XD6 SRD - Hackable RPG Dice System
A downloadable game
The XD6 SRD is an TTRPG system made to power games about epic, cinematic stories of larger-than-life figures: giant mecha, kaiju, superheroes, gods & demons - this is for flashy, edge-of-your-seat action and immense, planet-shaking FX.
You can also use it to play tea parties. It’s your thing - do what you wanna do. This system is free to hack under CC 4.0 - just credit the author, and put the cool logo in!
Check the screenshots for the basic mechanic (or watch this AMAZING REVIEW by Hessan's County!). The full system includes rules for creating characters for any game, quick play character sheets, abilities and drawbacks, and sample characters to show the range of awesome possible - from the Impossible Bulk, a massive, angry science mistake, to Lavender Baudelaire, an orphan whose inventions save her siblings.
It also now includes a second document: a parallel set of designer's notes exploring why each mechanic works the way it does and HOW you might hack it. It also comes with a two-page quick reference document so you can jump in and start playing.
If there's significant interest in the system, I've got a ton of content I'd love to develop for it. Holler if any of these get your appetite going:
- Mecha-Magi, a sample setting of wizards piloting ARCs (Arcane Reactor Cores - magical artifacts with immense power)
- Punk Pantheon, a game of young gods in the modern world seeking to overthrow their elders
- Extended character sheet
- Ability and Drawback cards for easy table use
- An online character keeper for digital play
- Printable lists of signature performances
Please reach out with any questions - I'd love to know who's out there playing!
Download
Click download now to get access to the following files:
Development log
- Designer Note Update!Jun 04, 2023
Comments
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I don't have a gaming group I can use as
guinea pigsplay testers, so I'm kinda stuck making solo games (which is fine by me), Do you have any suggestions? I've never actually made an RPG game before.I have an idea for superheroes who are actually demigods. I'm not sure if they do or don't know that (maybe I'll leave it up to the individual player), They'll battle nasties from every pantheon, including the Cthulu mythos, as well as supervillains who are also demigods, only they were abused as children, born with bad brain wiring, or whatever makes normal humans turn to crime.
Please don't steal my idea!
Nobody will take anything! One thing I'd advise: be careful with the depictions of abuse and "bad wiring." There's a lot there to understand, and being too casual about depicting people struggling with adversity as problematic can be rough for some readers!
I love god-based stuff (I am currently running an XD6 game for my after-school class in which the kids are playing a new crop of gods out to replace the old ones, who've become complacent and aren't serving their worshippers anymore). Good fun!
I'm not real comfortable with the idea that villains are inherently evil, unless they're literally demons or devils, which is why I mentioned abuse, etc. Usually villains think they're doing good. It's just that their idea of good doesn't correspond to the majority of the population.
Oh absolutely! I never go with "inherent villainy," and agree there should always be a nuanced way of helping the audience understand how and why someone is doing something really problematic! I'm just always careful with mental health stuff - wanna be supportive. There's folks who know a lot more than I do about how to portray struggles with trauma in a respectful way (hence why a lot of folks get sensitivity readers).
Let me know if you have any questions - excited to see what you make!
I already thought this SRD was awesome, but I am loving the designer notes! I am going to have a lot of fun playing around with Fx and moves based on some of the new content and suggestions you mentioned there. Keep up the good work! 😁
This made my day, Hessan! I really had fun kind of "opening the hood" to noodle about the why of what I was doing, and the parallel page structure really helped me put all the material together in a way that didn't compromise the simplicity of the base structure.
SO glad you liked it!
seriously love this system, definitely using it for my first hack! hopefully one day you'll be able to release those extras, but even if you never do—you've made something super cool =^)
Oh my gosh you have NO idea how much that means to hear! I LOVE this little gem, and totally imagine big ol' supplements with HUGE lists of goofy powers. Mostly I use it for my Mecha Magi game (people pilot ARCs - Arcane Reactor Cores - that allow them to generate, alter, and absorb energy and matter!) or my Punk Pantheon game (god powers in the modern world), but I've never written those up for public consumption. I've been noodling on the idea of an XD6 SRD Jam, so your encouragement means the world! What do you think - should I go ahead?
In any case, THANK YOU! Comments mean the world and it's the BEST to hear about people being INTO your work!
gahh those settings sound SO cool. i could feel the excitement growing as i read thru the srd and i could imagine so many different ways to use it (world hopping science fantasy anthology campaign, demi-gods in a decaying world, setting where an interdimensional rift is leaking strange energy—the world becomes more gonzo the closer you get to the rift, high school setting, but all the kids are cyborgs with all kinds of cybernetics and illegal modifications, space pirate skulduggery a la treasure planet—i could go on!) and all of those ideas sprung from YOUR work, which again! so cool! so scalable, so flexible !!
would LOVE to hear more about those settings if you're willing to share, and i would definitely try to put something together for a jam if you were ever to host one! thank you for creating this srd, seriously
Oh yeesh. Wrote a whole reply and then mistakenly moved off tab (arg!). I'm SO glad you dig this funky little system, and you've gotten ME thinking about putting some stuff together - and the possibility of a jam (even posted on Twitter to see if there was any interest!).
In any case, here's the short intro to each setting (there's lots more to both, but here you go!):
Punk Pantheons:
People think of gods, now, as stories - something ancient peoples revered that don’t have much to do with everyday life in the modern world. They couldn’t be more wrong.
The gods walk among us, unseen, bending our world to their will. They are born human, but come into their power, and their whims and wants can spread peace and goodwill … or submerge the globe in chaos. The old gods have gone sour - deities like Courage and Hope have fallen, and Fear, Rage, Greed, and the twins, Despair and Desire - rule cruelly, fomenting war. They seek to recruit young gods to their cause - those too new to their powers to pose a threat - before they can upset the balance.
But it never pays to underestimate the power of a bunch of punks.
In Punk Pantheons, players take on the role of teenaged kids who’ve just discovered their powers, and must travel through the Ideal realms to search for the reborn gods who can rebalance the energies of the world and fight back against the tyranny of the elder gods.
Mecha Magi:
No-one knows the origins of the mysterious artifacts known as ARCs - Arcane Reactor Cores. The secrets of their use are carefully guarded - only the chosen few ever bond with an ARC to become Mecha Magi. Those who do have nearly unlimited power to create, absorb, and alter energy and matter.
Gearhaven is the last known planet with life upon it - the wreckage of ancient wars that decimated the stars litters space, a warning against the foolishness of war amongst Magi. And to keep the peace, the rulers of Gearhaven - the Council of Demons - rule with an iron fist. They generate the power and resources that support the city, making dissent impossible.
But once a year, at the Choosing, even the poorest of Gearhaven may seek to bond with an ARC and join one of the noble houses of the Council. They may compete to be recognized - or try to create a new house of their own.
In Mecha Magi, players take on the role of desperate demons seeking to bond with ARCs to rebalance the oppressed world of Gearhaven (I’ve also run this one as a school for ARC-wielders, a world in which Mecha Magi are only allowed to play in a sort of hyper-sport as intergalactic darlings, and one in which they’re knights-errant, traveling to far-flung planets with their immense powers to solve the worst problems of lost peoples).
both those settings sound soo cool. and the nice thing abt the srd is that you can use the rules to build all kinds of gear and treasure with different FX and limitations, and they can potentially interact with each other in really interesting ways..
I love the political intrigue implicit in both these settings btw! so much room not just for fun combat and mechanical choices, but interpersonal relationships and political tension too. which can be reflected in Bonds..... agh. sick
How many players does this game support? What is the average game time?
It's a "standard TTRPG," so figure a couple of hours - making characters can be as easy as determining the number of dice and jumping in! The story and setting are up to you, but the mechanics are designed to support folx tweaking the system to suit their needs and accommodate any giant, epic, zany sort of storyline.
It offers a set of "generic" Moves (Get Physical, Influence, Figure It Out, FX, and Fix It) and a set of special abilities to customize characters, but it's open to creativity (Mad Max vibes? Do Drive, Brawl, Shoot, Tough It Out, Navigate, and Ancient Lore! Dragonball? Go for Energy Manipulation, Transformation, Super Speed, Power Up ... whatever works!).
Happy to say more - I have updates and a setting I'd love to post, so feel free to holler if you're into it and have any questions (I'd love the excuse to chat about and work on it further!). Thanks so much for the interest!
And as far as players, 2-6?
hey I'd love to buy this but apparently I can't use PayPal - is that intentional?
Not at all, and WEIRD. Should be able to! Let me check on it! It may have to do with the low price.
Let me send you a copy if you're having trouble, as a gift. Apologies! Let me know an e-mail?
that's quite alright, I'm familiar with tech-related mishaps. Whatever you did, it worked :>
Hooray! Let me know your thoughts if you get a chance - and thank you.