Embedded Files
Evolved from Loner, built for shared emergent narratives across genres and playstyles
Ensemble Core Rules
Ensemble rulebook is available digitally and in print from these stores
Origins & Philosophy
Ensemble is a fiction‑driven tabletop RPG about creating emergent stories together at the table. It grew from a simple question: what would it look like to take the minimalist, tag‑based engine of Loner and Freeform Universal and rebuild it for two or more players, without losing the focus on story over stats.
Instead of focusing on tactical grids or long upgrade trees, Ensemble puts conversation at the center of play. Players describe what their characters say and do, the Game Master (or the group in GM‑less mode) responds, and the rules only step in when the fiction reaches a moment of real uncertainty. In those moments, a single Action Die, possibly supported or opposed by Chance and Risk Dice, decides what happens—with results like Yes, and…, Yes, but…, No, but…, and No, and… pushing the story into unexpected directions.
Design principles
Ensemble is built on a few core ideas:
Fiction precedes mechanics: the imagined situation always comes first, and dice interpret that, not the other way around.
The setting is an “invisible rulebook”: the details of your world quietly shape what is possible and what is at stake.
Play honestly: trust at the table replaces rules that police players.
The game is dialogue: listening and reincorporation are treated as the real core mechanics.
The game is deliberately “generic, not universal”: it can handle many genres but never pretends to erase style or taste. A fantasy dungeon crawl, a political thriller, or a small‑town mystery will all feel different, because Ensemble encourages each table to lean into the tone and conventions that excite them.
Part of a larger ecosystem
If you already know Loner, Ensemble will feel like the multiplayer mode of the same universe. They share the Chance/Risk Dice language, tag structure, and fiction‑first philosophy, so you can reuse characters, adventure seeds, and tools across both. Use Loner for solo journaling, then bring those characters and consequences to the table with Ensemble and watch the story ripple outward.
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