The Basics of D6 Epic

If you're experienced with table top RPG's you more than likely know the basics when it comes to playing them, but I managed to track Sam down (pulled him away from editing the core rule book) to get his viewpoint on what the basics are for this system.

Terri: We know that RPG's like this are a form of interactive storytelling, where you create a character, go on quests, kill the bad guys (beasts/monsters etc) and get the experience points so we can level up and grab the cool abilities and weapons we want so we can go out and kill the next set of beasties. D6 Epic is like that, right?

Sam: No, far from it. D6 Epic is not about what, or who, you kill but rather about roleplaying your way through the adventure.

Terri: But how do I get my experience points? *foot stomp*

Sam: You don't... they're progression points in this system. And just showing up for the adventure gains you a point. Roleplaying, Adventure Advancement, and Adventure Completions are how you get the rest of your progression points.

Terri: So, I've got to kill lots of beasties to get progression points?

Sam: Picking a fight at the Kings the court and killing off the strongest knight there is not going to do it because it will not advance your adventure. In fact it's likely to put a stop to your adventure when your character is beheaded for drawing steel in the Kings court...

Terri: So, what else do I have to do quest wise to gain progression points.

Sam: D6 Epic focuses on the adventure itself, the roleplay to go through the adventure, and the story telling that you put into the roleplay. Look at Tyrian Lanister in the Game of Thrones, for example (as of episode 1 season 2). He doesn't use brute strength and go around killing at the drop of a hat. He uses his intelligence and how he interacts with others to get what he wants. A prime example would be how he gets out of the sky cell and maneuvers 1- a fight, 2- someone else to fight for him, and 3- then gets the hill tribes to go with him without a fight. It's the same theory in D6, it's not about killing, but rather the story and pulling the weapon only when you have to.
Killing 10,000 Orcs might not get you a single point; capturing the spy might get you knighted and the progression points you're looking for.

Terri: Okay, and with these points I level up, right?

Sam: Sort of. With these points you can increase old skills, buy new skills, buy traits or raise your attributes. So no, you can't become the 100th level wizard but wisely putting your progression points into the right skills and attributes might put you in the position where you can blow up a continent. Though a wise gamer would think about this for some time before doing such to their GM...

Terri: Fair enough. Hey, why is it called D6 Epic?

Sam: Because of two items. Epic Dice and Epic Points (which you're going to pester - err - question me about for the letter E). And the D6 stands for six sided dice.

With that Sam escaped back to editing the core rule book and muttering something about pesky bloggers...