Join us and our friends at StartPlaying.Games for a special SHIFT RPG event! No experience with SHIFT is needed to play. These games are run by StartPlaying's professional GMs, some of whom are familiar faces from our Organized Play GM program and members of the SHIFT community.

We’re pleased to offer a mix of free and paid games. If you’d like to join a paid game, use the code SHIFTRPG to get $15 off! This discount is good for the entire month of July and is valid for any new user to StartPlaying on any game of SHIFT RPG! View the game listings and join a game here.

Play SHIFT RPG FAQ

What is StartPlaying?
StartPlaying is a platform where you can find professional game masters and fellow players. It’s like Airbnb for games: instead of struggling to find a reliable group or an available DM, you can browse hundreds of listed games, filter by your schedule and preferred virtual tabletops (VTTs) and book a seat.

What’s the difference between this event and the monthly Organized Play games held in the SHIFT RPG Discord server?
The Play SHIFT RPG event replaces the regular Organized Play games for the month of July. This event is held in partnership with StartPlaying, which means games are listed on their platform instead of in the SHIFT RPG Discord server. There is a wider range of games available and they are open to the public.

Is the Play SHIFT RPG event free to join?
On StartPlaying, each GM is able to set the price of a seat at their table. We're pleased to offer a mix of free and paid games. Use the code SHIFTRPG to get $15 off a paid game!

I have questions about StartPlaying, who do I contact?
If you have any questions about using the StartPlaying platform, you can contact support@startplayinggames.com. 

How do I sign up to play games?
Just head over to the event page and sign up for whatever game you like!

What is SHIFT RPG?
SHIFT is a new indie TTRPG from Hit Point Press that you can play in any setting you like! It uses D4 through D12 and an innovative Shifting Dice mechanic. You can find SHIFT RPG here.

What are Shift Dice?
Every Trait has a Shift die assigned to it, ranging from D4 to D12. The assigned die represents how likely a character is to succeed when using that particular Trait.

What dice and supplies do I need to play SHIFT RPG?
You need pencils, character sheets, and a set of the following dice each: a D4, D6, D8, D10 and D12. To play online, you need a computer with an internet connection and a way to talk to the other players!

Is SHIFT a complete system? Does it require another TTRPG to play?
SHIFT is a complete TTRPG ruleset and does not require another TTRPG to play.

Who wrote and designed SHIFT?
Graeme Fotheringham and Jordan Richer created and designed SHIFT, with Joseph Carriker, Carlos Cisco, Alex Roberts, and Gail Simone as contributing writers.

Welcome to SHIFT RPG

SHIFT RPG is a system built around dramatic successes and failures. No matter the results of a roll, the world around you changes in an exciting way. Ride spacecraft into ship-to-ship battles, fight corrupted dragons, or negotiate a high-stakes deal—SHIFT has rules for it all!

SHIFT is a pick up-and-play game system that allows players and GMs to collaborate on stories in worlds of their own creation. SHIFT’s minimal ruleset allows players to create characters and start playing in minutes. SHIFT is powered by the same core building blocks: Traits (the abilities of characters, monsters, equipment, anything!) and their associated Shift Dice, making the game easy to learn.

This special event hosted in partnership with Hit Point Press welcomes new players and SHIFT veterans alike! The game is beginner friendly and is easy to learn. Sessions run no longer than 3 hours, which can include character creation at your GM’s option.

Sign up here!

About SHIFT

SHIFT uses a unique dice system consisting of a D4, D6, D8, D10, and a D12, and offers setting-specific character customization options.

Though you can play in any setting you like, SHIFT comes with five ready-to-play settings:

• Dorado Station, a sci-fi western world where you are a prospector: an itinerant miner bound to a three-day contract, sent down from a space station to an exoplanet in rickety drop ships. Intense inter-company competition, deadly rivals, and hostile planetary fauna all make for a dangerous loop. Make your quota, make it back, and you may just make your fortune.

• Dragon-Knights of Ylgara, a fantasy world where you are a Dragon-Knights and a brave hero sworn to defend Refuge, one of the last bastions of Ylgara. Protected and guided by the four dragons of the Dragon Court, Dragon-Knights venture into the wasteland armed with powerful wyrmstone gifts in order to push back the evil influence of the Abhorrent.

• Regencia, a romantic world where you live comfortably, work little, and have nothing to agitate you but the endless obligations, customs, and delights of society. Relationships are everything—while wealth and title might hold some power, even the richest noble is miserable without friendship, lonely without love, and vexed if connected to a troublesome family.

• Welcome to Blissville, a horror world where you are stranded to navigate a town where nothing is as it seems. By day, the town’s inhabitants are quick to smile and offer assistance at every opportunity, but come nightfall, those same inhabitants transform into monsters of all kinds, each eager to hunt.

• Second World, a super hero world where you are an up-and-coming Champion acclimating to new powers and responsibilities. Your adventures focus on the small but thriving seaboard city of Port Angel, a tourist locale with beaches, a gambling promenade, and an international shipping port.

How to Create a Character for SHIFT RPG

Creating a character in SHIFT involves the following steps:

1. Create a character concept

2. Choose a primary Focus Trait

3. Choose a Technique

4. Assign Shift Dice to Core Traits

5. Choose or create a secondary Focus Trait

6. Choose a starting Pack Trait Keyword

1. Character Concept: Before making any mechanical choices, your SHIFT Character starts with a concept. Who are they? What did they do before they took up the adventuring life? What do they value? What are their goals? What role do they play in the party? You should work with your GM and your fellow players to develop these concepts, weaving them together to create a cohesive team.

2. Primary Focus Trait: Your character’s primary Focus Trait represents the main way they interact with the world around them. Whatever you want your character to be best at is your primary Focus Trait. This Focus Trait can be chosen from a selection provided by your GM or the setting in which the campaign takes place. Your character’s primary Focus Trait starts with two Keywords and a D4 as its Max Die. Each Focus Trait includes some suggested Keywords.

3. Technique: Choose a powerful Technique. Just like Focus Traits, your GM or the SHIFT setting you’re playing in has a selection of Techniques to choose from. Techniques are limited-use abilities that allow characters to do extraordinary things. They represent the tricks, rituals, and maneuvers your character has learned. When you create your character, you start with one Technique, and you can acquire more as you progress through the game. Unlike Traits, Techniques don’t have a Shift Die or Keywords associated with them. Instead, each Technique has its own rules text that explains how you use it.

4. Assign Shift Dice to Core Traits: You have three Core Traits: Mind, Body, and Soul. Distribute a D6 Shift Die, a D8 Shift Die, and a D10 Shift Die among your Mind, Body, and Soul Traits. Careful consideration should be given to the Core Trait that is assigned the D10, because that Trait will Exhaust after shifting down only twice. 

5. Secondary Focus Trait: Next up, you’re going to choose or create a secondary Focus Trait to represent additional skills, equipment, or allies you have acquired. This Trait can be chosen from the same selection provided for the campaign or created with your GM. Since this Focus Trait is not your main ability, its Max Die is D6. Assign two Keywords to the secondary Focus Trait. Use this secondary Focus Trait to further flesh out your character concept. It’s a good opportunity to showcase your character’s background or to represent a piece of equipment they always have with them.

6. Starting Pack Trait Keyword: Choose a Keyword for their Pack Trait from a list of options based on your chosen campaign setting. Your Pack Trait has a Max Die of D6.

About Hit Point Press

Founded in 2015, Hit Point Press is a small team of Canadian creators committed to offering engaging products that ignite player imaginations. Hit Point Press is most known for the Humblewood: Campaign Setting, The Fablemaker’s Animated Tarot, and the Field Guide to Floral Dragons. SHIFT RPG is Hit Point Press’ first-ever indie game designed in-house. 

About StartPlaying.Games

StartPlaying.Games is a platform where you can find professional game masters and fellow players. It’s like AirBnB for games: instead of struggling to find a reliable group or an available DM, you can browse hundreds of listed games, filter by your schedule and preferred virtual tools (like Roll20, Foundry, or Discord), and book a seat.