M-Space - d100 Roleplaying in The Far Future - S7zihC PDF

SPACE is a d10 0-based r ules s y s tem for s cience f ic tion r olepl ay ing. Ever y thing ne e de d to play sci-fi games is included here. W ith this book, a pencil and some paper, you will be able to create imaginar y universes and play char acters from a variet y of cultures and careers. They can pilot s t ar ships , me et s tr ange alien lifeforms and visit fantastic worlds.

M   –   S PA C E

M

M – S PA CE d100 roleplaying in the far future

The game engine used for all this is My thr as Imper ative. If you are familiar with any closely related d100 game, you will feel right at home.

clarence redd

FrostByte Books

clarence redd

M – S PA C E clarence redd

FrostByte Books 

M – S PA C E 1.1 written & edited by clarence redd

additional material by atgxtg, colin brett & jason durall cover art by jadrien cousens interior art by matthias utomo, david sladek & pheidel

T his pr oduc t references the M y thr as Imper ati ve r ules, av ail able fr om T he Design Mechanism at w w w.thedesignmechanism.com and all as sociated logos and tr ademar k s are copy r ight s of T he Design Mechanism. Used w ith per mis sion. T he Design Mechanism makes no representation or w ar r ant y as to the qualit y, v iabilit y, or suitabilit y for pur pose of this pr oduc t. ISBN: 97 8 -91-9 8 2 3 9 3 -1-7 © Fr ostB y te Book s 2 017. A ll r ight s reser ved



Contents Introduction0 06 Char acter s0 08 Game System

0 32

E x tended Conflicts

0 42

Combat05 4 Simplified Combat

075

Spot Rules

078

Starship Design

086

Starship Combat

106

Advanced Starship Combat

116

Alien Creation

122

World Building

14 6

Circles156 Psionics170 Vehicle Design

178

Technology18 8 Life forms

206

Appendix A & B

212



Introduction

M

SPACE is a d10 0-based r ules system for science fiction roleplaying. Ever y thing needed to play sci-fi games is included here; the book is a complete game in itself. W ith this book, a pencil and some paper, you are ready to tell amazing stories together with a few friends. You will be able to create imaginar y universes and play char acter s from a variet y of cultures and careers. They can pilot star ships, meet str ange alien life forms and visit beautiful (or terrif ying) worlds.

The game engine used for all this is My thr as Imper ative , created by The Design Mechanism. If you are familiar with any closely related d10 0 game, like Runequest, Call of Cthulhu or OpenQuest, you will probably feel right at home. They have a common heritage and share a lot of basic concepts and r ules. M-SPACE is mostly intended for heroic and my thic sci-fi games, but can be used for many other st yles too with a few t weaks. You can emulate ever y thing from contempor ar y near-realistic settings, to 194 0s pulp-inspired heroes.

6

IN T R O D U C T I O N

This book is a modular toolkit for sci-fi. Use whichever par ts you need and leave the rest – the game system will not break down because of this. We have al so taken great care to write the r ules to help you create your own universe; no ready-made setting is holding back your creativit y. Just like roleplaying games were meant to be when invented in the 1970s. The stories are all yours here, and you can explore them in any way you want. You can create unique alien species, complex cultures and worlds. Let a planet orbit a binar y star and put the star on a map. Char t ancient courses for tr ader s and explorer s; find out who’s a friend and who’s an enemy. A nd you have already star ted to play. I wr ite science fiction, and science fiction isn’t about the future. I don’t know any more about the future than you do, and ver y likely less. Ur sula K Le Guin

Clarence Redd, August 2016

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A Note on Roleplaying Games

M-SPACE assumes that the reader is familiar with the concept of how roleplaying games wor k, the differences bet ween the player s, the Games Master (or referee), the use of char acter s and the use of polyhedr al dice. If this is your fir st roleplaying game, we recommend that you take a look at: ht tp: //w w w.r pgamer.com / savingthrow/pr imer.html

It of fer s an excellent over view of the dif ferent par ticipants in roleplaying games and how a t ypical roleplaying game session is str uctured.

w w w.frostby tebooks.com

IN T R O D U C T I O N

7

Characters

E

ver y player in M-SPACE control s a char acter. A char acter is the player’s alter-ego, and is usually ver y dif ferent, physically and mentally, to the player. M-SPACE char acter s can be ever y thing from star ship pilots and bount y hunter s, to journalists and libr arians! All depending on what t ype of scenarios you want to play. The basic char acter is defined by a series of dif ferent elements that describe the char acter’s capabilities. These elements are: » » Char acteristic s: such as Strength or Charisma » » Attributes: things like Hit Points or Movement » » Skill s: exper tise in fundamental abilities

Most of these elements are described in terms of number s, and some are dependent on or calculated by other s. What each element means, and how they are determined, is described in the following sections. Char acters are usually recorded on a char acter sheet, which is a handy way of organizing all the information about the char acter. It is recommended that you fir st design your char acter using scr atch paper, and then tr ansfer the information to a char acter sheet once you have gone through each step of the process. Use a pencil and have an er aser handy; cer tain number s such as skill values will change sever al times during the char acter creation process. An empt y char acter sheet is included at the end of the book and al so as a free download from our website.

8

CHAR ACTERS

Character Creation Steps 1. Character Concept Decide on the kind of char acter to play. Keep it simple for now. More will come. 2. Characteristic s If playing a human, 3d6 for STR, CON, DE X , POW and CHA . 2d6 +6 for INT and SIZ. Allocate results to fit the concept. Alternatively distribute 80 points amongst the char acteristics. Minimum 3 (8 for INT and SIZ), maximum 18. 3. Calculate Attributes Use the char acteristics to determine Action Points, Damage Modifier, E xperience Modifier, Healing Rate, Hit Points, Initiative, Luck Points, Movement. 4. Standard Skill s Calculate the base value of Standard Skill s by adding together the appropriate char acteristics. 5. Culture Decide on a Cultur al Background. Allocate 10 0 points amongst the listed Standard Skill s, the chosen Professional Skill s and the Combat St yle (if any) for the chosen culture. 6. Career Choose a Career from those available to the setting. Distribute 10 0 points amongst the career’s listed Standard Skill s and whatever Professional Skill s were chosen. 7. Bonus Skill Points A ssign a final 150 points bet ween any Standard skill or those Professional skill s gained as par t of Culture or Career. 8. Equipment Determine Star ting Equipment based on Culture and Career.

Rounding of Number s and Results

On some occasions you will be required to divide number s – t ypically the r ating in a skill (such as for deter mining a cr itical success, which is 1/10 th of the skill ’s value). W henever a division result creates a fr action, always round up to the whole number. So, for instance, 1 /10 th of 6 4% is 6.4; this is rounded up to 7.

CH A R A C T E R S

9

Character Concept A good place to star t is to have some idea of what sor t of char acter you want to play; a hardened colonist for example, or a cunning thief. Your char acter concept does not need to be elabor ate at this stage; simply an idea that will help guide cer tain choices such as profession. A few char acter ideas are listed in the sidebar to provoke your imagination.

Characteristics E xample Concepts » » Naive star ship pilot » » Back water miner » » Cosmopolitan psionic » » Streetsmar t smuggler » » Adventurous scientist

Ever yone is defined by seven char acteristics which tell you something about your char acter; how strong or fast he or she is; how clever or healthy. Char acteristics are at the core of ever y MSPACE char acter and form the basis for most of the other elements such as Attributes and Skill s. The seven char acteristics are:

» » Medical doctor on the r un » » Jour nalist standing up for the poor » » Secur it y agent betr ayed by for mer employer » » Mercenar y without hope » » Diplomat on a secret mission

»» »» »» »» »» »» »»

Strength (STR) Constitution (CON) Size (SIZ) Dex terit y (DE X ) Intelligence (INT) Power (POW ) Charisma (CHA )

Before calculating the char acteristics, the following section explains what each represents. Strength (STR) STR represents physical strength: how much one can lif t, how hard one can hit, and so on. STR is a component of the Damage Modifier (page 12). If a char acter is reduced to zero STR he lacks the abilit y to move or lif t objects. 10

CHAR ACTERS

Constitution (CON) CON is measure of health and hardiness. CON is a component in determining Hit Points (see page 14) and Healing Rate (see page 13). If CON fall s to zero for any reason the char acter dies. Size (SIZ) SIZ measures mass, and helps indicate height and weight. SIZ is used to help figure Hit Points (see page 14), as larger, heavier creatures tend to have greater endur ance against damage. SIZ can al so be used to determine a char acter’s Damage Modifier, since mass helps to increase the force of a blow. Dex terit y (DE X ) Agilit y, balance and reflexes are measured by DE X . It is an impor tant aspect of Action Points (see page 12) and Initiative (see page 13). If a char acter is reduced to zero DE X they suf fer functional par alysis. Intelligence (INT) INT is measurement of cognitive abilit y. Those with a lower INT score are not necessarily stupid, but they are likely to be constr ained in how creatively they can employ their wits. INT is a factor in calculating Action Points and Initiative. If INT is reduced to zero the char acter becomes completely mindless. Power (POW ) POW is a measurement of dif ferent things. It can be, for example, a measure of a char acter’s soul, spirit, inner drive or capacit y for psionics. POW governs a char acter’s Power Points and Luck Points (see page 13). If a char acter’s POW ever drops to zero they lose all independent will. Charisma (CHA ) Charisma measures personalit y and is independent of physical appear ance. CHA af fects a char acter’s E xperience Modifier (page 12). If CHA ever fall s to zero, the char acter can no longer socially inter act with others, becoming so painfully shy or antisocial they are ignored or even driven away.

Calculating Char ac ter istic s

Each char acter istic has a numerical value to deter mine how potent it is. Roll the indicated dice for STR, CON, SIZ, DE X , INT, P OW and CH A taking each rolled score as it comes. Since the results of these roll s can be somewhat r andom, it is of ten bet ter to decide on a char acter concept af ter the dice are rolled. Other wise the final char acter istics may preclude a preconceived role. Roll 3d6 for STR, CON, DE X , P OW and CH A; then 2d6 + 6 for SIZ and INT. Other species may use dif ferent dice. Your Games Master may want to calculate char acter istics dif ferently. Alter nate suggestions include: Dice Roll, A ssign: A s per nor mal gener ation, except the player may exchange values bet ween Char acter istics with the same dice r ange. Dice Pool: roll 19 six-sided dice and assign three roll s to each Character istic, save SIZ and INT which only get t wo, but star t with a base value of 6. Points Build: player s assign Character istic scores from a pre-determined pool of 8 0 points. Char acter istics cannot be lower than the minimum rolled value, nor higher than the maximum. Games Master s are free to come up with their own methods or point values as desired.

CH A R A C T E R S

11

Attributes Each char acter al so has a set of attributes. These are par ticular capabilities derived from the char acteristics, or determined by them that are used to govern cer tain factor s of game play. The attributes are: Damage Modifier STR+SIZ

Modifier

5 or Less

–1d8

6 –10

–1d6

11–15

–1d4

16 –20

–1d2

21–25

+0

26 – 30

+1d2

31– 35

+1d4

36 – 4 0

+1d6

41– 4 5

+1d8

4 6 –5 0

+1d10

51– 6 0

+1d12

61–70

+2d6

71– 8 0

+1d8 +1d6

81–90

+2d8

91–10 0

+1d10 +1d8

101-110

+2d10

111-12 0

+2d10 +1d2

Each 10 points Continue Progression.

12

CHAR ACTERS

»» »» »» »» »» »» »» »» »»

Action Points Damage Modifier E xperience Modifier Healing Rate Hit Points Initiative Bonus Luck Points Power Points Movement Rate

Action Points How of ten a char acter can act in a combat round (page 5 4) is determined by Action Points. For simplicit y, the M-SPACE r ules gr ant all char acter s with 2 Action Points (the full My thr as r ules can give char acter s a dif ferent number, depending on their DE X and INT). Damage Modifier The bonus amount of damage a char acter inflicts when physically striking or applying force. It is an ex tr a die roll which is either added to, or subtr acted from, the damage inflicted by a weapon or tool. If a negative damage modifier takes a weapon’s damage to zero or below then no damage at all has been inflicted. Add together STR and SIZ and consult the Damage Modifier table in the sidebar. E xperience Modifier O ver the cour se of play char acter s improve their skill s and capabilities. This is achieved through the use of E xperience Roll s which are explained in more detail on page 3 8. A char acter’s

CHA score may adjust the number of E xperience Roll s the character has, reflecting the relationship he has with his peer s and his reputation in his communit y. Healing Rate Af ter receiving injuries, a char acter needs to recuper ate. Healing Rate determines how quickly they natur ally recover from wounds. Depending on the severit y of the injur y (page 36), the Healing Rate denotes how many Hit Points are recovered per day, week or month. Hit Points Hit Points represent how much injur y an area of the body can withstand before it becomes useless, possibly resulting in incapacitation and ultimately the char acter’s death. The body of ever y creature is divided into separ ate locations – humans for example have seven; the head, chest, abdomen, arms and legs – each location with its own hit points. To calculate the Hit Points of each location, add CON and SIZ together and cross-reference on the Hit Points table opposite. It’s al so possible to r un M-SPACE without hit locations; see Simplified Combat on page 75 for more detail s. For settings without much violence, this can be a good choice. Initiative Bonus The moment at which someone reacts in combat is governed by initiative. Initiative Bonus acts as a modifier to initiative roll s; the higher the bonus, the faster one responds in a combat situation, determining when you can act. Fur ther factor s – armor for example – modif y it. Initiative Bonus is the aver age of the DE X and INT char acteristics. Luck Points Luck Points represent that str ange force dif ferentiating adventuring heroes from ever yday folk. Call it fate, karma or simple good for tune. Luck Points can be used to:

E xper ience Modifier CHA

E xp. Modifier

6 or Less

–1

7–12

0

13 –18

+1

Each 6 points

+1

Healing Rate CON

Healing Rate

6 or Less

1

7–12

2

13 –18

3

Each 6 points

+1

Luck Points POW

Luck Points

6 or Less

1

7–12

2

13 –18

3

Each 6 points

+1

CH A R A C T E R S

13

» » Re-roll the dice, if they are unfavor able » » Mitigate physical damage or other unfor tunate circumstances » » Gain an edge at a vital moment in combat E xactly how they are used, and when, is described on page 36. Once a Luck Point is spent, the pool decreases; when one is out of Luck Points, no more are available – unless the Games Master makes an impromptu award – until the nex t game session when they replenish to their normal value. Power Points For those who can utilise such power s, a char acter’s Power Points are equal to their POW. These points are used for psionics, the cost of which is dependent on the t ype of power used. When the psionic r uns out of Power Points he has exhausted his abilit y to use any power s until they are replenished. Movement Rate Ever y creature has a Movement Rate – a number of meter s that can be tr avelled during a specific period of time. Movement is not calculated from Char acteristics but is a default value which dif fers from species to species. The base Movement Rate for humans is 6 meter s. Hit Points Per Location

CON+SIZ

14

1–5

6 –10

11–15

16 –20

21–25

26 –30

31–35

36 – 4 0

+5 pts

Leg

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

+1

A bdomen

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

+1

Chest

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

+1

Each A rm

1

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

+1

Head

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

+1

CHAR ACTERS

Skills

 Standard Skill s Basic Scores Skill

Basic %

Athletic s

S TR+DE X

Boating

S TR+ CON

Br awn

S TR+SIZ

Conceal

DE X+P OW

Customs

INT x 2 + 4 0

Dance

DE X+ CH A

Deceit

INT+CH A

Dr ive

DE X+P OW

Endur ance

CON x 2

Evade

DE X x 2

Fir st A id

INT+DE X

Influence

CH A x 2

Insight

INT+P OW

Locale

INT x 2

The basic score of each Standard skill is determined by the sum of t wo char acteristics or a multiple of a single char acteristic. The value represents the char acter’s innate competence in a given area, before any points from the skill points pool are assigned. The score represents the percentage chance of success for a skill; so, an Athletics score of 25 is expressed as 25%. See nex t spread for descriptions of standard skill s.

Native Tongue

INT+CH A+ 4 0

Perception

INT+P OW

Ride

DE X+P OW

Sing

CH A+P OW

Stealth

DE X+INT

Swim

S TR+ CON

Professional Skill s Professional Skill s represent more specialised forms of tr aining and experience. They can only be picked up during Char acter Creation as par t of a char acter’s native culture or their career. Once play star ts, new skill s can be learned by seeking out teachers.

Unar med

S TR+DE X

W illpower

P OW x 2

Combat St yle

STR+DE X

Skill s fall into t wo classes. Ever yone has Standard skill s – things such as sneaking around or influencing other s. Professional skill s on the other hand, are those requiring specific tr aining before they can be attempted – things such as tr acking wild animal s, piloting a spacecr af t or understanding ancient languages. Char acters are given three pool s of points to spend on acquiring skill s; the fir st pool for the Culture they grew up in, the second for the Career they adopt af ter childhood, and the last to fur ther round out their skill set. » » A novice char acter assigns 100 points to the Culture skill pool, 100 to the Career skill pool, and a fur ther 150 points for rounding out. Each Culture and Career has a defined r ange of standard and professional skill s to which those skill points may be assigned. Standard Skill s Standard skill s cover a r ange of ever yday activities and local knowledge which anyone can use without specialised tr aining.

CH A R A C T E R S

15

Standard Skill s Athletic s. STR+DE X . Athletics covers a r ange of physical activities, including climbing, jumping, throwing and r unning. Boating. STR+CON. The Boating skill covers the oper ation of small floating cr af t on rivers, lakes and close inshore.  Brawn. STR+SIZ. Br awn is the ef ficient application of technique when using r aw physical force. The skill covers lif ting, breaking and contests of strength. Conceal. DE X+POW. Conceal is the counterpoint to Stealth, being the concealment of large objects r ather than the char acter themselves. Customs. INT x2. Customs represents the char acter’s knowledge of his own communit y; its social codes, rites, ritual s, taboos and so on. Dance. DE X+CHA . The Dance skill measures a char acter’s abilit y to move rhy thmically and accur ately (to a reasonable degree) when called upon to do so. Just about ever y culture uses dance in some way – either as recreation or as par t of impor tant ritual s. Deceit. INT+CHA . Deceit covers all instances where a char acter attempts to mask the tr uth and of fer a deceit of some kind; barefaced lying, misleading a guard or even bluf fing (or cheating) during a card game. Deceit forms a counterpar t to the Insight skill and can be

16

CHAR ACTERS

used to oppose Insight roll s when other s are attempting to discern either tr uth or motive. Drive. DE X+POW. Drive cover s the control of wheeled or dr awn vehicles. Drive roll s are needed when a char acter wants to do something out of the ordinar y with a vehicle – tr aver se treacherous terr ain, jump obstacles, chase another vehicle and so on. Endurance. CON x2. Endur ance is a char acter’s capacit y to endure physical stress, pain and fatigue. It is used in a number of ways, but most specifically to resist the possible ef fects of injuries, including harmful poisons and disease. Evade. DE X x2. Evade is used to escape from obser ved, impending danger and can be used against r anged weapons (by diving for cover, for example), avoiding tr aps, changing the engagement distance in combat, and gener ally getting out of the way of a potential physical hazard. First Aid. DE X+INT. Fir st A id measures a char acter’s abilit y to treat minor injuries and stabilise more severe ones. Fir st Aid may be applied only once per specific injur y and heal s 1d3 points of damage. Influence. CHA x2. This is a measurement of a char acter’s abilit y to per suade other s, through per sonal charisma, into a desired way of behaving. It is used in a wide variet y of situations; from changing someone’s mind, through to bribing an of ficial or guard.

Insight. INT+POW. Insight is the abilit y to read or intuitively define another’s verbal and non-verbal behavior (such as body language or the manner of speech) to establish their motives and state of mind. Insight can be used to determine if someone is telling a lie. Locale. INT x2. Locale measures a char acter’s understanding of local flor a, fauna, terr ain and weather in the area where he has spent the majorit y of his life, usually within his communit y. Native Tongue. INT+CHA . Native Tongue is the abilit y to speak one’s own language, the one learned whil st growing up in one’s home culture. It measures ar ticulation, eloquence and the depth of the speaker’s vocabular y. Perception. INT+POW. Perception is used for both passive obser vation and focused detection; whether hunting for something specific, a gener al scan of an area or simple awareness of their surroundings. Ride. DE X+POW. Ride covers the abilit y to control and remain mounted on those creatures that are tr ained to be ridden. The skill can be applied to a diverse r ange of beasts, ever y thing from mules to elephants; even flying or swimming creatures or alien beasts.

herent par t of most cultures, a prime source of enter tainment and perhaps used in its ritual s. Stealth. DE X+INT. Hiding out of plain sight, or moving with minimal sound are covered by the Stealth skill. Swim. STR+CON. Swim cover s your abilit y to stay afloat, even if it is only a doggy paddle or treading water. Unarmed. STR+DE X . Unarmed measures the abilit y to defend oneself without the aid of weapons. Willpower. POW x2. W illpower is a measure of a char acter’s abilit y to concentr ate, channel his force of will in a par ticular direction, or harden his psyche to possible mental shock. It is al so a measure of personal resolve. Combat St yle (Specific Career or Cultur al St yle) . STR+DE X . Each Combat St yle is the skill to use the weapons expected of a career or culture in the setting. In addition they of ten assume a situational element, such as fighting as close order infantr y or whil st mounted. Combat St yles can be ver y diverse, r anging from, for example, blaster hip shots all the way to star ship gunner y.

Sing. POW+CHA . Carr ying a tune is covered by Sing, any thing from monotonous chants through to complex arias. Singing is an in-

CH A R A C T E R S

17

Professional Skill s Acting. CHA x2. Acting governs the ar t of being able to impersonate and convey a completely dif ferent char acter, whether in a staged per formance or in a social situation. Acrobatic s. STR+DE X . Acrobatics covers acts of balance, gymnastics, juggling and tumbling. The skill can be used in its own right as a way to impress an audience, but al so to help mitigate damage from fall s. Acrobatics can be substituted for Evade if the situation warr ants it. Ar t. POW+CHA . There are many specific ar t forms. Painting to Poetr y; Liter ature to Sculpture. A char acter chooses an Ar t specialization when taking this skill. Subsequent Ar t forms are advanced in separ ately. A strogation. INT x2. A strogation is equivalent to Navigation, save that it enables starship pilots to plot a course at stellar and interstellar distances. Bureaucrac y. INT x2. Understanding administr ative procedures, records and unspoken conventions are covered by the Bureaucr ac y skill. It is used to inter act with of ficial s or discover per tinent civic information. Commerce. INT+CHA . Commerce is used to evaluate the wor th of goods and commodities and to tr ade them for the best possible price. It is al so used to understand the intri-

18

CHAR ACTERS

cacies of business tr ansactions in addition to securing a profit. Comms. INT x2. This skill gr ants the abilit y to use communications equipment to detect, conceal or block comms tr af fic. It al so gr ants a chance of cr acking encr ypted messages. Computers. INT x2. Computer s reflects the char acter’s abilit y to solve complex problems or ex tr act complex information, using computer systems – be it through progr amming code, detailed use of a par ticular piece of sof t ware, hacking, and even diagnosing / repairing sof t ware and hardware problems. Gener al use of computer s does not usually require a roll. Cour tesy. INT+CHA . This skill cover s understanding how to act appropriately in a social or formal situation: modes of address, ritual s and conventions of behavior and so for th. It includes ever y thing from who to bow to and when, to how low; from when to use a par ticular title to when it is appropriate to act informally. Craf t. DE X+INT. Each Cr af t is a specialised form and there are as many cr af ts as there are professions for them. Like A r t, Cr af t is used to create the subject item. How long it takes depends entirely on the nature of the product: weaving a r ug takes longer than throwing a pot, for instance, but time is not

necessarily the most impor tant factor: it is the skill of the cr af ter, the qualit y of the resources and attention to detail. Culture. INT x2. Culture is the more specific form of the Standard Skill of Customs, relating instead to societies foreign to the character’s own. Each Culture skill must be given a par ticular nation or societ y to which it applies. Mechanically it works in the same way as the Customs skill. Demolitions. INT+POW. This skill permits a char acter to safely handle and utilise explosive material s. Disguise. INT+CHA . Ef fecting a convincing disguise, using appropriate material s (costumes, cosmetics, wigs or hairpieces), is covered by the Disguise skill. Creating the disguise requires time and attention to detail, as well as access to the right material s to make it convincing. Electronic s. DE X+INT. This skill allows the user to tinker with, bypass or repair electronic devices. It has many applications, most of ten to tempor arily patch up damaged equipment or replace broken circuits with spares. Designing and building new electronic devices is not covered by this skill and instead requires the Engineering skill. Engineering. INT x2. The design and building of large-scale str uctures, from houses to bridges, gates to siege engines, is in the

remit of the Engineering skill. Roll s are necessar y when planning large scale projects to ensure correct constr uction, but are al so made when an engineer wants to assess a str ucture’s integrit y for whatever reason (state of repair or weak spots, for example). Forger y. DE X+INT. The Forger y skill permits the creation or fal sification of of ficial documentation. Gambling. INT+POW. The Gambling skill measures a char acter’s competence in games of chance and especially where money is staked on the outcome. It is used to assess the odds of success or failure or spot when someone is cheating. Knowledge. INT x2. Knowledge covers a specific body of knowledge which must be chosen when the skill is fir st learned. A strology, Histor y, My thology, Str ategy and Tactics: these are all t ypical examples of Knowledge skill s. They mean the char acter understands its fundamental s, how it can be applied to immediate challenges and problems, and can use the Knowledge to recall useful information. L anguage (Specific L anguage) . INT+CHA . This skill cover s the speaking and comprehension of a language other than the character’s own. The skill is treated as a static representation of over all fluenc y. 1-25% a few basic words, 26-50% simple sentencContinued...

CH A R A C T E R S

19

Professional Skill s (continued) es, 51-75% fluent for gener al conversation, 76 +% able to conver se eloquently. Its value is used by the Games Master to limit the level of spoken inter action when the players converse with personalities in the game. x2. Lockpicking is the Lockpicking. DE X  abilit y to open a mechanical locking system without the aid of a key or other device made specifically for the lock. It includes the techniques of levering open bolted or barred doors and windows without causing damage. Mechanic s. DE X+INT. Mechanics represents the knowledge and skill to assemble and disassemble mechanical devices. The skill of Mechanics gener ally involves the creation of delicate contr aptions with small working par ts, as opposed to Engineering, which deal s with massive constr uctions. This can be any thing from the ser vicing of droid actuators to fixing moisture vapour ators. The skill cannot repair something completely destroyed, but could permit a brief jur y-rigged fix if enough spare par ts are available. This skill al so includes the maintenance and repair of starships. The design and building of new mechanical devices is not covered by this skill, but requires the Engineering skill instead. Medicine. INT+POW. Medicine is the in-depth knowledge of medical procedures, based on

20

CHAR ACTERS

cultur al pr actices. In a primitive culture, for instance, healing will be based on the knowledge of herbs and natur al cures. In a civilised culture, dr ugs and more advanced treatments are used. In all cultures healing includes the abilit y to set bones, suture wounds and so for th. To use on an alien species, all roll s are Formidable . Add points from the skill Science ( A strobiology) to reduce penalt y. Musicianship. DE X+CHA . Musicianship cover s the playing of musical instr uments; from a simple reed pipe to a complex stringed instr ument such as a harp. Each iter ation of Musicianship is applied to a group of similar instr uments. A musician who can play a reed pipe can al so play a flute, panpipes or a recorder because the fundamental s are the same. Navigation. INT+POW. Whether using prominent landmarks, the star s or the var ying taste of seawater, the abilit y to accur ately direct tr avel is covered by the Navigation skill. Each Navigation skill cover s a specific region or environment, such as Open Seas or Underground for example. Roll s should be made during unusual journeys or when in completely unfamiliar territor y. Orator y. POW+CHA . Or ator y is the ar t of delivering a speech to large group of people with the aim of conveying or swaying a point

of view. It is a skill frequently used by politicians to drive home a polic y, but is al so used by commanders to inspire troops and impose discipline on the battlefield. Wherever mass persuasion is needed, Or ator y, r ather than Influence, is used. Pilot. DE X+INT. The Pilot skill permits the control of a specified class (such as glider s, starships, jet engines, and so on) of flying vehicles. It al so covers the maintenance and upkeep of a ship: assessing when repair s are needed, where it is safe to land, the danger s of violent weather, and so for th. Politic s. INT+CHA . Char acters possessing the Politics skill understand how to navigate and negotiate the corridors of government at local, national and interstellar level s. Research. INT+POW. Research uses various resources (such as a libr ar y, newspaper archive, computer net work, and so on), to discover desired pieces of information. Science. INT x2. There are dozens of scientific disciplines and the Science skill, which can be taken multiple times, is always associated with a discipline: Science ( A stronomy) or Science ( A strobiology), for example. Seamanship. INT+CON. This skill is used in exactly the same way as Boating but is instead applied to large waterborne vessel s powered by sail s or mechanical means.

Seduction. INT+CHA . Seduction is the romantic or sexual persuasion of another person, a skill ver y dif ferent to Influence. It uses explicit signal s – verbal and non-verbal – to elicit a sexually positive response. It al so takes a significant amount of time: successful Seduction may take hour s, days or weeks to achieve depending on the mor al s of the target, who always has the oppor tunit y to resist a Seduction attempt with W illpower. Sensors. INT+POW. This skill allows the accur ate use and analysis of sensor devices from chemical snif fer s up to a starship’s long r ange scanners. Sleight. DE X+CHA . Sleight covers attempts to palm or conceal small objects and includes attempts to pick pockets, cut purses or cause a visual distr action. Natur ally it is an essential thieves’ skill. Street wise. POW+CHA . Street wise represents knowledge of places and social contacts within a settlement. It covers ever ything from identif ying potentially dangerous neighborhoods, to finding local ser vices – legal or illegal. How long a Street wise attempt takes depends on what is sought. Finding a good bar will take less time than locating a fence for stolen goods or a fake tr ading permit. Sur vival. CON+POW. This skill covers surviving in a r ur al or wilderness environment Continued...

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21

Optional Skill s

In many my thic sci-fi set tings vacuum suits and the lack of gr avit y in space are completely ignored. For slightly more realistic tales, add the optional skill s below. Note that they are not included on the character sheet. Vacc Suit. DE X+INT. This is the knowledge on how to use a vacuum suit and how to do missions outside of a star ship in space. Zero G. DE X x 2. W ith this skill the char acter has been tr ained in handling zero G. Use it when per for ming complex maneuver s, like fighting.

22

CHAR ACTERS

where the benefits of civilization are absent: for aging, building a fire, finding shelter or a safe place to sleep. When properly equipped roll s are usually unnecessar y since the char acter may be carr ying a tent, food supplies and so on. Only when separ ated from their equipment or when environmental conditions turn bad does it become essential to utilise this skill. A roll is usually made once per day in such conditions. Teach. INT+CHA . Teach allows the user to pass on their knowledge and techniques in an easy to under stand and constr uctive manner. W ithout this skill even the most capable of master s will suf fer problems instr ucting others. Tr ack. INT+CON. The Tr ack skill is used for tr acking any form of game or quarr y. It uses signs of passing to remain on the quarr y’s tr ail, including footprints, br uised leaves, scattered pollen, displaced rocks and so on; small, tell-tale signs that are invisible to the nonskilled. Tr ack roll s need to be made periodically, especially if conditions change abr uptly (a r ain shower, for example, will disturb cer tain signs). How of ten depends on how cunning the quarr y has been.

Select a Culture Culture determines the kind of societ y in which the char acter was r aised, and so prescribes cer tain outlooks and philosophies he or she might have. More pr actically, culture helps augment the values of the various skill s that shape your char acter’s overall capabilities. There are three basic cultures: Rur al, Urban and Orbit. Together with the name of a char acter’s home world (and perhaps its Tech Level), you will get a prett y good over view of their background. Each cultur al background lists a r ange of Standard skill s appropriate to it and invites the player to pick up to three of the presented Professional skill s: in this way player s from the same cultur al background can ensure that their adventurer s are different in the areas they have developed. Distribute the Culture skill points amongst the career’s listed Standard skill s and whichever Professional skill s were selected, increasing each skill by 1% for ever y point spent on improving it. Games Masters may wish to apply a cap to how many skill points can be applied to any par ticular skill. Rural This culture covers all t ypes of har vesting and herding habitats, including the small village centers of ten associated with them – regardless of tech level. It can be deep sea har vesting of algae, exotic bird herders or plain old tilling. You can al so use this Culture package for char acters growing up in the wilderness. Standard skill s: Athletics, Br awn, Drive, Endur ance, First Aid, Locale, Perception and Ride. In addition the player may al so choose a cultur al Combat St yle. Professional Skill s: Cr af t (any), Mechanics, Knowledge (any), Musicianship, Navigate, Sur vival, Tr ack.

Creating Planets & Cultures

See the chapter s on alien creation and wor ld building to develop your own detailed planets and cultures, both human and alien.

CH A R A C T E R S

23

High and Low Gr avit y

Some char acter s may come from a wor ld with higher or lower gr avit y than standard. Use these guidelines: Low gr avit y: STR & CON -2 each, DE X & P OW +2 each. Make a Hard Endur ance roll ever y day spent in normal or higher gr avit y. If failed, apply a Hard penalt y to all physical skill s. High gr avit y: STR & CON +2 each, DE X & CH A -2 each. On nor mal and low gr avit y wor lds, they will be seen as clumsy.

Urban This culture is for char acter s growing up in cities. They feel at home on the streets and know how to handle themselves in various social situations. Cities can dif fer a lot from each other; some are rough and dir t y, while other s are laden with tr adition and wealth. Standard Skill s: Conceal, Deceit, Drive, Influence, Insight, Locale, W illpower. In addition the player may al so choose a cultur al Combat St yle. Professional Skill s: A r t (any), Commerce, Cr af t (any), Cour tesy, L anguage (any), Knowledge (any), Musicianship, Street wise. Orbit This culture cover s all t ypes of space habitats: A steroids, space stations, orbiting factories, etceter a. Some habitats are just scr uf f y rocks, while other s are high tech wonder s of light and greener y (for really big space stations, the Urban package might be a better choice). Standard Skill s: Conceal, Deceit, Influence, Insight, Locale, W illpower. In addition the player may al so choose a cultur al Combat St yle. Professional Skill s: A strogation, Electronics, Knowledge (any), L anguage (any), Mechanics, Pilot, Street wise.

Select a Career Ever y M-SPACE char acter star ts the game having been tr ained in a career. The occupation he chooses may not necessarily be the one the char acter continues to follow as he begins his adventuring life, but it is the career he embarked on as par t of the tr ansition to adulthood and it fur ther defines his skill development. Each career presents a r ange of Standard skill s appropriate to it and permits the player to pick up to three of the listed Professional skill s. Distribute the Career Skill points amongst the 24

CHAR ACTERS

career’s listed Standard skill s and whichever Professional skill s were selected, increasing each skill by 1% for ever y point spent on improving it. A s with cultures a Games Master may apply a cap to how many skill points can be applied to any par ticular skill.

Bonus Skill Points A s a final step, a last pool of skill points are assigned to round out the char acter. These may be applied to any Standard skill or those Professional skill s gained as par t of Culture or Career. Once again a Games Master may apply a cap to how many skill points can be applied to any par ticular skill.

Alien Cultures

There are only a few ready-made aliens and no alien cultures in this book. We want you to use these r ules to shape your own fictional univer se. It’s back to the roots of roleplaying games! Future set ting books will include detailed alien species, wor lds and cultures though. In the meantime, check our website for free examples: w w w.frostby tebooks.com

Careers Agent Standard Skill s: Conceal, Deceit, Evade, Insight, Perception, Stealth; Combat St yle (any) Professional Skill s: Culture (any), Disguise, L anguage (any), Pilot, Sleight, Street wise, Sur vival, Tr ack Belter Standard Skill s: Athletics, Br awn, Endur ance, Locale, Perception, W illpower Professional Skill s: Commerce, Cr af t (Mining), Demolitions, Engineering, Science (Geology), Mechanics, Navigation (Underground), Pilot, Sur vival Bount y Hunter Standard Skill s: Athletics, Endur ance, Evade, Insight, Perception, Stealth; Combat St yle (any), Combat St yle (Gunner y) Professional Skill s: Bureaucr ac y, Commerce, Culture (any), Pilot, Street wise, Sur vival, Tr ack CH A R A C T E R S

25

Colonist Standard Skill s: Athletics, Br awn, Drive, Endur ance, Locale, Perception, Ride; Combat St yle (any) Professional Skill s: Commerce, Cr af t (any), Knowledge ( Agriculture), Mechanics, Navigation, Pilot, Sur vival, Tr ack Criminal Standard Skill s: Athletics, Br awn, Deceit, Evade, Insight, Perception, Stealth; Combat St yle (any) Professional Skill s: Acting, Commerce, Electronics, Gambling, Lockpicking, Sleight, Street wise Detective Standard Skill s: Customs, Drive, Evade, Influence, Insight, Perception, Stealth; Combat St yle (any) Professional Skill s: Bureaucr ac y, Culture (any), Disguise, Knowledge (any), Research, Sleight, Street wise Gambler Standard Skill s: Athletics, Endur ance, Locale, Perception, W illpower

Professional Skill s: Bureaucr ac y, Culture (any), L anguage (any), Knowledge (any), Or ator y, Politics, Research, Street wise Engineer Standard Skill s: Br awn, Culture (any), Drive, Endur ance, Influence, Locale, W illpower Professional Skill s: Commerce, Computers, Cr af t (any), Engineering, Electronics, Gambling, Mechanics, Street wise Medic Standard Skill s: Fir st Aid, Influence, Insight, Locale, Perception, W illpower Professional Skill s: Commerce, Cr af t (Physiological Specialit y), Medicine, L anguage (any), Knowledge (Psychology), Knowledge (any), Research, Science ( A strobiology) Mercenar y Standard Skill s: Athletics, Br awn, Endurance, Evade, Unarmed; Combat St yle (any), Combat St yle (Gunner y) Professional Skill s: Cr af t (any), Engineering, Gambling, Knowledge (Militar y Histor y), Knowledge (Str ategy and Tactics), Or ator y, Sur vival

Professional Skill s: Acting, Bureaucr ac y, Commerce, Cour tesy, Gambling, Research, Sleight, Street wise

Merchant

Journalist

Professional Skill s: A strogation, Bureaucr ac y, Commerce, Cour tesy, Culture (any), L anguage (any), Pilot, Street wise

Standard Skill s: Customs, Deceit, Influence, Insight, Locale, Native Tongue, Perception

26

CHAR ACTERS

Standard Skill s: Drive, Deceit, Insight, Influence, Locale

Of ficial Standard Skill s: Customs, Deceit, Influence, Insight, Locale, Perception, W illpower Professional Skill s: Bureaucr ac y, Commerce, Cour tesy, L anguage (any), Knowledge (any), Or ator y, Politics Starship Pilot Standard Skill s: Drive, Endur ance, Evade, Locale, Perception, W illpower; Combat St yle (Gunner y) Professional Skill s: A strogation, Comms, Culture (any), Science ( A stronomy), Mechanics, Pilot, Sensors, Street wise Diplomat Standard Skill s: Customs, Deceit, Influence, Insight, Locale, Native Tongue, Perception Professional Skill s: Bureaucr ac y, Cour tesy, Culture (any), L anguage (any), Knowledge (any), Or ator y, Politics Priest Standard Skill s: Customs, Deceit, Influence, Insight, Locale, Native Tongue, W illpower Professional Skill s: Bureaucr ac y, Cour tesy, Customs, Knowledge (any), Musicianship, Or ator y, Politics, Research Scholar

Professional Skill s: Culture (any), L anguage (any), Knowledge (Primar y), Knowledge (Secondar y), Or ator y, Research, Teach Scout Standard Skill s: Athletics, Drive, Endur ance, Fir st A id, Perception, Stealth, Swim; Combat St yle (any), Combat St yle (Gunner y) Professional Skill s: A strogation, Comms, Culture (any), Medicine, L anguage (any), Knowledge (any), Navigation, Pilot, Sensors, Sur vival, Tr ack Smuggler Standard Skill s: Conceal, Customs, Deceit, Drive, Influence, Insight, Locale; Combat St yle (any), Combat St yle (Gunner y) Professional Skill s: A strogation, Bureaucr ac y, Commerce, Comms, Customs (any), L anguage (any), Navigation, Pilot, Sensors, Street wise Thief Standard Skill s: Athletics, Deceit, Evade, Insight, Perception, Stealth; Combat St yle (any) Professional Skill s: Acting, Commerce, Disguise, Electronics, Lockpicking, Sleight, Street wise

Standard Skill s: Influence, Insight, Locale, Native Tongue, Perception, W illpower

CH A R A C T E R S

27

Select Passions

Passions Table Objec t of

Base

Passion

Char ac teristic s

A per son or family A n organization or group

P OW+ CH A P OW+INT

A Passion can be for any thing – a per son, an organization, an ideal, even an object. Passions are t ypically described by a verb

P OW x 2

such as: Desire, Despise, Destroy, Espouse, Fear, Flee, Foreswear, Hate, Love, Loyalt y to, Protect, Repudiate, Respect, Seek, Subver t, Torment or Uphold.

A r ace or species A place

P OW+INT P OW x 2

Passions are measured in the same way as skill s; they are r ated bet ween 1 and 10 0 (or higher). A Passion can be improved in the

P OW+INT

same way as a skill, or it can be increased or decreased by the referee depending on circumstances.

A n object or substance A concept or ideal

Passions are used to assist player s and Games Master s in deepening the nature of the char acter, introducing plot hooks based on a char acter’s desire or prejudices, and helping the player to understand who his char acter is, what drives him, and so on.

» » Beginning char ac ters may star t with up to three Passions, each based on t wo Char ac teristics, with a bonus of +4 0 to the first, +30 to the second and +20 to the third – the player deciding the order of impor tance. These can be tied to his culture, profession or per sonal foibles. For example, the char acter might take: Hate (Loperians), Distr ust (Psionics), and Desire ( Alcohol); or the char acter might choose Loyalt y (Emperor), Destroy ( Aliens) and Uphold (the L aw) instead. Using Passions Passions are any deeply held commitment that has the capacit y to influence events during play. Although they are viewed as standalone abilities (to call them skill s is to do them a disservice), passions can be used thus: » » To augment another skill, reflecting the depth of one’s feeling and how it drives action. When used in this regard the Passion adds 1/ 5 of its value to a skill being used, as long as the augmentation is thematically and dr amatically impor tant.

28

CHAR ACTERS

» » A s an abilit y in its own right to drive choices, desires and emotional actions and responses. When used in this way a standard roll is made against a Passion to determine how strongly the char acter thinks and feel s about something. If a roll is a success then the char acter acts in-line with what the Passion would dictate. If the roll fail s then the char acter can act freely without feeling constr ained by the Passion’s drives. » » To oppose other Passions – even those held by the same char acter. This is t ypically used where t wo Passions would conflict. For instance a personal love might dictate a cour se of action that would be contr ar y to an oath or loyalt y. Here use an opposed roll bet ween the t wo Passions with the more successful determining how the char acter acts. » » A s a gener al measure of depth of commitment, belief and loyalt y to a cause. The higher the Passion’s value, the more committed the char acter is. Char acter s with similar Passions can compare and contr ast their r atings to determine who exhibits the deeper commitment. » » To resist some form of psychological manipulation or psionic domination. In cer tain cases where a char acter is being forced into per forming an act contr ar y to his Passions, he may use substitute his Passion for the usual W illpower in the opposed roll.

Equipment Now that the char acter is almost finished, he or she needs some gear. This can include weapons, armor, or other impor tant par aphernalia used for a par ticular profession. In the cour se of adventure there are many chances to get more equipment, but each star ting char acter has in his or her immediate possession the equipment listed in the sidebar. See the Technology chapter for more detailed descriptions of various gear.

Deepening and Waning

Passions can increase dur ing a game independently of E xper ience Roll s, based on the strength of whatever occur red to tr igger the increase. Al so Passions can, and do, wane. A strongly held belief can be shaken by many things leading to that Passion being either reduced or, in more ex treme circumstances, rever sed completely. For instance, a char acter with ‘ Tr ust Chief tain’ might, if his chief tain acts treacherously, either reduce his Passion or tur n into ‘Distr ust Chief tain’ at the same percentage. The Games Master needs to determine if a Passion reduces or rever ses. If it reduces then it does so according to the strength of the source of the change. The Deepening and Waning table shows by how much the Passion changes. Change

Score +/-

Weak

1d10

Moder ate Strong

1d10 +5 1d10 +10

Star ting Equipment

» A set of clothing appropr iate to the char acter’s profession » A small amount of money; 2d6 x10 0 0. » A ny tr ade tool s or tr anspor table equipment suitable to the char acter’s profession, if appropr iate. » A ny per sonal weapon for the character’s Combat St yle. »O

CH A R A C T E R S

29

30

CHAR ACTERS

CH A R A C T E R S

31

Game System

P

ar t of the fun and dr ama of M-SPACE comes in making a roll against a skill to see if success or failure is the outcome. It can be tempting to call for skill roll s for each and ever y challenge but there are some cases where roll s are not needed. However, when the action becomes dr amatic or ex tr aordinar y, players and the Games Master should roll dice for the resolution. It is usually obvious when a skill roll is necessar y, but if in doubt, consider the consequences of failure: are they cr ucial to the plot? Does the chance of failure heighten tension and make for an exciting possibilit y? W ill a failure add fun to the game? If the answer is Yes to any of these, then have the char acter make a skill roll.

How Do I Succeed? The most impor tant question in a roleplaying game is “Do I succeed or do I fail?“ Nex t is “How well did I succeed or fail?” MSPACE provides an easy-to-under stand system to measure these chances, using dice roll s to determine whether an action succeeds or fail s. Some skill s (especially combat skill s) are inherently dr amatic and dangerous, and are always rolled for. Whenever a char acter is called upon to resolve some form of test, challenge or professional abilit y, 1d10 0 is rolled and the result compared with the skill ’s value: » » Equal to, or less than, the skill indicates a success. If the roll was equal or less than one tenth of the skill (rounded up) it is a critical success instead » » Greater than the skill ’s value indicates a failure. If the roll was 99 or 00 (or only 00 if the skill exceeds 100%), then the result is a fumble Critical s and Fumbles represent spectacular successes and failures; those cases where a char acter has either excelled in his 32

G A ME S Y S T E M

attempt or failed miser ably and utterly. There are cer tain special cases concerning success and failure that should be noted.

Dif ficult y

Skill Modifier

» » Any roll of 01-05 is always a success » » Any roll of 96-00 is always a failure, irrespec tive of how high the skill ’s value

Automatic

No need to roll

Ver y Eas y Eas y

Modif ying Skill s There are some occasions where a skill roll is required but the chances of success need to be adjusted to reflect par ticular conditions. Fleeing bandits, for instance, might require an Athletics roll. A wide variet y of conditions such as weather, equipment or distr actions can af fect the dif ficult y of the roll, using a series of gr ades to determine how it is modified. These are listed in the sidebar. Where a char acter is already suf fering a penalt y from other circumstances the hardest dif ficult y gr ade takes precedence. What sor t of modification is required for any par ticular skill or contex t is ultimately up to the Games Master to decide; according to the capabilities of the char acters, his perception of the dif ficult y of the situation and the dr amatic tension at that particular moment. The chances for rolling a critical success or fumble are likewise adjusted af ter the ef fect of a dif ficult y gr ade has been applied. For instance a char acter with Pilot (Star ship) 65% would normally gain a critical success with an 07 or lower, but this would be reduced to 05 if suf fering a dif ficult y gr ade of Hard . Reattempting Skill s In some situations a char acter will fail a skill attempt but be lef t in a situation where he could potentially tr y again. E xample cases might be picking a lock or attempting to climb a sheer wall. Instead of simply denying any fur ther attempts, kindly Games Masters may permit a follow-up, last-ditch attempt. However, the char acter will suf fer some trepidation or lack of confidence which increases the dif ficult y of the skill roll by one gr ade.

Standard

Double the skill value Add half again to the skill value No adjustment Reduce the skill

Hard

value by one third

For midable Herculean Hopeless

Reduce the skill value by half Reduce the skill value to one fif th No at tempt can be made

Simplified Dif ficult y Gr ade Table

W hil st dif ficult y gr ades are designed to scale with char acter skill, some Games Master s may find applying penalties results in the slowing down of their game. A s an alter native the following option is provided: Dif ficult y

Skill Modifier

Ver y Eas y

+ 4 0%

Eas y

+20%

Standard

None

Hard

-20%

For midable

-4 0%

Herculean

-8 0%

G A ME S Y S T E M

33

Ac tivit y

Opposing Skill E xamples Commerce vs

Bargaining /

Commerce or

Haggling

Influence vs Commerce Athletic s vs Ath-

Chasing /

letic s, Athletic s

Racing

vs Endur ance or Ride vs Ride Deceit vs Insight

Deceiving

or Sleight vs Perception Evade vs Athletic s

Get ting out

or Evade vs Mech-

of the Way

anisms or Ev ade vs Ride

Hiding or Sneaking

Stealth vs Perception or Stealth vs Tr ack Influence vs W ill-

Pulling Rank

power or Deceit vs W illpower

Staying the Cour se

Endur ance vs Endur ance or Endur ance vs Br awn

Sw aying a

Or ator y vs

Crowd

W illpower

Test of Strength

Br awn vs Br awn or Br awn vs Endur ance W illpower vs W ill-

Test of W ill s

power or Seduction vs W illpower

34

G A ME S Y S T E M

If this second ef for t al so ends in failure, the char acter is assumed to have given it his ‘best shot’ and cannot make any further attempts for the foreseeable future. Opposed Roll s Char acters frequently find themselves pitting their skill against others. E xamples of times where skill s are matched against each other might be Stealth versus Perception when a thief attempts to cut a nobleman’s pur se; or Endur ance ver sus the Potenc y of a Poison if the same thief is bitten by the snake within. These are known as Opposed Roll s and are used where a challenge will result in either win or lose, pass or fail. An Opposed Roll is determined thus: both par ticipants roll their respective skill s. The winner is the one who gains the better level of success. If the par ticipants score the same level of success (a standard success each, or a critical each), then the winner is the one who has the highest dice roll still within the success r ange of their skill. If both par ticipants fail in an Opposed Roll then either: » » Describe the situation, leaving both sides hanging in dr amatic tension, then re-roll the contest to establish a winner » » Produce some explanation or circumstances that suit the mutual nature of the failure E x tended Conflicts An optional use of opposed roll s in M-SPACE is to use them for E x tended Conflicts. Here, sever al opposed roll s are used and the winner of each roll deal s damage to a Conflict Pool derived from char acteristics, similar to the way hit points are used in combat. A bargaining situation can, for example, use CHA as Conflict Pool s. A s one Pool reaches zero, that par t has lost the argument. This way, almost any t ype of conflict can be r un in a more detailed manner. See more in the chapter E x tended Conflicts, on page 42.

Dif ferential Roll s Dif ferential roll s are similar to Opposed roll s except that instead of a simple win or lose result, the dif ference in level s of success are calculated. They are primarily used for the resolution of combat (page 5 4). A Dif ferential Roll is determined in the following manner: Both par ticipants roll against their respective skill s and suf fer the results of their roll as if tested in isolation. There is no outright ‘winner’ per se, but whoever gained the higher level of success gains an advantage equal to the dif ference in the success level s bet ween them (assuming one par ticipant gains at least a standard success or better). If both par ticipants score the same level of success (a standard success each, or a critical each), then there is no additional ef fect. Cross reference the table below to determine the outcome of the roll s. Opposed Skill s O ver 100% If the highest skilled par ticipant in an Opposed or Dif ferential Roll has a skill in excess of 10 0%, that par ticipant subtr acts the dif ference bet ween 10 0 and his skill value from the skill of ever yone in the contest, including himself. This reduces the skill value of the opponents but leaves him retaining the advantage. The identification of who has the highest skill must be calculated af ter any other modifiers for circumstances have been applied.

Augmenting Skill s

It is possible for one skill to aid another. This is called Augmenting. The following r ules apply: Char acter s can only augment the pr imar y skill with a single other skill. A n augmenting skill increases the value of the pr imar y skill by t wice its Cr itical r ange (ie, 20% of the skill. Char acter s can augment other char acter’s skill s to assist them. All the above r ules apply, so a char acter being aided cannot augment himself in addition. Likewise a char acter can only contr ibute one of his skill s to assist another. So, for example, tr ying to scale a high wall, a char acter could have his Athletics skill augmented by a companion’s Br awn (representing a hitch-up).

Dif ferential Roll Results A ntagonist Critical Protagonist Critical

No Benefit

A ntagonist Success

A ntagonist Failure

A ntagonist Fumble

Prot. wins 1 lvl of

Prot. wins 2 lvl s of

Prot. wins 3 lvl s of

Success

Success

Success

Prot. wins 1 lvl of

Prot. wins 2 lvl s of

Success

Success

No Benefit

No Benefit

No Benefit

No Benefit

Protagonist

A nt. wins 1 lvl of

Success

Success

Protagonist

A nt. wins 2 lvl s of

A nt. wins 1 lvl of

Failure

Success

Success

Protagonist

A nt. wins 3 lvl s of

A nt. wins 2 lvl s of

Fumble

Success

Success

No Benefit

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For One Luck Point You Can: Twist Fate Char acter s can use a Luck Point to either re-roll any dice roll that af fects them or swap the number s already rolled, when rolling a d10 0 for example. This can be a skill roll, damage roll or any thing el se that has some ef fect. Make a Desper ate Ef for t If a char acter has exhausted his Action Points dur ing a fight and needs to find that last bur st of desper ate energy to per haps avoid a messy demise, he may spend a Luck Point to gain an additional Action Point. Mitigate Damage A char acter who suf fer s a Major Wound may spend a Luck Point to downgr ade the wound to a Ser ious Wound. This reduces the damage taken to one Hit Point less than what would be required to inflict a Major Wound.

Luck Points Luck Points represent a char acter’s abilit y to potentially turn failure into success and even cheat death. They are expended during play and, at the beginning of the nex t session, replenish to their usual value. Only one Luck Point can be used in suppor t of a par ticular action. See the sidebar for some ways to spend a single Luck Point.

Game Time In M-SPACE, time is an impor tant factor, mostly to determine what happens in what order, so that game mechanics are applied when they should be. Remember that in– game time is usually not equivalent to time actually spent playing. Sometimes, the GM may need to summarize the events of many days in a single sentence, such as ‘It takes you a week to reach Constantinople,’ while at other times, par ticularly during combat, the actions of only a few seconds of time can take sever al minutes or longer to resolve. See the sidebar opposite for impor tant distinctions of game time.

Injury and Healing Char acters in M-SPACE inevitably suf fer damage. There are three categories of injur y which can be inflicted, namely Minor Wounds, Serious Wounds and Major Wounds. Minor Wound Minor wounds are cuts, scr atches, br uises and spr ains. They hur t, may bleed, but are not significant enough to slow down or hamper the victim. Serious Wound If a location is reduced to zero Hit Points or below, the victim receives a Serious Wound. The location is scarred and they cannot 36

G A ME S Y S T E M

attack (but can still parr y or evade) for their nex t 1d3 turns due to shock and pain. A char acter suf fering a Serious Wound must immediately make an opposed test of his Endur ance versus the successful attack roll of his enemy. Failure results in a limb being rendered useless, or unconsciousness if the Abdomen, Chest or Head. This persists until the char acter is successfully treated with Fir st Aid. At the Games Master’s discretion, even if the char acter remains functional, all tasks requiring use of that body location will suffer an ongoing penalt y of one dif ficult y gr ade, until the injur y is reduced to a Minor Wound. Major Wound If a location is reduced to a negative score equal or greater than its star ting Hit Points, the char acter receives a Major Wound. The char acter is immediately incapacitated, unable to continue fighting. A s with Serious Wounds a char acter who suf fer s a Major Wound must immediately make an opposed test of his Endur ance ver sus the successful attack roll of his enemy. Failure results in a limb being severed, shattered or ripped of f, or instant death if the Abdomen, Chest or Head. If the char acter sur vives but treatment is not star ted within a number of minutes equal to t wice his Healing Rate, he still dies from blood loss and shock. Major Wounds require some form of surger y (using the Medicine skill) to heal, el se the wounded location will be maimed. Healing from Wounds Natur al healing from wounds and injuries is based on the character’s Healing Rate. The Healing Rate dictates how many Hit Points are recovered depending on the injur y’s nature: » » Minor Wounds: Days » » Serious Wounds: Weeks » » Major Wounds: Months

Combat Rounds

A Combat Round represents five seconds of real time. They are used to measure shor t, frenetic bur sts of activit y that take moments to complete or measur ing ver y detailed activities that require a blow-byblow resolution. For example, a chase bet ween hunter and prey where each round deter mines the t wists and tur ns of the pur suit. Skill Time

Local Time represents a few minutes to a few hour s and is used to measure activities that do not require the detailed at tention of a Combat Round, but require a specific concentr ation of ef for t with a definite end result. Picking a lock might take five minutes and this is a measure of Skill Time. W hereas obser ving the patrol s made by teams of guards around a high secur it y lab might require sever al hour s. Nar r ative Time

This is the amount of time taken when the GM is nar r ating to the player s, or when the player s are discussing. Unless there is a specific reason for it, most actual roleplaying takes place in narr ative time. W hen roleplaying, nar r ative time resembles real time, where a conver sation takes as long to have as it takes to play. If a game session includes lengthy tr avel, or per iods of activit y where exact time is not of the essence, then time is compressed greatly to a few moments o

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First Aid Actions Injur y A sphy xiated Bleeding

Successful Treatment The vic tim begins breathing again. The blood flow is staunched. The impaling item is removed without

Impaled

causing fur ther damage to the victim. A s long as the unconsciousness is

Unconsciousness

not the result of poisons or narcotic s then the injured par t y is restored to aw areness.

Minor Injur y Ser ious Injur y

Treatment restores 1d3 hit points to the injur y. Treatment restores the location to partial functionalit y. A successful Fir st A id roll on a loca-

Major

tion suf fer ing from

Injur y

a Major Injur y does not retur n any Hit Points.

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Thus a char acter with a Healing Rate of 3 who suf fer s a Serious Wound, will heal natur ally at a r ate of 3 Hit Points per week until his injur y is downgr aded to a Minor Wound, and then heal 3 Hit Points per day until fully recovered. The healing char acter cannot engage in strenuous activit y: other wise the Healing Rate is reduced by 1d3. Thus, a char acter recovering from even a Minor Wound could find his progress halted if he decides to engage any physical tasks that might exacerbate his injuries. Permanent Injuries Some Major Wounds inflict maiming injuries; for example horribly cr ushed and severed limbs, or the necrotic ef fects of venoms. The result of this damage permanently reduces the Hit Points on that location, forever weakening it. A location maimed in this way uses the diminished Hit Point value to calculate its new Serious and Major Wound thresholds. For permanent injuries caused by accident or battle injur y, roll a die of equivalent size to the original Hit Points of the location and permantently reduce the Hit Points by the amount rolled.

Character Improvement Ever y char acter has the oppor tunit y to improve their skill s with time. The mechanism for most char acter improvement is the E xperience Roll. Games Masters dispense E xperience Roll s at an appropriate juncture in the campaign: at the end of ever y successful scenario or stor yline; or af ter perhaps t wo or three sessions of play if the stor y is a long one which will take time to complete. The frequenc y is at the Games Master’s discretion. A high frequenc y of E xperience Roll s will lead to the char acters developing at a faster r ate. The number of E xperience Roll s given in any one sitting should aver age bet ween three and five, but it can be lower or higher depending on how long it has been since the last set of roll s and how well the char acter s per formed or have been played.

It is recommended that all char acters be given the same number of E xperience Roll s, which helps maintain fairness and parit y in char acter progression. The only exception to this guideline is where a char acter gains an additional roll (or suf fer s a reduction in roll s) for their E xperience Modifier (page 12) in those situations where the char acter can put their influence to good use or suf fer its consequences. Any skill on the char acter sheet, Standard or Professional, can be increased by spending one E xperience Roll. » » The player roll s 1d100 and compares it to the skill being increased. The char acter’s INT is added to the roll. » » If the number rolled is equal to or greater than the skill being improved it increases by 1d4+1%. » » If the number rolled is less than the skill selec ted, the skill still increases but only by 1%. » » If a char acter fumbles any skill during play, the fumbled skill gains a free increase of 1%.

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Extended Conflicts

C

onflicts are the driving forces of most fictional works, and the same goes for roleplaying. It can be a locked door barring the way, a dense asteroid field to pilot through, a bargain with a tr ader or a regular fist fight. The Game System chapter covers single skill roll s, opposed roll s, and dif ferential roll s. Here, the optional r ules for ex tended conflicts are presented.  E x tended Conflicts: Opposing forces use sever al skill roll s in multiple rounds. Damage is dealt to Conflict Pool s based on char acteristics. If, or when, a Conflict Pool reaches zero, that side has lost and is out of the conflict. 

E xample: Climbing a tree can be as easy as making a successful Climb roll. But if this par t of the scene is a critical moment, the player may have to roll sever al times in an ex tended conflict (losing her DE X Conflict Pool gr adually). 

Be careful not to br ing too many ex tended conflicts upon the character s. This will deplete their resources long before a scenar io is over. Tr y to find a good balance bet ween the number of conflicts and the time it takes to restore conflict pool s. Depending on the st yle of play, the exact number will var y and the GM will have to tr y things out as the group evolves. It’s often a good idea to var y both the t ypes of conflicts used and which char acter s are af fected – that will br ing more var iation, pool s last longer and ever yone tends to get more involved. 

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The more impor tant the conflict is, the more time, energy and dr ama should be spent on it – and an ex tended conflict is of ten the best choice for that.  Al so, a char acter that is not satisfied with the outcome of a single or opposed roll can always r aise the intensit y and determination by asking the GM for an ex tended conflict. Breaking out a conflict like this gives her another chance to succeed. But it is al so riskier; more is at stake. Not only Conflict Pool points can be lost, but skill s can al so be tempor arily lowered.  Using Opposed Roll s Both ex tended and simple opposed conflicts use opposed roll s to determine the outcome. The concept is quick to learn: The highest successful roll wins.

E xample: While tr ying to bargain for an antique scroll, Nedr a roll s 5 3 on her Commerce at 65%. Her opponent, a greedy an-

tiquarian, roll s 47, and despite his skill being 70%, Nedr a has rolled the highest success. Nedr a gets the scroll for half the price.  Critical s always tr ump normal successes and if both opponents fail their roll s, nothing happens. A failed roll wins over a fumble though.  Conflict Pool s Conflict Pool s work like hit points, but for any conflict. They are based on char acteristics and are used one at a time (STR for arm wrestling for example) or sever al together (DE X+INT for a car r ace). Whenever damage is rolled in a conflict, it is subtr acted from the current Conflict Pool. If, or when, a Conflict Pool reaches zero, that person is out of the conflict. 

E xample: Nedr a is in a heated argument with Egil. It is not going ver y well - she’s down to 2 in her CHA Conflict Pool. Egil roll s 1d6 for damage af ter a successful Influence and deal s 4 points of damage. Nedr a is out. Her physical health is untouched, but she has run out of arguments and lost the discussion. She leaves the room with a dark mind, already planning her nex t move.  Dif ferent conflicts use dif ferent char acteristics, and it is up to the GM to see which one to use. The table in the sidebar provides a few guidelines.  Sometimes the task at hand is dif ficult to categorize into just one char acteristic. Getting through a formal reception in an unfamiliar culture requires not only social skill s (CHA ) but al so knowledge about the societ y (INT). In these cases, use the aver age of the t wo char acteristics: (CHA+INT)/2. On r are occasions, you may need to combine three as well. But always tr y to minimize the number of char acteristics used, or you will soon find that the same ones occur in ever y conflict.  

Round Length

The length of a conflict round is highly flexible. For combat it will be about 5 seconds, while a jour ney can have a round lasting 24 hour s. The basic r ule is to make one skill roll per par ticipant ever y round. See example conflicts below for estimates on round length. Conflic t Pool E xamples

STR: Breaking something, wrestling, lif ting objects

ar m

CON: Jour neys, hard labor, combat, poisoning SIZ: Only used to gain a bonus or penalt y in other conflicts. SIZ pool is never reduced DE X: Lockpicking, climbing, acrobatics, dr iving, untangling ropes or nets, tasks including fine manipulation, combat INT: Reading a hard to decipher book, solving a puzzle, tr acking, under standing unfamiliar machiner y, inventing new gear, culture POW: Psionics, situations involving a hef t y amount of luck & mental health CH A: Social conflicts, influence, or ator y, commerce, commanding other people, per for mances, cocktail par t y, inter view (CON+SIZ)/2: combat

Physical

damage,

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Resolving a Conflict These are the steps for resolving an ex tended conflict: 1. Pick the skill s necessar y for the conflic t and an approximate round length. If there is a set dur ation or number of skill roll s for the conflic t, it should be declared by the GM now.  2. Choose a char ac teristic to base the Conflic t Pool s on.  3. The char ac ter with the highest pool declares her ac tion and roll s 1d100 below her skill in an opposed roll. Ever yone el se involved follows in order from highest to lowest pool. Highest success wins.  4. The winner roll s 1d6 for damage to Conflic t Pool s. Write down any new pool values nex t to the char ac teristic on the char acter sheet.  5. Withdr awal s can be declared.  6. If any pool is halved the GM asks if anyone wants to withdr aw. If not, skill s related to the Conflic t Pool are at Hard for those with a halved pool.  7. Repeat step 3-6 until there is a winner; either through withdr awal s, a time limit is reached or all pool s but one are down to zero. 

Cr itical s & Fumbles

The gener al ef fects of cr itical s and fumbles are as follows: Critical: Full damage. Fumble: The roller is damaged, either 1d6 to the cur rent pool or (if appropr iate for the task) 1d4  hit points.

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Using Multiple Conflict Pool s In some situations, you may want to use t wo separ ate pool values. Of ten it will be the main Conflict Pool, plus a pool for physical injuries.

E xample: At a cour t duel, with a small gathering of spectators, t wo pool s are used: One for physical injuries and one for social damage. While lightsabers dazzle, the opponents take turns insulting each other. One person may win the physical battle, but the rival can win the hear ts of the crowd – opening up a lot of interesting situations in the scenarios to follow. 

Withdrawing From a Conflic t Most conflicts can be ended by one par t just by declaring a withdr awal. In those cases, the remaining par ticipant determines the outcome as if she was the winner.  When the first pool is halved, the GM should al so ask whether anyone wants to withdr aw. Ever yone, including the GM, should take a moment to consider the impor tance of the conflict for their char acter (s) to see if there are any alternate solutions or compromises possible. A s pool damage won’t heal until the nex t day, char acters need to think str ategically about which conflicts are wor th fighting.  Damage Base damage is always 1d6, regardless of the t ype of conflict. (For quick combat, the damage values will var y slightly – see examples below). W ith a pool reduced to zero, that per son has lost the conflict. In most situations the outcome will follow logically from the scene: The winner decides what to do nex t, reaches the goal first, gains the knowledge she was looking for, etceter a. The damage done to a pool will al so carr y over to the nex t conflict; a reduced CHA pool when attempting to bargain for a starship for example, right af ter a cour t duel.  When a pool is halved, the char acter is stressed. All skill s corresponding to that char acteristic are at Hard. They remain lowered until the pool is r aised above half the initial value.  If t wo char acteristics form the basis of a pool, the damage is distributed equally among them. For simplicit y, this is done at the end of the conflict. E xample: (INT+POW)/2 is used in a gaming contest. At the end of the match, the player redistributes the 6 points of damage. She reduces her INT pool by 3 and POW by 3.  At least six hours of sleep is required to regain lost pool points. Half the amount can be restored af ter resting, light tr aveling or meditating for an hour. For conflicts taking sever al days to re-

Hit Points or Conflic t pool s?

Hit points and a CON+SIZ Conflict Pool are essentially the same thing. The gaming group has t wo choices here: Treat them as one OR use hit points for potentially deadly violence and the CON+SIZ pool for small injur ies (only ending in unconsciousness at zero). W hen a combat dr aws near, the GM should communicate clear ly which t ype of conflict it will be. The same applies to Power points vs P OW pool. Treat them as one or use Power points str ictly for psionics, and the P OW pool for mundane “

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Opponent Rating

The values of an opponent’s conflict pool & skill s are not always obvious. The easiest way to think about them is as a toughness r ating of the situation. For non-living opponents (a stor m, a book, etceter a), think of the skill value as the chance the opponent has to win or to damage the char acter. The pool will show how per sistent it is. Use the values below as a guideline. Ef for tless, Nor mal and Dif ficult will be the values used most. Ef for tless

Pool 6

Skill 30%

Normal

Pool 11

Skill 50%

Dif ficult

Pool 16

Skill 70%

Ver y Dif ficult

Pool 20

Skill 90%

Heroic

Pool 24

Skill 110%

Impossible

Pool 28

Skill 130%

You can al so keep the skill level s from above, but roll 3d6 for pool values. That opens up a more complex galler y of NP Cs that will be harder for the player s to adapt to. This way, someone with a low skill but a high pool, can have a luck y str ike and outper for m a more exper ienced char acter.

solve, like a journey, replenishing can take up to half the time of the actual conflict.  While the basic concept of damage is ver y str aightfor ward, some conflicts will be open to more options, especially when more people are involved. Por tr aying a cocktail par t y as an ex tended conflict will, for example, work better if sever al “winner s” are allowed. Al so, damage can be rolled individually, or just once (by the round’s winner) and applied to all. See example conflicts below to get a feeling for how to use these options. Other ef fects of damage are possible too. Social conflicts can result in lowered communication skill s for a day for example. These ef fects are highly dependent on the specific situations.  Choosing Skill s Choosing the right skill s to use in a conflict will be easy most of the time. Occasionally it may require some thinking to match the skill s used by the opponent, especially if they lack the exact same skill as they are “attacked” with. There are t wo ways to solve this: Either use a skill that is reasonably similar (perhaps with a Hard penalt y to reflect the mismatch in competence) or go for a char acteristic roll instead. Char acteristic roll s used versus a skill will necessarily be quite low – x2 or t wo char acteristics added together. Someone tr ained in a skill should always have the upper hand. See example conflicts below for inspir ation. 

Example Conflicts Persuade Skill: Influence, Commerce, Deceit, Insight  Conflict Pool: CHA Damage: 1d6 Round length: 1 minute This is a common situation that can easily be turned into an extended conflict. The one to reach zero fir st loses the argument.  For social conflicts in gener al, suppor ting skill s can sometimes

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be used. These should either relate to the subject being discussed or something like Acting, Culture, Knowledge (Psychology), etceter a. They will add 1 / 5 of their value to the main communication skill, but only one at a time.  Sneak Skill: Stealth vs Perception Conflict Pool: DE X vs INT Damage: 1d6 Round length: 1-5 minutes Sneaking past guards is a favorite theme of many roleplaying games. Turning those situations into ex tended conflicts can make them even more exciting.  If the char acter reaches zero before the guard, she is detected.  Poker Game Skill: Gambling Conflict Pool: (INT+POW)/2 Damage: 1d6, rolled once per round by the winner. All par ticipants but the round winner takes the same amount of damage. Round length: 15 minutes

Quick Combat

For really quick combat, tr y these alter nate r ules. Skill: A ny combat st yle Conflict pool: (CON+SIZ) /2 Damage: 1d4 for unar med combat and impromptu weapons. 1d6 for melee weapons, mar tial ar ts and old-st yle r anged weapons like bows. 1d8 for firear ms and energy weapons. Round length: 5 seconds Run the combat as any other conflict. Each roll is a combined attack, par r y and evade roll. It is recommended to use this t ype of simplified combat for non-lethal situations mainly. This means a conflict pool of zero only results in unconsciousness – not death. Optionally, ever y time the pool reaches zero, reduce regular hit points by 1d4.

A t ypical conflict only takes 3-4 rounds to resolve - use INT+POW str aight for the conflict to last longer.  Note: In a high-level gaming environment, a successful Gambling roll may be needed to be allowed to even par ticipate.  Determine the “gambling stats” of NPCs as follows (if you don’t already know them):  Low-level /Casual /Beginner: Gambling 30%, Conflict pool 6. Mid-level /Regular: Gambling 50%, Conflict pool 11.  High-level /Professional: Gambling 70%, Conflict pool 16.  Ever yone place their bets. The GM and player s come to an agreement about the size of the bets.  Star t playing! Use opposed roll s, with the highest success in Gambling skill winning the round. The winner deal s 1d6 damage

Cheating in Poker

To be able to cheat, the skill Sleight is required. For ever y successful Sleight roll, the cheater gets a +10% bonus on her Gambling skill the same round. Failure gives no bonus and the other card player s will detect the cheating with a successful Perception roll. For more e

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Chase (Dr iving)

Skill: Dr ive (any vehicle) Pool: DE X or the aver age of SPEED & H A NDLING (see vehicle r ules).  Damage: 1d6 Round length: 10 seconds The fir st vehicle to reach a conflict pool of zero has lost. Either the vehicle being followed gets away or the follower has caught up. To force the other vehicle to stop, a Dr ive roll at Hard is needed. If the roll fail s, the vehicles continue side by side, and new tr ies can be made the following rounds.  Fumble: Both vehicle and passenger s takes 1d4 hit point damage (rolled individually), in addition to the reduced pool. For detailed vehicle damage ef fects, see malfunction r ules in Vehicles chapter.  Shooting while dr iving: All handgun fir ing bet ween moving vehicles are at a dif ficult y gr ade of For midable . Cr itical s will hit r andom passenger. 

to ever y other par ticipant (only roll damage once per round – ever yone takes the same amount of damage).  When a PC/NPC is reduced to a conflict pool of zero, she is out of the game.  The last PC/NPC to have a conflict pool lef t wins the game. Now, either the winner takes it all, or the money is divided according to how many rounds each player won. E xample: Four players bet

100 Cr each; 4 00 Cr in total. The game lasted four rounds, with player 1 winning three (and winning the entire game) and player 2 winning one round. Player one gets 300 Cr and player 2 100 Cr. Or player 1 wins all 4 00 Cr.  Playing an unknown game halves the Gambling skill for the first 3-10 games, depending on the complexit y of the game.  Chase (Running) Skill: Athletics. Complement with Climb & Acrobatics if needed. Additionally, Stealth can be used Conflict Pool: The aver age of CON & DE X Damage: 1d6 Round length: 10 seconds The person being followed determines the route and if any other skill s than Athletics are needed. The follower must make the same skill roll s to keep up.  If the person being followed is down to zero pool points, the follower has caught up. A successful Unarmed roll is needed to actually stop the per son. In many cases an Influence, Commerce or Deceit roll at Hard will do the trick too.  Fumble: The r unner trips, slips or r uns into an object, taking 1d4 hit point damage in addition to the regular Pool damage.

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Dinner Par t y Skill s: Any communication skill s Conflict Pool: CHA Damage: 1d6, rolled once per round. All par ticipants failing their roll s take the same damage. Round length: 30 minutes Pick 1-6 NPCs as the main par ticipator s. If there are more people attending the dinner, treat them as subordinates to the main NPCs (and ignore them to simplif y the setup).  Define the NPCs conflict values as follows (if you don’t already have them): Low-level: A ny social skill at 30%, CH A 6 Mid-level: Any social skill at 50%, CHA 11 High-level: Any social skill at 75%, CH A 16 Decide how long the par t y will last. 

Social Disposition Table

Social Disposition

Deceit skill modifier

Influence or other skill modifier

Affectionate

-10%

+25%

Friendly

-5%

+15%

Amiable

0

+5%

Indifferent

0

0

Dislike

+10%

-10%

Unfriendly

+20%

-20%

Malicious

+30%

-30%

Use this table to modif y social skill s when char acter s inter act with NP Cs. All social skill s but Deceit use the r ight column; modifier s for Deceit are (mostly) inver ted.

Play the dinner! All involved makes a skill roll ever y half hour the dinner par t y lasts. Only those failing their roll s takes damage. The person with the highest success roll s the damage (1d6).   For impor tant NP Cs, you will probWhen the time is up, par ticipants have made it through the ban- ably want to keep notes on how the Social Disposition changes over quette according to the points they have lef t in their pool s: time. A nd make sure to update it Zero. The char acter made a lousy impression. She won’t be invited again, will have a bad reputation in these circles and won’t easily get a job or information from these people. W ill be at -10% in communication skill s in these circles ( Dislike on the Social Disposition Table on the nex t page).  Below half their pool. The outcome is neutr al. Nothing special happens. Social disposition +/-0. More than half the pool lef t. She made a good impression. She will be invited again and will be favor ably met in the future ( Friendly on the Social Disposition Table). 

af ter each session, to reflect the repercussions of the char acter’s doings. Social Skill s

Standard: Deceit, Influence, Insight Professional: Bureaucr ac y, Commerce, Cour tesy, Or ator y, Politics, Seduction, Street wise, Teach Suppor ting skill s: Acting, Customs, Gambling, K nowledge (Psychology), Culture

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Secrets & Threats

In social conflicts, you may want to add optional bonuses to skill roll s, when the following power ful lever s are used.  Threats.   Benign threats are commonplace in most social conflicts, but a threat of ample physical violence will make a communication roll Easy; or even Ver y Easy when used against regular people. The per son making the threat must be able to back it up though (at least seemingly), other wise it can have the rever se ef fect. Al so, for targets with a high W illpower skill or relevant Passion, threats will be less ef fective: the GM must judge this based on the specific circumstances. 

A s soon as a threat is included in a conflict, the target’s Social Disposition towards the per son making the threat is reduced to a minimum for a longer period of time.  Secrets. Threatening to reveal an opponent’s well-kept secret will make communication roll s Easy or Ver y Easy. Ever y thing from tax evasion and romantic lapses, to a liter al dead body in a closet can be used. To uncover a secret, the char acter must have made some research on the opponent beforehand though (or per haps payed or threatened someone el se to tell them about it). A s for threats, Social Disposition will plummet as soon as Secrets are brought into a conflict. 

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In addition, for ever y successful roll the char acter makes, there is a chance that something interesting and useful is revealed. It can be related to the scenario or not, and can be secrets overheard, r umor s, new business relations presented, love af fairs implicitly indicated, etceter a. The GM may want to prepare beforehand what tidbits are revealed and how many successful roll s it takes to get each of them.

E xample: Nedr a is invited to a fanc y dinner held by a criminal net work in Glimminge. Earlier that day she had r an into an old enemy, Egil Hermstad. The GM decides that if Nedr a makes three successful roll s (out of five), she will overhear a conversation about what her old enemy is up to these days. Nedr as’ player is luck y with the dice, and makes the three roll s (with an Influence at 60%). This information will eventually lead to a new scenario, with Nedr a getting help from a psionic to stop an alien por tal from opening.  Boating Through a Storm Skill: Boating or Seamanship Conflict Pool: The char acter can use (DE X+INT) divided by t wo, vessel SIZE (if the vehicle r ules are used) or a combination of both. For the storm, fir st decide what chance it has to damage a vessel – that is the skill percentage equivalent. Set the pool according to the gener al r ules on opponent r ating (see sidebar on page 4 6). Damage: 1d6 Round length: 30 minutes Fumble: Passenger s & crew takes 1d4 hit point damage. Long journey on foot Skill s: Athletics, Endur ance, Sur vival Conflict Pool: CON Damage: 1d6 Round length: 24 hours

Decide how many days the journey will last and roll once a day for each char acter, plus the opposing force. Use the following dif ficulties: Light terr ain, good conditions*: 30%, pool 6 Mixed terr ain & conditions: 50%, pool 11 Dif ficult terr ain, tough conditions**: 75%, pool 16 * =  for example sleeping in a bed at night, plent y of r ations, light backpacks, beautiful weather. ** = for example too cold or hot, r ain or snow, rock y or mountainous, thin or harsh atmosphere, heav y packs, wetlands, gear unsuited for conditions, no time to prepare for the journey.  Conflict pool s are not fully regained until the journey is over. The journey is over if the char acters manage to keep their pool s above zero until all the roll s are made. If any char acter’s pool drops to zero, the par t y will have to rest at least one full day, regaining one four th of their original pool s per day resting. 1d4 hit points are lost ever y time the CON pool drops to zero.  Optional: Tempo can be allowed to af fect pool damage.  Hard tempo: 1d8, 4 0 km per day Normal tempo: 1d6, 20 km per day Easy tempo: 1d4, 10 km per day

E X T E ND E D C O NF L I C T S

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E X T E ND E D C O NF L I C T S

E X T E ND E D C O NF L I C T S

53

Combat

C

ombat is an impor tant feature of roleplaying games. V iolent confrontation has ever been a way of settling problems, from vengeance driven fights bet ween nemeses, to the clash of armies in times of war. Never theless combat need not be a savage battle to the death. Some combat encounter s can be swashbuckling duel s which end without injur y, or perhaps light-hear ted bar room br awl s. M-SPACE uses a number of terms to explain the core elements of Combat. These are explained in the following sections, but in over view, these are: » » Combat St yle: The skill of wielding a group of weapons learned as par t of a culture or profession. » » Combat Ac tions: Possible acts a char acter can per form during a round by the expenditure of an Action Point. » » Weapon Size: How dif ficult it is to parr y or block a particular weapon. » » Engagement: When combatants can hit or be hit by a direct opponent, depending on circumstances. » » Special Ef fec ts: Combat maneuvers which can be performed if one combatant gains the upper hand.

Combat Styles Skill s covering fighting and combat are called Combat St yles. Each st yle is a ‘package’ of multiple weapons, related by culture, career or even school s of combat, which avoids the necessit y of learning each individual weapon separ ately. The most impor tant aspect of Combat St yles is that the char acter learns how to use each weapon in the st yle, both singly and in combination so that they might be interchanged as necessar y.

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Thus a Zamhareer colonist may be expected to know how to use a blaster and a knife; whereas an Imperial High Guard may be tr ained in blasters, blaster carbines and Unarmed instead. Deciding how many weapons should be included into a single st yle is ultimately a choice determined by the Games Master and the setting of the game. Char acters who attempt to use a weapon not covered by their st yle should suf fer a skill penalt y of one or more dif ficult y gr ades. Combat St yle Benefits Combat st yles possess another function beyond simply learning one or sever al weapon skill s. Since each st yle is taught by a par ticular culture or career, they are inherently optimized for the environment or militar y tactics that group normally fights with; for instance an Enyin nomad learns to fight from the saddle, or an infantr yman tr ains to fight in close order formation. Therefore, as an additional bonus, some Combat St yles may be assigned one or more tr aits which gr ants it an advantage under cer tain circumstances. Tr aits are only intended to be used with the weapons and situations of that par ticular st yle. Obviously there are countless tr aits, many of which are specific to a particular campaign world.

Running Combat To emphasise its viscer al nature, combat is tr acked on a blow by blow basis. In order to ease book keeping fights are broken down into Combat Rounds of five seconds each. During this period combatants may make hand-to-hand attacks or defend against them, maneuver into and out of combat, fire or throw a r anged weapon and so on. Combat Rounds use sever al impor tant terms:

Simplified Combat

A s not all scenar ios and campaigns involve a lot of fighting, a later chapter is dedicated to simplified combat. Using it can al so be a good way to lear n the basics of the system. For those instead wanting more detail s, see the full My thr as r ulebook, available from The Design Mechanism.

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E xample Combat St yle Tr aits Tr ait

Description

Blind

Allows user to

Fighting

ignore any penalties imposed due to poor lighting or tempor ar y blinding

Daredevil

May use the Ev ade skill to dodge blows in hand to hand combat without ending up prone

Defensive

Increases the Size of

Minded

your weapon when par r ying by one step, provided no of fensive ac tion is taken that round

A ssassi-

Allows the user ac-

nation

cess to the nor mally restr icted K ill Silently special ef fec t.

K nockout

W hen at tacking with

Blow

sur pr ise treat any Stun Location as lasting minutes instead of tur ns

Mounted /

Allows char acter to

Vehicle

ignore the skill cap

Combat

placed upon combat roll s by the Ride skill

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» » Initiative: The order of when each char acter or creature may take their Turn during a Combat Round. » » Turn: On their turn, a par ticipant per forms a single proactive Combat Action, which comprises of a declar ation, any necessar y dice roll s (including reactions) to resolve the action. Initiative Initiative determines par ticipants’ order of actions during the Combat Round. It is rolled at the star t of a fight by each combatant rolling 1d10 and adding their Initiative Bonus (page 13). Whoever gained the highest result acts fir st, followed by the second highest and so on. When t wo or more par ticipants tie scores they act concurrently. Unless something occur s to change the situation, the values remain in play until it is forced to be rerolled. Char acters who wear armor are hindered by its encumbr ance. Ever y t ype of armor has an associated penalt y which is applied to the Initiative of its wearer. Ac tions in Combat Once initiative has been determined, the par ticipants have the potential to per form sever al Combat Actions during each Combat Round. All char acter s get 2 Action Points per round, but when they can act is limited to whether the action is proactive or reactive. Proactive actions can only be attempted on the char acter’s own Turn; that is to say, on his initiative Strike Rank. Proactive actions are those in which the char acter is the instigator, such as making an attack with a weapon. Reactive actions are those taken by a char acter to counter or resist an act made against them. Only one reaction attempt is permitted for each threat, an example would be tr ying to parr y an attack. Unused Action Points do not carr y over from one round to the nex t.

Combat Actions

E xample Combat St yle Tr aits (cont.)

Combat Actions are those acts which can be per formed during battle. Dr awing a weapon, casting a spell, or diving clear from an attack are all examples of Combat Actions. Most are concerned with elements of combat itself, but some relate to activities outside the to and fro of spell s and weapons.

Ranged

W hen using a r anged

Mar ks-

weapon, shif t a

man

r andom Hit Location

A s previously mentioned, how of ten a char acter can act per

Skir mish-

The st yle per mits

ing

launching r anged

round is limited by their available Action Points. These are spent over the course of each Combat Round to per form various Combat Actions. Once a combatant’s Action Points are expended, they may no longer act for the remainder of that round and must wait until their points reset at the beginning of the nex t.

roll to an adjoining body location

at tacks whil st w alking or r unning Throw

A ny melee weapon in

Weapons

the st yle can al so be thrown at no penalt y

Unless other wise specified any Combat Action (save for ‘ free’ actions) costs one Action Point. Thus combatants need to carefully consider how and when they use their points. They may act as aggressively or defensively as they wish, dynamically reacting to the evolving circumstance of the combat. Proac tive Actions The following are activities a char acter can attempt on his Turn by spending an Action Point. Note that some actions such as using a psionic power or reloading may take sever al turns to complete; each turn costing its own Action Point. Attack: The char acter can attempt to strike with a hand-to-hand weapon or use a r anged weapon. Dither: The default option unless another action is chosen, the char acter simply wastes his turn doing nothing useful.

to skill, but when used in this w ay a weapon’s damage roll is halved Unar med

Per mits the user to

Prowess

treat his Unar med blocks and par r ies as ‘Medium’ sized, enabling him to bet ter defend himself from ar med opponents

Mount: The char acter can mount or dismount a riding beast or vehicle. Par ticularly large mounts may require sever al turns to complete. Move: Provided he is not engaged with an opponent, the char acter can move any distance the Games Master deems suitable for the situation. C O MB AT

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Free Ac tions

Free actions can be per for med at any time dur ing the Combat Round and cost no Action Points to perfor m. Drop Weapon: Dropping a weapon is a Free Action. Signal: If unengaged, gestur ing or signalling to one or more par ticipants (as long as they can perceive the sign) is a Free Action. Speak: A char acter can speak at any time dur ing combat, but what is said should be limited to shor t phr ases which can be ut tered in five seconds or less; for example ‘Look out behind you!’ or ‘Damn you to hell!’ Use Luck Point: Using a Luck Point – to re-roll a par ticular result for example – is a Free Action. Ward Location: The char acter guards a par ticular Hit Location from being hit by dedicating one of his weapons to passively block the area. A ny blow which lands on that location has its damage automatically downgr aded as per normal for a par r ying weapon of its Size. The cover continues until the dedicated weapon is used to attack or actively par r y. E stablishing or changing the Hit Location covered must be per for med pr ior to an opponent rolling to at tack the char acter. Due to their design, shields can cover multiple areas. For fur ther explanation see Passive Blocking, page 71.

Outmaneuver: The char acter can engage multiple opponents in a group opposed roll of Evade skill s. Those who fail to beat his roll cannot attack him that Combat Round. See the section on Outmaneuvering on page 71. Ready Weapon: The char acter may dr aw, sheath, withdr aw or reload a weapon. Retrieving a nearby dropped weapon requires t wo turns: one to move and reach down for the weapon and a second to return to a readied stance. Some missile weapons require sever al turns to reload. Regain Footing: If unengaged with an opponent, the char acter can automatically regain his footing from being tripped or knocked down. If engaged, the char acter must win an opposed test of Br awn or Athletics with the opponent before standing. Sneak Peek:  A ssess situation without becoming a target. Perception skill fumble results in opponent getting a pot shot.  Struggle: If the char acter is the victim of a cer tain t ypes of attack or Special Ef fect, he may attempt to ex tr act himself from the situation. For example breaking free from a Gr apple or Pin Weapon. Use Power: The char acter can attempt to use a psionic power. Complex power s may require sever al turns in order to complete. Reactive Actions This list specifies reactions which can be used at any time during the Combat Round as a response to an imminent threat. A s in the previous list, a reaction costs an Action Point to per form. Evade: The char acter can use their Evade skill in an attempt to dive clear of threats such as incoming missiles or a charging attack. This leaves the char acter prone, unless mitigated by some special circumstance. Thus the char acter’s nex t turn is usually spent taking the Regain Footing action to stand again. See Evading on page 69. Parr y: The char acter can attempt to defend against an incoming

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attack using a combination of parr ying, leaning, ducking and side-stepping foot work to minimise the blow. Take Cover: The char acter gets behind something (not prone). Used as a reactive action here ( ie. char acters can dive for cover af ter someone shoots at them).

How Combat Works Fighting in M-SPACE is resolved with each attack or parr y representing a single stab, swing, cast or shot of a weapon. A ny of fensive action is permitted the chance to be resisted by a reaction. Thus even if a char acter manages to strike an opponent, the foe is permitted its own roll to see if it can parr y the blow before it lands. The same philosophy is used whether the attacks are blasters against targets diving for cover, or tr ying to break free from the iron gr asp of a giant alien. Attacks and Parries Close combat is handled in the following step by step manner: 1. On his turn the attacker spends an Ac tion Point, roll s against his Combat St yle and notes the result. 2. If desired, the defender spends an Ac tion Point, roll s against his Combat St yle and notes the result. 3. The success level of the results are compared as per a Dif ferential Roll (page 35). 4. Any dif ference gr ants the successful combatant with the superior roll one or more Special Ef fec ts. 5. If the attacker achieved a success or critical, he may roll weapon damage and apply their Damage Modifier (if any). If applicable, a Hit Location is determined for the blow. 6. If the defender achieved a success or critical, reduce any damage inflicted according to the compar ative sizes of the weapons involved. 7. Reduce any remaining damage by the Armor Points of natur al or worn protection.

Special Ef fec ts & Damage Note that any Special Ef fects gener ated by the exchange are independent of whether or not damage is inflicted. It is quite possible for a defender to gain the higher success level, yet still suf fer injur y.

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Par r ying a Missed At tack

If the at tacker misses his initial at tack roll, the defender has the option of whether or not to spend an Action Point to par r y. Although it may seem disingenuous to par r y an at tack which will miss any way, a skilled defender can use this to his advantage to gain one or more Special Ef fects, potentially weakening or incapacitating a foe and preser ving their nex t tur n for some other action. Unsuccessful Roll s and Fumbles

If both combatants fail their roll s, or the defender decides not to take advantage of a missed at tack, then the at tack-par r y sequence ends and combat continues on to the par ticipant with the nex t highest Str ike Rank.

Weapon Size Ever y weapon in M-SPACE possesses a number of dif ferent attributes from the damage it deal s to how many hands are required to wield it. Size is a combination of a weapon’s mass, lever age and stabilit y, and is used to determine the weapon’s abilit y to impose and parr y damage. Size categories are Small, Medium, L arge, Huge, and Enormous. The unarmed attacks of creatures are assigned similar categories according to their physical char acteristics. Damage Reduction If a defender succeeds in parr ying, then he can reduce an attacker’s damage, if any, according to the compar ative Size of the weapons used. » » Parr ying an attack with a weapon or shield of equal or greater Size deflec ts all damage » » Parr ying with a weapon or shield of one Size less only deflects half damage » » Parr ying with a weapon or shield t wo or more Sizes less fail s to deflec t any damage For example, parr ying a Huge axe with a Huge shield would block all damage; parr ying it with a sword (L arge) would halve the damage, and parr ying it with a knife (Small) would stop no damage at all. Armor Any damage which penetr ates the defender’s parr y, is fur ther reduced by the A rmor Points of any natur al protection (such as scales or a shell) or worn armor they possess. If the defender has both, then the t wo stack together to reduce damage. Due to its mass and restriction to movement, the highest A rmor Point value of armor worn by a char acter acts as a penalt y to their Strike Rank.

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Special Effects Fighting is far more than simply injuring or killing an opponent. Combative ar ts teach many methods of defeating a foe, perhaps rendering them helpless or forcing them into situations where they must capitulate, without necessarily needing to actually cause them harm. Special Ef fects represent these techniques and control how they occur in play.

Unable or Unwilling to Par r y In a situation where a defender is unable to par r y due to having no Action Points remaining, or, confident in his abilit y to weather the blow, elects not to par r y, he is treated as having automatically rolled a failure. This has the consequence of gr anting a successful at tacker one or more Special Ef fects.

Whenever opponents engage in a Dif ferential Roll of their respective fighting skill s, any resulting dif ference in success level s indicates an oppor tunit y for Special Ef fects to occur. This reflects one combatant manoeuvring his opponent into a disadvantageous situation which can be exploited using a cunning trick or tactic. The number of Special Ef fects received depends on the dif ference bet ween the level s of success, as illustr ated on the Dif ferential Level s of Success table (see page 35). If any Special Ef fects are won during an exchange, they must be selected before Damage and Hit Location, if any, are rolled. In cases where the recipient is badly wounded in addition to receiving a Special Ef fect, Endur ance roll s are resolved af ter the application of the ef fect. Special Ef fects cover a diverse r ange of situations and techniques. Some are designed specifically for attacks, whil st others are intended for defence and a few are adaptable for either circumstance. Cer tain Special Ef fects can al so be limited to particular weapon t ypes or specific dice roll s, requiring a Critical or Fumble result on their skill check for instance. When t wo or more Special Ef fects are gained, the combatant may freely mix and match which ones are selected, providing he meets the prerequisite conditions for each one. Some ef fects can be stacked. For example, an attacker who roll s a critical success and wins t wo Special Ef fects could choose Maximise Damage t wice r ather than choosing t wo separ ate of fensive maneuvers. C O MB AT

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Special Ef fect Descriptions The following Special Ef fects are a subset of those available in the full My thr as r ules: Accidental Injur y. The defender deflects or t wists an opponent’s attack in such a way that he fumbles, injuring himself. The attacker must roll damage against himself in a r andom hit location using the weapon used to strike. If unarmed, he tears or breaks something internal, the damage roll ignoring any armor. Arise. Allows the defender to use a momentar y opening to roll back up to their feet. Bash. The attacker deliber ately bashes the opponent of f balance. How far the defender totters back or sideward depends on the weapon being used. Shields knock an opponent back one meter per for ever y t wo points of damage rolled (prior to any subtr actions due to armor, parries, and so for th), whereas bludgeoning weapons knock back one meter per for ever y three points. Bashing works only on creatures up to t wice the attacker’s SIZ. If the recipient is forced back wards into an obstacle, then they must make a Hard Athletics or Acrobatics skill roll to avoid falling or tripping over. Bleed. The attacker can attempt to cut open a major blood vessel. If the blow overcomes Armor Points and injures the target, the defender must make an opposed roll of Endurance against the original attack roll. If the

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defender fail s, then they begin to bleed profusely. At the star t of each Combat Round the recipient loses one level of Fatigue, until they collapse and possibly die. Bleeding wounds can be staunched by passing a Fir st Aid skill roll, but the recipient can no longer per form any strenuous or violent action without re-opening the wound. See Blood Loss, page 80. Blind Opponent. On a critical the defender briefly blinds his opponent by throwing sand, reflecting sunlight, or some other tactic which briefly inter feres with the attacker’s vision. The attacker must make an opposed roll of his Evade skill (or Weapon st yle if using a shield) against the defender’s original parr y roll. If the attacker fail s he suf fer s a situational modifier of Hard or Formidable for the nex t 1d3 turns, depending on the method of blinding. Bypass Armor. On a critical the attacker finds a gap in the defender’s natur al or worn armor. If the defender is wearing armor above natur al protection, then the attacker must decide which of the t wo is bypassed. This ef fect can be stacked to bypass both. For the purposes of this ef fect, physical protection gained from psionics is considered as being worn armor. Choose Location. When using hand-to-hand melee weapons the attacker may freely select the location where the blow lands, as

long as that location is normally within reach. If using r anged weapons Choose Location is a Critical Success only, unless the target is within close r ange and is either stationar y or unaware of the attacker. Circumvent Parr y. On a critical the attacker may completely bypass an other wise successful parr y. Damage Weapon. Permits the char acter to damage his opponent’s weapon as par t of an attack or parr y. The targeted weapon uses its own Armor Points for resisting the damage. If reduced to zero Hit Points the weapon breaks. Ranged weapons require a critical to damage a weapon. Disarm Opponent. The char acter knocks, yanks or t wists the opponent’s weapon out of his hand. The opponent must make an opposed roll of his Combat St yle against the char acter’s original roll. If the recipient of the disarm loses, his weapon is flung a distance equal to the roll of the disarmer’s Damage Modifier in meters; or, if the char acter has a free hand, he may seize the weapon from the opponent. If there is no Damage Modifier then the weapon drops at the disarmed per son’s feet. The compar ative size of the weapons af fects the roll. Each step that the disarming char acter’s weapon is larger increases the dif ficult y of the opponent’s roll by one gr ade. Conversely each step the disarming char acter’s weapon is smaller,

makes the dif ficult y one gr ade easier. Disarming works only on creatures of up to t wice the attacker’s STR. Drop Foe. A ssuming the target suf fers at least a minor wound from a shot, they are forced to make an Opposed Test of their Endur ance against the attacker’s hit roll. Failure indicates that the target succumbs to shock and pain, becoming incapacitated and unable to continue fighting. Recover y from incapacitation can be per formed with a successful Fir st A id check or using some form of technological booster. Other wise the tempor ar y incapacitation lasts for a period equal to one hour divided by the Healing Rate of the target. Duck back. This r anged special ef fect allows a shooter to immediately duck back into cover, without needing to wait for their nex t Turn to use the Take Cover action. The char acter must be already standing or crouching adjacent to some form of cover to use Duck Back. Enhance Parr y. On a critical the defender manages to deflect the entire force of an attack, no matter the Size of his weapon. Entangle. Allows a char acter wielding an entangling weapon, such as a whip or net, to immobilise the location str uck. An entangled arm cannot use whatever it is holding; a snared leg prevents the target from moving; whil st an enmeshed head, chest or abdomen makes all skill roll s one gr ade harder. On Continued...

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Special Ef fect Descriptions (continued) his following turn the wielder may spend an Action Point to make an automatic Trip Opponent attempt. A victim can attempt to free himself on his turn by either attempting an opposed roll using Br awn to yank free, or win a Special Ef fect and select Damage Weapon, Disarm Opponent or Slip Free. Force Failure. Used when an opponent fumbles, the char acter can combine Force Failure with any other Special Ef fect which requires an opposed roll to work. Force Failure causes the opponent to fail his resistance roll by default – thereby automatically be disarmed, tripped, etc. Grip. Provided the opponent is within the attacker’s Unarmed Combat reach, he may use an empt y hand (or similar limb capable of gripping) to hold onto the opponent, preventing them from being able to disengage from combat. The opponent may attempt to break free on his turn, requiring an opposed roll of either Br awn or Unarmed against whichever of the t wo skill s the gripper prefers. Impale. Roll weapon damage t wice, with the attacker choosing which of the t wo results to use for the attack. If armor is penetr ated and causes a wound, then assuming it is a melee weapon, the attacker has the option of leaving the weapon in the wound, or yanking it free on their nex t turn. Leaving the weapon in the wound inflicts a dif ficult y gr ade on the

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victim’s future skill attempts. The severit y of the penalt y depends on the size of both the creature and the weapon impaling it, as listed on the Impale Ef fects Table on page 66. For simplicit y’s sake, fur ther impalements with the same sized weapon inflict no additional penalties. To withdr aw an impaled weapon during melee requires use of the Ready Weapon combat action. The wielder must pass an unopposed Br awn roll (or win an opposed Br awn roll if the opponent resists). Success pull s the weapon free, causing fur ther injur y to the same location equal to half the normal damage roll for that weapon, but without any damage modifier. Failure implies that the weapon remained stuck in the wound with no fur ther ef fect, although the wielder may tr y again on their nex t turn. Specifically barbed weapons (such as harpoons) inflict normal damage. Armor does not reduce withdr awal damage. Whil st it remains impaled, the attacker cannot use his impaling weapon for parr ying. Kill Silently. Restricted to those tr ained with the A ssassination benefit. It allows the attacker to neutr alise a victim in complete silence, stabbing, shooting (with silencer) or garrotting them. This prevents the victim from cr ying out or other wise r aising an alarm. Kill Silently can only be used on a surprised opponent and only on the fir st attack against them. Marksman. Permits the shooter to move the

Hit Location str uck by his shot by one step, to an immediately adjoining body area. Physiology has an ef fect on what can be re-targeted and common sense should be applied. Thus using this special ef fect on a humanoid would permit an attacker who rolled a leg shot, to move it up to the abdomen instead. Conversely shooting a bear-like alien in the chest would permit selection of the forelegs or head. Maximise Damage. On a critical the character may substitute one of his weapon’s damage dice for its full value. For example a blaster which normally does 1d8 damage would instead be treated as an 8, whereas a great club with 2d6 damage would instead inflict 1d6 +6 damage. This special ef fect may be stacked. Although it can al so be used for natur al weapons, Maximise Damage does not af fect the Damage Modifier of the attacker, which must be rolled normally. Pin Down. This firearm special ef fect forces the target to make an Opposed Test of their W illpower against the attacker’s hit roll. Failure means that the target hunker s down behind whatever cover is available and cannot return fire on their nex t Turn. Note that Pin Down works even if no actual damage is inflicted on the target (perhaps due to a successful evasion or shots striking their cover instead), as it relies on the intimidation ef fect of gunfire passing ver y close by. Although a pinned victim is unable to fire back for the

requisite time, they can per form other actions provided they don’t expose themselves to fire in the process, such as cr awling away to new cover, communicating with others, reloading a weapon and so on. Prepare Counter. The defender reads the patterns of his foe and preplans a counter against a specific Special Ef fect (which should be noted down in secret). If his opponent attempts to inflict the chosen Special Ef fect upon him during the fight, the defender instantly substitutes the attacker’s ef fect with one of his own, which succeeds automatically. Rapid Reload. When using a r anged weapon, the attacker reduces the reload time for the nex t shot by one. This ef fect can be stacked. Scar Foe. The combatant nent with a scar that will for the rest of his or her almost-severed-throat, or

inflicts his oppobe the talk of all life – such as an a facial scar.

Select Target. When an attacker fumbles, the defender may maneuver or deflect the blow in such a way that it hits an adjacent bystander instead. This requires that the new target is within reach of the attacker’s weapon, or in the case of a r anged attack, is standing along the line of fire. The new victim is taken completely by surprise by the unexpected accident and has no chance to avoid the attack which automatically hits. In compensation however, they suf fer no special ef fect. Continued...

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Special Ef fect Descriptions (continued) Slip Free. On a critical the defender can automatically escape being Entangled, Gripped, or Pinned. Stun Location. The attacker can use a bludgeoning weapon to tempor arily stun the body par t str uck. If the blow overcomes Armor Points and injures the target, the defender must make an opposed roll of Endur ance vs. the original attack roll. If the defender fail s, then the Hit Location is incapacitated for a number of turns equal to the damage inflicted. A blow to the torso causes the defender to stagger winded, only able to defend. A head shot renders the foe briefly insensible. Sunder. The attacker may use a suitable weapon, such as an axe, to damage the armor or natur al protection of an opponent. Any weapon damage, af ter reductions for parr ying or psionics, is applied against the Armor Point value of the protection. Surplus damage in excess of its Armor Points is then used to reduce the AP value of that

armor (ed) location – ripping str aps, creasing plates or tearing away the hide, scales or chitin of aliens. If any damage remains af ter the protection has been reduced to zero A P, it carries over onto the Hit Points of the location str uck. Trip Opponent. The char acter attempts to overbalance or throw his opponent to the ground. The opponent must make an opposed roll of his Br awn, Evade or Acrobatics against the char acter’s original roll. If the target fail s, he fall s prone. Quadr uped opponents (or creatures with even more legs) may substitute their Athletics skill for Evade and treat the roll as one dif ficult y gr ade easier. Withdr aw. The defender may automatically withdr aw out of reach, breaking of f engagement with that par ticular opponent. Weapon Malfunction. When attacker fumbles, this special ef fect can be used by the target. Attacker’s weapon is useless, until time can be spent to clean it. Used for firearms only.

Impale Ef fec ts Table Foe SIZ

Small Weapons

Medium Weapons

L arge Weapons

Huge Weapons

Enormous Weapons

1-10

For midable

Herculean

Hopeless

Hopeless

Hopeless

11-20

Hard

For midable

Herculean

Hopeless

Hopeless

21-30

No Ef fec t

Hard

For midable

Herculean

Hopeless

31-4 0

No Ef fec t

No Ef fec t

Hard

For midable

Herculean

41-50

No Ef fec t

No Ef fec t

No Ef fect

Hard

For midable

Each +10

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Follow table progression

Special Ef fec t

Of fensi ve

Defensive

Accidental Injur y

•

A r ise

•

Specific Weapon Ty pe

Stackable

At tacker Fumbles

Bash

•

Shields or Bludgeoning

Bleed

•

Cut ting Weapons

Blind Opponent

Specific Roll

•

Defender Cr itic al s

B y pass A r mor

•

At tacker Cr itic al s

Choose Location

•

S ee Descr iption

Circumvent P ar r y

•

At tacker Cr itic al s

Damage Weapon

•

•

Dis ar m Opponent

•

•

Drop Foe

•

F irear ms Only

Duck Back

•

F irear ms Only

Enhance Par r y

•

Defender Cr itic al s

Entangle

•

•

Entangling Weapons

Force Failure

•

•

Opponent Fumbles

Gr ip

•

Unar med

Impale

•

Impaling Weapons

K ill Silently

•

Small Weapons

Mar ksman

•

Ranged Weapons Only

Maximise Damage

•

Pin Dow n

•

Prepare Counter

•

S ee descr iption

At tacker Cr itic al s

•

Ranged Weapons Only •

• •

Rapid Reload

•

•

S car Foe

•

•

Bl aded Weapons Only

S elec t Target

•

At tacker Fumbles

Slip Free

•

Defender Cr itic al s

Stun Location

•

Bludgeoning Weapons

Sunder

•

Two Handed Weapons

Tr ip Opponent

•

•

W ithdr aw

•

Weapon Malfunc tion

•

F irear ms only

At tacker Fumbles

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Close Combat Situational Modifier s Situation At tacking a helpless target

Dif ficult y Gr ade Automatic

Hard

Situational modifier s may be applied when fighting in par ticular conditions, or as the result of a Special Ef fect. For example fighting in the dark might incur a dif ficult y gr ade of Herculean .

Hard

Unless stated other wise, modifier s are decided by the Games Master. Where t wo or more situations are per tinent to the character, use the most severe.

Hard

Some modifiers are circumstance dependent, but r ather than applying a dif ficult y gr ade the Combat St yle is limited by a relevant skill. For example, fighting from the back of a hor se would cap the combatant’s Combat St yle by their Ride skill, whil st fighting in water might cap it to the value of the char acter’s Swim.

ground Fighting in a confined situation Fighting with an unfamiliar weapon Fighting when prone

For midable

Defending against an at tack from

For midable

behind Fighting in pitch dar kness or when

Herculean

blinded Fir ing at prone target

For midable

If at tacker is prone (by force)

Close combat is hand to hand fighting in its classic sense, when combatants strike each other with wielded or natur al weapons. The following guidelines of fer ways to make close combat more interesting and help to fur ther explain some concepts hinted at earlier in this chapter. Situational Modifiers

Defending while on lower

Close Combat

For midable

Engagement. A char acter is considered Engaged if he or she is within melee weapon r ange of an opponent. This does not necessarily require that both combatants can reach each other; only that one of them can be potentially str uck by the other. Once a char acter has engaged with an opponent he can no longer freely depar t that fight (charging past is a special exception). It requires some form of deliber ate act to break contact with the foe, normally per formed via a combat action such as Outmaneuver, or use of the W ithdr aw Special Ef fect. Charging. A charge requires a char acter to spend at least one turn using the Move action prior to the turn in which they attack. Whil st charging, the attack roll suf fer s a dif ficult y gr ade of Hard . In return the charge increases the Size of the attacking weapon by one step and a bipedal attacker’s Damage Modifier by one step; or t wo steps if a quadr uped (or more legs). Rid-

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ing char acters may substitute their Damage Modifier for that of their mount instead. The final position of the charging char acter depends on the result of the exchange and whether the attacker wishes to stop or continue sweeping past, immediately breaking engagement. Rather than parr ying or evading, the recipient of a charge can simultaneously counter attack the charging attacker instead. In this case the wielder of the longer weapon strikes fir st. If the weapon can be set to receive a charge (such as a spear), the recipient may use the Damage Modifier of the charger instead of his own. Cover. Cover is used by opponents to obstr uct attacks against them, by either physically blocking a blow due to the toughness of the interposing material, or by obscuring where precisely the foe is. The precise value of cover depends on the thickness of its protection and the ex tent of its cover age. An attack against a target which lands on an obscured Hit Location will be blocked to the ex tent of the cover’s inherent protection. Cover can be par tially negated either by use of the Choose Location special ef fect to aim at visible par ts of the target; or striking through the cover if the weapon is capable of penetr ating it. In situations where cover is total but the attacker believes his attack will penetr ate, he may strike blindly at the hidden target. In such cases the attack roll is one gr ade harder and Choose Location may not be taken if a special ef fect is won. This assumes the attacker knows fairly accur ately the target’s position behind the cover. Evading. Evading in combat is to throw oneself clear of an overwhelming attack. This requires an opposed test of the Evade skill of the defender versus the attacker’s per tinent roll. This could be any thing from the Drive skill of a r amming battle tank to the usage of a psionic power. If the attacker wins then they C O MB AT

69

inflict damage as per normal. If the defender wins damage is completely avoided. If the winner of the opposed roll achieves one or more level s of success over his opponent, they may select suitable Special Ef fects as per normal combat. Whatever the result, the evasive gambit leaves the defender prone – usually requiring the character to regain his footing on his following turn – unless they can use the Arise special ef fect or possess a Combat St yle tr ait such as Daredevil. Knockback. A n attack which impar ts more damage than the SIZ of the recipient will, by default, result in the char acter being knocked back. The damage in this circumstance is before any reduction due to parr ying or armor. On receiving such a blow, the recipient must pass an Easy Acrobatics or standard Athletics roll to avoid falling prone. They are al so thr ust back wards one meter for each five points of damage (or fr action thereof) in excess of their SIZ. Leaping Attacks. Leaping attacks can be launched from a variet y of situations, most are triggered as par t of an ambush or at the conclusion of a charge, but some creatures have the abilit y to leap atop an opponent without the need for a r un-up or superior height. A leaping attack is resolved with an opposed roll of the leaper’s Athletics skill ver sus the defender’s Br awn or Evade skill. Quadr uped targets make the attack roll one dif ficult y gr ade harder. If the leaper wins then the defender is automatically knocked prone, with the attacker astride them. Failure means the defender has weathered or sidestepped the impact. If the winner of the opposed roll achieves one or more level s of success over his opponent, they may select suitable Special Ef fects as per normal combat. No damage is inflicted as par t of the leap; however a subsequently prone victim cannot recover his footing until either his 70

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attacker leaves him, or he eventually wins a Special Ef fect permitting him to Arise. Outmaneuvering. A char acter facing multiple opponents can use movement to limit the number which can attack him at any time, constantly shif ting position, forcing foes to inter fere with one another. Outmaneuvering requires that the char acter has room to move about and is not pinned in a confining area. Outmaneuvering requires that the char acter engages his opponents in a group opposed roll of Evade skill s. Ever y par ticipant, both the maneuvering char acter and those foes who wish to corner him, must spend an Action Point. Then they each roll once and those who fail to beat the maneuvering char acter’s roll cannot attack him for the remainder of that Combat Round, being blocked by their allies or terr ain features. If the maneuvering char acter beats all of his opponents he has the choice of safely engaging a single foe for the rest of the round or W ithdr awing from the fight completely. Passive Blocking. Passive Blocking allows a char acter armed with a weapon to hold it in such a way that it cover s a chosen location (or locations when using a shield), but at the cost of being unable to actively parr y with it (see Ward Location page 5 8). Any attack which hits the locations automatically receives the benefit of the weapon or shield, reducing damage as normal. The technique is commonly used when a warrior wishes to guard a weak spot or wounded location. Nothing prevents a t wo weapons or weapon and shield combatant from using his other weapon to actively parr y. Since passive blocking works in the same way as cover, the Choose Location special ef fect cannot be used to bypass the block in close combat, though opponents can still use the ef fect to strike other unblocked areas. Crouching down behind a shield allows a char acter to double the number of locations covered whil st passive blocking. C O MB AT

71

they are considered flat footed

Surprise. Surprise occur s when an unexpected attack is launched against opponents unaware of the attacker’s presence or intention. An ambush would be an example of the former, whil st treacherously turning on an unsuspecting ally during amiable conversation illustr ates the latter.

and cannot defend themselves

The ef fects of surprise on a target are listed in the sidebar.

The fir st at tack on the target,

Sweep Attacks. Sweep attacks occur at the Games Master’s decision, when weapons or creatures of unusual size attack a closely clumped group of opponents – the sc y thing tail of a huge reptile or the unstoppable charge of a giant tricer atops for example – striking sever al foes simultaneously. A sweep attack is made by applying a single attack roll of the weapon or creature to all targets in its path. Each defender must resolve the ef fects of the attack separ ately and any special ef fects imposed on the attacker are treated as having occurred concurrently.

Ef fec ts of Sur pr ise »»

The target suf fer s a -10 penalt y to initiative

»»

»»

Until their Strike Rank arr ives

if successful, gains a bonus Special Ef fect »»

For the remainder of the round they may not per for m any offensive action

Ranged Combat Ranged combat incorpor ates all forms of weaponr y which require to be shot, thrown or slung to strike their target. Ranged attacks are resolved in an identical way to close combat. However, r anged weapons can normally only be parried with shields; those without must rely on natur al cover or use Evade to dive out of the line of fire. Thus against lightly armored foes, r anged weapons can be formidable deterrents. Each r anged weapon has a number of specific attributes which determine its ef fectiveness. The ones which have a key bearing on combat are as follows: Force Force is an abstr act measure of the penetr ative power of a weapon or its ammunition to determine whether the blow overcomes a (shield) parr y. Force is not used by energy weapons. Damage Modifier This attribute shows whether or not the Damage Modifier of the 72

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attacker can be used to boost the r anged weapon’s damage roll. In gener al only self-dr awn bows and thrown weapons allow the user to apply their Damage Modifier.

Ranged Combat Situational Modifier s Dif ficult y

Range Three numbers separ ated by slashes, representing the maximum Close, Ef fective and Long r anges of the weapon or its am-

Situation Light W ind

Hard

munition. Close r ange is the distance over which the Choose Location special ef fect may be used, provided the target is stationar y or unaware of the impending attack. Ef fective r ange has no significant modifiers. At long r ange the weapon can still inflict harm, but the amount of damage is halved and Force is reduced by one step.

Moder ate wind

For midable

Strong W ind

Herculean

Load The time in turns taken to load or reload a weapon which fires ammunition. A char acter can reduce the time spent loading or readying by use of the Rapid Reload special ef fect. Load times for firearms indicates changing the magazine. Impale Size The Size of an impaled weapon is dif ferent from the Force it strikes with. Ranged impaling weapons have a special column denoting their actual size when considering the hindr ances caused by the Impale special ef fect.

Situational Modifiers

Gale, stor m or hur r icane

Gr ade

Hopeless

Target is r unning

Hard

Target is jinking

For midable

Target par tially obscured by cover, mist or

Hard

t wilight Target mostly obscured by cover, thick

For midable

smoke or fog At tacker is blind or pitch dar kness

Hopeless

A s with close combat, situational modifier s may be applied when using r anged weapons in par ticular conditions. A char acter’s Combat St yle may be capped when using the weapon in dif ficult circumstances, such as firing a gun whil st driving a motorbike. Aiming. By spending additional time aiming a r anged weapon, a char acter can potentially increase his chance to hit. Aiming requires an entire Combat Round steadying the weapon and waiting for the best oppor tunit y to release, for example withholding a blaster shot until a target moves bet ween t wo obstr uctions. C O MB AT

73

Spot r ules Three additional spot r ules are used.

From the Hip: Shooting from the hip, without taking aim, is quick but imprecise. Add 10 to Initiative for a char acter using this. The default dif ficult y is Hard at close quar ter s (within 3 meter s) and For midable for longer r anges. Dual firearms: W ith dual firear ms, t wo shots at once is possible. They still cost one action point per shot, but both shots are fired in the attacker’s fir st tur n. Both shots are  at a dif ficult y gr ade of For midable . Firing From a Moving Vehicle: To fire a handgun from a moving vehicle, the at tacker’s skill is capped at the pilot’s Dr ive skill.

By aiming, the char acter may reduce the dif ficult y of a Range or Situational Modifier by one gr ade. Additional rounds spent aiming gr ant no fur ther advantage. Firing into a Crowd Firing into the swirling ebb and flow of a melee can be a risk y business, thus there is always a risk of accidentally striking someone other than the original target being aimed at. When firing at a specific target at the edge of a crowd or melee, the attack suf fer s a dif ficult y gr ade of Hard . If tr ying to fire through a group to hit a target in its midst, or on the other side, the penalt y should be r aised to Formidable . Aiming is still permitted to help mitigate the danger. A marksman who passes his attack roll despite the dif ficult y penalt y has aimed tr ue and will hit his intended target. If however the marksman fail s the roll, but would have succeeded if not for the ‘ firing into a crowd’ penalt y, then an adjacent victim is str uck instead (who is free to Evade or Parr y as normal). If more than one target is in the line of fire, the Games Master should determine the victim r andomly. Any special ef fects won as par t of the attack only apply to the original target, not any accidentally str uck bystander.

Humanoid Hit Locations Hit Location

1d20

Right Leg

01-0 3

Lef t Leg

0 4-06

A bdomen

07-0 9

Chest

10-12

Right A r m

13-15

Lef t A r m

16-18

Head

19-2 0

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Hit Locations Most successful attacks land on a specific hit location. This can be determined r andomly or in some circumstances be selected by Special Ef fects such as Choose Location. To r andomly calculate which location is been hit, roll 1d20 and compare the number rolled with the relevant humanoid or creature Hit Location table. Animal s and aliens usually have slightly dif ferent hit location tables than humanoids to reflect their own unique physiology.

Simplified Combat Combat is downplayed in some settings and campaigns, and the r ules as written may feel too bulk y at times. Below is a set of streamlined r ules that are designed to make fights quicker and easier.  Combat is al so slightly less lethal in this ver sion. One shot will not incapacitate a char acter quite as of ten, though special effects like Drop Foe or a lack of armor will still make many gunfights shor t and dangerous.  A s the group star ts feeling comfor table with the simplified r ules, you may want to switch to the regular r uleset. For even more detail, use the full My thr as r ules. Below is a compact description of the simplified r ules; read the regular combat r ules first for full comprehension. Hit points In simplified combat, gener al hit points are used, calculated as (CON+SIZ)/2. No hit locations are used. When hit points are halved, the char acter gains a serious wound; see below. Action points Char acters have 2 action points, just as in the regular r ules. Round length Round length is the same; 5 seconds. Initiative Initiative is determined the same way: Aver age of DE X and INT, plus 1d10. Rolled at the star t of each fight.

Combat Styles Combat st yles are determined by weapon t ype: » » Rifle » » Carbine » » Handgun

Combat St yle Tr aits (Optional)

A ssassination. Allows the user access to the nor mally restr icted K ill Silently special ef fect. Blind Fighting. Allows user to ignore any penalties imposed due to poor lighting or tempor ar y blinding. Mounted/ Vehicle Combat. Allows char acter to ignore the penalties & skill cap placed upon combat roll s by the Ride, Dr ive or Pilot skill s. Skirmishing. The st yle per mits launching r anged at tacks whil st walking or r unning. Quickdr aw. Tr ains the char acter to dr aw and shoot a hol stered weapon in a single, fluid motion, ignoring penalties for From the Hip.

S IMP L IF IE D C O MB AT

75

Situational modifier s & Spot Rules

A s per the regular combat r ules, plus: »»

»»

Penalt y when fir ing at someone in par tial cover: Upper body visible: Hard , Head + Shoulder s: For midable , Leaning out from behind a cor ner to fire: For midable . Fatigue is not used.

For example, use Combat St yle (Handgun) when shooting with a blaster, or Combat St yle (Rifle) when using a laser rifle. Having any of the above combat st yles and using any of the other t ypes is a Hard roll. » » Unarmed. Kick & fist; regular unarmed combat. » » Force Sword. » » Melee weapons. Melee weapons are al so determined by weapon t ype: Sword, A xe, Knife, Throwing knife, and so on. Combat st yle tr aits are optional (see sidebar on previous page). 

Combat Actions The combat actions listed below are used mainly, though Use power, Str uggle, etceter a can be used if applicable. Attack. Regular attack. Move. A distance the GM judges as reasonable under the circumstances.  Regain footing.  Roll Br awn or Athletics to get up af ter Trip Opponent for example.

Mook Rules

In many scenarios, less impor tant NP Cs – like secur it y guards and trooper s – will be encountered by the char acter s. Most of them will fall under the Mook Rules. These r ules state that unimpor tant, lowlevel NP Cs stop fighting af ter being hit once. If they can, they flee. Other wise they fall down, probably unconscious.

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Sneak peek.  A ssess situation without becoming a target. Perception skill fumble results in opponent getting a pot shot.  Evade. Char acter ends up prone. Use Regain Footing or Arise to get up. Parr y. Used only with melee weapons.  See weapon sizes to determine how much damage that can be absorbed. 1 step smaller stops half the damage, 2 steps smaller doesn’t stop any damage. Take cover. The char acter gets behind something (not prone). Used as a reactive action here ( ie. char acters can dive for cover af ter someone shoots at them).

Special Effects A subset of 11 special ef fects are used in these simplified r ules; they are listed in the sidebar. A s you get used to them af ter a couple of fights, the speed of combat will increase. They do add a nice tactical element, so it’s well wor th the ef for t to learn them.  Cheat sheets for players are recommended!

Wound Levels A s hit locations are not used, wounds work a bit dif ferently – though the same terms are used. Minor wounds: All damage above half hit points.  Serious wound: When hit points are halved or lower. No attacks possible for 1d3 rounds. All skill checks are at a penalt y of Hard until the wound is no longer serious.  Major wound: Zero hit points or lower. Char acter is dead or dying.  If the char acter fail s a roll against their Endur ance they are killed instantaneously. Other wise they are incapacitated and require hospitalization before they die of shock or blood loss. Blown Away: Negative Hit Points equal to Star ting Hit Points. Instant death from excessive tr auma. Healing Minor wounds: Regain hit points equal to a char acter’s Healing r ate per day.  Serious wounds: Regain hit points equal to a char acter’s Healing r ate per week (until it reaches half the original value – from then on it heal s as a minor wound). First aid will restore a number of hit points equal to a char acter’s Healing r ate right away.  Major wound: If not dead, First Aid will stabilise a dying char acter for a number of hours equal to their Healing Rate. Requires hospitalization or Medicine skill to treat.

Special Ef fec ts (Simplified)

1. A rise. Get up from prone (without loosing an action point).  2. Blind opponent (Critical only, Opposed). Make an opposed roll: Or iginal roll vs Evade to avoid being blinded for 1d3 rounds. 3. Disarm (Cr itical only, Opposed). Make an opposed roll: Or iginal roll vs Combat St yle (new roll) to avoid dropping weapon. 4. Drop foe (Opposed, Firear ms only). If the target takes at least one point of damage, make an opposed roll: Or iginal at tack roll vs Endur ance to avoid shock /pain lasting 30 minutes or until Fir st A id or similar is used. Cannot fight dur ing that time.  5. Duck back (Firearms only). Take cover r ight af ter at tacking (not having to wait for the nex t action to use Take Cover). 6. Impale. Roll damage t wice; at tacker decides which roll to use. 7. Maximize damage (Cr itical only). One of the damage dice will count as its maximum value. 8. Pin down (Opposed, Firear ms only). Make an opposed roll: Or iginal at tack roll vs W illpower to avoid hunker ing down in full cover (no at tack possible). 9. Trip  Opponent (Opposed). Make an opposed roll: Original roll vs Br awn, Evade or Acrobatics to avoid ending up prone. 10. Weapon Malfunc tion (Fumble, Firear ms only). W hen at tacker fumbles, this special ef fect can be used by the target.

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77

Spot Rules

M

any dif ferent things can occur during a game. Some are resolved through skill use or one of the major game mechanics such as combat; other s require their own r ules for adjudication. This chapter provides r ules and guidance for a variet y of dif ferent scenarios that Games Masters and players will encounter whil st playing M-SPACE.

Fatigue Fatigue measures tiredness and its incremental ef fects. It is used to tr ack many dif ferent things from strenuous activit y to the debilitating ef fects of disease. The primar y way of accr uing Fatigue is by engaging in some form of physical activit y. The more arduous the exercise or work, the more quickly it tires the char acter. At the Games Master’s discretion, char acter s must make an appropriate skill roll – either Athletics, Br awn or Endur ance – to resist gaining a level of Fatigue. Ever y failed roll accr ues a level of Fatigue. Each level of Fatigue carries penalties for skill use, movement, Strike Rank and Action Points. A sphy xiation, Blood Loss and other setting dependent ef fects al so contribute to Fatigue accr ual. For most char acter s, activities of any kind become near impossible when the level of Incapacitated is reached. At this stage the char acter is still conscious but incapable of any thing but the most desper ate of activities. Beyond Incapacitated, char acter s cannot act at all. The Fatigue level s – Semi-Conscious, Comatose and Dead – are gener ally reser ved for measuring the most ex treme ef fects of suf focation, disease, blood loss, star vation, exposure and so for th.

78

SPOT RULES

A sphy xiation Char acters can hold their breath for a number of seconds equal to their Endur ance skill. However the char acter must be prepared (filling the lungs with as much air as possible); if not, then the period is halved if the char acter was in a passive situation, or reduced to one fif th if the char acter was engaged in strenuous activit y.

A sphy xiation Endur ance Roll s: »»

no fur ther deter ior ation occur s. »»

If the roll is successful, the char acter accr ues an ex tr a level of Fatigue.

»»

Once the period of held breath is over, char acter s must make an Endur ance roll ever y Combat Round; see sidebar for results. W ithout aid, death from asphy xiation is usually swif t. If the asphy xiation ends before the char acter dies, they recover Fatigue level s lost.

If the roll is a cr itical success,

If the roll fail s, the char acter sustains 1d2 ex tr a level s of Fatigue that round.

»»

If the roll is fumbled, the character sustains 1d3 ex tr a level s of Fatigue that round.

Fatigue Level s Skill Gr ade

Movement

Strike Rank

Fresh

Ac tion Points

Recover y Period

No Penalties

W inded

Hard

No Penalt y

No Penalt y

No Penalt y

15 minutes

Tired

Hard

-1 meter

No Penalt y

No Penalt y

3 hour s

Wearied

For midable

-2 meter s

-2

No Penalt y

6 hour s

E xhausted

For midable

Halved

-4

-1

12 hour s

Debilitated

Herculean

Halved

-6

-2

18 hour s

Incapacitated

Herculean

Immobile

-8

-3

24 hour s

No Activities

No Activities

No Activities

Possible

Possible

Possible

No Activities

No Activities

No Activities

No Activities

Possible

Possible

Possible

Possible

SemiConscious Comatose Dead

Hopeless

—

36 hour s 4 8 hour s Never

SPOT RULES

79

E xposure to vacuum If suddenly exposed to vacuum, char acter s fir st roll 1d4 for decompression damage to the lungs (Chest), then they roll for asphy xiation as normal, plus 1d2 hit point damage per round (r andom locations).

Falling Distance Table Distance Fallen 1m or less

Damage Taken No damage. 1d6 points of

2m to 5m

damage to a r andom location 2d6 points of

6m to 10m

damage to t wo locations 3d6 points of

11m to 15m

damage to three locations 4 d6 points of

16m to 20m

damage to four locations

Each +5m

80

+1d6 damage

SPOT RULES

Blood Loss Blood loss due to ex ternal and internal wounds, usually sustained in combat, can wear a char acter down ver y quickly. Its ef fects are measured by the accumulation of Fatigue level s, in a manner similar to asphy xiation. Unrestr ained blood loss t ypically results in death without some form of medical attention. Unlike asphy xiation, the ef fects of serious blood loss on Fatigue are enduring. A char acter recover s Fatigue lost to bleeding at a r ate of one level per day, star ting the day af ter his exsanguinations cease.

Falling The amount of damage suf fered in a fall depends on the distance of the drop (see sidebar). Armor points do not reduce falling damage, but the Damage Modifier of the falling char acter or creature applies to damage roll s. Falling from a Moving Vehicle Damage sustained from a fall from a moving vehicle, such as a speeder bike, depends on the vehicle’s speed and the distance fallen. For Speed values used in the vehicles chapter, this means 1d6 per ever y point of Speed (if the vehicle is moving at top speed). Other wise, assume that the speed, in meter s per Combat Round, is equal to half the height shown on the Falling Distance table. For instance, a char acter who fell from a car moving at 20m per Combat Round would suf fer 2d6 damage to t wo r andom locations.

Fires

Falling & Acrobatic s

Fires are always a source of danger when used as a weapon or r age out of control. The Fire Intensit y table below gives five dif ferent intensities for heat damage, with some examples. The damage inflicted per round is given in the Damage column. Being relatively small, Intensit y 1 and 2 sources apply their damage to a single Hit Location, usually that touching the source. Intensit y 3 and 4 sources are larger, applying damage to nearest 1d4+1 Hit Locations, indicating the degree of r adiant heat. Intensit y 5 sources af fect all Hit Locations simultaneously. Fire has the abilit y to ignite flammable material s. If not ex tinguished immediately such material s combust within a number of rounds as indicated by the fire’s Intensit y. Once ignited, flammable material s burn until physically ex tinguished. Damage is applied directly to the Hit Points of the material, ignoring A rmor Points, and to any flesh beneath. If lef t uncontrolled it spreads to a number of Hit Locations, per round, equal to its Intensit y. Fire Intensit y Table Intensit y

E xamples

Time to Ignite

Damage

1

Candle

1d4

1d2

2

Torch

1d3

1d4

3

Campfire

1d2

1d6

4

Conflagr ation

1d2

2d6

5

Volcanic lav a

Instant

3d6

Acrobatics can be used to mitigate falling damage – a successful roll allows the char acter to treat the fall as if it were t wo meter s shor ter than it actually is. In addition, as long as the roll is successful and the char acter does not suf fer a Ser ious or Major wound due to the fall, the char acter lands relatively safely and is not prone.

Jumping

A successful Athletics roll allows one to jump up to SIZ x 20 centimeter s hor izontally or up to SIZ x10 centimeter s ver tically (with at least a five meter s r un-up available). For ever y full 20% a char acter has in Athletics, he can add an ex tr a meter to a hor izontal jump. On a cr itical success the char acter adds a fur ther meter to his total distance, and remains upr ight on landing. A fumbled roll indicates the character has landed awk wardly. He must immediately make an Endurance roll. If the Endur ance roll is a success 1 point of damage is sustained to one leg. If the Endur ance test fail s, then 1d4 points of damage is inflicted instead.

SPOT RULES

81

Keeping Tr ack of A mmunition

The basic idea of M-SPACE  is that ammunition is too complicated to keep tr ack of. A nd blaster s in space oper a never seem to r un out any way, unless for stor y telling reasons. But an easy way to do it is to have an abstr act resource percentage called A mmo that is lowered af ter ever y fight. Star ting at 10 0%, it is lowered by x % af ter a fight (x can be any thing from 10 to 50, depending on the set ting /campaign). Roll below A mmo at the end of a fight (af ter lower ing the value fir st) to have some lef t. A failed roll means the char acter is out of ammunition and she must get a new clip before get ting into another bat tle.  The GM can decide how much to r aise A mmo depending on how much is found/bought: bor rowing from a team member +10% (lower ing the team member’s A mmo value by -10%) or going back to the star ship (r aises A mmo to 10 0%) for example.  E xample: At the end of a fight, char acter A roll s above her A mmo 4 0% and she’s out of ammunition. Her companion B has 8 0% and roll s a success. Bor rowing from B, A now has A mmo 50%, while B’s value is lowered to 70%. Both will automatically have enough ammo for the nex t bat tle, but lower s them and roll s as nor mal at the end of it.   Continued...

82

SPOT RULES

Inanimate Objects All inanimate objects possess A rmor Points and Hit Points which are used to determine resistance to damage and destr uction. Armor Points reduce damage before Hit Points are af fected. Once an object’s Hit Points have been reduced to zero, it is useless. Breakage attempts require a char acter to make a Br awn, Unarmed or Combat St yle roll, as appropriate, to inflict damage. A success deal s damage to the item. Weapons vs Inanimate Objects Using a weapon against an inanimate object with Armor Points equal to or greater than those of the weapon deal s damage to both the object and the weapon. For instance, using an axe on an iron door may damage the door, but the axe itself will be destroyed long before the iron door is. The Games Master should exercise discretion on which weapons or tool s can af fect which objects. A chisel, for example, is explicitly designed to car ve wood or stone whil st a sword, although sharp, is not. The chisel would therefore not take damage from something it is attempting to car ve whereas a sword most likely would.

E xample Inanimate Objec ts Objec t

A rmor Points

Hit Points

Chain /shackle

8

8

L amp post

8

15

Glass window

1

4

Steel door

12

30

Rope

6

3

Sword

6

10

Wooden chair

2

6

Wooden table

3

10

Wooden door

4

15

Inter ior w all

3

20

Br ick w all

6

30

Concrete w all

8

40

Bulletproof glass window

8

25

Steel beam

12

50

Tree tr unk

6

50

Optionally, if a player clear ly states that she’s tr ying not to waste “bullets”  (and acts like it, with a more tactical or sniping approach), the GM can r ule the percentage loss af ter the fight to be lower than normal. The good thing about this system, is that it can easily be changed to a more gener al Energy value. All sor ts of equipment can depend on this percentage, not just weapons: power tool s, welding equipment, high-energy comms or special sensor s. 

SPOT RULES

83

84

SPOT RULES

SPOT RULES

85

Starship Design

T

his chapter cover s a simple r ules system for star ship creation. B y combining dif ferent t ypes of modules you need, it is ver y intuitive to design most t ypes of star ships, from small fighters up to mega-destroyer s. To create a ship, you star t with the number of people it’s constr ucted for. For ever y per son, you will need at least one Module, though more are of ten added as you go. A ver y simple ship, let’s say an automatic rescue pod, can consist of just one Module. The majorit y of star ships will have much more though. W ith all per sons (crew or passenger s) accounted for, you will star t to add a cockpit, engines, maneuvering, hyper space capabilities – and sometimes a galley, sickbay, weapons or a lab. Keep adding Modules to fill the functions you need; without breaking the bank. The number of Modules will eventually make up the SIZ stat of the ship. Many sci-fi campaigns and scenarios are built on the assumption that the char acter s have access to a star ship. But star ships are massive investments and most star ting char acter s don’t have that kind of money. There are many ways to solve this dilemma, but one of the easiest is to have a patron lend the char acters a ship; perhaps a r ust y bucket with loads of per sonalit y and many oppor tunities for upgr ades, to be returned at the end of a few scenarios. If they treat it well, the ship may well become a par t of a payment later on. Scale These r ules add the concept of scale to My thr as. Descriptions in many of the other chapter s are considered as Planetside scale, while star ships are in Starship scale, being roughly ten times in size, damage, armor and so on.

86

S TA R S HIP D E S I G N

Overview The r ules go through these steps: 1. Decide upon Ship Type 2. Pick the Modules you need. Determine Size & Size Rating 3. Calculate Speed & Handling. They get more expensive the more Modules you have 4. Add Shields, Armor and Apps (Skill Enhancers)

On A strodynamic s

To simplif y these r ules, a catch-all Speed value is used. A s a consequense – for those of you concer ned with astrodynamics – conser vation of momentum in space is mostly ignored. 

Starship Type First decide what t ype of ship you need. Many adventurer s want something in bet ween the examples here, but they can hopefully ser ve as a star ting point.

There are sever al ready-made ships for inspir ation in the Technology chapter (page 18 8), and al so a detailed walkthrough of star ship design in A ppendix A (page 112).

E xample Ship Types: Shuttle, Fighter, Far Tr ader, Scout, Star Liner, Scientific, Yacht, Gunship, E xplorer.

Modules Pick the Modules you need from the list on the following pages. Write the Modules’ names down on the Star ship Sheet on page 102, and the number of Modules. When finished, add the number of Modules together and write it down at the bottom of the Module box. This number is the ship’s Size stat. The following things are always included in a starship: Hull, power plant, airlock (not for small ships), vacuum suits for complete crew, computer, life suppor t system, communications system, sensors, repair kit and a gr avit y gener ator. There is no need to buy specific Modules for these functions.

S TA R S HIP D E S I G N

87

Cockpit /Bridge 1 Module per per son. Engine Select a Thr ust Rating (TR) for the Modules. Determines the ship’s Speed value, see page 94. Engine Type

TR for Engine

Cost/Engine Module

Cutting Edge

120

10000

Excellent

100

7000

Standard

70

5000

Economy

40

2500

Maneuvering Thruster Select a Thr ust Rating (TR) for the Modules. Use the table above. Determines the ship’s Handling value, see page 94. Sickbay 1 Module for an Autodoc with room for one patient. 4 Modules per patient for a regular sickbay. Crew 1 Module per crew member. 4 Modules per crew member for a cubicle. Passengers 1 Module per passenger. 4 Modules per passenger for a cubicle. Cargo Hold 1 Module per ton cargo. Secret spaces, specific habitats or biomes cost more.

88

S TA R S HIP D E S I G N

Weapons 1 Module per attack and round. Handled by one per son with the combat st yle Gunner y. One Module can be handled by the pilot. The following weapon Modules are separ ate turrets. Choose from laser, blaster, ion cannon and missiles. L ab 1 Module adds +10% in one chosen skill (cannot exceed +30% per skill, though larger specimen can be brought into the lab if more Modules are added for the same skill). Open Space 8 Modules minimum for canteen, briefing room, theatre, garden, gym etc. Holds one person per Module, but at least 2 Modules per person is prefer able. Hangar Bay 4 Modules for a small All Terr ain Vehicle ( AT V ). 10 Modules for a small fighter or shuttle. Hyperspace 1-5 Modules resulting in a faster-than-light r ange from 1-5. Refuelling is needed before a new jump can be made. Self-Repair 1 Module per self-repair unit. One roll ever y third combat round. +5% per step.

E xample

W hen put ting together a star ship, a good way to star t is to decide how many people it should be able to car r y. We star t here with four people: One pilot and three crew member s. That’s 1 Cockpit Module and as this will be a ship for longer tr ips, that leaves us with 16 (4x4) Crew Modules. We will need a cargo space taking up 2 Modules and Hyper space with a r ange of 3. Rounding of f with 1 Module of ex tr a sensor s, we land at 2 3 Modules. Not aiming to be par ticular ly fast, we tr y a Thr ust Rating of 10 0 and 3 Engine Modules. Using the calculation template on page 94, we get a preliminar y SPEED of 12 (30 0/ (2 3 +3)). Using only 2 Modules for H A NDLING and a Thr ust Rating of 10 0, we now have 28 Modules in total. H A NDLING is 7 (20 0/28). W ith the new total number of modules at 28, we recalculate SPEED to 11 (30 0/2 3 +3 +2). SIZE is the total number of modules: 28.

Escape Pod 1 Module can house one person for a week. No manual steering; docking and landing is automatic.

S TA R S HIP D E S I G N

89

Trac tor Beam 1 Module per 10% to use as an opposed roll against opponents Pilot skill. Tr actor beam percentage value must be greater than the size of the ship being captured. Range 2. E x tr a Sensors 1 Module with t wo additional close r ange sensor arr ays. For example Heat, Life, Specific Miner al, Water, Volcanic Activit y. Use with Sensor s Skill. Robot Arm 1 Module for one ex ternal robot arm, usually controlled from the bridge. Strength 10 (Star ship Scale). Reach: 10 meter s. Skill roll not necessar y under normal circumstances. For doubled strength and reach, add one Module. E xample Militar y Ship Sizes Titan: 12 8 0 (6 4 0-1920) Bat tleship: 6 4 0 (320-960)

°

Cr uiser: 320 (160-4 8 0) Destroyer: 160 (8 0-24 0) Fr igate: 8 0 (4 0-120) Cor vet te: 4 0 (20-60) Cut ter: 20 (10-30)

Add the number of modules together to get ship Size. See the char t on the nex t page to calculate Size Rating. Use the closest higher number of Modules, and write down the Size Rating nex t to the Size value.

Small Cr af t: 10 [8-15] Fighter: 5 (3-8) E xample Civilian Ship Sizes Far Tr ader: 4 0 (20-60) E xplorer: 65 (4 0-120)

Streamlined: Write ‘ Yes’ here if the ship is designed for atmospheric flight. Size stat is not altered, but the length and width of the ship will be greater, to make room for wings and a slimmer hull (see page 94). Non-streamlined ships suf fer a difficult y gr ade of Formidable to Pilot roll s in atmospheric flight.

Shut tle: 12 (8-15) Scout: 30 (20-60) Star Liner: 320 (160-4 8 0) Yacht: 30 (20-60)

90

S TA R S HIP D E S I G N

Stealth: Gives the opponent -5% per step in Sensor s or Perception skill. Max -4 0%. More advanced stealth technologies may be encountered under r are circumstances.

Capital Ships

Size Rating

Number of Modules

1

1

2

2

Pick Modules as you normally would, but write down both the number of Modules needed and the Size Rating for each function. And instead of keeping tr ack of hundreds (or thousands) of Modules to add together, identif y the function with the high-

3

4

4

8

5

16

est Size Rating. Then make an estimate to see if the rest of the Modules moves the ship into the nex t Size Rating. Round up if necessar y.

6

32

7

64

8

128

E xample: A Mega Destroyer have a r ating of 15 for crew – that’s about 4 000 people living on this ship. If it had a r ating of 12 in weapons, 3 in labs, 12 in hangar bays, 13 in engines and so on, the whole thing could fit in a Size Rating 16 hull (1 bigger than the Size Rating 15 for the crew, since all the other modules taken together is approximately 2000+4+2000+4100 ≈ 8000). So we would know the ship was r ated up to 32 768 modules – without having to go into the bother of actually counting them and assigning all of them. Note that it could be 30 000 or 4 0 000 modules – at this size we really don’t need to know.

9

256

10

512

11

1024

12

2048

13

4096

14

8192

15

16384

16

32768

17

65536

18

131072

For ver y big ships (somewhere over 250 Modules), using the table for Size Rating makes the design phase a little easier.

It will al so be of some help to use the r ules for weapon upgr ades and the damage ladder on page 116. Using that system will make it easier to conver t, for example, 10 0 L aser Modules into 10 Heav y L asers.

S TA R S HIP D E S I G N

91

Module Cockpit /Bridge

50 0 0 Cr

Note 1 Module/person

Engine

250 0/ 50 0 0/ 70 0 0/10 0 0 0

Select Thr ust Rating (page 8 8) to determine Speed

Maneuver Thr ust

250 0/ 50 0 0/ 70 0 0/10 0 0 0

Select Thr ust Rating (page 8 8) to determine Handling

50 0 0 Cr

1 Module/patient for Autodoc. 4 Modules/patient for regular sickbay

Crew

10 0 0 Cr

1 Module/crew member. 4 Modules/crew member for cubicles

Passengers

10 0 0 Cr

1 Module/passenger. 4 Modules/passenger for cubicles

Sickbay

Cargo Hold

Weapons

92

Cost per Module

10 0 0/ 50 0 0 Cr

50 0 0-50 0 0 0 Cr

1 Module/ton cargo. The higher cost is for secret holds or habitats/biomes 1 Module/gunner. For costs, see Weapons

L ab

50 0 0 Cr

1 Module/Skill +5%. Max +30% in any one skill

Open Space

10 0 0 Cr

1 Module/person, though more is to prefer

Hangar Bay

10 0 0 Cr

4 Modules for AT V. 10 Modules for small fighter or shuttle

Hyperspace

50 0 0 Cr

1 Module/jump r ange. Max 5

Self-Repair

50 0 0 Cr

1 Module/Mechanics +5%

S TA R S HIP D E S I G N

Module (continued)

Cost per Module

Escape Pod

10 0 0 Cr

Tr actor beam

50 0 0 Cr

E x tr a sensors

50 0 0 Cr

Robot Arm

50 0 0 Cr

Note 1 Module. Holds one per son for a week 1 Module per 10% as an opposed roll against Pilot skill Two sensor t ypes per Module

Attribute

Cost per Module & step

Hit Points

50 0 0 Cr

1 HP/Module is always free

Armor

50 0 0 Cr

Max 10

Shields

10 0 0 Cr

App

Cost /+5%

Note

Note

Targeting

20 0 0 Cr

Max +20%

Sensors

20 0 0 Cr

Max +20%

Navigation

10 0 0 Cr

Max +20%

Attribute Streamlining Stealth

Cost

Note

10 0 Cr/Module 50 0 0 Cr/-5% and Module

Max -4 0%

S TA R S HIP D E S I G N

93

Stats SPEED = Total Thrust Rating Number of Ship Modules

SPEED (1-20) Speed is a combination of acceler ation and top speed, and is calculated from the number of Engine Modules and their Thr ust Rating (TR). Add all the Engine Modules’ TR together. Then divide the combined Thr ust Rating value with the ship’s total number of Modules to get Speed. Zero Speed can be used to simulate ship-sized space stations.

HANDLING = Total Thrust Rating Number of Ship Modules

Speed & Handling Guidelines To get star ted, use a Thr ust Rating

of 10 0. 1 Speed = 1% of total number of

HANDLING (1-20) Handling defines how quick and easy the ship is to steer, and is calculated from the number of Maneuvering Thr uster Modules and their Thr ust Rating (TR). Add all the Maneuvering Thr uster Modules’ TR together. Then divide the combined Thr ust Rating value with the ship’s total number of Modules to get Handling. SIZE (1- ) Size is the number of ship’s Modules. It is divided into the Size Ratings on page 91. Add the ship’s Modules together, and see what Size Rating it has, always rounding up.

Modules. Cut ting Edge: 1.2 Speed per 1% Standard: 0.7 Speed per 1%

Size

Approximate Length

1-4

2d6 +74

(59)

(67)

(75)

(>81)

Bilater al: Body can be spilt in t wo similar par ts. Radial: Body is roughly circular, with similar par ts repeated r adially. Spherical: Roughly spherical in for m, with par ts repeated all over the sur face.

Limbs: 1d10 0

0 -10

11-30

31-50

51- 8 0

81-90

91- 0 0

Limbs

0

2

3

4

5-8

1d10 0

Segmentation: Many beings divide their body into par ts, either the whole body, limbs or specific organs. Roll 1d4 for the number of segments. Segmented par ts can be body, limbs and/or organs.

Sex: If needed you can al so decide the number of sexes: 2d3-1. One or t wo sexes are common on Ear th, but sever al more are probable to occur in other places.

Insects are the t ypical segmented ear th life for m.

A L IE N CR E AT I O N

123

Star ting W ith a Weakness

A n alter nate method for alien creation is to star t with a disadvantage, and then tr y to figure out how a species could sur vive through evolution despite the weakness. How, for example, can ver y slow beings avoid being eaten by predator s? Do they taste aw ful, are they poisonous or per haps covered with spikes? E specially for intelligent life for ms this can be a good pr actice. Their intelligence have probably been instr umental in their sur vival, but some additional advantages will probably be needed to fully explain it. This method will force you to walk in the alien’s shoes, so to speak, through its evolutionar y stages. Missing hear ing, what alter nate ways to protect your self would you need? A nd what would you eat if you cannot hear your prey? Keep asking your self these kind of questions and it’s likely you will find your self with a well-rounded alien species that’s not just cannon fodder for char acter s.

iv. Universal s: Roll or pick 1d3 tr aits from the list of advantages on the nex t spread that apply to all beings in a body plan group. 

Dealing with contr adictor y roll s: If a r andom method is used to create alien life forms, sooner or later contr adictor y results will occur from the dif ferent tables. There are sever al ways to deal with this. The most simple solution is to re-roll, but sometimes it’s good to give the contr adiction some thought. Can it be used as a creative springboard, to venture into solutions not tried before? Can the t wo results make a working combination by just fudging them slightly? If time allows, tr y these pathways, and possibly you will be rewarded with some highly original material.

Life forms W ith univer sal s defined, the individual alien species is to be detailed. It is recommended to create a handful of beings, filling dif ferent roles in the ecosystem. Star t with a few in the primar y motile group, like a handful of mammal s on Ear th, then proceed to create the other s as needed ( ie. plants and a r adically dif ferent secondar y motile). Decide which body plan group the being belongs to. One of the motile groups is probably most commonly encountered by characters, with the other motile being a more r are sighting.  Classification and Habitat: Define the role it plays in the ecosystem (forest tr apper for example).

124 A L IE N CR E AT I O N

Filter feeder s eat small objects (animal s, seeds, etceter a) suspended in the atmosphere (or in liquid).

1d10 0

Classification

Type

01-25

Producer

Plant

26-50

Her bivore

Gr azer, Filter feeder

51-75

Omnivore

Gatherer, Scrounger

76- 0 0

Car nivore

A mbusher, Chaser, Pouncer, Raider, Stalker, Tr apper

1d10 0

Habitat 

1d10 0

Habitat (cont.)

01- 07

Pool /L ake /Sea

51-57

Forest / Tree

08-14

Stream / River

58-6 4

Underground /Cave

15 -22

Shore /Reeds

23-29

Plain / Meadow

30 -36

Tundr a / Steppe

73-79

Wetland

Semi-open /

80 -86

Ice / Snow/Glacier

S av annah

87-93

Mountain

Bush land

94- 0 0

Rock y

37-4 3 4 4-50

65 -72

Roll multiple times for interesting combinations.

Deser t / Dunes / A r id

Size Modifier: +/-1d3 (or more) on the Size table on page 81. This will create a large variet y in size within a body plan group, similar to what we have on Ear th among mammal s for example. Feel free to deviate from this if you want a more evenly sized group. Advantages: These are the specifics that have kept the being alive through the ages, and have helped it to car ve a niche in the ecosystem. Pick or roll 1d3 times on the table on the nex t page and tr y to find interesting combinations.

Climate: Many life for ms can adapt to dif ferent climates and will appear with only slight alter ations in color ation or other detail s important to sur vival. But sometimes you may want to design a creature for a specific environment. Use the list below as a reference: 01-25 A rctic 26-50 Temper ate 51-75 Subtropical 76-0 0 Tropical A s you can see not all habitats and climates match up; make sure you find a combination that doesn’t contr adict natur al sciences but still fulfill s your needs.

A L IE N CR E AT I O N

125

A r t as an Advantage?

The Swedish biologist Svante Pääbo has presented the idea that the biggest dif ference bet ween moder n humans and Neander thal s is that they had no dr ive to express their exper iences to other s (and not that their intelligence was lower, as we tr aditionally have believed). Right from the star t, moder n humans seem to have utilized flutes, images and probably stor y telling, eventually leading to what we today call the ar ts. Could this be the advantage that gave moder n humans the edge in the long r un?

1d10 0

Advantage

Description

01- 06

Perception

Choose 1d3 senses that are heightened

06-12

Fast

13-18

Flight

19-2 4

Camouflage, Hide or Stealth

25 -30

Climb

31-36

Second habitat

37-4 2 4 3-4 8

Second atmosphere Regener ation

DE X above 2 0 and /or Movement Rate >10. Fast life for ms add +1d6 to both; Lightning +2d6 Gas bag, wings, glide, etceter a B y appear ance and /or as a skill (75% and higher) Natur al abilit y (like stick y feet or hooks) or as a skill (75% or higher) Moves equally well in, for example, liquid and on land (or in gas) Breathes both gas and liquid Heal s at a quicker pace (Healing above 5), can heal more severe wounds or regrow entire body par ts

Fine

Finger s, toes, lips, ear s, tail s, tentacles. 75% or

Manipulation

more in t wo DE X-based skill s. May be a tool user

55 -60

Shar p

Thor ns, teeth, claws, beak, hor ns, r idges

61-66

A r mor

E xoskeleton, bony plates, hard scales, coar se skin

67-72

Poison

Poison for protection or hunting

73-78

Builder

79-8 4

Communication

49-5 4

85 -8 8 89-94 95 - 0 0

126 A L IE N CR E AT I O N

Psionic s or Psionic Immunit y E x tr a Sense

Building complex nests, for protection and /or to alter the ecos ystem to suit them bet ter Can be Simple (as for animal s), Complex (as apes, whales, dolphins or bees) or L anguage Power s of the mind; see the chapter on psionic s 1d3 ex tr a senses. Heat, bacter ia, movement, electr icit y, magnetism (compass), specific chemical s

Intelligence or

Intelligence: INT 7-15

High Intelligence

High Intelligence: INT 16 or more

1d10 0 01- 0 4

Disadvantage Immobile

Description Cannot move. DE X 0. Suitable for producer s /plants Low hit points (-1d6 to -2d6),

05 -12

Fr agile

no ar mor. Reduce CON; see nex t page

13-20

21-28

Slow Rare or Vulner able habitat

29-36

Hunted

37-4 4

Disease-r idden

DE X lower than 5, Movement below 2 Hard to find fully functional ecos ystem. Behavior 6 0 or above Intensely targeted by a car nivore. Behavior 31-70 Reduce CON. See nex t page

Empathy

Somewhere bet ween a behavior, advantage and disadvantage, empathy is placed. Use this tr ait wisely, to for m the basis of a societ y or to expose individual beings to dif ficult decisions. Aliens completely without empathy will r arely for m societies. A “small ” kind of empathy encompasses the closest beings. A “medium” kind, have empathy ex tend to a complete herd, village or group. A “large” kind of empathy ex tends to almost all living beings. A s with humans, empathy var ies bet ween individual s, and can be shaped by philosophical or religious ideas present in a societ y.

Changes in the environment 4 5 -52

Af fec ted by pollution

af fect the beings negatively. Reduce CON; see nex t page

5 3-60

Eggs /Cubs

For K-str ategists, this is a danger-filled per iod Fighting about food, r ank, ter-

61-68

Inter nal Conflic ts

r itor y, leader ship, etceter a. Behavior at 70 or more

69-76 77-8 4

Hier archy/Obedient Missing one or more of the senses

Individual s are not able to make their own decisions Remove 1d3 senses Spends consider able time in

85 -92

Hiber nation

deep sleep or coma, reducing body functions to a minimum

93- 0 0

Food /energy scarcit y

Must fight for food. Reduce CON by -2 0%. Behavior at 70 +

Life Span

In gener al, life span is related to size. Small creatures live shor t lives, large creatures long. But a closer look reveal s many deviations from this r ule. To simplif y the r ules here, SIZ 1 aliens live around a year or shor ter. From SIZ 2 and above, apply a life span freely (even immortalit y is physically at tainable, as proven by some jelly fish on Ear th). The more ef fective advantages, the longer the life span, while dif ficult disadvantages may shor ten the life span by 50%. Closely related species can have wildly dif ferent life sp

A L IE N CR E AT I O N

127

Placement of Sense Organs

The logic behind the placement of the sense organs is that they appear front most in the direction of movement. Either the cur rent direction or what used to be the main direction of movement in an ear lier development stage. They are al so placed close to the br ain.

Disadvantages: This describes some of the problems the beings are str uggling with, or what makes it more vulner able. Roll or pick 1d3 Disadvantages above, and tr y to find interesting combinations. Behavior:  01-10 In Harmony,  11-20 Curious,  21-30 Patient, 314 0 Watchful, 41-50 Suspicious, 51-60 Hiding, 61-70 Afr aid, 71-80 Easily Angered, 81-90 Aggressive, 91-0 0 Detached. Social: 01-20 Single, 21-4 0 Pair, 41-60 Small Group, 61-80 Herd (from small to swarm), 81-0 0 Special (Par asite, Symbiotic). 

Behavior & Fear

Fear is a strong dr iving force for behavior. A species under constant pressure will ver y likely have a behavior in the upper half of the Behavior r ange. Species that have had peace for a long time will on the contr ar y tend to the lower half. W ith dif ferent par ts of a species shaped by dif ferent backgrounds their behavior will probably var y quite a bit too.

Al so decide if the beings are K-str ategists or R-str ategists (producing only a few of f-spring and caring for them, or producing many and not caring for them). Communication: 1d10 0

Comm.

Description

01- 0 4

Psionic

Sending and receiving thoughts

05 -20

Scent

Spreading scents with var ious organs

21-36

Sight

Light, color, signs, infr ared, ultr aviolet

37-52

Tactile

Touch, tapping, stomping Clicks, stomps, scr atches, mouth-sounds,

5 3-68

The r ange of communication can have interesting ef fects on life for m behavior. Tr y pictur ing the distance needed to war n other s in their natur al ecosystem, and this will be the maximum r ange of communications. The nor mal communication r ange will be much shor ter, per haps as low as 10% of the maximum r ange.

128 A L IE N CR E AT I O N

Sound

low/ high frequenc y, gener ate sounds with other body par ts

69-8 4

Chemical

85 - 0 0

Electr icit y

Similar to scent, though other “sensor s” are used Electronic impul ses or fields are used for communication

Sever al communication forms can be combined, but pick one to be the primar y.

Natur al weapons: Many beings will be able to defend themselves, though not all life forms will, and not against an unusual threat (like humans for example). If they do, pick a natur al weapon in the sidebar and use the following base chances.

Primar y weapon: Low-powered aliens has a base chance of 20% +DE X . Medium-powered 4 0% +DE X and High-powered 60% +DE X . Carnivores get at least +10%. Secondar y/ Third weapon: 20-4 0%.  Skill s: To round of f the alien, add a few dominant skill s you find appropriate: Animal s 0-3 skill s, Intelligence 1-5 skill s, High Intelligence 3-10 skill s. Calculating Characteristic s STR: Two thirds of SIZ +/-1d6. If fr agile, one third of SIZ +/-1d6. For ever y 2 INT above 5, STR is of ten lowered by 1. 

1d10 0

Natur al

Base Damage

Weapon

(+/- Dmg Mod)

01-10

Bite

1d6

11-20

Claw

1d6

21-30

Punch /

1d3

kick

31-4 0

Gr apple

1d3

41-50

Cr ush

1d3

51-60

Throw

1d3

61-70

Hor n

1d3

71-80

Sting

1d3

Elec-

From sur pr ised

tr icit y

to 2d6

81-90 91- 0 0

Poison

From light r ash

CON: Two thirds of SIZ +/-1d6. If disadvantage Fr agile/Polluted/ Disease-ridden, one third of SIZ +/-1d6. 

to 3d6

SIZ: See earlier. DE X: Immobile 0, Slow 1-5, Fast 20+. For ever y 5 SIZ above 20, Dex terit y is lowered by 1.  INT: Animal 3-7, Intelligence 8-15, High Intelligence 16 +, Mindless feeder/producer 0-2. POW: Animal s of ten have POW 10 or lower, Psionics 16 +, Mindless feeder/producers will of ten have zero POW. CHA: Above 3d6 striking, awe-inspiring, beautiful. Below 3d6 ugly. CHA is always at -10 at first contact.  Movement: Normal 5-8, Slow below 5, Fast above 12. For ever y 5 SIZ above 30, Movement is lowered by 1. Two movement values are used if the being can move in t wo dif ferent atmospheres (air and water for example).

Quick Monster s

Sometimes you need to roll up an uncanny adver sar y quickly: Decide upon SIZ & power level (high, mid or low). Choose bet ween car nivore and omnivore.  Roll t wo Advantages (previous page)and three times on A ppearance table (nex t page).  Add one or t wo natur al weapons, at 60% (+15% if high-powered, -15% if low-powered).  Hit points: 2 / 3 of SIZ.  DE X 10 (+5 if high-powered, -5 if low-powered). 

A L IE N CR E AT I O N

129

1d10 0

Descriptive

1d10 0

Posture

1d10 0

Sur face

01- 05

Massive

01-20

Upr ight

01-14

Fur: Shor t or long

06-10

Slender

21-4 0

Hor izontal

15 -28

11-15

Pear-shaped

41-60

Diagonal

29-4 0

Scales ( A P 1-5)

16-20

Long

61-80

Bent

41-52

Chitinous ( A P 1-3)

21-25

Flat

81- 0 0

Crooked

5 3-6 4

26-30

Bent

65 -76

Patched

31-35

Split

77-8 8

Feather s

36-4 0

Bulbous

89- 0 0

Or namented /Color ful

41-4 5

Hammer-shaped

4 6-50

Box y

51-55

Ridged

56-60

Cr ystalline

61-65

Slither ing

66-70

Fat

71-75

Wedge-shaped

76-80

Spindle

81-85

Retr ac table

86-90

Hollow

91- 0 0

Bony/A ngular

Skin: Smooth or coar se ( A P 1-2)

Tr ansparent / Semi-tr ansparent

Appearance (Optional) Hopefully the above process has given enough insights to make it possible to conjure up an image of the alien being. If fur ther input is needed, roll or pick on the tables above. Star t with descriptive terms for the whole being, and if needed, continue detailing specific body par ts or even sense organs. Go through Posture and Sur face in the same way. Keep the over all picture of the being (from the earlier results) in mind all the time, to find interesting combinations.  High- & Low-Powered Aliens Here are a few examples of how to make an alien species higher or lower powered. Low-Powered: Small size, fr agile, slow, weak, no natur al weapons and/or no armor.  High-Powered: Big, strong, fast, lethal natur al weapons, intelligence, high intelligence, armored, coordinated (of ten as a small group, but possible for pair s or herds too), tech level matching the char acter’s or higher and/or psionic.

130 A L IE N CR E AT I O N

Tech Level s & INT Intelligence 4-6: Can be an animal or have a primitive culture (Tech Level 0-1). W ill not advance beyond TL 2, unless uplif ted by another species.  Intelligence, 7-15: W ill eventually reach the star s in F TL ships. Depending on how long time they have spent evolving, ever ything bet ween 0 and 10 on the Tech Level table is possible.  High intelligence, 16+: 50% chance that Tech Level surpasses char acter’s Tech Level by 1d3. More primitive cultures exist too, though evolution to higher Tech Level s may be faster, if they don’t blow themselves up in the process; not uncommon with the Aggressive and Easily Angered behavior s. 

Clothing Clothing will probably be wor n by some alien species. Here is a list of descr iptive words to make imagining them a bit easier. Roll or pick 1d3 times.

01-10

Loose

11-20

Functional

21-30

Str ict

31-4 0

Patched

41-50

Coar se

51-60

Tight

61-70

Plain

71-8 0

Color ful

81-90

Smooth

91-0 0

Elabor ate

Roll another 1d10 0 to find out how large percentage of the body that is covered.

A L IE N CR E AT I O N

131

Cultures For human wor lds, you can use the culture creation r ules without designing a species fir st.

Developing a culture will by necessit y star t and end with the peculiarities of the alien and its world. Hopefully you have formed a vague image of the species’ life as you worked through its physical proper ties. This step is meant to turn that vagueness a bit more specific. Tech Level Technology Level s measure the scientific capacit y of a world and the complexit y and ef fectiveness of a piece of equipment. Use the Tech Level Table on page 135 and roll 3d6-3. This will be the gener al Tech Level of the world. Keep in mind that there will probably be cases where there are dif ferent Tech Level s on a world.

1d20

Technology Areas

1d20

Technology Areas

1

Agriculture 

10

Energy

2

A stronomy 

11

Manufacturing

3

Machiner y 

12

Material s

4

Biology 

13

Medicine

5

Chemistr y 

14

Physics

6

Communication

15

Sensors or Optics

7

Constr uction

16

Tr anspor tation

8

Computers

17

Weapons

9

Economics 

18-20

Unusual Technology *

* Examples include time travel, shape-changing, immor tality, psionics, biotech, advanced robotics or  technology connected with species-specific senses.

132 A L IE N CR E AT I O N

Alternate Technology Paths   Some worlds may not have followed the same path of technological progress as human civilization. Roll below to find out how technology have developed dif ferently. Alternate Technological Path, 1d6:  1-2 No deviation from the standard Tech Level     3 -1 Tech Level in one area    4 +1 Tech Level in one area  5-6 +1 step in one area, -1 in another and roll once more   Roll on the table on the previous page to determine what areas of technology have developed dif ferently. L aw Level To determine the L aw Level, roll 1d10-1. The table on the nex t page lists examples of illegal objects and some regulations. Cultural Detail s To develop an alien culture star t by considering the ten questions  on page 136. Pick a few  attributes  that you consider to be the most impor tant for the species. Give each a value bet ween 75% and 90%, with 90% representing the attribute having the biggest impor tance for societ y. Add a couple of more attributes and assign them the value of 30%, meaning they are less important factors. If some of the attributes are not in your cur ated list (or has a value of zero) it means that they are still likely to exist within the culture, but is not given much attention. Now, take a look at all the values and consider if they give a good picture of the species. If not, re­a rr ange the values until you are happy with them.

W ith a well-developed alien culture it should be possible to assign a few good Passions to alien individual s. Use the same r ules as for humans but assume that at least one Passion will be common to all of the same species, while the rest will be individual.

Continued on page 136...

A L IE N CR E AT I O N

133

L aw Level Table 1d10 -1

Weapons

Information

Tr avellers

0

No restr ictions

—

— V isitor s must contact plan-

Poison gas, explo1

sives, undetec table

—

weapons

weapons (except ship-

V isitor s must repor t passen—

mounted weapons) 3 4

5

Heav y weapons Light assault weapons and submachine guns Per sonal concealable weapons

6

ner s; car r ying weap-

— —

Shotguns

L anding only at star por t or other author ised sites L anding only at star por t Citizens must register of f-

—

wor ld tr avel, visitor s must register all business V isits discour aged; excessive

—

contact with citizens for bidden

ons discour aged 7

ger manifest, landing is per mit ted any where

All firear ms except shotguns and stun-

landing is per mit ted any where

Por table energy 2

etar y author ities by r adio,

Free speech cur tailed.

Citizens may not leave planet; visitor s may not leave star por t

Infor mation tech8

All bladed weapons, stunner s

nology, any noncr itical data from of f wor ld, per sonal

L anding per mit ted only to militar y per sonnel

media A ny data from 9

A ny weapons

of f wor ld. No free press

134 A L IE N CR E AT I O N

No of f wor lder s per mit ted

Tech Level Table TL 0: (Primitive) No technology. TL 1: (Primitive) Roughly on a par with Bronze or Iron Age technology. TL 2: (Primitive) Renaissance technology. TL 3: (Primitive) The advances of TL 2 are now applied, bringing the germ of industrial revolution and steam power. TL 4: (Industrial) The tr ansition to industrial revolution is complete, bringing plastics, r adio and other such inventions. TL 5: (Industrial) TL 5 brings widespread electrification, telecommunications and internal combustion. TL 6: (Industrial) TL 6 brings the development of fission power and more advanced computing. TL 7: (Pre-Stellar) A pre-stellar societ y can reach orbit reliably and has telecommunications satellites. TL 8: (Pre-Stellar) At TL 8, it is possible to reach other worlds in the same system, although terr aforming or full colonization are not within the culture’s capacit y. TL 9: (Pre-Stellar) The defining element of TL 9 is the development of gr avit y manipulation, which makes space tr avel vastly safer and faster.

TL 10: (Early Stellar) W ith the advent of Hyperspace, nearby systems are opened up. TL 11: (Early Stellar) The first tr ue ar tificial intelligences become possible, as computers are able to model synaptic net works. TL 12: (Aver age Stellar) Weather control revolutionizes terr aforming and agriculture. TL 13: (Aver age Stellar) Battle dress appears on the battlefield. TL 14: (Aver age Stellar) Fusion weapons become man-por table. TL 15: (High Stellar) Black globe gener ators suggest a new direction for defensive technologies, while the development of synthetic anagathics means that the human lifespan is now vastly increased. Higher Technology Level s exist and may be discovered by pioneering scientists. Present time on Ear th is TL7-8 and suggested tech level for these r ules is around TL13.

These tables are taken from the original 1977 Tr aveller RPG by Marc Miller (now under a Creative Commons license). This is as close to canon as you can come. For me, sticking with it is a small homage to one of the first sci-fi RPGs ever.

A L IE N CR E AT I O N

135

Go over the attributes again and add a shor t description, either using the words suggested below, or something completely different. See if some interesting links appear and mark these connections in some way for later development. This will probably be enough to star t with. If you want to detail the culture more, now or later, develop each description into a couple of sentences, star ting with the attribute with the highest value. Deepen the connections if possible.  When you have gone through the list doing this, expand each sentence into one par agr aph. Cultural Attributes These ten at tr ibutes can be linked to the Str angeness value. For a Str angeness of 10 only one answer will dif fer much from the way we humans do things. For a Str angeness of 10 0, all ten will be highly dif ferent.

Cultures & Circles

You may notice the similar ities bet ween the r ules for Cultures and Circles, and they are indeed ver y closely related. This means attr ibutes can be easily tr ansfer red bet ween them if you like. A nd if you want to have cultures clash on a gr ander scale it may be a good idea to use the Circle r ules to give them stats and more fixed at tributes, using the Cultur al Attr ibutes as a star ting point.

136 A L IE N CR E AT I O N

Value. What do they value? If needed, check the Idea Table on page 166 for some suggestions. Belief. What do they believe in? E xamples: Pantheon, animism, god-like leaders or aliens, nothing (atheism), ancient forefathers. War. How do they wage war? E xamples: Non-violent, ritualistic, symbolic, psionic, large-scale, small-scale, br utal. Weakness. What is their main weakness and how do they compensate for it cultur ally? See species description. Attachments. What forms of attachments are there? E xamples: Romantic, life-long, familial, platonic, par asitic, none. D wellings. What kind of dwellings do they create? E xamples: L abyrinthine, technical, elabor ate, tempor ar y, haphazard. Forbidden. What is forbidden and why? E xamples: Science, books, inter action with aliens, androids, religion, speech. Ar t. What is their ar t like? Pick one sense or sense group as primar y for the ar t form and give it a descriptive word. E xamples: Elabor ate, cr ude, existential, serene, beautiful, functional, complex, provocative, repul sive, completely unintelligible.

Economy. What is their economy like? E xamples: Bar ter, cooper ative, egoistical, secret, money-based, abstr act. Food. How do they eat and how is it grown/hunted? Food can be elabor ate, simple, disgusting, tast y, bland, liter ally inedible. W ith the species’ food preferences in mind, how is food production r ationalized?  And finally give some thought to: What is the biggest crime one can commit? What is the greatest act one can commit? D wellings: Population & Settlements Roll t wo times on the table below to find out the population densit y and settlement str ucture. Star t by rolling the middle columns, Population Densit y. For results Ver y Low to Medium, roll a second time on the columns to the right. If the results, on the other hand, are from Population High to Super-Dense, roll 1d100 Densit y on the columns to the lef t. The first roll is at −4 0 if 01-17 Ver y Low Tech Level is 4 or lower. 18-35 Low 1d100

Settlement Structure

36-53

Medium

01-32

Towns & Cities

54-70

High

33-66

Low Densit y Spr awl

71-87

Ver y High

67-00

High Densit y Mega Cit y

88-00

Super-Dense

Settlement Structure

1d100

Nomadic

01-19

Tempor ar y Cluster s

20-39

Dispersed

40-59

V illages

60-79

Towns & Cities

80-00

For Tech Level s 8 and up, add 1d3 space stations and 1d3 insystem colonies for ever y additional level. A L IE N CR E AT I O N

137

Description of population densities: » » Ver y Low. People are few and far apar t. » » Low. Mostly unpopulated, with small cluster s at large inter val s. » » Medium. L arge areas are populated, but there are al so wide stretches of unpopulated wilderness. » » High. Densely populated areas are huge, and tr ue wilderness is gone. » » Ver y High. Ver y large areas of high densit y. Open space is a scarcit y. » » Super-Dense. Most of the sur face is covered with multistor y buildings.

1d100

Rulers

01-24

Anarchy

25-49

Dictatorship

50-74

Democr ac y

75-00

Council / Semi-Democr atic

Combine the above t ypes of r uling with the concepts in the Idea Table, to get more specific t ypes (religious dictator, council based on wealth, democr ac y promoting pleasure, and so on). Make sure it matches the over all ideas of societ y.

Rulers How a species or world is r uled can be a quite complex issue, and many worlds will surely have dif ferent power str uctures in dif ferent par ts. Roll on the table in the sidebar to get an indication on of ficial r uling (and roll multiple times if there are sever al nations, for instance). To make it more complex, roll once more for the actual, but informal power str ucture, and write down in parentheses. Foreign Polic y Foreign polic y describes a gener al attitude towards the rest of the galax y, both close neighbor s and distant empires. It consists of Attitude, Allies, Enemies and Par t of. Foreign Polic y: Roll on the table on the nex t page 1-3 times to cr af t an interesting relationship to the surroundings. Re-roll obvious contr adictions. Allies: Write down what allies and friends the species has. Consider how strong the ties are and how stable they are. Enemies: Find some enemies, old or new. Add detail s later about how and why.

138 A L IE N CR E AT I O N

Par t of: Is the species par t of some larger political str ucture? This may be empires, kingdoms, unions, feder ations and so on. Is it par ticipating out of free will, or is there some pressure or necessit y involved (internal or ex ternal)?

1d100

Foreign Polic y

01-04

Aggressive

05-08

Intriguing

09-12

Peaceful

13-16

Secretive

17-20

Negotiating

21-24

Provocative

Species Conflicts

25-28

Opportunistic

29-32

Union-Building

Roll 1d10 0 1-3 times on the Idea Table on page 166 to find the conflicts that dominate a species or world.

33-36

Neutral

37-40

Colonial

Rolling on the Idea Table will give you the ingredients of a world’s conflicts. For example, Tr adition versus Equalit y is quite easy to star t imagining what it could look like (according to tr adition one species is a ser vant to another, but now the ser vants wants equalit y), but Peace versus Wealth can r aise some interesting questions about a societ y (wealthy families r un mafia-like cit y states and are being opposed by a new gener ation of peace-seeking youths, leading ascetic lives to avoid the old blood-stained money).

41-44

Trading

45-48

Closed

49-52

Passive

53-56

Exploring

57-60

Unpredictable

61-64

Low-key

65-68

A Cultural Giant

69-72

Destabilizer

Use the full Circle r ules if you want to, with stats, attributes, sub-circles and so on, or stick with this chapter for now and add detail s later if you need them. Just keep in mind that mono-cultur al planets are quite unlikely to exist – most worlds will host sever al cultures.

73-76

Fatherly

77-80

Sensible

81-84

Easily provoked

85-88

Nostalgic

89-92

Empire builder

93-96

Dependent

97-00

Introvert

W ith only a handful of species and worlds, relationships can quickly become interesting, making it much more dif ficult for the players to move around, and adventure hooks to spawn effor tlessly.

W ith the basic conflicts defined, mark them with an arrow to specif y if they are intensif ying or not. This will tell you something about what can happen if the char acter s star t fooling around on

A L IE N CR E AT I O N

139

a world. W ill carelessness star t a war? Is diplomac y needed? Can some str ategic suppor t ignite a revolution? Change over time: ↑ → ↓

Conflic t is intensif ying No change over time, given the circumstances Conflic t is cooling down

Conflict Intensit y Conflict Intensit y determines how hot a conflict is. Roll once for ever y conflict and indicate with a small arrow on the World Sheet how it will develop over time. 1d100

Conflict Intensit y

Description

01-13

L arge scale war

All-out conflict. Ever y aspect of societ y dominated by the war

14-27

Small scale war

Smaller areas and groups involved in war time activit y, only cer tain par ts of societ y af fected

28-41

Skirmishes

Isolated acts of violence & black ops, with bur sts of retaliation

42-56

Hatred & severe discrimination

Societ y as a whole is aware of the conflict, acting deliber ately and self-consciously. A majorit y, referring to tr adition, upholds the blatant discrimination

57-71

Ignor ant

A large par t of societ y doesn’t care about the conflict, fueling it with their ignor ance

72-86

Debate & mild discrimination

Societ y as a whole is aware of the conflict, debating it, and tr ying to avoid acting on it. Tr adition and small groups keep discrimination alive

87-00

Harmony & respect

The “conflict” is viewed as curious dif ferences bet ween individual s/groups, enriching societ y

140 A L IE N CR E AT I O N

Wild Card W ild Cards is an optional r ule to make conflicts less binar y. It is used to identif y some people standing beside the main conflict of a world, of fering an alternative way for the player s to get involved. To determine a W ild Card, roll again on the Idea Table. Use this result as a star ting point for an individual or group that acts independently of the planetar y conflicts. Then roll on the Circle Influence Table on page 15 8 to determine the influence they have on societ y. Results above 14 will be r are.

A L IE N CR E AT I O N

141

M  –   S PACE

size

sessile no. motile no. strangeness size

sessile no. motile no. strangeness size

universals

limbs segmentation

frame symmetry

universals

limbs segmentation

frame symmetry limbs segmentation

universals

frostbyte books

strangeness

frame symmetry

world

|

sessile no. motile no.

biosphere

ver 3.0 july 2016

biodiversity

ALIEN UNIVERSALS

M  –   S PACE

LIFEFORM

world

strangeness

classification

ecosystem

body plan

communication

str con siz dex int pow cha

hit points

skills & powers

advantages & disadvantages

behavior social

natural weapons

species

power points

ver 3.0 july 2016

|

frostbyte books

description/culture

tech level

law level

144 A L IE N CR E AT I O N

A L IE N CR E AT I O N

145

World Building

U

nknown worlds are a staple of science fiction, and the following r ules are meant to help create them. You can either star t with a world and create an alien r ace that inhabits it, or star t with an alien and make up a world that matches. The method proposed is semi-r andom: roll dice for some initial results, let your creative side star t combining them into something interesting, and then add additional detail s to make the image more complete. See page 152 for a blank World Sheet.

Bar ren Systems

Bar ren systems or wor lds might seem uninteresting, but could be used in many ways. They can be sources for r are miner al s, dr awing both corpor ations and individual s. Dissidents, refugees or groups seeking solitude can colonize planets, moons or asteroids. Scientific outposts may be located on bar ren systems for many reasons. Once a camp is set up, they tend to remain, if they are reasonably functional.

146 W O R L D B U IL D IN G

Star System & Planet Specs

Multiple Star s

To create a planetar y system and some physical detail s about planets, roll up the values you need below. Or leave all blank, and only roll them when the players actually need them. Note that you may already have determined some detail s if you have created an alien species first. Star Type: Roll 1d3, three times. » » Light Color: Blue, Yellow, Red » » Star Size: D war f, Normal, Giant » » Number of Stars: Single, Binar y, Trinar y

Star systems with t wo (binar y) or three star s (tr inar y) seem to be quite common. Of ten one of the star s have planets (if there are any), with the other star (s) or biting at a distance. If the star s are too close, planets are more unlikely and one of the star s star ts cannibalizing on the other. Cluster s of star s al so seem to have planets, contr ar y to what was believed ear lier. Planets with per petual daylight and half a dozen sunsets a day might be possible af ter all...

Number of planets: 3d6-2, of which 20-50% will be gas giants. Remove one planet if you need an asteroid belt. Planets in the habitable zone: 1d3 (+ 1d3 moons each) Roll on the tables below for each planet in the habitable zone: Planet Size Planet size is probably most impor tant as a “psychological hook ” for the player s. Resources and areas to explore will be suf ficient on even the smallest planets, though it gives some guidance to population size. 1d100

Planet Size

Gravit y

01-20

E x tr a Small

0.7 G

21-40

Small

41-60

Medium

61-80

L arge

1.15 G

81-00

E x tr a L arge

1.3 G

Star por t Type (Optional) 1d10 0

01-20

21-49

50 -79

Type

Description

Full

Build and repair all t ypes of ships

Standard

Repair and larger upgr ades for common ship t ypes

Local

Simple repair s & maintenance

Emergenc y

L anding area & emergenc y gear

0.85 G 1G 80 - 0 0

W O R L D B U IL D IN G 147

Life (if not already defined) 1d100

Life

1d100

O verall climate

01-19

Lifeless

01-11

Ver y hot

20-39

Single-cell life

12-24

Tropical

40-59

Plant life

25-37

Warm

60-79

Animal life

38-50

Ear th like

80-00

Intelligent life (Tech Level)

51-63

Cool

64-76

Chilly

77-89

Ver y cold

90-00

Frozen

Planets with just one climate or biome (ice planets or deser t planets) are quite common in sci-fi. In realit y scientists believe this to be ver y r are, or even non-existent: Even ver y cold or hot wor lds are bound to have some climate var iation.

Atmospheric Pressure

148

O ver all climate

Percentage of planet sur face covered by water: 1d10 0. On a Ver y Cold or Frozen planet, a large percentage will be ice or snow.

Atmospheric Breathabilit y

1d100

Atmospheric Pressure

1d100

Breathabilit y

01-19

Too thin (vacuum suit)

01-24

Vacuum suit

20-39

Thin (breathing mask)

25-49

Breathing mask

40-59

Ear th like

50-74

Unpleasant

60-79

Dense (unpleasant)

75-00

Ear th like

80-00

Too dense (breathing mask)

W O R L D B U IL D IN G

Unbreathable atmospheres can for example have too high level s of methane, CO 2 , hydrogen, nitrogen, ammonia, be cor rosive, and/or contain pollutants (ashes, pollen, sulfur).

Special World Features Here is a list of unique features that will occur sometimes, with var ying frequenc y.

plunge a planet away into deep space on its own. Hard to detect and almost cer tainly lifeless.

01-07 Double Pl anet. Probably a special case of a ver y large moon, t wo small planets or bit each other.

57-6 3 Seismologically over-ac tive. Either by internal power s or because of gr avitational forces, some planets have large number s of active volcanoes and tectonic plates gr ating at each other to produce violent recur r ing ear thquakes.

0 8-14 Ringed. Rocks and blocks of ice form a disc around the planet. Beautiful to see from space, spectacular from the planet’s sur face. 15-21 Habitable Moon. A satellite with either an atmosphere or oceans. Not uncommon around gas giants, though temper atures tend to be a bit low if they are too far out in a system. 22-28 Tide-Locked. The planet is tur ning the same side to the sun all the time. The night-side is freezing cold and the day-side is ex tremely hot. The small areas of t wilight are best suited for humans. 29-35 Canyon. A planet with a thin atmosphere can sometimes have pockets of breathable air in recesses like canyons and valleys.  36-42 Gaia. All living beings have for med a joint consciousness, sometimes taking on an individual will of it’s own to develop and protect the planet. Psionic power s of some kind are probably involved in this. 4 3-49 Heav y Bombardment. W ith a lot of mater ial lef t unused when a planetar y system was for med, planets will have many more meteor ite str ikes than nor mal. This is a natur al stage for young systems, decaying over time. Interesting compounds and organic molecules can be brought to a planet this way. 50-56 Rogue Wor ld. The might y forces involved when star systems are for med will sometimes

6 4-70 A r tificial. For ver y high tech societies, creating a planet from the resources found in a star system is feasible. It’s a possibilit y to shape the per fect wor ld for their species. 71-77 Unique resource. The planet houses a unique compound, plant or animal, highly sought af ter (or per haps not even discovered before). Can be devastating, enr iching or gr ant the discoverer s /inhabitants great power, depending on how it is handled. 78-8 4 High r adiation. From the planet itself, from the star or from a near-by gas giant.  85-91 Tidal Ef fec ts. Tidal ef fects from a moon or an accompanying planet not only af fects water but al so land masses, heating the planet from inside and creating seismological activit y.  92-98 Flare Star. Relatively small star s can have recur r ing huge solar bur sts, making them double in size. For planets in close or bit this results in both a heat wave and higher level s of r adiation, sometimes even in deadly doses. A n atmosphere will reduce the ef fects. Life will be problematic and indigenous species are likely to  have a high degree of mutations.  99-0 0 Roset te Configur ation. A n ar tificial constr uction where t wo objects are placed opposite to each other in or bit.

W O R L D B U IL D IN G 149

Star Mapping Galactic Nor th Spinward

Trailing Rimward

Coreward Galactic South

Dif ferent Densities

For really dense par ts of a galax y (close to the core or in a star cluster) 8 0-90% of the hexes will have a star. For more  spar se par ts 1020% will have star s. Placing star s just out of reach of regular hyperspace jumps can make them a bit myster ious.

Starfaring society

Hex number Star

Life Planets present

Name

150

W O R L D B U IL D IN G

To make a star map for a small par t of a fictional  galax y, the classic route is to create a hex map. They might look a bit unimaginative, but are quite pr actical. There is a blank hex map on the nex t page to fill out. You can al so use the free ver sion of the progr am Hexogr apher to make star maps. Here you can add the name of the star in the hex, and small symbol s around the star to indicate some impor tant facts. The symbol s are tied to Classic Tr aveller, but it’s easy to change their meaning, as I have done in the sidebar. One hex represents 1 par sec, equalling 3.26 light year s, (the Milk y Way is approximately 30,0 0 0 par secs across) and al so the distance tr avelled with Hyper space 1. For ever y hex in normal space there is a 50% chance that a star is present, and 8 stars in 10 have a planetar y system. For stor y telling reasons, a large amount of these systems will have some kind of habitable planet. Political units can al so be marked, with lines or color s, and other features of space that af fects tr avelling (rif ts of empt y space, slow-F TL zones, debris-rich or pir ate infested areas for example). A map with 8x10 hexes is called a subsector. 16 subsector s (4x4) make up a sector. You keep tr ack of subsector placement by noting the names of the adjacent subsector s. For a planet you want to detail, always write down the name of the subsector and the number of the hex it occupies, to make it easy to locate.

M  –   S PACE subsector sector notes

M  –   S PACE solar system

species

planets

starports

habitable

asteroid belt

world #1

world #2

world #3

notes

frostbyte books

main worlds

|

star type

hex

ver 3.0 july 2016

subsector

WORLDS

M  –   S PACE subsector

dendrite

star system

species

iimbeni

hex

ayar (innermost), goltor (2nd), varl (3rd)

3 yellow, normal, single habitable 2

starports

planets

world #2

world #3

notes

ayar: small planet, cool climate, 87% water, dense/earth like atmosphere, no moons. inhabited by ayari species.

–

asteroid belt

world #1

varl: gas giant, 22 moons.

[07, 04]

main worlds

ayari

star type

WORLDS

–

goltor: medium size, cool climate, 73% water, thin/earth like atmosphere, no moons. animal life only.

ayari: tech level 3, law level 5

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155

Circles

W

ith more than five people doing things together, work tends to be organized in one way or another. And with more than t welve people brought together, ideological groupings will of ten star t to appear. Using organizations and ideologies in play can be a ver y ef fective way to make worlds and NPCs come alive, giving them clearly defined goal s that the char acter s can either be a par t of, or tr y to thwar t. Here, organizations and ideologies are called Circles. A Circle can be any collection of people sharing an ideology or goal, from alien communities and world-spanning religions to secret illuminatis and local anti-environmentalists. By assigning stats, attributes and tr aits to Circles, their relative strengths and weaknesses can be compared. If char acter s join a Circle, they can call for benefits and fight for its cause. This way you can make Circles an integr al par t of the game, from the personal level of the char acters up to a galactic scale where ideologies compete for dominance. Below you will find a way to describe Circles in more detail.

Ideas Ideas are what make Circles tick, the ver y reason for their existence. It can be the love of a god, technological advancement, the superiorit y of a specific group of life forms - or a combination of sever al ideas. Many Circles have one idea at the center of its “ faith”, with other ideas being added as the ideology evolves. On page 166 is a list of ideas that have passionately engaged 156 C IR CL E S

many humans throughout the ages. Use them if you need some suppor t for your creativit y. For some Circles there will be sever al layer s of ideas: some official and some unof ficial. The unof ficial side can for example be a handful of core values that are kept secret from ever yone but a select few, or a violent tr adition called upon when needed. This can al so be modelled with Sub-Circles. Sub-Circles share most ideas, tr aits and attributes with the parent Circle, but have a few that sets them apar t. They can either be an integr al par t of the parent Circle or stand a bit on the side, handling its own business.

Types There are four t ypes of Circles: Organization, Ideology, Corpor ation, Location. Add a descriptive word af ter the t ype, for example Organization (Religious), Ideology (Political), Ideology (Alien), Location (Cit y of Gr aath) . Resources and Tech Level

Stats Three stats define the basic concepts of a Circle: Influence, Size, Resources. Influence (INF, 1-20) Influence measures the impact a Circle has on the societ y it belongs to. Not only the direct influence, but al so on gener al policies, laws and ethics of a societ y.

To compare the resources of Circles from dif ferent Tech Level s, use the highest TL as reference. For ever y TL step lower, reduce Resources by 2 for the lower-tech Circle down to a minimum of 2. Use with caution though, as low-tech societies may have access to r are r aw mater ial s for example, that are in high demand el sewhere, giving them an u

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157

Nations, Wor lds & Cor por ations

Nations or entire wor lds can be played as Circles if you want an abstr act way to model their conflicts. Size will be tied to population size and Resources will broadly reflect the wealth of the wor ld or countr y. Influence will in this case mean wor ld or subsector influence – how much the nation can af fect international (or inter stellar) decisions and policies. At tr ibutes and Ideas will var y as for other Circles, but Group (Nation) or Group (Species) will be common ideas. Troops and Politics will be common at tr ibutes. L arge cor por ations can in some set tings al so act as power ful Circles, with their own agenda and political goal s. They can be modelled as other Circles with the exception that Wealth will always be one of their ideas.

Resource Level s

1-4

Destitute

5-9

Poor

10-14

Aver age

15-18

Af fluent

19-20

Wealthy

158 C IR CL E S

INF

Description None. Circle’s ideas are unknown to most

1-4

people or viewed as uninteresting, ex treme or just str ange.

5 -9

Ver y lit tle influence. Concepts never reach the cor r idor s of power. Some contacts and influence in the cor-

10 -14

r idor s of power. Under favor able conditions the Circle’s concepts can be tur ned to societ y-wide policies. The Circle is a major player in the cor r i-

15 -18

dor s of power. Has a big impact not only on what decisions are made but al so upon the ver y agenda. The cor r idor s of power are completely in the hands of the Circle. Societ y is fully

19-20

immer sed in ideas from the Circle and new concepts are easily implemented by its leader s.

Size (SIZ, 1-20) Size defines the number of follower s and is a rough estimate on the number of life forms that can be considered par t of a Circle. They are not necessarily active, but define themselves as belonging to that sphere of ideas. See nex t page for some example sizes. Resources (RE S, 1-20) The resources of a Circle can take many forms, though money and proper t y are perhaps the most common. For more primitive societies, wealth will be measured in food, valuable objects and animal s. Somewhere around TL4-5 abstr act resources will make an entr ance.

Organic Stat Grow th To give a quick indication of how a Circle develops, you can mark potential stat grow th with a small arrow pointing up, down or horizontal nex t to the stat value. Character Actions Raising Stats If the char acters decide to openly suppor t a Circle, their actions can increase or decrease stats. A heroic deed showcasing the ideal s of the Circle are ver y likely to attr act new follower s, new money and possibly contacts with impor tant decision-maker s and spin doctors. A Circle can gain 1 point in any of the stats for a heroic deed by a char acter. Bad publicit y will reduce any stat by 1. Area of Influence Size and Resources are in absolute number s. Influence, on the other hand, is in reference to the societ y it belongs to. A band of mercenaries can have a huge impact on a small colony world but go unnoticed in an entire subsector. To handle this, always write down the area of influence af ter INF. If you are moving it out of that area or scale, Influence is ver y likely to change.

SIZ

E xamples

1

5 0 0 0Bn

Attributes Attributes describe how the ideas of a Circle are implemented and how the goal s are to be reached. They are used just as skill s for char acter s, with a d10 0 to be rolled below the value to use it successfully. Choosing Attributes Attributes are picked to reflect the ideas and methods of a Circle. For violent freedom fighters, Mob or Troops will probably be appropriate, while Ahimsa and Politics will better reflect a serene religion. CIR CL E S

159

Node Based Circles

A convenient way to wor k with Circles is to create them as inter locking nodes. That way you can star t with a small local Circle, and wor k your way up to bigger and more power ful Circles in sever al steps. This is an easy way to str ucture a longer campaign or a str ing of scenar ios: the player s star t investigations relating to a small Circle. At the end of the scenar io they find clues leading to a slightly more power ful group acting behind the small one, and at the end of the second scenar io the clues point to yet another Circle and so on. The Circle nodes can be created top-down or bot tom-up, but star ting out small (bot tom-up) is a good way to keep both feet on the ground dur ing the creative process. Using At tr ibutes

At tr ibutes can be used in scenar ios to indicate how a Circle reacts to changes. W ill they call in their law yer s or send an assassin when the char acter s star t poking around? The At tr ibutes can be used both to indicate what reactions are likely to be (highest Attr ibute is likely to be used fir st, if the situation is appropr iate for it) but al so how ef ficient that reaction will be (a Circle with Troops 10% will per haps only have a few sloppy guards, while Troops 85% will represent a well-tr ained elite group with top of the line gear).

160 C IR CL E S

Attribute Descriptions Ahimsa. Ahimsa is a collective term for all t ypes of non-violent actions. Protest marches, sit-ins, mass non-cooper ation, civil disobedience, blockades & strikes. Requires Dedicated followers or Strong Leader. Black Ops. Secret missions used for sabotage, assassinations, terrorism & kidnapping. Cellular. The Circle is divided into self-suf ficient cell s with as little contact as possible with each other. Connec ted. The Circle is well-connected, perhaps through old acquaintances, relatives or ex tensive bribes. Cultural Heritage. The Circle is an integr al par t of the societ y it belongs to. INF cannot be fully reduced. Dedicated Followers. There is a spirit of dedication within the Circle. It can be due to natur al causes like good leader ship or forced upon the members with shame, sur veillance & br ain washing. Fear. The Circle has a fear some reputation. Functional Stupidit y. Member s have a cer tain way of always suboptimizing their actions to suit the Circle’s limited goal s r ather than anyone el se’s (or societ y as a whole). Info Retrieval. Through espionage, infiltr ation and briber y the Circle gains useful knowledge about its opponents. Legal. The Circle has got a well-tr ained staf f of law yer s always ready to target opponents with lawsuits and threats. Media. The Circle is ver y skilled at PR and has good relations with the media in gener al. Memes. The Circle has a knack for spreading its world views through word of mouth.

Mob. W ith a large enough mob even tr ained troops will back of f. Use Thugs for small scale trouble-making. Politic s. W ith members at home in the corridor s of power, the Circle can influence political decisions. Sanctions. The Circle is using its power s to block an opponent economically. Secrec y. The Circle’s members and oper ations, and even its existence, are kept secret. Use this as a negative modifier for char acters researching the Circle. Securit y. Always war y of attacks, the Circle’s securit y is tight. Passwords, id checks and clear ance level s are common. Spread. Dif ferent par ts of the Circle reside in various locations. The Circle cannot be reduced below a cer tain SIZ, unless attacked globally. Strong Leader. A charismatic leader is a strong focus point for the Circle. Territor y. The Circle has some territor y of its own. Higher value indicates either larger areas and/or higher qualit y. Troops. Well-tr ained militar y personnel is kept by the Circle. Welfare. The Circle suppor ts societ y by of fering education, charit y, health care and so on. Not always for altr uistic purposes, but al so to gain a strong local suppor t.

Traits Tr aits are defining impor tant aspects of a Circle that are not easily covered by Attributes. This can be significant detail s like a dress code, t ypical behavior, diet restrictions and so on. This is a chance to add some color to the Circle, making it stand out in the player’s memories.

Stat & At tr ibute Level s

Below are some suggested power level s for Circles, and what values to assign to them. Low Level: Use 10 stat points to spend freely on stats. Distribute 150 at tr ibute points or 70 points to one at tr ibute and 4 0 to t wo. Random method: Roll INF, SIZ and RES on 1d6. Roll 1d10 0 t wice on the Idea Table. Finally pick 3 At tr ibutes resonating with the ideas (using the same At tr ibute values as suggested above). Medium Level: 25 stat points. 250320 at tr ibute points or 90 points to one at tr ibute, 70 to t wo and 4 0 to one. Random method: Roll INF, SIZ and RES on 2d6. Roll 1d10 0 t wice on the Idea Table. Finally pick 4 Attr ibutes resonating with the ideas (using the same At tr ibute values as suggested above). High Level: 4 0 stat points. 4 50-550 at tribute points or 90 points to t wo at tribute, 70 to three and 4 0 to t wo. Random method: Roll INF, SIZ and RES on 2d6 + 6. Roll 1d10 0 t wice on the Idea Table. Finally pick 7 Attr ibutes resonating with the ideas (using the same At tr ibute values as suggested above). Player-Controlled: For Circles created by the player s, spend 2-4 stat points per player and a total of 150 at tribute points equally divided among the player s.

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161

Some additional w ays to gain or loose r ank: L arge donation: +3 Successful public

Character Rank For most Circles Rank will be an impor tant concept. Rank is measured from 1 to 10 0+:

appear ance: +1 to +3

01-74

Factotum

public blunder: -1 to -3

75-99

Initiate

Illegal actions: +1 to -10

100+

Fugleman

Negative publicit y or

Challenging the leader s: +5 to -5 High CH A: +1

For char acter s joining a Circle star ting Rank will be 20. Rank is r aised when a char acter (or NPC) does something good for the Circle, in the name of it or put the spotlight on it. In gener al, if the char acter has been acting like a good role-model for the Circle in a scenario she will gain 1-3 in Rank.

Benefits All Circles can of fer benefits to its member s. What kind of benefits will var y. Some will be highly specialized and closely tied to the ideas of the Circle and some will be more generic, like money or information. A psionic institute might be able to boost a character’s POW for a while or provide tr aining. Classified equipment or augmentations can be made accessible through a black ops Circle, and unheard-of science from a group of shy aliens. The easiest way to call for a benefit is to roll below RES x5 or an appropriate Attribute. But it can al so be played as a one-sided social conflict, with the char acters using their communication skill s to win a bargain. Beforehand, the GM should decide upon a minimum benefit to gr ant the char acter s ( ie. what they need to finish the scenario), adding a larger benefit the more successful they are in the bargain. See the chapter on ex tended conflicts for more detail s. 162 C IR CL E S

Below are some t ypical benefits, shared by most Circles: Influence: Contacts, allies, information Resources: Money, equipment, tr anspor t, troops, mob Roll below the appropriate Circle stat x5 or Attribute to call for a benefit. Apply the following dif ficulties: » » Small /Common benefit: +/-0. E xamples: Small loan, common equipment, contact with journalist letting char acter s get access to newspaper archive. » » Medium benefit: Hard . E xamples: Contact with low-level securit y of ficer t weaking a few r ules, medium loan, special equipment. » » L arge/Rare benefit: Formidable . E xamples: Contact with police/law yer giving access to archives or confidential information, large loan, r are or expensive equipment. » » Spectacular/Ridiculous benefit: Herculean . Any thing you can think of‚ » » Character Rank: Factotum -20%, Initiate +/-0%, Fugleman +20%.

Additional Benefit Modifier s: »»

Char acter CH A >16: +10%

»»

Char acter will not tell what the benefit will be used for: -20%

»»

Char acter has not been entirely tr uthful regarding benefits in the past: -20%

»»

Illegal

activit y/equipment:

-4 0%. +/-0 for cr iminal organizations »»

W ill aid the Circle in a ver y positive w ay: +20 to + 4 0%

»»

A ny one of the following skill s divided by 5: Influence, Deceit, Commerce,

Acting,

Seduc-

tion, Bureaucr ac y, K nowledge (Ps ycho-logy), Cour tes y, Or ator y, Politic s, Teach, Customs or Culture

Many Benefits will be ready within 24 hour s, but as much as a week will sometimes be necessar y. In most cases the flow of a scenario will be the determining factor, either to speed the characters up a bit or to withhold a benefit to increase tension. Benefits are of ten to be returned by doing some dut y for the Circle or, in the case of resources, with money. A dut y is probably most natur al to turn into a new scenario.

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163

Church of Reason Ideology (Religion) Ideas: K nowledge, Peace INF 11 (Erdini Sector) SIZ 9 RE S 15 Attributes: A himsa 65%, Dedicated Follower s 75%, Media 4 0%, Political 4 0%. Tr aits: Dress code ( Yellow robes), Research, Academic Outlook. Description: Religion celebr ating knowledge as the highest level of existence. Strong advocates for peace, lear ning and research. Can appear a bit cold in manner s.

Android Liberation Net work Organization (Secret) Ideas: Equalit y, Freedom INF 4 (Erdini Sector) SIZ 2 RE S 12 Attributes: Cellular 95%, Info Retr ieval 75%, Memes 4 0%, Secrec y 10 0%, Spread 75%. Tr aits: Only androids are allowed to join the net wor k. Description: Net wor k of androids and robots secretly promoting the r ights and freedoms of the entire android communit y.

164 C IR CL E S

Circle Details Here are some optional detail s that can be used if a Circle needs to be fleshed out a bit more. Income Income specifies how the resources are collected. Common sources are donations, wealth, crime, business, collecting taxes and state subsidies. Age The number of year s the Circle has existed. L arge ideologies and organizations are likely to have existed for at least 10 year s. Enter & E xit Some Circles are more dif ficult than other s to enter. Sometimes ver y specific requisites are asked for (wealth, species, recommendation and so on). Write requisites down and a more gener al dif ficult y level of becoming a member (from easy to dif ficult). Likewise, getting out may be as easy as saying so, or it may result in a lifelong death sentence. Rate from easy to impossible. Restrictions Some Circles regulate not only what member s should do, but al so what they ought not to do. Restrictions are of ten the opposite to the ideas & attributes, plus some ad hoc restrictions concerning ever yday tasks (including food, clothes, behavior, language, reproduction, pleasures and so on). Some of them can be related to tr aditional wisdom (for sur vival or since long derived best pr actices), some are tool s for control and power, and some again are just plain incomprehensible, at least to outsider s.

Struc ture About the str ucture of Circles an entire book could be written. For most gaming needs these four categories will probably suffice though: » » Top-Down. (Rational, Tr aditional or Charismatic) . A strongly hier archical str ucture with ever yone well aware of who is making decisions for who. Rational is where leader s are chosen for their actual skill s. Tr aditional represents leaders that, for example, inherit their status. Charismatic is for highly verbal and passionate leaders, with exceptional talents for engaging followers (al so see attribute Strong Leader). » » Flat. Members are equal and decisions are collective. Decision-making can be slow due to internal discussions and conflicts. Can al so gener ate ver y dedicated followers. » » Net. (Open, Closed, V ir tual or Cell). A ver y flexible str ucture with individual s acting mostly on their own. Open has the net in constant change, including and excluding people as they are needed. Closed is a fixed group of people with tr ust as a major component in their work. V ir tual is a net that only exists through indirect communication through technology or psionics. Cell is a small, tight group that has as little as possible to do with other par ts of the organization, of ten for securit y reasons (al so see attributes Cellular and Spread). » » None. No str ucture at all or a str ucture in constant change. Hard to steer and of ten has dif ficulties reaching a consensus, but al so notoriously hard to destroy.

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165

Idea Table 1d10 0

Idea

01- 06

Egoism

07-12

Peace

13-18

God(s)

19-2 4

A narchy

25 -30

Equalit y

31-36

Independence

37-4 2

Group

Description The self comes fir st and as few limitations as possible should be set upon it. War and violence destroy ever y thing of value. Peace must be upheld. One or sever al spir itual beings make their will apparent to follower s. Freedom from hier archy and outer restr ictions. Equalit y can be bet ween sexes, species, r aces, different par ts of societ y and so on. The will to not be gover ned by an ex ter ior force. A specific group of life for ms are at the center of the Circle. The group can be a nation, species, clan, wor k group, ter ror ist cell etceter a.

166 C IR CL E S

4 3-4 8

Power

Gaining more power is a goal in itself.

49-5 4

Wealth

Increasing wealth is a goal in itself.

55 -60

Environment

Protecting some or all aspects of the environment.

61-66

Chaos

67-72

Pleasure

73-78

Tr adition

79-8 4

Enlightenment

85 -90

Newness

91-95

Pro (any thing)

There is alw ays something to suppor t...

96- 0 0

Against (any thing)

...or protest against. Make your voice heard!

Not content with just anarchy, societ y should be actively exposed to chaos. Pleasure and well-being are goal s in themselves. The dr ive to keep doing things the same w ay as they have alw ays been done. Continuous str ife to get bet ter. Discover ing new wor lds, technologies, designs, philosophies is the solution to all problems.

M  –   S PACE

CIRCLE

leader

influence

name

attributes

size resources

ideas

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traits

notes

benefits

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CIR CL E S

169

Psionics

P

sionics are the power s of the mind, reaching out to change the world without the body as an intermediate. POW is the basic char acteristic defining if a mind is tuned to work with these forces.  Psionic power s are divided into three spheres: Sense , Mind and Matter. They describe, respectively, how well a psionic is tuned to the forces flowing through the univer se, her abilit y to af fect other people’s minds and finally her abilit y to af fect objects in the material world. When using a power, the player decides what she wants to achieve and calculates the Power point cost. Roll 1d10 0 under the power’s skill value. If successful, reduce Power points by the calculated value, other wise subtr act 1. 

Powers Base r ange: 20 meter s. Double Power Point cost to double r ange in most cases. Base Power point cost: 1-10 Default time: 1 Action Point Skill value is per power, increased as normal skill s. Optionally, increase value +5% tempor ally per ex tr a Power point spent. Star ting values: Three power s at POW x2 + add any skill points.  All powers are treated as separ ate skill s and increase individually as regular skill s. Depending on the st yle of the setting the availabilit y of power s may dif fer. Either all power s are allowed for ever yone to learn, or the psionic can be confined to one 170 P S I O NI C S

sphere only. Or the dif ferent Arcs (see below) may have specific requirements that must be fulfilled. Such requirements can for example be a POW value and a skill value (see sidebar). W ith less restrictions, the more power ful the char acter s will be. Power points are restored by sleeping one night. 

Power A rc Requirements

First A rc: P OW 16 Second A rc: P OW 18, one power at 90%, lowest power at 60% Third A rc: P OW 20, three power s at 90%, lowest power at 60%

In ex treme situations a char acter can make an ex tr a ef for t, pushing his/her capacit y beyond what is normally possible. In these cases Hit points can be spent as Power points. Finding New Powers  Spend a month in tr aining with a teacher or in isolated meditation to awake a new power. Roll under POW x4 (tr aining) or POW x2 (isolated meditation) to succeed. The new power star ts at POW x2. Increasing POW POW has a chance of being increased when a char acter have won a resisted or opposed roll against a more power ful opponent. Put a check mark nex t to POW, and at the end of the adventure roll 1d10 0 below (25-POW)x5, with a minimum of a 5% chance of r aising POW. If successful POW will increase by 1 point. Optional Rule: Stacking Power s

Sense First Arc: Avoid Harm. Utilizing small fluctuations in the continuum to soak up damage, the psionic can tr ade 1 power point for 1 point of damage when hit. Cannot be used on anyone el se. Intuition. The psionic is per fectly in tune with the forces surrounding her, acting as a gentle guiding hand. Adds +1% to any skill per 1 power point. 

In some situations a psionic may want to combine t wo power s to achieve the impossible. To do this, the GM must fir st accept the power combination. Then both power s are rolled at Hard (with Power points spent as usual). If in the middle of combat, prepar ation time is 1 round, in which the psionic can do nothing el se. The consequence is that both power s are activated at the same time and can be u

P S I O NI C S

171

Psionic Aliens

The basic concepts for psionics work the same way for alien life for ms. All species are supposedly tapping into the same continuum of life-forces that per meates the univer se, and have lear ned to manipulate it. But the power s are likely to manifest themselves in dif ferent ways due to the var iation in the mental inter nal wir ing.

Meditation. Moving into a per fect meditative state, the psionic can restore ¼ of her full Power points in one hour. Meditation must be undisturbed and works only once a day. No power point cost.

Second Arc: Battle Meditation If a calm moment presents itself during combat, the psionic can choose to quickly enter a deep state of inner focus and clarit y, giving her an ex tr a bonus on the fir st combat action following it. Minimum time 2 rounds. Fir st action is Easy .

A s a gener al guideline, humanlike aliens (Str angeness 1-4 0) can use the r ules as is. Power s can have dif ferent names, be ordered slightly dif ferent to reflect the specific needs of the species and a couple of new power s are likely to exist.

Cost: 3 power points. 

There is al so the possibilit y of single-powered aliens, with one or t wo power s closely linked to the evolutionar y sur vival of the life for m. These of ten have close ties to the way they get food, protect themselves or fight opponents. The r ules here can be used as inspir ation but it is quite likely the power s are unique. Otherwise low-powered life for ms (even plants) can be a real challenge for the char acter s if psionics are used this way.

Detect. Detects a psionic nearby or the tr aces it has lef t. Mask Mind can be used for psionic stealth. Cost: 2 power points.

For even str anger aliens (Str angeness 50-70) it is possibly best to wr ite down a new psionic power Continued...

172 P S I O NI C S

Psychometr y. Sense the histor y of an object or place, who’s been using it, when and for what. The outcome can var y greatly in detail depending on the local flow of the continuum. Cost: 3 power points to sense a few days back in time, thereaf ter 5 points/ month. 

Third Arc: Farsight. This power can give the psionic vague impressions of events far away in time and/or place, not always showing actual outcomes, but al so possible scenarios. Cost: 10 power points.

Mind First Arc: Friendship. Befriend any intelligent life form (2 power points per step up on the Social Disposition table, if used). Dur ation: 2 minutes. Cost: 2 power points. Mental Defense. Protection of a 5 m 2 area, including ever yone inside it, against all psionic attacks. If attacked, use opposed roll s (Power vs Power). Cost: 2 power points for ever y 5 m 2 . 

Empathy. The gener al feelings and attitudes of a being can be sensed. Cost: 2 power points. Re-new for 1 Power  point to capture changes in attitude, for example during an ongoing conversation (must be within a few minutes of the fir st roll). Scream. A mind-numbing, silent psionic scream, like mental static. No one within r ange can act for the dur ation of the scream plus 2 rounds. Targets must succeed with a Hard W illpower roll to per form one simple action. Cost: 3 power points. 

Second Arc: Read Mind. Sur face thoughts can be clearly read by the psionic for 5 power points.  For deeper probing, spend 10 power points and at least one minute. To block deep thoughts from being read, use opposed roll versus W illpower or Mental Defense.

str ucture. Star ting with a few centr al power s is of ten good, and then keep adding abilities in relation to these. Use the life for m’s biome and evolutionar y challenges as a star ting point. L ast but not least, the really bizar re life for ms (Str angeness 8 0 +). Here, any thing goes. If their physical for ms are hard to gr asp by humans, their minds are likely to be even more incomprehensible. (Though not always – body and mind need not to be linked this way and shapeless blobs with human-like minds can be fun for a change). Only your imagination sets the limits here.

Af fect Mind. Target follows one suggestion of the caster without hesitation in small matters. Cost: 5 power points.  Mask Mind. Hides the psionic signature from other psionics, making her dif ficult to detect. Make an opposed roll if another psionic is using Detect. 1 power point per minute.  Speed Mind. A burst of mind activit y allowing fast comprehension, reading or complex interconnections. Knowledge or research roll s are Easy as default, but can al so be used for more specific resolutions under stress. Cost: 5 power points.  Amnesia. The psionic can make the target forget one minor event that happened recently. Cost: 4 power points. To er ase more significant and emotional events, cost is doubled and an opposed roll (W illpower vs Amnesia) is needed.

Third Arc: Control Mind. The abilit y to control the actions of one intelligent life form. This is a resisted roll with the opponent’s W illpower. Dur ation: One action or approximately one minute. Cost: 10 power points. P S I O NI C S

173

Psionic Success Level s

Fumble: A bilit y fail s and the full power point cost is lost. Failure: A bilit y fail s. Power point cost: 1 Success: A bilit y succeeds. Full power point cost. Critical: A bilit y succeeds plus any of the following ef fects: Power point cost 1, tr iple r ange, tr iple dur ation, infor mation gained exceed all expectations or P OW (or power point) value tempor ally doubled.

Fear. Target must make a Hard W illpower roll or flee in terror. If the roll is made, the life form is incapable of any thing but the simplest action for as long as the power is upheld. A psionic can r aise Mental Defense in an opposed roll. Cost: 10 power points per round. Telepathy. Allows the psionic to send a simple message of any one t ype (sound, image, feeling, etceter a) to another being. Cost: 10 power points. Add 5 points for each added t ype.

Matter First Arc: Healing. Healing can be used in t wo ways. Either the target restores 1 hit point per power point spent, or physical healing is doubled at a cost of 2 Power points per day. Find. Locate any object known to the caster, just as if a compass was pointing at it. Cost: 2 power points. 

Thrown Objec t Damage

Default damage by objects hur led is 1d6 for ever y SIZ 10. Use the list below as a reference for object size and damage. Some examples: Full suitcase 1d3 Small robot 1d6 Human 1d6 Robot 1d8 2d6 Motorc ycle Speeder Bike 3d6 L and Speeder 5d6 Tr uck 7d6 Star Fighter 9d6

174 P S I O NI C S

Move Object. Use the mind to move any object. Base cost is 3 power points for up to human-sized objects, then 1 more point per similar weight added. Base cost is 5 power points instead to hurl an object. See sidebar for damage examples. Illusion. Life-like human-sized illusion working on all senses. To keep an illusion animated the psionic must focus on keeping the power up and can do nothing el se. Cost: 2 power points per round. 

Second Arc: Push. Spend 2 power points to violently push back 1 humansized object. Target suf fer s knockback 5 meter s, is prone nex t round and takes 1d4-1 damage. Drops weapon if a Combat St yle roll is failed. Use Evade or Acrobatics to dodge, or an opposed Push roll.

Leap. Jump up to 10 meters horizontally or ver tically. Can al so be used to break a fall. Cost: 4 power points. For ever y additional 4 Power points, add 1 meter. Reflexes. Lightning fast reflexes enabling the psionic to parr y blaster shots, dodge bullets and get double Action Points in a combat round (for simplicit y, treat it as t wo actions per action point). Cost: 5 power points per round.  Stun. A more targeted version of the Scream power af fecting only selected opponents. Cost: 2 power points per per son and round. 

Forgot ten Power s

Destr uc tion (Mind Rapture, Ego Attack, Pain) Tech ( A nimate, Power Blast)

Redirect

Power,

Weaving (Telepor tation) Cr af ts (Forge P OW Capsule, Psionic Shield) Nature/A rcane Tr ue Path)

(Beast

L anguage,

Mar tial Flow. In combat, af ter the dice has been rolled, the psionic can spend power points to nudge a roll into a better success: Fumble to failure, failure to success or success to critical. Cost: 1 power point per 1% subtr acted or added to a roll.

Third Arc: Agilit y. E xceptional body control. For ever y 5 power points spent add 10% to Athletics, Acrobatics or Unarmed in the current round.  Can be used to push a skill over 10 0% to minimize the risk of failure or to counter negative modifier s when per forming dif ficult tasks. Haste. A bur st of high-speed movement at Movement Rate 30, lasting 1 round. Cost: 10 power points.  Life Giver. Restore hit points to 1 for any dead life form. The cause of death must be from unnatur al causes. Use the power within t wo minutes from the deadly blow. Can only be used on bodies that are reasonably intact. Cost: 12 power points. 

P S I O NI C S

175

176 P S I O NI C S

P S I O NI C S

177

Vehicle Design

T

o sur vey vast areas or to venture into dangerous environments, the char acter s will sometimes need specialized vehicles tailored for the situation. These r ules provide a fr amework for that design work, from small single-per son flyer s up to large mobile headquar ters.

Vehicles use the same modular approach as starships, with the biggest dif ference being in scale. The scale of the modules (and the finished vehicle) is in Planetside Scale, ie. one tenth the size of starships. The default Module size is defined as: 1 Module is big enough for 1 per son. Just as for star ships, but here with a ver y bare-bones functionalit y compared to space faring vessel s: Planetside vehicles don’t have to withstand cosmic r adiation, keep air pressure up or micro-par ticles out. This al so means they require much less space, building material s, str uctur al suppor t, electronics and so on.

Vehicle design follows these steps: 1. Decide upon a vehicle t ype. 2. Pick a Movement Class. 3. Determine what Modules you need. Calculate Speed & Handling. 4. Multiply Modules according to Movement Class and get vehicle Size. 5. Add apps & pick armor.

178 V E HI CL E D E S I G N

Vehicle Type Star t by defining what t ype of vehicle is needed. E xamples include: All-terr ain vehicle ( AT V), fly c ycle, car, tr anspor tation quad copter, speeder bike, land speeder, armored walker, helicopter etceter a.

Movement Class Movement class represents the medium the vehicle moves in or on. It can be on or through the ground, in the air, and in or on liquid. This choice will af fect the total number of Modules and sometimes Speed & Handling. Ground: »» »» »» »»

To make it possible to create all kinds of vehicles, from vespas to fighter jets, these r ules are kept as flexible as possible. This means there are ver y few restr ictions and the r ules can produce fantastic or, depending on how you look at it, r idiculous results. ( Vespas going at Mach 2 for example) To keep vehicles in the spirit of the set ting, the GM should always super vise the design and compare the results with the real wor ld or his campaign ideas.

Regular. Add 1 Module/10 Modules (minimum 1) Terr ain. Add 2 modules/10 modules (minimum 2) Walker. Modules x2 Burrower. Modules x3 (Speed & Handling at -90%)

Liquid: » » Sur face, Motor. Modules x2 » » Sur face, Sail. Modules x2 + sail s » » Sub. Modules x3 Note that Speed & Handling are at -50% for all vehicles moving in or on the sur face of liquids. Flight: »» »» »» »» »»

A n Open System

Wings. Modules x3 Anti-gr av. Add 1 module/10 modules (minimum 1) Rotor blades. Modules x2 Hover cr af t. Modules x2 Gas bag. 10 modules (1 ton) need 10 0 0 modules of default lif ting gas.

Vehicle Combat

For vehicle combat, use the r ules for star ship combat.

Module Par tial s

For small vehicles it of ten makes sense to wor k with half or quar ter Modules for some functions, especially engines and maneuver ing.

V E HI CL E D E S I G N

179

Stunts

To add even more fantastic technology, border ing on magic, use the guidelines below for Stunts. Psionic s. The vehicle has a psychic ar tificial mind with power s equal to a star ting psionic char acter, either to use by itself or as suppor ting power s for the char acter. Luck Points. For vehicles that seem to make the impossible happen at just the r ight moment, make 1-3 Luck points available to the char acter s using it. Lighting Fast. Calculate Speed & Handling stat as usual, but there is al so a boost function pushing the vehicle into the 16-22 r ange of the stats for a shor t per iod of time. Shape Change. From vehicles that can be unfolded, to vehicles with dif ferent states or modes, for example automatically changing into a submar ine when hit ting water. Tiny. Technology miniatur ization taken so far that almost any thing can fit into a per sonal-sized vehicle.

Vehicle Modules Pick the Modules needed for the vehicle. Most Modules are the same as for star ships: Cockpit, Cargo, Passenger s and so on. Below is a list of all Modules for vehicles. Basic assumptions: » » 1 module/person » » 1 module/10 0 kg cargo » » 10 Hit Points/module » » Weight: 1 Module = 10 0 kg (10 modules = 1 ton)

Module Descriptions Cockpit. 1 module per per son. 10 0 0 Cr. Engine. Select a Thr ust Rating (TR) for the Modules. Determines the vehicle’s Speed value, see page 182.

Engine Type

TR for Engine

Cost/Engine Module

Cutting Edge

120

2000

Excellent

100

1500

Standard

70

1000

Economy

40

500

Simple

20

250

Maneuvering. Select a Thr ust Rating (TR) for the Modules. Use the table above. Determines the vehicle’s Handling value, see page 182.

180 V E HI CL E D E S I G N

Sickbay. 2 modules for an Autodoc with room for one patient. 4 modules per patient for an ambulating sickbay. 10 0 0 Cr.

Speed

km/h

Crew. 1 module per crew member. Bunk requires 2 modules/ person. 4 modules per crew member for cubicles. 50 0 Cr.

1

10

2

20

3

30

4

40

5

50

6

60

7

80

8

10 0

9

130

10

16 0

11

20 0

12

25 0

13

30 0

14

400

15

500

16

60 0

17

800

18

10 0 0

19

125 0

20

15 0 0

21

20 0 0

22

30 0 0

Passengers. 1 module per seated passenger. Bunk requires 2 modules/per son. 4 modules per passenger for cubicles. 50 0 Cr. Cargo Hold. 1 module per 10 0 kg cargo. Secret compar tments, specific habitats or biomes cost more. 50 0 Cr. 10 0 0 Cr for special demands. Weapons. 1 module per attack and round. Handled by one per son with Gunner y skill. One module can be handled by the pilot, the following weapon modules are separ ate turrets. Choose from laser, blaster, ion cannon, missiles. For costs, see weapon table. L ab. 1 module +10% in one chosen skill (cannot exceed +30% per skill, though larger specimen can be brought into the lab if more modules are added for the same skill). 10 0 0 Cr. Open Space. 8 modules minimum for canteen, briefing room, gym etc. Holds at most one person per Module, ver y tightly packed. 50 0 Cr. Vehicle Bay. Gar age or hangar for a small vehicle. Takes t wice as many modules as the vehicle carried. 50 0 Cr. Self-Repair. 1 module per self-repair unit. One roll ever y third combat round. +5% in Mechanics per step. 10 0 0 Cr. Rescue Utilities. 1 module/1 person. 10 Par achutes or Life-Vests fits into 1 Module. 50 0 Cr. Sensors. Sensors are not automatically included for vehicles. 1 Module includes a close r ange sensor detecting r adiation, atmosphere, heat (IR), life, specific miner al s and water. Use with Sensors skill. 10 0 0 Cr.

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181

Vehicle Stealth

W hile of ten not as advanced as the stealth found in star ships, it is cr ucial for vehicles in many set tings. Common technology is masking of r adar, heat, sound and emissions, High tech visual masking is al so an option. Use the same r ules as for starships: Stealth gives the opponent -5% per step in Sensor s or Spot skill. Max -30%. Cost: 50 0 Cr per -5% and Module.

Robot Arm. 1 Module for one ex ternal robot arm, controlled from the bridge. Strength 4 0. Reach: 2 meter s. For doubled strength and reach, double the number of Modules. 10 0 0 Cr. Airlock. 2 modules for one per son. Not automatically included in the “hull ” as for star ships. 50 0 Cr. Stor age. Air: 1 module holds compressed air (and a rec ycler) for 1 person to last 12 hour s. Smoke: 1 module holds 2 charges of smoke, capable of gener ating a 10 0 m 2 smoke screen. Vehicle concealed within 2-4 rounds. 50 0 Cr. Environment. Sealed hull. Multiply total cost with 2. Required for subs & high altitude flight. 10 0 0 Cr.

Vehicle Stats Vehicles, like star ships, are defined by three stats: Speed, Handling and Size. SPEED = Total Thrust Rating Number of Vehicle Modules

HANDLING = Total Thrust Rating Number of Vehicle Modules

SPEED (1-20) Calculate Speed by multiplying the total Thr ust Rating of the Engine Modules with the number of Modules. (Total Engine TR / number of Modules). HANDLING (1-20) Calculate Handling by multiplying the total Thr ust Rating of the Maneuver Modules with the number of Modules. (Total Maneuver TR /number of Modules). SIZE (1-) Vehicle Size is calculated by taking the number of Modules, then multiply or add, the modifier associated with the Movement class. Then multiply that number with 10. For shor t: (Number of Modules) x (Movement class modifier) x10.

182 V E HI CL E D E S I G N

Weapons Choose weapons from the table below. All weapons require a gunner with the Gunner y combat st yle.

Weapon

Damage

Range

Modules

Cost

Heav y L aser Rifle

2d10 + 4

15 0 m

1

10 0 0 Cr

Heav y Blaster Rifle

3d10 +2

10 0 m

1

2 0 0 0 Cr

Blaster Cannon

4 d10 + 4

10 0 0 m

2

30 0 0 Cr

Rail Gun

6d8 + 6

10 0 0 0 m

2

4 0 0 0 Cr

L aser Cannon

4 d8 + 4

600 m

2

30 0 0 Cr

3d10 + 4*

70 m

2

2 0 0 0 Cr

8d6 + 8

12 0 0 m

2

5 0 0 0 Cr

4 d6

40 m

2

10 0 0 Cr

Ion Cannon Missile Stun Cannon * Only versus tech.

Damage & Malfunction Damage works as for simplified star ship combat (without hit locations). When hit points are halved, roll on the Malfunction table:

Optional: Calculating Weight

Multiply Weight with 1+( A P/10) E xamples: A P 5 = Module weight x1.5 A P 10 = Module weight x 2.0

Malfunc tion Table (1d6): 1. Power out, no sensors or weapons 2. Minor leak in one module (air/water/fuel) 3. No Maneuvering, Pilot or Drive skill halved 4. Speed halved 5. Uncontrolled spin. Pilot or Drive skill at 0 % 6. Re-roll on this table. +1 on dur ation table

A P 21 = Module weight x3.1 Special cases: Low-weight: Weight /2, cost x10 Ultr a-light: Weight /10, cost x10 Supr a-light: Weight /10 0, cost x10 0 Heav y-weight: Weight x4, cost x4

V E HI CL E D E S I G N

183

Vehicle Condition

Vehicle condition is measured from 0 down to -10 0. Use the r ules for star ship condition regarding skill modifier s, maintenance, repair s and the cost of used vehicles.

Duration Table: 1. One round 2. 1d6 rounds 3. Until repaired 4. Until repaired, Mechanics at -20% 5. Until nex t stop and repaired 6. Until nex t stop and buying new par ts. Personal damage: Ever yone on board the vehicle must al so make an Athletics or Acrobatics roll to avoid 1d4-1 damage.

A r mor E xamples

Use the list below as a reference for ar mor. Most common is steel ar mor, but var ious high-tech composites appear at TechLevel 12. If t wo A P values are shown, the second value represents the protection for passenger s. Speeder Bike, A P 10/0 Car, A P 10/2 L and Speeder, A P 10/0 A r mored Car, A P 16/ 5 AT V, A P 18 Tank, A P 24

Armor & Hit Points Shields are not ver y common for vehicles in most settings, of ten because they are too bulk y and energy demanding. If needed, use the r ules for star ship shields. Cost /Module and step (+1): 50 0 Cr. For armor, only 2 /3 of the Modules need to be covered – the remaining Modules are considered internal, with no need for protection. Cost /Module and step (+1): 10 0 Cr. Hit points can be bought up (for vehicles with better str uctur al integrit y) or down (for fr agile constr uctions and thin, shell-like vehicles). +/- 50 0 Cr for each HP up or down. Can never r aise Hit points more than 30% above the star ting value.

Hover Cr af t, A P 10 Helicopter, A P 4 /2 Fighter Jet, A P 6/ 5

Apps Apps function the same way as for star ships, giving up to +30% to the skill used. The apps available for vehicles are Navigation, Sensors and Targeting. See page 96 in the Star ship Design chapter for more detail s.

184 V E HI CL E D E S I G N

M –  S PACE

 

VEHICLE

type

player

speed

movement class

handling

armor

size modules

hit points

weapons

apps

ver 3.0 july 2016

|

frostbyte books

other

stealth

186 V E HI CL E D E S I G N

V E HI CL E D E S I G N

187

Researching New Gear

Goal: Combining functions in new ways, inventing new functions or modif ying existing functions.  Requisites: Suf ficient mater ial s, a lab/ wor kshop and relevant skill s (one char acter must have the Engineer ing skill; Mechanics, Electronics & Computer s can be used as assisting skill s).  The success or failure of constr uction skill roll s, af fect later  oper ation skill roll s.  Default base penalt y for oper ation of home made gear: -20% (see Permanent Objects on how to reduce the penalt y).  One-shot objec ts:

These are improvised objects that are developed to solve a specific challenge in a scenar io. Fir st the GM must decide if the required mater ial s are available (or can be cobbled together from scr ap or other near by objects). Optionally one Luck Point can be spent by player s to gain access to a reasonable amount of mater ial s.  For ever y function the finished object will consist of, it will take one per son 1 day to put it together (or 1 hour in tr uly heroic set tings). For ever y additional per son involved with relevant skill s (up to 4 people), reduce time by 25%.  Continued...

188 T ECHN O LO G Y

Technology

T

echnology is one of the pillar s of science fiction. This chapter contains lists of equipment and weapons for the char acters, sample vehicles, r ules for constr ucting and modif ying gear, and some guidelines for interstellar tr ade.

Lab Research Finding clues by scientific research is quite common in science fiction. W ith a L ab Module in their star ship or vehicle, char acters even get a chance to uncover clues in the field. First, decide what skill or skill s the L ab will be built for. A character using the lab must have the same skill, and gets a skill bonus bet ween 5-30%, with each 5% step costing 50 0 0 Credits. A single Module can give max +10%, so to get full bonus, three Modules are needed. Conducting research: The GM decides what basic clue should always be uncovered – the bit of information needed to move the stor y for ward. Determine a time fr ame (5 days for example) and the number of roll s needed (one per day perhaps). For each successive roll, add a piece of information that gives the players an advantage when later solving the larger problem in the stor y (perhaps a shor tcut, a way to avoid violence, revealing sensitive local customs and beliefs or avoiding a tr ap). All dice should be rolled by the GM.

Trade & Cargo Here are some pointers on interstellar tr ade, for char acter s that wants to make good use of their cargo holds. Cargo available: In major starpor ts there will always be cargo. For smaller por ts, there is a 20-50% chance, depending on population size and tech level. Tons available: Roll 2d6 for the number of tons available on a regular planet. Lower to 1d6 for sparsely populated worlds, and r aise to 3d6 or more for densely populated or high-producing worlds. Destination: Choosing the destination is an impor tant par t of the job. Use the Commerce skill to determine a good match, adding 1 / 5 of Culture for any of the regions involved. Missing this roll results in a Hard penalt y on both buy and sell roll s (see below). Buying & selling: Use Commerce first when buying, and again when selling. Consult the table below to see how large the profit will be. Buy skill

Modifier when

Sell skill

Profit, % of

roll is a:

selling

roll is a:

buy value

Success

Eas y

Success

+5 0%

Fail

Hard

Fail

-2 0%

Success

Eas y

Fail

0%

Fail

Hard

Success

+10%

Roll the relevant constr uction skill once a day. For ever y failed roll, later oper ation skill roll s will be at -10% (in addition to the default -20%). In oper ation: Skill roll once ever y minute (or somewhere bet ween 1-10 minutes, depending on the time scale of the situation) the object is in use. For ever y failed roll, object functionalit y will be halved. The exact ef fect is for the GM to decide; it can be r ange, damage dealt, ef ficienc y, etceter a. Cr itical s, on the other hand, will ex tend oper ation time or ef ficienc y.  Per manent objects:

Same as above, but for ever y additional week spent refining the constr uction, design and oper ation (with a successful constr uction skill roll) add +5% to the oper ation skill roll. W hen the total penalt y reaches zero, the object can be used as nor mal gear, without ex tr a skill roll s or penalties.  Costs will be roughly the same as if a reasonably similar object were bought on a near by wor ld. 

Common goods are agricultur al products, industrial technology, luxur y goods (fine bever ages, r are miner al s, antiques, exclusive tex tiles, works of ar t, etceter a), consumer electronics and so on. Calculate with a cost per ton star ting at 150 Cr for staple goods, 30 0 0 Cr in the mid r ange, while luxur y items will go much higher. T ECHN O LO G Y

189

Personal Equipment Below is a list of weapons, armor and per sonal equipment t ypical for heroic sci-fi settings. All values in Planetside scale.

1. Can be set to stun. Roll damage as normal, but damage is done to the Conflict Pool (CON+SIZ) divided by two; see the chapter on extended conflicts. When the Conflict Pool reaches zero, the character falls unconscious and takes 1d4 hit point damage (in random location). 2. Renders droids and electronics inoperable for 1d3 x10 minutes.

Contemporar y guns and other r anged weapons are covered in the freestanding version of My thras Imperative and in RQ Firearms. Both are free downloads from The Design Mechanism.

190 T ECHN O LO G Y

Ranged Weapons

Damage

Range

Firing Rate

Load

Cost

Blaster

1d8

1

10/ 30/120

1

3

4 0 0 Cr

Blaster Carbine

2d6

1

15/ 50/220

1

3

70 0 Cr

Blaster Rifle

2d6

1

30/10 0/ 30 0

1

3

10 0 0 Cr

7/25/ 50

1

3

50 0 Cr

30

1

7/25/ 50

1

3

250 Cr

5/10/20

1

3

60 0 Cr

1

Heav y Blaster

1d10

Light Blaster

1d6

1

Mini Blaster

1d6

1

Ionization Rifle

1d10 vs tech

2

30 0 Cr

Force Sword

2d8

Reach: L

1

–

–

Par ticle Grenade

3d8

Thrown

1

–

80 0 Cr

Thermal Detonator

5d10

Thrown

1

–

10 0 0 Cr.

Melee Weapons

Damage

Size

AP/HP

A xe

1d6 +1

M

4 /8

Club

1d6

M

4 /4

1d4+1

S

6/8

Force Sword

2d8

L

6/8

Unarmed

1d3

S

–

Dagger

Note

Cost

Can sunder armor

50 Cr –

Can be thrown

25 Cr –

Unarmed human

–

Type

AP

Skill Modifiers

Hit Locations

Cost

Blast Helmet

4

-5% Perception Skill s

Head

250 Cr.

Blast Vest

4

-5% to Physical Skill s

Chest /Abdom.

30 0 Cr/par t

Blast Shield

6

(Shield Skill)

30 0 Cr.

Light BioMesh

4

A ny

150 Cr/par t

BioMesh

6

A ny

30 0 Cr/par t

Light Body Armor

10

-10% to Physical Skill s*

A ny

4 0 0 Cr/par t

Militar y Body Armor

12

-25% to Physical Skill s*

A ny

80 0 Cr/par t

* Lower if not a full suit. -5% for one or two pieces (for example both arms or chest /abdomen).

Equipment Datalink – For tr ansmitting high-bandwidth data across computer-systems. 10 0 Cr. Comlink – A basic communicator: can easily be keyed together in pairs or groups, al so var y from commercial model s to high-end militar y issue. Either hand-held, wrist-mounted, or headset. 5020 0 Cr. Droid Caller – Small device capable of summoning any droid with a restr aining bolt, or aler ting any nearby ser vice droid. 10 0 Cr. Droid Controller – A more complex ver sion of a droid caller, similar to a keypad link. 150 Cr. Keypad Link – A small hand-held computer slaved to another computer or vehicle system, used for remote access and control. 20 0 Cr. Datapad – Either specialized or gener al-use por table computer, usually equipped with some sensors and a datalink. 250 Cr. Memor y Cell – A data stor age medium, commonly used. 10 Cr.

Str angeness & Technology

Char acter s tend to find alien technology that is hard to under stand. It can be labeled in an unknown language, be fit ted with control s made for a completely dif ferent set of limbs and manipulator s, and so on. Usage of str ange technology may require a skill roll (Mechanics, Electronics, Sensor s, Computer s, Pilot, Dr ive and so on). To reflect the alien nature of an object, use the Str angeness value associated with the alien or iginally constr ucting the object. A ssign the Str angeness value to the object, and use it as a negative modifier whenever the char acter s tr y to use it. Skill points relating to the alien species in Culture, L anguage, K nowledge or A strobiology will counter act a negative modifier.

T ECHN O LO G Y

191

Hologr aphic Display Projector – Read-only projector for hologr aphic imaging or data, sometimes called a holoprojector. 10 0 Cr.

to detect r adiation, energy, miner al s, chemical compounds  and  life forms. Range: Up to 50 0 meter s. Skill: Sensor s. 4 0 0 Cr.

MemCube – Data stor age medium, encr ypted and self-destr ucting. 50 Cr.

Probe: A self-sustaining sensor arr ay in a small anti-gr av probe built to work both in vacuum and dif ferent atmospheres. Detects r adiation, energy, miner al s, chemical compounds  and  life forms. W ill last up to a month. Scanner r ange: 1 km. Flight r ange under atmospheric conditions: 50 0 km. Flight r ange in space: W ithin a star system. Skill: Sensor s. 10 0 0 0 Cr.

Code Reader – Data reader for code c ylinders, will scr amble c ylinder if not keyed properly. 10 0 Cr. Sensor Jammer – Anti-sensor equipment. Of ten illegal. 250 Cr. Communications Jammer – Self explanator y, of ten illegal. Range: 20 0 meters. 20 0 Cr. Securit y Field Jammer – Anti-securit y countermeasure device, aiding intr usion into secure areas. Highly illegal and controlled. 350 Cr. Damper Shield Gener ator – Device capable of dampening all electronic tr ansmissions in an area. Range: 50 meters. 20 0 Cr. Macrobinoculars – Self explanator y, al so similar to Electrobinoculars. 10 0 Cr. Tr acer Beacon – Tr acing units capable of relaying coordinates planet-wide or across star systems. Usually keyed into ship sensors or a computer with ex tended sensor capabilities. 250 Cr. Sensor Pack – A backpack-sized sensor arr ay, capable of long-r ange detection and t wo-way planetar y-wide relay. 4 0 0 Cr. Multiscanner: Specialized handheld scanner

192 T ECHN O LO G Y

Light-intensifier Goggles: Intensifies available light. Penalties for darkness halved. 20 0 Cr. Infr ared Goggles: Allows vision in total darkness. 20 0 Cr. Cable Dispenser and Hook – Device with liquid cable reser voir or filament cable, possible spike launcher, and attachable gr appling hooks. Can al so be combined into a rocket cable launcher, mounted onto a blaster fr ame, gauntlet, or br acer. Range: 20 meter s. 10 0 Cr. Lock Picking Set: A small electronic kit for picking all sor ts of locks, both mechanical and advanced electronic locks. 4 0 0 Cr. L aser Torch: Small close-focus hand laser for cutting and welding. W ill cut through regular door s and bulkheads but not armored ships. Can be used as a weapon (damage 1d6,

r ange 1 meter). 10 0 Cr.

cocoon holding one per son. 50 0 Cr.

Food Capsules – Could al so contain concentr ated liquids or dr ugs. 10 Cr/10 meal s. Nose Filter: Filtering out unwanted contaminants when breathing. 10 0 Cr.

Por table Emergenc y Shelters – Come in a variet y of sizes and configur ations, from basic to deluxe, gener al to specific environment. 30 0-20 0 0 Cr.

Ox ygen Reprocessor – Al so comes in general or specialized varieties. Can al so be combined with an ox ygen supply. 4 0 0 Cr.

Medpak – A medical kit with either specialized or gener al application use. Makes First Aid an Easy skill roll. 75 Cr.

Aquabreather – For under water environments. 30 0 Cr.

Power Cell s – Useful for most powered equipment, weapons, etc. W ide r ange of sizes and energy output features. 50 Cr.

E xposure Suit – Protective outfit, comes in gener al or specialized varieties. 50 0 Cr. High Gr av Suit – Suppor t outfit, with automusculature suppor t enhancements. 80 0 Cr. VaccBelt – Belt with built-in air-bag resembling a tr ansparent balloon, automatically inflated when there is a steep pressure change. Works for 10 minutes. 20 0 0 Cr. Life Suppor t Suit – Can sur vive light vacuum for shor t periods, some include food, fluid, and waste systems. Monitors and regulates life signs on chest or wrist panel. 10 0 0 Cr. Space Suit – Comes in three basic varieties: Emergenc y (shor t-term sur vival in hard vacuum), Utilit y (basic, with maneuvering jets and high r adiation shielding), and Militar yGr ade (long-term hard vacuum sur vivabilit y, self-sealing, high r ad shields, jets, full food, fluid, and waste systems). 20 0 0-10 0 0 0 Cr.

Fusion Gener ator – One of a variet y of lightto-heav y por table gener ator s. 30 0-150 0 Cr. Fusion Tool s – Could be a gener al kit, or specialized for specific t ypes of work such as android repair, starship mechanics, or computer systems. 10 0 Cr. Anti-gr av Platform: Human-sized platform used for lighter tr anspor t duties. Can carr y up to 20 0 kg. 4 0 0 Cr. Jet Pack: Two small thr uster s worn as a backpack. Move 6. Skill: Drive (Jet Pack). Range 2 km. 20 0 0 Cr. Hover Board: Small disc-shaped anti-gr av platform for personal tr anspor tation. Skill: Drive (Hover Board). Move: 14 (lower in close quar ter s and combat). Range 2 km. 20 0 0 Cr.

Cocoon – Ver y light and por table all-weather

T ECHN O LO G Y

193

Vehicles The following vehicles are some of the more common t ypes used in sci-fi works. Speeder Bike Fast and lightly ar mored hover bike. Cost: 10 0 0 0 Cr. SPEED

15

Hit Points

40

H A NDLING

18

Weight

0.8 ton

SIZE

30

Dimensions

L: 4 m W: 1 m

Weapons

Heav y Blaster Rifle, 3d6

A r mor

A P 5 /–

Cargo

5 0 kg

L and Speeder, Standard Four-per son standard model hover car. Cost: 50 0 0 Cr. SPEED

12

H A NDLING SIZE

8 50

Weapons

None

A r mor

A P 10/–

Cargo

10 0 kg

Hit Points

60

Weight

1.2 ton

Dimensions

L: 5 m W: 2 m

L and Speeder, Fast Two-per son fast hover car. Cost: 10 0 0 0 Cr.

194 T ECHN O LO G Y

SPEED

15

Hit Points

50

H A NDLING

14

Weight

1 ton

SIZE

40

Dimensions

L: 3 m W: 2 m

Weapons

None

A r mor

A P 8 /–

Cargo

5 0 kg

All Terrain Vehicle ( AT V ), Small

Infor mation Access Level s

Four-per son light ter r ain vehicle. Cost: 50 0 0 0 Cr.

In campaigns with ex tensive networks and power ful computer s, infor mation is likely to be easily accessible.

SPEED

10

H A NDLING SIZE

8 70

Weapons

None

A r mor

A P 12 /2

Cargo

4 0 0 kg

Hit Points

70

Weight

2 ton

Dimensions

L: 6 m W: 2 m

All Terrain Vehicle ( AT V ), Medium Six-per son ar mored ter r ain vehicle with roof-mounted heav y blaster. L arge cargo area for expedition gear. Cost: 10 0 0 0 0 Cr. SPEED

8

Hit Points

10 0

H A NDLING

6

Weight

4.5 ton

Dimensions

L: 10 m W: 2 m

SIZE

10 0

Weapons

Heav y Blaster Rifle, 4 d8 + 4

A r mor

A P 16

Cargo

6 0 0 kg

Quad, Small Two-per son highly maneuver able per sonal flyer. Cost: 10 0 0 0 Cr. SPEED

13

Hit Points

30

H A NDLING

17

Weight

0.5 ton

SIZE

30

Dimensions

L: 3 m W: 3 m

Weapons

None

A r mor

None

Cargo

5 0 kg

Level A: Infor mation accessible to all citizens. No skill roll required. Histor ic data is of ten accessible at this level but time-consuming to sif t through, either due to legac y systems (isolated and with arcane input /output methods) or because they exist only in pr int or handwr itten for m. Skill s: Computer s, Research, Bureaucr ac y. Level B: Data considered as “owned” by someone who invested money to collect, organize and inter pret it. Not classified. E xamples: Complete technical dr awings of building complexes, detailed descr iptions of technical systems, research data. Skill s: Bureaucr ac y, Computer s, Research. Level C: Classified & encr ypted data. E xamples: Economic tr ansactions, medical data, descr iptions of secur it y systems, militar y research, descr iptions of high-r isk complexes. Skill: Computer s at Hard or For midable . Level D: Highly classified information. Kept in an isolated networ k without access from ex ter nal sources, or data might only exist in physical form (in pr int, embedded in objects or in a life for m), wellguarded and/or hidden. For infor mation in alien systems, use  Str angeness as a negative modifier.

T ECHN O LO G Y

195

Starships This is a small collection of star ship stats to use in scenarios and campaigns, either for char acters or NPCs. All ship modules have been listed to make it easy to t weak the values to your own taste, or to use them as reference when designing your own ships.

Star fighter: Allround A fast fighter with consider able firepower.

SPEED

19

H A NDLING

17

Cockpit

1

SIZE

8

Crew

1 (Mech Droid)

Weapons

2 (L aser, damage upgr ade to 2d6 each)

Engine

2 (Thr ust Rating 8 0)

Maneuver

2 (Thr ust Rating 70)

Cargo

None (only per sonal /sur vival gear)

Hit Points

8

Shields

10

A r mor

2

Weapons

L aser x 2 (2d6)

Hyper space

1 (tiny - no module added to SIZ)

Missiles (3d6)

Shields

10

A pps

Targeting +15%

A r mor

2

Hit Locations

Cockpit 01-13

A pps

Targeting +15%

Crew 14-25 Weapons 26-51 Engine 52-77 Maneuver 78-0 0

196 T ECHN O LO G Y

Star fighter: Fast & Fr agile Mass produced favour ite, well known (and feared) for its speed and maneuver abilit y. Cockpit

1

Weapons

3 (L aser x 2, 2d6 each, Missiles)

Engine

1 (Thr ust Rating 115)

Maneuver

1 (Thr ust Rating 110)

Cargo

None (only per sonal /sur vival gear)

Hyper space

–

Shields

–

A r mor

–

A pps

–

SPEED

20

H A NDLING

18

SIZE

6

Hit Points

6

Shields

–

A r mor

–

Weapons

L aser x 2 (2d6) Missiles (3d6)

A pps

–

Hit Locations

Cockpit 01-20 Weapons 21-60 Engine 61-8 0 Maneuver 81-0 0

Star fighter: Slow & Sturdy A ship from a previous gener ation, but still in use for its heav y ar ma-

SPEED

15

ment and sturdy build.

H A NDLING

11

SIZE

14

Cockpit

2 (pilot + gunner)

Crew

1 (Mech Droid)

Weapons

5 (L aser x 2, Ion, Missiles x 2)

Engine

3 (Thr ust Rating 70)

Maneuver

3 (Thr ust Rating 5 0)

Cargo

None (only per sonal /sur vival gear)

Hyper space

1 (tiny - no module added to SIZ)

Shields

10

A r mor

3

A pps

Targeting +10%

E x tr a HP

2

Hit Points

16

Shields

10

A r mor

3

Weapons

L aser x 2 (1d6) Ion Cannon (2d6 +1) Missiles x 2 (3d6)

A pps

Targeting +10%

Hit Locations

Cockpit 01-13 Crew 14-20 Weapons 21-5 6 Engine 57-77 Maneuver 78-0 0

T ECHN O LO G Y

197

Free Trader SPEED

10

H A NDLING

8

SIZE

79

Ver satile light freighter still in use by shady char acter s despite its age. Ver y easy to repur pose for all sor ts of missions. Cockpit

2

Passenger s (8)

8

Hit Points

79

Open Space

8

Shields

10

Weapons

4 (2 laser tur rets, damage upgr ade to 2d6 each,

A r mor

4

Weapons

L aser x 2 (2d6)

Engine

8 (Thr ust Rating 10 0)

Machine gun (–)

Maneuver

6 (Thr ust Rating 10 0)

A pps

–

Cargo

4 0 (4 0 tonnes). 4 hidden ( For midable to find)

Hit Locations

Cockpit 01-0 3

Hyper space

3 (tiny – no modules added)

Machine gun)

Open space 0 4-2 3 Shields

10

Weapons 24-2 8

A r mor

4

Engine 2 9-3 8

A pps

–

Maneuver 39-4 6 Cargo 47-0 0

SPEED

22

H A NDLING

20

SIZE

6

Note: The machine gun is useful only against Planetar y scale targets, not star ships. Damage:2d6 + 4 / bullet in bur sts of up to 20 0 bullets. For each bullet, r aise chance to hit by 5% (but never more than double).

Star fighter: Ver y Fast Wedge shaped interceptor appreciated for its high speed. Cockpit

1

Hit Points

6

Weapons

3 (2 L aser, 2d6 each, 1 missile, 3d6)

Shields

6

Engine

1 (Thr ust Rating 130)

A r mor

–

Maneuver

1 (Thr ust Rating 110)

Weapons

L aser x 2 (2d6)

Cargo

None (only per sonal /sur vival gear)

Missiles (3d6)

Hyper space

1 (tiny; no module added)

A pps

Targeting +10%

Shields

6

Hit Locations

Cockpit 01-17

A r mor

–

Weapons 18-6 8

A pps

Targeting +10%

Engine 69-8 5 Maneuver 8 6-0 0

198 T ECHN O LO G Y

Star fighter: Fast & Fr agile II A n upgr aded ver sion of the Fast & Fr agile. Slightly faster and with more firepower. Still not outr unning the Ver y Fast Star fighter though.

SPEED

21

H A NDLING

19

SIZE

6

Cockpit

1

Weapons

3 (L aser x 2, 3d6 each, Missiles)

Engine

1 (Thr ust Rating 125)

Hit Points

6

Maneuver

1 (Thr ust Rating 115)

Shields

–

Cargo

None (only per sonal /sur vival gear)

A r mor

2

Hyper space

–

Weapons

L aser x 2 (3d6)

Shields

–

A r mor

2

A pps

–

–

Hit Locations

Cockpit 01-20

A pps

Missiles (3d6)

Weapons 21-60 Engine 61-8 0

Small Bomber

Maneuver 81-0 0

A dual-body bomber, similar to the Fast & Fr agile, car r ying a good load of missiles. Cockpit

1

Weapons

4 (L aser x 2, Missiles (Proton), Missiles (Concussion))

Engine

2 (Thr ust Rating 55)

Maneuver

2 (Thr ust Rating 55)

Cargo

None (only per sonal /sur vival gear)

Hyper space

–

Shields

–

A r mor

2

A pps

–

Small Bomber s may be upgr aded to include: Hyperdr ive (1 module); the proton tor pedo launcher s can car r y six tor pedoes each; the missile launcher s can car r y ten missiles each. Fur ther var iants of the Bomber: Heav y Bomber (w. 2 ordnance pods); the L ander (with an ex tr a per sonnel pod for troops); B Shut tle (with the ordnance pod conver ted for passenger s); Boarding Cr af t (with the ordnance pod conver ted to car r y clamps, a hull cut ter and a boarding par t y).

SPEED

12

H A NDLING

12

SIZE

9

Hit Points

9

Shields

–

A r mor

2

Weapons

L aser x 2 (1d6) Missiles P (3d6) Missiles C (3d6)

A pps

–

Hit Locations

Cockpit 01-11 Weapons 12-55 Engine 57-78 Maneuver 79-0 0

T ECHN O LO G Y

199

Shuttle SPEED

11

H A NDLING

7

SIZE

44

This is a gener ic fr amewor k for a Shut tle. Use the var ious inter ior s below for dif ferent purposes. Cockpit

6

Open Space

24

Hit Points

44

Weapons

5 (2 L aser, 1 Ion Cannon, 2 Missiles)

Shields

5

Engine

5 (Thr ust Rating 10 0)

A r mor

2

Maneuver

3 (Thr ust Rating 10 0)

Weapons

L aser x 2 (1d6)

Hyper space

1 (tiny – no modules added)

Ion Gun (2d6 +1)

Shields

5

Missiles (3d6)

A r mor

2

A pps

–

A pps

–

Hit Locations

Cockpit 01-14 Open space 15-69 Optional inter ior s: A . Staterooms 6 (x4 = 24). B. Passenger s 2 0 + Cargo 4 (= 24). C. Cargo 24. Weapons 70-81 Engine 82-9 3 Maneuver 94-0 0

Star fighter: Fast & Fragile III SPEED

20

H A NDLING

18

SIZE

6

Protot ype for a more technically advanced Star fighter, the project later abandoned due to high costs. Cockpit

1

Weapons

2 (Blaster, 2d8 each)

Hit Points

6

Engine

1 (Thr ust Rating 12 0)

Shields

2

Maneuver

1 (Thr ust Rating 110)

A r mor

2

Cargo

None (only per sonal /sur vival gear)

Weapons

Blaster x 2 (2d8 +1) Hyper space

–

A pps

Targeting +15%

Shields

2

Hit Locations

Cockpit 01-2 0

A r mor

2

Weapons 21-6 0

A pps

–

Engine 61-8 0 Maneuver 81-0 0

200 T ECHN O LO G Y

Capital Ships The ships described on the following pages are constr ucted with the aid of the capital ship r ules on page 91 Modules are used as normal, but the concept of Size Rating (SR) is used to keep the calculations easier. This al so means that the exact number of modules aren’t as impor tant as for smaller ships. Most capital ships are armed with high-power turbolasers. Individual turbolasers are ver y power ful (the beam carries roughly three or more times the energy of a standard laser cannon beam). Each turbolaser occupies 5 modules, as follows: One turbolaser (base damage 1D6): 1 module Damage upgr ade to 3d6 (+2 steps): 2 modules Range increase +50% to 30 (+2 steps): 2 modules Dual or Heav y turbolaser turrets have fur ther upgr ades: Range increased to +10 0% (up to 4 0, costing 4 modules) and damage to 4d6 (3 steps, costing 3 modules) for a total of 8 modules each. Keep the following modifiers in mind too: When the dif ference in Size Rating is 4 or 5, the larger attacker is at Hard in Gunner y. For the smaller attacker Gunner y roll s are Easy . A Size Rating dif ference of 6 or more, Gunner y will be at Formidable / Ver y Easy . When the dif ference in Speed is 5 or higher, the faster ship gets Easy Pilot roll s. This modifier evens out the odds for small and fast ships, especially against a heavily armed opponent.

T ECHN O LO G Y

201

Cor vette SPEED

12

H A NDLING

5

SIZE

20 4 8 (SR12)

A s a vessel of state, the ship features dining rooms for hosting state dinner s as well as conference rooms suitable for negotiations with inter stellar dignitaries. Cockpit

10

Hit Points

20 4 8

Passenger s

57 (6 staterooms, 3 3 regular)

Shields

10

Crew

4 6 (hot bunking)

A r mor

7

Sickbay

4 0 (10 patients)

Weapons

L aser x 2 (4 d6)

Open Space

340

L aser x4 (3d6)

Weapons

2 8 (2 dual tur bolaser s à 8 modules, 4 single turbolaser s à 5 modules)

(Gunner y 65%) A pps

–

Engine

25 0 (Thr ust Rating 10 0)

Hit Locations

Cockpit 01

Maneuver

10 0 (Thr ust Rating 10 0)

Crew 02-12

Cargo

12 0 0

Passenger s 13-25 E scape Pod

8

Engine 26-37

Hyper space

3 (tiny – no modules added)

Maneuver 3 8-42

Shields

10

Cargo 4 3-0 0

A r mor

7

A pps

–

In w ar time, cargo holds can be configured as bar r acks accommodation for troops. Allow one module per trooper (hot bunking; per sonal stor age, in-flight r ations and other w ar mater iel), giving a capacit y of 15 0 0 trooper s.

202 T ECHN O LO G Y

Destroyer These behemoths not only have ter rible fire power, but the size is so outr ageous it will scare any at tacker. Crew

370 0 0 (hot bunking)

Troops

970 0 (hot bunking)

Open Space

10 0 0 0

Sickbay

4 0 0 (10 0 patients)

Hangar Bay

14 5 0

Cargo Hold

14 5 0

Tr ac tor Beam

10

E scape Pods

10 0

Weapons

55 0

Engine

495 0 (Thr ust Rating 120)

Maneuver

25 0 0 (Thr ust Rating 120)

Hyper space

5 (tiny – no modules added)

Shields

20

A r mor

10

A pps

Targeting +15%, Sensor s +15%

SPEED

10

H A NDLING

5

SIZE

65K (SR17)

Hit Points

65 0 0 0

Shields

20

A r mor

10

Weapons

60 Tur bolaser s (4 d6) 60 Ion Cannons (2d6 +1) (Gunner y 65%)

A pps

Targeting +15% Sensor s +15%

Hit Locations

–

Hangar Bay: Can car r y 72 Star fighter s (720 modules); 8 shut tles (8 0 modules); 20 Walker s (2 0 0 modules); 30 Small Walker s (30 0 modules); 15 Troop Tr anspor ts (15 0 modules). Weapons: 60 Tur bolaser bat ter ies (8 modules each = 4 8 0 modules); 6 0 Ion Cannons (6 0 modules); 10 Tr ac tor beam projector s (10 modules). For regular sized ships (below SR13) roll 1d6 to deter mine how many weapons can target the ship in a combat round (though creative flying will lower that. For larger ships, double to 2d6 per ship.

T ECHN O LO G Y

203

Frigate SPEED

8

H A NDLING

6

SIZE

32K (SR16)

This fr igate is essentially a smaller Destroyer, of ten used for patrol missions. Crew

190 0 0

Troops

4 0 0 0 (6 staterooms, 3 3 regular)

Hit Points

32 0 0 0

Sickbay

4 0 0 (10 0 patients)

Shields

15

Open Space

4000

A r mor

7

Hangar Bay

800

Weapons

L aser x4 (3d6)

Tr ac tor Beam

10

A pps Hit Locations

Ion Cannon x4 (3d6) Weapons L aser x4 (4 d6) Engine

280

(Gunner y 65%)

Maneuver

15 0 0 (Thr ust Rating 12 0)

Targeting +15%

Cargo Hold

12 0 0

Sensor s +15%

E scape Pod

10

–

Hyper space

4 (tiny – no modules added)

Shields

15

A r mor

7

A pps

Targeting +15%, Sensor s +15%

20 0 0 (Thr ust Rating 12 0)

Hangar Bay: 72 Star fighters, 2 Shuttles = 74 ships needing 10 modules each = 740 modules. Add 60 modules for AT Vs, speeder bikes, etcetera = 800 modules. Weapons: 4 turbolaser batteries (40 x 5 = 200), 4 ion cannon batteries (40), 4 point-defense laser batteries (40).

204 T ECHN O LO G Y

T ECHN O LO G Y

205

Life forms This chapter contains a few example life forms to be used in encounters or scenarios. They were developed to be generic enough to be useful in many situations, but still with some tieins to their environments.

Reptore

S TR

2d6 +12

(19)

CON

3d6

(10-11)

SIZ

3d6 + 6

(16-17)

INT

4

(4)

P OW

2d6 + 6

(13)

Str angeness

30

DE X

2d6 +12

(19)

Cl assification

Car nivore ( A mbusher)

CH A

1d6

(3-4)

Habitat

Forest (Tropical to Temper ate)

Advantages

A r mor (Skin, A P 4), Stealth (Hide, Silent)

Disadvantages

Hiber nation (Day time deep sleeper), Cubs (For 3

Move

8m

HP

18

Weapons

Bite 60% (2d6) S Claws 75% (1d6) M

Forest dwelling predator using heat sensitive glands to spot prey. See illustr ation on page 14 6.

months / year) Behavior

Aggressive

Social

Semi-single (3 individual s shar ing ter r itor y)

Communication

Heat (Max r ange 5 0 m, nor mal r ange 5 m)

A r mor

A P 4 (Skin)

PP

12

Dmg Mod

+2d6

Biosphere

Ear th-like atmosphere

Skill s

Endur ance 65%,

Body Pl an

Bilater al, Endoskeleton. Limbs: 4

Evade 70%, Percep-

Univer sal s

Shar p, E x tr a sense (Heat), Reduced sense (Sight),

tion (Heat) 65%,

Three sexes (Bir th-giver, Protector, Teacher)

Stealth 75%, Tr ack 5 0%, W illpower 5 0%

The Reptore is a fear some predator. A master of stealth, it str ikes without much w ar ning from its hiding place in the undergrow th, using its size to ground the victim. W ith claws and teeth it quickly inflicts lethal damage. At home in forests undistur bed by civilization it is a ter r itor ial creature. Three individual s share the same area but r arely encounter each other. Like all life for ms on the planet it has three sexes: One individu-

206 L IF E F O R M S

al giving bir th (1-3 cubs), a protec tor taking care of the cubs dur ing the fir st six months and thereaf ter a teacher is educating them in the ar t of hunting. Af ter 18 months cubs leave to seek out their own ter r itor y. Eye sight is not ver y well developed in life for ms on the planet, relying instead on heat sensitive glands on the head, wor king best dur ing the night. This means most life for ms, including the Reptore, sleeps during the day. To compensate for its high-energy hunting habits, it goes into a hiber nation-like state dur ing the day (tr usting its hiding skill s for secur it y).

Suppor ting Species

Reptore main prey: Sever al hole dwelling species (SIZ 3-15) gr azing the undergrow th, looking like puf f y lizards.

Deep-Sea Gobbler

S TR

6d6 +24

(4 5)

CON

4 d6 +18

(32)

L arge aquatic builder on the verge of pr imitive civilization.

SIZ

6d6 +24

(4 5)

Illustr ation on page 18 6.

DE X

2d6 +3

(10)

INT

8

(8)

P OW

4 d6

(14)

CH A

1d6

(3-4)

Str angeness

50

Classification

Omnivore

Habitat

Oceans (Tropical to A rctic)

Advantages

Size, A r mor (Skin, A P 4), Builder, L anguage (Sim-

Move

6 m (Water)

ple)

HP

39

Disease-r idden (1 in 10 are bor n with defect fins;

Weapons

Bite 75% (5d6) H

Disadvantages

see detail s below)

Ramming 75% (2d6)

Behavior

Easily angered (protecting ter r itor y & eggs)

H

Social

Small group (12-2 0), Ter r itor ial

A r mor

A P 4 (Skin)

Communication

Sound (Max r ange 10 km, nor mal r ange 2 0 0 m)

PP

14

Biosphere

Water oceans

Dmg Mod

+2d6

Body Plan

Bilater al, Endoskeleton. Limbs: 0

Skill s

Build nest 5 0%, En-

Univer sal s

A sexual, Aquatic (Motile 2)

Despite its fish-like appear ance, in evolutionar y ter ms the Deep-Sea Gobbler is ver y far from a fish. It is an egg laying species, brooding its 2-3 large eggs in str uc tures built by a mix ture of sand and saliva. The str ucture (of ten found on the br ink of continental shelves) resembles a half-r uined sand castle and usually houses 12-20 individual s, constr ucted with their nimble mouths / beaks as manipulator s.

dur ance 5 0%, Evade 30%, Hunt (Under w ater) 75%, Perception 75%

L IF E F O R M S

207

Suppor ting Species

The oceans are mainly dominated by elongated shell-clad swimmer s, using their r udimentar y ar ms /fins in an almost propeller like fashion. A handful species similar to the Gobbler exist, but are quite r are. They do not have the Gobbler’s high INT.

A s they are asexual, they take tur ns laying eggs. Deep inside their buildings, where w ater temper ature is more easily controlled, the eggs are kept in relative safet y. W ith the size of a killer whale and a quite ter r itor ial mind-set, the DeepSea Gobbler may appear aggressive at times. Water vehicles, floating or submerged, have a good chance of being at tacked if they enter Gobbler ter r itor y. W ith its strong jaws it can bite through unar mored hull s or r am a vessel. If injured below half its hit points, it will withdr aw to the safet y of the “castle” (and the rest of the clan). Because of a vir us, 1 in 10 Gobbler s are bor n with defect fins, making them ver y poor s wimmer s. If studied carefully, these individual s can be seen to frequently stay in the built str ucture, improving on it to become something almost architectur al. W ithin a few gener ations these individual s will for m the basis of a shif t tow ards pr imitive civilization relying on under w ater buildings, cat tle and far ming.

Woog

S TR

2d6 + 8

(14)

CON

3d6

(10-11)

SIZ

3d6 + 6

(16-17)

Subter r anean dweller using its keen senses to stay out of sight.

INT

1d6 + 6

(9-10)

Illustr ation on page 187.

P OW

2d6 + 6

(13)

DE X

3d6

(10-11)

A PP

1d6

(3-4)

Move

6m

HP

14

Weapons

Bite 60% (1d6) M Claws 75% (1d6) L

Str angeness

50

Cl assification

Omnivore (Scrounger)

Habitat

Underground

Advantages

Enhanced perception (Hear ing, Scent), Stealth, Intelligence

Disadvantages

Rare habitat, Food scarcit y

Behavior

Hiding

Social

Single

A r mor

A P 2 (Skin)

PP

13

Communication

Sound

Dmg Mod

+1d6

Biosphere

Ear th-like atmosphere

Skill s

Endur ance 30%,

Body Pl an

Bilater al, Endoskeleton. Limbs: 4

Univer sal s

Fine Manipulation, A sexual

Evade 75%, Perception 95%, Stealth 95%, Tr ack 65%

208 L IF E F O R M S

On planets where the Woog are found, they sometime take on a my thical aspec t. They are r arely encountered, or even seen, and they have a

remar kable w ay of just disappear ing. Mostly this is thanks to their keen hear ing and scent. But al so a good knowledge of their underground habitats. W hy the Woog, despite their low tech level, are spread to what seems like a r andom collec tion of planets, is hotly debated among scientists. Most seem to believe that the Woog over millennia have sneaked onboard star ships, later to disembar k unnoticed at the nex t stop. A Woog is seldom violent. Most of the time only the tr aces of their visits will be found (stolen food or tool s). If encountered they will tr y to flee, disappear ing almost magically. If cor nered they will put up a shor t fight, only enough to clear a w ay out.

Lava Swamp Morac

S TR

6d6 +24

(4 5)

CON

3d6 +16

(26-27)

Heat-loving beast sometimes used for r iding.

SIZ

6d6 +32

(5 3)

See illustr ation on page 8 4.

INT

6

(6)

30

P OW

2d6 + 6

(13)

Classification

Her bivore (Gr azer)

DE X

3d6

(10-11)

Habitat

Wetlands

A PP

2d6

(6-7)

Advantages

Size, A r mor (Skin, A P 6), Heat Resistant

Move

8m

Disadvantages

Rare habitat (L av a Sw amp)

HP

40

Behavior

Patient / Watchful

Weapons

Tr unk 75% (2d6) H

Social

Small group (12-2 0), Wander ing

Tusk 5 0% (5d6) L

Communication

Low frequenc y sound (Max r ange 10 km, nor mal

Tr ample 5 0% (10d6

r ange 2 0 m)

vs downed foe) L

Str angeness

Biosphere

Ear th-like atmosphere

Body Plan

Bilater al, Endoskeleton

Univer sal s

Shar p, Perception (Low frequenc y sound)

The L ava Sw amp Mor ac is the largest animal able to sur vive the boiling w ater s of the lav a-heated wetlands on Somol. Wander ing up to 30 0 km in a year - almost crossing an entire continent – it moves slowly but steadily in groups of 10-2 0 individual s.  Ever y autumn they retur n to the boiling wetlands to lay their sof t eggs in makeshif t nests, kept w ar m and protected by the hot sur roundings. 

A r mor

A P 6 (Skin)

PP

13

Dmg Mod

+5d6

Skill s

Endur ance 5 0%, Evade 5 0%, LongRange Communication 75%, Perception (Listen) 75%, W illpower 75%

L IF E F O R M S

209

One of the indigenous intelligent species on Somol have al so lear ned to use the Mor ac for tr anspor tation and har vesting duties. B y hitching a r ide the gatherer s are taken deep into the lava s w amps on the safet y of the Mor ac’s backs, for the r ider s to har vest the Imquilla flower s. Highly ef ficient slings are utilized by the r ider s to keep predator s at a distance dur ing the long jour ney.  Suppor ting species  Gr azer: Tree-hanging, long rodents in massive herds gr azing the trees.  Predator: The main predator is what looks like a cat-bear hybr id. Comes in sever al subspecies, and t wo of them are capable of downing a weak Mor ac. They cannot enter the lava s w amps though. 

S TR

1d6 + 4

(7-8)

CON

1d6 + 4

(7-8)

SIZ

2d6 + 6

(13)

DE X

3d6

(10-11)

INT

2d6 + 6

(13)

P OW

2d6 +12

(18-19)

CH A

2d6

(6-7)

Move

6m

HP

10

Weapons

Blaster 6 0% (1d8) N’Awr 75% (1d4) S

Grept Intelligent psionic species with a str ictly hier archical societ y. See illustr ation on page 131. Str angeness

30

Cl assification

Omnivore (Gatherer)

Habitat

Semi-Open / Bush land

Advantages

Intelligence, A r mor (Chitin, A P 2)

Disadvantages

Hier archy, Fr agile

Behavior

Suspicious

Social

Small group or herd

Communication

Sound (Max r ange 20 m, nor mal r ange 5 m),

A r mor

A P 2 (Skin)

PP

18

Dmg Mod

–

Biosphere

Ear th-like atmosphere

Skill s

Endur ance 5 0%,

Body Pl an

Bilater al, E xoskeleton. Limbs: 4

Evade 5 0%, Percep-

Univer sal s

Psionic

Psionic (Range 2 0 m)

tion 60%, Stealth 75%, Tr ack 6 0%, W illpower 75%

210 L IF E F O R M S

The Grept is an intelligent species of natur al psionic s from the Dellon s ystem. Their tech level is high (TL11) but, for reasons not ver y well under stood, they have not developed space tr avel technology. The planet of Dellon is one of the few examples of psionic abilities emerging ear ly in the evolutionar y process, resulting in low level psionic s being ver y common among all life for ms. 

The dwellings of the Grept reflec t the str ict hier archy of societ y. Cities, both small and large, are circular and divided into five Spheres. Each Sphere is assigned to one of the psionic classes, with lower classes never being allowed into a higher Sphere. This is to “keep the spir itual aether untainted” in the words of the higher classes. Member s of the higher Spheres can freely enter the lower ones, but it is not done frequently (and they are not ver y welcome). Bar r ier s bet ween Spheres are psionic in nature; no physical boundar ies reveal their existence and only a psionic can detec t them.  The psionic abilities of all Dellon’s life for ms spr ing from a small inter nal organ called the Aeron, located in the chest. It’s a hazelnut-sized neur al node and wor ks like a hyper-connected appendix to the br ain (al so located in the chest).  The Aeron and its func tion has been well under stood for about 6 0 0 year s, but r itual ex tr ac tions of the organ had taken place much ear lier. A Grept can live without an Aeron only for a few days, both loosing its power s, but al so becoming a mindless dr if ter. Aerons are sometimes ex tr acted as punishment, as a result of duelling, as plain revenge or in religious r itual s. A s the vic tims no longer have any psionic sensibilit y, they are completely cut of f from societ y, not being considered as individual s.  Even animal s will see their Aeron being cut out at times, mostly for r itualistic reasons. But medical exper iments are conducted on them too. There is a secret movement of physicians tr ying to tr ansplant Aerons, initially to save lives, but eventually to break the str angling mold of the Spheres. A s the Spheres are linked to the psionic finger pr ints, tr ansplanting an Aeron from high to low may allow for the boundar ies to be crossed more freely. 

Psionic Power s of the Grept

Member s of the t wo lower Spheres (4 and 5) will know the following power s (no roll s required in most cases): Find Water & Food: A Grept always knows where to find food and water. Broadcast Emotion: A simple way of telling ever yone your emotional state. Locate Mind: A Grept can always keep tr ack of 5-10 close individual s. The fur ther away an individual is, the less precise the power. Use the above, plus power s from the psionics chapter for the three upper spheres (1-3): Third Sphere: 2 power s at 30% Second Sphere: 3 power s at 50% Fir st Sphere: 5 power s at 70%

Equipment

N’Awr: A c ylindr ical dagger, the N’Awr, is used to liter ally punch out an Aeron, and it is still carr ied by many as par t of the tr aditional Grept ar mament.

The Grept & Non-Psionic Char ac ters Non-psionic char ac ter s visiting Dellon will be treated in equal par ts with fascination and contempt. The Grept will be unsure whether the visitor s are gods or non-entities; only inanimate objects and the dying lack aether minds. This uncer taint y, if utilized wisely by the char acter s, can benefit them in their dealings with the Grept. Local physicians suppor ting the secret movement of Grept liber ation are al so likely to show an interest in the char ac ter s - the medical possibilities of living entirely without an Aeron will be ver y exciting to them. 

L IF E F O R M S

211

Appendix A Starship Design Walkthrough This is a walkthrough of the star ship design r ules in more detail. It covers the creation of a t ypical star ship for player char acters, housing 4 people for longer periods of time. It can be hard to pinpoint exactly what t ype of ship this is, so I will call it an E xplorer. It has a good cargo hold, a sick bay, a small common area and is lightly armed. (The cubicles can theoretically hold t wo people, but then it will be a bit too crowded for any real privac y. A s a tempor ar y solution, if the number of player s var y bet ween scenarios, it should be fine though).

Step 1 The fir st step is to deter mine the ideal number of people that’s going to use the ship. A s stated above, I’m going for 4 people. That’s 1 pilot and 3 crew member s or passenger s.

modules

Cockpit

Step 2

3

Let’s star t with the cockpit. 1 Module would be enough, but as some of the stor y telling action of ten happens in the cockpit, I’m making it 3 Modules. The second cockpit Module will be ideal for a gunner. I add “Cockpit, 3” under the Modules heading on the star ship sheet. 

Step 3 A s the ship must be functional for longer tr ips, cubicles are needed: that means 4 Cubicle Modules per per son, a total of 16 Modules. I add “Crew (4), 16” to the sheet.

Step 4 T ime to add a common room. A s it will be a combined meeting, dining & hanging out t ype of space, I make it a bit bigger than necessar y: 15 Modules.

212 A P P E ND I X A

Step 5 Cargo holds are alw ays dif ficult to deter mine the size of, but I’ll go for 22 Modules here. Not big enough for a regular tr ader, but enough to fit an AT V and some dandy explor ation equipment (not included in the purchase though…).

Step 6 Char acter s tend to get hur t a lot, so a good 4 Module sick bay is needed. A nd as a precaution I throw in an Autodoc too (2 Modules). That’s 6 Modules.

Step 7 The ship al so needs reasonable hyper space capabilities: 3 Modules. The ship will be able to go 3 hexes per jump when used together with a standard subsec tor map.

Step 8 Regarding weapons, t wo laser s will do (one oper ated by the pilot, the other by the gunner). I’m upping damage to 2d6 though, using the r ules from the advanced combat r ules. This will take 2 Modules.

Step 9 This is what the list of Modules looks like now (sidebar):

Step 10 All in all, 67 Modules so far. I take a moment to look through what Modules I have. Flicking through the r ulebook, I make sure I haven’t missed any of the func tions the ship needs. Af ter some consider ation, I decide that I’m happy as it is. (The main reason for double-checking at this stage, is to avoid recalculating Speed and Maneuver more than necessar y).

Step 11 Now that the ship’s layout is fir mly set, it’s time for Engines and Maneuver; I gr ab my iPhone calculator. I will tr y with a Thr ust Rating (TR) of 70, and see how it wor ks. I star t with a size 1/10 th of the total Modules, just to get my bear ings on the Speed and Maneuver values: 7 Engine Modules and 7 for Maneuver. Let’s see what Speed and Maneuver values we get with that:

modules

Cockpit 3 Crew (4) 16 Open Space 15 Cargo hold 22 Sick Bay 4 Autodoc 2 Hyperspace 3 Weapons 2 A P P E ND I X A

213

TR multiplied with the number of Engine (or Maneuver) Modules: 70 x7= 490. That’s the total TR. Total ship Modules will now be 67+7+7= 81 Total TR divided by ship Modules: 490/81= 6

SPEED = Total Thrust Rating Number of Ship Modules

Speed and Maneuver at 6 is a bit low for what I had in mind. So, either I increase the number of Modules or r aise TR. Let’s tr y 10 Modules of each; if that’s not enough, I will r aise the TR. The new calculations look like this: 70 x10 =70 0 in total TR Total Modules: 67+10 +10 = 87 70 0/87= 8 8 is still a bit low. Raising TR to 10 0:

HANDLING = 10 0 x10 =10 0 0 in total TR

Total Thrust Rating Number of Ship Modules

Total Modules is the same: 67+10 +10 = 87 10 0 0/87=12 (11.5 rounded up) Speed and Maneuver at 12 is a good star t! I will keep 12 for Maneuver, but go back to TR70 for the Engine Modules (the engine, I decide, is a bit old).

Step 12 That means ship stats are ready!

Step 13 SPEED

8

H A NDLING

12

SIZE

87

A r mor and Shields are nex t. In the contex t of the intended set ting, A r mor will be fine at 2 and Shields at 7. The values can be deter mined in one of t wo w ays: either by deciding what is nor mal in the set ting, or just add as much as the ship builder af fords. A s I’m not doing the economic calculations for this ship, I’m going for the fir st method here.

Step 14 For the remaining at tr ibutes I go for: Stealth (no), Streamlining (yes) and A pps (no). I will not use Recover y, to keep any combats simpler.

214 A P P E ND I X A

Step 15 If you don’t w ant to use Hit Locations, the ship is done! Just set Gener al Hit Points to 87 and you’re good to go. I prefer Hit Locations for the detailed stor y hooks they can provide though, so stay with me for a few moments if you w ant to see how they wor k. 

7 armor 2 3 hyperspace shields

Step 16 To calculate Hit Locations, I br ing out my calculator again. I’m dividing the number of Modules for each individual section with  the total number of Modules. So, for the cockpit it’s 3 /87= 0.0 3. Times 10 0, we get 3. Thus, the Hit Location table star ts like this:

Cockpit 01-0 3

Step 17 Nex t, cubicles (Crew): 16 Modules. 16 /87= 0.18. Multiplied by 10 0, we get 18. Just take the last number in the table (3) and add 18 to that: the r ange will be bet ween 0 4 and 21.

Cockpit 01-0 3 Crew 0 4-21

Step 18 For the rest of the sec tions it looks like this (sidebar):

Step 19

Hit Locations

Hit Points

That’s it! The ship is done. I will call it A ajege, a S ïmmedh word meaning a spr ing of w ater. But there’s one more thing I w ant to add...

01-0 3 Br idge

3

0 4-21 Crew

16

22-3 8 Open Space

15

Step 19

39-6 3 Cargo Hold

22

I’m planning for this ship to be slightly old, a bit bat tered and to have some per sonalit y. I’m halving hit points for some of the sections (Open Space and Cargo Hold) and take aw ay 3 Hit Points each from Engines and Maneuver. I al so set Ship Condition to -20; all Pilot roll s will be Hard, just as all Mechanic s roll s. The GM is al so free to call for Pilot roll s for standard maneuver s, and any failed such roll may result in a malfunction. (See more about Ship Condition at page 101). Just enough to keep the player s on their toes, not relying too heavily on their tech. 

6 4-69 Sick Bay

4

70-71 Autodoc

2

72-74 Hyper space

3

75-76 Weapons

2

77-87 Engines

10

8 8-0 0 Maneuver

10

A P P E ND I X A

215

Appendix B Starship Combat Example Colin Brett has been so kind as to let me publish his test r un of the starship combat r ules. See more of Colin’s work at  http: // w w w.colinabrett.me.uk / Introduction An example of star ship combat in M-SPACE. Presented in “mechanical ” and “narr ative” formats, to describe the dice roll s and stor y aspects of a space battle. Fir st, the ships.

SPEED

6

H A NDLING

5

SIZE

110

Hit Locations

Hit Points

01-05 Br idge

5

06-11 Engines

6

12-16 Manoeuvre

5

17-35 Sick Bay

20

36-75 Crew Compar tm.

50

76-8 0 Ion Cannon

5

81-8 4 Por t L aser

4

8 5-8 8 Star board L aser

4

8 9-96 Open Space

8

97-0 0 Hyper space

3

216 A P P E ND I X B

Gamma Star – Solar Federation Patrol Ship Br idge

5

Crew

5 0 (12 Crew member s)

Weapons

13

Engine

6 (Thr ust Rating 10 0)

Maneuver

5 (Thr ust Rating 10 0)

Sick Bay

20

Hyper space

3

Open Space

8

Shields

–

A r mor

–

A pps

–

Weapons: Dor sal Ion Cannon (5): Damage 2D6 +1, r ange 10, 36 0 degree arc. Por t L aser (4): Damage 2D6. Star board L aser (4): Damage 2D6.

Captain Kur t Torr ance A tough, no-nonsense, by the books ship captain with a strong sense of dut y and fair play... except when dealing with pir ates, whom he consider s the “scum of the univer se.” DE X 8 Action Points 2 Pilot 8 5%

General Crew Skill s Gunner y 8 0% , Mechanic s 70%

Speeding Blade – Pirate Raider

SPEED

8

H A NDLING

6

SIZE

62

Br idge

4

Crew

30 (7 Crew member s)

Weapons

4

Hit Locations

Hit Points

Engine

7 (Thr ust Rating 70)

01-07 Br idge

4

Maneuver

5 (Thr ust Rating 70)

0 8-19 Engines

7

Sick Bay

1 ( Autodoc)

20-28 Manoeuvre

5

Open Space

8

2 9-30 Sick Bay

1

Hyper space

3

31-8 0 Crew

Shields

–

A r mor

–

A pps

–

Compar tm.

Weapons: Prow Blaster (2): Damage 1D10, 90 degree for w ard arc. Ster n Blaster (2): Damage 1D8, 18 0 degree rear arc

Captain Sasha Reeves

30

81-8 4 Prow Blaster

2

8 5-8 8 Ster n Blaster

2

89-96 Open Space

8

97-0 0 Hyper space

3

Hot-headed and somewhat reckless, she is w anted for numerous acts of pir ac y and smuggling and has been on the r un for three standard year s. DE X 11 Action Points 2 Pilot 75%

General Crew Skill s Gunner y 75%, Mechanic s 5 0%

A P P E ND I X B

217

The Scenario The Gamma Star has been tr acking the Speeding Blade. The Solar Feder ation vessel has one chance to capture or destroy the pir ate before it escapes into an asteroid field. The GM control s the Gamma Star, while the P Cs (Pir ate Char acter s :) are aboard their ship, the fleeing Speeding Blade. Despite being pir ates, and therefore “bad guys”, the P Cs are regarded as the protagonists in this encounter, while the GM control s the antagonists.

The Situation (“Round 0”) a) Mechanics

Initiative for the fir st round: 1d10 + Handling Choose Of fensive or Defensive Positioning.

Both Captains order their crews. Initiative for the fir st round is made on D10 + Handling of the vessel. Tor r ance roll s D10 + 5, for a total of (3 + 5 =) 8; Reeves roll s (6 + 7 =) 13. A win for the pir ate vessel. The captains must then choose whether to per for m Of fensive or Defensive ac tions. The pir ate ship won initiative and the Captain elects to take Defensive actions, sensible against such a heavily ar med w ar ship. The Solar Feder ation vessel elects to take the Of fense. Their actions will take place in Round 1, below.

b) Nar r ative A board the Gamma Star ... + + + SitRep to Captain Tor r ance + + + “ We have her, sir. The Speeding Blade is heading tow ards an asteroid field.” “Move to intercept before she gets in amongst the asteroids other wise we’ll never find her.” “Aye aye, Captain.” Meanwhile, on the br idge of the Speeding Blade... “ We’ve been pinged, Captain! SolFed fr igate closing fast!” “All hands to bat tle stations. Pr ime cannons fore and af t. Flank speed to the asteroid field.” “Aye aye, Captain.”

218 A P P E ND I X B

Round 1 a) Mechanics The Speeding Blade has initiative at the star t of this encounter. Reeves begins Defensive manoeuvres and roll s 90% on her Pilot roll, a failure. Tor r ance makes Of fensive Manoeuvres and roll s 61%, a success. This gr ants Tor r ance one level of success and he chooses the Dominate Special Ef fec t, making his Gunner y roll s Eas y (8 0% + 20% = 10 0%) this round. Tor r ance’s skilled Piloting gr ants him Gunner y initiative. He opens fire with the Dor sal Ion Cannon: a Gunner y roll of 74 is a hit. Reeves fires back with the ster n blaster; gunner y is at Hard because of her Defensive Positioning. A roll of 05%, scor ing a cr itical hit. Tor r ance roll s 4 points of damage to the Speeding Blade’s Sick Bay (location roll 2 9). The Sick Bay occupies one module and therefore has only one Hit Point; the Autodoc is in wrecks. It can’t be repaired until they land nex t time. All pir ates roll 1d4-1 for per sonal damage. Reeves hits the Gamma Star’s Crew Compar tments (location roll 5 4%). She picks Maximum Damage as Special Ef fect (she has one Success Level higher than Tor r ance), for a total of 8 Hit Points damage.

Defensive Positioning: Make you harder to hit, but it’s al so more dif ficult for your own gunner s to hit. Success vs Failure: one success level gr ants one Pilot Special Ef fect. Initiative changes to the par ticipant with the highest level of success in the previous roll. A section is beyond quick-fix repair s when hit points are reduced to their full negative value or lower. Success vs Cr itical: one level of success gr ants one Gunner y Special Ef fect.

Pilot initiative nex t round will go to the pir ate vessel, as it had the highest success level in the last roll.

b) Nar r ative S asha Reeves knows she is heavily out-gunned and star ts a ser ies of tight tur ns and shif ts in relative altitude. Tor r ance pur sues with great skill, allowing him to target the fleeing pir ate more easily. Gunfire lances thr ugh space, resulting in lit tle more than scorched paint wor k.

Initiative changes to the par ticipant with the highest level of success in the previous roll.

Round 2 a) Mechanics Reeves continues Defensive Manoeuvres and makes the fir st Pilot roll. W ith a 2 8% she scores a nor mal success. Tor r ance continues the Of fensive and roll s 41%, a success. Both Captains made the same level s of success (one each), so no Special Ef fects are applicable. Gunner y initiative remains with Reeves.

W hen there are sever al cannons fir ing, match opposing roll s as far as possible. The best roll is used when success level s are compared.

Reeves fires with the Ster n Blaster: a roll of 0 3 is a cr itical hit again! Tor r ance opens fire with both Por t and Star board L aser s, respectively rolling 81% (a miss) and 25%, a hit. This gr ants Reeves one level of suc-

A P P E ND I X B

219

cess and Gunner y initiative. She picks Maximum Damage (8). Location rolled: Crew Compar tments.

Initiative remains unchanged when Level s of Success are equal.

Tor r ance’s location roll is 5 6, Crew Compar tments for 7 points of damage. Initiative nex t round will stay with Reeves and she will make the fir st Pilot roll.

b) Nar r ative Tor r ance continues his pur suit of the Speeding Blade, maintaining weapons lock on the fleeing pir ate. Reeves seems unable to lose him. He fires both laser bat ter ies and blows a hole in the side of the pir ate ship. He smiles gr imly. Reeves retalliates in kind, the Speeding Blade’s Ster n Blaster lancing through the Crew Quar ter s.

Round 3 a) Mechanics Successful Defensive Positioning: both ships’ gunner y at Hard.

Reeves had one level of success in the previous Gunner y round: this gr ants her the Pilot initiative this round. She continues Defensive Manoeuvres and roll s 66% on her Pilot skill, a nor mal success; both ship’s gunner y roll s will be Hard (-2 0%). Tor r ance roll s 18% on Pilot skill and maintains Of fensive Manoeuvres. Both Captains made the same level s of success (one each), so no Special Ef fec ts are applicable. Gunner y initiative remains with Reeves. Reeves fires with the Ster n Blaster, scor ing 21%, a nor mal hit. Torr ance retaliates with the Por t L aser, rolling 5 4%, a hit.

A hit exceeding a technical section’s hit points render s it useless until repaired. All crew member s must al so roll for any per sonal damage.

Reeves roll s 7 points of damage against the Gamma Star’s Dor sal Ion Cannon. The Cannon has only 5 hit points and so is disabled until repaired. All aboard Gamma Star roll s 1d4-1 for per sonal damage. Tor r ance hits the Crew Compar tments again. Damage is 10 points. Crew Compar tment hit points are more than halved (30-7-10 =13). Initiative nex t round will stay with Reeves, as both gunner y roll s were at the same Success Level.

b) Nar r ative The pur suit remains close, both Captains using ever y gr amme of their skill to gain an advantage.

220 A P P E ND I X B

Reeves is sickened by the losses her ship is sustaining. That Ion Cannon will be the death of us all, she thinks. She order s her gun crews to open fire and is rew arded when the Ion Cannon is hit with wither ing Blaster fire. Revenge is s weet!

Round 4

Typically, crew compar tments, open spaces and cargo bays are easy to hit, but they will not af fect the ship ver y much. To get around this, use Special Ef fects like Mar ksman and Choose Location.

a) Mechanics Reeves maintains Defensive Manoeuvres but roll s 90% for her Pilot skill, a failure. Her own ship’s gunner y roll s will be Hard, but Gamma Star’s gunner y is unaf fec ted.

Failing Defensive maneuver s results in a gunner y penalt y (-20%) only for the evading ship.

Tor r ance roll s 6 4% Pilot skill, gr anting him one level of success, for which he chooses the Dominate Special Ef fect, r aising his Gunner y skill to 10 0%. The SolFed ship fires fir st with Por t and Star board L aser s. These roll 22 % and 35% respec tively. The Speeding Blade retalliates with a 19% from the Ster n Blaster. Tor r ance scores nor mal hits for 2 points (against the Speeding Blade’s Engines (not suf ficient to disable the engines) and 7 points ver sus the Crew Compar tments (only 6 hit points lef t in that section!). For Reeves, it’s a hit against (location roll 31) the Gamma Star’s Sick Bay, scor ing 3 points (not enough to disable the medical facilities).

W ith hit locations, points are not used.

gener al

hit

Initiative nex t round will be with Tor r ance.

b) Nar r ative The ships continue their zig-zag r ace to the asteroid field. Reeves, for the fir st time in three standard year s, buckles her self into the pilot seat as the ship shakes under the pounding of the Gamma Star’s laser s. Tor r ance, for his par t, is looking over damage assessments from the Speeding Blade. All in all, he thinks, things are going r ather well.

Round 5 a) Mechanics Tor r ance has the Pilot initiative but roll s a piloting failure. Reeves maintains Defensive Manoeuvres and this time roll s 24% Pilot skill. A success, which gr ants her one level of success over her opponent. Reeves gains Gunner y initiative this round and chooses the Dominate

A P P E ND I X B

221

Three successful Mechanics skill roll s are needed to take a damaged section on line again (restored to 1 hit point; this is only a tempor ar y fix).

Special Ef fect, which will make her Gunner y roll s Eas y (75% + 20% = 95%). Rather than maintain his of fensive this round, Tor r ance elects to repair the Dor sal Ion Cannon. He sends his best star ship mechanic s (losing the oppor tunit y to open fire, as they were al so gunner s – lous y planning) and the Mechanic s’ skill roll is 21%, a success. Only t wo more successful roll s are needed to get it online again. The pir ate vessel opens fire, rolling 9 3%. Tor r ance retur ns fire with both laser s, rolling 3 4% and 14%. Reeves roll would nor mally be a miss but her Piloting skill and choice of Special Ef fect makes this a hit instead. The damage roll is 4 ver sus the Crew Compar tments (location roll 41). Tor r ance hits the Crew Compar tments (location roll 62), and Open Space (96). Damage roll s are 4 and 6 for Por t and Star board respectively. Initiative nex t round will be with Reeves, as level s of success are the same.

b) Nar r ative Tor r ance w ants his Ion Cannon back on line. W ith it, he will be able to v apour ise the Speeding Blade. He locks autopilot onto the pir ate vessel and relays order s to the repair crews. “Damn!” shouts Reeves as yet another bur st of laser hit. Crew compar tments will not stand another hit now, with only 2 hit points lef t. At least she has the satisfaction of seeing the SolFed ship being scorched too.

Round 6 a) Mechanics Reeves chooses Of fensive Positioning this time and her Pilot roll is 51%, a success. Tor r ance maintains Of fensive posture and roll s 91%, another Pilot roll failure. Reeves has one level of success and this time chooses Dominate, intending to take the fight to her pur suer. Her Gunner y skill s are Eas y (or 95%) this round. The Speeding Blade tur ns and fires the Prow Blaster, rolling a 57%, a nor mal hit. Tor r ance fires back with Star board L aser, rolling 5 8%, a hit.

222 A P P E ND I X B

Reeves hits the Gamma Star’s Por t L aser. The damage is 5 points, sufficient to disable the L aser. Tor r ance makes 7 points of damage against the Speeding Blade’s Open Space, hit points now below zero for that section. Rolling 1d6 on the A rea Damage Table: the crew mess has a hull breach. Unless repaired, it will be in complete v accum in 10 rounds. Ever yone in the crew al so take 1d4-1 hit point damage. Movement around the ship is al so restr icted, as secur it y door s seal of f the mess.

For a hit exceeding a crew section’s hit points, a roll on the A rea Damage Table is made.

Initiative nex t round will remain with Reeves.

b) Narr ative W ith her ship badly mauled, Reeves elects to fight, not flee. She is sure her crew would suppor t the decision, though there is no time for a br idge conference. She skillfully whips the Speeding Blade 18 0 degrees and flies str aight at the Gamma Star. The specially augmented Prow Blaster catches the SolFed ship’s Por t L aser and she w atches it blown into smithereens. Tor r ance cannot believe the audacit y of this common pir ate. His Por t L aser damaged, he retalliates with the Star board L aser, str iking a satisfactor y hit against the Speeding Blade.

Round 7 a) Mechanics Reeves roll s 0 3 on her Pilot skill (Of fensive), a cr itical success. Torr ance responds with a 15% Pilot roll, a nor mal success. Reeves chooses Dominate Special Ef fec t again. Reeves gains Gunner y initiative. The Speeding Blade fires its Prow Blaster, this time rolling 22 % (a hit). The Gamma Star retur ns fire with the Star board L aser. It roll s 91%, a miss. One Gunner y Special Ef fec t for Reeves.

Just as in regular combat, finding weak spots like engines, maneuver, weapons, etceter a, is a ver y ef fective.

Reeves hits the Gamma Star’s Engine s ystems (location roll 09), for 8 points of damage (picking Maximum Damage). This is suf ficient to disable the Gamma Star’s engines (which have 6 Hit Points). Initiative nex t round will be Reeves’.

A P P E ND I X B

223

b) Nar r ative The Speeding Blade continues her near-suicidal charge at the Gamma Star. Reeves’ skill s, audacit y and sheer luck win out as the row Blaster destroys the enemy’s dr ive s ystem. The Gamma Star is adr if t in deep space, maneuver ing thr uster s at least allowing for some movement.

Round 8 a) Mechanics Cr itical hits are 10% of the skill value.

W ithdr aw is a good Special Ef fect for get ting out of a fight before being blown to pieces.

Reeves has Pilot initiative and roll s 0 8, another cr itical success (10% of Pilot skill 75 = 7.5, round up to 8). Tor r ance, with disabled engines, is unable to pur sue. The GM r ules his Pilot skill roll is For midable this round (8 5% - 4 0% = 4 5%). W ith a 16%, the SolFed ship tur ns tow ards the pir ate vessel. Reeves has one level of success in Piloting, so elects to take the W ithdr aw special ef fect. The pir ate vessel makes a par ting shot from the Ster n Blaster, rolling 59%, a hit against the Gamma Star’s Sick Bay, for 3 points of damage. A s Tor r ance is not fir ing back, she automatically receives a Special Effec t: she picks Maximum Damage (8 points). Tor r ance dispatches his mechanic s to get the engines online again.

b) Nar r ative It is a nar row escape. Reeves pull s a safe distance aw ay from the Gamma Star and punches the badly damaged Speeding Blade into Hyperspace. Tor r ance sees the pir ate vessel vanish from his scanner screens and cur ses the enemy. I’ll get you nex t time, he vows. But for now, he has more impor tant mat ter s to deal with.

224 A P P E ND I X B

Acknowledgments I would like to thank ever yone at the for ums of BRP Centr al for their generous at titude and open-minded discussions. W ithout them, MSPACE would not have sur vived beyond its fir st iter ation. I’m al so in great debt to Paolo Guccione at Alephtar Games for his br illiant idea of a gener ic conflic t resolution mechanic for d10 0-games. L astly, I’m happy to have found a good home for M-SPACE with The Design Mechanism . L awrence and Pete have made me feel ver y welcome. I dedicate this book to K atar ina & Olle.

A CK N O W L E D G ME N T S

225

Index

Climate 

B Behavior 

Action Points 

12

Advantages, Alien 

126

Alien Creation 

122

Advantages 

126

A ppear ance 

130

Classification  Cultures 

127

172

Str angeness 

122

Universal s  Alien Sheet 

122

Apps 

130

96

A sphy xiation 

Climate 

226 IND E X

10 0

Situational Modifiers 

Body Plans 

12 3

73

Combat Round 

12

37, 59

Star ship Combat 

Careers 

Combat Actions 

91

Char acter Improvement  Char acteristics 

10

Char acter Rank 

162

Charisma 

38

Constitution 

Culture  159 162

156 166

Player-Controlled  Str ucture 

161

43 11

132

Orbit 

24

Rur al 

23

Urban 

24

Classification, Alien 

136

D 36

Damage L adder  167

117

Damage Modifier  125

128

23

Alien 

Damage 

165

161

Circle Sheet 

56

Cultur al Attributes 

156

Benefits 

54

Communication, Alien  Conflict Pool s 

11

Attributes 

106

Combat St yle Tr aits 

9

6 8,

57

Combat St yles 

25

Char acter Creation 

Tr aits 

14 8

Attributes, Circle  Autodoc 

14 8

14 8

Pressure 

80

Idea Table 

Atmosphere Breathabilit y 

Blood Loss 

Ideas 

79

54

122

Circles 

14 3

A ppear ance, Alien 

Combat 

68

Biosphere 

Capital Ships 

132

Psionics 

12 3

C

125

Disadvantages 

Close Combat 

128

Biodiversit y  A

14 8

Damage Reduction 

12 60

Starship 

Fatigue 

109

Thrown Objects 

Dex terit y 

Fatigue Level s 

174

Defensive Positioning 

107

11

79

Disadvantages, Alien 

127

113, 18 4

E

119

Jumping 

16

Foreign Polic y 

Habitat 

Equipment 

191

Handling 

97

E xperience Modifier 

12

E xperience Roll 

39

Conflict Pool s 

43

Social Conflicts 

Falling 

80

74

Starships 

46

14

10 0

46

37

Matter Power s 

Minor Wound 

36

92 180

Mook Rules 

76

Movement Class 

Multiple Stars 

Influence, Circle 

157

56

Initiative Bonus 

66

174 172

Movement Rate 

Impale Ef fects Table 

112, 18 3

Mind Power s 

Vehicle 

13

I

47

13, 36

Malfunction Table 

Modules 

98

Hyperspace 

Initiative 

F

13

Hit Points Per Location 

47

Quick Combat 

37

150

Hit Points 

49

Opponent Rating  Poker Game 

Hex 

42

150

Major Wound 

94, 182

Healing Rate 

13 4

M

125

Hit Locations 

E x tended Conflicts 

Dinner Par t y 

147

Healing from Wounds 

E xpanding Starship 

Light Year  Luck Points 

16

16, 5 8

81

L aw Level Table 

13 8

Habitable Zone 

Evade 

11

L

38

H

Endur ance 

36

J

First Aid Actions 

33

Intelligence 

81

First Aid 

35

Dif ficult y Gr ade 

Dur ation Table 

Fire 

Fire A rcs 

Dif ferential Roll s 

Injur y and Healing 

78

179 14 147

N Narr ative Time 

37

13

IND E X

227

Stacking Power s 

O Object Hit Points 

Success Level s 

82

Of fensive Positioning  Opponent Rating  Opposed Roll s 

107

46 34

Passions 

Recover y 

Permanent Injuries  Planets 

Repairs 

147 147

Population 

137

Increasing POW  Matter Powers  Mind Powers 

172 171

Finding New Powers  Requirements 

228 IND E X

171

171

Social Conflicts 

46

Special Ef fects 

61, 67

Simplified 

77

Starships 

108 139

94

Spinal Weapon 

118

Segmentation 

12 3

Spinward 

Sense Organs 

128

Standard Skill s 

Sense Power s 

171

Star Mapping 

150

Starpor t Type 

147

Settlements 

170

37

Species Conflicts 

86

Serious Wound 

18

15

Skill Time 

Speed 

Sensors, Starship 

14

Professional Skill s  Psionics 

Scale 

171

Power Points 

13 8

S

171 174

Sense Powers 

15 8

150

Rulers, World 

182

Social Disposition Table 

109

Rimward 

11

Power Arcs 

96

Resources, Circle 

Planet Size 

Power 

38

97

91 94

Skill Points 

72

Rebuilding Star ship 

28

15 8

Vehicle 

73

75

11

Starship 

Ranged Combat  10 0

Size 

Size Rating 

129

R

150

Simplified Combat 

Circles 

Range 

Passengers 

174

Q Quick Monster s 

P Parsec 

171

Shields 

36 137

95

Ship Condition 

10 0

Stars 

150 15

147

Star ship Combat  Combat Actions 

101

E xample 

110

106 107

50

Simplified 

Weapon Options  Starship Design 

116 86

97

Rebuilding 

Starship Sheet 

87 102

Star Systems 

Weapons 

190

W

Vehicle 

95 18 3

Weapon Size 

147

W illpower 

Star ting Equipment 

29

17, 90 122

Streamlining 

90

60 17

World Building  World Sheet 

Str angeness 

Strength 

180

Starship 

Starship Modules 

Stealth 

Stunts 

112

Wounds 

14 6 152

36

10

Subsector Sheet  Surprise 

151

72

Symmetr y 

12 3

T Tech Level Table 

135

Thrown Objects  Thr ust Rating  TR 

174 94

94

V Vacuum 

80

Vehicle Design  Modules 

178

18 0

IND E X

229

M  –   S PACE

career age %

professional acting cha x2 acrobatics str+dex art pow+cha astrogation int x2 bureaucracy int x2 commerce pow+cha comms int x2 computers int x2 courtesy int+cha craft dex+int culture int x2 demolitions int+pow disguise int+cha electronics dex+int engineering int x2 forgery dex+int gambling int+pow knowledge int x2 language int+cha

%

professional lockpicking dex x2 mechanics dex+int medicine int+pow musicianship dex+cha navigation int+pow oratory pow+cha pilot dex+int starship

%

politics int+cha research int+pow science int x2 astronomy astrobiology seamanship int+con seduction int+cha sensors int+pow sleight dex+cha streetwise pow+cha survival con+pow teach int+cha track int+con

frostbyte books

culture

|

home world

standard athletics str+dex boating str+con brawn str+siz conceal dex+pow customs int x2 dance dex+cha deceit int+cha drive dex+pow endurance con x2 evade dex x2 first aid dex+int influence cha x2 insight int+pow locale int x2 native tongue int+cha perception int+pow ride dex+pow sing pow+cha stealth dex+int swim str+con willpower pow x2

action points damage modifier exp modifier healing rate initiative luck points move rate wealth

str con siz dex int pow cha

ver 3.0 july 2016

name

player

M  –   S PACE

player

combat styles

%

locations 01-03 right leg 04-06 left leg 07-09 abdomen 10-12 chest 13-15 right arm

gunnery dex+pow unarmed str+dex passions

ver 3.0 july 2016

|

frostbyte books

powers

description

16-18 left arm 19-20 head

%

fatigue

power points

%

equipment

ap

hp

M  –   S PACE

career age %

professional acting cha x2 acrobatics str+dex art pow+cha astrogation int x2 bureaucracy int x2 commerce pow+cha comms int x2 computers int x2 courtesy int+cha craft dex+int culture int x2 demolitions int+pow disguise int+cha electronics dex+int engineering int x2 forgery dex+int gambling int+pow knowledge int x2 language int+cha

%

professional lockpicking dex x2 mechanics dex+int medicine int+pow musicianship dex+cha navigation int+pow oratory pow+cha pilot dex+int starship

%

politics int+cha research int+pow science int x2 astronomy astrobiology seamanship int+con seduction int+cha sensors int+pow sleight dex+cha streetwise pow+cha survival con+pow teach int+cha track int+con

frostbyte books

culture

|

home world

standard athletics str+dex boating str+con brawn str+siz conceal dex+pow customs int x2 dance dex+cha deceit int+cha drive dex+pow endurance con x2 evade dex x2 first aid dex+int influence cha x2 insight int+pow locale int x2 native tongue int+cha perception int+pow ride dex+pow sing pow+cha stealth dex+int swim str+con willpower pow x2

action points damage modifier exp modifier healing rate initiative luck points move rate wealth

str con siz dex int pow cha

ver 3.0 july 2016

name

player

M  –   S PACE combat styles

player %

gunnery dex+pow unarmed str+dex

serious wound %

power points

powers

%

equipment

frostbyte books

passions

| ver 3.0 july 2016

hit points

description

SPACE is a d10 0-based r ules s y s tem for s cience f ic tion r olepl ay ing. Ever y thing ne e de d to play sci-fi games is included here. W ith this book, a pencil and some paper, you will be able to create imaginar y universes and play char acters from a variet y of cultures and careers. They can pilot s t ar ships , me et s tr ange alien lifeforms and visit fantastic worlds.

M   –   S PA C E

M

M – S PA CE d100 roleplaying in the far future

The game engine used for all this is My thr as Imper ative. If you are familiar with any closely related d100 game, you will feel right at home.

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FrostByte Books

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