Defenders & Dangers

Hero

Attributes, Resistances & Stamina

Distribute 3 / 2 / 2 among Strength, Agility, and Mind. Pick which attribute gets the 3 — the other two are 2. Then add your Type bonus and any Power/Tech adjustments to Resistances below.

Proficiency Bonus: +1  •  Defense: — (Agility Resistance + Protection)  •  Starting Stamina formula: Strength Resistance + 15

Super Powers & Tech

In Defenders & Dangers there is no preset power list — you and your Danger Director describe the power, agree how it works, and spend Power Points on it. Its Power Level is the number of points spent. Add each power or piece of Tech here and the sheet tracks your points.

Total Power Points: —  •  Spent: 0  •  Remaining: —

Humans and Synthoids cannot have Super Powers, but can spend points on Tech. Synthoids start with 8 points for Tech only. A character gains 1 more Power Point at each new Level — that is already in the total above as +(Level − 1).

Skills

You start trained in a number of Skills equal to Mind + 1. A language or weapon proficiency may be taken instead of a Skill. Each trained Skill rolls Attribute + Proficiency Bonus + 2D Skill Bonus.

Sample Skills from the rules: Computer, Physics, Chemistry, History, Unarmed Combat, Literature, Medic, Journalism, Occult Studies, Streetwise, Stealth, Thievery, Survival, Engineering, Zero G Combat, Archaeology, Musical Talent, Piloting, Driving, Smithing, Cooking, Mountain Climbing, Scuba Diving, and more. Humans re-roll a failed Skill Roll once per Skill Roll — if that applies, roll again and use the second result.

Weapons & Attacks

Melee Attack Pool = Strength (or Agility for Unarmed / Light Melee) + Power Level (if any) + Weapon Type Bonus + Proficiency Bonus (if proficient) ± modifiers. Ranged Attack Pool = Agility + Power Level + Weapon Type Bonus + Proficiency Bonus ± modifiers. Damage = Successes over the target’s Defense, subtracted from Stamina. Attack Pools cannot be reduced below 1D.

Power Attack: a Melee Power Attack combines two single-handed Melee Attacks into one roll (costs 2 Actions). A Ranged Power Attack with two single-handed ranged weapons makes two rolls in one Action, each at −1D. Use the buttons on each weapon row for those.

Dice Roller

Core mechanic: roll a pool of d6. Any die showing 3+ is a Success. An unmodified 6 explodes — it counts, and you roll it again.

Heroic Dice — 3 per combat, unspent dice are lost

Heroic Dice left: 3

Combat Tracker

Initiative: at the start of each Combat Round roll a d6 — 1–3 opponents go first, 4–6 the player characters choose a character to act first, then sides alternate. Each combatant takes 2 Actions per turn: Move, Attack, Use Super Power, Use an Item or Tech, Use a Skill, or Aim (+2D to the next Attack Roll with that ranged weapon, not in melee).

Round: 1   Next Round Reset Combat Roll Initiative

Actions used this turn (of 2): 0   Use an Action Reset Actions

Foes / Targets

To attack a foe, set the target Defense in the attack result by clicking a weapon’s Attack button, then enter that foe’s Defense in the prompt — or simpler: use the weapon roll, compare its Successes to the foe’s Defense above, and subtract the excess from its Stamina with the − buttons. Cover, range, and invisibility modifiers are the Danger Director’s call and are applied as a dice modifier before you roll — use the generic roller or adjust the weapon’s pool in the DD’s ruling.

Adventure Log

How to Play — Quick Reference (from the rules)

• Success: die shows 3+. Explode: unmodified 6 counts and rolls again.
• Attribute Roll: roll Attribute dice (± Proficiency or other bonus the DD allows) vs. a Difficulty Level.
• Skill Roll: Attribute + Proficiency Bonus + Skill Bonus vs. DL. Untrained: no Skill Bonus or Proficiency Bonus.
• Difficulty Levels: Easy 2+, Moderate 3+, Difficult 4+, Very Difficult 5+, Extremely Difficult 6+, Truly Super 7+.
• Range: Close within 5’, Medium 6’–100’, Far 101’–180’. Melee / Unarmed only at Close unless a power or weapon grants reach. Most ranged weapons take −4D at Close (except certain powers, Tech, Special Weapons, pistols, shotguns); pistols and shotguns take −4D at Far; rifles have no penalty at Medium or Far.
• Knock Back: if Strength 5+ and a Melee Attack inflicts damage at least double the target’s Strength, the target may fly Damage × 10 feet.
• Knocked Out: Stamina 0. Spend a Heroic Die as an Action to revive with the die’s Result in Stamina.
• Recovering: a Breather (15 minutes of rest) regains 1d6 + Level Stamina. A night’s rest regains all lost Stamina.
• Advancement: on gaining a Level, check the Proficiency Bonus table, you may gain an additional Skill, you gain +1d3 Stamina, and you gain 1 Power Point.

Interpretation notes (where the rules leave a call to the DD)

• Skill improvement “+1D every Level evenly divisible by 3” is implemented as +1D at Levels 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18 — so Skill Dice = Attribute + Proficiency + 2 + floor(Level / 3).
• Synthoid “distribute 2 points to up to two Attributes” is implemented as +1 to each of two chosen Attributes.
• Power Points total = base (9, or 8 for a Synthoid) + 1 if Alien / Evolved / Transformed + 2 if you take a Weakness + 1 per Level gained (Level − 1).
• Starting Max Stamina defaults to Strength Resistance + 15. At higher Levels, adjust Max Stamina by the +1d3 per Level gained that your DD rolled — the sheet does not guess those rolls for you.
• Super Powers and Tech are not a preset list in the rules, so this companion lets you write your own and agree the effect with your Danger Director, just as the book describes.

Credits

Original game: Defenders & Dangers — a Super Hero Role Playing Game by Chad ‘magehammer’ Ries, ©2026. Full credit to the creator for the game, story, and rules.

Web companion: created by Marcus Draper. This companion implements Ries’s rules for table play; it is not a new original game, and it does not replace the original rules. Get the original from the maker on itch.io via the link in the maker’s video description: Introducing Defenders & Dangers! Character Creation!

Interior artwork in the original book is by other artists and is not reproduced here. This companion uses text and dice only.