Designed by

Adam “Doc” Brackin and Chris Krueger

for the podcast

Role With It
from the crew at

Backward-Compatible.com

The Role With It System (v1.0) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The podcasts Role With It and Backward Compatible are trademarks of Backward-Compatible.com. All rights reserved.
Permission is granted to reproduce this document for personal use.
 THE ROLE WITH IT SYSTEM
Introduction
The Role With It System (RWIS) is a diceless, narrative-
driven tabletop roleplaying game for two to five
players, including a game master. The rules are
lightweight and designed to enable fast-paced,
improvised, episodic storytelling. Players determine
the outcomes of scenes using notecards they
create, strengthen, and possibly destroy throughout
the game. Each card represents an aspect of their
character and influences how they develop over
time.
We have a few tags we like to use to describe what
sort of system this is:
• Collaborative: Though the GM will put obstacles
in the protagonists’ way to help generate conflict,
their job is neither to “beat” the players nor to
carry them through a meticulously pre-planned
scenario. Instead, the objective is for the GM and
the players to work together to tell an entertaining
story, which will call for improvisation and creative
contributions from everyone at the table.
• Cinematic: This isn’t what we’d call a “crunchy”
game. The rules are streamlined and geared
to facilitate storytelling — to keep the narrative
moving forward. Your character is defined
more by you, the player, than a list of skills and
attributes, and the system is more concerned
with the outcomes of scenes than of individual
actions. Within each scene, you’re free to play your
character however you wish and convey the action
with exactly the amount of detail and flair you
desire (or don’t).
• Diceless: The outcomes of scenes are not
determined by dice rolls but, instead, by the
strategic use of notecards that represent your
character’s influence on the story. Incidentally,
these notecards double as the closest thing this
system has to a character sheet.
• Generic: This game has no built-in or prescribed
setting. It can be used to tell any kind of story,
with any tone, and in any genre. You may import
a setting you already know or create one on your
own. It’s up to you.
What’s with the name?
We originally designed this game for our audio-
drama and actual-play podcast Role With It at
Backward-Compatible.com, in which our cast uses
1
RPGs as a framework for improvised storytelling. We
feature a number of excellent RPGs on our show,
and each is compelling in its own way. However, we
also wanted a proprietary option, designed with our
play styles and the show’s episodic format in mind,
that would draw out more of what we like to hear in
Role With It — in-character dialogue and descriptions
of action — and less of what we tend to trim down
in post-production: talk of numbers, dice, and rules.
This game helps us do that, and it’s proven to be
a fun and flexible system to use in our personal
campaigns too.
In a lot of ways, this game plays out like an episodic
TV show, radio drama, comic book, or similar story
format. At its best, it facilitates compelling conflicts
that engage multifaceted, dynamic characters. Of
course, the protagonists in any of our favorite stories
will find things don’t always go according to plan, and
the ups and downs of all memorable narrative types
are hardwired into Role With It.
When their characters are inevitably met with
hardships and failures, players are encouraged
to — well, "roll with it" — to embrace them as
opportunities to make their characters and the
narrative more interesting. Role With It isn’t about
gaming the system; it’s about coming together to
tell a great story. And, if you’re anything like us, you’ll
have a lot of fun doing it. We hope you enjoy.
If you made this system for your show,
does that mean I can’t use it on mine?
By no means! In fact, we’d be flattered if you did.
We designed this game to help make it easy and
fun for us to tell improvised stories, and we wanted
to share it because we thought fellow roleplayers
like you might like it for the same reasons we do.
At one point, we even considered changing the
name just to be sure no one would worry about
that, but we kept it because, ultimately, it began
and ended as the game we made for our show.
So, just as we feature other games we enjoy on
Role With It, you’re more than welcome to play
and even hack our game for your own campaigns,
whether you plan to feature them on your podcast
or stream or just enjoy them privately with friends.
And, if you feel like sharing, we’d love to hear about
what you do with the game, so let us know!
 THE ROLE WITH IT SYSTEM
About This Book
This game doesn’t have a ton of rules. However,
.
because the rules are somewhat loose and open-
ended, there are some nuances that may take some
getting used to when you first start playing.
That’s why, for most of this book, we’ll list the rules
.
in their simplest form in the left-hand column.
On the right, we’ll share things that may help you
understand the game better, but aren’t rules per se.
You’ll also find occasional sidebars in gray boxes.
These are usually examples of play or other extras.
On the next page, you'll find a quick run-through
of the game's cycle of play. Don't worry if there are
some terms you don't understand yet; it's mainly
there to let you get a sense of the big picture before
we go into more detail. You can also refer to it when
you need a quick reminder of how things work
during play.
Learn to play on the go!
If, like us, you sometimes
find yourself too busy
to sit down and read
through a whole rulebook,
you might enjoy learning about The
Role With It System by listening to The Doc & Krueger
Cast, the official podcast of Doc & Krueger Games,
hosted by the designers.
Our first season is all about The Role With It System.
In the “audio rulebook,” available in full with the
game’s launch, we cover:
• The complete rules of play
• Character creation best practices
• Advice for setting and playing scenes
• Strategies for playing “the card game”
• Tips for storytelling and character development
In the episodes to follow, we’ll discuss games that
influenced RWIS and wax philosophical about
designing and playing tabletop RPGs in general.
We hope you’ll join us!
Available on iTunes, SoundCloud, and at
docandkrueger.com.
2
For example, when you play a scene, there are only
so many hard-and-fast rules about what you’re
required to do and when. And, as with all tabletop
RPGs, even those rules can be bent.
Beyond that, though, there are many different ways
you might choose to approach scenes. We’ll suggest
a few that have worked well for us, but the one you
decide to use might vary from game to game, or
even from scene to scene, based on the group you’re
playing with, the story you’re telling, and the specific
circumstances of the moment.
You might even find a totally different solution that
we don’t mention at all. When that happens, we
encourage you to use it. We think one of the greatest
things about RPGs is their flexibility, so please don’t
let our rules get in the way of your story or your fun.
Rather than bogging down the rules with extra
commentary, examples, and alternative approaches,
we thought we’d use this design to make it easier for
you to just find the next step in the process when
referring to this rulebook during play.
New to roleplaying games?
We do our best in this book to help newcomers
understand how tabletop RPGs work (or at least
this game), but some of what we talk about
assumes at least some background knowledge
on the part of the reader. Please don't let any
technical-sounding jargon deter you! Roleplaying
can be an incredibly fun and rewarding hobby,
and we're excited to welcome you into the fold.
While the best way to learn, always, is to find
a game and start playing, there are many well-
produced and entertaining examples of play that
can give you a sense of what it's like, and some
even include primers on the basics of roleplaying.
Here are just a few of the shows we could
recommend to introduce you:
• One Shot by James D'Amato: an often-comedic
podcast featuring self-contained adventures
run in a variety of systems.
• Titansgrave by Geek & Sundry: a science-fantasy
series run in the Fantasy AGE system.
• Critical Role by Geek & Sundry: an ongoing,
weekly Dungeons & Dragons livestream.
 THE ROLE WITH IT SYSTEM
the cycle of play
An RWIS campaign (or "series," if you prefer) consists
.
of one or more seasons.
A season consists of 12 episodes.
..
An episode consists of five scenes.
...
A scene plays out in this sequence:
• The GM sets the stage.
• One PC opens the scene by playing a card face-up
and announcing their intention or question.
• The GM sets the obstacle by playing one or two
cards. The first must be played face-down. The
second is optional but must be played face-up.
• PCs describe their characters’ actions and speak
in character to play out the scene narratively. They
may also choose to make certain optional moves:
• PCs who did not open the scene may play a
card face-up to enter and announce their
angle: to assist or hinder the opening PC.
• Whenever a PC enters, the GM may optionally
answer each new card with one from their
hand, face-up, to increase the obstacle.
• The PC who opened may play a card face-up
to self-assist. The GM may not answer this
card. At the end of the scene, the lower-value
card returns to the opening player’s hand and
does not increase its star value. This is the one
exception to the usual rules.
• The GM moves to close the scene. This is the last
call for PCs to enter or self-assist.
• The GM mechanically closes the scene. Before
calculating the result, they may choose to reveal
their face-down card or return it to their hand.
• With the final obstacle determined, the PCs have
one last opportunity to use abandonments or
epiphanies to alter the outcome.
• Narrate the final outcome of the scene based on
the mechanical outcome. This will generally be a
brief statement of what happens, perhaps with
a short exchange between characters, before
moving on to the next scene.
The GM and PCs perform all appropriate
"housekeeping" tasks between scenes and between
episodes, then proceed to the next scene or episode.
Many campaigns need only one season to tell their
.
stories, but if you find you want to explore your story
further or revisit it after a hiatus, you may play a new
season to do so.
While it sometimes makes sense to imply time gaps
between episodes (or even scenes) within a given
season, it's often even more natural to have some
time pass between seasons, so feel free. You might
take advantage of this to approach your characters
or the story differently than you did before. Also,
there’s no rule saying you can’t change your cast of
characters between seasons, so feel free to work
with the GM to introduce new characters or entirely
new parties.
.. You may make each of your seasons longer or
shorter to suit your story, but we’ve found it’s almost
always best to decide on a number of episodes
ahead of time so the group can build to a satisfactory
conclusion by the end. We like using 12 episodes
because it mirrors a format some TV series follow
and because it allows the PCs time to develop
without becoming too overpowered.
Though elements of the narrative will carry over
between seasons, the transition also allows for
something of a mechanical reset. This serves not
only to keep things balanced but also to sharpen the
focus of each PC’s development and allow room for
new, fresh growth.
It's likely you'll play multiple episodes in a row during
...
any given night of gaming. A typical "session" could
be a half or maybe even a whole season!
The number of episodes in a season and seasons
in a series can be adjusted to your liking, but the
number of scenes per episode should remain at five.
It's important to the game’s flow and balance.
An episode will ideally contain a complete narrative,
even if it's short and simple. You might think of each
episode of play like an episode of a TV show. Be
aware of which scene you’re on and work together to
reach some sort of resolution (or cliffhanger) by the
end of the final scene.
Of course, some conflicts (or “story arcs”) may take
more than one episode to work through, so while
you’ll always want to conclude an episode in a
satisfying or compelling way, you can also tack on a
“to be continued” when needed.
3
 THE ROLE WITH IT SYSTEM
Setup
To play, you will need plenty of notecards and
.
.
something to write with.
A game master (GM) is always required. They will
facilitate the game, make sure the rules are enforced
as needed (or allow for exceptions), and convey
what’s going on in the game world; this includes
playing as most or all non-player characters (NPCs).
You will also need three to four players, each of
..
whom will play as a player character (PC).
Note: For the purposes of these rules, the GM is
not considered a player. The phrase "any player,"
therefore, means any player who is not the GM.
Decide as a group what sort of story you want to
tell, including the setting, tone, genre, and whether
anyone has any elements or themes in particular
they do or do not wish to be present in your game.
The GM will take three notecards. Making sure to
leave one side completely blank, write “GM” on all
of them, plus the numeral zero (0) on one, one star
..
(★) on one, and two stars (★★) on one. These three
cards are unchanging and will be the GM’s starting
hand at the beginning of every episode.
GM GM GM
0 ★ ★★
GM cards do not represent a character and, unlike
PC cards, will never have a motif written on them.
4
We recommend using 3” × 5” notecards with one or
both sides unruled, but you could use anything that
has a fairly uniform appearance from card to card.
The important thing is to be able to flip all the cards
and not tell between them. In a pinch, though, you
could grab whatever printer or notebook paper is on
hand, fold it up, and tear it into roughly same-sized
pieces. The show must go on!
Ideally, whatever you’re writing with will be bold
enough for everyone at the table to read it at a
glance without it bleeding through the notecard.
Again, you'll want to avoid giving away what’s on the
card when it’s flipped. If the cards have only one side
that is ruled, choose a side you won’t write on for
consistency's sake.
On most notecards, just about any bold marker
should be fine as long as you don’t write too heavily.
You might also consider using highlighters. On
thinner or more translucent paper, it may be best to
make due with pencils or other light writing tools.
You could play with more than four PCs, but the
game might feel overcrowded. The rules are
designed to make sure that, most of the time,
everyone will get at least one spotlight scene per
episode. With more than four players, that might not
always happen, so you’ll want to be mindful of that
and be sure to share screen time.
There are special rules when playing with only one or
two PCs:
• Each episode will consist of three scenes instead
of the usual five.
• If there is only one PC, the player will have 10 stars
to work with during character creation. They still
have a minimum hand size of three cards and a
maximum hand size of six.
 THE ROLE WITH IT SYSTEM

Examples of play
The Chronoptimizers
We decided to debut The Role With It System in our
fourth season of Role With It. Because the system
is setting agnostic, we thought it would be fun to
showcase its versatility: how it can be used to play
just about any type of story with just about any
characters.
So, we asked our GM, Will Parsons, to come up
with a scenario in which our players could play
a character from any genre of their choosing.
The result was the inter-
dimensional, time-hopping
adventure we would later
title The Chronoptimizers.
couldn't dig up every scenario we wanted to cover
in this book. We also took a few liberties with the
rules when we played, just like we say you should.
(Hey, we practice what we preach!) As a result,
some of our examples are partially fictionalized.
Others are 100% real. You can try to figure out
which are which if you feel so inclined.
The takeaway is this: you can absolutely rely
on this book to give you mechanically correct
examples of play. Just bear in mind that there may
be discrepancies between the book and the Role
With It series. Trying to reconcile the two might
get confusing, so go with the book if ever you're in
doubt.

Ahead of the game, we players knew

it would be some sort of crossover story
that would probably involve time travel. It is
Will, after all. But beyond that, all we had coming
in were our character concepts. And while
Will had a rough outline
in mind, most of the
story was improvised.
With that in mind, especially,
we felt it was a great debut for the
system. And, more importantly, it was
a blast for us to play.

For the same reasons we

thought The Chronoptimizers would make for
a good debut series, we thought it would be good
source material for the examples of play we've
included throughout this book. We also liked
that it let us use real examples from actual
play.

Some Grains of Salt

While these examples are intended to help

you understand the game better, please
remember that they are in no way meant to be
prescriptive. Yes, they'll tell you a bit about how we
play, but we'll be the first to admit our personal
play styles won't be to everyone's tastes. Our way
isn't The Right Way, and neither is anyone else's.
Yours is. We want these examples to inspire you
— no more and no less.

Also worth noting: The Chronoptimizers was entirely

improvised and only five episodes long, so we

5

character creation
After deciding what sort of character they want to
.
play, each player will spend stars to generate the
notecards that will help define their character.
Each player has six stars to work with. They must
spend them all before the game begins. A star may
be spent in one of two ways:
• Create a new card
• Add ★ to an existing card
New PC cards always start with a star value of zero,
denoted simply by the absence of stars. Do not write
"0" on a PC card.
On each new card, the player will write a motif.
..
The player will also write their character's name in
the corner of each new card. As the GM did, players
should be sure to write on only one side of any card.
Each player is required to start the game with at least
...
three cards. They may not have more than six.
The maximum star value for a card is ★★★.
Each player may only have one ★★★ card in the
game (in their hand, in the GM's hand, or discarded)
at a time. The maximum value for the rest of that
player's cards is ★★ until the ★★★ card is destroyed
(torn up and removed from the game permanently)
by an epiphany or an abandonment.
me me
Character Na Character Na
Motif Motif
★★
Example 1: A starting hand with the minimum-required three
cards. The three remaining stars are distributed across them.
Character Name Character Name Character Name
Motif Motif
★
Example 2: A starting hand with five cards. The one remaining
star is added to one of them.
THE ROLE WITH IT SYSTEM
If you're familiar with RPGs, you might have an
.
approach to character creation that's at least
somewhat affected by what skills or traits you
can afford and how you imagine your PC will play
mechanically. That's not a bad thing — we do it
ourselves — but, for this game, we encourage you to
think of your PC first and foremost as a character in a
story, not a game. Don't feel constrained by anything
other than your creativity. Just work with the GM to
make sure your character makes sense (or can be
made to make sense) within your setting.
If you're not sure who you want to play, see who your
group's playing, then fill in whatever gap you find
interesting. You might also bounce ideas off your GM,
see what gets both of you excited, and go with that.
A motif is a word or phrase that reflects your
..
character's background, their personality, a skill, a
goal, a relationship (PC or NPC), an important or
signature item, a saying, a belief, or anything else you
want to highlight in their story. You could even write
down a theme or idea you want to explore.
As the name suggests, motifs will naturally become
recurring elements in your story. They'll play into
most or all scenes in which your character appears,
but they don't need to be on the nose — in fact,
subtlety will probably be more fun and interesting in
most cases.
If a motif is something tangible, feel free to interpret
it in a different light each time it appears. If it's a
me
Character Na theme or idea, find different ways to communicate
Motif it or explore different perspectives around it. Get
★ creative!
For example, the motif "Sailor" could call on skills or
knowledge from the PC's sailing background in one
scene and then, in another, explore what sailing and
the sea mean to them. Later, you might contrast that
Character Name Character Name
outlook against those of other PCs or NPCs.
Motif Motif Motif
Having more cards with lower star values will give
...
your character a lot of screen time early in the game,
but you'll likely "lose" many of those scenes. That can
be narratively interesting, but if this is your first time
playing, we recommend starting with just three cards
and distributing your remaining stars across those.
6
 THE ROLE WITH IT SYSTEM
Character Creation:
EXamples
A Warrior from the Future
Jim is creating an action hero inspired by the pop
culture of the 1980s. Knowing this will be a cross-
genre adventure with a mixed cast, he decides to
lean heavily into the tropes of his source material
and play up the camp.
He spends three of his six available stars to
establish his starting hand of three cards. His
motifs (which you'll notice are all song titles from
the 80s) are "Bad," representing the way he wants
to play his character's attitude; "Take On Me" to
introduce a bit of drama; and "Pac-Man Fever"
since his character is a competitive gamer who
happens to own a light cycle reminiscent of a
certain other arcade game.
Jim could use his three remaining stars to
purchase more cards but instead chooses to
distribute them evenly across his existing cards.
Finally, he decides to name his character Maxim
Ray and writes that name in the corner of each of
his cards to indicate ownership.
Maxim Ray Maxim Ray Maxim Ray
Bad Take On Me Pac-Man Fever
★ ★ ★
7
The Girl of Your Dreams (Literally)
Sarah is creating an anime-inspired magical
girl character. She spends one star for her
first card, on which she writes "All I want
is faith, love, and happiness." She then
spends two additional stars on it because
it's going to be important to her story.
With three stars left, Sarah spends two of them
to grab two new cards. On one, she writes
the motif "Dream Princess" to represent the
theming of her magical girl persona. On the
other, she writes "Glimmer," the name of her
magical half-bunny, half-lion companion.
With her last remaining star, Sarah decides to
give a ★ boost to "Dream Princess" since she
wants her magical girl motif to have a some teeth
when it comes into play. She names her character
Becky and writes that name on her three cards.
Becky Becky Becky
ith,
All I want is fa ess
Glimmer Dream Princess
love, and happin
★ ★★
 THE ROLE WITH IT SYSTEM
Setting the stage
Roleplaying Is a Conversation
.
On a fundamental level, almost every tabletop RPG
.
(this game included) is a conversation between
the GM and the rest of the players. As a matter
of course, this conversation takes place during all
phases of the game. It can and will be both formal
and informal — structured and unstructured.
The GM describes what's going on in the game world
then asks the players, explicitly or implicitly, "What
do you do?" In response, the players speak as their
characters or describe what their characters are
doing, then the GM describes how the world reacts
to their words or actions, and the cycle repeats.
Depending on each participant's preferences, the
conversation may happen in character (primarily
through first-person dialogue) or out of character
(describing what's happening in the second or third
person) and may sometimes transition seamlessly
between the two modes.
..
The conversation may also veer into topics outside
of the story that may nevertheless affect it, however
directly or indirectly. These topics might include the
rules of the game, what the participants think about
the story, and what they think they should do next.
...
Narration Before and Between Scenes
Before a scene is opened in a formal, mechanical
..
sense, the GM will establish what's going on in the
story so the PCs can react to it, possibly introducing
a conflict, threat, or obstacle that might drive the
PCs to action or keep them from getting what they
want. Again, this may be done in character, out of
character, or both.
As part of this process, the GM may choose to ask
the players questions about the PCs' backgrounds
or what they're doing, thinking, or feeling in the
moment. The GM may also choose to let a player set
the stage, perhaps giving a prompt for direction.
A player may open a scene as soon as the GM feels it
...
is appropriate.
8
Alternatively, an RPG could be described as a
more structured form of improv acting, where the
players are actors and GM is a host, mediator, and
sometimes fellow actor. This metaphor is especially
useful for improvisational, story-focused games like
Role With It.
We would also say the GM could be thought of as a
sort of director. They will often have the clearest idea
of what's going on in the world and where the story
is headed, so it's up to them to keep things cohesive
and drive the narrative forward if things begin to
stall.
While everyone will be contributing their own ideas,
and the PCs' actions should most definitely affect
the trajectory of the story, the GM is always the final
authority if ever there's a call to be made. Listen well,
work together, and find the balance that works best
for your group and the story you want to tell.
If this phase of play is happening between scenes, it
may be difficult to tell where the close of the previous
scene ends and the setup for the next scene begins.
This is normal and totally acceptable. If it helps you
not to think about where to draw that line, don't.
Sometimes the players will wait until the GM finishes
their setup and asks them what they'll do next,
transparently inviting someone to open the scene.
Other times, a player might interrupt (intentionally or
not) to react to something the GM says. When this
happens, the GM is free to react back as though in
the middle of a scene. As a rule, roleplay isn't bound
strictly to the formal confines of scenes. In fact, it's
encouraged whenever and however it feels natural.
If there is still more to set up following this
interaction, the GM may have the players wait a bit
longer before opening the scene. If, however, the
GM is okay with treating a player's interruption as
an organic scene opener (assuming the player is
mechanically eligible to open the upcoming scene by
having the most unplayed cards), they may declare
that they are doing so and let the play proceed from
there.
 THE ROLE WITH IT SYSTEM
Setting the stage:
EXamples
The Opening Sequence
To kick off the first episode, before allowing any
players to mechanically open a scene, Will decides
to introduce the plot hook he devised for the
campaign, which will serve to bring together the
disparate cast of PCs and provide a central conflict
to help drive the narrative forward.
Will describes a quiet, crisp fall night in which
Chris's character, a modern-day college student
named Silas Joyner, makes his way to a weekly
roleplaying game. Both to paint a picture and to
characterize Silas a bit, Will asks how he's getting
there. Chris offers up "a beat-up, late 90s car,"
and Will translates that into the Toyota Celica Silas
is driving to "[what he does with his time] when
[he's] not doing classes or working a part-time
job." Within moments, the audience can begin to
draw inferences about Silas's life situation and the
sort of character he is.
Will goes on to describe how a mysterious vehicle
appears as if from nowhere, flies over Silas, and
causes the world around him to fall away, leaving
him surrounded by a surreal landscape where it's
hard to tell what exists and what doesn't.
Up close, Silas sees the mysterious vehicle
as something vaguely resembling a camping
trailer. From it emerges Doc's character, a young
Leonardo da Vinci. With two of the PCs now
present, Will asks that someone open a scene.
Meeting the Characters
Since Chris won the first scene with an open-
ended intention of learning where Silas and
Leonardo find themselves, Will brings in an NPC to
provide some answers: an old man who lives there
on "the Banks of Time," where "all the flotsam of
the entire void of the universe and the timestream
eventually end up." He also tells the PCs that the
vehicle that brought them there is a time machine,
as they had begun to suspect.
After a brief exchange, Will calls the scene done.
Because he wants to introduce all the player
characters before the end of this episode, he
decides he doesn't need to do any more to set the
stage for the second scene and instead asks that
either Jim or Sarah open it.
9
Trouble's Brewing
When the second scene closes with a win for Jim,
Will asks him to narrate how Maxim almost gets
the time machine working but requests that he
not push the button to start it yet because he has
something planned.
After Jim's narration, Will begins to set the stage
for the third scene, signaling the approach of
some unknown potential threat with "crunching
noises" that are coming from outside.
Knowing that Sarah has the most cards remaining
in her hand and will be required to open the next
scene, Will explains that, from her perspective,
there appears to be "a strange, humanoid
creature standing outside of the giant, silver not-a-
car." Sarah plays a card and opens her scene.
Let's Not Interrupt
During the third scene, a mechanical being calling
himself "the Chronographer" attacks the time
machine. The scene ends in a loss for Sarah, so
while Becky and Maxim Ray team up and manage
repel the attacker, he escapes with an important-
looking device from inside.
The group takes a moment to talk about what just
happened. At one point, Will says he's going to
speak as the old man for a bit but opens the floor
for anyone to open when they're ready — he is
content to let things proceed organically for the
moment. Shortly after that, since Sarah again has
the most cards remaining, she plays one to open
the fourth scene and move the conversation in a
new direction.
The Call to Adventure
It turns out the device The Chronographer stole
was a chronoptimizer, a device that enables time
travel. Without it, the group would be stranded on
The Banks of Time. But, to close scene four (which
Sarah won), the old man leads them to his house
and gives them a piece of a chronoptimizer he no
longer needs.
After toasting to a good journey, the group files
out, but Silas hangs back as Chris opens the fifth
and final scene of the episode.
 THE ROLE WITH IT SYSTEM
OPENING A SCENE
Each scene will be opened by one and only one of
.
.
the players.
A player may never open a scene if any other player
..
currently has more cards in their hand. If two or
more players are tied for the most cards, they may
decide among themselves who should open the
scene.
The opening player must choose one card from their
...
hand and place it face-up on the table. The motif on
that card should in some way tie into the player's
intention for the scene.
If necessary, the GM may speak into the player's
intention, reigning them in if their intention is
impossible given the rules of the world or if they're
veering too far from the greater story or present
situation.
The GM must play one card from their hand face-
down. When the scene closes, this card may either
be returned to the GM's hand or flipped. Flipping it
would add its star value to the cumulative obstacle
..
for the scene.
Note: Regardless of its true star value, while face-
down, a card is always treated as though it has a star
value of zero.
...
At this time, the GM may optionally play one
additional card from their hand face-up, adding
its star value to the obstacle. This card cannot be
withdrawn once played, nor may it be played "for
free" later in the scene (though additional cards may
be played when players enter the scene).
Once the initial obstacle is set, the GM and opening
player will proceed to play out the scene. Additional
players may chime in if their PCs are involved
narratively but may not influence the outcome
mechanically unless they enter the scene.
Note: When adding a PC's card to the obstacle, the
motif does not come into play — only the star value.
However, the card's motif and owner may become
relevant if an abandonment or epiphany is triggered.
10
Though other characters may be involved, every
scene should spotlight the PC belonging to the player
who opens it. At the very least, this should be an
opportunity to "point the camera" at this character
and keep them involved in the story, giving them
some quality screen time. Whenever possible, use it
to develop that character in some way, perhaps in
light of their interactions with other characters, and
let the proverbial "audience" learn more about them.
When a player opens a scene, it is also an
opportunity for them to take some ownership over
the story and move it, at least for the moment, in a
direction they want to see. Often, this will parallel
their character's role in the narrative, but it can also
be a way to work in some of the tonal and thematic
elements the player wants to explore.
The GM, the opening player, and the rest of the
players should collaborate as much as possible to
pursue the idea being introduced and make every
scene awesome.
A good rule of thumb is to go with whoever has the
most compelling idea or the motif that best fits the
situation. If no one can decide, the GM may choose
someone.
Your intention will usually reflect what your character
is trying to accomplish or a narrative question you're
seeking to answer by the end of the scene. It is
often best to have something specific and tangible
— something that can "succeed" or "fail" — to make
the mechanical result of the scene easier to translate
into a narrative outcome.
For example, "I'm trying to open this door" or "Will
my character be able to hold their tongue?" might
work better than something vague and open-ended
like "I'm going to talk to this person" or "What's going
on here?"
However, an open-ended intention is sometimes
the most sensible option, especially when there's no
clear and immediate conflict or obstacle or when the
PC is trying to learn something they can't yet name.
In these cases, the mechanical result of the scene
might indicate, in a broad sense, whether things go
well for the PC or whether things turn for better or
worse at the end of the scene.
 THE ROLE WITH IT SYSTEM
opening a scene:
EXamples
Out of My Element
Doc is playing a time-stranded Leonardo da Vinci
who has had no screen time yet this episode.
Because he now has the most cards in his hand,
it's his turn to open a scene.
Will sets the scene, telling the players they're in
a futuristic arena where they're going to have
to beat the Chronographer in a light-tank battle
game. Chris's character, Silas, is driving, and Leo
is firing the light cannon. Doc plays "O, Draconian
Devil!" (★★) to learn the mechanics of this
potentially deadly, real-life video game, and his
question to be resolved is "How do I beat him?"
knowing that could mean anything from learning
the rules to engaging in an all-out, high-stakes
gamble to resolve the duel in one scene.
From his hand of available cards, Will plays the
required face-down card and chooses to also
play the optional face-up card, which was recently
upgraded when the players lost a previous scene.
So, the current obstacle is the GM's ★★ (plus the
unknown, face-down card) versus Doc's ★★.
At the moment, Doc has met the obstacle but has
not overcome it, so the GM would get to decide
who wins the scene and also has de facto narrative
control in the scene unless something changes.
(See the "Additional Tips" section for more on
mid-scene narrative control.) Plus, since Doc
doesn't know the hidden value of the face-down
card, he expects he might be facing some serious
opposition.
After some fun narrative back-and-forth between
Doc, Chris, and the GM, Leonardo understands
the rules of the game, but nothing changes
mechanically in the scene. When Leo finally fires
his first shot, the GM uses his narrative control to
tell the players that the shot has bounced off the
walls and hit their own tank.
The damage is purely narrative, but Doc will need
more star power on his side to get through this
fight without a humiliating defeat.
11
Asking the Right Question
It's the final scene of an episode. Chris opens with
"Undeclared" (★) — an interesting choice since
it's Silas's character flaw. The party finds itself in a
world of dreams, and Silas is starting to give in to
the voices of nightmares whispering that he will
never amount to anything.
In a certain sense, that Silas is indulging these
thoughts suggests that, at least in this particular
moment, he "wants" to give in to them. But Chris
ultimately wants for Silas to face these feelings
and overcome them. Thus, one could argue that
the character's desires and the player's intention
are at odds.
Chris declares that his intention for the scene is
for Silas to not to give in to despair. Put another
way, the narrative question to be answered in this
scene is, "Will Silas give in to despair?" Winning the
scene will mean no, Silas won't give in, while losing
will mean yes, Silas will give in.
At the same time, Chris knows it's unlikely that he'll
be able to overcome the GM's hand of multiple
high-value cards, meaning that he's purposefully
setting Silas up for a probable failure. Great
drama!
The GM sets the initial obstacle by playing one
card face down and an optional second card face
up. It's Chris's ★ versus the GM's ★★ + [?]. Already
outmatched, it looks at this point as though Silas is
going to give in.
 THE ROLE WITH IT SYSTEM
Entering A SCENE
Any character present in a scene may contribute
.
.
narratively, but if a player wishes to enter a scene
mechanically, they must play one card from their
hand face-up.
Upon entering a scene, the player will state their
..
angle relative to the opening PC's intention:
• Assist: The entering PC will directly or indirectly
help the opening PC succeed in their intention,
adding their card's star value to that of the
opening player's.
• Hinder: The entering PC will directly or indirectly
prevent the opening PC from succeeding in their
..
intention, adding their card's star value to the
obstacle established by the GM.
A player may not change their angle in a scene after
declaring it. If they wish to withdraw their star value
from their chosen side, they may only do so via an
abandonment.
Just as the opening card's motif should play into the
opening player's intention for the scene, the motif on
the entering PC's card should somehow play into the
entering player's angle.
Multiple players may enter a scene, each with only
...
one card, as long as each player has a card to spare.
A player may not enter a scene using the last card
remaining in their hand unless it is the final scene of
the episode.
Each time a player enters a scene, the GM may
optionally answer the new card by playing any
single card from their hand face-up, increasing the
obstacle. The star value on that card is added to the
obstacle.
...
12
As we've mentioned, a scene should always spotlight
the opening PC. While other PCs may speak and
otherwise be involved as appropriate, it's often best
practice to sit back and let the GM and opening
player lead — to speak when spoken to, as it were.
Entering mechanically gives other players a bit
more license to influence the direction of the scene,
though what they do and say, generally, should still
be in response to the opening player's intention.
Even if entering introduces inter-character conflict
or drastically changes the tone, players should try to
avoid introducing distracting non sequitur.
Feel free to stretch the definitions of "assisting" and
"hindering" if the line starts to get fuzzy. Ultimately,
even if an entering PC seems to be doing something
completely unrelated to the opening PC's intention, it
should almost always be possible to determine if the
action is working for or against the PC in at least a
narrative sense if not necessarily a practical one.
You're also free to separate a player's intentions
from their character's. A player might move to
hinder the opening player even though, in-game,
their PC thinks they're helping. Inversely, a PC who
thinks they're working against the opening PC might
unwittingly be helping them succeed, making their
angle "assisting" anyway. In some cases, the GM
might even rule that, mechanically, the angle should
be switched from what the player initially stated.
We'll always recommend doing whatever you think
your character would do — whatever is best for
the story — and figuring out how to make it work
mechanically after the fact. But if, for whatever
reason, you feel too limited by the binary options,
you might consider hanging onto the card you'd buy
in with so you can follow up in a later scene all of
your own.
Because a player may only play a given card once
per episode, using cards to enter may mean they
don't get to open any scenes. It's a trade-off between
having a lot of "secondary" screen time and possibly
having less time, but in the spotlight. Neither way is
inherently better, but it's something to keep in mind.
 THE ROLE WITH IT SYSTEM

entering a scene:
EXamples
Simple Geometry
As Leo struggles with the light cannon, Chris
decides it's time for Silas to enter Doc's scene
mechanically. He plays "The Obvious Choice"
(★★) to assist Doc, explaining to Leo that he can
use his understanding of geometry to reflect the
light cannon's laser around the arena and hit the
opponent's tank. This brings the total on their side
to ★★ + ★★ versus the GM's ★★ + [?].
Chris roleplays as Silas giving instructions to
Leo, but the players know that the GM now has
the opportunity to play another card since Chris
entered the scene. He declines to do so, however,
which does not bode well for the team's chances
of overcoming the unrevealed card. On the other
hand, Will could be planning to cede this scene,
saving his hand and the face-down card for a
future scene.
With a murderous statement like Leo's, it might
seem like Doc is playing on the side of the GM
and is thereby raising the obstacle (which he
seriously considers doing for story reasons). But,
remember, the narrative question in this scene is
"Will Silas give into despair?" which makes the lines
a bit blurry when it comes to figuring out what
"assisting" and "hindering" mean.
Taking a step back, it is clear that Leo doesn't want
Silas to give in to the voices. Nor does he really
want him dead.
If the GM chooses to allow it, what Doc really
wants to do is raise the stakes narratively
as a condition for Leo and Maxim assisting
mechanically. Doc pitches an "adjusted" intention
for the scene: if the players fail, Leo's going to
expect Maxim to kill the despairing Silas in a future
scene.

Just whose side are you on?
It appears Silas is succumbing to the nightmares'
mind games. Becky won't allow this, so Sarah
plays "All I want is faith, love, and happiness" (★★)
to enter the scene, declaring that her angle is to
assist Chris. This is roleplayed through dialogue
as Becky swoops in and blasts the Chronographer
with dream magic.
The GM answers her card with a ★★ card from
his hand. It is now the players' ★ + ★★ versus
the GM's ★★ + ★★ + [?]. With no net gain, the
GM rules that Becky's blast failed to stop the
Chronographer, and the status quo remains.
It's an unconventional move, especially since it
would mean affecting Doc's character based on
the outcome of Chris's scene. But the GM likes the
dramatic implications, so he agrees to add Doc's
and Jim's cards to Chris's side.
The GM has the opportunity to answer each of the
entering cards with a card from his own hand, but
he chooses not to. It now stands that the players'
cumulative star value is ★ + ★★ + ★★ + ★ against
the GM's ★★ + ★★ + [?].

The GM moves to close the scene, but the card

he used to answer Becky's happens to be one of
Leo's, which gives Doc an idea.

Doc tells everyone he's buying into the scene with

"O, Draconian Devil!" (★★), but since Leo doesn't
care about Silas the same way Becky does, he
turns to Jim's character, Maxim Ray (who is only
narratively present at this point), and argues that
the only way to prevent future events is to kill Silas
now. After a little more roleplay, Maxim agrees
with Leo, and Jim buys into the scene with a ★
card. Between the two players, an additional three
stars are about to come into play. The question is,
on whose side?

13
 THE ROLE WITH IT SYSTEM
self-assists
At any point during a scene, the opening player may
.
optionally self-assist by playing a second card from
their hand face-up. This adds the card's star value to
that of the card they opened with.
The opening player may alternatively use this second
.
card to self-hinder, adding the card's star value to
the GM's obstacle.
Note: Throughout this book, the term "self-assist"
may generally be taken to mean either self-assist or
self-hinder.
In either case, the motif on the card should play into
what the PC is doing narratively in the scene.
..
Unlike when additional players enter a scene, the GM
..
may never answer the opening player's self-assist or
self-hinder with an additional card of their own.
Because one of their two cards will return to their
hand at the end of the scene, the opening player is
permitted to self-assist or self-hinder with the last
remaining card in their hand during any scene.
For every move, a beat.
Throughout this book, we've said the motif on
a card should somehow play into what that
character is doing in a scene when the card is
played. This is actually a universal philosophy that
ought to be applied in all phases of the game.
Whenever possible, we strongly encourage you to
reflect what happens "outside" the narrative inside
the narrative.
The game's rules and the moves the players make
are what drive the story. Both sides of the coin
— mechanics and narrative — are intrinsically
intertwined, so embrace that. Playing a card to
enter or self-assist means making a decision or
taking an action. Increasing the obstacle means
new and greater resistance to what the players
are trying to accomplish. Destroying a card means
a drastic, permanent change in a character moving
forward. Be creative. Stay adaptable. Let every rule
inform your narrative and vice versa. Give every
move meaning.
14
Why would anyone want to self-hinder? There are a
number of possible reasons, but the two we've seen
most often are these: First, the player actually wants
to lose the scene because, narratively, they want
their character to want something and be denied or
because, mechanically, a loss would add a star to a
card they want to strengthen.
Second, something may change during a scene
that suddenly causes the player to want "their side"
to lose. Since intentions and angles are set once
declared, the player might self-hinder to keep some
offending party from benefiting from a success.
GMs have the option to answer so players don't just
overwhelm every obstacle with sheer numbers. Even
if no one enters, though, the GM may always opt
to play two cards against the opening player's one.
The self-assist, in a sense, is the opening player's
opportunity to "answer" the GM's second obstacle
card and level the playing field, and that's why the
GM can't answer back against a self-assist.
You're more than your motifs.
At the end of the day, all RPGs are frameworks
for the collaborative storytelling your table will
do by roleplaying. But as redundant as that may
sound, it's easy to get caught up in the rules of the
game and start seeing your character as a mere
collection of mechanisms that should be used in
some optimal way to achieve an end.
While there's a definitely place for that mindset
in RPGs, we find it to be limiting if taken too far.
Motifs are not containers that permit you to say
or do certain things. They're icons that evoke the
person they signify.
We urge you to let the full depth and experience
of your character emerge through you in play. If
an event in their background, an aspect of their
personality, a skill or ability, or an unexpected
reaction comes to mind that isn't reflected by the
cards in your hand, don't hold it back. If it seems
a contradiction, that's fine. People are complex,
conflicted creatures. Remember that your cards
are defined by your character and what they're
capable of — never the other way around.
 THE ROLE WITH IT SYSTEM

self-assists:
EXample
Never Second Best

With the assist from Silas, Leo seems to be

gaining ground in the light-tank battle
against the Chronographer. However,
with the players' ★★ + ★★ against the
GM's ★★ + [?], victory is far from certain.

Doc is concerned that the GM will flip

his face-down card and overpower the
players, so he decides to self-assist
with another card, playing "The Father
of Invention" (★). Drawing on his
knowledge of geometry, Leo devises
some creative tactics and pulls
off multi-reflection trick shots to
outmaneuver and whittle down the
opposing tank.

The GM is not allowed

to answer a self-assist
card with one of his own,
so he moves to close the
scene.

15
 THE ROLE WITH IT SYSTEM
CLOSING A SCENE
When the GM feels it is appropriate, they will move
.
.
to close the scene. Announcing this gives the players
one final opportunity to enter the scene or self-
assist.
When there are no players remaining who wish to
..
play additional cards, the GM may choose to either
reveal their face-down card, adding its star value to
the final obstacle, or return it to their hand.
The opening player's final star value is the sum of the
stars on:
..
• Their opening card
• Their self-assist card (if applicable)
• Any cards that entered to assist (if applicable)
The GM's final obstacle is the sum of the stars on:
• Their flipped opening card (if applicable)
• Their second opening card (if applicable)
• Their cards played in answer to cards played by
players entering the scene (if applicable)
• The opening player's self-hinder card (if applicable)
• Any cards that entered to hinder the opening
player (if applicable)
...
Once the final obstacle and star values are
established, the scene is mechanically closed.
However, at this point, players may optionally use
epiphanies or abandonments (if allowed) to alter the
outcome.
Unless there is an epiphany, compare the final star
value to the final obstacle. If the final star value is
higher, the opening player wins the scene. If the
obstacle is higher, the GM wins. If there is a tie, the
GM chooses who wins.
Based on the mechanical outcome, the GM may
...
narrate what happens, allow the player to narrate, or
both. The GM always has the authority to reign in the
player if necessary and will always have the final say.
When the scene is mechanically and narratively
closed, set the stage for the next scene or, if this was
the final scene, reset for a new episode.
16
Beyond the rules themselves, the way in which you
handle the rules during play can be leveraged to
interesting effect.
For instance, in a tense, quick-thinking situation, the
GM might allow very little time to react after moving
to close a scene. The players' hesitation might be
translated into their characters' hesitation, and the
GM may call the scene closed, forcing the players to
destroy cards if they want to alter the final outcome.
For the GM, hand management is a big part of
controlling the difficulty of the game (or the narrative
tension, if you prefer). Rather than feeling they need
to win every scene, they might withhold cards, play
lower-value cards, or feint with their face-down
cards to build their hand and make key scenes more
challenging later in the episode.
In other cases, the GM might push hard to win earlier
scenes, especially if they can get multiple players to
buy in, because a loss for the players means their
cards get powered up as they enter the GM's hand,
making them a greater benefit for the GM than the
players in the short term.
To give the players more control over their
characters and let their creative inputs enrich
the story, we like to let players narrate their own
successes and failures whenever possible. A good
rule of thumb for when to do this is to determine if
they're learning something or doing something.
Learning something is often the result, if not the
aim, of scenes with open-ended intentions. Here,
it's often best for the GM to narrate, as the player
won't know the information the character is looking
for (or is now finding out, even if they weren't looking
for it). Sometimes the "discovery" will be some new
development (good or bad might depend on who
won the scene) that leads into the next scene.
Scenes with specific intentions often find a PC trying
to do something. Letting the player narrate, perhaps
with some direction or additional input from the GM,
lets them characterize through the way in which their
character succeeds or fails.
 THE ROLE WITH IT SYSTEM

Closing a scene:
EXamples
Closing Leo's Light-tank Battle The Negotiations Were Short

With Chris's assist and Doc's self-assist, the Sarah opens a scene by having Becky attempt to
players' cards are ★★ + ★★ + ★ against the GM's parlay with the Chronographer, asking, "How did
★★ + [?]. The GM has moved to close the scene. we cause all this?"

Since this is Leo's and Silas's portion of a team
competition, the other players choose not to
intervene, saving their cards for their own events.
Besides, the worst that can happen at this point
is for the GM to reveal a ★★★ card, which would
lead to a tie (in which case the GM would decide
who wins the scene), but they wouldn't expect the
GM to burn such a valuable resource at this point
in the episode.
When no one else enters, the GM calls the scene
closed. He withdraws his face-down card and
returns it to his hand, leaving the final obstacle at
★★. Doc wins the scene, so Leo succeeds in his
intention of beating the Chronographer.
The GM describes how the crowd goes wild for the
greatest comeback they've ever seen in a light-
tank battle. Silas and Leo have a brief, celebratory
exchange before the GM sets the stage for the
next scene.
Closing Silas's Nightmare Scenario
Sarah plays "Power of Friendship" (★) against the
GM's initial obstacle of [?]. Doc assists with Leo's
revelation that "!?sdrawkcab s'tI" (★★), but the GM
answers by playing a ★★ card from his hand and
moves to close the scene mere moments later. He
gives the other players a couple seconds to react,
but when they do not immediately move to enter,
he reveals his face-down card to add ★ to the
obstacle, translating that narratively as a sudden
attack.
The players could become frustrated by this sort
of approach if the GM were to abuse it. But, in this
case, they feel it enhances the story and helps to
create the feeling the GM is going for, so they're
cool with it.
The final star values are the players' ★ + ★★
against the GM's ★★ + ★ — a tie. The GM decides
that, this time, the tie will result in a loss for the
players. He moves immediately to set the stage for
the next scene, describing the nature of the attack
the players will now have to contend with.

Becky has attempted to assist Silas in resisting

his despair, and Doc has negotiated an
unconventional deal with the GM so Leo and
Maxim could also assist mechanically, making it
the players' ★ + ★★ + ★★ + ★ against the GM's
★★ + ★★ + [?].

All the players have bought into the scene, so now

only a self-assist by Chris could change anything
mechanically. Chris chooses not to do this, as
he feels his available motifs don't apply in this
situation (and, secretly, he's totally okay with Silas
failing here). So, now, the GM officially closes the
scene and reveals his face-down card.

The numbers shift drastically. The hidden card was

Becky's "Power of Friendship" (★★★), which brings
the cumulative obstacle to ★★ + ★★ + ★★★. The
GM knows there's no way Becky's abandoning that
motif, so the players are beaten.

Or are they...?

17
 THE ROLE WITH IT SYSTEM
abandonments and epiphanies
Abandonments and epiphanies may only be
.
.
triggered once per player per scene. A player may
not trigger both an abandonment and an epiphany
in a scene.
In the event that both abandonments and an
epiphany are triggered in the same scene, the
epiphany must always be triggered last.
Abandonments
An abandonment may be triggered by any player
who opened or entered a scene. One of the cards
belonging to the player in question must have been
played face-up, either by the GM or the player
..
themselves, before the scene was closed.
An abandonment destroys the card in question,
..
reducing the final star value or obstacle (whichever
it was originally played toward) by the amount of
stars that were on that card. This may affect the final
outcome of the scene.
The motif on the card being destroyed should
...
...
somehow tie into what happens narratively when the
abandonment is triggered.
Epiphanies
Only the opening player for a scene may trigger an
epiphany in that scene. The opening player's ★★★
....
card must have been played face-up, either by the
GM or the opening player themselves, before the
scene was closed.
An epiphany destroys the card in question but
results in an automatic win by the opening player
for the scene, regardless of the final star value or
obstacle.
The motif on the card being destroyed should
....
somehow tie into what happens narratively when the
epiphany is triggered.
Triggering an epiphany earns the player one extra ★
to work with after the current episode is over.
18
Officially, abandonments and epiphanies are
triggered between closing the scene and narrating
the final outcome.
However, it is permissible (and delightfully dramatic)
for a player to destroy a card during the narration,
particularly if it's a last-ditch reaction to prevent
something they don't want to happen. If it's too late
to make a difference — say, if you're playing in "real
time" and won't allow retcons when someone does
this — the GM may have certain outcomes stand but
should still acknowledge the move, making whatever
changes or concessions they can within reason.
Abandonments and epiphanies play an important
role in character development. Consider using them
not just when you need to win a scene but also when
it's simply the best thing for the story. Some of our
most memorable moments playing RWIS have come
from abandonments that didn't actually affect the
outcome of the scene yet fundamentally changed a
character and, thus, the story.
Narratively, an abandonment often means the
character, in a dramatic or subtly significant moment,
is ending, swearing off, giving up, walking away from,
or denouncing the motif in question — at least for
now if not permanently. This should be reflected in
the way the character is played moving forward.
Narratively, an epiphany often means the character,
in a climactic moment, is having some sort of
breakthrough, realization, or change in perspective
related to the motif in question. Even more so than
an abandonment, it should substantially change
them as a character and be reflected in the way
they're played moving forward.
Players will often make epiphanies positive —
sometimes a sort of "ultimate move" they've been
building toward — but they can just as easily
signal a negative change in the character. Consider
researching epiphanies as a literary concept and see
if that inspires you.
While not strictly required, we recommend spending
the bonus ★ to create a new card with a motif that
somehow reflects the implications of the epiphany.
 THE ROLE WITH IT SYSTEM
abandonments and epiphanies:
EXamples
The Death of a Dream
The players have thrown everything they could at
helping Silas to not succumb to the nightmares,
but the GM's obstacle has them beat by ★.
Just when all hope seems lost, Doc smiles
devilishly. Leo's "O, Draconian Devil!" (★★) is in
play on the players' side, but the GM played Leo's
"Heart of a Poet" (★★) in answer to another
player's assist.
"Leo just suggested we kill a team
member," Doc says. "I'm abandoning
'Heart of a Poet!'" He takes the card
and tears it in half, permanently
removing it from the game.
Now Leonardo da Vinci's
famous poetry will never be
written.
This abandonment also
reduces the GM's obstacle
by ★★, which shifts the
players into victory for the
scene.
Cursing the PCs, the Chronographer
disappears into another time. Silas is
spared the torment, but at what cost?
Leo's actions in this scene are bound
to have significant ramifications later
in the story
19
You've got the touch!
Negotiations have failed, and now the
Chronographer and a swarm of nightmares are
attacking the PCs.
Maxim Ray finds himself in his enemy's robotic
grasp. Jim opens the scene by playing "Bad" (★★)
with the intention of stopping the Chronographer
at all costs. The GM isn't going to let Maxim get
out of this easily, though, and sets the obstacle
at ★★★ + [?].
Jim immediately self-assists with "Take On Me"
(★★) and describes how Maxim manages to slip
away. He jumps on his light-bike and prepares
to ride up the side of his giant opponent and
defeat him in radical fashion.
Though Jim is leading in star value
when the GM moves to close, it's
possible that the GM will flip the
face-down card and reveal
enough to make Maxim fail.
Jim doesn't want to take that
chance.
It just so happens that the ★★★
card the GM played is Maxim's
"Pac-Man Fever." Since Jim opened
the scene and his ★★★ card is in play
(even though, in this case, it was the GM
who played it), he is eligible to trigger an
epiphany.
Jim tears the card, permanently removing
it from the game but securing an
automatic win in this scene. He explains
how Maxim realizes that, since this is
a world of dreams, if he can dream
something, he can make it happen.
With the help of the GM, Jim narrates
how Maxim's light-bike morphs around
him and he becomes a mech warrior,
skating, blasting, and trapping the bad
guy with style.
For triggering an epiphany, Jim will
receive one extra star to spend
between this episode and the next.
 THE ROLE WITH IT SYSTEM
Between Scenes
Before beginning a new scene, the GM must discard
any of the face-up cards they played during the
previous scene. They are now out of play until the
reset between episodes, when they will all return to
the hands of their respective owners.
All face-up cards played by players during the scene
are added to the GM's hand. There is no limit to the
GM's hand size.
If the GM won the scene, the opening player and any
.
players who entered the scene to assist will each add
★ to the card they played. Any players who entered
to hinder do not add a star (since "their side" won).
If the opening player won the scene, they do not add
a star, nor do any players who entered to assist. Any
players who entered the scene to hinder will each
add ★ to the card they played (since "their side" lost).
If the opening player self-assisted during the scene
..
and lost (even if this was a result of self-hindering),
they will add ★ to one of the two cards they played.
Which one is their choice unless one of the cards
can't take on any more stars, in which case it will go
to the one that can (assuming that one is not also at
its limit).
Reminder: The star value on any card may never
exceed ★★★, and each player may only have one
★★★ card in the game at any given time. If a star
cannot be added to a card at this time, it is forfeit
and cannot be spent later.
Win or lose, the opening player must give either their
opening or their self-assist card to the GM: whichever
has the higher star value. If there is a tie, the player
chooses. The remaining card returns to their hand.
20
There's an inherent mechanical benefit in entering
.
a scene to hinder the opening player. If the opening
player wins the scene, the entering player earns ★
for the card they played. If the opening player loses,
they'll earn ★, which is still beneficial to the entering
player in the long term if all the PCs are basically on
the same team (though that's not always a given).
Whoever wins, hindering introduces conflict between
PCs, which translates into narrative interest. So,
unless you have players who will take it personally
(which is an entirely separate issue), you should
never be afraid to hinder, especially when it's what
your character would do in that situation.
Self-assisting is an effective way to strengthen low-
.. powered cards while continuing to take advantage
of those which are mechanically strong or narratively
more central to your character's story arc. And, by
playing those less-used cards, you're able to maintain
a sense depth and narrative interest for your
character that might be lacking if you were only to hit
on the same one or two motifs. That's also why you
can only play the same card once per episode. One-
note characters have their place, but it's generally
good for a story's protagonists (some if not all of the
PCs) to be well-rounded.
PCs As Supporting Characters
In many RPG campaigns, it's natural that one
of the PCs will take on a central role in the plot,
in a sense becoming the protagonist, while the
other PCs fall into supporting roles. This isn't an
inherently bad thing and, in fact, it mirrors a great
many stories that tend to focus on one or a few
lead characters, even when they have a large and
varied cast.
RWIS is designed to make sure all players get at
least some screen time, thereby keeping everyone
involved. At the outset of a campaign, it can be
hard to tell how things will pan out, but if you
should find yourself in what feels like a supporting
role, embrace that as your contribution to the
greater story. For instance, if your PC disapproves
of the "lead" PC's actions, then your PC can serve
as a valuable counterpoint, adding depth.
 THE ROLE WITH IT SYSTEM
between scenes:
EXamples
You win some...
In his light-tank battle scene, Doc played "O,
Draconian Devil!" (★★) and self-assisted with
"The Father of Invention" (★). The scene has been
closed and the outcome has been narrated.
Because Doc won the scene, he does not add any
stars to his cards. He's allowed to keep one of his
cards when he self-assists, but he must give the
card with the higher star value to the GM. In this
case, that happens to be "O, Draconian Devil!" Doc
gives that card to the GM and returns the other to
his hand.
Chris assisted Doc with "The Obvious Choice"
(★★). Because he entered the scene on the side
that won, he does not add a star to his card. He
hands the card to the GM.
Before accepting any cards from the players, the
GM discards the one card he played face-up in
this scene. The face-down card he played at the
beginning of the scene was never revealed and
has already been returned to his hand.
The GM accepts "O, Draconian Devil!" (★★) from
Doc and "The Obvious Choice" (★★) from Chris
and adds both cards to his hand.
21
...You lose some.
In her failed parlay scene, Sarah played "Power
of Friendship" (★). The scene has been closed,
and the GM pauses a moment for some quick
housekeeping before setting the stage for the next
scene.
Because Sarah lost the scene, she adds ★ to
"Power of Friendship," raising its star value to
(★★). She then hands the card to the GM.
Doc assisted Sarah with "!?sdrawkcab s'tI" (★★).
Because he entered the scene on the side that
lost, he would ordinarily add ★ to the card.
However, because he already has a ★★★ card in
the game, the maximum star value for this card
is capped at ★★, so he does not add a star. He
hands the card unaltered to the GM.
Before accepting any cards from the players, the
GM discards both the cards he played in this
scene: the ★★ card he played to answer Doc's
assist and the ★ card that he played face-down
but later revealed.
The GM accepts "Power of Friendship" (★★) from
"!?sdrawkcab s'tI" (★★) from Doc and
Sarah and
adds both cards to his hand.
 THE ROLE WITH IT SYSTEM
Between Episodes
When an episode ends, all cards (except any
.
that were destroyed) return to the hands of their
respective owners.
Each player is given ★ plus any bonus star they
might have earned for triggering an epiphany. As in
character creation, a star can be spent at this point
to:
• Create a new card (up to a maximum of six in a
.
player's hand)
• Add ★ to an existing card (up to a maximum of
★★★ — ★★ if the player already has a ★★★ card
in the game)
..
If a player's hand is full, they may not purchase a new
card.
If a player has fewer than three cards in their hand,
they must spend as many stars as is required to
bring their starting hand size up to three with new
cards. Any stars remaining after that may be spent as
they please.
In the event that a player does not have enough stars
to reach the minimum starting hand size of three,
they must spend all the stars they have available
on cards first, then take "free" cards to get them up
to the minimum requirement of three cards. These
cards will have a beginning star value of zero.
Players who have a maxed-out hand (one card with
..
★★★ and five with ★★) cannot spend their stars on
anything and will forfeit their available stars for this
episode. These cannot be spent later.
Players may choose to spend none or only some of
their available stars, even if their hand is not maxed
out. However, any unspent stars are forfeit and
cannot be saved or spent later.
22
Motifs that have seemingly nothing to do with your
present situation can make for interesting fish-out-
of-water subplots if nothing else, but there are also
cases where a motif just doesn't get used much,
plain and simple.
If you have room in your hand, creating a new card
with a new motif is a great way to adapt to what the
story has shaped up to be so far. You can use the
better-fitting one more often while you wait to see
if the other becomes valuable later. If it doesn't, you
can always abandon it.
This system is designed to promote churn — to
encourage players to evolve their characters over
time as they destroy older motifs during play then
create new ones. Nothing can force you to make
changes to a maxed-out hand if you're content with
it, but you may find the story to be more interesting if
you do (not to mention the mechanical benefits).
Consider using your ★★★ card to win a key
scene rather than hanging onto it for the "perfect
moment" that may not come, and never be afraid
to abandon something, especially if you're not using
it. An epiphany or abandonment that comes about
organically, in a moment when winning or losing a
scene really matters, will often play better and have
a greater impact than a premeditated moment that
gets shoehorned in at an ill-fitting time.
Where to Take the Story
Some GMs will come in with an idea of roughly
where they want the story to end. Others embrace
not knowing and will let the story come together
naturally as time goes on. Whatever your style, it's
always a good idea to see how the players have
been playing and respond to them. Build on their
good ideas and, if they're starting to take things
too far "off the rails" for your taste, find creative
ways not to drag them back in, but to draw them in
with what seems to motivate them.
Players, try to develop your own ideas while also
building on what the GM and your fellow players
are doing. If someone did something you liked,
the space between episodes is a great time to let
them know and discuss how you might be able to
play off of each other moving forward.
 THE ROLE WITH IT SYSTEM

Between episodes:
EXamples
After another suspenseful episode of their three cards already in his hand, create two new
adventure through space and time, all the players cards, or create one new card and add ★ to it or
take back all the cards they played. They each another card.
have one ★ to spend before the next episode.
With the transformative thrill of giant robots still
Ready When You Are fresh in his mind, Jim decides to spend ★ to open
a new card, on which he writes the motif "The
Sarah's card "Glimmer" (★) hasn't seen much play Touch." He then spends ★ to upgrade the star
so far in the season and wasn't played at all in the value on that new card to ★. Essentially, he has
last episode. She decides to spend her available ★ replaced the ★★★ card he just destroyed with a
to upgrade the star value of that card to ★★ so it new ★ card — not a bad trade-off for an epic win
will have greater utility if it does come in an important scene.
into play later.
My Cup Runneth Over
Getting Caught Up
Chris has been biding
Doc only has two cards in his time, not yet making
his hand right now, so he is a big splash with
required to spend his available abandonments or
★ to get a new card and epiphanies, and has lost
bring his hand size up to the a number of scenes along
minimum requirement of the way. As a result, his hand
three cards. is completely maxed out with five
★★ cards and one ★★★ card.
On the new card, he He can't buy a new card because
writes the motif "Master that would cause his hand size to
of Destiny," though he's exceed the maximum of six cards,
not sure at this point and he can't increase the star value
if that's more about of any of the cards he already has.
mastering time
and destiny or his Because he has nowhere he can
character's destiny spend it, Chris will have to forfeit his
to become a master available ★ for this episode.
painter. The card starts
off with no stars, giving His hand will remain completely static,
it a star value of zero not even adding stars at the end of lost
for the time being. scenes, until he triggers abandonments
or epiphanies during play to destroy
Decisions, some of his cards.
Decisions
It sounds like it's time for
Jim's character has been Silas to blow the lid off this
playing things fast and loose adventure!
like the bad dude he is. Jim triggered
an epiphany in the last episode,
so he has a bonus ★ to spend
in addition to the one that every
player gets between episodes.

He has a few options for what he

could do with his stars: he could
add stars to one or two of the

23
 THE ROLE WITH IT SYSTEM
season finales
After the last scene of the last episode in a season,
.
.
the group may optionally go through the season
finale process to close the season and prepare for
the next season, should there be one.
Depending on the group's preferences, this process
may be purely mechanical or played out narratively
in an "extra" scene where each mechanical move has
a narrative output, as in the rest of the game.
In whatever order they feel appropriate, each player
..
will destroy a card in their hand, one by one, until
..
no one has any cards remaining. Each time a card is
destroyed, its owner may do one of two things:
• Transfer the motif to a new card that will be
created for the next season. This new card begins
with a star value of zero regardless of its value
when destroyed.
• Retire the motif. This earns the player ★ that
can be spent in one of two ways (as in standard
character creation):
• Create a new card
• Add ★ to an existing card
Note: If this approach is used, it replaces the
standard character creation process that would be
used to start a new series. If this approach is not
used, players may recreate their characters using the
standard character creation process.
Players may destroy their cards in any order they
please, and it is permissible for any given player to
destroy multiple cards in a row.
If the group chooses to play out this process
narratively, the motif on each card that is destroyed
should have something to do with what is happening
narratively, speaking to what the motif has come to
mean throughout the season or hinting at what it
could mean to the story moving forward.
The extra scene for the season finale could end up
playing out similarly to a standard scene, more like a
montage, or anything in between.
The GM will not speak into this process except at the
players' request (possibly providing an NPC's reaction
to something) or to reign a player in if necessary.
24
This allows for a mechanical reset between seasons
and provides a sense of closure, acting as a teaser,
epilogue, or, perhaps, the denouement if you didn't
get it in the final episode. However, if you feel the
final episode wrapped things sufficiently, don't feel
obligated to go through this process.
Alternatively, you could have a more freeform,
narrative-only finale that ignores the mechanical
process of destroying cards to earn stars.
Ending the season with few cards may lead to being
relatively underpowered at the beginning of the next
season. Even ending with a full hand leaves you with
just the six stars you'd have for character creation.
Take advantage of this in your narrative. A new story
brings with it new challenges for which the PCs might
not be as prepared, and having a less powerful hand
of cards will likely mirror that early in the story.
Failure doesn't mean incompetence.
It's important to remember that losing a
scene doesn't necessarily mean a PC had an
uncharacteristic moment of incompetence, failing
or losing where you'd never say they would if it
weren't for the cards telling you they did.
A PC might do everything right, performing just
as well as they you'd expect, and the thing that
causes them to lose the scene is some factor
beyond their control. It could even be that the
character doesn't fail at all. Maybe they succeed
with flying colors, but there's an unexpected
consequence that comes about as a result. If the
GM wants to be especially devious, they might
even conceal that until it rears its ugly head
somewhere down the road.
In RWIS, one generally shouldn't associate star
value or hand size with a PC's competence or level
of ability. What happens narratively, "on-screen,"
will always come down to description. When in
doubt, use common sense. In the same scenario,
a "failure" by a novice will look very different from
a "failure" by a master, and they'll probably have
very different narrative implications to boot.
 THE ROLE WITH IT SYSTEM
season finales:
EXample
SPOILER WARNING
This example breaks down the epilogue of The
Chronoptimizers in some detail. If you have not yet
listened to the series and don't want to have the
ending spoiled for you, you may not want to read
beyond this point.
Gaining Some Closure
The GM hands all the PC cards back to their
respective owners and then sits back (mostly)
while the players describe what happens.
Locked on course and flying through time, the
time machine drops each character off in their
original time and dimension.
Not Late for a Test
Becky is first. Sarah tears "Power of Friendship" as
Becky suggests that the group should find a way
to stay in touch somehow. Sarah transfers this
motif directly onto a fresh card with no stars, then
does the same with "Dream Princess" without any
further comment — it's simply who she is, and
there's no changing it.
Becky's driving motif has always been "All I want
is faith, love, and happiness," but no opportune
moment for it to trigger an epiphany came up
this season. Sarah tears the card and transfers it
to a fresh card. She can build it all up again next
season. Such is the life and destiny of a magical
girl.
"Don't forget to feed your dog," Leo jokes. Where
would Becky be without "Glimmer"? Sarah tears
that card and transfers it. She is now set to start
the next season with four cards, each with a
starting star value of zero.
A Very Dramatic Scene, Naturally
Maxim Ray is next. Jim starts off by tearing "The
Touch" and reminding everyone that his light-bike-
super-robot would have already changed back
into a regular light-bike by this point. He transfers
the motif to a new card.
His bike roars out onto the road, and Maxim says,
"I'm the champion again, but I'm broke. I think I've
25
had enough of this city." Jim then tears his "Bad"
and "Take On Me" cards together and retires
both, much to everyone's surprise. Using those
two stars, he opens a new card with the motif
"Highway to the Danger Zone" and adds ★ to it.
Jim describes how, strangely, the sun is coming up
over Twilight City. Taking off his sunglasses, Maxim
yells, "So long!" and rides off into the proverbial
sunset. Jim tears and transfers "Sunglasses at
Night." He'll start the next season with two no-star
cards and one ★ card.
It was fun, I guess.
Chris starts by tearing "Game Master," "Time
Travel," and "Not a Bad Guy" all at once, knowing
that Silas is choosing to let everything that
has happened guide his future. He uses those
three stars to create a ★★ card with the motif
"Chronoptimized."
Chris tears "The Obvious Choice" and "Much to
Learn." Silas reaches out to fist-bump Leo, who
grasps Silas's fist and shakes it. "Getting better,"
Silas says.
"You have much to teach me," Leo replies.
"Likewise. I'll be sure to study up." Chris uses the
two stars to create a ★ card, "Study Up."
"Perhaps you could choose art as a major?"
"I'll think about it." Chris tears his last card,
"Undeclared," and creates a new one: "Art History
Major," drawing on Silas's renewed interests in art
and time. He is set to begin the next season with
one no-star card, one ★ card, and one ★★ card.
This cannot be!
Doc decides to retire Leo as a character and let
him get on with being a famous artist. He'll start
the next season by creating a character using the
standard rules.
To close out the story, Doc narrates how Leo
escapes with the chronoptimizer when the time
machine crashes itself into the Arno River and is
lost. When he reaches shore, he remarks with a
sigh, "There is nothing else to do but begin again."
 THE ROLE WITH IT SYSTEM
Additional Tips
These are a few items we thought would help you
better understand certain aspects of the game or
give you ideas for how you might thoughtfully "break"
it for effect. If you're just now getting into the game,
some of our suggestions might overcomplicate
things, so we recommend playing a bit first. Once
you've settled in a bit, know your playstyle, and know
what's making sense to you and what isn't, come
back here for what we hope will be useful advice.
None of these tips are rules, so you may feel free to
ignore them, incorporate them into your games, or
simply use them as inspiration for your own hacks to
make The Role With It System whatever you need it to
be.
The goal — always, always, always — is to make
your story awesome. If there's ever some way you
want to break the rules because it makes sense in
the moment, please don't hesitate to do so. In the
middle of a game, you'll know best what needs to
happen. And, if you asked us, we'd probably support
your call to try something crazy 99 times out of 100.
What's in a scene?
Scenes are flexible things. Depending on your
group's play style and the situation you find yourself
in, they can take on any number of forms, and it's
totally fair game to change up your approach from
scene to scene. While we can't account for every
possibility, these are the three basic "types" of scenes
we've seen in our experience with RWIS:
• Reactive intention: While setting the stage, the
GM presents a clear conflict or obstacle, and a
player opens to react to or overcome it.
• Proactive intention: The GM establishes the
state of things then leaves things open for any of
the players to take the story in a specific direction
of their choosing. The GM might alternatively
provide a bit of direction but leave it to a player to
establish the details.
• Exposition: The GM leaves things open-ended,
and a player — not having a specific thing they
want to do but, perhaps, wanting to explore some
aspect of their character or to get to know the
situation or some other character — will open
to start a conversation, paint a picture for the
audience, or just let things flow freely.
26
You might notice there's a bit of a gradient here,
from the GM being in control to the players being
in control. The times where it's most appropriate
for the GM to step in and take the reigns, as it were,
depends a lot on what's going on in the story. In
a high-tension, decisive moment, especially later
in an episode, it's sometimes best for the GM to
take control and let the players react. But during
interludes or early in an episode, there may be more
room for the players to drive things.
Bear in mind that, in some groups, the players might
have a very strong sense of narrative and can be
trusted to introduce adversity or other interesting
twists to their own characters' stories without the
GM's direct input. It will be up to the GM to decide
how much license to give to the players, but they
might find that even late in an episode and in the
most crucial of moments, players can introduce
brilliant, meaningful developments that will alter the
course of the story for the better.
Micro-conflicts
You've probably noticed how, in most stories,
protagonists face a pretty constant stream of
obstacles and setbacks, even in those scenes when
everything goes their way in the end. After all, we
wouldn't know how good someone is at solving
problems if we didn't get to see those problems and
how they get solved.
In the spirit of narrative interest, both the players
and the GM should feel empowered to introduce
any number of what one might think of as "micro-
conflicts" during a scene. These can be brought up,
addressed, and resolved through the roleplay that's
already happening, sometimes as quickly as a two-
line exchange between the GM and a player. You
may find you do this naturally without even thinking
about it, which is great. Keep doing that.
Most of the time, the outcomes of these micro-
conflicts are decided in an improv style and using
"common-sense" rules — reasonable actions
and reactions; causes and effects; choices and
consequences — where the GM and players simply
state what they do and what happens as a result,
and everyone rolls with it.
Just say "yes" until there's something important
enough to be worth stopping things with a "no." But,
if you find there are cases where you'd like to make
 THE ROLE WITH IT SYSTEM
a check (where you might, say, roll a die in another
RPG), you can do so however you'd like. We suggest
one possible approach in the "Narrative Control and
Mid-scene Checks" section below.
By their nature, micro-conflicts might inform certain
details when you narrate the final outcome of the
scene, but they won't have any mechanical influence
over the outcome. A PC might have a number of
minor successes on the way to a failure and vice
versa. Especially in longer scenes that don't get
closed for a while, micro-conflicts are mainly meant
to provide some extra flavor and characterization,
to add some narrative tension to a scene, and, in
general, to help keep the story flowing.
Narrative Control and Mid-scene Checks
An approach we like to use in pretty much all our
campaigns, including the example we included in
this book, is to look at the player's current cumulative
star value and compare it to the current cumulative
obstacle when deciding how things work out during
the course of the scene, between opening and
closing.
The moment you pause to consider this could be
thought of as what some games might call a "check"
or, more broadly speaking, the point at which you
would stop to roll dice for (or otherwise randomize)
something which has an uncertain outcome — either
by design, because the rules say when outcomes
should be uncertain and resolved mechanically, or
because the GM or players don't know what should
happen next and want to let the system guide them.
If the player is beating the obstacle at the point at
which "the check" is made, you may interpret that as
their being successful at an action or positive things
happening. If the obstacle has the higher value, you
may say there's a failed action or that negative things
happen. If there's a draw, just like when you close a
scene, it's left to the GM's discretion: they may call it
a success, a failure, or anything in between.
We'll often refer to all this as "narrative control"
since, in addition to making checks, we like using
the current balance of star values to determine the
overall tone or tension in the scene. It doesn't have
to be super formal, either. Sometimes we'll just get a
sense of being at an advantage or disadvantage and
will let that come through in what we're saying and
doing in the game.
If the players are ahead, things will be looking good
for them. If the GM is ahead, there will tend to be
more obstacles and complications. A shift in either
27
direction will usually be marked by a clear turning
point (say, an action someone takes when they bring
a new card into the scene) which ends up resulting
in a great sense of ups and downs — a tug-of-war
between the narrative forces of protagonism and
antagonism.
As we sometimes do, you might even consider letting
whoever is ahead be the one to narrate the scene
for as long as they're "in narrative control," taking the
story in whatever direction they would if unimpeded
by external factors (i.e., the cards people play).
One Step at a Time
While everyone will usually be on more or less the
same page when it comes to what characters can
accomplish in the course of a single scene, episode,
or season, the GM will sometimes need to step in
and establish some limits to protect the pace and
scale of the narrative or to maintain the rules or
intended tone of the world.
Say, for example, a whole season is going to tell the
story of a traveling party on their way from Town
A to Town B. If we assume that arriving in Town B
should be the end point of the season or very near
to it, then a player's intention for a scene should
never be "get safely to Town B" because, if they
were to succeed in their intention as they've stated
it, the story would basically be over in one scene.
"Get safely to Town B" might be a decent intention,
though, if the group were playing a globetrotting
adventure in which getting from one side of the
world to another was simply a matter of montage.
Another example might be a story arc in which
someone is trying to retrieve a treasure from a tower
protected by a wizard's unbreakable ward. If the
GM intends for this process to be difficult, given the
world and the sort of story they want to tell, then a
player shouldn't be able to break the unbreakable
ward in one scene (though there could be a scene in
which they try and fail, even if they "win").
Instead, knowing roughly how long they want the
process to take and how central it is to the greater
story — is this the heist of a lifetime for someone or
just one job out of many? — the GM should know
about how many "steps" it should take to retrieve
the treasure (and roughly how many scenes or
episodes each step should take), whether they leave
it up to the players to come up with a plan or nudge
them toward what is, broadly speaking, the "correct"
solution (e.g., talk to a specific person about the
ward, gather reagents for a spell to break it, cast the
spell, infiltrate the tower, confront the wizard, etc.).
 THE ROLE WITH IT SYSTEM
Choice and Consequence
The consequences of the players' decisions, good
or bad, can make or break the tone or themes you
want in your game. Take factors like your genre and
setting into account when determining how the same
decision might turn out in two different types of
stories.
For example, let's say a PC picks a fight with a group
of five street toughs and wins the scene. If we're
in a grittier, more realistic setting, there's a strong
possibility that even a competent fighter won't get
out unscathed. If the PC doesn't know what they're
doing, they might actually lose the fight, and the "win"
for the scene will be that they're able to barely get
away with their life. The lesson here would be that
every fight is dangerous, and the players should think
twice before getting into one.
This would be in stark contrast to setting in which
the competent character could deftly take down his
opponents with both hands tied behind his back
(perhaps literally) and not break a sweat. And the
incompetent character might manage to find some
clever way to win or, perhaps, bumble their way into
an uncharacteristic victory, but would certainly never
be in any real danger unless they lost the scene.
This sort of mentality applies to much more than
just combat, so always be mindful of what you're
trying to achieve. When you know what you're going
for, be sure your world reacts appropriately to what
the players do. Handled carefully and with willing
participants, your players will quickly learn what their
characters can and can't do in this world — what
they should and shouldn't do — ­ and that will be a
big part of the fun of getting immersed in the story
you're telling together.
If, on the other hand, people seem resistant to the
direction, it may be worth having a discussion around
expectations to see if everyone's truly on board or if
it might be better to tell a different sort of story.
Character Death
There are no rules regarding when, where, why, or
how a PC might be removed from the game. This is
something that will ultimately be up to you to work
out, as the best way to approach it will depend
heavily on your group, setting, genre, etc. And this is
assuming it's something that comes up at all. We've
played a great many games in which, even though
there was plenty of danger, we didn't find ourselves
in a situation that threatened to take any of the PCs
out of the story before the end.
28
But, to offer some general guidelines: First, we
recommend establishing the expectation up front
that you're playing the sort of story that could see a
character die or otherwise be removed. If you want
this to come as a surprise for dramatic effect, be
sure you're in a group that has strong mutual trust
and would appreciate that.
Second, in regards to when a character should be
removed, we'd generally use one of two approaches
(which are not mutually exclusive by any means):
• Let a player volunteer when they think their
character's removal would be appropriate for
good for the story.
• Warn a player that losing a particular scene (or any
given dangerous scene if you want things to feel
more tense) could or will remove their character.
If it's something they have the power to avoid, give
them the opportunity to do so and establish a
different intention for the scene.
When a PC is removed, there are any number of
things you can have that player do next, including but
not limited to creating a new character, taking over
an NPC role, or simply observing or bowing out of the
rest of the episodes, perhaps for dramatic effect. Do
whatever is best for you and your players.
Land of Confusion
Sometimes, when a lot of players are entering a
scene with different angles, especially ones that are
hard to nail down as assists or hinders, and the GM
is answering some or all or who knows, it's easy to
get a little mixed up.
When this happens, especially if players are openly
expressing confusion, we suggest the GM not be
afraid to call for a pause to talk everyone through a
process of figuring out, card by card, who's playing
what and on whose side. Once that's all squared
away, you may resume.
Perfectly Imperfect
We're big fans of playing characters who generate
conflict or are prone to causing problems for
themselves or the group. If that interests you but
you're not always great about doing that "on your
own" during play, consider making one of your motifs
a character flaw right from the outset and lean into
it whenever you play it. If that card ever goes away,
create or adapt another motif to fill that same role
for you.
 THE ROLE WITH IT SYSTEM

Acknowledgments
Games That Inspired Us
No game exists in a vacuum, and we wouldn't have
created this one had we not had the incredible
experiences afforded to us by those that came
before. In particular, these are the games that most
directly influenced us while designing The Role With It
System:
• The FATE Core System by Leonard Balsera, Brian
Engard, Jeremy Keller, Ryan Macklin, and Mike
Olson
• Fiasco by Jason Morningstar
• Primetime Adventures by Matt Wilson
• Tales from the Wild Blue Yonder by John Harper
• The Warren by Marshall Miller
People Who Helped Us
How to get in touch with Doc & Krueger
If you want to ask a question about any of our
games, share an experience, show off a cool hack,
or just talk tabletop in general, feel free to reach
out to us.
Aside from our website, docandkrueger.com, we
can be found at several places around the Web.
In order from the most to least likely to get you a
timely response:
• Email: docandkrueger@gmail.com
• Facebook: @docandkrueger
• Twitter: @docandkrueger
• SoundCloud: @docandkrueger
• Google Plus: +docandkrueger

No human exists in a vacuum — not for long, anyway We look forward to hearing from you. Until then,
— and we were fortunate to have the kind support have fun, and thank you for playing!
of family and friends who, at one point or another,
helped us define, refine, and test The Role With It
System ever since its roughest conception back in
2015. Our gratitude and warmest regards go out to:

Trey Blankenship
Lisa Brackin
Ketcher Cline
Nathan Feeney
Andrew Howell
Nick Krueger
Brian McKitrick
Will Parsons
Kevin Paul
Jim Weaver
Kelly Weeren
Sarah Christina Wells

We'd also like to give a special shout-out to Raquel

Gonzalez, who created the character illustrations
for The Chronoptimizers which were featured in this
book. You can find more of her work at her website:
rrgonzalez.com.

And if you, friend, were with us for part of this

journey and we by some grievous error failed to
mention you, know that you are appreciated. Please
charge it to our aging, frazzled brains and not to our
hearts. And let us know so we can add your name in
an update!

29