SKEW 1.0: The Free, Rules-Light RPG System That Puts All Your Dice to Work

SKEW (Seekers, Keepers, Explorers, Wanderers) is a free, rules-light NSR tabletop RPG aimed at being an orginial, community-driven system. After a few months in Beta, version 1.0 is available now on itch.io (as a free PDF rulebook) and RPG Trader (for print-on-demand physical copies) in both English and French editions.

SKEW is aimed at combining the simplicity of Cairn and Knave and the surreal magic and “novelty effect” of Dungeon Crawl Classics, and at providing better tools for building character motives and backstories than the average rules-light game offers.

EVERY DIE GETS INVOLVED

SKEW is built on a dice chain with the d8 as its base: d2, d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20. You roll a d8 by default. Bonuses and maluses push you up or down the chain, so a +2d Might check is a d12 and a -1d Reason check is a d6, each rolled against the GM's own difficulty die. Difficulty, defense, attack, stability, morale and reaction all run on the same chain, so every roll in the game works the same way.

Characters are defined by three axes that pit one approach against its opposite: Might ↔ Finesse, Reason ↔ Instinct and Will ↔ Guile. Roll high on one side and you roll low on the other. Excelling at force means being clumsy at precision. The game asks players not just what they want to do, but “How do I want to do this?”

NO CLASSES, NO LEVELS, ONLY CONSEQUENCES

Progression comes from knowledge, loot and Fate Thresholds. Survive a crucial moment against the odds, or pivot the plot with a stroke of bravery or creativity, and the table collaboratively builds a custom edge and a haunting omen for your character. Madelyn masters her falls and gains a lifelong fear of heights. Jackie tells a masterful lie, catches the eye of the god of lies, and slowly starts believing their own fibs...

During their adventures, characters must fight against Stress. It takes up a 2x1 block in your inventory grid. Skip a meal, cast a spell or walk through a snowstorm, and your pack fills up with exhaustion. Take enough of it and you collapse.

WILD, SURREAL MAGIC

Spells are one-spell grimoires and scrolls, each with a stability die. Roll a 1 and you get a Misfire. Roll the maximum and you get an Overload. Casters never know which happened until they see the result. The 40 spells include wild, surreal options such as:

• Exchange Mass, which swaps the mass of two creatures or objects
• Voice Link, which makes two creatures speak through each other’s mouths
• Borrow Opening, which plucks a hole from an object and relocates it
• Reverse Evil & Good, which flips a creature’s alignment
• And more!

CORE RULEBOOK CONTENTS

• Quick character creation: three rolled attribute axes, HP, an inventory grid, and starting gear tables are all you need to get your character running
• A Lifepath system that helps you determine what your character SEEKS, KEEPS, EXPLORES and WANDERS, plus a d20 table of past trades and ten d10 tables for physique, vices, fears, mannerisms and more
• Core rules for checks, combat, morale, reaction rolls, conditions, and rest and healing
• Death and scars: survive Death’s Door and you’re permanently marked
• 40 spells, 12 curios (the designer's signature wacky magic items) and a sample bestiary
• d20 conversion guidelines for monsters
• Optional hex-crawl travel rules

TOOLS FOR DIGITAL PLAY

SKEW is best played in-person, but an online character manager and fully featured FoundryVTT integration are available to help you get your online games running as smoothly as possible.

MADE TO BE HACKED

SKEW is released under the CC-BY-SA 4.0 copyleft license. The designer will share community hacks on the game's website, where source files for building SKEW-styled documents are also available.