FREE PREVIEW

by Mark Humphreys
A message from
the author

This is the free preview edition of Other

Worlds. It contains the full introduction
chapter, a rules summary, character
sheets, and an art preview. Please feel free
to distribute this PDF to anyone you like,
including prospective players, curious
relatives, and billionaire investors with
poor impulse control.

If you want to know more about Other

Worlds please visit our website at:

www.OtherWorldsRPG.wordpress.com

And if you like what you see and want

to buy a full copy of the game, in PDF or
print format, please visit our storefront at
www.RPGNow.com.

Thanks!

Mark Humphreys
 WrittEn By
Mark Humphreys

dEsiGnEd By
Mark Humphreys
with Mike Holmes

AdditionAl tExt By
Mike Holmes, Brian Isikoff, and Scott Mathis

illustrAtEd By
Storn A. Cook

EditEd By
Harriet Evans

lAyout By
Fred Hicks

sPEciAl thAnks
to Brian Isikoff for sowing the seeds of this whole project in the first place

PlAytEstErs
Richard Green, Steve Jones, Paul Newland, Ben Reynolds, Ian Meachin, Eric Zimmer, Steven D.Leary,
Laura Shaffer, Brian Dean Jennings, John DAmanda, Angelo Pampalone, Gioacchina Bonfiglio,
AlessandroDamiano, Antonino Sansica, Francesco Minutolo, Giorgio Merigo, Dario Contardi,
ArmandaDautaj, Gianfranco Geroldi, Denys Mordred, Holly Campbell, Matthew Campbell,
RobertLionheart, Zack Smith, Jaime T. Matthew, Laurent Castellucci, Maery Morrison, Erica Glaser,
Patrick Masson, Caro Landry, Brennen Reece, Sarah Reece, Will Whatley, Jared Gullage... and valuable
non-playtest feedback from Adam Dray, Steve Young, and Alfredo Sendn Domnguez.

Copyright 2011 Mark Humphreys. All rights reserved.

A Signal 13 production
FAC 13 5201

Go to www.OtherWorldsRPG.wordpress.com for more!

 contEnts
1 6 11
INTRODUCTION . . . 3 SUPPORTING CAST . . 81 PLAYING
How to Play Other Worlds . . 4 Creating Supporting Characters 82 OTHERWORLDS . . 147
A Rules Synopsis . . . . 6 Supporting Character Abilities 84 Use Your Character . . .148
Key Principles ofOther Worlds 8 Archetypal Supporting Use the Rules . . . . .149
Whats in This Book . . . 10 Characters . . . . . 85 Work Together . . . .150
Supporting Characters
2 and Conflicts . . . . . 93
Tell a Story . . . . . 151

WORLDBUILDING . . 11 Developing Supporting

Characters . . . . . 95
12
WhatstheSetting? . . . 12 THE GAMESMASTER . . 153
Who Are the Characters? . . 17 Other Supporting Elements . 96
Bringing the
What Kind of Game Will It Be? 20 Supporting Characters
IngredientsTogether . . . 153
Flesh Out the Characters for the GM . . . . . 99
Story Prep . . . . . 155
and Situation . . . . . 21
7 Running the Session . . .159

3 THE STRUCTURE
Conflict Management .
Running Different Types of
. . 163

CHARACTER OFPLAY . . . . .105 Conflicts . . . . . .164

GENERATION . . . 23 Before the Game . . . .105 Handling Special Abilities . . 167
During the Game . . . .106
Design the CharacterConcept
Invent Personal Details. . .
24
25 After the Game . . . .107 13
Choose Your Templates .
Describe Your Individuality .
.
.
28
30 8 ADAPTING
OTHERWORLDS . . 169
Assign Ratings . . . . 32 CONFLICT RESOLUTION 109 Establishing Genre
Create Story Hooks . . . 34 Step-by-Step Character Generation . . .169
Example Character: Conflict Resolution . . . 110 Reinforcing Genre
Sheridan Heist . . . . 36 Frame the Conflict. . . . 110 Conflict Resolution . . . 172
Allocate Screen Time . . . 113
4 Calculate Your Total Rating
Determine the
. 114
Introduction to the Genre
Snapshots . . . . . 175
ABILITIES . . . . 41 Genre Snapshot: Fantasy . . 175
Ability Types . . . . . 41 OppositionRating . . . .120 Genre Snapshot: Horror . 180
General Abilities . . . . 41 Determine the Winner . . .120 Genre Snapshot: Pirates . .183
Personality Traits . . . . 44 Count the Consequences . . 125 Genre Snapshot:
Relationships .
Goals . . .
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
44
45 9 Science Fiction . . .
Genre Snapshot: Superheroes
.187
191
Flaws. . . . . . . 46 SET PIECES . . . . 131 Genre Snapshot: Wild West .195
When to Use a Set Piece . . 131
5 Frame the Overall Conflict
Set the Turn Structure . .
. 133
. 133
RULES SUMMARY . . 199
CHARACTER TEMPLATES 49 GLOSSARY . . . 202
Using Templates . . . . 49 Escalate or Resolve . . . 133
Perform One or More Sub- INDEX . . . . 205
Archetypes . . . . . 51
Anatomy of an Archetype . . 52 Conflicts . . . . . .134
Creating Your OwnArchetypes 53 The Final Confrontation . . 135
Modern-Day Archetypes .
Trademarks . . . .
.
.
57
64 10
Anatomy of a Trademark . . 64 SPOTLIGHT POINTS . . 139
Creating Your OwnTrademarks 66 Earning Spotlight Points . .139
Trademark Categories . . . 67 Spotlighting a Conflict . . .142
Spotlighting Character
Development . . . . .144
1
Welcome to Other Worlds!
Introduction

Other Worlds is a roleplaying game of heroic action

and adventure. It provides a framework for telling
stories populated with interesting, exciting charac-
ters set in any worlds, universes, or timelines you
can imagine. The game is driven by description:
descriptions of characters, details of actions, and
dramatic visualisations. Numbers and dice rolls are
secondary to the action; in fact, you will find that
in Other Worlds the rules serve to emphasise the
story and increase the drama rather than getting
in their way. So, if youve ever put down a book,
switched off the TV, or left the cinema wishing you
could step through the fourth wall and explore that
world for yourself, then Other Worlds is the game
for you.
Our system of player-authored traits and descrip-
tors is designed to give you maximum freedom in
creating your own unique characters and settings
if you can imagine it, you can represent it in the
game. Moreover, our open-ended conflict resolu-
tion system allows you to use those traits to focus
the drama on the scenes and issues that you want
to explore, letting everything else fade into the
background. You will find that characters in Other
Worlds are much more than just numbers on a
page; they are living, breathing people whose deci-
sions and beliefs are the driving force behind the
whole story. Their fate is in your hands.
Large flying fish (Pesce Dirigibile)
from Angelo's The World
Over the Clouds campaign.

1
1: INTRODUCTION
How to Play Other Worlds
The purpose of playing Other Worlds is to tell a
story. You and your friends will make up an inter-
esting group of characters and use them to explore
a particular story, theme, or world of your own
invention. It is rather like writing a book, or acting
in a play, except that its more immediate, more vis-
ceral, and dare we say it more fun, too!
Note that when we talk about story here, were not
necessarily talking about something with a distinct
beginning, middle, and end. A lot of this game is
really about exploration exploration of setting,
exploration of situation, and exploration of charac-
ter. This means that your stories can (and probably
will) wander all over the place, from strange diver-
sions and wild tangents to false starts, extended
middles, and abrupt endings. Thats fine! Dont feel
like your stories have to fit into some kind of rigid
three-act structure to be any fun.
Dont think that creating the story is the particu-
lar province of a single player, either. This game is
specifically designed to give everyone the power to
drive events forward and introduce new elements
to the plot. The story you will create together is
an organic thing; it cannot be scripted or story-
boarded, edited or controlled. Instead it will evolve
naturally from the characters you create, the set-
tings you build, and the decisions you make during
play itself.
An Exercise in
Shared Creativity
Communication and co-operation are the
keys to enjoying Other Worlds communi-
cation of your own preferences so that you
can get what you want, and co-operation
with the other players to make sure they can
get what they want, too. This isnt the sort of
game that has winners and losers; in fact, the
only way you can ever lose in Other Worlds
is if you dont have any fun. It doesnt really
matter whether your character becomes a
god, betrays everyone hes ever loved, or gets
squashed by a dragon as long as it makes
for a good story and an exciting game you can
count yourself as a winner.
2
What You Need
The first thing youll need in order to play Other
Worlds is some other people to play it with. Between
four and six people is pretty much ideal, but its pos-
sible to play with as few as two people or as many
as eight (if not more!). If you dont already have a
regular roleplaying group, then some good places
to find other players are local games shops, role-
playing conventions, university club noticeboards,
and (of course) the internet. Dont forget that you
can convert unsuspecting normal people too!
Everyone has at least one friend or relative whos
really interested in Tolkien or Babylon 5 or some-
thing similar. Maybe its worth asking them if theyd
like to explore these universes for themselves?
Aside from a copy of this book, you dont really
need much else to play Other Worlds. Youll need
some paper and pencils, so you can write out the
details of your characters and make notes of their
adventures. Youll need two ten-sided dice per
player, so you can quickly and easily determine the
results of any conflicts that come up. And youll
need somewhere to play, preferably somewhere
comfortable and free from distractions. Turn those
televisions and stereos off right now! If its not con-
venient to play at home for some reason, its always
worth checking out local pubs, community cen-
tres, libraries, and the like most will have some
kind of function room that youll be able to book
in advance. Many games shops also operate a club
night, where youll be able to grab a table for your
own game or even join in on someone elses.
The final thing you need to be able to play Other
Worlds is an active imagination. Youve already got
one of those; if you didnt, you wouldnt be read-
ing this in the first place. Roleplaying might sound
like something weird and complicated, but it really
isnt. If youve ever made up a story, acted out a role,
or even just played cops and robbers as a child then
you already know the basics. This entire book is
ultimately just a way of structuring and channelling
those sorts of activities into something even better.
The Player
Characters
Most of the players in a game of Other Worlds will
take on the role of a player character (PC). The
player characters are the protagonists of the story
you and your friends will tell. They are the focus of
the game and your window into the world you have
created. If the game is set in a fantasy world, your
character might be a famous warrior with a great
destiny, a surly dwarf chieftain looking for gold, or
a mystical sorcerer from across the sea. In a science
fiction game, your character might be a brash young
starfighter pilot, a cynical bounty hunter from
another timeline, or an alien mind-reader with two
heads. Its entirely up to you to decide what kinds of
people your collective story will be about.
Each player is responsible for creating and describ-
ing his own character. We find it works best if
everyone does this as a group, so that you can make
sure all the characters fit in well with each other,
but its not mandatory. Your character should have
a distinct personality of his own, including goals,
strengths, weaknesses, relationships, and probably
a colourful background of some kind too. If your
character isnt interesting then the stories you tell
with him wont be interesting, either. Try to create
someone who will be not only fun for you to play
but also fun for the other players to watch.
During the game, you play the part of your char-
acter. You describe what he does, say what he says,
and at times even try to think like he thinks. It is
your job to push your character into the story
and to decide how he will react when the story
inevitably pushes back. Sometimes you must think
like an actor creating mannerisms, improvising
dialogue, and reacting appropriately to events. At
other times you will think more like an author or
a director driving the story forwards by putting
your character into interesting situations, creating
problems for him, and finding new ways to high-
light particular aspects of his background or per-
sonality. Some players and some groups will tend to
prefer one style of playing to the other, and do that
part more often thats fine! As long as everyone is
having fun you are doing it right.
You can find more detailed notes on how to get the
most out of being a player by reading Chapter 11,
Playing Other Worlds, on page 147.
The
Gamesmaster
1: INTRODUCTION
One of the players in the group must take the role
of the gamesmaster (GM for short). The GM is a
different kind of player because she does not have
a character of her own. Instead, her job is to create
interesting circumstances and opposition for the
other players characters in order to make the over-
all story as exciting as possible. With this purpose
in mind, she will act as part actor, part referee, and
part director often all three at the same time!
While everyone else has a single character, the GM
has several. She will create and play a large vari-
ety of non-player characters (NPCs) essentially,
everyone in the world who isnt one of the player
characters. This includes each player characters
friends and family, their contacts and associates,
and even the people they walk past in the street.
It also includes each characters foes professional
rivals, opposing forces, and sworn enemies. The
GM is responsible for breathing life into these char-
acters and using them to develop the story.
The GM also acts as a kind of referee, in that her
role is to decide when to apply modifiers to some-
ones dice roll, when certain abilities can be used,
and when certain kinds of consequences might
be appropriate. Thats not to say that the GM is
allowed to break the rules; the rules exist to provide
support and creative constraints for everyone, not
just the players, and its not really fair if one person
can just change them at will. Instead, the GM acts
as the interpreter of the rules deciding when to
roll, deciding when and how to modify those rolls,
and deciding what the results of each roll mean for
the story.
A Note on
Pronouns
In order to make our rules and play exam-
ples as clear as possible, this book uses the
male pronoun (he, his) to refer to players and
the female pronoun (she, hers) for games-
masters. Obviously, being male, female, or
a Strichnosian Technofiend has no bearing
whatsoever on your ability to play or GM this
game. (Although we hear that Strichnosian
Technofiends can get extremely violent when
they lose important conflicts... just a friendly
warning.)
3
 Perhaps the most important function of the GM
is to act as director. This means keeping an eye on
1: INTRODUCTION
the pacing of the game, making sure that things run
fast in the action sequences and run more slowly in
the exploration sequences. It means describing the
action and the scenery in an interesting and colour-
ful way that stimulates the imagination of the rest of
the group. It means protecting and supporting the
creativity of the players encouraging their efforts
to develop and show off their characters, helping
them agree on the goals and stakes of each con-
flict, and making sure that everyone gets an equal
amount of time in the spotlight. It also means act-
ing as the advocate of the story creating obstacles
for the characters to overcome, enemies for them
to defeat, and dilemmas for them to resolve.
Being the GM can be challenging at times but its a
lot of fun too! If you are interested in taking on this
role yourself, make sure to read the comprehensive
set of advice given in Chapter 12, The Gamesmaster,
on page 153.
The Play
Situation
What makes roleplaying games different from
other kinds of creative media is that you and your
friends are both the creators of the story and the
audience of the story, all at the same time. You can
use your imagination to set up exciting scenes and
make up all kinds of interesting details, characters,
and plot twists, and yet still be surprised when the
events of the story spin off in a new and unexpected
direction. It is both a creative outlet and a source of
immersive entertainment.
This dramatic uncertainty is achieved through the
use of dice. Most of the game is simply talking: the
GM describes the scene or acts out the part of an
NPC, the players act out the part of their own char-
acters and describe what they are trying to do, and
A Rules Synopsis
Before you start reading about how to set up a new
game and create your characters, wed like to give
you a broad overview of how the rules of this game
work.
Characters
Each character is described in three sets of terms:
4 templates, abilities, and ratings.
then the GM describes the consequences of those
actions and the cycle of play begins again. When
we get to a flashpoint in the drama, and we want
to inject a bit of suspense into the story, we will
roll dice to determine what happens next. Can our
hero convince the guards to let him into the pal-
ace, or will they raise the alarm? Can our hero jump
over the chasm and rescue the princess, or will he
fall into the middle of the snakepit? Can our hero
defeat the Baron and get his revenge, or will he too
be killed in ignominy by his own fathers murderer?
You can read more about conflicts in Chapter 8,
Conflict Resolution, on page 109.
Game Length
An individual game of Other Worlds is called a ses-
sion. Sessions vary in length and frequency some
groups play for a few hours one night a week, others
might play all day but only on every other weekend.
Different groups get into different play routines
depending on the needs and circumstances of the
players involved. Find a routine that works for you.
A series of one or more sessions following the same
story or incident is called an adventure. Some peo-
ple like to treat each adventure as though it were
a play or a feature film a discrete story with a
beginning, a middle, and an end. Once they have
finished an adventure they might never return to
those characters again, preferring instead to create
a whole new story with a whole new cast of charac-
ters. Other groups prefer to think of each adventure
as merely a single chapter in a larger ongoing story
called a campaign. Campaign play tends to resem-
ble a long-running TV series or movie franchise
in tone, following the same group of characters
through a succession of stories and adventures in
pursuit of some ultimate goal that could potentially
take years to fully resolve.
Templates define what the character is. There are
three different kinds of templates cultural arche-
types, professional archetypes, and trademarks.
These describe where a character comes from, what
he does for a living, and what makes him special,
respectively. Some examples of character templates
in a science fiction game might include Citizen
of Galactarr, Deep Space Miner, and Unlicensed
Telepath.
Abilities define what the character can do. They
might be skills he has learned, personality traits
he has developed, relationships he has forged, or
anything else besides. Some of your characters
abilities will come straight from his templates, but
many others will be made up by you, the player.
You are encouraged to invent your own ability
names entirely from scratch in order to fulfil your
vision and make your character more of an indi-
vidual. Some examples of character abilities in a
modern-day espionage game might include Speak
Japanese, Curious, Loves Roberto, Chase Suspect,
and I Aint Getting in No Plane.
Ratings define how well the character can do
something. They are the numbers attached to each
ability to show how useful they are in an actual con-
flict. A character with a high rating in a particular
ability is very effective at achieving things using
that method. A high ability rating might represent
a natural aptitude, a lot of training and experience,
very deeply-felt convictions, or perhaps some kind
of divine blessing. You write each abilitys rat-
ing next to its name; for example, a character in a
Tolkienesque fantasy game might have Ride Horse
25, Read Ancient Languages 30, Hate Goblins 20,
and Eagle Eye Archer 40.
Conflicts
When two or more participants in the game dis-
agree on what should happen next (or plain dont
know), we use a dice roll to determine the outcome.
All conflicts follow the same six-step procedure:
1. Frame the Conflict
Each player describes what this particular conflict
means to their character: what they are trying to
do, how they are trying to do it, and what will hap-
pen if they lose. This is a vitally important part of
the process because it sets the tone for everything
that happens next.
2. Allocate Screen Time
Once the conflict has been framed, the group may
decide that the stakes of failure are not very inter-
esting after all. In such cases they may decide to just
let the action automatically succeed rather than
rolling the dice.
3. Calculate Your Total Rating
If the conflict is still going ahead, the player must
1: INTRODUCTION
calculate his total rating. This represents his char-
acters overall chances of success in the impend-
ing dice roll. The player uses the base rating of the
ability he is using and then adds further bonuses
for any other abilities he can use as support. For
example, a character in a pirates game might sup-
port his Cutlass Fighting ability with his Reckless
Bravery ability. The GM might also apply additional
modifiers based on circumstances, injuries, or how
appropriate the base ability is to the situation.
4. Determine the
Opposition Rating
There are always two sides to any conflict your
character, and the opposition. Sometimes the
opposition is another character in the story, in
which case the GM (or perhaps another player) will
pit that characters abilities directly against yours.
At other times the opposition will be something
inanimate, such as the height of a mountain you
are trying to climb, or the complexity of a bomb
you are trying to defuse. In those cases the GM will
simply make up an appropriate opposition rating
based on how difficult she feels the task should be.
5. Determine the Winner
Each side now rolls a one-hundred-sided dice (or
d100, for short) and adds it to their rating. The side
that gets the highest total wins the conflict and gets
what they want. The GM and players must now
describe what happens and who it happens to.
6. Count the Consequences
You must now count the consequences of the
conflict. One or more characters may have been
changed by what has just happened the losing
side might receive a negative trait such as an injury
or flaw, while the winning side might receive a new
ability as a temporary bonus.
Once the conflict has been resolved, play returns
to normal. The GM describes the scene and the
players describe what their characters are going to
do next. When you reach another potential cross-
roads in the story, you might decide to break out
the dice again and resolve it as another conflict.
And so it goes: play consists of alternating periods
of narration, where the group simply describes what
happens, and periods of conflict resolution, where
the group rolls dice to randomly determine what
happens.
5
1: INTRODUCTION
Key Principles
ofOther Worlds
Our games design philosophy in Other Worlds can
be summarised in three main principles: Anything
Can Be an Ability, Anything Can Be a Conflict, and
The Group Owns the Setting.
Anything Can
Be an Ability
Everything worth noting about a character can be
articulated as an ability. Abilities can be absolutely
anything skills, attributes, relationships, goals,
personality traits, magic spells, high-tech gadgets,
even catchphrases and mannerisms. Further, all
abilities are equal under the rules. It doesnt matter
whether your ability is an enchanted sword, prior
experience in haggling with shadow elementals, or
a natural sense of curiosity if you can describe
how it helps you, and what the consequences of
failure might be, you can use it in a conflict.
This is important because it enables you to be as cre-
ative as you like in describing your character. There
are no restrictions other than what you decide is
fun if its interesting enough to write down, its
interesting enough to make into an ability. Just give
it a name and an ability rating and you can start
using it straight away! This is a crucial advantage for
a multi-genre game because it means you can bring
in any new stuff you like without having to translate
it into a game mechanic its just a Cyclojet 20, or
Spitting Snake Technique 25, or whatever. You can
immediately understand how to represent and use
every possible genre element.
Anything Can
Be a Conflict
The corollary to Anything Can Be an Ability is
Anything Can Be a Conflict. Whenever two play-
ers identify a potential turning point in the story,
they make a simple opposed roll to determine what
happens. All types of abilities and conflicts use
the same rules structure and are treated equally
in every respect. There are no special exceptions,
rules, or modifiers other than what you decide is
relevant to the scene at hand. Whats more, you get
to decide what each conflict is really about, and
what your character gets if he succeeds... or what
he loses if he fails.
6
This puts the power to build up and reinforce the
right atmosphere for your game in your hands.
Youre in control. If you want to show the impor-
tance of a particular scene, make it a conflict. If you
want to show the effects of a particular detail or
ability, put a modifier on the dice roll. If you want to
show the after-effects of the conflict on a particular
character, give him a new ability. Other Worlds lets
you tell your stories how you think they should be
told.
The Group Owns
the Setting
Characters dont just come from nowhere. Part of
the fun of roleplaying is not just telling stories about
the protagonists, but exploring their worlds as well.
Hence the name of this book: Other Worlds. Thats
not to say that the focus of the game shouldnt be
on the characters, of course just that the setting
gets examined through our opportunity to watch
the characters go through that world and see how
they are individually affected by it.
However, in Other Worlds, you dont just explore
the setting you own it. Our setting and character
generation systems are designed to harness the cre-
ativity of the entire group when building a world to
tell stories in. Everyone gets a say in designing the
setting and everyone gets to add new details to it
during play itself. Even if youre playing within the
constraints of a pre-existing setting or time period,
the fact that youre inventing your own templates,
abilities, and characters on top of that means that
youre still making that world your own. What hap-
pens in play is therefore not dictated solely by the
rules or the vision of one person but by the com-
bined imaginations of everyone sat at the table. The
players are the writers of the story, the actors of the
story, and the audience of the story, all at the same
time. It is our experience that this approach helps
make the game more rewarding, more dramatic,
more surprising, and ultimately more fun for all
concerned.

Example of Play: Leafblade in the Dark
To give you an idea of what its like to play Other
Worlds, lets listen in on an excerpt from a fairly
typical game session set in the epic fantasy
world of Kosakia.
GM: In the darkness of the cave you can see a
body.
Mark: [Playing Leafblade, a quickling ranger
from the Jade Forest.] Hmm, OK. Ill move in a
little bit closer, holding my torch as high as I can
to illuminate the scene.
GM: OK. The body you saw is that of a dwarf.
Hes dead. Hes dressed in some kind of livery
and theres all kinds of stuff scattered on the
floor next to him an axe, a shield, a scroll case,
and a whole bunch of papers and provisions.
Mark: Cause of death?
GM: Oh, that ones easy. Hes got a great big hole
where his chest should be. Like something just
burst right out of him.
Mark: Like a rotmeat spyder, you mean? Dammit,
I really hate those guys! OK, as soon as I see that
Im going to immediately do another sweep of
the area with my torch. Im looking for any weird
shadows or signs of movement on the floor and
in the area just behind the body. I know these
things like to leap out at people from ambush.
GM: Seems clear. Apart from the occasional
drip-dripping of water from the cavern roof,
everything is deathly quiet. Whatever was here
must have moved on to somewhere else.
Mark: [Doubtful] Yeah, maybe. You said there
was a shield. I picked up Dwarf-friend as an abil-
ity after that thing we did in Magma Peak. Do I
recognise the heraldry?
GM: Yeah. Hes from King Thorgrims Citadel.
Looks like hes some kind of messenger, prob-
ably quite high up. You notice that the scroll case
has a rune of sealing on it.
Mark: Thorgrims Citadel, eh? [Mark uses his
narrative authority to invent something about
1: INTRODUCTION
the gameworld.] Arent they those really insu-
lar guys who distrust quicklings and other fae-
linked creatures? [The GM nods his approval of
this development.]
Hmm, I wonder what this guys doing this far
south. Is it just a coincidence that he got killed
by a rotmeat spyder, or is the whole damn
Citadel infected? Maybe he was heading down
to try to get help from the Knights of Blackstone
Mountain or something?
OK, Ill use my Empathic Link to make the rest
of the group feel really curious about this place
and want to come further in. Maybe Stoneman
knows a way to read this guys message without
breaking the seal. Then, Im going to approach
the body and grab the scroll.
GM: As you kneel down you hear something drop
down behind you and unfold.
Mark: What? Oh crap, he was on the roof!
GM: Yeah. You get a split seconds notice before
he lashes out and tries to impale you with his
bony stinging talon.
Mark: Im going to just kick myself to the side
out of pure reflexes, turning round and knock-
ing him away with my Ring of Repulsion as I fall.
After that Im going to run for it.
GM: Whats your total rating?
Mark: Im going to use Lightning Reflexes as my
main ability, so thats 30. Im going to support
that with my Ring at +15 and, oh, Ive got Scared
of Demonkin too, so thats... 48.
GM: This guys pretty much got the drop on you
here Im going to say that the opposition rat-
ing is 60. So, if I win you get stabbed in the guts
and maybe paralysed, but if you win you knock
him away and scramble towards the exit, right?
[Mark nods.] OK, I roll... 65, thats a total of 125.
Youve got to beat that if you want to get away.
Mark: Oh man, I hope the other guys get here
soon! [Mark rolls the dice.] Right, I got...
7
1: INTRODUCTION
Whats in This Book
The rest of this book contains the following
material:
Chapter 2: Worldbuilding
A step-by-step guide to setting up a new game,
from choosing a genre and determining the power
level to describing the setting and brainstorming
future adventures.
Chapter 3: Character
Generation
A fully detailed explanation of how to create an
interesting and believable character that will be fun
to play, from character concept and backstory to
individuality and story hooks.
Chapter 4: Abilities
A closer look at the different kinds of abilities and
how you can use them in play.
Chapter 5: Character
Templates
A full breakdown of the different kinds of arche-
types and trademarks available to your char-
acter, including a wide selection of ready-to-use
examples.
Chapter 6: Supporting Cast
An examination of the different types of NPCs,
from loyal followers and innocent bystanders to
personal rivals and villainous megalomaniacs.
Includes a detailed guide to building up your own
supporting cast and over 20 fully realised example
NPCs.
Chapter 7: The
Structure of Play
This chapter is primarily intended for new players.
It gives a detailed breakdown of all the things that
can happen in a typical game session, from con-
structing in-character dialogue and exploring new
scenes to pacing the drama and identifying poten-
tial conflicts.
8
Chapter 8: Conflict
Resolution
A step-by-step guide to the process of conflict reso-
lution, from describing the action and setting the
stakes to determining the winner and living with
the consequences.
Chapter 9: Set Pieces
This chapter presents a more detailed method of
conflict resolution so you can give the truly impor-
tant moments of your story the extra level of atten-
tion that they undoubtedly deserve!
Chapter 10: Spotlight Points
A closer look at the whole concept of spotlight
points, showing how you can use them to direct
the action and highlight the way your character
changes over the course of the game.
Chapter 11: Playing
Other Worlds
An explanation of how to get the most out of the
game as a player using the rules for best effect,
creating interesting protagonists, and working with
others to drive the story forwards.
Chapter 12: The Gamesmaster
Covers the whole process of running a game, from
challenging and supporting your players creativity
to using literary and cinematic techniques to make
your stories more dramatic.
Chapter 13: Adapting
Other Worlds
This chapter represents a peek behind the curtain
of Other Worlds. It describes in detail how you can
use the various tools built into the game conflict
framing, template creation, and thematic ability
design to build up the right atmosphere for your
own chosen genre or setting. It also includes quick-
start genre packages for fantasy, horror, pirates, sci-
ence fiction, superhero and wild west games so that
you can start playing right away!
 The INFECTED
Campaign Idea:

Concept: The Nazis win WW2 by infe

cting Britain with the zombie plague.
The survivors seal themselves into
the London Underground and establi
network of underground colonies. We sh a
begin the action in 2013, when the vir
has finally started to recede and peo us
ple can once again return to the sur
world. The characters are part of face
a special forces unit that has been
out on a secret mission to rescue Prin sent
ce Harry from unknown captors.
Potential antagonists: Fast cannibalis
tic zombies - the Infected, rogue
scavengers, anti-establishment types,
infected animals like rats and dogs,
collaborators and spies, Nazi scoutin
g parties, other foreign troops.
Grim and gritty tone. No magic or sup
ernatural elements at all - the virus
is a scientific weapon. Anachronistic
tech. Rationing. Wartime propaganda.
Power Level: 20

Archetypes: All the characters will hav

e adapted versions of both the
Englishman and Soldier archetype
s.
Trademarks: One each, representing
various specialist roles within the uni
sniper, medic, demolitions, etc t-
 VIKING SAGA
Campaign Idea:

Concept: The characters are viking raiders exploring a mythic,

fantastical Europe.

Dark and gritty in tone - sudden, violent death is always potentially

around the corner.

Explore ancient tombs, sites of mystical power, coastal villages, ruined

castles, shipwrecks, and haunted forests.

Here be dragons - fight against goblinmen, dragons, werewolves,

dopplegangers, faeries, and spirits of the dead.

Visionquests into the nether world.

Power Level: 20

Culture: Tribal variations on a common Viking template

Profession: Roles in the party - scout, warrior, chieftain, etc

1 Trademark: Huscarls, berserkers, animal sidekicks, magic swords,

great destinies, etc
 Rules
Summary

Worldbuilding Character
Step one: Generation
Whats the Setting?
Decide on a broad concept and genre. STEP ONE:
Set the tone of the game. Design the
Fill in the details of the setting, including: CharacterConcept
History Summarise your overall character concept.
Geography STEP TWO:
Technology Invent Personal Details
Magic Give your character a name.
Factions Describe your characters appearance.
Conflicts Describe your characters background.

Step two: STEP THREE:

Who Are the Characters?
Discuss broad character concepts.
Decide on an overall power level.
Decide on number of trademarks.
Step Three:
What Kind of Game Will It Be?
Decide on the overall length of the game.
Brainstorm potential supporting characters.
Brainstorm potential future adventures.
Step Four:
Flesh Out the Characters
and Situation
Create the player characters.
Create the supporting cast.
Create the opening scene.
Choose Your Templates
Choose your characters cultural archetype.
Choose your characters professional archetype.
Choose your characters trademarks.
Personalise your characters relationships.
STEP FOUR:
Describe Your Individuality
Choose up to 8 general abilities.
Choose up to 4 personality traits.
Choose up to 4 relationships.
Choose up to 4 goals.
Choose up to 4 flaws.
STEP FIVE:
Assign Ratings
All abilities start with a rating equal to the
agreed power level.
Apply a +5 bonus to 1 ability from each template.
Apply a +10 bonus to 1 individuality trait and a
+5bonus to 2 others.
Apply a -10 penalty to 1 individuality trait and a
-5penalty to 2 others.
STEP SIX:
Create Story Hooks
Describe a preliminary supporting character.
Choose a temporary prologue ability.
Collect 3 spotlight points.
11
RULES SUMMARY
Conflict Resolution
Step one:
Frame the Conflict
Player describes his characters actions.
Player describes his goals what happens if
the character wins?
Player and GM agree the stakes what hap-
pens if the character loses?
Step Two:
Allocate Screen Time
Decides whether to roll or make it an auto-
matic success.
STEP THREE:
Calculate Your Total Rating
Choose a base ability and use its full rating.
Choose a supporting ability and add 50% of its
rating.
Choose up to 2 further supporting abilities
and add 10% of their ratings.
Each assisting character may provide 1 addi-
tional supporting ability modifier.
Highest negative trait subtracts 50% of its
rating.
Other negative traits subtract 10% of their
ratings.
GM may apply context or circumstance modi-
fier of up to +/- 20.
12
STEP FOUR:
Determine the
Opposition RATING
If the opposition is a fellow player, they calcu-
late their total rating as above.
Otherwise, the GM determines the total rating
of the opposition.
Standard = 1 x the base power level of the
game.
Challenging = 2 x the base power level of
the game.
Very Difficult = 3 x the base power level of
the game.
STEP FIVE:
Determine the Winner
Each side rolls d100 and add their total rating
to the score.
If the scores are equal the result is a draw.
If a side wins by 1 to 9 (ones) they gain a par-
tial victory.
If a side wins by 10 to 99 (tens) they gain a
standard victory.
If a side wins by 100 (hundreds), or on a
double, they gain a critical victory.
GM describes the final result of the conflict.
STEP SIX:
Count the Consequences
GM may apply one of the following options:
Either: The losing side gains a flaw equal to
the winning sides total rating.
A partial defeat means that the flaw is
only temporary.
A critical defeat means that the character
also gains a restriction.
Or: The winning side gains a temporary ability
equal to the losing sides total rating.
Any characters who provided support are also
eligible to receive consequences.
Set Pieces
STEP ONE:
Frame the Overall Conflict
Player describes his characters initial actions.
Player describes his overall goal what hap-
pens if the character wins?
Player and GM agree the stakes what hap-
pens if the character loses?
STEP TWO:
Set the Turn Structure
GM decides which side goes first.
Step Three:
Escalate or Resolve
Side A chooses to either escalate or resolve
the conflict.
If he chooses to escalate, run a new sub-con-
flict as per step four below.
If he chooses to resolve, move to the finale as
per step five below.
Side B then makes the same choice: escalate
or resolve.
Continue alternating actions until one side
moves to resolution.
STEP FOUR:
Perform One or More
Sub-Conflicts
Player frames the sub-conflict describe
actions, goals, and stakes.
Player calculates his total rating abilities,
negative traits, and other modifiers.
GM determines the opposition rating.
Both sides roll d100 and add their total ratings
to determine the winner.
GM describes the results.
The winner gets a temporary ability or the
loser gets a flaw, as normal.
STEP FIVE:
The Final Confrontation
Resolve the final confrontation using the stan-
dard conflict rules.
The newly generated temporary abilities and
flaws should all play a part.
Spotlight Points
RULES SUMMARY
Earning Spotlight Points
Each player gets 2 feedback tokens to hand
out per session.
You gain 1 spotlight point when you lose a
meaningful conflict.
You gain 1 spotlight point if a supporting char-
acter you have a relationship to dies.
Spotlighting a Conflict
Spend 1 spotlight point to use more than
3supporting abilities in a conflict.
Spend 1 spotlight point to reverse the polarity
of your dice roll.
Spend 1 spotlight point to raise the stakes of
the conflict and reroll.
Spotlighting
CharacterDevelopment
Spend X spotlight points to buy a new ability
(1 spotlight point per 10 rating points).
Spend 1 spotlight point to improve an existing
ability by +1 (maximum +20).
Spend 1 spotlight point to rename an existing
ability.
Spend 3 spotlight points to introduce a new
supporting character.
Spend 1 spotlight point to reduce a flaw by 10
rating points.
13
 Supporting Cast
Name: Name: Name:
General Abilities General Abilities General Abilities

Personality Traits Personality Traits Personality Traits

Relationships Relationships Relationships

Goals Goals Goals

Flaws Flaws Flaws

Name: Name: Name:

General Abilities General Abilities General Abilities

Personality Traits Personality Traits Personality Traits

Relationships Relationships Relationships

Goals Goals Goals

Flaws Flaws Flaws

Name:
Spotlight Points
Concept:
Description:

Campaign: CHARACTER SHEET Feedback Tokens Given:

Cultural Archetype Professional Archetype Individuality

General Abilities General Abilities General Abilities

Personality Traits Personality Traits Personality Traits

Relationships Relationships Relationships

Trademark Trademark Goals

General Abilities General Abilities

Flaws

Personality Traits Personality Traits

Temporary Abilities

Relationships Relationships

RESTRICTIONS
EXPloRE

Other Worlds is a roleplaying game of heroic action

and adventure for any genre. The game is driven by
description: descriptions of characters, details of
actions, and dramatic visualisations. Numbers and
dice rolls are secondary to the action; in fact, you
will find that in Other Worlds the rules serve to
emphasise the story and increase the drama rather
than getting in their way.

This book contains the following material:

A comprehensive worldbuilding procedure that

the whole group gets to take part in

Over 100 ready-to-use character templates, from

assassins to xenoarchaeologists and everything
else in between

Detailed guidelines on creating your own cultural

archetypes, professions, trademark powers,
supporting characters, and adventure locations

A simple, elegant conict resolution procedure

that can handle any situation

Turn-based set piece rules to handle the more

important conicts of your story

A wealth of practical advice on how to get the

most out of play, based on real experience at the
games table

Quick-start genre packages for fantasy, horror,

pirates, science fiction, superheroes, and the
wildwest

Written by Mark Humphreys

Illustrated by Storn A. Cook
FAC 13 5201

www.OtherWorldsRPG.wordpress.com