Where it all started…
Breathless Preface
Breathles is a condensed survival horror RPG that focuses on the stories of people struggling to survive in a dangerous world. Characters will overcome challenges, search for items, and fight for their lives until they become too exhausted to continue and must catch their breath before moving on.
Website: /breathless/
Breathless Rules
Before we Start
Content Warning: death, violence, gore.
Before you start, define lines that should not be crossed. Pause or rewind the game if something uncomfortable happens during a session. Always make sure everyone is comfortable with the direction of the story.
Playing the Game
One person is the game moderator (GM), the rest are players.
GM: Guide the story, present challenges to the group. Be a fan of the players. Ask them questions, fill the world with their answers. If it’s cool, let them try or split complex challenges into multiple checks.
Player : Narrate what your character does. Make checks when things are risky. Give everyone a time to shine. Fill the world with your ideas. Take risks, and rise up from failures.
Checks
When doing something challenging, you make a check to see how it plays out. You only need to roll if what you are doing is risky. The GM first telegraphs the risk of your action. You then pick a skill or item , and roll the die that matches its rating. If an ally helps you, they also make a check , but share the same risks as you. Take the highest die and interpret the result.
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On a 1-2 , you fail , and there’s an additional complication.
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On a 3-4 , you succeed, but there’s a complication.
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On a 5+ , you succeed. The higher the result, the better the effect.
Surviving in this world is hard. Everyone who rolled reduces the rating of the skill they used by one step ( d12 » d10 » d8 » d6 » d4 ). Skills cannot go lower than a d4.
The GM can also disclaim decision-making by testing for luck. To do so, pick a die rating simply based on the odds of a thing happening, roll, and interpret the result as you see fit.
Catch your Breath
To reset all your skills to their original rating, you can ask to catch your breath. This is a brief break in tension. It can be done at anytime, even during combat. When a character catches their breath , the GM looks at the scene and introduces a new complication for the group.
Loot Checks
When the fiction allows it, you can make a loot check to scavenge for tools, weapons, med kits, etc. You start with a d12 loot die , which steps down after each usage. When you loot , roll your current loot die and interpret the result. You may continue to use the loot die when it is a d4, at your own risk. To reset your loot die to its initial rating, you need to catch your breath.
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On a 1-2 , trouble is here…
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On a 3-4 , there’s trouble ahead…
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On a 5-6 , you get a d6 item.
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On a 7-8 , you get a d8 item.
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On a 9-10 , you get a d10 item or a med kit.
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On a 11-12 , you get a d12 item or a med kit.
Backpack
Items in your backpack can be used in place of your skills. They start with a die rating which decreases after each use. When reduced to a d4 , the item either breaks, gets lost, or fades away from the fiction until it’s made relevant again. You can only carry 3 items and one med kit at once.
Stunts
When you try to pull off a stunt , you use a d12 instead of a skill rating to do a check. You will need to ca tch your breath before attempting another stunt.
Stress
When you face a complication , you may have to take stress. If your character reaches 4 stress , they become vulnerable, which means failing a dangerous action could mean being taken out —or— sudden death. You can use a med kit to clear 2 stress , or lay low someplace secure awhile to clear an amount at the GM’s discretion.
Your Character
On your character sheet, write down your character’s name, pronouns, and the job they had before society as we knew it collapsed.
By default, skills have a d4 rating. Assign a d10 , a d8 , and a d6 to three skills you think your character is good at. Characters have a total of 6 skills :
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Bash : wreck, move, force.
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Dash : run, jump, climb.
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Sneak : hide, skulk, lurk.
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Shoot : track, throw, fire.
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Think : perceive, analyze, repair.
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Sway : charm, manipulate, intimidate.
Think of an item that you got before leaving for your adventure, and add it to your backpack as a d10 item.
Rolling Tables
You may use the following tables to generate details for your game.
Weapons
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2x4
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Baseball Bat
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Sledge Hammer
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Crowbar
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Frying Pan
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Golf Club
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Katana
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Shovel
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Machete
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Baton
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Pitchfork
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Banjo
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Chainsaw
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Skate Board
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Dumbbell
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Cricket Bat
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Fire Axe
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Pipe
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Pickaxe
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Hatchet
Long Range Weapons
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Revolver
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9mm Pistol
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Hunting Rifle
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Shotgun
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Bow
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Flamethrower
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Sniper Rifle
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Assault Rifle
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Crossbow
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Molotov Cocktail
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Grenade
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Pipe Bomb
Jobs
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Chef
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IT Specialist
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Nurse
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Personal Trainer
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Influencer
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Police Officer
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Architect
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School Teacher
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Military
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Mechanic
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Park Ranger
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College Student
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DJ
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Civil Engineer
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Homeless
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Contractor
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Bartender
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Firefighter
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Farmer
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Scientist
Locations
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Apartment Building
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Shopping Center
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Grocery Store
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Hospital
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Church
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Arcade
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Sewers
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High-School
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Hotel
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Construction Site
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Dance Club
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Factory
Complications
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Another survivor is yelling for help.
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You’ve attracted a swarm of Crawlers.
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Bandits are on your tail.
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New and nasty kind of Crawler.
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Maniac shooting everything that moves.
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You meet another group of survivors.
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The zone you’re in is booby trapped.
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You’re out of munitions.
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One of your items suddenly breaks.
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The only way out is blocked.
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You meet someone you knew before.
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You face a pack of feral animals.
Missions
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Your group is almost out of supplies.
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Someone in your group is very sick.
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Thugs kicked you out of your safe zone.
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The military is planning to bomb the city.
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You’ve met someone who’s immune.
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The government planned a supply drop.
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A cult is sacrificing people to Crawlers.
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You’ve met a scientist who’s found a cure.
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Someone in your group was captured.
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You’ve heard of a sanctuary filled with survivors on the other side of the city.
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There’s a fire raging across the city.
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Your group has found itself in the middle of a gang war.
Breathless Design Points
A Format
The first thing you need to consider when creating any type of game is the format you want to use. Whether it’s a bifold pamphlet like Breathless, a 20-page zine, or a full-fledged book, the way you write your text, lore, and mechanics will differ greatly.
In formats like bifold or trifold games, every word has to be useful and every sentence must be condensed. Due to space limitations, you may need to rephrase things often to make them fit on the page. Using a small format also means you won’t be able to include as many details as you might like, such as world lore, a bestiary, or NPC backgrounds. Space is a luxury you can’t often afford in small formats. Creating condensed games requires significant effort, but it can be a rewarding challenge.
If you decide to go with a larger format like a zine or a book, you will need to ask yourself, “how much information is too much?” Breathless games oftentimes leave things open-ended for players to discover and provide means to generate dynamic stories through rolling tables and oracles. If you add too many details about the world, what is left to be explored? Try to strike the right balance between necessary information to understand the world and what is superfluous to actually enjoy being a part of it.
A World
Breathless was designed to emulate stories like those in the video game series The Last Of Us, where characters live in a harsh world full of challenges. By relying on their skills and gear, they will be able to accomplish what they need to and survive yet another day.
When creating your world, think about what it looks like, what kind of people and creatures inhabit it, and what its current or impending issues are. This will help inform the kind of challenges the players may face in the game. Is the world broken, or is there something that is looking to cause harm? Consider the latest events in the story and describe them early in the game to give a sense of history and context.
A Goal
In Breathless, the characters have a clear goal: survive one more day. This goal was perfect for such a short game, but for bigger games you need something bigger and more complex to drive the show.
When creating your story, think about the goal the main characters of the story have. Are the characters lone explorers, or are they a part of the solution to solving problems in the world? Are they looking for something, or are they on the run? Think about the different factions in your world, and how they relate with the characters to tie everything together.
Your Check
See Checks
One of the core aspects of Breathless is that using a skill or item always steps down its die. The reason behind this is not to reduce the chances of success, per se… The dice are swingy anyway. Even with a d4, you still have a 50% chance of success. The goal is to slowly encourage players to catch their breath. This creates the pacing and encourages an exchange between the players and the GM. It’s more like a countdown that switches the narrative control from one side of the table to the other. Players play and interact with the story, and when one of them catches their breath , the GM gets to introduce something new, dramatic, and interesting to the story.
For your game, you may want to consider how skills or items reset or step down to affect the pace of the game. Would you like dice to always step down like in Breathless, or perhaps to only step down on failures? Are there other ways to reset the ratings of a skill or item? Are there other systems that use “die steps” as a currency to activate abilities?
Your “Catch Your Breath”
The core loop of the game centers around characters becoming breathless from overcoming obstacles, catching their breath , and getting back into the action. This tension and release cycle is one of the coolest things about Breathless games. This kind of loop works fantastically for any kind of risk-taking adventures.
For your game, consider when and how characters should “ catch their breath ”. Can they do it all the time, or do they need to rest or be in a specific location? Think about the cost of the characters catching their breath, as every mechanic should try to move the story forward.
Your Loot
See Loot Checks
Loot checks provide players an opportunity to acquire items that can make their lives easier and reduce the rate at which they get tired. However, looting always carries some risk. The reason for this risk is to prompt players to ask themselves if adding more tension to the current scene is worth the possibility of finding an item at this moment.
For your game, what does the result distribution of looting look like? What are the odds of getting a great item versus risking your life while searching? Are you using a d20 for looting, or is looting a skill that steps down like the others?
Your Skills and Kits
See Your Character
Skills are how characters interact with the world when things are risky. They tie the mechanical part of the game with the fiction. To make this game your own, you should customize the skill list to fit the aesthetic of your setting. A good way to approach this is to think about the actions characters would do often and assign them a verb or name.
For your game, what actions would characters do the most? Are the initial skill ratings picked by the player during character creation or rolled randomly? Or, perhaps they are part of a character kit which assigns skill ratings and other details or items based on a specific archetype?
Your Stunts
See Stunts
The default Stunt mechanic is a tool players can use to look “awesome” once per “catch your breath”. Use this to mimic characters using cool powers or doing something extremely lucky.
Your Stress
See Stress
Stress is the default health pacing mechanism of the game. If you want characters to feel stronger or weaker, adjust how big is the stress track, what happens when a PC fills it, and how they can recover. Be as generous or harsh as you see fit.
Your Rolling Tables
See Rolling Tables
Consider adding rolling tables for the things you consider important in your game. Since this game’s format is short, rolling tables help in two-way. First, they help put a bigger focus on what is significant in your world. Second, they help facilitate sessions for when the players are in doubt about where the story should go next. Plus, it does all this in a very word efficient way. You could include tables for things like items, locations, allies, enemies, complications, missions, etc.