ROGUE 2E LICENSING INFORMATION

The Rogue 2E System Reference Document (SRD) contains the core mechanics of Rogue 2E. The contents of the SRD are
available for use under the the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Please read the license itself for more information.

A summary: so long as you give proper attribution to me, you are allowed to use the text contained within this
document, or SRD, in order to create your own derivate works. Don’t state or imply I endorse you, don’t disparage my
reputation, and don’t use the specific Aces, Powers, Proficiencies, GM Events, Monsters, or any other narrative prompts
I’ve created in the Rogue 2E game, except for those included in this SRD. An exception to this rule is Crises; feel free to
reproduce any of the crises contained in the Rogue 2E document.

Normally, the restrictions above would extend to any artwork contained within the original work. In this case, however,
you are allowed to utilize all artwork contained within the Rogue 2E document, as all of it exists in the public domain,
the majority of which has been kindly released into public domain by Sine Nomine Publishing. Access to Sine Nomine’s
public domain artwork can be found under the following Art Pack listings on Drive Thru RPG:

• https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/114894/Scarlet-Heroes-Art-Pack?manufacturers_id=3482
• https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/146840/Silent-Legions-Art-Pack?manufacturers_id=3482
• https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/186927/Godbound-Art-Pack?manufacturers_id=3482
• https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/231355/Stars-Without-Number-Revised-Edition-Art-Pack?manufacturers_id=3482

A note on the 3.0 CC-BY license: Unlike other licenses, with the 3.0 license, when you create your own work, you don’t
have to use a CC-BY license. I’d love for you to do so, though, as it creates even more content for our community to
design with.

ATTRIBUTION
In order to create a derivative work based on the text contained in this SRD, you must give proper attribution. This
means you must include the following text:

This work is based on Rogue 2E (found at https://kazumiochin.itch.io/rogue2e/), product of Kazumi Chin, and licensed
for use under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).

Additionally, while not required, I ask that you make use of the following logo (available for download on Rogue 2E’s
itch.io listing under agamegonerogue.png):

If you do so, you must include the following text:

The Game Gone Rogue logo is created by Kazumi Chin and is used with permission.
ROGUE 2E SYSTEM REFERENCE DOCUMENT Next, choose 3 Item Proficiencies for your Rogue. These
proficiencies function similarly to those for weapons.
CHARACTER CREATION Note you may still use other items—but you won’t
receive the same bonuses as those granted by
ACES
Proficiencies. You begin the game with all the items you
To create your rogue, you’ll begin by creating Aces. Aces are proficient in. An example item is presented below.
are special, character-defining skills that can be invoked
• Crowbar: +1d6 to rolls that involve prying,
to allow your character to triumph in particular
smashing, or other uses for a crowbar.
situations. You begin the game with 2 Aces.
INTRODUCTIONS
I’ve provided the following 2 Aces as an example:
After you’ve selected your 2 Aces, 3 Powers, 1 Weapon
• A Single Precise Strike
Proficiency, and 3 Item Proficiencies, you’re ready to do
• Dedicated Scholarship
introductions. Read the questions below and think about
If you’d like to create your own Aces, you should use the answers. When you’re ready, tell the others your
those above as inspiration. Your Aces should be skills that answers (questions included here are limited examples).
are at once specific and vague. You can skew a bit more
• Who are you?
towards the specific (such as “a single precise strike”),
• Are you part of the thieves’ guild?
but try not to get more broad than something like
• Do you do contract work?
“dedicated scholarship.”
REFRESH RATE
POWERS
One last thing to cover before we move into the overview
Powers are sets of actions you can take that will
of rolling mechanics: discuss with your group the Refresh
automatically succeed when you take them. For
Rate you would like.
example, if you take Brawn, you can fight through any
crowd, or smash anything, or draw blood with your The Refresh Rate is a real-time countdown that
weapon, at any time. The exception to this rule is if the determines how often you can use an Ace. Normally,
GM chooses to Challenge, which we’ll cover on page xx. after using an Ace, you’ll trigger a real-time 15-20 minute
cooldown before you can use it again. As a group, discuss
You begin the game with 3 Powers, one of which is
the refresh rate you’d like. Feel free to either increase,
presented below as an example.
decrease, or do away with it entirely.
Power: Brawn
CHARACTER CREATION RECAP
• You fight through the crowd.
To summarize, here’s what character creation looks like
• You smash or destroy an object.
in Rogue Second Edition:
• You draw blood with your weapon.
• Ask: What are your vulnerabilities? • Pick 2 Aces.
• Pick 3 Powers.
WEAPON PROFICIENCIES
• Pick 1 Weapon Proficiency.
Choose 1 Weapon Proficiency, a bonus your character • Pick 3 Item Proficiencies.
may utilize while wielding that particular weapon class in • Introduce your character.
a particular manner: • Agree upon your desired refresh rate.

• Light: +1d6 to rolls that involve attacking BASIC RULES

with quickness or stealth.
ROLLING THE DICE
ITEM PROFICIENCIES
Whenever the game directs you to roll the dice, roll 1d20 the fiction (for example, if you’re fighting a monster, the
+ a number of d6 equal to your total bonuses, minus your resulting crisis likely will be an injury). If the GM directs
total penalties. To determine your result, add the highest you to apply a crisis, mark the matching crisis on your
value shown among your d6s to the number shown on character sheet. The GM may now apply any penalties
the d20. associated with that crisis to your future rolls. If at any
time you mark your fourth crisis, you must narrate how
For example, let’s say I rolled a d20 that shows 9, a d6
that crisis leads to your Rogue’s death.
that shows 4, and a d6 that shows 5. I would take the
highest result among my d6s (5) and add that total to the PUSHING A ROLL
result shown on my d20 (9). My total roll would be 9 + 5
If you roll a 10-14, you may opt to push yourself. If you
= 14.
do, instead of the result the GM narrates, you may
There are two types of rolls that you make in Rogue narrate your success. However, the GM then gets to
Second Edition: Perception Rolls and Standard Rolls. apply a crisis, in response to your success. Whatever the
GM responds with, they may not take away the success
PERCEPTION ROLLS
your character gained.
The GM may ask for a perception roll at any time, either
ACING A ROLL
in response to a Power (a GM Challenge), or at-will, when
failure may be interesting and likely. Perception rolls are If you were to make a roll, and you have an Ace that
used to determine whether or not your character applies to the situation at hand, instead of rolling, you
notices, observes, understands, and so on. may narrate your Rogue overcoming the roll with their
Ace. You automatically succeed on the roll.
When you roll for perception, on a 15+, you succeed. You
gain information related to what you had hoped to find, SITUATIONAL BONUSES
or the GM volunteers information important for you to In addition to the weapon proficiency and item bonuses
understand. On a 10-14, you succeed, but the that are available to your character, there are also other
information is partial or incomplete. On a 9-, you fail. You situational bonuses that players should check for as they
perceive very little, or the information makes itself roll. An example of such a bonus is listed below:
known to you in the worst way possible.
Positional: If you have managed to take a positional
STANDARD ROLLS advantage in the fiction (high ground, cover, stealth,
knowledge of weaknesses, and so on) you gain a number
The GM may also ask for a standard roll, either in of d6 equal to the advantage (GM’s discretion).
response to a Power (a GM Challenge), or at-will, when
failure may be interesting and likely. Standard rolls are Lastly, some monsters have discoverable Weaknesses
used to determine whether or not your character that allow PCs to gain bonuses when found and
overcomes physical, social, and other challenges not exploited.
covered by perception rolls. CRISIS PENALTIES
When you make a standard roll, on a 15+, you succeed. One type of penalty applied to your rolls is those
You accomplish your task, or at least take one step closer associated with crises that the GM may apply to the roll
towards accomplishing it. On a 10-14, you accomplish to cancel out any number of bonuses you may have
your task, but the GM will let you know how the result is received. The GM may not cancel out more bonuses than
unstable, temporary, or a stalemate. On a 9-, you fail, the you currently possess for your roll.
GM applies a crisis, and you gain 1 XP. So long as you currently suffer from the associated crisis,
APPLYING CRISES the GM may apply a penalty such as the following to your
roll:
Sometimes, the GM will direct you to mark a crisis on
your character sheet. This crises will follow logically from
Injured: Take -1d (minor) or -3d (major) to a roll that If you ever have three crises marked, marking one more
requires you to use the injured part of your body, until will result in the death of your Rogue. Take some time to
you are adequately healed. narrate how this last crisis is the proverbial nail in the
coffin. You needn’t die right away – you can drag it out,
OVERWHELMING PENALTIES
if you wish, even up to 20 minutes, waiting for the
Finally, some enemies or situations can be considered appropriate time to die in a blaze of glory.
overwhelming. This means that this enemy or situation is
GM EVENTS
exceedingly difficult to confront (it is an overwhelming
situation). In these cases, before you roll, subtract a The GM may, at any time, cause anything to happen.
number of d6 from your roll equal to the listed number, Additionally, a player may petition for the GM to
or a number generated at the GM’s discretion. introduce a new event; if the GM agrees, as an optional
rule, the GM may make the Refresh Rate reset for all
USING POWERS IN PLAY
players.
In addition to your Aces, there is another way to
It most cases, it will make most sense for the GM to apply
automatically succeed on your rolls: by using your
events as a result of a 10-14 or 9- roll. There are two kinds
Powers. Each of your powers can be used three times per
of event applications: hard events, and soft events. For
session. You may use an action associated with your
the most part, you should be using soft events. But every
Power at any time, and you will automatically succeed at
so often, when it makes sense, throw a hard event in
doing so.
there, to up the tension, or represent a more powerful
However, the GM is always watching and listening to threat.
everything that you say. And they may, at any time,
Challenge your Power. Challenges occur when the GM BASIC GM EVENTS
determines that what you are attempting to do exceeds SOFT EVENTS
the capacities of the Power. For example, it might be
reasonable to expect that you can smash through a A soft event sets up the pins, but doesn’t knock them
wooden door, because of your access to the Brawn down. For example, rather than a monster appearing
power (others would be asked to make a roll right then suddenly, the GM could announce a monster stomping
and there). But, if instead the door is metallic, the GM down the hallway, and ask the players what they do.
can rule that your Power simply isn’t strong enough to HARD EVENTS
warrant being used in this case, and issue a Challenge.
A hard event immediately knocks pins down. For
GM CHALLENGES example, the monster above would simply appear right
If the GM Challenges your Power, you must choose one: in front of the players, and may even take a swipe at
withdraw usage of it, or gain 1 XP and treat the action them. From there, the GM would ask the players what
you had hoped to accomplish with your Power as a they do.
Standard Roll. Additionally, while the GM may Challenge FURTHER APPLICATIONS
Powers, they may not do so to Aces.
Another example: a soft event for “debris lies strewn
Note: If the GM and players disagree on Power or Ace
about” might be to mention this fact. A hard event might
usage, please have an out-of-game discussion to instead see the players already tripping over the debris
calibrate your expectations. and becoming injured.
HEALING CRISES & DYING Sometimes, you’ll want to introduce events without rolls
To unmark crises, you must address the fictional attached to them. If you introduce events without
situation that led to the marking of that crisis. The ease rolling, stick with soft events, for the most part. Finally,
with which you are able to do such a thing will differ you’ll notice later that monsters and other dangers come
greatly, depending on the story you and the GM hope to with their own events, and can be used similarly to those
tell together. mentioned here.
ADVANCEMENT have the capacity to unleash that scholarship in a
dangerous way.
EXPERIENCE POINTS
COMBAT RULES
Players that receive experience points add them to their
experience track. When they reach 7 total XP, they HARMING MONSTERS
should erase all their XP and select a level-up reward for
Each time a PC rolls a 15+ on a standard roll in an attempt
their character:
to harm a monster, or pushes themselves on a 10-14
• Gain an action from another Power. result, they may choose to deal 1 HP worth of damage to
• Gain another Power usage. that monster.
• Gain an item or weapon Proficiency.
DAMAGE WAGERS
• Upgrade an item or weapon Proficiency.
• Rewrite an Ace in a beneficial way. Players who would like to deal additional damage can
“wager” their bonus dice in order to do so. Before a roll
If you choose to gain an action from another Power, this
to attack a monster, a PC with at least a 2d6 bonus can
means that, unlike your three main Powers, in which you
remove that bonus from their roll. Each time they do this,
gained all four of the actions, you will choose only a
they may add an additional wager to their roll. A PC may
single line from another Power. You do not gain the
add any number of wagers, so long as they have the
entire Power: just one action from that Power’s list.
bonus dice available to do so.
Decide which of your existing Powers the new action best
fits, and add it to that Power’s list. If the PC succeeds in their attack, the monster takes
additional damage equal to the number of wagers the PC
Gaining another power usage means that rather than
has made.
using your power three times a game, you may use it four
times a game, and so on. OPEN INITIATIVE

Gaining an item or weapon proficiency means you take If you’re used to a more traditional dungeon crawling
another proficiency, and add that bonus when using the experience, you might notice that there are no rules for
item or weapon in play. the monsters to take turns! How do you run a combat
without turns?
Upgrading an item or weapon proficiency means that
instead of taking +1d6 when using that weapon, you’d Rather than queuing up and taking turns, the GM will do
take +2d6, and so on. their best to follow the action as it shifts. They should call
on players and ask them what their character does, let
The last bit, rewriting an Ace, might need some
them complete their action, then turn to someone else
additional explanation. There are a few possible reasons
in a critical situation and do the same for them. GMs: Let
a player might wish to rewrite their Ace: they are bored
the battle commence naturally, and do your best to
of the current Ace, they recognize it does not accurately
include all players in the narrative.
reflect their playstyle and wish to try out an new
character concept; or they want to reflect their USING GM EVENTS
character’s growth through the revision of their Ace.
Monsters can basically do anything, at any time they
Each of these are acceptable.
want, so long as it makes sense in the narrative. If you
All players should work together to revise the Ace want the monster to suddenly lash out and cause
towards something that feels either like a slight increase damage, just tell the players that it does so. Usually, you
in power, or a fictionally-relevant change. should give them a chance to roll in response, but if,
narratively, it makes sense that they cannot resist it, then
For example, if my Ace is “dedicated scholarship,” and I’d
simply tell them that’s how the monster is. They’ll quickly
like to reflect an increase in my intellectual capacities as
learn that some monster simply have a lot of narrative
a result of that scholarship, I might revise that Ace to now
power: and that they should perhaps find ways of
say, “potent arcane scholar.” The implications for the
avoiding or overcoming the monster in different ways.
game are now that, not only am I a great scholar, I also
COMBINING EVENTS & CRISES incapacitation, no crisis is large enough that cannot be
overcome. This allows them to cause dangerous things to
The rolls tell you to inflict crises when the players fail.
happen to their characters and feel good about that
These crises can come about because of a monster’s
danger, knowing they cannot die until they have
attacks, due to environmental effects, or other reasons.
accumulated four crises.
Try to find narrative reasons for why a particular crises
might be applied to a play. And, as you do so, don’t be Sometimes, you can ask your players for their ideas, and
afraid to include a soft or hard event go to along with it. let them control what happens to their characters.
Roleplaying games are a collaborative space, after all!
IMPROVISATION
NIX BONUSES & PENALTIES
Whatever you do, just try to have fun with it. It might be
difficult getting used to such a fast and loose system if If bonuses and penalties are too much at any one time,
you’re used to GMing for a more structured game. If or if you’d rather play a looser, more rules-light version
you’re worried, try to err on the side of making the battle of the base game, simply get rid of them. Seriously.
a bit easier for the PCs. As you each get more Instead, run with the feeling of the situation. Here’s the
comfortable with the game, you can slowly amp up the feeling chart:
difficulty.
• I’ve got a bad feeling about this: d20.
IF IT’S IN THE STAT BLOCK • I think we’ll be okay: d20 + 1d6.
• Don’t worry, we got this: d20 + 2d6.
Then that gives the GM permission to use. GM: don’t be
• Literally, it’s fine: d20 +3d6.
afraid to just say events occur! Feel free to make the
monsters as threatening or benign as you like. And that’s about it. Aces and Powers still apply, but you
Remember, if you can communicate that your actions are don’t have to worry about those nitty gritty details
written in the stat block, then the players will likely roll anymore.
with it!
You can even move back and forth between the full game
FURTHER GM TOOLS and the abridged version above. For very important
scenes, or scenes you want to slow down and take
SET POWER LEVELS methodically, go to the full game. For less important
Much like your Refresh Rate conversation, you should scenes, or scenes you want to speed up and play through
communicate with the players the expected power level chaotically, go to the feeling-based game.
of their Powers. In game terms: do they want the powers MONSTERS
to feel more like a level 16 adventure, or a level 4
adventure? What kind of situations should these powers MONSTER LEVELS
allow them to escape from? To overcome? Having a
The power levels of monsters are rated from 1-10. Here’s
standard power level to return to allows for you to issue
the levels as I understand them:
consistent challenges, and they will have an internal
consistency to them, which also helps with your 1. Ducks, rats, spiders. Barely worth fighting.
worldbuilding. 2. Townsfolk, wolves, zombies. Be careful.
3. Bears, guards, skeletons. A real challenge.
OFFLOAD REFRESH RATE
4. Ogres, spirits, ghosts. Dangerous enemies.
Don’t track the refresh rate yourself. Make the players 5. Trolls, ghouls, mercenaries. Deadly enemies.
handle this. If you do not trust the players to play 6. Sorcerers, golems, giants. Preparation needed.
correctly, have a conversation with them about it. 7. Horrors, vampires, banshees. One false step.
8. Ents, demons, werewolves. Run away.
LET PLAYERS HANDLE CRISES
9. Dragons, krakens, warlords. You’re dead.
Sometimes, you can ask players to come up with crises 10. Gods, walkers, night beasts. I’m sorry.
themselves. Under the Rogue Second Editoin system,
Use crises, overwhelming, and GM events to do your best
players will begin to understand that, aside from
to simulate this power level in the narrative. In some
cases, a high-level monster may not be mechanically A monster’s weaknesses detail under what conditions
more powerful than another. It is up to you, as the GM, the GM should apply bonuses in addition to those the
to ensure that that monster feels more powerful than a PCs already have.
lower-level monster. For example, a more powerful
I’ve included the Goro-Goro stat block below as an
creature will likely:
example of their formatting.
• Use hard events instead of soft events.
Name: Goro-Goro
• Use more events, overall.
• Activate combos as if they were events. Level: 4 HP: 4 Combo: Hold (1)
• Apply overwhelming traits more often.
• And so on… Description: The Goro-Goro can be identified by the
coolness of their breath and a small vaporous cloud that
This sort of play, without mechanical changes, might feel emerges seemingly from nowhere. When you see a cloud
difficult, but you’ll eventually get a feel for it! If you’re hanging in the middle of a dark room without
worried, check in with your players to see how it feels explanation, you can be fairly sure the Goro-Goro is
from their end. present.
MONSTER COMBOS Those who have seen the Goro-Goro and lived to tell the
tale speak of a face holding more teeth than humanly
A monster combo is an additional effect that a monster
possible. They say it has a massive, almost humanoid
applies, typically in response to a player’s failed roll.
figure, but is covered in an insect-like exoskeleton. Most
However, if a monster’s level is particularly high, the GM
of the time, Goro-Goro have been encountered alone,
may also opt to simply use the combo as an event, itself.
but they will often use illusory powers to make it seem
Below are a list of the types of combos monsters might as if there is an entire swarm.
possess. Each combo is followed by the letter n,
When hunting, it will select a victim it perceives as weak,
signifying a value between 1-3. This is the number of
attempting to drag them off and eat them in the
crises applied beyond the original crisis. An example
shadows, far away from danger.
combo is included:
Tags: Predator, Grappler, Large, Illusory
Force (n): The monster is powerful and causes n
additional crises with each of its attacks. Events:
MONSTER STAT BLOCKS • Stalk prey from a shadowy ceiling.
• Create illusory copies of itself.
Monsters in Rogue Second Edition are written with the
• Let out a terrifying scream.
following information: their name, the number of HP
• Drop and sink teeth into neck (hold).
they have, their monster level on a scale from 1-10, a
• Drag prey away into shadows.
combo, a short description, and a few tags that help to
• Consume prey while unseen.
quickly define the monster. After that, monsters have
events, overwhelming, and weaknesses sections. Overwhelming:
A monster’s combo defines the situations in which that • PCs -2d when Goro-Goro is unseen.
monster might inflict multiple crises at once. • PCs -2d when Goro-Goro uses illusions.
Monster events are written to help the GM narrate what Weaknesses:
that monster will do pre-emptively or in response to the
players, and can be used both as soft and hard events, as • PCs +1d when casting bright light.
other GM events might be utilized. • PCs +1d when 4+ allies are present.
• PCs +1d when Goro-Goro has 2 HP.
A monster’s overwhelming section details under what
conditions the GM should apply penalties to the PCs’
bonuses.