5 Second Rule

Lucky Newt Games

Thank You For Volunteering!

You are participating in a new study by L&G Inc. Though the compensation isn’t very good, they could
be the key to your dream of having superpowers. After weeks of pokes and prods, and far more mental
and physical tests than should be legal, you are one of the few whose power awakens! The catch?
You're stuck in this facility with a few powered individuals until you learn how to work together as a
team of superheroes. Oh yeah, and everyone's power- including yours- is limited by 5 seconds in some
way.
So why go through all this?
Because someone mentioned there would be a portal at the end of this training that could take your
group anywhere, anytime. And did you catch the part about being a superhero?

What Is This Game?

5SR is a game about superpowers using the 3d6D system. 3d6D, or 3d6Diversify, is an agnostic d6
system that uses a Point Pool to help balance how often abilities are used vs potential consequences.
This can be a one-shot or played over several sessions. It can be used in any genre, though it’s
recommended that the first game take place in a training facility where players can get familiar with
the system and how powers might interact with each other, and maybe even earn some Experience for
future games sessions.

Who Are You

Write down your character’s name and a brief description.

Power
Choose your character’s power, but remember that it must be limited in some way by 5 seconds. Feel
free to come up with your own, choose from the list below, or pick randomly from the list with a toss
of 1d6.

1: Freeze time, but only for 5 seconds

2: Go back in time, but only by 5 seconds
3: Become ten times stronger for only 5 seconds
4: Become ten times faster, but only for 5 seconds
5: Know any point in the future, but lose that knowledge in 5 seconds
6: Enhance one of your senses, but only for 5 seconds.

Be sure to check with your PM (Project Manager) in case your power is too weak or too strong for the
game. They can help you find ways to better balance it out.
Background
Record 1 Background to help your character with their power. This can help minimize Consequences,
which might still occur, but to a lesser degree or shorter duration.
For example, if your character can enhance their physical strength, maybe they’re a weightlifter so
they can lift without pulling a muscle. Or if you can know any point in the future, maybe you’re a
university student so you’ll know what information in history would be most useful to you.
Your Background can occasionally change if you have a good in-game reason that’s approved by the
PM. Just remember, your Background has an effect because of how much it’s been in your life.

Experience
Even when things go wrong, you can learn from them to avoid the same mistake twice. Much like your
Background, your Experiences can minimize or completely negate future Consequences during
gameplay. Roleplay them out as they happen, and take note of any significant ones your character can
learn from. At the end of each session or long rest, choose one Consequence that your character has
learned from. Characters can either talk about it as a way to wrap up the game session or be debriefed
by their PM. Then record the lesson learned on the Experience section of your character sheet.

Power Pool
Players have a Power Pool with 30-60 points; it depends on how powerful the game is. When your
character uses their power, the total rolled is subtracted from your Power Pool. Once it reaches 0, the
difficulty for each roll is raised by 1. The Power Pool resets after the game session or after a long rest.

Gameplay
The PM starts by introducing the scene. Then turn order can be decided on amongst the players or by
rolling 1d6. Players take turns narrating what their characters do. For important actions, players roll
2d6 and compare it to the table below. For their power, players roll 3d6 and pick two dice to sum up
before referencing the scale. Be sure to save the third d6 in case the PM decides to give you a Bonus.

2: Fail with Consequence

3-4: Fail
5-7: Succeed with Consequence
8-10: Succeed
11-12: Succeed with Bonus

At the end of each round, the PM narrates any changes in the environment and NPCs. Turn order is
then decided again amongst the players.
Once the training session is complete, either by failing or achieving the goal, characters are
encouraged to talk about one of the lessons they learned from a consequence they experienced during
the game. This can be recorded on their character sheet after the discussion for use in a later session.
 Project Manager
Bonuses and Consequences
PMs are encouraged to take the "Yes and” or “Yes but” approach for boosting or limiting a chosen
power and for Bonuses and Consequences.
For example, if a player enhances their eyesight to read someone's lips from 100 feet away, a PM can
say "Yes, and you will have binocular vision for the next five rounds that you can fully control." Or
"Yes, but your eyesight will be weakened for the next five rounds.”
Please remember to reward creativity. If a player really thinks outside the box or steps outside their
comfort zone to try something awesome, you can let them add the third d6 they rolled into their Power
Pool. If their Power Pool is already full, you can also give them the option to change one die on a roll
for that round.
The only exception should be when a 2 is taken. Remember, 2s are Fail with Consequence, regardless
of creativity, though you can always lessen the Consequence. It might be good to remind players to
make use of their Background and any Experiences that could apply.
For Consequences, consider taking the third dice they rolled and remove it from their Power Pool, as if
they needed to put extra effort into using their ability. Another idea is to make it so they can’t use their
power for one or more rounds, as if their vision became really blurry or they lifted something heavy
wrong and pulled a muscle.

The First Session

The PM can run the players through a training session using anything from lasers and androids to
espionage and locked safes to stone castles and holographic dragons depending on the type of game
your group wants to play. The end goal should be explained ahead of time as if this was a real
simulator, with the chance for questions to clarify any details. The goal can be anything from surviving
a robot uprising for a certain number of rounds to retrieving an important document without anyone
noticing to taming a dragon so they can go after the evil wizard who captured it.
Remember, the first session is purely for training purposes. None of the players can die; if something
really goes wrong, the entire encounter can be stopped on a dime and emergency personnel brought
in to help. PMs can even say there’s an NPC on staff that can turn back time by 5 seconds to undo the
damage done, allowing enough time to stop the simulation before it becomes harmful. However, the
players should be actively learning the limits of their abilities, encouraged to push those limits, and
allowed to learn what happens when they push too far.
 Character Sheet

Name: __________________________________ Player: ___________________________________

Power/Limitation:___________________________________________________________________

Background:________________________________________________________________________

Power Pool: _____ /_____

Brief Description: _______________________________________________________________

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Experience:

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 A Lucky Newt Games Production

Luckynewtgames.itch.io ~ twitter.com/LuckyNewtGames ~ LuckyNewtGames@gmail.com

5 Second Rule and The 3d6D System

Copyright © 2021 Lucky Newt Games

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