A modular tabletop RPG system for young adults that's easy to teach, fast to learn, and grows in strategy as you play.
The Play Easily Now roleplaying game (PEN RPG) is a fast, fun, and strategically satisfying tabletop RPG system designed by Hoodwink Games to segue roleplaying newbs into games with roleplaying masters. The book is completely written and playtested; all I need is your help putting it into print.
RPGs are incredible tools for building community, making new friends, and having an excuse to get together every week. But the task of teaching new players feels insurmountable, and when a casual acquaintance comes to your table and asks, “Hey, this looks cool, can I join?” the answer is either, “Not really, but thanks for asking,” or “If you want to spend a few hours learning, we’d love to have you!”
That’s not conducive to making friends.
But people want to play!! One-in-three Gen Z and Millennials report feeling lonely often or all the time, and almost 2-in-3 have observable anxiety and depression. It’s a turbulent time– isolation and loneliness easily creep in when transitioning into college, a new job, a new town, or a new living situation. And game-based community helps–research shows 1 in 3 Gen Z are interested in RPGs and 90% of those who play do it for the community involved. In-person RPG gaming is shown to improve mental illness recovery, improve creative thinking, and create a sense of belonging.
Plus, you know, they’re just super fun. So Hoodwink Games created PEN, a generic system for telling any story that stories fast and stays fun.
Most easy-to-learn RPGs are easy, but shallow rules and short manuals make gameplay… boring. Close communities are built around weeks and weeks of telling stories together and quickstart RPGs are just too rules-lite to stay satisfying for long.
Plus, other generic RPG classics like GURPS and Savage Worlds are super fun but still tailored to veteran audiences. No newbie wants to tackle those books alone. In practice, once character creation is over and players know what’s going on, maybe the systems are easy enough. But that first hurdle is just too high for casual players just looking for friends.
NO! Every textbook, from entry-level algebra to advanced calculus, started by teaching basic concepts. And what is a game manual if not just a textbook? You learn enough to get going, and then you keep advancing as you apply the concepts you’ve already learned. Eventually, you are confident enough to apply ALL the concepts in new and exciting combinations.
PEN works the same way. Modules advance players through the game, starting with a 5-page spread of rules, description of roleplaying concepts, and seven, pre-built characters to choose from. Then, as players play, players advance through the modules at their own pace, adding more complex rules systems and strategic options.
Every single step is designed to seamlessly sew roleplaying and mechanics into a tactical, fun, and intuitive ruleset your party will want to return to for years.
Module One opens by explaining the concept of an RPG. For new players, the idea of not having a board, cards, or definitive actions can feel a little nebulous. A couple pages succinctly explain the concept of collaborative storytelling through roleplay and give some key tips for staying engaged.
Next, seven pre-built archetypes give players an example of where to start, give examples of characteristics, and explain skills to explain how character elements work together to create synergies.
Lastly, five pages explain the core resolution mechanic and how it applies to general rolls, combat, healing, competitions, and more!
PEN’s original system involves players rolling 3d6, adding the relevant skill, checking the degree of success, and then improving with bonuses and items! Each player gets two actions per turn and a free movement to spend on their character's interactions.
That's all there is to it! If someone wants to learn, all you have to do is hand them a character, loot three d6s out of an old game of Risk, and get started! EVERY. SINGLE. ROLL in the game follows this mechanic, so if a player can add and subtract whole numbers, they can play the whole game.
Even attacks and defenses boil down to this simple mechanic. Players roll to attack using Strength or Accuracy and roll to defend using either Resistance or Agility. Attacks deal damage based on the degree of success verses the defender but otherwise function exactly the same as every other skill roll--no more need to explain the difference between rolls to hit, damage rolls, attack DCs, and saving throws. Then, once players roleplaying and gaming with the veterans at your table, they'll be ready to create their very own character!
Character creation is both incredibly simple and incredibly customizable. Character creation discards races and classes (in the base system, at least) and instead gives players complete creative freedom:
That's all there is to it, really. It's a simple process, but with 210+ unique characteristics to choose from, players have nearly endless combinations of unique abilities, backgrounds, bonuses, and weaknesses, to create over 2,600,000,000,000,000 possible characters. With all those options, players can recreate timeless archetypes or explore their own unique playstyles!
The module also introduces items, which are based on general types. For instance, handheld ranged weapons (e.g. hand-crossbow and Colt .45) share the same profile because, relative to their settings, they serve a similar purpose. This massive simplification makes bookkeeping easy no matter where your campaign unfolds!
STANDARD ITEMS are also a special innovation in PEN. Standard items--Gear, Loot, Food, Clues, and Maps--each grant a mechanical benefit designed to streamline sticky mechanics:
This straightforward approach to items streamlines gameplay MASSIVELY and rewards players for roleplaying! It's an efficient take on expendable items that furthers PEN's balance of ease and excitement.
Module Three opens big with a TON of flexible options for players creating their own builds. Unlike D&D and many other RPGs, PEN does not lock players into skill trees of abilities. Instead, players are given freeform systems to pursue item crafting, magic, combat maneuvers, warfare, and NPCs that fit players' own dream builds.
To craft items, characters decide the bonuses they want their item to have, collect materials from their environment to build the item, and make a mechanics roll. Then characters use the table below to expend actions over time until the item is finished!
Magic also gives players HUGE creative latitude. Players combine elements, effects, durations, and numbers of targets to create custom spells meeting in-the-moment needs! The more powerful the spell, the harder it is to cast--and the bigger the effect!
But why should arcane characters get all the fun?? PEN includes a list of martial maneuvers characters can add to attacks and defenses for special effects. These create powerful tactical advantages, giving martial characters an edge over even far stronger opponents by disarming, distracting, parrying, and more! Advanced characters can even combine maneuvers to create signature moves for masterfully dispatching foes.
As characters grow in power and influence, PEN includes rules for commanding armies and gathering Supporters who follow the party around. Rules for battles elegantly sew army actions into character combat, making for epic, Lord-of-the-Rings-esq moments of heroic character actions, surrounded by carnage!
Supporters are similarly streamlined for excitement and ease. Instead of creating detailed NPC profiles that bog turn orders and distract players with extra information, Supporters are simply sorted into types. Over 20 different Supporter types each give a single unique ability to the characters' parties, ranging from soldiers to children to chefs to lawyers. Abilities vary from attacks to role-playing benefits, and each Supporter has only one which players can order Supporters to use in a variety of situations.
This system creates simplified, impact-oriented NPCs that spare players the headache of managing multiple profiles while giving the satisfaction of an army of followers.
Game Mastering can be the most intimidating part of an RPG, and most manuals are written assuming the GM already has some idea of what they're doing. But what if you don't? Somebody has to learn the game and teach it, so PEN is written to make session writing as easy as character creation.
Module Four describes the step-by-step process for running turns from the GM's perspective AND simple templates for writing exciting sessions. To start right away, PEN includes a complete one-shot for GMs to learn from and launch right into gaming!
Also included are random tables for NPCs, traps, and other details, and steps for creating unique, balanced NPCs. These seven pages give GMs all the tools they need to tell an original story right out of the box.
Worldbuilding is one of the most exciting parts of GMing, and PEN wants to help new GMs worldbuild well! After GMs learn how to tell a one-session story, Module Five teaches GMs how to turn their sessions into longer stories across larger worlds. Ten random tables spark GMs imagination for where players can explore, including options for governments, geography, industry, populations, values, economies, and more!
Using these sheets, GMs can take their stories and turn them into world guides where players can return session after session for years of evolving gameplay.
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