R3VOLUTION by Paweł Bogdaszewski is a free role playing game supplement published by Skavenloft. The supplement is covered by the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported license.
The supplement is available as a 20-page PDF for free from DriveThruRPG. Two pages are the front and rear covers, one the front matter and one the Table of Contents.
Game Setup explains that players alternate in the role of GM and a d6 is used to play. D6 tables are rolled on to build the world, with Mood, Genre and Scale being determined. Characters are then created. Characters have three key attributes; Body, Reputation and Mind. An array of 3, 4 and 5 is assigned to them with higher being better. There are also three personal attributes, chosen from a list or come up with, with an array of 5, 5 and 6. Finally, a revolution card is created with name of the movement, slogans and other fluff, as well as three attributes of resources, control and unrest, each of which has a score of 1.
Basic Rules explains assets can be spent to overcome challenges and assets can be many things. They are obtained from attributes by straining or sacrificing them. Straining an attribute requires rolling a d6. If it is less or equal, the attribute is reduced by 1, if it is higher, it is reduced by as many points as exceeded it, to a minimum of 0. Sacrificing an attribute reduces it to zero. Reducing a key attribute to zero removes the character from the game. Doing this before the finale reduces the chance of a successful revolution.
Gameplay explains that this consists of scenes, usually nine, as the foundations for rebellion are laid, concluding with the finale. How scenes work is gone into. Characters need to collect six assets by the end of the scene for it to be a success. There is also a twist roll to make, which may result in another three assets being needed. Once a scene is completed, its effects are gone into and what the characters achieved is noted. Society’s level of unrest is also determined. Before the next scene starts, the characters should vote on whether it’s time to have a full-scale revolution yet, in which case you move onto the finale.
The Finale – REVOLUTION! is the end game. Every character still alive raises a revolution attribute by 1. Characters are now put aside. Should the last three scenes paly out successfully, the revolution succeeds; if not, it collapses.
The final page of content has three character cards and one revolution card.
R3VOLUTION in Review
The PDF is bookmarked with all sections linked. The Table of Contents is not quite as thorough but is hyperlinked. Navigation is good. The text maintains a single column format and seemed to be free of errors, other than that Table of Contents hadn’t been translated. There is some interior art. Presentation is okay.
This is a self-contained one-shot game; once it is played through, it is a different game. However, there may not be a huge amount of difference between different games as this is a very lightweight game. If the same players go through again, it may end up being a similar game, depending on them. The game should be easy enough to pick up, though quite a lot of it is more narrative based than dice based. R3VOLUTION can be downloaded for free by clicking here.
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