Force & Guile

Brigna swung her axe at the thick legs of the towering tripod-like horror, but even the enchanted edge couldn't pierce its hide. With a speed that did not match their girth, the beast's limbs sought to crush her, armour and all, and only through years of maille-conditioning was she able to roll away in time. Thinking quickly, she dropped her axe and deployed instead her grappling hook, catching one of the beast's mighty taloned feet and swiftly entangling it in her trustsome rope. Around and about she ran, with each pass further entangling the straining creature, until at last it fell, exhausted before her, exposing its soft, fleshy neck. She wiped the sweat from her brow and retrieved her axe, preparing to put an end to this nightmare...

Force & Guile is a quick-playing one-page RPG inspired by Appendix N literature. These stories by Robert E. Howard, Leigh Brackett, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and others are filled with action and conflict, where the day is won by quick thinking and decisive action, rather than endless wars of attrition. Force & Guile was made to emulate the pace of these stories: create a character in seconds, then journey forth on a high-stakes adventure where you win or lose by your wits in the moment.