Leverage RPG - Information Thread

Leverage the Roleplaying Game is a roleplaying game that starts after the finish of the TV Series 'Leverage'. To quote the guide:

Leverage is the story of a group of thieves and confidence men who choose to use their expertise to take down bad guys the authorities can't... or won't... take down themselves. 

Watching at least one episode of the show is recommended but not needed to enjoy the game. Most of the games played using this system will take place after the show was created, with the players controlling characters who are new recruits to the 'Leverage International' banner.

This thread is meant for supplying information on how to play Leverage the Roleplaying Game. As such, please do not post any questions or comments directly to this thread; instead, please send a private message to the thread creator or use a game discussion thread.

Also, don't assume I expect you to memorize this thread; it's meant to be a reference if you're interested in how I'm running the game or want to try running your own Leverage RPG. It's also not a complete reference, I'm just trying to provide enough detail for players to follow what I am doing.

Edited by Nodrog on May 25th 2020 at 10:22:20 AM

Character Sheet:

NAME AND/OR ALIAS: 



DESCRIPTION: 



BACKGROUND: 




ROLES:

     Grifter: Poor / Average / Good / Great      

     Hacker: Poor / Average / Good / Great 

     Hitter: Poor / Average / Good / Great 

     Master Mind:  Poor / Average / Good / Great 

     Thief:  Poor / Average / Good / Great 



ATTRIBUTES: 

     Agility: Average / Good / Great 

     Alertness: Average / Good / Great

     Intelligence: Average / Good / Great

     Strength: Average / Good / Great

     Vitality: Average / Good / Great

     Willpower: Average / Good / Great




DISTINCTIONS:

1) __________

2) __________

3) (Leave blank)



TALENTS: 

(Leave blank) 




SIGNATURE ASSET: 

(Leave blank)


Plot Points: 1 (Start with one, you will earn more during the game and spend them when you want)

Assign one role as great, one as good, two as average, and one as poor.

When assigning attributes, either assign one as great, four as good, and one as average -OR- assign two as great, two as good, and two as average.

Edited by Nodrog on May 22nd 2020 at 3:16:46 AM

What does ROLE and ATTRIBUTE matter? Whenever you attempt something that requires a dice roll, the result is determined by me either assigning a target score (fixed roll) or by rolling a set of dice you'll have to try to beat (contested roll). Your dice will be:

One dice for the appropriate ROLE One dice for the appropriate ATTRIBUTE

Optionally: One dice for the appropriate TRAIT One dice for an appropriate ASSET One dice for an appropriate SITUATIONAL dice.

Once you have decided to proceed, your dice pool is rolled and the top two highest dice are added together. If you meet or beat the target score or the rolled score for the opposition, you succeed. If you are below, you fail. If any of the dice comes up a '1', you get a COMPLICATION and earn a PLOT POINT. Complications are not to be feared; they make a story more interesting.

AGILITY: The ATTRIBUTE defining grace and quickness. When moving, a person with high agility can leap up walls or across roof tops and outrace guards. When talking, agility means you are good at distracting people with jokes, compliments, and changing topics.

ALERTNESS: The ATTRIBUTE defining how good a person is at noticing things. A person with high alertness can spot clues, read body language, and tell when someone is trying to lie to them.

AMAZING: Represented by a D12 dice.

ASSET: Something that gives an advantage to a situation, usually temporary in nature. A crowbar would be an example of an asset that could be used in a fight or breaking down a door.

ATTRIBUTE: In Leverage RPG, the Attributes are AGILITY, ALERTNESS, INTELLIGENCE, STRENGTH, VITALITY, or WILLPOWER. Attributes have both a physical and a social side to them. When rolling, your attribute dice will be a D10 (Great), a D8 (Good), or a D6 (Average).

AVERAGE: Represented as a D6.

BOOST: A temporary / one time increase of a dice. A D10 would be replaced with a D12, a D8 with a D10, a D6 with a D8, or a D4 with a D6.

CHAOS: A former rival turned ally of Leverage Inc (now Leverage International). He will be the FIXER character who recruits the players into the first mission with Leverage International.

COMPLICATION: Something the FIXER introduces to make a situation more challenging. May be caused either by a player rolling a 1 on a dice or by FIXER decision.

D4: a four-sided dice, rolled to give a value from 1 to 4. Used to represent something you are bad at or at a disadvantage.

D6: a six-sided dice, rolled to give a value from 1 to 6. Used to represent something that is average.

D8: an eight-sided dice, rolled to give a value from 1 to 8. Used to represent something that is good.

D10: a ten-sided dice, rolled to give a value from 1 to 10. Used to represent something that is great.

D12: a twelve-sided dice, rolled to give a value from 1 to 12. Used to represent something amazing. Will be used rarely.

DICE: A plastic or virtual multi-sided shape, with sides numbered in sequential integers from 1 to the highest side of the dice. The dice used in this system will be D4, D6, D8, D10, and D12 where the number after the D indicates the number of sides that individual dice has. Dice is both correct for the singular and plural, although it used to be that 'die' was the correct singular and 'dice' was only to be used for multiple dice.

DISTINCTION: A one or two word phrase that describes an aspect of your character. Distinctions should never be something that is always positive or always negative; for example 'DRUNK' may be a complication when dealing with something requiring long term attention or high precision but can be useful when socializing or pretending to be a drunken person. Also referred to as a TRAIT.

FIXER: The person running the story. Me, in other words.

FOCUSED: A person with this build divides their six attributes so that two are Great (D10), two more are good (D8), and the final two are only average (D6).

GOOD: Represented by a D8 dice.

GREAT: Represented by a D10 dice.

GRIFTER: The PROFESSION of someone good at impersonating and/or talking to other people.

HACKER: The PROFESSION of someone good with technology, either electronic or mechanical. The Smart Guy of the team.

HITTER: The PROFESSION of someone good in a fight. The Big Guy of the team.

INTELLIGENCE: The ATTRIBUTE defining how much information a person knows. An intelligent person might know the one hundred most commonly used passwords or discuss fine wines.

MARK: The target of a scam.

MASTERMIND: The PROFESSION of the person with the plan. If you choose this, you will have to keep the rest of the team running and always be (or at least appear) three steps ahead. When Plan B fails, you already know what plans C through Q are.

PLOT POINT: Each player starts with one, and you gain one each time you trigger a COMPLICATION. Plot Points may be spent to get an ASSET, BOOST a dice for one roll, or do something to otherwise change a situation. Think of it as a way to bribe the FIXER.

POOR: Represented by a D4 dice.

PROFESSION: In Leverage, there are five professions: HACKER, HITTER, GRIFTER, THIEF, and MASTERMIND. If the situation is for your primary profession, this will be a D10. If it is your secondary, a D8. If it is your worst, a D4. Otherwise, a D6.

SITUATIONAL: A dice meant to represent how well your current environment facilitates what you are trying to do. Trying to steal a car in an empty parking lot might be a D8, trying to steal a car in a crowded mall parking lot might be a D6, and trying to steal a car from a car sales lot might be a D4.

STRENGTH: The ATTRIBUTE defining how good someone is at using brute force in a confrontation. When talking, this is someone who charges in and refuses to take no for an answer, whenever possible putting the person they are speaking on the defensive.

THIEF: The PROFESSION of someone who can get anywhere and take anything.

TRAIT: Something that marks a character is unique. Depending on the situation can be bad for a roll (D4) or good (D8). Example: 'Alcoholic' would be a trait that normally would roll a D4 but would be a D8 when the character is trying to socialize in a bar or is pretending to be drunk when he's not. Note that for a trait, the situation is what determines if it's good or bad for that situation; a trait can never be always good nor always bad. Also known as a DISTINCTION.

VERSATILE: A person with this build divides their six attributes so that one attribute is great (D10), a different attribute is only average (D6), and the remaining four are all good (D8).

VITALITY: The ATTRIBUTE representing health and fitness. Running up several flights of stairs or working in a cold room would require high Vitality. In a conversation, high vitality means enthusiasm (real of fake) for the discussion matter and keeping the listener engaged with the speaker.

WILLPOWER: The ATTRIBUTE of a person's self-esteem and determination. A person with high willpower can succeed on prolonged tasks or continue a conversation until the person they are talking to will agree to just about anything to end the conversation.

Edited by Nodrog on May 25th 2020 at 10:19:00 AM