RUINOUS: an ashcan ultralight system

13 Oct, 2025

This morning I had a eureka moment about how I could simplify Ruins & Rogues and still retain what I like about it. Here's what I’ve come up with. EDIT: I’ve actually edited this a lot since I posted it (sorry!), but as of 10/14 there’s now a commentary section at the bottom.

Character Creation

Describe what your character is good at in a few sentences, then give yourself three starting items. Here are some examples of different kinds of items you might give yourself:

1. Counterfeit (loaded dice, fake jewelry, forged documents)
2. Cover (flour sack, smoke pellets, glitter powder)
3. Distractions (wind-up toy, whistle, firecrackers)
4. Flammable (coal, kindling, sawdust)
5. Floor traps (caltrops, marbles, snare trap)
6. Irritants (spice jar, poison ivy, feather pillow)
7. Relaxants (calming incense, sleeping powder, bottle of ether)
8. Slippery (soap, vegetable oil, butter)
9. Sticky (pot of glue, jar of honey, pot of tar)
10. Silly (musical instrument, pet goldfish, large natural sponge)

Your maximum HP starts at 4. If your character is supposed to be good at fighting, give yourself light armor and/or a shield.

1. Wearing armor increases your maximum HP by 2 (light), 4 (medium), or 6 (heavy).
2. Wielding a shield also increases your maximum HP by 2.

Finally, give yourself a melee weapon (sword, axe, spear, etc.) and/or a ranged weapon (bow, crossbow, sling, etc.).

Rolling Dice

Only the GM rolls dice. Whenever the GM is uncertain, the GM rolls a d6; the higher the result, the better the outcome for the PCs.

If the result seems unlikely, the GM may roll a second d6 and take the new result if it seems more likely. The GM may not roll a third d6.

Combat

Each round, first each enemy gets a turn, then each player. On your turn, you can move a reasonable distance and take one action. Exception: Surprised enemies do not go first.

No dice are rolled in combat. Weak attacks deal 1 damage, normal attacks deal 2 damage, strong attacks deal 3 damage, and attacks against an especially vulnerable target deal 4 damage.

Since damage is static and the odds may be stacked against you, you should be clever with your items and your environment. If it isn't outright deadly, a trap or other environmental hazard deals 2 (weak), 4 (normal), or 6 (strong) damage.

Damage and Recovery

When you take damage, you lose that much HP. If you run out of HP, you die.

A good long rest restores you to your maximum HP. Up to twice per day, you can take a short rest to regain up to half your maximum HP.

Note that, if you lose your shield or your armor breaks, your maximum HP is not reduced until you take a short or long rest.

Monsters

Monster statblocks look like this: "Name. HP, weapon (attacks x damage tags)."

For example: "Dragon. 32 HP, claws (2x3) or fire breath (6 heavy blast)." 2x3 means the dragon can make two claw attacks per action that deal 3 damage each; attack tags are explained below.

Monsters have HP as follows:

1. Easy: 2, 4, or 6 HP
2. Medium: 8, 10, or 12 HP
3. Hard: 16, 24, or 32 HP

Here are some attack tags:

1. Blast: The attack strikes all targets within whatever area of effect the GM deems reasonable.
2. Body: The attack strikes all targets that the attacker moves into or otherwise touches on its turn.
3. Heavy: The attack costs two actions: one to ready the attack and one to attack next turn.
4. Stun: The target takes 1 damage if it moves and 1 damage if it acts on its next turn.

Commentary

So, what makes this different from Ruins & Rogues, in the end?

1. No player-facing rolls. 2d6 task resolution and Milton-dice damage rolls are gone. Combat is now a lot more like Skorne.
2. No advancement system. Spells are gone; skills are replaced with freeform description; raising your maximum HP is now diegetic and based on armor.
3. No big list of premade characters or monsters. This version is a lot more “neutral” about its setting, who you can be, and who you might encounter.

I think the overall effect is that Ruinous is a lot more flexible and easier to teach than R&R, but I’ll have to test it out. I’m curious to see how the static damage combat and the lack of player-facing rolls goes over with players, but I think for the right group it could feel a lot more immersive.