GM Section

"Play dice with the universe."

Suit Up, Armournaut!

Every RPG faces its first hurdle: finding people to play with. We’ve designed Armournaut to make this as easy as possible. Join our official Discord to organize games, or use the Armournaut app to jump straight into the action. All the rules—from character creation to core mechanics and even GM guidance—are freely available on our wiki.

To get started, invite your friends to play! Have them explore the app and the wiki’s character creation section while you prepare.

This guide will walk you through:

• Preparing for your first session.
• Running a smooth and engaging game.
• Expanding your adventures into a full campaign.

Let’s gear up and dive in!

Gathering Your Tools

Using the Armournaut App

1. Create a Room – This will serve as your hub for sessions and campaigns.
2. Invite Players – Once they join, they can add their characters to the room. 
3. Session Zero – With everyone set up, you're ready to begin!

The app helps you:

• Manage scenes & take notes.
• Create NPCs
• Track combat encounters.
• Run the game seamlessly.

You can pair it with physical miniatures & a battle map or use a digital map for positioning—your choice!

Playing Without the App? 

Grab these essentials:

• A notebook, pen/pencil and eraser.
• A pool of 30 D6 dice (trust us, you’ll need them).
• Tokens for Chronicle Points, conditions, and statuses.
• (Optional) Miniatures & a battle map for tactical combat.

Framework

The framework is the foundation of the story your group will be telling in Amournaut, it also informs the type of characters each player makes and gets everyone on the same page about what to expect. This is an opportunity for the game master to discuss with the group what kind of story they want to engage in as well as the logistics behind the sessions. Deciding on a framework together will also impact how players earn XP and mechanically develop their characters. Frameworks are comprised of the following 3 components:

1. Tier: the scale of the narrative, what threats you will be facing and how much XP players get at character creation.
2. Progression: how you earn XP and develop your characters
3. Story: the flavor of the adventure the group is embarking on, it determines the initial characteristics of the setting and informs the overarching aims of the group.

Below are several campaign frameworks, each with a distinct tone, central conflict, and progression style. Use these as templates or inspiration for your Armournaut campaign.

Progression 

There are three main types of progression you can select for your Framework:

• Sessional Progression: this is where player characters are  collectively awarded d6 XP at the end of each session. they can spend this immediately or bank it to spend or more costly improvements to their character.  This makes for steady even progression throughout the story.
• Collaborative Milestone Progression: this is where each player individually devises a goal for them to achieve, these goals can be big or small but their primary role is to create individual motivations. Players will also collaborate on making a group milestone, something within their mutual interests. Like session progression d6 XP is awarded at the end of each game session. Completing a milestone also adds XP equal to tier(1-5 per milestone).  However XP can only be spent once each milestone( individual and group) has been completed. Once this is done then the group selects new milestones.   This type of progression rewards. This progression encourages exploration of the motivations of each member and rewards groups that cooperate well with faster progression. 
• Mission Barter Progression: In the mission barter framework, each mission is given a specific value in XP as well as additional rewards that players are aware of before undertaking it. Players can also ask for extra objectives or higher difficulty in order to earn more XP, This can be role played as negotiating the contract that the PCs will undertake for their client. 

Tier  

In Armournaut there are tiers of play that are core to determining many aspects of your game. For GM’s they help you gather an understanding of how to construct encounters and what sort of capabilities your players will roughly have. For players a tier directly determines your starting XP as shown below:

Building your story building you conflict 

Armournaut is built around explicit, high-stakes conflict. Your players are mercenaries fighting for money, fame, or personal motives but their employers have agendas of their own. To craft compelling missions, you first need to answer: What is really being fought over?

Use this table to define the core drivers of conflict in your game:

When designing a mission or campaign, start by asking: What’s the core tension driving this conflict? Each type shapes the stakes, enemies, and moral dilemmas your mercenaries will face. Resource Conflicts (e.g., securing a fuel depot from raiders) are straightforward with clear objectives, ideal for action-heavy sessions, but risk feeling shallow if overused. Ideological Conflicts (e.g., protecting dissidents from a tyrannical regime) add moral depth and roleplaying opportunities, though they demand nuanced NPCs and faction dynamics. Survival Threats (e.g., escaping a bio-weapon outbreak) create relentless tension but work best as shorter arcs to avoid fatigue. Personal/Moral Conflicts (e.g., a betrayed ally hunting the PCs) resonate emotionally but require player buy-in to land effectively.

For long campaigns, shift between types to maintain momentum: A Resource Conflict over stolen tech could unveil an Ideological Conflict when the buyers turn out to be revolutionaries, or devolve into a Survival Threat if the tech awakens a dormant AI. Enemies should reflect the conflict: greedy pirates for Resource fights, fanatics or zealots for Ideological clashes, and inhuman forces (aliens, drones) for Survival. Mix and match—a ousted warlord (Ideology) might hide on an incredibly hostile world  thick with terrifying apex predators (survival), keeping players on their toes.

Call to Arms 

Client Meeting: The players receive their mission—who’s hiring /ordering them, what’s the target, and what’s the pay?

Mobilization: Players prepare—buying gear, adjusting loadouts, or planning tactics.

Locale: Travel to the mission area; describe the environment, factions, and hazards.

Contact

Traces: Players feel the presence of the antagonist, environment or threats. Foreshadow what is to come, set the tone of the story. 

Scouting: Gathering intel, sneaking in, or assessing enemy forces. Discovering clues, hidden threats, or tactical advantages.

Spark: First direct contact—do they ambush, get ambushed, or trigger an event, have tense standoff or try to talk things out?

Turning Point 

Skirmish: The first real challenge , testing enemy strength combat, intrigue or politique. 

Escalation: Reinforcements arrive, defenses activate, or the situation worsens. The threat tries to defeat the players. 

Battle: The decisive conflict—players either overcome or are forced to retreat from. 

Aftermath 

Impact: Immediate fallout—casualties, repairs, world reactions.

Rewards: Payment, XP, loot,  and narrative progression.

Echoes: Lingering threats, loose ends, or hooks for the next mission.

Wheel Representation

How to Use the Wheel

The wheel's nonlinear flow allows players to loop back based on their choices—for instance, failing a Scouting might force a tougher Battle. It’s highly player-driven, with decisions in Negotiation or Escalation dynamically shaping rewards and consequences. The system is also scalable, working equally well for quick single-session missions or extended multi-session arcs by expanding or condensing phases as needed.

As the GM, you have full control over how phases are structured, you can treat each as a separate scene or encounter, or bundle multiple phases into one. For example, you might run the entire Call to Arms spoke in a single scene, or even merge Contact and Turning Point into a single climactic encounter. You can skip phases entirely or start a session midway through the structure these aren’t rigid rules, but a flexible scaffold to help shape your stories while ensuring every player gets moments to shine.

Don’t feel married to the framework if your players go off the rails, let them! If the big bad dies unexpectedly in the Wheel of War, let them revel in their efficiency. Play out the aftermath, introduce a sudden replacement, or simply consult the wheel and launch a fresh plot. Use the provided tables to sketch a quick scaffold or generate mission variety, keeping the game dynamic and responsive to your table’s choices. The goal is to empower storytelling, not restrict it.

Missions 

Missions are the jobs your players take to earn credits, gear, and reputation—the tangible rewards that keep them moving forward. Not every mission needs to tie directly into your grand campaign story (like hunting Armournauts or fighting a nation), but they should feel meaningful. Completing a mission should bring relief, pride, or hard-won satisfaction, whether it’s escaping a botched heist alive or finally crushing a persistent enemy in a raid.

Some missions will naturally weave into your larger narrative (e.g., the Armournauts ambush the crew during a unrelated smuggling run), while others emerge purely from player choices (taking a bounty on a rogue scientist who later becomes a key faction ally). The table below offers mission templates—each with clear stakes, conflicts, and potential payouts—to help you build jobs that matter, even when they’re just a means to an end.

Putting It All Together

Before diving into your Session Zero, you’ll want a strong foundation—a basic story framework that gives your players direction while leaving room for their choices to shape the narrative. This guide walks you through structuring a mission using conflict types, mission templates, and the Wheel of War to create an engaging, dynamic session.

Step 1: Establish Your Framework

The Framework consists of three key components: Tier, Progression, and Story.  Select these for now based and what you want to run and  discuss these with your players  in your session zero to align expectations.

1.1 Tier: Scale of the Narrative

Tiers determine starting XP, threat level, and player capabilities(LINK TO CHARACTER CREATION SECTION).

GM Tip: For a first campaign, Tier 2 or 3 works best—players feel powerful but still face meaningful threats.

1.2 Progression: How Characters Grow

Decide how players earn XP and develop their characters.

Example:

For a heist campaign, Mission Barter Progression fits perfectly—players negotiate payouts for high-risk jobs.

For a war story, Collaborative Milestone lets players define personal vendettas alongside battle objectives.

Step 2: Choose Your Core Conflict

Every mission revolves around a central struggle. Pick one primary conflict to drive the story, then consider adding a secondary conflict for depth.

We are going to select a resource conflict for this example because we like the idea of player having to fight over something tangible, they will have to locate it, it could be damaged or destroyed which sound like fun options for our players.  

Tip: For your first session, Resource or Survival conflicts work best—they’re easy to grasp and full of action. Save Ideological or Personal conflicts for later when players are invested.

Step 3: Select a Mission Type

 We will then use the  Mission Table to pick a job that fits our conflict. Each mission type suggests enemies, pacing, and stakes. We know we are selecting a resource conflict but there are many options to pick from. Sabotage might encourage players to be very destructive. If we want them to be careful we might want to select heist so because the valuable item means they will be more careful. 

Primary Conflict: Resource (stealing some valuable tech)

Mission Type: Heist (high-risk theft with potential betrayal)

Step 4: Structure the Mission Using the Wheel of War

The Wheel of War breaks the mission into four key spokes, each with three phases. You don’t need to use every phase—just enough to keep the session flowing.

Call to Arms (Setup)

Client Meeting: Who’s hiring them? What’s the job?

Mobilization: Gear up, gather intel, plan.

Locale: Describe the mission area—hostile terrain, hidden dangers.

Example:

A corporate exec hires the crew to retrieve an AI core from a derelict space station.

Players buy EMP grenades (useful against drones) and debate stealth vs. brute force.

The station is wrecked, zero-G, with signs of prior battles.

Contact (Discovery & First Clash)

Traces: Foreshadow threats (corpses, wreckage, strange signals).

Scouting: Gather intel—enemy patrols, traps, hidden paths.

Spark: First combat or tense standoff.

Example:

The crew finds dead scavengers and active security drones.

They detect rival mercs already on-site—avoid or engage?

A drone swarm activates—fight or flee?

Turning Point (Climax & Escalation)

Skirmish: First real fight (test their tactics).

Escalation: Reinforcements arrive, or a new threat emerges.

Battle: Final showdown—do they win, retreat, or improvise?

Example:

Firefight in zero-G corridors against PMC mercs.

The station’s reactor starts overloading—time pressure!

Final fight in the AI core room against a power-armored PMC leader.

Aftermath (Consequences & Hooks)

Impact: Immediate fallout (injuries, destroyed loot, new enemies).

Rewards: Pay, XP, loot—did they get what they came for?

Echoes: Lingering threats (betrayal, the AI is alive, PMC hunts them).

Example:

If they stole the core, the corporation thanks them… but the AI whispers to a player.

If they failed, the PMC brands them as thieves—now they’re wanted.

Here are 2 sample table formats that you can use to organise a story, summarising in this succinct format helps minimise overplanning and allows us to be a bit more adaptive and flexible with our narrative.  

Example Mission: "Kessler-9"

A derelict space station holds a stolen prototype—but rival factions want it too.

For Your First Session

1. Tenants  /GMSection/Tennants
2. Session Zero Guide/GMSection/Session_Zero
3. Core Rules/GMSection/Contents

For Your Campaigns

1. Cohesion /GMSection/Saftey
2. Scene Management/GMSection/scene_management
3. Encounter Management/GMSection/encounter_management
4. Building Blocks /GMSection/Building_Blocks
5. Crew Map /GMSection/crew_map
6. Economy /GMSection/Economy
7. World Building /GMSection/world_building
8. Teaching Armournnaut /GMSection/Teaching_Armournaut
9. Reference sheet

Additional Game Rules

1. Optional Game /GMSection/Additional_Rules/Additional_Rules
2. Additional Downtime Actions /GMSection/Additional_Rules/Additional_Downtime_Actions
3. Environmental Hazards  /GMSection/Additional_Rules/Environmental_Hazards
4. Expanded Syndrome List /GMSection/Additional_Rules/Expanded_Syndrome_List
5. Pursuits and Battles /GMSection/Additional_Rules/Pursuits
6. Arcs /GMSection/Additional_Rules/Arcs
7. Pillarite /GMSection/Additional_Rules/Pillarite
8. Artefacts /GMSection/Additional_Rules/Artefacts
9. Powers /GMSection/Additional_Rules/Powers
10. Mutations /GMSection/Additional_Rules/Mutations