Introduction
Table Of Contents

Selected chapters from the Flashback RPG core book available for preview

Background - Money & Power

My father worked as a day labourer in Steamport. He worked day and night for less than 2 silver: loading and unloading guild ships from Criar or hauling coal down to the Langdale Ironworks. Bent his back so bad that he couldn’t even look up to see how the sky glowed during a Starfall. Hardest working man I ever met in my life… and maybe also the poorest.

Background - Darkness & Light

You have all felt that chill that runs down your spine, that shiver on the back of your neck, that sudden feeling of dread that makes you stop dead in your tracks. When our minds fill with dark thoughts, when we dream in distress, when feelings of rage and despair overwhelm our will - we are being stalked by hidden terrors that feast on our fear and insecurity.

Background - Steam & Stars

The horizon was on fire. Far away on the other side of the Atwater Estate, clearly illuminated by the otherworldly red glow of the heavens, stars were falling.

Basic Rules - Skill Conflicts

Difficulty indicates how hard it is to make progress on a task. Effort is how much work is required to complete a task. Consider climbing a mountain - the steepness of the slope is represented by the Difficulty; the height of the mountain is represented by the Effort.

The System

Flashback is an RPG system that keeps things simple and fun. Character growth, storytelling and player interaction are always in the spotlight - combat and dice mechanics are just a way to resolve disputes. Even first-time RPG players can learn to the game in under 10 minutes, and character creation is only 2 steps.


The system is skill-based and classless, using a simple d10-based dice-pool-resource system (stamina) to power all rolls and conflict resolution. The mechanics are very easy to learn so that players spend more time roleplaying and less time looking up rules and abilities.

The Rules

As the GM tells the story of the world, you are telling the story of your character. Flashback turns every situation, even combat and dungeon crawls into roleplaying opportunities.


The rules are based around a simple resource-based dice mechanic for all actions: the more effort a character expends on an action, the better their chances of success. Flashback's unique experience system rewards players for weaving a detailed backstory and making choices that are consistent with their character's motivations.

The World

In the midst of an industrial revolution, a strange new metal falls from the sky that changes everything it touches. As faith in the old ways fades and society struggles to adapt to the new steam-powered economy, a mysterious spore-sickness starts to spread from city to city. Even the Imperial Army is forced to retreat from the frontier when Titans, huge monstrosities forged from natural and elemental forces, appear and begin to rampage unchallenged throughout the empire.

The players must shed the chains of the past and change themselves to survive in this evolving world, but the blue-blooded aristocracy will do everything they can to hold onto their power.

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Testimonials

Oh man that’s so clever tying emotional stats to physical ones

I dig this so much.

Steve Dee, Tinstar Games

Really love the foundations for your origins in Flashback! There's a lot of room to create grey areas which makes it extremely powerful for character creations (whether PC or NPC).

Legion8GM

I loved all of it so please don't change anything!

Playtester

Love the idea. So often a character developes during the game. It can be difficult to nail everything about their past before you've played as them. And, I think it can be more relevant to the game when things pop up later during a campaign.

Playtester

I liked the different perspectives given, as it also made it seem like there were multiple small-scale, personal stories happening in a big, large-scale world -- perfect for an RPG!

u/Bipolar_Xpress

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