Crafting a campaign from the bottom up can see like a tall order, but it’s really just a matter of answering the five W’s:

Where will the campaign take place? Choosing the genre in which you want to play is half the answer, as it will also help players choose a physical setting.

What’s the situation? This is more than just the main plot. Each player will have an idea of what they want their experience to look like, and what goals their character wants to accomplish.

Who are aforementioned characters? Aside from the players, there will probably be villains and even enemy and ally NPCs. Their role in the story helps bring the campaign to life.

When do these events happen? While the story itself can be set in the past, present, or future, players might (or might not) want to lay out a timeline for plot twists and character arcs.

Why are the characters (good, bad, and neutral) doing what they’re doing? Motivations and backstory not only help with immersion, they also open up alternative possibilities for conflict creation and resolution.

How will the players go about achieving their goals and winning the campaign? Consider what actions are available and what the consequences of those actions might be.

REMEMBER: It’s perfectly fine to not have all the answers right away. Much of this will be discovered as the campaign progresses and players delve further into the story they create. Calamitas is 100% playable just by deciding a genre, location, and player characters alone.

No species or job classes needed. If you have a character in mind, great! If not, take a look at the list of Characteristics and pick the ones you like. Your character doesn’t even need to be biological–it can be artificial, a sentient object, a form of energy, etc.

Skeletal structure: Does your character have bones or not? This category will add small bonuses onto your initial stats.

Legs: The number of legs your character has will give them certain Modifiers.

Skin type: The most varied characteristic, your character’s skin will have all sorts of effects depending on your choice.

Extra Limbs: Wings, extra appendages, gills, and the like, will grant additional abilities.

Don’t see a match for your character listed? No problem. Use the closest one, or use what’s listed as a guide and create your own Modifier. And keep in mind, you aren’t limited to just one of each. Characters are allowed to have more than one skin type and extra limb, but remember that each extra one added comes with the drawback of inflicting one stage of the Curse status (see the rulebook for a full explanation).

Everyone starts with 5 Skill Points. That might not seem like much, but they’re easy to acquire. You have several options.

Skills: read through the summary of Skillsets and/or glance over the charts in the Skillsets section of the rulebook to see what they do. If you need help deciding, think about the character you made and what you want them to do. If they’re a mage, you might want Sorcery. If they’re a trickster, Antics might be appealing. You can also invent your own Ad-Lib Skills for 2 Skill Points each.

Stats: Spending SP on a stat increases it by 1 for every point spent, except HP. HP will increase by increments of 5.

Weapon mastery: Investing SP in one of the five weapon types will allow characters to use more powerful weapons of that type.

Skill Points are earned by winning combat encounters, completing story acts, and fulfilling sidequests. In most cases, your initial points can carry you most of the way through the opening act, so there’s little need to worry about having to break up the flow to get more.

If you already know what kind of environment and/or situation your want your characters to start in, you’re now ready to begin playing in earnest. If not, here are some ways to decide:

Roll the d4. There are exterior environments, towns, and dungeons that can be determined by the outcome of a d4 roll (see the environment types in the rulebook).

Think about your genre, story, and character goals. Where a player starts can and often does depend on what their character would be doing at the time of the story’s beginning. And characters need not all start together in the same place. It’s perfectly fine to start separately and find each other later.

Once everyone is ready, all players roll the d20 to determine the turn order. After that, everyone has a number of options:

Role-play for a while. Characters can talk as a group about what they’re doing, what they’re going to do, what they think of their surroundings, etc. Getting into your character’s head is a key element of playing Calamitas, and learning to think like your character will help drive the decisions you make.

Roll the d4 and Observe a number of things about the area. Making observations and worldbuilding are free actions, so don’t hesitate to add some detail to the setting you created. If you’re in a town, what do the buildings look like, what are the residents doing? Incorporate as many of your senses as you like.

Pick a direction, roll the d20, add your SPD stat, and move. There are a number of things you can encounter while traveling based on the number you roll, or maybe you’d like to get to a town to buy items, or a dungeon to search for treasure. Whatever your goal is, you can’t achieve it by standing still.

Those aren’t your only options. See the Chart of Player Actions in Appendix B of the rulebook for a list of everything players can do at any time.