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.

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 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. "

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.

If you ' re looking for some scenario ideas to get started¸ check out these free standalone micro-settings:

• Chrome Shells & Neon Streets : Cyberpunk mercenaries take on dangerous jobs in a near-future dystopian city.

• Goblin Gangsters : Ambitious "made goblins" of the Redfang family undertake daring missions for the Gobfather.

• Interstellar Bounty Hunters : Hunt down fugitives in a galaxy far away¸ and bring them in warm or cold.

• Interstellar Troopers : Space commandos exploring derelict spaceships and fighting deadly aliens.