When was the last time your character used their “Accounting” skill?
Or, for that matter, “Mineral Lore“?
What about “Dance“?
What? Really? Your character’s a waltzing geologist with a head for figures?
Well, for the rest of us, here’s Hack100…
Hack100 is a tabletop role-playing game system in which characters can be created in minutes and the vast majority of in-game actions are covered by around a dozen, rather than dozens of, skills.
It is also very flexible, eschewing standard lists of professions, skills, powers and monsters in favour of a freeform, collaborative approach.
Hack100 is a generic system that is suitable for most genres of role-playing games.
Classic percentile-based d100 system
Hack100 uses a classic percentile-based mechanic in which a character’s various abilities are expressed as a percentage. Tasks are resolved by attempting to roll under the relevant ability on 1d100.
The intention is to provide a streamlined system that is quick, easy and intuitive to use. This allows a game to flow naturally with minimal interruptions for the referencing of rules or tables.
Quick yet flexible character generation
All characters are defined by just ten core Abilities. These cover the actions that occur most commonly in typical games.
The core Abilities are supplemented with a small number of additional Specialisms that reflect an individual character’s particular background, talents or training.
There is no fixed list of Specialisms. Instead, they are agreed between the players and the Referee. This freedom allows players to create exactly the character they imagine without the constraints of predefined classes, careers, skills, talents and powers.
Freeform collaborative approach
Rather than providing standard lists of character classes, skills, equipment, spells, powers or monsters, Hack100 instead provides a framework that allows Referees and players to tailor the game to their exact preferences
- A single sentence summarises a character’s background and motivation for adventuring.
- The costs and effects of spells and other such powers are agreed on a case-by-case basis at the point of use.
- A simple ten-step methodology is presented for creating any NPC or monster such that they are a bespoke addition to a game.
Latest blog posts
- Hack100 Release 1.03 (Creative Commons Release)Release 1.03 of the Hack100 rulebook is now available for download. The most significant update in this version is that the text is now licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Hack100 Release 1.02Release 1.02 of the Hack100 rulebook is now available for download. The majority of the updates are minor typo corrections. There are just two aspects of the rules that have changed slightly:
- Revisiting Opposed Tasks in Hack100My one nagging doubt about Hack100’s rules, which refuses to go away, is the “highest roll wins” tie-breaker for Opposed Tasks. Opposed Tasks arise when a character pits one of their Abilities against a counter Ability of another. For example, Stealth vs Perception. Or melee combat. At the highest level, the outcome of an Opposed Task… Read more: Revisiting Opposed Tasks in Hack100
- Catching Rats & Robbing Graves – Release 1.00I’m pleased to announce the full release of “Catching Rats & Robbing Graves“, a supplement for Hack100 that provides guidelines for running fantasy role-playing games in the British grimdark tradition. This release includes some minor editing of the text, a general tidying-up of the layout, and the addition of artwork. Feedback is welcome through the… Read more: Catching Rats & Robbing Graves – Release 1.00
- Catching Rats & Robbing Graves – Release 0.02Release 0.02 of “Catching Rats & Robbing Graves”, the Hack100 supplement that provides guidelines for running WFRP-style games, is now available for download. This is a complete first draft. The document is still a little rough around the edges. It’s lacking any artwork and the layout needs tidying up. But the text is all there.… Read more: Catching Rats & Robbing Graves – Release 0.02