Chapter 1
66
The Basics
66 is one of many Role-Playing Games that exist today. The core concept is simple; like (almost) all others, you will have a GM (the Game Master) and several players.
Each player has a character sheet, which contains all the info about his or her PC (Player Character). A character is more than a collection of information; each should have a distinct personality, complete with ideals and flaws.
The Game Master will serve to narrate and decide the actions and reactions of the world around the PCs. He or she does not control one character, but instead decides what NPCs, or Non-Player Characters, do in the world.
Essentially, the flow is like this;
- The GM describes the situation
- The Player describes the action he/she would like his/her PC to perform
- The GM may ask the player to do a skill check (more on this later)
- The GM will narrate the result of the action, looping back to the first point
This will create a constant flow of actions and reactions. Of course, the reality is more flexible than this, but it often comes down to this basic loop.
Each player has a character sheet, which contains all the info about his or her PC (Player Character). A character is more than a collection of information; each should have a distinct personality, complete with ideals and flaws.
The Game Master will serve to narrate and decide the actions and reactions of the world around the PCs. He or she does not control one character, but instead decides what NPCs, or Non-Player Characters, do in the world.
Essentially, the flow is like this;
- The GM describes the situation
- The Player describes the action he/she would like his/her PC to perform
- The GM may ask the player to do a skill check (more on this later)
- The GM will narrate the result of the action, looping back to the first point
This will create a constant flow of actions and reactions. Of course, the reality is more flexible than this, but it often comes down to this basic loop.
Dice Mechanics
There are many Role-Playing games, all with very different rules and complexities. 66 is a game which aims to simplify rules to a point where they are easily followed and remembered without losing the structure that more complex systems often have.
66 is played exclusively with six 6-sided dice. Skill checks, rolls which determine an action’s success, are therefore done with hits.
Each check has a difficulty, ranging from 1 to 6. 1 being doable by most with some effort and 6 requiring absolute mastery over a skill, along with a fair degree of luck. Anything above that, should you ever encounter it, will require supernatural power.
Each PC has a set of Proficiencies which have levels again ranging from 1 to 6. The level corresponds to the number of dice you use when making a check, which is often done by making use of one of the Proficiency’s moves.
For example, let’s say a character with 3 points in a certain Proficiency is performing a move against a difficulty of 2.
The PC rolls three 6-sided dice, or 3d6, one for each level in his or her Proficiency. The results are 5, 4 and 2.
To determine the result of the Proficiency check, we need to know what these rolls mean.
Every roll will be either a hit, or a miss. Rolls of a 4 or higher being a hit and 3 or lower being a miss.
The PC’s rolls, therefore, have 2 hits and one miss. Since the Check difficulty was 2, the PC succeeds. In some cases though, a failure can still be salvaged.
Let’s say the PC instead rolled a 6, a 2 and a 3. While this is technically 1 hit and 2 misses, the 6 has its own special rule; it allows you to reroll one miss. So while the PC has not achieved success yet, he or she still has a chance.
In some cases, you may have an advantage or a disadvantage. This may be a +1, +2, or -1, etc.
These numbers simply add or subtract from your amount of hits after rolling. For example a move made with a Proficiency of level 3 with an Advantage of +1, rolling a 4, a 2 and a 3, you have one hit from your rolls, +1 from your advantage, totaling 2.
You may also impose this disadvantage on yourself at any time, effectively reducing the amount of hits you have scored. While this is usually a bad idea, in some scenarios you may sometimes desire your character to “accidentally” fail, or limit the power of his or her success. This may require a Charisma Check, of which the Difficulty is the amount of hits you want to subtract from your success.
Note that a failure does not necessarily mean nothing happens. The GM may decide your failure has unintended consequences.
If you’re really unlucky, your roll will be all ones. In this case, you don’t just fail, you fail spectacularly. This is where the GM gets to have fun with you.
So, in summary:
- Rolling a 4 or higher is a hit.
- Rolling a 3 or lower is a miss.
- Rolling a 6 allows you to reroll a miss.
- If your hits match or exceed the skill difficulty, you succeed.
- If all your dice roll a 1, you messed up badly.
As an exception to this, some moves use your number of hits for a certain effect instead of either succeeding or failing. These moves will mention this explicitly.
66 is played exclusively with six 6-sided dice. Skill checks, rolls which determine an action’s success, are therefore done with hits.
Each check has a difficulty, ranging from 1 to 6. 1 being doable by most with some effort and 6 requiring absolute mastery over a skill, along with a fair degree of luck. Anything above that, should you ever encounter it, will require supernatural power.
Each PC has a set of Proficiencies which have levels again ranging from 1 to 6. The level corresponds to the number of dice you use when making a check, which is often done by making use of one of the Proficiency’s moves.
For example, let’s say a character with 3 points in a certain Proficiency is performing a move against a difficulty of 2.
The PC rolls three 6-sided dice, or 3d6, one for each level in his or her Proficiency. The results are 5, 4 and 2.
To determine the result of the Proficiency check, we need to know what these rolls mean.
Every roll will be either a hit, or a miss. Rolls of a 4 or higher being a hit and 3 or lower being a miss.
The PC’s rolls, therefore, have 2 hits and one miss. Since the Check difficulty was 2, the PC succeeds. In some cases though, a failure can still be salvaged.
Let’s say the PC instead rolled a 6, a 2 and a 3. While this is technically 1 hit and 2 misses, the 6 has its own special rule; it allows you to reroll one miss. So while the PC has not achieved success yet, he or she still has a chance.
In some cases, you may have an advantage or a disadvantage. This may be a +1, +2, or -1, etc.
These numbers simply add or subtract from your amount of hits after rolling. For example a move made with a Proficiency of level 3 with an Advantage of +1, rolling a 4, a 2 and a 3, you have one hit from your rolls, +1 from your advantage, totaling 2.
You may also impose this disadvantage on yourself at any time, effectively reducing the amount of hits you have scored. While this is usually a bad idea, in some scenarios you may sometimes desire your character to “accidentally” fail, or limit the power of his or her success. This may require a Charisma Check, of which the Difficulty is the amount of hits you want to subtract from your success.
Note that a failure does not necessarily mean nothing happens. The GM may decide your failure has unintended consequences.
If you’re really unlucky, your roll will be all ones. In this case, you don’t just fail, you fail spectacularly. This is where the GM gets to have fun with you.
So, in summary:
- Rolling a 4 or higher is a hit.
- Rolling a 3 or lower is a miss.
- Rolling a 6 allows you to reroll a miss.
- If your hits match or exceed the skill difficulty, you succeed.
- If all your dice roll a 1, you messed up badly.
As an exception to this, some moves use your number of hits for a certain effect instead of either succeeding or failing. These moves will mention this explicitly.