5 Dice of Fate is a collaborative game in which players use dice to create their characters and work together to navigate a shared story filled with challenges. One person acts as the Master of Fate, the MoF. They are the narrator and referee of the story and play all the Non-Player Characters, the NPCs.
Let’s jump straight into what you need.
One person to be the Master of Fate (MoF). The person in charge of the plot, making calls, and plays all the NPCs.
1 to 5 players to play as the Characters
Five six-sided dice (D6) (a set for each person is ideal, but not necessary)
Something to keep track of things with. Paper and pencil, notes on an electronic device, or our awesome merch, like our Fated Adventure Books (coming soon).
Above all else, this game exists so you and your party can have a great time making memories and building relationships. The game is about what happens between the characters during the story. The rolls are built to add the sense of uncertainty and chance that make it fun. Be your character and let yourself have fun with it.
Discussion is encouraged. Players explain creatively how their attributes apply to actions, and the MoF's decision on dice is final after one rebuttal. Those conversations are part of the fun.Â
When you attempt an action, explain to the MoF how your character's attributes, your Nature, Skill, Gift, Allies, Resources, and their Specializations, logically support what you are trying to do. Each attribute or specialization that clearly applies adds one die to your pool, up to a maximum of five dice.
For example, persuading a guard to hand over the keys to your cell, you might argue:
1D6 automatically, you always get one for trying.
Nature: Shady (+1 die)
Nature Specialization: Deception (+1 die)
Skill: To Control (+1 die)
Skill Specialization: Fast Talk (+1 die)
Gift: Mental - Telepathy (+1 die)
You suggest five dice, but the MoF has the final say. If the MoF decides that "Deception" does not clearly apply here, you roll only four dice instead of five.
Remember, discussion and friendly negotiation are part of the game’s fun... embrace it!
Creating a character should be quick and easy. There are two options to choose from:
Choice. Choose one of each type, in under two minutes, or go to the end of the line. Most of a character comes from playing, not from this step.
Roll. Roll for each of the five categories. There can be more than one of each, as fate dictates.
As with anything, if there is a disagreement, the Master of Fate has the final say.Â
Everyone begins at Level 1.Â
Next, everyone rolls a die, and the lowest number goes first, moving then moving counterclockwise around the group. Choices are made or rolled out loud to the group, one type at a time.
This is who your character is inside. We use Chaotic, Shady, Neutral, Good, and Heroic. We leave out Evil, which is self interest that destroys others for personal gain. If you use Evil, replace its choice step with, the player to your left chooses for you.
Chaotic. Unpredictable, following no code or law but their own.
Shady. More interested in their own good than others, but they do not harm without reason.
Neutral. Good and evil hold little meaning, only their own code and the best move in the moment.
Good. Unwilling to let others be harmed for their benefit, follows most laws, fights those who prey on others.
Heroic. Law does not make a thing good. They defend those who cannot defend themselves, every time.
Nature Specialization. Choose a one word modifier that earns an extra die when it clearly applies, such as Deception under Shady.
Skill is the foundation for your Specialization, built on six foundations.
To Hurt. The physical ability to cause damage, by weapon or prowess.
To Heal. To mend the physical damage of a living being, by medicine, magic, or other means the MoF agrees to.
To Control. To bend the environment or others to your will, through magic, charisma, psionics, or hacking.
To Repair. To fix non living objects, and to invent and create them.
To Drive. To control a vehicle or mount, from a horse to a spaceship.
To Take. To acquire non living objects without consent, by burglary, fraud, piracy, and the like.
Skill Specialization. A one word modifier that defines how your skill meets the world. A To Take character who is a Cat Burglar earns extra dice on second story heists. A To Drive character who is a Drayman earns one whenever they handle a wagon.
Gift is the thing that makes your character special, like a power. Keep it grounded in a short talk with the MoF so you are not overpowered.
Physical. Grounded in the body, strength, fast healing, tough skin.
Energy. Power from the environment or within, magic and effects like optic blasts, teleportation, psionics.
Spiritual. Power from an advanced being you serve or are devoted to, paladins, priests, vampire killers.
Technology. An innate command of the technology of your world, mechanics, hackers, engineers.
Mental. Power from the mind, perception, telepathy, pyromancy, psychokinesis.
Gift Specialization. A one word modifier that deepens your Gift, such as Spiritual with a specialization in vampire killing.
Resources represent income and wealth, used to judge what a character can buy. We do not track spending closely. If a middle class person could afford it, let it happen. Resources can also add a die when wealth or what it buys clearly bears on an action, such as buying access, bribing, or already owning the right tool.
Destitute. About two dollars a day or less, roughly seven hundred dollars a year.
Poor. About 12,500 to 45,000 dollars a year.
Middle Class. About 45,000 to 150,000 dollars a year.
Upper Class. About 150,000 to 350,000 dollars a year.
Rich. Over 350,000 dollars a year.
A simple coin equivalent, one dollar equals one Copper, one hundred Copper equals one Silver, one hundred Silver is one Gold, one hundred Gold is one Platinum.
Resource Specialization. One word for how you make your money, inherited, merchant, specialist, and so on.
Allies are your closest friends and confidants, and how you come to know or acquire things.
Government Official. Anyone tied to the governing body, from a Senator to a sanitation worker.
Savvy Merchant. Movers of goods and information.
Underworld Lieutenant. Not bosses, but close to them, good for black market goods and word.
Snitch. Knows almost everything happening, and sells or barters it.
Advanced Being. An alien, angel, demon, or god guiding you toward ends of its own.
Ally Specialization. One word for exactly who your ally is. If you get stuck on any specialization, ask the group, and keep moving.
One die always, for attempting.
Plus one die per applicable attribute, Nature, Skill, Gift, Allies, Resources.
Plus one die per applicable Specialization.
Maximum of five dice per action.
The MoF has final approval after one rebuttal.
Everyone starts with the essential attire for their Skill. To Hurt comes with a weapon, suited to the world and time of the story. More gear is acquired in play, against your Resources.
Melee. Anything held to cause damage. One handed weapons add one die to damage. Two handed weapons add two. You may use a two handed weapon in one hand, but you only get the one handed bonus.
One Handed, plus 1D6.
Two Handed, plus 2D6.
Ranged. Anything that travels to a target. Light is a one handed weapon, Heavy is two handed and cannot be used in one hand.
Light, One Handed, plus 1D6.
Heavy, Two Handed, plus 2D6.
Armor. Armor stops a set number of damage points.
Light Armor stops 2.
Medium Armor stops 4.
Heavy Armor stops 6.
Every character also has a Natural Resistance, a D6 rolled at the start of the game, reroll a 1. When you wear armor, use the higher of your Natural Resistance or your worn armor as your protection.
Special Gear covers spells, powers, psionics, and advanced technology. Each effect has a Level from 1 to 5, and that Level sets the dice it adds.
Level 1, plus 1D6.
Level 2, plus 2D6.
Level 3, plus 3D6.
Level 4, plus 4D6.
Level 5, plus 5D6.
You can carry up to five levels worth of Special Gear in total, and you cannot use any effect above your Character Level. A Level 2 character cannot wield a Level 3 spell. You may change your loadout in the story when the MoF agrees it is workable, and it may cost time.
Some effects need Concentration, which means you cannot take another action while you hold it. If you take damage while concentrating, roll a D6, and on a success you keep your grip.
Example effects, Frost freezes or makes ice things, Fire burns or makes flame things, Splash makes water or liquid things, Fix repairs a simple object to like new. Fire, Frost, and water cannot hold a form on their own without Concentration.
Keep two things straight. An ability is something you have, a spell or power, and its Level sets its dice. An item is something you carry that helps an ability. An item does one of two jobs, never both at once.
Boost. A boost item raises the Level of a matching ability you already own. Add the item's Level to the ability's Level, then read the dice at the new total. A Level 1 Frost Amulet on a Level 2 Frost spell makes Frost effectively Level 3, which the table reads as plus 3D6. The Levels add first, the table speaks second.
Grant. A grant item hands a matching ability to someone who lacks it, at the item's Level. A flat dice item, like a Level 2 neural link that adds plus 2D6 when connected, is a grant in plain clothes.
One item per thing. Only one item may modify a single spell, weapon, or ability at a time. If you have more than one that could, use the better one, the other sits idle. Items never stack on each other.
The ceilings. You cannot use an item above your Character Level, and a boosted ability cannot rise above your Character Level either. Items help an under built ability climb toward your ceiling, they do not punch through it. Nothing rolls more than plus 5D6.
You have five possible actions, and you may take two on your turn, even the same one twice. You should rarely need more than two minutes to declare. If you exceed it, the MoF may forfeit your turn, though you can still use a forfeited turn to help someone.
Look Around.
Talk to Someone.
Move, up to 1D6 spaces in combat.
Fight.
Use.
There are four times you roll, which we call Rolling Your Fate.
When you try something risky, heroic, cool, or important to the story.
When you search, look for, or decipher information. The MoF may simply give easy information, or call for a roll.
For First Blow at the start of combat. Everyone, plus a general roll for the enemies, rolls 2D6. Highest goes first, and play moves clockwise until the fight ends.
Whenever the Master of Fate says to.
Each die reads one of four ways.
6 is a Super Success. It counts as a success and does extra work, see below.
4 or 5 is a Success.
2 or 3 is a Failure. This die did not land, and it costs you nothing.
1 is a Flub. The only die that invites a consequence.
Count your Successes. Every 4, 5, and 6 is one success.
Cancel with Sixes. Each 6 may erase one of your 1s, removing both its sting and the consequence it would have invited.
Find your Net. Net Successes equal your successes minus any 1s still standing after the sixes cancel.
Your Net tells you how well it went. Your standing flubs tell the MoF when to reach for a consequence.
0 or less, Failure. You do not get what you wanted.
1, Barely. You scrape it.
2, Solid. You get it.
3, Clean. You get it with room to spare.
4, Heroic. You get it and turn the moment against the opposition for a minor consequence to them.
5, Legendary. The best it could go. You get it, the opposition takes a real consequence, and the table remembers this one.
No consequence is ever attached to a tier. A slim win is still a clean win.
A flub left standing after sixes cancel is an invitation, not a formula. The Master of Fate introduces a complication or a cost and narrates it to fit the scene, the stakes, and how many flubs the player rolled. One flub in a quiet moment is a small wrinkle. One flub with a dragon in the room is the dragon stirring. Three flubs on a deadly trap is the big, memorable disaster.
Consequences are spice, never a wall. They add tension and a new angle, they do not end the fun, and they land on NPCs too, which is what gives the players their openings to rally. A flubbed sneak past a danger does not blow the whole plan on a single 1, it raises the heat and makes the next step harder. The dice say a flub happened, the MoF decides what it means.
A naturally rolled 6 feels legendary, and it does four things.
It counts as a success.
It cancels one of your flubs.
You narrate the legendary beat, describing how this goes spectacularly right.
It refunds you one Fate Point, up to your maximum, never past it.
Because Fate Points can bend only two dice on a single roll and never climb past your maximum, rolling hot keeps your luck topped up without spiraling. A Super Success you create by spending Fate Points counts for the roll and earns the narration, but it pays no Fate Point back. Only a 6 the dice gave you refunds.
Optional variant, Momentum. If your table prefers a forward push, replace the refund with this. A natural 6 banks plus one success on your next roll this scene. It does not stack with itself, and the bonus roll cannot bank another.
Actions cap at five dice on purpose. Fate Points are how a character grows more dependable without breaking that cap. They do not give you more dice, they let you lean on the dice you already rolled.
Your pool. You have Fate Points equal to your Level. The pool refreshes at the start of each Chapter, or each session for shorter play. The MoF can also award one for great roleplay, a clever plan, or a heroic sacrifice.
The Fate Ladder. Every die sits on a ladder, Flub, then Miss, then Success, then Super Success. For one Fate Point you may Bend Fate, moving one die up exactly one rung. Pay again to climb another rung.
Stop a flub, move a 1 up to a Miss, one point.
Raise a score, move a 2 or 3 up to a Success, one point.
Reach the top, move a 4 or 5 up to a Super Success, one point.
Climb two rungs, a flub all the way to a Success, two points.
Or, for one Fate Point, Reroll a die instead of bending it. Bending is the sure thing, rerolling is the gamble.
The guardrail. You may bend or reroll at most two dice on a single roll. A hero can tilt fate, not rewrite it.
Any player can forfeit their next turn to help you, once per turn per action. They roll one die and add its result to your roll, a 4, 5, or 6 adds a success, a 1 takes one away. Several allies can pile in, but a single action can never be helped beyond the five dice cap.
At character creation, roll 2 Health dice, reroll any 1s, and add them together. That total is your maximum Health. Track damage against it, and at 0 you fall, see Death.
All damage is 1D6 unless you are a To Hurt character, who adds one more die. Weapons and Special Gear add their dice on top. Damage taken is the attacker's damage total minus your protection, your Natural Resistance or worn armor, whichever is higher.
Non healing characters start with four healing salves, each healing 1D6. Healing characters add one more die, plus 1D6, to all healing potions, salves, and spells. Healing restores Health up to your maximum, never past it.
When a character reaches 0 Health, they fall. On each of their turns, if no one has healed them, they roll two dice. Any 6 stands them up at 1 Health. Two 1s, and the character dies. Anything else, no change, they stay down and roll again next turn. This continues until they are healed, combat ends, or they die.
Every character begins at Level 1. Your Character Level is the ceiling for the most powerful single item, spell, or ability you can use, and it never lets you break the five dice cap. Leveling makes you more reliable, more durable, and more versatile.
When you level. In a one off Game, level at the end. In a Campaign, level at the end of each Chapter, one solved problem plus a mini-boss or boss defeated. As an optional finale, grant a bonus advancement at the end of a full campaign arc.
The advancement menu, choose one each level.
Toughen Up. Add a permanent plus 1D6 to your Health pool.
Harden. Raise your Natural Resistance and worn armor value by a permanent plus 1.
New Specialization. Add a one word specialization to any attribute, so you reach the five dice cap in more situations.
Deepen a Trait. Pick an attribute or specialization you have. When it clearly applies, reroll one failed die, a 1, 2, or 3, once per roll.
Extra Fate. Raise your maximum Fate Points by one.
Signature, Level 3 and up. Define a once per fight signature move tied to your concept, cleared with the MoF. It does not count against your Special Gear load.
You may not take the same pick twice in a row unless the MoF agrees it fits the story. Five is the soft cap for most tables, a hero at the top of their arc. Past Level 5, grow sideways, only New Specializations or extra Signatures, never a higher ceiling and never more dice.
Your job is simple on paper and hectic in practice. You guide the characters through the story as their eyes, ears, and dealer of fate. 5 Dice of Fate can be set in any world at any time, a horror western, an underwater space opera, anything, because the rules stay light and the focus stays on the story. A story succeeds on two questions, did the players solve the central mystery or puzzle, and did they play together as characters.
There are three kinds of foe, Minions, Mini-bosses, and Bosses. Enemy armor scales with the party's Level, not the number of players. The party levels together, so this is usually one shared number, and if the group is uneven, use the lowest member's level.
Minions. No armor, attack with 1D6, and never gather in a pack larger than 1D6 plus the number of players. Challenging, but never insurmountable.
Mini-bosses. Armor equal to the party's Level plus 1D6, one weapon, and life equal to the number of players plus 1D6.
Bosses. Armor equal to the party's Level plus 1D6, two 1D6 attacks each round, and life equal to one D6 per player. A boss never falls to force alone, the group must find a special way to defeat it. For a thicker skinned boss, use the party's Level plus 2D6 instead.
When you want a harder fight for a large party, add bodies rather than inflating one creature, more minions or a second mini-boss. Each Chapter or game should pair something to solve with a mini-boss or boss to face.
Game. A single session, one to three hours, with a clear goal. Perfect for a quick gathering or a new idea.
Story. A single game that grew past one sitting, usually two to four meetings, with room for deeper character work.
Campaign. A series of games or stories connected by an ongoing narrative, where each session shapes the next, with long term growth and consequence.
Convincing a guard. Jamie wants the keys to a cell. Jamie's sheet shows Skill To Control with Fast Talk, Nature Shady with Deception, and Gift Mental with Telepathy. Jamie claims one die for trying, plus To Control, Fast Talk, Shady, Deception, and Telepathy, six in all, but the cap is five. The MoF decides Deception does not fully apply and awards four dice. Jamie rolls four and reads the result, then may spend Fate Points to bend up to two of them.
A fight. Jeff swings a two handed axe at a goblin. He claims one die for trying, one for To Hurt, one for his Barbarian specialization, one for Gift Physical, one for Strength, and two for the axe, totaling seven, but the cap is five. He rolls five and gets a 3, 4, 5, 3, and a 6. That is three successes, a Clean hit, and the 6 is a Super Success, so he narrates a legendary blow and refunds a Fate Point. Now he rolls damage, one die plus one for To Hurt plus two for the axe, four dice, totaling 17. The goblin's armor stops 6, leaving 11.
The game is most fun when three things come together. Everyone listens to the Master of Fate, so the game keeps moving, you get one rebuttal and then the call is final. Story comes above success, since failing well can serve a story better than winning. And above all, remember it is a game, meant to be fun. Do not let small things ruin it.