Rosette Diceless Companion

Supplemental Material

Future Proof Games

Rosette Diceless Companion, Version 1.0.0

Rosette Diceless is part of the Rosette roleplaying game family.

Learn more at: rosetterpg.com

© 2021 Future Proof Games, Inc. All rights reserved.

Designed and written by Gregory and Melissa Avery-Weir

Based on LORE (Lightweight Omnipotent Roleplaying Engine) designed and written by Gregory Avery-Weir

Thanks to our playtesters:

Lucy Arnold

Brendan Kern

Jim Ryan

Zachary Szczepaniak

Ben Walker

Contains art from:

Hopkins, Albert A. Magic; stage illusions and scientific diversions, including trick photography London: Sampson Low, Marston and Company, 1897.

Typeset in Prince XML using the Docraptor API.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Play Guidance

Examples of Play

So-Called Immunity

"How Long Is a Turn?"

The IC/OOC Divide and Metagaming

Planning Rosette Story

The Value of a Secret

Tracking Personal Development

Spotlighting Characters in a Conflict

New Rules

Alternatives to XP

Alternate Play Structures

More on Focus

Additional Character Options

Resources and Setbacks

New Common Resource Examples

Pooled Common Resource Examples

New Rare Resource Examples

New Common Setback Examples

New Rare Setback Examples

New Traits

Superlative Traits

Positive Traits

Negative Traits

Introduction

The base book for Rosette Diceless was complete when we released it after months of testing, but we've continued playing the game for over two years since it was written. Over that time, we've learned more about the range of the system, the possible issues that can arise, and the areas where we started wishing for more options.

This book is a compilation of the many ways we wanted to supplement the original book. Some of this material is a revision of articles originally published at rosetterpg.com, while the rest is entirely new. Our hope is that if Rosette Diceless is working for your game, this book will help it run even better; and if you aren't sure if Diceless is working for you, this book will address any issues you have.

We've included more examples of how play can proceed and the diversity of roleplaying experience you can have. We've provided new options for using Focus and XP to better support different lengths of campaigns and play sessions. We've added clarifications surrounding tricky situations like apparent immunity to Attacks or like Secrets not being prominent enough in play. And to enhance your experience in general, we've included some additional Resources and Traits that weren't in the base book, many of which interact with the new options presented in this one.

As a final note: remember that your game belongs to you as players and that the presence of a rule in this book doesn't constrain what you do in your play. Incorporate material introduced here if you have consensus that it works for your group and always keep in mind the basic principles of Rosette Diceless as a whole.

We hope you enjoy this new material and that it improves your game of Rosette Diceless. We welcome any questions or feedback you might have at: info@futureproofgames.com

Gregory Avery-Weir
Melissa Avery-Weir

Play Guidance

Examples of Play

When reading the rules for a game, it can be tricky to envision how play proceeds. Here are a couple of examples of how a round of Conflict could go with very different premises and settings. The first is an investigation where each turn could represent hours or days in-game, while the other is a fast-paced skirmish.

The Longest Shadows

Alex is serving as Narrator for Beau and Chris. Beau's character Barrett is a supernatural investigator, while Chris's character Connie is a precocious teen reporter. Alex has introduced a mystery that they're both investigating: people have gone missing at night in a certain downtown parking garage. The group has already discussed a Goal and Consequence ; Beau and Chris are trying to put an end to the disappearances while avoiding the Consequence of having their mutual friend being taken.

Alex shuffles the turn order cards, including cards for "Barrett", "Connie", and "The Shadows" (which is the name of the Adversary in this Conflict). Connie's card comes up first.

"I want to start by just casing out the parking garage, looking for anything weird," Chris says. "I've got a Mind of 3 and I'll use the Investigative Reporting skill, so that's a Bold attack of a 6 against… Wits, probably? I'll use my Expensive Camera Resource for an Edge."

Alex consults the Defense s of the adversary, who's got a base Wits of 3. Boosting would only bring it up to a 5. "I can't block that," they say. "When are you looking around? Like, what time of day?"

"Probably that first afternoon," Chris responds.

Alex nods. "Okay, then Connie is snooping around taking photos, and since she's paying a lot of attention to lighting, she notices something weird. There are really deep shadows in certain places, cast as if by accident, even during the day. Like, maybe in one place a lightbulb is burned out, and also there's some overgrown trees outside the garage, and a renovation crew has left a tarp blocking another light source." They check some boxes in their notes. "So that's two Stress on the mystery, but I'm going to block one by taking the Affliction 'Scoped Out'."

Chris turns to Beau and says, "Connie's going to call up Barrett and be like, 'Hey, there's some weird stuff going on in that parking garage we talked about. I think it might be… you know, weird stuff.' And she fills him in on the whole shadow situation. 'Do you think you could check it out at night? My mom's got me on a curfew after that werewolf thing.'"

Beau accepts this setup and checks their character sheet. "Yeah," they say. "Uh… I've got… hm. I think I want to sneak around the place and just watch what's going on without being seen? But… I think that's Body, and I'm not great at that. So… let's say it's a Bold Attack boosted to a 4 with Blending In. I… don't think I have an Edge for that."

"Okay," Alex says. "That's against Wits too, right? I'm going to boost with Hidden Eyes, so I block it. But I still take Wear on my Wits. You hang around all night, but you just don't see anything weird happen. The next day, however, that cop you spoke to tells you that someone else went missing, even though you were there all night."

Alex checks their notes again, since it's the Adversary's turn. "All right," they say. "I'm going to do a Crisis attack. Nothing happens that day, but after sunset you're each at home, and when you go into the bathroom and turn on the light, there's a photo of Ms. Delucca, the gym teacher, leaning against the mirror. It's an instant photo, like a polaroid, and it looks like it's taken from inside the house. What're you going to do? That's a… Bold Attack of 4 boosted with Cruel Sense of Humor, and it's got an Edge of Credible Threat, since you know this thing has kidnapped people."

Chris laughs. "I think Connie's just going to run around and turn on every light in the house and arm herself with a bunch of flashlights. So I'm taking it on Nerve, boosting with… Overpreparation, I guess."

Alex thinks this over. "Well… that would protect you, but this is a threat against Ms. Delucca, so I don't think that blocks it." They see Chris making the Unless hand gesture. "Unless…" they say thoughtfully, "…you're doing something that could distract whatever is doing this?"

"Yeah, okay," Chris says. "I've got most of the lights on, but I'm, like, turning them off in one room and then back on, to try and catch the shadow monster or whatever. My parents are probably super confused."

Beau says, "I'll immediately call Ms. Delucca and tell her to stay in a well-lit room, and that she's just going to have to trust me. She was there for that leprechaun fight, so she should take it seriously. So that's Wits, I think. I'll just boost with my Extra Aware Trait. Like, maybe I noticed the photo really quickly."

"Okay, so make sure you both take Wear," Alex says. "Nothing happens to Connie all night, and Ms. Delucca texts you in the morning, Beau, just to check in and kind of ask what's going on." The investigation continues from there.

The Assault of the Peregrine

Mae is narrating for Nora and Oscar, with her character currently sleeping off a severe hangover in the lower decks of the group's pirate ship, the Reckless Venture. Nora plays Captain Redbraid, while Oscar controls the rakish Fennec Fox. They're being attacked by the privateer ship Peregrine, with the party's Goal being "Escape from the Peregrine" and the Consequence being "The Jewel of Buckle Bay gets stolen back". They've already done a few rounds of Conflict, and there are attackers on board the Venture, represented by Extras and Experts, as well as the Peregrine itself serving as an Adversary.

It's Oscar's turn. "What Affliction s does the Peregrine have again?" he asks.

"Uhh…" Mae checks her notes. "Just 'Scattered Fires'. You already used 'In Irons'."

"Oh, okay, I know," Oscar says. "Ships have tar barrels on deck to do… repair stuff, right? I'm going to shoot one of those with my big rifle to spread the fire. That's targeting its Affliction with an Edge of… Big Rifle."

"Cool, so that's the Affliction gone and another point of Stress," Mae says. "Now it's time for the Scallywags that are on deck. There's still one of them for each of you, and they're swinging their swords. That's a 6 at each of your Vigors, Bold, with the Swords skill and Edge."

"I'll boost with Extra Quick and mark my Wear," Oscar says. "I just dance aside and knock the sword away with my bayonet."

"I don't think I can defend against that," says Nora. "I'll… hm. My Armor resource blocks the Edge, but I think what happens is I twist away and the sword catches my braid and… cuts it off." Mae lets out a mock gasp. "So that's the Affliction… "Humiliated". No actual Stress, and that clears the Wear on my Vigor."

Nora looks at her sheet. "I think I'm just going to take out these two Scallywags and hope that the enemy Captain doesn't do anything too bad this turn. I'm going to… okay, I'll look behind them and call out, 'Now, Samson!' and hope that they look, and then stab them with my two knives. So I'm always boosted to lie from Extra Convincing, and I'll use its Edge to do a Split Attack. So that's an 8, since it's a Charm-based attack."

"Oh, yeah, that's more than enough," Mae says. "They look behind them, and you stab them in the back. They're just Extras, so they slump to the deck. But behind them, you see Captain Draught of the Peregrine, and he's drawing two huge flintlock pistols." The battle continues from there.

So-Called Immunity

Sometimes you'll have a Trait or other quality that sounds like you can ignore certain obstacles. For example, the Non-biological Trait says you "aren't affected by environmental hazards". Boundless Endurance says that "you never get tired". Choosing this sort of Trait for your character is a strong signal that you don't want your character to worry about such things, and this should be respected.

However, the Conflict system relies on every Attack having the potential to deal Stress. Being able to simply say that an Attack automatically misses will interrupt the rhythm and flow of the game and may make other players feel as if their characters are less interesting or powerful than yours. At the same time, your choice of Trait shouldn't just be invalidated!

Whenever possible, work with the attacker to figure out why the Attack is still relevant to your character. For example, even if your character doesn't need to breathe, an Attack that vents the air from a spaceship could send debris flying around dangerously as the air rushes out. Also note that Attacks with multiple targets don't have to affect each target the same way. For example, if your character has some quality that makes them emotionally immovable, a tragic opera could challenge them with boredom while the other targets are trying to choke back tears.

This can also be an opportunity for you to demonstrate your character's uniqueness. If an Attack challenges the group to keep going in the face of fatigue, your character with Boundless Endurance could defend by helping along other characters who can get tired.

If it doesn't seem possible or worthwhile to find a way for the Attack to affect you, or you find that this process isn't fulfilling for your group, consider the following optional rule : "You block any Edge that your Trait would make you immune to." Discuss this rule with your group and decide if it works for your game.

You shouldn't use this sort of immunity to avoid making an interesting defense against a Crisis Attack. These attacks exist for you to demonstrate your active resistance against the Adversary 's efforts, not for you to passively ignore the tension.

"How Long Is a Turn?"

For a lot of us, especially those of us who have a background in combat-centered simulationist systems (e.g., D&D) reading combat or conflict mechanics in a new system can quickly raise the question, "But how long is a turn?"

Rosette Diceless is intentionally vague about this, stating that, "A turn lasts however long it takes for the featured character to make an Attack. This might be a few seconds in a fast-paced action scene, or it could take an entire day if you're working to put together a creative project in the face of adversity." (p. 20)

It can still be difficult to get a sense for how Conflict plays at different scales, so here are a few scenarios that are by no means exhaustive. We talk about how to help players spotlight each other here, but we'll touch on it lightly here as well.

A Fast Action Scene

You might be fighting with fists, swords, or mecha, or you might be doing a group gymnastics routine. An individual player's turn here might only be 5-15 seconds, depending on the specifics. In this situation, players are encouraged to think fast, but also to make clear how the Conflict shifts significantly when they deal Stress or Afflictions. A fast-paced brawl that doesn't move the Conflict toward the Goal or Consequence is just a boring slugfest.

To help the spotlighted character take interesting actions, think about quick tactical actions: tossing someone an improvised weapon, hitting the NOS button in the car for them, or using a Trait to introduce an element into the scene that can help.

In this situation, there's usually less worry about how other characters are spending their time during someone's turn than in longer-running Conflicts.

A Negotiation

Negotiations can take a while on each person's turn. A turn might be a short verbal exchange between a PC and the Adversary that results in a Charm Attack using Extra Empathetic or Famous. It could also be a Mind Attack leveraging Extra Aware to notice details of the surroundings that the Adversary holds dear and thus apply some pressure.

Turns are probably also variable-length in this case. One person might only need a few seconds to gather their information and pass it on, while another might focus on the specifics of a conversation for a while longer. That's perfectly fine—there's no reason to force each turn in a Conflict to be the same amount of time. Just make sure that everyone is having a chance to make a significant impact.

Players often won't know what their Attack will be when their turn comes up. They may need to roleplay a bit with other players or the Narrator before it becomes clear what approach they want to use. The spotlighting techniques in a later section can help make this happen.

A similar moderately-paced Conflict is making a Thanksgiving dinner, where characters coordinate the preparation of a variety of dishes for many people, probably with limited places to perform each step. In this case, the logistics are complicated enough that characters will need skill to pull it off at all, let alone smoothly.

An Investigation

Turns in an investigation can stretch and shrink quite widely over the course of the story. In our home games, an investigative Conflict might be the bulk of a 4-hour playing session, as often solving the mystery is the whole point of the story. Occasionally some of the party is in a very fast-paced sequence of turns while the rest of the group is investigating at a more sedate pace, but that isn't typically the case.

An investigation tends to go through phases as the players gather more information and come to a decision point on what to do with the info, perhaps culminating in a very tense situation. Turns tend to be looser early on (e.g., searching computer files or an office, calling a variety of contacts or Associates) and become more focused later in the investigation.

Like negotiations, players in an investigation might not be exactly sure of what to do the moment their turn starts. It's perfectly fine to roleplay to sort out the character's approach for an actual Attack.

A Space Battle

Imagine a space battle. Not the rapid-fire zippy zoomy kind—that's more like a "Fast Action Scene", described above. The kind with massive battle ships with inertia, whole fleets that need to swing into position, and communication that needs to be disseminated from admirals to commodores to captains and so on.

These battles can have weird timing. They have strategizing and interpreting and may be playing out partly at a holographic battle map or even split between commanders on ships and diplomats in conference rooms, each Attacking in their own ways. Depending on the technologies and setting, the actions in a turn could take hours in-character, long enough for a PC to rest their weary head and wait to hear results in the morning.

A more mundane example of this sort of Conflict might be a cross-continent trip in a modern, historical, or fantasy setting. The airport portion of travel might be a quick couple of hours, but the overnight train ride that follows can bring its own troubles.

It can be difficult to keep one's eye on the Adversary in a Conflict like this. In the space battle, is bringing in allied forces a Charm-based intimidation Attack on the Adversary, or the preparation for a later physical Attack? The Narrator can get creative with Extras and Experts here to provide targets beyond the main Adversary. Also consider carefully whether the Adversary should be something as specific as a commander to best or as broad as "The War" or "The Battle". We always suggest coming up with example attacks the Adversary might make when designing a Conflict. This can help you decide what the right scale is for your conflict.

Scaling Can Be Tricky

As a Narrator and a player, be patient with larger-scale Conflicts. If you have shorter game sessions, you may find a Conflict spans multiple sessions due to the amount of roleplaying happening on each turn. That's just fine if it works for you!

If your group gets frustrated with the difficulty of figuring out what Attacks to make, have an OOC discussion about what the players and the Narrator are perceiving. Discuss either how to get everyone to a mutual understanding of the Conflict or how to tweak the Conflict to better line up with how folks at the table want play to go. Don't be afraid to reexamine Goals and Consequences mid-Conflict, too. One of the game's core principles is to do what makes sense for the story, even if it means breaking the rules.

The IC/OOC Divide and Metagaming

Most people who play roleplaying games are familiar with the divide between IC and OOC. We usually talk about this by saying things like, "Don't get mad if something happens to your character; your character is not you." It also leads to many players discouraging "metagaming," a blanket term that covers everything from "portraying a character as having knowledge that comes from outside the game" to "making decisions based on what the player wants instead of what the character would naturally do."

If you'd like to blur the lines between IC and OOC knowledge, consider the new Superlative Trait, Uncanny Insights, here.

This strict division between IC and OOC suits some game systems well, but Rosette calls for a more nuanced approach. Rosette is story-focused and collaborative: it's a system in which the players don't just portray their characters, they also work together to tell a good story. Sometimes this means that players should act according to their own motivations, even when it goes against what their characters want.

We can see a simple example of this when players narrate the results of their characters being hit by an Attack, and the concept is particularly important when negotiating Goals and Consequences during Conflicts.

Attack Results

When your character is hit by an Attack, you (the player) decide what that hit means. If you take Stress, you narrate what happens to your character that advances the Consequence of the Conflict ; if you take an Affliction instead, you narrate how your character is affected in a way that doesn't advance the Consequence but does leave them vulnerable to later Attacks.

This is an OOC decision. Obviously your character wouldn't want to burst into tears, get outsmarted, or become injured. But you as a player have the opportunity to depict the effects of an Attack in a way that highlights your character and makes the story more interesting. Getting stymied or hurt is bad for your character, but it's good for you as a player.

The effects of a successful Attack don't need to match what the attacker intended. If someone succeeds on an Attack to convince your character to take a bad business deal, that doesn't mean you must have them ruin their own company. Instead, maybe they lose face when their accountant has to veto the deal, or they liquidate a bunch of stock at a bad time in preparation for a deal that (by the end of the Conflict) will end up falling through. Likewise, if someone succeeds at shooting you with a gun, your character could become injured, but they could instead dive into a filthy dumpster or cower behind cover while frantically shouting the information they were trying to keep away from the shooter.

You don't pick which one of these results your character would prefer. You pick which one is most interesting to you as a player. This might even depend on information your character doesn't know! Taking Stress could mean that your character unknowingly picks up the locked briefcase containing evidence that could exonerate them… as long as it's not found in their possession.

This approach—where you make decisions as a player that your character wouldn't make on their own—is especially important in Conflict negotiation.

Conflict Negotiation

At the start of each Conflict scene, the players discuss the Goals and Consequence s at stake. If the players incapacitate their opponent, they achieve their Goal and avoid the Consequences of failure; if the player characters are incapacitated, they suffer the Consequences and do not achieve their Goal.

This is part of the consent culture of Rosette. Having the risk of negative outcomes helps produce tension, but you only suffer the outcomes that you are willing to see. If you don't want your character to risk death, they won't. If you don't want to be responsible for letting a murderer escape justice, you don't have to. But this decision is made by you as a player, not by your character.

The Consequence that the players choose for a Conflict should be something that your characters don't want to see happen. That's what makes it provide interesting tension and serve as a motivation to act against. Your ability to choose a Consequence isn't there so that you can avoid bad things happening to your character; it's there so that you can make sure the right bad things happen for your character's development.

Ideally, you as a player should feel that the story is equally well-served by either the Goal or the Consequence occurring. Your character might not want to face a tragedy, but tragic stories are a good way to explore a character's nature and provide them with a way to shine.

And beyond that, your role in Rosette isn't just to portray your character. It's to work together with the other players to create an ongoing story that provides a satisfying effect overall and gives each character an opportunity to be interesting. Sometimes that will mean choosing a Consequence that doesn't work perfectly for your character or pursuing a Goal as a group that your character doesn't really care about. You should still seek consensus and not just compromise, but consensus sometimes means valuing the group you're in as well as your individual priorities.

Metagaming Is Okay

One of the basic principles of Rosette Diceless is to "Only do what makes sense in the story." This means that your character's actions should make sense from that character's perspective, yes. But it also means that sometimes you should make a choice that would seem arbitrary to your character because you as a player know that it will serve the story.

You are not your character. You are often your character's advocate, but sometimes you're their unseen antagonist, putting challenges and obstacles in their way to highlight and explore their strengths and weaknesses. Don't be afraid to do things that your character won't like. It's for their own good.

Planning Rosette Story

In Rosette Diceless, anyone can be a Narrator and introduce story. You don't have to take a turn as a Narrator, of course: you contribute to the ongoing story just by playing your own character and perhaps occasionally narrating an event informally.

If you're going to run a Narrated scene, however, it can feel a bit daunting. There's a lot to keep track of, and with such a freeform system as Rosette Diceless, you should be ready to handle a wide array of things that the other players will throw at you.

So how do you prepare to run a story that includes a full Conflict scene?

If you'd like a peek behind the curtain of a narrator's planning, consider taking the new Positive Trait "Evaluative Eye", here.

The Groundwork

The full details of planning an RPG plot are outside of the bounds of this article, but your initial concept should present a crisis or obstacle of some sort that the other players have a reason to be interested in confronting. It should allow for multiple approaches and not be easily avoided or bypassed by the abilities the player characters possess.

Once you have this concept, note down what you want the player characters to learn or experience before Conflict begins. There may be news pieces, provocative events, or suspicious activities that will initiate the storyline. Don't make the players search or struggle for this exposition: if it's necessary for the story, just provide it to them in a way that feels natural.

Now decide where Conflict is likely to start. Don't be afraid to start a Conflict much earlier than you would start combat in other systems. As soon as the players start working toward a Goal and their success or failure is interesting, initiate Conflict. When planning, note a few Goals that you can imagine players pursuing. Try and make them broad to have a better chance of encompassing what actually arises in play.

Once you have exposition and potential Conflict Goals planned, you're ready to design the Conflict itself.

Conflict Design

The numbers involved in designing a Conflict are laid out in the Narrating chapter of Rosette Diceless, but there's more to good Conflict design than simply knowing the stats. Figure out what your core Adversary should be. It can be as specific as "Professor Winters" or as general as "The Apathy of Humanity." The former would lend itself to a very narrow Conflict where turns take seconds or minutes, while the latter could be wide-ranging and have longer turns as players try to affect large groups.

When you give your Adversary Skills, think about the broad range of situations and approaches your players could come up with. It can be helpful to think of what aspects of your Adversary you want to highlight, as these sorts of character descriptors can be more versatile and interesting than generic abilities. "Chilling" or "You Reap What You Sow" are Skills much more ripe for interpretation and drama than "Freeze Ray" and "Riposte."

Think of a few Crisis Attack s that you might use. These Attacks are important to a Narrated Conflict because they force the players to be at least a bit reactive, making the Adversary seem more like a challenging figure with agency instead of just a punching bag. Pick crises that fit the player characters you expect to participate in the Conflict, both as ways to show off their specialties and demonstrate their flaws.

Plan out a few Extra s and Expert s that you may want to add to the Conflict. These work best when you envision obstacles and complications that aren't a direct result of the Adversary but work to block the Goal or further the potential Consequences. You don't have to end up using every one of these characters, but it will be useful to have some planned out to use in a pinch.

When you have your Conflict mostly planned, take a moment to review it and make sure that it works mechanically. Do you have decent Attributes and several Skills for the Attacks you expect to use most often? You don't want to be repeatedly making an ineffectual Attack. Is the most likely Defense for the player's approach high enough? You don't want your opponents to be impossible to hit, but it's also not interesting if the players succeed on every Attack.

Planning Format

Organize your notes however works best for you. Even the game's two developers differ in their approach. Gregory usually uses several index cards, one for the Adversary and one for each potential Extra or Expert. The character cards double as tracking cards for the Conflict order.

Each index card has the character's name, Attributes and Defenses, list of Skills and Traits, likely Edges, and checkboxes to mark off Stress taken. The back of the cards can be used for any further notes needed. These notes tend to be rather general and high-level, which means they often are improvising responses to player actions or repurposing parts of their plan when it's clear things are going in an unexpected direction.

Melissa, on the other hand, tends to make extensive notes in a document. They'll write out potential avenues of investigation in bulleted lists or full paragraphs, including background information. Conflict opponents get full write-ups with not only the minimal stats but also potential Attacks, shifts in the Conflict, and Goals and Consequences. This approach requires more planning time but makes Melissa more prepared for a range of actions by the players.

Whichever way you want to organize your notes, you don't want them to be so brief that you find yourself making everything up on the spot, and you don't want them so detailed that you have trouble finding the information you need among the unused bits of potential story.

The Value of a Secret

Secrets are questions that everyone in the game knows exist, but only one other character knows the answer to. There are mechanical advantages to revealing these Secrets at opportune times, but they also serve as a way for players to form bonds between each other.

Some examples of Secrets are:

What is their real reason for being on the space station?

Why did they stop being a school teacher?

What is their connection to the feline mafia?

With one other character in the know and the fact that revealing these has a dramatic advantage in a Conflict , you can see roleplaying opportunities begin to open up. Secrets cost no XP to acquire, are advantageous to leverage, and fun to roleplay. We've found, however, that some players struggle to work them into play or find places to reveal them.

If you want to play a character plagued by their Secrets, consider the new Negative Personality Trait, Plagued by Nightmares, here.

Dare to Propose

It's tempting—especially early in a campaign—to make a character's mission or motivation a Secret. For example: "What is my real reason for being on the space station? I'm a spy for my government that wants to make sure the space station stays neutral in galactic politics." That's interesting and sounds like fun. The answer can inform a lot about your character and its place in the world.

But when players are deeply-invested in Secrets staying completely hidden or want to save it for a specific dramatic or intense plot, they won't reveal any of it through any roleplay. Secrets are interesting in how they shape your character's behavior. If no one ever sees you gathering just a little bit of extra data from a computer system, you don't have an unusual number of contacts for getting information or getting out of tricky situation, or you never seem stressed about meeting some private objective…

Then your Secret about being a spy isn't in play.

Secrets should produce some tension, and producing that tension is the player's responsibility, regardless of who the Narrator is. Let your character's Secrets drive some of the decisions they make. Make it clear your character is at least a bit conflicted.

In fact, there's a mechanical benefit to doing so: once per session, if your Secret is relevant to a Challenge, you can remind the other players of the question to boost that Challenge.

A Time to Disclose

There's not fixed timeline to reveal a Secret. It can happen a handful of sessions into establishing a Secret, or a year later.

As you develop your character through play and devise more history for yourself, you will hopefully find yourself adding more Secrets, large and small.

With more Secrets, you may find the shape of a character arc forming. A large Secret like, "What happens to my species when they turn 20 years old?" can be prefaced with multiple, smaller Secrets:

Why are their "birthday parties" somber affairs?

How did they lose their family?

Why do they eat only meat?

If your character is, say, 18 years old once you begin establishing these Secrets, you've set up nice on-going contributions to worldbuilding, added flavor and drama to the communal story your group is building, and have a direction in which your character must change and grow. You've introduced a tension in your character that will tug on them in the stories being played.

Revealing a Secret is a big deal: in addition to the roleplaying drama, it grants an automatic success on an Attack with an unblockable Edge. It makes sense, then, to reveal them creatively during a Conflict. But how do you set up the situation?

In the meeting before a game session, the group should be discussing that session's available plots and story goals. That's a good time to ask questions that might help you set up revealing a Secret. These can be simple logistical questions like, "Are we going to be in the vicinity of the castle in this story?" They may also be vaguer ones that suggest some improv banter to be ready for, like, "If I mention my mother, you're welcome to give me a hard time about it."

One of our players compared this aspect of character development to playing volleyball: "People know the direction you want to go in, so they can set you up to spike the secret." Don't wait for opportunities passively—dive in and ask for what you need. It can take some practice, but it's fun and contributes to the group's story.

When to Dispose

Other characters should be inspired to ask the question that is the Secret.

If they aren't—if no one cares about the question or they won't care about the answer—revisit the Secret. Can you tweak it or your roleplaying to make it relevant? Talk to your group in the pre- or post-play meetings about where your Secret might fit in the communal story. Ask the player who knows the answer to nudge you during roleplay if they can.

Is the Secret just not interesting anymore? It's okay if it isn't. As characters develop, it's natural that some things that seemed like they'd be dramatic early in a campaign become background that isn't quite the driving force you thought it would be.

Just as Secrets are free to acquire, they're free to get rid of. Let the group know that you're removing a Secret, and if you want to work the answer into casual play without an official "reveal", do so.

Now We Must Close

Rosette Diceless is story-focused, improvisational, and collaborative. Secrets are a tool for helping drive story, both small and large, and they're an opportunity to collaborate with other players to build drama that has long-lasting effects.

Tracking Personal Development

Once you're comfortable with a character in a longer-running campaign, you may find yourself wanting to craft an arc or a certain progression for your character. These aren't Narrated stories that you want to tell, but important beats in your character's development. We've written before about using Secret s as an element of this (see the section The Value of a Secret), where a sequence of Secrets can culminate in a major revelation.

What about the connection between this sort of development and Traits?

If you want to give yourself a convenient placeholder for an on-the-spot choice, give the Positive Trait "Unrealized Potential" a try, here.

What is "Personal Development"?

Here's an example. After getting a sense of a new character, you realize that there's a direction you want to try taking them in. You know why they might retire, why their mission might fail catastrophically, or why they might betray the party.

It's perfectly fine to organically work your way toward and through those stories.

You might instead want to build progression in a more explicit way: collecting certain pieces of information or Resources, revealing Secrets, and acquiring Traits or Skills. They can build a clear portfolio of your character's change to help demonstrate how it came about.

Inspiration and Justifications

Rosette Diceless doesn't require justification for experience point expenditures. Your character could learn telepathy from one session to the next, and although it's narratively interesting to explain how that came about, it's not strictly necessary.

When you have a long-term goal for your character, you can create a loose plan that helps shape your roleplaying in the communal story while giving your character's mechanical progression some direction. Leave it flexible and able to change, however: rigidity isn't good for an improvisational communal story.

Example Plan

Let's use the example from "The Value of a Secret" of a character with a major Secret of, "What happens to my species when they turn 20 years old?" We wrote that their three smaller Secrets were:

Why are their "birthday parties" somber affairs?

How did they lose their family?

Why do they eat only meat?

If this character is 18 years old when the campaign starts, an obvious arc is one that culminates when the character turns 20… and finishes shifting into a completely different physical form.

There are some existing Rosette Diceless Traits that could tie into a slow physical shift: Extra Coordinated is fairly subtle, while Extra Strong or Heavy Hitter could be later, flashier additions. The final shift could be represented by taking a new Superlative Trait like Boundless Endurance, or a science fiction Trait like Non-biological.

As you play stories that reveal information about your character, like meeting someone connected to your deceased family or struggling with an extended visit to a vegan culture, consider having something emerge from the story that justifies a new Trait.

Group Rules

An entire group of players might decide that they want to institute a practice of requiring justification for Traits or other XP expenditures, in which case all players would use the techniques discussed above. This can be a fine practice, but try to leave leeway for some shifts without justification, like changing Attribute values or back-filling Traits that people realize their characters should have.

The Desire for Structure

Playing a system that's relatively light on rules doesn't mean you can't choose to add some structure. If you want to see an arc build consistently, an approach like this can help you look for opportunities to keep it in play.

Spotlighting Characters in a Conflict

When playing in systems like Rosette Diceless that use turn-based Conflict or combat, there can be a question of what other characters are doing on someone else's turn, especially when turns are longer than a few seconds. In addition, sometimes a turn-based style can result in a player feeling isolated and unsure what to do, as if they must generate all the action on their turn.

To help with these issues, we encourage players to work together to spotlight the active character on their turn.

While only the one player should make an Attack on their turn, other players can assist in setting the character up for the Attack. This isn't a mechanical assistance (as that's handled using Ties); the help is through collaborative storytelling.

What's Everybody Else Doing?

It's great when everyone is very engaged during a Conflict instead of zoning out when it's not "their turn". Helping to spotlight the active character can let everyone add their own touch to the strategy throughout the entire Conflict.

For example, if a character is methodically hunting through a corporate office full of cubicles for the source of a bluetooth signal, another player might help spotlight them by having their own character walk through another section of the office and open every metal desk drawer to keep the signal from getting blocked.

There's no mechanical benefit because the spotlighted character would have worked their way through the office opening those drawers eventually, but it's exactly the type of thing that a team would do to help each other out. This doesn't make the Attack more likely to hit, but it's a way to have more characters be involved.

If the active character was instead trying to rush the search, the others would want to use a different approach to spotlight that better represents what's interesting about that story. Perhaps another character works to clear a path out of the corporate office while bantering with the focus character.

Although spotlighting a character doesn't provide a mechanical benefit, if that player isn't already Boosting their Attack, these discussions may offer an opportunity for them to do so with a Tie .

Oh, no! I'm Stumped!

Sometimes a player may get stumped on what they should do on their turn. The previous player in the turn order might have done something that swept everyone up and derailed strategic planning, or they might have closed an avenue of attack that upcoming folks were planning to use.

In these situations, players can help set each other up for a turn. For example, in a fast-paced fight in a warehouse, a player whose character is off in a corner without good line of sight to their target might not be sure what to try. Another character knows their teammate has a grappling hook, so they reach up and push an overhead beam to get it swinging in an arc. The player whose turn it is can then dramatically hook onto the beam and be back into the fray.

Work as Characters

It's most fun and effective to do this collaboration as in-character as possible. Once you've established that people will be helping spotlight someone on that turn, try to act in character. Are there elements in the setting that are useful for the other person? Is there something relevant you've already learned from a Trait like Uncanny Insights, or that you know about the character courtesy of a shared Secret?

For example, if a character is on the spot to defuse a bomb and trying to hide their Secret of having worked as a bomb defuser for the government in the past, the character who knows their Secret can spotlight them by giving defusing instructions to cover for them. Whether this is a moment of inter-player tension or camaraderie depends on the circumstances around that Secret, of course.

It's always good to gain consent before diving in to help spotlight a character. The player may already know what they want to do and just need a moment to collect their thoughts, and others jumping in too eagerly can seem like stealing the spotlight rather than helping them shine.

Asking for consent —and reflecting honestly on how the session went during your meetings—helps build a culture in your game where people can trust each other to ask for and provide help.

New Rules

Alternatives to XP

In our home game, we've found that after playing for six months or a year, players start to build up experience points on a character without spending them. This is in part due to the relatively "flat" nature of advancement in Rosette Diceless: while you can become more versatile, the lack of increase for basic Attribute numbers means that eventually a character concept is fully fleshed-out and there's little else to buy.

We think the potential for advancement using XP is good for the game and want to keep that incentive toward participation. To start with, we recommend as a basic measure that you agree in your group to allow players to spend excess XP on new characters.

If you notice unused XP accumulating, chat among your group. You may find that reducing XP gain to one point per game is more interesting. Alternately, you could do away with XP altogether, and just decide that everyone advances at a set rate; for example, each character could get a new Skill or Quirk every month and a new Positive Trait every three months.

However, if your group generally likes the idea of accumulating and spending XP at the standard rate, but doesn't have enough opportunity to spend it on character advancement, here are some alternatives to discuss adding to the game. Reach a consensus with your play group before putting any of these into practice.

Pooled Properties

If yours is a game where player characters tend to team up to work on situations together, whether all characters are on the same team or are split into factions, consider allowing players to spend their XP on shared properties that benefit the whole group. This could represent shared training, pooled resources, or simply the strength that comes from camaraderie.

Assign a name to a group of players: this could be "The Benevolent Society," "The Blood Ravens," or "United Workers Union #23." Players can contribute XP toward Skills, Quirks, and Traits that belong to the group. You can even split up the cost, such as having four players spend one XP each to buy the "Contract Negotiation" Skill for their theatre troupe.

Anyone who has contributed any XP to a group can use any of that group's properties as if the properties were on their own character sheet. However, anything that is expended by one member is expended for every member, and a Trait that allows something once per session may only be used once total, not once for every member.

A player character can be a member of as many groups as they like, and groups can allow more than one use of a Skill, Quirk, or Trait.

Pooled properties can be taken from the normal lists for characters. Perhaps a team of characters that works together has an Associate back in the office, or they share a library of Evidence that they can all draw on. We've also included a few Traits and Resources here that are especially appropriate for pooling.

You can donate your own Resources for the group and acquire Resources for the group directly using your normal opportunities to gain Resources. Consider the Resources With XP rule below for groups, even if you don't use it for individuals.

Resources With XP

Consider allowing Resource s to be acquired with XP, either in addition to the normal once-per-session acquisition or in place of it. This can represent a situation in which characters who are already highly-skilled and talented find it easier to acquire privileges and benefits.

As a starting point, we recommend allowing the purchase of Common Resources for two XP each, and Rare Resources for five XP each. Likewise, you could allow Common and Rare Setbacks to be eliminated for two and five XP, respectively.

If you have found that characters, even new ones, tend to acquire and stockpile Resources excessively, spending XP could become the primary way Resources are acquired in your game. You should still allow the acquisition of Resources via Traits and Conflict resolutions.

If you also choose to use Pooled properties, as discussed above, you can have Resources belong to the entire group. In this case, you probably want to let a Resource be used to provide an Edge only once per scene, no matter how many people have access to it. However, players could purchase multiple copies of a Resource for their group, providing a sufficient supply for all members.

Alternate Play Structures

Rosette Diceless provides a versatile Conflict system where players pursue Goal s and avoid Consequence s while taking turns showcasing each other's characters. This is great when a player wants to Narrate a story or when two groups of players have an interesting, important confrontation. However, Conflict can feel a bit complex and ponderous for smaller-scale situations, especially when no one is taking on the role of Narrator.

If a scene seems too small-scale for a full Conflict but deserves more than a simple Contest that compares attributes, you can use more casual structures. Remember: in a Communal scene—one without a single Narrator—any player can narrate events happening around the characters.

Keep in mind two key rules of Rosette Diceless. First, no one can do anything to a character without their player's consent . You can narrate a threat, physical or otherwise, to another player's character, but they choose how it affects them. Second, if someone narrates something that feels too limiting, you can call for an Except by making the ASL sign for "But." They'll then qualify their narration by adding a phrase starting with "except," such as "except it looks like you can avoid them by slipping out a side door." Keeping these in mind, letting events occur entirely free-form can work great. If you want more structure, however, here are two frameworks that have come up in playtesting that may be appropriate.

Best of Three

When two characters are competing, a simple Contest is easy: compare the appropriate Attributes, boosting as normal. If a group of characters are working together against another group, you can pick one character to represent the group and let them Boost with a Tie to someone else in the group.

However, this can feel too perfunctory and leave little room for an interesting arc to the event. If it seems appropriate, you can do a Best of Three instead.

Best of Three is just how it sounds: you do three Contests and whichever side wins more of them wins the competition. Remember that in a Contest, if two characters' Attributes are equal, that Contest is a draw. Sometimes there just isn't a clear winner.

We recommend that the first of the three Contests be straightforward. Use the most conventionally-appropriate character, Attribute, and method of Boosting for the situation. If you're playing volleyball, have the most athletic character on a team make the Contest based on Body using a Skill like "Sports" or a Quirk like "Jock." If you're on a quiz show, the intellectual could use their Mind boosted by the Skill "Trivia."

Example Scenarios

Some situations where Best of Three would be appropriate:

A drag race

A freestyle rap battle

A fencing match

Some ideas for Round Robin situations:

A miniature golf game, with each player describing a hole

A cooking competition, with each player describing a course

A galactic journey, with each player describing a planet along the way

In the remaining Contests, be more flexible. Use unexpected characters and approaches with Attributes and Boosts to match. Maybe the slow but intimidating volleyball player psyches the other team out by using Charm boosted with the Quirk "Steely Gaze." Maybe the last-minute dunce on the quiz show team can distract your opponents with a spitball when the host isn't looking by boosting their Body with the Skill "School Pranks."

You don't even have to make both sides in a Best of Three Contest use the same Attribute. It's likely to be interesting if a debate comes down to a Contest of Mind versus Body!

Round Robin

The Round Robin structure is an interesting way to showcase each character's approach to problems, and can be useful when no one wants to narrate a whole story by themself or if there's a competition between every member of a group.

The players involved take turns framing scenarios that offer an obstacle, challenge, or opportunity to act. For each scenario, players take turns narrating how each of their characters deals with the situation. You could have the framing player participate or sit out that round: whichever is more appropriate. You then move on to let the next player frame another scenario.

For example, your characters could be exploring a series of trap-filled catacombs. Each player would describe a fiendish booby-trapped room: maybe a spike-laden floor with an obscure safe path or a precarious catwalk menaced by swinging blades. For each room, the other players would describe how their characters get through it: one might pick their way through the obstacles as intended, while another might use their parkour skills to bypass the danger entirely.

Note that Round Robin is done without any actual Challenges. You're taking turns narrating and counter-narrating, giving each player and character the opportunity to be interesting. Introducing Attributes and Attacks into such a quickly-shifting play situation would just overcomplicate things. That doesn't mean that characters will always succeed! Sometimes it's more interesting to describe how your character fails.

Conclusion

Best of Three and Round Robin are a couple of examples of how your game can explore collaborative storytelling outside of the structure of Conflicts and Narrated scenes. The detailed Rosette Diceless rules aren't going to be best for all situations, so feel free to experiment with alternate structures within the same framework as long as all the players are willing.

More on Focus

Focus is a resource used by having brief scenes with other players' characters to refresh some skills. It's useful in a long game session to keep characters' resources fresh and to encourage one-on-one interactions between PCs.

However, many sessions of Rosette Diceless will only have a single Conflict scene, resulting in this sort of refreshment being useless. Alternately, you might find that your group's particular story or play style isn't well-suited to this sort of side conversation.

Here are some alternate rules to consider using in your campaign. Discuss them with your group and adopt them if everyone agrees that you want to incorporate them into your game. Any modification to Focus should take into consideration that its purpose is to promote PC-on-PC interactions.

In the New Traits section there are several Traits that offer new options for Focus. Consider taking the Effective Mentor, People over Possessions, or Sharing Personality Traits. If you want a Negative Trait involving the use of Focus, consider Overgenerous.

Cooperative Attacks

Tie s are already a way to highlight the connections between characters, but they aren't restricted to direct cooperation. They can also represent what you have learned from another character, the value of thinking like someone you know well, or even the emotional support of knowing you have a certain relationship.

Using this optional rule , you can use Focus to directly cooperate with another character in a Conflict and make an Attack more potent. When you Attack, if another player agrees to have their character assist you, you may both spend Focus. That attack is boosted with an Edge of Cooperation. The other player may take their Conflict turn as normal.

Healing Afflictions

Affliction s are taken instead of suffering Stress ; they represent temporary issues that make a character vulnerable without directly impairing their progress toward their Goal. In the default rules, there's no way to remove an Affliction without having it targeted or waiting until the end of the session.

If you use this optional rule , you can use Focus to remove one of another PC's Afflictions. At any time, expend a relevant Resource's Edge, a relevant Skill, or a relevant Quirk and spend your Focus. The target character removes the Affliction, active or not, leaving the slot available for another. For example, you could use a Medical Kit Resource to bandage a "Wounded" Affliction, or spend your Good Listener Quirk to remove an Affliction of "Stressed Out".

Additional Character Options

Resources and Setbacks

Rosette Diceless uses Resources and Setbacks to represent transitory aspects that affect your character more situationally than other properties on your sheet. The most familiar of these to your average roleplayer is equipment: many games have the concept of tools that you carry around, use for specific circumstances, and potentially leave behind or use up.

However, Rosette Diceless also uses these rules to represent less concrete things. A wealthy background or a little-known body of knowledge can be just as useful a way to achieve your goals as a weapon or a special-purpose device. A Resource just needs to:

Be able to conditionally grant and/or block an Edge,

Last over multiple sessions but not be an essential aspect of your character, and

Be capable of being sacrificed for additional benefit.

Setbacks are the unfortunate counterparts to Resources. They can be used as Edges against you once per scene by each opponent and can only be discarded through Conflict negotiation or by sacrificing a Resource.

We also include here several Pooled Resources as introduced in "Alternatives to XP" that are designed to be purchased by the group as a whole and usable by any player who has contributed XP to the group. They may also be appropriate as Resources for an individual if your play group agrees.

Resource Brokering

Each player character may gain one Common Resource per session as long as it makes sense how that Resource was acquired. Some Traits may provide additional Resources, and Conflict negotiation may involve Resources or Setbacks. If this rate of Resource gain doesn't suit your game, consider the following.

If your group has consensus, you can choose to let players gain an additional Common Resource each session in exchange for also taking a corresponding Common Setback. If the normal rate of Resource acquisition feels too fast, you might agree that this be the only way to gain Resources outside of Traits and Conflict.

New Common Resource Examples

Commodity You have access to a supply of a commodity, which gives you an Edge when making a trade deal, bribing someone, or otherwise using it to financial advantage. You might sacrifice it by handing over access rights.

Experience You have recent, in-depth experience with a certain group, place, situation, or activity. You have an Edge when your experience with the topic is especially useful. You might sacrifice it by establishing that your experience is out of date, or changing circumstances such that it is no longer relevant.

Fine Tool You have a well-made tool that is especially good for certain tasks. You can use it as an Edge when using it for its purpose. You might sacrifice it by using it for another purpose and damaging it.

Inspiration You have had a recent experience that makes you creatively or motivationally inspired in a certain way. You have an Edge when your Attack makes use of this inspiration. You might sacrifice it by satisfying the creative urge or losing your relationship to the source of the inspiration.

Leverage You have information or material that is useful to blackmail or entice a notable group or individual. You have an Edge when Attacking the subject. You might sacrifice it by turning it over to the target or a third party.

PR Advocate Someone is helping you manage your image. This blocks any Edges that involve sullying your reputation or spreading misinformation about you. You might sacrifice it by letting your advocate take the fall for your actions.

Reputation You are well-known for a certain achievement or qualification. You have an Edge when your Attack benefits from how people think of you regarding this reputation. You might sacrifice it by causing yourself to fall or fade in public esteem.

Pooled Common Resource Examples

Admin Staff You can have someone do a basic, simple thing like making a phone call or dropping off a package. This grants an Edge on Attacks that benefit from your staff's preparation (e.g., the package shows up at just the right time).

Branding Your group has t-shirts, badges, or business cards. Use them to gain an Edge on Attacks that are helped by presenting a unified identity.

Responsibility Your group is known to take care of certain tasks for the community. This gives you an Edge when performing those tasks.

New Rare Resource Examples

Accolade You have universal recognition for some great act, ability, or award that is impressive to anyone who knows of it. This gives you an Edge when dealing with anyone who might know of your accolade. You might sacrifice it by having the award revoked or demonstrating that your accolade is unwarranted.

Big Data You have exclusive or relatively exclusive access to a deep well of rich data, perhaps in the form of a massive database or a connection with divinity. This grants you an Edge when you are able to mine this data usefully for an Attack. Sacrificing this data source may mean that the data becomes widely available or that your access is revoked.

Forbidden Files You have knowledge that is known only to secretive groups and has major import. You have an Edge when this information is useful for an Attack. Sacrificing it may mean revealing it to the world or causing it to no longer be relevant.

Patronage You have someone very powerful supporting your activities. You have an Edge when this relationship is useful or simply notable to your Attack. You might sacrifice it by drawing on the relationship to the extent that your patron reduces their support.

Prophecy Somehow—through magic, high technology, or excellent predictive science—you know something important that is going to happen. You have an Edge when this knowledge guides your Attack. Sacrificing it could involve changing the future or allowing the events to pass.

Pooled Rare Resource Examples

Cultural Heroes Your group is important to the identity of your community. You gain or block Edges on Attacks where having society on your side is useful.

Facility You have a place for a specific task. This grants or blocks an Edge on Attacks that involve use of the facility.

New Common Setback Examples

Burdened You are carrying or otherwise responsible for something unwieldy and difficult to transport. Opponents have an Edge against you when the burden makes you easier to Attack.

Exhausted You are very tired. Opponents have an Edge against you when defending against their Attack involves moving or thinking quickly.

Hapless Companion You find yourself in the company of someone prone to getting into trouble. Opponents can gain an Edge when their Attack also threatens your companion.

Humiliated You've recently had an experience that has hurt your self esteem. Opponents gain an Edge when bringing up the experience or placing your self-worth in question.

Infamous Some negative fact about you has become public knowledge. Opponents gain an Edge in social situations when the infamy is relevant.

New Rare Setback Examples

Trapped You are physically or metaphorically stuck in a situation from which you cannot escape. Opponents have an Edge against you when your inability to leave the situation is relevant.

Clueless You are completely unknowledgeable about most aspects of your daily life. Perhaps you've lost your memory or been transported to another world. Opponents have an Edge against you when your ignorance is relevant.

Despised You are generally disliked by the general public, due to a terrible reputation or something awful you did. Opponents have an Edge against you when your social reputation is relevant.

Surveilled Someone is watching your every move, making it hard to do or say anything unobserved. Opponents have an Edge against you when they have useful information from this surveillance or when it restricts your actions.

New Traits

The new Traits in this book have arisen from additional play and feedback since the original release of Rosette Diceless. We introduced the idea of "pooled Traits" in "Alternatives to XP," but if your group agrees and it's narratively appropriate, they can also be taken as individual Traits.

Superlative Traits

Uncanny Insights Due to mystical visions, astonishing intuition, or advanced situational awareness, you are able to gain information that there is no straightforward way of knowing.

Once per session, narrate a piece of information that your character learns. This could be an established narrative fact that you know as a player but wasn't visible to your character, or it could be a new piece of information about the story that you introduce (subject to an Except /Unless as normal).

This may lead to you gaining an extra Common Resource, which could represent the information itself or something that you acquire because of the information.

Positive Traits

Disembodied You don't have a body and can't be affected by most things that affect bodies. Perhaps you're a ghost or a being of energy. Pick ways that you can be excluded from a space or trapped (e.g., salt or force fields).

Effective Mentor When a character boosts using a Tie with you and you are aware of it, you may spend your Focus and give them advice or assistance. Their Tie is not expended.

Evaluative Eye You are good at quickly judging people and situations. At any time, you may request the Attributes (and/or Defenses) of any Adversary, Expert, or Extra and the Narrator in charge of them must share the numbers with you. You may use this Trait as an Edge against a target you have evaluated in this way.

Good in a Pinch You are good at acting under time pressure. You may use this Trait as an Edge when your Attack must be performed quickly.

Omnipresent You have the ability to be in more than one place at a time, perhaps due to having multiple bodies or due to inhabiting a computer network with dispersed cameras or sensors. Choose how your omnipresence manifests, as well as one way in which your perceptions can be restricted.

People over Possessions Whenever you sacrifice a Resource, you may refresh your Focus if you have expended it.

Sharing Personality At any time, you may spend your Focus to allow another character to use one of your Resources as if it was theirs. If they use it to gain an Edge, you can still use it to gain an Edge yourself later… unless they choose to sacrifice it.

Takes Their Time You excel when you have the opportunity to act deliberately. You may use this Trait as an Edge when your Attack can take as long as you like.

Teleportation You may teleport in addition to your other modes of locomotion. Choose a narratively interesting range for this ability, as well as some things that limit the ability (e.g., requires line of sight or cannot teleport through an unbreathable environment). Another player may limit this ability with an Except/Unless, as usual.

Unrealized Potential At any time, even in the middle of Conflict, permanently replace this Trait with a different Positive Trait that you choose at that moment. The reveal of the replacement can be a boosted Attack with an Edge, if appropriate.

Well-Connected You know people. Once per scene, you may narrate (or ask the Narrator to describe) how there is someone in your current situation who you know, perhaps indirectly. Once per session, you may use one of these connections to gain an additional Common Resource.

Pooled Positive Traits

Embedded Agents You have an array of people secretly placed in society. Once per session, you may have someone nearby do work for you. Similarly to Associate (Rosette Diceless p. 44), this can give you one use of a Skill, Quirk, or Resource you do not have. Unlike Associate, this does not need to be the same person on every use, and they might not be named at all.

Physical Training Once per session, pick a physical action and decide you've practiced it lately. You are boosted on Challenges with that action and can use this Trait as an Edge.

Research Department Once per session, receive a previously-created dossier on a topic. The dossier is a Common Resource that will provide an Edge on a Mind Attack or Charm Attack, depending on the type of information. Choose which of these it will provide when you receive the dossier.

Negative Traits

Overgenerous You feel the need to help others before accepting help yourself. You can't boost using a Tie while you have Focus.

Plagued by Nightmares Each of your Secrets can be used as an Edge for characters attacking you.

Errata

Between the first printing of Rosette Diceless and the publication of this companion, we've collected the following errata and rules clarifications. You can always see the most up-to-date of these, with full changed text, at: https://rosetterpg.com/errata

Afflictions and Stress boxes are now recorded separately. You have as many Affliction slots as you have Stress boxes. Triggered Afflictions stay crossed-out on your sheet, occupying a slot, until the end of the scene.

A Resource may be used to block Edges multiple times in a single Conflict. If a Resource is used to block an Edge, it may not be used to gain an Edge in that scene. If it is used to gain an Edge, it may not be used to block an Edge in that scene. Blocking Edges with Rare Resources also boosts your Defense and prevents Wear. Using a Rare Setback also boosts the Attack.

The Adversary in a Conflict may have up to five Traits. Select Resources for the Adversary, Experts, and Extras, at least enough they have an Edge to use on each planned Attack. You may add Resources to the Adversary in mid-Conflict if they make sense in the story.

Index

A

Adversary 3, 8, 10–11, 18

Affliction 5, 13, 39

Attack 7, 13, 18, 27

Crisis 8

C

Conflict 3–7, 9, 13–14, 17, 20, 26–29, 34, 38

consent 14, 29, 34

Consequence 3, 5, 9, 13–14, 34

Contest 34

D

Defense 3

E

Edge 7

Except 34, 46

Expert 18

Extra 18

F

Focus 37–39

G

Goal 3, 5, 9, 14, 17, 34

I

IC 12–16

immunity 6–8

N

Narration 10–11, 17, 34

O

OOC 12–16

optional rule 7, 25, 31–34, 36, 38–39, 42

P

Pooled properties 31, 48

R

Resource 32, 41–46

Common 42

Pooled

Common 43

Rare 44

Rare 43

S

Scene

communal 34

Secret 19–24

Setback 41–45

Common 44

Rare 45

Stress 14, 39

T

Tie 28, 38

Trait 7, 45–49

negative 48–49

Pooled 48

positive 46–48

superlative 46

X

XP 31–33

i

ii

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

49

50