as loot, or a good reveal. Secrets that lead to more are treasure. Character growth is emotional, social, or intellectual, not power.

No Alignment?

Bright-Dark is not about moral relativism, moral objectivity, cosmic alignment, or philosophical frameworks. Bright-dark says at your core, you try to be kind, hopeful, and courageous.

Talents

A pool of feats and features that are de-coupled from race, background, or class. Choose one at the start. You can revisit it at character improvement. If you already have a talent and you want to improve it by one step (from a +1 to a +2, or from a +2 to a 4d6 drop the lowest) you can. Talent choices should suit the fiction or you spoil the fiction. "Wait, when did you learn magic? Off-screen?" That's disappointing. Finally, there's a cap on the number on talents so you don't have ten or twenty. This keeps them special. If you want to DIY, you can. It's encouraged. But I think I got everything. The game is not about mechanical social interaction, so talents that describe social traits (speech, mercantile, reading people, animal handling) are a no-no. Similarly, I reject a talent idea that made someone competent at figuring out an urban setting. Players should be familiarizing themselves with towns through exploration, not asking the GM "does my character know the answer to this problem?" or "can I roll to solve this problem?" 

Equipment

A decision was made to ignore conventional equipment rules. Bright-Dark's tone is not about resource tracking, bookkeeping, or encumbrance. Instead, we say "you start off with that" or "you arrive at a new settlement and you find things you need" or "you are able to forage that". Let's face it, many of you probably run your games with very loose equipment mechanics anyway. Now we just hand wave it. If you want it in your game, you can add it as a plug-in. It shouldn't hurt.

Magic

I love magic, but magic needs to be limited to feel special. Within the fiction, if everyone has magic, it's not extraordinary, it's ordinary, and that's lame. Within the game, too much magic means players have too many solutions to the game's challenges. That's more work for the GM. I believe I fixed the problem with magic within the fiction at least. Characters get one theme. That's it. Maybe they get a second theme if the story goes on long enough. This makes them more like mutants from X-Men or like benders from Avatar.

Which attribute do you use for magic? I left that up for the GM and the players. This invites participants to flavor their setting or character, not the game telling them what their choices are. I tell you enough.

Alchemy

Alchemy is like magic but with some restrictions to distinguish it from magic. "Fantasy Science" as broad theme, but the trade-off is limitations on what is at-hand right now. Alchemists shine in preparation. No bandolier of flasks. Instead, you are the pragmatic scientist of the group with a small field kit comparable to a medicine bag.

Adventure Prep

Adventures are character driven, not plot driven. You don't need to put a lot of effort into this and you don't need to stress. Three ingredients: Player Goals, Stakes, and Antagonists. Just have conversations with the players. Ask what their characters want and what happens if they fail. Ask if they have an antagonist in mind; this is for inspiration only. At the end of the day, the antagonist is a GM character.

No Social Mechanics

This game relies on resolving social confrontation through roleplay rather than mechanics. Conversations are had, not simulated, and outcomes are not resolved by rules, they're resolved by the player creativity, effort, and curiosity. Speech does not need to be a stat to be balanced against other stats. Conversations don't need to be codified or mechanized. Rolling for speech has several effects. 1. It discourages player participation. Players with poor speech stats tend to let the players with good speech stats to the talking. 2. It can make the outcome of the scene feel contrived or forced. 3. It punishes player effort and discourages player creativity by making them roll with bad characters stats even when they make really good speeches. 4. High speech rolls can take agency of GM characters away from the GM similar to a magical condition that effects will or the mind.

Animal Companions

You don't need mechanics for animals. Have you ever had a pet? They have an attitude or temperament. They're either open to you or they're not. You can warm up to them with time, familiarization, and food, but you can't roll dice and make them your best friend. If they're already a trained animal or pet, they're reliably friendly or useful. If it's wild, then it depends on the animal, but most are not. If in doubt, use Reaction Rolls for their attitude, use Morale Checks if there's danger. Boom.

Player Agency

Players make choices, then the GM reacts. The world reacts and the NPCs react to player character choices. There is no right solution to a problem, only their solution. The game relies on improv. When players get really invested, the GM sets up the scenario, but the players take charge of what happens next and puts the GM on the backfoot. That's fun.

This also needs to be said. There are no rules and mechanics to roll dice and tell the players how they or their characters feel. That's cheap. Only magical effects can do that. If you can't make the players feel a certain way, then the effect of a scene or situation that is intended to evoke feelings has simply not worked.

No Pausing the Movie to Talk About the Movie

This is a principle of Bright-Dark. People show up to play, not to talk about playing. Embody your character. You're in this scene. Here's what's around here. Here are the stakes. What do you do? That's it. Don't ask about the rules. Don't ask about how the GM will make a ruling. You are the character right now. What would they do? Describe it.

Why The Examples of Play Matter

Bright-Dark is a tone-first, human-scale RPG. Its rules are intentionally light, so the way players interact with the fiction matters as much as the mechanics themselves. These examples of play are not just demonstrations of procedure; they are demonstrations of philosophy. They show how Bright-Dark feels at the table.

Exploration Example of Play

The exploration example teaches descriptive play. Players describe what their characters do, not what they roll. The GM responds with sensory detail rather than binary success or failure. Meaning emerges from what the players observe, interpret, and deduce. Exploration becomes a process of discovering the world’s wounds and stories, not a checklist of skill tests.

Combat Example of Play

The combat example shows that Bright-Dark does not treat violence as a separate mode of play. Conflict emerges naturally from the fiction, and the GM resolves all actions simultaneously. The scene demonstrates human-scale danger, emotional stakes, and the idea that antagonists are wounded people rather than monsters. Combat ends not with victory, but with fear, mercy, and pursuit, reinforcing the game’s tone.

Social Interaction Example of Play

The social interaction example is the emotional core of Bright-Dark. It shows how characters resolve conflict through empathy, vulnerability, and narrative truth rather than persuasion mechanics. NPCs reveal wounds, shields, and redeeming traits through conversation. Players identify needs, make offers, and build trust. Social scenes resolve through connection, not charisma rolls.

Why These Examples of Play Are Long

These examples are intentionally detailed. Bright-Dark is a game about tone, emotion, and grounded storytelling; things that cannot be taught through short snippets. These scenes model the habits and instincts that make the game work: caution, empathy, curiosity, restraint, and emotional honesty. They are not just instructions; they are invitations into the world and tone of Bright-Dark.

Next: Optional Rules

Previous: Example Scenario - The Village Under Two Shadows

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Bright-Dark 3d6 Role-Playing Game - Example Scenario

The Village Under Two Shadows is a ready‑to‑run scenario that demonstrates Bright‑Dark tone, stakes, and pacing. Use it as a first adventure or as inspiration for your own stories.

EXAMPLE SCENARIO: The Village Under Two Shadows

Background

In the empire of Loria, the wound is that the emperor is dead and there is no clear successor to the throne. There's a power vacuum and strife because of it. The empire is not unified. Uncertainty is everywhere.

Count Ebonoble of the County of Gargalad is now the highest-ranking noble in the land. He wants secure there throne for himself by marrying the late emperor's heiress (who is rejected by the people because she is believed to be a witch).

Unbeknown to most people outside the highest levels of the church, the Church of Angelo doesn't want just any noble to succeed the throne, including Count Gargalad. They have secretly prioritized capturing the heiress, giving her a final rite and a pyre. This will earn the church the people's faith and trust and eliminate the heiress as a potential obstacle.

Adventure Location

The village of Little Seraphim in the county of Gargalad. The village is small and remote. It lacks some comforts and luxuries. The wound resonates strongly here in these ways:

-Fear: Men have been conscripted, families are broken and afraid. The Who will be conscripted next? Who won't return?

-Despair. The village must work harder to keep up with the demand for grains which they farm. Taxes have been raised. Laws are tightening to keep people working and paying taxes.

-Temptation: There is a reward for anyone who can help capture the heiress.

-Hope: Something's got to get better, right? Any day now.

Factionalism

The County of Gargalad is taxing and conscripting people. The Church is prioritizing the capture of witches. Pressure is on people chose patriotism over religion.

Complex NPCs

Sheriff Hunk Griff. Stubbornly believes all adventures are either the heiress or are associated with her. He hopes he can be the one to capture her. He's tempted by a promotion! He despairs because he might be stuck in this post for his entire life. He thinks the opportunity to move up is now, and he fears he'll miss is opportunity.

-Trauma: Was made to feel powerless his entire lie.

-Shield: He seeks to feel powerful by making others feel powerless.

-Redeeming Qualities: He's brave, patriotic, and an accomplished veteran.

-Goal: He wants to promote

-Obstacle: He's stuck in this backwater town. The local Baron Coalemblem, has it out for the Sheriff and won't reassign him somewhere where he can thrive.

Sheriff Griff is the personification for Count Gargalad (faction) in small scale. Sheriff Griff is the law here.

Inquisitor Patrick Matthews, lives within the local branch of the Church of Saint Angelo (faction). Inquisitor Matthes is pious and devout, and as an inquisitor is studied in ways of catching a witch, all of them are bad. He fears witches and the spread of magic. He is tempted to see people as witches more and more. He despairs that witchcraft is on the rise now that the heiress is gaining notoriety. He hopes that she will be captured soon.

-Trauma: Saw too much hardship and lost his faith. 

-Shield: Thinks he just needs to believe harder.

-Redeeming Qualities: Compassionate and Wise. Believes in taking care of people.

-Goal: Keep the village safe from witches and witchcraft.

-Obstacle: He currently suspects the local florist, Heather. He thinks her knowledge of plants resembles a witch. He doesn't want to act on suspicion alone.

Inquisitor Matthes is the face of the church here, and he'll be quick to get involved if there's any hint of the heiress appearing.

Simple NPCs

-Deputy Leonard Cooper is often mistreated by the sheriff and other deputies because he's clumsy and dim-witted. He knows Sheriff Griff's weaknesses (his trauma and shield) and will willingly reveal these to anyone opposed to the sheriff. Deputy Cooper is kind to the villagers, and they trust him over the harsh, strict, an sometimes mean-spirited Sheriff. If the players ally with Deputy Cooper, they gain the confidence of the villagers.

-Deputy Donald Folk is a wolf in sheep's clothing. He thinks Sheriff Griff is a blow-hard and a buffoon. Just when the Sheriff is on the cusp of his goal, Deputy Folk  and the other deputies will betray the sheriff and capture the characters.

-Edward Griff, the outfitter. His son has been conscripted. His work and earnings have diminished because the conscriptions affected his customer base.

-Heather, the florist. She is blissfully ignorant that the inquisitor thinks she is a witch, but the discover would horrify her.

Conflict Seeds, Trigger Events, Pressure Points, Opportunities, Obstacles, and Choices

This is the place and the people here. It's small but dense. Read it for the gist. Rely on improv. To make this playable, you need to seed conflict to hook the players, then you need to trigger the conflict. Hit pressure points to escalate tension. Allow players to find Opportunities (offer some through NPCs). Provide Obstacles. The players will make choices.

Conflict Seeds (hooks):

1. A player-facing conflict see. Tie the PCs personally to the world. Examples:

-One PC resembles the heiress.

-One PC is related to someone conscripted.

-One PC is secretly magical.

-One PC is from Gargalad.

-One PC carried a letter, relic, or rumor about the heiress.

You don't need to choose the seed; You need to ask the players during character creation "what personal details ties you to the world of Loria?" Choose or make a seed that fits.

2. A trigger event; a small emotional scene showing the players that the world notices them. It encourages them to think "what's going on?"

-The Sheriff stops the PCs at the gate.

-A deputy says he recognizes a PC as “the heiress.”

-Heather begs the PCs for help.

-Edward Griff collapses from exhaustion.

-A conscription notice is posted.

-A Church rider arrives with orders.

-A villager whispers: “They’re looking for you.”

The trigger event must be small, personal, emotional, and unavoidable.

3. Pressure points. Scenarios, not plot beats or story events, that the GM can add to escalate tension, reveal NPC wounds, and pressure players to respond meaningfully. They show the players that the world is pushing on them. It encourages them to think "we have to deal with this."

Pressure Point 1: Sheriff Griff’s suspicion

-He interrogates the PCs.

-He tests their story.

-He tries to assert dominance.

Pressure Point 2: Inquisitor Matthes’s fear

-He warns the PCs to keep in line.

-He asks probing questions.

-He tries to protect the village.

Pressure Point 3: The villagers’ desperation

-They beg for help.

-They offer rumors.

-They turn on each other.

Pressure points give the GM scenes, not scripts.

4. Opportunities for the PCs to act. It might help you to think of a few so that you know the problem has some solutions, but this is the player's job. Your NPCs can offer suggestions. 

-Gain the villagers trust

-Undermine the Sheriff's authority

-Influence Inquisitor Matthews

-Protect Heather from Suspicion

-Exploit Rivalry

-Learn the truth about the heiress

-Hide or disguise a PC who resembles the heiress

-Help Edward Griff with his conscription grief

-Discover the Baron's feud with Sheriff Griff

-Expose Deputy Folk's treachery

5. Obstacles that the players face as the world reacts

-Sheriff Griff’s shield (dominance)

-Inquisitor Matthes’s fear

-Villager desperation

-Faction pressure

-Scarcity and hardship

-Rumors and misinformation

-The wound itself distorts behavior.

-Heather’s ignorance

-Cooper’s clumsiness

-Folk’s ambition

6. A final choice. Bright-Dark adventures end with a choice, not a victory. Examples:

-Do the PCs help Heather or expose her?

-Do they support the Sheriff or undermine him?

-Do they protect the heiress or deliver her?

-Do they side with the Church or the Count?

-Do they flee Little Seraphim or stay to help?

-Do they reveal their secret or hide it?

The choice must be personal, emotional, irreversible, and human-scale. This is the final scene.

What if Players Flee Little Seraphim Immediately?

This would spoil the adventure. Don't stop players from leaving. Make it part of the pressure. Make leaving inconvenient, suspicious, costly, emotionally complicated, socially dangerous, narratively meaningful. Hit the trigger scene right away. Go to the pressure points quickly.

What Does Completion Look Like?

This is not a linear adventure about defeating, exposing, or saving anyone. It's a pressure cooker with multiple exits, loyalties, and emotional outcomes. The adventure is over when the PCs make a meaningful choice that breaks the pressure in one direction and change the status of Little Seraphim. They can do by this defeating, exposing, or saving anyone.

They don't need to do everything. They just need to reach a human-scale resolution to the tension in Little Seraphim. The PCs can choose to side with the people, the church, or Gargalad. Examples:

-Deliver Heather to the church

-Help Sheriff Griff capture a suspect

-Protect Heather

-The PC's flee but with consequences

-Expose Deputy Folk's treachery to the sheriff

Rewards

Completing the adventure is a milestone. The players may improve their characters. Additionally, give them a new story hook based on the outcome. This can look like a clear opportunity or obstacle elsewhere, a clue in a mystery, a direction for the players to settle up with their wounds.

Next: Designer Notes

Previous: Examples of Play

Main: Table of Contents - (Full game single post)

Download: Full Rulebook PDF version 0.9

Download: Character Sheet

Bright‑Dark 3D6 Role‑Playing Game - Introduction

A grounded fantasy RPG about wounded worlds, human-scale conflicts, and tone first play.

What is Bright-Dark 3d6 Role-Playing Game?

Bright-Dark 3d6 Role-Playing Game (Bright-Dark 3d6) is a rules-lite TTRPG featuring a 3d6 roll over mechanic and fiction-first resolution that emphasizes tone. The tone is a wounded world with fading wonders. It's not bright against dark, it's bright within dark. The characters are ordinary people carrying their own wounds who are kind, hopeful, and quietly courageous, in a world that needs people with these traits. The fiction is grounded with low-magic, and the conflicts are human in scale.

What Makes Bright-Dark Different?

• Small numbers for fast, tense, and intuitive play
• Low magic for that doesn't defy physics, stays mysterious, feels dangerous
• Human-scale conflict means no superheroes and no power creep
• Tone-first GMing means the world matters, consequences come from the world and not the rules
• Fiction-first resolution means the logic of the world and the fiction beat the mechanics
• Grounded names, grounded worldbuilding encourages authenticity over spectacle

The Core Gameplay Loop

• The GM describes what's in the scene, players deduce meaning from the details
• Players describe actions and speech
• GM determines and describes what happens based on what makes sense for an ordinary person in a real world, only calling for die rolls when needed
• All die rolls are 3d6 + attribute + talent vs a Difficulty Target Number or TN
• Consequences come from the fiction, not rules, not crunch

The 3d6 System

• The 3d6 bell curve gives predictable results. Half your rolls will be between 9 and 12. This means characters with a specialty can reliably succeed at what they specialize in.
• Small numbers make stakes intuitive
• A simple TN Difficulty scale describes difficulties
• Attributes are small, but they matter greatly
• The consequences of rolls feel real, not arbitrary or swingy

Character Creation

• Create a wound to define your character
• Simple, clearly distinct attributes. Assign modifiers from an array.
• Small catalog of flavorful talents. Choose one to start. Choose up to three through character improvement (milestone based)
• Resources (Health, Stamina, Ether) that are impactful in play. Health caps low and recovers slowly to make damage feel meaningful and keep danger real.
• Equipment is emphasized as exiting in the fiction, not the character sheet

Conflict & Danger

• Violence is an option, but truth is more meaningful
• Reaction rolls mean NPCs starting attitudes are uncertain
• 1d6 is the standard damage roll. This makes the game simple and fast.
• Add 2d6 damage on a critical hit. They're rare but terrifying.
• One dedicated action per turn. No tactical clutter.
• Retreat and pursuit are clean and simple
• Damage is abstract but meaningful. Characters measure Health, not HP.
• Defense TN is capped low and describes how exposed you are, not the skill of the character. Characters are not impossible to hit.
• The fiction determines turn order, not dice or stats. Play your character like you care what happens to them.
• Difficulty TNs are not about balance or arbitrary challenges, they're about believability

Magic & Alchemy

• Low-magic philosophy: magic is rare, dangerous, prestigious, and wonderous. Magic is not a skill; You don't improve at magic, you improv yourself
• Freeform magic system
• Two tiers of spells: Minor and Major.
• Magic cannot change the world
• Alchemy is not magic, it's fantasy science
• Consumables are story objects, not supplies

Why Bright-Dark Uses Small Numbers

• Faster turns
• Shorter combat
• Intuitive stakes
• No power creep
• No HP sponges
• Simpler math
• Focus on immersion in the fiction, not crunch or rules

What Bright-Dark Feels Like to Play

• Human
• Dramatic
• Tense
• Grounded
• Mysterious
• Dangerous, but hopeful

Example of Play

A group of adventurers are exploring a swamp around a small settlement named Gunter's Knob in search for a missing Evrwyr girl who was kidnapped by a troll named Bad Nail for a distinguishingly long fingernail that he slashes with.

Players do not roll to see, hear, taste, smell, or feel things. They don't roll to intuit emotions or detect lies. The GM gives this information freely as long as the players describe what their characters search for.

GM: The trees are dense. Branches hang long and swat at you. Roots stick out, occasionally form bumps or loops, then plunge into the earth. The ground is uneven and slippery. Grass crunches underfoot. The sun sets and leaves you in darkness.

Agnes (Millie): I cast a minor spell to create a floating orb of light.

GM: I'm going to give you 10 since there's no source of stress.

Agness (Millie): You see a ball of light appear above Agnes' upturned palm, then it flies to her shoulder where it hovers in place and shines like a lantern.

Allen (Mike): I point to the two soldiers I brought. "You two, weapon out. Keep your eyes sharp. I don't want anything sneaking up on us."

GM: "Yes, sir." The soldiers draw their swords and look in opposite directions.

Allen (Mike): Allen turns his head this way and that. He kneels on the ground and examines the soil and grass for depressions. He inspects the trees for broken branches.

GM: Only in Agnes' light and when she's nearby can you spot a few depressions like very large feet like a man who might be eight feet tall. The depressions are orderly like a trail of footprints that go on through the trees. Some of the branches immediately above are freshly broken.

Allen (Mike): "The trail goes this on. Agnes, I need you to keep close with your light."

Agnes (Millie): I walk just out of arms reach of Allen and give him an annoyed look.

GM: Ten minutes pass. The details of the trail become a little scarce, then you find a generous amount of details. Off to the side, you hear a trickling like running water. The wind rustles the leaves and puts a chill in your sweat.

Allen (Mike): I draw my sword and stop. I look around sharply.

Agnes (Millie): I stop too!

GM: Allen, the shadows at the edge of Agnes' light are harsh. Distinct colors turn into grey blobs. The darkness is playing tricks on your eyes. You see large, sturdy shapes like twin trees growing out of the ground. They're oddly symmetrical.

Allen (Mike): Legs! I look right at them. "Stop where you are!"

GM: A guttural voice speaks from behind the trees. You hear it from the branches about eight feet off the ground, much higher than an ordinary man. "What be this light! Who stalks I!"

Download the Game (Free)

Links to version 0.9:

• Itch.io
• PDF
• Blog Posts
• QuickStart (forthcoming)

Where to Next?

The game is complete. Version 1.0 will be refined. If you're curious about the design, design notes and essays will continuously be added to the blog.

• Scaling Problems in TTRPGs - An Argument for Small Numbers

Bright-Dark 3d6 Role-Playing Game - Examples of Play

This section shows Bright‑Dark in action through short scenes of exploration, danger, and conversation. These examples help new players understand how the game feels at the table.

EXAMPLES OF PLAY

Four players sit down for a session. A player named Josephine plays Iosefina, an impatient mage in a blue cloak. Richard plays Sir Osric the devout paladin in metal armor and a knightly surcoat. Derek plays Eric, an enigmatic priest-in-training in white robes. Matthew plays Dirk, a thief and former leader of a gang in dark colored but ordinary clothing. I'll show you how they handle Exploration, Combat, and Social Interaction.

Exploration

GM: You are in the wooded border of High Mark. On one side is the familiar province that calls itself the capital of the Church of Lucius. On the other is uncharted territory belonging to barbarians. The Lorian soldiers that ordinarily protect the roads have been redirected due to the civil war, leaving pilgrims to the holy city vulnerable to Barbaroy brigands.

    You find a suspicious clearing. There is a half-dozen dirty old tents pitched lazily around the perimeter. In the center is a cold fire pit. Large logs and rocks are arranged around it for seating. Half-eaten, rotting food, animal bones, empty wineskins, and a dozen wooden bowls are littered all about. There's a very faint smell like a latrine coming from the west. What do you do?

Author's Note: Bright-Dark handles exploration through descriptive play rather than mechanical procedures or dice rolling. These players are experienced and don't need to ask about how to play. Players describe what they do. The GM describes what they perceive. Meaning emerges from the fiction, not the rolls.

Sir Osric (Richard): Sir Osric steps into the clearing. He refuses to show cowardice.

Dirk (Matthew): Dirk whispers very aggressively. "Wait! Sir Osric! It might be dangerous!"

Iosefina (Josephine): I look at Eric. "There goes your friend."

Eric (Derek): I shake my head. "Ugh. Just stay close to him."

Dirk (Matthew): I keep low and I walk around the perimeter of the clearing. I stay in the trees. I approach the nearest tent slowly and cautiously. I listen for any breathing or small sounds that might be coming from the tent.

Author's Note: Dirk's player does not declare that he's sneaking, he describes what sneaking looks like when Dirk sneaks. He does not ask if he detects anything, and he does not ask for a roll to detect anything. Instead, he describes how he's trying to detect something (listening). This prompts the GM to provide the sensory details, not the answer, for the player.

GM: Dirk, you don't hear anything coming from the tent.

Sir Osric (Richard): I announce to the party, "there's no one here. Come on out."

Iosefina (Josephine): I give Eric the side eye.

Eric (Derek): I step into the clearing and jog to Osric. I don't want to be far from my bodyguard.

Iosefina (Josephine): I am going to wait in the woods.

Sir Osric (Richard): I yell over my shoulder at Iosefina. "Witch! Stop hiding! You're making us look weak!"

Iosefina (Josephine): I ignore Sir Osric. He can drag me out if he wants to. I am going to cast my gaze around the woods to see if I can spot anyone hiding in ambush.

GM: The woods are quiet and peaceful. You see rows and rows of trees and shrubs that go one and on. They get darker and darker as they get further except for a couple of bright spots where light pierces the canopy.

Author's Note: The GM does not tell the player, "you see nothing." Instead, he describes what the character sees and allows the player to deduce that there are no threats hiding just out of sight.

Dirk (Matthew): I am going to draw my dagger, and I am going to touch the tip to the inside of the tent flap and slowly draw it open.

GM: You see someone's soiled bed roll and frayed winter blanket. It smells like it hasn't been washed in a while. There's an empty clay bottle turned on its side and a small leather pouch.

Dirk (Matthew): I duck-walk into the tent and reach for the bottle. I hold it to my nose.

GM: It smells like it once contained wine.

Dirk (Matthew): I set it down gently so it doesn't make any noise. I reach for the pouch. I give it a shake.

GM: You hear some things rustle inside. There are obviously a few coins. 

Dirk (Matthew): I open it up and look inside.

GM: There is some copper and silver Lora, a small clay bottle with a cork, a set of dice, and a beaded bracelet.

Author's Note: Lora is the currency in the Empire of Loria. The players are familiar and don't need this explained in this session.

Dirk (Matthew): I look at the beaded bracelet and try to recall where I might have seen this before.

GM: It's clearly an Evrwyr craft.

Author's Note: The players are familiar with the Evrwyrs. They're itinerant people and their girls and women often sell handmade crafts such as beaded jewelry to earn some money for traveling. How it got here is up to the player to wonder about.

Dirk (Matthew): I am going to take out the small clay bottle and turn it in my hands to read the sides.

GM: There are no markings of any kind.

Dirk (Matthew): I shake it.

GM: It rattles with a soft sound. It might be filled with sand or small grains.

Dirk (Matthew): I pull out the cork.

GM: A smell of spice hits your nose instantly. It smells like that dinner you were served at the tavern in High Mark.

Dirk (Matthew): I'm going to put everything back into the pouch and secure it to my body. If we confront anyone out here, I want to ask them and find out if this is something stolen from one of the pilgrims.

Sir Osric (Richard): I march into the center of the clearing. I look down and all around it. I give a few things a kick to turn them over and see what might be under them.

Eric (Derek): I keep up with Osric, and I look around carefully to make sure there's no one hiding in any of the tents.

GM: Osric, you kick over a few things. A dirty cork rolls away from your boot. A clay bottle spins away and makes a little p'tut sound. One utensil half-buried in an impression of a boot in the dirt is silver. Eric, some of the tents are wide open. You don't see anyone, but you do see their bed rolls and small, personal things they left behind sticking up from under the blankets.

Author's Note: The GM is resolving Sir Osric and Eric's actions together because Eric gave his immediately, and it makes sense within the narrative.

Sir Osric (Richard): They've discarded something silver. Maybe they don't need valuables, or maybe something happened?

Eric (Derek): They might have left some personal possession behind too. I tell Osric about the half-hidden personal possessions sticking out.

Author's note: Eric's player has opted to describe what his character said rather than repeat what the GM said in-character.

Sir Osric (Richard): They didn't just leave their camp and possession unguarded. That's either sloppy or foolhardy. I sniff the air around the fire pit.

GM: They recently had a cooking fire. There are two poles holding up a skewer with portions of two thoroughly cooked, skinned rabbits. Slightly burned fur and feathers are at the edges of the fire pit.

Dirk (Matthew): I creep along the perimeter and keep an eye for any signs of danger in the woods. I keep low and approach the next tent cautiously.

GM: Iosefina, what about you? You haven't said anything in a little while.

Iosefina (Josephine): I'm scanning the woods. I'm not letting anyone sneak up on us. If I see anyone, I'm yelling before they get close.

Author's note: Iosefina's player determined that the clearing feels abandoned, but not safe.

GM: OK, Iosefina. Dirk, you are in front of your second tent. What do you do?

Dirk (Matthew): I part the flap with the blade of my dagger and peer inside.

GM: *Rolls dice to determine discovery*. You spot a small leather bag with a single strap.

Dirk (Matthew): I duck-walk inside and give it a gentle whack to hear what might be inside.

GM: There's some brief clattering from inside the leather bag.

Dirk (Matthew): I open it carefully.

GM: You see small gauze, clay jars with clay or wooden caps, neat wax paper, a mortar and pestle, small measuring spoons, a knife...

Dirk (Matthew): It's a doctor's bag?

GM: You may think that.

Author's note: The GM rolled a medicine bag, but he's not announcing that to the player. The GM is describing it for immersion and allowing the player to determine its value. The game has no rules for a medicine bag. It's something that exists inside the fiction.

Dirk (Matthew): I want this, but not right now. I'm going to place this in an obvious spot on the edge of the tent so that I don't forget it.

GM: Sir Osric, you are standing in the middle of the clearing with Novice Eric at your side. What do you do?

Sir Osric (Richard): I call to Dirk "thief, what are you finding?"

Dirk (Matthew): I roll my eyes. I don't answer because I'm trying to be sneaky.

GM: And as far as you know Dirk, you're doing a pretty good job *grin*.

Sir Osric (Richard): I look around the clearing for the biggest tent, or the tent that is most obviously the leader's tent.

GM: One tent fits that description. It's red, slightly bigger than the other ones, and its newer looking.

Sir Osric (Richard): I march to it. As I do I call out "anyone in the red tent, don't anyone try anything foolish. I am Sir Osric Garriot, Paladin of High Mark." I reach out a hand and pull open the flap.

GM: The air feels heavier near the red tent. There's a foul odor from the gap. Inside, you see the remains of a man lying on his back. His flesh has been preyed upon, possibly by several beasts.

Author's Note: This last discovery by Sir Osric is the wound of this small camp. What the players do next is up to them.

Combat

GM: The four of you are trekking through the forested borders of High Mark. The sunlight turns a soft dusky purple. Shadows darken, lengthen and spread...

Sir Osric (Richard): "We break for camp!"

Iosefina (Josephine): "No! We march! I'm not tired."

Sir Osric (Richard): "Don't be a fool, witch. There are savage barbarians hiding in these very woods."

Iosefina (Josephine): Iosefina grabs a lock of her barbarian red hair and coils it around a finger as she glares at Sir Osric.

Sir Osric (Richard): Osric returns Iosefina's glare with a mock glare.

Dirk (Matthew): "I'm with the paladin. I'm tired."

GM: You hear a shaking of a leafy branch. A very broad man standing easily a head taller than Sir Osric, covered in scars, and wearing a bearskin pelt, appears standing at the edge of your clearing. His eyes have a thousand-yard stare. Iosefina, you know from stories that he's likely been fasting and breathing in herbs to induce a battle trance as part of his warrior's training. He's not in his right mind today. He presents his bloody battle axe. His face is a twisted mix of sadness and anger. It doesn't appear directed at you. It's the sadness of someone who's lost too much. What does the party do?

Author's Note: Bright-Dark play does not make a distinction between combat and non-combat. The narrative and play are continuous and seamless. A potential threat is presented to the players, and each player plays their character. In narrative terms, the man in the bearskin pelt appears, but doesn't act while the party is distracted by in-fighting even though he had surprise. In game terms, the GM has yielded the GM-side turn and is permitting the player-side turn first.

Iosefina (Josephine): Iosefina draws her small sword to show that she's dangerous, but she doesn't raise it to show that she's peaceful. She shouts in warning "You there! Stay away!"

Sir Osric (Richard): Osric draws his longsword and assumes a battle stance. He refuses to show any cowardice. "Back Barbarian!"

Dirk (Matthew): Dirk draws his dagger and steps into the shadow of a tree.

Eric (Derek): Eric chants an incantation and casts a minor light spell.

Author's Note: In Bright-Dark, player-side turns have two phases; a declaration phase, then a resolution phase. This was the declaration phase. Experienced Bright-Dark players won't need to be told this. Three players make no actions that require a resolution phase this round.

GM: Eric, I'm not going to make you roll to cast your spell because you'll probably succeed anyway.

Eric (Derek): A floating orb of light appears from Eric's hand, flies to Eric's shoulder, hovers in place, and lights up the space.

GM: The strange man in the bear pelt lets out a huff. "S, sorcery? No!" He looses a grief-filled war cry that cracks half-way through, and charges for Eric. He swings his ax for Eric's head. *Rolls 3d6.* 12.

Eric (Derek): That hits.

GM: The axe head is buried into your shoulder with a wet plunk. His expression flickers showing an instant of regret before he is lost in his trance again, then he yanks the axe out! You take 5 points of damage! You're going to have a -1 penalty to all actions using that arm until you recover the 5 Health you lost today.

Author note: That ends the GM-side turn. Now for the Player-side turn. First the declaration phase.

Iosefina (Josephine): Iosefina sings an incantation for a minor spell, conjures a magenta dart in her off-hand, and hurls it at the leg of the man in the bear pelt.

GM: Minor spell TN 9, but I'm raising it to 10 because you're making a called shot.

Sir Osric (Richard): Sir Osric yells "Novice Eric!" and he charges for the man, stops in between the man and Eric, and aims a cut for the man's leg.

Dirk (Matthew): Dirk bends down and picks up a stone, and he hurls it at the man as hard as he can hoping to distract him. He isn't trying to hurt him, just break his focus.

Eric (Derek): Eric writhes on the ground and clutches his wound. He chants an incantation to cast a major light spell to blind the man in the bear pelt.

Author's note: Now for the resolution phase of the Player-side turn.

GM: Dirk, I'm going to rule your stone will hit him. Everyone else roll.

Iosefina (Josephine) *Rolls 3d6.* 13! *rolls 1d6* 4 points of damage.

Sir Osric (Richard): *Rolls 3d6*. Natural 4.

Eric (Derek) *Rolls 3d6*. 14.

Author's note: Now that dice have been rolled, the GM resolves all player actions at once.

GM: Iosefina, your magic dart streaks across the clearing and impales the strange man in the leg. There's a single splash of blood, but the man doesn't appear aware of the injury. Dirk, you clearly see the rock strike the man and bounce off, and you clearly see he doesn't seem cognizant of the rock. Eric, you blind everyone. It's like looking into the sun. You all feel pain behind your eyes. Eric, subtract 3 Ether for the strain of this spell. Sir Osric, Eric's light came upon you faster than you realized. In the brightness, you crash into the man in the bear pelt by mistake. He's so large and hefty, you bounce off him and crash into Eric. Both of you land prone at the feet of the man in the bear pelt. *Rolls 3d6*. The man in the bearskin pelt fails his morale check. He yells in horror. You can't see anything, but you can hear him stomp away and out of the clearing. His voice fades and carries on the wind.

Sir Osric (Richard): Sir Osric looks at Eric's wound, grunts in frustration, punches the ground, and stands up. "Coward!" He runs after the man in bearskin pelt.

Iosefina (Josephine): "Wait, Sir Fool!" Iosefina races after Sir Osric.

Eric (Derek): Eric rolls his eyes at the recklessness of his companions. He's missing half his Health, so he's too seriously wounded to chase after them.

GM: Dirk, Eric is wounded. Two of your fellows have chased after the barbarian without any plan or coordination. What do you do?

Dirk (Matthew): Dirk assumes Iosefina will be OK no matter what, and he's confident that Sir Osric is too stubborn to die. He kneels down besides Eric, opens his priestly robe, and inspects his wound.

GM: Dirk, Eric's wound is quite nasty. The collarbone might be broken. The trapezius muscle is split. It's bleeding and turning Eric's white robes red.

Dirk (Matthew): I'm going to try to stanch that with gauze.

GM: As Dirk tends to Eric's wounded shoulder, we cut to the courageous, zealous Sir Osric and the impatient, overly eager to find danger, Iosefina. You're running through the woods which are now dark. The land tilts and rolls. Uneven ground and bulging roots are concealed by tall grass that crunches under foot. A gauntlet of low hanging branches swat at you. You two emerge in a new clearing. You've caught up to the man in the bearskin pelt. He's sweating profusely and breathing heavily. His axe arm is trembling. Eric's blood drips from its edge and you hear a ragged sob from the man.

Author's Note: Chase rules in Bright-Dark need no mechanics. If a side chooses to flee, they flee. This is automatic on their turn. If a side chooses not to pursue, the side that flees escapes successfully. Otherwise, if a side chooses pursuit, they catch up to the fleeing side automatically. Combat simply resumes in a new location. Turn order is re-established by the logic of the fiction.

Sir Osric (Richard): I present the tip of my sword to the man and I command "you there! Barbarian! You have harmed the light of High Mark! Kneel or perish!"

Iosefina (Josephine): Iosefina raises an arm and calls for Sir Osric's patience. "Wait!" Then she says to the man in the bearskin pelt "why have you attacked us!"

GM: The man in the bearskin pelt turns to you, Iosefina. His face is twisted up. You can see grief mixed with rage, but no fear. He's fighting to stay sane. Then the trance comes over him, and his face becomes nearly expressionless. He squeezes his axe. "I will become the greatest warrior my village has ever known! They will regret casting me out!" He runs at you Sir Osric since you're the closest and most aggressive, and he aims a chop for your head. *Rolls 3d6*. 10.

Sir Osric (Richard): My Defense TN is 11. Miss. I slash at his arm with my sword so that I can cripple it!

Iosefina (Josephine): I sing an incantation and conjure another dart, but Iosefina hesitates and doesn't throw it.

Sir Osric (Richard): *Rolls 3d6*. 11, and *rolls 1d6* I roll 6 points of damage.

Iosefina (Josephine): *Rolls 3d6*. 9

GM: Sir Osric, your sword opens up a strikingly straight and red wound on the man's arm. Because your called shot did so much damage, I'm going to rule that his axe falls from his hand. The man howls in pain. His trance flickers in and out. His shoulders slump. The rage is gone. Only grief remains. Iosefina, your dart is successfully cast. If you want to throw it in the next round, you may.

Sir Osric (Richard): Sir Osric is softened by the man's face. He's also honor bound not to strike an unarmed opponent. He lowers his sword and shouts "do you yield?"

Iosefina (Josephine): Iosefina is confident that Sir Osric is safe, but she's not confident that Sir Osric won't do anything stupid. "Sir Osric, mercy!"

Author's Note: Mercy and violence are both options, but violence is not the goal of Bright-Dark. Mercy, restraint, and emotional truth are the real resolution.

Sir Osric (Richard): "Of course, witch! I'm no savage!"

Iosefina (Josephine): Iosefina looks at the face of the man in the bearskin pelt.

Author's note: Instead of asking "what do I see?", Josephine simply describes that she looks into the man's face. This prompts the GM to describe the man's face.

GM: The man's trance is gone. He's wounded from your first dart and Sir Osric's sword. He has a different thousand yard stare this time, but it's not vacant, it's recalling something painful. 

Iosefina (Josephine): I approach him cautiously...

GM: The man's eyes flick to the spell in your hand and this causes him visible distress.

Iosefina (Josephine): I wave my hand and dismiss my magic dart. It disappears like a dying flame. "We want to talk."

Author's Note: The players are about to engage in social interaction with the NPC. Note that the GM has not told them they're out of combat or that the danger is gone. Depending on what they do or say, things could always get worse.

Social Interaction

Author's note: There are no dice rolls for social interaction in Bright-Dark 3d6. Social interaction is handled through roleplay and description. We show human behavior and emotional cues, and we reveal truth in the narrative rather than with mechanics or out-of-character communication. We call this narrative truth.

    The players must discover what an NPC needs and then make an offer to satisfy the NPC needs in exchange for something the players need in return. NPCs may have objections to the players' offer. The players should try to get the NPC to reveal these objections so they can resolve them.

    Every Complex NPC has a wound, a shield, a goal, an external obstacle, and redeeming traits. These are detailed in the Game Master Section. The players can ask prying questions to try and reveal these because knowing them is beneficial to the players' efforts.

Recap: After a very brief fight, Sir Osric and Iosefina have pursued a man in a bearskin pelt into a clearing. There, Sir Osric injured the man. It's unclear if he's still dangerous. Iosefina and Osric attempt to use merciful parley to discover truth.

Sir Osric (Richard): Sir Osric refuses to put his sword away, but he lowers it. He is absolutely ready to use it. He stares sternly down at the man in the bearskin pelt.

Iosefina (Josephine): Iosefina slowly approaches the man. She stows her small sword into its scabbard and kneels just out of his reach. She looks into his eyes and tries to express pity to the man.

GM: The man is fighting back sobs. "You. Is your hair red?"

Iosefina (Josephine): Iosefina nods. "Yes."

GM: "Why are you with this Lorian? What aren't you with your people!"

Iosefina (Josephine): "I am Lorian."

GM: His face looks skeptically at you.

Iosefina (Josephine): "You've hurt my friend. Do you remember?"

GM: He nods. There's a bit of shame on his face.

Iosefina (Josephine): "Why?"

GM: Different expressions flash and he averts his gaze. He gulps. "No. I cannot say. It was the herbs."

Iosefina (Josephine): "You induced madness in yourself?"

GM: He grits his teeth. "It is our way! We learn the state of no-mind! It makes us unstoppable in battle!"

Iosefina (Josephine): "You're covered in scars. You know that? I'm covered in scars too. I don't huff any herbs."

GM: The man looks you up and down. You have a very small stature for a full-grown woman, he's not sure of your age. Are any of your scars showing?

Iosefina (Josephine): No. I raise the front of my shirt and show him the scar on my belly from the time I was stabbed.

GM: Grief flickers on his face at the gesture of revealing your scars. His face and posture soften. His jaw trembles as he tries to speak. "They, the chief, the village, they are punishing me! I'm not allowed to go back. I must serve penitence."

Author's note: Iosefina is earning trust through vulnerability. The GM is being generous and accepting this gesture. Like a narrator in a novel, he is calling attention to the NPC's softening to the PC's action. This is a clue for the players that they are earning trust or respect. The GM has also hinted but not revealed the NPC's wound. Observant players will know this is the metaphorical knot to unravel to solve this non-player character's problem, but they may not be able to do it in this scene. 

Iosefina (Josephine): "What for?"

GM: "I cannot say!"

Iosefina (Josephine): "You don't have to. Can we help?"

GM: "No! I cannot accept help from anybody until my penitence is done!"

Author's Note: This is the NPC's shield. A shield is a defense mechanism or a coping mechanism. The GM has revealed the shield and simultaneously his redeeming traits subtly. The subtext is that the NPC is either a rule-follower or is sincerely contrite for whatever wrong he committed, to a fault. Players can recognize the shield and try to help the NPC past it, or they can appeal to the NPCs redeeming traits and encourage him to embody those in this moment.

Sir Osric (Richard): "I misjudged you, barbarian. You're quite noble."

Iosefina (Josephine): I cast a quick glare at Sir Osric then I face the man again. "Let us help. Someone's been attacking people on the road. My sister in-law has been captured. We need to find her. If you can tell us anything, we promise to help you with your problem. You don't need to do it yourself. It's OK to accept help."

Sir Osric (Richard): Sir Osric's hands tighten on his hilt as Iosefina offers help without fulling knowing what she's agreeing to.

Author's note: To reiterate, the way to resolve a conflict with an NPC in social interaction is to find out what they need, then make an offer, then hear their objections and adjust the offer. In this case, Iosefina's player has partially identified the NPC's need and is sharing her need as emotional leverage to get him to change his disposition and reveal what his full need is. She's also prematurely offered to help before she knows what she is agreeing to do. Also note that Sir Osric complimented the man in his own rough way by calling him noble. This is an appeal to a redeeming trait which can soften an NPC.

GM: The man's eyes teared up. "Have you also been expelled from your family?"

Iosefina (Josephine): "My mother was."

GM: The man nods. "I will help."

Author's note: Connection is the reward for the player's choices. No major conflicts have been resolved, but the party has a temporary ally. They can regroup and, in the next scene, their NPC ally can reveal more information and allow the players to make an informed choice.

Next: Example Scenario - The Village Under Two Shadows

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