"Say yes, or roll the dice."
The Burning Wheel is a crunchy, character-driven fantasy RPG where play is powered by what your character believes. You write Beliefs, Instincts and Traits, and the GM relentlessly tests them. Actions resolve by rolling pools of d6s, counting every 4, 5 or 6 as a success against an Obstacle. Living your convictions earns Artha, the fate points that bend the dice, while skills and stats advance only through use — success and failure alike push the story forward.
A gritty, grounded medieval world clearly descended from Tolkien: stubborn dwarves, doomed elves who feel grief as physical pain, brutal orcs bound by hatred, and humans who burn bright and short. Burning Wheel ships no fixed map — you burn your own setting from lifepaths, and every campaign grows from the Beliefs the characters carry into it.
Beliefs, Instincts & Traits
Each character carries three Beliefs, three Instincts and a handful of Traits. They are the engine of play: the GM aims scenes straight at them, and living or breaking them earns reward.
d6 Dice Pools
Roll a pool of six-siders equal to your skill or stat Exponent. Every result of 4, 5 or 6 counts as a success; meet or beat the GM's Obstacle number and you succeed.
Artha
Roleplaying your Beliefs, Instincts and Traits earns Artha — Fate, Persona and Deeds points. Spend them to add dice, open-end your sixes or reroll, bending fortune at the crucial moment.
Let It Ride & Advancement
One roll settles a whole situation — no retrying until the fiction changes. Skills and stats improve only by being tested, so growth comes from doing, never from experience points.
Open in Session Zero to let every player vote and see the results.