This is the core gameplay loop of every roleplaying game.
DESCRIBE — First, the Crafter (the player in charge of the session) describes the surroundings to the heroes and introduces an encounter. An encounter is anything that requires the heroes to take action to resolve. This could be a wall they need to scale, a fork in the road, or an NPC they can talk to.
DECIDE — After the Crafter introduces an encounter, the other players imagine how their heroes react to the situation and decide what they do. They choose how they scale the wall, which path they take, or what they say to the NPC.
ROLL — After a player decides what their hero attempts, the Crafter determines whether that action requires effort. If the action is simple, the hero succeeds automatically. Otherwise, a roll is required to determine the outcome.
REPEAT — Based on the result of the roll, the Crafter describes the hero’s success or failure and any changes that occur. This creates a new situation, beginning this cycle again.
2D6 — When you attempt something risky, roll 2D6 (two six-sided dice). If one or more dice show a 5 or 6, your hero succeeds!
TROUBLE — Each die showing a 1 grants the Crafter (the player running the game) a resource called Trouble. Crafters spend Trouble to make encounters more difficult.
FOCUS — Rolling a pair grants your hero Focus. Heroes spend Focus to perform their signature move, create a helpful flashback, or turn any success into a critical! (You decide when to crit—not the dice.)
NO STATS — Heroes don’t use traditional stats like Strength or Intelligence. Instead, difficulty is represented by the number of dice rolled: hard tasks use 1D6, normal tasks use 2D6, and easy tasks use 3D6.
RENOWN — There are no traditional levels in Little Legends RPG. Instead, each hero chooses their own quest. Once they reach the midpoint of that quest (typically 3–4 sessions), they become Renowned. Renown grants new abilities, but greater challenges await them for the remainder of their quest.
LEGEND — Once a hero completes their quest (typically 5–8 sessions), they retire as a Legend. Legends become recurring NPCs that future heroes can call upon for unique benefits. This legacy-lite approach ensures your heroes remain part of Mynia’s story. If you prefer one-shots, Legends can be introduced whenever appropriate.
EXPLORATION — Exploring Mynia is dangerous! When heroes explore, they encounter obstacles, traps, tough choices, puzzles, hazards, NPCs, and much more.
ADVENTURE CARDS — Instead of grid-based maps, you’ll simply combine beautifully illustrated cards to set the scene. This allows you to quickly create new areas for heroes to explore.
SHARED RESOURCES — While each hero has their own inventory, the team also has a pool of shared resources: rations, water, flint, rope, and packs. Each provides a unique benefit during exploration. Whenever the heroes rest, one shared resource is depleted. Because shared resources can only be replenished at settlements, long treks through Mynia’s wilderness become more challenging as resources dwindle.
COMBAT — Mynia is filled with monsters! During combat, heroes use cunning, tactics, and teamwork to defeat their foes. Combat is dangerous and can be deadly. Expect to lose health as you exchange blows—if you’re not careful, you may be defeated.
MONSTER CARDS — Each monster fits on a single card, complete with combat actions, lore, tactics, and loot.
THREAT LEVEL — Each monster has a threat level. The higher the threat level, the more dangerous they are to the heroes. Threat levels range from fodder (easy-to-defeat foes that heroes can take on in groups) to legendary (requiring the whole party to work together to bring them down).
IMMEDIATE EPIC FIGHTS — You can battle any monster from the very beginning. Your first session might feature a legendary molten dragon or a tectonic wurm.
EVENTS — Mynia is full of surprises! During events, heroes must address an immediate problem within a limited number of rounds. These are perfect for chases, travel montages, escapes, and heists.
CHALLENGES & EFFORT — Each event has exactly 3 rounds. During each round, the heroes are presented with a unique set of challenges. Each challenge requires a certain amount of effort to complete.
MODIFIERS — As rounds progress, the event becomes more difficult as modifiers are added to challenges. These modifiers make challenges harder or add consequences when attempted or failed.
FINALE ROLL — At the conclusion of each event is the climactic finale roll. This single dramatic roll determines the outcome of the entire event. It’s based on the heroes’ performance and the amount of effort they removed across the 3 rounds.
