Can I use Ink & Mayhem with the Genesys RPG?

Yes. Ink & Mayhem is written for Exodus NDS, which uses the same narrative dice structure as Genesys. Run a cartoon one-shot at your Genesys table with dice your group already knows how to read. Borrow the gag and fourth-wall rules as a comedy module for any Genesys game. Use the Toon adversaries as Minions, Elites (Rivals), and Nemeses for a lighthearted session. The term-by-term conversion is at https://exodusnds.com/genesys.

Is Ink & Mayhem free?

Every chapter is published on this site and is free to read. The Exodus NDS core rules it runs on are free and released under the ORC License.

An Exodus NDS Universe Sourcebook

INK & MAYHEM

Cartoon Universe · First Edition

You don't obey the laws of physics.
You negotiate with them.

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What if cartoons were real, and you were one?

Ink & Mayhem is a full cartoon universe for Exodus NDS. You play a Toon: an animated character in a world where the studio is always watching, the script is always wrong, and gravity is a matter of opinion. Your personality is a superpower. Your pockets are bottomless. The fourth wall is a door you can actually use.

Whether you're a rubbery Bruiser who treats pianos as acceptable projectiles, a fast-talking Charmer who closes deals before the GM finishes the sentence, or a Wildcard who didn't read the script and honestly neither did the universe, there is a place on the call sheet for you.

Cartoon Physics Signature Gags Unbreakable Pockets Fourth-Wall Mechanics Shtick-Driven Play 80 XP to Start

PICK YOUR TYPE

BRUISER

"The floor is a suggestion."

You hit things hard enough to leave craters in the script itself. Anvils, pianos, falling safes: all equally valid tools in the right hands. Your hands. You are indestructible. Everything else is a stunt prop.

BRAIN

"I calculated this three scenes ago."

While everyone else runs, you already mapped the trajectory of that cannonball and positioned yourself at the exit. You don't avoid trouble. You already filed a variance on it.

ZIP

"If you stopped, gravity would catch up."

Faster than physics allows. Leaves a speed-line contrail. Has already crossed three sets and looped back around before you finished saying "wait." Speed isn't a stat. It's your entire personality.

CHARMER

"One smile. One quip. Done."

The villain hands you the keys and thanks you for the lesson. The guard apologises for being in your way. The locked vault opens out of professional courtesy. You don't pick locks. You make them feel silly for ever being locked.

PRO

"There's a form for this. I filed it."

You filed the paperwork in triplicate before the episode started. The universe respects that. Chaos doesn't apply to you. You have a waiver. You are the one thing in this cartoon that actually works as intended.

WILDCARD

"Even you don't know what's next."

The script is a starting point. The plan was a rough outline. You contain multitudes and most of them are on fire right now. You're not unpredictable. You're differently predictable, and that's worse.

HOW IT PLAYS

YOUR SHTICK IS YOUR POWER

The only RPG where playing your personality pays dividends

Every Toon has a Shtick: a locked comedic identity that defines how you move through the world. "I am the world-weary detective who narrates everything." "I am the chipper optimist who makes things worse by helping." Play into it and your dice reward you. Fight your nature and the universe pushes back, hard, in both directions.

This isn't a personality quiz. It's a mechanical contract between you and the story. In-Shtick moments give you bonus dice. Against-Shtick moments turn the same situations into crises. The game literally pays you to be yourself.

BITS: YOUR SIGNATURE GAGS

The catalog of cartoon classics, yours to deploy

Every Toon carries Bits: moves from the classic gag catalog. The Rocket Rollerskates. The Tiny Disguise. The Falling Piano. Once per scene unless noted otherwise. They're not spells. They're comedy commitments. The table will know when one lands.

HAMMERSPACE

That pocket is bigger on the inside. Much bigger.

Need a plunger? A full-size ladder? A second grand piano? Your pockets are bottomless by law of cartoon physics. Pull out exactly what the scene requires. Nobody asks how. This is a cartoon universe. The only limit is imagination and the GM's chaos budget.

THE FOURTH WALL

It's a suggestion. A very thin suggestion.

You can address the audience. Steal props from other productions. And at high enough tier? Rewrite a small detail of recent events. The Fourth Wall isn't a barrier in Ink & Mayhem. It's a door with a handle, and you know where the handle is.

GAG TOKENS vs. CHAOS POINTS

The arms race that keeps the table laughing

Players bank Gag Tokens. The GM stockpiles Chaos Points. Both sides can spend them to tip the scales. The result is a constant, escalating comedy of intentions where the GM is as motivated to create mayhem as you are to survive it. This is not a balance. It's a feature.

ELASTICITY, NOT WOUNDS

You bounce. That's the whole thing.

Toons don't take wounds in the traditional sense. Your Elasticity measures how much cartoon punishment you can absorb before you accordion flat. Then, next scene, you're fine. Because you're a Toon. Getting hit is a comedic beat, not a death spiral.

THE BIT CATALOG

Ink & Mayhem ships with a full catalog of 33 classic cartoon gags, ready to learn and ready to deploy. Each one is a scene-level commitment with mechanical weight. You're not just saying you do a thing. You're doing a Bit. There's a difference. The table will feel it.

Rocket Rollerskates Falling Piano The Tiny Disguise Anvil Drop Mirror Gag Sign Painter Tunnel Painting Spring Shoes Accordion Hit Instant Hole Suitcase Swap The Double-Take …and 21 more

"I reach into my pocket and pull out a fully loaded trebuchet."
every Bruiser, eventually

WHY PLAY THIS?

Consequences Are Temporary

Cartoon logic means the danger is real but the damage is comedic. You can take a stick of dynamite to the face. You'll be fine next scene. That freedom changes how players approach every problem.

The Story Rewards Roleplay

The Shtick system isn't optional flavour. It's mechanically enforced. Playing in-character moves the numbers. The game is literally built to reward the player who commits to the bit harder than anyone else at the table.

Short Seasons, Clear Arcs

Ink & Mayhem is structured for episodic and short-season play. Toons have Contracts, Studios, and season arcs. It's perfect for limited-run campaigns, one-shots, or groups who want a defined story with a clear curtain call.

Runs on Exodus NDS

If your group already plays Exodus NDS, everything transfers directly. Same dice system, same core skills, same talent pyramid, layered with cartoon-specific rules that feel native, not bolted on.

The GM Has Toys Too

Chaos Points mean the GM isn't just setting the stage. They're a player in the comedy arms race. The best sessions of Ink & Mayhem are the ones where nobody was sure who was winning the joke until the last beat landed.

Everyone Gets a Spotlight

Six Toon Types, each mechanically distinct, each with a different relationship to mayhem. The Bruiser charges in. The Zip is already gone and back. The Brain already solved it. There's no "who rolls Perception" because everyone has a thing.

What is in Ink & Mayhem

A complete cartoon universe: six Toon types (Bruiser, Brain, Zip, Charmer, Pro, Wildcard), Shtick-driven play, cartoon physics, signature gags, bottomless pockets, fourth-wall mechanics, a cast of ready-made adversaries, and printable skill, talent, and bit cards.

13 chapters, free to read
47,000 words of setting and rules
26 skill cards
17 talent cards
33 bit cards

Use Ink & Mayhem in a Genesys game

Ink & Mayhem is written for Exodus NDS, a free narrative dice RPG that shares its dice structure with the Genesys Roleplaying Game. Genesys players and GMs can run it with the dice they own.

Run a cartoon one-shot at your Genesys table with dice your group already knows how to read.
Borrow the gag and fourth-wall rules as a comedy module for any Genesys game.
Use the Toon adversaries as Minions, Elites (Rivals), and Nemeses for a lighthearted session.

Genesys to Exodus NDS conversion table

Reading it as a Genesys player

Boon and Bane are Advantage and Threat. Breakthrough and Calamity are Triumph and Despair.
Boon, Ability, and Mastery dice are Boost, Ability, and Proficiency. Bane, Trial, and Crisis dice are Setback, Difficulty, and Challenge.
Might, Savvy, and Charisma are Brawn, Cunning, and Presence.
Elite adversaries are Rivals. Minions and Nemeses keep their names.
Resistance stands in for Soak, and counts half of Might where Soak counts all of Brawn.

Good for: Genesys cartoon setting toon RPG narrative dice comedy RPG one-shot

Genesys and the Genesys Roleplaying Game are trademarks of their respective owners. Exodus NDS is an independent, ORC-licensed system from Kaosweaver, Inc. and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by the publishers of Genesys.

Downloads

Read it online, free, or download the PDFs to keep at the table: the books, character sheets, and printable cards.

Book

Ink & Mayhem Universe Guide

The complete cartoon universe: Toon types, Shtick-driven play, cartoon physics, and a cast of ready-made adversaries.

PDF · 126 pages · 24.0 MB · Updated 27 October 2026

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Book

Ink and Mayhem Preview

Ink and Mayhem Preview

PDF · 5.7 MB

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Character sheet

Toon Contract

The Ink & Mayhem character sheet.

PDF · 4 pages · 403 KB · Updated 14 October 2026

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Character sheet

Ink and Mayhem Character Sheet

Ink and Mayhem Character Sheet

PDF · 2.5 MB

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