Leverage: The Role Playing Game is a cooperative narrative table-top RPG available from DriveThroughRPG. It is based on the Leverage TV show and uses a variant of the Cortex Plus rules system by Margaret Weis Productions. It emphasizes storytelling instead of rules manipulation. This gives a short learning curve and also makes it easier to run than traditional RPGs. The game is fast and upbeat.

Overview

Leverage makes several improvements over classic RPGs:

• Characters begin as expert heroes. There is no “first level” adventurer.
• Play complete missions in sessions of about two hours.
• Focus is on cooperative storytelling. Players can make major plot changes, and the game rules follow narrative structure.
• The players are going to “win” every session. The challenge is figuring out how.
• No death (even for bad guys), combat is not a major focus, and “bad” roll outcomes give compensation.
• Play-time character creation through a special Recruitment Job.
• Mostly ad hoc descriptive traits (adjectives/skills/powers) applied with the judgement of the players, instead of large reference tables and detailed rules.

The rule book is a combined players' and game master's manual with lots of flavor and advice. It is also a terrific guide to how to design any episodic entertainment, and heist/con/capers in particular. You could teach a TV writing course from it.

Leverage: The Role Playing Game is by Cam Banks and Rob Donoghue and published by Margaret Weis Productions. The Leverage TV show was created by John Rogers and Chris Downey. It was produced by Paul Bernard and Electric Entertainment, and shown on TNT. The intellectual property is owned by those parties, I'm just describing the rules of this game.

Materials

Before you play, I recommend watching a few episodes of the TV show, reading these rules, and reading at least the flavor and advice aspects of the official rulebook. You'll need:

1. John Harper's's Rap Sheets, or a few copies of the blank character sheets from the back of the rulebook.
2. Multiple sets of polyhedral 4 through 12-sided dice (put that d20 away), especially d6s and d4s.
3. Counters (e.g., coins, beads, or tokens) to represent Plot Points.
4. Index cards or Post-Its for tracking elements introduced into the game called Assets and Complications.
5. Pencils and note paper.

Maps and other player aids are great, but I recommend against using miniatures and grids. This isn't a game of tactical combat or other quantitative technical elements. Which is to say, “Munchkins” and rules lawyers are not welcome. Leverage is about being a creative storyteller role playing a con artist who has additional criminal skills.

For terminology, the GM in Leverage is called the Fixer. In general in this document, “you” refers to a player and the Fixer is explicitly named. The Crew is the set of all players. “Party” means either the Crew or the Fixer (it is not a synonym for Crew). For example, “the other party rolls to raise the stakes”. Page numbers in parentheses refer to the official rule book.

Character Creation (Players)

The Leverage character sheet is called a Rap Sheet. It contains the character's stats and a list of all Jobs they have completed. Look at the Rap Sheets for the characters in the TV show (p55-60) to get the gist of how the different abilities translate to game rules.

For a quick start of your first game, just take the preexisting Rap Sheets for the archetypes from the TV show and for each player:

1. Choose a primary Role (Hitter, Grifter, Mastermind, Hacker, or Thief) and rate it d10.
2. Choose a secondary Role and rate it d8.
3. Choose two liability Roles and rate them each d4.
4. Assign d6 to the remaining Role.
5. Assign dice to your Attributes. These all begin at d8 and must maintain that average. So, to increase the die rating of one Attribute, you have to decrease another. Avoid d12s and d4s unless you want a bumpy ride.
6. Designate two Specialties (p30). These are skills that help with your role, such as “Driving”, “Cooking”, “Blind Fighting”, “Romance Languages”, “Violin”, or “Snowboarding”. These add a d6 to your dice pool when performing those actions.
7. Give your character three Distinctions (p10, p33). These are adjectives or descriptive personality types that can shift between good and bad, depending on the situation. For example, such as “drunk”, “smarter than he looks”, and “control freak”. What makes your character unique without explicitly conveying an advantage? You can use them to add a d4 or d8 to relevant dice pools when you wish. Choose Distinctions that will be fun for both you and the other players—don't go too annoying or depressing.
8. Choose two Talents (p34) either from those printed on the sheets or those you invent on your own. These are special powers that you can activate when the appropriate situation arises, usually at a cost of a Plot Point.
9. Optionally create one d6 or d8 Signature Asset (p52), for example, Nate's Loft, Parker's Rapelling Rig, or Hardison's Awesome Computer. There should be at most three of these across the Crew for the first Job. Keep in mind that more powerful characters are not always more fun.

Create your character according to your story sensibilities. The description will affect the game in the way that you expect. The Choosing Dice section describes exactly how these affect die rolls during the game. It also summarizes the vocabulary for modifiers, which mostly just breaks down into situationally-relevant and intuitive “good things” and “bad things”.

Job Creation (Fixer)

There are some free and commercial Leverage Jobs that you can download.

The Quickstart Job is a good introduction to the game. You can use your own characters or the ones from the TV show. It walks you through the rules as they first arise in a pre-planned situation. Beware that the rules and terminology are slightly inconsistent in that Job as printed. I'm following the rules from the main rulebook.

In general, the rulebook's Toolbox (p121) chapter makes it pretty easy to create your own random Jobs. Unlike traditional RPGs, the Fixer can get away with making up most of the Job on the fly thanks to Plot Points and player control of the narrative. Any Leverage, A-Team, or Mission Impossible episode that the players haven't seen (or at least, won't recognize) is also a great outline for a Job. I sketched out the basics and then followed my players' leads, creating most of the Job on the fly as Complications and Opportunities arose. The point of the rulesystem is that it is pretty balanced to create the right level of tension through these.

This is the most clear section of the rulebook, so I'm not going to replicate it here. The big takeaways for me were:

1. Flavor success and failure based on the relevant attributes and roles.
2. Leave lots of hooks for flashbacks, and encourage the players to do so as well.
3. Make the players feel like heroes. Use their Distinctions, Talents, and Assets. Help them spin failed rolls into retcon successes via Flashbacks. “I meant to do that.”
4. If the players aren't getting enough plot points (i.e., aren't losing enough rolls), start including more dice in your totals as an excuse to pay them plot points, or introduce more roadblocks to force them to take opposed Actions with lots of dice.
5. Help the players set up the wrap-up and takedown. It should arrive in what might feel like the middle of the game and the play fast, ending the game before it starts to drag. Leave 'em wanting more.

Narrative Breakdown

A Job is a mission a.k.a. adventure and is usually one play session long. It is divided into narrative acts that match segments of the TV show as separated by commercial breaks. The structure is always:

1. Briefing (p94)
   1. Pitch: Something horrible happens and the innocents affected approach the Crew for help.
   2. Presentation: Out-of character information dump from the Fixer to the Crew of everything the Fixer expects them to research. This can also be from the Fixer to the Mastermind followed by an in-character presentation from the Mastermind to the Crew.
   3. Planning: The players make a plan for the caper, in or out of character. The Mastermind should take a leading role. The Fixer only provides factual information for additional reasonable information researched by the characters. Wrap this up after 20 minutes.
2. Challenge: The Crew sets the caper into motion but stumbles into a major complication that they can’t ignore.
3. Twist: The Crew overcomes the first complication but encounters another, even worse major complication. By this time, they’re in too deep to consider walking away.
4. Resolution: The Crew overcomes the second complication with the help of the Wrap-up Flashbacks and gets away with the caper. The Mark not only goes down: they also know that they were brought down as revenge. This act is often capped with restitution to the innocents from the Pitch and a festive post-victory scene.

The last three are the role-playing portion. They are logically divided into Scenes, which correspond to resolving challenges and usually end with a change of place or time. Scenes are composed of Actions. The rules refer to Beats in passing, but each is basically an Action, so you can ignore that terminology.

Some Scenes are Flashbacks that spend Plot Points to retroactively change recent history in the game. These are the key way for players to overcome problems that have arisen throughout the Job.

The Major Complications are preplanned (or at least injected by fiat) by the Fixer. Random Minor Complications arise throughout scenes, usually as a result of bad luck on the part of the characters.

There are special Spotlight and Establishment Flashback Scenes for the character-building Recruitment Job (p45). For your first time playing, you probably just want to get rolling, so use the precreated characters. When you want to play the Recruitment Job, you can read the manual section on it.

Ratings

Every physical object, scene description, and intrinsic character property in the game is rated from d4 to d12. Unspecified values default to d6. Although higher is better, from a story perspective anything that isn't average is more interesting to the game:

Beware that ratings can be used against a party in some cases. For example, “Hyperfocused d6" might mean that a character can perform in the presence of distractions, but it also allows an opposing party a chance to slip by unnoticed.

Any rated item that is appropriate to a situation contributes dice to a roll, with a minimum of two always being rolled. More dice don't necessarily increase the chance of success, especially if they are d4s. Usually only the highest two dice are summed, and 1s always create complications.

State

Each player has Assets and Plot Points changable state. That's it. There's no health, stamina, spells, explicit tracking of money or ammunition, or complex equipment list state to track. There are also character statistics that change infrequently, which I'm excluding from this section.

Plot Points

Plot Points (p13) are a pun: they are literally points that you keep track of, but also are used to introduce plot points for the narrative.

You start the mission with one Plot Point. You earn more as compensation when something goes badly for you as a result of rolling a 1 or the Fixer spends a Plot Point themselves, and when you create a Flashback for another player. You can spend them to make things better for a single role, a Scene, or the whole Job.

Plot Points come and go quickly and don't persist between Jobs, so track them with coins instead of on paper.

Assets

These are mostly possesions of the character. They scale from a bust of Nelson you just picked up to use as a weapon and will toss away in a minute to the mansion you use as a home base for every Job. Track these on Post-It notes. Each has a single die associated with it.

Lots of appropriate tools and scenery will be present “for free” in the story and should be used for flavor but no advantage. Making one an asset gives a die bonus on actions and allows it to be significant to the story.

Signature Asset (p52)

Semi-permanent, use on multiple Jobs. For example, Hardison's hacker van, Lucille. Spend (cross off) one completed Job to create. The first is d8, subsequent are d6. You may swap around ratings between Jobs.

Job Asset (p66, p115)

Spend two plot points to bring a d6 asset into the story. It exists for the length of the Job, although you might lose posession of it. Example: Hardison's EMP Gun in The Ho Ho Ho Job.

Scene Asset (p66, p115)

Spend one plot point to bring a d6 asset into a scene. Eliot's tray of Hors d'Ouevres as a weapon in The Wedding Job episode.

You might be surprised that players still have to pay Plot Points to use elements that the Fixer already introduced to the scene. Consider Plot Points an accounting device for tracking events in and out of favor for the characters; and that players are paying for the privilege of affecting the plot, not directly for gaining an advantage.

The Fixer may occasionally upgrade an asset's rating for one roll if the player is doing something “unbelievably awesome” with it.

The above are all for nouns. The rulebook uses “asset” and the same rules to refer to intangible elements (adjectives). For example, making a PC or NPC “Pissed off”, “Devout Catholic”, or “Hard Up For Cash” or a room “well-lit” or “noisy”.

Actions

Leverage characters are experts. They can overcome most obstacles with no chance of failure as long as they figure out a good approach. So, you don't need dice to resolve most Actions and should keep the story moving without rolling whenever possible. Dice are only employed when an action is opposed by an NPC or involves a high risk.

When rolling, you select all appropriate dice and roll them. Set aside any 1's. The sum of the two highest dice are the result. You also can pay one Plot Point per additional die that you'd like to include in the sum. If any 1s were rolled, that creates a d6 Complication (p67) but gives the player a Plot Point in compensation. Every additional 1 increases that Complication's rating by one die.

The rolling rules are the same for the Fixer. When the Fixer wants to pay a Plot Point, they give one from the supply to a player. The Fixer rolling 1s creates Opportunities (which do not cost the players anything).

There are four kinds of Actions: Trivial, Basic, Contested, and Timed.

Trivial

Something well within the character's abilities and not opposed or risky. No dice required.

Basic (p70)

Risky, or passively opposed. E.g., give a false impression (“Face”), spot something out of the ordinary (“Notice”), sucker punch, pick a lock quickly, or crack computer encryption. Failing to beat the stakes means failing to complete the action, but does not create a Complication.

The Notice Action is a little special in that the Fixer can trigger a player take a Notice Action at any point (since the player doesn't know that there is something to notice!). Players can intentionally look around for anything out of the ordinary as well as an intentional Notice Action. Complications don't occur on failed Notice actions. Failure on a Notice triggered by the Fixer gives some information, but not the whole story. The stakes for a Notice are typically 2d6.

Contested (p73)

Actively opposed. E.g., a major fight, hacker battling active countermeasures, con a suspicious mark, or playing a poker game. The initiating party sets the stakes. The other party then Gives In or Raises the Stakes. This continues escalating until someone wins. Every additional character assisting instead of taking unique Action contributes an extra die to the pool. The party whose turn it is within the contest chooses to:

• Give In. Lose the action but escape. If the Crew gives in, that creates a d6 Complication. If the Fixer gives in, that creates a d6 Opportunity.

• Raise the Stakes and roll:
  • If the roll is greater than the current stakes by at least 5, that's an extraordinary success. You won and the other party is taken down (e.g., tied up and stuffed in a closet).
  • If the roll is lower or equal, then you just lost...now you're the one in the closet.
  • If the roll is greater than the current stakes by less than 5, then you've successfully raised them and now it's the other party's turn. If they have multiple characters assisting, then remove one of their dice.

During Contested Actions, the rules for 1s for the Fixer and player apply as usual.

Timed Sequence (p75)

A race against time, for example to pick a lock or defuse a bomb. The Fixer first declares:

1. How much time is available (in terms of Actions). The players know this even if the characters don't.
2. What Actions (steps) are required to be completed for success, and what the stakes are (by rolling).

The player then starts attempting Actions to complete the sequence. For each action:

• If you beat the stakes by 5 or more, then you found a shortcut and that Action was completed without taking any time.
• If you beat the stakes by less than 5, that Action was completed and one Action-worth of time was used up.
• If you fail to beat the stakes, then the time is used up but you didn't complete the Action step. Attempt it again.

Other players can attempt to buy you more time by creating distractions or helping out. One player may make one Basic action between your timed Action steps:

• If they succeed by more than 5, then you gain time for two Actions.
• If they succeed by less than 5, then you gain time for one Action.
• If they fail, they can't help again for the rest of the sequence.

If you complete the sequence in exactly the amount of time available, then you have to choose between success and a clean escape. If you complete the sequence early, then you are successful and escape. If you fail, then you're caught and don't have the benefit of success.

During Timed Sequences, the rules for 1s for the Fixer and player apply as usual, including to other characters attempting to aid you.

Choosing Dice

The pool of dice for an Action roll always begins with a Role and an Attribute, for example, “Mastermind + Alertness”. You then add to the pool any of the following that are relevant:

• Distinctions: If a Distinction (p33) on a Rap Sheet is advantageous in a situation, the player may add a d8. If it is disadvantageous, they may add a d4. Except when the Fixer has to curb abuses, the decision to include this is up to the player.
• Specialties: If a Specialty (p9) from a Rap Sheet applies, add a d6 to the pool.
• Talents: If you have an activated Talent from a Rap Sheet in play, follow its rules for adding or including dice.
• Assets: These are any good things brought to the Scene which were originally created by players paying Plot Points. When they are relevant, add their die rating to the pool.
• Opportunities: These are good things that were previously revealed in the story when the Fixer rolled a 1. When relevant, add their die rating to the pool when relevant. Players usually have to actively exploit these by setting up a situation or bringing an Asset that puts them into play.
• Complications: These are revealed bad things originally created by the Fixer when a player rolled a 1 on a previous Action. When relevant, add their die rating to the pool.

The Fixer can occasionally specify a situational penalty or bonus on the pool for a roll if something exceptionally unlikely or cool is happening. However, this happens much more infrequently than in traditional RPGs because the Fixer does not have sole narrative control.

Flashback Scenes

Minor

When stuck, a player can use a Flashback Scene (p76) of a single Action to create a d6 Asset and get themselves out of a jam. The Flashback shouldn't solve the problem. Instead, it should give them the tool to solve the problem in the present.

An “establishment” (minor) Flashback can be triggered by:

• The Fixer taunting a character, e.g., “how are you going to get out of this one?” and the player paying a Plot Point. The player then describes the scene and automatically succeeds at the actions in the past.
• Another player character in a scene asking a lead-in question, e.g., “do you have that thing I gave you?”, and the player who enters the Flashback paying the other player a Plot Point. The player then describes the scene and automatically succeeds at the actions in the past.
• A Player paying a Plot Point without any supporting dialogue. In this case, the Flashback Action has to be played out as a Contested Action. The events described in the Flashback happen even if the character fails, but no longer advantage the character. The Fixer has to justify why within the story.

A Flashback Scene is often a single Action, but can stretch to a few in quick succession.

Wrap-Up

A Wrap-Up Flashback (p77) is a series of individual Flashbacks initiated by the Mastermind at the climax of the Job and executed back-to-back by each Crew member to set up the final takedown of the Mark.

The written rules for this are a little complicated, so here's a simple version that also spreads the Mastermind's role a bit:

1. The Mastermind calls for the final big move.
2. Each player who is participating pays one Plot Point, or the Mastermind pays for them. If the Mastermind pays, that player can then add the Mastermind's Mastermind die to their die pool for the toll.
3. The player performs a minor Flashback, and if successful can give the d6 Asset earned to any other member of the Crew. A die roll of 1 is simply ignored instead of triggering a Complication. There is no penalty for failure, but the player must narrate why the action had no effect in that case.
4. After all players participating have completed their Flashbacks, a relevant player (usually the Mastermind) goes head-to-head with the Mark in a Contested Action back in the main timeline, using all of the Assets just generated and any relevant dice. This might be a physical contest, but is often a more abstract contest of the Mark vs. the plan, with the Crew out of sight. For example, maybe they've tipped off the FBI and are driving away as the FBI agents move in and arrest the Mark.

Obviously, the Mastermind should stockpile a large number of Plot Points and the Crew should have collected other Assets before executing the final Wrap-Up Flashback stage of the plan.

Thanks to Aaron Size for recommending this game and providing feedback on the article.