A Simply Organized, Lightweight Adventure System
SOLAS is a tabletop role-playing game system built to run adventures in any setting, while being easy to pick up for beginners and seasoned veterans alike. It is focused primarily on theater-of-the-mind action and adventure, with four core abilities for tailoring characters' play styles.
To play, you'll need one Game Master (referred to as the GM) and at least one person with a character. You can play this game with no physical setup, but you should have some way to take a few notes and some method of rolling a six-sided die. Having more dice makes it much easier, so go loot Yahtzee if you have it.
The main storyteller, rules arbiter, and general NPC/Enemy controller.
You tell a story, which responds to your players actions. You set the scene, describing the environment and what is in it, and the players respond with what their characters do. Get creative with it, and keep your players' interests in mind. Some like action and combat, with cunning plot lines and reveals. Some like tons of roleplaying, ranging from absurd to serious. Both of these are great ways to play SOLAS, but it may be hard to appeal to every set of preferences in the same game, but feel free to try! A good rule of thumb is to have at least two of either adventure, roleplay, or combat in every "scene."
Please, feel free to use the SOLAS system with your own settings and stories. The ones provided are simply meant to get new game masters and players started easier. And hey, if you're a creative and want to share what you've made with SOLAS, let me know!
Your character is your way of interacting with the world of your Game Master's design: a place full of mystery and monsters.
Your Game Master describes a scene, and you tell them what your character does. Get creative in it, and keep the setting and themes in mind. Some Game Masters love lots of action and combat, with cunning plot lines and grand reveals. Some like tons of role-play, with anything from absurd to serious moments. Both of these are great ways to play, but it's really hard to hit every beat in a couple hours. Treat your GM with respect for what they've made, and have fun with their creation.
Some general definitions and explanations. It's useful to at least skim this section, even if you're familiar with other tabletop games.
A die roll is when a player (or the Game Master) rolls at least one six-sided die to determine the outcome of an action. When you roll dice, count the total number of successes: a four or higher is one success, and a six is worth two.
Rolls can be tests of your abilities, called ability checks. This could be an attempt to dodge a trap with your Dexterity, or an attempt to understand an old magic tome with your Mind. When your Game Master calls for one of these rolls, roll as many dice as you have in that ability! For example, if you have a Mind of 3, you'd roll three dice for a Mind check and count the successes for the result.
Checks can be contested between characters, such as attempt to pull someone in a direction. In this case, both characters would make a strength check, the player with the most successes winning the contested Strength check.
If a task should be relatively easy (or a type of damage is effective against an enemy), the number you have to roll above on the dice is lowered by one (threes are now successes). This is Rolling with Advantage. Likewise, if a task is quite tough (or your enemy is resistant to the type of damage you're dealing), the number is raised by one (fours now don't count as successes). This is Rolling with Disadvantage. Rolling a 6 always counts as two successes. Whether you roll with advantage or disadvantage is up to your Game Master.
SOLAS accommodates many damage types for different weapons and general dangers, all depending on the setting that you're playing in. This list can be expanded upon for your needs, but the standard categories as follows:
- Physical: Bludgeoning, Piercing, Slashing
- Elemental: Acid, Poison, Fire, Cold, Lightning
- Supernatural: Radiant, Necrotic, Force, Psychic
As this game is focused around theater-of-the-mind, distances can be a little gray. When it is needed though, distances are measured in feet, which you can get as granular as you would like. As a general rule, here are some ranges that will be used:
- Melee range - 5 feet
- Close Range - 10 feet
- Short Range - 20 feet
- Medium Range - 40 feet
- Long Range - 80 feet
There can be a maximum of four characters in melee range of any given creature in an open area, less if there's other things around. Just use your best judgement, and prioritize what makes sense between the Game Master and players.
Whether it's a player's character or someone they meet on the road, characters bring some life to the world.
Every character has four different abilities which are used to interact with the world around them.
Strength. Natural athleticism and physical power. How hard you hit things.
Dexterity. Physical agility, reflexes. How quick you are, and your ranged abilities.
Constitution. Physical and mental toughness. How much of a beating you can take.
Mind. Analytical skill and intuition. Your puzzling ability
These are what you spend when you perform actions such as attacking, investigating, and much more. Generally outside of combat or tense situations, you don't have to keep track of things.
Focus. Your mental concentration at any given moment. These points are what you use when doing something mentally taxing, such as investigating, picking a tough lock, casting spells, all depending on the setting. One Focus is gained at the start of each of your turns, up to a maximum of your Mind.
Stamina. Your physical readiness at any given moment. These points are what you use when attacking, moving, and much more. Two Stamina is gained at the start of each of your turns, up to a maximum of three.
To play the game, you'll have to create a character in your game's setting. Think about the character you want to play as before you start writing it down! What was their life before this point? What are they motivated by?
Since SOLAS is just the core of the system, it doesn't really need it's own character sheet. Different settings will typically have different additions to the system (like spells and abilities in medieval fantasy, etc), so each setting will have their own custom sheet.
When you create a starting character, start with a score of 1 in each of your abilities (Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, and Mind). Then, choose an ability to increase to a score of 2.
Speed. Everybody has a base speed of 20 feet (able to cover Short Range with one Stamina). For every point you have in Dexterity (including the base one), you can cover an additional 5 feet with one Stamina.
Heart. Your overall health, equal to 5 times your Constitution, plus 5.
Focus. Your maximum focus is equal to your Mind score.
After a few fights or an important story beat, the Game Master may determine that your character levels up! You may add a point to one of your character's abilities.
Finally, the fun part! The Game Master will explain the area and/or situation you find yourselves in, and the players will respond with what their characters do. This could lead to a fight, social interaction with each other or other non-player characters, different checks (explained below), and more! This goes back and forth, the Game Master describing the events that follow and the players responding. It's a group story that you're building together, after all!
Outside of combat, you can what you'd like to in any order with your compatriots. In combat, however, the players are slightly constrained as to when they can act. When combat starts, every player rolls a dexterity check: those who roll above the enemies get to act first. After that, the enemy and player groups alternate. The within groups, players can coordinate and act whenever.
Every physical action in combat costs at least one Stamina. Moving, attacking (melee or ranged), etc. You can do as many actions as you have Stamina available. Keep in mind that though your maximum is three, you only gain two back per round.
Melee. You may attack with your Strength, with a physical weapon, against a target within melee range. The type of damage depends on the type of weapon (bludgeoning, slashing, piercing, etc.) The damage you deal is equal to the successes of a Strength Check.
Ranged. Using your Dexterity, you aim at an enemy, firing your weapon. Typically, this ends up as piercing damage, but confirm with your game master. The damage you deal is equal to the successes of a Dexterity Check, and to use the weapon again you must spend one Stamina to reload it.
Move. You can spend a stamina, moving up to your speed across your turn. This can be split, such as moving 15 feet, attacking, and then moving another 10 feet (with a speed of 25).
You can't stay awake forever, and will eventually need to recover from (and heal) your wounds. By resting for 8 hours, your heart returns to its maximum, and a point of exhaustion is removed. If you go a full day without resting, you gain a point of exhaustion.
If you've undergone a lot of burden (staying awake for a full day, sustaining too much damage, etc), you may points of exhaustion. If you reach four points of exhaustion, your character dies. For each point (up until death):
- You roll one less die during all rolls (checks, attacks, spells, etc)
- Your speed is reduced by one
Exhaustion is not removed by healing, only resting does this.
Once you reach zero heart, your mortality is at stake. On the start of your turn when you're fading, you gain a point of exhaustion. If you take damage during your turn, your heart still reduces in the negative range. Healing must bring your heart back up to above zero to no longer be fading. If your turn ends when you are at zero heart or below and four points of exhaustion, your character dies.
Now all that's left is to hop into the game! Check out one of the official (or partnered) Modules to get started. We also have a guide for making your own!