Lucky 6

A couple years back, I came up with a rules-light RPG system—mostly for use in investigative horror games and things in that general area. It was strongly inspired by Freeform Universal, and there were also some Fate, Cortex Plus, and even Burning Wheel influences. (This was 2023, but I was running on very '00s/'10s vibes.) The whole thing was also kind of an extension of my luck roll mechanic, so I called it "Lucky 6".

I kept everything simple enough to explain right on the character sheet, fearing to scare off my players with a more formal rules document. But I never ended up actually running anything in the system, so I can't say if those very spare notes—or even my own understanding of how the rules should work—were really sufficient.

Anyway, I recently rewatched Lord of Illusions (much recommended, by the way), and the opening scene really made me want to run a grimy, nasty horror game about cults, crime, and the occult underground. So here's a proper write-up of Lucky 6.

Resolution mechanic

This is a traditional players-and-GM system, and the players are broadly intended to be the only ones making any rolls. When something demands mechanical resolution (subject to the usual qualifiers like "Is there risk?", "Are success and failure both interesting?", etc.) the relevant player rolls a d6 and the GM interprets the result through a higher-is-better lens.

If the issue at hand can be phrased as a yes-or-no question in which "yes" is the player's preferred outcome, then the result can be interpreted on the yes/no/and/but scale.

6	Yes, and the outcome is better than expected, or there's some additional benefit.
5	Yes.
4	Yes, but the success or benefit is mitigated.
3	No, but the failure or penalty is mitigated.
2	No.
1	No, and the outcome is worse than expected, or there's some additional penalty.

For example: If the PCs are investigating a creepy murder shack and they find that the door's been rigged with a shotgun to blast anybody who opens the door, somebody might make a roll to answer "Can I disarm the shotgun trap without setting it off?" A result of 6 ("Yes, and") could mean that they can take the whole shotgun with them. 5 ("Yes") would just let them safely bypass the trap, leaving the gun in place. 4 ("Yes, but") might mean that they can get in, but it'll be obvious somebody tampered with the trap. 3 ("No, but") could indicate that the PC realizes what they're doing isn't gonna work before the gun gets set off. They can keep trying, but it'll take more time and increase the risk of being caught. 2 ("No") would have to mean that the gun goes off. Nobody gets hit, but they'll probably hear it over in the creepy murder house. Inevitably, 1 ("No, and") could only mean that somebody does get shot.

(Of course, the players might also decide not to take the chance. Maybe they crawl in through the window in the back and disarm the trap from inside the shack without having to roll.)

Alternatively, for less binary questions like "How did the party go?" or "What kind of dreams did you have?", you could use this scale.

6	Great outcome, better than expected. Overwhelming success, or success with added boon.
5	Good outcome, essentially the desired effect. Basic success.
4	Okay outcome, but imperfect. Weak success, or success at a price.
3	Poor outcome, but could be worse. Minor failure, or failure with some compensation.
2	Bad outcome. No progress, or danger not averted. Basic failure.
1	Terrible outcome, everything going wrong at once. Serious failure, or failure with added trouble.

Advantages

For every character trait or situational factor that might significantly affect the outcome in the PC's favor, add an additional d6 to the roll—that's called an advantage die—and discard the lowest roll in the pool.

Disadvantages

Conversely, for every character trait or situational factor that might make things significantly tougher for the PC, add another d6—a disadvantage die, of course—to the roll and discard the highest roll in the pool.

Mixed advantages and disadvantages

Advantages and disadvantages don't cancel each other out! Instead, you roll your normal die, your advantage dice, and your disadvantage dice all together, and you make the same subtractions of high and low dice that the advantage and disadvantage rules normally require. Whatever die is left is your result.

Actions influenced by equally balanced helpful and harmful factors don't have the same odds as actions with zero influencing factors! More complicated situations are much more likely to result in those interesting "Yes, but…" / "No, but…" outcomes.

For example: A PC is trying to avoid being stabbed by a cultist. The attacker has just sprung out of the darkness, getting the drop on the PC, so that's one die of disadvantage. Fortunately, the PC has the trait "quick reflexes". They're also carrying a riot shield. So they get a couple advantage dice, too. They roll four dice all together, and they get 1, 5, 4, and 3. They lose their highest die due to their disadvantage, but the two advantages get rid of the two lowest dice, leaving them with the 4 as their result: a success with complications. So they don't get stabbed, but maybe the cultist manages to tear the shield out of their hands.

Traits

Traits are short phrases describing relevant qualities of characters and other elements of the game world. Mostly PCs, though, really. They're like aspects in Fate, distinctions in Cortex, etc. They can be things like physical traits, personality traits, professions, backgrounds, etc. Typically, you'll want to give a PC traits that will help them do their PC stuff, but there are also good reasons to include some conflicted or negative qualities as well.

Mechanically, lots of things that aren't formally written down as traits can be treated as traits. Objects, environmental features, relative positioning, and all sorts of circumstances might apply advantages or disadvantages to rolls.

Traits as prerequisites

Sometimes, a PC only has the option to attempt something because they've got a certain trait. Other times, they might need to roll for something that another PC could accomplish automatically because they've got a particular trait. In such instances, the trait that makes the roll possible can't also be used as an advantage or disadvantage in that roll.

For example: The GM might require a PC with the trait "big as an ox" to make a roll to squeeze through a gap in a fence. Another PC without such a trait didn't have to roll, so the bigger PC doesn't have to apply "big as an ox" as a disadvantage: It's already sufficiently acknowledged through the fact that the player is rolling at all.

Afflictions

Afflictions are a special type of trait that are used to track harm to characters. When a PC or NPC is injured, sick, stressed, exhausted, terrified, starving, or otherwise stricken by mental or physical hardship, it's named and recorded as an affliction. Like any other trait, afflictions can be applied as disadvantages and sometimes even as advantages in rolls.

PCs have three slots for afflictions.

Light afflictions are momentary problems: injuries that hurt but don't incapacitate, emotional distress, physical discomfort. They go away when the scene ends.

Medium afflictions are serious harm: injuries that require first aid, lasting emotional shocks, significant physical deprivation. They persist until they're addressed through appropriate treatment.

Heavy afflictions are critical harm: debilitating injuries like gunshots and broken limbs, serious mental trauma, dire medical problems. They last throughout the adventure, and incapacitate the character until they're treated somehow.

When a character would suffer an affliction but the relevant slot is already filled, the affliction ends up in the next worse slot. If there's no worse slot available, the character is taken out of action. This may or may not mean death, depending on the circumstances. Either way, they're no longer active in the current adventure.

Luck points

After making a roll, a player can spend a luck point to increase the results of all the dice in their roll by 1. Kicking a 6 up to a 7 doesn't do anything, but turning a 1 to a 2 can make all the difference in the world.

There are two different ways to get luck points.

Hindering traits

The player gains 1 luck point when the GM uses one of the PC's own traits against them. This includes situations where a task is made impossible due to a trait, or where an otherwise trivial task becomes something the player needs to roll for, or rolls where a trait is applied as a disadvantage. This doesn't apply to afflictions, though: Those cause problems without providing any compensation.

Complications

When one or more of a player's discarded dice—that is, rolled dice that were not chosen as the final result—come up as 1s, the GM can give the player a luck point and introduce a complication to the outcome for each such 1. Complications are additional twists, hassles, and unforeseen consequences that can spring from even a successful outcome.

Of course, if the player decides to spend a luck point on the roll, their 1s turn to 2s, and the GM can't add complications or give them a point.

For example: In the example above, where the cultist tries to stab a PC but succeeds only in tearing away their shield, the GM could use that 1 the player rolled to introduce a complication. Maybe the PC is also knocked down by the attackm. Maybe the cultist not only removes the shield but wields it themself. Maybe the shield goes flying and bonks another PC.

Combat

Violence and other fast-paced, time-critical situations proceed in round-by-round fashion, and actions are resolved simultaneously rather than sequentially. Each round is an abstract and elastic period which can usually be considered about 3 seconds long, so characters can generally move a short distance and do one quick thing.

At the start of each round, the GM notes privately what any participating NPCs will try to do. Then, the players state—in whatever order is convenient—what their characters will attempt. The GM describes the collective results of all characters' actions, calling for rolls where necessary. The consequences of these actions aren't applied until the end of the round: It's entirely possible for two characters to shoot each other dead at the same time.

When a PC attacks another character, the player will generally have to make a roll (unless the target is somehow defenseless), inflicting an affliction on a "Yes" result (a 4, 5, or 6). Generally speaking, a successful unarmed attack causes a light affliction, while a basic weapon like a knife or baseball bat inflicts a medium, and heavy afflictions are reserved for things like guns, chainsaws, cars, etc. "Yes, and" results (6) can increase the affliction's severity by one level, while "Yes, but" results (4) can decrease it.

When another character attacks a PC, the player can usually make a roll to avoid or mitigate harm. If they get a "No" result (1, 2, or 3), the character will suffer an affliction appropriate to the attack. "No, and" results (1) can increase the affliction's severity by one level, while "No, but" results (3) can decrease it.

Character creation

I haven't done any serious thinking about character creation. For a quick horror one-shot, I was thinking that each character would start out with a single trait, something equivalent to a Fate Core "high concept" aspect. Then, throughout the game, they'd have the ability to fill in more traits as opportunities arise. Maybe the party will be faced with a locked door, and one PC will announce "So, I got really into locksport a couple years ago…" while pulling out a set of picks. The one limitation would be that only one such reveal could be done per scene.

For a longer campaign, I would probably designate required categories of traits, and come up with a list of examples for each one. That would all be very dependent upon the campaign's premise, of course.