Rules for pulpy barbaric solo/CYOA games

Quick resolution rules for solo games. With a pulpy sword&sorcery feel. Quite likely this is all based on a misremembered version of a choose-your-own-adventure gamebook I'd read as a kid.

You are a barbarian warrior

Your name, gender and appearance are all up to you.

You start with 3 Might and 3 Luck Tokens. Keep a record of your maximum and current Might and Luck Tokens. You maximum Might raises as you level up. You can never have more than 3 Luck Tokens.

You start with 0 Experience. You level up at 12, 36 and 92.

You can carry one Weapon. You start with a Spear (Weapon Rating 5). If you haven’t got a weapon, you fights with your Fists (Weapon Rating 6).

You can have one Mount, which is usually a tamed beast or a vehicle. You start without a Mount.

You can carry up to three Items, five if you have a Mount. Your Weapon doesn’t count towards this tally. You start with no items.

 

Facing Danger & Combat

Life-threatening situations and enemies have a Danger Rating.

Roll a number of dice equal to your current Might. Optionally, you can burn a Luck Token to add an extra die.

In combat, any die that scores equal or over your Weapon Rating counts as a success.

In non-combat situations, a 5 or a 6 is a success.

Compare the number of successes to the Danger Rating:

Over	Triumph! Choose one Reward, or two Rewards and take a Wound. Progress to favourable outcome.
Equal	Hard-earned victory. No Reward, or choose one Reward and take a Wound. Progress to favourable outcome.
Less	Defeat! Take a number of Wounds equal to the enemy’s Danger Rating. If you are still alive, progress to unfavorable outcome.

 

After resolving the situation

Lower your current Might rating by one for each Wound. A Wound can be negated by burning a Luck Token or losing your Weapon or an Item.

Add the Danger Rating to your Experience tally. If you reach a level-up threshold, raise your maximum Might and choose a Reward.

 

Rewards

Regain one Luck Token.

Regain one Might.

Gain Item or Weapon (if available).

 

Weapon Ratings

Unarmed combat	6
Common weapons	5
Rare and powerful weapons	4

There is no difference between ranged and melee weapons.

 

Items

Valuables. Catch-all category for all kinds of treasure & fancy objects. Each such Item can be used to barter for something else, bribe, reward or hire somebody, and so on.

Explosives/Magical Artifacts. Burn to achieve an automatic Triumph in a combat or use contextually.

Armor. Negate a single Wound after every combat. Only rolls of 6 count as success when resolving non-combat situations.

Shield. Burn to negate a single Wound after combat.

 

Foes & Danger Ratings

Regular foe, small group	1
Trained foe, medium group	2
Deadly foe, large group	3
Unusual power	+1

 

Approximate chance to achieve at least a Hard-earned victory:

Danger Rating	3 Might, WR 5	3 Might, WR 4	4 Might, WR 5
1	70%	87,5%	80%
2	26%	50%	70%
3	3,7%	12,5%	11%
4	-	-	1,2%

 

From "American Barbarian" by Tom Scioli