Pencils and Pennies: Adventures in Spaaace!

CONTENT

1. ABOUT
2. STATS
3. BUILDS
4. THE ROLL
5. DOING STUFF
6. ADVENTURE
7. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABOUT

Adventures in Spaaace! is a tiny game that you can play alone, by yourself. On a plane¹.

It is built on the Pencils & Pennies core rules, included here for the first time anywhere!

Pencils & Pennies is meant to serve as “emergency rules” that you should be able to play anywhere, discreetly, without the need for dice or any special materials or equipment: you just need a pencil and at least one coin.

You will need:

• these rules!

• a pencil: the yellow kind with 6 sides

• three coins (or three scraps of paper with a dot or some kind of mark on one side, and the other side blank)

• probably some paper (and your pencil!) or a text editor to keep notes.

STATS

aka, the ABCs of adventure!

You have three STATS.

1. AGILITY: dexterity, precision, speed

2. BRAWN: strength, power, athletics

3. CUNNING: smarts, charm, knowledge

BUILDS

Choose a BUILD and take note of its STAT BONUS.

THE ROLL

The ROLL uses a pencil and three coins to simulate d6 + d8

Preparation: with a marker or something, number each side of the pencil 1 - 6.

1. Toss or roll the pencil. note the value.

2. The coins are a binary d8. Toss them (or the pieces of paper) and read them from left to right. If the coin is heads up, that’s a 1. If not, that’s a 0. If the coins are all tails, that’s an 8.

Example Coin Tosses:

• Heads Tails Heads = 4*1 + 2*0 + 1*1 = 5

• Heads Heads Tails = 4*1 + 2*1 + 1*0 = 6

• Tails Tails Heads = 4*0 + 2*0 + 1*1 = 1

• Tails Tails Tails = 8 (by definition)

DOING STUFF

Here’s the standard procedure for doing stuff:

1. Say that you do something.

2. That thing happens!

Here’s the procedure for doing stuff if A) the outcome is uncertain, or B) there is risk or chance involved:

1. Do a ROLL

2. Add your relevant stat BONUS if any

3. Add +1 if you can use your EQUIPMENT

4. Consult THE TABLE

THE TABLE:

Here’s what that might mean for you:

• SUFFER: Things go badly! Suffer a condition.

• SETBACK: This might be a success at cost. You get what you want, but things get complicated.

• SUCCESS: You do the thing!

Optional Rules:

• SACRIFICE: Turn a SUFFER into a SETBACK, or a SETBACK into a SUCCESS, by breaking or losing your equipment.

• DEVIL’S BARGAIN: Increase your level of success by agreeing to an undesireable consequense that happens regardless of the outcome.

ADVENTURE

Roll a couple times the table below.²

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Inspired by:

• Pocket Dungeon: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/42361/pocket-dungeon

• A Dragon Game: https://loottheroom.itch.io/a-dragon-game

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