I designed a Chanukah themed tabletop RPG
Menorahs & Miracles is a Chanukah themed tabletop RPG. One person acts as the game master, describing the environment and the results of the charactersâ actions, while everyone else plays as a character. The characters have the ability to do anything that is physically possible in the world the game master creates.
-enough dreidels for everyone to have one
-a menorah for each person
-a lot of gelt, in 2 sizes
-latkes (optional, but they make everything better)
Whenever your character attempts to do something difficult and either will suffer a consequence if they fail, or has a limited time to do this, they must spin a dreidel to determine the result.
Gimmel: they succeed perfectly
Hay: a partial success. They complete about half of what they were trying to do.
Nun: they donât succeed, but suffer no additional consequences.
Shin: they fail, and something else goes wrong
Example: a player is trying to sneak past some guards into a temple
Gimmel: they get inside without being noticed
Hay: they get halfway to the door before they drop something, which the guards hear, although they still havenât been seen
Nun: the guards see them and block the entrance, but they manage to escape. Theyâll have to find another way in.
Shin: the guards see them and attack
Each player has a menorah, and starts with all the candles lit (this can be an actual menorah, or something else to represent it, such as a drawing. The same is true of the candles, which could just be added or removed if you arenât able to light them.). This represents your characterâs hit points. Every time you take damage, the game master determines if it is from your characterâs right or left side, and extinguishes the flame closest to that side. If your shamas candle is extinguished, your character is dead, and it would require a miracle for them to survive.
Combat: if the characters get into a fight, their enemies go first (if the fight is between several players, or there are multiple enemies, play is in the order of whoever started it. A dreidel is used to settle any disagreements). On anyoneâs turn, they may take one action.
-attack (this is represented by spinning the dreidel. The attack hits on a Gimmel or Hay, dealing one damage, and consequences work like normal.
-recover (they may use their shamas candle to light one candle that has been extinguished)
-inspire (use their shamas to light someone elseâs extinguished candle. They must be close enough to that character to do this)
-aid (prepare to help another character, so on their turn, they get skill on any action they take.
-do one other simple task that isnât listed above, which can be done within 8 seconds.
Contests: for any dispute that the players want to resolve peacefully, everyone involved must spin a dreidel. Whoever gets the highest result (Gimmel, then Hay, then Nun), wins. If there is a tie, anyone involved must reroll to determine the outcome.
Gelt: each player starts with one small piece and one big piece of gelt. This is used to represent both actual money, and status and reputation. It can be earned as payment, and as a reward for morally good actions, by the game master. Gelt can be spent to buy things, or to ask for favors from NPCs. Small pieces represent simple tasks, and large ones represent tasks where danger is involved.
When creating your character, think about their personality, goals, motivations, and backstory. Each character also starts out with one skill, and one struggle. A skill is something they are especially good at, and when they spin a Dreidel for an action involving that skill, they may spin it twice, and take the better result. A struggle is something they find especially difficult, and when they spin a dreidel for that action, they must spin it twice, and take the worse result. Skills and struggles may also be applied to any spin by the game master if they feel there is a reason for it. Each character also starts out with two small gelt and one big gelt worth of starting equipment.
Miracles: The players start the game with one miracle point. This can be spent at any time to make something happen, but the entire party must agree, or they canât spend it. The game master may award miracle points for smart ideas, or people playing their characters especially well, but the party may not have more than one miracle point at a time.
-change any dreidel spin to any result (this must be done while itâs still spinning)
-give anyone skill or struggle on a specific type of action for the next 18 hours
-revive someone whose shamas candle was just extinguished, restoring all extinguished candles.
-multiply or divide the amount of time something takes by 8 until that thing happens
-some other effect not listed here (the game master must approve this)
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