Tales from the Loop

Core Dice Mechanic

1. Build your pool: Attribute + Skill = number of d6s to roll. Minimum 1 die.
2. Roll all dice at once. Every 6 = one success. You only need one 6 to succeed.
3. If you get at least one 6, you succeed — more 6s mean a better outcome (GM's call).
4. If no dice show a 6, you fail. You may choose to Push the Roll (see below).

• Each Condition you have removes 1 die from your pool (minimum 1).
• Each helper adds 1 die to your pool (declare before rolling).
• Pride adds 3 dice once per session — declare before rolling.
• Iconic Item adds +2 dice once per session when relevant.
• Extended Trouble: GM sets a countdown; each success removes one step.

Pushing the Roll

When you fail, you may choose to push. You must do this before the GM describes the consequences.

1. Take one Condition of your choice (reducing your future dice).
2. Re-roll all dice that did not show a 6 — keep your existing 6s.
3. If any helpers contributed, each helper also takes a Condition.
4. You cannot push twice on the same roll.

Attributes & Skills

Skills range 0–5. Attributes also range 1–5. At character creation skills start at 0 (use Attribute only) and Attributes are set by your Kid Type.

Conditions

Each condition removes 1 die from your pool. Take them to push rolls — or when the GM says so.

• Conditions recover between sessions — or through anchor moments.
• Broken recovers at the start of the next session.
• The GM may allow recovery mid-mystery when narrative warrants it.

Helping

• You must be in the same location as the acting character.
• Describe how you help — then add 1 die to their pool.
• Multiple kids can help the same roll.
• If the roll is pushed, every helper must also take a Condition.
• Helpers cannot help their own rolls.

Pride, Drive & Iconic Item

• Each kid has one Pride — something they are truly proud of.
• Once per session, invoke your Pride before you roll to add +3 dice.
• You cannot use Pride when you are Broken.
• If you used your Pride this session, check a box — at session end, gain +1 XP.

• Your Drive is your kid's core motivation (e.g. "I want to uncover the truth").
• If you acted on your Drive this session, gain +1 XP at the end.

• Your one special possession (e.g. a camera, a Swiss Army knife, a ham radio).
• Once per session, use it to add +2 dice to a relevant roll.
• If you lose your Iconic Item, describe how you feel and try to recover it.

Anchor & Relationships

Your Anchor is the person, place, or thing that grounds you — a parent, a pet, your home. It is your emotional safety net.

• When you visit or interact with your Anchor, you may recover one Condition.
• If your Anchor is threatened or lost, it becomes a central story moment.

• Each kid has one relationship to another PC (e.g. "She's the smartest person I know.").
• Each kid has one relationship to an NPC (a family member, teacher, neighbour).
• Relationships shape what matters to your kid and who they turn to.

Experience & Advancement

At the end of each session, check each question that applies — each earns 1 XP:

• Did you participate in the session?
• Did you act according to your Drive?
• Did you use your Pride?
• Did you help another kid in a meaningful way?

Maximum 4 XP per session.

• 5 XP — raise a Skill by 1 (max 5).
• 10 XP — raise an Attribute by 1 (max 5).
• 15 XP — gain a new Pride or swap your Drive.

Spend XP at the start of the next session, before play begins.

Kid Types & Signature Attributes

Your Kid Type defines your starting Attribute scores and one bonus Skill. The attribute in brackets is your highest.

Mystery Structure

Each session is a Mystery — a strange event tied to the Loop that the kids investigate. Mysteries have three acts.

For extended threats, the GM may set a Countdown (usually 6 steps). Each success on a relevant roll removes one step. When the clock hits zero, the threat resolves — for better or worse.

The World of the Loop

• Alternate 1980s Sweden (or Boulder City, Nevada — depends on your setting book).
• A government research facility called the Loop generates strange phenomena — machines walking on their own, gravity anomalies, time distortions.
• The kids exist at the margins of this world. Adults don't believe them and can't perceive most anomalies.
• The Loop's effects don't harm the kids directly — but what lurks around it can.
• Kids cannot die — but they can be Broken, changed, or lose what matters to them.

• The world is strange but grounded in everyday 80s life.
• Every Mystery has a mundane explanation layer and a strange one beneath.
• The GM never rolls dice — all resolution is player-side.
• Failure drives the story forward — it doesn't end it.

The Hideout

Every group of kids has a shared Hideout — a private space that belongs to them alone. Examples: an old barn, a treehouse, a basement, a forgotten room in school.

• A safe place to gather, plan, and debrief between scenes.
• A location where the kids can recover Conditions if they rest here and feel truly safe.
• A space to store items and clues across sessions.
• A character in its own right — the Hideout can be discovered, threatened, or destroyed, creating major story moments.

Extended Trouble

Used for prolonged conflicts, chases, or multi-stage encounters where a single roll isn't enough.

1. GM sets a Countdown (typically 6, but can be 3, 4, or 8).
2. Each round, all acting kids choose their approach and roll.
3. Each success removes one step from the countdown.
4. GM may impose costs per round: Conditions, lost items, time passing.
5. When the countdown reaches zero, the kids succeed (or fail if time runs out).

Fights & Conflicts

Tales from the Loop doesn't have structured combat rounds. Physical conflict works through the core dice mechanic and Extended Trouble.

• Force is used to overpower, restrain, or fight physically.
• Causing harm to an opponent means they take a Condition.
• Kids cannot kill — only Broken opponents are fully out of the scene.
• Running away uses Move vs the pursuer.
• Distracting or tricking uses Charm or Comprehend.
• Anomalous creatures usually cannot be defeated physically — outsmart, outrun, or contain them.

Common Roll Reference