My Favorite Rules Lite One-Shot RPG, Lasers And Feelings

Riffing off of my Sunday post about running one-shots with strangers and why I love it, I'd like to take this Thursday to talk about my favorite one-shot system for beginners in the roleplaying genre. Lasers and Feelings is a rules-lite RPG system made by John Harper, who also created the fantastic Blades in the Dark TTRPG. It is free to download and only contains a single page of rules to get you and your party up and flying into the stars. I've fallen in love with this game, which was released in 2013, and two of the one-shot sessions I've run with it have been the most gratifying and fun games of a TTRPG I have ever had. So, grab your space suits, set your phasers to stun, and join me today as we briefly jump into Lasers and Feelings. 

How Do You Play Lasers And Feelings

First, you can start by checking out the free PDF here. Essentially, the entirety of L&F can be broken down into two parts: Player Character Creation and Game Master Prep. 

Character Creation

Players take on the role of space-faring adventurers making their way through the universe upon the Starship Raptor. There are no character classes, and players need only choose their style and a character role, all of which are interpretive and should be seen as improv prompts to help with skills checks. These are the following: 

Style: 

• Alien- Any alien species that could exist, allowing the players to envision themselves as anything from a big-headed green space monster to a sentient ooze with pseudopods for hands.

• Android- Artificial beings that can resemble humans, robots, or even aliens. 

• Dangerous- Dangerous and the rest below can be alien or android but come with a more defined style. This one is for those with a daring streak and penchant for doing stuff not so by the book. 

•  Heroic- Your archetypical Luke Skywalker or Captain Kirk-style brave adventurer

• Hot-Shot- Someone who is REALLY good at their specific job, like Han Solo and flying. 

•  Intrepid- Fearless in the face of danger and willing to do anything to get the job done.

• Savvy- The face of the party and the one most likely to get them into trouble as they are to talk them out of it. 

Roles: 

• Doctor

• Envoy

• Engineer

• Explorer

• Pilot

• Scientist

• Soldier

Finally, after choosing their style and role, the players should choose a number between 2-5 and a potential goal for their character. Those with a lower number are more inclined to succeed in feelings roles, requiring interpersonal finesse, passion, or gut instinct. (Your Wisdom and Charisma style rolls in D&D) A higher number means a character is more inclined toward Lasers, which are shooting, engineering, and athletic feats of strength not propelled by emotion. (Intelligence, Dexterity, Strength style rolls in D&D)

On the Game Master side, you need only worry about judging rolls and trust your intuition in interpreting them. When calling for a roll from an action where the outcome isn't apparent, tell the player whether to roll a lasers or feelings roll. They want low or equal to their score for lasers and higher or equal to their score for feelings. You, as the GM get to assign how many dice a player will roll, up to 3d6. Every roll has at least 1d6 while they can add one to two more depending on if they are prepared for the action, have help, or if the action falls under their style/role they chose at character creation. One success is a partial, two successful dice is a complete success, and the rare triple success means the character critically succeeds and should be rewarded in the game with either some lore or a fun storytelling element. 

As the GM, you shouldn't worry too much about prep as the game is an improv-heavy system, and the final rule helps you use your player's ideas to channel the story in the direction they want. The ingenious part of L&F is that if a player rolls exactly their score number on any of the D6s, they get to ask you, the GM, for some kind of insight. This is where you can tailor the game to your players. By having them ask you for something outside the realm of their limited knowledge, you are clued into what they care about as a player. You can allow them to steer the narrative in a direction they find satisfying, all with minimal prep! Although, if you are wanting for some prep ideas, there is a matrix on the guide sheet to give you a loose premise for the game. 

Why I Love L&F

So, with the how out of the way, the question remains: Why do I, as the Brazen Bard, love Lasers and Feelings so much? The answer to that question comes in two parts. First is the fact that the loose interpretation of the rules and improv style of the game incentivizes everyone at the table to be creative, and the more imaginative the group, the more fun and wacky the game becomes. I've been blessed to play with some of the most innovative, funny, and ingenious players ever, leading to the best kind of chaos at our one-shots. Secondly, is that it makes for a great teaching tool. Of those funny, creative, and ingenious players, very few have been experienced in roleplaying in RPGs, and even those who have played D&D were more focused on combat than RP. L&F actively incentivizes good roleplay but is a gateway into embodying a character with minimal risk. You don't have to worry about your character dying, as unless the GM is running a horror game, the price of failure is minimal at worst, which frees people up from the fear of failure, and the simple mechanics don't get in the way of having fun as no one is bogged down in character creation, spell descriptions, or having to worry about keeping track of gold and hitpoints.

While Lasers and Feelings would need some hacky tweaks to be run as a long-term game, of which many other systems do that better, it is the perfect one-shot game that has delivered some of the best experiences of my life. I strongly suggest you try it out, trust yourself, and use it as an improv and roleplay practice medium that is unlike any other.