Nightlight

A role playing game about overcoming your fears

by /tg/
Version .18
All Profits to Child's Play
What is ightlight!
Nightlight is a role playing game that pits animated Toys, which are controlled by the Players,
against the embodiments of primal fear, which are in turn controlled by the Game Master, as
they try to steal into the rooms and minds of children. Night after night, a battle for innocence
and an untouched childhood is fought by the valiant Toys. Toys are powered by the imagination
and love of their smalls, the children they protect. hile toys can interact with the physical
world! things li"e magic, weaponry, and other abilities are powered by imagination made
tangible in ways that scarcely effect the real world and ma#orly effect the Primals, who are made
of fear and hate.
What you need to play
$n order to play Nightlight, you need a group of players, one of which is going to be the Game
Master %GM for short&, this te't, () si'*sided dice at least %from now on referred to as d+&, copies
of the character sheet, pencils, erasers, and, most importantly, a vivid imagination.
What ma"es a #oy!
,ll animated Toys, or Player -haracters %from now on occasionally referred to as P-s&, share
certain common characteristics that define them and are needed to ma"e the rules of the game
wor". They are.
Type
,ttributes
/it Points %/P&
0"ills
1uir"s
#ype
There are four basic and three advanced types to choose from.
Stuffed Toys
2sually modeled after animals, especially furry ones, li"e the iconic Teddy 3ear. They are
capable fighters and also very personable. 0tuffed Toys gain 45 Toughness and 4( 6ellowship.
Action Figures
These toys include diverse 0oldier types or 0uperheroes. Their intricate #oints and e'tensive
accessories ma"e them agile and versatile. ,ction 6igures gain 45 ,rticulation and 4( ,ccessory.
Dolls
Typically %but by far not always& female, made to loo" li"e humans,
and often sewn from cloth. hile not usually front*line fighters, they are the most sensible
and charismatic toys and adept at using imagination instilled in them through do7ens of tea
parties and games of hide and go see". 8olls gain 45 6ellowship and 4( $magination.
Figurines
9verything from Toy -ars and Planes to ,rmy Men and Miniatures. hile usually small in
si7e and in some iterations less mobile than the other Toys, figurines have the most direct lin"
to the power of imagination and are also :uite hardy. 6igurines gain 45 imagination and 4(
Toughness.
The three advanced types may not be suited to all play styles and games, but offer an interesting
alternation from the common Toy types. -hec" with your GM before using one of these.
Constructables
;arying wildly in shape and form, -onstructables are designed to be mi'*and*matchable and
therefore can ma"e the greatest use of accessories. 9ven their bodies can be ta"en apart and
reconstructed into a thousand thousand different forms. -onstructables gain 4< ,ccessory.
Imaginary Friends
These toys spring directly from the imagination of =their> child. ,dults can never see them, so
they can easily protect the child from their fears even during daytime. Naturally, their magical
powers of imagination even surpass those of figurines. $maginary 6riends gain 4< $magination.
Created
Toys who are highly mutable li"e piles of ?ego, drawings, and clay. These toys can ta"e a variety
of forms and are fairly adaptable. -reated gain 4() s"ill points.
Attributes
Toys in Nightlight have five ,ttributes, rated from one to five. Toughness governs your physical
power and resilience. ,rticulation is used to measure your de'terity and speed. $magination is
the source of wondrous magical abilities. 6ellowship is your ability to influence others. ?astly,
,ccessory correlates with both your starting gear and the capability to ma"e use of it and
possibly even find or create new gadgets. @ou have (5 points to distribute among your
,ttributes. No attribute may be lower than ( or higher than A, after ta"ing into account your type
bonuses.
$P
, Toy can only ta"e so much punishment before it brea"s and needs mending. $n Nightlight you
spread %5)4Toughness& /ealth Points over four areas, commonly %head& %body& %arms& and
%legs&. 9ven if your toy has some weird layout, li"e a tan" or octopus, you should lable your four
limbs with %/ead& %3ody& %,rms& and %?egs& to ma"e life easier on your GM. 8eep within your
toyBs heart lies itBs Core, with a number of /P e:ual to your Toughness. $f your P- does not
have an at least vaguely humanoid shape, tal" to your GM about what parts of his body best
correlate to these four 7ones. $f you run out /P in any one of these areas that part becomes
crippled, only usable for basic mobility, but that does not necessarily spell his or her immediate
doom. hen three limbs are crippled your core becomes vulnerable, and if it loses all of itBs
health, you are dead.
%"ills
9very Toy has something that ma"es them special. 0ome might wield great powers of deception! others
are s"illed climbers or able healers. $n Nightlight, there are 5A individual 0"ills, five for each ,ttribute.
@our 0"ill rating, and therefore the amount of si'*sided dice you roll to determine successes when using
that 0"ill, is e:ual to your rating in the corresponding ,ttribute plus the amount of 0"ill points you have
invested in the 0"ill. @ou may put up to A points in any any s"ill, distributing a total of (A. 0ome s"ills
may allot a number of uses, points, items, or other things depending on how many 0"ill Points are
invested in the s"ill
Toughness Skills
3rawl. @our s"ill at hitting enemies in melee combat and damage dealt.
9ndurance. -an be used as a reaction to reduce the number of dice an enemy rolls
against you for attac"s.
,thletics. Cumping, climbing, swimming, and moving heavy things. -an also be used as
a reaction to stop enemy movement.
$ntimidate. 2sed to scare off or attract the attention of hostile toys and animals. ,ny
targets with health < your chec" can be directed to attac" you or avoid you.
Guts. -ourage and "nowledge of Primals.
Articulation Skills
,im. 8etermines your ranged attac" accuracy and damage.
8odge. ,llows you to avoid attac"s as a reaction.
0cramble. ,llows a toy to move ( s:uare for every success on a 0"ill -hec". ,lso
measures general agility and ability to react :uic"ly.
0potting. 2sed to e'amine the environment and find things visually.
Tiptoe. 2sed to snea" around unnoticed and ta"e actions :uietly.
Imagination Skills %More details in $magination 0"ill section, below&
9'aggerate. Magic used to assist allies.
?ie. $llusion magic used for tric"ery. ,lso used to bluff.
3lan"et. Protective magic.
3oom. The ability to attac" at range with magic.
Neverland. , school of magic involved in teleportation and movement.
Fellowship Skills
-omfort. 2sed to heal allies. %More 8etails in /ealing section, below&
-arouse. 2sed to diplomatically spea" with other toys and embolden scared allies.
Tame. 2sed to tame house pets and other animals and command them.
,ssist. @ou may ma"e an assist chec" to reduce the difficulty of any chec" for one ally.
$f your ,ssist chec" meets or e'ceeds the difficulty of the chec", the difficulty is
reduced by 5 for an ally.
0tory Telling. 2sed to chec" for prior "nowledge of a primal, minion, or lesser fear.
Accessory Skills
0cavenge. 2sed to search an area and find things.
,rmory. 6or each point spent in ,rmory you gain ( starting item. @ou may use ,rmory
to generally use these items well.
$nvent. 2sed to upgrade allies tools and weapons.
Depair. ,llows you to repair bro"en items and toys. 2sed to reattach limbs.
9valuate. 2sed to give learn about the capabilities of enemies.
54 Ene 0"ill of an enemy.
F4. DemainingGMa' /P of an enemy and one s"ill of an enemy.
+4. /P and any s"ills of an enemy.
H4 /P, 0"ills, and one ,bility of an enemy.
()4 /P, 0"ills, and all ,bilities of an enemy.
,ll s"ill chec"s are made by rolling a number of d+ e:ual to your s"ill rating and totaling the successes.
@ou may never roll more than () dice for any chec" for any reason. Toys always win in the case of ties.
(I5J ) successes
<*AJ 4( success
+J 4( success and roll an e'tra die
&uir"s
1uir"s are special benefits a Toy has that are based on its history, personality and type.
2sually, they grant an automatic success at certain 0"ill rolls that the Toy in :uestion attempts
or give them the ability to do something truly e'traordinary when specific re:uirements are
fulfilled. 1uir"s are what ma"e a Toy special. Therefore, we won>t give you a list to choose
from, but rather encourage you to ma"e up your own :uir"s for your P- K this helps visuali7e
what "ind of a person your Toy is and allows you to build it so it suits your personal
play style. Tal" to your GM about the :uir"s you ma"e up, he or she is the final arbiter on
what is allowed and what is not.
'magination (agic
Eaggerate. , number of times e:ual to the number s"ill points put into 9'aggerate per night you may
ma"e an 9'aggerate chec" and add itBs results to a targetBs chec". This must be done before he rolls for
the chec". Enly ( 9'aggerate can be placed on a target at a time.
!ie. , number of times e:ual to the number s"ill points put into ?ie per night you may use this s"ill to
attempt to create conte't sensitive illusions. @our GM will decide the ultimate effectiveness and
8ifficulty of this 0"ill -hec".
"lanket. , number of times e:ual to the number of points put into this s"ill per night you may ma"e a
3lan"et chec" and add itBs results to an ally as temporary hit points, which is removed first.
"oom. @ou may, as an action, ma"e a magic attac" at range e:ual to your 0"ill Dating in 3oom. hen
moving and measuring range, each diagonal space counts as 5. Ma"e a 3oom chec" to determine if it
hits. This attac" deals damage e:ual to your s"ill points invested in 3oom. ,fter this attac" hits an
enemy and damage is resolved, 3oom reduces an enemyBs 9ndurance and 8odge by (, to a minimum of
half their original 9ndurance and 8odge.
#e$erland. @ou may use you 0"ill Dating in Neverland as your move speed. @ou can, a number of
times per night e:ual to your s"ill points invested in Neverland, teleport yourself and your allies a
number of s:uares e:ual to your successes on a Neverland chec".
$ealing
, number of times per night e:ual to your s"ill points invested in -omfort you may ma"e a chec" and
distribute the number of successes as you see fit among your allies as /P. This cannot be used on a
limb with ) /P.
, number of times per night e:ual to your s"ill points invested in Depair you may attempt to fi' an ally
who has a crippled limb as an action. Ma"e a Depair chec". En a F you repair the limb with ( /P. 6or
every two success over F the limb gains ( additional /P.
Combat
,t the beginning of combat each P- and Primal rolls an $nitiative chec" %Toughness 4 ,rticulation&.
This determines the order you will act in. En your turn you may ta"e ( Ma#or action, ( Minor action,
and ( Movement action in any order you li"e.. hen it is not your turn you may use Deactions when
attac"ed by enemies to try and avoid damage.
Major
Ma#or actions usually are the toyBs most important action during a turn. 2sing any s"ill that allows you
to roll a s"ill chec" li"e 3rawl, 0cramble, ,im, or Tip*Toe counts as a Ma#or action. ,ny ability your
toy has that specifically says it is a Ma#or action also falls under this category. Ma#or actions are always
made using your full pool of dice for any s"ill, unless otherwise stated. @ou may ready a Ma#or
action by not ta"ing a Ma#or action on your turn and declaring a specific trigger or event and a type of
Ma#or action. $f that event occurs before your ne't turn you may immediately ma"e your readied Ma#or
actionL $f that event does not occur before the start of your ne't turn the Ma#or ,ction is lost.
Minor
Minor actions are lesser, secondary actions you ta"e each turn in addition to your Ma#or action. @ou
may use any s"ill that allows you to roll a s"ill chec" %such as 3rawl, -omfort, 3oom, or 0cramble& as
a minor action by rolling half the amount of dice %rounded down& that you would roll to use that ability
as a Ma#or action. Minor actions, li"e their Ma#or brethren, may be readies for specific triggers and
used when those triggers occur.
Movement
, Movement action allows your toy to get around the map. There are a few different ways to move
with each one having itBs own advantages and disadvantages. ,ll toys may move at their standard
movement speed of %F4,rticulation&. ,ll toys also have the ability to move at their Neverland 0peed,
e:ual to their 0"ill Dating in Neverland. Toys may move during Ma#or and Minor actions by ma"ing
0cramble chec"s, but may not 0cramble during their Movement action. hen moving and measuring
range, each diagonal space counts as 5.
Reactions
Deactions are actions that occur either the moment a toy %or enemy& is attac"ed, or when a toy or
enemy moves out of melee range of an opponent. The the forms of reactions are 8odge, 9ndurance,
and ,thletics! and one must be chosen 396ED9 the enemy rolls their attac".
@ou get a *( penalty for each reaction after the first that you ma"e between turns. This is applied as *(
dice rolled when dodging and scrambling, or *( to your 9ndurance penalty. %En your turn this penalty
resets to )&.
Dodge s"ill chec"s %articulation4dodge& prevent all damage entirely, if the chec" produces an e:ual to
or greater amount of successes than the enemyBs number of attac" successes. 6ailure means the entirety
of the attac"Bs damage is ta"en.
-hoosing to Endure means the toy is automatically hit, but may easily mitigate some damage from the
attac"er. The attac"er uses ( less dice as part of their attac" per s"ill points invested in 9ndurance, to a
minimum of ( dice.
Athletics is a special reaction used to stop enemy movement. hen an enemy moves away from an
opponent, toy or monster, the person being stepped away from may ma"e an ,thletics chec". 6or every
success the enemy can move ( less s:uare.
Attacking
To ma"e an attac" you roll a 3rawl or ,im chec" against a single enemy and count the total number of
successes. The number of successes int the amount of damage you deal with that attac". ,ll ranged
attac"s have a range of () s:uares. hen moving and measuring range, each diagonal space counts as
5. 0ome s"ills, li"e 3oom, let you attac" in special ways, detailed in their sections.
)*uipment
,t character creation you start with a number of items e:ual to the number of points you have spent in
the ,rmory s"ill. 9ach piece of e:uipment is either a weapon, a piece of armor, a tool, or a shield.
Tools provide e'tra dice in situation when they are used, li"e :uir"s. ,rmor provides protection for a
toy at all times. eapons are used to ma"e attac"s with the 3rawl or ,im s"ill. The most items a P-
may carry at any time is e:ual to her ,rmory 0"ill Dating.
Weapons:
eapons modify attac" rolls.
Melee weapons add 4( dice to brawl chec"s.
Danged weapons allow you to ma"e attac"s at a distance, but do not add to your aim s"ill.
Armor:
,rmor is attached to your toy and helps protect it from harm. $t can either be!
?ocational ,rmor. ,ttached to one part of a toy. Deduces all damage ta"en by ( to that limb.
-annot be attached to the core.
6ull 3ody ,rmor. ,ttached to the toy generally. 9nemies always roll ( less dice against you on
attac"s.
@ou may have ( piece of 6ull body armor or up to A pieces of ?ocational armor.
Tool:
Tools grant you e'tra dice on chec"s and come in < varieties. @ou cannot ta"e more than one tool that
assists the same s"ill in the same situation.
General Tools. Provide a constant 4( to any one s"ill that is not 3rawl, ,im, or 3oom.
0pecific Tools. Provide a 45 to s"ill chec"s %Not 3rawl, ,im, or 3oom& in specific situations,
li"e using heal to heal yourself, or athletics to #ump across a gap.
?imited use tools. Provide a 4< on any one s"ill besides 3rawl, ,im, or 3oom in any situation,
( time per night.
'nvent
The $nvent s"ill is used to turn scavenged and found things, called Pieces, into upgrades for e:uipment.
9ach bunch of Pieces you find has a value, from one to three. 9ach level of upgrade uses up an
e:uivalent value of pieces, so a level two upgrade uses a level two piece or two level one pieces. To
successfully upgrade a piece a toy must ma"e an invent chec" e:ual to 5 for level ( upgrades, F for
level 5 upgrades, and + for level < upgrades. $f he fails the chec" all the pieces used for the chec" are
used up and may not be useable again. ,ll upgrades last one night. 9ach piece of e:uipment can have
only ( upgrade. @ou may also brea" down invented items into scrap, as your narrator deems
appropriate.
!e$el %ne
,llow a weapon to add 4( additional brawl aim to attac"s.
-reate a new piece of locational armor.
-reate a new weapon.
!e$el Two
Give an item with limited uses one more use.
,llow a weapon to add 45 additional brawl aim to attac"s.
2pgrade ?ocational ,rmor to reduce all damage ta"en to a limb by a further (.
2pgrade 6ull 3ody ,rmor to reduce the number of dice foes roll to attac" you by a further (.
!e$el Three
,llow a weapon to add 4< additional brawl aim to attac"s.
-reate a 6ull 3ody ,rmor.
-reate a Ene Time 2se, 45 to 0"ill tool.
+ther ,ules
,ll toys and Primals tal" in hisperspea", allowing them communicate, even at a yell, without
humans hearing it.
, P- may ride another P- as a mount so long as the GM considers it reasonable. hile doing
so the rider must pass a par"our or tame chec" e:ual to the number of spaces moved in a round
or lose their minor action.
hen appropriate Players describe successes and the GM describes failures.
Doll difficulties loo" a bit li"e this
5*9asy
F*Normal
+*/ard
H*9'tremely 8ifficult
()*$mpossible
Toys canBt fly. They can fall * with style.
The presence of Primals and fears causes an overlapping of their terrifying world and ours,
causing a myriad of effects. hole #ungles can be contained under beds, insane events can
occur that the leave rooms no more than slightly messy in the morning and, most importantly,
this overlap causes a state called the dreaming occur in the room. -hildren will not wa"e up
unless awa"ened by an adult, alarm cloc", or rising sun and any effects the primal has on the
child only occur in their dreams.
Primals see" to install themselves in the walls, basements, and attics of a house and slowly
drain the childBs innocence via their presence and incursions into their dreams over the course of
a wee" or a month.
The Toymaker's Workshop
Character Creation
3efore following these steps, you might want to come up with a general outline of what "ind of a Toy
you would li"e to play as. Thin" of a name, a description, a personality and a history. Ef course there is
nothing stopping you from generating the mechanics of your P- first and coming up with who they are
later K the only hard limits are your imagination and the goodwill of your GM.
First step& Choose your type
The type of Toy you play has a large influence on the role your P- will play in the group. ,ll types
gain a bonus to a certain ,ttribute. The basic types are as follows.
* 0tuffed Toy. 45 Toughness, 4( 6ellowship
* ,ction 6igure. 45 ,rticulation, 4( ,ccessory
* 8oll. 45 6ellowship, 4( $magination
* 6igurine. 45 $magination, 4( Toughness
The bonuses for the advanced types are.
* -onstructable. 4< ,ccessory
* $maginary 6riend. 4< $magination
*-reated. 4() s"ill points
rite your type on your character sheet and mar" wedges in the ,ttribute circles
to indicate your inherent bonuses.
Second step& Distribute Attributes and '(
@ou have (5 ,ttribute points and %5)4Toughness& /P to spend. No ,ttribute may have less than one
%including the 4( you get from your type& or more than five points and all body parts need at least one
/P.
Third step& Allocate Skill points
Put (A points into your various 0"ills and total your 0"ill Dating %respective ,ttribute plus
points in that 0"ill. No 0"ill rating on a Toy may e'ceed ().
Fourth step& )uirks
or" with your GM to come up with four 1uir"s for your Toy. @ou should also stat out your
e:uipment gained from ,rmory during this step.
Fifth step& Finishing touches
$f you haven>t done it already, now is the time to come up with a personality, a description
and maybe even a history for your P-. $f you are artistically inclined or have found a suitable
picture, you can fill the portrait field of your character sheet to help you and your fellow
players visuali7e your P-. $f you are unsure about anything on your sheet, now is the time to
change it. hen both you and your GM are satisfied with your Toy, you are ready to enter the
world of NightlightM