SETUP
What kind of story do you want to tell? Pick a setting,
characters, and basic plot. Will you be desperate soldiers
trapped behind enemy lines? Robot battle princesses on
a secret space mission? A band of wanderers seeking
gold and adventure? The only limit is your imagination!
Choose one player to be the Game Master (GM). The
GM narrates the story. They also design and control the
game world. Everyone else creates a Player Character
(PC). They play the main characters of the story.
CREATING A PC
Write a Bio for your PC by filling in this template:
“My name is . I am a from . I look and act
My greatest asset is . My hidden talent is .
My flaw is . I am here to . I believe .”
The Bio is your guide to playing your PC: it tells you what
you’re good at, how you might act, and what you care
about. Only you can change your Bio. Update it whenever
your skills, flaws, beliefs, or motivations change as a
result of the story.
Write down all the Gear you have. You can carry as much
as makes sense. For anything else, write down where
you’re keeping it. If you don’t have the right Gear for an
action, you can’t do it. Gear can be lost, broken, or stolen.
You can make or find new Bio templates for your game.
Your group can also limit starting Bios and Gear (e.g. “no
super powers”, “you start with nothing but rags”).
PC AGENDA
● Act like the main characters! Describe the actions you
take to overcome challenges, accomplish your goals,
and make your mark on the world of the story.
● Treat the game world as if it were real. Imagine what
your PC would really do, say, and want.
● Make notes and maps to keep track of the story so far.
GM AGENDA
● Design your story’s fictional world, and bring it to life
by describing what the PCs see, hear, smell, and feel.
● Populate the world with potential friends, enemies,
mentors, treasures, and dangers.
● Set the stage for the PCs: give them goals to pursue,
challenges to face, and moments to shine.
● Play the role of any non-PC characters in the story.
● Moderate the conversation and the game rules.
GAMEPLAY
The game is simply a conversation. The GM describes
the scene, says what is happening around or to the PCs,
and asks them to respond (e.g. “the pit opens beneath
you, what do you do?”, “the bad guys start to run away,
what do you do?”). The PCs can ask questions to clarify
the situation, then they tell the GM what they say and do.
The GM decides the outcome of their actions, says what
happens next, and asks them to respond again.
When PCs act, the GM decides what happens, based on
the situation, the intent (e.g. “is your goal to distract,
hurt, or kill?”), and the PC’s Bio, Gear, and Conditions:
● It just happens (e.g. “sure, you are an expert, you can
. do this easily”, “since you’re flying, you go right over”).
● It’s impossible for now (e.g. “normal weapons have no
effect”, “you can’t get in without the password”).
● Break up or reduce the action (e.g. “to reach the king,
you must first navigate the angry crowd, distract the
guards, and climb the wall”, “you can do some damage,
but it’ll take more than one hit to destroy this ship”).
● Roll dice to see what happens (e.g. “ok, that might
work, but it’s risky; let’s roll some dice!”).
Before rolling, the GM assigns the action a Difficulty:
● 4 if it’s going to need a little luck or skill.
● 5 if it’s risky or difficult.
● 6 if it’s dangerous or complex.
● Double 6s if it’s foolhardy or incredible.
Then the PC rolls the dice. Start with 1 die. Add a die if a
part of your Bio would help. Add a die if a previous action
gives you an Advantage, or if other PCs say how they
Help. Helpers share the consequences of failure. You
only get 1 die from your Bio and 1 die from Help and/or
Advantage, and they must make sense.
If any of the dice meet or exceed the Difficulty (e.g. “the
Difficulty is 5, so you need at least one 5”), you succeed!
If you fail, the GM decides what happens (you may still
succeed… at a price) and describes the consequences:
● A new detrimental Condition.
● A lesser version of what you wanted.
● Side effects or complications in the story.
● Loss of Gear or other resources.
● Any other cost or sacrifice that makes sense.
Describe and respond. Back and forth. Roll the dice
sometimes. That’s the whole game! There’s no winner
and the story only ends when you say it does. You can
play a one-session story or an epic saga lasting months.
BE NICE AND HAVE FUN.
CONDITIONS
Conditions are temporary effects that can make actions
easier, harder, or impossible. The GM gives Conditions to
PCs when they fail rolls, when they take actions that
would grant Conditions, or whenever it makes sense.
The GM decides what will end Conditions: how much
time, and/or what other steps or actions (e.g. “broken
arm: medical attention”, “flight potion: 10 minutes”).
The GM also says when and how Conditions affect the
Difficulty of rolls (e.g. “your broken arm makes this climb
foolhardy”, “the flight potion makes traversing the wall
automatic”).
XP & LEVELS
After each game session, PCs earn 1 Experience Point
(XP) for each of these things they did at least once:
● Failed a roll and suffered the consequences.
● Solved a problem by using their Bio or Gear creatively.
● Took action because of a flaw, motivation, or belief.
Spend 1 XP to reroll a single die. If you succeed, describe
what twist of fate saved your action.
Spend 5 XP to gain a Level. Each Level permanently
grants you 1 reroll of any or all dice once per session.
Whenever you gain a Level, take a minute to reflect on
how you’ve grown or changed. Edit your Bio accordingly.
OTHER RULES
If PCs oppose each other, everyone involved rolls dice as
normal. The PC with the best result gets what they want,
and the GM decides the fate of the losers. Reroll ties.
To leave something completely to chance, roll a single
Die of Fate. A higher result is better for the PCs.
Your group should decide if PCs can leave the story due
to death, exile, insanity, etc. as a consequence of failure.
PCs can also leave the story voluntarily at any time, just
describe how it happens.
The GM can never decide a PC’s actions, thoughts, or
words for them, and they can’t set a Difficulty before
hearing the intent and a description of the action.
Keep track of what the PCs are doing in their downtime
(e.g. “learning a language”, “target practice”, “building a
ship”). The GM determines the time or steps required.
When you finish, you can add it to your Bio or Gear.
 PC TIPS
Try to really get into the role of your PC. Draw a picture
or give them a unique voice or mannerism if you want.
Use sticky notes to track Conditions and downtime
activities. Use beads or coins to track XP.
THE BACK PAGE
OK RPG! is a roleplaying game. The roleplaying part
means you and your friends will take on the roles of
fictional characters and tell a story together. The game
part means there are rules to follow, points to earn, and
dice rolling to find out what happens!

The game world follows rules similar to the real world.
Some ideas are dangerous. Actions have consequences.
Characters don’t forget how they are treated. Even the
powers, technology, and magic in the story follow certain
rules. Treat the fictional world as if it were real, and think
logically about the situations the GM describes. What
would you do if you were really there?
All you need to play is this pamphlet, three normal
six-sided dice, and something to write with. Find some
players, think of a cool story idea, and you’re ready to go!
These rules are free to use and distribute. If you really
like the game or end up using it a lot, you can buy the
author a coffee or leave a review at www.okrpg.cc.

How you approach challenges makes a big difference. Skip Rainsmyth is a dad, a teacher, and a bearded viking
Using brute strength to bash down a door might be warrior, currently playing in the Pacific Northwest.
Difficulty 4 or 5, but using a laser cutter might work
automatically. Create Advantages and Help each other BIO
to overcome great obstacles.
My name is…
GM TIPS
The story belongs to the PCs; you are there to guide it, I am a… from…
not tell it. Find ways to give them what they want, within
the bounds of the game rules and the story world’s logic. I look… and act…

Try to keep the spotlight moving between the PCs and My strongest asset is…
give them roughly equal chances to speak and act.
My hidden talent is…
You have many tools for controlling the danger level of
challenges. You can “make things happen” more often,
interrupting the PCs and forcing them to react rather
than act. You can use complex challenges with minions,
immunities, or hazards that must be dealt with before
the challenge can be engaged directly. You can break PC
My flaw is…

I am here to…

I believe…
OK RPG!
a lightweight universal roleplaying game
actions into multiple steps or say they’re impossible until for two or more players
something else happens first. You can also give harsher
consequences on failed rolls. These tools can ratchet up
the tension when it matters, but use them sparingly!
by Skip Rainsmyth
Hidden traps, clues, and items are puzzles, not “gotchas”.
Don’t try to trick them or let them miss important things.
Give them a hint or prompt - just enough info to start Gear:
thinking about how to respond.

Give your characters a unique trait, a voice or

art by Tom Rogers
mannerism, and a motivation. Let their quirks and
Trifold Edition - v22.2.17
desires inform their interactions with the PCs.

Between sessions, imagine what your characters and

factions are doing behind the scenes. When the PCs XP (reroll 1 die): Levels (reroll any dice):
return to a place or character they know, tell them what
has changed. Drop hints of new challenges and goals!
© 2021 / www.okrpg.cc © 2021 / www.okrpg.cc