Description: Match-, wheel-, or Flint-Lock weapons take too long to load to be reloaded in battle without a hireling to load it, thus they may be fired only once per battle unless the character also carries (potentially explosive) pre-prepared shot, wadding, and powder bundles (called "apostles.")
Find it in: Lamentations of the Flame Princess
Keywords: Exploration, Fast-paced, Gritty, Pulpy, Rules-light, Swashbuckling
Genres: Crime, Dark Fantasy, Pulp
Description: Used primarily in settings where firearms are rare and a new innovation. The sound of a firearm being discharged around creatures that are not part of a firearm-using culture can force a morale check or similar fear effect.
Find it in: Lamentations of the Flame Princess
Keywords: Dangerous, Exploration, Gritty, Tactical, Tense
Genres: Crime, Dark Fantasy, Post-apocalyptic, Pulp
Description: Instead of gaining entire levels at once, a character earns one component of their next level at once. For example, hit points, spell slots, re-roll pool increases, etc. are gained separately, creating a gradual power increase.
Find it in: Low Fantasy Gaming, Cypher System
Keywords: Rules-light
Genres: Any Genre
Description: When a character is knocked out of commission (such as at 0hp), their status is unknown unless an ally checks on them to see if they are living or dead. At that time the character makes a single saving throw or Luck Checks to see if they are alive, at which point they can be restored to consciousness.
Find it in: Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG, Low Fantasy Gaming, Troika!
Keywords: Cinematic, Dangerous, Gritty, Pulpy, Rules-light, Tense
Genres: Crime, Low Fantasy, Pulp, Western
Description: When lacking any other tool for decision making as to which character is attacked, targeted, or hit by a trap, choose the character with the lowest current Luck Score.
Find it in: Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG
Keywords: Fantastical, Pulpy, Rules-light, Weird
Genres: Crime, High Fantasy, Low Fantasy, Pulp, Sword & Sorcery
Description: Used in TTRPGs that use a Luck Scores. When a party of PCs is attempting to fled a battle they make Luck Checks, if more than half the party succeeds, then the party shakes their attackers and winds up in a relatively safe location that the GM chooses. Alternatively, everyone who succeeds escapes. This removes the need for chase mechanics.
Find it in: Low Fantasy Gaming
Keywords: Cinematic, Fast-paced, Pulpy, Rules-light, Swashbuckling
Genres: Crime, Low Fantasy, Pulp, Sword & Sorcery, Western
Description: As well as a standard value in coin, gear is valued based on its survival utility as an abstract trade unit. Food, fuel, ammunition, medicine, tools, books, and things easily dismantled for parts have high values. Gold, jewels, luxury items are low to no value. When bartering in a survival situation compare the Trade value of what is asking for and what is offered. May be modified by Gear Quality.
Find it in: Delve 2e
Keywords: Exploration, Gritty, Survival
Genres: Sword & Sorcery, Low Fantasy, Survival Horror, Military, Western
Description: Through heavy use, a weapon can become damaged, weakened, or harder to use, resulting in lower accuracy or less damage until repaired. This is usually found alongside Gear Quality rules.
Find it In: Delve 2e, The Black Hack, Tiny Dungeon 2e
Keywords : Cinematic, Dangerous, Gritty, Pulpy, Survival, Tense
Genres: Dark Fantasy, Horror, Survival Horror, Sword and Sorcery
Description: Equipment has a means of tracking its quality and state of Repair. As it wears down it lowers in its quality rating. Often uses Depletion Dice, and often includes Depleting Armor.
Find it in: Delve 2e, The Black Hack, Tiny Dungeon 2e
Keywords: Dangerous, Exploration, Gritty, Horrific, Tactical, Tense
Genres: Crime, Dark Fantasy, Horror, Military, Post-apocalyptic, Survival Horror, Western
Description: When a character spends an action to watch an ally perform a skill that they do not possess, they may make a test to learn it at the lowest possible level of ability. (5% in a percentile system like Warhammer Fantasy, 1 rank in D&D3e or Pathfinder) Characters must improve the skill further using standard character advancement.
Find it in: Delve 2e
Keywords: Cinematic, Exploration, Pulpy, Survival
Genres: Crime, Dark Fantasy, Low Fantasy, Military, Pulp, Science Fiction, Survival Horror, Western
Description: Rather than rolling twice and taking the higher result, you roll an extra d6 and apply it as a bonus to your current roll. Likewise, disadvantage involves rolling 1d6 and subtracting it from the roll.
Find it in: Shadow of the Demon Lord, Rogue 2e
Keywords: Fast-paced, Rules-light
Genres: Any Genre
Special thanks to Scott Weber for pointing me to examples of TTRPGs that use this as a core mechanic.
Description: As a PC is dying, there is a chance, if they might not otherwise recover of bein approached by Death, a demon, or otherworldly entity in a vision, and offered a chance to return to the world of the living, but they must agree to a quest. If they fail to keep up their end of the bargain in a timely fashion, they will die and be unable to return to life again.
Find it in: Dungeon World
Keywords: Dark, Epic, Fantastical, Heroic, High Magic, Weird
Genres: Sword & Sorcery, Dark Fantasy, Eldritch Horror, Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Superhero
Description: A character who spends time in companionship (not necessarily sex) in a safe place with a lover or spouse gains non-cumulative bonus of+1 to Constitution or a similar measure of health and vitality for one week.
Find it in: The Islands of Purple-Haunted Putrescence (NSFW)
Keywords: Light-Hearted, Pulpy, Romantic
Genres: Any Genre
Description: When a PC or important NPC dies, there is a chance that they can be resurrected.This entails rolls to check on which magic or technology was used to bring them back. Each method has drawbacks and a chance or rejection, which leads to permanent pentirs.
Find it in: Alpha Blue (NSFW)
Keywords: Fantastical, Light-Hearted, Pulpy, Weird
Genres: Cyberpunk, High Fantasy, Pulp, Science Fiction, Superhero
