Core Rule Book: Post-Post-Apocalyptic Cultural Tension Genetic Engineering Exploration

  

Core Rule Book

 1

   

Dedicated to: Your kindness and generosity are a constant Shell; Your reminder to me of God’s grace and love. Frank, Geordie, Jye, Mark, and Simon;  Thank you for your ceaseles cea seles s frie f riends ndship hip..  Witho ut you, this th is book wou would ld not exist.

Fragged Empire: Core Rule Book. Copyright (C) 2015 by Design Ministries. ”Fragged Empire” trademarked by Wade Dyer.

 All rights righ ts are reserved reser ved.. No part of thi s publicat publ ication ion may be reproduc rep roduced, ed, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording or other electronic or mechanical methods, without prior written permission of Design Ministries. Names, characters, characters, places, and incidents featured in this publication are fictious. Any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead),  events,, insti  events i nsti tuti ons, or locales is coin cid cidental ental.. Design, Layout Layout a nd Production: Dyerr  Wade Dye www.designministries.com.au

www.fraggedempire.com [email protected] ISBN: 9 78-0-9924979-278-0-9924979-2-77 First Edition.

Printed in China.

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Betrayed by your creators, you are a geneticall y engineered remnant, emerging from the ruin of genocidal war.  You an d th is new civ ilis il isat at io n ar aree on th e pre ci pi ce of great opportunity and danger.

 ww w. fragg fra gg ed em pire pi re.c .c om

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6

Introduction

 71

 7

Setting Introduction Map Short Story: Galatèa Short Story: History Playable Races Corporation Kaltoran Legion Nephilim Rules Introduction Optional: Game Types

 72

8  10  16 20 20 22 24 26 28 29

 73  78  78 81 82 84 86 87 88 88 90

30 30 32 33 34

Character Overview Making a Character Level  Trait  Tr aitss  Attribu  Attr ibutes tes Fate Languages

92 95 96

Movement Environment, Envir onment, Conditions & Effects  Attack Roll Range Increments (Rng) Rate of Fire (RoF) Strong Hits (Combat) Defence Cover Damage Strong Hit: Critical Hit & Boost Bleeding Death Healing Rolls Downtime Optional: Theatre Theatre of the Mind Combat

 1411  14

 152

Spacecraft Creation Influence Cost Build  Trait  Tr aitss  Weapons Repair Roll: Change Out  Attribu  Attr ibutes tes Size Optional Rule: Change Size Scale Cargo Non-Combat Tra ravel vel Resupply Spacecraft Perks

 15 5

Spacecraft Combat Overview

 14 2  14 4  14 4  14 4  14 5  14 5  147  14 8  14 8  15 0  15 1  15 1

 15 6

 10 0

Combat Turns Turns & Actions

Spacecraft Overview

 158

Combat Scale  Velocity Environment, Envir onment, Conditions & Effects  Attack Rolls Damage Strong Hit: Critical Hit & Boost Destruction

38

Skills

 107

42

Strong Hits (Primary Skills)

 107

Surprise Round  Weapon Types Drones  Actionn Major  Actio Ma jor Eff Effects ects  Actionn Mi nor Eff  Actio Effects ects

42 43

StrongSkills Hit: Effort Primary Everyday Skills Professional Skills Combat Skills Personal Combat Skills  Vehicle Syste Systems ms S kill killss

 10 8  10 9

 Tacti  T actical cal Actio Ac tions ns Stealth

 16 4  16 4

 11 0

Range Actions Melee Actions

 16 6  16 6

On Fire Rolls Repair Optional: Theatre Theatre of the Mind Combat Optional: No Spacecraft Combat

Equipment

 16 8

Turns & System Rolls

 173

 17 7

System Roll Effects Command System Roll Engineering System Roll Operations System Roll Gunnery System Roll

 17 8

Spacecraft Weapons

 178

Front, Side and Rear Arcs Fighters

35 36

 10 1  10 2  104

43 48  52  52  53

 11 1

 11 3  11 4  11 5

 54  54  56  58 60 62 64 66 68

 Acquisi  Acqu isitio tionn Loot Resources Influence Perks Complications Spare Time Points  Trade Good  Trade Goodss Research

 11 6  11 6  11 8  122  124  126  130  130  134  13 6

4

Combat Overview

Equipment Slots Overburden  Variations  Variatio ns Modifications  Weapons  Weapon S tats  Weapon Keyword Ke ywordss Outfits Outfit Stats Utility Items Outfit and Utility Item Keywords Keywords Misc Items and Services

 16 0  16 2  16 4  16 4  16 4

 174  175  176

 18 0  18 0  18 1  18 1

Boarding Party  Warheads Battery

 

 18 2  182  18 4  187  19  1933  19  1977  19  1988 212 228 242 256 256 258 26 0 262 26 4 266 268 270 272 272 274 274 275 276 276 277 277 277 278 278 27 9 280 280 282 285 286 287 288 288

Setting Guide  Time line  Timeline Short Story: Humanity Short Story: Archons Short Story: X’ion Playable Races Corporation Kaltoran Legion Nephilim Places of Interest  Alabasterr  Alabaste  Asteroidd Belts  Asteroi Be lts Eden Gehenna Halo Nebula Kadash Lilith Mishpacha  Tech  T echnolog nologyy  Time  T imelin linee Daily Life Communication Electronics Biology Medicine Mechanics Materials Drones Ley Lines Psionics  The Unknown Un known Combat Technology  Weapons Defences Spacecraft Technology Sensors Shields

29 1

GM’s Guide

3400 34

291 29 1

Non-Combat Combat NPC Actions NPC System Rolls Balancing Henchmen Skilled Nemesis Spacecraft Optional: Large-Scale Combat Rewarding Players  Amount  Amou nt Game Style Perks Complications & Conditions Optional: Intense Damage Game Ideas Hijacking the Orpheus Run Rebellion on Exo-Station 13  Archon Ghost Gho st Ship, Ship , Carthage Carthag e Quest for the All-Parent’s Seed

340

292 29 2 293 29 3 293 29 3 294 296 29 6 298 29 8 300 302 304 306 307 307 309 309 309 309 310 311 312 313

341 341 341 342 342 343 344 346 350 354 356 358 360 364 366 366 367 368 370 371

31 5

Opponents Mechonids

372

322

Feral Nephilim Draz Enforcers

373

316

328 334

372

373 376 377 378 379

38 0 38 2

Character Lists Race  Trait  Tr aitss Level Fate Resources Influence Example Perks & Complications  Attribu  Attr ibutes tes Everyday Skills Professional Skills Personal Combat Skills  Vehicle Sys System tem Skil S kills ls  Weapons  Weapon Variat ion ionss  Weapon M odif icati ons Outfits Outfit Variations Outfit Modifications Utility Items Misc Items & Services Example Items

Spacecraft Lists Build  Traitss  Trait  Attribu  Attr ibutes tes Size  Weapons  Variation s Modifications

Index  Ackn  Ac kn owl edgm ed gm en ts

Reactors and Propulsion  Jump Tr Travel avel

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It is over 10,000 years into the future. Earth is forgotten.

Humanity is dead. Genetic erosion, brought on by thousands of years of apathy.

 You a re on onee o f ma many ny g e ne ti ca call ly e ng ngii n ee eere redd d es escc e nd ndaa nt s . Created Cre ated by the eugenicist Archons (humanity’s heirs), or the vengeful monster X’ion.

 A g e no ci da dall wa warr ha hass rava ravagg ed t h e k now nownn ga galax lax y.

 X’ion  X’i on w on, kil killing ling the Archons, Archo ns, dest royin g thei t heirr empi e mpire, re, and the thenn aband a bandonin onin g his h is arm y to t o van ish wit hout a trace. t race.  This event eve nt threw the galax galaxyy into i nto 100 years of brutal b rutal tri tribali balism. sm.

 Afte  Af terr 1 0 0 y ea earr s , you yourr p eo eopp le hav havee ju juss t re re-- en ente tere redd s pa pacc e . No one knows what’s out there.

Four surviving races have have banded together. Not out of a common direction, but out of necessity. No one knows where this new society is headed.

Each race race is struggling str uggling for survival.  They ne ed each othe other.r.

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 What’t’ss in th  Wha thee Nam Name? e?

Key Setting Themes

Fragging

Post-Post-Apocalyptic Setting

usedd to desc rib ribee the assa assassi ssinati nation on of a leader dur during ing  A term use wartime by their own soldiers, usually in a manner that could look like an accident (eg: dropping a fragment fragmentation ation grenade at their feet), commonly during the heat of battle.

Exploring the state of the universe after a cataclysmic event is a popular theme in science fiction literature. It allows us to delve into the nature of civilisation, humanity, and rediscovery after we have lost all that we know.

Can also describe the manipulation of the chain of command

 This sett ing does doe s not take place im media mediately tely after afte r this cataclysm catac lysmic ic

to have a subordinate deliberately killed by placing them in great mortal mort al danger, such as sending a soldier or unit on a suicide mission.

 event (a gen genocid ocidal al war), w ar), but a hu ndred years later. Enou gh t ime has passed for people to partiall partiallyy accept what has happened and start to rebuild. You are at the dawn of a new civilisation, a time of great  oppo rtu rtunity nity and dang danger. er.

»  Did your people kill their creator? »  Were you betray b etray ed by your creator? crea tor?

should uld thi thiss new n ew so cie ciety ty look l ook like? »  What sho

Fragmentation Denoting the process or state of breaking or being broken into  smaller  smal ler dis disconn conn ecte ectedd part parts. s. Use Usedd to desc rib ribee both phy physica sicall and metaphysical breakdowns.

Cultural Tension Shaped by the Great War and what it took to survive it, the races have had one hundred years to create their own distinctive cultures, formed from their experiences, core beliefs, and genetic nature.

society ety’s ’s broken natu nature re be b e its i ts downfal downfall? l? »  Will soci

Frag

 These races have only had ha d a few years to interact interac t with one on e another: anot her: not enough time to fully understand or accept each other. Their delicate coexistence coexistence is held together more by need than choice.

opular lar term use usedd fo r killi k illing ng some someone one in a co mpute mputerr game. ga me.  A ppopu »  What do you live for? Because this is a game where you you kill people.

Genetic Engineering Humanity is long dead, but they managed to created their own genetically engineered successors: the Archons. The Archons repopulated their inherited empire with their own creations in an  effo rt to create c reate the per perfec fectt race. This Thi s pur sui suitt not only o nly led le d to a wealth w ealth  of technol tec hnologica ogica l advanceme advan cements nts,, but bu t also empi re-wi de genoci ge nocidal dal wa r. Eventually, Eventua lly, the Archons fell to their deaths at the hands of their own vengeful cre creations. ations. »  What respo responsi nsibil bility ity comes wit withh the t he abi ability lity to make lif life? e?

Exploration  This new soci society ety is bui builtlt not only on the rui ruins ns of the Archo Archons’ ns’  empi re, but bu t also als o on top t op of the a nci ncient ent human h uman empi empire re and who knows what else. »  What is out the there? re?

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The Habrixis Sector

Haven

Legion

Cerberus

Ley Line

 Var 6 Days Jump Travel Travel per Hex

8

   

Lilith (Arctic)

Halo Nebula

Sector 2

Liberty Belt

S e c t o r   3

 r   11  o r  S e c t o

The Haven System

Corporation

 Ala ba bast ster er (Gas)

Mishpacha (Jungle)

Monopoly Belt

Sector 3 S e c t o r   4 

2  o r   2  S e c t o

  1  o r     t o  c   S e

S e  c t o  o r   5 

Nephilim

Eden (Arid, Tundra)

Kaltoran

Kadash (Ocean)

Gehenna (Lava, Barren) Dayy Ju mp Travel  1 Da

Eshh Es

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Short Story: Galatèa  They were only on ly four fou r hours hou rs into in to their the ir voyage vo yage,, and Ra chel was w as ready to pistol-whip her boss. One good smack in the face, it’d barely hurt him. It would actually hurt quite a lot, and Rachel had a feeling that  Theodore wou would ld take it per personal sonal ly. She contented herself with scre screwing wing in a loose bolt more vigorously than was necessary, wiping beads of sweat from her forehead as she did so.  Theodore mig might ht n ot have h ave been b een her bos bosss in i n the t he tradi traditio tional nal s ens ensee more like the guy who owned the ship and made sure the occupants didn’t kill each other. But he was still a typical Corporation Corporation lackey:  obsesse  obse ssedd wit withh hie hierarchy rarchy,, eff effici icienc ency, y, money and a hos hostt of othe otherr Corporatee concerns that Rachel didn’t care for. Corporat “Swag, status report.” Rachel glanced over her shoulder and saw the hazy blue, hologramatic hologr amatic head and shoulders of Theodore Theodore himself. Of course, he couldn’t possibly make the trip all the way down to the engine room.  Too  T oo many m any flas flashy hy dis display playss need n eeded ed his atten tio tion. n. “Repairs 92% complete,” she replied in an exaggerated monotone. “Hull stability achieved, Archon drive almost at full capacity, Gauss batteries loaded, Ley Line system…” “Report to the bridge.”  The holog hologram ram fli flickered ckered and vani vanishe shed, d, and she gri grinne nned. d.  Tech  T echnica nically, lly, info rma rmation tion overload was wasn’t n’t ins insubo ubordi rdinati nation, on, so it was Rachel’s favourite method of irritation. It would sate her urge for a good pistol-whipping, for the moment at least.  With a sig sigh, h, the young Kaltora Kaltorann tuc tucked ked the span spanner ner int intoo her tool-belt and began the journey through the bowel bowelss of the ship to the bridge. She definitely wasn’t in a hurry.  ***  The Galat èa wasn’ wa sn’tt a large larg e ship, sh ip, desi designe gnedd as it i t was to be operate operatedd by a skeleton crew, but it still took Rachel a fair effort to extricate herself from the tangle of wires and machinery that formed the  engine  eng ine room. It was a c ut ‘n’ shu shutt vess vessel, el, for formed med from at least two different Kaltoran Kaltoran hulls and a Legion gunship, and stuffed full of the best spare parts the cre crew w could… “acquire”. Still, the Galatèa’s unique nature made her repairs and various patch jobs all the more interesting. interesting. It was the one part of the job that Rachel truly loved. With practiced precision, she swung herself onto the main catwalk that led to the exit. Heights and darkness never bothered her, or any Kaltor Kaltoran; an; after all, she’d gro grown wn up in a gigantic

 10

 

pit city with dwellings honeycombing the deep crust of her home world. A childhood of badly lit walkways and cramped metal spaces made the engine room of the Galatèa practically roomy. She emerged into the hallway, unbinding her long blue dreadlocks, dreadlocks, and almost ran headlong into Maximus. The Legionnaire grabbed her by the shoulders with strong, gentle hands, thus avoiding the collision. Not that it would’ve hurt hi m, given that he was eight feet  of pure sim simian ian m usc uscle le wrappe w rappedd in i n red Tacti actical cal Armo Armour. ur.

 in the cen centre. tre. Rach Rachel el had bee beenn all for press pressing ing it, but Theodore had forbidden any action until they knew it wasn’t something that would blow a hole in their ship. The artefact was suspended in an Electro-Gravity field in the centre of the lab, with Hraks intensely  studyi  stu dying ng data readout read outss on the sur surround rounding ing dis display plays. s. “How’s it coming along?” Rachel said, leaning against the doorframe. She immediately immediately cursed herself.  Too  T oo c hir hirpy. py.

“Watch out, four-ears,” Maximus grunted, letting her go and  steppi ng to t he sid side. e. “Sorry, Max,” Rachel said, smirking as she walked around and punched him on the arm. “I’ll try not to hurt you.”

“Not good,” Hraks replied, without shifting her eyes from the console. “The artefact does not respond to any testing or diagnosis method I currently have access to on this backwards ship.” “Aw, “A w, be nice to Galatèa. She does her best.”

“Captain called?” “Yeah. Probably another scolding.” She arranged her face in what she thought was an appro approximation ximation  of Theodore Theodore’s ’s and put on her best hig high-c h-class lass Corp accent. acce nt. “Swagger, I think you might have set the self-destruct. If we’re not dead in two minutes, I’m taking this out of your commission.” Maximus stared at her, expressionless. “That was good,” Rachel said, pointing at the Legionnaire as she turned towards the bridge. “Y “Your our impersonations are almost as good as mine.” In reality, Rachel knew Maximus was a firm believer in Legion tradition: never disrespect a commander.  Justt the  Jus then, n, as Rach Rachel el was abou aboutt to round the cor corner ner,, she heard Max’s soft rumble.

Rachel leant in to view the box, which saved her having to make awkward eye contact with Hraks. The two had a curious and volatile relationship; Rachel thrived on its curious nature, while Hraks thrived  on its volat ili ility. ty. Rach Rachel el had litt le per persona sonall exper experien ience ce out outsid sidee her home world’s pit cities, but she had many memories, genetically passed on from her parents and grandparents. Dark memories of death and suffering, brought on by Hraks’s people, the Nephilim. Despite this, Rachel was keen to make new memories, better memories for the children she was yet to have. She wanted to build  some kin kindd of o f posi p ositive tive relati onsh onship ip wit h Hra ks.  The Nephi lim had no room for suc suchh focu focused sed preju prejudic dice; e; Nephi lim were equally prejudiced against everyone, even their own kind. Hraks was a Nephilim Emissary, grown in a lab no more than three years ago, with a head full of false memories to give context to her implanted skills; a brilliant mind that jostled for space with an aggressive ve thirst for knowl knowledge. edge. Rachel couldn’t imagine what it was like to be born full-grown.

“Captain would sound more growly.” She whirled around to see Maximus disappearing disappearing into the ar moury, and stood motionless for a moment before giving a short laugh. Maybe she could mould their ship’s gunner into a rebel after all.  *** Rachel had to pass the lab to get to the bridge, and she used this opportunity to check in on the group’s resident Nephilim. A young woman in appearance, with grey skin and tendril-like hair, Hraks stood observing their prize, the mysterious piece of tech they’d swiped from under the noses of unscrupulous Draz raiders. No one was exactly sure what it was; it looked like a simple cube, a quarter meter wide, metallic silver with glowing glowing purple veins in a fractal pattern and no visible controls, save for a large purple button

Rachel turned from inspecting the mystery box to see the Nephilim woman gazing at her with a curious expression. “What?” Rachel asked. “I was curi ous about your relationship with the ship,” Hraks replied. replied. “You spend such a great deal of time in the engine room. And you refer to it as if it were a person. As if it were alive, or… one of us.” “Some Nephilim ships are alive.” “The Galatèa is obviously not alive.” Rachel stepped back from the gravity field and folded her arms, pausing to think.

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“You can still form attachments to things that aren’t alive; you make it alive. With… your imagination.” “That “Th at is foolish,” Hraks replied, turning back to her w ork. Rachel needed to word things in a way that Hraks could accept. “Think of it this way… by forming an attachment with something, it  increases  inc reases our invest investment ment in that thi thing…” ng…” “Thus facilitating the lengths to which you will go to support  said thi thing.” ng.” Hraks was facin g Rach Rachel el agai again. n. “That sou sounds nds like you are voluntarily choosing to believe a lie because you lack the faculties to…” “I know the ship is not alive in the traditional sense of the word. People don’t always mean exactly what they say.” “That is also foolish.”

Rachel kept up her charade for a few more moments before rolling her eyes and leaning against the railing. “Fine. What do you need me for?”  Theodore took a few momen ts to respo respond, nd, enga engaged ged as he was in  some kind k ind of complex co mplex calculati calcu lation. on. Rachel Rac hel watched watc hed him hi m for a moment, moment ,  standing  stand ing there in his imp impeccab eccable le dark sui suitt and gold vest , ciga rette hanging loosely from his mouth. His short hair was so controll controlled ed it was like he’d run over it with a toothbrush; the same could be said for his sparse stubble. Spotless, clean-cut, and utterly collected at all times: Theodore Theodore was practic practically ally the physical embodiment of the Corporatio Corporation. n. “I have a new assignment for you,” he said, removing the cigarette from his mouth and staring straight ahead into literal space. “It’s going to last for the remainder of the voyage.” “Just remember I still have repairs from our escape,” Rachel replied. “I’m not even sure if we’ll get them done before we dock.”

Hraks once again turned back to her w ork. “This takes priority.” “Did captain not call for you?” “As in, higher priority than life support?” “Right,” the girl replied, backing out the door and nearly tripping  over some loose coi coils. ls. “Ri “Right, ght, yeah. I’l I’lll get on that that.. Good luc luckk wit withh the… thing.”

 “Ask Hraks to deal with that. I want you to work on optimising our Ley Line drive. We need more speed.”

Hraks may have replied, but the lab door slid shut before she could hear it.

He said it so matter-of-factly, as if it were as simple as asking  someone  some one to pass p ass the salt. Rache l brist br istled led and folde d her he r arms a rms..

 ***  The Kalto Kaltoran ran reached the door to the bri bridge dge and jogg jogged ed on the  spo t for a few momen ts, just to make it see  spot seem m like she she’d ’d bee beenn hurrying. Then she pressed her hand to the scanner, and the door to the bridge slid open.

 The sensor se nsor cons consoles oles sud sudden denly ly chang c hanged ed from green to red. re d. Rach Rachel el wasn’t well-versed in sensor di splays, but she made the assumption that this was a bad thing. Red generally meant trouble. The The wailing  sirenn was  sire w as also a clue c lue..

By bridge standards, it wasn’t all that impressive. A large transparent steel window loomed over four chairs, arranged in a rough square, none of w hich were used regul regularly. arly. Rachel was mostly  in the eng engine ine room, Hraks in the lab, Maximu s in the gun gun-pod -pod,, and  Theodore at the navigat ion cons console ole as he was now, ciga cigarette rette in mouth, one hand in his pocket and the other tracing coordinates on the display.

“Unknown vessel approaching!” chirped Texos in its usual high-pitched monotone that Theodore refused to change for some reason. reaso n. “Signs of aggression! Unidentified beam technology, technology, locking  on! Reco mmen d…”

 Texos,  T exos, Theodore Theodore’s ’s per persona sonall drone drone,, was enga engaged ged at the pilo pilot’s t’s  stati on as always  station always,, its thi thinn metal arm s exten din dingg from a small circular hovering metal shell. Despite Theo’s constant control over the drone, knowing that the fate of their ship lay in the cold metallic  stick sti ck-fin finger gerss of o f a lif lifeles elesss probe p robe gave Rache R achell the th e shiver s hivers. s.

Rachel stepped out of the way as a slightly fuzzy hologr hologram am sprang to life in the middle of the bridge, showing a large, well-armed battleship. The Kaltoran swallowed, instantly recognizing the ancient  Archonn desi  Archo d esign: gn: Mec Mechoni honid. d.

“Reporting for duty,” she barked, standing at the bridge’s midsection and breathing heavily. “I could hear you jogging outside the door.”

 12

“Hraks is busy with the artefa artefact ct and I’ve told you, you, we…”

“Calm down, Texos,” Theodore said, unruffled as his hands moved  in a blur b lur acros acrosss t he cons console. ole. “Giv “Givee me vis visual. ual.””

“So they found us,” the captain mused. He reached to the far right of his holographic console and held down the intercom control. “Maximus, in the very unlikely event that you aren’t already inside the gun-pod, I need you in there. We have Mechonids on our tail. Hraks, if you’re…”

 

He and Rachel were thrown off balance by a sudden tremor that ran the full length of the ship, causing the lights to flicker. With her four keen ears, Rachel traced the echo to its source, and felt her blood run cold.

Rachel gritted her teeth and grasped the hilt of her weapon. The  only opti option on was to stall s tall for tim time. e.

“The engine room,” she breathed, already sprinting through the hologram and into the main corridor. Theodore called her back, but  she c ould ouldn’t n’t stop. s top. Some Somehow, how, they’d th ey’d foun f oundd a way wa y onto the ship s hip.. Those foul machines could be inside, ruining all her precious work. If they

She pulled herself onto the large piston and saw the Mechonid raise its purple sensor orbs towards her. The gun-arm followed, followed, and Rachel leapt to the next shot-blocking hunk of metal. She hopped from one piece of machinery to the next, ducking and weaving through pipes, coils, beams, and every other piece of haphazard  equi pmen t in the clut tered engi e ngine ne room. ro om. The Mec Mechoni honidd slowly slowl y turn tu rned ed

did enough damage, it could cripple the Galatèa, leaving them all  stran ded – or  stranded o r wors w orse. e. She wou wouldn ldn’t’t a llow that th at t o happe ha ppen. n.

 on the spot , but b ut she knew the room bet better ter than it did did,, a nd she gave  it no c hanc hancee for f or a clear shot .

 The tri tripp from the engi ne room to the bri bridge dge had taken min minutes; utes; the return journey was over in seconds. Rachel charged through the door and heard the echoes from down below. It was cannon fire. Fuelled by the unbridled rage of a gir l who finds someone touching her stuff, Rachel vaulted over over the catwalk and jumped from one pile  of machi ma chiner neryy to anot her her.. She Sh e desce de scende ndedd in to the t he bowels b owels o f the th e ship, sh ip, wincing as the sound grew louder, until a brief somersault brought her to a walkway directly directly above the floor of the main engine room.

It was as she ducked behind a mass of thick coolant coils that the firing abruptly stopped. For a moment, Rachel thought that it had run out of ammunition, and she drew her dagger in preparation. Then there was a hiss of rapidly released released gas.

Peering over the rail, it was exactly as she’d feared: a Mechonid  stoo d flan flanked ked by mach machine inery, ry, fir firing ing its gun gun-ar -arm m at everyt everythin hingg in  sight.  sig ht. White White-hot -hot rage flood flooded ed throu through gh Rach Rachel’s el’s vei veins, ns, but she force forcedd herself to think. Th That at thing was a vaguely humanoid hunk of metal, and she was slightly more squishy. An array of purple orbs formed the Mechonid’s sensor cluster, and she decided that these were her best target. Rachel silently drew a long dagger from her leg holster, wishing  she had her gun gun.. A fli flick ck of a switch bath bathed ed the blad blade’s e’s metal in a blue glow - all the better to slice rogue machines into bits. With a final glance, the young Kaltoran flung herself over the railing, dagger raised over over her head and her lips parted in a silent battle cry.  This was whe whenn the plan wen wentt wrong wrong.. In the spli split-s t-secon econ d befo re the blade made contact, Rachel identified a faint aura similar to her dagger’s around the Mechonid. It was an uncommon feature, feature, but this machine was obvio obviously usly meant to be an advance guard and was thereforee better protected. therefor protected. It had a burst shi eld, and it was too late to account for; her strike was already descending. The dagger deflected  off the shi shield eld and flew into i nto the mass of machi ma chines, nes, leaving Rach Rachel el to to awkwardly awk wardly land clinging to the Mechonid’s head. She wasn’t there for long, leaping off and landing in a crouch,  just in time for the Mec Mechoni honidd to whe wheel el aroun aroundd and let loose wit h a barrage of cannon fire. She leapt forward, rolled, and came up in a  sprint  spr int,, duck d ucking ing as she shells lls flew over her head. Scoo Scoopin pingg up u p her h er falle fallenn dagger, Rachel dove behind the Galatèa’s large dorsal landing-gear landing-gear piston and pressed her back against the cold metal. The gunfire halted, replaced by the clanking of Mechonid footsteps. She didn’t have her gun. Her dagger wouldn’t work against the  shield  shi eld.. She Sh e on ly ha d second se condss before b efore the Mech Mechoni onidd began beg an tearing tear ing the place apart once more. This was definitely not what she’d signed up for.

Oh crap. She’d never expected it to use a missile in such close quarters.  The gir l emerged eme rged from her h er hidin hi dingg plac e in time to see se e a tiny t iny t orpe orpedo do arcing towards towards her position. She broke into a sprint, but the explosion blasted her off her feet. By explosion standards it was small, but this didn’t occur to Rachel as her slight frame catapulted catapulted through the air, landing almost directly in the middle of the engine room floor. The wind left her lungs and she came to a stop, the world spinning. Splayed on her back, Rachel raised her head just in time to see the barrel of a gun being pointed in her face. So this is it. Strangely, Strangel y, all she could think about was the fact that their water coils were now in flames and utterly ruined. The ship would now have cooling problems for the rest of the voyage.  The barrel lit up u p wit h a purple pu rple glow and ma de a soun s oundd like rush r ushing ing wind, signalling the end of the girl’s life .  Then t here was a loud lo ud clan clang, g, followed by an elec electri trical cal dis discharg charge. e.  The Mech Mechoni onid’s d’s head snap snapped ped upwar upwards ds and it began to tremb tremble. le. Rachel was forced to roll backwards as the robot pitched on its face and lay in a heap, devoid of power.  Theodore sto stood od a litt le way off off,, smoke waf waftin tingg from bot bothh the cigarette in his left hand and the pistol in his right. As per usual, he cigarette looked like he was posing for a photo-shoot. If he hadn’t just saved her life, Rachel would’ve rolled her eyes. He lowered lowered the gun, and Rachel stood on shaky legs. She noticed that the back of the Mechonid’s head was emitting an orange glow and a slight fizzling sound, and re realised alised that Theodore had switched his pistol from his usual energy rounds to swivel rounds – using a miniature nuclear reaction to fire an irradiated bullet at ridiculous

 13

 

 speeds  spe eds,, spinn sp inning ing fast e noug noughh to c ut throug t hroughh most mos t known know n substanc su bstanc es.

 Theodore, stumble mbledd dur during ing the ord ordeal, eal, waved  Theodore , who hadn ’t even stu his hand across the holographic display, splaying it over the front viewport.

 The Corp Corporati oration on cons conside idered red thes thesee weapo weapons ns illega l, given thei r penchant for uranium leaks. Theodore’s Theodore’s gun was shielded, but many an intrepid adventurer had been swindled by shady dealers into carrying shoddy nuclear handhelds.

“Hraks, offensive pattern,” he said. “Give Maximus the best  sho t poss  shot p ossible ible.”.”

“Where’d you get that?” Rachel panted, still catching her breath through the rippling pain down her side.

Hraks nodded and brought them around to face the Mechonid ship, which had sustained even more damage in the interim. For a moment

“You’re welcome,” he replied. “Since when do you have a new gun?”

they were stationary, then the engines roar roared ed to life, propelling them  strai ght for the ene  straight enemy my vess v essel. el. “Engines at max output,” Rachel reported. “Our acceleration  is stable stable.”.”

“You can thank me any time.” “But your people consider those things illegal. Even having a gun  equi ppe ppedd with w ith…” …” “They’re “The y’re very effective against distracted targets targets with burst shields.” Rachel’s calmer thoughts finally caught up with her adrenalinelaced ones. “Uh… thanks,” she said, feeling s heepish.  A cur curiou iouss expres expressio sionn flas flashed hed acros acrosss Theodore Theodore’s ’s face; was it concern? In a moment, though, he was back to his reserved self. “Don’t mention it,” he grunted, spinning his pistol in a full circle. It collapsed into a flat rectangle, rectangle, which he clipped into his belt buckle. “Besides, there’s a larger issue at hand.”

“Maximus, aim for the fuel cells on my mark,” the capt captain ain ordered.  A grunt gr unt from the inte intercom rcom was w as the t he o nly respon res ponse. se. They were we re getti ge tting ng closer. They They could now physically see the Mechonid ship - a large, cruel vessel shaped like a claw. It dwarfed the Galatèa, but this would work to their advant advantage, age, making i t an easier target. They They were almost at the collision point, where their ship would be smashed like a bug on a windshield. “Bank down,” Theodore barked, and Hraks sent their ship into a half-spiral that had them sailing underneath the Mechonid ship. “Fire!”

Rachel limped straight for the diagnostics console, while Theodore moved to his own command station. Hraks expertly avoided a hail of

Maximus let loose with their most powerful weapon: a Legion rail gun, modified for close range and maximum damage. The Mechonid fuel cells ripped open, the single shell carving a deep scar on the  ship’s  shi p’s und unders erside ide.. Rach Rachel el trans fer ferred red power to the eng engines ines as Hraks punched the throttle. They blasted out from the shadow of the great  shipp in time to se e the fue  shi fuell cells ce lls go g o up in flames f lames,, quick qu ickly ly consu co nsumed med by the lack of atmosphere. The The Mechonid ship was dead in the void.

purple bolts as Galatèa returned a well-aimed burst of Gauss fire,  str iking  striki ng the Mech Mechoni onidd shi ship’s p’s rear thr thruster uster and practi practically cally shear shearing ing  it off off..

 There was sile silence nce for f or a mom ent before b efore Rach Rachel el realised reali sed that it i t was her job to speak next.

 They took the elevato elevatorr to the top of the eng engine ine room and made their way to the bridge, where Hraks was already in the pilot’s seat.

“Status report,” the captain ordered. Rachel scanned the display and compressed the information in her head. Theodore Theodore wasn’t a huge fan of frills. “We’re stable. They managed to land a hit on the hull, but the damage is minimal; shields are at 90% efficiency.” “I suggest holding on,” Hraks said, vigorously jerking the controls to the left. Rachel caught a brief glimpse of a cluster of missiles careening towards them before her view-screen tipped on its side and they went into a spiral. The homing missiles collided wi th each  otherr an d exploded  othe exp loded,, leaving leavi ng only o nly a few f ew on thei r tail. tai l. S econ ds la ter, a  storm  sto rm o f shells sh ells from the Galat èa’s gun gun-pod -pod cut down the t he straggl s tragglers ers..

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 The shi ships ps trade tradedd fire fire,, and Rach Rachel el win winced ced as the occas occasiona ionall sho shott pierced their shields.

“Uh… Mechonid ship is crippled. Their auto-repairs seem to be underway, but they don’t have movement. The Galatèa is stable; minor damage to landing gear, and two shield nodes are bur nt out.” “That’ll give them something to worry about,” Theodore replied. “Maximus, report report to the bridge. We…”  The ent ire ship s hip shoo k, and a nd Rache R achell was wa s thrown th rown out ou t of her seat. The metal floor didn’t make for a particularly soft landing. “What was…”  The senten s enten ce remai remained ned unf unfini inishe shedd as a purp p urple le crack rip ripped ped open  in the cen centre tre of o f the t he bri bridge dge,, floodi f looding ng the room wit withh ligh l ight.t. A Mech Mechonid onid

 

tumbled out of the brea breach, ch, landed on its feet, and immediat immediately ely aimed  its gun at the main cons console. ole.

kicked the headless Mechonid body that lay in the centre of the bridge with an expre expression ssion of disdain.

Hraks was faster. The Nephilim whipped out her spine rifle and blasted the Mechonid’s head off with a well-placed burst of bone needles. It trembled and collapsed, the crack in the air already  sealing.  seali ng. There was w as anot her momen t of shoc ked sile silence nce..

“It’s not over until I find out how they got on my ship, and that damn artefact is sold. Hraks, take them apart.” Without a backwards glance, Theo turned and left the bridge. Maximus still holding the Mechonid heads, watched him go,

“Hraks, get us out of here,” Theodore Theodore ordered, turning back to the

“Let’s just be glad there were only the four of them,” Rachel said,

navigation console and punching in a destination. “Full speed. I don’t navigation know how how they’re getting onto the ship, but I want them gone.”

to break the silence. “I wouldn’t want to go up against an entire  shi p’s wor  ship’s worth.” th.”

Hraks dropped her rifle and gunned the engines. In seconds, the Mechonid ship was a speck in the distance, and rapidly vanishing. “Rachel, with me,” the captain continued. Rachel nodded and drew her gun as Theodore unfolded his own. “You think there are more?” “Almost certainly.  We’ll meet up wit withh Maximus, then…”  They both halte haltedd as the corridor outside  echoed  ech oed wit withh gun gunfire fire..  There was the sou sound nd of grinding metal, clanking footsteps, and a lot of roaring, followed by an  omin ous wrenc hin hing. g.  Theodore cross crossed ed to the door, pistol aimed forward, and reached for the button. Before he could press  it, the door sli slidd open , revealing the hulking frame of Maximus. Rachel exhaled with relief as she saw he was unharmed. Then she noticed the two Mechonid heads dangling by wires from the Legionnaire’s hands, with their bodies lying in the corridor beyond. They might have been robots, but it was somehow still a gruesome sight.

Maximus grunted and stalked out, but not before mumbling  somethi  some thing ng that sou sounde ndedd very v ery much like “Speak “Sp eak for yourse yourself. lf.”” Rachel glared at the back of his head, but the Legionnaire Legionn aire didn’t notice.  ***  The Mec Mechoni honidd hus husks ks lay pile piledd in the lab, where Maximus had dumped them hours beforehand. Three were missing their heads, while one had a single bullet hole in its central processor.  The lab wa s dark, dar k, lit l it only on ly by the soft purple glow of the box suspended in the Electro-Gravity field.  There was a sof softt hum. The sound wasn’t loud enough to penetrate the walls, but it echoed around the room and seemed to multiply until it created a mechanical harmony.  The purple pur ple vein v ein s of t he box b ox began to pulse pu lse  erraticall  errat ically, y, as if i f transmitt trans mitt ing some s ome ki nd of code. co de.  The Mech M echonid onid that sti stillll retain retained ed its head sti stirred rred.. Then  its pur purple ple sens s ensor or orbs or bs flicke f lickered red an d slowly lit up, one by on e.

“I checked,” Maximus grunted, still framed in the doorway. “They’re “They’re all dead.”  Theodore nodd nodded ed and hols holstered tered his pis pistol. tol. When Maximu Maximuss said there was no more fighting to be done, there usually wasn’t. “So it’s over?” Rachel breathed, sinking back into her chair.  They were away, and everyone was safe safe.. Her stu stupid pid,, argu argumenta mentative, tive, dysfunctional family was safe. Her relief was palpable. Theodore

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Short Story: History “History is a tricky thing. You’d You’d think that it would be static… and  it is. But like anyt hin hing, g, i t change ch angess depend de pending ing on what w hat ang angle le you look lo ok at it from, and the longer you look, the more nuanced it becomes.” Gregory sunk back into his office chair as he settled in for a long discussion with his dear friend, Grofix. It had been a long shift, and both friends were keen to make the most of the temporary stillness in Gregory’s office to indulge their philosophical and intellectual pursuits. “Thas iz troo.” Grofix took a seat on the nearby coffee table. The fact that none of the many chairs in the room could accommodate his tail said a lot about the type of people Gregory was “supposed” to entertain. “Itz also doos not helps that wees ar trying to look buck thruw ten thousand yeargs of time and thruw manyz collapsed empirez.” Even Gregory Gregory found it hard to understand his fri end’s heavy accent at times. He often repeated repeated what he had just heard, to make sure he had listened correctly – a form of “active listening” as he liked to think of it. “Yes, we are trying to look back over a long time and through the haze of many fallen empires, the greatest of these clearly being the humans, and only the religious dare to speculate what came before them.” Gregory took a cigar from his desk drawer as he keyed the word “human” into his computer’s Stream Search program.

Humanity “The problem with talking about a long-dead race, one which has  shaped  shap ed our o ur univer u niverse se so s o much, mu ch, is t hat we w e can’t can ’t help h elp but redu reduce ce them t hem down to a caricature. A soulless list of notable achievements and failures.” Gregory fiddled with his unlit cigar as he thought about where to start. “While I’m su re humans were just as culturally diverse as us, how can we know for sure? Maybe they invented emotions, currency… and family.”  That last poi point nt str struck uck a pain painful ful emoti onal chor chordd in Gregor Gregory’s y’s capitalistic heart. “Weez cans specululate all night if youz want. But we dontz haz time.” Empathy did not come easily to Grofix; it wasn’t in his genes. But even he could emulate it, if it would make this information  exchan ge more effi e fficie cient. nt. “Wha “Whatz tz is thi thiss ‘soul ‘ soul lezz’ lis list?” t?” Gregory quickly regained his composure, lighting his cigar. “We can’t be exactly sure about the order of events; the Stream Search gives them as follows: reached electronic-based  Tech  T echnolog nologyy Sing Singular ularity ity…” …” “Az whutz?” “Um… ‘A point of exponential technological progress,” Gregory

 16

 

paraphrased, looking to his friend for a visual cue that his answer was sufficient; it appeared to be. “Leading to a s ingular momentous  event known as The Reali Reality ty Fractu Fracture, re, resul resultin tingg in what we call Ley Lines - mappable areas of space where some scientific laws can be bent, namely the ability to travel faster than light without  exponent  expon ential ial mass inc increase rease or tim timee dila dilatatio tationn - enab enabling ling huma humanit nityy to spread throughout the galaxy, possibly further, and to terraform many worlds. With more resources and space than they ever needed, humanity found itself without want, and all conflict ceased.” “Hmrgh…” Having been created for conflict, Grofix found this concept difficult to believe and more challenging than any other human achievement. “But humanity became stale. They stopped learning, advancing, travelling, or growing.”

“Yes… yes, we did… or more to the point, your people did.” Gregory  sat bac k down. “Bu “Butt before bef ore we get t o that , we need n eed to talk a bout your  own failed fa iled parent .” Grofix’s expression remained unmoved.

 X’ ion io n “After three thousand years and hundreds of new species, the  Archo ns t houg  Archons hought ht they t hey had final f inally ly created c reated the t he perf p erfect ect race, wor worthy thy of the title ‘X’ion’.” ‘X’i on’.” Gregory rotated his chair to face the large transparent Synth Steel window, giving him a fantastic view of the large gas giant ‘Alabaster’ ‘Alab aster’ that his company’s space station was mining for fuel and  otherr chemi  othe c hemical cal comp compoun ounds. ds. “Thatz iz correct,” Grofix also got up to look out the window. “Butz “Thatz the Archonz change their minds, they think they notz w orth it… how many X’ion had been made at this pointz?”

“Thass “Tha ss what happenz w hen you stop fightin for life.” “Evidently…” While Gregory’s idea of healthy conflict was far less physical than his friend’s, he did agree. “… Leading to their genetic  erosion,  erosi on, and a break breakdown down in the theirir biolo gica gicall diver diversit sit y. They die diedd in the billions to disease, famine, and birth defects, troubles they had forgotten how to fight. Out of desperation, they created the Archons…”

The Archons “… A genetically engineered race, created to replace humanity.” Gregory paused for a moment; any thought of his creators, the  Archo ns, broug  Archons, brought ht up comp complex lex though tho ughts ts and fee feeling lings. s. “They iz like your negligant parenttz and myz estranged grandparents,” Grofix mused. He never quite knew how to think of the  Archons.  Archo ns. But he momen taril tarilyy put thes thesee thou thought ghtss to the sid side; e; ver veryy  soon Grego Gregory ry w ould get to his h is c reator reator,, X’ion X’ ion,, an d then th en the t he Great G reat War.  That is i s where w here his peop people le came ca me in. “Not wanting to tread in the footprints of their creators, the  Archons  Archo ns did not wor workk toward towardss redi rediscover scovering ing wha whatt huma nity had formerly achieved. Rather, they pushed out in a different direction, most prominently in repopulating their inherited empire with their  own gene tical ly eng engine ineered ered creati creations ons.. All in a effo rt to create the perfect race, to be called the X’ion.” Gregory started started to seethe as he brought to mind what the Archons had done to his people. Closing down his computer screen, he shared his own raw thoughts. “They were terrible parents. Pouring their favour out on some, like the ridiculous Kaltorans, and limiting the potential of their ‘failed’  offspr  off spring ing…… like us, the Cor Corporati poration!” on!” Grego Gregory ry was almos almostt stand standing ing now, from memories memories of what he and his people had gone through.

“Twelve… they were still in the genetics lab where they had been created. Not yet given their own world.” An awkward smile crossed his face as he voiced a thought: “Imagine if they had been given their  own worl w orldd and a nd allowed to breed b reed.”.” “Thenz I darz say we would notz be talkin here as friendz.” “True.” Gregory stood up to get a better view of the planet and the space station they were on. “ The X’ion di d not take the Archons’ removal of their title well. I imagine the fight that followed was brutal. But the X’ion did not stand a chance; the Archons flew in reinforcements and quickly killed all of the X’ion… all but one… He,  she…… it…  she i t… does d oes X’i X’ion on have a gen gender der?” ?” “Don’t knowz.” “Well ‘it’ stole a ship and fled out into uncharted space, the  Archo ns givin g chas  Archons chasee for almos almostt five years acco accordi rding ng to the local pub speculation.” “It wouldz bee back.” “Yes, but it’s worth talking about the changes to Archon culture first.” Grofix turned to look directly at Gregory. This was the part of the Grofix  storyy he  stor h e ha d heard h eard ver veryy little li ttle abou about.t. “The Archons became ideologically fractured over differing perspectives on ‘perfection’ and the need to test their existing children. Many Archons thought they needed trials of hardship to grow and prove themselves, while other Archons pushed for all current genetic projects to be halted.” “Isnt itz strange that we carez about all zisss so muchz.”

“Welz you showdz themz.”

 17

 

“Not strange at all; in many ways our culture and history shape us more than our genetics.”  This idea was cont rary to Grofix Grofix’s ’s upb upbrin rin gin ging, g, whe where re t he natu nature re o f  one ’s birth  one’s bi rth defi d efined ned one’ o ne’ss enti re life . But if i f this thi s belief bel ief was w as the th e result resul t of his cultural upbringing, then it only added weight to Gregory’s point. “History shapes us, especially momentous history, like war.”

The Great War

“When X’ion returned, it brought a diverse army of genetically  engine  eng ineered ered war warrio riors. rs.”” Gregor Gregoryy looked at Grofix Grofix.. “Your peop people, le, the Nephilim, as you have come to be named.” “Myz mother fought during that warz.” “Are many who fought in the war still alive?” “Yes, manyz… at leastz a fifth of the peoplz from my city.” Grofix thought for a little while. “We callz the older Nephilim ‘Purebloods’.  We suspe su spectz ctz sumz of the them m can ca n livs liv s for f or hund h undrez rez of yearz yearz.. Butz B utz I am am notz a Pureblood; I amz a ‘Hybrid’ as I comez from two different Pureblood Purebl ood species of parentz. Us Hybrids we is veryz diverse.”

Grofix paced the room thoughtfully as Gregory smoked. “Butz wherez we at nows? Everything hangs on a thread… we have  only re-e re-emerge merge d bac k into i nto spac spacez ez a few years y ears ago… ago…”” “My people have been back in space for over fifty years now!” Surprised by his harsh retort, Gregory rotated rotated his chair to face away from his friend. Grofix loved conflict and misread this as an invitation to speak more forcefully. “Yus, oh Corporate master!” he said sarcastically, his accent clearing up slightly as his thoughts suddenly focused. “And you don’t knowz waz out there! You don’t know if X’ion is coming back to finish the job! You escapez from yours wretched home world youz comes here, to this Haven system to build comfortable home for yourselves.” “Grofix I didn’t…” “Still so desperate despe rate to prove youselvezz youselvezz to your dead parents. Wellz I dontz have to proovez myself, I amz Nephilim! If weez wanted, we could killz you allz. There iz more of uz and we haz tha weapons!”

“And what about the ‘Emissaries’? They They are very similar to us.” “Yezz, they is new… only made in the lastz few yearz. But we arz  off topi c; lez l ez ge t bac k to t o the th e war. w ar.”” “Yes, well… while it was technically a war, it was closer to a  slaughter  slau ghter.. X’io X ’ion’s n’s arm armyy of o f Nephi lim and flee fleets ts of organ organic ic spac spacecraf ecraftt laid waste to almost every world with nuclear, biological, and ground combat. Some of the Archons in their stupidity welcomed the war, thinking that it w ould not only test their children but also themsel themselves.” ves.” “Yuz, they werz tested… and found lacking. Theyz all deadz now.” “Once X’ion had killed the last Archon, it just left. Abandoning its army, your people. No one knows why.” Grofixx did not know how to feel about this. He had not fought during Grofi the war and held no allegiance allegiance to his cre creator. ator.

“Damn it, Grof! I and everyone knows that the Nephilim are the military might in this system. But we also know that you need us!” Gregory was now standing, but still not looking at his friend… eye contact would just encourage his genetic desire for conflict. “We all need each other; we don’t have a choice. No matter who was to win another war, they would be dead a few years later. You You need a stable  societ  soc ietyy and a nd e cono conomy.” my.” Steadying himself against a wall, Grofix held his words back. He knew Gregory was right, but his instincts fought against his logical mind. It screamed at him to take the position of authority, both physically and verbally. But Gregory was right; for a race that had no discernible genetic gifts, their occasional wisdom was impressive. impressive. “We all need each other.” Gregory could sense that Grofix was calming himself. “Despite the often-greedy nature of my people, we do provide spacecraft fuel and manufacturing. Your people provide  science  sci ence and a costc ost- eff effect ective ive labou labourr fo rce…”

Re-Emergence “A hundred years later and we are only now just starting to grasp what happened back then.” Gregory sat back at his desk, bringing up a hologr hologram am of their solar system, the Haven system. “Our people  survived  sur vived,, yours, your s, the Kalto Kaltorans rans and the Legio n. We are all now ac tin tingg  outsid  out sidee the t he sco scope pe of o ur ori origina gina l desig de sign.” n.”

“Hmmmm.” “… The Legion provide us with an effective military force and a passion for law enforcement.” Gregory turned to look his friend in the eyes. “Damn it… we even need the Kaltorans; they provide a large amount of raw minerals and food.”

“Tey possibly leftz uszz to learn to standz on our own?” “I have heard thousands of ideas as to how this is all part of the ‘Creator’s’ plan. I choose not to believe that; they were created just like us. Flawed, just like us.”

 18

“Iz not onlyz tangiblezz things thaz we oferz each other. We helpz  each oth other er f ind balanc e, to ba lance each othe other’s r’s natu natures.” res.” “Theree is wi sdom in your words my friend...” “Ther

 

 19

 

20

 

Corporation See pg: 198 pg: 198 for  for extensive Corporation write-up. Rejected by their creators (the Archons) as inferior, the Corporation (formerly known as Vargarti) have grown to love the Great X’ion  War beca because use it free freedd the them m from an existen ce of ins insign ignifi ificance cance and  irrelevance.  irre levance. Discard Dis carding ing thei r racial racial iden tit tity, y, they are now eager to prove themselves. Not a nation in the classical sense, the Corporation is a massive corporate entity comprising millions of smaller, affiliated business enterprises – a purely capitalistic society.

Corporation Trait, pg: 34 0 »  +2 Maximu Maximum m Resou Re sources rces and Inf Influe luence nce.. »  Gain 1 Resource and Influence. Operation ration s, and Tacti actical. cal. »  +1 Wealt h, Ope »  -1 Fate. Maximum m St rengt h. »  -2 Maximu »  Complication: Prejudice from Kaltorans.

Play a Corporate if you: s ocial power. »  Value social possess essions ions.. »  Value mo ney and poss   V  Value alue the t he individual ind ividual over the group. »» Care about your appearance. »  Want to be a space s pace merch merchant. ant. your genetics. »  Refuse to be defin ed by your

Physical Qualities Height: ght: 1.7m. »  Average Hei 75 kg. »  Average Weight : 75kg. Span:: 80 8 0 years. yea rs. »  Average Life Span »  Yellow patter patterned ned skin along neck neck,, back,  shoulder  shou lders, s, and hair hairline line..

Corporation Culture Largely motivated by a desire for personal success and shaped by social expectations, Corporate culture is deceptively simple to  outs ide iders. rs. Whil Whilee most Corp Corporates orates are mater materially ially wel welll provide providedd for, nearly all present an image of greater personal success than they have actually achieved, especially around other Corporates. No matter how impoverished, every Corporate will have at least  one set of expen sive sive-look -looking ing cloth clothes es to wear in pub public lic.. The most wealthy frequently throw extravagant parties to firmly establish public knowledge of their success. Corporates mostly live on large, crowded, and hastily constructed  spac e stati  space stations ons orb orbiti iting ng the gas giant Alabaste Alabaster,r, wit withh large cen central tral chambers full of garish advertisements and shops, and surrounded by large space ports.  The Corporates Corp orates are the t he greatest greates t unifyi uni fying ng force forc e in the th e Haven syste s ystem m – with most of their manual labour and production production done by Nephilimcreated biological drones called “Flesh”, law enforcement largely managed by the Legion, and even food and raw minerals provided for by trade with the often-troublesome Kaltorans.

Common Characteristics Characteristics  Abras ive, dec  Abrasive, decisiv isive, e, entrep entrepreneur reneur ial,  organise  organ ised, d, and pragma tic.

Common Male Names  Aaron, Dale, Der Derric rick, k, James James,, Lucas Lucas,, Malvin, Milo, Steve, or Theodore.

Common Female Names Home World: Alabaster, pg: 25 6  Alabas  Alabaster ter is a mass massive ive gas giant giant,, rich in helium-3 heli um-3,, wit withh a sin single gle large moon and distinctive ring made of ice and rock particles, gathered as its orbit occasionally brings it close to the Monopoly asteroid belt.

 Abbe  Abbey, y, Amy, Isabe Isabel,l, J udy udy,, Juli J ulie, e, Rita, Roby n, or Stephan ie.

Common Family Names  Angelson lson,, Bolt, Bo lt, Cart Cartove, ove, Darri D arri son, Jef Jeffer ferson, son, or Smit h.  Ange

Example Corporation Character Character  The X’ion X’io n War left the th e Corporate Corp orate home w orl orld, d, Varsphere, Varsph ere, a desolate des olate wasteland. After fifty years, the rediscovery of space travel enabled the (newly renamed) Co rporates to search for a new home. Accessing  Archonn data banks, they were able to locate a rare gas giant in a nearb  Archo nearbyy  system  sys tem that cou could ld be harve harvested sted for vital spac spacecraf ecraftt fue fuell and othe otherr valuable chemicals. Naming the newly claimed planet “Alabaster”, they quickly set about building a new home for themselves.  The Corpora Co rporation tion has bui builtlt numero n umerous us large chem chemical ical-min -min ing spac spacee  stations  stati ons in i n close clos e orbit orb it to t o the dang dangerous erous Alabaste Alabasterr atmosph atmo sphere. ere. These Thes e  stations  stati ons un derg dergoo constant consta nt repair and a nd expansio expan sion, n, using us ing asteroid as teroid-min -min ed materials and imported supplies. Space travel around Alabaster  often fru frustrates strates pilo pilots, ts, who face a relentl rel entless ess bomba bombardme rdment nt of digi d igital tal advertisement and near-constant traffic deadlock.

 Theodore grew up in the early years of the Cor Corporati poration’s on’s spac spacee colonisation of Haven. Both parents struggled to even meet their  own basic ba sic nee needs, ds, forci forcing ng Theodore Theo dore to do d o whatever w hatever it took to surv s urvive. ive.  Theft, vio violenc lence, e, hung hunger, er, and sic sicknes knesss fo llowed his every step. He took any job he could get, anything for a shot at a better future. Eventually, growing tired of the daily drudgery of space colonisation, he moved into security, then into arms dealing as a freelance rep for Body Count Conglomerate TM  – a new and dynamic group of companies that catered to a growing demand for armaments and munitions, regardless of intent. Having put together a diverse and eclectic team, Theodore can make connections amongst any culture and go anywhere he wants.  Theodore does d oes not n ot know kn ow what t his unce uncertain rtain fut future ure ho lds fo r him and his crew, but he is eager to make the most of it, possibly one day by  start ing his own compan c ompan y.

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Kaltoran See pg: 212 212 for  for extensive Kaltoran write-up. Born with the genetic memories of their ancestors, Kaltorans are an innately gifted and flexible race. They are eager to make a new future for themselves, though they struggle with the “genetic memories” of not only the Great X’ion War but the extreme measures taken by their ancestors to survive it.

Kaltoran Trait, pg: 34 0 »  Reduce all Untrained Primary Skill Roll penalties penalti es by 1 (except Wealth). Aware ness,, Comman C omman d, and Small Arm s. »  +1 Awareness »  +1 Fate. Fate . Defenc encee vs v s Stealth. S tealth. »  +2 Def »  Reduce all Limited Vision and Low Light penalties by 1 Step. »  Gain Language: Kaltoran. Wealth. »  -1 Wealth. »  -2 Maximu Maximum m Focu s. »  Unwanted Flashback: If you roll triples with any Fate re-roll, you  immediatel  imme diatelyy gain a Mino r Psychologi cal Cond Conditi ition on (w (whic hichh may be removed with an appropriate Extended Care Healing Roll). Corporation.. »  Complication: Prejudice from Corporation

Play a Kaltoran if you:

Kaltoran Culture Everything revolves around family for a Kaltoran, a core trait reinforced by the genetic memories that each Kaltoran passes down to their children. For almost a hundred years after the Great G reat X’ion War, the Kaltorans went to extreme measures to survive, descending into brutal tribalism and cannibalism, horrors and survival instincts that are now passed on to every Kaltoran. Overcompensating for the failures  of the theirir ance ancestor stors, s, Kaltora Kaltorans ns are often overly opti optimis mistic tic,, pass passiona ionate, te, and eager for a clean slate and a better future.  With large famil ies and limi limited ted livin g space , they have learn t to make the most of their limited resources, creating eclectic and dense subterranean cities. Kaltoran businesses are frequently run from within family homes or directly from a spacecraft’s cargo hold,  often sel sellin lingg raw mi nerals nerals,, fish f ish,, or o r weapon w eapons. s. Kaltorans have a very small and focused government that  only deals wit withh major socia sociall conc ern s. Local laws are dic dictated tated by prominent family Elders and popular opinion. Few rules are enforced, but those that are, are often dealt with severely and quickly: all Kaltorans carry a weapon – even children and especially the elderly.

Common Characteristics Characteristics

»  Value frie f riends nds and famil familyy above a bove a ll else. e lse. s pace rogue rogue.. »  Want to be a space »  Make spontaneous decisions. »  Like to make lots of different Skill Rolls. »  Enjoy tactile and dir ty technology. Corporates. »  Distrust greedy Corporates.

 Adam  Adam,, Aaron, Cain Cain,, Dani Daniel, el, Elijah, Eli jah, Gid Gideon, eon, Jaco Jacob, b, Jame James, s,  Jamie,  Jami e, Josep Joseph, h, Jud Jude, e, Lot, Matt Matthias, hias, or Natha n.

Physical Qualities

Common Female Names

Height: ght: 1.65 m. »  Average Hei »  Average Weight : 70kg. 70 kg. Span:: 120 1 20 y ears. »  Average Life Span »  Dreadlock hair. »  Four pointed ears.

Danielle elle,, Debra, De bra, Elizabe E lizabeth, th, Esth E sther, er, Eva, Eve, Iva, Jay Jayne, ne, J oan,  Ana, Dani Mary, Rachel, Rebekkah, Sally, Sarah, Talia, or Zera.

Home World: Kadash, pg: 26 6 planett of the Kaltoran peop people le dur during ing the theirir gold golden en age of  A holy plane favour with the Archons, and terraformed into a para favour paradise dise planet by the ancient humans, Kadash was once a je jewel wel of their empire. During the Great X’ion War, the losing Kaltorans continually fell back in a fighting retreat. Kadash was their last stand. In a final  effo rt to t o survive su rvive,, the th e Kalt orans modi modifie fiedd ancie an cient nt human h uman terrafo terraformi rmi ng  equipme  equi pment nt to vapor vaporise ise much of the water on the plane planet’s t’s sur surface, face, wracking their world with vi olent storms and tidal waves.  The Kaltoran s dug ben beneath eath the ocean floor floorss and deep int intoo the planet’s crust, making new cities for themselves. These cities are complex tangles of caverns and tunnels woven around large hollow chambers, making use of extensive ve life su pport systems and airlocks to allow free access to their ancient submersible spacecraft.

Cunning, driven, fun-loving, inquisitive, friendly, loyal, opportunistic, optimistic, and thrifty.

Common Male Names

Common Family Names Chillax, Filch, Game, Jinx, Juked, Omni, Swagger, or Thrift.

Example Kaltoran Character Rachel Swagger is the adopted middle child of a family of 14. Her family was always active, complicated, and fun. Her siblings were born soldiers and leaders – two traits she was not born with, though  she is an a mazi mazing ng mech mechani anic. c. Rachel has the genetic memories of her ancestors, including her great grandfather, a master technician to an Archon lab. She inherited inheri ted his ability to fix anything with an engine and his love for meeting new people. Her grandmother, who fought the Nephilim during the Great X’ion War, gave her the ability to keep a level head in combat. But she also feels her mother’s f ears and pain from the Dark Ye Years: ars: fear of losing her children to cannibals, and the pain of knowing that her children would remember the horrible things she did to survive.  The Dark Years are in the past , and Rach Rachel el is keen to make a better future. Finding work on a spacecraft was her best hope of realising this dream. Her people needed to get out there and make new memories to pass on, not to dwell on the pain of the past.

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Legion See pg: 228 228 for  for extensive Legion write-up.  A physical phys ically ly imposi imp osing ng race, hast h astily ily created create d by the Archon A rchonss to fight fi ght their losing war against X’ion, the Legion now struggle to create a  stable soc societ ietyy and to fin findd meani meaning ng wit hout a war to fig fight. ht. In recen t times the Legion have formed a close economic relationship with the Corporation, Corporat ion, acting as enforcers for hire.

Legion Trait, pg: 340 34 0 »  +1 R esolve, Gun Gunner nery, y, and Heavy A rms rms.. rmour.r. »  +1 A rmou »  +2 Def Defenc encee vs v s Impai I mpair.r. »  Never requires ‘Environmental Outfit or Equipment: Arctic’. »  Gain Language: Legion. »  Requires ‘Environmental Outfit or Equipment: Temperate’ outside  Arcticc Environm  Arcti E nvironment entss or be Supp Suppresse ressedd each eac h Turn . »  -1 Ar mour whe n at 0 Endu E ndurance rance.. Maximum m Movemen Move ment.t. »  -2 Maximu

Play a Legion if you: nour,, duty, du ty, respe respect, ct, and ski skill. ll. »  Value ho nour »»   Want s pace space soldier ier..  Want to to be be atou tough. gh. sold »  Love big guns and heavy armour. »  Can hold a grudge. »  Distrust monsters.

Physical Qualities Height: ght: 2.4m . »  Average Hei 1 80kg. »  Average Weight : 180kg. »  Average Life Span Span:: 60 6 0 years. y ears. »  Scaled, lizard-like skin. »  Often large and muscular.

Legion Culture Created Created by the Archons to be resilient and skilled warriors, these traits have not helped to create a sustainable society during the hundred years following the Great X’ion War. Choosing to have a family or take on full-time civilian work is considered a great and noble sacrifice. Legion culture is very rigid with many heavily enforced laws. Very protective prot ective of their homes, few outsiders are able to visit their small and heavily fortified cities. Settlements have few businesses, as food and other supplies are distributed according to need.  A lot chan changed ged for the Legio Legionn afte afterr they made conta contact ct wit withh the  otherr races. The att  othe attracti raction on of livin livingg a lif lifee of acti action on has proven a strong incentive for many Legion. Giving up their pursuit of a  self-s  sel f-sustai ustainin ningg societ soc iety, y, man y now act as merce mercenari naries es and enforc e nforcers ers,,  especially  espe cially for the Corp Corporati oration. on. Old gru grudges dges have made interac tion s with the Nephilim difficult, but the si tuation is currently stable. They They  enjoy  enj oy a natural nat ural comrades co mradeship hip with w ith t he Kaltorans Kalt orans a s they share s hare simi s imilar lar goals despite their contrasting natures.

Common Characteristics Characteristics Efficient, focused, honourable, loyal,  organise  organ ised, d, protectiv pro tective, e, proud, p roud, and stub s tubbor bor n.

Common Male Names  Ajax, Ares, Bacch Bacchus, us, Cronu Cronus, s, Hec Hector, tor, Janu Janus, s, Mars, Theseus, Vulcan, or Zephyrus.

Common Female Names  Aglaia, Aurora, Bri Brisa, sa, Cassa ndra, Danu Danu,, Elec tra, Eris Eris,, Hydra, Ismini, Kynthia, Medea, or Selene.

Common Family Names  Anto nius,  Antoniu s, Augu Augustu stus, s, Aureli Aurelius, us, Bru Brutus tus,, Ca sca, Cinn Cinna, a, Crass Crassus, us, Gracchus, Lepidus, Scaevola, or Vespillo.

Home World: Cerberus Prime  The Legio Legionn cont inu inued ed to fig fight ht for deca decades des afte afterr the Great War,  emplo yin yingg gue guerri rrilla lla war warfare fare tacti tactics cs agai against nst the remai remaining ning Neph Nephili ilim m forces. But supplies grew thin and the Legion needed a home. They chose the Cerberus system.  With only thre threee plane planets ts orb orbiti iting ng a large large,, uns unstable table star, the Cerberus system was chosen as a home for its defensive attributes and because its third frozen planet was ideal for Legion physiology.  Whi le the Legio  While Legionn no longe longerr cons conside iderr the themse msellves at war war,, they are very insular and are suspicious of outsiders entering their territory.  They will wi ll often of ten search s earch merchan me rchantt ships sh ips a nd escor es cortt travellers travel lers to ma ke  sure they don’ don’tt wande w ander.r.

Secondary Planet: Lilith, pg: 26 8  The outer most plane planett of the Haven sys system, tem, Lili Lilith th is a cold tri-mooned world that functions as a base of operations for the Legion. They use the world to facilitate their interactions with the  otherr races  othe rac es and a nd provide refu refuge ge for wor workin kingg Legion Leg ion merce mercenari naries. es.

Example Legion Character He was born Ares Vespillo, but everyone called him Maximus. Life was very straightforward for Max – not simple… he just always knew what to do. His life had focus and clarity. Like every Legion, he was born to be a soldier. His parents had  sacrifi  sacr ificed ced much to raise him and sup support port the theirir comm uni unity ty throu through gh their hunting business, bu t things didn’t need to be like that anymore.  The othe otherr races coul couldd provide much of that now. The Corp Corporati oration on could build things, the Kaltorans could provide provide food, and the Legion could provide protection. The Archons had made them all with a purpose, he thought. But real life was not as straightforward as he would have liked. Maximus Maximus learnt this in his first w eek working as a mercenary on a Corporatio Corporationn merchant ship.  Their Corp Corporate orate captai captainn was w as cons constantly tantly mani manipula pulatin tingg t hei heirr clie clients nts and suppliers. Their Kaltoran mechanic was extremely fun and kind, but her emotions hung on a thread at times. Their Nephilim medic and resident scientist was the most complex. She was rude and arrogant, but she had clarity and focus about who she was, two traits that Max wished they did not share.

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Nephilim See pg: 242 242 for  for extensive Nephilim write-up. Nephilim: A junk-word term used to describe the diverse descendants of X’ion’s genetically engineered army. Cre Created ated to wage war on the Archons and their creations, before being abandoned by their creator, creator, X’ion, once the war was won.  The Neph Nephili ilim m have an ecle eclecti ctic, c, pri primal, mal, and ofte oftenn vio violent lent soci society ety  sup portedd by advanc ed bio  supporte biologi logical cal tech technolog nology. y. Whil Whilee pub public licly ly no longer loyal to X’ion, many Nephilim pursue genetic perfection at any cost.

Nephilim Trait, pg: 34 0 B io Tech ech,, Engi E ngineer neering ing,, and a nd Exoti Exotic. c. »  +1 Bio »  +1 t o al l Spa re Time R olls. ecover.. »  +1 R ecover »  Gain Language: High X’ion or Primal X’ion. Co nversatio tion. n. »  -1 Conversa »  -2 Cult ure. »  Complication: Prejudice from Kaltorans and Legion.

Play i Nephilim nnate abi abilit lityyifanydou: s cience scie nce over a ll else. e lse. »  Valuea innate »  Are motivate m otivatedd by b y intell i ntellect ect and ins instin tinct. ct. »  Like to defy presumptions. »  Possibly want to look like a monster. Believe ve the end always justifies the means. »  Belie »  Don’t mind modifying your body and genetics.

Physical Qualities »  Average Hei Height: ght: 1-2. 1-2.5m. 5m. 5 0-290kg. 0kg. »  Average Weight : 50-29 »  Average Life Span Span:: 20-30 2 0-3000 (est. ( est.)) years. y ears. appearances rances.. »  Wide range of appea »  Often have features of mammals, fish, and/or insects.

Home World: Eden, pg: 26 0

Before the Great X’ion War, Eden was the Kaltor Kaltoran an home w orld. Once covered in thriving megacities, lush forests, and great lakes, it is now a wasteland of deserts, salt plains, and ruins. Its surface is littered with giant craters, radiation, poisonous gases, and roaming monsters. Decades after the Great War and without supplies, the Nephilim  ships  shi ps slowly fel felll int intoo dis disrepair repair.. In a desp desperate erate attem pt to sur survive, vive, they landed (or according to some, crashed) many of their ships  onto the sur surface face of Ede Eden. n. Over the remains of these ancient warships, the Nephilim built Necronus, a towering black metal and biological city. The weak masses live amongst the crumpled bases of its many towers, while the most powerful live at the top – a position that must be constantly maintained through force and influence as their towers continue to grow taller.

Nephilim Culture Life is cheap in this brutal society that values both intelligence and strength. Largely shaped by perceived genetic superiority, the Nephilim split themselves into three broad categories: Purebloods, Hybrids, and Emissaries. Purebloods are ancient Nephilim who fought in the Great War  or are pure blood desc enda endants nts of thos thosee that did did.. Ofte Oftenn large and  imposin  imp osin g, they are a livin livingg remi reminder nder of the theirir peop people’s le’s past serv service ice to their cre creator, ator, X’ion. Hybrids are the diverse and mixed offspring of the Purebloods. Diverse in appearance and nature, Hybrids Hybrids make up the bulk of the Nephilim population. Emissaries are the newest of the Nephilim. Created only a few years ago, they are born fully grown, with a head full of knowledge and memories that are not their own. With the aim of alleviating cultural tension with the other race races, s, they are bred with a physical form closer to those of their former enemies. However, However, their Nephilim form is not hidden, only softened. Nephilim culture has very few laws and is only stabilised by the self-serving wills of its powerful leaders, who are largely unconcerned with the masses.  Whilee the  Whil Nephili are easil easily y the they mostknow powerful power ful military forceNeph in ilim them Haven system, that long-term survival and prosperity depends on their forming some kind of functional relationship with the other races – a feat that is incredibly difficult given their war history, old ties to X’ion, appear appearance, ance, and brutal culture.

Common Characteristics Characteristics Blunt, dismissive, focused, proud, honest, instinctual,  intel lig ligent, ent, rut ruthless hless,, and a nd fie fierce. rce.

Common Names Beytah, Hegh, Heghta, Hraks, Huch, Jagh, Jatmey, Lonta, Mangghom, Ngabtah, Porghmey, Qeh, Qehpu, Qeh pu, Sagh, Yempu, or Wabmey. Wabmey.

Example Nephilim Character Hraks is only three years old, a child by most races’ standards. But she was born fully grown, her head filled with valuabl valuablee skills and fake memories, which give context to her personality and thoughts.  As a Neph Nephili ilim m Emi Emissar ssary, y, her pur purpos posee is to ming mingle le wit h the othe otherr races, a task she was built for. Spending time in the local space port bars, she was able to pick up work as a medic for a small mercenary group. Life as a mercena mercenary ry was ideal for Hraks, allowing her to gain real memories and expand her skills, especiall especiallyy in biological technology technology and combat. Despite her constant confidence and gifts, the other races often find Hraks difficult to deal with. Her appearance is a constant reminder of darker times, and her blunt way of speaking often causes confrontations. But things would inevitably change. The races would eventually eventually become acclimatised to each other, the past would be forgotten, and they would learn that the Nephilim know best.

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Rules Introduction  Wel co m e t o Fr  Welco Frag aggg e d Em Empi pi re  

Key Features of the Rules

 What  Wh at You Ne ed to Play Pl ay

l east three six-s  At least six-side idedd di ce (3d (3d6) 6) per play player. er. Character Chara cter Sheet print outs (can be downl downloaded oaded from the website). Pens or pencils.  A lam inate inatedd square s quare-gr -grid id battl battlee ma p.  Whiteboar  White boardd marker ma rkers. s. Character and spacecraft miniatures. Rulebook (print or PDF).  Two  T wo to five f ive fri friend ends! s!

 Adap  Ad ap tab le Ru les  While th ese r ules are desig de signed ned for use u se with w ithin in the t he  Whi le these Fragged Empire setting, they are robust and fle flexible xible  enough  eno ugh to t o be used u sed for f or most mos t scienc sci encee fic tio tionn settin set tings gs with just a little creative “house ruling”. One of the best ways to alter the feel of a game is to increase or decrease the characters’ Resources (pg: 56 (pg: 56 ) an d Influ I nflu ence (pg (pg:: 58 ).

If You Are Familiar with Tabletop RPGs

Simple 3d6 Resolution System

If you are an experienced tabletop role player, you will easily pick up the Fragged Empire rules. (Though as you know, it always takes time to learn a new game system.)  To see wha  To whatt set setss thi thiss sys system tem apar apartt from othe others, rs, we recom recommend mend you read the Traits section (pg: 33 (pg:  33 ) an d Acquis Acq uisiti ition on secti s ecti on (pg: ( pg: 54  54 ). Of course, taking a look at a character sheet will give you a good feel for where the simple and more intricate rules of the game are. Don’t forget to check out our YouTube channel.

 ww w. f rag ragge ge de demp mp i re re.c .c om Read this book alongside a printout of the  chara  ch ara cte r sh ee ts , an d wa tch ou r YouT YouTub ub e ru le less vi de deos os .

Most Skill Rolls are resolved with a simple 3d6 dice roll. If your roll, plus any bonuses or penalties,  equals  equa ls or excee exceeds ds the requi required red amoun t, then you succeed.

Nonlinear Character Character Progression Characters have many options available to them, with no set paths for ability or equipment progression. This allows for characters to quickly  speciali  spe cialise se or divers d ivers ify and to create c reate un iqu iquee co mbin mbinati ations ons of a bil biliti ities es and Equipment. Low-level characters, specialised properly, can be dangerous threats to high-level characters. Even if two characters have similar  Attr ibu ibutes, tes, Ski Skills, lls, or Equi pmen t, they can fun cti ction on qui quite te dif differe ferently ntly because of their differing Traits. Traits.

If You Are New to Tabletop RPGs simplest plest way to thi think nk of a table tabletop top RPG is that it is like a  The sim computer RPG, but the rules and story aren’t automatically automatically done for you (most computer RPGs started as tabletop RPGs). The story in a tabletop RPG is told by you (a single character) and a Game Master (GM), who runs the game. You You are not constrained by what a progr program am  says you can do. If you can thi think nk of i t, you can attem attempt pt it. Learning to play a tabletop RPG can be a daunting task. The best way to learn is from a friend who is already familiar with RPGs or from watching a recorded game on YouTube. You may need to read through this book a few times. Best just read it once, then play a  smalll game,  smal ga me, the thenn read it agai againn and a nd play a slig s lightly htly larger game game..

Glossary of Common Terms Terms GM = Game Master (the person who runs the game). PC = Player character. NPC = Non-player character.  1d6 = A six-s six-side idedd die d ie (li (like ke you get g et in most boar boardd games) ga mes)..  3d6 = Three six-s six-side idedd dice d ice..  1d3 = The resul resultt of o f 1d6, 1 d6, divid divided ed by tw o, a nd round rounded ed up.

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Best for Long Sandbox Games

Fragged Empire can be used to play short games, but it is best when used for long sandbox-style games. In this post-apocalyptic setting, you will regularly have to make the most of what little resources you have, balancing short-term sacrifices and long-term gain.

Tactical Miniatures Combat ruleset set inc include ludess int intuit uitive ive tacti tactical cal comba combatt  This rule  in whi ch you wil willl nee needd to react not only to your  environ ment (cover is your frie f riend) nd),, but b ut also to your  oppo nen nents’ ts’ acti actions ons.. It also inc include ludess optio o ptio nal rules r ules for min miniature iature-free -free combat (pg: 96 ). GMs are enc encourag ouraged ed to make comba t a part of the story and to reward intelligent play. As there are no perfect,  statisti  stati stically cally balan balanced ced enc encoun ounters, ters, the play players ers’’ creativi ty, ski skill, ll, and teamwork will be the key to victory.

 

Optional: Game Types Types Ragtag Band of Misfits (Standard Game)

 Joined ned toge together ther by unl unlikely ikely circu circumstan mstance ce or nee need, d, you and your  Joi  oddl y matche  oddly matchedd team are tryi ng to make your way in a hos hostile tile and mysterious galaxy. Small freelance mercenary groups and merchant ships are the lifeblood of the Haven system. They are able to quickly respond and adapt to ever-changing opportunities and dangers. »  Start at Level 1. Resources and Influence. »  Start with 3 Current Resources »  Start with 3 Spare Time Points.

Casual Game (Easier Combat)

i s n ot quite q uite so dang dangerous erous..  The galax y is »  Start at Level 1. Resources, Influence. »  Start with 3 Current Resources, »  Start with 3 Spare Time Points. »  Often involves the party owning a spacecraft. »  Each player character character gains +1 Armour. Shi elds. »  Player character spacecraft do not gain -1 Armour at 0 Shields. »  All Small Arm s, Heavy Arm Arms, s, Tacti actical, cal, and Exoti Exoticc Weapons gain +1 Clip.

»  Often involves the party owning a spacecraft.

Survival

Story Focus

(Great for Horror Games)

(Light Combat Rules)

Bound together out of need or desperation, you and your companions are just trying to survive to see another day. Please note: It is recommended that you and your players have reasonable grasp of this rule system before you run a game of this type, as managing combat and Spare Time Points can be a little overwhelming. »  Start at Level 1. »  Start with 0 Current Resource and Influence. »  Start with 6 Spare Time Points. Equipmen pmen t Slo ts. »  +4 Equi »  -1 Fate. Resources urces and Inf Influe luence nce per 2 Levels (no (norma rmally lly +1 »  +1 Max Reso per 1 Level). »  Gain 2 Spare Time Points per session (normally 1). »  Personal Combat Weapons with infinite Clips or Ammo cost  +2 Resou rces. Clipss do d o no t refill ref ill dur during ing Downt Downtime ime.. »  Weapon Clip »  Refilling personal Combat Clips, Ordnance Clips, rebuilding Destroyed Drone Bodies require a Spare Time Roll of 14t. ( normally mally -5). »  Your charac ter di es if any A ttri bute reaches -2 (nor »  Optional: Food and Water must be acquired with Spare Time Rolls (see Food Supplies, pg: 137 pg:  137 ). »  Optional: Intense Damage (pg: 309 (pg:  309 ).

Physical conflict is primarily a tool for moving the story forward.  Whil e it may be promi  While prominent nent and an impo rtant part of your game game,, it does not need to take up su ch a large portion of your game time. Please note: This game type discards much of the combat and  equi pmen t rules. r ules. Some knowle knowledge dge of thes thesee syste s ystems ms i s stil s tilll advise adv ised. d. »  Start at Level 1. »  0 Max Resources (never increased). »  Influence is only used to gain Perks and Complications, not for acquiring a spacecr spacecraft. aft. t ime you would w ould gain R esou esources rces or Inf Influe luence nce,, gain a Spare »  Any time  Time  T ime Point Point.. »  Start with 3 Influence and Spare Time Points. Mindd Comba t Rules (pg (pg:: »  Always use Opti onal Theatre of the Min 96 and 96  and 166  166 ).

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Character Overview Making a Character  The Game Ga me Master M aster def defines ines your starti sta rting ng Level (usua ( usua lly Level 1 ). Select your Race. Distribute 18 Attribute Points (0-5 Points each). Select your Trained Skills. 6 Primary Skills (Everyday or Professional). 2 Personal Combat Skills. 2 Vehicle System Skills. Select your Traits, 1 per Level. Starting Resources, Resources , Influen ce and Spare Time Time Points = Your Level+2. Level+2.  Allot Reso Resources urces and Inf Influe luence. nce. Spend Spare Time Points (you may automatically gain any item  or serv service ice that cost s 14t 1 4t o r less, le ss, no roll requi required). red).

Starting Level, Level, pg: pg : 32 pg:  341 for See pg: 341  for a full list of available Traits.

Trained Skills, pg: 38 Select 6 Primary Skills, 2 Vehicle System Skills, and 2 Personal Combat Skills to be Trained in. All other Skills are considered Untrained.  Trained  Train ed Ski Skills lls give a +1 + 1 bonus b onus to your Skill Sk ill Rolls Rolls.. Untrained Skills give a -2 penalty to your Skill Rolls.

Resources and Influence, pg: 54 pg:  54 pg: 113  113 for  for full Equipment rules. See pg: See pg: 141 pg: 141 for  for full Spacecr Spacecraft aft rules. See pg: 358 pg: 358 for  for a full list of available available Equipment.  You star t with start w ith Resources Reso urcesyour and ability Influe Inf luence nceto equa equal l to yourweapons Level +2.and Resources represent maintain  equipme  equi pment, nt, whi while le In flu fluence ence represe represents nts your favour wit h an NPC group g roup (or groups) and reflects your ability to maintain a spacecraft.

 Your  Y our character usually us ually begins at Level 1 (with (wi th 1 Trait).  You start with Resources, Influenc  You Influence, e, and Spare Time Points equal to your Level +2. You gain 1 additional Trait, Maximum Resource, and Influence per Level. Level 0 is a child or unskilled. Level Level 1 to 4 is averagely gifted. Level Le vel 5 to 9 is skilled. Level 10 to 19 is amazingly gifted. Level 20 or more is legendary. Choosing Your Starting Traits  The Tr Trait( ait( s) you sele select ct at charac ter creati creation on shou should ld represe represent nt your character’s defining nature and history. Some Traits can  only be sele selected cted at c haracte haracterr Creation C reation (eg: Old) .

 At tr trii b u tes, tes , p g : 34 poi nts to  You have 18 points t o distri dis tribute bute a mongs mongstt six Attri At tributes butes:: Strength Stre ngth,, Reflexes, Movement, Focus, Intelligence, and Perception. Each  Attribu  Attr ibute te may ma y be b e set s et from 0 to t o 5. 0 represents represents an impairment of some kind.  1 or 2 is i s average. ave rage.  3 or o r 4 is imp impressiv ressive. e.  5 is i s amazin a mazin gly gif gifted. ted.

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 Allotte d, Not Spen t  Allotted,  You do not dec decrease rease your Reso Resources urces or Infl uen uence ce whe whenn you acquire, lose, or change your equipment or spacecr spacecraft. aft. Resources and Influence represent the quality and quantity of equipment and spacecraft the character character may maintain at any one time.

Spare Time Time Points, pg: pg : 6 4  You start with Spa re Time Time Points Poi nts equal eq ual to your Level +2 (eg: ( eg: a Level wi th Spare  1 charac character ter start startss wit withh 3 Spare Time Point s). You may keep thes thesee Spare Time Points for later, or you may spend them on any Spare  Time  T ime Item wit withh a cost of 14t or less, l ess, no roll ro ll require req uiredd (each ( each item sti stillll cost 1 Spare Time Point, no matter the roll difficulty).  Any use of Spare Time Point Pointss afte afterr charac ter Creati Creation on use usess the  standa rd Spare Time Point rule rules. s.

Level 1 Legion, Character Creation Example Derrick starts at Level 1. For his race he chose Legion. He wants to define himself as a leader, so he selects the Leadership Trait “Inspiration”. He has 3 Resources, 3 Influence, and 3 Spare Time Points. He spends his Resources on a Shotgun (2 Resources) and a Combat Outfit (1 Resource). He saves his 3 Influence until he can combine it with his companions to buy a larger spacecraft. He  spends  spe nds 1 Spare Time Point on a Toolb oolbox; ox; thi thiss nor normally mally requi requires res a Spare Time Roll of 14, but does not during character creation.

 

Making Maki ng a Char Character acter Best done alongside the GM and other players. Start with a character ide ideaa before you start building.

GM Sets the Starting Level usually ally start at a game ga me at Level Leve l 1.1 .  You usu  An average ave rage per person son is Level 1-4. 1 -4.

Select Your Race Race..  You may sele ct o ne Race

Distribute 18 poin  You have 18 pAttribute oints ts to Points d istrib dist ribute ute among amongst st 6 Attri A ttributes butes.. Each Attribute may be set from 0 to 5.  An average ave rage per person son has 1 or o r 2 poin ts in each Attr Attribu ibute. te.

Select your Trained Skills + 1 bo nus to your Ski Skillll Rolls R olls..  A Trained Skil l gran ts a +1  An U ntrai ntrained ned Ski Skillll has h as a -2 - 2 pe nalty to your Skil l Rolls. Ro lls. Select 6 Primary (Everyday or Professional), 2 Personal Combat Skills, and 2 Vehicle Systems to be Trained in.

Select 1 Trait per Level  You may have up to 1 Tr Trait ait per area: Level, Reso Resource urce,, Inf Influe luence, nce,  Attribu  Attr ibute, te, Fate, Tr Train ained ed Primar Pr imaryy Skill Ski ll and an d up to 2 Trait Traitss per Tr Train ained ed  Vehicle Sys System tem or o r Perso Pe rsonal nal C ombat Skil l.  You need nee d to t o meet me et all Requ Requirem irements ents for any Tr Trait ait you select se lect..

 Allot Resources Reso urces and Influe Inf luence nce,, Spend S pend Spare Time Point s  You start w ith R esou esource, rce, Inf Influe luence nce a nd Spare Sp are Time Poin ts each eac h equal equ al to your Level +2. Resourcess are primarily used to acquire Weapons Resource Weapons and Outfits. Influence is primarily used to acquire a spacecraft. Spare Time Time Points are used to acquire minor items or services, or to make Equipment Modifications.  You may start sta rt with w ith items or Modif Mo dificat ications ions that requi requires res a Spare S pare Time Roll of 14t or less without needing to roll. Each item costs 1 Spare  Time  T ime Point .

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Level  This represe represents nts  exper ien tial growth  experien growth..

your

charac ter’s

pers onal

skillll ski

and

Gain 1 Level once every 3 game sessions.

 When you gain gai n a level: Gain 1 new Trait (pg: (pg: 33  33 ). Increase Incre ase Maximum Resources and Influence by 1 (pg: 56 (pg:  56 &  & 58  58 ).  You may Retro a sing s ingle le pa rt of your character ch aracter (se (seee below). b elow).

Optional Retro On gaining a new Level, you may change a single Trait, Trained Skill, or allotted Attribute Point (pg: 34 (pg: 34 ). This is i s called ca lled a Retro. Re tro.  You may ma y not chan change ge a Tr Train ained ed Skil l if you have alread alreadyy sele selected cted a Trait for that Skill. You must first change that Trait to one for another Skill, then you may change the first Skill (requiring 2 Retros). If changing your Attributes would break a Traits Requirement, you lose the benefits of that Trait but keep the Disadvantages.  All Retro chan changes ges must be approve approvedd by the GM and wil willl often require some in-game actions to justify the change.

 Yourr Fi  You Firs rs t Few Ga Game me Se Sess ssii on s GMs are encouraged to allow players to change their  Attribu  Attr ibutes tes and a nd Tr Trait aitss after a fter a few f ew sessio ses sions. ns.

Gaining a Level Example  After play playing ing three t hree ga me sessi se ssions ons the t he Game Ga me Master Mas ter grants gran ts Derri De rrick ck the Legion and his companions a Level up to Level 3. Derrick needs to choose a Trait. He likes being the up close and personal combatant so he chooses the Tactical Trait ‘Second Wind’.  This Tr Trait ait has the “Legi “Legion” on” Requ Requireme ireme nt, whi which ch he meet s. Derrick’s maximum potential Resources and Influence are also  increased  inc reased by 1. He want s a new Out Outfit fit,, but he nee needs ds to increa increase se his Current Resources through his actions in-game. Derrick may also change (Retro) one aspect of his character. He is happy with his Trait choices, but the group has discovered that as a team they are missing the Programming Skill. Derrick decides to untrain one of his Trained Skills and become Trained in Programming. He asks the Game Master for permission to do this.  The Ga me Maste Masterr says s ays he may unt untrain rain the chos chosen en Ski Skill, ll, but he wil willl need to perform some relevant in-game actions to justify learning the new Skill. Next game session Derrick spends a Spare Time Time Point to purchase a Personal Computer and says he is also reading a data book on the subject in his spare time. The Game Master says this is reason  enough  eno ugh for him to gain g ain the Program Programmin mingg Skill Sk ill mid mid-Ses -Sessio sion. n.

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Traits pg: 341 for See pg: 341  for Traits list.  Traits are wha  Traits whatt set your character apart from othe others. rs. They often define the nature of your Attributes and Skills, and can give access to unique abilities.

 You gain 1 Trait per p er Level.

Traits Should Make Thematic Sense Choose Traits that match your character’s existing personality, history or skill use. Traits can also represent your character developing devel oping or changing throughout play. GMs should feel free to require players to take in-game actions to  just ify the theirir sele selecti cting ng a Tr Trait ait (eg: requi require re a charac character ter to spe spend nd tim timee learning through reading or training).

Implant and Splice Traits  You ma y sele select ct up to 1 Tr Trait ait per area: Level, Reso Resource urce,, Inf Influe luence, nce,  Attr ibute,  Attribu te, Fate, Tr Train ained ed Pri Primary mary Ski Skill, ll, and up to 2 Traits per Tr Train ained ed  Vehicle Sys System tem or Pers Personal onal Comba Combatt Ski Skill. ll. This makes every Tr Trait ait  selecti  sele ction on impo rtant rtant,, as each choi choice ce also means you are forgo forgoing ing  otherr Traits.  othe Traits .

Requirements Many Traits have requirements that must be met before that Trait may be selected.  Armour  Arm our X-Y  Your mus t ebeno or erhig higher. her. “Y”  Your Ar Ar mour mour value value must can bbe n o“X”high h igher than “Y”..  Armour  Arm our vs Ener Energy, gy, Slow, or o r at a t 0 End Enduranc urancee do d o not n ot a ffe ffect ct thi this. s. Char Creation  This Tr Trait ait can only be sele cted befo re your fir first st game sess session. ion.  This Tr Trait ait cann cannot ot n orma lly be chan changed ged throu through gh Retro Retro.. GM Approval  The GM mus mustt approve ap prove your sele selecti ction on of t his Tr Trait ait.. Normally requires requires an in-game action to justify its choice.

Electronic implants, biological implants, and genetic splicing are all commonplace in the Haven system, pushing an individual’s abilities beyond what is naturally achievable through modifications and alterations alterations of one’s body or genetics.  All Implant Impla nt and Splic S plic e Trait Traitss are identif ide ntif ied with w ith the th e word wor d “ Impla nt”  or “Spl ice ice”” in i n the t he Tr Trait ait name name.. If you wish to select an Implant or Splice Trait after you have created your character, you must undergo Medical Surgery, requiring a Surgery Roll (pg: 92 ). This Surg Surgery ery Roll represe represents nts your Impl Implant ant being throughinstalled splicing.into your body or your DNA being re-sequenced  A Surg Surgery ery Roll is also requi required red if you c hang hangee out (Re (Retro, tro, pg:  32 ) your Implant or Splice Trait for another Trait. If the Surgery Roll fails, you may try again at a later time, but you do not lose the Trait.

 You Are Ar e a Psio Ps io ni c

Maximum Attribute (Max X)  The listed Attribute Att ribute must mu st be equal to or lower than “X”.

Some rare and gifted (or cursed) individuals can uniquely interact with reality and people’s minds. This is connected to the Ley Lines (pg: 278 ) in some way and is not n ot an a n abi lity that was inven invented ted by b y the  Archons  Archo ns (pg (pg:: 187 ) or X’i X’ion on (pg: ( pg: 193  193 ) (as ( as far a s we w e know). k now).

Minimum Attribute (Min X) Attr ibute must  The listed Attribute mus t be equal equa l to or greater than “X”.

 You can secre s ecretly tly comm communi unicate cate t o other ot herss usin u singg Telepathy (pg (pg:: 37 ), and you can use Weapons with the Weapon Type: Psionic (pg: 103 (pg:  103 ).

Psionic mus t be  You must b e a Psion ic (se (seee righ r ight). t). Robot  You must b e a Robo t (see ( see rig right). ht). mus t be Secret Knowledge (Secret Kn)  You m ust have Secre Secrett Knowle Knowledge dge (from Researc Research, h, pg: 68) in a field that thematically matches the Trait. This often represents your character learning this Trait.  Trait  Trait or Race  You must mus t have the lis listed ted Tr Trait ait or Race Race..

 You Are Ar e a Ro bo t  You are a cons constru tructi ction on of mec mechani hanics cs and elec troni tronics. cs. You are resistant resist ant and vulnerable to different things and have different needs. »  Rather than eating, you require power, lubricants, and components. »  Rather than sleeping, you power down for at least 6 hours a day. immune ne to pois poisons ons,, but b ut can get comp computer uter vir viruse uses. s. »  You are immu »  You are immu immune ne to low levels of radiati ra diation, on, heat, and cold cold.. breathee air. a ir. »  You do not breath »  You are vul vulnerab nerable le to t o elect e lectromagn romagn eti eticc fiel f ields. ds. vulnerab nerable le to t o Disr D isrupt uptor or Weapons Weapons.. »  You are vul mi nd can be b e Hacked H acked.. »  Your mind

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 At tr ib ibuu tes  Attr ibutes  Attribu tes represe represent nt your charac character’ ter’ss raw phy physica sicall and mental ability. Attributes are primarily used for combat (pg:  71 )  ) and ful fulfil fil the requirements of many Traits (pg: 33 (pg:  33 ). Out of comba t, they may change your Description Bonuses/P Bonuses/Penalties enalties (pg:  38 ) to a Skil l Roll  or deter mine whe ther an attem attempt pt can even be made made,, espe especiall ciallyy in  sit uati uations ons usi using ng S treng trength. th.

 When creati creating ng a character ch aracter you have  18 poin p oints ts to dist d istrib ribute ute among amongst st 6 Attri A ttri butes butes.. Each Attribute may be set from 0 to 5.

 An average per person son has every Attr ibu ibute te at 2. A ratin ratingg of 0 is  impaired  impa ired,, and a nd one of 5 is i s amazi a mazingly ngly gif gifted. ted.  There is no “socia “ social” l” Attri A ttribute bute.. A c haracte haracter’s r’s soc social ial abili ab ility ty is i s purely pu rely determined by their Trained Trained Everyday Skills (pg: 43 ).

Strength (Str)  Your ph physi ysical cal power p ower a nd gen general eral uality uali ty h ealth.. and the weight health Primarily used to determine the qsize of of Weapons  of Out Outfit fitss you can eff effici icient ently ly use use.. Also dete determi rmines nes how resili res ilient ent you are in combat.

Edwarck, a Nephilim bio-tech researcher, wants to maximise his ability to invent and use biological Prototype Weapons that will clear  entire  ent ire rooms of foes. Str: 2 (Don’t 2 (Don’t need to be too strong to do science.) Ref: 3 (Average 3 (Average reflexes to avoid the odd attack.) Mov: 2 (Don’t 2 (Don’t plan on running around much.) Foc: 4 (Good 4 (Good for long-range combat and making sure he does not need to get too close in a fight.) Int: 5 (Gives 5  (Gives access to the best Research Traits.) Per: 2  2  (Large-area weapons don’t need to directly hit their targets to kill them.)

Tough, Attribute Example in-your-face our-face Legion shock trooper; trooper; he needs to not Derrick is an in-y  only take a punc p unchh but b ut also move in i n fast. fas t. Str: 5 (Good 5  (Good for taking a hit and wearing heavy heavy armour.) Ref: 2 (Helps 2 (Helps to avoid the odd attack.) Mov: 3 (OK 3  (OK for getting into and out of trouble.) Foc: 44    (Good important for making  sure he for canlong stay range, in the but fight fig htmore longer.) longe r.) Int: 1 (He 1  (He won’t be doing much tricky stuff in combat.) Per: 3 (Average. 3  (Average. He shouldn’t miss too often.)

Reflexes Refle xes (Ref)

Sneaky, Attribute Example

 The spe speed ed of your phy physica sicall respo response nse to your environ ment , along with your flexibility and general agility. Primarily used to avoid being hit, and represents your melee proficiency.

 Adam, a maste masterr Kalto Kaltoran ran sni sniper per,, nee needs ds to be able to hit target targetss at a great range and with deadly accuracy. There is little need for defence if all your enemies are dead before they know where they were attacked from.

Movement (Mov)  Your sp speed eed of movemen t an d gene g eneral ral physi p hysi cal stabil s tability ity.. Does not give any statistical boost to combat rolls, but is used to move around combat areas, managing distance, and moving between Cover.

Focus (Foc)  Your me mental ntal s treng trength th a nd abi ability lity to focu focus. s. Primarily used for long-r long-range ange combat, and determines your your speed  of Recove Recoverin ringg from f rom exhaust exh aust ion and min minor or damag damagee in i n combat c ombat .

Intelligence (Int)  Your cla rit rity, y, spe speed ed of art articu iculati lation, on, and thou thought ght.. Primarily used for determining who acts first in combat, and for analysing opponents.

Perception Perce ption (Per)  Your abili ty t o use u se your sens s enses es t o perceiv p erceivee your environ environmen ment.t. ab ility Primarily used to determine the accuracy of range Attacks you make during combat.

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Scientist, Attr ibute Example Example

Str: 2 (Enough 2 (Enough to carry a solid rifle.) Ref: 5 (Needed 5 (Needed for stealth.) Mov: 1 (Must 1  (Must be careful to not need to move after he sets up.) Foc: 3 (OK 3 (OK for long range, but he will need to have the right  equipme  equi pment nt t o boost b oost his range fur further ther .) Int: 3 (Needed 3  (Needed to analyse each target carefully.) carefully.) Per: 4 (He 4 (He won’t often miss.)

Flexible, Fle xible, Attribute Example Samantha needs to be ready for any situation as a Corporate  smu ggler.r. A nast  smuggle nastyy fig fight ht cou could ld break out at any tim timee and in almos almostt any environment. Str: 2 (Most 2 (Most s mall arms are not hea heavy.) vy.) Ref: 4 (Best 4 (Best way of staying alive is to not get hit.) Mov: 3  3   (Solid movement to make sure she stays in the best cover.) Foc: 3  3  (Can recover after taking a beating and keep targets within range.) Int: 3 (Should 3  (Should be able to act before most in combat.) Per: 3  3  (If she can keep herself well positioned, hitting her targets should be easy).

 

Fate Fate is an ambiguous representation of your character’s luck, destiny, and spiritual protection, or their control over over their own future through advanced technology.

 Jaco b was screwe  Jacob screwed, d, as if the ance ancestral stral Kaltoran Kalto ran  spirit  spi ritss had come back and foun foundd out he was cheat cheating ing  on his wif wife. e.

 All characters charac ters start wit withh 2 Fate, whi which ch may be chan changed ged throu through gh  Traits  Tr aits (pg (pg:: 33 ).

 The Draz junki ju nkiee had the stu stubby bby litt le Protectron Prote ctron pis pistol tol barrel jammed against his forehead, pressing hard  enough  eno ugh to make the cor corrid ridor’s or’s metal rivet s dig into  Jacob’s  Jaco b’s skul skull.l.

Dice Re-Rolls Each session, you may spend a Fate Point to re-roll all dice in a roll. You may re-roll a re-roll. Eg: Skill, Attack, or Spare Time Roll.

Unspent re-rolls are not accumulated between game sessions.

Re-Roll an Important Shot, Fate Example Boris rolls 3d6 to Attack a target with Defence 14. Rolling a total  of 6, he mis misses. ses. He can eit her accep acceptt t he faile failedd roll ro ll or spe spend nd 1 Fate Point to re-roll.

 The junki ju nkie, e, a va cant sne sneer er plaste plastered red acros acrosss his h is face, wasn’t at his stea steadiest. diest. “I will never come home late from a party and take a shortcut through the inner stations slums again! And, um, I’ll do my meditation! Go visit my kids! And stop cheating on my…” Jacob’s fevered, muttered promises were cut short by the rapid tread of heavy booted feet coming down the grimy and cluttered corridor, causing the grotty junkie to swear and shove the pistol somehow harder against his skull as he pulled the trigger.

He spends a Fate Point and re-rolls his 3d6 to get a total of 12.  The first fi rst roll is ign ignored ored (even if it were bet better). ter).

wa s nst a beauti b eautiful ful’sfiz fizzli zling ng as s ound soun a mil d burst bunal rst  of There heat was against agai Jacob’s Jacob face thed and pistol’ pis tol’s s inter workings abruptly fused and warped.

Unfortunately, he still misses. This is a really important Attack,  so he h e decid de cides es to spe spend nd anoth a nother er Fate Point to re- roll again a gain.. This tim timee he rolls a 16 and scores a Strong Hit (pg: 82 ), so s o he deci des to keep ke ep this roll.

 A sud sudden den blow to his head left Jacob reeli ng and bloodied as the fi lthy junkie sprinted down the corridor  intoo the  int t he shad shadows, ows, leaving him shu shudder dder ing in relie relief.f. “Oh, thank the ancestors…”

 To decide  To dec ide w hat At tri tribute bute is i s Damaged, Damag ed, he h e rolls a sing s ingle le d6 an d gets get s a a 1 (Strength). If he wished to, he may spend another Fate Fate Point to re-roll re-ro ll this die roll, as long as he had the Fat Fatee to spend.

 Avoid  Avo id in g Dea th

 Three loud loud-boo -booted ted Legio nari naries es walke walkedd past past,, eyei eyeing ng him warily, and tur ned into the dingy brothel Jacob had  just crawled out off off.. “… and thank crappy Corporate weapons.”

90 for  for full Reduce Fate to Avoid Death rules. See pg: 90 See pg: 164 pg: 164 for  for full Reduce Fate to Avoid Avoid Destruction rules.

Fate-Activated Ability, Fate Example If you have at least 1 Fate Point, you can permanently reduce your Fate by 1 to miraculously avoid your character’s imminent Death. If you wish to avoid your spacecraft’s Destruction, all characters on your spacecraft must permanently reduce their Fate by 1.

Fate-Activated Abilities Some Traits (pg: 33 g ive you acc ess to abi abilit lities ies that cost a Fate (pg:  33 ) give Point to use. Using an ability that costs a Fate Point is a Free Action (pg: 100 (pg:  100 ) that takes no time.

Sedrick has the “Void Touched” Trait. It allows him to spend 2 Fate Points to force an NPC to re-roll any roll.  An NPC Attacks Sedr Sedrick ick,, rolli rolling ng a 4, 6, and 6. Sedr Sedrick ick spe spends nds 2 Fate Points to force the NPC to re-roll. Sedrick’s action is a Free  Actionn and  Actio a nd can be b e ma de at any poi point, nt, even duri d uring ng the NPC’ NPC’ss Turn .  The NPC rolls, roll s, a 3, 3 , 4, an d 5. The NPC NP C must mus t use thi thiss roll, disca d isca rdi rding ng the previous previous one. If Sedrick had 2 more Fate Fate Points, he could spend them to force the NPC to re-roll again.

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Languages  These example lang languages uages represe represent nt the range of comm uni unicati cation on that a character can access, be it vocal or written, based on gestures  or some somethi thing ng else ent entirely irely.. All play player er charac characters ters can spea speakk and write Corp (detailed below). Further languages can be acquired through Traits. Traits. GMs should feel free to give players access to minor languages through Research: Secret Knowledge (pg: 68 ).  At the hei height ght of the theirir emp empire, ire, the Archo Archons ns not only gen geneti etically cally  engine  eng ineered ered races, but the theirir c ult ultural ural scie s cienti ntists sts also eng engine ineered ered socia sociall  struct  str uctures ures and acco accompan mpanying ying lang languages uages.. As a resul t, a numb number er  of drast drasticall icallyy dif differe ferent nt langu languages ages were spoke spokenn acros acrosss the old  Archonn Empi re.  Archo Cross-Language Communication Cross-Language Use Culture Skill Rolls (pg: 45 ) or Resea Research rch (pg (pg:: 68 ) for any cross-language cross-lan guage communication.

 Arch  Ar ch on  The langu language age the Archo Archons ns spo spoke ke dur during ing the hei height ght of the theirir civilisation is a detail-oriented language, making it perfect for communicating technical or s cientific knowledge. However, because  of this t his,, and an d the sti stigma gma it i t often ofte n has from Corp C orporate orate speaker sp eakers, s, it i t is not widely spoken and remains the language of the learned among the peoples of the Haven system. Many technical manuals are written in Archon; therefore, it is an  ess entiall lang  essentia language uage for tho those se of a sci scient entifi ificc pers uasi uasion. on. The large vocabulary (of over a million distinct root-words) means that the language can elegantly communicate new and complex concepts or discoveries in any field. Archon also makes for very good poetry,  especiall  espe ciallyy when w hen read a loud, owing to its melod melodiou iouss pronun p ronun ciati ciation. on.

Kaltoran During the Great War, the Kaltorans were forced underground, where they remained for one hundred years. This spawned several unique features in their language: a touch-based component to fully express emotion, meaning, and direction, as well as severe visual communication limitations. Where Ancient Kaltoran used a full Kaltoran onlywas forty of thosealphabet to spelloffullseventy-three words. Even letters, this limited visualuses format only maintained due to the Kaltor Kaltoran an people’s ancestral genetic memories.

Corp  The most wid widely ely use usedd of all lang languages uages wit within hin the Haven sys system, tem, Corp is compar comparatively atively easy to learn, with short words and a limited vocabulary. It has distanced itself from its original Vargartian form by taking on a melting-pot approach approach to vocabulary and a simplified grammatical structure. This makes it a terrible (but often used) Corporate legal language, as even a moderately skilled lawyer can  easily  easi ly ben bendd the meani meaning ng of cont racts and othe otherr legal agree agreemen ments ts written in Corp. Many major languages within the Haven system are slowly accumulating words from and contributing words to Corp. This makes makes  it an inc increasin reasingly gly comp complicate licatedd and a nd broadly b roadly accep accepted ted langu language age..

 All player p layer charac characters ters have the t he lang language uage:: Corp C orp..

 The Kalto Kaltoran ran language is expressive, express ive, emotive emotiv e and loud loud,, often making good use of the speaker’s hands in emphasis (though Kaltorans gesticulate even even while speaking other languages). Kaltoran Kaltoran is also a useful language for explorers and archaeologists within the Haven  system,  sys tem, as old Kaltoran rui ruins ns are ver veryy commo common. n. Altho Although ugh spea speakers kers  of mode modern rn Kaltoran wou would ld str strugg uggle le to read many of the old lette letters, rs,  once unde underst rstood ood the wor words ds are sti stillll close c losely ly a nd obviou obviously sly relate related. d.

 An ci en t Kal to ran  Though the “an “ancie cient” nt” part is a sli slight ght mis misnome nomer,r, the Kalto Kaltorans rans  stillll revere the langu  sti language age of the theirir ance ancestor stors. s. Where moder n Kaltoran  is tou touch-o ch-o rie riented nted,, loud, and emot emotive, ive, Anci Ancient ent Kaltoran is more harmonious, peaceful, and meditative, and it implies a deep sense  of respe respect ct for place placess and peop people le wit h most ver verb-fo b-forms rms.. It is sti stillll an emotive language, and caches of engraved poetry, songs, and proverbs have been discovered across known space. It is an extremely useful language for archaeologists to know, as many of the ruins within the Haven system are old Kaltoran cities and facilities.

 Varga rt ian la nguage  The langua ge of the Corp Corporati oration’s on’s ori origina ginall home h ome plan planet et has bee beenn widely out of use for over thirty years, having been largely rejected by the Corporation people as a symbol of Archon oppression and  exter nal soc societal ietal cont rol. It is sti stillll see seenn from tim timee to time time,, and linguists with a keen eye for detail often find Vargartian words and phrases being reintroduced into Corp by savvy advertisers keen to distinguish themselves linguistically in an over-saturated Corporate market.

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Legion (and Hand Signal)  The spo spoken ken Legio Legionn langu language age shares many sim similar ilariti ities es wit withh  Archon.  Archo n. Where Archo Archon’s n’s spe specif cifici icity ty was dire directed cted toward towardss sci scienti enti fic  or techn ical desc rip riptio tions, ns, Legio Legionn has an obviou obviouss leani leaning ng toward towardss military and tactical movements. Elaborate and verbose when needed, it is rarely poetic or figurati figurative, ve, favouring practicalities. practicalities. It can quickly convey complex directions, especially in relation to weapons, tactics, and training.

 

One of the main features differentiating Legion from other Haven-system languages and dialects is that Legion features an  entire  ent ire sub sub-lang -language uage,, base basedd on elab elaborate orate hand sig signals. nals. Created for  operat iona ionall use use,, thi thiss shor short-fo t-form rm sig signn langu language age is flexib flexible le and able to change its code structure mid-combat. This makes it almost  impo ssi ssible ble for oppon op ponents ents to t o understan unde rstandd what is i s being bei ng comm uni unicated, cated,  even if i f they t hey are flue f luent nt in Legio Legion. n.

High X’ion Of all the languages in the Haven system, High X’ion, the language  of the Nephi lim eli elite te and sen sentie tient nt Neph Nephili ilim m spac spacecraf ecraftt is by far the most alien in nature. This extremely complex language makes use of a speaker’s full range of available senses and entire body. Its meanings often obscured or revealed by the speaker’s physical attributes, including pheromones, multiple vocal cords, posture and positioning, and many other undocumented means. Designed by the  X’ion  X’i on for its Neph Nephili ilim m a rmy , thi thiss langu language age was most like likely ly made to be nearly incomprehensible to the Archons and all of their crea creations. tions. High X’ion can only be spoken by some Nephilim, though it does have a limited written form that can be understood by others.

Primal X’ion crude de and shar sharp, p, Pri Primal mal X’i X’ion on is a junk j unk term use usedd for f or the  Always cru large array of dialects the common Nephilim population speak. It has a guttural edge to it, and all of its dialects are drawn from High X’ion, although elements of Corp have begun to seep into Primal X’ion through the regular contact between the Corporation and other races.  As they chan change ge regula regularly rly,, Pri Primal mal X’i X’ion on dialec ts are chao chaotic tic and unpredictable to all except native speakers. The dialects have a wide variety of feature features, s, pronunciations, word ranges, and meanings, although amazingly the speakers of the various dialects remain able to communicate with one another due to the non-verbal, physiological aspects of Nephilim communication; these remain constant and stable.

Telepathy (Psionics) Psionically gifted individuals are able to partially transcend all known language barriers with other psionics by directly transferring their thoughts to one another. The ability to communicate via thought to another nearby Psionic is a huge boon, but does come with limitations. A Psionic can only communicate in pictures or  emoti ons to anot another her Psion ic wit hin rough roughly ly fif fifty ty meter meters, s, or to a familiar Psionic mind up to approximately one kilometer away. To fully express one’s self via thought, however, the Psionic must share a language with the target.  This abi ability lity is also restr restricted icted to comm communi unicati cation on betw between een Psion Psionics. ics.  Those wit hout Psion ic abi abilit lities ies “rec “receive” eive” noth nothing ing..

 Walking the busy b usy i nner circu circuitit of the Corpo C orpo rate station stati on was a steady job, but left a lot of time for reflection. “When we’re not bored and underpaid, we are fighting and dying for the Corporates. Which does what to further the cause of our own people? Nothing! That’s what!” Decanus Augustus was used to the near-constant  stream of comp complain laintt from his fri friend end Bru Brutus tus.. Augus Augustus tus nodded along to the flow of injustices and perceived  shortcomi  sho rtcomings ngs,, add adding ing the occas occasiona ionall gru grunt nt to hold up his end of the conversation. conversation.  The two tur ned the corr corrido idor’s r’s wid widee cor corner, ner, its walls and ceiling filled with retail advertisements. Each had  spinni  spi nning, ng, glowin glowing, g, eye- catchi catching ng colou colours rs and was set to headache-inducing sound-rhythms, apparently to  induce  ind uce enou gh stu stupid pidity ity to caus causee peop people le to purch purchase ase  somethi  some thing ng they did didn’t n’t nee needd from one of the mul multitu titu de  of crowded retail cub cubicles icles.. “… and if itconvinced was necessary the ittime, which I, for one, even am not about,atthen should be  obviouss that we can easil  obviou easilyy produ produce ce a mater material ial sur surplus plus,,  enou gh to be eco economi nomically cally viabl viablee as an ind indepen ependen dentt  species  spe cies,, ins instead tead of fig fighti hting ng for the Cor Corps ps like they are born-again Archons…”  Witho ut paus  Without pausing ing or chan gin gingg tone tone,, Bru Brutus tus sub subtly tly  startedd ma kin  starte kingg a sec secret ret Legio Legionn hand ha nd sig signal. nal. (We have a tail following us. 5 o’clock high, retail drone.) “… with no respect for proper military tradition, I ask you, how...” (Surveillance to hit where there are no patrols?) Decanus Augustus signed back.  This coul couldd be the break agai against nst the Draz Carte Cartell t hey were being paid to eliminate! The scaled ridge on the back of Augustus’ neck raised up as adrenaline started started to be released into his system, his natural aggression responses held in check by long years of training and combat experience. (Go to the lavatory at the next junction,) Augustus  ordered.  ord ered. (Si (Signal gnal reser reserves ves hel helix ix and ech echoo to deplo deployy to plan gamma-3. This This could be the break we need.)   “… but it sure beats a trade job…”

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Skills Skills represent a character’s knowledge of and ability to interact with the universe. Characters may make Skill Rolls to determine if they succeed or fail at doing or knowing something. All Skill Rolls are made with 3d6 and modified by your Skill bonus/penalty and Description bonus/penalty. To To succeed, the total of this must equal  or excee exceedd the t he dif diffic fic ulty .

Making a Skill Roll

 3d6 +/- Ski Skillll +/- Des Descr cript iptio ionn

Minimum Attribute Score Some Skill Rolls, particularly for Strength-based Skills, may require a minimum Attribute score to even attempt (eg: breaking or moving an object).

Some Skill Rolls requires specific Tools (eg: Toolkit).

Skill vs Skill Give a Reason for Your Your Skill C hoice GMs may require characters to use a specific Skill, or may simply present a problem and give the players the option to use a Skill of theirfication choice. the latter case,  justi  justificat ion forIn their t heir Skill choices. choi ces.the players must give reasons or

Skill Difficulties Routine or Easy task: 8 or more. Moderate task: 12 or more. Difficult task: 16 or more.  Very Di ffi fficul cultt task: tas k: 18 or more.

 When maki making ng a Skill Sk ill Ro ll against agai nst anoth a nother er player pla yer or o r importan imp ortantt NPC, both characters characters roll, and the higher result wins.

Trained and Untrained Skills  When you creaand create te a2charac character, ter, Systems select sele ct 6 to Primary Pri mary Skills, Ski lls,in.2 You Personal Pers onal Combat Skills, Vehicle be trained can always use a Skill, even if untrained; however, you must be trained  in a Ski Skillll to sele select ct an ass associate ociatedd Tr Trait ait or make use of a Toolb oolbox ox  or Worksho p.

 Trained  Train ed Skil ls grant g rant a +1 bonu bonuss to t o your Ski Skillll Rolls R olls.. Untrained Skills give a -2 penalty to your Skill Rolls.

Description Bonus or Penalty Rolls significantly above the required difficulty should produce additional positive effects (eg: completed faster than expected). Rolls significantly below should also produce negative effects (eg:

How a character approaches a problem and how they make use of their strengths and w eaknesses greatly greatly affect the outcome of a Skill Roll, up to a +2 bonus or down to a -2 penalty.

activating activa ting a security alarm).

Tools and Worksho ps See pg: pg: 371  371 for  for a full list of example Tools and Workshops. Some Skill Rolls can only be attempted if you have the right  equi pmen t (eg: (eg : to pick p ick a mec mechani hanical cal lock, loc k, you will wi ll need ne ed a Mecha M echa nics  Toolk  T oolkitit or Toolb oolbox; ox; you ca n’t do it wit withh your bare hand hands). s).

Good Role Playing  The Descr De script iption ion bonu bonuss shoul s houl d NEVER be auto mati matically cally applied. This bonus is there to reward well-planned and well-described approaches approaches to a problem. Players should play to their strengths AND give a good description of their approach to gain the full bonus.

 Toolk  Toolkitit Eg: Wrench, bandages, or other basic tools.  Toolb  Toolbox ox practical al tools. Eg: Bank card, chemistry kit, telescope, or other practic  Worksho ps and a nd Dedicate Ded icatedd Workshops Works hops Eg: Office space, repair shop, med bay, or other work space.

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 Attr ibutes  Attribu tes If a character is playing to their Attribute strengths, then GMs  shou ld fee feell free to give a Desc rip riptio tionn bonu bonuss (or pena penalty) lty) to a Skill Roll (eg: A perceptive ve person fi nds it easier to find objects with an Awareness Skill Roll).  An Attr Attribu ibute te shou s hould ld only grant a Desc Descrip ription tion bonu bonuss if it is over  3. It shou ld o nly grant a Descr D escript iption ion pena lty if it is und under er 2.

 

Making a Skill Roll 3d6 +/- Skill +/- Description These are for Primary Skills (mainly used outside of combat).

GM Sets the Scene and Problem  The GM desc describ ribes es the sit situati uation on to the play players ers,, pos possib sibly ly sug suggest gest ing a Skill choice. Be sure to point out any major restrictions or issues (eg: they may have limited time or available tools). Be sure to also set the mood.

Players Explain their Approach and Choose Skills Each involved player takes a turn explaining their approach to the current situation.  The pla yer yerss pick p ick Ski Skills lls to use u se base basedd on o n their th eir approa approach. ch. Each player may select a different Skill.

 T  Tools ools or Worksho p Based on a player’s approach, the GM may specify if any  Tools  T ools are requi required, red, suc suchh as a Toolk oolkit, it, Toolb oolbox, ox, Worksho Workshop, p, or Dedicated Workshop.

GM Awards Description Bonus or Penalty Players who put effort into describing a particularly good approach approach and play to their strengths should be given a +2 bonus to their Skill Roll. Playing to their weaknesses should give a -2 penalty.

Players Roll 3d6 + their Skill Bonus + Description Bonus Each player rolls 3d6 and adds their Skill bonus (or penalty), then adds any Description bonus (or penalty). Higher rolls are always better. If you roll a “6” on the dice, you score a Strong Hit (pg: 42 ). Strong Hits are used to make use of special abilities.

GM Describes the Outcome  After each invo invollved player pla yer has made mad e their Skill Sk ill Roll, Roll , the GM describes descr ibes the outcome of the situation, including the time taken. High rolls of at least the difficulty should have positive results, while rolls below the difficulty may have negative results. Choice  of Approa Approach ch and Skil l shou ld also aff affect ect the resul result.t. For example example,,  if two charac characters ters use dif differe ferent nt Skil ls and a nd app approaches roaches to t he same problem, they should get different outcomes even if their rolls are the same.

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Strong Hits (Primary Skills) Rolling a 6  When mak making ing a Skill, Sk ill, Vehicle Sys System, tem, or Attack Roll Roll,, you gain 1 Strong Hit per “6” rolled on the dice. Each Strong Hit can be spent on a Strong Hit Option.  You may sele select ct t he same Stron Strongg Hit H it Opt Option ion mul multipl tiplee times t imes,, as long as you have the Strong Hits to spend.

Primary Skill Roll Strong Hit Everyone has Access to Effort.

Combat Strong H its Everyone Everyone has Access to Effort, Critical Hit (pg: 88 ) an d Crit C ritical ical Boos Boostt (pg: ( pg: 88 ).

 Ad di ti onal on al St rong ro ng Hi t Op ti on s pg:  341 for See pg: 341  for a full list of available Traits. See pg: 358 pg:  358 for  for a full list of available Weapons.  Additio  Addi tional nal Strong S trong Hit Opt Options ions can be b e gained gai ned throu through gh Traits or from f rom  spe cific  specif ic Weapons (eg: Dis Disrup ruptors tors ).

Results  This is wha whatt happ happens ens if you mee meett all the Requ Requirem irements ents of your desired Strong Hit Option.

Pick Thought, Conversation Strong Hit Example  Astrid’  Astr id’ss psio psionic nic abi abilit lities ies have grown qui quite te stron strong, g, enab enablin lingg her to pick the thoughts right from a person’s mind.  Astrid  Astr id str strikes ikes up a casua l conver conversati sation on wit withh a local thu thug, g, hopi hoping ng to find his gang’s base of operations without tipping him off to the fact that she’s looking for it. Her Conversation Skill Roll results in a total of 9 (1, 2, and 6), which is not high enough to subtly gain information. But her 6 counts as a Strong Hit. She has two Strong Hit Options she can choose to use, Effort or Pick Thought (pg:  346 ). She choo chooses ses to use Pick Though Thought,t, whi which ch allows her to read her Target’s surface thoughts.  The GM lets her know that , whi while le the thu thugg speaks spea ks to her, he  is not sus suspic piciou ious. s. Rath Rather, er, he thi thinks nks of hang hanging ing out wit h fri friend endss to play computer games later that night. Astrid manages to locate an address where his friends ought to be, and she hopes that is their gang base.

Requirements Nearly all Strong Hits have requirements to be used. The most common requirement is that you are using the correct Weapon, but you may also need to use a specific Skill. Primary Skill (or a specific Primary Skill) Can only be used with a Primary Skill (pg: 43 ) or a spe specif cific ic Primary Skill.

Strong Hit: Effort Pushing yourself, you reassess your situation and take advantage  of a slig s lightly htly dif differen feren t approac a pproach. h.

Requirements Success  Your Skill Ski ll Roll Ro ll must mu st be b e Succes Su ccessf sful ul to use thi thiss Strong Stro ng Hi t Opt ion. Does not Req Success  Your Skill do es not have t o be Suc cess ful to use u se this th is Strong St rong Skil l Roll does Hit Option.

Primary or Vehicle Skill Can only be used with a Primary Skills (pg: 43 ) and Vehicle System Skill (pg: 53 (pg:  53 ) Rolls. Ro lls. Does not Req Success Not a Spare Time Roll

Not a Spare Time Roll Cannot be used for any roll that is being used to acquire an Item  or S ervi ervice ce that cos costs ts a Spare Sp are Time Point Point..

Name Name Requ Requii re re me me nnts ts

Result: Re-Roll a Die  You may re-rol re-rolll a sin gle die (not inc includi ludi ng the die that was gave you this Strong Hit or any that have been used to cause a Strong Hit).

Result

(in brackets) Effort (Primary Effort  (Primary Skill, does not Req Success, not a Spare Time Roll) You may re-roll a single die from this Skill Roll.

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Primary Skills See pg: 68 68 for  for full Research rules See pg: 370 pg: 370 for  for a full list of Tools and Workshops. Primary Skills focus on out-of-combat tasks tasks and are split into two categories: Everyday and Professional.  At charac character ter creati creation on you may ma y sele select ct any six Pri Primary mary Ski Skillll to be trained in. Each Trained Skill may have a single connected Trait.

 Trained  Train ed Ski Skills lls grant a +1 + 1 bo nus to your Ski Skillll Rolls. R olls. Untrained Skills grant a -2 penalty to your Skill Rolls.

Everyday Sk ills  These Ski Skills lls a re the th e most mos t co mmonly use usedd becaus b ecaus e they th ey focus fo cus on your natural body, social ability, and cultural knowledge.

Example Uses with a Toolbox (Bank Card & Finance Software) »  Calculate value of investment. »  Buy something with a bank card. »  Calculate interest. »  Interpret a complex financial contract. »  Calculate the value of an item. »  Buy shares from the stock market. »  Buy something from a Data Stream. »  Calculate inflation. »  Create a legal document. »  Learn where a trade good is valued. Example Exam ple Uses with a Workshop (Office) Manipulatee stock prices. »  Manipulat »  Buy in bulk from a wholesaler. »  Research interstellar trade. »  Create a legal quagmire. »  Find gaps in the goods market.

Buying and Paying for Things

 Wealth  Weal th ability lity to use money and barte barter,r, and your knowle knowledge dge of  Your abi financial values, values, business, and economics. Commonly used for Spare  Time  T ime Rolls (pg (pg:: 64 ) to purch purchase ase min minor or i tems or serv services ices..

Knowledge, Kno wledge, Ability, and Currency  Wealth i s a litt le diff d ifferent erent from othe otherr Skill S killss becau b ecause se it represents the amount of available funds your character can access, as well as thei r knowledge and ability.  These fun ds are u sual sually ly Corp C orporati oration on C redit s (pg: ( pg: 274),  ie: money money.. Your wealt wealthh mi ght also represe represent nt o ther valua ble  items,, such  items s uch as preci precious ous sto stones nes or a mmun iti ition. on. If you want your character to be wealthy, then you should be Trained in the Wealth Skill.

 Areas of Knowled K nowledge, ge, Ability Abi lity , aand nd Currency Cur rency »  Finance (stock market, shares). »  Money (spare money to spend). »  Macroeconomics (business cycles). »  Contracts (loans, insurance, merc contracts). »  Tr  Trade ade (su (supply pply and dema demand). nd). Example Uses Without Tools investment. ent. »  Recommend an investm »  Buy something with money. »  Know which organisations are wealthy.   Fill out a loan application. »»  Estimate the value of an item.

If you wish to purchase an item or service with money, you should make a Wealth Spare Time Roll (pg: 64). Under 20 Credits  100 Credi Credits ts  500 Credi Credits ts  500 Cred Credits its & Ra re  1000++ Credit  1000 C redit s

= = = = =

No Roll Required 12t 14t 16t 1 Resource

 Wealth Spare S pare Time Roll Example Logan is having a friendly chat with a disgruntled Draz production worker. After a few drinks, Logan tells the GM that he wishes to pump the NPC for information on the security of the Draz factory.  The GM info informs rms him that thi thiss wil willl requi require re a Conver Conversati sation on Skil l Roll of 12. Logan rolls and gets a total of 8, far lower than what he needed.  The GM tells te lls Logan Log an that th at the t he NPC N PC now knows k nows what w hat he h e is tryi ng to do and is wi lling to tell Logan what he wants to know for a bribe  of 500 Credi Credits. ts. This wil willl req uire Logan to make a Wealth Wealt h Spare  Time  T ime Roll o f at least lea st 14 1 4 (an d will wi ll cost co st Loga n a Spa re Time Point ,  even i f he h e fails fa ils thi thiss roll) ro ll) to see if Logan has the requi required red fun funds ds to pay the bribe or negotiate a lower cost.

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Conversation knowledg owledgee of and abi abilit lityy to ver verbally bally comm communi unicate cate with w ith NPCs  Your kn  in a varie va riety ty of s ubt ubtle le ways w ays..

Leadership  Your abi ability lity to cont rol and gui guide de one or more NPCs throu through gh the force of your personality.

 Areas of Knowled Knowledge ge »  Diplomacy. »  Rumours. »  High Society. »  Inquiry. »  Deception (acting).

 Areas of Knowled Knowledge ge »  Command. »  Interrogation. »  Oratory. »  Intimidation. »  T  Teamwork eamwork..

Example Uses Without Tools »  Mediate a dispute. »  Ea Eavesdrop vesdrop without being noticed. conversation. versation. »  Be eloquent in con »  Get a friendly NPC to answer a question. »  T  Tell ell a co nvinci nvincing ng lie lie..

Example Uses Without Tools »  Give an order. »  For Force ce or coerce an NPC into answering a question. »  Public speaking. »  Make a convincing threat. »  Coordinate a team.

Example Uses with a Toolbox Toolbox (Suitcase of Clothes & Accessor Accessories) ies) »  Run a video conference. »  Get the word on the street by wearing gang colours. »  Seduce a businessman using makeup. »  Interview using a notepad.

Example Uses with a Toolbox Toolbox (Rank Insignia or Interrogation Equipment) Equip ment) »  Requisition equipment. »  Pull rank to get answers. »  Inspire people. c riminal inal proce proceedi edings ngs.. »  Threaten crim

»  Make a basic disguise. »  Interpret using a translator. »  Decipher a recorded conversation. conversation. »  Dress properly for a formal occasion. »  Create a video interview. »  Make a detailed disguise.

»  Create a well-coordinated plan on a map.  map.  » Command an army. »  T  Tortu orture re for fo r infor i nformati mation. on. »  Give speech to a crowd. »  Intimidate a crowd. »  Organise a coordinated assault.

Example Uses with a Workshop (Event Hall) »  Host a peace conference. »  Research new social trends. »  Host a fancy party. »  Host a seminar. »  Create an alternate identity.

Example Uses with a Workshop (Conference Room) »  Host a command centre. »  Interrogation room. »  Call a press conference. »  Demonstrate military capabilities. »  Research team-combat tactics.

Example Pulled over by a Corporation security officer for dangerous driving, Ezekiel the bounty hunter needs to talk quickly to prevent his target from getting away. The GM says this is difficult task and requires Ezekiel to make a Social Skill Roll  of at least 16.

Example Pirates are bombarding a Corporation colony that Mr Smith’s party has been hired to defend. In an attempt to rally the terrified civilians, Smith uses his  spacecraf  spac ecraft’s t’s louds peaker peakerss (act ing as an imp imprompt romptuu Leader Leadershi shipp  Toolb  T oolbox) ox) to make a rallyi rallying ng spe speech ech (wi (with th a +1 bonu bonus). s). The GM  says thi thiss is i s a modera moderately tely dif diffic ficult ult task requi requirin ringg a roll of a 12. 12 .

“We shall never waver! Our stand against the tide  shalll prevail;  shal prevail ; our ou r loyal loy al ChildCh ild- Races are with w ith us, and the false X’ion shall be stopped!”  - Dign D ignifi ified ed Archo Archonn spee s peech, ch, recorded one year into the Great War.

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Culture  Your knowle knowledge dge abou aboutt and abi abilit lityy to navig ate cultural customs,  subgroup  sub groups, s, laws, his history tory , and a nd archa archaeolog eology. y.  Areas of Knowled Knowledge ge »  Customs (language). »  Governments and organisations. »  Legalese (bureaucratic and legal jargon). »  Ideologies. »  Archa  Archaeolog eologyy (his ( history tory ). Example Uses Without Tools appropriate ate greeting. »  Use an appropri »  Kno Know w who is in authority. »  Know basics of an ideology. »  Estimate the era an object comes from. »  Identify a group by symbol or mannerisms. Example Uses with w ith a Toolbox (Archaeology Tools Tools & En cyclopedia)  Trans anslate late a phrase. ph rase. »  Tr »  Find out local laws. »  Understand an ideological event. »  Know of a historical event. »  Know about dangerous factions. »  Perform a ceremony. »  Understand government hierarchy. »  Look up details about an ideology. »  Remove a delicate artefact. »  Understand the workings of an organisation. Example Uses with a Workshop (Library) »  Research traditions. »  Learn how how to get a meeting with an important person. »  Break down ideological teachings. »  Research an artefact.  Trans anslate late several pages of text. »  Tr Example Rick wants to learn the Kaltoran Language. To do this he will have to gain 12 Units of Research (giving him the Minor Perk: Language) in the Cultural field of Kaltorans. He will also need to have access to examples of the Kaltoran Language, possibly from a tutor or by s pending time amongst Kaltorans.

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Physical bili ty to end endure ure phy physica sicall ha rds rdship hip and uti utilis lisee your stren gth,  Your aabili movement, and reflexes.

 Your charac character’s ter’s Stren gth, Ref Reflexes, lexes, and Moveme Movement nt Attr Attribu ibutes tes may give you you a +1 or +2 Description bonus (or penalty) to some rolls if you also describe your approach.

 Areas of Ability Abi lity »  Resilience.  Athletics tics.. »  Athle »  Acrobati  Acrobatics. cs. »  Endurance. »  Brawn. Example Uses Without Tools »  Hold breath for a few minutes. »  One hundred push ups. »  Break your fall. »  Run for hours. Outwrestle stle an opponent. »  Outwre Example Uses with a Toolbox (Climbing Gear or Sports Bag) »  Drink someone under the table. »  Climb a cliff. »  Swing over a large gap. »  Lower someone with rope. »  Hoist heavy weight with rope. »  Detox poison with water. »  Swim with flippers. »  Vault over a wa ll. »  Run for days with only water. »  Force something open with crowbar.

Specific Environmental Equipment Ladders, tents, ropes, and such are not (normally) categorised as a Toolkit or Toolbox like most Tools are, as they usually have ha ve a specific function.  These spe specif cific ic items can be b e acqu a cquired ired wit withh a Spare Time Roll  of 12t (se (seee pg: p g: 370  370 for  for a full list of available available Misc Items).

Example Uses with a Workshop (Gym) »  Rehab from drugs. retraining. aining. »  Physical retr »  Research martial arts. »  Hit the treadmill. »  Practice weights. Example Max wants to learn the Martial Arts Trait. This requires Secret Knowledge, which is gained through Research. Physical Research  is idea ideall for learn ing thi thiss kkind ind of Secre Secrett Knowledg Kn owledge. e.

Resolve  Your comm itme itment nt and conf confide idence, nce, ofte oftenn motivate motivatedd by a stron g  sen se of pur  sense purpos pose. e. This pur purpos posee cou could ld come from a bel belief ief in a  specif  spe cific ic caus causee or relig religion, ion, or t hroug hroughh mental m ental train training ing..

 Your charac character’s ter’s Focus Attr Attribu ibute te may give you a +1 or +2 Description bonus (or penalty) to some rolls if you are also descriptive in your approach.

 Areas of Ability Abi lity »  Bravery. »  Conviction. »  Self-reflection. »  Perseverance. »  Psionics. Example Uses Without Tools »  Keep courage in battle. »  Resist an attempt to alter your conviction. »  Remember genetic memories. your physical or mental abilities past normal limits. »  Push your »  Use a psionic power. Example Uses with a Toolbox Toolbox (Icon of Id Ideology eology or Personal Heir Heirloom) loom) »  Clutch your religious book for hope in a hopeless situation. »  Proselytise your your ideology with passion. Meditatee with incense. »  Meditat »  Resist the ideology of others. »  Channel psionic power through a focus. creature. ture. »  Look into the face of a horrifying crea »  Speak with a genetic ancestor.  Withstand tand extre extreme me pain . »  Withs »  Resist powerful persuasion. »  Resist a psionic power. Example Uses with a Work Example Workshop shop (Sanctuary) »  Meditate on your convictions. »  Recover from mental trauma. »  Research your genetic memories. »  Retrain your mind. »  Project a psionic power. Example Sarah is a Kaltoran, Kaltoran, gifted and cursed with the genetic memories  of her ance ancestor stors. s. She wis wishes hes to draw upon thes thesee memor memories ies to learn about the Great X’ion War. The GM says that she can use Resolve to delve into her genetic memories to learn about the war from her ancestors’ first-hand experiences.

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 Aware  Awa rene ness ss  Your abi ability lity to perce perceive ive your environ environmen mentt throu through gh your availab available le  sen ses and gene  senses general ral ded deduct uctive ive abi abilit lity. y. Incl Includes udes your abi abilit lityy to hid hidee and locate physical objects, objects, piece together clues and i dentify points  of interes interestt in i n your environ environmen ment.t.

 Awarenes s is  Awareness i s a broad and commo commonly nly use usedd Skill S kill , but b ut it has limited depth. This Skill shouldn’t be used for Spare Time Rolls or Research. If a player uses Awareness to analyse a complex object or situation, they won’t get many details. Instead, Inste ad, they’ll know what Skill they should use to find the details.

 Your charac character’s ter’s Inte Intellig lligence ence and Percept ion may give you a +1  or +2 Desc rip ription tion bonu bonuss (or pena lty) to some rolls if you are also descriptive in your approach.

Example Moa is exploring a derelict Legion spac ecraft and hears a strange clacking noise coming from the walls. She makes an Awareness Skill Roll to try and di scern what it is. The GM tells her that the  sound  sou nd is mech mechani anical cal in natu nature; re; some somethi thing ng is probab probably ly broken broken.. Moa will need to make a Mechanics Skill Roll of 12 to identify  exactly wha whatt it i t is. i s.

Survival  Your abi abilit lityy to wor workk wit withh and gain sup suppli plies es in unc unconvent onventiona ionall  environ ment s such su ch a s city ci ty slums s lums,, wild w ild forest s, barren b arren dese deserts rts,, arctic arc tic tundra, and spacecraft with limited supplies.  Areas of Knowled Knowledge ge »  Survival (make camp, find food/water). »  Salvaging. »  Improvising. »  Cooking. »  Tr  Tracki acking. ng.

 Areas of Abil ity »  Seeing. »  Hearing.

Example Uses Without Tools »  Find fresh water. »  Find a tool.

»  Insight. »  Searching. »  Investigation.

»  Make a stone wrench. »  Knead dough. »  Follow footprints.

Example Uses Without Tools »  Notice someone hiding. »  Overhear a conversation. »  Notice a detail. »  Look for hidden things. »  Find a clue.

Example Uses with a Toolbox (Survival Kit) »  Start a fire in the rain. Lever ver out component with knife. »  Le »  Make a spear. »  Cook an animal on a spit. »  Tr  Track ack in the dark dark.. »  Boil stagnant water. »  Disassemble a large object. »  Make Molotov cocktails. »  Cook a stew. »  Hunt game.

Example Uses with a Toolbox (Criminology Kit)  Take ake pho photos tos of peop people. le. »  T conversation. rsation. »  Record a conve »  Examine a voice recording. »  Set up a hidden camera. »  T  Take ake pic pictures tures of a crime cr ime sce scene. ne. »  Examine footprints. »  Bug a room with a listening device. device. »  Make a deduction. »  Find hidden evidence. »  Dust for fingerprints. Example Uses with a Workshop (Forensic Lab) »  Examine evidence under microscope. »  Perform voice analysis. »  Create a wall of clues. »  Scan item for secrets. »  Conduct forensic examination.

Example Uses with a Workshop (Kitchen) »  Make poisonous food edible. »  Ration food supply. »  Make a cake with no flour. »  Invent a new recipe. »  Cook game. Example Boris has set up camp deep within a forest. He wishes to gather  some sup suppli plies es befo before re he moves fur further ther in. Becau Because se he has access to Cooking Equipment (Survival Toolbox), he can gather a wider range of food. If he didn’t have it, he could only collect food that could be eaten raw.

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Professional Skills Mechanics

Electronics

 Your abi ability lity to und unders erstand, tand, repair repair,, and desi gn mach machines ines:: any devices with moving parts. Also covers your understanding of refined and designed materials such as alloys and synthetic polymers. Finally, it represents your structural and architectural knowledge.

 Your abi ability lity to und unders erstand, tand, repair repair,, and desi design gn elec tri trical cal device devices, s, and your understanding of electrical signals. This skill also covers an understanding of computer hardware, cables, communication technology, technolo gy, and energy weapons.

 Areas of Stud Studyy »  Mechanical engineering (moving parts). Hydraulics aulics (fluid mechanics). »   Hydr »  Materials als science (metals, alloys, and polymers). »  Chemical engineering (reactions and processes). »  Archi  Architectu tecture re (str ( struct ucture ure and desi gn).

 Areas of Stud Studyy »  Digital electronics (circuits, computer hardware). cables). »  Electrical engineering (electricity, power cables). »  Appl  Applied ied phys physics ics (las (lasers ers,, pa rti rticle cle weapo weapons) ns)..  Telec elecommu ommunica nication tion (radi (radio, o, data ca bles) . »  T »  Optics (sensors, camer cameras, as, scopes).

Example Uses Without Tools »  Unjam a mechanical weapon system.  Adjust st flow val va lves cor correctl rectly. y. »  Adju »  Identify materials. »  Know how to use chemicals and reactions. »  Estimat Estimatee if a support w ill remain standing.

Example Uses Without Tools »  Recognise a burnt circuit.  Adjust st elec tri tricit cityy flow. f low. »  Adju »  Unjam an electronic weapon system. »  Find a good radio signal. »  Know the workings of optical devices.

Example Uses with a Toolkit (Wrench)

Example Uses with a Toolkit (Soldering Iron & Wire Cutters)

»  Repair minor damage to a mechanical system. »  Patch hydraulic machinery. »  Detect the composition of materials. »  Detect a radiation leak. »  Build a makeshift structure.

»  Make minor repairs to an electronic system. »  Patch an electrical cable. »  Configure a laser.  Tap ap into a data da ta cable. cab le. »  T »  Attach a scope s cope to a weapon w eapon..

Example Uses with a T Toolbox oolbox (T (Toolbox) oolbox) »  Repair major damage to a mechanical system. »  Replace hydraulics in a machine. »  Weld a str structu uctu ral jo int int.. »  Repair major damage to a synaptronic system. »  Build a proper structure.

Example Uses with a Toolbox (Tool Belt) »  Perform major repairs to an electronic system. »  Replace an electrical cable. »  Modify an electronic energy weapon. »  Introduce white noise to a radio frequency. »  Repair an optical device.

Example Uses with a Workshop (Repair Shop) »  Create or modify a mechanical weapon. »  Research hydraulics. »  Create an alloy or synthetic polymer. »  Build or i nvent a synaptronic system. »  Design a spacecraft or space station.

Example Uses with a Workshop (Technician Workshop) »  Build a computer. »  Research electricity. »  Create an electronic weapon. »  Create a communication device. »  Design ship sensors.

Example Rachel has snuck onto the spacecraft of rival bounty hunters, hoping to disable i t or slow them down.

Example Sarah needs to hack a computer based door lock. The GM says this can be done with a Programming Skill Roll of 14 to hack the control panel. Or, if she has some basic tools, an Electronics Skill Roll of 12 to hot wire it.

 The GM gives her two opti options: ons: roll a 10 to damag damagee thei r fue fuell  intake,  inta ke, slowin slowingg down the theirir laun launch, ch, or roll a 16 to sec secretly retly rig their hydraulic doors to pop open after they take off. This will force them to land again in order to repair the damage, which will require some basic tools.

If the door is hotwired, it will be jammed open, making any hacking take a little longer. Sarah decides to hotwire the door.

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Programming  Your knowle knowledge dge of and abi ability lity to wor workk wit withh comp computer uter soft software ware and digital information, including computer locks, digital security  systems,  sys tems, databas databases, es, firewa firewalls, lls, and drone drones. s.

Bio Tech bility ity to wor workk w ith and knowle knowledge dge of bio biologi logical cal techn ology ,  Your aabil genetic engineering, advanced biology, and chemistry, including  implants  imp lants,, Bio B io Tech weapo ns, Neph Nephili ilim m spacec sp acec raft, and DNA.

 Areas of Stud Studyy Softwaree engineering (progr (programs ams & applications). »  Softwar »  Hacking (accessing protected data).  Artifi ificial cial inte intellig lligence ence (robo (robotic tic inte intellig lligenc ence). e). »  Art »  Security systems (computerised security). »  Datastream (filtering large amounts of data).

 Areas of Stud Studyy »  Genetic engineering (designing life). »  Bio-weaponry (biological weapons). technology). ogy). »  Biological systems (living technol »  Bio-chemistry (enzymes and toxins).  Augmentati ntation on (im (implant plant s and a nd gen genee spli s plices) ces).. »  Augme

Example Uses Without Tools »  Recognise software. »  Attem pt t o guess g uess a ter mina minall passwor pa ssword. d. »  Reason with an intelligent robot. »  Kno Know w the workings of security systems. »  Find something on a datastream terminal.

Example Uses Without Tools »  Identify a genus. »  Unjam a biological weapon system. »  Configure a biological system. »  Identify strange goo. »  Recognise that a person is augmented.

Example Uses with a Toolkit (Basic Terminal) »  Create a simple program.

Example Uses with a Toolkit (Sample Jar & Bandages)  Take ake a DNA D NA sample sa mple.. »  T

»  Hack into a computer terminal. »  Read an AI’s computer code. »  Override a locked door.  Wirelessly sly acce access ss a datastream da tastream wit withh a term terminal inal.. »  Wireles

»  Feed a biological weapon system. »  Bandage minor damage to a biological system. »  T  Take ake a chemi ch emical cal sampl s ample. e. »  Patch a broken implant.

Example Uses with a Toolbox (Portable Computer) c omputer ter program program.. »  Write a compu »  Hack into a secure server. »  Hack into an AI. »  Override a security turret.  Wirelessly sly acce access ss datast ream with w ith own termi te rminal. nal. »  Wireles

Example Uses with a Toolbox (Chemistry Kit) »  Grow bacteria. »  Modify a spine launcher. »  Heal major damage to a biological system. »  Create a poison.  Adminis nister ter a gen genee splic s plic e. »  Admi

Example Uses with a Workshop (Software Lab) »  Design an operating system. »  Create a trojan virus. »  Reprogram an AI. »  Create a security system. »  Research the datastream.

Example Uses with a Workshop (Genetics Lab) »  Create a biological drone. »  Create a spore weapon. »  Research biological reactors. »  Research noxious substances. »  Perform implantation surgery.

Example Lex wishes to make contact with a secretive hacker that uses many different aliases. aliases. She wishes to do this by hanging out in  some litt le-k le-known nown hacke hackerr foru forums. ms. The GM G M sa ys thi thiss i s diff d ifficu icult, lt, requiring a Programming Skill Roll of 14. She will also need access to a computer, and this task may take some time.

Example Simon and his team are exploring an ancient X’ion biological  spacee wars  spac w arship hip.. He H e is i s n ot sure s ure if it is dead or hib hiber ernati nating. ng.

“Then, triangulate triangulate the signal via the nebula and done!” “You’ve never hacked a thing in your life, have you?”

 The GM tells him that if he can gain acce access ss to its cen central tral nervous system or power supply, he would be able to find out. It will require a Bio Tech roll of 12, and potentially some time, to find one of these locations, then another roll of 16 with a Bi o  Tech  T ech Toolb oolbox ox to know if i f it i t is i s hibe h iberna rnatin tingg or o r dead. d ead.

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Psychology

Medicine ability lity to work w ork with w ith and a nd kn owledg owledgee of medica me dicall equipm equ ipment ent and a nd  Your abi pharmaceuticals, as well as your ability to heal others and safely  interac t with w ith the ins inside idess of livin livingg biolo b iologica gicall life li fe for forms. ms.

 Your abi ability lity to und unders erstand tand the min mind, d, suc h as recog recogniz nizing ing the motivations of others, diagnosing and treating mental conditions, understanding and utilising psionic powers, and understanding biological technologies and systems which are neurological in nature, commonly called synaptronics.

Medicine can be used to Heal Attribute Damage (pg: 92 ).

 Areas of Stud Studyy »  Medical care. »  Pharmacology. »  Surgery. »  Physiotherapy. »  Anato my. Example Uses Without Tools »  Identify a symptom. »  Recommend a medicine.  Applyy pressu p ressure re to t o a wou wound. nd. »  Appl »  Relocate bone. »  Identify organ. Example Uses with a Toolkit Toolkit (Bandages, (Bandages , Painkillers, & Pocketboo k) »  Identify a common illness from the pocketbook. »  Admi  Adminis nister ter a paink pa inkille iller.r. »  Stop bleeding by bandaging. »  Make a sling. »  Create a splint. Example Uses with a Toolbox (First Aid Kit) »  Give medical attention. »  Admi  Adminis nister ter medi cine . »  Remove a bullet. »  Restrain neck movement.  Amputate tate a limb limb.. »  Ampu Example Uses with a Workshop (Medical Bay) »  Give extended medical care. »  Synthesise medicine. »  Perform complex surgery. »  Conduct physical rehabilit rehabilitation. ation. »  Research anatomy.

 Areas of Stud Studyy Psionchology ogy (psions and their powers). »  Psionchol »  Psy Psychology chology (psyche). »  Psychiatry (mental conditions). »  Synaptronics (biological electronics). »  Behavioural Science (behaviour of individuals). Example Uses Without Tools »  Recognise a psionic power. »  Recognise a mental state (depression, mania, etc). »  Calm an agitated individual. »  Recognise damage to a synaptron synaptronic ic system. motivation ation and intentions. »  Gain insight into motiv Example Uses with a Toolkit (Synaptronic “Screwdriver”) »  Detect psionic gene. »  Tr  Treat eat m ental cond conditi ition on w ith coun sel selling ling.. »  Diagnose a mental condition (post-traumatic stress, bipolar disorder, etc). »  Repair minor damage to a synaptronic system. »  Detect lies during interro interrogation. gation. Example Uses with a Toolbox (Sedatives and Anti-Depressants) »  Inhibit the psionic powers of a restrained individual. »  Perform hypnotic therapy. »  Tre  Treat at a men mental tal co ndi ndition tion wit h medic me dicine ine.. »  Repair major damage to a synaptronic system. »  Detect hidden agendas during interro interrogation. gation. Example Uses with a Workshop (Neural Analysis Lab) »  Research psionics. »  Recondition behaviour (shock therapy). »  Perform brain surgery. synaptronic systems. »  Build or invent synaptronic »  Extract information during interrog interrogation. ation.

 You can share Spare Time Point Pointss (pg: ( pg: 64 ) for Healing Rolls (pg: 92 ).

Example  Theodore has form ed a bit bitter ter profe professi ssional onal rivalr rivalryy wit h anot her merchant who keeps getting the better of him. He wishes to figure out his rival’s next move so he can counter it or cut in front of him.

Example Sarah has fallen sick from a common stomach virus after

 The GM says thi thiss wil willl take some tim timee to fig figure ure out, and wil willl require at least 2 Cultural Research Units on his rival’s trade patterns. Theodore will need access to information to Research

Sharing Spare Time Time Points Poin ts

 eatin g bad ba dhas fo od food rom a Neph Nephili ilim m market. ma rket.some helpful drugs that Maximus a fMedicine Toolbox with could cure her. As they have good equipment, this First Aid Skill Roll is not difficult and only requires a 10.

and must spend Spare Time Points.

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 Astr  As tr on om y knowledge dge of celes celestial tial objec ts, phe phenome nomena, na, stars stars,, and  Your knowle Ley Lines. Also includes your knowledge of and ability to use astronomical astronomic al equipment.    Areas of Stud Studyy »  Navigation. »  Cosmology. »  Ley Lines. »  Stellar Science. »  Gravitation. Example Uses Without Tools »  Navigate in space by following constellations. »  Understand space phenomena. »  Know about Ley Lines. »  Know star categories. geostationary ionary orbit. »  Place a spacecraft into geostat Example Uses with a Toolkit (Hand Telescope) »  Estimate a location in space. »  Identify space phenomena. »  Notice Ley Line distortions. »  Identify a star’s category. category. »  Estimate orbits. Example Uses with a Toolbox (Telescope) »  Calculate distance from a star. »  Determine the properties of a nebula. »  Detect a Ley Line. »  Detect incoming solar flares. »  Calculate escape velocity. Example Uses with a Workshop (Observatory) »  Perform interstellar navigation. »  Examine a black hole. »  Research Ley Lines. »  Study the composition of a star. »  Research satellites. Example  An anno yin yingg neb nebula ula has bee beenn suc suckin kingg all the ene energy rgy from Sarah’s spacecraft, threatening to leave the crew stranded in dead space. Desperate to gain some insight into this phenomenon, and with Desperate no astronomical equipment available, Sarah uses her Electronics  Toolb  T oolbox ox to analy analyse se her space craft craft’s ’s reactor reactor.. The GM says thi thiss  is a dif diffic ficult ult Astro Astronomy nomy Ski Skillll Roll of 16 beca because use she does not have ideal equipment.

Planetoids  Your knowle knowledge dge of plan planetary etary bod bodies, ies, as wel welll as atmos pheres , flora, fauna, minerals, habitats and advanced weather effects. Also  include  inc ludess your knowle knowledge dge of and abi abilit lityy to wor workk wit withh mini mining, ng, terra forming equipment, and aster asteroids. oids.  Areas of Stud Studyy »  Flora and fauna (plants and animals). »  Geology (minerals and mountains). »  Meteorology (weather and climate). »  Ecosystems (habitats and forests). »  Magnets (Electro-Gravity). Example Uses Without Tools »  Know plants and animals. »  Know types of stones. »  Predict the next few hours of weather. »  Understand ecosystems. »  Configure artificial gra gravity. vity. Example Uses with a Toolkit (Prospecting Pick)  Take ake plant cut cutting tings. s. »  T »  Collect a rock sample. »  T  Take ake a rainwater rai nwater samp sample. le. »  Plant a tree. »  Identify a habitat. Example Uses with a Toolbox (Geology & Zoology Kit) »  Identify animal species. »  Examine geological properties. »  Predict tomorrow’s weather. »  Create a small earth ecosystem. »  Asses  Assesss ecosy e cosy stem healt health. h. Example Uses with a Workshop (Surveyor’s Lab) »  Research a new animal species.  Analyse se mine mineral ral compo c omposit sition ion.. »  Analy  Analyse se a stor s torm’s m’s prope properti rties. es. »  Analy »  Research an ecosystem. »  Research Electro-Gravity weapons. Example Hraks has spotted a strange, orange bear-like b ear-like creature. This area  of the wil wilder derness ness is known for vio violent lent anim animals, als, and she want s to know if she should be cautious of this particular creature.  The GM says thi thiss task is mode moderately rately dif diffic ficult ult and requi requires res a Planetoid Skill Roll of at least 10.

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Combat Skills  These ski skills lls are use usedd in comba combatt and spli splitt into two categor categories: ies:  Vehicle Syste System m Skills Sk ills and Perso nal Comba Combatt Skill S kills. s.  At charac character ter creati creation, on, you may sele select ct two Vehicle Sys System tem and Personal Combat Skills to be trained in. Each Trained Skill may have two connected Traits.

 Trained  Train ed Ski lls grant gran t a +1 bonus bon us to an y conn ected Weapons Weapo ns To To Hit. Untrained Skills give a -2 penalty to any connected Weapons  Too Hit.  T Hi t.

 Attack  Atta ck & Sys System tem Rol Rolls ls  All Person Pe rsonal al C ombat Skil ls increas i ncreasee (or ( or decreas d ecreasee if i f Untrai U ntrained) ned) the To Hit Roll of the respective Weapons (eg: +1 Small Arms  increase  inc rease all Attack Rolls wit withh Small Sm all Arm Armss Weapons Weapo ns by 1).  All Vehicle Vehi cle Syste System m Skills Sk ills inc increase rease (or dec decrease) rease) your abili a bili ty to successfully pass a relevant spacecraft System Roll (eg: +1 Command increases your chance to pass a Command System Roll by 1).

Personal Combat Skills

Tactical  Your abi ability lity to use commo commonn comba t drone drones, s, tacti tactical cal weapo ns, combat computers and tactical Actions in combat (including your ability to Ste Stealth). alth).  You can use thi thiss ski skillll to reque request st GM advic e dur during ing comba t on a limited basis. It may also be used for some large-scale combat  sit uati uations ons,, suc suchh as cit cityy sieg sieges, es, whe where re there are too many acto actors rs to play out everything in the scene.  T  Tacti actical cal Weapons: Weap ons: Mi nd  Your Mind  Targe  T argetin tingg Lasers Las ers  Tacti  T actical cal C ompu omputers ters  Turrets Swarm Drones Combat Drones  Assaultlt Drones  Assau D rones Electro-Gravity Gauntlets Disruptor Rifles  T  Tacti actical cal Actio Ac tions: ns: Stealth

Exotic  Your abi ability lity to use unc uncommon ommon weapo ns, pers onal racial powers powers,, personally made weapons, and Melee Skill in combat.

pg:  78 for See pg: 78  for full Attack Roll rules.  Your abi ability lity to per perfor form m dif differen feren t tacti tactical cal acti actions ons in comba combatt and  skillll at  ski a t usin u sin g diff d ifferent erent typ types es of o f weapon w eapons. s.

Exotic Weapons: Exotic includes all weapons not covered by other categories,  includi  inc ludi ng Melee Me lee Weapons, Weapo ns, P rotot rototype ype Weapo ns, a nd man y Drones. Drone s.

Small Arms  Your ab abili ility ty t o use u se commo n firear f irearms ms i n co mbat. Small Arms Weapons: Pistols Submachine Guns Rifles  Assaultlt Rifle  Assau R ifless Shotguns

Heavy Arms ability lity to use commo commonn large weapo weapons ns and explos explosives ives in  Your abi combat. Also includes gun emplacements and spacecraft weapons used in personal Combat situations. Heavy Arms Weapons: Grenades Grenade Launchers Satchels Cannons  Auto Cann Cannons ons Chemical Throwers

 The resound reso unding ing crackacracka-crack crack of the gaus gausss rifle r ifle came a half second behind the dulled impacts on Brenton’s Octanto™ Shielding. “Damnit!”  The red Legio Legionn for forms ms acros acrosss the narrow valley were using an awful lot of ammunition, he thought while pulling on the reload valve of his particle cannon, hearing the distinctive whoosh of the air intake. “Now, come to papa…” Nudging the business end of the cannon around the bullet-pitted rock, Brenton slowly tightened his finger on the trigger as he took aim.  An overly war warm m gun muzz muzzle le was place placedd agai against nst his head, still smoking slightly from recent fire. “Cease fire, Corp.” came the accented Legion voice.  They’d bee beenn di stract ing him from the sco scout… ut… Damn .

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 Vehii c le S ys  Veh yste tem m Sk il ls pg: 155 for See pg: 155  for full Spacecr Spacecraft aft Combat rules. See pg: 168 pg: 168 for  for full Spacecr Spacecraft aft System Roll rules.  Your abi abilit lityy to use space craft Vehicle Sys Systems tems and Weaponry in a combat situation.

 Trained  Train ed Skil ls grant a +1 bonu bonuss to any conn connecte ectedd Sys System tem Roll  or Weapon To Hit. H it. Untrained Skills give a -2 penalty to any connected System Roll  or Weapon To Hit. H it.

Command abilit lityy to pilot a spac spacecraf ecraft,t, coordinate coord inate crew, and direc t fighters. fighte rs.  Your abi Command Weapons: Boarding Parties Bomber Squads Combat Squads Sentries

Engineering  Your abi lity to repair, repa ir, regulate power power,, and an d recharge rech arge  spacecraf  spac ecraftt shie s hields lds in a combat c ombat sit situati uation. on.

Operations  Your ab abili ility ty to use spac spacecraf ecraftt sens s ensors ors and direct warheads. Operations Weapons: Swarm Warheads Missiles Rockets  Torp  T orpedoe edoess Mines

Gunnery  Your abi lity to reloa d, unjam, u njam, and fire spac spacecraf ecraftt batteries batte ries.. Gunnery Weapons: Point Defences Blasters Burst Batte Batteries ries  Artille  Art illery ry

“I’m not addicted to Corporation fuel... but my ship is.”  - Logan, Log an, Captai Captainn of the Astral Star.

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 A  Acquisition cquisition Every character has access to different types of resources, whether it is money, materials, personal skill, free time, or friends. Resources, Influence, and Spare Time Points represent your access to these, and you’ll use these to acquire equipment, social perks,  services  serv ices,, and a nd spac spacecraf ecraft.t.

Overview

Loot

Distributing Resources and Influence

Looting your defeated foes and stealing from your enemies is often a staple source of income for many mercenaries and explorers.

Resources urces and Infl uen uence ce are dis distri tribute buted, d, not spe spent. nt. Do not  Your Reso decrease your Resources or Influence when you acquire, lose, or change your equipment or spacecraft. They merely limit the total number of points you can have distributed at any one time.  The total cost of your Items can never excee exceedd your Cur Current rent Resourcess or Influence (see belo Resource below). w).

Money and Small Valuables Characters gain a single Trade Box (pg: 66 ) or Spare Time Point (pg: 64 ) if i f they t hey acqu ire a small s mall amou amount nt o f money mo ney or valua valuables bles..

Equipment Spending Spare Time Points Unlike Resources and Influence, Spare Time Points are spent. Each time you attempt to acquire an item or service that costs a Spare  Time  T ime Point Point,, you must m ust redu reduce ce your Spare Time Point s by 1. This Thi s is not regained, even if you fail to acquire or lose the item or service.  Too acqu  T acquire ire an item or ser service vice that cos costs ts a Spare Time Point Point,, you must make a Spare Time Roll (pg: 64 ).

Characters cters can keep any equipment they find, but at the end of the Chara  ses sion the total  session t otal Cost Cos t of their th eir equi e quipmen pmen t cannot cann ot exceed exce ed their th eir C urre urrent nt Resources or Influence. Characters Characters must decide what equipment they will keep.

 Any looted items may be tur ned int intoo Trade Goods G oods (pg (pg:: 66 ).  A rough rou gh gui guide de is 1 Trade Box per pe r 4 Weight of Items Items..

Maximum and Current  Your Maximum Res Resource ourcess and Infl uen uence ce both equal eq ual your character’s character ’s Level (pg: 32 (pg:  32 ). You ma y never have more the 10 Spare Time Point s (pg: 64 ) at a t on ce.  The amoun a mountt o f Tr Trade ade Good Goodss you can have is only lim limited ited by your Cargo space (pg: 150 (pg:  150 ). There is no limi t to the amoun t of Researc Researchh Units you can have.  As your Maximu Maximum m Reso Resources urces and Inf Influe luence nce go up, your Cur Current rent Resources and Influence do not go up. You can only gain Resources and Influence by in-game actions (eg: Going on NPC missions,  selling  sel ling Tr Trade ade Good Goods, s, or publ p ublish ishing ing Researc h).

 Weapons and Out Outfit fitss w with ith Modi Modifica ficatio tions ns Characters may keep any Modifications on an item they loot, no additional Spare Time Rolls are required. Items that cost a Spare Time Point Can be freely kept, no Spare Time Roll needs to be made.

 Am mu ni ti on Found Ammunition can be used to regain a GM specified amount  of Clip Clipss or o r Am muni tion (pg (pg:: 122 ).

Gaining Resourcess are often gained by completing NPC missions or selling Resource  Trade  Tr ade Good Goodss (pg: ( pg: 66 ). Influence is increased by gaining the favour and appreciation of NPCs, often through NPC missions done out of goodwill or through publishing Research (pg: 68 ). Spare Time Points are gained at the start of each game session, as a reward for good role playing or as a minor reward.  Trade  Tr ade Good Goodss are often purc purchase hasedd o r looted l ooted.. Researc Researchh is gain gained ed in a similar way to Trade Goods.

Large Lar ge Amounts of Goods  Acquire appropria ropriate te amoun t and type of Tr Trade ade Good (pg (pg:: 66 ).  Acqui re an app Need to have means of moving and storing.

Large Lar ge Amounts of Money  Acqui re Reso  Acquire Resources urces.. Shou Should ld be part icu icularl larlyy rare, as most large amounts of money are held in vaults, guarded banks or  stored  sto red elec troni tronically cally..

Scientific Data  Acquire  Acqui re Resea Research rch Uni Units. ts. Well docu documente mented, d, sci scienti enti fic data is rare and difficult to acquire.

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 Acquis  A cquisition ition Types Gained from In-Game Actions. Eg: Completing a mission, looting, or selling Trade Goods.

Resources abilit lityy to purchas pu rchase, e, maintai ma intain, n, and an d cover the t he upkeep u pkeep expen ex penses ses of of  Your abi your Weapons and Outfit. Often gained by completing lucrative lucrative missions, selling Trade Trade Goods,  or sec securi uring ng spon sor sorshi ships, ps, invest investment ment s, or sim simply ply large sum sumss  of money money..

Influence  Your abi ability lity to purch purchase ase,, main tain, and cover the upke upkeep ep expe expenses nses  of your (and pos possib sibly ly your group group’s) ’s) spac spacecraf ecraft.t. Can a lso represe represent nt how much respect and power you have with an NPC group. Commonly gained by doing favours (often without payment) for a group of people, gaining access to spacecraft fuel or components.

Spare Time Points Spent on acquiring minor objects and services, making equipment modifications and producing Trade Goods or Research. Gained at the start of each session, for good role playing and through loot.  You cannot cann ot have more mo re than t han 10 unu unused sed Spare Time Point s at a t on ce.

 Trade  Trade Goods Good s Crates of valuable goods that require storage space. Often traded up, until the owner is ready to sell to the right buyer. Usually purchased purchas ed from a merchant (Spare Time Roll) or looted from defeated foes.

Research access cess to rare knowled k nowledge ge of techn ology or the unive universe rse..  Your ac Used invent Technologies and improve your ability to maintain yourtospacecraft. Publishing can give you fame, respect, and other perks. Usually gained through personal studies.

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Buying Rifle and Outfit , Resources Example Derrick is Level 5 (Maximum Resources 7) and has 4 Current Resources. He purchases a Rifle (2 Resources) and armour (2 Resources), Resource s), allotting all of his Current Resources. If he wishes to acquire any more items that cost Resources, he must either  or armour ar mour. . increase his Current Resources or get rid of his Rifle

Changing Weapons, Resources Example Brett has 7 Current Resources, 4 allotted for armour and 3 for a SMG. He wishes to change his SMG to an Assault Rifle (3 Resources). He has a few options available available to him: He could simply get rid of his SMG and buy an Assault Rifle. If Brett managed to loot or steal an Assault Rifle (see pg:  54  54 for  for full Loot rules), he could keep his SMG until the end of the session, when it would convert into a Trade Box. The Assault Rifle he found would keep any Modifications that cost Spare Time Time Points (pg: 64 ).

Gaining Resources Example

Hraks has a Maximum Resources of 12 but only 8 Current Resources. She can gain 4 Current Resources before she hits her limit. She has many options available to her. She could find a paying mission from an NPC, attack pirates pirates and collect bounties, turn pirate and attack NPCs, or she could buy and sell Trade Trade Goods (pg: 66 ). She decides to try combining trading with bounty hunting. She purchases some Trade Goods and tries to find a mission hunting pirates in the same area she wishes to  selll her  sel he r Trade Good Goods. s.

Losing Resources Example  After a disa disastrou strou s fig fight, ht, Andrew and Qwarx have been captured by Draz pirates and are being held in a makeshift prison. Eventually they manage to break their bonds and  overpowe r the guar  overpower guards. ds. But they are faced wit h a dile dilemma: mma: All of their equipment is be ing held by the pirat piratee captain. If they choose to take the safe option and lea leave ve their equipment the GM informs them they will both lose 1 Current Resource and will need to acquire new  equipme  equi pment. nt. If, however, they manag managee to regain the theirir equi pmen t and  overpowerr the  overpowe th e pirates, pi rates, they may be b e able ab le to loot enou gh valuab va luables les t o gain Current Resources.  Andrew and Qwarx choo choose se to aban abandon don the theirir equi equipme pment nt and leave, as recovering recovering it w ould just be too dangerous.

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Maximum and Current Influence, Example Geordie has 16 Maximum Influence. He has only 14 Current Influence, gained from many different jobs and some Research Publications. He may still gain an additional 2 Current Influence through further his in-game actions.

Gaining  A smal smallInfluence, l group of Example mercenari merce naries es are resup resupplyi plying ng thei r food supplies from a small Kaltoran logging settlement on Mishpacha when it is attack attacked ed by a horde of Feral Nephilim.  Afte r fig  After fighti hting ng off the invader invaders, s, the local leader leaderss than thankk the them m and try to convince the mercenaries to help them destroy the Feral tribe. However, they have very little to pay the party. If they were to work for payment, they would only gain 4 Trade Boxes of wood. If they worked for free, though,  surely  sure ly the t he leader l eaderss would w ould be than thankfu kfull and an d woul w ouldd tell tel l  otherr Kaltorans  othe Kalt orans,, in creasi creasing ng the t he Curre C urrent nt Influ I nflu ence  of each play player er charac character ter by b y one. o ne.

Losing Influence, Example

Michele and her team have been doing a lot of mercenary work for the Legion High Command. Most of the group’s Current Influence has come from them. If they were to ever take any hostile action towards Legion High Command or their inter interests, ests, though, they might lose some of their Current Influence.

Combining Influence, Example Each member of Eric’s group has 5 Current Influence,  if they t hey c ombi ombine ne toge t ogether ther,, they th ey can acqu ire a spac spacecraf ecraftt that requires requires up to 25 Influence.

Big Ships, GM Game Style Example  Jame s is the GM. He wants  James w ants to run r un a Space Opera game game,, with the players in a big spacecraft. He lets his players know that he will be giving out lots of Influence and very little Resources. He will also be increasing each character’s Maximum and Starting Influence by 5. This will make NPC  spacecraf  spac ecraftt more mo re dangero da ngerous us (pg (pg:: 302 ).

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Perks Making friends and Publishing Research Research (pg: 69 ) grants grant s Perks. Perks . Your choice of Perk must reflect your character’s character’s in-game actions.  You may chan change ge a Perk Per k by b y usin u singg a Level up u p Retro Re tro (pg: ( pg: 32  32 ).

Minor Perks  You have just starte startedd to reap some mino r benefi ben efits ts from your new acquaintances or employment. More often than not, these are geographically localised perks. Language

Each Perk may only be selected once. Gain a Minor Perk at Influence: 5, 10 and 20. Gain a Moderate Perk at Influence: 15 and 25. Gain a Major Perk at Influence: 30

 Youyour havenewfound learn t aallies. new See lang pg: language uage 36 from your interac tions tio ns with  36    for more information  on Langua ges.  Ancient ent Kaltora Kaltorann »  Anci »  Archo  Archonn »  Corp »  High X’ion

»  Primal X’ion »  Kaltoran »  Legion (and Hand Signal) »  Vargartian

Creating Perks GMs should feel free to invent new Perks. Be careful to not make a Perk that is too close to another or imbalanced.

Minor Access  You ha have ve been bee n trusted trus ted with wit h access acces s to a non-publi non-pu blicc space such su ch as an apartment, warehouse, workspace, or other small facility.

Research  When you ac hieve 12 or 16 Uni Units ts of Researc Researchh (pg (pg:: 68 ) in a sin single gle area, you may receive a Minor Perk related to that research.

»  Gain 1 Cargo space of room. mustt make any requi required red Spare Time Rolls to ins install tall a »  You mus

Kaltoran Kaltor an Hero, Thematic Perk S election Example

 Workshopp into  Worksho i nto thi thiss space s pace.. combine ine this wit withh the Mode Moderate rate Acces Accesss Perk or »  You may comb the Major Access Perk, adding the available Cargo space together. Also, you may combine your Cargo space with that  of othe otherr playe p layerr characte c haracters. rs.

Rachel and her group have been working a lot with her Kaltoran Swagger family and have become quite popular with them, gaining Current Influence. Rachel has 16 Current Influence and wishes to  select  sele ct Perks Per ks (2 ( 2 Minor Mi nor and 1 Moderate) Mod erate) to reflec re flec t her he r rela tion shi shipp with wi th the Swagger family. For her first Minor Perk, she selects Minor Contact: Uncle David Swagger. Rachel and her group once saved David’s mechanic business from a Draz cartel looking to extort him. In gratitude, Uncle David will always be willing to help Rachel out in any way that he can, granting +1 to any Mechanics Spare Time Rolls that Rachel might make around him. For her second Minor Perk, Rachel chooses Language: Ancient Kaltoran. Rachel has always had faint genetic memories of her ancestral ancestr al language, and with the help of her family she has managed to fine-tune this knowledge. For her Moderate Perk, Rachel chooses Additional Income. Her family have have helped her greatly, offering her spare parts, munitions, and any extra Credits that she might need.

Minor Contact friend endss wit h someo s omeone ne who is wil willin lingg to help you out. ou t.  You are fri  This frie f riend nd is i s often of ten restri res tricted cted to a sin gle geograp g eographica hicall area, and you must travel to them if you wish to make use of their skills. »  Pick a single sing le Primary Skill. Sk ill. You gain +1 to all Spare Time Time Rolls with this Skill when you are with your contact. b onuss ma y on ly be b e used u sed once per ses sessio sion. n. »  This bonu Minor Rank  You have earn ed your place in your organ organisat isation ion by proving yourself in the field. While you have very little authority to order  others  othe rs aroun d, your sup superi eriors ors ackn owledg owledgee you a s some someone one to be respected and trusted. »  One Companion Costs 1 less Current Resources.

“OK, the Orbital Orbi tal Bombardment Guidance Laser is ready, but I’m aiming by eye, so I may have to walk my shots.”  - Tiro, Legion Leg ion weapo weapons ns inven inventor, tor, scar scaring ing his alli allies. es.