EVERYTHING IS DOLPHINS

An RPG by Ray Weiss

Special thanks to:

Inna Mkrtycheva, Tim Hutchings,
Tavis Allison, Luke Crane,
Jason Caceres, and Jason Hart.
In Loving Memory of Nicolas Djandji.
He would have thought this was hilarious.

All artwork copyright of the respective creator, used with permission.

Everything is Dolphins game text 2012 Ray Weiss.
Book layout 2012 Tim Hutchings and The Hutchingsonian Presents.

Introduction
Welcome to Everything is Dolphins, a place
where everything is you guessed it! dolphins.
At its core, the world of the game is a sprawling
underwater dungeon. Human civilization has been
lost and just about forgotten in the annals of time,
with now-ancient ruins dotting the barren landscape
above ground; the Earths waters have become
pristine due to the lack of human activity.
Under the docile surface, however, lies a maze
of caverns, mysterious artifacts, and glory.
The mysteries of the oceans are waiting to be
discovered by you and your friends!

The Game World & the Campaign

The game requires a Dolphin Master (DM) to thoughtfully create a world and corresponding adventure for
the Player Characters (PCs) to tackle and explore.
The game lends itself to one-shots to suit a single night
of play; however, the rules are certainly conducive to
creating a campaign lasting weeks or monthsits all
what you make of it.
The first step for the DM is to create the game world,
which ideally consists of several maps containing
interesting challenges for the PCs to take on. These
challenges should eventually lead the PCs to find
out exactly what their specific world entails as they
grow more powerful through experience. What types
of adventures will your dolphins undertake? Your game
can be as realistic or as silly as you want; after all,
youll be the one playing!

Character Creation
Characters have six attributes: strength, dexterity, intelligence, perception, constitution,
and charisma. Roll 1D8 six times, recording your scores as per the aforementioned
order. A score of 1 is automatically rounded up to a score of 2. Most situations (aside
from combat scenarios) call for ability rolls. To pass a given test, roll 1D8 and get a
number equal to or under the attribute being tested. Example: If Ekko wants to push
a rock out of his way and he has a strength of 4, he must roll a 4 or under on a D8 to
succeed. Using his or her judgment, the DM will sometimes add or subtract a modifier
to your stat to reflect the situation at hand. A roll of 1 is considered a critical success,
while an 8 is a critical failure. The DM has the ultimate say on the scope of a critical
success or failure. Now, lets move on to the attributes themselves.

Example: If Ekko wants to push a rock out of his way and he has a
strength of 4, he must roll a 4 or under on a D8 to succeed. Using his
or her judgment, the DM will sometimes add or subtract a modifier to
your stat to reflect the situation at hand.

A roll of 1 is considered a critical success, while an 8 is a critical failure. The DM has

the ultimate say on the scope of a critical success or failure. Now, lets move on to the
attributes themselves.

Strength is pretty self-explanatory. It speaks to a dolphins raw ability to throw its

weight around, move boulders, and do anything else that requires raw power.
A strength score of 7 or above indicates that the dolphin in question has
extraordinary strength; he is assumed to automatically pass most
basic strength ability rolls.

Dexterity refers to a dolphins reflexes, ranged attack ability, and overall speed.
You roll your dexterity when, for instance, a boulder is speeding towards you
and you need to get out of the way. A dexterity score of 7 or higher gives
one automatic success on either defense dice or ranged attack dice,
but not both more on this later.

Intelligence refers to the mental capacity of your dolphin. The DM will have you roll
intelligence when your dolphin is faced with something like comprehending a complex
idea, or when figuring out the function of an artifact. A dolphin with an intelligence
score of 7 or above indicates that they do not need to roll to figure out the function of
an artifact, while a score of 3 or below means the dolphin will not be able to use any
artifacts (unless they start the game with one, in which case they will be allowed to use
itmore on that later.)

Perception refers to the dolphins overall awareness, as well as its sonar ability.
Sonar allows a dolphin to perceive what is around him, even if he cannot immediately
observe his surroundings. Sonar can be used to look through walls or obstructions.
A perception of 7 or above indicates that the dolphin has an extraordinary sonar
range, while a score of 3 means his sonar range is particularly limited. The actual
ranges are to be determined by the DM.

Constitution represents your dolphins overall well-being and resistance. For instance,
if your dolphin happens to be poisoned by a spider, roll your constitution to see if the
poison takes effect. Constitution also counts towards defense dice, breath boxes, and
health boxes but more on this later. A constitution of 7 or more provides
one extra health box or one extra breath box, but not both.

Charisma represents your dolphins social skills in relation to other intelligent animals.
Want to convince a whale to help scare the squid blocking your path? Roll charisma.
A charisma score of 7 or above indicates that the dolphin may have two followers
as opposed to just one. A score of 3 or below means the dolphin may not have
any followers.

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Secondary Attributes derive from your main attributes. These

include Melee Attack Dice, Ranged Attack Dice, Defense Dice,
Health Boxes, and Breath Boxes. All of these stats are taken
from your main attributes, +/- the appropriate modifiers
(e.g. artifacts, weapons, armor, high ability.)

Melee Attack Dice: Strength (+ or - weapon mods)

Ranged Attack Dice: Dexterity (+ or - weapons mods)
Defense Dice: Constitution (+ or - dexterity mods, armor)
Health Boxes: Constitution (+ or - mods)
Breath Boxes: Constitution (+ or - mods)

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Races
There are only three races of dolphins in the game, but dont let that stop you from
creating morejust try to keep balance in mind. Each type possesses its own specific
in-game advantage. The three types of dolphins (and their respective bonuses) are:

Bottlenose Starts with an extra feat.

Atlantic Spotted Starts with DM-approved artifact.
False Killer Whale Gets one automatic success in melee combat.

Feats
All level 1 characters receive a first tier feat (except bottlenose dolphins,
which receive two feats.) A new and higher tier feat is earned every other
levelat level 1, then level 3, then level 5, and so on. When gaining feats,
the player can either choose which one he wants, or he may roll 2D8 to
randomize the process; its up to the player in question. If you choose to
randomize the process, make sure to keep feat requirements in mind;
for example, you cannot gain Improved Defense II without first getting
Improved Defense I. Once a character has received a feat from each tier,
he returns to Tier I and repeats the cycle again when gaining any
subsequent feats.

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Tier I Feats Level 1

Tier III Feats Level 5

2) Toughness i.

2) Toughness iii.

4) Improved Melee i.

4) Improved Melee iii.

3) Extra Breath i.

5) Improved Defense i.
6) Improved Ranged i.
7) Slippery i.

8) Improved Charge i.
9) Bubble Shot

10) Improved Lung Capacity i.

11) Scary Look
12) Well-liked

13) Poison Gland

14) Strong Swimmer i.

15) Ocean Ally

16) Starting Follower

Tier II Feats Level 3

2) Toughness ii.

3) Extra Breath ii.

4) Improved Melee ii.

5) Improved Defense ii.

6) Improved Ranged ii.
7) Slippery ii.

8) Improved Charge ii.

9) Sonic Attack

10) Improved Lung Capacity ii.

11) Scary Scream

12) Mysterious Helper

13) Double Attack

14) Strong Swimmer ii.

15) Mental Perseverance

16) +10% XP earned

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3) Extra Breath iii.

5) Improved Defense iii.

6) Improved Ranged iii.
7) Slippery iii.

8) Improved Charge iii.

9) Sleep Song

10) Improved Lung Capacity iii.

11) Berserk

12) Ultra Sonar

13) Extra Follower

14) Strong Swimmer iii.

15) Melee Mastery

16) Defense Mastery

Feat Descriptions
+10% XP Earned Receive an extra 10% on earned XP.
Berserk Get 2 automatic combat successes for 1D8 combat turns.
Bubble Shot Make a ranged attack with bubbles; uses 1 breath box.
Defense Mastery One automatic success when rolling for defense.
Double Attack Make 2 attack rolls.
Extra Breath (i., ii., iii.) Each rank gives a single breath box.*
Extra Follower Have one more follower than your max allows.
Improved Charge (i., ii., iii.) Each rank adds an extra D8 to charging attacks per rank.*
Improved Defense (i., ii., iii.) Each rank adds an extra D8 to defense dice per rank.*
Improved Lung Capacity (i., ii., iii.) Each rank adds an extra turn before breath depletes.*
Improved Melee (i., ii., iii.) Each rank adds an additional D8 to melee attacks.*
Improved Range (i., ii., iii.) Each rank adds an additional D8 to ranged attacks.*
Melee Mastery One automatic success in melee combat.
Mental Perseverance Allows for failed Intelligence re-roll when trying to work out artifacts.
Mysterious Helper When in mortal danger, a helper will come and try to save you.
Ocean Ally You may start with a powerful ally located somewhere in the ocean.
Poison Gland Make one poison melee attack per day; poison requires a Con roll, or risks
death.
Scary Look Allows you to roll under Charisma to try to stun 1 enemy for 1 turn.
Scary Scream Allows you to roll under Charisma to try to stun 1D8 enemies for 1 turn.
Sleep Song Automatically puts 1D8 enemies to sleep for 1D8 turns once a day.
Slippery (i., ii., iii.) Each rank adds a +1 modifier to dexterity for purposes of
determining combat order.*
Sonic Attack Dexterity-based attack that hits whatever enemies are in the PCs sonar range;
costs 1 breath box.
Starting Follower Allows a PC to start the game with a follower.
Strong Swimmer (i., ii., iii.) Each rank adds 2 to a dolphins speed.*
Toughness (i., ii., iii.) Each rank adds one box to health.*
Ultra Sonar Allows the PC to roll under Perception to see the entire level map.
Well-liked Adds a +1 modifier to Charisma ability rolls.

* For these feats, you must attain the ranks in chronological order; that is, you cannot gain Extra Breath II
without first gaining Extra Breath I, and so on.

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Sample Dolphin:
Name: Phinneus Fin Grey
Race: False Killer Whale
Feats: Extra Breath i.
Health: II
Breath: III
STRENGTH: 8 (+1 melee success due to race)
DEXTERITY: 7 (+1 defense success due to ability)
INTELLIGENCE: 8 (smart due to ability)
PERCEPTION: 7 (improved sonar)
CONSTITUTION: 2
CHARISMA: 3 (no followers)
Melee Attack Dice: 8 (+2 successes)
Ranged Attack Dice: 8
Defense Dice: 2 (+1 success)
Items: None
XP: 0

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Combat & Contests

Whenever you enter into combat with another NPC or PC, you make rolls
based on your secondary attributes. The characters must first begin by
comparing their dexterity stats; the creature with the higher dex goes first.
After that, the fight begins! In most cases, you will roll a number of D8 equal
to your Melee Attack Dice, Defense Dice or Ranged Attack Dice, including
with any additional dice for artifacts, and compare successes. A success is
considered a 6 or above. Excess successes on offense take boxes away
from the defenders health.
Example: Ekko encounters a Jellyfish. Ekko has a dex of 6,
while the Jellyfish has a dex of 5, so Ekko is going first. Ekko
decides to bite the Jellyfish, and so he rolls as many D8s as
his Melee Attack Dice - lets say its 5 while the Jellyfish
rolls its Defense Dice lets say 2. Ekko gets 2 successes
while the Jellyfish only gets 1 success. The Jellyfish only has
one health box, so Ekko slays the Jellyfish!
Thats how combat works! Pretty simple, right? The aforementioned system
also applies to contests between characters. Want to snatch up an artifact
before your buddy does? Roll dexterity versus dexterity for successes.
Ties go to the defender. Some artifacts or attributes will allow for an
automatic success (or successes) in these situations.
Special Melee Attack: Dolphins can charge at enemies, granting them
an extra D8 to their melee attack dice. If the attack fails, the dolphin
misses and slams into the nearest wall or obstruction for 1 box of damage.

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Health, Breath, Recovery & Movement

Health Boxes: Health boxes are Xed out for injuries sustained in combat, failed ability rolls, and for a number of other reasons. If your health
boxes go down to zero or below, your dolphin has effectively died.
Breath Boxes: Breath boxes deplete in a number of ways. Some
abilities use up breath boxes, for instance. As time passes underwater,
the DM is to make a breath check, privately, to determine if the players
are losing breath. The DM rolls a D8; on a 1 or a 2, the players each
lose a breath box. If the players succeed the first breath check, the
next time the DM rolls a breath check, he rolls 2D8, once again looking
for 1s and 2s. Each 1 or 2 Xs out a breath box on the PCs character
sheet. The DMs accumulated breath dice are reset to 1D8 whenever
the players find air. Its up to the DMs discretion to determine how
frequently he rolls such checks. If a characters breath reaches zero
or below, the dolphin has drowned.
Recovery: Both health and breath boxes can be recovered in play.
Health boxes can be recovered in a number of ways, such as eating
small fish and certain vegetation (be careful: some are poisonous!)
Sonaring certain things, such as clams, can make the clam send up
food (or sometimes poison). Breath is always recovered to its max
whenever you find air. Sometimes air bubbles found underwater can
replenish breath boxes. Certain artifacts also recover health and breath.
Movement: In general, movement should be fluid and determined
by the DM. However, if you are using miniatures, movement is
determined based on the dolphins dexterity in inches. So, a dolphin
with a dexterity of 4 would be allowed to move 4 inches per turn.
You can also dash at up to double your dexterity, but you must roll
under your dexterity for every turn in which you use this technique,
lest you risk crashing into an obstruction.

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Experience
When you defeat monsters, figure out traps, decode the functions of
artifacts, accomplish something awesome, or do anything noteworthy,
you earn experience. When you earn enough experience, you level
up and get an ability bonus. Usually monsters are worth 100 experience points per box of health they have, keeping in mind special
powers and plot importance. Otherwise, these values exist to provide
mere suggestions; I cap the levels at 5 in my own games. Feel free to
create your own measurements of experience. For our purposes, the
values go up exponentially, multiplying every value by two with each
subsequent level.
Levels
1) 0
2) 1500
3) 3000
4) 6000
5) 12000
6) 24000
7) 48000
8) 96000
9) 192000
10) 384000
etc
Level Bonuses: Roll 2D8 every other time you level upstarting with
level 2, then 4, then 6, and so onand consult the chart. (Attributes
only go up to 8; re-roll if a conflict occurs.)
2-3: Raise STR by 1
4-5: Raise DEX by 1
6-7: Raise INT by 1
8-9: Raise PER by 1
10-11: Raise CON by 1
12-13: Raise CHA by 1
14-15: Choose a bonus
16: Roll 2 bonuses

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Artifacts
Artifacts are treasures left behind by both human and dolphinkind. Most dolphins can
only hold onto the artifacts that he or she is wearing or using, considering that they
have no hands. Thats not to say, however, that PCs couldnt stumble onto a backpack
artifact or something similar, allowing them to carry more items. Artifacts provide a
variety of bonuses, such as additional dice, automatic successes on certain rolls,
healing wounds, extra breath, modified ability rolls, and pretty much anything your
heart desires. The following are, again, mere suggestions. Feel free to add your own!
Quick D8 Artifact Chart
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

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Air Tank Holds 10 extra boxes of breath.

Gilded Fin Warmers Add 1D8 to Defense Dice.
Derby Hat & Pipe Gives a +1 modifier to Perception ability roll.
Broad Sword Adds 2D8 to Melee Attack Dice.
Rusty Harpoon Gun Adds 2D8 to Ranged Attack Dice.
Dolphin Rucksack Holds up to 3 artifacts.
Dolphin Leather Jacket Adds 2D8 to Defense Dice.
Dolphin Crown Adds 1D8 and 1 automatic success to Ranged Attack Dice.

Sea Life & Monsters

DMs are encouraged to make up their
own sea creatures, monsters, aliens,
and whatever else they want. If you like,
you can ignore most of the mechanics
and come up with your own numbers.
Its okay if a monster has one health box
and 2 Defense Dice. Really, do feel free
to adjust stats as you see fit.

Giant Octopus

M.A.D: 7 (+1 automatic combat success)

R.A.D: 4 (ink spray; if successful, forces a constitution roll against blindness)
D.D: 6
Health: 6
Dexterity: 4
Exp: 675

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Jellyfish

Manta Ray

Shark

Giant Grouper

M.A.D: 2 (if attack is successful, roll constitution to determine if poisoned)

R.A.D.: N/A
D.D.: 2
Health: 1
Dexterity: 3
Exp: 100

M.A.D: 5 (+2 automatic combat successes)

R.A.D.: N/A
D.D.: 4
Health: 4
Dexterity: 6
Exp: 500

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M.A.D: 6
R.A.D.: N/A
D.D.: 5
Health: 4
Dexterity: 5
Exp: 400

M.A.D: 3 (+2 automatic successes)

R.A.D.: N/A
D.D.: 3
Health: 3
Dexterity: 4
Exp: 350

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Giant Crab

M.A.D: 3 (+1 automatic combat success)

R.A.D.: N/A
D.D.: 6 (+1 automatic success)
Health: 4
Dexterity: 3
Exp: 450

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Contributing Artists
Cover Jordan Bernier,

Page 30

Wonder Koch

Title Page

Charles Loving

Page 31-32

Elizabeth Stevens

Page 1

Joy Drury Cox

Page 33 Gretzky

Page 3-4

Caitlin Cunningham

Page 34

Robert Bjurshagen

Page 5

Sean McCarthy

Page 36

Kayo Nakamura

Page 7-8

Kayo Nakamura

Page 37-38 Alejandra Alarcn

Page 9-10

Kayo Nakamura

Page 39

Charles Loving

Page 11-12

Ellen Grossman

Page 40

Alba Castao Menndez

Page 13-14

Dame Darcy

Page 41

YaYa Chou

Page 15-16

Caitlin Cunningham

Page 42

Leslie Winchester

Page 44

YaYa Chou

Page 17 Gretzky
Page 18

Jordan Bernier

Page 19-20

Christine Nguyen

Page 21

Kayo Nakamura

Page 22

Jordan Bernier

Page 23-24

Elizabeth Stevens

Page 26 Tarn Adams

Page 27

Casey Jex Smith

And a special thanks to Ezra Claveria, [FINISH THANK YOUS]

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Afterword
I hope you enjoyed Everything is Dolphins. This is the first book in a forthcoming series,
The Hutchingsonian Presents, texts that occupy the Bermuda Triangle between game
history, game play, and high art.
The Hutchingsonian Institution has grown out of a project I manage, the Play Generated
Map and Document Archive. PlaGMaDA collects and preserves gaming ephemera created
for or during actual game play. Used character sheets, game maps, notes and scribbles:
any mark made on paper is fair game. The conceit of the archive is that game ephemera
are a sort of folk art, and have a value both aesthetic and academic. Such items usually
wind up in trash bins, but PlaGMaDA aims to interrupt that process and preserve these
items for the future.
The Cranbrook Academy of Art, The Foundation for Art and Creative Technology in
Liverpool, and the Nikolaj Kunsthall in Copenhagen are just a few of the institutions that
have organized exhibitions of materials from the PlaGMaDA archive.
PlaGMaDA depends on donations of ephemera from people like you, and people like your
old gaming buddies who dont play anymore. Rather than throw something away, donate it
to the collection. Email collections@plagmada.org to set the process in motion.
PlaGMaDA brought me into contact with Ray Weiss, the author of Everything is Dolphins.
He donated a notebook containing a mishmash of stuff: dungeon maps, Gamma World
monsters, notes from a political science class, and a hilarious game which you now
hold in your hands.
Everything is Dolphins occupies a curious place. While it is clearly the work of someone
new to the design of role-playing games, it also displays the some of the sophisticated
sensibilites one would expect from an old hand. Rather than the excess of complexity
that clutters most freshman efforts, Everything is Dolphins offers concision and simplicity.
The author gives few examples to illustrate how to use the system and no sample
adventure, leaving much to the players imagination (and effort). With its bare bones,
lacunae, and undeniable beauty, Everything is Dolphins is the role-playing game analogue
of outsider art.
The visual artists whose images appear in this book range from gallery regulars who show
in Chelsea to people who arent merely self-taught, but who are still teaching themselves
as we watch. There are high and low artists, but no established illustrators, and all have
been shanghaied into drawing dolphins.
Ray Weiss wrote a serious role-playing game where you play a dolphin in a world without
humans. Despite the unorthodox premise, I feel no irony in his game; I feel excitement
and the enthusiasm of discovery. My hope is that this illustrated, curated version
of the game measures up to the original version in the Appendix.
It is hard to compete with penciled drawings in a notebook.
Tim Hutchings
Hutchingsonian Institution