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M SPACE Companion

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100% found this document useful (5 votes)
893 views124 pages

M SPACE Companion

Uploaded by

mat9343
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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M – SPACE

C O M PA N I O N
origins, robots and cybernetics

scott crowder and clarence redd

Matthew sutton (Order #41688683)


MAN OR MACHINE ?
Tell new intriguing science fiction stories
with M-SPACE Companion.

Create sidekick droids and AI villains


with rules for robots and artificial intelligence.
Or play as a robot.

Make powerful characters with the latest


cybernetic implants. And try the cutting-edge
Q Tech implants, bordering on magic.

Learn about your characters’ former lives in


the Origins chapter or breach security
with the new rules for hacking.

What alien secrets hide behind the blast


doors at the bottom of a mineshaft? Find out
in the scenario Escape on Mosek Uhn.

M-SPACE is needed to make full use of this


book, but it is compatible with most d100
games.

FrostByte Books
Matthew sutton (Order #41688683)
M-SPA CE
C OMPA NION
scott crowder and clarence redd

FrostByte Books


Matthew sutton (Order #41688683)


M -S PA C E
C O M PA N I O N
written by scott crowder and clarence redd

cover art by kuldar leement

interior art by clarence redd and axel torvenius

design and layout by clarence redd

proofing by s. evan kreider and anders blixt

special thanks to
pete nash and lawrence whitaker

This product references the Mythras


Imperative rules, available from The Design Mechanism at
www.thedesignmechanism.com and all associated logos and
trademarks are copyrights of The Design Mechanism. Used with permission. The
Design Mechanism makes no representation or warranty as to the quality, viability, or
suitability for purpose of this product.

ISBN: 978-91-982393-7-9
© FrostByte Books 2020. All rights reserved

Matthew sutton (Order #41688683)


Contents

Introduction006

Cybernetics008

Robots016

Modules027

Q Tech 034

Origins048

Computers and Hacking 078

Combat085

Scenario086

Matthew sutton (Order #41688683)


INTRODUCTION

A s I’m sure you know, M-SPACE is a complete science fiction game. So, you might
wonder, why make a companion?

M-SPACE grew from my love of classic science fiction. I read heaps of Isaac Asimov
and Arthur C Clarke, immersed myself in the worlds of Dune, Star Wars and Traveller.
Starships, mental powers, strange planets and weird aliens formed the backbone of
the era.

Since then, science fiction has moved into new territory. Robots have evolved from
shiny tin men to lifelike synthetic humans. Cybernetic implants are not just for cy-
berpunk any more, but have become an essential part of the entire genre. I wanted
M-SPACE to reflect this.

Just as in the core book, the Companion’s rules are modular. You only use what you

Cybernetics and androids explore a new need and skip the rest. If you think cybernetics are too powerful, ignore them. If you
frontier – not lightyears away but inside want robots and magic – or magic robots – that is fine as well. Or just pick up the
our bodies. The underlying question is what new rules for player character backgrounds if you want. In short, make M-SPACE your
happens when we blur the line between own game.
man and machine. With this book, you can
join in the search for an answer. The future I always enjoyed the companion books published for various d100 games in the past
might arrive sooner than we think. but never thought M-SPACE would have one. Now, I’m happy to make it a reality.

Clarence Redd, February 2020

6 INTRODUCTION

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INTRODUCTION 7

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CYBERNETICS

C ybernetics merge technological implants with biological bodies. They can be


used solely for medical applications to replace damaged body parts, but in many
settings they offer characters a way to improve beyond the limits set by the human
(or alien) body.

In M-SPACE, cybernetics can be used to increase characteristics and skills, as well


as add new functionality. Retractable weapons, improved sight, healing and internal
armour are all possible. With too many implants, however, the body will be severely
strained.

Just like the various parts of starships and vehicles, cybernetic implants come in Mod-
ules. Here, Modules are much smaller and fit into biological bodies. All cybernetic
Quick Character Creation
Modules are collected in a table on page 11 and descriptions are found in the Modules
If you want to speed up character creation,
chapter. These are the basics of cybernetic Modules:
check out the skill pyramids in Mythras
Companion. The basic idea is to add one
»» A character can fit a number of Modules equal to their POW.
skill at 50%, two skills at 40%, three skills
at 30%, four skills at 20% and finally five »» All Modules are allocated to a Hit Location. A single Hit Location can
skills at 10%. Skills can be picked freely fit 4 Modules.
or chosen from the Culture and Career you
want. »» Several Modules pertaining to the same function are called a mod.

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Hardware or Wetware?
If the number of Modules exceeds POW, the physical and mental strain on the body
causes System Instability. For every stressful situation, determine a random mod that Cybernetic implants – just like robots and
computers – are created from two main
is affected and roll 1d6 on the System Instability table for the effect and duration. See
material types:
the rules for System Instability for more details.
Hardware. Hardware is similar to the tech-
nology we use in the real world, only much

Campaign Power Levels improved. There are wires, chips, plastic


and metal, like a traditional robot. Hard-
Depending on the campaign power level, cybernetic PCs will start with different num- ware innards are sometimes covered with

bers of Modules. These are the starting and maximum Modules: synthetic skin, but it rarely looks convinc-
ing.
»» Low. 3 Modules. Max: POW/2. Common for TechLevel 11-12.
Wetware. Wetware uses the advancements
»» Medium. 6 Modules. Max: POW. This is the regular, heroic power level in synthetic biology to create technology.
Circuits are made from organic tissues,
for TechLevel 13.
and are soft and flexible. Standard wetware
»» High. 12 Modules. Max: POW x1.5. TechLevel 13-14. implants are clearly visible, but can also be
hidden beneath perfect synthetic skin. A
In settings where only some PCs start with cybernetics, a single Module equals rough- wetware prosthetic arm can be made indis-
ly five skill points. To balance six Modules, for example, a non-cybernetic character tinguishable from the original.
can be given 30 extra skill points. In game terms, the two material types
achieve the same function and end result.
The difference lies in how they look. Players
Installation and Extraction are free to choose any of the two types and
combine them as they see fit.
Installation and extraction of Modules are surgical processes that take about an hour
per Module. The safest route is to use a Cybernetic Clinic. A cheaper, but less safe
alternative is to visit a biohacker hawking on the street. For classified or experimental
mods, the black market is often the only option.

Failed installations destabilise the entire system, not only the bad Module. This hap-
pens every time a character enters a stressful situation. First, roll 1d20 to determine
what location is affected and pick a mod freely. Then, roll on the System Instability
Table to see the effect.

To stabilise a system again, the failed mod must be extracted and replaced. Faulty
mods are sometimes refunded - or not, depending on the installer.

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Module Availability Biohacker
Some cybernetic implants are harder to Biohackers may or may not be illegal in your setting. Whichever you opt for, using one
find than others, and some are illegal. All
might still not be a good idea for the player characters. Installations are successful
mods have an Availability listing. However,
on a d100 roll below the biohacker’s average of Science (Cybernetics) and Medicine
the GM should feel free to change them ac-
cording to setting and local variations. skills. To determine the value randomly, the Game Master can roll 1d100, divide the

Common. Any street biohacker has these


outcome by two (rounding down) and then add 20, producing a number between 20
mods. and 70.

Rare. Rare mods are complex, expensive A random biohacker will only have access to Common mods, plus one Rare type (the
or just not very popular. Biohackers might
Game Master chooses one at random). To find a trustworthy dealer, use Streetwise
have them, but a cyber clinic is often a bet-
or Science (Cybernetics). Prices vary between +30% to -30% compared to the listed
ter choice.
costs.
Classified. Governments above Law Level 3
regulate these mods. Soldiers, agents and
law enforcement officers might have ac-
cess to them. For everyone else, the black
market is often the only option. The conse-
quences of being discovered with an unli-
censed classified mod will differ depending
on the planet and the circumstances. Ev-
erything from a small fine to being arrested
and extraction by force is possible.

Cybernetic Clinic
Installations by cybernetic clinics are always successful. They do not install bad mods
or more mods than a client’s body accepts. Rare mods are often available. With
the right permission or connections, a character will also be able to get classified
mods. Prices as listed.

Unlicensed
The black market specialises in classified, experimental and dubious mods. Unli-
censed installations only fail on a roll of 95-00. For many, this is the only way to get a
classified mod installed. All listed prices are doubled.

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Cybernetic Module Table
Name Modules Location Installs Availability Cost
Below is a list of all mods that are avail-
Armour 0.5 Any Multiple Rare 100 Cr
able. Full descriptions can be found in the
Comms 1 Head Single Common 100 Cr
Modules chapter. The table includes the fol-
Compartment 1 Any ex. Head Multiple Common 100 Cr lowing fields:
Data Capsule 1 Any Multiple Common 100 Cr Modules. The number of Modules one in-
Detector 1 Any Multiple Rare 400 Cr stalment fills.

Enhancement 1 Chest, Abd Multiple Common 400 Cr Location. The Hit Location(s) the Modules
must be installed in.
Filter 1 Head, Chest Single Common 200 Cr
Installs. The number of times the mod can
Gadget 2 Any Multiple Common 200 Cr
be installed in a character.
Headjack 1 Head Single Rare 200 Cr
Availability. Common, Rare or Classified.
Healing 2 Any Single Common 400 Cr
Cost. The cost of the Module in Credits, in-
Hibernation 1 Any Single Rare 200 Cr
cluding installation in a Cybernetic Clinic.
Holo Projector 1 Any Multiple Common 100 Cr

ID Scanner 1 Head Single Classified 400 Cr

Immunity 1 Any Single Common 200 Cr

Manipulator 2 Chest, Abd Multiple Common 400 Cr

Natural Weapon 1 Arms Twice Rare 200 Cr

Second Atmosph. 1 Chest Abdomen Rare 400 Cr

Self-Contained 2 Abdomen Multiple Rare 400 Cr

Sense 1 Head 1 per sense Comm, Rare 400 Cr

Skill Boost 1 Head, Chest Single Common 600 Cr

Sprint 1 Legs Twice Common 400 Cr

Stealth 1 Any Three Classified 600 Cr


TopCoating
Struct. Integrity 1 Any Multiple Classified 600 Cr
This is a catch-all mod for any superficial
Surge 2 Any Single Rare 400 Cr changes to a body. Examples include skin
SysRepair 1 Any Multiple Rare 400 Cr colour, skin texture, hair colour, fur, eye
Targeting 1 Head Twice Classified 400 Cr colour, eye shape, extra finger, tail, ear
shapes and tongue extension. Modules: 0.
True Omnivore 2 Chest, Abd Single Rare 400 Cr
Location: Any. Installs: Multiple. Availabil-
Weapon 2 Any Multiple Rare, Class. 600 Cr
ity: Common. Cost: 100 Cr.

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System Instability Table
System Instability
1d6 Instability
System Instability occurs either through physical damage, hacking, faulty installa-
≤0 No effect
tions or by installing too many mods. See sidebar for effects. Note that three mods

1-2
Single mod malfunction. cannot be shut down: Armour, Enhancement and Structural Integrity.
Duration: 1d6 Rounds

Single mod malfunction.


3-4
Duration: 1d6 minutes. Damaged Modules
5
System overload. All mods shut Whenever a Hit Location takes a Serious Wound, a single mod in that location is dam-
down. Duration: 1d6 Rounds. aged as well. Attack mods are affected first. Otherwise, roll 1d6 on the System Instabil-
A single mod shuts down until ity Table and pick one mod at random.
6+
repaired.
If a Hit Location is reduced to full negative Hit Points (a Major Wound), any mods in
that location are destroyed and must be replaced.

Psionic Modules If you prefer the simplified combat rules, use the following rules. If the location of the
In some settings, mental powers are avail- damage is obvious when Hit Points are reduced to half, use the above rules. Other-
able as cybernetic implants. The technol- wise, attack mods go out first.
ogy is often classified and secret. The two
most common mods are listed below.
Resonance. The Resonance mod strength- Module Repairs
ens a psionic’s powers. For every Module,
the wearer can add +5% to all powers, To repair a damaged mod, a successful roll on Computers or Science (Cybernetics) is
double the range or duration or increase needed. At a Difficulty Grade of Hard, Electronics, Mechanics, Medicine and Science
the effect by +1. Unfortunately, fumbles de- (Robotics) can also be used.
stroy the Resonance mod, which must be
replaced. In cases of fumble, the wearer For every successful skill roll, a single mod is restored to full capacity. One roll re-
temporarily loses the Power Points spent quires 1 hour and a standard repair kit. Characters with the right skills can heal them-
plus an additional 1d6. Mod: 1. Loc: Head. selves as long as they can reach and see the mod.
Inst: Four. Avail: Classified.
Psionic Pack. This mod gives anyone psion-
ic abilities. One Module has three First Arc Modules and Experience Rolls
powers, starting at POW x2. The powers are
then raised separately as normal. Mod: 2. Between scenarios, players can spend Experience Rolls on Modules in addition to
Loc: Head. Inst: Single. Avail: Classified. skills. 1 Module equals 2 Experience Rolls. The PC must also pay the mod installation
cost.

12 CYBERNETICS

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Careers and Skills Core Mods (Optional)
With this optional rule, a player can mark
There are three new careers and two new science skills. out two Modules in the chest or abdomen
that have a well-protected core placement.
New Careers By doing this, the Modules will not be af-
Hacker. Standard Skills: Conceal, Deceit, Endurance, Insight, Locale, Perception. Pro- fected by System Instability. If they also

fessional Skills: Commerce, Computers, Comms, Electronics, Forgery, Research, Sen- have an increased Security Level, they will
be very hard to shut down.
sors, Streetwise.

Biohacker. Standard Skills: Conceal, Deceit, First Aid, Influence, Insight, Locale, Per-
ception. Professional Skills: Bureaucracy, Commerce, Computers, Disguise, Medicine,
Science (Cybernetics), Forgery, Streetwise.

Maker. Standard Skills: First Aid, Influence, Locale, Native Tongue, Perception, Will-
power. Professional Skills: Commerce, Computers, Craft (any), Electronics, Mechanics,
Research, Science (Robotics), Sensors.

New Science Skills


Science (Cybernetics). The cybernetics skill allows a user to run diagnostics and
repair cybernetic implants. They will also know about various mods and their makers.
To install or extract a Module safely, a character must know the Medicine skill at a
minimum of 25%.

Science (Robotics). A character with Science (Robotics) can diagnose and repair all
types of robots. With a good lab, they will also be able to build and modify simple
robots. Furthermore, they will know about various robot models and their makers.

Cybernetics and Aliens


In general, humans and aliens have equal access to cybernet-
ics. Modules are tailored to a single species, however, and
will not work in another species. To make alien cybernet-
ics unique, the GM can alter them based on a species’
physique and culture. They might be more powerful or

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ID Blocking
installed in different locations. Biological differences can also limit the mods avail-
In societies with widespread surveillance, able to a species – or unique mods created. In some cases, outsiders might not grasp
strategies for avoiding identification will be
which features are biological and which are implants.
of interest to some people. The three most
common ways are Stealth mods, fake IDs
and ID blocking. Prosthetics
Stealth mods are covered in the Modules
For medical or other reasons, arms and legs might sometimes need to be replaced
chapter. Experimental mods might also ex-
with fully synthetic parts. The head, chest and abdomen contain too many complex in-
ist that block all ID scan attempts, but they
are not included in the list of Modules. ternal organs to replace. Some advanced societies might have access to experimental
techniques allowing everything but the head to be replaced, almost making away with
Fake IDs take a bit of ingenuity in high-tech
societies. A cursory DNA scan is possible
death - as long as the head is reasonably intact.
to slip through by applying deceptive DNA Like cybernetic installations, prosthetics come in hardware and wetware. Prosthetic
to confuse scanners. Facial and biometric
limbs do not suffer from Serious Wound penalties.
scans can be handled with face sculpts, eye
surgery and synthetic skin patches. Treat a synthetic arm or leg as a regular one, but with some mods already pre-installed

ID Blocking employs various techniques to - without sacrificing any of the 4 Modules.


trick automatic surveillance systems. Not Any pre-installed STR Enhancements are local. In game terms, a character will only
only is it possible to be identified as some-
benefit from the raised STR when that particular body part is used.
one else, it might even be possible to not be
seen at all. Legacy systems can be fooled by Example: After losing her blaster, Yesna tries to punch an opponent. With her right,
applying certain patterns on your clothes or organic arm, she inflicts normal damage. But for her left, Sterling arm, she has a dam-
by placing a few misleading badges in stra-
age bonus based on her STR +4.
tegic places. New systems are not fooled
that easily, however. It is rumoured that Prosthetics come in many different shapes and models. For game purposes, they can
they might have trouble with some military be divided into three basic types. The GM is free to provide more models with addi-
grade nano-polymer coatings but this is not tional perks.The three basicic prostethic types:
confirmed.
»» Standard. 1 AP, +1 Hit Points. Common. Cost: 2000 Cr

»» Improved. STR +2, 2 AP, +2 Hit Points. Rare. Cost: 4000 Cr

»» Sterling. STR +4, 4 AP, +4 Hit Points. Classified. Cost: 10 000 Cr

14 CYBERNETICS

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Character Creation Example
Follow the example below to see how you can create a cybernetic character.

The player Max wants to create a detective with cybernetic implants. He starts
with the regular rules and comes up with the following characteristics:

STR 10, CON 11, SIZ 11, DEX 12, INT 13, POW 12, CHA 11

From these, he calculates secondary characteristics. To make character creation


a bit faster, Max uses a skill pyramid to get the values (see page 8 and Mythras
Companion) and adds the basic scores from his characteristics:

Perception 75%, Streetwise 63%, Combat Style (Unarmed, Blaster) 65%,


Stealth 55%, Influence 52%, Evade 54%, Research 45%, Insight 45%, En-
durance 42%, Lockpicking 44%, Knowledge (History of Crime) 36%, Bu-
reaucracy 36%, Track 34%, Drive 34%, Sleight 33%. Native Tongue and
Customs also get the standard +40%.

The Game Master tells Max that he can have up to six Modules installed from
the start. Max looks through the list of Modules and picks some that fits with
his career choice:

Sense 2 (Sight: Zoom, Night Vision), Stealth 1, Skill Boost 1 (+20% to Re-
search, Insight and Perception), Targeting 2 (Personal Blaster +20%).

Max continues with Passions to round out his character: Hate (Crime Lord) 63%,
Protect (The Innocent) 55%, Flee (His Past) 45%.

He looks through the character sheet to see if he is happy with the person he
has created. It seems to be a man with a secret in his past, at home on the
streets and highly perceptive. His mods improve his sight and perception, along
with typical investigator traits like research, combat and insight. Content with
the overall picture, Max names his detective Danniell Dareau. He is ready for his
first adventure.

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ROBOTS

R obots come in many shapes and sizes, but these rules focus mainly on humanoid
robots. Either the hardware versions common in classic science fiction or syn-
thetic humans – often called androids – built or grown from wetware.

Simple NPC robots are described in a separate section at the end of the chapter. With
them, you can put together your own trashcan models, repair drones and security
bots.

Robot Creation
Just like cybernetic characters, robots are created from Modules. Create a character
as normal, with characteristics, careers and skills, then add Modules for any special
functions. A table of robot Modules can be found on page 19, while full descriptions
reside in the Modules chapter. Robot characters can be summarised in seven points:

»» Robots are made of hardware or wetware. Hardware robots consist


of metals and plastics, whereas wetware robots can be almost indis-
tinguishable from biological humans.

»» Robots do not need food, water, air or sleep. They must connect to a
power source once a week, however.

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»» Robots do not have Healing Rates. Hit Point damage is not healed Spot Rules
automatically and must be repaired. Robots are not affected by asphyxiation or
vacuum. Hardware robots are not affected
»» The number of Modules a robot can install is based on SIZ. They
by fires of Intensity 1-3. Also, neither Fa-
cannot exceed the maximum number of Modules. Four Modules fit tigue or bleeding affect robots.
in a single Hit Location.

»» In addition to regular damage, robots also face Malfunction in some


situations.

»» Robot skin has 2 Armour Points as default.

»» Robots are not affected by fatigue and bleeding.

Enhancements allow robots to raise characteristics (except SIZ or POW) by 50% be-
yond the base species’ maximum value. Example: A human android’s STR can be in-
creased to 18+9=27.

Skill Points for Robots


Alien Robots
Just like humans, PC robots have a background Culture. It represents all the extra It is common to think of robots as invented
knowledge that is not directly related to their main duties. It comes either from life by humans to mimic us, being built for our
experience or is pre-programmed to fit a specific milieu. needs. But other species might just as well
create unique, synthetic beings - built to re-
A career works as for regular characters. It represents what duties a robot has been
semble them or to solve specific problems.
trained to perform. From diplomats and bureaucrats, to soldiers and law enforcement,
The easiest way to handle this is to intro-
most areas have use for skilled robots.
duce alien robots that look much like their
Criminal Careers will be less common but not impossible. The same applies to spir- inventors. The Game Master can use the
itual and religious training. stats from the base species and then add
mods to improve certain abilities.
Passions
Mods might be more or less powerful for
Passions work as normal for robots, with one exception. If an Objective mod is in- other species, and the Game Master should
stalled (see page 31), that is treated as a Passion at 100% and overrides the others. To feel free to limit the Modules available –

tell it apart from the regular Passions, it is marked with “Objective” on the character or invent new ones to reflect the specific
needs of other cultures.
sheet ( Objective: Protect (Gothol Family) 100% ).
Also, the rules on simple robots allow
Regular Passions are often acquired naturally throughout a robot’s life. On rare occa-
greater alterations. They can supply a spe-
sions they are pre-programmed. Keep in mind that the mod Robotics Law will always cies with endless variations of small, quirky,
trump Passions. If present, these laws come hardcoded in the robot to create a syn- highly specialised bots.

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thetic set of ethics. Whenever a Passion clashes with the laws, the robot will not be
able to act on it – or must find a workaround.

Age
Age in a robot indicates how long it has been activated. A player can choose age freely
or roll 1d20-1. A well-maintained robot will not be affected by old age. Apparent age
for androids is normally between 25-30 and will not change as time passes.

Installation and Extraction


Just as cybernetic implants, robotic Modules can be added and removed during play.
Most robot models are designed to make this a quick process. Very little dismantling
is required and many robots are able to do the work by themselves. Depending on the
setting and the complexity of the work, a robot will sometimes need a professional,
however.

Maker
A well-equipped Maker workshop contains everything needed to handle robot up-
grades and repairs. Unfortunately, all Makers might not be the geniuses they claim
to be. Their Science (Robotics) skill can be set by the GM as 1d100 divided by two
(rounding down) and then add 20, producing a number between 20 and 70. Finding a
more reliable Maker requires a successful Streetwise or Science (Robotics) roll. Mod-
ule costs vary between -30% and +30% compared to listed prices.

Robot Manufacturer
A robot manufacturer is the safest choice when doing complex upgrades. They never
fail with installations and extractions. However, they will not remove Modules like
Linkage, Objective or Robotic Laws - only shady Makers or Unlicensed technicians will
do that. To install Classified Modules, manufacturers demand that all paperwork is in
order. With most manufacturers, Module costs are as listed.

Unlicensed
For unlicensed Classified and experimental installs, the black market is often the only
choice. Unlicensed installations only fail on a roll of 95-00. All listed prices are dou-
bled.

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Robot Module Table
Name Modules Location Installs Availability Cost
Below, all robot Modules are listed in a ta-
Armour 0.5 Any Multiple Rare 100 Cr
ble. For full descriptions, refer to the Mod-
Comms 1 Head Single Common 100 Cr
ules chapter. The table includes the follow-
Compartment 1 Any ex. Head Multiple Common 100 Cr ing fields:
Data Capsule 1 Any Multiple Common 100 Cr Modules. The number of Modules one in-
Detector 1 Any Multiple Rare 400 Cr stalment fills.
Energy Pack 1 Any Multiple Common 400 Cr Location. The Hit Location(s) the Modules
Enhancement 1 Chest, Abd Multiple Common 400 Cr must be installed in.

Float 1 Chest, Abd Multiple Rare 400 Cr Installs. The number of times the mod can
be installed in a character.
Gadget 2 Any Multiple Common 200 Cr
Availability. Common, Rare or Classified.
Headjack 1 Head Single Rare 200 Cr
Cost. The cost of the Module in Credits, in-
Holo Projector 1 Any Multiple Common 100 Cr
cluding installation.
ID Scanner 1 Head Single Classified 400 Cr

Linkage 1 Any Single Common 100 Cr

Manipulator 2 Chest, Abd Multiple Common 400 Cr TopCoating

Natural Weapon 1 Arms Twice Rare 200 Cr This is a catch-all mod for any superficial
changes to a body. Examples include skin
Objective 1 Any Single Common 100 Cr
colour, skin texture, hair colour, fur, eye
Robotics Law 1 Any Single Common 100 Cr colour, eye shape, extra finger, tail, ear
Sense 1 Head 1 per sense Comm, Rare 400 Cr shapes and tongue extension. Modules: 0.
Skill Boost 1 Head, Chest Single Common 600 Cr Location: Any. Installs: Multiple. Availabil-
ity: Common. Cost: 100 Cr.
Skill Switch 1 Head Multiple Common *

Speed 1 Any Single Common 400 Cr

Sprint 1 Legs Twice Common 400 Cr Partial Modules


Stand-By 1 Any Single Common 200 Cr When dealing with small robots, partial
Stealth 1 Any Three Classified 600 Cr Modules will sometimes be the best solu-
tion. A small surveillance drone at SIZ 1
Struct. Integrity 1 Any Multiple Classified 600 Cr
could, for example, be created from half a
SysRepair 1 Any Multiple Rare 400 Cr Module of Float and the other half a Com-
Targeting 1 Head Twice Classified 400 Cr ms Module.
True Omnivore 2 Chest, Abd Single Rare 400 Cr

Weapon 2 Any Multiple Rare, Class. 600 Cr * Multiply the skill percentage with itself.

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Robot Malfunction Table
Robot Starting Modules
1d6 Malfunction
As for Cybernetics, the number of starting Modules depend on the campaign power
≤0 No effect
level. Mid is the default, heroic level.
Single mod malfunction.
1-2
Duration: 1d6 Rounds »» Low. 3 Modules. TL 12-13

Single mod malfunction. »» Mid. 6 Modules. TL 13


3-4
Duration: 1d6 minutes.
»» High. 12 Modules. TL 13-14
System overload. All mods shut
5
down. Duration: 1d6 Rounds.

A single mod shuts down until


Robot Malfunctions
6+
repaired. .
In addition to normal Hit Point damage, robots will sometimes suffer from Malfunc-
tions. They occur from physical damage, faulty mods or hacking.

Whenever a Hit Location takes a Serious Wound, a single mod in that location is dam-
aged as well. Attack mods are affected first. Otherwise, roll 1d6 on the Malfunction
Table and pick one mod at random.
Super-Human Robots
If a Hit Location is reduced to full negative Hit Points (a Major Wound), the body part
The majority of these rules produce power- along with any mods in that location are destroyed and must be replaced.
ful but not superhuman droids. But robots
that easily outperform humans are com- If you prefer the simplified combat rules, the following rules apply. If the location of
mon in science fiction. the damage is obvious when Hit Points are reduced to half, use the above rules. Oth-

The easiest way to achieve this is to in- erwise, attack mods go out first.
crease the number of Modules a robot can
Note that three mods cannot be shut down: Armour, Enhancement and Structural In-
fit. Doubling the amount of Modules – think
tegrity.
extreme miniaturisation – will allow for
truly supreme beings.

Giving such powerful synthetic beings an Power Loss


Achilles’ Heel is a common theme. They
Robots must be charged for four hours once a week. If they do not have access to
might have a limited lifespan, be shunned
by society, the underlying technology could an energy supply, they will enter a low-energy contingency mode until they are re-
be highly experimental or they simply lack charged.
self-sufficiency. Whatever the weakness,
In contingency mode, all characteristics are temporarily reduced to 10 and all Modules
it makes for more interesting characters
shut down, except Linkage, Robotics Law, Armour and Structural Integrity. A robot
when balanced this way.
without a Hibernation Module will shut down after one day in contingency mode.

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Repairs Objective and Independence
In classic science fiction, robots are of-
As robots do not have Healing Rates, they need to be repaired. A successful Science ten owned by someone. In contemporary
(Robotics) or Computers roll restores 3 Hit Points or 1 mod. One roll takes 1 hour and works, they are more independent and rely

a standard repair kit. Electronics, Science (Cybernetics) and Mechanics can be used at less on objectives set by an owner.

Hard. Any Hit Locations below zero Hit Points will also need spare parts costing 1d6 Most PC robots will be their own masters.
x100 Cr. This gives players full agency and allow
them to shape the destiny of their charac-
A technician doing repairs can keep rolling until they fail a roll. At that point, they must ters. Linkage, Robotics Laws and Objective
wait until the next day to continue or let someone else try. mods are avoided.

Hit Locations reduced to full negative Hit Points must be replaced. For this, use the But the Game Master can also use owner-
Prosthetics rules. All Hit Locations except the head can be replaced. ship and objective to set up a campaign.
If all PCs are robots, owned by the same
A dedicated maker, robot technician or manufacturer are of course preferable for any corporation or organisation, they can have
repairs, but some biohackers serve robots as well. The rules for cybernetic repairs a clear objective that drives the entire sto-
are applied here as well (see page 12) with Science (Robotics) replacing the Science ryline. They might be tasked with finding

(Cybernetics) skill. contaminated wetware and track down the


manufacturers or search for unknown alien
Robots and Death life. With Linkage and Objective in place,
the group automatically has good reasons
As long as the head is intact – or, in non-humanoid bots, wherever the brain is located
for adventuring and sticking together.
– a robot can be restored to its former self with heavy repairs or a bit of advanced
prosthetic surgery. If the head has suffered full negative Hit Point damage or more, the
synthetic brain is too messed up to save. A hacker might still be able to extract some
information from it, but the full individual is lost.

In some settings or high-tech societies, every part of a robot might contain the full
personality and a blueprint of the machine. Any undamaged piece can be used to
recreate the robot. To get rid of a machine like this, the body must be completely
destroyed.

Experience Rolls and Mods


Robots can buy new mods with Experience Rolls. One Module requires two rolls. The
PC must also pay the cost for the mod.

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Robotics Law Character Creation Example
The three laws of robotics define a set of
rules most robots have to follow. While the
Follow the example below to better understand the creation of a PC robot.
laws may vary between settings, the origi- Anna wants to play a robot specialised in exoplanet scouting. She follows along the PC
nal set, as formulated by science fiction au-
creation rules in the main rulebook. Her characteristics look like this:
thor Isaac Asimov in 1942, can be used as
a baseline: STR 11, CON 12, SIZ 11, DEX 13, INT 11, POW 12, CHA 10

“First Law: A robot may not injure a human From these, she calculates secondary characteristics. She also notes down Armour
being or, through inaction, allow a human Points 2 and a Healing Rate of zero on her character sheet. In the description field,
being to come to harm.
she writes Hardware Robot and Age 5 (Apparent Age 25).
Second Law: A robot must obey the orders
To speed up character creation, she uses a skill pyramid to get the values (see page 8
given it by human beings except where such
orders would conflict with the First Law. and Mythras Companion) and adds the basic scores from her stats:

Third Law: A robot must protect its own ex- Pilot (Starship) 74%, Athletics 64%, Astrogation 62%, Combat Style (Unarmed,
istence as long as such protection does not Blaster, Gunnery) 54%, Sensors 53%, Perception 53%, Endurance 44%, Science
conflict with the First or Second Laws.” (Robotics) 42%, Science (Planetology) 42%, Comms 42%, Willpower 34%, Navi-
gation 33%, Track 33%, Evade 36%, Drive 35%. Native Tongue and Customs also
get the standard +40%.

At the same time, she keeps an eye on the Modules available for robots, to ensure her
creation is solid. She has six Modules to fill:

Detector 1 (Life, Radiation, Atmosphere), True Omnivore 2, Energy Pack 1,


Comms 1, Sense 1 (Night Vision).

With that done, she turns to Passions. She has no Objective Module and can choose
Passions freely: Seek (Her Original Creator) 63%, Exploration 53%, Loyalty (Humanity)
44%.

Anna is happy with the result. Her skills and mods make the character a competent
exoplanet scout, while her Passions add an inner drive. She names her creation Alissa
Parris, built on Bryant Industries’ combat robot platform.

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ROBOTS 23

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Default Simple Robot
Simple Robots
STR 5 These rules are used to create non-humanoid robots. They work best for simple NPC
CON 5 droids but can with a bit of care be applied to more complex, freeform creations.
SIZ 5
»» A simple robot starts as a default hardware model with all charac-
DEX 5 teristics – including SIZ – at 5.
INT 5
»» They can fit a number of Modules equal to their SIZ. Unlike
POW 5 humanoid robots, SIZ can be raised with Enhance.
CHA 5
»» Linkage, Objective and Robotics Law are pre-installed and do not
count against the Module total.
Type Hardware
»» Their INT Level, similar to computers, defines what built-in capabili-
Move 3m
ties they have. INT Levels above 10 are uncommon.
Initiative 5
Action Pts 2 »» They have no healing rate and lost Hit Points are restored through

HP 5 repairs.

Armour 2 »» Simple NPC robots have a separate Malfunction Table.


Power Pts 5
»» All Simple Robots have a Security Level and can be hacked.
Dmg Mod -1d4
Security Lvl 5/30% »» The shell defaults to 2 Armour Points.

Max Modules 5 »» The default Movement Rate is 3 metres. Wheels or treads are most
common.
Default Modules: Linkage 1, Ob-
jective 1, Robotics Law 1. These »» Robots without the Language skill only communicate in code.
do not count against the maxi-
mum Modules.
Built-In Abilities
Depending on the simple robot’s INT, any built-in abilities will vary.

INT 5: Limited. A very basic robot with limited AI. Sight and hearing is always in-
cluded. They respond to spoken commands but have no social abilities unless they
have Knowledge (Psychology). Only speak in code, unless they have Skill Switch (Lan-
guage). Used as cleaners, repair bots, workers and guards.

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Simple Robot Malfunction Table
INT 10: Regular AI. A good robot with AI. Handles regular language and social inter-
action without adding extra Modules. Might be sentient. Used for repetitive social and 1d6 Malfunction
bureaucratic work and in complex manufacturing deemed too dangerous for humans. ≤0 No effect

Higher INT is unusual for Simple Robots. Use the table for computers’ INT Rating if you Single mod shuts down.
1-3
want smarter droids. Duration: 1d6 Rounds

A robot’s INT also represents the maximum number of Skill Switch Modules it can hold All Modules shut down.
4
Duration: 1d6 Rounds.
(see page 32).
Robot shuts down.
5
Improving Simple Robots Duration: 1d6 Rounds.
The default simple robot is quite limited, best suited for menial tasks. To improve their Special. Roll 1d4: 1. Objective lost.
abilities, SIZ can be raised and more body parts added. With these additions, they can 6+ 2. Objective distorted. 3. Robotics
house more Modules as well. Law failure. 4. Berserk.

For every body part added, SIZ is raised by 1. Every additional body part fits 4 Mod-
Comms and Perception
ules, as normal. When SIZ is increased by 1 (with an Enhance Module), the robot has
Security droids need a Comms Module to
room for two more Modules.
relay their findings. But to interpret what
Hit Locations for Simple Robots they see – and not merely send a video
feed – they need Perception as well. With a
Most default simple robots (SIZ 5) have a single Hit Location: Body 1-20 . Skill Switch (Perception) Module installed,
they will be able to alert guards and raise
If SIZ is increased to 10 or more, without any extra body parts added, use two Hit Lo-
alarms based on their discoveries.
cations: Lower Body 1-10, Upper Body 11-20. Divide Hit Points equally between them.

If extra body parts are added, things get a bit more complicated. As designs will vary, Lowering Characteristics

the exact Hit Location tables might vary. As a general formula, however, for every arm Normally, lowering a characteristic will not
or leg added, make room for three Hit Location points. For example, adding two legs make room for more Modules in a Simple
Robot. At the Game Master’s discretion
would result in a Hit Location table like this: L Leg 1-3, R Leg 4-6, Lower Body 7-13,
however, every 2 points removed from a
Upper Body 14-20.
characteristic (except SIZ, naturally) will
With more than seven locations, reduce hard-to-strike locations to one or two Hit add one extra Module.
Location points. Put at least half of the Hit Points in the central parts. Divide the rest Example: By removing 2 points from STR,
among arms, legs and heads. The robot above has SIZ 7 and CON 5, resulting in 6 HP. the Game Master allows a SIZ 3 drone to
The GM puts 2 HP each in the lower and upper body, and adds 1 HP to each leg. Not fit four Modules instead of three. The extra
much, but good enough for a cleaning bot snooping on the PCs. slot is used to boost the drone’s speed.

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Robot Costs
Example Simple Robots
If you need a quick estimate for a new robot,
use a default cost of 1000 Cr per 1 Module Light Surveillance Drone. SIZ 3, DEX 5, INT 5. Hit Points: 4. Armour Points: 2. Security
for any common simple robots. Level: 5/30%. Modules: Float 1, Comms 1, Skill Switch (Perception 50%) 1. Objective:
For more detailed calculations, add all Area surveillance, report intruders.
Module costs together. Then multiply by 3
Security Droid. SIZ 6, DEX 5, INT 5. Hit Points: 6. Armour Points: 2. Security Level:
to get the total cost.
10/50%. Modules: Comms 1, Weapon 1, Enhance (SIZ) 1, ID Scanner 1, Skill Switch
For special simple robots – ie. with Clas- (Perception 75%) 1, Skill Switch (Combat Style 50%) 1, Speed 1. Objective: Identify
sified Modules or unique technical solu-
visitors, stop unauthorised persons. No Robotics Law installed.
tions – the Game Master should feel free to
double the cost. Sniffer. SIZ 5, DEX 5, INT 5. Hit Points: 5. Armour Points: 2. Security Level: 10/50%.

For used droids, the price drops with Condi- Modules: Detect (Drugs, Explosives) 2, Skill Switch (Perception 75%) 1, Comms 1,
tion. For example, a common simple robot Sense (Smell) 1. Objective: Find and report drugs and explosives.
with 5 Modules and Condition 75% would
Repair Droid. SIZ 5, DEX 5, INT 5. Hit Points: 5. Armour Points: 2. Security Level: 5/30%.
cost (5000x0.75) 3750 Cr. It just might break
Modules: Skill Switch (Mechanics 75%) 1, Gadget (Weld) 1, Manipulator 1, Comms 1,
down in critical moments, however. Having
a skilled mechanic on the team is recom- Headjack 1. Objective: Repair starship.
mended.
Guard Bot. SIZ 9, DEX 9, INT 5. Hit Points: 7. Armour Points: 4. Initiative Bonus: 8.
Security Level: 15/75%. Modules: Weapon 2 x2 (Blaster 2d6), Skill Switch 1 (Combat
Style 75%), Speed 1, Armour 1 (+2 AP, body only), Enhance 4 (DEX). Extra body parts:
Four legs (SIZ +4). Objective: Stop intruders. No Robotics Law installed.

Scout Drone. SIZ 4, DEX 5, INT 5. Hit Points: 5. Armour Points: 2. Se-
curity Level: 10/50%. Movement Rate: 6 (Flight). Modules:
Comms 1, Float 2, Skill Switch 1 (Perception 70%).

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MODULES
This chapter contains all Module descriptions, both for cybernetics and robots.

Armour. A protective layer added to the skin or just below it, working as internalised Modules: 0.5 per AP 1. Location: Any.
armour. Bought per Hit Location. Cost: 100 Cr per 0.5 Modules. Installs: Multiple. Availability: Rare.

Comms. The Comms mod enables wireless audio and video communication. Video Modules: 1. Location: Head. Installs:
is projected in the wearer’s eye, sound in the auditory canal. The setup includes on- Single. Availability: Common.

demand recording with external or internal storage. Cost: 100 Cr.

Compartment. A small compartment where a small object can be housed. If multiple Modules: 1. Location: Any except Head.
compartments are installed, they cannot contain larger objects, only several small ob- Installs: Multiple. Availability: Common.

jects. Note that compartments are not armoured when open. If shut down by System
Instability, it is stuck in open or closed mode. Cost: 100 Cr.

Data Capsule. This mod allows for internal storage of digital information. The infor Modules: 1. Location: Any. Installs:
mation can either be fully accessible by the wearer, or kept in an isolated enclave. Multiple. Availability: Common.

The latter is preferred to safeguard a person’s internal systems or if the information


is classified. A damaged Capsule requires Hacking to retrieve the stored data. Cost:
100 Cr.

Detector. While Sense Modules heighten regular human senses, the Detector mod Modules: 1. Location: Any. Installs:
adds new sensory capabilities. Much like a handheld sensor, a Detector mod scans Multiple. Availability: Rare.

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an area for various compounds or conditions. A single Module has three slots and can
be set to alert the wearer of unusual readings. Common slots include air composition,
radiation, life-form proximity, common toxins and specific substances. Cost: 400 Cr.

Modules: 1. Location: Any. Energy Pack. Robots Only. This mod will extend the time between recharges for a ro-
Installs: Multiple. Availability: Rare. bot. A single Module adds energy for one week. The recharging time – 4 hours – stays
the same, however. Cost: 400 Cr.

Modules: 1. Location: Chest, Abdomen. Enhancement. With a combination of rewiring and chemicals, this mod enhances the
Installs: Multiple. Availability: Common. basic properties of the body. For every Module installed, one characteristic is raised
by 1. On the character sheet, the enhanced value is put behind the unaltered value
and separated with a slash (12/15, for example). Secondary characteristics and skills
are also affected by the raised stat. For most beings, SIZ and POW cannot be increased
this way. Simple robots can, however, raise SIZ this way. As Enhancements are so
tightly integrated with the body, they are not affected by System Instability and cannot
be shut down (unless they are extracted).

With Enhancements as a cybernetic implant, a species’ characteristic maximum can


be exceeded by 10% (rounded up). For example, human stats normally top out at 18.
With Enhancement, they can be pushed to 20. Robots can exceed their species’ maxi-
mum by 50%. Cost: 400 Cr.

STR. Chemicals and rewiring raises the character’s physical strength.

CON. With a range of adjustments, endurance and immune responsiveness are im-
proved.

DEX. By upgrading neural function, a character’s agility and reaction times are im-
proved.

INT. By combining chemicals and synapse efficiency, raw reasoning power is raised.

CHA. With synthetic pheromones and hormones, combined with voice control, en-
hanced Charisma improves a character’s social capabilities.

Modules: 1. Location: Head, Chest. Filter.  Cybernetics only. This mod filters air as it is inhaled. It removes common tox-
Installs: Single. Availability: Common. ins, poisons and particles. Cost: 200 Cr.

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BioHacker shacks seldom announce their
services openly. Their work might not be il-
legal – or not strictly illegal – but keeping
a low profile tends to be good in the long
run. Unhappy customers, crime syndicates
and law enforcement officers will not find
them as easy.

Float. Robots only. This mod allows a robot to float through air or water. For every 5 Modules: 1 per SIZ 5. Location: Chest, Abd.
SIZ, it can float at half its Movement Rate for 4 hours. Installs: Multiple. Availability: Rare.

To calculate how many Float Modules a robot needs, multiply SIZ with 0.2 and round
up to the nearest full Module ( ie. 20% of the Modules will be taken up by the Float
mod). Adding more Modules will extend float time or speed. Air and water require
separate mods. For more complex setups with flight, see the vehicle design rules in
the core rulebook. Cost: 400 Cr.

Example: A SIZ 5 robot needs 5 x 0.2 = 1 Module, for a flight time of 4 hours at half its
Movement Rate. A SIZ 10 robot needs 10 x 0.2 = 2 Modules and by adding two more,
flight time can be extended to 8 hours or Movement Rate increased to its regular
value.

Gadget. Installs a retractable utility tool in one location. Common tools include drills, Modules: 2. Location: Any.
saws, lockpicking tools and flashlights. Cost: 200 Cr. Installs: Multiple. Availability: Common.

Headjack. Allows the wearer to connect physically - and sometimes wirelessly - with Modules: 1. Location: Head.
any computerised technology, even for systems that lack an obvious user interface. Installs: Single. Availability: Rare.

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Once the connection is established (taking 1 full Round), use Computers skill to over-
come any security. Then, the system is open for manipulation. See the rules on Hack-
ing for details about breaching system security. Cost: 200 Cr.

Modules: 2. Location: Any. Healing. Cybernetics only. The Healing mod speeds up a body’s capacity for self-
Installs: Single. Availability: Common. repair. It reduces healing time by one step for each category of injury. Minor Wounds
heal in hours instead of days, Serious Wounds in days instead of weeks and Major
Wounds in weeks instead of months. Cost: 400 Cr.

Modules: 1. Location: Any. Hibernation. Cybernetics only. With this mod, a character can enter a deep coma at
Installs: Single. Availability: Rare. will. It can last for up to CON hours. Vital signs will only be discovered with a success-
ful Medicine roll or a medical scanner. A hibernating character can choose to wake up
if disturbed or after a certain amount of time has passed. Cost: 200 Cr.

Modules: 1. Location: Any. Holo Projector. This mod is a projector used to show moving holograms or images.
Installs: Multiple. Availability: Common. The standard size of the projection is about 50x50x50 centimetres, but it can be in-
creased by using more Modules. Content is stored either internally (included) or ex-
ternally (requires a Comms Module). Cost: 100 Cr.

Modules: 1. Location: Head. ID Scanner. This scan mod combines an advanced facial scanner, motion analysis
Installs: Single. Availability: Classified. and DNA check. By running the information through a massive database, the wearer
gets almost real-time IDs on both humans, aliens and robots. The mod is used almost
exclusively by law enforcement and is classified in most societies. Cost: 400 Cr.

Modules: 2. Location: Any. Immunity. Cybernetics only. Neutralises common diseases. It will not stop new dis-
Installs: Single. Availability: Rare. eases or re-engineered pathogens. Cost: 200 Cr.

Modules: 1. Location: Any. Linkage. Robots only. This Module bonds a robot to its owner. A regular scan displays
Installs: Single. Availability: Common. the name of its legal master. To get rid of Linkage, the owner must accept the removal.
Extracting the Linkage Module without the owner’s consent will lock down the robot.
For illegal removal, see the rules on Hacking. Cost: 100 Cr.

Modules: 2. Location: Chest, Abd. Manipulator. A Manipulator is a lightweight retractable arm used mainly for robots.
Installs: Multiple. Availability: Common. It has little strength (STR 5) but is quite nimble. It has a reach of 1 metre. Cost: 400 Cr.

Modules: 1. Location: Arms. Natural Weapon. Retractable claws, natural or mechanical, doing 1d4 damage plus
Installs: Twice. Availability: Rare. any damage modifier. Bought once for each hand, one Module per arm. Cost: 200 Cr.

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Objective. Robots only. This mod adds an overriding Passion to a robot at 100%. Like Modules: 1. Location: Any.
Installs: Single. Availability: Common.
Linkage, the robot shuts down if the Module is removed. For illegal removal, use the
rules for Hacking. Cost: 100 Cr.

Robotics Law. Robots only. This Module forces the robot to follow a pre-programmed Modules: 1. Location: Any.
robotics law (see sidebar). Like Linkage, the robot shuts down if the Module is re- Installs: Single. Availability: Common.

moved. For illegal removal, use the rules on Hacking. Cost: 100 Cr.

Second Atmosphere. Cybernetics only. By installing this mod, a person can breathe Modules: 1. Location: Chest, Abd.
one gas or liquid other than air, as long as it contains oxygen. Gills are most common, Installs: Single. Availability: Rare.

allowing a wearer to breathe underwater. Cost: 400 Cr.

Self-Contained. Cybernetics only. Allows a person to live without air, water and food Modules: 2. Location: Chest, Abd.
for a short time. For every 2 Modules installed, the following applies: No air need- Installs: Multiple. Availability: Rare.

ed for 5 minutes, no water for 5 days, no food for 10 days. Cost: 400 Cr.

Sense. With a mod integrated with the eyes, ears, nose or mouth, a character’s sens- Modules: 1. Location: Head.
es are radically improved. Installs: One per sense. Availability: Rare.

For improved sight, choose between infrared, night vision and zoom (each requiring a
separate Module). The latter makes Perception rolls Easy.

For hearing, frequency range and sensitivity is increased. Makes Perception rolls Easy
when hearing is involved.

Smell allows a character to follow a trail (Track rolls at Easy), discern some airborne
chemicals and sometimes even sense the presence of a hidden person. Improved
taste lets a character detect and identify common substances and poisons. Percep-
tion rolls involving taste are Easy. Cost: 400 Cr.

Skill Boost. By installing this mod, the wearer boosts knowledge in any three skills. Modules: 1. Location: Head, Chest.
The skills increase by +20% and remain at that level for as long as the mod is in- Installs: Single. Availability: Common.

stalled. The mod can be loaded with another set of skills if the character returns to
base, establishes a safe connection and spends 1 hour hooked to the system. When
making any Experience Rolls, only the non-boosted skill is involved in calculations
and rolls. Any skill increases are applied to the PC’s skill level – the boost always
remains at +20%. Cost: 600 Cr.

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Modules: 1 per skill. Location: Head. Skill Switch. Simple robots only. PC robots acquire skill points the same way as hu-
Installs: Multiple. Availability: Common. man do. But many NPC robots will not be developed as full characters. To simplify the
process for the Game Master, NPC robots can have a Skill Switch mod. It sets a single
skill to any value the Game Master wants. A simple robot can have a number of skills
equal to its INT Rating. The values do not rise with experience like normal skills. Un-
like a Skill Boost, the skills in a Skill Switch cannot be changed by less than replacing
the Module.

Example: The Game Master designs a first aid robot for a scenario. To give it a good
knowledge of various treatments, she adds three Skill Switch mods. It has First Aid at
75%, Language at 50% and Knowledge (Psychology) at 30%.

The Skill Switch mod is developed for simple robots only. In some settings, experi-
mental (and Classified) Skill Switch Modules for humans and androids might exist.
When used like that, they replace a character’s regular skill value until removed.
Cost: Multiply the skill percentage with itself.

Modules: 1. Location: Any. Speed. Simple Robots Only. As the default Simple Robot has Movement Rate 3, this
Installs: Single. Availability: Common. mod increases their speed. A single mod adds +3 to Movement Rate. Cost: 400 Cr

Modules: 1 per leg. Location: Legs. Sprint. Sprint allows the wearer to move at an increased pace. Speed is doubled over
Installs: Twice. Availability: Common. short distances and increased by 50% over long distances. Shooting at a sprinting in-
dividual is Herculean. Otherwise, it does not affect movement in combat. Cost: 400 Cr.

Modules: 1. Location: Any. Stand-By. Robots only. Robots can enter a low-energy mode to preserve power. This
Installs: Single. Availability: Common. way, they can avoid recharging up to CON weeks. The robot appears to be turned off
during this time, but basic sensors are active. Specific input, like movement, time or
proximity, can be set to trigger an alarm or awaken the robot. Cost: 200 Cr.

Modules: 1. Location: Any. Stealth. By combining several techniques, this mod helps a wearer avoid detection
Installs: Three. Availability: Classified. by sensors and surveillance equipment. Any Perception rolls by simple robots and
computers are at -20% per Module. Regular Perception rolls by humans, androids or
aliens are not affected. Cost: 600 Cr.

Modules: 1. Location: Any. Structural Integrity. By strengthening tissues and skeletal elements, this mod adds
Installs: Multiple. Availability: Classified. 2 extra Hit Points to a single Hit Location. Cost: 600 Cr.

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Surge. Cybernetics only. This mod flushes the body with biochemicals on command, Modules: 2. Location: Any.
to allow the wearer to ignore the effects of Fatigue and Serious Wounds, for example Installs: Single. Availability: Rare.

during combat. However, when the Surge wears off, the character must still rest for
the regular Recovery Period. This mod is not available with the simplified combat
rules. Cost: 400 Cr.

SysRepair. This module adds self-repair capabilities to the character’s other mods. Modules: 1. Location: Any.
One SysRepair Module can handle 10 Modules. Any rolls on the System Instability Installs: Multiple. Availability: Rare.

Table are at -2. Cost: 400 Cr.

Targeting. When paired with a personal or built-in weapon, this mod projects visual Modules: 1. Location: Head.
targeting information into the wearer’s eye. It increases Combat Style for a single, Installs: Twice. Availability: Classified.

paired weapon by +10% per Module. Cost: 400 Cr.

True Omnivore. This mod allows the wearer to extract energy by ingesting almost Modules: 2. Location: Chest, Abd.
anything. Any Robot Malfunction rolls are at +2 when this Mod kicks in. Cost: 400 Cr. Installs: Single. Availability: Rare.

Weapon. A small, retractable weapon is embedded in the wearer’s arm. Energy weap- Modules: 2. Location: Arms.
ons dominate, but slug throwers are also possible. Base damage for energy weapons Installs: Four. Availab: Rare or Classified.

is 1d6, for firearms 1d4. If a second Module is added to the same arm, damage in-
creases to 2d6 (1d6 for firearms). Cost: 600 Cr.

TopCoating
This is a catch-all mod for any superficial changes to a body. Examples include skin
colour, skin texture, hair colour, fur, eye colour, eye shape, extra finger, tail, ear shapes
and tongue extension. Modules: 0. Any. Multiple. Common. Cost: 100 Cr.

Partial Modules
When dealing with small robots, partial Modules will sometimes be the best solution.
A small surveillance drone at SIZ 1 could, for example, be created from half a Module
of Float and the other half a Comms Module.

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Q TECH
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
- Arthur C. Clarke

Q uantum Technology, or Q Tech for short, is the manipulation of the physical uni-
verse on the quantum level using advanced technology. Q Tech appears, for all
intents and purposes, indistinguishable from magic. In your campaign, Q Tech could
be as rare or as common as you’d like it. Everyone could use Q Tech or it could be a
priceless artefact of a forgotten race. Guilds could jealously guard their Q Tech or cor-
porations could be in a race to uncover it. Its users could be considered technocrats,
high priests or worshipped as gods. How you implement Q Tech is up to you, but these
rules will assume the PCs have never encountered Q Tech before and are just learning
about its use.

What Q Tech Does


Q Tech allows its users to create fantastic effects. These effects seem magical but are
not. Many of the effects mirror or resemble Divine magic from Mythras. Other effects
are wholly new and more reflective of the sci-fi setting of M-SPACE.

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How Q Tech Works
Q Tech is an implant that wraps itself around the user’s neural cortex and sends out fil-
aments that twine themselves throughout the user’s central nervous system. As such,
a user can only ever have one Q Tech implant. If the user possesses enough scientific
knowledge, they can create the desired effect. For example, with enough knowledge
of electronics, one might shoot lightning from one’s fingertips or recharge a battery
pack simply by laying their hands upon it.

Limitations of Q Tech
Each implant is designed for the performance of specific tasks useful to a specific ca-
Q Tech, Robots and Cybernetics
reer. There are Engineer implants, Merchant implants, Medic implants, etc. If a person
Q Tech and cybernetics are separate tech-
attempts to wear an implant who lacks the necessary skills to use it, the implant will
nologies and work well together most of the
be rejected. This is potentially fatal at the GMs discretion. If a user possesses enough
time. Q Tech could even be seen as an ad-
of the necessary skills to use an implant, they may still find they cannot unlock all the vanced or alien take on cybernetics.
implant’s powers until they’ve improved their skills. These rules will walk you through
In general, Q Tech will not interfere with cy-
the process of implanting Q Tech and how to use it.
bernetic implants. The Game Master might
rule that some abilities cancel out each
other or create instabilities, but most of
So, You Found Some Q Tech them should work as stated.

and Don’t Know What It Is For robots, it’s more complicated. The
baseline rule is that wetware robot bodies
In your campaign, Q Tech may be commonplace; everyone uses it and can identify will accept Q Tech and hardware robots will
what an implant does. These rules, however, assume Q Tech is a rare treasure every PC not. But the Game Master will have the fi-
wants to get their hands on but have no idea how to identify one piece from another. nal word depending on the setting. For ex-
ample, hardware robots might have such
All the person needs to do to try to use Q Tech is hold it and think about using it. If
human-like neural systems that Q Tech
they already have an implant, then nothing happens. If, however, they do not, then implants will adapt to their bodies. Another
the device, made from nanobytes which look like a hardened blob of goo, suddenly option is to only allow purely biological bod-
liquefies and absorbs into the character’s skin. If they are in a vacc suit, wearing ar- ies to merge with the implants, leaving out
mor, whatever, it doesn’t matter, the material seeps through and sinks into their skin both wetware and hardware robots (and this
might be the only thing keeping biological
no matter what they do. It is over quickly. Within seconds it has wrapped itself around
beings from being replaced by otherwise
the neural cortex and begins “testing” the character to see if they are appropriate for
superior robots).
this tech.

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Do You Have the Right Stuff?
Each type of Q Tech has a list of effects that it can produce and the skills
necessary to produce them. The user need not belong to the career path the
Q Tech was designed for, however, they must possess at least 3 of the pre-
requisite skills, 2 of which must be professional skills. If the character does
not have the required skills, they must make an Endurance check or lose one
level of fatigue. The implant will then pour out of their nose and reform into
a hardened blob of goo.

Landau the Bounty Hunter finds an implant. He’s heard of the fabled lost
technology of the Precursors and wishes he knew how to unlock its secrets.
Suddenly, the implant sinks through his body armor.

The GM notes that Landau has picked up an Engineer Q Tech. Looking at


the prerequisites, he sees Engineering, Mechanics, Electronics, Willpower
and Zero-G. Landau has Zero-G and Willpower but lacks any of the other
skills. The Q Tech rejects him. The GM has the player make an Endurance
check, which he fails.

Landau panics, but moments later the implant streams out of his nose
and turns back into a formless blob of goo, leaving Landau gasping.

If the character does have the required skills, then the Q Tech is im-
planted. More sadistic GMs may contrive more difficult and danger-
ous tests if desired.

Using Q Tech
Once you have a successful implant you can now activate the ef-
fects listed provided you have the prerequisite skill levels. Maria has
Q Tech. Looking at Maria’s character sheet, Maria sees she has Me-
chanics 50%, Engineering 85%, Electronics 67%, Willpower 54%, and
no Zero-G skill. Referring to the Engineering Q Tech list the only effect
she can create is Transference because of her 85% Engineering skill. It
won’t be long, however, before she can create Energy Discharge and Shape
Metal effects.

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To activate an effect, the user must state their intent to do so and spend a number of
Action Points equal to the point cost of the effect, then successfully roll the prereq-
uisite skill(s). Once the effect’s duration expires (or instantly for Instant effects), the
user loses fatigue equal to the cost of the effect.

Suddenly, the Captain’s voice booms through the ship’s comms. “We’ve got trouble!
Battle stations. Three enemy ships incoming fast!” Maria realizes she can reach out
her mind and feel the energy thrumming through the enemy starships. She concen-
trates upon it, sapping a little energy from each enemy ship and transferring it to her
own. She smiles wearily as she hears the engines whine and the Captain’s voice come
over the comms “I can’t believe it! We’re pulling away from them! How are we going
this fast? It’s not possible!”

Because Maria used Transference to drain three enemy ships, per the effect’s descrip-
tion, the effect cost 3 (and took 3 Action Points). Maria’s fatigue level drops to Wearied
and she will need a few hours rest.

Q Tech Implants
Below are some examples of generic implants to use in your campaign. Feel free to
alter them to suit your tastes and use them as templates to build your own. The Q
Tech implants described below are designed with two 1 point abilities, two 2 point
abilities and one 3 point ability. The GM may, of course, design devices with more or
fewer abilities if so desired. A good rule of thumb is to have one ability with a 50%
skill requirement, two with a 70% skill requirement, one with 90% skill and the final
with one 110% skill and one 90% skill. These are only general guidelines to assist the
GM in designing his own Q Tech.

Medical Q Tech
Heal Wound. 1 Point. Instant. Touch. First Aid 50%. Cure Malady. 1 Point. Instant.
Touch. Medicine 70%. Calm. 2 Point. Instant. Ranged. Knowledge (Psychology) 70%.
Rejuvenate. 2 Point. Special. Touch. Duration: special. Science (Biology) 90%. Heal
Body. 3 Point. Instant. Touch. Medicine 90%, Science (Biology) 70%. Resurrection. 3
Point. Instant. Touch. Medicine 110%, Science (Biology) 90%.

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Ability Description Format Engineering Q Tech
Cost. Cost is the number of fatigue levels Shape Metal. 1 Point. Instant. Touch. Mechanics 50%. Energy Discharge. 1 Point. In-
lost when the effect expires. It can be a
stant. Ranged. Electronics 70%. Flight. 2 Points. 15 minutes. Self. Zero-G 70%. Trans-
fixed number of fatigue levels lost or vari-
ference. Variable. 15 minutes. Ranged. Engineering 90%. Starshift. Variable. Instant.
able as described in the effect description
Ranged (Special). Willpower 90%, Engineering 110%.
or special as described in the effect de-
scription.
Investigation Q Tech
Duration. Duration can be instant or the Aware. 1 Point. 15 minutes. Ranged. Perception 50%. Detect Untruths. 1 Point. 15
time given. Instant duration effects cost the
Minutes. Ranged. Insight 70%. Follow a Hunch. 2 Points. Instant. Ranged. Streetwise
user fatigue points immediately. Otherwise,
70%. Tough Guy. 2 Points. Special. Self. Combat Style (any) 90%. Elementary. 3
the fatigue cost is incurred when the effect
expires. Points Instant Self. Streetwise 110%, Insight 90%.

Range. Range can be Self, Touch or Ranged. Starfaring Q Tech


Unless the effect description states other-
Zeroed In. 1 Point. 5 hours. Self. Gunnery 50%. Flight. 2 Points. 15 minutes. Self. Zero-
wise, default ranged effects are 15 meters.
G 70%. Feather Fly. 2 Points. 5 hours. Self. Pilot 90%. Farsight. 3 Points. 15 minutes.
Prerequisite skill(s). Users must possess Ranged. Sensors 90%, Perception 70%. Star Sight. 3 Points. 5 hours. Ranged. Sen-
the prerequisite skills at the stated mini-
sors 110%, Astrogation 90%.
mum levels listed to create the desired ef-
fect. Warrior Q Tech
Power Blade. 1 Point. 15 minutes. Touch. Combat Style (any) 50%. Body Shield. Vari-
able. 15 minutes. Touch. Survival (any) 70%. Way of the Warrior. 2 Points. 15 minutes.
Self Combat Style (any) 70%. Tough Guy. 2 Points. Special. Self. Combat Style (any)
90%. Follow me! 3 Points. Special. All within sight. Knowledge (Strategy and Tactics)
90%, Combat Style (any) 110%.

Illegal Q Tech
Quiet. 1 Point. 15 minutes. Ranged. Stealth 50%. Cheaters Always Prosper. 1 Point.
Instant. Touch. Sleight 70%. Guile. 2 Points. Instant. Ranged. Deceit 70%. Faceless. 2
Points. 15 minutes. Self. Disguise 90%. Bypass Security. 3 Points. 30 minutes. Spe-
cial. Stealth 90%, Electronics 70%.

Academic Q Tech
Knowledge. 1 Point. Instant. Self. Knowledge (any) 50%. Find a Lead. 1 Point. 2 hours.
Self. Research 70%. Analyse Tech. 2 Points. 1 hour. Self. Research 70%. Fluency. 2
Points. 2 hours. Self. Language (any) 90%. Eureka! Variable. 3 days. Self. Research
110%, Knowledge (Primary) 90%.
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Abilities
A typical Q Tech device is designed with two 1 point abilities, two 2 point abilities and
one 3 point ability. The GM may, of course, design devices with more or fewer abilities
if so desired. A good rule of thumb is to have one ability with a 50% skill requirement,
two with a 70% skill requirement, one with 90% skill and the final with one 110% skill
and one 90% skill. These are only general guidelines to assist the GM in designing
his own Q Tech.

One Point Abilities


Aware. All your opposed Perception rolls count as one level of difficulty better. So an 1 Point. 15 minutes. Ranged.
Easy Perception roll counts as a Standard success, etcetera. Unopposed rolls are one Prereq: Perception 50%

level easier.

Charmed, I’m sure. If you win an opposed Influence roll, the target is friendly towards 1 Point. Duration special. Ranged.
you for the duration of the current social event. All influence rolls are one level easier Prereq: Courtesy 50%

against that person.

Cheaters Always Prosper. Your next roll in a game of chance becomes a Herculean 1 Point. Instant. Touch.
success. Lose an additional level of fatigue for each level of success the skill check Prereq: Sleight 70%

was improved by. The ruse cannot be detected.

Clean. You leave no trace of your crimes. Investigators can turn up nothing. Surveil- 1 Point. 15 min. Range special.
lance fails to register your face, etcetera. Prereq: Streetwise 70%

Cure Malady. Cures the target of all poisons and diseases, including radiation sick- 1 Point. Instant. Touch.
ness. Prereq: Medicine 70%

Detect Deposits. You can detect any valuable metals inside an asteroid within 20 1 Point. 15 min. Ranged.
kilometres. Prereq: Perception 70%

Detect Untruths. You can detect all untruths, half-truths and outright lies when 1 Point. 15 min. Ranged.
speaking to someone. Prereq: Insight 70%

Energy Discharge. You can release a bolt of energy doing 1d6 damage, ignoring 1 Point. Instant. Ranged.
armor, to a random hit location. The target must roll Endurance or be stunned. Alter- Prereq: Electronics 70%

natively, you can discharge a 1d6 charge into any device that can hold a charge or
uses energy.

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1 Point. 2 hours. Self. Find a Lead. You can ask the GM to give you a clue about what you’re trying to learn
Prereq: Research 70% about. There’s no need to explain how you got the knowledge, you just know. It need
not be a great clue.

1 Point. 15 min. Self. Grease the Wheels. You know exactly what bribe to make and to whom in order to
Prereq: Bureaucracy 70% cut through all the bureaucratic red tape.

1 Point. Instant. Touch. Heal Wound. Heal the target one Hit Point per Power Point spent. Power Points spent
Prereq: First Aid 50% return as normal.

1 Point. Instant. Self. Knowledge. You may increase the level of success by one level of any knowledge roll
Prereq: Knowledge (any) 50% you just attempted prior to activating this effect. You must possess at least 50% skill
in the type of Knowledge in question.

1 Point. Instant. Self. Lady Luck. Gain a free Luck point to be used in the current game of chance you are
Prereq: Gambling 50% participating in. For each time you use this effect on the same day, increase its cost
by 1 point.

1 Point. Instant. Self. Let’s Make a Deal. The next Commerce roll you make is two levels easier. For each
Prereq: Commerce 50% time you use this effect on the same day, increase its cost by 2 points.

1 Point. 15 min. Touch. Power Blade. The chosen blade weapon does double damage for the duration of the
Prereq: Combat Style (any) 50% effect.

1 Point. 15 min. Ranged. Quiet. All opposed Perception checks made against your Stealth rolls are at a level
Prereq: Stealth 50% of perception more difficult. So a Hard Perception only counts as a Standard success,
etc. when comparing levels of success in the opposed roll.

1 Point. Instant. Touch. Shape Metal. You can spend Power Points to repair a space ship, robot or any me-
Prereq: Mechanics 50% chanical device for a number of Hit Points equal to the Power Points spent.

1 Point. 15 min. Ranged. Sprout. Causes any one plant life to grow at an accelerated rate. It experiences one
Prereq: Knowledge (Agriculture) 70% year of growth during the duration of the effect. You can do nothing else but concen-
trate upon this one plant’s growth during that time.

1 Point. 15 min. Self. Traceless. You leave no trace of yourself. Surveillance cameras will still see you and
Prereq: Track 70% witnesses will see you. But you’ll leave no tracks or DNA, or other evidence of your
passing.

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Tracker. If you win an opposed Track roll, you know the general location of the person 1 Point. Instant. Ranged.
Prereq: Track 70%
you are looking for. If they are on the move, you have an idea of their destination.
The person you are looking for must be on the same landmass or starship as you are.

Transponder Codes. You always know the correct transponder codes to get past star- 1 Point. Instant. Ranged.
port security ships. Prereq: Bureaucracy 70%

Zeroed In. All Gunnery rolls you make are one level easier. 1 Point. 5 hours. Self.
Prereq: Gunnery 70%

Two Point Abilities


Analyze Tech. You can ascertain what an unknown technological device is used for. 2 Points. 1 hour. Self.
This includes, but is not limited to, Q Tech. The GM may apply modifiers for particularly Prereq: Research 70%

alien artefacts.

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2 Points. Instant. Ranged. Boom! You can cause an explosion do-
Prereq: Demolitions 70% ing 1d6 damage to everyone within a
10m radius up to 100m away. For each
level of success beyond Standard, you
can double the damage or the radius of
the blast. So a Herculean Demolitions
check would allow you to do either 8d6
damage in a 10m radius, 4d6 damage
in a 20m radius 2d6 in a 40 m radius or
1d6 in an 80m radius. For each level of
success beyond standard, lose an addi-
tional level of fatigue.

2 Points. Instant. Ranged. Calm. Causes all living beings within


Prereq: Knowledge (Psychology) 70% 15 metres to calm down. Causes lost
fatigue to be regained twice as quickly.
Stops the convulsions from Q Tech test-
ing and allows a patient to roll twice for
each endurance check.

2 Points. 15 min. Self. Detect Bluff. You detect if anyone


Prereq: Perception 70% is bluffing. It need not be a game of
chance. Note that bluffing is not the same as lying. An example of bluffing is if some-
one points a .45 Magnum at you, describes the effect it would have on your body, and
asks “Do you feel lucky kid?” They never actually say they will shoot you and have not
lied, but if you detect their bluffing, you might feel at least a little bit lucky.

2 Points. 15 min. Self. Faceless. Nobody who sees you can afterward remember what you looked like. De-
Prereq: Disguise 90% scriptions can vary wildly between witnesses.

2 Points. 5 hours. Self. Feather Fly. You roll your Pilot skill twice each round during Space Combat and take
Prereq: Pilot 90% the better of the two rolls.

2 Points. 15 min. Self. Flight. You can ignore the effect of gravity and use your full movement rate to fly. You
Prereq: Zero G 70% can do this even in a Zero-G environment.

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Fluency. You can speak and understand any language fluently. You can extend the 2 Points. 2 hours. Self.
duration of this effect 2 more hours for each additional level of fatigue lost afterward. Prereq: Language (any) 90%

Follow a Hunch. You know exactly where to go to find what you’re looking for or at 2 Points. Instant. Ranged.
least a clue as to its whereabouts. Call it a hunch. Prereq: Streetwise 70%

Guile. Make an opposed Willpower check vs. everyone within hearing range (this 2 Points. Instant. Ranged.
could include comms or even satellite broadcast). Those who fail the roll will believe Prereq: Deceit 70%

whatever you say.

Hunter. All your ranged combat attacks are one difficulty level easier. Duration is 15 2 Points. 15 min. Self.
minutes. Prereq: Combat Style (any) 70%

Rejuvenate. Severed or maimed limbs and Major wounds can be healed at the rate 2 Points. Duration special. Touch.
of 1 Hit Point per hour. You cannot do anything but concentrate. If your concentration Prereq: Science (Biology) 90%

is broken, the process cannot be restarted and the hit location will be withered and
weak.

The Price is Right. You can sell your goods for the best price possible if you win an 2 Points. 15 min. Self.
opposed Commerce check. If you fail, you still get a better price than you otherwise Prereq: Commerce 90%

would have. The Game Master is the final arbiter over what constitutes “best price.”

Tough Guy. For the duration of a combat, you roll twice and keep the best result on 2 Points. Duration special. Self.
all Combat Style and Endurance rolls. Prereq: Combat Style (any) 90%

Way of the Warrior. All your combat attacks are one difficulty level easier. 2 Points. 15 min. Self.
Prereq: Combat Style (any) 70%

Three Point Abilities


Bypass Security. For the duration of this effect, all electronic-based security systems 3 Points. 30 min. Self/Ranged.
fail. Prereq: Stealth 90%, Electronics 70%

Darklight. Your starship becomes undetectable to Sensors. The effect lasts for five 3 Points. 5 hours. Self/Starship.
hours. Prereq: Conceal 110%, Sensors 90%

Deadstick. You can fly your starship without engines as if it had full engines. Duration 3 Points. 5 hours. Self.
is five hours. Prereq: Pilot 110%, Mechanics 90%

Deep Cover. All non-combat skills used against an organization to maintain your 3 Points. Duration special. Self.
cover or throw suspicion on someone else are Easy. This effect lasts as long as you’re Prereq: Streetwise 90%, Disguise 70%

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trying to infiltrate another organization. The effect does not help you investigate, it
only helps you to maintain your cover.

3 Points. Instant. 1 Parsec. Prereq: Find the Motherlode. You are aware of the exact location of the richest veins of metal
Perception 110%, Science (Geology) 90% in the star system.

3 Points. Instant. Self. Elementary. You immediately know who, when, where, why or how a crime was com-
Prereq: Streetwise 110%, Insight 90% mitted. If both rolls used to activate this power were at least a Hard success, you learn
two of the above. If both rolls were Formidable, you learn three. If both rolls were
Herculean, you learn everything. You still have to prove it, however.

3 Points. 15 min. Ranged. Farsight. You can discern with your sensors at long-range what could normally only
Prereq: Sensors 90%, Perception 70% be made out at short-range.

3 Points. Duration special. All within sight. Follow me! For the duration of the current battle, all fighting units on your side within
Prereq: Combat Style 110%, the area of effect have increased morale and will follow you anywhere. All combat
Knowledge (Strategy and Tactics) 90%
style rolls are Easy. The reverse happens to all fighting units on the enemy’s side
within the area of effect. Their morale decreases and they will break and run at the first
opportunity. All enemy combat rolls are Hard.

3 Points. 15 min. Ranged. Prereq: Knowledge Genesis. You can terraform all the terrain within 1 mile into a rich, semi-open biome
(Agriculture) 110%, Craft (Habitat) 90% encased within a biosphere.

3 Points. Instant. Ranged. Greater Energy Discharge. This effect is the same as Energy Discharge except it
Prereq: Electronics 90%, Engineering 70% produces a bolt of energy doing 3d6 and the Endurance Check is Formidable to avoid
being Stunned.

3 Points. 2 hours. Ranged. Harmony. Y our words cause conflicting sides to calm down and listen to one another
Prereq: Politics 90%, Oratory 70% for the duration of the effect. This can even stop combat if all participants can hear
the initial oration.

3 Points. Instant. Touch. Prereq: Heal Body. This heals all Major and Serious Wounds. The prerequisities are Medicine
Medicine 90%, Science (Biology) 70% and Science (Biology).

3 Points. Instant. Touch. Inception. Win an opposed Influence roll and you can convince someone that what
Prereq: Politics 110%, Insight 90% you want them to agree to is actually their own idea.

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3 Points. Duration Special. Self.
Nameless. This effect only works if you’re held in captivity and lasts for the duration
Prereq: Deceit 90%, Streetwise 70%
of your captivity plus one day. Captivity can be defined as anything from held for
questioning to thrown in the dankest dungeon. For the duration of this effect, you will
not give up your true identity, your compatriot’s identities or what organization you
work for, even under torture. No research into who you are or your background will be
successful. Any research will turn up either that you are who you say you are or that
you don’t exist.

Many Talents. You temporarily possess any Professional skill you don’t already pos- 3 Points. Duration special. Self.
sess. Your skill level is equal to 15% for each level of success rolled to activate the ef- Prereq: Streetwise 110%, Deceit 90%

fect. Example: To activate the power, you roll 55 Streetwise (Formidable so two levels
of success) and 89 Deceit (Standard so one level of success). You activate the power,
and gain 45% in the desired Professional Skill. Duration is as long as it takes to finish
using the skill.

Mover and Shaker. You can gain immediate access to the person in charge of a cor- 3 Points. Instant. Ranged.
poration, city, planet, empire and so on. Win an optional Influence roll and you can Prereq: Commerce 110%, Bureaucracy 90%

convince that person to build a factory, open a trade route, change a trade agreement,
etcetera. Works on anything to do with Commerce.

Nothing’s Safe. You can get past any security system. If it needs a specific DNA, this 3 Points. 15 min. Ranged.
power causes you to match that DNA. If it requires fingerprints, retinal scans, even Prereq: Lockpicking 110%, Electronics 90%

matches your brainwaves or looks for a chip, this power fools the system. If you need
a password or combination, you think of it. Nothing foils you in bypassing this system.
The Duration is however long it takes to bypass the security system. However, if be-
yond that lies yet another security system, you will either have to activate this power
again or get past it another way.

Protect Crops. Keeps the crops safe from infestation, bad weather and blight. Dura- 3 Points. 6 months. Ranged. Prereq:
tion is six months. Knowledge (Agriculture) 90%, Locale 70%

Resurrection. Bring back from the dead anyone who has been dead less than two 3 Points. Instant. Touch. Prereq:
days. They must be healed of their wounds and purged of all poisons prior to resurrec- Medicine 110%, Science (Biology) 90%

tion. Those that died of natural causes will simply die again immediately if the cause
cannot be treated.

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3 Points. 15 min. Ranged. Speak Truth. Win an opposed Influence check and the person you are talking to will
Prereq: Insight 90%, Perception 70%
answer all questions truthfully.

3 Points. 5 hours. Ranged. Star Sight. You can use your ship’s sensors on any location within 6 parsecs of your
Prereq: Sensors 110%, Astrogation 90% current position. You get real-time feedback.

3 Points. Duration special. Self. Suspended Animation. You can enter into a state of suspended animation, similar to
Prereq: Athletics 90%, Survival 70% cryo sleep, at will. You will not need oxygen, food or water during this time. You may be
awoken involuntarily. Otherwise, you will awaken when you desire. For each full week
in Suspended Animation, you lose one fatigue level in addition to the regular cost.

3 Points. Duration special. Self. The Long Con. All non-combat skills used against a target are at Easy. This effect lasts
Prereq: Acting 110%, Deceit 90% as long as you are trying to fool someone.

Variable Point Abilities


Variable point abilities should be considered as strong as 3 point abilities for the
purposes of designing your own Q Tech. These can be the most powerful of all Q Tech
abilities.

Var. Points. 15 min. Touch. Body Shield. The target gains 2 Armor Points per point spent on the effect. Duration
Prereq: Survival 70% is 15 minutes.

Var. Points. 3 days. Self. Prereq: Eureka! For the duration of the effect, you are the preeminent master of your chosen
Research 110%, Knowledge (Primary) 90% field of study. You realize insights that no one had ever thought of before. If your Re-
search and Knowledge rolls are both Herculean, you have a scientific breakthrough
in your field of study equivalent to Einsteins. If not, lose 2 levels of fatigue for each
difficulty you missed rolling Research at Herculean and one level fatigue for each
difficulty you missed rolling Herculean Knowledge. In other words, simply rolling a
standard success on each skill will kill you. If you don’t roll Herculean on both rolls,
but you survive, you still make a major breakthrough that will ensure your reputation.

Var. Points. Instant. Ranged special. Starshift. You can cause up to a Size 9 starship you are in to jump one parsec of
Prereq: Engineering 110%, Willpower 90% space without fuel for each point of effect. For every level of difficulty you make your
effect checks beyond standard success, you can manage an additional point of Size.
(Herculean rolls to both Willpower and Engineering would jump a size 15 starship, for
example). You then lose fatigue equal to the distance in parsecs jumped and each

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point of Size above 9 that you caused to jump. If nobody pre-plotted the jump, you
will jump in a random direction. Variable. Instant. Ranged (Special). Willpower 90%,
Engineering 110%

Transference. This effect allows you to draw upon one target starship for each point Var. Points. 15 min. Ranged.

spent. Each starship so targeted loses 3 points of Speed. The caster’s starship gains Prereq: Engineering 90%

Speed equal to the total Speed drained. A starship can lose no more than 3 Speed this
way. Range is 40,000 km.

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ORIGINS
Conner and KayAnna decide to create new
characters using the Origins method. Con-
ner’s character was born in an underwater
O rigins gives the Game Master and players some alternatives to character gen-
eration. It can be used to generate unique cultural backgrounds. It can also be
used to generate a character’s life events. It also opens up some diversity in character
city so he chooses Atlantea as his Origin.
generation, giving each character a unique background and history. It is open to the
He notes that he starts with the standard
GM how much or how little of Origins is incorporated into their game.
skills of Swim, Boating, Drive (Submers-
ibles), Influence, Insight, Locale, Willpower The Game Master is, of course, free to create their own Origin templates.
and Combat Style. He also gets to choose
three Professional skills. His choices are
Commerce, Craft (any), Courtesy, Language How to use Origins
(any), Knowledge (any), Musicianship, Sea-
manship and Streetwise. He chooses Com- Implementing Origins is very simple. During the character creation step where the
merce, Streetwise and Seamanship. He player chooses a Culture (Urban, Rural or Orbital), instead, they choose an Origins
announces his father was a smuggler and template.
his character, Jeremiah, grew up on his
Provided here are 8 Urban, 8 Rural and 8 Orbital Origins. Each Origin comes with a list
father’s submarine. He then divvies up his
100 points between those skills. Conner of Standard and Professional skills that replace the cultural skills given in M-SPACE.
then decides that his character Jeremiah The player then assigns skills exactly as before. This allows players to come from wa-
had become a smuggler like his dad. ter worlds, asteroid belts, capital cities, hidden pirate bases and so on.

48 ORIGINS

Matthew sutton (Order #41688683)


Life Events KayAnna chose a very different Origin than
Conner. She decided her character Mae
The Game Master is free to stop right there and use Origins as a way to generate was born aboard a colony ship headed to-
wards an uninhabited planet. She chose
character homeworlds and give each character some unique skills. However, the true
Hope for her Origin. Having assigned her
enjoyment of using Origins comes from using the Life Event tables.
cultural skills she then chose her Career.
To use the Life Event tables, simply continue in the character generation process by She decided that having grown up on the
choosing a Career and assign skills as normal. The player also takes a Career tem- colony ship, Mae became a starship pilot.
She notes that in addition to the skills for
plate. Note that the skills listed for Career choices in M-SPACE are unchanged. Howev-
Starship Pilot listed in M-SPACE, her Ca-
er, Vacc Suit, Zero-G and Survival(Space) have been added to some templates. These
reer template lists three additional Profes-
are at the Game Master’s option. sional skills she might choose from Sur-

Each Origin template has a Life Event Table from 01-50. Each Career template has vival (Space), Vacc Suit and Zero-G. She
chooses her Professional skills and as-
a Life Event Table from 51-00. Together, they form a unique Life Event Table for that
signs her 100 points. She is now ready to
character. With 24 Origins and 20 careers to choose from, that makes 480 unique
assign her Bonus Skill Points.
character Life Event Table combinations. No two characters will ever be alike.

The player has 150 bonus skill points to assign. At this point, it is up to the GM as to
how Origins is used. There are two methods presented here. The 15% method and the
10% method.

The player uses 90% from his bonus skill points. If using the 15% method, the player
now gets 6 rolls on the life event table. If using the 10% method, he rolls 9 times.

Skills. Once the player starts rolling, the character may increase their skills. If the
result says they increase a skill, it goes up either 15% or 10% depending upon which
method they chose. If the result says they increase a skill they do not possess, they
gain that skill at its starting value instead. This will allow characters to have more
than the basic 3 Professional skills for Culture or Career. If an event says to increase
an unspecified Professional skill, they must choose from those they already possess.

Passions. If an event causes a player to gain a Passion they already possess, then
increase said Passion per the method chosen (15% or 10%).

Skill Checks. Some Life Events require the player to make a skill check. Quickly cal-
culate what the character’s current skill level is and then roll. The result of success or
failure is outlined in the event description.

ORIGINS 49

Matthew sutton (Order #41688683)


KayAnna and Conner each choose to roll 6
Enemies, Allies and Contacts. Some Life Events cause the character to gain or lose
times on their Life Event Tables using the
Enemies, Allies, and Contacts. An enemy is someone the GM can build plots around.
15% method. KayAnna goes first and rolls
Who is the enemy? What will they do?
a 32. This result is listed under her Hope
template as “The boredom of space is filled A contact can be someone who the character knows that can give the character infor-
with study.” Colonists are chosen from the
mation, help find things or most often, lead them into an adventure. A contact could
best mankind has to offer, increase 2 Cul-
be anything from a business acquaintance to a source of information.
tural Professional skills. She must choose
from the Professional skills she took from An ally could be a best friend, spouse, parent, relative or child or even the crime lord
her Origin template, Hope. that helped you to power. The player and Game Master should work together to flesh
Her next roll is an 84. This result is list- out enemies, allies, and contacts created during life events.
ed on her Starship Pilot template: “Space
Sometimes the player will lose a Contact even when they have no Contacts yet. If so,
combat! Roll Pilot skill. Success: Increase
Combat Style (Gunnery) and gain an En- the player still notes that a Contact was lost and remembers that for later background
emy. Failure: Increase Mechanics and lose development.
a Contact.” She rolls her Pilot skill and
Money. Some Life Events cause the character to gain or lose starting money. This is in
makes it. She does not have the skill Com-
addition to the money given as part of Starting Equipment on M-SPACE. If the charac-
bat Style (Gunnery) so she gains it instead
of adding 15% to it. Now her character Mae ter loses more money than he starts with, he is in debt to begin his adventuring career.
has an enemy. The Game Master must de-
cide who attacked the colony ship and why.
Switching Templates
Then, KayAnna rolls for her third life event.
She rolls 02. Consulting the Hope template Some Life Events call for the player to switch templates. Most often this is the Ori-
she sees something terrible has happened gins template, but a player may be required to switch his Career template. The latter
to Mae: Your colony ship is raided by sla- happens if the player gets sent to the Penal Colony. While at the Penal Colony the
vers! Discard this Origin template and player uses the Inmate Career template. Once the character escapes or is released,
replace it with either Ghoster’s Rock (In-
the player has the option to either go back to his old career or start a new life with a
crease Combat Style, you are forced into
new career.
service for a pirate gang) or Penal Colony
(Increase Brawn, you are sold into slavery, Note that when a template is switched, the player does not gain the listed standard
lose all starting money). Mae will never see
and Professional skills for that template. He only has access to those skills during the
her colony ship reach its destination.
first two steps of character generation, choosing a Culture and Career. However, the
skills available on the Life Events Table for the new template will reflect the Origin or
Career template. When instructed to learn a cultural Professional skill, use the list of
skills from the current template. The same is true when learning Career Professional
skills from a new Career template. This will allow characters to start with a wider array

50 ORIGINS

Matthew sutton (Order #41688683)


KayAnna chooses to have Mae taken by
of skills than would normally be available to them, along with a background story of
pirates and replaces her Hope template
how they came by them.
with the Ghoster’s Rock template. She is
now a pilot in forced servitude to the pi-
Penal Colony rates. She rolls three more times for life
events. Her final roll is 42. Consulting the
This is a special Origins template. It can represent both a prison facility or a slave Ghoster’s Rock Template, it reads “Gain a
camp, or both. If this is a character’s Origin, they may either be an Inmate or a Keeper. contact. Increase a Standard Skill.” She

If the character was sent here due to a life event on another template, they are an must choose from the standard skills listed
on the Ghoster’s Rock template. Had she
Inmate. If they chose this location as their place of Origin, they can be a Keeper. The
increased her choice of a Cultural Profes-
list of Career templates available if one is a Keeper is limited to Bounty Hunter, Detec-
sional skill, it would have had to come from
tive, Official, Mercenary, Merchant, and Priest. Alternatively, one could choose to have the Ghoster’s Rock template as well. Final-
been born an Inmate on the Penal Colony, meaning they were born a slave. Anyone ly, she has 60% to assign per the regular
who rolls their final Life Event and is still an Inmate on the Penal Colony is considered rules for Bonus skills. She assigns 15% to
to have either escaped or been released to start their adventuring career. Alternately, her new Combat Style (Gunnery) skill, En-
durance, Evade, and Willpower.
if the GM and player wish, they could have been sold as a slave to another character.

ORIGINS 51

Matthew sutton (Order #41688683)


Conner now begins rolling up the life events
of his character Jeremiah, the smuggler.
He survives a storm, spends a great deal of
time at sea, delivers some valuable cargo
and gains a lot of starting money, then on
his fourth roll, he rolls a 93. “Run afoul of
the law. Roll Conceal. Success: Increase
Bureaucracy. Failure: Change Origin to
Penal Colony and Career to Inmate. Lose
1d6x1000 Cr.” Conner fails his Conceal roll,
the authorities discover his illegal contra-
band and arrest him. He goes to jail as well
as pays a steep fine.

For his fifth roll, Conner uses the Penal


Colony and Inmate templates. He rolls a
98. “You manage to dig a tunnel and try to
escape. Roll Willpower. Succeed: Exchange
Origin and Career templates. Failure: Re-
roll all rolls of 86-90 from now on.” Conner
makes his Willpower roll and Jeremiah es-
capes the Penal Colony. He decides it’s best
to get off-world so he chooses a new Origin
template. He goes back to his old ways of
crime, however, and remains a smuggler.

He rolls a final time and then puts the re-


maining 60% into the skills of his choos-
ing. His starting money ends up being his
normal 2d6x1000 plus the money he gained
smuggling, minus the 1d6x1000 he lost
when he got arrested. A few poor rolls later,
Jeremiah starts the game 1000Cr in debt.

52 ORIGINS

Matthew sutton (Order #41688683)


Templates
Urban Origin: New Haven Urban Origin: Atlantea
This city is your standard Urban area. This is a domed city under the sea. It could be under an ocean,
a large lake or a planet entirely covered by water.
Standard Skills: Conceal, Deceit, Drive (any), Influence, In-
sight, Locale, Willpower, pick one Combat Style Standard Skills: Swim, Boating, Influence, Insight, Locale,
Professional Skills: (Choose 3) Art (any), Commerce, Craft Pilot (Submersibles), Willpower and pick one Combat Style.
(any), Courtesy, Language (any), Knowledge (any), Musician- Professional Skills: (Choose 3) Commerce, Craft (any), Cour-
ship, Streetwise tesy, Language(any), Knowledge(any), Musicianship, Seaman-
Life Events ship, Streetwise.
01. A stranger unlocks your psionic potential. Gain psionics.
Life Events
Roll Deceit. Success: Keep your new talents hidden. Failure:
01-03. At the sea bottom you discover a lost ancient artefact.
You must flee your home. Replace this Origin template with a
Where is it from? What does it do? This could be Q Tech, a rare
new one. Gain Passion Distrust (Non-Psions).
cybernetic mod, or perhaps an ancient robot or an unknown
02-03. A relative passes away and leaves you with an un-
artefact of the GMs choosing. Increase Pilot (Submersibles).
known artefact. What is it? A common cybernetic module? A
04-06. Caught in a storm! Roll Boating. Success: Increase
robot? Perhaps it’s Q Tech?
Seamanship. Failure: Increase Swim.
04-06. Criminals cross your path. Roll Influence. Success:
07-10. You hit on an idea to make money. Increase in your
Increase Streetwise. Failure: Increase Combat Style, gain an
choice of Craft (any), Commerce, Musicianship or Influence
Enemy and Hate (Rival Gang).
and gain 1d6x1000 Cr starting money. Gain a contact.
07-10. You hit on an idea to make money. Increase in your
choice of Craft (any), Commerce or Influence and gain 11-15. You spend much of your time at sea. Increase in your

1d6x1000 Cr starting money. Gain a contact. choice of Boating, Swim or Seamanship. Gain the Passion
Love (Seafaring).
11-15. You had an exceptional tutor. Increase in your choice of
Musicianship, Knowledge (any), or Art (any). 16-25. Hydroponics failure. Food shortages cause a crisis.

16-25. Economic bust. Hard times make for hard choices. Your Your choice: Increase Combat Style and gain an Enemy or In-

choice: Increase Deceit and gain an Enemy or Increase Will- crease Willpower and lose 1000 Cr starting money.

power and lose a Contact. Either way, lose 1000 Cr starting 26-35. Economic Boom. Jobs are plentiful. Increase in one
money. of your Cultural Professional skills and gain 1000 Cr starting
26-35. Economic boom. Jobs are plentiful. Increase in one money.
of your Cultural Professional skills and gain 1000 Cr starting 36-50. Gain a contact. Increase a Standard Skill.
money.
36-50. Gain a contact. Increase a Standard Skill.
ORIGINS: URBAN 53

Matthew sutton (Order #41688683)


Urban Origin: Skyrise Urban Origin: Sanction
This is a city floating in the clouds. Sin City. This place is run by crime lords.

Standard Skills: Deceit, Influence, Insight, Locale, Willpower Standard Skills: Conceal, Deceit, Locale, Evade, Influence,
and pick one Combat Style. GM’s option: Pilot (Flyer). Insight, Stealth and pick one Combat Style.

Professional Skills: (Choose 3) Computers, Courtesy, Pilot Professional Skills: (Choose 3) Disguise, Computers, For-
(Flyer), Commerce, Art (any), Musicianship, Language (any), gery, Gambling, Lockpicking, Seduction, Sleight, Streetwise.
Knowledge (any), Streetwise.
Life Events
Life Events 01. A crime lord pays to unlock your psionic potential. Gain
01. An off-worlder unlocks your psionic potential. Gain psion- psionics and 1d6x1000 Cr starting money as you put your new
ics. Roll Deceit. Success: You keep your new talents hidden. talents to work. Gain a contact.
Failure: You must flee. Change this template for another Origin 02-03. Roll your Lockpick, Deceit or Seduction. Success: Gain
template.Gain Passion Distrust (Non-Psions). the GM’s choice of cybernetics, Q Tech, robotics or an ancient
02-03. You come into some money and decide to buy the GMs artefact and gain an Enemy. Failure: Just gain an enemy.
choice of 4 cybernetic modules, a piece of Q Tech, a Robot or 04-06. Gang war! Roll Combat Style. Success: Increase Street-
some other artefact of the GMs devising. wise. Failure: Increase Evade. Gain Hate (Rival Gang)
04-06. Criminals cross your path. Roll Influence. Success: In- 07-10. You pull off a big heist. Gain 1d6x1000 Cr starting mon-
crease Streetwise. Failure: Increase Combat Style, an Enemy ey. Increase your choice of Lockpicking, Disguise, Computers
and Hate (Rival Gang). or Forgery. Gain Passion: Thrillseeker.
07-10. You hit on an idea to make money. Increase in your 11-15. You spend time in jail, otherwise known as advanced
choice of Computers, Art (any), Commerce, Musicianship or training. Increase in Conceal, Gambling, Insight or a Combat
Influence and 1d6x1000 Cr starting money. Gain a contact. Style. Gain a contact.
11-15. You enjoy flying. Increase Pilot (Flyer) or, at the GM’s 16-25. On the nut. Lose 1000 Cr starting money. You have to
option, Ride (Flyer). make a business decision: Increase Deceit and gain an enemy
16-25. Economic bust. Hard times make for hard choices. Your or increase Streetwise and lose a contact. Gain Passion Hate
choice: Increase Deceit and gain an Enemy or Increase Will- Authority.
power and lose a contact. Either way, lose 1000 Cr starting 26-35. Crime pays. Increase in one Cultural Professional skill
money. and gain1000 Cr.
26-35. Economic boom. Jobs are plentiful. Increase in one of 36-50. Gain a contact. Increase a Standard Skill.
your Cultural Professional skills and 1000 Cr starting money.
36-50. Gain a contact. Increase a Standard Skill.

54 ORIGINS: URBAN

Matthew sutton (Order #41688683)


Urban Origin: Wellspring Urban Origin: Olympus
A university town or other city of learning. This capital city could be anything from a provincial capital to
the seat of government for an entire galactic empire.
Standard Skills: Locale, Dance, Drive (any), Seduction, In-
sight, Perception, Sing, Willpower. Standard Skills: Deceit, Influence, Insight, Locale, Drive
(any), Customs, Conceal, Willpower.
Professional Skills: (Choose 3) Acting, Knowledge (any), Sci-
ence (any), Art (any), Computers, Culture, Electronics, Engi- Professional Skills: (Choose 3) Politics, Bureaucracy, Com-
neering, Language (any), Mechanics, Medicine, Musicianship, merce, Oratory, Courtesy, Acting, Language (any)
Oratory, Politics, Research, Teach.
Life Events
Life Events 01-03. A stranger offers to unlock your psionic potential in
01. An instructor unlocks your psionic potential. Gain psion- exchange for you promoting his secret agenda. If you accept,
ics. gain psionics and increase Influence. If you decline, increase
02-03. On a research expedition you come into possession of Willpower and gain a psionic enemy.
an unknown artefact. Roll your Research skill. Success: Learn 04-06. War is declared! Roll Influence. Success: Increase Poli-
from the GM what the artefact is or something about its his- tics. Failure: Increase Bureaucracy.
tory. Failure: Learn nothing, but gain a jealous enemy who 07-10. You rise in power. Increase in your choice of Politics,
wants your artefact. Oratory, Influence or Commerce. Also, gain 1d6x10,000 Cr
04-06. Hard class load. Roll research. Success: Gain one new starting money. Gain Passion: Love Power.
Cultural Professional skill. Failure: Increase in an existing cul- 11-15. You work for a person of great wealth. Increase in your
tural Professional skill. choice of Courtesy, Bureaucracy, Commerce or Influence. Gain
07-10. You use your talents to make extra money on the side. a wealthy ally, the Passion Loyalty (Ally) and if the GM choos-
Increase in your choice of Musicianship, Sing or Art (any) and es, a cybernetic module.
gain 1000Cr starting money. 16-25. Political revolution. Heads in high places start rolling
11-15. You learn from an exceptional tutor. Increase Research and only the strong survive. Your choice: Increase Deceit and
and one Cultural Professional skill. Gain Passion: Loyalty (Uni- gain a powerful enemy or increase Insight and lose a contact.
versity). Either way, gain 1000Cr. (one man’s crisis is another man’s
16-25. Competition for grant money gets fierce. Your choice: opportunity).
Increase Seduction, lose no money and gain a contact or in- 26-35. Business as usual. Gain 1000Cr and increase any one
crease Insight, lose 1000Cr starting money and gain an ally. Cultural Professional skill.
26-35. You gain a job teaching or as a teacher’s assistant. 36-50. Gain a contact. Increase a Standard Skill.
Increase Teach and gain 1000Cr starting money.
36-50. Gain a contact. Increase a Standard Skill.

ORIGINS: URBAN 55

Matthew sutton (Order #41688683)


Urban Origin: Burrex Urban Origin: Panopolis
This could be a city beneath the earth or a hollowed-out planet. This is a continent- or planet-spanning city.

Standard Skills: Athletics, Brawn, Endurance, Influence, In- Standard Skills: Drive (any), Insight, Locale, Influence, Will-
sight, Locale, Conceal and pick one Combat Style. power, Deceit, Perception and pick one Combat Style.

Professional Skills: (Choose 3) Bureaucracy, Commerce, Professional Skills: (Choose 2 and gain Streetwise) Art (any),
Craft (any), Demolitions, Engineering, Streetwise, Knowledge Commerce, Craft (any), Language (any), Knowledge (any), Sci-
(any), Mechanics. ence (any), Musicianship, Bureaucracy, Computers, Medicine,
Electronics, Engineering.
Life Events
Life Events
01-03. Deep in the earth, you uncover an ancient artefact of
01. A stranger unlocks your psionic potential. Gain psionics.
unknown power. This could be anything of the GMs choosing.
Roll Deceit. Success: Keep your new talents hidden. Failure:
Rare cybernetics, Q Tech, robotics or something completely
You must flee your home. Replace this Origin template with a
alien.
new one. Gain Passion: Distrust (Non-Psions).
04-06. Earthquake! Roll Brawn. Success: Increase Engineer-
02-03. Your section of the city is engulfed in a violent upris-
ing and gain an ally. Failure: Increase Endurance and gain the
ing. Roll Perception. Success: Find an ancient artefact during
Passion Cleithrophobia.
the chaos and plundering. Failure: Increase Combat Style dur-
07-10. You hit on an idea to make money. Increase your choice
ing the chaos and plundering. Gain Passion: Hate Authority.
of Bureaucracy, Craft, Commerce or Influence and 1d6x1000
04-06. Natural disaster strikes your section of the city. Roll
Cr starting money. Gain a contact.
your Locale. Success: You escape the area. Increase Drive.
11-15. You journey deep beneath the earth. Increase your
Failure. You survive by your wits. Increase Willpower.
choice of Athletics, Brawn, Endurance or Knowledge (Geol-
07-10. You hit on an idea to make money. Increase in your
ogy).
choice of Craft (any), Commerce, Computers, Art (any) or Influ-
16-25. Trade embargo threatens the city. Food supplies run
ence and 1d6x1000 Cr starting money. Gain a contact.
low. Lose 1000Cr starting money. Your choice: Increase com-
11-15. A corporate official takes a liking to you. Gain a contact
bat style and gain an enemy or increase Streetwise and gain
and increase your choice of Commerce, Bureaucracy, Knowl-
a contact.
edge (any) or Science (any).
26-35. New trade routes established. Increase in any one Cul-
16-25. Economic bust. Hard times make for hard choices. Your
tural Professional skill. Gain 1000Cr starting money.
choice: Increase Deceit and gain an enemy or increase Will-
36-50. Gain a contact. Increase a Standard Skill.
power and lose a Contact. Either way, lose 1000 Cr starting
money.
26-35. Economic boom. Jobs are plentiful. Increase in one of
your Cultural Professional skills and 1000 Cr starting money.
36-50. Gain a contact. Increase a Standard Skill.
56 ORIGINS: URBAN

Matthew sutton (Order #41688683)


Orbital Origin: Ghoster’s Rock
A hidden pirate base or gang hideout. It could be an asteroid,
a starbase or a moon.

Standard Skills: Conceal, Deceit, Evade, Insight, Influence,


Locale, Stealth, and pick one Combat Style.

Professional Skills: (Choose 3) Forgery, Lockpicking, Sleight,


Gambling, Streetwise, Survival (Space), Vacc Suit.

Life Events
01. Born with psionics, you fought for your place among the
pirates. Gain psionics and increase a Combat Style.
02-03. A pirate ship returns laden with treasure. Roll Stealth.
Success: Gain the GMs choice of cybernetics or Q Tech and
increase Conceal. Failure: Increase Deceit.
04-06. Rival pirates feud. Gain Hate (Rival Pirates). Roll Com-
bat Style. Success: Increase Influence. Failure: Increase Evade.
07-10. The pirate’s life for you! Increase in your choice of
Gambling, Forgery, Lockpicking or Sleight. Gain 1d6x1000Cr
starting money.
11-15. Go exploring for hidden pirate loot. Increase in your
choice of Vacc Suit, Survival (Space), Locale or Zero-G.
16-25. No honour among thieves. Lose 1000Cr. Increase
Streetwise and gain an enemy or increase Deceit and lose a
contact.
26-35. Money is flowing in. Gain 1000Cr. Increase in any one
Cultural Professional skill.
36-50. Gain a contact. Increase a Standard Skill.

ORIGINS: ORBITAL 57

Matthew sutton (Order #41688683)


Orbital Origin: The Belt Orbital Origin: Lunopolis
Life on an asteroid belt. A moon base or hollowed-out asteroid.

Standard Skills: Conceal, Deceit, Influence, Insight, Locale, Standard Skills: Athletics, Brawn, Conceal, Endurance, First
Willpower, First Aid and the Combat Style (Unarmed). Aid, Locale, Willpower and pick one Combat Style.

Professional Skills: (Choose 3) Pilot (any), Commerce, Professional Skills: (Choose 3) Commerce, Demolitions,
Comms, Knowledge (Geology), Knowledge (Mining), Mechan- Electronics, Engineering, Mechanics, Survival (Space), Vacc
ics, Electronics, Vacc Suit, Zero-G, Survival (Space). Suit, Zero-G

Life Events Life Events


01-03. While slagging rock you find an ancient artefact. This 01-03. You find an ancient artefact buried on the moon/aster-
can be anything of the GMs devising. oid. This could be anything of the GMs choosing.
04-06. Raiders! Gain Hate (Raiders). Roll Combat Style. Suc- 04-06. Meteor shower! Roll Vacc Suit or Survival (Space). Suc-
cess: Increase Zero-G. Failure: Increase First Aid. cess: Increase Mechanics. Fail: Increase Zero-G.
07-10. Someone hit the motherlode! Gain 4000Cr. Increase in 07-10. You take a dangerous job that pays really well. Gain
your choice of Commerce, Knowledge (Geology), Knowledge 4000Cr. Increase in one of Mechanics, Zero-G, Vacc Suit or
(Mining) or Conceal. Survival (Space)
11-15. An old belter takes you under his wing. Learn your 11-15. A boss takes a liking to you. Increase in one of Com-
choice of Pilot (any), Electronics, Mechanics or Comms. merce, Engineering, Mechanics or Electronics. Gain a contact.
16-25. Corporate policies cause a worker revolt. Lose 1000Cr. 16-25. Trade embargo. Food supplies run dangerously low.
Increase Combat Style and gain a contact or increase Com- Lose 1000Cr. Your choice: Increase combat style and gain an
merce, gain an ally and gain the Passion Loyalty (Ally) enemy or increase Conceal and lose a contact.
26-35. The ore must flow. Increase in any one Cultural Profes- 26-35. Peace and prosperity. Increase in any one Cultural Pro-
sional skill and gain 1000Cr. fessional skill and gain 1000Cr.
36-50. Gain a contact. Increase a Standard Skill. 36-50. Gain a contact. Increase a Standard Skill.

58 ORIGINS: ORBITAL

Matthew sutton (Order #41688683)


Orbital Origin: Space Station Alpha Orbital Origin: Star City
Your basic orbital starbase. This metropolis orbits a planet or a gas giant.

Standard Skills: Conceal, Deceit, Influence, Insight, Locale, Standard Skills: Conceal, Deceit, Influence, Insight, Locale,
Willpower, First Aid and pick one Combat Style. Willpower, Drive (Anti-grav) and pick one Combat Style.

Professional Skills: (Choose 3) Electronics, Knowledge (any), Professional Skills: (Choose 3) Art (any), Commerce, Com-
Language (any), Pilot (any), Mechanics, Sensors, Comms, Vacc puters, Electronics, Knowledge (any), Science (any), Pilot
Suit, Survival (Space), Zero-G. (any), Vacc Suit, Survival (Space).

Life Events Life Events


01. A stranger unlocks your psionic potential. Gain psionics. 01. A stranger unlocks your psionic potential. Gain psionics.
Roll Deceit. Success: Keep your new talents hidden. Failure: Roll Deceit. Success: Keep your new talents hidden. Failure:
You must flee your home. Replace this Origin template with a You must flee your home. Replace this Origin template with a
new one.Gain Passion: Distrust (Non-Psions). new one.Gain the Passion Distrust Non-Psions.
02-03. Raiders board the station! Gain Passion Hate (Raid- 02-03. A family member passes away and leaves you enough
ers). Roll Combat Style. Success: While repelling the invaders money to buy the GMs choice of cybernetics, Q Tech or robot-
you plunder advanced technology. The GMs choice of cyber- ics.
netics, Q Tech, robotics or something completely alien. Fail- 04-06. Blackout! Power and gravity fail a portion of the city.
ure: You increase First Aid. Roll Willpower. Success: increase Zero-G Failure: Increase Sur-
04-06. Meteor shower! Roll Vacc Suit or Survival (Space). Suc- vival (Space)
cess: Increase Mechanics. Fail: Increase Zero-G. 07-10. You hit on an idea to make money. Increase in your
07-10. You take on a dangerous mission for hazard pay. In- choice of Art (any), Computers, Commerce or Influence and
crease in your choice of Pilot (any), Vacc Suit, Survival (Space), gain 1d6x1000 Cr starting money. Gain a contact.
Mechanics or Electronics. 11-15. You find a gifted tutor. Increase in one of Pilot (any),
11-15. You work the shuttlecraft supply runs. Increase in your Mechanics, Electronics or Science (any).
choice of Pilot (Starship), Conceal, Electronics or Mechan- 16-25. Economic bust. Hard times make for hard choices. Your
ics.16-25. Trade embargo. Supplies run low. Your choice: In- choice: Increase Deceit and gain an Enemy or increase Will-
crease Influence and gain a contact or increase Deceit and power and lose a Contact. Either way, lose 1000 Cr starting
lose a contact. money.
26-35. Peace and prosperity. Increase in any one Cultural Pro- 26-35. Economic boom. Jobs are plentiful. Increase in one
fessional skill. of your Cultural Professional skills and gain 1000 Cr starting
36-50. Gain a contact. Increase a Standard Skill. money.
36-50. Gain a contact. Increase a Standard Skill.

ORIGINS: ORBITAL 59

Matthew sutton (Order #41688683)


Orbital Origin: The Facility Orbital Origin: Hope
A research station where experiments too dangerous, unethi- This colony ship is on its way to an uninhabited world. Only
cal or illegal to attempt near authorities take place regularly. the best and brightest were chosen for this mission.

Standard Skills: Conceal, Deceit, Influence, Insight, Locale, Standard Skills: Brawn, Dance, Sing, Influence, Insight, Will-
Willpower, First Aid and Perception. power, First Aid.
Professional Skills: (Choose 3) Comms, Computers, Elec- Professional Skills: (Choose 4) Astrogation, Comms, Com-
tronics, Mechanics, Pilot (Shuttle), Medicine, Science (any), puters, Electronics, Engineering, Pilot (Starship), Pilot (Shut-
Sensors, Vacc Suit, Survival (Space). tle), Mechanics, Sensors, Vacc Suit, Survival (Space), Zero-G.
Life Events Life Events
01. You are made an involuntary test subject, but you escape. 01-03. Your colony ship is raided by slavers! Gain Passion
Gain psionics, increase unarmed and Pilot (Shuttle). Discard Hate (Slavers). Discard this Origin template and replace it
this Origin for a new Origin template. Gain Passion Hate (Per- with either Ghoster’s Rock (increase Combat Style, you are
sons or organisation responsible). forced into service for a pirate gang) or Penal Colony (increase
02-03. You volunteer for an experiment. An ancient artefact or Brawn, you are sold into slavery, lose all starting money and
new technology is implanted into your body. You and the GM replace your career template with Inmate).
must hash out the details. 04-06. The ship suffers a near catastrophe! Maybe a reac-
04-06. An experiment gets loose and must be found and tor blew or life support failed in the cryo chambers. Roll Will-
blown out the airlock! Roll Locale. Success: increase Vacc Suit power. Success: Increase Vacc Suit and Mechanics. Failure:
or Survival (Space). Failure: Increase Medicine. Increase Survival (Space). Fortunately, the crisis was averted.

07-10. You help make a scientific breakthrough. Increase in 07-10. You are assigned to look for a better site to colonise.

one of Science (Genetics), Science (Biology), Science (Physiol- Increase Sensors and then roll Sensors. Success: Increase As-

ogy) or Medicine. Gain 3d6x1000Cr starting money. trogation and replace this Origin with the Home Origin tem-
plate. Failure: Continue toward your original destination.
11-15. A coworker takes you under his wing. Increase in one of
Comms, Computers, Electronics or Mechanics. 11-15. You are assigned ship repair duty. Increase in your
choice of Vacc Suit, Survival (Space), Mechanics, Electronics.
16-25. Budget cuts. Whose projects get canceled? Your
16-25. Hydroponics failure. The captain must choose who to
choice: Increase Influence and gain an enemy or increase De-
space so the others can live. Increase Influence and gain an
ceit and lose a contact. Either way, lose 1000Cr.
Enemy or increase Insight, gain the Passion Hate (Captain)
26-35. The Facility gains an MBO contract (Military Black Op).
and lose a contact.
Increase in any one Cultural Professional skill and 1000Cr.
26-35. The boredom of space is filled with study. Colonists
36-50. Gain a contact. Increase a Standard Skill.
are chosen from the best mankind has to offer, increase 2 Cul-
tural Professional skills.
36-50. Plenty of time, nothing but work to do. Increase 2
60 ORIGINS: ORBITAL Standard Skills. Gain a contact.

Matthew sutton (Order #41688683)


Orbital Origin: Delta 7 Life Events

A naval or scout base, possibly diplomatic station or of some 01. A stranger unlocks your psionic potential. Gain psionics.
military value. Roll Deceit. Success: Keep your new talents hidden. Failure:
You must flee your home. Military Intelligence agencies will
Standard Skills: Conceal, Deceit, Influence, Insight, Locale,
be seeking you. Gain an Enemy. Gain the Passion Distrust Mili-
Willpower, First Aid and pick one Combat Style.
tary. Replace this Origin template with a new one.
Professional Skills: (Choose 3) Pilot (any), Commerce,
02-03. A space hand dies in a mysterious shootout. You find a
Comms, Politics, Electronics, Mechanics, Bureaucracy, Lan-
strange artefact or advanced technology on him. Do you hand
guage (any), Sensors, Survival (Space), Vacc Suit, Zero-G.
it over to authorities or try to keep it? If you hand it over you
are implicated in a murder investigation. Roll Influence. Suc-
cess: Get a pat on the head and sent on your way. Failure:
Lose 1d6x1000Cr starting money on legal services to clear
your name. If you try to keep the artefact roll Conceal. Suc-
cess: You have an ancient artefact of unknown purpose or ad-
vanced technology of the GMs choosing. Failure: Go to prison.
Lose all starting money and replace this Origin template with
the Penal Colony template. Replace your career template with
the Inmate template. Gain Hate (Authority).
04-06. The base is under attack! Gain Passion Hate (Attack-
ers). Roll Combat Style. Success: Increase Zero-G. Failure: In-
crease First Aid.
07-10. You take advantage of an opportunity. Gain
1d6x1,000Cr. Increase to either Commerce, Influence, Deceit
or Bureaucracy.
11-15. Get in good with an Administrator. Gain a Contact and
increase in one of Mechanics, Electronics, Sensors or Pilot
(any).Gain Passion Loyalty (Administrator).
16-25. Intrigue and skullduggery abound. Increase Insight
and gain an enemy or increase Politics and gain a contact.
26-35. Peace and quiet. Increase in any one Cultural Profes-
sional skill and gain 1000Cr.
36-50. Gain a contact. Increase a Standard Skill.

ORIGINS: ORBITAL 61

Matthew sutton (Order #41688683)


Rural Origin: Jonestown Rural Origin: Jaffa
This is your basic rural community. A desert community. It could be anything from a village of de-
sert people to a den of scum and villainy. Survival is difficult
Standard Skills: Athletics, Brawn, Drive, Endurance, First Aid,
and causing trouble is always avoided.
Locale, Perception, Ride and pick one Combat Style.
Standard Skills: Brawn, Drive, Endurance, Customs, First Aid,
Professional Skills: (Choose 3) Craft (any), Mechanics,
Locale, Perception, Ride and pick one Combat Style.
Knowledge (any), Musicianship, Navigate, Survival, Track
Professional Skills: (Choose 3) Mechanics, Comms, Gam-
Life Events
bling, Knowledge (any), Navigate, Track, Survival (Desert),
01. A stranger unlocks your psionic potential. Gain psionics.
Pilot (Flyer).
Roll Deceit. Success: Keep your new talents hidden. Failure:
You must flee your home. Replace this Origin template with a Life Events
new one. Gain Passion Distrust Non-Psions. 01. A stranger unlocks your psionic potential. Gain psionics.
02-03. A family member passes away, leaving you a family 02-03. You find a strange artefact in the desert sands. It may
heirloom. Is it a personal force shield? An advanced rifle? An be anything of the GMs choosing. Cybernetics, a wandering
exotic technological device? robot, Q Tech or something alien.
04-06. The perimeter defence grid goes down, letting preda- 04-06. Caught in a sand storm! Roll Drive or Ride. Success:
tors inside the community. Roll Athletics. Success: Increase Increase Navigation. Failure: Increase Survival(Desert).
Mechanics. Failure: Increase Combat Style. 07-10. You take advantage of an unexpected opportunity. In-
07-10. You hit on an idea to make some extra money at the crease in one of Pilot(Flyer), Gambling, Track or Brawn. Gain
fair. Increase in one of Athletics, Brawn, Craft (any) or Musi- 3000Cr.
cianship. Gain 1000Cr. 11-15. Take your speeder out to shoot dirt bats. Increase in
11-15. Go hunting. Increase in one of Track, Survival, Drive, your choice of Combat(Gunnery), Drive (Speeder), Perception
Ride or Navigation. or Navigation.
16-25. The town gets caught in the middle of a war zone. Lose 16-25. Raiders attack! Gain the Passion Hate (Raiders). Lose
1000Cr. Your choice: Increase a Combat Style, gain the Pas- 1000Cr. Your choice: Increase a Combat Style and gain an en-
sion Hate (Invaders) and gain an enemy or Increase First Aid, emy or increase First Aid and gain a contact.
gain the Passion Loyalty (Ally) and gain an Ally. 26-35. You found some good hard work. Increase in any one
26-35. Work is plentiful. Increase in any one Cultural Profes- Cultural Professional skill and gain 1000Cr.
sional skill and gain 1000Cr. 36-50. Gain a contact. Increase a Standard Skill.
36-50. Gain a contact. Increase a Standard Skill.

62 ORIGINS: RURAL

Matthew sutton (Order #41688683)


Rural Origin: Warehouse 68 Rural Origin: Ironden
This is a floating algae farm in the middle of a lake, ocean or This could be anything from a small underground group of
Waterworld. Visitors are almost unheard of. survivors to a mining colony.

Standard Skills: Brawn, Boating, Endurance, Locale, Pilot Standard Skills: Athletics, Brawn, Conceal, Endurance, First
(Submersibles), Swim, Willpower and pick one Combat Style. Aid, Locale, Perception and pick one Combat Style.

Professional Skills: (Choose 3) Knowledge (Agriculture), Sci- Professional Skills: (Choose 3) Knowledge (Mining or Geol-
ence (Botany), Commerce, Mechanics, Seamanship, Survival ogy), Engineering, Demolitions, Mechanics, Electronics, Com-
(Sea), Electronics, Navigation. merce, Craft (any), Survive (Underground).

Life Events Life Events


01-03. Sea creature attacks! You distinguish yourself defeat- 01-03. Find a buried artefact. Nobody knows what it could be
ing it. Increase in each of Combat Style, Boating, Swim, and (except the GM).
Seamanship. Also, gain a 2000Cr reward. 04-06. Cave in! Roll Endurance. Success: Increase Brawn. Fail-
04-06. Storms at sea. Roll Boating. Success: Increase Sea- ure: Increase First Aid. Gain Passion: Cleithrophobia.
manship. Failure: Increase Swim. 07-10. It’s the motherlode! Gain 1d6x10,000Cr and increase in
07-10. You increase labour efficiency. Gain 2000Cr reward one of Knowledge (Mining), Knowledge(Geology), Commerce
and increase in one of Commerce, Knowledge (Agriculture) or or Demolitions. Gain the Passion Greed.
Science (Botany) 11-15. You work hard in this place. Increase in one of Mechan-
11-15. You like to explore when you can. Increase in your ics, Electronics, Knowledge (Geology) or Engineering.
choice of Boating, Seamanship, Navigation or Pilot (Submersi- 16-25. The vein ran dry. Lose 1000Cr. Increase Conceal.
bles). Increase in Swim. Gain Passion: Explorer.
26-35. The ore must flow. Increase in any one Cultural Profes-
16-25. Corporate layoffs. Lose 1000Cr. Live off the sea until sional skill and gain 1000Cr.
things pick up again. Increase Survival (Sea).
36-50. Gain a contact. Increase a Standard Skill.
26-35. There’s plenty to keep everyone busy. Increase in any
one Cultural Professional skill and gain 1000Cr.
36-50. Gain a contact. Increase in a Standard Skill.

ORIGINS: RURAL 63

Matthew sutton (Order #41688683)


Rural Origin: Mosek Uhn Rural Origin: Home
A primitive jungle village or a hidden rebel base. This is a new colony on a strange, unexplored world.

Standard Skills: Athletics, Brawn, Boating, Dance, Evade, Lo- Standard Skills: Athletics, Brawn, Drive, First Aid, Locale,
cale, Perception, Swim, First Aid and pick one Combat Style. Perception, Willpower and pick one Combat Style

Professional Skills: (Choose 3) Acrobatics, Craft (any), Professional Skills: (Choose 4) Commerce, Knowledge (Ag-
Knowledge (any), Language (any), Survival (Rainforest), Mu- riculture), Comms, Craft (any), Mechanics, Electronics, Medi-
sicianship, Navigation. cine, Engineering, Navigation, Survival (any).

Life Events Life Events


01. An old hermit who lives nearby unlocks your psionic po- 01-03. Signs of an ancient civilisation are found. Gain an alien
tential. Gain psionics. Increase Influence (the locals are im- artefact of the GMs devising.
pressed). 04-06. It’s a harsh new world. Roll Athletics. Success: In-
02-03. Deep in the jungle, you find a lost ancient artefact. You crease Survival (any). Failure: Increase First Aid.
and the GM should devise what it is. 07-10. You hit on an idea to improve living conditions. In-
04-06. King of the forest. Survive a beast attack. Roll Combat crease in either Engineering, Craft (any), Commerce or Knowl-
Style. Success: Increase Acrobatics. Failure: Increase First Aid. edge (Agriculture).
07-10. You like to explore. Increase in one of Navigation, Sur- 11-15. You are picked to lead an exploration team. Increase
vival (Rainforest), Swim or Boating. Gain the Passion Explorer. in either Locale, Navigation, Survival (any) or a Combat Style.
11-15. You excel at the tribal festivals. Increase in your choice 16-25. Crop failure! Desperate times require desperate meas-
of Acrobatics, Athletics, Dance or Musicianship. ures. Either increase a Combat Style and gain an Enemy or
16-25. Tribal Warfare. Gain Hate (Tribe). Your choice: Increase increase Willpower and lose a contact.
Combat Style and gain an enemy or Increase Evade and lose 26-35. The colony flourishes. Increase in any two Cultural Pro-
a contact. fessional skills. Gain the Passion Loyalty (Colony).
26-35. Peace and harmony with nature. Gain Loyalty (Home- 36-50. Gain a contact. Increase a Standard Skill.
world). Increase in any one Cultural Professional skill.
36-50. Gain a contact. Increase a Standard Skill.

64 ORIGINS: RURAL

Matthew sutton (Order #41688683)


Rural Origin: Penal Colony career of your choice. Failure: Hard labor. Increase Brawn.
This remote location either houses prisoners or slaves – or Keepers roll Combat Style. Gain the Passion Hate (Raiders).
both. If you choose this for your starting culture, your career Success: Repel the raid. Increase Insight. Failure: Give chase
choices are limited to Inmate (born slave), or Keeper (Bounty to the escapees. Increase Track.
Hunter, Detective, Official, Mercenary, Merchant, or Priest.)
07-10. Inmates increase in one of Gambling, Conceal, Sleight
This Life Event Table has two sets of results, one for Inmates
or Deceit. Keepers Increase in one of Gambling, Knowledge
and one for Keepers.
(Geology), Knowledge (Mining) or Knowledge (Agriculture).
Standard Skills: Brawn, Conceal, Deceit, Endurance, Un-
11-15. Inmate: You are released. Replace this Origin template
armed, Locale, Insight, Stealth, Willpower.
with a new Origin and replace the Inmate career with a new
Professional Skills: (Choose 3) Gambling, Knowledge (Ge-
career of your choice. Keeper: Gain a contact. Increase one of
ology), Knowledge (Mining), Knowledge (Agriculture), Sleight,
Insight, Deceit, Stealth or Willpower.
Track, Survival (any).
16-25. Hostage crisis! Inmates and Keepers must choose: In-
Life Events
crease Deceit and gain an enemy or increase Willpower and
01-03. Prison break! Inmates roll Stealth. Success: Escape
lose a contact. Keepers gain the Passion Hate Criminals.
this place. Replace this Origin template with a new Origin and
replace the Inmate career with a new career of your choice. 26-35. Hard labor. Inmates increase Brawn. Gain the Passion

Failure: Get hard labor. Increase Brawn. Keepers roll Insight. Hate (Authority). Keepers increase in any one Cultural Profes-

Success: Capture escapees. Increase Track. Gain 3000Cr. Fail- sional skill and gain 1000Cr.

ure: Find out they escaped after it’s too late. 36-50. Gain a contact. Increase a Standard Skill.
04-06. Raiders attempt to break out prisoners. Inmates roll
Unarmed. Success: Replace this Origin template with a new
Origin and replace the Inmate career with a new

ORIGINS: RURAL 65

Matthew sutton (Order #41688683)


Rural Origin: Archangel Career Life Event Tables
This could be a polar research station or a base on an ice
Some Careers list additional Professional skills that are avail-
planet.
able such as Survival (Space) and the optional Professional
Standard Skills: Athletics, Brawn, Endurance, Willpower, Lo- skills of Vacc Suit and Zero-G. The GM may ignore the optional
cale, Drive (Crawler), Insight, First Aid. skills if they so desire. Alternatively, they may give out one of
Professional Skills: (Choose 3) Gambling, Pilot (Flyer), Navi- those skills in addition to the normal 3 skills available.
gation, Knowledge (Mining), Mechanics, Electronics, Survival
Agent
(Cold), Comms.
51-65. You are assigned to counter-intel duties. Increase in
Life Events either Insight or Streetwise.
01. A horrifying creature destroys the community. You alone 66-75. Infiltrate a crime organisation, foreign nation or rival
survive. Increase in Athletics, Brawn, Survival (Cold) and one corporation. Increase in any Career Professional skill.
Combat Style. Discard this Origin and choose a new one. Gain
76-85. An operation goes sour. To protect your cover you
the Passion Hate (Creature).
must either increase Deceit and lose a contact or increase a
02-03. Buried beneath the ice you discover an ancient Combat Style and gain an Enemy.
crashed starship. Gain an alien artefact of the GMs devising.
86-90. You are assigned to advanced training. Increase in ei-
04-06. Blizzard! Roll Endurance. Success: Increase Survival ther Streetwise, Stealth, Disguise or Sleight. Gain the Passion
(Cold). Failure: Increase First Aid. Loyalty (Organisation).
07-10. Too much time on your hands. Increase Gambling, then 91-94. You expose a mole within the organisation. Gain 1d6x-
roll Gambling. Success: Gain 2000Cr. Failure: Lose 2000Cr. 1000Cr starting money and increase in either Insight, Percep-
11-15. There’s lots of work to be done. Increase in either Me- tion, Track or Streetwise.
chanics, Electronics, Comms or Knowledge (Mining). 95-97. Assassins! Role Stealth. Success: Increase Disguise.
16-25. The resupply craft never arrived. Desperate times re- Failure: Increase a Combat Style.
quire desperate measures. Either Increase in one Combat 98-99. You are given a cybernetic implant(s) to help you carry
Style and gain an enemy or increase Willpower and lose a out your missions. This can be Q Tech at the Game Master’s
contact. option.
26-35. Just another day choosing between moose burger or 00. You are trained in psionics. Gain a psionic talent.
caribou dog. Increase in any one Cultural Professional skill
and 1000Cr.
36-50. Gain a contact. Increase a Standard Skill.

66 ORIGINS: RURAL

Matthew sutton (Order #41688683)


Belter Bounty Hunter
Additional Professional skills: Vacc Suit, Survival (Space). Additional Professional skills: Vacc Suit, Zero-G, Survival
51-65. You contract to a mining ship. Increase in either Me- (Space), Sensors.
chanics, Gambling, Demolitions or Knowledge (Mining). Gain 51-65. You establish an intelligence network. Gain a contact
a contact. and increase in either Bureaucracy, Streetwise, Culture (any) or
66-75. Strike a rich vein. Increase in any one career Profes- Commerce.
sional skill. Gain 1000Cr. 66-75. Bring in a bounty. Gain 2000Cr and increase in one Ca-
76-85. Vein runs dry. Lose 1000Cr. During tough times, the reer Professional skill.
belters band together. Either increase Science (Geology) and 76-85. Run into an ambush. Roll Perception. Success: Increase
gain a contact or increase Brawn and gain an ally. to a Combat Style and gain an Enemy. Failure: Increase Evade,
86-90. Pirates raid! Gain the Passion Hate (Pirate Gang). In- gain the Passion Hate (Criminals) and lose a contact.
crease in both Pilot (Starship or Shuttlecraft) and one Combat 86-90. Bring in a big bounty. Gain 1d6x10,000Cr and increase
Style. Lose 2000Cr. in either Streetwise, Track, Stealth or Perception.
91-94. Rich strike! Gain 1d6x1000Cr and increase in either 91-94. The hunter becomes the hunted. Increase in either Pilot
Science (Geology), Knowledge (Mining), Demolitions or Com- (any), Combat Style (Gunnery), Sensors or Combat Style (any)
merce. 95-97. The job takes you to some strange places. Increase in
95-97. Meteor shower! Roll Willpower. Success: Increase Vacc either Bureaucracy, Culture (any), Streetwise or Survival (any)
Suit. Failure: Increase Survival (Space or Underground). 98-99. A bounty you bring in has some interesting loot. Gain
98-99. Workers rebellion! Increase in Demolitions, Pilot an advanced weapon or an implant of the GM’s choice.
(any), Commerce AND Willpower. Gain the Passion Hate (Cor- 00. You bring in a famous criminal and get to claim their star-
poration). ship. Gain a starship size 10 or less and gain an Enemy.
00. Motherlode! You hit a vein so rich you were able to buy
your own mining ship. Gain the Passion Greed.

ORIGINS: CAREERS 67

Matthew sutton (Order #41688683)


Colonist Criminal
51-65. Planetary exploration. Gain a contact and increase in 51-65. Work for a crime lord. Increase in either Combat Style
either Navigation, Survival (any), Locale or Athletics. (any), Stealth, Lockpicking or Streetwise. Gain a contact.
66-75. Everyone pitches in as a team. Increase in any one 66-75. Crime pays. Gain 2000Cr. Increase in a Career Profes-
Career Professional skill. sional skill.
76-85. Tough times come and go. Tough people last it out. 76-85. No honour among thieves. Roll Insight. Success: In-
Either increase Track and gain a contact or increase Survival crease Deceit and gain 1000Cr. Failure: Increase Streetwise
(any), gain the Passion Loyalty (Ally) and gain an ally. and lose 1000Cr.
86-90. Making a better life for everyone. Increase in either 86-90. You make a big score. Gain 2d6x1000Cr and Increase
Commerce, Knowledge (Agriculture), Craft (any) or Pilot( any). in either Acting, Commerce, Gambling or Lockpicking.
91-94. You encounter predatory alien creatures. Increase to 91-97. You get snitched out. Gain the Passion Hate (Snitch).
one Combat Style and increase Track. One of your contacts becomes an enemy. Lose all your start-
95-97. Harvest fails. Increase Knowledge (Agriculture) or Sur- ing money. Discard your Origin for Penal Colony. Discard your
vival (any). Gain an ally. Career for Inmate.

98-00. The colony declares independence. 98-99. Pull off a legendary heist! Increase
Increase in each of Combat Style (any), Pilot in one Career skill. Gain your choice of
(any), Commerce and Mechanics. 1d6x10,000Cr, an artefact or advanced
technology. Gain Passion Thrillseeker.
00. You either win a starship in a game of
chance or you con someone out of it. Ei-
ther increase Gambling or increase Deceit
and Acting. Gain a starship size 9 or less.

68 ORIGINS: CAREERS

Matthew sutton (Order #41688683)


Detective Diplomat
51-65. Get law enforcement training. Increase in one Career 51-65. Sent as an ambassador to a foreign power. Replace
Professional skill. your current Origin with a new one. Increase in one Career
66-75. Solve a minor crime. Increase in either Research, Professional skill.
Streetwise, Bureaucracy, or a Combat Style. 66-75. Successful negotiations. Increase in either Oratory,
76-85. Go deep cover. Gain a contact. Increase in Disguise Courtesy, Bureaucracy or Politics.
and Streetwise. 76-85. Talks break down. Either increase Influence and gain a
86-90. Solve a major crime. Get promoted or rewarded. Gain contact or increase Deceit and gain an enemy.
2000Cr. Increase in either Influence, Insight or Research. Gain 86-90. You get sent on a secret mission. Replace your current
an ally. Origin with a new one. Increase in either Deceit, Culture (any),
91-94. Foil a major criminal conspiracy. Gain an enemy. In- Language (any) or Perception.
crease in Research and Streetwise. 91-94. You are instrumental in ending a conflict. Gain an ally,
95-97. Drug bust! Roll Streetwise. Success: Increase Disguise. gain the Passion Loyalty (Ally) and increase in one Career Pro-
Failure: Increase a Combat Style. fessional skill.

98-99. A criminal tries to bribe you. Do you take the bribe 95-97. You are taken hostage. Increase Insight. If you have
and gain an advanced technology or refuse the bribe, gain already discarded your starting Origin, place it back. You are
the Passion Upholds the Law and increase Influence and Bu- freed and returned home. Gain the Passion Hate (Kidnappers)
reaucracy? or the Passion Loyalty (Kidnappers).

00. Impound Rights. Your investigation sends a crime lord to 98-00. Your ruler gives you advanced technology to assist
prison for life. By law, his personal starship is now yours. Gain you in your duties. This could be Q Tech, cybernetics, a robot
an enemy and a starship size 9 or less. or something of your GM’s devising.Gain the Passion Loyalty
(Homeworld or Ruler).

ORIGINS: CAREERS 69

Matthew sutton (Order #41688683)


Gambler Journalist
Special : After each Life Event roll Gambling. Success: Gain 51-65. Work hard at improving your craft. Increase in one Ca-
1000Cr. Failure: Lose 1000Cr. reer Professional skill.
51-65. You gotta make a buck. Increase in either Commerce, 66-75. You get published! Increase in either Research, Ora-
Gambling, Streetwise or Sleight tory, Politics or Bureaucracy. Gain 1000Cr.
66-75. Lady Luck smiles on you. Gain the Passion Gambling 76-85. Competition to break a story is fierce. Either increase
Addict. Gain 1000Cr and Increase in one Career Professional Streetwise and gain a contact or increase Deceit and gain an
skill. enemy.
76-85. Your luck runs dry. Find another place to game. Lose 86-90. You break a major story. Gain an ally. Gain the Passion
1000Cr and roll Willpower. Success: Increase Research. Fail- Loyalty (Ally) Gain 2000Cr. Increase Influence.
ure: Lose another 1000Cr and increase Bureaucracy. 91-94. You expose a government cover-up. Gain an enemy
86-90. You know when to hold ‘em. Gain 1d6x1000Cr. Choose and an ally. Gain Loyalty (Ally). Increase in one Career Pro-
to either increase Sleight and gain an enemy or increase Gam- fessional skill. Roll Influence. Success: You avoid retaliation.
bling and gain a contact. Failure: You become a political prisoner. Replace your Origin
91-94. You should have known when to fold ‘em. Increase in with Penal Colony. Replace this career with Inmate. Lose all
either Athletics, Perception, Locale or Streetwise. Roll Sleight starting money.
or lose 1d6x1000Cr. 95-97. Somebody wants you to stop nosing around. Roll Re-
95-97. Time to pay up. Increase in either Acting or Gambling search. Success: Increase Streetwise. Failure: Increase Insight.
then roll that skill. Success: You avoid disaster. Failure: Go to 98-99. You blow the lid off a story that causes civil unrest.
debtor’s prison. Lose all starting money. Discard your Origin Increase Politics, Bureaucracy, Oratory and Influence.
and replace it with Penal Colony. Discard this Career and re- 00. You win the highest award for journalistic excellence. Gain
place it with Inmate. an ally, a contact, increase Influence and gain 5000Cr. Gain
98-99. You win a huge hand. Gain 30,000Cr and an artefact the Passion Loyalty (Ally).
or advanced technology. Gain the Passion Gambling Addict.
00. Winner winner, stardust dinner! You win a starship size 9
or less. Gain an enemy.

70 ORIGINS: CAREERS

Matthew sutton (Order #41688683)


Engineer Medic
Additional Professional skills: Vacc Suit, Survival (Space). 51-65. Get advanced medical training. Increase in one career
51-65. Work your way up the ladder. Increase in either Engi- Professional skill or First Aid.
neering, Mechanics, Electronics or Computers. 66-75. Make a little money on the side. Gain 1000Cr. Increase
66-75. Make a little money on the side. Gain 1000Cr and In- in either Commerce, Craft (any), Influence or Research.
crease in either Commerce, Craft (any), Influence or Gambling. 76-85. Disaster relief. Gain a contact and increase in either
76-85. Get laid off. Lose 1000Cr and either increase Brawn First Aid, Medicine, Knowledge (any) or Science (Astrobiology).
and gain a contact or increase Streetwise and lose a contact. 86-90. Save the life of a powerful person. Gain an ally. In-
86-90. You help design state of the art technology. Increase crease Medicine.
Engineering, or at the GMs discretion: Science (Cybernetics), 91-94. Quarantine! Roll Research. Success: Increase in either
Science (Q Tech) or Science (Robotics). Gain 3000Cr. Science (any), Knowledge (any) or Medicine. Failure: Increase
91-94. Major engine failure. Roll Engineering. Success: In- First Aid.
crease Mechanics. Failure: Increase Vacc Suit or Survival 95-97. Win an award in medical science. Gain a contact and
(Space). increase Influence.
95-97. Pirates attack the ship you’re on. Gain the Passion Hate 98-99. Get assigned to work on a top-secret project. Increase
(Pirate Gang). Increase to either Mechanics or Electronics. Medicine, Knowledge (Biology), Science (Astrobiology) and
98-00. Help reverse engineer alien technology. Increase in Science (Cybernetics).
three Career Professional skills. 00. A medical breakthrough makes you rich enough to afford
your own medical lab.

ORIGINS: CAREERS 71

Matthew sutton (Order #41688683)


Mercenary Merchant
Additional Professional skills: Survival (Space), Vacc Suit, 51-65. Ply your craft. Increase in one Career Professional skill
Zero-G. or Influence.
51-65. Get advanced military training. Increase in either 66-75. Get a lucrative trade contract. Gain 2000Cr and in-
Knowledge (Strategy and Tactics), Combat Style (any), Combat crease in either Commerce, Influence, Bureaucracy or Street-
Style (Gunnery), or Unarmed. wise.
66-75. Tour of Duty. Gain 1000Cr. Increase to one Career Pro- 76-85. You get robbed! Gain the Passion Hate Criminals. Lose
fessional skill. Replace your current Origin with another for 2000Cr. Increase Insight.
the next Life Event roll, then return to this Origin. 86-90. You open a new trade route. Increase in either Pilot
76-85. You win some, you lose some. Gain 1000Cr. Roll a (any), Astrogation, Commerce or Bureaucracy.
Combat Style. Success: Increase Knowledge (Strategy and 91-94. Do you make a shady deal? Either increase Deceit and
Tactics). Failure: Increase Survival (any). gain an enemy or increase Streetwise and gain a contact. Ei-
86-90. Advanced Boot Camp. Increase in either Athletics, ther way, gain 3000Cr.
Brawn, Endurance or Survival (any). 95-97. Pirates attack! Gain the Passion Hate (Pirate Gang).
91-94. You save your unit. You get a promotion or reward. Increase Pilot (any) or Astrogation. Roll Deceit. Success: Lose
Gain 4000Cr. Increase to one Career Combat Style (including 1000Cr. Failure: Lose 3000Cr.
Unarmed or Gunnery) 98-99. Hard work pays off. Gain 20% ownership in a mer-
95-97. Civilians get massacred. If you blow the whistle, in- chant starship size 9 or less each time you roll this result.
crease Oratory, gain an enemy and choose a new Career Life 00. Shrewd bargaining makes you rich. Gain full ownership of
Event template as your mercenary career is over. Gain the Pas- your own merchant starship size 9 or less.
sion Hate (Military responsible). If you remain quiet, get as-
signed to a boring desk job until the incident blows over and
increase Gambling. Gain the Passion Loyalty (Unit).
98-99. Your unit is given cybernetic upgrades. Gain a cyber-
netic module or Q Tech of the GMs choosing. Gain the Passion
Loyalty (Unit).
00. You plunder the battlefield. Gain advanced armour and
weaponry.

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Official Priest
51-65. Working your way to the top. Increase in one Career 51-65. Spread the word to the masses. Increase in a Career
Professional skill. Professional skill.
66-75. Graft and corruption a.k.a. business as usual. Gain 66-75. Take a sacred pilgrimage or perform a holy ritual. In-
3000Cr. and increase in either Bureaucracy, Deceit, Com- crease in either Research, Influence, Willpower or Courtesy.
merce or Politics. Gain the Passion Devotion (Religion).
76-85. Your faction falls out of favour. You have to survive 76-85. Scandal rocks the church! Either increase Politics and
the shifting tides of power. Lose 3000Cr greasing wheels. Roll gain a contact or increase Deceit and gain an ally and the Pas-
Politics. Success: Increase Influence and gain an ally. Failure: sion Loyalty (Ally).
Increase Willpower and lose a contact. 86-90. Your following grows. Gain 2000Cr and Increase in ei-
86-90. You gain a position of moderate power. Gain 1d6x- ther Knowledge (any), Culture (any), Bureaucracy or Oratory.
1000Cr. Increase in either Influence, Bureaucracy, Politics or 91-94. You convert a wealthy patron. Gain 6000Cr. Increase in
Courtesy. either Bureaucracy or Politics.
91-94. War ravages your land. Increase in either Oratory, In- 95-97. The masses suffer a crisis of faith. Roll Oratory. Suc-
sight, Knowledge (any) or Influence. Gain the Passion Loyalty cess: Increase Influence. Failure: Replace your current Origins
(Homeland). with a new one as you are tarred, feathered and driven out.
95-97. You gain a position of great power. Gain 1d6x1000Cr. Increase Insight and gain the Passion Hate (Original Origin).
Increase Influence and increase one Career Professional skill. 98-99. You write a book (on theology, philosophy or self-
98-00. You rise to the top of the political food chain in your help). Gain 1d6x10,000Cr. Increase Research or Influence.
Origin. Gain estates and properties appropriate to your sta- 00. Your religion is exposed as a fraud. You must replace your
tion. Gain the Passion Lust for Power. Origin and Career. Lose all starting money.

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Scholar Scout
51-65. You study at the local learning institute. Increase in a Additional Professional skills: Vacc Suit, Zero-G, Survival
Career Professional skill. (Space).
66-75. You get paid to teach. Gain 1000Cr and increase 51-65. Survey or explore the galaxy. Increase in one Career Pro-
Teach. Increase in either Research, Knowledge (Primary) or fessional skill. Replace your current Origin with a new one. Gain
Knowledge (Secondary). the Passion Explorer.
76-85. You have the opportunity to steal a rivals research. 66-75. Take advanced training. Increase in either Astrogation,
Either increase Influence and gain an enemy or increase Will- Combat Style (Gunnery), Pilot (Starship) or Sensors.
power. 76-85. In space, no one can hear your blasters. Gain the Pas-
86-90. You make an amazing discovery. Increase in either sion Hate (Enemy). Roll Perception. Success: Increase one Com-
Research, Knowledge (Primary), Knowledge (Secondary) or bat Style and gain an enemy. Failure: Increase Medicine and
Insight. lose a contact.
91-94. Your expertise gets you a speaking tour. Gain 2000Cr 86-90. Explore weird new worlds. Increase in either Athletics,
and increase Oratory and Teach. Swim, Navigation or Survival (any). Replace your current Origin
95-97. Anti-Intellectuals rise to power. You protect your with a new one. Gain the Passion Explorer.
knowledge from those who would keep the masses ignorant. 91-94. Meet exotic cultures. Increase in either Stealth, Culture
Increase to Perception and Insight. Gain the Passion Hate (any), Track or one Combat Style. Gain a contact.
(Fascists). 95-97. Pirates attack your ship. Increase in Pilot (Starship), Sen-
98-99. Your research leads you to unexpected wealth. At sors, Comms AND Combat Style (Gunnery). Gain the Passion
GM’s discretion, you discover an item pertinent to your area Hate (Pirate Gang).
of expertise, Q Tech or the location of a lost treasure. Alterna-
98-99. Discover lost civilisations. Gain an ancient artefact or
tively, you could purchase cybernetic mods or robotics.
alien technology of the GMs devising.
00. You discover something that could shake the foundations
00. Find a derelict ship and claim it as your own. Gain a starship
of society and change life as people know it. Powerful ene-
size 9 or less.
mies want you dead and the secret buried with you. Replace
this Origin with another and replace your Career with another.
What is this secret?

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Smuggler Starship Pilot
Additional Professional skills: Vacc Suit, Zero-G, Survival Additional Professional skills: Survival (Space), Vacc Suit, Ze-
(Space). ro-G.
51-65. Work the trade routes. Increase a Career Professional 51-65. You find work on a starship. Increase in one Career Pro-
skill. Gain a contact. fessional skill. Discard your current Origin and replace it with
66-75. Crime pays. Increase in either Conceal, Deceit, Street- another.
wise or a Combat Style. Gain 4000Cr. 66-75. You take advanced training. Increase in either Pilot
76-85. Didn’t anyone tell you smuggling was dangerous? (any), Astrogation, Sensors or Comms.
Either dump your cargo or try to smuggle it right under the 76-85. Space combat! Gain the Passion Hate (Enemy). Gain
authorities’ noses. Dump and run: Lose 5000Cr. Gain the Pas- an enemy. Roll Pilot (Starship). Success: Increase Combat Style
sion Hate (Law Enforcement). Try to smuggle it right under (Gunnery). Failure: Increase Mechanics and lose a contact.
their noses: Roll Conceal. Success: Increase Deceit and Con-
86-90. You visit strange new worlds. Increase Streetwise. Gain
ceal. Failure: Discard your Origin and replace it with Penal
a contact. Discard your current Origin and replace it with an-
Colony. Replace your Career with Inmate. Lose 7000Cr. Gain
other.
the Passion Hate (Law Enforcement).
91-94. You meet exotic cultures. You can either Increase Cul-
86-90. Extra valuable cargo. Gain 1d6x1000Cr. Increase in ei-
ture (any) and gain a contact or increase Combat Style (Gun-
ther Commerce, Conceal, Deceit or Streetwise.
nery) and gain an enemy.
91-94. Everybody wants a cut. Bribe the authorities. Increase
95-97. Repel boarders! Gain the Passion Hate (Boarders). In-
in either Commerce, Bureaucracy, Streetwise or Customs
crease Zero-G, Vacc Suit and Survival (Space) at GMs discre-
(any). Gain a contact.
tion. Increase a Combat Style.
95-97. Pirates attack! Increase in Pilot (any), Sensors, Com-
98-99. You take part in a major space battle. Gain the Pas-
bat Style (Gunnery) and Astrogation. Gain the Passion Hate
sion Hate (Enemy). Gain an Enemy. Increase in Pilot (Starship),
(Pirate Gang).
Combat Style (Gunnery), Mechanics AND Sensors.
98-99. You smuggle mercenaries into a hostile area. Gain an
00. You gain a starship size 10 or less. Did you find it floating
ally. Gain the Passion Loyalty (Ally). Gain a technological up-
dead in space? Did you claim it in battle? Did you take it in a
grade to one of your personal belongings of GM’s choosing.
mutiny?
This could be cybernetics, a personal force field or a better
weapon for example.
00. Mutiny! You defend your captain or lead the mutineers. Roll
your Influence. Success: Lead the mutiny and capture the ship.
Gain a size 10 or less Starship. Failure: Betray the mutineers
and protect your captain. Increase a Combat Style and Deceit.

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Thief Inmate
51-65. Staying alive.Increase in a Career Professional skill. This career template is only used while in the Penal Colony.
Gain a contact. 51-65. Typical daily routine. Increase Gambling, Survival (Pris-
66-75. Commit a burglary. Increase in either Stealth, Lock- on), Conceal or Unarmed. Gain a contact.
picking, Sleight or Electronics. Gain 1000Cr. 66-75. Get light duty. Increase in either Insight, Willpower,
76-85. No honour among thieves. Either increase a Combat First Aid or Locale.
Style and gain an enemy or increase Deceit and lose a contact. 76-85. Hard labor. Increase Brawn.
86-90. Pull off a con job. Increase Acting and Disguise. Gain 86-90. You served your time or somehow managed to win
3000Cr. your freedom. Replace Penal Colony with another Origin. Re-
91-94. Crime doesn’t pay. Roll Disguise, Deceit or Streetwise. place Inmate with your old Career or a new one.
Success: Avoid arrest. Failure: Replace the current Origin with 91-94. Inmate uprising. Increase Unarmed. Roll Stealth. Suc-
Penal Colony and replace your Career with Inmate. Lose all cess: Escape in the chaos. See Life Event 86-90. Failure: Get
starting money. caught trying to escape. From now on, all rolls of 86-90 be-
95-97. Crime does pay. Gain 1d6x1000Cr. Increase in two of come 76-85 instead.
the following skills: Commerce, Streetwise, Perception, Com- 95-97. Good behaviour earns you advanced training. Increase
bat Style. in either Electronics, Mechanics, Computers or Medicine.
98-99. You steal something of the GM’s choosing. This could 98-99. You manage to dig a tunnel and try to escape. Roll
be Q Tech, robotics, cybernetics. advanced technology, ad- Willpower. Success: See Life Event result 86-90. Failure: Get
vanced weaponry or stealth technology. caught trying to escape. From now on, re-roll all rolls of 86-90
00. You pull off a legendary heist. Gain the Passion Thrillseek- on this Life Event table.
er. Gain 1d6x100,000Cr. If a later Life Event should cause you 00. You become King Rat. Increase Commerce. All rolls to es-
to lose all starting money, roll Conceal. Success: You retain cape from the Penal Colony from now on are made at Easy and
the money you gained on this heist hidden away somewhere. ignore the effects of failure. Change all rolls of 76-85 on this
Failure: A contact becomes an enemy and steals this money. table to 66-75.
Gain the Passion Hate (Ex-Contact).

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ORIGINS 77

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COMPUTERS AND HACKING

C omputers are everywhere in science fiction. But their roles vary widely. In some
settings, computers take centre stage, in others they work silently in the back-
ground. The M-SPACE core rules took the latter approach, mostly hiding those ma-
chines from sight. Here, computers are brought into a bit more focus.

Computers
In most sci-fi, computers control all technical devices. Most of the time they just work.
But at times, PCs want to manipulate a computer beyond what is considered regular
usage.

For everyday tasks, the players do not make any skill rolls. But when by-passing secu-
rity, searching for hidden information or trying to manipulate a system, the Computers
skill is used. In some cases, Electronics, Mechanics, Sensors or Science (Robotics)
might be used as well.

Most computers are defined by two stats:

»» INT Rating. 1-25+. The complexity of the computer. The value is roughly
equivalent to the INT characteristic.

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»» Security Level. Contains two values: Level and Difficulty. Level is meas-
ured between 1 and 20+. Difficulty is measured as a percentage. The
Security Level is written as 5/30%. Modules add extra functionality to
a computer. A security system might have a few Sensor Modules, while
a personal digital assistant might have a Skill Pack with Knowledge
(Psychology), Insight and Bureaucracy. Unlike robots, Modules can be
distributed over large areas, as long as communications are good – and
uninterrupted.
The size of the computer itself will rarely matter, but generally an INT Rating of 5
requires a minimum of 1 Module. This is guideline, however, not a hard and fast rule.

For computers that take on wider roles in a scenario – similar to an NPC – the GM can
create a full character. Use the rules on robots, ignore the bodywork and combine
Modules to increase the systems’ abilities.

INT Rating & Built-In Abilities


INT 5 Limited. Regular computers with limited AI. Might understand spoken com-
mands (if Language skill is added), but has no social abilities unless they have Knowl-
edge (Psychology). Some only have Language (Code). Used in homes, vehicles, ware-
houses, shops, industries. Cost: 200 Cr

INT 10 Regular AI. A regular computer with AI. Handles regular language and social
interaction. Might be sentient. Used in starships, corporations, complex manufactur-
ing and small space stations. Cost: 5000 Cr

INT 15 Sentient Expert. A computer at this level is a perceptive and well-trained ma-
chine used for complex tasks. Used by governments, universities, large corporations,
armed forces, security companies and space stations. Cost: 20 000 Cr

INT 20 Super-Computer. Rare research or military super-computers. Built to order for


unique clients. Cost: 50 000 Cr

INT 25 Rogue AI. At this level, a computer has evolved beyond human understanding.
A machine like this cannot be built, but sometimes evolves from a super-computer
left unmanaged. Cost: - The INT Rating also represents the maximum number of Skill
Switch Modules a computer can hold (see page 32).

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* = High Security: Energy reactors, finan- Security Level
cial services, medical services, insurance There are five basic Security Levels.
companies, civilian starships.
Level 0. Difficulty 0%. Home.

Level 5. Difficulty 30%. Commercial, Research.

Level 10. Difficulty 50%. High Security*, Law Enforcement.

Level 15. Difficulty 70%. Military.

Level 20. Difficulty 90%. Extreme security.

Condition (Optional) To run a security system, the computer’s INT Rating must be equal to or higher than
the Security Level.
Just like any other technology, comput-
ers degrade over time. This is measured
by Condition and range from zero to -100.
Sub-Systems
A pristine computer has Condition zero,
while a research system in a bombed facil- Sometimes, the GM might want to divide computer systems into various sub-systems.
ity might have Condition -40. Any skill rolls Each of the parts run specific tasks and can have a separate Security Level and even
to access the computer are lowered by the
a dedicated computer running it.
same amount.
This way, some sub-systems can be easy to hack into, while others can be more se-
cure. Various clues or degrees of control can be accessed through the different sub-
systems, allowing the GM to reveal information in several steps depending on the PC’s
actions and skill rolls.

Sub-systems can be compromised in many ways. A hacker might shut them down,
feed them incorrect data, overload them or adjust settings slightly to make them less
Legacy Systems
efficient. The GM should reward creative players and help them reach their goals – as
In some high-tech settings, the PCs might
deal with outdated computer systems or long as they are reasonably realistic.
have to go beyond modern additions into an In general, a sub-system compromised by a PC will be detected within 1d6 minutes
ancient core.
in high security systems, 1d6 hours for normal security and 1d6 days in low security
For every system generation back in time, settings.
Computer skill rolls are one Difficulty
Grade harder. The negative modifier can Life Support. Facilities in inhospitable environments - everything from arctic habitats
be mitigated with Knowledge or Language to space stations - need a dedicated sub-system for air circulation, purification and
skills related to the old systems. storage.

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Alien Computers
Power Grid. This sub-system controls electricity distribution, power plants and back-
up power. Depending on the setting, all computers
might run the same basic systems or each
Communications. All communications are handled by this sub-system. species have developed their own. Most set-
Security & Surveillance. This system runs any surveillance equipment, alarms, ID tings end up somewhere in between, with
allies adopting similar systems for practi-
checks and lock-down procedures.
cal reasons, while outlier species might run
Engines. For computers controlling starships or vehicles, a separate subsystem han- their own. To use truly alien systems, use
dles propulsion. It is often tightly integrated with the Power Grid. Strangeness as a negative modifier for all
Computer rolls.
Machinery & Robotic Controls. This sub-system controls any machines, conveyors,
cranes, robots and elevators.

Weapon Systems. Controls any weapons, targeting apps and associated bay doors.

Core. The core contains the processors and components needed for the AI’s actual
intelligence. If the core is damaged or shut down, the computer will stop working.

Personality Subroutine. In most AIs, the personality is embedded in the core. But
some models house them in a separate sub-system. This way, a malign personality
can be shut down without compromising the computer. Sample Computers
Standard Security. INT Rating 5. Security
SysInfo. The SysInfo subsystem includes a complete list of all the various parts of the
Level 5/30%. Modules: Sensor (Sight, Hear-
entire system. It may also include blueprints and can be used to get the unique ID on
ing) 4, Skill Switch (Perception 50%).
a piece of tech.
High Security. INT Rating 15. Security Level
Customer Data. For businesses, information on customers is stored here. The amount 15/75%. Modules: Sensor (Sight, Hearing) 4,
of detail will vary, from an anonymous payment code to full-blown identities and pref- Weapon (Damage 2d6) 2, Targeting (+20%)
erences. 2, ID Scanner 1, Skill Switches (Perception
75%, Insight 50%, Blaster 50%) 1.
Financial Data. Stores any economic information about a company or person.
Life Support. INT Rating 10. Security Rating
Research Data. Universities, R&D departments and research facilities often put their
10/50%. Modules: Filter 1 per person, Sen-
research data on separate systems. sor (Smell) 1, SysRepair 1.
Positional Data. Contains not only the movements of ships or vehicles, but some- Military Cybernetic Research. INT Rat-
times even individuals and robots. ing 15. Security Level 15/70%. Modules: ID
Scanner 1, Compartment (Vault) 10, Skill
Personal Logs. This can be anything from a captain’s log to a personal diary.
Switches (Language 75%, Knowledge (Psy-
Vault. A digital vault holding extra secure file storage. chology) 50%, Research 30%).

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Hacking
Most high-tech systems are possible to hack into. While regular computers might
be the most common targets, any robots, vehicles, starships, cybernetic implants or
doors are viable as well. Some settings will allow everything to be hacked, while oth-
ers will be more restrictive. The GM has the final say on how far-reaching the Comput-
ers skill should be.

Opposed Rolls
For less important system hacks, use Opposed Rolls. Pitch the character’s Computers
skill against the difficulty percentage of the Security Level. Highest successful roll
wins.

If the character wins, they have breached security. In many cases, the PC will get
access to the systems or files they were looking for. For complex setups, important
sub-systems or if the PCs don’t know exactly what they are looking for, a regular Com-
puters or Research roll might be needed.

If the system wins, security holds. The character can either accept the defeat or ask
the GM to enter an Extended Conflict.

If a hacker do not want the intrusion to be noticed, their Computer skill roll is at -20%,
-40% or -60%, depending on how stealthy they want to be (or use a Cloak for the
same effect without the penalty, see page 84).

Extended Conflict: Hacking

Skill: Computers vs. Difficulty

Pool: The average of INT and POW vs. Security Level.

Round length: 1 Round.

Reduce Security Level by 1d6 for every successful roll. Failure reduces the attacker’s
Pool by 1d6. A fumble reveals the hacker’s identity and location. Or, if the opponent
wants, it doubles damage instead. A critical always delivers double damage.

If the system being hacked is reduced to zero, the hacker has breached security. De-
pending on the situation, they might need further skill rolls (Computers or Research)
to find what they are looking for. If the hacker’s Conflict Pool is reduced to zero first,

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Revealing a Hacked System
security holds and the hacker is out of options. No new attacks by the same hacker
are possible in 1d6 days. To find out if a system is compromised,
make a Computers roll. If the intrusion was
Defending a System performed stealthily, apply the same Diffi-
culty Level to the skill roll that the intruder
If a hacker wants to protect a system during an ongoing attack, use the following rules:
used.
»» Add one fifth of the defender’s INT+POW/2 to the Security Level.
»» Add one fifth of the defender’s Computer skill to the system’s Difficulty. Hacking Starships & Vehicles
Hacking a vehicle is similar to hacking
Taking a system completely offline is sometimes possible - and will stop any ongoing
other tech. To hack into a starship during
attacks - but the interconnectedness of most systems is often so extensive that it is
flight, a tracking device must first be at-
impossible, or the side-effects might be too severe.   tached. It can be slipped onto a ship before-
hand or fired as a torpedo (doing zero dam-
Hacking Cybernetic Implants
age). Once tracking has been established, a
Mods, like most advanced tech, are vulnerable to hacking. The regular rules for hack- hacker can try to access the ship’s systems
ing are used, but mods in general have high security levels. as for a normal computer.

The default Security Level is 15/70%. This includes all PC mods, unless the player and
GM agree on something else. Classified mods might have a higher default Security
Level, for example. To increase the Security Level of a new mod, the cost will increase
by 50%. Mods installed by sloppy biohackers will sometimes be more vulnerable. Se-
curity Levels of 5/30% or 10/50% are not unheard of, especially for low-level thugs. A
skilled hacker will naturally take advantage of this.

When security is breached, a regular Computers or Science (Cybernetics) roll is need-


ed to affect one mod. Examples of Hacking operations include shutting down a mod,
trigger a weapon that is retracted or open a compartment to allow attacks to bypass
armour.

Hacking Robots
For regular robots and androids, Hacking affects Modules just as for cybernetic im-
plants.

To remove an unwanted mod, like Linkage or Objective, the hacker must first bypass
security. With an additional Computers roll, the Module can be safely extracted. A
robot cannot perform this operation on itself.

For simple robots, the level of control goes deeper. If security can be bypassed, a
hacker will be able to shut down or hijack the machine. How difficult these actions

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are depends on the situation. A cleaning robot without an important part to play in a
scenario might only require a successful Computers roll to hijack. A well-armed secu-
rity bot guarding a crime lord, on the other hand, would probably require an Extended
Conflict to shut down.

Hacker Gear
Scrambler. Scrambles the attacker’s identity and location. With this box activated,
fumbles only deal double damage. 5000 Cr. Classified.
Entanglement. With Entanglement enabled, any damage received in an Extended
Conflict is soaked up by contingency systems. -1 damage per 5000 Cr. Rare.
SwarmBots. SwarmBots increase the strength of a hacker by recruiting more sys-
tems. They can be used in offensive or defensive mode, but only one mode at a time.
Skill roll at +/-1% per 1000 Cr. Classified.
Impersonator. An Impersonator lures the attacker deeper into a system to reveal
their identity. In the round when an Impersonator is activated, make an opposed roll
as normal. If the defender wins, the attacker’s true identity and location is revealed. If
the attacker wins, they break free from the trap and the conflict continues as before.
An Impersonator can only be employed once in an Extended Conflict. Cost: 5000 Cr.
Rare.
Cloak. With a Cloak activated during an intrusion, the attacker works in stealth mode.
Any tracks left by the intruder are harder to find. When looking for signs of infiltration,
apply -20% to any Computers roll. Cost: 5000 Cr per -20%. Classified.

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COMBAT
Most of the combat rules in M-SPACE work as normal for robots and cybernetic charac-
ters. Read below for updated rules on Special Effects and Combat Actions.

Special Effects

Slash Mod. With this new Special Effect, on a critical, the attacker can specifically
target a single mod, regardless of its location, as long as they know where it is placed.
If the damage roll is equal to or higher than the location’s Hit Points, the mod is non-
functional until repaired. The Hit Location only takes 1 Hit Point damage. Can be used
both by melee and ranged weapons. Updated Special Effects:

Bash. Hardware robots can use Bash unarmed. The opponent is knocked back 1 metre
for every 2 points of damage done.

Bleed. Robots and prosthetics do not suffer from Bleed.

Bypass Armour. Internal armour cannot be bypassed.

Drop Foe. A character with the Surge mod activated will only be incapacitated for 1
Round.

Damage Weapon. Anyone with arms (or, rarely, legs) reinforced with Armour and
Structural Integrity can use Damage Weapon when unarmed.

Sunder. Does not affect internal armour.

Unarmed Parry. With arms upgraded with Armour and Structural Integrity, a character
can parry without a weapon or shield. Reach: S.

The mods Structural Integrity, Enhance and Armour cannot be damaged with Special
Effects. The Modules Linkage and Robotic Laws (and sometimes Objective) will often
be placed deep within a robot’s body and will not easily be damaged. If you want, use
the rules for Core Mods to simulate this.

Combat Actions
Activating a mod, like retracting a weapon or opening a compartment, is a free action.

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SCENARIO:
ESCAPE ON MOSEK UHN

H
Key Points eld captive by the slaver/pirate syndicate Emergant Corp (EC), the PCs are forced
»» Investigating the Facility. The laborers for mining operations on Mosek Uhn. When the mine shaft they’re work-
PCs encounter the strange life ing in exposes an underground complex with alien lifeforms, the PCs are considered
forms inhabiting the Facility.
expendable and sent in to determine the threat level.
»» The PCs discover the truth and
Things aren’t really what they seem, however. Will this be their opportunity to Escape
realize Emergant Corp cannot
on Mosek Uhn?
let them live.

»» The PCs escape the Facility This is a short adventure meant to provide an origin story for how the PCs were first
and make their way to the vil- brought together. Some PCs may have been enslaved by the EC for years, whereas oth-
lage of Tanra. ers may have only just been captured in a recent raid. If your group has been playing
»» The PCs must convince the vil- together for some time, then explain to the players that their PCs were captured in a
lagers of Tanra to help them raid by pirates. This may seem forced, but it is important that the PCs are captives of
escape. the EC when the adventure begins. After all, the point of this adventure is that the PCs
»» The PCs are chased to the escape their enslavement while discovering a secret that could bring down the EC or
Mosek Uhn starport. at least provide a recurrent enemy for the PCs to deal with in the future.

86 ESCAPE ON MOSEK UHN

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NPCs
Captain Brown
The leader of the EC slave ship Raven. He is tasked with overseeing the reclamation
of Project Leverage. His orders are clear: retrieve the weaponized life forms. Make
certain none of them escape the Facility. Let no one escape with knowledge of Project
Leverage.

Plik
A slave his entire life, Plik knows to do as he’s told. He’s seen first hand the casual
cruelty and indifference to life the pirates have for their slaves.

Darlak Bin
Headmaster of the village of Tanra. He has always suspected EC pirates were involved
with the nearby Facility and quickly realizes his little village is in way over its head.

Damien Rose
Also known as Test Subject 539. He is the reason for the disaster that befell the Fa-
cility. He controls the Xenogens and their Hybrids with his cybernetic implants. He’s
been trapped here for over a month and isn’t entirely sane. He do everything in his
power to unleash the horrors in the Facility upon the members of Emergant Corp.

Dr. Sindal Djawadi


The doctor is a native of Mosek Uhn, from the nearby village of Tanra. He had done
some cybernetic work for the EC and knows a little bit about the layout, though not
what lies past the cybernetics lab. He has no idea what was really been going on in-
side the facility or he’d never have been involved. Nor did he know who his employers
really were. Now EC is forcing him to go back and investigate the facility. They told him
if he swears to secrecy they’ll let him live, but he doesn’t believe them for an instant.

Background
Emergant Corp is a pirate syndicate run out of Ghoster’s Rock. They specialize in raid-
ing for slaves. They use their ill gotten gains to buy off politicians and government Captain Brown

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Areas to be Covered
officials. The EC’s reach spans this entire sector of space. They are a shadowy group
»» The Facility of criminals who manage to terrorize the local space lanes with impunity. Their greed

»» The jungles of Mosek Uhn knows no bounds and if the authorities they’ve bought off knew what the pirates true
aspirations were, no amount of money could stave off retribution.
»» The village of Tanra

»» Mosek Uhn Starport Project Leverage


Two decades ago, EC began building a secret research facility on the jungle world of
Mosek Uhn. The Facility, as it was called, was hidden deep under a mountain far from
civilized lands. For the past 10 years, the Facility has carried out illegal experimental
research to create a weaponized life form that the EC could unleash upon unsuspect-
ing planets and then gouge the planetary governments when selling them the tech-
nology necessary to fight the infestation.

Creating the weaponized life form proved less of a hurdle than expected. Their ge-
netics department quickly created a life form they dubbed the Xenogens. However,
developing the technology to control the Xenogens proved far more difficult. They
experimented with cybernetic implants that would give them a means of mind con-
trol. Their human test subjects failed to achieve even the smallest success, however,
because the Xenogens were too aggressive and violent for a human mind to control.

Then they had a breakthrough: they spliced DNA from their creation onto a human test
subject, altering his mental and emotional make up. For the experiment they chose
one of their mercenary soldiers, Damien Rose, a man who had displayed a natural
penchant for violence. The result was an unqualified success. In fact, they were too
successful. Damien, enraged at what they had done to him, turned the creatures on
their makers. Emergency protocols kicked in, shutting The Facility down, sealing their
scientists inside and burying the entrance in order to keep the creatures from escap-
ing into the wild.

When communications with the Facility went dark, the EC sent one of their most trust-
ed officers, Captain Ezekial Brown of the EC starship Raven, to conduct mining op-
erations. His orders: Capture as many the Xenogens as possible. Kill what he cannot
capture. Allow no one to find out that the EC is behind the appearance of this new life
form. To that end, Captain Brown informs the crew that they are merely engaged in
Plik a mining operation and when the facility is uncovered he pretends that it is an alien

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base and that the Xenogens are an alien life form. Anyone who figures out the truth
dies with the knowledge.

Captain Brown has abducted a doctor from the nearby village of Tanra whom he knows
worked on some minor cybernetic projects for the Facility. He sends the doctor in with
the PCs, who are deemed expendable, to report on what he finds inside. He sends
two guards to make sure no one tries to escape. He intends to kill anyone who comes
back alive. Meanwhile, he begins making plans to wipe out the village in case anyone
suspects the true nature of the Facility.

Events and Locations


Into the Facility
The PCs are gathered together at the mineshaft entrance. It is assumed that they do
not know each other. Have each player introduce their character. If the players are
using the pregenerated characters, the party also includes Dr. Djawadi, the slave Plik
and the guard Jeeter Ens. If the players are using their own characters, the party in-
cludes the other guard, Mogavi.

Each slave, including the doctor, finds themselves standing next to a cryochamber
that is floating about a foot off the ground, its anti-grav device humming softly. The
chambers are empty.

Captain Brown stands before them with a half dozen pirate bodyguards. He looks the
model military officer. He stands ramrod straight, his face stern as he addresses the
two guards, ignoring the PCs.

Inform the PCs that they’ve been captives long enough to know that asking questions
or speaking directly to the Captain get them tortured, or worse, vaporized.

“As you may know, we have made an unexpected discovery during our mining
operation. We’ve uncovered an alien structure of unknown purpose beneath this
mountain. We sent in our probes and they detected alien life forms. However,
we do not know the nature of these life forms so we are sending you in with the
good doctor to investigate and find out: are these intelligent life forms? Do they
pose a danger to our operations? What is the purpose of this facility?” Dr. Sindal Djawadi

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He motions to the floating cryochambers.

“Subdue the life forms if possible. But you have permission to kill them if neces-
sary. Either way, place them in these chambers and send them out to us one at
a time. Once we have collected them, we send the chamber back in. Collect as
many as you can.”

He looks carefully at the two guards.

“I want you men on your toes. Therefore, I am sending these slaves with you to
tend to the cryochambers so you don’t have to. Try to keep our property in one
piece won’t you? And make sure no harm comes to the good doctor. He is to en-
sure that there are no biological dangers we should be aware of so do not send
out anything that doesn’t have the docs stamp of approval, understood? We
have line the shaft with charges. Should these things prove dangerous and you
lose containment, well, you’ll be sealed inside. Emergant Corp not be responsi-
ble for unleashing an alien life form on an unsuspecting planet.”

Then he adds, almost as if an after thought,

“Oh, and if any of these slaves try to escape,” he stares intently at the PCs for
the first time, “Kill them.”

An Insight roll reveals that the doctor looks troubled. He knows more than the Captain
is letting on.

With that the party begins its descent into the mineshaft. Now is a good time to ex-
plain to the players that their characters have been implanted with a subdermal track-
ing device. Even if they wanted to escape, the slavers would simply follow the signal
and pick them back up again. However, anyone with Communications skill or Electron-
ics can rightly deduce that the trackers signal is too weak to reach the Raven from
deep inside the mountain. Explain that the device cannot be simply cut out. It requires
a Medicine roll to remove it.

The mineshaft is nearly level, descending almost imperceptibly for a mile to the facil-
ity’s closed blast doors. Doctor Djawadi knows the access code. Thus, it immediately

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becomes apparent to both guards – and the PCs – that they’ve been lied to. This is
no alien facility. The doctor ignores the guards’ comments, entering in the access
code and warning them to take up defensive positions. No Insight roll is necessary to
realize the doctor is terrified, his hands tremble so badly he can barely punch in the
numbers. If pressed, he admits he once worked inside the facility, that it is a research
station. He only did some minor cybernetic work and has no idea what purpose it was
going to be put to use for.

The blast doors at the bottom of the mine


leads to the facility.

The facility is divided into two sections, Low Level Security Clearance and High Level
Security Clearance. The doctor only had a low level clearance and has no idea what
went on in the high level section. An Influence roll gets him to admit he’s being co-
erced into helping and that he thinks the alleged “life forms” are probably some sort
of experiment gone wrong. “For all I know, they’re using us for guinea pigs to see if a
virus strikes us down the moment we walk in.”

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K

B M
G H
N
Mineshaft A L

Blast Security
doors door

D D
I J

C
D D

D D

F THE FACILITY
1 Square = 10 feet or 3 metres

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Low Level Security Clearance Section Map of The Facility
A. Security Station.
A. Security Station. Ten feet beyond the blast doors is the security gate. It is wide
open and the PCs can walk straight into the Security Station. The power generators are B. Guard Room and Armoury.
still running, but only the red emergency lights are working. There are two doors, one C. Common Area.
to the left leads to B, the Security office and armory. The one to the right is another
D. Scientist Quarters.
security gate, this one made of glass. It has been shattered and broken glass lays scat-
E. Dining Area.
tered on the Security Station floor next to a heavy blaster. Dried blood is everywhere,
as if a huge fight happened here. Nowhere, however, are there any bodies. Beyond the F. Kitchen.
shattered security gate in the hallway lay three light blasters and a force sword. The G. Offices.
guards make sure to keep all weaponry they find.
H. Cybernetics Lab.
At this point Jeeter orders the PCs to lead point. Obstinate PCs may hesitate to obey. I. Conference Room.
If they are too insubordinate, Plik, knowing the guards will kill the slaves without
J. Genetics Lab.
hesitation, steps forward and volunteers to go in front. If a PC insists they be given
a weapon, Jeeter sneers and says “Here’s your weapon!” then gives them the butt of K. Holding Cells.

his rifle to their head. If Mogave is an NPC, he keeps Jeeter from harming the Captains L. Observation Room.
property should things get too confrontational. M. Testing Room.

B. Guard Room and Armory. The door to this room is locked. If the lock cannot be N. Habitat Room.
picked, attempt a contest of Brawn. Any PC with a strength of at least 14 may make
an opposed Brawn roll vs the Doors Brawn of 80%. If a second PC attempts to help,
their successful Brawn roll increases the main PCs attempt by one level of success.
The door was designed to be difficult to knock down so no more than two PCs may
attempt at any one time. Beyond the door is a gruesome sight: A dead security guard
who blew his brains out with a Heavy Blaster. Other than the heavy blaster at his side,
the rest of the armory has already been emptied.

C. Common Area. The common area for the scientists stationed here. A few tables.
The knocked over chairs tell of a hasty departure by the inhabitants.

D. Scientists Quarters. Each section holds beds for up to four scientists and assort-
ed personal belongings. No logs or journals were allowed and there is nothing here to
indicate what happened to the researchers stationed here. No sign of the inhabitants,
which were obviously human.

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E. The Dining Area. It too shows signs of a hasty departure. Moldy food remains on
the tables. Chairs are hastily cast aside. But no bodies are to be found anywhere. How-
ever, a successful Perception roll indicates that one table has been kept clean. Jeeter
urges Plik towards the kitchen and sends him in ahead.

”Plik, scope it out and don’t get any ideas about that knife rack.” Plik nods and
opens the door to the kitchen on the far end of the dining room. As Plik goes in,
Jeeter holds the door open, covering him. “Check that freezer room.” Jeeter or-
ders and Plik obediently enters the freezer room. Suddenly, two pincers jut down
from the ceiling, impaling Jeeter in the chest. His blaster fires spasmodically as
he is lifted off the ground, blood spouting from his mouth. And then, as he goes
limp, a tentacle thrusts down into Jeeters throat, depositing something into his
body. Plik starts screaming in terror.

The Xenogen attacks anyone who attacks it next. Otherwise, it attacks Plik, who im-
mediately slams the freezer door shut. This only slows it one round as it uses one of
its tentacles to open the freezer door and enter.

5 rounds after dying, Jeeter will rise again as a Hybrid.

F. The Kitchen. The kitchen has seen recent use and clean dishes are stacked near
the sink. The ovens are clean and so are the floors. There is a large freezer room at the
opposite end of the kitchen. There are many knives stored in knife holders.

G. Offices. These rooms contain all the computer files associated with Project Lever-
age, though actual technical plans have been erased by Damien himself so that no
one else can use them to replicate what the scientists did to him. There are detailed
biological information about the Xenogens and the Hybrids. There is enough here to
prove the purpose of this research station was the creation of a weaponized life form
that could be controlled by Emergant Corp for the purpose of planetary blackmail. If
these files can reach the public, even Emergant Corps extensive network of bribed of-
ficials could not save them.

A Xenogen-Human hybrid is a viscious crea- H. Cybernetics Lab. Damien has destroyed all the laser printers and other hardware
ture. The human host is quickly morphed used to create his cybernetic implants. All the software has been deleted. There is
into a monster driven by hate. enough medical equipment remaining for a doctor to remove the PCs tracking devices.

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High Level Security Clearance Section
This section of the Facility is separated from the other by a thick metal security door.
The doctor has been given the security clearance to access this area, however. Upon
reaching the end of the hall, they find the clearance code has been erased and the
door is unlocked.

I. Conference Room. Much of this room has been destroyed. However, there are still
video files on one computer that show an observation room where experiments on the
other side of a glass wall were recorded. Hundreds of experiments with human test
subjects attempting to exert mental control over the Xenogens and failing. The last
file, Test Subject 539, has been deleted.

J. Genetics Lab. A security door restricts access to this room. Damien hasn’t found
the code to this room and the one given to the doctor is still valid. Inside is the labora-
Damien Rose
tory where the Xenogens were designed and created.

When the creatures escaped containment, the scientists here evacuated immediately,
leaving their work where it lay. A dissected hybrid lies rotting on one table. The smell
of rotting flesh causes everyone to make Endurance checks or they gag and can’t
enter the room. Those that do enter the room and gaze upon the rotting corpse must
make another Endurance check or vomit. Jars filled with Xenogens in various stages of
development line the shelves.

At the far end of the room is another door that is securely sealed. Even the doctor has
no means to open it. A window looks into the room beyond, however, and the PCs can
clearly see prison bars and a gate. If the PCs have not encountered Damien yet, then
beyond the bars they see a half dozen of the Xenogens and over a dozen hybrids –
what became of the scientists of this research facility.

A Perception check notices that there is an open door on the far side of that room. No
sooner do the PCs look into the room, however, than one of the Xenogens slams into
the barred door trying to get at them, then all of them rush out of the room through
the door on the far side. Moments later, the PCs hear a human bellow in rage. Damien
is now aware that there are intruders.

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The Xenogens race to the Genetics Lab. Hopefully, the PCs have locked the door before
they arrive. In any event, two rounds later, Damien arrives and calls off the monsters.
From a position of safety, he converses with the PCs. See Speaking to Damien below.

K. Holding Cells. Here is where the scientists kept their test subjects and it is where
Damien Rose has made his quarters. If the PCs find him there, he mentally commands
his creatures to come to his aid. See Speaking with Damien below.

L. Observation Room. This room is separated from the Testing Room by a blast proof
window. Here the scientists would observe their test subjects attempts at controlling
the Xenogens. It was in this room that the videos were shot that the PCs find in the
Conference Room.

M. Testing Room. In this room the human test subjects were brought together with
the Xenogens to attempt mental control over them. Until Test Subject 539, this gener-
ally ended badly for the test subject.

N. Habitat Room. This room is where the Xenogens were kept. Now 6 of them live
here with over a half dozen hybrids. Waiting to obey Damiens command.

Speaking to Damien
Damien has been with EC long enough to know how they operate and he is expecting
them to send in a small exploratory force initially. However, he did not know that the
tunnel beyond the blast doors had been collapsed and as the weeks went by he came
to believe EC wasn’t coming. So the appearance of the PC’s group a month later takes
him by surprise.

Damien was always a violent, aggressive person. That’s why EC chose him for this ex-
periment. Now that he has spliced DNA from the hyper aggressive Xenogens, however,
his mind has become more cunning, his rage has become more focused.

Paradoxically, his rage is so intense that he has become clear minded in his mur-
derous intent. He can, however, lose control in an instant and viciously attack. How
Damien reacts to the PCs depends upon the circumstances of their initial encounter. If
he’s alone he acts ecstatic that a rescue team has finally arrived. He has an elaborate

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Mosek Uhn
story of how he survived in his cell the whole time, sneaking out when he dared to get
Planet: Large. Gravity 1.1. Two small food in the kitchen. What he is really doing, however, is stalling while he telepathically
moons. 1st planet from the star.
commands the Xenogens to come and give him the advantage. At that point, he de-
Star System: Yellow star (Mosek), 5 planets, mands they hand over their weapons or his creatures overwhelm them. He points out
one gas giant. that if they kill him, no one will be able to control the Xenogens. If he’s aware of the
Tech Level: 3-6 (varies by village - 11 at PC’s presence, he mentally commands the Xenogens to cut off the PCs escape route
starport). before demanding their surrender.
Atmosphere: Earth-like. Whether they surrender or not, he tries to reason with them rather than outright kill
Starport: One large starport with emergen- them. He points out that EC cannot let them leave with the knowledge of what hap-
cy facilities. pened here. He tries to recruit them to his side. If the PCs don’t side with him, they
Population Density: Low. Villages scattered have no option but to try to survive the creature’s onslaught. Let the PCs try to come
throughout the jungles with one high-den- up with a plan to escape and not be killed by Damien and his minions. Once Damien
sity city centered around the starport. sees they have cryo tanks, he comes up with a plan of his own. Put a hybrid and one
Foreign Policy: The City Council’s influence of the Xenogens in each cryo tank, but don’t turn it on. Then bring back Damien as
only extends to the city’s borders. Villages a prisoner. Once they are safely out of the mine shaft and the ship’s doors open to
are fiercely independent. The Council con- admit them, he sets the monsters upon the crew. The PCs are free to escape in the
cerns itself keeping order and making sure
confusion.
that export of the exotic plant species found
only here is uninterrupted. If the PCs agree to ally with Damien, he gives them back their weapons and allows

Special Features: Mosek Uhn is a jungle them to arm themselves from the weapons he took out of the armory and stashed in
planet. The many exotic species of plants one of the test subject cells. He has two Blaster Carbines and a Light Blaster. He keeps
found here that have various medicinal a Heavy Blaster for himself.
uses are the planet’s primary export. It’s
Whatever plan the PCs decide upon, at this point they are either allied with Damien or
strange beasts are also prized throughout
the galaxy. they’ve all probably died.

Back at the Raven, a half dozen armed and armored mercenary soldiers await them.
Captain Brown is observing everything from the safety of his bridge. He is pleased
that Damien has been captured and eagerly orders them onto the ship. With the hated
pirates so near, Damiens rage overcomes his patience and he releases his creatures.
The soldiers open fire, but are quickly overwhelmed and turned to Hybrids them-
selves. Describe the horror of the scene as the PCs race to the landing bay doors:

“You rush to the landing bay doors, Damien and his nightmarish companions
ahead of you. Suddenly, the ships turret pivots and one of you yells “Take cov-

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Tanra will offer a moment of relief after the
terror-filled Facility. But not for long.

er!” You barely dive out of the way as a blast of white light blinds you and the
shock wave of the blast knocks you off your feet. You don’t know how long you
lie there dazed, your ears ringing in eerie silence, but as you slowly rise to your
feet you see Damien and three of the Xenogens slip into the Raven as the door
closes behind them. The ship lifts off. Your hearing starts to return as you realize
you and your friends aren’t the only survivors.”

The PCs are left behind to fend off 4 Hybrids.

After they deal with the hybrids, they hear an explosion and looking up they see the
Raven, falling out of the sky, smoke trailing behind it. It crashes several miles away.
Doctor Djawadi informs the PCs that he knows the way to his village of Tanra and is
willing to lead everyone there.

The Jungle of Mosek Uhn


The PCs are not chased through the jungle on their way to Tanra. The crew of the
Raven have their hands full. That is not to say that the journey is uneventful. At some
point, the PCs stop to rest and catch their breath. Only the normal noises of a jungle
environment. Then silence. Have the PCs roll their Perception to see if they notice

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Map of Tanra
the sudden silence. Dr. Djawadi survived a Reptore attack years ago. He senses it is
1. Community House. another one approaching and tells the PCs. He is correct. A few seconds later, the Rep-
2. Headmaster’s Home. tore attacks. See page 206 of the M-Space rulebook for stats and data on Reptores.

3. Djawadi’s Home. The Reptore, ironically, goes after the doctor. If the doctor dies, the PCs likely become
lost in the jungle. Unarmed PCs can grab up improvised clubs and large stones off the
4. Storage.
jungle floor.

If the doctor dies, then finding their way to Tanra becomes an extended contest. Find-
ing a village with only a general idea of its direction in a dense jungle is a daunting
proposition. Give it a Conflict Pool of 20. Allow each PC to roll either his INT + POW or
his Navigation skill every 3 hours. Success reduces the CP by 1d6.

After three hours, Captain Brown and his remaining crew set out after them. Damien
and the Xenogens have been defeated, but at great cost. The soldiers became hybrids
and stormed the ship. The slaves rebelled but they too were destroyed by the Xeno-
gens. The crew lost control of everything except the bridge. In the end, the engine
room exploded when an engineer purposefully caused a runaway reaction rather than
be turned into a hybrid. This killed everyone but Brown and his last dozen men holed
up in the bridge. Amazingly, Captain Brown was able to crash land the Raven, but it is
beyond repair. Brown wants revenge and he also has to make sure nobody lives to tell
the tale of what was really going on at the Facility. He and his men arrive in Tanra in 6
hours. See Tanra below for what happens should they reach the village before the PCs.

This area is Reptore territory and there is a 10% chance per 3 hours in the jungle that
the PCs encounter another one. If the Doctor survives the attack, then he can take
them directly to Tanra in 3 hours. There are no further jungle encounters.

Tanra
If the PCs reach Tanra before Brown does, they can try to get passage to the Mosek
Uhn starport. However, that is two days journey and the PCs don’t know that the Raven
is damaged beyond repair. If the doctor is with them, their wild tale is believed.

Fearing EC raiders, the village is torn between handing them over to the EC and help-
ing them to escape. Treat this as an extended contest. The Conflict Pool is the villagers
fear of EC at 12 vs the PC with the highest POW + CHA. Each side rolls opposed Influ-
The headmaster of Tanra. ence. The villagers in favor of handing them over to EC have an Influence of 40%. Each

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2.

3.
Bridge

1.

4.
Stre
am

TANRA
1 Square = 10 feet or 3 metres

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The Truck
success does 1d6 to the opposing argument. Pointing out that EC can’t risk letting the
SPEED 7 (80 km/h) villagers live automatically halves the villagers Conflict Pool.
HANDLING 7
SIZE 10 If the doctor died, however, the villagers mistrust outsiders and don’t buy their wild
story unless shown evidence. If shown evidence, then the Conflict Pool is 18 to con-
Hit Points 10
vince them not to hand the PCs over to the EC. Pointing out the danger the village
Standard truck engine: TR70
faces in this case could backfire upon the PCs. Instead of halving the villagers Conflict
Passenger and driver capacity: 8
Pool, the villagers may well decide it’s better to kill the PCs and hide their bodies. Let
When half its hit points are lost, roll for
the PC who pointed out that the villagers are also in danger make an Influence roll.
Damage and malfunction on page 183 of the
M-SPACE rulebook. Success halves the villagers pool. Failure means that should they lose the extended
contest, instead of handing them over to EC, the villagers attempt to kill them all and
hide the bodies. Describe the villagers mounting fear. Insight rolls alert the PCs to
their danger.

If the PCs enlist the villagers aid, the headmaster takes them to their community
house where they have communications equipment. He offers to send word ahead to
the starport, which is also the capital of Mosek Uhn, to let them know what has hap-
pened and to request assistance.

If the PCs agree to message ahead, Captain Browns men jam village communications.
Brown, now aware that the PCs have reached Tanra and the secret is in danger of go-
ing viral, moves to wipe out the village and take the fastest vehicles he can find to
chase down the PCs. See The Chase , below.

If the PCs do not agree to message ahead, Captain Brown arrives in Tanra few hours
Brown’s ATV later, is slowed even further interrogating the villagers before wiping them out and
SPEED 10 (160 km/h) then takes the fastest vehicle he can find to chase down the PCs as above.
HANDLING 10
SIZE 10
In any event, the headmaster gives them a truck large enough to hold all of them.

Hit Points 10 If Brown and his men reach Tanra before the PCs do, they massacre the village. Find-
ing no sign of the PCs, Brown leaves half his men behind in case the PCs arrive and
Excellent ATV engine TR100.
Passenger and driver capacity: 6 half take fast vehicles down the only road out of Tanra. Use Jeeter Ens’ stats for the
soldiers.
When half its hit points are lost, roll for
Damage and malfunction on page 183 of the When the PCs arrive make Perception rolls to notice that the village seems aban-
M-SPACE rulebook. doned. Hard success spots EC soldiers in defensive position. If the PCs manage to

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Note: if Brown set off down the road ahead
steal a vehicle, the soldiers radio Captain Brown who returns immediately, meeting
of the PCs he automatically comes upon
them on the road. See The Chase , below.
them from the direction they are headed as

The Chase he returns to Tanra. If that happens there


is a chase.
The PCs should find themselves on a dirt road with two days journey ahead of them
In a chase, refer to M-Space, page 48. There
to Mosek Uhn. If they left Tarna before Brown arrived, they have about a three hour
is an additional rule to this chase – subtract
head start. If Brown already set off down the road in search of them he could be hours
the slower vehicles speed each round from
or even days ahead of them, depending on how long it took the PCs to find their way the faster vehicles. This amount is applied
to Tanra. as additional damage to the slower vehicles
damage pool. Brown has a pool of 10. The
Either way, the PCs face three encounters along the way, each one delaying the PCs if
PCs pool is nominally 7, but may be lower
they are being chased, allowing Brown to catch up to them, or each one an obstacle
from previous damage.
they meet before Brown returns and cuts them off.

The hairpin turn. With the jungle limiting their view of the road ahead, this hairpin
turn suddenly looms up unexpectedly. The driver must make their Drive skill or veer off
the road, sideswiping a tree. A random PC takes 2d4 damage to a random hit location.
The truck takes 1d4 hit points damage.

Potholes. This road is never repaired. The ride is bumpy and the PCs are in a hurry.
But some potholes are worse than others. The Driver must roll Drive or hit a bad one.
The truck takes 1d4 damage. If this reduces the trucks hit points to half or less, roll on
the Malfunction table, but replace uncontrolled spin with suspension damage, speed
halved.

Large animal crossing. This creature is the size of a rhino. The driver must roll his
Drive to swerve and avoid it. Otherwise, the truck takes 2d6 damage and automatical-
ly rolls on the Malfunction table. Each PC takes 2d4 damage to a random hit location.

The truck carries tools and some spare parts. If it breaks down, a Mechanics roll can
repair 1d6 damage. This requires one hour per point of damage repaired. Only one
Mechanics roll can be attempted the entire journey.

If the truck makes it through all three obstacles without breaking down long enough
for Brown to catch them and it does not lose any speed, then the PCs reach the star-
port ahead of him. If the truck loses any speed or breaks down, then Brown catches
up to them.

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Bosnik Solari’s Spy Drone Catching Up
SIZ 6 When Brown catches up to the PCs, he has five men with him. Use Jeeter Ens stats
INT 10
for them. This could turn into a firefight, but there are alternatives to conflict. The
Hit Points 4 encounter starts with a Perception check. Success warns the PCs that Brown is coming
Armour Points 4 soon enough for them to try to pull over and hide their truck in the jungle. A Conceal
Security Level 5/30%
check successfully hides the truck in the dense jungle and covers their tracks leading
Modules: Float 1, Comms 1, Skill Switch off the road. Brown passes them by unnoticed. If this happens, the chase is over and
(Perception 70%,) 1. ID Scanner 1, Im-
the rest of the PCs journey to Mosek Uhn starport is uneventful. If they fail to conceal
proved Sight: Zoom 1, Improved Hearing:
their truck, however, Brown finds them.
Long range (50 metres) 1,
The PCs might decide to set up an ambush. If so, make an opposed Stealth Check vs
Objective: Local monitoring, identify sub-
jects. Brown’s Perception skill. If anyone makes a Strategy and Tactics roll, add 20% to the
Stealth skill of the person planning the ambush.

If Brown finds them or they don’t see him coming until it is too late, they can still avoid
a conflict. They can point out to the pirate captain that Emergant Corp would pay good
money to keep Project Leverage a secret. If they can convince Brown to side with them
and blackmail Emergant Corp they can avoid a shootout. Brown’s anger at losing his
beloved starship doesn’t blind him to the reality he needs a new ship or his days as a
captain are over. His love of power outweighs his loyalty to Emergant Corp and so he
hears out their offer.

Consider this an extended conflict. Brown must roll his loyalty to Emergant Corp vs the
PC with the highest Influence or Deceit. The contest pool is POW + INT for each. Carry
out the contest as an ongoing conversation.

Brown starts off with “Alright. I’m listening.” The PC makes his pitch. Roll. If Brown
wins, he makes an observation such as “I’d be a fool to cross Emergant Corp. I value
my skin over any riches.” Should the PC win that roll, he might remark, “It’s daring, I’ll
give you that, but Emergant Corp put a price on our heads if we get away with it.” Then
keep going from there.

If the PCs win the contest and his greed outweighs his loyalty, he simply asks them
“I like your idea, but what’s to stop me from just killing you and taking the data for
myself?” If the PCs can prove to him that they are able to destroy the data before he
can forcibly take it from them, he proposes the following terms: The PCs freedom in

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exchange for the incriminating evidence. How this exchange can be carried out is up
to the PCs and the GM.

Brown attempts to betray them if possible. He blames them for the destruction of the
Raven. If the PCs don’t agree to those terms, they may come up with terms of their
own. Perhaps a partnership. Brown won’t trust them, but if they’re lying just to escape,
he may believe their offer with successful Deceit rolls. He expects them to betray him
just as he intends to betray them. Depending on the roleplay, additional extended
contests may ensue.

If the PCs can’t talk their way out of a conflict, both sides open fire from the cover of
their respective vehicles. Only those shooting each round can be hit, all others take
cover. Hits to anywhere besides the head and arms are considered to have struck the
vehicle instead.

The sudden eruption of blaster fire startles a nearby Reptore out of its slumber. The
beast strikes from its hiding place with complete surprise, ripping first one of Browns
men apart, then another. The pirates turn their attention upon the beast, giving the
PCs clear shots at them. The Reptore kills a pirate a round. If, at the end of any
round there are three or less pirates, one of them kills the Reptore. They
then surrender to the PCs if they are outnumbered and outgunned.

Mosek Uhn Starport


Whether the PCs find themselves in league with pirates or they survived a shoot out,
two days later the PCs arrive at Mosek Uhn starport. With the destruction of the Raven,
Emergant Corp has no idea what has transpired but expects the worst. Facial recogni-
tion drones surreptitiously scout out the area, looking for known crew members or
slaves. This includes Captain Brown, any of his men, Plik, Mogavi and if using the
pregenerated characters, Mae, Anna and Mac. If any of these characters are with the
party, then EC is alerted to their presence.

However, EC currently only has one agent at the Mosek Uhn starport, Bosnik Solari. If
Brown is with the party, Bosnik immediately surmises that his old enemy is up to no
good and has possibly betrayed Emergant Corp. He does not report his find. Instead,
he plots to find out what they are up to and if possible, kill Brown. To this end, he

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sends a stealth drone to listen into their conversations. Only a Formidable Perception
check detects the low hum of the drone hovering 50 meters away. It is invisible to the
naked eye, but Browns cybernetic eye makes out a slight heat signature.

Bosnik never makes a direct confrontation. Thus, no stats are provided for him. In-
stead, he pays corrupt government officials to do his dirty work. They are sent to
intercept the group and do a spot search. If they find the incriminating evidence, they
arrest everyone and seize the data. Later, they hand the data over to Bosnik who in
turn blackmails EC. Brown dies in his cell. The PCs are sent free. Bosnik needs the EC
to realize that the information has gotten out and attempts to frame the PCs as the
blackmailers. But that is a tale for another adventure.

If the PCs are on their own, then Bosnik is less interested. He reports to Emergant
Corp that he observed escaped slaves seeking transport off world. He has his facial
recognition drones follow the PCs wherever they go and reports which starship they
left on. Again, this is an opportunity for further adventures.

As for the PCs, they find themselves in a large starport with no money, no food but
what they managed to bring with them and no means to pay to get off world. They do,
however, have data that incriminates Emergant Corp of crimes most foul. They might
upload the data to social media, reach out to a news organization, or simply keep the
info to themselves as insurance should they ever run into the pirate syndicate again.
Or perhaps they actually do intend to blackmail cold blooded killers. In any event, they
need money and a ship out of there. This is the perfect opportunity to introduce them
to whatever adventure the GM has planned next.

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NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS
Xenogens
STR 3d6+6 (17) Strangeness 65% 1d20 Location AP/HP
Move 6m 1–3 Tentacle One 4/7
CON 3d6 (10-11)
Action Pt 2 4–6 Tentacle Two 4/7
SIZ 3d6+10 (20-21)
Initiative +12 7–11 Body 4/9
DEX 2d6+9 (16)
HP 16 12 Braincase 4/8
INT 1d6 (3-4) Armor 4 (Skin) 13–15 Tentacle Three 4/7
POW 3d6 (10-11) PP 11 16–18 Tentacle Four 4/7

CHA 1d4 (2-3) Dmg Mod +1d6 19–20 Tentacle Five 4/7

Behaviour: Hyper Aggressive Skills: Endurance 30%

Abilities: Implant seed, rapid birth Combat Style: Tentacle 50%, 3 tentacle at-
tacks per round
Anyone slain by the Xenogens are imme-
diately implanted with a seed. This takes 1 Weapons: Tentacle, 1d4+1+1d6. Reach: L
rd. The dead host rises again as a Hybrid 5
rds after being implanted.

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The Hybrids

STR *+2 – Strangeness 65% 1d20 Location AP/HP


Move 6m 1–3 Right Leg 0/6
CON * –
Action Pt 2 4–6 Left Leg 0/6
SIZ *+2 –
Initiative * +2 7–9 Abdomen 0/7
DEX *+4 –
HP 16 10-12 Chest 0/8
INT 1d6 (3-4) Armor * 13–15 Right Tentacle 0/5
POW 3d6 (10-11) PP 11 16–18 Left Tentacle 0/5

CHA 1d4 (2-3) Dmg Mod +1d2 19–20 Head Tentacle 0/5

* this value is equal to the stat of its


host victim. Behaviour: Hyper Aggressive Skills: –

A Xenogen implants a dead carcass with its Combat Style: Tentacle 25%, 3 tentacle at-
seed, which consumes the internal organs tacks per round
and sprouts tentacles. Five rounds after
Weapons: Tentacle, 1d4+1+1d2. Reach: L
being implanted, the Hybrid rises and at-
tacks.

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Captain Brown

STR 14 Move 6m 1d20 Location AP/HP


Action Pt 2 1–3 Right Leg 8/7
CON 18
Initiative +16 4–6 Left Leg 8/7
SIZ 16
HP 17 7–9 Abdomen 8/8
DEX 15
Armor 8 (Light Combat) 10-12 Chest 8/9
INT 16 PP 17 13–15 Right Arm 8/6
POW 17 Dmg Mod +1d2 16–18 Left Arm 8/6

CHA 17 Healing Rate 3 19–20 Head 8/7

Description: Tall, imposing and stern, the durance 66%, Evade 65%, First Aid 31%,
Captain of the Raven projects the aura of Forgery 56%, Influence 74%, Insight 73%,
a disciplined military officer, not a thieving Mechanics 31%, Perception 43%, Pilot
pirate. He’s been a space pirate his entire (Starship) 56%, Sensors 43%Stealth 36%,
life. Along the way he’s acquired a couple Streetwise 44%, Survival (Space) 60%,
enemies, including one who took his eye, Willpower 59%.
Bosnik Solari. His cybernetic replacement
Combat Style: Pirate 69% Unarmed 29%,
more than compensates for his loss, how-
Gunnery 59%.
ever.
Weapons: Force Sword, 2d8. Reach: L.
Emergant Corp sent Captain Brown be-
Heavy Blaster, 1d10. 7/25/50. Load 3.
cause he is trusted, loyal and one of their
best. He knows that despite all that, if he Passions: Loves (the Raven) 74%, Loyalty
fails this mission his life is forfeit. (Emergent Corp) 64%, Hates (Bosnik So-
lari) 54%.
He has one true love – his starship.
Luck Points: 3
Skills: Athletics 29%, Astrogation 42%,
Brawn 30%, Conceal 42% Deceit 43%, En-

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Dr. Sindal Djawadi

STR 11 Move 6m 1d20 Location AP/HP


Action Pt 2 1–3 Right Leg 0/6
CON 15
Initiative +16 4–6 Left Leg 0/6
SIZ 15
HP 15 7–9 Abdomen 0/7
DEX 16
Armor – 10-12 Chest 0/8
INT 16 PP 14 13–15 Right Arm 0/5
POW 14 Dmg Mod +1d2 16–18 Left Arm 0/5

CHA 14 Healing Rate 3 19–20 Head 0/6

Description: Dr. Djawadi has lived his en- share his knowledge with the others unless
tire life on Mosek Uhn in the nearby vil- forced to.
lage of Tanra. He carries the grisly scar he Skills: Athletics 32%, Brawn 31%, Conceal
gained from an attack by a dreaded Rep- 30%, Deceit 30%, Endurance 45%, Evade
tore. He likes to show it to off worlders to 57%, First Aid 92%, Influence 33%, Insight
scare them. He also enjoys playing the 40%, Medicine 75%, Musicianship 40%,
piano. He, alone of the player characters, Navigation 40%, Perception 45%, Research
knows the true nature of the underground 30%, Science (Physiology 47%), Science
facility because he worked at what was (Astrobiology) 72%, Science (Biology) 32%,
known simply as The Facility for a short Science (Cybernetics) 47%, Stealth 32%,
time, implanting experimental cybernet- Survival Jungle 39%, Unarmed 27%, Will-
ics into the creatures created there. He power 58%.
thought he’d put that part of his life be-
Combat Style: Jungle Fighting 52%.
hind him but now Emergant Corp is forc-
ing him to return and report back on the Weapons: None, but possesses a tranquil-
situation. izer in his medkit that can incapacitate a
human. It has 10 doses. It works on hy-
Had he known for whom he was working
brids.
for all those years ago, he’d have never
Passions: Loves (His wife Maya) 68, Loyalty
taken the job. His guilt drives him to find
(To his village, Tanra) 50, Hates (Emergant
a way to destroy the creatures even if it
Corp) 60.
means his own death. He’d prefer that no
one else die for his mistakes. He does not Luck Points: 3

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Plik

STR 16 Move 6m 1d20 Location AP/HP


Action Pt 2 1–3 Right Leg 0/6
CON 16
Initiative +12 4–6 Left Leg 0/6
SIZ 12
HP 14 7–9 Abdomen 0/7
DEX 10
Armor – 10-12 Chest 0/8
INT 14 PP 14 13–15 Right Arm 0/5
POW 14 Dmg Mod +1d2 16–18 Left Arm 0/5

CHA 9 Healing Rate 3 19–20 Head 0/6

Description: Plik has been a slave his en- ing) 53%, Locale (Standard EC Slave Ship)
tire life. Several years ago, a group tried 38%, Perception 28%, Sleight 29%, Stealth
to break out their friends. Plik tried to es- 34%, Unarmed 56%, Willpower 73%.
cape with them, but was caught and sen-
Combat Style: Unarmed 56%.
tenced to three years of hard labor.
Weapons: –
He hates his captors.
Passions: Hates (The Slavers) 68%, Hates
Skills: Athletics 26%, Brawn 98%, Deceit
(Hard Labor) 58%, Hates (Captivity) 48%.
73% Endurance 77%, Evade 35%, Gam-
bling 38%, Insight 48%, Knowledge (Min- Luck Points: 3

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Jeeter Ens

STR 14 Move 6m 1d20 Location AP/HP


Action Pt 2 1–3 Right Leg 6/5
CON 11
Initiative +11 4–6 Left Leg 6/5
SIZ 13
HP 12 7–9 Abdomen 6/6
DEX 11
Armor 6 (Biomesh) 10-12 Chest 6/7
INT 11 PP 11 13–15 Right Arm 6/4
POW 11 Dmg Mod +1d2 16–18 Left Arm 6/4

CHA 11 Healing Rate 3 19–20 Head 6/5

Description: This guy is quite proud of his Combat Style: Mercenary 65%.
new red biomesh armor.
Weapons: Force Sword, 2d8. Reach: L.
Skills: Endurance 22%, Evade 22%, Will- Heavy Blaster, 1d10. 7/25/50. Load 3.
power 22%.

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Damien Rose

STR 11 Move 6m 1d20 Location AP/HP


Action Pt 2 1–3 Right Leg 6/5
CON 11
Initiative +14 4–6 Left Leg 6/5
SIZ 13
HP 12 7–9 Abdomen 6/6
DEX 13
Armor 6 (Biomesh) 10-12 Chest 6/7
INT 15 PP 18 13–15 Right Arm 6/4
POW 18 Dmg Mod – 16–18 Left Arm 6/4

CHA 11 Healing Rate 2 19–20 Head 6/5

Description: Damien was a mercenary He can be reasoned with so long as any Cybernetic Implant: Allows Damien to
who was sent to the Facility as a test sub- plan includes him killing as many EC control the Xenogens and Hybrids. He
ject. All they told him is he would be in members as possible. must concentrate to the exclusion of
command of a powerful weapon. He was all else to do so. After each round he
Skills: Athletics 34%, Brawn 34%, Comput-
the first successful test subject. must make an Endurance check or lose
ers 55%, Conceal 56% Deceit 66%, Elec-
He was able to use his cybernetic implants a level of fatigue.
tronics 38%, Endurance 47%, Evade 51%,
to control the Xenogens with his mental First Aid 38%, Gambling 40%, Influence
commands. However, this turned out to be 27%, Insight 43%, Mechanics 38%, Percep-
the research teams greatest triumph and tion 43%, Stealth 28%, Knowledge (Strat-
worst nightmare because the close men- egy and Tactics) 43%, Survival Space 39%,
tal contact with the Xenogens drove him Unarmed 49%, Willpower 61%.
partially mad.
Combat Style: Mercenary 49%.
During a test, he was able to turn the
Xenogens upon their creators. Before he Weapons: Heavy Blaster, 1d10. Range:
could escape, however, the computers 7/25/50. Load 3.
fail-safe blew up the only exit, sealing ev- Force Sword, 2d8. Reach: L
eryone inside. Damien took his revenge Passions: Hates (Emergant Corp) 93%.
upon the research team and has survived
off of the facility supplies ever since. He Luck Points: 3

has been waiting for Emergant Corp to re-


turn to recover their investment.

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Acknowledgements
Clarence would like to thank Alex Greene, Michael Larrimore and Doug Nordwall for
taking the time to read and comment on this book throughout its various stages. Their
insights have been invaluable.

I’m also in great debt to those who have contributed resources for some of the art-
work: Josh Crockett, Mike Pavlovich, Fletcher Kinnear, Slava Z, Keian Hzo, Berk Geedit,
Ipetty, petresco, Timothy Grippin, Oscar Velasco, Lumoize, Eryk Stanko and alexan-
dr007.

I would also like to thank Olle and Katarina for putting up with my long hours of writ-
ing. I couldn’t have done this book without their support.

Scott would also like to thank everyone involved in making this book a reality. I’d es-
pecially like to thank Clarence for letting me be a part of this experience and my two
wonderful children, KayAnna and Conner, who supported me the whole way.

114

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SCI-FI MYSTERY IN THE 1920s

‘ It’s been a long time since I read a roleplaying game in a single sitting.

I want that with Odd Soot. ’ Åsa Roos, Fenix RPG Magazine

‘ Oh, shit. Haven’t read it from a to z, but I think I’m in love. Looks really neat! ’

Nils Hintze, writer of Tales From The Loop

www.frostbytebooks.com/odd-soot

Matthew sutton (Order #41688683)


M – SPACE MOD
player

name str action points


species con damage modifier
home world exp modifier
siz
healing rate
culture
dex initiative
int luck points
career pow move rate
age cha wealth

standard % professional % professional %


athletics str+dex acting cha x2 lockpicking dex x2
boating str+con acrobatics str+dex mechanics dex+int
brawn str+siz art pow+cha medicine int+pow
conceal dex+pow astrogation int x2 musicianship dex+cha
customs int x2 bureaucracy int x2 navigation int+pow
dance dex+cha commerce pow+cha oratory pow+cha
deceit int+cha comms int x2 pilot dex+int
drive dex+pow computers int x2 starship
endurance con x2 courtesy int+cha
evade dex x2 craft dex+int politics int+cha
first aid dex+int culture int x2 research int+pow
influence cha x2 science int x2
insight int+pow demolitions int+pow astronomy
locale int x2 disguise int+cha astrobiology
native tongue int+cha electronics dex+int cybernetics
perception int+pow engineering int x2 robotics

frostbyte books
ride dex+pow forgery dex+int seamanship int+con
sing pow+cha gambling int+pow seduction int+cha
stealth dex+int knowledge int x2 sensors int+pow
swim str+con sleight dex+cha

|
willpower pow x2 streetwise pow+cha

ver 4.0 december 2019


language int+cha survival con+pow
teach int+cha
track int+con

Matthew sutton (Order #41688683)


M – SPACE MOD player

combat styles % hit points

gunnery dex+pow
unarmed str+dex serious wound

passions % power points

mods location modules equipment


frostbyte books

total modules
|
ver 4.0 december 2019

description

Matthew sutton (Order #41688683)


M – SPACE MOD player

name str action points


species con damage modifier
home world exp modifier
siz
healing rate
culture
dex initiative
int luck points
career pow move rate
age cha wealth

standard % professional % professional %


athletics str+dex acting cha x2 lockpicking dex x2
boating str+con acrobatics str+dex mechanics dex+int
brawn str+siz art pow+cha medicine int+pow
conceal dex+pow astrogation int x2 musicianship dex+cha
customs int x2 bureaucracy int x2 navigation int+pow
dance dex+cha commerce pow+cha oratory pow+cha
deceit int+cha comms int x2 pilot dex+int
drive dex+pow computers int x2 starship
endurance con x2 courtesy int+cha
evade dex x2 craft dex+int politics int+cha
first aid dex+int culture int x2 research int+pow
influence cha x2 science int x2
insight int+pow demolitions int+pow astronomy
locale int x2 disguise int+cha astrobiology
native tongue int+cha electronics dex+int cybernetics
perception int+pow engineering int x2 robotics

frostbyte books
ride dex+pow forgery dex+int seamanship int+con
sing pow+cha gambling int+pow seduction int+cha
stealth dex+int knowledge int x2 sensors int+pow
swim str+con sleight dex+cha

|
willpower pow x2 streetwise pow+cha

ver 4.0 december 2019


language int+cha survival con+pow
teach int+cha
track int+con

Matthew sutton (Order #41688683)


M – SPACE MOD player

combat styles % locations ap hp


01-03 right leg
04-06 left leg
07-09 abdomen
10-12 chest
13-15 right arm
gunnery dex+pow 16-18 left arm
unarmed str+dex 19-20 head

passions % fatigue power points

mods location modules equipment


frostbyte books

total modules
|
ver 4.0 december 2019

description

Matthew sutton (Order #41688683)


Matthew sutton (Order #41688683)
Matthew sutton (Order #41688683)
Matthew sutton (Order #41688683)

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