The Game Master (or GM) is the player who runs the game. They guide the story and act as the eyes and ears of the Player Characters. The Game Master also acts as all of the Non Player Characters (NPCs) in the story.
Everyone other than the GM plays as their own, singular Character, known as a Player Character (or PC).
Uune is a Meta-RPG, meaning that it's designed to work with a variety of game styles and genres. Your GM will have a setting picked out, or a custom one made for your table.
Whenever your GM finds it appropriate to the story, your Character(s) may Level Up, representing an increase in their experience. For each Level that your Character has (including Level 1), you may either level a Skill of your choice, or take one Aspect and add it to your Character sheet.
Whenever your Character has an immediate goal, you can represent that as a Task.
As an example, let's say that you have a locked door. Your goal is to open the door, but you don't have the key. You could kick it down, but that'd use a lot of energy, and probably make a lot of noise. Instead, if your Character is equipped, they might use a set of lock-picks to quietly open the door without damaging it, saving time and energy by doing so.
This sort of interaction is what Uune is built on. Using your resources to accomplish Tasks in order to tell a good story.
Tasks aren't instant, of course, they all take Time. How much Time is the purpose of a Difficulty roll.
Difficulty starts at level 0 (a negligible amount of time), and goes up to level 5. Your GM will use the questions below to determine the Difficulty, increasing the level by 1 for each that applies to your situation.
You'll then need to roll a number of six-sided dice equal to the level of Difficulty. This is your Time before doing anything to affect it, i.e. the slowest possible time you can complete your Task. You'll need to use your resources to reduce this pool if you want to get things done faster than that.
When Time is of the essence, you'll need to know how much you're working with. That's what Time Buffers are for.
Time Buffers are similar to Difficulty rolls, but they start at level 5 and work their way down as the severity worsens, to a minimum of 0. Your GM will use the questions below to determine the level, reducing it by 1 for each that applies.
Your GM will then roll a number of dice equal to the level. This is your Time Buffer, you'll need to complete your Task within this amount of time or it will fail for an obvious, circumstantial reason.
In some cases, your GM may use a Time Buffer for multiple Tasks. They may also forego the questions and/or the roll if there is a predetermined amount of time that you have to work with. Finally, in some cases your Character would be unaware of their whole situation, and the GM may withhold the amount of time you have to work with.
Resources are situational points which your Character can use to their advantage. Resources are mainly available to you as the items you have on your person, as well as those in the environment. You can only use a Resource if you have ready access to it, and if it is applicable to your current situation.
You may use a Resource (possibly expending it, if it is something with limited use) to roll a six-sided die and reduce the Time of your current Task. You may also spend a Resource to Aid someone else with their Task, reducing their Time instead; or to Encumber it, reducing their Time Buffer.
Your Character has 5 Resources inherent to them in the form of Stamina, representing their physical and mental energy. Using a point of Stamina expends is, but you regain 1 Stamina for every hour that your Character rests.
Your Character has 5 inventory slots that they can store items in with immediate use. You can use bags or other stowable containers to hold more items, but it will take 1 minute to retrieve something from it. Certain things will logically be unable to fit inside of a given container, and won't be able to be stowed in them.
Skills allow you to boost your rolls for actions that you have knowledge around. Whenever you use a Resource that is related to a Skill you have, you can add a bonus equal to your Skill Level for it. Each Setting will have different Skills available, so refer to that for specifics.
The Setting will also provide Aspects available to you, giving you additional perks and abilities you can take when you Level. Many Settings will also give you Aspects for free, usually as part of your initial Character creation.
Another Resource available to you is Risk, representing your Character cutting a corner or doing something dangerous. You may use Risk as many times as you want, but your GM will match each roll with a consequence on the table below:
| 1 - 2 | An obstacle for you |
| 3 - 4 | An obstacle for someone else |
| 5 - 6 | The GM gets a point of Karma |
Karma is the GM's personal pool of dice they can use to Aid or Encumber the rolls of anyone at the table.
Luck Checks are used to determine either the answer to a question, or the outcome of an environmental situation, purely by chance. Roll a d6, if you roll a 4 or above, it succeeds. Rolling a 3 or under means failure.
Quality Checks are used to determine how well you or another Character accomplishes their Task. Roll a d6, adding +1 to it for every Resource that was used on the Task. Quality is a relative scale, with 1 being the worst, and 6 being the best.
Your Defense represents your general awareness and energy level. A Character's Defense is equal to the number of Stamina points they have left, plus any bonuses they might have from abilities, equipment, etc. When someone has a Task against you, they have a Time Buffer who's severity is equal to your Defense.
While Defense isn't just used for attacks, Fatal injuries can happen. However, a Fatal wound cannot be inflicted on someone until their Stamina reaches zero.
Conditions are active effects which affect your Character. They are usually given by your GM in response to an environmental threat, or as consequence for a Risk roll or other course of action. The base Conditions are outlined below:
| Name | Cause | Effect | Stacking | Resolution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battered | Sustaining an injury or other debilitating effect. | Every Task's Difficulty is increased by 1. | Yes | Whenever you sleep at least 6 hours, you heal 1 level of this Condition. |
| Stunned | Hitting your head hard, getting the wind knocked out of you, etc. | You may not start a Task, and any Task you had started is forfeit. | No | Resolves after 1 minute, unless otherwise specified. |
| Held | Being tied up, grappled, etc | You cannot move | No | You may attempt to break out with a Task against your holder's Defense |
If your GM needs to slow the game down to keep track of everything going on, they may start a 1-minute game timer, initiating Crunch Time. During Crunch Time, the GM will go from person to person asking them what they do. Each PC and NPC may use 1 Resource, start 1 Task, or use 1 ability during each round of the timer. Each time the timer is reset, a minute is subtracted from everyone's Tasks and Time Buffers.
Alternatively, the GM may also use a timer to count down events that are happening unknown to the Player Characters, and thus would not necessarily slow the rest of the game down in these types of situations.