The GUTS+ System

An RPG system with easy-to-remember rules, a focus on custom stats rather than set skills, and a unique D6 conflict resolution system in order to allow more focus on characters than combat.

What's GUTS+?

We can't all be super-powered demigods on an epic quest to save the universe. Most of us are just normal people dealing with weird challenges or tricky situations. When you don't have access to supernatural abilities, it takes GUTS to work through them!

The GUTS+ System is a role-playing game system that allows you to live out wild adventures without straying too far from your own abilities in the real world while still leaving plenty of room to explore what's possible with tremendous growth! Improve your character's qualities to excel at certain activities and overcome more and more incredible tasks! Work with your Game Master and your fellow players to solve big problems together!

Interaction with the game world and all the characters in it is at the forefront of the GUTS+ System, and its generalized mechanics allow for nearly infinite settings and scenarios. The GM decides what's possible and what's available in the game world, and you can help sway their decisions. There's even a unique magic system to explore if you're looking to add a little bit more of the mystical to spice up your game world!

It's not always gonna be easy, but now you've got the GUTS to do what it takes!

Why GUTS+?

The GUTS+ System aims to give you as much freedom as possible:
It lays out a full set of rules without a specific setting or storyline so you can build your own or modify one you like. The goal is to provide easy-to-remember rules that let the Game Master build the world and decide the outcomes so players can focus more on collaborative storytelling, interpersonal relations, and free-form play.

GUTS+ stands apart with its "quality" system:
Rather than having set skills, GUTS+ focuses on individual, customizable qualities giving your character the ability to do things, and if they don't have one specific to the action, their success at performing tasks is dependent upon their base qualities:
Gumption, Utility, Thought, and Slyness.

Plus a unique conflict resolution system using only six-sided dice:
Roll one die for each level your quality has, and each die is interpreted individually to determine the outcome. So if your quality is level 4, roll 4 dice, and the GM interprets the roll rather than taking a total or average.

Learn to Play! Download the Character Sheet!

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Recent News

Updates and development process posts

Official PDF Now Available!

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

After what feels like a full year of edits and tweaks, the GUTS+ System finally has an official PDF rule book in a nice, printable format with custom images and content throughout! Get it from Itch.io for $4.99 to support GUTS+ and its ongoing development!

The document is US Letter size...

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SKATER+ Released

Friday, August 9, 2019

The first full “official” setting for GUTS+ play has been released in the form of a hack of the system! It’s called SKATER+, and it lets you play as a skater in the fabled Sk8r’s Paradise skate park. You can go head to head against your friends or play as a team against some...

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Inventory and Health Changes

Saturday, June 29, 2019

Two big updates just a couple months apart! Don’t worry, though, these ones actually remove some complexity to streamline the whole experience a bit!

The first big change streamlines the way a character’s Inventory works. Previously, it was “Hands and Pockets” but this update...

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Experience and Combat Changes

Tuesday, April 30, 2019

This one’s kind of a biggie that changes certain aspects of gameplay a bit, especially the change to combat. Continue reading to learn more!

I recently discovered a conflict between the rolling doubles mechanic and the learning experiences mechanic: if someone has a level higher than 1, then...

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Sample Situation Now Available

Thursday, April 11, 2019

I’ve been wanting to write a sample scenario to include in the Game Master’s Handbook for a long time now. It’s always easier to get into a role-playing game when you have a sample of what a scenario might look like and see what your players should have to deal with. Well,...

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