The Adaptive RolePlaying System is a universal engine designed to be fully adapt

able to any genre and setting with minimal adjustment. Naturally, any specific
world will require some fine tuning to its own laws of physics and the like, but
the core of the system remains versatile enough to handle such changes elegantl
y.
This version of the system, Lite, is a much simplified version of the full game,
designed to be easy to learn and allow for near-instant character creation. St
ats and skills can fit on a standard 3"x5" index card, and the rules themselves
are quick and intuitive. The full version of the game involves more crunch and
allow considerably more precision to character creation, at the expense of a sma
ll sheet and immediate play.
ARPS Lite uses a (Stat*d6)+Skill mechanic for task resolution, and experience po
int spending for character advancement.
-Characteristics-
Starting characters have 5 points to spread among the four Characteristics, whic
h all begin at level 1. The ratings range from 1-5, with 1 being inept, 5 being
the absolute peak of human potential, and 2 being adult human average. Each le
vel in a characteristic adds 1d6 to roll when using it.
Strength - A measure of physical prowess, including muscle strength and overall
endurance.
Mind - A measure of mental prowess, including logical ability and force of will.
Dexterity - A measure of coordination and mechanical aptitude.
Speed - A measure of sheer speed, in 1 meter increments.
Hit Points - Represents a character's physical condition, how much damage they c
an take before being rendered incapacitated. When the amount of damage a charac
ter has taken reaches the Hit Point total, that character is out of the action,
whether because they've been rendered unconscious or simply weakened to the poin
t where they can no longer act. At HP + Strength damage, the character is dead.
Damage heals at a rate of Strength per day of rest, though certain injuries ca
n take longer to heal and there are some outside forces that can allow a charact
er to heal faster.
Calculated as Str x10
Guard - Represents a character's innate ability to resist damage. Incoming dama
ge is reduced by this amount before being applied to HP, unless stated otherwise
.
Calculated as Str x2
Energy Points - Represents a character's mental condition, overall stamina and s
piritual resources. Special abilities and powers use EP. When the character ha
s spent as many EP as his EP total, he's exhausted and can't use any more abilit
ies. EP is healed at a rate of Mind per day of rest. Some game worlds may calc
ulate EP differently and adjust the rate of regeneration.
Calculated as Mind x10
-Skills-
As characters learn and grow, they become better at what they train to do. Skil
ls represent effort and training to become better in certain areas, and are repr
esented by levels. Each level in a skill adds +1 to the amount rolled when that
skill is used. Characters have 20 points to spread among the skills.
Awareness - The skill in observation and perception. Roll Awareness + Mind to a
ctively search, or use the value itself for passive detection.
Body - The skill in physical feats of agility or endurance. Most sports fall un
der this category.
Control - The skill in concentration and using special powers. For each level o
f Control, you can know another ability. In a single turn, you can spend up to
Mind + (Control x 3) EP.
Fighting - The skill in both attack and defense in melee combat, this skill impr
oves basic combat ability. Roll Fighting + Dexterity when attacking and when be
ing attacked in melee combat. Defending with Fighting is called parrying.
Evasion - The skill in effective dodging, this allows a character to evade range
d attacks, whether from guns, thrown objects, or energy blasts. Roll Evasion +
Speed to defend against ranged attacks or to hide from others. Defending with E
vasion is called dodging, hiding with Evasion is called stealth.
Mind - The skill in general knowledge, including history, geography, math, and t
he basic sciences.
Ranged - The skill in ranged combat either with thrown objects, ranged weapons,
or special ki powers at range.
Social - The skill in understanding how to influence people, including empathy.
Technology - The skill in mechanical engineering, electronics, and figuring out
new gadgets and vehicles. This also includes driving and piloting.
-Powers-
Some games won't use powers, so this section won't apply to them and neither wil
l the Control skill. Make sure powers exist before trying to use any, or you mi
ght get confused looks from other players and a disapproving frown from your GM.
Powers are the abilities beyond normal that allow supers to be considered super.
Characters may know as many powers as the Control skill, and characters begin
with the maximum amount of powers they can learn.
Strike Effects - Normal attack rolls use Fighting + Dexterity, and normal damage
rolls use Strength in dice. Strike powers allow the character to trade attack
dice for damage dice on a 1:1 basis, as well as performing Knockback and Stun st
rikes. Knockback strikes deal no damage, but push an opponent away a number of
meters equal to what damage would have been. Stun strikes deal no damage, but c
ancel one action in your opponent's next turn for every multiplier by which your
damage roll exceeds their Guard number.
Special effects use energy points, and require power slots to learn.
Attack - 5 EP per +1 die to hit
Damage - 5 EP per +1 die damage
Knockback - 5 EP per 1 meter knockback per damage (can stack with normal damage
)
Stun - 5 EP per +1 dice stun damage (can stack with normal damage)
Special Powers - These powers either improve the existing abilities of a charact
er or grant entirely new ones. Their use should generally be limited to super h
eroes, magicians, aliens, or people with very impressive technology.
Blast - Ranged attack, uses 1 EP per 1 die damage and extra EP for special effe
cts. Attacks use Ranged + Dexterity and are defended using Evasion + Speed
Accurate - 5 EP per +1 bonus to hit; can represent homing attacks, control over
the attack, or a volley of smaller blasts
Area - 5 EP per 1 meter per damage die
 Deadly - 2 EP per damage dice to completely ignore all Deflections and Guard
Knockback - 5 EP per 1 meter knockback per damage
Stun - 1 EP per damage dice to add stun effect
Boost Speed - 1 EP per +1 Speed per round; +1 Evasion per +10 Speed
Boost Strength - 1 EP per +1 Strength per round; applies to lifting and damage
only
Deflection - 1 EP per 1 damage die negated from energy blasts, ignored by physi
cal and Deadly attacks
Extra Actions - 5 EP per extra action, up to Speed /2
Flight - 1 EP per round, fly at Speed rate
Healing - 1 EP per 1 HP restored; takes 1 full turn per 1 HP restored
Hide Energy - Suppress maximum EP, hides from Sense EP and detecting technology
. Unable to use suppressed EP.
Sense Energy - Passively detect Energy out to Awareness + Control x 30 meters.
EP in meters is the radius of a character's 'energy bubble', and can be detecte
d within range. If a character is directly within range, a round of active dete
ction (Awareness + Mind vs Evasion + Mind) pinpoints location.
Telekinesis - 1 EP per Strength, +1 EP per Speed
Teleport - 10 EP per person teleported (including self), +1 EP per 10 meter dis
tance
-Training-
Forms of training grant experience points, which are immediately spent on the ch
aracteristic or skill being trained. Spent XP are recorded by the stat they app
ly to, until the stat levels up.
For purposes of training, a teacher is a character with a skill higher than the
character being trained, a student is a character with lower skill, and a peer i
s a character with equal skill.
Any traits can be trained, though some require different teachers. Martial arts
instructors most commonly train Strength, Dexterity, Fighting, Evasion and Awar
eness. Gyms often train Strength and Body, sometimes Speed. Universities train
Mind, Education, and Technology.
Combat Experience
Outside of normal training, characters will often be fighting for their very liv
es. This field training is the quickest way to gain experience, and is also the
most dangerous. Healing from fights takes days, sometimes weeks of recuperatio
n. Still, it's often well worth the trouble. Combat trains Strength, Dexterity
, Fighting, Evasion, and Ranged.
After a fight, the two combatants divide their opponent's Fighting skill by his
own, and multiply the result by ten. That number is the number of experience po
ints gained. Combats mostly at range will use the opponent's Ranged and the cha
racter's Evasion, instead. A good fight against an equal opponent nets 10 XP.
Fighting weaker opponents doesn't often amount to much. In fact, any increase b
elow one point is ignored: fighting someone that much weaker just doesn't count
as practice at all. Fighting stronger opponents is a good way to grow fast, ass
uming you survive the fight. To be counted as a proper fight for your life, you
must take damage equal to at least %50 of your maximum. Anything less than tha
t is simply considered sparring, and can be considered group training.
Mentors and Peers
Group training under a teacher, the type of training one might find in a city do
jo, allows steady improvement up to the teacher's level. Each day of practice g
rants 1 xp.
Private training with a teacher provides the same bonuses faster, at 2 xp per da
y.
Group training without a teacher, peer training, is slower, at 1 xp every two da
ys. This includes one-on-one training with a peer.
Solo training is the slowest, at 1 xp every four days.
This method of training does have a limit. A teacher can't improve a student's
skills beyond his own, and teaching a student grants no bonus. Once a student r
eaches the level of his teacher, the two become peers and training then changes
to peer training.
-Experience Costs-
The experience points gained through training are spent on stats to improve them
. Points are spread to all stats being trained at once, though the character ca
n focus training to improve in some areas faster.
Characteristics - 20 * Current Level XP
HP - Improves with Strength
Guard - Improves with Strength
EP - Improves with Mind or 10 XP per 10 EP
Skills - 10 * Current Level XP
Powers - Require Control skill improved enough to gain another power slot, plus
XP payed to learn the power. All techs cost 25 XP.