• • 11

MDDERN ACTIDN RDLE•PLAYINli GAME

MIKE MYLER
 A What's O.L.D. Is N.E.W.
Core Rulebook
by Mike Myler
Artists Bartlomiej Fedyczak, Bien Flores, Felipe Gaona, Additional Text by Russ Morrissey
Carl Holden, Darren Morrissey, Claudio Pozas, WOIN System Design by Russ Morrissey
Alida Saxon, Carly Sorge, jupeart, Dabarti CGI, Art Directors Alida Saxon, Gayle Reick
cigdem, Yuttana Samol, diversepixel, denisgo. Art Commissioned by Savage Mojo
Some art © 2004 Ed Bourelle. Used with Layout and Graphic Design by Eric Life-Putnam
permission. www.bourellearts.com ©2017–2018 EN Publishing
Also includes artwork in the public domain. ENP0301 • Version 1.2b • ISBN 978-1-912007-71-4

At EN Publishing, we actively encourage What’s O.L.D. Is N.E.W. fans and third-party

publishers to create and/or sell WOIN-compatible content, including WOIN sourcebooks,
adventures, resources, expansions, and so on; even electronic applications!
The license is free, and you don’t need to ask permission or apply to use it—
head to woinrpg.com for license information and terms, and start creating!

i
 Table of Contents

N.O.W. Modern Action Roleplaying Game

Introduction............................................. 1 Cybernetics.......................................................30
N.O.W. IS…...........................................................2 Organic Limitations................................................... 30
FOREWORD........................................................3 Cybernetic Alterations.............................................. 30
Welcome to N.O.W...............................................5 Origins...............................................................34
What You Need....................................................5 Careers..............................................................36
Example of Play............................................................ 6 Repeating Careers...................................................... 36
How to Play..........................................................6 Career List................................................................... 37
“Rule Zero”.................................................................... 8 Occult & Magic............................................................ 42
About this Book..................................................8 Martial Arts & Chi...................................................... 55
The Setting...........................................................9 Martial Arts.......................................................56
N.O.W. What’s O.L.D. Is N.E.W.................................... 9 Martial Arts Careers.................................................. 56
A Brief Glossary..................................................9 Universal Martial Arts Exploits................................. 56
Setting the Tone................................................ 11 Once per Turn...............................................................61
Default Assumptions........................................ 12 Paying for Effects..........................................................61
That Seems Familiar!................................................. 12 A Fistful of Chi..................................................62
CHI Attribute.............................................................. 62
Chapter 1 Stances........................................................................ 62
Action Careers.......................................... 13 Universal Exploits............................................65
About This Chapter........................................... 14 Age.....................................................................68
Character Creation........................................... 14 Young Characters....................................................... 68
Total Checklist............................................................ 15 Old Characters............................................................ 68
Descriptor................................................................... 15 Trait...................................................................69
Character Creation Walkthrough.............................. 15 Derived Statistics.............................................. 71
Attributes.......................................................... 16 Recording Dice Pools................................................. 71
Attributes & Dice Pools.............................................. 16 Cinematic Mode...........................................................71
Example Descriptors....................................................16 Careers & Defensive Skills........................................ 73
Grade................................................................. 18 Equip Your Character.......................................73
Skills.................................................................. 18 Attacks...............................................................73
Starting Grade..............................................................18 Advancement.................................................... 74
Skill Notation.............................................................. 20 Defeating Enemies and Overcoming Challenges... 75
Skill Levels.................................................................. 20 Planning...................................................................... 75
Heritage.............................................................20 Completing Milestones............................................. 75
Attributes.................................................................... 21 Incremental Advances............................................... 75
Gender & Ethnicity.................................................... 21 Age............................................................................... 75
Humans....................................................................... 21
Chosen......................................................................... 22 Chapter 2
Mutant......................................................................... 23 Modern Equipment.................................... 77
Augmented................................................................. 23 About This Chapter...........................................78
Mutations..........................................................24 Starting Money.................................................78
Dice!............................................................................. 27 It’s the Real World!...................................................... 78
Mutations & Power Levels.......................................... 27 Equipment, Skills, and Quality........................79
Optional Profession.................................................... 29 Currency...................................................................... 79

ii
 Table of Contents

Item Quality in Context.............................................. 80 Chapter 3

Selling Gear................................................................ 81 Modern Core............................................ 129
Facilities and Quality................................................. 81 Playing the Game............................................ 130
General Gear..................................................... 81 The Attribute Check........................................ 131
Improvised Equipment................................................81 Making an Attribute Check..................................... 131
Weapons............................................................84 Forming the Dice Pool............................................. 132
Resistance.................................................................... 84 Equipment Quality.................................................. 132
Vulnerability............................................................... 84 Maximum Dice Pools.............................................. 132
Damage Types............................................................ 85 Difficulty Benchmarks............................................ 133
Weapon Traits............................................................. 86 Group Checks............................................................ 133
Special Ammunition.................................................. 87 Indirect Skills............................................................. 133
Melee Weapons.......................................................... 87 The Math.................................................................... 133
Melee Weapons and Size............................................ 88 Complications.......................................................... 134
Eastern (Martial Arts) Weapons............................... 89 Critical Successes..................................................... 134
Archaic Weapons........................................................ 89 Opposed Checks...................................................... 134
Firearms...................................................................... 91 Extended Tasks......................................................... 135
Firearms Terminology................................................ 92 Contests..................................................................... 136
Hi Ho, Silver!...............................................................101 Task Lexicon.............................................................. 136
Weapon Upgrades and Customization.................. 105 Common Tasks............................................... 137
Aiming Aids............................................................... 105 Chases & Races......................................................... 137
Armor.............................................................. 106 Chemistry................................................................. 138
Armor Upgrades and Customization..................... 108 Computing................................................................ 139
Shields............................................................. 109 Interrogations........................................................... 139
Vehicles........................................................... 110 Medicine................................................................... 140
Vehicle Statistics.......................................................110 Tracking.................................................................... 141
Converting Vehicles...............................................117 Tailing....................................................................... 141
Pimp My Ride............................................................118 Countdowns............................................................. 142
Converting Vehicles, continued................................118 The Role of Luck.............................................. 143
Food and Services...........................................124 Leadership................................................................ 143
Gadgets............................................................124 Replenishing Luck................................................... 143
What Luck Represents.............................................. 143
Forming a Luck Pool................................................. 143
Other Uses of Luck................................................... 144

iii
 Table of Contents

Combat............................................................ 144 Chapter 4

The Combat Sequence............................................. 144 Modern Worlds........................................ 167
Actions and Turns.................................................... 145 Building a World............................................. 168
The Ambush Turn..................................................... 145 Designing a Setting......................................... 168
Movement................................................................. 146 Using Other Materials...............................................169
Long-Distance Travel................................................ 146 Settlements and Countries............................ 170
Important Combat Actions..................................... 147 Agents and Organizations.............................. 174
Making an Attack......................................................147 Organization Exploits...............................................177
Dual-Wielding.......................................................... 148 Types of Organizations.............................................178
Positional Effects...................................................... 149 Sample Organization................................................179
Vehicle Combat............................................... 151 Designing a New Heritage.............................. 179
Initiative.................................................................... 151 Dhampir.................................................................... 184
Movement................................................................. 151 Designing a Career......................................... 185
Turning...................................................................... 151 Designing Foes................................................ 186
Actions....................................................................... 151 Vampire Slayer...........................................................186
Firing Weapons........................................................ 153 Creating Campaigns....................................... 194
Collisions.................................................................. 153
Spinning Out............................................................ 154 Appendixes............................................. 197
Stunts......................................................................... 154 Appendix A: The Alpha Squad....................... 198
Injury & Death................................................ 154 Appendix B: Monsters & Minions..................204
Health Damage........................................................ 155 Appendix C: How to Make an Entrance........ 225
Recovering Health................................................ 155 Getting Started......................................................... 225
Conditions................................................................ 156 The Van...................................................................... 226
Illnesses & Disease......................................... 156 Open Sesame............................................................. 226
List of Conditions.......................................................157 Cedar’s Pavilion....................................................... 226
Objects............................................................. 160 Escape....................................................................... 228
The Environment............................................ 161 Zombies!.................................................................... 230
Example Areas...........................................................163 What Next?................................................................ 230
Theater of the Mind Combat.................................... 164
Stunt Areas................................................................ 165 Index....................................................... 231
Example Stunt Areas.................................................165

iv
Introduction

1
 Introduction

N.O.W. IS…
Intense battles against
overwhelming odds!

High tech gadgets and one-of-a-

kind vehicles!

Leaping across rooftops while

evading and fighting off ninjas!

Private eyes who take on any job,

big or small, so long as it pays!

Secret organizations moving

to control the world through
business and politics!
Artificially enhanced government
Technology-laden thieves who operatives working deep behind
steal from wealthy society to enemy lines!
give to the poor!
Explorers uncovering ancient
Roaming mercenaries seeking ruins in search of forgotten lore
fortune, for themselves or for and treasure galore!
the downtrodden!
Precisely executed covert
Investigators who root out operations in war-torn lands!
corruption in their own cities, but
find much more! Martial artists performing
incredible feats and fighting with
Battlefields rippling with deadly efficiency!
explosions and filled with
dynamic combatants! Mavericks chasing down those
who flee the law, going places
Teams of crime fighters facing G-men can’t!
off against criminal syndicates
and shadow cartels! Vigilantes who stalk city streets
in the long hours of the night!
Spies clashing on rooftops, at
ostentatious events, and in the The vestiges of the O.L.D. and the
shadows of society! beginnings of the N.E.W.!

2
 Introduction

FOREWORD
I first met Morrus at the 2013 ENnies. I was a young spitfire game designer with a penchant
for weird things and a work ethic that can’t be beat (yay hard labor), and looking back, I
can honestly tell you that I did not anticipate writing an entire game system for EN World
at the time—I was mostly preoccupied with being there and starting to be somebody.
  In a lot of ways, I was like a first level character. I like to think I’m level two at this point.
  N.O.W. started developing half a year ago (as of this Foreword being penned, anyway)
while the breakaway What’s O.L.D. Is N.E.W. Kickstarter blew through stretch goals and
funding ramped up to places Morrus didn’t know what to do with—as soon as he solicited
ideas I put together a robust outline prepared with different ideas. What stuck was one
for a game about action movies, a topic very close to my heart. I’m such a fan that I went
to school for Film Studies, and if we aren’t talking Gilliam, chances are good my favorite
films fall into the shoot-em-up and exploding things genre. I’ve written academic papers
about Last Action Hero, collected and watched every Jackie Chan film (even The Spy Next
Door), and generally made it my thing to cheese out with action flicks.
I cannot explain how wildly excited I was when Morrus put me on as a stretch goal,
or how crazy amazing it felt when we broke that level of funding. This is by far my big-
gest foray into game design thus far (am I allowed to plug Veranthea Codex here?) and I
literally feel like bouncing off the walls (and did at first) whenever I think about N.O.W.—
I reckon that after playing it, you will as well.
  Taking this bound was not a simple thing, however, and several people need to be
thanked directly for their contributions. Jonathan G. Nelson, owner of AdventureAWeek.
com, is chief amongst them, alongside Owen K. C. Stephens and L. J. Stephens of Rogue
Genius Games. The former saw a diamond in the rough and has been polishing it ever
since, and the latter pair have been providing all the mentoring Jonathan skips over.
Russell Morrissey, master of EN  World and EN Publishing, also deserves a shout-out
alongside all of the membership of EN World and everyone who backed the What’s O.L.D.
is N.E.W. Kickstarter!
  And milady of course, Stephanie, for convincing me to make that first pitch. You are
amazing, female.
  Anyway, forget all of that! Shoot things, punch through walls, and start piling up dead
bad guys N.O.W.!

What’s O.L.D. Is N.E.W. —Mike Myler

P.S.: Thanks again to Morrus for giving me a title I can be punny with N.O.W. and then.
P.P.S.: R ight N.O.W. I’m in the rough draft of revisions and wanted to let yins know that I’m
still not tired of that pun.

3
 Introduction

“N
ot one of you respects the   The young girl is not amused. “It was not
  armory, and I’m going to shove a mischief.”
  golf club up the backside of the next   Just as Lady Anarchy hefts back a lead-core
person who sweats all over a bench and doesn’t hockey puck, the door to the armory slams open
clean it up. You are not children—clean up af- with a kick. A bandaged Mack Marlowe, his trench-
ter yourselves.” Lady Anarchy hefts her bag of coat rife with bullet holes, stands supported on
bloodied sports equipment up onto a work table, the shoulder of the team’s leader, Duke Roosevelt.
inspecting a gouge in her tungsten carbide hockey Both look at the hockey-masked vigilante and say
blade. “Oh and Senny, what the hell was that?” in unison, “don’t.”
  Eternal Senpai, the youngest among them, a   The old soldier walks Mack over to the ex-
teenage girl not yet four feet tall but with the private eye’s locker, pulling out a carafe of aged
demeanor of an old man, shrugs. “They should not whiskey and pouring two tumblers full of it be-
have done what they did. It is a simple thing.” fore addressing the team. “You all did good today.
Lady Anarchy’s expression under her hockey Though she’s right, Senpai—pull a stunt like that
mask can’t be seen, but it can certainly be heard. again and we’ll find a new ninja. How did we do on
“For littering? You endanger an operation that intel, Alejandra?”
took months of planning because some idiot   As she gulps down the last of her first glass
tossed a balled-up burger wrapper out their car of champagne the hacker waves her hand in the
window? It was absolutely necessary to sprint air, the metal of her fingers forming into playful
after their car?” streamers. “All good, boss! We’ve got warehouse
  Once more the diminutive and ever calm young schedules, some behind-the-scenes payroll, and
woman merely nods as if it were the most normal maybe a few contacts I can dig out of their net
thing in the world. “I believe that they learned a activity. Should be able to hit them again before
most important lesson.” the week is out.”
  Seeing the rage building up in his street-bred   Duke nods, his stark white hair like snow against
ally, a slender gentleman in a slightly rumpled the blood—not his own—spilled during the hectic
tuxedo holds up both hands, gesturing to each of highway car chase just thirty minutes ago. “After
his quarrelling compatriots. “Ladies, please! The you’re done with that bottle, get on it. Everybody
engagement proceeded, we succeeded, and all get some rest, check your gear, and be ready to
is well. There’s positively no reason for this argu- head out again before dawn tomorrow.”
ment to continue.”
  “As usual, Ben’s right.” Alejandra says, ap-
pearing from around the corner with a bottle of
champagne in one hand. Her other hand—the cy-
bernetic one—is reconfigured into a bottle opener
and she laughs as it winches the thing open. “No-
body’s dead, the getaway vehicle can be salvaged,
and we’re in a good place to make our next move.
Let little Senpai have her little trastada.”

4
 Introduction

Welcome to N.O.W.
N.O.W. is a modern-day roleplaying game, set
in a very exciting version of the present or near-present.
Players take on the roles of action heroes and play through
scenarios presented to them by a Game Master (GM). The
GM creates the universe, the places, the allies and ene-
mies who populate the world, and the adventures that the
player characters (PCs) will encounter.
  N.O.W. is set in the modern era, at some indeterminate
time in the late 20th or early 21st century. Whether there
are cell phones or car phones, laptops or DOS, smart links
or phone jacks, wireless Internet or broadcast television
is ultimately up to you, though the rules for using near-
future and near-past technology are all included here.
  In N.O.W. you’ll create a character and adventure across
the globe with characters created by other players. Your
characters might be private eyes, mercenaries, covert ops
specialists, spies, loner badasses, masters of martial arts,
or vigilantes. You could be Human, Augmented in some
way, a Mutant, or a Designed experiment. Each player
creates his or her own player character, decides on a per-
sonality, abilities, and attributes, and plays that character
through numerous adventures.
  N.O.W. allows you to blow up your enemies in style,
perform fantastic feats of martial prowess, root out cor-
ruption in the dark streets of the city, uncover duplicitous
organizations bent on world domination, or make your
way across the world as a soldier for hire.

What You Need

To play N.O.W. each player will need the following:
•• A selection of six-sided dice (referred to as “d6s”).
•• A character sheet (you can photocopy the one in this
book or download one from the internet; at worst, a
sheet of scrap paper will do).
•• If the GM is using battlemaps to display combat
positioning, a small miniature, token, or figurine to
represent your character. You can find these in most
game stores, but pennies or chess pieces will do in
an emergency.
•• If you are the GM, you will need a copy of this book
and some kind of scenario or adventure, such as
How to Make an Entrance, included herein as Ap-
pendix C.

5
 Introduction

How to Play
This book provides you with the core rules of play. It tells will be more difficult than others, and some characters
you how to create characters, adjudicate challenges and will be better at certain types of activity than others.
combat, and more.   As your character makes his or her way through adven-
  During a game of N.O.W. the GM will describe the en- tures across the globe, there will be money and equipment
vironment and events of the game world, and the players to find or earn and Experience Points (XP) to be gained.
will describe what their characters do within that sce- These XP can be spent to improve your character’s capa-
nario in a collaborative story-telling manner. Often the bilities by purchasing new careers, and they are awarded
success of an action is not guaranteed, at which point you to characters by the GM when the characters complete
will use your dice to determine the outcome. Some tasks storylines or defeat challenges and enemies.

Example of Play
David, Linda, Lucy, and Dirk are playing Duke Roosevelt,   David (playing Duke): Wait, what? Outside? Planning
Eternal Senpai, Alejandra Vanistos, and Ben Madjos, re- on going somewhere?
spectively, in an adventure being run by Sigourney, the   Dirk (playing Ben): You wait and see! It’s from my days
GM. The group is preparing for an attack by the Crimson at MI-6. It has a few tricks.
Sparrows, a sinister and villainous organization. They’ve   Lucy (playing Alejandra): By “trick” do you mean “ma-
selected an abandoned warehouse where they plan to chine guns”?
ambush their foes, and Ben Madjos, international super-   Dirk (playing Ben): (grins) And other things. I’ll be ready
spy, has used his contacts to ensure the Sparrows know to gun the engine and charge in from behind.
exactly where to find them.   Sigourney (the GM): OK. So Senpai is above the en-
  Sigourney (the GM): It’s evening now. You’re in the trance, and Ben is in the old Aston Martin parked outside.
warehouse you selected at the end of Goldacre Street. That leaves Alejamdra and Duke. Where are you guys?
According to Ben’s sources, the Sparrows plan their at-   Lucy (playing Alejandra): I’ll be ready with my pistol
tack any minute now. How are you readying yourselves? behind some crates on the balcony, off to the left as they
  David (playing Duke): We need to set up an ambush. Is come in.
there an upper level to this building?   David (playing Duke): And I’ll be directly opposite the
  Sigourney (the GM): There’s a balcony running round entrance. I want them to be able to see me so that I can
the inside about 30 feet above you. It’s about 15 feet draw them in.
wide, and it's cluttered with crates and boxes.   Sigourney (the GM): You’re all set, and just in time.
  Linda (playing Eternal Senpai): Good. Plenty of cover Ben, you hear the sound of engines outside—the Crim-
for you gunslingers. I’ll be right in the middle of the ac- son Sparrows are here! Around the corner, a small truck
tion, of course! Does the balcony extend above the drives into view. On the back you can see six ninjas clad
entranceway? I’d like to be able to jump down into the in black, with the signature red headband of the Spar-
bad guys from above. rows. They're armed with swords and submachine guns.
  Sigourney (the GM): It does indeed. The jump would be   Dirk (playing Ben): Grrr. I’m fairly sure ninjas don’t
about 30 feet though. traditionally use Uzis … ah well. I raise one eyebrow ironi-
  Linda (playing Eternal Senpai): No problem. I'll use my cally, and then alert the others using my radio.
death from above exploit and some of my Chi power; I   David (playing Duke): Everyone who needs to be, get
won’t be hurt by the drop. The bad guys will be, though! into cover!
  Sigourney (the GM): Right. So Senpai is on the balcony   Sigourney (the GM): I believe Eternal Senpai and Ale-
above the entrance. Where are the rest of you? jandra are hiding. Duke is remaining clearly visible as bait.
Dirk (playing Ben): I will be in my car, outside. Ben, are you trying to remain hidden in your car?

6
 Introduction

  Dirk (playing Ben): You betcha. I won’t be much of a   Dirk (playing Ben): Let’s see what this puppy can do!
surprise if they see me! I open fire with the Aston Martin’s machine guns at the
  Sigourney (the GM): Great. Then I need Agility checks the three ninjas still outside! Here we go … Agility 3d6 … I
from Senpai, Alejandra, and Ben. Ben, add your stealth need a bit of luck, though, so I’ll use up 2d6 out of my Luck
skill to your dice pool. You too, Alejandra. pool to make sure this one counts. I roll 19.
  (All: Various rolls are made, and the results are report-   Linda (playing Eternal Senpai): And I leap down on the
ed; Lucy makes an unlucky low roll for Alejandra.) three inside the entranceway, summoning up my Chi for
  Sigourney (the GM): The truck rolls to a stop outside a devastating attack! It’s Agility for me, too, plus my
the warehouse, and the Crimson Sparrows disembark. martial arts skill. This is what I’m really good at! I roll 21!
They clearly haven’t seen Ben. Fanning out, three enter It’s a shame Lady Anarchy isn’t here … she’d make mince-
the building. They spot Duke immediately, and one of meat of these guys with her golf clubs and stuff!
them points up at Alejandra behind the crates.   Sigourney (the GM): They’re both excellent rolls, and
  David (playing Duke): What is it they say? No plan sur- both of your attacks succeed. Ben, your car’s machine
vives first contact with the enemy? Anyway, I grin, take guns tear into the ninjas in front of you; Senpai, you land
a puff of my cigar, and wave cheerfully at them. Let’s among the ones in the warehouse and lash out with fist
spring the ambush! and foot! Roll some damage and let me know about any
  Sigourney (the GM): Only Ben and Senpai get to act in other effects from your attacks!
the Ambush Turn. The rest of you don’t, unfortunately,   David (playing Duke): I do love it when a plan comes
because you’ve been spotted! together …

7
 Introduction

About this Book

This book is the main rulebook for N.O.W.: The Role- exploding pens to talking supercars to tricked out
playing Game. Using this book, you can run a campaign 18-wheelers. You will also find rules on how to pit
focused on settings and challenges that reflect the action vehicles against each other in combat.
movie genre. It describes how to create characters, ad- •• 3: Modern Core. This section describes how to run
judicate the game, run combat, and design settings and a game of N.O.W. It covers the core game mechanics,
adventures, among other things. The book is divided into including attribute checks and countdown pools,
four main chapters. and the combat rules, along with details on the en-
•• 1: Action Careers. The first section of the book deals vironment, objects, and movement. It also includes
with character creation. It takes you through the information on Chi and a selection of mooks and
process of generating new player characters from minions for use in the game.
start to finish, including attributes, heritage, careers, •• 4: Modern Worlds. The final section of the book
and more, as well as detailing equipment, armor, contains guidelines for designing your own setting,
and weapons that player characters can purchase. heritages, careers, combat locales, and enemies. It
•• 2: Modern Equipment. In this section, you’ll also contains rules for creating, joining, and run-
find rules for buying, customizing, building, and ning organizations. It is a GM’s toolkit for campaign
ultimately using equipment of all kinds—from and adventure design.

“Rule Zero”
The GM is the final arbiter of what happens in the
game. If a rule needs to be interpreted, it is the GM
who decides how to resolve it. At times, the GM may
need to create new rules, or alter existing rules. In
other words, the rules in this book should be viewed
as guidelines, and should not interfere with or be a
hindrance to your game-playing.
  The ultimate goal of this game—like that of any
game—is to enjoy it and have fun. There is no right or
wrong way to play N.O.W. If you’re all enjoying your-
selves, you’re playing it correctly.

8
 Introduction

The Setting A Brief Glossary

N.O.W. is set in a recent time period, the present, or the This is a short introduction to some of the terms you’ll
very near future. That world might be our own world, or encounter throughout this book. These elements are
it might be a fictional one of your own devising. It might building blocks for a character—some bigger, some small-
be small in scale, encompassing only a small town in er—that when put together create an overall picture.
Colorado as Communist forces make landfall, it might en-   Attributes. Attributes represent a range of core mea-
compass an entire seaboard with a cast of villains, or be a surable facets of your character in numerical form. These
globe-trotting thrill ride that takes the characters across attributes are Strength, Agility, Endurance, Intu-
the entire world. Here are some examples of settings: ition, Logic, Willpower, Charisma, Luck, and Chi,
•• The world was ruined by war, and civilization plus a couple of optional attributes which depend on the
has fallen. Even the forces of battling warlords are campaign model. The higher an attribute, the more your
unlikely to sleep with a belly full of food rather than character exemplifies that attribute.
lead. Experts and mercenaries are the most valuable   Attribute Check. Most activities in the game are based
resources in toppling these tyrants, and the only around an attribute check. This is a test whereby one of
real hope of the downtrodden citizens of Earth. your attributes helps determine how many dice you get
•• In the digital age, information is absolute power. to roll to accomplish a task such as shooting at an enemy
Corporations have risen to the fore of global politics, soldier or lifting a heavy object.
overshadowing or entirely replacing governments   Benchmark. The difficulty of an in-game task is de-
across the world. Those with enough gumption to scribed by its benchmark. This is a descriptive word and
get off the streets are the pawns of society’s elite, numerical value (such as Challenging [13]) which is the
working with blackhats and expatriated soldiers in target value for an attribute check. Any attribute check
unending (and bloody) corporate warfare. result that matches or exceeds the benchmark numerical
•• The world of espionage is a deadly, secretive one. value is a success.
Superspies operate alone or in small, elite teams,   Career. A career is a temporary building block which
thwarting the devious plans of their foes with wits, helps form your character’s development. Characters take
ingenuity, and an arsenal of hi-tech gadgets. careers for periods of time during character generation
•• Lone survivors, thought dead by their retreating as the process works its way through his life. Each career
allies, are deep in enemy territory with no chance affects his attributes and skills. For example, a few years
of backup or rescue. Left without recourse, fighting spent training in a dojo in downtown Brooklyn might
for their freedom is all they can do; or will a small enhance a character’s martial skills. At any given time, a
force of determined warriors be enough to turn the character will have a current career.
tide of the greater conflict?   Chi. Chi is an attribute which represents a character’s
mastery of an inner, supernatural power. Chi can repre-
N.O.W. What’s O.L.D. sent ki, the eye of the tiger, cool, or similar power sources.
Is N.E.W.   d6. A “d6” is a regular six-sided dice. N.O.W. is based
O.L.D. is a companion roleplaying game of medieval around pools of dice in which you roll a number of dice,
fantasy, and N.E.W. is a companion roleplaying game of add up the total, and compare it to a target number known
science fiction. These two games are 100% compatible as a difficulty benchmark. If you need to roll x dice and
both with each other and with N.O.W.; if you want a wiz- add them together, this is expressed as xd6—for example,
ard to appear in the jungles of the Congo before aliens 3d6 means “roll three dice and add them together”, while
descend onto the White House, you’ll find that these three “5d6” means “roll five dice and add them together.”
games work together perfectly.   d66. When the rules ask you to roll a d66, you should
  Look for the O.L.D. and N.E.W. roleplaying games from roll 2d6 but read them a little differently. Instead of adding
EN Publishing. them together, you read the first as “tens” and the second

9
 Introduction

as “ones”—for example, if you roll a 3 and a 2, you read that

as 32. Similarly, rolling a 1 and a 6 yields a result of 16. This
way of rolling dice is mainly used by the GM when rolling
on random tables.
  Descriptor. At the top of the character sheet you will see
an area known as the “descriptor”. The descriptor presents
a number of fundamental things about your character in
the form of a single summarizing sentence.
  Dice Pool. A dice pool is the handful of dice you roll
when making an attribute check. It can be formed in vari-
ous ways (for example, you might add dice because of your
character’s attributes, skills, or equipment) and is limited
in size by your character’s grade.
  Die Bonus/Penalty. If something grants a die bonus or
inflicts a die penalty (usually in the format “a +2d6 bonus”
or “a –1d6 penalty”), this refers to additional dice which
can be added to (or which must be removed from) your
dice pool when you make an attribute check.
  Experience Points (XP). Characters earn Experience
Points by accomplishing tasks, defeating enemies, and
completing adventures. These Experience Points can be
spent on a range of abilities and character improvements.
  Exploits. Exploits are individual abilities or benefits.
There are different types of exploits—heritage exploits,
career exploits, attribute exploits, and universal exploits.
Exploits include things like a rebel’s talents for acquiring
illicit goods, a mutant’s unlikely ability to modify the odds
of unlikely events, or the ability to make multiple flowing
attacks in a deadly flurry.
  Game Master (GM). The GM is the referee of the game.
The GM describes the universe to the players and controls
the actions of NPCs and monsters.
  Grade. Your character’s grade is simply the total
number of career grades he or she has taken. A starting
character is Grade 5. Your character’s grade is important
because it determines the maximum size of the dice pool
you can form when your make attribute checks.
  Heritage. Your character is one of a number of available
heritages (predominantly human). Your character might
be a Human, a Mutant of some kind, a genetically custom-
ized Designed, or a technologically enhanced Augmented.
  Non Player Character (NPC). An NPC is a character
which is not played by one of the players. Instead, all
NPCs are played by the GM.

10
 Introduction

  Skills. Skills are smaller, concentrated packets of inter- Modern Era

est, expertise, or training. They include things like cooking, Age AL Earth Example
pistols, unarmed combat, poetry, cracking, piloting, engi- Industrial Age: early automobiles, 4 1900s–1960s
neering, and more. Your character will pick up new skills radio, phone lines
throughout his career. The skill list is open-ended and Information Age: early computers, 4.5 1970s–2000s
unlimited; a skill kicks in at any time your character per- car phones, jets
forms an activity related to it. Digital Age: modern computers, cell 5 2000s–2010s
phones, electric cars
Setting the Tone Quantum Age: flying cars, internal 5.5 2020s–2100s
Advancement Level (AL) is a tool a GM can use to peg the electronics, super computers
tone of his campaign or setting; it’s a broad technological
scale designed to roughly describe the level of available In some settings, a group, organization, or region might
technology in a given setting. have access to technology typical of an AL above the
  N.O.W. is set in the Modern Era, which encompasses setting’s AL. Other settings may feature widespread high-
AL  4–6. The companion games O.L.D. and N.E.W. cover er-AL technology, lack specific technologies typical of the
the Archaic (AL 0–3) and Future (AL 6+) Eras, respectively. setting’s AL, or both. In particular, higher sciences and
  The typical N.O.W. game will probably feature a set- quantum devices are AL  5.5 technologies which might
ting-wide AL between 4 and 5.5. AL  4 offers radio and appear at lower ALs … again, depending on the setting.
telephones, AL 4.5 contains everything readily acces-   Some examples of popular action franchises and their
sible before the spread of mobile digital devices, AL  5 associated ALs include the Knight Rider TV series (AL 4.5),
is roughly equivalent to the modern world of 2018, and the X-Men franchise (AL  5.5), the James Bond franchise
AL 5.5 contains technologies that might be accessible in (AL 4–5), the Lethal Weapon movies (AL 4.5), and the Jason
the near future (holograms, quantum computers, and Bourne franchise (AL 5).
cold fusion).   The “default” setting of this book is between 4.5 and 5.

11
 Introduction

Default Assumptions N.O.W. encompasses international superspy movies from

The primary default assumption in this book is that your the 1960s to the present time, cop shows from the 1970s,
setting is whatever you want it to be. It can be as low- or the various super-vehicle series of the 1980s, the action
high-action and as technologically advanced as you like. muscle movies of Schwarzenegger, Stallone, and Willis,
However, this book does have a sort of “baseline” of its the young adult action comedy/horror of Joss Whedon,
own. The assumptions that make up this baseline can be the slick action of the Fast & Furious franchise, and more.
stated generally as follows:
•• Traveling across the globe in 24 hours is possible That Seems Familiar!
with enough money and time spent in airports. You may see ideas presented in this rulebook that are
•• Time travel is extremely rare; if it occurs at all, it is familiar to you. This is deliberate. N.O.W.’s goal isn’t to
central to important plots. create a new fiction (although it does play with the edges
•• Martial artists and other seasoned combatants of that) but to capture existing paradigms and put them
can perform inhuman feats of physical prowess or into mechanical form.
mental ability.   If you've ever watched an amazing action film and
•• Robots are extremely simple and rarely, if ever, wanted to role-play in that setting, or in a setting with a
attain sentience; if they do, it is central to an impor- similar feel and some of the same assumptions, the rules
tant plot. in this book are here to help you run a game inspired by
•• Conflict is never very far away, be it with an unruly your favorite adrenaline junkie flicks and TV shows.
gang or opposing military force.

12
Chapter 1
Action
Careers

13
 Action Careers

About This Chapter following information:

E
ach player in N.O.W. plays a character— •• A walkthrough of the character creation process.
a genetically modified soldier, a stalwart ex-cop, a •• Details about character descriptors and grades.
secret agent, a talented martial artist, an outcast •• Information about attributes, what they mean, and
mutant, or one of many possible options. You can choose how they are used.
from a variety of heritages and careers to build the char- •• A list of over 150 example skills.
acter you want to play. •• A selection of 4 character heritages, along with their
  This section of the rulebook tells you how to create a descriptions and abilities.
player character. It includes information on attributes, •• Over 40 distinct careers your character can adopt.
skills, careers, exploits, and equipment. By working •• Universal exploits—distinct abilities which can be
through this chapter, you will be able to easily create a acquired by any character.
fully playable character ready for play in a N.O.W. cam- •• Details on how to calculate a number of derived
paign. All you need is a character sheet, a pencil, and a statistics.
copy of this rulebook. •• Nearly 40 traits.
•• Information about how age affects your character.
Character Creation These elements are building blocks that contribute to your
A character, in its basic form, is simply a collection of character. It may seem like a lot, but creating a character
three types of element: attributes (core capabilities), skills is actually very simple—you simply choose a heritage, five
(areas of special competence or knowledge), and exploits careers, a couple of items like exploits and traits, and then
(special abilities and traits). The rest of the elements listed you buy equipment for your character. When you’re used
below, such as careers, age, heritage, and so on, are simply to the process, a character shouldn’t take more than a few
choices which help determine your attributes, skills, and minutes to create.
exploits. This chapter on character creation includes the

14
 Action Careers

Character Creation Walkthrough

Follow these steps to create your character: b) Choose one new career exploit from the list
1. Note your starting attributes (each attribute starts shown or choose one universal exploit.
at 3, except for Chi and Reputation, each of which c) Roll for the number of years your character
start at 0). spends at that career grade and increase
2. Choose a heritage. your age (your age starts at zero).
a) Choose three heritage skills. 5. Select Aim or Feint (free universal exploits) plus
b) Note all the listed heritage exploits. one other exploit of your choice for which you
3. Choose a hook, and note it in your descriptor. qualify.
4. Choose five careers. Start with an origin, and then 6. Choose one trait based on your highest or lowest
select four further careers. For each career grade, attribute and note that in your descriptor.
do the following: 7. Determine your age and apply any age exploits.
a) Apply all of the listed attribute adjustments. 8. Calculate your derived statistics.
b) Choose two of the listed skills and advance 9. Spend money to equip your character with armor,
each by one point. Note that characters may weapons, and equipment.
always select a defensive skill instead.

Total Checklist  Trait. The trait is the name of a special ability defined
When you are finished, you will have chosen: by a character’s lowest or highest attribute.
•• 5 careers, including one origin.  Age. The age entry is only used if the character is young-
•• 10 skill ranks from careers plus 3 from heritage, er than adult or older than middle-aged. You may choose
making 13 in total. any synonyms for young and old (adolescent, youthful,
•• 20 attribute points from careers, plus 24 you started aged, mature, etc.); age can give you a free exploit (see the
with, adjusted by heritage. section on Age, below).
•• 2 universal exploits, including either aim or feint.  Career. The career entry can be one of two choices. It
•• 1 possible age exploit, a trait, and a hook. can be the character’s current career, or it can be the char-
acter’s longest-serving career. If the longest serving career
Descriptor is not the current career, it should be prefixed with “ex-”
At the top of each character sheet is a descriptor. This is (for example, an ex-Cop or an ex-Soldier).
a short introductory character summary. For example,  Hook. The hook is a broad background, skill, or area
Alejandra Vanistos’ descriptor reads: of interest chosen by the player. It can be anything, but
it’s designed to round out the character with personality,
A nimble Augmented burglar who loves automobiles interests, or hobbies. For example, a player might choose
“who enjoys hard liquor” or “has a taste for romance” or
The descriptor is made up of the following elements, some even “who collects insects as a hobby.”
of which are not always used.   The hook complements career and skill choices as a
background aspect, unconnected to specific vocations
a[n] [age] [trait] [heritage] [career] who/with [hook]. and training. The hook works as a broad skill. Any time
a character makes an attribute check, if the activity is

15
 Action Careers

Example Descriptors
Each player should read their full descriptor to the
rest of the group before beginning play. For example:
• Ben Madjos is a suave human spy who likes to
drink.
• Alejandra Vanistos is a nimble Augmented
burglar who loves automobiles.
  Monsters, too, are described in terms of attributes. A
mighty Tyrannosaurus rex might have a Strength attri-
related to the character's hook, the player's dice pool ex- bute of 20 or more. Non-human heritages have different
plodes (each six rolled grants an additional die). The GM averages and norms compared to humans; this is repre-
should be generous in allowing this; the hook should pro- sented by their different starting attributes.
vide a frequent reminder of a character’s background.   Attributes change during character generation and
  What a player can’t do with the character’s hook is sneak through character advancement, as your character un-
in a combat bonus—a bonus to either attack or damage dertakes careers. A stint in the military might make you a
rolls. Characters can certainly have hooks like “…who bit tougher, increasing your Endurance attribute, while
enjoys the firing range” or “…who likes bar-room brawls,” years spent as a con-man might increase your Charisma.
but hooks like these that imply proficiency in combat The attributes are described in more detail below.
can’t actually help a character in combat. For example, a   Attributes sometimes combine to create derived sta-
firing range hook won’t ever benefit a character who’s fir- tistics—for example, the physical attributes can affect
ing a pistol; a brawling hook won’t ever assist a character a character’s Defense score, and the mental attributes
who’s throwing a punch. affect a character’s Mental Defense score. Other attri-
  Have each player read their full descriptor to the rest of butes are used to determine how fast your character can
the group before beginning play. run, how much he can carry, how far he can jump, or how
much damage he can take.
Attributes
Player characters are defined by a set of attributes, a se- Attributes & Dice Pools
lection of values which help describe a character. They Attribute scores are only used during character creation
measure things like strength, agility, and intelligence; and advancement. During play, you will use your attri-
somebody with a higher Strength attribute is stronger butes’ associated dice pools. There is more detail on this
than somebody with a lower one. The core attributes are later, but dice pools are groups of dice which you roll when
Strength, Agility, Endurance, Willpower, Intuition, your character attempts a task; the more dice you roll, the
Logic, Charisma, Luck, Reputation, and Chi. higher you’ll likely score.
  There is no upper limit to an attribute. The human heri- Your attributes determine how many dice you can roll.
tage is used as a benchmark for “average,” with a score of The total that you roll is compared to a difficulty bench-
with 4 in each physical, mental, and personal attribute mark; if you roll equal to or higher than that benchmark,
being roughly average for an adult human. An attribute your character succeeds at the task.
of 12 typically represents performance exhibited by top   In running text, a benchmark looks something like this:
world-class athletes or legendary geniuses. Einstein and “a Challenging [13] AGI check.” This means that you roll
Sherlock Holmes exhibit a score of 12 in their Logic at- your dice pool, and if you roll 13 or more, your character
tributes, while Adolf Hitler and Rasputin have scores of 11 succeeds. There is much more information on difficulty
or 12 in Charisma, although player characters and NPCs benchmarks and attribute checks in the section on adju-
in N.O.W. sometimes exceed these values. dicating the game.

16
 Action Careers

Dice Granted By Attribute/Skill Score Logic (LOG)

1–2 3–5 6–9 10–14 15–20 21–27 28–35 Logic is a mixture of reasoning, knowledge, and educa-
1d6 2d6 3d6 4d6 5d6 6d6 7d6 tion. While IQ isn’t a great measure of intelligence, 60 +
(LOG × 10) gives an approximate IQ in the mid-ranges.
  Attributes grant dice to dice pools in a granular, expand- You would make a LOG check to operate a complex elec-
ing scale, meaning each new die is harder to obtain—for tronic device, apply first aid, or recall specific knowledge
example, an Agility of 7 means that your Agility dice
pool is 3d6, while an Agility of 10 lets you roll 4d6. Willpower (WIL)
  Skills (covered a little later in this book) use the same Willpower is strength of mind and power of concentra-
expanding scale, granting more dice to your dice pool. So tion. Along with END, it determines your overall Health,
a skill rank of 3 in pistols gives you 2d6. You would add that and can be part of your Mental Defense.
to the 3d6 you got for your Agility score of 7 when firing
your Walther PPK at an attacking ninja, meaning that you Charisma (CHA)
get to roll 5d6 in total. Charisma is a combination of physical attractiveness,
  You can also gain dice for high quality equipment. For personal magnetism, and force of personality. It is the
example, an exceptional quality item gives you another attribute used when interacting with others, whether
2d6 to add to your dice pool. Equipment is dealt with in leading, deceiving, or negotiating with them. Physical ap-
detail later. pearance is part of the CHA score, but it is a minor part
at best; far more important are personality and presence.
Strength (STR)
Strength measures physical power, might, and brawn. Luck (LUC)
It is used to determine carrying capacity, some melee at- Luck is an unpredictable force, and some people are
tacks, and melee damage. If you want to bust a door down, naturally luckier than others. However, fate, fortune, and
your GM may ask you for a STR check. destiny are all powerful influences on the world. Your
Luck dice pool forms a resource of dice which can be
Agility (AGI) added at will to other dice pools on order to improve your
Agility measures dexterity and reflexes. It is also used to chances, or which can be spent on other special actions.
determine ranged attacks and some melee attacks. You That resource replenishes itself every day.
might use your AGI to perform a fancy aerial maneuver or
to land safely after a nasty fall. Reputation (REP)
Reputation is a measure of fame, respect, influence, and
Endurance (END) contacts. Your Reputation attribute determines if people
Endurance is a measure of healthiness, constitution, and recognize or have heard of you. REP has elements of fame,
hardiness. It is used to determine your overall Health rank, respect, social standing, and even credit ratings.
score. An END check might also be used to resist the ef- Your REP also partly determines your starting gold.
fects of poison or disease.
Chi (Chi)
Intuition (INT) Chi represents an inner force of will and power, often
Intuition measures common sense, perception, empa- utilized by martial artists to accomplish incredible super-
thy, and natural instinct. It is used to tell when someone is natural things. It can sometimes be known by other terms:
lying, spot something, or sense impending danger. Some ki, mojo, cool, and so on. While anybody can learn how
might refer to it as “EQ” or “emotional intelligence.” Ani- to perform a roundhouse kick or a judo throw, only those
mals often have high INT attributes, especially those with with Chi can perform legendary mystical feats like run-
keen senses. ning on water, levitating, or healing through meditation.

17
 Action Careers

Grade
Your grade is equal to the total number of career grades
you have taken, and the largest dice pool you can form
during play is defined by your grade. A starting character
with 5 career grades is grade 5, and has a maximum pool
size of 5d6. Some NPCs, civilians, or weak monsters may
be lower than grade 5, and their maximum dice pool is
equal to their grade (but see the “Starting Grade” sidebar).
  For example (this will be explained in more detail lat-
er), Kilrave the Assassin has 9 AGI, 4 ranks in knives, and
an exceptional dagger. That would normally give him a
dice pool of 7d6 (3d6 for his attribute, 2d6 for his knives
skill, and 2d6 for his exceptional weapon). However, he is
grade 7, which makes his maximum dice pool 6d6 (see the
table below). In effect, some of the dice Kilrave would be
entitled to are wasted until he can gain some experience.

Skills
Skills represent things your character is good at. Skills are
picked up as a character progresses through his life, and
reflect training and background. Some are academic skills,
such as sciences; others are physical skills like running or
climbing. Still others reflect social skills like intimidation,
technical skills like engineering, and more.
Maximum Dice Pools by Grade
Grade <5 5 6–7 8–10 11–14 15–19 20–25 26–32 33–40
Max Pool see sidebar 5d6 6d6 7d6 8d6 9d6 10d6 11d6 12d6

Starting Grade
A typical character begins at grade 5, which includes an monster’s maximum dice pool is 2d6 at grade 2 and 1d6
origin and four career grades. However, the GM may wish at grade 1.
to start the game at a different grade. Starting charac-   Conversely, starting characters at grade 10 makes
ters at grade 1 will make them very young, and they will them highly competent, experienced professionals.
have only an origin. They will be below average in terms These characters know what they’re doing, and they’re
of competency, but have limitless scope to grow. Alter- good at it. They’ve probably maxed out one entire career—
natively, starting at grade 2 can give characters an origin perhaps they could be ex-military or reformed criminals.
and the start of a career. A rookie cop or a teenaged run- A grade 10 character has a maximum dice pool of 7d6.
away longing for adventure might fit this approach.   The GM can set any starting grade. You may find
  A grade 4 PC has a maximum dice pool of 4d6. A grade you enjoy certain styles of game over others, and the
3 or lower PC has a maximum dice pool of 3d6 (a PC’s starting grade can play a major role in flavor. It is recom-
maximum dice pool cannot be reduced to lower than 3d6, mended, however, that all players begin with characters
no matter how low their grade); however, an NPC’s or of the same grade so that none overshadow the others.

18
 Action Careers

  A skill forms part of a dice pool. When making an at- drive a car, and having no ranks in pistols does not prevent
tribute check, you may add skill dice to your attribute dice you from taking a shot at an attacking ninja.
(you may also add equipment dice) to form a dice pool   The skill list is open-ended—anything can be a skill;
which is rolled against a target difficulty benchmark. even if it’s not on the list below. You might wish to choose
  You don’t need to have training in a particular skill in flower arranging, origami, or interior decorating. The list
order to attempt a task. Having ranks in a skill indicates below is simply a list of examples; feel free to add to it.
that you have particular expertise in that subject; howev-
er, even if you have no ranks in driving, you can still try to

Example Skills
Artistic Skills Scientific Skills
Examples: painting, sculpting, calligraphy, pottery, po- Examples: physics, astronomy, chemistry, ecology, geol-
etry, literature, film-making, photography, printmaking, ogy, meteorology, biology, zoology, botany, mathematics,
modeling archaeology, criminology, psychology, sociology, medicine

Combat Skills Sporting Skills

Examples: tactics, reactions, brawling, boxing, wrestling, Examples: football, tennis, volleyball, cricket, baseball,
martial arts, pistols, rifles, heavy weapons, swords, knives, basketball, rugby, bowling, badminton, squash, sailing
clubs, light armor, medium armor, heavy armor
Subterfuge Skills
Crafting Skills Examples: cryptology, appraisal, disguise, stealth, thievery,
Examples: appraisal, carpentry, cooking, blacksmith, bas- escape artist, bribery, forgery, interrogation
ket-weaving, stone-masonry
Social Skills
Developmental Skills Examples: intimidation, flirtation, carousing, negotiation,
Examples: perception, concentration, meditation, bravery, bluffing, leadership, linguistics
resistance, hardiness, insight
Technical Skills
Gaming Skills Examples: computers, engineering, demolitions, hacking
Examples: chess, checkers, dominoes, draughts, poker,
blackjack, backgammon, pool, darts, role-playing games Trivia Skills
Examples: movies, rock ’n’ roll, South American history,
Miscellaneous Hobby Skills 19th-century history, celebrities, astrology, theater
Examples: brewing, fishing, gardening, hunting, riddles,
sewing, ornithology Vehicle Skills
Examples: piloting, riding, driving, sailing, gunnery,
Physical Skills navigation
Examples: climbing, swimming, jumping, carrying, run-
ning, acrobatics, throwing Outdoor Skills
Examples: survival, animal handling, tracking, farming,
Performance Skills mining
Examples: acting, singing, musical instrument, dancing,
mime, professional stage magic, storytelling, comedy, for- Other Skills
tune-telling, juggling, ventriloquism Examples: bureaucracy, accounting, law, hypnotism

19
 Action Careers

Heritage
Your character may be nothing like you. There are a num-
ber of heritages to choose from; they all have different
starting attributes representing typical members of that
heritage. Some were born different, while others may be
Skill Notation deliberately designed. Each heritage is different.
Sometimes the rules refer to categories of skills instead of   Heritages in N.O.W. include Humans, Augmented,
single skills. When this happens, the category is noted in Chosen, and Mutants. Whether you want to play an in-
square brackets in order to avoid confusion. For example, ternational superspy, a better/stronger/faster cyborg, a
an entry which says [outdoor] refers to the entire list of generational vampire hunter, or a human-sized turtle,
survival, animal handling, tracking, farming, mining, and there’s something for you.
any new skills players devise, as long as they fall within   Start by choosing a heritage and sex for your charac-
the category and the GM approves them. ter. Your heritage will determine your starting attributes,
  For example, if a career tells you that you may choose which are the attributes of a youngster of that heritage
a [performance] skill, you can choose any of the listed ex- (human adult average is 4 in each attribute). Your sex does
amples in that category, or you might decide instead on a not affect your attributes or skills at all.
new skill like podcasting or voice-over artist.   Humans provide the simplest, most straightforward
  When noting a skill, you do not need to indicate catego- playing experience.
ries or placeholder titles. You simply note “chess” rather   Once you have selected your heritage, record your
than “gaming (chess)”; similarly, you simply note “pistols” starting attributes and choose three skills from the list
or “nunchaku” rather than “ranged weapon (pistols)” or of available skills. Each heritage also has natural exploits
“melee weapon (nunchaku).” (such as the Augmented’s bonus cybernetic alteration).
  Local Knowledge. When selecting local knowledge,   This book presents four basic heritages, although oth-
you need to specify a locale you know. ers may be available from other sources. The heritages
 Weapons. In combat, unarmed fighting and weapon presented herein are “generic” in the sense that they are
skills all add to relevant AGI, INT, or STR attack checks. designed to suit a multitude of campaign settings in the
Weapon skills are based on weapon type; unarmed com- same way that elves, dwarves, and halflings suit a mul-
bat skills are based on approach. For example, melee titude of fantasy campaign settings. A given setting may
weapon skills include swords, axes, clubs, and knives; well have a different set of heritages, especially if it’s based
ranged weapon skills include pistols and rifles; and un- on a popular action franchise.
armed combat skills include wrestling, brawling, boxing,   We use the term “heritage” because characters of all
and martial arts. these heritages are humans.
 Armor. Armor is divided into light, medium, and heavy •• Humans are regular people, although they may
armor. You can wear armor in which you have no skill have special skills or training.
ranks, but—as with all equipment—you need skill ranks •• Augmented are people who naturally take to
to benefit fully from higher quality armor. cybernetic augmentation. While anybody can use
cybernetics, Augmented take it to an extreme.
Skill Levels •• Chosen are special people; they may be spoken
Skills are used to form dice pools in the same way that of in prophecy, or they may have been purposely
attributes are. They use the same scale as attributes to de- designed in a lab.
rive the size of the dice pool. •• Mutants display special powers and abilities
  As a general rule, 1 skill rank is proficient, 3 is a roughly granted by their anomalous genetic code. They
equivalent to a bachelor’s degree, and 6 is a doctorate level might be able to shoot fire from their hands or see
of expertise. through solid walls, amongst other things.

20
 Action Careers

Attribute Adjustment by Heritage

Heritage STR AGI END INT LOG WIL CHA LUC CHI REP
Human* — — — — — — — +2 — —
Chosen +1 — — — — — +1 — +3 +2
Mutant — — — — — — — — +1 —
Augmented — — +2 — — — — — — —
* +2 to one other attribute and +1 to a further attribute

Attributes where your character’s DNA comes from isn’t a factor in

Every heritage is different, and part of this difference is the game unless it’s reflected in your character’s heritage.
highlighted by their different starting attributes. Humans
are known for their luck; Augmented are very athletic; Humans
Mutants have high endurance and resolve. There’s a reasonably strong chance that you, the reader,
  All attributes start at 3, except for Chi and Reputation are human. You might be a little extra human, with me-
which start at 0. Your choice of heritage modifies those at- chanical improvements (glasses, a hearing aid, maybe
tributes in the form of bonuses and some (rare) penalties. some genuine replacement parts) but when things boil
down, you are a member of the species homo sapiens, as
Gender & Ethnicity are the vast majority of characters in N.O.W. This isn’t to
Gender and ethnic origin have no mechanical effect on say that humans are not diverse—there are a wide range
your character and should be treated as purely descrip- of cultures and peoples across the world—but all of them
tive. You should feel free to select from the entire range of have (by default) 10 toes, two eyes, and so on. Where you
gender-identification and sexuality, though these things are from and who raised you influence your outlook on
will likely not form a major part of the game. Likewise, life more than anything else.

Mutant Augmented Human Chosen

21
 Action Careers

Human adventurers are extremely varied, from private Chosen

eyes to blackhats, to martial artists, to doctors—the gam- Something about you is simply better. Maybe you are the
ut of the world is at your fingertips. result of a sublime genetic match; perhaps your genome
Examples of human heroes in popular culture include was manipulated, either before or after conception. You
Sarah Jane Smith, the members of the A-Team, James “007” might be characterized by prophecy and legend and sur-
Bond, John Rambo, Martha Jones, Angus MacGyver, Colt rounded by stories or myths. Perhaps you are part of a
Seavers, Rocky Balboa, Batman, and many, many more. hereditary line, and the touch of destiny graced you in the
womb. Maybe you clearly meet the criteria listed in an old
Statistics prophecy, and whether or not actual mysticism or magic
Size: Medium is involved, you are just plain special.
Attributes: LUC +2, add 2 to one other attribute, and add 1   How you came to be different is not truly important—
to one further attribute how you are different is everything. Some Chosen are
Skill Choices: Any much more beautiful than the average human, others pos-
sess evolved mental acuity, and some are sterling models
Human Exploits of what biomechanics or selective breeding can achieve.
Varied. Human boast more variation within their heri-   Chosen adventurers are just as varied as humans and
tage than most. Add 2 to any attribute, and add 1 to a can fit very well into a wide variety of roles; their versatility
further attribute (noted above). from the start makes them likely to be great at practically
Explorers. Driven by an inquisitive, exploratory nature, anything they set their mind to.
Humans gain XP equal to their grade when they enter a   Examples of Chosen characters in popular culture in-
country new to them (once per month maximum). clude Captain America, River Tam, Jason Bourne, Khan
Enduring. Humans may not be the fastest or the strongest, Noonian Singh, Max “Dark Angel” Guevara, Buffy Anne
but they are known for their resilience. Humans get +1 to Summers, Thomas “Neo” Anderson, and Harry Potter.
their 1d6 die roll to shake off a temporary condition.

Mutant Augmented Human Chosen

22
 Action Careers

Statistics Mutant Exploits

Size: Medium Mutation. Mutants have one or more mutations. Select
Attributes: STR +1, CHA +1, CHI +3, REP +2 one major or two minor mutations from the mutations
Skill Choices: Negotiating, tactics, [crafting], [trivia], section later in this book. You have at least one cosmetic
[gaming], [scientific]. mutation that marks you as a mutant; decide what that
is and add it to your character sheet.
Chosen Exploits
Fast-Healing. Chosen heal faster than most people. You Augmented
may roll an extra 2d6 when determining how much you Maybe there were complications in your infancy, or
naturally heal each day. tragedy struck during your childhood; either way you’ve
Skill Focus. You start play with two bonus skills of your received parts (organic or inorganic) that are an improve-
choice at 3 ranks (2d6). ment over what you had before.
Destiny. Once, when you ordinarily die, you do not die. In- No matter how it is exactly that you came to be this way,
stead, you remain at 0 Health until healed. When you you’re stronger for it and have an advantage over those
have used your extra “life” you cannot use it again. regular humans, period. Whether or not you’re enlight-
ened by this gift or malignant about it, however, depends
Mutant much more on how exactly you’re different, and how that
You were born different, your genetics a distinct varia- colored your upbringing.
tion from the norm. This might be blatantly obvious—you You should refer to the Cybernetics section starting on
might exhibit physical differences like chartreuse skin, page 30.
unnatural growths, discolored eyes, extra joints, or asym- Augmented adventurers make excellent mercenaries,
metrical features—or it may harder to discern. covert ops agents, and knock-down, drag-out fighters—if
Regardless of the exact nature of this quirk of appear- you’re looking to get some prosthetic improvements and
ance, you typically hide it from society at large. Maybe not overly interested in utilizing Chi, go down this road.
you wear dark sunglasses to hide your entirely black eyes, Examples in popular culture include James “Bucky”
cover yourself in makeup and wear flesh-colored tights to Barnes, Steve Austin, Jaime Summers, Doctor Julius No,
conceal your skin coloration, or wear voluminous cloth- Ashley “Ash” Williams, and Alex “Robocop” Murphy.
ing that hides your true nature.
You should refer to the Mutations section starting on Statistics
page 24. Size: Medium
Mutants can be excellent users of Chi, exploring their Attributes: END +2
power to great effect (whether for combat, exploration, or Skill Choices: Hardy, perception, reactions, [crafting],
otherwise). They don’t often do well socially, facing hur- [trivia], [gaming], [scientific], [technical]
dles connected to widespread prejudice for being visibly
and genetically different. Augmented Exploits
Examples in popular culture include Killer Croc, John- Alteration. Augmented begin play with two minor or one
ny Alpha the Strontium Dog, and a slew of characters from major cybernetic alteration.
the X-Men comics. Adaptive. When incorporating new cybernetic altera-
tions, Augmented never need to make a check to see if
Statistics the upgrade takes hold. Additionally, they can incor-
Size: Medium (some mutations can change your size) porate an unlimited number of alterations beyond the
Attributes: CHI +1 normal limit of their END attribute.
Skill Choices: Hardy, intimidate, resistance, survival, Inert. Augmented embrace technology over matters of
[crafting], [trivia], [gaming], stealth, disguise. spirit. They may never have a Chi score above zero.

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Mutations with enhanced senses. When making an INT check you

Characters with the Mutant heritage have powers beyond may roll d8s instead of d6s. If you take this power a sec-
those of normal men and women. Whatever the source of ond time, the die type increases to d10s. If you take it a
the mutation—post-apocalyptic radiation, bites from mu- third time, it increases to d12s.
tant insects, a genetic evolution—mutants are still human, 16) Enhanced Charisma. Your charisma is enhanced in
albeit … mutated. some way. When making a CHA check you you may roll
  Mutants may choose two minor or one major power d8s instead of d6s. If you take this power a second time,
from the following list. Each power has a ladder of increas- the die type increases to d10s. If you take it a third time,
ing power; during character advancement, Mutants may it increases to d12s.
pay the XP cost of a new exploit to upgrade a minor muta- 21) Energy Emission. Choose one energy type (fire,
tion, and the XP cost of a new grade to upgrade a major cold, electricity, sonic). You can blast that energy from
mutation. However, once created, mutants cannot nor- your hands, eyes, or even your mouth. You can make a
mally obtain brand new mutations. ranged attack with a range increment equal to your
  Optionally, your GM may ask you to randomly roll d66 END score, which does 2d6 damage of the appropriate
to choose your mutation(s). This can make for a fun, if un- type. You may take this power a second and third time,
predictable element to character creation. For that reason, increasing the damage by +1d6 each time. Alternatively,
the mutations below are listed as d66 entries. you may use one of those upgrades to change the shape
of your energy emission to a 15' cone.
Major Mutations 22) Danger Sense. You always know of impending danger,
11) Enhanced Strength. You are stronger than your build and cannot be flanked or subject to a crossfire. You gain
and size would suggest. When making a STR check (but 1d6 Initiative. If you take this mutation a second and
not an attack) you may roll d8s instead of d6s. If you take third time, your Initiative bonus increases by +1d6
this power a second time, the die type increases to d10s. each time.
If you take it a third time, it increases to d12s. Each time 23) Regeneration. You recover quickly from damage.
you take this mutation, your Carry increment doubles. Once per day you may spend one minute healing 2d6
12) Enhanced Agility. You are supernaturally nimble. Health. If you take this mutation a second time, you
When making an AGI check (but not an attack) you may may heal half your maximum Health. If you take it a
roll d8s instead of d6s. If you take this power a second third time, you may heal up to your normal maximum
time, the die type increases to d10s. If you take it a third Health.
time, it increases to d12s. Each time you take this muta- 23) Elemental Resistance. You gain Soak 10 to one energy
tion, your Speed increases by 2. type (fire, cold, electricity, sonic). You may take this a
13) Enhanced Endurance. You are unusually tough, able second and third time, gaining an additional +5 Soak
to withstand more punishment than most. When mak- to that energy type each time.
ing an END check you may roll d8s instead of d6s. If you 24) Flight. Once per round you can fly your Speed, but you
take this power a second time, the die type increases to must land at the end of the movement. If you take this
d10s. If you take it a third time, it increases to d12s. Each mutation a second time, you may fly with both your ac-
time you take this mutation, your Health increases by tions, landing only at the end of the second (effectively
+1d6. doubling your flight distance). Taking it a third time al-
14) Enhanced Logic. You have incredible mental acuity lows you to fly any distance without landing. You may
and deductive powers. When making a LOG check you choose whether this gives you wings or some kind of
may roll d8s instead of d6s. If you take this power a sec- self-telekinesis.
ond time, the die type increases to d10s. If you take it a 25) Mutant Healing. With a mere touch you can heal
third time, it increases to d12s. another creature 2d6 Health. If you take this muta-
15) Enhanced Intuition. You are incredibly perceptive, tion a second time, you may heal half their maximum

24
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Health. If you take it a third time, you may heal up to though they were the floor.
their normal maximum Health. Remember that no 36) Internal Combustion Engine. Simply put, you are on
creature can benefit from the same source of healing fire. You have managed to convert your radiation into
more than once per day. a boiling inferno. The inferno can be unleashed from
26) Invisibility. Once per day you can turn invisible for up your body for up to one minute per day by spending
to one minute. If you take this mutation a second time, two actions, covering your skin in raging flames. You
you can turn invisible for up to five minutes; if you take are immune to fire damage. While you are aflame, any
it a third time, you can turn invisible for up to one hour. creatures starting their turn adjacent to you take 1d6
31) Toughness. You gain natural Soak 5. If you take this a fire damage. If you take this a second time, you may set
second time, your natural Soak increases to 10. If you yourself aflame three times per day. If you take it a third
take it a third time, it increases to 15. time, you may turn your flames on and off at will.
32) Drain Life. You can drain the very life from another 41) Living Weapon. You can transform parts of your body,
creature. This may be a bite like that of the vampire, or usually hands or feet, into sharp blades. This is often
it may be an icy touch which draws out their very es- done by extruding the bone from underneath the skin,
sence—how you describe it is up to you. This melee and thanks to the mutation the bone is as strong as steel,
attack requires two actions and causes 1d6 damage; sometimes stronger. You can manifest any standard-
you gain the amount of Health you cause, up to your quality medium-sized or smaller one-handed bladed
normal maximum Health. If you take this a second melee weapon by spending two actions.
time, the drain becomes 2d6, and a third time makes it 42) Rubberized Body. You have stretchy skin and bone.
3d6. However, you cannot reduce any creature below No one’s quite sure how you do it, but you can elongate
half Health using this power. parts of your body. You take half damage from falling,
33) Poison Bite. Your sharp teeth deliver poison. Your half damage from attacks which do blunt damage. If
natural damage increases by +1d6 and becomes piercing/ you take this a second time, your reach increases by +5',
poison. If you take this a second time, your bite inflicts and your Speed increases by +2. A third time makes you
one of the following conditions (chosen when you first immune to falling and blunt damage.
gain this ability): Poisoned, Sick, or Sleeping. If you take 43) Ice Cold. You are freezing cold. You are immune to
it a third time, your bite inflicts a disease of your choice. cold damage, and Vulnerable (1d6) to fire damage. Your
34) Shapechange. You are able to alter your form. You touch does cold damage and pushes the target one
cannot make yourself look like a specific person, but stage down the Mobility status track. If you take this a
you can make yourself generally taller, shorter, fatter, second time, your touch does +1d6 damage and freezes
thinner, older, younger, or of a different ethnicity or liquids within 5'. A third time increases the damage by
gender. This changes none of your attributes or skills in another +1d6, and allows you to freeze solid objects (but
any way. If you take this power a second time, you are not creatures) up to one 5' square in size and make them
also able to change your voice to match the form you brittle so that any Soak they have no longer applies.
have adopted. A third time allows you to take the form 44) Acid Blood. Your blood is a strong acid. When you are
of specific people; however, you will need to make a hit by a slashing weapon, the attacker—if within 5'—
CHA check against the INT of anybody who knows the takes 1d6 acid damage. If you take this a second time,
person being mimicked. the damage increases to 2d6 acid damage. A third time
35) Spiderclimb. You can climb your normal Speed. If makes the acid strong enough to melt through half an
you take this a second time, climbing becomes a natu- inch of steel in one minute; this requires you to do 1d6
ral movement mode for you, meaning that you do not damage to yourself to extract enough blood, however.
need to make checks to climb. Taking it a third time 45) Tentacles. You look part human, part “something else.”
makes you able to literally walk on walls and ceilings as Some part of you has been replaced by tentacles rather
than hands, or feet. Perhaps your whole lower body has

25
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been replaced in this way and you have an unusual form 55) Probability Fields. You are able to literally influence
of locomotion. Roll 1d6. On a roll of 1–3, your arms are luck. You can recharge your LUC pool an additional
replaced and you gain +5' reach; on 4–6, your legs are time per day. If you take this a second time, you are
replaced and you become immune to difficult terrain. If able to suppress the ability of another creature within
you take this a second time, you gain the other benefit. 30' to use its LUC pool. A third time means that you can
A third time gives you one extra action each round (but change the LUC pool of an ally you can see to d8s once
you can still not take any given action more than twice). per day for one check.
46) Projectile Spines. Rather like a porcupine, you have 56) Shockwave. You are able to emit a shockwave which
quills that you can eject at some force. Your quills have attacks everybody within 10' of you. It does your natural
a range increment of 3, and do your natural damage. If damage, but the damage type is force damage. If you
you take this a second time, your quills gain +1d6 dam- take this a second time, those successfully stuck are
age or do poison damage. Taking it a third time allows pushed back 5'. A third time increases the radius to 30'
them to do both. and knocks down medium or smaller creatures.
51) Extra Appendage. You have more than the normal set 61) Growth. You can increase your size to large or small
of appendages—extra arms, legs, more than one nose, for up to one minute. Taking it a second time allows you
or four ears. Arms give you +1d6 STR, legs give you +1d6 to change to enormous or tiny. A third time enables you
AGI, and noses or ears give you +1d6 INT. However, you to change size for up to one hour.
have a permanent –1d6 CHA. 62) Multiple Personalities. Create a second Mutant char-
52) Animal Form. You can change into a medium-sized acter. At the start of each day you must roll randomly to
animal. Choose your alternate form; it takes two ac- determine which character your are today. Taking this
tions to change. When you change, you adopt the a second time allows you to create a third character. A
physical statistics of that animal, but your maximum third time allows you to choose which character you
dice pool does not change. Any damage you take in that are each day, although you must remain that character
form remains when you change back. If you take this a until the next day.
second time, you may change into a large or small ani- 63) Immobile. You cannot be moved against your will
mal; taking it a third time means you can change into for up to one minute per day. If you take this a second
any animal. time, this lasts for up to one hour. A third time makes
53) Mimic. By touching another mutant, you can “bor- it permanent.
row” their power for one minute (the target does not 64) Energy Absorption. You can absorb impressive
lose their own power—you are merely copying it). You amounts of harmful energy. You gain Soak 5 to two
may only borrow one power at a time. If you take this types of energy or Soak 10 to one type of energy, cho-
a second time you may borrow up to three powers at a sen from the following list: acid, cold, electricity, heat/
time. A third time allow you to borrow as many powers fire, or sonic. When you Soak energy, you gain half
as you wish. An unwilling target requires a melee attack that amount (round down) in Health up to your maxi-
roll in order to lay your hands on them for long enough mum Health. If you take this a second time, your Soak
to copy the power. values double. A third time allows you to gain the full
54) Teleportation. You can spend two actions to teleport amount absorbed as Health.
up to 30' as long as you can see your destination. Your 65) Power Nullifier. Within 30' of you mutant powers do
clothing goes with you, as does gear you can carry up to not work. If you take this a second time, this also ap-
your first Carry increment, but you cannot take other plies to psionic powers from N.E.W. A third time makes
living creatures with you. If you take this a second time, it apply to magic from O.L.D.
you can teleport as a single action; a third time allows 66) Speedy. You gain an extra action each turn, although
you to teleport as a reaction to an attack. you cannot attack or move more than twice. If you take

26
 Action Careers

this a second time, you may move or attack three times

with your three actions, and if you take it a third time,
Dice!
your Speed doubles. The WOIN roleplaying game system normally only use
the “d6,” a six-sided die. Some mutant powers in this
Minor Mutations book allow you to use different dice—eight-sided dice
11) Darksight. You are able to see in the dark as though it (d8), ten-sided dice (d10), and twelve-sided dice (d12).
were daylight. If you take this mutation a second time, You can find these dice online or in any game store.
you gain truesight, able to see through illusions and dis-   When you roll an attribute check with d8s, d10s, or
guises, and to see the invisible. A third time allows you d12s, those dice apply to the entire dice pool, includ-
to see through solid objects and ignore concealment. ing the skill and equipment parts of it.
12) Immune to Disease. You are completely immune to
all non-magical diseases. If you take this mutation a
second time, you are also immune to magical diseases.
Mutations & Power Levels
Taking it a third time makes you immune to radiation The mutant powers in this book are designed for
and poison. “street level” powers. You may have enhanced senses,
13) Self-Subsistent. You do not need to eat or drink. If you or be able to throw fire, or have some regenerative
take this a second time, you also do not need to sleep. A power, but you won’t be able to destroy cities, move
third time means you do not need to breathe. at the speed of sound, or throw aircraft carriers.
14) Empathic Telepath. You can automatically send   This book present 36 major and 36 minor mutant
strong emotions within 30' of you. If you take this a powers. Of course, hundreds more are possible!
second time, the range becomes as far as you can see.   Mutations do not belong in every game. The GM will
If you take it a third time, you are able to hear surface decide whether the Mutant heritage and mutations
thoughts (although these are easily hidden by those are an appropriate fit for her setting. These powers
aware enough to do so). can be used to create settings like those featuring
15) Gills. You are able to breathe underwater. If you take the X-Men, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and even some
this a second time, swimming becomes a natural unusual Bond villains, but they may not be suitable in
movement mode for you, allowing your to swim your a game based on, say, The A-Team or Leverage.
normal Speed and to swim without making any attri-   Note that psionic powers (“mental magic,” includ-
bute checks. If you take it a third time, you can talk to ing telekinesis, telepathy, and many more), are dealt
fish, although this does not imbue them with knowl- with in detail in N.E.W. The Science Fiction Roleplaying
edge that they would not ordinarily have. Game, while magic is covered in O.L.D. The Fantasy
16) Steel Teeth. Your unarmed damage become pierc- Heroic Roleplaying Game, both of which are fully com-
ing damage. If you take this a second time, your teeth patible with this game.
ignore 5 points of Soak. A third time allows them to ig-
nore 10 points of Soak.
21) Bone Spikes. You are covered in a layer of spikes which 22) Chameleon. Your skin has an unusual pigmentation
protrude through it from your bones. Your natural which enables your to change your skin like to that of
damage becomes piercing, and anybody who attempts a chameleon. You gain +1d6 to stealth checks. You can
to attack you unarmed takes 1d6 damage each time take this a second and third time, gaining an additional
they strike. If you take this a second time, your natu- +1d6 each time.
ral damage increases by +1d6 and unarmed attackers 23) Displaced Organs. You might look human (or not), but
take 2d6 damage when they strike. A third time means your internal organs are in different places. You gain
that armed melee attackers take 1d6 damage, while un- 2 natural Soak, and you are immune to any exploits
armed melee attackers take 2d6 damage. which rely on the attacker targeting your anatomy for

27
 Action Careers

extra damage. However, anybody attempting medical 36) Levitation. You can hover above the ground at a height
assistance on you suffers a –2d6 to their check. If you of up to 3 feet. This does not give you the ability to move
take this a second time, your Soak increases to 4 and horizontally, however. Taking it a second time allows
you are immune to critical hits. A third time increases you to hover up to 10' high, and a third time means you
your Soak to 6 and allows you to ignore damage from an can hover up to 30' high.
attack by spending one LUC die. 41) Claws. You have sharp claws. Your unarmed damage
24) Taller than Normal. Your height is greater than nor- becomes slashing damage. Taking this a second time
mal, even taller than the tallest member of the human increases your unarmed damage by +1d6. A third time
race. Roll 1d6+6 to determine your height in feet. You increases it by another +1d6.
are considered large-sized. 42) Leaper. You increase your Jump distances by +10'. If
25) Dwarfism. You were born smaller than normal, and you take this a second time, you instead double your
you age at an accelerated rate. You might be mistaken Jump distances or increase them by +10', whichever is
for a child. You are Small-sized, and you reach each age greater. If you take it a third time, you may jump up to
category at half the normal number of years. 30' horizontally and vertically.
26) Linguist. You are able to converse in any language. 43) Scent. You have an unnaturally sensitive sense of
31) Atmosphere Processor. You can breathe in a variety smell. You get +1d6 to INT checks where scent might be
of gaseous atmospheres, surviving in areas that would a factor. If you take this a second time, the bonus goes
normally kill humans. You are immune to all gases. If up to +2d6, and a third time increases it to +3d6.
you take this a second time, you can also breathe in any 44) Tail. You have a thick tail. As a free action you may
liquid. A third time means you do not need to breathe make an unarmed attack against a foe behind you,
at all. within 5'. If you take this a second time, your tail gains a
32) Animal Affinity. You have an affinity with one animal stinger which changes it to piercing/poison damage. A
type, such as cats, dogs, bears, or Tyrannosaurus rexes. third time gives you a tail-sweep attack which attacks
If you take this a second time, you have affinity with everybody in a 10' cone behind you; this attack does not
one animal class, such as mammal, reptile, bird, fish, use the stinger, but it knocks down anybody medium-
or dinosaur. A third time gives you affinity with all ani- sized or smaller that you successfully hit.
mals. While you do not gain the ability to talk to these 45) Furry. You are covered in a coat of fur. You gain natu-
animals, they will naturally regard you with friendship ral Soak 5 (cold). If you take this a second time, you gain
unless you give them a reason not to. They will not put natural Soak 5 (all) and Soak 10 (cold). A third time
themselves in danger for you, however. gives you Soak 10 (all) and immunity to cold.
33) Longevity. You double the normal age categories. If 46) Horns. You have horns, or a horn. You gain +1d6 un-
you take this second time, you do not age, and remain armed damage, which becomes piercing. If you take
in your current age category forever. this a second time, you gain a gore attack which allows
34) Weather Control. You can influence the local weather you to move your Speed and impale a target on your
within 30'. If you take this a second time, you can in- horn, doing +1d6 damage. Taking it a third time allows
fluence the weather within 100'. A third time lets you you to inflict the Restrained condition on an impaled
control it within one mile. The weather you create is not target, which takes your natural damage at the start of
so intense that it can be used to directly attack another each of its turns until it gets free (which requires a
creature. melee attack against you).
35) Mutant Sense. You can detect the presence of mu- 51) Sticky Tongue. You have a sticky tongue like a frog’s.
tants within 30'. Taking this a second time increases You can use it to pick up small items within 10' as a free
the range to line-of-sight. A third time enables you to action. If you take this a second time, your tongue can
determine their mutant powers (assuming they are not reach 30'. A third time, and it is strong enough to hold
immediately visible). Medium-sized items.

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52) Super-Breath. You can make a melee attack against a

target with a 10' range increment. If you hit, the target is
Optional Profession
pushed back 5'. Taking this a second time increases the School of Mutants [1d6 years]
push to 10', and a third time increases it to 30'. Prerequisites: One or more mutations
53) Ingester. You can consume any type of matter as food Attributes: LOG +1, END +1, CHA +1, REP +1
(although this does not give you the ability to damage Skill choices: [academic], [developmental]
materials you ordinarily could not). If you take this a   You enroll in a school for the mutated where you
second time, you become immune to poison. are given an education and taught how to integrate
54) Telescopic Vision. You increase range increments with society. You are also shown how to develop and
by 50%. If you take it a second time, you double range master your mutations.
increments. A third time means you no longer suffer   Check with your GM to make sure such a school ex-
range penalties up to three increments. ists in the campaign and what its nature is.
55) Innate Skill. Choose a skill. You gain that skill at 10   Power-Up. Upgrade one mutant power by one level.
ranks (4d6). You can take this power multiple times, You may only take this exploit once.
gaining a new skill each time.
56) Glowing. You are able to glow with bright light, illu-
mination the area within 30' of you. You cannot hide 64) Fearless. You are completely immune to fear and
while glowing. If you take this a second time, your glow is fear-based conditions, and cannot be intimidated.
so bright that you gain +2 to both Melee and Ranged 65) Bouncy. You ignore falling damage from 20' or less. If
Defense. A third time causes anybody who enters or you take this a second time, you take half damage from
starts their turn in the aura to gain the Blind all falling damage. A third time makes you completely
condition. immune to falling damage.
61) Plant Control. In natural surroundings you can im- 66) Double-Jointed. Your joints all bend in both direc-
mobilise a target within 30' with a melee attack; vines tions. You can spend a LUC die to automatically escape
and creepers wrap around the victim, rendering him from any restraints. If you take this a second time, you
immobilized. The target can shake this off as normal. If can contort yourself to fit through gaps as small as one-
you take this a second time, the plants will crush and foot in diameter. A third time means that you cannot be
strangle the victim, causing 2d6 unSoakable damage at immobilized or restrained unless you allow it (although
the start of each of his turns. A third time allows you to you can be confined in a cell or similar).
attack all targets within 30'.
62) Hypnotic Gaze. With a CHA mental attack you can
inflict the Charmed condition on an adjacent target
once per round. If you take this a second time, you
may affect a target who can see you within 30'. A third
time extends the power to your voice, so that the target
merely needs to be able to hear you.
63) Ventriloquism. You can make your voice appear to
emanate from anywhere within 30'. If you take this a
second time, you may mimic other voices. A third time
allows you to mimic any sound.

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Cybernetics to succeed at a Difficult [16] END check, and major al-

The science of cybernetics is the modification of organic terations a Demanding [21] END check. Failure means the
creatures with artificial parts. These parts can be elec- alteration is not installed, and the money spent acquiring
tronic, bio-electronic, or mechanical in nature. A heavily the alteration is lost. (Augmented characters never have to
modified creature is known as a cyborg, a combination make these checks.)
of organic and artificial parts (as opposed to an android,   Cybernetic alterations are available at Advancement
which is wholly artificial). Level 5 or 6, depending on the tone of the campaign. (See
  Cybernetic alterations can enhance or improve Action Worldbuilding for details of Advancement Level.)
natural capabilities, compensate for injuries, or grant   Artificial Limbs. Artificial arms and legs interface di-
entirely new capabilities. Anything from an artificial arm rectly with nerves and work exactly like a regular limb,
to retinal targeting implants to reinforced skin can be ac- albeit stronger and faster. Arms add to Strength, and
complished through the science of cybernetics. Even the legs increase Agility (cumulatively, so a full set of four
mind can be altered, with improved cognitive functional- limbs adds +2d6 STR and +2d6 AGI).
ity or extended data storage and memory.   Digi-Claws. These sharp metal talons are hidden within
the fingertips and deploy or retract as a reaction. A crea-
Organic Limitations ture with digi-claws increases its natural damage by +1d6
Most creatures cannot continue adding cybernetic and may inflict slashing or piercing damage. Creatures
parts indefinitely—the body can only accept so much with natural claws cannot benefit from this alteration.
foreign matter. The maximum number of cybernetic mod-   Durarmor/Sub-Dermal Plating. Durarmor is a more
ifications allowed a creature is equal to its Endurance substantial, advanced form of duraskin—an actual layer
attribute. (Some cybernetic alterations increase Endur- of armor under the skin. Flexible layers of resilient dura-
ance. In these cases, the original, unmodified attribute is nium increase a character’s natural Soak by 5.
used to determine the cybernetic modification limit.) For   Duraskin. Duraskin is synthetic skin. The material is
the purpose of calculating this limit, a minor cybernetic tougher than regular skin (Soak 2), as well as being fairly
alteration counts as one modification, and a major altera- fireproof (Soak 5 (fire)). It has a slight yellow tinge.
tion counts as two modifications.   Exosuit. Exosuits are old-fashioned, almost primitive
  Any creature which has reached this limit changes forms of cybernetics. They consist of frameworks on the
its type to mechanoid. (Augmented characters can add outside of the body which tap directly in to the wearer’s
cybernetic alterations after reaching the END-based mod- nervous system, almost like an integrated suit of power
ification limit.) Mechanoid creatures are vulnerable (1d6) armor. A partial exosuit covers just the upper half of the
to electricity damage and (2d6) to ion damage, which is body (+1d6 STR), while a full exosuit includes the legs
specially designed to attack electronics and mechanoids. (+1d6 STR and +1d6 AGI).
  If the setting uses the CHI attribute, each cybernetic al-   Hormonal Regulators. A character with hormonal
teration reduces the character’s CHI dice pool by 1d6. regulators is able to expel gathered hormones of various
types for the appropriate situation. Three times per day
Cybernetic Alterations the character may add +1d6 to a social attribute check
Cybernetic alterations are available to characters with the with another living creature.
Augmented heritage (Augmented characters start with   Injector Implants. An injector implant stores a chemi-
two minor alterations or one major alteration.) Non-Aug- cal or drug for rapid deployment (a free action). The
mented characters can purchase cybernetic alterations implant stores three uses before it needs to be refilled.
if the campaign allows. Not every cybernetic alteration   Input Jacks. These attachments allow you to interface
“takes”; some people are simply unsuitable candidates for with an electronic system (so long as it has an output),
a particular process. The GM may require non-Augment- granting a +1d6 bonus to checks involving computer op-
ed characters purchasing minor cybernetic alterations erations and hacking.

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 Action Careers

CYBERNETIC ALTERATIONS

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 Action Careers

  Memory Chip. Memory chips increase a characters

LOG attribute. Multiple chips can be implanted, which
work cumulatively, but every two chips reduces the char-
acter’s WIL dice pool by 1d6 as his sense of self is gradually
eroded. Skill implants count towards this total.
  Olfactory Sensors. This cybernetic alteration laces the
character’s nasal cavities with a mesh of metal that vastly
improves his or her sense of smell, granting a +1d6 bonus to
checks that rely on the character’s sense of smell (if the crea-
ture already has a scent-based bonus, this is cumulative).
  Retinal Implants. These implants grant permanent
powers of enhanced vision. A basic implant grants one
ability from the list below (a character can have a differ-
ent implant in each eye). More advanced implants offer
multiple abilities in one device at the cost of the total
value of each ability separately multiplied by the number
of abilities. The capabilities of these tiny devices pale in
comparison to those of handheld equipment or bulky,
battery-powered goggles, of course.
  Night Vision. This implant enables the user to see
normally in darkness to a distance of 5' per point of INT.
  Telescopic. This implant doubles the user’s visual
range and increases range increments on weapons the
user is wielding by 50%.
  Magnifying. This implant grants the user a +1d6 bo-
nus to any check that relies on seeing minute details.
  Infrared. This implant enables the user to see objects
or creatures that give off heat to a distance of 10' per
point of INT.
Skeletal Reinforcement. This lengthy and painful
procedure fortifies a character’s entire skeleton, bracing
bones with layers of duranium and reinforcing joints with
flexible duranium mesh, with the overall result being that
the character’s stamina and ability to withstand physical
damage are increased.
  Skill Implant. Similar to a memory chip, a skill implant
gives a character a new skill. Implants only grant a basic
level of proficiency in the skill. Multiple chips can be im-
planted, with different skills, but every two chips reduces
the character’s WIL dice pool by 1d6 as his sense of self is
gradually eroded. Memory chips count towards this total.
  Static Dynamo. A character with this modification
is capable of storing an impressive charge of electricity.
Three times per day, when hit with a melee attack, the

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 Action Careers

character may discharge this energy against the attacker,   Voice Synthesizer. The character can precisely mimic
dealing electric damage equal to the character’s total others’ voices. When doing so, the character gains a +1d6
number of career grades. bonus to CHA checks made to deceive others in situations
  Weapon Integration. A character with an existing cy- where the deception relies upon the assumed voice.
bernetic limb can have a weapon integrated into it. The   Wavelength Receiver. This implant alters the cerebral
character is able to use the weapon exactly as normal, cortex and the vision center of the brain, allowing the
except the weapon cannot be dropped or disarmed. The creature to perceive normally invisible energy types. As a
weapon must be two size categories smaller than the reaction, a creature with a wavelength receiver can tune
character, and whatever its quality it must be paid for in it to detect magnetic, radio, cellphone, or radar waves or
addition to the integration. even chi energy (any type of energy the GM sees fit).

Cybernetics Table
Enhancement Type Cost ($) Effect
Artificial arm Major 100,000 +1d6 to Strength dice pool
Artificial leg Major 125,000 +1d6 to Agility dice pool
Digi-claws Minor 100,000 +1d6 natural damage
Durarmor/sub-dermal plating Major 200,000 Soak 5
Duraskin Major 50,000 Soak 2, Soak 5 (fire)
Exosuit, partial Major 75,000 +1d6 to Strength dice pool
Exosuit, full Major 175,000 +1d6 to Strength, +1d6 to Agility
Hormonal regulators Minor 30,000 +1d6 to social interactions three times per day
Injector implant Minor 18,000 One drug type, injects as a free action three times per refill
Input jacks Minor 50,000 +1d6 to computer operations or hacking
Memory chip Minor 25,000 +1d6 to LOG dice pool
Olfactory sensors Minor 25,000 +1d6 to scent-based INT checks
Retinal implant Minor 15,000 Night, telescopic, magnifying, and/or infrared vision
Skeletal reinforcement Major 110,000 +1d6 to Endurance dice pool
Skill implant Minor 15,000 1 new skill at 1d6
Static dynamo Major 50,000 Discharge electricity in response to an attack
Weapon integration Major 50,000 Integrate weapon into cybernetic limb (add weapon cost)
Voice synthesizer Minor 25,000 Speak with counterfeit voice
Wavelength receiver Minor 50,000 Sense/read/hear energy/radiation wavelengths

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 Action Careers

Origins Farmhand [2d6+6 years]

Select one origin at the time of character creation. Your You grew up on a farm—a wheat or dairy farm, or similar.
character’s origin represents his or her upbringing and Prerequisites: none.
childhood. Some heritages have heritage-specific origins. Attributes: STR +1, END +1, INT +1, WIL +1
You can take an origin multiple times (after the first time, Skill Choices: [outdoor], [vehicle], [physical], [crafting],
they take only 1d6 years), but once you leave an origin, you [technical]
can never go back. Dreamer. You may recharge your Luck attribute one extra
time each day by spending five minutes daydreaming
Acrobat [2d6+6 years] about farm life and wide-open spaces.
You’ve been trained in acrobatics, taught to flip and cart-
wheel with ease to entertain spectators. Perhaps you grew Geek [2d6+6 years]
up in a circus or travelling show. You were obsessed with geek culture; you can recite lines
Prerequisites: none. from your favorite movies, rules from your favorite tabletop
Attributes: STR +1, AGI +1, CHA+1, REP +1 games, or obscure facts from your favorite video games.
Skill Choices: running, jumping, climbing, throwing, Prerequisites: none.
acrobatics Attributes: INT +1, LOG +1, WIL +1, LUC +1
Slippery. It isn’t easy to hit you. You receive a +2 to De- Skill Choices: [trivia], [gaming]
fense when you are aware of an incoming attack, and What Would Luke Do? Once per day you can be inspired
you reduce falling damage by 1d6. by a pop culture character: you may spend all of your
LUC dice on a check without reducing your LUC pool.
Everyman [2d6+6 years]
Your childhood was characterized only by its unremark- Jock [2d6+6 years]
ability. A normal childhood and high school experience, You were a football player (or other sportsman) in high
reasonable grades, and a typical teenaged social life, per- school. You developed your physical and social skills, but
haps you dreamed of being something more. your academic skills fell slightly behind.
Prerequisites: none. Prerequisites: none.
Attributes: END +1, LOG +1, CHA +1, LUC +1 Attributes: STR +1, AGI +1, END +1, CHA +1
Skill Choices: [scientific], [outdoor], computers, carousing, Skill Choices: [sporting], [physical], carousing,
[performance] intimidation
Ordinary. Your very nondescript nature makes you easily Athlete. Choose one: You can throw objects with a +50%
able to blend in unnoticed, giving you a +1d6 bonus to to their range increment, or you gain a permanent +2
attempts to bluff, disguise, or otherwise remain visible bonus to your Speed.
but unremarked upon.
Martial Artist [2d6+6 years]
Experiment [1d6 years] The story of your youth involves disciplined, regimented
You were the subject of tests and experiments by scientists schooling in a traditional style of fighting, typically at a
and doctors, whether created or altered. Your childhood dojo in a remote location.
was spent in a lab. Prerequisites: none.
Prerequisites: none. Attributes: AGI +1, END +1, WIL +1, Chi +1
Attributes: STR +1, AGI +1, END +1, LOG +1 Skill Choices: martial arts, acrobatics, religion, [artistic],
Skill Choices: [physical] staves, polearms
Programming. You have been bred and engineered for Training. Your training proves that the old ways are often
a purpose. At the start of a fight your “programming” the best, for more reasons than one. You receive a +1 bo-
kicks in, granting you a +2d6 Initiative bonus. nus to all three Defenses.

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 Action Careers

Military Brat [2d6+6 years] Be Prepared. Once per day you can produce a small ob-
You spent time getting shuffled around from military base ject worth $10 or less from your pockets.
to military base or otherwise learning from modern soldiers.
Prerequisites: none. Scion [15 years]
Attributes: END +1, LOG +1, WIL +1, LUC +1 You had a privileged upbringing in a wealthy family, heir to
Skill Choices: [vehicle], pistols, rifles, carousing, survival old money. You have never known hardship.
Tactical. You gain 3 ranks (2d6) in the tactics skill. Prerequisites: none.
Attributes: INT +1, CHA +1, REP +2
Nerd [2d6+6 years] Skill Choices: [trivia], [social], [artistic], [gaming],
You’ve been obsessed with computer systems. [sporting]
Prerequisites: none. Privileged. You gain two sets of superior quality clothing
Attributes: LOG +2, LUC +1, REP +1 and start play with a bonus $1,000.
Skill Choices: [computers], bureaucracy, cryptology, gam-
ing, [scientific] Street Tough [2d6+6 years]
White-hat. You are practiced at hacking and anti-hacking You fell in with local gangs and the lower echelons of orga-
techniques. You can actively provide a computer sys- nized crime, looking up to gangsters as role models. You
tem with a +4 Electronic Defense score and gain a joined a gang, played truant, and engaged in petty crime.
+1d6 bonus to electronic attacks. Prerequisites: none.
Attributes: AGI +1, INT +1, CHA +1, LUC +1
Novice [2d6+6 years] Skill Choices: intimidation, thievery, appraisal, brawling,
You were brought up in a monastic or religious order. knives, clubs
Prerequisites: none. Fell Off a Truck. You may acquire starting equipment at
Attributes: END +1, INT +1, WIL +1, Chi +1 half cost. However, any items you acquire this way are
Skill Choices: religion, [artistic], linguistics, insight actually stolen.
Confidant. You can discern a lie through a mix of intu-
ition and experience. You gain a +1d6 bonus to discern Survivor [2d6+6 years]
lies and deceptions. The story of your childhood is one of hardship and war
zones; you’ve grown a thick hide from conflict or war.
Orphan [2d6 +6 years] Prerequisites: none.
Your childhood was not a happy one. Attributes: AGI +1, END +1, INT +1, WIL +1
Prerequisites: none. Skill Choices: [outdoors], stealth, [vehicle], running
Attributes: AGI +1, INT +1, CHA +1, LUC +1 Endurance. You've endured a lot, and you have the scars
Skill Choices: brawling, stealth, thievery, running, bluffing, to prove it. You gain +2 natural Soak.
[performance]
Urchin. You’re familiar with urban backgrounds and can Traveler [2d6+6 years]
blend in easily. After spending one hour in a new city, Your parents travelled a lot, which gave you great exposure
you learn the names of some local crime figures. to the wonders and goings on of the world.
Prerequisites: none.
Scout/Eagle [2d6+6 years] Attributes: END +1, INT +1, LUC +1, REP +1
Always prepared, you were a member of the Boy or Girl Skill Choices: piloting, sailing, navigation, bureaucracy,
Scouts or a similar organization. linguistics
Prerequisites: none. Stargazer. Your extensive travels have heightened your
Attributes: AGI +1, INT +1, LOG +1, WIL +1 sense of location. You can tell which country and city
Skill Choices: [crafting], [miscellaneous hobby], [outdoor] you are in if you can see the sky.

35
 Action Careers

Careers indicates otherwise. Some exploits require prerequisites,

Careers are occupations held by characters over the which are noted in their description—you must meet that
course of their lives. Characters may hold multiple ca- prerequisite before selecting the exploit. Occasionally, an
reers over a period of many years, and gain knowledge exploit may appear in more than one career; you may still
and skills from each. only select it once, even if you choose both careers.
  What’s O.L.D. Is N.E.W. uses a “life-path” system to
create and advance characters. Characters begin play Repeating Careers
with five careers. Choose one origin (see above) and four You can take careers multiple times (except after you have
further careers. When you choose a career, you gain attri- taken a career other than your origin, you cannot take your
bute increases, skill ranks, and access to unique exploits. origin again). Each time you take the career, you choose
 Prerequisites. Careers sometimes have prerequisites, two skills, apply the attribute increases again, and select
which can be thought of as qualifications—demonstrated one of the available exploits. Once you have exhausted all
competence in a given area. Specific game settings may of the listed exploits through repetition of a career, you
have more stringent prerequisites; for example, a secret may select a universal exploit instead when you advance
spy organization might require that a character complete a grade in that career.
an army tour before becoming a secret agent. The GM   You can take careers multiple times. Each time you take
should inform players of any setting-based prerequisites the career, you choose two skills, apply the attribute in-
such as organizational career ladders. creases again, and select one of the available exploits.
 Skills. Characters may choose two skills from each   If you repeat a career, its additional grades are referred
career grade. Defensive skills—for example, acrobatics, to by their title, as shown in the table. For example, a cop
bravery, concentration, conviction, discipline, dodging, who has taken the Police Officer career four times is re-
foresight, leadership, meditation, psychology, religion, and garded as a Seasoned Police Officer. This ranking system
rulership—are always available. Listings in [square brack- applies only to grades within a career, not total grades.
ets] indicate categories; the character may choose a skill
from the indicated category or create a new, relevant skill. Repeating Careers: Experience
A completed grade 5 character will have a total of 13 skill Career Grades Experience
ranks (3 heritage skills and 2 career skills per grade). 1 Novice/Rookie
 Attributes. Characters advance 4 attribute points from 2 Practised
each career grade. Apply all listed attribute adjustments. 3 Experienced
 Exploits. Choose one of the listed exploits for your ca- 4 Seasoned
reer or select a universal exploit. You may only choose 5 Veteran
a given exploit once, unless that exploit specifically 6 Doyen

36
 Action Careers

•• Academic careers include educational Career List

and scientific choices, and can earn Below is a full list of all careers in this book, sorted by type.
character qualifications. A college edu- •• Origins (see above): Acrobat, Everyman, Experiment, Farm-
cation can often substitute for Military hand, Geek, Jock, Martial Artist, Military Brat, Nerd, Novice,
Academy for those intending to enter Orphan, Scout/Eagle, Ruffian, Scion, Street Tough, Survivor,
service. Some academic careers earn Traveler.
your character an educational quali- •• Academic: Archaeologist, College, Engineer, Medic, Scientist,
fication or title. For example, you can Student
gain degrees and doctorates at college. •• Criminal: Burglar, Con Artist, Hacker, Gangster, Prisoner,
•• Criminal careers include a variety Smuggler, Street Thug.
of life choices, all of which are illegal. •• Investigative: Bounty Hunter, Dark Crusader, Detective, Police
From low level street thugs to gangsters, Officer, Private Eye, Reporter, Spy, Vigilante
all criminal careers carry the added •• Military: Assassin, Boot Camp, Explosives Expert, Guerilla
risk of prison. After taking a grade in a Fighter, Heavy Gunner, Infiltrator, Scout, Sniper, Soldier
criminal career, roll 1d6. On a roll of 1, •• Social: Actor, Ambassador, Diplomat, Gambler, Lawyer, Per-
you must next take the Prisoner career. former, Politician, Priest, Socialite, Teacher
•• Investigative careers include law •• Vocational: Athlete, Bartender, Bouncer, Boxer, Chef, Crafts-
enforcement style occupations, both man, Diver, Drifter, Driver, Firefighter, Laborer, Miner, Pilot,
official and freelance. Cops, spies, and Performer, Sailor, Trader
bounty hunters all share the desire to •• Exotic: Astronaut, Cultist, Ninja, Sensei/Sifu, Stuntman, Surviv-
locate and apprehend (or kill) suspects, alist, Warrior-Monk
using unique skills developed for that
very purpose.
•• Military careers are the jobs of
members of standing armies as well
as mercenaries and soldiers of fortune.
Most military careers begin with a
stint at Military Academy, but a college
degree can often circumvent that
requirement.
•• Social careers include occupations in
which the character helps, represents,
or entertains other people.
•• Vocational careers represent those
doing regular jobs, earning their way
primarily by doing something ac-
tive, sometimes requiring specialized
knowledge or education.
•• Exotic careers include occupations
that only a select few ever enter, wheth-
er this is because the work itself is of
rarefied difficulty or because simply
getting one’s foot in the door requires
knowledge that’s hard to come by.

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 Action Careers

Actor [1d6 years] Direction Sense. You always know where you are, and you
A star of screen or stage, you make your living pretending to never get lost.
be somebody else. Each time you take this career, roll 1d6. If Linguist. You can speak and understand any language, al-
you roll a 6, you win an award. Roll again: (1) BAFTA, (2) though it might sometimes take you a moment to figure
Emmy, (3) Tony, (4) Soap Opera Digest, (5) Razzie, (6) Oscar. it out.
An award gives you +1 REP.
Prerequisites: none. Assassin [1d6 years]
Attributes: LOG +1, INT +1, CHA +1, REP +1 A killer for hire, you mastered the skills of assassination.
Skill Choices: swords, acting, singing, dancing, flirtation, Prerequisites: stealth, tracking, [combat].
carousing, bluffing, linguistics, movie trivia, celebrity Attributes: STR +1, AGI +1, INT +1, REP +1
trivia, theater trivia, disguise Skill Choices: [combat], stealth, thievery, perception, in-
Box-Office Star (requires B-movie). You were in a block- timidate, disguise
buster movie. You gain REP +2 and begin play with Killing Blow. Any attack you make during the ambush
an extra $1,000. You also learned one new skill of your turn gains a +2d6 bonus to attack.
choice at 1 rank (1d6). Name your movie. Ambush. You gain +2d6 to rolls made to access the am-
Method Actor. You immerse yourself into your roles. In- bush turn.
crease your acting skill to 6 ranks. Weak Point. Once per enemy you may ignore any Soak
Stage-Fright. You learned to overcome your nerves on the score he possesses by targeting a weak spot.
stage. Once per day you may ignore a fear-based effect. Sneak. If nobody is actively looking for you, you are able
Costumer. You are used to wearing costumes in your roles. to move silently and unseen at half your normal speed.
Gain the disguise skill at 6 ranks. You are effectively invisible. However, if anybody is
B-Movie. You were in a classic B-movie. You gain REP +1 actually looking for you, they may make INT checks as
and and begin play with an extra $500. You also learned normal to spot you.
one new skill of your choice at 1 rank (1d6). Name your
movie. Astronaut [1d6 years]
Catchphrase. You are associated with a catchphrase. You trained to become an astronaut and travelled into
Once per day you can use your catchphrase and gain space, either into orbit or to the moon or a similar body.
+1d6 on any roll. Write down your catchphrase. Prerequisites: [scientific] or piloting.
Attributes: END +1, INT +1, LOG +1, REP +1
Archeologist [1d6 years] Skill Choices: piloting, zero-g, engineering, physics, medi-
As an archeologist, you explored dark caves, tracked down cine, astronomy
lost treasures, and dug a lot of holes. G-Forces. You are trained to resist g-forces. You gain Soak
Prerequisites: none. 5 to crushing damage.
Attributes: INT +1, LOG +1, WIL +1, LUC +1 Space Sickness. Nearly every astronaut gets sick. You
Skill Choices: literature, history, art, linguistics, theology, learn to ignore it. You become immune to sickness
geography, climbing, archeology, cryptology, appraisal conditions.
Not Another Trap! You can spend a LUC die to automati- Spacewalker. You gain a zero-g Speed equal to your regu-
cally avoid a trap. lar speed.
Great Discovery. You discovered something incredible—
the Holy Grail, the Ark of the Covenant, or something Athlete [1d6 years]
equally impressive. You gain +2 REP. You are a professional athlete, whether that be in a team
Antique. You start play with an antique weapon, which is sport or a track and field event.
of exceptional quality. Prerequisites: [sport] or [physical].
Attributes: STR +1, AGI +1, END +1, REP +1

38
 Action Careers

Skill Choices: [physical], [sporting], carousing, flirtation, Make a Challenging [13] CHA check before advancing
[unarmed combat] any attributes. If you succeed, you automatically gain a
Athletic. Choose four [physical] skills. You gain these four second military rank.
skills at 1 rank (1d6). This does not increase the rank of
an existing skill. Bouncer [1d6 years]
Runner. You gain a +1 Speed bonus. You stood guard at the door to a bar, club, or other private
Fit. You gain a +5 Health bonus. venue.
Signing Bonus. You are signed to a team and gain a $1,000 Prerequisites: none.
signing bonus. Attributes: STR +1, END +1, INT +1, CHA +1
Skill Choices: hardy, insight, perception, brawling, reac-
Bartender [1d6 years] tions, carousing, law
Bartending is a great way to pay the bills. Some make a life- Immovable Object. You know how to plant yourself in
long career of it. place and refuse to budge. You may spend a LUC die
Prerequisites: none. to negate any forced movement from a creature of your
Attributes: END +1, INT +1, CHA +1, LUC +1 size or smaller.
Skill Choices: [social], carousing, perception, brewing, Quick Search. You are adept at spotting concealed weap-
cooking, brawling, clubs ons, drugs, and other things. You automatically spot
Bouncer. You gain a +1d6 bonus to checks vs. an intoxi- hidden items concealed about somebody’s person.
cated creature. Age Check. Not only can you discern somebody’s age at a
Fake ID. Knowing how to spot a fake ID helps you spot the glance, you can see through disguises.
telltale signs of falsified documents of many kinds. You Fake ID. Knowing how to spot a fake ID helps you spot the
gain a +1d6 bonus to detect forgeries. telltale signs of falsified documents of many kinds. You
Gossip. You can gather local gossip and information sim- gain a +1d6 bonus to detect forgeries.
ply by spending an hour in a bar or other watering hole, Pin. You know how to pin somebody in place. Make a me-
effectively giving you the local knowledge skill wherever lee attack against an adjacent target your size or smaller.
you go as long as you are able to refresh your knowledge On a success, the target is pinned in place unless they
at a local bar weekly. escape with a melee attack against you. You may move
at half-speed, taking your pinned target with you. A
Boot Camp [1 year] pinned target may not make any attacks other than an
You joined the military and completed basic military train- attempt to escape.
ing. Some programs send recruits to college to gain degrees
before returning to cadet assignments. Bounty Hunter [1d6 years]
Prerequisites: none. As a bounty hunter you spent time tracking down and cap-
Attributes: AGI +1, LOG +1, WIL +1, CHA +1 turing wanted criminals.
Skill Choices: carrying, pistols, rifles, leadership, tactics, Prerequisites: none.
survival Attributes: AGI +1, INT +1, LOG +1, REP +1
Basic Training. You gain a uniform which incorporates a Skill Choices: tracking, piloting, stealth, law, computers,
kevlar vest. You also gain one rank in tactics, rifles, law, perception, intimidate, [combat]
and survival. Prey. You may choose a target species. You gain a +1d6 bo-
Officer Training [requires Basic Training]. A second stint nus to attempts to track targets of that species.
in the Academy prepares you for command. You auto- Datamining. You are able to locate a target’s current loca-
matically gain a military rank and the leadership skill tion down to a specific city by accessing credit, criminal,
at 1 rank if you do not already have it. You gain +2 REP. customs, and other records if you have access to a com-
puter link.

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 Action Careers

Boxer [1d6 years] Burglar [1d6 years]

The ring is your king. You have been in scores of fights You become a master thief, able to infiltrate the most secure
(both sanctioned and otherwise), endured countless days of locations. Some cat burglars work for hire and conduct
and nights of strenuous physical training, and your body industrial espionage, while others prefer to steal valuable
is a shrine to thousands of jabs, hooks, and hastily landed artifacts and jewels from museums and high security vaults.
strikes. Prerequisites: stealth.
Prerequisites: boxing. Attributes: AGI +1, INT +1, LUC +1, REP +1
Attributes: STR +1, END +1, WIL +1, REP +1 Skill Choices: climbing, jumping, acrobatics, escape artist,
Skill Choices: boxing, hardy, reactions, intimidate computers, stealth, thievery, appraisal
One-Two. Once per turn, you may make a quick second Locksmith. You gain a exceptional quality lockpicking kit.
boxing attack for free. This second attack may not have Cat Burglar. An expert at climbing, you do not take any
any exploits attached to it. die penalties in combat while climbing.
Haymaker. With a wild swing, you pool all your attack Sixth Sense. You have a sixth sense when it comes to traps,
potential into one mighty blow. The attack costs two and gain a +2d6 bonus to spot them and a +1d6 bonus to
actions, suffers a –2d6 penalty to hit, but deals double avoid or disarm them.
damage. If you miss, however, you put yourself at a dis- Climber [requires Cat Burglar]. Your climbing speed be-
advantage, allowing your opponent an immediate free comes equal to your regular Speed.
attack at you. Grand Heist. You achieve a great robbery that will be re-
Beat the Count. Once per day, when reduced to 0 health, membered for years to come. Gain a bonus 3d6 × $100.
you may spend two actions to recover 2d6 health and You may repeat this exploit, gaining 3d6 × $100 each time.
stand up.
Rope-a-Dope. You allow your enemy to attack you, fooling Chef [1d6 years]
him into believing he is winning. You allow the enemy’s You know how to cook, to prepare amazing meals, and to
next two melee attacks to strike home, choosing to re- run a kitchen.
ceive the damage; after the second attack, you respond Prerequisites: cooking.
with a melee counterattack which does bonus damage Attributes: AGI +1, INT +1, LOG +1, REP +1
equal to the damage he dealt you. Skill Choices: cooking, brewing, gardening, knives
K.O. (requires Haymaker). A mighty blow fells your op- Cooking Knives. You are an expert at cutting flesh with a
ponent, knocking him to the ground and inflicting the blade. When using a knife, you do +1d6 damage.
Downed condition until he shakes that condition off. Poison Resistance. You often have to taste your food, and
Bare Knuckles. Not every fight is in a well-lit ring with you have developed Soak 5 vs. poisons.
ropes, medical staff, or even gloves—and you know that Poisoner. You know how to make a poison. It takes you
better than anyone. People have been tangling with you five minutes, and lasts for one hour before becoming
in back alleys, bars, and maybe even prison yards, fist ineffective. Your poison does poison damage equal to
for fist, for years. Your boxing damage increases by 1d6 a roll of your LOG dice pool when ingested.
when not using gloves. Kitchen Management. Running a kitchen is a grueling job.
Battered. Cauliflower ears and broken nose you may have, You know how to get the most out of your underlings,
but you can take a hit without flinching. You gain Soak even if you have to shout profanities at them. Once per
5 (blunt). day, you may spend two actions to give all allies within
30' one immediate free action.
A Good Meal. Once per day you can spend an hour pre-
paring a good meal for a number of people equal to your
LOG score. The meal restores 1d6 Health to all who eat
it, or it removes the Fatigued condition.

40
 Action Careers

Con Artist [1d6 years]

You honed your skills and learned how to trick others out
of their money with charm, lies, bluffs, disguise, and more.
Many career criminals combine the con with burglary.
Prerequisites: bluffing.
Attributes: INT +1, LOG +1, CHA +1, LUC +1
College [4 years] Skill Choices: [social], disguise, bribery, forgery, [gaming],
You attended a civilian college or university and gained appraisal
formal qualifications in a chosen area of study. Choose a Grifter. In a bar or other crowded social situation, you can
subject, which can be any skill, but is typically a [scientific], automatically make money equal to a CHA check × $10
[technical], or [artistic] skill. You can restart this career at in the space of an hour using only the gift of the gab.
any time to gain degrees in additional subjects. You can only do this once per day. This exploit cannot
Prerequisites: none. be used during downtime.
Attributes: LOG +1, WIL +1, CHA +1, REP +1 Impersonate. You are easily able to impersonate any job
Skill Choices: computers, [scientific], [artistic], [sporting], role which you have had opportunity to observe within
[social], [technical] the past day, even briefly. You gain a +1d6 bonus if you
Bachelor. After a four-year course, you gained a Bach- have been able to observe and mimic an example.
elor’s degree or equivalent at university. Improve your Quick Change. You are able to don a quick disguise in one
skill ranks in your chosen subject to 3. Your research round instead of five minutes. This must be a disguise
skills are developed. If you have access to a library or you’ve successfully used before.
computer network, you gain a +1d6 bonus to attempts Beguiling. You are able to temporarily beguile and cap-
to learn information about a subject. Make a Challeng- tivate a target with your words as a CHA vs. Mental
ing  [13] LOG check before advancing any attributes. If Defense check. A successful check charms the target
you succeed, you pass this degree with honors and gain until they shake off the condition. The target must be
1 bonus REP attribute point. able to understand you and have a Logic attribute of at
Masters [requires Bachelor]. You remain in college and least 3.
gain a Masters degree in your subject. You gain 1 bonus
skill rank in your chosen subject. Make a Difficult [16] Craftsman [1d6 years]
LOG check before advancing any attributes. If you suc- You made your living by practising your craft as a carpenter,
ceed, you pass this degree with honors and gain 1 bonus electrician, mechanic, or other professional skilled worker.
REP attribute point. Prerequisites: [crafting] or [technical].
Doctorate [requires Masters]. After further studies, you Attributes: STR +1, AGI +1, LOG +1, CHA +1
gained a Doctorate at university. You may now call Skill Choices: [technical], [artistic], [crafting]
yourself a doctor (not the Doctor). Gaining a doctor- Handyman. Choose four [crafting] skills. You gain these
ate requires not just an expert knowledge of a subject, four skills at 1 rank (1d6). This does not increase the
but also rigorous skills of analysis and evaluation and rank of an existing skill.
critical achievement. Improve your skill ranks in your Toolkit. You gain a set of high quality tools.
chosen subject to 6. Make a Demanding [21] LOG check Tradesman. You can make 3d6 × $10 per week by plying
before advancing any attributes. If you succeed, you your trade.
pass this degree with honors and have also made a Builder. Assuming raw materials are available, you can
minor breakthrough in your chosen subject, and are make an item of equipment in one day by rolling a LOG
known amongst peers for it, gaining you a bonus 2 check vs. the item’s value (up to $20).
points to your REP attribute. Choose the nature of your Fixer. You gain a +1d6 bonus to any attempt to repair
breakthrough. something.

41
 Action Careers

Cultist [1d6 years] Dark Crusader [1d6 years]

You were either part of a cult, or you have intensively stud- You prowl the streets at night. More than just a vigilante,
ied cults or the occult. you are a symbol. You have learned how to instill fear into
Prerequisite: religion. the hearts of criminals, and the very mention of your name
Attributes: AGI +1, INT +1, LOG +1, CHA +1 is enough to make hardened gang members look nervously
Skill Choices: religion, history, politics, philosophy, over their shoulders.
knives, meditation, disguise, [social], hypnotism, occult, Prerequisites: stealth.
astrology Attributes: AGI +1, INT +1, WIL +1, REP +1
Devotion. You are utterly devoted to your cause. Your sin- Skill Choices: stealth, climbing, jumping, acrobatics, in-
gle-mindedness grants you +4 Mental Defense. timidation, thievery, [combat]
Occultist. You have knowledge of the paranormal; things Dark Knight. You operate best at night, knowing how to
that were not meant to be known. You gain 6 ranks (3d6) use the shadows to your advantage. Once per day, dur-
in the occult skill. Once per day you may spend 5 min- ing the hours of darkness, you gain a +1d6 bonus to all
utes to cast an augury which gives you the answer to a dice pools for one minute.
yes-or-no question. Fearful Legend. Criminals fear you, and rightly so. You
Sacrificial Dagger. You start play with a high-quality dag- may make a REP vs. Mental Defense attack against a
ger that has either the Serrated Blade or the Sharpened target wihtin 30' to inflict the Afraid condition on a
customization. target until they shake it off.
Poison Resistance. Part of your cult’s observances involve Vanish. You are renowned for your ability to simply disap-
drinking poison. You gain Soak 5 (poison). pear; some even believe it to be supernatural. Once per
Fanatic. You may be slightly unhinged; you are complete- day, during the hours of darkness, you may effectively
ly immune to the Afraid condition. turn invisible until you attack.
Utility Belt. You gain one gadget of your choice.
Costume. You gain a costume which acts as armor with
Occult & Magic Soak 8. This special costume does not require armor
This book does not contain details of magic, being training to use effectively even when it is of high quality
more grounded in the Action genre. However, WOIN or better, and can be upgraded one stage by taking this
does have extensive magic rules which you are en- exploit again, become high quality, exceptional, and so
couraged to use if you want to include the occult or on. You may repeat this exploit up to five times, upgrad-
other magic in your game. ing your costume each time.
 See O.L.D. The Fantasy Heroic Roleplaying Game, or
Elements of Magic, which is the magic chapter from Detective [1d6 years]
O.L.D. available separately in softcover format. There You become a detective, expert at spotting clues and finding
you will find details of magical skills and secrets, your man. Even if you leave the profession, you still retain
along with alchemy and other “elements” of magic. enough contacts to call in favors and request information.
Using those rules, characters can throw firebolts, Prerequisites: none.
summon dark creatures, enchant their foes, and more. Attributes: AGI +1, INT +2, CHA +1
  If you do use those rules, the Cultist in this book Skill Choices: interrogation, pistols, driving, bureaucracy,
should also have access to [magical] skills. You perception, intimidate, stealth, tracking, law
should also allow careers such as the Mage, Cleric, Clues. If there are any clues to find at a crime scene, you
Necromancer, Druid, and Diabolist from O.L.D. automatically find them within 5 minutes.
Criminal Record. You can freely access police databanks
and automatically discover any information held on file
by the police about a suspect.

42
 Action Careers

Plate Number. You can request a registration plate num-

ber lookup, and automatically determine the registered
owner and address of a vehicle.

Diplomat [1d6 years]

You have represented your country elsewhere.
Prerequisites: [social].
Attributes: INT +1, CHA +2, REP +1
Skill Choices: [social], bureaucracy, law, politics, local
knowledge
Diplomatic. Choose four [social] skills. You gain these
four skills at 1 rank (1d6). This does not increase the
rank of an existing skill.
Diplomatic Pouch. You have a diplomatic pouch in which
any small sized item can be carried through customs Drifter [1d6 years]
without inspection. Somehow you lost your way. Drinking, gambling, with no
Embassy. You have access to your home country’s am- clear objective, you drifted through the fringes of society.
bassadorial embassy and residences in any country (if Perhaps you never fit in; perhaps you are a war veteran who
there are any), which can provide food, shelter, basic found home was no longer “home.”
equipment, and medical care. Prerequisites: none.
Diplomatic Immunity. You gain diplomatic immunity to Attributes: END +1, INT +1, CHA +1, LUC +1
very low-level and petty crimes in any country which Skill Choices: carousing, gaming, flirtation, performing,
contains an embassy for your country. bluffing, appraisal, thievery
Unseen. You know how to blend in so that nobody pays
Diver [1d6 years] any attention to you. You gain a +1d6 bonus when at-
Whether it was a commercial job, or for the military or po- tempting to do so.
lice, you feel most at home in a wet suit. You became a diver,
able to explore the ocean depths. Driver [1d6 years]
Prerequisites: swimming. Cars are your “thing.” You’ve spent more time behind the
Attributes: STR +1, AGI +1, END +1, INT +1 wheel than most people spend sleeping, either as a racing
Skill Choices: swimming, perception, hardy, oceanogra- driver, such as in Formula 1 or NASCAR, a getaway driver,
phy, sailing a stunt driver, or even a military driver.
Like a Fish. You gain a Swim speed equal to your regular Prerequisites: driving.
Speed. Attributes: AGI +1, INT +1, LUC +1, REP +1
Hold Breath. You can hold your breath for a number of Skill Choices: driving, engineering, reactions
minutes equal to your END dice pool. Getaway. If a vehicle is within one move increment of you,
Murky Depths. You can see well underwater and in other you can get in, start the engine, and drive away at the
dark environments, gaining darksight to a distance of 5' vehicle’s Speed all with just two actions (one turn).
per point of INT. Racer. You can push a vehicle to extreme speeds, increas-
High Diver. You never take damage when falling into wa- ing its Speed by 2.
ter from any height. Evasive Driving. When you are driving a vehicle, it gains
+4 Defense.
Shoot ’n’ Drive. While driving, you may take a free side-
arm shot once per round.

43
 Action Careers

Engineer [1d6 years] Explosives Expert [1d6 years]

You became an engineer, proficient at manipulating tech- You were either a bomb disposal or a demolitions expert.
nology and repairing vehicles, devices and engines. You just love the smell of napalm in the morning. Some-
Prerequisites: engineering. thing about the smell of explosives, or maybe the very loud
Attributes: STR +1, AGI +1, LOG +1, LUC +1 boom they make, is very pleasing to you. Of course, you
Skill Choices: computers, [technical], bureaucracy can’t discount the whiz of shrapnel, oh, and the display, the
Technical Knowledge Base. Choose four [technical] skills. coruscating fireballs...
You gain these four skills at 1 rank (1d6). This does not Prerequisites: none.
increase the rank of an existing skill. Attributes: AGI +1, INT +1, LOG +1, LUC +1
Jury-Rig. You can temporarily repair and jury-rig a bro- Skill Choices: explosives, hardy, perception, reactions,
ken item of size Medium or smaller by spending five electronics, thievery
minutes with it. The item will operate for a number of Home Cooking. You can make an explosive out of regular
minutes equal to your LOG check. If you spend one household items (a minimum of 4 components) with a
hour with it, it will operate for a number of hours equal minute of work. This explosive deals 2d6 heat damage
to your LOG check. If you spend a day with it, it will op- to all within 5'. The explosives can be stored, but only
erate for a number of days equal to your LOG check. up to four hours.
Upgrade. You can modify a piece of electronic equipment Booby Trapping. Using a home-cooked device (made
of size Small or smaller to upgrade it permanently to a as above), a grenade, or similar explosive, you can rig
high quality item. This process takes one hour, but the a door, trunk, or object to explode when opened or at
item can only be used by you due to unfamiliar and ju- a specific time. This takes 2 actions and is obvious. By
ry-rigged controls, and renders it monetarily worthless. spending 5 minutes you can hide it; anyone activating it
Engine-Tuner. A vehicle to which you have an hour’s ac- gets an opposed check (their INT vs. your AGI) to notice
cess increases its maximum Speed by 1. This does not the trap before it is set off.
stack with other engineers’ use of this exploit, should Boom-Boom! Explosive devices, such as grenades, do
others be present. +1d6 damage when you use them.
Engine-Master [requires Engine-Tuner]. You can in- Shaped Charge. You know exactly how to target explo-
crease your vehicle’s speed by 2 for a number of hours sives. You may direct any area of effect attack with a
equal to your LOG check, after which the engine can- radius so that it explodes in a cone in a single direction.
not be used for 24 hours. This does not stack with other The cone size is equal to the diameter (not radius) of the
engineers’ use of this exploit, should others be present. original explosion, so a 5' radius explosion can be di-
Explosives. You can create explosives from common items rected into a 10' cone.
and surroundings. The explosive takes 30 minutes to Disarm Bomb. If you have a minute to spare, you can dis-
make, and causes 3d6 heat damage to all within 5'. The arm any explosive device. If it is timed, it dramatically
explosive can be stored, but only for up to two hours. happens at the last second.
Saboteur. You are able to disable any mechanical or elec- Duck and Cover. You know how to avoid damage from ex-
tronic device to which you have access. This exploit plosives and similar effects. You take half damage from
does not open a locked door (disabling the lock just area of effect attacks.
means it remains stuck in whatever configuration it is Don’t Step There! You always notice explosive devices and
currently in). This takes you five minutes. traps within 10' of you, even if an attribute check would
normally be required.

44
 Action Careers

Firefighter [1d6 years] Gangster [1d6 years]

Fighting fires is a noble calling, and you resolutely put your- Eventually your life of crime led you to "better" things as you
self at risk to help others. fell into a gang or crew.
Prerequisites: none. Prerequisites: intimidate.
Attributes: AGI +1, END +1, INT +1, LUC +1 Attributes: STR +1, INT +1, CHA +1, REP +1
Skill Choices: climbing, carrying, jumping, carousing, ex- Skill Choices: intimidation, thievery, driving, pistols
plosives, local knowledge Intimidating. Intimidation is your way of life, especially
Fire Resistant. You’ve been through many fires, and have in the criminal underworld. When attempting to in-
developed a resistance to it. You gain natural Soak 5 timidate a criminal, you gain a +1d6 bonus.
(heat). Protection Racket. A protection racket is a lucrative and
Ladder Climber. You spend a lot of time climbing ladders, steady stream of income. Within your REP sphere you
broken stairs, even drainpipes and walls. You gain a have a route. You gain your REP × $100 each week. This
CLIMB speed equal to your regular Speed. exploit cannot be used during downtime.
Fireman’s Lift. When carrying another person, you are
not encumbered or slowed in any way. Guerilla Fighter [1d6 years]
Door Breaker. Your dice pool explodes when you are Either as a dangerous lone wolf or as part of an organized
breaking down a door. resistance, you’re experienced with waging war on the go,
Hold Breath. Like a swimmer, you have learned to hold mounting military strikes and melting away quickly after-
your breath; in your case it’s so that you do not inhale ward. After taking a grade in this career, roll 1d6; on a 2 or
noxious fumes or smoke. You can hold your breath for less, the next career you take must be Prison.
one minute per point of INT. Prerequisites: survival.
Extinguish. You can extinguish flames in an adjacent Attributes: END +1, INT +1, LUC +1, REP +1
square by spending one action. Skill Choices: bravery, pistols, rifles, stealth, tactics, sur-
Drop and Roll. You can completely remove the Fire status vival, perception, disguise
track from yourself or an adjacent creature by spending Ambush Expert. During an ambush turn you can take a
two actions. second action.
Blend In. If you are a wanted fugitive or actively being
Gambler [1d6 years] pursued by someone, you can disappear into a crowd
You became an expert gambler, proficient at games of skill twice per day.
and chance. Hit-and-Run. You can move from out of line of sight, into
Prerequisites: [gaming]. firing position, make an attack action, and then back to
Attributes: INT +1, CHA +1, LUC +1, REP +1 out of line of sight twice per day.
Skill Choices: [gaming], [social], thievery Always Ready. Sleep in armor with no penalty. Anyone
Good Game. Once per day, when you are in a situation sneaking up on you while you sleep must make a Dif-
where you can gamble for cash, roll 1d6 and multiply by ficult [16] AGI check to do so.
$100. You win that much money. Sabotage. You can prepare booby-traps using home-made
Lucky Streak. You may replenish your Luck attribute an devices as an explosives expert. There is no duration for
extra time each day. how long one of your home-cooked devices remains po-
Cheat. You know a couple of tricks. In a game of chance, tent, and it may be rigged to go off at any time.
you may reroll any 1s in your dice pool.

45
 Action Careers

Hacker [1d6 years] Heavy Specialty (requires This Ain’t Heavy). You deal
Hacking into computer systems to find information or ma- +1d6 damage with the weapon you chose when you took
nipulate events comes easily to you. the This Ain’t Heavy exploit. You can repair it if broken
Prerequisites: computers. (it takes 1 minute), and draw it as a free action.
Attributes: LOG +1, INT +1, LUC +1, REP +1
Skill Choices: computers, reactions, cryptology, appraisal, Infiltrator [1d6 years]
forgery, linguistics, electronics, bureaucracy The pinnacle of special operations, either police, military or
Hacking Rig. You gain a high quality laptop or portably freelance, the infiltrator aptly describes the occupation of
computer designed for hacking on the move. many men and women whose job it is to infiltrate enemy
Red Lights (requires Hacking Rig). You can use your locations and accomplish dangerous missions. An infiltra-
hacking rig to change traffic lights to any configuration tor needs a range of skills beyond the mere ability to kill that
you wish. is the hallmark of the assassin.
Bank Job. A virtual bank job gains you $1,000 and +1 REP. Prerequisites: stealth, [combat].
City Hall. You can hack into security agencies, including Attributes: STR +1, AGI +1, END +1, INT +1
the police and intelligence agencies, to gain information Skill Choices: [combat], stealth, thievery, escape arts, acro-
about any individual whose name you know, assuming batics, climbing
those agencies have that information. This takes you Quick-Hide. You can disappear while in plain sight. You
one hour. can make a stealth check even while under observation
Security Override. You can remotely unlock an electronic to move your speed and become effectively invisible for
lock for up to one minute. a round. You may then make regular stealth checks as
CCTV. You are able to access the CCTV cameras of a giv- normal, but cannot repeat this feat against the same
en location. This gives you poor quality video, and no observer.
audio.
Laborer [1d6 years]
Heavy Gunner [1d6 years] You did a regular physical job, whether skilled or unskilled,
A real weapon is the kind that requires a strap, and if it performing manual work for a fair wage. You may have
doesn’t kick like a mule when you fire it, the gun just isn’t been in construction, a grave digger, even a street-sweeper
for you. Whether a specialist for a security team or merce- or cleaner; or perhaps a delivery person, baker, brewer or
nary group, or a member of a military heavy weapons team, other worker.
you’ve spent plenty of time around big guns. Prerequisites: none.
Prerequisites: heavy weapons. Attributes: STR +1, END +1, CHA +1, LUC +1
Attributes: STR +1, END +1, INT +1, WIL +1 Skill Choices: [crafting], carousing, hardy, computers,
Skill Choices: carrying, hardy, heavy weapons, running, [outdoor], bureacracy, engineering, [vehicle]
gunnery, engineering Jack of All Trades. You gain three skills from your skill
Lay Down Fire. You can spray an area 15' × 15' (3 squares choices list above at rank 3 (2d6). This does not increase
by 3 squares), doing 1d6 damage to every target within a skill above 3 ranks.
that area when using a heavy weapon designated auto. Danger Pay. Some work is dangerous. Perhaps you worked
This Ain’t Heavy. Choose one heavy weapon; when you high on a skyscraper or cleaned toxic waste. You gain
carry one of these weapons, it does not count against $1,000 bonus money and +1 REP.
your carrying capacity. Union. You were a member of a union. Your pay is high-
Long Range. Increase the range of heavy weapons you er (gain +2 REP) and you gain 1 rank (1d6) in law and
wield by 10'. bureaucracy.

46
 Action Careers

Worker’s Clothes. Over the years you have patched to- Medic [1d6 years]
gether a “uniform” of sorts which protects you from the You enter the medical profession. If you have gained a doc-
sorts of hazards you typically encounter in your voca- torate at college, you do so as a doctor; otherwise you are
tion: hard hat, goggles, high-durability clothing, gloves, referred to as a nurse, medic, or nurse practitioner.
sturdy boots, and so on. This constitutes light armor Prerequisites: medicine.
with a Soak of 5, but is a custom piecemeal outfit which Attributes: AGI +1, INT +1, LOG +1, CHA +1
can only be worn by you. The uniform also includes an Skill Choices: computers, medicine, bureaucracy,
engineer’s toolkit, hearing protection, and a respirator, psychology
and it protects you from non-extreme environmental Medical Knowledge Base. Choose four [medical] skills.
effects. You gain these four skills at 1 rank (1d6). This does not
increase the rank of an existing skill.
Lawyer [1d6 years] Consultant (requires Doctorate). Your expertise is sought
You became a lawyer, learning the complexities of the legal by other doctors. Your REP increases by 2 and you start
system, and you know how to get yourself and others out of play with a bonus $1,000.
(or into) trouble. Bedside Manner. You gain a medical kit. Your long-term
Prerequisites: law. care is of such quality that your patient gains an ad-
Attributes: LOG +1, WIL +1, CHA +1, REP +1 ditional 1d6 Health per day. You may only have one
Skill Choices: law, interrogation, bluffing, bureaucracy, patient under your long-term care at a time.
local knowledge, negotiating Ward Management (requires Bedside Manner). You are
Get Out of Jail Free. When arrested for a minor offense, an expert at running and managing a ward or sickbay.
you are able to use legal techniques and your connec- The number of patients you can have under long-term
tions to keep yourself out of jail. care is increased to the value of your LOG attribute.
Court Records. You have access to court records; you can Diagnosis. You gain +1d6 bonus to identify or treat dis-
look up the criminal record of any named individual eases. Make a Difficult [16] LOG check before advancing
given an hour’s notice and a computer connection (or any attributes. If you succeed, you discovered a new
physical access to a courthouse, a police station, or disease or illness which is named after you; you also
some other place where such records are kept). gain 1 bonus REP attribute point.
Orator. You can be very persuasive, and you know how Psychologist. An expert in matters of the mind, you gain +2
to bend a jury or other group of people to your point of Mental Defense. Once per day you can remove a
view. You can influence up to 12 people within 30' with mental condition (Angry, Afraid, etc.) from yourself or
a 15-minute speech. Make a CHA mental attack and an ally as a free action.
apply it to each target within the area; if the attack is Healing Hands. Using basic medical equipment, you can
successful, the group becomes Charmed. heal 1d6 points of Health to an adjacent creature as a
Ambulance Chaser. You spent time making money the single action. Any given creature can only benefit from
only way you could: settling personal injury cases for a your healing in this way once per day.
quick buck. You start play with a bonus $1,000. Exceptional Healing Hands (requires Healing Hands).
Crusader. A principled public defender or prosecutor, Your Healing Hands ability restores 2d6 points of
you’re in it because of your ideals. You’ll make the world Health.
a better place using the power of law. You gain the fol- Resuscitation (requires Exceptional Healing Hands).
lowing skills at 1 rank (1d6): intimidation, bureaucracy, You can revive a seemingly dead creature with a LOG
conviction. This does not increase a skill beyond one check. The creature must have “died” within the last
rank. five minutes, and the difficulty value of the check is
20 + the damage of the attack that killed it. The creature
wakes up with 1 Health.

47
 Action Careers

Miner [1d6 years] Weapon Mastery. You can draw and sheathe a sword, staff,
There’s nothing like a few years spent down a coal mine to club, spear, naginata, kusarigama, or shuriken as a free
build character. action. Choose one of these weapons; you receive a +1d6
Prerequisites: none. to damage with this weapons.
Attributes: STR +1, END +1, WIL +1, LUC +1 Death Strike. Once per day you may strike a creature that
Skill Choices: carrying, climbing, survival, [technical], is not aware of your presence or does not realize you are
mining, appraising, carousing, picks, hammers an enemy with surprising, lethal force. Make an attack
Underground Sense. When underground you can always roll using your Chi attribute; if you hit, you deal double
determine direction and depth, and you can determine damage.
a route to the surface. Shadow Warrior. You may move at full Speed while hid-
Darksight. You have spent so much time below ground den if you succeed in your AGI (stealth) check.
that you’ve developed darksight to a distance of 30'.
Mining Hazards. You gain a +2d6 bonus to spot under- Performer [1d6 years]
ground hazards and traps. You became a musician or other performer, and made your
Toxic Gases. The underground is full of toxic fumes, and way working bars, clubs, and theaters.
you’ve become used to them. You gain a poison Soak Prerequisites: [performance].
of 5. Attributes: CHA +2, LUC +1, REP +1
Identify Substance. You can identify by sight any mineral- Skill Choices: carousing, [performance]
or metal-based substance automatically. Triple-Threat. You gain the skills singing, dancing, and
acting at 1 rank (1d6). This does not increase the rank of
Ninja [1d6 years] an existing skill. You gain +1 REP.
The skills and tactics of Japan’s warriors of subterfuge, Gigs. You can make money by playing at bars and doing
sabotage, and deception are known to you, either through a local performances. You can make an amount equal
Ninja master that took you in as an apprentice, or by travel- to a CHA check × $10 per day by doing this. This
ing to the ancestral homeland and earning the right to train exploit cannot be used during downtime. Gain +2 REP.
among those who still practice ninjutsu. Captivating. You have the ability to captivate people
Prerequisites: martial arts. with your musical ability. While using your musical in-
Attributes: AGI +1, END +1, INT +1, CHI +1 strument or voice, all those who can hear you become
Skill Choices: acrobatics, climbing, disguise, perception, Charmed until you stop. This requires a CHA vs.
stealth, martial arts Mental Defense check and a full two actions each turn
Poison. With one minute of preparation, you can craft to maintain.
poison and apply it to one weapon; for one minute, Lullaby. Your music can make people drowsy. While us-
that weapon deals +1d6 poison damage; you must deal ing your musical instrument or voice, all those who can
enough damage to bypass a target’s Soak to deal this hear you gain the Sleeping condition until you stop.
poison damage. This requires a CHA vs. Mental Defense check and a
Fast Climb. You gain a Climb speed equal to your regular full two actions each turn.
Speed. Fearful. You can use voice or music to instil fear in those
Gas Poison (requires Poison). By spending an action, you who hear it. While using your musical instrument or
can deliver your poison as a dust or small burst of gas voice, all those who can hear you become Afraid until
that ignores the target’s Soak. You can throw this with a you stop. This requires a CHA vs. Mental Defense
range increment of 2. check and a full two actions each turn.

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 Action Careers

Pilot [1d6 years]

You became a pilot, learning to fly aircraft big or small.
Prerequisites: piloting.
Attributes: AGI +1, INT +1, LOG +1, LUC +1
Skill Choices: reactions, piloting, computers, astronomy,
gunnery, navigation
Push the Limits. You can exceed an aircraft’s normal
maximum Speed by 2.
Evasive Flying. An aircraft which you pilot gains a De-
fense bonus equal to your AGI attribute dice pool.
Cruise Control. You are able to easily navigate without an
attribute check.
Evasive Maneuver [requires Evasive Flying]. As an action,
you may designate one incoming missile per round and Politician [1d6 years]
gain an additional +5 Defense against it. You entered politics at a local level and started to rise
Stay on Target [requires Evasive Flying]. While in the through the ranks.
rear arc of a target ship, you negate any bonus it gets Prerequisites: local knowledge.
from Evasive Flying. Attributes: LOG +1, WIL +1, CHA +1, REP +1
Skill Choices: [social], politics, economics, geography, his-
Police Officer [1d6 years] tory, local knowledge
You join the police or other security force and begin a career Corruption. Not all politicians are corrupt, but you suc-
as a uniformed officer. cumbed to temptation. You start play with $2,000 bonus
Prerequisites: none. money, but your next career must be the Prisoner career.
Attributes: AGI +1, INT +1, LOG +1, REP +1 You may not return to the Politician career after taking
Skill Choices: interrogation, pistols, law, driving, bureau- this exploit. You may only take this exploit during char-
cracy, perception, intimidate acter creation, and only if this is not your last career.
Trouble Sense. You are easily able to spot trouble before Idealist. You have a platform of ideology, and this gives
it happens. You gain a +1d6 bonus to Initiative checks. you great mental strength. You gain +2 Mental De-
Out of Place. You know the signs of suspicious behavior. fense. Decide what your ideological platform is.
You gain a +1d6 bonus to checks made to spot unusual Local Elections. You won a local election and started rep-
or criminal activity. resenting your community. You gain +1 REP. You can
Freeze! You can compel a target to “freeze!” with a CHA vs. make a REP mental attack against a target within 30' to
Mental Defense check. If successful, the target stops inflict the Charmed condition.
in his tracks and is Dazed until he shakes that condi- Regional Elections (requires Local Elections). You won
tion off. The target must be able to understand you and a regional election and represented the greater com-
have an INT attribute of 3 or more. You can only do this munity. You gain +2 REP. Your REP attack to influence
to a given target once. people can now affect a number of people equal to your
Backup. In an allied urban environment, you can call for CHA score.
backup once per day in the form of 1d6 police officers; Public Speaker. You are able to sway and influence
they arrive within 5 minutes and follow your orders. crowds. You can spend 5 minutes talking to a crowd
Anti-Surveillance. You are so familiar with surveillance and make a REP check equal to 1% the size of the crowd
devices, blind spots, and avoidance techniques that, by (so for a crowd of 2,000 you must beat 20 in your check).
moving half your speed, you can render yourself invis- If successful, you influence the crowd in some manner,
ible to electronic monitoring equipment. inflicting either the Charmed or Angry condition.

49
 Action Careers

Priest [1d6 years] Private Eye [1d6 years]

You joined the clergy and practiced religion, tending to your You snoop, bribe, tail, and occasionally get socked a few
flock. times a month in order to pay the bills. You know all the
Prerequisites: religion. shady spots in town.
Attributes: INT +1, WIL +1, CHA +1, LUC +1 Prerequisites: none.
Skill Choices: perception, crafting, bureaucracy, cryp- Attributes: INT +1, CHA +1, LUC +1, REP +1
tology, linguistics, [trivia], meditation, leadership, Skill Choices: pistols, bluffing, bribery, perception, insight,
performing, religion. tracking, intimidate, [subterfuge]
Confessional. Your insights into the morality of living Snoop. You’ve got a good sense of when something just
things enables you to draw confessions from others. isn’t quite right; once per day when you roll a check to
Given an hour of conversation, you gain a +2d6 bonus determine if someone is lying to you, reroll all results
to checks designed to gain information from another of 1 and 2.
creature. My Buddy on the Force. You have a contact in the police
Unshakable Faith. Your faith lends you peace of mind force who can quietly conduct a routine check (back-
and an inner tranquillity which is hard to penetrate. ground, vehicle registration, etc.) for you once per day.
You gain +5 to your Mental Defense. Great Detective. You are used as an informal consultant
Respect. Your position in the clergy grants you a certain by authorities who recognize your expertise. You are
reverence from others. Sentient opponents take a –1d6 permitted access to crime scenes and evidence, and are
penalty to attack you on their first attack as long as you often called upon by the authorities to lend your opin-
have not attacked them first. ion and share your deductions.
Hard-Boiled. Cynical and rumpled, you gain a +4 bonus
Prisoner [2d6 years] to Mental Defense.
Your life of crime caught up with you, and you ended up
in prison and served time; alternately, perhaps you were a Reporter [1d6 years]
political prisoner, a hostage, or a prisoner of war. It was a As an intrepid reporter, you are skilled at getting to the truth.
tough environment and you spent most of your time on the Prerequisites: none.
inside just trying to survive. Attributes: INT +1, LOG +1, CHA +1, REP +1
Prerequisites: none. Skill Choices: insight, perception, linguistics, literature,
Attributes: STR +1, END +1, INT +1, REP +1 law, politics, economics, geography, journalism, inter-
Skill Choices: intimidation, survival, [subterfuge skills], rogation, carousing
[unarmed fighting], knives Discern Lie. You always know when somebody is lying to
Prison Tough. You are mentally and physically tough- you.
ened. Each time you go to prison you gain a permanent Ask the Right Questions. You may spend a LUC die to ask
+1 bonus to your Defense and Mental Defense. an NPC a yes/no question. The GM will answer truth-
Shiv. You are easily able to improvise weapons using your fully as the NPC gives away the answer either verbally
surroundings—glasses, rocks, and so on. You always or in some more subtle way.
count as carrying a knife or club and can use the brawl- Research Skills. You gain 3 ranks in computers, journalism,
ing skill with knives and clubs. Additionally, you know and one skill from a choice of law, politics, or economics.
how to twist a knife, and always inflict the Bleeding Big Scoop. You uncovered a big secret, and revealed it in
condition when you strike in melee with a knife. the news. Decide what this scoop was. You gain +2 REP.
Roll 1d6; on a 6 you won a Pulitzer Prize for it. You may
take this exploit multiple times.

50
 Action Careers

Inside Source. You have a contact in or connected to the Scientist [1d6 years]
police force, the mayor’s office, the governor’s mansion, You take your science with you as investigate phenomena in
an exclusive club, or a similar place where movers and strange locations. Field scientists are viewed by academia
shakers circulate. You can call on this contact for inside as adventurous types, and include archaeologists, meteo-
information or a juicy lead once per month. You may rologists, zoologists, oceanographers, geologists, botanists,
take this exploit multiple times, gaining a new contact astrophysicists, and much more.
each time. Prerequisites: one [scientific] skill.
Tabloid Hack. You worked as the lowest of the low, a tab- Attributes: INT +1, LOG +1, WIL +1, REP +1
loid journalist interested only in shocking your readers. Skill Choices: computers, [scientific], [technical], survival,
Sadly, it’s a profitable job, and you start play with $1,000 perception
extra money. However, if you take this exploit, you lose Scientific Knowledge Base. Choose four [scientific] skills.
any contacts you had from the Inside Source exploit, You gain these four skills at 1 rank (1d6). This does not
and may not take that exploit in future, as your cred- increase the rank of an existing skill.
ibility is forever tarnished. Analytical Eye. You are able to identify the resistances,
immunities, and vulnerabilities of any creature you
Sailor [1d6 years] can see with a Difficult [16] LOG check. This requires
At home on the sea, you spent time aboard a ship mastering two full actions of observation.
the art of sailing. Improviser. In the field, you need to improvise. Using
Prerequisites: none your scientific know-how, you can create a crude object
Attributes: AGI +1 INT +1 LUC +1 END +1 or device from your surroundings. This requires a LOG
Skill Choices: carousing, climbing, clubs, fishing, knives, check, with a difficulty value equal to the purchase
leadership, navigation, sailing, swimming value of the object, and takes 30 minutes.
Any Port. You may take this exploit multiple times. Each Experimental Device. You may produce an experimental
time you take it, you may designate an additional port device once per day which allows you to use your LOG
town. At that location, you will have one contact upon attribute in place of any other attribute for one attribute
whom you can (generally) rely, and one bar at which check. The device breaks permanently after you use it.
you can drink for free.
Grog. While you may well enjoy a drink, you never suffer Scout [1d6 years]
any penalties from intoxication via alcohol. You became a scout—a specialized special forces soldier
Hold Breath (requires Swimmer). You gain two addition- able to operate alone and perform reconnaissance.
al countdown dice when holding your breath. Prerequisites: stealth, tracking.
Lookout. Lookout duty is a mandatory part of a sailor’s Attributes: AGI +1, END +1, INT +1, WIL +1
life. You gain +1d6 to perception checks. Skill Choices: stealth, perception, survival, tracking,
Sea Legs. You adapt to the motion of a ship; this makes you climbing, running
very hard to knock down. When you are knocked prone, Ambusher. You gain a +1d6 bonus to access the ambush
you may spend one LUC die to remain standing. turn.
Seasick. You are immune to the Sick condition. Hustle. Your Speed increases by 2.
Sea Weather. You are able to ignore the effects of rain, Hostile Terrain. You do not suffer penalties for moving
wind, mist, and fog. across difficult terrain.
Swimmer. You gain a Swim speed equal to your regular Swimmer. You gain a Swim speed equal to your regular
Speed.
Speed.
Climber. You gain a Climb speed equal to your regular
Speed.

51
 Action Careers

Sensei/Sifu [1d6 years] Sniper [1d6 years]

You run a dojo, wu kwan, or kwoon, teaching others the You mastered the art of lying very still for long periods of
martial arts. time and shooting people a long way away. Sniping is a job
Prerequisites: martial arts 3 ranks. which requires great endurance, patience, and accuracy.
Attributes: AGI +1, INT +1, WIL +1, REP +1 Prerequisites: stealth, rifles.
Skill Choices: martial arts, philosophy, tactics, insight, Skill Choices: END +1, INT +1, WIL +1, LUC +1
leadership, teaching, local knowledge Skill Choices: rifles, stealth, perception, concentration,
Inspiring. You inspire respect in your students. Those climbing
within 30' of you can claim a +1d6 bonus to any attribute Vantage Point. You gain an additional 1d6 to attack with
roll once per day. a ranged weapon if you are at least 30' higher than
Teacher. You are able to “lend” somebody one rank in a your target. This stacks with the bonus for high ground.
skill for up to one day. Only one person at a time can Steady Eye. All weapon range increments increase by 50%.
benefit from this ability. Good Position. You cannot be pinned down or suffer the
Protégé (requires Inspiring and Teacher). You gain a effects of a crossfire in combat.
protégé. This is a martial artist who has half your grade.
The protégé accompanies you and assists you. If your Socialite [1d6 years]
protégé dies, you must take this exploit again in order You aim be famous for being famous, and mastered the art
to replace him or her. You may only have one protégé of networking.
at a time. Prerequisites: [social].
Heirloom Weapon. You gain one high quality Eastern Attributes: CHA +2, REP +2
weapon. Skill Choices: [social]
First Aid. Used to injuries in the dojo, you are able to heal High Class. You are in your element when in high-class
an adjacent ally 1d6 Health by using one action. Any social gatherings. In such environments, you gain a
given creature can only benefit from this ability once +1d6 bonus to all attribute checks. Unfortunately, you
per day. are less comfortable—or welcome—in lower-class
environments, and suffer a –1d6 penalty to all social
Smuggler [1d6 years] interactions in such situations.
You spent time as a smuggler, moving stolen or illegal goods
from one country to another. Soldier [1d6 years]
Prerequisites: piloting or sailing. The army prides itself on their sense of duty and their cour-
Attributes: AGI +1, CHA +1, LUC +1, REP +1 age. Your tour of duty in the army featured deployment to a
Skill Choices: thievery, navigation, carousing, piloting, dangerous environment where you engaged enemy forces in
sailing, bluffing, appraisal, pistols infantry-based ground battles.
Smuggle. You know how to hide objects, either about your Prerequisites: completed one year of Boot Camp career
person or in a location. You gain a +2d6 bonus to at- (q.v.).
tempts to hide items. Attributes: STR +1, END +1, WIL +1, REP +1; and each time
Haggler. You’re a born haggler, and can reduce the cost you take this career, roll 1d6—on a roll of 6, you gain a
of any purchase by 3d6%. This does not stack with any medal and a bonus +1 REP.
other exploits which reduce purchase costs. Skill Choices: carrying, [combat], hardy, survival, leader-
Fence. In an urban environment, you can sell goods for ship, carousing, bravery, perception
75% of normal cost rather than 50%. Battle Scars. You’ve received so many battle scars that
Seat of Your Pants. Smugglers rely a lot on old-fashioned you sometimes don’t even notice minor injuries. You
luck and bravado. They can recharge their Luck pool an gain a natural Soak bonus of 2.
extra time per day.

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 Action Careers

Quick Naps. You’ve learned to manage with little sleep. As

long as you get 4 hours, you count as fully rested.
Get on With It. Your unit doesn’t have much patience for
whining about bumps, bruises, or scrapes. Once per day
you can pause for two actions and recover 2d6 Health.
Shake It Off. Once per day you may automatically shake
off a condition as a free action.
Platoon Leader. You grant your entire party a +1d6 Ini-
tiative bonus as long as they are within 30' of you. Street Thug [1d6 years]
You inhabited the fringes of society and ended up as a thug
Spy [1d6 years] on the street, committing petty crimes for small amounts of
You’re an international spy. Your employer may be MI-6, money.
the CIA, the KGB, or some other intelligence organization. Prerequisites: none.
You have a wide remit, dealing with both domestic and ex- Attributes: STR +1, END +1, CHA +1, LUC +1
ternal threats, and you perform undercover investigations Skill Choices: intimidation, running, brawling, clubs,
into military and civilian issues. knives, pistols
Prerequisites: none. The Filth! You have developed an uncanny ability to de-
Attributes: AGI +1, INT +1, CHA +1, LUC +1 tect cops. When attempting to sniff out a police officer
Skill Choices: interrogation, law, [subterfuge], computers, or similar authority figure, you gain a +1d6 bonus.
pistols, [social], [gaming] Street Tough. Life on the streets is tough. You gain a natu-
False Identity. You are able to create a false identity, com- ral +2 Soak.
plete with background records, in one day. This identity
is good enough that people can look you up on various Student [1 year]
databases, and the details will match. High school, or its equivalent, is a place of learning ... and
Golden Gun. You gain a high-quality pistol of your choice. sometimes of adventure!
This pistol already has the extra damage upgrade (+1d6 Prerequisites: 18 years of age or under
damage). It is not actually golden. Attributes: INT +1, LOG +1, CHA +1, LUC +1
Off the Grid. You know how to disappear without trace, Skill Choices: [academic], [scientific], [sporting]
dropping off the grid completely. No checks or abilities Walker. Before you learned to drive you had to walk every-
that can discern your location will find you unless you where. You gain Speed +1.
want them to. Mentor. One of your teachers is a mentor to you. Choose
Safe House (requires Off the Grid). You can use a safe one skill. Your mentor has 10 ranks (4d6) in that skill
house in any sizable town or city to grant your Off the and can use it to assist you. Describe your mentor and
Grid ability to your entire party. specify how you get in contact.
Monologue. Once per day you can make a CHA vs. Men- Wrong Crowd. You got in with the wrong crowd. You gain
tal Defense attack against an enemy. If successful, 1 rank (1d6) in carousing, intimidation, and thievery.
your target explains their plan with a short monologue. This does not increase a skill beyond 1 rank.
Miraculous Escape. Once per day you may automatically Chess Club. You joined the Chess Club, or a similar club
succeed in one attempt to escape handcuffs or other arranged around a purely intellectual pursuit, like de-
restraints. bate or mathematics. Gain LOG +1, and 3 ranks (2d6) in
“Q” Branch. You start play with one gadget of your choice chess (or a similar subject).
from Action Equipment. Wheels. You acquired a car at an early age. It’s not a great
car, but it’s a car. Gain a car with a value of up to $1,000.

53
 Action Careers

Stuntman [1d6 years] Improvised Weapon. You can craft a spear, knife, or bow
You’ve rolled brand new cars, fallen from tall buildings, from your natural surroundings. This takes you five
jumped open drawbridges, kissed dirt, and even been on minutes, and the item does not count as an improvised
fire in the name of entertainment. weapon when you use it.
Prerequisites: none.
Attributes: AGI +1, END +1, LUC +1, REP +1 Teacher [1d6 years]
Skill Choices: [physical], [vehicle], hardy Your calling is teaching others. You are a mentor figure, a
Broken Every Bone. You’ve broken what seems like most font of learning, and a source of inspiration.
every bone in your body at one time or another. You Prerequisites: any [academic], [artistic], [performance] or
gain natural Soak 5. [scientific skill], or linguistics.
Fast-Healer. You need to show up on set every day if you Attributes: INT +1, LOG +1, CHA +1, LUC +1
want to make it in the stuntman business. When you Skill Choices: teaching, insight, leadership, linguistics,
roll for natural healing each day, add an extra 2d6. [scientific], [academic], [artistic]
Patched Up. Once per day you can patch yourself up, re- Advice. You may freely donate your LUC dice to anybody
covering 2d6 Health. This takes two actions. within 30'. The dice must be used immediately.
Resilient. You have an extra 2d6 Health. Role Model. Allies within 30' of you gain +2 Mental
Jumping Off B uildings. You take half normal falling Defense.
damage. Textbook. Choose any non-physical skill (one you don't
Grit Your Teeth. You are immune to the Pained condition. use STR, AGI, or END with): you are carrying a textbook
It’s not that you don’t feel pain, it’s that you’re used to it. about that subject on your person. While you have that
textbook, you also have that skill at the same number of
Survivalist [1d6 years] ranks as your LUC score. You may change your textbook
Some choose to spend time in the wild, testing their mind (and switch to a different non-physical skill) by visiting
and body against nature, living off the land, and existing a library, bookstore, or other source of books.
with animals. Professor. You became a professor. You gain +1 REP and
Prerequisites: any [outdoor] skill you have published a textbook. Name your textbook.
Attributes: END +1, INT +1, WIL +1, LUC +1 When dealing with people in your field of study, your
Skill Choices: geography, reactions, [crafting], fishing, REP dice explode.
hunting, climbing, swimming, carrying, medicine, sur-
vival, cooking, animal handling, tracking, navigation Trader [1d6 years]
Spot Poison. A survivalist needs to know what to eat and Life as a trader can mean profit, but it can also bring ruin.
what not to. By sniffing and taking very tiny tastes, you Prerequisites: none.
are able to detect the presence of poison. Attributes: INT +1, CHA +1, LUC +1, REP +1
Poison Resistance. You gain Soak (5) to poison. If you Skill Choices: appraisal, [social], carousing, [crafting],
take this exploit a second time it increases to Soak (10). bureaucracy, accounting, law, local knowledge, bribery,
A third time, you become immune to poisons. forgery
Animal Knowledge. You know a lot about animals. You Sale of the Century. You worked hard on a great deal, and
automatically know the vulnerabilities and abilities of it netted you $1,000. You may repeat this exploit, gain-
any creature of the beast creature type. ing $1,000 each time.
Move Without Trace. You know how not to leave tracks. Trade Routes. You know the best, most profitable trade
You gain +1d6 to checks related to avoiding or evading routes. Your fuel costs are reduced by 20%.
trackers and to avoiding detection by non-visual senses Haggler. You know how to get a good deal. You reduce the
such as scent. cost of any purchase by 2d6%.

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 Action Careers

Vigilante [1d6 years] Iron Fist. Your unarmed damage increases by 1d6. This
Something about the world asks—no, demands—that you does not stack with other exploits or equipment which
rise above the law. You might battle crime, fight against a increase unarmed damage, except for Elemental Fist.
corrupt corporation, or combat dirty politicians, but you Iron Skin. Your training grants you +2 natural Soak.
are often at odds with the law, using measures they can’t. Martial Leap. Increase both your vertical and horizontal
Prerequisites: none. Jump distances by 5'.
Attributes: AGI +1, END +1, INT +1, REP +1 Martial Technique Base. You gain two of the following
Skill Choices: [subterfuge], [combat], intimidation universal exploits: Trip, Throw, Sidestep, Flying Kick.
Inside Contacts. You know people—you have a reliable You may take this exploit again to gain the remaining
ear in the underworld, a police detective neighbor two exploits.
who talks too much, a wiretap on the commissioner’s Foot of the Mountain (requires Defensive Stance). You be-
phone, or some such. You can spend 4 hours to make come as immobile as a mountain. No knockdown or
a Challenging [13] INT check to learn valuable infor- knockback attempt by a creature of your size or smaller
mation about a target. For every stage you exceed the will work against you.
minimum check, you learn one more piece of informa- Weapon Synthesis. When using any Eastern weapon, you
tion; for example, an INT check result of 16 would tell gain one free unarmed melee attack whenever you
you two pieces of information, an INT check result of make two weapon attacks.
21 would tell you three pieces of information, and so on. Zen Mind. You gain +4 to your Mental Defense.
My City. Choose a city or other area. In that area, you re-
ceive +1d6 on checks made to hide or move quietly.
Iconic Vehicle. If you possess a vehicle, it gains two en-
Martial Arts & Chi
hancements. If you don’t yet have one, you receive a Martial arts can be acrobatic displays of great skill, or
vehicle with one enhancement. they can harness mystical powers of great force.
Signature Weapon. You gain a high-quality melee weap-   Any character can learn the martial arts skill, which
on of your choice. You do +1d6 damage when using this gives them skill in unarmed fighting. They can also
weapon. learn exploits like Flying Kick, or other martial arts
techniques, which do not rely on supernatural powers.
Warrior-Monk (1d6 years)   For those who want to delve more deeply into the
You became a member of a martial monastic order, and mystical side of martial arts, the Chi attribute comes
were trained in philosophy and martial arts. You should into play. While a flying kick or a punch requires an
also take grades in a martial arts career. AGI or STR attack as normal, Chi powers are super-
Prerequisites: religion or martial arts. natural in nature—these powers allow characters to
Attributes: AGI +1, END +1, WIL +1, Chi +1 run across water, levitate, heal wounds, or perform
Skill Choices: [artistic], acrobatics, dancing, martial arts, miraculous feats.
philosophy, religion, staves   Chi is dealt with separately. It is perfectly possible
Defensive Stance. You gain +2 to your Melee Defense as to build an accomplished martial artist without the
long as you are unarmed and not wielding a shield or use of Chi—the martial arts skill and a selection of
wearing armor. This does not stack with Drunken Fist. unarmed combat exploits are all that’s needed. Some
Drunken Fist. When intoxicated through alcohol, you careers, such as the Warrior-Monk or the Ninja help to
gain +2 to both your Melee and Ranged Defense. This focus that training.
does not stack with Defensive Stance.   However, if you want your character to perform
Elemental Fist (requires Iron Fist, Chi 2+). Your fist glows mystical feats, you will need to use the Chi rules as
with elemental energy. The damage type becomes heat, well. Not all settings will use these rules; it is up to
and does an additional +1d6 damage. the GM how martial arts work in the campaign.

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 Action Careers

Martial Arts Martial Arts Careers

Many careers offer training in unarmed combat by some
means or another, but the truly dedicated devote years Aikido [1d6 years]
of their lives to perfecting a martial art, or in some cases, Blending the force of your attacker with your own move-
several. Many others learn a smattering of skills from ments, you have mastered the art of redirecting a foe’s
several disciplines, perhaps as a specialty for covert op- movement to your advantage, placing them in disad-
erations or to assist in assassination attempts gone wrong. vantageous positions with joint locks and a chilling
  Martial arts consist of a myriad of techniques—kicks, understanding of functional anatomy.
punches, throws, trips, locks, and more—which can be Prerequisites: martial arts.
learned by anybody. This is different to the use of Chi, Attributes: AGI +1, INT +1, WIL +1, Chi +1
which is a supernatural force which enables people to per- Skill Choices: acrobatics, escape artist, reactions, martial
form seemingly magical feats; Chi is dealt with elsewhere. arts
Learning a martial art is just like taking any other career. Curriculum Exploits. Choose any three soft exploits from
You gain attributes and skills, along with an exploit, and the Universal Exploits for Martial Artists sidebar.
you can train in multiple martial arts careers if you wish. Improved Throw (requires Throw). Your throwing dis-
Truly mastering a martial art takes many years. tance increases by 5' and deals +1d6 damage.
  Careers in the general careers section above, such as Reactive Lock (requires Arm Lock). You may may use the
the Ninja, Sensei/Sifu, and the Warrior-Monk, refer to Arm Lock exploit to make an attack as a reaction when
occupations rather than training in a specific martial art an attacker misses you with a melee attack.
(though they grant martial arts ability). While these can Paralyzing Strike. Spend 2 actions to make a precise
be used to create a martial arts-oriented character, it can strike that both deals damage and Restrains the target
be beneficial to also select a martial arts career from this until they shake the condition off.
section to complement it. Arguably the Boxer, also includ- Aikido Weapons. You may use your martial arts skill with
ed in the general careers section, is also a martial artist, swords, knives, and staves.
but boxing, like being a ninja, is an occupation as much as
it is a martial art. Brazilian Jujutsu [1d6 years]
Taking your opponents down with expert technique and le-
verage, you take them to the ground, where you are a master
combatant.
Prerequisites: martial arts.
Attributes: STR +1, AGI +1, END +1, REP +1
Skill Choices: acrobatics, meditation, martial arts
Ground Fighter. Opponents do not gain a bonus to hit you
in melee when you are prone.

Universal Martial Arts Exploits

The following Universal Exploits are useful to any martial • Arm Lock (soft) • Quick Stand (soft)
artist. When a martial arts career allows you to choose a • Disarm (hard, soft) • Roll With It (soft)
bonus Universal Exploit, you may choose it from this list. • Flying Kick (hard) • Sidestep (soft)
Each exploit is additionally designated either “hard” or • Knockback (hard) • Spinning Kick (hard)
“soft.” The career will tell you whether you may choose • Knockdown (hard) • Throw (soft)
hard or soft exploits. • Leaping Attack (hard) • Trip (soft)
• Piledriver (soft) • Whirlwind Frenzy (hard)

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 Action Careers

Momentous Knockdown. On a successful hit, you can

choose to knock the target down as a free action by
spending one LUC die. Both you and your target become
prone.
Forced Submission (requires Arm Lock). If both you and
your target are prone, and you have successfully applied
an Arm Lock, you may make a melee attack against his
Mental Defense to force him to submit. If successful,
your target is reduced to zero Health but does not fall
unconscious.
Escape. When pinned, locked, or held by another com-
Gun Fu [1d6 years]
batant, you may use a reaction to make an immediate
You have mastered the synthesis of modern weaponry with
attempt to escape the pin.
ancient martial arts, able to maximize the power and ac-
curacy of firearms by integrating the forms of various styles
Capoeira [1d6 years]
into one terrifying dance of explosive death.
Training with a capoeira master, you’ve become more adept
Prerequisites: pistols.
at the acrobatic martial art, able to tumble, cartwheel, and
Attributes: AGI +1, INT +1, LUC +1, Chi +1
flip around your enemies with ease.
Skill Choices: pistols, reactions, running, tactics, martial
Prerequisites: dancing, martial arts. arts, jumping
Attributes: AGI +1, INT +1, LUC +1, Chi +1
Rapid Reload. You may fire firearms with the single trait
Skill Choices: acrobatics, dancing, jumping, reactions,
twice per round instead of once.
martial arts
Sliding Fusillade. For two actions, you can take your full
Curriculum Exploits. Choose any three hard exploits
movement in a straight line and make up to two attack
from the Universal Exploits for Martial Artists sidebar.
actions.
Ginga. You gain +2 to your Defense attribute against me-
Firing Forms. By spending all of your actions, you can
lee attacks.
take as many attack actions as there are targets, up to
Asymmetric Advantage. If you are engaged in melee with
your INT attribute. You may only fire at a given target
two or more opponents, you gain +1d6 to attack for every
once, and each cumulative shot beyond the first takes
two opponents actively engaging you in melee combat.
a –1d6 penalty.
In other words, if you are being attacked by four foes,
Leaping Ballistics. When you perform a jump, you may
you gain +2d6 to attack.
make one gun attack for free.
Rasteira (requires Trip). If an adjacent enemy makes a
Curved Bullet. You may spend a LUC die to curve a bul-
movement action, you may take a trip attack against
let round a corner once per round, effectively negating
them as a reaction.
your target’s cover. You must still have line of sight; this
Asymmetric Adept (requires Asymmetric Advantage).
ability negates cover, but does not create new lines of
For every foe past the first actively engaging you in me-
sight.
lee combat, you gain +1 Melee Defense.
Cover Me! Any sidearm you use automatically gains the
Roda. Capoeira works better to music. When music is
auto trait, making it especially suitable for suppressive
playing publicly, you can make an additional unarmed
fire.
attack per round as a free action. You cannot attach any
Dual Pistols. You are considered to have the ambidex-
exploit to this attack.
trous trait while holding two sidearms, even if you do
Capoeira Weapons. You may use your martial arts skill
not have that trait.
with knives.
When Doves Fly. Once per day you can cause a number of
white doves to fly across the background.

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 Action Careers

Gun Kata [1d6 years]

You have learned the unusual but beautiful art of melee
gun combat, where the gun is considered a total weapon
and katas are performed which statistically inflict the
maximum damage on the largest number of targets while
avoiding statistically likely trajectories of return fire.
Prerequisites: pistols.
Attributes: AGI +1, INT +1, WIL +1, Chi +1
Skill Choices: pistols, martial arts, acrobatics, reactions,
dancing Reactive Disarm (requires Disarm). Once per turn, after
Gun Punch. Once per round, while holding a sidearm, a melee attack misses you, you automatically make a re-
your martial arts attack does the damage of your gun. active attack which, if successful, disarms your attacker.
Multipunch (requires Gun Punch). If you are dual- Reactive Takedown (requires Trip). Once per turn, after
wielding pistols, all of your martial arts attacks do the a melee attack misses you, you automatically make a
damage of your gun. reactive attack which, if successful, trips your attacker.
Close Down. When attacked by somebody with a gun 10' Jujutsu Weapons. You may use your martial arts skill with
or less away from you, you immediately move adjacent swords, spears, polearms, and staves.
to them and perform a martial arts attack as a reaction.
Bullet Catcher. Once per turn as a reaction you can catch Karate [1d6 years]
a single bullet fired at you as long as you are aware of You learned a striking art which focuses on punches, kicks,
the attack. This does not help against weapons with the and knee and able strikes, as well as open hand strikes.
auto trait. Prerequisites: martial arts.
Return Trajectories. Your skill in pistols can be used as Attributes: STR +1, AGI +1, WIL +1, Chi +1
part of your Defense pool against firearms. Skill Choices: meditation, martial arts
Statistical Pose. You are able to adopt positions statisti- Curriculum Exploits. Choose any three hard exploits
cally most unlikely to be struck by gunfire. You gain +4 from the Universal Exploits for Martial Artists sidebar.
Ranged Defense against firearms. Wax On, Wax Off. You develop patience while perform-
ing rote training tasks. You gain +2 Melee Defense and
Jujutsu [1d6 years] +2 Mental Defense.
Trained in fighting an armed opponent with your feet and Knife Hand Strike. You strike with the edge of your hand,
fists, you are a fluid warrior in combat, adapting to best use stunning your foe with a successful it.
your enemy’s movements against them. Crane Stance. You adopt a stance by spending an ac-
Prerequisites: martial arts. tion. You cannot move while in this stance. If any foe
Attributes: STR +1, AGI +1, END +1, Chi +1 attempts to engage you melee combat, you gain a free
Skill Choices: meditation, melee weapon, stealth, martial attack as a reaction against him. This attack takes place
arts before your foe’s attack. Once you have made this at-
Curriculum Exploits. Choose any two hard or soft ex- tack, your stance ends.
ploits from the Universal Exploits for Martial Artists Double Punch. You may use one action to make two un-
sidebar. armed attacks against a single foe. You may not add
Breaking Fall. You take half damage from falls, throws, additional exploits to these two attacks.
and trips. Conditioning. Your unarmed attacks do +1d6 damage.
Fluid Resistance. Once per turn, after taking damage Karate Weapons. You may use your martial arts skill with
from a melee attack, you automatically make a counter- swords, spears, polearms, and staves.
attack as a reaction.

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 Action Careers

Krav Maga [1d6 years] One-Inch Punch. When pinned or grappled, you may
Studying one of the newest and most practical martial arts make an unarmed attack against your foe as a free ac-
has taught you to end a fight as soon as it starts and to make tion and add +1d6 damage to it.
the most out of your attacks with the least effort. Double Strike. With one action you may strike two op-
Prerequisites: martial arts. ponents with a melee attack each. You cannot add
Attributes: STR +1, AGI +1, END +1, Chi +1 additional exploits to these attacks.
Skill Choices: perception, reactions, throwing, martial Sticking Hands. You remain in constant contact with your
arts foe’s arms and hands, allowing you to easily deflect at-
Curriculum Exploits. Choose any three hard exploits tacks and counter. You gain +2 Melee Defense against
from the Universal Exploits for Martial Artists sidebar. one adjacent opponent, and may counterstrike with a
Know the Arena. In any location, you automatically note basic (no additional exploits) unarmed attack against
any escape routes from the vicinity that aren’t hidden. that foe as a reaction to any missed attack.
You are easily able to improvise weapons using your Active Resistance. Once per day, spend an action to pre-
surroundings—discarded bottles, rocks, and so on— pare and gain Soak to one type of damage equal to your
such that you always count as carrying a knife or club. Chi for one minute. This resistance stacks with any oth-
Brutal Counter. After an enemy makes a successful melee ers you or your equipment possess.
attack on you, you gain +1d6 damage in melee against Kung Fu Weapons. You may use your martial arts skill
that foe. If any other enemy strikes you, your bonus with any Eastern melee weapon.
damage switches to that target.
Weak Points. You are adept at targeting weak or vul- Muay Thai [1d6 years]
nerable points in your foes, and can ignore Soak by Dedicated conditioning is a part of your daily routine, and
spending one LUC die. you cannot count the number of times you’ve struck out
Impromptu Weapon. No matter the size of an impromptu against a tree trunk with your leg, but it doesn’t matter:
weapon (so long as it is Tiny or larger), you can deal your body truly is a living weapon. You have mastered the
slashing, blunt, piercing, or blunt damage with it by art of Thai boxing.
making a thrown ranged attack. This does not count as Prerequisites: martial arts.
an improvised weapon. Attributes: STR +1, END +1, WIL +1, Chi +1
Skill Choices: acrobatics, climbing, jumping, reactions,
Kung Fu [1d6 years] martial arts
Through intense and dedicated training, you’ve begun to Curriculum Exploits. Choose any three hard exploits
unlock the secrets of the ancient martial arts of China. You from the Universal Exploits for Martial Artists sidebar.
can sense and feel the essence of your being and are able to Mae Maei. You gain +2 natural Soak.
manipulate not only that life energy, but also your body, to Thip. You make a devastating kick; on a successful hit, in-
its maximum effect. With these skills at your disposal, you stead of dealing damage the target is dazed until they
are a fearsome opponent in combat and able to perform shake the condition off.
feats of finesse and strength that dazzle your peers. Chok-Te. Gain a cumulative +1d6 to attack every time you
Prerequisites: martial arts. make an unarmed attack which misses. Once an attack
Attributes: AGI +1, END +1, WIL +1, Chi +1 hits, your bonus resets to zero.
Skill Choices: acrobatics, meditation, perception, reac- Ti Khao and Sok. You leap quickly (up to your jump dis-
tions, staves, martial arts tance) and drive the momentum of your jump into a
Curriculum Exploits. Choose any two hard or soft ex- knee or elbow strike that ignores a target’s Soak; you
ploits from the Universal Exploits for Martial Artists take an amount of damage equal to half of what you de-
sidebar. liver to the target.

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 Action Careers

Northern Shaolin [1d6 years]

Focusing on the use of your legs and staying quick on your
feet, you practice styles like Baguazhang, Eagle Claw,
Northern Praying Mantis, or Chángquán.
Prerequisites: martial arts.
Attributes: AGI +1, END +1, WIL +1, Chi +1
Skill Choices: hardy, melee weapon, nature, running,
martial arts
Curriculum Exploits. Choose any three soft exploits from
the Universal Exploits for Martial Artists sidebar.
Fast Feet. You gain a +2 Speed bonus.
Shifting Forms. You gain a +2 Melee Defense bonus.
Rolling Defense (requires Roll With It). When you use the
Roll With It combat exploit, you finish the maneuver
standing.
Chi Healing. Once per day you may roll your Chi dice pool
and recover that much Health. This takes one minute. Savate [1d6 years]
Training with a champion of the sport or learning the hard
Pankration [1d6 years] way on the meaner streets in Marseille or Paris, you’ve stud-
The truest expression of a person’s fighting ability, some ied the martial art of France and can put it to great use.
people would say, is the ancient art of wrestling—you count Prerequisites: martial arts.
yourself among those people. After hundreds of matches, Attributes: AGI+1, END +1, LUC +1, Chi +1
you know exactly the best way to grapple and pin an op- Skill Choices: acrobatics, climbing, jumping, running,
ponent in any situation. martial arts
Prerequisites: martial arts or boxing. Curriculum Exploits. Choose any three hard exploits
Attributes: STR +1, END +1, WIL +1, LUC +1 from the Universal Exploits for Martial Artists sidebar.
Skill Choices: acrobatics, climbing, reactions, running, Assault Savate. Increase your jump distance by 50%. With
boxing a successful attack you may feint an opponent, just
Curriculum Exploits. Choose any three soft exploits from barely touching them and steal or place one small item,
the Universal Exploits for Martial Artists sidebar. like a playing card or wallet, on their person without
Olympic Stance. Spend 1 action to enter an Olympic their notice.
stance. While in an Olympic stance your movement is Pre-Combat Savate. Any turn that you jump, add +2d6
halved, but you gain +4 Melee Defense. damage to any attack you make as you land. You must
Straight Kick. You make a devastating kick; on a success- jump more than 5' to gain this bonus.
ful hit, instead of dealing damage the target is sickened Combat Savate. When you take damage from a melee at-
until they shake the condition off. tack, you may take the blow’s momentum and use it to
Great Bear (requires Bear Hug). If you choose not to your advantage, gaining an attack bonus equal to the
move in a round when applying a bear hug, you do damage caused to the next melee attack you make.
double damage to your target. Long Kick. Once per turn you may kick a target 10' from
you with a lunge.
Heavy Shoe. A heavy shin kick Slows your foe until
they shake the condition off.

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 Action Careers

Southern Shaolin [1d6 years]

Your body is a weapon, and your hands are deadly indeed.
Using styles like Fujian White Crane, Wing Chun, Southern
Praying Mantis, Bak Mei and Dragon, you are a master of
Nanquan—the Southern Fist.
Prerequisites: martial arts.
Attributes: ATR +1, END +1, WIL +1, Chi +1
Skill Choices: climbing, hardy, melee weapon, nature,
martial arts
Curriculum Exploits. Choose any three hard exploits
from the Universal Exploits for Martial Artists sidebar.
Empty Hand. Whenever you successfully perform a Dis-
arm combat exploit, instead of the target dropping its
weapon, you take it in hand and may make one free at-
tack with it on the target.
God Fist (requires Knockback). When you use the Knock-
back combat exploit, you double the distance a target
is moved. The target becomes stunned until they shake
the condition off.
Flowing Attacker. For each 5' you travel during a turn,
you may make one attack. For every attack after the first,
you take a cumulative –1d6 to the attack roll. Once you
miss, your attack streak ends. This uses all of your ac-
tions for the turn.

Once per Turn

A character may use any given exploit once per turn, but However, his opponents get a +2d6 bonus to attack him
is free to combine multiple exploits into a single maneu- for the next round. Another common combination is a
ver. For example, an soldier might choose to disregard Charge and a Knockdown.
cover, stand out in the open (Reckless Attack) and take   Once a character has used an exploit (or a multiple
careful aim (Aim) in order to disarm an opponent (Disarm). exploit combination), including a reactive exploit, he can-
He gets +3d6 to his attack rolls from the reckless- not use that exploit (or any of the exploits used in the
ness and careful aim, and –3d6 for the disarm attempt. combination) until his next turn begins.

Paying for Effects

The concept of buying effects with your attack dice is   For example, an elite ninja might have enormous agil-
fundamental to the combat system of What’s O.L.D. Is ity and lots of training, and as such have a big attack dice
N.E.W. Without “buying” extra damage dice or desired pool of 8d6 with her martial arts. Normally, she only does
effects, a successful attack will tend to do very little 1d6 damage. However, she can spend some of her pool,
damage. High damage, therefore, is achieved by a large exchanging some of those 8d6 for extra damage or an ef-
attack dice pool being partially spent on damage and fect such as knockdown. The ninja has exchanged some
effects. of her accuracy for higher damage.

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 Action Careers

A Fistful of Chi fast movement. A stance might not always be a physical

Chi is a supernatural, mystical power represented by your posture; sometimes it may a mental attitude.
Chi attribute. It is an optional system for imbuing martial Mechanically, a stance is an exploit. Each stance grants
artists with pseudo-magical abilities. you a number of benefits. Adopting a stance is a free ac-
  Shaolin monks and bushido samurai are masters of chi tion, costs 1 Chi point, and lasts until the start of your next
(though the latter might call it ki), but they are certainly turn. You may only adopt one stance at a time.
not the only users of this mystical energy and not all char- In total, you may learn a number of stances equal to
acters will completely understand what it is. Despite this your CHI dice pool; in other words, if your CHI attribute
ignorance, the Chi stat can be central to how action stars is 10 (4d6) you may learn up to four stances.
perform stunts, extreme survivalists push to the next pla-
teau, soldiers carry on with multiple bullet wounds, and H̄in (Mountain) Stance

other characters perform their equally heroic feats. The strength of your Chi manifests in an incredible sense
  Chi doesn’t give you the ability to perform a round- of balance and resilience for physical stress. You are as
house kick or an armlock—those combat maneuvers indomitable as a mountain, able to bear incredible weight,
can be learned by anybody simply by taking the relevant make parts of your body invulnerable, and strike with so
exploits. Chi allows you to do seemingly magical things: great a focus and force that nearly any object will shatter
walk on water, levitate, withstand extreme punishment, under your blows. Your opponents learn that you are well-
heal wounds, and so on. suited to suffer a flurry of strikes, and to fear the power of
  Be it heart, ki, aligned chakras, a reservoir of rage, the your own.
eye of the tiger, or simply holding one’s focus in times of •• You may use your CHI attribute in place of your STR
stress, Chi often plays a critical role in the action genre. attribute for the purpose of attribute checks.
•• You become immobile. No attack roll from a crea-
CHI Attribute ture your size, one size larger, or smaller than you,
You may use your Chi attribute in place of another at- can move you.
tribute whenever you are using your martial arts skill to •• You cannot move from your location, although you
make an attribute check. This will usually be an attack may act normally in that location.
roll. Note that some martial arts also allow you to use your
martial arts skill with certain weapons. Daichin (Warrior) Stance
Your soul is that of the warrior, destined to compete, to
Chi Points fight, and to win. When your Chi surges forth it can be
Characters have a number of Chi points equal to their CHI incredibly deadly, able to reach preternatural heights
dice pool (so a character with a 3d6 Chi dice pool has 3 of physical awareness that turns you into a legendary
Chi points). Adopting stances depletes this store. combatant. Your opponents quickly become wary of the
  Once per day, characters can meditate (or imbibe alco- precision of your blows, your amazing reflexes, and how
hol, or rock out to their favorite tunes, or some other task closely you can bring both body and mind into perfect
that puts them in the right frame of mind) for five minutes attunement.
to regain all their Chi points. •• You can bring your mind and body into perfect
alignment. Increase all three of your Defenses to
Stances the highest of these three values.
Using Chi involves taking a stance. Stances represent dif- •• You gain +1d6 to all damage rolls.
ferent manifestations of your character’s inner power—for •• You cannot heal or be healed.
example, the mountain stance (H̄in) allows a martial artist
to perform incredible feats of strength, while the light-
ning stance (Phanyu) is associated with preternaturally

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 Action Careers

Wéifēng (Wind) Stance Toka (Stone) Stance

When using your Chi you become lighter, faster, and fleet- You are as enduring as rock and tough to the core, and
er than any normal human could ever be, able to move your Chi manifests by protecting you from harm. Your
with the silence of a subtle gust of wind, run across water skin and limbs can harden like stone, and eventually you
and tree branches, dash with incredible speed, and dodge learn to stand against any force, no matter how great. Your
so quickly as to become a blur. Your opponents are im- opponents are dumbfounded by your resilience and de-
pressed by your reflexes and rattled by how talented you feated by your unwillingness to falter against their attacks.
are at dodging their attacks. •• You may use your CHI attribute in place of your
•• You may use your CHI attribute in place of your AGI END attribute for the purpose of attribute checks.
attribute for the purpose of attribute checks. •• You make your body remarkably resilient to attack.
•• You double your Speed. You gain Soak equal to your CHI attribute.
•• You can walk across the surface of any liquid. •• You become immune to critical hits.
•• You can ignore a number of attacks equal to your •• You become immune to one energy type, chosen
Chi dice pool until the beginning of your next turn when you enter the stance. Choose from fire/heat,
as long as you take your full movement during your cold, sonic, or electricity.
turn. You must choose to ignore an attack before the
attack roll is made. Sūrya (Sun) Stance
The essence of your Chi is as pure as sunlight and you
Phanyu (Lightning) Stance can manifest it to be just as nourishing. You are able to
Your fists and feet are like lightning, and when using Chi heal wounds, alleviate the pains others, and even bring
you strike your enemies in the blink of an eye with explo- the recently deceased back to life. Enemies are frustrated
sive force. Dodging attacks is second nature to you, and by your presence on the battlefield and confounded when
your response of battering blows is nearly invisible to the your allies are restored by your abilities.
naked eye. Your opponents are brought down quickly by •• You glow with inner light; the area 30' around you is
your aggressive flurries, if they even see them coming. as bright as daylight.
•• You may use your CHI attribute in place of your AGI •• You can heal another creature by touch, restoring
attribute for the purpose of attribute checks. Health equal to your CHI attribute with one action.
•• You gain an additional action which can be used to •• You can use all your actions to spread a warmth
make a melee attack. of energy that mends wounds and heals injuries.
•• You charge your body and wait to dodge an attack You restore Health equal to your CHI to all allies
until the very last possible moment, moving so fast within 30'.
that you seem not to move at all. You negate the next •• All allies within the light of your glow (30') gain +4
attack against you that you are aware of. Mental Defense.
•• You turn into a veritable whirlwind of deadly fists •• You gain +1d6 Health at the end of your turn.
and feet. You can spend all your actions to make one
melee attack against every adjacent opponent.

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 Action Careers

Umfula (River) Stance Ma-eum (Mind) Stance

Your Chi makes you intimately familiar to the energies Your understanding of Chi has revealed the void behind
that flow through all living creatures, and your incredible all things, and you have attained some mastery over this
awareness allows you to bend them to your whim. You are oblivion. You are able to hamper the Chi of others, take it
able to sense the Chi of another, align the minds of your away from them, or even negate the use of mystical power
allies, and express supreme concentration in the face of nearby. Your opponents are left powerless before you, de-
attacks that would leave the mind of any other person feated in the wake of your control over the nothing that is
completely destroyed. Your opponents are disturbed by everything.
your cerebral fortitude and undone by their own mental •• You may use your CHI attribute in place of your INT
assaults. attribute for the purpose of attribute checks.
•• You may use your CHI attribute in place of your AGI •• When you successfully attack an enemy, you drain 1
attribute for the purpose of attribute checks. Chi point from them.
•• You focus your Chi against your attacker, swirling •• Chi stances within 30' of you cost double the normal
the power they wield against you and gracefully number of Chi points.
turning it back. When a melee attack misses you, •• You are able to sense the presence of Chi within 100',
the attacker causes its melee damage to itself. and the number of Chi points that person has.
•• If you are knocked prone, you automatically stand
again for free. Gèxìng (Heart) Stance
•• You are immune to mental attacks Your control over Chi opens windows to the souls of
•• You can spend one action to step through the space those you look upon. By utilizing your abilities, you can
in between. You briefly cross the backdoors of exis- manipulate the emotions of others, completely conceal
tence, teleporting up to 30' to a location you can see. your own, and empower others to reach further and fight
harder. Your opponents are simultaneously filled with
Yuèliàng (Moon) Stance both wonder and great malice when in your presence.
You can physically manifest your Chi with surpris- •• You may use your CHI attribute in place of your CHA
ing ease, using it to perform feats that defy belief. You attribute for the purpose of attribute checks.
are able to wield it as a weapon that harms the souls of •• Your deceptions have so much conviction that to all
other creatures, or gather it for deadly attacks that can others it is an unquestionable truth. You tell perfect
level buildings. Your opponents are bewildered and taken lies. These can be as outlandish as you like and
aback by your supernatural powers. creatures are allowed to disbelieve it, but no power,
•• You double your Jump distances. technology, magic, or check can reveal that you are
•• You can wrap your fists in mystical energy to punch not speaking the truth.
your target’s very soul. When you make a melee •• You may make a mental attack against a creature
attack, you target your foe’s Mental within 30'. If successful, it becomes your thrall,
Defense instead. gaining the dominated condition. It can shake this
•• You can make melee attacks against condition off as normal.
targets up to 30' away. •• You automatically sense lies and deceptions. You do
•• You can levitate to a not necessarily learn the truth, but you are aware of
height in feet up to your untruths.
CHI •• You may freely donate your LUC dice to allies within
attri- 30' on their turn. They must use the donated dice
bute. immediately.

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 Action Careers

Universal Exploits start of each of his turns. You may move at half SPEED,
Universal exploits are distinct exploits a character has taking your victim with you.
learned; any character can learn a universal exploit as
Blinding Attack (requires AGI 6+). You throw sand into your
long as he qualifies for it. A universal exploit costs XP
opponent’s eyes, cover him in a cloak, pull his helm down, or
equal to half the cost of a new grade to purchase; it is the
gash his forehead; on a successful hit your target gains
only type of exploit that can be purchased directly with
the Blind condition.
XP. Characters begin play with one free universal exploit
Blindfighter. Skilled at using senses other than sight for
of their choice plus either Aim or Feint.
combat, you may ignore darkness and the Blind
 Prerequisites: Most exploits have pre-requisites in
condition for melee combat.
terms of attribute scores or previous exploits. In order to
Blind Shot (requires LUC 5+). While in full cover, you
purchase a universal exploit, a character must meet those
may pay 2d6 to take a shot without looking at what you
pre-requisites.
are shooting at or exposing yourself. You use your Luck
Achilles Heel (requires LOG 5+, Aim, any [academic]
attribute instead of your AGI or INT for this shot.
skill). Identifying a weakness in your target, you pay
Brush Off (requires STR 8+). You contemptuously brush
2d6 and bypass its Soak score. This exploit can only be
aside some melee attacks. Once per turn you may
performed once per target.
remove one die of damage from a successful melee at-
Aim. This is identical to the Feint exploit, but for ranged
tack against you, as long as the attacker is your size or
combat; it grants +1d6 bonus to an attack roll taken in
smaller.
the same turn. The attack action must come immedi-
Burst of Speed (requires piloting skill). Your mount, ship,
ately after the feinting action. All characters get either
or vehicle gains a speed boost of 2 hexes or squares for
the Aim or Feint exploit for free.
the turn.
Always Prepared (requires LOG 8+). You have a bril-
Charge. When making a melee attack, move up to your
liant tactical mind, and are always prepared. You may
speed in a straight line and then attack at the end of it
declare a single action which you took prior to the
and pay 2d6. You gain +1d6 damage to your attack. You
encounter (even if you didn’t know the encounter was
must move at least 10'.
going to take place) which helps you in this exact sce-
Cleave (requires STR 8+). When using STR as your attack
nario. This must be an action you were capable of.
attribute, you follow through in one mighty swing, and
Analytics (requires LOG 6+). Studying your target’s be-
make an additional attack at –1d6 against an adjacent
haviour, you notice a pattern to its actions. You grant all
foe if the first one hits.
allies within 30' a +1d6 bonus to attack the target until
the start of your next turn. This costs one action. Crippling Strike (requires AGI 5+; Deadly Strike). You
expertly target your opponent’s legs, causing a
Arm Lock (requires AGI 8+, martial arts skill). When
wound which inflicts the Slowed condition.
you successfully grab a foe, you place your target in a
Dart In (requires Charge). You move your Speed, make
painful armlock. The target gains the Restrained
a melee attack at –1d6, and then move your Speed back
condition, drops any items in that hand, and cannot
again to your starting position. You cannot combine
use that arm until he escapes. You may move at half
this exploit with other exploits, not can you dart in
SPEED, taking your victim with you. If you apply this
while on difficult terrain.
twice, the attacker gains the severe Restrained
condition. Deadly Critical. Critical hits on one specific designated
weapon occur on a roll of double sixes, not triple sixes.
Bear Hug (requires STR 8+). When you successfully
You must designate the weapon when you take this
grab a foe, you grab your target with both arms,
exploit. You may take it multiple times for multiple
squeezing him. You can only bearhug a target of your
weapons; if you lose the weapon, the exploit does not
size category or smaller. The target gains the
transfer over to a new weapon of the same type.
Restrained condition, and takes 1d6 damage at the

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 Action Careers

Deadly Strike (requires AGI or STR 5+). You inflict an ad- Fortitude. You gain a permanent +2 Melee Defense, able
ditional 1d6 damage with a successful hit. For a ranged to shrug off many attacks
attack, this is likely a head shot. This can only gain you Improviser. You are adept at using bar stools and other
one bonus damage die. items as weapons. You suffer no attack penalties for im-
Death from on High (requires Charge). You pay 2d6 and provised melee weapons.
drop down on your opponent from at least 5' above him. Iron Will. You gain a permanent +2 to Mental Defense,
This counts as a charge but knocks your opponent prone able to shrug off many mental attacks.
and does 2d6 extra damage instead of 1d6. Jury-Rig (requires LOG 6+; engineering skill). You
Die Hard (requires WIL 8+). While at negative Health modify a weapon (yours or an adjacent ally’s) to either
you are still conscious, and can take one action per increase its range by 50% or its damage by +1d6 until the
round. You still form the death countdown pool as start of your next turn.
normal. If you take any further damage, you fall uncon- Knockback (requires Knockdown). When you use a
scious as normal. Called Shot to move a target, you do not have to pay
Disarm (requires AGI 6). Pay 3d6; the target drops its the 2d6; however, for each 1d6 you choose to pay, the
weapon or other hand-held item. target is pushed one extra square.
Dive for Cover (requires AGI 7+). If a ranged attack misses Knockdown (requires STR 5+). When you use a
you, you may immediately move half your speed and ei- Called Shot to knock a target prone, you do not
ther throw yourself prone or get behind cover if it is in have to pay the 2d6; additionally, the target gains
range. This is a free action. the Downed condition.
Dodge (requires AGI 6+). Once per turn you may, as a re- Leadership (requires CHA 8+). You are able to donate
action, remove 2d6 from an attack against you as long as one or more of your LUC dice to another character
you are not in cover. You must declare this before the as a free reaction to their attempting an attribute
attack is rolled, and you must be aware of the attack. check. You must declare this before they roll.
Double Tap (requires AGI 7+; Aim). Once per turn you Leaping Attack (requires AGI 8+, Charge). You leap into
may fire two quick shots at your target at the cost of just
the air as you make a melee attack. You gain +1d6 dam-
one action, paying 2d6.
age, but if you miss your opponent gets a free attack.
Dual Defense (requires AGI 8+). When dual-wielding, you
can use both weapons defensively; you count as wield- Lightning Reflexes. You gain a permanent +2 to Ranged

ing a large shield until your next turn, but you cannot Defense, able to dodge many ranged attacks.

attack until your next turn. Lucky Escape (requires LUC 6+). You may avoid all dam-

Draw a Bead (requires INT 5+). The penalty for firing at a age from one attack as a free reaction. You can only do

target engaged in melee is reduced from 2d6 to 1d6. this once per day.

Far Shot. You increase range increments by 50%. Lunge. You increase your reach by 5' for one attack at a

Feint. This is identical to the Aim exploit, but for melee cost of –1d6.
combat; it grants +1d6 bonus to an attack roll taken in Mighty Sunder (requires Sunder). Half the damage from
the same turn. The attack action must come immedi- your sunder also applies to the target weapon’s wielder.
ately after the feinting action. All characters get either Opportunist Stomp. You can stomp on an adjacent prone
the Aim or Feint exploit for free. opponent as a free action. This is an unarmed attack
Fleet. You are faster than you look. You gain +2 Speed be- and uses your natural damage value.
yond that granted by your STR and AGI attributes. This Opportunity Strike. You can make an attack as a free ac-
does not stack with other Speed bonuses. tion attack against a foe who disengages from melee
Flying Kick (requires AGI 8+; martial arts skill). You combat with you.
Pep Talk (requires CHA 6+). You can spend your ambush
move up to your speed and launch a flying kick, dealing
turn (if you have access to it) giving your allies a pep
your martial arts damage with a bonus 1d6 damage.
talk, who gain a +1d6 bonus to Initiative next round.

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 Action Careers

Pile Driver (requires STR 8+, wrestling skill). You grab unless something blocks his way. If he collides with a
your opponent, lift him, and then drop to the ground, solid object, he takes 1d6 blunt damage.
driving his head into the ground. Both you and your Spinning Kick (requires AGI 8+, martial arts skill). A
opponent end up prone. The exploit costs 2d6 and, if quick turn, and your foot lashes out to strike an oppo-
successful, the target takes double damage and gains the nent behind you. This attack is a free action. You do
Dazed condition. your normal unarmed damage.
Point-Blank Shot. You get +1d6 to hit ranged targets Spray. When using a weapon designated auto you may
within 10'. This does not stack with the +1d6 from using spend all your actions to spray a 30' cone, making one
a sidearm against an adjacent foe. attack against every target not in cover within the cone.
Predictive Reflexes (requires INT 6+). You are good at Make one attack roll and apply it to the Ranged De-
reading the situation. You gain a permanent +1d6 bo- fense of all within that area.
nus to your Initiative checks. Stop Right There! Enemies which try to move past you
Protector (requires END 5+). You can intercept an attack (move within your reach) are subject to a free action at-
meant for an adjacent ally. If the attack hits your ally, tack, which stops their movement if successful.
you take the damage instead. If you have a shield, the Strafe. When using a weapon designated “auto” you may,
ally also benefits from your shield’s defense bonus. as a single action, spray an area 15' × 15' with fire. Ev-

Quick Draw (requires AGI 6+). If you are disarmed, you eryone in that area takes 1d6 damage of the appropriate

may immediately draw another weapon as an immediate type. This is the only attack you can make with this

reaction as long as you have one available. weapon this turn.

Quick Stand (requires AGI 6+, martial arts skill). Once Sunder. You target your opponent’s weapon or shield

per turn you can stand immediately from prone as a with the intention of breaking it. The weapon has same

free action or reaction and you are immune to the Melee Defense as its wielder; you take –2d6 to strike a

Downed condition. weapon and no penalty to strike a shield.

Taunt (requires CHA 8+). You taunt your target, enraging
Quick Step. You can move 5' as a free action.
it, and make a CHA vs. Mental Defense attack. If suc-
Reckless Act. You gain +1d6 to ranged attacks as long
cessful, the target focuses all its attacks on you until the
as you are not concealed, in cover, or using a shield.
start of your next turn.
If you use Dodge, or any other exploit which
Throw (requires STR or AGI 7+; Trip or Knockdown).
protects you, you lose this bonus for one minute.
When you use a Called Shot to knock a target prone, you
Ricochet (requires INT 8+; Aim). You can pay 4d6 to
also move the target two squares and do your unarmed
“bounce” a ranged attack off of one surface in order to
damage.
hit a target to whom you would not normally have line
of sight. This does not negate the target’s cover bonuses; Throw Anything. You suffer no attack penalty for im-
it merely creates a line of sight to a target where there provised ranged weapons (including throwing melee

previously was none. weapons, which count as improvised when used in this

Roll With It (requires AGI 5+). By voluntarily falling prone, way).

you reduce damage by 2d6. You cannot use any instant- Trip (requires AGI 6+). When you use a Called Shot
stand exploits in combination with this exploit. to knock a target prone, you do not have to pay the
Scattershot. When using a shotgun, you can attack two 2d6; additionally, the target gains the Downed
adjacent targets within 15' of you with a single attack condition. You still do your normal attack damage.
action. Additionally, if you are a smaller size category than
Sidestep (requires AGI 8+). When an attacker charges your target, you gain +1d6 to your attack.
you, you casually step aside, causing him to rush right
on past you. If the attacker’s attack misses, he continues
onwards in a straight line to the extent of his movement,

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 Action Careers

Age
Your age is determined by the total of your character’s
years in each career. Age falls into three broad bands—
young, adult, and old.
  If you are young or old, choose any synonym for that
word and insert it into your descriptor. It’s up to you what
adjective you choose. If you are adult, you do not need to
add it to your descriptor.
  Adding years. Players may always add extra years to
their age at character creation or during downtime with
no corresponding advancement. This allows players to
play older characters without unduly high attributes.
NPCs may similarly have years added. In Cinematic Mode,
adult characters gain an additional LUC die, and old char-
acters gain a further LUC die, representing experience.

Young Characters
Characters under 26 years of age are young.
  Young characters are characterized by curiosity and
brashness. You gain the following exploit. You lose the ex-
ploit when you are no longer categorized as young.
  Example synonyms: young, youthful, adolescent, child-
ish, teenaged, juvenile.
Young. Once per day, when rolling a dice pool, you may
declare it to be an exploding dice pool. Any 6s that you
roll may be rolled again, the new roll adding to the ex-
isting 6. If you roll a 6 again, repeat, until you roll less
than a 6.

Old Characters
Characters over 59 years of age are old.
  Old characters are characterized by experience. Old
characters can no longer improve physical attributes (STR,
AGI, END) through career advances or experience expen-
diture, although they may do so via other means (magic,
cybernetics, etc.) The bonus gained from your hook in-
creases to +2d6, and you gain the following exploit.
  Example synonyms: old, elderly, mature, venerable,
aged, aging, hoary.
Old. Once per day, when rolling a dice pool, you may de-
clare it a careful dice pool. You may reroll any 1s you roll,
with the new roll replacing the 1. If you roll a 1 a second
time, however, you must keep the 1.

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 Action Careers

Trait Athletic. Brawny and strong, you are able to plough

A character’s trait is a dominant characteristic based on through difficult terrain. Difficult terrain does not re-
his attributes. It provides an ability or quality related to duce your speed.
either his highest or lowest attribute. Traits include things Brawny. You gain a +40 lb. carrying capacity.
like rugged, massive, alcoholic, inspiring, and so on. If Brilliant. You mind is honed, sharp, and analytical. Once
someone were to describe your character, this is the first per day you may replace any other attribute check with
word they’d use—“Ben? You mean that suave spy?” an LOG check.
  Choose either your highest or lowest attribute (both Clumsy. You often stumble or drop items. You are so used
will give you an advantage; choosing the lowest doesn’t to falling that you take less damage than most from a
give you a disadvantage—for example, a low WIL allows fall. Reduce the height fallen by 10' when calculating
you to choose “alcoholic,” which gives you a bonus Soak falling damage.
score when intoxicated). Choose a corresponding trait (or Commanding. You have presence, and people listen to
roll for it if you prefer a little randomness). you. By spending two actions (a full turn) you can give
  Your trait forms part of your descriptor and should be an ally within earshot a single free action.
noted on your character sheet. For example: Coughing. Your constant coughing elicits sympathy from
onlookers who are hesitant to attack an obviously ill
Duke Roosevelt is an aging rugged Human bounty person. You gain a +4 Defense bonus against anyone
hunter who loves 50s music you have not yet attacked.
Deadeye. Once per day you automatically hit with a
Alcoholic. You are usually drunk. While this can impair ranged shot within two range increments as long as
your judgment, it also enables you to shrug off injury. you do not exchange any attack dice for damage dice or
You gain +2 Soak. combine it with another exploit.
Alert. Constantly aware of your surroundings, you gain Disfigured. Your appearance is memorable. However, it
+1d6 to INT perception checks, and you always win serves to instill fear when you need it to. You gain an
INITIATIVE ties. additional 1d6 bonus to intimidation attempts.
Ambidextrous. You do not suffer the usual –2d6 penalty Distracted. Your attention is always somewhere else and
to attacks made while dual-wielding a double weapon can be a cause of frustration for others. However, the
or a secondary offhand weapon. right non sequitur can sometimes prove useful: once
Asthmatic/Anemic. Your poor health often prevents you per day, as an ally is making an attribute check, you can

from undertaking extended physical exertion. However, make a completely random comment which jogs their

you have developed coping strategies which enable you memory and grants them a +2d6 bonus to the check.

to recover quickly. Once per day you may gather your Egotistical. You have a very high opinion of yourself,

strength and determinedly recover 1d6 Health. which manifests itself as extreme confidence and

Characteristic Traits
Attribute Highest Attribute Lowest Attribute
STR [1–2] Massive, [3–4] athletic, [5–6] brawny [1–3] Feeble, [4–6] tottering
AGI [1–2] Nimble, [3–4] deadeye, [5–6] ambidextrous [1–3] Clumsy, [4–6] lame
END [1–3] Rugged, [4–6] tough-as-nails [1–3] Coughing, [4–6] asthmatic/anemic
INT [1–3] Empathic, [4–6] alert [1–3] Naive, [4–6] distracted
LOG [1–3] Brilliant, [4–6] erudite [1–3] Illiterate, [4–6] forgetful
WIL [1–3] Stoic, [4–6] unflappable [1–2] Alcoholic, [3–4] reckless, [5–6] spendthrift
CHA [1–2] Commanding, [3] inspiring, [4] suave, [5–6] persuasive [1–2] Unwashed, [3–4] disfigured, [5–6] obnoxious
REP [1–2] Egotistical, [3–4] well known, [5–6] flamboyant N/A

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 Action Careers

surety. You gain a +4 Mental Defense bonus. Unfor- Inspiring. You are able to instill positive emotions in peo-
tunately, you sometimes ask “don’t you know who I am?” ple with your words, using an action to give them a +1d6
Empathic. You easily understand how others feel. Once bonus to their next attribute check if they are within 30'
per day you can attempt to adjust another’s mood with of you.
a CHA vs. Mental Defense check. If you succeed, you Lame. You have a limp, and move slowly, possibly with a
can make them either bad-tempered or happy. You cane. This causes people to underestimate you, grant-
must be able to converse with your target to do this. ing you a +1d6 bonus to Initiative checks.
Erudite. You remember a vast catalog of knowledge. At Massive. You are enormous and solid. You are immune to
any time you may make a LOG check in place of any knockdown and knockback effects by anything of your
CHA check to interact with them by recalling trivia of size category or smaller.
interest to your target, though only once per target. Naive. Naivete can be an endearing trait in some; it can
Feeble. You are physically weak and frail, which taught also act as an insulation. Once per day you may com-
you the value of brains over brawn. Once per day you pletely ignore a fear-based effect or condition.
may use a LOG check in place of a STR check and ac- Nimble. You gain a Climb speed equal to your regular
complish your goal through cunning and ingenuity. Speed.
Forgetful. You constantly forget and misplace things; of- Obnoxious. Your personality really repels people. You are
ten they are still about your person. Once per day you an expert at insults, and can use an action to make a
may produce an item you didn’t know you were LOG vs. WIL check to enrage and distract others,
carry-ing. The item can be any type of item, and can be caus-ing them to gain the Angry condition.
worth up to the result of your LUC check. Persuasive. You are adept at negotiating with others.
Illiterate. You cannot read. Instead, you have learned to
When you purchase anything under $1,000 in value,
memorize common words which you need to recognize
you are able to reduce the final price you pay for the
often. You have a fantastic memory and can automatically
item by 3d6 percent.
recall information you have been exposed to.

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 Action Careers

Reckless. Your poor judgment often lands you in trouble, Derived Statistics
but it leads to a certain confidence. If you completely ig- Derived statistics are values which are calculated based
nore cover, you gain a +1d6 attack bonus as long as you on existing statistics. You’ll need to calculate each of the
are not using a shield. derived statistics in the section below, and record them
Rugged. You are tough and shrug off hardships. Once per on your character sheet. All derived statistics increase
day you can spend two actions (a full turn) to recover to or decrease if their underlying statistics change through
half your normal maximum Health. character advancement or for other reasons.
Spendthrift. You lack self-discipline and spend your
money on trivialities. This can have its advantages, Recording Dice Pools
however; once per day you can pull an item from your For each attribute and each skill, record the derived dice
pocket that you forgot you’d bought, retroactively pool on your character sheet. These are noted on the char-
spending the value of your LUC check in dollars acter worksheet for convenience. They are as follows:
Stoic. You are able to hide pain and discomfort. Once
per day, when you would normally be reduced to zero Dice Pools by Value
Health, you are reduced to 1 Health instead. 1–2 3–5 6–9 10–14 15–20 21–27
Tottering. You find it a struggle to stand and require the 1d6 2d6 3d6 4d6 5d6 6d6
use of a wheelchair which gives you a +1 Speed bonus
on normal terrain. The actual attribute scores are not needed during play;
Tough as Nails. You gain a +2 natural Soak bonus which you need only refer to the dice pools. The attribute scores
stacks with any other Soak scores you may have. are used during character creation to provide an expand-
Unflappable. You are not easily distracted or surprised. ing granular scale to attribute development.
The Feint exploit does not work on you.
Unwashed. Your unkempt appearance causes others to Health
overlook you. You can hide in plain sight using INT in Health is a mixture of physical and mental stamina. Roll
place of AGI. an END dice pool and a WIL dice pool. If you have the
Well Known. You are famous; people recognize you, for hardy skill, you may roll that also. Record the total as your
good or ill. You have learned to use this reputation. Health. If the total is less than 10, then increase your
Once per day you may substitute your REP attribute for Health to 10. When you are hit, you take damage; when
another attribute in order to make an attribute check. you reach 0 Health you are unconscious.

Speed
Cinematic Mode You need to determine your regular Speed, and your
Combat in WOIN is a quite deadly affair, especially if Climb speed. Note that this process also applies to Swim
you are accustomed to heroic fantasy games. Even and other forms of movement.
an advanced character can be downed by just one or  Your Speed is equal to the size of your STR dice pool
two shots. plus your AGI dice pool. You may also add your running
  For a more heroic feel, the GM can opt to use Cin- dice pool if you have that skill.
ematic Mode. In Cinematic Mode, characters and  For climbing, swimming, etc., replace the running skill
creatures also roll a LUC dice pool when calculating and halve the final total unless a career tells you other-
their total Health. Lucky characters can be very resil- wise. You only need to note these values if you have the
ient, though not necessarily deliberately so! appropriate skill—otherwise, it will work out to half your
  In Cinematic Mode, adult characters also gain an Speed (without the running bonus).
additional LUC die, and old characters gain a further   Small (or smaller) characters suffer a –1 penalty to
LUC die, representing experience. Speed.

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Jump Attribute (use one)

This is the distance and height you may jump automati- •• For Melee Defense, use the highest of your STR
cally. It should be recorded on your character sheet in and AGI; for Ranged Defense, use your AGI.
units of feet, not squares (unlike Speed) in the format 7'/4'. •• For Mental Defense use the highest of INT, LOG,
  Your horizontal jump is equal to twice your AGI attri- and WIL.
bute in feet. •• For Vital Defense, use your END.
  Your vertical jump is equal to your STR attribute in feet,
but cannot exceed your horizontal jump. Skill (use one)
  These values assume a 10' run-up. From a standing start, •• For Melee and Ranged Defense, you may use
they are halved. acrobatics, dodging, or foresight.
  Jumps exceeding these figures require attribute checks •• For Mental Defense you may use concentration,
equal to the number of feet jumped horizontally or three meditation, bravery, discipline, religion, conviction,
times the number of feet jumped vertically. leadership, psychology, or rulership.
•• For Vital Defense, you may use fortitude, survival,
Carry or resistance.
Your basic carry increment is equal to STR + END multi- •• Skill with a melee weapon or unarmed combat
plied by 10. Record this value in pounds. applies to Defense against melee attacks, but not
  Each carry increment inflicts a –1d6 penalty to physical ranged attacks.
attribute checks and –1 to Speed. •• If you double-move in a round, you may use running
for Defense.
Initiative
Initiative measures how quickly you can react in combat Equipment (use one)
situations. It is equal to your INT dice pool. You may also •• For Melee Defense, the quality of your weapon or
add tactics or reactions dice pools. shield can be used in your dice pool (you cannot
benefit from more equipment quality dice than skill
Defense dice; see “Dice Pools” in Action Core).
You have four Defense scores: Melee Defense, Ranged •• For Ranged Defense, the quality of your or shield
Defense, Mental Defense, and Vital Defense. All four can be used (again, you cannot benefit from more
scores have a minimum value of 10. equipment quality dice than skill dice).
  These scores are pre-calculated dice pools; because •• Remember you can only benefit from high-quality
they are used frequently, the average value is used and equipment (including armor) up to your skill level.
noted on your character sheet. For each score, form a dice Having formed your Defense and Mental Defense dice
pool consisting of attribute, skill, and equipment, as nor- pool(s), consult the table below to determine the corre-
mal (and subject to the normal dice pool limit). Use the sponding static score. This is an average roll of the dice
following elements to form the dice pool: pool, and is used to speed up play (you could, theoreti-
cally, roll your Defense as an opposed check each time).

Defense Score by Total Pool Size

POOL 1d6 2d6 3d6 4d6 5d6 6d6 7d6 8d6 9d6
Defense 4 7 11 14 18 21 25 28 32

Defense Modifier by Creature Size

Size Tiny Small Medium Large Enormous Gigantic Colossal
Defense Modifier +4 +2 +0 –4 –8 –16 –32

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 Action Careers

  Adjust your Melee and Ranged Defense scores ac-

cording to your Size (see the table on the previous page).
  You also need to adjust your Melee and Ranged De-
fense scores for any armor you may be wearing and/or
any shield you may be wielding. Medium armor inflicts a
–2 penalty, and heavy armor a –4 penalty. Light armor in-
flicts no penalty. (Wearing bulky protective armor makes
you easier to hit.) Small shields give +1, medium shields
+2, and large shields +3. (Shields help you deflect blows.)
The lowest any Defense score can be is 10. If any of your
final Defense scores are below 10, increase them to 10.

Careers & Defensive Skills

As noted earlier, any time you take a career skill, you may should now peruse Chapter 2 and purchase weapons, ar-
take a Defense skill instead. These aren’t specifically mor, and other equipment for your character. Record the
called out in the careers, but all Defense skills are always equipment you purchase on your character sheet.
available to all careers.
  The following skills (remember anything can be a skill— Attacks
feel free to encourage your players to invent their own) are Finally, note down your attacks. You should have two or
defensive skills: three, depending on your equipment. The first is an un-
armed attack (brawling, boxing, wrestling, martial arts,
Melee and Ranged Defense Skills depending on skills) and the others might be a melee and
Examples: acrobatics, dodging, foresight a ranged weapon.
•• Melee attacks use STR or AGI.
Mental Defense Skills •• Ranged attacks use AGI or INT.
Examples: concentration, meditation, bravery, discipline, The damage value, range, and any notes are found in the
religion, conviction, leadership, psychology, rulership weapon’s entry in the Action Equipment book. You may
also add the size of your STR dice pool or skill dice pool to
Vital Defense Skills a melee weapon damage, or the size of your skill dice pool
Examples: fortitude, survival, resistance to ranged weapon damage. So, if you have STR 6 (3d6), add
3 to your sword’s damage.
Additionally, melee skills apply to Melee Defense, but   Unarmed damage is 1d6 plus the number of dice in ei-
not Ranged Defense: you can add boxing, for example, or ther your Strength dice pool or your unarmed dice pool,
swords if you are armed with a sword—if so you can also plus 1d6 for each size category above Medium. For exam-
add the sword’s weapon quality. ple, an unarmed Human with STR 4 does 1d6+2 damage,
  You should train Defense; otherwise you will get hit a and a Large Mutant with STR 10 does 2d6+4 damage.
lot. It’s as important as training in weapons. You should Some exploits increase your unarmed damage.
aim to get your Defense pool to at least 4d6 if possible. An attack is recorded in this format:
Automatic rifle 3d6 (2d6+2 ballistic damage; range 20;
Equip Your Character notes)
Roll your REP dice pool and multiply the result by 20. You   The first value (3d6 in the example) is your attack roll.
may also add your LUC dice pool before multiplying. The This is a dice pool cumulating the appropriate attribute,
total is your starting money in dollars. If the final total is skill, and equipment. Damage, range, and other notes are
less than $100, increase your starting money to $100. You listed in parentheses after the attack roll.

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Advancement  Time. A character can take a new career grade by

Throughout a campaign, characters can gain or improve spending the required time (usually 1d6 years, but the
skills, acquire new exploits, and increase attributes. Char- career itself will provide specific information). This type
acters have two “currencies” to spend on advancement. of advancement requires downtime—periods when a
character’s actions take place in the background—and it
Typical Point Values and Advancement Cost advances a character’s age.
Attr. Skill Max Dice XP Total   Characters can always spend more time in a career
Grade Points Ranks Exploits Pool Cost XP* grade than the amount indicated. In particular, NPCs
0 24 3 2 3d6 0 0 may take much longer to progress than PCs; it’s not un-
1 28 5 3 3d6 10 10 usual to see old NPCs with only a few career ranks.
2 32 7 4 3d6 20 30   Experience Points. The GM awards experience points
3 36 9 5 3d6 30 60 (XP) for overcoming challenges, defeating enemies, and
4 40 11 6 4d6 40 100 completing milestones. XP can be spent on new career
5 44 13 7 5d6 50 150 grades. The cost is equal to 10 times the new grade—de-
6 48 15 8 6d6 60 210 duct the XP from the character’s total when he spends
7 52 17 9 6d6 70 280 them. This type of advancement requires no time.
8 56 19 10 7d6 80 360   Advancements are accessed via career grades, and con-
9 60 21 11 7d6 90 450 textualize any given advancement.
10 64 23 12 7d6 100 550
11 68 25 13 8d6 110 660 Incremental Advancement
12 72 27 14 8d6 120 780 Attribute Advancement Attribute Advancement
13 76 29 15 8d6 130 910 or Skill Cost (XP) or Skill Cost (XP)
14 80 31 16 8d6 140 1,050 1 3 8 24
15 84 33 17 9d6 150 1,200 2 6 9 27
16 88 35 18 9d6 160 1,360 3 9 10 30
17 92 37 19 9d6 170 1,530 4 12 11 33
18 96 39 20 9d6 180 1,710 5 15 12 36
19 100 41 21 9d6 190 1,900 6 18 13 39
20 104 43 22 10d6 200 2,100 7 21 14 42
* The cumulative total of spent XP to reach this grade

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 Action Careers

Completing Milestones
The GM awards XP for completing major storyline mile-
stones. Milestones are major non-combat challenges
or obstacles which require substantial effort on the part
of the characters. The award is equal to the character’s
existing grade (the same as for a Medium encounter). A
Defeating Enemies and grade 5 character, therefore, receives 5 XP for completing
Overcoming Challenges a milestone. The frequency with which the PCs complete
The core advancement assumption is that you need to milestones is fairly arbitrary, but a good guideline is to in-
defeat or overcome 10 encounters of Medium difficulty to clude one in every session of play.
advance to the next grade. The XP requirement for each
grade is shown in the table below; it is equal to ten times Incremental Advances
the next grade. For a Medium difficulty encounter, char- Sometimes a character increases just her STR attribute by
acters gain XP equal to their own grade. working out, or just her pistols skill at the shooting range.
  The GM evaluates how difficult the players found the To do this, the character needs to spend XP. The cost of
encounter and awards XP accordingly. Round down when the increase is equal to three times the new score—so an
calculating half grade values. increase from 9 to 10 STR costs 30 XP, while an increase
from rank 2 to rank 3 in pistols costs 9 XP.
Encounter XP Awards   A universal exploit (but not a career exploit) can be pur-
Encounter Difficulty XP Award chased for half the price of a new grade.
Trivial No XP   You cannot spend time to make incremental advances;
Easy Half grade (round down) you must spend XP. Only full career grades can be pur-
Medium Equal to grade chased with time. Incremental advances take place in
Hard Two times grade the background at the same time as regular activity, and
Extremely hard Three times grade are assumed to have involved current and prior training.
Therefore a character gains the benefit of an incremental
GMs are free to set different advancement rates. Chang- advance immediately upon spending the XP.
ing the speed of character advancement can affect the   Incremental advances are not as cost effective as career
tone of a campaign, and the GM should be sure to inform grades, but they allow for fine-tuning and granular ad-
the players before play what the campaign’s advance- vancement. Note, however, that a character’s maximum
ment rate is. To set a different advancement rate, simply dice pool is always based on his overall grade, so incre-
increase or decrease the cost of a new career grade from mental advancements should always be viewed as a
10 XP per grade to a higher or lower value. supplementary advancement method.

Planning Age
If the PCs research and plan to the extent where they make Each character’s age should be tracked. Characters are
a supposedly difficult encounter into easier encounter categorized as young, adult, or old. For more information,
by virtue of their preparations and forethought, they are see the aging rules.
awarded XP for an encounter one difficulty level higher   Once a character reaches old age, their physical at-
(for example, an encounter which turned out to be Easy tributes (STR, AGI, END) can no longer be increased by
because of good planning becomes a Medium encounter non-supernatural, non-technological means. Career ad-
for the purposes of XP awards). Planning awards require vances which would normally increase those attributes
GM discretion, and ensures that players aren’t penalized no longer do so, and incremental increases to those attri-
for thinking their way around a problem. butes can no longer be purchased.

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 Action Careers

76
Chapter 2
Modern
Equipment

77
 Modern Equipment

About This Chapter It’s the Real World!

Your character’s skills and attributes are only part of the
full story. On top of all that, you need to equip him. Most Unlike a fantasy or science-fiction game, the gear
characters outfit themselves with weapons, armor, and in a contemporary setting is likely familiar to all the
other supplementary equipment. players. Indeed, there is far more information on real-
  In this chapter, you’ll find information on guns, gre- world gear available digitally at a player’s fingertips
nades, and other weapons from a variety of 20th Century than could be found within these pages.
eras; armor, including ballistic vests, riot gear, and more;   For that reason, we have not attempted to provide
vehicles, from fast motorcycles to formidable tanks; and an exhaustive list of general gear (other than stats
a range of special gadgets with which outfit a superspy or for firearms and the like). If you need a broader selec-
masked vigilante. tion of equipment, you can bring a store catalog to the
  The equipment here covers the 19th century (Wild West) game table and use that as a game manual.
era, through World War II, all the way up until the modern   The equipment in this chapter — especially the sec-
era and the very near future. tion on general gear — provides a sample selection of
equipment for modern-day adventurers. But your fa-
Starting Money vorite online shopping portal likely has a much vaster
Each character’s starting assets need to be determined array of goods of all types.
before any cash is spent on equipment. A character’s   You should feel free to look up the prices of items
wealth is a function of his Reputation attribute, an at- in the real world and include them in your game. If a
tribute which encompasses creditworthiness, assets, and player wants to purchase a particular handbag, a bat-
other measures of wealth (as well as fame, rank, notoriety, tery powered lawn mower, or their preferred brand of
and other less quantifiable factors). bicycle, it doesn’t need to be in this book — simply look
To determine a character’s starting money, roll a REP up the price online, and move briskly on.

78
 Modern Equipment

dice pool and a LUC dice pool and

multiply the total by 20. If the total
Currency
comes to less than $100, increase it In N.O.W. The Modern Action Roleplaying Game, the
to $100. You may spend this start- standard unit of currency is the dollar ($). “Dollar” is
ing cash on equipment, weapons, a generic term — the GM may tailor the currency unit
armor, and other gear. to his or her own setting. A GM might use rubles, yuan,
British pounds, euros, or whatever the story requires.
Example Salaries   Depending on career choices, a starting character
The examples below are for refer- typically begins play with $100–$1,000 to spend on
ence only; player characters will not (typically) have a equipment—enough to buy a basic weapon, armor, and
monthly salary. An NPC will typically only carry 5% of a couple of items of equipment. Some careers also
his monthly salary on his person, and have access to an grant free bonus starting items to the character.
amount equal to his monthly salary in the form of savings.   Typical monthly salaries (as a point of comparison)
can be $500 (for the lowest paid jobs) to $3,000 for an
NPC Salaries (in $) average middle-management style occupation.
Occupation Approx Monthly $ Carry $
Fast-food server 1,500 75
Farm worker, laborer 1,700 85 Equipment, Skills,
Housekeeper 1,800 90 and Quality
Cook 2,000 100 Throughout this chapter, prices and information are pre-
Taxi driver, chauffeur 2,100 105 sented for the basic, “standard” version of each item of
Retail worker 2,100 105 equipment, whether that be a pair of binoculars, a weap-
Security guard 2,250 112.50 on, or a suit of clothing.
Office clerk 2,500 125   Sometimes equipment is of a higher quality. Such items
Soldier 3,000 150 are more expensive, but grant the user larger bonuses to
Mechanic 3,000 150 attribute checks made while using them.
IT specialist 3,500 175   Equipment contributes to a dice pool if it is of high qual-
Correctional officer 3,700 185 ity or greater. Performing the action already assumes you
Reporter 3,800 190 are using appropriate basic tools.
Clergy 4,000 200   Standard equipment doesn’t contribute to the dice pool;
Firefighter 4,000 200 it merely allows you to perform the corresponding action
Therapist 4,000 200 without suffering any penalties for improvised equip-
Real estate agent 4,400 220 ment. For example, a pistol allows you to shoot somebody,
Police officer 4,500 225 a lockpick allows you to pick a lock, and a medical kit al-
Ship captain 6,000 300 lows you to perform emergency medical aid.
Commercial pilot 6,500 325   To gain an equipment bonus, you need high-quality or
Judge 8,500 425 better equipment. A high-quality sports car gives you a
Lawyer 11,000 550 +1d6 bonus to your driving checks, a high-quality lockpick
Dentist 13,500 675 gives you +1d6 to your AGI dice pool when picking a lock,
CEO, mid-sized company 15,000 750 and so on.
Surgeon 20,000 1,000   You can also improvise equipment if you don’t have the
CEO, int’l mega-corporation 83,000 4,150 right tools available. This inflicts a –2d6 penalty to your
dice pool. You might be able to use a hairpin to pick a lock,
but you’d be penalized for using an improvised item.

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 Modern Equipment

Equipment Quality
Quality Price ($) Rarity Dice Pool Min. Skill Upgrades Armor Vehicle
Improvised — — –2d6 — — — —
Standard Normal Common — — — — —
High quality ×3 then +100 Uncommon +1d6 1 (1d6; proficient) +1 +2 Soak +1 Speed
Exceptional ×5 then +250 Rare +2d6 3 (2d6; skilled) +1 +4 Soak +2 Speed
Mastercraft ×10 then +500 Very rare +3d6 6 (3d6; expert) +2 +6 Soak +3 Speed
Artisan ×100 then +1,000 Very rare +4d6 10 (4d6; mastery) +2 +8 Soak +5 Speed
Legendary ×1,000 then +2,500 Unique +5d6 15 (5d6; authority) +3 +10 Soak +10 Speed

  This same rule applies in combat. When trying to attack from equipment than you have from skills. For example, if
somebody, the character rolls a dice pool made up of an at- you have 2d6 in your dice pool from lockpicking, you gain
tribute, a skill, and sometimes equipment bonuses. When only 2d6 from mastercraft lockpicks.
Ben Madjos fires a pistol at a ninja, he normally rolls 4d6,   This minimum skill rule applies to all equipment,
which includes his attribute and his skill. If he picks up his including gear, weapons, and armor. WOIN is a game
high-quality Walther PPK, that increases to 5d6. system which relies on attributes and skills more heavily
  An item cannot change in quality or be upgraded to a than equipment; excellent equipment can help make up
higher quality, because quality starts with basic materials. for a shortfall, but an optimized character in terms of skill
The table above details the various quality levels. and raw ability is often near the peak of his potential even
  Dice Pool. This indicates the quality contribution to a without superior gear. The mark of a true master is one
dice pool the equipment grants (subject to minimum skill who can accomplish a incredible tasks without aids.
limits). Conversely, the same is applied as a penalty to op-   If the user doesn’t have the minimum skill level re-
pose a higher quality item (for example, break out of an quired to benefit from equipment quality, then the quality
exceptional pair of handcuffs or pick an exceptional lock). of the equipment is effectively reduced to match the user’s
  Rarity. This is an indication of how common high qual- skill level. For example, a character with 3 ranks (2d6;
ity equipment is. skilled) in the light armor skill treats artisanal light armor
  Min. Skill. Effective equipment quality is limited by as exceptional, and only gains the benefits of exceptional
skill level—you cannot gain more dice in your dice pool light armor.

Item Quality in Context

Exceptional quality items are rare, and those of master- sports car is exceptional at $100,000; mastercraft ve-
craft quality and above should seldom be encountered hicles at $200,000 would include the average supercar.
in a campaign. Generally speaking, characters should Artisanal automobiles, therefore, are priced at around
not be able to easily purchase items of higher than high $2,000,000 — many of the priciest cars in the world, such
quality, and those of mastercraft quality should require as the Bugatti Veyron in 2014 (also in 2014, the Lambor­
considerable effort to obtain (also, given that they grant ghini Veneno Roadster cost around $4,000,000; only nine
a +3d6 bonus to attribute checks, only characters with 6 were ever made). Legendary cars would be unique ve-
or more ranks in a related skill will be able to fully benefit hicles worth around $20,000,000 — these would be items
from them). Items of artisanal or legendary quality are bought and sold only in private transactions.
spoken of in awe and never seen by “regular” people.   These real-world examples should give you an idea of
  In real-world terms, as a point of comparison, a stan- what the equipment quality categories mean, and help
dard new automobile might cost $20,000; a luxury car give a sense of perspective on what it means for a char-
would be considered high quality at $60,000; a high-end acter to run around with an artisanal pistol.

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  Upgrades. Weapons and armor can be upgraded with Facilities and Quality
new features. The upgrade capacity depends on size (for Facilities also have quality levels in exactly the same way
weapons) or type (for armor). Higher quality weapons and that weapons and equipment do. From a mercenary club-
armor gain additional upgrade slots. house to a hospital, the quality of a facility has the same
  Armor. High-quality armor gains a Soak bonus. effect that higher quality equipment does. However, the
two do not combine—a superior quality medical bay is of
Selling Gear superior quality because the equipment in it is superior
Items can normally be sold to an appropriate buyer for quality. Bringing a superior quality medical kit into the
half their listed value—some careers or exploits may en- superior quality hospital doesn’t improve the hospital—it
able characters to sell items for more. If a character wishes already has dozens of superior quality medical equipment.
to haggle, make an opposed CHA check versus the mer- A facility, in effect, is a large piece of equipment able to
chant and adjust the price up or down by 1% per point handle greater volumes than a single item of equipment.
of difference (to a maximum of 20%), depending on who
wins. A typical merchant will make a 5d6 check (combin- General Gear
ing her CHA and negotiation skills), but some merchants General gear consists of a variety of basic, universal
may be much more proficient. equipment types. All general gear has an Advancement
  Generally speaking, characters will know the value of Level between 4.5 and 5 (available in any modern setting,
an item. Unique items, however, require LOG checks (and though some older technology is also listed). General gear
a good appraisal skill), otherwise the characters will have is widely available, and can be purchased easily at even
no idea of their worth. Usually, that will be a check with the smallest of towns.
the following difficulty benchmarks:   Most of the items in the table below simply allow
character to perform a particular task under normal
Appraisal Benchmarks circumstances. A compass, for example, allows a char-
Item is worth.... Difficulty acter to automatically determine which way is north; a
Under $100 Challenging [13] flashlight sheds light in a specified area. Other items, like
Hundreds of dollars Difficult [16] the various toolkits available, are used to assist attribute
Thousands of dollars Demanding [21] checks, and it is these items which benefit the most from
Tens of thousands of dollars Strenuous [25] being of higher quality. That’s not to say that a mastercraft
Hundreds of thousands of dollars or more Severe [29] compass is not a beautiful, valuable, and obviously ex-
pensive object, or that exceptional soap is not delightfully
fragrant and rare, but in game terms certain high-quality
Improvised Equipment items won’t do a lot more than standard ones do.
Standard quality equipment al-   If you are setting your game in the modern era, you can
lows you to perform an action use real-world prices for any object. The list below con-
without suffering any penalty for tains examples, but if the object exists in the real world, it
improvisation. is easy to determine its price.
  If you don’t have basic equip-   Most of the objects below have obvious uses. We haven’t
ment, you can often still attempt expended too much effort describing to you what a coat
an action by improvising. For is for or how your characters use sleeping bags. Remem-
example, lacking lockpicks, you ber, this is just a short sample list—in the modern era your
might try to use a hairpin (or a character can buy anything you would normally be able
large nail) as a lockpick. When to buy given your character’s funds. Just look the price up
improvising, you suffer a penalty online and run with it!
of –2d6 to your dice pool.

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General Items and so on. A bandolier improves the reloading time of

Item Cost ($) Weight (lbs) firearms by one action (i.e. a firearm which takes two ac-
Audio recorder, cassette 15 1 tions to reload instead takes only one, and a firearm which
Audio recorder, digital 20 1 takes one action to reload can do so as a free action).
Backpack 4 2   Binoculars. Binoculars enable the user to see long
Bandolier 10 0.5 distances; most are not electronic, though those that are
Binoculars 40 2 (costing at least $120 or more) can have enhancements
Bolt cutters 20 5 which enable larger ranges of the EM spectrum to be
Briefcase 10 5 viewed. A standard pair enables scenes a mile distant to
Bug 200 — be viewed clearly. A high quality pair includes light-inten-
Bugsweeper 500 2 sification which allows them to be used in the dark, and a
Camera, 35 mm 20 1 superior quality pair encompasses a wide spectrum from
Camera, digital 40 0.5 infrared to X-rays.
Cell phone 15 1   Bolt cutters. Bolt cutters can be used to automatically
Clothing 20 4 cut through padlocks, chain links, handcuffs, and similar
Coat 20 3 objects.
Compass 5 0.5   Briefcase. A briefcase is a sturdy rectangular case used
Computer, personal 750 5 for carrying documents.
Fire extinguisher 75 3   Bug. A bug is a surveillance device. A basic bug can
Flashlight 3 1 record and transmit high quality audio and visual data
Geiger counter 250 1 within 20' up to a range of 3 miles.
Generator 5,000 20   Bugsweeper. A bugsweeper is used to find bugs by
Ghillie suit 200 5 measuring radio frequencies and wavelengths. It takes
Goggles, infrared 225 1 five minutes to sweep a room; the bugsweeper will find
Handcuffs 50 1 surveillance devices automatically. However, if the bugs
Musical instrument 750 2+ were installed by somebody with the thievery skill, an op-
Rope, 50' 20 4 posed check may be needed.
Scuba gear 300 10   Camera. Cameras are used to take photographs. You
Sleeping bag 20 4 know what a camera is; you don’t need us to tell you.
Smart phone 300 0.5   Cell phone. A basic mobile telephone without an in-
Stove, portable 70 2 ternet browser. A standard cell phone is able to send and
Tent, two-man 50 10 receive calls or text messages, and has a built-in GPS
Tent, seven-man shelter 350 40 locatable by emergency services. Cell phones require a
Toolkit 75 2 signal to operate and may have trouble doing so outside of
Walkie-talkie 20 1 developed countries.
  Clothing. Clothing comes in various prices and quality.
  Audio recorder. These devices can record voices and As with many things, you get what you pay for: high qual-
other audio within 30' of the recorder. A cassette recorder ity, superior quality, mastercraft, and artisanal clothing
uses a small cassette tape able to record up to one hour of can be obtained for the appropriate prices.
audio; a digital recorder can hold up to 12 hours. Coat. Wear a coat to get +1 Soak vs. cold damage.
  Backpack. A backpack holds 60 lbs. of equipment. It Compass. A compass will tell you which way is north.
grants the wearer a +20 lb. carrying capacity bonus. Computer, personal. Personal computer units can be
  Bandolier. A belt which runs diagonally across the small enough to transport and use anywhere (such as a
body and holds 10 items—ammunition, grenades, knives, laptop) or powerful machines that remain completely

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 Modern Equipment

stationary (such as a desktop). High quality computers are

often used by hackers.
  Flashlight A flashlight can be switched on to shine light
in a 30' cone for one hour before it is exhausted. Turning a
flashlight on or off is a free action.
  Fire extinguisher. An extinguisher can extinguish all
flames in one 5' square by spending two actions, or it can   Toolkit. A toolkit is an important piece of equipment.
remove any fire-related conditions from a target. Almost any specialized technical activity uses a toolkit.
  Geiger Counter. A Geiger counter detects the presence Most allow you to avoid the improvisation penalty for rel-
and strength of radiation within 30'. evant activities, and higher quality versions offer larger
  Generator. A generator the size of a suitcase provides bonuses as normal.
enough power to run portable equipment, recharge power   Medical pouch. A medical pouch, medkit, or field
packs, and maintain a small habitat for a day. kit contains various items, including a large scalpel,
  Ghillie suit. Camouflaged military wear. A ghillie suit 20 bandages, various drugs, anti-bacterial spray, and
is used to hide in matching natural surroundings. Ghillie other basic medical equipment.
suits come in foliage, sand, or snow colors. High quality   Engineering toolbox. An engineering toolbox in-
suits grant equipment bonuses when the wearer attempts cludes nuts, screws, wrenches (from hex key to monkey
to hide. wrench and beyond), screwdrivers, hammers, glue,
  Goggles, infrared. These goggles allow the wearer to tape (of all varieties), and various other small tools.
see heat sources, granting the wearer darksight.   Forensic kit. A forensic kit is used to survey crime
  Handcuffs. Standard handcuffs require a Strenuous scenes, take and test samples, and look for clues. It
[25] STR or AGI check to escape. Higher quality handcuffs includes a DNA testing kit, sampling kits, ultraviolet
modify the difficulty by one die per quality level. lights, fingerprint kits, high detail cameras, and more,
  Musical Instrument. The list of musical instruments is allowing as much forensic work as possible to take
comprehensive, ranging from cultures across the world place at the scene.
and the span of history. A musical instrument works   Thieves tools. Lock picks, some engineering tools
much like a toolkit—it offers bonuses to related checks designed to manipulate delicate instruments and ma-
depending on its quality. chinery, saws, pry bars, jeweler’s goggles, and more.
  Rope. Standard quality rope is hemp; higher quality   Climbing gear. Climbing gear includes pitons, grap-
ropes are made of better materials. pling hooks, rope (made from hemp, kevlar, and a
  Scuba gear. This equipment enable the wearer to variety of other materials), a harness, and more.
breathe underwater for one hour. It does not assist with   Survival kit. A survival kit includes a compass, maps,
swimming checks, however. emergency rations, a small selection of medical goods,
  Sleeping bag. A bag. For sleeping in. 4 flashlights, and a portable stove. Superior-quality and
  Smart phone. A smart phone is a cell phone able to per- better survival kits include a GPS tracker and electron-
form many of the functions of a computer, and includes a ic mapping device.
high-resolution camera. It also grants access to the inter-   Interrogation kit. This type of kit is not looked upon
net anywhere it receives a signal. favorably; it consists of drugs and devices designed to
  Stove, portable. A small gas stove which can be used to facilitate the gathering of information from a captured
cook meals or boil water. (and restrained) suspect. It doesn’t typically include
  Tent. A tent is designed to protect against the elements. torture equipment, but some of the techniques can be
Most are thermally insulated and can protect from ex- unpleasant or extremely intrusive.
treme heat or cold, but provide no barrier against toxic or   Walkie-talkie. Walkie-talkies have a range of 10 miles
irradiated environments. per quality level.

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 Modern Equipment

Weapons   If the wielder has skill with a weapon type, the size of
There are many weapons available to a character—melee the dice pool may be added to the damage. For example, a
weapons, ranged weapons, archaic weapons, small weap- knives skill of 6 (3d6) adds 3 to a knife’s damage, resulting
ons, all sorts of firearms, and more. The following sections in a total of 2d6+3 piercing damage rather than the listed
list a number of common weapons and their statistics. 2d6 damage. Alternatively, the size of the wielder’s STR
The weapons in this chapter are divided into different pool can be added to melee weapons if that is larger than
groups—melee weapons, Eastern (martial arts) melee the skill pool.
weapons, modern firearms, Western handguns, Western   When damage is completely negated by Soak, any 6s in
longarms, and World War II firearms. the damage roll cause 1 point of damage each anyway.
  Type. This is the type of damage the weapon does, such
Reading the Weapon Tables as piercing, or ballistic. Sometimes different armors have
The weapons tables in this book contain the following different Soak values vs. different types of damage, or cer-
information. tain creatures or objects might be vulnerable to certain
  Damage. This entry tells you how much damage a damage types. This also determines what type of effect
weapon does to a target on a successful hit. Damage may occurs when a critical hit (rolling triple-sixes on a suc-
be reduced by Soak values often found in armor or large cessful attack roll) occurs.
vehicles. Most weapons do at least 2d6 damage.   Cost. The cost in dollars to purchase a standard version
of this weapon.
  Size. The size of the weapon (Tiny, Small, Medium, or
Resistance Large) can be used to determine one or two-handed use
Some armor, vehicles, objects, or materials have of a weapon, eligibility for two-weapon use and more. Size
typed Soak values—this means that they are particu- is a relative term—the table indicates a weapon’s size as
larly good at resisting damage of a certain type and so compared to a human, but larger or smaller species will
ignore a certain amount of damage of that type each adjust the (relative) size up or down. For example, a large
time it is inflicted. Fire-resistant armor, for example, Mutant using a longsword, which is size Medium, con-
might have a Soak entry which reads Soak 5 (heat). siders it a Small weapon. Similarly, a size Small Mutant
Many creature stat-blocks will also list resistances considers a shortsword (a Small weapon) size Medium.
(and, in some cases, immunities) to certain damage
types. A Soak value is the amount by which damage of
that type is reduced when it affects the target.
Vulnerability
  Soak only applies to attacks which target Melee or Conversely, something might be particularly vul-
Ranged Defense (not Mental Defense), with the excep- nerable to a damage type. Petrol-covered items are
tion of Soak that specifically works against psychic or vulnerable to heat damage, and mechanoids (such as
psionic damage. an Augmented character with more augmentations
  When damage is fully negated by Soak, some may than their END score) are vulnerable to electricity
still get through—any sixes in the damage roll auto- damage. A vulnerability entry will generally note how
matically do 1 point of damage regardless of Soak. vulnerable the target is—typically 1d6 or 2d6—and
This means that it is always possible to damage a tar- that entry tells you how many extra damage dice to
get, even if it’s just a little. roll when affecting the target. A robot, for example,
  Targets benefit from resistances only if they are re- has vulnerability 1d6 (electricity) which means that
sistant to all listed damage types. A target resistant a taser, which normally deals 2d6 electricity damage,
to heat damage does not benefit from resistance to would deal 3d6 electricity damage to the robot.
a weapon which does heat/sonic damage. The target   Targets suffer from vulnerability to a weapon if the
would need to be resistant to both damage types. keyword is listed among the weapon’s damage types.

84
 Modern Equipment

along when it suffers a critical hit (triple-sixes on a suc-

cessful attack roll).
  As stated, there is no exhaustive list of damage types;
however, we have included a list of some common dam-
age types below.

  Ballistic. Projectile pistols and rifles tend to do ballistic
damage.
  Blunt. Blunt damage comes from falls, or heavy blunt
weapons, as well as most forms of unarmed combat.
  Cold. Cryogenic weapons are rare, but cold is a com-
mon environmental damage.
  Crushing. Crushing damage can be caused by large ob-
jects or the effects of gravity.
  Electricity. Electricity damage can come about in a
number of ways, including booby traps; mechanoids are
vulnerable 1d6 to electricity damage.
  Force. Force is a type of energy damage.
  Heat. Heat damage is caused by fire, lasers and other
energy weapons.
  Piercing. Piercing damage, like cutting damage, can be
caused by swords and knives.
  Poison. Poison damage can come about from gas, at-
mosphere, food, stingers, bite and more; armor does not
  Weight. This is the item’s weight in pounds. soak it unless noted.
  Range. In the case of ranged weapons, this indicates a   Psychic. Some mental attacks can cause psychic dam-
range increment. For each range increment, an attacker age. Armor does not typically soak psychic damage unless
takes a 1d6 penalty to his attack roll. Unless otherwise it is specially designed to do so.
noted, weapons can be used out to five range increments,   Radiation. Radiation damage arises from environmen-
although an attacker will suffer a –4d6 penalty to attack tal effects, and rarely, some specialist weapons; armor
rolls at that range. does not soak it unless noted.
  Sonic. Sonic damage is caused by sound waves; armor
Damage Types does not soak it unless noted.
Every time a creature or object takes damage, the dam-   Slashing. Swords and other cutting weapons can do
age is of a certain type, whether it be heat damage, blunt slashing damage.
damage, or any of dozens of other damage types. Usually,   Stunning. See below. Stunning is in addition to another
damage types obey common sense: a flamethrower does damage type.
heat damage, a projectile weapon does ballistic damage,
and a sword does stabbing or cutting damage. Vulnerability and Resistance
  The list of damage types is not exhaustive because The following notes should help you to remember how to
damage types follow an open-ended keyword system. apply vulnerability and resistance to damage types.
Any given weapon can have multiple damage keywords •• Targets suffer from vulnerability if they are vulner-
associated with it (although most only have one). These able to any of a weapon’s damage types.
damage types are listed in the weapons tables. Damage •• Targets benefit from resistances only if they are
type also determines which status track a target is pushed resistant to all of a weapon’s listed damage types.

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Weapon Traits   Holdout. These tiny pistols are easily concealed. They
Some weapons have special traits, which are noted in the grant +1d6 to stealth checks to conceal them about one’s
weapons tables below. person.
  Agile. An agile weapon is complex and difficult to use.   Hook. Many polearms incorporate hooks. Against a
You need an AGI of 8 to use it without penalty, otherwise mounted target, a successful strike can dismount the rid-
you take a –1d6 penalty to your attack rolls. These weap- er. When using it to dismount a target, a hooked weapon
ons always use AGI for their attack rolls. does no direct damage and costs 2d6.
  Arc. The weapon fires in a ballistic arc; no direct line-of-   Huge. A huge weapon (which is almost always heavy as
sight is required, as long as there is a ballistic route which well) is so large that medium-sized or smaller creatures
can be taken. need STR 10 to avoid the heavy penalty.
  AT. Anti-tank (or anti-materiel) ability allows a weapon   Initiative bonus. Some weapons are lighter and faster
to instead be fired directly at a vehicle, doing double dam- than others. These may grant a bonus to Initiative.
age to vehicles and objects. When used in this manner,   Melee Defense bonus. Some weapons grant a flat bo-
burst weapons do not do burst damage. nus to the wielder’s Melee Defense score.
  Auto. A weapon designated auto can be used for certain   Min. Weapons with this trait have a minimum range.
exploits which take advantage of its high rate of fire; these They cannot target anything within that range. The mini-
weapons also produce an additional die of cover when us- mum range is noted in parenthesis—e.g. “Min (8).”
ing suppressive fire. Additionally, two actions can be used   Mounted. These weapons must be affixed (mounted or
to attack a 30' cone rather than a specific target; make one stood on the ground) and take two full actions to set-up
ranged attack roll against all targets within the cone area. before use. If they are moved, another two actions is re-
When used to attack an area, the weapon does 1d6 less quired to set them up at the new site.
damage, and cannot cause critical hits.   Reach. A reach weapon is a longer melee weapon. It
  Bypass. A weapon with this trait is able to ignore shields. can attack opponents up to 10' away. Weapons with long
An example is the Eastern three-section-staff, which can reach can attack up to 15' away, but cannot attack adjacent
be used to strike around a shield. targets.
  Climber. A weapon with this trait counts as climbing   Revolver. While the very earliest revolvers took a full
gear. minute to reload, by the late 18th Century revolvers can
  Close-quarters. A close-quarters weapon can be used be reloaded by spending two actions. A revolver holds
even when its user is grappling. These weapons gain +1d6 six shots before needing to be reloaded again, but can be
to attacks against foes in the same square. fired twice per round.
  Combust. While most weapons that deal heat damage   Sacrificial. Sacrificial weapons are often used in ritual
have a chance of setting fire to their targets with a criti- and rites. They gain +1d6 to attack a prone foe.
cal hit, those with the combust trait do so automatically. A   Set. Some piercing polearms can be set as a single ac-
critical hit from such a weapon moves the target along the tion against incoming attackers. This creates a cone (10'
status track by an additional step. for reach weapons, 15' for long reach weapons) in the di-
  Double. Double weapons are melee weapons treated rection in which the weapon is set. As an attacker enters
as though they were two weapons, one in each hand. This the cone from the front edge, it is subject to an automatic
typically means that the attacker will gain an additional attack from the polearm. If successful, the attacker is
attack per turn with it. Review the combat rules on dual- stopped in its tracks, and its movement ends for that ac-
wielding and double weapons. tion, as well as taking damage as normal. The attacker
  Heavy. A heavy weapon is difficult to use. You need a may attempt to enter the cone again.
Strength of 8 to use it without penalty, otherwise you take   Shield. The wielder of this weapon is automatically
a –1d6 penalty to your attack rolls. Heavy melee weapons considered to be also wielding a shield of the same size cat-
always use STR for their attack rolls. egory. This applies for the purposes of Melee Defense only.

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  Shotgun. These weapons can be used with exploits   Armor-Piercing ($100). Armor-piercing rounds ignore
such as Scattershot, which require a shotgun. 10 points of Soak, but do half damage.
  Sidearm. Weapons designated as sidearms gain +1d6 to   Hollow Point ($100). Hollow point rounds do extra
hit when the user is adjacent to the target and do not suffer damage to unarmored targets. They increase the damage
a penalty for firing at an adjacent target. of a firearm by 1d6 but double the target’s Soak.
  Single. A weapon with this quality can only be used   Rubber Bullets ($100). Rubber bullets can be used to
once per round, even if the user is able to make multiple cause non-lethal damage to the target (see the Stun weap-
attacks. on trait, above). They are popular with bounty hunters
  Stonebreaker. These weapons are designed to break seeking to take their prey alive, although the most valu-
stone and do +1d6 damage to stone targets. able targets tend to be “Dead or Alive”; and dead is easier.
  Stun. When the target is reduced to 0 Health by a   Tracers ($100). Highly visible rounds which assist in
weapon with the Stun trait, it is unconscious but not dy- aiming, directing fire, and marking targets at the expense
ing. It wakes with 1 Health 5 minutes later. of revealing the gunner’s position. Using tracer rounds
  Thrown. A melee weapon with this trait can be thrown causes a –1d6 penalty to any cover or concealment bonus
with the noted range increment. For example, a weapon enjoyed by the gunner, but grants a +1d6 bonus for one
with the trait “Thrown (3)” has a range increment of 3. round to all ranged combatants firing on the same target
Without this trait, a thrown weapon has a range increment (a successful hit is not required to grant this bonus). Using
of 2 and counts as improvised (inflicting a –2d6 penalty to tracer rounds requires two actions and a weapon with the
the attack roll). Auto trait.
  Trap. A weapon which can trap an enemy renders the
target immobilized on a successful hit. This status lasts Melee Weapons
until the target shakes it off. You might expect melee weapons to fall out of favor in a
  Versatile. A versatile weapon has two damage values: world full of firearms and explosives. However, this is not
the first is for the weapon used one-handed, and the sec- the case—hand-to-hand combat is still an important part
ond is for the weapon used two-handed. of conflict, especially within confined spaces, and a sword
  Vicious. Some weapons are barbed or jagged; condi- is just as deadly as a bullet when it skewers you in the eye.
tions from such weapons are harder to shake off, and Even if that were not the case, plenty of cultures use exotic
inflict a –1d6 penalty to attempts to do so. weapons in a ceremonial capacity, and some primitive
  Woodbreaker. Designed to split wood, these weapons civilizations still exist in the few unexplored areas of the
do +1d6 damage against wood targets. world not yet aware of the civilization beyond their realm.
And, of course, exotic Eastern weapons are used frequent-
Special Ammunition ly by expert martial artists.
Special ammunition can be obtained for projectile weap-   Modern versions of primitive weapons may be made
ons in clips of 20 rounds at the indicated price. A weapon from materials other than steel, but most of the weapons
can only hold ammo of one type at a given time unless below are made from the alloy of carbon and iron.
otherwise noted. Switching ammo counts as reloading.   Axe, battleaxe. This is a two-handed axe designed for
Only projectile weapons can use special ammunition. combat. Many variations on the battleaxe exist, some
  Reloading. The fire rate of a projectile weapon (a projec- primitive and, in many cultures, some ceremonial.
tile weapon is assumed to be semi-automatic unless it has   Axe, handaxe. A much smaller, one-handed axe, this
the Single or Auto trait) takes into account regular reload- weapon can also be thrown.
ing. You only need to take actions to reload when you are   Brass knuckles. This brutish piece of metal fits around
changing ammunition types: it’s a free action to reload a the wielder’s fingers. When used in unarmed combat, at-
pistol, one action to reload a rifle, or two actions to load a tacks with brass knuckles deal +1d6 damage in addition to
heavy firearm. the wielder’s natural damage.

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Standard Melee Weapons

Weapon Damage Type Size Weight (lbs) Cost ($) Special
Axe, battleaxe 3d6 Slashing M 5 100 —
Axe, handaxe 2d6 Slashing S 2 40 Thrown 3
Brass knuckles +1d6 Blunt T 2 100 —
Club 2d6 Blunt M 3 — —
Hammer, light 2d6 Blunt S 2 10 —
Hammer, warhammer 3d6 Blunt M 5 50 —
Knife/dagger 1d6+3 Piercing T 1 20 Range 4
Quarterstaff 2d6 Blunt L 4 — —
Sap 2d6 Blunt S 2 10 Stun
Spear 2d6+2 Piercing L 6 30 Thrown 6
Sword, rapier 2d6 Piercing M 3 200 +1 Melee Defense, +1 Initiative
Sword, scimitar 2d6+1 Slashing M 4 150 —
Sword, shortsword 2d6 Slashing S 3 100 Swords or knives skill
Sword, longsword 3d6+2 Slashing M 4 150 —
Whip 2d6 Slashing M 2 120 Reach, trap

  Club. A simple wooden or metal stick or bat. This in- durable material such as stone or metal and fastened to
cludes baseball bats, cricket bats, tire-irons, and other the shaft. It can be thrown.
crude blunt weapons.   Sword. A sword is basically a long blade with a handle.
  Hammer, light. A light hammer is heavier than a stan- Rapiers, scimitars, shortswords, and longswords are all
dard tool, but lighter than a sledgehammer. one-handed swords.
  Hammer, warhammer. A warhammer is a bludgeon-   Whip. A whip is essentially a long leather rope with a
ing tool designed especially for close battle. Warhammers handle and a 10' reach. Skilled practitioners can perform
weigh about the same as a sledgehammer, although some impressive tricks with whips.
designs are larger and heavier.
  Knife/dagger. Knives and daggers range from kitchen-
ware to ceremonial blades.
Melee Weapons and Size
  Quarterstaff. A quarterstaff is a six-foot staff, often Weapons can be increased or decreased in size to
made of wood, but sometimes of metal. Extendable ver- make oversized or undersized versions suitable for
sions exist that can be collapsed to half their standard larger or smaller creatures.
length (these cost $250).  An oversized weapon is one size category larger
  Sap. A sap is a small, blunt object used to render a tar- than listed, weighs twice as much as the regular
get unconscious. It does little damage, and that damage weapon, and does an extra 1d6 points of damage.
is non-lethal (stunning) damage, and it is a weak melee Oversized weapons cost three times normal.
weapon, but if the target is unaware of the attack he must  An undersized weapon is one size category smaller
make a Difficult [16] END check or be stunned for two and weighs half as much as the regular weapon.
rounds.   The wielder of a weapon must use two hands to
  Spear. Probably the most commonly used weapon in use a weapon one size category larger than himself,
human history, a spear is a pole weapon comprising a and must use his Strength attribute for attacks even
shaft, usually of wood, and a pointed head. The head may when the regular sized version offers an option to use
be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, possibly Agility. Creatures cannot effectively wield weapons
hardened by fire, or it may be fashioned from a more that are two sizes larger than themselves.

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Eastern (Martial Arts)

Weapons Archaic Weapons
Eastern weapons are as many and varied as any other. The If you are interested in a wider selection of medieval
following is a list of some common Eastern weapons for weapons, the WOIN sourcebook Fantasy Equipment
settings which include cultures which use such weapons. contains pages of swords, axes, polearms, and more.
Many Eastern weapons are descended from agricultural The same information can be found in O.L.D. The Fan-
tools, including sickles, staves, threshers, forks, and fans. tasy Heroic Roleplaying Game, all of which is fully
  Note that many martial arts (see Chapter 1, Action Ca- compatible with this book.
reers) allow you to use your martial arts skill with Eastern   In modern times, medieval melee weapons suitable
melee weapons. In a setting where such weapons are for use in combat cost ten times the amount they
available but not common, characters who favor Eastern would have done when they were common. That is, if
weapons may be noted for doing so. you use the Fantasy Equipment book, you should mul-
  The cost below indicates the price of Eastern weapons tiply the gc cost of a weapon therein by ten to find its
in Asia. In the West, these weapons cost ten times the in- final dollar cost.
dicated price.

Standard Eastern (Martial Arts) Weapons

Weapon Damage Type Cost ($) Size Weight (lbs) Special
Butterfly sword 2d6 Slashing/Blunt 200 M 1 +1 Melee Defense
Gunbai (war fan) 2d6 Slashing 50 S — Shield
Hanbō 1d6+4 Blunt 10 S 1 —
Hu cha (tiger fork) 3d6 Piercing 50 L 8 Reach
Jō 2d6 Blunt 10 M 2 —
Jutte/Sai 2d6 Blunt 80 S 1 Disarm, sheld
Kama 3d6 Slashing 40 M 2 —
Kama, double-chained 2d6+2 Slashing 80 L 6 Double, reach
Katana 3d6+2 Slashing 500 M 6 —
Kusarigama (sickle and chain) 2d6+2 Blunt 120 L 3 Reach, trap
Kyogetsu-shoge 2d6 Slashing 60 S 1 Reach, trap
Nagamaki 3d6+2 Slashing 750 L 7 Reach
Naginata 3d6 Slashing 350 L 9 Reach
Niuweidao (Chinese broadsword) 3d6 Slashing 150 L 4 Heavy
Nodachi (great sword) 3d6+4 Piercing 600 L 8 —
Nunchaku 2d6 Blunt 40 M 2 Bypass
Rokushakubō (bō staff) 2d6+2 Blunt 10 L 3 Double, reach
Sansetsukon (three-piece-staff) 3d6 Blunt 80 L 3 Bypass
Shang gou (hook sword) 2d6 Slashing 60 S 1 Disarm
Sibat (spear) 2d6+1 Slashing 20 S 2 Thrown
Tekko-kagi (iron claw) see text Slashing 20 S 1 —
Tetsubo (war club) 2d6+4 Blunt 200 M 10 Heavy
Tonfa 2d6 Blunt 10 S 1 Shield
Urumi (curling blade) 3d6 Slashing 300 M 6 Bypass, reach
Wakizashi (side-sword) 2d6+1 Piercing 350 S 2 Close-quarters
Whip, nine-section (steel whip) 2d6+2 Blunt 80 L 3 Shield, trap

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  Butterfly sword. These short, single-edged swords are   Kama, double-chained. The kama can sometimes be
usually used in pairs. About the length of a forearm, they used in pairs, with a chain linking the two weapons.
can easily be concealed. The swords are only sharpened   Katana. A katana is a curved, single-edged sword, not
for half their length, enabling the user to deliver blud- dissimilar in role to the longsword. It is designed for two-
geoning attacks and to parry easily. handed use, but, like the bastard sword, can be used with
  Gunbai. The gunbai, or war fan, can be used as a blade, one hand.
a shield, and signalling device. War fans are typically   Kusarigama. The chain-sickle consists of a kama on a
made of wood or metal. kusari-fundo, or weighted chain. The weapon is swung in
  Hanbo
ˉ . The hanbo
ˉ , or half-staff, is about 3' long. The a circle over the head and then whipped forward. It can be
stick is often used as a walking cane, and can be used in used to both strike and trap.
a variety of ways to strike, block, and achieve joint locks   Kyogetsu-shoge. This is a double-edged knife which has
and throws. a back curving blade extending like one half of a cross-
  Hu cha. A hunting trident, this weapon is also known guard. The device is attached to the end of about 15' of
as the “tiger fork.” rope or chain, on the other end of which is a metal ring. It
  Jo
ˉ . The jo
ˉ is a wooden staff, shorter than the rokushakubo
ˉ, has multiple uses, and can be used for slashing, stabbing,
typically around 4' in length. climbing, and entangling. The weapon counts as climbing
  Jutte/Sai. A weapon often used by militia, the jutte gear when climbing.
is used to block and parry sword attacks. Often made of   Nagamaki. With a shorter staff and longer blade than
heavy iron, the jutte can also be used to deliver very pain- the naginata, this weapon is considered more upper-class
ful close-quarter strikes. The sai is a two-pronged variant than the latter.
with the same statistics.   Naginata. The naginata is an Eastern polearm consist-
  Kama. The kama is a sickle-type weapon. ing of a pole with a curved blade at the end.

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  Niuweidao. This heavy bladed saber is sometimes turns it into slashing damage.
called the “ox-tailed sword.”   Testsubo. The tetsubo is a heavy one-handed club cov-
  Nodachi. This is a large, curved longsword, designed for ered in metal spikes or knobs.
two-handed use. The blade is at least three feet in length,   Tonfa. A short stick with a handle one-third of the way
and is worn across the back. down its length. It can be used to strike or block.
  Nunchaku. This traditional martial-arts weapon is   Urumi. This unusual weapon is a cross between a
made of two sticks connected by a short chain or rope, sword and a whip. The blade is thin and whip-like, and
derived from a rice-threshing tool. The weapon can strike able to curl around shields. It is worn coiled around the
around shields. waist like a belt.
  Rokushakubo
ˉ . A long hardwood staff, typically around   Wakizashi. A short sword, often worn with a katana,
6' in length, the rokushakubo
ˉ uses thrusting and swinging the wakizashi is used as a back-up weapon or for some
techniques based on movements similar to empty hand ceremonial uses, including executions and ritual suicide.
movements. The same literally translates as “six foot staff,” It is often used instead of the katana when close-quarters
ˉ staff,” al-
although it is often referred to simply as a “bo fighting is expected.
though this is a little inaccurate as it means “staff staff.”   Whip, nine-section. A nine-section whip, or chain
  Sansetsukon. This is a flail weapon made of three short whip, is made of connected metal rods. The other end of-
staffs connected by short chains, rings, or ropes. It can be ten has a blade. It is sometimes simply called a “steel whip.”
spun over or around shields.
  Shang gou. A longxsword with a hook near the tip Firearms
which can be used to deflect other weapons. Any modern action setting probably needs a suitably wide
  Sibat. A sibat is a bamboo spear with a metal, often selection of firearms. The following pages detail modern
barbed, head. It can be used for melee or ranged combat. firearms, Western handguns and longarms, and World
  Tekko-kagi. An Eastern cestus, this weapon has four War II firearms, comprising a range of over 100 years of
iron “claws.” It increases unarmed damage by +1d6 and ballistic weaponry.

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Firearms Terminology
The following notes should help you sound like you know of weapon (such as machine guns, assault rifles, and so
what you are talking about when discussing firearms in on) will have different model numbers, such as the M1,
your game. M16, and so on.
Automatic. Automatic rifles continue to fire founds   Magnum. A large type of firearms cartridge, usually
while the trigger is pressed. Note that, however, in the derived from a smaller one. If a weapon uses such a car-
case of pistols, an “automatic pistol” actually means a tridge, it is known as a magnum. In the movie Dirty Harry,
“semi-automatic pistol”; a pistol which continues to fire the title character’s signature weapon is a Smith & Wes-
rounds while the trigger is depressed is correctly called son Model 29, which uses .44 Magnum ammunition.
a “machine pistol.”   Pump action. Faster than bolt- or lever-action firearms,
  Bolt-action. A weapon with a handle on the side which these allow the user to chamber a new round without
is used to manually eject a spent round and chamber a removing either hand from the weapon. The hand sup-
new one. This was the standard rifle mechanism through porting the barrel is moved backward and forward again
both World Wars, and bolt-action rifles are still popular to eject a spent round and chamber a new one.
with hunters. They are slower than pump-action or lever-   Semi-automatic. These weapons fire a bullet and then
action firearms. prepare the next for immediate firing (ejecting spent
  Caliber. The diameter of a firearms projectile (or the cartridges, etc.) This allows the bearer to fire repeatedly
inside diameter of the gun barrel) is its caliber. It is usu- by simply pulling the trigger. In the case of pistols, “auto-
ally measured in hundredths of an inch, so a “forty-five matic” and “semi-automatic” tend to be used colloquially
caliber” weapon uses rounds .45 inches in diameter. as synonyms, although this is not technically accurate.
Caliber can also be measured in millimeters (such as an Semi-automatics are sometimes called “autoloaders.”
8 mm Remington Magnum). A 9 mm bullet and a .38 caliber
bullet are the same size, and rounds of this size are stan-
dard in many military and police forces.
  Carbine. A shorter version of a rifle, historically suited
for cavalry.
  Double action. In a double-action firearm, the trigger is
also used to cock the weapon.
  Full Metal Jacket (FMJ). A common bullet type which
has a core made of a softer metal (usually lead) sur-
rounded by a harder metal like brass or copper.
  Gauge. A shotgun’s gauge is the number of balls in
one pound of shot (so in a 12-gauge shotgun, there are
12 balls to a pound). The larger the number, the smaller
the barrel, and vice-versa. 12-gauge is the most popular
shotgun round; 20 gauge is smaller, and 10 gauge is larger.
  Hollow Point (HP). The tip of the bullet is hollow and
designed to expand when they hit, giving increased stop-
ping power. Also known as a “dum-dum.”
  Lever action. A lever near the trigger is used to load a
new round.
M. As used in the “Mx” nomenclature, “M” stands for
“Model.” Common in US-made weapons, different classes

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Example Modern Firearms

Weight
Weapon Damage Type Range Size (lbs) Cost ($) Availability Notes
Barrett M82 “Light Fifty” anti- 4d6 Ballistic 24 M 35 3,500 5A AT
materiel rifle
Benelli 121 M1 “Super 90” 2d6+2 Ballistic 8 M 8 900 5A Shotgun
shotgun
Beretta 92F pistol 2d6 Ballistic 8 S 3 650 5A Sidearm
Beretta 93R machine pistol 2d6 Ballistic 6 S 3 1,200 5A Sidearm, auto
Beretta M3P shotgun 2d6+2 Ballistic 6 M 9 650 5A —
Browning BPS shotgun 3d6+2 Ballistic 6 M 11 650 4A Shotgun
Colt Double Eagle pistol 2d6 Ballistic 6 S 3 650 5A Sidearm
Colt Python revolver 3d6 Ballistic 8 S 3 500 4A Sidearm
Desert Eagle pistol 3d6 Ballistic 8 S 4 1,200 5A Sidearm
Glock 17 pistol 2d6 Ballistic 6 S 2 1,200 5A Sidearm
Heckler & Koch G3 assault rifle 3d6+2 Ballistic 18 M 11 1,500 5A Auto
Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine 2d6 Ballistic 10 M 7 2,000 5A Auto
gun
Heckler & Koch PSG1 sniper rifle 3d6+2 Ballistic 18 M 16 3,500 5A —
Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifle 2d6+2 Ballistic 14 M 10 500 4A Auto
M60 medium machine gun 3d6+2 Ballistic 20 M 22 2,750 4A Auto
M16 assault rifle 2d6 Ballistic 16 M 8 650 5A —
M2HB Browning heavy machine 3d6 Ballistic 22 L 75 3,500 4A Heavy
gun
M4 Carbine 2d6 Ballistic 12 M 7 650 5A Auto
M72 LAW rocket launcher 5d6 Heat 30 L 5 500 4A Heavy, AT
M79 grenade launcher Varies Heat 14 L 7 350 4A Heavy
MAC-10 Ingram machine pistol 2d6 Ballistic 8 S 6 500 5A Sidearm, auto
Mossberg shotgun 2d6+2 Ballistic 6 M 7 500 4A Shotgun
Nighthawk Falcon .45 2d6 Ballistic 8 S 3 1,200 5A Sidearm
OICW assault rifle 2d6+2 Ballistic 14 L 18 12,000 5A Auto
Remington 700 hunting rifle 3d6+2 Ballistic 16 M 8 900 4A —
Ruger Service-Six revolver 2d6 Ballistic 6 S 2 350 4A Sidearm
SITES M9 pistol 2d6 Ballistic 6 S 2 500 5A Sidearm
Škorpion machine pistol 2d6+1 Ballistic 8 S 4 900 4A Sidearm, auto
Smith & Wesson M29 magnum 3d6+2 Ballistic 6 S 3 500 4A Sidearm
revolver
Steyr AUG assault rifle 2d6+2 Ballistic 16 M 9 1,500 5A Auto
TEC-9 machine pistol 2d6 Ballistic 8 S 4 350 5A Sidearm, auto
Uzi 9 mm submachine gun 2d6 Ballistic 8 M 8 1,200 5A Auto
Walther PPK pistol 2d6 Ballistic 6 S 1 500 4A Sidearm
Winchester 94 hunting rifle 3d6+2 Ballistic 18 M 7 500 4A —

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Modern Firearms it also replaced the Browning Hi-Power in the British Army.
Many of the most famous—and infamous—weapons ever   Heckler & Koch G3. The 7.62 mm Heckler & Koch G3—
developed appear in this list. the Automatisches Gewehr G3—is a post-WW2 German
  Barrett M82. Known as the “Light Fifty,” this is a .50 battle rifle.
caliber anti-materiel rifle designed to be used against   Heckler & Koch MP5. The 9 mm Maschinenpistole 5 is
military equipment. It is used by military and police one of the world’s most popular submachine guns, and is
forces around the world to immobilize vehicles (usually common in North American SWAT teams. It was made
by shooting at the engine block) and can penetrate most famous when used by the SAS when they stormed the Ira-
brick walls. nian embassy in London.
  Benelli M1. This semi-automatic is a 12-gauge shotgun   Heckler & Koch PSG1. “Präzisionsschützengewehr”
known for easy maintenance. means “precision shooting rifle.” The Munich massacre
  Beretta 92F. An Italian semi-automatic 9 mm pistol, the at the 1972 Olympics promoted the West German police
military spec (the 92F) is used by US armed forces. to commission this weapon, an accurate, high capacity
  Beretta 93R. A 9 mm machine pistol manufactured by 7.62 mm sniper rifle.
the Italian company for police and military use, derived   Kalashnikov AK-47. The world’s most popular assault
from the early Beretta 92. The “R” in the name means “Raf- rifle, this Russian 7.62 mm firearm was developed at the
fica,” which means “volley” in Italian, but is sometimes end of WW2 and adopted by the Soviet Army shortly
taken to mean “Rapid” in English. It has a reputation for thereafter; the “47” in its name refers to its first manufac-
being difficult to control. ture, in 1947. Since then, it has been widely adopted across
  Beretta M3P. An Italian police shotgun, this firearm the world, and it is suggested that a sixth of all firearms
never got wide distribution, but was used by the French are AK-47s. It is a simple, incredibly reliable rifle.
police and Italian counterterrorism units.   M60. This general-purpose machine gun has been used
  Browning BPS. A solid, respected pump action shot- in every US military branch. It’s a belt-fed, crew-served
gun, this is a flagship firearm from Browning. weapon (typically 2–3 crew) which began development
  Colt Double Eagle. This double action 10  mm semi- during WW2 and is still in use today. The unwieldy weap-
automatic pistol was based on the Colt M1911, and was on was nicknamed “The Pig” during the Vietnam War. The
the company’s first pistol in that caliber. It was never very weapon is being generally phased out due to its unreli-
popular and was only produced from 1990–1997. ability in humid conditions and after extensive use.
  Colt Python. This .357 Magnum caliber revolver, some-   M16. This M16 5.56 mm assault rifle entered service in
times known as a “Combat Magnum,” is a premium the mid-1980s, and underwent rapid modification. The
revolver. It was introduced in 1955, and continued to be full automatic setting was later removed, replaced with a
manufactured all the way through to 2005. The Python three-round burst.
was popular with law enforcement.   M2HB Browning Machine Gun. The M2HB is a heavy
  Desert Eagle. A semi-automatic .50  AE handgun machine gun. The M2 was designed at the end of WW1 and
designed in 1979 by Magnum Research in the US but has been in production longer than any other machine
manufactured mainly in Israel, this popular weapon has gun in the world. It is primarily used as a vehicle-mounted
a large cartridge which allows it to match the stopping weapon or on aircraft, and saw extensive service in most
power of many magnum revolvers. It is most often used every war of the 20th and early 21st century.
for target shooting and hunting.   M4 Carbine. A shorter version (same caliber) of the
  Glock 17. The Austrian Glock “Safe Action” 9  mm au- M16A2 assault rifle, which it is largely replacing.
toloader pistol is made of polymer. It is the most popular   M72 LAW. A Light Anti-Tank Weapon, this rocket
pistol used by US law enforcement, as well as in many oth- launcher is an unguided solid rocket propulsion unit. It
er countries. The Glock 17 eventuality became a standard replaced the M1 HEAT and the M2 Super Bazooka in the
NATO-classified sidearm, after passing multiple tests, and 1960s. The M72 is essentially a smaller bazooka.

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  M79 Grenade Launcher. A single-shot, shoulder-fired   Uzi 9-mm submachine gun. An infamous Israeli sub-
launcher know as the “Thumper” (the Australians call it machine gun developed in the late 1940s and still used
the “Wombat Gun”) which can fire a variety of grenade today all around the world, including by the US Secret
rounds. In appearance, it looks a lot like a large sawed-off Service.
shotgun, and is designed to be easy to operate.   Walther PPK. The Walther Police Pistol is a German
  MAC-10. A .45 caliber machine pistol designed by Gor- weapon. The PPK (Polizeipistole Kurz, or “Police Pistol
don Ingram and officially named the “Military Armament Short”) is a smaller 7.75 mm version of the PP, easy to con-
Corporation Model 10.” ceal, and famously James Bond’s weapon of choice.
  Mossberg. These shotguns were designed in the US   Winchester 94. A .444 hunting rifle, and one of the most
in the 1960s and are used to this day. A pump action, popular hunting rifles ever made. The weapon dates back
12-gauge shotgun. to the late 1800s and was still produced up until 2006. This
  Nighthawk Falcon .45. A custom M1911 pistol known was the first commercial sporting rifle to sell more than
for high quality. The Nighthawk Falcon company focuses seven million units, and the first American repeating rifle
on custom pistols, but also produces rifles, shotguns, and to use smokeless powder.
even knives.
  OICW Assault Rifle. The Objective Individual Combat World War II Firearms
Weapon is a prototype which fires air-bursting projectiles. The Second World War saw the invention of a number of
Its a semiautomatic grenade launcher and carbine with a fondly remembered firearms.
computer-assisted targeting system. The prototype is not   FG 42 Assault Rifle (German). The Fallschirmjäger-
in current production. gewehr (“paratrooper”) 42 was produced by Germany in
  Remington 700. The 7.62  mm Remington Model 700 WW2 and was used in limited numbers; it was considered
bolt-action rifle is a mass-produced hunting rifle, al- one of the most advanced weapons of the war, and strong-
though variants include a police version. Some of these ly influenced the US’s later M60 machine gun.

weapons suffered from issues with misfiring.   Sturmgewehr 44 Assault Rifle (German). The StG 44 is
  Ruger Service-Six. This .38S revolver is designed for a selective-fire rifle (also known as the MP 43 and MP 44)
law enforcement, and is also popular with civilians for produced late in the war, and it was the first weapon of
self-defense. The standard-issue service weapon of many its size with controlled automatic fire. The StG 44 is the
US police departments until the 1990s. weapon which gave rise to an entire class of weapons
  SITES M9. An Italian 9 mm autoloader from the 1980s, know as “assault rifles” (although it was not the first to use
small enough to be easily concealed. that term).
  Škorpion. A Czechoslovak .32 machine pistol, designed   Browning HP (Hi-Power) (American). This handgun—
in the 1950s for special forces, and adopted as a standard initially developed for the French by the American John
sidearm in several Eastern European armies and popular Browning, although he died before seeing the weapon—
with the IRA. is one of the most widely used pistols ever, and was used
  Smith & Wesson Model 29. The S&W M29 is a .44 double in the armed forces of a large number of countries. It had
action magnum revolver. When introduced in the 1950s, it twice the capacity of its rivals, the Luger and the Colt M1911.
was the world’s most powerful production handgun (and   Colt M1911 Pistol (American). The standard-issue side-
featured as such in the Dirty Harry movies). arm for US forces for over 70 years, this weapon’s design
  Steyr AUG. An Austrian 5.56  mm assault rifle dating became the blueprint for a vast range of modern pistols.
from the 1960s and used as a the Armee-Universal-Gewehr The M1911 is popular at competitive shooting events.
(“universal army rifle”) of the Austrian Army.   Enfield No. 2 (British). A standard British (and Com-
  TEC-9. A 9  mm Swedish machine pistol designed in monwealth) sidearm during the war, this revolver was
1985. This weapon is banned in many US states due to its designed for stopping power at very short range. The
use in various public shootings. weapons were never produced in enough quantity to

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Example World War II Firearms

Weight
Weapon Damage Type Range Size (lbs) Cost ($) Availability Notes
Bren Light Machine Gun (British) 4d6+3 Ballistic 22 L 22.8 1,500 4A Auto, mounted

Browning HP (Hi-Power) (Ameri- 2d6 Ballistic 8 S 2.2 450 4A Sidearm

can)
Browning M1911 Machine Gun 4d6+4 Ballistic 28 L 31 5,000 4A Auto, mounted
(American)
Colt M1911 Pistol (American) 2d6+2 Ballistic 8 S 3 500 4A Sidearm
Enfield No. 2 (British) 2d6+3 Ballistic 3 S 1.7 300 4A Sidearm, revolver
FG 42 Assault Rifle (German) 2d6+2 Ballistic 24 M 9 1,00 4A Auto
FP-45 Liberator (American) 1d6+4 Ballistic 1 S 1 450 4A Sidearm, single
Lee-Enfield Mk IV (British) 2d6+3 Ballistic 20 M 9 500 4A —
Luger P08 (German) 2d6 Ballistic 8 S 1.9 300 4A Sidearm
M1 Carbine (American) 2d6 Ballistic 11 M 5.2 400 4A —
M1 Garand (American) 2d6+4 Ballistic 19 M 11 500 4A —
M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle 2d6+4 Ballistic 27 M 16 2,000 4A Auto
(American)
MG 42 (German) 3d6+2 Ballistic 20 L 25 2,000 4A Auto
Owen Gun (Australian) 2d6 Ballistic 5 M 9.3 450 4A Auto
Smith & Wesson Victory Model 2d6 Ballistic 5 S 2 300 4A Sidearm, revolver
(American)
Sten Gun (British) 2d6 Ballistic 4 M 7 200 4A Auto
Sturmgewehr 44 Assault Rifle 2d6+2 Ballistic 12 M 10 1,100 4A Auto
(German)
Thompson M1A1 “Tommy Gun” 2d6 Ballistic 6 M 10.8 400 4A Auto
(American)
Vickers Machine Gun (British) 4d6+4 Ballistic 40 L 40 9,000 4A Auto, mounted
Webley Revolver (British) 2d6+4 Ballistic 10 S 2.4 350 4A Sidearm, revolver

supply wartime demands, and as a result the Webley Mk short range. The FP-45 was also known as the “Woolworth
IV was often substituted. Pistol” because its original cost was just $2.10.
  Luger P08 (German). Georg J. Luger’s “Pistole Parabel-   Smith & Wesson Victory Model (American). A popular
lum 1908” was initially adopted by the Swiss army before revolver worldwide, this pistol was a standard sidearm
being used widely by the Germans in both World Wars. for US air crews and was widely used by security guards
The Luger is the weapon most often associated with Nazi during the war. The S&W Victory remained in service un-
Germany (especially officers), and it still shows up in til the 1990s and was used by the Coast Guard and other
popular fiction as a weapon of choice for sneering villains. forces, as well as many police forces, before eventually be-
  FP-45 Liberator (American). American-made, this ing supplanted by the Beretta M9.
weapon was never used by the US. Instead, it was designed   Webley Revolver (British). First rising to prominence
to be dropped into German-occupied countries and used during the Boer War, this weapon was a standard-issue
by resistance fighters. A tiny, single-shot pistol, cheaply service pistol for Commonwealth forces. Webleys are one
made and mass-produced, the FP-45 had an incredibly of the most powerful top-break revolvers ever produced,

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and they are still used by police in some countries. is a different weapon altogether. A lightweight weapon,
  MG 42 (German). The Maschinengewehr 42 was a ma- popular with the military, police, and with civilians, the
chine gun used extensively in the second half of WW2. weapon served as a standard firearm from WW2 all the
Known for its durability and reliability, it is noted for its way into the Vietnam War.
high volume of suppressive fire.   Thompson M1A1 “Tommy Gun” (American). The
  Browning M1911 Machine Gun (American). A tripod- iconic Thompson submachine gun is most famous for its
mounted, air-cooled machine gun, this weapon was use during America’s Prohibition era. It was used by crim-
widely used in WW2, the Korean War, and the Vietnam inals, soldiers, and police alike, and had a large cartridge
War, generally as a support weapon with a two-man gun and high volume of fire.
team. It could be mounted on a tripod or on jeeps and   Owen Gun (Australian). The Owen Machine Carbine
other vehicles. was the only entirely Australian submachine gun of WW2.
  Bren Light Machine Gun (British). A British light ma- Somewhat bulky, the weapon’s reliability made it popular.
chine gun fitted with a bipod, this distinctive weapon   Sten Gun (British). Known for its simple design and
featured a curved, top-mounted magazine. The name low cost, the Sten Gun was used often by resistance
Bren came from Brno, the Czechoslovakian city where the forces in WW2. The name is an acronym made from the
gun’s parent, the Czechoslovak ZGB 33 light machine gun, designers’ names—Shepherd, Turpin, and Enfield. The
originated. The weapon is still manufactured today. Sten Gun rose to popularity after the Dunkirk evacua-
  M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle (American). A tion, during which many weapons were lost. The British
bipod-mounted light machine gun, this weapon was Army purchased as many Tommy guns from the US as the
originally designed for the US Expeditionary Corps, and Americans could make, but there weren’t enough, and a
carried by infantrymen in assault. It never really lived up quick-to-manufacture alternative was commissioned.
to expectations, and tended to be used more often as a The Sten has a distinctive side-mounted magazine; it had
portable mounted light machine gun. a reputation for being unreliable and inaccurate, but it
  Vickers Machine Gun (British). A six-man water- was very cheap.
cooled machine gun known for its reliability; the weapon
was famously usable for twelve hours continuously with- Western Handguns
out failure. The Vickers was the standard British machine These handguns are strongly associated with the Ameri-
gun, and was not retired until the later 1960s. During can Wild West.
WW1, the Vickers gun was a standard weapon on British   Allen and Thurber Pepperbox. The pepperbox revolver
and French aircraft, including the well-known Sopwith is a multiple-barrel repeating pistol, with the barrels
Camel. During WW2 it gradually became replaced by the grouped around a central axis. Pepperbox pistols are
Browning M1919. mainly designed for civilian use in England, and the main
  M1 Garand (American). The M1 was the standard US producer was Ethan Allen.
American service rifle through WW2 and the Korean War.   Colt Lightning. The Colt M1877 was a double action re-
It is still used by military honor guards, as well as for tar- volver. The Lightning variation was the little brother to the
get showing and hunting. The British Army considered Colt Thunderer.
replacing its Lee-Enfield rifles with the M1; however the   Colt Peacemaker. The Colt Single Action Army was
M1 did not operate well under muddy conditions. designed for US government use, and was the standard
  Lee-Enfield Mk IV (British). The main British rifle of military revolver until the late 1800s. This is the weapon
the first half of the 20th century, it is still used in some also called “The Gun That Won the West.”
armed forces. After Russia’s Mosin-Nagant, it is the lon-   Colt Thunderer. The Colt M1877 was a double action re-
gest serving bolt-action rifle. volver. The Thunderer variation was the big brother to the
  M1 Carbine (American). It may share a designation Colt Lightning, and was the weapon most famously used
and similar appearance with the M1 Garand, but this by Billy the Kid.

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Example Western Handguns

Weight
Weapon Damage Type Range Size (lbs) Cost ($) Availability Special
Harpers Ferry Pistol 2d6+2 Ballistic 4 S 2.5 2 4A Sidearm, single
U.S. Model 1842 Percussion Navy 2d6+2 Ballistic 4 S 2.5 5 4A Sidearm, single
Pistol
Allen and Thurber Pepperbox 1d6+1 Ballistic 2 S 4 20 4A Sidearm, revolver
Philadephia Derringer 2d6 Ballistic 2 S 0.5 11 4A Sidearm, single,
hold-out
Sharps Pepperbox 1d6+1 Ballistic 2 S 1.5 10 4A Sidearm, revolver
Remington Double-Derringer 2d6 Ballistic 2 S 0.5 8 4A Sidearm, single
Colt Walker Dragoon 2d6 Ballistic 8 S 4.5 20 4A Sidearm, revolver
Colt New Model Army 2d6 Ballistic 6 S 3 18 4A Sidearm, revolver
Remington Pocket Pistol 1d6+1 Ballistic 4 S 1 15 4A Sidearm, revolver,
hold-out
Reid Knuckle duster 1d6+1 Ballistic 2 S 1 2 4A Sidearm, revolver,
hold-out
Colt Peacemaker 2d6 Ballistic 6 S 3 18 4A Sidearm, revolver
S&W Schofield 2d6 Ballistic 6 S 2.5 28 4A Sidearm, revolver
Starr Army Revolver 2d6 Ballistic 6 S 3 20 4A Sidearm, revolver
Webley RIC 2d6 Ballistic 6 S 2 22 4A Sidearm, revolver
Colt Lightning 1d6+1 Ballistic 4 S 2 25 4A Sidearm, revolver
Colt Thunderer 2d6 Ballistic 6 S 2.5 28 4A Sidearm, revolver

  Colt Walker Dragoon. The Cold Model 1848 Percussion

Army Revolver is a single action .44 revolver designed as a
Hi Ho, Silver!
cavalry weapon by Samuel Colt for the US Mounted Rifles Many exploits from the main Universal exploits list
Regiment. It became popular with civilians in the mid are very suitable for Western settings. The following
1800s, and it was used extensively during the American exploits are especially suitable for Western settings,
Civil War. It’s a big, heavy pistol, and hard to conceal. but can be used in any WOIN game.
  Colt New Model Army. The Colt Army Model 1860 is a   Blazing Saddle (requires riding skill). You are adept at
muzzle-loaded cap-and-ball single action revolver, and using firearms from horseback. You gain the same ben-
was the most widely used revolver during the American efits for being mounted as a melee combatant would.
Civil War.   Fanning (requires AGI 8). You can hold your revolv-
  Harper’s Ferry Pistol (1805). The model 1805 US Mar- er’s trigger and strike the hammer rapidly, spraying
tial “Harper’s Ferry” flintlock pistol was the first pistol bullets over a wide area. Choose three adjacent
manufactured at the Harpers Ferry Armory in Virginia. A squares within one range increment; any creature
.53 caliber single-shot smoothbore flintlock pistol issued in one of those squares is subject to the revolver’s
to officers, it was produced in pairs (known as a “brace”). standard attack at a –1d6 cost. If a creature occupies
  Philadelphia Derringer. A small percussion handgun, more than one square, it suffers ballistic damage for
this “Pocket Derringer” was a popular concealed weapon. each of the three squares it occupies. This cannot be
They were favored by assassins (this was the weapon used done with double-action revolvers. Fanning a revolver
by John Wilkes Booth to assassinate Abraham Lincoln). empties the weapon (requiring two actions to reload),
These weapons are almost always sold in matching pairs. and costs two actions.

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  Reid Knuckle Duster. This tiny .32 caliber revolver,   M1842 Percussion Springfield Musket. The Model
sometimes known as a “ring gun,” was designed by James 1842 Musket was the final US smoothbore musket, and is a
Reid as a compact weapon; these little 3-inch knuckle continuation of the 1816 line. The weapon was used in the
duster revolvers were part of the “My Friend” series. The American Civil War.
revolver has no barrel; the rounds fire from the open   Harper’s Ferry Rifle. The Harper’s Ferry Model 1803
cylinder, and the weapon is gripped by lacing a finger was the first rifle made by an American armory. It fea-
through the “ring.” This weapon also doubles as a cestus, tured a flintlock firing mechanism, and a short octagonal
increasing unarmed damage to 2d6 blunt. barrel. The shorter rifle reduced its range, but made it
  Remington Double-Derringer. This double barrelled more reliable.
derringer came in a number of variations, and was man-   Hawken Rifle. Designed by the Hawken brothers in the
ufactured from 1866 all the way until 1935. It was also 1820s, this muzzle-loader was used on the prairies of the
known as the “Over-Under Derringer” and was popular US during the early frontier years; these rifles were known
for its small size and weight. as “plains rifles” or “Rocky Mountain” guns—reliable,
  Remington Pocket Pistol. The 1863 Pocket Remington light, and capable of taking down large targets.
has a five-shot cylinder and is designed to fit in a coat   Sharps Rifle. Designed by Christian Sharps in 1848
pocket. these large-bore single shot rifles are known for their long
  S&W Schofield. The Smith & Wesson Model 3 was a range. The weapons were used by US Army marksmen
popular revolver from the late 1800s to the early 1900s., known as “Berdan’s Sharpshooters” in the US Civil War.
and was the first standard issue cartridge firing revolve in   Sharps Carbine. A cavalry version of the Sharps Rifle,
US service. these weapons featured prominently in the Indian Wars
  Sharp’s Pepperbox. A breechloading four-shot pepper- in the years following the US Civil War. They feature an
box pistol, patented by Christian Sharps in 1849. Unlike unusual hand-cranked grinder in the stock, designed to
revolving pepperboxes, the four barrels in this weapon do grind corn or wheat. This was the most popular weapon
not revolve. with Union cavalry regiments up to the mid-1800s.
  Starr Army Revolver. The Starr DA is a double-action   Spencer Carbine. A replacement for the Sharps Car-
revolver used in the American Civil War. bine, this was used by Union cavalry in the US Civil War.
  U.S. Model 1842 Percussion Navy Pistol. Based on the   Henry Rifle. The Henry repeating rifle is famed as the
British Navy boxlocks, this is a . 54 caliber smoothbore precursor to the iconic Winchester rifle, and for its use at
single shot pistol manufactured by MP Ames and Henry the Battle of the Little Bighorn. A sixteen-shot .44 caliber
Derringer. It was the first percussion pistol delivered un- rifle, this weapon was favoured by scouts and skirmishers.
der contract to the US government.   Winchester ’73. This iconic repeating rifle claims to be
  Webley RIC. The Webley Service Revolver was the stan- “The Gun That Won The West” (a claim contested by the
dard-issue service pistol for the UK armed forces, from the Colt Peacemaker).
late 1800s through to beyond WW2. The RIC (Royal Irish   Sharps Big Fifty. A .50 caliber Sharps rifle used for buf-
Constabulary) variation was the first Webley double-ac- falo hunting.
tion revolver. General Custer is known to have used a pair   Loomis Side-by Side. This early double barrelled shot-
of Webley RIC’s during the battle of Little Bighorn. gun is a single action muzzle loader. It takes a full minute
to load the shotgun. The damage indicated is for one bar-
Western Longarms rel; however both barrels can be fired simultaneously at a
In the American Wild West, if you’re armed with a musket, single target, with only one attack roll being required.
rifle, or shotgun, you probably have one of these.   Remington Single-Barrel. The Model 10 pump action
  M1816 Flintlock Musket. The Model 1816 Springfield shotgun from John Pedersen was used by the US military
Musket was used in the early 1800s and served during the for guarding prisoners and, in limited, numbers, by the
Texan Revolution and the Mexican-American War. Marine Corps.

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Example Western Longarms

Weapon Damage Type Range Size Wgt (lbs) Cost ($) Avail Special
M1816 Flintlock Musket 2d6+2 Ballistic 14 M 9 8 4A Single
M1842 Percussion Musket 3d6 Ballistic 14 M 9 8 4A Single
Harper’s Ferry Rifle 3d6 Ballistic 14 M 8.5 10 4A —
Hawken Rifle 3d6 Ballistic 16 M 10 25 4A Single
Sharps Rifle 2d6+2 Ballistic 18 M 9.5 25 4A Single
Sharps Carbine 2d6+2 Ballistic 16 M 8 25 4A Single
Spencer Carbine 3d6+2 Ballistic 14 M 8.5 35 4A Single
Henry Rifle 2d6+2 Ballistic 12 M 9.5 442 4A —
Winchester ’73 2d6+2 Ballistic 14 M 10 35 4A —
Sharps Big Fifty 4d6 Ballistic 24 M 14 40 4A —
Loomis Side-by-Side 1d6+3 Ballistic 4 M 9 20 4A Shotgun, single
Remington Single- Barrel 2d6+2 Ballistic 6 M 8 25 4A Shotgun, single
Remington Whitmore M1873 1d6+3 Ballistic 6 M 10 35 4A Shotgun, single
Winchester Lever- Action 3d6+2 Ballistic 6 M 9 40 4A Shotgun

  Remington Whitmore M1873. A side-by-side shotgun;   Winchester Lever-Action. The Winchester Model 1887
the damage shown is for one barrel, but both barrels can shotgun is a lever-action weapon and the first successful
be fired simultaneously at a single target, with only one repeating shotgun.
attack roll being required.

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Weapon Upgrades and

Customization Aiming Aids
Weapons can be customized and upgraded with addi- Don’t weapons already have scopes and laser sights?
tional features. These range from simple features like   Generally speaking, when you purchase a weapon,
telescopic scopes or auto-loaders to booby-trapped weap- you can include any of the listed upgrades. The cost
ons which identify the wielder, or methods to conceal given in the weapons lists assumes that you are pur-
weapons from scanners. chasing a weapon without scopes, laser sights, and
  The number of upgrades a weapon can support is based other features, even though it may be uncommon to
on its size: purchase some types of firearms without them.

Weapon Upgrades by Weapon Size

Size Upgrades   Hair trigger. A second trigger allows the fire mecha-
Small 2 nism to be operated with very little pressure; a lighter
Medium 3 trigger pull means that your aim is less likely to be dis-
Large 5 turbed. This upgrade grants you +1d6 Initiative as long
as you use your firearm in the first round of combat. If you
Additionally, higher quality weapons increase the num- do not, you miss your turn.
ber of upgrades possible.   ID-Matched. An ID-Matched weapon can only be used
by a single designated individual—usually its owner. The
Additional Upgrades by Weapon Quality system uses a variety of biometric data to determine the
Quality Upgrades user’s identity and will not function for any wielder other
High +1 than that individual. This upgrade cannot be applied to
Superior +1 simple weapons like clubs or swords; the weapon must
Mastercraft +2 have electronic or mechanical components which require
Artisan +2 activation.
Unique +3   Illuminator. This is essentially a mounted flashlight. It
provides illumination in a 30' cone.
Therefore a superior quality rifle, which is a medium-sized   Increased damage. You are using an unusual, possibly
weapon, can support a total of 4 upgrades. experimental, almost certainly illegal propellant. Your
weapon does +1d6 damage.
Ranged Weapon Upgrade Costs   Laser sight. A laser sight projects a small red dot onto
Ranged Weapon Upgrade Cost ($) the target. They are ineffective in bright light (including
Hair trigger 250 sunlight on a hot day), but when used grant a +1d6 attack
ID-Matched 500 bonus within the weapon’s first range increment.
Illuminator 50   Scope. A scope is one of the most basic, common addi-
Increased Damage 1,000 tions to a ranged weapon. It enables the wielder to more
Laser Sight 500 easily hit targets at greater range increments. A scope
Scope 100 adds 50% to the range increment of a ranged weapon.
  Advanced scope 500   Advanced scope. An advanced scope adds 100% to
  Night scope 300 the weapon’s range increment instead of 50%.
Silencer 250   Night scope. A night scope ($300) allows the user to
Stealthy 500 operate a ranged weapon in complete darkness.
Vented 300   Suppressor. A suppressor (colloquially known as
a “silencer”) is used to suppress the noise made from a

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Armor
While it can’t guarantee one’s life through a dangerous
conflict, armor is one of the fundamental forms of protec-
tion against gunfire, knives, and all the rest of the death
life throws at you. The technology has improved from the
days of chainmail and plate armor, but the principle re-
mains largely the same: wearing something resistant to
damage in the hope that it will absorb any incoming dam-
age before it gets through to you. Some armor types are
less effective against certain damage types—for example,
flexible armor usually doesn’t help the wearer against
blunt damage, and metallic armor may be vulnerable to
electricity damage.

Reading the Armor Table

Armor entries have the following characteristics.
  Soak. This is the most important part of an armor’s
entry. It tells you how much damage it is able to absorb.
gunshot. Only ballistic weapons can make use of a sup- Usually this is expressed as a simple number (Soak 5, for
pressor, making their use as quiet as a breath of wind but example). Sometimes, however, a damage type might be
reducing their range by half. Shotguns and revolvers can- noted also—so a Soak 5 (Heat) entry means that the ar-
not use suppressor. mor soaks five points of heat damage, but cold or blunt
  Stealthy. A stealthy weapon is one composed of mate- damage is unaffected. An armor type can have multiple
rials which do not register on security scanners (such as Soak entries for different damage types.
superhard plastic or hardened ceramics). The weapon will   Cost. This is the cost in dollars of a standard example of
not, however, bypass a visual inspection. this armor type.
  Vented. This upgrade is only available for heavy weap-   Type. This indicates whether the armor is light, medium,
ons. A vented heavy weapon has its STR requirement or heavy, which can affect things like available upgrades
reduced by –1. and upgrade slots.

Modern Armor
Armor Soak Cost ($) Type Weight (lbs) Ineffective
Leather jacket 2 40 Light 5 Heat/fire
Flak jacket/vest 3; 10 (explosives) 60 Light 12 —
Stab vest 3; 10 (piercing, slashing) 90 Light 10 —
Tactical vest 5 200 Medium 30 Piercing
Kevlar (bulletproof) vest 5 100 Light 30 Piercing
TALOS body armor 10 5,000 Heavy 200 —
Bomb suit (blast suit) 10; 15 (explosives) 2,500 Heavy 75 —
Long kevlar coat (trenchcoat) 6 200 Medium 50 Piercing
Hazmat suit 2 (10 radiation, acid, heat) 4,000 Medium 40 Piercing
Riot armor 7 1,000 Medium 50 —
Military body armor 8 2,000 Heavy 60 —
Spacesuit 5 (15 radiation) 10,000 Heavy 110 Piercing

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  Defense. Heavy armor imposes a –4 through one another in industrial pro-

Defense penalty, and medium armor cesses using high-powered machinery.
enforces a –2 Defense penalty. Only the best-equipped assault teams
  Weight. This is the weight in pounds and mercenaries afford and utilize it.
of the armor. Armor can be heavy, and   Riot armor. This armor is the type
exceeding your Carry value can have typically worn by uniformed police,
negative effects. designed to allow movement while of-
  Ineffective. The armor does not of- fering maximum protection. Riot armor
fer any Soak towards damage of this includes padding, blast vest, kevlar pads
type. This is not the same as Vulnerabil- on the arms, legs, and knees, and, typi-
ity (which means that the target takes cally, a helmet.
additional damage). All armors are ineffective against   Spacesuit. Worn by astronauts, a spacesuit keeps the
psychic, radiation, and sonic damage unless otherwise wearer alive in the hostile environment of space. The
specified. wearer can breathe normally in a vacuum (or other toxic
environment) and gains high radiation protection.
Modern Armor   Stab vest. This reinforced body armor is designed to
In addition to armored suits offering more generalized block knife attacks, a weakness of kevlar armor. Stab vests
protection, some modern armors are purpose-built for provide less protection against bullets. Stab vests are of-
more narrow applications. ten worn by law enforcement officers.
  Bomb suit. A bomb or blast suit, is a heavy outfit de-   Tactical vest. These vests typically include pouches,
signed to withstand bomb blasts, often worn by bomb communications wiring sleeves, holsters, and equipment
disposal experts. Very cumbersome, these suits reduce webbing designed to hold radios, knives, and other gear.
the wearer’s Initiative and Perception rolls by –1d6. Wearing a tactical vest counts as wearing a backpack for
Wearers of this suit are immune to the Fire status track, as the purposes of carrying equipment.
the fire retardant material makes it impossible for them   TALOS Body Armor. The Tactical Assault Light Opera-
to catch fire. tor Suit is a bulletproof robotic exoskeleton able to monitor
  Flak jacket. These jackets are designed to protect from the wearer’s vitals and reduce load. While wearing the
shrapnel and shotguns. Flak jackets predate “bulletproof” suit, the wearer doubles his Carry increment (but not his
armor, and provide less protection against modern ballis- maximum lift).
tic weaponry.
  Hazmat suit. A hazardous materials suit is an imperme- Armor Upgrades and
able garment which protects against toxic environments. Customization
Wearers are completely protected from airborne (gas) As with weapons, various upgrades can be added to armor
effects, and gain resistance to radiation, chemical spills, in order to improve or alter its functionality. The number
and high temperature. of upgrades that armor can support depends on its type:
  Kevlar vest or long coat. Kevlar is a fibrous, high
strength fabric originally designed to withstand ballistic Armor Upgrades by Armor Type
damage. The vest covers the upper torso, while the long Armor Type Upgrades
coat is a distinctive kevlar-lined trench-coat. Light 2
  Leather jacket. A (fashionable!) leather jacket isn’t ar- Medium 3
mor, but it is thick enough to provide some protection. Heavy 5
Leather jackets come in a variety of styles and colors.
  Military body armor. This is the finest quality protec- Additionally, high quality armor can support more
tion available, made with hard ceramics tightly woven upgrades.

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Additional Upgrades by Armor Quality   Spikes. This medieval looking adjustment looks in-
Quality Upgrades timidating and exotic; however, their primary purpose
High +1 is to cause damage to opponents who attempt to grab the
Superior +1 wearer. Any attempt to grab the wearer of spiked armor
Mastercraft +2 causes the attacker 1d6 stabbing damage.
Artisan +2   Thermal. Thermal armor both protects against cold en-
Unique +3 vironments, and also grants 5 Soak vs. cold (cryo) damage.
  Weighted. Weighted armors are entire outfits with small,
Therefore mastercraft military body armor, which is heavy precise lead weights sewn into the cuffs, arms, shoulders,
armor, can support a total of 7 upgrades. hips, hems, and shoes. These impose a –1 penalty to the
wearer’s physical ability scores when calculating derived
Armor Upgrade Costs attributes, but grant a +1 bonus to damage with melee
Armor Upgrade Cost attacks and if worn throughout a campaign, the cost for
Ablative $500 increasing their actual attribute is similarly reduced.
Camouflage $300
Reinforced $700 Shields
Spikes $80 Shields aren’t terribly common in the modern day, but
Thermal $250 riot police, assault teams, and other combat-oriented in-
Weighted $250 dividuals make use of them. Shields add to the wielder’s
Defense rather than absorbing damage. A shield requires
  Ablative. Highly effective, ablative armor absorbs dam- a free arm, and so shields cannot be used with two-hand-
age by vaporizing when hit, successively destroying many ed weapons.
overlapping sheets of protective material. Ablative armor   A small shield is about two-feet across, a medium shield
starts with an additional 2 points of Soak. Its Soak value is about three-feet across, a large shield is three-feet
reduces by 1 point with each hit, and the actual weight of across and four-feet in height, while a tower shield is five
the armor lessens by 5 lbs. or more feet in height. Modern shields are typically made
  Camouflage. Camouflage armor is an easy and cheap of polycarbonate, although other materials are possible.
way to blend into the surroundings. Camouflage can be
applied to any armor, and must be selected for a specific Example Modern Shields
terrain (desert, snow, jungle, night, urban). Wearing the Cost Weight Melee
correct camouflage armor for the terrain grants a +1d6 Shield Defense ($) (lbs) Damage
bonus to checks to hide. Small, polycarbonate +1 25 5 1d6
  Reinforced. Reinforced armor is built with heavy boots Medium, polycarbonate +2 60 8 1d6
and a framework of metal that runs along the skeletal Large, polycarbonate +3 150 20 2d6
structure of the wearer and customized to fit their body. Tower, polycarbonate +3* 275 32 2d6
*+4 v. ranged
Only heavy armors can be reinforced, and they reduce the
wearer’s movement by 1 but grant a +1d6 to opportunist Attacking with a Shield
stomp, throw, and trip combat exploits. Shields can be used as a weapon (as a primary weapon
  Resistant. For every $1,000 spent (and each slot used), or as an off-hand weapon). They cause blunt damage as
the armor gains +2 Soak against a specific damage type shown in the table above.
(but not ballistic damage, and not a damage type the ar-   A shield used as a weapon does not grant its Defense
mor is ineffective against). The type is chosen at the time bonus until the beginning of the wielder’s next turn.
of the upgrade. This stacks with the armor’s existing Soak. Shield spikes change the damage type to piercing.

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Vehicles
  Speed. This is the vehicle’s top speed. One point of
Vehicle Statistics Speed is equal to 10 mph.
Vehicles of various kinds can be purchased easily (for   Acceleration (Accel). This is the amount by which
those inclined to get a customized mode of transportation, the vehicle may increase or decrease its current speed in
see “Pimp my Ride,” later in this chapter). It’s important one round.
to note that a vehicle’s Speed rating is not the same as a   Handling (Handl). This value determines how well
character’s—it represents a different, much larger scale. the vehicle turns; the lower the number, the better. The
Year. The model year of the vehicle. number indicates how may 10' squares the vehicle
  Cost. This is the price the vehicle cost when it was origi- must travel before it is capable of making a turn (up to
nally produced. 45 degrees).
Adjusted Price (Adj.). The adjusted price is the same   Health. This score is similar to a character’s Health—
price adjusted for inflation. It is used to determine quality. it indicates how much damage a vehicle can take.
  Quality. The vehicle’s quality is used to determine any   Soak. The larger the vehicle, the higher its Soak. Vehicle
equipment die bonuses the driver might get. This is based Soak applies to both the vehicle itself and its occupants
on the vehicle’s type and adjusted price. (unless they already have a higher Soak score).
  Upgrades (Upg). This is the number of slots the vehicle   Defense (Def). A vehicle’s Defense is a factor of its size.
has available for customizations, weapons, and so on. Note that scores lower than 10 are shown, because a ve-
  Occupants (Occ). The number of occupants includes hicle adds its current speed to its Defense score; however,
the driver. if the total ends up less than 10, it must be increased to 10.

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Example Vehicles
Automobiles Year Cost ($) Adj. ($) Quality Upg Occ Speed Accel Handl Health Soak Def
Aston Martin DB5 1963 7,000 43,400 Standard 10 2 14 3 3 57 5 10
Aston Martin DB9 2004 230,000 483,000 Mastercraft 12 2 20 4 2 63 10 9
BMW 3-Series 1984 20,970 85,977 Exceptional 11 5 12 2 2 52 10 10
BMW 3-Series 2012 42,800 55,640 High 11 5 14 3 2 67 10 9
Bugatti Veyron 2014 1,500,000 1,650,000 Artisanal 12 2 23 7 3 64 5 9
Delorean DMC-12 1982 12,000 51,600 High 11 2 10 2 3 52 5 10
Dodge Charger 1969 6,005 33,628 Standard 10 2 16 4 4 60 5 10
F212 Ferrari Tes- 1986 220,000 858,000 Mastercraft 12 2 18 4 2 60 5 10
tarossa
Ferrari 308 GTS 1981 47,440 208,736 Standard 12 2 14 3 2 53 5 10
Ferrarri Daytona 1972 68,970 365,541 Mastercraft 12 2 18 4 2 53 5 10
Spider
Ford Falcon XB 1974 6,510 33,201 Standard 10 5 12 2 3 53 5 10
Interceptor
Ford Focus 2014 21,135 23,249 Standard 8 5 14 2 3 54 5 10
Ford Gran Torino 1975 4,314 21.570 Standard 10 2 10 2 4 65 5 9
Ford Mustang 1964 2,368 14,445 Standard 8 4 14 3 4 50 10 10
Ford Mustang 2012 22,200 28,860 Standard 10 4 16 4 4 60 10 10
Honda Civic 2015 31,250 31,250 High 8 5 12 2 3 34 5 10
Jaguar E-Type 1963 5,895 36,549 Standard 10 2 14 3 2 50 5 10
Jaguar XJ 1969 6,465 36,204 Standard 10 5 12 2 2 60 10 10
Jaguar XJ 2012 73,200 96,160 Exceptional 11 5 16 3 2 64 10 9
Jeep Grand 2015 29,995 29,995 Standard 10 5 16 3 4 67 10 9
Cherokee
Koenigsegg 2010 2,100,000 3,150,000 Artisanal 12 2 24 7 2 57 5 10
Trevita
Land Rover 2014 60,453 66,498 Exceptional 11 5 12 3 4 63 10 10
Freelander
McLaren F1 1998 450,000 1,215,000 Artisanal 10 3 24 6 2 50 5 10
Mini Cooper 1964 2,093 12,767 Standard 8 4 10 2 2 37 5 10
Mini Cooper 2015 20,700 20,700 Standard 8 4 14 3 2 50 5 10
Pagani Zonda 2009 1,246,599 1,994,558 Artisanal 12 2 22 6 2 52 5 10
Cinque
Pontiac Firebird 1982 10,396 44,703 Standard 10 2 12 2 3 57 5 10
Trans Am
Porsche 911 1963 6,370 39,494 Standard 8 4 16 2 2 47 5 10
Porsche 911 2012 82,100 106,730 High 11 4 18 4 2 57 5 10
Range Rover Sport 2014 63,495 69,845 Exceptional 11 5 16 2 4 69 10 9
Volkswagen 1950 1,280 9,600 Standard 8 4 10 1 4 41 5 10
Beetle
Volkswagen 2012 19,795 25,734 High 10 4 14 2 4 57 5 10
Beetle

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Motorcycles Year Cost ($) Adj. ($) Quality Upg Occ Speed Accel Handl Health Soak Def
Harley Davidson 1990 10,299 36,047 Mastercraft 6 1 10 3 2 26 0 12
FLSTF Fatboy
Harley Davidson 1952 1,850 13,505 Exceptional 6 1 10 4 2 17 0 12
Hydra-Glides
Kawasaki Ninja 1984 9,950 30,845 Exceptional 6 1 16 5 1 22 0 12
GPZ 900R
Kawasaki ZZR 250 2003 12,950 28,490 Exceptional 6 1 18 4 2 17 0 12
Triumph TR-6 1961 1,200 7,680 High 6 1 12 4 1 19 0 12
Trophy

Trucks & Vans Year Cost ($) Adj. ($) Quality Upg Occ Speed Accel Handl Health Soak Def
Cadillac Miller- 1959 9,748 64,337 High 16 5 12 1 5 77 10 9
Meteor Hearse
GMC Vandura Van 1983 10,187 42,785 High 11 5 10 1 4 71 10 9
Kenworth K100 1977 45,000 216,000 Exceptional 15 3 8 1 5 161 10 4
Cabover Truck
Kenworth W900 1974 36,000 183,600 High 15 3 8 1 5 138 10 5
Seagrave Fire 2013 450,000 540,000 Exceptional 17 6 6 1 5 245 10 2
Engine

Tanks Year Cost ($) Adj. ($) Quality Upg Occ Speed Accel Handl Health Soak Def
Challenger 2 Main 1998 4,217,000 11,385,900 Exceptional 17 4 4 1 4 354 20 2
Battle Tank
M1 Abrams Main 1980 4,300,000 19,350,000 Exceptional 19 4 4 1 4 346 20 2
Battle Tank
M60 Patton Main 1961 790,000 5,056,000 High 17 4 4 1 4 316 20 2
Battle Tank
M706 Cadillac 1963 510,250 3,163,550 High 20 5 6 2 5 148 20 4
Gage Commando
Amphibious
Armored Car
Panzer VIII Maus 1944 1,200,000 9,720,000 High 17 6 1 1 5 643 20 2
Stingray Light 1988 890,000 3,293,000 High 17 4 4 1 4 213 15 2
Tank

Police Vehicles Year Cost ($) Adj. ($) Quality Upg Occ Speed Accel Handl Health Soak Def
Ford Crown 1995 12,500 37,500 Standard 10 5 13 2 4 64 10 9
Victoria Police  
Interceptor
Ford Police Taurus 2014 26,780 29,458 Standard 10 5 13 3 4 63 10 9
Interceptor Sedan
Plymouth Belve- 1968 7,000 39,900 Standard 8 5 12 3 4 56 10 10
dere Pursuit  

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  Converting Vehicles
If you have a vehicle catalog to hand, you can use it to high speeds, it can be very difficult to maneuver and turn.
derive the WOIN stats of any real-world vehicle. You will Most drivers will typically operate at half this value in
need price, maximum speed, 0–60 mph acceleration, and combat — combat is not (usually) a race.
weight, which you should be able to find in any car listing.   Acceleration. This is equal to 20 divided by the vehi-
  Price. This is the price the vehicle costs in the real cle’s 0–60 mph time. It is the amount by which a vehicle
world. This may vary by time period, depending when may increase or decease its speed each round.
your game is set. In general, use the price when the ve-   Defense. Use the table below to determine the ve-
hicle was new. hicle’s Defense.
  Adjusted price. This value takes into account inflation.   Handling. Use the table below to determine the ve-
An Aston Martin DB5 cost only about $8,000 in 1963; its hicle’s Handling.
equivalent these days costs many times that. Vehicle   Health. A vehicle’s Health is equal to the square root
prices are increased by 10% per year for the purposes of its weight in pounds.
of determining quality on the tables below. This allows   Soak. A vehicle’s Soak depends on the vehicle type.
older, classic cars to qualify for a quality level appropri- Compact cars, sports cars, and smaller vehicles have
ate to their actual quality. Soak 5. Larger vehicles have Soak 10. Armored vehicles
  Defense. The weight of a vehicle determines its De- have Soak 15 (light armored) or 20 (heavy armored).
fense attribute (use the table below). A vehicle also adds   Quality. The vehicle’s quality is determined by its type
its current speed (not its Speed score) to its Defense and price. Quality is mainly used to determine the number
score. Note that the minimum Defense is 10, as always, of available upgrade slots. It also provides an equipment
but lower numbers are provided as they can effectively bonus to drivers. Quality can be gauged by the adjusted
mitigate high speeds. Use the figures shown, and if the price of the vehicle (after inflation). This does not affect
final result is less than 10, increase it to 10. the actual cost of the vehicle — it is simply used to com-
  Upgrades. The number of upgrade slots available is de- pare like for like with older vehicles when determining
pendent on the vehicle’s size (see the table below). quality. If you have a vehicle’s price (when new), you can
  Speed. Speed is equal to the vehicle’s maximum speed establish its quality using the Default Vehicle Quality by
in miles per hour divided by 10. For example, a car with a Price tables on the next page.
listed maximum speed of 120 mph has a Speed of 12. This   For example, the original price of a 2014 Bugatti Vey-
is the vehicle’s top speed, designed for a straight line; at ron is $1,500,000, making it an artisanal sports car.

Default Vehicle Statistics by Weight

Weight (lbs) Upgrades Defense Handling Examples
0–1,000 4 12 1 or 2 Motorcycles, buggies
1,001–4,000 8 10 3 or 4 Compact to midsize cars
4,001–6,000 10 9 4 Pickups, large cars, vans, small helicopters, WW2 fighters
6,001–10,000 12 8 4 Large pickups
10,001–14,000 14 7 5 Giant SUVs
14,001–16,000 16 6 5 Haulers, dump trucks
16,001–19,500 18 5 5 Commercial trucks, small plane
19,501–26,000 20 4 6 Tow trucks, small buses, medium-lift helicopters
26,001–33,000 22 3 6 Buses, coaches, light tanks, fighter jets
33,001+ 24 2 6 Tractor trailers, big rigs, tanks, fire trucks, starfighters

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Converting Vehicles, continued

Default Vehicle Quality by Adjusted Price
Compact Large Luxury Sports Small ATV Medium ATV
Standard Up to $24K Up to $40K Up to $54K Up to $45K Up to $7,500 Up to $29K
High $24K – $40K $40K–$65K $54K–$90K $45K–$75K $7,500–$13K $29K–$48K
Exceptional $40K – $80K $65K–$130K $90K–$180K $75K–$150K $13K–$25K $48K–$95K
Mastercraft $80K – $800K $130K–$1.3M $180K–$1.8M $150K–$1.5M $25K–$250K $95K–$950K
Artisanal $800K – $8M $1.3M – $13M $1.8M– $18M $1.5M–$15M $250K–$2.5M $950K–$9.5M
Legendary $8M+ $13M+ $18M+ $15M+ $2.5M+ $9.5M+

Motorcycle, Semi–tractor,
Large ATV Motorcycle sport cab Truck, small Van
Standard Up to $46K Up to $4,500 Up to $16,500 Up to $120K Up to $42K Up to $36K
High $46K–$78K $4,500–$7,500 $16,500–$27,500 $120K–$200K $42K–$70K $36K–$60K
Exceptional $78K–$155K $7,500–$15K $27,500–$55K $200K–$400K $70K–$140K $60K–$120K
Mastercraft $155K–$1.5M $15K–$150K $55K–$550K $400K–$4M $140K–$1.4M $120K–$1.2M
Artisanal $1.5M–$15M $150K–$1.5M $550K–$5.5M $4M–$40M $1.4M–$14M $1.2M–$12M
Legendary $15M+ $1.5M+ $5.5M+ $40M+ $14M+ $12M+

Pimp My Ride •• Rims/tires. Improved tires can increase road grip,

“Now, this I’m particularly proud of—behind the headlights, improving the vehicle’s Handling by one category
Stinger missiles!” to a maximum of 3.
  For groups interested in a more vehicular game, N.O.W. •• Suspension. A stiffer suspension will improve Han-
has rules that can increase the attributes of a vehicle or dling by one category to a maximum of 3. However,
grant it extraordinary abilities (such as making it leap into it makes for a less comfortable ride—when the
the air, temporarily change color to match its surround- vehicle spins out, occupants take 2d6 damage each
ings, or more) via upgrades. The number of upgrades a instead of 1d6 damage.
vehicle may have is indicated in the vehicle lists. •• Brakes. Ventilated disc brakes or other improve-
  No single upgrade or weapon may use more than half ments can increase Accel by 1 for the purposes of
the vehicle’s total upgrade slots. deceleration only.
•• Passenger space. Occupant slots can be removed
Tuning to allow additional upgrade slots on a 1:1 basis. No
The vehicle chassis, which includes its engines, can be vehicle can have less than 1 occupant. Note that this
tuned to improve performance. Each item below costs also reduces the number of actions available to a
one-tenth the price of the base car (adding a supercharger vehicle.
to a 2012 Ford Mustang would cost $2,220). •• Ultra-light body. Body panels can be replaced with
•• Supercharger. A supercharger increases the ultra-light materials. This increases the vehicle’s
vehicle’s Speed by 1. maximum Speed by 2, but reduces its Soak by 5.
•• Transmission. With a short-shift transmission, the This cannot be combined with a reinforced chassis
vehicle’s Accel can be increased by 1. (below).

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Vehicle Upgrades Vehicle Upgrades

Upgrades (and weapons) use upgrade slots. A vehicle’s Upgrade Slots Location Cost ($) Avail
upgrade slots are roughly evenly distributed around the A.I. 1 General 20,000 5B
chassis; a vehicle can have no more than one third of its Adaptive camouflage 1 General 20,000 5B
upgrade slots in any one direction (forward, rear, left, Additional propulsion 1 Rear 2,000 5A
right). This applies to upgrades which have a designated system
location in the table below, and to weapons, which must Air brakes 1 General 4,000 5A
have a firing arc designated. Body blades 1 General 4,000 4A
  A.I. A basic A.I. operates as an occupant, allowing the Bulletproof windows 2 General 3,000 5A
vehicle to take an additional action with a 4d6 dice pool, Cable launcher 2 Front 5,000 4B
and has a LOG attribute of 2. An advanced A.I. (at ten Cement/paint blaster 3 Rear 8,000 5B
times the cost) is also able to drive the vehicle autono- Conversion vehicle 3 General 5,000 5C
mously and hold basic conversations with the occupants; Dubious license 0 Rear/Front 1,000 4A
it has a LOG attribute of 4. plates
  Adaptive camouflage. Tiny cameras on both sides of Ejector seat 1 General 3,000 4A
the vehicle take high resolution pictures directly beside Fire extinguisher 0 General 120 4A
the vehicle, then project a layover image completely iden- Halon fire suppres- 1 General 2,200 5A
tical to those pictures that covers the vehicle, causing it sion system
to disappear into its surroundings. This is exceptionally Hidden compart- 1 General 1,000 4A
complicated technology that only makes you invisible ments
from one direction (and anyone that looks too closely eas- Imaging matrix 1 General 5,000 5B
ily sees your ruse). This upgrade may only be used when Kevlar tires 1 General 10,000 5A
stationary. Mines 1 General 5,000 5A
  Additional propulsion system. This upgrade gives the Parachute 2 Rear 6,000 5A
vehicle a temporary boost, giving it +2 Accel (for speed Ram plate 3 Front 2,000 4A
increases only) and increasing its maximum Speed by +2 Reinforced chassis 1 General 2,500 4A
for 1d6 rounds once per day. For double the structure cost, Remote control 1 General 20,000 5A
this upgrade can be concealed (requiring a Difficult [15] Retractable skis 1 General 2,000 4B
INT check to notice). This upgrade may be selected more Roll cage 4 General 5,000 4A
than once; each time it is purchased, the duration of the Self-destruct 1 General 4,000 4A
temporary boost is increased by 1 round and it can be Slick jet 1 Rear 3,000 4A
used one more time per day. Smoke jet 1 Rear 1,500 4A
  Air brakes. Air brakes can be deployed to double a ve- Spike strip launcher 1 General 6,000 5B
hicle’s Accel score for the purposes of deceleration only. Spiked tires 1 General 500 5A
  Body blades. Long reinforced blades snap out of the ve- Spiked wheels 1 General 1,000 4B
hicle’s sides with the push of a button. A driver may make Targeting computer 1 General 10,000 5B
attacks against an adjacent vehicle or creature using their Wheel guards 1 General 500 4A
driving skill; the blades do 2d6 slashing damage. Wide-band receivers 1 General 800 5A
  Bulletproof windows. The vehicle gains an ablative
Soak 50 ballistic. As ablative Soak, bulletproof windows
cease to provide any benefits after they have soaked 50
points of ballistic damage. These windows are also im-
mune to windshield hit location damage until their Soak
is used up.

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  Cable launcher. A vehicle with this upgrade may grab requires from the vehicle’s occupants. It can operate
vehicles and creatures within 50' of it, latching on with a three times before it needs to be replenished.
steel cable that embeds into the target (2d6 slashing dam-   Hidden compartments. The vehicle has several caches
age). A successfully grabbed vehicle can have its Speed integrated into its structure. Finding one of these com-
reduced by the Speed of the vehicle that grabbed it. A partments requires a Difficult [16] INT check. This upgrade
side-mounted cable launcher can be used to make a free may be taken multiple times.
90-degree turn in that direction only at any speed. Cable   Imaging matrix. The vehicle has external sensors
launchers can only be deployed once. capable of radial thermal imaging, allowing it to detect
  Cement/paint blaster. This upgrade gives the vehicle a creatures in pitch blackness or through smoke or other
unique weapon ideal to obscure windshields or muck up obscuring material. It can fire upon such targets with no
the engines of other vehicles. The cement/paint blaster penalty.
has a range of 3 hexes (30'); on a hit, the target vehicle is   Kevlar tires. This vehicle’s tires are invincible and can-
blinded (-2d6) until the wet cement is removed. A cement/ not be shot out or destroyed by any attack that deals less
paint blaster can be fired 3 times before its ammunition is than 15 points of damage. Only land vehicles may take
exhausted. Creatures struck by a cement/paint blaster are this upgrade.
restrained for 1d6 rounds. This upgrade may be selected a   Mines. The vehicle can dispense mines or grenades once
second time to increase the capacity of the cement/paint per turn; this upgrade holds up to 6 mines or grenades. For
blaster by 3. an additional $2,000, the capacity of this upgrade can be
  Conversion vehicle. Over the course of a round, a con- increased to 9 mines or grenades. Mines occupy an adja-
version vehicle may change the type of terrain it traverses cent hex and do 2d6 heat damage upon contact.
(for instance, a car might become a submarine or take   Parachute. A parachute is used to rapidly halt a vehi-
flight). This type of terrain is chosen when the upgrade is cle’s forward momentum. It grants an Accel of 12 for the
purchased. A vehicle’s speed rating is halved for this new purposes of deceleration only. A parachute can only be
terrain type. This upgrade covers the gamut of modifica- deployed once. When the vehicle has stopped decelerat-
tions required, adding in oxygen tanks, compensating for ing, the parachute is cut loose.
the pressure of the depths, and so on.   Ram plate. This upgrade allows a vehicle to ram other
  Dubious license plates. This simple upgrade is almost targets without suffering any internal damage. The ve-
essential for clandestine vehicles; with the flip of a switch, hicle gains 50 Soak to collisions from the direction of the
the license plate can obscure or rotate to reveal a different ramming attachment.
license plate.   Reinforced chassis. A vehicle with a reinforced chassis
  Ejector seat. One vehicle occupant can rapidly flee, fly- increases its Soak by 2 and becomes much heavier, re-
ing out into the air in their chair before safely parachuting ducing its Acceleration rating by –1 (if its Accel rating is
to the ground. If a vehicle spins out or explodes, an ejec- already 1, then Speed is reduced by 1 instead).
tor seat ensures that the occupant is safely removed. The   Remote control. This vehicle may be controlled re-
position of the ejector seat must be designated. Optionally, motely. When doing so, the driver uses computers for skill
the ejector seat may retain the chair, and simply eject the checks and is at a -1d6 for using a wireless connection.
occupant without a parachute, causing them 3d6 damage This upgrade may be taken a second time to eliminate the
upon landing. penalty. A vehicle must have the Wide-Band Receivers up-
  Fire extinguisher. A fire extinguisher can be used by grade before it can take this upgrade.
an occupant to extinguish a fire. A fire extinguisher can   Retractable skis. A vehicle with this upgrade may ig-
be used once; multiple extinguishers can be installed. nore difficult terrain caused by snow. If taken a second
  Halon fire suppression system. A halon fire sup- time by a vehicle with the spiked wheels upgrade, a land
pression system operates automatically, putting out vehicle can be made buoyant and able to move on water at
any vehicle fire the round after it starts with no actions half its normal speed.

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  Roll cage. A steel structure around a vehicle helps pro-

tect occupants from damage. When an occupant would
normally be injured due to spinning out or flipping, the
roll cage prevents such damage from taking place.
  Self destruct. This upgrade rigs the vehicle to explode
when a certain button is pressed or command sent. A
self destruct does damage equal to the vehicle’s Health
in the vehicle’s square(s), and halved for each square of
distance. This upgrade may be taken a second time to in-
crease the potency and range of the vehicle’s self destruct
blast by 50%.
  Slick jet. This upgrade allows a vehicle to leave a slick
coating in a trail behind it that is 20' long and 10' wide (2
hexes) for 6 rounds a day (these need not be used consecu-
tively). The area become slippery, causing vehicles to spin
out if a successful check is not made. This upgrade may be
selected a second time to increase it’s daily uses a day by
6 rounds or to add an accelerant and ignition to the slick,
lighting it on fire (dealing 1d6 heat damage to anything
that passes through it).
  Smoke jet. This upgrade allows a vehicle to leave a thick
obscuring cloud of smoke in a trail behind it that is 20'
long and 10' wide (2 hexes) for 12 rounds a day. This up-
grade may be selected a second time to introduce a toxic
agent or tear gas to the smoke, causing it to deal 1d6 poi-
son damage to any creatures that pass through it. Smoke
blocks many lasers, and blocks line-of-sight.
  Spiked tires. A vehicle with this upgrade can ignore
difficult terrain caused by slippery road conditions. Only
land vehicles may select this upgrade.
  Spiked wheels. Spikes erupt from this vehicle’s wheels its chassis and its tires have a Defense of 20. Only land
to slash and tear at other vehicles. Only land vehicles may vehicles may select this upgrade. Wheel guards also allow
select this upgrade. A driver may make attacks against an a vehicle to apply the vehicle’s overall Soak to attacks by
adjacent vehicle using their driving skill; the blades do 2d6 spiked wheels.
slashing damage and ignore Soak automatically unless   Wide-band receivers. A vehicle with this upgrade is
the target vehicle has wheel guards. able to pick up all bands of radio waves and provides its
  Spike strip launcher. This vehicle can fire spike strips. passengers with an Internet connection.
A spike strip deals 4d6 slashing damage to vehicles which
run over it and forces it to spin out unless a successful Vehicle Armor
check is made. Armor can be added to a vehicle which has a reinforced
  Targeting computer. This upgrade allows a vehicle’s chassis. Each unit of armor adds 1 to the vehicle’s Soak
weapons to integrate with one another and grants a +1d6 in one particular direction (forward, rear, left, right), and
bonus to all of the attacks the vehicle’s weapons make. uses one upgrade slot. A unit of armor costs $1,000.
  Wheel guards. This vehicle’s wheels are protected by   Vehicles without a reinforced chassis cannot add armor.

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 Modern Equipment

Mounted Weapons ROF 1 can fire every turn; one with ROF 2 can fire once ev-
Weapons must be allocated a specific firing arc (forward, ery other turn; ROF 3 means once every 3 turns, and so on.
left, right, or rear) unless the weapon is turreted. Each   Artillery. Artillery does not require line-of-sight.
weapon requires an occupant to use it (the driver counts   Ignite. Targets stuck catch fire for 1d6 heat damage per
as one occupant). As noted above, no more than one third round until extinguished.
of a vehicle’s upgrade slots may be located in one arc.   Limited range. These weapons can only fire out to one
  Turrets. A turreted weapon costs twice the listed price range increment.
and takes up one additional upgrade slot. A turreted   Rounds. This weapon can be loaded with different
weapon may fire in any direction if mounted on top, or in ammo types including high explosive shells, high explo-
two arcs if mounted on a specific firing arc. Only one tur- sive anti-tank (HEAT) shells, armor piercing shells, and
reted weapon may occupy any given side (or the top of a shrapnel (anti-personnel) shells.
vehicle). •• High explosive. Regular shells. Cost $200 each.
  Linked. Weapons may be linked in pairs. Linked weap- •• HEAT. Ignores 10 points of Soak. Cost $2000 each,
ons take up one extra upgrade slot for the linked set, and •• Armor-piercing. Ignores 5 points of Soak. Cost $1,000
require only one operator. Linked weapons must share each.
the same firing arc.   Quench. This weapon automatically puts out fires in
  ROF. This is a recharge rate for weapons. A weapon with the target vehicle.

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 Modern Equipment

Standard Vehicle Weapons

Machine Guns Cost Slots Weight Damage ROF Range Notes
M240 General Purpose Machine Gun 2,000 1 28 2d6 ballistic 1 5 —
FN Minimi Light Machine Gun (a.k.a. 4,000 1 15 2d6 ballistic 1 4 —
M249 Light Machine Gun)
M134 Minigun 6,000 1 85 3d6 ballistic 1 7 —
M3P Heavy Machine Gun 9,000 1 84 3d6 ballistic 1 8 —
GAU-19 Gatling Gun 12,000 2 139 4d6 ballistic 1 10 —
M230 Chain Gun 22,000 2 120 5d6 ballistic 1 15 —
M242 Bushmaster Autocannon 45,000 3 262 6d6 ballistic 1 19 —

Cannons Cost Slots Weight Damage ROF Range Notes

Weathers & Co. 12mm Light Cannon 13,000 1 130 3d6 ballistic 2 12 —
SLX-42 20mm Smooth Bore Mounted 18,000 2 250 4d6 ballistic 2 20 —
Gun
Royal Ordnance L7 Gun (AKA M256A1 28,000 6 2,826 8d6 ballistic 3 16 Rounds
120mm Smoothbore Gun)
Rheinmetall 120 mm L/44 Gun 25,000 6 2,620 8d6 ballistic 3 14 Rounds
Skoda A7 37mm Tank Gun 22,000 4 840 6d6 ballistic 3 12 Rounds
Ordnance QF 40mm 2-Pounder 23,000 5 1,795 6d6 ballistic 3 16 Rounds
Blitzkrieg XX-1 Railgun 120,000 8 5,600 9d6 ballistic 3 14 —

Missiles Cost Slots Weight Damage ROF Range Notes

Mk 19 Grenade Launcher 9,000 2 77 4d6 heat 2 12 Artillery
BM-13 Katyusha Multiple Rocket 120,000 5 11000 6d6 heat 4 20 Artillery
Launcher
M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket 210,000 8 24000 7d6 heat 4 26 Artillery
System
Samson-Welling Micromissile 75,000 3 130 3d6 heat 2 8 —
Launcher
Mascot Industries Mini SAM 110,000 2 135 3d6 heat 2 20 Air targets only
Launcher

Energy Weapons Cost Slots Weight Damage ROF Range Notes

Fusion Systems Z4 Beam Laser 4,000 1 40 2d6 heat 1 12 Blocked by smoke
ST44 Heavy Pulse Cannon 8,000 2 75 4d6 heat 1 9 Blocked by smoke
AX-20 Small Blaster Cannon 2,000 1 30 2d6 heat 1 4 —
General Lazer GX Particle Cannon 9,000 4 210 6d6 heat 3 10 —

Other Weapons Cost Slots Weight Damage ROF Range Notes

M10-8 Flame Gun 5,000 4 100 2d6 heat 2 3 Ignite, limited range
BMW Blaster Flamethrower 7,000 4 140 3d6 heat 2 4 Ignite, limited range
Lagonda Cockatrice Flamethrower 3,000 2 90 2d6 heat 2 2 Ignite, limited range
SECPRO WCS Water Cannon 4,000 5 390 2d6 blunt 1 3 Quench, limited range

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Gadgets
“What? It’s just a pen.”
  Gadgets are a broad category of items which include
advanced technology, mysterious artifacts, prototypes,
experimental gear, unusual contraptions, and other giz-
mos, trinkets, and rare items. A gadget might be able to do
anything, and is rarer or more expensive than common
equipment.
  Gadgets are assigned an Advancement Level. To pur-
chase a gadget, you must be located within a civilization
of the appropriate Advancement Level—you cannot
purchase a rocket pack from a village in the wilderness,
or an EMP device from a medieval government. At the
GM’s discretion, an item may be available at an earlier ad-
vancement level (one category earlier) as a unique item or
prototype at ten times the regular price.
Food and Services   Anycard. An anycard is a disposable plastic card that
Food and accommodation are regularly available in civi- looks like any other credit card or super shopper rewards
lized areas. For the most part, characters should not need card. The magnetic strip is designed to automatically
to keep track of each drink, tank of gas, or snack, but when disable an electronic lock of the same quality of crafts-
the cost of such things becomes relevant, these values are manship, though after one use it becomes worthless.
shown below. Of course, the costs of modern foods and   Aquatic motor. This device can be used to smoothly
services will be well-known to the players anyway. carry someone through the water at a Speed of 4. This
gadget only functions underwater.
Average Food and Services Costs   Autopick. An autopick looks like a complex staple gun.
Services Cost ($) From the barrel a plethora of small sectioned tendrils
Drink, beer 2 extend forward and worm into a lock. An autopick auto-
Drink, coffee, tea 1 matically disables a mechanical lock of the same quality
Drink, spirit, common 3 of craftsmanship, though after one use it becomes worth-
Drink, spirit, exotic 10 less. Unlike other items, no skill ranks are required to use
Hotel, average, day 100 an autopick.
Hotel, cheap, day 30   Brilliant phone. A smart phone is one thing, but a bril-
Hotel, luxury, day 500 liant phone is practically a supercomputer and can be
Limousine, per mile 2 much, much more. First of all, you can make cracking
Meal, cafeteria/diner 5 tests with a brilliant phone as though it were a laptop. For
Meal, fast-food 3 every level of craftsmanship quality beyond high, a bril-
Meal, restaurant, typical 7 liant phone gains one of the following abilities:
Meal, restaurant, luxury 20
Public transport, per mile 1
Taxi, per mile 2
Theater, play or show 10
Theater, movie 5
Sea or Air transport, per continent, basic 400
Sea or Air transport, per continent, luxury 1,550

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Example Gadgets   Vehicular Remote. The brilliant phone may be used

Weight to drive a vehicle rigged with a control device (costing
Item Cost ($) (lbs) AL $2,000). Any checks made to control or manipulate the
Anycard 500 — 5 vehicle suffer a –2d6 penalty, but otherwise use the
Aquatic motor 1,000 15 4 driver’s skills as normal.
Autopick 400 3 4   Contained air supply. This small device is the size of
Brilliant phone 5,000 0.5 5 a soda can or large cigarette case. It holds a pressurized
Contained air supply 600 0.5 4 supply of oxygen accessible through a special valve, pro-
Dagger shoe 1,000 2 3 viding enough air for a creature to breathe 5 minutes
EMP 5,000 18 5 while underwater.
Exploding cigarette 500 — 4   Dagger shoe. This is a dagger in your shoe. It is easily de-
Fake fingerprint 500 — 4 tected by anything that scans for metals or a Difficult [16]
Flamethrower lighter 400 — 4 INT check, but when deployed (a free action) allows you to
Gaseous cigarette 500 — 4 deal Stabbing damage when you make kick melee attacks.
Grappling harness 2,000 15 4   EMP. A device as small as a bag of luggage or large
Homing pill 500 — 4 suitcase, an EMP immediately deactivates all unshielded
Industrial laser 300,000 60 5 electronic devices within 20'. The device attacks each item
Laser watch 3,000 0.5 5 with a 3d6 vs. the item’s Defense, and on a success the
Microchip 5,000 — 5 device shuts down for 1 minute. Mechanoid creatures
Pen gun 1,400 0.5 4 such as robots are not deactivated, but they do suffer 2d6
Projectile cigarette case 1,600 4 4 damage from a successful attack and are dazed. An EMP
Rappelling belt 2,000 8 5 can only be used once. The device does not work on items
Remote control exploding watch 8,000 1 4 of Advancement Level 8 or higher.
Rocket pack 20,000 25 6   Exploding cigarette. Anyone that lights this death stick
Seismic mapper 6,500 16 5 is going to meet their end right quick as the cigarette ex-
Wire watch 2,000 1 4 plodes in a giant ball of flame that deals 3d6 heat damage
X-ray camera 3,000 4 4 to all creatures and objects within 5 feet. Alternatively,
the filter can be twisted to create a one-round delay.
  Antenna pick. The side of the phone contains an ex-   Fake fingerprint. This small sheet of super-thin plastic
tending coil of filament that operates as an autopick. is impossible detect before it is peeled off, but any higher
  Fingerprinter. The brilliant phone is able to scan, an- quality fake fingerprints come with solutions that dissolve
alyze, and then transmit a fingerprint pressed against it after use. These can be used to replicate a fingerprint for
it. Furthermore, the gadget is able to use a scanned one use.
fingerprint to fool an electronic lock (so long as the   Flamethrower lighter. This lighter can be used as a
electronic lock uses fingerprint scanning). normal lighter, but contains a pressurized super-flamma-
  Identifier. The brilliant phone can make a composite ble liquid that allows it to be used to make a single ranged
facial image from a single clear photograph of a subject, attack (within 2 squares) or melee attack that deals 2d6
then reference it through databases to identify them heat damage. After one use, a flamethrower lighter is
within 5 minutes (provided the subject is recorded in expended.
the relevant database).   Gaseous cigarette. When this cigarette is blown into, it
  Stun gun. The brilliant phone can be used as an elec- can deliver an inhaled drug or poison at a target within 10'
trical stunner, both to damage unauthorized users and as an action. Gaseous “electronic cigarettes” cost 6 times
as a melee weapon. It does 1d6 electricity damage. as much but can hold a total of 4 doses (rather than 1).

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  Grappling harness. A grappling harness can be dis- miniature motors in the back. A device in the buckle can
guised as suspenders and a belt or within a bulky outfit. fire a grapnel to a distance of 75'. The grapnel will anchor
Once tethered or anchored, the wearer can ascend at a the rope to whatever object it strikes, allowing the user to
speed of 20' (4 squares) per round or rappel down as fast swing across a gap, for example. The line can be retracted
as 60' (8 squares) per round. Once used to ascend or for and reset without effort, but only superior-quality or bet-
controlled descent, a grappling harness becomes unus- ter rappelling belts can hoist weight while retracting (at a
able until rewound, which takes one minute. rate of 10' per round).
  Homing pill. This oral pill has a resilient electronic chip   Remote control exploding watch. This timepiece con-
inside of it, one capable of remaining intact and operat- tains a receiver allowing the explosives within it to be
ing while within the digestive tract. The chip transmits a remotely detonated from as far as 1,000' away. The explo-
radio signal detectable by bug sweepers and anyone that sion deals 3d6 heat damage to all objects within 2 squares.
knows the frequency (which reaches to a range of 5 miles).   Rocket pack. A rocket pack is exactly what you think it
  Industrial laser. This experimental technology requires is—rockets strapped onto the wearer’s back, with throttle
a considerable power source but is incredibly accurate at controls available at their hands. It has a range of about
great distances and can deal 1d6 point of heat damage to 10 minutes, although an additional thruster add-on can
a target per turn, increasing by +1d6 for each consecutive be purchased (8 lbs., adds 5 minutes). Use of a rocket pack
turn the laser remains on the target, up to a maximum of requires a Difficult [16] AGI check but allows a creature to
6d6 heat damage. move through the air at a Speed of 6.
  Laser watch. High-energy capacitors in this timepiece   Seismic mapper. This gadget consists of a screen and a
fuel a powerful focused light that creates a laser cutting handle that affixes to a safe or radial lock; after four rounds
beam able to slice through up to 1 inch of steel. After 10 of being so affixed, the screen displays a small three-di-
rounds of operation the laser watch is depleted. The laser mensional map of everything within the 6” cube of solid
watch can be used as an improvised melee weapon that material where the handle is affixed. A Challenging  [13]
deals 1d6 heat damage. INT check reveals the combination of any mechanical
  Microchip. A microchip operates as a homing pill but lock scrutinized this way.
has no range and is undetectable to scanners. Further-   Wire watch. This wristwatch doesn’t tell time particu-
more, it can be used to watch a creature’s vitals, telling larly well, but hides within it a high-tensile, durable kevlar
both how much damage the subject has taken and their cord capable of withstanding up to 400 pounds of tension.
emotional state (calm, agitated, or panicked). The cord has 1 Health but a Soak of 12. There are two
  Pen gun. This small device is capable of firing up to four varieties—a monofilament line suitable for use as a grap-
bullets before it is destroyed. A Challenging [16] INT check pling line (has a toughness of 4 and a length of 30'), or a
recognizes it as such. As a weapon, the pen gun does thicker cord good for strangling opponents (has a tough-
1d6+3 ballistic damage. Scanners detect that the pen gun ness of 6 and a length of 5').
is metal.   X-ray camera. This device operates much like a regular
  Projectile cigarette case. This small pack of cigarettes camera, but flashes an x-ray at everything within the view
is unusually heavy but otherwise resembles a regular pack screen. After 5 rounds of development within the gadget, it
of cigarettes. A person familiar with the gadget (requiring reveals everything within 1' of thickness behind any non-
instruction or a Difficult [16] INT check) can use it to fire lead material. The x-ray camera has a range of only 30'. An
up to four small rockets (2d6 ballistic damage, range 4). x-ray camera can take 5 photographs before it needs re-
  Rappelling belt. This heavy duty belt has a slender placement parts (costing half the cost of the camera).
but sturdy rope coiled through both sides and powerful

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Chapter 3
Modern
Core

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 Modern Core

Playing the Game   The Role of Luck. Luck is a special attribute that pro-
One of the Game Master’s primary functions is that of ref- vides characters with a replenishing dice pool that can be
eree. He or she needs to adjudicate the result of actions by drawn upon as needed to assist in various tasks.
using the rules found in this book. This section is the core  Combat. Combat is a common occurrence in the game,
of the What’s O.L.D. is N.E.W. roleplaying game system. whether with assault rifles at range or duels between nin-
While other sections tell you how to create a character, de- jas and secret agents. This section tells you how to move,
sign a setting, or buy equipment, this section tells you how attack, and perform other actions in combat. Combat in
to play the game. To that end, you will find the following W.O.I.N. is a tactical skirmish system where position and
information in the pages to come. cover are very important.
  The Attribute Check. This is the core mechanic of the   Injury & Death. It’s a dangerous world, and harm can
game. Almost everything revolves around the attribute befall any character. Such harm takes three forms: Health
check. When you know how to make and adjudicate an damage, status tracks, and diseases.
attribute check, you know how to play most of the game.  Objects. This part of the book explains how objects can
This section includes guidelines on assigning difficulty be broken or damaged, how to break down a door, or how
benchmarks, running opposed or extended tasks, and much damage an office desk can take. It details various
details some common situations including medicine, materials, from wood to steel.
chases, scanning, engineering, and more.   The Environment. The environment affects many
 Countdowns. A countdown is a special type of dice things. Variations in gravity, severe weather, slippery
pool that depletes as time passes. Countdowns depict surfaces, and many other environmental traits can be ap-
a race against time, such as a ticking bomb or a disease, plied to areas both big and small. Fighting in the middle
when the characters don’t know exactly how much time of a self-destructing villain’s lair as fire rages all around
remains before disaster strikes. Countdowns are used to is very different to fighting on a frozen wasteland in the
create suspense and tension. midst of a blizzard.

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 Modern Core

The Attribute Check

Whenever a character attempts an action in a What’s
O.L.D. is N.E.W. game where the outcome is not certain,
dice are used to randomly decide whether or not the at-
tempt succeeds. This process is called an attribute check.
  You don’t always need an attribute check. If your char-
acter is doing something that any ordinary human can do,
like opening a door, or reading a computer screen, or per-
forming some other routine task, then this task succeeds Example Tasks
automatically without the need for any dice rolls. How- Task Attribute Example Skill
ever, if the GM feels that the outcome of a task is in doubt Appraising an item’s value INT appraisal
or subject to chance, she may call for an attribute check. Breaking down a door STR —
  Attribute checks are the central mechanic of this game. Calming a spooked animal CHA animal handling
Everything hinges around them, whether you’re trying to Climbing a wall AGI climbing
pick a lock, lift a heavy log, shoot an attacking ninja, treat Deciphering a code LOG cryptology
an illness, or win a game of baccarat. Diagnosing an illness LOG medicine
  The GM is the final arbiter of whether or not an attribute Disabling a trap LOG engineering
check is required. Driving a car AGI driving
Hiding from a guard AGI stealth
Making an Attribute Check Holding your breath END swimming
When the GM decides that an attribute check is required, Holding your drink END carousing
she first needs to decide which attribute is applicable. Lifting a heavy rock LOG carrying
Breaking down a door might require Strength, balanc- Making a speech CHA leadership
ing on a tightrope might be Agility, while translating an Navigating a ship LOG navigation
ancient language might need Logic. Painting a picture INT painting
  Secondly, the GM must decide how difficult the task Picking a lock AGI thievery
is. Some tasks, especially during combat, have pre-set or Piloting a helicopter AGI piloting
built-in difficulties, while others call for some adjudica- Playing a dice game CHA dice games
tion by the GM. The difficulty will be determined either by Playing chess LOG chess
a static score, such as a creature’s Defense scores, or by a Recalling a specific law LOG law
difficulty benchmark chosen by the GM, such as Routine, Recognising a language LOG linguistics
Challenging, or Difficult. Each of those benchmarks have Recognizing a creature LOG nature
an assigned static score (Challenging is 13, for example). Remembering historical LOG history
  The GM calls for the attribute check, naming the re- information
quired attribute and the difficulty level if appropriate—for Repairing a musket LOG engineering
example, when a character tries to move a boulder, the Riding a motorcycle AGI riding
GM might say, “Make a Challenging [13] Strength check.” Running a marathon END running
  The player then forms a dice pool, as described below, Spotting a forged document INT forgery
and then rolls the dice. If the total of the dice the player Spotting a hidden door INT perception
rolled is equal to or greater than the difficulty score, the Swimming a river STR swimming
character succeeds at the task. If it is less than the diffi- Tracking a suspect INT tracking
culty score, the character fails. The lock remains locked, Treating an injury LOG medicine
the log doesn’t move much, the shot misses the ninja, the Using a disguise CHA disguise
illness gets no better, or the baccarat game goes badly. Walking a tightrope AGI acrobatics

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Forming the Dice Pool   If basic equipment is not available, improvised equip-
To make an attribute check, the player must form a dice ment inflicts a –2d6 penalty. For example, using a hairpin
pool. Each attribute’s associated dice pool is noted on the to pick a lock instead of an actual set of thieves’ tools re-
player’s character sheet. For example, if a character at- duces the dice pool by 2d6.
tempting to pick a lock has an AGI of 6, his AGI dice pool   The number of dice that equipment contributes to a
is 3d6. dice pool can never exceed the number of dice that skills
  To this, the player may choose to add a skill. This is up to contribute to it; you need a certain degree of expertise to
the player to choose and—if necessary—justify. It would fully benefit from higher quality equipment. If the equip-
be hard to justify adding botany when trying to pick a lock, ment dice exceed the skill dice, reduce the equipment
but it would be easy to justify thievery. The GM may disal- dice to equal the skill dice.
low the use of any skill she feels is not justifiable.   This includes the armor skill, weapons (skills in swords,
  To add the skill, simply locate the associated dice pool bows, rifles, staves, knives, etc.), and general equipment for
for the skill (just like with the attribute) and add those dice which an associated skill might be relevant (skill in medi-
to the dice pool. If the above character has thievery 3 (2d6), cine when using a medical kit to prepare an antidote, for
he adds 2d6 to the existing 3d6 dice pool. This makes his example).
dice pool 5d6.
  Finally, the character chooses equipment to use. A stan- Dice Pool Adjustments for Quality
dard item of equipment allows him to attempt the action Equipment Quality Dice Pool
with no penalty. A high quality or better item may grant Improvised –2d6
extra dice in his dice pool—a high quality set of thieves’ Poor –1d6
tools grants an additional 1d6 to a dice pool, bringing the Standard —
erstwhile thief’s dice pool up to 6d6. High +1d6
  The GM has already determined that picking this lock Exceptional +2d6
is a Difficult [16] task. The player grabs his dice pool of 6d6 Mastercraft +3d6
and throws it, scoring 19. This is higher than the target of Artisanal +4d6
16, so he succeeds in picking the lock! Legendary +5d6

Dice Pool = Attribute + Skill + Equipment

Maximum Dice Pools

Equipment Quality The size of a dice pool is limited by a character’s grade.
Equipment contributes to the dice pool, in addition to the When forming a dice pool, the pool cannot exceed this size.
contribution attributes and skills. A character’s grade is simply the number of careers he has
  Standard equipment simply allows you to attempt an taken. A starting character, therefore, is typically grade 5,
action normally—a rifle allows you to shoot at a ninja, a with a maximum dice pool of 5d6.
medical kit allows you to treat wounds, and a lockpick al-   The table below shows the maximum dice pool allowed
lows you to pick a lock. for characters of various grades.

Starting Dice Pools by Attribute/Skill Score

Attribute/Skill 1–2 3–5 6–9 10–14 15–20 21–27 28–35 36–44 45–54
Dice Pool 1d6 2d6 3d6 4d6 5d6 6d6 7d6 8d6 9d6

Maximum Dice Pools by Grade

Grade 5 6–7 8–10 11–14 15–19 20–25 26–32 33–40
Max Dice Pool 5d6 6d6 7d6 8d6 9d6 10d6 11d6 12d6

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 Modern Core

  If a dice pool exceeds the maximum size allowed,

simply reduce it to match the limit. For example, if our ex-
Group Checks
ample thief was grade 5, he would not be able to use that Sometimes the GM may call for a group attribute
full 6d6 dice pool—he would only get to roll 5d6. check. Group checks are made when the entire party
is engaged in a task, and allowed stronger members
Difficulty Benchmarks to help out the weaker members, while the weaker
Sometimes a difficulty benchmark is determined by an members hinder the stronger ones. For example, the
existing static number. In combat, for example, the tar- party might make a group AGI check to sneak into a
get’s Defense scores indicate the difficulty benchmark base; the secret agent is helping the boxer by telling
that must be reached by rolling a dice pool. Combat is him where to step, while the cat burglar is making sure
dealt with in greater detail later. the bungling mechanic doesn’t knock into anything.
  In other situations, the GM may need to decide on an ap-   This can be applied to many types of checks—chas-
propriate difficulty benchmark. This is done by choosing es, climbing, stealth, and so on.
a difficulty level such as Routine, Difficult, or Impossible.   In a group check, every participating member rolls.
Each difficulty level has a difficulty score assigned to The group as a whole succeeds if more than half of the
it. The benchmark names are from the perspective of an party makes a successful roll (so for a group of five
average human; what’s impossible for the average citizen PCs, three would have to succeed).
might not be for legendary heroes of myth!
  The most commonly needed benchmarks are shaded
Indirect Skills
gray in the Difficulty Benchmarks table (see the next Sometimes a skill is only indirectly related to the ac-
page)—Trivial, Routine, Difficult, Strenuous, Herculean, tivity at hand. Skill in chess helps a little with skill in
and Impossible. The white rows provide the GM with more draughts, but not as much as specific skill in draughts
granularity if needed, but they are optional. would be. In these situations the GM may choose to
allow a skill but declare it an indirect usage; the die
contribution to the dice pool from an indirect skill us-
age cannot exceed 1d6.
  So if a player wants to use geology to help climb a
cliff, the GM is free to rule it an indirect usage and limit
the skill to 1d6.

The Math
The math behind difficulty benchmarks is fairly simple.
Each benchmark represents a roughly 50% success
chance for a given dice pool size. An Easy [7] bench-
mark is a 50% success rate for a 2d6 dice pool; a
Routine [10] benchmark is about a 50% success rate
for a 3d6 dice pool; a Challenging [13] benchmark is
about a 50% success rate for a 4d6 dice pool, and so
on. Each successive benchmark represents one extra
die in the dice pool.
  To put this into perspective, a starting grade 5 char-
acter with a dice pool of 5d6 will succeed on a Difficult
[16] check about half of the time.

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 Modern Core

Difficulty Benchmarks Complications

Difficulty Score Examples Complications typically apply a –1d6 die penalty to a
Trivial — Breaking a window, lifting a thick check. These are cumulative—two complications apply
RPG rulebook a –2d6 die penalty. When shooting at a target in cover, or
Easy 7 — crossing a tightrope in a storm, the GM simply applies
Routine 10 Climbing a tree, building a camp- a –1d6 penalty for each complication (note that in com-
fire, sailing a small boat bat, common complications like cover, firing into melee,
Challenging 13 — prone targets, and so on are called out for convenience).
Difficult 16 Picking a lock, swimming a fast-
flowing river, climbing a cliff Critical Successes
Demanding 21 — If a triple-six is rolled while making an attribute check,
Strenuous 25 Walking a tightrope, climbing a and the check is successful, a critical success takes place.
brick wall This means that an additional or extra-ordinary benefit
Severe 29 — occurs—the task is accomplished to a much higher de-
Herculean 33 Bending a steel bar, climbing an gree. The GM should devise this benefit (although in the
ice wall case of a combat attack roll, the benefit is predefined as
Superhuman 37 — pushing the target along a status track). The more dice be-
Impossible 40 Lifting a car, bursting iron chains ing rolled, the higher the chances of rolling a triple-six.
Legendary 42 —   A critical success results in an extra-ordinary suc-
Mythical 45 Building a time machine cess level for the task at hand. For example, when trying
to calm an angry guard dog, a character might gain its
friendship.
Die Penalty or Increased   If there is no obvious extra-ordinary success level for
Difficulty? a given attribute check, the character gains a bonus LUC
Some GMs might wonder whether to apply a die die in his LUC pool instead.
penalty or increase the difficulty of the task. Math-   In an extended task (see below) a critical success counts
ematically, both are the same—increasing a task’s as two wins but has no other effect.
difficulty benchmark by one stage (say, from Chal-   On a combat attack roll, a critical success pushes the
lenging to Difficult) is exactly the same as applying a target one stage down a status track (depending on the
–1d6 die penalty. Generally speaking, die penalties are damage type).
applied on-the-fly as the result of adjudication, while
higher difficulties are simply the same thing calcu- Opposed Checks
lated in advance. Often, two characters or creatures may compete to per-
  When running a published adventure, for example, form an action—an arm wrestle, or a race, for example. In
the text might tell the GM that climbing a slippery these situations, each participant creates the other’s dif-
wall in a storm is a Difficult [16] check. The adventure ficulty benchmark with his own attribute check—in other
has done the math in advance; this is the same as a words, both make an attribute check, and whoever rolls
Routine [10] check with a –2d6 die penalty for the two highest wins.
complications (strong winds, and a slippery surface).   Each participant forms a dice pool as normal. For ex-
Including them in the difficulty benchmark in advance ample, if an international superspy is trying to sneak past
simply saves a little work for the GM. a villain’s henchman, he might roll a dice pool made up
  However, removing dice reduces the chances of a of his Agility (3d6) and his stealth skill (2d6). The hench-
critical success. man would roll his Intuition (3d6). The spy rolls 5d6, the

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henchman rolls 3d6, and if the spy beats the guard’s roll,
he sneaks past unnoticed. If he doesn’t, the henchman
Assisting Another
sees him.
Character
  Below are some examples of opposed checks. Suggested Usually, an extended skill task is used when multiple
skills are noted in parentheses. characters are contributing to an activity. Three (or
sometimes more for longer tasks) successes are re-
Opposed Check Examples quired, and multiple characters can make checks of
Opposed Check Attributes (and Skills) various kinds.
Arm-wrestle STR vs. STR   Sometimes, when the task is very simple, and the
Bluff a guard CHA (bluffing) vs. INT (bluffing) combined efforts of the characters would be merely
Bribe an official CHA (persuasion) vs. WIL additive, you may allow characters to add their attri-
Disguise yourself CHA (disguise) vs. INT (perception) butes together and see what dice pool the combined
Foot race STR/AGI (running) vs. STR/AGI (running) figure would allow. In other words, if two characters
Interrogate CHA (intimidation) vs. WIL (bluffing) (STR 5 and STR 6) are trying to break down a door
Motorcycle race AGI (riding) vs. AGI (riding) together, you would treat that as a single character
Pick a pocket AGI (thievery) vs. INT (perception) with STR 11 and allow them a 4d6 STR dice pool.
Play chess LOG (chess) vs. LOG (chess)   Strength-based tasks are the most common types
Sneak/hide AGI (stealth) vs. INT (perception) of simple additive tasks. Generally, cooperative tasks
Track a thief INT (tracking) vs. AGI (stealth) won’t be additive, and will require multiple checks
from one or more characters.
Static scores like a Defense score are actually pre-calcu-   Note that when performing a simple additive task,
lated opposed checks. This speeds up combat by ensuring only one skill from one character applies to the dice
that players (and creatures) do not have to form dice pools pool. Choose the most appropriate one.
each time they are attacked—you can simply refer to the
static score.
types of checks (although the difficulty level should re-
Extended Tasks main constant for all the checks in the extended task).
The preceding section described how to adjudicate simple   Some tasks, such as when curing a disease, have pre-
tasks (those which require just a single attribute check to defined complexity levels. When an hourly challenging
resolve). Not all tasks require just a single attribute check, medical task is called for, this means that it is a hourly task
however. Some tasks are extended efforts which require (1 hour intervals) with a difficulty benchmark of Challeng-
considerable time to accomplish. In these cases, the GM ing [13] which uses skills focused around medicine, while
may call for multiple attribute checks at specified inter- a daily routine chemistry task is a daily task (1 day inter-
vals, which might be each minute, hour, day, week, or vals) with a difficulty benchmark of Routine [10] which
even longer. The GM assigns the difficulty benchmark of uses skills focused around chemistry. The GM, as always,
those checks as usual. is the arbiter of whether any given skill applies.
  Unless otherwise specified, three checks is appropriate
for an extended task. However, the GM can require more Time Between Checks
checks if she feels it is appropriate. The task will have an associated interval, which is the time
  Unless there is something preventing it, multiple between each attribute check. This can be quick (each
people can contribute to an extended task. Subject to the minute), hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, even yearly in
GM’s approval, the characters may be able to use different some cases (although the latter will be rare).
attributes or skills to contribute in different ways. Indeed,   During an extended task, failed checks can be retried,
different stages of an extended task may require different but the time is wasted.

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  Success is usually achieved by making a certain num-

ber (usually three) successful attributes before failing the
same number of checks. Simply keep track of how many
successes and failures the party has racked up—if they
reach three successes before they reach three failures,
they succeed; if they reach three failures before they reach
three successes, they fail.

Contests
From time to time you will need to combine the rules
for opposed checks and for extended tasks. A long poker
game, or a motorcycle chase across a crowded city, might
require an extended sequence of opposed checks.
  In these situations, simply use the rules for extended
tasks as normal. The first to reach the required number of
successful opposed checks wins. You do not need to track
failures in an opposed check (a failure is, by definition, a
win for your opponent).
  To run an extended task, the GM should ask each player   For example, you could simulate arm wrestling like
what they intend to do. Armed with that information, she this. Rather than using just a single check, the first to
may assign attribute checks to the players. The players reach three wins on the opposed rolls wins the game. A
can attempt any action to assist with the task, but the long race might look for the first to reach a dozen opposed
GM is the final arbiter of whether any given action can checks.
contribute.   The opposed checks do not have to be the same. As
always, each participant uses checks appropriate to his
activity. When tracking a suspect across a city, the suspect
Task Lexicon may be making AGI checks and calling upon the stealth
• Simple task—a task requiring a single attribute skill, while the pursuer may be making INT checks and
check against a static difficulty benchmark. the tracking skill. The first to reach—for example—6 wins
• Opposed task—a task requiring a single at- on the opposed rolls wins: either the suspect escapes, or
tribute check that is opposed by another the pursuer catches up with him.
creature’s attribute check.   As with other extended tasks, different stages might
• Extended task—a task requiring more than one require different checks. Perhaps in a foot chase the first
attribute check to complete. checks might both be STR (running) checks, and then the
• Simple extended task—a task requiring multiple second might be AGI (climbing) checks as both partici-
attribute checks against a static benchmark. pants scale a wall, followed by another stage of running,
• Opposed extended task—a task requiring a jump across an alleyway, even a sequence in which the
multiple attribute checks that are opposed by suspect tries to lose himself in a crowd using AGI and
attribute checks made by another creature, stealth checks versus the pursuer’s INT and perception. In
with the first to reach a target number of wins such a scenario, the suspect might even define the checks
being the victorious participant. by choosing what to do at each stage of the process, forc-
• Group check—an attribute check where all PCs ing the pursuer to match his skills. Contests can be as
make a check, and the party succeeds if more exciting and detailed as you wish to make them, or they
than half the PCs succeed. can be quickly resolved with a single check.

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Common Tasks
The previous section described the overall framework in
which actions are resolved. What follows is a selection of
common situations, ways to handle them, and resources
for spicing them up. From races and chases, to applica-
tions of medicine and interrogations, these situations are
ones which crop up regularly in the game.

Chases & Races

Common skills: running, driving, riding, jumping, climb-
ing, stealth, bluffing, swimming. Vehicle Chases:
  A chase is an opposed extended task. The first to reach •• Jump a canyon (riding/driving vs. riding/driving)
six wins is the winner of the chase (the GM can modify •• Ride motorcycles through a crowded shopping mall
this for longer or shorter chases). Multiple people can be (riding vs. riding)
involved in a race, each making their own checks.
  If the PCs are being chased by a bunch of villains, sol- Different characters, creatures, vehicles, and ships have
dier having them make group checks against a single roll different speeds. While skill is the most important factor,
for the pursuers instead (use the average roll to speed speed is also very important. Anybody involved in a race
things up). or a chase can add +1d6 to their checks if they have a Speed
  A simple foot chase typically involves STR or AGI checks, of 10 or more, and +2d6 if they have a Speed of 20 or more.
along with the running skill. A car chase may instead use   One way to adjudicate a chase is to randomly determine
AGI and driving, or a chase across a lake may use STR and terrain and obstacles at each stage, Some basic examples
swimming. Stages of the route might call for different skills. using 2d6 follow, although you are encouraged to devise
  A more complex chase involves other skills. The GM can your own tables tailored to your setting. Each obstacle
present predetermined or randomly selected obstacles gives the participants opportunity to devise how to use or
and stages; it can be fun to offer a choice of two obstacles— circumvent them.
do the fleeing PCs climb the wall or duck into the blind   You may allow a PC an automatic win if they have a way
alley? Examples of actions might include: to circumvent an obstacle which their opponent lacks—
a PC with a jet pack automatically succeeds at crossing a
Foot Chases: canyon, for example.
•• Climb a wall (climbing vs. climbing)
•• Jump an alleyway ( jumping vs. jumping) Example Chase Terrain and Obstacles
•• Disappear into a crowd (stealth vs. perception) 2d6 Urban Wilderness
•• Swim a river (swimming vs. swimming) 2 Slick footing Cliff
•• Squeeze through a tight gap (acrobatics vs. 3 Gap/hole Mud patch
acrobatics) 4 Barrels or crates Steep incline
•• Balance on a narrow ledge (acrobatics or climbing) 5 Twisting alleyways Dense trees
•• Use a hidden shortcut (local knowledge vs 6 Slow passing hearse Tangled undergrowth
perception) 7 Straight Straight
•• Cause a distraction (bluff vs. perception) 8 Wall Rock formation
•• Cause an obstruction or obstacle (varies) 9 Ladder Unsure footing
•• Duck into a blind alley (stealth vs. perception) 10 Crowded street River
•• Get somebody to give the pursuers false directions 11 Shortcut Animal herd
(bluffing vs. local knowledge) 12 Pool/river Canyon

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Chemistry Chemistry Task Table

Common skills: chemistry d66 Alpha Beta Gamma
  Chemistry is usually an hourly extended task. Using 11 calcinate copper copper
Logic and various skills, characters can accomplish a va- 12 dissolve gold gold
riety of things. Any character can attempt to use chemistry 13 separate iron iron
in order to solve a problem or achieve a goal. Examples of 14 conjoin lead lead
uses of chemistry include: 15 ferment mercury mercury
•• Removing a permanent condition. 16 distil silver silver
•• Melting a lock with acid. 21 coagulate platinum platinum
•• Treating a disease. 22 boil nickel nickel
•• Creating a strong glue. 23 sublimate zinc oxide zinc oxide
•• Creating a poison or an antidote (for poisons, an 24 heat amber amber
opposed task is needed versus the target’s Vital 25 freeze lithium lithium
Defense, assuming the poison can be delivered in 26 purify peroxide peroxide
food or drink; it does 1d6 poison damage plus 1d6 31 dilute glycerin glycerin
for each die you sacrifice from your dice pool. 32 evaporate helium helium
•• Burn or combust materials like metal and stone. 33 cook ruby ruby
Like drugs, chemical concoctions can also be used to 34 circulate magnesium magnesium
inflict conditions, thus creating a truth drug or a sleep- 35 burn diamond diamond
ing draught. The concoction must be delivered (imbibed 36 filtrate glucose glucose
by the target, or similar). A concoction which is eaten or 41 smelt sucrose sucrose
drunk is an hourly task, a poultice, salve, or ointment 42 refine tungsten tungsten
costs -1d6, and a gas, incense, or smoke costs -2d6. The 43 centrifuge citric acid citric acid
check is a simple opposed one versus the target’s Vital 44 crystallize coal coal
Defense, and success inflicts a condition with a critical 45 fractionate chalk chalk
success inflicting a severe condition. 46 cool salt salt
  The player(s) start by declaring their intentions. This 51 bake limestone limestone
goal may be anything they wish, although they may find 52 agitate butane butane
some goals too hard to accomplish. It might be to devise 53 crush ammonia ammonia
an acid to melt the lock on a cell door, save an ally who 54 grind kerosene kerosene
has been poisoned by an assassin, or build an explosive. 55 cohobate iodine iodine
The GM sets the difficulty as normal, and characters may 56 brew acetone acetone
attempt Logic checks until they have reached the target 61 dessicate acid acid
number of successes (typically three successes). Chemis- 62 separate nitrous oxide nitrous oxide
try is a classic example of a very simple use of the extended 63 agitate sodium sodium
task mechanism. 64 simmer sulphur sulphur
  To add some flavor to a chemical task, roll d66 four 65 warm silicon silicon
times on the following table and read off the result in the 66 chill arsenic arsenic
format alpha a mixture of beta and gamma (e.g. “boil a
mixture of zinc oxide and glucose”). This doesn’t result in can be picked or hacked by a burglar, or a chemist might
“real” chemical terminology, but it can add some flavor. attempt to open it by melting the lock with acid. The diffi-
  Chemistry is an acceptable way to accomplish many culty of the task does not change—if it’s a Difficult [16] task
tasks, even if other methods are available. A locked door to pick the lock, then it’s a Difficult [16] chemical task also.

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Computing
Common skills: computing. following table and read off the result in the format alpha
  Computing results are read in the format alpha the beta the beta gamma delta (e.g. “reconfigure the virtual pat-
gamma delta. These include hacking attempts. To add tern algorithm”). This doesn’t result in “real” computing
some flavor to a computing task, roll d66 four times on the terminology, but it can add some flavor.

Computing Task Table Interrogations

d66 Alpha Beta Gamma Delta Common skills: interrogation, bluffing, intimi-
11 overload core binary subroutine dation, persuasion, seduction.
12 clone auxiliary root kernel   An interrogation is an opposed extended
13 recompile polymorphic routing firewall task. The goal is to extract information from a
14 spoof backend injection program subject. Unlike other opposed tasks, an inter-
15 loop direct control protocol rogation can continue indefinitely, although it
16 reboot closed data script becomes less effective as time passes.
21 reconfigure sub boolean array   A simple interrogation involves CHA vs.
22 unlink modular heap compiler Mental Defense checks, along with the inter-
23 redesign nested source enumerator rogation skill. That skill is used to both conduct
24 extend closed bridge function and withstand interrogation. Each time the
25 remove dynamic pattern interpreter interrogator makes a check, he asks a ques-
26 reference persistent exception code tion. If he wins the check, the subject answers
31 initialize pseudo memory parameter truthfully; if he fails, the subject lies or refuses
­32 iterate public state procedure to answer. The answer can be no more than
33 activate secure integer table a short sentence—the interrogator can’t ask
34 interface recursive logic database “What is your entire plan, in full detail?”
35 reassign generic stack extension   Interrogations begin as quick (one-minute
36 call static assembly algorithm interval) tasks. Although interrogations do not
41 concatenate super pool argument have an established ending point, every time
42 mask virtual access assembler the questioner fails an opposed check the task
43 patch abstract batch exception is escalated to an hourly, daily, weekly, or even
44 rename run-time biometric language monthly task, increasing the length of time
45 invoke cyclomatic analog processor needed to extract information. Eventually the
46 override conditional broadband counter amount of time needed to gain the smallest
51 reference contravariant command environment piece of information may make the whole thing
52 constrain declarative configuration index completely impractical.
53 evaluate directed EKT block   Interrogation kits grant bonuses to checks
54 flush dummy floating expression as normal for equipment. Some drugs can also
55 append parallel AJS file obviate the need for an interrogation, or at least
56 access global heuristic matrix prevent the subject from lying. Of course, a
61 bounce intrinsic operations manager subject cannot reveal information he does not
62 fragment invariant integrated client have. Each use of an interrogation kit causes
63 delete local KVS point 1d6 damage to the subject.
64 format monomorphic latency archive   More advanced interrogations may use other
65 flash negative NTP sector skills, including persuasion, bluffing, even se-
66 install inherited output cache duction or medicine.

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Medicine
Common skills: medicine focused on medical situations. Like chemistry, it is based
  Much like chemistry, medicine is a science. It’s a simple on Logic. Medicine can be used to remove permanent
extended task which works in exactly the same way as an conditions, treat diseases, or perform other medical tasks.
chemical task, but it uses different skills as it is largely See the Chemistry section above for details on how to ad-
judicate this type of task.
Medicine Task Table   Like chemical concoctions, drugs
d66 Alpha Beta Gamma Delta can also be used to inflict conditions,
11 irradiate inverted neural cells thus creating a truth drug or a sleeping
12 excise assymetrical basilar pathways draught. The drug must be delivered
13 decontaminate malignant berylite neurons (imbibed by the target, or similar). A
14 transplant persisting biomimetic tissue drug which is injected, eaten or drunk
15 clone periodic cardiac protoplasm is an hourly task, a poultice, salve, or
16 balance infected reticular nerve ointment costs –1d6, and a gas, incense,
21 incise swollen synaptic muscle or smoke costs –2d6. The check is a
22 puncture degenerate bile bone simple opposed one versus the target’s
23 fuse obstructed cranial cyst Vital Defense, and success inflicts a
24 remove restless nodular joint condition with a critical success inflict-
25 secure spasming endocrine gland ing a severe condition.
26 reshape detached neurological ganglia   To add some flavor to a medical task,
31 strengthen misaligned aplastic membrane roll d66 four times on the following ta-
32 replace infected autonomic protein ble and read off the result in the format
33 repair defective sympathetic enzyme alpha the beta gamma delta (e.g. “by-
34 divert impaired idiopathic genome pass the infected neural cluster”).
35 bypass scarred subcutaneous tumor
36 excite hemorrhaging fungal clot
41 drain inflamed frontal cluster
That’s Not Real
42 regenerate failing temporal gene
Terminology!
43 resequence occluded parietal receptor The chemistry, computing, and
44 massage carcinomic occipital capillary medicine task tables in this book
45 reconstruct disrupted pituitary deposit create what is lovingly referred to
46 disrupt paralyzed corellium abscess in scriptwriting as “technobabble.”
51 stimulate weak anchilles hematoma Technobabble makes characters
52 freeze blocked aphasic cartilage sound intelligent without actually
53 magnetize deviated leutscher tissue having to refer to reality. We know
54 cauterize damaged biotic cord there’s no such thing as an idiopathic
55 electrify eroded mutagenic artery genome, and we know that boiling
56 modulate abscessed genetic vein zinc can’t cure radiation sickness.
61 pressurize toxic peripheral molecules That’s fine. It’s all as fictional as an
62 pulse foreign core valve international superspy or a mystical
63 compress contracting radial anomaly levitating martial arts grandmaster!
64 cleanse dislocated amniotic chromosome The idea is to provide in-game flavor,
65 perforate deformed transient cavity not to create real solutions to real
66 inoculate mutated intrinsic lobe problems.

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Tracking
Common skills: tracking, stealth, perception, local
knowledge.
  Tracking someone is an opposed extended task similar
to a chase, although much less energetic and more cere-
bral. Rather than physical tasks, opposed checks are more
focused around a contest of mind and skill. The target tries
to hide his tracks, while the pursuer tries to uncover them.
  A simple tracking scenario involves AGI checks for the
target and INT checks for the pursuer, along with the
stealth and tracking skills, respectively. This assumes that
the target is aware of and trying to shake off the trackers.
If the target is unaware of the trackers, simply use a Rou- questions which the GM can answer with a single, short
tine [10] benchmark and a simple extended task. sentence. Any question can be asked, and each question
  A more complex tracking scenario allows the target to takes one full minute—the more questions asked, the
try different things. To help spice up a tacking scenario, more detailed information can be determined, but each
you can use the following table to generate different subsequent question past the first inflicts a -1d6 die penal-
stages and obstacles. Depending on the distances and the ty. An example sequence of questions might look like this:
time scales involved, these could be minutes, hours, or
even days apart. Example Tracking Questions and Answers
Question Answer
Tracking Complications Has anybody passed through Yes, a group of people was
2d6 Event this room in the last hour? here very recently.
2 Cross a river to hide tracks (swimming vs. tracking) How many people? Six people.
3 Create a decoy or false trail (tracking vs. tracking) Was any of them one- Yes, there was a one-legged
4 Hide (stealth vs. tracking) legged? person present.
5 Outpace the trackers (running or riding vs. tracking) Were there any politicians Yes, two politicians, based
6 Set a trap (thievery vs. perception) present? on their shoe prints.
7 Double back (bluffing vs. tracking) Were the politicians prison- Yes, from the way they were
8 Change shoes and other clothing (bluffing vs. track- ers? walking, it seems they were
ing) restrained in some way.
9 Traverse difficult obstacles (swimming or climbing
vs. swimming or climbing) Tailing
10 Use minor spycraft techniques (stealth vs. tracking) A simple tailing scenario is an opposed extended task
11 Use animals to create confusion and distraction which involves INT checks for the target, and AGI checks
(animal handling vs. animal handling) for the pursuer (the reverse of the tracking process). The
12 Stage misdirecting witnesses (bluffing vs. insight) pursuer is the one trying to stay out of sight and not be
spotted by his target. The target will use perception, while
An expert tracker can also glean a lot of information the pursuer may use stealth or bluffing. This assumes that
about a location or about creatures who have been pres- the target is trying to be inconspicuous or use anti-sur-
ent. This is a simple, single-check task using LOGIC and veillance techniques. If the target is not worried about a
the tracking skill. The tracker simply makes a Routine [10] tail, simply use INT (perception) checks.
LOG check and ask one closed question which the GM •• Change appearance (disguise vs. perception)
will answer. The question asked must be specific closed •• Blend with a crowd (stealth vs. perception)

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Countdowns Fast, Medium, and Slow Countdowns

Countdowns form the second major core mechanic in the Duration Fast Medium Slow
W.O.I.N. game system. A countdown takes place when Removed Dice 4–6 5–6 6
there is an unknown time limit before something occurs.
It is used in the following situations: The default countdown—removing a dice on a roll of 6—is
•• Death. An unconscious character uses the count- a slow countdown. Countdowns can run down faster than
down mechanic as he slips towards death. this, however. For faster countdowns, dice are removed
•• Disease. Disease and illness use the countdown on rolls of 5–6, or even 4–6.
mechanic as symptoms worsen.   A countdown is always expressed in terms of a fast, me-
•• Drowning or suffocation. Characters who cannot dium, or slow countdown. The default countdown (if not
breath (underwater, or some other reason) use the specified) is a slow countdown expiring on rolls of 6.
countdown mechanic to determine when they lose
consciousness. Stabilizing and Replenishing Countdowns
•• Other ticking clocks. There are many other situa- Some countdowns can be stabilized or replenished.
tions where a ticking clock is relevant. Occasions  A stabilized countdown simply stops counting down—
where you need a tense situation as a character tries the trap has been disarmed in time, or the character is no
to do something before something else happens longer in danger of dying.
are ideal for it. Can a climber scale a crumbling cliff   Replenishing a countdown allows extra dice to be
before it collapses? Can a thief pick a lock before the added, effectively extending it. In this way, illnesses can
alarms go off? Can a cop defuse a bomb before it be pushed back “up” the countdown and dying characters
explodes? can be stabilized with emergency healing.
The countdown is started by forming a dice pool. Differ-   Not all countdowns can be stabilized or replenished;
ent situations will determine the size of that dice pool—a the specific countdown will clearly indicate whether or
dying character uses one equal in size to his Endurance not these are appropriate. Sometimes the cliff is going to
dice pool, for example, while cliffs or alarms will have crumble whatever you do—it’s just a question of whether
their dice pool size set by the GM. The larger the dice pool, you get to the top before that happens!
the longer you (probably) have.
  Each turn, the dice pool is rolled. Usually it’s rolled by Countdowns and Stages
the player in question—she rolls her own death dice, or Most countdowns are fairly simple—the dice pool is
her own drowning dice. rolled until it reaches zero, at which point an effect (death,
  Any die which comes up with a six is removed from the explosion, and so on) takes place. However, some count-
dice pool, and play continues. downs have effects which take place at various stages
  Eventually the last dice will be removed from the dice throughout the process. Stages take place as the dice pool
pool. It is then that the character dies, the trap explodes, reaches certain sizes. For example, an illness might have
or the soldier looks in the crate. a character becoming blind when the pool reaches two
dice, and dying when it reaches zero dice. All countdowns
technically have two stages—the starting condition and
the ending condition.

Average Countdown Length

The table below shows the expected (average) number of
rolls a countdown will last for before expiry. This can be
used by the GM to set appropriate countdown dice pools.

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Average Countdown Length (Number of Rolls)

Dice Pool Slow (6) Medium (5–6) Fast (4–6)
What Luck Represents
1d6 6 3 2 Luck can be interpreted in any way by characters
2d6 9 4 3 and creatures who use it. For some, it is merely co-
3d6 11 5 3 incidence and serendipity; for others it represents
4d6 12 6 4 cool and mojo; while for still others it may be divine in
5d6 13 6 4 origin, representing faith and blessings. However the
6d6 14 7 4 character interprets the concept of luck, it is used in
7d6 15 7 4 the same way.
8d6 15 7 4
9d6 16 7 5
Forming a Luck Pool
10d6 17 8 5 There are two ways to form a Luck pool, depending on
the style of game.
The Role of Luck • In normal mode, the LUC pool is equal to the
Luck is a special attribute. It is a renewable resource that associated dice pool of the character’s LUC
can be used to modify other die rolls and perform special attribute.
actions. It represents luck, fate, chance, destiny, faith, di- • In cinematic mode, the LUC pool is equal to the
vine favor, karma, and more. character’s LUC attribute.
  At the start of each game day, each player should form a • LUC pools are replenished once per day with a
Luck dice pool. As dice are used from the Luck pool, sim- 5-minute rest, unless otherwise stated.
ply discard them. Luck can be used to:
•• Add dice to any attribute check on a 1:1 basis.
•• Deduct dice from someone else’s attribute check on Exploding Dice
a 1:1 basis. Luck dice “explode.” This means that whenever a 6 is
•• Absorb dice of damage on a 1:1 basis. Note that frac- rolled, the die is rolled again and the new roll added to
tional dice cannot be absorbed (so of 2d6+3 damage, the original 6. This process is repeated if subsequent 6s
the 2d6 can be absorbed, but not the remaining 3). are rolled. It is recommended that Luck dice be a differ-
•• Add dice to a damage roll on a 1:1 basis. ent color than the other dice being rolled so that the Luck
•• Gain one bonus action on your turn. This can only dice can be easily distinguished.
be done during a character’s own turn.
•• Negate a temporary condition, if the LUC die is Leadership
spent at the same time the condition is applied. The Leadership exploit allows you to donate your LUC
•• Perform other special actions granted by careers dice to others. Without this exploit, you may only spend
and exploits. LUC on yourself. Characters with the Leadership exploit
Luck dice can only be used within an encounter; you can- may donate one or more of their available LUC dice to
not use Luck dice during downtime, or on daily checks. another character as a free reaction to their attempting
And the GM should disallow the use of Luck if she feels an attribute check. You must declare this before the ally
that a player is simply blowing all their Luck on a check rolls their check.
because it’s the only one they’ll make that day. In game
terms, being able to invest all your Luck in one go makes Replenishing Luck
sense only if you’ve had, or will have, a number of other Once per day, a character may spend 5 minutes to replen-
chances to be unlucky in the day (you’ve either saved up a ish his Luck pool. Some careers or traditions allow more
lucky moment or will have a chance to “pay it back”). frequent replenishment. These do not stack, and you can-
not gain more than one additional daily replenishment.

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Other Uses of Luck cover are vital components to a What’s O.L.D. is N.E.W.
Other uses of Luck manipulate situations where the odds combat encounter. Characters and their foes will move,
are normally even. use suppressive fire and overwatch, set up crossfires,
•• When determining a 50/50 chance of an outcome, and try to gain higher ground in an attempt to gain the
roll a Routine [10] Luck check instead. Characters advantage. Those who do not use these tactics will find it
with higher Luck succeed more often on an ostensi- difficult to succeed in combat-based situations.
bly 50/50 chance.
•• When randomly determining a PC, have each player The Combat Sequence
roll Luck. Either the highest or the lowest wins, Combat follows a set sequence. The encounter progresses
depending on the situation. in rounds, which are a small but unspecified unit of time
measured in seconds. In each round, every participant
Combat gets a turn which consists of one or more actions—mov-
While things like skills, hacking, chases, and social en- ing, shooting, aiming, giving emergency medical aid,
counters make up a large part of a campaign, combat is an attacking with martial arts, climbing a ladder, and so on.
important pillar of the game. Characters will sometimes   The order in which combatants act is determined by
find themselves in situations which can only be resolved their Initiative score, which is determined by making
by violence—and it is then that the bullets and grenades an attribute check. Those with higher scores act first, fol-
start flying, and the fists start swinging. lowed by those with lower scores.
  Combat takes place on a battlemap. A battlemap is a   When combat begins, follow the procedure outlined
grid on the tabletop which depicts the environment. Each below.
square on the grid represents 5’. Players place miniatures 1. Make attribute checks—if appropriate—for ac-
(or other tokens) on the map to represent their charac- cess to the ambush turn. Those who succeed take
ters, and the GM places miniatures to represent their one action; all actions in the ambush turn occur
opponents. simultaneously.
  Combat is a tactical skirmish-like affair. Position and 2. Everyone rolls Initiative. This is simply an
Intuition check, although some characters may
get bonuses from skills or other abilities. On a tie,
compare Agility, and if still tied, simply have each
roll 1d6 and the highest wins.
3. All combatants then act in order from highest
initiative to lowest. Each character may take two
actions unless otherwise noted. An action is a
move, an attack, or a regular action. You can move
twice, or attack twice, or move and attack, or any
other combination. Creatures with three actions
take two actions on their turn and one action on
their Initiative count –10. Those with four or more
actions take two actions on their turn and one ac-
tion every 5 Initiative counts later up to their total
number of actions.
4. Once everybody has acted, return to step 3 and
repeat until the combat ends.

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Actions and Turns

A turn represents a short but unspecified length of time
measured in seconds. Most characters have two actions
to use each turn, unless they have an ability which says
otherwise, and some creatures have more. These actions
can be spent to move, fight, or perform other tasks, and
can be performed in any order. For example, a character
might move and then fire his pistol, or vice versa.

Number of Actions for Some Common Activities

Activity Actions
Aim or feint 1
Draw or sheath a weapon Free
Drop an item Free
Drop to prone or crouch Free
Fire a ranged weapon or make a melee attack 1 The Ambush Turn
Go into overwatch  1* Before a fight starts, combatants can attempt to get the
Move your Speed 1 jump on each other. In practical terms, that commonly
Open an unlocked door or chest 1 involves one of two things: unexpectedly initiating com-
Perform emergency healing 2 bat, or ambushing an enemy from hiding. However, it can
Pick a lock (and open the door) or disarm a trap 2 involve any participant-initiated strategy.
Pick up an item 1   If nobody is attempting to ambush the other, or if all
Reload or recharge a weapon or item Varies combatants encounter each other simultaneously and
Shake off a condition 1 launch straight into combat, the ambush turn is skipped.
Stand from prone 1 Only use the ambush turn if one group is deliberately
*Going into overwatch always ends a character’s turn. trying to get the jump on the other. From a PC point of
view, the ambush turn can only be accessed if the party
While characters typically have two actions to use in each specifically attempts to do so before combat begins; once
turn, there are additional action types which can be taken: everybody realizes a fight is breaking out, the ambush
•• Free actions use none of the character’s actions, turn is long past.
and must be taken in the character’s turn. Only one   Getting an ambush requires a group check. Either the
free action is permitted to a character per round. whole group succeeds, or none of them do. This check is
•• Reactions take place outside a character’s turn opposed by the leader (or the lookout, or the otherwise
in response to a specified trigger. Many exploits most alert or perceptive) of the target group. As always
provide reactions. Only one reaction is permitted to with group checks, success requires more than half the
a character per round. participants to make a successful check.
•• Bonus actions can be provided by spending a Luck   Anybody trying to gain access to the ambush turn needs
die. Only one Luck die can be spent by a character to win an opposed attribute check against the intended
in this way per turn. Bonus actions take place in the targets. This is usually an AGI (stealth) or CHA (bluff), but
character’s own turn. the GM should allow any reasonable plan from a player.
Even if a creature is able to use more than two actions in a   All actions that take place during the ambush turn take
turn, it cannot repeat a given action more than twice. For place simultaneously, and creatures with access to the
example, a creature with 3 actions can only move twice, ambush turn may take only one action during the am-
not three times. bush turn.

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Movement
Movement is a vital part of any combat encounter. Any
Long-Distance Travel
creature can use one action to move up to its Speed. A Long-distance movement takes place at a charac-
creature’s Speed indicates the number of 5-foot incre- ter’s Speed in mph. Hustling (moving with both actions
ments (squares) it can move in one action (it also indicates in a turn) doubles this movement rate but can only be
its normal speed in miles-per-hour). sustained for a number of hours equal to half a char-
  Speed is the total of the raw dice pool of Strength and acter’s Endurance attribute before an equal period of
Agility plus one relevant skill. Movement skills include rest is required.
(but are not limited to) running, climbing, swimming, fly-
ing, and zero-g.
  Movement methods. For non-primary movement attempt another check next turn. A high quality climbing
methods, the movement rate is halved. For most charac- kit can assist with climbing. The surface determines the
ters, this means that walking/running is at the full rate, difficulty of the climb.
and climbing, swimming, zero-g, etc. are at half rate (after
adding the bonus from the skill). Some exploits may grant Climbing and Balancing Checks
a full movement rate. Some creatures (such as birds) may Situation Difficulty
have a different primary movement mode, and walk/run Cliff, rough, many handholds Challenging [13]
at half speed. A skill cannot turn a movement method into Brick or stone wall, few handholds Difficult [16]
a primary method; only an exploit can do that. Ice or smooth metal Demanding [21]
  Vehicles. Vehicles have their own Speed. Driver and Overhand or ceiling Demanding [21]
passengers move with the vehicle for free when it moves; Narrow ledge or plank Challenging [13]
the driver must spend one of his actions driving. Tightrope Strenuous [25]
  Hustling. A character who moves with two actions in
a turn is “hustling,” and effectively moving at twice its   Fighting while climbing. Fighting while hanging from
normal speed. Creatures with more than two actions a wall is difficult. A non-climber attacking a climber gains
available may not move more than twice in a turn. An a +2d6 bonus to the attack. A climber attacking a non-
Olympic sprinter typically has a Speed of 10 or more, and climber suffers a –2d6 penalty. If both combatants are
is using both actions to run, resulting in movement in the climbing, nobody gets any bonuses or penalties.
range of 20 miles per hour.   Creatures with primary climbing modes. If a crea-
  Grids. If no grid is being used, the creature can move a ture has climbing as a natural movement mode, it simply
number of inches on the tabletop equal to its Speed. If a moves its Speed along walls and ceilings with no checks
square grid is being used, a diagonal movement counts as requires or combat checks imposed.
5’, but creatures may not move diagonally around a corner.   Falling. Characters who fall from a height take 1d6 dam-
  Difficult terrain. Difficult terrain (deep snow, swamp, age for every 10’ fallen. (Falls of less than 10’ do not cause
ice, high or low gravity, etc.) halves ground movement damage.) Any fall results in the character landing prone
rates. Some exploits may allow full movement rates on unless an AGI check with a difficulty value equal to the
one or more difficult terrain types. number of feet fallen is made (this represents an attempt to
  Climbing and balancing. Climbing is an AGI check. A reduce falling damage by jumping down; see below).
successful check allows the climber to move at her climb   Jumping. Every character and creature has a “free”
speed up a vertical surface. The climber need only make Jump allowance noted on its character sheet or stat block.
one check per turn—this check applies to all climbing This is a distance that the character may make a running
movement in that turn. Balancing on a narrow ledge or jump without making any check at all; it simply happens
beam is a form of climbing. A failed check simply means automatically (for a standing jump, simply half the val-
that the character cannot climb the wall or object. She may ues). A jump counts as one action.

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Important Combat Actions

Making an Attack
Move Spending attack dice is an important part of com-
The character, vehicle, or creature moves their Speed as bat, and without it a character may find it difficult to
indicated in the Movement section, above. do much damage. It is fundamental to the way that
powerful or accurate attacks do a lot of damage or
Attack achieve special effects. The larger your dice pool, the
Attacks take the form of ranged attacks or melee attacks. more you have to spend on damage and effects. Fol-
A ranged attack uses a bow, gun, thrown weapon, or other low this process:
form of ranged weapon. A melee attack is either unarmed • Form your dice pool from attribute + skill +
(punches, kicks, claws, bites, and the like) or uses a melee equipment up to your maximum dice pool.
weapon such as a sword or club. • Adjust the dice pool for positional factors
 A melee attack is performed by rolling a STR or AGI (cover, range, etc.)
check (attacker’s choice unless otherwise noted) against • Choose how much of the final dice pool to
the target’s Melee Defense. spend on damage and effects.
 A ranged attack is performed by rolling an AGI or INT • You may add Luck dice, which enables you to
check (attacker’s choice unless otherwise noted) against exceed your maximum dice pool.
the target’s Ranged Defense. Longer ranges can reduce   Spending on damage. Everybody can spend attack
the number of dice rolled. dice on damage; this allows you to choose between
 An area attack is made against a target’s Vital De- easier, less damaging attacks or more difficult, more
fense. One roll is made, and the result compared to the damaging attacks. Before making an attack roll,
defense values of all potential targets. spend two dice for each extra die of damage you wish
  On a successful hit, the attacker rolls damage (in d6s) to do. A base attack, with no dice spent on extra dam-
according to the weapon. Armor reduces this damage by age, will often be easy but have little effect.
its Soak value. The resulting damage is deducted from the   Spending on effects. Your exploits tell you what
target’s Health. For area attacks, only roll damage once effects you can spend attack dice on. You can spend
and apply it to all targets. dice on knockdowns, disarms, blinding attacks, trips,
  If triple-sixes are rolled on the attack roll, a critical hit arm-locks, and many more effects.
occurs. A critical hit automatically hits, and inflicts a con-
dition on the target, as explained later. Additionally, the
damage dice on a critical hit explode. However, creatures •• Make an unarmed melee attack normally and if you
immune to a specific damage type do not suffer critical hit you grab your target, giving it the Restrained
hits from that damage type. condition. You must pay an additional 1d6 for each
size category that the target is larger than you, and
Ordinary Attacks also if the target has more than two legs or has no
When you make an attack, choose one of the following legs. You can apply this condition twice to increase
options as long as (a) it makes sense, and (b) the target is the level of the Restrained condition.
not immune to that condition or action. You cannot, for •• Make an unarmed melee attack or an attack with a
example, disarm a tiger, trip a snake, or grab a hologram. small melee weapon normally vs. Vital Defense,
•• Make any attack normally and if you hit you inflict and if you hit you escape a grab and remove the
your normal damage. Restrained condition.

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Dual-Wielding
Sometimes a character might have a weapon in each  Offense. When a shield or a weapon is used for offense
hand. This might be a pair of knives, or a pair of pistols; it it cannot grant a defensive bonus until the start of the
might be a sword and a dagger; it even includes—techni- wielder’s next turn. Instead, it grants an additional attack
cally—the use of a sword and shield. Dual-wielding also as a free action if the wielder has attacked twice already
includes the use of double weapons, such as a two-blad- in the round (in other words, the wielder can spend two
ed sword. actions to get three attacks—two with the primary and
Generally speaking, any single-handed item (weapon or one with the off-hand weapon). If an off-hand weapon
shield) can be used for offense or defense. Most items is used for offense, all the character’s attacks for that
can be used for offense, including shields; shields and round are subjected to a –2d6 die penalty.
weapons with the Shield trait can be used for defense.  Attributes. Dual-wielding characters must use their
Even improvised weapons and other items can be used, AGI attribute to attack with their secondary weapon.
although they are subject to the usual improvisation They cannot use STR (melee) or INT (ranged).
penalties, which may make them near useless to all but  Ambidexterity. Characters with the Ambidexter-
the most proficient of combatants. ity trait do not suffer the –2d6 penalty to attacks when
  Defense. When a shield or a weapon with the shield dual-wielding.
trait is used for defense, it grants a bonus to the wielder’s  Shields. As mentioned above, shields can also be used
Defense scores. Characters are assumed to use these in offense. Shields typically do 1d6 blunt damage (or 1d6
items for defense unless they specifically choose to use piercing damage for a spiked shield).
them for offense. Double weapons and missile weapons  Exploits. You can incorporate exploits into attacks,
cannot usually be used for defense, and weapons with but exploits can only each be used once per round as
the Shield trait only apply to Melee Defense. normal (and thus usually only apply to one attack).

Called Shots •• Make a Called Shot, and if you hit you knock or trip
Additionally, you may pay 2d6 and spend two actions to your target prone. You must pay an additional 1d6
make a Called Shot against Vital Defense and choose for each size category that the target is larger than
one of the following options: you, and also if the target has more than two legs or
•• Make a Called Shot, and if you hit you move your has no legs.
target one square (plus up to one square for each •• Make a Called Shot, and if you hit you disarm your
size category by which you exceed the target in opponent, giving it the Disarmed condition.
melee, or by which your weapon exceeds the target •• Make a Called Shot, and if you hit you disable your
at range). You must pay an additional 1d6 for each target, giving it the Slowed condition.
size category that the target is larger than you, and •• Make a Called Shot specific to your target as out-
another 1d6 if the target has more than two legs or lined in its stat-block.
has no legs.
  The movement you apply to your target must Aiming & Feinting
be one that makes sense; for example, if it is the Aiming or feinting, both of which are universal exploits,
result of a blow or ranged attack, your target will be cost one action and grant a +1d6 bonus to an attack roll
pushed away from you. taken in the same turn. The attack action must come
immediately after the aiming or feinting action. All char-
acters get either Aim or Feint for free. Aiming applies to
ranged attacks, while feinting applies to melee attacks.

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Positional Effects
Combat in What’s O.L.D. is N.E.W. is a highly position-
al, tactical affair. Using crossfires and avoiding getting
pinned down or falling into the enemy’s crossfires, com-
batants move about the battlemap in an attempt to gain
an advantage over their foes.
  The five important positional effects are range, higher
ground, cover, getting pinned down, and crossfires/flanks.

Range
In ranged combat, every weapon has a range increment.
Any ranged attack which exceeds that range increment
suffers a –1d6 die penalty for each range increment be-
yond the first. Unless otherwise noted, weapons can only
fire out to five range increments.

Higher Ground
Combatants on higher ground than their targets gain a
+1d6 bonus to attack them. Higher ground is defined as at
Overwatch least 5’ for melee attacks or at least 10’ for ranged attacks.
Overwatch is a special type of action. When you choose
to enter overwatch, you wait ready with a ranged weapon Cover
to fire on any targets which make themselves available. Targets without cover are very vulnerable to gunfire and
Usually this means targets which break cover and enter other missile fire. A target In Cover inflicts a –2d6 penalty
your line of sight, but you can attach any trigger to it. For to attack rolls made against him (although this can be al-
example, overwatch can be used to cover prisoners, with leviated by the “pinned down” rule, below).
the intention of shooting them if they move. You enter   It’s important to distinguish between cover and blocked
overwatch in your turn, and remain in overwatch until line of sight. A character cannot be completely immune
the start of your next turn. to gunfire and simultaneously able to fire himself, and
  You may only fire on a given target once during a turn cannot be in a position where line of sight is completely
when on overwatch, and may only fire when the target blocked except for when he pops up to fire his pistol.
has zero cover. Your shot interrupts his turn at the earliest   There are three positions which require a move action
point possible. to switch between:
  The maximum number of targets you can fire upon dur- •• Open: A character without the benefit of any cover
ing a turn when in overwatch is equal to your Intuition is considered In the Open.
attribute. Each subsequent target beyond the first takes a •• Cover: If a character can fire on an enemy without
–1d6 penalty to hit. expending a move action, he is In Cover; line of sight
  Entering overwatch uses one action and always ends is not blocked.
your turn, so it should be the final action taken by a crea- •• Blocked: If a character must spend a move action
ture. Your overwatch status lasts until you take another to fire upon an enemy, line of sight is Blocked. The
action. A very common maneuver used by SWAT teams move action need not involve leaving the square;
is to use two actions to move and then enter overwatch, what’s important is that a move action is needed to
proceeding from one location of cover to the next. This is a move to a firing position, and another one is needed
very effective tactic for advancing safely upon the enemy. to move back to the fully blocked position.

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Getting Pinned Down Ranged Modifiers

An attacker can “pin down” a target, chipping away at his Situation Modifier
cover. Each round that an attacker fires at a target in cover, Cover –2d6
he gains a cumulative +1d6 bonus to hit it. If he misses a Crossfire/flank +1d6 for each attacker
round, the bonus resets to +0d6 again. If the target moves beyond the first
10’, the bonus resets to +0d6. Range increments –1d6 for each increment
beyond the first
Crossfires & Flanks Firing into melee –2d6
In an exchange of ranged weapon fire, every soldier Higher ground (at least 10’) +1d6
dreads being caught in a crossfire. Avoiding missiles from Obscured (smoke, darkness, etc.) –2d6
multiple directions is extremely difficult. Pinned down +1d6 per round
 A crossfire exists if two attackers are positioned at Prone target –1d6
greater than 90-degree angles to each other with respect
to the target. Each of the attackers beyond the first grants a Melee Modifiers
cumulative +1d6 bonus to ranged attacks against that tar- Situation Modifier
get (making a maximum bonus of +3d6 for four attackers). Flanking target +1d6
 A flank is the melee equivalent of a crossfire. Helpless target Automatic critical hit
Higher ground (at least 5’) +1d6
Other Modifiers Prone target +2d6
Other things can affect an attack roll. Sneak/target unaware +2d6
  It is harder to shoot someone engaged in melee combat
without endangering your ally. Such attacks take a –2d6
cover penalty, although some exploits can reduce this.
Similarly, in darkness or under cover of obscuring fog or
smoke, a –2d6 cover penalty is inflicted.
  A prone target is harder to hit at range (a penalty of –1d6)
but easier to hit in melee (+2d6).

Facing
The direction you face can matter when using miniatures
in combat. It determines whether somebody is attacking
you from the rear, and which directions certain attacks
can be used in.
  You can change which direction you face at any time
while moving. If you don’t move in your turn, you can still
change your facing for free at any point during your turn.
This is not an actual action or a free action.
  Most attacks can be used in any direction. However,
occasionally an attack will only be valid in a particular
direction—a vehicle’s flamethrower might only be able to
affect a cone to the front, for example. If this is the case,
the attack (or exploit) will specify that direction.

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Vehicle Combat Turning

Sometimes characters will engage in combat from aboard The driver may turn the vehicle. He may alter its course by
a vehicle; this may involve vehicles fighting each other, up to 45 degrees. Every vehicle has a turning circle which
or pedestrians fighting against or with vehicles. Vehicles indicates how many squares it must move forward before
follow the following rules when involved in a combat making a turn; as long as the vehicle follows this rule,
situation. leaving the requisite amount of squares between turns of
  Vehicles are placed on the battlemap, and usually take up to 45 degrees, it may turn as often in a round as the
up two or more squares (motorcycles only take up one driver wishes. See the diagram on the next page.
square). A vehicle’s stats indicate the number of occu-   A vehicle’s turning circle is equal to its current speed
pants (including the driver) it may carry. multiplied by its Handling, divided by 5 (round down to
  The vehicle is essentially an extension of its driver. It a minimum of 1). A Handling 3 car moving at a velocity of
acts on the driver’s Initiative, and moves on the driver’s 6 has a turning circle of (3 x 6) ÷ 5 = 3. A smaller Handling
turn. Other occupants act on their own turns, as normal. 1 motorcycle moving at the same velocity has a turning
However, passengers move for free automatically with the circle of just 1 hex, while a Handling 5 truck at that speed
vehicle, as you would expect. has a turning circle of 6.
  For convenience, you can also use the table below to de-
Initiative termine a vehicle’s turning circle. You should record the
The driver rolls Initiative as normal. The vehicle’s Han- turning circle values for the vehicle on its stat block.
dling score provides a bonus or penalty to the driver’s
Initiative roll. Vehicle Turning Circles
Handling
Initiative Modifiers from Vehicle Handling Speed 1 2 3 4 5 6
Handling Initiative 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 +1d6 2 1 1 1 1 2 2
2 +1d6 3 1 1 1 2 3 3
3 — 4 1 1 2 3 4 4
4 — 5 1 2 3 4 5 6
5 –1d6 6 1 2 3 4 6 7
6 –2d6 7 1 2 4 5 7 7
8 1 3 4 6 8 10
Movement 9 1 3 5 7 9 10
A vehicle moves forward on its driver’s turn. The driver 10 2 4 6 8 10 12
spends one of his actions driving the vehicle. The passen- 11 2 4 6 8 11 12
gers do not need to spend actions to move, as they move 12 2 4 7 9 12 14
for free with the vehicle. 13 2 5 7 10 13 15
  A vehicle moves its current velocity; on the driver’s turn, 14 2 5 8 11 14 16
as part of his driving action, he may increase or decrease 15 3 6 9 12 15 18
the vehicle’s velocity by an amount up to its Accelera- 16 3 6 9 12 16 19
tion score. For example, if the vehicle is moving at Speed
10, and has an Accel of 3, he may brake and reduce the Actions
Speed to 7, or he may put his foot down and increase it to The occupants of a vehicle can act as normal. They may
13. The vehicle cannot move faster than the Speed score shoot with handheld weapons normally, or they can use
listed in its stat block. vehicle-mounted weapons (using the gunnery skill); or, of
course, they can take any other action they are capable of.

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VEHICLE TURNING DIAGRAM

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  Shooting at occupants. If a vehicle’s occupant is tar-

geted by a weapon, the occupant gains the benefit of the
vehicle’s Soak score or his own Soak score, whichever is
higher, and uses his own Ranged Defense score or the
vehicle’s (whichever is higher—remember, the vehicle
adds its current speed to its Defense score). Occupants
also have cover (–2d6 to hit) unless they are on a motor-
cycle or other open vehicle.
  Critical hits. Critical hits work slightly differently when
a vehicle is the target. Roll on the following table when a
critical hit is scored.

Vehicle Critical Hits

2d6 Location Effect
2 Weapon Weapon is damaged and inoperable
3 Tire Spin out (see below)
4 Engine Reduce max Speed by 1d6
5 Driver 1d6 damage to driver (no Soak)
The driver must use one of his actions moving the vehicle 6 Windshield Reduce Handling by 1 class
(unless it is stationary); he can use his remaining action as 7 Chassis No additional effect
he wishes. However, any action taken while driving suf- 8 Passenger 1d6 damage to passenger (no Soak)
fers a -2d6 complication penalty. 9 Fuel tank Vehicle catches fire, taking 1d6 dam-
age each round; roll to end this condi-
Firing Weapons tion as you would any other condition.
Weapons can be operated by vehicle occupants. Weap- 10 Engine Reduce Accel by 1.
ons have a firing arc, unless they are turreted, granting a 11 Tire Spin out (see below).
360-degree firing arc. Line of sight is required unless the 12 Weapon Weapon is damaged and inoperable.
weapon is designated Artillery. Some weapons are linked,
which means one occupant fires both at the same time. Collisions
  An occupant uses Agility or Intuition to fire (as nor- There are four types of collisions: head-on, rear-end,
mal), and applies the usual range increment penalties. T‑bone, and sideswipe. When a collision takes place, all
Attacks are made against the target vehicle’s Defense; vehicles spin out unless the driver makes a successful
vehicles add their current speed to their Defense score, check (see below). Both vehicles take damage equal to
making fast-moving vehicles harder to hit. three times the collision speed:
  Weapon damage is reduced by a vehicle’s Soak and •• Head-on. Two vehicles collide and each is in the
then applied to its Health. other’s front arc. Add their current speeds together.
•• Rear-end. A vehicle collides with the rear arc of
Vehicle Movement Modifiers to Hit another vehicle. Deduct the black vehicle’s speed
Situation Modifier from the red vehicle’s speed.
Stationary target +1d6 •• T-bone. A vehicle collides with the side arc of an-
Rear attack +1d6 other vehicle. Use the speed of the red car.
Forward-mounted weapons +1d6 •• Sideswipe. The result of a maneuver in which two
Per range increment –1d6 vehicles collide with the side arcs of each other. Use
Aft-mounted weapons –1d6 half of the faster vehicle’s speed.

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Spinning Out Stunts

Spinning out occurs when: A number of maneuvers are available as exploits, includ-
1. The driver is injured. ing emergency stop, handbrake turn (J-turn), and more.
2. A tire is damaged. The driver may use his action to perform these exploits.
3. A collision takes place.   All vehicles can attempt a jump as long as a ramp is
4. The vehicle enters or begins its turn on slippery present. The vehicle jumps as part of its Speed (it cannot
terrain (oil slicks, ice, etc.) accelerate or decelerate while airborne), but the maxi-
5. After a jump. mum distance it can jump is equal to its half its current
The driver may attempt to prevent the vehicle from spin- speed divided by its Handling (round down). For ex-
ning out by making an AGI check (bolstered by his driving ample, a generic compact automobile moving at Speed 12
skill, if he has it) with a difficulty equal to three times the with Handling 3 can jump 2 squares, while a motorcycle
vehicle’s current speed. moving at Speed 18 with Handling 1 can jump 9 squares.
  If the vehicle spins out, it comes to a stop in a randomly   Jumping is one thing, however. Landing is another. A
determined square half its current speed from the point vehicle automatically spins out (see above) when it lands
where it span out. Also roll 1d6; on a roll of 5, it ends up on after a jump, unless the driver is able to prevent it from
its side, and on a 6 it ends up upside down. doing so.
  A vehicle which spins out causes 1d6 damage to all oc-
cupants. This damage cannot be Soaked.

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Injury & Death Recovering Health

It’s a dangerous world, and many activities—especially
combat—risk injury or death. While combat is the most No creature can benefit from a given source or type of
common cause of injury, there are many ways in which a healing more than once per day.
creature might suffer damage. Falling from a great height,
falling victim to a trap, suffering environmental effects,
and many more things add to the wide range of ways in Health can also be recovered in other ways. Certain
which a character can be harmed. Harm takes three com- drugs and career exploits can grant the ability to heal
mon forms: other creatures or regain one’s own Health.
•• Health. As a creature takes damage, its Health   Additionally, anybody can attempt to perform emer-
is reduced. When Health reaches zero or lower, gency healing. Emergency healing is applied to a patient
the creature is unconscious and at risk of death. which has been reduced to zero Health or lower, and
Health can be recovered in a variety of ways. takes two actions. To perform emergency healing, simply
•• Conditions. Conditions apply specific “statuses” to make a LOG check (with dice pool contributions from rel-
a character, such as Fatigued, Bleeding, or Con- evant skills and equipment) equal to the negative Health
fused. Each condition inflicts specific penalties. value of the patient (with a minimum difficulty of Rou-
Conditions can be temporary or permanent. tine  [10]). If successful, the patient is stabilized and the
•• Illnesses and diseases. Individual diseases like death pool stops ticking. The patient will, of course, still
pneumonia, influenza, or even bubonic plague can be at negative Health at this point, and some way to re-
have specific effects on a creature. Illnesses have store Health will be required.
long-term effects that can last days, weeks, or longer.
Critical Hits
Health Damage When an attack is made, if triple-sixes are rolled then a
A character’s Health score is a measure of her physical critical hit takes place and the target gains a temporary
and mental condition. The lower a character’s Health condition. The condition is dependent on the type of dam-
score, the closer to unconsciousness and death that char- age the attack does. Use the following table; the GM may,
acter is. Any attack can cause damage, and this damage is at her discretion, choose another condition.
deducted directly from the target’s Health score. When
Health is zero or lower, the character is unconscious and Critical Hit Effects
in danger of death. Damage Type Resulting Condition
  When a character is reduced to zero Health or lower, Acid Pain
he immediately forms a dice pool equal in size to her Ballistic Bleeding
Endurance dice pool. This dice pool represents the clock Blunt Dazed
ticking down as he slides towards death. Every time his Cold Slowed
turn comes around, he throws the dice pool once. Any Electricity Dazed
dice which come up 6 get removed from the pool. When Fire/Heat Burning
he has no dice left, he dies. Piercing Bleeding
  Each time an unconscious character takes additional Poison Poisoned
damage, one die is removed from the dice pool. The Psionic Dazed
amount of damage does not make any difference. Slashing Bleeding
  Once per day, typically after a night’s sleep, a character Sonic Deaf
may spend one hour to recover Health. The amount re-
covered is equal to one roll of her END dice pool.

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Conditions Bonuses
Each condition has two effects. In the lists below, the first Some creatures gain bonuses to shake off conditions.
time a condition is inflicted, the target suffers from the ef- •• Humans gain +1 to any die roll made to shake off a
fect in the first bullet-point. If they are affected twice by a condition.
condition, this is called a severe condition, and the second •• Many creatures are immune to certain conditions,
bullet-point is used. have an ability to shake conditions off automatically,
  Conditions can represent different things—paralysis or gain bonuses to shake off conditions. These abili-
might be caused by freezing, petrifaction, entanglement, ties are noted in the creature’s stat block.
and so on, and blindness might be a medical issue or the
result of a blindfold. Illnesses & Disease
From bubonic plague to influenza, illnesses can be debili-
Removing Conditions tating without a trained medic to treat them.
Shaking off temporary conditions is simple: just roll 1d6.   Illnesses and disease all use a countdown pool, usu-
On a roll of 5 or 6, the condition is removed. ally based on the victim’s END attribute, although some
  Shaking off a specific condition takes one action, and are based on other attributes, including mental illnesses
can only be attempted once per turn. Conditions which do based on WIL. Some stronger or weaker viruses and dis-
not allow you to take actions still allow you to try to shake eases may increase or decrease the start of the countdown
off conditions (in effect, all conditions have a chance of pool. Most countdown pools require a check every day,
simply ending on their own). but a few may allow for weekly checks or inflict hourly
  You may use multiple actions to try to shake off multiple checks. This information is noted in the table below.
conditions.   Unless otherwise noted, a creature infected with any
  At the GM’s discretion, suitable methods can be used disease suffers one or more conditions until cured.
to end a condition (diving into water when on fire, for
example). Catching a Disease
  Shaking off a condition is an action; it might be a physi- To be affected by a disease, a character is subjected to an
cal action (wiping blood from your eyes to remove the attack against Vital Defense. This could be as a result
Blind condition), or an effort of will (summoning up the of a creature attack, or poison, or even an attack by the
courage to ignore the Afraid condition). It might even in- environment. If the attack is successful, the character
volve healing or application of medicine. contracts the disease.
  Removing a severe condition removes that condition in   Each disease mentions the basic method of transmission.
its entirety; it does not reduce the condition down to its
lower state. Treating Diseases
Treating a disease requires a LOG check. This must be
Persistent Conditions performed at the same time interval that the disease pro-
Some conditions cannot be shaken off. Persistent condi- gresses—so if a disease requires daily dice pool rolls, the
tions are not cleared until the creature gets a full night’s LOG check must be made daily. Of course, medical skills
rest (unless another duration is specified. Some condi- and facilities help enormously with the LOG check. The
tions cannot be persistent (these would kill any creature difficulty of the LOG check is noted in the table below.
long before the day was out). These are marked with an   Success. Every time the LOG check is successfully
asterisk. made, the dice pool is increased by 1d6. Sometimes this
means that the progression will be held steady temporar-
Conditions and Luck Dice ily (since the dice pool is being depleted by time) but it can
You can use a LUC die to cancel out a condition. You must also mean that the pool grows in size.
do this as a reaction when the condition is initially applied.

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List of Conditions
Afraid Confused
The target displays fear towards the attacker. The target is confused and unsure of his surroundings.
• You cannot approach the source of your fear. • You drop any items you are holding and cannot tell
• You must flee the source of your fear, or simply friend from foe.
cower if that is not possible. • Roll 1d6 to determine your condition each turn: (1)
Angry afraid, (2) angry, (3) forgetful, (4) manic, (5) drunk,
The target feels irrational anger. (6) dazed.
• You cannot take any non-attack actions other than Dazed
moving directly towards an enemy. The target is unstable and disoriented.
• You must attack the nearest foe. If none are avail- • You lose one action per round and any hit knocks
able, you must attack the nearest ally. you prone.
Bleeding* • You cannot take any actions.
The target suffers ongoing damage from a lingering Deaf
wound. The target’s hearing is affected by a ringing in the ears or
• You take 1d6 damage at the start of your turn. a physical obstruction.
• You take 2d6 damage at the start of your turn. • You cannot hear sounds more than 30’ away and
Blind suffer –1d6 to Perception and Initiative.
The target’s vision is obscured by a helm, blood, or wound. • You cannot hear anything and suffer –2d6 to
• Your vision is limited to 30’, and you move at half Perception and Initiative.
Speed. You cannot benefit from flanks or crossfires. Disarmed
• You cannot see, cannot use ranged weapons, move The target’s weapon is temporarily dropped, broken,
at half Speed, and suffer –2d6 to all sight-based jammed, or entangled.
actions. • Your weapon cannot be used.
Burning* • As above, but the condition now requires a 6 to end.
The target suffers ongoing damage from fire, acid, or a Disarmored
similar substance. The target’s armor is displaced, straps are cut, or a sig-
• You take 1d6 fire damage per round. Clothes are nificant opening is made.
ruined. • You have half Soak (round up).
• You take 2d6 fire damage per round. Clothes, hair, • You have no Soak.
and eyebrows are ruined. Downed
Charmed The target is knocked to the floor.
The target feels friendship and loyalty towards the • You are prone and cannot stand.
attacker. • You are prone and helpless; your Defenses become
• You will not attack the source of the charm, nor 10.
will you willingly allow harm to come to them; Drunk
neither do you provide flank or crossfire bonuses The target is intoxicated by drink, drugs, or another sub-
against them. stance, or is punch-drunk from a heavy blow.
• You will obey commands which do not overly • You cannot move more than once in a round.
conflict with your nature or which are obviously • You cannot move, but at the start of your turn you
harmful to you. wander 1d6 squares in a random direction.

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List of Conditions, continued

Fatigued Restrained
The target is weary, finding loads heavy as exhaustion The target is grabbed, entangled, frozen, or otherwise
sets in. prevented from moving.
• You lose one action per round and your Carry • You cannot move from your current square. If a
increment is halved. creature has grabbed you, you can only attack it
• Your maximum Health is halved, in addition to the with small one-handed weapons or with unarmed
above effects. attacks.
Forgetful • You cannot take any actions except attempt to
The target suffers from amnesia. escape, and your physical Defenses drop to 10 to
• You cannot use any of your skills or spells. all except the creature restraining you.
• You cannot remember anything, including who you Sick
are or who your allies are. The target is nauseous and unable to act as normal.
Manic • You cannot jump and you can lose one action per
The target is overly happy, joyous, and mirthful. round.
• You cannot take hostile or aggressive actions. • You suffer –2d6 to all attribute checks, as well as
• You are convulsed with laughter and can take no the above effects.
other actions. Sleeping
Pained The target is sent to sleep by magic or a heavy blow.
An injury causes the target pain in sufficient degree that • You are drowsy and lethargic. You may only act
it restricts movement. once each turn.
• You take 1d6 damage if you take a second action in • You are asleep, and cannot be woken.
a turn. Slowed
• You take 1d6 damage if you take any actions. The target suffers a leg injury, or another effect which
Placid reduces speed.
You become non-aggressive and suggestible. • Your Speed scores are halved and you suffer –4 to
• You cannot take aggressive actions. physical Defenses.
• You do whatever anybody tells you as long as it • Your Speed scores are halved, your physical
doesn’t harm you. Defenses become 10, and you lose one action per
Poisoned turn.
The target is infected by a toxic substance.
• You cannot heal wounds.
• You take 1d6 poison damage at the start of each
turn.

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  Curing. If three successful checks in a row are made, infected creature, generating cysts that travel through the
with no failures in-between, the illness is cured. digestive system before exploding in the intestines, where
  Failure. If the pool is depleted to zero, the victim per- amoebas burrow into the organ’s walls and create abscess-
manently suffers the effect noted—often death. If the es or ulcers. Victims are Sick while suffering this disease.
victim is still alive at this stage, permanent effects can be   Hookworm. Always take care to make sure that
removed with major medical task. The difficulty of this whatever water you find in the jungle, you clean it care-
task is noted in the table below. fully—otherwise you may soon find yourself with a
hookworm living in your intestines. There is no obvious
List of Diseases immediate means to determine this infection has taken
The list of diseases runs the gamut from serious to very root aside from anemia and iron/protein-deficiency,
serious. and once the victim starts coughing, feeling chest pain,
  Bacterial pneumonia. This sickness causes fever, rig- wheezing, and becomes feverish, they are suffering more
ors, coughing of blood, dyspnea, chest pains, and teeth from the hookworm’s larva than anything else. Victims
chattering as fluid continually fills the victim’s lungs. Vic- are Sick while suffering this disease.
tims are Sick while suffering this disease.   Influenza. The common flu is deceptively dangerous
  Bubonic plague. This incredibly potent disease has, at despite the effectiveness of vaccinations. Victims are Fa-
times throughout history, wiped out entire thirds of pop- tigued while suffering this disease.
ulations. Any contact with an infected creature’s blood,   Macrovirus. This airborne illness is particularly dan-
saliva, or bodily fluid chances transmission of the disease gerous because it reduces the victim’s desire to actually
(which, even with excellent care, has only a 50% survival do anything about it. The illness causes extreme lethargy,
rate). Victims suffer from gangrene of the extremities, worsening to the point where the victim will not eat, and
chills, malaise, fever, muscle cramps, seizures, and swell- simply wastes away. Victims are Fatigued while suffering
ing of the initial infection site, lymph glands, armpits, and this disease.
groin. Victims are Sick while suffering this disease.   Radiation sickness. Radiation sickness is a painful,
  Dysentery. One of the most common killers of soldiers debilitating condition which ends in the victim’s death.
throughout the 18th and 19th century, this disease is the Symptoms include vomiting, intestinal pain, bleeding,
result of poor sanitation and hygiene. Victims have drunk hair loss, and fever. Victims are Poisoned while suffering
or eaten something with traces of feces from an already this disease.

Diseases
Illness Transmisison Pool Interval Difficulty End Effect
Bacterial Pneumonia Airborne END Daily Difficult [13] Death
Bubonic Plague Exposure END Daily Demanding [21] Death
Dysentery Ingestion END Daily Difficult [16] Death
Hookworm Exposure END Daily Demanding [21] Death
Influenza Airborne END Daily Routine [10] Death
Macrovirus Airborne WIL Daily Demanding [21] Death
Radiation Sickness Exposure END Daily Difficult [16] Death
Retrograde Psychosis Airborne WIL Daily Difficult [16] Infantilism
Sepsis Exposure END Daily Difficult [16] Death
Syphilis Exposure END Weekly Demanding [21] Mutation
Tetanus Injury END Weekly Difficult [16] Paralysis
Tuberculosis Airborne END Daily Demanding [21] Death
Zombie fever Contact END Daily Difficult [16] Death

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  Retrograde psychosis. This is a severe condition of the

mind which reduces the victim’s mental age, eventually
turning him into the equivalent of an infant. Victims are
Confused while suffering this disease.
  Sepsis. Exposure to infections and toxins through
injury can have horrible effects on the body, greatly
weakening creatures that have fallen ill to it. Victims are
Fatigued while suffering this disease.
  Syphilis. Though it is becoming less common in the
developed world, this debilitating disease often makes its
way to developed country from wayward port cities. Ini-
tially the disease causes lesions to appear on the contact
areas of infection, but after four to ten weeks later this
creates a rash that spreads to extremities causing wart-
like growths that harbor more infectious bacteria as the
victim begins to experience fever, sore throat, malaise,
weight loss, hair loss, headaches, and inflammation of the
joints, optic nerves, or organs. Later stages take hold 3 to
15 years after the initial sickness begins, causing tumor-
like balls of inflammation that mutate and warp a victim’s
features, giving them a –1d6 to all social checks. Victims
are Poisoned while suffering this disease.
  Tetanus. This disease comes from infections borne
on untreated wounds that can take only days or several
months to take hold. The first sign is lockjaw, followed by
facial spasms, stiffness of the neck, difficulty in swallow-
ing, elevated blood pressure, and spasms for as long as
four weeks. Recovery after this stage can take months and
victims rarely recover fully. Victims are Poisoned while
suffering this disease.
  Tuberculosis. Most commonly found in the lungs, this
disease causes fever, chills, night sweats, loss of appetite,
weight loss, and fatigue. Typically a person with TB never
sees the slow-replicating bacteria proliferate across their
body, but when the sickness stops being dormant it can
quickly lay a victim low for months and months of recov-
ery via antibiotic treatments. Victims are Poisoned while
suffering this disease.
  Zombie fever. As suggested by its name, this disease
turns its victim into one of the undead, a mindless zombie
hungry for living flesh. In the meantime, however, victims
are Sick while suffering this disease.

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Objects Average Soak for Objects by Material

The world is full of objects. Chairs, doors, trees, boulders, Material Soak Vulnerable
wagons, crates, and more. Most of the time, player char- Ceramic, china 0 Blunt
acters will simply interact with them in the way they’re Crystal 5 Sonic
supposed to be interacted with—they’ll sit on the chair or Diamond 20 —
put some supplies in the crate. Sometimes, however, the Fabric, leather 5 Fire
attributes of an object will be needed. An object’s statis- Glass 0 Blunt
tics are based on its size and its composition. These two Gold, lead, silver 5 —
pieces of information are all that is needed to determine Iron, steel 10 —
an inanimate object’s Defense, Health, and Soak. Paper 0 Fire
  Defense. An object’s Defense is based on its size. Stone, brick, marble 10 —
  Health. The health of an object is simply the square Tin 5 —
root of its weight in pounds (if known). If the exact weight Wood 5 Fire
is not known, use the average figures below. An object is
broken when reduced to half Health and destroyed when For example, a wooden door is a large wood object with 25
reduced to zero. This does not apply to creatures or char- Health, 5 Soak, and 10 Defense. On the next page is a list
acters, whose Health is based on other attributes. of common objects and their stats.
  Soak. An object’s Soak is based on the material it is   Objects can have the qualities that modify their stats.
made of. If an object is made of multiple materials, simply   Reinforced. Reinforced objects have double normal
use the most prevalent. Some materials are vulnerable Health.
(+1d6) against certain types of damage.   Fireproofed. Fireproofed objects gain +10 Soak vs. heat
damage.

Average Defense and Health of Objects by Size

Size Defense Health Creature Object
Tiny 22 5 Mouse, cat Book, ball
Small 18 10 Dog Chest
Medium 14 15 Human Chair
Large 10 25 Tiger Table, door
Enormous 10 70 Elephant, T-Rex Small boat
Gigantic 10 150 Whale House
Colossal 10 250 Kaiju Warehouse
Titanic 10 800 Titan Skyscraper

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Common Object Statistics

Item Type Health Soak Defense Vulnerable
Altar, stone Large stone 25 10 12 —
Barrel Medium wood 15 5 14 Heat
Book Tiny paper 5 0 18 Heat
Bottle Tiny glass 5 0 18 Blunt
Chair Medium wood 15 5 14 Heat
Chest Small reinforced wood 20 5 16 Heat
Dagger Tiny steel 5 10 18 —
Desk Large wood 25 5 12 Heat
Door, cell, iron Large reinforced iron 50 10 12 —
Door, stone Large stone 25 10 12 —
Door, wooden Large wood 25 5 12 Heat
Guitar Small wood 10 5 16 Heat
Pouch Tiny fabric 5 5 18 Heat
Safe, steel Medium reinforced steel 30 10 14 —
Stone statue Large stone 25 10 12 —
Sword, two-handed Medium steel 15 10 14 —
Table/desk, wooden Large wood 25 5 12 Heat
Tree Enormous wood 70 5 10 Heat
Tree, large Gigantic wood 150 5 10 Heat
Wall, stone, 5’ section Enormous stone 70 10 10 —
Window Medium glass 15 0 14 Blunt

The Environment
Adventurers can’t always rely on the fact that they’ll be in   An environment doesn’t typically inflict actual damage.
a comfortable, temperate environment. Deserts, volcano Anything in the environment that’s dangerous enough to
bases, mountaintops, howling storms, blizzards, driving inflict damage (such as an actual fire, lava pit, pool of acid,
rain, underwater lairs, and more can contrive to create a liquid nitrogen, etc.) is a hazard and can do direct dam-
wide array of environments and can make for extremely age to those who touch it. Environments do not have such
memorable set-piece battles. extreme effects, can typically be traversed, but may have
  The following environmental templates can be applied effects if characters spend too long in them.
to areas the size of a world or as small as part of a room.   Environment types have the following characteristics.
  Environments sometimes inflict a persistent condi-   Acidic. Acidic environments can be caused by acid rain
tion, such as Sick or Fatigued, which only wears off after or chemical smoke. An acidic environment causes irrita-
a night’s sleep. If a condition mentions that it applies after tion and pain. Those who spend more than an hour in an
an hour, it is considered a persistent condition. acidic environment suffer the Pain condition.
  Areas can have more than one environmental type. For   Cold. From arctic wastelands to ice dragon lairs, cold
example, an arctic wasteland might be cold and windy. environments can be debilitating and deadly. After an
  Some creatures are immune to certain environments. hour, cold environments inflict the Slow condition due
Soak 5 (or more) of an appropriate damage type (where to sluggish reactions and slowing metabolisms. Note that
relevant) makes a creature immune to a condition. Some 5 points of cold Soak, such as that from protective gear,
abilities or exploits may also provide condition immunity. protects from cold.

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  Difficult terrain. Snow, mud, rubble, debris, swamp,   Underwater. An underwater environment eliminates
shallow water, deep undergrowth, and more can create all fire-based effects, reduces fire damage from weapons
difficult terrain. Difficult terrain halves ground move- and spells by –1d6, increases electricity damage by +1d6,
ment Speed. and counts as difficult terrain. It is also airless (see suffo-
  Dim/smoky/rain/snow. Dim light, obviously caused by cation, under thick/thin atmospheres).
a lack of light, can also represent smoky, snowy, or raining   Vacuum. A vacuum is an area with no atmosphere. It
environments where vision is compromised. Dim light is a myth that vacuums cause spontaneous explosion of
renders a creature which starts its turn in the area Blind human tissue, although exposure is certainly not healthy.
(although this does not progress beyond the first stage); The biggest danger from a vacuum is simply the lack of air.
darker areas inflict the severe Blind condition automati- Without some way to breathe, living creatures in a vacu-
cally unless the creature has some way of illuminating the um will quickly suffocate. Lack of oxygen uses a similar
area or seeing in the dark. Unlike other environmental ef- process to that when an unconscious character is dying.
fects, this wears off as soon as the environmental effect Create a countdown dice pool equal in size to the charac-
goes away. ter’s END attribute. Each turn, the dice pool is rolled and
  Hot. From hot volcanic ninja lairs to burning ware- any 6s rolled are removed from the pool. When the final
houses, a hot environment is an environment similar to die is removed, the character falls unconscious and the
that of a desert; somewhere in the region of 100+ degrees unconscious and dying process begins as normal.
Fahrenheit (or 45 degrees Celsius). It causes Fatigue after   Wet. A wet environment is a humid or rainy one—tropi-
an hour. A scorching environment is significantly hotter, cal jungles, aboard a sailing ship, in driving rain. In these
and burns those within it; those who begin their turn in a environments, the Burning condition has no effect and
scorching area gain the Burning condition. fire-based weapons cannot cause critical hits.
  Radioactive. Radioactive areas are very dangerous.   Windy. Windy environments are caused by rushing
Those who begin their turn in a radioactive area gain the air (or other gases). Wind always has a direction of move-
Sick condition. Those who spend an hour in the area con- ment, which is determined beforehand. Moving into the
tract radiation sickness (see the section on illnesses and wind counts as difficult terrain. In a hurricane, it is hard-
diseases). er—to move into the wind, a Challenging [13] STR check
  Slippery. A slippery area, caused by things like icy is required. Additionally, at the start of every turn, all
ground or an oil slick, counts as difficult terrain (half creatures must make a Challenging [13] STR check or be
Speed). pushed 1d6 squares in the direction of the wind.
  Thick/thin atmosphere. While both thick and thin at-
mospheres are very dissimilar, their effects on creatures Example Areas
are not so different. Both types of atmosphere can quickly The following areas are common examples. You can slot
tire a creature not used to it; after an hour, creatures gain these into your game, or devise your own.
the Fatigued condition.
  Tremors. Unstable environments could be caused by Arctic Plains
earthquakes, sailing ships under extreme fire, or build- Icy winds batter at your skin. As far as you can see, the
ings about to explode. Tremors count as difficult terrain ground is blanketed with snow as deep as your knees.
(half Speed). At the start of each round, all creatures   Traits windy, cold, difficult terrain.
must make a Routine [10] AGI check or fall prone. Quakes
make for an extremely difficult environment—horizontal Burning Warehouse
movement is counted as climbing—and the AGI check is The whole room is aflame, the heat searing your face.
Difficult [16] and additionally inflicts 2d6 blunt damage on Smoke fills the area, reducing visibility.
a failure (as well as knocking the creature prone).   Traits hot, smoky.

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Desert Rain Forest

The sun beats down relentlessly. In the distance, the ho- The trees tower around you, and the undergrowth closes
rizon is dotted with the occasional distant moisture farm, in. The sound of insects and alien critters can be hear in
breaking the otherwise featureless desert landscape. The every direction. The air is wet and humid, your footing
deep sand makes walking awkward. treacherous.
  Traits hot, difficult terrain.   Traits wet, difficult terrain.

Theater of the Mind Combat

Theater of the mind combat refers to encounters which   It usually takes one action to move from one zone to
do not take place on a battlemap. Because there’s no another. However, some zones are marked as “far,” and
battlemap, values like speed and distance are tracked require two actions to enter or leave. Zones which are
differently. difficult terrain also require two actions to enter (but not
  In theater of the mind encounters, the GM divides the to leave). Other zones might require a check to enter in
area into “zones.” Each zone has its own name, environ- the first place. Usually, this check is a Challenging [13]
mental traits, and possible access requirements. For check, but it can be more difficult at the GM’s option.
example, a flaming balcony might be described as: A failed attempt to enter a zone still takes an action.
  Zones with access requirements might include high
Flaming balcony. Hot, smoky, high. Access 2 actions; balconies or low rooftops, places that can only be
Challenging [13] AGI via climbing. reached by completing an acrobatic maneuver or a tricky
balancing act, areas that are dangerously hot (requiring
Any creatures in the same zone can strike at each other an END check to access), areas of thick foliage or un-
with melee weapons. Creatures in different zones must dergrowth (requiring a STR check to penetrate), areas
use ranged weapons. protected by a light barricade, and so on.

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Stunt Areas
A stunt area is a particular type of environmental effect. It
Example Stunt Areas
is usually applied to an area within the overall encounter • Banister • Pool
area. Stunts are colorful maneuvers characters may use • Banquet table • Puddle of oil
while in combat. They serve to liven up combats, creating • Curtain or tapestry • Rapids
more interesting and varied battles. • Hanging chandelier • Roaring fireplace
  You may perform a stunt when in a Stunt Area. The • Icy patch • Stack of barrels
GM places the Stunt Areas on the battle map before the • Ladder • Statue
combat begins (or designated a zone as Stunt Area is us- • Low branches • Suit of armor
ing theater of the mind play). Each Stunt Area contains a • Pillar, • Trampoline
feature which applies to any stunts performed there; it is floor-to-ceiling • Wall of ivy
up to the player how that feature is used. A Stunt Area may
feature a hanging cable or chandelier, a stack of shipping
crates, a roaring fireplace, an icy patch, or even a tram- Some Examples of Stunts
poline. The character may spend one action to use the How each character uses a Stunt Area is up to them. Below
feature of the Stunt Area as long as he is anywhere within are some examples.
the area (in other words, he doesn’t have to be in the same •• Banister. The character slides down a banister,
square as, or adjacent to, the feature itself). At the end of doubling his movement. The character uses AGI
this chapter, you will find a list of sample Stunt Areas. (acrobatics).
  Each character may only make use of a given Stunt Area •• Hanging Chandelier. The character could choose
once, whether he succeeds or fails to perform the stunt. to use the chandelier to swing across a room, giving
A stunt is usually a Challenging [13] check. Agility is the him double movement. The character uses AGI
most common attribute used in a stunt, although any (climbing).
attribute is permitted. Similarly, skills like climbing, acro- •• Icy Patch. The character might slide across the icy
batics, jumping, and bluffing are common skills. patch in an attempt to gain momentum and sur-
  Stunts can do any one of the following, at the player’s prise his opponent, benefiting from a +1d6 to hit his
choice: opponent. Alternatively, he might use the same icy
•• Stunts can grant a +1d6 attack bonus. patch to double his movement. The character uses
•• Alternatively, stunts can help with movement, AGI (acrobatics).
granting double movement for one action or double •• Roaring Fireplace. The character might flick coals
a jumping distance. at the opponent in an attempt to distract him, giving
•• Finally, stunts can grant another attribute check a him +1d6 to attack his opponent. The character uses
+1d6 bonus. AGI (bluffing).
  Bonus dice granted by stunts can exceed a character’s •• Stack of Barrels. The character might use the bar-
normal maximum dice pool. rels in a similar way, rolling the barrel across the
  If you fail the attribute check when attempting to per- room as he works it like a treadmill. The character
form a stunt, you do not gain the benefits of that stunt, uses AGI (acrobatics).
although you may continue to act normally. However, you •• Trampoline. The character is a poor jumper and
cannot attempt to use that Stunt Area again. needs to leap up to a balcony. Using the trampoline,
  If the attribute check is a critical success, the stunt does she doubles her vertical jumping distance and
not cost the character an action. reaches it easily. The character uses STR ( jumping).

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 Modern Core

Master Attribute & Skill Chart Difficulty Benchmarks

Attribute/Skill Dice Pool Average Roll* Benchmark Difficulty 50% Success By...
1–2 1d6 4 Trivial — —
3–5 2d6 7 Easy 7 2d6 (grade 2)
6–9 3d6 11 Routine 10 3d6 (grade 3)
10–14 4d6 14 Challenging 13 4d6 (grade 4)
15–20 5d6 18 Difficult 16 5d6 (grade 5)
21–27 6d6 21 Demanding 21 6d6 (grades 6–7)
28–35 7d6 25 Strenuous 25 7d6 (grades 8–10)
36–44 8d6 28 Severe 29 8d6 (grades 11–14)
45–54 9d6 32 Herculean 33 9d6 (grades 15–19)
55–65 10d6 35 Superhuman 37 10d6 (grades 20–25)
66–77 11d6 39 Impossible 40 11d6 (grades 26–32)
78–90 12d6 42 Legendary 42 12d6 (grades 33--40)
91–104 13d6 46 Mythical 45 13d6 (grades 41–49)
105–119 14d6 49
120–135 15d6 53
136–152 16d6 56
153–170 17d6 60
171–189 18d6 63
190–209 19d6 67
210–230 20d6 70
*Rounded up to next whole number.

Maximum Dice Pools

Grade 5 6–7 8–10 11–14 15–19 20–25 26–32 33–40 41–49
Max Dice Pool 5d6 6d6 7d6 8d6 9d6 10d6 11d6 12d6 13d6

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Chapter 4
Modern
Worlds

16
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 Modern Worlds

Building a World set, absent any additional setting elements you choose to
Paul Dirac once said, “God used beautiful mathematics add. You can grab an atlas, or a 1980s shopping catalog,
in creating the world”—and he was absolutely correct! and find much of the work done for you. Of course, you
Worlds are created using a series of random tables and a need to develop the plots, the power groups, the master-
handful of d6s! One of the GM’s most important tasks is to mind NPCs, and the secret organizations, but the world
create the setting in which the player characters operate. itself is already there.
The GM must design the world, its inhabitants, its power
structures and villains, and more. Every place the player Designing a Setting
characters go, every non-player character (NPC) they You may well find that you need to create new heritages or
meet, every creature they track, every combat encounter— careers in order to accommodate your campaign setting.
it all begins with the GM. You are encouraged to do so, and this section is designed
  That sounds like a monstrous task—and in some ways to help you in that process.
it is. However, the GM does not need to create an entire   These pages contain guidelines and rules for designing
world at once. It is often enough to simply sketch a broad settlements, organizations, new heritages, new careers,
outline of the setting in a few paragraphs, and some de- and new monsters. They are presented in a rough order of
tail around the PCs’ starting circumstances, and expand scale, so that you can design from a “top-down” perspec-
from there as and when it’s needed. You may know there’s tives, narrowing down to the smaller details, but of course
a militant group of drug-abusing occultists called the you should feel free to use any of the parts of the following
Crimson Sparrows, but you don’t need to flesh out all the chapter in isolation as and when you need to.
fine details until the player characters stumble onto one   You should not feel constrained by the charts on the fol-
of the organization’s operations (or until you run them lowing pages. They are intended as useful tools to provide
afoul of one!) inspiration where necessary, but always let your imagina-
  A campaign set in the “real world” has many advantag- tion guide you.
es. The geography and general political status is already   Of course, any WOIN world doesn’t have to be one of the

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 Modern Worlds

GM’s creation. You can model it after your favorite 80s TV

show, or the adventures of a well-known spy with a license
Using Other Materials
to kill, or any other fictional “universe” you desire. These O.L.D. contains a selection of medieval fantasy races
rules help you bring them all to life! and careers, and N.E.W. is filled with species and
careers geared toward science fiction, all of which
Where & When? are fully compatible with the rules in this book. So it
Some settings are based in United States, others in the is perfectly possible to use wizards, elves, knights,
many cities of Europe, and still more in the few uncharted bards, aliens, starships, psions, and creatures from
places left on the world. The primary difference in terms of the deep of the cosmos in your modern setting. Equal-
setting is largely based on the activities of the current ma- ly, you can use material from this book when playing
jor global powers—is the Cold War going on, or Vietnam? O.L.D. and N.E.W.
Are the developed countries of Earth in a state of general
cooperation, opposition, or outright paranoia? The po-
litical climate of the world plays an enormous part in how Advancement Level and Genre
any given area will treat its citizens and foreigners alike, Access to technology plays an important role in modern
and establish an important backdrop for the adventures games, and the Advancement Level (AL) of a setting is
the party is soon to have. the key means of determining where the line is drawn. Of
  The information found in N.O.W. covers a wide span course, advancement levels can (and should) vary from
of years, from the American Wild West of the late 1800s, region to region—the availability of common devices can
through both World Wars and the iconic 80s, all the way be quite different even in adjacent countries (for example:
up to the modern era and slightly beyond. Using these North and South Korea), but there’s also an overall ad-
rules you can set your game in any of these time periods vancement level to consider. Your setting might include
without the need for any further books or resources. cellular networks and cybertechnology everywhere,
  It can be easy to start a setting in a small location and while another might have rotary phones and hard plastic
worry about the wider world when you need to. Perhaps prosthetic limbs.
you could start in a small California town beset by vam-   You also need to decide how far the actual rules of phys-
pires, or maybe you could use your own hometown as the ics are going to bend for the feel of the game you want.
setting. Most action movies do a bit of twisting (shooting a car’s
gas tank does not usually cause an instant explosion in
Heritages real life), but there’s some more extreme elements of mod-
You will need to decide which heritages exist in your set- ern fantasy that are worth determining before exposing
ting. The core rules present you with a selection of default your players to the game world.
heritages which you may choose to use, or you might de-   With that in mind you should select:
vise your own using the guidelines later in this chapter.   Typical AL. This is an “overall” advancement level
Perhaps there are no mutants or cybertechnology in your that the player characters will be interacting with most
setting, and only humans live on Earth! Or perhaps there of the time. There can be exceptions if the GM feels the
are countless heritages, each more distinct than the last. plot of the campaign requires them (mad scientists!), but
You might even choose to use races from O.L.D. or N.E.W. by and large this defines the whole area the players will
in your contemporary world to create setting where fanta- operate in. Local lower ALs than this can exist in abun-
sy and modern peoples live alongside each other, or where dance, of course. For example, players in an Indiana Jones
first contact has been made between Earthlings and one style setting will commonly see indigenous tribes in the
or more alien races. How they all get along is up to you. wilderness and other primitive cultures (in a setting that
otherwise has a typical AL of 4).

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 Modern Worlds

  Theoretical Maximum AL. This is a setting-wide deci- CHI

sion on the part of the GM. It is perfectly fine to say that A common feature of modern fantasy and the action genre,
faster-than-light travel or teleportation can never happen. CHI is an optional element, and you should decide in ad-
Such a setting might have a theoretical maximum Ad- vance whether chi is part of your setting. Alternatively, if
vancement Level of 7. However, it is perfectly fine to have you like to mix your medieval or sci-fi and your modern
secret organizations with access to an AL a stage higher fantasy, you might choose to use the magic system from
than the world around it. This isn’t information that the O.L.D. or the psionics system from N.E.W.
GM needs to communicate to the players (unless the PCs
are part of that organization), but is more a guideline to Explosive Realism
assist with consistency and the behavior of those entities In the N.O.W. roleplaying game, the default assumption
or civilizations which exceed the typical AL. is that there are underlying energies within each living
creature, used to fuel incredible abilities, fantastic feats,
N.O.W. Advancement Level (AL) and other impossibilities. This is common knowledge or
AL Description Approximate Time* myth, only truly understood by those who devote their
3 Wild West, Victorian era 19th century lives to studying it—most people don’t really know what
4 Industrial; early automobiles; 20th century it is, or even that it’s a constant part of the world. This is
World Wars I & II an aspect ripe for exploration in terms of adventures and
5 Information age; electronics, Late 20th/early 21st campaigns. You will need to decide how large or small a
computers, satellites, automo- century role this part of N.O.W. plays in your own setting.
biles, aircraft, nuclear weapons
6 Fusion; invisible wearable tech, 21st century Settlements and
genetic engineering, solar Countries
system colonization. Sometimes you just need a random settlement, region, or
*This can, of course, vary by location country. These pages will help you to generate cities and
towns, their surrounding municipalities, and any peoples
located within. You should use this as a starting point and
add your own color or flavor to the end result.
  You can use real towns and cities, or you can base your
fictional town on a real one. These guidelines help you de-
sign a more fantastic fictional location.
  When creating a country, you will start with the
settlement first, then fill in important details as you go
(eventually generating a country and then more nations
as required). Follow this process:
1. Determine the settlement’s size and type.
2. Determine the settlement’s AL and wealth.
3. Roll for settlement quirks.
4. Roll for the names and prevalence of important
institutions (hospitals, police stations, etc.).
5. Create more settlements as required.
6. Add the aggregate scores of your settlements to
determine the statistics for the country containing
these settlements.

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 Modern Worlds

  Alternatively, you can determine the statistics for a Random Settlement Type
country directly and extrapolate the statistics of settle- 1d6 Type
ments within it instead. 1 Anarchic
  Before engaging this part of N.O.W., remember that the 2 Insular
setting needs to match the scope of your game: if you’ve 3 Support
got big-city mobsters planned as your antagonists, don’t 4 Civil
build an outpost! Save that for when they adventurers 5 Progressive
have been dragged out into the frontier looking for a bur- 6 Utopian
ied body as evidence, a made man on the lamb, a hidden
cache of cash and drugs, or what have you. Anarchic. This settlement is violent and unruly, practi-
cally without any form of real law. Generally controlled
Determine Settlement Type by one or more bandits or gangs (the only “authority” to
Settlement type is a measure of the local economic and speak of), it is a haven for criminals and fugitives alike
political climate, which determines how civilians gener- and not the sort of place to settle down and call home.
ally behave with one another and player characters. This Sometimes these types of settlements are a cover for clan-
is a very general reading of an abstract quality over what destine operations—ritual sites for deranged cults, a mad
can sometimes be a very large area; individual NPCs act scientist’s labs, the headquarters of an evil organization—
as individuals, and one city borough might be completely but more often than not, it is simply an area that has fallen
civilized while another is rife with gang warfare. into depravity and decay.
  If you’re going backwards, use the statistics of the •• Black-market goods are easier to acquire than
country to guide the building of settlements within it (a normal, but finding any products or services can be
totalitarian state is unlikely to have a progressive or anar- a challenge, and prices can vary wildly depending
chic settlement, for instance). on the scarcity of resources nearby.

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•• There are few if any shared public resources like Insular. For whatever reason (be it mystical, shameful, or
emergency services, water, electricity, gas, and so from legal compulsion) the residents of this settlement
forth. Those that do exist charge exorbitant fees are xenophobic. Outsiders are distrusted and discour-
(+400% or more). aged, and the authority figures (often autocratic) exercise
•• Police and security forces are rare, and when a surprising amount of control over inhabitants.
authority figures do respond, it is typically with •• Black-market goods are virtually impossible to
blatantly excessive force. acquire, and even some regular products may not
•• Few institutions last in anarchic settlements, but be available (at the GM’s discretion, a regular item
for some reason, saloons and casinos tend to stick may be treated as an illicit good).
around while hospitals, hotels, and merchants don’t. •• Public resources are freely available for most, except
•• Reduce the available AL by –0.5. for foreigners increase the cost to access these by
Civil. This is one of the most typical settlement types, +100%.
analogous to many cities and towns in the real world. •• Police and security forces are virtually omnipresent,
Most of the time these are ruled over in one or another especially when outsiders are about. They respond
democratic fashion, though of course corruption in gov- rapidly in great numbers and use excessive force.
ernment circles can be rife. •• Institutions (hospitals, social services, and busi-
•• Black-market goods are only available to criminals nesses) exist and may in fact be quite good, but
and difficult to find, but typical goods and services only for natives; if emergency services respond to
are available. foreigners at all, they do so reluctantly.
•• Public resources like water, electricity, gas, and •• Increase the available AL by +0.5.
emergency services are available at affordable rates. Progressive. These settlements are self-conscious and
•• Police officers are common, patrolling often in the benevolent, conserving resources and making sure to
settlement’s busiest and nicest areas. They respond efficiently use what’s available. Civilians value and trea-
quickly and in great numbers. sure foreigners, inviting outsiders into their businesses
•• Businesses of all kinds are available, as are hotels and homes (within reason). Authority figures are often
and hospitals. democratically elected, and while corruption is virtually
never absent from the political process, in these cases it is
at least subdued.
•• Black-market goods are more difficult to acquire
than normal, but not impossibly so (increase the
cost of illicit goods by +50%).
•• Public resources are freely available to everyone,
and in these cases can include shelters with privacy,
food, health care, and in some unique instances a
fix for those in the throes of drug addiction.
•• Police and security forces are present but not over-
bearing. They respond quickly in sensible numbers,
but almost never shoot first before asking questions
or attempting a completely peaceful resolution.
•• Institutions are common, thriving, and generally
benevolent. Emergency services respond quickly,
effectively, and perform their jobs well (using high
quality equipment).
•• Increase the available AL by +0.5.

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 Modern Worlds

Support. This sort of settlement is really a kind of regional

attachment. Air Force, Army, and Navy Bases require
somewhere for the families of conscripts and officers to
live and provide services not offered through the military,
often choosing valleys and other suitable geographical
locations nearby for housing and development. Authority
figures are democratically elected, but the highest rank- Settlement Size
ing officer in the base nearby is typically the one in actual A settlement is something of an abstract concept in N.O.W.
power. and can be quite varied in definition depending on what
•• Black-market goods are easier to acquire than nor- the game requires. An outpost might be a watchtower in
mal, though you definitely do not want to get caught the jungle, an isolated trailer park in the desert, or a utopi-
in the act (reduce the cost for illicit goods by –25%). an compound! The values and suggestions below are just
•• Public resources are freely available to everyone, as that, and GMs are encouraged to make their own unique
in a civil settlement. quirks and populace sizes as necessary.
•• Policemen and security forces are lackadaisical
until called upon, at which point they respond very Settlement Size
rapidly, in great numbers and with excessive force 1d6 Size Population AL Change Quirks
(though in these cases, prisoners are vastly pre- 1 Outpost 5–100 –0.5 to –1 0
ferred to corpses). 2 Hamlet 101–1,000 –0.5 0
•• Institutions are common but extremely utilitarian 3 Village 1,001–5,000 — 1
and functional; exotic crafts and services are rare, 4 Town 5,001–25,000 — 2
but the basics are solid and effective. 5 City 25,001–299,999 +0.5 3
Utopian. This settlement type is ideal, but extremely rare 6 Metropolis 300,000+ +0.5 to +1 5
and not very long-lived. Typically places of great mystical
power or supreme scientific insight, its inhabitants are Settlement Quirks
often quite skilled or deep thinkers, but fall down one homebodies Apply a –1 penalty to PCs’ REP
of two major paths: either they are as or more welcom- technocrats NPCs receive 1 [technical] skill
ing than in a progressive settlement, or as unwelcoming sinful NPCs receive 1 [social] skill
as inhabitants in an insular settlement. Most of the time academic NPCs receive 1 [science] skill
authority figures have enormous control, but in truly for- artisanal NPCs receive 1 [crafting] skill
ward-thinking utopias, they have little if any control over militant NPCs receive 1 [combat] skill
their fellows. violent NPCs receive 1 [combat] exploit
•• Black-market goods are virtually nonexistent. cultural NPCs receive 1 [artistic] skill
•• Public resources are free and plentiful, including unlucky Apply a –1 penalty to PCs’ LUC
shelter, food, health care, and some basic goods. lucky Apply a +1 bonus to PCs’ LUC
•• Police and security forces in insular utopias are con- rumormill Apply a +1 bonus to PCs’ REP
stant and attentive, and in progressive utopias they leyline Anyone with CHI techniques gains +1 CHI
are virtually nonexistent (though other magical or point to their maximum
technological measures are typically in place). fissure Anyone with CHI techniques loses –1 CHI
•• Institutions are common and thriving, with high point from their maximum (minimum 1)
quality or even superior quality equipment. Emer- athletic NPCs receive +1 STR or +1 AGI or +1 END
gency services respond almost instantly and are focused NPCs receive +1 INT or +1 LOG or +1 WIL
staffed by exceptionally talented individuals. affable NPCs receive +1 CHA
•• Increase the AL by +0.5 to +1. leisurely NPCs receive 2 [hobby] skills

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 Modern Worlds

Agents and
Organizations
A N.O.W. campaign is filled with evil masterminds, pow-
erful cult leaders, and militant overlords? What sorts of
resources do they have at their disposal, and how does
this increase the challenges set against the adventurers?
How fast can one of these agencies respond to an attack
on one of their interests, and how viciously can they do so?
When push comes to shove, how far will the party have to
go to dismantle an agency or organization?
  This section covers these aspects of gameplay in N.O.W.
and is built to be incorporated into both O.L.D. and N.E.W.
as well, meant to be a tool for use by the GM. Note that
it isn’t absolutely necessary to have an agency or organi-
zation in a campaign. You can have plenty of Bonnie and
Clyde gaming sessions without ever having to worry about
just how badly the FBI wants to catch the party!
  Player characters may choose to develop their own
organizations throughout the arc of a campaign, but the
effectiveness and direct use of any such institution is ulti-
Naming Settlements mately in the hands of the GM—players looking for more
There is no standard convention for naming settlements or direct control of NPCs need to get hirelings ($10 per point
countries. Names for settlements can be derived from my- of XP; this cost is paid once and should the NPC die, a new
thology, from history, from the names of famous people one must be paid for).
or fictional characters, or even simply after their parent
country (and in the cases of countries, parent continents). Organization Size
Settlements within a given country (and sometimes coun- An organization’s size represents the number of agents
tries within a given region) often follow a naming pattern within it. Destroying an organization requires ridding the
and while some suggestions to follow are below, to main- world of its agents or its leader(s) (removing a leader cuts
tain some level of realism it’s suggested you take a look the organization’s number of agents in half as they splin-
at a map of the real world near the central locale of your ter into factions or seek prosperity elsewhere).
game’s setting.   Simply speaking, an agent is someone so devoted to the
  Note that these prefixes and suffixes are not intended to cause of an organization that they are willing to die for it.
be comprehensive (there is already a wealth of real world Agents gain a number of bonuses for their affiliation and
names). access to the organization as a resource to be used against
player characters (in combat or as a response to a REP
Settlement Names check).
1d6 Prefix Suffix  Loyalty. This is a guideline to roughly how devoted
1 Ginn- -burg the average agent is to their organization. The larger an
2 Happs- -ville organization is, the less loyalty it inspires in its agents. Re-
3 Sharps- -ton member that the given level of loyalty is only a guideline:
4 Pitts- -wood a particular NPCs might be fanatical to even the largest
5 Dorning- -glenn organization, and certain exploits can increase an orga-
6 Mil- -delphia nization’s average level of loyalty.

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 Modern Worlds

  Agent Involvement. Every organization is functionally Coterie

a collection of individuals with a stated mission (eradicate A coterie is a small group of up to a dozen agents. This
mutants, control the world’s supply of gold, jail murder- could be a handful of street bangers, a tiny mercenary
ers, play elaborate pranks; the list is endless). In order to outfit like the A-Team, a small collection of super villains,
achieve this ultimate goal, they need to engage in pursuits a like-minded collection of wealthy intellectuals, or an
that further their grand schemes: operations. An opera- apartment full of fanatical extremists disowned by any-
tion might be the running of guns across a certain part of one that rejects their views.
the border, the monthly protection (or intimidation) of a •• Loyalty is typically extremely high.
city block, and so forth—basically, any activities that the •• Every agent’s involvement is critical to the organiza-
player characters can directly disrupt qualify as opera- tion functioning properly.
tions. These need not to be intended scenes and plots the •• Response to attacks is extremely fierce.
GM wants the group to actively engage in, but also “back- •• Finding members or operations of an organization
ground encounters” that can happen during downtime of this size is a Superhuman [37] task.
(though if players want to roll out every foiled mugging, •• If the combined levels of each of the associated
have at it). agents divided by 5 would be greater than their or-
  Response Level. Organizations are monoliths in a way, ganization’s size merits, increase the organization’s
constantly moving forward regardless of obstacles that REP to that number.
bar their path. However, this doesn’t mean they don’t re-
act at all. Larger organizations are less wont to mount a Cadre
response to assaults against their members, but smaller A cadre is a group of more than a dozen to two dozen
organizations value individual workers far more and tend agents. This could be a small urban gang, a burgeoning
to respond quickly. If the player characters are trying to league of superheroes, a fervent church, or a rogue cell of
stir up trouble and encourage targets to reveal themselves, terrorists.
this is the standard to determine how tolerant an organi- •• Loyalty is typically high.
zation is to instigation (and how far parties can go before •• Individual agents are crucial to the functioning
trouble comes to them rather than the other way around). of an organization, but 2–4 can disappear before
  Finding Agents and Operations. An organization’s ef- operations slow down.
fective REP score is the primary measure of how much •• Response to an assault on its members is very fierce.
weight they can throw around, but for anyone actively •• Finding members or operations of an organization
seeking out agents or operations, this defines how hard of this size is a Severe [29] task.
they have to look. Coteries and small organizations often •• If the combined levels of each of the associated
recruit very specifically by invitation only, while larger agents divided by 5 would be greater than their or-
organizations create stages of evaluation for individuals ganization’s size merits, increase the organization’s
that have sought them out. REP to that number.

Organizations Table
Size Agents REP Locate Requisition Cap
Coterie 2–12 4 (2d6) Superhuman [37] $1,100
Cadre 13–25 8 (3d6) Severe [29] $1,100
Gang 25–50 12 (4d6) Strenuous [25] $1,400
Family 51–250 16 (5d6) Demanding [21] $1,800
Syndicate 251–1,500 20 (5d6) Difficult [16] $1,800
Executive 1,500–3,000 25 (6d6) Challenging [13] $2,100
Agency 3,001+ 30 (7d6) Routine [10] $2,500

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 Modern Worlds

Gang
A gang is a group of more than two dozen to fifty agents.
This could be a considerable gang in a metropolis, a re-
spected or feared collection of powered individuals, or a
villainous conglomerate of corporations that strongly in-
fluence an entire industry.
•• Loyalty is typically high.
•• Agents are important to the functioning of the
organization, but a dozen can disappear before
operations slow down.
•• Response to an assault on its members is very fierce,
but not every instigation merits an answer. Executive
•• Finding members or operations of an organization An executive is a group of more than 1,500 to 3,000 agents.
of this size is a Strenuous [25] task. This could be a mercenary army, a global smuggling ring,
a national criminal syndicate, a huge corporate-like in-
Family stitution bent on world domination, or an international
A family is a group of more than fifty to two-hundred and terror executive like SPECTRE from the 007 movies.
fifty agents. This could be a powerful Mafia crime family, •• Loyalty is typically considerable.
national terror group, a continental drug cartel, or a ma- •• Agents are not essential to the functioning of the
levolent secret society bent on awakening ancient powers. organization’s major operations, but many minor
•• Loyalty is typically strong. operations cease to function when more than 200
•• Agents are not essential to the functioning of an agents stop showing up for work.
organization. Two dozen can disappear before •• Response to an assault on its members is mild and
operations slow down. several instigations are required to get the attention
•• Response to an assault on its members is fierce, but of its leaders.
not every instigation merits an answer. •• Finding members or operations of an organization
•• Finding members or operations of an organization of this size is a Challenging [13] task.
of this size is a Demanding [21] task.
Agency
Syndicate An agency is a group of more than 3,000 agents. No matter
A syndicate is a group of more than 250 to 1,500 agents. what their purpose or structure, they typically have a con-
This could be a continental terrorist network, a cult of mad siderable presence in one location, a stronghold, and can
religious devotees, or a small nation’s armed forces gone affect change on global levels when push comes to shove.
rogue. •• Loyalty is typically considerable.
•• Loyalty is typically strong. •• Agents are not essential to the functioning of any
•• Agents are not essential to the functioning of an one of the organization’s operations. More than 500
organization. Up to a hundred can disappear before agents need to disappear before its leaders focus
operations slow down. their attention on the absent workforce.
•• Response to an assault on its members is consider- •• Response to an assault on its members is mild and
able, but not every instigation merits an answer. numerous instigations are required to get the atten-
•• Finding members or operations of an organization tion of its leaders.
of this size is a Difficult [16] task. •• Finding members or operations of an organization
of this size is a Routine [10] task.

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 Modern Worlds

Agents Commanders
Any sentient creature in the bestiary sections of O.L.D, Every operation or group of agents has a designated
N.E.W., or N.O.W. can be made into an agent, gaining commander. This agent has a LUC score equal to the
access to the organization’s REP, and possibly some orga- organisation’s REP score, and also has the Leadership ex-
nization exploits. ploit, meaning the commander can donate his LUC dice
 Agents. This is the grand total of individuals that treat to members of his team.
this as a very dedicated part-time or full-time job, people
that have invested deeply enough into the organization. Organization Exploits
This number does not reflect their families or any other Organizations receive organization exploits. Below is a
associates, or support staff that aren’t trained to carry out list of suggested exploits, but as with everything else in
the mission (cooks, janitors, and the like). O.L.D., N.O.W., and N.E.W., GMs are encouraged to create
 REP. This is the organization’s Reputation score. This their own when the need is merited. Any benefits gained
is how well known an organization is and how likely by being a member of an organization are lost if the char-
people are to recognize its name or importance. Larger acter leaves the organization.
organizations are better known, and depending on its   Advanced Tech. The Advancement Level of technology
exploits, an organization may only have a reputation available to the organization increases by one level. Orga-
among certain circles—like investigators and criminals, nizations with this trait must have mystics, scientists, or
mystics and occultists, and so on—but remain hidden some other means to justify their impressive gear.
from the public at large (it can be a bit hard to attain  Clandestine. The organization is extremely secretive,
world domination when anybody can find and foil your a cabal as devoted to silence and mystery as they are to
schemes, after all). their cause. Only individuals in the same line of business
  Agents can collectively utilize their organization’s REP or of similar interests (criminals, mystics, scientists, and
score once per day for a number of different reasons. More so forth) treat the organization’s REP score as the normal
details on how to utilize these abilities are below, but in value when seeking information about the organization;
short, they can be used the following ways: all others treat it as three sizes lower. This also applies to
•• In response to a player character making a REP its Locate difficulty value.
check.   Combat Training. All of the organization’s agents re-
•• In place of a CHA check to influence, threaten, ceive a specific free combat-related exploit.
intimidate, or persuade somebody.  Criminal. The organization is able to handle illicit
•• To determine the general amount of resources car- goods, allowing members to access items that would oth-
ried by NPCs. erwise be restricted or illegal.
 Locate. This is the difficulty of finding a member of or a  Disciplined. The organization has a strong chain of
location belonging to a given organization. The larger the command, and good unit cohesion. In combat, organi-
organisation is, the easier it is to find. it’s pretty hard to zations members gain +1d6 to Initiative as long as they
find The A-Team, but it’s not hard to find CIA headquarters are accompanied by at least three other members of the
in Langley. organization.
  Requisition Cap. If the PCs are part of an organization,   Excellent Equipment. All of the organization’s agents
this is the amount of (free) gear they can requisition from receive a single piece of equipment that is one stage of
it. At any given time, they may carry up to this value in quality higher than normal. Most of the time the orga-
gear without having to pay for it. They can exchange the nization equips these items with failsafes that destroy
gear at HQ, or outfit themselves differently for each mis- the item if it should leave the agent’s possession, or that
sion, as long as the total amount does not exceed this. at least renders it of mundane quality after it’s used in a
  Of course, PCs have their own REP scores which also combat. The item is clearly identifiable as the organiza-
helps them obtain gear in the normal way. tion’s property.

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 Expertise. All of the organization’s agents receive a ba- corporation should be wary of law enforcement, however,
sic curriculum of one rank in two organization-specific along with the sort of deadly talent that truckloads of cash
skills. This does not increase the rank of any of these skills can purchase.
above one rank.   Criminal Syndicates. The Yakuza, Triad, Mafia, and
 Fearsome. The organization’s reputation instills fear in any other form of mundane organized crime qualifies as
those who hear it. Members can make a REP mental attack a criminal syndicate. As the name implies, these organi-
against one target who can hear and understand them. zations specialize in illicit activity, often with a focus on
This attack can only be made once per day, and no single drugs, vice, and racketeering. Their operations can range
target can be affected by it more than once. If successful, far wider, however, and can sometimes have members
the target gains the Afraid condition. that are incredibly loyal, typically with familial ties.
 Gadgets. Each agent of the organization receives a  Cults. Steeped in mysticism and belief, cults are an-
gadget that functions for 1d6 rounds (minimum 1 round; other common type of organization. Led by charismatic
except the commander agent, in which case the gadget individuals that indoctrinate their followers, they can ap-
functions until the end of combat). pear anywhere in the world, and they conduct operations
  Mental Training. All of the organization’s agents re- as simple as bank heists and as esoteric as demon sum-
ceive a bonus +1 to a specific mental attribute. moning. More often than not, their agents are fanatically
  Physical Training. All of the organization’s agents re- loyal (some even bring their families into the fold).
ceive a bonus +1 to a specific physical attribute.   Law Enforcement. There are no better team players
 Traditional. The organization is very old, and predates than law enforcement, and the vast majority of settings
the current era. This gives it access to certain ancient se- feature authority figures of some kind that keep the
crets, allowing members to use its REP attribute in place peace. The organization rules are not meant to be imple-
of a LOG check once per day to access information about mented with police as a whole, but specific divisions like
a subject. a unit of homicide detectives, paranormal case workers,
 Wealthy. The organization has the REP attribute of an and so forth. Of all the different types of organizations,
organization one size classification larger. they are by and far the most responsive and easiest to
instigate.
Types of Organizations   Shadow Services. Who cleans up the bodies piled up
An organization’s concept can be as abstract or concrete by hitmen, and who supplies their guns or sells the art-
as you like: as strange as a hive mind that’s taken over a work stolen by cat burglars? A commonly glossed over set
grocery store to something like the Crimson Sparrows, of organizations exist to support the shadowy underside
a multinational conglomerate of ne’er-do-wells bent on of society and they are essential to its workings. With
world domination! As always, we encourage you to think this fundamental priority, all but the most stubborn and
up creative and interesting organization types of your vengeful choose to dismantle an organization that offers
own to complement the suggestions below. There are re- support to various criminals.
ally only two things you need to worry about when doing   Special Forces. Some soldiers keep fighting well after
so: that these grouped individuals have a purpose, and the war ends, and they don’t particularly care whom they
that that purpose has some kind of conflict with the player fight for. These mercenary groups are highly dangerous
characters. and not to be underestimated; each of their agents is a
 Corporations. Corporations make great enemy orga- trained combatant that has experienced warfare. Unlike
nizations. They are often enormous in scope, filled with other organizations, their loyalty is not overwhelmingly
so much bureaucracy that not only can individual ex- strong and they can be bribed or coerced into abandon-
ecutives potentially get away with murder, many of their ing an operation with relative ease.
accomplices have lawyers able to get them well away from  Spies. Spies work for agencies of covert operatives which
legal trouble. Player characters that decide to take on a are, more often than not, directly affiliated with a national

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power. While some of these individuals are unfalteringly

loyal to their country, many are too willing to trade state
secrets for a plush life of luxury and double agents are not
uncommon.
 Vigilantes. When superheroes or supervillains team
together, they can become truly potent forces that can af-
fect change on a national or even global level. Fortunately,
power seems to come with no small bit of egotism and
most larger groups fail to remain united for long, splin-
tering into smaller organizations that aren’t nearly as
disastrous for society.

Sample Organization
CRIMSON SPARROWS
“When your ancestors were figuring out how to raise sheep
on the Mediterranean coast, ours were already the crime Designing a New
lords of Asia.” Heritage
Organization Size Syndicate The core N.O.W. rules contain four heritages—Humans,
Organization Type Cult Augmented, Mutants, and Chosen. These four heritages
Organization Exploits Clandestine (criminals, mystics), can cover a multitude of character types, but you may find
Fearsome, Expertise (Jumping, Stealth) that you wish to create more.
Typical Agents Ninja commanded by a Martial Artist   Modern-era games tend to less exotic in this sense than
Number of Agents 444 science fiction or fantasy settings, which have a pleth-
REP 20 (5d6) / 8 (3d6) ora of races and alien species. Most PCs will be human,
Locate Difficult [16] / Severe [29] and even the “non-human” heritages are variations on
Requisition Cap $1,800 humans. You can certainly grab Elves and Ogres and Bo-
Description The Crimson Sparrows are a secretive rians and Drahzik from other WOIN books and use them
organization with a storied history that stretches back in your modern-day setting.
to the dawn of human civilization. An incredibly strict and   New heritages are fairly straightforward to create. The
swift system of deadly justice and renewal within the most important thing is that you make the heritage a via-
organization keeps its ranks at precisely 444 at all times, ble choice—not too powerful, and not too weak. That’s not
and only the enigmatic leaders of the Crimson Sparrows to say every heritage has to be perfectly balanced with ev-
know the importance this holds and how it plays into the ery other—the universe doesn’t work like that, and a little
institution’s past. imbalance will not hurt your game—but you are encour-
  Criminals throughout the world have heard of rumors aged to aim for heritages of roughly equal power levels.
and a few have even seen the calling cards of these   Follow the process below. You have 18 points to spend.
deadly assassins, shuriken painted with the bloody- Simply follow the steps below! Note that you won’t be able
winged sigil of these near urban-myths. Those that to create the core races with this system; the extra flex-
speak truthfully of seeing one of their agents talk of ibility of freeform race creation comes with its own cost!
disappearing into the shadows and other mystical feats   At each stage, an example new heritage will be de-
that cause many to think these warriors do not truly veloped. The heritage we will be designing is suited to a
exist, but for the wealthiest and most knowledgeable, the modern-horror setting: we will be creating a half-vampire
Crimson Sparrows are truly a force to be feared. known as a Dhampir.

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Concept Skills
The first stage in designing a new heritage is to devise your You should now select some skill choices. Note that a char-
concept. How similar is it to humankind? Are aberrant acter will only choose three of these, so a long list doesn’t
growths or physical features prevalent? Or is it just a blue necessarily make for a stronger character.
human? The heritages presented in this rulebook are all   Apply point adjustments as follows:
roughly humanoid (though mutants and certain robots
can be large-sized) but that is by no means a requirement! New Heritage Skills
You should also select the heritage’s size at this time. Condition Points
  Select your heritage’s size category. Each single [combat] skill or hardy 1
6 or more skills or [categories] 2
New Heritage Size Category 10 or more skills or [categories] 4
Size Points Each skill [category] except [artistic] 1
Small 2 Choice of “Any” 4
Medium 0 Skill category [artistic] 0
Large 5
Enormous 10 Dhampirs tend to be old, and know how to hide. Their skill
Variable 4 choices include history, stealth, disguise, and bluffing. This
costs 0 points.

Dhampirs are normal human-sized creatures, and cost 0

points for size. Exploits
This is the hardest part of the process. Note the exploits
granted by size and type first. You will then need to add
Age unique exploits of your own.
You should assign age categories for young, adult, and old   You cannot have two exploits that give the same bonus
members of the species. This does not cost anything. or a bonus to the same value. Not all exploits are equal,
and some have similar or overlapping effects. Note that
Dhampirs, who are essentially immortal, do not have age not all exploits are necessarily suitable—a magical exploit
categories. is not suitable in a hard sci-fi setting.
  The abilities/exploits granted by your creature type are
free; you have already paid for them.
Attributes   You will need to “flavor” generic exploits yourself—the
Spend as many points as you wish on attribute adjust- following list will give you the mechanical effect, but you
ments. You can include negative adjustments, but a will need to decide whether “Soak 5” means your race has
negative can only save up to –1, whatever its size. Remem- armor-plating, thick hide, or even a psychic forcefield.
ber that REP and CHI start at zero, while everything else   Negative values automatically save the amount which
starts at 3. positive values cost, unless otherwise noted.
  If the effect is not listed, it costs 4 points. Exploits may
Dhampirs are stronger and faster than humans, with combine effects. Most exploits cost 4 points. If you’re not
heightened senses. They gain +2 STR, +2 AGI, +2 INT. sure, 4 is the default.
They are, however, weak-willed and prone to hunger and   Things which give a bonus with a small caveat or un-
insatiable urges, suffering WIL –1. This comes to a total of costed penalty cost 1 point less, and those which require
5 points. expenditure of a LUC die cost half (to a minimum of 1).

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Actions (4+) Bonus (4+)

•• Those exploits, such as extra limbs or fast movement, •• Exploits which add +1d6 to a certain type of check
which permanently grant a extra actions cost 4 cost 4 points.
points per action. •• As does an exploding dice pool of a specific type.
•• Exploits which grant an extra action temporarily •• Those which inflict a non-combat penalty save half
cost 3 points. this (Initiative and Perception count as combat
•• Those which grant an ally an action cost 2 points. skills for this purpose).
•• If it’s conditional (e.g. a perception check where
Age (0+) the target must be moving, or reliant on sound, or a
•• Typically, natural lifespan does not affect the cost of penalty in bright light), it costs half.
a creature. •• Those which inflict a penalty on somebody else also
cost half.
Attribute Flexibility (4)
•• If the race’s attributes include some freedom of Carrying (1–2)
choice, such as a human’s “Varied” exploit, this •• Increasing carry increments by 50% costs 1 point
costs 4 points. •• Doubling carry increments costs 2 points
•• Having the ability to exchange an attribute for a
career attribute costs 1 point. Communication (1)
•• An unusual communication method, such as
Attribute Loss (–4) odours or telepathy, costs 1 point.
•• If the creature is missing an attribute altogether •• Voice mimicry or ventriloquism costs 2 points.
(such as a mechanoid’s inability to use PSI), it saves •• Being unable to speak, or speak only a unique
4 points. It does not save additional points for extra language, saves 2 points.
missing attributes.
•• An attribute cap of 4 saves 4 points; a cap of 6 saves Condition (4)
2 points. •• A special attack which inflicts a condition, such as a
Charm, Afraid or Burning effect, costs 4 points.
Aura (4+)
•• An aura of 5’ costs 4 points. Add 4 points for each 5’ Damage Bonus (4)
thereafter. •• Adding +1d6 damage costs 4 points.
•• You will need to pay for the effect of the aura (dam- •• Inflicting a condition costs 4 points. If that is
age, a condition, etc.) separately. combined with damage, the condition only costs 2
•• If it can only affect one target, treat it as a ranged points.
attack instead. •• Something like bony protrusions, a horn, or fiery
hands, which simply changes your natural damage
Biological Functions (1) type cost only 1 point. If it’s an non-Soakable type,
•• Immunity to one or more biological functions (eat- such as psionic, it costs 4 points.
ing, sleeping, etc.) costs 1 point total, as does the •• If it adds damage/condition and changes its type,
ability to breathe underwater. you get the type change for free.
•• A limited range, such as a hologram’s requirement •• Doing double damage to a certain type of object
to stay within one mile of its CPU, saves 1 point. costs 2 points.
•• Requiring equipment to operate in air/normal •• Being able to snatch an object with an attack costs 2
conditions saves 2 points. points.

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Defense (1+) Information (4)

•• Exploits which grant Defense bonuses cost 1 point •• The ability to ask a yes/no question of the GM once
per point of bonus. per day costs 2 points.
•• Penalties save the same. •• The ability to ask a closed question once per day
•• Each Defense must be paid for separately. costs 4 points.
•• If the Defense bonus only applies to one attack type, •• The ability to ask an open question once per day
it is halved. costs 8 points.

Equipment (1+) Immunities (2–8)

•• Free equipment, such as a cultural weapon or em- •• Immunity to a damage type or attack type costs 4
bedded item, costs 1 point per 100 cr value. points; poison, sonic, and radiation only cost 2 each.
•• Limits on equipment use save 2 points. •• Immunity to a specific condition costs 2 points.
•• Access to special equipment costs 4 points. •• Immunity to a range of damage types costs a
maximum of 8 points, no matter the number, as
Exploits (4–8) does immunity that applies to an entire Defense
•• A free exploit is worth 4 points (e.g. an Android’s immunity to all attacks that target
•• A flexible exploit choice (such as the Android’s Mental Defense).
choice of upgrades, a choice of psionic powers, or a •• Immunity to forced movement costs 4 points (a
mutant’s choice of mutations) is worth 8 points. penalty costs 1 point per d6).
•• If it is randomly determined, it is only worth 4.
Intangibility (4)
Healing (4+) •• Intangible creatures cannot be affected by physical
•• This applies to healing oneself or others. Each 1d6 damage, but they can be hurt normally by energy
Health of healing costs 4 points. damage. They cannot interact physically with the
•• Healing equal to spent LUC dice or an attribute environment without some additional special abil-
check costs 4 points. ity, but cannot pass through solid objects.
•• If it can be done more than once per day, it costs 8
points. Invisibility (4–8)
•• If it only applies when naturally healing at the start •• Camouflage which grants +1d6 to hiding costs 4.
of each day, halve the cost. •• Camouflage which grants invisibility in certain
•• Doubling daily natural healing has a flat cost of 4 environments costs 6.
points. Halving it saves 4 points. •• Invisibility in general costs 8.
•• Regeneration costs 2 points for 1 point of healing •• If the effect requires the creature to remain still,
per hour; 4 points for 1 point of healing per round; halve the cost.
or 8 points per 1d6, as does a vampiric-style attack
which steals the target’s Health. Halve it if it re- Jumping (4)
quires a particular condition (eg immersed in water, •• A 30’ jump costs 4. Adding distance costs 1 per 5’.
bright sunlight, etc.) •• Doubling Jump distances costs 4 points.
•• If the race cannot benefit from healing (except daily •• A standing start have the effect of a running jump
natural healing) it saves 8 points. costs 2 points.
•• Similarly, immunity to falling costs 4.
Health (2+) •• Reducing falling distances costs 1 per 10’.
•• For especially robust races, each 1d6 bonus Health •• Halving falling distances costs 2.
costs 2 points. •• Inability to jump saves 2 points.

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Legs (4+)
•• Four-legged creatures which impose –2d6 to knock
down (and frequently gain a Speed bonus, separate)
cost 2 points.
•• 8 legs make you immune to knockdowns and costs
4 points.
Senses (2+)
Lives (4) •• The ability to sense psionics, emotions, or some-
•• If you get bonus one-use “lives” these cost 4 points thing else within 10’ costs 2 points, or 3 points for 30’.
each. If you have an immortality-style way to re- •• Or within 5’ per point of INT costs 4 points.
cover from death more than once, this costs 8 points. •• A sight type such as darksight costs 2 points.
•• Truesight costs 4 points.
Luck (2+) •• Poor sight which reduces range increments by half
•• Creatures which cannot spend LUC dice save 4 saves 2.
points. •• Being immune to flanks and crossfire costs 4.
•• Creatures which suppress the LUC of others cost 4 •• Direction senses and navigation abilities are worth
points. 2 points.
•• Creatures which can donate LUC dice cost 2 points
Shapechanging (8)
Movement Modes (2–8) •• This powerful ability costs 8 points.
•• Low-g, zero-g, and hi-g cost 2 points.
•• Flight costs 8 points (hovering just 4 points, as does Skill Grant (1+)
gliding or limited flight which requires landing •• An exploit which only grants non-combat skills
every turn). costs 1 point for each skill die (not the raw number).
•• Climbing costs 6 points (perching just 2 points). •• Combat skills cost 2 per die. For the purposes of this,
•• Swimming costs 2 points (walking on water 1 point). Initiative and Perception count as combat skills.
•• A conditional reduced movement mode (e.g. “half •• A condition (e.g. “in bright light”) saves 1 point.
Speed in cold conditions”) saves 2 points. •• If it’s a choice of skills, increase the total cost by 50%
•• The ability to ignore difficult terrain costs 4 points. (round down).
•• The ability to move through enemy squares costs 2
points. Soak/Vulnerability (1+)
•• Those which grant Soak cost 1 point per point of
Ranged Attack (4) Soak.
•• A natural ranged or area attack costs 4 points, and •• Or half (round up) if only to a specific damage type.
can inflict damage or a condition; for both, you must •• Vulnerabilities to a damage type save 2 points per
pay 6 points. 1d6.
•• Natural reach costs 2 points. •• Additional negative effects from a particular
•• Doubling rage increment costs 2 points. substance beyond normal (e.g. alcohol beyond the
•• Telekinesis costs 4 points. normal effect, bright light, or extra damage from
•• An effect with a caveat (e.g. can only be used once falling) save 2 points.
per target, or target resents the effect afterwards)
saves 1 point. Speed (2+)
•• A ranged attack which only affects one adjacent •• Each point of Speed bonus costs (or saves) 2 points.
target counts as a melee attack for costing purposes. •• Doubling Speed costs 8 points.

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We have spent only 5 points of our budget of 18 so far, so

we have 13 points to spend on our Dhampir.
  Vampiric bite (6). Dhampirs can bite a victim and cause
2d6 damage, gaining 1d6 Health in return. This requires an
unarmed attack and expenditure of a LUC die.
  Spider-climb (6). Dhampirs can climb walls and ceilings
with ease. They gain a Climb speed equal to their regular
Speed and do not need to make checks to climb.
  Sunlight sensitivity (–4). Dhampirs do not enjoy sunlight;
they are not harmed by it like full vampires are, but they
suffer –1d6 to INT (including perception) and Initiative
checks when in sunlight.
  Biological immunity (5). Dhampirs do not need to eat or
sleep. They are also immune to poison.

Description
Finally, you will need to describe your heritage. Note its
appearance, culture, and suitable careers. Also note a se-
lection of typical names.
  And that’s it. After following this process, you will have
created a new heritage. You might also want to create a
typical member of the heritage in the form of a monster
stat block for later use. To fully realize your new heritage,
you should consider creating at least one career unique to
your heritage and perhaps some new equipment.

Dhampir
You have had a brush with undeath, but you’re not quite EXPLOITS
there yet. Not as strong or as powerful as a full vampire,   Vampiric bite (6). Dhampirs can bite a victim and cause
you are able to move in daylight (although you find it un- 2d6 damage, gaining 1d6 Health in return. This requires
comfortable). You share the vampire’s thirst for blood, an unarmed attack and expenditure of a LUC die.
and some of its mythological abilities, but are not con-   Spider-climb (6). Dhampirs can climb walls and ceilings
demned to evil in the way that the undead are. with ease. They gain a Climb speed equal to their regular
Dhampirs are created from the union of a vampire and Speed and do not need to make checks to climb.
a human, but they are neither. They exist in a twilight   Sunlight sensitivity (–4). Dhampirs do not enjoy sun-
world between life and undeath, and are rejected by light; they are not harmed by it like full vampires are, but
both. Dhampirs are sometimes called “daywalkers.” they suffer –1d6 to INT (including perception) and Initia-
tive checks when in sunlight.
Dhampir   Biological immunity (5). Dhampirs do not need to eat
Size: Medium or sleep and are immune to poison. They do require
Attributes: STR +2, AGI +2, INT +2, WIL –1. blood—or at least raw meat—to remain comfortable,
Skill choices: history, stealth, disguise, bluffing however.

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Designing a Career The Vampire Slayer requires physical prowess, extensive

If you create a new heritage, you should create at least one knowledge, good tracking ability, and something special.
career unique to that heritage. However, you may need to Vampire Slayers get END +1, LOG +1, INT +1, CHI +1.
create careers irrespective of any heritage design you’ve
done. Perhaps your setting has a particular tradition of
gladiators, an order of mystical monks, cyborg soldiers, or Skills
exceptionally lucky explorers. List some skills offered by that career. Remember that the
  Designing a career is a lot like designing a heritage. character will only be selecting two of these skills. As with
The following steps will take you through the process of heritage design, this list is what determines who varied
designing a new career for your setting. Alongside the that career is—a short list creates a more uniform career,
guidelines, an example Vampire Slayer starting career while a larger selection creates one which is more varied.
will be designed for the new Dhampir heritage. Also remember that this skill selection is a specializa-
tion—the character will be getting better at a wide range
Concept of things simply by virtue of the attribute bonuses.
Decide on your concept. What role does this career fulfil
in your setting? Can that role be filled by another career? The skills offered by the Vampire Hunter career should
The easiest mistake to make here is to confuse skill selec- cover lore and tracking ability, as well as knives (which is
tion with full careers. For example, the college student what a wooden stake essentially is). The Vampire Hunter
career allows you to choose, via skills, what type of col- has a choice of history, knives, tracking, and religion.
lege student that is; additional careers aren’t needed for
history, law, engineering, and medical students.
Exploits
Vampire Slayers are dedicated to one goal: hunting and Finally, create exploits unique to that career. These should
destroying vampires. While they are enemy to all undead, be ones that can’t just be replicated with a good attribute
vampires are their hated foe, and the target of their obses- check (with or without skill or equipment bonus). Good
sion. examples include the assassin’s death blow or a soldier’s
extra ammunition ability. An origin career will typically
only have one exploit, but other careers should have about
Length five exploits, some of which may have prerequisites. Little
Decide how long this career should take. If you’re not sure, exploit chains encourage characters to stay in that career.
the standard is 1d6 years. Some careers—in particular
educational courses—have a set length of 1, 2, or maybe 4 The Vampire Slayer gets a choice of the following exploits:
years. Very occasionally something like prison might last   Stake to the heart. When using a wooden stake, a Vam-
longer than 1d6 years. Starting careers are longer, as they pire Slayer does double damage to a vampire.
take a character through childhood and adolescence—   The stench of death. Vampire Slayers can sense the
they are typically 2d6+6 years, but can vary. presence of vampires, automatically recognising one, and
sensing the presence of any within 5’ per point of INT.
The Vampire Slayer will be a regular 1d6-year career.   Death strike (requires Stake to the heart). When a Vam-
pire Slayer reduces a vampire to zero Health, the creature
is immediately and permanently destroyed.
Attributes   Don’t bite me! A Vampire Slayer’s blood is poisonous to
Assign attribute adjustments. A career gets four attribute a vampire. A vampire who bites a Vampire Slayer takes 3d6
bonuses of +1 each. damage.

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Vampire Slayer
Designing Foes
This creature design engine is a process by which you will
Having followed this process, you should now have be able to easily create a monster, creature, or generic
created a new career. Here’s our Vampire Slayer NPC type.
career.   You can create anything from robots and alien mon-
strosities to reusable NPC stat blocks such as “Cop,
Vampire Slayer [1d6 years] “Soldier,” or “KGB Interrogator.” In a modern setting, most
Prerequisites: religion enemies will be humans of some kind, but you can use
Attributes: END +1, LOG +1, INT +1, CHI +1 this system to create just about anything—dinosaurs,
Skill Choices: history, knives, tracking, religion zombies, scientific experiments, invading aliens, or what-
You have been trained to hunt and destroy that unholy ever else you can imagine. We use the terms “creature”
scourge of the night, the vampire. and “monster” interchangeably throughout this section,
  Stake to the heart. When using a wooden stake, a and these terms include NPCs in this context.
Vampire Slayer does double damage to a vampire.   Monsters and generic NPCs tend to be a bit more ar-
  The stench of death. Vampire Slayers can sense bitrary than player characters. Of course, a monster can
the presence of vampires, automatically recognis- have whatever statistics you need—if you need your elite
ing one, and sensing the presence of any within 5’ mystical ninja to have AGI 20 or 200 Health for some rea-
per point of INT. son, you can just assign those values. The following is just
  Death strike (requires Stake to the heart). When a a set of guidelines to help your design process; feel free to
Vampire Slayer reduces a vampire to zero Health, the ignore any of them.
creature is immediately and permanently destroyed.   This method is the reverse method to creating a char-
  Don’t bite me! A Vampire Slayer’s blood is poisonous acter, because you are starting at your desired result and
to a vampire. A vampire who bites a Vampire Slayer working backwards—you will know in advance that you
takes 3d6 damage. want an 8d6 “brute” style robot, and this informs the rest
of the creature’s statistics.
  Once you have decided on your creature concept, fol-
lowing these steps.

Max Dice Pool (MDP)

Choose your monster’s Maximum Dice Pool. This will
decide many of the following statistics. You should start
with an idea of how powerful you want your monster to be.
For comparison, a starting character is 5d6. PCs tend to be
a little more optimised than monsters, so monster scores
are slightly higher. Generally, a monster with +1 MDP over
a PC is a challenging match the PC should win. +2 MDP
means the PC will probably lose one-on-one, and at +3
MDP the PC is almost certain to be defeated.
 MDP. Throughout this section, the term “MDP” means
“Maximum Dice Pool.” Throughout this section, when you
halve, quarter, or otherwise divide the MDP to derive a
value, always round up.

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Role, Size, & Type

Choose a “role,” a size category, and a type for your   You also need to know the creature’s type. This is
monster. an open-ended list which includes, but is not limited
 The role is just a broad descriptive tag; it isn’t used dur- to, the following creature types: aquatic, avian, beast,
ing play, but it can be useful when designing. Choose from: changeling, crystalline, insectoid, humanoid, gaseous,
•• Artillery. A creature which does area damage from mechanoid, plant, projection, and reptile. A creature can
a distance, such as a grenadier or a ranged heavy have more than one type, of course—it might be an avian
robot. mechanoid or a crystalline plant. The type will help deter-
•• Brute. A creature focuses on raw melee power, mine some of the creature’s exploits, which you’ll list at
smashing its foes to the ground, such as heavy- the end of this process.
weight boxer or a mighty t-rex.   It’s important to note that this is just an “introductory”
•• Expert. A creature whose focus is not combat, such list of creature types; you can no doubt imagine more ex-
as a medic, engineer, or pilot. otic things like oozes and electricity monsters, and many
•• Ninja. A fast, mobile melee creature, able to at- more.
tack quickly and accurately and dance around its   Using these details, note the monster’s descriptor,
opponents. which is formed as follows:
•• Skirmisher. A fast, mobile, ranged creature, weak
in melee, but able to keep its distance and pick off [size] [sentience] [types] (dice pool)
its targets from afar. Many gun-toting bandits are
skirmishers.   For example:
•• Support. A creature which heals or buffs other crea-
tures, or alters the battlefield; this could be a medic, Large semi-sentient mechanoid beast (7d6)
or an adept commander.
•• Trickster. A frustrating opponent such as a charmer,
or even a teleporter, able to inflict a range of Attributes
conditions. A creature’s attributes depends on the monster’s role,
These names don’t really mean anything. They are de- which you chose in the previous step. Only give the
scriptive tools during the design process, but you’ll never creature a CHI score if you want it to have supernatural
need them again once the creature is finished. abilities. A creature’s REP score will help determine how
  The creature’s size uses the same scale as player char- much the player characters (and others) know about it.
acters, and includes tiny (mouse-sized), small (dog-sized), The creature’s mental statistics assume that the creature
medium (human-sized), large (tiger-sized), enormous is sentient, but non-sentient, semi-sentient, and super-
(elephant-sized), gigantic (whale-sized), colossal (kaiju- sentient creatures may radically alter these values in the
sized), and titanic (skyscraper-sized). next step.

MDP Multiplier by Role

Role STR AGI END INT LOG WIL CHA LUC REP CHI
Artillery 0.3 0.5 0.3 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.2 0.5 0.5
Brute 0.6 0.3 0.6 0.3 0.3 0.5 0.3 0.2 0.5 0.3
Expert 0.3 0.5 0.3 0.5 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.3 0.5 0.6
Ninja 0.5 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.2 0.5 0.4
Skirmisher 0.3 0.5 0.3 0.6 0.5 0.3 0.5 0.2 0.5 0.4
Support 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.5 0.6
Trickster 0.3 0.5 0.3 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.3 0.5 0.8

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Sentience creatures known for specific senses (such as owls) can also
Also consider the creature’s sentience. Sentience typically have extremely high skill ranks in those specific abilities.
comes in the following categories, and can alter the crea- CHA tends to be 1 (for ugly critters) or 2 (for attractive crit-
ture’s mental statistics in the following ways. ters). WIL will tend to be around average (4) unless there
 Non-sentient. Non-sentient does not necessarily mean is a compelling reason to do otherwise.
non-intelligent. Non-sentient creatures are immune to  Sentient. This includes humans, and most living sen-
mental attacks. tient creatures with LOG attributes of 2 or more. Sentient
 Semi-sentient. These are dogs, wolves, bears, and creatures should be assigned mental attributes normally.
other animal-level intelligent creatures. Semi-sentient  Super-sentient. Generally with LOG and INT attri-
creatures have 1–2 (1d6) LOG (carnivores are usually butes of 20 or more, these creatures are supra-geniuses
more intelligent than herbivores), and may often have far beyond even the greatest of humans. Super-sentient
INT attributes as high as their AGI attributes. INT repre- creatures automatically have the power of truesight,
sents senses, perception, and animal cunning. Note that which enables them to see through illusions, invisibility,

Defense Ratings by Role

Role Melee Ranged Mental Vital
Artillery Low (MDP × 2) High (MDP × 4) Medium (MDP × 3) Low (MDP × 2)
Brute High (MDP × 4) Low (MDP × 2) Low (MDP × 2) High (MDP × 4)
Expert Low (MDP × 2) Medium (MDP × 3) High (MDP × 4) Low (MDP × 2)
Ninja High (MDP × 4) Medium (MDP × 3) Low (MDP × 2) Medium (MDP × 3)
Skirmisher Low (MDP × 2) High (MDP × 4) Medium (MDP × 3) Medium (MDP × 3)
Support Medium (MDP × 3) Medium (MDP × 3) High (MDP × 4) Medium (MDP × 3)
Trickster Low (MDP × 2) Medium (MDP × 3) High (MDP × 4) Low (MDP × 2)

Statistic Adjustments by Size

STATISTIC Tiny Small Medium Large Enormous Gigantic Colossal Titanic
Melee Defense +4 +2 — –2 –4 –8 –16 –16
Ranged Def +4 +2 — –4 –8 –16 –32 –32
Vital Def –2 –2 — +2 +4 +6 +8 +16
Actions 2 2 2 2 3 4 5 6
Health x1 x1 x1 x1 x1.5 x2 x3 x5
Reach 5’ 5’ 5’ 5’ 10’ 15’ 20’ 40’
STR Cap 1 (1d6) 3 (2d6) 10 (4d6) 15 (5d6) 21 (6d6) 45 (9d6) 78 (12d6) 120+ (15d6+)

Initiative, Perception, and Speed Adjustments by Role

Role Initiative Perception Speed
Artillery Medium (MDP × 0.75) High (MDP × 1) Slow (MDP × 0.5)
Brute Low (MDP × 0.5) Low (MDP × 0.5) Slow (MDP × 0.5)
Expert Low (MDP × 0.5) Medium (MDP × 0.75) Medium (MDP × 1)
Ninja High (MDP × 1) Medium (MDP × 0.75) Fast (MDP × 1.5)
Skirmisher Medium (MDP × 0.75) High (MDP × 1) Fast (MDP × 1.5)
Support Medium (MDP × 0.75) Medium (MDP × 0.75) Medium (MDP × 1)
Trickster High (MDP × 1) High (MDP × 1) Fast (MDP × 1.5)

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and disguises. They can also see in the dark, and through Soak and Health Adjustments by Role
obscuring effects like smoke, although not through cover. Role Soak Health
Additionally, supersentient creatures can automatically Artillery Low (MDP × 0.5) Low (MDP × 3)
speak and understand any language. Brute High (MDP × 2) High (MDP × 10)
Expert Low (MDP × 0.5) Low (MDP × 3)
Defenses Ninja Medium (MDP × 1) Medium (MDP × 6)
You now need to determine the creature’s four Defenses. Skirmisher Low (MDP × 0.5) Low (MDP × 3)
Each Defense is high, medium, or low, and is based on Support Medium (MDP × 1) Medium (MDP × 6)
the monster’s MDP. The lowest a Defense can be is 10. Trickster Low (MDP × 0.5) Low (MDP × 3)

Size Initiative, Perception, & Speed

You then need to adjust for Size (see the table on the previ- Using the same method, determine your monster’s Ini-
ous page). While size can affect physical attributes, it does tiative, Perception, and Speed scores.
not necessarily correlate to them—a tiny, tiny tardigrade   You will need to assign movement modes at this time.
might have an END score many times higher than a hu- The listed Speed in the table on the previous page is for
man. STR, however, is an attribute you might consider the creature’s primary movement mode. For additional
capping by size; you don’t have to (after all, there’s noth- modes, it moves at half Speed.
ing wrong with a tiny super-strong robot!) but a suggested   If a creature has a natural movement mode, it is denot-
cap is presented in the table at left. ed in the stat block with a “+” symbol (e.g. Climb +8); this
means that it does not need to make any attribute checks
Soak to move in this manner, and it uses the speed listed for the
Most creatures have a Soak value. When you assign primary movement mode.
Soak, you won’t necessarily know where that Soak comes   If the creature can fly, you should note whether or not it
from—it may be from armor they are wearing, or from a can hover by putting the word “hover” in parenthesis after
tough hide, or thick fur, or a hard shell. You’ll have a total its Fly speed; if it cannot hover, it must move at least half
amount of Soak appropriate to the creature; you can de- its Fly speed each round to stay aloft.
scribe it however you wish.
  As before, choose high, medium, or low Soak. However, Attacks
you should be very cautious about allowing Soak scores You will need to determine the creature’s melee and
above 20—the hardest substances in the core rules are ranged attack pools, plus an optional mental attack pool
diamond and duranium at Soak 20 and tritanium and and psionic attack pool. Only include the latter two if
adamantium at Soak 25. Unless you have a very compel- they are relevant; the psionic attack pool, if it exists, is
ling reason to do otherwise, you should cap a creature’s the same as the most thematically similar existing attack
Soak at 20. pool—most likely ranged (for something like an electric
discharge) or mental (for something like a psionic blast).
Health   Most creatures will only use their primary attack pool,
Health is an important value. Choose from high, me- but if a PC charges a ranged attacker, it might be forced to
dium, or low scores, and then adjust for size. These values resort to its weaker attack mode.
can be found in the same table as the Soak table.   The attack values in particular can be tweaked. If you
  Size affects Health as follows: Enormous ×1.5, Gigantic want your brute to have a high ranged attack, go right
×2, Colossal ×3, and Titanic ×5. ahead and assign it.
  Monsters tend to have higher Health than PCs. This   You might consider giving some creatures with a high
abstracts the fact that they don’t have all the resources single attack a secondary medium area attack. A defense
available that PCs have to heal and recover. drone’s flamethrower is an example of this.

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Attack Pools by Role

Role Melee Attack Ranged Attack Mental Attack
Artillery Low (MDP x 0.5) High (MDP x 1) Low (MDP x 0.5)
Brute High (MDP x 1) Medium (MDP x 0.75) Low (MDP x 0.5)
Expert Low (MDP x 0.5) Low (MDP x 0.5) Medium (MDP x 0.75)
Ninja High (MDP x 1) Low (MDP x 0.5) Low (MDP x 0.5)
Skirmisher Low (MDP x 0.5) High (MDP x 1) Low (MDP x 0.5)
Support Medium (MDP x 0.75) Medium (MDP x 0.75) Medium (MDP x 0.75)
Trickster Low (MDP x 0.5) Medium (MDP x 0.75) High (MDP x 1)

 Damage. Damage tracks with the attack pool, and is Brute

50% of the attack pool. For example, an attack pool of 8d6 •• Stop Right There! Enemies which try to move
means 4d6 damage, while 7d6 would become 3d6+3. You past the brute (move within reach) are subject to a
will need to assign the damage type manually. free action attack, which stops their movement if
 Range. A ranged attack has a range in 5’ squares of MDP successful.
× 1.5, unless the creature is a skirmisher or artillery, in •• Charge. The brute moves its Speed and makes an
which case the range is MDP × 2. attack with one action.
•• Burst. The brute uses an action to attack all adjacent
Exploits targets. On a hit they are pushed back 10’.
You now need to give the creature exploits. This is by far •• Cone. Alternatively, this could be a cone such as a
the most arbitrary part of the process. You should be tail swipe.
inventive with its exploits—each creature should feel dif- •• Grab. This attack inflicts the Restrained condition
ferent. There’s a whole smorgasbord of area attacks, grabs, on a creature, and requires a melee attack to escape.
throws, mental attacks, psionic abilities, and more. Below The brute’s natural damage is automatically inflict-
is a small selection to get you started, but this is just the tip ed at the start of the grabbed creature’s turns.
of the iceberg—it’s really important to note that this sec- •• Hurl. Send a creature flying 3 squares plus one
tion is limited only by your imagination. square per size difference and, do natural damage;
  Feel free to allow creatures to use exploits from other this attack inflicts Downed condition.
categories; these are listed thematically for convenience. •• Roar. This burst attack with a Burst equal to the
Creatures and NPCs should also have access to regular brute’s MDP does a mental attack which inflicts the
exploits, and all have the ability to Aim or Feint. Afraid condition.
•• Trample. The brute can move through a smaller
Artillery creature’s square, getting a free melee attack which
•• Burst. This attack does burst damage (in a Burst knocks the target aside and prone for the attacker’s
equal to half MDP, so artillery with MDP 8 does a natural damage. If the attack misses, the brute must
Burst 4). The attack attacks all creatures within the stop its movement.
burst area (make only one attack roll and only one •• Monstrous Leap. The brute leaps into the air a
damage roll and apply it to all targets in the area). A height of 5’ per MDP, making an attack against one
psi-cop unleashes a psionic blast or soldier fires a foe it can reach while doing so.
grenade launcher. •• Quake. The brute slams a foot, fist, or tail on the
•• Cone. Alternatively, the artillery could unleash a ground, shaking the area within its aura. The brute
half MDP cone such as a flamethrower. makes an attack against everybody within the area,
knocking targets prone and doing 1d6 damage to
them.

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•• Monumental. The brute has double Soak against Skirmisher

ranged weapons. •• Perfect aim. The skirmisher gets +2d6 from aiming
•• Living Shield. The brute picks up another creature instead of +1d6.
smaller than itself and uses it as a shield. The target •• Mobile attack. The skirmisher moves two moves
can escape the grab as normal. Until then, the brute and make a single ranged attack at any point.
gains the protection of a shield of the same size •• Dive for cover. On a missed attack, the skirmisher
category (e.g. a medium-sized creature is a medium may use a reaction to move its Speed and either get
shield). Additionally, attacks which miss but would prone or behind cover.
have hit had the shield not been in place hit the •• Backpedal. When someone attempts a melee attack,
grabbed creature instead. the skirmisher use a reaction to step back 10’ and
•• Come Here! A target struck with a weapon or take a shot.
tentacle with a range equal to half its regular ranged •• Panicked unload. The skirmisher fires two shots at
attack range is pulled adjacent to the brute. The a target and if both hit, it gains a third shot.
target cannot be larger than the brute.
Support
Expert •• Healing. The support NPC can heal allies with an
•• Skill dice. The expert’s primary skill dice pool is its action an amount of Health equal to their damage
MDP. It could be piloting, medicine, engineering, roll. Each can only benefit once.
heraldry, or any other area of expertise. •• Leadership. The support has a dice pool equal to
•• Analyze. For one round the expert can remove one its MDP to donate to its allies; it must declare this
enemy’s Soak. This only works on a given target before any dice are rolled.
once. •• Designate target. The support chooses one target.
•• Healing. The expert can heal allies with an action That target may not benefit from cover until another
equal to their damage roll. Each can only benefit target is selected. A spotlight illuminates the target
once. or a commander uses a tactical battlefield targeting
drone.
Ninja •• Battlefield control. The support can create difficult
•• Third attack. If the ninja makes two melee attacks, terrain or darkness in a burst area radius equal to
it gets a third attack for free. its MDP. An ice cannon creates an icy patch, or an
•• Achilles heel. The ninja can bypass Soak once per engineer throws caltrops
foe. •• Summon. The support can summon, create, or acti-
•• Dart in. The ninja moves its Speed, attacks, then vate activate 1d6 mooks. An engineer activates some
moves its Speed back again. security droids, or a samurai summons some ninjas.
•• Stealthy. The ninja can make MDP stealth checks to
remain effectively invisible. Trickster
•• Teleport. The ninja can move a double move as one •• Teleport. The trickster can move a double move as
action. A mystical ninja teleports, special forces use one action, bypassing any obstacles.
alien transporter tech, a super-fast race zooms to a •• Deceive. An illusion of self disguises the trickster’s
new location, or a CH_powered martial artist simply true location.
makes a giant leap. •• Controller. A mental attack makes the target
•• Poison. This attack inflicts the Poisoned or Sick Charmed.
conditions. •• Taunt. A mental attack makes the target Angry.

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General/Unusual equal to its regular Speed and does not need to

•• Aura. An aura equal to half the creature’s MDP does make checks to climb. Such creatures can move on
low damage or inflicts a condition. walls and ceilings normally.
•• Berserker. The creature gains +1d6 damage when •• Humanoid. Humanoids gain no special advantages.
below half Health; it cannot stop attacking until all They are bipedal, mammalian creatures.
foes are dead. •• Gaseous. Gaseous creatures are immune to non
•• Called shot. The creature has a weakness which energy-based physical attacks, and have Soak 10 to
can be exploited via a Called Shot (–2d6 to hit). This energy-based attacks.
might inflict a condition, or even kill it outright. •• Mechanoid. Mechanoids are immune to mental
•• Disease. The creature inflicts a disease on a critical attacks, are vulnerable (1d6) to electricity damage,
hit. and vulnerable (2d6) to ion damage. They are usu-
•• Poison. The creature inflicts the Poisoned condition ally immune to the Sick and Fatigued conditions.
on a hit. •• Plant. Plant creatures vulnerable (1d6) to fire, but
•• Regeneration. The creature automatically heals a have an additional 5 Soak. Plants usually cannot
quarter MDP Health at the start of each turn. wear armor. They are usually immune to the Sick
and Fatigued conditions. They ignore natural dif-
Remember, this is just a small selection of ideas. You ficult terrain, unless it is fire or heat-based.
should try to vary your creatures as much as possible and •• Projection. Projections are incorporeal entities,
design your own exploits. including psychic entities and holograms. Projec-
tions are incorporeal. This makes them immune to
Creature Type physical weapons unless they do psionic damage
The creature’s type(s) also grant it some exploits or other (in the case of a psychic entity) or ion damage (in
adjustments. Apply these now. the case of a hologram); they can pass through
•• Aquatic. The creature gains a SWIM speed equal physical barriers. A projection will usually do
to its regular Speed. It can breathe underwater. psionic or electricity damage, if it does any dam-
Swimming is a natural movement mode for aquatic age. Projections cannot usually be killed; reducing
creatures. them to 0 Health simply disperses them for a while.
•• Avian. The creature gains a Fly speed equal to its Projections can freely fly, although many do not.
regular Speed. Flying is a natural movement mode Projections have superior darksight and lifesense
for avians. to a distance of 5’ per point of INT. Projections are
•• Beast. These are normal animals such as dogs, usually immune to any physical conditions.
bears, and dinosaurs. •• Reptile. Reptiles are cold-blooded and are vulner-
•• Changeling. A rare creature type, changelings are able (1d6) to cold damage. They usually have scales
able to alter their shape and appearance. The exact granting +5 natural Soak.
details of this varies. They are typically immune to •• Swarm. A swarm is a collection of thousands of
critical hits and conditions. tiny creatures which attack en masse. A swarm is
•• Crystalline. Crystalline creatures are resistant to immune to all attacks except for area attacks. When
heat damage (Soak 5 heat), but vulnerable (1d6) to it attacks, it simply moves into the target’s square.
sonic damage due to their brittle nature. They are Any creature which starts its turn in or enters the
immune to the Bleeding condition. swarm’s square suffers melee damage automatically,
•• Insectoid. Climbing is a natural movement mode and may suffer the Blind condition. Swarms can
for insectoids. The creature gains a Climb speed move through gaps of any size.

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Skills
You will also need the monster’s skills. While most of the
time you will just be using its derived statistics, occasion-
ally you may need something more specific. To determine
these, you will need to “reverse engineer” them from its
derived statistics. In particular, the following skills should
be calculated:
•• combat skill*—the monster equivalent of unarmed
combat is simply called combat.
•• perception—this may be named after the creature’s
special senses, such as scent, hearing, etc., or it may
juts be called perception.
•• movement skill*—this may be running or some
similar skill.
•• tactics or reactions—the monster should have one of
these two skills.
•• social skill(s)*—this optional skill, especially for
tricksters and supporters, might include bluffing,
intimidation, persuasion, and so on.
•• stealth—most creatures will have this at some level,
even if it is very low.
•• psionic skill(s)*—assign these if relevant, but most
psionic powers will be in the form of easy-to-use
exploits. them to an exceptional human (a professional athlete, for
•• carrying—four-legged herbivores, and similar example), who would have 10 ranks or so. If the creature
creatures, often have a dice pool in carrying equal would be better than a trained athlete at a skill, then give
to half their Maximum Dice Pool. it 10 or more ranks.
•• defensive skills—you don’t have to reverse engineer   If in doubt, just give a creature a skill dice pool equal to
these, but you can if you wish. You may need one for half its Maximum Dice Pool.
each Defense.
You already know the monster’s attributes from earlier in Finishing Up
the design process, and you know what the derived dice Finally, you will need to finish up with the minor (or not
pool is, so the related skill is simply the difference be- so minor!) details. You should feel free to tweak any values
tween the two. on the stat block—if your NPC is from a race of speedsters
  For example, if you know that the creature has 8d6 Ini- who only move at light speed, go ahead and give it a Speed
tiative and that it has 5d6 Intuition, you automatically of 100, or whatever is appropriate. If your creature is re-
know that it must have 3d6 to either the tactics or reactions flective and immune to heat weapons, go ahead and add
skill. The same applies to attack dice pools, Perception, that immunity. Remember, as the GM, the monster is ex-
and so on. actly what you need it to be.
  You should also manually assign any relevant skills.   If you are publishing the creature, it’s probably worth
Remember that creatures can be naturally much better encoding those arbitrary changes as exploits, just so that
than humans at certain things, especially when it comes others can see clearly where they came from, but this is
to senses, movement, and fighting. Don’t be afraid to give not vital. And if you are only using it in your home game, it
them 10 or more ranks in something. If in doubt, compare really doesn’t matter!

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Creating Campaigns Creating an Adventure

A campaign is a sequence of adventures designed to last Creating an adventure is part art and part science. The
multiple—often many—sessions of play. Some take a GM will need to devise a plot, create antagonists, and pre-
month or two to complete; others can take years. pare locations. The process is somewhat akin to writing a
  Many campaigns are published in the form of “ad- novella, except that the GM only controls most of the cast.
venture paths”—these pre-published collections of   Start by outlining the basic premise or plot. This is the
adventures take the player characters through a long story most important step, because everything else springs
arc. Adventure paths are common to many games, and are from there. In fact, that can be your whole preparation—
popular with GMs who have little time to prepare. They there are resources and creatures and more available in
sometimes run for 10 or more adventures, although short- this very book to help you run things on the fly—but it can
er versions with only 3–4 adventures are also available. help to detail important NPCs, locations, and events.
  The heart of every campaign is an adventure—or a series   NPCs and creatures can be created from scratch, or
of adventures. The GM is responsible for designing and you can borrow pre-published ones. You don’t need to in-
running adventures for the player characters. The level of dividually craft every redshirt or bandit; a standard stat
preparation needed will vary from GM to GM—some use block will do. You should, however, take the time to indi-
a collection of notes on scrap paper, while others prepare vidually create important, named NPCs. You can do this
detailed binders covering every contingency. Some GMs by modifying an existing stat block, or by creating an NPC
are comfortable with improvisation, while others enjoy from scratch using the character generation process.
planning and preparation.   Locations also form an important part of adventure
  An adventure, in its most basic form, is a plot or envi- design. Whether it’s a ghost town, a port city, a bustling
ronment in which the PCs can participate. As an analogy, metropolis, a quiet town in the rural country, or a military
an adventure might be an episode of a television show. A fortress, it often helps to prepare a map of important loca-
number of adventures, strung together, form a campaign, tions in advance. You don’t need to map out every shop
which is roughly analogous to a season of a TV show. and house, but notable locations certainly benefit from
  There’s no strict rule on what might constitute an ad- this treatment—especially if you expect combat to take
venture. Generally speaking, the PCs need a goal or place there.
objective—whether that be to simply survive a haunted   Again, there are pre-published “generic” locations that
house, to uncover a lost artifact, to rescue the kidnapped you can use and plug in to your game if you wish to. This is
daughter of a politician, or defeat an evil genetically en- a useful way to handle common places such as bars, shops,
hanced super soldier. Indeed, the length of an adventure and the like.
may vary, too—some are designed as “one-shots,” to be
played through in a single session of 4-hours, while others Vehicles and Bases
may take multiple game sessions to complete. Most starting characters will not be able to afford or have
a vehicle (even a cheap junker), or for that matter, a base
Published Adventures of operations. In some campaigns, this may not matter;
At the back of this rulebook, you’ll find a short adventure. long range mobility isn’t a requirement for a city cam-
This is an example of a published adventure. Designing paign. Entire story arcs can take place during a trip across
adventures can be very rewarding, but it can also be a lot country, or require little more than booking a ticket and
of work—and published adventures are there to save you heading to the airport. Saving up for that first vehicle can
time or give you ideas. There are adventures available for be a momentous event (especially if it’s got upgrades!),
the N.O.W. roleplaying game, and you are encouraged to and players who obtain their vehicle in this way are likely
avail yourself of them. to form a strong attachment to it. However, this is not the
only option; below are a few suggestions on how to deal
with the issue of vehicles and bases of operations.

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 Modern Worlds

  Bear in mind that the average group will need some- Locations
thing with more “oomph” than an outdated two-seater Your adventure might take place in an unusual, unique, or
car and a shabby apartment—if the party is going to get quirky location that is almost a character in and of itself.
anywhere in the world, a secure, secret headquarters and This list is merely a few examples designed to fire your
armored vehicles with reliable engines are likely to be imagination.
essential! •• An isolated jungle village where people are disap-
pearing each night.
Nothing but Your Gumption •• A busy military base that’s been losing track of
The characters do not immediately have access to any ve- incoming shipments.
hicles, having to get around on their own power until they •• A ruined city, destroyed by war.
steal one (a dubious prospect). Otherwise they’ll need to •• A dusty saloon filled with bounty hunters, criminals,
use public transportation and/or favors to get around, and and mercenaries.
if they plan on leaving the country, they’ll need to take a •• A gym that’s producing exceptionally tough and
plane and deal with customs—getting sensitive gear to strong boxers.
where the characters are headed might become an adven- •• A research lab where an experimental super soldier
ture in itself! This also means the party is probably stuck has broken loose.
meeting in public or planning in clandestine locations •• A city borough steeped in gang warfare.
(which can end up being a real trouble depending on how •• A sleepy coastal town where a horror from the deep
discreet their activities are). has awakened.
•• A police station with a fast and loose evidence locker
A Free Ride that’s starting to cause serious concerns.
Giving the party a free “starter” vehicle and/or base of •• An isolated diner on the road in the middle of
operations won’t derail a campaign. The player characters nowhere being robbed by bandits.
could begin play with a basic civilian vehicle (maybe a •• An abandoned military base where some local kids
decommissioned SWAT van or light helicopter) and head- have said weird things are common.
quarters (an abandoned auto shop or hangar), or acquire •• A hospital where the deceased are suddenly rising
one very early in the campaign. The sample encounter at up not long after death.
the end of this rulebook gives the PCs a chance to acquire •• A martial arts tournament where wins are becom-
such a vehicle. In addition, the events of the adventure ing suspicious.
make it obvious that selling the vehicle would be a terrible •• An ancient temple that’s suddenly started to gener-
idea, so the PCs might as well keep it and use it. ate phenomena scientists cannot account for.
•• A metropolis made uneasy and bloodied by a serial
Part of the Job killer and copycats littering its streets with corpses.
Characters may have a vehicle directly related to their •• An isolated or underground combat arena where
work (for instance, a police officer will have ready access gambling is king.
to a cruiser and a jumbo jet pilot will probably be affiliated •• A city filled with graft and sin where the only thing
with an airline). Depending on the campaign premise, you can ever truly trust is your gun.
they could be all tied together through one mutual busi- •• A series of jungle outposts where soldiers are turn-
ness and a crew ostensibly gathered for a more mundane ing up murdered in unnatural ways.
task than adventuring. Either way, this means the char- •• A bank suddenly subjected to a heist while the party
acters do not own a vehicle, as they might in a regular is there handling financial matters.
campaign, but it does grant them some extra resources •• A school where talented and uniquely gifted young-
should they choose to risk losing their day job. sters hone their special abilities.

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 Modern Worlds

•• A government training facility where exceptional •• A top-secret government base suddenly put into
assets are developed. complete lockdown for reasons unknown.
•• A desert casino suddenly cut off from society and •• A town suddenly taken over by enemy forces that
besieged by a huge gang. are relentlessly wearing down the populace.
•• A business that serves as a front for organized crime. •• A region strictly controlled by drug cartels and rife
•• A hidden ninja fortress isolated from society in with violence.
conflict with violent secret dojos. •• A city filled with strange heroes and dastardly vil-
•• An arena where more than simple fights take place. lains all wielding unnatural powers.
•• A doctor’s office where patients have a mysteriously
low recovery rate. Events
•• A library where poltergeists appear at random. A setting is a living, breathing thing, and the things
•• An office building taken hostage by armed terrorists. that happen within the setting are as crucial to your ad-
•• An asylum for the criminally insane where the ventures as locations are. Events can provide a colorful
patients have taken over. backdrop, or they can be the focus of your adventure.
•• A tropical island where improbable science has •• International crime bosses gather for a secret
brought dinosaurs back to life. meeting.
•• An amusement park where the animatronic enter- •• A peaceful town becomes the site of a hostile
tainment has developed minds of their own. takeover.
•• A line of trenches under constant bombardment. •• A war breaks out that involves one or more nations.
•• A museum with high-tech security to protect the •• The world’s greatest scientific minds gather for a
world class treasures within. conference.
•• A settlement beset upon by a flood, tornado, or other •• An infamous war criminal is taken to trial.
natural disaster. •• Leaders of hostile countries conduct vital treaty
•• A P.O.W. camp that has been running since long negotiations.
after the war ended. •• Otherworldly creatures appear in the skies.

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Appendixes

19
7
 Appendix A: The Alpha Squad
For those without the time or inclination to create new characters, or who just want to dive in straight away, this section
presents a group of pre-generated iconic characters, the Alpha Squad: a team of mercenaries who hire themselves out,
although mainly to underdogs. Each is designed as a starting Grade 5 character. Use these characters as-is, or tweak
them to suit you. They differ from the versions found in the Starter Kit because they use the full character creation rules.

BEN MADJOS
A suave Human spy who likes to drink
Medium sentient humanoid (grade 5; max dice pool 5d6)
STR 5 (2d6) AGI 7 (3d6) END 5 (2d6)
INT 6 (3d6) LOG 4 (2d6) WIL 5 (2d6)
CHA 7 (3d6) LUC 7 (3d6) REP 1 (1d6)
Health 16
Melee Defense 18; Ranged Defense 14
Mental Defense 11; Vital Defense 11
Soak 4 (bulletproof suit); Vulnerable —
Initiative 5d6
Perception 4d6
Speed 6; Climb 3; Jump 14'/5'
Carry 100 lbs.
Actions 2
Natural Damage 1d6+2
Brawling 4d6 (1d6+2 blunt damage)
High-Quality Walther PPK 5d6 (3d6 ballistic damage;
range 6) Urchin. Having grown up as an orphan, Ben is very familiar
Skills gambling 1 (1d6), pistols 2 (1d6), survival 1 (1d6), with urban backgrounds, and is able to blend in easily.
rifles 1 (1d6), perception 1 (1d6), stealth 1 (1d6), After spending one hour in a new city, he is able to name
running 1 (1d6), thievery 1 (1d6), driving 1 (1d6), local crime figures.
tactics 1 (1d6), dodging 1 (1d6), brawling 1 (1d6) Basic Training. Ben soon joined the army. He gained all of
Gear bulletproof suit, high-quality Walther PPK (with +1d6 the following skills at 1 rank (1d6) (noted, above): tactics;
damage upgrade), thieves tools, $100 rifles; law; survival.
Explorer. Driven by an inquisitive, exploratory nature, Ben Get On With It. Ben was soon deployed overseas. His
gains bonus XP equal to his grade every time he enters a platoon didn’t have much patience for whining about
country new to him. He cannot gain this bonus more than minor injuries. Once per day he can pause for two actions
once per month. and recover 2d6 Health.
Suave. Ben’s words are his weapon; he can distract, charm, Quick-Hide. Ben quickly entered the special forces. He is
and captivate people with ease. If Ben makes a CHA able to disappear while in plain sight. He can make a
mental attack, he can even daze a target. stealth check even while under observation to move his
Aim. By spending one action aiming, Ben gains +1d6 to hit speed and become effectively invisible for a round. He
with a subsequent ranged attack made in the same turn. may then make regular stealth checks as normal, but
Predictive Reflexes. Ben is good at reading the situation. cannot repeat this feat against the same observer.
He gains a permanent +1d6 bonus to Initiative checks Golden Gun. Ben starts play with a high-quality Walther PPK
(factored, above). with the extra damage upgrade (included above).
Careers: Orphan, Boot Camp, Soldier, Infiltrator, Spy.

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 Appendix A: The Alpha Squad

ALEJANDRA VANISTOS
A nimble Augmented burglar who loves
automobiles
Medium sentient humanoid (grade 5; max dice pool 5d6)
STR 6 (3d6) AGI 7 (3d6) END 5 (2d6)
INT 7 (3d6) LOG 6 (3d6) WIL 3 (2d6)
CHA 3 (2d6) LUC 7 (3d6) REP 3 (2d6)
Health 16
Melee Defense 19; Ranged Defense 14
Mental Defense 12; Vital Defense 10
Soak 5 (kevlar vest); Vulnerable —
Initiative 3d6
Perception 3d6
Speed 7; Climb 7; Jump 14'/6'
Carry 110 lbs.
Actions 2
Natural Damage 1d6+3
Shoe dagger 4d6 (1d6+2 damage)
Pistol 3d6 (2d6 ballistic damage; range 10)
Skills engineering 3 (2d6), computers 2 (1d6), stealth 2 (1d6), White-Hat. A child prodigy and computer-whiz in L.A.,
thievery 2 (1d6), running 1 (1d6), climbing 1 (1d6), Alejandra is practiced at hacking and anti-hacking
dodging 1 (1d6), knives 1 (1d6), techniques. She can actively provide a computer system
Gear kevlar vest, thieves’ tools, shoe dagger, pistol, with a +4 Defense score and gains a +1d6 bonus to
integrated input jacks, $1,100 electronic attacks.
Input jacks. Alejandra’s cybernetic hand contains input Engine-Tuner. A horrible accident stripped Alejandra of her
jacks which grant a +1d6 equipment bonus to computer left hand. It was replaced with a cybernetic replacement
operations and cracking attempts. with computer jacks built in. Alejandra naturally
Retinal implant. Alejandra can see in the dark up to 60'. gravitated into a job as a mechanic. A vehicle in which
Adaptive. When incorporating new cybernetic alterations, Alejandra is an engineer increases its Speed by 1. This
Alejandra does not need to make a check for the does not stack with other engineers' abilities to use this
process to take hold successfully. Additionally, she can exploit, should others be present.
incorporate an additional two alterations beyond the Sixth Sense. Supplementing her income, Alejandra found
normal limit of their END attribute. that her engineering and computer skills were useful aids
Inert. Augmented embrace technology over matters of to thievery. Alejandra has a sixth sense when it comes
spirit. Alejandra may never have a CHI score above zero. to traps, and gains a +2d6 bonus to spot them and a +1d6
Nimble. Alejandra’s climbing speed is equal to her regular bonus to avoid or disarm them.
Speed (factored, above). Grand Heist. Alejandra pulled off a robbery that gained her a
Feint. Alejandra gets a +1d6 bonus to a melee attack roll bonus $1,000 (included, above).
taken in the same turn. The attack action must come Prison Tough. Eventually, she was caught. Alejandra was
immediately after the feinting action. mentally and physically toughened in prison, gaining
Analytics. Studying her target’s behavior, Alejandra notices a +1 bonus to her Defense and Mental Defense (included
a pattern to its actions. She can grant all allies within 30' above).
a +1d6 bonus to attack the target until the start of her Careers: Nerd, Engineer, Burglar ×2, Prisoner.
next turn.

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 Appendix A: The Alpha Squad

DUKE ROOSEVELT
An aging rugged Human bounty hunter
who loves 50s music
Medium sentient humanoid (grade 5; max dice pool 5d6)
STR 5 (2d6) AGI 6 (3d6) END 9 (3d6)
INT 6 (3d6) LOG 6 (3d6) WIL 5 (2d6)
CHA 4 (2d6) LUC 4 (2d6) REP 2 (1d6)
Health 20
Melee Defense 18; Ranged Defense 14
Mental Defense 11; Vital Defense 14
Soak 5 (kevlar vest); Vulnerable —
Initiative 7d6
Perception 3d6
Speed 6; Climb 3; Jump 12'/5'
Carry 140 lbs.
Actions 2
Natural Damage 1d6+2
Boxing 4d6 (1d6+2 bludgeoning damage) always prepared. He may declare a single action which
M4 Carbine (5.56mm assault rifle) 5d6 (2d6 ballistic he took prior to the encounter (even if he didn’t know
damage; range 12) the encounter was going to take place) which helps him
Skills negotiating 1 (1d6), poker 1 (1d6), rifles 3 (2d6), in this exact scenario. This must be an action he was
leadership 1 (1d6), law 1 (1d6), tracking 1 (1d6), capable of.
running 1 (1d6), tactics 3 (2d6), dodging 1 (1d6), Programming. Duke was created as an army experiment
boxing 1 (1d6), survival 1 (1d6) shortly after WWII, using DNA from Teddy Roosevelt and
Gear kevlar vest, rifle, smartphone, $100 Amelia Erhardt. He was bred and engineered for a purpose.
Explorer. Driven by an inquisitive, exploratory nature, Ben At the start of a fight his “programming” kicks in, granting
gains bonus XP equal to his grade every time he enters a him a +2d6 Initiative bonus (included, above).
country new to him. He cannot gain this bonus more than Basic Training. Given a solid army training, Duke gained
once per month. all of the following skills at 1 rank (1d6) (included above):
Old. Once per day, when rolling a dice pool, Duke may tactics; rifles; law; survival.
declare it to be a careful dice pool. Any 1s he rolls may be Ambusher. Duke was thawed and refrozen several times
rerolled, with the new roll replacing the 1. If he rolls a 1 a over the coming decades. He served in the Korean War as
second time, however, he must keep the 1. Additionally, a scout. He gains a +1d6 bonus to access the ambush turn.
the bonus gained from his hook increases to +2d6. Old Ambush Expert. In the Vietnam War, Duke’s ambush
characters can no longer improve physical attributes expertise increased as he operated as a guerrilla fighter
(STR, AGI, END) through career advances or experience in a special unit. During an ambush turn he can take a
expenditure, although they may do so via other means second action.
(magic, cybernetics, etc.) Datamining. After the Cold War, Duke got out and became
Rugged. Duke is tough and shrugs off hardships. Once per a bounty hunter. He is able to locate a target’s current
day he can spend two actions (a full turn) to recover to location down to a specific city by accessing credit,
half his normal maximum Health. criminal, customs, and other records if he has access to a
Aim. By spending one action aiming, Duke gains +1d6 to hit computer link.
with a subsequent ranged attack made in the same turn. Careers: Experiment, Boot Camp, Scout,
Always Prepared. Duke has a brilliant tactical mind, and is Guerrilla Fighter, Bounty Hunter.

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 Appendix A: The Alpha Squad

ETERNAL SENPAI
A stoic adolescent Chosen kung-fu
practitioner who writes haiku
Medium sentient humanoid (grade 5; max dice pool 5d6)
STR 4 (2d6) AGI 8 (3d6) END 8 (2d6)
INT 3 (2d6) LOG 3 (2d6) WIL 8 (3d6)
CHA 4 (2d6) LUC 3 (2d6) REP 2 (1d6)
CHI 10 (4d6)
Health 20
Melee Defense 18; Ranged Defense 18
Mental Defense 15; Vital Defense 11
Soak 0; Vulnerable —
Initiative 4d6
Perception 3d6
Speed 5; Climb 3; Jump 8'/4'
Carry 120 lbs.
Actions 2 Double Strike. With one action Eternal Senpai may strike
Natural Damage 1d6+2 two opponents with a melee attack each. She cannot add
Martial arts 5d6 (1d6+2 blunt damage) additional exploits to these attacks.
Quarterstaff 5d6 (2d6+2 blunt damage) One-Inch Punch. When pinned or grappled, Eternal Senpai
Skills tactics 3 (2d6), negotiating 1 (1d6), trivia 1 (1d6), may make an unarmed attack against her foe as a free
martial arts 5 (2d6), staves 3 (2d6), acrobatics 3 (2d6), action and gain +1d6 damage to it.
perception 1 (1d6), religion 2 (1d6) Flying Kick. Eternal Senpai moves up to her speed and
Gear quarterstaff, $100 issues a flying kick at the end of it, dealing her martial
Stoic. Eternal Senpai is able to hide pain and discomfort. arts damage with a bonus +1d6 damage.
Once per day, when she would normally be reduced to Whirlwind Frenzy. Eternal Senpai attacks all adjacent
zero Health, she is reduced to 1 Health instead. targets, but only does 1d6 damage to each. She must still
Fast-Healing. Chosen heal faster than most people. Eternal make an attack roll against each target. If she hits every
Senpai may roll an extra 2d6 when determining how much target, all targets are pushed back 5', clearing a space
she naturally heals each day. around her.
Destiny. Once, when she would ordinarily die, Eternal Senpai Wéifeng (Wind) Stance. As a free action, Eternal Senpai
does not die. Instead, she remains at 0 Health until can enter the Wind stance until the start of her next
healed. Once she has used her extra “life” she cannot use turn by spending 1 CHI (she has 4 CHI points, which can
it again. be recovered once per day). While in Wind stance, she
Skill Focus. Enternal Senpai starts play with two bonus automatically gains the following benefits:
skills of her choice at 3 ranks (2d6) (included, above).   She may use her CHI attribute in place of her AGI
Feint. Eternal Senpai gets a +1d6 bonus to a melee attack attribute for the purpose of attribute checks.
roll taken in the same turn. The attack action must come   She doubles her Speed.
immediately after the feinting action.   She can walk across the surface of any liquid.
Training. Eternal Senpa’s training proves that the old ways   She can ignore a number of attacks equal to her CHI
are often the best, for more reasons than one. She dice pool (4) until the beginning of her next turn as long
receives a +1 bonus to all Defenses (included, above). as she takes her full movement during her turn. She must
Kung Fu Weapons. Eternal Senpai may use her martial arts choose to ignore an attack before the attack roll is made.
skill with any Eastern melee weapon. Careers: Martial Artist, Kung Fu ×4

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 Appendix A: The Alpha Squad

LADY ANARCHY
A tough-as-nails young Mutant vigilante
who fights for ecology
Medium sentient humanoid (grade 5; max dice pool 5d6)
STR 4 (2d6) AGI 6 (3d6) END 10 (4d6)
INT 8 (3d6) LOG 3 (2d6) WIL 7 (3d6)
CHA 4 (2d6) LUC 6 (3d6) REP 3 (3d6)
CHI 1 (1d6)
Health 32
Melee Defense 14; Ranged Defense 14
Mental Defense 11; Vital Defense 18
Soak 6 (natural); Vulnerable —
Initiative 3d6
Perception 4d6
Speed 8; Climb 5; Jump 22'/14'
Carry 140 lbs.
Actions 2
Natural Damage 1d6+2
High quality hockey stick 5d6 (3d6+2 blunt damage)
Skills climbing 1 (1d6), stealth 3 (2d6), running 3 (2d6),
perception 1 (1d6), hardy 1 (1d6), dodging 1 (1d6),
survival 1 (1d6), clubs 1 (1d6)
Gear high-quality hockey stick, $100 Ambush Expert. During an ambush turn Lady Anarchy can
Tough as Nails. Lady Anarchy gains a +2 natural Soak bonus take a second action.
which stacks with any other Soak scores she may have Street Tough. Life on the streets is tough. Lady Anarchy
(included above). gains a natural +2 Soak (included above).
Feint. Lady Anarchy gets a +1d6 bonus to a melee attack Signature Weapon. Lady Anarchy’s vigilante signature
roll taken in the same turn. The attack action must come weapon is a hockey stick. She starts play with a high
immediately after the feinting action. quality hockey stick and does +1d6 damage with it.
Dodge. Lady Anarchy may use a reaction to remove 1d6 Fearless. Lady Anarchy is completely fearless. She
from an attacker’s dice pool on one attack. This must be is immune to the Fear status track, and cannot be
announced before the die roll. intimidated.
Endurance. Lady Anarchy endured a lot, and has the scars to Leaper. Lady Anarchy has mutant leaping powers. Her Jump
prove it. She gains +2 natural Soak (included above). distances are increased by 10' (included above).
Always Ready. Lady Anarchy can sleep in armor with no Careers: Survivor, Guerrilla Fighter ×2, Street Thug, Vigilante
penalty. Anyone sneaking up on her while she sleeps
must make a Difficult [16] AGI check to do so.

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 Appendix A: The Alpha Squad

MACK MARLOWE
An empathic Human private eye who
misses the golden age of cinema
Medium sentient humanoid (grade 5; max dice pool 5d6)
STR 3 (2d6) AGI 5 (2d6) END 6 (3d6)
INT 10 (4d6) LOG 6 (3d6) WIL 3 (2d6)
CHA 7 (3d6) LUC 8 (3d6) REP 7 (3d6)
Health 24
Melee Defense 11; Ranged Defense 11
Mental Defense 19; Vital Defense 11
Soak 4 (padded trenchcoat); Vulnerable —
Initiative 5d6
Perception 5d6
Speed 5; Climb 3; Jump 12'/3'
Carry 80 lbs.
Actions 2
Natural Damage 1d6+2
Brawling 4d6 (1d6+2 blunt damage)
Pistol 5d6 (2d6 ballistic damage; range 8)
Skills brawling 1 (1d6), thievery 1 (1d6), gambling 1 (1d6),
baseball 1 (1d6), pistols 3 (2d6), perception 1 (1d6),
intimidate 1 (1d6), driving 1 (1d6), tracking 1 (1d6),
dodging 1 (1d6)
Gear padded trenchcoat, pistol, thieves tools, $200 Ordinary. Mack’s very nondescript nature makes him easily
Empathic. Mack can easily understand how others feel. able to blend in unnoticed, giving him a +1d6 bonus to
Once per day he can attempt to adjust another’s mood attempts to bluff, disguise, or otherwise remain visible
with a CHA mental attack. If he succeeds, he can make but unremarked upon.
them either bad-tempered or happy. He must be able to Trouble Sense. Mack is easily able to spot trouble before
converse with his target to do this. it happens. He gains a +1d6 bonus to Initiative checks
Explorer. Driven by an inquisitive, exploratory nature, Mack (included above).
gains bonus XP equal to his grade every time he enters a Anti-Surveillance. Mack is so familiar with surveillance
country new to him. He cannot gain this bonus more than devices, blind spots, and avoidance techniques that, by
once per month. moving half his speed, he can render himself invisible to
Aim. Mack gets a +1d6 bonus to a ranged attack roll taken in electronic monitoring equipment.
the same turn. The attack action must come immediately Hardboiled. Cynical and rumpled, Mack gains a +4 bonus to
after the aiming action. Mental Defense (included above).
Improviser. Mack is adept at using bar stools and other Great Detective. Mack is used as an informal consultant by
items as weapons. He suffers no attack penalties for authorities who recognize his expertise. He is permitted
improvised melee weapons. access to crime scenes and evidence, and is often called
upon.
Careers: Everyman, Police Officer ×2, Private Eye ×2

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 Appendix B: Monsters & Minions
This section includes a small selection of beasts, minions, and skilled enemies which you can use in your game. You can
find a much wider selection in various additional supplements and sourcebooks, or in the expansive online Bestiary on
the official WOIN website.
  When you read a published adventure (including the example one at the end of this book), you will often see monsters
mentioned in boldface type. For example, it might say “Four ninjas await the PCs in the warehouse.” The boldface type
tells you to simply refer to the standard ninja stat block (see page 44) for these enemies.

Amazon Ape
Medium sentient humanoid (7d6) Medium semi-sentient beast (6d6)
Proud tribal women warriors. Tree-climbing beasts of the jungle.
STR 10 (4d6) AGI 15 (5d6) END 10 (4d6) STR 10 (4d6) AGI 10 (4d6) END 10 (4d6)
INT 10 (4d6) LOG 10 (4d6) WIL 10 (4d6) INT 6 (3d6) LOG 2 (1d6) WIL 6 (3d6)
CHA 10 (4d6) LUC 1 (1d6) REP 10 (4d6) CHA 6 (3d6) LUC 1 (1d6)
Melee Defense 28; Ranged Defense 21 Melee Defense 24; Ranged Defense 18
Mental Defense 14; Vital Defense 21 Mental Defense 12; Vital Defense 18
Health 42 Health 36
Soak 7; Vuln none Soak 6; Vuln none
Immune none Immune none
Initiative 7d6 Initiative 6d6
Perception 6d6 Perception 5d6
Speed 7; Climb 4; Jump 30’/10’ Speed 6; Climb +6; Jump 20’/6’
Carry 200 lb. (max lift 500 lb.) Carry 120 lb. (max lift 300 lb.)
Reach 5 ft. Reach 5 ft.
Actions 2 Actions 2
Shortsword 7d6 (4d6+4 piercing damage) Fists 6d6 (3d6+3 blunt damage)
Longbow 4d6 (2d6 piercing damage; range 11) Thrown rock 5d6 (2d6+3 blunt damage; range 9)
Skills hardy 6 (3d6), combat 6 (3d6), perception 3 (2d6), Skills hardy 6 (3d6), combat 6 (3d6), perception 3 (2d6),
movement 3 (2d6), tactics 6 (3d6), stealth 4 (2d6), movement 3 (2d6), reactions 6 (3d6), stealth 4 (2d6),
tracking 3 (2d6), religion 1 (1d6) acrobatics 10 (4d6)
Gear longbow, shortsword, small shield, studded leather Gear —
armor Death from on high. Apes can drop down on their opponent
Quick stand. Once per turn the amazon can stand from at least 5’ above him, making an unarmed attack.
immediately from prone as a free action. This counts as a charge but knocks the opponent prone
Taunt. The amazon taunts her target, enraging it, and make and does 2d6 extra damage instead of 1d6.
a CHA (4d6) mental attack. If successful, the target
becomes Angry.

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 Appendix B: Monsters & Minions

Assassin Astronaut
Medium sentient humanoid (8d6) Medium sentient humanoid (5d6)
Stealthy, trained killers for hire. Men and women of the spaceways.
STR 6 (3d6) AGI 10 (4d6) END 6 (3d6) STR 6 (3d6) AGI 6 (3d6) END 6 (3d6)
INT 15 (5d6) LOG 10 (4d6) WIL 6 (3d6) INT 6 (3d6) LOG 6 (3d6) WIL 6 (3d6)
CHA 10 (4d6) LUC 1 (1d6) REP 10 (4d6) CHA 6 (3d6) LUC 1 (1d6) REP 6 (3d6)
Melee Defense 16; Ranged Defense 32 Melee Defense 15; Ranged Defense 15
Mental Defense 24; Vital Defense 24 Mental Defense 20; Vital Defense 20
Health 24 Health 15
Soak 4; Vuln none Soak 3; Vuln none
Immune none Immune Sick
Initiative 6d6 Initiative 3d6
Perception 8d6 Perception 4d6
Speed 8; Climb 8; Jump 20’/6’ Speed 5; Zero-G +5; Low-G +5; Climb 3; Jump 12’/3’
Carry 120 lb. (max lift 300 lb.) Carry 120 lb. (max lift 300 lb.)
Reach 5 ft. Reach 5 ft.
Actions 2 Actions 2
Knife 4d6 (2d6+3 piercing damage) Brawling 3d6 (2d6+2 blunt damage)
Rifle 8d6 (4d6 piercing damage; range 18) Skills combat 1 (1d6), perception 1 (1d6), engineering 3
Skills combat 1 (1d6), perception 6 (3d6), running 15 (5d6), (2d6), piloting 3 (2d6), physics 3 (2d6), medicine 1 (1d6),
tactics 1 (1d6), medicine 3 (2d6), stealth 6 (3d6), thievery astronomy 3 (2d6)
3 (2d6) Gear —
Gear high quality leather armor, knife, rifle Zero-g monkey. Astronauts treat zero and low gravity
Achilles heel. Identifying a weakness in his target, the environments as normal terrain. Additionally, they are
assassin bypasses its Soak score. This exploit can only be immune to the Sick condition.
performed once per target.

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 Appendix B: Monsters & Minions

Bounty Hunter Civilian

Medium sentient humanoid (7d6) Medium sentient humanoid (4d6)
Armed and professional hunters for hire. Men and women trying to make a living.
STR 6 (3d6) AGI 10 (4d6) END 6 (3d6) STR 4 (3d6) AGI 4 (2d6) END 3 (2d6)
INT 15 (5d6) LOG 10 (4d6) WIL 6 (3d6) INT 3 (2d6) LOG 4 (2d6) WIL 3 (2d6)
CHA 10 (4d6) LUC 1 (1d6) REP 10 (4d6) CHA 3 (2d6) LUC 1 (1d6) REP 1 (1d6)
Melee Defense 14; Ranged Defense 28 Melee Defense 12; Ranged Defense 12
Mental Defense 21; Vital Defense 21 Mental Defense 16; Vital Defense 10
Health 21 Health 12
Soak 4; Vuln none Soak 2; Vuln none
Immune none Immune none
Initiative 6d6 Initiative 2d6
Perception 7d6 Perception 3d6
Speed 7; Climb 4; Jump 20’/6’ Speed 4; Climb 2; Jump 6’/3’
Carry 120 lb. (max lift 300 lb.) Reach 5 ft.
Reach 5 ft. Actions 2
Actions 2 Club 2d6 (1d6+2 blunt or slashing damage)
Brawling 4d6 (2d6+3 blunt damage) Pistol 3d6 (1d6 blunt or ballistic damage; range 6)
Pistol 7d6 (4d6 heat damage; range 17) Skills bureacracy 3 (2d6), cooking 1 (1d6), computers 1 (1d6),
Skills rifles 6 (3d6), tracking 3 (2d6), law 3 (2d6), stealth 3 local knowledge 3 (2d6), running 1 (1d6), swimming 1 (1d6),
(2d6), computers 3 (2d6), perception 3 (1d6), piloting 3 carrying 1 (1d6), combat 1 (1d6)
(2d6), tactics 1 (1d6), brawling 4 (2d6), Gear club, pistol
Gear pistol, long kevlar coat Mob attack. Though weak on their own, civilians work
Crippling strike. A leg wound renders the bounty hunter’s together well in a mob. Any civilians adjacent to the
target Slowed. victim count as flanking, gaining +1d6 bonus to attack for
Stunning attack. When a target is reduced to 0 Health, a each civilian beyond the first. When 4 or more civilians
bounty hunter can elect to merely disable it, allowing him are adjacent to the victim, the victim gains the Fatigued
to bring his prey in alive for a bounty. condition at the start of its turn.

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 Appendix B: Monsters & Minions

Constrictor Snake Cop

Large semi-sentient reptile (6d6) Medium sentient humanoid (6d6)
Powerful reptile hunters able to squeeze their prey to death. Police and security officers, trained and alert.
STR 6 (3d6) AGI 10 (4d6) END 6 (3d6) STR 6 (3d6) AGI 6 (3d6) END 6 (3d6)
INT 6 (3d6) LOG 1 (1d6) WIL 6 (3d6) INT 10 (4d6) LOG 6 (3d6) WIL 3 (2d6)
CHA 6 (3d6) LUC 1 (1d6) REP 6 (3d6) CHA 6 (3d6) LUC 1 (1d6) REP 6 (3d6)
Melee Defense 22; Ranged Defense 14 Melee Defense 12; Ranged Defense 24
Mental Defense 12; Vital Defense 20 Mental Defense 18; Vital Defense 18
Health 36 Health 18
Soak 11; Vuln 1d6 cold Soak 4; Vuln none
Immune none Immune none
Initiative 6d6 Initiative 5d6
Perception 5d6 Perception 6d6
Speed 6; Climb +6; Jump — Speed 6; Climb 3; Jump 12’/6’
Carry 120 lb. (max lift 300 lb.) Carry 270 lb. (max lift 300 lb.)
Reach 5 ft. Reach 5 ft.
Actions 2 Actions 2
Constrict 6d6 (3d6+3 crushing damage) Stun baton 5d6 (2d6+3 blunt/electricity damage)
Skills stealth 10 (4d6), perception 3 (2d6), swimming 10 Pistol 6d6 (3d6 ballistic damage; range 14)
(4d6), reactions 6 (3d6), combat 6 (3d6) Skills clubs 3 (2d6), pistols 1 (1d6), light armor 1 (1d6),
Gear — computers 1 (1d6), perception 3 (2d6), hardy 3 (2d6),
Constrict. A creature which is hit by the snake’s constriction running 3 (2d6), thievery 1 (1d6), tactics 1 (1d6), dodging 3
attack is Restrained; escape requires a melee attack. The (2d6)
snake can only constrict one victim at a time, and once it Gear pistol, kevlar vest, stun baton
has successfully struck a victim, the target automatically Dive for cover. If a ranged attack misses a cop, he may
suffers 3d6+3 crushing damage at the start of its turn. immediately move half his speed as a free action and
The snake cannot move while constricting a victim. either throw himself prone or get behind cover if it is in
range.

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 Appendix B: Monsters & Minions

Crocodile Cutpurse
Large semi-sentient aquatic reptile (6d6) Medium sentient humanoid (4d6)
Predatory river lizards. Petty thieves and pickpockets.
STR 10 (4d6) AGI 3 (2d6) END 10 (4d6) STR 4 (2d6) AGI 6 (3d6) END 3 (2d6)
INT 3 (2d6) LOG 1 (1d6) WIL 6 (3d6) INT 6 (3d6) LOG 6 (3d6) WIL 6 (3d6)
CHA 3 (2d6) LUC 1 (1d6) CHA 6 (3d6) LUC 1 (1d6) REP 6 (3d6)
Melee Defense 22; Ranged Defense 10 Melee Defense 10; Ranged Defense 15
Mental Defense 12; Vital Defense 26 Mental Defense 20; Vital Defense 10
Health 60 Health 15
Soak 17; Vuln 1d6 cold Soak 3; Vuln none
Immune none Immune none
Initiative 3d6 Initiative 5d6
Perception 3d6 Perception 5d6
Speed 5; SWIM +5; Climb 3; Jump- Speed 5; Climb 3; Jump 12’/3’
Carry 200 lb. (max lift 500 lb.) Carry 60 lb. (max lift 150 lb.)
Reach 5 ft. Reach 5 ft.
Actions 2 Actions 2
Bite 6d6 (3d6+4 piercing damage; grab) Knife 4d6 (2d6+2 piercing damage)
Skills combat 3 (2d6), perception 1 (1d6), reactions 1 (1d6), Skills thievery 6 (3d6), stealth 6 (3d6), local knowledge
stealth 6 (3d6) 6 (3d6), appraisal 3 (2d6), perception 3 (2d6), running
Gear — 3 (2d6), climbing 3 (2d6), dodging 1 (1d6), knives 3 (2d6),
Grab. A creature which is hit by the crocodile’s bite attack reactions 3 (2d6)
is Restrained until it can shake off the condition. The Gear knife, thieves’ tools
crocodile can only grab one victim at a time, and once it Snatch. With an attack, a cutpurse can snatch any small
has successfully struck a victim, the victim automatically item held or worn by his target, as long as he is aware of
suffers 3d6+4 piercing damage at the start of each turn. it. The snatch is not stealthy, and the target is aware of it.
The crocodile cannot bite another target while grabbing,
but it can move at half Speed (possibly drowning its
victim).

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 Appendix B: Monsters & Minions

Dog Elephant
Medium semi-sentient beast (4d6) Enormous semi-sentient beast (7d6)
Man’s best friend and loyal guardian. Enormous herd animals.
STR 3 (2d6) AGI 6 (3d6) END 3 (2d6) STR 21 (6d6) AGI 6 (3d6) END 21 (6d6)
INT 3 (2d6) LOG 2 (1d6) WIL 3 (2d6) INT 6 (3d6) LOG 2 (1d6) WIL 10 (4d6)
CHA 3 (2d6) LUC 0 (0d6) REP 3 (2d6) CHA 6 (3d6) LUC 1 (1d6) REP 10 (4d6)
Melee Defense 18; Ranged Defense 14 Melee Defense 24; Ranged Defense 10
Mental Defense 10; Vital Defense 10 Mental Defense 14; Vital Defense 32
Health 24 Health 105
Soak 4 ; Vuln none Soak 14; Vuln none
Immune none Immune none
Initiative 4d6 Initiative 4d6
Perception 3d6 Perception 4d6
Speed 8; Climb 4; Jump 12’/3’ Speed 4; Climb —; Jump —
Carry 60 lb. (max lift 150 lb.) Carry 420 lb. (max lift 1,050 lb.)
Reach 5 ft. Reach 10 ft.
Actions 2 Actions 3
Bite 4d6 (2d6+2 damage) Gore 7d6 (4d6+6 piercing damage)
Skills tracking 10 (4d6), scent 10 (4d6), running 10 (4d6), Skills combat 3 (2d6), perception 1 (1d6), reactions 1 (1d6),
swimming 4 (2d6), reactions 3 (2d6) Gear—
Gear— Trample. With a trample attack, the elephant can move
Loyalty. A dog will defend its owner (if it has one) to the directly through a target’s square, attacking the target as
death. it goes. This is a single action, and the elephant moves its
full speed in a straight line. The elephant must be at least
one size category larger than the target. If the attack
misses, the elephant stops in its tracks. If it hits, the
elephant continues moving, inflicts natural damage, and
the target is knocked prone.

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 Appendix B: Monsters & Minions

Functionary Grey
Medium sentient humanoid (6d6) Small sentient humanoid (8d6)
Bureaucrats, politicians, and corporate lackeys. Telepathic aliens who use influence rather than force.
STR 3 (2d6) AGI 6 (3d6) END 3 (2d6) STR 6 (3d6) AGI 10 (4d6) END 6 (3d6)
INT 6 (3d6) LOG 6 (3d6) WIL 6 (3d6) INT 15 (5d6) LOG 15 (5d6) WIL 10 (4d6)
CHA 6 (3d6) LUC 1 (1d6) REP 6 (3d6) CHA 15 (5d6) LUC 3 (2d6) PSI* 28 (7d6)
Melee Defense 15; Ranged Defense 15 Melee Defense 18; Ranged Defense 26
Mental Defense 20; Vital Defense 10 Mental Defense 32; Vital Defense 14
Health 15 Health 24
Soak 3; Vuln none Soak 0; Vuln none
Immune none Immune none
Initiative 3d6 Initiative 8d6
Perception 4d6 Perception 8d6; insight 8d6
Speed 5; Climb 3; Jump 12’/3’ Speed 8; Climb 4; Jump 20’/6’
Carry 60 lb. (max lift 150 lb.) Carry 120 lb. (max lift 300 lb.)
Reach 5 ft. Reach 5 ft.
Actions 2 Actions 2
Brawling 3d6 (2d6+2 blunt damage) Brawling 4d6 (2d6+3 blunt damage)
Pistol 3d6 (2d6 ballistic damage; range 8) Psi-blast 8d6 (4d6+4 psionic damage; range 12)
Skills negotiating 6 (3d6), bureaucracy 3 (2d6), bluffing 3 Skills combat 1 (1d6), perception 6 (3d6), movement 15 (5d6),
(2d6), law 3 (2d6), accounting 3 (2d6), politics 3 (3d6), tactics 6 (3d6), negotiation 6 (3d6), telepathy 1 (1d6),
bribery 6(3d6), computers 3 (2d6), perception 1 (1d6) telekinesis 1 (1d6), linguistics 4 (2d6), insight 10 (4d6)
Gear — Gear hand scanner, medkit
Charm offensive. The functionary can use his charisma and Empathy. Greys can automatically sense strong emotions in
negotiating skills to render a target who can hear him others within 30’.
Charmed with a 5d6 mental attack. Telepathic message. Greys can freely send short telepathic
messages to other intelligent creatures with whom they
have spent time.
Telekinesis. The grey can freely telekinetically move and
manipulate single objects of size Small or smaller within
40’. It may only manipulate one such object at a time. If
the object is held by someone else, it requires an opposed
PSI vs. STR check.
Telekinetic shield. The grey maintains a telekinetic shield
(included in stats, above).
Combined blast. Two or more greys can combine their psi-
blasts into a spherical burst which attacks all non-greys
within 10’ per grey. The center of the burst can be at any
point which is no further than 10’ from all participating
greys. This costs them all of their actions.
* Greys use Psionics (PSI) rather than CHI. There are
extensive PSI rules in N.E.W.: The Science Fiction
Roleplaying Game, but this stat block contains enough
information for you to run the creature without that book.

0
21
 Appendix B: Monsters & Minions

Grizzly Bear Heavy Gunner

Large semi-sentient beast (6d6) Medium sentient humanoid (6d6)
Solitary carnivorous beasts which prey on large animals. Aggressive wielders of powerful weaponry.
STR 15 (5d6) AGI 3 (2d6) END 15 (5d6) STR 10 (4d6) AGI 3 (2d6) END 10 (4d6)
INT 3 (2d6) LOG 1 (1d6) WIL 6 (3d6) INT 3 (2d6) LOG 3 (2d6) WIL 6 (3d6)
CHA 3 (2d6) LUC 1 (1d6) REP 6 (3d6) CHA 3 (2d6) LUC 1 (1d6) REP 6 (3d6)
Melee Defense 22; Ranged Defense 10 Melee Defense 24; Ranged Defense 12
Mental Defense 12; Vital Defense 26 Mental Defense 12; Vital Defense 24
Health 60 Health 60
Soak 12; Vuln none Soak 12 (riot armor); Vuln none
Immune none Immune none
Initiative 3d6 Initiative 3d6
Perception 3d6 Perception 3d6
Speed 5; Climb 3; Jump 6’/6’ Speed 4; Climb 2; Jump 6’/6’
Carry 300 lb. (max lift 750 lb.) Carry 200 lb. (max lift 500 lb.)
Reach 5 ft. Reach 5 ft.
Actions 2 Actions 2
Claw swipe 6d6 (3d6+5 slashing damage; knockdown) Brawling 5d6 (3d6 blunt damage)
Skills combat 3 (2d6), perception 1 (1d6), reactions 1 (1d6), Minigun 6d6 (3d6+4 ballistic damage; range 9; spray, auto,
tracking 6 (3d6) heavy)
Gear — Grenade launcher 5d6 (3d6 heat damage; range 10; burst 2)
Bear hug. The bear grabs its target with both arms, Skills hardy 36 (8d6), combat 3 (2d6), perception 1 (1d6),
squeezing it. It can only bearhug a target of Medium size reactions 1 (1d6), heavy weapons 6 (3d6)
or smaller. Once established, it inflicts 3d6+5 crushing Gear minigun, grenade launcher, riot armor
damage each round automatically, and can move at half Spray. The heavy gunner can use his mini-gun to blanket a
speed, carrying its victim. It takes a melee attack action 30’ cone in a hail of bullets, attacking all targets within
to escape the bearhug. The bear may not make claw that area.
attacks while hugging a victim, and will not usually use Rocket man. Against vehicles, and other inanimate objects,
this attack while being attacked by multiple foes. a heavy gunner does double damage.
Roar. The bear can unleash a roar so loud that its victims are
stricken with fear. The roar is a 3d6 mental attack, and
affects all creatures within Burst 6. Victims successfully
attacked are rendered Afraid.
Knockdown. Any target of medium size or smaller is
knocked prone if struck by a claw swipe.

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 Appendix B: Monsters & Minions

Heavyweight Hunter-Killer (Hk–1000)

Medium sentient humanoid (8d6) Medium non-sentient mechanoid (8d6)
Massive, professional masters of the ring. Infiltration models designed to look human.
STR 15 (5d6) AGI 5 (2d6) END 10 (4d6) STR 15 (5d6) AGI 6 (3d6) END 15 (5d6)
INT 3 (2d6) LOG 3 (2d6) WIL 6 (3d6) INT 6 (3d6) LOG 6 (3d6) WIL 10 (4d6)
CHA 3 (2d6) LUC 1 (1d6) REP 6 (3d6) CHA 6 (3d6) LUC 1 (1d6) REP 10 (4d6)
Melee Defense 32; Ranged Defense 20 Melee Defense 32; Ranged Defense 16
Mental Defense 20; Vital Defense 32 Mental Defense 16; Vital Defense 32
Health 80 Health 80
Soak 12 v blunt; Vuln none Soak 16; Vuln 1d6 electricity, 2d6 ion
Immune none Immune Sick, Fatigued
Initiative 5d6 Initiative 4d6
Perception 5d6 Perception 4d6
Speed 5; Climb 3; Jump 6’/6’ Speed 4; Climb 2; Jump 12’/12’
Carry 250 lb. (max lift 750 lb.) Carry 300 lb. (max lift 750 lb.)
Reach 5 ft. Reach 5 ft.
Actions 2 Actions 2
Boxing 8d6 (3d6+4 blunt damage) Brawling 8d6 (4d6+5 blunt damage)
Skills carousing 3 (2d6), sports trivia 3 (2d6), perception Pulse rifle 6d6 (3d6 heat damage; range 12)
1 (1d6), hardy 6 (3d6), running 3 (2d6), carrying 3 (2d6), Skills rifles 8 (3d6), pistols 8 (3d6), computers 8 (3d6),
reactions 1 (1d6), boxing 10 (4d6) hardy 8 (3d6), tactics 1 (1d6), brawling 6 (3d6), perception
Gear — 1 (1d6), mimicry 6 (3d6)
One-two. Once per round the heavyweight may make two Gear laser rifle or portable pulse cannon
boxing attacks with a single action. He cannot add any Integrated scanner. Hunter-killers have scanners integrated
additional exploits to this, or benefit from any damage into their audio/visual sensors. This means that they are
increases. always considered to be using a scanner.
Knockdown. The heavyweight’s target is knocked prone as Designated target. Hunter-killers can be programmed to
long as it is size medium or smaller. destroy a specific target. They will not stop until that
Beat the count. The heavyweight gets +1 to all checks to target is destroyed. With full databanks of the target’s
shake off a condition. weaknesses, the hunter-killer ignores any Soak that the
target possesses. Programming a hunter-killer in this way
takes one day.

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 Appendix B: Monsters & Minions

Industrial Robot Insect Swarm

Large non-sentient mechanoid (5d6) Medium semi-sentient insect swarm (4d6)
Sturdy robots designed for lifting and crushing. A buzzing, whirling cloud of bites and stings.
STR 15 (5d6) AGI 3 (2d6) END 15 (5d6) STR 1 (1d6) AGI 10 (4d6) END 10 (4d6)
INT 3 (2d6) LOG 3 (2d6) WIL 6 (3d6) INT 6 (3d6) LOG 1 (1d6) WIL 1 (1d6)
CHA 3 (2d6) LUC 1 (1d6) REP 6 (3d6) CHA 1 (1d6) LUC 0 (0d6) REP 3 (2d6)
Melee Defense 22; Ranged Defense 10 Melee Defense 10; Ranged Defense 10
Mental Defense 12; Vital Defense 26 Mental Defense 16; Vital Defense 16
Health 60 Health 24
Soak 12; Vuln - Soak 4; Vuln none
Immune Sick, Fatigued Immune any non-area attack, all conditions
Initiative 2d6 Initiative 3d6
Perception 3d6 Perception 2d6
Speed 3; Climb 2; Jump 6’/6’ Speed 5; Climb —; Jump —
Carry 600 lb. (max lift 1,500 lb.) Carry —
Reach 5 ft. Reach 5 ft.
Actions 2 Actions 2
Crush 6d6 (3d6+5 blunt damage; grabbed) Attacks special
Skills combat 1 (2d6), perception 1 (1d6), carrying 10 (4d6) Skills —
Gear — Gear —
Called shot. Industral robots are not built for combat, and Swarm. A swarm is immune to all attacks except for area
they have easily targeted access ports. A called shot attacks. When it attacks, it simply moves into the target’s
with a piercing or ballistic weapon to an industrial robot’s square. Any creature which starts its turn in or enters
access port, located on the lower back of the mechanoid, the swarm’s square suffers 2d6 damage automatically.
will immediately shut it down for five minutes. Swarms can move through gaps of any size.
Industrial mechanoid. Industrial robots are not vulnerable Variable size. Swarms can be of any size. The stats above
to electricity and ion damage like other mechanoids. are for a medium-sized swarm. For each size category
Lifter. Industrial mechanoids can lift double the normal larger, the swarm gains +1d6 to damage (i.e. an enormous-
weight for their size (include above). sized swarm does 3d6 damage), and +10 Health.
Programmable. Anybody who gets access to the robot’s
programming can reprogram it with a Challenging [13] LOG
check. This takes 2d6 minutes.

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 Appendix B: Monsters & Minions

Kingpin Kremlin Beast

Medium sentient humanoid (7d6) Large semi-sentient beast (9d6)
Criminal bosses and gang leaders. Hulking biological experiment.
STR 10 (4d6) AGI 10 (4d6) END 10 (4d6) STR 21 (6d6) AGI 6 (3d6) END 21 (6d6)
INT 10 (4d6) LOG 10 (4d6) WIL 10 (4d6) INT 6 (3d6) LOG 1 (1d6) WIL 15 (5d6)
CHA 10 (4d6) LUC 10 (4d6) REP 10 (4d6) CHA 6 (3d6) LUC 1 (1d6)
Melee Defense 21; Ranged Defense 21 Melee Defense 34; Ranged Defense 14
Mental Defense 28; Vital Defense 21 Mental Defense 18; Vital Defense 38
Health 42 Health 90
Soak 7; Vuln none Soak 18 (hide); Vuln none
Immune none Immune none
Initiative 6d6 Initiative 5d6
Perception 6d6 Perception 5d6
Speed 7; Climb 4; Jump 20’/10’ Speed 5; Climb 3; Jump 12’/12’
Carry 200 lb. (max lift 500 lb.) Carry 420 lb. (max lift 1050 lb.)
Reach 5 ft. Reach 5 ft.
Actions 2 Actions 4 (2 on its turn, 1 each 5 Initiative points later)
Brawling 6d6 (3d6+4 blunt damage) Bite 9d6 (5d6+6 piercing damage)
Pistol 6d6 (3d6 ballistic damage; range 11) Claw 7d6 (4d6 slashing damage)
Skills hardy 6 (3d6), combat 3 (2d6), perception 3 (2d6), Skills reactions 3 (2d6), scent 8 (3d6), hardy 6 (3d6), combat
tactics 3 (2d6), survival 1 (1d6), stealth 1 (1d6), thievery 3 6 (3d6), perception 3 (2d6)
(2d6) Gear —
Gear pistol, mesh lining Four arms. The Kremlin Beast’s four arms allow it to take
Leadership. Donate LUC (4d6) dice to allies; must declare two additional actions per round, although it cannot move
before dice are rolled. more than twice.
Give orders. All allies within 30’ get an immediate bonus Bearhug. The creature grabs its target with two arms,
action. squeezing it. It can only bearhug a target of its size
category or smaller. Once established, the victim
automatically takes 4d6 blunt damage at the start of
their turn. The Kremline Beast can move at half speed,
moving the victim with it. It takes a melee attack action
to escape the bearhug.
Charge. When making a melee attack, the creature moves
its speed in a straight line and then attacks at the end of
it, gaining +1d6 damage to the attack.
Berserker. The creature can enter a berserker rage when
below half Health. This grants it a +1d6 bonus to all attack
rolls. The rage only ends when all foes are dead, or the
creature is rendered unconscious or restored to above
half Health.

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 Appendix B: Monsters & Minions

Lion Marine
Large semi-sentient beast (7d6) Medium sentient humanoid (7d6)
King of the plains. Trained, professional soldiers.
STR 15 (5d6) AGI 6 (3d6) END 15 (5d6) STR 6 (3d6) AGI 6 (3d6) END 3 (2d6)
INT 6 (3d6) LOG 1 (1d6) WIL 10 (4d6) INT 10 (4d6) LOG 6 (3d6) WIL 3 (2d6)
CHA 6 (3d6) LUC 1 (1d6) REP 10 (4d6) CHA 6 (3d6) LUC 1 (1d6) REP 6 (3d6)
Melee Defense 26; Ranged Defense 10 Melee Defense 12; Ranged Defense 24
Mental Defense 14; Vital Defense 30 Mental Defense 18; Vital Defense 18
Health 70 Health 30
Soak 14; Vuln none Soak 8; Vuln none
Immune none Immune none
Initiative 4d6 Initiative 6d6
Perception 4d6 Perception 6d6
Speed 8; Climb 4; Jump 12’/12’ Speed 6; Climb 3; Jump 12’/3’
Carry 300 lb. (max lift 750 lb.) Carry 90 lb. (max lift 300 lb.)
Reach 5 ft. Reach 5 ft.
Actions 2 Actions 2
Bite 7d6 (4d6+5 piercing damage) Rifle 6d6 (3d6 ballistic damage; range 14)
Claw 6d6 (3d6 slashing damage) Skills rifles 3 (d6), pistols 3 (2d6), brawling 3 (2d6), heavy
Skills combat 3 (2d6), perception 1 (1d6), reactions 1 (1d6) armor 3 (2d6), medicine 1 (1d6), computers 1 (1d6), hardy
Gear — 3 (2d6), swimming (0d6), carrying 3 (2d6), tactics 3 (2d6),
Pounce. With a single leap, the lion leaps upon its victim, dodging 3 (2d6), swords 3 (2d6), hardy 6 (3d6)
bearing it to the ground and inflicting its claw damage. Gear rifle, pistol, kevlar armor, medkit
The target must be within the lion’s horizontal jump Hunker down. Marines take half damage when in cover.
distance (12’). Protector. Marines can take an attack meant for an adjacent
Roar. Some creatures can unleash a roar so loud that its ally. If the attack hits the ally, the marine takes the
victims are stricken with fear. The lion makes a 4d6 damage instead. If the marine has a shield, the ally also
mental attack at any creature within Burst 7. Victims benefits from the shield’s defense bonus.
successfully attacked are made Afraid. Get on with it. Once per day, marines can pause for two
Pack attack. Lions work together in prides. Any allies actions and recover 2d6 Health.
adjacent to the victim count as flanking, gaining the +1d6
bonus to attack. When 3 or more lions are adjacent to the
victim, the victim becomes overwhelmed at the start of
its turn, and becomes Fatigued.

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 Appendix B: Monsters & Minions

Martial Artist Medic

Medium sentient humanoid (6d6) Medium sentient humanoid (6d6)
Agile fighters, masters of Eastern fighting arts. Professional doctors and nurses.
STR 6 (3d6) AGI 10 (3d6) END 10 (4d6) STR 6 (3d6) AGI 6 (3d6) END 6 (3d6)
INT 6 (3d6) LOG 4 (2d6) WIL 6 (3d6) INT 6 (3d6) LOG 6 (3d6) WIL 6 (3d6)
CHA 3 (2d6) LUC 1 (1d6) REP 6 (3d6) CHA 6 (3d6) LUC 6 (3d6) REP 6 (3d6)
Melee Defense 24; Ranged Defense 12 Melee Defense 18; Ranged Defense 18
Mental Defense 12; Vital Defense 24 Mental Defense 24; Vital Defense 18
Health 60 Health 36
Soak 12 vs. blunt; Vuln none Soak 0; Vuln none
Immune none Immune none
Initiative 4d6 Initiative 3d6
Perception 3d6 Perception 5d6
Speed 5; Climb 3; Jump 20’/6’ Speed 6; Climb 3; Jump 12’/6’
Carry 150 lb. (max lift 300 lb.) Carry 120 lb. (max lift 300 lb.)
Reach 5 ft. Reach 5 ft.
Actions 2 Actions 2
Martial arts 6d6 (2d6+4 blunt damage) Syringe 5d6 (3d6+3 poison damage)
Skills history 3 (2d6), perception 1 (1d6), hardy 6 (3d6), Skills medicine 6 (3d6), psychology 3 (2d6), bureaucracy
running 3 (2d6), reactions 1 (1d6), martial arts 3 (2d6) 3 (2d6), computers 3 (2d6), perception 3 (2d6),
Gear — concentration 6 (3d6), hardy 6 (3d6), insight 3 (2d6)
One-two. Once per round the martial-artist may make two Gear high quality medical scanner, high quality medkit
martial arts attacks with a single action. She cannot Medical advice. Identifying a weakness in a target, the
add any additional exploits to this, or benefit from any medic can spend a free action in an ally’s turn to allow
damage increases. that ally to bypass a creature’s Soak score. This exploit
Flying kick. The martial artist moves her Speed and issues a can only be performed once per target.
flying kick at the end of it, dealing a bonus +1d6 damage. Healing hands. The medic can use a medkit to heal 3d6
Health to a creature she can touch. Each can only benefit
once.
Alleviate condition. The medic can automatically remove a
temporary condition from an adjacent target by spending
an action.

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 Appendix B: Monsters & Minions

Ninja Occultist
Medium sentient humanoid (6d6) Medium sentient humanoid (6d6)
STR 6 (3d6) AGI 10 (4d6) END 6 (3d6) Students, researchers, and servants of the dark arts.
INT 6 (3d6) LOG 6 (3d6) WIL 6 (3d6) STR 6 (3d6) AGI 6 (3d6) END 6 (3d6)
CHA 6 (3d6) LUC 1 (1d6) REP 6 (3d6) INT 6 (3d6) LOG 6 (3d6) WIL 6 (3d6)
Melee Defense 24; Ranged Defense 18 CHA 6 (3d6) LUC 6 (3d6) REP 6 (3d6)
Mental Defense 12; Vital Defense 18 MAG 10 (4d6)
Health 36 Melee Defense 18; Ranged Defense 18
Soak 6; Vuln none Mental Defense 24; Vital Defense 18
Immune none Health 36
Initiative 6d6 Soak 6 (thick robes); Vuln none
Perception 5d6 Immune none
Speed 6; Climb 3; Jump 20’/6’ Initiative 5d6
Carry 120 lb. (max lift 300 lb.) Perception 5d6
Reach 5 ft. Speed 6; Climb 3; Jump 12’/6’
Actions 2 Carry 120 lb. (max lift 300 lb.)
Ninjato 6d6 (3d6+3 slashing damage) Reach 5 ft.
Shuriken 5d6 (1d6+1 piercing damage; range 9) Actions 2
Skills hardy 6 (3d6), combat 6 (3d6), perception 3 (2d6), Dagger 5d6 (3d6+3 piercing/poison damage)
movement 3 (2d6), tactics 6 (3d6), stealth 5 (2d6) Skills hardy 6 (3d6), knives 3 (2d6), perception 3 (2d6),
Gear — tactics 3 (2d6), religion 6 (3d6), medicine 3 (2d6), healing
Third attack. If the ninja makes two melee attacks, it gets a 3 (2d6), occult 3 (2d6)
third attack for free. Gear knife, holy symbol
Achilles heel. The ninja can strike a weak point, and bypass Sacrificial cut. An occultist knows how to use a dagger —
Soak once per foe. any hit from the occultist’s dagger automatically causes
Dart in. The ninja can move Speed 6, attack, then move Speed the Bleeding condition.
6 back again once per turn as a single action.
Stealthy. The ninja can make 6d6 stealth checks to remain
effectively invisible, even when there is no cover to hide
behind.
Poison. The ninja’s weapon attacks inflict the Poisoned
condition.
Smoke bomb. The ninja can throw a smoke bomb, obscuring
an area with a 30’ diameter.

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 Appendix B: Monsters & Minions

Pugilist Saboteur
Medium sentient humanoid (6d6) Medium sentient humanoid (6d6)
Hardy boxers with a heavy punch. Experts at infiltration and destruction.
STR 10 (4d6) AGI 5 (2d6) END 10 (4d6) STR 4 (2d6) AGI 6 (3d6) END 3 (2d6)
INT 3 (2d6) LOG 3 (2d6) WIL 6 (3d6) INT 10 (4d6) LOG 10 (4d6) WIL 6 (3d6)
CHA 3 (2d6) LUC 1 (1d6) REP 6 (3d6) CHA 10 (4d6) LUC 1 (1d6) REP 6 (3d6)
Melee Defense 24; Ranged Defense 12 Melee Defense 12; Ranged Defense 18
Mental Defense 12; Vital Defense 24 Mental Defense 24; Vital Defense 12
Health 60 Health 18
Soak 12 vs. blunt; Vuln none Soak 3; Vuln none
Immune none Immune none
Initiative 3d6 Initiative 6d6
Perception 3d6 Perception 6d6
Speed 3; Climb 2; Jump 6’/6’ Speed 6; Climb 3; Jump 12’/3’
Carry 200 lb. (max lift 500 lb.) Carry 60 lb. (max lift 150 lb.)
Reach 5 ft. Reach 5 ft.
Actions 2 Actions 2
Boxing 6d6 (2d6+4 blunt damage) Knife 3d6 (2d6+2 piercing damage)
Skills carousing 3 (2d6), sports trivia 3 (2d6), perception Pistol 5d6 (3d6 ballistic damage; range 9)
1 (1d6), hardy 6 (3d6), running 3 (2d6), carrying 3 (2d6), Bomb 5d5 (2d6 heat damage; range 5; burst 2)
reactions 1 (1d6), boxing 3 (2d6) Skills demolitions 6 (3d6), engineering 6 (3d6), zero-g 3
Gear — (2d6), computers 3 (2d6), stealth 6 (3d6), bluffing 3 (2d6),
One-two. Once per round the pugilist may make two boxing climbing 3 (2d6), tactics 3 (2d6), dodging 3 (2d6), pistols 1
attacks with a single action. He cannot add any additional (1d6), disguise 6 (3d6), thievery 6 (3d6)
exploits to this, or benefit from any damage increases. Gear pistol, knife, toolkit, explosives
Knockdown. The pugilist’s target is knocked prone as long Trapsetter. The saboteur can set a proximity explosive in
as it is size medium or smaller. an adjacent square which makes a 6d6 attack doing 3d6
Beat the count. The pugilist gets +1 to all checks to shake off heat/ballistic damage in a 30’ burst when anybody other
a condition. than the saboteur comes within 5’ of it (enters the square,
or an adjacent square). The trap’s difficulty to spot and/or
disable is 24.

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 Appendix B: Monsters & Minions

Scientist Spy
Medium sentient humanoid (5d6) Medium sentient humanoid (7d6)
Professional practioners of science. Elite secret agents and intelligence officers.
STR 3 (2d6) AGI 6 (3d6) END 3 (2d6) STR 6 (3d6) AGI 10 (4d6) END 6 (3d6)
INT 6 (3d6) LOG 10 (4d6) WIL 6 (3d6) INT 15 (5d6) LOG 15 (5d6) WIL 10 (4d6)
CHA 6 (3d6) LUC 1 (1d6) REP 6 (3d6) CHA 15 (5d6) LUC 3 (2d6) REP 10 (4d6)
Melee Defense 15; Ranged Defense 15 Melee Defense 14; Ranged Defense 21
Mental Defense 20; Vital Defense 10 Mental Defense 28; Vital Defense 14
Health 15 Health 21
Soak 0; Vuln none Soak 4; Vuln none
Immune none Immune none
Initiative 3d6 Initiative 7d6
Perception 5d6 Perception 7d6
Speed 5; Climb 3; Jump 12’/3’ Speed 7; Climb 4; Jump 20’/6’
Carry 60 lb. (max lift 150 lb.) Carry 120 lb. (max lift 300 lb.)
Reach 5 ft. Reach 5 ft.
Actions 2 Actions 2
Brawling 3d6 (1d6+2 blunt damage) Martial arts 4d6 (2d6+3 blunt damage)
Skills law 6 (3d6), chemistry 6 (3d6), history 6 (3d6), Pistol 6d6 (3d6 ballistic damage; range 11)
botany 6 (3d6), negotiation 6 (3d6), perception 3 (2d6), Skills martial arts 1 (1d6), pistols 3 (2d6), perception 3 (2d6),
concentration 6 (3d6), medicine 6 (3d6), astronomy 6 tactics 3 (2d6), bluffing 10 (4d6), disguise 6 (3d6), stealth
(3d6), history 6 (3d6), [scientific] 6 (3d6), computers 6 6 (3d6), computers 3 (2d6)
(3d6), tactics 3 (2d6) Gear —
Gear toolkit, hand scanner Suave. A 5d6 mental attack against a target within 30’
Scientific advice. The scientist can offer advice to another makes the target Charmed.
creature. If the creature can understand the scientist, it Taunt. A 5d6 mental attack against a target within 30’
gains +1d6 to an action defined by the scientist taken on makes the target Angry.
its next turn.
Analytical eye. The scientist can identify a target’s
weakness by spending an action and advising an ally of
that weakness. The ally can completely bypass the Soak
of the target once. The scientist can only perform this
trick once per target.
Electronic attack. Using a hand scanner and a toolkit, the
scientist can cause 1d6 ion damage in a 30’ burst.

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 Appendix B: Monsters & Minions

Thug Tiger
Medium sentient humanoid (5d6) Large semi-sentient beast (7d6)
Thieves and bullies who prey on the defenseless. Ferocious feline hunters.
STR 6 (3d6) AGI 6 (3d6) END 6 (3d6) STR 15 (5d6) AGI 15 (5d6) END 15 (5d6)
INT 6 (3d6) LOG 6 (3d6) WIL 6 (3d6) INT 10 (4d6) LOG 1 (1d6) WIL 10 (4d6)
CHA 6 (3d6) LUC 1 (1d6) REP 1 (1d6) CHA 10 (4d6) LUC 1 (1d6) REP 10 (4d6)
Melee Defense 15; Ranged Defense 15 Melee Defense 26; Ranged Defense 17
Mental Defense 12; Vital Defense 15 Mental Defense 14; Vital Defense 23
Health 20 Health 42
Soak 5; Vuln none Soak 7; Vuln none
Immune none Immune none
Initiative 4d6 Initiative 7d6
Perception 4d6 Perception 6d6
Speed 5; Climb 3; Jump 12’/6’ Speed 7; Climb 4; Jump 30’/15’
Carry 120 lb. (max lift 300 lb.) Carry 300 lb. (max lift 750 lb.)
Reach 5 ft. Reach 5 ft.
Actions 2 Actions 2
Club 4d6 (2d6+3 blunt damage) Claw/bite 7d6 (4d6+5 piercing damage)
Pistol 4d6 (2d6 ballistic damage; range 8) Skills hardy 6 (3d6), combat 6 (3d6), perception 3 (2d6),
Skills pistols 1 (1d6), knives 1 (1d6), carousing 1 (1d6), local reactions 6 (3d6), stealth 4 (2d6), hunting 10 (4d6)
knowledge 1 (1d6), thievery 1 (1d6), running 1 (1d6), dodging Gear—
1 (1d6), reactions 1 (1d6), Pounce. With a single leap, the tiger leaps upon its victim,
Gear pistol, leather vest, knife bearing it to the ground and inflicting its claw damage.
Dive for cover. If a ranged attack misses a thug, they may The target must be within the tiger’s horizontal jump
immediately move half their Speed as a free action and distance (30’).
either throw himself prone or get behind cover if it is in Rake. If the tiger attacks twice with its claws in one round,
range. it gets a third bite attack for free.
Roar. Some creatures can unleash a roar so loud that its
victims are stricken with fear. A roar is a 4d6 mental
attack with Burst 5. Victims successfully attacked are
made Afraid.

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 Appendix B: Monsters & Minions

Tyrannosaurus Rex Undead Hunter

Enormous semi-sentient reptile (11d6) Medium sentient humanoid (6d6).
Reptilian king of the dinosaurs. STR 6 (3d6) AGI 10 (4d6) END 6 (3d6)
STR 28 (7d6) AGI 10 (4d6) END 28 (7d6) INT 6 (3d6) LOG 6 (3d6) WIL 6 (3d6)
INT 10 (4d6) LOG 1 (1d6) WIL 21 (6d6) CHA 6 (3d6) LUC 1 (1d6) REP 6 (3d6)
CHA 10 (4d6) LUC 3 (2d6) REP 21 (6d6) Melee Defense 24; Ranged Defense 18
Melee Defense 40; Ranged Defense 14 Mental Defense 12; Vital Defense 18
Mental Defense 22; Vital Defense 48 Health 36
Health 165 Soak 6; Vuln none
Soak 27; Vuln 1d6 cold Immune none
Immune none Initiative 6d6
Initiative 6d6 Perception 5d6
Perception 5d6 Speed 6; Climb 3; Jump 20’/6’
Speed 6; Climb -; Jump - Carry 120 lb. (max lift 300 lb.)
Carry 560 lb. (max lift 1400 lb.) Reach 5 ft.
Reach 10 ft. Actions 2
Actions 3 Stake 6d6 (3d6+3 piercing damage)
Bite 11d6 (6d6+7 piercing damage) Skills hardy 6 (3d6), combat 6 (3d6), perception 3 (2d6),
Tail swipe 9d6 (5d6 blunt damage; cone 6) movement 3 (2d6), reactions 6 (3d6), stealth 4 (2d6)
Skills combat 10 (4d6), hearing 3 (2d6), reactions 3 (2d6), Gear —
Gear— Deathly lore. The undead hunter ignores natural Soak of
Charge (m). Once per turn, the tyrannosaurus rex can move undead creatures.
its speed in a straight line and then attack at the end of it, Sense death. The undead hunter can automatically sense
all as a single action. It gains +1d6 damage to its attack. the undead and spirits within 30’.
Roar. The tyrannosaurus rex can unleash a roar so loud that
its victims are stricken with fear. A roar is a6d6 mental
attack, and attacks any creature within Burst 11. Victims
successfully attacked are rendered Afraid.
Tail swipe. The tyrannosaurus rex has a tail swipe attack.
This attack affects all targets in a 30’ cone to the rear of
the creature.

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 Appendix B: Monsters & Minions

Vampire Invitations. Vampires cannot enter a private dwelling

Medium sentient undead evil humanoid without an invitation from somebody who lives there.
(9d6) Once an invitation has been extended, the vampire may
Undead bloodsucking creatures of the night. enter freely thereafter.
STR 15 (5d6) AGI 21 (6d6) END 15 (5d6) Preternatural celerity. Vampires can move incredibly fast.
INT 15 (5d6) LOG 15 (5d6) WIL 15 (5d6) Once per round, on its turn, a vampire can move its Speed
CHA 15 (5d6) LUC 1 (1d6) REP 15 (5d6) as a free action, appearing as little more than a blur to
MAG 10 (4d6) onlookers.
Melee Defense 36; Ranged Defense 27 Spider climb. Vampires can scale vertical surfaces as
Mental Defense 18; Vital Defense 27 though they were horizontal. A vampire gains a Climb
Health 54 speed equal to its regular Speed.
Soak 14 ; Vuln 1d6 holy Regeneration. Vampires regenerate 2d6 Health at the start
Immune Sick, Bleeding, Fatigued of every turn. This power only works at night.
Initiative 9d6 Charm. Vampires can make a mental attack as a single
Perception 7d6 ; superior darksight, lifesense action against any target within 30’. If successful, the
Speed 9; Climb +9; Jump 42’/15’ target is Charmed.
Carry 300 lb. (max lift 750 lb.) Children of the night. Once per day when in an outdoor
Reach 5 ft. environment, vampires can spend two actions to
Actions 2 summon 1d6 wolves. The wolves arrive within 1d6 turns
Bite 9d6 (5d6+5 damage; blood drain) and remain under the vampire’s control. This power only
Mental attacks (see below) works at night.
Skills history 8 (3d6), stealth 8 (3d6), disguise 8 (3d6), Shapechange. A vampire can spend two actions to change
perception 10 (4d6), concentration 8 (3d6), hardy 10 (4d6), into the shape of a wolf or a bat. It can change back by
reactions 10 (4d6), brawling 10 (4d6), charm* 6 (3d6), spending a further two actions. This power only works at
afflicton* 6 (3d6), summoning* 6 (3d6), creation* 6 (3d6) night.
Gear — Dark arts. Vampires can create magical effects equivalent
Called shot. When reduced to zero Health, a vampire is not to a cantrip related to darkness or mists.
slain; instead, it is paralyzed. In order to slay a vampire, it Blood drain. A bite attack allows the vampire to sink its
must either be beheaded or staked in the heart. A vampire teeth into its victim and drain its blood. This reduces the
can remain paralyzed for centuries, returning to unlife victim’s END dice pool by 1d6 but does not do normal
with a drop of nourishing blood. A called shot to the heart damage. When the dice pool reaches 0d6, the victim
with a wooden stake can paralyze a vampire instantly. is slain. A creature slain by the drinking of its blood by
Sunlight. Every turn that a vampire begins in direct sunlight, a vampire rises three days later as a vampire under its
it suffers 1d6 fire damage. Even when not in direct creator’s control. It remains forever under the control of
sunlight, vampires suffer –2d6 to all dice pools during its creator unless its creator is destroyed. The spawn is
daylight hours. considered permanently Dominated by its creator (see
Apotropaics. Certain items can ward off vampires. Good holy Conditions).
items, and garlic, inflict a –1d6 die penalty to any attribute
check made by the vampire if within 10’ of the offending
object. This also causes considerable discomfort to the
vampire.

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 Appendix B: Monsters & Minions

Werewolf Wolf
A werewolf uses the statistics of a wolf and a civilian (or Medium semi-sentient beast (4d6)
other humanoid). See the appropriate stat blocks for each. Pack-based animals which cooperate to hunt their prey.
When in wolf form, use the regular wolf statistics with STR 4 (2d6) AGI 8 (4d6) END 3 (2d6)
the following alterations: INT 6 (3d6) LOG 1 (1d6) WIL 3 (2d6)
]] A werewolf can only be harmed by silver weapons. CHA 3 (2d6) LUC 0 (0d6) REP 3 (2d6)
]] Those who receive a critical hit from a werewolf contract Melee Defense 10; Ranged Defense 16
lycanthropy. Mental Defense 12; Vital Defense 12
]] A dose of belladonna (wolfsbane) taken within one hour of Health 12
contracting lycanthropy negates the condition if correctly Soak 2; Vuln none
prepared with a Demanding [21] LOG check. Only one such Immune none
attempt can be made. Initiative 3d6
]] If slain, the werewolf reverts back to its natural humanoid Perception 4d6
form. Speed 8; Climb 4; Jump 8’/8’
Lycanthropy is a disease which is contacted from a bite or Carry 70 lb. (max lift 200 lb.)
other injury caused by a lycanthrope such as a werewolf. Reach 5 ft.
The victim forms an END countdown pool and follows the Actions 2
normal disease process. Bite 4d6 (2d6 piercing damage)
Transmission Scratch or bite Skills tracking 10 (4d6), scent 10 (4d6), running 10 (4d6),
Pool END swimming 4 (2d6), tactics 4 (2d6), combat 5 (2d6)
Interval Daily Gear —
Difficulty Strenuous [21] Pack attack. Wolves work together well. Any wolves
Effect Permanant lycanthope adjacent to the victim count as flanking, gaining the +1d6
Once the lycanthopy becomes permanent, the victim bonus to attack. When 3 or more wolves are adjacent
involuntarily changes form at the next full moon and to the victim, the victim becomes overwhelmed, and is
every full moon thereafter. He or she becomes aggressive rendered Fatigued at the start of its turn.
when in that form. Pounce. The wolf can leap its horizontal Jump distance (8’)
from a standing start when making a bite attack. This
counts as a charge (+1d6 damage) and also knocks the
victim prone on a successful attack.

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 Appendix B: Monsters & Minions

Worker Zombie
Medium sentient humanoid (5d6) Medium evil non-sentient undead
Farmers, engineers, and other laborers. humanoid (4d6)
STR 6 (3d6) AGI 6 (3d6) END 3 (2d6) Walking corpses who hunger for living flesh.
INT 6 (3d6) LOG 6 (3d6) WIL 6 (3d6) STR 3 (2d6) AGI 3 (2d6) END 3 (2d6)
CHA 6 (3d6) LUC 1 (1d6) REP 6 (3d6) INT 3 (2d6) LOG 3 (2d6) WIL 3 (2d6)
Melee Defense 15; Ranged Defense 15 CHA 3 (2d6) LUC 3 (2d6) REP 3 (2d6)
Mental Defense 20; Vital Defense 10 Melee Defense 12; Ranged Defense 12
Health 15 Mental Defense 16; Vital Defense 12
Soak 0; Vuln none Health 24
Immune none Soak 9 ; Vuln 1d6 holy
Initiative 3d6 Immune Sick, Bleeding, Fatigued
Perception 4d6 Initiative 3d6
Speed 5; Climb 3; Jump 12’/3’ Perception 3d6 ; superior darksight, lifesense
Carry 60 lb. (max lift 150 lb.) Speed 4; Climb 2; Jump 6’/3’
Reach 5 ft. Carry 60 lb. (max lift 150 lb.)
Actions 2 Reach 5 ft.
Tool 3d6 (2d6+2 blunt damage) Actions 2
Skills [craft] 3 (2d6), zero-g 3 (2d6), computers 3 (2d6), Bite 3d6 (2d6+2 piercing damage; zombie fever)
hardy 1 (1d6), climbing 3 (2d6), carrying 3 (2d6), brawling 1 Skills scent 6 (3d6)
(1d6), perception 1 (1d6) Gear —
Gear club, tools Zombie fever. Those who suffer a critical hit from a zombie’s
Tools. A worker can use the tools of their trade as weapons bite contract zombie fever. Additionally, any slain by a
with no improvisation penalty. zombie rise one hour later as a zombie themselves.
Worker. The [craft] skill entry above can be replaced with Unstoppable. A zombie keeps going, no matter what. The
engineering, farming, or another hardy occupation to only way to destroy it is to make a Called Shot to the
create a range of workers. head that deals 25% of the zombie’s Health in one attack;
this kills it instantly.

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Appendix C: How to Make an Entrance
This miniature encounter is included to get things off of the ground and move the game forward expediently, possibly as
a starting point for a larger published adventure path or for a campaign designed by the GM. By no means should every
session of N.O.W. begin this way, but an exciting start like the one suggested below is a great way to set the tempo of the game.
This adventure includes a mad scientist, ninjas, zombies, and a car chase. An explosive combination, to be sure!

Why exactly the player characters are gathering together way. Regardless of what you come up with as a group, the
is not pertinent to this scenario. The first operation may player characters begin this adventure gathered in an old
be a heist, resolving a kidnapping, bringing down drug garage in a dilapidated part of town.
lords—so long as it’s exciting, it’s good for N.O.W.   After the last party member arrives, give the characters
  This adventure is designed to be short and straightfor- some time to palaver with one another, be introduced
ward to run, and very linear in application. We assume (if it's decided some of the characters haven’t met), and
this is your first N.O.W. adventure, but soon you’ll be generally make their first impressions. Before things get
creating more complex, less linear adventures which will tedious, have the characters roll a Routine [10] INT check
thrill your players! to hear the screeching of an armored van making a sliding
 In How to Make an Entrance (designed for grade 5 char- turn nearby. Anyone that runs outside to see what it is wit-
acters), an old friend of the player characters (the last nesses the following:
member of the team being gathered together, a fellow
known as Wily Jack) makes a hasty entrance, bringing the The sun blazes high above, and your eyes take a moment
vehicle he promised to provide. Unfortunately, however, to adjust to its too-bright light. When your vision clears,
somebody is right on his tail with intent to kill! This ally you see an armored van careening around the corner—it’s
is already wounded and falls unconscious just as he parks headed straight for the garage!
the armored van. Without unusual aid he dies, but the   A middle-aged scarred fellow with lanky blond hair is in
trouble that brought about his end isn’t far behind! the driver’s seat of the van, and you can see several bullet
  What’s going on? Wily Jack is fleeing thugs employed holes in its cracked windshield and what appears to be
by a nefarious organization called the Crimson Sparrows. blood spilled around the interior. The vehicle starts to slow
The local branch of the Crimson Sparrows, headed by a bit but the man at the wheel slumps forward over the
Sharona Srafowitz, is a seedy strip club called Cedar’s Pa- wheel, pulling a hard left and slamming the van to a stop
vilion. Sharona has kidnapped a scientist from Chen Zua against a telephone pole just outside the building.
Laboratories called Petra Jasmine, and from whom the
Crimson Sparrows want the formula for a new discovery, Wily Jack (an occultist) is beyond the help of modern
a liquid that turns people into zombies. Wily Jack, who medicine and dies, bleeding out from multiple bullet
had been investigating the Sparrows, infiltrated the club wounds. However, he does manage to gasp out the name
and had become friends with one of the dancers, Mindy, “Mindy!” as he expires.
before he was found out and had to flee.   Anyone making a Routine [10] LOG check realizes that
  Enemies & foes. Remember that when you see an en- Wily Jack’s wounds are recent, and that whoever attacked
emy mentioned in bold, you should refer to Appendix B, him is probably not far behind. Indeed, less than a minute
Monsters & Minions, for their stats. after the van’s arrival, a jeep drives into view, a tough thug
at the wheel and a wounded heavy gunner hanging out
Getting Started the passenger window.
Decide how the player characters all know one another—
if pregenerated characters aren’t being used, the players Careening around the corner is another vehicle, a beat up
and GM should work together to generate interesting old jeep with a tough looking youth at the wheel. A man in a
backgrounds that link the group to one another in some tattered vest is standing in the passenger seat, reloading a

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 Appendix C: How to Make an Entrance

grenade launcher and screaming directions at his compa- Both fight to the death, but afterward there remain clues
triot. The driver’s face tattoo contorts as he shouts back, regarding who’s responsible for their friend’s death:
throwing the wheel in a wild turn that sends their vehicle •• Wily Jack has a book of matches with the words
flipping once before rolling to a stop. Something in the “Cedar’s Pavilion” scribbled on the back. It’s a Diffi-
engine compartment pops and crackles, smoke exploding cult [13] LOG check to recall that this is a seedy strip
from under the hood as the two leap out and take cover bar about five miles away.
behind it. •• The jeep driver has a throwaway cell phone with
only a few calls on it, all to the same number.
Calling this number reaches an answering service
The Van which identifies itself as Cedar’s Pavilion.
A Routine [10] LOG check tells the player characters •• Both gang members have tiny tattoos of crimson
that their new (damaged) vehicle, a 1983 GMC Vandu- sparrows on their wrists. The Crimson Sparrows are
ra Van, is probably hot, and that trying to sell it would a clandestine cult, and it’s unlikely that any PCs will
be unwise at best, because the unique features it be able to make the Severe [29] LOG check to identify
contains make it very distinctive if inspected. the tattoos, but if they do, feel free to tell them about
the organization.
Occupants 5; Speed 10, Accel 2*; Handling 4 •• While they won’t know this yet, “Mindy” is the name
Health 71, Soak 10**; Defense 9 of a worker at Cedar’s Pavilion who will be able to
Upgrades 4 used of 11: short-shift, bulletproof provide the PCs with more information.
windows, hidden compartments.
* Short-shift The van’s short-shift transmission Cedar’s Pavilion
increases its Accel from 1 to 2 At this point the PCs do not know why Wily Jack was killed,
** Bulletproof windows The van’s windows provide and the only clues they have lead to Cedar’s Pavilion, a
ablative Soak 50 to ballistic damage. (This ablative seedy strip bar.
Soak ceases to provide any benefits after negating
50 points of ballistic damage.) The van is also Cedar’s Pavilion is in a rough part of town. As you approach,
immune to windshield hit location damage until the thugs loiter on street corners, and shadows huddle in
ablative Soak is used up. doorways and alleys. The club itself is a large building on
Hidden compartments Weapons and the like can be an intersection, and you can see a pair of burly bouncers at
stored in compartments in the van where they will the large double doorway sheltering from the rain beneath
be missed on a cursory inspection (Difficult [16] a shabby awning.
check to find the contents on a search).
Upgrades The van has used 4 of its 11 upgrade slots, A Difficult [16] INT check from a PC will notice a small
so it has 7 left. red sparrow painted above the door. A similar check will
reveal that the two bouncers have weapons under their
Open Sesame coats, likely pistols and batons from their size.
Locked doors in this adventure require a Difficult [16]   Getting in. Allow the PCs to decide how to approach
AGI check to pick the lock. If picking the lock fails, it’s the club. They could go in through the front door, or try
a Difficult [16] STR check to break the door down. to sneak in round the back by heading down a small al-
  Generally speaking, when confronted with a diffi- ley and picking the lock with a Difficult [16] AGI check,
culty benchmark for a task, you can safely use that heading through the kitchens, and onto the main floor (if
same benchmark for any other methods the PCs they take this route they will pass the room where Petra
might try to employ. Jasmine the scientist is imprisoned). If they take the easy
route through the front door, they will need to convince

6
22
Appendix C: How to Make an Entrance

22
7
 Appendix C: How to Make an Entrance

the bouncers to let them in with a Difficult [16] CHA check.   The most obvious checks to make are AGI (driving)
If for whatever reason a fight breaks out, the two bouncers checks, but encourage the players to think of other checks.
use cop stats. Anybody can make the opposed check, as long as they’ve
 People. Inside the club, a mixture of people can be thought of something they could plausibly be doing.
found—civilians, gamblers, thugs, workers, even the oc- While only the driver can make an AGI (driving) check,
casional cutpurse. The club is run by Sharona Serafowitz, another character might make a LOG (navigation) check
a kingpin, and she is protected by a small group of four to try and find a shortcut, or an INT (pistols) check to shoot
ninjas. Locked in a back room, guarded by two thugs, is down an awning, dropping it in the pursuer’s path. Each
a scientist named Petra Jasmine; he has been knocked PC gets one action, whether that be making the opposed
about a bit. Finally, there are half a dozen dancers (work- check or not.
ers with the dancing skill), one of whom is Mindy, Wily   The other PCs can do whatever they wish in the mean-
Jack’s girlfriend. time. They can shoot at the pursuers, or think of other
  The next part of the adventure is a little freeform, as it’s ways to help. The motorcycles are two Kawasaki ZZR 250s
up to the PCs what they want to do here, and how to go with the following stats:
about it. Mindy will be able to tell them all about the plot
and knows of the scientist; she is scared for her life, how- Occupants 1; Speed 18, Accel 4; Handling 2
ever, and will not participate in a rescue attempt. Health 17, Soak 0; Defense 12
  Sharona is on the second floor, and an observant PC
(Difficult [16] INT) will spot her watching the dance floor Note that vehicles add their current speed to their Defense
from a window overlooking the main club hall. She is in scores. Assuming the PCs are fleeing at their maximum
her luxurious office with two of her ninjas; the other two Speed of 10, the motorcycles will be moving at that same
ninjas can be found outside the room in the hallway at speed, making their Defenses 22. They have no Soak, so
the top of the stairs which lead down to a door on bottom it doesn’t take many shots to knock out a bike.
floor (Difficult [16] AGI to pick). If the PCs talk to Mindy for   The characters may choose to shoot at the thugs riding
too long, Sharona will notice and send one of her ninjas the bikes instead (two on each). Remember that the rider
to collect Mindy and bring her up to the office. If she does gets either their own Defense or the vehicle’s, whichever
this, Mindy will spill the beans, and the four ninjas will is higher.
converge on the PCs.   If the PCs get six opposed check victories before the
  Sharona will not join in the combat unless the PCs ac- bikes do, they lose their pursuers in the city streets. If they
tively seeker her out and engage her. With luck, she’ll be kill the pursuers before then, they also escape. If the bikes
left alive as a recurring villain. get six wins first, they shoot out a tire, bringing the van to
a stop, and a conventional fight ensues.
Escape   Describing the chase. Each round, describe the
Once they’ve rescued the scientist, the PCs will be pur- scenery to the PCs. This not only makes the chase more
sued through the streets. Presumably they have their new immersive, it gives them opportunity to think of things
van; they will be chased by some villains (two thugs on other than straight AGI (driving) checks to make. Here are
each) on motorcycles. This gives you chance to try out the some districts they might pass through, but feel free to use
chase rules. your imagination:
  The chase involves opposed checks. The PCs can make •• Red light district •• Theater district
one opposed check per round, and the first to reach six •• Docks •• Construction site
wins the chase. The motorcycles have an average check of •• City center •• Bridge
16; if you prefer, you can have the PC driver check against •• Shopping district •• Highway
that benchmark rather than taking the time to roll actual •• Financial district •• Suburbs
opposed checks. •• Upmarket residential •• Country/parks

8
22
Appendix C: How to Make an Entrance

22
9
 Appendix C: How to Make an Entrance

The lab is deserted. The chairs have been overturned,

and scientific equipment lies scattered and broken on the
ground. The fluorescent lights are flickering ominously, and
you can see the door to a small office hanging open. A large,
solid cabinet on one wall has had its metal door ripped off
and flung aside, seemingly by something of great strength.
  Slumped on the floor, and across tables, are half a dozen
lifeless corpses, the bodies of the technicians who once
worked here. Even from your vantage point, you can see
they have been riddled with automatic weapons fire.

Allow the PCs to enter the lab and start investigating.

Petra is able to identify the six bodies as his co-workers,
and is visibly upset at their deaths. With an appropriate
Challenging [13] check, the PCs can discover that imprints
in the metal door of the cabinet indicate that somebody
Zombies! ripped the door off with their bare hands. Petra informs
Once the PCs lose their pursuers, the scientist, Petra Jas- them that the cabinet was a secure container containing
mine, suggests that they head to his office at Chen Zua the virus—which is, of course, now missing.
Laboratories. There are some vials of the zombie virus   You should allow the characters to poke around in the
there, and it is imperative that these be retrieved before lab for a few minutes, giving them just long enough to de-
the Crimson Sparrows get there. velop a false sense of security, before the zombies awake.
  Chen Zua Laboratories is a modern building on the out-
skirts of town, next to a large parking lot. The lights are off, Something stirs behind you. Glancing over your shoulder,
and about half a dozen cheap cars are parked outside. Pe- you see one of the dead technicians twitch. To your horror,
tra leads the characters up a short flight of steps and uses her eyes open and she slowly clambers to her feet, her life-
his palm print to enter through the glass and steel door at less eyes fixing on you.
the top, ushering them inside.   Around you the other five corpses are also pulling them-
  When the PCs reach the lab, it is eerily quiet. In the foyer selves upright and lurching towards you. Petra recoils in
there’s a mop and bucket on the floor, with nobody around. horror as he screams “The virus! It’s loose!”
Petra turns the fluorescent lights on, and leads them to the
laboratory itself, where a shock awaits the PCs! The lab has
already been ransacked; the Sparrows have the virus. And What Next?
worse—there are six zombies, who were once lab techni- The PCs have rescued a scientist from the Crimson Spar-
cians, craving mortal flesh. When they awaken, the PCs rows and made a daring escape. The bad news is that
will have another fight on their hands! they’ve now made an enemy of the Crimson Sparrows and
can expect retaliation. If Sharona is still alive, she will
pursue the PCs with a vengeance.

0
23
Index

23
1
 Index
acidic environment......................................................... 162 bounty hunter.................................................................... 39
acrobat................................................................................ 34 bounty hunter, NPC........................................................ 206
actions.............................................................................. 145 boxer................................................................................... 40
actor.................................................................................... 38 Brazilian jujutsu................................................................ 56
advancement................................................................74–75 burglar................................................................................ 40
advancement level...................................................169–170 burning............................................................................. 157
adventure, sample................................................... 225–230 called shots...................................................................... 148
adventures........................................................................194 campaigns................................................................. 194–196
afraid................................................................................. 157 capoeria.............................................................................. 57
age............................................................................15, 68, 75 career(s)...............................................................9, 15, 35–55
Agility................................................................................17 careers, designing........................................................... 185
aikido.................................................................................. 56 Carry................................................................................. 72
aiming.............................................................................. 148 catching a disease........................................................... 156
aiming aids...................................................................... 105 Cedar’s Pavilion............................................................... 226
Alejandra Vanistos ..........................................................199 character creation............................................................. 14
Alpha Squad..............................................................198–203 character creation walkthrough...................................... 15
amazon, NPC................................................................... 204 Charisma............................................................................17
ambush turn.................................................................... 145 charmed........................................................................... 157
ammunition....................................................................... 87 chases............................................................................... 137
angry................................................................................. 157 chef...................................................................................... 40
ape..................................................................................... 204 chemistry......................................................................... 138
archeologist....................................................................... 38 Chen Zua.......................................................................... 230
armor ........................................................................106–109 Chi................................................................. 9, 17, 55, 62–64
armor upgrades........................................................108–109 Chi points........................................................................... 62
armor-piercing................................................................... 87 chosen................................................................................. 22
assassin.............................................................................. 38 civilian, NPC.................................................................... 206
assassin, NPC................................................................... 205 Climb.................................................................................. 71
assisting another character............................................ 135 climbing........................................................................... 146
astronaut............................................................................ 38 cold environment............................................................ 162
astronaut, NPC................................................................ 205 college................................................................................. 41
athlete................................................................................. 38 collisions.......................................................................... 153
atmosphere.......................................................................163 combat.......................................................................144–150
attacks.................................................................. 73, 147–148 combat sequence............................................................. 144
attribute checks.................................................... 9, 131–134 combat, vehicles....................................................... 151–154
attributes...................................................................9, 15, 21 complications.................................................................. 134
augmented......................................................................... 23 computing........................................................................ 139
balancing......................................................................... 146 con artist............................................................................ 41
bartender............................................................................ 39 condition list.............................................................157–158
bases.......................................................................... 194–195 conditions.................................................................156–158
bear....................................................................................211 confused........................................................................... 157
Ben Madjos........................................................................198 constrictor snake............................................................. 207
benchmark............................................................9, 133–134 contests............................................................................. 136
bleeding............................................................................ 157 converting vehicles.................................................. 117–118
blind.................................................................................. 157 cop, NPC........................................................................... 207
boot camp.......................................................................... 39 countdowns..................................................................... 142
bouncer.............................................................................. 39 cover................................................................................. 149

2
23
 Index
craftsman........................................................................... 41 dual-wielding................................................................... 148
crimson sparrows.............................................................179 Duke Roosevelt................................................................ 200
critical hits....................................................................... 155 eagle.................................................................................... 35
critical successes............................................................. 134 earthquake........................................................................163
crocodile.......................................................................... 208 eastern weapons.......................................................... 89–91
crossfire............................................................................ 150 elephant............................................................................ 209
cultist.................................................................................. 42 encounter difficulty.......................................................... 75
curing diseases................................................................ 159 Endurance.........................................................................17
currency............................................................................. 79 engineer.............................................................................. 44
customizing armor...................................................108–109 environment.............................................................162–164
customizing vehicles...............................................118–123 equipment quality............................................... 79–80, 132
customizing weapons..............................................105–106 equipment, general......................................................81–83
cutpurse, NPC.................................................................. 208 equipment, improvised.................................................. 132
cybernetics................................................................... 30–33 Eternal Senpai................................................................. 201
d6........................................................................................... 9 ethnicity............................................................................. 21
d66......................................................................................... 9 events.................................................................................196
daichin (warrior) stance................................................... 62 experience points................................................... 10, 74–75
damage types..................................................................... 85 experiment......................................................................... 34
dark crusader..................................................................... 42 exploits............................................................................... 10
darkness........................................................................... 150 exploits, universal....................................................... 65–67
dazed................................................................................ 157 exploits, western...............................................................101
deaf................................................................................... 157 explosives expert............................................................... 44
DEFENSES.................................................................... 72–73 extended tasks..........................................................135–136
defensive skills.................................................................. 73 facilities.............................................................................. 81
derived statistics...........................................................71–73 facing................................................................................ 150
descriptor......................................................................10, 15 falling................................................................................ 146
designing careers............................................................ 185 farmhand........................................................................... 34
designing heritages..................................................179–184 fatigued............................................................................. 158
designing NPCs & monsters....................................186–193 feinting............................................................................. 148
detective............................................................................. 42 firearms....................................................................... 91–106
dhampir............................................................................ 184 firearms terminology........................................................ 92
dice pool......................................................................10, 132 firearms, modern........................................................ 93–97
die bonus/penalty......................................................10, 134 firearms, western.......................................................99–104
difficult terrain.........................................................146, 163 firearms, World War II................................................ 97–99
difficulty benchmark...........................................9, 133–134 firefighter............................................................................ 45
dim light............................................................................163 fireproofed........................................................................161
diplomat............................................................................. 43 flanking............................................................................ 150
disarmed.......................................................................... 157 food................................................................................... 124
disarmored....................................................................... 157 forgetful............................................................................ 158
diseases.....................................................................156–160 functionary, NPC..............................................................210
diver.................................................................................... 43 gadgets.......................................................................124–127
dog..................................................................................... 209 gambler............................................................................... 45
downed............................................................................. 157 game master....................................................................... 10
drifter.................................................................................. 43 gangster.............................................................................. 45
driver.................................................................................. 43 gear, general..................................................................81–83
drunk................................................................................ 157 geek..................................................................................... 34

23
3
 Index
gender................................................................................. 21 jumping............................................................................ 146
genre..........................................................................169–170 karate.................................................................................. 58
gexing (heart) stance........................................................ 64 kingpin, NPC................................................................... 214
GM....................................................................................... 10 krav maga........................................................................... 59
grade..............................................................................10, 18 kremlin beast................................................................... 214
grey....................................................................................210 kung fu................................................................................ 59
grizzly bear.......................................................................211 laborer................................................................................ 46
group checks.................................................................... 133 Lady Anarchy................................................................... 202
guerilla fighter................................................................... 45 lawyer................................................................................. 47
gun fu.................................................................................. 57 leadership......................................................................... 143
gun kata.............................................................................. 58 lightning stance................................................................. 63
hacker................................................................................. 46 lion.................................................................................... 214
healing ............................................................................. 155 locations............................................................................195
Health........................................................................71, 155 Logic...................................................................................17
health, recovering........................................................... 155 Luck..................................................................... 17, 143–144
heart stance....................................................................... 64 Luck pool......................................................................... 143
heavy gunner..................................................................... 46 ma-eum (mind) stance..................................................... 64
heavy gunner, NPC..........................................................211 Mack Marlowe................................................................. 203
heavyweight, NPC........................................................... 212 magic.................................................................................. 42
heritage....................................................................10, 20–23 manic................................................................................ 158
heritage, designing...................................................179–184 marine, NPC.................................................................... 215
higher ground.................................................................. 149 martial artist...................................................................... 34
hin (mountain) stance...................................................... 62 martial artist, NPC...........................................................216
HK-1000............................................................................ 212 martial arts.............................................................55, 56–61
hollow point....................................................................... 87 maximum dice pool........................................................ 132
hook.................................................................................... 15 MDP.................................................................................. 132
hot environment...............................................................163 medic.................................................................................. 47
how to make an entrance....................................... 225–230 medic, NPC.......................................................................216
humans............................................................................... 21 medicine........................................................................... 140
hunter-killer..................................................................... 212 Melee Defense........................................................... 72–73
hustling............................................................................ 146 melee weapons.............................................................87–91
illness.........................................................................156–160 Mental Defense........................................................ 72–73
improvised equipment................................................... 132 milestones.......................................................................... 75
incremental advances...................................................... 75 military brat....................................................................... 35
index................................................................................. 231 mind stance....................................................................... 64
indirect skills................................................................... 133 miner.................................................................................. 48
industrial robot................................................................ 213 money......................................................................73, 78–79
infiltrator............................................................................ 46 monsters & minions................................................ 204–224
Initiative.................................................................. 72, 144 monsters, designing.................................................186–193
injury & death...........................................................155–158 moon stance....................................................................... 73
insect swarm.................................................................... 213 mountain stance............................................................... 62
interrogations.................................................................. 139 mounted weapons....................................................122–123
Intuition............................................................................17 movement........................................................................ 146
jock...................................................................................... 34 movement, vehicle.......................................................... 151
jujutsu................................................................................. 58 muay thai........................................................................... 59
Jump.................................................................................... 72 mutant................................................................................ 23

4
23
 Index
mutations..................................................................... 24–29 replenishing Luck........................................................... 143
nerd..................................................................................... 35 reporter............................................................................... 50
ninja.................................................................................... 48 Reputation........................................................................17
ninja, NPC.........................................................................217 resistance........................................................................... 84
non-player character........................................................ 10 restrained......................................................................... 158
northern shaolin............................................................... 60 river stance......................................................................... 64
novice................................................................................. 35 robot, industrial.............................................................. 213
NPC..................................................................................... 10 rubber bullets.................................................................... 87
NPCs......................................................................... 204–224 saboteur, NPC.................................................................. 218
NPCs, designing.......................................................186–193 sailor................................................................................... 51
objects........................................................................ 161–162 salaries................................................................................ 79
obscured....................................................................150, 163 savate.................................................................................. 60
occult ................................................................................. 42 school of mutants.............................................................. 29
occultist, NPC...................................................................217 scientist.............................................................................. 51
opposed checks............................................................... 134 scientist, NPC....................................................................219
organizations............................................................ 174–179 scion.................................................................................... 35
origins........................................................................... 34–35 scout...............................................................................35, 51
orphan................................................................................ 35 selling gear......................................................................... 81
overwatch......................................................................... 148 sensei.................................................................................. 52
pained............................................................................... 158 services............................................................................. 124
pankration......................................................................... 60 setting................................................................................... 9
performer........................................................................... 48 settings............................................................................. 169
persistent conditions...................................................... 156 settlements................................................................ 170–174
phanyu (lightning) stance............................................... 63 shaking off conditions ................................................... 156
pilot..................................................................................... 49 shields............................................................................... 109
pinned down.................................................................... 150 shields, attacking with.................................................... 109
placid................................................................................ 158 shooting into melee......................................................... 150
poisoned........................................................................... 158 sick.................................................................................... 158
police officer...................................................................... 49 sifu...................................................................................... 52
politician............................................................................ 49 size, weapons..................................................................... 88
positional effects......................................................149–150 skill levels........................................................................... 20
priest................................................................................... 50 skill notation...................................................................... 20
prisoner.............................................................................. 50 skills ........................................................................11, 18–20
private eye.......................................................................... 50 sleeping............................................................................ 158
prone target...................................................................... 150 slippery environment......................................................163
pugilist, NPC.................................................................... 218 slowed............................................................................... 158
quality, equipment.............................................. 79–80, 132 smoky.................................................................................163
races.................................................................................. 137 smuggler............................................................................. 52
radioactive environment.................................................163 snake, constrictor............................................................ 207
rain.....................................................................................163 sniper.................................................................................. 52
range................................................................................. 149 snow...................................................................................163
Ranged Defense........................................................ 72–73 Soak.................................................................................... 84
recovering health............................................................ 155 soldier................................................................................. 52
reinforced objects............................................................161 southern shaolin............................................................... 61
reloading............................................................................ 87 special ammunition.......................................................... 87
removing conditions....................................................... 156

23
5
 Index
Speed.................................................................................. 71 upgrading vehicles...................................................118–123
spinning out..................................................................... 154 vacuum..............................................................................163
spy....................................................................................... 53 vampire............................................................................ 222
spy, NPC............................................................................219 vampire slayer................................................................. 186
stances................................................................................ 62 vehicle combat.......................................................... 151–154
starting money................................................................... 73 vehicle movement........................................................... 151
street tough........................................................................ 35 vehicle turning................................................................ 151
Strength............................................................................17 vehicle weapons.......................................................122–123
student................................................................................ 53 vehicle weapons, firing................................................... 153
stunt areas........................................................................ 165 vehicles......................................................................110–123
stuntman............................................................................ 54 vehicles and bases.................................................... 194–195
stunts, vehicle.................................................................. 154 vehicles, converting................................................. 117–118
sun stance.......................................................................... 63 vehicles, upgrading..................................................118–123
survivalist........................................................................... 54 vigilante.............................................................................. 55
survivor.............................................................................. 35 Vital Defense............................................................. 72–73
surya (sun) stance............................................................. 63 vulnerability...................................................................... 84
Swim................................................................................... 71 walkthrough...................................................................... 14
tailing................................................................................ 141 warrior stance.................................................................... 62
teacher................................................................................ 54 warrior-monk..................................................................... 55
termors..............................................................................163 wealth......................................................................73, 78–79
theater of the mind.......................................................... 164 weapon size........................................................................ 88
thick atmosphere..............................................................163 weapon traits............................................................... 86–87
thin atmosphere...............................................................163 weapon upgrades.....................................................105–106
thug, NPC......................................................................... 220 weapons.......................................................................84–106
tiger................................................................................... 220 weapons, archaic............................................................... 89
toka (stone) stance............................................................. 63 weapons, eastern......................................................... 89–91
tone..................................................................................... 11 weapons, firearms...................................................... 91–106
tracers................................................................................. 87 weapons, martial arts................................................. 89–91
tracking............................................................................ 141 weapons, melee............................................................87–91
trader.................................................................................. 54 weapons, mounted...................................................122–123
trait...................................................................................... 15 weapons, vehicle......................................................122–123
traits.............................................................................. 69–71 weifeng (wind) stance....................................................... 63
traits, weapons............................................................ 86–87 werewolf........................................................................... 223
traveler................................................................................ 35 wet environment..............................................................163
treating a disease............................................................ 156 Willpower.........................................................................17
turning, vehicles.............................................................. 151 Wily Jack........................................................................... 225
turns................................................................................. 145 wind stance........................................................................ 63
tyrannosaurus rex........................................................... 221 windy environment..........................................................163
umfula (river) stance........................................................ 64 wolf.................................................................................... 223
undead hunter, NPC....................................................... 221 worker, NPC..................................................................... 224
underwater........................................................................163 worldbuilding.................................................................. 168
universal exploits........................................................ 65–67 XP............................................................................. 10, 74–75
upgrades, weapons..................................................105–106 yueliang (moon) stance.................................................... 73
upgrading armor......................................................108–109 zombie.............................................................................. 224
e

6
23
NAME

a ____________________________________________ who/with __________________________________________________

ATTRIBUTES
STR AGI END INT LOG WIL CHA LUC REP CHI

d6 d6 d6 d6 d6 d6 d6 d6 d6 d6

SKILLS
defensive
d6 d6 d6 d6 d6

d6 d6 d6 d6 d6

d6 d6 d6 d6 d6

MOVEMENT LIFE PATH Grade(s) +Age

SPEED CLIMB SWIM JUMP OTHER

INITIATIVE PERCEPTION CARRY ACTIONS NAT. DMG.

ATTACKS
unarmed

DEFENSES CURRENT AGE

MELEE DEFENSE SOAK
TOTAL CAREERS
RANGED DEFENSE HEALTH
MENTAL DEFENSE

EQUIPMENT Weight

maximum dice pool

CHI POINTS
NAME

ATTRIBUTES
Attribute
Aim or Feint
Universal

BIOGRAPHY

WEALTH EXPERIENCE POINTS