STALKER - The Sci Fi Roleplaying Game.pdf

STALKER

The SciFi Roleplaying Game

Burger Games

— it’s a miracle it’s a success you — it’s luck. — that’s fate.

STALKER

If you come back with swag If you come back alive — If the patrol bullets miss And as for anything else

–ROADSIDE PICNIC

Global Edition

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STALKER:The

Concept & text.. VILLE VUORELA Layout.......... VILLE VUORELA Translation..... JUKKA SÄRKIJÄRVI VILLE VUORELA Proofreader..... AKI SAARIAHO Post-production. GREG KRYWUSHA Artwork......... TUOMO VEIJANEN JANI HÄMÄLÄINEN HANS ZENJUGA Cover Art....... JUKKA RAJANIEMI Publisher....... BURGER GAMES Website......... ANTTI LUUKKONEN

SciFi Roleplaying Game

Based on the novel “ROADSIDE PICNIC” by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. Released under a license from Boris Strugatsky.

THANKS TO:

Mikko Matvejeff, Sami Nikander, Vera Izrailit, Marko Saaresto, Jari Juslin, Riitta Peltonen, Mikko Parviainen, Tuomo Sipola, Laura Uusitalo, Esko Arajärvi, Sami Järvi, Mikko Vohlonen, Arto Koistinen, Alfred Erman, Jukka Karvonen, Tuomas Luttinen, Olli Kantola, Petteri Hannila, Erkka Leppänen, Lynoure Braakman, Niko Mikkanen, Lars Wirzenius, Joanna Mrozinski, Kalle Kivimaa, Petri Hiltunen, Joni Virolainen, Jyrki Tudeer, Jukka Sorsa, Eero Tuovinen, Miska Fredman, Mike Pohjola, Juhana Pettersson, Niilo Paasivirta, Greg Stafford, Nadia Markalova, Vladimir Borisov, Andrei Tarkovski, Kotiteollisuus, Motörhead, Type O Negative, Fear Factory, WASP, Angra, Turmion Kätilöt, AC/DC, Eduard Artemiev, Yoko Kanno, Nine Inch Nails, The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black, Wendy O. Williams, Wolfstone, Thyrane, Celldweller, Indigo Girls, Massive Attack, WSOY, GSC Game World Very special thanks to Kristel Nyberg. Without her help and encouragement this game would have never been gotten started. Super special thanks to Leena Romppainen for keeping me alive and sane through all these years. Greg, I would not trade you even for a Golden Orb!

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Burger Games

www.burgergames.com/stalker

2012

[email protected]

www.facebook.com/StalkerRPG

Foreword................................. 6 The Strugatskys.......................... 8 Sources................................... 9 Roleplaying................................10

THE PLAYER’S BOOK.......13 Visitation.......................... 14 The Prevailing Theory 15 Other Theories 15 Refugees............................17 The Changed 18 The Cursed 19 Zones............................... 22 The Borderlands 24 Another World 26 Xenology............................ 32 Artefacts 33 Monuments 36 Quasichemicals 38 Institute............................40 Stalkers............................ 43 Players’ Rules....................... 47 Overcoming Challenges 48 Presentation 49 The Hand of Fate 49 Creating a Stalker................. 50 Individual vs. Team 51 Life and Abilities 52 Attributes 55 Wealth 56 Details 57 Fitness Abilities.................... 58 Alertness Abilities................. 59 Intellect Abilities.................. 60 Willpower Abilities................. 61 Charisma Abilities.................. 62 Education Abilities................. 63 Technical Abilities................. 64 Zone Abilities...................... 65 On a Roadside Picnic............... 66 Equipment.......................... 74 Character Sheet................... 80

THE GAMEMASTER’S BOOK...85

FLOW-basics....................... 86 Success or Failure? 86 The Hand of Fate 87 Challenges.......................... 88 The Mathematics of the Rules 88 Creating Challenges 89 Evaluating Ideas 91 Evaluating Roleplay 93 Interpreting the Results 96 Violence 98 Going Down 104 Experience..........................107 Gamemaster’s Role..................112 Gamemaster’s Responsibilities 113 Planning the Campaign 114 Creating Adventures 116 Reshaping Scenes On The Fly 120 Descriptive & Narrative Tricks121 The Last Few Tips 125 Adventure Ideas 126 Stalker Genre Guide............... 128 Themes and Styles 129 Our World 130 Their Borderlands 131 In The Zone....................... 142 Anomalous Areas 145 Inorganisms 153 Oases 160 Mutants 165 Zone Tribes 176 Changed Stalkers 180 The Zone Treasures................ 182 Finding Artefacts 183 Monuments 191

Welcome to the Zone

CONTENTS

ZONE FRANCE.............197 Zenography......................... 199 The Borderlands 199 The Edge of the Zone 200 The Zone Itself 202 Toulouse............................ 210 The Present Day 211 The Institute in Toulouse 216 People of Toulouse 218 Stalkers in Toulouse 221

EXTRAS................

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STALKER:The SciFi Roleplaying Game 6

FOREWORD “Sure, as far as I’m concerned. I’ve already given permission for two other games in the past, but go ahead!” –Boris Strugatsky With these words, translated from Russian to English, Boris Strugatsky gave me permission to make an official Stalker Roleplaying Game. Sure, it took a little more detailed agreement five years later when the game was released but both the author and his book agent were very supportive of this project. Buying this game supports one of the greatest minds in classic science fiction and frankly, even though people were ripping off Strugatskys’ ideas left and right I thought it would be more polite to at least ask before doing the same. I remain overjoyed that he agreed. The Finnish version, Stalker - Tieteisroolipeli was released in April 2008 and it has been quite a ride since then. It was an instant critical and commercial success even though the genre was about as niche as you can get. Helsingin Sanomat, the leading daily newspaper in Finland chose its release to be one of the Culture Events of 2008. More importantly, when your chief nemesis and detractor declares your game to be “Fucking Brilliant”, you know you are onto something. There was some talk of having the game translated into English already when it was released but having just spent 5 years balancing between writing a very demanding roleplaying game and keeping my day job in the game industry, I was not going to do it alone. After a few false starts Jukka “NiTessine” Särkijärvi took up the job. After so much editing, tweaking and plain-old proofreading I am not sure how much of his original translation survives but he should forever be remembered as the man who got the ball rolling. Having poured my heart and soul into this roleplaying game I have been more than happy with the way it turned out. For me, it is the best roleplaying game ever. Not perfect but good enough to surpass everything else I’ve written, read or tried myself. I doubt if anyone else feels this strongly about it but the consensus among those who have dared to try it is that it is a damn good game. I am especially glad to see how easily people have picked up the Flow system and even developed it further to suit their specific needs. Having a diceless system on an adventure-focused roleplaying game is considered to be something of a barrier to entry but Stalker RPG seems to attract just the right kind of players. And there are surprisingly many of them.

Roadside Picnic and the movie Stalker were written and directed in the Soviet Union. The novel is set in an undefined near future and contains the typical Soviet science fiction concept of a global society. Though the Strugatskys have avoided describing global politics, the novel’s declining society is clearly socialistic even though its events are set in Canada. Today, we know that there was no world revolution during 20th century. I have set the game in an undefined now and just like in the novel, carefully avoided specifying years or dates. The game happens in the now, whenever that may be. However, it presents the world of today as a dystopia, from a very grim perspective. Although a novel and a roleplaying game may share the setting to some extent, the novel looks at the setting through a keyhole. The reader cannot depart from the vision opening up on the pages of a novel and sees only what the author intended him to see. In a roleplaying game, the door is wide open. A player can go anywhere and do anything and the setting is constantly subjected to the creative genius of the participants. I have tried to create an alternate world of today that reacts to the Zones and their side effects the way I imagine the modern world would. Take the Cursed Ones – the novel’s description of a man whose customers will invariably die being allowed to operate a barber shop is absurd. Likewise, the society’s reaction to any group of people whose mere presence causes natural disasters is likely to be extreme.

When I was working as a technical writer in the pharmaceutical industry, I was fascinated at how much medical data the horrific human experiments actually yielded and how the medical community is still split over its use. I would imagine the same thing happening with xenological research and not just over xenomedicine. As for the Stalkers themselves, the concept of professional adventurers going into dangerous locations in search of treasure is nothing new: in fact, it is in the very heart of fantasy roleplaying. In many respects, Roadside Picnic and its derivatives have distilled the concept to its very roots. However, a professional adventurer of any kind is an anathema to the modern world and attitudes. I had to make a social niche for the Stalkers to fill, as well as an economic and even political need that justified their existence. Demand creates supply and for all the Institute’s lobbying, the general public sees stalkers as the one force that is truly capable of “fighting back” at the Zone invasion. Sure, it is dangerous and even criminal, but in the end isn’t it a victimless crime? And you don’t see the Institute striking back the Zone invaders, do you?

Welcome to the Zone

I saw Humanity reacting to the Zones and everything associated with them as a collective threat to its own existence. The response matches the threat and in the absence of a clear and present enemy it is the Refugees and the Changed that bear the brunt of it. There are many real-world examples of systematic persecution of minorities but since this was to be done under the pretext of science, I sought inspiration from Sweden’s national eugenics program in the 1930s and the Jewish ghettoes in Nazi-occupied Europe. While there are no death camps as such in the game, the Institute experiments on living and dead “subjects” mirror the notorious experiments of Dr. Joseph Mengele and other Nazi scientists.

Since my previous roleplaying game Praedor won such high acclaim for its system, the diceless FLOW used in Stalker RPG came as a surprise to many gamers. However, I wanted the game to emphasize atmosphere, the feeling of “being there” and the importance of character perceptions, much like both the novel and Tarkovsky’s movie did. Instead of presenting threats and challenges as series of dice rolls, FLOW presents the actual problems and resolves the actual solutions, augmented by bonuses from expertise and roleplaying. It had to be simple enough for Gamemasters to wing it without breaching the system and yet based on numerical variables to be acceptable to old-school roleplayers more accustomed to dice-based systems. Such as myself. While this may have cost me some sales as traditional gamers are inherently suspicious of dicelessness, the FLOW system has gained many fans and at least one other game using the same mechanic is in the works. Going diceless was always a big gamble and I am happy say that it paid off.

Ville “Burger” Vuorela

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STALKER:The

THE STRUGATSKYS The brothers Arkady and Boris Strugatsky are possibly the best-known of all Russian science fiction authors. Their first story came out in 1957 but after being caught in the Soviet censorship machinery in the 60’s an entire underground movement developed around their work, distributing the books as photocopies. The most famous of their forbidden books, Roadside Picnic, came out in 1971. After a foreign release in 1978 the officials finally allowed its publication in the Soviet Union. It was a great success and went on to win several awards. A year later (1979), Andrei Tarkovsky released his acclaimed motion picture Stalker.

SciFi Roleplaying Game

After the film, Stalker was cemented as the name of the novel in several countries, including Finland. In Russia, however, “Stalker” refers to the printed movie script, also written by Strugatskys. The novel and the film are very different, like two completely different ways to approach the same theme. Sometimes you feel they complement one another and sometimes that they are entirely contradictory. Either way, the movie is made for those who like intellectual, minimalist and very well acted science fiction. After the action-scifi flicks of today its peace and calm are like a drug. Arkady Strugatsky died on October 12th 1991 but after the fall of communism Boris has been a guest at many science fiction conventions in the West. He also has a website: http://www.rusf.ru/abs/english/index.htm Burger Games would like to thank Vladimir Borisov, Nadia Markalova and the science fiction club Solaris from the city of Perm for their help in reaching Boris Strugatsky and in translating our conversation. The Stalker RPG is released with a license from Boris Strugatsky.

Boris told me that he has given similar permissions twice before but despite an arduous search I was unable to find any trace of earlier Stalker roleplaying games. However, I did find a Ukrainian computer game S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, made by GSC. It has nothing to do with the roleplaying game and they did not ask for a permission to use the name, hence the acronym with dots. At the time of writing, this roleplaying game remains as the only “official” Stalker-themed game out there. Of course, using Roadside Picnic as an inspiration for games and books is nothing new under the sun. Even without the Ukrainians, themes originating from Stalker have been seen in video games as long as they’ve existed. It was one of the major influences on the Praedor fantasy comics by Petri Hiltunen and consequently the Praedor roleplaying game I wrote with him. So you could say that this is my second Stalker-themed roleplaying game.

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The most important inspiration for this game is, of course, the novel Roadside Picnic but it is by no means the only one. The novel was not written to meet the needs of the roleplaying game and in the name of playability, new elements, structures and themes have been sought out and invented. To paraphrase Greg Stafford (Ropecon 2005): Your Stalker may vary. I must confess that many of these works affect and influence everything that I do or write. Sourcebooks do not need to be on topic or even any good. It is sufficient that they have scenes, elements and themes that I can use. Similarly, Players and Game Masters may get something out of them.

Literature

Arkady & Boris Strugatsky: Roadside Picnic Stanis³aw Lem: Solaris Alfred Bester: Stars My Destination Harry Harrison: Deathworld Arthur C. Clarke: 2001: A Space Odyssey William Craig: Ghost Dancers Frank Herbert: Dune K.W. Jeter: Noir H.G. Wells: The Time Machine Petri Hiltunen: Asfalttitasanko Petri Hiltunen: Praedor Petri Hiltunen & Ville Vuorela: Vanha koira

Welcome to the Zone

SOURCES

Cinema and Video Games

28 Weeks Later Stalker The Ugly Swans Soylent Green Last Border Stakeland Ukkonen Resident Evil Dark City Split Second Downfall Il Ultimo Silenzio I Am Legend Avalon Ergo Proxy Antikiller Renaissance Condemned Banlieu 13 Half-Life F.E.A.R. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

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STALKER:The

ROLEPLAYING Looking for your first roleplaying game? Something easy to understand, where the ruleset does all the work for you? We thank you for your interest but Stalker is for you. In terms of genre and rules as well as the expectations placed on the Game Master and the Players this game is a leap into the unknown. It will not take you into the Zone. It is the Zone. You have been warned. The argument on what is or isn’t a roleplaying game has gone on for three decades now. Some think it is interactive storytelling, others emphasize immersion into the character, or competition, or achieving the objectives placed on your character or whatever. From the perspective of this rulebook it doesn’t really matter but play sessions usually work better when everybody is on the same page on what they expect to experience.

SciFi Roleplaying Game

In a roleplaying game, the player assumes the role of an imaginary person in an imaginary world and directs his actions. Imagine you’re reading a book. A big part of the enjoyment comes from being able to identify with the protagonist. The reader celebrates his victories and grieves his losses, laughing and crying with him. A book also offers a window into the imaginary world inside the author’s head. However, a book’s events are set and the reader can only see what the author has decided to show him. In a roleplaying game these limitations do not exist: you decide what the character does and where he goes. Even though you can make some assumptions on the characters’ actions in a roleplaying game, the entire world is open to them.

Stalker - The SciFi Roleplaying Game is a so-called tabletop roleplaying game (or RPG), which means that events and situations are described to the players verbally and they respond by verbally describing their characters’ actions and reactions to those events. One of the players is the Game Master (or GM), who controls the game world around the Player Characters (or PCs) and tells the players what their characters observe. The Game Master can also tell about the characters’ thoughts or insights, because the characters may have knowledge and abilities that the players lack (of course, the reverse also applies). Because of this, the characters’ abilities have values assigned to them and from these values you can see the odds of succeeding in different actions and tasks. These values may change during the game as characters learn from experience or when age and injury take their toll. A roleplaying game has no more a final goal than real life does. The characters have their own objectives and the players will measure their progress or the entertainment value of the game in their own ways but there is no final victory or defeat. The Game Master’s purpose is not to defeat the players or their characters but to help them create an entertaining and interesting experience together. And although the Game Master has the final say in all disputes, a slighted player can always vote with his feet. This book is meant as a guide to the life of the stalkers and the fictitious reality in which they operate. Additionally, it gives you rules and instructions for the use of the values depicting the characters’ abilities. It is divided into The Players’ Book, The Game Master’s Book and Zone France. If the characters are experienced stalkers or have ever been to the Zone when the game begins, the players should read The Players’ Book. If, on the other hand, the characters are still novices to the trade and preparing for their first expedition, the Game Master should tell them only what he considers utterly necessary. The rest they will have to learn on their own, just like all other stalkers. This is not as hard as it sounds: it is all happening in a world just like ours, after all.

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Only the Game Master should read The Game Master’s Book and The Zone France, unless players are certain that they can keep their knowledge and the knowledge of their characters separate.

Niksu (Gecko): Let me guess. There is no wind? Glasu: Well, now that you mention it, it is quite calm. Ärppä (Spark): I pull out my binoculars and try to get a better look at the windows. Glasu: Through the binoculars, it looks like the whole brick wall is shimmering, as if glassy waves were travelling through it. Niksu: Spark, it’s not safe there. Are you sure the map points here? Ärppä: Huh, Glasu, am I sure? I take out the map and try to compare it with our surroundings.

Glasu considers what sort of chances Spark has to figure out their location. Spark is an outdoorsman and not easily lost. Also, comparing landmarks to the map is a good idea. It works. Glasu: The map isn’t the clearest you’ve seen but the radio mast, forest’s edge and level crossing are where they’re supposed to be. This is it.

Welcome to the Zone

Glasu (GM): The yard is empty. There aren’t even any weeds. The school itself, a two-storey brick building, looks to be in pretty good shape but the windows are quivering, as if shaken by a storm wind.

Ärppä: (or Spark, talking to Gecko) Just be thankful we’re not at an oasis. Now we just have to find another way inside the building. Hmm, maybe the sewers.

Glasu knows that Gecko has sharper eyes. Glasu: Gecko, you think you spot someone moving in the windows on the upper floor. Niksu: Spark, there’s someone in there. I wouldn’t be this worried at an oasis. Glasu, I take out a nut or a bolt and throw it at the school, from as far as I can. Glasu: You approach the building carefully and throw the nut from about 40 metres. A target that big can’t be missed. The nut hits the school’s shimmering surface and breaks up into silvery strands, like thick paint poured into water.

And so on. Glasu has a plan about what could happen but in the end it all hangs on what the players decide and their characters do. Only the sky is the limit and every adventure is unique.

To play the game, you need 2-10 players, this book, someone who has read it, paper, pencils (and erasers), a peaceful place with sufficient light, table space and comfortable seats. A window that you can open is a plus. Salty snacks, cola, beer or cider, suitable background music, moody lighting, a telephone and the menu of the local pizza place can also come handy. Smokers will appreciate a balcony.

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THE PLAYERS’ BOOK

THE PLAYERS’ BOOK

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STALKER:The SciFi Roleplaying Game 14

VISITATION “The fact of the Visitation itself is the most important discovery of not only the past thirty years but of the entire history of Mankind.” – ROADSIDE PICNIC It has been thirteen years. All of a sudden, strange lights were seen all around the globe. Communications were disrupted. The northern lights went wild and numerous light and vapour trails were observed in the upper atmosphere, as if a huge meteor shower had hit Earth. The phenomenon was the strongest on the northern hemisphere but it could be observed everywhere. According to seismic data, several objects hit Earth striking along the 43rd parallel. All communications with the assumed impact areas broke down. Then, as quickly as it had begun, the phenomenon ended. What happened next remains unclear. The impact sites could not be reached. The authorities received snippets of information from different sources telling about fires, monsters, thousands of refugees and hundreds of dead. Rescue units vanished without a trace. The refugees who made it out were often badly injured or suffered from strange poisonings and diseases. It took days before the situation could be brought under control and the borders of the areas determined. The refugees’ stories about strange figures in the sky or striding through burning streets sparked off rumours about an invasion by a foreign power or even aliens. While rescue workers were establishing refugee camps and field hospitals, governments sent thousands of soldiers and hundreds of vehicles into the impact zones to repel the possible invasion and to search for the missing. Behind them came criminals and looters, targeting the homes of the rich and the vaults of abandoned banks. Few made it deeper than a few hundred metres. Even fewer made it back. Behind the invisible line the laws of nature had gone mad. Gravity concentrations crushed even the strongest of tanks, people boiled alive in bubbles of vacuum and corrosive clouds ate through everything organic in their way. The governments were powerless, the scientists stunned. The tragedy of the Visitation touched the entire Humanity and the hundreds of thousands of dead and missing were overshadowed by the fact that Humanity had lost its grip on its own world. The scientific worldview was shaken to its very foundations but the changed areas did not fit any religion’s teachings any better. Beyond the border lay a field of death, filled with corpses and debris. Sometimes unknown powers raged there like a storm but often only strange lights, distorted colours, silent movements and unexplained sounds revealed that death was still lurking. Some of the bodies have never rotted and some of the vehicles still have their engines running.

The Refugees’ accounts are uncertain, contradict one another and many of them tell of observations that are impossible to human senses. Common to the stories, however, are huge shapes floating in the sky and strange beings moving amidst the fires and chaos. These have been thought to have been spaceships and aliens. According to the prevailing theory, the event was not a meteor shower but the arrival of alien life forms on Earth, either from another star system or an entire universe, bringing the elements and phenomena of their own universe with them. People talk about “a visit” or “a visitation”. Back in the day “attack” was also suggested but this never caught on. The purpose of the Visitation can only be guessed at. There is no indication that the visitors ever attempted to communicate with us. Some still believe it was an attack, some that the Humanity is being prepared for a later contact or that the Visitation is not over and the Visitors are still within the Zones. It has even been put forth that the Visitation happened by chance, just because Earth happened to be an attractive rest stop on some cosmic journey and it was a Roadside Picnic with no higher purpose. There is no evidence to conclusively prove or disprove any of these claims and the debate continues.

Other Theories

The Visitation Theory is widely accepted but there are dissenting voices. For example, there are no recordings of the claimed Visitors or their spaceships. A lot of what is known about the interior of the Zones is based on the contradictory accounts of Refugees and the stories of criminals known as Stalkers. They have sometimes been used as explorers and also most of the publicly availabe photographs from the Zones have criminal origins. The changed areas with all their strangeness have been suspected to be either a badly-understood natural phenomenon or the visible effects of some unknown event of quantum physics. Paranormal and religious explanations are rife and of course some people claim that the whole thing is just a cunning plot by the government, the terrorists or some weird global conspiracy.

THE PLAYERS’ BOOK

The Prevailing Theory

The general public knows very little about artefacts or monuments and mostly hears about them in the context of the accidents they cause. People involved in xenological research mostly consider artefacts to be remnants and refuse of a foreign culture and technology. That would make them proof of the Visitation theory but some think they are a gift from the aliens, an attempt to raise human science and technology closer to their own level. Their opponents point out that despite their strange powers, many artefacts appear to be more like precipitates or crystals from the un-nature of the Zones rather than pieces of machinery. This would also explain how more artefacts can sometimes appear even without reliable observations of Visitors. The most common of the alternative theories is the idea of a momentary brush with another dimension where the laws of nature were different. In the resulting exchange of matter and energy, both dimensions would have left shards of itself in the other. Perhaps somewhere beyond the cosmos, an unknown species is now wondering at the strange areas formed on their world, with substances and technology that are just as foreign to them.

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the walls of an It is raining. Small rivulets of water run down n wood. Broken abandoned house. The air smells of mildew and rotte ning reveals the windows show only the dark street. A flash of light ts of a skull. empty windows on the opposite block. Like the eye socke es the border. The thunderstorm raging in the south occasionally strik from the window. A beam of light sweeps the streets and you draw away a diesel engine The screeching of steel tracks and the rumble of not stop. It overcome the noise of the storm. But the patrol does ne unfortunate continues along the empty street, looking for someo enough to break the curfew.

SciFi Roleplaying Game

s the gear spread Butterfly has her torch on the floor. It illuminate is loading the out on a tarp and the faces of those around it. Spark cans caught him magazine of a submachine gun. You’ve heard the Ameri n. He doesn’t once and he then escaped from a special prison in Orego intend to be taken alive for a second time. meant for people. Although you’re going to an oasis those bullets are stalkers they’ve You wonder where the European Institute holds the caught. Maybe they don’t take anyone alive. whose eyes are Czar is the opposite of Butterfly. A grim, lean man and there are dead. He’s also the most experienced member of the group s in Mongolia. wild tales about how he took on a group of Chinese agent their arm is long Rumours say he has powerful friends in Russia. Maybe enough to reach here. nuts. On the He tears up strips of bandage and ties them to heavy steel nuts are more tarp a heavy rifle is waiting for its turn but the to a stalker but important. He always says that guns are dead weight wildlife in the now you’re going to an oasis, a strip of pristine middle of the wildest Zone. r. Some forgotten Butterfly says she knows a route underneath the borde the morning and or reopened sewer, undoubtedly. Then you will wait for pouring rain. start a 20-kilometre trip, most likely on foot and in hering drones Even the thought frightens you. Researchers and sample-gat er. But for an consider 200 metres a good accomplishment in good weath are more stable experienced stalker the Zone is a net and in the holes your every step areas bordered by anomalies. You do not need to check with a nut when you reach one of those. e. You wonder Viewed from the outside, Zone France is a perfect circl according to some for a moment if the anomalous areas are spread out late the locapattern. If you could figure that out you could calcu tions of anomalous and stable regions. shape and surface On the other hand, viewed from within the Zone, its you a moment area do not match with outside observations. And it takes rcher. You are to remember that you’re no longer an Institute resea Professor. A feared criminal. Otshkarik. Stalker.

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THE PLAYERS’ BOOK

REFUGEES “The doctors told them that that was impossible and they should try to remember. But they insisted that it was a powerful thunderclap that blinded them. By the way, no one else heard the thunder at all.” - ROADSIDE PICNIC In contemporary language, “refugee” refers to those hundreds of thousands who managed to escape the Zones during the Visitation. At first they were the orphans of the whole world and governments did their best to relocate them back into the population. Meanwhile, the Zones were going to be sealed off from the world, removed from the map and the public mind. The process had not yet ended when the inexplicable diseases spreading among the refugee populations started drawing the attention of the press and the public. When diseases turned out to be the early stages of progressive mutations and the refugees began having mutant children, pity and compassion turned into terror and loathing. Refugees have been sealed in their own suburbs and imprisoned with flimsy legal pretences into various facilities. Security forces raid refugee habitats looking for mutations. Children are taken into custody. Forced abortions and sterilizations are everyday affairs while the few public protests are ignored. The public opinion considers them a threat, a cancerous growth in the healthy body of Humanity. They are a physical manifestation of the threat posed by the Zones. Harsh measures have popular support and the police often look the other way in hate crimes against the refugees. Discrimination and racist attacks are commonplace. There are even rumours of euthanasia programs and lynchings committed by extremist movements. The refugees have reacted to this modern-day witch hunt by escaping the habitats they were assigned to. Some live among ordinary people under false names, killing their own children should their mutations become too apparent. Others have fled back to the borderlands around the Zones and live in their own communities there, outside the law and society. Some became bums and vagabonds who beg and steal to provide a livelihood for themselves and

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STALKER:The

their families in hiding. In one way or the other, over the past decade the refugees have vanished from the public eye and the general society. People have begun to forget them and the terrible things that happened to them, let alone realize that such things are still going on. The treatment of the refugees will always be an ugly footnote in world history. Extremist groups concerned with the “Purity of Man” still carry out attacks on the borderland communities. Ruthless kidnappers and corrupt officials hunt them and their children like animals to sell them as human guinea pigs into state, military and corporate research centres. Children disappear from schools, the elderly from their retirement homes and doctors are bribed to reveal the records of any suspicious patients.

The Changed

SciFi Roleplaying Game

Human mutants are a taboo subject (as are the refugees in general) but if one must talk about them, they are usually referred to as the “Changed”. Any refugees or their children whose mutations are too overt and obvious to be concealed or surgically repaired are considered to be Changed. Most people have never seen one outside television and liken them to disabled people or the deformed children born after toxic spills or other environmental disasters. The reality is something quite different. The mutations of the first generation – those who ran out of the Zones on their own two feet – progress slowly. Not everyone even has them. Many of them are also in early enough stages to be explained away as scars and the diseases they were first taken for. Not all refugee children have changed either and some second-generation refugees will only begin to change as they approach puberty. It is not known if there are any third-generation Changed yet. These would be children had by the Changed amongst themselves but perhaps not enough time has yet passed. The mutations of children progress faster than those of adults and are often so extreme that there is no hope of concealing them. Their causes are unknown and they cannot be determined genetically. They are not injuries but have been described by Doctor Pilman as “grafting the features of unknown life forms onto a human body”. Mutations are also fully functional: compound eyes will have a larger field of vision and additional limbs are completely usable – their owners will soon learn entirely new moves and physical abilities. The flipside of this is frequently mental retardation, or more properly an alienation from the rest of Humanity. It eventually results loss of speech, the lack of self-identification as a human and the inability to recognize friends and family. The process is poorly understood and it may not actually be a decrease of the intellect but closer to some kind of autism. Fully changed patients may be capable of communicating with each other or at least reacting to creatures from the Zone. It is unknown if this is actually conscious communication but signs of mutant communities have been found within the Zones. Communication is generally held to be one of the requirements of forming and maintaining a community. If the Changed have become dangerous to their original communities, they have often been driven away or have fled on their own. This is a painful topic for their families. Some have tried to keep their changed children with them, even in chains. Some of the escaped and exiled changed will perish but surprisingly many survive. Their new senses and physical abilities help them survive in the wilds or to live on refuse and rats in the sewers and basements of the world’s cities. Some of them have even formed groups or communities. It is still not known if they breed amongst themselves.

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Some Changed are claimed to possess controllable paranormal abilities. There are religions and cults in the borderlands that worship the Changed but their real relationship with their living gods is unclear. These supposed supernatural abilities are also one of the main research topics of xenology.

Metaphysical anomalies are not only unexplained but run contrary to the entire modern understanding of causality. They are very difficult to study. They are powers that rearrange the little chances and probabilities of everyday life to produce a phenomena that might be termed “fate”. For scientists, an artefact that does not react to gravity or anything else unless it is touching the bioelectric field of a living being is an interesting challenge. But an artefact that cannot be transported on a motor vehicle without the gas running out every single time is a crisis of faith. There’s always an explanation for running out of gas: a hole in the gas tank, or someone forgot to fill it up, or maybe an engine malfunction has increased the gas consumption and so on. However, when something like this happens every single time the artefact is transported, regardless of precautions, the very foundation of our scientific world view begins to crumble. If the cause is some invisible force it always affects different variables in different ways. Instead of the processes occurring during the trip leading to a certain conclusion, the artefact will set the conclusion and the processes arrange themselves in ways that lead up to that conclusion. Cause and effect are transposed on the timeline. This is very difficult to study.

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The Cursed

The concept of the Cursed is based on a theory about metaphysical mutations, the ability of an individual to change the probabilities affecting their surroundings, either wilfully or otherwise. The phenomenon is real; regions with large refugee populations also experience statistically strange events. Accidents, of course, draw the greatest attention. The phenomenon is apparently also cumulative, directly linked to the numbers of refugees and Changed in an area. All sorts of inexplicable things happen in the bleak refugee reservations (the term varies locally). Statistics like these are one of the most important justifications for the rules and limits imposed on the refugees. It is rumoured that gatherings of stalkers or senior researchers of the Institute can have similar effects. The Cursed are individuals whose mere physical presence or normal activities cause phenomena like these. For example, there are urban legends that talking to a certain refugee will make you die within a year. The causes vary: fights, falling objects, traffic accidents, medical seizures... only the final result is the same. There have been no proven sightings of the Cursed. Perhaps the stories are just modern-day fairytales about witches and trolls, arising from the fear of the unknown associated with the Zones. Officials and the Institute play down these rumours but the possibility of metaphysical mutations cannot be denied. The existence of metaphysical artefacts and the Zones themselves are concrete proof that everything is possible. Just the thought of people untouchable by the laws of nature whose mere existence puts us all at risk is sufficient to keep researchers and officials on their toes. The refugees have become the modern equivalent of the black cat, a bad omen that you wish to neither see nor talk about. Just in case it is true.

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STALKER:The

Without street lights Toulouse at night is a dark pit. The rain isn’t helping. To the north are the inhabited parts and to the south is the border with its searchlights. Moisture scatters light and both horizons are aglow, one in orange and another in white. You can make out the silhouettes of rooftops against the dim glow of the night sky. The streets are pitch black. How Butterfly finds the right door in this labyrinth is a mystery but her rhythmic knocking is answered. Someone checks the arrivals through a small hatch. Then the door opens and you step into a three-storey building, covered in graffiti. Windows are boarded up but you’re surprised to find the furniture remaining.

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The house smells of mildew, filth and urine. The doorman, a middle-aged man dressed in a stretched pullover and worn trousers is talking with Butterfly in a low voice. Other residents are peering at you from doorways and the top of the stairs. Children, adults, old people. Nobody says anything but some are wracked by coughing fits. You suddenly realize their number, one family per room. “Changed,” Spark whispers. “Zone refugees.” “Why do they live like this?” you ask. “Aren’t they given an allowance?” “Mutant kids. The Institute would grab them if they knew. Grab the parents too sometimes. Those living on allowance kill their children. The rest live like this, hiding from the whitecoats.” You remember your old workplace. Shelves upon shelves with tanks and jars. A dead child, a mutant, floating in every one. Huge freezers with frozen babies sleeping in icy cribs, their humanity faded out by the sterility of the lab. They were nameless beings. Soulless aberrations. Cancerous growths cut off the sickened Humanity. But alive, it all looks natural now. They’re hiding here because in the shadow of the social workers skulk the Institute doctors with poison needles and formaldehyde tanks. Butterfly’s conversation ends and she gives the man a handful of crumpled banknotes. You follow him to a small door and down the cement stairs into the basement. The walls between the cellars of different houses have been breached and the entire space is now a huge labyrinth where you can move from one house to another. He brings you to a hallway where the floor has collapsed in the middle.

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A figure crouches at the rim: a naked, dirty youth, gnawing on a rat. His mouth, twisted vertically, reaches up to the corner of his left eye. His coppery orbs have no pupils. He hisses at you and flees into the dark with a single bound. The rat is left behind. He had no teeth but there are bite marks on it.

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ZONES “In the east the mountains looked black, and over them the familiar green wash of colour billowed and shone iridescently - the Zone’s green dawn.” – ROADSIDE PICNIC We know now that there are six changed areas, spread out around the globe along the 43rd parallel. On a Mercator projection they lie on an almost straight line which is called Pilman’s Radiant. Both astronomical and numerological explanations have been sought for the parallel. For instance, it has been noted that the degree corresponds roughly to the location of Deneb on the sky. This could have told something if the Zones had not appeared all around the globe and not just on the side Deneb was.

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None of the changed areas hit the oceans, which some consider proof that the Visitation was planned. On the other hand, even on Earth there is so much land on that parallel that it may have been a coincidence. All Zones are circular in shape but according to satellite images nothing special seems to lie at their centres. However, nobody has reached that far on the ground (or under it) and all atmospheric flyovers have failed. Additionally, satellite photos and observations on the ground do not always match. Although the changes in vegetation and built-up areas may be drastic, big landmarks do not disappear and can be used for navigation. Publishing maps of the Zones is forbidden but there are quite a few pre-Visitation maps of these regions on the Internet. Stalkers are also constantly making their own maps to avoid newfound dangers on future expeditions. These hand-drawn maps are valuable not only to other stalkers but also to the researchers of the Institute. When the authorities’ attempts to penetrate into the changed regions failed, they were sealed and closed off from the rest of the world. People started calling them Forbidden Zones or just plain “Zones”. Beyond the border lies wilderness, farmland and even cities that for thirteen years have been only visible in satellite photos. People left behind in the Zones have been declared deceased and no new survivors have been found in a decade. Close to the border the remains of researchers, soldiers and early stalkers are also visible. Nobody has dared or been able to retrieve the bodies. After reclamation failed, governments were more than willing to let the international community shoulder the burden of policing and observing the Zones. The Zones and their borderlands became an international no-man’s land and the highest authority in all matters concerning them is the International Institute of Extraterrestrial Cultures, a multinational research and security organization founded by the United Nations. The Institute’s original purpose was the perfect isolation of the Zones, either for all eternity or until such a time that their reclamation and restoration was possible. Only a handful of researchers picked by the Institute would have access to the Zone and at this stage, isolation and security concerns took precedence. Research and xenology were seen as having only academic value. Once the knowledge of diseases, mutations and monstrous children among the refugees spread, there were even demands to completely close the Zones from everyone, as if walling them off and denying their existence would make them to disappear. Their complete sterilization with nuclear weapons was also proposed.

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There was never an agreement or a common strategy. Sterilization by nuclear weapons would not, it was generally agreed, have removed the anomalies or other inexplicable phenomena. Additionally, both private and national assets remained in the Zones and nobody wanted to take the responsibility for destroying them. The Zones remained as they were and the authority and responsibility for them was taken up by the Institute.

Diameter 101 kilometres. The Zone is on the border of California and Oregon, just south of the town of Klamath Falls. It is mostly wilderness, rural areas and small urban pockets. The western edge climbs up the slopes of the Cascade Mountain Range. The area is swept by large and powerful dynamic anomalies. Some changed life forms have crossed the border and are believed to have come from underground caves. Volcanic activity is frequent.

Harmont, Canada

Diameter 57 kilometres. The southern parts are city proper, the northern parts are suburbs, farmland and wilderness. Unbroken anomalous area but with rumours of life in the north, including mutated survivors. Replicas sometimes cross the border but there are no proven sightings of other creatures. The Zone was partially formed over the mining town of Harmont. Unlike most borderlands, the remaining part of the town was not abandoned and gets by on slim government subsidies and a little tourism.

**

**

Toulouse, France

Diameter 88 kilometres. Mostly rural, with some wooded hills the destruction of which has caused erosion effects even beyond the border. The Zone split the city of Toulouse in half and swallowed up several small towns, suburbs and industrial areas. It also cut up the highway network of southern France. The anomalous area is reticular and in the holes of the net there are oases where all sorts of twisted life forms have survived. Artefacts are abundant and the Zone is favoured by stalkers.

**

Derbent, Russia

Diameter 70 kilometres. The Zone breaks up the low, forested coast between the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus Mountains. It also cuts off the important land connection and oil pipeline from Russia to Azerbaijan. The area is mostly forest, woodland and marsh but on the coast lies the port of Derbent. The Russian Zone is unique: its nature has remained nearly untouched while artificial constructs and vehicles degrade quickly. Anomalies are still lethal, appearing and disappearing daily.

**

Saysu, China

Diameter 122 kilometres. The Zone was formed in a deep valley between two plateaus and reaches over into Mongolia in the northeast. The valley floor was composed of forests and marshland but there is also the city of Saysu and the surrounding farmland. Slopes and highlands are arid steppe and rocky, broken terrain. The Zone is large and poorly known as it is covered by colourful corrosive clouds that often move against the wind. These clouds prevent satellite imaging and make the Zone nearly inaccessible.

**

** Sapporo, Japan

Diameter 72 kilometres. The Zone lies between the cities of Sapporo and Ashikawa. Several smaller towns were caught inside. There are also small woodlands and hills. In satellite pictures, some isolated woodlands are still visible. Anomalous areas are large and sightings of inorganisms are abundant. Distortions of time and space, such as the mingling of night and day, are common and visible as areas of light and shadow.

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Klamath Falls, USA

STALKER:The SciFi Roleplaying Game

The Borderlands

The Zones were created on different continents, terrains and societies but they all have their borderlands. Although the borderland lies on this side of the border, it is so close to the Zone that there can be strange weather, lights on the sky and voices carried over from the Zone. Population centers near the border have sometimes been evacuated to ease surveillance but just as often the inhabitants left voluntarily and the abandoned strip is wider than the authorities would have required. Looters and a decade of wind and rain have finished the job. Wind howls through broken windows of the abandoned apartment buildings while thickets grow on the fields and thistles force their way up through cracks in the asphalt.

The Fall

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There is no society without people. Only the buildings used for border control have water and electricity, usually from their own tanks and generators. Phones do not work and only vital roads are kept in repair. The rest have either been abandoned or closed off with concrete barriers and rusty booms. Moving through the borderlands is not forbidden but visitors must be able to prove their identity and submit to checks. This is international land with its own laws but without the police to enforce them. Soldiers guarding the border obey the orders of their Institute superiors and nothing else.

Wild West

In the borderland slums you can find drug trade, prostitution, illegal gambling and the manufacturing of pirated goods, although the refugees tend to avoid blatantly illegal activities. Strangers are regarded with suspicion and for a good reason. Racist extremists often make armed attacks on refugee communities in the borderlands and the power struggles between organized crime syndicates often result in murder and arson. There is no police, so serial killers have free rein, organ traders are free to sell mutated body parts and deranged cults can carry out whatever sick rituals they want. Beyond the borderlands lies the actual border. First there is a few hundred metres of quarantine area and then the world suddenly ends and another begins. Beyond the yellow warning signs there is nothing but the Instute and uninvited guests are observed through sniper scopes. Despite the harsh policies there are few actual guards. The borders stretch for hundreds of kilometers and the Zone itself is often its own best guardian.

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The fled inhabitants are slowly being replaced by new ones: biker gangs, political and religious radicals, UFO cults, ostracized social and ethnic minorities and increasingly the Zone refugees. To them, the borderlands are a haven outside society and in exchange for the primitive surroundings they are relatively free from civil authorities and the prejudices and persecution by general public. Borderlands communities tend to keep to themselves but sometimes members venture “into the real world” to work as illegal laborers or to sell whatever wares their community can produce.

Border Towns

Sometimes the Zone bisects a large town such as Harmont (Canada) or Toulouse (France). Places like these are too big to die out. Factories and the infrastructure are too expensive to be abandoned and relocating a population this large is difficult. Thus factories may still be operational, trains are running within sight of the Zone and the Institute is arguing with the state about security responsibilities. Electricity works at least in some parts and some blocks have running water. Thousands of workers pass through the crowded Institute checkpoints every day with their permits cleared by this or that bureau or official. And the smaller roads are not even on the map. In places like these, stalkers and their fences can easily disappear into the crowds and access permits and identity cards that they can forge. Institute facilities and research groups can be spied upon just by climbing into the highest floor of some house with a pair of binoculars. Pursuing agents can be thrown off by hiding in basements and underground tunnels.

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STALKER:The

Another world

The actual Zone border is invisible but some claim to feel it and even experience pain or nausea upon crossing. It runs through wilderness, fields, cities and even individual buildings. It is also very tall, reaching well into the upper strata of the atmosphere. While invisible, it affects its surroundings by screwing with weather patterns. Aberrant temperatures and winds often form in the Zone and for example some anomalies can react to thunderstorms. This is why exceptional temperatures, mists and sudden storms are common also in the borderlands.

Crossing the Border

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At night, flashy and bright auroras or a hideous green glow are often visible above the border. The Zone begins right behind it. Even the first step over the border can be the last and stalkers usually throw something where they plan to cross. Zone phenomena never cross the border on their own, not even airborne gases or liquids flowing downstream. This is inexplicable but the Institute speculates that to its internal forces the Zone is a spherical surface. A human can cross the border easily and sometimes animals also wander over, although they are just as much in danger. However, creatures from the Zone, be they mutants or inorganisms sometimes make their way over the border as well. Usually they return quickly the way they came but especially “replicas” (which aren’t actually organisms) seem to have a conscious desire to leave the Zone. The scene beyond the border depends on the season and terrain but each Zone has its unique features. In Zone America, anomalous storms sweep the mountainsides like waves and the ground is barren and scarred. Zone Canada is as dead as the Moon and dangerous anomalies and inorganic growths are thick on the ground. In Zone Russia, nature seems untouched (researchers have found many microscopic changes) but artificial materials and constructs degrade or erode within days or weeks. In Zone China, caustic clouds block visibility like a colourful mist. In Zone France there are stable areas, “oases”, between the anomalous regions, although the life within them has begun to twist and distort into something unrecognizable. In Zone Japan, areas of light and darkness slide and float through one another like clouds, while distortions of time and space are popping up everywhere. Radios are unreliable at best in the Zones and certain anomalies can silence them for many kilometres around. Radar images tend to be completely unintelligible, which is why the inner regions are known only from satellite photographs. Of course, maps exist from 13 years ago but much has changed and the inner dimensions of a Zone can become distorted, entire regions can disappear or even be copied multiple times (this happens a lot in Zone Japan and you can basically get lost on an open field). In the early days it was rumoured that there were actually seven Zones but the location of the seventh one had been kept secret. If the seventh Zone really exists, it is not on the Pilman Radiant. Both journalists and conspiracy theorists agree on that.

Anomalies

Any unnatural phenomenon of the Zone that has no scientific or even reasonable explanation is an Anomaly. Like the artefacts, they break the laws of physics but the effects are often deadly. Countless of different anomalies exist but some are clearly more common than others. Stalkers have given the common types names like “Mosquito Mange” and “Meatgrinder”. The anomalies themselves are often invisible but their effects on the environment can be clearly seen.

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For example, wind does not affect the vacuum inside a Void Bubble. The terrible gravity of a Mosquito Mange has flattened or crushed everything within it. A Merry Mirage looks often better lit and more colourful than its surroundings. If there are no externally visible effects, anomalies may warp or delay sound, colours may be distorted and many people also experience physiological symptoms. Sometimes it’s a matter of instinct. A traveller may feel aversion towards a completely normal-looking location. The feeling can

Anomalies can be divided into two rough categories: static and dynamic. Static anomalies are immobile, though their area of effect may change over time. They may still disappear and new ones show up but they are generally long-lived enough to be worth marking on the map. Static anomalies can be difficult to spot but once noticed, they are fairly easy to avoid. However, they can be very powerful and cover huge areas. Most of are constantly active but some gather energy that is released explosively when they are disturbed. After such a discharge the energy is spent and the whole anomaly can be safe for a while. Dynamic anomalies are sometimes confused with inorganisms or quasichemicals. It may appear as an energy release similar to ball lightning, floating around at random, or a wave of high gravity that advances along the ground crushing everything in its path. The flattened area may later repair itself, as if time were reversed. Most move either in a straight line or completely at random but never cross the Zone border. They are weaker and smaller than static anomalies but just as or even more deadly because they can appear by surprise or trap the stalkers in dangerous areas.

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be so strong that he becomes paralyzed when even trying to throw something at it. This phenomenon cannot be explained but it is very real, especially among stalkers. They trust it more than they trust their own senses.

Silver Web is a patch of silvery or glassy web. Not everyone can even see it but touching it will cause death or serious injury within 24 hours. The actual causes vary, making this a metaphysical anomaly. Void Bubble is an area of vacuum. There is no physical reason why the surrounding air does not fill this area. It has no visible walls or borders. Flashpoint is a very hot area or spot that fries everything entering it. Magnetic Fountain is a small area that is often coated with trash. It draws matter to it, usually weakly at range but if something or someone strays too close the force increases all of a sudden, crushing the victim against it. Some of these attract only metal, others only plastic or wood. Some may attract only liquids such as blood, or the vitreous fluid inside the eyeball. Meatgrinder is a very dangerous anomaly and also very difficult to detect. It waits for something to enter its area of effect and then exerts powerful tugging, pushing, twisting and crushing forces on it, often pulling its victim high up in the air in the process. Once triggered, it usually goes dormant for a while. Merry Mirage is a psychic anomaly that amplifies the feelings of joy and pleasure within its area of effect. Variants for grief and anger also exist, as well as mirages that make the victim return to some earlier memory and be unable to tell what is real and what is hallucination. Some have lost their memories altogether and had to be led out of the Zone by hand. Mosquito Mange is a completely flat area with a gravity tens of times stronger than normal. Walking into a static mosquito mange usually means death. While dynamic manges are weaker, they can still cause serious injury. Painting is a space where all motion slows down to an almost complete stop. Normal movement is frozen in place and very quick motion (such as bullets) appears to crawl. Painting also distorts sound but specific effects on light or radiation are unknown. If a hand strays within a Painting it will suddenly slow down and finally get stuck as if embedded in concrete. Shade is the shadow of an item or a building that always points in the same direction, regardless of light sources. It is very difficult to detect at night. Shade terminates all organic processes within the three-dimensional space it covers. Revitalizing the cellular structure has proven impossible and any contact with a Shade usually results in a difficult gangrene.

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STALKER:The SciFi Roleplaying Game 28

Inorganisms

What is life? Zone creatures that behave like organisms but have none of the attributes or processes of an actual life form are called inorganisms. Little is known and even less understood about them. Some inorganisms can be just badly understood or wrongly documented anomalies while others may be just insufficiently observed (and very special) mutants. Unlike anomalies, inorganisms appear to have some kind of free will and goals. To the horror of both officials and the inhabitants of the borderlands some have even strayed outside the Zones. They usually return fairly quickly. Their numbers and species are unknown. There are some clearly identifiable or commonly encountered species such as Replicas but even then no two Replicas are alike. Others types, such as “Burning Man” appear rarely but sightings are sufficiently similar to call them a species. But there are many inorganisms of which there are only singular sightings and in the worst cases different members in the same group have completely different observations. Finally, there are extrasensory sightings when the observer has perceived the inorganism in a way that is beyond the realm of normal human senses and biology. The phenomenon has also been observed with anomalies and artefacts. Physical inorganisms include semi-liquid creatures such as the caustic pools that flow towards heat sources, even if uphill. There are also beings that normally exist only in a gaseous form but can form solid extensions like limbs. Incorporeal inorganisms are even harder to comprehend. For example, according to study data, “Ghost Images” are incorporeal inorganisms formed out of light and shadow. Their presence will cause psychic disorders and hallucinations similar to hallucination-inducing anomalies. According to some descriptions, the creature is actually a psychic delusion with an area of effect far larger than its visible parts.

Oases

Most Zones, with the exception of Zone Russia, are anomalous regions. However, they are not entirely dead. Here and there are spots where anomalies are rare or stable enough for vegetation to survive and an ecosystem to exist. It may be just some half-dead scrub but the contrast to the barren waste of the anomalous areas is so great that the stalkers call them “oases”. These oases are usually too deep within the Zone to be reachable by the scientists operating from the borderlands and thus nearly everything that is known about them comes from stalkers. The Zone warps everything living and the oases are no exception. Plants cannot flee so they bend away from the nearest anomalies. The trunks of trees may have a squashed shape to minimize the surface area facing an anomaly. The reason for this is unknown since most anomalies do not produce any perceptible radiation. Mutations, deformities and unnatural growths can make plants nearly unrecognizable and nothing found in an oasis should be eaten even if you can identify it. Dead matter is abundant along with different kinds of fungi. Growths as wide as a finger hang from tree limbs. And where there is vegetation, there are usually animals.

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These are just examples and there is no end to the different kinds of inorganisms. Their reactions to stalkers range from ambivalence to furious hostility. Of course, it may be that the inorganism that tears its victim apart is only trying to find out how it works. “Replicas” also appear to have faint echoes of the memories and personalities of the people they are based on. This phenomenon has not yet been observed in other inorganisms and the debate about their possible intelligence rages on within the Institute. Some think that inorganisms are the aliens of the Visitation or at least their servants. All attempts to communicate with them have failed.

The size of an oasis can range from a few hundred square metres to several square kilometres. In Zone Canada, they are merely rumoured to exist while Zone Russia is nothing but one big oasis where anomalies don’t seem to destroy vegetation. On the edges are hardy weeds, sickly grasses, dry shrubs or colourless horsetails sticking up from the mud. Dynamic anomalies may have cut wide swathes into the vegation but these are soon covered with scraggly mushrooms, grasses and ferns. Beyond these clearings are mosscovered trees. There may be plants that are unknown outside the Zone in the undergrowth. At times, the scenery can be as if from another planet but such vistas are as rare as they are deadly. Although rare, animals and even humanoids have been met in and near oases. The braver ones even cross anomalous areas to get from one oasis to another. Practically all of them are mutants but the original species is usually recognizable. They are also often injured or ill, perhaps poisoned by their prey or the plants they have eaten. The ecology and food chains of the oases are poorly understood but it is apparent that food is scarce and most mutants are starving. It is also unknown whether they breed or if they are slowly becoming extinct. The scientific community generally considers the stalkers’ taproom tales about eyeless monkeys, flying snakes or skinless beasts that paralyze their victims with their howling to be nothing more but legends. There are a lot of rumours about human mutants and it is known that some of the Changed have fled into the Zone after losing their Humanity. There is talk of entire tribes and communities of their kind, travelling from one oasis to another like primitive humans or apes. Stalkers have found symmetrical piles of rocks, graffiti drawn with charcoal and totems made from the carcasses of prey animals, perhaps proving that the mutant tribes have their own cultures and rituals. Observations or recordings of the tribes themselves are very rare and it is quite possible that most stalkers who encountered them never returned.

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You are crawling along a pipe slippery with stinking slime and try to swallow your panic. The others went ahea d and the crawl is so long you nearly fall out of the pipe mout h when it suddenly ends. That would have been the end of you. The mouth exte nds a full metre from the wall of a pit wall and at the bottom is slime that gleams in all the colours of the rainbow, push ing out tongues of blue flame. You are in the Zone. You climb on top the pipe and grab the outstretched hand of Butterfly who’s waiting at the edge. She is strong and you are soon out of the pit. Expecting a field of ruin s, you find most houses more or less intact. This one has coll apsed only because the bright jelly ate its way through the foun dations. Alexander calls it Witch’s Jelly.

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There is the smell of chemicals and ozone in the air. No rats, weeds, cockroaches or mildew. This is an anom alous region. You glance towards the border through a crac k in the wall. The mist gives floodlights halos around them and even this far out you hear the hum of electrified fences. Somewhere beyond the lights are the motion detector s, waiting for you to reveal yourself. Behind the half-silvere d windows of guard towers lurk the snipers. Czar pulls a steel nut from his pocket. It has a stri p of white cloth tied to it. He throws it into the twil ight and it looks like a shooting star when it hits the bonnet of a car. The street behind the house is full of cars. Despite the dim light you can see figures slumped behind steering wheels. Some of the corpses are just bone s and others are black and charred, as if burned to deat h. There isn’t a scratch on any of the cars. Another throw, now towards an alley that seems to go in the right direction. Midflight, the nut is yanked down into the ground with such force it shatters into sparks agai nst the glassy asphalt. A gravity concentration; certain deat h. Spark grabs the Czar by the shoulder and points to the other end of the street. A black mass is advancing in your direction along the line of cars. Czar throws anot her steel nut through a display window in the opposite building . In the dark you cannot see where it lands but the sharp knoc k it makes sounds natural. Up close, the mass is a dark grass that grows out of metal. It hisses in the damp air. The grinning skulls behi nd the steering wheels explode on contact with it. As if by mutual agreement you all leap after the stee l nut. Dusty and trash-strewn floor catches your fall whil e shards of glass rain down all around you. You can feel a great force sweep past you in the street.

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XENOLOGY “Xenology: an unnatural mixture of science fiction and formal logic. It’s based on the false premise that human psychology is applicable to extraterrestrial intelligent beings.” - ROADSIDE PICNIC Xenology is a scientific discipline for the study and understanding of the Visitors and their motivations. It has become traditional in the science community to prefix “xeno-” into any research or terminology concerning the Zones, resulting in things such as “xenotechnology”, “xenobiology” and so forth. In practice, xenological research has two main branches: one to investigate the Zones themselves and another to study the artefacts brought out of there as remnants of the Visitors’ culture or technology. Both seek to ultimately understand both the Zones and the Visitors but there has been little true progress in that since day one.

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Officially, all xenological research falls under the jurisdiction of the Institute. In reality it is conducted by a myriad of corporate, military and academic instances, as well as some intelligence agencies. Those without a good working relationship with the Institute acquire their artefacts by other means and the most important of these means are the stalkers. Even the legal research is top-secret and the Institute releases no information even on projects under its direct supervision. Funding, from both within the Institute and outside, is based on private sponsorship, secret business relationships, corruption and the sale of data and inventions to the highest bidder. Xenology has been compared to nuclear weapons development during the Cold War. Everyone is in competition with everyone else and spies and defectors play an important role. The research projects are caught in a whirlwind of money, ideals and ambition. Thefts of inventions or research data, sabotage of facilities, kidnappings of key personnel and assassinating suspected defectors are all part of the business. The veil of secrecy has not always held. Financial scandals, random revelations about illegal experiments and artefact-related accidents receive a great deal of attention from the media. The consequences range from fines and firings to the suspects’ mysterious disappearances. There is always too much money involved in xenological research and the trail always leads far too high up the ladder. Those caught and convicted are almost always scapegoats for the real culprits. The situation troubles the convicted, the activists and the Institute all alike, because after the show trials are over, it is business as usual and nothing ever changes. Some of the finest minds in Humanity have been lured into xenology but many of them have come to regret their choice. They can no longer discuss their research or publish articles about it. After illegal experiments they can no longer switch careers even if they wanted to, because their financiers now have blackmail material. The experiments themselves can be lifethreatening and no protection or safety measure is foolproof against the Zone phenomena. Their families are under the threat of kidnapping, their colleagues perish in mysterious accidents, extortion over past mistakes is common and corruption is rife overall. The use of stalker-smuggled artefacts in xenological research is just one more felony in a long list.

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Xenology also has its critics. Some scientists think the legitimate basic research amounts to making up names for phenomena that still remain unexplained. They think the greater goals of the research, especially changing the future of Humanity with alien technology (according to the Visitation Theory, that is) should be openly recognized. Many researchers honestly have good intentions and are driven by a desire to improve the World but this does not extend to those deciding on the use of their findings. The high rates of the Institute mean that basic research is difficult to conduct and projects always come with economic, military or political baggage.

According to the Visitation theory, artefacts are cultural and technological remains left behind by an alien culture. They are some kind of cosmic garbage, abandoned and unnecessary. Artefacts are only special for Humanity because their effects or their very existence breaks the laws of nature and physics as we know them. There are countless different kinds of artefacts but some are more common than others and there has been only a handful of truly unique finds. Most types of artefacts have probably not been found yet and in practice the definition of an artefact should be expanded to include portability. Although some of them are dangerous to handle, they must be small and light enough to be carried off the Zone. This definition of artefacts is by no means complete. If they had been left by the Visitors, it would mean they had, in a very short amount of time, been to everywhere in the Zone, including sewers and houses that have since rotted away. The placement of the artefacts is random and without a pattern, unless one counts the fact that the rarer, more powerful artefacts tend to be found deeper in the Zone. Even right up to the Zone border, swept clean by the Institute’s robots years ago, new artefacts can suddenly be found. And the CCTV footage cannot explain how this can happen. There are alternative theories. Some say they were abandoned on purpose to be discovered by humans, that we might learn to understand and perhaps communicate with the Visitors through them. Others say they are a gift, meant to raise our overall level of civilization and technology. Those who do not believe in the Visitors’ benevolence say that they gave Humanity the tools for its own destruction.

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Artefacts

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The Zones do not grow but with the artefacts, their phenomena are spreading outside their borders. Indeed, it has been said that with the artefacts, humans can eventually turn the whole Earth into a single, vast Zone. In between lies the theory that the artefacts were discarded thoughtlessly, cast aside at random but that the Visitors’ relationship with time is different from ours. The artefacts got sprinkled throughout time, appearing to us once our linear now hits the time where they are located. Many artefacts are easy to believe to be remnants or refuse of alien technology but others appear to be coagulates or precipitates rather than items. All artefacts retain their abilities even outside the Zones. They are categorized into exogenetic and endogenetic. Exogenetic artefacts possess some power or ability that is activated by an outside stimulus (for example, a Pin forms light patterns only when squeezed). It does not matter how accidental or difficult the application of this outside force is. By contrast, endogenetic artefacts break the laws of physics merely by existing. If, for example, an artefact is partially invisible (when touched, its shape feels different from what it looks like) or it has always the exact same temperature regardless of its surroundings, it is an endogenetic artefact. The best-known endogenetic artefact is probably “So-So”, a tube about the length of a man’s hand, with a powerful, inexhaustible electric charge at both ends. Artefacts may have properties from both the main groups but going by their greatest power they usually belong clearly to one or the other. Endogenetic artefacts often interest industrial and medical researchers. Exogenetic artefacts tend to have lucrative military applications. Artefacts are practically indestructible. Some can be temporarily reshaped and many exogenetic artefacts react to pressure or touch. In theory, their powers could have no limit but in practice they have always been observed to have limitations in the area, duration or force of their effects. These, however, can change even between two otherwise identical artefacts. It is possible that our senses can only pick up a fraction of what an artefact does. Humanity may yet find such a Pandora’s box in the Zone that life on Earth will become impossible.

Itcher is a small, soft orb. When its surface is dented it will start to return to shape, causing psychic disturbances, nausea and hallucinations to those nearby. Pin is a thin cone that will form patterns of light and colour either along its length or from its sharp end when squeezed. White Wheel can be set into a rotating motion on a surface or around an item and it will continue rotating until physically stopped. Neither friction nor gravity affects it while it is spinning. Empties are two hand-sized discs always 29 centimetres apart. If one is moved, the other will also move to hold its position. No force can move the discs closer or further apart. There is nothing between them, so they can, for example, be located on opposite sides of a wall. Black Spray is a black, round crystal that reflects light with a delay and in strange angles, as if its inner dimensions were several light minutes. There are often inexplicable changes to the light’s wavelength or intensity.

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So-so is a cylinderical battery with an endless energy charge. In strong gamma radiation it will split up into two So-Sos.

Rattling Napkin is a silvery bundle the size of a large napkin. It slowly gathers an electric charge, straightening up into a flat, rigid disc. Every six to eight hours, the charge becomes full and is discharged into anything conductive nearby and the napkin crumples up again. Lobster Eye is a wand the length of a man’s arm, with a translucent sphere at one end. When the shaft is squeezed the sphere heats up. While the shaft itself will not become even warm, the radiating heat from the sphere will usually force a human user to drop it after about forty seconds. It then cools down instantly. Golden Orb is a metaphysical artefact held by many to be a mere legend. Touching it will make the person’s deepest, most secret wish come true. Many consider it to be just a new take on the story of the genie in the lamp and its three wishes. Death Lamp emits a green beam of light like an electric torch. Everything in the beam’s area dies, down to microbes. It’s victims will not even decompose properly afterwards. The effective distance and duration of the beam are unknown. Bracelet is hard to categorize. It strengthens the wearer’s vital functions. The specific effects vary from bracelet to bracelet but they can remove the need for food, water or sleep, neutralize poisons and remove diseases, or accelerate healing from injuries. Despite its name, Grey Crown does not fit on a head. A person touching it will hear or otherwise experience the thoughts of those nearby, whether they want it or not. If this is done in a crowd, the effect may drive the user insane. Newton’s Cube is a cubical object full of very small moving parts and mechanisms, as if made by a mad watchmaker. It would appear to be twisted and changed technology from our world. The cube is surrounded by a bubble of vacuum up to a distance of two metres. Triorb is a group of three spherical items. They can be touched or rolled around but their location and distance related to one another remains the same. If one is moved, the others move as well.

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Monuments

Satellite surveillance has picked up buildings or formations that did not exist prior to the Visitation. Sometimes it appears as though an older formation has changed, while some new formations seem to have popped up out of nowhere. These post-Visitation formations are called Monuments. Since they are all located deep inside the Zones, there are more rumours than real data about them. According to stalkers, the Monuments often have similar powers and effects to endogenetic artefacts but so much stronger that they can be very dangerous. According to some definitions, the only true differences between an artefact and a monument are size and that the latter is practically impossible to move. Not all monuments can be classified or they are combinations of the main types described on the following page. Nine times out of ten, the monument’s powers make it dangerous to approach and lethal to apply. However, stalkers also tell about harmless, merely amusing or even useful monuments. The scientists scoff at stories of monuments that return the dead to life or give material form to the thoughts and mental images of those touching them. Such monuments are unique and apparently permanent formations. A single Zone might only have a few of them.

Room is a chamber deep inside Zone Russia. Like Golden Orb, the Room is believed to grant the deepest, greatest wish of those who enter it. What a person consciously wishes and what he really, truly wants deep down inside are not always the same thing. Living Chasm is a legendary monument but its location is uncertain. It is said that the freshly dead thrown into it are later found in the Zone intact, alive, and naked. Blue Jaw is a crack in the rocks in Zone USA, littered with crystals around its edges. It is said that those who look within see their own future but that the sight has driven many insane. Torch is in Zone China. It is some sort of illuminating energy burst or a narrow spray of fire that extends nine kilometres upwards and lights up the satellite images from the Zone. Its effects up close are unknown. Frost Vault is in Zone Japan. It is a stone ring with an icy wind blowing through it. Nobody has made it alive through the ring, even in heavy protective gear. The Vault is one of the few monuments that non-stalkers have been able to observe and document.

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Tombstone is an infamous black obelisk in Zone France, which sends out madness-inducing pulses. Many of its victims will stagger about near its base until they die.

Black Bridges is in Zone France. It is a rugged rock formation where stone has shaped itself into high, interconnected arcs. For some reason, there is always night at the Black Bridges. Green Mountain is in Zone Russia. It is an obelisk formed by plant matter. Near the Mountain, all dead organic material rots away in seconds. Empty Door is in Zone Japan. It is a dark cave mouth that sucks in air with a terrible force.

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Quasichemicals

In anomalous regions one cannot help but notice the strange mists, puddles of slime, growths of crystals, or layers of colourful dusts. They may be associated with the anomalies but are usually quasichemicals, substances found in the Zones whose behaviour and properties cannot be explained by science. The difference between an anomaly and a quasichemical is not always obvious but a quasichemical can be taken out of the Zone while anomalies cannot be moved. The consequences of doing so are often serious and research into quasichemicals has caused several high-profile accidents.

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In the Zone, quasichemicals are a lesser danger than the anomalies but nevertheless, they are a danger. Witch’s Jelly may have carved out kilometrelong ditches and Caustic Clouds can cover an area hundreds of metres across, making it almost impossible to avoid them. Some materials have been developed to protect against quasichemicals but they are unreliable – while a protective suit may hold out against one type of Caustic Cloud, a cloud of a different colour can eat right through. A porcelain container may hold when used to gather Witch’s Jelly within the Zone but shatter when the jelly is poured out outside the Zone. The behaviour and chemistry of quasichemicals are poorly understood, which makes predicting their effects difficult.

Witch’s jelly is prismatic slime (some consider it a thick colloidal gas) that emits cold blue flames. It turns flesh and stone into jelly on touch but there is an unknown and random limit to the extent of the change. Because of this, it is found as small puddles and ditches rather than lakes. Caustic clouds are thick, colourful mists. Some are formed of nearweightless crystals while others consist of some sort of liquid strands that float in the air. They come in many varieties: caustic, burning, freezing, petrifying, desiccating and so on. Livesoap is a cluster of apparently weightless, metallic bubbles. They glow blue in the dark. Bubbles emit arcs of lightning into their surroundings and the voltage is enough to kill a human. Screaming salt forms white or colourless crystals and masses. They do not react to erosion but turn to dust when touched. The particles stick to organic surfaces and create new crystals and masses. This is painful and stiffens the tissue, but is not lethal in itself. The only way to get rid of the crystals is to cut off the skin and the top layer of muscle in the affected area.

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THE PLAYERS’ BOOK

You hold a fist-sized, silvery piece of metal in your hand. When you put it in your pocket and let go, it suddenly weighs so much it pulls you to the ground. You can’t even get your jacket out from under it. Taken in hand it is light again. Sure, this rock breaks the laws of physics but you expected something more wondrous. It is also difficult to transport. The placement of the artefacts makes no sense. If the Visitors have really left them behind they must have been everywhere. Inside the buildings. At the rusty bus stops. In a barn full of cow bones. You feel like a lab rat wandering in a test maze. Spark says there actually is a pattern to their placement. The saying that the shortest route to an artefact is the hardest detour is dead on. Powerful artefacts have been surrounded by such anomalies that they act like cheese in a mousetrap. He has also found artefacts in the habitats of the Zone tribes and believes they have been worshiped as some sort of idols. Sounds incredible. Could the mutants really have a culture? Czar’s map is from another stalker and has brought you to this place. An old farmhouse in the middle of a half-dead glade. Its roof has collapsed and the walls are growing white, chalky lace extending to the closest trees like a spider’s web. From within, through doors, windows and the collapsed roof, comes a white glow, sometimes stronger, sometimes weaker. The shadows of the lacy growths seem to sway to its rhythm. You begin circling the house as the evening fades into a cloudy night. Long shadows dance around it. On the south side it looks as if lava had once flowed from inside. Now it has settled into a blue mass of rock, with a rosette of blue crystals growing from it. Czar first touches the rosette with a stick and then with his gloved fingers. Finally he grabs it and effortlessly yanks it straight out of the rock. The crystals have fused together at their base and the artefact comes out as a spiny circlet. The “Blue Crown”, whatever it does, is your largest find. Other than that, you have a couple of Pins and a strange tube whose ends snap seamlessly together when touched. Spark already named it “Loop”. You’ve also picked up a few different crystals and a couple of test tubes of orange slime. That has now vaporized and begun to glow so brightly that the tubes work as lamps. They must be priceless – or mere cosmic baubles.

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INSTITUTE “Roughly speaking, we make sure that the extraterrestrial marvels found in the Zones come into the hands of the International Institute.” – ROADSIDE PICNIC Officially, all xenological research in the world has been concentrated under the IEC (Institute of Extra-Terrestrial Cultures), or “the Institute” as it is usually referred to. It is an independent organization founded by the UN and it is responsible for all security issues associated with the Zones, from overseeing xenological research to preventing items or samples from the Zones falling into the wrong hands. To achieve these goals, it usually coop-

Management

The Institute is led by a council based at the UN headquarters in New York. It’s chairman for the past six years has been Professor Theo Brander. Membership is invitation-only and officially based on scientific achievements. In reality, many choices and postings are strictly political. Different Zones also have their own special departments, whose methods and independence largely reflect the personalities of the people leading them. Institute activities can be very different depending on where you are. For the purposes of guarding the Zones and stifling the black market of artefacts, various officials and military units have been subordinated to the Institute departments. In exchange, these organizations and the nations supporting the Institute find it easier to be granted xenology research permits (xenolicenses). When someone wishes to start up a xenological research project, they must first apply the Institute for permits to do any research at all, then for artefacts and finally for access to the Zone. The application process is long and if the authorities agree, the Institute will dictate the sum the applicant must pay. Officially, this money is used to fund the Institute’s day-to-day activities and own research projects but in practice the use is determined by nepotism, bribes and arbitrary management decisions. If the Institute wants to refuse an applicant without saying it, an unwanted research project can be prevented by demanding astronomical fees. Accusations of preferential treatment for certain organizations and nations are commonplace, as are rumours that the Institute participates in studies that violate international treaties (such as the Declaration of Helsinki that forbids harmful medical experiments on humans).

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erates with local authorities. For instance, certain research facilities, especially government-funded ones, have their own xenological research projects that must apply for a permission to enter the Zone or borrow artefacts directly from the Institute.

The Institute’s position and sole rights to xenological research oversight have been taken up in the UN many times. However, no action against the Institute has ever been taken, even when flagrant abuses of power or crimes against Humanity have come to light. In the name of the faceless Institute, governments and officials can easily make decisions about forced population relocations, breaking up families or euthanizing the Changed.

The Research Division

The Institute and its allies use all kinds of high-tech, protective gear, special vehicles and many types of probes and sensors in their research. The search for artefacts is one of the main objectives but by no means the only one. Basic research, taking different kinds of sensors into the Zone and retrieving samples are all important parts of their research work. In the early days, the Institute also tried to establish manned bases in the Zone but according to present knowledge all attempts have failed. While the mystery of the Zones remains unsolved, the Institute has gathered an enormous database about Zone phenomena and developed a great deal of equipment and technology for the purposes of xenological research. Sometimes it even ends up in the hands of stalkers. Research groups and projects within the Institute do not hesitate to patch up their results with artefacts and samples obtained illegally from stalkers. Regional offices have discreetly let caught stalkers go in exchange for a few trips to the Zone for the Institute’s benefit or after being bribed with artefacts. In addition, stalker teams and their clients may bribe the Institute’s local representatives to look the other way when they perform their illicit activities. Within the Institute, abuses of authority and other scandals are revealed to internal investigators all the time. The punishments are harsh, but during Brander’s tenure, all available methods – including illegal ones have been used to keep them secret. There are rumours that different departments have even come into armed conflict with one another but the Institute’s public façade is to be kept intact. At all costs.

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The Security Division

The general public thinks of the Institute as a comforting safety buffer between the Zones and Mankind and there is no real will to interfere with it. Apart from China, the Institute is thus practically above both national and international laws. The Zones and their surrounding lands are international territories whose security and use are subject to the Institute while the Institute is subject to no one. The soldiers subordinated to the Institute are also subject to the Institute’s own rules and local regulations. There are rules for how to act in the Zones and the borderlands but the Institute inspector can overrule them with a direct order. In daytime, an intruder can usually be demanded to surrender but during the night the guards shoot first and go looking for survivors only after sunrise. The Institute keeps their prisoners in bases around the Zone perimeter, where the employees have no responsibility for their treatment or interrogation methods. They are just as unscrupulous when chasing stalkers and artefact dealers outside the Zone.

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With the exception of bribed snitches in the borderlands, the Institute has no spies or assassins of their own. They can purchase such favours from intelligence agencies or even presidents with artefacts and research permits. However, the Institute’s influence varies from country to country and especially in Third World countries, where a lot of unauthorized xenological research takes place, public relations are often problematic. The Institute’s level of independence from local authorities also varies. For instance, the USA department is almost a part of Pentagon and the American military industrial complex. On the other hand, the Canada department wields a great deal of power within the entire Institute. While the Canada office is busy with the cooperation of the Institute and local authorities over the entire continent, the USA office merely keeps watch over its own Zone. In Europe, the Institute keeps a low profile and avoids publicity, using the French state and political organizations as a front. Behind these fronts, the European office’s clients include the research organizations of many EU member states, which in turn are cooperating with multinational corporations favoured by their governments. There is no clearly delineated office, and the Institute exists more as an autonomous, camouflaged part of the European Union’s own massive bureaucracy. The opposite example is found in China, where the Institute has no direct access to the Zone. Nothing happens without the blessing of the Beijing military industrial complex. The Institute’s role is purely scientific and it must act in compliance with local laws and is subordinate to local authorities. The Chinese intelligence services have their own anti-stalker operations that the Institute has no knowledge of. The attitude of China has always been a problem to the rest of the Institute. It is damaging their authority in the international arena, and China is not believed to take the treaties that regulate xenological research seriously. For the time being, the Institute has been able to prevent the Chinese model from spreading but if xenological research and its applications make the people see the Zones as a resource instead of a threat, the Institute’s special treatment is history. The Institute may seem like the villain of the tale but it may just as easily be the hero. Stalkers and artefact dealers do not care who their clients are. Lethally dangerous artefacts may end up in the hands of terrorists and dangerous criminals. Additionally, unsupervised xenological research usually happens with worse equipment and poorly trained personnel, multiplying the already considerable risk of accidents. Even if the client knows what they are doing, the artefact will still travel a long way in hidden compartments of cars and the armoured briefcases of dealers. There have already been bad accidents and a major disaster is only a matter of time.

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THE PLAYERS’ BOOK

STALKERS “If you come back with swag - it’s a miracle; if you come back alive it’s a success; if the patrol bullets miss you - it’s a stroke of luck. And as for anything else - that’s fate.” - ROADSIDE PICNIC Not everybody approves of the Institute’s monopoly on xenological research. There are many who would pay well for any artefacts and samples from the Zone, no matter how they are gathered. This list includes governments, major corporations, military and ideological organizations, cults, rich individuals and so on. When the Institute’s price is too high or the permit is denied for political reasons they will turn to shadowy fixers and organized crime. Demand creates supply. Preventing artefact smuggling and black market xenology has become one of the Institute’s primary objectives. Stalkers are modern-day adventurers and outlaws who enter the Zones to look for artefacts and samples to sell to the highest bidder. Many never return but others have been working for years. How the stalkers survive in the Zone so well without the Institute’s support and technology is a mystery. The usual explanations include sharper senses, better physical condition, special training in certain areas and so on. However, there is no single clearly unifying feature common to all stalkers and they include people like overweight senior citizens, pizza cooks and even a few who are half blind. Stalkers themselves speak of fate, powers beyond their control and even the will of the Zone itself that not only chose that they become stalkers but will also decide which trip will be their last.

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History

The first stalkers were not looking for artefacts or anomalous samples. They were looking for human valuables left behind in the Zones. Though the first looters that entered right after the Visitation never came back, banks and companies soon started paying all kinds of professional adventurers and rescue workers to retrieve documents from bank vaults or secrets from computer hard drives. Back then, the border control around the Zones was nonexistent but the Zone has always been its own best guardian. Most of these early intruders perished but a few returned and made new, even longer trips into the Zone, sometimes staying there for days. Behind the scenes, the Institute bought intelligence from them about the environment and conditions deep inside the Zones. These people were mountain climbers, wilderness guides, extreme sportsmen, firefighters, ex-soldiers and so on. The first trip to the Zone became a rite of passage that through death or debilitating injury determined who would become a stalker. At first, many were willing to risk it and accidents were common. There was no real attempt to prevent this activity as all knew the dangers. If someone wanted to try a nearly certain suicide the Institute would let him. In the border towns a subculture of stalkers, wannabe stalkers and extreme tourists coming to gawk at the Zone was born. Not all stalkers were out for money. While officials tried to silence the Zones to death and scientists tried to explain the inexplicable, the Zones were an ideological treasure chest for New Age religions, UFO fanatics and conspiracy theorists. The first borderlands communities were not founded by the Refugees but by spiritual leaders. Some of them became stalkers to look for answers to their questions. In addition, there were independent researchers who thought the Zones and their study belonged to the entire world and not just the Institute.

Heroes

In the eyes of the press and the public the first stalkers were heroes. Just like the Institute was seen as a protector from the dangers of the Zones, the stalkers were the champions of Humanity that braved the dangers of the Zones and tried to reclaim it. The criminal motives of many stalkers was even sexier for the media, making stalkers a crosbreed of Robin Hood and the famed outlaws of the Wild West. After everything that had happened, people had a need to believe that the Zones were not invincible. The stalkers were also invaluable to early xenological research and the Institute purchased information and photographs from the deep Zone from them. There were nonfiction and picture books about stalkers and even Zone documentaries shot with handheld cameras. The wider audience’s concept of the stalkers and their activities are based on this period. Today, the profession has gone underground and few understand what it is that they really do. The authorities are trying to recreate the image of stalkers as a part of organized crime or terrorism. However, the media is now more interested in the Institute and its scandals. This is neither the first nor the last time that Humanity has created heroes to make it feel secure and comforted. The stalkers fulfilled a psychological need while laws and the breaking thereof were but a formality. Nobody went to look for those lost in the Zones, so the stalkers’ activities incurred no cost to society and their crime was victimless. Though it no longer shines quite as bright, stalkers still retain this heroic halo in the eyes of the public.

A decade ago, everything changed: the Refugee mutations, the birth of the Changed, rumours of the Cursed, the first artefact finds and the realization of their meaning... all this led to a whole new understanding of the threat the Zones posed. It became a pandemic, a worldwide pestilence that might touch anybody, even those who lived far away from the Zone, in other countries and continents. Xenophobia, the fear of the unknown, became a strong theme in politics, entertainment and religious rhetoric. Behind the scenes, xenological research became top secret and heavily politicized. Progress and setbacks, even individual artefacts, shook the established world order. As different political and economical interests waged their cold war over the fruits of alien technology, the Institute’s power grew. It became what it is now, a state within the state, half science organization, half geopolitical insider clique that pulls on a myriad of strings to see their will done.

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Criminals

The nations with Zones within their borders still play an important role but the Institute claimed undefined authority on all matters concerning the Zone and xenological research. This change of attitudes suddenly made the stalkers dangerous criminals. Many quit but new stalkers quickly stepped in to fill the ranks because now there was more demand than ever for their services. Everyone and everything was now interested in artefacts and xenology: governments, militaries, global corporations, organizations, even individual billionaires. Also, the stalkers’ methods changed. Now, to become a stalker meant stepping outside the society and abandoning your name and identity. Secret names were no longer a publicity trick but a necessity of survival. Stalkers also started forming alliances and small teams began replacing the lone wolves of the early days. Client relationships became commitments. Artefacts could buy what money could not, such as information, services, technology and protection. Stalkers also formed relationships with the borderland communities, thus securing themselves safehouses and Doors, ways into the Zone previously known only to the border communities. It is estimated that there are about one thousand active stalkers worldwide. Roughly half of them work as part of a hundred identified teams and the trend is growing. Stalkers are most active in the Canadian, French and Japanese Zones. The American and Chinese Zones are too dangerous and Zone Russia is poor in artefacts. Though their numbers are small, stalkers retrieve far more artefacts from the Zones than the Institute does. They are more skilled, take greater risks and can penetrate deeper into the Zone. Veteran stalkers also tend to know more about the artefacts than even the best Institute scientists. These days, stalkers are considered a part of organized crime. They are the first loop of a long chain that finally ends with governments, corporations, competing groups within the Institute – nearly anyone with money. As they brave the dangers of the Zone, the henchmen of their clients murder one another, masked soldiers raid hidden laboratories and black vans carry away new victims for human experiments. It is only a matter of time before someone carries aout the first xenoterrorism attack or begins using metaphysical effects to influence world politics or economy. Perhaps it has already happened. Who would or even could notice an attack like that?

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Buzzard

An old stalker from Zone Canada, rumoured to have murdered some companions to keep all the loot himself. Recently retired and working as a middleman for younger stalkers.

Czar

A rare stalker from Zone China. A former Russian special forces soldier, nowadays in the service of military industrial complexes – or so it is believed, at least. Also known to have killed a number of Chinese agents sent after him.

Fisherman

A Japanese stalker named after his habit of approaching the Japanese Zone from the sea, camouflaged as a fisherman.

Cricket

A stalker of possibly Indian origin, who makes expeditions into Zone France. Believed to be based in Andorra, where she leads some sort of a cult associated with the Zones.

Red

A stalker from Zone Canada and sometimes rumoured to be working for the Institute. Strictly a lone wolf, Red is widely thought to be one of the greatest stalkers in the world.

Author

A stalker active Zone Russia. He does not look for artefacts but sells photographs and tales of his expeditions. For the most part, the Institute seems to leave him alone for some reason.

Metropol

A large stalker team with at least 15 members, capable of mounting two or three simultaneous expeditions. Active in the Canadian and American Zones. Metropol is thought to be connected to the American military-industrial complexes, although these giant corporations are usually allies and staunch supporters of the Institute.

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STALKER uses the diceless FLOW system but dicelessnes is not of intrinsic value. The Game Master should have a couple of dice on hand in case something needs to be decided by blind and random chance. In most tabletop roleplaying games successes and failures in dramatically significant tasks or situations are determined by rolling dice. Yet the Game Master is responsible for interpreting the results and can change them to create the outcome he desires. In Flow, determining the results is just as arbitrary but the players have more say in the final result than in most rulesets relying on dice. Flow originated in the Game Design Challenge at Ropecon 2005, where I presented Towers of Dusk, a game based on the romantic myths of Venice and Giacomo Casanova. For the game, I improvised a fast diceless system based on ideas and storytelling. In the Burger Games weblog it was developed further and finally got the name Flow. Of the systems used by Burger Games, Flow is by far the lightest while the one used in Praedor is definitely the heaviest. Dicelessness has no intrinsic value and if the situation calls for it, the GM should roll a die. The “crap die” works especially well with Flow: a player announces that their character is peeking in through the door of the abandoned house and the GM rolls a single die. The higher the result, the worse the danger lurking inside. Flow relies heavily on the GM’s interpretation of situation and the results. The characters’ actions and their consequences should be handled in a way that fits the genre and atmosphere. Just as an author decides what kind of mood (and thus the nature of reality) dominates his novel, the GM controls the circumstances around the stalkers.

THE PLAYERS’ BOOK

PLAYERS’ RULES

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STALKER:The

Overcoming Challenges

In a roleplaying game, it is possible to try anything. However, most actions can either be regarded as obvious, or automatically successful because the stalker has skills or abilities that fit the situation. However, when the stalker attempts something unusual, difficult, and/or dangerous, there is always the possibility of failure. This is determined by the GM, according to certain guidelines. The character’s abilities and the player’s own actions have a pivotal role. If the task is easy, merely having the right ability is sufficient, but if the character tries to do something special, his own actions and the player’s narration of the situation are also worth spending some effort on.

SciFi Roleplaying Game

Player: “I fix the engine.” GM: “You open the hood and look at the smoking, oily lump. What can you do with just your bare hands?” (The GM knows jack about car engines.) Player: “Ritz knows cars (Driver ability)... um, does this car come with a toolbox?” (The player knows about as much as the GM.) GM: (who remembers that the street is full of abandoned cars and decides that the utility ones contain tools) “Not that you know of, but you see a truck at the end of the street. They usually have tool kits.” Player: “That’ll have to do.”

Abilities and the lack-of

Abilities depict the stalker’s life experience, professional knowledge, areas of interest and education. Practically anything that improves the stalker’s chances is an ability. Thus, combat experience with firearms is an ability, friends in high places is an ability, being born into a rich family is an ability and so forth. For an in-depth description of abilities see Creating a Stalker. The application of abilities is very wide. A driver can use his experience to control the vehicle at high speeds or trying to remember what sort of fuel intake system a certain car model has. In some cases, an ability can be held as a prerequisite for even trying. Unless the stalker is a pilot, he could not get a helicopter even started up, let alone lift off. The ability would be sufficient for ordinary piloting with no danger.

Player Control

If the PC does not have the ability or just having the ability is insufficient, the player can improve his chances by describing his character’s solution to the problem at hand. The GM then evaluates the presented solution and based on his conclusions, the stalker’s chances either improve or worsen. He is primarily interested in two things: THE IDEA is, simply put, how good or credible the stalker’s solution feels. The player must tell the stalker’s goal and how he will try to achieve it. Even if the player does not have the knowledge or abilities the stalker can be assumed to have, this is not a problem if the description is general enough. Additionally, the player can ask more detailed questions from the GM. It does not really matter if neither of them actually know anything about the matter at hand. The GM may not know how things really would be but in the game, the dramatically appropriate solution is usually the best.



If the car engine can be repaired (or the GM wants it to be possible in this situation, perhaps as a reward for overcoming a challenge), acquiring tools to do it seems smart and certainly improves the stalker’s chances. The idea does not need to come all at once. Even now, the player can ask for more detail because his stalker would know things the player himself does not.

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Ritz is a vodila, the team’s driver and mechanic. His strong points are intelligence and technical stuff. His drawbacks are a criminal register and prison tattoos from a past as a car thief and a forger of brand parts. The thought of rummaging through someone else’s car suits him well and he might even pick the locks just out of curiosity.

Presentation

Roleplaying also includes presentation: instead of telling what your stalker talks about, speak their lines yourself! Put some emotion in it and overact your heart out! Try to describe his actions colourfully. If you can emphasize some habit or quirk of your stalker in how he solves problems, nobody can claim it would be against is personality or inclinations. What kind of a guy (or lady) is your stalker? A freshly created stalker can be especially difficult to roleplay, so at first you should just rely on what you have available:

THE PLAYERS’ BOOK

ROLEPLAYING is the other side of the coin. How well do the suggested idea and course of action mesh with the stalker’s knowledge, abilities and character? Does the stalker consider the challenge important and worth the bother? If the player is meant to immerse himself in the role of his stalker and experience the game world from the character’s point of view, a good idea should also come from the right person in the right way. If you wish your stalker to succeed, focus on what he would do, not what you would do. Even a bad idea can be saved by good roleplaying.



High attributes tell what physical properties and personality traits are dominant and thus what kind of solutions your stalker would probably go for. If an attribute value is 0, any action related to that is unlikely to be his first suggestion. For attribute descriptions see Creation a Stalker. Drawbacks are the hard knocks, setbacks, quirks, character flaws and personal enemies acquired during the stalker’s life and career. From these, you can determine what your stalker likes and what his outlook on life is.

Remember that your stalker is a human being with their own dreams, goals and hatreds. If it feels like the GM does not understand why your stalker acts the way he does, tell him!

The Hand of Fate

If the situation seems hopeless, the stalker can still try trusting blind luck. By spending a point of the attribute that best fits the situation, the player can hope that fate intervenes. The effect is decided by the GM. It may be a hint about their coming mission, a great success in a challenge because of blind luck (such as finding a loaded gun in the glove compartment of an abandoned car) or surviving (or at least getting a second chance) against a lethal danger even when all odds are against it. A player may appeal to fate at any time, even after the GM has finished describing the events. Perhaps a situation that seemed hopeless has an unexpected turn for the better. The attribute value is now really one point lower. The reason may be injury, stress, headache, lack of self-confidence, shaking hands, or anything else. You should not rely on fate too much. If the attribute value falls to 0, you can no longer use it to appeal to fate. Spent attribute points return by the next session.

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STALKER:The SciFi Roleplaying Game 50

CREATING A STALKER “He’s not the first to have begged me, and not the first to have shed tears; others even got down on their knees.” – ROADSIDE PICNIC Before the game can begin, every player must create themselves a character, usually a stalker. It is up to the Gamemaster what is required of the stalkers but they tend to be capable people in good shape or at least sharpwitted veterans who have led colourful and sometimes hard lives even before becoming stalkers. They come from all walks of life but the one thing they have in common is that they are extraordinary. Becoming a stalker is an unusual fate for unusual people. Each stalker has a story to tell even before the game begins but many prefer to keep their secrets. Just as the players’ stalkers form a team, the act of roleplaying is teamwork. The game follows the actions of a team, not a lone stalker. When you create your characters, you also create the group. The players should agree beforehand what sort of roles their characters can fulfil. While the players themselves are a social gathering, most stalkers are goal-oriented. They know each other by nicknames and scene identities: Green Blossom, Fan, Quasimodo, and so on. During the character creation you have to go through the different phases of the stalker’s life and outline the events that made him the person he is at the start of the game. As a result, you should discover the stalker’s abilities, life story and the twists and turns of fate that made him a stalker. 1. Choose a team role 2. Life history and abilities 3. Decide Drawbacks 4. Determine Attributes 5. Deduce funds 6. Fill in the personal touches 7. Finished!

The stalker is an agreement between the player and the Gamemaster. His statistics should not be shown to other players and speaking in game technical terms should generally be avoided. If the stalker has a high Fitness score, it is enough for the other players to know that he appears to be in really good shape. If the player wants to tell what his stalker can do, he can say things like “he’s an ex-cop” but leave out specific abilities and drawbacks the stalker has because of it. Some Game Masters go so far as to not let even the players see their characters’ stats but that is a matter of playstyle. Even though the character’s past, personality, specific statistics and goals are none of the team’s business, the character is still meant to function as a part of the team during their expeditions. Therefore, they must be useful. Different roles within the team require different things and if the character has none of them, he is dead weight. During character creation, the Gamemaster should explain what kind of locations the adventures will generally take place in. A high-flung spy adventure requires different roles and abilities from a Zone-focused tale of exploration and survival. In Europe and Asia, the team roles are named in Russian because that is where the idea of groups came from. In USA, Japan and Canada, the names are more local (such as monkey, muscle, doc, scout, prof, driver, chef and boss). Zmeja is the extreme athlete who reaches difficult places and ties the ropes so that the others may follow.

THE PLAYERS’ BOOK

Individual vs. Team

Robot carries a gun, keeps watch, and makes sure nothings sneaks up on the team. He is also the bodyguard during negotiations. Kostolom patches up the wounded. Norka knows his way around the wilderness, sneaks past the guards and recons the safest routes. Otshkarik is necessary for determining what the artefacts, anomalies or inorganisms can do. Many teams do not have their own researchers but take their loot to some criminal scientist in the borderlands. If the artefact was dangerous, it can be too late by then. Vodila drives a car in the borderlands and crafts things in the Zone, making stretchers, tools, crutches and so forth, usually from junk and garbage. Many also know their way around locks and security systems. Grutzshik makes sure the team has sufficient provisions, water and gear for their expedition. It may be uncool but someone has to do it. Mozg plans the expeditions, decides tactics and usually also takes care of the most important client relationships. He is often the team leader.

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STALKER:The

Life and Abilities

Most stalkers come from peculiar backgrounds. There are Refugees and illegal immigrants, former soldiers, turncoat agents, researchers who fled the Institute and criminals lured by the wealth left behind in the Zones. The average citizen, who leads a normal, everyday life rarely makes it as a stalker. Abilities are learned skills, natural talents, chance events from the character’s life, personality traits, hobbies and so on. Having a specific ability means knowing it and all its associated career skills at a professional level. Each Ability gained after birth represents years of the stalker’s life.

SciFi Roleplaying Game

To ease character creation, the abilities are picked out by the life stages but usually any combination will do as long as there is a good explanation for it. If the player decides the character was a policeman for five years, he can argue for possessing three relevant abilities. At the start of the game, a character is usually 25-35 years old but may be younger or older as long as all their abilities have logical explanations. Young stalkers tend to be naturally gifted and lucky while the older stalkers have more knowledge and learnable abilities through their accumulated experience. How exactly the player parses his stalker’s past is up to him but one good way to do it is to use the following stages: Childhood: Three Abilities These abilities represent the stalker’s family, where he grew up, his social class and childhood environment. A stalker from the woods of Northern Canada who accompanied his father on hunting and fishing trips would know his wilderness lore from the very beginning, while a street kid from Calcutta would know the laws and rules of the streets like the back of his hand. Some abilities, like Refugee, may be hard to explain unless they are taken at childhood. Youth and Education: Three Abilities These Abilities are the twists and turns of the stalker’s life through teens and young adulthood, as well as during their school years, if any. That is when people learn more theoretical skills, establish social networks and so on. On the other hand, for those on the bottom rung of the society this is when they must take responsibility for their own livelihood. The school of life is hard and emphasizes pragmatism. Adulthood and Career: Three Abilities Life from 20-25 years onwards is ruled by work, livelihood and possible family relationships. Even if the stalker learned his civilian profession while studying, at this point he will gain the experience and instincts that one cannot learn at school. At the police academy they may teach you to shoot, fight and read the law. Gunning someone down and interrogating real-world criminals is something you can truly learn only on the job. Talent or Hobby: One Ability We are not carbon copies of each other. People can know incredible things just because of their own personal interests. A dedicated hobby, a natural talent or just blind chance has given the character this one ability that may not have anything to do with anything else. Yet it is an important part of the stalker’s self-image and personality.

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Budoka Throwing Arm Melee Survivor Strong

Woodsman Agile Fast Swimmer Tireless

Alertness Abilities Good Hearing Driver Pilot Burglar Reflexes

Night Vision Small Arms Seamanship Dextrous Sharp Eyes

Intellect Abilities Journalist Hacker Businessman Investigator Spy

Streetwise Nerd Politician Officer Forger

THE PLAYERS’ BOOK

Fitness Abilities

Willpower Abilities Leadership True Grit Intimidating Gambler Disguise

Animal Friend Interrogator Radical Religious Light Sleeper

Charisma Abilities Empathy Narc Beautiful Sexy Stylish

Performer Profiler Musician Artist Friends

Education Abilities Bureaucrat Engineer Connected Lawyer Doctor

Humanities Linguist Xenologist Scientist Wealthy

Technical Abilities Gunsmith Craft Skills Building Explosives Industry

Machinery Mechanic Heavy Weapons Electrician Computers

Zone Abilities Agents Inorganisms Sixth Sense Refugee Stalker

Scavenger Xenotechnology Changed Borderlander Pathfinder

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STALKER:The

Drawbacks

Every ability has its drawback. Because the abilities represent the stalker’s life experience rather than mere competence, they are also associated with negative events, memories and traumas. The ability descriptions include examples of fitting drawbacks. Still, the player and the GM should go over each of them separately, because they have a great impact on the stalker’s personality and circumstances. The drawbacks do not need to be overly specific, nor do the penalties they incur have to be directly related to their associated ability. Two people with identical backgrounds and identical abilities gained from those backgrounds may have entirely different sets of drawbacks. The drawbacks are not meant to punish but to add depth to the stalker’s history and personality. For this reason, the drawbacks do not need to be severe or their reasons all too traumatic. In general, drawbacks come in seven main types outlined below.

SciFi Roleplaying Game

 Traumatic experiences cause mental issues, phobias and personality changes.

 Goals make the stalker go to greater lengths and risk more without immediate benefits. A stalker who lost his family in the Zone may never be so rich he would not return to look for them.

 Enemies are powerful individuals and organizations who are

ready to go to some trouble to ensure the stalker fails (not all are murderous). Perhaps someone is looking for him right now?

 Weaknesses range from drug addiction to a lust for chocolate, leading to irrational behaviour and risk-taking.

 Quirks, such as only wearing certain colours or a vegetarian

diet are generally useless (and harmless) habits the stalker has picked up during their life.

 Misdeeds, real and alleged, may lead to a bad reputation, prejudice and criminal register.

 Injuries, such as a mild limp, missing fingers or bad scarring

may not be too troublesome in most situations, but they are excellent identifiers and can be fatal weaknesses in some situations.

Example If the stalker is a Driver, he’ll be skilled enough to be driving a cab for living or perhaps even do some racing if his alertness is high. However, the ability is more than just motoric skills. The driver knows a lot about cars and he knows the streets where he gained his ability like the back of his hand. He will also have acquaintances in the car business, from car dealers to unlawful street racers and muscle car tuners. Perhaps a car crash has left a mark on his face? Maybe he is a speed freak who is incapable of driving carefully? Could he have seen his friend die trapped in a burning wreck, giving rise to a debilitating fear of fire? Maybe he caused the death of a family member in a collision and still has nightmares about it? Maybe his true dream is to race across the Zone and he works as a stalker to map a safe route?

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Insane, dangerous and so very, very human.

Once all abilities have been chosen, we also know the stalker’s attribute scores. For example, a stalker with many physical abilities will be fit and lean. One who has studied the arts and sciences will have a solid education and most likely also an academic degree.

Attribute Scores

The attribute score is determined by the number of abilities associated with that attribute the stalker has. The smallest possible value is 0 and the greatest is 5. In practice, the highest value tends to be 3. It is very unlikely that a person has all ten abilities or traits under a single attribute. Temporary changes can be radical if the attribute scores are often used to solve problems but permanent changes happen only very slowly. Abilities Attribute 0 0 Ordinary 1-2 1 Good, Talented 3-4 2 Excellent 5-6 3 Perfect 7-8 4 ... 9-10 5 ...

THE PLAYERS’ BOOK

Attributes

Fitness

Stalker’s health, skill at sports, muscular strength, endurance and physical tenacity.

Alertness

Sharpness of senses, reaction speed, the ability to handle information and keeping up with the events.

Intelligence

Reasoning, improvisation, building logical chains of thought, application of knowledge and observations.

Willpower

Guts, courage, discipline, mental tenacity, self-confidence, leadership skills and concentration ability.

Charisma

Pleasantness, social skills, expression, practical psychology, the arousal of empathic, social or sexual interest.

Education

Formal education, general knowledge, how well-read the stalker is. In a Western society, education also correlates with social standing.

Technical

Skill, experience and understanding of mechanical devices and components from the traditional handcrafts to high technology. In a modern society, knowledge about technical things and general knowledge are not the same thing.

Zone

Stalkers and others intimately associated with the Zone seem to develop a sixth sense of sorts; a deeper, silent understanding of how these fragments of foreign worlds function.

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STALKER:The

Wealth

Determining the liquid assets and other possessions of a stalker is sometimes difficult and not the least because it also affects his motives to be a stalker. Where a borderland outcast would starve if he did not sell artefacts to dealers, an upper-class millionaire (ability: Wealthy) must be looking for something other than just livelihood in the Zone. On the other hand, the existence of wealth and using it are two different things. A rich stalker must conceal his identity carefully, or his opulent apartment must be in a true tax haven somewhere, far away from the barren Zones. The Institute and intelligence services track stalkers also by their financial activities. Because of this, payments are transferred to faraway bank accounts or handled in cash, even when the sums are huge. If someone in the borderland seems to be too well off, the Institute snitches will start to squeal. Because of this, even a rich stalker may have to live as if he were poor. Regardless of wealth, however, every stalker has the following:

SciFi Roleplaying Game

An apartment or some sort of dwelling A hideout that nobody else knows about A piece of equipment for each ability €2,000 in easily accessible funds +€1,000 x their Education score +€2,000 for every “financial” ability

In addition, those with the “Wealthy” ability usually have a comfortable, safe life somewhere far away, where they can escape to when the borderland gets too hot. On the other hand, they also have more to lose.

Example

If a stalker’s Education score is 2, he will have €4,000 in cash or easily accessible money. The Businessman ability will give him €2,000 on top of that and with the right kind of background, criminal abilities like “Drug Scene” or “Burglar” can work as sources of income. All three together are worth €6,000, which is enough to found your own limited liability company.

Ability-based Equipment

Common sense is highly recommended. All these items are either memorabilia or otherwise associated with the professions and circumstances where the ability was acquired. This kind of equipment can range from cars to sniper rifles or even an apartment somewhere in the south of France or northern Spain. With a good explanation and creative interpretation nearly anything goes but the final decision still lies with the Game Master. You should also apply reason to the stalker’s carrying capacity. If that is too difficult, a stalker can carry 3 + their Fitness score’s worth of large items (backpack, rifle, etc.). Don’t bother with individual kilograms or pocket-sized items. Walking around the borderland with a rifle on your back is a bad idea. Soldiers will shoot immediately if they see something like that. If a stalker has a lot of heavy artillery or illegal equipment, carrying, hiding and maintaining it may become quite troublesome. Additionally, the usefulness of a gun in a fight is dictated by the situation and not its range or firepower against cardboard targets. Borderland criminals prefer pistols and shotguns. Sometimes old hunting weapons are also appropriated for less legal uses, especially in communities that dislike strangers. Even so, firearms are relatively rare. Automatic weapons, even submachine guns, are only found on soldiers, gang bosses or wealthy stalkers.

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The above limitations apply mostly to the French, Canadian and Japanese Zones. Though it is strictly forbidden to carry firearms in the borderland, the rule is habitually broken in the United States, China and southern Russia. Because of this, guards there tend to assume that everyone they meet is heavily armed. The order to surrender is only given once.

Finally, you need to decide your stalker’s personal information, appearance and so on. Everything else should be clear after picking out your abilities and drawbacks. It is often easiest to think of your stalker’s description just like how a police would read it out:

Real name Known Aliases Sex Age Place of birth Nationality Skin colour Eye colour Hair colour Other notable features Current home address Former addresses Family background

The player may, of course, make up more information and background, such as family members, out-of-wedlock children, pets or whatever. Just be careful not to define the character too deeply right in the beginning. Usually, the characters will change and develop as people as the game goes on, and it is possible that the player will find their stalker to be a completely different person from what they expected. This happens to book authors quite often.

THE PLAYERS’ BOOK

Details

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STALKER:The

FITNESS ABILITIES

SciFi Roleplaying Game

BUDOKA

The stalker is a master of martial arts and trained in a variety of strikes, locks and kicks. He can shatter bricks with his fists, break bones with quick twists and kick through a plank wall.

WOODSMAN

The stalker can move stealthily in the wilds, orienteer, follow tracks, set traps, gut his prey, predict weather and find shelter for the night or from an approaching storm.

THROWING ARM

The stalker can throw things with considerable accuracy and estimate the spinning of a knife so it will hit the target blade first. It is old-fashioned but nevertheless he knows how to do it.

AGILE

The stalker is flexible and has practiced climbing and acrobatics. He can easily go up a tree or a lamp post, jump from a rooftop to another, drop through a window or run along the top of a wall.

MELEE

The stalker has practical experience with close combat, both armed and unarmed. Bar fights and riots scuffles with fists, knives, clubs and chairs are his real area of expertise but even swords will do.

FAST

The stalker has practiced running from quick sprints to marathonlength jogging. Thanks to this practice, he can now run two to three times faster than usual and can go a while before growing tired.

SURVIVOR

The stalker has learned the hard way to eat anything when necessary, from maggots and locusts to rotten human flesh. The taste is what it is but he won’t get a disease or be poisoned by it.

SWIMMER

The stalker is an excellent swimmer and diver who can hold his breath for several minutes. He can also operate common diving gear.

STRONG

The stalker has built up his muscles and produced something worth showing off. He can also lift heavy loads, bend iron bars, tear doors from their hinges and throw grown men around like rag dolls.

TIRELESS

Thanks to both natural gifts and both physical and mental excercise, the stalker needs little food, recovers very quickly from physical exertion and tolerates lack of sleep well.

Drawbacks

Fitness abilities are often practised in dangerous situations and professions. Many of them include combat skills that are rarely taught or even encountered in the modern world. They could have been picked up from dangerous hobbies, repeated crisis situations, military or secret service training and any hands-on work under difficult circumstances. These are the abilities of soldiers, security guards, rescue workers, extreme sportsmen, and so forth. The drawback is often a physical injury that reminds of itself in certain situations or when doing certain moves. If may also be a traumatic experience, when a friend got shot in the head, or a daring feat gone bad led to someone’s death or paralysis. Next of kin may blame the character for what happened or he may have nightmares or phobias about the situation or the circumstances that led to it. Perhaps he is paying for the upkeep of his paralysed friend or the family of the deceased. This drawback can be taken further: a fistfight turned into a manslaughter and the prison sentence cut off a promising career or studies. The lawyer son of a good family became a tattooed and muscular criminal. A combination of intelligence, prior education and his new contacts are dragging him deeper and deeper into the underworld. You can combine very different professions and facilitate new ability combinations this way.

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GOOD HEARING

The stalker not only has sharp hearing but also the ability to distinguish important sounds. He can listen to wall vibrations and echoes on metal pipes, or pick out a conversation in a crowded room.

NIGHT VISION

The stalker sees well even in dim light and is particularly good at discerning movement. Complete darkness is still black but at night, starlight or city lights reflecting off clouds are enough for him.

DRIVER

The stalker is a skilled driver and knows the capabilities and limitations of different vehicles. He could drive racing or rally cars, or the getaway vehicle after a heist.

SMALL ARMS

The stalker has both training and experience in the use of infantry weapons and related processes and accessories. This is an important part of police and military training as well as hunting.

PILOT

The stalker is a trained aeroplane and helicopter pilot, though most only specialize in one or the other. Even commercial pilots receive training for special circumstances and emergency missions.

SEAMANSHIP

The stalker knows how to steer boats and ships and knows the maritime rules and practices. In good weather, a motorboat is just a machine but the operation of sailing ships takes skill and training.

BURGLAR

The stalker knows how to sneak quietly, pick locks, tamper with the wiring on alarm systems, install bypass wires on electric fences, find the dead angles on security cameras and cover their tracks.

DEXTROUS

The stalker’s tactile sense is good and his fingers dextrous and sensitive. Besides magic tricks, he can squeeze them into small holes and can pick pockets or slip out of handcuffs.

REFLEXES

The stalker has lightning-fast reflexes. He can react to surprising situations with simple actions that come straight from the spine and do not require any higher brain functions – jump, dodge, shoot, etc.

SHARP EYES

The stalker has excellent eyesight and can not only distinguish details from long distance but also spot out details from a larger scene, making visual search for things easier.

THE PLAYERS’ BOOK

ALERTNESS ABILITIES

Drawbacks

Most of these abilities are gifts the stalker is born with and really hard to learn later on. However, they shape the story of his life and are likely to have led him to professions or hobbies that utilise them. Gifts like these are a part of his life. Not all of them perhaps have a drawback, or at least not one that could be said to be a direct consequence of any specific ability. Perhaps they are milder, merely parts of the stalker’s personality. Some abilities here you can train the hard way. Cars, guns and criminal activities are all dangerous business, especially if the character has been involved with all three of them. Few burglars have never been caught and their personal information, fingerprints and biometrics are all known to the police. And if you have guns, people will eventually die. Hunting accidents may not happen on purpose but a bullet that will kill an elk will certainly kill a man. For example: a promising rally driver’s career ends in a collision and the car burns down. Character survives, badly scarred, but the navigator does not. Since then the character has had a phobia of fire. Or maybe he funded his career with dirty money and now the gangsters are blackmailing him. Sometimes the causal relationships between abilities and their drawbacks are flimsy or very complex. Life is full of strange occurrences, unlikely causes and unforeseen effects.

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STALKER:The

INTELLECT ABILITIES

SciFi Roleplaying Game

JOURNALIST

The stalker has a good grip on literary expression and different formats and styles of news. He also knows how and for whom media works. He is skilled at looking for information and people.

STREETWISE

The stalker knows the street life of big cities and can identify gang symbols, listen to gossip, bribe the right people and stay out of trouble – or find it, is that is on his wishlist.

HACKER

The stalker can break into computer networks or computerized code locks, crack encryption, write computer viruses and spy programs, as well as develop countermeasures against all of the above.

NERD

The stalker is part of the “nerd” subculture and knows its trends, people, organizations and the many news sources associated with science fiction, roleplaying games, fantasy and computers.

BUSINESSMAN

The stalker has been a high position in a business and knows such things as accounting, management and marketing. He knows how the world led by big corporations works and how to direct it.

POLITICIAN

The stalker has been involved in politics. Thus, he knows political systems, party interdependencies, ideological goals and practical strategies. Ultimately, he can figure out what will benefit whom.

INVESTIGATOR

The stalker has been a plainclothes detective or a private eye. He has a firm grasp of crime scene investigation methods and equipment and knows how to access someone’s personal information.

OFFICER

The stalker has a higher military training or just a generally superior understanding of tactics in different situations, as well as knowledge of how different military organizations think and work.

SPY

The stalker has had intelligence or spy training from disguises to surveillance gear and cryptology. He also knows how the intelligence community and related organizations usually operate.

FORGER

The stalker has been forging documents, signatures and maybe even money or art. He knows the tricks of the trade for both making and exposing forgeries, as well as some of the masters of the trade.

Drawbacks:

Whether the stalker was born smart or not, Intelligence abilities are nearly always something gained from education or experience. They are also fairly rare and put him in a superior position compared to regular people. Streetwise, for instance, is what makes the drug dealer smarter than the user and the skillset of a spy is almost unknown to anyone else. However, some of the abilities are clearly criminal or at least suspect. What terminated the promising military career and drove him into such a strange profession as a stalker? A torture scandal in some Middle Eastern country? Spies are generally not allowed to resign, let alone start criminal careers. On the other hand, a spy working hard as a stalker may not even have left active service but is following orders because the alternative is a headshot. An officer can be wounded and a criminal wind up in jail but for the most part the drawbacks associated with Intelligence deal with hostile people or organizations, sensitive secrets, mental health problems brought about by traumatic experiences and the like. And while a spy can get information and resources from his handlers, he is not his own man. Even suicidal missions have to be completed and the handlers will not think twice about sacrificing him if there is something to be gained.

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LEADERSHIP

The stalker can give orders, present himself convincingly and make others obey regardless of fear or fatigue. He has a powerful presence and instils trust and respect.

ANIMAL FRIEND

The stalker is fond of animals and knows how to handle, train and take care of different animals, as well as determine their mental state or intentions from their behaviour and body language.

TRUE GRIT

The stalker has been tortured but never broke. He has become nearly insensitive to pain and does not go into shock, faint or even scream easily, even if his bones are broken. He is not afraid of pain.

INTERROGATOR

The stalker has experience with interviews, criminal interrogations and the use of all associated methods. He can read the target’s expressions and body language and notices even small slip-ups.

INTIMIDATING

The stalker has always instilled uncertainty and even fear in others, and has learned to use this to his advantage. He can also use this to arouse fear towards other people and things.

RADICAL

The stalker’s ideology or worldview marks a significant departure from the mainstream culture. He also knows others who share his ideology and has contacts in relevant organizations.

GAMBLER

The stalker has lost and won fortunes at the game tables and has both an eye for the game and a poker face. He also knows many different games of chance, the best strategies and the typical cheats.

RELIGIOUS

The stalker is a serious follower of a religion and his faith gives him a sense of community, comfort and purpose even when all hope is lost. He knows his fellow believers and the tenets of his faith.

DISGUISE

The stalker has been trained in the use of disguises and if necessary, can improvise them from almost nothing. He has also practiced the right manners for different costumes and roles.

LIGHT SLEEPER

The stalker needs little sleep and can go on for a long time without it. Even four hours of sleep is the equivalent of a night’s rest for him, although the body does not always recover as fast as his mind.

THE PLAYERS’ BOOK

WILLPOWER ABILITIES

Drawbacks:

These abilities are usually character traits or innate talents that have strongly affected the stalker’s life and personality. Although leadership skills can be trained, Leadership or Intimidating are both something you cannot really become good at without a natural knack for it. Knowing them will also leave its mark on the stalker’s psyche. He may hold his authority position as self-evident and is easily offended when someone resists him. An Intimidating character may have internalized his role and finds it hard to interact with others in a nonthreatening manner. Drawbacks like these may also lead to actual setbacks but mostly they are just personality features the player must roleplay. Of course, some abilities invite direct drawbacks. For an Animal Friend, harming an animal or a comparable creature, even in self-defence, can be traumatic. An Interrogator learns his skills usually as part of some other profession and these professions (police, intelligence services) are rarely all roses and champagne. Nobody uses Disguise for an honest purpose and it may be that a Light Sleeper cannot sleep at all without chemicals. Radical and Religious are difficult abilities because not only must the player pick an ideology or religion but the rest of the group also has to live with that choice. Radicals with opposing viewpoints in the same group can make everybody’s life a little too interesting.

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CHARISMA ABILITIES

SciFi Roleplaying Game

EMPATHY

The stalker can sense a person’s feelings and empathize with them. He cannot read thoughts but can see emotional turmoil, predict actions and perhaps sense weaknesses.

PERFORMER

The stalker can portray himself as something he is not, talk himself past the doorman, convince the police officer that he is a plainclothes detective, and so on. Basic ability for actors.

NARC

The stalker has been involved with the drug scene, as a user and/or dealer. It is a school of hard knocks, but he knows different drugs, their effects, downsides, traces, recipes and treatments.

PROFILER

The stalker can figure out much about a person from their photographs, behaviour and personal history. He can predict their future actions or reactions based on the observed models.

BEAUTIFUL

The stalker’s appearance is in accordance with the current beauty concept and he ages with dignity. He also knows how take care of his beauty and how to bring it out with gestures and posture.

MUSICIAN

The stalker is musically gifted, knows a great deal about it and can play one or more instruments with professional skill. Most focus on specific types of instruments and certain kinds of music, though.

SEXY

The stalker has raw, sexual magnetism and knows how to use it. Besides the obvious uses, this can be used to mess up other social relationships and make people do things they will later regret.

ARTIST

The stalker is talented at visual expression and knows a lot about art and photography. He can draw, paint and sketch landscapes, maps and people. He has a very good visual memory.

STYLISH

The stalker is brand-conscious and can dress with style. He also follows fashion and can expertly combine different articles of clothing and colours. First impressions are important and he knows it.

FRIENDS

The stalker has friends in high places and can rely on them for help – up to a limit. These are real friends who actually like the character and expect him to help them when needed.

Drawbacks

Charisma skills are mostly personality traits and will certainly come out during roleplay. This has its drawbacks: a Sexy character may have a history of unhappy relationships, a good liar may have trouble speaking the truth and an Empathic character may be shy and unstable. Also, the GM must set limits to how far your abilities in art or music can go or what kind of friends in high places you can really have. Use the Charisma score as a general measure. It is easy to come up with a drawback for someone with Narc: drug debts, addiction, enemies in other gangs or among dealers and so on. Combined with one of the artistic abilities, the character becomes a veritable bohemian artist, who then turned to the stalker’s life when they could no longer cope with normal life or their stardom. Old artists still have their fans and are occasionally recognized in public. Phases of life like this last for years and can even dominate the entire past history of the character. Learning to play the guitar as a hobby is one thing but if you made a living of it, it affects your entire life. Friends are a complicated issue. By choosing your friends you also choose your enemies and even the friends of stalkers are not your Joe Average. Friends will also need help and support from time to time. The whole concept of Friendship is a social relationship that needs maintenance and attention even when nobody is in need of actual help.

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BUREAUCRAT

The stalker has been a civil servant or a manager in a large organization. He knows the workings, bottlenecks, problems and shortcuts of large organizations. He also knows who to bribe.

HUMANITIES

The stalker has a degree in one of the humanities and a good working knowledge of the softer sciences in general. The arts and humanities are sciences dealing with the human society and culture.

ENGINEER

The stalker is highly trained in technical matters (Master of Science/Engineering), has excellent qualifications in some field of high technology and a good general understanding of hard sciences.

LINGUIST

The stalker speaks several languages fluently, some of them at a native level. He could work as a multilingual interpreter. Language skills will deteriorate with disuse but never entirely vanish.

CONNECTED

The stalker has contacts, phone numbers and calling cards from the top of the society or big business. These are not friendships but business relationships and all favors come with a price tag.

XENOLOGIST

The stalker has participated in xenological research. He knows many types of anomalies and artefacts, their applications and the associated research methods. He also knows many of the leading experts.

LAWYER

The stalker has a law degree and enough experience to apply it. He can interpret legalese and American contract texts and knows what punishments you can expect from different crimes.

SCIENTIST

The stalker has a degree in one of the natural sciences and a good working knowledge of the field in general. The natural sciences are the sciences that study natural and physical phenomena.

DOCTOR

The stalker has medical training and enough experience on trauma aid to be useful in the field. He knows the symptoms of diseases and injuries and can bandage wounds, apply medicines and resuscitate.

WEALTHY

The stalker is wealthy and his reason for becoming a stalker was certainly not a lack of funds. He knows how the upper classes live and how to enjoy his money. His fat wallet will open many doors.

THE PLAYERS’ BOOK

EDUCATION ABILITIES

Drawbacks

Gaining these abilities will have taken a large part of the stalker’s life. An able doctor must have many years of training and work experience. Combining this with the demands of other abilities in the stalker’s background can be difficult. An ability such as Wealthy will also leave its mark on his whole life: the stalker was born to an upper-class family, went to private schools and so forth. In modern society, education is usually the best way forward, at least when it comes to the size of your paycheck or your social status. Success often happens at someone else’s expense. Angry customers or opposition that uses criminal methods are routine threats for lawyers in certain countries. On the other hand, stalkers are not exactly saints themselves. A physician may have lost his licence and reputation for selling drugs to the mafia. An over-eager xenologist may have been fired from the Institute for unlicensed research programs. This is how stalkers are made but such events will have many other lasting repercussions. Linguist is a special case. He may be an multicultural immigrant or just someone with a knack for languages. Usually, the character will be somewhat fluent in foreign languages equal to their Education score but this ability can double that number and give him native-level ability in some of them. He is also quick to learn new languages if there is an opportunity.

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TECHNICAL ABILITIES

SciFi Roleplaying Game

GUNSMITH

The stalker knows weapons technology, related components, metallurgy, ballistics, ergonomics and bad practises. He can build, study, repair and modify guns and ammo.

MACHINERY

The stalker knows how to use special equipment like Geiger counters, surveyor’s equipment, robotic probes and so on. The more specialized the machine, the more important this ability is.

CRAFTS

The stalker is good with his hands and knows old-fashioned craft skills such as wood carving, metalworking, rope weaving and so on. He can make tools out of junk and other things found in the wild.

MECHANIC

The stalker knows engines and material tech and can put together and take apart mechanical devices. He can weld, identify weak spots, and so forth. He is right at home at a steelworks or a repair shop.

CONSTRUCTION

The stalker has worked at a building site or otherwise knows the technology, architecture and materials of big buildings. He knows how to look for sewers, ventilation ducts and other ways in and out.

HEAVY WEAPONS

The stalker is familiar with support weapons, such as heavy machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, field artillery, target painters for missiles, and so on. They rarely get to play with such toys.

EXPLOSIVES

The stalker can use all sorts of explosives and mines, or even make his own IEDs. He also knows where to place them to get the most bang for the buck and make explosives from household chemicals.

ELECTRICIAN

The stalker can read wiring diagrams and install, dismantle and repair both high and low current technology from electric fences to the inner wirings of various machines and mechanisms.

INDUSTRY

The stalker is familiar with common industrial processes and their associated machinery, as well as the risks involved with their use.He has a good idea of what industrial plants and buildings are like.

COMPUTERS

The stalker has experience in administrating and maintaining complex computer systems. He also has a good understanding of the technology, functions and software of mainframes and networks.

Drawbacks

These abilities are both professions and hobbies. Someone who has made a living as a car mechanic is likely to have tuned cars since his teens. The system administrator of an IT company will have fiddled with computers and their components for years before. A trained electrician will have rewired his home’s electric systems any which way he wants to, with little regard for established conventions or sometimes even the safety rules. People with talent and interest in practical technology will learn the associated skill sets over time. The drawbacks are also often professional. The danger of injury is present in nearly all technical professions and perhaps a fire in his car repair shop left a mechanic up to his ears in debt. The gunsmith who modified guns for his friends has done time behind bars after those same guns were used in heists. An electrician modified his radio to listen in on police frequencies and then sold the information to the mafia. Something went wrong and now the mafia believes he was a snitch and wants revenge. Explosives may have cost an eye, a few fingers, or maybe the life of an innocent bystander.

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AGENTS

The stalker knows all sorts of people and organizations who might be interested in buying artefacts and whom do they really represent and how the smuggling networks around the Zones work.

SCAVENGER

The stalker has a keen instinct on where pre-Visitation items would have the best odds of having stayed intact and when and where to look for any specific item. Works also outside the Zones.

INORGANISMS

The stalker has seen enough inorganisms to make guesses about their powers, predict their behaviour and identify the regions where they will most likely be encountered.

XENOTECHNOLOGY

The stalker has experience with the weapons and tools built around artefacts. He knows a xenotech device when he sees one and what kinds of devices the industries and militaries typically want.

SIXTH SENSE

The stalker has developed an instinct for the phenomena of the Zone and sees and hears more than other people when moving through it. The accuracy of physical senses has nothing to do with this.

CHANGED

The stalker has a mutation, either from birth or as a result of some event occurring in the Zone. It is a bodily change but a fully functional one, usually associated with some inhuman ability.

REFUGEE

The stalker is one of those who managed to flee the Zone and has grown up and lived among the Refugees, perhaps even in the Borderlands. He knows their ways, groups, livelihoods and fears.

BORDERLANDER

The stalker has much personal experience with the Zone border and its guardians. Perhaps he has been one and thus knows their habits and the flaws of their sensor equipment and electrified fences.

STALKER

The stalker knows the names, emblems and presumed allies of various stalker groups. He also knows famous stalkers personally and can identify the marks they have left in the Zone.

PATHFINDER

The stalker has an excellent sense of direction and an idea of the route already travelled. He will not get really lost even in dark tunnels or when the Zone topography has changed.

THE PLAYERS’ BOOK

ZONE ABILITIES

Drawbacks

These abilities are usually inaccessible unless the stalker is a Refugee, an experienced Stalker or someone else who has already been mucking about with the Zones. Usually they can be learned during the play, after enough expeditions. The drawbacks must then be improvised to fit the situation and past events. Drawbacks associated with the Zone can be very exotic, such as metaphysical mutations. Some drawbacks are obvious. Changed means a bodily mutation that will be revealed in a hasty pat-down at the latest (to the dismay and horror of the checkers). A border guard who associates with stalkers may end up in prison, while someone who befriended a known stalker easily ends up on some secret service blacklists and so forth. Even people who trust their sense of direction can follow it blindly even in the rare occasion it is obviously wrong. An experienced scavenger will easily get greedy and becomes blind to the risks. The GM has the final say in how far the Zone ability will go and how they work in any given situation. For example, Sixth Sense is something the stalker (or the player) has very little control over. Its drawback might be a greater vulnerability to certain types of dangers or a creeping madness and sense of alienation akin to the Changed. One day, the stalker will no longer want to leave the Zone.

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ON A ROADSIDE PICNIC “Official - and I stress official - sources have led me to believe that an inspection of the garage could be of great scientific value.” - ROADSIDE PICNIC

If the stalkers are experienced, the group will know all of this beforehand. Thus, so should the players. If the stalkers are green, the Game Master should tell them choice bits from this, such as things they may have heard as rumours or picked up as second-hand knowledge. Ask your Game Master before reading this.

The Plan

The expedition begins with a thought or an observation. Using maps dating back to pre-Visitation days or satellite images acquired from their contacts, the team plans their waypoints and landmarks. These are not always completely trustworthy but it is likely that large buildings and landmarks are still recognizable, or that a stretch of river left inside the Zone is still there. You must never get lost, so the expedition is planned out: office building, parking hall, traffic circle, landfill, etc. During the expedition, you follow this route and if someone gets separated from the group, he can try to save his skin by seeking out the next waypoint on his own.

THE PLAYERS’ BOOK

This description of an expedition into the Zone is in the grey area between the Player and Game Master. It is a study on what the stalkers usually do and why. Every expedition is different but they share similar elements, motives and reasons.

The motive for an expedition is often an observation made by another stalker, a change in satellite images, a rumour, or observations from a previous expedition. If artefacts are more frequently found near Monuments, the locations of Monuments will have been mapped out during an expedition so that future expeditions can be planned with them in mind. Meticulous planning also has the advantage that even in the Zone there are benefits from having seen a place before. Every expedition will follow the route of the previous ones as far as possible. At the end, you just add a new, daring leg to the journey and finally the stalkers have a network of relatively clear paths that can be used to travel almost anywhere at reduced risk. The planning also includes the time taken by the expedition. It would be easiest to just slink back and forth across the border but the Institute is watching just for that. Our stalkers must get at least out of sight of the border and in places with watchtowers or helicopters this can mean travelling several kilometres into the Zone. Stalkers have spent nights in the Zone but that is always very dangerous. In the darkness, a dynamic anomaly can kill the entire team at one go and even if it does not, a panicked flight into the dark surely will. Oases are sort of safe for camping since they rarely have anomalies. Changed lifeforms can be just as lethal but at least they can be fought or driven away with burning logs from the campfire.

The Door

In stalker jargon, any regular route into the Zone is a “Door”. It can be a piece of the border in a blind spot to motion detectors, an unplugged sewer pipe going under the border or just a hole in the fence. Penetrating into the Zone is usually easier than you would think. Though the papers have pictures of electric fences and watchtowers, these really only exist where the border runs near former population centres. The border of Zone France bisects the city of Toulouse and within the city there are impressive fortifications along it, complete with moats and watchtowers. However, outside the city there exists a further 270 kilometres of border, right up to the foothills of the Pyrenees. This is guarded only by helicopters with infrared cameras and the occasional long-distance patrol.

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Up in the Pyrenees, the real problems are the distances and the difficult ground. The actual border is easily crossed but any roads leading to it can be blocked and vehicles are easily spotted from both land and air. A team moving on foot over the mountain slopes will have to hike for days both ways. Thus doors in the population centres are highly valued. Some borderland communities get extra income by maintaining a Door and charging a fee from stalkers using it. Sooner or later, the Institute will find the Door and close it down but the stalkers and borderland residents always find new ones. Pre-emptive actions by the Institute are still driving stalkers, and lone wolf stalkers in particular, to ever more remote locations. However, if you still have days of travel ahead after returning across the border, a bad injury can translate into certain death. Not all expeditions use a Door. Some research projects active at the Zone border double as covers for stalkers when the projects’ backers hire them to acquire artefacts without the Institute’s knowledge. Accidents and other incidents at the border can also offer temporary opportunities for an easy crossing.

SciFi Roleplaying Game

There have also been all kinds of crazy attempts to get across, like driving a handcar into the Zone along the old railways, jumping in with a paraglider or entering the Zone with an ultralight helicopter. Most of these attempts have failed: either the Institute has stepped in or an anomaly has demolished the vehicle used. How to get in and out of the Zone are key questions to consider during the planning stage. Where do we enter? How close to our destination is the Door? Should we exit at the same place or use a different Door? What’s our plan B in case we cannot use the chosen Door? Are there any special circumstances affecting border control right now? Are we feeling good or bad about this? Instincts can be more accurate than the senses.

Baggage

An expedition into the Zone is a journey beyond society, civilization and effective communications networks. If you didn’t bring something with you, you can’t get it. Finding useful gear in the Zone is a matter of happenstance and not something you can count on. If something is broken, you must either repair it with the most primitive of methods or abandon it. Beginners’ expeditions are miserable at best and disasters at worst because the circumstances were not understood. In addition to anomalies, it’s cold and dark in the Zone with sharp edges and dangerous chemicals everywhere. Also, the stalkers must be capable of swift movement over difficult terrain. Except for canned pre-Visit food, you cannot eat or drink anything found in the Zone and must bring your own provisions. You usually cannot light a fire during the night, so warm clothes, sleeping bags and travel mattresses are necessary. Durable general utility tools are also good: crowbar, hammer, hatchet, rope, good knife, etc. If the expedition takes place near the border or somewhere with good visibility from the border, camouflage fatigues, a camo-patterned raincloak or even a ghillie suit will help. The un-nature of the Zone sets its own demands. In areas that are badly contaminated by quasichemicals, such as the entire Zone China, stalkers wear wetsuits or insulated coveralls. Not all substances can be protected against but even a raincoat or a thick raincloak and a gas mask will protect from most of the small windborne particles. Geiger counters, voltmeters and even photosensors can reveal anomalies. The most popular way, however, is to throw something into the suspected anomaly and see what happens.

Beyond the Border

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What happens beyond the border naturally depends on where it was crossed, but usually the first goal is to get away from the border and out of sight. This is why the border is often crossed at night, preferably at a spot where it is possible to advance deeper into the Zone under cover. Despite their fearsome reputation, the border guards are rarely alert towards the Zone, so if the team moves stealthily and keeps out of sight it should suffice. On the other hand, the guards take no prisoners at night and nobody will come across the border for a stalker wounded by a sniper’s bullet. Instead, they will wait if he can drag himself to the border by morning.

Progress happens one steel nut at a time. You throw steel nuts with a piece of cloth tied to them at suspected anomalies and track their flight. If everything looks good and your instincts do not warn you, you advance where the nut has landed and throw it at the next target. Deeper in the Zone there are more stable areas and even oases where life still survives. Finding and using these safe places is a prerequisite of any longer trips because advancing one nut at a time consumes both time and nuts. Most expeditions will not reach that deep into the Zone. The team will just cross the border in the night and keep going until they are far enough. Then they wait for dawn, look for artefacts while the light lasts and return to the door at dusk.

The Loot

Most stalkers head out to the Zone to look for artefacts and their troubles are not over once they find some. An artefact can do anything and although certain types are more common and reoccurring, you can never be sure that an artefact that looks like a Pin is just a Pin. Some artefacts are dangerous to even touch and contact between two different artefacts can produce unexpected side effects. Some, such as “Weights” are practically impos-

THE PLAYERS’ BOOK

Beyond the border lies the anomalous area and moving there at night is extremely dangerous. Usually, the team will advance along a well known route and wait out the night in the first good cover, moving on in the pre-dawn twilight and so that daylight will grow with the distance to the border. The team will advance according to the plan from one landmark to another, unless there is a pressing need to deviate. If something has changed so much that the prior landmarks are no longer usable, many teams will immediately abort the expedition and return.

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sible to move unless they are constantly touched. It is not even always clear whether something is an artefact or not, especially if its powers are not immediately discernible. The first test is usually prodding the item with a stick or throwing a steel nut at it. After that you can try with gloved hands. If there are no effects, the decision must be made whether it is worth taking along. Is it common, rare or unique? Can its effects be easily displayed to the client or is it useful to the finder himself? Is it portable? How safe is it to do so? How does it react to knocks, heat, squeezing or liquids? Does it radiate? All this can be tested in the Zone. Even radiation can be determined with a Geiger counter or a cheap piece of film. The Institute’s field researchers have their own special radiation-shielded containers but stalkers usually have to rely on their wits and creativeness. Plastic bags lined with tin foil, padded boxes and wide-mouthed thermos bottles are all commonly used by stalkers to shield both themselves and their artefacts. Accidents still do happen, so it has become habitual to keep artefacts and the necessary survival gear in different bags. During the night, artefacts aren’t even kept in camp. If there is a Slow Pulsar among the artefacts this simple precaution may save the entire group. Most stalkers will just drag anything that looks even a bit special out of the Zone since almost everything can be sold somewhere – if nothing else, tourists in the borderlands may buy it as a souvenir. If the team hits a bad spot in the Zone, the loot can be cached there and it will most likely still be there on their next expedition.

The Way Home

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If the team has access to more than one Door, they may confound any tails they have by entering through one door and exiting through another. Usually expeditions begin and end at the same spot, though, since the route that has already been mapped and recently travelled is usually also the safest one back. However, the Zone is constantly changing and even if on previous ex-

Once the Door has been reached, one member of the team will first enter it without the artefacts and signals the others if the coast is clear. Artefacts will usually come last because some of them will react to crossing the Border and can at least in theory even block the door. If there is no signal or it is the wrong one, the group knows they are in trouble. The Institute’s interrogators can make anyone talk and so it must be assumed that within 24 hours they will know everything that the caught point man knew about the team. It is also quite possible that he is never seen again. For such events it is good to have a spare door but if you cannot reach it before it too is revealed, your only bet is to find a poorly guarded spot on the Border. In Zone France, this usually means a long and dangerous journey outside Toulouse where the border crosses over farmland, forests and hills. In this case, it is often best to hide the artefacts somewhere in the Zone and plan another expedition later to retrieve them.

THE PLAYERS’ BOOK

peditions you have mapped out the dangerous locations in the vicinity, you must still keep your eyes open. On the return trip you will usually have more baggage, there may be injured team members and easily replaced gear can be abandoned to quicken travel. If the group was detected when entering the Zone, returning may be difficult. Even if the Door has not been found, the guards know they are coming and will be correspondingly more alert. If there is no other route, you may need to wait for a day or two for an opportune moment. The strange weather or anomalies of the Zone will eventually distract the guards somehow.

Out of Options

If circling around is not possible, there are usually two choices: either crossing the Border despite guards, or surrendering. The first is not as impossible as it sounds. With the right artefact, the stalker may turn invisible or walk through walls and disrupt power distribution to the security systems. An artefact that will crumble away metal with its touch will swiftly get rid of any length of chain link fence. Even a dense fog will significantly improve your chances. Surrendering has its own rules: you conceal arms and artefacts. You only surrender during the day because at night the guards, fearful of artefacts being used as weapons and the creatures of the Zone lurking about, will take nobody alive. You should also surrender as close to a base with personnel from someplace else than just the Institute as possible. The presence of outside witnesses will have a restraining effect and other officials usually dislike the Institute. If there are no other charges to be pressed, the sentences for a mere Zone intrusion are light. A first-timer will get away with probation and a repeat offender will sit a year, at most. Possession of artefacts or weapons can easily add a year or more per artefact to the sentence. Some have tried fighting their way out but with mere guns it is usually not possible. The soldiers have better training, weapons and equipment. Once reinforcements have been requested, their flow never ends. Depending on where the firefight takes place, within fifteen minutes you may be facing a platoon of guards, a couple of armoured vehicles, half a dozen snipers in prepared locations and three to four helicopters. An armed charge across the Border has to be immediately successful or it will fail.

Trading

Even after returning from the Zone, the danger does not end. The artefacts will still have to be sold, the dealers kept happy, the Institute snitches tricked and hideouts and secret caches kept hidden. There are representatives of many agencies shopping for artefacts in the borderlands and nearby population centres but finding just the right people may be difficult. Different buyers are interested in different things and most teams have more than one client. If one disappears the others are still there and if one deal goes pearshaped or is interrupted by the Institute all the loot is not lost.

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Besides the dealers, there are travelling merchants. Some are only temporary dealers, some are Institute-affiliated investigators and some are shopping for specific artefacts or effects. The last ones are prepared to pay great sums for exactly what they want but do not care for anything else. Their backers may be military, terrorists or even Institute researchers who want to acquire samples past the official routes and without the knowledge of their superiors. Old deals and clients can pop up later in surprising places and events. Clients are often also in competition with each other, which makes trading complicated. Doing business with one may burn bridges with others. The going price for artefacts is a great mystery. Special samples from the Zone with no discernible xenological properties can only be sold to specialized clients. A xenobiologist may pay hundreds or even thousands of euros for a preserved mutant body part but nobody else will be the least bit interested. Xenochemists will be interested in Witch’s Jelly but everyone else abhors it.

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Cosmic baubles; small, toylike objects with harmless but easily demonstrable effects (such as Pins) are worth €100-1,000, depending on rarity and the client. An artefact with properties useful for industrial or military applications but having no real use in and of itself may be worth € 500-3,000, again depending on rarity as well as the significance of the properties for specific industries. For example, Weights, White Wheels and So-sos all interest different fields of industry. An artefact that can as such be used as a weapon or a tool, (e.g. Itch) or that replaces difficult or expensive industrial processes can be worth €1,000 to €10,000, depending on rarity and power. If it does exactly what the client was looking for, the price may be many times that. Estimating upwards from that gets hard. What is the market price of an artefact that can change the world in one go or defeat any power (like the Death Lamp)? What will the agencies interested in artefacts be willing to do to lay their hands on it? Is it even safe to tell about it? Metaphysical artefacts are problematic because determining, let alone demonstrating, their powers may be very difficult. Also, rumours of cursed artefacts are very good at quenching demand. On the other hand, it is precisely the metaphysical artefacts that wreak most havoc on the laws that our scientific world view is based on. Stalkers may bring back loot worth a significant sum from just a single expedition. They will be paid in small, unmarked bills, favours, money transfers to hidden bank accounts in tax havens or in equipment and information that only the client’s handlers have access to. The sums are large, the information sensitive and nobody trusts anyone or wants to reveal more than they absolutely have to. Money and artefacts will buy you contacts and allies but not trustworthy friends. Now and then someone will try to cheat the stalkers on a deal or even ambush them to get the artefacts. All sorts of safeguards and guarantees are a big part of the business. And when those safeguards fail, people die.

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THE PLAYERS’ BOOK

The Institute just one. JC Czar has offed three of his dealers. ss he holds the bronzedoesn’t care. Wearing a jeweller’s gla . It is invisible from a coloured cube with a pair of pliers his glass, looks up and certain angle.Finally, he puts down says: “A hundred.” usand.” “Funny man,” you reply dryly. “A tho you can’t see?” “A bauble! What do I do with a block “Build a jet you can’t see?”

the room. Bodyguards and He has four henchmen hanging around in ir belts so that they’ll cannon fodder, pistols tucked in the ngs suddenly heat up. The probably shoot their balls off if thi Czar is keeping an eye on less experience, the bigger the gun. ns and Arabs all, tattooed those with no weapons in sight. Italia middle of nowhere. They’ll city thugs somehow lured here in the lift a finger if they were kill at JC’s orders and JC wouldn’t work as muscle for hire. in trouble. That’s why stalkers do not

stinks of sweat and booze. JC huffs and pushes back his chair. He don’t fit the picture. Too His gut hangs over his belt. The eyes ed to somebody else. You clever, too cold... like they belong le are just for show. know the wrinkly porn rags on the tab s. “Even if you found out “Maybe if you could open it...” he say le plane out of it. White the material, you can’t build a who but wiring, engine, crew... light will go straight through, sure, It’s a bauble in my book.” fuck no. This is a toy, not a find. “Is that your last word?” “You could offer it to the JC quiets down and sucks on his cigar. and billows out smoke. “Or Spaniard... or Preacher...” he says or leave it.” I could pay you five hundred. Take it that much is clear. He’s The artefact doesn’t interest him, if he says no. Five hundred afraid that the trading will end here s mental game of poker. So is cheap but he wants to continue thi do you. “Okay, five hundred.” at you, not the artefact. There’s a moment’s silence and JC looks nd with you. If he screws You have maybe a third of what you fou t and he knows it. Every this up now, he may never see the res ing he really wants. The batch has something better, someth baubles are just a formality. ple more banknotes from a JC says nothing but pulls out a cou eady on the desk. Then he drawer, adding them to the pile alr e on top of the pile. A sighs deeply and puts one more not it. Greasing. hundred. He paid a hundred extra for . room for negotiation,” he “Let’s see the next one, if there’s.. crushed between his teeth. grunts. The cigar crackles as it is

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STALKER:The SciFi Roleplaying Game

EQUIPMENT “We pulled on the special suits. I poured the nuts and bolts from the bag into my hip pocket, and we trekked across the institute yard to the Zone entrance.” - THE ROADSIDE PICNIC The Institute may have brightly coloured special suits and they are really helpful. If nothing else, bodies dressed in them will remain good landmarks for a long time. Stalkers dress practically: strong cloth, easily layered for cold nights, lots of pockets, equipment belts, fisherman’s vests, backpacks, etc. Because blending into the scenery is so useful at the border, many wear camouflage fatigues and other army gear. Some add knee pads for crouching or wear a wetsuit under their camo because it keeps you warm and offers some protection from chemicals. All this is available at the stores, at least outside the Borderlands. Life goes on in the big world. A medium-sized outdoors equipment store holds nearly everything you will need. Stalkers also use improvised equipment and tools. At their most basic, these are the steel nuts with pieces of cloth tied on them. The more complex devices include foil-lined cloaks or a helium tank and a folding balloon for moving heavy loads. The components, prices and makers of these will have to be found separately. Some things cannot be sold or carried without permission. In practice, any weapon available to civilians is easily obtained but automatic weapons and explosives are hard to come by. The Zone France stalkers buy them from the Corsican mafia or ex-ETA terrorists. Rare medicines require just the right contacts, as do motion sensors or devices for following the border guards’ radio traffic. Their prices in this chart are only suggestions and the seller may prefer to take the payment in artefacts or favours.

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Nearly everything except basic foodstuffs is hard to obtain in the Borderlands. For example, an electric torch can be bought at pretty much any normal store. But to get one the stalker may have to drive along forest roads for hours, first out of the Borderlands and then into the nearest city. This is why equipment is usually purchased in bulk and teams often have equipment caches in the Borderlands. Some even keep them in the Zone, where they are admittedly very safe from thieves.

Knife Nightstick Switchblade Brass knuckles Hatchet

€20 €10 €40 €20 €50

Throwing Weapons Throwing knife Shuriken Bow Hunting crossbow Molotov’s cocktail Hand grenade Smoke grenade

Firearms

Silencer Laser sight Bipod Telescope sights Pistol Magnum revolver Sawed-off shotgun Pump-action shotgun Hunting rifle Sniper rifle Submachine gun Assault rifle Automatic shotgun Stack of arrows Box of ammunition: pistol rifle shotgun

€30 €10 €200 €500 €10 €40 €30

€100 €200 €50 €100 €300 €500 €150 €300 €400 €1,000 €1,000 €1,500 €1,000 €40

Camping Gear

Binoculars Climbing irons Beef jerky Rope, 30 m Compass Sleeping bag Camo net Mess kit Backpack (frameless) Portable stove Backpack (with frame) Lighter Canned food Winter clothes Electric torch Tent Water bottle

Tools

Pickaxe Test tube Multi-tool Steel nuts, 10 Armoured briefcase Entrenching tool Block and tackle Lockpick Jack Toolkit

€100 €50 €5 €50 €10 €150 €100 €10 €100 €70 €250 €30 €3 €300 €20 €300 €20

€40 €3 €100 €2 €200 €25 €250 €100 €150 €250

Medical Gear

Adrenaline injection €300 Disinfectant €10 Bandage €5 Syringe €5 Medic’s kit €300 Hypodermic needles, 10 €5 Hard drugs, one dose €50 Mild drugs, one dose €5 Antibiotics, 20 pills €15 Iodine, 100 capsules €10 Insulin, 20 doses €10 Painkillers, 20 pills €15 Sleeping pills, 20 €20 Stimulants, 20 pills €30 Sedatives, 20 pills €20

Special Equipment Solar panel Ceramic container FSO link Paraglider Role-playing Game Parabolic microphone AC detector Rad-proof container Combat suit Ultrasound camera Water collector Zone suit

THE PLAYERS’ BOOK

Melee Weapons

€500 €5,000 €200 €3,000 €30 €200 €150 €800 €2,000 €1,000 €600 €20,000

€30 €100 €30

Protective Gear Gas mask Bulletproof vest Camouflage fatigues Wetsuit Breathing apparatus Rain poncho Safety goggles NBC suit

Electronics

Digital camera GPS receiver Heat-imaging camera Laptop Mobile phone Metal detector Walkie-talkies Electrician’s tools Geiger counter Night vision goggles

€100 €600 €50 €200 €200 €20 €5 €500

€300 €300 €5,000 €1,000 €50 €500 €100 €400 €250 €1,000

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STALKER:The

How to read weapon descriptions A longer weapon is an advantage in melee as long as the enemy can be kept at a distance. In fisticuffs or wrestling it is a disadvantage.



Wounds are an instructive expression for what kind of wounds a good hit with the weapon will usually produce.



Speed tells you how swiftly it can be shot or thrown after the enemy has been seen, as well as how easy it is to otherwise handle and turn. It also tells you how quickly it can be reloaded.



The effective range is exactly that. A gun may carry three to ten times as far but as the range increases, the odds of hitting your target go down rapidly.



SciFi Roleplaying Game

Clip is an assumption of the average ammo capacity of a typical gun of that type. Depending on the make or size of the weapon, this may vary greatly.



Silencer (€100) A part attached to the barrel of a pistol or a submachine gun to absorb some of the noise of gunfire. Does not completely silence it unless special bullets are also used. A silencer also makes the weapon less accurate. With special bullets, range and penetration will suffer but the loudest noise will come from the moving parts. Laser sights (€200) A laser emitter attached to a gun that shows where it is pointed. A dot or a beam can be seen clearly up to 20-50 metres. This allows the user to aim and switch targets quickly because he does not need to peer through the sights. Bipod (€50) A two-legged stand for rifles. Stabilizes the weapon, increasing accuracy and making it easier to control even when firing full auto. However, when using a bipod, the shooter must usually lie down. In a moving battle it is dead weight. Telescope sights (€100) Optical scope for rifles (can also be attached to magnum revolvers). Aiming through it, the effective range of the weapon can be doubled when firing single shots or short bursts. However, the user cannot move while aiming. Knife (€20) Short, light wounds A bladed weapon for close combat with the enemy. Killing a surprised enemy with a single strike is difficult unless you manage to hit the heart or cut the throat from behind. The knife cannot be used to block anything. This will often give advantage to the enemy if his weapon has more reach. Bayonet is a special type of knife attached to a rifle for extra reach.

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Nightstick (€10) Medium, light wounds A stick, usually made of rubber, plastic or fibreglass but sometimes just a wooden stick or a chair leg. The stick is long enough to give an advantage over short weapons. It can also be used to block, which makes retreating easier. However, if the opponent is on you or the space is cramped, the stick is useless. In a surprise attack, it is good for knocking people out. Switchblade (€40) Short, light wounds A knife with a long and narrow stabbing blade that can be hidden inside the handle. It is easy to conceal and the blade will spring out at the push of a button. Pierces soft cover easily and sinks deep into the internal organs but is too thin and fragile to effectively slash or pierce thicker items like belts. The thrusting motion is quick that this is an excellent weapon for a surprise attack. Easily broken if the opponent hits it hard with his own weapon. Brass knuckles (€20) Short, minor wounds A piece of metal that fits around the fingers. It gives force to a punch and increases the likelihood of breaking bones but the hand cannot be used to grab anything. If the hitter falls down or ends up grappling with his opponent, the brass knuckles are useless. Easy to conceal. Hatchet (€50) Medium, moderate wounds An axe blade (or a shovel) at the end of a handle as long as a man’s arm. The slow and wide swings require a lot of room but when it hits it will cleave a skull even through a helmet. If the opponent gets up close the hatchet is useless but this is difficult because it tends to cut through most defensive and protective equipment. Ambushed

from behind, an opponent will likely die from a single hit. Ambush from the front or the sides is difficult due to the slow speed of the weapon. Throwing knife (€30) Fast, range 10m, light wounds A special knife that should always hit the target blade first. Knife throwers prefer to throw at certain, practiced distances. Works like a switchblade in melee. Few have ever died of a thrown knife but the throw is usually a surprise and a good hit on a limb may make the enemy drop his weapon or lose his balance. Shuriken (€10) Fast, range 10m, light wounds A bladed disc meant for throwing. Unlike a throwing knife, the wounds are just as often slashing as they are piercing. Favoured by gangbangers who have watched too many movies. Few have been killed by their homemade throwing stars as even thick cloth is enough to stop them. Bow (€300) Slow, range 30m, serious wounds A modern composite bow with hunting arrows that will pierce all soft cover and inflict deep wounds. A bow cannot be used while moving and there are many motions to go through between spotting the enemy and loosing an arrow. It is a good weapon for ambushes but not for prolonged firefights against well-armed opponents. Crossbow (€500) Very slow, range 50m, serious wounds A hunting weapon with a horizontal bow on a rifle-like stock. The arrow sits in a groove on top of the stock. Some models come with telescope sights. Otherwise like a normal bow, except that the arrow packs so much punch that it will fully pierce any body part and break any bone it hits. Molotov cocktail (€10) Very slow, range 10m, serious wounds A glass bottle filled with flammable liquid and a burning rag wrapped around the neck. It breaks on impact, spraying burning fluid for up to two metres. Everything flammable will catch fire. People often panic and do not understand to get out of the flames, let alone stop, drop and roll or take off their burning clothes. However, if outside help is quick enough, the injuries will remain mild. It is hard to hit a moving target with this poor man’s explosive but you can aim at groups of people, a room, the hood of a vehicle and so on. Frag grenade (€40) Medium, range 30m, serious wounds An explosive with a timer and a fragmenting shell. After the pin is pulled and the spoon comes off, it will explode in 3-5 seconds, throwing shrapnel at a five-metre radius. Shrapnel can cause terrible wounds on soft targets but are easily stopped by cover. In an enclosed space, the pressure effect of the explosion is also significant but taking cover behind bulky furniture is enough to be safe. Basic

Smoke grenade (€30) Medium, range 30m, smokes A grenade that will release thick plumes of smoke for a few minutes. It can obscure visibility for tens of metres. Smoke makes it easier to approach or flee as your opponents are firing blind. Pistol (€300) Fast, range 30m, serious wounds, clip 10-15 A semiautomatic pistol. The most common calibre in Europe is 9x19mm Parabellum. A pistol is easy to handle but inaccurate over long distances and has poor penetration. However, the small weapon is easy to re-aim and the shooter can fire quickly into multiple targets. This makes the pistol suited for mobile combat or when you do not know where the opponent will pop up. The pistol can also be used in melee as long as you are not wrestling. Magnum revolver (€500) Slow, range 50m, moderate wounds, clip 6 A heavy revolver that shoots far and straight. Due to recoil and slower rate of fire, the shooter cannot switch targets as nimbly as with a pistol but the heavy bullet will pierce most protective gear and even some walls if you happen to know on which side of a doorway your opponent is hiding. Given the time to aim, you can shoot accurately over quite a distance but in mobile combat its effective range is no greater than the pistol’s. You can fire a revolver in melee combat but it is difficult. Sawed-off shotgun (€150) Medium, range 10m, serious wounds, clip 2 Saw off the barrel and the stock of a hunting shotgun and you get a compact, easily concealable weapon that is lethally effective up to a few metres. Because of the short barrel, the shot will spread so wide that something is bound to hit the opponent even if your aim was only in the ballpark. Because of this the sawed-off shotgun is especially good for moving combat indoors, where distances are short and situations come up fast. However, the shot is stopped by pretty much any cover. A weapon favoured by criminals. Pump-action shotgun (€300) Medium, range 30m, moderate wounds, clip 8 A shotgun that chambers a new round with the pumping action of the foregrip. Shoots lethal clouds of shot, very rapidly if necessary. The length of the weapon is such, however, that while you can still react to enemies in the direction you’re aiming at (and the spread of the shot helps you hit), it is too slow for opponents popping up in other directions. This makes the weapon good for defence against attacks from a known direction, or advancing indoors as long as someone else has your back.

Hunting rifle (€400) Slow, range 100m, moderate wounds, clip 5 A rifle that fires single shots and is recocked after each shot. The rifle cannot be used effectively while moving and the direction of fire cannot be switched quickly. However, when firing aimed shots it is extremely accurate and a bullet that will take down an elk will do likewise to a man. The bullet also pierces easily anything short of an armour plate.

Stack of arrows (€40) Fibreglass arrows. Usually they have round arrowheads for sports but hunting stores also sell broadheads meant for taking down game animals.

Sniper rifle (€1,000) Slow, range 200m, serious wounds, clip 10 A heavy rifle, usually equipped with telescopic sights. Some models are semiautomatic but the recoil will rattle the weapon enough so that each shot has to be aimed separately. It is best for situations where the enemy is at a great distance and the shooter has had time to pick out a good sniping position. Military snipers will seek out a new position after each shot, whether they hit or not.

Box of ammo, rifle (€100) A box of ammunition in some common rifle calibres. Sniper rifle ammo can cost two to three times this much. For the same price, you can also get a couple of clips without ammo.

Submachine gun (€1,000) Medium, range 50m, moderate wounds, clip 30 An automatic weapon that fires pistol bullets, either in single shots or in bursts. Easier to control in full auto than rifle-calibre weapons and the larger models can be very accurate over short distances. The weapon can fire single shots, short bursts or full auto. When not aiming, the range is nonexistent but firing in full auto you can still hit easily at close range. This makes it handy for confined spaces and ambushes. Assault rifle (€1,500) Slow, range 100m, moderate wounds, clip 30 An automatic rifle that can fire single shots, bursts or full auto. The same rules apply to single shots and short bursts as with any rifle. Full auto is good for defending fixed positions or advancing when someone else covers your rear. The effective firing sector in full auto, close range, is 90 degrees. This is why soldiers often move in pairs. An assault rifle has the same penetrating power as a rifle. In full auto it can also be used to spray entire areas, such as rooms, by firing straight through the walls. Assault shotgun (€1,000) Medium, range 30m, moderate wounds, clip 24 An automatic shotgun that can fire single shots or full auto. Firing single shots, the weapon functions like a pump-action shotgun but firing full auto, it can be used to quickly fire into a wide sector. This makes it ideal for confined indoor spaces as well as defending a fixed position. Its effects on soft targets are terrible but shotguns are ineffective against cover and protective gear.

THE PLAYERS’ BOOK

weaponry for soldiers and organized crime.

Box of ammo, pistol (€30) A box of ammunition in some common pistol calibre. Magnum revolver ammo can cost two to three times this much. For the same price, you can also get a couple of clips without ammo, or a revolver speedloader.

Box of ammo, shotgun (€30) A box of shotgun cartridges. There is a variety of special ammunition available for the shotgun but the prices will be much higher.

Gas mask (€100) Also protects the eyes and face. An activated charcoal absorbent that must be periodically changed (a new one costs maybe €10). The mask obstructs airflow and you get exhausted more easily while wearing it.

Bulletproof vest (€600) A kevlar vest, as used by the police. Stops handgun bullets and occasional shrapnel but is less effective against rifles. Expensive special models may be so thin they fit under normal clothes. Camouflage fatigues (€50) Camouflage-patterned jacket and trousers with many pockets, made of durable, water-resistant cloth. Loose enough for several layers of underwear. There are many different patterns available but stalkers prefer the traditional green-brown. Wetsuit (€200) Skin-tight, yet thick and porous foamed neoprene garment that keeps you warm even when wet. It also protects against small particles and milder chemicals and is surprisingly durable against slashing. A wetsuit will stiffen the body and make movement heavier. Some stalkers prefer wetsuits on short expeditions. Breathing apparatus (€200) A pressurized oxygen container that straps on your back, connected with a mask that straps onto your face. The oxygen will last for an hour. Some stalkers have replaced the filter of their gas mask with the oxygen tube. Rain poncho (€20) A dark or camouflage-patterned, watertight poncho with a hood that can be tightened around the head. Lightweight, protects both the wearer and their gear from moisture but may get in the way while climbing or crawling. A poor man’s protective suit against particle fallout, or at least it will be eaten through first, giving the wearer some time to react.

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Safety goggles (€5) Boxy goggles used in workshops and the like. Fit well over most eyeglasses. Protects the eyes and the surrounding skin. Most stalkers have goggles at least with them. More expensive models are stylish, mirrored, darkened, filter certain wavelengths or react to lighting conditions.

SciFi Roleplaying Game

NBC suit (€500) NBC stands for Nuclear, Biological, Chemical. It is a full-body suit worn over all other equipment and tightened around the gas mask. Durable and resistant to most chemicals. It is not foolproof but buys you more time in irradiated areas. It is also hot and does not breathe, so wearing it for too long may lead to a heatstroke. More expensive versions have their own breathing apparatuses and a suit made to measure will not impede movement, unlike the baggy cheap models. Digital camera (€300) A pocket-sized camera with a memory card that can hold hundreds of photographs. Mechanical cameras cost a third of this and the film can hold maybe twenty photos but they will also work without electricity. Cheap models are available for around €20. GPS receiver (€300) This small device shows its map coordinates accurately to within a metre. For the most part, it does not function inside the Zones because it cannot get a satellite signal but you can still accurately measure where you entered the Zone and use that with pre-Visitation maps. Heat imaging camera (€5,000) A device that shows warm targets in lighter and cold targets in darker shades of grey. Warm targets may be visible through cover and sometimes even through walls. Laptop (€1,000) A portable computer. Smaller models are pocket-sized. With a good battery it can work for a dozen hours. A laptop can be plugged into most digital equipment for things like analyzing photos taken with digital cameras. Mobile phone (€50) A pocket-sized telephone. The more expensive models are little computers and cameras in their own right and can even access the Internet. Borderlands tend to have poor reception except for the larger population centres like Toulouse. In the Zone the signal is nonexistent. Mobiles are easy to trace, so stalkers often switch their phones off and never take them on expeditions. Metal detector (€500) A metal detector for finding hidden weapons or items buried in the ground.

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Walkie-talkies, two (€100) Cheap walkie-talkies sold in pairs. Does not really work in the Zone but outside the range is around a kilometre, depending on the circumstances. Can send and receive both sound and data. The signal is easy to eavesdrop

if you know the correct frequency. The black market also sells walkietalkies tuned into military frequencies but you will need a computer to decrypt the messages. Electrician’s tools (€400) A toolkit meant for inspecting, repairing and modifying electric devices and systems. You can still get killed working on high voltage systems. Geiger counter (€250) Measures magnetic fields as well as radiation. Night vision device (€1,000) Light-intensifying binoculars. Gunsight versions and helmet-mounted visors also exist. There is enough light even in pitch black for you to see where you are going. Light sources in your field of vision will be blinding. Binoculars (€100) Traditional binoculars. You can permanently blind yourself by looking into the Sun or sufficiently bright anomalies with these. Climbing irons (€50) Steel pieces attached to your shoes that make climbing rockfaces or buildings easier. Beef jerky (€5) Dried jerky in an airtight package. Keeps practically forever and is the equivalent of one meal, as long as the eater also has something to drink. Rope, 30m (€50) Strong nylon rope that can be used for climbing, pulling or binding. Compass (€10) A camper’s magnetic compass that will either point to the magnetic North Pole or the closest magnetic anomaly. Sleeping bag (€150) A sleeping bag meant for outdoor use. Fits one (or two intimately) and keeps him warm even in sub-zero temperatures as long as it isn’t too windy. Camouflage netting (€100) A 5m x 5m plastic net patterned and coloured to look like earth. It can be spread over a car, a tent or any other equipment to make them harder to spot from the air or from afar. Mess kit (€10) A metallic container for food or other things. Can also be used for cooking. Backpack, frameless (€100) A sturdy backpack, made of durable, water resistant cloth. Stalkers prefer subdued colours. Backpack, with frame (€250) A large backpack with a stiff support frame. The frame can be used to hang other baggage. When correctly adjusted, the complicated array of straps and buckles will make carrying the frame backpack easier.

Portable stove (€70) A small gas cooker fuelled by a canister of liquid gas. A detachable nozzle breaks up the flame. Remove it and you get a tall and hot flame useful for heating up metal. Lighter (€30) A quality lighter with a wick instead of a gas flame. The flame is extinguished by flipping the lid shut. A lighter like this can be thrown without the flame going out. Canned food (€3) You can get nearly anything canned but stalkers on expeditions prefer food with a lot of energy such as fatty meats. An opened can may be used as a dish to heat the food. Winter clothes (€300) A padded, water-resistant set of clothes good for freezing weather. It can get very cold up in the Pyrenees. Electric torch (€20) A LED torch with a battery life of several hours. Some models have handcranked chargers. Tent (€300) A camping tent for two. Stalkers prefer subdued colours in their tents and either dye them themselves or use cloth covers. Water bottle (€20) A durable plastic bottle that holds one or two litres. It is sufficient for a short expedition and is easily carried on the belt. On a longer expedition, you should reserve two to three litres of water per day. Water found in the Zone is usually not drinkable. Pickaxe (€40) An arm-length pick useful for climbing, taking samples or breaking locks. Can be tied to a rope and used as a grappling hook, or wielded as a melee weapon. Test tube (€3) Made of thick duraglass, about the width of a finger. The plug is acidproof. Useful for taking samples. Multi-tool (€100) An assortment of pliers, screwdrivers, blades, files, saws, etc. that folds neatly inside a handle and fits into a pocket. Won’t replace your toolkit but is still helpful. Plastic explosive (€30) Pliable explosive material. While it can be used for making bombs, it is meant for breaking doors, locks, wall sections, beam joints and other targets requiring accuracy and finesse. Steel nuts, 10 (€2) A box of large nuts. Stalkers throw these before them to see if the coast is clear. They often tie bandages to them for better visibility. Armoured briefcase (€200) A hard briefcase, divided into padded compartments for transporting explosives or fragile objects. Handy for

Soft drugs, one dose (€5) A joint of cannabis, an Ecstasy pill, some khat, or similar drugs.

Entrenching tool (€25) A folding entrenching tool made famous by armies the world over. Easy to carry, makes digging easier and makes a good melee weapon.

Antibiotics, 20 pills (€15) A package or blister-wrapped slab of strong antibiotics, for bacterial diseases and infections.

Block and tackle (€250) A system of pulleys for lifting or pulling loads that can weigh several tons. Short chains included, which can be extended with ropes. The tenacity of the rope and strength of the block’s fastening are the limiting factors. Lockpick (€100) Usually a handmade special tool for opening mechanical locks. A burglar’s tool but some police forces and intelligence agencies also manufacture lockpicks. Jack (€150) The block and tackle are for pulling, the jack is for pushing. A car’s jack can lift several tons of weight, which is handy for clearing your way into a collapsed building. Toolkit (€250) A wide assortment of different manual tools in a steel box. Large and heavy, but capable of nearly anything in expert hands. Adrenaline injection (€300) A shot of this into the heart can still bring back someone dying of an electric shock, blood loss or suffocation. Comes with a long, sturdy needle for piercing the sternum. Disinfectant (€10) A bottle of antiseptic solution for cleaning wounds and sterilizing medical equipment. Bandage (€5) A pocket-sized package of gauze bandage and tape for tying it down. Works well for staunching bleeding wounds and protecting open wounds from dirt. Strips of this can be tied to steel nuts. Syringe (€5) An empty syringe, marked with measures. Medic’s kit (€300) A field medic’s kit. About the size of a briefcase. The equipment within is sufficient for treating nearly any nonlethal injury. Usually the objective is to keep the victim alive long enough to get them into a hospital but this does not apply to stalkers. Injection needles, 10 (€5) Individually packaged injection needles, clean and sterile. Hard drugs, one dose (€50) A dose of cocaine, heroin or similar drugs, straight off the street. No guarantees on purity, which is a common reason for overdoses.

Iodine, 100 pills (€10) Taking iodine tablets when threatened with radiation exposure will reduce the amount of radiation accumulated in the body. Insulin, 20 pills (€10) Diabetics need insulin to break up the sugars that accumulate in their blood. In the Borderlands, getting insulin may be a question of life and death. Painkillers, 20 pills (€15) Strong painkillers help you ignore at least some of the pain and weakness brought on by injuries. Sleeping pills, 20 (€20) These pills help you get a good night’s sleep in airplanes as well as in the Zone and normally-dosed patients will still wake up to loud noises or a bit of a shake. An overdose will knock you out, or may even kill you. Stimulants, 20 pills (€30) These drugs will help you stay up for days at a time, alert and even hyperactive. At some point, though, fatigue and lack of sleep will return with a vengeance. Sedatives, 20 pills (€20) Shock, mental disorders or psychic anomalies in the Zone may require medical attention. The use of sedatives tends to dull your wits as well, though. Solar panel (€500) A foldable solar panel sufficient to load the battery of a single device or power a one low-current appliance at a time, such as an FSO link. Ceramic container (€5,000) A cylinder-shaped special container, straight from the Institute laboratories. Can be used to transport most quasichemicals safely. Though ceramic, it can withstand some rather hard knocks. It is not bulletproof.

Parabolic microphone (€200) A directed microphone that can be used to pick up sounds and conversations from a considerable distance. AC detector (€150) A detector that can sense electromagnetic fields and up close also measure the current and voltage in the wires. Radiation-proof container (€800) A heavy metal cylinder that dampens radiation quite effectively. Combat suit (€2,000) The combat gear of a US Army soldier. Durable cloth and Kevlar padding stops small-calibre bullets and shrapnel. Hard plates inside special pockets can withstand rifle hits but are heavy and cannot be placed in joints. Ultrasound camera (€1,000) A camera that works like a sonar and can map the landscape up to twenty metres away, even through smoke, darkness or fog. Water collector (€600) This device uses heat transmission and condensation to collect as much as five to ten litres of water a day out of the air in the Zone . Caustic clouds or other gaseous quasichemicals may still contaminate it.

THE PLAYERS’ BOOK

transporting artefacts, since it is well insulated and will even reduce radiation significantly.

Zone suit (€20,000) A special environmental suit from the Institute. Fully airtight, bulletproof against pistol calibres, fireproof, radiation proof, insulated against electricity, acid proof, comes with its own breathing apparatus, recycling air filters and so on. There’s an electric torch mounted on one shoulder that can also be used as a signal lamp. It is still relatively lightweight and the colours are bright to make it easier to find. The suit was never as useful as the Institute wished. It cannot withstand Witch’s jelly, space-time anomalies, gravity concentrations or Meatgrinder. A few hundred suits have been made and a few dozen have been lost in the Zone. Some of those may have ended up in the hands of stalkers.

FSO link (€200) Radio signals are vulnerable to eavesdroppers, so some stalkers and even researchers use Free Space Optical links. This box can transmit and receive information from another one like it. On a clear day, the range is over a kilometre but it requires a direct line of sight. Paraglider (€3,000) A controllable parachute that can be used for gliding around on the slopes of the Pyrenees. Roleplaying game book (€30) A rulebook or a sourcebook for a game that happens in the players’ imagination. A superb way to pass the time.

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STALKER:The SciFi Roleplaying Game 80

CHARACTER SHEET “He took my book and examined it page by page, sniffing and smelling every stamp and seal on it.” - THE ROADSIDE PICNIC Your stalker’s information and statistics can be jotted down on a graph paper if need be but these sheets have a place for every bit of information that gets generated during the character creation. In addition, after the empty sheets there is one complete and ready-to-play stalker. He is Professor, the main character and sometimes narrator of the stories in this rulebook. Although he is no Superman, he is fit enough to keep up with the team. As a professional xenologist, he is easily better than those tinfoil-hatted lunatics that Czar previously used to pay for identifying his artefacts.

FITNESS

ALERTNESS Name:

INTELLECT

CHARISMA

TECHNICAL

DRAWBACKS

WILLPOWER

EDUCATION

ZONE

Description:

History:

Team____________ Role____________ Renown___________ __________________ __________________ __________________

Contacts_________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________

EQUIPMENT

Injuries

Burger Games 2011

FITNESS

ALERTNESS Name:

INTELLECT

CHARISMA

TECHNICAL

DRAWBACKS

WILLPOWER

EDUCATION

ZONE

Description:

History:

Team____________ Role____________ Renown___________ __________________ __________________ __________________

Contacts_________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________

EQUIPMENT

Injuries

Burger Games 2011

FITNESS

0 ALERTNESS Good Hearing

1 Name: PROFESSOR

INTELLECT 1 WILLPOWER Investigator Businessman

CHARISMA

Disguise Light Sleeper

0 EDUCATION Doctor Scientist Xenologist

TECHNICAL

0 ZONE

Agents Xenotechnology

DRAWBACKS

Description:

1

Middle-aged, balding, brown hair, speaks correctly and is only now starting to fit into his fatigues.

History:

2

1

German, fluent in French and English. Former xenologist who became the scapegoat for the failure of Cecils-KERAME research project. Ostracized by his peers and unable to work as a scientist, he became a stalker.

Komsomol Team____________ Otshkarik Role____________ Renown__________ All-terrain __________________ scientist __________________ __________________

Contacts_________ Some xenologists __________________ KERAME leadership __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________

EQUIPMENT

Bad repution as a scientist. Enemies in the Institute and the old research team. Owes a favor to Barcelona mafia and they want him to spy on Komsomol. Hasn’t told them anything but this can’t go on. Thinks that Czar might be on to him.

Night-vision binoculars Pistol + 2 mags Microscope Geiger counter

Super-smartphone with lots of SIM-cards and user accounts.

A distinct high-brow accent and mannerisms make disguising and pretending to be someone else almost impossible.

Insulated containers Medic’s Kit

Backpack Three sets of clothes Winter Camo Fatigues Thermos

Has an 8-year old son from former marriage. Unpaid alimonies pile up and ex-wife is threatening to sue. Depressed for not being able to raise or even see his own son. Needs pills to sleep but still sleeps badly. Others around him also tend to sleep badly and have restless and weird dreams.

Injuries

8000 euros on a secret account Two-bedroom apt. in Lyon 1-room hideout in Ibiza

Burger Games 2011

STALKER:The

SciFi Roleplaying Game

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THE GAMEMASTER’S BOOK

THE GAMEMASTER’S BOOK

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STALKER:The SciFi Roleplaying Game 86

THE BASICS OF FLOW

FLOW is a general-purpose ruleset but is described from the perspective of Stalker, both as a genre and a setting. The rules set can easily be converted into another setting if you rethink the definitions of attributes and rewrite the ability list.

The system defines a few physical and mental attributes for the player characters, as well as a bunch of abilities related to those attributes – things he can do and advantages he can use. Experience with handguns is an ability, but so are good contacts in the police department. The players get to pick a number of abilities (usually ten) for their characters. The attribute score is the number of abilities related to it, divided by two and rounded up. Thus, 12 abilities = 1, 3-4 = 2, 5-6 = 3, and so forth. If you feel that too many abilities are ending up under a single attribute, the problem is likely to be in the definition of attributes. The Game Master is free to change and adapt the game system to his own needs. Turning Flow into a dice-based system is a lot of work but it can be done. Its predecessor is the roleplaying game Code/X, available from the Burger Games website (http://www.burgergames.com). The use of attributes and abilities is similar, even though the game does use dice.

Success or Failure?

When a character undertakes a task where succeeding is not obvious, the Game Master must evaluate the outcome by three criteria: Attributes give a general picture of the character’s physical and mental capabilities in different areas of life, without the separate and specific experience or training for the task at hand. Is the character fit enough to endure a long walk without water on a hot day? Is his general knowledge sufficient for this thing here even if he hasn’t studied or worked on it? If the attribute score is high enough, it can be enough for success. The extra points go into improving the result. Abilities tell what are the areas where the character is especially educated, trained or experienced, along with their associated drawbacks. When the attribute score alone is insufficient for the task at hand but it is something that everyone who has worked on the subject for a living or studied it at school could do or would know, merely having the ability is enough. Abilities are general and paint broad pictures of the circumstances of the character’s life. There is a lot of knowledge and skill under an ability and in the end it is the Game Master’s call what ability applies in any given situation. Challenge enters the picture when both the attribute and having the ability are not enough. The player tells the GM what the character seeks to accomplish and how. In this case, the situation must already be somehow dramatic or special. The player character knows that the risk of failure, with all its associated consequences, exists, and if he undertakes this task he crosses the point of no return. The ordinary person who lives a normal life and does not constantly push his own limits generally does not get into challenge situations. This is one more way in which stalkers and others who lead dangerous lives differ from the Average Joe.

When a player wants to be sure of success he can burn off a point from the attribute score that applies to the situation and request a favour from the Game Master. The temporary weakening of that attribute is the result of the game situation. The character gets wounded, fatigued, stressed, phobic or something else. When the attribute score reaches 0, favours related to that ability can no longer be requested. Technically, the favour can be anything, but it is usually one of these: A hint from the GM, as if the stalker had a sudden insight A fortuitous success in a challenge, even if it is just sheer, blind luck. An amazing stroke of luck, like finding a loaded gun in the glove compartment of an abandoned car. Surviving the situation, even if only temporarily. For example, burning a point of Fitness could alleviate any critical injury into a mere scratch, a glancing blow, or an embarrassment.

The lost attribute points will return by the next game session, or if the session lasts long, at a suitable transition point where the group may catch their breath. Small wounds heal, the stress eases up, sleep revitalizes your mind and so on.

THE GAMEMASTER’S BOOK

The Hand of Fate

An example: The stalker falls out of the window of an office building and burns a point of Fitness to stop his fall with a flagpole sticking out of the side of the building. His ribs crack and the impact leaves him gasping for air but he’s in a far better shape than he’d be after kissing the asphalt. From this point on, his Fitness is a point lower than before. His side aches, breathing is difficult and there is a gorgeous purple bruise at the point of impact. The lost Fitness point will return by the next gaming session but bruises will last for days. Any character with a high Fitness score who getstaken down to 0 has literally been beaten black and blue. His initial Fitness just happens to be so good that he withstood that beating better than Joe Average would.

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CHALLENGES “This is the way we’ll do things. Anything that I say you do immediately and without question. If someone starts fumbling or asking questions I’ll hit whatever I reach first. I’ll apologize now.” - THE ROADSIDE PICNIC Knowing how something works is a far cry from knowing how to use it. Unlike most diceless systems, Flow produces clear numerical values, which makes it easy to use even for players used to playing with dice. Still, the Game Master has a great deal of power and he should know how things work down in the engine room.

The Mathematics of the Rules

SciFi Roleplaying Game

By multiplying two variables (Idea and Roleplaying) between one and five with one another produces a rising curve of possible results. Their intervals grow swiftly as the variables grow larger. Having the right ability for the job gives a +1 bonus to both variables, which has a significant effect on the result. Without the ability, the average values for idea and roleplaying are between 2 and 4, and the spread of results is between 4 and 16. With the ability, they are from 3 to 5 with results from 9 to 25. At the lower end, having an ability means a difference of one Difficulty Level while at the high end it is usually two Difficulty Levels. 2 5 10 15 20 25 30

Easy Routine Challenging Difficult Very Difficult Nearly Impossible Incredible

The extremes of the scales (1 and 25, 2 and 36) have been measured so that you can fail at practically anything (by having the ability you will succeed, if only barely, in any Easy task unless the GM judges the idea to be irredeemably bad). The ends of the difficulty scale are rarely used. Because the difficulty scale is linear (rises steadily at every five points) and the characters’ capabilities rise exponentially (rising with increasing steepness), the characters’ accomplishments are usually Routine or Challenging. Tasks harder than that are not actually all that difficult if the player can get at least one of the variables high enough. Unlike in dice-based games, Flow gives the player a chance to affect this by himself. Usually, the GM will not tell these limits or the characters’ numerical results to the players. Success and failure are seen by their consequences and changes of circumstances. More importantly, the line between them is not always clear.

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When the stalkers face a problem where solution and outcome are not obvious even with the proper abilities and attributes, it is a Challenge. Like encounters in general, they can be planned ahead and usually any encounter takes the form of a series of challenges that try the characters in different ways. The larger and more versatile the team, the wider the variety of challenges they can overcome. Usually, however, challenges are created on the fly, even if the circumstances they arise from were known beforehand. The Game Master must decide at least the following: Time, or how long it takes to overcome the challenge. If the characters are being chased or time is otherwise essential, this may be a problem. If an idea cannot be executed quickly, it cannot succeed.



Solution, or what the GM considers a good idea for overcoming the challenge. He is not omniscient and so the players may easily come up with better solutions. It is not necessary to always think up a solution beforehand. In any case, with the proper ability, the stalker is the expert here.



Abilities and attributes, whatever helps in the situation. Players’ solutions may utilize all kinds of abilities, but only one at a time.

 

Difficulty, i.e. the likelihood of overcoming the challenge:

Easy (2) Anyone with a working brain can be expected to handle this. These tasks aren’t generally worth the bother of playing them out.

THE GAMEMASTER’S BOOK

Creating Challenges

Routine (5) A layman will usually succeed at this while a professional’s success is all but guaranteed. Succeeds, if there’s any sense to their actions. Challenging (10) At the limit of a layman’s abilities. Unusual even for a professional but usually succeeds. This is why your average speeder cannot shake off the police cars. Difficult (15) A layman generally can’t hack it and even the professional is at his limits. Put your back into it! Very Difficult (20) A layman had better pray for a miracle. Even professionals often fail but there is the odd exception. The idea ought to be better than expected. Nearly Impossible (25) Success is quite unlikely for both the pro and the layman. It is theoretically possible but the GM should not count on it. Incredible (30) Practically impossible. Of course, someone has done it. A problem this hard is not entirely solved even by burning an attribute score since it is uncertain that a solution even exists.

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Climbing a rope ladder quickly is Easy. Climbing a knotted rope with a pack on your back is Routine. Climbing a free-swinging rope in full gear is Challenging. Climbing a vertical cliff face or the wall of an old building is Difficult. An experienced rock climber could probably accomplish all of this. Climbing the wall of a modern building is Very Difficult and a glass-walled skyscraper is Nearly Impossible. Doing it in a thunderstorm is Incredible. Even an experienced rock climber would balk at this.

SciFi Roleplaying Game

The stalkers are trying to fix a car engine. The GM decides that this will take about an hour and the best way to accomplish this is hard work and a good toolkit. The abilities are appropriate. Then one of the stalkers decides to find a junk car of the same or similar model nearby and take a replacement part out of its engine. The GM knows jack about cars but decides that this is a better solution, as long as the stalker has the Mechanic ability. The idea is excellent, maybe the best possible in the situation (5). It is also something that a former mechanic would easily think of (3 or 4 for roleplaying). Scavenger is a useful ability here but it is enough that even one of the characters has it, as long as the team mechanic can show them what the part looks like on the old, dead engine.

Handling Abilities

Abilities stand for years of experience or natural-born talent, learned skills and earned experiences. The same ability may help in doing, knowing and communicating, as long as the challenge is related to the topic of the ability. Only a single ability can be used on a challenge, however, and that is the one that best fits the player’s idea. Inexperienced players may offer up all kinds of ideas based on the abilities their characters have but the GM may give low points for both the Idea and Roleplaying. Stupid is as stupid does, even in a game. Sometimes, just having the ability may be sufficient. If the characters are wondering about something related to car technology and one of the players has an ability that applies, he will know the answer even without a challenge. A layman placed into the cockpit of an airplane wouldn’t even get it in the air (getting it down would happen all too quickly), while a real pilot could fly from one airfield to another without any trouble.

Teamwork

It’s a matter of common sense whether helpers are of any use. In the previous example about repairing the car, the team had the advantage that if one character knew enough about mechanics to describe the needed part, the other members did not need that ability to help him. Once the part has been found, though, only one man fits under the bonnet and he’d better know a lot about car engines. Another way to use the team is to treat it like a tool: if teamwork can be expected to help, it can raise the point value of the Idea. When searching for something, an organized group can cover more ground. If something has to be lifted up, doing it with more pairs of arms is clearly a better idea and so on.

Tools

When evaluating an Idea, you should also evaluate what kinds of tools are necessary for executing it. Repairing a car engine without tools is a stupid idea. Tools, then, are a prerequisite for even thinking about any repairs. Tools can affect all areas of a challenge. The job can get done quicker, or it may be smarter to do thing B with a given tool than the initially planned thing A. Digging a hole in the ground with a shovel requires different abilities than doing so with an excavator. Relevant, unexpected or brilliantly improvised tools in the player’s description of how he attacks the challenge are good ideas that should be rewarded by raising the value of the idea by one point.

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Even if the GM’s understanding of car engines is only slightly above nothing, he may sometimes have to decide how difficult fixing a malfunction is and what is the best way to go about it. In such a case, it is best to avoid too many details or description. Stalkers might know what they are doing even when the GM and the players do not and it is sufficient for a solution to be credible in the boundaries set by the story or genre. Otherwise, the players would have to have the same abilities as their characters. Stupid idea (1) Has the player understood the situation or the challenge correctly? This will not be beneficial and might in fact be actively harmful. Weak idea (2) The character knows what he wants but there’s something off with the implementation. Climbing up a tree ass first, not using the proper tools, and so on. Functional idea (3) Doable. Not perfect but clearly there is more good than bad in the idea and no fatal errors. Good idea (4) A good and workable solution under the circumstances. It is easy to believe in its success. Brilliant idea (5) The idea exceeds expectations and offers a simple and easy solution to a problem that initially appeared complex. If the GM had thought up a credible solution beforehand, the player has shown that it was not the best one.

THE GAMEMASTER’S BOOK

Evaluating Ideas

Comparative Evaluation

If the player’s idea is compared to a solution the GM thought up beforehand, the evaluation could go something like this:

The starting value is 3. If the player’s idea has a clear advantage over the GM’s idea, the modifier is +1. If there are several advantages, or one of them is instrumental to success, the modifier is +2. If the player’s idea has clear downsides or is missing something compared to the GM’s idea, the modifier is -1. If there are several downsides or one of them is critical, the modifier is -2.

Using the GM’s own ideas as a point of comparison is sometimes difficult if the GM has only a foggy notion of how a given situation requiring professional abilities would be resolved. The player is not likely to be any better informed but with the right ability he can just state that his stalker knows better. There is really no way the Game Master can dispute that claim.

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Summary Evaluation

Another way, especially if the GM has not decided on any solution of his own, is to try and evaluate the player’s idea through an outsider’s eyes and give a +1 modifier for every good concept. If this motivates the players to come up with better plans, that is a plus. The starting value is 1. If the idea is credible, add +1. If the required equipment is available, add +1. If the circumstances and environment can be adjusted for an advantage (lighting, ergonomics, etc.), add +1. If the plan benefits from teamwork, add +1.

SciFi Roleplaying Game

If the solution is fast, add +1. If the plan is easy to understand and explain to others, add +1.

The above adds up to more than five but it is unlikely that all the conditions would ever be met at the same time. Most GMs evaluate ideas partly on instinct but they should be able to rationalize at least to themselves how the value was formed. Even instincts can be logical and consistent. In the car example, the idea of taking a spare part from another car is credible (+1) and the toolkit has everything needed to do it (+1). Searching for the right part was the biggest part of the plan and the entire team could participate in that (+1), because the plan was easily explained to those who understood nothing about cars. The result of 5 was therefore justified in the summary evaluation as well. About 50% of all ideas should be valued from 1 to 3. If the players constantly come up with good ideas you can raise your level of expectations and/or favour ideas that drive the game into interesting directions.

In the car example, the GM had thought about pushing the car into cover and using the toolkit to work on the repairs as long as there is daylight. Instead, the player decided that the character looks for a spare part in the abandoned cars in the Zone and uses that to repair the team’s car. The value is now 3. Compared to repairing the original part, pretty much any makeshift solution can get them back to civilization faster. This adds +1 for speed. Even better, when repairing it would have been the work of one character, now the entire team can be used to search for a spare part, as long as the mechanic tells them what he needs. This is much more efficient and also a better solution for action and atmosphere of the game. Add another +1. The solution did not really have any downsides and an engine repaired slowly under some spruce tree would not have worked any better. Therefore the result of 3+1+1=5 stands.

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Evaluating Roleplay

Acting and storytelling are an important part of tabletop roleplaying. If the GM is expected to be creative and at least attempt to try and describe the situations and locations colourfully and dramatically, why should the players carry any less responsibility? Evaluating roleplay rewards colourful descriptions and dramatic solutions that bring depth to the characters. The quality of an idea is easier to evaluate than the quality of roleplay but the scale is the same (1-5) and we have a few guidelines and meters you can use. The GM should primarily rely on their instinct and remember that the players are not equal in their expressive abilities. Trying should be rewarded, even if the player’s own acting skill doesn’t always carry through to the end. Evaluating roleplay can also be used to measure the motivation, interest and risk-taking of the character (and why not the player?). If the situation is personally important to the character, he is ready to take risks and make sacrifices to achieve something unusual and it might well affect this value. The idea is what it is but now the character will do everything in his power to carry it out as well as he possibly can. Where there’s a will, there’s always a way, especially if the value is 5. The above also works in reverse. If the presentation was lacking and the roleplay nonexistent, the GM may well describe how the character sets out to work lazily, is distracted by something else and generally makes lazy decisions that will bite him in the ass later, even if the original idea was solid. This will rarely happen, though, because if the player has an idea he considers good, he will usually also have enough adrenaline to play it out.

STALKER:The

If the GM intends to rely on instinct alone when evaluating roleplaying, the evaluation may also be affected by the GM’s own mental state. For this reason, even fuzzy guidelines are often useful. Even a poor idea can be roleplayed well and the players should not be punished if things did not go how the GM expected. Nobody plays badly on purpose (and if they do, the GM would be right to show them the door). If the value is too often low, the problem may lie at either end of the chain. Talking will clear things up. Perhaps the player has problems with the personality of their character and it has to be rethought, or an entirely new character brought in. On the other hand, it is possible the GM has misunderstood what the character is really about and cannot recognize good roleplaying because of that. Notes about characters’ personalities are often short and easy to remember but also easily misunderstood. Most of the time roleplaying is always on the expected level, so half of all roleplaying values might be 3.

SciFi Roleplaying Game

Poor (1) The solution was badly presented and does not suit the character’s personality, abilities or experiences. It may also break the game or immersion of other players. Perhaps it was just an off moment by the player but they may also have a problem with understanding their character. Lacking (2) There is still something missing. Perhaps the solution does not fit the character even if it was well presented. Perhaps it fit but the presentation left you cold and damaged the atmosphere. Either way, the GM is unhappy. Expected (3) The solution fits the character and both the situation and the presentation are about what you can expect from the player. Advances the game, upholds the atmosphere and represents the character’s actions and personality. Good (4) The presentation was clearly better than expected. The player or at least the character made an impression. If roleplaying the solution is difficult for the player because of a complicated conversation or showing emotion, this value is a fitting reward for a good attempt. Excellent (5) This one will live on in myth and legend. This does not only fit the character’s personality and inclinations but also deepens and develops them. Roleplaying the situation so that the entire team can react and participate is worthy of reward.

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The ten attributes of the player character are more than just a point reserve for emergencies. They describe what the character is like, physically and mentally. Based on attribute scores, the player can think of their character as strong, stupid, butterfingers or constantly alert. They do not tell everything but they are a good starting point for determining what is or is not good roleplaying for the character. They are his areas of strength and the themes and schematics of solutions he will think of first. High ability scores offer a choice of roleplayable approaches to problem-solving. In short, if the character is fit, physical solutions are a good choice. If he is adept with technology, you should think if any technical or mechanical solutions present themselves. In the ideal situation, the attributes are included in the decisions the character makes and the descriptions the player uses for them. If you have it, show it! If the solution would be significantly helped by a high attribute score, it may be worth a +1 modifier to roleplaying. You may also consider if it is even worth running the challenge if the attribute scores are this high. In a contest situation, attributes can solve the situation automatically. Having an ability always beats the unskilled but if both are in the same class, the higher attribute score has the advantage. The GM can decide that a contest situation, such as a bout of arm wrestling, is automatically won by the character with the higher Fitness score. He could also devise a challenge situation in the usual way but raise or lower the difficulty if the character’s attribute score is better or worse than his opponent. Because the attribute scores range from 1 to 5, it is easy to come up with passerby stats. If the GM said that the bouncer at the bar is built like a brick shithouse, that’s Fitness 1+. If the ass of the player leaning over the pool table captures the gaze of a female stalker for longer than a blink of an eye, there could be Charisma 1+ there, at least as far as sex appeal is concerned.

THE GAMEMASTER’S BOOK

Roleplaying Attribute Scores

When an attribute score drops during the game, it shows. It may be due to fatigue, a change in demeanour, shock, or general bad feeling.

Evaluating Performance

Different situations may emphasize different things but the player’s own performance always plays a big part in its effect on others. This is hard to evaluate because people’s expressive abilities vary. In any case, if the player’s performance as their character (speech, gestures, other expressions) made an impression you can give a +1 modifier for roleplaying even with an otherwise strange solution. Everyone does unexpected things now and then. This is also where you must account for differences between players. A naturally talkative amateur actor will deliver a decent performance every time and cannot be evaluated by the same criteria as a quiet wallflower.

Steering the Game

Even if a solution would not require teamwork as such, the GM should favour situations and actions that lead to interesting roleplaying from all members of the team. The GM may not know for certain what will happen but if it is clear that the solution’s success would lead to more interesting events, challenges that try the other members of the team, or intriguing social situations, you can give Roleplaying a +1 modifier to help it succeed.

Dramatics

A situation can be impressive or memorable for many reasons and some of them may not even have anything to do with the actual outcome. If the players listen with bated breath when another character finally opens up about his dark past, confesses his love or otherwise makes the situation dramatic and impressive, you may secretly reward the player for that in the future. The GM is under no obligation to reveal any of the Challenge values.

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Interpreting the results

Using difficulty levels leads easily to the misconception that things can only go two ways: succeed or fail. In reality, nothing is this simple. Every attempt at overcoming a challenge will change the circumstances, the environment or the challenge itself. Perhaps the situation will change so that another solution is now easier, or will require different abilities? Maybe the job could still be done if the rest of the team would pitch in, like by buying more time?

How does the attempt affect the stalker? How does the attempt affect the rest of the team? How does the attempt affect the environment?

The greater the product of Idea and Roleplay, the greater effect the attempt will have, regardless of whether it succeeded or failed. With very low results (less than 5) the change may be detrimental and if the task was easy enough to still succeed, it did so despite the character’s actions and not because of them. As a rule of thumb, every 5 points of result will cause a change of some kind, regardless of success or failure.

The philosophy of Success

Obviously, the more the difficulty threshold was exceeded, the greater his success. In a firefight, the stalker takes down, wounds or drives off multiple foes. A repaired engine works even better than before or repairing it took just 5 minutes instead of half an hour. The stalker did not only sneak past the guard but also overhears him discussing tonight’s watch schedule with another guard. You can use the other difficulty levels as points of comparison, with each level above the required heightening the success.

Creeping past the guard was difficult (15) but the result of the attempt is 20 (very difficult). In addition to succeeding in his goal, the GM thinks up an added benefit equal to a very difficult challenge and decides on additional information. The result was so good that the GM decides the stalker found a good route past the guard tower. From now on the entire team will find it much easier to sneak past this particular tower.

Why did the attempt fail? What is the stalker doing wrong? Is he a victim of circumstances? Failure in a difficult task does not mean that the stalker did badly. If the results are still high, it may be he did everything just right but the opponent did even better.

During playtesting, we noticed that it may be hard to draw clear lines between a successful and a failed attempt. For that reason, even bad results are easily interpreted as borderline successes. The GM must be firm when interpreting and evaluating failures. The guidelines for calculating results may feel useless and will certainly not work in every situation but they are worth using, especially when the GM is otherwise uncertain about the result. If the result is 10 or more, the failure is probably a result of powers beyond the character’s control. 1-4 Botch The stalker did something really, really wrong and the result is usually the opposite of what was attempted. Instead of repairing he causes more damage, in a firefight he shoots himself in the foot or a friend in the back and so on. Usually, the circumstances will change for the worse. 5-9 Failure The attempt fails because of a mistake the stalker made but the situation is still ongoing and other solutions may be attempted. For example, a sneaking stalker steps on a dry twig, causing the guard to come over. It is still possible to try to distract him.

THE GAMEMASTER’S BOOK

The philosophy of Failure

10-14 Good Effort Fell short of the goal but the situation has been changed in some way that is beneficial to the stalker or the team. A creeping stalker notices in advance that he cannot proceed without being exposed. He can still go back and rethink his strategy. 15-19 Achievement Situation was made clearly advantageous to the stalker or the team but the actual goal was still not reached. If the idea was to shoot someone, the shot missed but the opponents panicked and are committing tactical errors right now. 20+ Great achievement Aiming for the stars and hitting the Moon. The goal is practically impossible but there are remarkable benefits from the attempt. You could ask whether this one really counts as a failure at all.

Retry?

Depending on the situation and whether there is still time, some challenges can be tackled again and again. The same stalker cannot succeed with the same idea but if they have a new and hopefully better plan, they can go right ahead. This is how difficult things tend to get done. Another stalker can still try with the original plan, if they are notably better-equipped to handle it (abilities, higher attribute or better roleplaying reasons will also do). The challenge is usually just as hard as it was but the GM may decide that if the earlier failures were good enough, it will now become easier.

Border guards shot the car’s engine out. However, the initial attempts at fixing it are so successful that when a real mechanic finally gets to work on it the job is already half-finished.

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Violence

Sooner or later, the characters are forced to resort to violence. The progress of a fight is a tremendously complicated, time-critical event where innumerable little things affect one another in highly complex ways. Nobody is interested in that. Unlike most other game systems, Flow does not care about the progress of the fight, only about the outcome. Who won and is there somebody still standing?

Defeating the opponent

Taking down any opponent is a challenge where difficulty depends not only on the opponent’s skill but also on the circumstances and the balance of power. However, these change things only within certain parameters and in theory it is always possible to win or lose regardless of who you are up against. Defeating an SAS operative in single combat may sound pretty desperate but the player character may still have an ace or two up his sleeve.

The character is sneaking up on a border guard (a professional soldier) to knock him out from behind. In a toe-to-toe, honest fight, the player would have to come up with a good strategy and roleplay it well enough to get a result of 20 or more. Otherwise the guard would beat him up with his superior training and commando knife. The obvious solution is to not fight fair.

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Small child, badly injured person Drunk, geek, old person Gang member, conscript, labourer Cop, guard, gangster Professional soldier, bodyguard Special forces, karate champion A legendary warrior

2 5 10 15 20 25 30

Balance of Power

Victory is not just about skill but also about equipment, location, lighting, numbers and so on. When thinking about combat power, every category where the character clearly has the upper hand lowers enemy toughness by one step and vice versa. However, as long as the opponent is still capable of putting up a fight, toughness cannot be less than 5 or more than 30. Numbers: Which side has superior numbers, the opponents or the team members taking part in the fight?

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Weaponry: Who is better armed for the circumstances? Indoors, in close quarters, pistols and melee weapons may be handier than rifles. In the dark or fog firearms are nearly useless. In an open space and with proper lighting, however, they are lethally superior, especially when using automatic weapons and if you do not have to avoid collateral damage.

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THE GAMEMASTER’S BOOK

Enemy Toughness depends on how skilled they are. Beating up a helpless victim is Easy, kicking the ass of a peaceful Civilian is routine and so on. Toughness is evaluated from the average of an ordinary person in good shape. The GM has the last word but here are a few suggestions.

Protective gear: If you are wearing gear that the enemy’s weapons will not, on the average, penetrate, it is a clear advantage (e.g. bulletproof vests are more or less impervious to anything lighter than a rifle).

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Position: Someone defending a narrow doorway or who can pick off their enemies from an elevated position has the tactical edge. Firing from a proper cover may be enough to claim the edge if the opponent is out in the open and their weapons cannot penetrate the cover.

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Surprise: Even a partial surprise is a distinct advantage. If the surprise is complete, winning the fight may not even be a challenge.

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Crossfire: If one side can attack their opponents from multiple directions at once, they hold a clear advantage.

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Limitations: If there are targets among the opponents whom you are not allowed to hit, or you wish to conserve ammo, or you are hanging on a rope by one hand or can only advance on a narrow plank bridge, you are at a disadvantage against your opponent.

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Fear: Psychological warfare is just as important as physical warfare. If you are in terror, nervous, tired, shocked or similarly mentally impaired, you are at a disadvantage. But the same applies to most enemies.

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The character is now close enough to the guard that his fearsome assault rifle only gets in the way. That’s a notch in the character’s favour. The soldier has also been surprised, which is another notch. On the other hand, his helmet can probably withstand a strike from the rock the character is wielding, so that’s a notch for the soldier. The end result is two for the player character and one against. The difficulty drops by one step and is now challenging (15). To an experienced stalker who knows a thing or two about hand-to-hand fighting that may well be enough.

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Enemy Initiative?

What if the enemy surprises the characters and their first clue is a sniper’s bullet? If the stalkers have taken some precautions, those are their attempts in the challenge, compared to the opposition’s Toughness. If the precautions win, they are forewarned and have time to react. Otherwise, they are hit. If there is reason to suspect danger under the circumstances and the characters have not taken precautions, getting hit right at the start may be fair. If there are precautions, even if they are insufficient, the first hit need not deal damage but just make things more difficult for them. For example, the sniper’s bullet may not pierce the stalker’s head but perhaps it pierces the engine of the car they were all just getting into.

SciFi Roleplaying Game

In practice, from the GM’s point of view, a hidden enemy is much like an anomaly that is hard to see. The players cannot get tense about something they are not aware of. If there is no reason to suspect danger but the GM knows that it is out there, it may be a good idea to give the characters a clue. Maybe the hotel room is too cool considering that the window is supposed to have been shut all day, or there’s a glint of reflected light from the sniper’s scope just when it is raised into firing position. Maybe it is just their stalker sense tingling. The clue can also refer to an upcoming ambush much later, so that when it is finally sprung, there is no need for a separate warning. Whatever the clue, an unexpected, sudden death, a bullet in the head in a logically peaceful place, is frustrating to the player and poor storytelling.

A guard in a tower spots two stalkers returning from the Zone. Aware of the border and the tower, the stalkers are trying to avoid open places. The guard’s first shot hits the car the stalkers are hiding behind. A quick debate on tactics will follow. The guard’s Toughness is 20 (a professional soldier) and the stalkers cannot hope to match his sniper rifle at this range. That’s a notch in the guard’s favour. However, there are two stalkers and the guard cannot aim at both of them, so they have the advantage in numbers. They decide not to return fire but instead will run separate ways, zigzagging and using the trash at the border for cover. Also, one of them lights the car’s upholstery on fire to produce a smoke screen. This makes the idea even better because it limits visibility. This is two notches in their favour, one against. The difficulty for their dash to the border and better cover in the undergrowth is now 15. A smaller result means getting hit.

Victory Results

Overcoming the enemy’s toughness and the power balance means that the character reached his immediate goal. The goal does not always have to be harming the enemy but things like escaping or hiding.

 If you sought to damage, victory means the enemy has been

taken out – dead, badly wounded, or unconscious. If there are multiple opponents, every 5 points over their Toughness takes down one additional opponent, if possible. A surprise burst of automatic fire from a good position can wreak havoc.

 If the idea was to escape, the excess levels of success can confuse the pursuers even worse.

 If you sought to knock out the enemy, excess levels of success can be used for dragging him away without attracting attention.

If the attack is convincing enough, the remaining enemies may withdraw or lay low behind cover, or maybe a car between you and the enemy blows up putting a wall of fire between you and them. It all comes down to the circumstances.

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Regardless of what the player was trying to do, a defeat in battle means the enemy got what he wanted. Unless the player burns a point of Fitness (or if he has none remaining), he is usually out of the fight. A defeat in fisticuffs may only mean a knockout and a black eye but a stabbing or a gunshot wound can be terminal. If the player burns a point of Fitness, the hit is reduced to a flesh wound or some impressive bruising, or it is otherwise not immediately dangerous. He should still get someone to look at it, though. In any case, his own goals were not reached. In a fist fight, the loser is down for the count but long-term consequences are mostly cosmetic. Wounds caused by weapons may be more serious. Unconsciousness or shock can last until the character gets proper treatment or dies after about 24 hours. Some abilities, such as True Grit, can keep the character somewhat functional or delay death. With that, the character can still attempt to do something. Such as crawl towards the border.

The stalkers take separate routes. The first one zigs and zags from cover to cover, throws himself through a gap in the chain link fence and vanishes into the dense undergrowth on the other side. The GM thinks his plan and description were good enough. The other stalker’s player announces that his nimble character will sneak under cover to another part of the fence and climb over it. The GM does not consider this such a good idea (climbing is always slower and there is no cover on the fence). The result falls short of 15. Sand puffs up around the first stalker but he escapes unscathed. When he vanishes among the ferns, the other stalker is still atop the fence. A shot rings out and the stalker feels the impact...

THE GAMEMASTER’S BOOK

Defeat Results

“I burn a Fitness point!” the player shouts as his stalker falls off the fence back to the wrong side of the border and rolls behind a ruined wall, trailing blood all the way. He has been lucky. The bullet has carved a long, bloody gash on his thigh. He can see the muscle but it is not ruptured. The stalker ties his scarf around it to staunch bleeding. He is still on the wrong side of the fence and a patrol will be there soon if he doesn’t think up something fast.

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The Progress of Time in a Fight

Once again, Flow is not interested in the progress of the fight, just the outcome. A single conflict can be over in a single pull of the trigger or it may be an hours-long siege against police officers. If there are enemies left after all actions have been resolved, the fight continues with a new conflict.

The previous conflict ended in a victory for the sniper. One of the stalkers is now safe in the undergrowth but the one wounded in the leg must play out another conflict against the sniper if he wishes to get away.

Ammo Expenditure

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Because the conflict resolution only produces the outcome, it is difficult to estimate how many bullets are being used. A stalker may reload several times during the fight and any rules for ammo expenditure would be completely arbitrary. If the GM wishes to track the ammunition, he can decide that in a surprise attack, there is no need to count bullets but otherwise a box of ammo is enough for three extended firefights. Usually, though, especially if carrying extra ammunition, there is no reason to track this as long as the characters are not being absolute morons about ammo expenditure.

Explosives

Using explosives in a conflict is a challenge against the circumstances and enemy Toughness, just like in any other fight. If the player character wins, one or more opponents have been caught within the blast radius. If the player character loses or the opponent is the one using explosives, fired explosives (rocket propelled grenades, grenade launchers, etc.) explode immediately. If the characters are grouped, the GM may decide that several were hit. Timed explosives (hand grenades, dynamite with a fuse) drop next to the player character and the GM may give the player five seconds to tell what his character does. Throwing a loaded backpack over a hand grenade will dampen the explosion surprisingly well. Even if the opponent lost the challenge, he still probably threw his explosive somewhere. It still goes off and shrapnel can hit the player characters’ Kevlars and equipment, the explosion can bring down structures or start fires and so on. Explosions do tend to reshape the environment.

Artefact Weapons

Stalkers may carry special weapons that break the laws of nature and have effects that are difficult to evaluate just by the rules. In Roadside Picnic, Red kept an Itcher in his pocket. The hallucinations and psychic effects would stop any number of opponents. Artefacts can also turn you invisible, change the weather or even rust away your opponents’ weapons. All of this depends on what you find and how you use it. Artefacts are rarely used to fight but if the stalker happens to have a suitable artefact in his pocket, the conflict may be over even before it begins. This is why military applications of xenotechnology are so feared. Of course, if the stalker still loses the conflict and gets caught, penalties for the possession of xenoweaponry are severe.

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A stalker is running from three knife-wielding robbers along the back alleys of Toulouse. He cannot shake them off but dives into a labyrinth of hanging sheets, left to dry on low-hanging clotheslines. He gets out of the robbers’ sight for a moment and takes up an ambush position at the corner of the next building. His plan is to hit the first enemy hard, use him as a shield and make the others realize that their prey is not worth the danger. The pursuers’ toughness is 10 but they are armed and outnumber the stalker, so in practice it is 20. The GM thinks that the idea, especially with the advantage of surprise and limited goals (not trying to beat up all three at once) is good (Idea 4). The stalker grew up on the streets himself, so he does not shy away from combat and he has a tough guy’s reputation to uphold, which makes the solution credible from a roleplaying viewpoint (Roleplay 4). Additionally, he is a Budoka, which gives him a +1 modifier to both values (5 and 5). The result is 25 and beats the opponents’ score. When the first robber rushes around the corner, the stalker slams the heel of his hand in his face, breaking his nose, eye socket and cheekbone. With his other hand, he whirls the man around and shoves him towards the other robbers. A knife flashes but the stab aimed at the stalker sinks up to the hilt into the human shield. The victim coughs, spraying blood on his killer’s face. The third thug freezes where he stands, horrified. The stalker pushes the dying man into the arms of the knife-wielder and runs off. The pursuit does not continue as the thugs stay behind in a futile effort to help their dying friend. Bodycount does not always win battles.

THE GAMEMASTER’S BOOK

A Combat Example

Another Example

It’s rare but it happens. Another team has followed the stalkers into the Zone, seeking to ambush them on the return trip. The stalkers saw the lights of their torches when they took up positions but cannot circle around them if they wish to get to their Door. There are five stalkers and six enemies. The base toughness is 15, adjusted to 20 for superior numbers. Other adjustments will be evaluated for each stalker separately. The stalkers make plans. The heavily armoured “robots” find firing positions in front of the enemy line and open fire, killing if they can but mostly drawing attention to themselves. The rest will flank the enemy and take them out one by one. Both robots have bulletproof vests, while the enemy has no heavier weapons, so for them the Toughness drops by one step (now 15). The GM describes the area and sketches out a map. Both robots pick out their firing positions and then describe how they intend to advance to those positions. If they can get a result of at least 15, they will make enough noise that the flanking team has a chance. The other gets a result of over 20, so he also hits an enemy with a lucky shot from behind a cover. For the flanking team it is enough that their “smeja” describes how he picks out a path past the anomalies. The GM describes where the enemies seem to be. Each stalker picks out a foe and describes how they will surprise their victim. Thanks to the element of surprise, Toughness is now 10 but if someone fails the element of surprise is lost and all who got less than 15 will also fail. Stalkers with results higher than 15 are not spotted when moving into flanking position even if someone in the team stumbles. All this happens during the first firefight. Although the GM must often handle conflicts in smaller groups or even one individual at a time, it is important to rememberthat everything is happening simultaneously. Also, he players cannot shout advice to one another just like that. Their stalkers would have to shout their instructions over the noise of a firefight while being shot at and it would distract them from their own conflict.

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Going Down

When a stalker goes down they are no longer part of the battle or the play situation in general. They might not be dead but the physical threat directed at them was realized. Different threats cause different injuries and consequences. Of course, the GM should also apply reason when it comes to describing all earlier wounds and injuries covered by Fitness: they’re there, they hurt and they exact a toll on the stalker even if they are not enough to incapacitate him. But with that final hit, the GM can be just as grittily realistic as he wants. An axe blow takes a limb clean off, a bullet exits the chest cavity with a spray of blood and bone fragments, the last scream is sharply cut off as organic tissue petrifies within a shimmering anomaly.

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Sometimes the stalker can be saved, sometimes not. Everything depends on the circumstances and what kind of help is available. If the stalker can be taken to someplace that’s even approaching a hospital (such as the black clinics in the borderlands), chances are good. Modern medicine can work wonders. At night in the Zone, though, it is back to the Middle Ages and there is not going to be any help from the outside. A stalker who is down can be killed with any weapon, strike or exposure to new dangers. A stalker crawling away and fighting off shock is hardly capable of avoiding the various hazards of the Zone. He can even crawl straight into an anomaly without noticing it. Punch or lightweight blunt instrument: The stalker is out for a couple of hours and wakes up afterwards feeling groggy and nauseous.

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Heavy blunt instrument: The stalker is unconscious until he receives treatment or dies. A skull fracture or bleeding from internal injuries will kill him in about 24 hours. The impact may also have broken larger bones.

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Light blade: The stalker slumps into the ground, conscious but incapacitated. Heavy bleeding. Cannot complete challenges. Crawling or stumbling forward with some support may be possible. Without treatment, he will lose consciousness in an hour. If the bleeding is staunched, if only with fingers, some have stayed awake for as long as a day. Even if treated, the stalker is bedridden for a week and finds it hard to move for a month.

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Heavy blade: Axes, swords and chainsaws can go clean through the body and even remove limbs. The victim is conscious but helpless for a few minutes and then faints from blood loss. Without treatment, death will result in an hour. Stopping the bleeding from a wound this big is difficult in the field but even a makeshift tourniquet will buy a couple more hours.

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Firearm, light calibre: The stalker catches the bullet and remains conscious if also incapacitated. Depending on hit location, he may retain consciousness for up to several hours but in the end he will pass out and die in about 24 hours unless the bleeding is stopped (tampons are good for this).

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Firearm, heavy calibre: There’s a quarter-sized entry wound and a fist-sized exit wound. A hit on a limb may have even blown it off when the bullet shattered the bone and its fragments ripped through tissue. The stalker is in shock and loses consciousness in minutes. Without help, he will die in an hour and that help is very difficult to give in field conditions.

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Explosives: The stalker is unconscious and suffers from injuries caused by the overpressure and embedded shrapnel. If the explosion happened very close or he was touching a small explosive, he may well have lost a limb and will usually die in the arms of his helpers. In any case, without help he will be dead in an hour.

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Falling: The stalker is unconscious and a major bone in some limb is broken. He will come to in a few minutes but is nearly immobilized. The limb will swell and in case of an open fracture, there will be copious bleeding. Without treatment, he will lose consciousness in a few hours and his life in about 24 hours.

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Fire, corrosive substances: The stalker goes into shock, screaming all the while and will die in about 24 hours. His life can still be saved in a hospital but otherwise it is nearly impossible. There will be a lot of scarring and he may have lost fingers or other extremities, or perhaps his eyesight.

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Cold: The stalker is incapacitated and falls into a coma. Unless he can be warmed up, he will die in about 30 minutes. Unprotected skin and lightly clothed or wet extremities suffer frostbite and become gangrenous. They must be amputated during treatment or the victim will die of infection.

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Radiation: The stalker will be incapacitated by nausea. Mucous membranes and the thinnest parts of the skin will bleed. If he can be removed from the radiation immediately, his life may still be saved in a hospital. Otherwise, radiation sickness will kill him painfully over the next day or two. Even survivors will develop tumours over time and susceptibility to new doses of radiation is heightened. Getting children will also become harder but for a stalker that’s nothing new.

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Gravity: The stalker crumples down, powerless, with every joint in his feet torn. Soft tissue will begin to squash under pressure, pressing down on internal organs. Shock ensues. Then the skull, ribs and pelvis will begin to fracture and depending on the strength of the gravity concentration, death will come from thirty seconds to thirty minutes. Even if the stalker is rescued, treating this many internal injuries, broken joints and fractures will be very difficult.

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Wounded Enemies

Of course, when there is violence the enemies will also get hit. As a rule of thumb a hit enemy ceases to be an active participant in the ongoing combat situation, even if they are still alive. The GM will decide whether the hit was lethal or something similar to what the stalkers might have suffered, or something else entirely. One way to take out a bunch of enemies at once using only a pistol and a single bullet is to hit the fuel tank of the car they are using as a cover. It is a pistol kill from burn damage. Remember that in Flow we are only interested in results. Everything leading to those results that can be freely improvised. One way to determine the results of a hit is the stalker’s intent. The winner of a fight achieves their goals. If that goal was to beat an enemy unconscious with a riflebutt, that’s what happened. If it was to shoot the enemy, there’s now a hole in him. Maybe several.

Healing

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Small injuries and bruises usually disappear completely between sessions (as the Fitness points they burned were returned to the character) or perhaps during a week of game time. A more serious wound, like damage to internal organs or a fracture, will take a month. That will not prevent the stalker from participating in the game but their reduced physical capacity must be remembered when roleplaying. Casts and splints, crutches, wheelchairs, aching body parts, bandages, medication and the like is now part of the character and it would be unwise to let them go to the Zone. As a rule of thumb, if the stalker ran out of Fitness and got seriously injured but received treatment, they will be crippled for the rest of the current adventure. But there can still be things they can do outside the Zone.

Untreated Wounds

All healing requires that the wounds are tended properly. Once professional help has been had this does not take much. Healing still requires rest, decent food and basic hygiene, which also means changing bandages, clean clothes and at least over-the-counter medicine. This can be surprisingly challenging if you are also trying to lay low at the same time. Even getting clean clothes can be hard. The stalker might not recover even from burned Fitness points if he is cooped up in some Borderlands rathole. Left untreated, even small wounds can get infected. The effects – fever, nausea, festering and stinking wounds – will be visible in just a few days. After a week, the GM can demand the burning of another Fitness point or state that the stalker goes into shock and will eventually die of his wounds. The modern man rarely has to deal with septic fever, especially in the western world, but most stalkers have had it at some point or another. If the GM wants to be really mean, the only antibiotics available in the black market could be for farm animals and have serious side-effects on humans. Also, street medicine gets cut just like drugs and the additives can be just as dangerous as the illness. Hospital treatment will speed up healing a bit by ensuring the best possible environment but its greatest value is in the constant monitoring of the patient’s health and better professional care. After a couple of weeks in the hospital a patient may feel he is fine but then his condition can swiftly worsen after he gets home. People often forget that a tablespoon of blood is enough to stain a big pile of clothing. Authorities will be very interested in people who walk around in bloody clothes, so after having taken their wounded friend to a black clinic, the rest of the team might also want to keep out of sight until they have had a change of clothes. Hiding bloody clothes from the Institute snoops can be just as hard as concealing bodies. If you cannot reliably destroy them, the best hiding place is obviously the Zone.

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“Everything had to be changed. Not one life or two lives, not one fate or two — every link in this rotten, stinking world had to be changed.” - ROADSIDE PICNIC People learn by doing, pushing their limits and by training. In Flow, there are three ways to develop your stalker. The first is learning new abilities. The second is overcoming your old drawbacks and the third is developing and deepening the personality, nature and memories of your character. All of these carry their own benefits in the game. Drawbacks limit the stalker’s actions, so somehow overcoming them opens new options. Developing the character’s personality will change the criteria used to evaluate roleplaying. Contrasted with the adventures of a roleplaying game, the timescale of these changes is very long. Some stalkers never develop at all.

THE GAMEMASTER’S BOOK

EXPERIENCE

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Learning New Skills

Someone who leads a safe, comfortable life and never tests his limits will also never learn anything new. An ordinary person would not probably even have the ten abilities that tell the life story of a stalker. In a roleplaying game, the passage of time can usually be divided into active periods (adventures) and the downtime between them that can usually be covered with a short narrative. Even if gametime has not explicitly been divided up like this, you can still discern story arcs, climactic moments and transition periods.

SciFi Roleplaying Game

When an adventure or other climactic moment has been experienced and is now over, usually after five to ten sessions, consider what, if any, permanent effects it might have had on the stalkers or the setting. If these new events, memories and experiences can be used to justify a new ability, along with its associated drawback, the stalker has learned it. He does not have to learn something new from every adventure but then again this is something the player gets to influence by choosing what the stalker will do during the adventures. It is important that a stalker can reminisce about his past and describe where and how he learned an ability. The abilities tell his life story and the story continues all the while he is being played. With the GM’s consent, a stalker may also step aside and drop away from the game. He leaves the group to study or work somewhere else, promising to return after a year or two. The player may make a new character to be played until enough time has passed or the situation is otherwise appropriate for the original character to return. If the GM agrees, you may also consider creating multiple characters for each player.

A stalker captured at the border disappears into the depths of the Institute. The GM gives the player his condolences and a new stalker is created, who goes on to adventure with the rest of the team for a long time. Years of game time passes, as breaks between expeditions can easily take months. On one expedition, the new stalker, now an experienced veteran like the others, is in the wrong place at the wrong time. Not even the doctors at the hospital can save his legs from the creeping corrosion of Witch’s Jelly. While he is sleeping in some hospital under a false identity, the team gathers in a hideout and debates on what to do next. Suddenly, there’s a knock on the door and everyone starts because nobody is supposed to know about the hideout. Behind the door stands the stalker who got caught years ago, now older, with prison tattoos on his hands and his soul burned by interrogators. Nobody died when he got caught and crossing the border does not carry the life sentence. The GM estimates that four years behind bars has taught the stalker two new abilities, along with their associated drawbacks. He discusses with the player what kind of experience prison was for his stalker so that the character history matches with the new abilities and drawbacks.

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Most people live fairly monotonous, safe lives, and only learn new abilities maybe once or twice during their adult life (raising children, starting a new life as a single after a traumatic divorce). Ability changes tell about new life situations and especially drawbacks offer possibilities for developing the stalker’s character. Of course, a shift into one direction is away from something else, which is what drawbacks are all about. Stalkers lead dangerous lives and constantly test their limits. Players tend to like it when their stalkers also develop as human beings to be roleplayed, so learning is not about how many abilities the GM may grant them but what kind of changes they were pursuing. Any new abilities must be earned. If the stalker seeks out these situations deliberately it may strain his credibility for some players but consider this:

The stalkers wish to make an expedition to the Zone China. For this purpose. they join a band of Uighur rebels for six months to learn how to move, survive and orienteer in the Gobi Desert. The survivors are richer by 1-2 skills and drawbacks. Six months of guerrilla warfare will teach you a lot. Of course, it will also royally piss off the Chinese officials (drawback!).

THE GAMEMASTER’S BOOK

Learning Rate

Overcoming Drawbacks

Can you get rid of the drawbacks that came with your abilities? Not always, and usually never entirely. However, the problems associated with them may be resolved and the opponents defeated. Enemies are a good example. They are often too powerful to be reached but sometimes it can be done. Murdering a powerful person without leaving witnesses and evidence is hard in the modern world and the character will have to live with his conscience and the fear of being found out. But if all went well, the enemy is gone and stays that way. Also a drug addiction can be beat, an alcoholic may finally crawl out of the bottle and you can learn to live with a mental disorder. It is never easy and rarely quick. Both the addict and the alcoholic are always in danger of relapsing. The struggle will continue throughout their lives but that the struggle is even happening means the drawback is relinquishing its hold over you. Learning to live with your drawbacks and overcoming them are two different things but both require good and rewarding roleplaying. Adapting to a drawback will not remove it but merely develops ways around the problems it causes. This may also develop the stalker’s personality. It is always better if the fight against drawbacks does not happen alone as it can create interesting situations within the team. Overcoming a psychological drawback is a great challenge and resolving it will take a long time, several adventures at least. However, if the player approaches the stalker’s problems in a reasonable way and is not afraid to roleplay the difficult situations associated with them, it should bear fruit. A stalker who has been tortured suffers from a variety of traumas, Stockholm syndrome, revenge fantasies and self-esteem issues. Being a stalker; the feeling of danger, the adrenaline high and the thought of one’s importance to the team may in the end be the few things that comfort him.

A female stalker starts to develop an affection for his recently returned male colleague who is fighting his own inner demons. By having the players roleplay their relationship the GM can create more situations where both players may work out their stalkers’ inner struggles and the gameplay experience for both of them will be richer because of it.

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STALKER:The SciFi Roleplaying Game 110

Developing the Personality

The stalker’s character, motives and needs will change during the game. Old goals are reached and new ones come up, just like in real life. From the GM’s perspective, the easiest way to follow the development of the stalker’s personality and inner life is to consider their motives. This will also have an effect on game mechanics since acting in accordance with your motives is often credible roleplaying. Most players will let their stalkers’ personalities develop under their own power and socializing within the team plays a big part in this. However, a player may begin to plan out his changes. If it is clear that the team will be engaging in a specific type of activity over the next couple of adventures, they may begin to calculate and create credible reasons for their stalker to be especially interested in or motivated by those challenges. There is nothing wrong with this. We all do it anyway, consciously motivating ourselves for difficult challenges. A roleplaying game is not a psychological test, so any explanation or motive that is even borderline believable is okay. People do weird things all the time and interpreting the stalker is the player’s responsibility.

Our stalker’s relationship with another stalker is starting to shape his goals. The player decides that his character had hit rock bottom and never even thought about life beyond being a stalker before, spending his rewards on drugs and booze. Now he wants to build a common future with somebody so that is no longer an option. This gives him a strong motivation for overcoming his addiction-related drawbacks. On the other hand, he will no longer treat all his team mates equally. He may not have admitted it to himself yet but he would gladly sacrifice any of the others if it meant saving his love. His also jealous, maybe not of other party members but he becomes distrustful of outside contacts, more remote friends and occasional associates. That too is affecting his motivations. The other half of the coin is that stalkers are typically strong and independent. An overprotective attitude and bursts of jealousy will easily provoke a counter-reaction from the girlfriend and the rest of the team gets to witness a lovers’ quarrel where the players’ roleplaying skills are truly measured. A fight like this may change the relationship, stalkers themselves and their deeper motivations even further.

THE GAMEMASTER’S BOOK “What the hell is this?” Spark asks, peering into a hole in the cover of a plastic box. There is a scratching sound from within, punctuated by angry squeaks. “It’s a rat,” Czar answers casually. “A client wants a Weight. We haven’t brought any since they’re hard to carry but then Prof came up with the rat.” “And how does a rat help us?” Spark asks, tilting the box. It protests with furious shrieks. “Prof says that the bioelectric field cancels out the Weight’s effect,” Czar replies. “It doesn’t matter if the field is from a man or a mouse. If we find a Weight, we’ll put it in the same box.” Spark bursts into laughter. “High tech! The Institute robots can’t move weights. We’re the only supplier!” Then he gets serious and draws a circle on the map. “Let’s go straight to where Prof found that Weight of his. Maybe we can still find it.” “And we’ll take a baby bottle,” he continues. “The trip is a day and a night. The pipsqueak will need food and water. It’d be really embarrassing to go all the way out there and find it has croaked.” Czar leans back in his chair with a thoughtful expression. “True,” he finally says. “Something to eat with lots of fluids in it. Cucumber. Or tomato.” Spark does not answer but grabs a marker pen and writes on the side of the box: “Weightlifter Mk.2”.

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GAMEMASTER’S ROLE “I’m giving you a week. Come up with some ideas as to how the material from the Zone gets into the hands of Burbridge — and all the others. Good-bye.” - ROADSIDE PICNIC The quotation from above could describe a scene where a player character working as an Institute agent gets a job phrased almost like a threat from his boss. The boss is played by the Game Master. The GM has planned ahead some of the characters and probable events of the plot, as well as an initial motive for the player character (e.g. the threat of getting fired) to start looking into things. What happens then is up to the player. There are many ways to solve this case and even the GM cannot be prepared for all of them.

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The GM is the storyteller of this interactive tale and the players’ window into the game world. He tells them where they are and describes how their actions affect the inhabitants and environment in the game world. In a storybook, he would be the narrator (not the author, which is a common misconception). The GM usually has a prepared plot frame for the situations he assumes the player characters will get into. He cannot decide for the players what their characters will do and cannot know in advance where the situations will lead to. The flow of the story will often surprise even the GM. Surprise twists, improvisation and reworking the adventure on the fly when the original plot no longer works are all things that make some people enjoy gamemastering the most. Unlike other games, roleplaying games do not have absolute limits or interpretations. Anything can happen and so the Game Master goes on an adventure side by side with the stalkers.

Shared Gamemastering

Nowadays it is fashionable to look for experimental game mastering models or leave out the GM entirely. Stalker has been written from the point of view of the traditional GM/group model of roleplaying. The model is not ironbound, however, and the GM need not do all the work. His descriptions are just words and only together with the players’ imagination will they create the world of the game. An easy way to share the narrative responsibility is to declare the assumptions players make about the game world always true if they are believable and the GM has no good reason to deny them. When the GM describes a location, situation or person, the description will always be quite general. The players will then fill in details according to their needs while describing the actions of their characters. The players may, of course, use this to unfairly benefit their characters but does it really matter?

Example:

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The stalker sneaks through a shady back alley strewn with garbage and other obstacles. The player announces that his character will look for “something to use as a club in a dumpster”. The GM decides that the assumption of a dumpster and a piece of wood as an improvised weapon is a credible one. There’s a small garbage skip in there and in it a plank with some nails on it, even though the original description of the alley mentioned neither. Later on, a firefight breaks out in the alley. The stalker leaps behind the garbage skip for cover. Its material had not been decided but from now on it is thick iron.

Continuity is the GM’s responsibility. The GM must take care that events follow one another in a logical way (if only in the context of the Zones). This means he must be prepared to improvise, change or abandon his own plans and build new plots on the fly as the team’s actions open up new possibilities. Even the best adventure script will not survive contact with the players.

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Focus is what can be seen through the GM’s window into the game world. The landscape can be vast and complicated but what is described in detail and what is skipped? The GM should usually visualize the situation in his head and describe things in the order that the player characters would notice them. The players will often ask for more information on specific things but usually only about stuff that was included in the original description.

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Challenges are one of the most important tasks of the GM. When do the stalkers succeed or fail in their attempts? What is actually difficult in the game world and what is not? What are the actual consequences of success or failure? Are they what was expected?

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Rewards are also in his hands. How many artefacts? What kind? How much money? How can the stalkers reach their goals? What can the team achieve and how do the rewards earned motivate them for future adventures?

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Gamemaster’s Responsibilities

Atmosphere is a common task but the GM holds a great deal of power over it. Good players will do their best but a lot depends on how the GM describes things. Colours, tones of voice, gestures, descriptive metaphors (“in the dim lighting, the stains on the wall look like beasts and fiends painted in blood”).

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Non-player characters (NPCs) are the other inhabitants of the game world, from the player characters’ relatives to a random passersby. If the stalker stops someone on the street and asks them something, the GM must improvise what the person looks like and decide how he or she reacts to the situation and the questions.

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Forces of nature, such as rain, darkness, wind, cold, or flowing water when the stalker has fallen into a river are all the responsibility of the GM. What does the world look like? How do the forces of nature affect the stalkers and others exposed to them? When does it start to rain? When does the Moon peek through the clouds and turn darkness into twilight? All these events are directed by the GM and success or failure may also be explained by luck or detrimental forces of nature.

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Passage of time is also the GM’s responsibility, much like in a novel it is the narrator’s. A week of downtime can be accounted for with a couple of words but in a moment of danger every second counts. You cannot play and describe a roleplaying game in step with the events of the game world, so time management as part of the narration is important.

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Supporting roleplaying is also, partially, the GM’s job. The player may have a good idea of how to get out of a situation but if it is something their character would not come up with or act out, you have to draw a line and enforce limits to the player’s choices. Things may also be described to the player in the way his character would see them in. You should also consider what sort of interpretations and events create good drama and aim for situations that support character immersion.

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STALKER:The SciFi Roleplaying Game Planning the Campaign

Most of the continuum of the game will only be shaped once the campaign is underway. But before it starts, preferably already when the characters are being created, the GM should have an idea of the overarcing plotline of his future adventures. The adventures are separate stories but if they are interconnected into a campaign, certain things do not change or they develop only slowly, over multiple adventures. Usually, the list looks like this:

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The team’s internal relationships are partly included in the above. Every member of a stalker team has his own personal goals, reasons and motives, so the social interaction between the player characters is an ongoing process, much like the team’s relationship to their adventures and environment. How do internal relationships and processes carry on from one adventure to the next plays a big part in building a sense of continuity. How tight should the team be? How do they get along in the long run?

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The environment usually remains the same and the adventures will be located close to one another, both geographically and culturally. In Stalker, the game’s environment can be defined as the Zone France or Toulouse and its surroundings. It isn’t just about the region but also about the atmosphere and landscapes of the adventures. The changes that the stalkers have wrought during their adventures are there to stay. Where do the adventures begin? Where do they take place? Where do the stalkers return afterwards?

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Themes of the game usually define what kinds of characters get created. They are difficult to change mid-game. For example, if the game starts with the stalkers in the employ of a powerful organization, the relationship with the organization becomes a theme. Even if that relationship later turns hostile, the organization remains a part of the game world. Who do they do business with? From whom do they take orders, or do they?

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Player characters are the most important element of a campaign. The adventures happen to a single team and even if individual characters change, their common past and memories of earlier adventures define the temporal continuity. If all stalkers die on an adventure, it usually means the end of the campaign because the continuity based on common experiences is terminated. Who’s in the team and why?

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People are usually included in the environment but stalkers often form friendships, client relationships and enmities with certain inhabitants of the borderlands – artefact dealers and the like. These relationships and people persist from one adventure to another in the area. If one of these people catches a bullet between the eyes in one adventure, he will stay dead. Who do they know when the game begins? Who are they expected to meet?

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The goals of the characters change slowly, if at all. If the stalker seeks to gather enough money to build a castle on a tropical island, he will have that personal objective from one adventure to another, even if the objectives of the adventures themselves change. Why did he join the team? Is there a reason he might leave it? Is the makeup of the team expected to change during adventures or does it happen only by accident?

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The fiction snippets in this rulebook feature the adventures of the stalker team Komsomol, formed by an experienced veteran (Czar). It is based in Toulouse and makes expeditions into the French Zone. It has a core group (Czar, Butterfly and the newbie Professor, a former Institute researcher) which makes all the decisions. These three have no lives beyond being stalkers. There are also a few locals with day jobs and real lives but who will supplement their paychecks with stalker gigs when it fits their schedule. Of them, Spark is a team regular even on the most difficult expeditions. The team has previously utilized Czar’s old contacts but he is trying to get new contacts and clients so that the team will not be left high and dry if he is removed from the picture. They have also tried to get new members but with little luck so far. Nobody is saying that Czar is getting the newbies killed on purpose but Komsomol has a bad reputation for newbie fatalities. while the core group has stayed the same for years.

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Creating Adventures

The Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, taken as a whole, work like a roleplaying game campaign. There is a continuity with overarcing themes while the action has been divided into separate mysteries. This is exactly like a campaign and its adventures. In Roadside Picnic, each expedition into the Zone and their consequences could be thought of as an individual story, as episodes with a beginning, a middle and an end.

The Story Arc

As an art form, tabletop roleplaying resembles literature in many ways. You can utilize the same structures and methods and it is good to practise by reading science fiction and other works. One of the most important tools of writing fiction is the story arc. Sticking to one in a game is not always easy but both authors and film directors have discovered its effectiveness in relating a story and dramatics to the reader, the viewer, or in our case the player. No matter how the scenes play out, an adventure should roughly have the following phases:

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1. Introduction: an event or a person drags the stalkers into the adventure but they do not yet know what it is about.

The stalkers acquire a map drawn by a now -vanished team that shows where a valuable artefact can be found. 2. Learning: a preparatory stage where the stalkers familiarize themselves with the area, the circumstances and the people involved.

Crossing the border: very perilous and tense, yet not very significant from the adventure’s point of view. 3. Journey: the adventure has begun, the dangers are real, a clue after another is revealed and differences between the introduction and reality come out in a very real way.

The map-maker’s team was not killed by an anomaly but by an aggressive inorganism. The stalkers find their remains, clues about the creature and finally signs that they themselves are about to be attacked. 4. Climax: the date with destiny, where success or failure ultimately gets decided. The event that the stalkers will later remember when they think about the adventure.

The artefact is easily found but the inorganism has them boxed in. They have to either try and destroy it or flee desperately across the Zone in the middle of the night, with an angry inorganism at their heels. The success or failure of their expedition hinges on this. The players bite their fingernails. The air is suffused with the stuff of legends. 5. Outro: the situation at the end of the adventure is defined and it is part of the reward. The adventure should not be ended at the resolution of the climax. The emotional charge has to be let out, or even success will be frustrating.

After fleeing for their lives, the stalkers have to cross the border once more and to appraise and sell the artefact. Tension is released. This often leads to social playing and drama between the player characters, especially if they drink too much at their victory celebration.

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Based on assumptions about player behaviour, the GM can plan a series of locations or situations he thinks the stalkers will run into during the adventure. He considers where they will likely take place, who are involved, what are the goals and what are the possible outcomes and consequences. Understanding the motives of the NPCs is also important because when the players do something the GM was not prepared for he must still be able to figure out how the opposition will react. Even though the scenes are often pre-planned, the player actions are not. Thus, during the game the earlier scenes will shape the later ones and the final scenes probably should not be planned ahead in too much detail. The adventure progresses from one scene to another. The scenes do not always even happen in the expected order but this rarely changes their actual content. Between them are transition periods that Roadside Picnic (or pretty much any novel) has numerous good examples of: “He finally left me and I headed swift as an arrow for the Borscht”. Nobody is interested in how long that took Red or which street corners he passed by. Just like in novels, you can use these transition periods to handle long stretches of time or extensive geographical distances. The players’ concept of the nature of the game and its plots may be very hazy in the beginning. Stalkers in the service of an organization usually will not even know what their employer intends to do and the players naturally will have no idea what the next adventure will bring. However, the GM might not always know any more than they do. Doing unexpected and unpredictable things comes naturally to stalkers. The team can pick different friends and enemies than what the GM expected, or the players may simply have a better idea of how any given problem is solved.

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Scenes

The adventure lives with the player characters. The GM can even use just the decisions of the stalkers and the changes they have wrought on the game world as a framework for the scenes. A player’s idea on how to do something cannot be ignored just because the GM has not thought about it. Because of this, some experienced GMs do not actually do much planning for adventures. Once the players seem to have a grasp of the adventure’s introduction, he asks them what they will do now. The events of the adventure continue from there under their own power and with the GM’s improvisation. If someone is working against the stalkers, the scenes can be planned according to what would happen if the player characters did not get involved. The GM listens to the players’ ideas, roleplays their execution and considers how this affects the actions of the opposition, to which the player characters will in their turn react however they can. This series of actions and reactions will then carry on until the adventure reaches a conclusion. Each scene is an opportunity for the stalkers to affect the flow of events.

This is a good way to plan adventures where, for example, the henchmen of the Institute are trying to destroy a Refugee habitat that is important to the stalkers, or there is a killer loose in the borderlands that might be a creature from the Zone. If the players do nothing, the Refugees will be gone and the stalkers’ life will get more difficult, or an important client becomes a victim of the serial killer/ beast. However, there is no one correct solution or chain of events to resolve the problem.

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A Sample Adventure: Scene #1: The stalkers meet one of their dealers, who suggests an expedition based on a map he has acquired. The map-maker’s team found a good artefact on an expedition but ran into an anomaly on the way back. The artefact had to be left behind and the survivors drew a map. He will pay something if they check it out and more if they can actually find the artefact. Scene #2: The stalkers’ own investigations in the city confirm the main points of the dealer’s story. The map is probably real. Now, there is preparation for the expedition, looking for a door, perhaps interaction with a community that dwells near the Zone. Finally, a good door is found: a stream has carved its way under the fence that surrounds the Zone. By advancing along the stream, it should be possible to fool even the Institute’s dog patrols. Scene #3: The actual border crossing happens on a mist-shrouded night. It can be described as a tense game of hide-and-seek with the border guards but the crossing is actually meant to succeed despite some close calls. On the Zone side, the landmark is a ruined church. The team spends the night in a graveyard. Scene #4: Advancing from one landmark to another in daylight. The anomalous region continues: a gas station, a railway bridge, a dead field, a line of logging trucks stopped on a forest road. By searching and taking risks the characters might be able to find something here as well. Every now and then, the characters run into challenges or baits that the players can try to grab if they wish. As evening falls, the stalkers arrive at what is supposed to be the border of an oasis. The oasis seems to have burned into ashes and they also find the remains of the previous expedition. Two skeletons surrounded by bullet casings. One of them has shot himself. A bit further in, there’s a third one: just a charred skeleton. Even the belt buckle has melted into a metal disk.

Scene #6: The stalkers must do something or they’ll burn with the manor. The Burning Man can be distracted with loud noises or movement. Damaging it is nearly impossible. One of the adventurers remembers that the railway bridge crossed a river. Perhaps the Burning Man will avoid masses of water? When the adventurers make it to the river, the Burning Man vanishes. Scene #7: The night passes peacefully and the next day the stalkers reach the graveyard. In the middle of the night, the artefact suddenly bursts into flame and they see the Burning Man rise up from the edge of the graveyard. Their flames reach toward one another. The stalkers can either abandon the artefact or suppress the flames with a coat, wet from the morning dew, and run for it. A nightly sprint through the Zone puts them in mortal danger but if they can remember their original route,they have a chance. At the stream, the artefact goes out and the burning man vanishes into thin air. Scene #8: After the previous scene playing around with border guards would mostly be frustrating, so it is quiet on the other side. The flames have been noticed but that just makes the guards keep their distance. The artefact is cold and lifeless again.

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Scene #5: The stalkers carry on in the morning. They face a jungle of charred trees and fallen trunks. Deep within, there is an old manor that looks like it is still intact. The artefact, some sort of lump of bony curves, is in the foyer and can be seen from the yard through the doorway. There is a hole in the ceiling above it, as if it had fallen from the heavens. When moved, it bursts into flame. Farther among the trees, there’s also a burst of flame and in the middle of it is a Burning Man, a very dangerous inorganism. It approaches but stops at the doorway. The manor catches fire in the terrible heat.

Scene #9: The wounded are taken to borderland quacks and the gear of the dead is divided up by the living. Maybe the stalkers will try to figure out what the artefact does. Fire behaves in strange and unexpected ways around it but that is all they can learn. Scene #10: The dealer is sorry that the cartographer’s description of the hazards was not honest but he sees it as just another downside of the profession. He offers a thousand per stalker for just the trip, and twenty thousand to the whole team for the artefact. The price may be haggled up to thirty thousand. With an artefact so poorly understood, you are unlikely to get any more on the open market.

A month later, a research centre funded by the University of Lyon and a major European mobile phone manufacturer goes up in flames. In the security camera footage leaked to the news a Burning Man is seen walking down the hallway. In the aftermath, there is an embarrassing scandal when it turns out the company had been acquiring artefacts illegally, past the Institute’s official channels. The dealer who offered them the job disappears. For a while, also security on the border is clearly tighter. By their next adventure, the stalkers will hear that the Institute is now tracing the money traffic of their dealer and his own clients killed him to get rid of a potential witness. Oh, and there is a group of killers on their way to take out the stalkers as well. The next adventure is thus a part of the same continuity and flows naturally from the previous one.

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Reshaping Scenes on the Fly

The GM has the powers of a narrator but power brings responsibility. If a scene does not work, i.e. it has been planned with the wrong assumptions or an earlier event has changed the situation and atmosphere making it redundant, it is time to step in. No adventure plan survives the first contact with the players. When the plan and the fun of the game are at odds, the plan is the one that gets reworked. The methods are familiar from literature and storytelling but their application requires skill at improvisation. In the best case, the players will never even notice that something was amiss.

Cut ends the scene. Timing it is difficult but a cut may save both time and nerves. If the players have spent an hour struggling with a problem in the Zone, the GM can just narrate them through the next challenge he had planned because another jam right after the first one would be frustrating rather than exciting. Frustration is the worst thing that can happen in the game. Boredom comes second.

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GM: You find the rest of the gear easily and walk through the drizzle along back alleys to the meeting place. Killer starts the car when he sees you and you drive dark forest roads right up to the abandoned house... Complication prolongs a scene with an unexpected setback that has no planned effects outside the scene. This is the opposite of a cut. If the planned challenge in the preceding scene turned out to be child’s play, a problem that requires players to act is included in the next scene, even if it was originally planned to be a cakewalk or just plain narration.

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The shop is closed and the stalkers must get through a roadblock to reach another. Routine, if their fake IDs are okay but you can never be sure, can you? Maybe the Institute has a hunch that there’s something going on? Roleplaying a conversation with the guards may be enough to keep the players on their toes. Dangerous Situation is a sudden threat or conflict that is independent of the main plot. It is used much like a complication but in addition to roleplaying it requires solving a problem. A dangerous situation is nearly always a surprise but it should never be unbelievable.

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The stalkers are driving along a mountain road, when they find themselves in a collision course with an out-of-control truck. Clue is a little nugget of information pertaining to some later phase of the adventure that the GM did not originally intend to tell the players. It can be a rumour, a person or an observation, and if the players interpret it correctly, it might make some future scene easier to get through. It can also be an important tool for creating a sense of danger and general atmosphere. Even minor hints can easily shape the players’ thinking and conclusions.

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The stalkers hear that the survivors of the previous team were soaking wet when they came back. Many of them also had burns, as if burned with a welding torch. Mission is a mini-adventure that is either beneficial or a prerequisite for advancing to the next scene. Unlike a dangerous situation, the mission will not come as a complete surprise. On the other hand, solving it will require more than just good reflexes.

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Border guards have blocked the road to the intended door. The stalkers must think up an elaborate distraction to make them move out of the way.

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Descriptive and Narrative Tricks

How you present something is just as important as that thing itself. Nearly everything the players know about the game world is transmitted to them through the GM. Different styles, emphases and observations can easily change the feel of a situation and the mental imagery of the players. That imagery, with all its deficiencies, is the only true form of the game world, and the players’ decisions are based on it.

Be Brief

Time is money and though the descriptions of places, people and situations can be florid, they must also be efficient. The GM should usually advance in the same order as an observer entering the situation would notice things: first, a sentence about the space (“small, brightly lit room”, “dark cellar passage”), then motion or clear and present dangers, then what they were looking for and finally important details about it. If the situation does not convey a sense of hurry, the GM may add a few words about the atmosphere or thoughts that characters might have when seeing this locale. If a stalker escaping a prison cell stumbles into a small room with two guards enjoying a cup of coffee, the description might go like this:

You open the door into a small room and see two surprised guards, grasping for their weapons on the table and spilling their coffee everywhere. There will be other things in the room, such as chairs, tabloid magazines, a coffeemaker, a box of coffee filters, a wall calendar and a small barred window but none of this matters until the encounter with the guards has been resolved one way or another. The exact measurements of the room are also irrelevant for now. Generally, you should avoid numeric values. A human can perceive numbers with any precision up to ten units and after that it will get fuzzy. “A chain link fence as tall as a man” works much better than “a 190-centimetre-high chain link fence”, although it surely is that high if someone bothers to measure it.

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Acting vs. Narration

The GM is usually thought of as a narrator but he is also a performing artist. When the stalkers are talking with some other inhabitant of the game world, step into the NPC’s role and try to speak, pronounce, express and gesture like he would. A game session is not the entrance exam to a theatre school so overact your little heart out to get the person’s personality and manners across. The players’ imagination takes care of the rest and the experience will be richer and more colourful than if the conversation had just been narrated through. The players might want some extra information during the conversation, such as “what do our stalkers know about this guy” and then the GM should be able to naturally move from the role he is acting into the role of the narrator and back again.

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The ratio of time to enjoyment is critical. If all the players are participating in the conversation, it can go on as long as it needs to. The stalkers have to pick their words well and possibly also solve a social challenge to get what they want. However, if only a few characters are participating in the conversation and the rest of the group is waiting in the background for it to end, it should be kept short and to the point. The GM acting out the NPC might also try to pull in the rest of the group by addressing them directly, past whoever is speaking to him. In addition, you may reward them for a long and participatory conversation with extra information and clues that they would not have received from a shorter conversation. However, if there are several people to talk to and the topics are unclear, such as when a stalker is calling through his list of contacts and asking for information on something, roleplaying each conversation is a waste of time and energy. The GM should stay in the role of the narrator and observe events from further back:

“You call through people you know, starting with the Provence underworld, but nobody knows anything or at least they don’t want to tell you. Instead, a businessman you know from Nice tells that he heard...” It is not easy to decide when to act and when to rely solely on narration. An acted conversation has more atmosphere, while narration is better for handling long, numerous, or badly defined issues. For instance, in the example above, the GM did not have to decide who and where the stalker’s contacts are or what kind of guy the businessman in Nice is. As a rule of thumb, never waste time: if the dialogue only applies to one player or a minor phase in the adventure seems to be lasting for an hour, moving into narration saves everyone’s time and nerves.

Focus

The GM’s narration and description should always follow the team and not individual characters. If the team is somewhere and a lone stalker departs to do something solo, the narration follows the events that happen to the group. The lone stalker’s actions during that time can be described shortly and in passing, unless of course they are vitally important to the adventure or otherwise fun to follow for the entire group. However, you should remember that in that case, the events are being followed only by the players, not their stalkers. Obviously, if something happens to a lone stalker out of sight of the rest of the team (and their narrative focus), the other stalkers do not know about it. Most players are good at keeping the things they know and what their stalker knows apart and in any case it is one of the main prerequisites for immersing yourself in the role of a stalker. Occasional slip-ups are still hard to avoid, though, and perhaps a player just does not want the information to spread. Pieces of paper, swift conversations in the next room and discussions between game sessions can all be used to handle the stalker’s private matters.

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Roleplaying games are meant to entertain and the players’ interests in the game vary. A good GM will note what seems to work for which player. He tries to bring up situations and themes that interest most of them and should try to entertain everyone at least a little during a session. Ideally, this should happen at the planning stages of the adventure but things rarely go as predicted. Also, certain players may be more active than others. If it seems like the stalkers of players who are interested in negotiation and intrigue are being sidelined, the GM can rethink the next scene and emphasize solutions that rely on those things. How things are described strongly affects the type of solutions the players will pursue. You may consider it as the lens of a camera that shows certain things in sharp focus while others are left blurry.

If the next scene originally had a door that the stalkers must get through, a guard they were meant to defeat by surprise and a witness who has to be bribed/frightened/killed silent, changing the challenge to emphasize intrigue and negotiation could go like this: there’s an entire patrol in front of the door and surprising them is impossible. There is some bum on the side alley, though, who has noticed the stalkers and is gesturing at them like he has something to say. When the stalkers circle around to him, he tells them he knows another way beyond the door, if the price is right. He also threatens to shout (and certainly alert the patrol) if threatened. The stalkers must negotiate with him for the information and make sure it is not a trap. In this scene, brute force cannot be the best answer.

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THE GAMEMASTER’S BOOK

Responsibility for Enjoyment

Not every event has to be part of the adventure and not every adventure has to be big and dangerous. Many players roleplay to seek escapism, the feeling of being someone else, somewhere else, if only through a fictitious person. Otherwhere means the feeling that the game world does not revolve around the stalkers but is a living world where things happen all the time. It is just an illusion created by improvisation but if the GM’s abilities are sufficient, it is a powerful tool for immersing the players in the world of the game. The basic idea of otherwhere is that the stalkers can go anywhere and find something happening. A market day, a bar fight, a motorcycle club’s drag race, a border guard patrol vehicle that’s broken down in an inconvenient location, some stray dogs gnawing at a corpse. Interesting or less interesting gossip, little cultural details, local foods (some of the refugee communities eat really weird things). Playing the downtime between adventures in this fashion, as a counterweight to life-threatening dangers, can be very fruitful. The game world has no limits.

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Funny Twists

Stalker is a grim setting and its serious topics depress even the players. However, adventuring does not have to be all doom and gloom. If the game has both light and dark tones, they will both stand out better than just constant grimness or perpetual slapstick. Comical fumbling, amusing misunderstandings and playing cultural differences as funny but harmless shocks and social collisions bring colour and life into the game. Humour can also be used to save the player characters from trouble and a light humiliation or a laugh at the expense of the character can be a surprisingly realistic alternative to devastating failure or death. The chain of coincidences that leads up to it can be very unlikely but it still feels real because things like that happen to us all the time. You should also keep in mind that the other inhabitants of the game world stumble around just as much. Even the inspectors of the Institute will sometimes trip over their own feet or draw the wrong conclusions.

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Sense of Hurry and Pressure

Usually the players have ample time to listen to the descriptions and ponder their next course of action but if the stalkers are in a situation where reaction speed means something, decisions will have to be made quickly. The GM can give the players whose stalkers have suitable abilities a bit more time but as a rule of thumb when the player hesitates so does the stalker. If they do not seem to understand, the GM can start counting down “5...4...3...” or show the passing of time with his hands until they do something. If the player does not react, the enemy or the dangerous situation gets there first.

Plagiarize

It has been said that nobody has ever invented anything new but merely adapted the old. Your favourite adventure in the fantasy genre may well be turned into a Stalker adventure, as may events and plot twists in films, TV series and novels. This is especially useful if the adventure heads off into an unexpected direction and you must quickly improvise something. It also applies to characters. If you must quickly come up with a face and mannerisms for someone in the game world, steal something similar from another media and build on that. It does not matter if the players recognize the original from somewhere and it may even work better that way.

Find Additional Material

If you are expecting sourcebooks for this game, you’re in for a long wait. However, gaming stores are filled to the gills with useful material for new accessories, adventures or running science horror games in the modern world. At the time of writing, products like D20 Modern, Over the Edge and Delta Green are among the better ones. The themes, topics, elements and settings found in them and in Stalker can easily be switched around or used in different combinations. The store you bought this from is likely to carry other roleplaying games as well. Online roleplaying game forums such as RPG.Net are also a good place to ask around for additional material.

When Words Are Not Enough: Maps and Minis

Sometimes just describing things is not enough and the players want a clear picture of the situation to plan out their tactics. In this case, the GM may sketch out a rough map or a floor plan of the characters’ surroundings and use game tokens, miniatures or even dice to represent the locations of characters, opponents, anomalies, artefacts, etc. You should usually base buildings on places you’ve visited yourself. In the Zone, the damage and changes wrought by time and anomalies add their own challenge to the representation. Even if maps and miniatures will help in forming a clear picture of the situation, they hinder immersion by forcing the players’ attention to things of this world instead of the game world. For this reason, they should be used sparingly. Some players do not want to see them at all.

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The Path of Least Resistance

Stalker uses the diceless Flow rules system but turning it into an ideological issue is not worth a fight. There are situations where using dice will make the GM’s life easier without endangering the immersion of even the worst purists. Or just flip a coin, if dicelessness is sacrosanct.

Props Are Pop!

Everything depends on how much trouble the GM wants to go through but props, items that make the game come alive, are often worth it and will help the game world feel more concrete. Replica weapons, map pieces, satellite images hacked from the Institute (http://maps.google.com/ is handy for this) and similar things can be dropped on the table as their equivalent items appear in the game. Unlike maps and miniatures, these usually help immersion. It would also be awesome if the gaming room could be decorated in Stalker-style to represent the team’s base of operations or their lodge in the local stalker bar. Background music is one the props and quite easy to do. Some purists oppose music on the background as unrealistic but if you wanted a fully realistic roleplaying game Stalker would not have been your choice. Movie soundtracks usually work best and by picking a movie, you can pick and fine tune the genre. Soundtracks are also meant to play in the background while regular music is made to be listened to and easily steals attention. Your computer’s media player program can be used to create different kinds of playlists for different environments: music for a city, the rural borderlands, for crossing the border, anomalous regions, etc. Whatever your adventure needs.

THE GAMEMASTER’S BOOK

The Last Few Tips...

Make Sure They’re Comfortable

Their stalkers may be cold and hungry but the players are there to have fun. The game night can last for hours and you tend to get hungry in that time. Fast food like pizza or hamburgers can be eaten while playing and if you order pizza the game usually does not have to stop. On the other hand, if there is a restaurant nearby, the GM can stop the game at a calm spot and the whole group can head out to eat and unwind. A break and a change of scenery distance the players from the game but also give them an opportunity to go through the latest events or the team’s internal matters.

Know When the End Is Near

There is no final victory or goal in a roleplaying game but the campaign still has its own limited lifetime. If it is not dictated by plot, it is dictated by time. Game groups are not eternal and no game or genre can hold their interest indefinitely. When the greater part of the game time is taken up by stuff from outside the game, the players are hard to get together and the time between sessions stretches as everybody has something more important to do, you are nearing the end. Put Stalker back in the bookshelf and play something else. There will be other ideas, other games, other inspirations and new, fresh stories to share. Later, Stalker can be found waiting for you right where you left it.

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Adventure Ideas

These short ideas can be written out into new adventures or inserted into your own adventures as smaller elements or side plots. Generally, if the stalkers have a tendency to stick their noses into other people’s business, the GM has to often whip up new material out of nothing.

A. The Howler

Sometimes artefacts and inorganisms are drawn to one another. The stalkers hear that a smuggler carrying a valuable load has disappeared into a borderland forest. Searching for him, they find the body and a pile of weird items but the rumour of the incident has spread. They are now pursued not only by a gang of criminals but also the Institute. On top of it all, one of the artefacts has lured a dangerous inorganism from the Zone. It killed the smuggler and now threatens the stalkers. If they can figure out which artefact it was, they may use it against their enemies.

B. The Ham

SciFi Roleplaying Game

One of the stalkers’ friends disappears into the Zone. It happens. Then, they start getting confused calls for help whenever they use the telephone, listen to the radio or watch TV. They can triangulate the origin of the transmissions and mount a rescue mission. Unfortunately, their friend has inexplicably fused with the electronics of a fallen radio mast. It is now a part of his body. If removed, their friend would be a quadriplegic for the rest of his life, able to communicate only over radio waves. They have to make a choice between a rescue or a mercy killing.

C. The Red House

An expensive research project is getting its funding pulled but the chief researcher knows he can still save it if he can find something valuable for his sponsors. He has had reports of an artefact that cures injuries and hires the mafia to find him a team of stalkers to retrieve it. The mafia connects him with the player characters, but while they are in the Zone, kills the researcher and tries to ambush the team when they return with the specified artefact. Even if they survive the ambush, the corporation that funded the project is now after them, believing that they murdered the researcher to steal his find. The word spreads and the team loses their reputation and many of their clients unless they can play detective and prove that the murder was committed by the researcher’s own mafia contacts and not the team. This will not be easy, since it all happened practically under the very nose of the Institute.

D. The Flytrap

As the team is studying the artefacts they brought from the Zone, one of them goes off in a way that makes the building they have been using as the base of operations to start collapsing. The Institute soldiers are there in a flash and surround the entire area. The stalkers must find a way out of this siege before the building falls down on top of them.

E. The Blue Shift

At first, the stalkers’ misstep into the strange anomaly called a Blue Shift causes no other visible problems except the spectrum of visible light turning slightly bluish. However, over the next few days they themselves start to become misty and translucent while the blue hues of the world get stronger. Their physical strength weakens and it feels like trying to affect the surrounding world is harder. On the other hand, they are numb to pain and their surroundings no longer feel as concrete as they used to. Unless the stalkers do something, they will fade away one by one. Research reveals that one of the ex-borderland doctors had a case like this once before but the patient went back to the Zone and returned normal. The doctor has invested his money well and now occupies an important position in the financial circles of Europe. He is not an easy man to meet but if the fading stalkers succeed, they will hear of a counter-anomaly, Red Shift. What follows is a hurried expedition into the Zone, with limited equipment because they are too weak to carry anything. Cold and hunger will no longer affect them but the dangers of the Zone are still very real.

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A gang of criminals has attacked a Refugee community the stalkers know well. A number of Changed children and teens has been kidnapped. The community leader promises to show the stalkers a new Door to the Zone and/or give them artefacts for a reward if they can rescue the children. Looking into it, the stalkers find that the gang was only doing the dirty work and the real culprit is a private (though legitimate) research project experimenting on humans inside a building right at the border. It is tightly guarded from all directions – except from the Zone. Entering via the Zone, the stalkers witness the full horror of human experimentation. Some of the children are not yet fully Changed, so they can still feel happy about being rescued. The private security team of the project will chase them all back to the Zone and the stalkers must use all their skill and tricks to keep the children safe from both the pursuers and the Zone itself. Not that the Changed children are entirely helpless themselves...

G. Cool Lips

A Replica, a woman, not too old but giving off an inhuman feel, begins to follow one of the team’s (usually) male stalkers. It cannot be shaken off and when it cannot easily follow directly, it will circle around, perhaps triggering alarm systems on the border. It will use its considerable physical strength if someone tries to stop it. If the stalkers research into it, it turns out the Replica is based on a young, romantic woman who was lost to the Zone during the Visitation. At the time, she was seeing a young man living on this side of the border and the man looked a bit like the stalker. Apparently, the Replica is obeying an impulse about dating. If the stalker arranges a date or a romantic dinner, the woman goes through the motions as if this event had been pre-programmed into it. It even makes brief and forced facial expressions. Communication is impossible but it is up to the stalker how far he wants to take things. Either way, the next morning it is gone. They may run into it later but it no longer expresses any interest in the stalker or even recognizes him. Perhaps it is now following some other young man?

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F. The Dragon’s Cave

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STALKER GENRE GUIDE “He looked around sadly. The hot air was shimmering over the cracked cement, the boarded-up windows looked at him gloomily, and tumbleweed rolled around the lot. He was alone.” – THE ROADSIDE PICNIC

Stalker is a game of science fiction horror. It is a horror roleplaying game, where Humanity is helpless in the face of unknown forces and supernatural phenomena. It is also science fiction, because the supernatural elements do not have a mythological framework and everything is presented from a viewpoint firmly grounded in hard science and the laws of nature – either by laws that still apply or the laws being broken. There are people who consider the Visitation to herald the Apocalypse or be a sign from higher powers (and they may not be wrong, depending on your definition of “higher”), and even the stalkers themselves have many superstitions. The novel still treats the events and monsters with a cool, scientific approach, even if the protagonist does not always share it. The stalkers can also reject the scientific worldview if they wish but the GM cannot, at least not if he wishes to preserve the style of the novel (the movie is a bit different). An anomaly may be supernatural but the GM should still stay as matter-of-fact as possible when evaluating its effects on the environment. However, few of us are physicists, so it is sufficient that the description sounds good. Zones, anomalies, inorganisms and artefacts are certainly interesting but both the novel and the movie still ultimately tell stories about people. The Zone, with all its wonders, is secondary to the human drama. In the context of a roleplaying game, this means that the themes and plots of the adventures are, in the end, about the needs and desires of people. You don’t go into the Zone just because it’s there but because someone, be it a player character, an agent, an organization, anybody, wants or needs something from there. The Zone is a tool and a journey. It is never the goal in itself and it can be that most adventures end up taking place outside the Zone. By retrieving artefacts and fulfilling these needs the player characters will not only have to meet and work with other people but also make moral choices on whose and what needs they will fulfil. Without the science and the scientific worldview, without the people and the human motives, Stalker becomes nothing more than a dungeon crawl wearing the care of science fiction. It will be just another treasure hunt in monster-haunted, trap-filled ruins.

To a roleplayer, “genre” means certain basic assumptions about the game world, how the characters fit into it and the events of the adventures. These assumptions form a ready package of information about the game world and it is not necessary to explain everything from the ground up. The genre of Stalker is a bit special but it still has its themes that can be learned if the players are not already aware of them. Interpreting them is the GM’s job but judging from the novel and the movie, the themes go somewhat like this:

 Dystopic

Leaders are corrupt, big corporations completely ruthless, the police violent thugs and organized crime is like a state within the state. There are selfishness, nihilistic plots or mad conspiracies behind everything. Nothing can be really trusted.

 Wretchedness

People are petty, intolerant and untrustworthy. The few, proud exceptions merely make the rule. What goes around never comes around, there is no justice and the weak are at the mercy of the strong. It is no wonder that some stalkers feel the need to go to the Zone just to escape all this for a moment.

 Scientific World View

Even supernatural phenomena are studied from the viewpoint of natural science, not magic or religion. Even if the stalkers lack the scientific understanding of the researchers, their attitudes towards the phenomena and creatures of the Zone are usually very pragmatic.

THE GAMEMASTER’S BOOK

Themes and Styles

 Brutal Realism

The world works just like our own and the stalkers get see a lot of its darker sides. Abuse, violence and physical injuries should be described just as horrifically as witnessing them in real life would be. Death and murder are serious things, just like in our world. Hiding bodies is surprisingly difficult.

 Everyday Life versus the Zone

Most of the novel’s atmosphere is built on the contrast between the Zone and everything around it; the bleakness of everyday life, misery, social problems, the small fates of ordinary people. The borderlands are far from idyllic and you can see the whole spectrum of human problems in the alleyways between steel shacks, trailer parks, abandoned farmhouses and tent towns.

 High technology versus the Stone Age

In the laboratories, artefacts are studied and xenotechnology gets built. Yet the stalkers check if the path is clear by throwing steel nuts wrapped in rags. This conflict between high technology and crawling in the gutters while performing feats of poverty-induced pragmatism is a strong theme in the novel.

 You Are Human

As weird as things get in the Zone, the player characters are still the protagonists with their actions and goals. The adventure may take them into the Zone but it is still a story about people, not the Zone. The causes and effects of their adventures are usually found on this side of the border.

 Unpredictability

The Zone, the artefacts and the Changed should all keep players on their toes. The familiar becomes unfamiliar and the safe turns unsafe. Every time they think they’ve figured out how the Zone works, something should happen to prove their theories wrong.

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Our World

The year is not given. Stalker happens here and now. What reads in the daily newspaper in the real world can also read there in the game world. Earth is torn by the same crises, conflicts and problems. The GM should try and blur the limits between the reality and the game world so that the players will feel when they depart the borderland for the regular society, they are leaving the game world behind and entering the reality as it exists today. All of a sudden, everything that was merely strange in the game setting feels completely absurd in the real world. This contrast also describes well how a common person feels about the Zones.

SciFi Roleplaying Game

This is not as easy as it sounds. The Institute and many of the stalkers’ clients are found here, in the real world beyond the borderlands. Fitting the setting and the reality together so that neither loses anything requires a bit of skill. There are a few tricks that should get you far, though: the companies that are interested in artefacts are also found in today’s stock market. The cult that kidnapped a Changed with a dangerous metaphysical mutation is actually the Branch of David, or whatever is left of them after Waco. A very expensive but somewhat illegal xenotechnological research centre is being built into an old mine in southern Finland and funded by a major mobile phone manufacturer. The GM can plan the adventures so that they often touch the events and issues of the day. This rulebook cannot use actual names of businesses or their logos, as they are registered trademarks. The Gamemaster does not have that problem. He should talk about things with their real names and take advantage of the talking heads on the news.

Sense of Unbelonging

Living outside the modern society is hard. The constant fiddling with false ID and papers is a big part of being stalker. It is not always important but if the stalker is suddenly wanted by the police or the Institute, it would be nice if they could not freeze his accounts or hurt his loved ones. If the GM thinks the stalker makes mistakes that endanger his secrecy, he should keep track of them. Sooner or later, the mistakes will return to haunt the stalker. Being constantly the outsider, keeping your family and friends at a distance and avoiding deep or long-term relationships are often too easily shrugged off in roleplaying games. Really, unless the character is completely antisocial (which makes working in a team difficult), it will be hard for him and get harder over the years. Even with everything that is hanging over them, stalkers do make friends, go out for a night in the town and try to raise families. Because of this, their actions or their mere existence can hurt even those who know nothing about their expeditions to the Zone. It is too easy for a player to decide his stalker is an antisocial hermit who does not suffer from being on the outside or from the lack of human contact. It is true that becoming a stalker may in part even require such traits. However, if the stalker never meets any of his friends, never relaxes or has fun with the money he gets from his artefacts, he will begin to crack. Most stalkers die in the Zone but the second-most common cause of death is suicide, after a long struggle against mental problems and substance abuse. If the stalker’s lifestyle is self-destructive, the GM can give him new drawbacks, mostly different mental and social problems. They can be removed by trying to change one’s lifestyle but if this does not work, some stalkers have decided on a compromise regarding their way of living and dying: one last trip into the Zone, never to return.

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The borderlands are fictitious but urban slums working basically on the same principles can be found in many Third World countries. After the citizens have fled, the basic services of the society went down. Without the Refugees and other communities, the borderlands would be ghost towns. For a good example, look at the blocks of flats in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone or any scenes in one of the better postapocalyptic movies. There are few inhabitants, perhaps a tenth of what there used to be. In this roleplaying game, the borderlands are meant to create a semi-lawless buffer between the real world and the Zone. Border communities and the Changed make it easier to give the Zone and its phenomena a human dimension. In the novel, the expeditions start in the town of Harmont on the shores of Lake Huron, in Canada. The Zone has turned the town into a Wild West village, where stalkers, dealers and others live off crime or by doing shady jobs for the Institute. In the roleplaying game, that city is Toulouse, with its southwest corner now lost beyond the border. The Zone continues far beyond the city but elsewhere it is surrounded by a wasteland of overgrown fields, blocked roads, unkempt parks and abandoned villages. The width of the abandoned area varies but it runs all the way around the Zone, climbing up the foothills of the Pyrenees in the south.

The Borderlandscape

When describing the borderlands, the GM should think of the place he lives in and consider how it would look like if the inhabitants just stood up and left and everything was without electricity, heating or maintenance for a decade. Windows crack, the plaster falls off buildings, wallpapers wear out and hang off the walls in shreds. The smell of mould is everywhere. Grass grows tall in the sandbox on the front yard and there are trees in the traffic dividers. On asphalt, rainwater and melting snow flush away loose earth, carrying it into depressions, the foot raised areas, abandoned cars and blocked sewer holes. The fields have turned into meadows and copses. Unused sand roads grow grass or nettles in the shadier places. Even in the city centre, weeds are sprouting from cracks in the pavement.

THE GAMEMASTER’S BOOK

Their Borderlands

Here and there are ruins where the passage of seasons and moisture have torn down walls, or there has been a fire and nobody to put it out. The sewers have become blocked, forming occasional shallow, stinking pools. In the Pyrenees, landslides block roads and there are many places that are now accessible only by foot or helicopter. When the people left, nature began slowly but surely reclaiming the land. However, in the borderlands this process is still only beginning. Especially the old stone buildings will stand for a long time to come and a motorway bridge can remain visible as a landmark for centuries, even with ivy hanging off it. The dominant colours are the green of vegetation, the red of brick walls, the pale grey of concrete and the dark grey of asphalt. There is also the reddish-brown rust that covers all metal and can be very noticeable on large surfaces. None of the colours are clean or even. Rain, dirt, dust, rust and limestone streaks stain vertical surfaces. Maybe some desperate borderlander has left his graffiti tag on the brick wall of a transformer building. Wooden surfaces are dotted brown and grey with lichen and fungi. People look older, partly because of their clothes, all worn and out of fashion. No strong or even colours here either. On the other hand, certain communities can dress quite strangely, with really wild accessories. These may have been made of utensils found in abandoned houses or parts taken from junk cars. When there is no money or even the chance to buy fashionable clothes or luxuries, the emphasis turns to weird colours and weirder dresses. Also the buildings that are still inhabited and now house new activities like bars, small crafts shops or junk vendors acting as fronts for illegal businesses, advertise with texts and pictures painted right on the walls as graffiti. And since most people cannot afford electricity or outdoor lighting, you really have to know where you’re going when moving around after dark.

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The Centres

A modern city like Harmont, Sapporo or Toulouse is too big to fail. All inhabitants will never be able or willing to leave. Many of them are elderly but some will also want to keep their jobs and homes. The remaining original inhabitants will concentrate in the parts most distant from the Zone. The inhabited city blocks are like small towns or villages in their own right, separated by empty houses and overgrown parks. Apartment buildings may be half empty, but there are still enough people that it is worth it to keep the power, heating and running water on. The feeling is like that of a rural village: everyone knows everybody, rumours spread fast and strangers are quickly spotted. Basic services work spottily, at best. There are power outages, garbage collecting is sporadic and the maintenance or repair of infrastructure happens once in a blue moon. There are no schools but churches or charities try to provide basic education. Large factories may also keep going. The combined effect of the factories and the living parts of the city can keep the largest centres of the borderlands on life support for years but also cause problems when the Institute and the local officials argue over supervision and legislation. Supervision, generally speaking, does not work, and industrial corporations have often skimped on waste disposal and environmental regulations, especially if the pollutants can be directed into the Zone. They just won’t always stay there.

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A third fragment of society is the border itself and the activities of the Institute. Border guards need barracks, the Institute needs warehouses and research facilities, vehicles need fuel, electric fences need power and so forth. The area may be abandoned and look like it was bombed but there will still be a restaurant advertising with neon signs and a gas station of some international franchise. The Institute takes care of the roads and streets that it needs but little else. Most centres are so small that the GM can easily bring them to life just by giving them a face. Think of them as small Wild West towns, switch the roles according to the theme and modernize them. It is enough to come up with a name, personality and some interpersonal relationships for five to ten prominent locals. The rest can be improvised.

The mayor is also the CEO of a local factory and a henchman of a major corporation involved in the artefact black market. His corporation is also responsible for the power and water at the border, so he has some power over the Institute itself. The factory clinic is also open to stalkers, as long as the price is right. The priest takes care of the spiritual needs of his thinning flock and sells confessional secrets to the Institute to fund his worsening alcoholism, which he has thus far been able to keep a secret. It is known at the local brothel, though, because he also orders some company for the night on every payday. The street preacher proclaims his weird mixture of Roman Catholicism and New Age mysticism. He appears to be a harmless lunatic but is actually working for a mystical-political conspiracy that kidnaps Changed for illegal experiments. Truck drivers bring stuff in and out between city shops and the local industries. Some of them also smuggle artefacts or bring more Refugees to the borderlands. Twitchers are the few tourists who are fascinated rather than terrified by the Zone. They sometimes walk the streets with their expensive cameras or climb on rooftops of abandoned buildings to snap pictures of the Zone. They also get into all sorts of trouble and the border guards hate them even more than they hate the stalkers.

THE GAMEMASTER’S BOOK

The local police chief is playing dictator because he knows nobody is supervising his actions. He collects bribes and runs a protection racket, only stepping aside for the chief inspector of the Institute, who in turn only cares that someone is chasing stalkers. The commanding officer of the border guard hates the chief inspector’s guts, despises the police, and cannot be bribed. The barkeep pays the police to stay out. As a result, there are a couple of mafiosi and other shady characters lounging about in the bar. After nightfall there will be stalkers as well. The Institute keeps a close eye on the place but people don’t make deals there, just agree on meetings. The local taxi driver makes more money as a messenger than a cabbie.

Dead bums look like ordinary hobos at the first glance but closer examination reveals them to be so-called “Replicas”. They wander around aimlessly in the back alleys or sit for days on end in street corners. The Squirts are changed children who have run away from refugee communities and look through garbage at night for food. Their clearly visible mutations have made them inhuman.

The Ordinary Person in FLOW

It’s not worth it to spend a lot of time on an average Joe. He has two things or professions that he’s good at (or at least has the associated abilities). One is what he does for a living and the other is his way of life and whatever it entails. He will succeed at applicable challenges the better the longer he has been doing these things. He will have his drawbacks like everybody else but only two of them will be serious. Again, one is associated with his profession and the other with his way of life. These might be a broken family, alcoholism or a childhood trauma from abuse. Ordinary problems for an ordinary person. If he is an opponent or determining his toughness is otherwise necessary, the GM can visualize him in a fight against different kinds of enemies. If he would slap a young gangbanger around, his toughness must be above 10. If he would fight a cop to a draw (or get his ass kicked because of the cop’s superior equipment), his toughness would be 15. Still, for an ordinary person he’d be a tough nut to crack, which is probably visible in some way.

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Communities

Whereas the centres are trying to preserve what little remains of the functions and systems of the wider society, the communities have turned their backs on it. The GM can use them to create his own miniature societies with their own leaders, hierarchies and written or unwritten rules. A motorcycle gang based on an old industrial estate, a bunch of refugees squatting in an abandoned country house or a cult that’s taken over the city hall are all communities. They are held together by a sense of unity arising from common values, circumstances and/or external threats. Communities are usually small and no two are alike. Their ways and livelihoods may be condemned or even illegal by the standards of the outside society but in the Borderlands there isn’t much that can be done about them. Most communities are formed by Refugees, to whom the outside society, law enforcement agencies and even the Institute are all external threats. Communities can also be used to create tensions. If a border guard gets killed and the trail leads to a community, the community is unlikely to hand over the culprit to the soldiers or even allow the crime to be investigated, but neither can the soldiers just let it be. Perhaps they will shoot a member of the community in revenge and so begin a cycle of vengeance and hatred. Or perhaps two communities are competing over a resource, such as access to running water. When developing a community that the stalkers might have dealings with, the GM should think of at least the following things: 1. The overarching theme or ideology of the community Are they Refugees who just want to live in peace, or a hippie commune that turned its back on society and includes Refugee members? The theme also includes their livelihoods but they often change with the circumstances. 2. The leadership of the community Who wields power? How? It might be a council of family heads with a few important members. Perhaps there is a spiritual leader who can be anything from Gandhi to David Koresh. Or a dictatorial clique that holds power because it holds all the guns and gets to decide who has a roof over his head.

Various Communities: Biker Gang in an old industrial estate has surrounded their territory with chain link fences and barbed wire. Drug Gang is running a meth lab in an old pumping station and meets with dealers in centres. A self-sufficient farming community of Refugees and hippies, where the Changed are treated like the village idiots. Refugee extended family in an old bus with a small garden. One of the children has Changed and lives in the wilds nearby. Tent town of nutjobs who seek connection with the Visitors with drugs and sex on the yard of an old lumber mill. They often have visitors from the city. A kind-hearted person who hates the Institute has founded a secret orphanage for Changed children in the abandoned city hall. Even the completely inhuman Changed have stayed there.

THE GAMEMASTER’S BOOK

3. The opposition There is always an opposition that wants to change the theme and go against its leaders. In a hippie commune there might be a black sheep who wants to rule as a spiritual guru. In a motorcycle gang there might be a bossy biker the actual leader has to keep an eye on. Even in the insular Refugee communities there are young radicals who dream of a violent revenge on the border guards and other officials. Up until now, it has only been visible in a few graffiti but some day someone will sell them a couple of guns...

A prophet claiming to be a living god and his disciples have made a small rural village their kingdom of heaven. Their prophet holds the power over life and death and is becoming increasingly insane. A lone Refugee runs a clinic for communities and stalkers but is troubled by a metaphysical mutation. Anarchists have taken over an old bus station but broke up into competing factions. There have already been deaths and the end is near. Parents of a child with a metaphysical mutation lead a temple that worships the child but the mutation is progressive and the child is becoming ever harder to control. Religious warriors in a hidden forest camp wanted to kill the Changed but after meeting their first Replica began to hunt them as vampires. Apartment building taken over by Refugees and some others used to be a democracy but a violent gang has taken over. Shantytown of junk and garbage on the outer edge of the borderlands. Illegal immigrants spend their nights there and their days working or begging in centres or outside the borderlands. The community centre is an abandoned warehouse-turned mosque. Widows are the elderly who refused to leave the borderlands and now live among freaks. Their own children no longer visit them but a few have adopted orphans from the borderlands as replacements. A Group of the Cursed lives in the forests and landfills like a wild tribe. Their mutations empower each other and the group has begun to rapidly degenerate, much like the Changed.

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Other stalkers

There are few enough Zones and nearby population centres that the stalkers working in the same Zone will soon learn to know one another. Popular meeting places (like Harmont’s Borscht or Toulouse’s Bar Bonnevier) have their own stalker subcultures where strangers will get long looks. Behind the stalkers come dealers and the green newbies who want in. The places change as they begin to attract too many Institute spies but no one will attempt an open charge or raid. Stalkers tend to be armed and not just with guns. Thirteen years is long enough for traditions to form and for the first stalkers – the survivors at least – to have retired. Some disappear altogether to spend their hard-earned treasure with a new name and identity. Many could never quit entirely or were left poor and crippled by the anomalies. These veterans are still hanging around in cities near the Zone, selling information and old maps, or they may have become dealers between new stalkers and their old clients. Some train new stalkers to either get a cut from their earnings or so that the skills they learned would not die with them.

SciFi Roleplaying Game

Active stalkers, either the last of the lone wolves or the stalker teams, form the core of this community. Some become heroes in the eyes of the others, some villains. Alliances are made and broken. If someone is revealed to be an Institute snitch, stalkers who lost friends behind bars may give him a good pounding in an alleyway. If someone steals or withholds loot from his team, the word travels fast and he will soon be a marked man. Some people die and new people come in but it is difficult to get into the community. Most dealers shun newcomers without recommendations from old business partners. That is the first step of ensuring that someone is not an Institute spy. Some stalkers are not a part of this community, or their relationship with it is complicated. The biggest group like this are the ideological stalkers, whose expeditions have ideological or religious motives. At first they were thought of as lone freaks and village idiots but these days there are entire stalker teams from religious or ideological sects. Their goals vary: some try to prevent ordinary stalkers from getting their hands on artefacts by finding them first and others collect artefacts to change the society or the international status quo. Some even acquire artefacts outside the Zone and take them back in, or simply use them as cult objects in their rituals. Then there are the mercenaries that a dealer or even the Institute has brought in to perform a certain job. Usually it is to find a certain artefact or investigate a location but it can also be the capture or even destruction of a certain stalker or a team. Then there are the brigands, shady groups that try to ambush stalker teams returning from the Zone and force them to hand over their loot. Finally, there are the extreme sportsmen who do not even want artefacts but just want to get deep inside the Zone for much of the same reason a mountain climber wants to reach the top: because it’s there. From the GM’s point of view, lone stalkers or ex-stalkers can be seen as fulfilling certain roles and their combinations: Guides are veterans that people go to for information on unusual locations, creatures, or artefacts.

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Conciliators are retired stalkers who still have excellent contacts with all sorts of organizations, even the Institute. They can mediate disputes and pass on messages.

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Teachers take new stalkers into the Zone and try to pass their skills onto the next generation.

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Rescuers spy on the Institute’s communications and try to help stalkers in trouble or to find people who have disappeared into the Zone. It is valuable work, even though the vanished stalkers are usually dead.

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Madmen have lost their senses after witnessing something shocking in the Zone. They are the scum at the bottom of the community but on the other hand have experience from many events and places from where there are no other survivors. Asking about them may be difficult, though.

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Cripples have been permanently disabled in terrible accidents in the Zone. They often know other veterans and active stalkers that they used to work with and live however they can by doing little jobs for them in the borderlands. In exchange, their old stalker buddies take care of them. There is no social security outside the society, so the cripples have all the disadvantages of a stalker’s life with none of the benefits.

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Judges are famous stalkers who can shift the opinion of the entire scene. Their views and attitudes will decide how Institute snitches and artefact thieves are treated. They also often oversee the punishment. The judges also have great, if unwanted influence over nicknaming new people.

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Burbridge used to be famous and powerful enough to be a “judge” to the stalkers of Harmont but then lost his influence (and was renamed Buzzard). After him, that power fell mostly to Red, the greatest of the lone wolves. Red nearly killed Burbridge in the cemetery and none of the stalkers in Harmont could have held him accountable. The novel also names a cripple, Hamster, the only one to make it out of an anomaly called Meatgrinder. The experience truly left its mark on him.

THE GAMEMASTER’S BOOK

Competitors wish to prove to their dealers and contacts that they are a more valuable partner than the player characters. They will also try to spy on the characters’ activities, trying to find out their contacts and clients.

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In the rulebook’s examples, Czar is influential enough to be a judge in the Toulouse stalker community. Thus far, however, he has only killed duplicitous dealers. The players’ stalkers may also end up in these roles from the point of view of the other stalkers in the region. As time passes and great deeds are done, they will become those famous veterans that the newbies will look up to in admiration – or at least will pretend to admire in the hopes of getting some free pointers.

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Dealers

Also part of the borderland microcosm are the representatives of the clients; the Dealers. Nobody involved in illegal xenological research will reveal their names or identities, preferring to work through intermediaries. Sometimes these are specialists in the service of the client but usually they are independent intermediaries such as the organized crime. For examples, look at how movies portray illegal weapons dealers, drug dealers or dealers of stolen art and forgeries.

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It is important to the game that the dealers are not just vending machines that swallow artefacts and spit out cash. They have their own special qualities, goals and weaknesses. Dealers send stalkers on missions, pay better for some things, make the stalkers commit crimes and sabotage their competitors’ businesses and contacts. To the GM, the dealers are also a window he can use to show the players the bigger picture of the world, be it a deep plot, political tensions or the activities of radical groups. Dealers represent their contacts in the borderlands for both good and ill. Their activities can be used to deduce something of what is going on behind the curtains. Playing a dealer might be just as rewarding as playing a stalker. In addition to the permanent representatives of their employers, there are some dealers who are just visiting and looking for something specific. They will pay well for that one thing but are not interested in anyothing else. After finding what they wanted, they’ll vanish. Because of this, many stalkers have hidden caches waiting for a golden opportunity, or to be used for bargaining when the dealer has a gun to your head. Taking care of your client relationships, listening to the rumours and maintaining your contact network are just as important in the life of the stalker as the Zone itself.

The novel mentions two dealers, first a shady person named Throaty and later Buzzard, a retired stalker who has taken an entire stalker team under his wing. In both cases they are interested in all kinds of artefacts but also give their stalkers special missions and the equipment to go with them: a porcelain container for Witch’s Jelly, a gas balloon for the Golden Orb. Throaty got so excited about a wheel that turns without friction that he promised to pay double for all that Red would find. Buzzard relied on Red’s services because he believed none of his own protégés could get to the orb and survive. Red never trusted them. Even though Throaty’s task had been completed, he still kept the container hidden away as a guarantee. When Red was caught, he agreed on the delivery of the container by phone and never gave Throaty the chance to remove him as a witness. Throaty is also a good example of how a dealer can function as a window to the rest of the world. Red delivered him the container with the Witch’s Jelly. Later it was revealed that the same container had most likely caused the destruction of a top research centre (it got Jellified) and a huge scandal when they could not explain where they had acquired the container and the Jelly. Unfortunately, the novel does not reveal what happened to Throaty.

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Effect is hard to demonstrate No clear practical application Simple xenotechnological applications Complex xenotechnological applications Revolutionary xenotechnological applications Super artefact

€10 €50 €100 €500 €1,000 €100000

The artefact can be a part of machinery The artefact is usable as it is Beautiful, like jewellery or sculpture The artefact is not dangerous to the user The effect fits the client’s business The dealer was looking for just this artefact Visiting dealer was looking for this artefact

x2 x3 x2 x2 x2 x3 x5

Once the base price has been multiplied with every applicable multiplier, you get the highest price that the dealer will give for the artefact. With super artefacts, though, this is admittedly difficult to estimate. The dealer will naturally never pay the full price if he can avoid it. Usually he will first offer half and the stalker can then try to haggle upwards (getting full price is very difficult or nearly impossible – usually the price ends up to be 7080% of the artefact’s maximum value).

THE GAMEMASTER’S BOOK

Pricing Artefacts The price of an artefact depends on its rarity, usefulness and the needs of the dealer. They have their own clients whose desires and interests are reflected in the dealers. Price differences may be significant and change over time. If the rumour spreads that someone is paying large sums for a certain type of artefact, there will be more seekers out. Even if the first finder will get a good price for his loot, the price will drop sharply after that and the latecomers may be left with nothing.

Finding the best buyer may be an adventure in itself. The stalkers should endeavour to find out more about their dealers, such as who they are working for. Based on that, they can determine what kind of artefacts would likely be desired by the clients of each dealer. Additionally, there may be a special need or even a random buyer for a certain, specific kind of artefact. There are always rumours going round but ascertaining them and finding the buyer before the competition can be a lot of work. As the reward for an adventure to find a buyer, the maximum price of an artefact could be doubled or tripled. The stalkers may have also found new clients or ascertained what one of their old dealers really, really wants.

So what would the price tag on a Death Lamp look like using this formula? It is a super artefact, so that’s €100,000 to begin with. It is usable as it is, which is x3. It is believed to be largish and have a conspicuous appearance (x2). It is not dangerous to its user (x2) and if sold to a dealer with military clients, it will fit their bill splendidly (x2). In addition, if the dealer has been informed that there is something like that in the region, he is ready to drop more cash to get his hands on it (x3). €100,000 x 3 x2 x 2 x 2 x 3 = €100,000 x 36 = €3,600,000. The last variable is very significant because the dealer might at first only offer €1,200,000, but haggling could raise to close to that €3,600,000. Not bad, but you could probably add another zero to the end if the stalkers can get two well-connected dealers into a bidding contest, or can bypass them altogether and sell straight to their clients. Of course, there is always the danger that a dealer in this situation will try to run off with the artefact himself, or kidnap one of the stalkers and torture him until he finds out where the artefact is hidden. A super artefact is always a super artefact and people are prepared to kill to lay their hands on one.

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Institute Inspectors

The Borderland centres usually have both a police station and some sort of bureaucratic central, but all power and responsibility lies with the Institute. The research centres and camps with their scientists and guards are only the visible part of their activities, while the inspectors who look over their interests in the Borderland are the invisible. Officials and bureaucrats mostly have to follow the law, while the Institute does not. On the other hand, nobody wants an open war, so the inspectors are there to break the network of stalkers, stalker teams and artefact dealers with individual arrests and confiscations. They are helped in this by snitches, hired field agents, etc. They usually utilize some sort of legal-seeming company as a front. Even their budget is insufficient for a cover as an artefact dealer. The inspectors give a face to the faceless Institute, even if it is not often seen. Based on their personalities, the Institute’s methods will also vary from one Zone and even from one section of the border to another. The inspectors include both understanding and compassionate types as well as debased, power-crazy psychopaths. Additionally, they are well within the reach of the Institute’s complex internal politics and power struggles, and their superiors may issue orders that are impossible to carry out from the start, with the embittered inspectors shouldering the blame for their superiors’ failures. Usually the GM does not have to think about the inspectors much beforehand as long as the stalkers keep a low profile and their tricks and deeds do not affect the population at large. Unofficial personal relationships between the law and the lawless are not as rare as one might imagine. The borderland population centres are small and even if in a covert business you will meet people. Inspectors are only people themselves and if one of the stalkers saved the inspector from getting stabbed, his conscience might give him trouble if he has to arrest the stalker. Similarly, if the agent has previously relied on the stalker’s services by offering him a mission in exchange for freedom, arresting the stalker again will be difficult because he will be aware of the inspector’s identity and can reveal his special treatment to the other representatives of the Institute. Of course, for some inspectors this may be a good reason to have cooperating stalkers killed before other officials can find them.

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In the novel, Richard B. Noonan is an Institute spy who looks like a businessman and uses hired snitches to spy on stalkers.

THE GAMEMASTER’S BOOK “You tried to kill me. I won’t forget.” “I didn’t kill you, though,” Redrick said. “No, you didn’t...” He was silent. “I’ll remember that, too.” - THE ROADSIDE PICNIC

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IN THE ZONE “A thick fog lay along the sides of the embankment. Once in a while it crawled up on the rails with its heavy gray feet and in those places they walked knee-deep in the swirling mists.” – THE ROADSIDE PICNIC Expeditions over the border are a true challenge for the GM. Danger is everywhere, the distances are too long for detailed maps and each trip should be different. The GM should describe the feelings and instincts of the stalkers as well as the landscape, including what their many senses pick up. The presence of danger and the unreliability of their observations keep the players tense and the stalkers terrified. Even though the horror instilled by the Zone is based on the fear of the unknown, a fully invisible anomaly is a stupid trap. Instead, a human skeleton will have them instantly wondering about the cause of death, even if the surroundings are otherwise peaceful.

You shouldn’t run into the Zone empty-handed. No, not even if you’re the GM. The area is too large to be mapped but the GM can plan the stalkers’ route beforehand by deciding the places and scenery where their challenges, artefacts and adversaries await. When the player characters are in the Zone, moving from one planned location to another can be glossed over with “an hour later…”. Planned like this, it is actually irrelevant where the players decide to go and there is no need for a detailed map. If they are now at a schoolyard and the next location in the GM’s notes is a gas station, it can be in any direction. A short description ofthe location is enough for the notes:

The canopy of the old gas station is partially collapsed and the building itself is little more than a rusty steel frame. The signpost is still intact and its lights flicker at night as if there was still power. There are abandoned cars next to the pumps and some of them grow a metallic cobweb. It reaches all the way to the truck parked at the edge of the clearing. Bluish mist is rising from within the frame that’s left of the building. A thick fog covers the field ahead, dotted with copses of dead trees. Here and there within there are tall, thin shadows, and a metallic clamour can be heard, as if great machines were walking about. The wall of fog ends abruptly at the road.

Planning Locations

The GM may also consider the above description as a place card. 10-20 places like that and the GM can assemble a deck and draw up locations at random to fall between the starting point and the team’s destination. If the characters have a map but they deviate from the given route, the GM can jump a few locations, switch around the order of some others and so on. Once locations have been visited, they remain where they are and the GM only has to remember the order of the used cards. The stalkers can return back the way they came, which is usually the safest choice because they now know what to expect and will probably use the same route to reenter the Zone in the future.

Placenames or marked features Good landmarks (1-3) Anomaly, inorganism? (0-3) Dynamic anomaly? (0-1) Natural hazards? Clues about the dangers? Exits? Items of interest? Artefacts?

THE GAMEMASTER’S BOOK

Preparation

When a stalker looks around in an anomalous area, he will see small deviations almost everywhere. One way to improvise these is to roll a die: the higher the number, the closer and clearer the anomaly is. Since this is officially a diceless game, the GM has to also be able to decide it if necessary. As a rule of thumb, the more open the ground, the farther away the next anomaly lies. Depressions (ditches, pools of stagnant water) are often hazardous. Also a labyrinthine, partially collapsed buildings or say, a depot filled with junk and abandoned buses can be filled with danger. If the stalkers keep a record of the places they have been to, a longer campaign will result in a network of investigated routes and thus the nearby parts of the Zone will get mapped out by default. It is maps like these that the next generation of stalkers will use to plan their own expeditions. Information on places can also be sold or exchanged with other teams.

The previously described location would be called “gas station” and the landmark would be its flickering sign, which is visible from afar at night. Had one of the stalkers gotten separated from the team, the sign would have been an easy landmark to head for. There are three anomalies, all visible: the light flickering in the sign, the metallic web growing between the cars, and the Witch’s Jelly that lurks beneath the treacherous floor of the building, with blue flames and smoke rising up through the cracks. There are two ways out (or three, if you count backtracking) but the mist on the field next to the station is very suspicious. It is clearer toward the road, and it is easy to assume the stalkers will pick this route, if there are no weighty reasons to do otherwise.

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STALKER:The SciFi Roleplaying Game GAME MASTER: “You exit through the window to the edge of the roof and start balancing forward. The pool covering the street below is like a silver mirror. Despite the light breeze, there isn’t so much as a ripple across its surface. On the far side of the street there are only blackened walls. A bluish glow makes the windows look like the eye sockets on a skull.” “You are halfway across when you hear a crackling sound. Silvery vines are growing out of the pool, climbing up the wall. Their tips are alive and flexible but behind them the stalks have already petrified into solid tubes. The growth is ascending the wall at a walking pace towards you. It starts to spread out as it approaches, as if trying to surround you.” “What do you do?”

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Most of both the French and Canadian Zones are anomalous areas, halfdead wastelands described in the novel where both static and dynamic anomalies threaten all who pass through. This is a greater challenge to the GM than the Oases, because despite preparations or choosing the same routes as before, the Zone itself is alive. The players do things and go to places the GM cannot prepare for and with shifting anomalies even the familiar routes cannot be completely safe. Even static anomalies can disappear or move and dynamic anomalies are different every time.

THE GAMEMASTER’S BOOK

Anomalous Areas

The Density and Pacing of Anomalies

In an anomalous area, the stalker will always see something strange, no matter where he looks. The distance and recognizability of the strangeness vary but most anomalies are somehow visible and therefore avoidable. Dangerous situations form when an anomaly has not been noticed or its area of effect has been estimated wrong. The purpose of the thrown nuts is to make sure that the air shimmering in the summer heat really is just air shimmering in the summer heat, or that the unmoving scenery is just that and not a Painting. If the players are cautious and take the Zone seriously, the GM can give them hints and warnings about all the dangers. Distortions of light and sound, shimmering, or even just instincts and feelings can serve as clues. There may be a lot of anomalies out there but most are easily visible or are so easy to avoid that they can be used to build ambiance. Only perhaps every second or third location in an adventure should have a dangerous anomaly that the stalkers will have to bypass or perhaps discharge in a controlled fashion. It is like a challenge thrown to the players and the GM does not even have to figure out the solution beforehand. After a location like this, the route is clear for a while. As long as the stalkers stay alert, nothing special is required and the players get to take a breather as well as getting the sense of really having progressed forward

The Consequences of Carelessness

The above does not work if the players start taking the pacing of the anomalies for granted. If the players, by word or deed, show that their stalkers’ alertness is flagging, strike immediately! The first hit can be a warning, such as the destruction of an important piece of equipment due to an anomaly. If that is not enough, the next hit will hurt. A lot.

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Take, for example, a forest of trees, glowing blue, with bolts of lightning crackling in the air, arcing from one tree to another throughout the entire length of the forest. Taking off everything that conducts electricity and crawling under their branches, the entire body pressed against the ground, would be a good solution. There are others. A longer period of observation would note that the treetops are not electric and after a discharge, a trunk will be inert for a while. Such a tree could be climbed and the stalkers could then try to advance from one tree to another with ropes. If the stalkers take no precautions and this is the first lapse of the adventure, the warning shot would be a lightning strike on a metallic weapon (or any weapon that conducts electricity). It explodes into pieces and bullets will be cooking off and flying all over the bluish woodland for a while. The stalker himself will be thrown back and out of the woodland, twitching after the shock. The clothes on his chest or even his skin will have a burn mark in the shape of the weapon. Injuries caused by anomalies are often very serious and usually the victim will die without proper treatment. They are also associated with the grisly situations and difficult choices. A Meatgrinder will usually finish off its victim but they might be rescued with a hooked staff. A stalker who stuck his hand in a painting will experience hellish pain and finally shock unless the other members of the team help cut it off. A part of the hand will stay in the anomaly practically forever. A stalker who steps in Witch’s Jelly will begin to jellify himself, starting with the touched body part but he can still be saved with an amputation. Running a game in the anomalous area is all about a balance between danger and playability. For the game to remain interesting, the stalkers must be able to move about. On the other hand, if the GM automatically warns about every danger, there is no tension.

Creating Anomalies

Pages 148 and 149 have charts for creating new anomalies on the fly. While in reality there is an infinite number of different anomalies but with these lists you can get 841 different feature combinations and by improvising small details they will do the job for the foreseeable future. The effects listed here will also encompass all anomaly effects mentioned in the novel and in this rulebook. The GM can fine tune the rest to his liking. The anomalies encountered should be planned out or chosen ahead but if this is not possible, the GM can pick two letters from the alphanumeric alphabet at random, switch their order, and then check what kind of anomaly the chart is offering. Then just add details and you’re done.

Most anomalies have been named over the years, though only some of the names are in common usage. The next page has a selection of anomalies mentioned in both the novel and this rulebook. If the GM cannot constantly come up with new material, some anomalies such as the Mosquito Mange are common enough that they can be spread around quite freely. Both the results of the chart and the descriptions are only guidelines. The exact dimensions, appearance and effects are the responsibility of the GM. The stalkers may learn to recognize certain types of anomalies but the size of the effect or the details should be impossible to guess. The same anomaly, such as Mosquito Mange, will come in different shapes and different strengths.

The bracketed description tells what kind of features from the charts on the next spread these anomalies could have been assembled from.

Spitting Devil’s Cabbage (growth, static, caustic) A translucent rosette that can be up to a metre in diameter. Inside is a caustic mass under high pressure and even a small jolt is enough to make the rosette open up, spraying the caustic mass everywhere. Once it has discharged, it is safe for a while, closing down slowly. Some researchers have suggested that the Cabbage could also be an inorganism.

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Burning Fluff (gaseous, dynamic, burning) A cloud of flakes that glow in the dark and move with the wind. The cloud never falls to ground or disperses. Everything solid that it touches heats up immediately, even though the flakes themselves are not hot.

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Witch’s Jelly (liquid, static, dissolving) A grey mass of viscous fluid and dense gas that constantly burns with a blue flame. Dissolves all living and some dead matter.

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Black Bramble (growth, static, wounding) A tall, black grass that grows out of metal and easily spreads to any metal touching it, slashing organic matter like an infinitely sharp razor.

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Mosquito Mange (destruction, static, crushing) A high-gravity region. Large mosquito manges are easy to recognize by their environmental effects and the distortion of light due to air pressure. Branching, narrow or elongated areas may be very difficult to make out.

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THE GAMEMASTER’S BOOK

Known Anomalies

Silver Web (growth, static, metaphysical) A silvery growth that resembles a giant spider’s web. It is easily broken, but anyone touching it will die within 24 hours. Causes vary. The web is invisible to some people.

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Greenie (liquid, dynamic, capturing) A thick green fog that flows partly along the ground and partly in the air and covers everything living with a thick, green, stony shell.

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Meatgrinder (instinctual, static, wounding) This invisible force awaits until it can throw someone into the air, twisting and slashing. After discharging, it is harmless for a while. It is very difficult to see but there are sometimes remains of humans and animals in the vicinity.

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Flashpoint (hot, dynamic, burning) This is a dot-like spot in the air where temperature is in the thousands or tens of thousands of degrees. Though it is invisible, its effects on the environment are not. It is not a burning reaction but more like a focused point of infrared radiation.

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Living Lightning (light, static, electrifying) This anomaly gathers up an electric charge, with translucent, pink flames flaring up in the charging point. If there is a change in the surrounding magnetic field or conductivity, it discharges with powerful bolts of lightning. The eruption can last for several minutes and strike many places, but afterwards the anomaly will be harmless for a while.

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A. Liquid, static A pool of substance that acts like a liquid. Its surface may rise or fall and the substance may change from one state to another. B. Hot, dynamic A hot wave or a mobile spot. You can feel the heat on your face. The air shimmers around it, flammable material will blacken and smoke. Dark surfaces facing it will grow hot.

L. Gaseous, dynamic A cloud that floats in the air, drifting with the wind or against it, or reaching towards heat or light. Sometimes it is merely colourful gas, sometimes a type of floating precipitate such as Burning Fluff.

SciFi Roleplaying Game

M. Mirage, static There seems to be something that is not really there, be it a wall, a creature, a flashback to some other event, or a landscape frozen in place (like in a Painting). A steel nut will pass through, but C. Growth, static The anomaly has covered some area or touching it with your hand may be exroute with a visible, material growth tremely dangerous. that may distantly resemble plants, fungi or cobwebs. It may also look different N. Emotion, static Anyone passing near the anomaly will to different people. be taken over by an emotion or a terrible memory. It becomes stronger the D. Crystalline, dynamic A moving area or a flock of crystals or closer they get, to the degree that it rocks. They can roll along the ground, will start to direct their actions and defloat in the air with the wind like a flock cisions. Getting near enough may drive of razorblades or grow suddenly out of a stalker insane. Emotions associated with anomalies are usually negative but the ground like sharp spikes. Merry Mirage is an exception. E. Shimmering, static The air shimmers and distorts light at O. Emotion, dynamic the anomaly’s location like there was a Like a psychic wave, some powerful rippling water surface between it and feeling, desire or motivation to do something moves in the Zone. The stalkthe viewer. ers can feel it approaching and if they do not avoid it, they go mad, fully taken F. Cold, dynamic A cold wave or a freezing wind blows over by the emotion. There may be halahead of the anomaly, making the breath lucinations associated with the anomasteam, covering stones with frost and ly and some will go permanently insane. forming rime on windowpanes. P. Mirage, dynamic A mirage moves around the anomaly. It G. Translucent, static Some sort of figure, shape, a force can easily drive the stalkers into a pafield, or like that. It is only partly in nic, when the world seems to burst into this world and can be seen through as flame or trees appear to petrify around if it were a ghost or made of glass. A them. Fortunately, none of it is real and phenomenon like this can appear like a things return to normal when the anomaly has passed. translucent or immaterial monument. H. Air movement, dynamic Strong winds precede the anomaly or it is surrounded by a whirlwind that may blow or suck. Dust and airborne trash can give it a visible shape in the right environment.

Q. Gaseous, static Despite wind or rain, this cloud of gas or airborne particles stays put, swirling as air passes through it.

I. Instinctual, static You can’t see it, hear it, or smell it, but the stalker’s instinct tells him that something is wrong. His feet may feel leaden if he tries to step its way, or the hand throwing the steel nut will not obey.

R. Sound, dynamic Anomaly can be tracked by sound. Sounds that first appeared natural can change entirely depending on the distance and different people can hear different things. Even if the stalkers avoid the anomaly, sometimes the sound alone is enough to cause damage.

J. Light, dynamic The anomaly sends out beams of light, laser light, sparks in the air, strange reflections in rough surfaces, and so on. It may also be a figure made of light, resembling an inorganism.

S. Light, static Whether it is a light visible at the end of a tunnel or a pulsating cluster of laser beams, the anomaly may be difficult to see in bright sunlight, though at night it is visible for kilometres.

K. Sound, static There is a sound or a series of sounds near the anomaly. It can be anything from an electrical crackle to the dying scream of its last victim that never ends or is repeated over and over again. Or muttering that you can barely hear.

T. Instinctual, dynamic The anomaly’s approach can be noticed by a growing sense of unease and the feeling that something is wrong. Natural reactions to such instinctual feelings vary by person.

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U. Air movement, static The thought of a stationary wind may seem strange, but what if air density varies from one place to another? At first, the resistance of the mass of air can be felt at every step, as if walking against a constant wind. On the other side, the ears pop when the air pressure suddenly drops, or it feels like the stalker is being pulled into some direction by the wind. Perhaps there is a stationary whirlwind around the anomaly, or maybe winds constantly blow away from it in all directions. V. Translucent, dynamic A ghostly, translucent mass, shape or figure moves among the ruins. It is seethrough and can be hard to detect in some conditions, especially in poor lighting. For this reason, the stalkers should pay attention to all lights and shadows, especially at night. W. Cold, static Temperature drops sharply around the anomaly, or it appears to radiate cold just from looking at it. The cold is invisible, but its effects on the environment are not. X. Shimmering, dynamic A visible distortion in an otherwise ordinary landscape, as if it was rippling or shimmering, bending the light that passes through it. In the summer’s heat it is easily lost amidst the shimmers from hot asphalt and these mobile shimmers are notoriously difficult to detect. Y. Crystalline, static A carpet of sharp crystals, like shards of glass surrounding the anomaly. The crystals grow slowly until they break, making room for new ones. Z. Growth, dynamic A growth resembling plants or mould creeps along the ground or walls, sprouting out of nowhere and crumbling into nothing when it has passed. It may also home in on heat or motion, which is a good time for the stalker to scarper. Odd Number. Hot, static The heat enveloping the anomaly has burned away everything flammable, twisted metal, cracked stone and boiled away raindrops. There are no flames because there is nothing to burn but the air shimmers with heat. In cold weather it is surrounded by warm mist. Even Number. Liquid, dynamic A liquid or a substance similar to liquid flows from place to place, sometimes against gravity or the lay of the land. It may also lie in wait until something mobile, warm or magnetic comes close, when it begins to flow or grow strands in its direction. GM’s Special. Destruction The anomaly has done a number on its surroundings. Buildings are in ruins, cars have been crushed, the earth itself may be flat and swept clear. This is especially typical of gravity concentrations that have simply flattened everything in their path.

B. Magnetizing The anomaly pulls everything magnetic to it with great force. Those who stray too close may lose equipment as the magnetic forces pull them into the anomaly. Those who end up within the anomaly die horribly as the anomaly tears out their red blood cells and liver. C. Crushing “Mosquito Mange”. Gravity crushes everything that strays within the anomaly, such as limbs. If the victim does not die of it, the trapped body part must be cut off. D. Wounding A power, substance or item slashes those who stray near the anomaly like knives. People who end up within the anomaly are usually beyond hope. “Meatgrinder” is like this, although its damage comes from the twisting and bending forces. E. Repairing Junk cars are made brand new, engines run forever and broken items return to their original shapes. Living beings die as their bodily functions try to work in reverse. Bodies do not rot. F. Radioactive The anomaly is a powerful source of radiation and simply being near to it can cause radiation sickness. Additionally, metallic items become electrically charged and electronics do not function. An unprotected human will get a lethal dose within seconds. G. Accelerating Speed and momentum are multiplied within the anomaly without inertia or friction. Raindrops break the sound barrier, a gust of wind becomes a pressure wave, leaves and trash turn into lethal missiles. The nearby areas are dangerous because of the projectiles. A limb that happens to hit the anomaly mid-step would be torn off by the sudden acceleration. H. Freezing The anomaly itself may not be cold but the temperature of all solid matter nearby begins to drop. Matter that ends up within the anomaly is cooled close to zero Kelvin and thermal contraction usually shatters it.

K. Caustic Everything that comes into contact with the anomaly will be eaten away, except for some types of glass and ceramics. L. Dissolving The anomaly turns all organic material into oily liquid or jelly. “Witch’s Jelly” works like this. Depending on the anomaly, the process may be fast or excruciatingly slow. Sometimes it may also be contagious and advance even after contact has ceased. M. Stopping All motion stops soon after entering the area. A bullet will hang in midair, curls of smoke freeze in place and a limb that hits the anomaly will be stuck there, while blood stands still in the veins. It usually has to be amputated. N. Burning The anomaly may not be hot in itself, but it does raise the temperature of everything nearby. Matter that enters the anomaly will melt, vaporize or burst into flames. O. Lifting There is a weak reverse gravity in the area and everything that is not attached to the ground will start to float gently upwards at a slowly accelerating speed. The wind eventually pushes things out of the area but it may be a long drop. P. Sickening Straying close to the anomaly will cause the symptoms of a serious illness that may continue for a good while afterward. Entering the anomaly will quickly speed the illness into its terminal phase. Q. Hallucinating Seen through or from within the anomaly, everything seems different. A careless walker may ramble off a cliff or get lost, not noticing they entered it. On the other hand, people entering it may get hallucinations that affect all the senses, which may in turn lead to unpredictable acts. R.Slowing Matter entering the anomaly moves very slowly, as if it operated on a different time scale. Sounds are low murmurs and a limb entering the area may break when different parts move at different speeds. However, unlike with most other anomalies, it may still be saved.

I. Petrifying All organic matter that ends up in the anomaly’s area of effect turns hard as stone. Sometimes it really does turn into stone.

S. Mutating Straying near the anomaly may cause skin disorders or temporary deformities, or even tumours. Touching the anomaly causes fast-spreading mutations, especially in the touching limb. Entering the anomaly usually causes such extreme mutations that the victim dies of shock but there have been survivors.

J. Suffocating Breathing is difficult near this anomaly and within it there is no oxygen at all. Sometimes there is an actual void inside and entering it will cause problems far beyond oxygen deprivation.

T. Hurling Touching the anomaly causes a forcewave that hurls the target into some direction (usually backwards) with a terrible force and quite a distance. Damage depends on landing.

U. Buoying The surroundings have a lower gravity and within the area of effect mass is completely weightless. Not necessarily dangerous. V. Electrifying Everything nearby that can gather an electric charge, will. Touching the anomaly usually causes a lethal discharge. After going off, the anomaly will usually be safe for a while. W. Metaphysical Contact with the anomaly will cause a permanent or temporary metaphysical mutation. The GM decides the details. X. Controlling Near the anomaly, some feelings become more intense while others weaken. Touching the anomaly drives men insane, making the stalker do things they would otherwise never do. There may be an intuitive logic to their actions, as if a foreign will were controlling their bodies. A short contact will cause temporary insanity, a longer one will drive the stalker permanently insane. Y. Transporting The anomaly works as a one-way gate to another place within the Zone. The victim may not even realize they have moved but will suddenly notice they are lost and the scenery around them is utterly strange. A partial transportation may cause terrible injuries and some have died when their body and equipment were fused together.

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A. Crippling Minor contact with the anomaly causes permanent injuries, such as brain damage, blindness, deafness or partial paralysis. Longer contact is lethal.

Z. Entrapping The anomaly traps everything that touches it with a shell of some sort, or threads, or an energy field. The victim will be very difficult to help and if the prison is airtight, they may suffocate in front of their helpers. Odd Number. Dehydrating The air in nearby areas is dry, water evaporates even from closed containers and passersby will suffer symptoms of dehydration. Tissue that enters the anomaly will instantly desiccate and mummify. Even Number. Preserving Nothing that enters the anomaly will wear, rust, rot, or change in any other manner. A human will fall into a deep coma. They will not breathe, but neither will they require oxygen. If they can be pulled out of the area, they may perhaps be saved. GM’s Special. Deadening The surroundings of the anomaly are dead and sterile. A touch will instantly kill every cell and microbe in the tissue, usually producing a difficult necrosis. Someone caught within the anomaly will be beyond help, experiencing a total and instant cellular death. Unless first broken up by scavenging animals, the corpse will usually mummify rather than decay, even in wet conditions.

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Something whizzes past in the street. Too quick to be seen, striking sparks off the stone walls. It leaves brutal grooves and a crater the size of a man’s head explodes into the wall at the end of the street. Czar looks around the corner with a small mirror. The “Accelerator” that has appeared at the upper end of the street looks like a spider’s web spun from blue light. It shows no signs of disappearing. “Dammit,” he mutters. Sparrow, waiting on the opposite side, looks miserable. The anomaly is far away but the items fired down the street make it a deathtrap. Raindrops, leaves, anything the accelerator can grab will be shot out with a terrible force. Too fast to be seen but the angry buzzes and vapour trails are clear enough. “We can’t make it across,” Czar shouts over to Sparrow. “Go down the next street...” Suddenly, Sparrow breaks into a run across the street, heading for you. “Don’t come...” Buttefly shouts just as an invisible knife slashes the close edge of the street, shearing off a chunk of the wall. Red mist erupts from Sparrow’s midsection. He is spun around and goes down, a chunk the size of a football missing from his side. The wound bubbles and steams. The Accelerator’s projectile was burning hot. “So much for that”, you mutter. You cannot reach the body and carrying it back to the Border would have be hard work. Sparrow becomes just another mutilated corpse in the death-filled alleys and nobody feels like eulogizing.

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Anomalies in the Game

When you go into the Zone, you cannot and should not avoid describing the anomalies because the anomalies are what separates the Zone from the rest of the world. The charts on the preceding spread may feel boring and the anomalies too easy to avoid but it is all about the anomalies’ effects on their surroundings. The GM has to be creative in applying the results and always consider the effects on their immediate environment. That is why anomalies should preferably be planned ahead. The size and area of effect of anomalies vary but typically they are several metres or even tens of meters in diameter. The effects of some extend upwards with no limit but satellites have been able to cross over the Zone in the orbit with no ill effects. Other anomalies, especially liquids and sometimes also gases, are possible to avoid by going over them. From the GM’s point of view, an anomaly fills “most of the clearing”, “the space within the walls of the ruined house” or “the pit, up to its brim”. Big enough to be noticed and considered a threat, small enough to be avoided. The stalkers are expected to figure out routes past the anomalies and sometimes even through them, so it must not be impossible. In exchange, the GM can be just as nasty as he wants with the environmental side effects, even if the anomaly itself is avoided: rain passing through an “Accelerator” threatens to tear the flesh off the bones. A “Flashpoint” can be avoided but avoiding the forest fire or smoke cloud will be much harder. A hurling anomaly can shoot a huge boulder at them and a mirage can conceal a natural hazard.

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When weather or darkness makes it even harder to notice anomalies, the players will be biting their nails alongside the stalkers. Another way to use anomalies is to blur the line between a force of nature and a creature. An anomaly that seeks out warmth, motion or the stalkers’ equipment may resemble a creature or plant life of some sort that is now chasing the stalkers. Similarly, if the players have grown used to anomalies and are making too confident predictions about their behaviour, it is time to make exceptions just to keep them lively. A flat spot of ground that looks like a “Mosquito Mange” is something completely different. “Burning Fluff” is coloured a bit differently than before and starts to form a bluish web of glassy strands around its victims. A pool of liquid will sprout tentacles or pseudopods and reach for the stalkers. Even if the motion is slow, tension is based on the unpredictability of the consequences.

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The anomalies are not enemies and they cannot be defeated. They can only be escaped and avoided. Sometimes throwing a steel nut into an anomaly will not only reveal its location but also trigger it, making the area safe for a while. Some anomalies will be active all the time, nuts or not. It is rumoured that some unscrupulous stalkers take green newbies with them as “lockpicks”, anomaly fodder, to trigger the anomalies for them. Since they do not survive, there is no need to share the loot. The anomalies can also be used to gain an advantage. This was never done in the novel (the police patrol was driven off the cemetery by an inorganism, not an anomaly) but it is certainly possible. They often make guarding the border difficult even on this side. An electrical charge somewhere close to the border can discharge into something conductive and take out the floodlights and motion detectors alike. In winter, a flashpoint can raise such a mist that even an infrared camera is useless. If the players come up with an ingenious way to use an anomaly to their advantage, it should usually work and sometimes be a complete disaster. The GM can use anomalies (especially dynamic anomalies) to save the players from trouble if he considers it appropriate or sees good drama arising from such a solution.

If the sniper in a border watch tower shoots at a stalker in the Zone, the bullet will hit him long before he hears the sound. However, if there is a “painting” between the two, the gunshot will echo from the surrounding ruins. The stalker starts and sees a bullet floating in the air nearby. It is tracking behind it a series of enlarging, concentric rings (the pressure waves from breaking the sound barrier). The “painting” has slowed down its movement. The stalker knows he has been shot at and can make it out of the way. It’s worth the trouble to dodge the bullet since after passing through the anomaly, it will keep going at its original speed of 800+ metres per second. The sniper, however, is too far to see and understand what has happened. He quickly fires off a couple of more shots at the still-visible stalker. A swarm of slowly moving bullets appears in the “painting” and gunshots echo all around. It may be still hard for the stalker to figure out what, exactly, is going on, since the “painting” is between him and the source of the sound, so the echo from his surroundings will reach him minutes before the actual gunshot sound makes it through the anomaly. And since the sniper is at a distance, even the bullets are coming in at a misleading angle. The Stalker’s sensory perceptions of the event are contradictory.

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When the GM brings in an inorganism, it should be an object of both fear and curiosity. To avoid making the encounter just another dynamic anomaly, the GM should look into the behaviour of animals. An inorganism might stop to study the stalkers’ trail, or make sounds that are answered in kind from a distance. The stalkers might see the creature make dancelike movements, leaving behind curly scratches that might be mistaken for writing. Two inorganisms can meld together into a completely new creature, or one can break apart into numerous, independent and completely different creatures. Inorganisms cannot be killed because they lack any bodily functions that might cease. A limb cut off a Replica will function independently of the body. Material inorganisms can be physically broken but this usually requires far more firepower than the stalkers are capable of carrying. It is unknown how inorganisms are born, how the damage inflicted on them affects them or how they die or disappear. Their behaviour is as unpredictable as everything else in the Zone. Inorganisms can be designed along the same principles as anomalies by combining anomalous features with the features of an animal or a plant. In the examples below, the “Iron Devil” is based on wading birds, and “Rimelights” behave like a swarm of mosquitoes. The “Salt Worm” vaguely resembles the tubeworms that live near underwater heat vents. Designed like this, the inorganisms, despite their alienness, will have something familiar to them. This makes it easier to provoke impressions and mental images about them. Still, they are not animals, so the “wormlike” creature that leaves behind a stone tube or the magnetic “crane” made out of junk metal are human impressions of what they see. Inorganisms have no understandable ecological niches, purpose, or methods of communication.

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Inorganisms

The interaction of inorganisms and stalkers is still rather complex. The GM should plan encounters with inorganisms beforehand as part of a scene and consider how (and if) the inorganism would react to the stalkers’ presence and possible provocations. The idea is not to kill everyone, so he should also think up different ways to resolve the encounter. These will rarely go as planned but if work has been put into them beforehand, improvisation will come easier. Encountering an inorganism may well be the highlight of the expedition but they are not the boss monsters for the adventure. Stalkers usually should not even try to destroy them, but to avoid and bypass them, like any creature of the Zone. It is not possible to make an even partially complete list of all possible inorganisms, or even the most common types (Replicas are probably the most common type of inorganism encountered by people) but in the following pages there are examples of encounters between stalkers and inorganisms. They do not have a Toughness value and surviving them is a matter of decisions and challenges rather than fighting. If an inorganism touches or otherwise affects a stalker, the results are usually horrible. Replicas are an exception but even they are tremendously strong if provoked to use force. Usually physical contact will cause the same sort of injuries as a similar anomaly, though perhaps milder. The following descriptions have sought to describe these as well. Burning a Fitness point will spare the stalker of the worst of it but touching a “salt worm” can still take away a few fingers or fingertips, even if the petrification of the stalker’s entire body is avoided.

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“Replicas”

The old woman looks like she’s playing the accordion but the bellows merely wheeze; her fingers are not pressing the keys. Her expression is peaceful, perhaps a bit sad, and her eyes are bright, though the glazed look makes them seem blurry. Her skin is dry and wrinkled as an old woman’s, though otherwise she might be middle-aged. She can sit on the stairs and play for days on end, rain or shine, but is somehow never there when the Institute comes to pick her up. It is said that her name is Denise Roch and that she died long before the Visitation. Some of the old people still remember her and the stairs led to a café where she used to work. Now the door no longer opens and she hasn’t tried any others. Someone once shot her in the face with a shotgun but no trace of it remains except for the shreds of her shawl. The crystalline machines that make up her body have repaired everything else.

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Suddenly, she ceases her playing and looks at you with dead eyes. The hands start pumping again and the silent playing continues but she begins to howl words that are strange to you. A couple of running steps take you behind the corner and the howling ends abruptly. Then somewhere in the distance, another Replica howls in reply. The Carver is here. His trousers are the wrong way around and his shirt is buttoned up haphazardly. The clumsy motions and dark, dry face make him appear like an old man, but he is a youngster... or the image of one, at least. There is much strength in his thin hands. The rebar throws sparks as he carves his pictures on the walls: triangles, spirals, curves and lines. He always has a companion. A small child, wrapped so thoroughly in clothes that not even the eyes are visible. The child usually stands near the Carver, but can run like the wind if need be. Nobody knows who he or she is. Or what. The Carver has never attacked anyone but after seeing how lightly he uses the rebar, nobody wants to take the risk. People have been injured or even killed when a Replica made a sudden movement or they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“Iron Bastard”

You walk along the edge of the dike, careful not to step too close to the rim, when a loud crash from the other side makes you freeze. There is movement in the junkyard: a pile of metal trash, car parts and rusty radiators has risen higher than the others. With a terrible din, it continues rising, supported by three ridiculously thin scrap iron legs. They shake and wobble, as if the weight of the body threatened to overcome them. Czar commands you down to the ground. The inorganism screams like a siren into the falling twilight and waits, immobile, until it hears a response from somewhere far away. Wobbling, it heads towards the sound, crossing the dike with a single step. You think it has already passed, when suddenly Czar begins to slide along the ground towards it. His beloved rifle is straining at its strap as if trying to fly away. You feel a tug yourself but stay still while your belt buckle and other small pieces of metal attempt to break free and fly away into the moving pile of junk. Something black shoots through the air and hits the creature’s leg, striking sparks. Spark’s submachine gun. He lets it go to get a hold of Czar and cuts the rifle strap with a flick of his ceramic knife. “No!” Czar shouts, in vain. The rifle flies through the air and gets stuck on the creature’s lower body. Spark’s knife follows it, disappearing into the mound of iron. It keeps going, and Czar stumbles on his feet, seething. “It did it that on purpose! The bastard did it on purpose!”

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Since then, the creature has been known as the Iron Bastard. If it comes close enough, it is said to suck the iron right out of your blood. Talking about it can also cause bleeding of the nose, at least if Czar is present.

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“Rimelights”

Temperature suddenly plummets and your breath steams in the fading light of the campfire. A mist rises as if by magic and frost covers the windowpanes. The whole landscape is crackling quietly. You wake up the others and as they shake frost off their clothes Butterfly notices blue lights dancing in the distance. At Czar’s command, you flee the campsite at once, leaving your gear behind. Foggy spheres of light whirl around one another. They have no tails, but they are so bright they leave trails on your retinas. Now and then, one of the lights strays farther away from the others, flying around, as if scouting its environment and then returns to the swarm. It has touched nothing, not the stained walls or the black tree trunks. There is no more crackling and the world has fallen silent. The low flames of the campfire draw back, as if hiding amongst the embers. One sphere of light, then another, and slowly the entire swarm flies towards the fire, whirling around above it. For a while, blue light seems to battle with the red glow of the embers but the fire dies down, its glow extinguished. Some lights buzz off and shoot away from the swarm like fireflies, dancing in the residual warmth of your sleeping bags. A plastic cola bottle turns from black to brown, bulging as its contents freeze. “Fuck,” Spark mutters. One of the lights is resting on the lid of the box amidst his gear. There is a short whimper from the air holes of the “weightlifter”. Then all is silent once more. The light returns to the swarm, which slowly starts to float away. You stay in your hideaway long after they are gone, emerging only when you can taste moisture in the air and the first glow of morning makes dew drops glisten on the trees. Spark opens his box. The rat is dead, frozen solid from its whiskers to the tip of its tail. No Weight will be brought back from this expedition.

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“Dark Snakes”

The factory hall is a patchwork of light and shadow. The sun shines through the holes in the roof but can do little to illuminate canyons between the tall machines. The air smells of mildew and chemicals leaking from the rusty gadgets. Spark is crouching amongst them, using pliers to twist off crystals that grow straight out of the metal. You are keeping guard. You think you spot something from the corner of your eye but see nothing when you look there. Wary, you flick on your torch. The floor is alive. Long, dark ribbons of darkness are writhing across the cement floor. Pitch-black darkness. They are two-dimensional, like they were painted on the floor but move by twisting their bodies like fish. Or slithering like snakes. They have you surrounded. Hundreds of shadowy snakes crawl across the floor or the sides of the machines. They avoid the sunlit patches and start from your light as if from a flame but still draw closer and closer. It is as if the ring is extending black tentacles towards you. Beyond them lies the doorway, an inviting square of sunlight. You grab Spark by the shoulder and point at the snakes. He takes a moment, then goes pale. “Dark snakes!” he screams. “We’re dead!” “Let’s jump over them” You take a few running steps, but he pulls you back. “No! They’ll slash you to ribbons!” You poke them with your torchlight but it is not enough. They stop and dodge but get closer all the while.

“Living Pool”

It is like a pool full of jelly, swirling in place, mixed by unknown forces. Blobs of clear and dark slime intermix and slide past one another in the depths. You dislike the bubbles rising to the surface: too regular, too complex. The ripples around them remind you of the tentacles on a sea anemone. Now and then, a larger wave cuts across the surface, crawling across the pool from one shore to the other like a giant serpent. Your campsite is a stone’s throw from the beach and waves rise from the pool at you, only to fall back, exhausted by their own weight. Your turn at the watch comes soon after midnight. The bright moonlight makes it easier than usual. You should keep an eye on everything but the pool draws your attention. There’s movement down at the beach, no normal swirling but as if some creature were trying to crawl to shore. You light your torch and point it at the waterline. The light makes the human figure gleam. It is formed of slime and is as clear as glass. Its outline is rough and featureless, and slime drips off it, flowing back into the pool. It takes a step towards you but cannot raise its foot out of the pool, falling back into the slime, breaking apart with a splash. Farther back, another figure is already raising its hand and head above the surface. You wake up Czar, who grunts that it’s always doing that before falling back asleep. Perhaps it is normal, but you watch over the pool like a hawk for the rest of your shift. Maybe it is also watching you.

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Finally you pull a bottle of wound disinfectant from your back, uncork it, and throw it at the ring of shadows. The snakes care little about the puddle, but when you follow it up with a match, the puddle bursts into bright flames. The snakes caught in it vanish. The rest start back. “Run!” you shout, and jump through the flames and out of the ring of serpents. Neither of you stops until the sun is in your eyes.

“Burning Man”

You find the corpse marked on your map: a charred skeleton, so badly burned that some bones have splintered into fragile pieces. There is a hole the shape of a man’s hand on the side of the skull, its fingers clearly visible. Nothing remains of the clothes and even the belt buckle is half melted. You find two footprints next to him where the sand has melted into glass. The heat must have been terrible. You have only heard stories about the Burning Man. Perhaps seen a heavily edited photograph taken with a zoom lens from the border. An inorganism that has taken human form, maybe? Or some terrible mutation that breaks all laws of matter and energy? In the barroom tales of the stalkers it has become the dragon, jealously guarding its treasure hoard. Now you are in its cave. Czar orders everyone to move but nobody needs be told to keep their eyes open. Even so, everything happens so quickly, even too quickly. The air in the middle of the tennis court explodes into flames, a fiery vortex that swirls in place. In the middle is a human form, bright as the sun, a rag doll of lightning and radiance. The burning air around it shimmers and distorts like a cape flowing in the wind. Czar takes off at a run, shouting for you to follow. Your fatigues are smoking and the protruding fibres blacken and curl. Your face feels hot, as if sunburned. You run after him. The heat behind you is like a furnace and it’s following you. Its steps are calm but do not reflect its actual, fearsome speed. Flames run before it, licking the steaming asphalt. The storm drains are clogged and a stinking, brown pool has formed into the crossroads. Czar throws himself into it and the rest of you follow suit. The surface begins to steam, but the Burning Man will not step into the water. It stops at the very edge and vanishes. Only the steaming water and the heat haze above the hot asphalt remain.

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“Shades”

Butterfly sees the cat first. It’s sitting on a rock, as cats often do. It takes you a moment to realize what is strange about it, beyond the fact animals are rarely seen in anomalous areas. Then you realize that you are not seeing a cat but the silhouette of a cat. A cat-shaped hole into darkness. You circle the rock, and it is the exact same shape from all directions. It stands up, stretches, jumps off the rock and runs into the ruins. Later in the day, you all see a sea gull that is a similar hole cut into the air. It flies backwards, its wings beating like in a movie in reverse. Spark has heard rumours of shadow people, ghosts of the Zone created by the Visitation, whose touch is just as dangerous as everything else in here. Few have seen one and lived to tell the tale. Nobody knows what their touch actually does. It is said that beyond the hole, it is cold and empty, like sticking your hand into outer space. Some claim the victim is sucked through the hole, others that they turn into shadows themselves. Either way, neither the cat nor the sea gull tried to pick a fight.

“Sootgrass”

A non-existent wind seems to blow over the field of tall, steel-grey grass. Instead of rustling, the sound is like the tinkling of icicles. In the middle of the field is a junk car, eaten away into nothing but the framework and the walls of the houses next to the grass seem to be corroded, as if the soft parts of the concrete had been eroded into brown soot. Spark accidentally brushes against a stalk of grass. The leather glove crumbles, smoking and he himself is squirming on the ground, holding his hand at the wrist, not daring to touch the wound. In his left forefinger is a brown and irregular blot of soot that is eating its way deeper into his flesh. You step on his wrist and hack the finger off with your knife.

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There is a crackling sound from around the corner and it’s coming closer. You press against the wall but there is nowhere to hide and glancing hopefully back where you came from shows the air shimmering with alien energy. The rusty dumpster has a blue halo and old beer cans are swirling around like leaves in a whirlwind. There is no going back that way. The sound gets louder and you could swear there is also a light shining around the corner. A boiling, bubbling sound almost drowned out by dry crackling. You hold your breath but it takes too long and are just about to exhale when it happens. A lump of glowing-white, boiling mass appears. Translucent spikes extrude from the light, reaching for something in the air and drawing back. The lump is not large, just slightly bigger than a man’s head. It does not care about you but you guess that touching even one of those spikes would be lethal. For a moment, you think it is floating, but no. It is held up by a stony white stalk that grows in length as the lump moves forward. It lazily bumps from one wall to another, the stalk supporting itself on them, sticking to porous surfaces like a plaster cast. It continues down the street, leaving behind a road blocked by a twisting stony stalk. Czar knocks the stalk first with his knife and then with his hand. All’s well, and the street is not so jammed that you couldn’t squeeze past. After a while a large chunk of stalk falls off with a crash, breaking into white dust. You try not to breathe any but can still feel the taste of salt in your mouth. The rest of the stalk soon follows, crashing and tumbling. Apart from the salty dust blown about by the wind, all is soon as it was before. Butterfly has heard of this being. Over at Bar Bonnevier, someone called it the Salt Worm. The stalk is harmless but touching the spikes makes the salts in your flesh crystallize instantly.

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“Salt Worm”

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Oases

Occasionally, there are areas in the Zone that are not thoroughly poisoned by quasichemicals or broken and charred by the anomalies. Stalkers call them Oases. In the American Zone, they are mostly in underground caves full of strange and unknown life, safe from the anomalous storms sweeping the mountainsides. In Zone Canada, the oases are small, few, and far between. The inner parts of Zone France are like an irregular web, with oases of plant life and mutated animals in the holes. Zone Russia is one huge oasis and its green hell hides also the anomalies and quasichemicals. In Zone China, they are unknown and in Zone Japan they appear and vanish just as inexplicably as any other part of the Zone. In Zone France, it’s nearly a day’s travel from the border to the outer Oases. In the labyrinth of the anomalous area this translates to 10-15 kilometres but it is still far beyond the reach of Institute drones. The general look of the Oases is described in the Player’s Book. The GM should remember the dirty, scraggly impression and the diseases and twisted features of both plants and animals. There is more dead biomass than there is living and different kinds of saprobes, both familiar and unknown, are a common sight. Many players have negative associations about fungi. By describing the slow but visible growth of mycelia or how you have to tear away the roots that have grown onto your backpack in the morning fit the atmosphere well.

There is nothing supernatural about the birth of most Oases. An abandoned and unmaintained area with earth, water and sunlight will sooner or later be covered with plants. The slopes of the Pyrenees are rainy and the oases are overgrown thickets, except where a dynamic anomaly or a fire lit by a lightning strike has left a clearing. In the built-up areas, plant life is scarcer and the grassy streets are easier to walk. The description of the borderlands nature can be used as a model. Sometimes you run into Oases where the flora has changed entirely and the scenery is like from another planet. These are invariably dangerous, almost like living anomalies. Pollen may be a lethal poison or contagious to everything living. Plants may have psychic effects and animals (or humans) will stay at their side and drool until they die and rot. A pretty glow at night could be a biological radiation source, or maybe the plants grow their roots into everything living that happens to stop too close. There will still be traces of the last curious person on its trunk. Dangerous vegetation can be handled like anomalies. One way to do it is to give the players hints that there is danger but keep the details hidden. Perhaps he even sees the plant or parts of it but he cannot tell how far the danger can reach or how it even works. Another way is to place the danger into such a thicket or other place of poor visibility so that the stalker will set it off but may still save himself (usually by a challenge of some sort). The plants and fungi in the Zone can react strangely to touch, certain times of day, heat sources, or being cut, but actual carnivorous plants are rare. If a plant is truly and actively deadly, it should also be visible in the environment or be festooned with parts of its earlier victims or animals that strayed too close. If its effects are particularly exotic, its shape will also be such that the line between a plant and an inorganism will blur (e.g. sootgrass). Signs of danger may include:

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Dangerous Vegetation

Unusual colour Bioluminescence Parts that move by themselves Noticeable barbs, spines or secretions Strong smells Visible gassy secretions

Unlike with anomalies, being exposed to dangerous lifeforms may have a very slow effect. The stalkers’ exposure can be a part of the flow of the adventure and remain unnoticed until the expedition is over. Finding a cure before the mass of roots spreading from the infection reaches their brains could be the next adventure. The situation is never entirely hopeless: the plants of the Oases are living beings, not inorganisms and for the most part, they obey the same rules as everything else living. It may be possible to treat infections from the Zone with antibiotics and other medicines. If they do not help, the solutions can be often also found in the Zone. Other plants that live near the dangerous plants must have defence mechanisms against the danger. A root growing in your flesh may perhaps be withered with counteragents made from another plant living in the same area or perhaps even by implanting a part of such a plant into the contaminated tissue. All of this is part of a discipline known as xenomedicine, whose researchers often approach stalkers to buy samples from the Oases. The Institute also does some research but by far the best xenomedical research is conducted illegally by large international pharmaceuticals, or by certain lone geniuses. The latter may be the last hope of a lethally infected stalker.

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Typical plant hazards: Caustic: The plant secretes powerful acidic or alkaline substances, such as fluids that cover the leaves or drip from them, foggy clouds, or flakes formed of small crystals. This may even be the origin of the Burning Fluff. Organic materials and oxides are usually corroded easily, metals badly and glass or ceramics not at all. Paralyzing: The plant stuns or paralyzes its victims with poisons, slimy vines, electric shocks or ultrasound. This usually occurs in conjunction with another dangerous attribute, or where there are predators in the area that live in a symbiotic relationship with the plant. Poisonous: The plant uses gases, poisonous spines, secretions covering its leaves or airborne dust. A small dose will cause nausea and symptoms of illness. A significant exposure may kill. Possession: The plant strengthens certain, usually negative, emotions and feelings to the point of madness or psychotic behaviour. Radioactive: The plant is radioactive. It is usually weakly luminescent and effects on surrounding vegetation may be dramatic. A Geiger counter will reveal the radiation immediately. Downwind from the plant there may be a fallout zone formed by particles and pollen. Roots: The plant will put roots into any organic mass and may even break down plastic. The growth is slow enough that moving targets are safe. Rotting: The plant carries a strain of ferocious bacteria in its spines, barbs or secretions. It breaks up everything organic that it touches. Skin damage is quick and may turn to gangrene if left untreated. Shrapnel: The plant kills with shrapnel that comes from a part of the plant that breaks apart or even explodes when touched. Sometimes the leaves may also fall on a victim like shards of glass. Spores: The spores or seeds of the plant will infect the plant or growth into organic matter, such as flesh. The growth may slow down or even stop outside the Zone. Suffocating: The plant does not generate oxygen but rather absorbs it. There is an area of bad, stuffy air around the plant, with effects varying from headache and labored breathing to a death by suffocation. The effect is usually milder with wind, so these plants are often located in calm spots, such as within woodlands. The surrounding plant life is often lush but there are no flowering plants or animals.

Someone has to be the scout. Spark has his hand wrapped up, so for the time being, it’s you. Half the Oasis consists of an old field, now flooded since the ditches have grown over. You wade in muddy water up to your thighs, trying not to think of what might live in it. The reeds are tall and you push them out of the way. It is as if you had to open a new door with every step. Then your nose catches a familiar smell – the stench of rotting flesh. You see no carcasses but the telltale rainbows of grease stains floating on water. The reeds here look sickly. A grey mould hangs from the yellow-green stalks. The leaves are ragged and there are many broken stalks. Here and there you see a hint of red, as if there were blood red reeds among the others. There are more and more, until red flames lick your entire field of vision. You hate them. Rage boils from somewhere deep within and swearing, you strike here and there with your stick. Reeds fall but you cannot hit the red ones. The curses grow raw and finally turn to inarticulate growls. A red mist hangs over everything you see. Somewhere in the back of your skull a small voice is telling you to get out of here. Instead of the stalks you think of Czar’s hard face. How he orders you around. How he made you a stalker and forced you to leave your comforts behind. It is not true but you do not care. With an inhuman bellow, you charge back. The stick falls behind and thoughts fades away. You want to sink your fingers into his flesh and taste his blood on your lips. Water splashes and reeds are trampled in your mad run. When finally you make it to the shore you leap from the water like a tiger... and fall down, panting and out of breath, right at Czar’s feet. Your lungs ache, you are soaked with sweat and lactic acid burns your legs. The rage vanishes as quickly as it had come and you feel like a marionette whose strings are cut.

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“Blood Reed”

“Blood reed,” you cough out. “Good thing we sent a scout,” Czar grunts. He is impressed. Most people who stumble into Blood Reed never come back. They rage and swing in the reeds until they are exhausted and fall in the water to drown. Nutrients from their rotting corpses feed the reeds. If you had gone in there as a group, you would have killed each other.

“Roentgen’s Lily”

You see it first. There is something strange about the tree trunks. Open, bleeding wounds. Some of them are narrow, or more like flat. Leaves are ragged and grown strangely and all the rocks are dead and bare on one side. You pull out your Geiger counter and it goes wild. Your hand goes up and nobody takes another step. In the twilight wood ahead are dead trees, their trunks silvery grey. And a weak, white glow that casts greenish shadows. In the middle of them is something strange. It resembles a palm tree but is pale as death, like a fresh sprout. It is the source of the ghostly luminescence. At the root, its trunk is as wide as your thigh and rises to three or four metres before branching out. The leaves are stiff and from afar it looks more like a giant flower than a tree. The bodies of the eyeless rats at its foot have mummified. You do not dare to go closer. This place is not on your map. The Roentgen’s Lily must have grown after it was drawn. On the next expedition it may be gone again and the woodland repairs itself as if it had never existed. Nobody has seen the sapling of a Roentgen’s Lily. Such a thing would be valuable find.

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“Plague Lichen”

Czar’s warning comes too late. The sleeve of your coat sweeps the yellow fuzz covering the rock. The fuzz crumbles into dust but you leap away. Danger avoided, or so you think. Fifteen minutes later you are coughing and vomiting up yellow fluid. The inside of your mouth feels rough and dry. Your lips bleed. You are thirsty, but Czar is making you drink vodka, not water. It might as well be molten metal. “Professor!” someone is shouting. It’s Butterfly. “Stay awake! Breathe! The border is not far!” They do not even know if crossing the border will work on this infection but there is hope. When you finally make it over, you get a coughing fit so bad you lose consciousness. The shouts of others and daylight among the branches vanish into a tidal wave of darkness. Sound returns before sight. The hum of an AC unit. The steady beep of an electrical device. The rhythmic puffs of an iron lung. You know you are in a hospital even before you open your eyes. Your lips are dry an your whole body is numb from the lack of oxygen. Small room, fluorescent lamps, blinds in the windows. You’re at the factory clinic, officially closed to outsiders. The doors still open for stalkers if the price is right.

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There is no life in the anomalous areas and a stalker may make tens of expeditions into the Zone without seeing any trace of animals. If he heads to the oases instead, he may still not see any animals but they will have surely seen him. The Oases are sanctuaries for animals that survive in the Zones but over the years the Zone has warped their minds and bodies. The fauna and general ecology of the Zones is poorly understood. It is unknown if they were all just trapped when the Visitation occurred or if they have been breeding, in which case they would be now in their umpteenth generation, each one more weirdly mutated than the last. To the GM, mutants are like salt: in small amounts, they will enhance the atmosphere and feeling of the game. But overused, they ruin the flavor. All mutants are based on ordinary animals that are trapped in the Zone. The original species can still be recognized but their changes and mutations are often terrifying to humans. Below are some descriptive devices for the GM to make his mutants even weirder and more horrifying: Starved: Nothing but skin and bones but moving with the grace of a tiger. Drools as it looks at the stalkers. It seems unpredictable, perhaps mad enough to not care about being overpowered and intent on a kill. Filthy: A shaggy or greasy coat of fur, the stinking remnants of previous meals in and around its maw, or clumps of mud and excrement hanging on its rear end make humans instinctively keep their distance. You don’t really want even a scratch from something like that. Stench: the stuffy smell of a dirty animal and the whiff of excrement or rotten flesh, both in the mutant and its nest, have pretty much the same associations as visible filthiness. They also go together well.

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Mutants

Injuries are also mentally unsettling. The mutant may be lame or half blind. Some of its limbs may be mere stumps. Wide gashes in its side, with white bone showing underneath, may make them look more dead than alive. Diseases and infections: Be it the bloody foam of rabies or mushrooms growing from pus-filled wounds, both the stalkers and the players are on their toes and looking slightly green in the face. Mutants may get the same infections as stalkers but won’t necessarily die of them. Skinned: A flayed animal makes pretty much everybody shiver, especially if it is still alive and moving. It could also just be hairless, with its muscles, bones, tendons and veins showing rather too well under its skin, or its skin might be a translucent layer of slime to prevent it from drying out. Eyes: Eyes have an exaggerated importance for humans. Murkiness, malformations or missing pupils can turn even ordinary household pets into frightening freaks. Thus when starved, raggedy, eyeless rabbits gnaw upon the yellow grass of the oases they don’t look the least bit cute. Disfigured: Disfigurements arouse fear and disgust, a fact the Changed have to face every day. Bulges in their heads may have dislocated their jaws, or there could be extra limbs or heads that all work equally well. Atrophy: Atrophy is a type of disfigurement. There may be vestigial limbs, or the features of another face in its neck. A rat with useless hind legs crawls speedily forward on two oversized forelegs. Exaggerations: Exaggerated features are stronger and more versatile than usual. Bulging, sack-like eyes see even in darkness. The skin of a Pox Bear may look bad but the mushy substance coating it heals all but lethal wounds almost instantly.

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The Facts of Life

Mutants are living beings and have a set of basic needs that comes with it. There may be different ways to satisfy them in the Zone but the needs themselves do not change. The scientific approach is one of Stalker’s cornerstones. The occurrence and behaviour of mutants must be believable, even when it is unpredictable. When using mutants, the GM should think of some real species of animal and base its behavioural patterns on that. Naturally, the prevailing circumstances in the Zone and the mutants’ own special attributes and abilities may cause exceptions to this but even then you should consider how the desired ability would realistically affect the behaviour of a natural species.

The Tactics Are Everything

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Everything living has the will to live that directs all their activities. Even if a great beast could defeat its victim in honest combat, it prefers to strike by surprise: the victim will fight for its very life and the beast must kill it easily enough to be in a shape to hunt another day. Unless a mutant is in great pain or insane, it will not directly charge the team. Some may follow them for a while and decide that they are too dangerous. However, food is hard to come by in the Zone, so mutants are persistent. Others will follow the team as long as they are near the oases, waiting for a wounded stalker to be left behind or get separated, or for them to leave leftovers or unguarded equipment that smells interesting to them. The more aggressive predators can try to ambush a scout moving ahead of the team or make a hit and run attack on a stalker momentarily separated from others, in the hopes that a victim dying of its wounds will be left in the Zone. For this reason, mutants can follow the team for days if someone is clearly wounded. If the mutant is large and strong enough, it can try and tear off a limb for an appetizer, or drag off its victim straight away. It will give up and escape immediately if this is not successful. Mutants, like human enemies, have a toughness value in combat. It is usually high: when a mutant gets to strike where and when it wants, it is a terrible opponent. However, if the combat is fought on the stalkers’ terms, the mutant will most likely be the underdog.

In practice, this means that a mutant that has crept up on a stalker from behind has already practically won if it can get close enough to bite. Likewise, the stalker, tired of this constant pursuer, has won when he gets the mutant in the sights of his hunting rifle. At this point, biting down or pulling the trigger is just a formality.

Signs of mutants

Sounds in the night, tracks on the ground, movements glimpsed at the corner of your eye, gnawed carcasses. The feeling that something is following you. If the team backtracks, the previous campsite has been turned over and there are so many tracks going over your own that even a single mutant will appear like a pack. Unguarded backpacks will be torn open, food caches dug up and equipment chewed unusable. Garbage, leftover food and the bandages of the wounded lure them in. If anyone in the team is bleeding or even just menstruating, predators may follow the team for days. If the target is separated from the others, they are in mortal danger. Mutants rarely have any experience with firearms but they still know to wait for the line of sight between the target and the team to be broken.

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A timid herbivore, such as a rabbit, is small, quick, and alert. In the Zone, even herbivores often double as scavengers. They do not wander far from their nests and flee at the first snap of a twig. When moving in packs, they are somewhat braver but the packs are small. There is not enough food in the Zone for true packs to exist. Bugs, like ants or locusts, move and attack in swarms. The individual is insignificant but the swarm fears nothing and can only be hurt by fire or areaeffect weapons. Earthbound bugs usually stay in a single oasis but flying swarms can also be encountered as they are moving from one oasis to another. They do not pursue targets deep into the anomalous areas. Small predators, like rats or mustelids, are quick, dextrous and move in small packs. They will not directly attack a human but will happily tear at their equipment and may bite off a finger from a sleeping stalker and scamper off with its prize. Unlike in horror films made about the Zone, their numbers are never great enough that they could truly bring down large prey. A loner is a single, slightly larger creature, such as a fox or a badger. It will not hunt man-sized prey even when it is weakened but will go through their garbage and carrion, tearing cloth and tin can alike with its powerful teeth. It usually has a nest and will not leave the oasis. Pack predators, such as wolves, wild dogs or oversized rats, may be a threat to humans. Alone, they are timid eaters of carrion and garbage, though they may attack lone stalkers, especially if the target appears wounded. Lone predators also rarely leave the oases. Packs, on the other hand, can move between oases and can follow the team for a very long time. They will most assuredly attack anyone left alone and may try to chase the team so that the wounded are left behind. They may also make surprise attacks during the night. If they are not counter-attacked, they will slowly grow bolder.

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Ecological Niches:

Large predators, like bears and large boars, hunt alone and with skill. They are careful, cunning and efficient, stalking the group unseen and striking from ambush. Large predators are excellent hunters or else they would have starved long ago. The surviving individuals often have mutations and special abilities that fit their situation. Small fliers may be swarms of wasps or a dozen little mutant birds. On their own, they are weak but fast and nimble. In a swarm, they only fear fire. A swarm on its own is unlikely to be able to kill, unless they can use poison, acid, or perhaps electric shocks. A raptor is the size of a large bird. Its tactic is to swoop down on its prey, striking either the spine or a major blood vessel and thus finish it off immediately. A surprise attack can kill or badly wound a human. Raptors are rare, however, as they are competing with large predators and flying with that kind of a mass is less efficient than hunting on the ground.

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Food Chain

There is so little food in the Zone that practically everything living is in the process of dying. Even the smallest predator will not easily give up its prey, be it a living catch or something stolen from a backpack. It may never have another opportunity and that makes it persistent and dogged like a cornered rat. The food chains of the Oases are poorly understood and may change drastically from one Oasis to another but if the stalkers investigate, there is always a chain. There must be a source of new food for the herbivores and omnivores, which in turn will be eaten by the predators, who usually also double as scavengers. Upon dying, usually of an injury suffered while hunting or competing with their pack mates, even a powerful beast will be food for the full scavengers. The rest of its remains and what excrement it produced during its lifetime feeds either directly or through the intervention of saprobes the surface layer that then produces new food for herbivores.

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Zone phenomena can replace parts of the food chain. Maybe the animals drink from a pool that gives them the same nutrients as plants or small herbivores would. Perhaps the Oasis is populated by deadly plants that fill the niche of large predators. In addition, you would get lots of small bugs that would be both herbivores (luring in small insectivores into the reach of the plants) and scavengers that clean up the plants’ leftovers. Beasts may gather to wait around a Monument that will keep them alive and functional, though hungry, until the pack picks up the scent of something better. Perhaps a mutated plant grows its roots into them, keeping them alive until it is time to hunt. Then they drag their prey over to the plant and nutrients released by decay supply the plant. By planning a mutant’s ecological niche ahead and basing it on an actual animal, the GM can easily improvise the creature’s actions in any given situation but it pays to keep things simple. The players are generally not interested in how the food chain of an Oasis functions as a whole and why would they? The stalkers are just visiting. It is enough for them that the mutants are believable for the moment. The only signs they may see of them are a few tracks and a backpack torn open for its pack of jerky. If the players do get interested, the GM can let his imagination run wild and suddenly even hitherto familiar mutant species will show new and surprising attributes.

For instance, the swarm of little beasts that looked like a pack of rabid, flayed rats will return to its nesting holes in the cellar of an abandoned house when the sun comes up. If the stalkers follow, they will not find sleeping rats but a pulsating growth of flesh and organs. If they stay and watch, at nightfall the growth will erupt with embryonic sacs that soon develop into small creatures, covered in blood and slime. The newborn rats will bite off their own umbilical cords and find food right in their nest this night.

Monsters

Occasionally, the changes wrought by the Zone create something so deadly that the Institute researchers refuse to believe the rumours that circulate among the stalkers. An encounter with a creature like this may be the end of the team, or only a few, thoroughly shocked survivors will ever make it to the border. These creatures are rare and apparently unique. Though they are organic, they are extremely difficult to kill or even harm seriously. It is not just a question of size and physical strength but of different kinds of physical and metaphysical mutations and bodily functions that are resistant to injury. The GM should never sic a creature like this on the stalkers at random. Either the team has made a conscious decision to intrude on an Oasis known to be dangerous, or they see signs of danger well beforehand.

For instance, the Gorgon is no larger than a man – indeed, it is a type of Changed – but its every extremity would have to be separately destroyed to kill it. This makes it practically impervious to firearms, even though it is a living being and not an inorganism. A largish flamethrower might do the trick.

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“Evil mutants” do not suit the style of Stalker. Even the monsters are pseudoanimals that behave according to their own instincts and the demands of their circumstances. If they have no need to fight the stalkers, they will avoid it to the last. If the stalkers are wise, they will also avoid conflict to the best of their ability. Conflicts still happen, though, and in a scene as small as the stalkers’, a couple of deaths a year is enough to maintain a healthy fear and respect for the mutants.

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For mutants, you can use monsters from other roleplaying games as long as you keep the scientific approach clear in your mind and make them behave credibly. In theory, they might also have the supernatural abilities of the monsters they are modelled after through physical and metaphysical mutations. You should still use them sparingly and if possible, come up with a natural-sounding explanations or at least descriptions of how they work. Natural behaviour also defines what kind of tracks and clues the creature will leave in its habitat. Small details will feel realistic to the players.

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“Moon Hares” (toughness 10)

The lights are on the ground, amidst mould-stained undergrowth. It is a pale, blue-tinted glow that you probably would not even have noticed had you not sat in the darkness for hours on end already. Slowly, silently, melting into the shadow of a tree, you rise up. The lights move and twitch. About ten of them, small and tight groupings. Two, three, four lights side by side. Now and then one moves to the others but none are ever alone. Binoculars reveal them to be hares. The white fur glows blue and the undergrowth scatters their light like fog. Some of them eat, gnawing on living and dead grass. Others are immobile, staying put. One in each group. Then the guard changes and you envy the shortness of their shifts. There is something strange in the watchers and you sharpen your focus to find out what.

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The hares have no eyes. Not even eye holes and the fur on the sides of their heads is smooth. Instead, fleshy folds open and close in the sides of the guards. When they close, they seem to meld seamlessly with the fur, reminding you of the gills on sharks but you doubt they are for breathing. The ears seem atrophied. Perhaps these orifices are their new ears? You take a careful step forward, out of the tree’s shadow. The hares all start. One of the guards opens its mouth, much wider than you would think possible and all hell breaks loose. The scream not only grates your ears, it is a tearing migraine, a buzzsaw that sinks into your brain. Tears in your eyes, you stumble back. The dark forest disappears into flashes of red and blue. Everyone is squirming and screaming in their sleeping bags. You stumble over someone, maybe Spark. Binoculars shatters when they hit a rock. Then it is all over. Reds and blues are gone, the forest is back and the hares have vanished. The whole team feels like they have a hangover and someone is throwing up in the darkness. The guard is changed immediately and you take a couple of pills to stop the invisible hammer beating your forehead. Spark refuses to believe that the sound came from hares. Czar rubs his stinging eyes and alleviates his headache with a shot of vodka. You agree that the next time someone sees a hare, everyone keeps down and quiet. There was clearly more than just sound in that screech.

“Iron Beetles” (toughness 20)

They swarm out of the barn door like a glimmering black carpet. Hundreds of thumb-sized beetles skitter upon small, sturdy legs at a good running pace. Spark’s machine gun sings and he lives up to his name, sending both sparks and beetles flying. Their shells are made of dark metal and angular, like carved on a milling machine. They all have different shapes. The ground beneath them is smoking. The beetles are fiery hot. Their shell can deflect a bullet, though the beetle underneath is crushed. That explains the pieces of iron you saw earlier; they are empty shells, either shed when the creature has grown or the bug has otherwise rotted away. “Here! Now!” It’s Czar, and you don’t feel like arguing. You run over the mossy tree trunks and a long leap takes you over a woodland stream. Someone screams. Lantern. The young woman tripped and is now crawling towards the stream. She is covered in blood and beetles. They are drilling into her, tearing her flesh with their thick, hooklike legs. You can clearly see how a beetle, hanging in her blonde hair, dives into a coin-sized hole in her skull. The screaming ends abruptly and she slumps to the ground without a sound. The body twitches as the beetles tunnel through it. Some of the holes are steaming.

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She awaits until the last moment, then swings it around and empties both barrels. The chirping is drowned out by the thundering shot. The bridges break, sparks and beetles flying. They pour into the water, sizzling angrily and sinking like rocks. Bubbles rising to the surface burst into wisps of steam. The remnants of the swarm on the other bank turn around, now crawling slowly and ponderously towards Lantern’s body. Very slowly. As if they were numb with cold, or crawled out too early in the spring, or are weighed down by their metal shells.

“Carrion Spiders” (toughness 15)

The hospital is at the edge of the oasis, covered with lichen and moss on one side but bare and dead on the other. Reddish-purple lights wander slowly around the parking lot. Metallic spikes and protrusions have grown out of the cars, rooting them into the asphalt. A wall of anomalies faces you at the main doors, even though they hang open. There are bones on the stairs. It is dark inside, and the light from the windows does not reach the corridor. Even after thirteen years, the air still smells of rotten flesh. The patients died in their beds, the nurses in the hallways. Their bodies are skeletons, wrapped in shreds of clothes and a grey shroud. It is like cobweb that has trapped the dust and mildew of the years. Shreds of it soon cover you as well. The shroud feels sticky and glues itself to you even worse when you try to wipe it off.

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The rest of the beetles keep coming and spread along the banks of the stream. None of them will touch the water. Instead, they crawl atop one another, and from their black mass, bridges of beetles start to grow towards the opposite shore. Butterfly is standing on the bank as the bridges reach toward her. There is a chirping sound , like crickets, so high that you feel rather than hear it. Czar tells Butterfly to keep running but she stands her ground, the sawed-off shotgun slung over her shoulder.

A thigh bone cracks under your foot like a dry twig. You pick it up and the web around it breaks with a soft crackle. The bone is light and hollow. Picked clean. You feel the inside with a finger and find it completely smooth, as if the soft tissue had dissolved and taken some of the bone with it. At the end of it, between the thicker knobs, you find a small hole, like something had struck an awl into it and sucked the bone empty with a straw. Bone marrow is a good food source for whatever creature that can get to it. The dark floors suddenly feel much darker. They are full of junk and garbage, shroudlike shreds that flutter with the air currents. When your torch moves, shadows on the wall seem to spring to life. Suddenly, Butterfly screams and falls down. Czar whirls around and strikes something in the darkness with a rifle butt. There’s a nasty crunch. You are there in an instant and see Butterfly writhing on the floor, her face twisted in pain. Next to her is the creature that Czar smashed. It is a spider or a crab, two white shells with blue-green ichor seeping from the cracks, circled by a halo of limbs of different lengths. You count at least thirteen but many are too twisted or atrophied to have been functional. The flat body is maybe the size of a human head but with the feet extended its diameter must be over a metre. Protrusions around its mouth form a sharp beak that now drips blood. It bit, or perhaps stung, Butterfly in the calf, just above her combat boot. You try removing the yellowish secretion from the wound but the foot swells before your eyes. Her boot has to be cut off with a knife and you don’t like the purplish, bruiselike coloration of the leg. The flesh seems too soft, like a sponge. The subcutaneous layer has begun to dissolve. If the sting pierced all the way to the muscle, she might lose her leg.

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“Swamp Rats” (toughness 15)

There are many ways to die in the Zone. This is one: your leg wrapped in bloodstained bandages, your back against the wall and a pack of angry little beasts around you, just waiting for their chance. The Oasis seemed quiet in the sunlight, so you were left here to wait in the ruins of the abandoned house. The others should be back before the evening and they probably will, if they can. The evening is still hours away. The beasts had been hiding from the large and noisy team. Only They crawl out of the muddy ditch next to the house hours after the others left. Their teeth and handlike forelegs reminded you of rats but these scabby, misbegotten abominations, all covered in pustules and abscesses, could have been born from anything. Big ones must have eaten the small until only these six were left, each of them too large that it could kill another without a risk of serious injury.

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They are the size of a small dog, dextrous as cats and filthy as sewer rats. If they could get behind you, you’d be dead already. Now they just creep through the undergrowth around you, charging out when they think you’re not looking and turning back when you do something. They sense your helplessness and it makes them braver. Suddenly, one leaps at you from the side, clinging to the wall behind you with its claws. You swing your pistol around and fire, but it is already gone. The bullet cracks the plaster of the wall. A tearing pain tells you it was a distraction. Another one is on your leg, tearing at the bandages, skin, flesh and tendons as with pincers. Your sight blurs but you still shoot, certain you are going to hit your own foot. The creature spins around, screeching, and crawls away. It drags its rear end. Your bullet smashed its hip. Back in the undergrowth, its pack mates attack it, dragging it into the ferns. You see nothing but waving leaves of its death struggle but it screams for a long time. A really long time.

“Mutts” (toughness 20)

You got separated from the team and now a cold mist covers everything. Fallen leaves are edged in white. The windows of an abandoned car are covered in frost. You have always tried to move quietly in the Zone and now the thought of shouting feels difficult. There is a shadow in the mist. A pair of eyes flashes in the dark, so quickly you’re not sure if you really saw it. Without even noticing, you have unsheathed your knife. “Czar..?” you begin but a heavy weight strikes you in the back, trying to drag you down. You cut the pack straps and the attacker falls with it, growling angrily. As it drags off your backpack you see something move off to the side and turn just in time to see a shaggy, doglike creature jump at you. You beat it aside with your arms but it gets hold of your sleeve. When you realize you are falling down, you throw yourself on it. It is pinned on its side and you sink your knife again and again into its neck and throat. The blood feels hot on your cold-numbed face. Then a heavy weight hits your back and fangs tear at your shoulder. There are more gleaming eyes in the darkness. A shot rings out. The beast on your back whines and keels over. The eyes vanish. The others have found you and not a moment too soon! Also the wind has changed and the mist is turning into a warm, moist fog. The frosty layer on the trees is dripping water. Until now, you have been the team’s medic but this time it is Butterfly’s turn to patch up your shoulder.

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Spark and Czar turn the carcasses over. It is hard to believe they were alive a moment ago. One of them is clearly a dog but the other has a head like a rabbit with a wide maw. Both look like as if they had been dead for a week. The eyes are murky and running, lips cracked and curled, their coats shagged. There are infected bruises where you can see bone or push your finger through into their internal organs. Their mutation was to live, despite disease, hunger, or decay. Czar guesses they followed you from the first Oasis and attacked the one they thought to be the easiest prey. Damn insulting!

The setting sun flashes out beneath the clouds, colouring their undersides in vivid reds and purples. The only thing left of the factory is a brick chimney. Some unknown force has crushed the buildings into piles of trash. Here and there, a lone wall or a piece of rusty piping rises from the devastation. For an Oasis, this place looks remarkably dead, just a few brown shrubs shivering in the wind. The wind also tugs at your map, a pre-Visitation camper’s map that has been folded in imaginative ways over the years. “This is it,” you say. “Harmonica left Weasel somewhere around here.” “Hmm... not a bad spot,” Butterfly comments. “Cover from the wind, not too busy...” “What about those?” Spark cuts you off, pointing forward. Large, dark birds glide around in the sky, clearly circling a spot. Now and then, one of them lands between the hillocks and another takes flight on the rising air currents. “Shit”, Czar mutters. They found Weasel before you did and are now sitting on the corpse, stabbing at it with their strong beaks. Close up, they look like ravens the size of great owls with their exaggerated beaks. The neck is longer and the head resembles more a bare bird skull than any living thing. The eyes are set deep under a strong brow and look hollow, though they can clearly see with them. As you approach, they spread their wings to look bigger and hiss at you. The ones in the air make a few threatening swoops but do not attack. Since Weasel is beyond help, Czar lights a flare and throws it next to the body. The light, sparks and red smoke drive the birds back and a few of them take to the air. Czar runs to the corpse, turns it over and grabs a sling bag from under it. With that, the birds move closer with a chorus of threatening hisses. You retreat while you still can and leave the last rites to these Stormcrows.

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“Stormcrows” (toughness 10)

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“Pox Bear” (toughness 25)

“Half an hour,” Czar says. Half an hour ago, Cadillac waved at you, smiling, when he waded to the first tussock. First time scouting. A student. Wanted to buy a luxury car. He should’ve been back already. “Maybe he got lost,” Butterfly says, quietly. None of you really believe it. The only question is whether you go look for him or not. With a group like this, you cannot do that without being seen. A silent vote takes place as you look at each other. Then Spark wades into the water, ready to shoot even a litter of ducklings at the first sign of movement. The rest of you follow in a loose formation so as not to get into each other’s way. At its deepest, the water reaches up to your chest. Tree roots cover the bottom. Spark raises his hand. Cadillac’s cap floats in the water. A stupid rapper’s hat that you were joking about before the expedition. Water around it looks smoky but you know it is blood.

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Spark picks it up and shows a tear at the top of the head, big enough for four fingers. It looks to you like the blood trail leads off to the left and search the forest with your binoculars. Movement in the haze catches your eye. Some monster straight from a horror film is tearing at a dark lump on the ground. You think you can make out a human hand poking up from it, so it has to be Cadillac. First you think it’s a bear that’s eating him but the snout is too long. Czar is aiming his rifle in the same direction and fires as soon as he has it in his sights. Something dark sprays from the creature, too thick to be blood. It rises to its hindlegs, and you shiver. It is nearly three metres tall and looks like a hairless bear with terrible claws. The mottled skin is covered in pustules and tumours. If it ever had eyes, they have vanished in the lumps and abscesses covering its head. They also pull the skin on its maw, making it look like it is grimacing. Czar’s shot should have torn a hand-sized hole into the beast. Blood and pus runs down its neck, but there are already new abscesses forming on top the wound. The pain must have impressed it, since it jumps off the tussock, diving into the water, making barely a splash for a creature of its size. You head to the body, ready to dish out more pain if it wants to fight over its catch but the waters are calm and quiet. The others are already calling it a Pox Bear, but you are not convinced. There were no bears here before the Visitation and when it rose up, it looked all too familiar.

“Gorgon” (toughness 30)

Shells on the ground. Piles of them and five bodies in Institute whites. You didn’t even know the field ops carried guns now. You never did but Spark is inspecting an assault rifle. British make. There is a thumb-sized hole in its steel body going straight through. The edges aren’t bent. More like cut. When you find a fresh body in the Zone, the killer is rarely far away. The sun is shining now but at night this junkyard would be a dark maze. The purple scales growing from the cars are razor sharp. Only a few weeds and the mould in their upholstery reminds you that this is an Oasis. Butterfly whistles. She’s found a video camera and going by the lights, there is still power in the battery. That’s odd. When you pulled the mask off one of the corpses, the body looked old, mummified. The brown, curled skin was streaked with black marks. If there is still power in the camera, it cannot have been more than three days. The recording is dated. A bit over two days, in fact. You all gather around the little screen. They came here in the twilight. Set up camp in the light of their low-energy lamps when the night fell. The cameraman was shooting the scales on the cars, when something seemed to move between the wrecks. It was like a dark mass of moistly glistening snakes, red in body, tapering into dark points.

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Suddenly, they shot at him, blood red tentacles, sharp as death. The image shakes when the cameraman falls but the finger was spasming on the button, and he kept shooting. Flashes, snippets. Short, panicky moments. Czar notices something and rewinds. You watch it frame by frame, until he pauses it. A human silhouette amidst the gunfire, the night sky and the coils of ropelike extrusions. They grow from its thin body like snaking roots and hold it up. It moves with them like a giant spider on its thin legs. There must be tens, even hundreds of the whiplike tentacles. Far longer than the humanoid figure they are holding up. The tentacles are thin, barely a thumb’s width but still strong. You press play and the images change. Black-tipped tentacles break a lamp on the campsite. Someone crawls, squirming, past the camera. Then the red strands pierce the back of his white coat and lift him off the ground and out of the picture. He soon falls back into it, limp like a rag doll, his suit deflating as if there were nothing inside it. Nobody is moving or shooting anymore. Finally, the camera twitches and the recording stops when the cameraman’s death grip finally gives out. “Out, now!” Czar says, tensely.

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Zone Tribes

Stalkers sometimes find traces of people who were trapped in the Zone during the Visitation. Piles of tin cans, messages laid out in rocks on rooftops, homemade water collectors and so on. Thoughts, diaries and suicide notes have been written on walls. Some ran out of clean food or drink, or they embarked on a long, usually hopeless trek to find the edge of the Zone. Some had devices they used to communicate with the soldiers and officials surrounding the Zone. One by one the voices went silent, until nobody was left on the radio waves. The recordings have been declared secret, although a few conversations have leaked to the media and are on the net.

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From the leaked recordings you can hear how the trapped people in the Zone start talking about strange things and in the end, go insane. Some lose the ability to speak or repeat words over and over, no longer understanding their meaning. In the end, the unknown forces that distort everything living, win out. Some mutants have clearly once been humans but no mutant scrawls strange signs on trees or builds grotesque idols out of bones. When the Changed on this side of the border, estranged from humanity, howl at night, they are sometimes answered from the other side. Nobody knows why. To the Institute, the human inhabitants of the Zone are a hypothesis. Their expeditions rarely reach even the Oases and have not seen any signs of habitation or culture in the anomalous areas. The topic is also politically sensitive, so officially, xenological research does not believe in them. For stalkers, the tribes of the Zone are quite real, even if they are more of a legend than a scientific fact. There are rudimentary campsites and strange signs, carvings or things built from pre-Visitation items in the Oases. There have been signs of rituals and cannibalism, failed attempts at procreation, and daring expeditions outside the Oases, towards the active formations deep within the Zone called Monuments. Based on these, it’s estimated that at least the Canadian, French, Russian and Japanese Zones are inhabited by small groups of no more than twenty. They have reverted back to the early stone age and have no real tools or fire. However, mutations have given them abilities that an ordinary person might find hard to even imagine and the signs and constructs tell of a culture rather more advanced than one would assume from their technology or way of life. The original survivors have grown old, perhaps even died but there is a constant influx of new members as some of the Changed escape into the Zone. Direct observations of the tribes are very rare, or maybe those who have made contact with them never return to tell about it. Life is hard in the Zone and the Tribes can only be found in the Zones with Oases. Despite this, even in Zone Russia, sightings are rare. They live and move like troops of apes, gathering edible plants and hunting small game, moving on to the next area once one has been depleted. The Zones are large but the oases are not and there cannot be very many of these groups. There is some evidence that these tribes might also have Replicas with them. This is not entirely surprising, as it has been surmised that the fully Changed and Replicas might be able to communicate on some level. If long-term exposure to the Zone causes mutations in stalkers or their offspring (Red’s daughter was fully Changed by puberty), we can only wonder if the Tribes are the eventual fate of all the Refugees and their children. Those who believe the Visitation was an attack fear that Tribes will be the fate of the entire human species.

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One of the cornerstones of Stalker is endless mystery. The Player’s Book tells practically nothing about the Tribes and many stalkers will never encounter them. However, when a Stalker campaign has gone on for a while and the group has seen all kinds of adventures, it may feel as though you’re scraping the bottom of the mystery barrel. Bringing the tribes in then will open entirely new possibilities. They should still be used sparingly but by then the players should already have had experiences with the Changed in the borderlands and the “quiet children” of the Refugee communities. These give the tribes an understandable frame of reference, making them something more than just freaks in the woods. The Changed of the borderlands are generally a good foundation for the existence of the tribes in the game. The tribes apparently have no children. Their existence is entirely dependent on the Changed escaping across the border, which many Refugee parents want (and try) to prevent, even by force. A Changed contemplating escape will first have occasional contact from beyond the border, either by howling, following some stalkers, or maybe by climbing trees tall enough for him to see the border and beyond. The actual escape is usually caused by some trauma. It may be an act of violence toward the Changed, an attempt by the community to prevent escape by imprisoning them or some other dramatic event in the area. The Changed are superbly skilled at finding ways across the border. The Changed that the stalkers have met and perhaps even known from before may be met again in the Zone, or one may have followed them, learning how to move in the Zone by following the stalkers’ example. It may also function as an unwitting guide, or may want to show a person around in the Zone, like it was showing him around its home. An item taken or received from a stalker may be encountered again as part of a construct in an Oasis. Even though the tribes usually avoid contact with people, a Changed like this might show itself to someone it was familiar with back when it was still human. It rarely shows any other signs of recognition, though.

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Using Tribes in the Game

Neutral encounters with the tribes are random sightings of hunters and gatherers. Usually the stalkers are noticed already from afar but not always. The tribes’ members are just as interested in the stalkers’ provisions, the wounded or the dead left behind as mutants are but they are far more careful and intelligent in their attempts to lay their hands on them. Even though they live like cavemen and cannot communicate with people on practically any level, their problem-solving abilities are as advanced as anyone’s. In addition, instead of tools they are very skilled at using the abilities brought on by their physical, psychic and metaphysical mutations. The reasons for hostile encounters cannot always be determined. Harming a member of the tribe, destroying a construct built in the Zone or disturbing social rituals are all sufficient causes but sometimes the reason just cannot be fathomed. They attack always by surprise, using the inhuman abilities of the Changed and the physical strength of Replicas. Those who flee will be pursued and the Changed will seek to surround them or herd them into unfamiliar or dangerous areas. It often succeeds. Tribes on warpath are only known from the descriptions of the very few survivors, or the depictions of other stalkers who later happened by. You should sooner surrender yourself to the Institute than get caught by a Zone Tribe.

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The official truth is that the Changed cannot procreate by themselves (although when talking about the Zones, official truths tend be problematic). Intercourse between a human and a Changed can result in at least a pregnancy, though not necessarily a live birth. The Changed do not seek to mate with humans but it is a sad fact that there are all kinds of folk in the borderlands. The inability of the Changed to communicate even with their own community is well known and as a result the Changed do get beaten up, sexually abused, raped and even murdered. A girl of 13 who recently became fully Changed disappears from a borderland community. A few months later, the stalkers find her in the outskirts of the Zone, fairly close to the border, sick and clearly pregnant. The rape has been the trauma that drove her off. She has been trying to get to the tribes but is too weak because of her pregnancy. What happens next depends on the stalkers.

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If they leave her there, not much will happen. The community promises a reward for her return. Soon after, some dealer shows up who promises an even greater reward for a pregnant Changed, as long as she is alive and some even more unscrupulous team is heading out to the Zone to find her. They’ve found out from somewhere that the player characters have been roaming in that area and are on good terms with the missing girl’s community, so they figure that the player characters know more. Hey, it’s an adventure. If the stalkers take her back to her community, they are grateful but two things happen: criminals trying to kidnap the girl to sell her to the highest bidder will start attacking the community and the tribe she was trying to join will start hounding the stalkers, even leaving the Zone for that. At first, it is fairly innocent. The stalkers are being followed. They keep running into strange signs and constructs resembling the girl. Sometimes, members of the tribe will even show themselves to the stalkers. They will be followed in the Zone. It will also seem as if the tribe has power over the anomalies or fate itself, which stalkers tend to so fervently believe in. Things just seem to go wrong. Bit by bit, the hostility starts to pick up. Rocks thrown from the darkness break their equipment and vehicles. There are strange coincidences and bad luck. Images of the stalkers themselves are found here and there, sprinkled with blood. They are attacked in the Zone, their gear is sabotaged and new dangers and difficulties appear on paths thought safe. Even in their dreams they will be hounded, as well as in hallucinations while drunk or high. The only way to end the conflict between the stalkers and the tribe is to kidnap the girl back from her community, which is practically keeping her a prisoner and to return her where she was found in the Zone. If the stalkers do that, the GM can let his imagination run wild... The girl, who usually does not react to people in any way or behaves in a defensive manner, now leads them by hand to a dimly lit space or tunnel, its walls scratched full of strange, alien patterns. It is unnaturally dim and even flashlights will only illuminate a couple of metres ahead. There are other figures moving in the half-light, though. Now and then, there is a flash of inhuman eyes that cover half a face, or a human silhouette with more than two limbs in their upper body. The bodily dimensions are often wrong. The patterns on the walls will start glowing brighter and the stalkers will begin to hallucinate. The world disappears as the patterns burn into the vision, painfully bright even through tightly closed eyelids. They wake up in an ordinary underpass or an industrial hall. There are a few artefacts on the floor, looking like someone abandoned them there like they always do. They can no longer find the place the girl led them to, not even if they drew a map. Nobody outside the Zone will remember the girl. It is as if she had never existed.

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Changed Stalkers

The unknown forces of the Zone will distort everything living, including the stalkers and those Institute researchers who dare set foot across the border. These small but inexplicable changes are both mental and physical. It is up to the player how far they want to take these changes but some of the tribes may also have Changed stalkers with them. This will usually take years, though, unless the stalker stumbles into some debilitating anomaly. If the Zone has gotten hold of the stalker, it will not let go. Even retired stalkers think a lot about it and many stay in the borderlands or otherwise close to the Zone (the South of France, Andorra, the Spanish Pyrenees), even if it would be safer elsewhere. Some cannot stop and some have made one final expedition into the Zone, with no intention to return. One way to measure this change is the Zone attribute score. With a score of 0, the stalker is an enthusiastic newbie, who sees the Zone as an adventure and a source of income. At score 1 he has already seen more than most researchers and living a normal life is difficult. When his score is 2, he is an eccentric, enchanted by the Zone. His children might be born deformed and later turn out Changed. At values 3 or more, you are approaching the limits of Humanity. The drawbacks of Zone abililities are the visible and invisible changes that make life difficult. The character’s blood type might change into something inhuman or their brain functions can no longer be followed with standard equipment for such things. The world outside the Zone will begin to feel strange and foreign and the whole concept of other people begins to fade. This might explain how such a competitive profession is still so communityminded against the outside world. Really old stalkers might even have metaphysical effects on their environment. Maybe every time an old stalker begins to cross the border, it starts to rain. Maybe a certain song is playing every time he’s around, be it on the radio, someone’s mobile ringtone or the background music of a television program. It feels incredible but that is just because the reader is used to causality.

Handling Changes in the Game

Because the stalker is more than the sum of his abilities and drawbacks, the GM and the player must discuss how new Zone abilities will affect their behaviour and character. The GM may also think up additional effects and consequences that will only be found out slowly over time, especially after the score is 2 or more. The Zone is not a natural human ability. It is not always bad, either. By burning a point off their Zone ability score, the stalker can invoke the force of destiny in the Zone. This may grant him temporary abilities, senses and instincts that a normal person can only dream of. Before the players get too excited, the GM should make clear that the consequences of burning a point of Zone are not in their control any more than with any other ability. Also, the consequences may be very unusual, especially inside the Zone and it is not certain that the situation will change for the better. Below, there are examples of the usual effects from burning a point of Zone but nothing will happen the exactly same way twice.

Sensory perceptions that others cannot perceive. An anomaly or inorganism distracts the border guards. An anomaly repels the immediate danger. An artefact useful to the situation at hand is found. The opposition does something incredibly stupid. A strong premonition. An inexplicable rescue from a hopeless situation. A metaphysical coincidence against all probability. Freak weather or other force of nature. A hallucination or omen that conveys actual information. A medically impossible recovery.

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It is hard to imagine a person whose Zone ability score is 5. He would have all the Zone abilities and would probably look inhuman. He would be one more freak for whom there would be no place but the borderland hideouts or the Zone itself.

For example, the expedition into the Zone for the Institute right at the beginning of the novel shows the difference between Zone scores of 0 and 1. Kirill’s score is 0, Red’s is 1 or more. This is why Kirill never sees or feels the silver web that he breaks when retrieving the Empties. Red saw the web and heard it break even if he did not have time to warn Kirill. Later, when they had left the zone and were naked in the showers, Red thought he saw the same silver web growing on Kirill’s back. It was just a passing moment, a glimpse from the corner of his eye that was no longer there when he turned his head. Red regretted not saying anything. A few hours later he hears that Kirill is dead. Heart attack, inexplicably, on a young man with a healthy lifestyle. Red survived. The Zone had him in its grasp already; that’s why his daughter was Changed. The Zone also reveals to him secrets that ordinary mortals know nothing about. If you wanted to repeat the scene in the game, the stalker’s player would say that he looks over every corner of the garage for dangers. When the GM mentions it is rather dim there, especially after the bright sunlight outside, the player decides to burn a Zone point. His stalker would see, in addition to anything unusual, an anomaly that the others could not see even in bright daylight. Unfortunately, another player’s inexperienced stalker had already gone to collect the artefacts that lay tantalizingly in the middle of the floor. How stupid of him.

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THE ZONE TREASURES “No, buddy, not an informer. Listen. I chatted for a bit, carefully, of course, led him on. He’s interested in certain objects in the Zone. Serious ones, at that. Batteries, itchers, black sprays, and other such baubles do nothing for him. He only hinted at what he did want.” -THE ROADSIDE PICNIC Even without the artefacts, there would still be stalkers. Many kinds of valuables still await looters in the Zone and the gold rings on bone fingers do not rot. Then, however, you would not have the dealers, the secret research projects of the great powers and the powerful corporations, or the private police state of the Institute around the Zones. On the other hand, the people who took up the life of a stalker would mostly be the same. Perhaps there would be fewer fallen scientists or members of religious societies looking for their god in the Zone. Perhaps not.

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As it stands, without the stalkers the artefacts would hardly be known. The Institute’s unfortunate expeditions and constantly malfunctioning drones rarely get beyond line of sight from the border and nearly all really important artefact finds have been made by the stalkers. No Institute researcher has been known to have visited an Oasis and the existence of Monuments is still a point of contention in the meeting rooms. Even satellite imagery has not resolved the mystery. To the stalkers, however, they are real as can be, and some researchers become stalkers just to see them.

Finding artefacts comes down to chance. There is no logic or reason in how they are placed in the Zone, though many think there might be more of them near the active formations known as Monuments. They are found only rarely, but when found, there is often more than one of them. Most of them will be cheap cosmic baubles, of course, and all will look like they were dropped there by accident or fell from the pocket of some giant being. Some have hit the ground with great force. Artefacts do not break but the ground does. If the GM sticks to the method of planning expeditions an area at a time, as described earlier, the artefacts should come up in perhaps every two or three areas. If you are still close enough to the Zone border that you might get to the area in a single night, the remaining artefacts will usually be difficult to reach or otherwise hard to find. A good trick for cluing the stalkers in on the presence of artefacts is to give them some active attribute that the stalkers will notice even from a distance.

For example, the stalkers see (and hear) when the electrical charge in a Rattling Napkin discharges. If they can take the hint, they will check it out and perhaps study the place from a distance. Maybe the electric glitter of the artefact will lure them closer and entice them to take risks. The GM decides how often and in what kind of places the artefacts can be found. If possible, artefacts and their conditions for being found should be planned ahead, at the same time with the locations.

For instance, while planning a location he calls “dead wood”, the GM put there a house gutted by fire. Its floor has been eaten away by a pool of Witch’s Jelly. Of the upper floor, a few charred support beams remain, with artefacts scattered on top of them. They can be seen by anyone looking inside the house. The beams will not support the weight of a human, but by climbing up the charred wall and reaching out, a stalker can get to the few closest ones. The light from the Witch’s Jelly stings but is harmless, at least if the stalker doesn’t get greedy and try climbing the beams. With time and a variety of rope contraptions, it might be possible to get them all.

THE GAMEMASTER’S BOOK

Finding Artefacts

The GM may also place artefacts so that the stalkers can spot them but location or surroundings are such that retrieval is impossible. If the players make notes about locations like these, they can later plan a new expedition to the area and equip themselves to better overcome the specific challenges involved in getting to the artefact.

A skeleton, covered in shreds of clothing, leans against a rusty car. A large item that looks like it might be an artefact lies on its lap. The stalkers soon realize that the car and its surroundings are in a largish Void Bubble (for instance, a steel nut makes no sound even if it hits the car). The distance is too long for a stick and a thrown hook gets tangled with the car or the bones every time. The artefact cannot be reached. It still seems valuable, though, so the place is marked down. On the next expedition, the stalkers come with a radio-controlled toy car with a hook on a stick attached to it. If the hook can be made to catch on the artefact, the car can drag it out of the bubble. If that doesn’t work, the next method is a pressure suit improvised from a wetsuit and a gas mask.

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Identifying Artefacts

All shapes, all sizes. Sometimes it can be quite difficult to say what is just a rock or a crumbled piece of limestone and what is an artefact possessing powers contrary to the very laws of nature. The players cannot see the artefact, so the GM should emphasize the description of the artefact against its surroundings. This may be a problem if he wants the artefact to look inconspicuous: in that case, it almost has to have an active attribute. The GM can describe a very slight distortion of colour in a pile of rocks and it is the stalkers’ job to find out if it is an anomaly or if one of the rocks is a lightbending artefact.

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Endogenetic artefacts, with powers and effects not tied to any external stimulus, are usually simple in shape and symmetrical. A Bracelet is understandably circular in shape, a So-So is just a short rod and a Rattling Napkin is basically a flat disk (although usually found more or less crumpled) and so on. In the right environment, an artefact can be hard to identify. If their powers or effects cannot be directly observed, there has to be something else that is unusual about them. Here we have some examples, but even the unusual features of two otherwise identical artifacts should not be the same.

Regularity The item is far too regular in shape to have been created by accident, or its irregularities are repeated geometric shapes. Colour and material The item has an abnormal colouration and/or is made of an unusual material. E.g., a green, translucent crystal in a pile of rocks. Lighting Shadows on the item’s surface are in the wrong places as if light would hit if from a different angle than its surroundings. If the surroundings are dark it may look like the item is glowing. Aura Colours are distorted around it, or the air shimmers as if it were red hot. Sometimes the aura can also be felt, like it was static electricity. Artefacts like this can sometimes react when put together with other artefacts. Motion The artefact is constantly in motion, either shivering in place or slowly moving forward like items on a shuddering table. Sound The item is making a sound or sounds on its own. It may be audible to only certain people, or different people may hear different things. Radiation The item radiates energy of some sort. It could be visible light, radioactivity, heat, or radio waves, or really any combination of several different wavelengths.

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Exogenetic artefacts with powers and effects triggered by an outside stimulus are usually asymmetrical and more complex in shape. Where endogenetic artefacts might be the parts or pieces of some machine, exogenetic artefacts seem more like purpose-built tools. They are usually also larger and some think that an artefact’s size may be a clue to its relative power. They can also be difficult to handle and though they may have once been tools, there is usually no handhold or grip on them. When describing exogenetic artefacts, the GM can use simple geometric shapes as a starting point but add something special to it. A Lobster’s Eye is a rod that tapers to a thin spike on one end and has a bulging, eyelike orb on the other. A Grey Crown is a ring nine inches in diameter with crystal spikes of different lengths growing up and down but not sideways. A Golden Orb is a coppery sphere nearly a metre in diameter. A Pin is a smooth, silvery cone about the length of a finger. Exogenetic artefacts can also have unusual visual features, as described on the previous page.

Dangerous Artefacts

Some artefacts can kill the people handling them. The radioactive pulses of a Pulsar are fatal at close range. And never turn a Death Lamp on your own face. The jolt of a Rattling Napkin is enough to stop the heart and prolonged contact with a Doctor’s Sceptre will cause mutations. Usually it is hard to deduce whether an artefact is dangerous to carry or handle but the GM can cheat a bit. A dangerous artefact may have a very unusual appearance or be surrounded by the victims of its powers. Looking at it or touching it might feel unpleasant and even mentally impossible if the stalker has the proper Zone abilities. It may also be invisible to some stalkers in the group.

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Artefact Powers

In theory, an artefact’s possible effects are without limit but usually they are localized, limited in power and temporary in duration. A Bracelet only affects the body of its carrier and only when a part of the body (the hand) is inside it. The fiery wave of a Burning Bell only extends to some three to five metres from the artefact and lasts but a few seconds. The radiation pulse of a Pulsar is weakened relative to the distance squared and only lasts for a microsecond. Though it can be seen from afar, health effects only reach to ten metres at most and the pulse is lethal only within a few metres. Radiation-insulating materials and protective suits will shorten this to a fraction. In a proper container, a Pulsar can be transported safely, even though the dose will exceed any official recommendations.

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On the left side of the next page spread, there is a selection of different conditions for triggering an artefact’s effect. On the right side, there are different powers and effects that the artefact could have. As with the anomaly chart, the GM thinks of a combination of two alphanumeric characters, reverses them and checks the first letter for conditions and the second for effects. If the GM considers the letters “AH”, he will check for trigger conditions under “H” and the effect under “A”. This is sufficient to randomize the result. Another option is to plan the adventure’s artefacts beforehand and only rely on charts when you must. The chart’s results are anything but clear and accurate, leaving the final word in interpretation to the GM. In planning artefacts, three basic rules should be kept in mind:

Local area of effect Limited power Temporary duration

Thus, if the artefact is defined as “aura, endogenetic, burning”, the GM can invent nearly anything around these. An endogenetic artefact will not react to outside stimuli, so its constant burning power will be directed in the artefact itself. Perhaps it is permanently on fire or otherwise so hot that it burns everything it touches. Then you apply the three basic rules: the artefact may be on fire but it will not light up anything unless it is touching the target. Even its heat will only harm skin maybe up to 50 cm away. Its powers are sufficiently limited that the temperature cannot be much higher than a common campfire (6001,000°C). A container of metal, stone or ceramics will not be damaged by it and it can be handled with common tools and appliances. The duration is also limited, in that though the artefact itself is constantly ablaze, any other fires it starts are perfectly natural and can be extinguished with water or other normal methods, or at the very latest when they run out of fuel. Endogenetic artefacts are often symmetrical in shape and rather small. A burning artefact must still be large enough to have any significance. The GM decides the artefact to be a black cube with a web of red-hot cracks all over its surface. Flames rise from these cracks, as if burning gas was flowing out. The cube measures 10 centimetres per size and without a measuring tape it might be described to be the size of a child’s head. The GM names it “Ember” and decides it is a fairly common artefact, just above the level of cosmic baubles. The dealers are not enthusiastic but it will sell. A philosopher might argue that all artefacts are equally powerful. From the players’ point of view, however, some artefacts are clearly more powerful than others. The power to kill, heal, or change time will change the game far more than an inextinguishable battery or frying sausages with an “Ember”.

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Death Lamp fulfils all three basic rules: the area of effect starts at one end of the artefact and extends in a widening cone up to about ten metres. The effect is clear: being caught in the cone is lethal but the light has no other unnatural abilities and any light reflected by a mirror is no longer effective; maybe the mirror has changed its frequency? Thick, covering clothing will also help. The light is but a flash and it may take several minutes before the user can produce another flash. “Golden Orb” is another famous super artefact. Its attributes are “touch, exogenetic, metaphysical”, which the GM has adapted a bit further. The greatest wish of anyone touching it will come true, one way or another. Unlike most exogenetic artefacts, the Golden Orb is symmetrical (spherical) but it is also very large and heavy. It is rumoured to be in Zone Canada but nobody has managed to bring it out. The basic rules have been creatively interpreted: the area of effect is easy, because you must touch the Orb. The effect will occur in the near future after touching it. If a person can conceive of a new greatest wish, the Orb may function more than once for them but most people cannot do this in their entire lifetime. The largest limiting factor for the effect may be that a person might not be aware of his true greatest wish due to an unrealistic self-image. One stalker is rumoured to have prayed for his brother to come back to life, only to have received a huge amount of money. He then committed suicide. The wish will come true but when and where are outside the stalker’s control. The Golden Orb may be a curse as well as a blessing.

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“Death lamp”, perhaps the most feared of the superartefacts, is “beam of light, exogenetic, killing”. Nobody knows exactly what it looks like. Greenish light flashes briefly, perhaps for only a second. It will reach at least ten metres away and will affect its targets through translucent surfaces such as clear glass. Everything living in that light will die. If it hits the bare skin of a human, the results are fatal and resuscitation is impossible. The body will not even rot properly because all the bacteria in it are dead. Thick clothing is enough protection, however, if bare skin is not exposed. The light would merely disinfect the clothes.

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A. Aura, exogenetic The effect is limited to a distance of 50 centimetres from the artefact but likely lasts for a long time, perhaps as long as the subject is in range. B. Touch, endogenetic The effect cannot be observed except by touching the artefact. A So-So is a good example of an artefact like this: its both ends have powerful electric charges but they cannot be discerned unless they are touching something that conducts electricity. C. Beam of light, exogenetic The effect resembles a beam of light from a lamp and reaches up to a distance of 5-15 metres. The beams of exogenetic artefacts are usually brief in duration and the artefact will need to recharge between them.

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D. Cloud of gas, endogenetic The artefact secretes a gaseous substance that causes its effect. Outdoors the area of effect is small and only slightly larger downwind. Closed indoor areas, on the other hand, may easily fill up with the gas, creating far larger areas of effect. E. Radiating, exogenetic The artefact radiates energy that is visible or observable by measuring equipment. The effective distance to unprotected targets may be over ten metres. Radiation shielding will protect from all effects. F. Weightless, endogenetic In addition to any other effects, gravity does not affect the artefact at all. It may drift with the wind (but never out of the Zone without help). G. Malleable, exogenetic The artefact may be squeezed into different shapes and squeezing usually works as the trigger. An Itcher is like this. At first, it is bent out of shape. The effect begins as it starts to straighten out and ends when it returns to its original shape. H. Piercing, exogenetic There is a sharp protrusion on the artefact. The effect begins when it pierces the target’s skin, so that it is in direct contact with their metabolism or internal structures. I. Heavy, endogenetic Considering its size and material, the artefact is very heavy. It must still be movable or it is not an artefact. J. Cyclic, exogenetic The artefact’s powers come and go in cycles of minutes, hours or even days. It can only be used while active, which usually has some visible effect. K. Sensitive to light, exogenetic The artefact’s effect starts when it is exposed to bright light. Even a lethal artefact like this can be transported in a sealed container.

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L. Psychic, exogenetic Depending on the effect, the artefact’s powers are either triggered by certain kinds of feelings and thoughts nearby, or its power targets the mind and personality of the subject(s). M. Projectile, endogenetic The artefact shoots solid or liquid projectiles at its surroundings. A burning artefact, for instance, might fire burning liquid or red-hot crystals. N. Mobile, exogenetic Unless prevented, the artefact will move in a random or specific direction under its own power. Otherwise, it is like any other exogenetic artefact. The effect is usually triggered by touch. O. Projectile, exogenetic Like a pistol, the artefact will shoot a solid or liquid projectile into some direction. The effect of the artefact comes from the projectile instead of the artefact itself. The velocity of and danger posed by the projectile depend on the artefact’s effect. P. Cyclical, endogenetic The artefact’s effect is discharged at regular intervals of minutes, hours, or even days. An oncoming discharge can usually be seen from changes in the artefact. For example, a Rattling Napkin is a silvery bundle right after it has discharged, but straightens out and gains a bluish tinge as a new discharge approaches. Q. Random, endogenetic The artefact’s effect comes and goes irregularly and usually at surprising times. If the effect is dangerous, the artefact may be hard to transport without getting injured. An irregular Pulsar is a stalker’s nightmare. R. Weightless, exogenetic In addition to its other effects, the artefact is weightless and floats with the wind. Its powers are usually triggered by sudden movements caused by outside forces. Handle with care. S. Radiating, endogenetic The artefact’s effect spreads into its surroundings as a continuous radiation and it may be protected against in the usual manner. The effective range in open ground is 15-20 metres, about 10 metres otherwise. Heavy metallic obstacles may stop the effect entirely. T. Beam of light, endogenetic The artefact’s effect comes out from one part of it in the manner of a directed beam of light. The effective range is 10-15 metres but it will move and turn with the artefact. U. Cloud of gas, exogenetic The artefact’s effect is transmitted through a visible cloud of gas. Directing and targeting it may be very difficult. Outdoors, the range may be extremely short, especially in windy weather. Indoors, the gas may circle corners and even reach places that the user is unaware of.

V. Invisible, endogenetic The artefact can be perceived by all senses except sight. It is invisible on all frequencies of light visible to the human eye. W. Touch, exogenetic When the artefact’s power is triggered, some part of it (usually a specific part) must touch the desired target. The user must only know which part is safe to hold on to. Some are touchactivated in their entirety. X. Aura, endogenetic The artefact is surrounded by a visible aura that extends a few centimetres from it. Its effect can be directed at anything touching its aura. Since the aura surrounds the artefact, it may be difficult to handle an artefact with negative effects. Y. Bioelectric, exogenetic The powers of this artefact are triggered by touch or proximity with a human or other living being larger than an insect. The target is usually the toucher. In the case of harmful effects, the artefact must be handled with pliers or sticks. Z. Changing, endogenetic The artefact is constantly changing its shape, either between several regular shapes or irregularly, like a drop of liquid. The effect is usually transmitted by touch. Odd Number. Magnetic, exogenetic The artefact’s powers are triggered by bringing it near a magnetic field or a magnetizing material, such as iron. The required strength of the field or amount of material depends on the artefact and sometimes also on the situation. The effects of some artefacts specifically target the source of the magnetic field or the magnetizing material. Even Number. Mobile, endogenetic Unless prevented, the artefact will move in a random or specific direction under its own power. Otherwise, it is a normal endogenetic artefact that usually affects its environment at a radius of a couple of metres. GM’s Special. Machinery, exogenetic The artefact is likely a machine of human make that has undergone inexplicable changes. There are complicated moving parts and internal power sources. The effect usually discharges from some part of the artefact, much like a beam of light, triggered by some mechanical impulse. Artefacts such as these have been successfully disassembled but never reassembled. The disassembly has not helped explain how they work.

B. Disabling The artefact disables brain functions. A short-term, sudden effect (like an Itcher) may cause an epileptic fit, while a longer exposure will knock out the victim, who will be comatose until the effect ends. C. Healing The artefact accelerates the body’s own healing process drastically. Victims may recover from even terminal injuries. The strength of the effect varies from one artefact to another. It will only heal bodily injuries (no disease, poison, etc.), and it will not bring the dead back to life. There are rumours of life-giving artefacts, though. D. Petrifying The targeted organic tissue will harden and crystallize in a process similar to fossilization. If the victim survives, the hardened tissue must be cut off. E. Colour change The target or the area affected gains an aura that distorts the frequencies of any radiation reflected off it (such as light). In practice, this means that colours will be wrong and seemingly random. Sometimes a target thus affected can be difficult to see with gear that observes specific wavelengths of light, such as infrared cameras. F. Immateriality The target or targets turn translucent and ghostly and no longer have mass (for this reason, they are not affected by gravity, and their motion at the start of the effect may continue throughout its entire duration). They can move through solid objects and are safe from physical danger. If the target is living, their bodily functions are not disturbed. To them, the world may seem ghostly and immaterial. The only thing in it that feels solid is the artefact. G. Time acceleration For the target or the affected area, time passes faster. The rest of the world slows down just like in the movies. How slow it gets depends on the artefact. To an outsider, everything in the affected area seems to happen much faster. However, the kinetic energies involved are the same both within and without the area. H. Sticky The target or affected area sticks to its environment. There are many ways this can occur: vegetation tangles itself around the target, they sink partially into the soft ground, stone or metal surfaces grow bars around them, and so forth.

I. Time delay For the target or affected area, time passes slower. The target itself experiences its state as normal, but everything else seems to move as if in a film on fast forward. Temperature often drops and lighting dims with a red tint. J. Strengthening The effect vitalizes the target and empowers their bodily functions. They are more alert, stronger, and more resistant to poison and disease. Longterm exposure may cause cancer, but there are no other adverse effects. K. Time stop The area of effect is pitch black, ice cold and the air is like leaden jelly. Breathing is impossible. The rest of the world has frozen in place and nothing can be moved: the inertia of mass approaches infinity. L. Trick of light The effect creates some sort of light effect or optical illusion that usually does not represent anything in particular. The light radiates from the illusion itself without having any material or energy source. M. Vacuum Forms a perfect vacuum inside the area of effect: sound doesn’t carry, fires go out, liquids boil away and leaves and trash floating in the air have only their own kinetic energy to keep them aloft. Unprotected humans die painfully in 10-20 seconds. N. Malfunctions The effect causes mechanical and electronic devices to malfunction in inexplicable ways. No technical protection can shield against this and once the effect ends, the device will work normally again. O. Container The artefact is a container that can be used to store or transport anything that fits within. The stored item will not change, age, rot or go through even normal chemical changes. Animal experiments with containers have shown the animals go into stasis within the container and will return to life once taken out. P. Burning The effect will either ignite everything flammable or spray flames even if there is no discernible fuel or source for the fire. Q. Freezing The target or area of effect quickly cools down. Frostbite will occur in moments and prolonged exposure will freeze the victim. The strength of the effect varies from one artefact to the other. Temperatures as low as 50°K have been measured. R. Magnetizing The artefact or its target is like a powerful industrial magnet. At close distance it can even break up blood cells. It may also magnetize items in its entire area of effect. It can magnetize items that are normally non-magnetic.

S. Maintaining The artefact maintains the energy state of either itself or its target. In practice, this can mean perpetual motion or an eternal flame that consumes neither fuel nor oxygen. T. Teleportation The artefact moves matter from one place to another in the blink of an eye. Usually the user has no chance to affect where he ends up but sometimes the artefact comes in two parts and the teleportation occurs between them. Otherwise, the artefact may take its user anywhere, except inside solid objects or significant altitudes. U. Metaphysical The artefact’s effect is metaphysical. Some artefacts are literally cursed and will cause their owners bad luck. Some bring good luck. Endogenetic artefacts cause unlikely events in the area just by their presence. V. Gravity The artefact or its target will be affected by an unusually powerful gravity which may let go under some circumstances. The intensity of the gravity varies but at its worst it can be like a Mosquito Mange. W. Electric The artefact’s effect is a powerful electric current, either in stable high current (So-So) or lethal discharges (Rattling Napkin).

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A. Invisible The artefact surrounds its target with a light-bending aura that makes it effectively invisible at all wavelengths. It does not affect sound or other changes to the environment that the target may cause. Sometimes the aura has a larger area of effect, within which everything is visible normally while remaining invisible to the outside.

X. Weightlessness The artefact negates perceptible gravity. The target or targets will still have mass, but they will float in place relative to the ground (complete weightlessness would fling them into space with the centrifugal force from Earth’s rotation). Y. Flashback The target may see or otherwise experience events that have previously occurred near the artefact or the location. The phenomenon may be partly metaphysical and the experiences relevant to the target’s present situation, though hard to interpret. Z. Killing The effect is lethal. By burning a Fitness point,target may survive with serious injury or body parts that must merely be amputated. Odd Number. Sound The artefact, the target or the area of effect will make strange noises whose nature and volume vary. Even Number. Shooter The artefact will hurl its target or items in the area of effect with enough strength to make a grown man fly several metres. The direction will either be random or away from the artefact. GM’s Special. Telepathy The target or targets may read other people’s thoughts. Depending on the distance, this may be as faint speech or mental images. In a large group, this is mere cacophony, but spying on small groups or individuals is much easier.

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Interpreting the Results

The charts on the previous two pages won’t give the GM finished artefacts but merely ideas and frameworks. However, they can still be used to create any artefact that was described in the novel or this rulebook. And naturally, the GM may invent new artefact properties as needed.

Vacuum (ghostly, endogenetic, container). Two disks the size of saucers. Between them is a cylindrical space that can hold gases or liquids even though it has no detectible walls. If empty, there is nothing between the plates. If there is something in it, it is visible but insubstantial to touch. Only the disks are material and no power can bring them closer or move them further apart. Thus far, nobody has figured out how to open a Vacuum.

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Itcher (malleable, exogenetic, disabling). Usually a thin rod that can be bent and held down. When released, it begins to straighten and creates a disabling psychic field around itself for the duration. This will usually take a few minutes. Symptoms vary individually between victims but unconsciousness, epilepsy and nausea are the most common. Pin (touch, exogenetic, trick of light). A ten-centimetre stick that is sharp at one end, which occasionally twinkles with light. Just touching the pin does nothing but squeezing it will produce complex and changing patterns of light either on the pin itself or in the air around its tip. The significance of those is a mystery to the scientific community. White Wheel (touch, endogenetic, maintaining). A white ring, five centimetres in diameter that conserves its own momentum, moving forward until stopped by an even greater force. In the novel, it was given a twirl around the finger and it kept going, ignoring air friction and gravity until it was forcefully stopped. So-so (touch, endogenetic, electric). A cylinder, about ten centimetres long and as thick as a man’s thumb, with powerful opposite electric charges at its ends. It is safe to handle by gripping the middle. A So-So produces sufficient energy to power an electric car and it never runs out. They multiply by dividing when exposed to gamma radiation. Black Sprays (sensitive to light, exogenetic, trick of light). Small round spheres, about the size of a large pearl, that reflect light with a delay depending on the size of the ball and usually in colours shifted closer to the red end of the spectrum. There are many wild theories about the reasons for this phenomenon. Bracelet (aura, endogenetic, strengthening). A thin ring that empowers the vital functions of its carrier. Different bracelets affect different things but they have been used to negate the need for food, water or sleep, accelerate healing and alleviate and sometimes even cure diseases. Golden orb (already described)

The novel names many other artefacts but their powers are not described. Nothing can be deduced from the names: the stalkers’ jargon term for an artefact can be just a joke that never dies out. Some of them have been described in the Player’s Book but the descriptions and effects have been invented for this roleplaying game.

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Monuments

The definition of an artefact includes portability. Permanent formations, items or areas of effect that function like artefacts are called Monuments. The delineation between anomalies and Monuments is sometimes tricky. Only a few Monuments are known per Zone and most estimates of their total number hover around a dozen. Most Monuments are exactly what the name implies, like megaliths, circular formations, crystal fields, inexplicable force fields or levitating objects with effects comparable to artefacts. Monuments such as these were first observed from satellite pictures. Some Monuments are just limited areas of effect, such as the famous Room in Zone Russia. A Monument does not need to be huge. The Room is just a single room in a ruined hovel and the Tombstone of Zone France is only two and a half metres tall. What they both have in common is that they cannot be moved. In theory, it is possible that some Monuments are merely artefacts that are too large to be moved manually. The effects of monuments are defined the same way as the effects of artefacts, so they need not be all harmful. Monuments tend to be dangerous to approach, however, since they are deep in the Zone and often surrounded by powerful anomalies, dangerous artefacts and sometimes also inorganisms. Some stalkers avoid Monuments altogether as too dangerous. Others go out of their way to study them, seeking safe paths around the surrounding dangers, searching for more powerful artefacts, collecting samples and recording evidence of inorganisms and their behaviour.

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Appearance of a Monument

Physical Monuments are easy to discern from their surroundings. They are formations foreign to the world and not built by human hand. Such Monuments are often asymmetrical and they have unusual physical properties, such as how they reflect light or react to temperature shifts. For instance, light and shadow on the surface of a monument may appear as though light is hitting it in a different angle or the reflective surfaces reflect sights, patterns and lights that are not there. At their wildest, there may be a strange physical phenomenon at work within the monument, such as how the Empty Door sucks in air and reflects no light at all, appearing as an oblong-shaped hole in the fabric of the world.

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On the other hand, spatial Monuments are difficult to perceive and even harder to tell apart from the anomalies. In the illustration on the preceding page there are strange patterns in the sky and a similar pattern has been pressed into the tall grass at the edge of an Oasis, much like a crop circle. The area where the Monument is in effect lies between these patterns. The Room of Zone Russia is nothing but an empty room with its roof caved in and puddles of rainwater on the floor. It cannot be found except by straying in there by accident. The Institute has found several possible material Monuments in its satellite imagery but no spatial monuments. Some researchers deny claims of the Room and other spatial Monuments as mere legends.

Obelisks are usually lone, pillarlike formations. Their effects are usually targeted either at any creature touching it or more generally to a certain radius. An obelisk may sometimes float in the air, or have floating components as part of it. Circle is 5-15 metres in diameter, with twisted rock or metal formations along its outer rim. In the centre, there may be visible phenomena of light or electricity, or various energy disturbances. Pincushion is an ordinary land formation or building that has been covered in crystals or other spiny formations. Their effect is transmitted either by touch or aura, if the formations have enough space between them. Gate is an upright formation, like a circle or a doorframe. There are usually visible distortions inside it. Gates almost never have exogenetic effects but affect a conelike area both in front and behind them. On the sides, the effect is weak or nonexistent. Grill will concentrate its effect between two formations connected by lights or other phenomena. The affected area may be very wide or very narrow but narrow grills are usually highly visible, such as having a bright beam of light connecting the two formations. Mural is a complicated inorganic growth that seems to have grown out of some larger object. The growth pattern must be touched to trigger the effects. Empty Space is a suspiciously empty and barren space, such as the Room. The anomaly affects everything that strays within. An empty Space may be recognized either from its effect (at which point it will be too late) or by guessing it from the amount of dangers and anomalies around it. There is nothing in the space itself. Machine is a jumble of metal, glass, rock, pipes and crystals that might be imagined as a machine or a part of machine from an alien culture. They often make noise and may radiate heat or worse. Their effects can do anything.

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All known Monument effects resemble artefact effects and generating them can be done with the same charts. However, the effects of Monuments will be more powerful. Ranges and durations will be longer, or wounds and injuries much more serious. Despite this rule, they are rarely lethal outright, though in the case of the Tombstone in Zone France, death might actually be more merciful. Their effects still have limits but nobody is entirely sure what those limits are.

The GM wants to create a previously unknown Monument for his adventure. He decides on the letter combination AY after the IATA code for Finnair. Applied to the chart, it turns to YA. Bioelectric, Invisible. This is an exogenetic effect, meaning that the monument must be touchable. The GM decides on an obelisk shape, an asymmetrical, elongated crystal that is invisible when viewed from certain angles. Touching it turns the target and their equipment invisible for 2-5 hours. From the target’s point of view, everything becomes dim, ghostly and translucent since most photons hitting his eyes go right through his retinas. It is hard to get to this Monument. It is surrounded by a few weaker inorganisms or perhaps aggressive mutants – also invisible. The sound of their steps and the tracks they make will still be clearly visible and if they are sprayed with a colouring substance, their locations and movements will be easier to see. These mutants are blind but they have an excellent hearing.

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Powers of a Monument

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Monuments in the Game

Because the Monuments are by definition immovable, there is no black market of them. However, their existence may be vital to the game in many ways, especially if the team has a good reputation and has clients among governments or major corporations conducting illegal xenological research.

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Expeditions to verify the existence of a Monument The client has an uncertain sighting of a previously unknown Monument from a satellite picture. Its existence needs to be verified. Because field researchers or even the Institute drones cannot get deep enough within the Zone, they will hire stalkers. Knowledge of a previously unknown Monument may interest the stalkers themselves too, because there might be valuable artefacts nearby.

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Taking a measuring device or a person to a Monument. Measuring devices could be taken in by anyone but many survival horror films feature some introverted researcher hiring people like stalkers to take him to the actual site. This is not as idiotic as it sounds: if the artefacts have the power to cure disease or heal wounds, what could a Monument with similar powers accomplish? No researcher can pass up a field trip to something like that.

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The tribes are gathering artefacts to a Monument. It is true that the Zone tribes are known to regard the Monuments with respect approaching worship. If it is worship, its associated rites are incomprehensible to the human mind. Gathering artefacts to the Monuments is still within the realm of the possible actions but even that is a human interpretation of a strange, alien ritual. If the stalkers head out to look for a Monument based on a rumour of artefact hoards around it, the GM should take care that nothing is as simple as it seems: the artefacts may have been used to build a another Monument, or a machine that moves and acts in the manner of inorganisms. The tribes may live like cavemen but they are also capable of things that no human laboratory could repeat.

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Stalker has an ailment that only a Monument may cure. The right Monument could probably cure or overcome any problem, disease, injury or metaphysical effect suffered in the Zone. The Monument has to be chosen on a case-by-case basis, usually based on nothing but rumours and bar legends.

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Visiting a Monument to open up a Zone ability. The player may wish for his character to learn a new Zone ability but maybe there hasn’t been an opportunity to learn it, or a proper explanation for suddenly having one. Visiting a Monument could be the fix: the stalker begins to have dreams about the Monument, intensifying into an obsession until he can finally visit it. He will also take a step further away from Humanity by doing so.

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Monuments and the mystery of the Zones. The sky is the limit here. Much like the charts cannot define all possible artefacts, they are merely guidelines when it comes to Monuments. Perhaps somewhere is a monument that is constantly giving birth to new life forms to populate the Oases of the Zone? Maybe one allows time travel? How about a Monument that puts the stalkers up against their own mirror images when they intrude upon its area of effect. Both teams would naturally be convinced that the other team is the wrong one. And both teams might be right.

out to Spark has made it to the root of a tree and reaches he and p stra you with a backpack. You catch the shoulder gasp pulls you to him. Hanging on to the slimy roots, you times for breath. You’ve already lost count of how many this has happened. “This is insane!” you gasp. and The Claw is already clearly visible amidst the mista curved dead trees that seem to lean on one another. It is point. structure, four metres tall, tapering sharply to a It really does look like a claw, rising from the darkcan waters but where water ripples against its base, you hear the crackle of electricity. n’t “Not long now,” Czar reassures you but even he does ld be shou e plac really know what you are waiting for. The profitable but thus far you’ve found nothing. kes down Then it happens. A crackling bolt of lightning stri curve ave from the darkened skies and straight into the concglow of the Claw. The monument glows blue and then the the water spreads outwards, slithering in thin lines across surface. -shaped Where these lines cross, the water freezes into starfades. glow the crystals. You manage to grab a few just as the The rest of them break apart and dissolve back into water.

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grabs The web of thin roots breaks beneath your feet. Mudpull. your legs like a pair of strong arms and starts to er you You are going down and the more you struggle the fast sink.

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ZONE FRANCE

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16th+: The unknown core.

11-15th: Strongly altered Oases, powerful anomalies. Distortions of space-time.

7-10th: A web of anomalous areas and Oases. Mutants often encountered in the oases. The first Monuments. Few have ever gone deeper than this.

4-6th: Anomalous area, the very first Oases, with the occasional mutant. The target for long expeditions.

2-3rd: Anomalous area, target for stalker expeditions. Inorganisms.

1st ring: Anomalous area. The border guards can see here. Target area for xenological field research.

Coordinate grids are about 5 km deep. Covering that distance takes 1 hour on a road, 2h on open ground, 4h in brush or woods, 8h in city ruins and 24h in the mountains. Of course, any exploring extends the time.

“They went around the mound of gray rags. There was nothing left of Whip. Some distance away in the dry grass lay a long, completely rusted stick — a minesweeper.” – THE ROADSIDE PICNIC Zone France, or Zone Europe to the foreign press, is located in southern France mostly southwest of the city of Toulouse. The Zone is 88 kilometres across, making it the third-largest Zone by surface area. The Euro-highway E80 was cut by the Zone and remains unusable for a distance of over 100 kilometres, from Toulouse to Saint Gaudens. The Garonne river also flows through the Zone just east and south of the E80 but despite rigorous testing it has not carried any Zone substances out. Just pollutants spilling from the abandoned factories. Nobody has been able to explain this. An estimated 250,000 people were trapped inside the Zone, most of them in Toulouse. The city lost approximately one third of its centre and a full half of its suburbs. Officially, 50,000 Refugees made it out. Some researchers claim the actual number is considerably larger, since many of them never reported to the officials or entered the camps.

ZONE FRANCE

XENOGRAPHY

The counteroffensive of the EU Rapid Reaction Force penetrated the Zone from the south, since the Refugees and the bisection of Toulouse were causing chaos in the north. Armoured columns advanced along the E80 and E09, with helicopters for air support. Lighter vehicles infiltrated the smaller roads, looking for a route into the rear of the assumed enemy. No enemy was found but it was still a bloodbath. The full extent of the losses has been kept secret to this day but most vehicles never made it more than ten kilometres deep. Beyond that, remains of infantry patrols, helicopters and unlucky scout planes have been found. The survivors, a fraction of the combined force, stumbled back across the border, alone or in small groups. The last messages of those who didn’t can still be found scrawled on walls and in letters sealed inside canteens, bottles and shell casings. Illegal or not, dog tags brought from the Zone still fetch an official €50 reward. There are memorials to the lost soldiers and units along all the major roads leading into the Zone.

The Borderlands

The original declaration made the Zone international territory and created a protective perimeter ten kilometres wide all around it. Living or conducting business in this area requires a permit from the Institute. Any local officials are subject to Institute oversight. In practice, the Institute is usually the only official around, as people left their homes within the perimeter and the officials followed them. Nowadays, the practical width of the perimeter is determined by roads, population density and the interests of the Institute. There are no fences around the borderland, just warning signs along the main roads and chunks of concrete blocking the minor ones. “Attention! You are now entering the Global Quarantine Area. Trespassers must be able to prove their identity and follow all instructions from the officials. In case of an emergency, please contact the Control Department, Institute of Extra-Terrestrial Cultures, telephone number...” The Institute focuses on monitoring the border and overseeing the Zone research. In theory, it should also uphold the French Civil Law in the Borderland when its own rules do not contradict it but it rarely intervenes as long as its own interests are not threatened. Remaining inhabitants and newcomers to the borderland are largely on their own. Areas with functioning industry, such as parts of Toulouse, still have electricity and running water. However, the rural areas to the south and west of the Zone are overgrown, pitch black at night and the roads in particular are quickly falling into disrepair. The situation is especially difficult in the far south, where both the roads and local livelyhoods on the slopes of the Pyrenees were depending on the arteries of traffic the Zone has cut off.

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The Edge of the Zone

Zone France has 276 kilometres of border. The Institute lacks the manpower and funding to truly close it off and in the end, stalkers are so rare that there is no point to building a new Berlin Wall around. Although the TV news love to show electrified razorwire fences with surveillance cameras, the truth is quite different. On the barren western border, there is nothing but a chain link fence and the occasional foot patrol or a watchtower. On the southern border, there isn’t even that, just helicopter patrols and surveillance bases in the foothills of Pyrenees that are relocated from time to time. The helicopters and watchtowers are equipped with infrared cameras but the phenomena of the Zone wreak havoc and animals on this side of the border, especially the many wild boars, often trigger false alarms. Most crossings still happen in and around Toulouse and along the bettercontrolled eastern border. That is where the best hideouts, traffic connections and clients are found. Abandoned houses make the digging of tunnels easy and if you know where the old sewers or district heating pipes go, you do not even have to dig all the way to the Zone. In Toulouse proper, the old subway system and its maintenance tunnels link up with medieval vaults and Roman cellars. This network of passages also goes beneath the river. Garonne, with its multiple tributaries, is difficult to police effectively and the Zone has also been accessed by canoe. Some have also tried diving but the river is too shallow and flows too fast. In the south and the west, crossings are usually spotted too late to be prevented but patrols will post sentries and if stalkers return by the same route, they are often in for a nasty surprise. Dog patrols are quite effective at noticing recent crossings. The border is occasionally crossed in the other direction by Replicas, many of them headed for Toulouse. They are not aggressive but they are tremendously strong and nearly invulnerable. A Replica can easily tear a hole into an electrified fence. Crossings by other creatures or inorganisms have not been observed, though it is known that some of the Changed have been moving across the border. Determining whether a crossing has happened or not or what has caused the material damage at the border is not always possible. Vandalism and stalkers explain some of it but the perfectly circular holes in the concrete wall along E80 or the sudden oxidization damage on the Toulouse electric fences remain unexplained.

ZONE FRANCE

Rumours from the Edge of the World Mercenaries working for a big aerospace corporation have taken over an industrial area straddling the border just north-west of Toulouse. The Institute tries to avoid a showdown; area belonged to the corporation before the Visitation and the French State is a major shareholder. Accidents and breakdowns are abnormally common on E80, even though the Zone should end well before the six-metre wall lining the road. Drowned mutants have been found in the Garonne, downriver from the Zone. Officials and the Institute are trying to keep it under wraps. After the Visitation the weather has become cooler and unpredictable. Soldiers of the Spanish Army or maybe intruders wearing their uniforms have been encountered in villages close to the southern edge. The French police want to raid the farm compound of a cult in the western borderland but the Institute does not grant them permission. Right-wing extremists have been burning Refugees alive west of Saint Gaudens but the Institute has covered it up. An industrial area somewhere in the eastern edge hides a sidetracked train. A Pulsar among the artefacts it was carrying killed everybody and made the entire train radioactive. The artefacts are still aboard.

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The Zone itself

Like all the Zones, Zone France is round. It’s 88 kilometres across, making it the third-largest Zone. On a good day, you can see from two to five kilometres into the Zone from the border before the landscape is obscured by mists, fogs and various optical distortions. Not all of them result from anomalies. Weather in the entire region has been cooler and unstable since the Visitation. Unseasonal mists, fogs and rain are all common on both sides of the border. As terrain and environment, the Zone can be divided into four distinct areas: North-Western, Southern, Eastern, and Toulouse. The divided city and its suburbs dominate the northern and north-eastern quarter of the Zone, stretching south and towards the centre along the E80. Zone France is dangerous in the extreme. Nobody is believed to have successfully traversed the Zone part of E80 from end to end, or even returned from the attempt. As a rule of thumb, there is no reliable information whatsoever about what lies beyond 20 kilometres from the border and the whole world is fascinated by the maps stalkers have drawn from their expeditions. Among the special features of Zone France are the Oases, islets of life amidst the devastation. During the past thirteen years many new and strange species have born and died inside them. While there are Oases in other Zones (and Zone Russia is practically one huge Oasis), the diversity of life, the number of of new species and the radical differences in ecologies and food chains even between adjacent Oases are all features unique to Zone France. The first oases lie 10-15 kilometres from the border. Going deeper, they tend to grow larger and closer to each other. At this depth are also the first monuments. Researchers have sought signs of regularity or patterns from the satellite imagery of Oases, Monuments and anomalous areas. So far, their efforts have been in vain.

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Nobody is known to have visited the heart of the Zone. Some people in Toulouse say it contains a gate to another dimension, or perhaps a shard of an alien world, whose impact with Earth would have been the Visitation and its debris spread would have caused the anomalies. While satellite pictures do not suggest anything overtly unusual at the core, stalkers often claim that satellite imagery and what’s really on the ground do not always match.

The northern and western parts of the Zone, all the way down to the valley of the Garonne River, are dominated by low hills and ridgelines. The valleys in between have fields, while the slopes are covered in pasture, patches of woodlands and vineyards. The hills and little rivers in the valleys mostly run from south-west to north-east, joining one another along the way before becoming part of the Garonne river. The banks were usually lightly wooded. With the exception of the major highways, most roads are old and narrow, barely two lanes wide and bordered by low stone walls in the countryside. Here and there are large farmhouses with their outbuildings. At crossroads, there might be small towns with two- and three-storey buildings and perhaps a school, a local clinic, a small shopping centre and a few gas stations. In the north, there are also brand new row houses and the larger locales for the rich with outdoor swimming pools. Present Day: Thirteen years later anomalies have burned the slopes bare and the trees are leafless. Mud from the fields has washed down into the valleys and the walls and road embankments have collapsed. Streams are clogged and the low-lying farmhouses are now surrounded by stinking swamps. Woodlands and parks are a mess of dead trees turned grey with dust and ash. Instead of vegetation there are crystalline deposits, inorganic masses and unnatural landmarks carved by various anomalies. This barren landscape is continually being distorted and has become stranger and more alien in both nature and appearance over the years. The most significant new land formations are the great cracks in the earth, as if the bedrock beneath the hills had been shaken and twisted by some unknown force. Some cracks have filled up with mud and clay but others remain dark, deep chasms.

ZONE FRANCE

The Western Hills

Movement: It is easier to get around here than elsewhere in the Zone. Visibility is often good and in dry weather the old fields are usually easy to walk on. However, close to the border and near crossroads the roads are often blocked by destroyed cars. There are also lots of human remains here and there are no scavengers to disrupt them. Deeper in the Zone, the fleeing inhabitants never got far enough to end up as jams or corpse piles. Their houses are still there, in all levels of disrepair. Lone buildings tend to be badly damaged but in villages and small towns they have shielded one another from the elements. Still, fire damage, holed roofs, leaning walls and partial collapses are common. Cellars and other underground spaces are often filled with quasichemicals such as Witch’s Jelly, whose caustic effects may have made the structures above them unstable. On a wooden house such damage is usually visible and even concrete buildings tend to be just as safe as they look. But an old brick or stone structure may look safe and turn out to be a real death trap. Oases: In the west, Oases are often shrouded in mist and their air is calm compared to the anomalous areas. If the Oasis has formed in a clearing, it will be overgrown with unhealthy-looking young trees and tough bushes. On the other hand, an Oasis that is even partially in the woods will have quickly been filled with saplings. In the marshy valleys, the mud and earth accumulating around the roots of trees may make the place look like a mangrove forest. Beard moss, lichen and fungi flourish, as do many other kinds of moss although they are often stained or unnaturally coloured. Since much of the landscape was fields and gardens to begin with the Oases here flourish compared to the rest of the Zone. Without the Zone effects, these hills would probably be covered in new forests by now. Near the Oases, mutants have torn apart the corpses left over from the Visitation (and later...). Many buildings have become dens and nests for wild beasts at some point and are now stinking, disease-ridden and filthy with excrement and the remains of their meals. Stalkers can deduce the nature of the local beasts from tooth marks left on old tin cans. The Oases on the slopes of the western hills are well-suited for fast runners, both predator and prey. In the forests and swamped valleys live all sorts of changed wild boars, badgers, muskrats, frogs and arthropods.

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What the stalkers say... There is a strong Cold Spot south of L’Isle-Jourdain. The town is often frosted over and covered in freezing mist, making movement difficult. The Tombstone is a dangerous monument somewhere near Saint Laurent. People who have found the exact location do not return to tell about it, so one should be wary of all areas north of Escanecrabe. There are many motor vehicles with engines still running but also a wild claim about a bus that still follows its old route around Saint Gaudens. Nobody is known to have jumped in, if it is even true. The limestone quarry of Aurignac now has an entire forest of vast crystals and salt pillars. It is the only place where a Salt Worm has been captured on film. A group of survivors got stuck in a castle at Tournan. Apparently, they lived there for years. The place seems empty now but there is no proof that the survivors have died, unless they ate one another. Plaisence-Du-Touch is a good place for artefacts and close to Toulouse but something very strange is going on at the depot area in the centre. There are many inorganisms around and many Replicas come from there. A marshy oasis called the Silver Glade in the area of Lahas is home to some extremely deadly mutant. The small reservoir north-west of Lombez is glowing. The entire lake is apparently one huge Monument, now nicknamed “the Eye”.

ZONE FRANCE

The Eastern Ruins

In the east, the ground flattens out. Toulouse lies to the north and the Garonne river flows through the plains, with Route E80 running along its western bank. It is also followed by a railroad. For a long time, the region was a rural area broken up by small towns similar to the western hills but with the growth of Toulouse, numerous suburbs and industrial areas sprung up along the E80 and the small towns grew together into a densely populated region that continues along the E80 all the way into the heart of the Zone. East of the heart, the land begins to rise again, until it dips into another valley with Route E09 running along its bottom, again along with its own railroad links, suburbs and industrial areas. In general, the townships near Toulouse were larger and the roads connecting the major arteries passed through some really big suburban areas. Far in the east, the Zone almost crosses the Route E80 again just south-west of Toulouse. It does not quite do it but the suburbs, factories and small towns along its western edge now lie beyond the border. To the south of them, the border climbs the low hills and cuts off the A66 motorway (shows as a black loop on the eastern edge of the map but runs through sparsely populated rural areas). In general, the densely built city areas are focused along the main routes and quickly thin out to the south. The eastern part is famous for its chains of suburbs and industrial areas. This is where the early stalker expeditions were always headed, because it is where the banks, factories, research laboratories and the rich villas were.

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Present Day: Any buildings near the border have been abandoned. Grass grows on the rooftops of apartment blocks and owls hoot from empty windows. Crossing the border, the vegetation stops as if cut by a knife and the skulls of the dead stare longingly at the border fence. The effect is especially terrifying when the border runs through a house or an industrial hall. Usually the landscape is barren and silent, apart from the effects and sounds made by anomalies. At night, the built-up areas are pitch-black and the eerie glow of certain anomalies serves only to deepen the darkness.

SciFi Roleplaying Game

The walls of the buildings are stained with dirt and water trails. Roofs are holed and here and there walls have collapsed but especially the big apartment blocks are so huge that even anomalies usually collapse only a part of them. Indoor spaces, usually still furnished, have been ravaged by water and mould but the structures are still sound. On the other hand, large metallic structures have been hit hard, as if some giant had squeezed them or bent them into weird shapes. This is especially visible on railroad bridges, tower cranes and long pipeworks. Some statues may also look quite strange by now, as if something had tried to claw its way out from inside them. Quasichemicals and growths of all kinds are abundant but mobile inorganisms are rare and usually keep to certain locations. The anomalies were not the only dangers the humans fled from. The Visitation interrupted the manufacturing processes of various factories and poisonous chemicals have been leaking into the environment ever since. Broken pipes and containers created lakes of oil and chemicals. Some have dissipated over the years but doctors in Toulouse still treat heavy metal and chemical poisonings or chemical burns on a regular basis. Anomalies may make the situation worse by starting fires that never go out or sprinkling harmful substances or even toxic metals into the air and on unprotected surfaces. Unlike the phenomena of the Zone, these pollutants are not contained within. The fact that there has not yet been a major environmental disaster downstream the Garonne river is just good luck. Movement: Thirteen years is no time at all for concrete, steel or asphalt. And unlike in the west, there are no cracks on the ground. In rural areas the problems are the same as in the west but in the suburbs the asphalt and houses have kept erosion in check. Moving along the streets is easy, apart from the collapsed buildings, the remains of traffic jams and the occasional pool created by a clogged storm drain. Visibility is limited by the buildings, though, and even clear signs of anomalies are easily lost in the details and shapes of the cityscape. If a dynamic anomaly surprises the team in a cramped spot, there may not even be an escape route. Outside the suburbs, the roads are wide and in relatively good condition. The motorways are embanked higher than the surrounding land and many of the highway overpasses and railway bridges are still usable. Tunnels, on the other hand, are flooded and may also have pools of quasichemicals inside. Oases: Many of the eastern Oases have formed within the suburbs or the industrial areas and the poisoned land and rain-washed stone are not very fertile. The burnt grasses, stunted shrubs and traffic dividers choked with thistles can hardly match the verdant Oases of the west. Mutants are also small both in size and number. Instead, different kinds of fungi, algae and lichens flourish, because they are able to break apart even heavy metals and poisonous industrial chemicals. Some of these are dangerous to travellers but the corpses of their previous victims, usually small mutants, are a handy and visible warning. The stench can be quite hideous, though.

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Poisonous clouds are an unpleasant feature of eastern Oases. These are gases or spores, apparently emitted by fungi or changed vegetation. They can and often do appear by surprise and cause terrible infections. Teams moving in the ruins should take care to use gas masks and cover their skin well. Sometimes a cloud can seem to move against the wind, as if by a will of its own. These dangerous clouds are often visible and they keep close to the ground, so that their spread is often limited by buildings. The clouds also never leave the Zone, even if the wind pushes them towards the border. Old trash covered in toxic fallout can still come through, though.

There are two bridges over the Garonne at Muret. The north bridge can be crossed but anyone going on the south bridge vanishes without a trace. Glowing human figures can sometimes be seen standing on it. One tank column made it to the western side of Gaillac-Toulza, deeper than any other. By remnants, it looks as if they fought a battle. The bones of the fallen and the destroyed tanks are surrounded by piles of empty shells of all calibre. Entire teams of stalkers have vanished there. The Oasis east of Beaumont-sur-Lèze is always covered in fog. It also has a different time scale: the time spent in the Oasis does not pass at all outside it and the stalker will exit it at the exact same moment he entered. It is said to be a quiet, peaceful glade.

ZONE FRANCE

What the stalkers say...

Many of the buildings in the village of Vernet have been burning for the last 13 years. The place is shrouded with bitter, poisonous smoke. The Ooasis east of Artigat is the closest one to the border and quite lush for an eastern Oasis. Several large but timid mutants have been seen there, probably changed cattle and beasts of burden from nearby farms. Traces of Zone tribes have also been discovered there. Montbrun-Bocage is close to the Pyrenees. There is a cluster of treelike growths here, made from the carcasses of humans and animals. These growths emit a smelly, infectious vapour.

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The Quiet South

Going south, the terrain turns into farmland broken up by ridges, valleys and small woodlands all the way to the slopes of the Pyrenees. Most of the mountain range lies south of the Zone but the border goes up and down its foothills, stopping just a little over ten kilometres from the border of Spain (and Andorra is only 30 kilometres away). This far south the landscape is one of forested ridgelines and grass-covered plateaus. The ridges are steep enough to force roads and villages down into the valleys and passes running from north to south. The elevation, the proximity of the mountains and the coolness of the Zone make for a cold, damp climate. In the summer there is almost constant rain and thunder. In the winter, snowfall is measured in metres and temperatures fall way below zero until mid-February. The fast thaw in the spring tends to cause dangerous floods. Present Day: Population used to be clustered along the roads running through the valleys or twisting and turning their way up the gentler slopes. Small fields, vineyards, sparse forests and tourism were the livelihood of these idyllic villages and small towns. There were almost no survivors from here. The borderland between the Zone and the Spanish border is also silent. The Zone cut off all roads, communications, waterworks and power lines, most of which were never replaced. Some towns now house Institute bases and a few mountain hotels serve rich tourists who come to gawk at the Zone from a safe distance. Otherwise, the roads are quiet and the villages abandoned. Spain considered occupying the area to prevent it from becoming a base of operations for the Basque separatists, but after some pressure from France its supervision was left to the Institute. Since then, it has become obvious that the Basque militants shun the Zone just like everybody else. The south has always been rugged compared to the rest of the region and perhaps this is why the Zone has not changed it all that much. Some vegetation still ekes out an existence even outside the Oases, shielded by the nooks and crannies of the cliffs. The modern houses built on the slopes lie in ruins but the ancient villages in the valleys are in fair shape, apart from where the weight of snow has collapsed roofs or a landslide has knocked down walls. Especially in late summer and early the autumn, the region is ravaged by horrible thunderstorms that would be dangerous even without Zone phenomena. Increased rainfall has swollen streams and some of them have cut new channels through roads, villages and even individual buildings.

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In short, moving around in the southern Zone is governed by terrain and weather. Even short distances across difficult spots will take a long time and the unstable weather may force the team to camp out for days. Drinking any water found in the Zone is inadvisable and there was never enough habitation that the starving stalker could rely on always finding tin cans or well-preserved dry food. Carrying the wounded is more difficult and sometimes they are just left in the Zone.

ZONE FRANCE

Movement: The southern border of the Zone is poorly guarded but moving around is difficult already in the borderland. Without maintenance, the mountain roads are quickly disappearing. Erosion, landslides and damage from the increased rainfall are having an effect both inside and outside the Zone. Climbing up a steep ridge is a right challenge even in good weather and in rain while under the crossfire of anomalies it is nearly impossible. It is easier to move along the valley floors but mist, rain and even strong winds limit visibility and therefore increase danger. Riverbanks have been weakened by the increased waterflow and may suddenly crumble underfoot. Rockslides may have temporarily dammed streams and the overflow or breaching of actual dams causes destructive flash floods that can turn small valleys into lakes. Mutants are roaming closer to the border here than in the rest of the Zone, possibly because there is some vegetation even outside the Oases. Most of them are not dangerous but there are always exceptions.

Oases: For the slopes and ridgelines it may be difficult to say whether it is an Oasis or not. In the anomalous areas, tortured shrubs still sprout from the cracks in rocks, while an Oasis can be nothing but a boulder-strewn slope with patches of discoloured moss. On the other hand, the Oases that have formed in the mountain passes and valleys are small but lush and often lie close to one another. Most mutants are rodents that can freely move between nearby Oases. There are also flying creatures derived from birds and bats that are unknown elsewhere in the Zone. Neither group is overtly dangerous to humans but swarms of them may attempt an attack on the wounded or a lone, unwary traveller. According to some stalkers, some southern mutants are so strange and extensively changed that they now exist outside the normal food chain. In theory, such mutants could live almost anywhere.

What the stalkers say... Saint Gaudens, west along the E80, is the other border city of the Zone but there is very little there besides the Institute base. Just across the border, the lost stretch of E80 is packed with cars and old bones. The Glass Forest south-east of Estadens used to be a real forest but the trees have turned into dark, translucent rock. There have been numerous artefact finds in the area but its powerful dynamic anomalies have claimed many lives. In the houses of the Saleich region there are many Replicas, probably copies of the original residents. Some of them also try to imitate their daily activities, often with poor success. The small town of Saint-Girons lies in ruin amidst a field of craters. It has been surmised that it was bombarded with artillery soon after the Visitation from somewhere along the southern border. Nobody approaching from the south has ever made it north of the ruins. The town of Rimont lies on the road to the east. Enormous arches of black stone have grown over it and the area has apparently been plunged into a permanent night. A very dangerous mutant dwells near Mercenac. The Institute has set a bounty of ten million for its capture, alive.

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TOULOUSE “The houses in the Plague Quarter were chipped and dead. However, the windows weren’t broken. Only they were so dirty that they looked blind. At night, when you crawl past, you can see the glow inside, like alcohol burning with blue tongues.” – THE ROADSIDE PICNIC Before the Visitation, Toulouse was the fourth-largest city in France. The greater Toulouse region was home to over a million and its university was one of the oldest in Europe. It was called Ville Rose, the Pink City, after the distinctive pale red hue of its roof tiles. The old city centre dodged the Industrial Revolution and survived almost untouched from the 17th and 18th centuries, while the new residential areas were built around it. After World War II, Toulouse attracted electronics, aeronautics and space technology. The CNES Space Centre, the main office sand factories of the largest aeroplane manufacturer in Europe and the R&D centres of many global technology companies brought the city wealth and prestige.

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Of course, there were problems too. In the northern suburbs and scattered around downtown lived third-generation North African immigrants. Extremist preachers and structural problems in the society fomented unrest. When there were riots in Paris, a day or two later cars were burning also in the Toulouse suburbs. The technology companies had the local politicians in their pocket and the underworld was controlled by the Mediterranean Mafia. In this regard, the Visitation has changed very little.

Thirteen years later, Toulouse looks worn out. The white houses in the Old Town have turned grey or yellow. Most blocks are at least partially abandoned. The pale red roofs are holed and windows broken or murky with dirt. Stores and kiosks have been empty for a decade, streetcars stand unused and graffitis tell stories of collapse and despair. Nothing was done to the mounds of garbage left over from the mass exodus, except where it was pushed into the side alleys to keep the main streets open. Waste disposal works sporadically, so the locals have taken to throwing their garbage on the street or into the river. Some parts no longer get running water or electricity. At night, the smaller streets of the centre and all the southern parts are completely dark. Except for Replicas, most residents prefer to stay indoors after sundown. Despite all this, Toulouse is not dead. The street-level storefronts, deserted inner courts, parking halls and apartments all now house new kinds of businesses. There are smoky bars and all kinds of criminal or semi-legal services (car tuning, meth labs, illegal Savate matches, etc.). Smugglers and illegal aliens know that if they can make it to Toulouse, they will be safe from the regular law enforcement. There are all kinds of shady characters around and the artefact dealers make up only a tiny fraction of them. The present population is both ethnically and spiritually diverse. There is a flourishing market for homespun New Age products and services, from UFO kitsch to expensive consultations with “mutant oracles”. Most of them are just frauds but the Institute keeps an eye out for exceptions. There are even rumours of kidnapped Changed being bought and sold like slaves.

ZONE FRANCE

The Present Day

The Toulouse Metro is closed but the gates have been torn off their hinges long ago. The network of railway and maintenance tunnels melds seamlessly with a labyrinth of medieval crypts and ancient Roman catacombs. The Institute has blocked off these corridors to the best of its ability and some of them have been flooded but even they cannot track down every forgotten hole dug over a couple of millennia. Bums, Refugees and the occasional Replica live in the underground tunnels. There are also places frequented only by the Changed and these can be dangerous to a lone traveller. There are rumours of cannibalism, although the Institute insists that there is no conclusive evidence. The strong presence of the Changed is still felt throughout the city. Weather behaves oddly, strange accidents happen and the laws of nature cannot always be trusted even on this side of the border.

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CITY 1. Old Town

Toulouse in Stalker is exactly what the GM wants it to be. It is not real Toulouse at any point in time but an alternate city at the time when the game takes place. Here and now, near future, recent past, without dates. The description has been written with the help of Google Maps, a tourist guide and vivid imagination. There are references to real locations when they make for interesting content in the game world. Other than that, the maps, locations and the society exist only between the GM’s ears and he is free to create new material as the adventures require.

2. Garrison 3. Laboratory 4. Dead Alleys 5. Riviera 6. Graveyard 7. Sportstrack 8. Station 9. Cut Bridge 10. Garonne river

SciFi Roleplaying Game

If the GM feels that using real places constrains his creativity, he may invent another city on the border and fill it up with whatever he wants. There’s 274 kilometres of border to choose from. One way to dodge the accuracy issue is to focus on expeditions into the Zone and have the outside events take place in Nice, Andorra or Monte Carlo, without having the borderland in between.

ZONE A. The Stadium B. Soot Quarter C. Tech Park D. The Tower E. Mausoleum

Whether using Toulouse or some imaginary place, the locations and people created for adventures will stay there and may return later. A map of the Zone and its locales may be drawn on paper but it really exists in the heads of the players, filling in a bit more with every new expedition.

F. Parliament G. Jigsaw H. Hospital I. Sand Trap J. The Bass

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2. Garrison The Institute’s main base, complete with depots and helipads. The surveillance and control of the entire Zone France is directed from here. The entire area, bridges included, is off-limits to civilians. 3. Laboratory Research laboratories and tech company offices caught between the wall of Route E80 and the Zone were transformed into Institute laboratories. From here, licensed researchers send their remote-controlled drones into the Zone. The area is fenced and tightly guarded.

ZONE FRANCE

1. Old Town The medieval heart of Toulouse is its most densely populated area. The architecture is a combination of old styles, modern traffic arrangements and thirteen years of decay. The infrastructure is mostly functional.

4. Dead Alleys The area south of the Old Town is officially uninhabited, apart from Replicas. No trespassing. Some Refugees and Changed are hiding out here but life is difficult because all water and power has been cut. The border is protected by watch towers, surveillance cameras and a tall electrified fence. The area is also patrolled at night. 5. Riviera This area, with its walled villas and swimming pools, used to be an affluent neighbourhood. Now it stands mostly empty, although some houses have been commissioned by high-ranking employees of the Institute and other officials. The area is constantly patrolled and has water and power. 6. Graveyard The largest graveyard in the city is now a gathering ground for biker gangs, extremist movements and spiritual groups. After dark, the most numerous group present usually takes over and drives the rest out. The surrounding blocks have mostly been abandoned but there are still some obstinate residents, mostly elderly from pre-Visitation days. The infrastructure is spotty. 7. Sportstrack The fields and seating areas are in ruins but a great deal of construction trash was carted here after the Visitation. Nowadays the junk piles of Sportstrack make for a colourful marketplace for visitors and tourists. Here you can buy fake artefacts, items handcrafted from junk, forged brand-name clothes, stolen cars and other borderland stuff. This is as close to the Border as most tourists dare to go. 8. Station Only one of the tracks of the old railway station is in use and runs to the north. Other than that, the trainyard is a graveyard of old carriages and rusting engines. A Refugee camp was here briefly after the Visitation but its inhabitants have long since been relocated. Nowadays, it is empty, apart from a few criminals, drug addicts and curious children. 9. Cut Bridge The bridge has been blown up and the north bank is guarded as tightly as the border, which is about a hundred metres beyond the bank. There have been attempts to burn down the buildings in between and the whole south bank is considered a forbidden area. The Institute has watch towers on the north bank and any trespassers spotted from across the river are fair game for snipers. 10. Garonne River The flow of the river has increased since the Visitation. It is cold and fast for most swimmers but can be easily crossed with a boat or a canoe.

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A. The Stadium A sports stadium, still in good condition and with walls higher than the Institute watchtowers. It is filled with a weblike growth that glows pale green. At night, the glow reflects off the clouds. B. Soot Quarter Everything is covered in black soot of unknown origin. The area is in much better shape than its burnt appearance lets on but the black walls absorb light and it appears quite dark even on a cloudy day. Moving is dangerous, hiding is easy. C. Tech Park Named not only for the offices and laboratories of technology companies caught in the Zone but also for the broken drones that researchers in the Laboratory have sent over. Artefacts are not the only valuable things around but the area is close to the border and under surveillance. D. The Tower A round tower standing in the middle of a large field of dead grass. It was a local landmark even before the Visitation. These days, all its shadows point towards the sun, which can be a startling sight. E. Mausoleum A modern residential area of low apartment blocks and wide streets. The street right in front of the border is littered with the bones of over 6,000 dead.

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G. Jigsaw An infuriating labyrinth of streets clogged with old cars, ruined houses and fences. Optical illusions and psychic anomalies are common. H. The Hospital A birthing centre and a children’s hospital that was caught in the Zone. The skeletal remains left inside are a heart-wrenching sight, although many young patients still managed to escape across the river. I. Sand Trap An old landfill. An imperceptible wind shapes the sand and gravel into dunes, partially burying the heavy equipment and makeshift buildings. Sometimes the earth moves, forming great shapes and strange patterns.

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F. Parliament An old concert hall. In the early days, the Institute tried to set up a permanent base here, leaving behind a lot of equipment and technology. The border guards try to keep an eye on the place from a distance.

J. The Bass The area gets its name from the way sound is distorted here. To the north are the ruins of the University of Toulouse (what remains of it after many Mosquito Manges) and to the south a business park with windtorn office towers.

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The Institute in Toulouse

There are four Institute bases in the city. The Garrison on the west bank of the Garonne river is the most important base for the entire Zone France. The other two are located on the Cut Bridge (north bank, to be precise) and in the Laboratory to the south-east. Unofficially, the fourth base is in the Riviera, the carefully guarded residential area for the employees and managers of the three other bases. The population of the Riviera has gradually grown as companies and organizations working with the Institute renovate these villas for use as high-level employee residences. Although Toulouse is considered a dangerous place to live in, the employees and their families can still visit places like the Old Town during the day and form an important part of the black market economy keeping the city alive. Ironically, one of the Institute’s supposed responsibilities is to suppress the black market.

Administration

The Garrison is the nerve centre for all Zone security and surveillance. It can be entered either by an Institute helicopter or through the checkpoints on bridges crossing the Garonne. Entry permits are rare and even foreign dignitaries are usually given a tour of the Laboratory instead of the Garrison. The base commander is Chief Inspector Hans Brendt, who is the highest local authority in matters concerning Zone France. He shuttles endlessly between the Garrison and Brussels. Other bases have their own Inspectors and a term lasts one year, except for the Riviera, which is administratively part of Garrison. Apart from that, all the bases around the Zone also have holding facilities for arrests made at the border but the actual interrogation, which can sometimes be considered torture, is always conducted in Garrison. The Laboratory Base handles scientific experiments and the storage of artefacts or samples brought from the Zone. It is also rumoured to be the location of the infamous Gamma Vault, a storage facility for samples and artefacts deemed too dangerous for transporation or further research.

The Zone headquarters in Garrison are protected by the Institute’s own small security force, while the border guards have been drawn from various national armies as a special assignment. Although officially under the command of the Institute, this makes the border guards a security risk because their loyalties are ultimately with their homelands. For this reason, only pilots and special personnel are allowed into the deeper levels of Garrison or beyond the first security level in the Laboratory. Regular border troops are usually housed in specific parts of Garrison, the depots of Cut Bridge, or any derelict-house-turned-barracks close to whatever guard station they have been assigned to. There are no officers. Instead, the border guards take orders from Institute Inspectors and various research project managers. Relations between the civilian authorities and the guard NCOs are often strained. Also, the unclear chain of command means it may be impossible for the NCOs to know who is really in charge at any given time. A tour of duty in the border guard lasts six months for regular troops and one year for special personnel and the NCOs. Staged rotation ensures that the entire crew is never replaced at once. The pay is good and a full tour is a great career merit. Also, the international territory is tax-free, so despite the many problems the border guards tend to be professional (if a little heavy-handed) and abuses are rare.

ZONE FRANCE

The Military and the Border Guard

Projects

All Institute activities beyond the administration and border security are “projects”. These are enterprises concerning the Zone or its associated phenomena undertaken by the Institute and its allies. They have defined goals, budgets, managers and durations, which may vary from a few weeks to several years. Even within the Institute, the only people allowed to cross the border are the project personnel. Border guards cannot do it. All projects do not revolve around the Zones. The Laboratory has also seen projects concerning refugees and the Changed, as well as research into the military and industrial applications of the artefacts. The Institute names projects by their managers and sponsors: Santera-NOMO, Bergholm-CALIC, and so on. Zone France is perhaps the most actively studied of all Zones, with 20 or 30 projects underway at any one time. Most of them are based in Toulouse but their field research can happen anywhere. The project budgets run into hundreds of millions and their political value to the Institute is difficult to estimate. They are funded by major corporations, government organizations or the higher decision-making bodies within the Institute. The research teams know that this is an opportunity of a lifetime and that their sponsors are short on patience. Stress levels run high, attitudes are fanatical and everything goes as long as you don’t get caught. The power games around the projects can get very ugly and for all its luxury, the Riviera has seen more than its fair share of drinking problems, burnouts, incidents of family violence and uninvestigated suicides. Support personnel, such as mechanics and IT specialists, tend to take it easier but even they can become entangled in the schemes and scandals of their superiors.

Example: The Donner-AKRUPP project is in trouble. Their drone broke down in the Zone while transporting an artefact back to the border. The expedition sent to retrieve it never made it to the drone and two of its members died. Doctor Dönner secretly hires stalkers to retrieve the artefact from the drone. His second-in-command, Tina Mewali, schemes on how to best save her career from the impending failure. She hears of Dönner’s intentions and plans on giving the Institute an anonymous tip. The Institute would stop the project and the blame would be laid squarely on Dönner’s shoulders, not the team’s. Dönner finds out about Mewali’s plans and murders her. He arranges a meeting with the stalkers in the place where he concealed the body, trying to cover his own tracks with theirs to the best of his ability. The police will not investigate a crime like this but the inspectors of the Institute and the private detectives of AKRUPP are a different story.

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People of Toulouse

The most densely populated areas of Toulouse are the Old Town and Riviera, where nearly every block and street has some people and life in it. Additionally, the parts north and west of the Old Town are sparsely populated and the citizens know which streets still have open stores, private clinics, watering holes or a pawnshop that lives off their desperation and poverty. There are perhaps 100,000 people living in the Toulouse region nowadays, a tenth of what there used to be. Less than half of them live downtown and many streets and city blocks have been completely abandoned. The main streets and important traffic routes are still lit for the Institute patrols. On the smaller streets either the power has been cut or the lamps have been stoned to pieces ages ago.

Natives

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There are still thousands of original residents. Their median age is over fifty and they either live on state pension or try to run small businesses, sometimes even the same ones they ran before the Visitation. Many natives are elderly with relatives or possessions lost to the Zone. They have refused to move for years. The state of France pays them a pension and the Catholic Church sends reluctant priests to visit the churches of Toulouse. The Institute has hired some social workers and patrols the more populated areas to prevent scandals. Nobody knows what should be done about these people. Younger folk and families with children have mostly moved out because of jobs or safety. The state has encouraged everybody leave for the past decade. Even though posters about living on government subsidies in any of the other cities elsewhere in southern France are always painted over or torn off, the authorities keep posting new ones.

Newcomers

There are a few thousand newcomers in the downtown as well. Most of them are bottom feeders from the coastal cities of Mediterranean; petty criminals, addicts, illegal aliens, alternate lifestylers, wannabe cultists and grizzled lone wolves who might have once intended to become stalkers. Ethnic minorities are well represented and thanks to them, the streets of Old Town are very colourful. Most of them run some sort of businesses for the Institute employees, project workers and curious tourists. Nearly all of them are morally flexible and interested in any profitable idea. After all, even the Institute is here to maintain order, not to uphold the law. However, any talk of the Toulouse Free City is still exaggerated. The Institute does not usually intervene but when it does, it does so with an iron fist. The riots of Paris no longer spread to Toulouse because there is not enough people for the mobs and the rest of them know that the Institute does not use rubber bullets. Even the mafia keeps its head down and concentrates on its own affairs.

The Refugees and the Changed

The third large group, although one that is poorly visible in the cityscape, is the Refugees. Whole families hide in abandoned houses, underground stations and shelters built into abandoned streetcars. Some work without papers, trying to blend in with the population and not draw attention. Others beg and some work elsewhere and send money and supplies to their families hiding in Toulouse. The fully Changed children no longer recognize their parents but still remember to beware crowds and daylight. The street urchins of Toulouse are most active at night and are more like animals than humans. In the daytime, they hide in garbage piles, collapsed houses, sewers and other underground tunnels. They are usually not dangerous but the few exceptions a year are enough to keep the townsfolk on their toes. Some projects hunt down the Changed or use local gangs to do the dirty work for them by offering bounties for any captured Changed. Such gangs invade abandoned houses to look for Refugee families and set traps in the underground tunnels. Many disapprove of such activities but whether the Changed still count as humans is debatable.

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Tourists

Toulouse and the Zone also lure a small number of tourists, much in the same morbid fashion that the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone does. Most of them are satisfied with driving the north-western branch of Route E80 and photographing the warning signs and the Zone wall. If they also drive along the ring roads they can get to Sportstrack and buy souvenirs and ice cream. Some brave individuals dare to enter the Old Town and have their photographs taken on the boulevards lining the banks of the Garonne, thinking that the buildings of Garrison on the opposite bank are already part of the Zone. There are also some weekend stalkers who disappear into the Zone every year but rarely in Toulouse since the border is too tightly guarded.

Troublemakers

The less welcome visitors include skinheads, extreme-right radicals and others looking to pick a fight. They come to the borderland to kill Refugees and the Changed “for betraying the Humanity” or whatever their excuse of the day is. They usually target rural communities but sometimes enter Toulouse as well. Killing is ritualized and the French police have confiscated body parts and even heads taken as hunting trophies by these groups. Victims are torn apart between cars, dragged in chains along the motorways, hanged, or drowned in ditches. Religious extremists have soaked their victims in gasoline and burned them alive. Such incidents are reported every year but as with all things Zone, the society prefers to look the other way. The Institute, on the other hand, has lost its patience with these radicals. Because of their attacks, some Refugee communities are now arming themselves and taking shots at ordinary people moving about in the borderland.

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Dead Bums

Toulouse is home to a large number of Replicas. Nobody knows how many. They sit in back alleys doing nothing or walk in endless circles around some part of the city. They are naked at first but the good citizens have clothed most of them. Since they are not aggressive and are rumoured to keep you healthy, most people do not bother them. Those who do, find them immensely strong and nearly invulnerable. The Institute sometimes rounds them up but new ones always appear to replace them and sometimes they are even exact copies of those already sealed into isolation chambers at the Laboratory. Whenever a Replica is sighted you can be sure the nearest Changed, usually a child or a young adult, is not far, although they do not usually show themselves by day. Nobody knows why they find Replicas so fascinating. Replicas are usually quiet but sometimes let out shouts or yelps, mumble, gesture wildly and perhaps touch a passersby. It may be communication but nobody knows how to interpret it and the phenomenon really gets on people’s nerves at night. Replicas are also a source of consternation to the Institute night patrols when they stray too close to the border and trigger the motion detectors. Guards have tried to shoot them but while the bullet holes look grisly in the morning they will vanish in a couple of days.

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Some Replicas, or the people they are based on, have been identified. The expression or skin tone may be unusual and there may be small mistakes like the position of the eyes or the number of fingers but they are recognizable, much like statues in a wax cabinet. The replicas of Toulouse are copies of people who were caught in the Zone but have had possessions or relatives on this side of the border. Some of the memories must have been copied as well because they will attempt to enter closed buildings or sit outside the former apartments of their family. A copy of an artist scrawls patterns on walls. A copy of a musician bangs junk together, occasionally finding a rhythm.

There are about a hundred active stalkers and ten teams in Zone France. In addition, there is always a handful of roaming stalkers who travel from Zone to Zone. Most stalkers remain in Toulouse also between expeditions and the enormous uninhabited urban labyrinth offers an abundance of places to hide in, leave secret stashes and set up clandestine meetings. You can also find all possible equipment and services here, from weapons smuggled out of the African brush wars to doctors specialized in treating Zone injuries. Besides the true stalkers, there are also the newcomers who make one or two expeditions and then either vanish into the Zone or go back home. And finally the stream of tourists brings with it some wannabes who dream of becoming stalkers but either find the thought of running around in the Zone too hard or they lose their courage with the first look at the border.

Subculture

ZONE FRANCE

Stalkers in Toulouse

The regular stalkers will know each other at least by nickname and reputation. Certain bars and locations can become temporary meeting places for stalkers where they exchange information, recruit new members and draw Zone maps on coasters when drunk. Sooner or later these places are infiltrated by Institute spies and the social community breaks up, only to reform somewhere else. These communities are also psychologically important to the stalkers. It is hard to live outside the modern society and even though everybody is in competition with everybody else, at least in the company of other stalkers there is no need to pretend that you are something else. Right now, the community gathers at Bar Bonnevier, a shady basement tavern. The local citizens like stalkers as they bring in lots of money, buy lots of supplies and party hard. Additionally, their existence, reputation and the mythic image of an honourable rogue draw in the occasional tourist. Favouring stalkers is also an expression of Occitanian self-esteem and stubbornness, a quiet shout of defiance at the French society for having turned its back on Toulouse and abandoning it to the clutches of the Institute.

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Lone Wolves

The original stalkers, the foolhardy specialists who explored the Zone by themselves, are becoming rare. Many have died, some have retired and others have gone on to form the first stalker teams. Some of the retired stalkers have stayed in Toulouse, still drawn to the Zone. Instead of going on expeditions, they draw maps for the younger stalkers and sell their knowledge and contacts to the highest bidder, excluding the Institute. Cricket is a small woman with an Indian appearance. Her age is impossible to estimate. She is swift, graceful and very adept at stealth. She leads a xenocult in Andorra but often visits Toulouse. Screwloose is a retired stalker with his covered in spiral-shaped scars and who seems to be a bit around the bend. He claims to have gotten the scars in the Zone but others say that he cut them himself during his long jail sentence. Mehdi found God in the Zone and it was Allah. Now he is the leader of an eccentric Sufi mosque in Toulouse but is still said to make lucrative pilgrimages into the Zone. Interrail is a red-headed, freckled youth, who never goes anywhere without his backpack. He appeared a year ago and everyone thought he would die on his first trip. Instead, he seems to be doing well as a lone wolf and has rejected invitations to join a team. Pump is a former bodybuilder who has seen better days. He used to work as a city plumber and a stalker after that. He still explores the subterranean tunnels of the city and knows the underground routes into the Zone better than anyone.

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Stalker Teams

Most of the modern-day stalkers operate, train, and travel in small teams. The majority of these teams are born and broken up anew for each expedition but there are about ten regular teams in the city. Every bartender in Toulouse can rattle off the following list once the price is right. Komsomol was founded by a veteran stalker known as Czar. The core team has stayed together for a long time but there is a high turnover for newcomers. The composition of Rouge Noir is constantly shifting. It is rumoured that their secretive leader and sponsor is not a stalker himself. The Hashashin have not killed anybody but the team is made up of second-generation immigrants from North Africa. Junkyard has a bad reputation. It is said that the members met each other in prison and now murder other stalkers in the Zone. Flagellants seek to steal or purchase artefacts from elsewhere and take them back into the Zone. Funded by religious (Catholic) organizations. Bebop is known for using high tech and instruments they have devised themselves. The team also spies on the Institute’s computer network. Train Zero began as a regular team but is now composed of Refugees looking for their homes and loved ones in the Zone.

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EXTRAS

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Sapporo, Japan. The northernmost of the gleaming image. metropolises that give Japan its urban, high-tech wellHome to 3 million. Down on the streets, amidst thesional dressed execs, smart-looking students and the occa tattooed gangster, life goes on. ion of There is no sense of urgency or crisis here. No ment all. at ing Noth anything extraordinary or out of place. zones Then you look up and it all comes back to you. Some are bigger. Others are deadlier. But none are more photogenic than Zone Japan. from Shimmering curtains of light and shadow hang down unseen by eled pumm if as space, flaring and intertwining silver, winds. A waterfall of smoked glass and luminescent its base crackling with lightning. the zone The spectacle is over 100 kilometres tall, even iffed by itself is only 72 kilometres across. Although dwar dim as the spectable, clouds and mountains seem to glow and they reflect the shifting lights. a huge Of course, most days are cloudy. The Zone is just der, patch of darkened skies and flashes of distant thun r goes like an enormous stormcloud on the horizon that neve away. shadow At night, the rays of light amidst the curtains of a just was make the clouds glow. It is as if Sapporo itself, fishing hamlet and the true city, as big as Tokyo d on was further away on the horizon, its lights reflecte the low-hanging clouds.

This article was published in my designer blog on April 22nd, 2009. You can download the strictly unofficial map of Zone Japan from http://www.burgergames.com/notes/japsizone.jpg Hokkaido is the northernmost of the Japanese home islands. It is a land of forests and mountains with a cool climate not too different from Scandinavia. Before the Visitation summer temperatures were around the 20s and in the winter dropped to around -10 degrees centigrade. Summers are drier than in the rest of Japan since the island is too far north to be really affected by the monsoon. In winter, there is heavy snowfall, coming down as fine powder up in the mountains. Although the mountains can be very impressive and create scenic landscapes complete with tall waterfalls, they are not really that steep and hiking was a popular sport before the Visitation. Coniferous forests are the dominant type of wild vegetation, while fields and rice paddies dominate the lowlands and valleys.

EXTRAS

ZONE JAPAN

Sapporo is the regional capital of Hokkaido. Often portrayed as a border city like Toulouse or Derbent, there is actually a 20-kilometre buffer zone between the metropolitan area and the Zone border, so that the city infrastructure has remained intact. Sapporo is also one of the few settlements close to Zones to have actually gained in population. Before the Visitation, the city had 2.5 million people. Now the figure is well over 3 million, with hundreds of thousands having fled there from the northern parts of the island. They are now mingling with tens of thousands of Refugees, survivors from within the Zone itself. There is very little social security or even sympathy for either group up here and things are not helped by the recent downturn of world economy that is hitting Japan harder than most. Probably because they have a longer way to fall. If Sapporo has its share of problems, it is a catastrophe up north. The Zone is a 100 kilometres tall and 72 kilometres wide obstacle to sunlight. Its shadow falls over much of northern Hokkaido and the effects on climate and vegetation have been devastating. In short, the northern half of the island is turning into a tundra and you can find snow year-round from the nooks and crannies of the hills. Most residents have fled, either due to the abject failure of agriculture, or because they believe the northern areas to be cursed. Some of the industrial facilities are still operational, as are fisheries along the coast but the entire region has an ill reputation that borders on superstition. The Japanese call this area Reiriku, the Ghost Land. Things are much better in the east. The zone appeared on the western side of a north-south mountain ridge that runs through the middle of the island. Although the border extends to the eastern slopes, the lowlands towards the coast were spared and were left on the sunny side of the zone, while the mountains keep the cold Zone climate at bay. From Sapporo to Kushiro and Nemuro, life is still relatively normal. But beyond the mountains to the north lies Reiriku and the Zone can be said to have decimated a region several times the size of its own surface area. The Institute maintains a base in the near-abandoned town of Asahikawa (pre-visit population 350,000; it was an important industrial and commercial centre famous for its restaurants) but has to rely on private security contractors (mostly American) for border patrols. Their own local employees would rather resign and neither the local defence contractors nor the SelfDefence Force are willing to send troops "into the shadow" in Reiriku. Behind the scenes, this has forced the Institute to compromise on many issues. Research licenses for Zone Japan are easier to get than in Europe. While Japanese companies and institutions are active in the south, the northern border is exploited by many foreign and multinational corporations, some of them merely respectable fronts for agents from other Asian-Pacific governments.

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Xenography of Zone Japan

The Zone itself has claimed has roughly 200,000 lives. There are no reliable figures on the numbers of Refugees and the officials are generally reluctant to even discuss the issue. It completely engulfed a wide plateau leading northwest from Sapporo, cutting all road links to the north. This region was heavily populated, dotted with villages and small towns, and small by Japanese standards still means populations of tens of thousands. The plateau runs deep into the Zone, continuing all the way to Asahikawa in the north. With relatively level terrain, well-kept roads and an intricate system of irrigation channels and ditches that remains largely intact, movement is easy. This, of course, says nothing of the difficulties posed by the many anomalies and inorganisms present, let alone the temporal and spatial shifts that seem to move with the lights and shadows coming from above. Zone Japan is often also bitterly cold. The former rice paddies can remain frozen year round. The presence of the Zone is also thought to have increased seismic activity and small earthquakes are often felt throughout Hokkaido.

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While the plateau runs through the zone, there are three other distinct regions. In the west, the border climbs on a stand-alone mountain range that separates it from the sea. This was sparsely populated and difficult terrain to begin with and remains so this very day. Poor weather makes even aerial surveillance difficult, leaving this area wide-open, provided that the intruder is willing to hike up and down mountains, cliffs and forests in pouring (and freezing) rain. It has been and continues to be done by hardy loners or small teams traveling light and never venturing deep into the Zone. This is also one of the two places in Zone Japan where you can find life, still clinging on to sheltered valleys, gorges and caves, withering and mutating like all life in all the Zones (with the possible exception of Zone Russia). To the east lies the north-south mountain ridge that runs along the entire length of the island. It is also volcanically active with many hot springs, geysers and boiling mud pits. Towards the south end there are also three active volcanoes, two of them inside the Zone and one just barely outside it. A massive volcanic eruption in the Zone is one of the Institute's nightmare scenarios but so far this has not occurred. Some of the cameras monitoring the slopes are still operational and provide tantalizing glimpses from inside the Zone if and when the radio link chooses to function. This being Japan, the mountains were far from uninhabited. Some of the finest winter resorts in the world were lost to the Zone around Furano, along with many prestigious foreign nationals residing there at the time of the Visitation. Again, these mountains hold oases of life, just like in the west. The far east beyond the central mountain ridge opens onto a plateau east of Furano, with the border running right through it almost parallel to road 237. Abandoned and overgrown, this region is still easy traverse if you know the terrain. This is definitely stalker country and although patrolled by the Institute, they simply do not have the resources to cover 50 kilometres worth of farmland, mountains and small towns. The wealthy residences at Furano were a tempting target for stalkers right from the beginning. More importantly, villages and towns just east of the border have not been abandoned (even if they are slowly dying). The Institute has to tread carefully when operating outside the relatively narrow 2-kilometre quarantine area outside the border. There is no love lost between the Institute gaijins and the Japanese authorities even at the best of times. Also, the presence of foreign companies and security contractors is frowned upon by almost everybody, from locals to government officials.

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While Zone Japan does not have a true borderland region, many elements normally associated with borderlands are still present as part of the local underworld, especially in Sapporo. Scratch the surface or take a wrong turn at night and the Refugees, the Changed, the cults, the gangs, the vigilante groups (especially among Japan's strong ultra-nationalist factions), are all there. Clandestine xenological research is rampant all over Far East. Many Japanese corporations are involved in both legal and illegal research and make little distinction between the two while the national authorities look the other way. They are less forgiving to foreign companies but on the other hand pay scant attention to Reiriku. There are rumours of secret research facilities being built in old power plants, train tunnels and defence installations. In additional to the local finds, the fishing ports and small airfields are said to be busy with smugglers flying in dangerous artifacts from all over the world. It is an exaggeration but not an outright lie.

EXTRAS

Walking the Border in Japan

The Yakuza

To be a stalker in Japan means dealing with the Yakuza. There is no way around it. In the tradition of martial arts schools, Yakuza clans in the north maintain "stables" of stalkers, some of which accept foreigners. Yakuza membership is not required but loyalty and commitment is. Prominent rogues and independents are ruthlessly hunted down, so the first step in becoming a stalker in Japan is approaching the local oyabun with some proof that you actually have what it takes. You can retire later on but it is best to flee Japan when you do. The unfortunate side effect is that stalkers become involved in crime wars. Xenotechnology has shifted the balance of power in the underworld. The small northern Yakuza clans wield disproportionate influence among keiretsu (modern-day zaibatsu), the great corporate conglomerates that have traditionally been dealing with the Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto clans. These clans want in and since Sapporo is too small for them all, a major gangster war seems inevitable. While the northern clans are smaller, this is their home turf and they have some support from the corporations, so the outcome of the impending conflict is anyone's guess. With the average Yakuza being a tattooed street thug, it is somewhat startling to find that stalkers in Japan have access to extremely advanced equipment, undreamed of by stalkers anywhere else and rivalling or even surpassing that of the Institute. In the end, even the Yakuza are only middlemen and it is the corporations that run this show. Japan is famous for its hightech sector and with the amount of money put into xenological research anything is possible. Corporate research teams assign targets and provide the equipment. Yakuza are needed only for secrecy, unaccountability, security and finding some fools both stupid enough to enter the Zone and good enough to bring back some samples.

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We are in the Night and it is bitterly cold. The suit is heated but I can still feel the cold in my extremities. Of course, the lacy ice crystals forming on my supposedly frost-proof visor are also a pretty good hint. The sky above is dark. It is just past noon but I can see the stars through the ghostly veils of aurorae. Just two kilometres to the north, a mall complex with a parking lot is basking in sunlight. I can't see the Sun but I can see its light reflecting off buildings in the distance. Maybe even from the air, since the parking lot seems to swimming in golden haze. It could be something deadly but most likely it is just water vapour as warm air moves over frozen ground. These patches of daylight and night move about, drifting past one another like blocks of ice and oil, flexible but never mixing. There is no twilight in this Zone. Only Day or Night. "Beige, where's the dawn right now?" I say into the headset. "800 metres and closing. 10 minutes, maybe less", the radio talks back.

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The visor display triangulates the source of the transmission to 355 metres to the southeast. Nifty gadget, too bad it can't measure anything past the threshold. Something flashes to the south, like a huge electrical discharge. Background radiation spikes and dies down. I am arranging an energy discharge of my own and turn the detonator key. A series of small explosives shatters the ice sheet covering a basketball field. There is an ear-shattering boom but we are quite safe. Nobody outside this patch of Night will hear a thing. Let alone anyone on the Zone border. "Mako, see anything?" "Just a second", another voice responds. Visor pinpoints the signal origin to the balcony of a blackened, partially collapsed building. Mako is using some kind of spectrometer that looks like binoculars with a pistol grip. "Anomalous refraction at eleven o'clock!" she shouts excitedly. "Eight meters!" I drop down on all fours and start moving towards it, shifting through the icy mush with my gloved hands. Then something wraps itself around my left glove and I know we hit paydirt. Like a coil of gold wire, except that it flows and shifts like liquid. It did not grab my hand. Rather I just stuck my hand in it by accident as if it was a pile of cow-droppings. I half-push, half-pour it from my hand into the container. It feels like thick gel, or soft bubblegum. The container clicks shut and lid indicators switch from red to green. Quarantine complete. "I got it!" I am shouting and turn to wave the container at Mako. She is not there. The spectrometer rests at the railing. I know she would not leave it behind. "Mako? Come in, baby! Come in!" Nothing. Not a beep. All of the sudden, I realise that there's something else on the balcony, crawling over the edge. I see a giant claw, or a stubby tentacle, of twisted iron dragging a hunk of junk forward like some obscene snail. Something glows orange inside it. It is as if it had pulled all this scrap onto itself to shield against the dark and cold. Mako is part of it in her suit, now integrated into the inorganism and bending into impossible positions as the entity moves. She must have been mangled to a pulp inside her suit. It is too dark to see if the suit is leaking blood. "Whitecap? Mako? Everything OK there?" the radio says and the noise feels deafening against the silence. The entity hears it too and its loose tentacles constrict, hardening into spindly legs that can support the glowing core, lifting it off the ice on the ground. I supress a sudden urge to start firing at it and instead turn around and run. Somewhere. Anywhere. Unlike the entity, I am not afraid of the ice.

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I am shouting. Why am I shouting? And there is something in my eyes. I can't see properly. Darkness and tears are playing tricks on me and every one of those tricks could be death. "Shit! Four minutes! Find some cover!"

EXTRAS

Mako's dead!" I shout into the microphone. "Something grabbed her." "Gone?" "Fucking gone! Moving out!"

I run, not sure where and suddenly slip, stumble and fall, rolling onwards on sheer momentum for what seems like forever. A couple of seconds, tops, really. Then a brick wall catches me and the visor of my helmet cracks under the impact. I tear the whole thing off and frigid air shocks me back to my senses. I half-expected the inorganism to be upon me by now but it is nowhere in sight. Instead, I am in some kind of an alleyway. Everything to my left is silhuetted against a growing brightness of the ground-level horizon. Dawn is fast approaching. "Fuck!" shouts Beige. "This pit is holed! See any cover out there?" With the increasing light, I do. A hole in the wall, like a giant had punched right through the bricks. It is at the far end of this alley. A gaping maw with teeth of rusty (and now frosty) iron. "Do you see my location?" I ask from Beige. "Yeah!" "I am in an alley. At the far end to the north is a hole into a basement. I am heading there now! Keep coming towards me until you find it!" "Roger that!" I start running and get half-way there when a crunching sound stops me in my tracks. Footprints, or actually shoeprints, appear on the frosty blacktop, crushing the delicate fuzz of the ice crystals flat. The steam from my breathing is swirling funnily, skirting the outline of an invisible obstacle moving past me. And there are more of them, like invisible people moving up and down this alley. They are temporals, so in a way they are, I guess. I roll out of the way and invisible feet tread a path right through where I just was. "Temporals! Switch to EM!" There is no real response. Just heavy breathing over the radio. Beige must be running like hell. My flight from the entity has put us farther apart than I originally planned for but I duck and weave through the footprints, praying all the way to the hole. I guess it worked because the insides are empty. No growths, no quasichemicals, no nothing. Just a black maw into the depths of the building. The light grows stronger. Since it comes from the ground level and not from the sky, shadows grow long and sharp. And after an impossibly long wait, I see Beige turn into the mouth of the alley. There is a roaring sound now, like an approaching flood. Or a runaway freight train. Beige still has his helmet on and the visor looks intact. Temporals are invisible only to the naked eye so it is nothing our visors couldn't handle. Just activate the electromagnetic emission display and you are all set. Then Beige runs into something and it splits his upper body. Or rather, a flash of multispectrum radiation eats away half of his head and torso. Instantly, just like that. For the briefest of moments I think the hole in his torso has the shape of a man's shoulder and an arm but the illusion ends when he falls down, squirting blood from a thousand cut arteries. Some of them were split along their length. And the suit did nothing. Nothing! It was cut away just as sharply as his flesh.

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STALKER:The SciFi Roleplaying Game 232

Dawnbreak is so bright it makes my eyes water. I think I can see the temporals now, humanoid shapes of distorted glass, silhuetted against the bright, deadly beams of light shining down from the sky. Or up from the ground. But the shapes vanish along with the temporal state that summoned them into being. Beige, or what is left of him, is not so lucky. The curtain of light passes over his body and the suit crumples under the immaterial blow. I wait for quite a while after it has passed before crawling out of this hole. The skies are blue now and both the sunlight and the gentle breeze feel warm and moist. All the ice and frost have vanished like they were never there. Still, a cool mist flows along the surface of the asphalt. Maybe the Earth remembers the wintery darkness even if water does not. And looking at the mouth of the alley, I can see that the hills outside the town are now dark, almost black. Like cut-outs of black cardboard pasted onto the horizon or something. I'd like to say a few words over the body of Beige but I have no clue what the last rites of Shinto faith are. His suit looks like it had been left out in the sunlight for a century or more. The plastic surface is bleached and chipped to reveal the ceramics underneath. The smooth edges of the lethal cut are now rough and corroded. There is nothing inside the suit. Well, maybe a handful of grey dust with some white flakes of burnt bone. It all fits easily into my second container. I have no idea what Beige really believed in but I know that natives take gifts and offerings to the graves of their friends. I hope the rascal is happy for his $25,000 urn because I sure as hell ain't giving it back to that Yamada egghead.

For the most part, the Zone Japan (zo-n) is not difficult to traverse. The anomalous area in Zone France is certainly much harder and while most anomalies in Europe would squash you like a grape, in Zo-n it is possible to weave through danger spots if you know what you are doing. The alley with Temporals in the previous story is a case in point. Temporals are generally thought to be echoes of matter, energy and movement that have become disjointed in the time axis and now fade in and out of our own temporal dimension. They can be best observed through their effects on their surroundings, which range from footprints in the snow to leaving a man-sized (and shaped) hole in the wall, if the temporal hails from a time period when the wall wasn't there. They usually appear in groups, indicating that they might be an anomaly rather than entities. Temporals are dangerous or lethal to touch, taking piece of you with them into their own temporal dimension.

EXTRAS

Stalking the Zone

Or that's the theory anyway. Anomalies concerning time, energy and spatial dislocation are typical of Zon and most of the suspected inorganisms follow the same pattern. While some anomalies can also be found in other zones, like the Mosquito Mange (a concentration of gravity), they are rare and usually do not last for long. Of the anomalies also found in Zone France, only Paintings tend to be much more common in Zo-n. Inorganisms are either very primitive, moving with all the strategy and cunning of a single-cell amoeba, or they can be very poorly understood mobile anomalous effects like Temporals, putting the very definition of an inorganism into question. However, the danger that claims the most lives in Zo-n is also entirely unique to it: Shifts. The entire Zo-n is a jigsaw puzzle of temporal pocket dimensions, even within the larger transitions of light and darkness it is so famous for. Movement within these pockets is relatively easy but crossing Shifts, transitions from one pocket to another, is not. This can be very dangerous, especially if the conditions within the pockets are very different. While sometimes nearly invisible, Shifts can usually be recognized by visual, auditory or intuitive observations. For example, sounds from across the Shift can be muffled, delayed, or missing entirely. Areas beyond it may appear fuzzy or misty, or there can be optical distortions, moving curtains of light or even illusions of pre-Visit activity. Temporals can be visible across a Shift.

Shifts can also create physical effects, which may pose a danger to observers, such as electrical discharges or strong and sudden air currents, emissions of heat or radiation, gravity anomalies, or even time-induced changes on materials in contact with the Shift. As temporal pockets move, grind against each other, merge and divide, stone walls may appear from nothing, only to deteriorate and then repair themselves. Spots of rust grow and diminish, or an object that seemed intact across the Shift turns to ashes when the Shift passes over it. Pocket dimensions move, shrink, grow and change shape. Stalkers can opt to move with the pocket but since they are relatively small, about the size of a football field and sometimes even less, they must cross dozens of Shifts during each expedition. Japanese stalkers talk of a wind (kaze), the choosing of pockets moving into the right direction and staying with them to minimize Shift transitions. When a Shift has to be crossed, it is best to look for a passive one and stay away from "corners" where Shifts from multiple pockets meet. If conditions across the Shift appear very similar to this side and the throwing of stones or bolts at the Shift does not reveal anything too dramatic, it is usually fairly safe to attempt a crossing. This is best done quickly, minimizing the exposure to the Shift and before it can become more active. Even so, the experience can be painful, nauseating or even cause superficial injuries like burns or minor bleeding.

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Because of Shifts, any direct route between two locations is usually blocked and the stalkers have to navigate their way through a maze of pockets, possibly with the help of off-Zone observers or even satellite imagery. Their presence imposes some very hard requirements on exploration. It is very dangerous to set up a camp anywhere; indoors, outdoors, it does not matter to a Shift. It is also dangerous to explore locations with only one or two escape routes, because if you become trapped in a dead end by a deadly Shift, you're toast. Stalkers do camp out in the Zo-n but it usually means relocating two or more times per night to avoid hitting Shifts or Dusk/ Dawnbreaks.

SciFi Roleplaying Game

Sometimes the temporal pockets themselves are dangerous. Zo-n has inflicted more radiation poisonings than any other Zone when stalkers have stumbled into a pocket with high background radiation due to changes in the light spectrum. The air can be foul with quasichemicals, or just from pollutants leaking from ruined industrial plants and getting trapped inside a pocket. Gravity may be different, sounds may behave oddly, the overall lighting and colouring of things can be different and a raging whirlwind in one pocket does not necessarily trigger even a breeze in another. As a rule, winds coming from outside exist also in Zo-n but the temporal pockets also retain winds locked in time. How these two can co-exist is anyone's guess and on occasion even tornadoes have become trapped in these pockets. Temporal conditions are often different, meaning that after crossing aShift things may look much more deteriorated, possibly because the pocket you entered is situated further away in the future. This also means that team members cannot always see each other across the Shift, which sometimes leads to accidents or scattering. Then there are legends of pockets that are outright deadly to anyone who enters. There is no hard evidence of such things. Maybe those who found them never came back.

Night and Day

Last but not least there is the issue of the superanomalies Day and Night, the slowly shifting columns of light and shadow Zo-n is so famous for. There is a debate over whether the pockets and Shifts inside a Day or a Night area have any kind of pattern to them, or whether Day and Dark are a completely separate phenomena. For a stalker in Zo-n, the point is academic. Day and Night areas can be several kilometres across. In the Day, the conditions are just like during a bright noon, although the light has no discernible source and is dispersed, like on a cloudy day when shadows melt away. Temperatures rise towards normal levels for the season but the Day never lasts long enough to compensate for the bitter cold of the Night. Inside a Night, the skies are black and usually clear so that you can see the stars, aurorae, or even the Milky Way if you are deep enough inside Zo-n. Constellations appear to be normal but no one has undertaken a serious study of astronomy from within the Zo-n. It is bitterly cold, well below freezing and wind tends to die down as air becomes heavier. Some speculate that if it was not for the considerable residual heat in the ground and air, the conditions in a Night would be similar to what they would be on Earth without the Sun (cold enough to freeze the air itself). There is much less snowfall in Zon than there ought to be but even so a Night usually triggers light, clearskies’ snowfall which then evaporates by Day. However, year-round snow cover persists in sheltered spots, especially in the northern half of the Zo-n.

Nights are also the reason why Reiriku is so cold. Not only do they block sunlight but the prevailing winds from South pass through Zo-n and are much colder by the time they reach Reiriku. Over time, centuries or so, both Zo-n and Reiriku may be covered with glaciers.

234

Duskbreak and Dawnbreak are transitions between a Day and a Night. While Shifts kill more people, breaks are what stalkers fear the most. Crossing most Shifts is easy, or at least possible. Crossing Duskbreak or Dawnbreak is lethal. Curtains of light dance along the Day/Night boundary, like an aurora that reaches all the way to the ground. Almost invisible at first, the boundary becomes brighter, even painfully so, as it gets real close. At its approach, stalkers seek shelter, preferably some sturdy hardcover between themselves and the deadly light from the sky. The effects of these lights are usually devastating, if also irregular, on anything brought to Zo-n from the outside. Whether it is a stalker, a protective suit or an SDF main battle tank does not really matter. However, Zo-n itself is left practically untouched.

EXTRAS

The Deadly Dawnbreak

In general, crossing open terrain is to be avoided unless you have a clear fix of where the Duskbreak and Dawnbreak currently are. Anomalies which exist in the Night usually disappear for the Day and vice versa. Also entities present in one are not necessarily present in the other but return once the status changes again. This has given rise to speculation that Zo-n actually has two Zones with very different conditions overlapping. The Dawnbreak experienced by stalkers is actually a rift between these two and while all Zo-n phenomena exists only in Night or Day, a human from outside the Zo-n would experience the worst of both worlds at these boundaries.

Communications

Contrary to what one might expect, radio communication usually does work within Zo-n. Within a temporal pocket it is loud and clear and while transmissions across Shifts can be delayed or distorted, they usually get through. To make things spookier, radio amateurs across Japan have picked up garbled but often recognizable radio signals from different time periods emanating from Zo-n, sometimes repeating over and over again like the transmission event was caught in a time loop. Besides enabling radio communication between team members, tight-beam communicators are used to talk to off-Zone observers for the best routes and sudden changes. It is now illegal to take high-powered optical telescopes or camera lenses up the slopes of the nearby mountains but since Zo-n is so photogenic, even random tourists keep breaking this rule all the time.

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Working with the Yakuza

There is much more to xenological research and artifact smuggling around Zo-n than the Yakuza but they are the aspect that stalkers mostly have to deal with in Zone Japan. As with most things Orient, the Yakuza are many things and draw back on centuries of tradition. An important thing to remember about them is that although she does not look like it today, Japan is still very much a caste society. Some castes have blended together into what you might call a middle class but everything above, below or outside it retains its caste status. The Yakuza tattoos are not for show: in fact, most try to hide them in public. They are a caste symbol, a tangible mark of the criminal class.

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Maybe this is why the Yakuza tend to dress smartly, businesslike or in the fashion of American movies in the 50s. Long sleeves and coats even in the heat of summer help keep the tattoos hidden. There is another reason for it as well. People with tattoos tend to have hard time entering bath houses, restaurants or clubs. The Yakuza must hang out with their own kind and the comfort girls. Apart from a few exceptions, the Yakuza are predominantly male and women have a very low status in the criminal community. While law enforcement is somewhat reluctant to tangle with the organized crime everywhere, in Japan it is doubly so since the Yakuza are spiritually untouchable. You don't deal with them without risking the purity of your own soul. And on the other hand, their presence keeps crime bottled up into specific segments of the society. Sure, it is troublesome at times but Japan actually has very little violent gang-crime. Even pickpockets, such a plague in most other metropolises around the world are very rare in Japan. Without the Yakuza, things could be very different. And while most criminal organisations are at odds with the everyday society, the Yakuza still feel part of it. So much so that in Japanese fiction they often have the role of a Robin Hood -type “good gangsters”, much like the stalkers themselves. This is not without merit. For example, the Kobe earthquake in 1995 left an entire city without water, power or transport of supplies. While the Japanese bureaucracy was burying itself in red tape, the Yakuza began distributing water and supplies from gods know where and kept it up for two days until the Japanese military finally moved in. Even in the best of times, the Japanese society has its cracks. There are no safety nets for people who fall into them, except for the Yakuza. For the police and the politicians, removing the Yakuza from the scene would mean taking on a host of social problems the mainstream society would rather pretend do not exist. It is not pretty but it is convenient and has gone on for a long time. Today, many of the Refugees hiding in Sapporo can do so only because they are either part of the Yakuza network, or receive handouts from them in exchange for menial tasks. No other criminal organisation in the world has such a strong presence among the Zone Refugees as the Yakuza. This is not to say that modern times would not have eroded some of these traditions. In an increasingly non-traditional society, the Yakuza have been forced to lower their recruiting standards. The line between the old traditional yakuza and newer criminal groups like bikers (bosozuku) is becoming blurred. Also the fear and respect the other social classes have had for the Yakuza is eroding. The old clanheads still see the Yakuza as a breed apart from common street thugs but down on the street the distinction is less obvious. To complicate things further, there is a growing group of wanna-be Yakuzas, mostly youngsters rebelling against the tightly stratified Japanese society by getting tattooed and pretending to be tough criminals. Some yakuza gangs use these pretenders for menial tasks (or as cannon fodder) but most would rather dump them into the sea.

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EXTRAS

Becoming a Yakuza includes a ritual between the leader, oyabun (literally "father role") and the recruit kobun ("child role"). Kobun's finger is pricked with a needle and blood smeared over a picture of a saint, which the kobun then holds in a fire. Finally, he and the oyabun drink specially prepared sake from each other's cups and from that moment on the Yakuza is the kobun's first family, taking precedence over his blood relatives or a spouse. By tradition, kobun are bound by the code of the samurai, Bushido, including the willingness to die for the oyabun. In the modern world, such qualities are rare and life in the upper levels of the Yakuza can be quite machiavellian. There is also a ritual for resigning from the Yakuza by breaking the sake cup but this runs the same risks as leaving any other criminal organization. The Yakuza are generally less eager to kill their fellow clan members for infractions and offences than most other criminal organisations. This is because they have a highly distinctive ritual of penance, yubitsume. By this method, even very serious mistakes can be atoned for. No words are involved. The oyabun gives the kobun a knife (traditionally a tanto but any sharp knife will do) and a string to stop the bleeding. The kobun then cuts off the first digit of his left little finger (or right, or other fingers if this ritual has been performed before) and hands the fingertip to the oyabun in a silk cloth. The oyabun nods and smiles in assent and thus the offense has been compensated for. Your average yakuza gang has 10 to 50 members. It is lead by the oyabun and assisted by a number of lieutenants responsible for more special and confidential activities. One of them commands the guys on the street, who are divided into smaller groups of street gangsters consisting of a wakashu (junior leader) and a few shatei (younger brothers). The whole gang is in turn part of a Yakuza clan, led by kumicho (supreme boss) and his own circle of lieutenants. In Osaka, the Yakuza capital, there can be as many as five layers of branching hierarchies, where oyabuns have their own oyabuns in the form of lieutenants from higher gangs. The clans have unique names and identities. It is these powerful clans, some of them numbering over 10,000 members, that are involved in the sutakeru (stalker) activities. But while these numbers are impressive, it is important to remember that stalker activity concerns a very small group of people in each clan. The rest are watching over brothels, drug dens, protection rackets, semi-legitimate fronts for smuggling operations and pachinko halls, perhaps even unaware of their clan’s involvement with stalkers. Attacking these thousands and thousands of footsoldiers would be a bloodbath for all sides, so clans wage an espionage war to determine the key people in each clan. When they think they have identified a target they strike just at him, either to kill or capture. Some stalker groups have become integrated into the Yakuza clans and their leaders enjoy a lieutenant status, making the rest of the group effectively one of the street gangs. However, most stalker groups have not become kobun and their relationship with the Yakuza is strictly business. This means less information, less money and less friends but also less chance of being targeted by rival yakuza clans. Clan lieutenants typically include people with keiretsu or government connections. They act as middlemen and the stalkers rarely know where their missions or equipment are coming from, or how much the artifacts and samples brought back from Zo-n are actually worth. While there have been incidents of every variety between stalkers and their yakuza "partners", the relationship is usually smooth and straightforward. The Yakuza make a lot of money by dealing with goods that only stalkers can provide. Once you have a good team, it is a sensible strategy to hold on to them, trying to build up their loyalty and eventually enticing them into becoming kobun. This rarely works, especially on foreign stalker aces but it never hurts to try and there is plenty of sake involved.

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Artefacts and Sutakeru Keiei

Where things really get complicated is the Yakuza-Keiretsu relationship. There is no love lost between the two and both sides are trying to screw each other over as much as they can. For example, the Keiretsu pays the Yakuza to organize an expedition and provides the equipment for it. The Yakuza relay the equipment and relevant information to their stalkers, help them set up the expedition and organize extraction from the borderland once the stalkers are back. The Yakuza then buy any finds off the stalkers and with or without their help arrange a little field study to determine what they are. The involvement of stalkers in the trade should end there.

SciFi Roleplaying Game

If the artifacts are of relatively low value, the Keiretsu gets them for the agreed price. Sometimes the gear is returned along with it but in betterworking business relationships the stalkers get to keep them as long as the Yakuza-Keiretsu relationship holds. Now, if any of the artifacts was of surprisingly high value, the stalkers might get a bonus for it but the Yakuza would then try to squeeze more money out of the Keiretsu. The Keiretsu would seek to independently verify if the Yakuza claims about the artifact are true or if they have really been presented with all the artifacts found during the expedition. This sometimes involves contacting the stalkers directly, which again risks the very cover the Keiretsu were using the Yakuza for in the first place. It also sows seeds of mistrust between the Yakuza and their stalkers. It gets worse. Keiretsus are also spying on each other and often have bitter internal rivalries between high-level managers. A rare find can attract bids from rival Keiretsus, or multiple bids from within the same keiretsu, not to mention attempts by rival yakuza clans or competing factions within the same clan trying to seize these finds for themselves. Also the Institute has its ear to the ground in Sapporo where these deals take place. While they haven't been able to crack open the Yakuza, they have collaborators in the Keiretsus. And while non-kobun stalkers are not really hit targets in the Yakuza wars, they are assets that can be fought over with threats, bribery, extortion and knocking out their existing Yakuza contacts which would force them to seek out a new dealer. This threatens to pull Keiretsus into the wars as well. An expedition funded and outfitted by Keiretsu A can end up benefiting Keiretsu B because of Yakuza conflicts, so both Keiretsus try to pull strings to make sure that either does or does not happen. Even a straightforward grab'n'run op into the Zo-n can get real messy once the stalkers get back. Finally, Keiretsus are not the only ones paying the Yakuza for samples and artifacts. There are all sorts of political clubs and secret societies in Japan, as well as wacky cults with dubious amounts of money. The Yakuza as such are an international operation that can also be contracted by foreign governments, intelligence agencies or even factions within the Institute. Money was always a factor but it was really these new contacts and the growing influence abroad that had the southern Yakuza clans worried. They needed to get a piece of the action as well, or the northern clans would grow big enough to threaten the balance of power on Honshu island. Unfortunately, the Osaka and Tokyo factions consisting of nine and six clans respectively, could not agree on how the spoils of this war ought to be shared. So far, the four clans of the Sapporo faction have been holding out despite the odds. There is one other thing, rarely mentioned but one that keeps the Institute inspectors in Japan awake at night. Not all of the artefacts bought off from stalkers make it to Keiretsus or their foreign counterparts. Could the Yakuza be hoarding artifacts and if so, to what end? Is the conflict between the Yakuza clans about to go xenological with weaponized artifacts? Or is the real target something else, somewhere among the more traditional enemies of the Yakuza? Like the law enforcement or the Institute itself.

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FITNESS

ALERTNESS Name:

INTELLECT

CHARISMA

TECHNICAL

DRAWBACKS

WILLPOWER

EDUCATION

ZONE

Description:

History:

Team____________ Role____________ Renown___________ __________________ __________________ __________________

Contacts_________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________

EQUIPMENT

Injuries

Burger Games 2011

STALKER:The

Burger Games WWW.BURGERGAMES.COM

Burger Games is the publishing label of the Finnish roleplaying game author Ville “Burger” Vuorela. Founded in 1997, Burger Games has so far released five complete roleplaying games, three in English and two in Finnish.

SciFi Roleplaying Game

Burger Games titles are known for evocative writing, working rules and the indomitable Indie spirit. They share a strong focus on adventure and being stand-alone products that already contain everything you need to keep playing for years. Burger Games depends on volunteers and fan effort. I am forever grateful to all the artists, playtesters, proofreaders, tweakers and promoters who found Stalker RPG worth their time and effort. If you liked this game, spread the word. Tell others that you liked it. Demo the game. Create new adventures. Discuss the rules. Write fan fiction. Participate in the social media. Make some noise! -Ville “Burger” Vuorela

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO AN ALIEN POWER TOUCHED EARTH. IT LEFT SIX REGIONS WHERE THE LAWS OF NATURE AND LIFE HAVE GONE INSANE. ENTIRE CITIES VANISHED. HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS WERE LOST. SCIENTISTS WERE BAFFLED, ARMIES WERE HELPLESS AND LEADERS WERE POWERLESS. THE WORLD DEMANDED THE REGIONS TO BE CLOSED OFF AND FORGOTTEN. THEY BECAME KNOWN AS “THE FORBIDDEN ZONES”, OR JUST PLAIN “ZONES”. AROUND THEIR PERIMETER THE SOCIETY CRUMBLED. MANY FLED. OTHERS WERE DRAWN IN. BORDERLANDS BECAME THE FRONTIERS OF HUMAN CIVILIZATION. TODAY, THE ZONES ARE GUARDED BY THE INSTITUTE AND ITS ALLIES, WHO ARE PLAYING RUTHLESS POLITICAL GAMES WITH THE FUTURE OF HUMANITY. ARTEFACTS ARE RELICS AND TOOLS OF AN ALIEN CULTURE. THEY COULD EASILY UPSET THE GLOBAL ECONOMY, POLITICS OR MILITARY BALANCE OF POWER. STALKERS ARE CRIMINALS WHO DEFY THE HAZARDS OF THE ZONES AND THE GUNS OF THE GUARDS TO SEARCH FOR ARTEFACTS FROM BEYOND THE BORDER. HEROES, VILLAINS OR ROGUES, THEY HAVE VENTURED DEEPER INTO THE ZONES THAN ANYONE ELSE.

STALKER – The SciFi Roleplaying Game is based on the classic sci-fi novel Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, as well as the movie Stalker directed by Andrei Tarkovsky. This game is published under a license from Boris Strugatsky. STALKER RPG was released in Finland in 2008. Gritty, edgy and controversial, it was a critical and commercial success. Helsingin Sanomat, the leading daily newspaper in Finland, hailed its release as one of the “Culture Events of 2008”.

“Fucking Brilliant!” - a typical review STALKER RPG uses FLOW, a diceless game system emphasizing player participation, role immersion and the use of rules as a catalyst to great roleplaying. Old-school roleplayers have found FLOW to be easy to learn, highly adaptable and very immersive. STALKER RPG soon attracted a hardcore fanbase, many of whom would swear it was the best roleplaying game ever made. It is these very same fans helped to have the game translated into English and released globally in 2012.

Burger Games 2012

WWW.BURGERGAMES.COM