TEXT:  
  ATOMIC SOCK MONKEY PRESS 
  < http://www.atomicsockmonkey.com > 
  PROSE DESCRIPTIVE QUALITIES SYSTEM 
  CORE RULES 
  ©2004 Chad Underkoffler 
   
  PDQ MASTER CHART 
  LEVEL 
  As Quality Rank 
  MODIFIER 
  TO 2D6 
  ROLL 
  AS DIFFICULTY RANK 
  TARGET 
  NUMBER 
  Poor 
  Notably Inept.  
  -2 
  A trivial task. 
  5 
  Average 
  Typical human capability. 
  0 
  Straightforward task. 
  7 
  Good 
  Better than usual; most professionals or 
  talented newcomers.  
  +2 
  Complex task, requiring attention to detail. 
  9 
  Expert 
  Noted/famed professional; talent with 
  skill to back it up. 
  +4 
  Intricate task, difficult and requiring sharp 
  concentration, hard for a typical untrained person 
  (Average). 
  11 
  Master 
  Acclaimed genius: talent with 
  substantial skill behind it. 
  +6 
  Extremely difficult task, hard for most professionals in 
  the field (Good). 
  13 
   
  QUALITIES 
  ABOUT THE PDQ SYSTEM 
  Qualities help further describe your character’s 
  particular talents, skills, and flaw(s). They also 
  provide game mechanics for how those abilities or 
  disabilities work in play (see below, Task Resolution). 
  Qualities should grow out of the character concept 
  and game setting.  
  The Prose Descriptive Qualities (PDQ) System has 
  been designed for evocative simplicity, speed, and 
  flexibility in play. Three levels of resolution, suitable 
  for any type of situation. 
  CREATING CHARACTERS 
  Qualities represent a broad skill or field of 
  knowledge; if a particular Quality is relevant at all to 
  an action or topic, the character may apply that 
  Quality 
  when 
  attempting 
  that 
  action 
  or 
  understanding that topic. This is called the penumbra 
  (or “shadow”) of the Quality. Therefore, a player 
  shouldn’t choose Qualities that are too narrow or its 
  penumbra will cast too narrow a shadow; too broad, 
  and identifying the sorts of things that should fall 
  under the penumbra becomes pointless. The 
  parameters for what’s “too broad” or “too narrow” 
  are up to the individual GM. 
  A PDQ character is made up of several elements; in 
  different games, different elements can -- and should 
  -- be used. For example, Dead Inside (DI) uses 8 
  elements 
  (Personality, 
  Backstory, 
  Soul 
  Loss, 
  Discovery, Qualities, Type, Soul Point Pool, and 
  Miscellany). On the other hand, Monkey, Ninja, 
  Pirate, Robot: the Roleplaying Game (MNPR:RPG) 
  only uses 6 elements (Type, Goal, Name, Qualities, 
  Mojo Points, and Challenge Rating). 
  The core element of PDQ is the concept of a prose, 
  descriptive, do-it-yourself, wide-ranging Quality 
  standing in as attribute, advantage, merit, flaw, skill, 
  or incapability. Other subsystems within a game -- 
  like DI's Virtue & Vice System and MNPR:RPG's 
  Mojo Powers -- can affect this core, or operate 
  independently, but in either case, should be 
  represented in character generation somehow. 
  For example, consider a character who has the 
  Quality of “Teacher.” For some PDQ games, that 
  will be perfectly fine; for others, too broad. The GM 
  might ask the player to refine the Quality, to give a 
  better idea of the sorts of things that will fall under 
  the Teacher Quality’s penumbra. So: “Teacher” 
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  could become “College History Prof,” “High School 
  Chemistry Teacher,” or “Grade School Teacher.” 
  While all would cover the basic concept of 
  education, each individual choice will bring 
  different skills under the Quality penumbra – not 
  just their fields of interest, but also supplementary 
  knowledge: the College History Prof would have 
  more experience with (academic) politics, the High 
  School Chemistry Teacher would know more about 
  adolescent fads, and the Grade School Teacher 
  would be better at dealing with kids on a sugar high. 
  Take another example: “Gunplay.” This Quality 
  would be useful not just in shooting at things, but 
  also in cleaning and repairing guns, discovering the 
  location of nearby gun dealers and shooting ranges, 
  knowing the history of firearms, and so forth. If the 
  player had instead selected a Quality of “.44 
  Magnum,” the Quality would only be useful in 
  shooting that individual model of gun, and involve 
  knowledge surrounding .44 Magnums exclusively. 
  Qualities are often drawn from five general areas: 
  ♦ 
  ♦ 
  ♦ 
  ♦ 
  ♦ 
  ♦ 
  ♦ 
  ♦ 
  ♦ 
  ♦ 
  Physical. Having to do with the body, 
  athleticism, or natural talents; 
  Mental. Areas of study, intellectual acuity, 
  education; 
  Social. Groups the character is a member of 
  or associates with, skills in dealing with 
  people;  
  Professional. Knowledge and skills picked 
  up on the job; and 
  Other. 
  Esoteric 
  skills, 
  psychic 
  talents, 
  physical resources, or superpowers. 
  Qualities have Ranks, which indicate increasing 
  proficiency. From lowest to highest, the Ranks are:  
  Poor [-2];  
  Average [0];  
  Good [+2];  
  Expert [+4]; and  
  Master [+6].  
  The numbers in square brackets following the Rank 
  of the Quality show the Rank’s Modifier – how 
  much is added to or subtracted from a 2d6 dice roll 
  (see below). 
  Characters have some things going for them 
  (Strengths), and at least one thing working against 
  them (Weakness). At everything else, characters are 
  neither noteworthy nor inept – that is, they’re 
  Average [0].  
  QUALITY EXAMPLES 
  Physical: Gunplay, Kung Fu, Roguishly Handsome, 
  Weightlifting, Ballroom Dance, Perseverance.  
  Mental: Oriental Philosophy, Fine Food and Drink, Sports 
  Trivia, Speed-reading, Strategy & Tactics, Computer 
  Programming. 
  Social: 
  Wu-Shen 
  Monks, 
  MI6, 
  Football 
  Team, 
  Conversationalist, 
  Intimidating 
  Guy, 
  Charmingly 
  Effusive. 
  Professional: Teacher, Martial Artist, Spy, Professional 
  Athlete, Freelance Writer, Bounty Hunter, Mad Scientist. 
   
  A Strength is an inherent positive aspect (benefit, 
  skill, talent, attribute, or power) of a character. Come 
  up with a word or a pithy phrase to sum up the 
  Strength. Examples include Fighting, Credit Rating, 
  Fly Like A Bird, Find Bargains, and Run Away! 
  A Weakness is an inherent negative aspect of the 
  character, 
  stemming 
  from 
  ignorance, 
  flawed 
  understanding, physical or mental incapability, or 
  some other vulnerability. A word of advice: pick 
  something that will be fun or entertaining (for you 
  the player, not necessarily you the character) to flub 
  at! Come up with a word or a pithy phrase to sum 
  up the Weakness. Examples here include Glass Jaw, 
  Bad 
  Credit 
  Rating, Slow 
  As 
  Molasses, and 
  Wallflower. Weaknesses are always Poor [-2] Rank. 
  Depending upon the conception of what a character 
  is like, any Quality (other than that gained from 
  Type) can be a Strength or a Weakness. For example, 
  suppose a character has “Hook-Handed” as a 
  Quality. If it’s ranked Average [0] or above, it’s a 
  Strength: the character can use his Hook as a 
  weapon (in physical conflicts) or as a threat (in social 
  conflicts) – or even wackier things picking a lock or 
  sliding down a rope – with an increased chance of 
  success. But if the character has “Poor [-2] Hook-
  Handed,” this is a Weakness: the character keeps 
  getting his Hook stuck into things, forgets about it 
  when he tries to scratch his head, has problems 
  holding onto things that require two hands, and so 
  forth. It’s all in the way you spin it. 
  IMPORTANT NOTE - If a PC wants to be particularly 
  better at some Quality that might normally fall under 
  the penumbra of another Quality (for example, taking 
  “Soldier” and “Rifle” separately), it’s perfectly okay to 
  do so, provided that the player realizes that in exchange 
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  for a benefit up-front, their character generation choice 
  will 
  affect 
  future 
  Improvement 
  (see 
  below, 
  Improvement). 
  Examples: Jefferson wants to climb a wall using 
  his 
  Good 
  [+2] 
  Outdoorsman 
  Quality 
  (he 
  successfully convinces the GM that climbing a 
  cliff face is similar enough to climbing a wall for 
  it to count), he’ll automatically succeed in scaling 
  Poor [5] and Average [7] Difficulty walls.  
  Players should have several options when designing 
  the Qualities of their character. They may choose 
  between having more Qualities at a lower level of 
  competency, or having fewer Qualities at a higher 
  level of competency.  
  If Kristov wanted to climb a wall, he has no 
  applicable Quality, and so would have the 
  default Quality Rank of Average [0]. This means 
  he can only automatically succeed in climbing 
  Poor [5] Difficulty walls. 
  It's a good idea to first determine how many ranks 
  of Strengths and Weaknesses you wish characters to 
  have, and then to lay the possibilities out simply for 
  the players. For example, DI characters have 8 Ranks 
  of Strengths and 1 Rank of Weakness, which breaks 
  down this way: 
  For Jefferson, Good [9] or higher Difficulty Rank 
  walls are complicated; for Kristov, Average [7] or 
  higher Difficulty Rank walls are complicated. 
   
  A. 4 Good [+2] Strengths and 1 Poor [-2] 
  Weakness. 
  Upshifts (Being Badass) 
  This is how PCs get more bang for their buck. If the 
  player describes his character’s attempt to perform 
  an action in a graphic, flavorful, and entertaining 
  way, the GM can give them an Upshift. An Upshift 
  means that for that particular action, the PC rolls as 
  if their Quality were one level higher (essentially 
  giving him an additional +2 to their roll). So, rather 
  than “I hit the sailor” (or “I haggle”), the player says 
  something like “I grab the sailor’s shirt with one 
  hand and pull him closer to punch him in the face 
  with my other fist – arr, matey!” (or says, in 
  character, “May the fleas from a thousand camels 
  infest the beds of your children if you try and rob 
  me in this way!”). If the PC had a Good [+2] Pirate 
  (or Bargaining) Quality, this would change his roll 
  in attempting to hit the sailor (or haggle with the 
  merchant) from 2d6+2 to 2d6+4, as if he were Expert 
  [+4] Rank.  
  B. 1 Expert [+4] Strength, 2 Good [+2] Strengths, 
  and 1 Poor [-2] Weakness. 
  C. 2 Expert [+4] Strengths and 1 Poor [-2] 
  Weakness. 
  D. 1 Master [+6] Strength, 1 Good [+2] Strength, 
  and 1 Poor [-2] Weakness. 
  Never fear: if after play begins, a particular Quality 
  sees no use and doesn’t really add to the 
  characterization of a PC, a player should feel free to 
  change it to something that fits better – but only 
  after talking to the GM first. 
   
  TASK RESOLUTION 
  When your character tries to do something, the GM 
  will determine if the situation is simple, complicated, 
  or conflict. Let’s take each in turn. 
   
  NOTE - Upshifts above Master Rank add an extra die to the 
  character’s roll (i.e., instead of rolling 2d6+6+2, the 
  character rolls 3d6+6). 
  SIMPLE SITUATIONS 
  In simple situations, the task is clear-cut, there are no 
  outstanding issues interfering with the attempted 
  action, or randomness would bog down the game. In 
  a simple situation, the GM looks at the Master Chart 
  (see below), and determines the Difficulty Rank of 
  the task. Then, the GM compares that Difficulty 
  Rank to the character’s most appropriate Quality 
  Rank. The higher Rank of the two “wins.”  If the 
  Difficulty Rank of the task is equal to or higher than 
  the character’s relevant Quality Rank, the task 
  becomes a complicated situation (see below). 
   
  COMPLICATED SITUATIONS 
  Dice rolls are made in complicated situations: where 
  comparisons of Rank are inconclusive, or when 
  randomness is desired. Complicated situations are 
  when Quality and Difficulty Ranks are tied, or when 
  Quality Rank is lower than Difficulty Rank. To 
  attempt a complicated situation, the PC rolls two 
  regular six-sided dice (2d6), and adds the Modifier 
  for their Quality Rank. To succeed, the PC must 
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  match or roll higher than the Target Number of the 
  task’s Difficulty Rank.  
  NOTE - In addition to the in-line examples in 
  each section, two detailed examples of conflict 
  situations – with all the bells and whistles – 
  appear at the end of this chapter.  
  NOTE - Some failures – like attempting to walk a skinny 
  building ledge – may carry the chance of getting hurt. For 
  more on that topic, see below, Environmental Damage. 
   
  INITIATIVE 
  Examples: Jefferson is trying to climb a Good [9] 
  Difficulty wall using his Good [+2] Outdoorsman 
  Quality. The Target Number of Good [9] 
  Difficulty – as noted in the brackets – is 9. 
  Jefferson must roll 2d6 and add his Modifier of 
  +2, trying to match or beat a 9. He rolls a 3 and a 
  5, giving him 3+5+2 = 10! He succeeds in 
  climbing the wall. 
  First, figure out who goes first – that is, who has 
  Initiative. Most of the time, the flow of the situation 
  will indicate who acts first, but in some cases, this 
  order may need to be determined. Here’s how to do 
  it: 
  1. If a character attacks without warning – 
  taking the victim by surprise – the attacker 
  automatically goes first. (At the GM’s 
  discretion, he might even get a free turn, if 
  the target is caught totally unawares.) 
  Kristov wants to follow Jefferson up that Good 
  [9] Difficulty wall: again, he has no applicable 
  Quality, and so must use the default Quality 
  Rank of Average [0]. He must match or beat a 9 
  when rolling 2d6. He rolls exactly the same thing 
  that Jefferson did: a 3 and a 5, and since Average 
  Rank Qualities have no Modifier, that’s a total of 
  8. This is below the Target Number of the wall, so 
  Kristov fails. 
   
  Downshifts 
  While functionally the same thing (a -2 to a 2d6 plus 
  Modifiers roll), the reasons behind having a Weakness or 
  incurring Downshifts are different.  
  When a character’s Qualities are set against the 
  Qualities 
  of 
  other 
  characters, 
  this 
  isn’t 
  just 
  complicated, it’s a conflict situation (see below). 
  For example, Jefferson has a Weakness of Poor [-2] Reader. 
  If he needs to do a really complicated and unusual repair 
  on Declaration (his hog), requiring reading the bike’s 
  manual, this Weakness will affect his overall competence 
  (Expert [+4] Biker Dude) in the repair. Instead of rolling 
  2d6+4, Jefferson will be rolling 2d6+2. That’s just par for 
  the course, an effect of his Strength and Weakness 
  interacting in that particular situation. 
  CONFLICT SITUATIONS 
  Conflict situations involve active resistance by 
  another to a character’s attempts to perform a task: 
  trying to punch a guy in the face, out-thinking a 
  chess player, running a race, or convincing a cop 
  that, you weren’t really speeding. Conflict situations 
  in PDQ include more than just the immediate 
  success or failure of an attempted action; here, 
  conflict includes the back and forth of an active 
  contest, out-maneuvering the competition, and 
  wearing down an opponent’s resistance. Examples 
  of conflict situations include combat, seduction, 
  haggling, debating, and so forth. (Note that some 
  groups won’t necessarily want to use the conflict 
  situation mechanics to resolve social interactions, 
  and will want to rely on pure roleplaying instead; 
  this is fine – the rules structure is there if a group 
  wishes to use it.)  
  A Downshift means that for the action in question, the PC 
  rolls as if his Quality were one level lower (essentially 
  giving him a -2 to their roll). Downshifts can come from a 
  number of sources: if a combatant decides to Play It Cagey 
  (see below, Conflict Jazz), the effects of Failure or Damage 
  Ranks (see below, Taking It On the Chin), or -- in Dead 
  Inside -- the general penalty to social situations that the 
  Dead Inside have in the Real World.  
  While judicious use of Downshifts to reflect a sudden or 
  unexpected change in the complexity of a situation can 
  work very well, GMs should resist the temptation to 
  overuse Downshifts as situational modifiers. PDQ games 
  tend to run smoother if the GM simply sets the Difficulty 
  Rank (and thus, Target Number) of a task appropriately. 
  For example, if the PCs are attempting to climb a Average 
  [7] Difficulty wall and it begins to rain, a Downshift to 
  each of their relevant Qualities makes sense. However, if 
  it’s already raining when they begin their attempt, simply 
  make the wall Good [9] difficulty from the get-go.  
  In conflict situations, the characters involved 
  compare the results of 2d6 plus Modifier rolls; the 
  highest successful result wins.  However, there are a 
  few 
  refinements 
  of 
  conflict 
  requiring 
  closer 
  attention. These are Initiative, Moment of Truth, and 
  Damage. 
  NOTE - Downshifts below Poor Rank mean automatic 
  failure in the use of that Quality.  
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  Example: Jimbo and Salty Dave are sparring, 
  getting ready for a big combat Challenge next 
  week with the Roboto Brothers. Jimbo is using 
  his Expert [+4] Rasslin’ Quality here, while Salty 
  Dave is using his Good [+2] Cutlass Quality. 
  Jimbo’s Rank is higher, so he goes first. 
  2. The character with the highest Rank in a 
  “speed” or “reaction time” Quality relevant 
  to the situation (Fastest Gun in the East, 
  Jumpy, Quick Wits) goes first, followed in 
  order by those with relevant Qualities of 
  lower Ranks. 
  Zandra is using her Expert [+4] Marketing 
  Executive Quality here (she’s used to picking up 
  business lunches) and Jefferson’s using his Expert 
  [+4] 
  Biker 
  Dude 
  Quality 
  (he’s 
  used 
  to 
  intimidating people into doing what he wants 
  them to). 
  3. The character with the highest Rank in a 
  Quality not relevant to the situation goes 
  next, followed by those of lower Ranks. 
   
  Zandra and Jefferson are both at Expert Rank, 
  and thus tied. The GM decides that Initiative 
  between them will be determined with a die roll. 
  Zandra rolls a 3 and Jefferson rolls a 4. Jefferson 
  has Initiative. 
  Being Lameass 
  Being Lameass is – in some ways – the opposite of Being 
  Badass. Boring, uncharacteristic, or disruptive roleplaying 
  can ruin everybody else’s fun, and after all, the point of 
  roleplaying is to have a good time. If a player is reading, 
  refusing to pay attention, watching TV, pedantically rules-
  lawyering, utterly ignoring the characterization of their 
  PC, being pointlessly abusive or distracting to other 
  players, or – saints preserve us! – sleeping at the gaming 
  table, they are working against the overall good time. In 
  these cases, the GM could give the offending PC a 
  Downshift based on the player’s behavior. . . but what’s the 
  point? If the player’s not interested enough in the game to 
  even pay attention, penalizing this character will probably 
  have little effect on his behavior.  
  MOMENT OF TRUTH 
  The character whose turn it is will be called the 
  attacker; the character who is the target of the 
  attacker’s action is called the defender. The attacker 
  explains what his attempted action is, and the 
  defender explains how he’d try to counter that 
  action. Then, the attacker rolls 2d6 for his relevant 
  Quality and adds the appropriate Modifier for 
  Quality Rank.  The defender does the same. The 
  character with the higher total wins.  
  Try to discover the cause of the player’s Being Lameass. 
  Maybe it’s something about the focus or subject matter of 
  the campaign, a difference of roleplaying style, or even an 
  unrelated personal issue that’s bugging the player. The 
  answer to Being Lameass is to discuss the situation 
  outside of the game – either by taking a break or talking 
  between sessions – and try to work through it like grown-
  ups. A little bit of open communication can do wonders 
  for these sorts of issues. 
  If the attacker is successful, damage (see below) is 
  applied to the defender; if the attacker fails, no 
  damage is done. A tie is just that – nobody wins, 
  nobody loses. . .  but they both muss each other up a 
  little. 
  Example: As the Turn starts, Jimbo is the attacker 
  and Salty Dave is the defender. Jimbo is going to 
  grapple the Pirate using his Expert [+4] Rasslin’ 
  and Average [0] Monkey Qualities, and Salty 
  Dave decides to try and hold him off using his 
  Good [+2] Cutlass and Average [0] Pirate 
  Qualities. Jimbo rolls 2d6+4+0 for a result of 10, 
  Salty Dave rolls 2d6+2+0 for a result of 8. Thus, 
  Jimbo does damage to Salty Dave this turn – see 
  below – and has grabbed the scurvy dog. (If Salty 
  Dave had been a better Pirate, this would give a 
  different result: if he were a Good [+2] Pirate, the 
  characters would have tied and done each other 
  damage; if he were an Expert [+4] Pirate, Jimbo’s 
  attack would fail and he’d take no damage.) 
   
  Ties can be broken by either: 
  Stating that tied characters resolve their 
  actions simultaneously; or 
  ♦ 
  ♦ Rolling a die, with the highest number 
  winning Initiative. 
  Once Initiative is determined, conflict resolution can 
  proceed. Characters with a higher Initiative may 
  “hold their actions” for as long as they want, but 
  after the last character has done something, they 
  need to take that held action or lose it. After 
  everyone involved in the conflict situation has taken 
  an action (or chosen not to), the characters can act 
  again, in the same order. Lather, rinse, repeat. 
  On his action, Salty Dave wants to escape from 
  Jimbo’s monkey-hug. He gets a result of 11, while 
  the Monkey gets a result of 6. Salty Dave does a 
  lot of damage to Jimbo in getting free. 
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  TIME IN CONFLICT 
  The terms used in PDQ for identifying the passage of 
  time: 
  Scenes are the entire conflict; starting with determining 
  Initiative and ending with someone winning, losing, 
  surrendering, or leaving the situation. 
  Each character takes a turn or action: that’s when they 
  make their move, say their piece, throw a punch, etc. (If 
  Turn is capitalized, it generally means the set of all 
  character’s next actions and reactions.) 
  Other characters react during a character’s turn – saying 
  something back or performing a defense, usually – but 
  their reactions can only be in response to the actions of 
  the character whose turn it currently is. They cannot 
  initiate actions until their turn. 
  RANGE IN CONFLICT 
  In general, GMs can be really flexible with distance in a 
  PDQ game. Ranges are either Near (can punch it), 
  Middling (can run up and punch it), Far (can throw or 
  shoot at it), or Too Far (out of range). If one really wants 
  to connect numbers to this, Near would be any distance 
  up to a yard, Middling would be between 1 and 3 yards, 
  Far would be between 3 and 60 yards, and Too Far is 
  anything over 60 yards.  
  MOVEMENT IN CONFLICT 
  While PDQ tends to leave movement rates for characters 
  abstract and up to the discretion of the GM (like by 
  requiring a character to make a roll using a speed or 
  movement Quality vs. a reasonable Difficulty Rank), 
  some folks like a concrete movement rate. So here it is: 
  characters have a movement rate equal to 2 yards plus 
  twice the sum of all involved Qualities per turn. Half of 
  this (i.e., the sum of their Qualities being used) is taken 
  on their action of their Turn, and the other half is taken 
  during their reactions. This means that a Good [+2] 
  Robot with Qualities of Expert [+4] Hover-Jets and 
  Good [+2] Fast would have a movement rate of 10 yards 
  per Turn (base 2, +2+4+2); they can move up to 5 yards 
  on their action and 5 yards on their reactions. 
   
  DAMAGE 
  Damage (be it physical, mental, emotional, or social) 
  is the loss of capability. As a character takes damage, 
  he is less likely to be able to perform at peak 
  efficiency. This is shown by a temporary Downshift 
  applied to the character’s listed Qualities called 
  either a Failure Rank or a Damage Rank, depending 
  upon the nature of the conflict.  
  In mental, social, and some physical conflicts, loss of 
  capability is usually temporary, and is represented 
  by Failure Ranks. Examples include a chess match, 
  witty repartee, or running a race. 
  In many physical conflicts (and even some physical 
  complicated situations), loss of capability is more 
  enduring, and is represented by Damage Ranks. 
  Examples here include combat, running through 
  fire, or falling off of a wall. 
  Dishing It Out 
  In a successful attack, the difference between the 
  attacking and defending rolls determines how many 
  Failure or Damage Ranks are done to the defender. 
  If the attacker has any Upshifts or Downshifts on 
  their successful attack, that shift will carry through 
  to damage resolution.  
  If the roll results are tied, both characters take a 
  single Downshift.  
  NOTE - Qualities Upshifted above Master Rank 
  provide an additional Rank of Damage to be 
  applied. 
  Example: Following on the first example under 
  Moment of Truth, on Jimbo’s action, the difference 
  between his roll and Salty Dave’s was 2, so he 
  does 2 Damage Ranks to the Pirate.  
  On Salty Dave’s action, he did a whopping 5 
  Damage Ranks to Jimbo.  
   
  Environmental damage – like that taken from falling, 
  jumping through a fire, drowning, or other 
  complicated situations – works by comparing the 
  Target Number of the task against the total of the 
  character’s failed roll. The difference between roll 
  and Target Number is the Damage Ranks taken. 
  Example: Say that in the example above from 
  Complicated Situations, where Kristov wants to 
  follow Jefferson up a Good [9] Difficulty wall, 
  our rockstar is instead trying to follow the biker 
  down the wall. As he has no applicable Quality, 
  he must use the default Rank of Average [0], and 
  match or beat a 9 when rolling 2d6. He rolls a 3 
  and a 5, for a total of 8. This is below the Target 
  Number of the wall, so Kristov fails, falls, and 
  takes 1 Damage Rank from the sudden stop. 
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  Taking It On the Chin 
  On the positive side, the player of the defending PC 
  decides where to apply the Damage Ranks (see the 
  textbox, 
  The 
  Key 
  to 
  Understanding 
  Conflict 
  Abstraction). They may only be applied to those 
  Qualities listed on the character’s sheet (that is, not 
  any one of the character’s infinite number of 
  “default” Average Qualities). When any one of a 
  character’s Qualities drops below Poor Rank, the 
  character is out of the Scene – that could mean 
  they’ve totally flubbed their seduction attempt, been 
  knocked unconscious (or killed) in combat, or run 
  out of test-taking time and must put down their #2 
  pencil. The GM describes how and why the PC is 
  out of the Scene, and lets the player know if/when 
  they can return (see below, Recovering from Damage). 
  Firstly, if – in the GM’s opinion – a character has 
  relevant Qualities of Good [+2] Rank or better that 
  could feasibly allow him to ignore or resist damage 
  in the situation (like Armor-Plating, Iron Will, True 
  Love, or Impeccable Pedigree), the character can not 
  only add it to his reaction rolls (to dodge, parry, 
  block, evade, etc.), but he can choose to sacrifice a 
  Rank of this protection in order to ignore Failure or 
  Damage Ranks.  
  In each Scene (not per turn or reaction; see boxed 
  text, Time in Conflict), a character can choose to 
  Downshift the Quality; by doing so, the character 
  can ignore all Failure or Damage Ranks from one 
  action. The player chooses if and when to use these 
  freebies. That means that if somebody is trying to 
  pry a donation out of a PC who has Expert [+4] 
  Rank Iron Will, the PC can in theory ignore 2 turns 
  of Failure Ranks over the course of the conflict by 
  reducing his Iron Will once for each attack against 
  him that is successful. However, once a Quality 
  reaches Average [0] Rank (through Downshifting to 
  ignore or resist or from taking Failure or Damage 
  Ranks), it can no longer be used in this fashion. 
  Example: From the first Dishing It Out example, 
  Jimbo did 2 Damage Ranks to Salty Dave. The 
  Pirate 
  chooses 
  to 
  reduce 
  his 
  Good 
  [+2] 
  Accountant and Good [+2] Climbing Rigging 
  Qualities, placing them both temporarily at 
  Average [0] Rank. 
  Salty Dave slammed Jimbo for 5 Damage Ranks. 
  The Monkey chooses to drop his Good [+2] Chef 
  to Poor [-2] Chef (2 Damage Ranks) and his Good 
  [+2] Brachiator to Poor [-2] Brachiator (2 more 
  Damage Ranks). Unfortunately, this leaves one 
  more Damage Rank to be accounted for, so Jimbo 
  is forced to drop his Expert [+4] Rasslin’ to Good 
  [+2] Rasslin’. 
  Secondly, any character that has a Weakness related 
  to the type of conflict (for example, Glass Jaw in a 
  combat, Math is Hard! in an arithmetic test, or Can’t 
  Say No to a Pretty Face in a seduction attempt), will 
  have to take two extra Damage Ranks the first time – 
  and only the first time – they get tagged in a relevant 
  situation. (That’s why it’s a Weakness; if they have 
  an off-setting Strength that allows them to ignore or 
  resist as above, they can use that to ameliorate the 
  badness.) 
  Both characters have now taken a turn, and can 
  choose to continue the conflict or not. Jimbo 
  decides to call a time-out. 
  If Salty Dave had somehow used a banana in his 
  action, Jimbo’s Weakness of Poor [-2] Banana 
  Addict would have made things much, much 
  worse for our Monkey. If so, Salty Dave would 
  have done 7 Damage Ranks to Jimbo, instead of 
  just 5, bringing the Monkey closer to losing the 
  conflict. 
  NOTE - Qualities reduced to Poor [-2] Rank 
  during a conflict situation by Failure or Damage 
  Ranks are not Weaknesses; Weaknesses are 
  character flaws decided upon at character 
  generation. There’s a difference between a 
  Weakness of Poor [-2] Athlete (the character’s 
  never been that into sports) versus someone in a 
  race 
  who’s 
  Good 
  [+2] 
  Athlete 
  has 
  been 
  temporarily reduced to Poor [-2] Rank by 
  accumulating Failure Ranks (he’s out of breath 
  and feeling the burn). 
   
  Out for Blood? 
  For physical conflicts, the default assumption in 
  PDQ is that characters can only be killed once they 
  are unconscious or otherwise helpless. This requires 
  no roll, check, or action, simply a statement on the 
  attacker’s next turn that the he wishes to kill the 
  victim. (GMs should feel free to change this rule if 
  they desire. Perhaps characters pick whether they 
  are doing “bruising” damage or “killing” damage at 
  the beginning of a conflict situation.)  
  Lastly, if a defender is caught totally and utterly by 
  surprise by an attacker – to the extent of getting a 
  free turn (see Initiative) – or makes not the slightest 
  effort to defend himself, that could add an 
  additional Rank to what he Takes On the Chin. 
  7 
  
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  ©2004 Chad Underkoffler 
   
   
  Recovering from Damage 
  Once a Scene ends, the injured character will begin 
  to recover lost Ranks. How many he gets back 
  depends upon whether he was in momentary danger 
  or is still in continuing danger. 
   
  The Key to Understanding Conflict 
  Abstraction 
  Basically, in any conflict, some of a character’s Qualities 
  can be thought of as useful for either “attack,” “defense,” 
  or “absorption.”  
  As an example, say a character has Good [+2] Rank in the 
  Qualities of Kung Fu, Debating, and Accountant. In 
  combat (a physical conflict), the character will probably 
  opt to keep Kung Fu at Good [+2], and apply Damage 
  Ranks to Debating and Accountant. In an argument (a 
  social conflict), the character will want to keep Debating 
  high for as long as possible, and take Failure Ranks on 
  Kung Fu and Accountant first. If being audited by the IRS 
  (could be a mental, a social, or even a professional conflict, 
  depending on how the GM spins the situation), the 
  character would protect Accountant, try to keep Debating 
  at Good [+2] as long as he could, and sacrifice Kung Fu. 
  This abstraction of how Failure or Damage Ranks are 
  applied isn’t meant to be a one-to-one relation (“Hey, why 
  does getting punched in the face lower my Florist 
  Quality?”), but amusing justifications can be made up 
  anyway (“Well, your black eye makes it hard to arrange 
  peonies...”). 
   
  ♦ 
  ♦ 
  Momentary Danger. If nothing else is going 
  on, and the character is otherwise safe, 
  relaxed, and lacking any time constraints. 
  Examples of momentary danger include 
  playing Go Fish with a six year old, a car 
  chase (though some Environmental Damage 
  could happen. . .), or a seduction attempt. At 
  the end of the Scene, all Failure or Damage 
  Ranks are removed, restoring Qualities to 
  their appropriate levels. 
  Continuing Danger. Danger is continuing if 
  the overarching situation that the conflict 
  happened in is risky, stressful, or under 
  deadline. An example of continuing danger 
  would be playing poker in a seedy dive bar 
  with three Mafiosi. Characters will recover 
  1d6 lost Ranks of Quality at the end of the 
  conflict Scene. The player selects which 
  Qualities’ Ranks are restored. However, the 
  character will not recover any more Ranks 
  until the GM tells them to roll again (or they 
  spend Soul Points to heal; see below). 
  NOTE - A Strength like “Quick Healer” should allow 
  the character to gain back the standard 1d6 roll, plus 
  their Modifier. A Weakness like “Slow Healer” would 
  mean that the character rolls 1d6-2 (the Modifier for 
  Poor), with a minimum of zero Ranks regained.  
  Example: Jefferson’s been beaten up and stuffed in a 
  garbage can by a Zombi. At the end of the conflict, all 
  of his Qualities were Downshifted to Poor, except for 
  Biker Dude, which he had zeroed. Since this 
  happened in a bad part of Zombitown, he’s still in 
  continuing danger. He rolls for damage recovery and 
  gets a 3. He puts 1 Rank into bringing Biker Dude to 
  Poor [-2] (now he’s conscious), and uses the 
  remaining 2 to get Toughness back to Good [+2], since 
  he figures it’ll be the most useful if someone else 
  jumps him. 
   
  OPTIONAL RULE: INCREASING DAMAGE 
  PDQ assumes that one is using an appropriate tool 
  alongside a Quality – a spreadsheet program with 
  Accounting, a pistol with Gunplay, a little black dress 
  with Seduction, etc. If the GM so chooses, this assumption 
  can be changed such that specialized equipment provides 
  1 Upshift, limited to Damage Rank determination only.  
  Under this optional rule, if a character with Good [+2] 
  Kung-Fu uses nunchucks when breaking heads, while 
  he’d be rolling for success at Good [+2] Rank, but when 
  comparing roll results for damage purposes, he’d treat his 
  Kung-Fu as if it were Expert [+4] Rank. (This boils down 
  to an extra 2 Failure or Damage Ranks.) 
   
  CONFLICT JAZZ 
  Here are some methods to get even more of your 
  tactical or strategic ya-yas out. Any character can 
  choose to use them in the course of their conflicts.  
  CONFLICT STRATEGIES 
  There are two additional strategies that a character 
  can use in conflicts, depending upon if he wants to 
  specifically concentrate on attack or defense. One 
  can only be used by an attacker and the other only 
  by a defender. If a PC wishes to utilize either of 
  these strategies, they must announce it at the 
  beginning of their turn. They cannot be used on the 
  same turn. 
  8 
  
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  ©2004 Chad Underkoffler 
   
  ♦ 
  USING MULTIPLE QUALITIES IN SIMPLE, 
  COMPLICATED, OR CONFLICT SITUATIONS 
  Flip Out. The attacker flips out all over the 
  target, making strong attacks (physical, 
  mental, or social) without much heed to 
  defense. A Flip-Out grants an Upshift for the 
  attack (and any subsequent damage) and a 
  Downshift on all defensive reactions and 
  other non-conflict-related actions until his 
  next turn. 
  If the GM agrees that more than one Quality can be 
  brought to bear on a task, simply combine the 
  Modifiers for the relevant Qualities. (If a character 
  spent one of their choices in character generation on 
  buying something under their penumbra as a 
  separate Quality, this is where they reap the benefit.) 
  Furthermore, this case includes not just the Qualities 
  of a single character, but also if multiple characters 
  team-up to perform a task. If multiple characters are 
  joining forces, only one of them needs to roll, and 
  that’s the character with the higher Initiative. 
  Play It Cagey. The defender plays it cagey, 
  opting for safety by not taking any chances, 
  holding back in the conflict. Playing It Cagey 
  grants an Upshift for all defensives reaction 
  and a Downshift on all the character’s non-
  conflict-related actions until their next turn; 
  unfortunately, Playing It Cagey means that 
  the character’s next attack action will suffer 
  from this Downshift. 
  ♦ 
  Example 1: Standing on the second floor of the 
  food court, Salty Dave sees some Ninjas attacking 
  his buddy Jimbo on the ground floor. He decides 
  to join the fray, and grabs a decorative garland to 
  swing down all Errol Flynn-like while slicing 
  with his cutlass. Salty Dave can combine his 
  Good [+2] Cutlass and Good [+2] Swinging 
  Qualities (as well as his Average [0] Pirate 
  Quality) in his attack on one of the Ninjas. He’ll 
  be rolling 2d6+2+2+0, or 2d6+4, for this 
  swashbuckling maneuver. 
   
  OPTIONAL RULE: ABSTRACTING CONFLICT 
  FURTHER 
  You could streamline conflict situations further by 
  treating them as complicated situations. That is, instead 
  of having character roll using their Qualities against each 
  other to determine success, simply treat their Quality 
  Rank as a Difficulty Rank. Then, the attacker uses the 
  Target Number of that Difficulty Rank to roll against for 
  success; as with Environmental Damage, the difference 
  between roll result and Target Number gives the Damage 
  Rank. No fuss, no muss (especially for faceless 
  henchmen, if your PDQ game is in the cinematic idiom). 
  Example 2: Zandra (Expert [+4] Marketing Exec) 
  and Kristov (Good [+2] Rockstar) decide to work 
  together in a pitch meeting to try and convince 
  an Expert [+4] Record Company Exec that 
  Kristov is worth re-signing. Zandra will roll 
  2d6+4+2; the GM rolls for the Record Company 
  Exec. She rolls a 4 and a 6, for a total of 16, and 
  the GM rolls a 4 and a 6 for a total of 14. Zandra 
  and Kristov successfully convince the NPC that 
  Kristov’s career is making a comeback!  
  Example: Salty Dave has gotten to the treasure chamber of a Ninja 
  Hut. His path is blocked by a Henchman Ninja (Average [0] 
  Henchman). Salty Dave rolls his Good [+2] Cutlass Quality against 
  the henchman’s Target Number of 7. He rolls a 3 and a 6, plus 2 
  from Good [+2] Cutlass, giving him a total of 11: Eleven easily 
  beats 7, so Salty Dave slices the henchman from stem to stern in 
  one blow and continues walking toward his prize – the Ninjas’ 
  sweet, sweet uranium. 
   
  USING A QUALITY AGAINST MULTIPLE TARGETS 
  If it’s necessary for a character to take on multiple 
  targets simultaneously in a single action, he can split 
  his attentions (and relevant Quality Ranks) between 
  them. Of course, this leads to a commensurate 
  decrease in effective skill. For each additional target 
  selected, apply a Downshift to the Quality Rank. 
   
  Shift Accumulation 
  In PDQ, all Upshifts, Downshifts, and bonus dice are 
  cumulative. That means that if a character is Being Badass 
  and Flipping Out simultaneously, he would have 2 
  Upshifts (or a Modifier of +4) on the attack and damage. 
  This means if the starting Quality was of Average [0] Rank 
  (2d6), it would temporarily become Expert Rank (2d6+4); 
  if the Quality was Good [+2], the roll would be 2d6+6, and 
  if the Quality was Expert [+4], the roll would be 3d6+6, 
  because one of the Upshifts would take the Rank above 
  Master and translate into an extra die to roll.  
  Example: Say that Jimbo (Expert [+4] Rasslin’) is 
  fighting two Ninja Bikers. If he tries to take them 
  both on, he’ll only be at an effective Rank of 
  Good [+2] for his attacks on each. If there were 3 
  Ninja Bikers, he’d have an effective Rank of 
  Average [0]; if 4, Poor [-2]. If there were 5 Ninja 
  Bikers, he’d automatically fail all five attacks, 
  since his split Rank would bottom out with 
   
  9 
  
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  another Downshift.  Better to take them on one or 
  two at a time. 
   
  KRISTOV WOLFF, HAS-BEEN ROCK-AND-ROLLER 
  But wait! Jimbo has Chef at Good [+2] Rank. 
  Perhaps if the melee took place in a restaurant 
  kitchen, the GM might agree that Jimbo could 
  add 
  in 
  his 
  culinary 
  know-how 
  (grabbing 
  cleavers, throwing pots and pans, creative use of 
  the Fryolator, etc.). This circumstance would 
  allow Jimbo to take on 2 Ninja at Expert [+4], 3 
  Ninja at Good [+2], 4 Ninja at Average [0], 5 
  Ninja at Poor [-2], and auto-fail only when facing 
  6 Ninja in the kitchen at once. 
  Personality: Sensual. Kristov understands the world through his senses, 
  especially hearing, touch, and taste (all of his hit songs drew strongly on at 
  least one of those elements). 
  Backstory: Virtue: Generous. Vice: Avarice. At age sixteen, Kristov Wolff 
  was on top of the world with two platinum albums, a legion of screaming 
  fans, sold-out concerts, and more money than a small bank. After a ten-
  year whirl of drugs, drinking, promiscuity, and CPT (Caviar, Paté, & 
  Truffle) sandwiches, the albums aren’t selling like they used to, and now 
  the fans, the concerts, and the money are gone. 
  Soul Loss: Kristov let his soul rot first by the cruddy things he did to get 
  to the top, and then chipped away big chunks of it as he indulged in 
  celebrity-scope excesses. As things started falling apart, instead of taking 
  control, he numbed himself with drugs, food, and mindless television. One 
  day, his soul was just gone. 
  IMPROVEMENT 
  If the game provides them, characters can use their 
  Experience Points for Improvement, reflecting the 
  gaining of skill and experience. To Improve a 
  Quality, a character must spend 4 Experience Points 
  per Rank improved. When a character reaches 
  Master Rank in a Quality, it cannot be improved 
  further. 
  Discovery: Between drunken binges, Kristov ran out of vodka. On the 
  way to the corner liquor store, he passed a fortune teller’s shop. Thinking 
  it’d be a hoot, he decided to drop in and see if the palmist recognized him: 
  maybe she’d be a cute Gothy-type owned his albums before Sisters of 
  Mercy took its place on her turntable. He got more than he bargained for. 
  The old woman with the scarves on her head threw him out before he even 
  sat down, calling him names like “demon,” “dybbuk,” and “monster.” He 
  was so shocked, he almost forgot to get his Stoli. Almost. 
  In the checkout line, a young guy with tats covering his bald head touched 
  him on the shoulder. “I know what’s wrong with you, buddy. You’re Dead 
  Inside. I can help.” 
  Thus, to turn a Weakness into a powerful Strength: 
  Raising Poor [-2] Rank Sailor to Average [0] 
  Rank Sailor costs 4 Experience Points.  
  ♦ 
  ♦ 
  ♦ 
  ♦ 
  Qualities: Good [+2] Rockstar, Good [+2] Songwriter, Good [+2] Dirty 
  Fighter, Good [+2] Second Sight, Poor [-2] at Accounting.  
  Type: Average [0] Dead Inside. 
  Raising Poor [-2] Rank Sailor to Good [+2] 
  Rank Sailor costs 8 Experience Points (4 for 
  Poor to Average and 4 for Average to Good). 
  Soul Point Pool: 1 
  Notes: Kristov’s a short guy with long ratty blonde hair. He’s got a skinny 
  frame, but is growing a little potbelly. His band was called “the Wolff Pak,” 
  and was made up of 4 guys: Kristov, “Chubby” Bill Boro, Jimmy Carlosi, 
  and Sammy “SoCo” Rogers. SoCo’s gone on to a successful solo career. 
  The group’s biggest #1 was “Be My Love Bunny, Honey.” 
  Raising Poor [-2] Rank Sailor to Expert [+4] 
  Rank Sailor costs 12 Experience Points (4 for 
  Poor to Average, 4 for Average to Good, and 
  4 for Good to Expert). 
   
  JEFFERSON, BIKER BRUISER 
  Raising Poor [-2] Rank Sailor to Master [+6] 
  Rank Sailor costs 16 Experience Points (4 for 
  Poor to Average, 4 for Average to Good, and 
  4 for Good to Expert, and 4 for Expert to 
  Master). 
  Personality: Grizzly Adams. Live and let live, or else. 
  Backstory: Virtue: Integrity. Vice: Cruelty. Jefferson’s a big bear of a Hell’s 
  Angel: while most of the time he’s like Gentle Ben, he’ll flip out Kodiak-
  style on someone who pushes him too hard. Luckily, he can take a lot of 
  guff before snapping. 
  Soul Loss: Jefferson sold his soul to get out of a tight spot that he doesn’t 
  discuss: he almost killed his own brother in a bar fight, and traded his soul 
  to a man who had no eyes to heal Stevie. The next day, Stevie killed a 
  convenience store clerk and severely wounded a little kid during a hold-up. 
  Then, the punk laughed about it to his brother. Now, Jefferson wants to 
  change the deal he struck with the Eyeless Guy... undo Stevie’s healing and 
  give it to the kid in the ICU. And if that means Stevie gets put into the 
  cold, cold ground, so be it. 
   
  NOTE - If a character wishes to gain a totally new 
  Quality, they need to spend 4 Experience Points to 
  gain it at Good [+2] Rank. 
   
  When a character reaches Master Rank in a Type or 
  Quality, it cannot normally be improved further. 
  Discovery: Jefferson sold it, on purpose, to the Eyeless Guy. He knew 
  exactly what he was doing... but now he’s not happy he did it. 
  Qualities: Expert [+4] Biker Dude, Good [+2] Toughness, Good [+2] 
  Outdoorsman, Poor [-2] Reader. 
   
  Type: Average [0] Dead Inside,  
  CONFLICT EXAMPLE 1 
  Soul Points Pool: 1 
  Miscellany: Jefferson calls his Harley “Declaration,” and prefers denim to 
  leather.  
  Let’s say that Kristov (Good [+2] Dirty Fighter) and 
  Jefferson (Expert [+4] Biker Dude) get into a fight. 
  Jefferson’s going to go first, since his fighting-relevant 
  Quality Rank is higher than Kristov’s. 
   
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  GM (to Jefferson): “Now what do you do?” 
  JEFFERSON: “I punch at the little twerp.” 
  JEFFERSON: “I have a beer and wait for him to wake up, so 
  he can take back what he said about my momma. Or else.” 
  KRISTOV: “I’ll try to duck under the big moose’s punch.” 
  JEFFERSON (rolls 2d6+4; he rolls a 3 and a 1 for a total of 8): 
  “Eight!” 
  GM (to Kristov): After a couple minutes, you come around. 
  You’re still in continuing danger because Jefferson could 
  stomp your ass again. Roll 1d6 for Damage Recovery.” 
  KRISTOV (rolls 2d6+2; he rolls a 4 and a 5 for a total of 11): 
  “Eleven! Ha!” 
  KRISTOV (rolls 2d6; he rolls a 2 and a 4 for a total of 6): “Six 
  Ranks back... Hmm, I’ll put Dirty Fighter back to Good, that’s 
  1 to hit Poor and 2 more to get to Good, total of 3. Dead Inside 
  back to Average, that’s 1. Rockstar back to Good, that’s 2. 
  There, that should do it.” 
  GM: “Kristov bends down, and Jefferson’s punch misses the 
  mark. Kristov’s turn.” 
  KRISTOV: “I come up and try to sock him one in the nuts!” 
  JEFFERSON: “OOoooh, not cool, dude. Why do you always 
  go for the low-blow?” 
  JEFFERSON (to Kristov): “Apologize for what you said about 
  my momma.” 
  KRISTOV: “My Quality is Dirty Fighter, sport.” 
  JEFFERSON: “Well, I’ll try to parry his punch away from my 
  groin.” 
  KRISTOV: “Sorry! Don’t hit me again, okay?” 
   
  KRISTOV (rolls 2d6+2, he rolls a 4 and a 5 for a total of 11): 
  “This one goes to eleven! Heh heh heh!” 
  CONFLICT EXAMPLE 2 
  JEFFERSON (rolls 2d6+4; he rolls a 6 and a 3 for a total of 13): 
  “Thirteen. Guess it’s not your lucky day!” 
  Jimbo and Mike Matsutake are having a cook-off 
  Challenge in front of a live studio audience. (Sounds like a 
  social conflict to me.) The Scene opens on the set of 
  Monkeying with Food, Jimbo’s cable-access show. (Take 
  heed: this example includes MNPR:RPG's Mojo Powers!) 
  GM: “Jefferson knocks Kristov’s low-blow aside, easily.” 
  KRISTOV: “Gulp.” 
  JEFFERSON (miming cracking his knuckles): “This is gonna 
  hurt you a lot more than it hurts me, buddy.” (to GM) “I’m 
  gonna grab his shirt, throw him into the wall, and wind up 
  my haymaker. When he bounces back, I’ll connect. Hard.” 
   
  JIMBO OF THE JUNGLE, MONKEY CHEF 
  KRISTOV: “Hey, that’s more than one action!” (looks at GM) 
  Gift: Funny. Goal: Have Fun. Qualities: Average [0] 
  Monkey; Expert [+4] Rasslin’, Good [+2] Chef, Good [+2] 
  Brachiator, Poor [-2] Banana Addict. Mojo: 1M, 1N. CR: 
  1N. 
  JEFFERSON: “Nope, it’s Being Badass.” (looks at GM) 
  GM (ponders): “Yeah, that’s pretty badass. Jefferson gets an 
  Upshift on the attack.” 
  KRISTOV (buries his head in his hands): “This is gonna hurt.” 
   
  GM: “What’s your reaction to the attempt going to be?” 
  MIKE MATSUTAKE, NINJA CHEF 
  KRISTOV (has a bright idea): “I’m gonna Play It Cagey.” 
  Gift: Adept. Goal: Cause mischief. Qualities: Average [0] 
  Ninja; Good [+2] Chef, Good [+2] Katana, Good [+2] 
  Shuriken, Good [+2] Practical Joker, Poor [-2] Vain. Mojo: 
  1M, 1N. CR: 1M. 
  GM: “You know that’ll screw up your next attack.” 
  KRISTOV (ponders): “Nah, it’s not worth it. I need to tag this 
  guy a couple times, and I’ll need all the bonuses I can get. I 
  won’t Play it Cagey.” 
   
  GM: “Alright, Jefferson’s rolling against an effective Master 
  [+6] Biker Dude for this attack, or 2d6+6. Go for it.” 
  JIMBO: “And that, studio audience and viewers at home, is 
  how you make a coconut omelet, or as the French call it, Oeufs 
  de Whack-kay!” 
  JEFFERSON (rolls 2d6+6; he rolls two 5s for a total of 16): 
  “Sweet sixteen, baby!” 
  KRISTOV (rolls 2d6+2; he rolls a 1 and a 3 for a total of 6): 
  “Dammit. No go.” 
  GM: “The audience applauds – except for one guy, who’s 
  booing and hissing!” 
  GM (calculating, 16 minus 6 is a total of 10): “Jefferson throws 
  Kristov against the wall and clocks him on the return for 10 
  Damage Ranks.” 
  JIMBO: “What the–? Who’s trying to ruin my show?” 
  GM: “You see a Ninja stand up in the middle of the crowd. 
  He shouts to you “Go back to the Jungle, Monkey, and leave 
  the cooking to experts!” 
  JEFFERSON: “Take that, little buddy. Should’ve Played It 
  Cagey.” 
  JIMBO: “Jimbo starts bouncing up and down, beating his 
  chest, and says ‘Who the hell are you?’” 
  KRISTOV (glumly looking at his character sheet): “Well, I 
  could drop all my Goods to Averages, that’s 4 Damage Ranks. 
  Drop them all to Poors, that’s another 4. Two more... okay, I 
  drop my Average Dead Inside to Poor. That leaves one 
  Damage Rank, and everything I got is at Poor now. Crap. I’ll 
  take it on Dirty Fighter and bottom out. I’m unconscious.” 
  GM: “The Ninja says, ‘This skilled one is Mike Matsutake, 
  Ninja Chef! I Challenge you, Jimbo, to a duel of cuisine!’ The 
  audience seems to be holding its breath, waiting for Jimbo’s 
  response. . .” 
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  ©2004 Chad Underkoffler 
   
  12 
  JIMBO: “I accept your Challenge, Matsutake! Bring it on!” 
  GM: “The Ninja Chef leaps out of the stands, does a mid-air 
  somersault, and lands next to you on the stage. The audience 
  oohs and ahhs.” (makes a note) “Okay, this will be a social 
  Challenge, as you’re trying to get the highest amount of 
  audience applause through the dishes you produce. Sound 
  good?” 
  JIMBO: “Sure.” 
  GM: “Since you both are equally-Ranked at Chef, I could 
  make you roll for Initiative, but since it’s Jimbo’s TV show, I 
  say he should go first.” 
  JIMBO: “Okay, I start to whip up a (um, what else do 
  Monkeys eat?). . . Got it! Termite pie! Jimbo gets a pie shell, 
  goes to the termite farm in the corner and scoops up a couple 
  handfuls of bugs, throws them in the shell, covers it, and 
  slams the tray into the oven! How does the crowd like that?” 
  GM: “Go ahead and roll.” 
  JIMBO: (rolls 2d6+2, getting 2 and 6 for a total of 10) “I got a 
  ten.” 
  GM (rolling 2d6+2 for the Ninja, getting 2 and 2 for a total of 
  6): “Matsutake seems a bit flabbergasted by your use of 
  insects! He takes 4 Failure Ranks!” (The GM applies the 
  Failure Ranks, dropping Shuriken and Practical Joker 2 Ranks 
  each; now both are at Poor [-2].) 
  JIMBO: “Don’t mess with the Monkey, man!” 
  GM (as the Ninja): “’Your jungle arts won’t save you from my 
  skills!’ And then he reaches down below the counter, grabs 
  something in each hand, and flips them into the air. He draws 
  his sword, screaming, ‘Behold the power of my. . . Super! 
  Banana Sushi!’ Using his katana, he deftly peels the banana, 
  slaps it onto the rice, then slices it into pieces which fall 
  perfectly on the serving plate.” (GM checks off the point of 
  Ninja Mojo from Matsutake’s write-up.) 
  JIMBO: “What the hell is that?” 
  GM: “He’s using his Chef and Katana Qualities together, as 
  well as spending a point of Mojo on the Universal Power of 
  Super!” 
  JIMBO: “Damn.” 
  GM: “Yup, he’s pulling out all the stops, since you mussed 
  him pretty bad with your first attack. Oh, and you’re at -2 for 
  your reaction roll.” 
  JIMBO: “What?! Why?” 
  GM: “Because Jimbo’s a filthy Banana Addict. That’s worth an 
  extra 2 Failure Ranks on the first attack.” 
  JIMBO (studies his character sheet) “Oh, right. That sucks.” 
  GM (rolling 2d6+2+2 for the two Qualities, plus an additional 
  Upshift – or +2, same difference – for the Ninja; he gets 2 and 
  5 for a total of 15): “13, plus 2 extra Failure Ranks is fifteen!” 
  JIMBO: “You’re kidding.” (studies sheet) “I only have 1 Mojo, 
  so I can’t use it for Bouncy!, because if I lose, my Expert [+4] 
  Rasslin’ will suffer a Breakdown. Damn. Well, better get it 
  over with.” (picks up dice, shakes them, then stops.) “Hey 
  wait, since this is a social conflict, I can use my Gift, right? Get 
  the audience on my side? Maybe their cheers of ‘Go, go, 
  Jimbo!’ and ‘Show me the monkey!’ keep me all focused and 
  stuff?” 
  GM: “Sure, why not?” 
  JIMBO: “Cool. I’ll Upshift my Chef from Good [+2] to Expert 
  [+4].” (rolls 2d6+4-2, getting 5 and 6 for a total of 13) “Lucky 
  thirteen! Awesome!” (to the Ninja) “Though my eyes glaze 
  over and I start to drool over the Ninja’s luscious Super 
  Banana Sushi, I manage to pull myself away from the brink.” 
  GM: “Well done. You only take 2 Failure Ranks. Where are 
  you putting them?” 
  JIMBO (looking at sheet): “Okay, I’ll drop Rasslin’ voluntarily 
  – and temporarily! – from Expert [+4] to Average [0].” 
  GM: “Your action.” 
  JIMBO: (ponders) “Okay, I want to do something like the 
  Ninja did, combining my Qualities. Let’s see. . . Rasslin’, 
  Brachiator, and Chef. I got it! Okay, I’ll make fresh pancakes – 
  upside down, swinging from the light gantries of the studio, by 
  my feet!” 
  GM: “I like it! Okay, you can use Chef and Brachiator on this 
  action.” 
  JIMBO: (rolls 2d6+2+2, getting 4 and 5 for a total of 13) 
  “Thirteen again!” 
  GM (rolling 2d6+2, getting 1 and 2 for a total of 7) “Matsutake 
  gets seven, and takes 6 Failure Ranks.” (looks at sheet) “Six 
  Ranks will cause Matsutake to zero out a Quality, so that 
  means you win! The crowd goes wild, ‘Aaaaahhhh!’ while the 
  Ninja cries all over his sushi.” (scratches out the next to last 
  Mojo point on the Ninja’s sheet) “You feel the surge of power 
  as you gain one of the Ninja’s Mojo points for winning the 
  Challenge!” 
  JIMBO: “What Flavor?” 
  GM: “Monkey Mojo.” 
  JIMBO: “’That will teach you to steal Mojo from Monkeys!’ I 
  scream, then I beat my chest, bouncing up and down, and 
  perform the traditional Monkey screech of ass-kicking 
  victory!” 
  GM: “Like how?” 
  JIMBO: (demonstrates) “Like ‘ooh-ooh-ow-ow-ow!’” 
  GM: (laughing) “Jimbo gets another new Monkey Mojo point.” 
  JIMBO: “Sweet!” 
   
  
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  MONKEY, NINJA, PIRATE, ROBOT DELUXE 
  Dead Inside:  
  the Roleplaying Game of Loss & Redemption 
  MONKEY, NINJA, PIRATE, ROBOT: 
  THE ROLEPLAYING GAME 
  2003 Origins Award Nominee 
   
  Bathed in the atomic radiation of a 
  reactor core, strange champions fight to 
  the death, in order to claim the sweet, 
  sweet uranium... and victory!  
  Embrace your Virtue. Resist your Vice. 
  Perform noble deeds. Find meaning. Fight 
  crime. Regain your soul. 
  GO BEYOND THE BOARD!  
  In a world where champions fight:  
  ♦
  ♦
  ♦
   For sweet, sweet uranium,  
   To defeat their enemies in brutal Challenges, and  
   To save the Earth from Alien Invaders,  
  Only a Monkey, Ninja, Pirate, or Robot has the Mojo 
  to get the job done! 
  MISSION 
  Atomic Sock Monkey Press is dedicated to high-quality, off-kilter, imaginative fun. Currently, that means tabletop games of both 
  the "beer & pretzels" and roleplaying game (RPG) varieties.  
  In the future, we may expand into other areas. For now, Atomic Sock Monkey Press is concentrating on games. 
   
  GOALS 
  To produce fun games that are quirky, thought-provoking, professional, and affordable. 
   
  WHY ATOMIC SOCK MONKEY? 
  ♦ 
  ♦ 
  ♦ 
  Monkeys are funny. 
  Sock Monkeys are weird. 
  Atomic energy gives you superpowers (unless comic books have lied to me). 
  See? Simple. 
   
   
  ATOMIC SOCK MONKEY PRESS  
  < http://www.atomicsockmonkey.com > 
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Kid Friendly/7. RPGs/Ages 10-13 (Reads chapter books with complex sentences, May write or journal, speech patterns of an adult, Can do all basic math)/PDQ System/PDQ Core Rules.pdf