Howdy!
what's new
It's been another few weeks of busy business for The Chaos TTRPG.
the trove
Just last week I released The Trove, the stash I've been building for folks who want to delve deeper: the scraps of the chaos adventures, the map vault, the random generators you won't find anywhere else, and my mastering chaos book in PDF. One order gets you the lot, including all regular updates. No monthly fee, no renewals, no login you might forget. You just use what you like and enhance your game.
It's been snapped up hundreds of times already, so you can bet your rosy proverbial that I'll be adding to it regularly as time goes on, as I want to make sure it really adds value to your game, whether you're playing The Chaos or not.
agents of chaos
Next up, I've rolled out an affiliate system for the game.
The Chaos has been growing rapidly through word of mouth, shared tables, and the enthusiasm of players who love fast, gritty, zero‑prep fantasy. If you’ve ever told someone “you’ve got to try this game,” you’re already halfway to becoming an Agent Of Chaos.
This programme is for folk who want to help spread the game in their local community, at conventions, in friendly local game stores, or online, and earn some coin for doing it.
Whether you’re a GM who loves showing new players how The Chaos works, a solo adventurer who wants to champion the game, or someone with connections to FLGSs who might stock the game and other Venger's Decks items, this is your chance to join the growing realm.
If that sounds up your street, take a peek here and sign up for free, no commitment.
helping alleviate poverty
You might also have noticed on the site that I've added the function I've had on vengersdecks.com, which gives you an option to add a tip at checkout. I've been supporting The Trussell Trust for years, as I'm 100% behind the idea of helping those in need in what's very much a difficult time, so all tips go to them.
There's more on this here, and if you'd like to donate or add a tip, it points you in the right direction for that.
tidying up
Beyond this, working on the futuristic version of the game (new working title: The Static), and sorting more wholesale orders to spread the game throughout FLGSs here, there, and everywhere, I've also been tidying up the site itself, ensuring that all the roll generators work as they should, fixing typographical errors, and generally enhancing its ease of use.
For me, although the card deck is the main thing when it comes to running The Chaos, the website is a brilliant resource if you're looking to add to your experience.
Talking of which...
limbo: a free dice game for the tavern table
I've got something for you, and it's free. No catch, no upsell, no strings.
Limbo is a two player dice game I made up years ago, and I've finally written it up properly for d6. You need two dice each (or one of your own and one of your opponent's, if you're being civil), a forfeit you both agreed before the first roll, and a stubborn streak. Roll 2d6, add it to your score, and try not to be the first to 66, because that's when the forfeit lands. Push your luck if you dare, hold by calling "limbo" if you don't, and watch out for the 1s.
It works with any d6 fantasy roleplaying game, so you don't need The Chaos to play it. Drop it into a tavern scene, a prison cell, or a long night round the campfire and see who ends up wearing something ridiculous until sunset.
There's an arcane version too, for weavers who'd like their dice to bind them to the game until it's finished, even if one of them is dead by then. It has mercy commands, a roll-on-the-table list of nasty forfeits, and solo rules for those of you playing alone.
Grab it here, play it, steal it, tweak it, and tell me what forfeits your table comes up with.
how to run dice games at the fantasy table
So yeah, that's Limbo.
Every tavern in every fantasy world has somebody in the corner rattling dice, and yet, it's so easy to skip right past the opportunity this presents. The barkeep gets a name, the notice board gets read, and at best, usually the dice game gets a line of narration like "you play a few hands and lose a bit of coin." For me, that's a bit of a waste. It's like yeah, there's big stuff the players want to get done, but there's a lot to be said about spacing out that big stuff with character-building moments. A dice game is one of the few moments in a session where characters get to be idle, and idle people tend to show you who they really are.
where to put them
I reckon the best spots are the ones where the story would otherwise just sit there. Waiting out a storm in a roadside inn. A long night of watches round the campfire. A prison cell with a bored guard. A gate keeper who won't let you through until his shift ends. Anywhere time passes and nothing's really happening gives a dice game room to breathe without stealing the plot.
Offer them, but given player agency, absolutely don't force them. A game the players choose to sit down at is a scene, and a game they're told to play is a chore. Put the dice on the table in the fiction, let somebody ask what the rules are, and wait. If nobody bites, the NPC can shrug and play himself. Once a session is plenty, and most sessions won't need one at all.
The most useful thing a dice game does is to move stakes out of the character sheet. Nobody's hit points are on the line, so you can stake anything else: a favour, a secret, a borrowed horse, an introduction nobody asked for. A forfeit is a story hook the players wrote themselves, which beats any that I could hand them. And never lock the main road behind a dice game. Winning should open a door, and losing should make things awkward, but the party should usually be able to walk on either way.
keeping the spell unbroken
The trouble with mini-games is that everyone suddenly turns into a person doing sums. The cure is to keep the rules so small that nobody really has to look at them. If the whole game is worked out rapidly and the players can explain it back after one round, you've got room left over for the fiction.
From there, the trick is to stop narrating the game and start narrating the people. Skip "you rolled a nine" and ask the players what their characters is doing before or whilst the dice are in the air. A flick of the wrist, a muttered prayer, a hand hovering over the pot. Let the table talk in character while the dice fall, and ask for lines of dialogue every few turns rather than every roll. The agreed forfeit is the best roleplay in the whole game, so make the players say it out loud, in voice, before anyone touches a die.
Encourage the characters to cheat or bluff. Make the players do it in the fiction first, if they like, and let the dice and the NPCs' reactions (using grit or morale checks maybe) decide what happens. Tells are a good way to do this. When somebody rolls on when they've no need to, describe a small thing: a glance at the door, a twitch, a grin that's slightly too wide. Players love reading tells, and it keeps their eyes on the person across the table rather than on the dice.
running npc opponents for a group
Running an NPC in a dice game gives you three jobs: give them a reason to play, a temperament, and a simple way to decide when to push their luck.
The reason matters most. Someone who plays for pride behaves very differently from someone who plays to clear a debt, or to lose on purpose so a stranger will owe them one. Roll a d6 if you're stuck: pride, a debt, revenge, boredom, a secret they want, or they're throwing the game. Then pick a hold rule that fits. My default is simple: roll a d6 whenever the NPC could hold, with 1 to 3 meaning they hold and 4 to 6 meaning they roll on. Nudge it up for the reckless and down for the careful, and give a thrower a bias toward rolling on so they pile up points.
Roll the NPC's dice in the open. The moment players suspect you're fudging, the whole game becomes a puppet show, and you lose the thing that makes it fun, which is that nobody knows what's going to happen.
A group makes this trickier, because a two player game leaves everyone else watching. I like to let one player step up as the party's champion while the others become the crowd: they hold the side bets, heckle, give advice, and get one whispered tip per round to pass along. But I'll also have things happening in that crowd - pick-pockets, nudges leading to rowdy fights, anything that brings in the other characters and seeds chaos in and around the game itself. You could also rotate the champion between rounds, or between games. If a game threatens to run long, use the short version of whatever you're playing. Ten minutes of dice is a lovely scene, but forty is a different session, so if it's beginning to drag, have a complication introduce itself and interrupt the scene - doing that not only moves things along, but it might mean the game remains unresolved, and that in itself can create havoc for the characters.
playing solo
Solo play is where a dice game really earns its keep, because the NPC across the table is the only other voice in the room. Treat the opponent as an oracle. Every choice they make is a small piece of information about who they are, so the reason you rolled for them, the tells you invent, and the moment they hold or push on all feed back into your story.
The big hurdle is honesty. You're the player and the opponent, so decide the NPC's hold rule before the dice come out, and then roll it without peeking at your own score. Write the forfeit down before you start, and keep to it afterwards. No one else is going to hold you to it, and the stakes only mean something if you do.
Forfeits are also the best scene prompts you'll find. Lose a game and you owe someone a favour, and that's an errand, an NPC, and a complication all in one. Let a game run over several sessions as an unfinished business, with the score written on a scrap of parchment. Pick it up again whenever the story takes your character back to that tavern, and let the stranger who's been waiting at the table all this time reveal what they really wanted.
beyond limbo
None of this is specific to the dice game I've been rambling about. Knucklebones, liar's dice, a coin flipped in a back alley: any push-your-luck game with tiny rules and clear stakes will do the same job. Keep them short, roll in the open, stake something in the fiction, and give your opponent a reason.
If you'd like a ready-made one to try, Limbo is free for anyone to use, with tavern and arcane rules, tables of forfeits and mercy commands, and a printable PDF. It works with any d6 fantasy game:
https://thechaosttrpg.com/pages/limbo-free-tavern-dice-game-with-forfeits
Tell me what forfeits your table ends up with. I'd love to hear them!
thanks so much!
for your support & inspiration
Please share the game with all & sundry, spreading The Chaos into every dark corner its flickering torches haven't quite reached. My aim is for the game to grow like an invigorating fungus on the minds of the OSR community and beyond, and I can't thank you enough for being a part of this.
Meantime, if you've not yet joined The Realm discord, here's the link for that, and I look forward to seeing you there! Be sure to let me know any suggestions you have about what to include in the next issue, or about the game itself, and enjoy the rest of your day. :)
Best,
Scott
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