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Hey there! FIST is CC BY SA 4.0 so you can basically do whatever you want with it as long as you credit us and allow your work to be shared and modified freely too!!

same to you!!

thanks for playing!!

Hey! The Alpha version is juuust barely playable right now, so that's your call. We'll definitely be adding bookmarks to the finished pdf!

we have some more stuff coming!! what would you like to see?

Hollywood silencer!

thank you so much!!

thank you so much this review is lovely 😭😭

Devs here! As written, all characters start at base level, even if the previous character was high level or the rest of the party is.

While this is punishing, it's for three design reasons:

1. War should be punishing and death should feel bad in order to keep the stakes high and the players immersed - if players want to do badass things, they need to do smart badass things that give them an unfair advantage against the enemy, like sneaking, sabotage, flanking, etc. FIST is more of an underdog, against-all-odds fantasy than a power fantasy.

2. Character progression tends to be horizontal instead of vertical - all the stat bonuses and items in the traits list are fine-tuned so that while characters may have more tools as they advance, they don't become invincible, and a 6 trait character can work alongside a 2 trait one.

3. Capital and worldly gains are important - loot and gadgets and backup are the name of the game, and a fresh, underleveled character can be "caught up" with everyone else by sharing loot.

Hope this helps and thanks for playing!!

EDIT: Something that might be helpful for setting player expectations is comparing FIST to roguelikes. It's very inspired by these games, where death is bad - you always start from scratch.

We got a review by Questing Beast!!!

New AP from All on the Table!

looks like Spear Witch has some physical rulebooks in stock!!

https://spearwitch.com/products/fist-ultra-edition?variant=47175536279838

thanks for the kind words and supporting the bundle!! if it helps your group get up and running at all, we did just add a quickstart guide to this page (under Download demo). hope y'all have fun!!

knocking it outta the park again burrito!!

welcome aboard!! you're in luck, we actually just added a quickstart guide that explains the basics of RPGs - you can find it on this page under the "Download demo" heading

not a stupid question! we usually add community copies, to be claimed by anyone for free, when people donate extra to us at CLAYMORE. the bundles go to charity, so you get a copy of FIST you can claim if you bought the bundle!

either/or, but we suggest the latter (discard what doesn't click, keep what does)

Added 10!! 🫡

Yes 1000% absolutely!! Please do and thanks for letting us know about this!

we kind of add more randomly or if we anticipate a big surge of interest - there were also recently a lot of community copies bc Kickstarter backers had donated several, but those ran out a bit ago.. anyway you don't sound inadequate in the slightest, we love giving this game out for free!! have you got a discord or email address we could send a download key to ?

(alternatively just hit up claymorerpgs@gmail.com and we'll hook you up!! <3)

adding more community copies so you can grab a new one !!

you might like these index card character keepers! https://lonearchivist.itch.io/fist-op-profile

not only is this mission great, it's good for multiple playthroughs w different groups and works perfectly as a big campaign finale!! 10/10

hey thank you so much!! any cool moments from the oneshot?

no problem and we couldn't agree more comrade!!

done, thanks for the heads up!!

gotchu, didn't realize they ran out ty

one of the best FIST missions out there!!

Yes! A solo mode is in the works as part of an upcoming rules expansion/splatbook called SUPPLY DROP

yeah, it's explained on page 90! it's a lot like a morale check in OSR games, it's something they do when put in a narrative chokepoint (oftentimes mortal danger)

That sounds like a partial success, but if it doesn’t sound like one to the player, you can always pause the game to talk about why! The rulebook also touches on how the referee and players can avoid creating this dissonance in the first place – ask if you’re giving them enough information to make good decisions; prompt them to give you details about how they’re trying to do something; experiment with telling players upfront what will happen if they roll a partial or failure on an action they’re considering. As referee, you’re acting as the game environment, so you’re supposed to surprise the player but also telegraph what to expect to a degree that allows them to account for it if they try. Both player and referee must be able to accurately extrapolate and strategize around likely risks. Here’s an imagined run of your scenario, with plenty of material to play off of provided by both parties:

REF: “So, you’re heading toward the ladder. It’s old, a little warped. You can see the guard still trying to scrape the gum off their boot, but they’re probably not super invested in that, so you’ll have to be quiet… how are you doing this?” 

PLAYER: “I’m gonna slip off my shoes and string them around my neck so I don’t make noise on the rungs.”

REF: “Okay, roll TACTICAL…”

PLAYER: “I got a 7.”

REF: “You make it up the ladder without a sound – until the very last rung. As you heave yourself onto the roof, it snaps and clatters one thunk at a time down the ladder. Gumshoe down there staggers out of flamingo stance and glances around, and at the same time you realize you’re not alone up here – there are footsteps approaching, but not with any urgency. There are no shadows on hand to duck into. What’s your move?”

If the players are properly prepped for the pulp action tone, this should feel like the next exciting catalytic beat. A good action movie is rarely one where the hero is never noticed and gets home half an hour early. If anyone is having trouble getting in the groove of FIST, we suggest watching any movie (or video game, or whatever) you can map to its mechanics, which is how the game was created and is the main point of it. Here’s a clear example of a sequence of partial successes: Garth Marenghi's Gun Possession

If the player is dissatisfied with the results of a bad roll, they may not realize the game won’t happen if no bad rolls do because bad rolls give the environment opportunities to progress and interact with the players’ agency. It might be helpful to go over these parts of the book with the whole table to get you all on the same page and in the right frame of mind:

p.5 Rolling the dice

p.7 Playing dirty

p.16 Playing fair

p.17 Quality fiction

p.19 Using agency

p.21 Referee FAQ

These sections go over stuff like preparing for and embracing the consequences of bad rolls as the dramatic meat of the game, how you can use creative thinking and strategy to tip stacked odds to your favor, what the table should mutually agree on, and general referee tips. There's also a spark table for partial successes on page 148.

Hope this helps and isn’t too much of a wall!

this game is gorgeous!!

A video review from Dragons are Real!