How to Play

To start playing we need to answer a few questions.

Where? Who? What and Why? How?

Where?

Create a Setting or backdrop for the characters to exist in

First thing we need to know is where are we going to be playing. You can use the tables to assist you in your thought process.

Example

Genre: Urban Fantasy

  • Modern World
  • Magic: Low Magic -- magic exists but it is hard to come-by
    • Access: PCs have access, but most regular folks do not
  • Technology: High Technology -- technology and science exist and are easy to come-by
    • Access: Everyone has access

This sets the stage for what your characters can do.

d10 Magic Tech Examples
1 High Magic No Tech Lord of the Rings, The Witcher
2 High Magic Low Tech Avatar: The Last Airbender, Dragon Age
3 High Magic High Tech Warhammer 40K, Shadowrun
4 Low Magic No Tech Conan the Barbarian, Game of Thrones
5 Low Magic Low Tech The Last Kingdom, Red Dead Redemption 2
6 Low Magic High Tech Mad Max, Cyberpunk 2077
7 No Magic No Tech The Clan of the Cave Bear, Prehistoric Planet
8 No Magic Low Tech Gladiator, Deadwood
9 No Magic High Tech The Matrix, Halo
10 Roll again
Magic Tech Example Genres
High Magic No Tech High Fantasy, Mythic Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery, Fairy Tale, Folk Horror
High Magic Low Tech Heroic Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Wuxia, Arthurian Legend
High Magic High Tech Magitech, Science Fantasy, Arcane Punk, Steampunk, Space Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
Low Magic No Tech Low Fantasy, Gritty Fantasy, Survival Fantasy, Grimdark, Prehistoric Fiction
Low Magic Low Tech Medieval Fiction, Historical Drama, Western Fantasy, Sword & Sandal, Swashbuckling Adventure
Low Magic High Tech Post-Apocalyptic, Cyberpunk with Occult Elements, Dystopian Fantasy, Biopunk
No Magic No Tech Prehistoric Fiction, Historical Fiction, Survival Horror, Hard Drama, Naturalistic Adventure
d20 Descriptor Location World
1 Enchanted Forest Shattered
2 Ruined City Dying
3 Desolate Wasteland Post-Apocalyptic
4 Floating Island Mirror
5 Ancient Ruins Flooded
6 War-Torn Realm Hollow
7 Isolated Mountain Overgrown
8 Hidden Village Volcanic
9 Overgrown Jungle Sentient
10 Frozen Tundra Hive-Invested
11 Sunken Temple Mechanical
12 Crumbling Fortress Dreamlike
13 Forbidden Swamp Cursed
14 Dystopian Metropolis Digital
15 Haunted Catacombs Abandoned
16 Barren Plains Celestial
17 Shifting Desert Time-locked
18 Underground Cavern Darkened
19 Remote Station Artificially Constructed
20 Lost Planet Paradoxical

Who?

The characters are the heart of the story.

  1. Come up with a compelling Character Concepts.
  2. Create a character sentence for each character.
  3. (optional) Flesh out the character with a 101-Character Creation method.

Character Sentence

Character Sentence

[Name] is a [descriptor] [species] [type] who [does something].

This sentence defines the characters at a high grain detail.

Each of the words in the brackets are tags that describe your character. They can be used to ease or hinder an action check.

Descriptors should define a key personality trait or something about the character that is a basic essence of the character. This can be good or bad, it is your character.

Species is just what it is. In an all human world or for a human character choose a second descriptor to fill in the sentence. The species of a character can tell a lot about what society perceives the character as. In some cases it could also be used in tasks that a species might be good at.

Example

If you have a Psionic species. These characters are going to be really good with mental tasks, since that's what they're born to do. Mental tasks can be eased. But it also might make them vulnerable to psionics because they have a much more open mind. It's all about how your world works.

Types are what most other TTRPGs call classes or archetypes. They can range anywhere from Warrior as a most basic type to something as specific as Professional MMA Fighter.

The Does Something tag is one of the most important bits. This is a major defining action for your character. It can go hand in hand with the type, or it can be something completely off the wall and go against the types typical associations. This is what your character is know for or uses to their advantage.

Example

  • Uses Magic
  • Wields Two Weapons
  • Made a Deal with a Devil
  • Entertains the Masses

The phrase should always start with a verb. While is, can or has are perfectly acceptable ways to start the sentence, try looking for action verbs instead.

Tags

All character tags including those in your character sentence can be used to ease or hinder all rolls.

An obsessive tag can ease rolls where attention to details is a good thing. But it can also hinder rolls where acting quickly and decisively are important.

What and Why?

What is the purpose of the game

Now that you have your characters and your setting it's time to think about what the character(s) are going to do. There are several methods you go could about doing this. I like The Oracle Method and the Quest Method.

The Oracle Method

If you have no idea start asking the Oracle questions. Some that are good to start with.

These questions will lead to other questions and you can surmise a beginning to your story. And then start playing in 000-Resolution.

The Quest Method

Sometimes you there is a general theme you want to do or don't want to have to interpret as much as with the Oracle method. That's where the Quest Method comes in.

You create a few random tables that help assist you in creating a decent quest idea that will help fuel the story forward.

Quest need a set of things before you can begin.

Some ideas for setting up a random quest:

Find

Collect [Things]

Hunt

Investigate

Deliver [Something]

Defeat

Explore

Collect Antidote Ingredients

Starting Location: Home Village
Source: Village apothecary
Type: Collection
Objective: Collect the ingredients for the antidote
Reward: A small bag of gold + Saving an NPC you need to speak to
Location: Varies/Multiple

How?

The most important part -- have fun

Now you have a quest for your characters to go on in the world you've created. But how do you start?

That's where 000-Resolution comes in. And I've created a nice little app that you can use anywhere.

First things first, figure out how you find the source of the quest. You can already know how you did that or you can ask the oracle. If you don't know something, as the oracle.

Sometimes you need a better answer than Yes or No, or you need help interpreting the random keywords that the app gives you. Don't be afraid to consult other mediums for assistance. (Me personally, I like asking AI and using what I like from its suggestions to inspire the next thing.)

This is your game, and you should play it how you want to. This is what I do.

Sometimes I create a simple map in a 5x5 grid or a larger map in a 10x10 grid. Sometimes I have a hex map made in my favorite map making software. Sometimes I don't have a map at all. It's up to you to decide how to do it. But you don't need any of it. You can just ask the oracle and tell your story.

Example Actual Play

Note

AI was used in the set up of this actual play and is only included as an example. The Story Mode App does not include any AI.

Roll: Rolling for Motive and Creature
1d10 + 1d6: [6]+[1] = 7

Creature: Ghost/Spirit
Motive: Obsession

Q: What is the Ghost Obsessed with?
Wealth, Moan, Endanger

AI: A wealthy financier who died regretting his greed and now tries to “collect debts” from the living.

AI Written New Article

Prominent Investor Found Dead in Locked Office — Foul Play Suspected

New Everlight Chronicle
By Amelia Graves, Staff Reporter

New Everlight police are investigating the mysterious death of local financier Victor Langley, who was found dead last night in his high-rise office at Langley & Associates. Authorities remain tight-lipped about the circumstances, but sources say the scene left more questions than answers.

Langley, 62, was last seen leaving a late business meeting, alone. Security footage confirms no one entered or exited his 28th-floor office between 9:30 PM and when a janitor discovered his body at 6:15 AM. The door was locked from the inside, and there were no signs of forced entry. The only disturbance? The blinds, which were drawn shut hours earlier, had been left wide open.

"It doesn't make sense," said Detective Elliot Vance, lead investigator on the case. "The victim had no visible injuries, no indications of struggle. Yet, something clearly happened here. We’re pursuing all possible leads."

A source close to the investigation described Langley’s expression as “one of pure terror.” His hands were clenched tight around his desk, as if bracing himself against something unseen. The only clue left behind was a single phrase scrawled across his financial ledger in shaking, uneven handwriting: “The Debt is Due.”

Employees claim Langley had been increasingly paranoid in recent weeks, speaking of “old debts” and unseen figures watching him. His longtime assistant, Eleanor Price, said he had been reviewing old accounts—some dating back decades—but she was unaware of any threats or outstanding disputes.

The coroner has yet to determine an official cause of death. No signs of poison, trauma, or natural causes have been confirmed. Authorities urge anyone with information to come forward.

Was Langley the target of an elaborate scheme, a victim of his own fears—or something more sinister? As the investigation unfolds, residents of New Everlight are left wondering: Can a debt follow you beyond the grave?

Roll: Who goes first? 1 - Nox, 2 - Alex
1d2: [1] = 1

Day 1

Time of Day: Afternoon
(1d4: [2] = 2)

Days of the Week: Wednesday
(1d8: [3] = 3)

Seasons: Winter
(1d4: [1] = 1)

Weather: Precipitation
(1d20: [5] = 5)

Moon Phases: Full Moon
(1d8: [5] = 5)

Nox

Situation is beyond all control
Scene Status: Chaos 6 (18)

Q: Is Nox at home?
Yes (1d20: [17] = 17)

Q: Is Nox looking for a job?
No, but (1d20: [7] = 7)
Monopoly, Guest, Opening

Someone from Langley & Associate calls Nox.

Q: Is it the janitor?
No, but (1d20: [3] = 3)
Orbit, Mould, Mother

Eleanor Price calls Nox. She knows of him. He's helped one of her children before.

Nox answered the phone "Back Booth Bureau where every case starts with a cup of coffee. How can I help you?"

"Mr. Vaelric, I'm Eleanor Price. I have a problem."

Roll: District Location of Nox's coffee shop?
1d20: [10] = 10

Roll: Warehouse district: which one?
1d20: [1] = 1

Roll: 1.1 on which street?
1d20: [12] = 12

Roll: Goods Drive. Two descriptor words
2d20: [4, 11] = 15

gritty, dangerous

Roll: District description
2d20: [5, 12] = 17

"It's just Nox. It's best we talk in person. What would be a good time to meet you at Café Noir on Goods Drive?"

Do: Talk Eleanor into meeting in his normal place? Situationally eased because Eleanor trusts Nox because he helped her daughter
Fail, but [5(15) → 2]
Refuse pit, Costume, Unnatural

"I'm not going to meet you on your turf Mr. Vaelric. How about someplace else."

AI: The Rusted Pavilion – An abandoned train station turned meeting place for those who don’t want to be overheard.

Roll: Which Industrial District
1d12: [9] = 9

9.4

Roll: Descriptors
2d20: [16, 6] = 22

Roll: the rusted pavilion descriptor
2d20: [6, 1] = 7

Do: Convince Eleanor that it works? Situationally eased because Eleanor trusts Nox because he helped her daughter and because it's neutral territory
Success [4(12) → 12]

Roll: Eleanor agrees to meet at the Rusted Pavilion at...
1d12: [9] = 9

9am the next day.