taken from expanded with material from
Roll for Shoes is a tabletop RPG “micro system” with a very simple set of rules.
The original post is archived at “I roll to see if I have shoes on!”, but here are the rules:
- Say what you do and roll a number of D6s, determined by the level of relevant skill you have.
- If the sum of your roll is higher than the opposing roll, the thing you wanted to happen, happens.
- At start, you have only one skill: Do Anything 1.
- If you roll all sixes, you get a new skill specific to the action, one level higher than the one you used.
- For every roll you fail, you get 1 XP.
- XP can be used to change a die into a 6 for advancement purposes only.
This mini-system works beautifully for crafting characters on the go. Here are some example "charsheets" from the dungeoncrawl of Cakewalk that I ran:
- Krey the Heretic Monk of the Church of Pain : 0 XP Do anything 1, Fist O'Pain 2, Burning Fist O'Pain 3, Heretic 2, Teeth of Biting 2!
- Ferret the Son of a Shoemaker: 2 XP Do Anything 1. Boots of Kicking 2. Feet of Feats 3. Supplier 2.
- Ryu the Polymorphed Egglayer: 2 XP, Reptillian 2
But my favorite moment was this:
I had asked the players if they were doing anything to prepare for the dungeon before leaving town. One of them said he's checking to see if "he has his heirloom shield" with him. He rolls and botches, and so I say: "Your father is a shoemaker. You are not sure why you ever thought you had anything even remotelly close to a shield." After a little while, this character and the would-be monk make it to the heavy doors of dungeon Cakewalk and have a little conversation regarding their preparedness. The monk says he's barefoot and happy to be so, 'cause, well, he's a monk! And then the shoemaker says "I check to see if I have shoes on!"... Which is beautiful, of course - we've already established he's the son of a shoemaker, so he definitelly has shoes on. So if he does win this roll, we know that he doesn't just have shoes on, he has awesome shoes on!
And then he rolls a 6 on that roll and gets Boots of Kicking 2.
And then he rolls a 3-6 roll for kicking down the dungeon door, and upgrades it into Feet of Feats 3.
- Head
- Left arm
- Right arm
- Torso
- Left leg
- Right leg
11 Left ear |
21 Right ear |
31 Left eye |
41 Right eye |
51 Nose |
61 Mouth |
12 Left shoulder |
22 Left upper arm |
32 Left elbow |
42 Left forearm |
52 Left wrist |
62 Left hand |
13 Right shoulder |
23 Right upper arm |
33 Right elbow |
43 Right forearm |
53 Right wrist |
63 Right hand |
14 Left upper |
24 Right upper |
34 Left middle |
44 Right middle |
54 Left lower |
64 Right lower |
15 Left hip |
25 Left thigh |
35 Left knee |
45 Left shin/calf |
55 Left ankle |
65 Left foot |
16 Right hip |
26 Right thigh |
36 Right knee |
46 Right shin/calf |
56 Right ankle |
66 Right foot |
Roll D66 (two D6 side by side) for each of the tables below.
11 Adorable |
31 Filthy |
51 Slender |
12 Attractive |
32 Furry |
52 Slimy |
13 Bald |
33 Glamorous |
53 Spiky |
14 Bearded |
34 Huge |
54 Stinky |
15 Beefy |
35 Lanky |
55 Stylish |
16 Bony |
36 Muscular |
56 Sunburned |
21 Bulky |
41 Obese |
61 Tall |
22 Chiseled |
42 Pasty |
62 Tattooed |
23 Chubby |
43 Petite |
63 Tentacled |
24 Clean |
44 Scary |
64 Tiny |
25 Creepy |
45 Shifty |
65 Ugly |
26 Elderly |
46 Short |
66 Voluptuous |
11 Annoying |
31 Fearless |
51 Noisy |
12 Arrogant |
32 Fidgety |
52 Optimistic |
13 Awkward |
33 Friendly |
53 Quiet |
14 Bossy |
34 Grumpy |
54 Rowdy |
15 Clumsy |
35 Judgmental |
55 Rude |
16 Confident |
36 Kind |
56 Sad |
21 Courageous |
41 Lazy |
61 Sarcastic |
22 Demanding |
42 Maniacal |
62 Selfish |
23 Embarrassed |
43 Mean |
63 Shy |
24 Enthusiastic |
44 Messy |
64 Silly |
25 Evil |
45 Murderous |
65 Simple-Minded |
26 Excited |
46 Nervous |
66 Stubborn |
While the basic Roll for Shoes rules are purposefully simplistic, there are some extra rules and systems you can add to a game to emphasize themes or add mechanics as necessary.
Weaknesses are similar to Skills, but instead have a negative number associated with their level (e.g., Running -2, Climbing Ladders -3). Weaknesses are rolled with the noted number of D6s (as absolute value), but only the single lowest rolled die result counts.
Example: A character is being chased, having to use Running -2 to roll two D6s: they roll a 4 and 2, and use the 2 as their result. Another character must use Climbing Ladders -3 and would roll three D6s, similarly using the lowest single result.
A few important notes:
- Weaknesses are intended to be permanent, being analogous to negative Skills.
- Broad Weaknesses should start at -2 since -1 does not make sense as a roll on its own.
- Advancements are not possible with a Weakness, so rolling all sixes simply gives the character a single result of 6.
- Weaknesses can be quite punishing, so it’s recommended to only use them—and optionally the related rules below—when it’s fitting to the setting, style, and mood of the game.
A possible additional rule is to invert advancement for Weaknesses: any Weakness roll of all ones grants a Weakness more specific to the action, at one level lower than the failed task.
Example: A character fails Running -2 with both dice rolled 1, and is given a new Weakness called Fleeing Uphill -3.
Weaknesses are typically given at the beginning of a session, to emphasize an aspect of a character at creation. Alternatively, particularly bad Skill rolls could result in creating a Weakness: any Skill roll of all ones grants a Weakness at a related level, specific to the rolled action. This should only occur for Skills above level 1 (by default anything other than Do Anything 1).
Example: An otherwise capable character is given a very hot cup of tea, and attempts to Drink 2. They roll two 1s, and unfortunately gain Drinking Hot Beverages -2.
Statuses act as temporary modifiers to any relevant rolls, instead of being treated as a rollable Skill (or Weakness) on their own. Statuses can be positive or negative, and are typically written with their signed modifier value first to differentiate their usage (e.g., +1 Strengthened, -2 Poisoned). A character can have many effective Statuses, and multiple Statuses can affect a given Skill/Weakness roll. Statuses are intended to only be temporary, and should be dynamically added or removed when narratively appropriate.
Example: A character attempts to throw a molotov cocktail but fails spectacularly. It falls to their feet and explodes, giving them -3 On Fire which remains attached to them until they dive into a nearby river, thus removing the Status.
By default, outcomes are handled purely narratively, around goals and actions that characters perform. Each action is a discrete move towards a goal, with no resulting values taken into account other than success. This works fine in most games and groups that don’t have a need to track damage.
Alternatively, you can use the difference between opposing roll results as a Damage value, and assign the damaged character a Status related to the damage.
Example: An orc swings its Stone Club 3 at an elf mage that tries to block with Magic Barrier 3. The orc rolls 9 and the elf rolls 4, resulting in 5 Damage. The GM describes the elf's failed defense as mistiming the spell cast, and the club strikes their shoulder. The 5 Damage outcome is used to place a -5 Clubbed Shoulder Status on the elf. This Status modifier would be applied to any rolls that rely on that shoulder, and could be removed with a successful heal.