Flip Rules

These are the basic rules for Larping with Flip. You'll find examples of play, optional rules, and more detail on character creation in the "Articles" section. Feel free to print this page and use it as a quick-reference sheet. I've tried to keep it short enough to fit on 2 pages, or 1 page front & back.

Traits

Characters are defined by their Traits, which can be skills (hacking, fortune telling), professions (investigator, assassin), or simple adjectives (clever, strong, vicious). All Traits are rated from 1-5, as indicated on the scale below. If a character doesn't have a Trait that's relevant in a given situation, the default rating is Two (2).

1 2 3 4 5+
Poor Default Good Excellent Incredible

Flipping the Coins

Difference Flip... Get... % Chance
+3 or more None N/A Auto Success
+2 3 coins 1 head 88%

+1

2 coins 1 head 75%
0 1 coin 1 head 50%
-1 2 coins 2 heads 25%
-2 3 coins 3 heads 12%
-3 or more None N/A Auto Failure
When one character wants to do something to another character, compare the ratings of any Trait relevant to the action. The player with the higher Trait gets to flip a number of bonus coins equal to the difference (see table at right). All you need to succeed is a single heads-up.

If the action is not opposed by another character, a GM should rate its difficulty on the same scale as Traits and proceed as above. If the difficulty is higher than the Trait, the player flips a number of penalty coins equal to the difference, and has to get all heads to succeed.

If the difference is ever 3 or more, don't even bother flipping the coins.

Interpreting the Results

The coins only tell you who gains the advantage in a situation, not how. That's up to the creativity and theatrical flare of the players. For example, you should always begin a prolonged action (combat, seduction, ritual spellcasting, etc) by flipping the coins to determine success or failure. Then, the players involved should act out their actions in whatever way they find most entertaining... just as long as they abide by the ultimate fates assigned them by chance (i.e. a duel culminating in defeat for the losing combatant, a melodramatic seduction that bends the will of the seduced, lots of chanting and hand-waving that may not produce any effect, etc).

Copyright Daniel Pond 2002