LAZARUS
By Jonathan
Hicks
2110
- Manned exploration of the Solar System. Bases on Mars and the Moon with spacestations in
orbit over Earth.
2120
- All major space agencies realise that funding is lacking with continued personal
progress. They decide to create an administration that will combine all of them and
increase exploration.
2125
- ISECA is born. Exploration takes a giant leap.
2150
- Developments in drive engines creates the Ion Drive, capable of propelling a ship so
that it can cover a million miles in a matter of minutes.
2200
- Space stations are placed over the outer planets. Exploration stretches over to the rim
of the system, and the first landings on Pluto denote the end of the ISECA empire.
2250
- More revolutionary discoveries. The design and practical use of Lasers and Plasma
weapons changes the face of what little warfare there is.
2260
- Theories first quoted up by Stephen Hawking are finally put to more practical tests, and
the Wormhole theory is found top be possible. Funding is increased in this particular
field.
2310
- A second Ice Age descends on Earth. The government body of ISECA is relocated to the
Moon where it takes up permanent residence. Life is still possible on Earth, but the
civilians cry out for some form of salvation. The chance to travel to new worlds injects a
new life into humanity and it is known as the time of Lazarus – the population of
earth literally comes back from the dead.
2340
- The first successful Wormhole test takes place at the Pluto research facility. A
displaced tachyon beam opens the hole. It is found that unshielded ships can traverse the
Wormhole, defying damage and Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. The test nearly ends in
disaster when the hole, which led to Saturn, collapses after only a matter of days.
2390
- Practical use of the Wormhole to cover the distance between Sol and Proxima Centauri is
tested. With the introduction of the new tachyon pulsers, which ‘anchor’ the
Wormhole at either end to make it stable, a tunnel is created.
2410
- After much testing, it is decided to send a ship to explore the Proxima system. The
survey is a complete success.
2430-2600
- Colonisation begins. The beleaguered people of Earth flee the confines of their freezing
world and take up residence on new frontiers.
2700
- Some of the newly settled planets try to form their own governments and apply for
independence. ISECA refuses.
2740
- Acts of terrorism on some of the worlds vying for independence rattle ISECA. Civil
unrest becomes apparent as the civilians detest these terrorists.
2750
- ISECA decide it is time to expand once more, and plans for further colonisation of other
worlds begin.
This
government is the official ruling body of the settled systems. Abbreviated to ISECA, this
council decides the future of exploration.
The
whole administration is controlled by a president who oversees all with the help of his
advisors.
ISECA
is an amalgamation of many different Earth-based space agencies. Each agency put
settlements on the moon and Mars, but lack of finances slowed down their progress. Earth
was getting cramped and running low on resources, so a decision had to be made to decide
the next step.
The
directors and their governments talked for a long time before deciding on a course of
action. They decided to create ISECA, made up of the 5 biggest agencies. There would be a
member of each agency that would be a deciding factor in an Advisory Council which decides
the fate of ISECA. The President is more of a spokesperson to the people rather than the
single most powerful individual of the administration. There are many other members to the
Advisory Council, who control different departments such as the Navy, Military, Trade,
Industry and the like. Each of the departments has a spokesperson who sits in on Council
meetings to discuss important topics that affect the outcome of the future.
Both
the Military and the Navy are directly linked to ISECA. Neither can make a move without
ISECA approval, unless seriously forced to do so by hostile action. Although the Earth is
now almost united, with only five major powers descended from the original superpowers,
each of them still have personal interests in the exploration in space for their own ends.
This makes it handy to create those nasty NPC’s the players enjoy thwarting.
The
Navy is spread out over all the colonised systems, policing and monitoring all the
activity of the worlds under its protection and keeping an eye on all traffic travelling
to and from planets. They are far from able to clamp down on all the illegal and
threatening actions posed by criminals and independent military groups, and the continuing
expansion by mankind into the stars using Wormhole technology. They have many ships, but
response time is slow and all their recent victories have been when a particular starship
just happened to be in an area.
The
Navy is answerable to the Sol government. Although many of their actions and decisions are
military based, they must fall in line with the government’s moral standards as far
as the treatment of civilians. This stops the ‘Big Brother’ attitude.
The
Navy has a selection of ships to use in their work - Battleships, Destroyers and the like.
They also use smaller vessels, such as transports and the new gunboats. Fighters have been
found to be impractical in serious firefights, so they are used for reconnaissance and
scouting. All major engagements are between
the warships, with long range shots and boarding actions. Any small dogfights are between
the gunships, which are still quite large but more manoeuvrable.
The
Navy employ ground troops and marines, packing small arm firepower and working in
co-ordination with the parent ship, to resolve boarding enemy vessels and landing in
hostile territory.
Navy
ships are large and powerful, able to carry large numbers of personnel and several landing
craft, including the small reconnaissance fighters and gunboats.
The
gunboats are able to carry up to 20 troopers, for boarding and assault purposes. When an
enemy vessel is compromised and there is enough atmosphere on the ship to support an
assault team, then the troopers do their job.
Rank
in the Navy is the same as modern day ranks, with lieutenants, captains, commodores,
admirals... the command structure has had no need to change since the advent of sea going
vessels.
President
-
This is the most important person of the Colonies. Operating from Earth and controlling
the Government, this person pretty much decides on all fleet actions.
Fleet
Admirals
- They command the different fleets consigned to different systems.
System
Admirals
- Are in charge of fleet movements around a single system.
Planetary
Commodores
- Are answerable to all staff above him for ship actions around a single settled planet.
Starship
Captain
- Is in charge of a single starship.
Executive
Officer
(Commander Rank) - Is the second in command, answerable to the Captain.
Lt.
Commanders
(Dept. Heads) - Are in charge of the different departments that operate on a ship
(Weapons, Communications etc.)
Lieutenants
- Answer to the Dept Head and control the actions of all staff beneath them.
By
the year 2110, mankind had started what they had planned since the late 20th century -
manned exploration of the solar system. They had landed bases on the moon and on Mars,
with long distance probes leaving the confines of Sol’s pull and heading into the
depths of space.
Wormhole
usage came about by 2205, with colony ships using the breaches in the space/time continuum
to travel the vast distances between stars, defying both travel time and Einstein’s
theory of relativity. The journey between two stars (which became known as the
‘Hawkins Hop’ by the average civilian trader, after the 20th century physicist
who theorised the existence of Wormholes in space). Government ships use the official term
‘transition’ to denote the entering of a hole. It was reduced by a vast amount -
it only took 30.1 hours to traverse the Wormhole between Sol and Proxima Centauri, a
distance of 4.3 light years. This meant that using a Wormhole to travel enabled a starship
to travel 1 light year in seven hours.
Wormholes
are created by firing a particle beam into a part of space using a combination of
electrons and a particle called a tachyon, an atom that could travel faster than light.
The intensity and power put into the beam decides the length of the hole, which could be
pointed at a distant system. A probe is then sent down the hole to ‘anchor’ the
Wormhole at one end whilst the beam projector did the same at the other end, effectively
keeping both ends ‘tied’ to the two star systems. These anchors are huge
satellites using solar and particle energy to keep the hole open. They are also manned, to
enable control of what and how many starships travel at any one time down the hole. Ships
can travel the hole with no danger of striking another craft; the hole is thousands of
kilometres across, with a ‘two way traffic’ set-up to keep the travelling
flowing. Government regulations do instruct vessels to enter the portal in half-hour gaps
to regulate the flow of traffic, although several ships can travel at once. The hole is
placed on the edge of systems so that their gravitational field does not interfere with
the orbit of planets. It can take days to reach a Wormhole, but this is nothing compared
to the distance travelled when actually entering one.
The beam projector then leaves another satellite at
the beginning end, travels down the wormhole itself, recalculates another burst to another
system, and the whole process starts again. Wormholes last for up to one day per light
year of distance when it is initially created, but it will need constant tachyon energy to
continue its existence. If either of the two ‘anchor’ satellites are destroyed
or damaged, the wormhole collapses depending on it’s size, usually it starts to
decompose, and will finally collapse within the same number of hours as it was in light
year length. Therefore, if an anchor failed at one end of a 6 light year hole, the
wormhole collapses within 6 hours. Any ships still within the hole are vaporised
immediately, although there is still much discussion as to what actually happens to a
starship if trapped in a collapsing Wormhole.
Mankind
has colonised several suitable worlds with either sprawling colony complexes or research
stations.
Colonising
planets is impossible if the system in question does not have the correct conditions to
sustain life on any of it’s orbiting worlds. Luckily, many of the planets surveyed
are capable of sustaining limited settlements, even if the settlers have to live in
habitat shelters. In general, there are three kinds of settlements - a Colony, a Research
Facility and an Industrial Settlement.
A
Colony is what the name suggests; it is a large community of humans re-located to another
world to work a living from their new surroundings. There is a lot of work to do before
locating a colony.
1.
A wormhole has to be created to travel the distance between the stars. This is only done
after stellarcartography and planetary observation teams have sufficient evidence to
suggest the star may support life and has orbiting bodies.
2.
After the wormhole has been tethered, a scout ship is sent in to survey the territory.
During this time, warships of the navy blockade the entrance to the wormhole to stop any
private opportunists from travelling the hole and making claims in new territories.
3.
The scout ship scans every planet in the system and makes a preliminary report, which it
beams back to the other end of the wormhole. A fleet of ships is then despatched to cover
the whole system and start cataloguing the planets.
4.
After about three months, the initial survey is complete, and teams of scientists are
transported to the surfaces of planets which either have a sustainable atmosphere or
viable gravity.
5.
The science teams spend the next year charting the composition of the planet, it’s
atmosphere, bacteria, mineral composition and any other viable factor they think
necessary. They live in pre-fabricated living domes during this time until they are sure
that the atmosphere is not lethal. 80% of the time the planet in question is unsustainable
and is only charted for resources, if any.
6.
If the world is deemed suitable, groups of volunteers spend the next year living on the
surface of the planet and checking it for any anomalies, including tectonic activity,
indigenous species, and any other factor they think that settling colonists will need to
know.
7.
If all checks are clear, then colonisation can begin. Warships escort colony vessels to
the planets deemed suitable for life, and building of the new community begins.
A
Research Facility is a planet or moon that was not deemed suitable for colonisation and
chosen instead to house one of the governments many research stations. These stations scan
each of the new properties of the planet, including mineral, vegetable matter and any
lifeforms present, to see if they have any industrial or scientific use.
An
Industrial Settlement is set up when a Research Facility finds usable minerals in the
surface of the planetoid. These huge complexes house hundreds of workers who remove enough
of the materials to use in industry. Xenoecological scientists limit the amount of
Industrial removal that goes on at these settlements, so that the extraction of resources
does not damage the planet. These industries cover all concepts, including minerals,
fossil fuels, animals and vegetation.
The
surveying and settling of new worlds is a long and sometimes dangerous process. Many
times, settlers have fallen foul of freak weather conditions, dangerous landmass placement
and even indigenous lifeforms, especially the ones which transmit fatal bacteria into the
human system. Disease is now fightable, with the discovery of new bacteria and
micro-organisms in the initial survey being treated with drugs and sometimes minor gland
surgery to withstand the change. There has never been a situation where severe genetic
manipulation has been required to survive on a new world. Some of the colonists give birth
to children who are more adaptive to their new home, but the physical differences are
quite minimal and not noticeable with casual observation.
Settling
a new world offers adventure in the extreme, with new discoveries and scientific
innovations occurring long after the world has been settled. This is why many people are
queuing for the chance to travel to a new planet.
These
colonies are supplied by three different starship types - the ISECA Navy ships, which are
military based craft designed to patrol and police all interstellar travel. Independent
Traders, who make a living transporting goods in a variety of ship types. Government
ships, designed for large scale transportation of goods and for use as commercial civilian
transports.
These
vessels, although capable of high speeds, cannot traverse systems themselves. They could
probably travel a million miles in an in a matter of twenty minutes, but the ability to
open up personal Wormholes is still an impossibility. The standard design of a ship is a
hull construct designed to minimise waste of space (unless it is a luxury cruiser, of
course), with a long beam running to the engine core, which is kept separate from the rest
of the ship because of the huge power output. This makes travelling in the main
compartment quite quiet. The engine work on a combination of fusion technology and ion
drive - the expulsion of excited ion particles from a generator to produce thrust. The is
the safest and most efficient form of propulsion.
Starships
are equipped with three major functions.
Artificial
gravity, which is a system of magnetic pulses that force down all objects at the same
weight as standard Earth gravity.
Life
Support, which is a series of independent systems that regulate air supply, lighting,
waste disposal and other things to support life.
Navigation
Arrays, that plot courses using the position of a starship relative to the centre of the
system they are currently in.
Navigating
a starship is a complicated business, considering that space is made up of three
co-ordinated dimensions (X,Y AND Z). To calculate a course a starship helmsman has to do
several things:
1.
First he must calculate his position. To do this, he locks onto the gravitational field of
the nearest charted star and denotes its co-ordinates in relation to Earth. This is only
done to verify the co-ordinates of the system they are in.
2.
He then calculates the position he has taken in orbit of that star.
3.
He calculates the location of and distance between his target destination and the
co-ordinates he has plotted using step 2.
4.
He lays in the course into the navigational computer, turns the ship until his heading
matches that of the direction, and applies thrust.
The
direction of a vessel is charted on two axis - horizontal and vertical. If a ship is on a
heading of 256 by 075, then the vessel has turned on it’s horizontal plane by 256
degrees, and has elevated on it’s vertical plane by 75 degrees. This is a simple
change of heading.
To
lock onto a destination within a system, the ship has to take into account the relativity
between itself, the system star and the target destination. When all three co-ordinates
are established, then the heading is decided.
Navigating
between star systems is done in the initial Wormhole creation phase, so all navigation is
taken care of by the stellarcartography teams during creation. All starships have to do is head for the relevant
Wormhole in the system.
Starships
are not strictly for the business or government minded - there are several civilian ships
available to buy for either small trade use or personal pleasure.
These
ships are lightly armoured and even more lightly armed, mainly for defence capability. You
see, with the exploration of the vast sea of space, a new kind of pirate has emerged - the
Jackers. These modern-day pirates board vessels to strip them of their cargo, personnel or
whatever they find on board. There are also smugglers, mercenary bands, interstellar
bounty hunters, ship thieves... the list is long for the illegal uses of starships. Since
these vessels became publicly available, the underworld took full advantage of it. They
cannibalise their vessels to be faster, harder and better armed than the odd civilian
transport.
The
thing that does not work to their advantage is the fact that their vessels are quite
distinctive - they find it incredibly difficult to travel Wormholes because getting past
the satellites is difficult when a system wide alert is put out. Most Jacker groups or
similar stay in one system, usually where there are places to hide or where the pickings
are good. Smugglers take their chances with false ID codes and secret compartments in
their ships and traverse the holes to trade.
These
huge orbital constructs are placed above major colony worlds or fair sized industrial
settlements, monitoring traffic by allowing transport vessels to dock and transfer
supplies to the planets surface, and transmitting signals between different points in the
same system. They are completely immobile, with only enough capability to adjust orbit in
case it is in danger of decay. They are heavily armed and armoured, for if they came under
any kind of attack they would be completely defensive. Measuring just under two kilometres
wide, they can allow larger starships to dock.
Satstations
are small and lightly powered, sitting in orbits over small research stations or outposts,
monitoring traffic and sending signals. They are just under 70 meters wide and are only
manned by two or three personnel. Only smaller ships are allowed to dock with satstations.
These
are about half the size of a Stellarstation, and instead of orbiting a planetoid they are
placed at certain points between planets or locations in a system. They act as a stop-off
place for ships on long journeys across space, and can usually found at the entrance to
heavily used Wormholes.
They
come in all shapes and sizes - one-man pods that can sustain life for about a day or two,
pods designed for several personnel that can keep them alive for a week or more, and great
lifeboats designed to carry large numbers of people and able to travel Wormholes. The last
kinds are nothing more than small starships on larger ones.
Sending
signals through space is made easier with the widespread use of tachyons. Signals can be
sent at faster-than-light speeds; around 12 million miles per minute. These signals can be
bounced off all kinds of stations until if finally reaches it’s final destination.
These signals can also be sent down Wormholes at normal speed rates, after being bounced
off the ‘anchor’ satellites at
either end.
EXAMPLE:
A signal is sent from Earth to the primary planet of Proxima Centauri. The signal is
transmitted from Earth Stellarstation, bounced off Mars Stellarstation, transmitted and
bounced off Uranus satstation, transmitted to the Wormhole ‘anchor’ and down the
hole, and then bounced off the ‘anchor’ at the other end to be sent through the
same system of stations to it’s target.
Most
private information is sent two ways; either by encrypted signal or private courier.
With
the popularity of starships and interstellar travel, it stands to reason that civilians of
the future would opt to fly their own vessels. This is possible, but it costs vast amounts
of money and a rained crew. Such vessels are owned only by the very wealthy or the
business orientated.
The
smallest business vessel available is still almost thirty meters long, with the trademark
boom trailing behind to keep the engine section separate. These vessels are small
transports that require a minimal crew to maintain (One for every operating system) and
are reliable and hardy. They are only lightly armed with an energy weapon of some
description to protect them from stray asteroids and marauding pirates. Most private
vessels, owned by the rich and powerful, are hardly ever armed as the vessels rarely leave
Navy patrolled space.
The
Government has a rule about people who own and operate starships - they must be of sound
mind and body, be in complete control of their mental state and be able to respond to
adverse situations with a calm efficiency. Applying for a starship license is a
combination of two things - the normal four week training program and a physical and
mental test. Although there is a grade to reach, prospective clients can be dropped from
the program at a moments notice. They can re-apply after six months. Even after passing
the initial test, the flyer must be re-screened every year to keep their licence.
The
training and licence can cost anything up to 2000 credits (or IMU - Interstellar Monetary
Unit, or ‘EMU’ in slang), and the final exam is a further 500 creds.
The
re-screening for the licence just takes a day, and costs 500 creds for both the test and
the licence re-issue.
The
vessels themselves are a bit more costly. For a basic civilian transport (the thirty meter
ship), the cost can be anything from 300,000 to 350,000 creds, depending on the vessels
capability and modifications. The larger battleships, which are up to 300 meters long, can
cost between 300 and 310 million to design and build.
Modifications
are available to personalise ships. These modifications will be covered in the section of
starship design.
SECTION
1 - CREATING A CHARACTER
Creating
a player character (or PC) to portray in the Lazarus universe is a relatively short and
uncomplicated process, with most of the design detail going into the character’s
personality and emotional state and not depending on the numbers on the character sheet.
Although the stats of the character will bear a significant impact on the welfare of the
character, it is not the most important faction of play.
First,
it is best to visualise the setting the character is in and then decide on what type of
personality would be best to play. If the campaign is going to be military or navy based,
then a uniformed and by-the-book PC type may be suitable. A private trader may be more
open-minded and relaxed. If the character is on the wrong side of the law, then maybe
paranoia would be a good virtue, or maybe a blasé look on life.
These
facts of personality must be established before initial character creation can begin. It
would be a shame if the player was more concerned about what the character was capable of
instead of thinking about motivation or morals or opinions . This would turn the game into
a two-dimensional setting, which is something that is best avoided.
On
the other hand, let’s not get too hung-up about the psychological traits of
PC’s. Lazarus is designed for high adventure in space, after all, and it would be a
pain if each heart-stopping action scene or act of drama is marred by a player agonising
over decisions. After all, when your firing multiple shots at an enemy who is trying to
arm an anti-matter warhead... well, the chance to think things through at a time like that
is impossible. It’s not chess. You have to think fast and move faster.
There
are a lot of choices for a player to make - what kind of PC to play is probably the most
decisive of all of them. They can play cops, robbers, troopers, marines, executives,
pirates, bounty hunters, doctors... the list goes on and on. There are a lot of
professions that probably would not be covered in a
comprehensive list. The fact is, the rules give the players the chance to play any
character they choose.
SECTION
1.1 - INITIAL CHARACTER CREATION
All
characters are defined by two things - their STATISTICS and their SKILLS.
STATISTICS
are the basic capabilities of the character. These scores denote their fitness,
intelligence and general ability to function. A character has four STATISTICS (or STATS
for short), which are scaled with a number between 3 and 7, 3 being the worst, 5 being an
average and 7 being the best.
EXAMPLE
1 - If
a character had 7 in AGILITY they would be quite dextrous and able to move quickly and
deftly, where a character with an AGILITY of 3 would be quite clumsy and probably trip
over his own feet.
There
are four initial STATS and these are:
AGILITY
(AG) - As
described in example 1, this score denotes how agile and dextrous the character is. A
character with a high AG will be able to fire weapons accurately, move faster than most
and have quick reactions.
INTELLIGENCE
(IN) - This
score is the characters brain power, and generally covers their mental capability. A low
IN score does not denote any kind of mental incapability. It just means that characters
with low IN do not have access to the same educational sources as characters with high IN,
and therefore do not respond to intellectual situations the same way. Characters with low
IN can still learn things that will benefit them in the future.
PERSONALITY
(PE) - The
social and personal skills of a character are very important to the role-playing aspect of
the game, and, after all, not every situation can be resolved with the barrel of a gun.
This score describes how charismatic the character can be, and calculates the reaction of
NPC’s to the character.
STRENGTH
(ST) - The
settled systems can be dangerous at times, and the overall fitness of a character will
determine how physically able the PC is, and how she will withstand the rigours and
pressure put upon the human body during these trials.
To
create scores for these STATS, the player is given 21 points to divide up between them. No score
can be higher than 7 or lower than 3. All of these points must be spent during initial character creation.
This will give the PC’s a less-than-broad expertise level, with high scores in some
STATS and low scores in others. Therefore, a player may want his PC to be agile and
dextrous, bust must sacrifice some brain power and maybe a little charisma to do it. The
numbers in these STATS are known as STAT LEVELS.
SECTION
1.2 - SKILLS
After
the player has decided on their STAT scores, they can then move onto the SKILLS the
character will need to function in their environment. SKILLS are the capabilities of the
character, with capabilities ranging from firing a weapon to healing a wound to flying a
starship. Depending upon what the character’s role in the setting is will most likely
dictate what SKILLS they will have. This is why it is important to decide on what type of
character to play before putting points into anything (see section 1).
To
begin with, a character is given several STARTING SKILLS which are an indication of what a
character is naturally capable of. These are skills which any human develops naturally
over the years. This will be covered in more detail later.
Each
STAT has a list of skills which are linked directly to that particular capability. AG has
a list of skills which require dexterity and quick reactions to perform, IN a list which
are what the character is capable of mentally, PE a list which is an indication of their
social skills and ST a list which enables the PC to perform actions which involve physical
fitness. Each of these skill lists are only available under the particular STAT heading
they are associated with, and can only be performed if the character has them.
So
how does a PC go about getting these skills?
Well,
first of all, lets go back to the STARTING SKILLS. These are skills which the PC is
naturally capable of and are automatically gained by the character. These skills are
represented by a score similar to the STAT LEVEL, known as a SKILL LEVEL. All starting
skills are the same score as their accompanying STAT. All other skills must be bought
using SKILL POINTS.
Skill
points are calculated the following way:
Take
the score of the STAT of the skill list the player wants to spend points in. The amount of
skill points a player is allowed to spend on that particular skill list is equal to the
points in the STAT. So therefore, a character with AG 6 can spend 6 points on AG skills.
These
points are then allocated to the skills required. This is done by spending a point at a
time. If a player spends 1 point on a skill, then that skill is then bought and written on
the players CHARACTER SHEET. The skill is represented by a score similar to the STAT
score, but it can be increased if the player wishes by spending extra points on the skill.
Basically, when 1 point is spent to buy a skill from the list, the PC gets that skill at
the same score level as the accompanying STAT. If they spend another two points, they can
raise the same skill by another level or, alternatively, they can buy another skill. No
more than 3 points can be spent on a single skill.
Also,
a player can opt to spend points on their STARTING SKILLS the same way. As with the other
skills, they cannot spend more than two points on a single starting skill.
EXAMPLE
2 - A
player has 6 points in AG and decides to buy a FIRE - Weapon skill. They have 6 points to
divide up between skills and starting skills, so first of all he spends one point on a
starting skill, namely BRAWLING, bringing it up to SKILL LEVEL 7 (Base AG STAT LEVEL score
+ 1 skill point). This leaves him with 5 skill points to spend. He puts 1 point into FIRE
- Weapon, which he gets at a SKILL LEVEL equal to the accompanying STAT LEVEL (6), and
then puts another two points into the same skill, getting it at SKILL LEVEL 7. He has now
used up three points in that single skill, so therefore cannot spend any more points
there. He must now spend the rest of his points in other AG skills.
One
final note - no skill points from one STAT can be used to buy skills from another
STAT’s skill list. All skill points associated with the STAT can only be spent on
that STAT’s list and no other.
So
what are these skills?
Later
there will follow a list of skills available to players, all listed under their
accompanying STAT heading. The list includes starting skills, too, which will be already
included on the Character Sheet. The skills are listed with descriptions on how they can
be used and what for.
SECTION
1.3 - HIT POINTS
Before
we go any further, we must just fill in one piece of the Character Sheet. This section is
called HP, which stands for HIT POINTS. These points determine how much damage the
character can take until unconsciousness or death. That may sound gruesome, but personal
injury through violence or accident is a fact of life.
The
space after HP is split up into three parts. The first part is for your total number of
HP, which is your STRENGTH stat doubled. The second part is for your normal STRENGTH stat
score, and the final part is for your STRENGTH halved as a minus number. To explain that
last part, you must take your ST score, halve it (rounding fractions up), and then enter
it as a minus number.
Therefore,
if you had a ST of 4, your HP section would look like this – HP 8/4/-2
The
meaning of these scores will be explained in the later section of damage and healing.
SECTION
1.4 - SKILL LISTS
Listed
now are the multitude of skills available to the players that they may find useful during
a Lazarus game. This list is split up into the relevant sections covering each of the
STATS and their applicable skill list.
These
lists are by no means comprehensive or restrictive. Indeed, there are thousands of skills
that are available to players that these lists do not cover. If, at any time during
character creation, a player decides they want a skill not listed, they are quite welcome
to decide which STAT the skill would most likely be listed under and add it at the normal
skill point costs. The final decision will fall on the GM, however, as to whether the new
skill is applicable or even possible. Having a skill such as ‘Cookery’ may help
the PC with socialising with NPC’s, but having a skill ‘Shrug Off Close Range
Plasma Shots’ is far beyond the realms of realism. If the player and the GM use a bit
of common sense and agree on a skill that won’t upset game balance or be too
ridiculous, the skills open for PC’s to use enormous.
As
stated before, the skills in the following lists are the most commonly used skills in the
Lazarus setting and should give the player an idea of what to expect out in the depths of
space.
AGILITY
BASED SKILLS -
STARTING
SKILLS:
JUMPING:
Dramatic
leaps of huge air vents, jumping to grab the undercarriage of an escaping shuttleship...
this skill covers all those situations where you have to spring into action. The maximum
distance covered is usually the characters AG in meters, although this can be changed by
the GM at her discretion for dramatic purposes.
THROWING:
The
ability to throw any viable hand held object. This skill is handy for grenades of most
kinds, bottles, chairs, and comes in handy especially during rows about relationships. The
distance a PC can throw an object is
calculated by multiplying the ST by 6, although, again, this can be up to the GM,
depending on the situation.
MELEE:
Anyone
can swing a blunt or sharpened instrument to inflict damage on an opponent or whatever
they are in conflict with, but increasing this skill will enable the wielder to place the
strike where it will have the best effect.
MAIN
SKILL LIST:
DRIVE
(VEHICLE):
This
skill enables the user to legally control any ground based vehicles, including transports,
trucks, bikes and hovercraft. The player must specifically state which kind of the above
vehicles they will specialise in... after all, you must get training and a licence for any
of the modes of transport listed above. If the player wishes, this skill can extend to any
kind of water-based craft (boats and submarines), and these vehicles must be split up into
categories, too.
FIRE
(WEAPON):
Although
this skill will be covered in more detail in the Combat section, it is necessary here to
understand what types of weapons it covers. All weapons are broken down into different
categories, all of which must be purchased separately, which are:
Small
Arms: This
covers pistols and rifles. Any kind of hand held
projectile weapon can be fired by the PC if they have this skill.
Heavy
Weapons : This
includes rocket launchers, heavier ballistic weapons (such as support weapons) and any
kind of ground-based vehicle weapon.
Starship
Weapons : As
the title suggests, this skill enables the PC to operate weapons installed on Starships,
including energy weapons and missile pods.
HIDE:
Sometimes,
discretion is called for and the PC may find it useful to be able to tuck themselves away
to avoid any unwanted attention. This skill is handy for not getting involved in any
situation which could prove disastrous.
PILOT
(VEHICLE):
There
are more ways than one to travel overland on a planets surface, and air travel is fast and
comfortable. Knowing how to fly an aircraft is handy, but, like the DRIVE skill, must be
whittled into two certain areas of expertise, namely Jet aircraft, Helicopter and
Interface vehicle. Any character wishing to be able to have the interface skill must
already have PILOT (JET). Characters wishing to fly their starships within an atmosphere
must have both the PILOT (JET) and PILOT (INTERFACE) skills, and of course use the
STARSHIP HELMSMAN skill to fly the vessel.
RIDE
(ANIMAL):
This
skill covers the ability to ride any kind of animal - be it horse, camel, elephant, or
maybe something a little more exotic from another world.
STARSHIP
HELMSMAN:
Travelling
through space takes a lot of nerve. Most of the time a helmsman will just plot the course
and let the starship do the rest, but sometimes there may be a situation when the person
in charge of the vessel will have to make a quick manoeuvre to avoid danger. This is where
the STARSHIP HELMSMAN skill comes in. This skill covers vessels of all sizes (their
control systems are all very similar).
STEALTH:
As
with HIDE, the ability to move around undetected has it’s advantages. Penetrating
secure areas, dodging patrols... this is a very handy skill to have, especially if you are
on the wrong side of the Law.
INTELLIGENCE
BASED SKILLS
STARTING
SKILLS:
There
are no starting skills for IN. It is assumed the character has attended some form of
educational centre (unless the player wishes to play a character with an interesting
flaw), and is therefore automatically able to read and write. Whatever capabilities they
have they will have learned at the centre, and the choice of abilities is represented by
the list below.
MAIN
SKILL LIST:
COMPUTER
OPERATION:
This
skill covers the ability to understand, program and do any necessary repairs on a computer
system. Computers pretty much control everything in the universe of Lazarus, and are
expected to run at maximum efficiency. This is not also the case, and anyone with this
skill may find their abilities invaluable. This skill also covers hacking into systems and
any other kind of computer ability usually frowned upon.
DEMOLITION:
It’s
easy for anyone to put a bomb somewhere, but how about putting it somewhere where it will
do maximum damage? This skill enables the user plant charges where they will be their most
effective. Bringing down old buildings, taking out a strategic bridge, even blowing a lock
is effectively covered by this skill.
ELECTRONICS:
Computers
and technological items need one thing to function - wires and electrical components. This
is where the ELECTRONICS skill comes in. With this skill a PC can jump-start vehicles,
repair small items of importance, and pretty much do anything where getting hold of a few
wires and a screwdriver (or more exotic tools) is required.
TECHNICIAN
(TYPE):
Every
mode of transport needs a repairman, and the TECHNICIAN skill covers that. As with the
DRIVE and PILOT skills, the actual mode of transportation has to be covered. Even
Starships can fall into this category, and depending on the size of the vehicle will
depend on just how many technicians will be required.
MEDICINE
(TYPE) :
It’s
fair enough running round the settled systems blowing up the bad guys and getting into
fights galore, but what about the aftermath? Those wounds and accident bruises won’t
go away by themselves, you know, so the ability to patch up the unwanted cuts and
scratches is a must. This skill covers two areas which must be purchased seperately- first aid and surgery.
The first is necessary for on the spot treatment, whereas the other is more for the doctor
of the family. Because there are so many types of medical procedures, the MEDICINE type surgery is more difficult to learn, and therefore
costs double the usual amount of skill points to purchase. The first aid skill must be purchased before the
character can progress to surgery.
NAVIGATION
(TYPE) :
It
helps to know where you are at any given time, and so this skill helps the PC’s to
locate their position and move in generally the correct direction using vehicles, or even
walking, as long as they have a compass or at least some idea of the terrain. The skill is
split up into two sections which must be purchased seperately- planetary and space.
Planetary covers any movement on the surface
of a planet, whereas space covers travel through
the stars. If your flying around in a starship, the space
version is a necessity to find your way around that murky darkness.
SCIENCE
(SUBJECT) :
This
skill is for the player who wants to investigate the future, and covers every available
science known to man. As with many other skills, this is split into areas of expertise
which must be purchased separately. These areas include chemistry, biology, archaeology,
physics, astrophysics, geology, xenobiology... whatever science the player can think of
can be learned by the PC. Having a character who knows something about one of the many
sciences can often be a great advantage.
STREETWISE
:
This
is a handy skill to have, especially for both the lawmaker and lawbreaker type characters.
This skill enables the user to find things out about the shadier side of the future. At
the very least it helps the PC to find the best local hangouts, bars and restaurant.
Depending on what planet or in what district the PC’s are will determine just how
successful they are at ‘getting in’ with the underworld or find out details
about the location they are staying at.
PERSONALITY
BASED SKILLS
STARTING
SKILLS
CHARISMA
:
This
is a reflection of the PC’s personal charm and appearance. This skill decides just
how popular they are in their social circle, and it also determines how NPC’s will
react when first meeting them. It is very handy during the situations where actually
getting on with an NPC is necessary. Violence is not the answer to everything, and it is
best to make friends where they can help you if you fall on difficult times.
MAIN
SKILL LIST
BARGAIN
:
So
you want the most out of life, yes? Well, with this skill, the most is what you haggle
for. Bargain allows the PC to up or lower a price of an item, make deals with other
characters or at least get the best deal they can out of something.
BUREAUCRACY
:
Handling
a diplomatic situation is always a tricky business. If it is a meeting of powerful people,
a hostage situation, a very delicate personal matter or any other situation where the
PC’s actions and words must make an impression on the target audience, this skill is
necessary. All high ranking persons have this skill, because negotiation and the ability
to talk your way through something is a must.
CON
:
If
you want to talk your way in or out of something, twist your words to confuse your
opponent or just lie your way through life then this is the skill to have. Characters with
the Con skill can switch a situation to their advantage. It can get them money, prestige
or friends, but watch out - if the recipient of your shady words gets wind of your little
plan the consequences could be disastrous.
GAMBLING
:
Gambling
is the fastest way to lose or gain money. It can also be used to bluff an opponent with
the truth, unlike Con which just goes with the lie. This skill is handy when getting in on
those backroom card games, or the machines that pump out the creds when you hit the right
sequence on the display. Making contacts during these games, or getting hold of
information from the other players is one way to take advantage of this skill.
LEADERSHIP
:
If
you have the personality, the guts and the impressive nature others find intimidating,
then you have the properties of a born leader. This skill is what it is all about, and
successful use makes sure that the plans you have for others are carried out. Leadership
is handy skill for ranking officer types, with the higher score getting more respect from
the underlings, but don’t get too much like a megalomaniac. One mistake too many and
your followers will start to lose faith.
STRENGTH
BASED SKILLS
STARTING
SKILLS
BRAWLING:
Always
having a hand held weapon to hand is not always an option. Sometimes characters must
defend themselves with nothing but their hands, and this skill enables them to do just
that. With this skill they can punch, kick, headbutt... just about every manoeuvre in
hand-to-hand combat is covered with this skill. There is more information on this in the
Combat section.
CLIMB
:
Scaling
heights is one thing, doing it and not falling off is something else. All people climb a
tree or something in their youth, and doing it professionally is a boon to any character
who intends to spend a lot of their time exploring or getting into secure compounds.
MAIN
SKILL LIST
STAMINA
:
Having
the energy to carry on in gruelling conditions, staying conscious or operating efficiently
after a major shock to the system, or just staying upright after a long time drinking is
possible if the character has this skill. Stamina is necessary for those who take a lot of
physical punishment, be it through natural causes or violence.
SWIM
:
Not
everyone can swim and this is reflected with this skill. Staying afloat in water takes
practice, and if you don’t get that practice, you could fall foul of some very wet
situations.
As
said before, there is no way this list could cover every possible skill. It is up to the
GM and the player to decide on what skills would benefit the character most, and if the
player wants to personalise his PC by adding a skill not listed then he is more than
welcome to do so. There are a lot of opportunities in the settled systems, and having the
ability to tackle them head on is what will benefit both PC’s and the campaign the
most.
SECTION
1.5 - THE CHARACTER SHEET
In
general, the character sheet that lays out the details of the PC should be listed as
below.
Player name:
Character
name:
Gender:
Age:
Physical
Description:
Career:
HP -
AGILITY
–
Starting
skills –
Jumping
Leaping
Main skill
list –
Drive (vehicle)
Fire (weapon)
Hide
Melee
Pilot (vehicle)
Starship
Helmsman
Stealth
INTELLIGENCE
–
Main skill
list –
Computer
Operation
Demolition
Electronics
Technician
(type)
Medicine (type)
Navigation
(type)
Science
(subject)
Streetwise
PERSONALITY
–
Starting
skill –
Charisma
Main skill
list –
Bargain
Bureaucracy
Con
Gambling
Leadership
STRENGTH
–
Starting
skills –
Brawling
Climb
Main skill
list –
Stamina
Swim
Equipment -
SECTION
2 - THE RULES: HOW TO INTERPRET THE DICE ROLLS
INTRODUCTION
Well,
you’ve got a clean cut character who has plenty of numbers all over the sheet, but
what exactly do they mean, and how will those numbers affect the game?
Although
the GM presents a story that changes as players make their choices and play their roles,
there must still be a form of stability that makes the game fair for everyone. That’s
where the rules come in. The rules are designed to allow players to perform actions and,
depending on how skilled they are, allows them to do things in the Lazarus setting that
would be impossible to adjudicate just by narration alone. If the whole thing was just
talking, some players may think they are being picked on or pushed in certain directions.
The rules give a stable platform for everyone to work off and bring order to the chaos.
That’s
the justification over. Now lets talk about what really matters.
SECTION
2.1 - WHAT THE DICE MEAN
There
are two polyhedral dice that are necessary for this game - a normal 6-sided die that is
available from most board games, and something else a little more interesting, a die
consisting of 12 sides. These are known in the game as a D6 and a D12.
When
the player or GM is called upon to make a roll, they will be asked to roll either 1D6 or
1D12. This means that they must roll either of the dice and read the surface result.
Sometimes
they may be asked to add or minus a number to this roll, which works like this:
Roll
1D6+2 - Roll the 6-sided die and add 2 to the result. Therefore, if you roll a 3 on the
die then you have a total of 5 (3+2=5). The same applies with the D12. If asked to roll
1D12-2, then you would roll the die and minus 2 from the result.
At
other times you will be asked to roll multiple dice, which is something like this.
Roll
2D6 - Roll the 6-sided die twice, or two dice at the same time, and add both the results
together. Again, this applies to the D12.
Another
combination is the rolling of multiple dice and then adding or subtracting a number.
Roll
2D6-2 - Roll the 6-sided die twice, add the results together and then minus 2 from the
result.
This
is how the numbers are generated using the dice, but, once again, what does it mean?
SECTION
2.2 - THE SKILL ROLL
This
roll is what the GM or player must do to successfully complete an action of some sort.
Depending on what the result is read off the dice will determine the outcome of the
roller’s efforts.
Lets
say, for example, that Bobby’s PC wants to hotwire a sealed pressure door to get it
open. First of all, he must make sure he has the correct skill to perform the task (in
this case ELECTRONICS), and then he rolls the die. The score on the die will give a
result, and this result will let the players know if he has been successful or not.
But
how does the roll decide success or failure? Well, let’s say the PC’s skill
level in ELECTRONICS is 7. As long as Bobby rolls 7 or less on his die then the action is
a success. Rolling above 7 denotes failure in the action. This roll applies to most skill
usage.
The
die to roll to find out if the action worked or not is the D12. This gives the PC a range
of numbers, and as you can see, the higher the number in his skill level the better chance
he has of pulling it off.
To
summarise, when a player is called upon to perform an action, he will be asked to roll a
D12. Any roll equalling or lower than his skill level will be a success, and any roll
higher than his skill level will be a failure.
Surely,
though, not all rolls are that hard or easy? If the action is run of the mill then surely
it should be easier for the PC? Well, this is where Difficulty Modifiers come in.
SECTION
2.3 - DIFFICULTY MODIFIERS
Actions
performed by PC’s are not always dependent on their skill level. Maybe there are
contributing factors to the situation which will make their job easier, or even harder.
Difficulty
modifiers reflect this by adding or subtracting numbers from the PC’s skill level. If
the modifier is a negative number it will, of course, make the action harder. If the
modifier is a plus number, then the action is easier. There are ranges of numbers which
reflect this element of chance.
For
example, let’s go back to Bobby’s PC. If he wanted to fly a shuttle down a
straight canyon, then there would be a positive modifier to his roll, making the job
easier. If, on the other hand, the canyon was filled with overhangs and he was under fire
from pursuers, his modifier would be a minus number.
As
you can see, the situation Bobby’s PC was in changed the difficulty modifier.
Let’s
not get carried away, though. Not every action calls for a modifier, or even a roll. If
the player just wants her PC to stroll down a street and into a shop, then a roll
isn’t called for. This is an automatic action that any person can accomplish with no
problem. If she was under fire or trying to avoid another person then a roll may be
required, but at the end of the day, actions must only be rolled for dramatic purposes or
if it will have an outcome on the situation. The final decision lies with the GM, and he
must be fair in both deciding if the player must roll and what the modifier must be.
Below
is a chart giving the type of difficulties of an action and their relevant modifiers. The
GM is the final word on what the modifier must be, but he must be fair.
The
modifiers are presented in a range, like +1 to +3. This gives the GM a range to choose
from to reflect the action in question, and so does not restrict him to single numbers
which may seem unfair. For example, if the GM rules that an action is Easy but not that
Easy, then he may choose a +4 or a +5 number. If the action is more than just Easy he may
use the +6. As said before, this is mainly GM discretion.
DIFFICULTY
MODIFIER
Simple
+7 to +9
Easy
+4 to +6
Quite
Easy
+1 to +3
Average
0
Hard
-1 to -2
Difficult
-3 to -5
Impossible
-6 to -8
SECTION
2.4 - THE ACTION ROUND
The
action round is how long it takes for a character to do a single action. An action round
is five seconds long.
Five
seconds may not seem like a long time, but this time limit is necessary when calculating
time taken doing something. If group of characters gets into a fight, then after the
encounter the GM can tell them how long it took, and maybe this will have a bearing on the
game. During an encounter, the GM can calculate how long it takes a character to complete
an action and then continue with the other players whilst that particular PC does their
job.
How
long different actions take is up to the GM. Firing a shot at an approaching enemy may
take a round. Hotwiring a pressure door may take longer, and the GM may decide it takes
several rounds depending on how well the player rolled. For practical purposes, a round
exists to put all actions in perspective and it also gives the GM a framework to work from
when deciding what a character is capable of doing in that round, and how fast she can get
it done.
SECTION
2.5 - MULTIPLE ACTIONS
It
is possible for a PC to perform more than one action in a single round, depending on their
skill level and if the actual actions are practically possible to achieve in that round.
Trying
to concentrate on more than one thing at a time in a round is tricky, and this is
reflected by modifiers to the skill level.
As
stated before, a single skill roll is required to perform an action, but if a character
player wishes to do more than one thing in that round, then it is possible to make two
skill rolls. How?
Well,
first of all, look at what skills are needed for each action. If the PC is simply pulling
off two shots with a gun, for instance, then two rolls of their FIRE (WEAPON) skill will
be needed. But there is a catch... for every extra action performed there is a -2
difficulty modifier imposed on all skill rolls. This modifier is cumulative for every
extra action.
For
example, if Bobby’s PC fires two shots at an adversary, he will make two FIRE
(WEAPON) skill rolls. Each of his rolls will be subject to the -2 rule for multiple
actions. If his FIRE (WEAPON) skill level is 8, say, then he will be making two rolls at
skill level 6. If he decided to fire 3 shots, he would be making three skill rolls with a -4 modifier to each roll, making his
target 4.
You
have to remember to be realistic about the PC’s multiple actions. If Bobby was still
trying to open that pressure door with heavy tools and had to make a shot, then that would
be impossible. He would need both hands for the job, and suddenly making an ELECTRONICS
roll followed by a FIRE (WEAPON) roll in the same round wouldn’t sound very
realistic. He would have to stop what he was doing and open fire in the next round if he
wanted to shoot back. This is all just a matter of common sense.
SECTION
2.6 - OPPOSING ROLLS
Sometimes
a character will face off with another character, be it in a feat of strength, wills or
simply bargaining for the best deal. It is impossible to judge the outcome of one of these
situations with just a normal skill roll - after all, if both the characters succeed, how
can you decide who won the battle?
The
answer to this is simple - all the characters have to do is roll 1D6 and add it to the
applicable skill they are trying to beat the other character with. When both the rolls are
made, the scores are totalled and the character with the highest score wins.
For
example, let’s say that Bobby is trying to bargain with a NPC for the price of a pair
of thermal goggles. It would be silly to think that Bobby could simply make a skill roll
against his Bargain skill, and if he passed he got the goggles at a bargain price.
To
resolve the situation, both characters roll 1D6 and add the result to their Bargain
skills. Bobby rolls a 4, and adds it to his Bargain skill level of 5, giving him a total
of 9. The NPC rolls a 5, adds to his skill level of 6 and gets 11. The NPC has clearly won
the bargain and Bobby ends up paying the normal price.
If,
at any time, the rolls are tied, then simply roll again until someone wins.
SECTION
2.7 - USING STATS AS SKILLS
The
initial STATS you created for your character have not been put to one side now that you
have nice new skills to play with. These levels can play a part in the game, too.
Lets
say that Bobby’s PC has been in a particularly nasty shuttle crash, and crawls from
the wreckage. He realises that one of his friends is still trapped inside the burning
wreck, and dives inside to save him. He finds his friends pinned under a collapsed hull
strut, which is nasty but Bobby just may have the strength to lift it off him and drag him
out.
Now,
there is no skill on the lists that says ‘Lift Hull Strut’ anywhere, so the
player must rely on the base STAT he has chosen for his PC, in this case STRENGTH. The
STAT is still prone to the same modifiers listed for the skill rolls, and so Bobby makes
the 1D12 roll at -2 to his STAT level. He succeeds and drags his friend to safety just
before the shuttle blows.
These
STATS play just as important a part as the skills do. If, at any time, the PC is called
upon to perform an action that is not covered in the skill lists but may require just a
little strength or intelligence, then the STAT is used.
SECTION
3 - RESOLVING CONFLICT
Characters
can talk and cajole their way out of many unsavoury situations, but there may come a time
when the power of negotiation is past, and the time to fight has arrived.
Combat
in this game is nasty. Very nasty. It is probably in everyone’s best interests to
avoid it at all costs, because the chance of serious injury, or even death, is very high.
This
system for combat resolution is not meant to be accurate. There is no way a game such as
this can reflect the true nature of war and conflict,
so there is no point in trying to make it realistic. The system is designed to be
fast and flexible, so that the players and GM alike are not continually book-keeping or
checking charts. The game is designed for high adventure, after all, and if everyone is
continually checking over tables and statistics the game will grind to a halt as rulings
are made.
SECTION
3.1 - THE COMBAT ROUND
As
with normal actions, combat is split up into rounds of 5 seconds. In this 5 seconds the
characters are capable of any action; firing a shot, throwing a grenade, diving for cover,
shouting for help, punching an adversary or any other thing they wish.
Action
rounds are continually played out until either side is dead have fled or have surrendered.
What actions are available in a combat round are described below.
SECTION
3.2 - INITIATIVE
The
first step of combat is to decide who goes first. In any fight there will be a side which
draws ‘first blood’, and the side who wins initiative will do just that.
When
combat begins, each player rolls 1D6 and adds it to their AG score. Whoever has the
highest goes first, whoever has the next highest goes next, and so on until the lowest
roll is determined. If any scores are tied, then roll again - whoever wins gets that turn
and the loser goes next.
For
instance, Bobby and his two friends, Mick and Sara, run into three pirates who decide they
want to leave the planet in Bobby’s starship, and attack them. After the dice rolls
have been made, Bobby has 8, Mick has 6, Sara scores 11, Pirate 1 has 7, Pirate 2 has 12
and Pirate 3 has 8. The order of actions goes like this:
Pirate
2 goes first, Sara goes second, Bobby and Pirate 3 are tied on third, Pirate 1 goes fourth
and Mick is last.
Because
Bobby and Pirate 3 are tied, they roll again and Bobby wins. Now he is going third, Pirate
3 is going fourth, Pirate 1 is fifth and Mick is still last.
This
order of combat stays the same for every subsequent combat round until someone is knocked
unconscious, flees or is killed, and then the character who was below them in the action
order takes their place, with everyone below moving up also.
SECTION
3.3 - MOVEMENT DURING THE COMBAT ROUND
During
a combat round a character is almost bound to move about somewhat, and this is reflected
by the characters Movement Rate. The Movement Rate of a character is not recorded on the
character sheet because it is quite simple to remember If a character decides to walk
during combat he can do so, at a rate of their AG STAT score per round. If they wish to
run, they can cover double their AG STAT score per round, but will have a -2 penalty on
any other actions they decide to perform.
SECTION
3.4 - MAKING A PHYSICAL ATTACK
BRAWLING:
The
most basic type of attack is any kind of attack made by the human body; a punch, kick or
whatever. To do this the attacking character has to make a BRAWLING skill roll. If they
succeed, then they have struck their opponent and caused damage.
For
instance, Bobby has learned that one of Sara’s old enemies is trying to head her off
in the starport bar. The man who has let this slip makes an attack on him with a punch,
and therefore has to roll a successful BRAWLING skill to make the strike. This is done
like any other skill roll. He succeeds with the roll and puts his fist where Bobby would
have preferred it not to be.
PARRYING:
It
is possible for a character on the receiving end of an attack to try and block the blow.
To do this, the character decides how much of their own BRAWLING skill level they wish to
use to stop the attack and uses that number as a negative modifier on the attacker’s
own BRAWLING skill level. The down side to this is that the defending character has to
take the same negative modifier on their next attack whether or not they succeed in
stopping the strike. This simulates the skill needed to block a blow and then effectively
return a strike.
For
example, Bobby’s friend Sara has a run in with her ‘old friend’ Jordan in a
starport bar. Jordan throws a punch at Sara, and she elects to block the blow. She has a
BRAWLING skill level of 7, and decides to use 4 points of that skill as a negative
modifier on Jordan’s skill level of 6. This gives Jordan a -4 modifier to his attack
roll, making his difficulty 2. Two things can happen - first, Jordan fails in his attempt
to hit Sara, in which case she has defended successfully and may strike back with the -4
modifier to her own skill, effectively making her skill level 3. The second thing is that
Jordan’s attack still gets through and Sara still takes damage. Even though she
failed to block the blow she will still get the -4 modifier for attempting the manoeuvre.
It
is possible for a character to put enough of their own skill into a block to reduce the
attacker’s BRAWLING skill level to 0, an automatic miss.
One
more thing. The defender must elect to use the parrying skill before any rolls are made. A
defender cannot elect to block the blow after the attack has been made.
MELEE:
Sometimes
a character may wish to use a solid object, or a sharp one, as an attacking weapon. This
skill covers the use of knives, clubs, long blades, chairs... anything a character can
hold in her hand and strike an opponent with. The skill roll is made in exactly the same
way as a BRAWLING attack, with the same rules for parrying applying as long as the
defending character has a suitable weapon to parry with. Any character who does not have a
suitable item for defence cannot parry a melee attack.
What
if the character has no MELEE skill at all? In this instance they just use half of their
AG score as the skill level, rounded up. This, at least, gives a little hope.
DODGING
A MELEE OR BRAWLING ATTACK:
A
character can dodge out of harms way if need be. This is the physical movement of the body
to avoid a strike. They do this by taking their AG score and halving it, rounding up. The
number they are left with is the total number of points they can use as negative modifier
on an attack. The same rules for the modifier being used on the defenders next attack or
actions still apply.
For
example, Jordan has recovered from a nasty blow Sara has just returned and decides to
batter her senseless with a barstool. He attacks with the makeshift club, and Sara, who
has nothing to defend herself with, decides to dodge the blow. Her AG is 6, and so she
decides to use her full half AG dodge score to move out of the way, which is the maximum
she can do. This dodge score of -3 (AG halved) is put on Jordan’s MELEE skill level
of 5, giving him a total of 2 to attack with.
SECTION
3.5 - MAKING A RANGED ATTACK
The
most effective way of stopping a foe is with some form of ranged weapon, namely a thrown
weapon or a hand held projectile weapon. These weapons are nasty and brutal, and a single
shot from a powerful weapon, or an accurate shot from a weak one, will stop many
combatants dead. Literally.
The
chance of success of making a ranged weapon skill roll depends on the range, the attackers
skill and any other factors which may be considered important, such as terrain, cover,
visibility and whether the defender is trying to get out of the way.
THROWN
WEAPONS:
The
most simple way of striking an opponent with a weapon is by throwing something at him.
This may take the form of a rock, a knife or a grenade. The character simply makes a
THROWING skill roll to see if they strike their opponent. There are modifiers which may
affect the outcome of this roll, which are explained later on.
PROJECTILE
WEAPONS:
These
weapons fire a solid mass or a supercharged amount of energy at their target, doing more
damage than simple punch or knife throws could dream of. The FIRE (WEAPONS) skill level is
used to decide whether a shot lands or not, with modifiers if they are needed.
DODGING
A RANGED ATTACK:
The
dodging of a ranged attack is handled the same way as a parry against physical attacks,
but instead of a skill in dodge the character just uses their base AG level. They decide
how many points they use as a negative modifier to the attackers roll, but they must take
the same modifier on their next attack whether or not the dodge succeeds. Sometimes the
nature of a weapon may make dodging difficult. These special circumstances will be
explained with that particular weapon’s description.
RANGE:
The
further away a target is the less chance a character will have to hit it. This is
reflected in the weapon’s range.
The
range of a weapon varies, depending on the power or accuracy of the weapon in question.
The capabilities of these weapons are covered later, but in the meantime the difficulty
modifiers for the range are listed below. Each of the ranges (short, medium, long and
extreme) is known as RANGE LEVELS.
RANGE
MODIFIER
SHORT
+1 to +3
MEDIUM
0
LONG
-1 to -4
EXTREME
-5 to -8
DIFFICULTY
MODIFIERS:
There
are other factors which will affect the outcome of a successful shot. This may be down to
visibility, terrain or whatever. The modifiers for such instances are listed here.
SITUATION
MODIFIER
Attacker
is:
Lightly
wounded
-2
Heavily
wounded
-4
Running
-2
Target
is:
Running
-2
Prone
-1
‘Sitting
duck’
+4
25%
in cover
-2
50%
in cover
-3
75%
in cover
-5
In
bad visibility (fog, darkness)
-3
Less
than 1 meter in size
-4
1
meter in size
-2
1.5
-2 meters
0
2
- 3 meters
+2
3
- 8 meters
+4
8
- 50 meters
+8
50
meters +
+10
Headshot
-6
Limbshot
-5
AIMING:
If
character wishes, they may spend time aiming their weapon at a target. To do this they
must concentrate on what they are shooting at, and for every round aiming they get a +1
modifier to their skill level with a maximum of +4. If they are disturbed at any time
during the aiming they lose the bonus.
HIT
LOCATION:
Where
a character is hit may affect the seriousness of a wound, and this is reflected by rolling
on the Hit Location table. Simply roll 1D6 to decide where the shot landed. For Physical
attacks, add 2 to the D6 roll.
ROLL
LOCATION
EFFECT
1
ARM (Decide randomly which)
-1 damage
2
LEG (Decide randomly which)
-1 damage
3-5
TORSO
Normal damage
6
HEAD
+1 damage
GRENADES:
Explosives
are dangerous and untrustworthy, but handy for laying out area damage. When a grenade goes
off, any target within it’s blast radius is damaged if they do not get out of the way
fast enough.
When
a grenade lands and detonates, everything within a 6 meter radius will be affected by
whatever damage the explosive does. They can, if they wish, make a dodge roll to avoid the
initial throw, and can even still try to dive for cover as the grenade explodes. If they
dive for cover from the blast, they must make a successful AG roll. If they succeed, they
only take half damage but automatically lose their next action. After all, getting out of
the way of an explosion takes a lot of concentration.
If
a grenade throw misses the intended target, then the explosive has landed somewhere not
intended. To simulate this, roll 1D6. The score rolled is the distance in meters the
grenade has landed off-target. Then roll to see where it has landed by rolling the D6
again. If a 1 is rolled, then the grenade has fallen short. If a 2 is rolled it has fallen
to the left of the target. If a 3 is rolled, it has landed to the right. Any other number
rolled means it has overshot.
MULTIPLE
ACTIONS:
As
with normal non-combat skills, it is possible for a character to make multiple attacks.
They can throw two punches, even three, or even fire more than one shot if they wish to do
so. Each roll has to be made separately as per normal, with each damage roll being made
separately for each successful attack.
Defending
characters may find their task a little easier because of this. First, they can still make
a dodge, and the number they use is counted as a modifier on each of the attacker’s
rolls. The only exception to this is that if a character is parrying a physical attack,
they, too must take a -2 modifier on their skill level to simulate moving to intercept
each attack.
For
example, Bobby has caught up with the Man who punched him earlier, and the NPC is not too
pleased about being followed. The NPC elects to fire two shots at Bobby, with the normal
-2 modifiers on each roll for doing two actions. Bobby decides to dodge for cover, using 5
points of his AG to move with. This -5 modifier will affect both of the NPC’s rolls.
Meanwhile,
Sara is still trying to overpower Jordan. She elects to throw two punches at him, with the
usual -2 modifiers to her rolls. Jordan tries to parry, but, unlike dodging where if you
dive out of harms way your movement affects all incoming attacks, he has to parry twice,
giving him -2 to his skill level. This leaves him with only 4 points left in his skill to
parry with, so he decides to use all four points. Now Sara has a -4 on each of her
attacks.
SECTION
3.6 -WEAPON ABILITIES:
Listed
below are the capabilities of the weapons the characters will most likely use during their
escapades around the settled systems. Each weapon has three defining characteristics,
their Damage Value (DV), their Range (R) and their Ammo (A).
The
DV of a weapon is the modifier the character adds to a D6 roll when making a successful
attack. The total number is the amount of points deducted from the stricken characters HP
value, the effects of which will be explained later.
Sometimes,
a characters ST score will be used as a DV. This is usually done by halving the ST score,
rounding down, and using any modifiers indicated.
The
R is the maximum distance a weapon can cover. The number given is just the base Short
range of the weapon in question. The other ranges are worked out like this:
To
calculate the weapon’s Medium range, double the Short range number.
To
calculate the weapon’s Long range, double the Medium range number.
To
calculate the weapon’s Extreme range, double the Long range number.
So,
in effect, if a weapon has an R of 10, then the short range would be 10, medium would be
20, long would be 40 and extreme would be 80.
If
the weapon being used is for melee purposes, then the R will be denoted as
‘personal’. If the R denotes using a characters ST score, then the
character’s ST is the base short range number.
The
A of a weapon is the number of shots a weapon can fire before reloading. For game
purposes, it takes 1 combat round to reload a weapon. In some cases a weapon needs no A
rating, such as a club or knife, so the rating is omitted.
WEAPON
DV
RANGE
AMMO
Punch/kick/headbutt 1/2 ST –2
Personal
Knife
1/2 ST +1 Personal
Club
1/2 ST
Personal
Thrown
Weapon As
weapon -1
ST
Bow
+3
15
Crossbow
+2
10
Slug
Pistol
+3
15
12
Slug
Rifle
+4
30
25
Laser
Pistol
+4
20
10
Laser
Rifle
+5
40
20
Plasma
Pistol
+5
25
6
Plasma
Rifle
+5
50
12
Grenade
+4
ST
WEAPON
DESCRIPTIONS:
All
projectile weapons listed below require some form of licence to be legally carried. The
licence always costs the price of the weapon.
PUNCH/KICK/HEADBUTT:
These types of attacks are simple physical strikes, which are used in absence of any other
effective weapon.
KNIFE:
A small blade that inflicts serious wounds on an opponent. If the player wishes to use a
longer blade, such as a sabre or a sword, they can add +1 to the DV level for every foot
in length the blade is. The DV on the chart is for a simple knife.
COST
: 15
CLUB:
A cudgel, a plank, a stool... if you can hold it and swing it, you can use any item as a
club. The DV given on the chart is for a normal blackjack-type weapon, but if the GM
wishes he can +1 to the DV for every 5kg the object weighs.
COST
: 5
THROWN
WEAPON: As with the club, if the object is good enough to be thrown you can do so. A
Thrown weapon has all the strike capabilities as the item thrown, except, because of lack
of power put behind the item after launching, there is a -1 modifier to the DV.
BOW/CROSSBOW:
These old-style weapons are still used for sporting and hunting purposes. Although they
are an outdated form of missile weapon, they are liked for their good stopping power and
ruggedness. After all, you don’t have to worry about a bow’s ammo jamming or
exploding on you.
COST
: Bow - 25 Crossbow - 50
SLUG
PISTOL/RIFLE: These weapons are standard ballistic weapons which fire a small weighted
bullet. They are rugged and reliable, although the ammunition used is prone to jam in the
barrel sometimes.
To
simulate the possibility of jamming, when a character fires the gun and rolls a natural 12
on the skill level roll, the gun may jam. The player should roll 1D6. If a 1 is rolled,
the gun is jammed but will clear after 1 combat round. If a 6 is rolled, the gun is jammed
and will clear in 1D6 + 1 combat rounds.
COST
: Pistol - 350 Rifle - 700
LASER
PISTOL/RIFLE: Lasers use a coherent beam of light to carry intensely charged energy
particles to their target. When a laser is fired, all you see is thin beam of white light
flash between the weapon and the target, with a flash like a miniature lightning strike
and a sound like a broken bass speaker. A laser is bulky and annoying to use, because the
energy requirements are quite large. They take two rounds to reload because the ammo clip
is large and has to be fastened in. They also overheat, which shuts them down for a brief
time. If a character rolls a natural 12 on the skill level roll, then they must roll 1D6.
If they roll a 6 then the laser is inoperative for 2 combat rounds.
Lasers
are also hard to dodge, for moving out of the way of a beam of light is almost impossible.
The only way a character can move fast enough is if they know they are about to shot at.
All dodges are halved for this reason.
Lasers
are also susceptible to dissipation. If a laser hits a gaseous mass, like smoke or some
form of mist, then the light in the laser is refracted, causing less damage to the
intended target by subtracting 1D6 of the total damage rolled.
COST
: Pistol - 800 Rifle - 1600
PLASMA
PISTOL/RIFLE: These gruesome weapons, also known as blasters, fire a ball of superheated
energy that explodes on contact with the target. The energy ball looks like a tiny
fireball which leaves a thin trail of smoke behind it and it sounds like a huge amount of
pressurised gas being let off in a second. They are prone to overheat more than a laser,
and therefore cannot be fired more than once a round. If they are fired more than once,
the firer rolls 1D6. If a 1 or 2 is rolled, the gun shuts down for the next combat round.
If a 5 or 6 are rolled, the gun shuts down for 1D6 combat rounds.
COST
: Pistol - 1100 Rifle - 2300
GRENADE:
Grenades come in three types - Fragmentation (frag), Smoke (smoker) and Concussion (stun).
A frag does the damage indicated by the DV on the chart. A Smoker is completely harmless
and just obscures vision. A Stun does the same damage as the DV, but is designed to send
out a concussion wave to knock an opponent out. Grenades must be thrown after arming,
because they will go off within 1 combat round.
COST
: 200
SECTION
4 - DAMAGE AND HEALING
When
a character is punched, shot or simply falls off a ledge, they will take damage. Wounds
and other forms of hurt can hinder a character severely, slowing down reactions, causing
unconsciousness when you would rather be awake, and even death.
Medicine
in the settled systems is very advanced, with rejuvenation tanks, laser surgery,
accelerated healing and even stasis freezing to keep the severely injured intact until
they reach a medical facility. Unfortunately, even in an advanced culture like this there
is no cure for the mortally wounded. Taking large amounts of damage because a doctor may
be able to put you back together later with his fantastic technology is not recommended.
Not even a computer can resuscitate the dead.
SECTION
4.1 - TAKING DAMAGE
Every
time a character takes a point of damage they subtract it from their HP score. These
subtractions are cumulative. The more damage they take the less likely they are to survive
the next hit.
As
explained before, the HP level is a series of three numbers based on the character’s
ST score. The first number is the ST score doubled, the second is the ST score, and the
third is half the ST score (rounded up) as a negative number.
When
a character takes damage she crosses the amount of damage taken off the HP level. If the
HP level goes below the first number, which it will with any initial hit, the character
has a Flesh Wound. This is a small injury which may slow the character down. If the HP
level goes below the second number, the character is Badly Wounded. This is a more serious
injury which could cause unconsciousness due to shock and pain. If the HP level goes below
0, then the character has a Potentially Fatal Wound, automatically falls unconscious and
will die in their ST score in combat rounds unless medical attention is received. If the
HP level goes below the third number, the negative modifier, then the character is
immediately dead.
For
instance, Sara has finally got the upper hand against Jordan and slams a bottle over his
head, knocking him to the floor. She rolls her damage.
Jordan’s
ST is 5, which gives him a HP level of 10/5/-3. If he takes between 1 and 4 points of
damage, he will have a Flesh Wound. If he takes 5-9 points he will be Badly Wounded. If he
takes 10-13 points of damage he will have a Potentially Fatal wound, and anything more he
will die.
The
effects of wounds are detailed below.
FLESH
WOUNDS:
If
a character takes a Flesh Wound, they suffer some form of penalty to all their rolls to
simulate the confusion and pain suffered during the hit. They will operate at an automatic
-2 modifier to all their actions until the wound is cured.
BADLY
WOUNDED:
Badly
wounded characters are in a worse state of affairs. The wound is that bad it could cause
unconsciousness. They must roll 1D12 against their ST score as an average skill roll. If
they succeed they are still conscious but have a -4 modifier to all their actions. If they
fail they will fall unconscious for 4D12 combat rounds, or until medical attention is
received.
POTENTIALLY
FATAL WOUND:
This
is a nasty wound to take for the sheer reason that it invites death. Any character getting
into this situation automatically falls unconscious and will die in their ST score in
combat rounds if they do not receive medical attention.
STUN
DAMAGE:
If
a character wishes he may opt to Stun an opponent with a weapon or strike. The attack is
done the same way as a normal attack, but any damage taken by the target is counted as
Stun damage, which means that there is no danger of serious injury, just unconsciousness.
To
Stun an opponent, the attacker declares they will attempt a Stun attack and rolls as
normal. All combat is carried out as per the usual rules,
but all damage done is counted as non-fatal. All modifiers for the particular wound
levels are used, as are the rolls to remain conscious, but the danger of death is
non-existent.
It
is best to be realistic about this, however. Although opting to Stun an opponent is
allowed at any time, it is best to make sure the way the character is stunned is possible.
A punch or a strike with a cudgel is realistic, but smashing an iron bar over
someone’s head or shooting someone with a plasma gun cannot really be used as a Stun
attack.
SECTION
4.3 - TAKING DAMAGE FROM OTHER SOURCES
Violent
conflict is not the only way a character can get hurt. Falling from great heights, being
hit by a vehicle or just having a household accident can affect the HP levels of a
character. The other common forms of taking damage are listed below.
BURNING:
Depending
on the intensity of the fire, characters can take serious wound damage from burning. If
the fire is just a flash or only one part of the body is consumed, the character takes 1D6
points of damage per round of exposure. If the
fire could consume the victim totally, then roll 1D6 - the number rolled is the amount of
times a D6 must be rolled. Each roll of the D6 indicates the amount of damage taken and
the location of the body the fire is doing damage.
COLLISION:
Being
hit by a speeding vehicle, or being hurled into a stationary object, is pretty dangerous.
In effect, for every 10 kilometres an hour of speed upon contact, the character takes 1D6
points of damage.
FALLING:
If
a character falls 3 meters, they take an automatic 1D6 amount of hits. For every 3 meters
past that they take an extra 3 hits. So if a character falls 12 meters, they will take
1D6+9 hits.
SUFFOCATION/DROWNING:
Their
are three ways a character can lose the ability to gather air - submersion in water
(drowning), vacuum (lack of atmosphere) and smothering (smoke inhalation etc). For every
round the character is denied air they take 3 points of damage.
SECTION
4.4 - HEALING
Now
that your character has been knocked about somewhat, what steps can be taken to reverse
the effects of damage?
FIRST
AID:
Any
character with any kind of medical skill can perform first aid. First aid is on-the-spot
medical attention for those who need it. It is only urgently required when a character has
a Potentially Fatal wound. The character performing the first aid must roll against their
relevant skill level, with a modifier depending on the type of wound. The modifier is a
minus number, and that number is the amount of damage points the character has suffered
below zero. If the character administering the help succeeds in their roll, they stabilise
the wounded individual, keeping them alive long enough to reach a medical facility. If
they fail their roll, they may try again in two rounds time.
For
example, Jordan has been quite severely hurt by Sara’s blow, and she realises that
she needs him alive and must save his life. She has a medical skill of 7, and so decides
to perform first aid. Jordan is 2 points below zero on his HP level, so she must make a
roll of 5 or less to stabilise him (7-2=5). If she rolls above 5, she has failed and can
try again in two rounds, in which time Jordan may die from his wound. If she rolls 5 or
less, she has stabilised his condition and can call for an ambulance.
MEDICAL
FACILITIES:
When
a character has suffered any kind of wound, they can be healed at any medical facility
that has the relevant equipment to help them. Depending on the kind of wound they have
suffered, they may spend quite a while in hospital.
If
a character has a Flesh Wound, then, after treatment, they will regain 1 HP per day.
If
a character has been Badly Wounded, then they will recover 1 HP every three days until
they reach Flesh Wound status, when they will start to regain 1 HP per day.
If
a character has a Potentially Fatal wound, they will need Intensive Care treatment, and
will regain 1 HP back per week until they reach Badly Wounded status, where they will
regain 1 Hp every two days, and then 1 HP per day at Flesh Wound status.
Stun
damage is somewhat different. A character will get back 2 HP’s per hour after
regaining consciousness.
Such
are the benefits of accelerated healing.
NATURAL
HEALING:
If
the wound is not that bad then the character can heal naturally. Flesh Wounds heal at a
rate of 1 HP every three days, even if the medical attention is minimal.
Badly
Wounded characters, however, have no such benefits. They will lose 1 HP every two days
their wound is not attended to by proper medical facilities.
SECTION
5 - VEHICLES
A
character seems to get into scrapes quite quickly, and lets face it, the faster they get
there the faster the problems can start.
Vehicles
are modes of transportation ground and air based. The following rules are to use for
deciding the speed characters can travel overland, and, if necessary, the outcome of any
conflict.
There
are three types of overland transport - personal vehicles (such as wheelers and
hovercraft), tracked vehicles (such as trains) and aircraft (such as jetcraft and
helicraft).
VEHICLE
STATISTICS:
Vehicles
have three main statistics; SPEED, BODY STRENGTH and HIT POINTS.
SPEED
is the fastest speed, in kilometres per hour, the vehicle is capable of travelling. This
can range from 120 kph for a normal family wheeler to 1,300 kph for a jetcraft.
BODY
STRENGTH is how sturdy the vehicle is. This number indicates how much damage the vehicle
can absorb before damage is done to affect the craft.
HIT
POINTS works in exactly the same way as a characters HP, with damage done to the vehicle
affecting it’s capability.
VEHICLES
AND DAMAGE:
Every
time a vehicle takes a hit from some source, the damage done to it will seriously affect
it’s capability.
First,
calculate how much damage the vehicle has taken the same way you would calculate a damage
roll on a character.
When
the damage has been decided, deduct the vehicles BODY STRENGTH from the damage total. The
remaining points go through to the vehicle’s HIT POINTS.
If
a vehicle’s HIT POINTS go below it’s initial score, the character driving or
piloting the craft will suffer a -2 modifier to all her skill rolls. This simulates the
loss of control over a damaged vehicle. The vehicle’s top speed will also be reduced
by a quarter, rounding up any fractions.
If
a vehicles HIT POINTS goes below half it’s initial score, then the driver or pilot
has to make a successful skill level roll against her relevant DRIVE (VEHICLE) or PILOT
(VEHICLE) skill level, with no modifiers. If they fail this roll, the vehicle will crash
and they will take damage as per the collision damage rules in the Damage and Healing
section. If they pass, they keep the vehicle under control. If they regain control, they
will have a -4 modifier to all future skill rolls and the vehicles top speed will be
halved.
If
the vehicle’s HIT POINTS ever reach zero, the vehicle is destroyed, and 1D6 must be
rolled. If 1 to 3 is rolled, then the vehicle just crashes if it is in movement. If 4 to 6
is rolled, then the vehicle explodes with a blast radius equalling its initial HIT POINTS
in meters. The damage done to anything in this radius will be the same as that of a
grenade.
SOURCES
OF DAMAGE:
There
are two sources of damage a vehicle can take - weapons fire and collision damage.
Collision
damage is calculated the same way as character collision damage, with 1D6 being rolled for
every 10 kph the vehicle is travelling. If there is a head-on collision, then the damage
is rolled for each vehicle separately, adding each other’s totals together for a
maximum number. Any characters inside the vehicles take this damage, too.
Weapons
fire is comes in the form of Heavy Weapons. These can be any vehicle or mounted weapon,
consisting of heavier versions of the small arms listed in the Resolving Conflict section,
or missiles.
Heavy
Weapons are basically larger versions of their small arms counterparts. Resolving the
damage is simple - the character fires the weapon with their applicable FIRE (HEAVY
WEAPONS) skill, and damage is done to a vehicle as described above. For heavy weapons,
simply double all the statistics of the Rifle versions of the ranged weapons listed,
including the 1D6 rolled. That means a Heavy Laser would have DV +10, R 80 and A 40, with
a 2D6 roll for the damage caused. Missiles are just heavier versions of grenades, except
their range is 30.
SECTION
5.1 -VEHICLE STATISTICS
Following
is a small list of the most common types of transportation.
GROUND
CRAFT
MOTORBIKE:
SPEED
: 140
BODY
STRENGTH : 7
HIT
POINTS : 10
COST
: 4000
WHEELER
(CAR):
SPEED
: 120
BODY
STRENGTH : 11
HIT
POINTS : 20
COST
: 10,000
SPORTS
WHEELER:
SPEED
: 150
BODY
STRENGTH : 10
HIT
POINTS : 12
COST
: 15,000
HEAVY
WHEELER (TRUCK):
SPEED
: 80
BODY
STRENGTH : 15
HIT
POINTS : 30
COST
: 20,000
HOVERCRAFT
(PERSONAL):
SPEED
: 80
BODY
STRENGTH : 12
HIT
POINTS : 14
COST
: 12,000
HOVERCRAFT
(CARGO):
SPEED
: 110
BODY
STRENGTH : 16
HIT
POINTS : 25
COST
: 24,000
TRAIN:
SPEED
: 250
BODY
STRENGTH : 16
HIT
POINTS : 30
COST
: 75,000
AIRCRAFT
HELICRAFT
(PERSONAL):
SPEED
: 200
BODY
STRENGTH : 14
HIT
POINTS : 20
COST
: 40,000
HELICRAFT
(TRANSPORT):
SPEED
: 180
BODY
STRENGTH : 18
HIT
POINTS : 30
COST
: 80,000
JETCRAFT
(PERSONAL):
SPEED
: 1,300
BODY
STRENGTH : 12
HIT
POINTS : 16
COST
: 150,000
JETCRAFT
(FIGHTER):
SPEED
: 2,000
BODY
STRENGTH : 16
HIT
POINTS : 20
Fighter
Jet craft are armed with 2 Heavy Plasmaguns and 4 missiles.
COST
: 1.5 MILLION
JETCRAFT
(COMMERCIAL):
SPEED
: 1,000
BODY
STRENGTH : 16
HIT
POINTS : 26
COST
: 1 MILLION
Military
versions of commercial jetcraft are fitted with 2 Heavy Lasers for defence.
COST
: 2.4 MILLION
All
jetcraft are also capable of VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) capability.
SECTION
6 - STARSHIPS
Although
Starships follow pretty much the same rules as any other type of vehicle, they still
require a section of their own to cover some more interesting aspects. Travelling through
space requires a lot of nerve, and the proper attitude.
The
rules presented below are just the bare bones you will need to use Starships in your
campaign.
STARSHIP
STATISTICS:
All
space vessels have statistics in much the same way as normal vehicles, with some
differences to explain navigation, propulsion and other factors you will not find
planet-bound. There is a guide to designing your own vessels, as the designs vary from
company to company, much like the motor industry.
LENGTH:
The basic length of the vessel will decide much about what that ship is capable of.
SPEED
: As with ground-based vehicles, starships have a speed statistic, although this is more
an indication of their acceleration ability than their top speed. All star vessels are
capable of travelling a maximum of 6 million kilometres an hour, any faster than this and
there is fatal damage done to the hull. The speed is basically how fast the vessel can
accelerate in 1 round.
ARMOUR
: This is how well the ship is built, and indicates how much of a battering it can take.
Armour is placed over the ship to protect it from damage, natural or weapon-based, and has
a different score for each of the six facings; portside (left), starboard (right), fore,
aft, upper and underside.
HULL
: If any damage gets through the armour, then the hull takes damage. These points work in
exactly the same way as HIT POINTS.
CREW
: How many personnel it takes to man the vessel.
CARGO
SPACE : Civilian vessels are usually cargo haulers, and all starships need some form of
cargo space to haul belongings and passengers. This space is worked out in metric tons.
WEAPONS
: What the starship is armed with. This armament can take the form of lasers, rapid fire
cannons and missiles of varying types.
SECTION
6.1 - DESIGNING A VESSEL
The
following guidelines will enable you to design your own starships for use in Lazarus. The
step by step instructions allows flexibility and some degree of free choice.
Letting
players design their own vessels can be fun. The amount of imagination that goes into the
design of a ship is vast indeed, for everyone has a different idea as to what a starship
should look like, and using your imagination is the core of role-playing.
Also
included in this guide is the cost of the construction of the vessel. You can let players
run riot if you wish... and then present them the bill.
STEP
1: THE SIZE OF THE VESSEL
First
of all, you must calculate the length of the vessel from nose to stern. No vessel can be
shorter than thirty meters or longer than three hundred, due to the limits of technology
and the fact that no-one needs vessels that big. If the vessel is a civilian ship, which
is most likely what the players will be building, then the size cannot go above one
hundred meters. Anything larger than one hundred meters is usually government or navy
owned, and the cost can run into the tens of millions.
For
every meter length the vessel is, the cost is 10,000 credits. So, a basic thirty meter
ship will cost 300,000 credits. A forty-five meter ship will be 450,000 credits.
STEP
2: CALCULATING SPEED
Using
this base length, the rest of the vessel’s capabilities can be worked out.
The
vessel’s speed is how fast it can accelerate in one combat round, and this depends
upon it’s size. The larger the energy output, the faster the ship can move.
For
every 30 meters the vessel is over the base thirty meters, the vessel’s acceleration
is increased at a rate of 10,000 kilometres an hour from a base speed of 50,000 kilometres
and hour. This means that a ship 50 meters long can accelerate at 50,000 kph, a ship
between 60 and 90 meters can accelerate at 60,000 kph, etc.
STEP
3: CALCULATING ARMOUR
Using,
again, the vessels initial length, it is possible to work out how much armour can be
divided up between each of the six faces of the vessel.
The
following chart gives the maximum amount of armour points available to that ship, which
the designer must divide up between each of the six facings. Basically, it is up to the
designer how may points he puts into a facing, as long as the total number of points does
not exceed the allowance.
The
designer can quite easily place equal points around the entire ship, or put more points
into one section and less points into another if they wish, depending on where they think
they will be most vulnerable.
Armour
is 2,000 credits per point.
SHIP
LENGTH
ARMOUR POINT ALLOWANCE
30
– 60
24
61
– 100
36
101
– 200
48
201
– 300
60
STEP
4: CALCULATING HULL
The
hull is the most important part of a starship, for as soon as the armour is penetrated the
superstructure starts to take damage. The hull rating works the same way as HIT POINTS.
The
base number of hull a starship of thirty meters has is 10 points. For every 10 meters over
that score, the vessel gains another 1 point.
Therefore,
a ship 60 meters long will have a hull score of 13. A ship 150 meters long will have a
hull score of 22.
STEP
5: CALCULATING CREW
The
size of the ship will dictate how many personnel it takes to control it. For ships of a
length less than a hundred meters, this works out to 2 crewmembers for every 10 meters of
length. If the ship is over 100 meters, then the crew complement is 10 crewmembers for
every 10 meters of length.
STEP
6: CALCULATING CARGO SPACE
This
step is easy. Simply take the number of the ships length in meters and double it - the
number you are left with is the ships cargo space in metric tons. Therefore a vessel of 40
meters length will have 80 tons of cargo space.
STEP
7: CALCULATING WEAPONS
Most
civilian vessels are fitted with some form of defence, and navy warships are loaded to the
eyeballs with offensive weaponry. The amount of weapons a vessel can have is decided upon
the cargo space. Every offensive weapon a ship is equipped with will lower that
vessel’s cargo capacity as the extra space is taken up by new systems and power
channels. The cost and space requirement for each type of weapon is listed below.
One
other thing to consider is where the weapon is placed. If a ship is attacking your
underside and your weapons are placed on your portside, then you will not get a shot off
until the ship has been manoeuvred into a suitable firing position.
WEAPON
COST
SPACE REQUIREMENT
LIGHT
LASER
10,000
10 tons
HEAVY
LASER
25,000
20 tons
RAPID
FIRE CANNON
5,000
5 tons
ONE-SHOT
MISSILE
8,000
8 tons
GUIDED
MISSILE
15,000
10 tons
ARMOUR
PIERCING MISSILE 20,000
15 tons
ANTI-MATTER
WARHEAD
1,000,000
80 tons
So,
when the details of the starship have been decided then it should be laid out on a
Starship description sheet similar to the one below.
Starship
name:
Affiliation:
Captain’s
name:
Speed
–
Armour
and facing –
upper-
lower-
starboard-
portside-
fore-
aft-
Hull
–
Crew
–
Cargo
space –
Weapon
and facing – upper-
lower-
starboard-
portside-
fore-
aft-
Notes
-
SECTION
6.2 - THE PHYSIOLOGY OF STARSHIPS
Starships
of varying quality are capable of different things.
SPEED:
All
vessels are capable of a maximum speed of 6 million kilometres an hour. The current state
of technology does not allow for any increase in this speed, for any ship trying to go
faster will be torn apart by even the most gentle gravitational force whilst manoeuvring
within a system.
All
ships are propelled by an engine called an Ion Drive. Ion drives are huge engines which
suck in matter from space and convert it into energy, thrusting the ship forward.
In
some cases, starships can catch system ‘currents’, which are streams or waves of
energy which flow from a star after violent solar flares or some other form of major
disruption. Ships can catch these currents and increase their energy output by as much as
twenty percent, effectively increasing their rate of acceleration.
The
ion drive is situated at the rear of the ship, attached to a long boom which keeps the
massive energy output away from the ship, and allows space for the great engine scoops to
do their work. This boom is not included in the length of a vessel, and is a quarter of
the ship’s length again in size.
LANDING
AND DOCKING:
Because
of lack of aerodynamics, the larger starships may not enter a planet’s atmosphere.
Some of these larger vessels are fitted with bow’s that are shaped so that they can
‘cut’ into a planet’s upper atmosphere to release shuttlecraft, but it is
impossible for them to approach a planet’s surface. For mass unloading of a vessel,
the ship docks with an orbital space station and unloads it’s personnel onto shuttles
which ferry them back and forth.
Only
vessels 70 meter’s long or shorter, and with the proper aerodynamics, can approach a
planet’s atmosphere.
STARSHIP
SYSTEMS:
All
starships are equipped with all sorts of systems to aid the crew. Navigation arrays, life
support systems, artificial gravity, scanner systems, lifepods... all these things
contribute towards comfort and security. Some of these systems are prone to wear and tear
and need constant maintenance.
SECTION
6.3 - STARSHIPS IN COMBAT
It
is a sad fact that even the ravages of warfare born from a tiny planet can spread out into
the solitude of space. Starships can get into trouble with enemy forces, pirates or just
about anything that inky blackness can throw at them. The following rules are very much
like the vehicle combat rules, but with a few changes to reflect the dangers of fighting
in hard vacuum.
DETECTING
ANOTHER STARSHIP:
Initially,
vessels will have to know they are not alone before anything else, good or bad, can
happen. All vessels are equipped with scanners and sensors that can detect another vessel
up to 10 million kilometres away. At this range the ship, unless transmitting an
identification signal, is nothing but a blip on a screen. Only when the vessel reaches 2
million miles distant can it be positively identified.
Scanners
can tell an operator the size of a vessel, it’s crew complement and what kind of
condition they are in, whether they are ready for battle or if they are already damaged,
when the ship reaches the 2 million kilometre range. This information can help build a
picture of the ship’s intentions.
FACING:
Another
thing to consider before anything else is how the vessels are positioned in relation to
each other. As explained in the ship design section, the weapons facings play a great deal
in space warfare, as does whatever armour score they have the section facing the attacker.
It must be judged first of all how the ships are facing to adjudicate this fairly. This
can be worked out with small drawings or maybe with small pieces of card with an
indication of what facings are where drawn
onto them.
For
example, let’s say the navy battleship Mozart has come face to face with an enemy
pirate vessel, the Blackwing. The Mozart is approaching the pirate vessel head on, on the
Blackwing’s portside, which means any firing done is with the fore weapons systems of
the Mozart and the portside weapons of the Blackwing. If any hits are taken, the Mozart
will take damage on its fore armour, and the Blackwing will take damage on its portside
armour.
FIRING
ON ANOTHER VESSEL:
As
with the vehicle conflict rules, starship gunners have to use the applicable FIRE (WEAPON)
skill to successfully fire a laser or launch a missile.
Firing
a weapon has the usual skill level rolls involved, with modifications for range or any
spatial conditions which may affect the outcome of that roll.
DODGING
INCOMING FIRE:
It
is possible for a helmsman to pilot a ship out of harms way only if they are at medium
range or further, of the weapon fired, because being at short range will not give time for
the pilot to react to the threat. The skill used for this dodge is the pilot’s
HELMSMAN skill level. Although starships are quite large, they are incredibly manoeuvrable
in space.
For
instance, the Mozart has fired a laser shot at the Blackwing at long range. The pilot of
the Blackwing must make a successful PILOT skill level roll to avoid the shot.
TAKING
DAMAGE:
When
a shot hits a vessel and the usual modifiers are applied to the 1D6 damage roll, the
armour of the facing struck absorbs some of the damage. Simply minus the armour score from
the amount of damage rolled and apply that damage to the ship’s hull.
THE
EFFECTS OF DAMAGE:
As
with vehicle damage, the amount of punishment a ship takes will seriously affect the
performance of that vessel. If the hull score of a ship ever goes below half it’s
original number, then all rolls concerning anything that ship does in future rounds will
have a -1 modifier to any skill rolls, including manoeuvring and weapons fire.
If
the score ever reaches zero, roll 1D6. An odd number means the ship breaks apart as the
superstructure collapses from the punishment. This gives anyone still on board the ship
2D6 rounds to abandon ship before space takes them. If an even number is rolled, then the
ship explodes instantly.
CRITICAL
HITS:
Because
a starship is riddled with systems and sub-systems they are quite prone to serious damage.
When
the damage has been rolled and the armour deducted, any damage totalling more than eight
in one facing has resulted in a Critical Hit. Depending on the facing hit will depend on
what damage has been done. Roll 1D12 on the following table and follow the instructions
under the entry of whatever number was rolled.
If
the hit is on either the portside or the starboard, then add two to the roll.
If
the hit is upper or underside, add three to the roll.
If
the hit was aft, minus two from the roll.
If
the hit was fore, add four to the roll.
As
you can see, deciding what area of the ship has the best protection will decide on how
badly the ship is hit.
All
critical effects are cumulative.
1:
Engine
damage. The vessel’s top speed is reduced by one third, as is it’s acceleration.
This will take 1D6 days to fully repair and will cost 1D6 thousand credits.
2:
Manoeuvring
thrusters damaged. The pilot now has a -2 modifier to his skill level for any manoeuvres
he thinks are neccessary.
3:
Life
support damage. For an instant life support fails and all crew on duty will have to make
an Easy ST skill roll or be made dizzy, giving them a -2 modifier to any skill rolls made
for the next 4 rounds.
4:
Sensor
damage. All ship’s sensors are now offline, giving a -2 modifier to any rolls
involving firing weapons.
5:
Bridge
hit. All characters on the bridge have to make a successful AG test or take 1D6 damage
from exploding panels and violent ship movement.
6:
Artificial
gravity failure. All crew members are reduced to zero-g movement, which incurs a -2
modifier to all physical skill rolls.
7:
Lose
1 extra ARMOUR point from the facing hit.
8:
Lose
2 extra points of HULL.
9:
1
weapon on facing is destroyed. If there is more than one weapon on that facing then
decides randomly which one has been put out of action. If there are no weapons, then lose
1 point of ARMOUR instead.
10:
Communications
knocked out.
11:
Roll twice. If another eleven is rolled, then there is
no effect.
12:
No
effect. You got away with this one.
WEAPON
STATISTICS:
Starship
weapons are huge counterparts to their smaller cousins, and their statistics are listed
below.
WEAPON
DV
RANGE (KM) AMMO
LIGHT
LASER
+6
2,000
Special
HEAVY
LASER
+10
4,000
Special
RAPID
FIRE CANNON
+4
1,000
50 per cannon
ONE-SHOT
MISSILE
+8
2,000
1
GUIDED
MISSILE
+10
5,000
1
ARMOUR
PIERCING MISSILE +6
2,000
1
ANTI-MATTER
WARHEAD
Special
8,000
1
WEAPON
DESCRIPTIONS:
LIGHT
LASER: These work on exactly the same principles as a hand-held laser. You may notice that
the AMMO entry on the weapons chart says Special. This is because the light laser works
directly off energy supplied by the engine compartment, and so has unlimited shots until
it breaks down or is damaged.
HEAVY
LASER: As light laser above, but with a longer range and more stopping power.
RAPID
FIRE CANNON: This is basically a miniature rocket launcher, which fires small
rocket-propelled missiles at the target at incredible speeds. Every shot from a RFC is
actually five of these missiles, and they streak towards their target like tiny white
balls of light. Each missile is about half a foot in length and does slight but effective
damage, especially to small and unarmoured targets.
ONE-SHOT
MISSILE: These are two meter long missiles that fly in a straight line to their target.
They are only really effective against slow moving or static targets, because over long
distances the missile can be detected and avoided. The missile accelerates as it
approaches its target and can cover 1 range level per round. For every level of range the
missile has to cover, the defending ship’s helmsman has a +2 modifier to his skill
roll to avoid the shot.
GUIDED
MISSILE: These are the same size as the one-shot missile but are installed with tracking
systems to lock onto a target and adjust it’s own trajectory to score a hit. The
missile accelerates as it goes, and will cover 1 range level per round until it reaches
its target. There are no modifiers to the defending ship’s helmsman’s skill roll
to avoid this shot, no matter what the range. They can only be defended against by
countermeasures, which are small electronic devices shot out into space to confuse and
lead the missile away. The base chance of this working is 3, with a +1 for every range
level the missile has to cover to reach it’s target.
ARMOUR
PIERCING MISSILE: These needle-nosed missiles penetrate armour and explode within a
ship’s protective shell. All armour scores are halved when this missile hits. It is
unguided and acts as a one-shot missile.
ANTI-MATTER
WARHEADS: This weapon is the most illegal force throughout the settled systems. The
cataclysmic reaction between just one cubic foot of matter and 1 cubic foot of anti-matter
could destroy a moon about the size of Earth’s. This weapon is the single most lethal
weapon of mass destruction known to mankind. The high price tag is for the missile casing
alone, which can only be purchased by the military. The penalty for owning a casing is
life imprisonment, and the death penalty may be invoked if it turned out the casing could
be armed with anything resembling a matter/anti-matter reaction chamber. The casings are 3
meters long.
The
list presented below is to give the GM and players alike an idea of the tools useful to
characters in the Lazarus setting. Each item is accompanied by any bonuses to certain
skills or any other special capability.
Flight
suit – For use in aircraft or starships, with built in G-force compensatory and
cooling unit – Cost 600
Environmental
Clothes – For sub-zero or radiation exposure, one suit for each environment –
Cost 500
Wet
Suit – Including air tanks for 1 hour of underwater activity – Cost 900
Space
Suit – For extended high-risk environment or space walking – Cost 2500
Helmet
– With built-in comlink (-3 to head damage) – Cost 250
Arm/leg
protectors – (-3 to limb damage) – Cost 100 per limb
First
aid kit – for use ‘in the field’ (to help administer immediate help) –
Cost 100
Medical
centre – Portable units for extended use (Aids medical skills by one difficulty
level) – Cost 600
Medical
unit – A station you’d find in a hospital or starship (Aids medical skills by
two difficulty levels) – Cost 3500
Power
tools – Drill, saw, hammer etc - Cost 50 per item
Welder
– Joins/cuts metallic objects by seams – Cost 150
Technical
kit – contains screwdrivers, pliers and other tools – Cost 100
Fine
tools – Tweezers, computer tools etc – Cost 75
Comlink
– basic radio with 150 kilometre range – Cost 50
Personal
comphone – Basically a cell phone with world-wide range – Cost 100
Orbital
uplink – Folding dish and keyboard to communicate with satellites or starships in
orbit, usually in backpack – Cost 700
Expensive
meal – Restaurant quality – Cost 5 to 15
Rations
– Enough for 3 days in the field – Cost 15
Room
– Standard cost 15 per night, expensive cost 30 per night, ‘opulence’ cost
75-100 per night
Taxi
fare – Cost 2 per kilometre
Air
fare – Cost 10 per 100 kilometre
Starship
passage – Liner 150 per day in transit, private hire 300 per day in transit.
Flashlight
– Lamp or torch – Cost 50
Binoculars
– Standard cost 100, Infra-red or zoom focus cost 200
Rifle
scope – Lowers range by 1 difficulty level – Cost 200, 350 with infra red
Gas
mask – Filters most non-corrosive gases - Cost 200
Rope
– Nylon – Cost 50 per fifty metres
CHARTS AND TABLES
DIFFICULTY
MODIFIER
Simple
+7 to +9
Easy
+4 to +6
Quite
Easy
+1 to +3
Average
0
Hard
-1 to -2
Difficult
-3 to -5
Impossible
-6 to -8
RANGE
MODIFIER
SHORT
+1 to +3
MEDIUM
0
LONG
-1 to -4
EXTREME
-5 to -8
SITUATION
MODIFIER
Attacker
is:
Lightly
wounded
-2
Heavily
wounded
-4
Running
-2
Target
is:
Running
-2
Prone
-1
‘Sitting
duck’
+4
25%
in cover
-2
50%
in cover
-3
75%
in cover
-5
In
bad visibility (fog, darkness)
-3
Less
than 1 meter in size
-4
1
meter in size
-2
1.5
-2 meters
0
2
- 3 meters
+2
3
- 8 meters
+4
8
- 50 meters
+8
50
meters +
+10
Headshot
-6
Limbshot
-5
ROLL
LOCATION
EFFECT
1
ARM (Decide randomly which)
-1 damage
2
LEG (Decide randomly which)
-1 damage
3-5
TORSO
Normal damage
6
HEAD
+1 damage
WEAPON
DV
RANGE
AMMO
Punch/kick/headbutt 1/2 ST –2
Personal
Knife
1/2 ST +1 Personal
Club
1/2 ST
Personal
Thrown
Weapon As
weapon -1
ST
Bow
+3
15
Crossbow
+2
10
Slug
Pistol
+3
15
12
Slug
Rifle
+4
30
25
Laser
Pistol
+4
20
10
Laser
Rifle
+5
40
20
Plasma
Pistol
+5
25
6
Plasma
Rifle
+5
50
12
Grenade
+4
ST
SHIP
LENGTH
ARMOUR POINT ALLOWANCE
30
– 60
24
61
– 100
36
101
– 200
48
201
– 300
60
WEAPON
COST
SPACE REQUIREMENT
LIGHT
LASER
10,000
10 tons
HEAVY
LASER
25,000
20 tons
RAPID
FIRE CANNON
5,000
5 tons
ONE-SHOT
MISSILE
8,000
8 tons
GUIDED
MISSILE
15,000
10 tons
ARMOUR
PIERCING MISSILE 20,000
15 tons
ANTI-MATTER
WARHEAD
1,000,000
80 tons
WEAPON
DV
RANGE (KM) AMMO
LIGHT
LASER
+6
2,000
Special
HEAVY
LASER
+10
4,000
Special
RAPID
FIRE CANNON
+4
1,000
50 per cannon
ONE-SHOT
MISSILE
+8
2,000
1
GUIDED
MISSILE
+10
5,000
1
ARMOUR
PIERCING MISSILE +6
2,000
1
ANTI-MATTER
WARHEAD
Special
8,000
1