Ronin
A downloadable game
Ronin is a one page RPG inspired by John Harper's Lasers and Feelings, set in a mythological vision of Japan's early Sengoku period.
The Ashikaga Shogunate has collapsed in the aftermath of the Onin war, and the realm is divided into defunct and lawless local provinces. You play as Ronin, vagrant warriors cut loose from the rigid bonds of feudal service. As a result, you are free to navigate the complicated social networks of decaying kingdoms, but life is a constant battle for recognition. Without the goodwill of the downtrodden, themselves eking out a meager survival, you will surely starve.
The game is small in scope and focused on narrative, but still packed with as much content as I could squeeze onto one piece of paper. The core mechanic, the Virtue Roll, is an exploration of how the L&F stat split might be used to create ideologically driven characters that sometimes make surprising or difficult choices. In classic L&F fashion, you generate scenarios using extensive tables, with the key feature of secrets, shames, and troubles that act as the verbs that link people and places together in a web of tragedy and deceit.
In playtesting, this combination of judgment and conspiracy has lead to some delightfully wicked Jidaigeki fiction!
To play, you'll need:
- A few copies of the Ronin RPG for reference and character sheets.
- A large piece of paper and lots of pencils for everyone.
- You and friends (2-4 is best, Ronin can do more but thrives with focus).
- A whole mess of d8s, the undisputed best die of all time.
Download
Click download now to get access to the following files:
Development log
- Typos!Jun 17, 2022
Comments
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I love this game, especially all the tables to create NPCs, their shames and desires. And the tables for locations are awesome too. But for the life of me I can't figure out how to apply the combat rules. How do you determine who has a better positioning or momentum? Is there a way to calculate which set of equipment is better or is it just up to GM? How do you determine which action from the Duel table beats which?
Those are all great questions I struggled with, owing to the one page restriction. In a little game full of experiments, the dueling subsystem is probably the least successful one. The only goal I really set out to accomplish was to create flavorful momentary clashes in between drawn out standoffs, the points where you decide whether you even want to fight, or talk, or trigger a virtue in some other way. Ultimately, it's all up to the GM, and if I had room to explain it, I'd write something like this:
'Discuss with the players the details of the confrontation, where they stand, and what they're preparing to do. NPCs wear their intentions on their sleeves and always take advantage of their strengths. Positioning and momentum are determined by the lead up to the fight, who is best suited to the environment, and who is taking the initiative and being proactive. If the player isn't clearly better in these circumstances, give it to the NPC.'
The duel actions never result in obvious outcomes when paired off, which may reflect a certain messiness to fights, but may not make for the best gameplay. I suggest letting both fire off as 'strongly' as possible. Duel rolls should usually result in a hesitating standoff, or both parties getting badly wounded, or one party getting thrown on the ground while impaling the other party. I would love to have a compelling back and forth mechanic for swordplay, but this just wasn't the game for it. All you have to do is let things be dramatic!
Thanks for the kind comments, I really appreciate it.