Basic Mechanics

The Xaos system is compiled from bits and pieces of many different role playing systems you may or may not be familiar with. We have taken apart these systems: discarding some ideas, keeping others, and throwing in a whole heap of new ones. This has allowed for a whole new role playing system, built from the ground up. This system is designed to be fun and easy to grasp for people who have never played a role playing game before. At the same time, it offers rich tools for customizing and robust ways to personalize the game that should prove to be equally rewarding for those of you have been gaming, much like me, for years and years.

We welcome you to the Xaos system. Please feel free to truly make this system your own, use what works for your game, and disregard what doesn’t. We want you to be comfortable with the Xaos System and we encourage tweaking, testing, and building upon the system. After all, that’s what Steampunk is all about. A quick note: This system has been developed with balance in mind, as some of the abilities are truly powerful and while changing parts of the system can be a joy for experienced GMs, it may cause difficulty with balance or game play. That being said: Enjoy the system! We are very happy to finally be able to bring it to you.

Yours truly,

M. P. Yorty

In order to play a game of Mechanika you will need the following.

A set of percentile dice - These are two 10 sided dice. One die represents “ones” while the other represents “tens.” If your group does not have percentile dice you can use two 10 sided dice (d10’s) of different colors, just make sure your group is clear which color represents the 10’s and which represents the 1’s. Your group could also purchase a d100 or 100 sided die if this works better for you.

A set of FUDGE dice - You will need a set of four FUDGE dice. FUDGE dice are 6 sided dice (d6) with 2 of each of the following faces a (-) sign a (+) sign and a blank side. Ideally, you should have one set for each player, and then one set for the GM. If that is not possible, the group can share one set; it will just make the game run a bit slower. If your group does not have FUDGE dice you can use a set of four regular d6’s. You simply use the 1 and 2 faces as the minus signs, the 3 and 4 faces as the blank sides, and the 5 and 6 faces as the plus signs. This approach will work, but it may be slow going at first. You can also buy our FUDGE dice at our website.

Character sheets - You will need one sheet for each player, these can be printed from our website or copied from the back of this rulebook. 

Scene sheets - The GM should have about five of these to catalogue the scenes and scene changes. These can be printed from our website.

Machina/Magic sheets (Optional) - Useful for players that are using perks that allow for these items and abilities. These can be printed from our website.

Pencils - You should have one for each player and GM. Or less, or more, it’s all up to you. 

A copy of this rulebook - It contains all the game information for players and GM’s alike.