How to Play the Game

Brave, brave heroes! Welcome to Gain HP: A Fitness Adventure! I am MadHatter, your Game Master.

Gain HP is a game you play in real life to do exactly that – Gain Hit Points, or Health Points, if you prefer. Just like in any other role playing game, the more HP you have, the more life you have! You will get healthier, but I am going to put you and anyone else in your adventuring party through some challenging tests to get that result!

What you need to play Gain HP: A Fitness Adventure

• A D20 (20-sided die) from your local comic and gaming shop to be hardcore (or, as an alternative, a dice rolling iPod / iPhone app or an online dice rolling site)

• Access to a weight scale to view and record your progress

• A desire to lose weight, feel great, and be a healthier human being

Player’s Quick Start Guide

First up, you need to create a character that you will represent. Pick your gender as well as a class that will guideline the goals of your fitness journey.

Next, you must train your character in the wise ways of fighting, foraging, resting, and tonic use by reading the Mystical Tomes (also known as the “Players Guide“).

Now that your character has gained the knowledge within, you are ready to start your campaign! A standard Gain HP campaign lasts exactly 3 months. During those three months, you will use the wisdom you gained in the Mystical Tomes to get fit by battling wicked creatures, gathering small but smart intakes of food, sleeping a proper amount each night, and taking magical potions when needed. During your adventure, your goal is to lose weight through these activities and gather enough strength to slay the most treacherous beast in the kingdom: An ancient, unrelenting dragon known throughout the land as “Fat Ass.”

Your character starts at level 1. With every pound you lose, you gain 100XP, or eXperience Points. Every time you pass 1,000XP, you level up! In other words, if you lost 20 pounds, that’s 2,000XP, which would now make your character level 3! Make sense? At the end of your campaign, you will destroy Fat Ass and you can proudly display your final level and total XP gained, as well as run through the town square shouting it with joy.

 

But that’s not all, fair wanderer! There are also other ways to gain bonus XP! You can receive this by:

• Humoring the town Soothsayer (getting your blood pressure taken) gets you a 100XP bonus for each reading, max of once per week

• Sparring with the town Warlord (taking a professional fitness class) gets you a 200XP bonus per class, max of once per week

• Visiting the town Healer (seeing your doctor for a complete check-up) gets you a 250XP bonus for each result, max of once per month

Want to level your character up even higher? Don’t stop at three months! Partake in another quest, start a campaign directly afterwards and keep working on your achievements! But if you take a break in between campaigns that is longer than a full week, you must start over at level 1 again.

Will you quit cold turkey, or will you have to ease into the mission?

You now know how to play Gain HP. Sure, quitting your bad habits and gaining good ones is pretty tough on some people if they do it “cold turkey.” If you think you won’t be able to handle that (what kind of hero are you?!), and instead need to slide slowly into the challenge of this campaign, then that is when your D20 rolls come in.

Your character has a “Threshold.” That means when you roll the D20, you’re going to get a result that’s either under or above your Threshold. Every character starts with a Threshold of 13. As an example, let’s say that you are attempting to eat a sugary piece of cake or something else that is only going to set you back on your adventure. You must now perform a “saving roll,” which means you’re hoping for a number that is your Threshold or less. As I said, each character starts out with a Threshold of 13. To explain the process, you see a scrumptious Little Debbie Devil’s Food Cake from Beyond the Void and you want to eat it. Pull out your die (or rolling application). Roll it. If you rolled a 13 or less, you did not save yourself, your Threshold has been broken, and your character will eat the demonic pastry. If you roll a 14 or up, awesome job, your Threshold remains strong and you do not eat that snack cake o’ desire. Make sense?

Well, there’s one more thing. For every day you play Gain HP, your character becomes stronger. In this case, your Threshold breakthrough chance decreases by 1 point every day. For example, on day 3 of your campaign, your Threshold will now be 10. By day 13, your Threshold will only be broken if you roll a 1. By this time, your character will be very strong and should hopefully not desire such trivialities as much.

Well, then – Here is your special D20 rolling rules for those of you who have to creep into weight loss rather than push ahead through the storm:

The “I Couldn’t Quit Cold Turkey” Dice Rolling Guide

Want to eat a delicious, but unhealthy snack?

You reach for the tainted snack, but the Evil Wizard Chubbo appears. He has cast a dark spell on you called “Energy Drain.” You must make a saving roll against this spell. If you roll a number lower than your current Threshold, the Wizard has hit you with the spell, and you are now drained of your energy because you have eaten the unhealthy snack and the rush is over. However, if you roll a number higher than your current Threshold, congratulations! You have dodged his sorcery and you don’t eat the unhealthy snack. Chubbo is not allowed to attack you with Energy Drain again for two hours, which means you are not allowed to even consider eating an unhealthy snack until that time is up, where you must roll to save again (if you haven’t stopped eating horrible treats by now).

Want to take down a buzz-filled, but unhealthy alcoholic beverage?

You reach for the goblet of grog, but the Evil Wizard Chubbo appears. He has cast a sinister spell on you called “Doofus.” You must make a saving roll against this spell. If you roll a number lower than your current Threshold, the Wizard has hit you with the spell, and you are now slowed in your thoughts and reaction time because you have chugged that beverage. However, if you roll a number higher than your current Threshold, congratulations! You have dodged his sorcery and you don’t drink the alcohol. Chubbo is not allowed to attack you with Doofus again for three hours, which means you are not allowed to even consider drinking an alcoholic beverage until that time is up, where you must roll to save again (if you haven’t stopped pointlessly drinking by now).

Did you skip a day of exercise without an official medical reason?

You decide to be lazy and sit there on a stump while your adventuring party fights off hordes of vile creatures by themselves. The Evil Wizard Chubbo appears. He has cast an ungodly spell on you called “Death’s Embrace.” You must make a saving roll against this spell. If you roll a number lower than your current Threshold, the Wizard has hit you with the spell, and you have died a short but agonizing death. You have lost the game, and if you wish to play again, you must start back over at level 1. However, if you roll a number higher than your current Threshold, congratulations! You have dodged his sorcery and you live to fight another day. Chubbo is not allowed to attack you with Death’s Embrace again unless you miss another day’s exercise without a medical reason, where you must roll again (if you haven’t stopped being a slacker by now).

You have been playing Gain HP for a full month! Is there some kind of reward for a weenie like you that couldn’t quit cold turkey?

Having adventured for a month, you find a fork in your path. One way continues your adventure as normal, the other way leads to a sacred treasure chest (which contains any meal of your choice)! Roll your die. By now, your Threshold should be 1. If you roll anything over a 1, you travel as normal and never find the treasure chest. If you do roll a 1, that means a critical failure. You have found the treasure chest! However… bad news for you, it was a poisoned treasure chest. Yes, you are allowed to eat your meal of choice, but now it has set you back and you will have to work your ass off to make up for it. You will not find another fork in your path for another full month, where you must roll again (if you haven’t changed your diet permanently by now).

A final note to all adventurers in the realm

Now that you understand how this all works, it’s time to play! Whether you decide to go the cold turkey route and just instantly start winning the fight, or whether you choose to role the dice and throw a little gamble into it, good luck! You are all heroes in my book for even setting foot on the battlefield. March ahead, and I hope to see you return to your village in far better shape and with more honor than when you set off! Slay the hideous beast known as Fat Ass, and return with your stories of virtue!