A couple of months ago I posted a link to a minimalist RPG I was working on called "Tricube Tales". After playtesting and incorporating feedback (with special thanks to Eli Kurtz and his players), I've tightened up the rules and hereby present the revised system, with a simple "One Sheet" layout (two pages, designed to be printed on both sides of a single sheet of paper).
Download here: Tricube Tales
Like my earlier Blood & Bile system, Tricube Tales has player-facing mechanics, with the players rolling 1-3d6 against a variable target number. However, it doesn't use color-coded dice (one of the main entry barriers for Blood & Bile). Instead, the number of dice is based on the character's Archetype, which consists of a trait (agile, brawny or crafty) and concept (warrior, pilot, investigator, etc).
The "Dark Gifts" and "Assets" from Blood & Bile have been converted into a generic "Perks" concept, while the "Curses" have been merged with the Karma-fueled "Flaws" concept from Swift d12, and are called "Quirks". Instead of a dice-pool to represent health (which was a great fit for the Blood & Bile vampire theme, but not so good for other settings), Tricube Tales uses a Resolve/Affliction system loosely inspired by Blade in the Dark.
Overall I'm pretty pleased with the final product, but I do feel it could use better examples. The mechanics are nice and simple (and fairly easy for the players to understand), but the capabilities and limitations of Perks often come down to personal interpretation and GM discretion. This is fairly intuitive for people who are used to systems like Fate or Risus (both of which provided some of my inspiration) but may prove problematic for others. I feel the system could easily be turned into a small book, with expanded guidelines and lots of examples. But that's a project for another day ;)
Example Characters
I'm a big fan of the plug-and-play adventures by Just Insert Imagination, and I think they'd be an excellent fit for a very light system like Tricube. So (with their permission), here are some quick character conversions for Fuhgeddaboudit! and Punted in the Bonce, showing how to retain the flavor of interesting characters despite the simplicity of Tricube Tales.
Fuhgeddaboudit
Michael “the bull” Savini
Archetype: Brawny Thug
Perks: Iron Will, Fruschetti Mobster, Scary
Quirks: Big Mouth, Clueless, Dyslexic
Gear: Revolver, Machete, $50
Jimmy Cobetto
Archetype: Agile Cugine
Perks: Acrobat, Thief, Fruschetti Mobster
Quirks: Green, Overconfident, Stubborn
Gear: Revolver, Switchblade, $240
Jovanni “Big joe” Bartolone
Archetype: Brawny Bruiser
Perks: Boxer, Strong as an Ox, Fruschetti Mobster
Quirks: Clumsy, Mean, Overweight
Gear: Revolver, Sawed-Off Shotgun, $100
Luciano “Puppy” Rizzi
Archetype: Crafty Conman
Perks: Gift of the Gab, Nose for Trouble, Fruschetti Mobster
Quirks: Cowardly, Compulsive Gambler, Vengeful
Gear: Brass Knuckles, Ruger, Tommy Gun, $30
Paulie “Pops” De Luca
Archetype: Agile Old-Timer
Perks: Ace Driver, Street-Smart, Fruschetti Mobster
Quirks: Anemic, Elderly, Delusional
Gear: Baseball Bat, Revolver, $250
Punted in the Bonce
Shifty Geoff
Archetype: Crafty Lout
Perks: Alert, Really Sneaky, Largument Expert
Quirks: Greedy, Extremely Annoying, No Sense of Loyalty
Gear: Replica Pistol, Swiss Army Knife, Photo of Daughter
Massive Steve
Archetype: Crafty Salesman
Perks: Ace Driver, Gift of the Gab, Intimidating
Quirks: Arrogant, Snob, Chain Smoker
Gear: Replica Shotgun, Cricket Bat, £500, 5 Cigars, Lighter
Becca
Archetype: Crafty Housewife
Perks: Hotty, Keeps Herself Fit, Manipulative
Quirks: Attention Seeker, Holds a Grudge, Spiteful
Gear: Replica Pistol, Handbag, £200, Chewing-Gum
Torpedo
Archetype: Brawny Boozer
Perks: Fast on his Feet, Ex-Navy Officer, Veteran Blagger
Quirks: Loves to Armwrestle, Overconfident, Stubborn
Gear: Real Pistol with 3 bullets
Cowboy
Archetype: Agile Psycho
Perks: Gift for Violence, Natural Brawler, Scary as Heck
Quirks: Vicious, Obsessed with America, Dog Lover
Gear: Switchblade, Can of Cola, Replica Revolver