The GUTS+ System Core Rule Book (PDF)

A New Way to Role-Play

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!

Freedom of Play

The GUTS+ System 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.

Qualities, Not Skills

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.

Unique Success Scale

The outcome of your six-sided die rolls uses a success scale that utilizes a unique interpretation system, making the value of each individual die matter more than the sum. Roll one die for each level your quality has, and each die is interpreted individually to determine the outcome.

Everything You Need

This core rule book contains all of the information you need to learn how to use the GUTS+ system, how to use its unique optional magic system, and a full one-off adventure scenario to help you get started building your own games.

Beaufitul New Format

All of the information in this book (except for the example characters and session) is also on the official GUTS+ website, but this book provides it all in a nice, printable format with custom images throughout.

Check the official GUTS+ website for news about any updates or changes to the system: https://guts.plus