Core Rules
Ingenuity shares many features with other role-playing systems: you control a character, your character has stats represented by numbers and dice, and special abilities your character can perform. As you progress you collect experience points but you do not gain levels by collecting experience like most other systems. Instead, you spend your experience points to upgrade your character and buy new abilities directly.
In a typical session the game master will describe the situation and then the players will describe their actions. This will go back and forth as the game master asks the players to roll dice, describes the outcome of their actions, and presents new situations. It is important as a player to focus on exploring the game as your character rather than always declaring the exact game actions that you intend to use.
GM: As you approach the campfire you spot a goblin roasting some food. They have their back turned toward you.
Player: I sneak up close to the goblin, intending to deliver a sneak attack if they are alone.
GM: Make a test for Dexterity + Agility.
Player: Here we go... Oof. I rolled a 3.
GM: You step on a branch, alerting the goblin. They call out, "who goes there?!" They do not see you yet...
Not everything requires dice rolling or even any rules. If the players are agreed on the fiction and the results, then the rules need not apply. Rolling dice to determine results is primarily for risk, uncertainty, and/or tension. The most important rule is that the rest of the rules exist to serve the fiction.
Customization
Each character is made from various parts that define who they are, what they do, what they know, and where they come from. While many of these parts act primarily as a starting position, there are also many options for creating unique features that only belong to your character. The goal is to allow players to build their version of what they think their character should be.
Adventures and Rewards
The goal of an adventure is to provide both risks and opportunities for characters to express themselves by rising to the challenges presented. In addition to the various material rewards like treasures and special items, acting according to your character's motivations can provide you with increased experience and therefore character growth.
Failure as Opportunity
In circumstances where the dice fail to bring the results necessary for the players to achieve their goals, players are not always presented with a dead end. Players and game masters are encouraged to explore situations of escalating risk and changing circumstances to explore new opportunities to find success. This helps keep a degree of exploration and progress through a scene even when everything does not go to plan.
Dice and Math
Ingenuity uses standard dice notation. Whenever you need to perform any game action that requires rolling dice, you will add any numbers rolled together to get your result, plus usually any one relevant modifier from your character. In some circumstances you can get additional bonuses but the amount of math required at any given time is usually fairly limited.
Whenever you perform division, the resulting number is always rounded up unless otherwise specified.
Passive Values
Any value that is represented by dice also has what is called a passive value. This value is always slightly below your average roll, making it a useful tool for estimating your results. It is calculated by dividing the maximum value of the dice in half, plus or minus any additional modifiers.
The passive value of a d6 is half of 6, which is 3.
With an additional modifier of +1, it would increase from 3 to 4.