Sword Quest

A Fantasy Adventure Game of Minimal Rules and Endless Possibilities

What is Sword Quest?

Sword Quest is a minimalist adventure game engine that allow you and your group to play any type of character you want with minimal rules and endless possibilities.

  • Make a character in less than 5 minutes with just a few stats and some descriptive traits.

  • Player facing rules that answers many different questions with a single dice roll.

  • A word based magic system that is leveless and classless.

  • Rules that encourage improvisation and allows players and Referees to create content on the spot.

  • An open license that let's you create stuff with these rules using the Creative Comrades License Agreement vα0.3.

This is an Aschan Edition

Sword Quest is an Adventure Game in development. It's being constantly playtested and improved. It's core elements and mechanics are already established but new options and material are being developed to offer more options.

Credits

Written by: Diogo Nogueira
Edited by: ???
Art by: ???
Published under the Creative Comrades License Agreement vα0.3.

Sword Quest

Character Creation

Sword Quest characters are skilled and ambitious individuals who risk their lives in search of their goals.They live in dangerous and mysterious worlds, and they will explore it in their adventures, meeting new people, facing monsters, avoiding danger and acquiring knowledge.

1. Determine Attributes

Characters are defined by 3 Attributes: Body, Mind, and Heart.Body represents physical prowess, agility, strength, and constitution.Mind represents the character intellect, memory, perception, and knowledge.Heart represents the character charisma, willpower, empathy, and confidence.

All Attributes have a starting score of 0, and players assign 3 points among them.

  • A player may reduce an Attribute to -1 to get an extra point to distribute.

  • No Attribute may be reduced below -1 during character creation.

  • No Attribute may begin higher than +3.

Notes on Attribute Scores

An avarage human individual has Attribute scores of 0. However, Attribute scores can have scores from -5 to +10 or even higher.

  • Negative scores mean below average capabilities in the Attribute’s area: -1 in Body might mean a person that’s a little out of shape, while a -3 score will mean they are seriously weak.

  • Positive scores mean above average capabilities in the Attribute’s area: +1 in Mind might mean a person that has studied a bit more than those around them, while a +3 score will mean they are a scholar with serious academic interest.

  • Human (and human-like) characters can’t have an Attribute above +5, which represents the best one can be in a human scale. However other creatures can have scores of up to +10 or maybe more.

2. Create Tags

Characters are further defined by Tags, which are small phrases or words that narratively describe an important characteristic of them.Characters begin the game with 4 Tags: Concept; Talent; Goal; and Problem.

Concept

The Concept determines who the character is, where they are from, what are they like, or what they do.

  • Create a phrase with a few elements such as personality trait, place of origin, organization, and, more importantly, the character’s occupation.

  • A Concept my establish truths about the game world, working as a collaborative world building tool.

Talent

Talent is something special the character can do that most other people can’t.

  • It can be some augmented capability such as Improved Reflexes or Impressive Memory.

  • It can be an skill or knowledge the character spent a lot of time improving such as Sword Master, or Always Know the Right Words.

  • It should be something specific enough that it’s not applicable in all situations, but not something so specific it will rarely be relevant.

Goal

A Goal establishes what the characters wants, and helps give the players some guidance.

  • It must be something challenging but achievable in some way.

  • It can be related to some specific task such as Find the Sword Which Belonged to My Father, or Avenge the Death of my Master.

  • It can also be more open ended such as Become the Most Powerful Wizard on the World, or Defend the Weak from the Strong.

Problem

Everyone has a problem that makes their lives complicated, and characters are no different.

  • It can be some kind of limitation on the character’s capabilities such as Weak Bones, or Gullible.

  • It can be some demanding relationship the character has such as Duty to the Dragon Warriors, or Hunted by the Sisterhood of Death.

  • It can be something that affects your character directly such as Addicted to Adrenaline, or Haunted by the Spirit of a Dead Sorcerer.