DRIVE·10 INTRODUCTION

WHAT IS DRIVE·10? USING THIS DOCUMENT CREDITS

Drive·10 (abbreviated D·10) is a framework
for tabletop role-playing games. Think of it
as a prototype — the bare essentials to
quickly create characters and play. Use it for
a new setting, or to quickly plug-in your
favorite pre-existing one and get to gaming.
This document operates under the
assumption that you already know what a
role-playing game is (and how they
function), and for that purpose is written
with a brief, “rules-necessary” approach
The system uses a ten-sided die (abbreviated
d10) and all participants will want a couple,
as well as a method for keeping up with
character sheets and notes.
Drive·10 is a traditional system, in the sense
that the participants consist of a Game
Master and the Players. Players take on the
role of individual characters, while the
Game Master arbitrates the rules and
narrates the events and interactions of the
rest of the world.
The system is meant for Game Masters to
build and tinker with. Don’t like a rule?
Change it. Feel something is missing?
Add it. No rule is sacred here.
This document was designed to be printed
off and kept in a binder or notebook, as
loose sheets to be referenced and passed
around as needed. They may also be freely
distributed digitally.
The game text is released under Creative
Commons Attribution Share Alike 4.0,
which means you’re free to remix and reuse
for your own projects, commercial or
otherwise. Just make sure to credit the
authors, and that your work is shared under
a similar license.
WHY PLAY DRIVE·10?
D·10 is designed for easy arbitration and stat
generation on the fly, allowing you to focus
more on world building and adventure
plotting. It should feel familiar to veteran
gamers, and be easy for newcomers to pick
up. Learn the rules, make characters, and
get to gaming in one evening. Great for pick
up games, conventions and small
campaigns.
Written and Compiled
by R.E. Davis & Matt Bryant
( ChaosGrenade.com )
Original CarPG System Design
Matt Bryant
Graphics provided by
Game-icons.net
Released Under
Creative Commons Attribution Share
Alike 4.0
Special Thanks To:
S.M. Ketcham, Marcus Burggraf,
Chris Cortright, Johnny White
Always Thankful To: Michael Wolf,
Audrey Winter, Tim Kirk, and my wife
Kortney Davis
Drive·10 is based on CarPG by Matt
Bryant. Should you desire a “diceless”
mechanic you can port the characters and
tags made with D·10 to the Fate’s Wheel
mechanic.
DRIVE·10
CHARACTER CREATION
• Choose a core Vocation. Rate it at +2.
Consider using an “Adjective-Verb”
format. Examples: Fierce Soldier, Cryptic
Mage, Sleek Hacker, Hard-Boiled Cop, Ace
Star-Fighter, Mystic Herbalist, Stern
Diplomat
• Rate Attributes. Assign 7 points across
the following three stats:
• Body (Physical Performance)
• Mind (Mental Aptitude)
• Spirit (Willpower & Personality)
• Choose 3 Character Tags
• Pick up to 5 pieces of Equipment. The
GM may optionally allow these to be
chosen in-game.
• Hit Points (HP) start at 10 + (Body x 5)
CHARACTER ADVANCEMENT
After every completed chapter/episode,
a character may improve in one of the
following ways:
• +1 to a single Attribute (max +4)
• +1 to a Vocation (max +4)
• Pickup a new Vocation (at +1)
• Earn a new Tag
• Gain +5 Hit Points
TAGS & EQUIPMENT
Tags are the traits attached to characters and
items that grant special features. Character
Tags establish details or facts on how the
character may interact with the world. They
come in one of two forms:
• Functions establish something the
character can do that normally others
can’t. For example, Wings may grant a
character flight. Telepathy may establish a
psychic talent to read minds.
• Edges, meanwhile, enhance or improve
certain actions. Someone who’s
Charming may have an edge in
socializing. In a cyberpunk setting,
Muscle Augmentation could give an edge
to actions that rely on strength like lifting
or fighting. Having the Edge is
explained on the Basic Rules page.
Equipment, in game terms, functions as tags
that can be exchanged, dropped, lost or even
stolen. Most serve a single function — a
Pistol can make a light ranged attack. A
Grappling Hook lets you scale walls, etc.
Others can grant an edge, like a Fake ID
helping you bluff a guard to let you in.
Tags can be linked together, especially with
equipment. A Rifle, for example, functions
as a medium ranged attack, and it may have
a Scope that grants an Edge at long distances.
CHARACTERS
Another example: a lycanthrope character
may have a Werewolf Form that gives an
edge in melee combat, Razor Claws that
function as weapons, and Keen Senses that
also give an edge to tracking prey. There’s a
lot of ways to synergize tags, so feel free to
talk it over with your GM about how to
tinker with them for their setting.
POWERFUL FUNCTION LIMITS
The GM may allow for tags whose
Functions may be incredibly powerful, but at
the price of warranting some kind of limit or
restriction. An easy way to do this is to
establish a “1/X” limit. X in this case is a
measurement — either of time or resources.
For example: In a fantasy game a Wizard
may want to be able to cast a Fireball that
attacks all enemies in an area. The GM may
restrict it as “1/Scene” (once per scene) or
even 1/Day. It may even be possible to
upgrade as the character progresses,
spending an advancement to crank it up to
2/X, 3/X etc.
Alternately, the GM may rule certain
powers use a Resource pool (like “Magic
Points”) where every power draws from that
upon use (and X is the point cost).
Example: Fireball 1/2 MP
Not all “powers” need to be limiting. A
wizard may have a “Magic Dart” tag which
effectively functions the same as a Pistol
(light ranged attack / 2 base damage).
DRIVE·10
To Test an Action
Roll 1d10 (+ Proficiency)
Success on totals of 10+
Proficiency is the value of the Attribute
used in the action, plus an applicable
Vocation rating (as long as the action
benefits from experience in its field).
The maximum Proficiency is +8. Rolls of a
“1” (regardless of Proficiency) on the die
always fail; rolls of a “10” will always
succeed.
If a task is declared to be Challenging, then
the Proficiency rating added to the roll is cut
in half (rounded down.)
Some rolls depend on the Degree of Success
(DoS), which is the total value over 10.
OPPOSING ACTIONS
When two characters are in active
opposition, they both roll action tests
against the other. Should they both succeed,
whoever has the highest DoS wins.
HAVING AN EDGE
If a character is considered to have an edge
in a task, they may roll the die twice and
take the better result. Edges can be defined as
character tags, items, and special
circumstances that may give a character an
advantage when performing a task.
Multiple edges do not stack (you’ll only
roll two dice at most) BUT opposing edges
do cancel each other out. There is no
“disadvantage” in this system — you either
have the edge in a task roll or you don’t.
COMBAT & DAMAGE
Whenever two opponents engage each other
in combat, they may choose to either make
an attack action or to defend. Successful
Attacks deal a base amount depending on
the type of attack made, plus the DoS of the
attack roll!
• Unarmed: 0 Base Damage.
• Light Attacks: 2 Base Damage
(Single-handed armed attacks)
• Medium Attacks: 4 Base Damage
(Two-handed armed attacks)
• Heavy Attacks: 6 Base Damage
(Military Gunnery or Siege Weapons)
Should both opponents make attacks
towards each other, their rolls are made
simultaneously. This means it’s possible
both sides of a fight may hurt the other in
the same turn of combat. Alternately, one
may attempt to Defend as their action,
turning the conflict into an opposing roll.
BASIC RULES
As long as the defender can roll higher than
the DoS of their opponent’s attack, they
suffer no damage. Note that against
multiple attackers, a character can only
defend against one of them as a normal
action! Damage dealt to a character is
subtracted from their Hit Points (HP).
When a character hits “0” HP, they fall
unconscious. Depending on the nature of
the damage, they may be grievously
wounded or dying.
Armor that is worn has a rating that
represents the amount of damage reduction
that is applied to any successful physical
attack towards the character.
Light: -1, Medium: -2, Heavy: -4
Light armors are easy to conceal and
maneuver in. Medium armor is more
obvious, but still functional for movement.
Heavy armor is bulky, and may cause the
wearer to find any special movement tasks
(like sneaking, climbing, swimming, or even
running) a Challenging task.
Hit Points recover at a rate equal to the
character’s Body per Scene of rest. Those in
vocations that would know first-aid may
perform a check to aid healing, allowing an
extra amount of HP recovered equal to the
DoS. Settings with magic, high-tech
medicine or super powers may provide other
methods of healing.
DRIVE·10
EXTENDED TASKS
Some tasks may require prolonged action
over time: hacking a computer system,
performing a ritual, researching esoteric
books for a clue, etc. In these instances, the
GM may declare it to be an Extended Task.
Each extended task has a Task Pool that
must be depleted in order to succeed. For
every roll made, the DoS of the action is
subtracted from the pool. The GM may
arbitrate how long each task roll takes (turn,
round, hour etc.). They may also opt to
assign time limits or max number of failures.
Characters who have the Edge may use both
dice rolls should they both succeed, and
count their total degrees of success as part of
a single action. The value of the extended
task is determined in increments of five,
with 5 being a simple task to complete and
20+ being lengthy endeavors.
Extended Opposing Actions
These occur in two forms: races and chases.
For a race, two or more opposing sides are
rolling against individual task pools, and the
first to deplete theirs wins the opposing task.
For a chase, a separate 10-sided die is used
to count success between the Pursuer and
the Quarry. Opposed rolls are made, and the
chase die is either added to or subtracted by
the difference in the DoS of the two sides
(higher Quarry rolls adds the die value,
higher Pursuer rolls subtract from it.)
GAME MASTERING
Should the chase die ever reach 10, the QUICK & DIRTY NPCs
Quarry manages to escape the Pursuer. If
the die is reduced to 1 or lower, the Pursuer The GM can create important Non-Player
catches the Quarry. Characters just fine using the player
character creation guidelines. However, in a
Extend Opposing Actions can be used for
pinch or in a hurry, the GM can easily get
more than physical chases or races. Two
away with the following approach:
mages attempting to finish their rituals
before the other could be a race, while a
chase may simulate a hacker dodging
• List the NPC or Monster with a single
network security. Vocation or descriptor. Give it a single
Proficiency bonus. Actions that fall
QUANTIFICATIONS under that descriptor use the full bonus,
TIME but cut it in half for all other actions.
• A Turn is a moment of Action in a conflict.
• Hit Points are 4 x Proficiency
• A Round is the time it takes for all
participants in a conflict to take a turn and
act. • Apply any tags, weapons or equipment
as needed. Tweak HP or any other
• A Scene is a segment of continuous action
or dialogue within a narrative.
numbers as you see fit.
• A Chapter (or Episode) is all of the scenes
in a gaming session. QUICK NPC PROFICIENCY
LEVELS
DISTANCE
• Close is within reach of the character.
• Near is within 10 meters / 30 ft.
A character can move nearby and still
perform an action on their turn.
• Far is beyond near, up to 20 meters / 60 ft
away. A normal person can move that MOOK (+2) MINION (+4)
approximately in one round as their full
action. GRUNT (+6) BOSS (+8)