• Fun: That’s the goal. “Fun” means different things for Your character also has a Health score.

alth score. When damage is

different people. You might be playing to make tactical inflicted, this reduces Health. If it reaches 0, your character may
choices in a challenging scenario, to experience an be killed, or might be stunned and rendered unable to act.
outrageous, daring adventure, or to immerse yourself in In combat and other situations, your character can perform
the life of your character. Each player wants to have fun stunts. When any two out of your three dice show the same
in their own way, and there’s nothing wrong with that, number, you’ve scored doubles, and this generates “stunt
but you should have some common touchstones: things points.” You can then use these points to pull off certain special
you want to do in adventures, and the style of game maneuvers. Stunts help keep the action dynamic and fun.
you want to play. You might have to compromise a bit,
but that’s okay—and it might lead you to have fun in
unexpected ways. Game Dice
These guidelines apply to the Game Master as well. The GM
needs to respect players, cooperate with them in running the Modern AGE only uses six-sided dice, also known by the
game smoothly, and help them all have fun. If a game session term d6. This is the most common type of die (the cube) and
didn’t go well for some reason, talk it about it afterwards. can be found in many classic board games, if you need to
It won’t do any good if everyone goes home to stew. Try to scrounge for some. In general, dice are rolled five different
figure out where things went wrong and see if you can come ways in Modern AGE:
up with solutions so it doesn’t happen again. • 1d3: Sometimes you need to generate a number from
A common problem is a player who is unhappy with their 1-3. In that case, you roll a d6 but halve the result, so a
character. Maybe the character doesn’t fit into the group well. roll of 1-2 = 1, a roll of 3-4 = 2, and a roll of 5-6 = 3.
Maybe the player wants different character abilities after • 1d6: You roll a single die and simply read the result.
some experience playing. This doesn’t have to be a problem. Sometimes there is a modifier attached, for example
It’s perfectly fine for a player to make a new character of the 1d6+3. In that case, just add the modifier to the die roll.
same level and retire the old character. It is preferable to do If you rolled a 2, for example, you’d add the modifier of
that than to make a player continue to play a character they 3 to get a result of 5.
aren’t having fun with.
• 2d6: As 1d6 above, but you roll two dice and add them
together. If you rolled a 3 and a 6, for example, your
Basic Game result would be 9.

Concepts • 3d6: As 1d6 above, but you roll three dice and add
them together. If you are making an ability test, you
must ensure that two of the dice are one color and the
Before you delve into the rest of the book, here’s a brief over- third a different color. That third die is known as the
view of the basic concepts of the game. You’ll learn more Stunt Die, and it’s important. The result of the Stunt Die
about them as you read on. can determine your level of success and allow you to
In the Modern AGE RPG, you will make a character. Your perform stunts.
character has a background, a profession, and a drive—that • 4d6 and more: Some rules will ask you to roll a certain
last is a set of personal motives that inclines your character to number of dice, by noting the number with “d6”
get involved in unusual situations. These provide your char- afterward—4d6 for four dice, for instance. There may
acter’s basic talents. For instance, a character with a violent or may not be an additional modifier, appended to the
past is more likely to be skilled in combat. Your character listing (such as 4d6+2). Unless the rules say otherwise
begins at Level 1 as an inexperienced hero. By investigating (which rarely happens), add the numbers you roll and
and overcoming challenges, your PC gains experience points then add any modifiers to the total.. These rolls are
and rises in level. Your character may eventually make it to often used for hazards that injure characters, where
Level 20 to face unthinkable threats and shape the world, but more dice mean greater damage (a measure of injury,
it won’t be easy. explained in the rules).
Your character has nine abilities, such as Intelligence and
Strength, and each one has a numeric rating, with 1 being
average for heroes. When your character wants to do some-
thing, the GM may call for an ability test. This is a dice roll
Where Next?
to determine success or failure, and it’s the most common If you are a player, Chapters 1–6 are for you. They provide
roll in the game. To make an ability test, roll three six-sided the key information you need to know about the game. When
dice (3d6), add the results together, and add the appropriate you are ready to make a character, go to Chapter 1: Character
ability. This generates a test result, which you want to be as Creation. That will explain the process and get you going.
high as possible. If you are the Game Master, you should familiarize yourself
with these chapters as well, as they contain the core rules of
Test result = 3d6 + Ability the game. You should then move on to Chapters 7–12. They
explain your unique and important role in a tabletop RPG
You may have to apply other bonuses or penalties, most
and give you valuable advice and resources.
commonly ability focuses that represent areas of special
expertise. Once you determine your test result, the GM will You are now ready to explore the Modern AGE. Investigate
let you know if it’s a success or a failure and what happens. and challenge your world!

8 Introduction