Rule of Cool

The Unofficial RWBY Tabletop does its best to emulate the “feel” of the RWBY series. One of RWBY’s great claims is its over the top action style and extremely complex animations. A concept usually introduced as a “House Rule” for tabletop games is the Rule of Cool, referred to here as “RoC”. Basically, if the GM is impressed by a player’s creativity, or simply the spectacle of an action, normal hindrances are ignored, and sometimes even bonuses are added. The RoC System uses the Rule of Cool as a fundamental building block integrated into every facet.

Ultimately, what is and is not “Cool” is at GM judgment. Every GM is different, some being quite generous, others more fickle. Most will fall somewhere in the middle. Players have no concrete way to generate RoC, and instead must rely on their own creative processes rather than an in game mechanic.

RoC comes into play as an additional d10 added to the table. This die is added to every player to add to every roll. RoC dice are for the entire party, if one player succeeds at their attempted action and impress their GM, every member of the party gains a d10. For every addition d10 available on skill checks, players also gain an additional d6 for all damage rolls.

To generate RoC a player must firstly impress their GM with a cool idea, then succeed on the Skill checks required for the Cool idea. Players also automatically generate RoC upon rolling a Natural 20. When RoC is generated, it does not come into play until the next immediate turn phase, unless the RoC was generated by a Natural 20, in which case the extra d10 is added immediately to the attempted roll and all subsequent rolls on the player’s turn. RoC remains for every player until either the end of the encounter, a natural 2 is rolled, or if the player’s actions stagnate. Earning a low level of cool then sitting on it can cause it to decrease. Players earn and lose cool as a team.

It is impossible to note every possible way to generate RoC, as it is reliant entirely on GM judgment. GMs are suggested to read into their players own tastes and find a balance. However, simple ideas can be used as starting points for RoC to be inspired. RoC can stack infinitely, adding an additional d10 to the pool, however, with each additional level the stakes are raised and must push the limits even further to gain that extra boost in damage, power, and skill. Generally no more than one or two levels of RoC can be generated in a given encounter, but extremely long encounters with particularly creative players may breach that barrier. The soft cap for RoC is +3d10, and anything beyond that requires performing the truly amazing to the downright impossible.

Examples

 * Using teamwork effectively
 * Using enemies against each other
 * Clever Role-play
 * Lateral Thinking
 * Third Dimensional Movement
 * Taking actions according to character desires even if they include detrimental consequences for the player.