THE RULES LIGHT COIN BASED TABLE TOP ROLE

PLAYING GAME SYSTEM FLIP

 FLIP
Coin based resolution mechanics for TTRPGs.

FUNDAMENTALS:

The Players will need FOUR COINS EACH and the GAMES MASTER will also
need FOUR COINS.

For every conflict or challenge which requires a resolution, it will be solved by

the players flipping a number of coins and attempting to match them with the
Target coin the Games Master (or 'GM') flips.

THE GM ALWAYS FLIPS AT LEAST ONE COIN. THIS IS THE TARGET COIN.

The central mechanic is that THE PLAYER MUST MATCH THE FACE OF THE
'TARGET COIN' THE GM FLIPS TO SUCCEED.

Example: Player Jonny wants to achieve X. The GM flips one coin. It lands
heads. Jonny now flips one to four coins (see below), hoping to get as many
'heads' as possible.

CHARACTER CREATION:

In order to use FLIP each player will need to define their character under three
broad categories. They will assign ONE coin to each category.:

Concept: One coin.

Career: One coin.
Hobby: One coin.

THE BASIC COIN: Every player also has a 'Basic' action coin. This coin will
almost always be flipped, so long as the task could be described as 'Basic'.
Examples include: punching someone; using binoculars; jumping a small gap;
forcing a door; dodging a blow; firing a gun; lying; performing a feat of basic
fitness (running a mile in under 15 min, performing 10 push-ups, throwing a
brick); basic math; general or common knowledge (remembering the CEO of a
major company for example); etc.

The GM may rule some actions are NOT Basic, and that could mean that a
player character may not perform them. For example, throwing a fireball
would not be a Basic action in most settings. If the character doesn't have a
magic using concept, career, or hobby then they would not be able to throw a
fireball.

So, for example, Sonya wants to play a mighty magical queen. Her Concept is
'Mighty Enchantress'; her Career is 'Queen' and her Hobby is 'Seducing
Barbarians'.

To achieve their chosen task or resolve a given conflict, the player will always
flip at least one coin, and sometimes up to four coin. The number will depend
on how closely aligned the task is with the character's Concept, Career and
Hobby.

So if Sonya wishes to kick open a door, she will flip ONE coin -- her Basic coin.

When Sonya wishes to recognise a spell being cast, as she is an Enchantress

she will flip TWO coins (her Basic coin and her Concept coin).

If she wished to use magic to cower a peasant uprising she would flip THREE
coins (her Basic, Concept and Career coins -- she is a queen and therefore
Sonya's player argues she is used to commanding respect and fear).

And when Sonya decides to weave a mystical (Concept: Enchantress)

aristocratic (Career: Queen) dance (Basic: dancing) to seduce a mighty
Barbarian she has her eye on (Hobby: Seducing Barbarians) she flips FOUR
coins. (Dayyymn... that Hyborian never stood a chance.)
(NB: Astute readers will notice this system encourages the players to almost
always play to type and act in accord with their character's concept, job, and
interests. A witch will do things in a 'witchy way' and do 'witchy things', a
swashbuckler will 'swashbuckle' and attempt to make every action a
'swashbuck-ing' action. This is entirely deliberate and one of the key selling
points of the FLIP system... other than it's simple, and coins are pretty
ubiquitous.)

THE GM IS THE FINAL ARBITOR OF WHAT ACTIONS COUNT AS FALLING

WITHIN THE RUBRIC OF BASIC, CONCEPT, CAREER, AND HOBBY. This isn't so
the GM may attempt to ruin the fun of the players, it is to ensure that the
game retains it's verisimilitude. The GM may also rule out certain Concepts,
Careers, and Hobbies, or rule that certain traits are allowed as Concepts, but
not as Hobbies. For example, a GM may rule that no-one manages to be a
Wizard or Grand Chess Master as a hobby, or that Wizards or Chess don't exist
in the setting.

CONFLICT RESOLUTION (or, 'Did I do the thing?')

The central mechanic of FLIP is for the player to match coins (heads with
heads; tails with tails) with the Target coin. The GM may flip the Target coin
'every time' or just rule that 'heads' always 'hits the target'. (Honestly, though,
it's more fun if it changes. It adds more suspense for some inexplicable
reason.)

The higher the number of matches the better the character did, and the higher
the character's margin of success.

Once the GM has set a goal, or the player has declared and action he/she
wishes his/her character to perform, the GM may rule that the player must
FLIP for it.

The GM flips her/his TARGET COIN. (It will, presumably, land 'heads' or 'tails'.)
Once the coin has been called, the player may suggest (haggle, rules lawyer,
argue, etc) the number of coins appropriate for his/her character to flip. The
number of matches determines how the character did.

If the GM decides that the player's character has no qualities required to

achieve the goal (the task does not fall within the attributes of the character's
Concept, Career , Hobby, and it isn't a Basic action) there is no competition (no
one flips any coins) and the character FAILS.

It is 'matches' which matter. A Basic match doesn't count any more than a
Concept coin match.

No matches: failure.

One match: Simple success... BUT. You hit him, but the blow is not devastating.
You cast the spell but it achieved a minor result. You catch the thrown weapon
but maybe it misfired. You scale the wall but it takes a while. You duck the
punch but you were surprised and you're now off balance.

Two matches: Good success. You hit him in the face. You cast the spell well.
You catch the thrown weapon by the handle. You scale the wall silently. You
duck the punch.

Three matches: Well done! You smacked him in the groin. You threw a mighty
spell. You catch the thrown weapon and click off the safety as you catch it. You
duck the punch and slide to the opponent's outside.

Four matches: Expert. You broke his ribs. You threw a mighty and
transformative spell. You catch the thrown weapon and click off the safety as
you catch it, already aimed. You duck the punch so artfully your opponent slips
over.

THEMATIC CLIMAXES OF DIFFICULTY:

The GM may decide that they will flip more coins than just the target coin. The
GM may rule that they will flip as many coins as they wish, within reason.
Only one coin the GM flips will be the Target coin.

The other coins the GM flips will also be attempting to match the target coin.

The matches to the target coin the GM flips DETRACT matched coins FROM
THE PLAYER'S POOL OF MATCHES on a one to one basis.

For example, the GM decides that this is the climactic final battle.

Sonya casts a fireball at the enemy Warlock, shouting 'Bow before your
new Queen!' in a sexy way to further enamour that Barbarian she picked
up along the way. Sonya flips four coins.
The GM decides that as this is the final battle, she will ALSO flip four
coins.
The GM flips the Target coin. It lands 'tails'.
Sonya flips her four coins. She gets two heads and two tails. She has two
successes -- a Good Success.
The GM flips her coins and gets three heads and a tail. Her tail detracts
one tail from Sonya's two matching tails.
The final result is that Sonya has one tail matching the Target coin. She
has a success... But. The GM rules that she casts a fire ball, but the
Warlock raises his shield and absorbs the majority of the blow. Sonya did
not fail, so the Warlock's shield is ruined, and he is knocked back several
feet, seceding the high ground.

JEOPARDY

If thematically appropriate, the GM may rule that a character temporarily loses

one of her or his traits. For example:

Sonya behaves in an unqueenly manor by executing someone without a fair

trial. She temporarily loses the respect of her subjects until she may win it
back.
Sonya casts a spell turning herself into a man. The Barbarian isn't that
progressive and temporarily Sonya may not appeal to him. She may appeal to
his friend however, if he is that way inclined.

Sonya gazes upon the mighty Glottal-Stop-Gurgle, undying god of That-Which-

Disinterests-Many. She goes totz cracray. The GM rules she is unable to use her
wiles on Barbarians due to her inability to stop freaking out and talking about
the horror (she can no longer use her Hobby coin)... until she gets some form
of in narrative treatment or compensation.

Regaining coins may occur in any narrative way the GM feels appropriate.
The obvious example is medical treatment for the Basic coin, but it can be fun
to rule that in order to regain the Concept, Career, and Hobby coins the
character must act in a way which reasserts these identity traits. For example,
Sonya fails to enchant a dragon, which isn't very much like a 'Mighty
Enchantress', and loses her Concept coin. Later Sonya's player decides she will
spend the night pouring over magical texts, reasserting her status as a Mighty
Enchantress, and the GM rules she 'regenerates' her Concept coin.

EXTENDED CONFLICTS

Some challenges are complex or extended. Such as Sonya's conflict with the
Warlock. For these, the GM and the player may EITHER flip a coin to see who
acts first, or the player may request a FLIP standard challenge and use the FLIP
system to establish if the player's character acts first. ("My Concept is 'Itchy
Trigger Fingered Cowboy'! Of course I can use my Concept coin to challenge
the GM to match his/her flipped Target coin!").

The GM may then assign as many of the four coins to their characters or
extended challenge as they wish. In these instances, the coins of the GMs
characters or challenges act as markers to be eroded by the player
character's success (or 'hit points'). For example:

The players must beat through a door. The Concept of the Door is 'Magically
Protected Gate Way'; it's Career is 'Keeping heroes out'; but the GM doesn't
want this to go on forever, so the door has no hobbies. The Door now has
THREE coins (Basic; Concept and Career) to FLIP against the Target coin. Every
time the player character(s) win a round they erode one of the Door's coins.

Another example:

Sonya and the Warlock engage in a fight. The GM assigns the Warlock the
Concept of Sonya's Nemesis; the Career of Warlock; the Hobby of Torture (and
he automatically gets a Basic coin).

Sonya's player challenges the GM to FLIP for who goes first. Sonya wants to
cast a spell as her first move, so she uses her Concept Enchantress and Basic
coins. The GM flips the Target coin, and it lands heads. Sonya's player flips both
coins, and gets two heads. She goes first.

Sonya casts the fire ball (see above). She gets one success, removing the
Warlock's Hobby coin.

The Warlock goes next. Reduced to three coins, the Warlock must now match
the Target coin (it's already heads). The GM flips the Warlock's three coins. The
Warlock gets... no matches!

Sonya presses the advantage. She casts another fireball in an imperial and
seductive way (see above) and matches the Target coin (heads) with two of her
three coins. That removes the Warlocks Career and Concept coins. He is now
only capable of Basic actions! (Until the GM rules he regains them -- he heals
up in some diabolical way such as sacrificing a virgin, for example, he can no
longer cast spells(!) as magic is ruled by the GM to be far from a Basic action!)

Clearly out matched, the Warlock decides to flee. He has only one coin left to
flip, but the GM decides that fleeing is a Basic action. The GM flips the
Warlock's coin... and it lands tails.

Sonya regally flashes her green eyes, declares that equal pay is a basic right
regardless of gender (Barbarians are really into independent women), and
casts another fireball. All three coins land heads. This removes the Warlock's
final coin. Reduced to zero coins, the GM rules the Warlock is dead.
GM character / challenge coins always erode in this order: 'Hobby'; 'Career';
'Concept'; 'Basic'.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

Q: How many coins do we need?

A: Usually at least 13. Four for, say, two players, and four for the GM. Of
course, you can flip the same coin or few coins over and over. It's just as fun
that way, it just takes longer.

Q: Who FLIPs first?

A: Usually the GM flips the Target coin first.

Q: Should the Target coin be covered for dramatic effect?

A: If the GM feels like it.

Q: Does it HAVE to be coins? Can't I roll dice?

A: If you like. Just try to make it a 50/50 chance.

Q: Why FLIP?
A: I've personally played in 1000s of ttrpg sessions, both as a player and as a
GM. There have been many times when the gang was together (or mostly
together -- enough to do a quick side quest or advance the plot), and the rule
book wasn't to hand... no one had a dice or even a calculator... even their
character sheets. FLIP is an ideal system to 'sneak' into the 'official' rule set of a
ttrpg, and is very easy to roughly equate back into the more 'formal' rules at
the end of the session.
Q: Didn't you steal this idea for him, her, and those other fellas?
A: Probably. FLIP's been around in one form or another for around 20 years,
and the house rules have changed multiple times along the way. The explicit
influences have been LARP Vampire the Masquerade's 'Rock Paper Scissor'
mechanic; the One Roll Engine by Greg Stolze; the character generation
processes of the World Of Darkness systems and Unknown Armies; Cthulhu
Dark by Graham Walmsy, and many, many, many 'rules light' ttrpg systems.

Q: Could I use FLIP as a replacement for the complex rules of Game X and just
use the setting?

A: Sure. It's the setting in each ttrpg which is intellectual property. No one can
trade mark a resolution mechanic, which is all FLIP.
Remember that the rule-sets within ttrpgs encourage a specific style and type
of play, and have been carefully crafted to give indications to the players when
the game's story should move in a certain direction. For instance, when the
character's should be fearing for their lives, or when they would have been
driven insane by what they have seen. If one replaces these with FLIP or any
other rule system, this will have an effect on the 'flavour' of game play.

I have used FLIP many, many times in lieu of a settings 'official' rule set (as
have friends of mine who I taught the system too), but only with the
agreement of the players and with heavy reference and diffidence to the
themes, goals and creative inspiration of the original setting and creators. FLIP
was for when we bungled and for some reason couldn't use the 'official' rule
set, but loved the IP so much we wanted to continue playing.
Q: So why FLIP, again?

A: My gaming group back in collage is the answer. We'd forget our game
books, dice, even pens and pencils and we'd still want to play. The only things
we'd have on us to randomise conflict resolution (before mobile phones) were
coins. FLIP emerged from that.

Q: AH HA! So why can't I steal FLIP call it TOSSING and make millions!?!

A: You do you boo. Go get dat bliss.

FLIP is the creation of Martin Dempsey and offered under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0
license. Published by Xipe Totec Press. Any and all references to trademarks is fair use and intended as
'criticism' and 'commentary'. None of the copy write owners or publishers of these excellent products endorse
this system.