XD6 System Reference Document

Rules by Stellagama Publishing

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One Basic Rule

Rule 0: to facilitate play, the Referee is the final arbiter for any game-related question.

Basic Rules

Die roll conventions

This ruleset uses common six-sided dice. We note each die you need to roll as a “d6”. For example, “2d6” means “roll two six-sided dice and add the results together”.

D66 is a special die roll, in which you throw two dice, and count one as the “ones” and one as the “tens”. This will produce 36 results from 11 to 66. Just be sure to pick which die is the “tens” and which is the “ones” before rolling the dice.

Another special die roll is 1d3, in which a six-sided die is rolled, and the result divided in two and rounded up, resulting in a 1-3 range of results.

Basic Game Mechanics

The interstellar (or interplanetary) adventurers depicted by these rules are competent. In many situations, possessing the appropriate Archetype or having 1 or more points in a relevant skill will suffice to succeed. For example, a character with the Medic archetype will know how to treat many medical conditions, and even perform routine surgeries, without requiring a die roll. A character with the Pilot archetype will know how to fly and land a starship in common circumstances without rolling dice. The following dice throw mechanic should serve in dangerous cases - such as combat, landing a starship in extreme weather, trauma surgery on a critically-injured patient, and so on - where even professionals risk disastrous failure.

In such dangerous situations, where failure carries dire consequences and where luck plays a major role, throw 2d6: roll two six-sided dice and add the results together, and add the relevant skill level as a modifier. If the total equals or exceeds 8, you succeed. Otherwise, you fail.

Skill notation: "Throw Skill" means roll two dice, add them together and add the relevant skill, and if the total equals or exceeds 8, you succeed.

Note that - as noted above - intrepid interstellar adventurers are competent. If your character has no points in a skill, treat it as “Skill 0”, and simply roll 2d6 on any skill checks, without any modifiers. There is no need to note this on your character sheet or monster description: when a skill is absent, simply assume that it is at 0.

Advantage and Disadvantage Dice

Various circumstances affect the skill roll. In cases where these circumstances are significant, these rules apply Advantage Dice (+1D) and Disadvantage Dice (-1D). When making a skill roll with Advantage and/or Disadvantage Dice, sum up all Advantage Dice and subtract all Disadvantage dice from the sum. If the result is positive, roll 2d6 + skill and an additional number of dice equal to that sum, and choose the highest two dice. If the result is zero, simply roll 2d6 + skill. If the result is negative, roll 2d6 + skill and an additional number of dice equal to the sum, and choose the lowest two dice.

The same applies to any Damage rolls: Roll the normal weapon damage after a successful hit and apply Advantage or Disadvantage dice to the total damage normally.

We note Advantage and Disadvantage Dice as (+1D) and (-1D), respectively. Multiple dice are noted in the same way, for example “+2D” or “-3D”.

Examples: If you have +2D and -3D on a skill throw, the total is -1D, which means you roll 3d6 and choose the two lowest dice. If you have +3D and -1D on a skill throw, the total is +2D, which means you roll 4d6 and choose the highest two dice. A shotgun (4d6 damage) with a +1D damage bonus would roll 5d6 for damage and select the highest four dice.

Some groups enjoy differentiating more difficult tasks from easier ones. This can be easily modeled by adding Advantage or Disadvantage dice accordingly. For example:

Using the XD6 System with Cepheus Deluxe Enhanced Edition

The XD6 System uses a modified version of the 2d6 + skill vs Target Number dice mechanic that is standard across all Cepheus Engine products, including Stellagama Publishing’s Cepheus Deluxe and Sword of Cepheus games. The main difference between the XD6 System and Cepheus Deluxe is that the former game discards all dice modifiers except for character skills in favor of using additional dice to represent bonuses and penalties.

In the two options given below, we do not recommend converting the player character damage rules from Cepheus Deluxe to the XD6 System.

Option 1: Strict Conversion

Using the XD6 System dice mechanics in Cepheus Deluxe Enhanced Edition is pretty straightforward, though some care must be taken when converting dice modifiers over to bonus or penalty dice. Simply put, use Cepheus Deluxe Attribute and Skill level DMs to form the basic modifier to the roll, but any additional modifiers are converted to the XD6 Bonus/Penalty Dice system. This option may be a bit mechanically-intensive, but Use the following table to convert dice modifiers (DMs) to Bonus Dice. Ignore bonuses or penalties that do not meet the listed threshold.

DM to Dice Conversion Table

For example, in a Cepheus Deluxe game using the XD6 dice mechanic, a character with an Agility of 9 (DM+1) and Gun Combat skill of 2 would normally have a +3 bonus to their Gun Combat skill rolls. If the character was firing at a prone target (DM-2 in Cepheus Deluxe), they would apply a -1D penalty to their roll. If the character aimed for a single action, they would still incur the -1D penalty, since the total penalty would be DM-1.

Certain character Traits in Cepheus Deluxe Enhanced Edition grant Advantage to dice rolls. Apply this directly as additional normal Bonus Dice. In the previous example, if the character was firing their Signature Weapon, they would get a +1D bonus die applied to their rolls, negating the -1D penalty die.

Option 2.2: Using Cepheus Deluxe Skills and Attributes Only

A simpler option for adapting Cepheus Deluxe skills to XD6 dice mechanics would be to use the character Attribute and Skill DMs, but to use them with the XD6 mechanics exclusively. This means that Cepheus Deluxe characters become XD6 characters, albeit with six attributes and a variety of skills.

Like before, to determine the skill modifier for any roll, add the relevant attribute and skill level together. Then apply normal XD6 Bonus and Penalty Dice as per the rules. If a character has a Trait that grants Advantage in Cepheus Deluxe, it grants a +1D bonus in the XD6 System.

The main challenge for adapting Cepheus Deluxe characters in this fashion is that there might be some confusion as to when to apply any Archetype bonus to skill rolls. Because all the skills the character gained in their career were gained in that career, there might be a temptation to give a flat +1D Archetype bonus to the character’s skill rolls. This would be unwise. Instead, we provide some suggestions for when the Archetype +1D bonus should apply:

Option 2.1 Convert the Archetype

Use the closest XD6 archetype for that character. For example, a Cepheus Deluxe character who has a lot of technical skills gained from service as a Merchant would use the Engineer Archetype, not the Soldier. A career Pirate character who spent most of their short (and dangerous) career boarding ships and gaining combat skills would be a Soldier, rather than an Outlaw. If that character also had extensive piloting skills, then perhaps the Pilot Archetype would be suitable instead. Recall that characters only get one Archetype. This decision should be finalized before play, and agreed upon by both Referee and player.

Option 2.2: Meta-Game Resource

Some Cepheus Deluxe players might object to their characters simply being labelled and sorted into mere literary archetypes! For these players we suggest either allowing them to use an Archetype bonus once per scene on a relevant skill, or that they get three or four such +1D bonuses to be usable at any point in a given game session. This way, their character’s innate flexibility and originality of concept shines through when needed.

Characters

Characters are defined by their Skills, Archetype, and Talents. This chapter describes how to generate characters and explains the various abilities and trait options available to player characters.

Skills

Characters in this ruleset are fundamentally described by seven basic skills: Combat, Knowledge, Physical, Social, Stealth, Vehicles, and Technology. Each is rated from level 0 to 5. These are broad skills meant to encourage adventuring and the quick resolution of tasks. Some skills do have overlapping fields. For example, one could fruitfully argue that Technology governs picking locks. However, the same activity can be governed by Stealth. Either one is appropriate. As usual, the Referee has final say in such matters, but we encourage a spirit of generosity in such rulings.

Combat: This skill governs how competent the character is at committing violence and surviving battle. Use Combat to resolve attacks with any weapon.

Knowledge: This skill describes the character’s general mental acuity and willpower. As well, Knowledge reflects the character’s formal education, and ability to perform tasks related to medicine, history, or astrophysics. This is also the skill that governs psionic power use.

Physical: Whenever a character needs to exert themselves, use this skill. Physical skills governs heroic feats of athleticism, endurance, and physical hardiness. Use it to resist the harmful effects of toxins and disease.

Social: This skill governs the character’s ability to productively interact with other individuals socially, especially when risk is involved. Use this skill to lie, carouse, or conduct high-stakes negotiations.

Stealth: Use this skill to perform any covert or larcenous activity, such as sneaking, picking locks, or setting up an ambush. This is also the skill most often used to detect whenever such activities are being attempted on the character.

Vehicles: Whenever a character must drive a car, fly an aircraft, or pilot a boat or a starship, use this skill. The Vehicles skill covers routine maintenance and upkeep of vehicles, but not in-depth repairs, unless a character’s archetype or talent dictates otherwise.

Technology: This skill governs the use and repair of technology. Use it to repair starship engines, operate sensors, and hack computers, as well as to build shelters and makeshift traps.

Optional Skill Rules

Option 1: Fourteen Skills

Each of the seven skills are split in half. Distribute 9 skill points across all 14 skills, with level 3 being the maximum in any skill, as per usual. The skills are:

Option 2: Twenty Skills

Instead of splitting each of the 7 skills into two daughter skills, here is a provisional list of 20 skills for groups to use instead. Distribute 12 points across 20 skills, with 3 being the maximum in any skill. Below is an example of a skill list of 20 skills. Your campaign might use different skills.

How do I Notice Things?

This ruleset does not have a specific Notice or Perception skill. If the Referee or Players want to know if their characters detect an ambush, clue, or other useful bit of information, roll the skill relevant to that situation. To investigate a crime scene, use Knowledge. To read people’s reactions, use Social. To detect an ambush, use the Stealth skill.

Character creation

1. Develop a character concept: Think about what kind of character you want to: do you want to play an intrepid interstellar explorer, a grizzled mercenary, a curious scientist - or something completely different?

2. Distribute Skill Points: If you play a human, distribute 5 points among your seven Skills. Each skill starts at level 0. You may not assign more than 3 points to any single skill. If playing an alien, distribute 4 points instead.

3. Pick an Archetype: These represent the broad professional training and life experiences that the character has already acquired. They can reflect the character’s Skills, but do not have to.

4. Pick a Talent: If playing a human, pick one Talent from the section later in this chapter. Talents are special abilities, features, or training your character has developed. Aliens do not receive an initial Talent.

5. Calculate Stamina: Your character’s Stamina represents their ability to shrug off damage that might incapacitate lesser heroes. Stamina is equal to 14 + 3 times the character’s Physical skill.

6. Calculate Encumbrance: your character’s carrying capacity is equal to 10 items + twice the character’s Physical skill.

7. Purchase Equipment: Your character starts the game with 2d6x1,000 Credits worth of items. You may purchase from the equipment list in the Equipment chapter. Alternatively, you may pick the Equipment Package corresponding to your character’s Archetype. The Equipment Packages are found at the end of this chapter. At the Referee’s discretion, your character may also have access to a starship, or to specific equipment or vehicles.

8. Finalize Your Character: Choose a name, appearance, and develop a personality for your character. Just a few sentences will do. It is also important to develop a motivation for why your character is no longer in their career and has instead chosen a life of dangerous adventuring. Finally, explain how your character knows one or more of the other player characters. Consult your Referee in case they already have something in mind.

Aliens

Some settings feature a wide array of playable alien characters. Unlike humans, aliens only have 4 points to distribute between their skills in character generation rather than 5, and do not gain an initial Talent. However, each alien species has their own special abilities. The task of developing these abilities is left to the Referee, but here are some examples from common science fiction:

Insectoids: These aliens evolved from cockroach-like ancestors. Males gain +1D on Stealth rolls to sneak in dim light or in darkness. Females may fly up to Near range in any direction in one combat round, but their wings must rest for another combat round before flying again. All insectoids gain +1D to resist poison and disease.

Gekkonids: An alien species that evolved from gecko-like ancestors. They can climb walls and walk on ceilings as if walking on solid and horizontal ground. They also have keen night vision and take no penalties to any actions performed in dim light.

Grays: These are the archetypal UFO pilots engaged in scientific research, including the abduction of humans as test subjects. Grays gain two free Psionic powers of the player’s choice, cumulative with the two Psionic powers granted by the Mystic Archetype, if applicable. Grays suffer -1D to all Combat rolls in melee combat.

Reptilians: A proud and brutal warrior species that evolved from carnivorous lizards. Their unarmed attacks cause 2d6 damage.

Archetypes

An Archetype is the basic concept for your character, and the source of many of the character’s special abilities. A character with a given archetype will be knowledgeable in the general skills and competencies of their archetype. For example, a Scout will know about wilderness survival, navigation, and camouflage. A Soldier will know about military procedures, tactics, and formations. An Engineer will be skilled in optimizing engines, making reliable repairs, and rebuilding old vehicles from junkpiles. Some of the archetypes are less skill-oriented than others, but all have broad applicability. In any case, we urge Referees to be generous about when to apply archetype knowledge or capabilities. Most of the archetypes presented here are standard science fiction tropes, but Referees and players are encouraged to develop their own archetypes to suit their own needs for their own campaigns.

Archetypes typically grant the character an Advantage Die in certain situations. This Archetype bonus should apply whenever possible—with the notable exception that they should not apply to Combat rolls. We have listed just a few example situations where the Advantage Die can be applied. This is not a complete list, and Referees are encouraged to be generous in granting the Archetype Advantage Die.

Agent: Spy, Detective, Bounty Hunter, Corporate Troubleshooter. This character is well-versed in espionage, subterfuge, skullduggery, and conspiracies.

Diplomat: Ambassador, Administrator, Liaison Officer, Face. Whatever the title, this archetype is invaluable in all sorts of situations where a lighter touch and smiling face are essential.

Engineer: Gearhead, Techie, Greasemonkey, Miracle Worker. Whenever something needs fixing, building, or optimizing, the Engineer is the one to call. They are especially useful in situations where technology is central to the task at hand.

Merchant: Entrepreneur, Smuggler, Mover and Shaker, Free Trader. Merchants know how to spot a moneymaking opportunity anywhere. Some might even be honest.

Mystic: Spiritual Guru, Religious Leader, Itinerant Preacher, Washed-Up Hippie. This character embraces everything parapsychological and lives life according to an esoteric mystical creed.

Outlaw: Con Artist, Pirate, Bandit, Rogue, Thief. This character is a criminal or has an extensive criminal past. They have shady connections, and even shadier skills. They might only be one step ahead of their questionable past catching up with them.

Outsider: Barbarian, Drifter, Outcast, Exile. This character hails from a technological backwater, or they have spent long years as an outcast on the fringes of society.

Pilot: Flyboy, Rocket-Jock, Tanker, Wheel-girl. This character is a natural with vehicles and knows how to maximize the performance parameters of any vehicle they are operating.

Examples: Gain +1D when attempting any vehicle stunts, flying in dangerous storms, precise and risky maneuvers, plotting challenging courses, or any Pilot Actions in starship combat.

Roughneck: Belter, Ship’s Crew, Prospector, Colonist. Roughnecks are the working stiffs in space, and they are used to doing all the dirty, unpleasant tasks that no one else wants to do.

Scholar: Doctor, Researcher, Scientist. These characters are well-educated and have extensive knowledge in a broad range of esoteric and technical fields.

Scout: Courier, Surveyor, Explorer, Spacer. Scouts are well-versed in surveying, navigation, and starship piloting. They might know a bit about xeno-biology or long-lost human cultures than their colleagues might expect.

Soldier: Marine, Grunt, Mercenary, Officer. This character is a professional, long-service soldier. They are familiar with weapons, tactics, combat in a variety of environments, and military procedures. Soldiers gain one Combat Talent at character generation (see below).

Talents

Talents represent special abilities that a given character has that would differentiate them from their colleagues. Talents tend to be much narrower in their application than Archetypes but are very useful in their specific contexts. Human characters begin play with one Talent each. More are earned through character advancement.

Combat Talents:

These talents make the character a dangerously trained specialist in their field.

Armor Training: This talent allows the character to use armor more effectively. The encumbrance values of all armors are reduced by 1 to a minimum of 0.

Artillery: This character received advanced training in using heavy artillery. Usually, this means acting as a forward observer, but the character is also an expert in artillery gunnery, fuse setting, and demolishing fortifications with artillery. Gain +1D when firing artillery, or acting as a forward observer, or when conducting counter-battery fire.

Assault: Assault specialists receive training in the use of heavy weapons. Gain +1D when using assault weapons, hunting tanks or other large vehicles, or when attacking prepared enemy fortifications.

Berserker: When injured in combat but still conscious, the character may enter a Rage. This grants them +1D to hit and +1D to damage in melee combat, but also grants the character's enemies +1D to hit them. This lasts until the end of that combat encounter.

Blind fighter: The character can ignore -1D penalty for fighting in dim light or darkness.

Bodyguard: This talent allows the character to quickly move into harm’s way and take a hit meant for a comrade. This works as an interrupting action, and uses the bodyguard’s next Action in combat, if they survive.

Evasive Action: This talent reflects innate luck, unconscious skill, or lightning-fast reflexes. Once per battle, the character may avoid an otherwise successful attack and take no damage. They may elect to use this ability after damage is rolled. This talent can apply in vehicle and space combat as well as in personal combat.

Hardy: The damage roll of the first (and only the first) successful attack on the character in a given battle incurs a -2D penalty.

Heavy Hitter: Once per battle, you may opt to inflict maximum damage with an attack. You may use this ability after you have rolled damage.

Hunter: The character is practiced at setting ambushes. Gain +1D on Surprise throws when attacking from ambush.

Leader: Whether a natural, or an experienced, trained leader, this character knows how to motivate people into doing things they might not normally do. They gain +1D when attempting to rally troops and convince others to carry out their orders. As an action in Combat, they may roll Social 8+. If the roll is successful, the Leader generates Hero Points equal to the result of the roll, minus 7 (a result of 8 provides 1 Hero Point). These Hero Points can be distributed as a free action to comrades during the battle but disappear when the fight is over.

Marksman: The character is particularly adept at hitting where it counts most with ranged weapons. After spending one Hero Point, add +2D to damage rolls with ranged weapons.

Martial Artist: Your character is a highly trained martial artist. Their feet and fists are lethal weapons. Add +1D to the damage rolls of all unarmed attacks.

Maverick: A brash, risk-taking combatant, the Maverick has raw talent and little time for rules and personal safety. They may spend a Hero Point to perform an additional action in a combat round. They may use this ability as an interrupting action and act out of initiative sequence. But beware: whenever they use this ability, enemies may target the character with +1D to hit until the character’s next turn.

Quick Draw: If the character has a weapon at the ready—in a quick-draw holster or sheath, or just at hand—then they may make a rapid attack at the start of the first round of combat, before the initiative order is determined. They incur a -1D penalty on the attack.

Relentless: This talent allows the character to temporarily ignore the effects of one hit in combat. They may use this talent after they have learned what the damage might be. After the combat, roll on the Triage table.

Sneak Attack: This character is well practiced at sneak attacks. When attacking a completely unaware target in melee, gain +1D to hit, and +1D to the attack's damage.

Tactics: At the start of a fight, roll Knowledge 8+. The character’s training and drills provide a number of Advantage Dice equal to the result of the roll, minus 7 (with 8 providing +1D). These Advantage Dice can be spent by the character and their comrades at any time during the combat.

Two-Fisted: The character may wield a one-handed weapon in each hand. They may attack with each weapon once per round. Their second action in the round cannot be used to make another two attacks. The attack from the off-hand weapon is made with a -1D penalty. If the character is also Ambidextrous (see below), then the Penalty Die is removed.

Weak Point: With training and experience, this character can spot an opening in an opponent’s armor or defensive posture. Throw Know 12+ to grant you and your allies +1D to hit against a single enemy during the next round.

Whirlwind: On the character’s turn, they may spend a Hero Point to make another melee attack that round.

Character Talents

Ambidextrous: This character has an innate or learned ability to use their off-hand equally as well as their dominant hand. This is useful in case of injury, among other situations. However, without the Two-Fisted Talent they can’t use a second weapon to attack with their off-hand.

Awareness: Gain +1D on throws to avoid Surprise in combat and when attempting to notice clues or hidden objects. This does not cover setting up ambushes, where the Hunter Talent applies.

Beast Friendship: Gain +1D when identifying flora or fauna, as well as for Reaction rolls with animals.

Big Mouth: This character has a witty retort, insult, or inspiring word at the ready for all occasions. The character gains +1D whenever they are involved in an argument, debate, or they just want to aggravate or antagonize someone.

Charming: This character’s natural habitat is a room full of people. Gain +1D when carousing, networking, or making a good impression in social settings.

Deduction: Spend a Hero Point to ask the GM three yes-or-no questions about any person, place, or object you are investigating or observing.

Determined: Gain one extra Hero Point at the start of each game session.

Eidetic Memory: This character remembers everything their senses receive in raw excruciating detail. They gain +1D whenever they try to remember details of past events.

Empath: This talent represents an innate ability to relate to other sentient beings. The character gains +1D on Reaction throws when interacting with humans and sentient aliens.

Endurance: Your character is used to physical hardship. Ignore the first Penalty Die from fatigue, pain, Wounds (including the Physical roll to keep fighting), or other physical difficulties.

Pet: The character has a special animal companion that is extremely loyal, surprisingly intelligent, but not particularly obedient. Distribute 4 points among Combat, Physical, Social, and Stealth skills, determine Stamina and Lifeblood normally, and select two innate Talents for it. The Referee has final say on which Talents are appropriate.

Immunity: The character has a very strong immune system. They gain +1D on throws to resist the effects of poisons and disease.

Infuriating: The character is a notorious troll. The character may taunt a target as an action: roll Social 8+. If successful, one target creature gains a -1D penalty on their actions for the next round.

Ingenious: The character is talented at improvising with technology and their environmental surroundings in delightfully different ways. Gain +1D when the character uses tools or found objects in an interesting or creative manner.

Insightful: Due to training or intuition, the character gains +1D when attempting to determine if someone is lying to them.

Inspiring: As an Action in combat, they may offer a word of inspiration to a comrade, and grant +1D to whatever action the comrade is attempting.

Intimidating: Gain +1D to rolls made to intimidate and terrify opponents.

Mighty: The character is a physically powerful specimen. Gain +1D to all Physical skill rolls when attempting feats of strength and athleticism.

Runner: The character gains +1D when engaging in foot races, sprints over obstacles, or other feats of athletic speed. This Talent does not apply to changing range bands in combat, unless the Referee allows it in specific situations. In cases where exact distances are required, the Runner talent adds 1d6 to the (roughly) 10m of distance covered with each Move action. The d6 roll is an abstraction to consider rougher terrain and unforeseen obstacles. If both Move actions are used to run, then the total distance is 20 + 2d6m that round.

Status: This character has some sort of innate social status or rank that provides privileges. This may include special treatment, or higher-level security access. The player and Referee should determine what the source of this status is.

Professional Talents

Ace Pilot: When piloting ships or other vehicles, this character gains +1D to Position rolls.

Acrobat: The character is a highly trained gymnast and acrobat and is comfortable operating at great heights. Gain +1D on Physical throws for tumbling, athletics, jumps, and landings.

Animal Handling: Through training or natural affinity, the character is good with animals, and knows how to care for them. This also extends to riding animals. Gain +1D when dealing with animals, or when making throws to ride animals.

Broker: You have an expert eye for merchandise and deal making. Gain +1D when rolling to negotiate trade deals and haggle on prices.

Commando: Commando training covers stealth and sabotage. The character gains +1D when infiltrating enemy positions and when setting explosives to destroy military targets like radar dishes and ammunition depots.

Con Artist: The character is an accomplished liar and has developed false identities. Gain +1D when acting as an imposter, or when running a confidence scheme.

Contortionism: This character is trained in moving their body in very tight confines. The character may throw Physical 10+ to escape from bonds or manacles, or to slip through bars.

Demolitions Expert: This talent grants the character +1D when setting explosives, carrying out controlled demolition operations of buildings, bridges, and other large structures, and disarming explosives or warheads.

Detective: The character has a trained eye for details and is very familiar with investigative and forensic protocols. Gain +1D when looking for clues or conducting interrogations.

Drone Operator: Whether a hard-working asteroid miner, a canny salvager, or a combat photographer, this character is a gifted drone operator. They gain +1D whenever they need to perform difficult tasks remotely with drones or other remotely controlled robots.

Gambler: You know how to play games of chance very well. You also know how to cheat, and how to spot a cheater. Gain +1D for Knowledge throws to win a game. Gain +1D when using the Social skill to cheat, or to spot a cheater.

Ghost: Whenever the character is attempting to sneak under cover of darkness, smoke, or other obscuring cover, they gain +1D.

Hacker: Hackers are not just expert programmers. They are gifted improvisers who understand how to build workarounds on the fly, and make computers do their bidding. Gain +1D when attempting to hack a computer system, break encryption, jam sensors, or counter sensor jamming.

Intelligence Analyst: This character has received specialized training in intelligence gathering and analysis. Whenever they are attempting to make sense of large amounts of data and determining what is actually going on, they gain +1D.

Logistics Expert: This character has gained expertise in making plans and getting resources to where they have to be, on time. Gain +1D when drawing up plans, negotiating with suppliers, and ensuring that things run smoothly.

Medic: This character has received enough life-saving medical training to act as a combat medic. When treating wounded characters, the patients gain +1D to rolls on the Triage Table.

Professional: This character had a well-developed career before becoming an adventurer. They have a non-combat professional background of some kind that might come in useful: cooking, law, accounting, or the like. They gain +1D when practicing their profession.

Rigger: You are an expert at quick battlefield repairs. Gain +1D when attempting to make a spot repair on a vehicle. The repairs will fail after the battle is over; more extensive repairs will have to be made later on.

Scholar: Gain +1D when dealing in a specific field of knowledge, such as biology, physics, history, or mathematics. This includes research, experimentation, and drawing conclusions. This Talent can be taken multiple times, each applying to a different field of study.

Spacer: Some individuals are born in outer space, while others become so acclimated that they could have been born there anyways. This character gains +1D when attempting physical skills in zero-gravity, or whenever they are operating in the vacuum of space.

Streetwise: The character is wise to the criminal element wherever they find themselves. They gain +1D when attempting to fence stolen goods, find illegal work, or make connections with criminals.

Street Thief: This character is a practiced petty criminal. Gain +1D whenever attempting to pick pockets, open locks, hotwire vehicles, or when dealing in stolen goods.

Survivalist: Gain +1D when making skill rolls involving wilderness survival, hunting, and overland navigation.

Tech Specialist: Gain +1D when dealing with a specific technological field of knowledge: electronics, computers, vehicle mechanics, power systems, or weapons systems. This includes repairing devices and designing them.

Tinker: This character spends all their free time tinkering with everyone’s gear. Once per game session, each player character gains +1D when using their personal equipment. How the bonus is applied is up to the player and Referee.

Untraceable: You are especially well-practiced at passing through an area and covering your tracks. Anyone attempting to track you is penalized by -1D to the roll.

Equipment Packages

The regular character design process leaves the purchase of equipment to the players. This is fine for experienced players who have time to select their own gear. However, to expedite this often-time-consuming process, we have pre-selected equipment packages for new players, or for those times when selecting equipment is too time consuming. Each of the equipment packages below began with an average result of 7000 Credits, and whatever money that was left over remains with the player for later spending. These Equipment Packages are based loosely on the character Archetypes, but it is not required that a character with a given Archetype select the same Equipment Package.

Experience

Heroic and determined characters may develop their talents quickly and become living legends. Growing a new character into a fearsome veteran of many adventures is one of the main joys of roleplaying games. To represent this growth potential, this ruleset offers the following experience system.

Characters gain 1 XP per adventure. Every 5 XP, the character rises in Rank. The Ranks are:

1. Experienced (you start here)

2. Expert

3. Veteran

4. Elite

5. Legend

When characters gain a new Rank, they may choose one of the following:

• Gain one skill point to add to any skill; skills may not be raised beyond level 5.

• Gain one Talent.

• Gain a Psionic power, assuming that psionics are available for the setting.

• Once per lifetime, a character may gain a second Archetype as a Rank increase.

A player character may increase their Rank up to four times (up to Legend). Even the most competent NPCs do not rise above the Expert level; higher Ranked NPCs are rare and unique.

Optional Rule – Rapid Advancement

If the Referee wishes to allow the characters to reach legendary levels of proficiency within a short campaign, they may grant 1 XP per session rather than per adventure.

Alternative Character Advancement Rules

The basic rules for character advancement assume shorter-term play and rapid character advancement. They do not emphasize skill advancement or specialization. Here we present two character advancement schemes that emphasize advancing individual skills, rather than advancing the character’s rank.

To adapt to the two different options, use the following experience point (XP) reward system. Each character should get 1XP on the successful completion of an adventure, plus any bonus XP the Referee deems applicable. Use the table below as a guideline.

Experience Point Rewards

Most Referees should award the same amount of XP to each player character. However, the occasional bonus XP point for the most valuable player should be encouraged to incentivize engagement with the game and good play.

Example: Josh the Referee is feeling uncharacteristically generous at the end of the session and has decided to award some bonus XP: 1 point for showing up and adventuring, an extra 1XP for great roleplay among the players, and another 1XP bonus for good teamwork. Every player gets 3XP, and Josh decides to award a single bonus XP to one anonymous player for being the MVP of the evening.

3.1 Skill Advancement: Seven Skills

Instead of advancing via rank, characters using the original seven skills can advance their specific skills. This method allows for more rapid skill advancement early but slows down skill advancement and additional talent acquisition.

Characters can spend XP on increasing their skills or acquiring a new talent according to the XP costs listed in the following table. It is useful to track a character’s total earned XP as well as their current available XP. To increase a skill level by one, the character must have the skill level below it. For example, a character wishing to raise a skill from level 2 to level 3 would need to spend 9XP.

Purchasing a new talent becomes progressively more expensive. It is also possible to purchase a new archetype, but only once in a character’s lifetime. Purchasing Talents and Archetypes should be contingent on the character having done some in-game activities that justify the new talent. Generally, a bookworm who has never fired a rifle should not be allowed to purchase the Marksman talent, for example. Multiple advancements may be made at the same time, as long as sufficient XP is available for spending.

Skill and Talent Cost Table – Seven Skills

Example: Ennik would like to increase his Combat skill from level 1 to level 3. This would cost a total of 13 points, since he would have to pay to increase the skill from level 1 to level 2, and then from level 2 to level 3. If he had an additional 5XP, Ennik could also purchase a new Talent, assuming the purchase made sense to the player and Referee.

3.2 Skill Advancement: Fourteen or More Skills

In this advancement scheme, we assume that the game uses more skills than the base seven. Players may increase any of their character’s skills they like, as long as the increase makes sense in the context of their actions and training. In this scheme, characters are not permitted to purchase a new Archetype. See the following table.

Skill and Talent Cost Table – Fourteen or More Skills

Hero Points

Heroic starfarers sometimes survive ordeals that lesser people could not. This innate luck is represented by a currency called Hero Points. These Hero Points can be used for a variety of game effects, described below. Only the Player Characters receive hero points, though some particularly impressive or villainous NPCs might have a few to spend from time to time.

Each player starts each game session with 2 personal Hero Points. The group also has an additional number of Hero Points equal to the number of player characters present that session.

All Hero Point pools reset at the beginning of each session.

A player may use their personal Hero Points, and with the other players' consent, points from the group pool at any time during a game.

By spending Hero Points, a character may:

• Reroll any single die throw. The player may choose the more favorable result. This includes damage or penetration rolls, as well as Wound Triage rolls.

• Ask the Referee to reroll a single NPC's die throw, including damage or penetration rolls. However, in this case, the second result stands. In this case, only one Hero Point can be spent on any single Referee die roll.

• Activate a special Archetype or Talent ability, as noted in its description.

• Gain a +1D bonus to any roll.

Psionics

Psionic powers are a staple of many science fiction genres, and we include them here for Referees to run such games with little effort. There are several psionic powers, and Referees should determine if any are to be excluded from their campaign world. Psychic Healing, for example, can drastically change the nature of combat if it is common in a game.

Each time a player character uses a psionic power, throw Knowledge. On a success, they may continue to use it. On a failure, the power is not available for use until the character has rested for 8 hours. Note that the Mystic archetype does not apply their +1D bonus to this Knowledge roll.

Only one psionic power can be used at a time.

If a power requires concentration to use or maintain, the psion must spend one action per round concentrating. If the psion takes damage, the required concentration is immediately broken.

Augmented Speed: The character may move to Far distance in half the number of Move Actions normally required. This power lasts for 3 combat rounds.

Augmented Strength: Gain +1D to Physical throws, as well as all melee and unarmed damage rolls for the rest of the battle.

Blink: The character may teleport once to any point within Far distance, as long as they have line of sight to it, or they have been there previously.

Choke: Telekinetically grab one humanoid creature by its throat (or analogous body part) and strangle them for 1d6 Damage every round, for a maximum of 5 rounds. Ignore armor. The victim may throw Physical each round to break out of the chokehold.

Clairvoyance: This power allows characters to psionically watch and listen at a spot they choose within Far distance. This power ignores solid objects, and the character does not have to be familiar with the location in question. Whether or not a psion can use Clairvoyance to familiarize themselves sufficiently for the Blink power (above) is up to the Referee.

Cryokinesis: Characters with this power may freeze up to 5 cubic meters of material for 10 minutes. Cryokinesis can also be used offensively. Throw Combat to attack a target within Near range, causing 2d6+2 damage, with AV 2d6.

Electrokinesis: This character is able to manipulate electrical energy in their vicinity. They may use this power to recharge batteries, short-circuit electrical devices, or generate spectacular lightshows. They may also attack a target within Near range with lightning! This causes 3d6 damage, with AV 2d6. The target may throw Physical to take half damage. Robots suffer -2D on that roll.

Emotion: This power allows the psion to evoke a powerful emotion in a target at Near range; fear, joy, or friendliness are typical emotions. It is obvious to everyone, affected or not, that something has happened. This power can be used to force a Morale check among enemy (or friendly) forces. This effect lasts until the end of the battle, or for 1d6x10 minutes.

Empathy: Psions may read a target’s emotions and subtly affect them. This includes changing a Near target’s NPC Reaction Roll result by one category up or down, player’s choice.

False Perception: The psion causes a single target within Near range to hallucinate. This effect lasts as long as the psion concentrates to maintain it. The details of the False Perception are left to the psion but can range from a normal illusion or distraction to something that closely resembles a drug-fueled fugue state. The target is permitted a Knowledge throw to shake off the effect after one round.

Hibernation: The character may enter into a trance-like state and meditate for up to 7 days. While meditating, the psychic does not require food, water, or air. They remain aware of their surroundings and may end the hibernation at will.

Inspiration: When the psion uses this power, they gain +1D to their next roll, regardless of what the roll is for. This power may only be used once per day.

Invisibility: The psion is able to conceal themselves from nearby onlookers. While invisible, organic targets within Near range will not see the psion. This power works on electronic sensors and video cameras within Near range. The psion must concentrate for this power to be effective. Attacking any target immediately terminates this effect.

Kinetic Blast: The psion generates a powerful if clumsy blast of telekinetic force! This invisible telekinetic bolt of force does 4d6 damage with AV 3d6. The target may throw Physical (or Vehicles if in a vehicle) to completely avoid the attack.

Kinetic Shield: This power grants the psion 8 points of armor Protection for the duration of the battle. The kinetic shield is not cumulative with worn armor.

Levitation: The Psion may fly at a speed of one Move Action per round, for 5 rounds, in any direction desired.

Life Detection: This power allows the psion to instinctively detect all living beings within a Far radius. This power cannot be used to pinpoint the exact whereabouts of a target but will give a general sense of the location of a hidden interlocutor or sniper.

Memory Block: To use this power, the psion must be within Near range of a target. The target is allowed a Knowledge throw to avoid the effect. If the target fails the throw, the psion may block out up to 15 minutes of the target’s memories. The targeted memories must be targeted as a block for each use of this power. The memories can only be unblocked by another psion using Memory Block on the target.

Microkinesis: The psion gains telekinetic control of small or microscopic objects. Gain +2D on any one Technology throw involving components or systems containing small or microscopic objects.

Mind Blast: This powerful telepathic blast renders a Near target unconscious for 10 minutes. The target is allowed a Knowledge throw to reduce this to being stunned (no actions) for one combat round.

Mind Control: The psion gains control of a Near target, who becomes the psion’s ally for 15 minutes. The target may make a successful Knowledge throw to reduce the duration to 1d6 rounds. The target of Mind Control will only perform tasks a typical ally would do and will not perform any action that would harm themselves.

Mind Lock: A Near target is paralyzed for 2d6 combat rounds and may not move. They may still speak. The target is allowed a Physical throw to resist this power.

Mind Shield: The psion may erect an invisible mental shield that protects themselves and all allies within Near range any mind-affecting power or psionic ability. The Mind Shield will last for ten minutes.

Precognition: This power allows the player to ask the Referee one question about what may happen to their character in the next 24 hours. The Referee must respond truthfully with either “yes” or “no.” Precognition may only be used once per day.

Psychic Healing: This handy power allows the psion to heal 1 Wound on an injured target.

Pyrokinesis: The psion may ignite a flammable object within a Near range. When used to directly attack a target, throw Combat to hit the target. A successful attack does 3d6 damage and has the Fire weapon Aspect. See the Environmental Hazard chapter for details on fire damage.

Regeneration: This power allows a psychic to automatically treat a single Wound Triage Table result as though it were a result of 11: the wound will heal after 10 minutes of rest. Regeneration cannot be used on other targets but may be used after the results of the Triage Table roll are known. The psychic must be able to rest for ten minutes, and Regeneration only works on one wound at a time.

Second Wind: This power allows the psion to ignore the effects of Fatigue for 1 hour.

Suggestion: Psions may use this power to plant a simple hypnotic suggestion in one target. This effect will last until the target has performed their suggested task, or ten minutes have passed. Victims will not obey suggestions to harm themselves directly or indirectly.

Telekinesis: The psion may move objects up to 100kg by the power of their brain. Telekinetics may throw a heavy object at a target at Near range; such an attack requires a Combat roll and causes 4d6 damage, with AV 3d6.

Telepathy: This power allows the psion to read a Near target’s surface thoughts for one minute.

Thousand Faces: The psion may change their appearance and biometric data to those of any target of the same or similar species for 10 minutes. To mimic the specific biometric data of another person, the psion must have a sample of the target’s DNA.

Truth: This telepathic ability forces one Near target to answer questions truthfully. They must be able to speak or communicate to the psion, and the questions can be about anything: the target will fully answer to the best of their ability.

Vampire: The psion must make a normal unarmed attack at Close range. The Vampire power inflicts a Wound on the target, and instantly heals a Wound the psion has suffered.

Zombie: This gruesome power allows the psion to control one body of a creature killed in the past 24 hours. The target creature must be within Near range, and the power lasts for 5 combat rounds. The corpse may act, speak, and attack as the psion desires. The creature’s abilities might be limited depending on the amount and kinds of damage it suffered when it died.

Combat

In their voyages across the stars, characters will encounter all sorts of interesting people. Some will be friendly. Others will not. Hopefully, all will be open to negotiation, trade, and diplomacy. The following personal combat rules are for those unfortunate times when diplomacy fails, and violence is required to solve problems.

Combat Sequence:

1. Throw Stealth for Surprise.

a. If one party succeeds and the other fails, the successful group has surprise and can choose the range of the encounter and has a free round of actions.

b. If both groups succeed or fail, then there is no surprise, and the encounter occurs at a randomly determined range: Roll 1d6 to determine the range of the encounter: 1-4, Far, and 5-6, Near.

2. Initiative: Each character throws Combat as their Initiative score. Characters act in order from highest to lowest.

3. Resolve Actions.

4. End of round, return to 3 until one side has fled, surrendered, or perished.

5. Roll on Wound Triage Table for any characters who took more than their Stamina in damage.

Surprise:

When two potentially hostile parties encounter one another without prior knowledge, there is a chance that either group will be surprised. Each party throws Stealth, using the highest Stealth value in the group. If one party succeeds and the other fails, the successful side surprises the other and can choose the range of the encounter: Far or Near. Once combat begins, the successful side also enjoys one free round of action.

If both parties succeed or fail, there is no surprise. Roll 1d6 to determine the range of the encounter: 1-4, Far, and 5-6, Near. If the encounter occurs indoors, the range of the encounter is automatically Near. Apply +2D to the Surprise throw for any party that has had ample time to set up an ambush. Apply -1D to the Surprise throw for any party that has vehicles or that is a group of over 10 creatures.

Initiative:

At the beginning of combat, each character throws 2d6 and adds their Combat skill for their Initiative score. Characters act in order from the highest to the lowest Initiative score, and keep their Initiative score for the whole combat. Initiative score ties go to Player Characters, unless the enemy has some sort of ability that gives them extra speed.

Time and Actions:

A combat round represents 6 seconds of in-game time. During which, characters have two Actions each. An Action may be an attack, movement, using a Psionic power, or any similar act taking up to 6 seconds.

Interrupting Actions: It is possible for a character to hold their action. They must specify under what conditions they will act. For example, “I hold my action until I see an enemy come around the corner.” When the conditions are met, the character may act instantly, interrupting the target’s action. The character’s new Initiative score is whatever number they acted on when they interrupted.

Movement: In-combat movement is abstracted for purposes of determining ranges to targets. However, in some cases it is useful to have a more concrete measurement. When a character spends an Action moving on foot, they move around 10m.

Falling prone requires no Action and may be done freely on the character’s turn; getting up from a prone position takes one Action.

Attacks of Opportunity: Should a combatant engaged in Close range attempt to move out of combat, their opponent may make a free melee attack if they have a melee weapon at the ready. To safely disengage from Close range, a combatant must spend one action to Disengage, and then they may make a normal movement action without risk.

Attacking: Roll the Combat skill to hit a target with a melee weapon at Close range, to hit a target with a handgun at Close or Near range, or to hit a target with a rifle at Near or Far range. See the Range Table below.

Ranges

To facilitate play and allow “theater of mind” gaming, this ruleset uses abstract ranges:

Close: Up to 2 meters away. Melee range. A character may move this distance without using any Combat Actions.

Near: Pistol range. A character may move anywhere within this distance by expending one Combat Action.

Far: Rifle range. A character must expend between 2 and 4 Combat Actions to traverse this distance, at the Referee’s discretion.

Distant: Beyond rifle range. A character usually cannot traverse such a distance within the short time span of personal combat.

Ranged Attacks Modifier Table

Two Attacks: Characters may use both actions in a round to attack, in which case the second attack incurs a penalty of -1D to hit. This penalty does not apply to melee attacks.

Aiming: Characters may use one action to aim, and the other to attack, granting +1D to hit. It is possible to begin aiming with a character’s second action in a round and conduct an aimed shot with their first attack the following round. If the aiming character is hurt or distracted before they can attack, the aiming bonus is lost. It is impossible to properly aim automatic fire.

Attack Modifiers: Attacking in dim light incurs -1D. Attacking in full darkness incurs -2D. Attacking a prone target incurs -1D. Attacking an aware target with a Combat skill of 3 or higher incurs -1D. Attacking a character behind cover incurs -2D (this does not stack with being prone).

Ranged Attack Roll Modifiers Table

Automatic Weapons: An automatic weapon may attack twice per Action, using 5 bullets per attack. Note that it is possible to use both attack Actions in a single round to spray down an area with automatic fire: this would mean a total of four attack rolls, using 20 bullets.

Attacking with an automatic weapon incurs a -1D penalty on the first attack action’s two rolls due to recoil. If a second automatic fire attack action is made, the penalty for the next two rolls is increased to -2D.

Suppressive Fire: Instead of shooting at a target, a character may fire an automatic weapon at a designated area to deter enemy movement in an area. Choose a target area. Any combatants within Close range to it suffer an attack at -1D. Apply other modifiers as well. However, do not apply the shooter's Combat skill to this attack. This continues until the weapon runs out of ammunition or until the shooter’s next round. Suppressive fire attacks consume 15 shots’ worth of ammunition.

NPCs who are under suppressive fire must make a Morale check. If this forces them to flee, they suffer another suppressive fire attack!

Characters may only perform one Suppressive Fire action per round.

Thrown Weapons: Thrown weapons, such as grenades, knives, and axes, may only attack at the Close or Near ranges.

Grenades: Accurately throwing a grenade requires a Combat roll. If successful, the target and any additional targets within Close range to the target suffer the grenade’s effect. Targets may throw Physical to reduce the grenade’s Damage roll by -1D. On a miss, the grenade will land in Near range to the target, but in a random direction.

FRENZY! If a character neutralizes an enemy in combat (i.e. the enemy is Wounded and fails the throw to keep fighting), they may move up to 2m and attack another foe. They may do so a number of times equal to their Combat skill per round. In melee combat, Frenzy incurs no additional penalty to the subsequent attack roll for multiple actions. However, Frenzy can only be performed a number of times equal to the character’s Physical skill, per battle. For ranged attacks, apply an additional -1D penalty for firing from the hip to each attack. This is also cumulative with any penalties for using automatic fire, for example.

Frenzy Modifiers Table

Damage and Healing

Upon a successful hit, roll the weapon's damage dice, subtract the Protection rating of any armor, and apply the result to the target's Stamina. If the target’s Stamina is positive, they are not seriously hurt. However, when Stamina runs out, the target is Wounded and typically is out of combat. Player characters may attempt to keep fighting even when Wounded: throw Physical to keep fighting after being wounded. If they fail, they are incapacitated by their wounds for the remainder of the combat.

Any further damage dealt to a Wounded character causes additional Wounds. The character may roll Physical to keep fighting every time they receive a Wound. Apply -1D to the Physical roll to keep fighting for each additional Wound the character receives. More significantly, each additional wound after the first incurs a -1D penalty to the Triage Table roll. This penalty is cumulative for each additional wound suffered.

Damage Dice Result – Armor Protection = Damage Applied to Stamina

Healing Stamina:

When combat is over, characters with Stamina remaining can recover their full Stamina within 10 minutes of catching their breath and resting.

Wounds

Wounded characters roll once on the Wound Triage Table after the combat is over. Each additional wound after the first modifies the roll by -1D, as described above.

Death

Characters that sustain more damage than twice their maximum Stamina (after armor) die immediately. As well, any player character that takes more than three wounds dies immediately.

Healing Wounds

The Wound Triage Table indicates the amount of time wounded characters require to heal. If characters who are healing wounds attempt strenuous physical activity like combat, then they must roll Physical: on success, they take no additional damage. If they fail, they re-open their wounds. Roll the healing period again and add it to the amount of time originally required to heal.

Non-Player Characters and Damage

Depending on the kind of game the Referee is running, it might be more enjoyable to use more streamlined damage rules for NPC combatants. This also helps minimize the bookkeeping when tracking large groups of opponents in a combat scenario.

Heroes and Grunts: For a cinematic game where heroes cut their way through waves of faceless enemies (also called mooks, or occasionally “extras”), the Referee may rule that any successful attack that penetrates armor knocks a grunt out of combat. This does not necessarily mean the death of the grunt unless the damage is massive. However, in such heroic tales, grunts often cower after being hurt, are preoccupied by their wounds, or pass out after being hit by the hero. Reviving such weaklings for interrogation after combat is often easy, though the amount of useful information available from them is often limited.

• Any unnamed enemy who takes damage that penetrates their armor is incapacitated. If necessary, roll on the Triage table later to see if they remain alive.

• Henchmen or especially tough unnamed opponents can take one armor penetrating hit from a PC and still fight. The second such hit will incapacitate them.

• Villains and major enemy NPCs should be treated like player characters with Stamina scores.

Wound Triage Table

Heroic Damage and Healing Rules

The baseline damage and healing rules make combat risky and dangerous. The Triage Roll at the end of combat can produce some very surprising and very final results, to say the least. Here are some options to reduce lethality in combat and speed up healing.

No Triage, Just Wounds

This option greatly simplifies damage and also makes getting wounded a more serious event while in combat. Use Stamina as normal and once a successful attack has inflicted more damage than the character’s Stamina, that character has taken a Wound. Wounded characters apply a -1D penalty to all their actions. If the same character takes more damage, apply another Wound, and another -1D penalty. At -5D, the character dies from shock. Remember: if a character takes more damage than twice their Stamina, they die immediately.

After combat, the character’s wound penalties can be minimized with proper medical care. A medic can apply treatment with a Knowledge or Technology roll, modified by the wounded character’s total Wound modifier: it becomes very difficult to render aid to a badly wounded character! On a success, the character’s wounds are bound up properly, and all Wound penalties are removed. The Medic talent bonus applies to this roll. If the character subsequently engages in strenuous activity, roll Physical to see if they reopen their wounds (see the Healing Wounds section).

In this damage scheme, wounds heal at a rate of one per day under medical care, or one per week without care. Restart the healing process if the wounds are reopened.

Using Hero Points

It is possible to use Hero Points to reduce or eliminate incoming damage. When their character takes damage, the player may spend a Hero Point to attempt to reduce the damage. For pulpier games, the Referee should re-roll the damage, and take the lower result. It is also possible to spend Hero Points on the Triage Table Roll to reduce wound severity.

Here are two optional rules that use Hero Points to create a pulpier feel to gameplay, and speed up healing times.

It’s Just A Scratch!

For increased pulp action and to get player characters back in the game, use this optional rule: after the combat is over and the player must roll on the Triage Table to determine the severity of their character’s wounds, spend a Hero Point. Instead of rolling on the Triage Table, roll 1d6: on a 1, the character has suffered a Moderate Injury; on a 2-5, the character has suffered a Flesh Wound; on a result of 6, the wound is actually worse than it looks, and is ignored. The player must still apply a -1D penalty for each additional wound after the first when rolling. See the Wound Triage Table for wound effects.

Just Patch Me Up, Doc

In this grittier optional rule, a wounded player character can spend a Hero Point to make a Physical skill roll at the end of combat. Apply normal Wound penalties to the Physical roll as if they were making a roll on the Triage Table. If successful, the character automatically gets a result of 12 (Flesh Wound) on the Triage Table. The character still has wounds which can reopen later due to heavy physical exertion.

Fast Healing

Use a Hero Point to decrease the time it takes to heal a wound by one step on the Triage Table: Severe Injuries heal as Moderate Injuries and Moderate Injuries heal as Flesh Wounds. Results of Death, Critical Injury, and Flesh Wound are not affected.

Morale

NPCs and xenofauna rarely fight to the death. Referees should consider rolling a Morale check for monsters and NPCs after they suffer their group’s first death, when they are surprised, after they take more than 50% casualties, and whenever NPCs suffer unduly in combat.

To Check Morale: Both sides throw 2d6 and add their leader’s Social skill; apply -1D if the NPCs’ leader has been killed. If one side’s result is greater than or equal to two times the other side’s result, the losing side of the Morale check will flee. Combatants get a free melee attack against fleeing opponents. PCs do not roll for Morale; however, their NPC allies do.

Computer Hacking

Computers are a natural staple of nearly all science fiction roleplaying and fiction. Leaving aside the deeper philosophical questions of what it means to have artificial brains handling untold amounts of information, Referees and players are often dealing with the nitty-gritty of how to access or hide crucial information on computers. What follows are basic rules for computer hacking for players and Referees who desire more options for this sort of play.

Hacking requires access to a computer. Usually, this is an Omnicomp, or another portable electronic device. Some characters will have cybernetic implants like neural interfaces or vehicle control rigs that will give them access to a great deal of computing power. The details of what computer hacking looks like and how it is carried out are left to the Referee and players.

Hacking Actions

When time is of the essence and a player character must access a computer and make it do something, time should be tracked in combat rounds. In each combat round, a character normally has two actions. Each round, one of these actions can be a Hacking Action. The other action can be performed normally, but hacking actions can only be performed if a character is connected (cybernetically or otherwise) to a computer terminal.

Each hack lasts for 1d6 rounds, plus the Hacker’s Technology skill level. If a computer hacker can plan a hack for 15 minutes before executing it, gain +1D to the duration roll. There are only a few possible Hacking Actions. Each hacking action has difficulty modifiers, listed on the table below. All unplanned hacks (no 15-minute pre-planning time period) are penalized by -1D.

Answer a Specific Question: The hacker looks for a specific piece of information they require. This can be something like a date of birth, address, location of alarms or cameras in a building, a floorplan, or some other specific information.

Full Database Acquisition: This means copying an entire database onto a portable storage device on hand or initiating a discreet transfer to an off-site server. A data vault cybernetic implant also could serve as a destination for a full database acquisition. The data could be anything, but it must be located entirely in the system the hacker is attempting to breach. A full database acquisition takes an hour to complete but can be initiated with a single Hacking Action. To ensure that this hack lasts the entire hour, it is necessary to perform a Subvert System action beforehand. Note that this does mean that the Database Acquisition hack will incur a -1D additional penalty because it is the second hack on the same system in a day.

Gain General Information: Acquire all the basic information about a specific topic from a computer system. This can be a full facility map, or a roster of all the guards on a space station, or all the medical files of a ship’s crew.

Sabotage a System: This action is intended to physically damage a computer, or other hackable electronic device. This hack will cause the system or device to stop working. The damage is permanent, but immediately obvious.

Subvert a System: Hackers use this action to take control of a computer system or device and bend it to their will. This means unsealing doors, taking over weapons systems, disabling gravity, or feeding false information to a security camera. The hacker can use their Hacking action every round to subvert a system. If they leave a system, it follows the last orders the hacker gave it until the hack terminates.

Environmental Hazards

Not all threats carry weapons. Adventurers must sometimes contend with disease, radiation, and extreme environments whilst exploring the distant stars. This chapter provides simple rules for implementing these hazards in your game.

Fatigue

Fatigue is caused by exposure to various environmental hazards, extreme exertion, or deprivation. When a character is Fatigued, they suffer a -1D to all actions.

Disease and Poison:

When exposed to a disease or poison, throw Physical to avoid the initial Effect. Apply the Virulence Modifier to the roll. If a character is infected by a disease, they suffer the Effect: a roll on the Wound Triage Table with a modifier listed below. After the roll, the character should throw Physical after the listed Interval to shake off the disease, with the same Virulence Modifier. If successful, the character recovers without further damage. If not, the character suffers the Effect again.

Poisons work the same as Diseases, but only affect the target once.

Sample pathogens

Extreme Temperatures:

Extreme heat or cold can cause great harm to unprotected characters, as noted in the table below. Consult the table for appropriate effects of extreme temperatures. Roll at the start of the listed interval.

Falling

Characters suffer 1D Stamina damage for every 2m fallen. Roll on the Wound Triage Table if a fall depletes Stamina. Halve this damage in low gravity conditions and apply +2D to the Wound Triage roll in low gravities. In high gravity conditions, damage is 2d6 per 2m fallen, and add a -2D penalty to the Wound Triage Roll. Falls inflict no damage in microgravity conditions or very low gravities, such as on small planetoids.

Fire

A target attacked by a weapon with the Fire aspect must throw Physical or catch fire. In this case, they take the weapon’s listed Damage every subsequent round, unless the fire is put out. Putting out a burning character requires two full Actions and a successful Physical throw. If fire-extinguishers or other means of dousing the flames are readily available, the fire is automatically put out in one round.

Radiation

A character exposed to radiation accumulates rads. Unless treated with anti-radiation medication, rads remain forever. Even after a character has recovered from radiation sickness (see below), their accumulated rads level remains. Additional significant exposure will cause more severe sickness as any new exposure accumulates with all previous exposures before determining damage.

Radiation Exposure Levels

Radiation Sickness:

Exposure to radiation might lead to radiation sickness, depending on the amount of rads the character has accumulated. Determining radiation damage is similar to the procedure used for determining damage from disease and poison. Make a Physical skill roll and apply the Virulence modifier corresponding to the total amount of rads the character has accumulated to the throw. If the character fails the throw, they are affected by radiation sickness and must roll on the Wound Triage table with the corresponding modifier to that roll. Throw Physical again, with the same Virulence modifier, after the listed Interval to recover from radiation sickness. If successful, the character recovers without further damage. If not, roll Triage again with the same modifiers.

Radiation Sickness.

Starvation and Dehydration

A character requires two liters of water and 0.5kg of food per day to stay healthy. Two days’ worth of food (1kg) and one day’s worth of water are each considered one item for purposes of Encumbrance. Special high-tech rations (Early Space Age or later) are a lightweight and very unappetizing substitute for food that does not count as an Encumbrance item.

A character may go without water for 20 + four times their Physical skill in hours, with no ill effect. After that time has passed, they are Fatigued. After that period has passed again, the character must throw Physical per hour without water or make a Wound Triage Table roll. Apply a cumulative -1D to the Triage roll with each additional check.

A character may go without food for 3 days. After that, they become Fatigued. Each the character must throw Physical per day without food or make a Wound Triage Table roll at +2D. There is a cumulative -1D to the Triage roll with each additional check.

Suffocation

In situations where there is insufficient oxygen, such as being on a ship with failing life support, characters must roll on the Triage Table every minute after the first six minutes. If the character has no access to any oxygen whatsoever, like when a character is being strangled, or has been sucked out into space, the roll on the Triage table every round.

Vacuum Exposure

Contrary to popular belief, vacuum does not kill immediately. A character exposed to vacuum suffers regular suffocation damage (see above). While exposed to space they also suffer 3d6x10 rads of radiation per round. Additionally, at the start of the third round of vacuum exposure, the character must throw Physical each round or fall unconscious from aeroembolisms – the formation of air bubbles in their bloodstream.

Horror and Resolve

We have included rules for handling cosmic horror in science fiction. Normal fear is handled by the morale rules and does not affect player characters, however Resolve is a mechanic for determining how player characters handle unexplainable, cosmic horror—and worse.

Horror differs from fear. They share many symptoms: chills, sick stomach, and tremors. Fear is reserved for more mundane menaces: a wild animal, a robber with a gun, a dead body. Fear provokes a fight or flight response. People throw a punch, or shoot, or flee.

The supernatural creates horror: something beyond the laws of nature is happening. A derelict ship bursts from hyperspace and attacks, the alien corpse in the museum is reaching for a character’s throat. Horror will paralyze a character as their brain takes a brief rest to process what is happening, or just says, “Nope!” Characters must make a Horror roll to determine if they can handle an encounter with cosmic horror: simply roll 2d6 + the character’s current Resolve. Certain creatures may apply penalty dice as specified in the table below: an inhuman alien might force a Horror roll at no penalty. However, a zombie might add a -1D penalty to the Horror roll. A headless zombie might make that a -2D penalty.

Sample Horror Roll Penalties:

Resolve allows a character to act in the face of monsters, magic, and danger. A character’s Resolve functions like a skill modifier for the Horror die roll. A PC with Resolve 3 would need to throw a 5 or better to make a Horror roll of 8+. A character that succeeds on the Horror roll can operate normally. A result of boxcars (12 before Resolve is added) allows the character to gain a point of Resolve, but only to a maximum of 3. If the Horror roll result is equal to 8, the character freezes and takes no actions for one round. If a character fails a Horror roll, they lose 1d6 rounds of actions, or one point of Resolve, player's choice. A critical failure (with a natural ‘2’) results in losing one point of Resolve and being paralyzed with fear for the entire scene. Resolve can go as low as -5. Ordinary people start with Resolve 0.

A character gets +1 Resolve when they advance a Rank (see the Experience chapter). A character who was at Resolve -1 at Level 2 (Expert) would be at Resolve +1 at Level 4.

A creature will typically only force one Horror roll in a given adventure. The Referee can demand more in special circumstances. Encountering a large number of creatures, a friend suddenly revealing themselves to be a horrific monster or being taken by surprise by cosmic horrors all can force another Horror roll.

Equipment

The following chapter provides details on a wide variety of equipment available at various Tech Eras. The goal of this chapter is to provide a good sample of equipment, not an exhaustive list. Referees are encouraged to add additional equipment from other sources if the gear in question fits within the sort of campaign setting they are running. In that case, use the existing equipment prices to estimate what the price of an imported piece of kit would cost.

Technological Ages

This ruleset classifies civilizations and worlds by their Technological Age. Each Tech Age provides increasingly complex technology. Each Tech Age consists of two periods, an Early and a Late stage, as noted below. Below is a broad overview of each Tech Age. How Tech Ages function in world building and setting design is covered in the Worlds Chapter.

No Technology: There is no significant tool-using species present in the world.

Early Primitive: Stone tools have been developed. There is no metallurgy, and transportation is limited to human foot or simple watercraft. The culture may be highly elaborate, but technical capabilities are limited.

Late Primitive: This Tech Age represents a period on Earth from Antiquity to the Late Medieval period. Such a culture has mastered non-industrial metallurgy and can build extensive and complex structures. However, most of society is still highly agrarian.

Early Mechanical: This represents an Early Modern to Victorian level of technology. The society has mastered important technologies such as gunpowder, basic mass production, and eventually steam engines, trains, germ theory, and ironclad watercraft.

Late Mechanical: The Late Mechanical Age is equivalent to Earth between 1900 and 1945. There are high levels of industrialization, and plenty of useful inventions such as internal combustion engines, polymer plastics, mechanized warfare, and heavier than air flight.

Early Atomic: With the advent of nuclear fission, the Early Atomic age marks the moment when a society is capable of destroying itself through unlimited warfare. This era is equivalent to Earth between 1945 and 1990. Cheap transistor electronics, advanced vehicles, nuclear energy, and nuclear weapons all make their first appearance. Notably, some cultures are able to achieve limited spaceflight using chemical rockets.

Late Atomic: Equivalent to Earth from 1990 to the near future. The computer has revolutionized information technology, and affordable and portable computers are commonplace and powerful. Genetic engineering becomes a more common technology. While Earth only engaged in highly limited spaceflight in that period, a Late Atomic world may colonize its own star system using nuclear-thermal rockets (NTRs).

Early Space: Probably achieved by Earth in the late 21st century. An Early Space civilization is capable of modifying the human body and efficiently colonizing its entire star system. Fusion power, fusion rockets, cryogenic hibernation, and cybernetics are all increasingly commonplace and affordable. Interstellar travel is possible, albeit only at slower-than-light speeds in generation ships.

Late Space: Societies that are capable of limited faster-than-light (FTL) interstellar expansion first emerge in the Late Space Age. Standard FTL Engines capable of traversing two parsecs per week first become available in the Late Space Age. Man-portable laser weapons, as well as basic powered armor, are also possible in this Age. This is also the period where slow terraforming technologies begin to be applied to entire worlds.

Early Interstellar: The Interstellar Age represents the start of well-developed interstellar societies. Early shipboard gravity and partial inertial dampening technology now permits high-G maneuvers on manned spacecraft. Walker vehicles and powered infantry armor are common. Faster terraforming is now also possible. True Artificial Intelligence emerges at the end of this era, and ushers in the Late Interstellar era.

Late Interstellar: This Tech Age sees further development and refinement of established interstellar societies. Advanced FTL Engines that are capable of traversing 4 parsecs per week become available.

Early Galactic: These civilizations are now capable of colonizing large swathes of their home galaxy. Full inertial dampening in high-G space fighters is standard. Tractor beams, energy shields, and early true artificial intelligence all emerge and revolutionize every aspect of manufacturing, architecture, and warfare. FTL travel is now much faster: a ship with the best Early Galactic drive can travel up to six parsecs, moving at a rate of one parsec every other day.

Late Galactic: Galactic society at its technological peak. Gravity generators small enough to fit into personal vehicles are common. New FTL drives allow vessels to transit a maximum of ten parsecs in ten days. Artificial Intelligences are now well-developed and understood. The emergence of teleportation technology is poised to revolutionize transportation and manufacturing.

Cosmic: The Cosmic Age denotes a time when technology becomes so advanced that it is indistinguishable from magic. Harnessing the fundamental forces of the universe at the sub-atomic level allows for materials to be created that defy the laws of earlier physics. Faster-than-light communications become possible. Defensive shields, later refined to personal shields are developed. Anti-matter weapons are developed, and antimatter power systems revolutionize society again. True AI eliminates the need for most crew positions on spacecraft. Vessels are now powered by inertia-less, reactionless drives, and are capable of instantaneous FTL travel of up to 50 parsecs per day.

Encumbrance

Instead of listing and tracking the mass of each item a character carries, in this ruleset, characters may carry a number of items equal to 10 + twice their Physical skill without being encumbered. They may carry up to twice that number, but then will suffer a -1D to all physical tasks. Most items that require one hand to use count as one item. Two-handed items like rifles or heavy tools count as two items. Tiny objects such as needles, compasses, or data-shards do not count as items for encumbrance purposes, unless dozens of them are carried. Heavy objects such as body armor may count as more than one item when not worn.

Living Expenses and Salaries

Characters not embarked on a starship must pay for lodging and food. Rather than forcing players to track all expenses, player characters must spend a fixed amount per day they spend living planetside. The following table provides costs of living. One column shows a monthly cost of living – assuming long-term rental of lodging and groceries. The second gives daily living expenses, whenever characters or tourists pay for a motel or hotel room and buy prepared food. These costs include various expenses such as taxes and transportation. Unless the characters have extensive contacts on a planet or are themselves locals, they will almost always be paying the Daily rate for living expenses.

The living expenses for characters on a starship are subsumed into the life support costs for each person on board the ship.

Living Expense Table

Starvation living means living in the streets, in a tent, or outdoors and eating just barely enough to keep the character alive. Clothes are basic and always second-hand or worn out. Healthcare, entertainment, and transportation are not included in this level. A character living at starvation levels is always Fatigued.

Subsistence living is the bare minimum for civilized life – a tiny apartment, shanty, or capsule in a "coffin hotel" and simple food and clothing. Subsistence level living includes public transit, minimal entertainment, and generally inadequate healthcare.

Ordinary living is how most people live in city centers: an apartment, public transit or a small personal vehicle, reasonable food and clothing, reasonable entertainment, and modern healthcare.

High living is the good life: a fancy apartment in the city or a small house, eating at restaurants for most meals, a good personal vehicle, partying on a regular basis, fashionable clothes, and good healthcare.

The Elite life means living like royalty: a mansion or penthouse, regular feasts, or upscale restaurants, dressing in the finest clothes, and maintaining a prestigious personal vehicle. Healthcare is the best money can buy.

Salaries

The following table lists salaries for a range of NPC professions and jobs. Three daily rates are given, corresponding to level-0, level-1, and level-2 in their craft. If the NPC is hired by the players to perform a task, roll 2d6 and add their skill level to see if they are successful.

Personal Armor

As weapons become increasingly lethal, armor improves to help those unfortunate enough to be in combat survive the ordeal. The Protection rating of the armor is subtracted from the weapon’s damage roll, as per Damage and Healing.

Armor Types

Leather: Made from Boiled animal hide or other non-metallic material, this armor can be worn as regular clothing. When facing firearms or other weapons from the Early Mechanical Eras or later, this armor provides 1 point of Protection.

Chainmail: Manufactured from rings of iron or primitive steel woven together. Typically, chainmail covers the upper body and hangs to the knees. When facing firearms or other weapons from the Early Mechanical Eras or later, this armor provides 2 points of Protection.

Plate Mail: A full suit of metal plated armor with a thick woven undergarment to reduce irritation. Plate mail is normally only worn by the wealthy nobles. When facing firearms or other weapons from the Early Mechanical Eras or later, this armor provides 2 points of Protection.

Bulletproof Vest: A lightweight ballistic armor for torso protection. Bulletproof vests are easy to wear under clothes and are quite concealable.

Ceramic Plate: Modern heavy-duty ballistic-cloth armor. Commonly worn by soldiers, well-equipped security, and Atomic Age mercenaries. Ceramic Plate counts as two Items for encumbrance purposes and is not concealable.

Encased Armor Suit: A suit of heavy, full body rigid armor, often used by corporate SWAT and high-end mercenaries. The suit offers environmental protection as an Envirosuit (see below) and includes integrated comms and a Heads-Up Display.

Energy Shield: This high-energy emitter is worn on a belt clip. The energy shield is capable of stopping massive amounts of damage and may be worn with other armor. An energy shield completely negates the first hit it receives in combat but is then depleted. Roll 1d6 every following combat round; on a result of 4-6, the shield regenerates on the wearer’s turn, and may negate another hit afterwards.

Envirosuit: A full body sealed suit with attached filters and ports to attach oxygen tanks as well. The Envirosuit fully protects against airborne toxins and pathogens. An Envirosuit will absorb the first 20 rads of radiation exposure.

Envirosuit, Advanced: This is a much higher-tech version of the Envirosuit, and works the same way, but is ultra-light. It can absorb 40 rads’ worth of radiation.

Powered Armor: This is servo-assisted, fully enclosed, combat armor. This powerful armor grants +3D to all Physical checks related to brute strength and doubles the wearer’s normal Encumbrance limits. Powered armor grants +1D to all melee damage done by its wearer. It also removes the Bulky aspect from any weapons the wearer is using. Powered Armor protects against vacuum and hostile environments, as a space suit, with 6 hours of life support, and absorbs 50 rads of radiation. Powered armor does not count as an item for encumbrance when worn. It counts as 3 encumbrance items when carried.

Space Suit: This is a standard space suit, much lighter and cheaper than a 20th Century Terran space suit. A space suit carries life support supplies for up to 6 hours. It protects against Vacuum, Tainted, and Exotic atmospheres, as well as airborne pathogens. Absorbs 60 rads.

Space Suit, Advanced: This represents the final evolution of the space suit. An advanced space suit does not count as an item for encumbrance and provides life support for 12 hours. It offers the same environmental protection as a regular space suit.

Space Suit, Hostile Environment: A heavy-duty and reinforced space suit designed for extreme conditions, such as Corrosive and Insidious atmospheres. It protects against vacuum and corrosive atmospheres, as well as airborne pathogens and toxins, and provides 2d6 hours of protection from highly corrosive atmospheres. The Hostile Environment space suit carries life support supplies for 6 hours and absorbs 150 rads’ worth of radiation.

Synthsilk Armor: This advanced personal armor is bio-engineered from spider silk. Synthsilk is easily concealable and does not count as an item for Encumbrance.

Personal and Support Weapons

Interstellar adventurers face their adversaries with blades, bullets, and lasers. Here we present a few common and iconic weapons used by starfarers.

Stat Explanations

Tech Age: The Tech Age when the weapon first becomes available.

Range: The weapon’s range classification: Melee, Handgun, Rifle, or Long-Range, as discussed in the Combat Chapter.

Damage: The number of dice rolled for damage upon a successful hit. This is listed as Xd6, where X is the number of dice rolled. Some weapons will add a modifier to the final roll. 3d6+1 means roll three dice and add one to the final total damage.

Magazine: The amount of ammunition the weapon holds. Reloading takes 1 Action.

Cost: The weapon’s cost in Credits.

Ammunition Cost: The weapon’s ammunition’s cost in Credits, per magazine.

Aspects: Any special weapon characteristics, see below.

Weapon Aspects

Weapons have Aspects describing any special characteristics inherent to the weapon, as noted on the table.

Automatic: This weapon may use automatic fire, as detailed in the Combat chapter.

AV: The weapon is usable against vehicles, and has Anti-Vehicular (AV) dice, as noted after the “AV” Aspect.

Blast: The weapon inflicts damage to all targets within Close range of its impact point.

Blast, Greater: This weapon inflicts damage to all targets within Near range of its impact point.

Bulky: Anyone attacking with this weapon incurs -1D to the Combat roll. Anyone with Physical 1 or more can ignore this penalty for melee weapons. For ranged weapons, only the use of a bipod or a tripod will remove this penalty. It takes 10 combat rounds to set up a tripod, and one Action to set up a bipod.

Fire: This weapon’s attacks cause Fire damage and may ignite the target, as per the Environmental Hazards chapter.

Laser: At the Referee's discretion, laser weapon attacks through difficult atmospheric conditions, such as thick smoke, incur a -1D penalty to attack rolls.

Scattergun: Each attack fills the air with a hail of small projectiles, either flechettes or shot. Scatterguns enjoy a +1D to hit at Near or Close Ranges. Furthermore, scatterguns attack anyone standing within Close range of the target. Roll to hit for each eligible target. Armor ratings are doubled against scattergun attacks.

Stun: These weapons deal non-lethal damage and will incapacitate a living target instead of killing it. If the target suffers a Wound from this weapon, no actual wound is inflicted. Instead, the target falls unconscious.

Throwable: These weapons may be thrown out to Near range.

Two-Handed: This melee weapon requires both hands to wield, precluding the use of a shield. All rifle-sized weapons must be wielded with two hands.

Zero-G: the weapon does not suffer a penalty for firing a weapon in zero-g conditions. Other weapons suffer -1D in such conditions due to recoil. Lasers automatically have the Zero-G Aspect.

Weapon Lists

The following section describes a wide variety of weapons for characters to use when they engage in their violent adventures in the stars.

Melee Weapons

Tried and true melee weapons are commonly available in an interstellar society. Although there are many more efficient forms of inflicting harm, melee weapons provide several advantages. Most polite societies that frown upon armed civilians may be more tolerant towards carrying small melee weapons. Moreover, in the close confines of a starship, it is often the blade, and not the laser rifle, that is the most effective weapon. One-handed melee weapons count as 1 point of Encumbrance. Two-handed weapons count as 2 points of Encumbrance.

Axe: A one-handed ax made from metal or stone, anything from a stone-age tool through a medieval war ax to a modern fire ax.

Greatsword: A large two-handed sword that counts as 2 items for encumbrance purposes. A two-handed Great-Axe uses the same stats.

Cudgel: A large baton, club, or mace.

Dagger: A straight, short knife.

Machete: A simple yet sturdy broad blade used for cutting foliage and foes alike.

Neural Whip: This slaver’s weapon consists of a stocky handle connected to a flexible strap. Each attack from this weapon causes stun damage as above. However, it has two additional vicious effects. First, any target hit by a neural whip must roll Physical or fall to the ground as they suffer from nightmarish pain. They are incapacitated for 2d6 combat rounds. Second, in addition to the stun damage, the neural whip causes 1D physical damage per hit. In its intended role, the neural whip is notoriously effective. The whip is ineffective against anyone in armor.

Shield: A personal shield, with which characters can bash enemies. Its primary use is to protect its wielder, providing a -1D penalty against melee attacks. Anyone carrying a shield can penalize a number of enemy attacks per round equal to their Combat skill -1, with a minimum of 1.

Spear: This weapon comes in all types of construction, from a sharpened shaft to a metal-tipped spear. Regardless of how it was made, a spear is a basic, effective, melee weapon.

Staff: A long wooden shaft used as a bludgeon, sometimes with metal fittings. It must be used with two hands.

Stun Prod: A high-tech anti-riot weapon. The stun prod augments the basic baton’s blunt force with an electric charge capable of stunning opponents.

Sword: One of any variety of medium-sized one-handed blades, including the gladius, cutlass, longsword, and katana.

Vibroblade: An intermediate-sized, one-handed, bladed weapon that uses hypersonic micro-vibrations in the blade to create a deadly cutting edge.

Projectile Weapons

Most interstellar societies are very familiar with projectile weapons, and we present a variety of them that will be encountered in battles across the stars. Most civil societies frown on carrying projectile weapons openly—though this does vary from place to place. The population of a frontier settlement might expect every civilian to carry a pistol for personal defense, for example. However, openly carrying military-grade weaponry will immediately draw the attention of all but the most lax law enforcement personnel. Any weapon with the Handgun range category counts as 1 Encumbrance item. Other weapons are two-handed, and count as 2 or more Encumbrance items.

Anti-Materiel Rifle: A rifle that fires re-purposed Heavy Machinegun or light cannon ammunition. Some are used as sniper rifles among elite soldiers.

Assault Rifle: The standard military weapon on mid-tech worlds. An automatic rifle that fires an intermediate caliber. At the Referee's discretion, its ammunition, or even magazines, may be interchangeable with those of a Carbine.

Bows and Crossbows: These are muscle-powered ranged weapons. Arrows for a bow or bolts for a crossbow are stored in a quiver of 20, which counts as one encumbrance item. A Bow may fire once per Action. A Crossbow requires 2 actions to reload.

Carbine: This weapon is popular among vehicle crews and light infantry due to its handiness and light weight. Carbines often fire regular assault rifle ammunition, but some fire pistol ammunition. Carbines count as one encumbrance item.

Gyrojet: Designed for use in zero-G environment, gyrojet weapons fire small, self-propelled rocket rounds. They have minimal recoil and work perfectly in hard vacuum as well.

Light Machine Gun: This is the standard mid-tech squad-level support automatic weapon and is typically belt-fed. Light machine guns count as two items for encumbrance purposes.

Pulse Rifle: An advanced automatic rifle that fires electrically ignited, caseless, high explosive, armor-piercing rounds. The ultimate in projectile weaponry. The pulse rifle provides a high rate of fire and a large magazine capacity.

Revolver: A simple handgun that uses a manually loaded rotating drum to feed the action. Revolvers are reliable weapons.

Rifle: The standard military firearm on low-tech worlds. Rifles use larger caliber projectiles and are common hunting weapons on the interstellar frontier.

Semi-Automatic Pistol: This is a handgun fed from a magazine. One pull of the trigger fires one bullet. At the Referee's discretion, its ammunition, or even magazines, may be interchangeable with those of a Submachine Gun.

Shotgun: A smoothbore weapon that fires shot pellets capable of hitting multiple targets at once. Shotguns are effective short-ranged weapons, but are not useful beyond Near Range, or against armored targets. These particulate stats represent a pump-action weapon with an internal magazine.

Sniper Rifle: This rifle is a higher quality version of the standard rifle, with better optics. It fires higher quality ammunition as well.

Stealth Pistol: This is an especially light, discreet, and concealable weapon made from advanced polymers. A stealth pistol can also be disguised as more innocuous items, like comms, digital recorders, and so on.

Submachine Gun: This is a light automatic weapon that fires pistol rounds. It is intended for close quarters combat and counts as one item for encumbrance purposes.

Energy Weapons

Once the Early Space Age begins, energy weapons become viable replacements for many projectile weapons. They have many advantages over their more rugged forebears: energy weapons are lighter and have no recoil. This makes them ideal for shipping over interstellar distances, as no mass is required for ammunition weight. As well, they are suitable for zero-G combat since they produce no recoil. Lastly, the removable batteries that power energy weapons and serve as their magazine are rechargeable from a normal Space Age power grid, which makes logistics much simpler.

Blasters: are advanced laser weapons with greater power and penetration. Their power packs are rechargeable from any major power source, such as a ship’s power plant.

Laser Pistol: A handgun-sized directed energy weapon. Its power pack is rechargeable from any major power source, such as a ship’s power plant.

Laser Rifle: A long-range version of the laser pistol, with better armor penetration, range, and even light anti-vehicular capabilities.

Plasma Rifle and Pistols: The ultimate small arms, using miniaturized plasma gun technology to propel magnetically shaped pockets of super-hot ionized plasma at its targets.

Stunner: Firing a precise electromagnetic pulse, this non-lethal weapon disrupts the target's neural processes, leading to incapacitation and potentially unconsciousness. The stunner counts as one item for encumbrance purposes.

Common Small Arm Accessories

The following accessories are commonly available for ranged projectile and energy weapons.

Bayonet (25 Credits, Early Mechanical Age): A dagger-like device attached to the end of any rifle-sized weapon. On its own, a bayonet is identical to a dagger for game statistics. A rifle with a bayonet serves as a melee weapon equivalent to a Spear.

Bipod (50 Credits, Late Mechanical Age): A retractable pair of legs stored under a weapon’s barrel that provide a more stable firing platform. It takes one action to extend the bipod and set the weapon up to fire.

Laser Sight (100 Credits, Early Atomic Age): A laser sight allows the firer to ignore -1D’s worth of penalties when making a ranged attack. This includes making automatic fire attacks. Laser sights only work at Close and Near range.

Scope (250 Credits, Late Mechanical Age): A weapon with a scope removes the penalty for attacking with a rifle at Distant range. The firer must perform an Aimed Shot action before firing to gain this effect.

Silencer (250 Credits, Late Mechanical Age): May be attached to any firearm. Silencers work for single shots or one auto-fire burst per round. Multiple automatic fire attacks in a round negate the silencer’s effect. Silencers incur a -2D penalty for those attempting to detect the gunshot sound.

Smart Weapon (1000 Credits, Late Space Age): Connects to an external Heads Up Display or an implanted OmniComp. Smart Weapons allow the firer to ignore -1D’s worth of penalty on ranged attacks. It also acts as a Scope for any weapon: reduce the range penalty for Handguns at Far range to -1D, but attacks at Distant range are still not possible. Assault weapons reduce the Far range penalty to 0, but attacks at Distant range are unaffected. The Aimed Shot action is still required to gain this benefit. The Smart Weapon mod is not compatible with laser sights.

Tripod (100 Credits, Early Mechanical Age): All Heavy weapons can be fitted with a tripod mount which negates their Bulky aspect. The weapon cannot be moved while mounted on a tripod. Tripods take 10 combat rounds (one minute) to set up.

Secure Weapon (500 Credits, Early Space Age): The weapon is fitted with biometric scanners that prevent non-authorized persons from operating the weapon. Any number of individuals may be authorized to operate the weapon, although the more who are authorized, the less secure the weapon becomes. Hacking the security system requires a Technology throw at -2D.

Heavy Weapons

Heavy Weapons refer to a catchall category of military support weapons for infantry. These are usually high rate of fire weapons like machineguns, or anti-vehicle weapons like rocket launchers. All heavy weapons are considered 2 or more items each for encumbrance purposes. Some are only usable when fired from a tripod or vehicle mount. Ammunition belts, magazines, and individual rockets are each considered one item for encumbrance purposes.

Note that these weapons are often found mounted on vehicles.

Disposable Anti-Vehicle Rocket: A cheap, single-use, portable rocket launcher. These are often the only anti-tank weapons available to infantry. Note that this weapon cannot make attacks at Close range, despite using the Assault weapon range modifiers.

Flamethrower: These terrifying weapons spew a stream of fire 3m wide at its far end. All targets within this cone suffer damage and catch fire (see the Environmental Hazards rules). The tank for the flamethrower itself holds enough fuel for five full attacks and counts as two items for encumbrance.

General Purpose Machine Gun: A belt-fed medium machine gun. These are often mounted on vehicles but are also portable, although they are 3 items of encumbrance. Usually they are crew-served.

Grav Launcher: Advanced micro-gravitic technology allows this weapon to guide a floating plasma bomb to its target without having to account for ballistic trajectories or inertia. Once launched, the bomb travels 50m per combat round. Its operator can move it in any direction and can also stop it and have it hover in mid-air. Detonation is on command. The bomb's internal battery allows for 10 rounds of gravitic flight.

Grenade Launcher: Grenade launchers fire grenades over long distances. The grenades used in a grenade launcher are not interchangeable with hand grenades.

Grenade Launcher, Under-Barrel: This weapon greatly increases the firepower of an infantry team. The under-barrel grenade launcher can be mounted under most two-handed firearms in the Early Atomic Age or later. It is not Bulky and can fire a single grenade before reloading. In the Late Space Age, the weapon has a 3-shot magazine.

Guided Anti-Tank Missile: This is a portable guided missile system, like the older AT-3 Sagger, or present-day Javelin and Eryx systems. These weapons must be fired from a fixed stationary position. However, the gunner need not be adjacent to the missile’s firing position.

Plasma Gun: A high-energy, anti-vehicular, portable weapon firing magnetically contained plasma bolts. It requires a backpack-mounted, rechargeable power pack that counts as two Items for encumbrance purposes.

Rocket Launcher: A portable rocket launcher utilizing unguided munitions. Rocket launchers are unsafe to fire in enclosed spaces. Rocket payloads are considered high explosive and are not particularly effective against armored vehicles. Armor piercing rockets cost 500 Credits per rocket: trade the Greater Blast for AV 4d6, Blast. Rocket launchers can also be mounted on vehicles, where they usually have 12 or even 24 shots before requiring reloading.

Anti-Aircraft Rocket Launcher: This is a portable anti-air defense system designed to shoot down enemy aircraft with a self-guided rocket. It is not particularly effective against armored vehicles: reduce AV dice to 2d6.

Support Laser: This is a heavy directed-energy portable weapon for fire support and light anti-vehicular duties. Its backpack mounted power pack counts as two Items for encumbrance purposes.

Heavy Machinegun: This is the largest portable support weapon in the Mechanical and Atomic ages. These weapons are usually mounted on vehicles but can be mounted on fixed tripods. If they are carried, they count as four items of encumbrance and each ammo pack is two items of encumbrance.

Grenades and Explosives

Roll Physical to land a grenade near its target. Grenades may be thrown out to Near range.

Roll Technology to properly set up an explosive charge for simple demolition. More complex or larger explosions, like setting a directional shaped charge blast, require a Technology roll at -1D (or more).

Anti-Armor Grenade: Anti-tank grenades use a focused blast to penetrate armor. This grenade can only be fired from a grenade launcher.

Dynamite: A low-tech explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay) and stabilizers. Dynamite is typically used for demolition but can also be thrown with a lit fuse as a "grenade".

EMP Grenade: This Electro-Magnetic Pulse grenade emits a powerful magnetic pulse capable of disrupting electronics. It causes full damage to robots but is otherwise harmless to humans. Characters with implanted cybernetics are vulnerable to EMP but reduce the damage from an EMP grenade by -2d6. Non-cybered organic beings are immune to this stun damage. This grenade’s AV dice are effective against Late Atomic Age or later vehicles.

Flashbang Grenade: A non-lethal stun grenade emitting a powerful flash and deafening noise upon detonation.

Fragmentation Grenade: The basic anti-personnel hand grenade that explodes into a hail of shrapnel.

Incendiary Grenade: A military-grade fire-bomb grenade.

Molotov Cocktail: These are home-made incendiary bombs, commonly made with a glass container filled with highly flammable liquid and lit with a rag.

Plasma Grenade: A plasma explosive device in a grenade-sized package.

Plastique: This generic, multi-purpose plastic explosive is a favorite of military units, terrorists, demolition teams, and adventurers across known space.

Smoke Grenade: This grenade dispenses a cloud of thick smoke upon impact. Apply -1D to all attacks passing within Near range of its detonation point. Smoke also penalizes attacks by laser weapons by an additional -1D. The smoke stays in the air for 1d6+1 combat rounds.

Vehicle Weapons

These weapons are too large and bulky to be carried by individuals and are only mounted on vehicles.

Autocannon, Light: This weapon can fire bursts of shells at high rates of fire. It is common to find this mounted on aircraft as a dogfighting weapon, as well as on light armored vehicles as a support weapon for infantry.

Autocannon, Heavy: A larger version of the light autocannon, often found on light armored vehicles, naval vessels, and ground attack aircraft.

Cannon, Light: A multipurpose support weapon usually mounted on a vehicle or gun carriage.

Cannon, Heavy: This cannon is a main battle tank’s primary weapon. It is often used as field artillery as well.

Flamethrower, Heavy: A brutal close-in anti-infantry weapon used to flush out fortifications and defend against infantry attack in built-up areas. Vehicles that carry flamethrowers are usually the first to be targeted by enemy infantry.

Grenade Launcher: A light support weapon mounted on many vehicles. This version has a 50 round belt magazine. Many vehicles mount smoke grenade launchers as defensive weapons.

Guided Anti-Tank Missile: This vehicle mounted version of the portable anti-tank missile launcher has a magazine of four missiles. A system like this is often mounted on a light vehicle to give it significant anti-armor punch.

Laser Cannon: The Early Space Age’s replacement for all but the heaviest cannons, this vehicle weapon is highly efficient, and can be recharged from any power grid. This makes it the darling of logistics officers in any military where it is found.

Laser, Support: This vehicle mounted version of the portable support laser lacks auto fire capabilities but has a nearly inexhaustible ammunition supply.

General Exploration Equipment

The following adventuring equipment is readily available at starports of the appropriate Tech Age.

Artificial Gill (4000 Credits; Early Space Age): This device allows unlimited underwater activity on worlds with otherwise breathable atmospheres.

Auto Doc (10000 Credits, Early Interstellar Age): A large device normally carried in a vehicle or space craft, the Auto Doc uses advanced AI and sensors to heal almost any disease, poison, or injury. The Auto Doc provides a +1D advantage on any Triage rolls or any roll to resist poisons or diseases. It can serve as a qualified nurse or doctor for the purposes of supervising healing from Wounds.

Autokitchen (10000 Credits, Early Interstellar Age): An automated kitchen which can store and prepare meals. The standard kitchen can prepare 25 meals from internal supplies. The mass of the kitchen is 100 kg. Resupply costs depend on the quality of ingredients desired and can be determined using the Cost-of-Living table above.

Autokitchen, Emergency (5000 Credits, Early Interstellar Age): A smaller and much more restrictive version of an autokitchen, this emergency kitchen provides no-frills survival food for 10 meals. This unit weighs 5kg, or two items of Encumbrance.

Backpack (10 Credits; Early Primitive Age): A backpack does not count as an item for encumbrance when worn. The items in the backpack still count towards encumbrance. It takes one Action to remove an item from a backpack while in combat.

Binoculars (50 Credits; Early Mechanical Age): A standard piece of survival and exploration equipment. At the Early Mechanical Age, they are ruggedized for extended wilderness use, and come equipped with a compass and scaled optics. Beyond the Late Atomic Age, hand-held binoculars become integrated into high-tech optical sensors like the Night Visor.

Bioscanner (5000 Credits; Early Interstellar Age): This handheld device provides data on an organic body’s composition, chemistry, physiology, and life signs. A Knowledge roll is required to properly interpret the data. Cr900.

Breather Mask (100 Credits; Late Mechanical Age): A dual-purpose gas/filter mask apparatus that condenses thin atmospheres for comfortable breathing. It also filters out tainted atmospheres and provides protection against airborne toxins. Attachments for oxygen bottles make the Breather useful for operating in oxygen-poor or poisonous atmospheres.

Chameleon Suit (2500 Credits; Late Interstellar Age): This full body suit can shift its color patterns to blend in with the surroundings. It does not make a wearer invisible, but at medium and long ranges the wearer will be almost impossible to see and gains +2D to Stealth tests. It includes infra-red cloaking. The same technology can be applied to an Encased Armor Suit for an additional cost of 10000 Credits.

Cold Weather Clothing (50 Credits; Early Primitive Age): These protect against inclement weather. When wearing Cold Weather Clothing, characters can survive in Arctic environments without taking any damage (see the Environmental Hazard Chapter). The Early Interstellar Age version costs 800 Credits and does not count as an item for encumbrance. Note that surviving in a harsher environment, like one that is far colder than a typical arctic climate, may require additional protection, like a space suit.

Compass (10 Credits; Early Mechanical Age): This is a standard piece of equipment in all wilderness survival kits. By the Early Space Age, they incorporate gyroscopic and electronic features that make them usable on any world, given a few minutes of calibration.

Desert Suit (1000 Credits, Late Space Age): an all-in-one suit that traps the body’s moisture and recycles it as drinking water. It includes a hood, breather mask, and goggles.

Disguise Kit (500 Credits; Early Mechanical Age): This kit consists of highly personalized collections of makeup, clothing, wigs, and other accouterments that allow a skilled user to not be recognized, or even pass as someone else. At more advanced Tech Ages, Disguise Kits may include 3-D printed latex masks (Late Atomic Age), retina scanner spoofers (Early Space Age), or even holographic enhancements designed to spoof facial recognition algorithms (Early Interstellar Age). Increase the kit’s price by 100% for each of these listed features.

Emergency Beacon (1000 Credits, Early Space Age): A portable device that can be activated and will transmit an emergency signal up to a 1000 km. The device has an internal battery that will last for 48 hours. Most vehicles at Late Space Age and above include one automatically, but this portable version can be easily carried along with other survival supplies.

Exoskeleton (20000 Credits; Early Space Age): This marvel of robotics grants wearers +2D to athletics-related Physical checks. It also allows the wearer to jump up to 2m vertically or 5m horizontally. Soldiers wearing exoskeletons may march their normal cross-country speed while tiring at half the rate. The exoskeleton’s batteries are good for 48 hours of activity before requiring replacement. At higher tech levels, exoskeletons are often replaced by cybernetics.

Field Radio (100 Credits, Late Mechanical Age): A radio transmitter and receiver with a 100 km range. At the Late Mechanical Age it counts as 2 items of Encumbrance, reduced to 1 item at Early Atomic, and 0 encumbrance at the Late Atomic Age.

Field Rations (5 Credits; Late Primitive Age): These are foodstuffs specially prepared to stay edible for 6 months. Each ration counts as a single item for encumbrance. Early Space Age field rations are much lighter: 25 field rations count as one item, and they last for 6 decades.

Glidesuit (500 Credits, Early Space Age): A form-fitting suit that includes adjustable wings that allow the wearer to glide. Flapping provides limited flight. The Glidesuit reduces a person’s falling rate in half. Roll Physical to avoid injury when landing. Wearers use their Physical skill to make complex maneuvers.

Handcuffs (50 Credits; Early Mechanical Age): An item commonly used by bounty hunters and law enforcement officers. Escaping properly applied handcuffs requires a Physical roll at -3D. Palming the key and keeping it hidden until the right time is a standard Stealth roll.

Hotsuit (200 Credits, Early Space Age): A reflective suit designed to protect the wearer from temperatures up to 100^oC. The suit is clumsy and imposes a -1D disadvantage on all physical activity while wearing it. At Early Interstellar Age, the suit is form-fitting and is not clumsy to wear and does not count as an item of encumbrance.

Intelligent Rooms (Double Cost, Late Space Age): Fully integrated rooms, houses, or apartments with voice activated commands controlling lighting, heating, and general appearance controlled by an Independent robotic brain. Smartwalls provide 3-D entertainment. At Early Interstellar Age, Low Simulated AI rooms are expected even at the subsistence quality of living and are included in the listed prices.

LED Flashlight (5 Credits; Late Atomic Age): A hand-held, rubberized, sturdy light source with a variable light aperture. The 2m cone of light has a range of 50m, but it can be adjusted to illuminate a 5m radius. Smaller, more expensive (20 Credits) versions can be mounted on weapons or clipped to armor. A Late Atomic Age LED Flashlight’s battery will last for 24 hours. By Early Interstellar Age, the battery will last for a decade of continual use.

Lockpicks (50 Credits; Late Primitive Age): A collection of specialized tools for opening locks, in a handy carrying pouch. Attempting to pick a lock without lockpicks penalizes the attempt by -2D.

Map Box (3000 Credits, Late Space Age): Designed for wilderness exploration, this self-contained nav-computer system provides scalable maps of a world’s surface based on known data and any additional data obtained by the exploration team. Most inhabited worlds have detailed map drives which can be inserted and provide up to street-level details of any explored area and high-level maps of the entire surface. Map boxes count as 2 items of Encumbrance. At Early Interstellar, it is 1 item.

Medkit (100 Credits; Early Mechanical Age): This is standard issue in all survival kits and can be found in ship’s lockers across known space. Medkits contain all the necessary equipment and compounds to deal with minor trauma and easily treatable emergencies.

Medkit, Advanced (1000 Credits, Early Space Age): Containing advanced scanners and additional medications, the advanced version of the medical kit provides a +1D advantage when rolling on the Triage table.

Multiscanner (2500 Credits; Late Space Age): This hand-held sensor suite is a combination of several functions: it can detect radiation, electromagnetic emissions, metals, and a limited set of chemicals and biological compounds. It can also perform standard blood tests. A Knowledge roll is required to make real use of the data, but basic analysis is possible with the use of on-board software.

Night Visor (300 Credits; Late Atomic Age): This stylish set of eye wear combines low-light and infra-red vision goggles into one handy device. Safety features prevent blindness if the light level suddenly changes. Wearing a Night Visor eliminates the disadvantages of working in dim light and reduces the penalty for total darkness to -1D.

OmniComm (50 Credits; Early Space Age): Today’s smartphones will eventually evolve into the OmniComm, which handles all your telecom needs in one device, with holographic augmented reality capability. The OmniComm can automatically integrate with whatever telecommunication networks are present on a given world. Batteries last for a few days in the Early Space Age. By Early Interstellar, batteries will last for months, if not years.

OmniComp (250 Credits; Early Space Age): A hand-held, light-weight computer which evolved from both the laptop and the tablet computer. It functions much like an OmniComm but is intended for more advanced content production and computing tasks. Early Space Age batteries for these devices last for a few days; Early Interstellar Age batteries last for months between recharging.

Omnitool (500 Credits; Late Space Age): An auto-adjusting, auto-fitting repair tool. The Omnitool will fit exactly to any kind of bolt, screw or fastening device, it doubles as wire-cutters, small hacksaw, flashlight, and a myriad of other tools. All this is packed into one item’s worth of encumbrance!

Oxygen Tank (100 Credits, Late Mechanical Age): An oxygen tank that can be attached to a space suit or breather mask to provide 90 minutes of breathable air. Each tank is 2 items of encumbrance. At the Late Space Age, the tanks are only 1 item of encumbrance.

Personal Reentry Capsule (15000 Credits, Late Space Age): Used as a last-ditch survival tool, the personal capsule allows for reentry into an atmosphere and a relatively safe landing on a world’s surface. The capsule includes a primitive autopilot and a small reentry thruster to make a soft landing. The occupant has no control over the capsule. The autopilot will attempt to land on flat, dry land if possible. All users must make a Physical check at +1D to avoid 2d6 damage upon landing.

Personal HUD (1500 Credits, Early Interstellar Age): A personal Heads-Up-Display (HUD) can be fitted to any pair of goggles or a helmet visor. At the Late Interstellar Age, it can be fitted as a contact lens. The HUD interfaces with an OmniComp displaying information and messages. The HUD can also be synched to any Smart Gun system (see the Weapons Accessories section).

Portable Fusion Generator (20000 Credits; Early Interstellar Age): A marvel of interstellar technology, and a crucial piece of equipment for colonies across the galaxy. Fusion generators are also very useful for mercenary outfits that rely on energy weapons. These generators are small (20kg, roughly 2 Encumbrance), rugged, and designed to last for decades.

Portable Generators (1000 Credits; Late Mechanical Age): A ubiquitous device still used across the galaxy to generate electricity far away from central power grids. Most run off refined hydrocarbons that can be sourced locally. This one is 15kg and consumes 4 liters of fuel per hour. Higher tech level versions are smaller and more fuel efficient.

Prefab Space Base (50000 Credits; Early Space Age): This is a pressurized, modular, temporary structure that is capable of housing 6 persons. It has a single airlock and requires 12 person-hours to assemble. Life support lasts for 24 hours without a portable generator to power atmoscrubbers.

Pressure Tent (5000 Credits; Early Space Age): This basic survival shelter lacks an airlock and must be depressurized to enter or leave; it can house up to 2 people and requires an external oxygen tank.

Radiation Detector (150 Credits; Early Atomic Age): A matchbox sized device that displays radiation levels in a 10m radius. It also indicates the type of radiation if that is important. The detector can also serve as an alarm, chiming loudly when radiation levels are dangerous to humans. This feature can be shut off.

Responsive Clothes (200 Credits, Late Space Age): Clothing that can adapt to a wearer, fitting them perfectly. The clothing is self-cleaning and can change color and pattern within limits. Not quite one-size-fits-all, but almost.

Rope (5 Credits; Early Primitive Age): At the Early Primitive Age, rope can hold 50kg. By the Late Atomic Age, the rope is fully synthetic, and can support 500kg of mass before breaking. Roughly 100m of rope is the equivalent of one encumbrance item.

Rope, Advanced (10 Credits for 10m, Early Interstellar Age): This synthetic rope is incredibly light and strong. 10m of this rope can support 1000 kg before breaking.

Sensor Gloves (4000 Credits, Late Interstellar Age): Thin gloves that incorporate sensitive tactile, pressure, chemical, and bioscanner sensors. They can interface with an OmniComp and provide detailed information about weight, mass, composition, even recent users. They can sense residual heat and chemical signatures for up to an hour after the object was used. The gloves provide a +1D advantage on checks for information where they would apply.

Sentry Gun (750 Credits, Late Space Age): This security system consists of a weapons tripod mounted with a processor and sensor array. It can be fitted with a support weapon. The operator sets the sentry’s gun’s parameters for when and who it opens fire on. It has a Combat skill of 1.

Sleeping Bag (30 Credits; Late Primitive Age): A cloth or synthetic padded bag for one person. It provides insulation while sleeping. In the Early Atomic Age, cold weather bags are available. Regular sleeping bags are effective to zero degrees centigrade, while cold weather bags, costing 50 Credits, are insulated to negative 30 degrees centigrade.

Smart Clothes (500 Credits, Early Interstellar Age): Responsive clothes that incorporate microelectronics providing the equivalent of an Omnicomp and allowing images and messages to be displayed on the clothing if desired.

Super Adhesive (20 Credits, Late Atomic Age): A powerful adhesive that bonds two materials together and dries in one combat round (6 seconds). The adhesive bond is limited by the strength of the weaker of the two objects. 20 Credits buys a small tube that can cover 1 square meter of surface.

Survival Kit (50 Credits, Early Atomic Age): A standard-issue item in most aircraft, explorer vehicles, and spacecraft across known space. The survival kit’s contents vary over Tech Age but consist mainly of the basic supplies to keep a small group of humans alive, fed, and healthy for a few weeks. A kit usually contains thermal tarps, LED flashlights, fire starters, water filter and decontamination pills, magnesium flares, and a radio/flash rescue beacon. They count as one item for Encumbrance.

Technical Toolkit (300 Credits; Early Atomic Age): This toolkit is fully equipped to handle almost any technical job that doesn’t require a full workshop. As the Tech Ages increase, many of the tools become self-modifying smart omnitools that can reconfigure depending on what the tech needs. This greatly reduces the bulk of the toolkit: Space Age Tool Kits are 2 Encumbrance points, while all but the largest Interstellar kits are 1 Encumbrance point.

Thruster Pack (5000 Credits; Early Space Age): This wearable harness allows maneuvering in zero-G conditions at normal movement rates. Characters and objects moving by thruster pack are still subject to the laws of motion.

Trauma Tab (500 Credits, Late Space Age): A single-use medical application that automatically allows a character who has suffered a Wound to continue to fight. However, the strain adds a -1D penalty to the Wound Triage table roll after the fight. At Late Interstellar age, this penalty is dropped.

Water Purification Tablets (10 Credits; Late Atomic Age): A pack of 50 tablets that are standard issue in survival kits. Each tablet can sterilize up to 1L of water and make it fit for drinking.

Welder, Laser (3000 Credits; Early Space Age): This portable workshop tool uses a focused laser beam to perform cutting and welding operations. It can cut through a reinforced bulkhead in 1d6 starship combat rounds (6-36 minutes). Roll Technology to reduce the time to one starship combat round (6 minutes). As a weapon, the laser welder is inaccurate and clumsy, but extremely dangerous: it does 4d6 (or AV 3d6) damage with a range of Close and has energy for 5 attacks. When used as a weapon, the laser welder gains the Fire Weapon Aspect.

Pharmaceuticals

Mass produced drugs become common in the Late Mechanical Age. The following is a very small sample of pharmaceuticals that are common in interstellar markets.

Pharmaceuticals

Antirad: Administering this drug before exposure to radiation will prevent the accumulation of rads for 1d6 hours. After being exposed to radiation, it removes 2D6 rads.

Fast Forward: This emergency life support drug dramatically slows the subject’s metabolism; this drastically reduces life support costs and can keep a subject alive for 1D days without the use of any cryogenic medical technology.

Hyperspace: A dangerous drug that allows a person to go 72 hours without sleep at full alertness and functionality. The subject ignores Fatigue for the full duration. Afterwards, the subject must sleep for 24 hours. Another dose of Hyperspace before the 24 hours is up forces a roll on the Wound Triage Table.

Ice: A combat drug used by many professional mercenaries; Ice gives a +2D bonus to all morale checks. It is rumored that prolonged use of Ice will result in lack of empathy and sociopathic behavior. Ice manufacturers vehemently deny such calumnies.

Panacea: When using this drug, roll Knowledge 8+ to cure most diseases or poisons. This drug does not work on tailored viruses or biological weapons.

SlowMo: This drug will heal one Wound in 10 minutes. This metabolic accelerator can only be used safely once per week. It gets its name because those who take it spend ten minutes watching the world go by very, very slowly. If it is used more than once per week, roll on the Wound Triage Table with a -2D penalty.

Cybernetics

Cybernetic implants, a major theme in science fiction tales, replace or upgrade body parts with biomechanical technology. Using advanced material science and cutting-edge knowledge of the neural system, cybernetics augment the human body, adding capabilities beyond those given to humanity by evolution.

Installing cybernetics takes a number of days equal to the implant’s Loss statistic. Cybernetics should only be implanted in sanitary, properly equipped medical facilities. After implanting, the character should take time with therapists to learn how to properly adjust to their new hardware. This sound medical advice is not always heeded.

Cybernetic Loss

A character may install as many cybernetic implants as they like, but each implant increases a character’s Loss: the slow degradation of humanity that accompanies putting more and more chrome into a meat body and becoming more machine than human. Some implants will increase Loss more than others: an internal omnicomm is a much less invasive cybernetic implant than a full nervous system reconstruction.

When a character’s total Loss exceeds 2 + their Social skill level, they are at risk of cyber-dissociation or even a full cyber-psychotic break. Upon installing implants that cause cybernetic Loss to exceed their Loss threshold, the character must make a Social skill check. If successful, the character must apply a -1D penalty to Social skill checks when attempting to be friendly or trustworthy. This is a permanent result. If the Social skill check is failed, roll on the following table and apply the result. If more cybernetics are implanted, make the same Social skill check. If successful, the -1D penalty to Social skill checks is NOT reapplied (but it remains). On failure, roll on the table again.

Cyber Loss Result

Cybernetic Implant Descriptions

Advanced Cyberarms: The arms are replaced by obvious cybernetic appendages. This implant grants +2D for brute strength tasks involving the arms. Unarmed attacks do 3d6 damage. Both real arms have to be replaced to provide proper structural support.

Advanced Cyberlegs: The subject’s legs are replaced by obvious cybernetic versions. The hips and spine are reinforced to deal with the additional strain. The subject gains the Runner Talent, with a 15+2d6m base rate. As an action, the character may throw Physical to jump 10m horizontally in any direction or 3m upwards. The subject also ignores fall damage for any falls less than 10m.

Artificial Gill: This implant permits the subject to breathe underwater with no difficulty. Diving too deep will still be lethal. The artificial gill runs off the character’s own energy and does not need recharging.

Bastet Frame Upgrade: This series of implants represents a radical reconstruction of the entire organic body to grant superhuman agility and speed. The Bastet upgrade grants +1D to all Physical and Stealth skill rolls related to speed and agility. The Bastet Frame Upgrade is incompatible with the Hercules Frame Upgrade.

Chem Injector: An assassin’s implant par excellence, this cybernetic is mounted in the user’s fingertips or canines. Different chemicals are available, but typically they amount to lethal or non-lethal poisons. Attacks against unsuspecting targets are automatically successful. In combat, or against a wary target, roll Combat normally to hit. Targets must roll Physical to avoid the effects of the poison. See the Disease and Poison section for more information.

Control Rig Implant: This is a highly specialized implant designed to give elite vehicle pilots even more of an edge. The control rig allows the operator to fully interface their minds with vehicles. The control rig gives the character +1D on Vehicles skill throws with suitably modified vehicles. Position rolls remain unaffected. The Control Rig requires the operator to be in the vehicle, and “plugged in.” Modifying a vehicle to work with a control rig increases its cost by 10%. When the vehicle takes any damage, the plugged in pilot must roll Physical to avoid taking 1D damage from electrical feedback—this damage ignores any armor the pilot may be wearing.

Cosmetic Modification: It is a simple matter to effect changes to a person’s appearance with cybernetics. Small modifications cost 500 Credits; a general makeover costs 1000 Credits; and exotic options—for example, changing your body to resemble that of your favorite animal—cost 5000 Credits and upwards.

Cybernetic Eye: Both eyes are replaced with artificial versions. Cybereyes are considered to have internal Night Visor upgrades (low light and infrared optics). They also come with x4 image intensification, and anti-flare protection which provides a +1D bonus against flash-bang grenades and other similar effects.

Cyber-Blades: The character’s arm carries a blade that can be extended or retracted at will. The blade does 2d6+1 damage. Internal blades are made with ceramic composites to avoid detection and cannot be detected by any means short of exploratory surgery.

Data Safe: This secured electronic storage device secures encrypted files in a small data chip implanted in the character’s skull. The data safe cannot be detected by a cursory sensor scan, but a medical scan will reveal its presence. The safe’s capacity is very large and can store (not run!) even advanced AI software. Data must be uploaded and downloaded from the data safe by means of a Neural Interface. The safe can be set so that failed attempts to break the encryption cause it to shut down and be safely dissolved by the subject’s body.

Filtration System: This lung filtration implant protects from airborne and pathogens. It requires a few minutes of maintenance after every month of use, but otherwise draws its power from the subject’s own electrical impulses. Certain extremely high-tech artificially designed chemical agents might degrade the filtration system very quickly.

Gekko Implants: Miniature gravitic generators are implanted in the character’s hands and feet. This allows them to climb sheer surfaces and run along walls or ceilings. Earlier versions (same price, Late Space Age) deploy biomimicry micro-hairs that provide the same performance but require bare hands and feet to use.

Glow Tattoos: These advanced tattoos consist of smart bioluminescent skin grafts implanted in complex patterns across the subject’s skin. Patterns and designs are up to the subject. The subject may activate or deactivate the tattoos at will.

Head bomb: A tiny remote-controlled explosive device implanted in the brain. They are designed so that the bomb’s detonation will kill the subject without breaking the skull: no collateral damage! These devices are rarely implanted voluntarily.

Hercules Frame Replacement: A radical reconstruction and replacement of the entire organic body grants superhuman endurance and might. The Hercules Frame grants the character +1D to all Physical rolls related to brute strength and doubles their Encumbrance capacity. All melee damage rolls gain +1D as well. The Hercules Frame also provides +10 Stamina. The Hercules frame upgrade is incompatible with the Bastet Frame Upgrade.

Hibernation Suite: This emergency cybernetic implant puts the character into a medical coma upon command. The user appears dead and has no need of any air, food, or water while in suspended animation. The Hibernation Suite also pauses any healing and prevents the spread of poisons or disease. The length of hibernation is determined by the user before it begins, and the maximum duration is four weeks. The Hibernation Suite cannot be used for a week after the user is woken from their coma.

Hypercosmetic Surgery: Perfect body sculpting and implanted synthetic pheromone glands radically reconstructs the subject’s body to be perfectly attractive to other members of their species. Grants +1D to all Social skill rolls in situations where physical attractiveness matters.

Neural Booster: This invasive augmentation to the character’s nervous system and adrenal glands grants the character super speed and reaction times for very short periods of time. Once per combat, the character may go twice, for a total of four actions per combat round rather than the usual two. As well, they may use this ability as an interrupt action, going before anyone else in the round.

Neural Interface: The basic method a dedicated hacker connects with a computer system, the Neural Interface allows for rapid upload of code directly from a hacker’s mind. There is no need to use bulky and slow computer keyboards or other user interfaces. The hacker can now access a computer directly, allowing both combat actions per round to be used as hacking actions. The Neural Interface is a simple wire jack that extends from the hacker (usually a compartment on the wrist, but any location is available) that is plugged into a computer terminal.

Neural Interface, Military Grade: The ultimate interface between the human brain and a machine. In addition to all the benefits of the regular Neural Interface, this implant grants +1D to all throws made to hack computers and tamper with electronics.

Omnicomm, Internal: This implant functions as an Omnicomm but with a neural interface, allowing communication without audible speech. This implant allows the subject to send and receive images and videos as well. Nearly every operator in the starfaring future has such an implant.

Omnicomp, Internal: This implant provides full Omnicomp capabilities to any operator, but with a neural interface. Dedicated hackers tend to eschew this implant, as it is difficult to constantly upgrade with custom modifications.

Oxygen Supply: This implant provides 3 hours of oxygen. This means that the subject can avoid breathing tainted air without any other implants. It is also an excellent emergency oxygen backup supply for spacers operating in dire circumstances.

Prehensile Tail: This implant provides the subject with an additional grasping and manipulating appendage. The tail is not easily concealed but can be made to look like anything the character desires. The character still only has two actions per combat round. The tail is strong enough to support the weight of the owner.

Prosthetic Limb/Organ: This entry covers a variety of medical cybernetics intended to replace missing or damaged hands, eyes, fingers, arms, legs, feet, or internal organs. These prosthetics are cosmetically indistinguishable from the real thing, but close inspection will reveal the truth.

Smart Gun, Internal: Some gun-bunnies need to project their aiming reticule all the time. This cybernetic implant grants the standard Smart Gun advantages to all weapons the user fires, as long as the weapon itself has the Smart Gun sensors. The character must have Cybernetic Eyes or an Omnicomp implanted to benefit from the Internal Smart Gun. Modifying a weapon to work with an Internal Smart Gun costs 100Cr.

Storage Pouch: This is a discreet abdominal pouch accessible via a well-concealed sphincter. Stows items up to 0.5 kg in weight and 0.5 liters in volume: one Encumbrance point’s worth of items.

Subdermal armor: This implant consists of subtle bone reinforcement and flexible mesh implants that provide 4 points of Protection. Subdermal armor is detectable upon visual inspection, but only if the subject removes their clothing. Subdermal armor is added to the Protection of any worn armor.

Vacuum Adaptation: This implant turns the user into a natural spacer. Internal oxygen reserves, micro-seals, and metal weave skin permit the character an hour of operation in vacuum without a spacesuit. An integral grav unit allows short-range maneuvering in low and microgravity. The grav unit is too weak to maneuver in any gravity beyond 0.05g. This augment also provides 4 points of integral armor Protection and reduces radiation by 10 rads. The Vacuum Adaptation implant is visible upon medical inspection or sensor scan but is otherwise quite discreet. The Vacuum Adaptation requires 1d6+1 hours to recharge after use.

Weapon, Internal: The character carries a concealed weapon in an internal arm mounting. This can be any pistol-sized weapon, according to the tech age of the society installing the cybernetic: stealth pistol, gyrojet pistol, gauss pistol, laser pistol, blaster pistol, or stunner. The weapon’s magazine is half normal capacity, but it can be reloaded normally via a retractable magazine holder. The cybernetic’s price is 5000 Credits, plus twice the weapon’s cost. Internal weapons can be detected with medical scans or detailed physical inspections. Internal weapons are made to be automatically compatible with a Smart Gun system (internal or external).

Wound Triage Booster: An implanted autodispenser of emergency combat drugs that stabilize wounds and minimize pain. Characters with this implant gain a +1D to Wound Triage rolls after combat. As well, they do not die until they suffer 4 Wounds in combat.

Cybernetics Table

Cosmic and Galactic Technology Catalogue:

Below is a small sample of extremely advanced technology that might not be appropriate for campaigns set in a standard Space Age or Interstellar Age campaign. The following devices can be used to represent “artifacts” from advanced societies that have long since disappeared. Or they can serve as advanced prototypes for characters to chase after.

Atmosphere Generator (12000 Credits; Cosmic Age): A large, but portable unit that creates a gravity bubble in a 25m radius. Inside the bubble, the local atmosphere is replaced by one more amenable to the user. The generator is perfect for setting up a camp, or for establishing a work site. The bubble has an endurance of 1 week, before requiring a recharge.

Broadcast Power Field (2 million Credits; Cosmic Age): This large, vehicle-mounted antimatter power plant can beam its power out across a wide area. It can be used to remotely power any Cosmic Age equipment that requires power to operate. Its operating field has a range of 1 km indefinitely, or 10 km if it is refueled after one week.

Cloak Generator (20000 Credits; Cosmic Age): A development of the chameleon suit, this heavy generator can throw out a perfect visible light wave field that effectively renders anything within it invisible, from all angles. The objects inside the field still exist, and can be touched and interacted with normally. Rain, fog, smoke and the effects of lights shone into the field may outline the object at the referee’s discretion. The field has a radius of 100m, and if unconnected to a power source, has an endurance of 12 hours.

Cloaking Device, Personal (10000 Credits; Late Galactic Age): This belt-mounted device permits its user to become practically invisible. The light-distorting gravitic lensing of the cloak affects all visible light for organic and mechanical eyes. However, the target still emits infrared heat radiation.

Force Shield Generator (1 million Credits; Cosmic Age): This large portable emitter can generate a phased, resonance repulsor field with a radius of 30m. This has the effect of negating all small arms attacks (both projectile and energy weapons) and reducing Anti-Vehicular dice (AV) or starship Guns by 5d6. Each starship or anti-vehicle weapon attack that hits the force shield will disable it on 11+ on 2d6. The field can be extended to 100m, but this reduces the field’s effectiveness: small arms are still defeated, but heavier weapons are reduced by 3d6.

FTL Communicator (120000 Credits; Cosmic Age): This portable base station is capable of communication between worlds that are in the same or distant star systems, instantly. Range is 1-6 parsecs, depending on the version used. Cost is 120000 Credits per parsec of range.

Gravitic Communicator (2800 Credits; Late Galactic Age): A powerful communications system that uses a gravity ripple effect for communications. Gravitic comms are able to pass through solid bodies, water or underground, and out into space. The base station has a range of 50,000 km, handheld transceivers have a range of 1,000 km. The base station costs 2800 Credits. Each handheld transceiver is 700 Credits.

Holographic Belt (3500 Credits; Early Galactic Age): This belt-worn holographic projector can throw a field around the wearer, creating the illusion of someone or something else. At Close range, or in darkness, the nature of the hologram is very obvious. Make a Knowledge throw to detect a hologram, seen briefly or at distance, +3D if within 3m or at night. The projector has an endurance of 20 minutes.

Medical Regenerator (5000 Credits; Cosmic Age): This small handheld medical tool is a marvel of the Cosmic Age. It repairs organic tissue and is especially useful in trauma surgery. As an action in combat, it can repair a single Wound immediately, or grant +1D to Triage Table rolls after the fight.

Mobile Tractor Unit (10000 Credits; Cosmic Age): A large but portable unit that, once set up, can be used to move objects around using focused gravity beams. It has an operating range of 30m and is used in mining, construction, and cargo loading. The tractor beams have a maximum capacity of 10000kg. By halving the capacity, the range can be extended to 60m.

Psionic Detector (15000 Credits, Early Galactic Age): A hand-held device that can detect any psionic activity within 1000 meters and any psionic capable person or creature within 20 meters.

Psionic Shield (4000 Credits, Early Galactic Age): A helmet device that protects the wearer from all psionic activity. It does not protect them from the effects caused by psionics such as a rock thrown at them by a telekinetic.

Radiation Shield (500000 Credits, Early Galactic Age): This 1000 kg unit can set up a field that blocks harmful radiation, up to protecting from a small nuclear explosion. The device protects against particulate radiation, not energy such as lasers or blasters. The Shield can be extended up to 10 meters from the unit in all directions, including underground.

Ring Laser (1000 Credits, Early Galactic Age): A low-powered laser mounted in a device wearable as a ring. The laser is too weak to serve as a weapon but is useful for simple cutting and welding work. The internal battery can power the laser for 10 minutes of continuous use. Use Technology when using this as a tool. The Ring Laser can be used as a painful intimidation device granting a +1D to the Social skill check when used for intimidation or torture.

Slipshape Tool (120 Credits; Cosmic Age): This is a memetic metallic tool that can change its shape upon voice or key command. It can take the shape of any hand-held, unpowered tool that it has stored in its memory, from ax to wrench, screwdriver to saw, and more.

Stasis Bomb (500 Credits; Cosmic Age): Using phase technology, the stasis bomb isolates everything in the blast radius from the effects of time. The air, the people, insects—even microbes, are frozen in time until the effect wears off in 2d6 minutes. This makes the stasis bomb an ideal non-lethal weapon. Use the rules for throwing a grenade, with a similar blast radius.

Survey Drones (12000 Credits; Late Galactic Age): This is a set of four grav-powered spherical survey drones, each 20cm in diameter. Between them they can conduct a rapid, automated aerial survey of 1 square km, in 5 minutes. The survey is topographical and includes camera, radar and laser imaging data, which creates a full 3D survey map of the area. The drones can also split up to explore tunnels, buildings, or the accessible parts of a starship interior. A replacement drone costs Cr4000.

Timescanner (50000 Credits; Cosmic Age): With a Knowledge throw, this hand-held device will detect echoes of the past in a specific location after 10 minutes of study. The echoes may be indistinct, such as sounds, ghost images, and so on. Scanning for 12 hours may produce more detailed imagery from a point in the past. The user must specify the point in time to be studied or spend an hour scanning the timeline looking for a possible event.

Universal Translator (1000 Credits; Early Galactic Age): A hand-held learning translation system which works in real time with all known languages. In the Cosmic Age, the translator is badge-sized and can be worn. It takes 1d6 days for a scientist to translate the speech of a previously unknown alien language.

Vehicles

Vehicles are a staple of science fiction adventure roleplaying. This chapter provides rules on how vehicles operate in combat, as well as a sampling of vehicles at varying technology ages. If Referees require more vehicle statistics than those provided, we recommend using the sample vehicles as a guide and simply assigning statistics to whatever vehicle is required.

Vehicle Statistics

Agility: The vehicle’s maneuverability. A vehicle’s Agility score modifies its Position rolls in combat as a fixed modifier, like a character’s skills. It also modifies Vehicles skill rolls when attempting stunts or other difficult maneuvers in a vehicle. In this ruleset, Agility is zero-averaged: most vehicles should not have a significant Agility score. Having more than a +1 Agility or less than a -1 Agility indicates that a given vehicle is especially nimble or clumsy, respectively.

Armor: The vehicle’s resistance to damage, whether arising from bulk or armor plating. Armor is defined by two numbers Light Damage/Critical Damage: the first number is the minimum number an attack’s AV dice require to cause a Light Damage result. The second number is the AV dice result necessary to inflict Critical Damage on the vehicle.

Cargo: The amount of cargo (in kilograms or tons) the vehicle can carry.

Crew/Passengers: How many crew and passengers the vehicle can carry.

Force: A vehicle’s Force represents its ability to cause damage in a crash or when ramming. This reflects its size and bulk.

Range: The maximum distance the vehicle can travel in kilometers, before requiring refueling.

Speed: The vehicle’s top speed in km/h.

Tech Age: The Tech Age the vehicle may be manufactured in.

Tonnage: The number of tons required to transport the vehicle on a spacecraft. Aircraft, Helicopters, and Jets take up three times this number unless they are carried disassembled.

Weapon: The weapons commonly mounted on the vehicle.

Common Vehicles

The following vehicles are a small sample of the sorts of vehicles that are available in most science fiction settings. The Referee is welcome to vary the statistics of any vehicle to make it suit a specific context, or to reflect different designs or the condition of a very badly maintained vehicle, for example.

Ground Vehicles

Most of these vehicles need very little introduction, as they are common in our Early-to-Late Atomic Age society here on Earth in the early 21^st Century. Most of these vehicles need good roads to operate safely at high speeds. On rough terrain, halve or even quarter the listed speeds. Note that most of these ground vehicles can take weaponry mounted on pintle mounts or ersatz tripod mounts.

Ground Car

Pickup Truck

Armored Personnel Carrier

Light Tank

Sports Car

Explorer:

Hovercraft

Hovercraft may be built in the Early Atomic Age. They travel on a cushion of air and can move over land, water, mud, or any other relatively smooth terrain. Hovercraft do require an atmosphere to operate, but this does not necessarily have to be a breathable atmosphere. They can use fuel up to twice as fast in hills and rough terrain.

Hovercraft:

Watercraft

Many human-friendly worlds are covered in part, or entirely, by oceans (usually of water). Boats, rafts, and barges were the first human vehicles built in prehistory. By the Early Mechanical Age, they were popular and economical and only superseded by Thrusters in the Interstellar Age.

Cabin Cruiser

Speedboat: Late Mechanical Age; 14750 Credits; 2 tons

Submarines

Submarines require a pressure hull, which became practical in the Late Mechanical Age. They also benefit from battery power. A battery the size of the sub’s engine will propel it underwater at half speed for two hours. Recharging a battery takes 30 minutes for a battery the same size as the engine.

Mini-Sub

Aircraft

Heavier-than-air aircraft became feasible in the Late Mechanical Age. These vehicles generate lift through some combination of rotors, propellers, or jet engines, and all require an atmosphere to operate, unlike later Thruster vehicles. Aircraft are purpose-built for their homeworld and will malfunction in a radically different environment (throw Technology to avoid a crash or a restart).

Biplane

Propeller Plane

Cargo Plane

Helicopter

Jump Jet

Jet Fighter

Ionic Thruster Vehicles

Jet engines were replaced by ionic thrusters in the Early Space Age. Advanced automatic pilots that pick or generate flight paths are included with the controls. This is the first Age when civilian flying vehicles are mass produced. The vehicle’s autopilot will take over and land or hover in the event of pilot or mechanical failure.

Sky Car

Gravity Drive

Gravitic Impellers are produced by Late Galactic Age cultures. They are powered by integral fusion Packs and require no fuel. They allow vertical flight. Impellers generate an earth standard internal gravity field for the comfort of passengers.

Grav Car:

Vehicle Combat

Basic Procedure

In most cases, vehicle combat is a chase and is played out in turns. Each side throws 1d6 + Vehicles + the vehicle’s Agility; the vehicle with the higher result has better Position for that turn. The Pursuer wins on a tie. A vehicle with Position may attack normally, using the Combat skill to operate the vehicle’s weapons, or their own weapons if they can shoot out a window. A vehicle without Position can still attack, but all attacks are penalized by -2D. Range modifiers are not included, as they fall under the general purview of Position in these rules. A chase lasts until one side is caught or their vehicles are disabled, or 5 turns pass without either being destroyed, at which point the Quarry escapes.

Optional Rules: Vehicles with Range Bands and Movement

In some circumstances, it is more desirable to run vehicle combat like personal combat, with range bands and tracking relative vehicle positions in complex terrain. In these cases, each driver or pilot throws Initiative: 2D + Vehicles skill + the vehicle’s Agility. Each passenger can act on the driver’s initiative number, and combat proceeds as personal combat does, with a few changes.

Ranges: most vehicle combats occur at Far or Distant ranges using the Heavy Weapons range modifiers.

Movement: unless the terrain is not amenable, most vehicles can move from Far range to Near or Close range using one Action. Vehicles require two Actions to move from Distant to Near or Close range. Referees may require a Vehicle skill roll to traverse particularly difficult terrain, or to prevent a vehicle from overshooting in some cases. Note that most vehicle-mounted weapons are not designed to attack targets at Near range and cannot attack adjacent targets at Close range.

Vehicle Damage:

Upon a successful hit, throw the weapon's AV dice. If the result of the throw is greater than the vehicle’s first listed armor number, throw on the Regular Damage table. If the result is greater than the second listed armor number after the slash, throw on the Critical Damage table. For example, a Light Autocannon (5d6 AV 3d6+1) attack on an Armored Personnel Carrier (Armor 12/16) would roll 3d6+1 to determine damage. Any roll of 12 or less would result in no damage. A roll of 13-16 would result in a roll on the Regular Damage column of the Vehicle Damage Table. A roll of 17 or more would result in a roll on the Critical Damage column of the Vehicle Damage Table.

Vehicle Damage Table

Breach: The vehicle’s atmospheric seal is compromised. NBC protection fails; a small watercraft will sink within 1d6 rounds unless repaired.

Cargo: 1Dx10% of the vehicle’s cargo is destroyed.

Crew: Each crew or passenger must throw Physical or suffer a Wound.

Weapon: One randomly determined weapon is disabled. A second hit on the same weapon destroys it.

Locomotion: The vehicle suffers a hit to its movement systems. All Vehicles rolls suffer a -1D penalty. The pilot must roll Vehicles to remain in control of the vehicle. Loss of control means the vehicle will crash at the end of the round. A second hit to Locomotion renders the vehicle completely immobile. Aircraft crash and are Destroyed unless the pilot rolls Vehicles to land safely (if at all possible).

Electronics: The vehicle’s electronics are fried, all Technology and Combat throws using the vehicle’s weapons and sensors suffer -2D. A second hit to Electronics destroys them entirely.

Power Plant: The vehicle’s engine or power transfer systems are damaged. All Vehicles and Technology rolls suffer a -1D penalty. Energy-based weapons cannot be used. A second hit knocks the power plant out: the vehicle cannot move and weapons cannot fire. Aircraft crash and are Destroyed unless their pilot rolls Vehicles to land safely.

Critical: Roll on the Critical Damage column instead.

Knocked Out: The vehicle is rendered inoperable and is completely out of combat. The crew takes no damage. Aircraft crash and are destroyed, but crew and passengers can throw Physical to bail out in time.

Destroyed: The vehicle is destroyed. Apply a Wound to all crew and passengers unless they throw Physical to bail out in time.

Repairing Vehicles

Once combat is over, a character may roll Technology to return a damaged or disabled system back to functionality. This consumes 1d6 units of mechanical or electronic parts (as relevant). The Referee may decide that certain repairs require a workshop or unique parts. Knocked Out vehicles can be salvaged or possibly towed for repair in a workshop. Destroyed vehicles are unsalvageable.

During combat, a character may attempt to make quick repairs as an action. Only one such repair action may be attempted per round. Roll Technology. The repair will fail in 1d6+1 rounds and will require regular post-combat repairs should the vehicle (or mechanic) survive combat.

Incendiary Weapons

Incendiary weapons are often used in vehicle combat. A vehicle hit by an incendiary attack rolls 1d6. 1-3 indicates the fire has gone out at the end of the turn. 4-5 indicates the fire continues to burn and another roll is made at the start of the next turn. On a 6, the fire has found its way into the vehicle: roll one Regular Damage result. The crew must immediately make a Morale roll. A failed roll means the crew bails out of the burning vehicle.

A crewmember can extinguish the fire with a successful Technology roll. Once the fire has done internal damage it continues to burn for 1d6 turns or until extinguished. All crew actions except fire extinguishing are penalized by -1D while inside a vehicle that is on fire.

Sinking

Any watercraft that suffers a Breach damage result begins to take on water. The vehicle will sink in 3d6 turns unless a Technology roll is made. A waterborne vessel that takes a Knocked Out or Destroyed Critical damage result will sink in 1d6 rounds. Ground vehicles and aircraft that crash into water sink in 1d6 rounds.

Force and Collision

A vehicle with a higher Position result may attempt to force a target off the road, or into a collision with a fixed object. If one or more vehicles have the same Position result, then the result is a free-for-all where any of the vehicles at the same Position may attempt this maneuver.

Each side throws Vehicles + the vehicle’s Force; the vehicle with the higher result has forced the other to evade a hazard, stop, or to crash: the losing vehicle in the Force contest should throw Vehicles + Agility to avoid taking damage, if appropriate. See the section on Ramming Fixed Objects, below.

In a chase or dogfight, the losing vehicle of a Force maneuver automatically loses Position against the vehicle that successfully performed the Force maneuver during the next turn.

Getting Stuck

Force is also used as a modifier to avoid hazards like snow, mudslides, and rock falls. These hazards require a Vehicles roll to avoid immobilization. A failed roll may be re-attempted once. A second failed roll means the vehicle needs a tow truck to get unstuck, and the driver must roll on the Regular Damage table.

Ramming Fixed Objects

Some objects are inconsequential to ram and only require a Vehicles throw, modified by the vehicle’s Force rating, to knock down without ill effect. These sorts of obstacles include picket fences, fruit stands in crowded market streets, small bushes, and other light obstacles. Drivers who ram light obstacles and fail the Vehicles roll suffer -1D to their Position roll next turn.

If a vehicle is Forced into colliding with a heavier object, like a concrete berm, parked car, or highway overpass, the result might be much more consequential. In these cases, roll AV dice according to the table below. Apply damage normally. Aircraft that collide with anything on the ground are Knocked Out.

After a collision, the vehicle’s driver must also make a Vehicles skill check to avoid getting stuck.

Stunts

Instead of shooting or ramming an opponent, a driver can attempt to perform a stunt. This can be used to accomplish many things, including gaining Position in the next round, or even to escape a chase or dogfight. The player describes a stunt, and the Referee decides on any Penalty Dice based on how difficult the stunt is, and the likelihood of success. The player throws Vehicles + the vehicle’s Agility. Vehicles performing a stunt are too unstable to allow weapons fire. Only one stunt can be performed per round.

Failure means that the stunt does not work. The Referee may incur further penalties as appropriate.

Gaining Position/Evading Fire: If a player wishes to attempt a stunt to gain Position in the next round of a chase or dogfight, they must describe their stunt and roll Vehicles accordingly. The Referee should roll the opponent’s Vehicles skill + Agility as well, with the same Penalty Dice as the player’s roll. If the player’s result is higher than their opponent’s, they are successful, and will automatically gain Position in the next combat round. If the opponent’s result is higher, then the stunt fails, and Position is rolled normally next round. This procedure can also be used to evade all attacks from an opponent in the next round.

Attempting this stunt against multiple opponents requires that the Referee roll only once, using the most agile vehicle among the opponents. The player’s Vehicles roll is penalized by -1D for every additional opponent after the first (to a maximum of -4D).

Escape: It is also possible to use a Stunt to end a chase early if desired. Both the prey and pursuer must throw Vehicles + vehicle’s Agility skill like a normal stunt. However, if the prey is successful and the pursuer fails the stunt roll, the prey may immediately roll Vehicles + vehicle’s Agility again. If successful, they have evaded pursuit.

The Referee can rule a stunt is not possible for a given vehicle. As well, in some cases failing the Vehicle throw might mean a roll on the Regular Damage table (at least).

Jumping from Vehicle to Vehicle: It is possible for passengers to leap from one vehicle to another, if the vehicle attempting to get close enough to allow passengers to jump has a higher Position result than the other vehicle.

The actual jump requires a Physical roll. Failure means the person making the leap falls and takes 4d6 damage, with a Physical throw to halve the damage. This assumes that the vehicles are not at high altitudes. We leave adjudicating damage from high altitude falls to Referees.

Characters clinging to vehicles may be hit by any attacks that hit the vehicle. Roll 1d6: the character takes damage from the attack on a result of 1 or 2.

Robots

Robots are a staple of science fiction, along with spaceships and blasters. They may even be more achievable than blasters and spacecraft. Some societies on today’s Earth are making great strides with machine intelligence and robot bodies. In science fiction, robots can be many things: from droids in a far off Galaxy, to artificially intelligent beings that inhabit vehicles. This chapter details robots, drones, and androids: their construction, and the rules for their use in gameplay.

A robot is a self-contained machine that is mobile, equipped with some features to interact with the environment, and a computer brain to direct its actions in carrying out instructions. These rules assume that robots have near-human analogues to visual and audio sensors. However, there can be exceptions: a robot designed to pilot an aircraft might be wired directly into a control console and lack arms and legs. These rules also differentiate between robots and drones. Robots possess some form of rudimentary intelligence and are capable of independent action. Conversely, a drone is an electronic and mechanical chassis without an advanced computer brain, directed via remote control without its own initiative and programming.

Robot Construction

Robots are built starting with a Chassis. The chassis can have a pair of arms and legs or another means of getting around: rotors, multiple legs, and anti-gravity systems for extremely advanced robots in the Galactic Age. A robot also needs a brain, lest it be a mere drone (both follow the same construction rules). There are many other specialized pieces of equipment available.

Chassis

All robots have a chassis. The size of the chassis determines the cost and basic survivability of the robot.

Robots are treated as characters in personal combat, and have Durability, which works like Stamina, as well as Protection, which functions as normal personal armor. A robot that loses all Durability is shut down until it receives major repairs. A robot that takes damage equal to double its Durability is typically destroyed, though it may be salvageable depending on the Referee’s ruling.

Encumbrance: Robots may carry a number of items equal to their Durability + twice their Physical skill without penalty. They may carry up to twice this Encumbrance amount but suffer a -1D to all Physical rolls.

Robot Chassis Table:

Note: Larger robots are treated as vehicles and will be covered in a later supplement.

Locomotion

Most robots need a way to get around. The different types of locomotion modify the cost of the chassis. A robot without locomotion gets a -30% cost reduction. Small robots carried about by their operator in a harness or case count as two items of Encumbrance, Tiny robots count as one item.

The movement rates listed below are given in Move Actions: a wheeled robot’s Move Actions count as double those of a human’s, for example. This typically means that on open ground, a wheeled robot will be able to move to Far Range with one Move Action. However, wheeled robots can’t easily negotiate stairs or very difficult terrain. A robot with legs can manage any terrain about as well as a human. Travel speeds

Rotor-equipped and those robots with anti-grav propulsion may fly to Far Range with one Move Action. Rotors require an Earth-like (in terms of density) atmosphere to function.

Plasma thrusters use cold gas rockets and have enough propellant for a half hour of use. They allow flight to Far Range with one Move Action, even in a vacuum. They can be refilled in any ship, or the robot may use an umbilical to allow indefinite maneuvering with a 30m range. After the Late Atomic Age, robots with plasma thrusters do not need umbilicals and have flight ranges measured in days.

Arms

Most robots have arms and manipulators (hands) to use human tools and operate tools or even some vehicles. Arms are generally bought in pairs. If a single arm is bought, all Physical and Combat rolls for melee attacks are penalized by -1D.

Robotic manipulators are designed for general use but are not capable of fine manipulation unless they are humaniform manipulators.

A robot with Light Arms, Tentacles or Multipurpose Arms using specifically human tools makes Technology rolls at -1D penalty. A robot with Work arms using human tools has all Technology rolls penalized by -2D.

Alternatively, robot-adapted tools cost the same as human tools. However, humans using them make all Technology rolls at -1D penalty.

Robot Brains and Drones

A robot without a computer brain is called a drone. Drones require an operator to make a Technology roll to perform difficult actions with drones under their control. A referee may modify the Technology roll by -1D or more for delicate tasks. Drones will obey their orders until they are completed, or the drone destroyed. An operator can be a human, android or even another robot with Low Simulated Intelligence or better. Drones require constant supervision.

An operator can handle a number of drones equal to double their Technology skill, though they can only give one command to one drone per Action. An operator with Technology 0 can still handle one drone.

Robot Brains

Once a computer brain is installed in a chassis, the result is a robot. A variety of brains exist at different technology eras. As one may expect, higher technology eras produce computer brains capable of increasingly sophisticated behavior. At the highest technology eras, computer brains surpass human cognitive ability.

Limited: The robot follows commands in a literal fashion. Figures of speech may confuse it. It needs constant supervision for unusual jobs (herding chickens, putting out a fire, chasing a deadbeat). It has 1 Skill point to allocate. They usually have a handler close by. Handlers can mind a number of Limited bots equal to triple their Technical skill. Unskilled tasks are penalized by -3D.

Independent: The robot can be left alone to perform routine tasks. Emergency conditions require an operator to assume control. Handlers can mind a number of Independent bots equal to four times their Technical skill. Limited bots need no supervision for routine tasks. The robot has 2 Skill points to allocate and may only allocate 1 to a given skill. Unskilled tasks are at a -2D.

Simulated and Artificial Intelligence:

At this level of sophistication, robots begin to act increasingly like humans, if required.

Robots with Simulated Intelligence brains have some self-awareness. They may retreat from a hopeless situation and try to find another way to carry out orders. Otherwise, robots never check morale. Simulated and Artificial Intelligences can learn from their experiences. Artificial Intelligences can figure out new approaches to problems, while Simulated Intelligences usually require some instruction in new situations. Artificial Intelligences can sometimes anticipate problems but they tend to work better in concert with humans.

Low Simulated Intelligence: This level of intelligence allows the robot a limited ability to function in a crisis. Robots with low simulated intelligence computer brains have 3 Skill points to allocate and can allocate a maximum of 2 to any given skill. Unskilled tasks are penalized by -1D.

High Simulated Intelligence: The robot has some ability to function in a crisis. High Simulated Intelligence brains grant 4 Skill points to allocate to skills, to a level 2 maximum in a skill. Unskilled tasks are penalized by -1D.

Low Artificial Intelligence: The robot can behave and function in a similar fashion to a human and can easily impersonate a human. The robot has 5 Skill points to allocate and can allocate 2 levels to any given skill. All unskilled tasks are penalized by -1D. A robot with this advanced brain can gain experience and operate as a player character if the Referee allows it.

High Artificial Intelligence: This brain allows the robot to function in a crisis in a superior manner than a human normally would. A High AI has 5 Skill points to allocate and can allocate a maximum of 3 levels to any given skill. High AIs do not suffer any unskilled penalty. High Artificial Intelligences are also able to re-allocate their skill points with a successful Technology roll and 1d3 combat rounds of time. A robot with this advanced brain can gain experience and operate as a player character if the Referee allows it.

Brain Modifications

These specific modifications to robot intelligence allow for a variety of interesting options.

Ghosting: At the Late Galactic Tech Era, a badly injured or otherwise terminal organic life form may have their mind downloaded into a High AI brain. This procedure requires a fully equipped hospital. The consciousness transfer requires a Technology throw penalized by -2D. Depending on the setting, the legal status of such beings remains dubious: is it possible for a person to inherit their own estate after their physical body dies but their mind is conserved in a High AI brain? These questions may already be answered in certain settings, or they may be hot issues.

Hardwired: The brain is very durable, housed in a nearly impervious casing. It will survive even if the rest of the robot is reduced to scrap or even partly melted. If the robot takes enough damage to be destroyed (Referee’s call), the brain will survive on Physical roll at +4D.

Modular Brain: The brain is designed to quickly be inserted into a body with the Shell upgrade (see below).

Skill Board: A less advanced brain can modify its skills like a High Artificial Intelligence brain. This is done by inserting skill chips into a port in a skill board. This requires no Technology rolls and takes 1d3 combat rounds to affect the skill change. A skill board costs half the price of the brain it is attached to. Skill maximums are unchanged. Skill chips cost 100 Credits for skill 0, 500 Credits for skill 1, and 1,000 Credits for skill 2. Skill chips must be bought for each different skill. Skill 3 chips are available in the Early Galactic Age for 10,000 Credits.

Weapons and Equipment

Robots often mount integral weapons and equipment. Any piece of equipment in the Equipment chapter is viable on a robot. All equipment and weapons cost double to install, and Encumbrance is tracked normally for items installed on a robot chassis. Ammunition costs are doubled as well. Additional ammunition can be pre-purchased and reloads automatically. Each reload counts as a point of Encumbrance.

Some sample equipment includes:

Armor

Robots have an armor Protection rating, and Durability, which acts like Stamina. They may add armor to their chassis. The cost of any armor upgrades is given in the Upgrades section below.

Repairs and Maintenance

Robots take damage to their Durability (like Stamina for organic beings). Damage to Durability is considered minor. Repairing the robot requires a Technology roll and costs 2d6 x 1% of the robot’s full cost. Repairs take 2d6 combat rounds. If Durability is reduced to zero, the robot becomes inoperable and requires significant repairs: 3d6 hours of repair time and 2d6x10% of the robot’s full cost. Robots require 500 Credits’ worth of maintenance twice a year. Maintenance takes 2d6 hours and can be conducted at any world of Early Atomic Age or higher.

Upgrades

Armor: A robot can increase its Armor Protection up to double its original value. For example, a Tiny robot could increase its Protection by 2 to 4 total. This would cost 100 Credits times Durability 6 per point: 1,200 Credits for 2 additional points of armor.

Cargo: The robot has additional space devoted to carrying extra cargo. It may increase its Encumbrance by 1 each time this upgrade is purchased. Cargo carrying capacity can only be increased up to half the robot’s base Durability. For example, a robot with Durability 10 would be able to increase its Encumbrance capacity by a maximum of 5.

Electronic Interface: The robot can communicate with other robots or people and can interface with properly equipped devices using encrypted radio transmissions. The robot must be granted permission or know the proper password. Electronic interfaces let a robot access databases, communicate with other machines, and access sensors.

Humanoid: Robots can be made to resemble humans. This requires the robot to have two legs and two arms. Humanoid robots are covered in synthetic, articulated skin to provide some modicum of similarity to humans. A humanoid robot must be large or medium sized. Humanoid robots automatically include Humaniform Manipulators and any other arm features (tools or weapons) retract and are concealed. The robot requires at least a Low AI brain to mimic human behavior.

The cost of a humanoid robot depends on how well it can pass for human. There are three tiers: At the lowest tier, humanoid robots cost 100 Credits per Durability point (1400 for medium, 1800 for large). Anyone encountering such a robot must roll Technology to realize it is a robot. For 500 Credits per Durability point, the roll is made with a -1D penalty. For 1,000 Credits per point the roll is penalized by -2D. Medical scanners give +1D to this roll. Surgery will reveal the truth immediately.

Remote Control: Robots usually operate with some autonomy, but a remote control allows a handler (human or not) to exercise total control over it. This is done via radio in the Late Atomic Age, and there is a risk that a third party might be able to hijack control of the robot. Roll Technology with a -1D penalty to seize control of a remotely controlled robot. The robot’s original controller can similarly attempt to regain control, and this electronic battle can go back and forth until the Late Space Age (see below). Remote controls are limited in range: Far Range or 250m, depending on the situation.

The Late Space Age version of the controller uses laser communications. This requires a line of sight to the robot, which can limit the robot’s movements. However, the signal cannot be detected or hijacked.

Self-Repair: The robot can reroute power, compensate for broken components, and keep functioning after taking damage. The robot may regenerate Durability, if it is above zero, at the rate of 1 point per combat round as an Action. If the robot is reduced to 0 Durability it continues to function if it throws Physical. The robot continues to function additional rounds by throwing Physical at the start of every round. Once it fails a throw it’s inoperable until repaired.

Shells: A robot chassis can be fitted to swap specially modified robot brains. This allows the rapid transfer of robot brains from a damaged chassis into a new chassis, or more versatile robotic capabilities with a single robot brain. Transferring a brain to a body takes 1D rounds.

Common Robots

Synthoids

Creation

A laboratory (slang: vat farm) to create Synthoids will cost at least 5 million credits for each Synth that can be developed simultaneously. Growing a Synthoid takes one month for a prototype, and two weeks for a ‘standard’ model. Both types of Synthoids can be rushed in half the time. This doubles the cost. The materials for a Synth cost 10,000 credits, or 20,000 credits for a rushed production. A prototype Synthoid further doubles these costs. The maintenance costs of a lab run at 200,000 credits per year for each Synth it can grow simultaneously for maintenance. This includes 50,000 credits for a technician’s yearly salary per Synth grown.

A vat optimized to only produce a single type of Synth can produce one in a week. The type of Synth must be specified when the lab is bought. This type of Vat still costs 5 million credits. Mass produced Synths are often sold in lots at reduced cost (typically reduced by 10%-50%.)

A Synthoid is a living being. As with natural evolution, each benefit or ability in a body plan involves concessions in other areas. Body size and musculature may be reduced to increase skills and Talents. A huge brain requires a voracious metabolism to support it!

Synthoid Creation Overview:

To create a Synthoid, start at the top row in each column of the Synthoids Design Table. Improving the Synth’s ability in a specific column moves you down one row within that column. Lowering a Synthoid’s abilities moves you one step up. Synthoids begin with a certain number of improvement Steps, depending on the Tech Age in which they are built:

Synthoids built with Late Space Age Tech have four steps to add to these stats.

Late Interstellar Age Synthoids have five steps to add.

Late Galactic Age Synthoids have six steps to add.

Base Synthoid production costs the buyer 50,000 credits. Creating a prototype costs at least 100,000 credits (Referee’s call). Cheaper Synthoids are 10,000 credits cheaper per Step lowered. Up to two steps may be reduced in this manner. Synthoid designers may purchase an extra Step: this adds 20,000 credits to the cost.

At the Galactic Age, all costs are halved (as well as the purchase or sale of Steps). For example, a Late Galactic Age Synthoid with five steps costs 25,000 credits.

Synth Design Table

Categories and Basic Characteristics

The Default row is the characteristic for a Synthoid with no specially developed abilities.

Each improvement Step moves a Synthoid’s characteristic one row down on the chart. For example, a Synth has Physical 2, Stamina 20. This costs one Step.

Sterile: Synthoids are usually made sterile and asexual. Why do you want your merchandise to make shoddy knock offs? Some do choose to pursue physical relationships and even love. Some worlds (generally Class III and IV) outlaw this.

Unusual Appearance: Some worlds require Synths to have a common feature for easy identification. Synthoids are clearly not human due to skin coloring, markings, or other features (fur, pointed ears, cats’ eyes etc.). This is often required on Class III worlds and always necessary for Class IV worlds. It doesn’t affect cost or cost steps.

Basic Benefits: All Synthoids have +1D to Physical throws to resist disease and toxins. They can also breathe some marginal atmospheres that require breathing masks for humans (referee’s call). Synths can absorb more radiation than humans without ill effects. Ignore the first 20 rads the Synth is exposed to up to once per week.

Synthaliens: Synthoids can be based on alien DNA templates. These Synths receive the special abilities of the alien copied but do not start with a Talent and are penalized one step on the Design Table.

Muscle

Muscle refers to the Synthoid’s Physical skill and Stamina. Synthoids start out a bit stronger than humans. Increasing Steps in this category can make Synths capable of incredible feats of strength and the ability to resist melee attacks and small firearms.

Acuity

This represents the depth and width of the Synth’s education provided by memory implants. It identifies the number and levels of skills provided and a penalty (for less advanced Synthoids) for unskilled throws. If an Archetype is implanted, the Synth may possess some memories of the person ‘donating’ the memories for the implant.

Loss

This refers to the amount of Cyber Loss a given Synthoid can take. Synths resist the adverse effects of Loss using the Social skill normally (see the Cybernetic Loss section). In general, Synthoids have a lower capacity for cyberware than humans but they do get bioware options.

When a Synthoid’s total Loss exceeds their Loss rating, they are at risk of cyber-dissociation or even a full cyber-psychotic break. Upon installing implants that cause cybernetic Loss to exceed their Loss threshold, the Synthoid must make a Social skill check. If successful, the Synthoid must apply a -1D penalty to Social skill checks when attempting to be friendly or trustworthy. This is a permanent result. If the Social skill check is failed, roll on the following table and apply the result. If more cybernetics are implanted, make the same Social skill check. If successful, the -1D penalty to Social skill checks is NOT reapplied (but it remains). On failure, roll on the table again.

Options

Synthoids can be created with various anatomical and mental features, using animal and Synthoids DNA. The following Options are available. Minor options cost one point and major options cost two points.

Options marked with a * are only available in the Late Interstellar Age and later. Options with ** are only first available in the Late Galactic Age.

Minor Options

Amphibious: The Synthoid is equally at home on land or in the water. It suffers no disadvantages in water and can breathe air for 1d6x10 minutes. Normal move in water.

Armor: +4 Protection subdermal armor. This armor will be obvious to a medical scan or if the Synthoid takes their outer wear off.

Attractive: The Synth is designed to look, sound, and feel appealing to their owners. These models are usually companions, spokespersons, or even personal servants. They get +1D to Social throws unless they are dealing with anti-Synthoid extremists (usually the inhabitants of Class IV worlds and some Class III) in which case they get no benefits.

Brachiator: Move from Far to Near with two combat actions if trees or other elevated terrain is present. Rolls for climbing get +1D.

Carapace: Redundant organs and durable flesh impose a -1D penalty to damage rolls from all attacks hitting this Synth.

Claws/Teeth: +1d6 to damage. This is an increase in dice of damage, not an Advantage. The claws and teeth retract at will. Observers can roll Knowledge to notice these weapons when they are retracted.

Climb: The Synthoids can scale any suitably rough surface: rocks, a brick wall, or a bank of machinery, clinging like a gecko. They move at their normal movement rate. Only sheer surfaces require a Physical throw to scale.

Cold Tolerance: Freezing temperatures are of little concern to these Synthoids. They innately gain the same benefits as wearing Arctic clothing.

Enhanced Hearing: The Synthoid can hear extremely faint noises. People attempting to surprise the Synth suffer -1D.

Heat Tolerance: Synthoids can endure temperatures up to 100 degrees centigrade with this option. They take half damage from flame attacks (though not lasers). The Synthetic will consume a lot of water in such hostile environments.

Hibernates: The Synthoids can spend one week in hibernation for each point of Physical. They need virtually no food or water and one hundredth as much atmosphere. They are very cranky if woken prematurely.

Mimic: The Synthoid can duplicate noises, or even mimic human voices.

Motion Sensor: The Synthoid has an acute awareness of air currents or vibrations, and may use them to track any movement. Characters trying to surprise the Synthoids suffer a -1D penalty. Darkness penalties are reduced by 1D.

Night Vision: The Synthoids can see in dim light. It ignores penalties for all but total darkness, which is reduced to -1D.

Pheromone Communication: The Synthoid uses chemical markers to be aware of events. Killing one will alert all others in the vicinity. The Synthoid can convey their emotional state through their pheromones and leave a log of such markers.

Poisonous: The Synthoid is just bad eating to most life forms, and lethal to many. This is very handy in some hellish ecosystems: predators take one sniff and avoid the Synth.

Prehensile Tail: The character possesses a tail, useful in climbing and balancing (+1D for rolls involving either). The tail can support the Synth’s weight and grab small (one item) objects or open a door.

Rapid: The Synthoid may take two moves for each action.

Stealth: The Synthoid gains +1D to Stealth throws. Attempts to track the Synth are penalized by -1D. This also applies to tracking by scent as the Synth has a sanitized metabolism that produces only the faintest of scents.

Talons/Fangs: +2d6 to damage. This is an increase in dice of damage, not an Advantage. Talons/Fangs do not retract fully and can be identified on sight.

Tracks Scent: The Synthoid is like a bloodhound, able to follow prey by scent. They have a +1D to Knowledge throws for scent tracking. Prey can try to escape it by traveling through water. Even vehicles can be tracked. In fact vehicle types, like prey species, may be differentiated by scent with a Knowledge throw.

Major Options

Major Options cost two slots.

Cling: The Synth can use nails, sticky pads, or similar features to scale sheer surfaces. This requires at least one available hand and bare feet.

Cool Temperature: The Synthoid reduces their heat emissions to match the environment for one to three turns. It will not show up on thermal sensors. Attacks using thermal sensors are made at -1D to hit.

EMF Sense: The Synthoid can detect radio waves and eavesdrop on audio conversations.

Fast: The Synthoid gets three actions per round!

Fur/Hide: The character has a very thick hide or fur and receives an additional 4 Points of armor Protection.

Hive Mind: Synthoids with this option act as a single force, swarming opposition, clearing all obstacles, and working tirelessly together. They never check morale, fighting to the last. They do not share direct thoughts/communications. They must be within Near range to use this ability.

Hyper Touch: The Synth can sense others moving by ground vibrations. The Synthoid doesn’t suffer penalties from darkness against moving targets. The ability is useless against flyers and swimmers.

Initiative: The Synthoid gains +1D to Initiative rolls.

Iron Stomach: The Synthoid can eat and live on nearly anything organic (Referee’s call).

Medicinal Properties: A rare medical drug can be produced from these Synthoids, one of their organs, or byproducts. They are universal donors. This assures a high price for the model, be they living specimens or otherwise. Synthoids usually take a dim view of whoever coded this option into their bodies.

Nimble: Once per battle, the Synthoid may automatically dodge any successful attack. They may use this ability after the damage is rolled.

Oxygen Storage: This ability allows the Synthoid to function in an otherwise unbreathable atmosphere or underwater for 1 turn (10 minutes) per point of Physical.

Quadruped: The Synth has four legs and double movement. Its forelegs end in clumsy hands. Obviously the Synth cannot hold things or use equipment while moving. It can rise from a prone position as a free action. It is also possible to make sentient Synthoids resemble animals using the Quadruped option.

Rad Resistance: The Synthoid can safely absorb up to 100 rads per week without ill effects. Ignore the first hundred rads when rolling for effects.

Reaction Time: The Synthoid gets a free action at the start of combat if they succeed at a Combat roll with a -2D penalty.

Regenerates: The Synthoid has a 2-in-6 chance of healing a wound the round after it is inflicted. This is rolled once per wound and the character can take no other actions during that round. The wound is canceled and doesn’t modify the Triage Table roll.

Shapemorpher: A shapemorpher can modify its size sufficiently to be able to slip between bars, gratings, or air ducts. They can also alter the texture of their skin to match surroundings, which gives it a +1D bonus to Surprise rolls.

Sonar: This Synthoid uses sound waves to locate objects or life forms. This ability works in darkness, smoke or muddy waters. It does not work in a vacuum. The character suffers no penalties from darkness or similar conditions.

Thermal Sense: The Synthoid can sense heat sources: a warm body, a recently fired weapon, a campfire, or recently heated food. It may attack without penalties in darkness.

Vacuum Rated: Genetically engineered lichen covers the Synthoid’s skin. These absorb all kinds of radiation in order to recycle the Synthoid’s wastes into usable oxygen, water and food. The Synthoid rarely has to eat, usually only to absorb vitamins. Such Synthoids have tiny underdeveloped mouths and no external ears or nose to further seal against vacuum. They are very uncomfortable in atmospheres and are at -1D to any actions.

Whip Tail: This tail can make melee attacks as a normal action. Any melee attack that hits a target will knock it to the ground unless the target succeeds at a Physical roll.

Controls

Several riots, uprisings, and mutinies taught humanity to build their sentient creations with an off switch of some sort. Thus, Synthoids always have one or more weaknesses. A Synthoid may be created with several weaknesses that are less severe than the step used. For example, a Synth that uses a Remote may also require a Recharge or special Vat-amins. There is no extra charge for this. You can’t be too careful, after all.

Special Meds: The Synthoid requires medication that must be taken twice a day. The medication is usually in an inhaler or capsules. Missing their meds causes glow tattooing to become visible after 12 hours. Failure to take meds causes one point of damage per hour after the tattoos become visible. This damage can’t be healed until the Synthoid takes the medication. These medications are often called ‘vat-amins’.

Special Food: The Synthoid requires a special diet or dietary supplement–available from the manufacturer! After failing to eat the food for 24 hours, the Synthoid will take one point of Stamina damage per hour. This damage can’t be recovered until the Synth begins eating their special food. Avoid third party products.

Recharge: The Synth has cybernetic implants in their body that require 4-6 hours of recharge. Failure to do this causes the character to lose the use of their Options: one every 12 hours and then lose a point of Physical every 12 hours. When the Synthoid reaches Physical 0, it is almost immobile. It may only crawl at half speed and take an action every other round. A full recharge cycle removes these penalties. Synthoids that require recharging are often called Gadgets or, more crudely, Wireheads.

Remote: A small communicator is linked to a receiver implanted in the Synthoid. Orders given over this Remote must be obeyed. Failure to do this causes 1d6 of damage to the Synthoid. This happens every time the control is used and an order is disobeyed, even if it is the same order given multiple times.

Directives: The Synthoid must obey any orders from a designated handler. The handler must be designated at the point of purchase. Failure to obey a direct order causes 1d6 of damage to the Synth. This happens every time an order is given, even the same order. Any non-handler human (or other organic life form) can attempt to order the Synthoid by making a Social throw -2D.

Quirks

Synthoids are often created with some odd features due to the difficulties of tailoring a life form. These are usually trivial and merely add color to the model. All Synthoids in a series may have the same Quirk, or a quirk may be unique to an individual. The referee may roll or choose a Quirk. A Synthoid may ‘buy’ off their Quirk by sacrificing an Option slot.

Some Quirks may interfere with a Synthoid’s intended purpose. A Synthoid built to be an attractive spokesperson might have a horrific odor. An ultimate soldier might be too small. These models are often available at half cost. Some may simply be turned out and seeking a home and friends.

Synths created with Space Age technology have 1d3 Quirks. A Synthoid created with Interstellar Age technology has 1d2 Quirks. Galactic Age Synthoids do not have unexpected Quirks, however, they may have one chosen by their creators at no extra cost. A Synthoid may suppress their Quirk with a successful Knowledge roll for a turn. Creators may make a Technology roll with a prototype to eliminate the Quirk(s). This requires another Synthoid to be created. This Technology roll is penalized -2D in the Late Space Age and -1D in the Late Interstellar Age.

Synthimals

Synthoids are difficult to develop from scratch. Most cultures begin their efforts by creating simpler life forms. These include insects, fish, reptiles, and mammal copies before moving onto primates, and finally human analogues. These less complex creatures are Synthimals.

After they are developed, Synthimals soon become novelty items for the affluent. They offer their owners very-long lived companions without the tragic short lifespans of normal pets, and avoid the medical problems associated with various purebred animals. Copies can be made of various wild animals, now upgraded to become domestic pets or working beasts. Stubborn or dull creatures could be “redone” to be sharp and obedient. For example, land sharks sold out faster than they could keep the vats full.

As a culture’s biotechnology improves, Synthimals get smarter and evolve until the moral ambiguity of creating synthetic humans is buried under the mountain of credits that stand to be made by daring companies. Still, Synthimals remain a viable alternative to Synthoids. They create a Synth without the burden of a huge human brain and all the moral implications that that entails.

Synthimals can be smaller than a human, reducing their cost. A Synthimal can have Physical, Combat and Stealth skills. They automatically get the Basic Synth benefits and one Option.

Some worlds only allow the creation of non sentient Synthimals.

Designing Synthimals and Steps

Designing a Synthimal is similar to designing a Synthoid. Use the Synthimal Design Table below, and add or remove Steps like when designing a Synthoid. Begin on the top row, but like Synthoids, Synthimals start with a number of Steps to purchase upgrades based on their Tech Age.

Synthimals built with Late Space Age Tech have two Steps to improve these stats.

Late Interstellar Age Synthimals have three Steps to spend on improvements.

Late Galactic Age Synthimals have four Steps to use for improvements.

Creating a prototype Synthimal costs at least 50,000 credits (referee call). Cheaper Synthoids are 5,000 credits cheaper per step lost. Up to two steps may be lost in this manner. Synthoid designers may purchase an extra step–this adds 20,000 credits to the cost.

Synthimals built in the Galactic Age, costs are halved (as well as the purchase or sale of steps.) A Late Galactic Age, Medium sized Synthimals with four steps costs 10,000 credits. An additional step costs $10,000.

Synthimal Design Table

Muscle

Synthimals have Stamina based on their size. The Physical skill adds a variable amount of Stamina per point in Physical, based on the Synthimal’s size. For a Tiny Synthimal, the base Stamina is 6 and each level of Physical skill adds one point of Stamina. A Tiny Synthimal with Physical 2 would have Stamina 8. Unlike Synthoids, the Physical Skill is bought like other skills.

Cost

The price for a particular size of Synthimal.

Acuity

The number of skills and their maximum levels. Synthimals may only have Physical, Combat, and Stealth Skills.

Options

Options for Synthimals are the same as those for Synthoids. All Synthimals start with the Basic package and one slot for Options. They may buy any Options open to Synthoids. Synthimals may be Quadruped at no additional cost, but lack the crude hands a Synthoid has with this option.

Special Options

Hands: (Minor Option) The Synthimal has rudimentary hands. The fingers are flexible but the thumbs don’t quite work right.

Proto Sentient: (Minor Option) A proto Sentient Synthimal can have Social skill. They can assess human emotional states and communicate on a simple level with a Social throw.

Domesticated: The Synthimal is designed to be especially affectionate and ingratiating with humans like a dog, cat, or rat. They have Social 0.

Quirks

Synthimals can have Quirks like Synthoids. However, they tend to express them in a more basic fashion. A Meticulous Synthimal might drive its owner to distraction by constantly sniffing around and patrolling, or staying nearby to guard for threats despite the owner’s desire for privacy.

Synthoids as Characters

Synthoids may be viable player character options. We suggest that Late Interstellar Age Synthoids be a starting point for interested players. Synth characters have some advantages, offset by the weaknesses and quirks (designed or accidental). Synthoid characters will have to deal with prejudice, fear, and ignorance in some places. Due to the nature of their accelerated growth and memory implants, Synthoids do not start with an Archetype but may still choose one Talent.

Synthoids may also start with a debt they must pay off to get full freedom. This is usually 10% of their cost every year for 20 years. Many Synths take up an adventurer’s life as part of a spaceship crew, indentured to the ship’s captain. In this case they can work out payments whatever way they choose.

Synthoid Technologies

Some critics have said Synthoids are more dangerous than antimatter. After making artificial humans, it became clear that equipment would be needed to ensure that they remained subjugated. As more methods of control were developed, criminals and Synthoid advocates found ways around them.

More Synthoid technology was introduced to allow some more extreme models, like the aquatic and the vacuum dwellers to operate better in a standard atmosphere. Further concessions were made to the Synthoids’ health and comfort. On some worlds this was regarded as humane, on others it was considered to be a cost-effective way of maintaining your property.

Breaker (5,000 credits, Late Interstellar Age): A breaker is extremely illegal technology. It’s used by rogue Synthoids and their sympathizers. A breaker is actually a kit of medical supplies and specialized neural probes that can stop a Synth’s Direct Order or Remote Control from affecting them. Breaking Control requires a Technology roll with a -2D penalty. A failed roll inflicts a wound on the Synthoid. The Technology roll can only be re-attempted once the Synth has fully healed the damage.

Lock Chip (500 credits, Late Space Age): Lock chips scan for trace elements common to Synths. If a Synthoid tries to use such a chipped device or weapon, the chip will shut the equipment down. A Technology roll with a -2D penalty can override the chip.

Pressure Suit: (2,000 credits, Late Interstellar Age): Vacuum-rated Synthoids may wear this outfit to negate their -1D for operating in an atmosphere. It counts as two items of encumbrance and may be worn with armor.

Recharge pack (2,000 credits, Late Space Age): This belt-mounted pack contains high density batteries allowing a Synth to recharge in the field, if needed. The pack will keep its wearer in good health for a week before needing a recharge.

Recharge Station (3,000 credits Late Space Age): This is a non-portable (250kg), multi-purpose station that serves as a recharging station, cryo-berth, med-bay, or regular quarters for a Synthoid. A Synthoid who uses a Recharge Station gains the equivalent of eight hours sleep in only four hours.

Remote Tablet (1,000 credits, Late Space Age): This tablet can be installed in an Omnicomp and functions as a remote control for a Synthoid. It can be used to issue orders by voice or text. It also allows the user to track the Synth out to Far range and read their medical status.

Shock Collar (100 credits, Late Atomic Age): Shock collars are an inhumane means to handle unruly Synthoids. A controller with a range of 30 meters will trigger the collar to deliver a neural shock causing 3d6 of damage. The collar can be used until the Synthoid is wounded or dead. They are often used as a backup security measure for controlling Synthoids, especially in the military. They are banned on Class I or II worlds.

Vat-ameals (5 credits, Late Space Age): These Control Foods look similar to human field rations, and are unappetizing to say the least. They require some mixing with water. Twenty-five Vat-ameals count as one item and can be stored for 1d6 decades.

‘Vat-amins’ (50 credits, Late Space Age): The special medicines some Synths require can be disguised as human pharmaceuticals for Synths keeping a low profile at no extra cost. One batch of Vat-amins provides medicines for a month.

Vat Slops (10 credits, Early Mechanical Age): Class IV and some Class III societies require Synthoids to wear special uniforms. They are derogatorily referred to as Vat Slops or dust covers. Their materials are often substandard. They usually do not have pockets, though some Synths improvise them.

Water Mask (200 credits, Early Atomic Age): This mask allows aquatic Synthoids to function in an atmosphere for 2d6 hours + Physical skill. It recirculates water, drawing oxygen from the atmosphere to freshen it. It counts as two items of encumbrance.

Wiper (5,000 credits, Late Interstellar Age): A Memory Wiper, or more commonly, Wiper can remove a Synthoid’s memories. The device is a metallic cap which is worn on the Synthoid’s head. A Wiper can remove the last ten minutes, an hour, or a day from a Synthoid’s memory. It is often used to repress memories of sensitive or stressful events. Wipers do not work on humans, except to cause severe headaches. Using a wiper knocks out the Synthoid for approximately a minute. The wiped memories can’t be retrieved normally, though some events may trigger them (Referee’s discretion for the trigger.)

Starship Design

With the advent of fusion power in the Early Space Age, the planets and stars open up to civilization.

While the principles of rocketry do not change, the capabilities of a fusion rocket permit reasonable travel times between bodies in a star system and a good amount of maneuvering capability. However, such spacecraft are still subject to the real constraints of physics. The tradeoffs between thrust, propellant, and payload are inevitable when designing a starship.

Note that the rules in this chapter refer to spacecraft in the Space, Interstellar, and Galactic Ages, where the typical game takes place. Atomic Tech spacecraft are much more limited, and may be covered by a future supplement. Cosmic Tech permits breaking the rules of physics and thus are beyond the scope of these rules.

Starship Construction

When starships use rockets, every gram of armor, weapons, crew, cargo, or anything else the ship carries requires propellant to move it. It is always possible to add more propellant to move the ship faster, but this becomes self-defeating after a while. Adding more propellant means that you are increasing the mass of the ship and thus negatively affecting maneuvering performance. This tyranny of physics lies at the heart of these rules.

A starship has three basic components describing its capabilities: Agility, Propellant, and Payload.

Agility is determined by the size of the ship’s engines, which produce acceleration and maneuverability. Generally bigger and heavier ships have lower Agility.

Propellant affects the ship’s Travel Multiplier, which is a multiplier of the time it takes to travel interplanetary distances. A ship with a Travel Multiplier of 2 will take twice as long to go somewhere as a ship with a Travel Multiplier of 1. A ship with more propellant can reach a higher top speed (before having to decelerate) and thus lower its Travel time, though it may take longer to reach that top speed than a ship with higher Agility.

Payload covers everything the ship carries that are not Engines or Propellant. In game terms, this includes Endurance (supplies and fuel), Armor (structure and defenses), Crew, Cargo, and Guns. Various specific systems, such as mining machinery, laboratories, FTL engines, or anti-ship missiles, can all be carried instead of cargo or guns.

Ship Construction Checklist

1) Choose the Tech Age of the Ship

The Tech Age is usually determined by the campaign setting, but many ships common to a given setting might be built on older technology.

a) Tech Age affects maximum Agility, FTL range, and whether the ship can carry Artificial Intelligence or other equipment (Technologies and Further Modifications).

2) Choose the Hull Size

3) Modify the Hull as needed. Modifying the hull is simple: each increase on one column of the Ship Construction Table must be offset by an equivalent decrease on the Ship Construction Table, under a different column, except for Propellant, which has its own costs.

a) Note there are maximums for modifying Agility and Endurance

c) Determine if the ship has to reduce its Payload because it carries FTL engines.

d) Reduce Guns rating for special equipment such as torpedoes, sensors and mining equipment.

e) Determine if the ship carries shuttles

4) Calculate Costs: Each ship hull has a base cost, which is modified depending on how many adjustments were made to Payload and other characteristics.

a) Increasing or decreasing the Guns and Armor one step will increase or decrease the cost +/-20% (note reducing the Guns rating for sensors, torpedoes or mining equipment does not affect price).

b) Increasing or decreasing Cargo one step modifies the base cost +/- 5%.

c) Increasing or decreasing other Payload categories, as well as Propellant, modifies the base cost +/-10%.

d) Determine the ship’s operating expenses by starting on the base hull’s row and moving up or down according to how many times the Crew, Travel Modifier, and Endurance columns were modified.

5) Give the ship class a name and the ship’s intended function. For example: Calypso class Research Picket.

Hull Sizes

Below are the spacecraft hull sizes used by these rules. Note that the actual size of a vessel might be larger if it has more Propellant or larger Engines than standard.

Payload

Payload includes everything needed to operate a rocket and help it perform its mission and keep the crew alive, other than the engine or propellant.

The following categories of Payload are included:

Agility represents the ship’s thrust and capacity of the engines for acceleration. Because higher Tech levels permit inertial modulation, there are hard limits on acceleration in given Tech Eras. Although Agility is strictly not a payload item (it is a result of the acceleration power of the engines), it is included here to better incorporate it into the ship construction rules. One of the benefits of installing FTL drives in a hull (as if faster than light travel wasn’t enough!) is that they allow a ship to exceed the normal Tech Age Agility limit by +1.

Armor: Larger ships can take more damage due to their size. Their hulls can also be strengthened at the expense of other payload categories.

Cargo: Capacity in spaces. One space is roughly one ton of cargo.

Crew: This is the ship’s standard crew complement. On ships with more than one crewmember, having less than half this number gives a -1D to all actions. Increasing the crew category permits carrying passengers or ship’s troops.

Endurance: This is a measure of the supplies and stores the ship holds. It also represents how much fuel is available for the ship’s power plant—which is different from propellant! Endurance is also the measure of the available volume for the crew to live in. Endurance also represents how long the ship can travel without major maintenance, resupply, or mental or physical damage to the crew.

Guns: This represents the ship’s armament in very abstract terms. A ship that has double the number of Guns dice compared to another ship may have more than twice the number of weapons.

Design Tradeoffs

A ship may only carry so much payload, engines, and propellant. Whenever a designer wishes to increase one of these categories, this change comes at the expense of another category. Reducing the ship’s statistic in one category allows the designer to increase another statistic in another category. Unless otherwise stated, no category can be increased or decreased by more than three steps.

The categories on the Ship Construction Table below can each be increased at the cost of reducing another category on the table. The only exception is Propellant, which is discussed below.

Ship Construction Table

Travel Time and Propellant

As noted above, the Travel time multiplier is a function of the ship’s propellant mass. It is possible to increase propellant capacity at the expense of payload, or add payload at the expense of propellant, as given in the following table. Given enough space, it is possible to add or remove as much Propellant as the designer likes.

Travel Time Multiplier Cost Table

Modifying Payload

The specific rules for increasing or decreasing specific Payloads are listed below. Unless otherwise stated, no single Payload category can be modified by more than three steps.

Agility: Agility can be increased or decreased by a maximum of two by adding or removing engines or simply modifying the mass of your ship. To gain extra Payload space by dropping Agility, it is necessary to actually change the Agility value: +1 Agility costs one point of Payload. Lowering Agility by 1 gains one point of Payload to use elsewhere.

Travel Time Multiplier: can be modified but not on a one for one basis (see the Travel Time Multiplier Table, above) by replacing payload with propellant, or vice versa.

Endurance: Endurance can only be decreased by a maximum of one step, since it covers room for crew. Endurance may be increased as far as permitted by payload availability.

Armor: Larger ships can take more damage due to their size. Their hulls can also be strengthened at the cost of more payload.

Crew: Crew can only be reduced if the ship design incorporates robot brains like Simulated or Artificial Intelligences (see the Technologies and Further Modifications section below). Crew may be increased as far as permitted by payload availability to provide for replacement crew, passengers, or troops.

Cargo: Cargo holds can be increased or decreased in size accordingly. Note that specific jobs may require a certain amount of cargo space.

Guns: Reducing a ship’s armament will increase available payload for other things. Some systems, like torpedoes, mining equipment, or special sensors, also require reducing Guns by one step or more. Guns may be decreased as far as permitted by payload availability, but may not be increased by more than three steps.

Technologies and Further Modifications

Advancing technology permits improving starships. The following technological modifications are available:

Advanced Sensors: Standard ship sensors change by tech age, but they allow a ship to have a good chance to detect other vessels, avoid hazards, and glean some information about their surroundings. Advanced Sensors include sensitive devices suitable for scientific research or specialized detection arrays for intelligence gathering. Advanced sensors cost one step of payload and 5% of the ship’s base hull price.

Antimatter Fuel (Early Galactic Age): replacing the standard fusion power plant with an antimatter power source greatly improves a ship’s performance. Increase Agility by one and reduce the Travel multiplier by one step. The downside is highly destructive antimatter fuel; every time the ship takes a Critical hit, roll twice and take the worst result. Antimatter fuel doubles the cost of the ship’s propellant and fuel.

Automation (Late Interstellar Age): Using advanced Simulated or Artificial Intelligence systems permits reducing the ship’s Crew requirement by one step. This frees up one step of Payload, and costs 10% of the hull’s base price.

Cryo-Tubes (Late Space Age): These devices are common on many spacecraft looking to save money on life support costs and still take passengers. They are also useful emergency medical units that will preserve a mortally wounded person for as long as they remain in suspended animation. Cryo-tubes cost 1000Cr and take up half a cargo space per tube.

Disintegrators (Late Galactic Age): A ship equipped with disintegrators eats away at a target’s Armor. Every Breach result lowers the target’s armor by one step. If a number is reduced to zero, the ship is destroyed. Adding disintegrators is a fixed cost of 5% of the hull’s base price.

Double FTL Drive (Early Interstellar Age): Any FTL drive can be fitted as a double drive. The ship can make an FTL trip and then a second one without a recharge. Ships use it to pop into a possibly dangerous situation and depart quickly if the danger turns out to be real. This requires the sacrifice of an additional Payload step. Unfortunately, FTL drives must recharge in real space, which means that there is no way to cycle between double FTL drives to guarantee many weeks of sustained travel.

Easy to Maintain: This ship hull is beloved by engineers and maintenance crews. It is easy to maintain and repair. Unfortunately, this means that the ship’s development costs were higher. This raises the base hull cost by +10%. However, reduce maintenance costs by one-half. Battle repairs costs are reduced by 10%.

FTL Engines (varied tech Age): The hulls described by these rules do not come equipped with a standard Faster-Than-Light engine. Adding FTL capabilities costs 1 payload step, and 10% of the base hull price. FTL Engines increase the Tech Age Agility limit of a ship by +1, but does not confer a free +1 bonus to Agility for installation.

FTL Engine Ranges depend on Tech Age. See the Starship Operations chapter (reference) for more details.

Made by the Lowest Bidder: The ship is cheaply designed or worse still, over-engineered. This reduces the initial base hull cost by 10%, but increases maintenance costs by 50%.

Mining Equipment (Late Atomic Age): This modification adds the heavy machinery required for mining asteroids and other planetoids. This also allows a vessel to mine ice from asteroids to use as fuel. Mining equipment reduces the ship’s Guns by two steps, but does not add to costs.

Organic Hull (Late Galactic Age): An organic hull can automatically seal hull breaches and other damage. After a vessel suffers a Breach, roll 1d6: the organic hull will heal and seal it on a result of 6. This roll is made every turn until the Breach is sealed. This modification also repairs armor damaged by disintegrators in the same manner.

Point Defense Grid (Late Atomic Age): The threat of numerous tiny ships armed with torpedoes resulted in the development of a close-in defense system, filling a ship’s vicinity with projectiles designed to kill incoming missiles and torpedoes. Installing a Point Defense Grid reduces a ship’s Guns by one step, but does not increase any costs.

Torpedoes (Late Atomic Age): Torpedoes are heavy anti-ship rockets of great range and power compared to smaller missiles. These projectiles are small rockets powered by powerful engines and have a variety of large warheads. The term torpedo itself is a misnomer, but naval terminology is difficult to abandon, even in the far future.

Torpedo tubes take up space in or on a ship’s hull. Reducing a ship’s Guns or Cargo by one step will add a number of torpedo launchers equal to its original number of Guns dice. For example, Cruisers mounting torpedoes would mount eight for every reduction in its Guns. You may reduce Guns or Cargo up to two steps in this manner (a Micro hull can mount one torpedo). Torpedoes do 5d6 damage. For every six rolled, that die is rolled again and added to the total. If it comes up six again, it is rolled again until it comes up five or less. Even a small ship has the potential to damage a much larger ship if it gets lucky. Torpedoes cost 10,000cr each.

Shuttles (Late Atomic Age): Ships up to and including Picket-sized may land on planets. Larger vessels require shuttles which take up cargo room for the clamps and required amenities. Ships built in the Early Galactic Age and onward can ignore this limitation and can enter atmosphere regardless of size. Torpedoes can also be carried as cargo for reloading a ship’s torpedo bays. Torpedo reloads cost 10000Cr per torpedo.

Advanced Starship Components

The following new components enhance ship performance and/or durability. Costs are given in percentages of the basic ship cost. Referees are free to pick and choose the components they want for their setting. One referee may not want plasma shields or force fields. Another may want laser weapons instead of the default mass drivers (pew pew!). Different cultures may have different components available. When in doubt, game it out. Set up some shootouts and see how the ships interact!

Similarly, the referee may introduce some components earlier or later than their description say. If you feel teleporters belong in the Late Interstellar Age, go for it.

Hulls

Hull features must be included in the original design.

Airframe (Late Space Age, +10%): An airframe allows a destroyer or cruiser to enter a planet’s atmosphere. Maneuvers are very basic: take off or land. Any breach results in damage that negates the airframe. A pilot still trying to land with a damaged airframe must roll Vehicles -2D or take three Regular Damage results.

Shielded Hull (Early Space Age, 1 step, +10%): A shielded hull places additional radiation shielding around the crew compartment and engines. It can save a crew if a power plant or NTR engine is damaged (aside from the guy fixing the engine!), reducing the rads to 1/10th. It provides some protection from weapons fire. The crew absorbs half the rads from particle beams or nuclear weapons.

Buffered Hull (Early Space Age, 1 step, +10%): a buffered hull uses extensive compartmentalizing to reduce crew casualties from damage. Doors are all airtight and bulkheads will automatically seal off severely damaged section. Just make sure you’re on the right side of the bulkhead. Crew get +1D when rolling on the Triage table for Wounds received from ship damage.

Boarding Ram (Early Space Age, 1 step, +20%): A boarding ram does not affect cost. It downgrades Guns 1 die. A boarding ram may be used on a disabled or unpowered vessel. The pilot makes a Vehicles throw to hit. A ram does 6XD of damage plus an additional die per point the roll was made by. In addition, like torpedoes, every 6 rolled indicates another die may be rolled. The ramming ship also takes damage equal to the damage it inflicts. The ram has an armor of 22 for this purpose if the ship’s armor is less. If damage exceeds the target’s armor, the ramming ship has a breach, and the ram is now inoperable until repaired. When a vessel is successfully rammed the ram opens a hatch allowing its troops to board using an airlock and hopefully take the vessel.

To keep things simple a boarding party must equal or exceed the number of crew on the assaulted ship to force a surrender. Otherwise, shoot it out using the personal combat rules.

Advanced Reaction Control System (RCS) (Late Space Age, -1 to Guns +10%): +1 AGL, +1D to advanced maneuvers out of combat in space. Can’t be used with Airfoils. The Advanced RCS takes up more hull space than standard maneuver systems. This system often serves on commercial ships. Belt miners like to dodge the random chunk of rock. Docking tugs enjoy the greater freedom of movement to wrestle ships to a berth.

Airfoils (Late Space Age, -1 Step, +10%): Airfoils are an add-on to the Airframe, available to Scouts and smaller ships. They give +1D in atmosphere to Position rolls. They can’t be used with Advanced RCS.

Sealing (Late Space Age, +10%): this is a double walled hull with expanding gel layered in between. When the hull takes a breach, the gel expands to fill it and (hopefully) turn hard as steel. Each turn, roll 1d6 for each breach. On a 5-6, the breach is closed off. This does not repair armor, or breaches made by disintegrators.

Repair Drones (Early Interstellar Age, +10%): Several ‘hives’ of drones are spaced throughout the ship’s hull. This allows the Engineer a free Action to repair a component, or a +1D to any actions involving repairs.

Plasma Shield (Late Interstellar Age, -1 to Guns, +20%): A plasma shield has a number of hits equal to the ship’s original Gun rating (a Picket’s plasma shield has 6 hits). Shields reduce damage in addition to armor. A shield loses a hit for every 4-6 rolled for damage. A shield that has no hits remaining is disabled and needs repairs that can’t be accomplished in combat. If an attack destroys all a shield’s hits, it does Regular damage. Plasma shields are often used as airlocks, forming a barrier to air but not ships or personnel passing through. Some captains regard this as incredibly dangerous.

Force Field (Early Galactic Age, +30%): A force field has a number of hits equal to the ship’s original Gun rating (a Picket’s force field has 6 hits). A force field loses a hit for every 5-6 rolled for damage. A shield can regenerate one hit per turn, or two if the ship takes no damage. A field that has no hits remaining is disabled and needs repairs that can’t be accomplished in combat. If attacks use all a field’s hits, it takes Regular damage. A ship may not mount plasma shields and force fields. Force fields are often used as airlocks, forming a barrier to air but not ships or personnel passing through.

Stealth Shield (Early Galactic Age, +20%): Stealth technology interferes with EMF radiation around a vessel, rendering it invisible. The ship still produces a faint heat signature and magnetic fingerprint and can be detected with a Technology throw at -2D. If undetected the ship may drop the stealth shield and attack with +1D. A stealth shield can’t be reestablished during combat: everyone will be looking for you.

Organic Hull (Early Galactic Age): Late Galactic Age hulls are automatically organic hulls. An organic hull can automatically seal hull breaches and other damage. After a vessel suffers a Breach, roll 1d6: the organic hull will heal and seal it on a result of 3-6. This roll is made every turn until the Breach is sealed. This modification also repairs armor damaged by disintegrators in the same manner. Rolls for each at the start of every turn

Cloak (Early Cosmic Age, -2 to Guns, +40% cost): Cloak technology creates a small pocket of space around a vessel, rendering it invisible. The ship still produces a faint heat signature and magnetic fingerprint and can be detected with a Technology -2D throw. If the scanning craft is not Galactic Age, the roll is at -4D. Any attacks by the vessel will give away its presence. In addition, a cloaked ship that is detected automatically loses Position. If a sensor scan is unsuccessful, the cloaked ship may automatically attack with Position. It takes a full round to reestablish a cloak, during which the ship may not fire.

Advanced Organic Hull (Early Cosmic Age, +20%): This is similar to the organic hull of the Late Galactic Age, with a few more tricks. It seals any breaches or armor reductions from disintegrators the next turn. They are automatically considered to be sealed and buffered (page XX). The advantage of this advanced form of the organic construction lies in its cargo hold, which is more like a collection of stem cells. An AOH can convert any or all of its cargo slots into vehicles or components of equal size (spacecraft up to Scout size can be created using hangar size as a guide (page XX). This takes a number of turns equal to the tons converting. An AOH can form gripper arms (more like tentacles) to grab smaller ships and pull them into a hangar grow for them. Two organic ships can merge to create a larger ship. Generally, they have to be within one size class and the larger vessel will be the next largest class. Characteristics are up to the referee.

Force Hull (Late Cosmic Age, -1 Step, +10%): Dispersed and powerful generators and improvements in force field generation create long term, stable energy constructs that require minimal power and can last for decades or longer in a powered down ship. A force hull increases payload one step. The machinery is lighter than a corresponding material hull. Force hulls ignore the special effect of disintegrators and ignore any breaches. They are automatically considered to be sealed and buffered (page xx).

Easy to Maintain (Varies, 10%): This ship hull is beloved by engineers and maintenance crews. It is easy to maintain and repair. Unfortunately, this means that the ship’s development costs were higher. This raises the base hull cost by +10%. However, reduce maintenance costs by one-half. Battle repair costs are reduced by 10%.

Made by the Lowest Bidder (Varies, 10%): The ship is cheaply designed or worse still, over-engineered. This reduces the initial base hull cost by 10% but increases maintenance costs by 50%.

Crew/Passengers

Cryo-tubes (Late Space Age, ½ space, 1000 Credits): These devices are common on spacecraft looking to save money on life support and still take passengers. They are also useful emergency medical units that will preserve a mortally wounded person for as long as they remain in suspended animation. Cryo-tubes cost 1000 Credits each and take up half a cargo space per tube. They can be added or removed from a cargo hold easily.

Medbay (Late Atomic Age, 4 space, 10,000 Credits): The cost and mass are per patient. Generally, one physician can look after 10 patients. The medbay possesses enough equipment and supplies to allow major surgery and gives characters +1D on the Triage table.

Spin Section (Late Atomic Age, 1 step): Until the Late Space Age, spin sections are the only way to create the effect of gravity. Ships typically only spin the crew quarters on booms. A ship usually retracts its spin section in combat. Otherwise, the attacker gets +1D to damage inflicted. Crew that travels in freefall frequently, will be Fatigued on Mars sized or larger planets for a week.

Escape Capsules (Early Space Age, ¼ space, 10,000 Credits per crewman): Escape Capsules (also known as Rescue Balls) will get a person away from a ship that is burning, radioactive or otherwise uninhabitable. The pod is propelled with a small rocket (like a torpedo) and broadcasts a distress signal. It will support a human for 48+4d6 hours. Many survivors extend this with hibernation drugs.

Hydroponics Section (Early Space Age, 1 space per person, 10,000 Credits): A hydroponic section increases a ship’s Endurance by 50%. It must be large enough for crew and any passengers. It not only freshens the air, but it also provides fresh herbs and vegetables and allows people to touch grass.

VR Booths (Early Space Age, 1 space per person, 10,000 Credits): Virtual reality controls let human operate a vehicle or robot without being present. This is ideal for many dangerous situations. This is especially true for inaptly named star fighters. Until the Late Interstellar Age retrieving these craft was not always possible due to limited propellant.

A spacecraft or bot can be controlled via a VR booth. Vehicle and Combat throws are -1D. A craft must have the same number of persons in a virtual crew as its normal crew. Modifying the controlled ship costs +10% of its price. A controlled ship may be spoofed like a torpedo, losing its actions for that turn, and inflicting a Wound on the controlling crew.

For commercial purposes, a VR booth lets you charge 500 Credits extra to a passenger.

Medical Cryo-Tube (Late Space Age, 1 space, 10,000 Credits): A medical cryo-tube is designed to place a patient into hibernation while treating sickness or injury. It gives +1D to rolls on the Triage table (not cumulative with a med bay’s benefit). It holds one patient and can be used as a regular cryo-tube.

Utilities

Airlock (Late Atomic Age, 1 crew per space, 5,000 Credits): The technical term for an Early Atomic ship entrance is a hatch. It is airtight but you want EVERYONE to wear a spacesuit when opening it. Early Atomic spacecraft can dock hatch to hatch. By the Late Atomic Age, airlocks are introduced, small rooms with interior and exterior hatches. This does not require everyone to suit up. It also lets people exiting do a final equipment check with aid nearby in case something is not working. By the Late Atomic Age, a ship has, by default and included in its price, enough airlocks to pass crew equal to its original Gun Rating each turn. Extra capacity can be purchased at the costs given. The original capacity can be doubled this way.

Airlock/Suit Locker (Late Atomic Age, 1 crew per half space, 10,000 Credits): A suit locker is an attachment point for a spacesuit. A hatch covers the suit’s life support/backpack. A crew opens the hatch, swings the backpack to the side and then climbs into the suit. A helper reattaches the backpack and closes the hatch. The spacesuit disengages and is free for extra vehicular activity. A suit can be checked out before being entered. The procedure is reversed to return to the ship. Any possible contaminants are left outside the ship.

Exo-Containers (Late Atomic Age, Special, +10%): An exo-container costs 10% of the spacecraft’s base cost (before other modifications). The exo-container replaces one or more propellant tanks. The ship’s Travel modifier is downgraded one step. The cargo capacity is upgraded one step.

Mining Equipment (Late Atomic Age): This modification adds the heavy machinery required for mining asteroids and other planetoids. This also allows a vessel to mine ice from asteroids to use as fuel. Mining equipment reduces the ship’s Guns by two steps but does not add to costs. A ship can mine cargo spaces of materials equal to its original Guns rating.

Probes (Late Atomic Age, 50,000 Credits each): Probes are like torpedoes. Instead of a solid fuel engine, they have a liquid fuel engine, allowing more maneuvering options at a lower speed. This makes them nearly useless in combat. A probe takes up one cargo unit for its mounting and fuel. Probes become more sophisticated with each. Probes that survive can be picked up after their use. They have a Travel modifier of 1.

Refinery (Late Atomic Age, 10,000 Credits per cargo space of ore): A refinery takes the raw ore of mining operations, separating the valuable metals from rock and slag. A one cargo space refinery can process up to 5 spaces of ore a day to produce one space of refined metal. This material is considered cheap bulk goods, see the Speculative Trade section.

Shuttle Docks (Late Atomic Age): Ships up to and including Picket-sized may land on planets. Larger vessels require shuttles which take up cargo room for the clamps, and required amenities. Ships built in the Early Galactic Age and onward or with Lifters can ignore this limitation and can enter the atmosphere regardless of size.

Docking a shuttle requires no roll in normal operations. Docking a shuttle in combat requires two rounds and requires a Vehicles roll -2D. A tractor beam gives +1D to this roll. Failure means the shuttle docked but caused itself and the docking ship a Regular damage hit. On a Critical failure the shuttle takes Critical damage.

Hidden Compartments (Early Space Age, 10,000 credits per space): A tenth of a ship’s cargo capacity (round down) can be in hidden compartments. A Technical roll -2D will turn up the cans of contraband. This may not always be possible, say the ship’s crew parks an Explorer on top of the compartment. Referees and players are encouraged to get creative.

Compartments laid out by a master engineer (Technology 3+) cost 100,000 credits per space and give -4D to Technical rolls to detect them.

Shuttle Hangars (Early Space Age): Ships dock and clamp shuttles to their hulls. Bringing shuttles inside is dangerous. Propellant lines can leak, causing an explosion. Add to this the dangers of having any munitions for interceptors stored in a central location. Even if these dangers are minimized, pressurizing and evacuating a hangar is slow and leads to a huge waste of air. Finally having a large open area is not good for structural integrity. But some people want a hangar, for ceremonies, convenience, or just to show off power. A shuttle classed ship needs five times as many cargo slots for a hangar as it does for a dock. For example, a pod requires ten cargo slots for a hangar.

Shuttles

Air Skeins (Late Space Age, Special Cost): Air skeins are advanced polymers. They are normally transparent but can be made opaque. A skein will create a barrier, holding fluids on both sides (or vacuum) apart. Personnel and vehicles, any solid matter can move through an air skein, avoiding the time and air loss of hatches and airlocks. This allows vessels to debark double the normal number of crew. For security and safety reasons, an air skein is usually mounted on an airlock or hatch. Accidents happen. Air skeins are included for free on all airlocks of Late Space Age and later ships and hatches but double the cost of additional airlocks. Any weapon with AV dice will destroy an air skein with one hit.

Modular Ships (Late Space Age, price varies): A ship may be designed with some or all of its cargo space as modular. The module loses 10% (rounded up) of this space to mounts and connections. Modules are then created using workshops, labs, docks, and such in the remaining space. Several modules can be created for each class of ships. Optionally, mounts may be built in standard sizes (1, 2, 5, 10, and 50 spaces work well) and installed to fill the available space. For example, a Scout has 16 spaces of cargo. It is decided to make it entirely modular. This leaves space for a 14-space module. Instead, it takes on two 2-space modules, and one 10-space module. It is decided to have each smaller module hold 2 spaces of cargo for four spaces total. The 10 space module holds a laboratory for research. Cargo space is free, the lab costs 50,000 credits. Each module has an added cost of 10,000 credits per cargo space. In this example, the two small modules cost 20,000 credits each and the large module costs 150,000 credits.

Weapons

Early Torpedoes (Early Atomic Age 10,000 Credits each): Early torpedoes do 6d6 damage without the explosive effect. They are all some worlds have and are still used in Space and Interstellar militaries to attack smaller spacecraft. Their cost drops to 4,000 credits for more in Early Space Age or more advanced cultures.

Torpedoes (Late Atomic Age): Torpedoes are heavy anti-ship rockets of great range and power compared to smaller missiles. These projectiles are small rockets powered by powerful engines and have a variety of large warheads.

Torpedo tubes take up space in or on a ship’s hull. Reducing a ship’s Guns or Cargo by one step will add a number of torpedo launchers equal to its original number of Guns dice. For example, Cruisers mounting torpedoes would mount eight for every reduction in its Guns. You may reduce Guns or Cargo up to two steps in this manner (a Micro hull can mount one torpedo). Torpedoes do 5d6 Xdamage. For every six rolled, that die is rolled again and added to the total. If it comes up six again, it is rolled again until it comes up five or less. This is noted as 5XD. Even a small ship has the potential to damage a much larger ship if it gets lucky. Torpedoes cost 10,000 Credits each.

Nuclear Torpedoes (Late Atomic Age, 100,000 Credits): Nuclear torpedoes are what prevent mass pirate raids. A planet that would be a juicy prize can doubtless afford them. Less developed, poorer planets can’t afford a lot if any, but have less treasure to offer. Raiding is kept minimal. The planets they do hit may disagree. Cargo and Breach results also cause Crew hits. A nuclear torpedo exposes all crew to 1d6x50 rads in addition to a Wound if they fail a Physical roll.

Mines (Late Atomic Age, ¼ cargo, 12,000 Credits): A mine is a torpedo designed to take trespassers by surprise. It is modified with long duration batteries, and coating of radar absorbing materials. Mines are usually set up in advance of an anticipated battle. In a battle, laying a mine is the same as launching a torpedo. Mines are usually placed in orbit around a planet needing defenses in secret. A ship encountering a minefield can detect it in time to change course if the Sensor Operator makes a roll with -1D. Otherwise, the mines activate attacking as torpedoes on the same turn. Ships can attack and destroy these normally.

Point Defense Grid (Early Space Age, -1 Guns): The threat of numerous tiny ships armed with torpedoes resulted in the development of a defense system. The Grid consists of numerous quick firing lasers designed to disable torpedoes. The laser’s range barely exceed the blast radius of a torpedo, making them useless against ships. Installing a Point Defense Grid reduces a ship’s Guns by one step but does not increase any costs.

Chaff Torp (Late Space Age, 8000 Credits per torpedo): Glitter torpedoes explode in a cloud of energy diffusing crystals and aerosols that confuse sensor systems. The ship hit has a -1D modifier to attacks against the launching ship the turn it is ‘hit’. On a critical success the ship struck has -1D to hit all ships that turn.

Close In Defense System (Late Space Age, reduce Guns 1 step, +20%): This is a powerful, close range laser defense. It can not only attack torpedoes but also ships. Roll a number of dice equal to the ship’s Gun rating. On a 4-6 CIDS either takes out a torpedo or subjects a ship to a 4D6 attack. The ship must still make a Combat roll to hit an enemy ship.

Missile Bus (Late Space Age, +20%): Missile buses are external pods carrying a ship’s load of torpedoes. The missile bus allows a ship to fire its ENTIRE complement of torpedoes AT ONCE. However, the missile bus is destroyed by a Weapon hit or any hit by a nuclear torpedo and may be targeted at -2D.

Speed Breakers (Late Space Age, special cost and size): Speed breakers are torpedoes modified to provide greater maneuverability. They are used to discourage pursuit. Speed breakers are at +1D to hit pursuing ships. Speed breakers are double the cost and, size of the type of torpedo when carried as cargo. A Speed Breaker based on a standard torpedo takes up .25 Cargo spaces. Each takes up two launcher spaces, so a Carrier could mount five Speed Breakers. Nuclear armed speed breakers are a thing.

Particle Beam Weaponry (Early Interstellar Age, +20%): Improvements in power generation make particle beams possible. Protons are accelerated to near light speed. At Galactic and Cosmic Ages Anti-Protons are used. The beams not only damage ships, but they also expose the crew to deadly radiation. Breach and Cargo hits also inflict damage on 1d3 crew. Any crew hit must make a Physical throw or take a wound and be exposed to 1d6x10 rads. Force fields protect against particle beams normally. Plasma shields are ignored.

Heavy Weapons Turrets (Early Interstellar Age): The Heavy Weapons turrets add 1d6 to a ship’s Guns rating. However, the ship is at -3D to attack if it doesn’t have position. It is a popular option for fighter/bombers, intended to attack large vessels and stations.

Heavy Torps (Early Interstellar Age, 30,000 Credits each): Heavy torpedoes inflict 6XD damage each. Halve the number of torpedoes carried (round down) if they are heavy.

Micro Torps (Late Interstellar Age, 7,000 Credits each): Micro Torps inflict 5d6 damage each. There is no explosive effect. Ships may carry twice the number of micro torps (16 take up a space as cargo).

Fast Torpedoes (Early Interstellar Age, 30,000 Credits each): Fast torpedoes (FT) do 5XD damage. Halve the number of torpedoes carried (round down) if they are FT. Fast torpedoes hit at the end of the turn they were launched.

FTL Breaker (Late Interstellar Age, 500 spaces, 100,000,000 Credits): An FTL breaker prevents a targeted ship from engaging its FTL drive. A normal roll to hit must be made, followed by a Technology roll to interrupt the drive. Only one ship can be affected at a time. The effects last 1-3 rounds. A Technology roll will negate the effects after one round.

Particle Cannon (Early Interstellar Age, -2 steps, +40%): A charged particle accelerator running the length of its ship! The cannon does identical damage to the ship’s original Gun rating. It is rolled separately but fired with the rest of the ship’s weapons. The cannon may not be fired at all without Position. Cargo and Breach results also cause 1d6 Crew to be hit. A crew that fails a Physical roll due to a particle beam takes 1d6x50 rads in addition to a Wound. Force fields protect against particle cannon. Plasma shields are ignored.

Star Torp (Late Interstellar Age, 50,000 Credits): Star torps are the final evolution of torpedoes. They inflict 6XD Damage. In addition, they are treated as disintegrators; every Breach hit lowers armor by one step.

Torch Torpedoes (Late Interstellar Age, 100,000 Credits each): This torpedo is powered by a small reactor. Unlike ordinary torpedoes, these will keep flying until they hit you, rolling to attack each turn until they hit, or you shoot them down. There is a nuclear weapon version (with identical damage effects to the nuclear torpedo) at double cost. Torch torpedoes take up 0.25 slots as cargo or two launchers ready to fire. A ship with ten torpedoes could instead mount a torch torpedo and eight ordinary torpedoes or any other combination.

Disintegrators (Late Galactic Age, +5%): A ship equipped with disintegrators eats away at a target’s Armor. Every Breach result lowers the target’s armor by one step. If armor is reduced to zero, the ship is destroyed. Disintegrators may be fired from a wide beam. They are at +1D to hit but roll three dice less for damage. Adding disintegrators is a fixed cost of 5% of the hull’s base price.

Fabricator Torpedoes (Late Cosmic Age, 50,000 Credits): Fabricator torpedoes turn hostile ship hulls into your boarding troops. Punching into an enemy hull, the fabricators use the material of the ship to build combat bots. A fabricator torpedo automatically inflicts a crew hit on the turn after it strikes and does normal damage. The problem with building bots is also carrying enough batteries to power them up. The bots run out of power after combat ends and deactivate permanently.

Bullet Hog (Special): This is not an upgrade but an optional nerfing of weapons technology. Weapons expend bullets (propelled by a variety of methods). Vessels may not split their fire due to the more limited number of rounds fired. Ships require 1 space of cargo per gun factor to hold ammunition. The ammunition will last for one combat encounter.

Laser Weapons (Special): This is a variant technology. Laser optics are huge, costly, and vulnerable. This variant technology uses a magnetically contained plasma lens to focus a laser beam on a tube carried tens or hundreds of meters from the ship. Laser weapons have virtually instantaneous travel time (fractions of a millisecond). The drawbacks are the measurable time to charge the laser, let it cool between pulses, and holding it steady on a target long enough to cause damage. Ships making a laser attack without position do not suffer a disadvantage to hit but roll four less dice for damage.

Miscellaneous

Advanced Sensors (varied Tech Age, 5%): Standard ship sensors change by tech age, but they allow a ship to have a good chance to detect other vessels, avoid hazards, and glean some information about their surroundings. Advanced Sensors include sensitive devices suitable for scientific research or specialized detection arrays for intelligence gathering. Advanced sensors cost one step of payload and 5% of the ship’s base hull price.

Laboratory (Late Atomic Age, 10 spaces, 50,000 Credits): Laboratories are beloved of researchers. The exact contents of a lab are worked out by the Referee and players. A lab that analyzes stellar phenomena is not going to be useful in investigating and curing a disease. Types of laboratories include geology, biology/medical, physics, stellar cartography, and forensic analysis. A lab can accommodate 3 scientists and provides a +1D advantage to any investigations in their specialty.

Workshop (Late Atomic Age, 5 spaces, 10,000 Credits): A workshop holds tools and a workbench for repairing and modifying equipment. A workshop can repair or fabricate small replacement parts for a ship, reducing monthly maintenance by 10%.

Gripper (Early Space Age, 5%): A gripper is a strong robot arm to aid repairs to a ship’s hull or snag desirable items. A gripper can manipulate an object massing a number of spaces equal to the ship’s original Guns rating. If this exceeds the cargo spaces needed to dock a shuttle, then that craft can be snagged and brought into a dock in a combat round with a +1D to all rolls. Grippers on a module use a number of cargo slots equal to the weight they can handle. A gripper that could snag a pod would take up ten spaces.

Spy Beam (Early Space Age, 1 space, 100,000 Credits.): A spy beam consists of a low powered laser and a sophisticated sensor module. It fires a constant beam of laser light at a target, hopefully on a shiny spot on the hull. The beam is reflected back with the return signal in the laser light received varies due to vibrations in the hull, machinery, combat or conversations. Operating a spy beam and making sense of it requires a Technology roll. It can only be done out of combat.

Automation (Late Interstellar Age, -1 step, +10%): Using advanced Simulated or Artificial Intelligence systems permits reducing the ship’s crew requirement by one step. This frees up one step of Payload, and costs 10% of the hull’s base price.

Lifter (Late Interstellar Age, +20%): Lifters are pressor beam emitters, studded throughout a ship’s hull. It allows ships larger than a Picket to fly in atmospheres and land on a planet. Lifters can be reversed to allow a gravity field for workers on the hull in orbit or deep space.

Tractor/Pressor Beam (Late Interstellar Age, +20%): A tractor/pressor beam can draw spacecraft and other objects closer to your ship. Tractor beaming massive objects may move your ship more than them. This makes docking and berthing to stations much easier.

Teleporter (Late Galactic Age, 100,000 Credits per person): A spacecraft can have a teleporter with a maximum number of people equal to its original Gun rating. Teleporters may have limitations, based on the setting. It is suggested plasma shields or force fields prevent their usage, and their high power requirements prevent the porting ship from using plasma shields, force fields or firing weapons in the same Turn.

Portal Generator (Late Cosmic Age, 1,000,000 credits per person): A spacecraft can have a portal generator with a maximum number of people equal to its original Gun rating. Portals may have limitations, based on the setting. It is suggested force fields prevent their usage, and their high-power requirements prevent the portaling ship from using plasma shields, force fields or firing weapons in the same turn. Portals are two-way, this has benefits and drawbacks. Something can jump through a portal and board your ship. They are usually in a secure room accessed via an airlock.

Engines/Power

Boron Fusion (Early Interstellar Age, +10%): Boron fusion is difficult to achieve, requiring specialized laser ignition and temperature resistant reactors. The benefit is a reaction that creates x-rays instead of gamma radiation, which require lighter shielding (usually water). The vessel saves mass for payload and propellant. Boron fusion plants upgrade a ship’s payload one step.

Antimatter Thermal Reactor (Late Space Age, +20%): Pure antimatter/matter reactors are beyond Space Age cultures. In this modification a minute amount of antimatter is injected into the reactor, raising the temperature of propellant and increasing exhaust velocity. This ship’s Travel multiplier is reduced one step. Cost of propellant and fuel is tripled. If the ship takes Regular or Critical damage it takes the worse of two rolls.

Double FTL Drive (Early Interstellar Age): Any FTL drive can be fitted as a double drive. The ship can make an FTL trip and then a second one without a recharge. Ships use it to pop into a possibly dangerous situation and depart quickly if the danger turns out to be real. This requires the sacrifice of an additional Payload step. Unfortunately, FTL drives must recharge in real space, which means that there is no way to cycle between double FTL drives to guarantee many weeks of sustained travel.

Antimatter Fuel (Early Galactic Age): replacing the standard fusion power plant with an antimatter power source greatly improves a ship’s performance. Increase Agility by one and reduce the Travel multiplier by one step. The downside is highly destructive antimatter fuel; every time the ship takes a Critical Hit, roll twice and take the worst result. Antimatter fuel doubles the cost of the ship’s propellant and fuel. Not all Early Galactic Age ships use antimatter.

Total Conversion (Early Cosmic Age): Cosmic Age ships are considered to have total conversion power. Any matter becomes fuel. The ship never needs to pay for fuel. Agility and Travel multiplier are improved by 1 each.

Gravity Drive (Late Cosmic Age, +100%): A gravity drive allows flight without expending propellant. A gravity drive is massive. A ship with Travel x1 has a drive taking up the same amount of mass as the normal load of propellant but never has to refuel. Modifying the ship’s Travel modifier modifies payload the same as varying the load of propellant. For example, a Grav-Drive with a Travel modifier of x2 would increase Payload by four steps. G-drives allow any size ship to land on a planet.

FTL Engines (varied Tech Age): The hulls described by these rules do not come equipped with a standard Faster-Than-Light engine. Adding FTL capabilities costs 1 payload step, and 10% of the base hull price. FTL Engines increase the Tech Age Agility limit of a ship by +1 but does not confer a free +1 bonus to Agility for Installation. For more on FTL Drives, see the Starship Operations chapter for more information.

Chemical and Nuclear Rockets

The predecessors of the fusion rocket were chemical rockets, nuclear thermal rockets, and the Orion drive, requiring additional background and rules.

Chemical Rockets

Many worlds do not possess the technology for fusion rockets. Economics, isolation, and fear of atomic energy are some reasons. Those worlds rely on chemical launch systems (also called gulpers, torches, and flamethrowers). Early Atomic Age cultures are forced to rely on chemical propulsion only.

Pirates and raiders prefer victimizing isolated and relatively poor worlds. Even a dead broke backwater can have enough cargo to let a corsair retire.

Chemical rockets can provide orbital defenses, especially if they are equipped with torpedoes. A defense doesn’t have to destroy pirate vessels, just convince them to look for easier pickings!

The same holds true for smugglers, some shady vessels are just asking to be boarded.

Most worlds proceed into space in a more methodical manner than Terra did. They also have the lessons of other worlds to learn from. The following costs are a minimum. Politics, corruption, and other non-scientific factors can inflate them.

LPO - Low Planetary Orbit; GEO- Geostationary Orbit; Moon- Target within 500,000 km; MLO-Moon Launch Orbit. Launch from a small satellite to orbit. Inner – reach nearby worlds; Outer – reach any world in the planetary system.

Reusable launch vehicles are x10 the cost. Each launch’s cost is halved. A reusable Pharaoh-class launch system will cost 4 billion S. Subsequent launches with that system cost half as much. A reusable Pharaoh launch system costs 200 million S per launch.

Doubling the cost of a launch will upgrade the range one step. This represents extra solid rocket boosters, extra stages, and/or exotic/dangerous fuels. It can instead be used to increase the payload by one class (move one column to the right). A Pharaoh can lift a Scout to Geo Orbit or lift a Picket to Low Earth Orbit.

Launch from a small (Mars sized) world increases the launch capability (either upgrading the payload or the range by one step.)

Launches from a Luna sized world or Geosynchronous orbit to refuel a craft will extend its mission range (count down one row). This requires a second launch of an identical vehicle to refuel the primary vehicle. This also requires a Vehicles throw -1D.

Generally chemical launch facilities require a week between launches. Faster launches (up to 2 days apart) require a technology throw -1D. Failure causes the vehicle to take a hit on the Regular damage table.

Redbird (Early Atomic Age, 25 million Credits): Redbirds are a common design with proven dependability. Even a small outpost can manage to launch one. Less advanced worlds often use them to launch probes to explore or, sadly, carry nuclear warheads.

Redbird X (Early Atomic Age, 50 million Credits): The ordinary Redbird is not suited for manned missions. The next most common design, the Thunder is often beyond the budget of a struggling colonization effort. The solution is to strap solid rocket boosters to the Redbird, creating the Redbird X. These rockets have been used to establish simple space stations using local technology and resources.

Thunder (Late Atomic Age, 100 million Credits): The Thunder launch system is a natural evolution of the Redbird. Redbirds and Thunders use many identical components and engines to simplify logistics. The Thunder can launch a Small NTR-equipped vessel to geostationary orbit or to orbit a nearby moon.

Thunder X (Late Atomic Age, 200 million Credits): Like the Redbird, the Thunder class can be upgraded with solid boosters to increase its launch capabilities. It is capable of launching probes anywhere in a star system (though a probe might take years to arrive).

Pharaoh (Late Atomic Age, 400 million Credits): The Pharaoh uses disposable solid boosters and a large, reusable external propellant tank to launch a reusable vehicle into space! Pharaohs usually

Empire (Late Atomic Age, 800 million Credits): Empire rockets are staged vehicles capable of delivering a small space station into orbit.

Supreme (Late Atomic Age, 1.6 billion Credits): Worlds that are affluent and backward enough to afford a Supreme are rare. Supremes are usually found on isolated worlds, or those undergoing a technology embargo to various reasons. Supremes are five stage rockets used to launch cargos to Moon colonies or the parts for deep space vehicle construction.

Nuclear Thermal Rockets (NTRs)

Nuclear reactors are fiendishly hot and require huge amounts of coolant. Engineers eventually realized the coolant could be propellant poured through the reactor and ejected to provide thrust in the Late Atomic Age.

NTRs are similar to fusion rockets (the default method of getting there!) They are more efficient than chemical launch systems, but still not as powerful as fusion drives. They have a Travel Modifier, like the Travel multipliers of fusion ships that determines the missions an NTR craft is capable of.

NTRs are not usable in any atmosphere of standard pressure until the Late Space Age. Some worlds may not allow them regardless to protect their environment. In these cases, a chemical launch system will lift NTR craft to orbit and they may return by dead sticking it below the stratosphere.

Orion Drives

Orion drives detonate atomic or nuclear bombs behind a ship to provide thrust. An Orion drive requires a pusher plate. The plate takes up a step. It cannot be built on anything smaller than a Scout Hull until the Early Interstellar Age. Orion vessels may not use missile buses. The radiation would fry them quickly. Note that Orion drives use relatively small bombs in the kiloton range. These have little use in space combat. No fair weaponizing your propellant.

Orion Drives are -1D to Position rolls.

Orion, NTR, and chemical rockets have a limited amount of time they can spend thrusting -putting them at a disadvantage to fusion rockets (which have limits as well, just not in the time frame of a combat).

Nuclear propellant (bombs!) costs x1000 normal at late Atomic, x500 normal at Early Space Age, x10 at Interstellar Age.

An Orion equipped Scout, boosted to orbit via a chemical stage, by a fledgling colony, is very worrisome to pirates. They can get access to nukes a lot easier than pirates.

Radiation

Orion Drives and NTRs produce dangerous levels of radiation. This is usually not a problem to other ships unless they are getting very close (to dock for example). Ships with atomic or nuclear drives usually interact via shuttles or dock nose to nose.

When a NTR or Orion drive is damaged it may expose the crew to radiation. This can be prevented by the Engineer making a Technology roll. The damage classes, Technology throws, and radiation exposure is as follows:

A repair attempt can be made every turn. A lifeboat is often a popular option in this sort of situation.

Ship Costs

Once the ship is designed, its construction and operating costs must be determined. Much like the design process, determining the costs of a ship uses a table. The Ship Cost Table has the Base Hull Price, Endurance, Maintenance, Salaries, and Propellant values for the base hull types.

Base Hull Price: This is a fixed value, but each increase or decrease on the Payload table increases or decreases the price by a certain percentage value of the Base Hull Price.

Reducing a Payload category one step takes 10% off of a ship’s base price. Upgrading a category one step adds 10% to a ship’s base price. The exceptions are Guns and Armor. Increasing Guns or armor adds 20% to a ship’s base price. Reducing them only lowers the base price 10%. Increasing Cargo one step adds 5% to a ship’s base price and reducing it one step doesn’t reduce the ship’s price. Increasing or decreasing the Travel Multiplier does count towards this calculation: +/-10% for each increase or decrease in the Travel Multiplier.

Payload Modification Cost Table

Endurance: This is a monthly cost that incorporates the fuel and supplies the ship’s operators must pay for to keep it working. If a payment is not made, then the ship will have 1d6 week’s worth of fuel and supplies remaining before it cannot operate.

Maintenance: The amount of spare parts and supplies required to keep the ship operating efficiently. If this amount is not paid monthly, the ship will have 1d3 weeks before all rolls suffer a -1D penalty. This includes the Engineer’s rolls to engage and shepherd the FTL drive.

Propellant: The cost given is the ship’s monthly cost of propellant for in-system travel. For every increase of the Travel Multiplier, increase the ship’s propellant cost by one step. For every decrease of the Travel Multiplier, decrease the ship’s propellant cost by one step.

Salaries: How much a competent NPC crew must be paid to operate the vessel, per month. For ships crewed entirely by Player Characters, the salaries may be deferred. However, NPC crew will expect to be paid, and promptly. Crew salaries can be reduced by incorporating artificial intelligence systems into the ship design, as discussed above.

Ship Cost Table

Common Ships

The Ship Construction Table above serves a dual purpose: it is the baseline for creating ships, but also provides samples of very generic ships for Referees to use in cases of extreme improvisation or lack of motivation. With the exception of the largest ships that often have special features, it is possible to use the Scout Hull as a basic scout ship with a month’s Endurance, Armor 18/21, 5d6 worth of Guns, and +2 Agility. No one will be the wiser.

All these vessels are designed for the Interstellar Tech Age and obey the maximum Agility Cap of +3 for non-FTL vessels. All monthly costs include just the minimum crew salaries, not any passengers.

Merchant

Explorer

Gunship

Starship Operations

The Universe is full of adventure, treasures, artifacts, and mysteries! Other stars may have friendly or hostile beings, ruins of ancient species long vanished, and amazing planetary bodies for explorers to chart. Merchants buy and sell, and fortunes can be made or broken among the stars. Wars rage between the stars.

Starship voyages are how humanity travels the universe. Advanced technologies let these vessels exceed the speed of light, and thus travel between the stars takes weeks instead of centuries. Players will beg, buy, or steal only the best for their characters and guard their transportation jealously. In the course of a campaign a ship may become a patchwork of improvements, repairs, and modifications. These unique vessels may become characters themselves.

A note on Abstraction

The rules in this chapter, like all other rules, are an attempt at abstraction. While we tried to retain the overall concept and feel of space travel using rockets, we have abstracted much of the mathematics involved to help facilitate gameplay. These rules do not simulate reality exactly, even when fusion rockets are involved. Furthermore, for the sake of convenience, we abstracted three-dimensional interstellar space into two-dimensional sector maps, neatly divided into familiar parsec-sized hexagons.

FTL Travel

The technologies developed in the Space, Interstellar, and Galactic Technology Ages permit faster than light (FTL) travel. FTL engines traverse a parallel dimension known as hyperspace, allowing the ship to travel faster than the speed of light. A gravity well, such as one generated by a star, is required on both ends of an FTL transit.

Standard FTL engines, available at the Late Space Age, permit a ship to travel up to 2 parsecs in one transit. This takes a week and requires no additional fuel. The ship, however, must recharge its FTL engine after each such transit, which requires another week. Most captains use this recharging time to travel through the local star system via the ship’s rocket engine, potentially docking with space stations or landing on planets. More advanced FTL engines, available during the Late Interstellar Age, permit traversing up to 4 parsecs per week-long transit, but are usually unavailable to civilians. Galactic FTL engines, available during the Late Galactic Age, may traverse up to 10 parsecs per transit. Cosmic Age Stargates let a starship travel up to 50 parsecs within a day and are beyond the scope of these rules.

Faster than light travel is usually pretty boring. However, when it isn’t boring, it’s a harrowing adventure. Strong magnetic fields or radiation may interfere with FTL drives, requiring a Technology throw to avoid a mishap (see below). Computers may be hacked or sabotaged to override a course and deposit a ship in the middle of an ambush. Some ancient alien ruins or derelict ships may contain malfunctioning arcane devices that warp space and hyperspace in unpredictable ways. Although it is reliable and efficient, faster than light travel is never completely safe.

FTL transit may be initiated anywhere outside an atmosphere. FTL transit typically deposits the starship within 500,000km of a known and predetermined target world, which means that it will have to travel at least 1d3 days to reach its destination. This travel time is modified by the ship’s Travel Multiplier.

FTL Travel Speeds, Ranges, and Recharge Times

Making the FTL Transit:

These rules assume relatively safe interstellar faster-than-light travel. Aside from a ship with a functional FTL drive, only three things are really required to make an FTL transit: gravity wells at the origin and destination, a competent drive engineer, and an accurate navigation route (nav route).

Navigation Routes: The main thing pilots (and players) must worry about when making an FTL journey is having a valid nav route. It is possible to plot a nav route; this takes two space combat turns. Out of combat, it takes about thirty minutes. The navigator (usually the pilot) must make a Vehicles skill check. If they fail, they do not plot a valid course, and must try again. Only very well-trained navigators plot their own routes, as any miscalculation can be catastrophic. Many planets in interstellar societies will sell standard nav routes for a modest fee. This makes typical interstellar travel within civilized regions of space a matter of buying the right nav route, loading it into the ship’s navigation computer, and following the computer’s instructions.

Destinations: FTL drives need a gravity well to draw them back into real space. This means that there is no way to plot a course to an empty parsec. Usually, a star or stellar object like a black hole are used as gravity wells. However, the gravity wells of brown dwarf stars and rogue planets will typically suffice, albeit at a -1D penalty to the navigation roll.

Drive Engineer: An engineer is needed to monitor the FTL drive before and during the transit. As well, after the transit, the engineer must monitor the recharging cycle. These are not particularly difficult tasks: roll Technology to ensure that the FTL transit has gone smoothly. If the roll is failed, roll 2d6 again: a mishap occurs on a natural result of 2.

FTL Transit Mishap Table

Gravity Control

In the Late Space Age, a ship equipped with an FTL engine can modulate its inherent inertia, and thus permit higher-G maneuvers compared to ships with more primitive technologies. However, these early FTL engines do not cancel inertia; thus high-G maneuvers still require acceleration couches and, in some instances, specialized drugs. Without them, the ship might survive, but the crew would all be killed by strokes and other severe medical emergencies.

In the Interstellar Age, an FTL drive can generate a local gravity field. This permits constant shipboard gravity. In the Early Interstellar Age, a starship equipped with an FTL engine can reduce inertia to a greater degree than in the Late Space Age, permitting higher-G maneuvers and removing the need for acceleration couches and G-medication. However, non-FTL-capable spacecraft still lack this advantage. Once technology enters the Galactic Age, all spacecraft enjoy shipboard gravity and full inertia modulation, and gravitic modules are available for installation on other structures as well, permitting flying vehicles, robots, and even flying cities.

Real-Space Travel

Travel time in Real-Space (i.e., when not performing an FTL transit) depends on the ship’s available propellant mass and the distances involved. As the various bodies within a star system are in constant motion, travel times are determined by dice rolls to abstract some extremely complex orbital mechanics. See the table below for sample travel times. All ships departing from the same planet for the same destination use the same roll. Make a new roll after every trip for the inner planets of a given system. Any rolls for travel to the outermost reaches of a system can stand for an entire campaign or be rolled every year at most.

To determine the actual travel time for a ship to make a trip, multiply the ship’s Travel Multiplier by the given travel time on the table below. For example, a ship with a Travel Multiplier of x1.5 is making the trip from its FTL entry-point to a planetary surface. This is about the distance from a planet to a typical moon, and the Referee must roll 1d3 for the travel time and multiply the result by 1.5. If a 2 is rolled for travel time, for example, such a ship would take 1.5 x 2 = 3 days to complete the voyage. A ship with a Travel multiplier of x0.75 would make the trip in 0.75 x 2 = 1.5 days.

Note that the Travel Multiplier and a ship’s Agility are not directly related. A ship with very low Agility could have a very high Travel Multiplier. All this means is that it takes more time to reach cruising speed. A ship with high Agility will win a short race, a ship with a larger Travel Multiplier will win a long race.

Fear, Loathing, and Black Outs

Spacecraft are capable of tremendous acceleration. Their highest thrusts can throw standing crew about like rag dolls causing severe injuries and unconsciousness. G-couches are the earliest way to reduce the effects of gravity. In the Early Space Age drugs are developed that give users greater resistance to acceleration. By the Late Space Age, a side effect of the FTL Drive reduces the stress of maneuvering on the human body, resulting in increased maximum Agility. This only improves in the Early Interstellar Age. By the Late Interstellar Age acceleration effects are negated by compensator fields.

The following table is optional, giving the effects of different accelerations on crew with different protective devices.

Finances

Ship prices can vary considerably, but they are not cheap. There are several options for Referees and players to consider when they decide to purchase a ship.

Mortgage

The simplest way to own a ship is to take out a loan from a bank. The bank will make a small fortune in interest, but this is often the only way for a small operator to gain access to an interstellar vessel. To calculate mortgage costs and payment, simply double the ship’s purchase price, and then divide by 240. This is the monthly payment that must be made for twenty years until the ship is paid off.

Government Firesales and Subsidies

As a world progresses in technology, its military and businesses will dispose of older ships for a fraction of their initial cost. Former military vessels are almost always demilitarized and might only have a fraction of their former firepower, if any. A used ship sold in this manner will usually go for about half of its listed price. Those buying used government ships must be fully credentialed and approved by the government.

As well, many governments have programs to help subsidize ship ownership. The rationale being that the increased tax revenues from having more small traders flying is worth the cost in subsidies. These subsidies are either one-time payments or made in connection with the bank offering a mortgage on a ship. Subsidies usually amount to about 30% of the ship’s purchase price. Some governments will offer the grant but will require the ship’s owner-operator agree to perform services for the government using the ship in emergency situations.

Salvage and Payment for Services

A patron might offer a ship as payment for a service, especially if the patron expects to enjoy a friendly relationship with the crew and additional services in the future. We leave this to the Referee and players to sort out the details.

Salvage is another popular means of obtaining a ship. However, salvaged ships require a great deal of work to make them operational, and the use of non-standard parts installed in non-standard ways might cause any number of strange quirks and irregularities to emerge in the ship. The ship will usually require about 10-20% of its listed price to make it spaceworthy again. Roll Technology with a -2D penalty to avoid any serious flaws. If the roll fails, roll 1d6 to determine the number of flaws. Each flaw is represented by a step in the negative direction on the Payload Table. They can be repaired only through a full replacement of the system at a starport.

The ship will have a number of quirks equal to the Referee’s whimsy, or 1d6, whichever is lower.

Random Ship Quirks Table

Theft and Piracy:

Should the players decide, they may attempt to steal a ship. Sneaking into a starship and absconding with it is no easy feat and should be the subject of one or more high-stakes adventures. Using force to board a ship, subdue or kill the crew, and then assume control of the ship is a much more serious crime: piracy is generally frowned upon by most governments. Capturing a vessel and going pirate is also best left to adventuring. In either case, the theft or piracy of a starship would certainly mean that the players would have many enemies interested in retrieving the ship.

Sponsorship

Some players may decide to look for sponsorship. This is usually a government or corporation with deep pockets and many assets, like a fleet of starships that need crews. The sponsor will provide a ship and are responsible for operating expenses and crew salaries. The sponsor also receives half of all profits after expenses. This arrangement will stay in effect until the crew can save up enough to purchase the ship in full.

Starship Operational Expenses

Starships have monthly operational expenses, determined when they are designed. These are discussed in the Starship Design chapter, above. However, it is worth discussing some of the details of these operating costs.

Endurance: This represents power plant fuel and crew supplies. If a payment is not made, then the ship will have 1d6 weeks’ worth of fuel and supplies remaining before it cannot operate. These expenses can be paid in advance for an extended expedition.

Maintenance: The amount of spare parts and supplies required to keep the ship operating efficiently. If this amount is not paid monthly, the ship will have 1d3 weeks before all rolls suffer a -1D penalty. This includes the Engineer’s rolls to engage and shepherd the FTL drive while in transit.

Salaries: How much a competent NPC crew must be paid to operate the vessel. For ships crewed entirely by Player Characters, the salaries may be deferred or substituted with the satisfaction of a job well done. However, NPC crew will expect to be paid, and promptly. Salaries assume one quarter of the crew are officers or specialists. Officers draw an average salary of 4,000 Credits per month and crew are paid on average 2,000 Credits per month. This includes uniforms and basic gear.

Propellant: This is the ship’s monthly cost of propellant for in-system travel. Obviously, a ship in orbit for a month does not expend propellant.

Fuel, Propellant, and Refueling

Fuel is what goes into the ship’s power plant. Propellant is what is heated or combusted to make a starship move. Confusing the two will tell any spacer you’re a dirtsider trying to pose as a spacer.

The exact nature of fuel and propellant is purposely left vague. In some settings, hydrogen is used for both. Certain ships can even refuel from the atmospheres of a gas giant. In other settings water can be used as propellant and for generating hydrogen powered fusion.

Fuel may be purchased at starports. Alternatively, a ship piloted by a character with a relevant Archetype, such as Pilot or Roughneck, may refuel from gas giants. Ships may also refuel from frozen moons or asteroids if they carry mining equipment. Generally speaking, only the toughest and most self-reliant spacer crews attempt this on a regular basis, as the whole process takes 1d6+1 days to complete.

Fuel Cost Multipliers

Fuel refers to fissionables, Helium 3, hydrogen, antimatter, or other exotics a ship’s reactor requires to turn hydrogen into lots of energy. Propellant is rocket fuel and is usually hydrogen or even water and costs very little. The Travel Multiplier is the main determinant of how much the ship’s monthly Propellant costs are. A ship traveling at a lower speed will use less propellant, operating the engines for a shorter time. A ship with a greater speed uses its engines for a longer time and uses more propellant. To determine the monthly propellant costs of a ship, multiply its base Propellant cost from the Starship Costs Table by the Fuel Cost Multiplier found below.

Propellant Cost Multipliers Table

Passengers, Trade, and Shipping

Starships can generate revenue by hauling freight or engaging in speculative trade by buying cargo in one place, and hopefully selling it for a profit somewhere else. Ships can also take on passengers.

Hauling Freight:

This is the simplest and least risky way for ship crews to make money as they travel. Freight is loaded into the ship’s cargo hold in sealed containers, and is brought to a destination starport. There, the crates are unloaded, the crew is paid a standard rate, and the transaction is concluded. A unit of cargo space will generate 500 Credits when used for hauling freight.

Speculative Trade:

Speculative trade refers to the time-honored business of buying goods at a cheap price, moving them across the stars, and then selling them somewhere else for a much higher price. It is a very risky way to generate income, but can be very lucrative.

Speculative Trade Procedure:

1. At each port of call, the ship’s broker can roll Social to develop contacts and find local sellers of bulk goods for trade. A success means that the broker has found cargo worth shipping. If the broker fails the Social roll, they must wait 1d6 days before trying again.

2. The players then choose the cargo they would like to purchase, and the Referee rolls what their prices are. There are three types of cargo:

• Cheap Bulk Goods: Cargoes like this include unprocessed raw materials like ore or grains, unrefined plant products, common mass produced commercial goods, and the like. Roll 2d6x10 to determine the purchase price per cargo hold space.
• Finished Manufactured Products: These cargoes include goods like furniture, electronics, industrial tools, machine parts, and other essential products that have markets to reach in their final forms. Roll 2d6x100 to determine the purchase price per cargo hold space.
• Luxury Items: These include jewelry, high tech items, exotic spices, and very expensive luxury goods. Roll 2d6x1000 to determine the purchase price per cargo hold space.

3. The ship’s broker can haggle on the given price with a Social skill roll. Success earns a 1d6x5% discount on the price. However, once the cargo is in the crew’s possession, roll 1d6. If they haggled on the price, on a result of 1, there is a problem with the cargo that will need solving if the player characters are to make any money on the cargo.

4. Once the players’ ship has reached a new port of call, the broker may roll Social again to find a buyer for the cargo. Failure means that they must wait 1d6 days before trying again.

5. Selling the cargo works much the same as buying it. Simply re-roll the prices, but add one to the result before multiplying. If the selling price is not acceptable, it is possible to find new buyers, or haggle. Roll Social with a -1D penalty. On success, the players may re-roll the selling price, and take the better result. If the selling price is still not to their liking, they may roll Social again, but with an additional -1D penalty (-2D total). It is not possible to re-roll the second Social skill check. However, it is also not mandatory that the players sell their cargo.

If the Players haggled or looked for other buyers, roll 1d6. On a 1, there is a problem with the deal that the players need to deal with.

The “Oh What Now? Why Can’t Things Go Smoothly?” Table

Passengers:

If a ship has the space, it can take on passengers to generate additional income. There are three different kinds of interstellar passages based on their ticket price. Luxury tickets cost 5000Cr per person but take up two berths on a ship. Regular tickets cost 2000Cr each and take up one berth each. Steerage tickets cost 800Cr each, and each berth can accommodate two Steerage passengers. Interplanetary trips generally cost 100 Credits per day on board.

Naturally, more desperate, or questionable passengers may be willing to pay more for discretion.

Ship Damage and Repairs

Starship crews that survive combat or other hazards may have to repair the damage their ship almost certainly has suffered.

Repairs are possible while the ship is in space but are more difficult and time-consuming than repairs carried out in a starport or other suitable facility. However, some damage is beyond the ability of even the most talented ship’s engineer to handle.

Spacecraft Repairs Table

The following table lists the different Regular Damage results from Space combat, and what is required for repairs. Note that Destroyed components are not repairable. They must be replaced entirely.

Times given are for repairs in a facility. Double repair times if performing the repairs in the field. Roll Technology to successfully accomplish a repair in the given time. It is possible to attempt to repair a damaged component multiple times. The time and money costs must be spent each time. It is only possible to attempt to repair a disabled component once. If it cannot be repaired, it must be replaced, at five times the cost of a disabled component.

Ships that have suffered a Knocked Out result are salvageable for parts, but must be towed to a starport to fully strip. Destroyed ships cannot be repaired.

Space Encounters

Space is vast, but most starships tend to congregate in a few locations: within 500,000km of inhabited planets, near hydrogen-rich gas giants, and close to stations and other artificial structures. When the players' ship enters or prepares to leave a star system, there is a simple method to see if the PC ship encounters another vessel:

1. Roll 3d6 on the Ship Encounter Table below, using the appropriate column depending on the system’s Settlement level: Core, Settled, Frontier, or Conflict. Apply any modifiers depending on the systems’ Trade Class. The Settlement and Trade classes are in the World Generation chapter.

2. Roll for the Encounter Posture, meaning whether or not the PC vessel is surprised, or is in a better position relative to the encountered vessel.

3. Roll for NPC Reaction Result, which will inform the Referee regarding how the NPC vessel will act in context.

1. Ship Encounter Table

Note that Space encounters in Unexplored regions are only those for regions where it is feasible to encounter other vessels that are also boldly going where no one has gone before. Otherwise, unless the Referee is planning to introduce a spaceflight-capable alien species, it might be best to avoid ship encounters in Unexplored regions.

Ship Encounter Table Modifiers:

Apply any relevant modifiers to the 3d6 Encounter roll above.

Encounter Descriptions

Patrol: A patrol encounter denotes "friendly" legal authorities. Use the NPC Reaction Roll to determine if the patrol ship will demand to board the PCs’ vessel for inspection. On a result of 7 or less, the patrol ship will accelerate to intercept and board the PCs’ ship. The Referee should modify this roll based on the PCs’ reputation, their affinity with the local security forces, and the system’s government and laws.

Hostile: This represents an encounter with hostile enemy craft. Depending on its mission and orders, as well as the results of the Reaction Roll, it may attempt to attack or board the PCs’ ship, or even ignore it.

Friendly: These are naval forces engaged in a military action against an enemy that they somehow share with the PCs. Unless their orders are to inspect civilian ships, they will likely leave the PCs alone.

Pirate: Any ship marked “pirate” will attempt to overpower the PCs’ vessel and rob the crew, given the opportunity. Use the Reaction Result to determine the likelihood of civilian vessels turning pirate. Corsairs are vessels whose raison d’être is piracy, and will very likely attack any weaker ship they encounter.

Ship Descriptions

Encounters need not be limited to the ship and system types described below. GMs should feel free to develop their own encounter tables for their most often visited systems and substitute the appropriate ship types accordingly.

2. Determine the Encounter Circumstances

Once the Referee has determined if there is an encounter and what sort of encounter it is, the circumstances of the encounter should be determined. The comms officer on each ship should roll Technology to attempt to detect the other ship. A ship that is lying in ambush should apply +1D. Subtract -1D or more if there is major background radiation, heat signatures, or other interference. Different ships might have additional bonuses and penalties depending on the state of their sensor suites.

If both parties succeed or fail the Technology roll, the ships detect each other in combat range. If they are hostile to one another, they should roll Position as normal.

If one ship succeeds in detecting the other ship, but the other ship fails, then the successful ship has favorable encounter circumstances—it catches the unaware ship somewhat unprepared. It automatically gains higher Position for the first round of combat. After which, combat continues normally with both sides rolling Position each round.

Alternatively, if the ship that succeeded on the Technology roll does not wish to have an encounter (and possible combat), then it may maneuver to avoid the encounter. In this case, the ship that failed the Tech detection roll has one more opportunity to detect the fleeing ship. If it is successful on this second detection attempt, then a chase can ensue.

Chases:

The two opposing ships roll 1d6 + Vehicles + Agility. If the pursuer has a higher roll, then combat ensues. If the prey has a higher roll, then combat is avoided. A ship chase in this case should last between 1 and 3 rounds, depending on the Referee’s call and the capabilities of the vessels involved.

3. NPC Reaction Roll

The table below includes standard NPC Reactions on a 2d6 roll, but we have modified it specifically for space encounters. We have included some examples of likely attitudes and actions for each Reaction result to help as Referee prompts. Remember to use common sense and interpret the NPC Reaction roll in the context of the specific encounter. For example, in space, the NPC Reaction roll will determine if a patrol vessel boards a PC ship, or if it will only contact it via radio. Similarly, the NPC Reaction roll can help the Referee determine if an opportunistic pirate in an armed merchant trader will try their luck attacking the PCs’ ship. Referees are encouraged to use the NPC Reaction Roll to differentiate between otherwise similar encounter results and keep the players guessing.

NPC Reaction Table (Roll 2d6)