The Investigation: Players cooperatively Investigate a Case gathering all
Slayer information they can about the Kalaban. A Case is an area or event in which the
A One Page RPG about killing the unkillable
Slayer is a game where you play as an ordinary person plotting how to
kill more powerful beings, whether they be Gods, Kaiju, Supers, or
anything else you can imagine.
The beings you are Slaying (referred to as Kalaban - “Enemy'' in Filipino)
will be created by the Game Master (GM) and must have at least three
strengths and three weaknesses (though it may have more). Players are
given information about an event (a God descending, a Kaiju attack, a
Super killing another, etc.) by the GM with clues about what the beings
strengths and weaknesses are. Once these strengths and weaknesses are
Investigated the players will Plan how they will Slay the Kalaban. Then
they’ll take Action to enact their plan. Ultimately, they’ll face the
Kalaban at the Climax of the session.
A session is broken up into four Phases: Investigation, Plan, Action, and
Climax. These Phases are outlined on the Right.
Player Characters
All players start with four Attributes: Physical, Mental, Social, and
Spiritual. Players have the following numbers to assign to each of the
Attributes: 1, 2, 2, 3. This means a character may have Physical 1, Mental
2, Social 3, and Spiritual 2 OR Physical 3, Mental 1, Social 2, and Spiritual
2. Etc.
If characters fail a dangerous action they become injured, which will
reduce one of their Attributes by 1. If any Attributes are reduced to zero
characters automatically die. This reduction can either be player choice or
GM mediated but it’s best to decide which way you play before the game
starts. To Progress between games it is suggested players receive an
Attribute point to distribute if they Slay the Kalaban.
When attempting to do something associated with an Attribute
(persuading a guard for example) players toss a number of coins equal to
their character's associated Attribute number. If any of the coins come up
as heads (a success) what they’re attempting is successful.
If all come up as Heads, turn a Cold Token into a Hot Token. If all come
up as tails, turn a Hot Token into a Cold Token. The changing of Tokens
only occurs during the Action phase. See info on the Right.
Kalaban was involved. Examples include a crime scene, detailed video footage,
newspaper clippings, etc. During the Investigation players may come to conclusions
about the Kalaban’s abilities or weaknesses and ask the GM “Hot or Cold.” If players
are on the right track the GM will give them a “Hot Token” (typically a face up
coin), if they’re off they’ll give players a “Cold Token” (typically a face down coin).
If it is somewhere in the middle the GM can toss a coin and let fate decide if the
players are “Hot or Cold” about that fact.
A GM has Seven Tokens total which may be used as Hot Tokens or Cold Tokens.
Once all Tokens are used, players end the Investigation Phase.
The Plan: Once players have been given all their Tokens they must now devise a
plan of Action to Slay the Kalaban. This is where creativity comes in and the GM
determines what the players conceivably have access to or not (up to and including
weaponry, insider information, and giant Mechs).
It’s important that during the planning stage the GM sets a clear stage of what to
expect (I.e. how many guards there probably are, what the layout of the location is,
etc). If the players and GM wish to, the Planning Phase can be played out like an
Action Phase, using Attributes and tosses to determine outcomes. However, this will
slow down the game considerably but may be a better way for your group to play.
The Action: Players execute the Plan, narrating what they are doing and why they
are doing it with the GM providing the world's reaction to their actions. This is
where players will encounter obstacles which require them to apply their Attributes.
For instance, a player may come to a locked door and decide to pry it open (using
their Physical Attribute). If they toss a success they manage to pry the door open, if
they fail they must find another way to achieve their goal.
At any time a player may use a Hot Token to alter the world's reaction to their
plan or gain an advantage in the form of an additional coin to toss (I.e. they packed
a taser, the guard lets them use the freight elevator, etc). On the flip side (pun
intended) a GM may use a Cold Token at any time to add an additional hurdle for
players to overcome (a previously unknown security system, two guards fornicating
where they shouldn't be, etc.).
When tokens are used in this way, they are turned over. For instance, if a player
wants to use 5 Hot Tokens to make sure their attempt at climbing a skyscraper is
successful then the GM now has 5 Cold Tokens they may use at any time. Once the
players reach the Kalaban the Climax begins!
The Climax: The Climax of the game occurs when the players face down the
Kalaban (or maybe take them out through some Rube Goldberg contraption, wilder
things have happened!). During this phase when a Hot Token or Cold Token is used,
it does not turn over. Instead, it is removed from the game.
Players are successful when they Slay the Kalaban, or die trying.