The Core System
KillQuest is an informal conversation between the players about the story aided by a world and the rules. The game provides the environment and characters, the players provide the fiction through their characters actions and when the outcome of those actions is uncertain, the dice provide the answers to what happens next.
It’s a simple game that almost anyone can pick up and learn within half an hour, and you can make a character who is alive with detail within minutes. The character creation page in this book has all the instructions you need to create your character. All you need to do is follow the numbered steps in each box until you’ve filled everything in.
Free Play
During free play there are no rules to say whose turn it is to talk, instead players follow the natural flow of the conversation, asking questions or making statements. The group then works out what happens next, together. Sometimes, you’ll be in the spotlight describing something cool, complex, or confusing.
It isn’t a monologue lead by a single person, it’s a conversation, and like any conversation the time you spend listening is just as important as the time you spend talking. It works best when we all listen, ask questions and build on each other’s contributions. The details established by the other people at the table are important; they might change what moves you can make, set up an opportunity for you, or create a challenge you have to face.
Free play is meant to be free, so avoid using rules and rolls so the flow remains uninterrupted until the situation becomes too complex to manage mentally. When that happens we switch to structured play where dice rolls and procedures determine the success or failure of such actions, injecting suspense and tension into the narrative.
Structured Play
When the situation becomes too complex or consistency and consequences matter, we can inject suspense and tension into the narrative through dice rolls and procedures. Whether you find yourself in a crucial battle, leveraging the environment to gain an advantage, or facing pivotal decisions with far-reaching implications; structured play provides valuable tools for enriching the conversation, providing prompts and making sure everyone is on the same page.
Action!
When entering the action state, you must work out what are the rewards available in the action and what is the plan? Action can be brought on with a Scheme or an Encounter.
This triggers the engagement roll (which establishes the situation as the operation starts) and then the game shifts into the score phase.
Scheme
During a scheme, the PCs decide on a target — then they make rolls, overcome obstacles, call for flashbacks, and resolve the scheme (successfully or not). When finished, the game shifts into the resolution phase.
Encounters
Encounters are almost identical to schemes, but offer the players no choices and don’t allow for flashbacks. Often the primary goal of an encounter is just to survive, although with great risk comes great reward!
Resolution
During the downtime phase, the GM engages the systems for rewards, heat, and entanglements, to determine all the fallout from the score. Then the PCs each get their downtime activities, such as indulging their vice to remove stress or working on a long-term project. When all the downtime activities are complete, the game returns to free play and the cycle starts over again.
The phases are a conceptual model to help you organizs the game. They’re not meant to be rigid structures that restrict your options (this is why they’re presented as amorphous blobs of ink without hard edges). Think of the phases as a menu of options to fit whatever it is you’re trying to accomplish in play. Each phase suits a different goal.
How does it play?
Free play aims to progress the narrative through collaborative storytelling, with players building upon each other’s ideas. It’s more like a casual conversation between friends, where players ask questions and make statements, using the rules and fiction shape the conversation.
When a situation occurs where the outcome is uncertain and a decision needs to be made.
The game can be chaotic, allowing the flow to remain uninterrupted until a final action is decided.
The highest level of the game is free play, where players determine their characters’ responses to the situation. When the situation becomes too complex or the characters’ abilities are tested, structured play is used.
Dice rolls determine the success or failure of actions, injecting suspense and tension into the narrative.
Structured Play
Sometimes you need the game to be a bit more structured, and have the world be a little more consistent so the players have a good idea of their consequences. You might be in a fight and need to work out how to use the environment to your advantage.
Embrace the Structure in Important Moments
For moments where consistency and consequences matter, KillQuest provides rules and prompts to guide your gameplay. Whether you find yourself in a crucial battle, leveraging the environment to gain an advantage, or facing pivotal decisions with far-reaching implications, the core rules and prompts serve as valuable tools, enriching the conversation and filling in gaps or moments of uncertainty.