RPG Lite PubCrawl 3: SLUG

Yep, slug ---- this stands for Simple Laid-back Universal Game system. This is about as rules light as it gets. The rules fit on one page. There are a bunch of games like it. They are usually put out there with comedy gaming in mind or for when you just want to do some cooperative story telling with some minor injection of rules and randomness. I'm going to make this overview as light as this game is. Lets get right into the elements analysis:

Elements:

Explanation - in SLUG, you can make your character any way that you choose as long as the GM can understand what you are good /bad at.

Action Resolution - if the GM isn’t certain that you will automatically succeed you grab some dice (any kind or number really) - higher is better. The GM decides by the result how good you did and adds in factors from your character description to modify this.

Development - throughout the game if you think it makes sense you can add ideas to your character if the GM agrees.

Adaptability (5 out of 10) - while in theory you could run any kind of game with this type of system - this kind of light hearted system

Feather Scale (10 for 10) - there is only one page of rules - nuff said.

Combat (2 out of 10) - There really aren’t any specific combat rules. I guess if you really wanted to have a combat you would have to make them up. I think following in the spirit of the game you would just have the two contestants each roll some dice and you would modify the rolls with modifiers based on the character sheet. Whoever comes up with the best total would “win” the round. You could employ the magic rule of 3 and say if one character “wins” 3 times in combat he has dispatched his foe. You could be free form and let the winner decide what that means (death, grievous wound, or in “combats” that are non-violent, verbal, or really more a skill contest you could be creative, maybe the loser has lost self esteem or finances or something) with GM approval.

Longevity (5 out of 10) when you feel that you character has been practicing a skill in the game or you have revealed something new and important about the character’s past - if you can convince the GM that it should be added you just put it down on the character sheet.

SLUG is a fun idea and I think you could actually use it to play roleplaying games with very little additional development. The players and GM have to be on the same page with their interpretation of the character and the spirit of the game.