You Awaken in a Strange Place

A Fully Improvised RPG for 4 Players

Designed by Jacob Andrews

Core Tenets of the Game

● Everyone comes to the game unprepared.
● Anything the GM or the players say about the world is true about
the world.
● The game must be finished in one session.

What You’ll Need to Play

● Paper
● Writing utensils
● 2d6 for each player

Establishing the Setting

● Choose one person to be the Game Master (GM) using whatever
method you deem fit. They no longer count as a “player” for the
purposes of this rule sheet. They are unto a god now.
● The other players each roll 2d6.
●
The player with the highest roll silently thinks of a Genre.
● The player with the middle roll silently thinks of an Adjective.
● The player with the lowest roll silently thinks of a Location.
● Once every player has decided, they state their choice out loud,
in order.
○ Example: Samantha rolls a 12, and chooses the genre Western.
Liz rolls an 8, and chooses the adjective Dangerous.
Dangerous. Alan
rolls a 2, and chooses the location High School. The setting
for this game is a Dangerous High School in the Wild West.
● Next, in the same turn order, each player makes one Statement
about the world of the game. As per the Core Tenets, whatever
they say becomes true about the world.
○ Example: Samantha thinks for a minute, then says that in this
world, the main threat to humanity is Cyber-Spiders. Liz says

that the high school is at the top of a volcano. Alan says

that students who fail in this school are thrown into the
volcano. All of these things are now true about the world.
● The players and the GM then work together and use these facts to
form a more complete picture of the world.
○ Example: The GM and the players discuss, and decide that the
school is a training facility for gifted young cowfolk in the
war against the cyber-spiders. The things they are taught in
the school are forbidden knowledge, so once enrolled, the

students are not allowed to leave unless they graduate

successfully.

Creating Your Characters

● Players roll 2d6, and then create their characters, one at a
time, starting with the player who rolled the highest.
● The player with the highest roll describes what kind of character
they want to be.
○
Example: Alan rolls a 10, and says that he wants to be a
huge, muscular, overalls-wearing
overalls-wearing farmhand from a tiny town
who is an expert with a lasso. He names his character
Bradford McBuff.
● The same player now makes up 4 Skill Verbs that apply to their
character: one skill that they’re amazing at ( +2), one skill that
they’re good at (+1), one skill that they’re bad at (-1), and one
skill that they’re horrible at ( -2). Use these skills to help
paint a picture of your character! Try to make them align with
 what makes your character great, and what makes your character
flawed.
○ Example: Alan gives Bradford McBuff a +2 in lassoing, a +1 in
throwing, a -1 in dodging, and a -2 in lying.
● Once the first player is done, the next player does the same
thing, but has to invent 4 completely new Skill Verbs for their
character.
○ Example: Liz is next, and after the initial description, they
give their character, Pistol James, a +2 in sharpshooting,
sharpshooting, a
+1 in smooth-talking, a -1 in following orders, and a -2 in
defending.
● The third player repeats the process with 4 new Skill Verbs for
their own character.
● After all of the players have created their characters and set
their skills, the GM then adds 4 additional Skill Verbs to fill
out whatever might be missing in the session. Try to call back to
the established setting and come up with Skill Verbs that help
flesh out the world!
○ Example: The GM thinks about what would round out the skill
set, and then adds in Sneaking, Guarding, Horse Riding, and
Yeehawing.
● These 16 skills are the only types of rolls you’re allowed to
make in the game, so all challenges must revolve around these
skills. Every player has access to all of these skills, and if
they don’t have a bonus from character creation then it starts at
+0.

Playing the Game

As the GM
● Once the setting and characters are created, you’ll be given 5

minutes to jot down notes and ideas before the game begins.
● The game should begin in the middle of the action, so think up an
exciting scenario within the world you’ve all created to drop
your players into.
○ Example: Against all odds, the Cyber-Spiders have infiltrated
the high school and are wreaking havoc among the student
body. The player characters were knocked out in an explosion
when the Cyber-Spiders breached the outer walls.
● Once you’ve established the opening shot, think of several action
scenes that you can slot into the story that challenge your
players’ specific Skill Verbs. These don’t have to be used in
game, and it’s likely that you’ll think up different ones as the
game progresses. This will just get you thinking in the right
direction.
○ Example: The GM thinks about Alan’s character, and writes
down “distant lever” to test the Lasso Skill, “pile of
rubble” to test to throwing skill, “spider turrets” to test
the dodging skill, and “skeptical teacher” to test the lying
skill.
● When you’re ready to begin to game, start with the opening line
“You awaken in a strange place...”
● Describe in great detail the Strange Place that the player
characters have Awakened in, then ask them what they want to do.
● Once the players have a firm grasp of the situation as they know
it, you should encourage them to discuss their scenario and come
up with a Goal. Remind your players to consider the previous
Statements about the world and setting so they can draw their
goal from there.
○ Example: The players all discuss, and decide that their Goal
is to escape the school before the Cyber-Spiders tear the
whole place to the ground.
● Once the Goal has been decided, you should continue the narrative
in service to this Goal.
● As players are exploring the world, you should always look for
ways to test their Skill Verbs in fun and interesting ways.
Whenever a player wants to accomplish something difficult, or you
throw a challenge their way, have the players roll 2d6 + their
bonus points for a given skill to determine their success.
○ <6 = Failure: The player fails to get what they want.
○ 7-9 = Mixed Success: The player gets what they want
partially, or at a cost.
○ 10-12 = Success: The player gets exactly what they want.
● When players roll Mixed Successes or Failures, try to place new
obstacles in their way, or twist the existing obstacle, in a way
that makes the story more exciting. You’re not trying to punish
the player for bad rolls; you’re trying to use them to create
more thrilling storytelling for you and the players both!
●
Players can also make new Statements about the world during the
play session, but now they’ll have to roll to determine their
success. Use the same rolling rules as you would any other skill
check, and on a Mixed Success or a Failure try to find fun ways
to complicate or twist the new Statement that creates
complications for your players.
● Sometimes players might want to search for useful items in the
game world. All items that players find are called Resources, and
a Resource is whatever the player needs it to be at the time of
its usage. If a player wants to find Resources, they can roll for
it! On a success, they find 2 Resources. On a mixed success they
find 1 Resource, but cause a problem. On a failure, they fail to
find anything and cause a problem.
○ Example: Samantha rolls a success and scrounges around a
ruined classroom, finding 2 Resources. Later in the game, she
needs to cross a large chasm, and determines that one of the
Resources she found was, in fact, a long rope that she then
uses to cross the gap. Samantha now has 1 Resource remaining.
● If the players achieve their Goal, and the game doesn’t feel
finished yet, ask them to set a new Goal. If you need any ideas,
you can pivot to a different initial world Statement for
inspiration!
○ Example: In the process of escaping, the players learn that
the school was betrayed by one of the faculty, Professor
Gonald Biggensby, and they shift their goal toward finding
him and taking their revenge.
● Play continues in this way until players have achieved their
Final Goal and the story has reached a satisfying conclusion.
● Always remember that your ultimate job as the GM is to create a
playground for your players to have fun in, and to assist them in
telling the story that they want to tell.

Playing the Game

As a Player
● Think about your character’s personality and desires, and try to
act in accordance with how they would act in a given situation.
● All characters begin the game with 10 HP and any items it would
make sense for them to have.
●
Try to find creative ways to use the Skill Verbs you’re good at
as often as possible.
● Whenever you need to perform a task related to one of the Skill
Verbs, the GM will ask you to roll 2d6 + your skill bonus to
determine its success.
○ <6 = Failure: You fail to get what you want.
○ 7-9 = Mixed Success: You get what you want partially, or at
a cost.
○ 10-12 = Success: You get exactly what you want.
 ● Any time you roll a Failure, mark down a tally on your paper.
Each tally represents a Bonus +1 that you can apply to any future
roll (to a maximum of +2 for a single roll).
● If you want to Assist one of your teammates on their roll, you
can use one of your Skill Verbs to try and help them out. A
Success grants your teammate an additional +2 to their roll, a
Mixed Success grants an additional +1, and a Failure means that
you’ll share in whatever harm is about to befall your teammate.
● During gameplay, you can still make new Statements about the
world that become true, but now you have to roll for it. This
roll follows the same rules as any other skill check, so if you
fail it could turn your new world adjustment against you!

Don’t be afraid to be silly and stupid; this is a silly and stupid

game. The session is considered a success if everyone had fun and
wants to play again. Feel free to change or adjust any of the rules to
better suit your own playstyle or group dynamic! Now get out there and
make a dumb story with your friends.