Tricube Tales is a generic, rules-lite, open-license tabletop roleplaying system that is designed to be fast and portable, making it ideal for pick-up games. It requires little preparation or bookkeeping, and the main PDF can be comfortably read on a smartphone screen.
Download the full Phone PDF version of Tricube Tales for free by clicking the Publisher Preview .
Purchasing this product will also give you access to the tablet version ( 4:3 aspect ratio— this also looks good on laptops and desktop computers when using “Two Page View” in Acrobat Reader), a Word document version (convenient if you want to copy the text for your own products), a 5"x8" version for home printing, and the Micro Edition (a “one-page RPG” version of the system along with the Six-Scene Scenario), as well as 63 form-fillable character cards and a Scribus template for designing your own.
The printed version of this book has the same content and general layout as the Phone PDF, but it's enlarged to fit a 5"x8" book (the font size is around 13). It doesn't include the character cards or the Micro Edition.
What is Tricube Tales?
This product started out as a simple set of guidelines I created to run short games for my five-year-old son. However, I found the rules worked really well for adults as well, so I decided to expand them into a full game.
Versatile: Tricube Tales is a rules-light roleplaying system capable of handling a wide variety of genres and settings.
Portable: Games require little preparation or bookkeeping, and the PDF is designed for reading on a 16:9 aspect ratio smartphone screen, so you’ll always have the rules at hand.
Free: You can download the full Phone PDF for free by clicking on the Publisher Preview, and the entire text has been released under the CC BY 3.0 license, meaning you can also use it for your own commercial publications.
If you have any questions about the system or suggestions for future content, you're welcome to discuss them on the
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Character Creation
The player makes up an archetype, a perk, and a quirk. An archetype consists of a trait (agile, brawny, or crafty) followed by a concept (usually a profession or calling), a perk typically represents a special ability or item, and a quirk describes a foible or drawback. The entire character can be summarized in a single sentence, such as “an agile masked vigilante who is skilled with a rapier and loves to humiliate his foes,” or “a brawny cyborg cop who has a cybernetic exoskeleton and is programmed to uphold the law,” or even “a crafty professor with telepathic superpowers who requires a wheelchair.”
Resolution System
To overcome a challenge, players roll 1-3 six-sided dice (depending on their archetype) against a difficulty of 4-6 (depending on the situation), and need to succeed with at least one die. Perks can be used to reduce the difficulty, while quirks can increase it, but both are controlled by the player using karma tokens—they spend karma on perks, and recover it from quirks. This core mechanic is used for everything, including combat, and all rolls are made by the players.
Tricube Tales Micro Edition & Six-Scene Scenario
As a bonus download, I've also included the Tricube Tales Micro Edition —a generic “one-page RPG” version of Tricube Tales in the same style as the micro-settings that can be printed on a single sheet of paper, with adventure suggestions and a generic twist table on the second side of the paper. There are also a further two pages describing the Six-Scene Scenario , a quick and easy method for generating adventures on the fly, which you can print on a second sheet of paper. The PDF uses layers for ease of printing. A print-on-demand version is available here .
Micro-Settings
If you’re looking for some scenario ideas to get started, check out these standalone micro-settings:
Arcane Agents : Magically-gifted operatives investigate supernatural activities and battle otherworldly threats.
Champions of Osiris : Immortal heroes hunt down the servants of Set in both ancient Egypt and the modern day.
Christmas Capers : It’s the night before Christmas, and Santa has made another blunder—can his helpers save the day?
Eldritch Apocalypse : Operatives for a top-secret organization attempt to prevent an apocalypse.
Eldritch Detectives : Operatives for a top-secret organization investigate paranormal activities.
Firefighters : Brave firefighters respond to emergencies, protecting lives and property.
Goblin Gangsters : Ambitious “made goblins” of the Redfang family undertake daring missions for the Gobfather.
Halfling Hustlers : A gang of halfling thieves and swindlers look for ways to earn some easy money.
Horrible Henchmen : Serve your dark master and help them carry out their dastardly plans.
Interstellar Rebels : Hunt down and eradicate the surviving remnants of the Interstellar Empire.
Maidenstead Mysteries : Amateur sleuths investigate a series of baffling mysteries in the quaint town of Maidenstead.
Metahuman Uprising : Superheroes don their masks and capes, and face off against supervillains.
Minerunners : Dwarven raiders drive their war wagon through a zombie-infested city, searching for lost treasure.
Mythical Heroes : Mighty demigods of Greek Mythology embark on dangerous quests at the behest of kings and gods.
Rotten Odds : Survivors of a zombie apocalypse attempt to overcome the odds and escape the city.
Samhain Slaughter : Paranormal high-schoolers defend their town against monsters and cultists.
Spellrunners : Freelance operatives take on clandestine jobs in a cyberpunk-fantasy near-future Earth.
Stone Age Hunters : Scout the land, protect your tribe, and gather the resources needed to survive the ice age.
Stranger Tales : 1980s kids go on exciting and dangerous adventures, searching for clues and solving mysteries!
Summer Camp Slayers : A group of young monster hunters investigates an urban legend at summer camp.
Sundered Chains : Immortal beings seek to recover their stolen power before returning to their own realm.
The Fools Who Follow : The loyal companions of an incompetent Chosen One attempt to guide their wayward charge.
Twisted Wishes : Immortal beings twist the wishes of those foolish enough to summon them.
Welcome to Drakonheim : An introductory scenario for the dark fantasy setting “Drakonheim: City of Bones.”
* Note that Interstellar Troopers includes a Scribus template for designing and publishing your own micro-settings.
Solo Gaming
Triciube Tales also offers dedicated Solo Rules for GMless play, using oracle tables and a card-based scene structure. The rules are designed to be fast and simple, ideal for running quick solo games on short notice.
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