*As a note, the intro for this was written by Steph from TTRPGkids, and the below description was written by Cezar Capacle, creator of the Push SRD!

Push SRD is a lightweight, story-driven RPG system designed for cooperative, action-packed adventures.

This is a genre-agnostic engine that you can use to create your own games about extraordinary characters embarking on perilous quests through fantastic worlds. A single core mechanic powers the whole system, pushing the story forward through emergent complications and inviting players to assume higher risks and use their imagination.

The complete absence of stats brings story weaving to center stage and invites beginners and veteran players alike to try a freer, lighter role-playing experience. The conciseness of the rules allows you, the designer, to fit an entire game on a single sheet of paper if you want to. A two-page template for your new game is provided with this SRD.

CORE PREMISES

Cooperative gameplay:

Push has no Game Master. All players share the responsibility to bring the story to life, take turns under the spotlight, add flavor to the world and its inhabitants, ask and answer questions and keep the game space a fun and safe environment. Gameplay is based on consent. Whenever an agreement can’t be reached or a burning question has no obvious answer, the Oracle is there to save the day.

Stat-free:

There are no stats in the game. Characters, foes, weapons, items, money. Nothing has a number nor a mechanic attached to it. Dice rolls are influenced by luck and risk-taking only, and the dice influence the fiction only. No resources to keep track of.

Emergent narrative:

Push-powered games do not offer a preloaded lore of the world. Instead, the quest-centered design provides players with evocative prompts that can be acted upon. Setting emerges through people, places, items, and events. Through the interaction between characters and situations, players build a world of their own with the framework provided.

Imagination first:

Push does not use grids, rulers or prescriptive definitions of abilities and challenges. Players are encouraged to come up with creative uses of their character’s traits and to use their imagination to freely determine how far, how fast, how difficult things are in any given circumstance.

Dice bring drama:

Rolling the dice is always an option, never an obligation. When you do so, the system is heavily steered towards partial successes. But even a failure is never a dead end. “Nothing” never happens. Circumstances change after every roll.

Competent protagonists:

Characters are the protagonists of the adventure. As such, they’re unique and capable of influencing the course of their story. And they don’t die unless their player decides so.

For this release, you can get either the free version of the Push SRD, or the premium kit, that also includes a coupon for a print-on-demand version, and a copy of Relics of Danoria, a fantasy adventure game written using this system. Either way, you also have access to a 2-page template for you to create your own games using the Push engine!

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