Game Mechanics (AKA the Rules)

Before you roll up a character familiarize yourself with the game mechanics. If you've got the time. If not, roll up a character as fast as possible and start playing. Because, really? That's the best way to learn. 

Here's what you do: skip ahead to Creating a Character. Either make a copy of the Character Sheet or write it out by hand. It's not long at all so your hand won't cramp. Follow the instructions in Creating a Character and in less than 10 minutes you will be ready to play. Really. 

Leave everything else to the Game Master. If you've been elected the GM of your group, or if you volunteered (why would you do that?), there are a lot of people depending on you to know what you're doing because they have no clue. So pay attention. 

Let's get started. 

Rolling the Die

You are going to notice that this game requires that players roll for everything. EVERYTHING. So then, what does the GM do? When the game is in play the GM will navigate the story, play the roles of the NPCs (non player characters), and officiate the calls according to this book. Below is an example: 

The players have reached a point in the game requiring a City Encounter. The GM instructs the group to select one player to roll a d20. Based on that roll the GM checks the City Encounter Table and presents the group with the scenario. What follows after that will be a lot of improv on the part of the GM and will itself be based on the actions of the players. 

In battle the GM describes the actions of the monsters and when players fail an Attack Roll (meaning the monster has caused them Injury), the GM instructs players on how many IP (Injury Points) they have suffered to their CP (character points). Note: IP are applied to CP. This is how damage is calculated. 

When players make successful Attack Rolls they will tell the GM how many IP they have caused and the GM will reduce those points from the monster's CP. 

The Attack Roll

So you find yourself in a situation in which you’ve come upon a very ugly monster who is very happy to make you its next meal before having a spot of tea. The GM asks, “What do you do?” We suggest you attack before it does, thereby increasing your chance of surviving the encounter. To do that you will roll 1d20. 2-10 is a miss. Meaning the monster has hit you. When that happens the GM will tell you how many Injury Points you have suffered.11-19 is a hit and the monster takes 1 point of injury. There are bonuses with your Weapons Expertise. 

Melee in Groups

Experienced players will be familiar with needing to "roll for Initiative" when entering battle. With MONSTERS! there is no initiative. When you are playing in groups (and not one on one with the GM), each player will make their Attack Rolls simultaneously and then announce the outcome to the GM. Did you hit the monster or did the monster hit you? 

The Kill Shot

If you roll a 20 this is a "Kill Shot". Your opponent is dead. No exceptions. 

The Death Roll

If you roll a 1 your opponent (the monster!) has a chance to kill you. You must roll 1d20 again and see the table below, as it will determine if you have been crippled, maimed, or killed. This is called the "Death Roll". 

DEATH ROLL TABLE 

20-15            K.O. You survive. Good for you.

14-10            Loss of a limb, GM's choice. 

    9-4            Maimed, GM's choice. 

    3-2            Stabbed and/or shot to death.

       1            Beheaded. You are REALLY dead. 

NOTE: If you are lucky enough to survive the "Death Roll" you will nonetheless suffer the loss of CP. You will subtract half of your current CP. If you were currently at 1 CP when you needed to make the "Death Roll" that is an unfortunate happenstance and it will reduce you to 0 CP, killing you. 

Character Points 

When creating your character you will roll 1d20 for CP. Always reroll anything below 5. Nothing below a 5. As you gain EP (Encounter Points) you will gain levels. For each level you gain you will add another 5 points to your CP making your character stronger. And so by level 5 you could potentially have a total of 40 CP. And by level 10 (the highest level) you could potentially have 65 CP.

Level 10 CP Bonus 

After reaching level 10 you may roll 1d20 for additional CP. This is a one time bonus only.

Weapons Expertise

The way in which this game measures your character's proficiency with your weapon of choice is by awarding you more Injury Points for each level you gain. You will start with +2 at level 1. Meaning that on a successful Attack Roll you will have caused a total of 3 Injury Points. That increases to +4 at level 2 and continues at that same rate with each level. So at level 2 on a successful Attack Roll you will have caused 7 points of Injury. You will need to keep track of this. It is not the responsibility of the GM. 

Okay, now wait. We can tell that some of you have been brainwashed by other TTRPGs and are wondering, "Yeah, but what kind of weapons? Where do you find weapons in this book? Where do you even find equipment?"

Yes, yes. We're sure you have numerous questions. The simple answer to those questions is, nowhere will you find weapons or equipment. And, naturally some of you stopped reading. For those of you who kept reading and actually want to play this game, back to your questions. 

While it is unconventional that there are no weapons lists, or the stats for them, once you start to play you will appreciate the fast-paced gameplay that affords you as a player. This game is designed in such a way that allows you to create a character and start playing in under ten minutes. It is very battle-centric and gives you a 50-50 chance of hitting a monster each time you roll the die. With your roll you either hit it or it hits you. Very simple. The Dungeon – er, uhm, the GAME MASTER does not need to tell you if you hit. You will know. You do not have to spend several minutes calculating how much to add to your roll to hit the monster only to be told you fell short. You will know. You don't have to worry about what type of damage your weapon does to the monster. An injury is an injury and all injuries lead to death. You don't have to worry about shields. You don't have to worry about armour. Just roll 1d20. 1-10 means the monster hit you, 11-20 means you hit the monster. And if you roll a 20 that's a Kill Shot. The monster is dead in one roll. 

But how does that make sense? 

Shut up. 

Did it make sense that an archer could exploit a weak spot and take down a dragon with a single arrow? 

You can customize your character's weaponry any way you like. That's all about appearances. Running out of arrows or ammo? No worries. It is assumed going into battle that you as a monster hunter knows what you're doing and are prepared. Need to know the radius or range? There are special circumstances in which that may come into play, in which case you'll refer to the Ranged Weapons rule below. 

Ranged Weapons

Suppose you want to use a bow or a long-range rifle? It's simple. Announce to the GM that you are going to make a ranged shot. If you have not been discovered the GM must allow this but they can decide on the range itself. If you are out of range you will need to get closer. Having done so you may make one ranged shot for which your target cannot defend. To determine if your shot hits its target you will roll 1d20. Anything over 10 is a hit and your target suffers injury. At that point you are no longer concealed, as witnesses will know the direction from which the shot came. If you are providing support for other players it will be impractical for you to be discovered, as opponents will be occupied. If you are alone undoubtedly a search will begin and you will soon be discovered. In any case there will be decisions the GM will need to make based on your choices.

Luck

No. Luck is not a stat. But it is very useful in a game like this. There are numerous situations in which your GM will call for you to make a Luck Roll. if you can beat your own Luck Score then your luck has held out and you took out two monsters with one shot. Or maybe the test came back negative. You lucky bastich. 

Fear

Occasionally the GM may call for a Fear Check. You may think that with your experience as a monster hunter you'd have nerves of steel. While you may find it a simple task to face a Vampire Fledgling, it's an entirely different thing to face Dracula at level 1. By the way, do not face Dracula at level 1. 

When the GM calls for a Fear Check you will roll against your Luck Score and pray that d20 lands OVER your score. A failed Fear Check results in a -2 on all your Attack Rolls until you can snap out of it. To snap out of it you may make another Fear Check at the start of the next round of battle. If you fail yet again the battle will continue until you snap out of it. That is, if you wish to continue engaging. As always you may attempt an Escape. 

Escape

When a battle is going poorly for you and death is likely, you are permitted to make an "escape roll". Roll 1d20. 1-10 is a fail and you must continue the fight. 11-20 is successful. Your character has escaped and your opponent cannot pursue. 

The Medic Roll

As an experienced monster hunter you've learned it's important to always have a medic with you. As such, there is an NPC who always accompanies you on dangerous outings. This person does not engage in combat but when you need them they're there for you. GMs are encouraged to interact with players as the NPC (if it's appropriate), perhaps taking on the role of sidekick, but they are discouraged from putting the medic in a precarious situation that may kill them. Even if it's funny. Well, maybe a little danger wouldn't hurt. 

After any battle you may call out, "medic" and then roll a d20. 1-10 restores half your CP. 11-20 restores CP to full.

Death

When your character has reached 0 CP it is true death. There is no resurrection. You are dead. However, there may be a chance at reincarnation. See REINCARNATION TABLE. 

Statistical Ability Scores

This is how you customize your character. Roll 1d20 for each Ability. There are three: Intellect, Physicality, and Personality. But reroll anything under 5. There are no scores below 5.

The Check

Many of the tasks you will need to perform in-game will involve these scores. Ex: You need to solve a puzzle written in a language your character may not be familiar with. Your Intellect score is 12. Roll 1d20 under 12 and you are successful. That's right. UNDER your score. These types of rolls are called Checks. You are "checking" to see if your character is educated enough to solve a puzzle in an exotic language. You rolled a 14. Your character skipped F.E. College. 

The Narf

Maybe there is a cliff you need to scale up. Your Physicality score is 16. No problem. Or is there? There's always the possibility of rolling a "Narf" with a 1. A roll of a 1 is always a failure. You may not attempt the same task twice. In this case your character falls from the cliff they were scaling. Ouch. 

Or let's say your character needs to convince a merchant to sell you an item you are in need of. You have a Personality score of 13. You roll a 10 and they sell you that fancy sword for the price you offered. Well done. 

Reincarnation 

You've just been killed. So? What of it? Well, it's just that you were right smack dab in the middle of an adventure. You'd like to see how it all turns out and you don't have time to roll up a new character. And besides all that, you left your friends hanging and that's not very polite. 

Dead is dead. There's no coming back from being dead. Or is there…? 

If you'd like a chance at Reincarnation you're going to pay for it. Subtract 2 points from all SAS and then roll on the table below. If this reduces any of  your scores below 5 you may not roll for Reincarnation. You may continue to roll for Reincarnation each time you are killed as long as you have SAS 5 and above. 

Roll a d20 on the table below and we'll just see about this whole being dead thing. 

REINCARNATION TABLE

1-2.   You're still dead. Can I reroll? No. You're dead. Roll up a new character and try not to die this time. 

3-5.   A shaft of golden light shoots down from Heaven and bathes your corpse in its light. An angel appears and touches you. If you died by decapitation or were in some other way severed, mangled, or toasted to death, your body is miraculously restored and you are resurrected to full CP. The angel looks at you and says, "We're kinda on a budget right now and filled to capacity. Give us a few decades before you die again." The angel starts to take flight but then turns back and adds, "Also, if you die anytime soon it's straight to Hell." Anyone who witnesses this event must roll a Fear Check. 

6-11.   Your spirit (or soul, or consciousness, or essence, or whatever) is reincarnated into the body of a fully grown adult and you suddenly experience total recall of your previous life and your horrifyingly tragic death. You'd like to join your party and give that monster a little payback, but you're "stuck at work" behind a retail register listening to a self-indulgent customer banter on about the wrong prices in the junior miss department. You'll have to ignore the customer, clock out, jump in your economy sized vehicle and drive all the way across town to join your party. GM decides how long that takes. 

12-17.   You are reincarnated into the body of a teenager having trouble with acne and your math homework. You have total recall of the previous life and your death is really bumming you out. You'd like to join the party again and tell all your friends you're alright, but you're grounded. You'll have to post about this first on all your socials, and then escape your room and your stupid parent's place before you can hitch a ride in the middle of the night from your best friend's creepy boyfriend to join the party. GM decides how long that takes. 

18-20.   Just after an extremely painful death, you feel a warm and fuzzy sensation and suddenly awaken with an awful case of explosive amnesia. You can't remember a thing, but you have a powerful urge to drop everything and drive three streets over (or roughly the same distance) and join a group of strangers in fighting monsters. Somewhere along the way you look in a mirror (or reflective surface) and do not recognize the face looking back at you. Also, you have no memory of having ever had breasts and/or testicals. Also, also, there is a hologram talking to you no one else can see who keeps calling you "Sam". When you arrive you quickly find the strangers you were looking for and see a dead body you know is your own. Good. You'll be needing everything on it. Better hurry. Monsters are on the way. "Oh boy." 

GAME MASTER’S SECOND CHANCE

Did we say that the players would be the only ones rolling a d20 for everything? Yes, we did. Turns out that’s true. Mostly. Some GMs might accuse us of giving all the advantage to the players. We don’t see it but we get it. We’re jerks and you don’t like jerks. You’d like an advantage of your own. Assuming you’re the GM. If you’re a player reading this, what are you complaining about? You’ve got all the advantage.   

Once per game (and we mean, ONCE per game), the GM must announce they are going to make a Second Chance Roll.Yes. Players must be made aware this is about to happen. You’ll love their groans. The GM may then roll a d20 on the table below to really mess with the players. Don’t get too excited. You’re not killing players at random. Only God has that power, and we’ve seen you. You’re no God. But you do get a second chance at correcting a previous foible. Pretty nifty. 

Oh, and by the way. This rule is optional. It is not mandatory that a GM put their players through this kind of torment just for the sake of making a joke or getting back at them. Seriously. At least one of these outcomes is very nasty and has the potential to derail your game. Not to mention sow a little resentment toward you as a person. Some people can take it personal, ya know. So think about it. The game is not about you vs. them. But it is permissible.

GM’s Second Chance Table

20-18. Reset players back to a Random Location. How? Tell them they suddenly ran into a gas pocket and fell unconscious. They awoke, mysteriously back at that Random Location. 

17-15. Reset players all the way back to the start of the game. Oh, boy. How are you going to explain this one? Let’s see. Oh! Tell them they ran into a spontaneous localized miniature wormhole and ended up all the way back at wherever it was they started the game. And then watch their faces. Their smiles will brighten your day. 

14-12. Resurrect one Random Monster. There doesn’t need to be an explanation for this. It’s a monster. 

11-9. Resurrect one NPC. On the off chance that your players are evil serial killers and have ‘accidentally’ killed one of your NPCs (such as a guard, or a bad singer on stage ruining their favorite song), you now have the power to bring that NPC back and do what you will. Don’t bother explaining the resurrection. Your players straight up murdered someone. Have them roll a Fear Check when they see the victim they so callously took away from their family. 

8-6. A player of your choice is struck with a Phobia, giving them a -2 Disadvantage when they find themselves in situations in which they must confront that Phobia. The phobia can be anything you choose. Fear of spiders? Classic. Fear of kangaroos? Probably not very useful to you as a GM. Get creative. How ‘bout a fear of smiling faces? Or a fear of babies? We’re sure you can come up with something clever. 

5-3. A player of your choice is struck with Antisocial Aggressive Violence. This will prove a challenge both in-game and at the table. Explain to the player that in-game the character they are playing doesn’t get along well with others and refuses to go along with any plans the team would come up with. They may start arguments or even pick a fight that will come to blows. However, at the table, that is, in real life amongst your friends, this is just a silly game we’re all playing for fun. Do not take it to heart. That said, in-game the player must act as if they are a liability to the group. 

2-1. A player of your choice must roll a d20. 11-20 is a pass. 1-10 means they are suddenly infected with a mutation of the Phaegus Virus. Symptoms of the infection start in their hand, appearing as a black oil-like substance that cannot be removed. The substance will quickly spread up their arm and continue until they sever the limb. If the substance reaches their chest and neck area it is too late. They die and will come back as a Phaegus Zombie. For maximum effect, start a timer and instruct the player they have three minutes of real time to act before the virus kills them.