Additional RPG resources: [Cypher](/~c5n/pages/cypher/)

# RISUS One-Pager

Full RISUS rules can be found for free at [DriveThroughRPG][dtrpg].  It's
four whole pages, so take your time, and don't hurt yourself trying to get
through it all in one sitting.

[dtrpg]: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/170294/Risus-The-Anything-RPG

## Character Creation

   Grolfnar Vainsson the Viking
   Description: Tall, blond, and grinning. Likes to drink and fight
   and drink and chase Viking women and fight and sail the high
   seas and raid. Wants to write great sagas about himself.
   Clichés: Viking (4), Gambler (3), Womanizer (2), Poet (1)

Describe your character with just enough detail that a picture forms in
your mind.

You have a pool of 10 dice to give your character abilities.  Assign
up to 4 dice to the clichés that represent how the character sees himself.
Clichés also provide guidance regarding the types of things the character
is generally good at (or not so good, in the case of single die clichés).

You receive tools and equipment necessary to make use of your clichés,
such as swords and leather armor (viking), suave sunglasses (womanizer),
and a quill and parchment (poet).  (If these are damaged or destroyed
in-game, you operate at half-dice, rounded up.)

## Challenges

When rolling against a challenge, roll the dice assigned to the
applicable cliché.  If the rolled total meets or exceeds the challenge
rating of the task, the action is successful.

The RISUS doc gives the following examples:

   5: a challenge for a schmuck, routine for a pro
   10: a challenge for a professional
   15: really tricky or inventive stunts
   20: nearly superhuman
   30: actually impossible for normal humans

## Versus

When coming up against a prolonged challenge or "vs" situation, two entities
challenge each other head to head using the cliché if their choice.  The one
who rolls lower loses a die from the selected cliché for the remainder of the
challenge.  A new cliché can be selected for subsequent actions.  Once any
cliché reches zero dice, that character loses the challenge.

If a player is ever "left out" in a vs. situation, having absolutely no way to
apply their clichés to the situation, the GM will give them a placeholder 2
dice cliché and everyone's most applicable cliché gains 2 dce as well.  So,
players with applicable clichés still have an edge,but everyone has a way to
participate.

All dice are restored once combat is completely finished.

Multiple players can team-up.  When this happens, the leader contributes
all dice rolled, but helpers only contribute dice that roll a six.
The leader takes damage as normal, unless a team member chooses to sacrifice
twice the dice instead to protect the leader.  When a helper loses all
dice, they are out of combat.  If a helper runs away, they lose all dice.
If the leader loses all dice or runs away the team disbands.  If the team
disbands, all members lose one die from any cliché that was used in combat,
but the team can then subsequently reform with a new leader if there are
still players with dice remaining.

If a character takes an action that is unexpected and wildly entertaining vs.
a combatant that is taking a more typical action and that action succeeds,
then damage is tripled.  (For example, a hilarious explanation of tickling
a raging barbarian into submission moments before the barbarian's sword
comes crashing down.)

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