Beta: Play at your own risk edition

Credits
Claus Brnich

RadicalApproach.co.uk
Turbo Dice is a fast, light weight version of Fantasy Dice intended for pickup games,
rule-light games and as an introduction to the Fantasy Dice roleplaying game
system. Turbo Dice is completely free. You may share and copy it as you like and
make modifications to it and use it for your own games in accordance with the terms
of the creative commons license below. All I ask is that you attribute Claus Brnich
and link to www.RadicalApproach.co.uk. Writing and roleplaying are creative arts
and we can all benefit from sharing and supporting each other.
- Claus Brnich

Creative Commons License

Turbo Dice is completely free. You may share and copy it as you like, and make modifications to it and use it for your own
games. All I ask is that you aattribute Claus Brnich as the original creator, provide a link to www.RadicalApproach.co.uk
and share your work under the same license.

Turbo Dice by Claus Brnich is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at
www.RadicalApproach.co.uk.
 Table of Contents
Turbo Dice......................................4
Crash Course.........................................................................4
Responsibilities.....................................................................5
Skills................................................6
Sword and Armour.......................7 Herbs and Alchemy....................16
Armour..................................................................................7
Melee Weapons.....................................................................7
Ranged Weapons..................................................................7
Ranged Attack.....................................................................13
Defending............................................................................13
Tactics...................................................................................14
Movement............................................................................14
Secondary Action................................................................14
Wounds................................................................................15
Rolling for Potions and Herbs...........................................16
Alchemical Arts...................................................................16

Turbo Rules....................................8 Treasure.........................................17

Master Class Items..............................................................17
The Roll..................................................................................8
Perception............................................................................10
Sixth Sense...........................................................................10
Fatigue..................................................................................10
Turbo Triggers.....................................................................10
Social Conflict......................................................................10
Creating Characters............................................................11
Turbo Combat..............................12
Rounds.................................................................................12
Melee Attack........................................................................12
Artefacts...............................................................................17
Arcane Arts...................................18
Witchcraft............................................................................18
Sorcery.................................................................................18
Black Arts.............................................................................18
Enemies.........................................19
NPCs....................................................................................19
Beasts....................................................................................19
 Turbo Dice

Turbo Dice

Sometimes you just want to switch into turbo and roll some Four, six, eight, ten and twelve sided dice are used to make
dice, so we took Fantasy Dice and stripped it down to the the game both fast and fun. You never add bonuses or
bare-bone essentials. subtract penalties from the dice result, instead you add or
subtract dice from the roll.
In Turbo Dice you have a fully functional no-frills
roleplaying game system that lets you jump right in and There is no counting of successes. You simply roll the dice
play, and it is completely free. and the highest roll is your result. You will need at least one
of each die, but to avoid having to roll many times for a
You can trial run with Turbo Dice before jumping into single result it is recommended to have five or more of each
Fantasy Dice as the same system is used, and although the type.
character generation in Turbo Dice is minimalistic to the
extreme the characters are fully compatible with the more
diverse and fully fledged characters generated by the
D4: A four sided die.
Fantasy Dice system. D6: A six sided die.
D8: An eight sided die.
If you want more sophisticated combat rules, more gear, D10: Ten sided, zero is ten.
weapons and armour, comprehensive rules for character D12: A twelve sided die.
development and so on, please visit -1D: Subtract one die.
-2D: Subtract two dice.
www.RadicalApproach.co.uk and get a PDF or printed copy
+1D: Add one die.
of Fantasy Dice, or perhaps Crimson Exodus which is a fully +2D: Add two dice.
developed fantasy setting using the Fantasy Dice system.

Crash Course
As the turbo is on we'll assume that you know what a
roleplaying game is, what the role of a game master is and Character Sheet
the difference between a player character (PC) and NPC
In addition to dice you will need a pen and some paper to
(non-player character). If you don't you can find all of this
write down the details of your characters. The paper on
information on the Internet, or you can read about it in
which you do this is referred to as a character sheet and you
almost any fully fledged roleplaying book such as Fantasy
can copy it from the back of this book or draw your own.
Dice.
It's All About the Players
Dice
As a player you have great influence on what direction to
You need dice to resolve whether you succeed or fail at skills take play. You may or may not have a direct influence on
and other tasks, but only roll when your character is taking world events, but when it comes to the story of your
a great risk or pitted against foes. If there isn't a serious character, you decide when to face danger and when to run
challenge with significant consequences then simply agree away.
on the outcome and move on.

4
 Turbo Dice
As a GM you take your cues from the aspirations of the
Responsibilities
players' characters and what they tell you they want to do.
Below is a brief summary of some of the main
Not everything will be what it appears, and there may be
responsibilities of the players and GM.
unexpected challenges and detours, but the story told is that
of the PCs.
Players
Risk and Reward Be an active participant and contribute to the game.
Take responsibility for choosing your challenges, and
Turbo Dice is a rules light game and you should play it how
accept failure and defeat with grace and creativity.
the group likes it.
Roleplay your character honestly, and according to what
she knows and any characteristics or aspirations you may
That said there are no rules for balancing encounters with
have chosen for her.
the players, or matching risk and reward. It can be a lot
Strive to make the game fun for everyone at the table and
more fun to let the players pick their challenges and
share the spotlight.
determine if they are up to the task. This of course means
Support creativity and help bring the aspirations of other
that the GM is responsible for giving the players plenty of
players and interesting story hooks into play.
opportunities to estimate their opposition, and offer
warnings and clues. The players still need to pay attention
though as the GM is not obliged to warn the players if they
GM
do not prepare and tread with care. Launch a game by setting up a scene with tension that
encourages the players to take action and make
Make sure your table rules are clear to everyone, and that meaningful choices.
everyone is on the same page about the genre and style of Allow the players complete freedom of choice.
game you are aiming for. Present challenges without preconceived convictions as
to the outcome or how they will be solved.
Do not balance challenges and rewards, but provide as
Player Controlled Allies much information as can be realistically known by the
In a conflict the players take control of allies, friends and characters.
pets. This has many benefits. It reduces the burden on the Frame scenes to create a meaningful story and continuity
GM while keeping the players active and involved. It allows by having previous outcomes affect future scenes.
the GM to concentrate on playing the opposition as Keep the story moving, and escalate the stakes and
realistically as he can without worrying about playing allies challenges in tune with what the players are trying to
fairly. It also gives the players a bigger investment in their achieve.
relationships as it gives the players more control and Play enemies and challenges hard, but be fair and never
involvement. make arbitrary rulings contrary to the rules or table
consensus.
The stats of allied player characters (APCs) are placed in the Give failure and defeat interesting, although not
hands of the controlling players. The players are trusted to necessarily pleasant, outcomes that present additional
distinguish between what they know and what their challenges and complications, and which may force the
characters know. players to re-evaluate their options.

Skill: A measure of a Attribute: A measurement

character's proficiency of one of the basic
for a certain ability elements of a character,
gained through training such as strength or
or experience. Skills are cunning. Attributes are
written with a capital written with a capital
letter with any speciality letter.
that applies in brackets.

5
 Skills
Skills
Skills with specialities grouped by associated attribute. A
skill has a rating from D4 to D12 and the number of dice
rolled for a skill is determined by its associated attribute.
The specialities shown in the brackets for each skill yield a
bonus die when they apply to a roll.
Strength
Smithing (armoursmith, arrowsmith, bolts, blacksmith,
bladesmith, goldsmith, locksmith)
Agility
Athletics (acrobatics, climb, dodge, jump, ride, row, run, swim)
Melee (axes, clubs, daggers, flails, pole arms, shields, swords,
unarmed, whips)
Stealth (blend-in, hide, sneak, shadow)
Dexterity
Construction (bridges, carts, houses, shipwright, siege-engines,
towers, tunnels, walls)
Crafts (bone, cloth, crossbows, glass, leather, pottery, stone, wood)
Sailing (carpenter, fisherman, navigator, rigger, sailmaker)
Sleight of Hand (disarm traps, pick locks, pick pocket, tricks)
Surgery (abdominal, chest, head, limbs)
Sight
Ranged (bows, crossbows, slings, throwing)
Cunning
Healing (burns, crush, pierce, slash)
Survival (bog, desert, forest, grassland, jungle, marsh, mountain,
savannah, subterranean, swamp, taiga, tundra)
Warfare (siegecraft, soldiery, strategy, tactics)
6
Wisdom
Academic Lore (administration, geography, geology, history)
Alchemy (black powder, elixirs, fumes, potions)
Arcane Lore (demonology, elementalism, monsters, occult,
spiritualism)
Beast Lore (bog, desert, domestic, forest, grassland, jungle,
marsh, mountain, savannah, subterranean, swamp, taiga, tundra)
Herb Lore (bog, desert, forest, grassland, jungle, marsh,
mountain, savannah, subterranean, swamp, taiga, tundra)
Language (write, speak)
Sorcery (wind blast, wind mastery, lifting wind, wind shield,
windy whisper, flare flame, smother flame, flame breath, flame
puppetry, rain, freeze and melt, water mastery, water puppetry, air
elemental, fire elemental, wind elemental)
Spirit
Public Speaking (debate, educate, entertain, oratory)
Smooth Talking (bargain, bluff, bribe, calm, fast talk, ingratiate,
persuade, seduce)
Witchcraft (animate tree, banish, beast tongue, bewitch, bind,
bloodmagic, call, command, curse, enchant, grow, ward)
Demon
Black Arts (demon ward, evil eye, oblivion, second sight,
terror, bind, demonic armour, demonic strength, mark,
necromancy, banishing touch, forgetful touch, necrotic
touch, puppeteer's touch, scabbing touch, steal thoughts)
Dominate (command, intimidate, taunt)
Interrogate (cross-examine, threaten, torture, trick)
 Sword and Armour

Sword and Armour

Armour Battleaxe (axes)

PR1 Strength slash - wealthy
Turbo Dice only distinguishes between five types of armour
and an armour is considered to include a helmet, bracers, Greataxe (axes 2-handed)
greaves and cuirass covering the whole body. PR1 Strength+1 slash (-1D parry) - rich

The AR column is the armour rating which reduces any Club (clubs)
wound inflicted a number of severities equal to the rating. Strength crush (-1D parry) - pauper
For example leather armour would reduce a nasty wound to
superficial (see combat). The penalty applies to all actions, Mace (clubs)
and the last column gives a rough idea of the wealth PR2 Strength crush (-1D parry) - wealthy
required to purchase a suit of armour of the listed quality.
Spear (pole arms 2-handed)
Armour AR Penalty Afford PR1 grievous pierce (-1D parry) well off
Leather Armour 1 - well off
Mail Armour 2 - wealthy Quarterstaff (pole arms 2-handed)
Plated Mail Armour 3 -1D rich nasty crush (+1 attack and parry) - poor
Heavy Plate Armour 4 -2D very rich
Full Plate Armour 5 -2D regal Shield (shields)
Parry +1D (shield bash: -1D attack none crush) well off
Melee Weapons
A few sample weapons and attacks are listed here. Each has Ranged Weapons
its Melee skill speciality shown in brackets. The stats listed A few ranged weapons are listed in the same format, but
for each weapon are: wound, type and any attack or parry with the range interval in meters.
penalties in brackets. PR is armour penetration rating. Value
is listed according to the wealth class required to afford it. Crossbow (crossbows)
PR1 25m grievous pierce (reload: 4 rounds) - rich
Punch (unarmed)
Strength - 1 crush Long Bow (bows)
PR1 Strengthx10+10m grievous pierce (reload: 1 round) well off
Dagger (daggers)
nasty pierce / slash (-2D parry) - poor Short Bow (bows)
PR1 Strengthx5+5m nasty pierce (reload: 1 round) - poor
Longsword (swords 2-handed)
grim pierce / slash - rich Javelin (throwing)
PR1 Strengthx5+2m grievous pierce well off
Shortsword (swords)
grievous pierce well off Dagger (throwing)
Strength+3m nasty pierce - poor

7
 Rolls and Rules

Turbo Rules

In Turbo Dice the Fantasy Dice game engine has been
stripped down the the bare essentials. A good Turbo Dice
game should focus on the roleplaying anyway, but when the
dice come out this chapter gives you what you need stir up
some uncertainty and excitement around resolving
challenges.
Always keep things moving by only requesting rolls when it
adds to the drama and the outcome is important otherwise
just roleplay it or let the players succeed and move on.
When a roll is made both sides must be aware of and willing
to accept the consequences of failure. All rolls are final
unless triggers are invoked, but you should use failures to
introduce twists and complications to the story.
The Roll
Agree on a difficulty and time it will take and make the roll.
Rolls are either a skill roll or an attribute roll.
Skill Roll
Each skill has a die as its rating from D6 to D12. A skill
which is not known can be attempted at D4 for simple skills
like Athletics, Melee, Ranged, Stealth, etc.
Each skill is associated with an attribute as shown in the
skills chapter for example Melee is associated with Agility.
Roll a number of dice equal to the associated attribute and
add an additional die if the character has a speciality that
applies to the action.
All the dice are rolled together, but only the highest result
counts. This must match or beat the difficulty to succeed.
With Agility 2 and Melee D6 (swords) a player
has 3D6 dice to attack with a sword. For a roll
of 2, 4 and 5 the result is five.
Attribute Roll
Sometimes no skill is needed. Instead, the task depends
entirely on an attribute such as Strength to make a heavy
lift, Spirit to resist disease, Wisdom to remember and so on.
The attribute determines the number of dice rolled as
normal, but the die is always a D8 for attributes.
Scale
All rolls can be scaled up by removing one die for each step
or down by adding a die for each step.
So a skill of 3D8 could be scaled up to 2D10, or 1D12. This
makes it possible to achieve higher results, but as fewer dice
are rolled it also increases the risk of a really bad roll.
Alternatively, a roll can be scaled down to a lower skill die.
For each step the skill die is lowered an additional die is
added to the pool. So the skill of 3D8 could be scaled down
to 4D6 or 5D4. This lowers the maximum possible result, but
also reduces the likelihood of a very bad roll.

Agility 2 and Melee D6

combines to make a roll of
2D6. If a speciality applies,
then 3D6.

8
 Rolls and Rules
Difficulty I Only Have Six Sided Dice
To make assigning a difficulty intuitive, the difficulties are Although not ideal, the game can be played with only six
adjectives, ranging from easy to insane. Each difficulty has a sided dice, but this does change the probabilities. All rolls
target number which must be matched or beaten by the roll are D6. When scaling up add +2 to the roll instead of chan-
to succeed. The target number starts at two and goes up by ging type, but reduce the number of dice as normal. Scaling
two for each increase in difficulty as shown in the table. down to D4 gives a -2 penalty and adds a die. So 3D6 can be
scaled up to 2D6 + 2 or 1D6 + 4, or down to 4D6 2.
Difficulty Target Number
Easy 2 Skill die all become D6, but for each step up from D6 add
Tricky 4 one die to the D6 pool. So skill D10 translates to D6 + 2D.
Hard 6 With an attribute of two this gives 4D6. If the skill type is
Severe 8 D4, then remove one die from the D6 pool. This same con-
Extreme 10 version applies to all other rolls.
Insane 12
Results
If the difficulty is matched or beaten by the roll it is a
success. Sometimes this is all that matters. When the degree
of success or failure is important the amount by which the
Increase difficulty by one
character failed or succeeded determines it.
means to go from easy to
tricky or tricky to hard, and
so on. Result vs Diff. Degree
-4 or less Exceptional Failure
-2 to -3 Normal Failure
-1 Marginal Failure
0 Marginal Success
Penalty and Bonus Dice
1 Marginal Success
Penalties and bonuses are always dice added or removed 2 to 3 Normal Success
from a roll. Penalties and bonuses are listed as -D for penal- 4 or more Exceptional Success
ties and +D for bonuses, with a number indicating the num-
ber of dice to add or remove. So -1D is a penalty of one die The scale is intentionally mirrored for failure and success so
while +2D is a bonus of two dice. that in a contested roll a normal success for one party means
a normal failure for the opponent. If both sides roll the same
If the penalty is greater than the dice available, scale the roll it is a draw that may be resolved by the second highest die
down until there is enough dice to pay the penalty. The roll result, but against a difficulty counts as a marginal success.
can never be reduced below 1D4.
Blunder
Rolls are always an exceptional failure if all the dice rolled
end up as a one giving the opponent an exceptional success
in a contested roll.
All bonuses and penalties
add or subtract dice. Thus
if you roll D6 the lowest Perfect
result is always one and
the highest six regardless If all the dice end up as the maximum result for the die type
of bonuses, penalties or rolled, add a +2 bonus to the result for each die rolled
number of dice rolled. Only beyond the first. This can give a final result even beyond
a blunder or perfect roll twelve.
can change this.

9
 Rolls and Rules
Perception
Noticing things is an important and basic ability, and so the
Sight attribute roll is used as this is something everyone has.
Although most perception rolls will be based on sight it can
also be based on another sense, but it still uses the Sight
attribute although the type of sense used may affect the
difficulty.
Perception Average
When a character is not actively looking for something it can
be convenient to simply use the Sight attribute average to
determine what she notices. This is calculated as half the die
plus one for each die in the pool beyond the first. So a Sight
attribute of 2D8 would result in an average of eight divided
by two plus one, which is five. If this average exceeds a
Stealth roll, or exceeds or matches a difficulty to spot
something, the character becomes aware of it.
Searching
Actively searching for something by turning over things,
opening boxes, looking behind everything and so on is
resolved with a Sight attribute roll.
Sixth Sense
Everyone has a sixth sense that allows them to feel the
presence of magic, magical items, undead spirits and
demons. This works a lot like the Sight attribute roll for
Perception, but is based on the attribute associated with the
arcane force. This is typically the Spirit, Demon or Wisdom
attribute depending on the arcane force encountered. For
sorcery and magic of the intellect use Wisdom. For the black
arts and dark forces use Demon, and for witchcraft and
other magic use Spirit.
It is hard to notice the arcane, and the difficulty is usually
tricky if affected by an arcane power, hard when touched by
or touching something magical, severe if within three meters,
and extreme or insane if dormant or at a greater distance.
Fatigue
In Turbo Dice Fatigue is tracked with a single stat and like in
Fantasy Dice is not gained through normal actions. Fatigue
is imposed on the characters to add a real edge to their
plight when trekking through deep mountain snows or
marching under a scorching desert sun. It may also be used
when magic is used or if the character is worn out from
disease, poison or blood loss.
10
Fatigue Stages
Fatigue is gained in stages and there are four stages:
Fresh: No fatigue, this is the normal state.
Winded: Panting and sweating, getting tired.
Exhausted: Out of breath and -1D penalty.
Drained: Dizzy and barely able to stand, -2D.
Once drained a character that does not rest will eventually
collapse from which she may recover or die as her heart
gives up as the situation and story dictates.
Recovering
To recover from fatigue rest is needed. Recovering from
being winded simply takes half-an-hour, while recovering
from being exhausted takes at least an hour of good rest.
Once drained the character must get a good nights sleep to
recover fully, but before that may recover to an exhausted
state with an hours good rest.
Turbo Triggers
Unless you are playing a particularly grim and unforgiving
game, the GM can award the players 1 to 3 triggers. One
trigger can be spent at the end of combat to reduce a
grievous, grim or mortal wound to nasty it felt worse than it
was. One trigger can also be spent to re-roll a failed roll.
In a one-shot spent triggers are lost, but in a campaign the
GM can return spent triggers for good roleplaying.
Social Conflict
Social conflicts can take the form of debates, interrogation,
bribes, seduction or any other social interaction where one
character is trying to dominate, trick, defeat or take
advantage of another character. Conflict scenes with social
combat tend to be more fluid than a physical combat, and
rely more on roleplaying and coming up with good
arguments.
Only in intense situations, or when the outcome has
dramatic consequences, is a roll called for. Even then, the
player must still determine what is said.
Roleplaying
The GM should recognise that a player who creates a
character with strong social skills wants a socially able
character, and should be forgiving and less demanding as
long as the player gives it his best.
 Rolls and Rules
Most importantly though, social conflict should be fun and
the GM must judge the abilities of the players and how
much leeway he should give them. Trying to roleplay and
being creative is far more important than rousing speeches.
When to Roll
A roll is not needed to convince someone of something
which is clearly of benefit to them. Likewise, anything
which will clearly harm them will always fail. A roll is only
needed when the speaker is lying, the truth might not be
believed, or trying to convince someone the benefits
outweigh the downsides.
Most commonly a social conflict will be resolved by
roleplaying the dialogue freely and rolling when the stakes
are clearly set. The roleplaying will often determine the bias
for the roll as explained below. A single roll is enough to
determine the outcome of most social conflicts, but a scene
can be dedicated entirely to a social conflict of great
importance and a roll made for each argument, question,
command and so on.
Bias
Social rolls depend heavily on circumstantial modifiers
determined by what is being said and the bias of the
listeners. The initial modifier can be determined as outlined
below.
Bias Modifier
Hateful -4D
Hostile -2D
Suspicious -1D
Receptive -
Friendly +1D
Loving +2D
What is said and how it is presented may then affect the bias
by shifting it one step in a negative or positive direction. If
this takes the bias outside the range there is no need to roll.
From anyone who is hateful it will likely provoke an attack,
or at least utter contempt, while if saying just the right
things to someone loving it is automatically an exceptional
success.
The above are only guidelines, and the modifier that makes
most sense should always be used.
Resisting Social Manipulation
For most social skills the roll is contested and both sides roll,
but when appropriate the GM might assign a difficulty
instead. Demon is typically used to resist Dominate and
Interrogate attempts, while Cunning or Spirit is used against
most Smooth Talking attempts. A difficulty roll is usually
most appropriate for Public Speaking rolls, except for debate
which is rolled versus the opponents debate skill.
Creating Characters
You'll find a few sample characters to play at the end of this
book, but some really basic rules are provided here for how
you can bootstrap a character into action. The result will be
playable character, but all the choices, nuances and
explanations in the Fantasy Dice system have been stripped
out and replaced with a few quick choices to turbo charge
the process. You should feel free to flesh out your character
and what her personality and goals are.
Attributes
By default all your racial attributes are 2 as shown below.
You may raise up to two attributes by one if you so choose,
but you must lower another attribute for each one.
St Ag Dex Si Cu Wi De Sp
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Skills
Language at D12 with speak and write speciality.
One occupation skill at D10 with 2 specialities.
Two strong skills at D8 with 2 specialities.
Up to five skills at D6 with one speciality.
Talent
You may pick something you are talented at. This is not a
skill, but something like singing, dancing, cooking, etc. that
you do really well and which may help you occasionally. It
can also be a special ability at the GM's discretion.
Wealth
All characters are well off unless otherwise agreed with the
GM. The nine classes of wealth are: beggary, pauper, poor, well
off, wealthy, rich, very rich, regal and legendary.
Gear
You may write down a few things that you are likely to own
as agreed with the GM. No gear is provided in Turbo Dice
so just make some up, but a few weapons are provided in
the Sword and Armour chapter. The better weapons may
not be immediately affordable depending on your setting
and circumstances.
11
 Combat
Turbo Combat
This chapter presents rules for grim and gritty combat with
tactical options. Violent conflict is a common element in most
stories and nearly every world imagined by man. It heightens
the tension and is often a turning point in the story. A
drunken fist brawl may only break a few ribs, but most
armed conflicts result in people dying. The players should
always avoid a fair fight, and plan and prepare to ensure an
advantage. They should consider the capabilities of their foes.
Sometimes a retreat is the only sane option.
If the players are going to be facing a lot of combat action,
and survive, they must be superior to their foes in number,
tactical resourcefulness, ability or arms.
Rounds
Combat is divided into rounds and combatants act according
to who has the highest initiative as determined by a Demon
attribute roll. In Turbo Dice the initiative for all NPCs is
determined by the Demon average, calculated the same way
as the Sight average for all NPCs, while the players roll
initiative at the start of the combat and use that same
initiative value the whole scene.
Actions
A character normally has one primary and one secondary
action in a round. Actions are declared when they are
executed. The actions can be executed at the character's
initiative, as a defence when attacked or as a counter attack
after a successful defence.
A character can only move as part of her primary action at her
initiative. If she has spent her action in defence she cannot
move that round, but she can move on a successful dodge by
12
using her secondary action. This is the only time a
secondary action can be used for movement.
Secondary actions must be something different than the
primary action and so two attacks with the same weapon
in a round is not normally possible. Secondary actions are
explained in greater detail later in this chapter.
One Action
Some actions will be swift, while others will take longer. To
keep things simple each round can be considered to take
roughly three seconds. This may not always fit perfectly
with the actions, but does keep things moving along.
Sometimes you may be able to do a bit more than would
strictly speaking fit into a three second slot, and at other
times you will do something which probably would have
taken a lot less. Only a single roll is allowed in an action
but there is nothing to stop you from narrating that single
result as the result of several actions.
Speaking, walking and jogging do not count as actions, but
if saying a lot, or sprinting, it does count as an action.
Melee Attack
An attack roll is made just like any other roll using the
Melee skill. Due to its nature an attack is nearly always
contested and if the defender uses her action to block,
parry or dodge an attack she may get a counter attack.
If the opponent does not defend, the attack is made against
an easy difficulty.
 Combat
If the target is unaware of the attack there is usually no need
to roll, and the maximum possible trauma is inflicted. If the
attack is awkward, ranged or has a decent chance of failing,
then assign a difficulty and roll against that.
Resolving Attacks
An attack is declared at a character's initiative. The type of
attack is declared and the defender must declare any defence.
The attacker then declares any special tactic for the attack,
usually either a deadly strike to increase the wound severity
or focused attack to get a bonus die.
The defender must then declare any special manoeuvres for
the defence, such as making a focused defence.
Both the defender and attacker can scale their roll - either
secretly to keep the opponent guessing or out in the open
with bravado.
The sequence of declaring an attack is summarised as:
Attacker declares type of attack.
Defender declares any defence.
Attacker declares any tactic.
Defender declares any tactic.
Both scale their roll.
Both roll the dice.
The attack is then rolled versus the defender's defence roll or
against a fixed difficulty of easy if no defence is attempted.
When actively defending, a
draw is resolved by the
second highest die result
as normal for a contested
roll, but against a fixed
difficulty the attacker gets
a marginal success.
If the attack succeeds, it inflicts the wound severity of the
weapon, adjusted by the success of the attack, armour and
any special tactics that were declared before the attack, such
as a deadly attack.
A marginal success
reduces the wound
severity by one.
An exceptional success
increases it by one.
If the defence is a normal or better success, and she still has
her secondary action, the defender gets a counter attack.
See Defending later in this chapter for more on defensive
actions and counter attacks.
By spending her action on
defence, the defender gets
a counter attack on a
normal success or better
(normal or worse failure
for the attacker).
Ranged Attack
A ranged attack is executed just like any other attack with
the same sequence of declaring the attack and defence as
for Melee, but the distance to the target also has an impact.
Ranged attacks do not risk counter attacks, and parries and
blocks receive a -2D penalty against ranged attacks. Dodge
is usually the best defence as it receives no penalty and a
counter attack may be used to dive behind cover.
If the target is unable or unwilling to defend against the
ranged attack the difficulty to hit is tricky.
An attack can be made up to the weapon's range interval
as shown in the weapon's description without any penalty.
Up to twice this an attack is at long range and receives a
-1D penalty. Beyond this an attack is at extreme range and
a -2D penalty. So for example a long bow with a range
interval of Strengthx10+10m used by an archer with
Strength 2 will have a range interval of 30 meters. Long
range is 30 to 60 meters, and beyond that is extreme range.
Do not worry about tracking exact distances, but use the
ranges to roughly estimate if a penalty applies.
Defending
Defending against both Melee and Ranged attacks is done
with parries, blocks and dodges. A character can choose
13
 Combat
not to defend, in which case the attack is resolved against an
easy difficulty for Melee and tricky for ranged.
A character can spend her primary and secondary action to
defend against up to two attacks before or after her initiative,
but she then cannot spend that action during her initiative.
It is only when the primary action is spent defending that it
can result in a counter attack, as the secondary action must be
spent on the counter attack.
Counter Attacks
Counter attacks can only be achieved when spending the
primary action to defend. Any defence with the primary
action which results in a normal or better success allows for a
counter attack. The counter attack is executed immediately
using the secondary action if the defender wants to spend it
on such an action.
A counter attack does not have to be an actual attack. It can be
used to close a door, pull a lever or pick up something.
However, since secondary actions cannot include movement
it must be something that can be done at the spot the
character is standing. The exception is for a dodge. If the
defensive manoeuvre was a dodge, the counter attack can
include movement as part of the dodge.
Although the counter attack must be made using the
secondary action it can be made with the same weapon, or
arm, that was used for the parry or block, but this imposes a
-1D penalty to the attack. If a different weapon is used there is
no penalty for the counter attack. Any counter attack must be
made against someone within reach without moving.
The counter attack is resolved just like a normal attack and
can use any tactic (as explained later) that only requires one
action.
Parry
Parry uses the Melee skill with the speciality for the weapon
used. Against ranged attacks parries take a -2D penalty. A
weapon will often have a penalty or bonus when used for
parrying. Shields always have the highest parry bonuses.
It is possible to parry two attacks in a round if armed with
two weapons, or a weapon and shield, by using the primary
and secondary action to parry with each weapon.
Block
Blocks also use the Melee skill, but with the unarmed
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speciality. Both actions can be used to block. It is equally
possible to block armed and unarmed attacks, but armed
attacks cause wounds of one lower severity to the arm on a
marginal success. Against ranged attacks blocks take a -2D
penalty.
Dodge
Dodge is a speciality of Athletics. It takes no penalty
against ranged attacks, which makes it the best defence
against them. Only a single dodge is possible in a given
round so any further defensive actions must be a block or
parry.
Tactics
In Turbo Dice tactics come down to sacrificing dice to
increase wound severity in a deadly attack, or combining
both actions to get a bonus die in a focused attack.
So for example a 3D8 attack with a weapon with a nasty
wound rating can be done at -1D (2D8) to make it grievous,
or -2D (1D8) to make it grim.
Other tactics may be allowed if they can be narrated in a
way that makes sense and the GM should award bonuses
and penalties as appropriate.
Movement
In Turbo Dice if you are within a few steps of an opponent
or where you want to go, then you can walk there at your
initiative as a free action. If it is further than this up to
about eight meters you will need to run and all subsequent
actions in the same round take a -1D penalty. You can
sprint beyond eight meters by forfeiting all your actions
that round. It is up to the GM how far you can get with a
sprint, but typically around twelve meters.
Pace Distance Actions
Walk few steps free action
Run up to 8 meters -1D to all actions
Sprint beyond 8 meters no actions that round
All movement for the round must be done at the same time
at the character's initiative before or as a part of the
character's primary action. A stunned character cannot
move faster than a walk.
Secondary Action
The secondary action is something which the character
 Combat
does more or less simultaneously with the primary action in
the round. Thus, unless it is a counter attack, it cannot be the
same as the primary action, or even with the same arm used
for the primary action.
The secondary action can be executed at the character's
initiative after the primary action or as a defence once the
primary action is spent. It can also be executed as a counter
attack after a defence of normal or better success. Only one
secondary action is possible in a round.
However, NPCs who receive a grim wound are considered
incapacitated and will likely be dead or dying.
Any incapacitated combatant is out of the fight, and in
Turbo Dice anyone who receives a grim or mortal wound
must be treated or they will eventually die unless already
dead. NPCs will typically be dead, while players will
typically be given a chance to be bandaged or treated with
herbs and magic to allow them to survive and eventually
recover.

The healing times is the time it takes for a wound to heal

If one attack is parried enough to be reduced to the next lower severity, but
with a shield the second treatment with the Healing skill, herbs, alchemy and magic
attack could be parried can all reduce this time by a week or two for every severity,
with a sword. or with exceptional success even immediately reduce the
severity by one.

The secondary action is optional, but can be used to defend Inflicting Wounds
against a second opponent, attack multiple enemies, attack The wound severity caused by a weapon is either specified
the same enemy with two attacks or perform any other action as a fixed severity, such as superficial or nasty, or as
which is simple enough to be allowed as a secondary action. Strength plus a modifier, such as Strength 1.

The secondary action cannot involve movement and if a A fixed severity is the normal wound a weapon inflicts and
character is sprinting no secondary action is possible. is not affected by Strength. When specified as Strength,
such as Strength - 1,the wound severity is derived from the
Wounds wielder's Strength adjusted by the modifier. A result of
zero or less is an insignificant wound and for each
In Turbo Dice only the most severe wound a character
increment the wound severity is increased by one. So a
receives is tracked, so if a more serious wound is inflicted that
Strength of two and weapon that inflicts Strength 1
becomes the wound severity inflicted on the character.
results in a superficial wound. If the weapon had been
Strength + 1 it would have been a grievous wound.
Wounds range from superficial to mortal and whenever a
wound is inflicted the character is stunned and so receives a
-1D penalty for the rest of the round and the entire following
round. Stun does not stack, so being stunned again while
already stunned does not increase the penalty. A greataxe has a WS of
Strength + 1, which with a
Strength of 2 yields a
Healing
Wound Consequence grievous WS. A longsword
Time Difficulty has WS grim regardless of
the wielder's strength.
Superficial stun only 2 weeks easy
Nasty stun only 3 weeks tricky
Grievous -1D (and stunned) 4 weeks hard
Grim -2D (and stunned) 5 weeks severe
A marginal success reduces the wound severity by one, and
Mortal incapacitated 6 weeks extreme an exceptional success increases it by one. One severity is
also reduced for each armour rating (AR) the target has,
As shown above if the wound is grievous the character takes but any penetration rating (PR) the weapon reduces the
a -1D penalty until the wound heals, and if the wound is grim AR. Wounds severity can also be increased by making a
the character takes a -2D penalty until the wound is healed. deadly attack as explained earlier under tactics.

15
 Herbs & Alchemy

Herbs and Alchemy

In Turbo Dice you can use the Herb Lore and Alchemy skill to
determine if a character has the required potion or herb rather
than tracking them as items in the inventory. If you wish you
can also extend this to other skills and so reduce or eliminate
the need to track inventory.
depends on the difficulty and starts at well off for a tricky
roll and increases by one wealth class for each difficulty
above that. The wealth requirement may be relaxed or
removed if the character has obtained the ingredients as
part of a quest of from a wealthy patron.

Rolling for Potions Typical Herbs

and Herbs Healing herbs can for example reduce the difficulty of
Healing rolls, stop bleeding, prevent or cure infection and
The character simply states the desired effect and the GM
disease, antidotes and even make wounds heal faster.
either sets a difficulty or declares it impossible. Keep in mind
what is reasonable to achieve with herbs and alchemy, but be
Poisonous herbs can be used to make weapon pastes or
creative and come up with interesting uses for both. It is
mixed into food or drink. Whether the herb causes
assumed that a skilled character will have the ingredients
drowsiness, pain, disorientation, paralysis or death the
necessary and the knowledge to produce the desired remedy
effect is never instant and the faster working and more
or poison from those ingredients.
potent the poison the harder the Herb Lore roll to make it
will be.
The Difficulty
When setting the difficulty consider the following: Typical Potions
Healing elixirs can reduce or even stop bleeding, make
Type of effect: Simple, common effects are easier.
wounds heal in only a few rounds, minutes or hours, heal
Potency: The more powerful the more difficult.
burns, cure blindness, cure hearing loss, regrow severed
Quantity: The more is needed, the harder it will be.
limbs in only days and cure and treat many other
Circumstances: Are they well supplied, or in a desert?
ailments.
Every time a Herb Lore roll is made in the same scene the
Potions can also boost an attribute or skill, cause
basic difficulty is increased by one, making any further Herb
drowsiness or amnesia and other stimulants and poisons,
Lore rolls harder for that scene.
such as the fabled love potion, can also be brewed.
Every time an Alchemy roll is made in the same week the
basic difficulty is increased by one. Alchemical Arts
Alchemy is not just about making elixirs and potions, but
Wealth and Alchemy can also be used to for example transmute metals and
other materials from one form to another, or to create
Typically a character will need wealth to be able to make an
explosive black powder mixes. Doing either will likely be
Alchemy roll as the rare ingredients are hard to obtain and
hard and requires good equipment which is usually only
expensive, not to mention the equipment used and typically a
found in a well equipped alchemist's laboratory.
laboratory of some sort is also needed. The wealth required

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 Treasure
Treasure
A treasure can take many forms and be great or small. It can
be a heirloom given by a grateful character or a master class
weapon bestowed by a baron, duke or King, or it can be
locked chest, spoils of war or even a map.
Treasure is often won by overcoming a hard challenge, but
simply defeating an enemy or monster does not guarantee
treasure.
A good piece of treasure is an item that is mysterious,
unique and interesting. Giving an item a history of previous
owners and a reputation or name can go a long way to make
it memorable, and treasure can be used to reveal plots,
introduce lore or even give the players some kind of moral
obligation or quest tied to the treasure.
Master Class Items
Master class items are often considered magical. Nearly any
item can be crafted as master class by investing the time,
some quality materials, good tools and exceptional skill. A
master class item can only bestow a single bonus, such as
either +1D to attack, increase wound severity by one or +1D
to parry, and so on. However, master class items are not
limited to bonuses. It may be an item of exceptional beauty,
light, insulating or just extremely durable.
Although master class items can usually be immediately
recognised from their superior workmanship, bonuses and
other properties are not immediately known, but require
careful inspection or testing to figure out. A tricky or hard
Smithing or Crafts skill roll can usually identify bonuses, or
they may be revealed after some use.
The following list of possible master class items is only
meant to inspire creativity. Master class items are always
rare and valuable items, and making them takes great skill
and is always both costly and time consuming. It is
advisable to give such items names, or have the player name
it, and to give them some detail and possibly even a history.
After all master class items are made only by master
craftsmen and mostly for nobility and the wealthy.
Weapon +1D Attack.
Weapon with increased wound severity.
Weapon with increased penetration rating.
Shield +1D Parry.
Serrated blade increases bleeding severity by one.
Fitted armour with one less armour penalty.
Armour with one greater AR than normal.
Light spear range interval increased by ten meters.
Bow range interval increased by twenty meters.
Durable bow that never weakens and can stay strung.
A nearly unbreakable staff as strong as steel.
Boots that do not wear out.
Handshake Ring - spring-loaded venom needle.
Water proof leather pouch or bag.
Airtight container - preserves food and herbs.
Warm and light winter clothing.
Undetectable tunic pocket.
Secret compartment pendant.
Artefacts
Every artefact should be unique and when creating items
consider the style of game you are aiming for and what may
be possible in your world.
Items with powers and uses that are not immediately
apparent can be great as artefacts. If the item also grows in
power with the character she will be much more likely to
keep and use it.
Some items will require study and an Arcane Lore roll to
understand how to activate their powers, while other items
will just work with no understanding required.
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 Arcane Arts
Arcane Arts
In Turbo Dice the arcane arts are handled through creativity
and improvisation. This page is only here to give you some
guidelines for how you can do this.
The three skills from Fantasy Dice; Black Arts, Sorcery and
Witchcraft are listed with all their specialities in the skills
section. It is suggested that the specialities be used for
inspiration and to define the spells that can be incanted
and conjured, but you can always create your own
specialities or new arcane skills.
Witchcraft
Witchcraft is used to talk to the inner spirit of all living
things to bend it to the will of the witch or warlock.
Witchcraft requires the drinking of fresh blood or eating of a
warm heart to speak the incantations, and a heart is always
needed for the more powerful ones. Sacrificing a big beast
with a big heart makes it possible to invoke powerful
incantations. The bigger the heart, the more powerful the
incantation, but also the more difficult the Witchcraft roll
will be. To make the incantation last the witch or warlock
simply has to continue chanting the incantation.
Bloodmagic is used to heal, and the difficulty and size of the
sacrifice required depends on the severity of the wound.
Witches and warlocks can use witchcraft to invest some of
their Spirit in a familiar. This binds them as one with a
single purpose, but the witch is weakened without her
familiar.
Sorcery
Sorcery is conjured by sweeping gestures and delicate
movements of the hands to manipulate and bend the
elemental forces to the sorcerer's will. It can not conjure
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something from nothing, but can cause fires to flare,
strengthen winds and make rain fall.
Sorcery is a scholarly art and requires patient study for long
years to master, and so can only be learned from a mentor,
guild or from one of the rare and extremely valuable tomes
on sorcery if the student is talented enough.
Sorcery causes fatigue every time it is conjured whether it
succeeds or fails, and on exceptional success or failure the
elements around the sorcerer are warped with dramatic and
unexpected side effects.
An effect can be maintained, but doing so causes further
fatigue until the sorcerer either relents or collapses from the
strain.
Black Arts
The black arts channel the demonic forces inside all living
things. Some like the demon ward, evil eye, oblivion, second
sight and terror are drawn as large glyphs, while others are
invoked with runes or even just touching the victim.
The magician of the black arts can rely on her own inner
Demon, but this causes fatigue like sorcery. Alternatively
she can draw upon the power of specially prepared skulls to
allow her to channel deeper powers without tiring herself.
However, most such skulls crumble to dust when used and
so can only be exploited once.
Black magic is dangerous as it gives the demon too much
power and opens the magician to possession. This manifests
as a dramatic transformations of personality. On any
marginal success or exceptional failure the sorcerer loses
control of her inner demon. She turns aggressive, selfish and
dominating.
 Enemies

Enemies

A few potential opponent NPCs and beasts are presented here Guard 3D8
to use or as inspiration and guidance for creating your own.
AR1 Leather Cap, Scale Cuirass, Bracers and
Greaves
NPCs Spear: PR1 grievous pierce (-1D parry)
The NPC stat is simply the profession along with their skill Shield: +1D parry
roll for that profession, like Blacksmith 3D8. This is the
highest roll the NPC is capable of (before modifiers) and the Beasts
profession tells you the type of tasks this covers. Outside their Most beasts and lesser monsters will attack and dodge at
expertise apply a -1D or -2D penalty, and simply roll 2D4 if the their stat. So a beast with a stat of 2D10 will roll 2D10
they are unskilled at the task. when dodging or biting, unless otherwise stated. Great
monsters such as dragons - are too large to dodge, and
Small alterations to the NPC stat can quickly flesh out an NPC only have 2D4 when dodging. Instead they have high
and indicate their abilities and attributes, such as Charming armour ratings reflecting not only their thick skin and
Mercenary 3D8, Dishonest Merchant 3D10 or Huge Brute 2D8. scales, but also their great mass and strong muscles which
protect them from harm.
Other information can be recorded as the GM sees fit, and
below weapons and armour is listed for each each NPC. Black Bear 3D10
Attributes: St 4, Ag 4, De 0, Sp 3
Thug 3D6 Bite: grievous pierce
Claws: nasty slash
Club: nasty crush (-1D parry)
Reflex: 2D8
Dagger: nasty pierce (-2D parry)
Punch: nasty crush Boar 3D8
Attributes: St 2, Ag 2, De 0, Sp 2
Bandit 3D8 Tusk: grievous pierce
AR0 Hide Vest Reflex: 2D10
Handaxe: PR1 nasty slash (-1D parry) Troll 2D12
Dagger: nasty pierce/slash (-2D parry)
Attributes: St 5, Ag 1, De 2, Sp 4
Short Bow: PR1 15m nasty pierce
Armour: 1
Huge Club: mortal+1 crush
Orc Warrior 4D8 Punch: grim crush
Bite: nasty pierce
AR1 Hide Vest, Bone Splint Bracers & Greaves Reflex: 2D8
Stone Mace: grievous crush (-1D parry) Hard: Only stunned by grievous and worse.
Spiked Shield: +1D (-1D nasty pierce)
Javelin: PR1 17m grievous pierce (-1D nasty in Wolf 3D8
melee) Attributes: St 2, Ag 3, De 0, Sp 1
Punch: grievous crush Bite: grievous pierce
Bite: -1D grievous pierce Reflex: 2D10

19