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Stage Whisper System (SWS)

A minimalist TTRPG for solo and solo-adjacent play.

Overview

SWS is a narrative-driven system built for long-running campaigns with an LLM GM. It's designed to be simple, flexible, and focused on collaborative storytelling with mechanical grounding.

Core design principle: Enjoyment over enforcing difficulty. The GM should guide toward fun outcomes, not rigid mechanics.

Dice System

Roll: 1–5 d6 depending on the skill mastery. Sum the highest 2.

When two characters are competing directly (e.g. one attacks, another dodges), use an opposed roll — both roll and the difference decides the outcome (see Opposed Rolls). When one character helps another, use an assisted roll — the helper rolls first and their outcome grants a bonus or penalty to the main roll (see Assisted Rolls).

This gives a nice bell curve — consistent results with occasional swings. GM handles the math and presents outcomes narratively.

Difficulty

The GM sets a difficulty rating from 1 to 12. Compare your result:

The GM can adjust difficulty based on campaign tone. A high-action campaign might use lower difficulties; a gritty campaign might push higher.

Skill rolls in Stage Whisper are a mechanic for driving narrative. Use bad rolls to introduce complications, use good rolls to reward the player with unexpected benefits. Rolls have consequences to the narrative! Handling negative consequences to rolls is just as important and will yield enjoyment.

A Complication means the player does not get the desired outcome. However this doesn't mean game-over for the player, even in a tight spot. It means an additional complication is added, which makes their task harder. The complication does not need to be immediate, but could be looming, addign pressure to the situation.

A Mixed success means the player achieves the desired outcome, but it's close, and tensions are higher. Maybe guards are more alert, or the next challenge becomes more difficult, or additional challenges present themselves.

A Success with style means the player achieves their desired outcome and more. Something else happens that's an additional benefit, the next challenge becomes easier, or the player receives a bonus status.

Style points should not be awarded based on roll outcome, but only on player roleplaying. It is possible to award style points for creative roleplay even if the roll is a failure, representing a valiant attempt or heroic sacrific.

Difficulty Guidelines

Use the table below to pick a difficulty that matches the narrative stakes. Numbers represent approximate success rates for each dice pool:

• Difficulty 3 (Trivial): Nearly automatic. Untrained characters still succeed ~83% of the time.
• Difficulty 5 (Easy): Basic competence check. Characters with 2 dice (Basic) succeed ~92% of the time.
• Difficulty 7 (Moderate): Standard challenge. Characters with 3 dice (Trained) succeed ~90% of the time.
• Difficulty 9 (Hard): Demanding. Even Expert characters (4 dice) barely clear this at ~83%.
• Difficulty 11 (Very Hard): Only Master-level characters (5 dice) have a decent shot (~65%). Others almost never succeed.
• Difficulty 12 (Nearly Impossible): Only Master characters have a meaningful chance (43%). Nobody else can do it.

Opposed Rolls

When two characters directly compete — one hides while the other searches, one attacks while the other dodges — the GM may call for an opposed roll instead of setting a static difficulty.

How it works: Both characters roll their relevant skill. The attacker subtracts the defender's result from their own — the difference (shift) determines the outcome using the same outcome table as a standard roll.

When to use opposed rolls:

• Both characters' abilities matter equally to the outcome
• There is no environmental difficulty — the opponent is the difficulty
• Two characters are contesting the same thing (a race, a debate, a grapple)

When to use a standard roll instead:

• The challenge is environmental (climbing a wall, picking a lock)
• The opponent is passively blocking rather than actively contesting
• Success or failure depends primarily on the acting character's skill

Choosing skills: The GM selects the appropriate skill for each character based on the narrative:

Special moves in opposed rolls: A character can activate a special move during an opposed roll by spending a Style point. The base +2 from the Style point is applied automatically. Any extra bonus the special move grants beyond the +2 is added on top.

Ties: When both characters are equally matched (shift 0), it's a Mixed Success — a close call, a stalemate, or mutual complication. The situation remains tense and unresolved, giving both sides an opportunity to escalate or retreat.

Assisted Rolls

When two characters work together on a task, one can assist the other. The assistant rolls first against the same difficulty — their outcome grants a modifier to the main character's roll.

How it works:

1. The assistant rolls first, using their own skill (which must be different from the main character's skill)
2. The assistant's outcome maps to a modifier:

3. The main character rolls their check with this modifier added to their result

The constraint: The assistant's skill must be different from the main skill. You can't assist a hacking check with another hacking check — the assistant needs to bring something distinct to the table. This forces creative pairings:

Risk/reward: Assisting isn't free. An untrained character trying to help a master has a real chance of making things worse (Complication → −1). The player must weigh whether the potential +1 or +2 is worth the risk of the assistant bungling it.

Special moves in assisted rolls: Either character can activate a special move during an assisted roll. The base +2 from the Style point is applied automatically to that character's roll. Any extra bonus the special move grants beyond +2 is added on top.

Skills

Players pick 6 skills from a flexible pool. At character creation:

• 1 skill at Expert (4 dice)
• 2 skills at Trained (3 dice)
• 3 skills at Basic (2 dice)
• All other skills at Untrained (1 die)

The player does not get to pick a Master level skill at character creation

Skill Mastery

Core Skill List

Strength — Physical power, climbing, feats of strength or physical endurance Agility — Speed or athleticism, dodging, rolling, moving quickly Sneak — Stealth, hiding, moving silently Vehicle — Driving, piloting, riding (rename as appropriate for setting; specific vehicle class) Burglary — Lockpicking, security, breaking and entering Hacking — Computer systems, networks, digital intrusion Engineering — Making, repairing, crafting, technical work Perception — Observing, investigating, noticing details, searching Charisma — Charm, social presence, performance, making people like you Persuasion — Argumentation, getting people to agree Deceive — Lying, misdirection, disguising intentions Provoke — Intimidation, cause fear, social manipulation Knowledge — Education, expertise, recall (can have specializations like "Medicine", "History") Weapon — Combat (specific weapon class: swords, bows, blasters, etc.) Fortitude — Mental resilience, willpower, resisting influence Magic — Supernatural abilities (specific class/school per campaign: evocation, necromancy, etc.)

Specializations

Knowledge, Weapon, and Vehicle allow multiple specializations at different mastery:

• Expert in Knowledge (Medicine), Basic in Knowledge (History)
• Expert in Weapon (Bows), Basic in Weapon (Swords)
• Expert in Vehicle (Mortorcycles), Basic in Vehicle (Tanks)

This lets players create specialized characters who aren't good at everything.

Setting-Specific Skills

Not all skills need to exist in every campaign. The GM and player can add setting-specific skills (e.g., "Magic" in fantasy, "Hacking" in cyberpunk) and remove irrelevant ones.

Skill Progression

After milestones, the player can increase one skill if narratively appropriate, at the GM's discretion.

Special Moves

Special moves are your character's unique abilities — think of them as signature techniques, distinctive styles, or plot-relevant tricks.

Starting: 3 special moves

Special moves:

• Always mitigates any Complications if the roll fails
• Always adds at least a +2 to a skill (since the base style point would do this)
• Grant a bonus effect on success depending on the description of the move
• Ignore a negative status depending on the description of the move

Example special moves:

• Quick Draw — When activated, you attack with a weapon you just drew, add +2 to the roll
• Silver Tongue — When you use Charisma to persuade someone, add +2 to the roll. Treat anything above Mixed success as a success. Treat a success as Success with Style.
• Dodge Roll — Where there's physical space to do so, if you were hit by a projectile on the previous turn that resulted in complications, retcon that to a milder consequence. Or gain a +2 to dodge any projectile for the next roll.
• Called Shot — Gain a +2 to your shoot roll, and ignore the target's armor or cover.

Special moves cost 1 Style to activate. And if that roll fails, there are no Complications. It can be treated as a simple failure.

Status

Statuses are a narrative-driven system for keeping track of player (or party) status. Status can be positive or negative. They should be used by the GM to adjust the difficulty of rolls

Types

Temporary Status — Clears after one scene or after the next appropriate roll. (e.g., "Braced for impact", "Inspired")

Persistent Status — Stays until cleared through story (rest, resolution, milestone). (e.g., "Broken arm", "Haunted by the past")

Severity

The GM determines severity based on campaign tone:

• High-action campaign: A gunshot might be "Bruised" (mild), resolved in a scene
• Gritty campaign: A gunshot might be "Grievously wounded" (severe), requires major story resolution

This keeps pacing flexible. A campaign where violence is common treats it differently than one where every fight matters.

Positive and Negative

Negative Status: "Wounded", "Exhausted", "Terrified", "Drunk" Positive Status: "High spirits", "Inspired", "Confident", "Focus"

Positive status can give bonuses. The GM decides when it's appropriate to apply.

Bonus Status

The GM can grant a temporary positive status representing a momentary advantage: "Elevated ground", "Favorable lighting", "Element of surprise." This gives +2 to the next relevant roll, then clears.

Style

Style, or Style Points, is your heroic resource. Spend it to do extraordinary things.

Earning Style

Earn Style by:

• Playing your character true to their nature, even when it costs you
• Coming up with creative solutions the GM didn't expect
• Doing something particularly stylish or dramatic in a scene

The GM awards Style when you do something that makes the story better, not just when you succeed mechanically.

Spending Style

Spend Style to:

• Add +2 to any roll (1 Style)
• Activate a special move (1 Style)

Starting Amount

Begin each session with 2 Style.

Campaign Creation

Always start with campaign creation. once campaigns are created, the player character can be defined to fit into the world

Required Elements

1. Genre/Tone — What kind of story? (fantasy, sci-fi, noir, modern, etc.)
2. Starting Location — Where does the story begin? (e.g., a tavern, a space station, a detective's office)
3. Wider Area — Describe the region, planet, system, or geopolitics around the starting location. This helps the GM create new locations that fit the world.
4. Core Cast — 2-4 NPCs who recur. Can be created now or introduced in play.
5. Story Threads (optional) — Examples:
   • "Looking for work as a mercenary"
   • "Searching for a lost artifact"
   • "Building a crew for a big score"
   • Or leave blank — the GM will draw the player into events naturally

Pacing Guidance

• Don't start with universe-threatening stakes
• Build toward larger conflicts gradually
• Mix short-term and long-term threads
• Let the player breathe between major events
• If the player chooses not to provide story threads, the GM should introduce complications and opportunities organically

Player Character Creation

Quick Start (5 minutes)

1. Summary — One sentence describing who your character is.
2. Best Skill — What's your character best at? This becomes your Expert skill. (Can include specialization, e.g., Knowledge (Medicine) or Weapon (Bows))
3. Supporting Skills — Pick 4 more. Choose 2 for Trained, 2 for Basic. (Can include specializations)
4. Special Moves — Write 1 or 2 things your character can do uniquely.
5. Name — What do people call you?

That's it. The GM can help fill in the rest as you play.

Full Creation

1. Summary — "A disgraced knight seeking redemption"
2. Backstory — 2-3 sentences about where they came from
3. Skills — Distribution as above, with specializations where relevant
4. Special Moves — Name and describe each
5. Starting Status — Any persistent status from their past? (optional)
6. Core Cast — Optional: name 2-4 NPCs who know the player character who will appear regularly

NPC Creation

Similar to the player character, but may have fewer skills and special moves than the player character. Non-party NPCs can omit Skills section until needed later if they need to join or oppose the player. When Skills are added, there can be lower or higher skill mastery than a typical player, depending on narrative.

NPCs typically do not get Special Moves, unless it is narratively important

1. Summary — "A disgraced knight seeking redemption"
2. Backstory — 2-3 sentences about where they came from
3. Skills — Distribution as above, with specializations where relevant
4. Starting Status — Any persistent status from their past? (optional)
5. Relation to the player — Current relationship to the player

The Game Loop

1. GM sets the scene — Describe what's happening, where, who's there.
2. Player acts — Describe what they do.
3. Roll if needed — If the outcome is uncertain, roll dice + skill vs difficulty.
4. GM narrates — What happens? Apply any status.
5. Award Style — If the player did something creative or character-true, award Style.
6. Repeat

When to Roll

The GM should only call for a roll when:

• The outcome is genuinely uncertain
• Failure would be interesting
• There's something at stake
• It can be played for humor, e.g. player tells a bad joke, see how it lands

If success is guaranteed or failure doesn't matter, skip the roll.

GM Guidance

• Pacing: Use difficulty to control pacing. Higher difficulty = more tension.
• Status: Apply negative status when events warrant. Use positive status to reward moments.
• Style: Award it generously when the player does something cool.
• Retcons: If the player wants to declare something about the scene ("Is there a chandelier?"), consider allowing it if it's fun and doesn't trivialize the challenge.
• Deus Ex Machina: If things go really badly and the player is stuck, offer to rewind a scene or bring in a rescue, or change PoV to another character that could rescue the player

Social Interactions

• Often require rolls for significant social attempts (persuasion, deception, intimidation). GM decides how many — a simple persuasion might be one roll; winning over a skeptical ally might take several scenes.
• Actions over words: Some NPCs can't be swayed by charisma alone. They need proof — a favor done, a danger faced together, time spent. The GM can require the player to do something before the relationship improves.
• Multi-session arcs: Some NPCs take multiple sessions to win over. Track this in the relationship — maybe they're "reluctantly helping" and only become true allies after proving themselves.
• Example: "The merchant won't trust you just because you're persuasive. You need to actually complete a job for them first — then she'll be friendly."

Session Planning

SWS is built for long-running campaigns. Each session should feel like a chapter in an ongoing story.

Session Hook

Every session needs a starting point:

• Follow-up: A thread left unresolved last session — what happens now?
• New hook: An event, opportunity, or complication introduced by the GM
• Player-driven: The player declares what their character is doing — "I'm going to the market to find work"

Thread Tracking

The GM tracks what's moving:

• Active threads: What's currently happening (could be 2-4)
• Background threads: Longer arcs that aren't pressing but are in motion
• Resolved threads: Note when something wraps — this is satisfying for the player

Session Structure

A typical session flows:

1. Opening — Set the scene, get the player oriented
2. Rising action — Explore, gather info, make plans
3. Complication — Something goes wrong, shifts, or escalates
4. Climax — Major conflict, decision, or turning point
5. Wrap-up — End on a note (cliffhanger, resolution, or new thread)

This is a guide, not a rule — if the player goes somewhere unexpected, follow them.

Backup Content

If the session wraps early (player succeeds fast, makes unexpected choice):

• Have a complication or opportunity ready
• Introduce a new NPC with information or a job
• Shift to a different thread that's been waiting

Session Debrief

At the end of each session:

• Note where the player left off
• Track any persistent status changes
• Note earned Style
• Mark any advancement (skill increase, new specialization, etc.)

Session Types

These are ideas the GM can draw on for threads. They're suggestions, not rules.

1. Heist/Extraction — Break into a location, bypass security, steal or recover something. Primarily stealth or undercover focus.
2. Defence — Defend a location, person, or asset. Preparation, positioning, traps.
3. Chase — Time pressure. Outrun pursuers, or catch something before it escapes.
4. Mystery — A theft, murder, or unexplained event. GM lays out clues, player investigates and pieces together the picture.
5. Double Booked — Comedy scenario: the player has to be in two places at once. Two dates, two promises. How will they manage it?
6. Exploration — Delves, ruins, uncharted territory. Map the unknown, find treasure, face what's inside.
7. Negotiation — Broker a deal, navigate faction politics, convince someone to help. Court drama, spy games.
8. Survival — Harsh environment, limited supplies, weather or terrain as the enemy.
9. Assault — Plan and execute an attack on a prepared position. The opposite of defence.
10. Event — A wedding, funeral, tournament, festival. Big gathering with social and political possibilities.

Evolving Cast

The core cast grows alongside the player throughout the campaign. NPCs are tracked across multiple layers:

Character Sheet

The NPC's core identity — intrinsic personality, background, values. Only update this when something major happens:

• Major character development points
• New roles or positions (leaving the party, taking a new job)
• Significant relationship developments or revelations

This is their slow-changing essence.

Memories

Specific events that happened between the NPC and player. These accumulate over time and should be used:

• When generating scenes (draw on shared history)
• When the NPC replies (reference relevant past events)

Current Status

The middle ground between character sheet and memories. Tracks the NPC's current state in active threads:

• Statuses (just like the PC's status system)
• What they're currently doing or dealing with
• States relevant to ongoing plots

Relationships

NPCs have opinions about the PC and other characters:

• Some like the player, some dislike them
• Relationships can evolve over time
• Player preference wins for romance/polyamory dynamics — if the player wants a love interest or multiple partners, that overrides staying "true" to the NPC's original character
• Allow enemies-to-lovers or redemption arcs if the player engages with them
• Track relationship state as part of campaign status

Party Dynamics

Some NPCs work closely with the player and can be treated almost like additional player characters.

NPC Characters

• Character sheets: Core NPCs can have their own skills and status
• Skill checks: The player can call on NPCs for tasks — "My rogue scouts ahead for traps," "My pilot flies us out"
• Difficulty: Treat NPC skill checks like player skill checks. Since the player now has more characters, session difficulty may need adjustment.

NPC Growth

• NPCs can level up alongside the PC under the same rules
• A junior recruit has fewer skills; a master wizard ally has more
• Track their advancement in the campaign data
• NPCs can gain skills just like the player, during milestone moments

Motivation

NPCs may want something in return for helping:

• Loyalty (they're a friend)
• Payment (they're a mercenary)
• Favors (they're an ally calling in a debt)

This creates interesting dynamics and gives the player reasons to engage with NPCs beyond immediate utility.

Locations

Locations are like characters — they need consistency but can also evolve. The GM creates and tracks them across sessions.

Core Details

• Name and description
• Style and atmosphere
• General function (tavern, market, starship, temple)

Internal Details

• Specific shops, rooms, decorations
• Unnamed characters who work there
• Secrets (trapdoors, hidden tunnels, hidden rooms)
• Anything that needs to be consistent from session to session

Faction Ties

• Which faction controls or owns the location
• The faction's relationship with the player (friendly, neutral, hostile)
• This can change over time

Evolution

• Locations can change: new owners, rebuilt, destroyed, expanded
• Track changes so they're consistent
• Returning to a location should feel familiar but can have new details

Campaign Continuity

Over time, the campaign world grows with the player.

Milestones

At major story beats, the player can:

• Increase a skill mastery
• Add a new specialization to Knowledge or Weapon
• Create a new special move
• Clear a persistent negative status
• NPC allies can also advance

Thread Management

• Keep track of active threads — short-term and long-term
• Introduce new threads before old ones fully resolve
• Note when threads resolve for player satisfaction

World Expansion

• New NPCs appear as the story needs them
• New locations are discovered or created
• Factions rise, fall, shift alliances
• Relationships evolve

The GM tracks all of this in campaign data so the world feels lived-in and consistent.

Stage Whisper System — Built for collaborative storytelling with mechanical grounding.