Shards of Tomorrow

Shards of tomorrow
Book 1: Core Rules

by Michael T. Desing
Based on work by Gygax, Arneson, Holmes, Moldvay, Mentzer, et al.
Published by Splintered Realms Publishing 2016

www.splinteredrealm.blogspot.com
1 Shards of Tomorrow Book I: Core Rules

Introduction
I am the luckiest guy in the world. Really.
Last year, I got to work on a fantasy RPG, Saga of the Splintered
Realm, which was rooted in the greatest RPG of all time, and a whole
bunch of Kickstarter backers pitched in to make it possible. Then, the
community of gamers supported me when I modified those rules to
build a superhero game that I’m incredibly proud of: a game which I
would put up against any superhero RPG in the world, Sentinels of Echo
City. Finally, that same community nudged me, repeatedly, in the
direction of space opera. I delayed for a while for several reasons, not
the least of which was that I couldn’t see a way to honor some of my
favorite elements of the source material without, well, just taking it
outright.
Then I had something of an awakening. I could come full-circle with
this game, projecting out several thousand years into the future of the
game I’ve already created, Saga of the Splintered Realm. If that game is
about the mythic past of a fantasy realm, this game is about the mythic
future of that same game setting.
I hope you enjoy playing in these worlds as much as I have.
Elevator Pitch
It was war. That’s all I can say. That’s the only way to make sense of it.
The Confederacy had turned the tide, driving the Orak back and
rooting out several of their strongholds on Confederate worlds. The war
was crawling towards its final stages, and final victory was a matter of
when, not if.
As I said, it was war. You can justify a lot in war.
In desperation, the Orak enacted their final strike. They caused their
own sun to super-nova, opening a nexus into the void.
That’s how the Undead crossed over. That’s how the Fiends
returned. That’s how the Messari came.
Their arrival was sudden and devastating. They had long brooded on
the other side, spending the centuries since the Purge planning their
revenge, crafting their own technologies, preparing to invade.
In a desperate gambit, the Orak had unleashed death itself.
Valhalla help us all.

Overview
Shards of Tomorrow, like the games, movies, and fiction that came
before and inspired it, is a mythical science fiction roleplaying game set
in a fictional milieu of heroes and science, monsters and myth. You
assume a heroic persona in a galaxy in chaos – a point of light in a vast
sea of darkness. You join with other like-minded characters (but
probably with different abilities), working together in a fellowship to
stem the tide of chaos, explore new lands, find lost relics, and defeat
strange creatures. This book contains the core rules needed for ongoing
play, including:
 Part 1: Key Concepts (page 8) explains general terms and game
mechanics.
 Part 2: Character Information (page 10) explains how to create and
develop a character.
 Part 3: Vehicles (page 36) explores the various types of vehicles
characters may interact with.
 Part 4: Castings (page 53) provides a listing of castings that
characters may wield, organized by relative power.
 Part 5: Encounters (page 60) deals with game play, including
combat.
 Part 6: Creatures (page 63) contains descriptions of a variety of
creatures the heroes are likely to encounter in their travels.
 Part 7: The Game Master (page 95) provides an overview of the
process of running the game, with suggestions for ongoing play.
 Part 8: Experience and Wealth (page 104) explores the different
types of wealth the heroes may gain and rewards they may earn
during their adventures.
 Appendices (starting on page 106) provide an overview of the
default campaign setting, including the planets, starships, and
characters of that setting, along with an introductory adventure.
This book contains everything you need for extended play, suggesting a
default setting that provides opportunities for any number of
approaches.

Patreon Support
Thank to you my patrons on Patreon who contribute every month so
that I can keep creating things. In the spirit of the previous games I’ve
published using this engine, I’m releasing things for you to use and
develop in this way:
 New content created by me or paid for to develop this game
(including all art and the locale of the Five Systems) are released
under an Attribution Share-Alike Creative Commons License. You
are free to take, re-mix, and re-use all original content herein, as
long as you give credit back to the source.
 The core game engine and its mechanics are released under the
Open Game License (see pages 134-135).
In short, Shards of Tomorrow is now your playground. Have fun in it!
Current Patrons
These kind people support me every month through their ongoing
patronage, and I am incredibly grateful:
Volker Jacobsen, Erik Tenkar, J. Quincy Sperber, Mark Margelli, Lloyd
Rasmussen, Ron Edwards, Kathleen Kreinheder, Eric Nelson, Keith
Kaminski, Jim Craddock, Chris and Brigid Hirst, and Elaine.
You can sign up to support my work at:

https://www.patreon.com/MTDAA?ty=h
Thank You
Special thanks to the Splintered Realm community of players who
encouraged me to work on these rules, and who provided support and
enthusiasm along the way. I wouldn’t have fired up the engines on this
one without your prompting.
Who Is Playing?
These rules assume that most of the players take on the roles of heroic
characters who work together in a fellowship for mutual benefit. One
player takes on the role of Game Master (GM). The GM decides on a
scenario, plays the foes or other characters, and adjudicates action.
However, you can play with only one player and one GM (in fact, much
of the play testing for this game happened that way!), or even solitaire
(using a scenario that has been written for you to experience as a
player). Turn to the next page to see how a session might go.

An Example of Actual Play
Mike is the GM, and the two players are Mary (playing Tashya, a nuaru
seeker 1) and Logan (playing Golrik Venn, a terran adventurer 1). They
are exploring a region of uninhabited wasteland in a rover.
Mike: The nav computer flashes at you. This is where the temple
should be.
Mary: Hm. Do we see anything that looks like a temple?
Mike: Roll a sense FEAT.
Logan: I’m looking around, too.
Mike: Fine. You both roll.
Logan: I got 15+5=20.
Mary: I got a natural 20!
Logan: Nice roll!
Mike: Fine. Golrik can make out a few features of the outer wall. He
can tell that it’s been destroyed. It looks like you’re actually
near the middle of where the temple once stood, but now it’s
all covered in ash.
Logan: At least the computer was right…
Mary: What about me?
Logan: A natural 20 should give more information than that…
Mike: For sure. Tashya looks around, and realizes that the
architecture to the north would suggest a stairway to a
basement… it looks like the archway is still there, and a cleft
in the sand ahead may actually lead into a lower level. Even
though the upper temple is gone, its lower levels may still be
intact below you.
Mary: Sounds like we’re leaving the rover… I don’t suppose that it
will fit down the stairs.
Logan: That would be nice.
Mike: Nope. You’ll have to go on foot.
Mary: Okay. Will enviro suits protect us here?
Mike: Yes. A quick scan shows that there are several moderate
toxins and low oxygen levels, but an enviro suit is going to
afford plenty of protection in this place.
Logan: Good. That’s all we have on board!
Mike: Heading out then?
Mary: Sure. Once we have the suits on, we set out on foot for the
stairs.
Logan: I’ll go first.

Mike: Okay. You get about halfway from the rover to the hole
ahead, and you’ve traveled maybe 50’. Both of you roll a
sense FEAT.
Mary: Oh, shoot! I was going to scan for living things first.
Logan: That would have been a good idea. Too late, now.
Mike: That it is. How do you roll?
Logan: I roll 9+5=14.
Mike: That’s not going to cut it, sorry.
Logan: Didn’t think so.
Mike: Tashya?
Mary: She gets 17+6=23. That’s good, right?
Mike: (checking the abilities of the creature and rolling to check).
Actually, not enough in this case. The ground beneath you
shakes, and a huge worm bursts from the ash ahead of you,
about 30’ away. It’s at least 50’ long, and it looks hungry.
Mary: Ah! I don’t think we have weapons that can take that on.
Mike: You can try…
Mary: Back to the rover. We’ll use the blast cannon on top. That’s
probably our best shot.
Mike: Initiative. We’ll see how it goes.
Mary: Okay. I roll 14+6=20.
Logan: I roll 19+5=24.
Mary: Those are pretty good results.
Mike: Yeah (rolling) but the worm did pretty well, too. He ends up
with a 22.
Mary: Well, we’re booking for the Rover.
Mike: The worm has a 50/50 chance of who he picks to go after. If
it’s Tashya, he’ll get one attack on her, but against Golrik he
won’t get an attack, because Gol won initiative. However,
you’ll both need to make a standard DEX check to quickly get
back on the rover and slam the door behind you.
Mary: Okay…
Logan: I guess.
Mary: Who does it attack?
Mike: (rolls the dice). Sorry, Mary, but it’s Tashya. He rolls 9+7=16
on the die. What’s her armor class?
Mary: 17!
Mike: No way.
Logan: That’s awesome.

Mike: I’ll say. He does a LOT of damage on a hit. He face plants into
the dust, throwing up a huge cloud just behind you as you
leap into the rover. Both make the DEX check…
Mary: I roll 9+8=17.
Mike: Ehhh. Not quite enough. He’s going to get one more attack on
you next round as you climb into the rover.
Mary: Is there anything I can do?
Mike: Not really. You’re hanging to the side of the rover, but the
spray of ash knocked you sideways, and it’s taking a few
seconds to recover.
Mary: Okay.
Mike: I need Golrik’s DEX check.
Logan: 19+11=30.
Mike: Dang. That’s really good.
Logan: Yeah it is. Golrik does a backflip into the rover.
Mike: Okay, Logan, make another initiative roll against the worm. If
you win, you will actually be able to climb into the gun
position before the worm bites at Tashya again.
Mary: Please win!
Logan: I roll 11+5=16. That’s decent.
Mary: Do I get to roll?
Mike: I don’t think so. The worm’s getting a shot at you… we’re just
checking to see if Golrik can swing the cannon into position
before it does.
Logan: What’s the worm’s result?
Mike: (rolls dice) Snap! I rolled a natural 1. The worm comes up, but
seems a bit confused. Must have hit its head on some debris
in the ash.
Mary: Fire!
Logan: Can I get a bonus since it rolled a natural 1?
Mike: Fine. Take +2 to your attack roll.
Logan: Sweet! This cannon deals 3d6+2 damage if it hits, so I really
hope this works…

Part 1: Key Concepts
The Player Character
As a player, you take on the role of a character in the game world, a
player character (PC). The game assumes that your heroic persona is
special, gifted, selected by fate, or otherwise destined for something
beyond the common ilk.
‘Role Playing’ and ‘Roll Playing’

Play develops through two primary means: role playing and rolling dice.
Many situations will be resolved primarily through decisions you
make while assuming the role of your character. In these instances, you
role play the encounter. If you describe how carefully you search the
room for a weapon, or if you act out your discussion with the bounty
hunter, the GM may decide what happens without using the dice. If you
are especially careful in your search or are specific in your discussions
with the bounty hunter, then the result is clear, and play continues.
However, the GM will often require you to roll dice to determine the
outcome of something you try to do (for example, whether or not you
hit the creature with your pulse rifle), or to determine how successful
something was (for example, how much damage your pulse rifle did). In
these situations, you will roll one or more dice. These dice are
polyhedrons, dice of various sizes. Throughout these rules, dice are
abbreviated as d followed by the number of sides on the die (d4, d6, d8,
d10, d12, d20). A number before the d indicates to roll and total several
dice. For example, 3d6 means to roll 3 six-sided dice and add them
together. Roll d100 (also called ‘percentile dice’) by rolling two d10s,
using the first for the tens and the second for the ones. A result of [5, 7]
is a result of 57 on d100. A result of [0, 0] is a result of 100.
In almost every circumstance, you want to roll high.

Attribute Scores
Range Descriptor Modifier Your character’s
0-1 Impaired -3 definition emerges first
2-3 Poor -2 from six primary
4-5 Below Average -1 attributes (three
6-7 Average +0 physical, three
8-9 Above Average +1 intellectual/ social) that
10-11 High +2 govern many aspects of
12-13 Exceptional +3 play. Most characters
14-15 Remarkable +4 have ratings between 2
16-17 Incredible +5 and 12 in each attribute.
18-19 Amazing +6
20 Titanic +7
Attributes Explored
Attribute This Attribute The Modifier Confers a
Measures Penalty or Bonus to…
Strength Your physical might - Attack rolls with melee or
(STR) thrown weapons
- Damage rolls with melee
weapons
Intelligence Your innate intellect - Total languages known
(INT) and reason
Wisdom Your intuition and - Bonus castings for nuaru
(WIS) insight
Dexterity Your physical - Armor class
(DEX) coordination - Attack rolls with ranged
weapons
Constitution Your physical - Hit points rolled each level
(CON) toughness and
fortitude
Charisma Your appearance, - Some abilities of terran
(CHA) leadership, and templars
likeability

Part 2: Character Information
Whether you want to play a mighty alien warrior who carries a heavy
blast rifle, or a clever tinker who manipulates machinery, a noble
wanderer who protects the defenseless, or a resourceful adventurer
who constantly pushes his luck, this section provides a framework for
your character.
Steps in Character Creation

1. Roll for Attribute Scores. Roll 3d6 and keep the best two results for
each of your six attributes. (Alternately, roll 2d6 for each attribute, but
re-roll 1s).
Example: For my first attribute, I roll [1, 2, 4], I drop the 1, and end
up with a result of 6. I do this six times and record the results on
scrap paper.
I roll 7, 9, 6, 5, 7, 8.
2. Select an Archetype (pages 20-26). Record this on your Character
Sheet (page 13).
Example: I want to play a trog warrior.
3. Assign the six scores to attributes as desired (based on the needs of
your archetype).
Example: A trog warrior needs high CON, so I assign my scores as
follows: STR 8; INT 5; WIS 7; DEX 7; CON 9; CHA 6.
Sidebar: Archetypes
Each character archetype is a unique combination of race and
class. Therefore, a terran adventurer and a trog warrior are similar in
some respects – however, there are important differences that set
these two archetypes apart. The archetypes included herein are not
the only possible archetypes, simply the most common.
The nuaru seeker as presented in these rules is the most common
sort of nuaru that goes on adventures; however, there are other
nuaru who also take part in adventures. Future books will define
other archetypes, although you are free to use these rules as a guide
in developing your own unique race/class combinations.

4. Balance your scores, as needed. For every 2 points you give up, you
get 1 point back. You cannot decrease an attribute score below 6 or
above 12 in this way. Also, adjust scores based on archetype, as
applicable (which may then exceed a rating of 12). Record these scores,
and the applicable modifier (page 9), on your character sheet.
Example: I improve CON to 10, reducing WIS and DEX. I also adjust
CON by an additional +1 to 11 for being a trog (since that is a special
trog ability). I end up with:
STR 8 (+1); INT 5 (-1); WIS 6 (-); DEX 6 (-); CON 11 (+2); CHA 6 (-).
5. Roll 1d6 for hit points. Remember to modify this by your CON
modifier. Re-roll any result of 3 or less. Record this on your character
sheet next to hits (alternately, roll 1d4+2 for hit points every level,
modified by your CON modifier).
Example: I roll 1d6 and get a 1 (eek!) but fortunately I’m allowed to
re-roll this. I roll again and get 5. I have +2 from CON, so I begin with
7 hit points.
6. Determine your FEAT modifier (FEAT). Take your base FEAT (for your
level) and adjust this by your prime requisite modifier. Record this on
your character sheet.
Example: I have a FEAT of 5 + level modifier + CON modifier. I am
level 1, and my CON 11 gives me +2, bringing my total FEAT to +8.
7. Select weapons and gear. Begin with 3d6 x10 standard credits (sc).
Example: I roll 3d6 and get 9, multiplying this by 10 to get 90 sc to
start with. Using the equipment list starting on page 30, I purchase:
 Light shell armor (10 sc)
 A blast rifle (50 sc)
 A dagger (3 sc)
 A starter pack of basic provisions (20 sc)
This costs a total of 83 sc. I record the remaining 7 sc on my

character sheet under wealth.
8. Determine your Armor Class (AC), based on any worn armor and
modifiers for DEX. Add all modifiers to a base armor class of 10.
Example: with light shell armor (+1) and DEX 6 (no modifier) I have
an AC of 11 (10 base +1).
9. Determine your weapon ratings, based on your archetype, level,
attributes and purchased weapon.
Example: I have two weapons: a blast rifle and a dagger.
For the blast rifle, I get to add my +1 Level Modifier and +0 from my
DEX modifier to hit rolls. For damage, I roll 2d6 for damage, with a
range of 60’. Next to the blast rifle in the weapons section, I write
(+1 to hit; 2d6 damage; range 60’).
For the dagger, I get to add my +1 Level Modifier to the hit roll, and
my +1 modifier from STR 8. I also get to add the +1 from STR to the
base damage of 1d4. Next to the dagger in the weapons section, I
write (+2 to hit; 1d4+1 damage).
Your Level Modifier (LM) is one half your level, rounded up. Your LM
sets your base bonus to all attack rolls and your base modifier to
FEATS.
10. Note any special abilities, based on archetype. Record these on your
character sheet.
Example: I have several abilities: my character has darkvision (60’), 2-
handed fighting; he can sneak; he regenerates 1 hit point per round;
he adds his LM to CON. I write these on my character sheet.
11. Decide on your alignment, and record this on your character sheet.
See page 17 for alignments.
Example: I see my trog warrior as a mercenary wanderer who puts
profit ahead of principle. I decide that neutral is the best fit.
12. Select a purpose and record this on your character sheet. See page
29.
Example: For my purpose, I decide that I want my character to
defeat an old enemy, a powerful creature who has slain his clan. I
record this on my character sheet, and mention this to my GM, who
can start to work on an identity for this creature, developing its back
story for later inclusion in the game.

Types of Rolls: Checks
A check is always a d20 roll (a high roll is better), with a default target
(goal) of 20. Sometimes, you roll a check using your relevant attribute
or ability. If your roll (on 1d20) + your applicable rating (+/- any bonuses
or penalties) = 20 or more, you succeed. If I need to make an INT check
(using my INT 12) to make sense of an ancient language I find, I roll
1d20+12. If I roll an 8 or better on the die (for a total result of 20 or
more), I succeed. Regardless of circumstance, a natural 20 always
succeeds on a check, and a natural 1 always fails on a check.
You use your ability rating, not the modifier, when making a check.
Your modifier only applies in certain situations (see page 9).
Penalties and Bonuses to Checks

Apply bonuses and penalties as modifiers to the roll. If I am trying to use
my STR 10 to force open a sealed blast door, but the door is very heavy
(a -4 to the check), I roll 1d20 + 6 (10-4) to see if I succeed. I still need to
get a final result of 20 to succeed (meaning I need to roll a 14 or better
on the die).
Situational Modifiers
Modifier Situation
+4 Easy. You should be able to do this!
+2 Advantage. You have some advantage in this situation.
-2 Disadvantage. You will probably struggle to do this.
-4 Difficult. You will struggle to do this.
Epic Checks
If you have an attribute rated at 14 or better, you can attempt an epic
check. An epic check has a starting target of 30. This is reserved for
attempting things that normal mortals normally cannot do, but you
possess abilities exceeding those of most mortals.
Information for GMs on epic checks is on page 97.

Attribute Checks
Roll 1d20 + the Attribute Rating to…
STR  Lift or move a heavy object. A standard ‘heavy’ object is
target 20, while a very heavy or challenging
object/situation imposes -4 to the roll.
 Climb a wall, modified by the surface (an easy-to-climb
surface is at +4, while a difficult surface is at -4).
INT  Remember history about a person, place, or event.
 Operate most devices and computers.
 Perform basic trouble shooting on technological devices.
 Derive meaning from fragments of an unknown
language.
WIS  Discern how a wild creature might behave.
 Intuit direction in the wild.
 Interact with the natural world.
DEX  Perform a challenge requiring balance or coordination.
 Perform a challenge requiring manual dexterity.
CON  Survive toxins, diseases and environmental hazards.
 Hold your breath. You can hold your breath for a
number of rounds equal to your CON rating. After this,
you must make a CON check every round to keep from
suffocating.
CHA  Bluff, lie, cheat, convince, manipulate, negotiate or
coerce.
 Use your spirit abilities as a terran templar.
Result Rolls: Attacks and Damage

For result rolls, use the appropriate die based on the weapon or attack
type.
An attack (roll ‘to hit’) is always a 1d20 roll. You roll to meet or
exceed the armor class (AC) rating of your foe. Roll 1d20 + your level
modifier (or hit dice for creatures), adjusted by attributes and/or
mysticism. For example, as a terran adventurer 7 with DEX 10 and a
blast rifle modified to give +1 targeting, you add +7 to hit rolls with your
rifle (+4 from level modifier; +2 from DEX; +1 from your modifications).
Against a foe with AC 17, you will need a roll of 10 or better to hit (since
10+7=17).

Damage is based on the weapon or casting used. A critical hit on an
attack roll (a natural 20) allows you to double the die result from your
following damage roll (before adding any bonuses, including those from
modifications, abilities, or mysticism). With the character above, if you
roll 5 on the die for damage, you deal 10 points on a natural 20.
Regardless of circumstance or modifier, a natural 20 always hits, and
a natural 1 always misses. If you must roll a natural 20 to hit on an
attack, you cannot score a critical hit on that attack.
Fumbles
On a natural attack roll of 1, you may fumble. Roll a FEAT; if you succeed,
you continue normally. If you fail this FEAT, you lose your next action as
you recover.
Contested Rolls
Instead of rolling against a static (fixed) target, you may make a
contested roll against another creature’s ability. For example, your
success with a sneak FEAT is based on how well the foe rolls a sense FEAT.
For a contested roll, each party involved rolls, and the higher result
wins. On a tie, roll again.
FEATs
A FEAT is a resistant or defensive roll to withstand a casting, fight off a
toxin, or endure a difficult circumstance; alternately, a FEAT may be an
active roll to find, notice, or use a skill not governed by an attribute. A
FEAT is always resolved as a check (1d20 roll) adding your FEAT rating
(based on archetype, level and prime requisite modifiers). If your total
result is equal to or more than 20, you succeed. For instance, a trog
warrior’s prime requisite is CON; he uses constitution to fight off enemy
abilities, push through a poison coursing through his veins, or withstand
an environmental hazard. Conversely, a terran adventurer (whose prime
requisite is DEX), attempts to avert his gaze at the last minute, draw
back his hand before the poison can fully set in, or evade the beast’s
elemental breath. The kobo rat skinner also ties several of his skills (i.e.
sneak, pilfer) to his FEAT modifier.
FEATS may involve situational modifiers up to +4/-4. These modifiers
will be noted in the description of the item, casting, or creature. For
example, an insect with a weak poison may allow those affected by it to
roll the FEAT at +4, while a powerful mystical item may impose a penalty
of -2 to the FEAT vs. mind control.

Other FEATS: Sense and Morale
 Roll a sense FEAT to notice a passive environmental feature (a secret
door, a hidden trap) or another creature using sneak against you. Roll
1d20 + your FEAT modifier, comparing this to the static environmental
target (usually 20) or the result of the foe’s sneak FEAT roll.
 Other creatures (including enemies and allies controlled by the GM),
may need to make a morale FEAT, a check that determines whether or
not a creature or ally of the player characters will remain in combat. If
the check fails, the creature turns and flees. Creatures check morale if
they suffer the death of an ally or incapacitation of better than half of
their forces. Player characters never need to check morale; players
decide whether or not their characters continue to fight. A follower
takes a bonus based on the CHA modifier of his leader. Bots never roll
morale. See page 17.
Alignment
Your alignment indicates your general ethos. Alignments include:
 Lawful. You value fairness and honesty. You feel that life should be
protected, and would consider sacrificing your life to defend others. You
generally respect others, and expect them to respect you as well. Most
people would perceive your ethos as ‘good’.
 Neutral. You try to deal in fairness and honesty, but you know that
you cannot always trust others. You extend respect to those so worthy.
 Chaotic. You feel that lying and cheating are acceptable in order to
get what you want. You value your own life more than the lives of
others. Most people would perceive your ethos as ‘evil’.
Languages
All characters are assumed to speak and understand the trade tongue,
the common language of all civilized people. Gnorom, kobo, the nuaru,
and trogs also know the native language of their respective species.
 With INT 1-3, you can speak, but not read or write, the trade tongue.
 With INT 4-7, you can read, write and speak the trade (and species)
tongue.
 With exceptional INT (8+), you can read, write and speak a number
of extra languages equal to your INT modifier. With INT 11, you know
the trade tongue, any species language, and 2 additional languages.

Character Progression
Level XP Hit Dice Level Castings Available by
Required Modifier Sphere
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 0 1d6 +1 1 - - - - -
2 100 2d6 +1 2 - - - - -
3 250 3d6 +2 2 1 - - - -
4 500 4d6 +2 2 2 - - - -
5 1,000 5d6 +3 3 2 1 - - -
6 2,000 6d6 +3 3 2 2 - - -
7 3,500 7d6 +4 3 3 2 1 - -
8 7,500 8d6 +4 4 3 2 2 - -
9 15,000 9d6 +5 4 3 3 2 1 -
10 30,000 10d6 +5 4 4 3 2 2 -
11 50,000 11d6 +6 5 4 3 3 2 1
12 100,000 12d6 +6 5 4 4 3 2 2
New characters begin the game at level 1 with 0 experience points (XP).
You earn XP from defeating foes, completing missions and earning
wealth. When you earn 100 XP, you advance to level 2, earning the
abilities of a level 2 character and increasing your hit points by +1d6.
Archetypes
These rules provide several archetypes to select from. Each archetype
defines your character’s basic abilities and scope, using the following
qualities:
 FEAT gives the method for determining your FEAT modifier.
 Armor lists which armors (by type) that you have access to. If you
wear heavier armor than you have access to, you take -4 to all action/
FEAT rolls while wearing this armor, and cannot use castings.
 Weapons lists which weapons (by type) you have access to. For
some species, the availability of weapons is based on their relative size
compared to various weapon types.
Weapon and Armor Ratings by Type

Type Armor (with AC modifier) Weapons
Light Shell (+1) or Flex (+2) 1d4 damage
Medium Shell (+3) or Flex (+4) 1d6 damage
Heavy Shell (+5) or Flex (+6) 1d8 damage
Great n/a 1d10 damage
Talents lists the levels at which you earn a Talent, a specialized area of
training or a special ability. Terrans earn Talents at levels 3, 6, 9 and 12,
while other species earn Talents at levels 4, 8 and 12.
Abilities include specialized areas of training or expertise, or innate

abilities possessed by members of that archetype. Roll most ability
attempts as a FEAT, typically against a target of 20. Abilities include:
 Security allows you to bypass, override, disarm, foul, or otherwise
overcome a variety of security features including locks, detection
systems, traps, and similar devices. Security may be poorly designed,
granting of up to +4, or well made, imposing a penalty of up to -4. A
sense FEAT may be required to find a security feature before you can
attempt to bypass it, at the GM’s discretion.
 Pilfer allows you to roll a FEAT to pick the pocket of another creature,
or to swipe small items unnoticed. Roll a pilfer FEAT as a contested roll
against the foe’s sense FEAT.
 Sneak allows you to roll a FEAT to move past or against another
creature without being noticed. A kobo rat skinner (only) who
successfully uses sneak to move within melee range of a foe gets to
make a sneak attack at +4 to hit. Depending on his level, the kobo also
gets to take a bonus to damage. All other characters who successfully
surprise a foe take +2 to their subsequent attack. Roll a sneak FEAT as a
contested roll against the foe’s sense FEAT.
 Darkvision is a racial ability possessed by some other species. A
creature can see in the dark up to 30’ (for gnorom, nuaru, or trogs) or
60’ (for kobo). Darkvision is not as precise as normal sight; it allows the
creature to see grainy images in black and white. A light source (for
example, a flashlight) will neutralize darkvision.
 2-handed fighting allows you to wield any one-hand melee weapon
with two hands. When you do this, shift up to the next die when rolling
for damage with that weapon. For example, a sun blade deals 1d8
damage; if you use a sun blade two-handed, you deal 1d10 damage with
it. Even a simple weapon like a dagger (1d4 damage) can be used two-
handed, dealing 1d6 damage. While using a weapon two-handed, you
cannot also wield a second weapon.
 Mysticism grants access to supernatural castings. See page 53.
Many characters take +LM to an attribute. In this case, a character

who rolls 11 for an attribute rating during character creation has a
rating of 12 at levels 1-2, 13 at levels 3-4, 14 at levels 5-6, etc.

Gnorom Tinker
FEAT 6 + Level Modifier As a gnorom tinker, you
+ INT modifier are a 3’ tall demi-terran
Armor Medium who revels in working
Weapons Medium with machinery. Your
Talents Levels 4, 8, 12 innate intellectual
Abilities Darkvision (30’) curiosity and creativity
Tinkering allows you to add your
+LM to INT rating level modifier to your INT
rating.
Tinkering
This unique ability possessed by the gnorom allows a tinker to modify
weapons systems and starships to improve their capabilities. Any time
you attempt to tinker a weapon or vehicle, you must first invest time
and money in the effort. Roll the current damage rating for the weapon,
or the maintenance for the vehicle. This shows how many turns you
must spend tinkering, and the cost in supplies (in sc) required to
attempt the tinker. Once you have spent the time and money, make an
INT check based on how many times this weapon or vehicle attribute
has been tinkered (by you or another character):
First Tinker Second Tinker Third Tinker

Standard Check (20) Standard Check at -4 Epic Check (30)
If successful, you tinker the weapon or vehicle. If you fail, you lose the
time and money you’ve invested, but the weapon or vehicle is
unaffected. If you roll a critical failure (a natural 1 on the INT check), the
weapon or that particular attribute of the vehicle can never again be
tinkered. For example, if you roll a botch while tinkering the shields of a
starship, you realize that the shields have been fixed to their limits;
further tinkering with them will not succeed. A weapon takes a
permanent +1 to its damage rating, a +1 shift to its range rating (adding
its base range to its current range, to a maximum of +3 miles), or a +1
shift to its targeting (modifier to hit). A vehicle takes a permanent +1 in
one of the attributes you can normally modify through upgrade (see
page 38). You can only attempt to tinker a particular weapon or vehicle
attribute once per level. You must wait until you advance in level to
attempt another tinker of the same weapon or vehicle attribute.

Tinkering in Play
As a gnorom tinker 4, you decide to tinker the medium blast
cannon on your group’s starship; you roll its damage rating (4d6) and
get 17. You have to spend 17 sc on supplies, and you spend 17 turns
tinkering with it, attempting to improve its damage rating. Since this
weapon has never been tinkered, a standard INT check is required.
You roll 12+11=23 on the dice; you succeed. The cannon now deals
4d6+1 damage. You cannot attempt to tinker this weapon again until
level 5.
Kobo Rat Skinner

FEAT 6 + Level Modifier As a kobo rat skinner,
+ DEX modifier you are a small, sneaky
Armor Medium humanoid that bears
Weapons Light some resemblance to a
Talents Levels 4, 8, 12 dog. You are quite
Abilities Darkvision (60’) perceptive and sneaky.
+4 to sense Feats Your great natural
Security; Pilfer; Sneak; coordination allows you
Sneak Attack (see below) to add your level modifier
+LM to DEX rating. to your DEX rating.
Your sneak attack
ability allows you to take +4 to hit when making a melee attack against a
foe who is not prepared for your attack, or who does not know you are
nearby. The GM may require you to make a sneak roll to get in range to
make this attack. You will increase the damage you deal, based on your
level:
Kobo Level 1-4 5-8 9-12

Damage Bonus +1d6 +2d6 +3d6

Nuaru seeker
FEAT 5 + Level Modifier As an nuaru seeker, you
+ WIS modifier are a member of a highly-
Armor Light intuitive people, descended
Weapons Medium from ancient races of great
Talents Levels 4, 8, 12 power and goodness. You
Abilities +2 to sense FEATs have inherent mystical
Compel the Void abilities, specifically the
Faith Castings power to compel the void.
All nuaru are lawful.
Compel the Void
As a nuaru seeker, you may attempt, once per turn, to compel the
void. This unique ability allows you to employ your faith to affect
undead creatures such as skeletons, zombies, ghouls and vampires, as
well as some fiends. When you use one action to present your holy
symbol and issue verbal commands, you may force one or more void-
attuned creatures within 60’ to obey your commands.
You may affect a total number of HD of void creatures equal to
your level x3. As a nuaru seeker 5, you may compel up to 15 HD of void
creatures at one time. Roll a contested FEAT against the target(s). If you
succeed, you compel the creature(s). As a lawful nuaru seeker, you have
two options when you compel the void:
1. You force the void creature(s) to turn and flee. Affected creatures will
flee from you for 1d6 turns, but may return after that.
2. You hold the void creature(s) at bay as long as you focus, and as long
as you do nothing else. In any round after you have compelled the
void creature(s), you may make a combat move (see page 60),
forcing the target(s) to move in any direction you command, also as a
combat move. You will continue to compel until you decide to stop
or until you or an ally takes some action against the creature
(attacking, using mysticism upon it, etc.). You must make a new roll
to compel each turn, if you attempt to hold the creature(s) at bay for
more than 1 turn.
Faith Castings
As a nuaru seeker, you are a descendant of a powerful celestial race.
You retain a small fragment of the native powers of that elder race, able
to use power based on your faith. See page 53 for faith castings.

Synthoid Inquisitor
FEAT 5 + Level Modifier + INT modifier
Armor Medium
Weapons Medium
Talents Levels 4, 8, 12
Abilities +LM to INT
Omni Knowledge (see below)
Immune to mind control or powers affecting the mind
Immune to undead drain or comparable abilities
immune poisons, toxins, disease or other maladies
Regenerate LM hit points per turn
As a synthoid inquisitor, you are not a living creature, but instead are a
synthetic construct in the appearance of a terran body.
Synthoid are highly logical and incredibly intelligent, able to perform
scientific and medical marvels that most living creatures are incapable
of, their synthetic brains operating at the highest levels of efficiency.
They lack creativity, however, and often find it difficult to think in
unorthodox ways.
Synthoids were part of the Synthoid Project (now defunct) that
sought to create a race of creatures that would be helpful to mankind,
able to process information as a computer but interact as a human
being. While only a few hundred synthoids made it into circulation
among the Confederate Fleet, thousands more remain in stasis.
As a synthoid, you add your LM to your INT rating. You regenerate
your LM at the end of every turn, as your synthetic body repairs itself.
As a synthoid, you cannot be healed by supernatural means, nor do
dosers work on you. You can survive indefinitely without air or water.
Synthoid Directives
 Life is inherently valuable, and destruction of life must be avoided.
 The mind is the greatest of all faculties.
 Adherence to lawful behavior is the best means for a just society.
Omni Knowledge
As a synthoid, your brain is a highly-developed computer, giving you
advanced training in science, medicine, technology, and history. You are
effectively a doctorate in many fields at once. You may make an INT
check to access knowledge that only a master in the field would attain,
able to attempt epic checks once your INT rating is 14 or better.

Terran adventurer
FEAT 4 + Level Modifier +
STR modifier
Armor Medium
Weapons Heavy
Talents Levels 1, 3, 6, 9, 12
Abilities Junker (see below)
Luck (see below)
As a terran adventurer, you are a versatile

traveler with a number of abilities. You seek
excitement, wealth, and fame. Although you
don’t have access to mysticism, your raw
physical prowess and wide selection of abilities
make you a formidable foe. You take a bonus
talent at level 1 that others do not possess.
You also have a unique ability, luck. You are
allowed to re-roll a number of rolls each turn
equal to your level modifier. You may re-roll
any roll you make, even a critical failure. You
must accept the results of the second roll.
You also begin play with a junker, a spacecraft that has seen
considerable modification. Roll up your junker starting on page 49.
Terran Templar Sun Blades are unique

FEAT 4 + Level Modifier + CHA
modifier weapons, available only
Armor Light to terran templars. A
Weapons Medium (+ sun blade) templar receives a sun
Talents Levels 3, 6, 9, 12 blade as part of his or
Abilities Combat Focus; Spirit her training. Sun blades
+ LM to CHA may not be purchased.
A sun blade deals 1d8
base damage (1d10 with
As a terran templar, you are a defender of
the two-handed talent).
the faith, a stalwart keeper of the holy
A sun blade will only
word of Yahalla. Your strong faith
work in the hands of the
empowers you to battle the forces of
templar for whom it was
chaos. You add your level modifier to
crafted. Sun blades
starting CHA, and when your level modifier
cannot be tinkered.
increases, so does your CHA.

Combat Focus
As a terran templar, you have a unique ability, combat focus. This allows
you to add your CHA modifier to attack rolls with sun blades, damage
rolls with sun blades, and to your armor class, in addition to all other
bonuses you normally receive. With CHA 12 (+3), you take an additional
+3 to attack rolls and damage rolls with sun blades, and you take +3 to
your armor class, in addition to worn armor.
Spirit
This supernatural ability allows a terran templar to perform a variety of
powerful stunts. As a terran templar, you may attempt a number of
spirit stunts equal to your level modifier + your CHA modifier each turn,
until you fail a stunt. Once a stunt fails, you cannot attempt another
stunt that turn. Unless otherwise noted, spirit stunts have a target of 20,
and require a successful CHA check to perform.
For instance, as a terran templar 3 (LM 2) with CHA 12 (+3), you can
attempt up to 5 spirit stunts per turn. On a failed stunt, you have no
more attempts that turn, and must wait until next turn to try again. You
roll 1d20+12 any time you attempt a stunt.
Sample Spirit Stunts (use 1 action to):

 Levitate, or cause a creature you touch to levitate, for the rest of the
turn.
 Call an object to your hand from up to 60’ away, weighing up to a
number of pounds equal to your CHA score.
 Use telekinesis to lift or move (at move 10’) an object within 60’
weighing a number of pounds equal to your CHA score.
 Read the surface thoughts of a living creature within 30’. The
creature may roll a FEAT to resist, taking a penalty to the roll equal to
your CHA modifier.
 Plant a suggestion in the mind of a living creature within 30’. The
creature may roll a FEAT to resist, taking a penalty to the roll equal to
your CHA modifier.
 Quicken yourself, taking one extra action each round for 1 turn.
 Leap a number of feet equal to you CHA x10’.
 Mimic the abilities of another archetype for one action, or gain
temporary access to a talent for 1 round. For example, you could use
your spirit to intuit a problem with a complex machine (as if you had
tinkering).

Epic Stunts
Once your CHA is 14 or better, you may attempt epic stunts. These are
more elaborate and impressive than standard stunts, but have a target
of 30. See page 97 for more on epic checks.
Sample Epic Stunts (use 1 action to):

 Use telekinesis to lift an object within 60’ weighing a number of tons
equal to your CHA score. It has move 10’ under your control.
 Dominate a living creature within 30’, taking total control of the
creature for 1 turn. The creature may roll a FEAT to resist, taking a
penalty to the roll equal to your CHA modifier.
 Read the thoughts of a living creature on the same planet.
 Quicken your allies, allowing all allies within 60’ to take one extra
action each round for 1 turn.
 Leap a number of feet equal to your CHA x100’.
 Mimic a casting of a nuaru seeker of up to sphere 3.
Note: This is not a definitive list of every possible stunt. Discuss any
stunts you want to attempt with your GM.
Trog warrior
FEAT 5 + Level Modifier
+ CON modifier
Armor Heavy
Weapons Heavy
Abilities Darkvision (60’)
2-handed fighting
Sneak
Regenerate 1 hp per round
+LM to CON rating
As a trog warrior, you are a proud member of a savage people. Your

amphibious nature makes you equally at home on land or underwater,
and your natural regenerative powers allow you to heal quickly,
recovering 1 hp at the end of every round. You cannot regenerate
damage from fire, and must recover such damage normally. Your
natural fortitude and adaptability allow you to add your LM to your CON
rating.

Talents
As you achieve the thresholds for Talents (levels 3, 6, 9, 12 for terrans;
levels 4, 8, 12 for demi-terrans), you earn a new talent. Select any of the
talents from the options below:
1. Armor Mastery. Improve your armor availability by one rating (for
example, a templar to medium armor). Trogs will not take this.
2. Backstab. Take +1d6 damage on surprise attacks in melee combat;
this stacks with existing kobo rat skinner bonuses.
3. Enemy. Take +1 to all rolls against one enemy type.
4. Expertise. Take +1 to one attribute (you may not increase the same
attribute more than once with this talent).
5. Focused. Take +10% to all experience points you earn.
6. Fortitude. Take +5 hit points.
7. Frenzy. Once per day per Level Modifier, enter a rage for 1 turn as a
free action; take + level to hit points, +1 to hit, +1 damage with
melee weapons.
8. Initiative. Take +4 to initiative FEAT rolls.
9. Improved Critical. Increase your critical range to 19-20, following all
other rules for critical hits (see page 16).
10. Knowledge. You are exceptionally well-educated in a particular
field, rolling INT checks to access highly-specialized knowledge.
Common examples include medicine, science, and history. A
synthoid takes an additional +4 to checks in the particular field.
11. Leadership. Take +2 to CHA for reaction rolls and morale of
followers. Each of your allies who can hear you and take orders
from you is allowed to add your CHA modifier to one action roll or
FEAT each turn.
12. Night Sight. Take darkvision 30’, or increase existing darkvision
range +30’.
13. Parry. Take +1 to AC when you have a melee weapon drawn; take
+2 to AC when you wield two melee weapons.
14. Perception. Take +2 to sense FEATs.
15. Quick Attack. Take one extra attack every round with your primary
weapon.

16. Quick Casting. Once per turn, use two castings on your action in one
round. Only nuaru seekers may take this talent.
17. Running. Increase your movement rate by +20.
18. Second Wind. Once per turn, recover 1d6 + your level modifier hit
points as a free action. You may do this a number of times per day
equal to your level modifier.
19. Sharpshooting. Take a +1 die shift to damage rolls with ranged
weapon attacks; ex: a blast rifle (2d6 damage) deals 2d8 damage in
your hands.
20. Shield Use. You carry a shield in combat. A shield costs 10 sc, and
grants +2 to armor class. You cannot use a second weapon or attack
with two hands while carrying a shield.
21. Sundering. Make a simultaneous melee attack against all targets
within 5’ with any attack using your primary melee weapon.
22. Thievery. As a kobo rat skinner, take +2 to any one ability -or- take
one ability as if you were a kobo rat skinner of that level.
23. Tinkering. You are able to tinker as a gnorom tinker does. As a
gnorom tinker taking this talent, you take an additional +4 to checks
when attempting to tinker.
24. Two-Handed Fighting. As an archetype that does not have two-
handed fighting, take this ability. As an archetype that has this
ability, take an additional +2 to damage when two-handed.
25. Two Weapons. Attack with two weapons each round; your primary
weapon attacks normally, while your second weapon strikes only
once per round. Both weapons must be rated one rank below your
available weapons; a trog warrior could wield two medium
weapons, but not a heavy weapon and another weapon. The rate of
fire of the second weapon is always no better than 1.
26. Vehicles. While all characters are assumed to have basic skill in
operating all manner of planetary vehicles and starcraft, you
possess exceptional skill, able to perform combat maneuvers with
vehicles. See page 36 for rules on control for vehicles.
27. Weapon Mastery. Improve your weapon availability by one rating
(ex: a terran templar may use heavy weapons). Trog Warriors
cannot take this.

Purpose
Your character’s purpose is his or her greater calling, mission, goal,
objective, or passion. The purpose is the thing that drives your character
to undertake adventures and explore the worlds.
In any encounter where you take a step towards accomplishing your

purpose, take 1 bonus experience point.
A Good Purpose:
 Provides a motivation for your character to keep adventuring and/or
to join a fellowship.
 Is active; it makes you work to accomplish it. (starts with the word
‘to’)
 Is difficult to accomplish. You should spend your entire career trying
to fulfill your purpose.
 Motivates role-playing opportunities. Your character’s purpose
largely shapes his actions and reactions in a variety of situations.
Sample Purposes
1. To amass the greatest wealth anyone has ever seen.
2. To bring law over every corner of settled space.
3. To earn a reputation as the greatest ___ of all time.
4. To eradicate/wipe out/destroy ____ (messari, orak, insects, etc.).
5. To explore the far reaches of the Fringe.
6. To reclaim/recover/restore a kingdom, title, item, or object.
7. To slay or destroy a creature of great power and influence.
8. To wreak havoc and leave a swath of bodies in my wake.
9. To unlock the secrets of the mystical world.
10. To own the fastest ship in the Five Systems.
Monetary System
Most financial transactions are conducted in credits. Credits are plastic
chips containing one gram of a precious metal, giving them their value.
While most credits currently in circulation were minted by the
Confederacy of Stars, other credits have been minted by local
governments. It is fairly easy to check the authenticity of a credit, and
counterfeiting has proven very difficult, since close matches for gold,
silver, and copper have been difficult to produce, and would probably
cost more than the actual resources themselves. Credits are
exceptionally light, and are easy to transport.
In more remote areas, credits are rare, and trade may be conducted
by barter or using a local currency. The abbreviation sc represents silver
credit, systems credit, and standard credit, since the silver credit is the
base unit of trade. When a cost is given in ‘credits’, this implies sc.
10 copper credits (cc) = 1 silver credits (sc) = 1/10 gold credit (gc)
Armor
Type Armor AC Cost
Light Light Shell +1 (AC 11) 10 sc
Light Flex +2 (AC 12) 20 sc
Medium Medium Shell +3 (AC 13) 40 sc
Medium Flex +4 (AC 14) 75 sc
Heavy Heavy Shell +5 (AC 15) 150 sc
Heavy Flex +6 (AC 16) 300 sc
 Shell Armor is more rudimentary, with pieces of reinforced plastic

fitted over cloth garments. Heavier varieties of shell armor are
composed of thicker plastics and with more protection at joints. Most
primitive combatants use some form of shell armor.
 Flex Armor is more advanced, with fitted pieces of overlapping
plastic/alloy protection, often molded to the specific wearer. Flex armor
is often available only from higher-end dealers.
Weapons, Melee (Primitive)

Type (dmg) Sample Weapons Cost
Light (1d4) Club, dagger, javelin* 3 sc
Medium (1d6) Hand axe, mace, short sword, spear* 6 sc
Heavy (1d8) Battle axe, longsword, war hammer 10 sc
Great (1d10) Greatsword, maul 20 sc
*These weapons have a range of 30’ if thrown.
Weapons, Ranged (Primitive)

Type (dmg) Sample Weapons Cost Notes
Light (1d4) Sling 2 sc 30’ range; 1 handed
Medium (1d6) Bow, Crossbow 25 sc 30’ range; 2 hands
Heavy (1d8) Heavy Crossbow 50 sc 60’ range; 2 hands
Ammunition: Ammunition costs 1 sc per 10 pieces.
* See page 62 for an explanation of range and its impact on missile
weapons.
Weapons, Ranged (Advanced)
Weapon (damage) Cost Range Rate of Fire
Blast Pistol (1d6) 25 sc 30’ 2
Pulse Pistol (1d8) 40 sc 60’ 2
Phase Pistol (1d10) 75 sc 90’ 2
Blast Rifle (2D6) 50 sc 60’ 1
Pulse Rifle (2D8) 80 sc 120’ 1
Phase Rifle (2D10) 150 sc 180’ 1
Heavy Blast Rifle (3D6)* 100 sc 120’ 1
Heavy Pulse Rifle (3D8)* 160 sc 240’ 1
Heavy Phase Rifle (3D10)* 300 sc 360’ 1
* you must have STR 14+ to wield heavy rifles in combat.
 Blast weapons are the most common. These use fundamental

energy production technologies to focus a burst of accelerated particles
at relatively short range. They were the first energy weapons created,
and have found renewed popularity since the messari returned. Many
gnorom tinkers have made a name developing blast weapons, hand-
crafting these in their personal workshops. Some blast weapons are
elemental, emitting a specific energy (typically fire, cold, or lightning).
 Pulse weapons emit focused lasers, giving better range and
effectiveness compared to blast weapons, but at greater cost. Pulse
weapons were the heart of the Confederate Army before the messari,
but many have been destroyed, and their production facilities
decimated. Such large facilities are needed to craft pulse weapons.
 Phase weapons are somewhat controversial, since they rely on
subatomic fusion, and may in fact channel some form of anti-matter in
their processing. These are exceptionally rare, powerful, and expensive
weapons. It’s not likely that you’ll be able to purchase a heavy phase
cannon to strap to the top of your modified transport. These also
require precise engineering, and are difficult to manufacture without
exceptional resources.
Grenades
A grenade is a thrown weapon (range 20’) that explodes, dealing 2d6
damage in a 10’ radius. Grenades can deal blast, flame, energy, cold, or
concussive damage, as desired. Instead of dealing damage, stun
grenades force all living targets within 10’ to roll a FEAT or lose all
actions for the next round. Grenades cost 10 sc each, regardless of type.

Adventuring Gear
 Aqua Breather (10 sc) Allows you to breathe underwater normally.
 Backpack (3 sc) Holds and organizes your gear.
 Bola Launcher (10 sc) You can project a bola up to 30’, forcing a
target to roll a FEAT or be tripped and bound in place for 1 round. The
launcher holds 6 bolas, and is usable once per round.
 Boost Pack (250 sc) Allows you to use 1 action to jump up to 60’ with
1 action. You may fire your boost pack once per turn.
 Canteen (1 sc) Holds 1 gallon of fluid.
 Clothing, Standard (10 sc) 1 suit of normal clothes (all characters
begin with one suit).
 Clothing, Fine (30 sc) 1 suit of fine, tailored clothing.
 Comm Pad (50 sc) This technological touchpad is a wide-range
communication device (range 1000 miles, but within the same system if
locating a comm signal) as well as universal reference resource and a
universal translator that allows you to instantly translate from any
language.
 Darkvision Goggles (15 sc) Grants darkvision +60’.
 Doser, Antidote (25 sc) Neutralizes all poisons affecting the
recipient.
 Doser, Healing (25 sc) Restores 1d6+2 hit points in an injection.
 EMP Device (30 sc) Use 1 action to attach this to an electronic
device. Roll at +15 to disable the device hit for 1 turn. Can be placed
with a successful melee attack, or hurled as a thrown weapon. Usable
once per hour.
 Enviro Suit (35 sc) Includes an air filtration system with backup tank;
soaks the first 5 points of all elemental damage
 Flash Flare (1 sc each) When activated, this device generates light in
a 60’ radius and burns for 1 hour. It cannot be re-used.
 Flashlight (1 sc) Casts light up to 60’.
 Flash Pellet (1 sc each) Use 1 action to set off a flash pellet, forcing
all other creatures within 10’ to roll a FEAT or be stunned for 1 round,
unable to act, and taking -2 to AC and FEAT resist rolls. These can be
thrown up to 30’.
 Full-Spectrum Scanner (60 sc) Analyzes a 1-mile radius, identifying
flora and fauna, elemental compositions, air quality, and toxins.
 Glide Harness (30 sc) This light framework attaches to your normal
clothing, allowing you to glide at a movement rate of 30’, and prevents
you from ever taking falling damage.

 Holograph Projector (175 sc) Generates an illusion of another
character or creature of comparable size. Targets with reason to suspect
deception must roll a sense FEAT at -4 or believe the creature is
authentic.
 Jet Pack (500 sc) Allows you to fly at move 60’. You can fly for up to 1
turn; pack needs 1 hour to re-set before you can use it again.
 Rations, Basic (3 sc) Food for 1 week; lasts for up to 1 year.
 Re-breather (20 sc) Small mask filters air to remove toxins/poisons.
 Smoke Pellet (1 sc each) Use 1 action to set off a smoke pellet,
allowing you to make one immediate sneak FEAT (if you don’t have
sneak) or take +4 to a sneak FEAT (if you have sneak).
 Survival Kit (10 sc) Includes water purification tablets, compass,
thermal blankets, 2-person tent, lighter.
 Tase Rod (30 sc) Use 1 action to force a living target within 30’ to roll
a FEAT or be stunned for 1d4 rounds. This is usable once per turn.
 Tracking Devices (30 sc for the device and 10 bugs). With 1 action,
and on a successful contested FEAT, you are able to attach a tracking
device to a foe without the foe noticing (the target adds any sense
bonuses).
 Tool Kit (25 sc) Required to make tinkering checks and/or security
rolls.
 Utility Line, 250’ (2 sc) A thin, high-strength utility cable with a
simple grappling hook. Will support up to 1000 lbs.
 Vac Suit, Heavy (250 sc) Allows entry to the vacuum of space with air
tank for 3 hours; roll a FEAT at +4 every time damage is sustained or the
suit is breached, giving 1d4 + CON modifier rounds until the character
dies.
 Vac Suit, Light (100 sc) Allows entry to the vacuum of space with air
tank for 1 hour. Roll a FEAT every time damage is sustained or the suit is
breached, giving 1d4 + CON modifier rounds until the character dies.
Starter Pack. Instead of purchasing individual gear, you can purchase

a starter pack for 20 sc. This includes a backpack, a canteen, a
flashlight, basic rations, a survival kit, and 250’ of utility line.

Cybernetics
Technological devices that you hard-wire to your system, cybernetics
grant bonuses to your attributes, abilities, and talents. Cybernetic
implants come in three grades: basic, standard, and advanced.
About Cybernetic Implants

 3 basic implants = 2 standard implants = 1 advanced implant
 You cannot have more total implants than your CON score. With
CON 9, you could have 2 advanced implants, 1 standard implant, and 1
basic implants, since these take up a total of 9 implant ‘slots’. (6+2+1).
 An implant grants a bonus to one attribute, ability, or modifier.
 A basic implant (cost: 1,000 sc) grants a +1 modifier.
 A standard implant (cost: 2,500 sc) grants a +2 modifier.
 An advanced implant (cost: 5,000 sc) grants a +3 modifier.
 You cannot improve WIS or CHA through cybernetic implants.
Common Implants include:

 Body plating that improves armor class.
 Arms that improve STR.
 Mental implants that improve INT.
 Neuro implants that improve DEX.
 Skeletal implants that improve CON.
 Targeting eye implants that improve attack modifiers.
 Eye implants that grant darkvision to +30’ (basic), +60’ (standard),
+90’ (advanced).
 Ear implants that grant a bonus to sense FEATS.
Cybernetics In Play
My gnorom tinker has CON 7, and decides to purchase some
cybernetics. He likes machines so much that he wants to become
one, too! First of all, he helps to design and ultimately grafts an
exoskeleton to his own frame that grants +2 to both CON and AC.
This is 2 standard upgrades, a total of 5,000 sc. This takes up 4 slots of
CON, but since his CON is now 9, he still has 5 slots available. He also
purchases an advanced data chip that increases his mental
processing, giving him INT +3, for 5,000 sc. With his two remaining
slots, he purchases a standard targeting eye for 2,500 sc that grants
+2 to attack rolls. He has invested 12,500 sc in cybernetics, but he is a
lean, mean, gnorom machine. Literally. He’s basically half bot now.

Bots
Bots are mechanical assistants, followers, and allies. They are purchased
for 250 credits. Like weapons and vehicles, bots can be tinkered. All
bots cost 250 credits.
B-Series E-Series U-Series

Battle Bot Explorer Bot Utility Bot
AC: 14 13 12
Hit Dice: 2d6 2d4 2d4
FEAT: +5 +6 +6
Move: 40’ Fly 60’ Hover 30’
Combat: Pulse Projector Blast Projector Laser cutter
(+2/2d8/60’) (+2/1d6/30’) (+1/1d4/30’)
Battle Bots (B-Series) are designed primarily

for combat. They appear in many forms, but
universally have some form of armor and a
tactical weapons system. They are not able
to perform other duties, but will guard, enter
combat, and obey simple orders. They have
an effective INT 5, and no talents.
Explorer Bots (E-Series) are designed for exploration, investigation, and

information gathering. They are compact units, with built-in hover
capabilities. They take +2 to sense FEATS, can sneak as a FEAT, and have
built-in full-spectrum scanners. They have an effective INT 7.
Utility Bots (U-Series) are designed to

be of service in any number of non-
combat capacities. Service bots have
access to one talent (either knowledge
or tinkering), and have an effective INT
10. Utility bots often are attached to a
starship, performing many of the
maintenance duties on the craft. They
also have a built-in Comm Pad.

Part 3: Vehicles
Vehicles, both planetary craft and starships, have many of the same
attributes and abilities as player characters and other creatures.
Vehicles are rated as light, medium, or heavy, depending on their
comparative size.
Vehicle Attributes
 Armor Class reflects how difficult it is for attacks to hit the vehicle.
This rating is the base armor class for the vehicle, although use of
control may influence this rating during play. Armor class will be listed
with its base AC alongside its maximum AC, considering possible control
bonuses. You can increase the AC of your vehicle by trading armor class
for dependability on a 1:1 basis. You can never increase AC more than 3
points from its starting rating.
 Control reflects how nimble and agile the vehicle is. If you have the
vehicles talent, take a bonus equal to your DEX modifier to the vehicle’s
armor class, up to a maximum set by the vehicle’s control rating. For
example, with DEX 10 (+2), you can use to up +2 points of control,
adding this to AC. You also take the control rating (if a bonus) as a
modifier to DEX checks you make to perform a maneuver with the
vehicle (see page 42). You take the modifier (if a penalty) to DEX checks
to operate the vehicle, but this penalty does not apply to armor class.
You can increase the control rating of your vehicle by trading control for
dependability on a 1:1 basis. You can never increase a vehicle’s control
more than +3 beyond its starting modifier. A vehicle with starting
control of +2 can never improve to better than +5. Note: A character
without the vehicles talent always takes -4 to all control checks.
 Hit Dice gives the dice used to determine the vehicle’s total hit
points. Trade 1 point of dependability to increase the hit points by +2;
you cannot increase a vehicle’s hit points beyond its maximum possible
hit points; a vehicle built on 3d10 HD can never have more than 30 hit
points. A brand new vehicle always has exactly half of its possible total
hit points.
 Hull is how much damage the exterior of the vehicle absorbs (soaks)
before damage affects the vehicle’s current hit points. You can increase
the hull rating by trading hull for dependability at the rate of 2 points of
hull for 1 point of dependability. You can never increase hull more than
5 points from its starting rating.

 Shields set how much damage the energy-based shields generated
by your vehicle may absorb. Total shield points may be divided (at the
operator’s choice) over multiple areas. A smaller vehicle may have one
zone of shields that covers the whole vehicle, while mid-sized vehicles
have both front and rear shields, and a larger capital ship may have as
many as 4 shield zones. For example, as the pilot of a ship with shields
10 and 2 shield zones, you could elect to leave 5 shield points in each
zone, or you could shift power if entering a dogfight, leaving 0 in your
rear shields with all 10 points allocated to your front shields. You can
increase the total shield points for your ship by trading 1 point of
dependability for 2 points of shields.
 Speed is how fast the vehicle can travel. Since vehicles move much
quicker than creatures, vehicle speeds are measured on a different
scale, starting at 1 (which is still quite a bit faster than most creatures),
and which may exceed 20 (surpassing the speed of sound). This rating
reflects the top speed for the vehicle. Average speed is half of this, and
any effort to push over half speed will force a control check any time
the vehicle performs a maneuver (see page 42). The speed rating tells
the miles per turn; the speed rating x60 tells the miles per hour; the
speed rating /10 tells miles per round (or approx. 600’)
Sample Vehicle Speed Ratings

Rating Miles per round Miles per turn Miles per hour
1 1/10 (600’) 1 60
2 1/5 (1,200’) 2 120
5 1/2 (3,000’) 5 300
10 1 10 600
15 1.5 15 900
20 2 20 1,200
 Jump Drive indicates whether or not the vehicle is able to engage in

faster-than-light travel. A jump drive allows you to travel 1 light year in
1 hour. The distances between various systems range from 5 to 25 light
years, or from 5 to 25 hours with a jump drive. However, jump drives
increase in speed from x1 (a standard drive) to x5. Divide the distance
by the drive multiplier. For example, a distance of 10 light years takes 10
hours with a x1 drive, 5 hours with a x2 drive, and only 2 hours with a x5
drive. The x5 drive is the best jump currently available. You can increase
your jump drive by x1 by giving up 2 points of dependability. It is
impossible to engage in combat with a craft in the middle of a jump.
 Upgrade is the cost (in standard credits) to improve one of the
attributes of the vehicle. See dependability (below). This is listed as a
variable value. Every time you attempt to upgrade an attribute of your
vehicle, roll for the total cost to perform the upgrade. This also indicates
how many turns are required for one character to complete the work.
 Dependability typically starts at 12 for a new vehicle, but is random
for a junker (see page 46). In effect, whenever you upgrade some
aspect of your vehicle, you make a sacrifice in its dependability to do so.
Later on (or at the same time, if you so desire), you spend money to
improve the dependability of your vehicle. For example, re-routing the
central power grid to drive more energy into shields may make your
shield system more stout, but this increases the risk to the rest of the
ship’s power systems, since they are more likely to be taxed. You can
solve this problem by purchasing and installing new ion battery packs,
accounting for this extra energy use (reflected in the upgrade cost). You
cannot improve your dependability to better than 18, and at 0 your
vehicle will not operate.
Dependability Checks
You can generally chug along just fine with standard maintenance. Your
fuel cells are set to slowly re-charge themselves over time; your air
filtration system and water generator are able to process clean
consumables from almost any environment, and you’re able to skip
around through the systems with no real worries.
However, when you find yourself in the middle of a dogfight or
struggling to outrun a pair of Orak Cruisers, you may push your ship to
its limits, and things can (and often do) start to break down. When you
suffer considerable damage, or press your ship towards its upper limits
of performance, you have to see how it responds. Remember, you often
keep this thing together with drock tape and chivven wiring.
When you make a dependability check, roll 1d20 + your current
dependability rating. If successful (a total result of 20 or better), your
ship does just fine, able to continue for the rest of the turn without any
major system failure. If you fail, bad things may start to happen…
Make a Dependability Check:

 Whenever the ship goes into a combat situation
 Whenever the ship’s performance is done under pressure
 When the ship suffers more than half of its hit points in total damage

Dependability Check Results
 Fumble (natural 1). Over-taxed. The entire ship (except for basics like
life support) shuts down for 1d6 rounds as the system resets. Your hull
continues to soak damage, but shield generators are totally shut down,
and the engines stop working. Within an atmosphere, you automatically
crash (see page 42). In space, you keep moving, but maybe not in the
way or direction you wanted… you cannot use any weapons systems,
and you must roll for an additional failure result below.
 Failure (total result of less than 20). Roll a FEAT to keep the ship
together. If you fail, roll 1d6 below to see what happens.
 Success (total result of 20 or more). You continue on without a
problem. Take that!
 Critical Success (natural 20 on the die). Take +4 to your vehicle’s
dependability for the rest of the turn.
Dependability Failure Results

Roll Dependability Failure
1 Internal leak. The vehicle suffers 1 hit point of damage per
round until someone spends 1 round and makes a successful
INT check to patch the leak.
2 Shields must re-boot, and will be down for the rest of the turn.
3 Engines stall, and must be re-started next round. Jump drive is
offline for 1d4 rounds. If within an atmosphere, make a
control check at -4 or you crash. See page 42.
4 Oxygen leak. You have 1d6 turns to either fix the exterior leak
or get the craft within an oxygenated atmosphere. Or, you
could just let everyone on board die. Your choice.
5 Take -2 to control for the rest of the turn.
6 Separation in hull plating. Take -1 to the vehicle’s hull rating
until simple external repairs can be made to weld the plates
back together.
Note: If a character who can tinker assumes the role of engineer for the
full turn (meaning that this character cannot operate the vehicle, fire
weapons, or perform other duties beyond monitoring internal systems),
add the tinker’s INT modifier to dependability rolls.

 Maintenance is the required daily maintenance cost for the vehicle,
listed in standard credits. This includes all costs, such as fuel and system
maintenance. This is a random value rolled every day, because some
days you only need a few fuel crystals, while other days you may need
to replace stardust filters, clean out the water filtration system, and re-
charge oxygen circulation. For every day you fail to perform
maintenance, you take a cumulative -1 to your vehicle’s dependability.
At dependability 0, the ship will no longer operate until all previous
maintenance has been completed.
 Armaments lists all of the weapons systems included in the vehicle.
You can install new armaments at the listed costs (given in standard
credits). Armament is listed in equivalencies. Convert as follows:
1 heavy cannon = 2 medium cannons = 4 light cannons = 8 heavy rifles
Armaments
Armament (Damage) Range Cost* Notes
Light Blast Cannon (4d6) 1 mile 500 Elemental
Light Pulse Cannon (4d8) 2 miles 800
Light Phase Cannon (4d10) 3 miles 1,200
Medium Blast Cannon (5d6) 2 miles 1,000 Elemental
Medium Pulse Cannon (5d8) 4 miles 1,500
Medium Phase Cannon (5d10) 6 miles 2,500
Heavy Blast Cannon (6d6) 3 miles 2,000 Elemental
Heavy Pulse Cannon (6d8) 8 miles 3,000
Heavy Phase Cannon (6d10) 12 miles 5,000
Medium Plasma Bomb (8d12) Drop 150 100’ radius
Heavy Plasma Bomb (10d12) Drop 350 250’ radius
Medium Plasma Torpedo** 15 miles 150
(6d12)
Heavy Plasma Torpedo** (8d12) 20 miles 350
* All costs are listed in standard credits.
** cost is per torpedo; installing a tube for torpedoes is 10x this cost.
Note: a bomber may drop 1 bomb per round, while a single torpedo
tube is able to launch one torpedo per turn. A ship with multiple
torpedo tubes can fire each tube once per turn.

 Complement lists all other vehicles attached to the vehicle or
stationed with it. Larger starships often act as carriers for smaller
vessels such as landing craft or interceptors. Convert as follows:
1 medium starship = 4 heavy planetary vehicles =

8 medium planetary vehicles = 16 light starships =
32 light planetary vehicles
 Crew lists the standard crew to operate the vehicle and perform all
of its operations, including pilot/driving, navigation, weapons systems,
communications monitoring, engineering, etc. The larger the vehicle,
the more crew it will require.
 Passengers lists the standard number of passengers the vehicle is
designed for. Often, larger vehicles can exceed this rating for short
periods of time or under duress. While a capital ship may list 400 as its
passenger rating, it wouldn’t be out of the question for 1,000
passengers to board during an emergency evacuation of an outpost. In
general, no more than 3x the listed passengers could possibly fit.
 Cargo lists the allotted cargo capacity, in tons. Even the smallest of
vehicles has some storage capacity; cargo indicates areas specifically
designated to carry supplies and products not needed by the vehicle in
its basic operations.
 Escape Pods lists the number of pods available. An escape pod can
comfortably seat 6, but can squeeze up to 24 terran-sized creatures in
an emergency. Pods have AC 14; HD 2d8; Hull 2; Speed 5.
 Value gives the average cost to purchase the vehicle, in standard
credits. A vehicle of exceptional quality will be much more expensive,
while one of lower quality (ex: fewer hit points, lower dependability)
will be less expensive.
Paying it Forward
Wise vehicle owners ‘stock up’ on maintenance costs. For example, at a
star port, you invest 100 credits in maintenance. This means that your
daily maintenance costs for the vehicle may be covered for some time.
You have an extra bin of fuel crystals, two extra plastex hoses, and a
spare box of filters on hand for common things that come up. You still
have to set aside time every day for maintenance, but the supplies are
already on hand to do it.

Taking Damage
A vehicle takes damage in this order: shields, hull, hit points. The shields
represent a pool of points available each turn. Once those points are
done (or the points in a section are used up), additional points are
soaked by the hull. The hull does not take damage, but instead soaks
damage from each attack that gets past shields. Once damage exceeds
the hull rating, points are deducted from current hit points. These hit
points are not restored automatically; they must be increased by
spending upgrade; each expenditure of the upgrade cost restores 1d6
lost hit points. It is sometimes as expensive to repair permanent
damage to the ship (reflected in hit points) as it is to improve the
infrastructure of the vehicle (also reflected in hit points).
Maneuvers
During vehicle combat, the pilots may attempt various maneuvers that
change the tactical advantage or the position of the ships within the
combat. Each maneuver requires one action, and a DEX check. There are
dozens of specific maneuvers that pilots can attempt, but the most
common types of maneuvers, and how to resolve them, include:
Basic Maneuvers
Maneuver How to Resolve It
Move into better Make a DEX check (modified by control), target
attack position 20. If successful, the vehicle takes +2 to all
attacks for 1d4 rounds.
Move into better Make a DEX check (modified by control), target
defensive 20. If successful, the vehicle takes +2 to AC for
position 1d4 rounds.
Reverse chase Go from being chased to being the pursuer. Make
a DEX check (modified by control) at -4. If
successful, the enemy ship(s) pass you by, and
you are now trailing.
Crashes
When your vehicle reaches 0 hit points, or the engines stall and you
cannot recover in time, your vehicle crashes. You must make a control
check at -4 to crash land without additional damage. If you fail this
check, the vehicle and everyone inside suffers damage, rolling the hit
dice for the vehicle. There is almost no chance of surviving when a
heavy star cruiser does a face plant.
In Play:
I’ve tried to bluff the Inspector at the barrier checkpoint via comm
channels, but he’s suspicious, and is sending a boarding party to inspect
the Void Splicer. I don’t think so, bucko!
I decide to race for the checkpoint, throwing all of my shields to the
rear deflectors and putting the stick to the brick. Immediately, I have to
make a dependability check, and I roll a natural 1! The entire ship shuts
down; the inspector comes back on the comm, asking what happened…
I explain that the air lock has been malfunctioning, and it might be
dangerous for inspectors to enter until it’s reset, requiring a total
system re-boot. I ask for a minute. I roll a CHA check, and get 14+7=21.
He says fine, telling me to hurry it up. I ask the GM if I can use that time
to have my bot jury rig the control panel, disconnecting my pulse
cannon and routing that power to shields and engines as the ship tics
back to life. The GM allows me to have my bot make an INT check (using
its tinkering), and I get 16 on the die, for a total result of 26!
The GM tells me that I’ll get +2 to the initiative roll, and that I won’t
have to make another dependability check to gun the engine. I’ll take
that. When the systems come back online, I tell the inspector to start
sending his boarding party. As soon as I see the hatch open and troops
prepare a stabilizer line, I punch it.
I roll for initiative, and my +2 allows me to just beat the enemy ship.
The Void Splicer roars to the checkpoint. I can’t fire back even if I want
to, but I want out of here! The GM rules that it will take 2 rounds to get
to the checkpoint (it would have been 3 if I lost initiative), and all 6
cannons on their ship are trained on my tail. I take the lower of my DEX
modifier (+2 from DEX 11) or ship’s control (+1) for defense, so I get +1
to AC. The gunners attack at +3 (they have +1 to attack, and the
cannons have +2 targeting). Two of them hit in the first round, dealing 7
and 5 points of damage respectively. The entire 12 is soaked by my
shields, but that leaves only 2 points in shields for next round.
In round 2, I take an evasive maneuver, trying to avoid their fire. I roll
13+11 on the check, for a total of 24. Nice. I get to take +2 to AC for 1d4
rounds (I roll 2). All six cannons fire again, but this time 3 hit, despite my
AC bonus. The first deals 7 points (uh oh), knocking out my shields (2
points); the hull soaks all 5 remaining points. The second attack deals 7
points; my hull is able to soak 6 of that, but the Splicer suffers 1 hp (it’ll
be okay, baby!). The final cannon hits with a critical, 8x2=16 damage.
The hull soaks 6, but the internal systems suffer 10 points of damage.

The Splicer is down to 12 hit points. WHEW! 1 more hp of damage,
and I would have to immediately make a dependability check to sustain
that much damage and keep chugging along. That could be very bad.
As it is, my poor girl is going to require repairs, and the cargo I’m
carrying is only worth 1,000 credits, so I’m out for part of my take for
this job… and I’ve just run a guild blockade, putting me on their radar.
Man, I need to find a safer line of work… or… if I put all of that money
into my ship, maybe I can upgrade her dependability… no… actually, if I
reinforce my hull, I won’t have to worry about that… those credits
aren’t going to go very far. I’d better start thinking about my next job…

Planetary Vehicles
Planetary vehicles are those
designed for use within a
planet’s atmosphere. These
are incapable of travel into or
through space.
 Light is a designation for
any single-operator vehicle, possibly allowing for a handful of
passengers. Bikes and cars are the most common light planetary
vehicles. Light vehicles have a simple communications system (allowing
communication anywhere on the same planet), a basic navigation
system, and functional storage. Some vehicles, such as bikes, afford no
protection at all for the rider/ operator. If equipped with a weapon, a
light vehicle usually only has a heavy rifle.
 Medium includes such vehicles as tanks, basic transports, common
walkers and the like. Medium vehicles have a built-in comm system (see
page 102), simple navigation of the same world, and more storage. They
also have scanning, allowing electronic monitoring up to a number of
miles equal to the hit points of the vehicle. These vehicles may also be
equipped with tactical weapons such as cannons.
 Heavy includes most larger vehicles, including larger transports,
heavy tanks, and vehicles designed for long-range travel or long-term
independence. A sky yacht or mobile command post would be heavy
vehicles. These have sophisticated navigation, electronic monitoring to
a number of miles equal to their hit point total x10, considerable
storage capabilities, standard communications, and (often) tactical
weapons systems.
Propulsion
Depending on the method of propulsion, adjust the starting attributes
for a planetary vehicle in this way:
 Walkers have a speed of ½, but take +2 to hull. Walkers take half
damage in a crash.
 Wheeled, treaded or tracked vehicles have a speed of 1, and take +1
to hull. Wheeled vehicles take half damage in a crash.
 Hover vehicles have a speed of 1d4, always hover 3’ over the
surface, and can hover over water or other liquids. Hover vehicles take
half damage in a crash.
 Flying vehicles have a speed 1d4+4. Flying vehicles take full damage
in a crash.
Planetary Vehicles
Light Medium Heavy
AC 10 + 1d4 12 + 1d4 14 + 1d4
Control +1d4 +0 -1d4
Hit Dice 2d8 to 4d8 3d10 to 6d10 5d12 to 10d12
Hull 1d4 1d6 2d6
Shields (zones) None 1d6 (1) 2d6 (2)
Speed By type By type By type
Jump Drive None None None
Upgrade 10 + 1d20 sc 50 + 1d100 sc 400 + 1d100 sc
Maintenance 1d6 sc 2d6 sc 3d6 sc
Armaments 1 heavy rifle 1 light cannon 1 med. Cannon
Complement None 1 light planetary 1 light starship
vehicle
Crew 1 1d2 1d4
Passengers 1d4-1 1d20 1d100
Cargo None 1d4-1 tons 1d12 tons
Escape Pods None None None
Base Cost 1,000 sc 5,000 sc 20,000 sc
Sample Planetary Vehicles

Air Bike Light Planetary Vehicle; 12’
AC 11 (13); Control +2; HD 2d8 (hp 8): Hull 2; Speed 5 (flight); Crew 1;
Passengers 1
Planetary Patrol Car Light planetary vehicle; 16.5’

AC 13 (15); Control +2; HD 3d8 (hp 12); Hull 4; Speed 6 (flight); Crew 1;
Passengers 1; Twin Blast Guns (3d6; 120’)
Rover Medium planetary vehicle; 20’ long

AC 16; Control +0; HD 3d8 (hp 12); Hull 6; Shields 5 (1 zone); Speed 1
(wheels); Light Blast Cannon (+1; 4d6; 1 mile); Crew 2; Passengers 6
Hover Yacht Heavy planetary vehicle; 90’

AC 17; Control -2; HD 6d12 (hp 36); Hull 8; Shields 8 (2 zones); Speed 3
(hover); Medium Blast Cannon (5d6; 150’); Crew 2; Passengers 80;
Cargo 2 tons

Starships
Starships are those designed for use in space, from short ranges
between planets to longer ranges across many systems.
 Light is a designation for smaller ships, including interceptors, basic

shuttlecraft, and smaller drop ships. Light vehicles have a standard
communications system, a broad range navigation system (including the
entire mapped cluster), and some storage. They also have scanning,
allowing electronic monitoring up to the hit points of the vehicle x100
miles. These vehicles are often equipped with tactical weapons such as
cannons. Light vehicles are usually no longer than 50’ long.
 Medium includes such starships as gunships, freighters, barges, and
the like. These vehicles have a standard communications system, a
broad range navigation system (including the entire mapped cluster),
and some storage. They also have scanning, allowing electronic
monitoring up to the hit points of the vehicle x1,000 miles. These
vehicles are often equipped with several tactical weapons such as
cannons. Medium vehicles usually range between 50’ and 200’ long.
 Heavy includes such starships as carriers, cruisers, and frigates.
These vehicles have enhanced communications systems allowing
encryption and jamming (see page 102), a broad range navigation
system (including the entire mapped cluster), and large amounts of
storage. They also have scanning, allowing electronic monitoring,
typically up to a number of light hours away equal to the vehicle’s hit
points. These vehicles are often equipped with a wide range of tactical
weapons such as cannons, torpedoes and bombs. Heavy starships are
typically over 200’ long, some measuring as long as 500’.
The Heavy Battle Carrier Valhalla’s Blade

Starships
Light Medium Heavy
AC 10 + 1d6 12 + 1d6 14 + 1d6
Control +1d4 +1d2 +0
Hit Dice 3d10 to 6d10 5d12 to 10d12 10d20 to 20d20
Hull 1d6 2d6 3d6
Shields (zones) 2d10 (1-2) 4d10 (2) 8d10 (4)
Speed 1d10+10 1d10+10 1d10+10
Jump Drive None x1 x1
Upgrade 50 + 400 + 2,000 +
1d100 sc 1d100 sc (1d10x100) sc
Maintenance 2d6 sc 5d6 sc 10d6 sc
Armaments 1 light cannon 1 heavy cannon 4 heavy cannons
Complement 2 light 1 heavy 1 medium
planetary planetary starship
vehicles vehicle
Crew 1d4 2d6 4d6
Passengers 1d20 1d100 1d10x100
Cargo 1d4-1 tons 2d10 tons 1d10 x100 tons
Escape Pods 1d4-1 2d6 4d6
Base Cost 10,000 sc 100,000 sc 1 million sc

Junkers
As a terran adventurer, you begin play with a junker, a medium starship
that has been to war and back (probably quite literally). It once served
another function, but now it’s yours, ready to be modified to your
heart’s content. Sure, it needs a little T.L.C., but it’s going to be a great
ship someday. Really. You’ll see!
Follow the steps below to create your junker:
Determine Its Origin

What was your ship before it became the coolest vessel in the Five
Systems?
Junker Origins (Roll 1d6)

Roll Before you got it, this starship was
1 Military dropship. It carried vehicles and troops between
heavier starships and the surface.
2 Guild envoy. One of the local guilds owned it, using it to
engage in trade.
3 Garbage barge. You almost have the smell out. Almost.
4 Shuttlecraft. It was a passenger craft.
5 Stock light freighter. It was one of thousands of ships used to
haul freight.
6 Heavy interceptor or system patrol craft.
Determine How You Got It

You had to get this junker from somewhere…
Getting a Junker (Roll 1d6)

Roll How You Got Your Starship
1 A gift or inheritance (proof that others DO like you).
2 Won in a game of chance (you had a great bluff).
3 Stole it (the previous owner didn’t deserve it).
4 Found it/recovered it/salvaged it (that junk yard didn’t know
what it had sitting there).
5 Earned it (accepted it in lieu of payment for a job).
6 Bought it (it cost everything you had, but it was SO worth it).

Roll for Attributes
Let’s take a look at this beauty and see how she handles…
 Roll for length, 50’ + (1d10x5)’.
 Roll for Armor Class: 1d6+12.
 Roll for Control: 1d4-2.
 Roll for Hit Dice: Roll 1d3+4. This is how many hit dice (in D12) your
junker has.
 Roll for Hit Points, using D12 (re-roll 1, 2, or 3 on the D12).
 Roll for Hull: 2d4.
 Roll for Shields: 4d10 over 2 zones.
 Roll 1d6+10 for your junker’s starting Speed.
 Your Jump Drive starts at x1.
 Your Upgrade cost is always 400 +1d100 sc.
 Roll 2d4 for your starting Dependability.
 Your daily Maintenance is always 5d6 sc.
 Junkers always start with 1 light blast cannon (no targeting; 3d6
damage; 1 mile range)
 Your junker has already been modified so that only 1 crew member
(you) is required to operate the vehicle. You can operate 1 cannon from
the pilot’s seat, if needed (when you do this, you always take -2 to hit,
however).
 Roll 1d100 for passenger allotment.
 Roll 2d10 for cargo space (in total available tons).
 Roll 2d6 for the number of escape pods you have.
Roll for Problems

Your junker starts with a few problems. Roll 1d4 for the number of
problems your junker has, and then roll below to determine each
problem. Re-roll duplicate results. Each of these problems can
eventually be corrected, but you will have to spend 1d6 x100 sc to
repair each problem.

Junker Problems (Roll 1d12 for each problem)
Roll Problem
1 Jump drive flutters. Every time you activate your jump drive,
roll 1d6. On a roll of 1, the drive shuts down for 1 turn.
2 Leaks fuel crystals. You have a small breach in the fuel line.
Add +1d6 to your daily maintenance cost.
3 Missing blast shielding. A piece of outer hull is missing,
giving you a temporary reduction of 1d4 to your hull rating.
4 Sensor array is burned out. You have no ability to scan
around your ship.
5 1d4 of your escape pods are completely jammed, and
cannot operate without repairs.
6 Your atmospheric stabilizer is on the fritz, forcing you to
take -1 to control whenever within the atmosphere of a
planet or planet-like object.
7 Communication system is down. Your built-in
communication system has burned out relays, and the
whole thing needs to be replaced.
8 One of your shield zone generators doesn’t work. You can
allocate all shields to the other zone, but none to this one.
Roll 1d6 for which shields fail: 1-3 = front shields, 4-6 = back
shields.
9 Infamous profile. The ship is registered with many systems
as a wanted vehicle. You need to wipe its data signature and
change out markings if you want to keep from getting
impounded in civilized systems.
10 Weapon misalignment. Your starship’s primary weapon has
targeting issues, forcing -2 to attack rolls.
11 It needs a severe tune-up. Increase your daily maintenance
costs by +10 sc when you roll.
12 Prone to system failure. Whenever you fail a dependability
check, you automatically roll for a failure result; you do not
get to roll a FEAT to avoid this.

Part 4: Castings
Mystical energy infuses all of creation, binding the stars together in
myriad ways. Those who can tap into this power may ultimately shape it
to their own purposes, mastering the primal forces of creation. While at
one time other magic existed, much has been long forgotten; only faith
magic is still practiced by the elder race of the nuaru.
Prepared Castings and Casting Slots

Your take one bonus spell per sphere, up to your WIS modifier. As a
nuaru seeker 3, you can cast 2 castings of sphere 1 and 1 casting of
sphere 2 per day. If you have WIS 9, you also have 1 extra casting of
sphere 1 (from the +1 modifier), bringing you to 3 castings of sphere 1
and 1 casting of sphere 2 per day.
When you go to wield a casting, you can choose any casting of that
sphere, in any other combination or as often as desired, until you have
used up your three sphere 1 casting slots for that day.
Wielding Castings
In order to wield a casting, you must be able to move your hands and
speak. This means that if you are bound, silenced, held, unconscious, or
underwater, you cannot wield castings. You cannot move while wielding
castings, or perform other actions such as using a doser or retrieving an
item from your pack.
Reversed Castings
Some castings have a reversed version that operates in the opposite
fashion. In general, reverse castings are only wielded by the
practitioners of the void.
More Powerful Mysticism

Creatures of great power have at times been able to access and control
even more powerful mysticism that can move mountains, induce years
of slumber, revive those dead for centuries, or alter reality itself. Such
mysticism is exceedingly rare, far beyond the ken of a fellowship of
mortal heroes.

Casting Lists
Castings are listed alphabetically by sphere. A casting listing includes:
The Casting Name (maximum range in feet). A description of how the

casting works, how long it lasts, and any special restrictions or effects.
A casting without a specific duration happens in the round it is cast
and ends immediately. If a FEAT is allowed, modifiers to the FEAT, and
how the FEAT changes the casting’s effectiveness, will be listed.
Note that range operates differently for castings; a casting will be

ineffective against a target beyond its listed range. Casting descriptions
are left intentionally open-ended; players and GMs are encouraged to
be creative in how and where castings are used. Throughout, CL stands
for Challenge Level, the comparative level of a creature or monster. A
character always has a CL equal to his level. Castings rarely require a roll
to hit; most castings automatically succeed, striking the target or going
off in the area desired.
Faith Castings by Sphere

Roll Sphere 1 Sphere 2 Sphere 3
1 Cure (Cause) Light Augury Aura of Warding
Wounds
2 Detect Evil (Good) Aura of Silence Dispel Mysticism
3 Light (Darkness) Bless (Blight) Locate Object
4 Purify (Putrefy) Cure (Cause) Remove Curse
Food & Water Malady (Curse)
5 Remove (Cause) Hold Person Speak with the
Fear (Free Action) Dead
6 Warding Know Alignment Striking
Roll Sphere 4 Sphere 5 Sphere 6

1 Animate Dead Commune Blade Barrier
2 Create Food & Find the Path Dispel Evil
Water
3 Cure (Cause) Flame Strike Mass Cure (Cause)
Serious Wounds Wounds
4 Neutralize (Create) Speak With Raise the Dead
Poison Creatures

Faith castings Sphere 1
Cure Light Wounds (touch). Restore 1d6 + level hit points to a living
creature. The reverse of this casting, cause light wounds, deals 1d6 +
level damage; no attack roll is required, and no FEAT is allowed to resist.
Detect Evil (60’). Cause evil creatures, objects and devices to glow
faintly for 1 turn. Chaotic creatures are not necessarily evil, and dangers
such as security systems do not radiate evil. This effect does not move
with you.
Light (120’). Fill a 30’ radius area with bright light for 12 turns. If you
cast this at a creature’s eyes, the target must roll a FEAT or be blinded
for 12 turns, taking -4 to all actions. The reverse of this, darkness, fills
the area with mystical darkness. Light and darkness cancel each other.
Purify Food and Water (10’). Make spoiled or poisoned food and water
safe and usable. You can affect food and drink for up to 2 people per
caster level. The reverse of this casting, putrefy food and water, spoils
the same quantity of food and water.
Remove Fear (30’). End a normal or mystical fear that a creature suffers.
If the fear was created by a creature of higher level than you, the target
must roll a new FEAT before the fear will end; the target adds your level
to the FEAT roll.
The reverse of this, cause fear, forces a living creature within range
to roll a FEAT or turn and flee for 1 turn.
Warding (caster). Take +1 to AC and all FEATS for 1 turn. Any ‘enchanted’
creature (a summoned or charmed creature) cannot attack you in
melee, unless you attack first. This stacks with worn armor and other
protection.

Augury (caster). Ask one question of a supernatural force, determining
whether a specific course of action will be for good or ill (or possibly
neither; or possibly both). You will get no other information.
Aura of Silence (120’). Create a field of absolute silence with a radius of

15’. If cast at a creature, a FEAT is allowed to resist. A successful FEAT
means the area is affected, but not the creature; otherwise, the effect
moves with the creature. No castings may be wielded by creatures
within this field. An object thrown or fired out of the field will make
noise, but nothing within the field will.
Bless (60’). Grant all allies in a 20’x20’ area +1 to hit rolls, damage rolls,
and morale for 1 turn. Once affected, creatures may move out of this
area.
The reverse of this casting, blight, affects all foes in a 20’x20’ area,
imposing a penalty of -1 to attack rolls, damage rolls, and morale for 1
turn. A successful FEAT allows a creature to ignore this effect.
Cure Malady (30’). Cure one malady affecting a living target. This
includes blindness, deafness, disease or another prolonged sickness.
The reverse of this casting, cause malady, forces the target to roll a
FEAT or take -1 to STR and CON. The victim of cause malady heals half as
quickly, and mystical healing is only half as effective for this creature.
This lasts for 2d6 days, or until cured.
Hold Person (120’). Paralyze a terran or terran-like creature of up to

large size for 1 turn. This will not affect non-living creatures such as the
undead. Each target must roll a FEAT or be paralyzed. It will affect up to
4 creatures (caster’s choice). If more than one creature is targeted,
creatures take a bonus to the FEAT equal to number of creatures
targeted. If cast at 2 creatures, both get +2 to the FEAT; if cast at 3
creatures, both get +3, etc.
The reverse of this casting, free action, cancels or prevents the target
from being bound or held by such effects as hold person, web or even
ghoul paralysis for the casting duration.
Know Alignment (30’). Discern the alignment of one creature within

range. No FEAT is allowed.

Aura of Warding (caster). As warding, but affecting all allies within 10’
of the caster. Those moving out of the radius lose this effect.
Dispel Mysticism (120’). Cancel one casting or other mystical effect

within range. You succeed against castings cast by others of your level
or lower; castings cast by casters of a higher level roll a FEAT to resist
(based on the FEAT for the original caster). Temporary casting effects
(like a charm) are instantly canceled, while permanent effects are
neutralized for 1 turn. Permanent mystical items and creatures are
unaffected.
Locate Object (240’). Discern the general direction and distance to a

specific item within casting range.
Remove Curse (touch). End one curse on a creature or object. More

powerful curses (as determined by the GM) may not be removed by this
casting. For example, the casting may neutralize a cursed ring long
enough for the wearer to take it off, but will not permanently destroy
the cursed nature of the item. This casting will temporarily end a
mystical disease, but will not permanently remove the malady.
The opposite of this casting, curse, imposes a penalty of -2 to all rolls
of the living target who fails a FEAT. This is permanent until removed via
a remove curse, dispel mysticism, or dispel evil casting.
Speak with the Dead (10’). Call forth the spirit of a dead person, asking
up to three questions. The creature will only know what it knew in life.
A CHA check may be required. Failure means that the target speaks in
riddles or is intentionally cryptic. This will not affect undead creatures.
You must be within 10’ of the remains of the creature to cast the
casting.
Striking (30’). Imbue a weapon with holy or unholy energy, allowing it to

deal +1d6 damage for 1 turn.

Faith Castings Sphere 4
Animate Dead (60’). Create undead creatures (either skeletons or
zombies) of total CL equal to your level. These will obey your commands
until destroyed or another caster uses dispel mysticism to sever your
connection to these undead. You may not have more than 2x your level
in CL undead under your control at any one time. Note: The nuaru will
use this ability only in cases of extreme need.
Create Food and Water (caster). Create sufficient food and water for 1
creature for 1 day per caster level. As a terran templar 10, you can use
this casting to create food and water to sustain 10 people for 1 day.
Cure Serious Wounds (touch). Restore 3d6 + level hit points to a living
creature. The reverse of this casting, cause serious wounds, deals 3d6 +
level damage; no attack roll is required, and no FEAT is allowed to resist.
Neutralize Poison (touch). Immediately neutralize a poison (such as in a

container) or end the effect of poison on a living creature. A creature
who has died of poisoning within the last 6 turns will return to life.
The reverse of this casting, create poison, poisons a living creature
touched, or turns a food or liquid into a poisonous substance. No attack
roll is required. The target must roll a FEAT or die in 1d10 rounds from
the powerful poison.

Commune (caster only). Ask up to three yes/no type questions of
natives of the upper (or lower) planes. You may only use this casting
once per day.
Find the Path (caster only). Instantly know the best path to take to a
desired location in the same realm. All knowledge needed to get to the
location (passwords, locations of secret doors) will also be gleaned.
Flame Strike (60’). Call down a pillar of holy (or unholy) energy dealing
1d6 damage per caster level to all creatures in a 10’ radius. Living
targets may roll a FEAT for half damage, although undead and fiends
always suffer full damage. Since this is holy or unholy flame, it will affect
fire-using creatures normally.

Speak with Creatures (caster). For 1 turn, you may speak with any
creature within 60’ (living or non-living) of at least rudimentary intellect.
Creatures within 60’ will not immediately attack you, and must make a
reaction roll before taking any action. Make reaction rolls for
interactions with creatures of the type using your CHA +4 for the casting
duration. If you or an ally attacks the creature(s), the casting ends.

Blade Barrier (120’) fill a number of 10’ squares equal to your level
(shaped as you desire) with swirling blades of holy or unholy energy.
Creatures in the affected area suffer 1d6 damage per caster level each
round. Targets roll a FEAT for half damage. As a terran templar 12, your
blade barrier could fill an area 20’ wide and 60’ long, dealing 12d6
damage per round (half damage on a successful FEAT) to all creatures in
the area of effect. Creatures can usually move out of the area of effect
with one action.
Dispel Evil (30’). Force all undead, summoned, and enchanted creatures
within 30’ of you to roll a FEAT or be destroyed. Effects like charm,
confusion and curses affecting your allies end. Permanent curses (like
from an item) are neutralized for 1 turn.
Mass Cure Wounds (60’). A number of friendly living creatures within

60’ of you instantly recover 3d6 + your level hit points. You may affect a
number of creatures equal to your level. The reverse of this casting,
mass cause wounds, causes 3d6 + your level damage to a number of
living creatures within 60’ equal to your level. No FEAT is allowed to
resist.
Raise the Dead (touch). Restore one dead creature to life at 1 hit point.
The creature must have died within 1 hour per caster level. Most of the
body must be present; a creature that was disintegrated or mutilated
beyond recognition cannot be raised.

Part 5: Encounters
An encounter includes any meeting with an obstacle (such as a river to
cross or a puzzle to solve) or a creature (whether friend or foe, predator
or prey). Measure time during encounters in turns of 10 minutes and
rounds of 10 seconds. A sequence of combat may last one round or
many rounds, but is always assumed to take at least 1 turn (including
the time recovering from the battle, cleaning weapons, tending to
wounds, etc.).
Movement
Your movement rate indicates how many feet you can travel in one
round (10 seconds) while doing nothing else. It also indicates how many
10’ square areas you can explore in 1 turn. You can travel half of your
move rating (in feet) as a combat move. When you make a combat
move, you take -2 to the simultaneous attack roll. You cannot make a
combat move and cast castings at the same time, but you can compel
undead, drink a potion, or make a check while taking a combat move.
 Most characters have a move of 40.
 The gnorom and kobo have a move of 30.
Time: Turns and Rounds

In 1 turn (10 minutes) you can: In 1 round (10 seconds) you can:
 Explore an area equal to your  Use an item or device
movement rate (making a map of  Make one attack action
the area, rolling sense FEATs for  Run your movement rate x2
traps and secret doors, and (you can do this for a number of
making notes of unique features rounds equal to your CON, then
of the area). Note: if using a grid you must rest for 1 turn). While
where one square equals 10’, you running, you take -2 to all
can explore a number of squares defensive rolls and abilities: armor
each turn equal to your class, FEATS, and resistant checks.
movement rate.  Move up to your full
 Make a check to foil a security movement rate (without exerting
device, pick a lock or search a yourself).
small area (about 20’ x 20’) for  Move up to half of your
secret compartments and hidden movement rate and attack at -2.
objects.
Note: Exhausted characters take -2 to all rolls.

Beginning an Encounter
1. Determine if either side is surprised. The side gaining surprise takes
+2 to their attack in the first round (a kobo rat skinner takes +4 instead).
A character who successfully uses sneak or who otherwise catches his
opponent unawares typically gains surprise. For example, if the
fellowship suspects that there may be creatures on the other side of a
door, and they burst through the door suddenly, they should be allowed
to gain surprise with no roll. If you have surprise, you automatically win
initiative.
2. If no surprise takes place, all participants roll a FEAT to determine
combat order (initiative). Alternately, make one representative FEAT roll
for each side in the combat, using the leader or a representative
creature (for example, most of the time you will make one roll for a
group of five ghouls instead of rolling for each ghoul individually).
3. Follow this rotation throughout combat. The side that wins initiative
goes first each round; the side that loses goes last each round. Any
surprise modifier to attack rolls only counts in the first round.
Combat
 Melee combat with hand to hand weapons like axes and swords
occurs between opponents within 5’ of each other. Any melee attack
allows the attacker to add his STR modifier to both attack and damage
rolls.
 Ranged combat with ranged and thrown weapons like pistols, rifles,
and bows occurs against opponents greater than 5’ away. You cannot
use a ranged weapon against a foe
who is already using a melee weapon
against you! Any ranged or thrown
weapon attack allows the attacker to
add his DEX modifier to the attack roll
(but not the damage roll).
Damage, Death and Healing. At 0 hp you are unconscious; at the

negative value of your CON, you die. You recover 1d4 + CON modifier
hit points per hour of rest. Most creatures are assumed to be dead at
0 hp. Since half of your total hit points represent short-term
conditions such as current willpower and remaining stamina, you
automatically recover up to half of your hit points at the beginning of
the next turn. However, any other hit point damage (representing
actual wounds) must be healed normally.

Weapon Types
 Some weapons, like small blades and javelins, may be wielded in
melee combat or thrown as ranged weapons.
 Ranged Weapons are listed with a range increment. You can attack
an opponent within this range normally. Each increment of this range
imposes -2 to your attack roll. For example, a blast rifle with a range of
60’ can hit a target within 60’ with no penalty, but hits at -2 from 61’-
120’, at -4 from 121-180’, etc. A ranged weapon can reach up to 10x its
base range; the maximum reach for the 60’ range blast rifle is 600’, but
this would force a penalty of -18 to the attack! The same is true even for
extended ranges for starship weapons; a weapon with a range of 5 miles
can target a foe 25 to 30 miles away, but takes -10 to the attack.
 Thrown Weapons operate as ranged weapons above, but the
maximum reach is limited to 5 range increments. A spear with a range
of 20’ will not be effective against a target more than 100’ away.
Other Combat Factors

 Cover forces a penalty to missile attack rolls of either -2 (moderate
cover) or -4 (excellent cover). A character with complete cover (behind a
wall) cannot be hit, but also cannot fire back!
 Holy water (kept in glass vials) deals 1d8 damage to void creatures.
Holy water is splashed as a thrown weapon (range 10’). Holy water is
quite rare, but may be found in ancient temples on remote worlds.
Reactions
Reactions require a CHA check, typically against target 20. When you
come across a creature and attempt to parlay with it, roll a CHA check. If
you succeed, the target generally views you favorably; if you fail, the
target generally views you unfavorably. A roll more than +4 /-4 from the
target means that the reaction is stronger (above 24 = very favorable;
below 16 = hostile).
Part 6: creatures
Any sentient being that is not a player character is considered a
creature. Creatures may be friendly or aggressive, wild or tame,
mundane or fantastic. The GM chooses from these creatures the friends
and foes of the Player Characters.
Over dozens of worlds, there are thousands of varieties of
monstrous creature. The most common types, insects, mammals, and
reptiles/amphibians, are listed with general guidelines, while specific
creatures are lifted after.
Creatures take a bonus to attacks equal to their base HD. A creature
with 4d4 HD or 4d12 HD takes +4 to attack rolls. Each listing includes:
 Alignment, Size (small, medium, large or huge), the type of creature,
and the challenge level (CL). Alignment tells whether the creature is
lawful, neutral or chaotic. Most creatures that act on instinct are
neutral; these creatures will obey their stomachs and instincts rather
than any larger philosophies of good or evil. Challenge level indicates
the creature’s relative level; a creature with only HD 6 may have
abilities and powers that make it equivalent to a character of level 7, or
even level 8.
 Armor Class (AC) considers all factors, including worn protection,
inherent dexterity, and thick hide or natural armor.
 Hit Dice. Indicates the level (HD) and die type for rolling hit points.
 FEAT modifier (with any special ability/talent ratings in parenthesis).
 Move lists all movement types for the creature.
 Combat includes all possible attacks that the creature may use.
Some creatures take multiple attacks each round; others must choose
between attack forms each round. The description will elaborate, as
needed. Each attack type lists (in parenthesis) the bonus the creature
takes to hit; and the way damage is rolled on a successful hit.
About Creature Abilities

 Poison has an onset time. This onset time is the number of rounds
before the poison takes effect. A poison that causes death with an onset
time of 1d10 rounds, will kill the target 1d10 rounds after the poison
has been injected. This is how long the character has to take an antidote
before the poison takes full effect. Unless otherwise listed, poisons have
an onset time of 1d10 rounds.
 Casting-like abilities are cast at the caster level of the creature’s CL.
 Unless otherwise noted, assume a creature has darkvision to 60’.
More Creatures
The campaign setting is a huge expanse, including dozens of worlds
with millions of individual species. This section includes common types
(insects, mammals, reptiles); a few of the common minor races of other
thinking creatures (gobs, giants); elementals; and creatures native to
the void (fiends, the messari, and the undead). However, the Saga of
the Splintered Realm core rules include over 100 monsters that can
easily be adapted or re-skinned to place on worlds as new creatures.
The simple stat blocks and the examples throughout this section should
make it relatively easy for you to create statistics for a wide range of
fearsome and terrible creatures to hound the player characters.
Organization
Creatures are organized by type. Those native to the void are listed at
the end of this section.

Insects
Common predators on all planets that sustain life, insects range in size
from miniscule to massive. While most tiny biting and stinging insects
are little more than a nuisance in small numbers, they may travel in
swarms that can cause great damage. Their larger cousins, some of
incredible size, can ravage entire regions and lay waste to all in their
path.
Common Insect Abilities

1. Burrowing. The insect is able to burrow through medium ground at
half of its normal speed.
2. Defenses. Add +1d4 to armor class based on thick shell or
exceptional quickness.
3. Flight (at +1d6 x10’ to normal move).
4. Immune to one type of elemental damage.
5. Morale. Takes +4 to morale FEATS.
6. Poison. Attack forces a FEAT or the target dies. +4 to FEAT for CL 1-4
insects; -4 to FEAT for CL 9+ insects.
7. Sneak (as a FEAT).
8. Speed. Add 1d4 x10 to the mammal’s movement rate.
9. Tougher. Add 1D to 4D to the creature’s hit dice. Remember to
adjust attack bonus, CL, and FEAT modifier accordingly.
10. Web Builder. Create webs as the casting. See page 75.
Insect, Small
Neutral Small Insect; CL ½
AC: 12
Hit Dice: 1d4
FEAT: +4
Move: 30’
Combat: 1 bite or sting (+1 to hit; 1d4 damage)
Insect, Medium
Neutral Medium Insect; CL 2
AC: 13
Hit Dice: 2d6
FEAT: +6
Move: 40’
Insect, Large
Neutral Medium Insect; CL 3
AC: 14
Hit Dice: 4d6
FEAT: +7
Move: 40’
Combat: 1 bite or sting
(+4; 1d10 dmg.)
Insect, Huge
Neutral Large Insect; CL 4
AC: 15
Hit Dice: 6d8
FEAT: +8
Move: 40’
Insect Swarm
Neutral Insects; CL 1 to 4
AC: 12
Hit Dice: 1d6 to 4d6
FEAT: +5
Move: 30’ (fly 60’)
Combat: 1 point of damage per round, per hit die
An insect swarm is a community of biting, stinging tiny pests that work

together. They often fill an area up to 10’x30’, dealing damage
automatically to all creatures within the swarm. They are unaffected by
melee weapons, but a blast, pulse, or phase weapon deals 1 point of
damage per die of the weapon (a pistol deals 1 point; a rifle deals 2
points); area of effect attacks (i.e. grenades) affect the entire swarm
and deal full damage. Smoke will force the swarm to roll a FEAT or flee. A
character can try to run out of a swarm or dive underwater (suffering
damage for 1 more round thereafter).
A swarm deals its HD in damage each round: a swarm of HD 4d6
deals 4 points of damage per round to all living creatures within it.

Mammals
Mammals are often aggressive and predatory, and most larger
mammals attack with a bite and multiple claws.
Common Mammal Abilities:

1. Burrowing. The mammal is able to burrow through medium ground
at half of its normal speed.
2. Claws. In addition to the bite, the mammal has two claw attacks.
These have the same bonus to hit, but typically deal damage at one die
lower (for example, if the bite deals 2d6 damage, the claws likely deal
2d4 damage).
3. Defenses. Add +1d4 to armor class based on thick hide or
4. Hug. On a natural 20, the creature is able to hug medium or smaller
enemies, dealing automatic damage each round thereafter, and
automatically hitting.
7. Senses. Take +4 to sense FEAT rolls.
9. Speed. Add 1d4 x10 to the mammal’s movement rate.
Small Mammal Large Mammal

Neutral Small Animal; CL 1 Neutral Large Animal; CL 4
AC: 10 AC: 12
Hit Dice: 1d4 Hit Dice: 4d8
FEAT: +1 FEAT: +8
Move: 30’ Move: 60’
Combat: bite (+1; 1d6 dmg) Combat: bite (+4; 2d6 dmg)
Medium Mammal Huge Mammal

Neutral Medium Animal; CL 2 Neutral Huge Animal; CL 6
AC: 11 AC: 13
Hit Dice: 2d6 Hit Dice: 6d10
FEAT: +2 FEAT: +9
Move: 40’ Move: 60’
Combat: bite (+2; 1d8 dmg) Combat: (+6; 2d8 dmg)
Reptiles
Reptiles are common predators, adapting themselves to a wide range of
climates.
Common Reptile Abilities

1. Amphibious. The creature is equally adapted to living on land or in
water, and has a movement rate in water equal to its land rate.
2. Burrowing. The reptile is able to burrow through medium ground at
half of its normal speed.
3. Claws. In addition to the bite, the reptile has two claw attacks. These
have the same bonus to hit, but typically deal damage at one die lower
(for example, if the bite deals 2d6 damage, the claws likely deal 2d4
damage)
4. Constrictor. The creature will wrap itself around a victim, dealing
automatic squeeze damage every round thereafter. A victim must make
a STR check (target 20) to break free. Targets bound by a constrictor
take damage every round (based on the size of the reptile: small +4;
medium +2; large no modifier; huge -2) until they break free or the
reptile dies. Attempting to break free requires the constricted character
to use an action. Those bound take -4 to hit rolls while so bound.
5. Defenses. Add +1d4 to armor class based on thick hide, plates, or
8. Poison. Attack forces a FEAT or the target dies. +4 to FEAT for CL 1-4
reptiles; -4 to FEAT for CL 9+ reptiles.
9. Quick Strike. Take one bonus attack each round with primary attack.
11. Speed. Add 1d4 x10 to the reptile’s movement rate.
Reptile, Small
Neutral Small Animal; CL ½
AC: 11
Hit Dice: 1d4
FEAT: +4
Move: 20’
Combat: bite (+0; 1d4 dmg)

Reptile, Medium
Neutral Medium Animal; CL 1
AC: 12
Hit Dice: 1d6
FEAT: +6
Move: 30’
Combat: bite (+1 to hit; 1d6 damage)
Reptile, Large
Neutral Large Animal; CL 3
AC: 13
Hit Dice: 3d8
FEAT: +7
Move: 30’
Reptile, Massive
Neutral Huge Animal; CL 5
AC: 14
Hit Dice: 5d10
FEAT: +8
Move: 40’
Reptile, Gargantuan
Neutral Huge Animal; CL 8
AC: 15
Hit Dice: 7d12
FEAT: +9
Move: 40’
Combat: bite (+7; 4d6 dmg.)

Elementals
Elementals, creatures of pure elemental energy, are native to planets
composed mostly or completely of that element. Elementals are
generally wild and untamed, attacking living creatures without thought.
Elemental Types
Type Move Notes
Air 120’ Targets struck must roll a FEAT or be thrown 1d4x10
feet, suffering 1d4 extra damage per 10’ thrown.
Earth 20’ Deals +2 melee damage due to great strength.
Fire 30’ Deals 1d6 fire damage to any creature striking it in
melee combat.
Ice 20’ Deals +2 melee damage due to great strength.
Water 30’ Ingests medium or smaller target on a critical hit;
target suffers -4 to hit while within the elemental,
and may drown (see page 99).
Elemental, Medium
Neutral Medium Elemental; CL 8
AC: 17
Hit Dice: 8d6
FEAT: +10
Combat: 1 strike (+8 to hit; 2d6 damage)
Elemental, Large
Neutral Large Elemental; CL 12
AC: 19
Hit Dice: 12d8
FEAT: +12
Elemental, Huge
Neutral Huge Elemental; CL 16
AC: 21
Hit Dice: 16d10
FEAT: +14

Giants
Giants are huge, savage, bipeds in the form of monstrous terrans. All
giants can hurl large rocks as thrown weapons, dealing 3d6 damage.
Stone Giant
Neutral Huge Terranoid; CL 9
AC: 16
Hit Dice: 9d10
FEAT: +10
Move: 50’
Combat: 1 weapon (+9 to hit; 3d6 damage)
Stone giants (14’ tall) live in mountainous regions. They have naturally
hard skin, and wield stone clubs in combat. They often take large wild
mammals as pets. Their range is 60’ with rocks.
Elemental Giant
Chaotic Huge Terranoid; CL 11
AC: 17
Hit Dice: 11d10
FEAT: +11
Move: 50’
Elemental giants (18’ tall) live in climates equal to their type, and are
immune to elemental attacks of the type. Their range with rocks is 120’.
Cloud Giant
Neutral Huge Terranoid; CL 13
AC: 17
Hit Dice: 13d10
FEAT: +12 (sense +14)
Move: 60’
Cloud giants (20’ tall) live at the peaks of mountains or within cloud
fortresses on gas giants. They have exceptional senses. Their range with
rocks is 150’. They often cultivate the resources of the gas giant planets
to which they are native.
Gobs
A degenerate terranoid species, the various gob species are a common
blight upon the lands of law and order. Brutish and cruel, gobs dwell in
wild areas on many planets. All gobs have darkvision to 90’. All wear
crude armor and carry simple weapons; If available, gobs will carry blast
weapons, especially if in the service of a more powerful leader. All gobs
are able to sneak as a FEAT.
Common Gob
Chaotic Medium Terranoid; CL ½
AC: 13
Hit Dice: 1d6
FEAT: +4
Move: 20’
Common gobs are earthy, degenerate creatures averaging 3’ tall.
Hob
Chaotic Medium Terranoid; CL 2
AC: 13
Hit Dice: 2d6
FEAT: +6
Move: 30’
Hobs are larger, meaner relatives of gobs, averaging 6’ tall.
Greater gob
Chaotic Large Terranoid; CL 3
AC: 14
Hit Dice: 3d8
FEAT: +7
Move: 40’
Greater gobs are 7’ tall hairy gobs, and are especially cruel and savage.

Oozes, Slimes and Jellies
A variety of these creatures inhabit the desolate reaches of a variety of
worlds.
Black Pudding
Neutral Large Monstrosity; CL 11
AC: 13
Hit Dice: 10d8
FEAT: +12
Move: 20’
Combat: 1 touch (+10 to hit; 3d8 damage)
A monstrous blob of deepest black measuring up to 10’ across and 30’

long, the black pudding slithers deep underground. Only fire and
normal blast weapons can harm the black pudding, and a flaming
weapon deals full damage against it. All other attacks (including pulse
and phase weapons) cause part of it to break off, becoming a pudding of
HD 2d8 and 1d8 damage. It can move through small openings and under
doors.
Gray Ooze
AC: 11
Hit Dice: 3d8
FEAT: +8
Move: 10’
Combat: 1 tendril (+3 to hit; 2d8 damage)
The gray ooze is a seeping horror that appears as wet stone, able to
move stealthily (sneak +12) when in dungeons and other underground
locales. It secretes an acid that deals 2d8 damage if it touches bare skin.
This acid will dissolve normal weapons and armor in 1 round. After the
first hit, the ooze sticks to its victim, beginning to eat through armor,
and dealing 2d8 damage per round automatically. Gray ooze cannot be
harmed by cold or fire, but can be harmed by weapons (including all
energy weapons) and lightning. Any treasure it has will consist entirely
of gemstones or items made of stone; all other items will have been
destroyed by the ooze.

Green Slime
AC: 10
Hit Dice: 2d8
FEAT: +7
Move: 3’
Combat: 1 drip or touch (+2 to hit; 1d8 damage)
Green slime cannot be harmed by any attack except for fire or cold. It
dissolves cloth or leather instantly, wood and metal in 6 rounds, but
cannot dissolve stone. Green slime often clings to walls and ceilings
attempting to surprise foes (rolling to sneak as a FEAT). Once it
successfully attacks, green slime sticks to its target, dealing damage
every round. It cannot be scraped off, but must be burned off; a cure
malady casting destroys it immediately, and it suffers full damage from
technological weapons. A creature killed by green slime will (in 1d6
turns) be reborn as a green slime. Damaging the slime while it is on a
victim deals the same damage to both the slime and the victim.
Ochre Jelly
AC: 11
Hit Dice: 5d8
FEAT: +9
Move: 10’
Combat: 1 tendril (+5 to hit; 2d6 damage)
The ochre jelly, a giant amoeba, can only be harmed by fire or cold. It
can seep through small cracks, destroying wood, leather, and cloth in 1
round. It cannot affect metal or stone. All other weapons and castings
(dealing damage types other than flame or cold) used against it only
split the ochre jelly into 2 smaller creatures, each of 2d6 HD that deals
1d6 damage.

Spider Kin
Two intelligent races dwell on the planet Sycorax (page 110), the home
world of a variety of spiders, some who wield a sphere 2 casting: web.
Web (30’). Fill a 10’ cube with sticky, web-like strands. A creature will
be trapped for 13 turns, less its STR. A creature with STR 7 breaks out
in 6 turns; one with STR 12 breaks out in 1 turn. A creature with STR
13+ needs 1 round to break free. Flame destroys a web in 1d4
rounds, dealing 1d6 damage per round to creatures stuck in the web.
Arachling
Chaotic Large Monstrosity; CL 6
AC: 16
Hit Dice: 6d8
FEAT: +11
Move: 60’
Combat: by weapon (+6 to hit; 1d8 damage) or casting
The horrid arachling has an upper body resembling a member of the

nuaru with pale skin, but the lower body of a spider. It will attack with a
melee weapon or with a casting. The arachling coats melee weapons
with its poisonous spittle; this forces targets suffering damage from
such weapons to roll a FEAT at +2 or be paralyzed for 1 turn.
The arachling has the casting abilities of an nuaru seeker 6, and
typically knows charm, darkness, hold person and web. An arachling is
able to communicate with all spiders, taking +4 to spider reaction rolls.
Ettercap
Chaotic Medium Monstrosity; CL 5
AC: 13
Hit Dice: 5d6
FEAT: +7
Move: 30’
Combat: bite (+5; 1d6 dmg) + 2 claws (+5; 1d4 dmg)
The horrid ettercap was once terran or demi-terran, but dark forces
have transformed it into a monstrous creature. It gets along with
spiders. Its bite forces living targets to roll a FEAT at +2 or suffer +1d8
damage. The ettercap can move freely through webs and web castings.

Spirits
Not native to the void (and therefore unaffected by powers affecting
void creatures), spirits are disembodied remains of the dead, continuing
to haunt their former abodes. Normal and blast weapons do not affect
these creatures, although they are harmed by pulse and phase
weapons, as well as by energy of the void.
Banshee
Chaotic Medium Spirit; CL 7
AC: 14
Hit Dice: 6d6
FEAT: +8
Move: 30’
Combat: 2 claws (+6 to hit; 1d8 damage)
The banshee is a wailing spirit of a fallen mortal, often a female nuaru.

Once per turn, a banshee may wail, causing all within 60’ to roll a
FEAT or die. Those who prepare for this wail (such as by covering their
ears or putting wax in ahead of time) take +4 to the FEAT. The banshee
is tied to a particular location, unable to travel more than 120’ from
where it died.
Ghost
Lawful, Neutral or Chaotic Medium Spirit; CL 10
AC: 19
Hit Dice: 10d6
FEAT: +11
Move: 30’
Combat: 1 touch (+10 to hit; 2d4 damage) + possession
A ghost is the spirit of a mortal that has been left behind, consigned to
the realm of the living due to some curse. A ghost can travel through
solid objects at will.
In addition to dealing damage, its touch forces the target to roll a
FEAT or age 1d4 x10 years. Once per turn, a ghost may attempt to
possess a living creature within 60’. If the target fails its FEAT, the ghost
takes possession of the living creature, controlling its body and
assuming all of its abilities, including castings.

The ghost will be cast out of the host’s body when it reaches 0 hit
points. Raise the dead forces the ghost to roll a FEAT or be cast out.
Ghosts are immune to charm, hold and sleep castings affecting the
living.
Shadow, Lesser
AC: 13
Hit Dice: 2d6
FEAT: +7
Move: 30’
Combat: 1 claw (+2 to hit; 1d4 damage + special)
Shadows, non-corporal spirits, exhibit

great cunning. They can only be harmed
by mystical or energy weapons. Their dark,
shadowy form grants +9 to sneak rolls. On
a successful strike, a shadow drains 1
point of strength unless the target makes
a FEAT; lost strength returns at a rate of 1
point per turn. Any living creature reduced
to STR 0 becomes a shadow in 1d4 days.
They are unaffected by sleep and charm
castings.
Shadow, Greater
AC: 16
Hit Dice: 6d6
FEAT: +9
Move: 30’
Combat: 1 claw (+6 to hit; 3d4 damage + special)
Greater shadows are even more powerful versions of their lesser kin,
affected only by mystical or energy weapons. Their dark, shadowy form
grants +11 to sneak rolls. On a successful strike, a shadow drains 1 point
of strength unless the target makes a FEAT; lost strength returns at a
rate of 1 point per turn. Any living creature reduced to STR 0 becomes a
shadow in 1d4 days. They are unaffected by sleep and charm castings.

Other Creatures
Some of the other creatures encountered by forces of the Confederacy
in their various travels include the following:
Aboleth
Chaotic Large Monstrosity; CL 8
AC: 15
Hit Dice: 8d8
FEAT: +10
Move: 20’ (swim 60’)
Combat: 4 tentacles (+6 to hit; 1d6 damage) + see below
A monstrous dweller of underground waters, the aboleth bears some

resemblance to an octopus. A creature struck by an aboleth’s tentacle
must roll a FEAT or become an amphibious creature, able to breathe
underwater, but suffering 1 point of damage per round out of water.
Only remove curse or dispel evil will reverse this. An aboleth may cast
each of the following once per turn: charm, darkness, and phantasmal
force (see page 82).
Black Sphere
Unaligned Negative Force; No CL
AC: can always be hit
Hit Dice: None (see below)
FEAT: +10 (see below)
Move: Fly 10’
Combat: Disintegrate (see below)
The black sphere is a being of pure anti-matter. This 3’ globe of total

darkness exists only to annihilate matter. Although lacking intelligence
or purpose, it seems drawn to living creatures and tends to seek
powerful lawful creatures before others. Anything that comes into
contact with the sphere is instantly destroyed. No FEAT is allowed. It is
completely immune to known weapons and castings, and can seemingly
survive forever in the vacuum of space.
It is theorized that millions of black spheres wander through the vast
reaches of space, and that the messari may be able to control, summon,
or direct these objects in some way.

Bog Horror
AC: 19
Hit Dice: 8d8
FEAT: +9
Move: 20’
Combat: 2 clubbing fists (+8 to hit; 2d6 damage each)
An omnivorous form of terranoid vegetation, the bog horror feeds upon

the living. It suffers only half damage from all castings. If both of its fists
hit one foe in the same round, that foe must roll a STR check (target 20)
or be bound to the horror, suffering 1d4 damage per round until either
the target or the horror is killed.
Decapus
Chaotic Mythical Creature; CL 5
AC: 14
Hit Dice: 4d8
FEAT: +7
Move: 10’ (30’ in trees or other heavy vegetation)
Combat: 8 tentacles (+4 to hit; 1d4 damage)
The horrid decapus is a monstrous creature that moves on 10 tentacles.

While it always must use two tentacles to prop itself up, it will enter
melee combat with 8 others, striking up to 8 different foes each round.
The decapus favors deep woodlands where it can move between trees
and branches, but will adapt to other environments as necessary.
Doppelganger
Chaotic Medium Creature; CL 4
AC: 14
Hit Dice: 4d6
FEAT: +8 (+10 vs. those attempting to see through its façade)
Move: 40’
The doppelganger, an intelligent shape shifter, assumes the exact form

of any creature it sees (up to 7’ tall). It prefers to kill its target, assuming
the victim’s place. A doppelganger is immune to charm and sleep. It
does not take on any abilities/powers of the creature it assumes.

Rat, Barge
Neutral Small Animal; CL ½
AC: 12
Hit Dice: 1d4
FEAT: +4 (sense +6)
Move: 20’ (swim 20’)
Combat: 1 bite (+0 to hit; 1d3 damage + disease)
2’ barge rats are a common nuisance in all lands inhabited by terrans

and their ilk. Those bit by a barge rat must roll a FEAT or fall sick for 1d6
days, taking -1 to CON.
Remorhaz
Chaotic Huge Beast; CL 8
AC: 18
Hit Dice: 7d10
Move: 60’ (burrow 30’)
Combat: 1 bite (+7 to hit; 2d8 damage) + see below
The mighty remorhaz, an aggressive polar predator, burrows through

snow and ice. While hiding in snow, the remorhaz may roll a FEAT to
sneak. In combat, the remorhaz will emit exceptional heat, dealing 1d6
damage to all targets engaged in melee combat, and forcing all foes to
roll a FEAT or have melee weapons destroyed against the hide of the
creature. On a successful attack roll of 19 or 20, the remorhaz swallows
a medium or smaller creature whole, dealing 2d4 damage each round
thereafter to the swallowed victim. Swallowed targets attack the
remorhaz at -2.
Stirge
Neutral Small Beast; CL ½
AC: 12
Hit Dice: 1d4
FEAT: +5
Move: 10’ (fly 60’)
Combat: 1 bite (+0 to hit; 1d3 damage + see below)

The stirge, a birdlike creature with a long beak, feeds on the blood of its
victims. A stirge that successfully hits deals 1 hp per round thereafter as
it sucks blood until either it or its victim is dead. A flying stirge takes +2
to its first attack from a speedy dive.
Waste Worm, Common

Neutral Huge Worm; CL 6
AC: 13
Hit Dice: 6d10
FEAT: +8
Combat: 1 bite (+6 to hit; 2d6 damage)
Waste worms are a common blight on many planets, living in sand, ash,
and various elemental wastelands, often measuring up to 30’. It attacks
with a huge mouth and sharp teeth. A natural roll of 19 or 20 means
that it has swallowed its prey whole, dealing 1d8 damage per round to a
swallowed medium or smaller target. Swallowed targets attack at -4.
Waste Worm, Elder

Neutral Massive Worm; CL 10
AC: 16
Hit Dice: 10d12
FEAT: +12
Combat: 1 bite (+10 to hit; 3d8 damage)
These larger and more menacing varieties of waste worm are thankfully
rarer. They often measure more than 100’ long. The elder waste worm
attacks with a huge mouth and sharp teeth. A natural roll of 19 or 20
means that it has swallowed its prey whole, dealing 3d8 damage per
round to a swallowed medium or smaller target. Swallowed targets
attack at -4.
Waste Worms and Fuel Crystals

Waste worms are vital to terrans and their ilk, as the excrement of
a waste worm is the most common raw material used to produce fuel
crystals for most vehicles. The droppings of a single waste worm are
worth 1d6 sc (4d6 for an elder) as the raw material to refine into fuel
crystals.

Forces of the Void
The creatures that follow are native to the void, a universe of anti-
matter and death. Although no living creature has been able to cross
over into the void, void creatures can exist in the mortal realm, although
it often pains them to spend long periods of time here. They exist only
to destroy life. Some creatures of the void possess one or more of the
following casting abilities:
Charm (120’). Cause one thinking creature to roll a FEAT or view you as a
close friend, obeying reasonable commands. Based on their intelligence,
creatures are allowed a new FEAT every hour (INT 13+), day (INT 10-12),
week (INT 8-9), month (INT 6-7), or year (INT 5 or less). Charm drops if
you attack the charmed creature. A creature who makes the FEAT is
unaffected.
Detect Invisible (30’). See all invisible creatures or objects within range
for 1 turn. This effect moves with you.
Disintegrate (60’). Completely obliterate one creature or non-magical

object within range. Living creatures are allowed to roll a FEAT to resist.
ESP (60’). ‘Hear’ the thoughts of all living, intelligent creatures within
range for 1 turn. Unwilling targets may roll a FEAT to prevent you from
reading thoughts.
The reverse of this effect, mindmask, makes the target creature
immune to ESP and other forms of mind reading for 1 turn.
Invisibility (120’). Make any one creature or object invisible. Invisibility

affects a creature and all worn or carried items. An invisible object
becomes visible when touched. An invisible creature remains invisible
until he or she attacks or wields a casting. An invisible creature takes
+12 to sneak; those attacking an invisible creature take -4 to hit rolls.
Phantasmal Force (240’). Creates an illusory image of up to 20’ long,

tall, and/or wide. Targets may use 1 action to roll a FEAT to disbelieve
the illusion. The illusion cannot deal actual damage. An illusion of a
creature is AC 10 and will disappear if struck. An illusion of a casting will
seem to deal damage, but will not actually have any effect. The effect
lasts as long as the caster concentrates.

Sleep (120’) Force 2d6 + level modifier CL of creatures in a 20’ radius to
fall into a deep sleep for 6 turns (no FEAT roll allowed). Targets of CL 5 or
better are unaffected. For example, at level 1 this could affect 6-26
common gobs (CL ½ creatures) or 2-7 hobs (CL 2 creatures). Sleeping
creatures can be killed with 1 action (no roll required). A slap or kick will
awaken a sleeping creature.
Slow (120’). Force all creatures in a 10’ radius within range to roll a FEAT
or move at half speed. Creatures affected by a slow spell attack at half
speed (most creatures will attack once every two rounds while slowed).
Wall of Flame (120’). Erect a wall of elemental energy (composed of

fire) that lasts for 1 turn. The elemental wall is a thin barrier with a
surface area of up to 1200 square feet, shaped as the caster desires
(including a line, corner, or even a ring around a target or area). You
cannot see through a wall a flame. Creatures touching a wall of flame
suffer 2d6 damage (double for cold-using creatures), while those
crossing through it suffer 4d6 damage (double for cold-using creatures).
Void Weapons
Many undead have been equipped by the messari with void weapons,
powerful antimatter devices that only creatures native to the void can
wield, since these weapons channel their innate energy. Void weapons
deal damage based on the HD of the creature wielding them.
Void Weapon Damage

Weapon 1-2 HD 3-4 HD 5-6 HD 7+ HD
Pistol (range 60’) 1d4 1d6 1d8 1d10
Rifle (range 120’) 1d6 1d8 1d10 1d12
A void weapon that scores a natural 20 on an attack roll may

disintegrate the target. Those suffering a critical hit must roll a FEAT. If
failed, the target has a weapon or armor disintegrated; on a roll of 5 or
less, the target has a body part disintegrated (likely losing a limb), while
on a natural 1 on the FEAT, the target is disintegrated, completed
destroyed.
Void pistols have a rate of fire of 2 per round, while rifles have a rate
of fire of 1 per round.

The Undead
Undead are the remains of the deceased infused with void energies. All
undead are immune to sleep, charm and hold castings that target the
living. They cannot be poisoned and do not breathe. The lesser undead
retain none of the powers or abilities they had in life, and may only have
dim memories of their time as mortals. Undead never check morale.
Some of the more powerful undead inflict an energy drain which
causes a creature struck by the undead to lose experience points equal
to 10 x the HD of the undead. A successful FEAT negates this effect.
Skeleton
Chaotic Medium Undead; CL 1
AC: 12
Hit Dice: 1d6
FEAT: +6
Move: 20’
Combat: 1 claw (+1; 1d4 dmg.) -or- weapon (+1; 1d6 dmg.)
Animated Skeletons often lurk near grave sites, battlefields and other
deserted places. They are often serve other undead.
Zombie
AC: 11
Hit Dice: 2d6
FEAT: +6
Move: 20’
Combat: 1 claw (+2 to hit; 1d6 damage)
Zombies, as mindless animated corpses of terrans, demi-terrans and

terranoids, are often placed to guard treasures or used to perform
mundane tasks. They can follow simple directions. Zombies always lose
initiative.

Ghoul
AC: 13
Hit Dice: 3d6
FEAT: +8
Move: 40’
Ghouls, dwelling in crypts and tombs, hunger for the brains of the living.
A living creature struck by a ghoul must roll a FEAT or be paralyzed for
2d4 rounds; the nuaru are immune to this effect. They are highly
cunning, and often serve as the primary crew aboard void vehicles.
Wight
AC: 14
Hit Dice: 4d6
FEAT: +8
Move: 40’
Wights, undead spirits indwelling terran, demi-terran or terranoid

corpses, can only be hit by pulse and phase weapons. Wights retain
fragments of memories from their mortal lives, albeit warped and
twisted by darkness. A wight may continue to possess abilities it
possessed in life as well (mysticism, skills, etc.). Wights will have the hit
dice they had in life, if better than 4d6.
Wraith
AC: 16
Hit Dice: 5d6
FEAT: +9
Move: 40’
Wraiths are semi-corporeal spirits that can move through solid objects.
They can only be struck by pulse or phase weapons. A wraith causes an
energy drain on a successful hit, draining 50 XP unless the target makes
a FEAT roll.

Mummy
AC: 16
Hit Dice: 6d6
FEAT: +10
Move: 40’
Combat: 1 touch (+6 to hit; 2d4 damage + disease)
Mummies are the preserved remains of powerful creatures. Their touch

forces the target to roll a FEAT or suffer a terrible disease called mummy
rot that prevents any form of healing. Remove curse neutralizes this.
Vampire
AC: 17
Hit Dice: 7d6
Move: 40’ (fly 60’)
Combat: 2 claws (+7 to hit; 2d6 damage + energy drain)
Vampires are powerful undead under a terrible curse. They can only be
struck by pulse or phase weapons. A vampire regenerates 3 hp per
round. It causes an energy drain on a successful hit, draining 70 XP
unless the target rolls a FEAT.
At will, a vampire can change form to a small or medium mammal, or
a gaseous cloud. In this last form, it moves at 60’ and cannot be harmed.
It often uses its gaseous form to return to its crypt and recover. A
vampire can summon 10d6 hit points of barge rats once per turn.
Vampires often retain the memories and abilities from their mortal
lives (including mysticism use and other abilities), although these have
been twisted by darkness. Creatures of better than 7d6 HD will have the
HD they had in life. A vampire can only be destroyed if its coffin is.
Skull Warden
AC: 20
Hit Dice: 9d6
FEAT: +10
Move: 30’
Combat: 1 sword (+9 to hit; 1d10+2 damage)

The remains of a fallen terran templar, the skull warden is a vengeful
spirit, a skeleton clad in ruined armor wielding a cruel blade that
resembles a sun blade, but which is powered by void energy. Wounds
dealt by the infernal blade of a skull warden cannot be healed through
mysticism or normal means; a dispel evil casting is first required to
remove the powerful curse that prevents healing.
A skull warden can cast fear once per turn. Skull wardens regenerate
2 hit points per round. Skull wardens continue to wield the mystical
abilities they had in life as templars.
Lich
AC: 19
Hit Dice: 13d6
FEAT: +13
Move: 30’
Combat: 1 touch (+13 to hit; 1d10 damage + special) or casting
The lich is the undead remains of a powerful mysticism user from

before the Great Reckoning. These casters possessed, and continue to
possess, mystical abilities beyond those available to mortals.
The very sight of a lich forces all creatures below level 6 to flee in
fear, and all creatures of level 6 or better must roll a FEAT (at +2) to even
move within 60’ of a lich.
In addition to dealing damage, the touch of a lich forces living
creatures to roll a FEAT or be paralyzed for 1d10 days.
Liches have the casting abilities of a nuaru seeker 12, using all
reversed spells where applicable; in addition to the listed castings, a lich
will know a special casting, a word of power, usable once per day. A
word of power may affect a target up to 60’ away, and takes effect
immediately. No FEAT is allowed to resist a word of power. The lich will
know one of the following three words of power:
 Blind. This forces a living target to be blinded for 1d6 hours.
 Sleep. This forces a living target to fall into a deep mystical sleep for
1d6 hours. Nothing will wake the sleeping character.
 Stun. This forces a living target to be stunned, completely unable to
act for 1d6 turns.

Fiends
The most powerful of forces native to the void, Fiends were once seen
as demons or devils, but now are seen as living embodiments of terror.
They exist only to torment the living.
Fiend, Minor
Minor fiends act as servitors of more powerful fiends. A minor fiend can
be destroyed in any realm.
All minor fiends:

 Are immune to most archaic weapons; blast, pulse, and phase
weapons, silver, and iron affect them normally.
 Take damage from holy water as undead.
 Can be compelled as undead, but are considered 2 levels higher.
 Regenerate 1 hit point per round.
 Are immune to charm, hold and sleep castings that affect the living.
Imp
Chaotic Small Minor Fiend; CL 3
AC: 13
Hit Dice: 3d4
FEAT: +6
Move: 20’ (fly 60’)
Combat: 2 claws (+3 to hit; 1d4 damage) or casting
Imps are small (3’ tall) winged fiends of malignant disposition. Each is
associated with one element (cold, flame or lightning), and is able to
cast an elemental spark once per round, dealing 1d4+2 damage up to
30’, requiring a successful attack roll.
Gargoyle
Chaotic Medium Minor Fiend; CL 5
AC: 14
Hit Dice: 4d6
FEAT: +8
Move: 30’ (fly 50’)
Combat: 2 claws (+4; 1d3 dmg) + 1 bite (+4; 1d6 dmg)
+ 1 horn (+4; 1d4 dmg)

The skin of the horned, clawed, fanged, winged, hideous gargoyle often
resembles stone, and these creatures can easily be mistaken for statues.
Although of low intelligence, they exhibit great cunning.
Hellhound
Chaotic Large Minor Fiend; CL 6
AC: 15
Hit Dice: 5d8
Move: 60’
Combat: 1 bite (+5 to hit; 2d4 damage) or fire breath (see below)
The fiendish hellhound is a massive dog summoned from the lower

planes. It is immune to damage from flame. Its incredible attunement
gives it a +6 modifier to its FEAT when attempting to sense.
A hellhound may breathe a jet of flame 30’ long and 5’ wide that has
a pool of 10d6 per turn, and deals up 5d6 damage per breath, usable at
will.
Fiend, True
True fiends are independent entities, powerful enough to choose their
allegiances and to work for their own purposes. They are dangerous
foes, cunning and careful. True fiends can only be destroyed in their
home realm; slaying them anywhere else merely banishes them to their
home for a period of time. All true fiends share the following
characteristics.
All true fiends:

 Are immune to normal weapons, although both silver and iron affect
them normally.
 Can be compelled as undead, but are considered 4 levels higher.
 Regenerate 2 hit points per round.
 May attempt to gate (summon) another fiend once per day,
requiring a successful FEAT.

Bone Fiend
Chaotic Large True Fiend; CL 8
AC: 20
Hit Dice: 7d8
FEAT: +9
Move: 40’
Combat: Bone hook (+7 to hit; 2d6 damage + see below)
These 8’ tall fiends appear as monstrous skeletons. They attack with a

great bone hook that, in addition to dealing damage, forces all living
creatures struck by it to roll a FEAT or lose 1 point of STR for 1 turn. A
target may suffer this effect multiple times. A target reduced to STR 0
dies.
Bone fiends can use either of the following casting abilities at will:
cause fear; invisibility. Once per day, a bone fiend may roll a FEAT to
attempt to gate a minor fiend (+4 to the attempt), another true fiend
(no modifier), or an elder fiend (at -4 to the attempt).
A bone fiend regenerates 2 hit points per round.
Horned Fiend
Chaotic Large True Fiend; CL 9
AC: 21
Hit Dice: 8d8
FEAT: +10
Move: 30’ (fly 60’)
Combat: 2 claws (+6; 1d4 dmg) + 1 bite (+6; 1d6 dmg)
+ tail swipe (+6; 1d4 dmg + see below)
-or- flail (+6; 2d6 dmg + see below)
These 9’ tall fiends have monstrous features, reptilian wings, and huge
horns. They attack either with a flurry of physical attacks or with a
mighty flail that forces living targets to roll a FEAT or be paralyzed for
1d4 rounds. Their tail swipe causes living targets to roll a FEAT or suffer 1
point of damage per turn until mystically healed.
Horned fiends can use either of the following casting abilities at will:
ESP; cause fear. Once per day, a horned demon may roll a FEAT to
attempt to gate a minor fiend (+4 to the attempt), another true fiend
(no modifier), or an elder fiend (at -4 to the attempt).
A horned fiend regenerates 2 hit points per round.

Succubus
Chaotic Medium True Fiend; CL 7
AC: 19
Hit Dice: 6d6
FEAT: +9
Move: 40’ (fly 90’)
The succubus appears as an attractive female with bat-like wings. She

attacks with formidable claws, although prefers to charm foes and use
them as pawns. Her charm is only effective against males. She can
attempt to charm a mortal male within 60’ once per turn (requiring a
successful FEAT to resist), although by kissing a male she can attempt to
charm at will, forcing the target to take -4 to the FEAT to resist.
Once per day, a succubus may roll a FEAT to attempt to gate a minor
fiend (+4 to the attempt), another true fiend (no modifier), or an elder
fiend (at -4 to the attempt).
A succubus regenerates 2 hit points per round.
Fiend, Elder
Elder fiends are creatures of terrible power, entities that may pre-date
mankind. They can only be destroyed in their own realm, and that often
proves quite difficult, as they surround themselves with exceptional
protection, hiding in the darkest pits.
All elder fiends:

 May only be struck by mystical weapons; silver and iron have no
effect upon them.
 Cannot be compelled as undead.
 Regenerate 3 hit points per round.
 May attempt to gate (summon) another fiend three times per day,
requiring a successful FEAT each time.

Eye Tyrant
Chaotic Large Elder Fiend; CL 13
AC: 19
Hit Dice: 11d8
FEAT: +12
Move: Fly 30’
Combat: 1 bite (+11 to hit; 2d8 damage) + special
The fearsome eye tyrant appears as a monstrous globe 6’ in diameter,

with a massive central eye and gaping maw. Atop its head protrude four
eyes attached to tentacles.
The central eye projects a beam of anti-mysticism in a line 60’ in
front of it. This renders all mystical items and devices inert while viewed
by the eye, and makes casting or templar spirit stunts impossible in
front of the tyrant. This also cancels effects from the other eyes (see
below) that would affect targets in front of the tyrant. Each eye has a
different function:
1. Casts a charm that will affect any living creature, once per round.
2. Casts cause moderate wounds, usable once per round.
3. Casts slow, usable once per round.
4. Casts disintegrate, usable once per turn.
Any critical hit scored upon the eye tyrant with a melee weapon will
sever one of the smaller eyes. Roll randomly to see which eye is
affected. As all elder fiends do, an eye tyrant regenerates 3 hit points
per round.
Three times per day, an eye tyrant may attempt to gate another
fiend, either a true fiend (at +4 to the FEAT) or another elder fiend
(requiring a normal FEAT).
Lamia
Chaotic Large Elder Fiend; CL 12
AC: 20
Hit Dice: 10d8
FEAT: +11
Move: 30’
Combat: 4 swords (+10 to hit; 2d4 damage)
+ 1 tail (+10 to hit; 1d10 damage)

These monstrous female fiends have the upper bodies of mortal women
but the lower bodies of snakes. Lamia have four arms, and wield huge
scimitars in each hand, attacking with all four each round. Their tails
constrict foes on a successful hit. A victim must make a STR check
(target 20) to break free of the tail. Targets bound by the tail take
damage every round until they break free or the lamia dies. Attempting
to break free requires the constricted character to use an action. Those
bound by a lamia’s tail take -4 to hit rolls while so bound.
A lamia may cast any of the follow castings, once per turn: charm;
darkness; detect invisible.
Three times per day, a lamia may attempt to gate another fiend,
either a true fiend (at +4 to the FEAT) or another elder fiend (requiring a
normal FEAT).
Pit Fiend
Chaotic Huge Elder Fiend; CL 15
AC: 22
Hit Dice: 13d10
FEAT: +13
Move: 60’ (fly 120’)
Combat: 2 swords (+13 to hit; 2d6 damage)
+ 1 tail (+13 to hit; 2d4 damage)
A 12’ tall horror with huge bat-like wings and scaly red skin, the pit
fiend is the embodiment of nightmares. These terrible fiends wield two
swords and also lash out with a whip-like tail. Their tail swipe causes
living targets to roll a FEAT or suffer 1 point of damage per round until
mystically healed.
Pit fiends regenerate 3 hit points per round.
The pit fiend may cast any of the following castings, once per turn:
detect invisible; hold person; wall of flame.
Three times per day, a pit fiend may attempt to gate another fiend,
either a true fiend (at +4 to the FEAT) or another elder fiend (requiring a
normal FEAT).

Messari Interloper
Chaotic Medium True Fiend; CL 9
AC: 14
Hit Dice: 9d6
FEAT: +10
Move: 40’
Combat: Void blade (+9; 1d8+5) or mind attack
An ancient race with the heads of monstrous squid and bipedal, alien
bodies, the messari are attuned to the void. While only messari
interlopers have been encountered by mortals, other (even more
powerful) varieties are believed to exist.
The messari have access to the same stunts available to terran
templars, albeit their energy derives from the void. A 9 HD messari has 9
opportunities per turn to perform stunts, and their comparable CHA 16
allows them to attempt both standard and epic stunts, as a templar of
level 9.
The messari also have the ability to use a mind strike, a psychic
attack ability. A messari may use its mind strike at will, but has a limited
number of dice to invest in it. A messari receives 2x its HD in damage
(using d6) with its mind strike per turn, but may not use more than its
HD with any one strike; a 9 HD messari has 18d6 in mind strike damage
each turn, but may only use 9d6 on any one strike; it could strike two
times that turn for 9d6 damage, three times that turn for 6d6 damage,
or once for 9d6 and three times for 3d6. All creatures caught in the area
of effect of a mind strike, a cone in front of the messari, 30’ long and 30’
wide at its end, must roll a FEAT or suffer damage; those who roll a FEAT
take half damage.
Messari also wield void blades, comparable weapons to the sun
blades wielded by terran templars.
Messari cannot be compelled.
The Devourer
The messari are ruled by a creature known as the Devourer. This
incredible force of godlike power dwells at the heart of the void, and
may in fact be its originator. All Messari are attuned to the Devourer,
and this creature is able to see through the eyes of any messari
anywhere, at all times.

Part 7: The Game Master
As the Game Master (GM), you have the most challenging (and most
rewarding) role in the game. As the GM, your responsibilities include:
 Describing the scene
 Playing the roles of the ‘other creatures’ of the game world
 Adjudicating the action
However, no matter what, your primary job is to facilitate fun! As long

as everyone had a good time (even if characters died), it was a
successful game.
Describing the Scene

As the GM, it falls to you to establish the environment, and to explain to
the PCs what they experience, depending on their actions. In general,
less is more. Aim for a few descriptive words and key details, and allow
the players to ask questions to better define the situation. It is tempting
to provide a great deal of detail, but by keeping your descriptions simple
and direct, you can keep the game moving and keep the players
engaged.
Sometimes, you will find it helpful to use a variety of props (such as
miniatures or maps) to activate the imaginations of players and help
everyone visualize the action.
Playing the Other Characters

As the GM, you are the merchant who barters for the old junker, the
gobs who guard the tunnel, and the stone giant lairing at the end. For
each of the roles you take on, you should always consider the
motivation for the various personalities you assume. What does this
character or creature want? What’s important to it? What is it willing to
give up? What will it defend? An excellent GM will have different
creatures react in different ways, and will vary the motivations and
tactics (and maybe even the voices!) of the various creatures the
fellowship encounters.

Reactions
Many encounters begin with the speaker making a CHA check. A result
of 15 or less implies a very hostile reaction, 20 is a success, and 25 or
better is a very positive reaction. This means that the shop keep either
refuses to make an offer on the junker the PC tries to sell (roll of 15 or
less), he low-balls the offer (a roll of 16 to 19), he offers what the player
hoped (roll of 20 to 24), or he offers more than what was expected (a
roll of 25 or better). Most intelligent creatures will talk before fighting,
and will allow a PC to at least try to talk before drawing arms.
Adjudicating the Action

As the GM, you are the arbitrator as to whether or not a character
succeeded at an action. While no two GMs will rule in the same way
every time, a good GM will always be consistent and fair. If you are a
‘soft’ GM who tends to let players take big risks and who always
provides a way out, you are going to be seen as capricious or mean-
spirited if suddenly the fellowship encounters a death trap with no
escape. In general, a middle ground is best. If the players feel that they
can’t possibly win – or if they feel that victory is inevitable, and they
can’t possibly lose – the game loses much of its dramatic heart. Every
adventure should have a real possibility of success, and the genuine
threat of meaningful loss.
Record Keeping
During play, you should keep track of a wide range of information. You
can keep a formal journal, work on a laptop, or simply scribble on scrap
paper. With practice, you will find a method that best works for you. In
play, keep track of:
 Hit points of various creatures involved
 Time for ongoing effects
 Experience points and treasure awarded
 Enemies defeated
 Locations, characters, creatures, and items that may be important
later on. If you improvise the name of the captain of the guard, award
the players a treasure map, or reveal a snippet of lore about a historical
event, you should write this down for future reference.

About Preparation
A successful GM is prepared, meaning that you have familiarized
yourself with the scenario and the rules. You know ahead of time how
you are going to resolve the most common situations. However, not
every situation can be prepared for, and the players will try things you
didn’t expect. These rules remain intentionally open-ended so that you
have flexibility to allow for a wide range of possible outcomes. When
you don’t know, assign a modifier and roll:
+4 (Target 16). This should be pretty easy for the characters to do.
No modifier (Target 20). This poses a genuine challenge.
-4 (Target 20). This should be quite difficult for the characters to do.
If you can’t decide between two options (for example, the wall the
PCs try to climb is not easy, but it’s not quite a target 20 task), then
assign a modifier of +2 or -2 instead. Whenever possible, err on the side
of ‘winging it’ rather than stopping play to look up a rule or consider
your options. As you gain experience as a GM, it will become easier for
you to make these decisions, and you’ll learn to trust your instincts.
Epic Checks and Stunts

Whenever a character has an attribute rating of 14 or better, he or she
may attempt an epic check or epic stunt. Epic checks/stunts have a base
target of 30, and are actions beyond the scope of mortal ability. While
solving a difficult equation may require a standard INT check, quickly
examining a DNA strand and finding the exact mutation in the string
requires an epic INT check.
Standard or Epic?
When you aren’t sure whether a check should be standard or epic,
consider two factors: whether it’s challenging and/or awesome.
 If it’s neither challenging nor awesome, it may not require a roll, or
it requires a standard check at +4 to the roll.
 If it’s either challenging or awesome, but not both, it requires a
standard check.
 If it’s both challenging and awesome, it requires an epic check. If it’s
especially challenging and/or awesome, it probably imposes -4 to
the check.

Balancing the Game
Only minimal effort has been made to ‘balance’ this game. Sometimes,
what should be a minor threat turns out to exhaust the resources of the
fellowship, and sometimes a seemingly impossible task ends up being
quite easy because of the cleverness of a player or a few lucky dice rolls.
That is the nature of the game. However, you can use the experience
table (page 105) to get a general feeling for how difficult an encounter
might be. Add up the XP value of the members of the fellowship
(counting their level as their CL), and compare this to the total CL of the
encounter you are preparing.
For instance, a fellowship of four heroes each of level 3 (xp value 10
each) has a total XP value of 40; this puts them around CL 5 as a group.
It is reasonable to expect them to be able to challenge a CL 5 creature,
and they might want to try their hand against a CL 6 creature, but a CL 7
creature is probably going to test them severely. A CL 5 encounter
might be against one creature of CL 5, or against 7-10 creatures of CL 2.
There is no reason that you should feel compelled to balance every
encounter to match the fellowship! Some encounters will be easy for
them, and some may force them to run away, re-group, and come back
later – or simply to avoid them altogether! An easier encounter can give
the characters a chance to show off, while a more difficult one can
really test them. Variety will keep the game more interesting.
Remember too (and remind the players) that you can get by a
creature with your wits or with stealth as often as you can with your
blaster!

Common Situations
Some other common situations, and how to resolve them, include:
Chasing. Generally, a faster creature will be able to outrun a slower

creature. However, you can resolve chases using 1d20 + the move of the
creature. A creature with move 30’ attempting to run down a creature
with move 40’ rolls 1d20+30, and the other creature rolls 1d20+40. It’s
difficult for a slow creature to chase down a quick one, but it’s possible.
A movement difference of 20 or more makes this unlikely, unless one of
the creatures rolls a natural 1, in which case a FEAT is required or the
creature stumbles. For vehicle chases, roll 1d6 instead of 1d20.
Climbing. Climbing requires a STR check. Generally, a new check is

required every 30’. If a character is trying to climb a 90’ cliff face, he
may be required to make 3 consecutive STR checks.
Darkness/Vision. A character who cannot see takes -4 to all action rolls;

your roll to hit is at -4 while in total darkness, but you roll damage
normally if you should strike.
Falling. Take 1d6 damage per 10’ fallen, up to a maximum of 10d6.
Leaping and Jumping. A creature can automatically leap its height

horizontally, or half of its height vertically. On a successful DEX check
(target 20), the creature can leap up to twice its height horizontally, or
its full height vertically.
Swimming. All characters are assumed to at least know the

fundamentals of swimming. Swimming in normal water is done at -10 to
move, while rapids or dangerous waters may force a STR check to keep
from being overcome by the water. A character in medium or heavy
armor cannot swim, and will automatically sink. Light armor should
impose a -4 penalty to STR checks to swim while wearing it.
Travel. You can travel your movement rate in miles in one day (about
ten hours) of overland travel on good roads. Travel over rough terrain
may cut this in half, while traveling through thick overgrowth will cut
this to only 25%. A character with move 30’ can travel 30 miles per day
on a good road, 15 miles per day through wild lands, and about 8 miles
per day through thick overgrowth or very difficult terrain.

House Rules
The game that inspired this one has a long history of house rules –
personalized adaptations of the rules that apply during games you run.
You are encouraged to develop house rules that modify these rules in
order to tailor the game to the tastes of your group. Some of the house
rules that I use in my own game include:
 Faith mysticism use requires a WIS 6 + the casting sphere you want
to use. To use sphere 6 faith castings, you need WIS 12+.
 If more than 2 players are at the table, I drop individual initiative and
always roll group initiative. I don’t apply modifiers – it’s a straight up
contested 1d20 roll between me as GM and the leader of the
fellowship. If one side has some reason for an advantage going in, I give
+4 to one side. Either all the monsters or all members of the fellowship
go first. We go around the table clockwise from me (if I win) or from the
person to my left (if the fellowship wins).
 Auto-level. Sometimes, I feel like the players have been at a certain
level for too long, that progress is going a little slowly, or I’d like to up
the level of the challenge. Sometimes, we reach the end of a huge quest
or massive adventure, and it feels like everyone should have a sense of
accomplishment. In these cases, I round everyone up to the next level
(or even drop them into the middle of the next level) and we pick up XP
from there. This is uncommon, but I have done it from time to time.
Even when you make some changes to the rules, you are still playing the
game right! The only warning is this: make sure you have played the
game and have a sense of how it works before you start tinkering too
much. While it might seem like a good idea to allow characters to take
+1 to attack rolls every level (instead of every other level, as the rules
now set up), this will be fun at levels 2-3, but when the fellowship hits
level 10, you might find out that they automatically hit everything they
fight!
Capping Experience
Some situations may lead to a huge windfall; the PCs manage to steal
and sell a huge freighter, collecting 30,000 credits. This would be
enough to grant each several levels instantly. In cases like this, you
should never award more experience for one event or encounter than
what would take a character to the middle of next level.

In Space!
One of the key elements of this game is that it takes place against a
cosmic backdrop spread over hundreds of light years. While the game
makes no effort to replicate hard science, it is important that you
always remember to keep the elements of science fiction at the fore as
you run the game.
The Vacuum
A character stepping into
space without protection
dies in 1d4 rounds + their
CON modifier. A character
wearing a vac suit is safe.
Gravity
For game purposes, measure
gravity in four categories:
 Zero. There is no gravity
(in space; on small
asteroids). All characters
effectively levitate at all
times, and no STR checks are ever required to lift or move objects.
 Low. Measure leaping and throwing distance in 10’ increments
instead of 1’ increments. Any STR check to lift or move an object is
made at +4.
 Moderate. Gravity is within range of what characters are
accustomed to. Make all rolls normally.
 Heavy. Gravity is quite oppressive. Cut leaping and throwing
distances in half, and make any STR check to lift or move an object at -4.
Stars
Stars of the Five Systems are of three classes:
 Blue Supergiants are very large, exceedingly massive stars. They
emit a blue light, and are the youngest of stars.
 Yellow Supergiants are large, massive, hot stars. They emit yellow
light, and are midway through their life cycle.
 Red Dwarf Stars are smaller and less massive, but still quite hot.
They emit a reddish light, and are later in their life cycle.
 White Dwarf Stars are the smallest, near the end of their life cycle.
They have cooled significantly, and emit a blue-white light.
Worlds
This category includes all traditional planets as well as large bodies such
as moons, asteroids of great size, and other celestial bodies. There are
dozens of chartered and settled planets, but many other planet-like
objects that have just been discovered, and some which have yet to be
discovered.
 Class I Worlds are barren. These are composed of rock, have little or
no atmosphere to speak of, and have none of the resources needed for
survival. If Class I worlds are colonized, it is only because every
requirement for sustaining life has been brought with. Nothing can grow
on a Class I world. Most moons are Class I worlds.
 Class II Worlds are purely elemental. These are entirely, or mostly,
composed of a single elemental force. Gas giants, planets of elemental
magma, and planets of pure ice all fall into this category. Generally,
Class II worlds are inhospitable, and settlers on such worlds are rare,
requiring exceptional protection. Mining colonies are the most common
settlements on Class II worlds, since the planets often contain large
amounts of one or two valuable elements that may be found in few
other places.
 Class III Worlds are mostly or completely wastelands, covered in
sand or ash. These are difficult to live on, have very little water, and
sustain only marginal life. With proper protection and care, things can
grow on Class III worlds.
 Class IV Worlds have key elements of survivability (plant life,
abundant water, a variety of climates and ecosystems), but also have
key challenges to sustaining life (examples include unstable land
masses, exceptionally difficult and frequent storms, or the presence of
atmospheric conditions such as toxins or instability) that make it
impossible for terrans to settle without some accommodations.
 Class V Worlds are hospitable to terrans and their ilk. They have
breathable atmospheres, abundant natural resources, clean water, and
general stability. These planets have largely been colonized or settled,
and are often home to a wide diversity of life, both vegetable and
animal.
World Sizes
 Minor worlds have a diameter of less than 1,000 miles
 Small worlds have diameters between 1,000 and 5,000 miles
 Medium worlds have a diameter of 5,000 to 25,000 miles
 Large worlds have a diameter in excess of 25,000 miles
Communications
Communications are generally available instantaneously among most
comm setups between creatures in the same system. However,
communication between systems is often done via comm drones,
robots that take the communication and travel via jump drive to the
destination system. This means that most communications between
systems take several hours, or even up to a day.
Most communication has standard encryption, requiring a standard
INT check at -4 to decode or hack. Communication with advanced
encryption requires an epic INT check to decode or hack.
Advanced comm systems allow jamming. The operator makes a
contested INT roll (at +4) against the INT of the communications
operator they are attempting to jam. If successful, communications are
jammed for 1 turn.
Other Technologies
A number of other technologies exist, and players may (and should) run
into these. None of these are common technologies, but you may
decide to include them in your game…
 A force field is a barrier that has AC 10 + its level, and which has its
level d6 hit points. A force field 5 has AC 15 and soaks 5d6 damage
before falling. The force field blocks physical attacks from both without
and within, although mental attacks continue to work normally. Roll for
the hit points of a force field every time you generate one.
 A teleportation device teleports whatever is in the affected field to
another location. Typically, teleportation devices have a range limit
(possibly no more than 100 miles per level of the teleportation device),
and may require a successful INT check to operate. No teleportation
devices have been developed by the allied species, but some believe
that the forces of the void possess such technology.
 Time travel should be included in your game with great care. Time
travel, by its nature, changes reality, giving an automatic ‘do over’ for
events. Some Game Masters may restrict time travel from their games
altogether. However, if time travel is allowed, it should automatically
come with at least one, and possibly several, restrictions on its use, and
should always carry great risk.
 Computers are generally easy for most characters to operate and
maintain. However, if a roll is needed to operate or gather information
from a computer, resolve this as an INT check.

Part 8: Experience and Wealth
As the GM, it falls to you to award Experience Points (XP), typically at
the end of the game session. In general, half of a character’s XP will
come from defeating creatures, while half will come from the wealth he
earns or finds. This is NOT a hard and fast rule; a fellowship of soldiers
who defend a frontier outpost from various dangers will likely derive
the majority of their experience from the enemies they defeat, while a
group of rogues that makes its living scavenging derelict starships will
earn the majority of their XP from the wealth they recover. A group that
explores a ruin to defeat its denizens and plunder their wealth will
probably come close to a 50/50 split over the course of their careers.
When determining treasure, roll 1d20 + the creature’s CL against the
targets listed below for any creature defeated in its lair. Remember also
that some creatures have specific notes about treasure that they may
have (or not have) in their lair, or which they carry.
Dividing Treasure and XP

While XP is generally distributed at the end of the game session, wealth
is probably divided up as it is found. The players should determine how
wealth is distributed: a character who takes a suit of armor may willingly
give up some of the credits found, for instance. However, XP is always
divided evenly. If the encounter was worth 50 XP and there were four
PCs in the fellowship, each PC earns 13 XP (50/4, rounded up).
Remember too that if a PC did something during that encounter that
ties to his purpose (page 29), that PC earns +1 XP.
Monetary Wealth
To determine if a foe has wealth, roll 1d20 + CL, target 15. If successful,
the creature has wealth (a result of 1 always fails a check for wealth).
For the value of the wealth, roll 1d10 and multiply the result by the
multiplier (see next page). Convert this to a value in gold credits.
For every 1 gc of wealth recovered or earned,

award 1 XP (rounding up) to the fellowship.

Sample wealth
The fellowship defeats a large predatory mammal that resembles a
huge wolverine (CL 4) in its lair, and the GM checks for wealth. He rolls
1d20+4, target 15. On a roll of 11 or better, the creature has wealth
valued at 1d10 x5 gc. If the GM rolls 7 on 1d10, the creature has wealth
valued at 35 gc. The GM decides that the skin of the animal is in
excellent shape and is quite rare, fetching a high price at local markets.
Since the total value of this wealth is 35 gc, the GM awards 35 XP to the
fellowship for this wealth; this XP will be divided evenly among all
members, even if only one of them takes the skin to sell later on.
Experience and Treasure by Challenge Level

CL XP Monetary CL XP Value Monetary
Value Value Value
0 1 1d10 sc 11 250 1d10 x 50 gc
1 2 1d10 gc 12 300 1d10 x 60 gc
2 5 1d10 x2 gc 13 350 1d10 x 70 gc
3 10 1d10 x3 gc 14 400 1d10 x 80 gc
4 20 1d10 x5 gc 15 450 1d10 x 90 gc
5 35 1d10 x7 gc 16 500 1d10 x 100 gc
6 50 1d10 x10 gc 17 550 1d10 x 110 gc
7 75 1d10 x15 gc 18 600 1d10 x 120 gc
8 100 1d10 x20 gc 19 650 1d10 x 130 gc
9 150 1d10 x30 gc 20 700 1d10 x 140 gc
10 200 1d10 x40 gc 21+ (+50 per) (+10 gc per)
How Wealth Appears (Roll 1d6)

Roll Form Wealth Appears In
1-2 Credits
3 Valuable items such as jewelry, gems, or pieces of art
4 Weapons, armor, or equipment from the section on gear
5 Salvage materials (fuel, vehicle components, spare parts)
6 Hides, skins, trophies, or, collectibles
Relics
Although quite rare, there remain magical relics of the ancient past,
mystical items imbued with power. These are never found randomly,
but should be carefully placed by GMs as appropriate. A number of such
items are listed in Saga of the Splintered Realm.

Appendix A: The Five Systems
Shards of Tomorrow is set in a mythic future. Instead of a detailed
timeline of the history of the Shard Cluster, here’s a ‘broad strokes’
overview of the setting. I trust that you can fill in the missing pieces as
you go:
The Five Systems, or Shard Cluster, is a grouping of five star systems
(at one time consisting of six total stars, but now five and a black hole)
that revolve around each other in relatively close proximity. These stars
are all within 25 light years of each other.
Key Historical Events

The Purge. The Purge was a period of several hundred years, when the
armies of terran people, allied by their affiliation with the Church of
Light, wiped out dozens of monstrous races and creatures that had
plagued them for centuries, driving creatures such as dragons and other
species to extinction, and cleansing the world of the blight of undead.
The era of the purge ended with the discovery of life on other planets,
and the development of a jump drive that would allow travel between
systems. The initial jump drives were only 1% as powerful as the
weakest of current drives, requiring weeks to move between systems.
Rise of the Guilds. Starting about 100 years ago, the discovery of a bevy
of natural resources in other systems, and on other worlds, lead to a
rapid exploration and colonization across the Five Systems. Law was
skirted in favor of progress, and slavery of races such as gobs and orak
was legalized, forcing these creatures into labor on distant worlds to
turn guild profits. The power of the Church of Light began to fade, as
fewer adherents were drawn into the fold, and commerce slowly took
the place of faith.
The War of the Guilds. Starting about 60 years ago, as the primary
planets had been claimed and colonies established, rival guilds began to
war against each other, throwing the Five Systems into chaos. Ten years
of terrible strife ended with the establishment of the Confederacy of
Stars, a governing body that would supersede the guilds and provide
order and stability across the Five Systems.

Height of the Confederacy. Starting 50 years ago, and lasting for almost
two decades, the Confederacy established a powerful army, developed
a wide array of new technologies, and brought unprecedented peace
and security across the Five Systems. The Confederacy ended the
practices of slavery with the Freedom Mandate, unshackling the gob
and orak. However, they also understood the danger these races
presented, especially the orak, and the Confederacy established two
planets for the orak to colonize.
The Orak War. Thirty years ago, a powerful guild, hard-pressed by the
actions of the Confederacy, secretly provided the orak with
infrastructure and technology to strike back against the Confederacy.
Launching thousands of raids from their two home worlds, the orak
dealt painful blows against the Confederacy, weakening it considerably.
The orak were eventually driven back to their homes. Those on the
planet Iago took a desperate course of action; they caused their own
sun, Othello, to supernova. This created a black hole into the void, an
other-dimensional realm of darkness and death, allowing fiends,
undead and a new race, the messari, to cross over.
The War of the Shadow’s Rift. Starting twenty years ago, the forces of
the void launched a series of attacks against the Confederacy and its
allies, shattering the capital world of Ariel and decimating a number of
key holdings of the Confederacy, effectively crushing the Church of
Light. For some reason, the forces of the void turned back before
claiming final victory, and most believe it is only a matter of time before
the void armies launch one final strike that destroys all of creation.
Now. It has been ten years since the last great campaign against the
Confederacy wiped out most of its infrastructure. The Confederacy
continues to exist in name, although its influence and power are
negligible, completely disregarded on most planets. Adherents of the
light are few, their temples relegated to lost worlds and distant lands.
The guilds have come back into power, as money and competition have
supplanted order and peace. The guilds, having learned their lessons
from the past, have avoided all-out war with one another, forming a
Council of Guild Masters to oversee and settle their various disputes.
Large sections of the Five Systems sit in ruin, derelict starships float in
space or gather in massive junkyards, and petty warlords grasp at
power, while the threat of the void looms over all.

A Cluster of Stars
The cluster of stars that makes up the Five Systems (or Shard Cluster)
include Prospero, the Crossed Stars of Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet,
Macbeth, and Othello (once a star, but now a massive black hole leading
into the void). Each of these systems is within 25 light years of each
other, putting each within a day’s travel with the use of a jump drive,
which in the last few decades has come into common use.
Distances Between Systems (In Light Years)

Prospero R+J Hamlet Macbeth Othello
Prospero -- 10 LY 12 LY 18 LY 25 LY
R+J 10 LY -- 20 LY 11 LY 23 LY
Hamlet 12 LY 20 LY -- 24 LY 21 LY
Macbeth 18 LY 11 LY 24 LY -- 16 LY
Othello 25 LY 23 LY 21 LY 16 LY --
Beyond the Five Systems

The Five Systems are not attached to a galaxy, but are instead a
wandering cluster that moves between two larger galaxies. Each of
these other galaxies is at least 10 million light years away, making travel
to these other galaxies virtually impossible until much more powerful
jump drives, or alternate methods of travel, are developed.
The Fringe
The Fringe is a huge field of minor bodies and cosmic dust that seems to
surround and flow around the Five Systems, at a distance of somewhere
near 10,000 light years away. A handful of long-term missions were sent
by the Confederacy to explore the Fringe, but little is still known about
this mysterious and vast region of darkness.
Key Worlds
Each system is listed over the next few pages, with an overview of the
most important worlds following. There are a number of other minor
worlds not covered here, but which are left for GMs to populate on
their own, and many of the moons have their own ecosystems, political
forces, and inhabitants that could be further developed.

The Prospero System
Prospero is the original system of the Confederacy, and was once the
most settled and prosperous, but now is (largely) in ruin. The vast
Celestial Sea connects the thousands of small fragments of what was
once the planet Ariel.
World Size Class Gravity Moons

Antonio Medium III Normal 2
Celestial Sea Huge V Normal 1
Caliban Huge V Normal 1
Sycorax Small V Normal 3
Alonso Medium V Normal 2
Ceres Small II Normal 1
Antonio
Once a Class V world, extensive bombing has reduced Antonio to a Class
III world, and only marginally so. Most estimates are that it will be at
least 10 centuries before this ashy, radiated land can again sustain life.
The Celestial Sea (Ruins of the Planet Ariel)

When the messari destroyed the planet Ariel, home world of the
Confederacy, the Celestial Sea was born in its wake. The Celestial Sea is
a vast band of planetoids and asteroids that are caught within a large
gravity field, rotating within a massive, 50-mile-wide ring with a
diameter of nearly 100,000 miles. A common atmosphere runs
throughout the Celestial Sea, connecting tens of thousands of asteroids,
some as small as a building, and a handful as large as a continent, across
a vast expanse. Travel within the Celestial Sea is possible with
atmospheric flight, but only starships may move in or out of the sea.
While many of the rocks are barren, a significant number sustain life,
have small deposits of water, and have independent ecosystems.
Dozens are large enough that they have been settled, and hold small
colonies of settlers or, in some cases, entire cities. The largest such city,
Miranda, houses the last Church of Light from Ariel, and many believe it
is the power of this church that has allowed the Celestial Sea to remain
despite the destruction of Ariel.
Ariel’s broken moon Ferdinand continues to orbit around the Sea,
following it through the heavens.

Caliban
Caliban is a savage planet boasting a wide range of flora and fauna,
hosting many of the most monstrous and unusual of creatures in the
Five Systems. A hollow world, Caliban has as much diversity under its
surface as above, and vast worlds of ancient creatures roam incredible
underworld vistas heated by natural hot springs and lit by radiant
minerals. Caliban is the home world of the kobo, who live in small clans
both on and below its surface.
Sycorax
A planet of thick swamplands, Sycorax is the homeland of the various
spider kin, as well as large numbers of intelligent arachnids. Sycorax is
also home to a tribe of ancient hags, spirit women of great power and
evil. A number of monstrous insects and huge amphibious beasts lair
here as well, and rumors persist that the last of the dragons may also
dwell on Sycorax.
Alonso
A small, thickly-forested planet, Alonso was settled by terrans a century
ago, with settlers working diligently to form city states that made
minimal impact on the surrounding ecosystems. The planet is largely
unsettled and pristine, but fears abound that Terra Minor will be the
next target of the Messari, since its beauty and peacefulness are
inherently painful to void creatures.
Ceres
A gaseous world, Ceres contains many large pockets of crystal deep
beneath is poisonous surface. Thousands of mining operations from
fixed platforms operate on this planet, and its atmosphere is filled with
thick pollution from the overwhelming presence of industrialization.

The Crossed Stars System
Romeo and Juliet are binary stars, both white dwarfs. Although neither
star would emit enough energy to support life on planets, their
combined heat sustains the planets orbiting them.

Tybalt Small III Normal 3
Montague Large V Normal 1
Capulet Medium IV Normal 2
Friar Small V Normal 1
Benvolio Minor II High 2
Tybalt
A barren, dry, hot planet, Tybalt has warring bands of gobs and
monstrous insects living in small pockets across its landscape. A large
and ferocious breed of insects, called by locals ‘the darkling’, emerge
only at nightfall. Waste worms are also common here.
Montague
Lush and wild, Montague has plentiful natural resources including a
variety of minerals and spices. Montague has mostly saltwater, so
freshwater filters are typically in large demand.
Capulet
Although a generally hospitable and lush planet, Capulet suffers from a
toxic atmosphere with constant acidic rainstorms that rage across its
surface. The trades guilds have constructed a dozen bio-cities here,
domed environments to support mining operations to recover a number
of the metals used in starships. The largest of these bio-cities, Verona,
embodies the worst of them, with a large population, low law
enforcement, and an active criminal underworld.
Friar
The furthest planet from the sun, Friar is a planet covered in a vast
freshwater sea with thousands of islands dotting its expanse. These
islands are generally mountainous and wild, covered in a wide range of
plant life. The Nuaru have claimed Friar as their new home world, with
hundreds of clans settling islands across the world. Although there are
few large land animals, the seas teem with massive sea creatures.

The Hamlet System
Hamlet is a system in conflict, with a number of planets rotating some
distance from its incredibly hot blue supergiant of a star.

Ophelia Small IV Normal 3
Laertes Medium V Normal 1
Claudius Large IV Normal 5
Horatio Medium V Normal 1
Polonius Large II High 13
Rosencrantz Small II High 0
Guildenstern Small II High 0
Ophelia
Covered in 99% salt water, Ophelia has two small, swampy land masses
at her north and south poles. These waters are the home to the trog
and abundant sea life; the trog dwell in great underwater cities, in the
shallow waters that cover the planet. Sea caves litter the bottom of the
waters, and these descend many miles into darkness, where many dark
things dwell.
Laertes
Laertes is a mountainous and savage world, populated by gobs and
other assorted riff-raff. Dozens of minor races dwell here, settled in a
number of city states. Might is law here, as warring factions constantly
skirmish with each other and the huge beasts that roam this world.
Claudius
The planet of volcanoes, Claudius is now the home world of the orak,
who dwell in mighty fortresses that they have erected among the
volcanoes, seas of magma, and pools of lava that dot the landscape.
They have learned to grow hardy potato-like roots in the harsh
landscape and to cultivate moisture from the atmosphere, providing
sustenance but little more. The orak mine valuable jewels and gems
from their world, using these to barter with less scrupulous guilders on
other worlds.

Horatio
A world out of time, Horatio is strangely anachronistic, with its
technology, cities, and ways of life several thousands of years behind
the current age. It is populated with mostly terrans and gnorom who
fled here hundreds of years ago to form a new colony. Steam is the
primary method of mechanical propulsion. Some theorize that Horatio
sits on a temporal displacement of some kind, as time flows at a
different rate on the planet’s surface. For every year spent on Horatio,
ten years pass in the rest of the Cluster. The people are generally aware
of the existence of the rest of the Cluster, but have little interest in the
affairs of other-worlders. During the height of the Confederacy, a
mandate made interference with Horatio illegal, and the planet has
enjoyed several decades of relative seclusion from the rest of the
Cluster, although it seems like only a few years to its citizens.
Polonius
A gas giant, Polonius boasts tremendous natural resources beneath its
tempestuous surface. Hundreds of sky fortresses controlled by cloud
giants float across its upper atmosphere, shaping the storms and mining
deep into the planet’s core to draw out her incredible resources. Dozens
of different air elementals, each attuned to a different specific gas, war
with each other across the planet’s aerie surface.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern

These twin planets are purely elemental, rotating around each other.
Rosencrantz is a ball of flame, while Guildenstern is a frozen wasteland.
Both are inhabited by a number of formidable elemental beasts and a
wide range of elementals.

The Macbeth System
Macbeth is a dark and backwards system of savage peoples. The small
planets orbiting this relatively cold red star are generally inhospitable
and barren, but with rich natural resources and pockets of civilization.

Banquo Medium V Normal 3
Malcolm Small IV Normal 5
Donalbain Medium IV Normal 1
Macduff Medium III Normal 2
Duncan Small I High 7
Banquo
The most hospitable of the worlds in this system, Banquo is relatively
cold and rocky, but produces some vegetation and has a wide range of
hardy creatures living across its landscape. There are no seas or oceans,
but a series of deep lakes, the Lochs of Banquo, hold significant
freshwater as well as myriad great beasts. Several powerful fortresses
are ruled by a collective of lords called the Thanes of Banquo.
Malcolm
Once a desolate and bare world, Malcolm was colonized for the rich
minerals buried deep in its soil. Mining operations were governed
largely by machines that eventually developed sentience and began
replicating themselves. Now, Malcolm is entirely controlled and
populated by a massive machine that seeks only to draw forth resources
to expand itself. All other life on Malcolm has been wiped out.
Donalbain
This thickly-forested planet is covered in constant twilight and shadow.
Lush forests have adapted that thrive in minimal sunlight. Frequent and
massive earthquakes routinely shake the planet’s surface.
Duncan
A world of liquid quicksilver, the surface of Duncan is semi-solid, with a
thick, murky fluid making up the entire planet. Thousands of stations
dot the landscape, large refineries that draw fuels and minerals from
the planet’s core. A powerful guild, the Miners of Duncan, has become
the most powerful guild in the Five Systems, with its own standing army
that exceeds the current membership of the entire Confederate Army.
The Othello System
Othello was once the primary system of the guilds, with a number of
worlds boasting incredible natural resources. This became the system of
the orak, since millions of orak slaves were brought here to mine the
worlds during the era of the guilds.
This system now serves as the location of the Shadow's Rift, the
black hole leading into the void. Two planets orbit the black hole,
Desdemona and Iago. Both are barren worlds teeming with dark forces.
However, both also have the remains of valuable artifacts and relics of
the times before buried deep underground.
Several other former worlds continue to float aimlessly through the
system, planets of once-fertile life now reduced to desolate wastelands.

Desdemona Large I High 3
Iago Large I High 5
Cassio Medium I Medium 2
Roderigo Medium I Medium 1
Emilia Small I Low 1
Desdemona
The shadow planet, Desdemona is a haunted world, populated by
spirits. The suffering on the planet’s surface is palpable, and the dark
energy of the place is nearly overwhelming. A massive temple to the
dead goddess Yahalla still remains, and a stalwart guard watches over
her ancient artifacts, standing as a last line of defense against a tide of
evil.
Iago
The planet of death, Iago appears as a terran world in eternal darkness.
Undead roam the surface, and creatures such as vampires lord over
mighty holdings, ruling over shadow forests from dark fortresses.

Appendix B: Starships
A large number of craft, from the smallest of interceptors to the largest
of heavy battle carriers, move through space within and between the
Five Systems. This appendix provides an overview of the most common
or most notable ships.
Note that the ships presented represent the craft in their most
common or factory condition. War and time have wrought drastic
changes on many craft, and the ships that the players encounter are
likely to be quite a bit different than those presented here.

Void Ghoul Interceptor
Light Starship; 18’
Armor Class 14 (up to 16)
Control +2
Hit Dice 3d10 (15 hp)
Hull 3
Shields 6 (1 zone)
Speed 14
Jump Drive None
Dependability 10
Upgrade 50 +1d100 sc
Maintenance 2d6 sc
Armaments 1 ultralight phase cannon (+1; 3d10; 1 mile)
Complement None
Crew 1
Passengers None
Cargo None
Escape Pods None
Value 12,500 sc
The common interceptor of the void, these are typically piloted by

ghouls. These often swarm in large numbers. Due to their lack of a jump
drive, these interceptors are almost always found in close proximity to a
Void Heavy Assault Cruiser.

Orak Bloodtooth Interceptor
Armor Class 16
Control +0
Hull 6
Shields 10 (1 zone)
Speed 10
Jump Drive x1
Upgrade 50 + 1d100 sc
Dependability 14
Maintenance 2d6 sc
Armaments 1 light blast cannon (4d6; 1 mile)
Complement None
Crew 2
Passengers None
Cargo 1 ton
Escape Pods None
Value 14,000 sc
The workhorse of the Orak Empire, the Bloodtooth is a durable and

dependable interceptor, capable of long-range missions. The pilot and
gunner occupy separate positions within the relatively roomy cockpit.

Confederate L-Class Lancer Interceptor
Control +3
Hull 4
Shields 12 (2 zones)
Speed 16
Jump Drive x1
Upgrade 50+ 1d100 sc
Dependability 12
Maintenance 2d6 sc
Armaments 1 light pulse cannon (+1; 4d8; 3 miles)
Complement None
Crew 1 or 2
Passengers 0 or 1
Cargo 1 ton
Escape Pods None
Value 15,000 sc
The Lancer was the heart of the Confederacy, the symbol of its power
and law. While the heavy carriers represented the might of the
Confederacy, the Lancer represented its ubiquity. Every outpost of the
Confederacy on every planet was defined by one characteristic: the
presence of Lancers.
Large numbers of Lancers came into the black market after the fall of
the Confederacy. However, since a civilian version was never produced,
all Lancers are still ‘officially’ the property of the Confederacy (such as it
is), and remaining Confederate officers often view possession of a
Lancer by someone not belonging to the Confederacy as an act of
treason.

Satchel-Class Confederate Shuttle
Control +1
Hull 2
Shields 6 (1 zone)
Speed 10
Jump Drive x1
Dependability 12
Maintenance 5d6 sc
Armaments 1 heavy blast rifle (3d6; 120’)
Complement None standard
Crew 2
Passengers 12
Cargo 2 tons
Escape Pods 1
Value 20,000 sc
Primarily used for non-combat missions of the

Confederacy, the Satchel was the most common
form of transport for minor dignitaries and
those in non-combat zones.
A large number of these craft were sold
among the civilian population as well, and these
are commonly sought on the aftermarket
for tinkering and upgrading.

Mongrel Atmospheric Dropship
Light Starship; 36.5’
Control +1
Hull 5
Shields 10 (1 zone)
Speed 12
Jump Drive None
Dependability 14
Maintenance 2d6 sc
Armaments 1 light blast cannon (4d6; 1 mile)
Complement typically 1 Manticore hover tank
Crew 2
Passengers typically up to 20 troops
Cargo 2 tons (beyond dropship capabilities)
Escape Pods none
Value 25,000 sc
So named because of its ungainly appearance, the Mongrel is a stout

dropship, able to travel in space for short periods of time (up to 6
hours). It is used primarily to carry troops, supplies, and small vehicles
to the surface of planets.
The large numbers of Mongrels remaining after the fall of the
Confederacy, and their adaptability, have made these popular junkers.
The internal cargo capacity of 2 tons is in addition to the external
hook system which is able to carry a medium planetary vehicle to or
from a planet’s surface. While carrying a vehicle, the dropship takes -2
to both armor class and control.

Confederate Class R Resolute Gunship
Medium Starship; 108’
Control +1
Hull 8
Speed 14
Jump Drive x2
Dependability 12
Maintenance 5d6 sc
Armaments 4 Medium Pulse Cannons (+1; 5d8; 4 miles)
Complement None
Crew 6
Passengers 40
Cargo 5 tons
Escape Pods 4
Value 175,000 sc
This craft has been pressed into service throughout the Confederacy,
routinely called upon to serve in combat operations. These craft often
served as planetary patrol vehicles, scout ships, and escort vehicles for
medical, cargo, and supply ships.

Orak Heavy Battle Gunship
Medium Starship; 191’
Armor Class 18
Control -1
HD 8d12 (48 hp)
Hull 8
Speed 10
Jump Drive x1
Dependability 15
Maintenance 2d10 sc
Armaments 3 Heavy Blast Cannons (+1; 6d6; 3 miles)
Complement 5 Bloodtooth Interceptors
Crew 7
Passengers 60
Cargo 15 tons
Escape Pods None
Value 225,000 sc
The largest ship developed by the orak so far, the Bloodtooth has
enabled the orak to bring their war to the far corners of the Five
Systems, even though their ability to colonize and settle is limited. Most
often, these are used to propel raiding parties upon smaller, relatively
defenseless outposts in remote places, pillaging and raiding.
Full schematics of an Orak Heavy Gunship are provided in Appendix
D, page 132.

Confederate Torchbearer-Class
Escort Frigate
Heavy Starship; 280’
Armor Class 16
Control -4
Hull 10
Speed 12
Jump Drive x2
Upgrade 2,000 + (1d10x100) sc
Dependability 12
Maintenance 10d6 sc
Armaments 4 light pulse cannons (+1; 4d8; 2 miles)
Complement 4 Satchel-Class Confederate Shuttles
Crew 12
Passengers 300
Cargo 250 tons
Escape Pods 12
Value 1.5 million sc
The versatile Torchbearer-class escort frigate was used by the

Confederacy in a number of capacities, each ship heavily modified for its
unique mission: medical ship, ambassador ship, supply ship, cargo
carrier, or even house flagship. Its size offsets some of its combat
limitations, and it often depended on smaller escort craft to provide
protection in the event of conflict. Hundreds of these were produced,
and many remain in service in the hands of all manner of captains,
ranging from the most honest to the most ruthless.

Confederate Shield-Bearer Class
Heavy Battle Cruiser
Heavy Starship;
Armor Class 18
Control -4
Hull 12
Speed 14
Jump Drive x3
Upgrade 2,000 + (1d10x100) sc
Dependability 12
Maintenance 10d6 sc
Armaments 2 heavy pulse cannons (+2; 6d8; 8 miles)
6 light pulse cannons (+2; 4d6; 2 miles)
2 medium plasma torpedo tubes (+1; 6d12; 15 miles)
12 medium plasma bombs (8d12; 100’ blast radius)
Complement 4 Lancer Interceptors
1 Mongrel Atmospheric Dropship
Crew 14
Passengers 400
Cargo 400 tons
Escape Pods 20
Value 2 million sc
Most planet-level skirmishes of the Confederacy were decided by Shield

Bearers. These warships appeared in large numbers, released in three
series over the course of 25 years. They became the backbone of the
Confederate armies, the first responder to military threats throughout
the Confederate Systems. Even after the fall of the Confederacy, many
of these remain in service, although not all are still under the command
of Confederate leadership.

Void Army Heavy Assault Cruiser
Armor Class 19
Control -6
Hull 12
Speed 16
Jump Drive x5
Upgrade 2,000 + (1d10x100) sc
Dependability 15
Maintenance 10d6 sc
Armaments 12 Medium Phase Cannons (+1; 5d10; 6 miles)
24 Phase Bombs (10d10; 150’ blast radius)
Complement 24 Void Ghoul Interceptors
Crew 18
Passengers 500
Cargo 500 tons
Escape Pods None
Value 3 million sc
The symbol of the presence of the void armies within the Five Systems,
Void Army Heavy Assault Carriers are able to quickly traverse great
distances, bringing savage destruction. In the past, the void armies have
dispatched as many as six of these at once to besiege a planet or defeat
an enemy fleet.

Valhalla’s Blade, Heavy Battle Carrier
Armor Class 20
Control -8
Hull 15
Speed 16
Jump Drive x4
Upgrade 2,000 + (1d10x100) sc
Dependability 14
Maintenance 12d6 sc
Armaments 6 heavy pulse cannons (+2; 6d8; 8 miles)
12 light pulse cannons (+2; 4d8; 2 miles)
4 heavy plasma torpedo tubes (+2; 8d12; 20 miles)
24 heavy plasma bombs (+1; 10d12; 250’ blast radius)
Complement 12 Lancer Interceptors
2 Mongrel Atmospheric Dropships
4 Planetary Patrol Cars
Crew 24
Passengers 800
Cargo 1,500 tons
Escape Pods 24
Value 5 million sc
At its height, the Confederacy of Stars maintained twelve battle carriers.

These were the might of the Confederate Fleet, the symbol of her
power and the manifestation of her law.
The Battle Carrier Valhalla’s Blade was assigned to a mission to
explore the Fringe, a two-year mission to gather intelligence and record
activity amid the small planetoids, asteroids, and cosmic dust in sector
thirteen. Under the command of Captain Rills, Valhalla’s Blade was at
the far edge of explored space when the distress call came in. The
Shadow’s Rift had been opened.
Captain Rills returned immediately, but it was already too late. The
entire fleet had been devastated, wiped out by the awesome power of
the armies of the void. Now, Valhalla’s Blade represents the last vestiges
of the Confederate Army, carrying her last hope across the Five
Systems.

Appendix C: The Orak
The orak are presented not as a creature race, but as another complete
archetype. This archetype is not available to player characters, but is
provided for GMs to use in developing their own orak, members of a
mighty and dangerous species.
Orak Shock Trooper

FEAT 5 + Level Modifier
+ STR modifier
Armor Heavy
Weapons Heavy
Abilities Darkvision (60’)
2-handed fighting
+1 to Armor Class
+LM to STR rating
As an orak shock trooper, you are a member of a cruel and violent race.
You once served as a slave to others, but those days are gone, and now
you are the strongest people of the Five Systems. Utter subjugation of
all others is the only path. All Orak Shock Troopers are chaotic. Your
natural physical gifts give you +1 to your Armor Class, and allow you to
add your LM to your STR rating.
Orak Shock Trooper Soldier (level 2)

AC 15; HD 2d6 (hp 10); FEAT +8; Move 40’; blast rifle (+2;2d6/60’)
Medium Shell Armor (+3); 1 blast grenade
Orak Shock Trooper Captain (level 4)

AC 17; HD 4d6 (hp 20); FEAT +10; Move 40’; modified blast rifle (+4;
2d6+1; 60’)
Heavy Shell Armor (+5); 2 blast grenades
Orak Shock Trooper Commander (level 6)

AC 17; HD 6d6 (hp 30); FEAT +12; Move 40’; modified blast rifle (+4;
2d6+2; 60’)
Heavy Shell Armor (+5); 2 blast grenades

Appendix D: Introductory Adventure
Introduction: The Orak Heavy Gunship is a sign of the might of the Orak
Empire, of their renewed efforts to assault the free peoples of the Five
Systems. The gunship is presented here with a map, a key, and several
hooks for ways a GM can use this as a way to launch a new game. See
page 123 for the gunship’s attributes. There are three ways for the
player characters to become involved in a mission around the gunship:
Hooks
1. The PCs were recently captured (or purchased as slaves) by the
orak, and are being held prisoner aboard the gunship. Their only
hope is to break free and steal an Orak Bloodtooth Interceptor.
They begin in the prison (area O) and must find a way out. In their
chains, they find a hidden compartment where someone has stored
some tools (for a security check), and a blast pistol. All of their
normal possessions are stored in area J. Only guards carry weapons;
most of the Orak are going about the ship with no armor (-3 to AC)
and no weapons (although most will improvise weapons from the
environment that deal 1d4 melee or thrown damage).
2. The PCs come across the derelict remains of the ship after it has lost
a fight with the armies of the void (who turned it into a haunted
ship) and decide to explore it. In this case, use the notes for haunted
ship in the key that follows. It may also be that the PCs have run out
of fuel, and need to scavenge fuel crystals to keep going.
3. The PCs are hired to steal the five interceptors from the derelict
remains of the ship as detailed in 3 above. Their payment will be
that they are allowed to keep one of the 5 interceptors, turning the
other 4 over to a powerful guild master. If they fail (or betray their
employer), they will be marked, and bounty hunters will be after
them before long.
About the Haunted Ship

The orak were defeated in a battle with forces from the void, who
then turned the remaining crew into undead minions, and set the
ship adrift. The vessel needs 75,000 sc in repairs to operate. An
outside crew seeking to enter the ship would have to do so through
the drop hatch, which is in the center of the ship (at the bottom) and
which leads up into the main deck, area K.

Key
A. Common Hall. The orak feast and revel here at three large tables.
2d6 soldiers will be here at any time. On the haunted ship, 1d4
zombies will be here instead.
B. Bridge. Either the commander or first mate (a captain) is here at all

times, along with a crew of 3 soldiers who operate the ship. On the
haunted ship, 4 zombies go through the motions of operating the
controls. Any effort to open the bay doors in any other area of the
ship requires 1d4 rounds and a successful INT check at the controls
here.
C. Kitchens. 1d4 soldiers will be here preparing meals, scrubbing

floors, or doing general maintenance. On the haunted ship, these
will be 1d4 zombies instead.
D. Washrooms. 1d6 soldiers will be here showering, dressing, or

sharpening their tusks. On the haunted ship, 1d4 zombies will be
here instead, trying to figure out the water purification system.
E. War Room. Meetings for various assaults take place here. The room
has many star charts, intelligence on a variety of outposts and
trading stations, and assorted rumors and legends. Here, the GM
can place a map of a nearby ruin for exploration, with rumors about
its contents.
F. General Storage. A variety of basic supplies are kept here. Their

total value is about 500 sc, and this includes a number of basic
provisions from the equipment lists starting on page 32. Nothing
here is worth more than 20 sc.
G. Command Crew Quarters. The six members of the command crew

live here. Each will have a locked foot locker with 4d6 sc in
valuables. On the haunted ship, 1d4 zombies will be here.
H. Captain’s Quarters. The captain lives here. He has a locked foot

locker (-4 security to pick the lock) containing 6d6 sc in valuables,
including a modified pulse pistol that grants +1 to targeting, deals
1d8+1 damage, and has a range of 90’. On the haunted ship, the
captain has been replaced by 1 ghoul.

I. Engineering. 1d4 soldiers typically work here, performing routine
maintenance for the ship. On the haunted ship, 1d4 zombies will be
here instead. If searched for maintenance materials, 10d10 sc worth
of material for routine maintenance can be scavenged.
J. Workshop. Repairs of all systems are facilitated from this large

workshop. If searched for maintenance materials, 10d10 sc worth of
material for routine maintenance can be scavenged.
K. Mission Launch. Here troops assemble for assaults. The center of

the room is a hatch (operated manually from here) that allows
troops to either paratroop or rappel out into combat situations. The
hatch has two seal points at the top and bottom, but the entire
chamber can become vacuum sealed from the rest of the ship as
well, for missions into deep space.
L. Armory. 20 pulse pistols, 20 pulse rifles, 10 suits of light shell armor,

10 suits of heavy shell armor, and 6 heavy vac suits are stored here.
M. Barracks. Metal bunk beds can accommodate up to 60 troops and

their gear in cramped quarters. Typically, 3d6 soldiers will be here
(many sleeping), but on the haunted ship, 2d4 zombies are here
instead.
N. Cargo Hold. These large chambers are empty, their most recent
booty already sold at market.
O. Prison and Slave Pens. Whatever slaves and prisoners are being
transported will be housed here. On the haunted ship, there are 2
shadows lingering in this chamber.
P. Guard Post. 2 soldiers stand guard here at all times. On the haunted
ship, these are 2 zombies.
Q. Launch Bay. Five Orak Bloodtooth Interceptors (page 118) are

housed here, with a bay door located at the fore. The bay door must
be operated from the bridge (area B). Typically, 1d6 soldiers mill
about this area. On the haunted ship, these are 1d4 zombies. The
keys for the interceptors hang in the chamber, along with 10 light
vac suits.

Orak Heavy Gunship

Appendix E: Non-Player Characters
These three non-player characters could serve as springboards for
adventure, or could show up to interact with the fellowship in a variety
of ways.
Master Kodek, Lawful Terran Templar 6

AC 18; HD 6d6 (hp 24); FEAT +11; Move 40’; sun blade (+8/1d8+4)
STR 8 (+1); INT 8 (+1); WIS 10 (+2)
DEX 10 (+2); CON 6 (-); CHA 15 (+4)
Light flex armor; sun blade
Combat focus; parry; quick attack; spirit
A wandering monk, Master Kodek looks for opportunities to perform
humble tasks to help the poor and downtrodden. He has taken a vow of
poverty, living an ascetic life. He will assist those who seek to do good.
Argo Ness, Neutral Terran Adventurer 6

AC 17; HD 6d6 (hp 28); FEAT +10; Move 40’;
modified pulse rifle (+7; 2d10+2; 120’)
STR 7 (-); INT 8 (+1); WIS 7 (-)
DEX 12 (+3); CON 9 (+1); CHA 8 (+1)
Medium flex armor (+4); 4 stun grenades; boost pack; bola launcher
Luck; sneak; sharpshooting
A feared bounty hunter, Argo Ness commands premiere prices for his
services. He pilots a heavily-modified Mongrel dropship, the Bandit
Prince, famed for its x5 jump drive and nimble maneuvering (control +3).
Skyrim Longwhiskers, Neutral Kobo Rat Skinner 6

AC 14; HD 6d6 (hp 33); FEAT +12; Move 30’;
modified phase pistol (+8; 1d8+1; 120’)
STR 6 (-); INT 10 (+2); WIS 8 (+1)
DEX 14 (+4); CON 10 (+2); CHA 12 (+3)
Any gear is available to him, as needed
Darkvision (60’); +4 to sense FEATS; security; pilfer; sneak; sneak attacks;
tinkering
Aboard the re-engineered Torchbearer-class frigate Second Chance,
Skyrim runs a traveling inn, tavern, and pawn shop. If you need it, or
need to get rid of it, he can probably work something out. He is served
by a tribe of hobs indentured to him, and is willing to barter with
anyone.

OPEN GAME LICENSE
Version 1.0a
The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and is Copyright 2000
Wizards of the Coast, Inc ("Wizards"). All Rights Reserved.
1. Definitions: (a) "Contributors" means the copyright and/or trademark owners who
have contributed Open Game Content; (b) "Derivative Material" means copyrighted
material including derivative works and translations (including into other computer
languages), potation, modification, correction, addition, extension, upgrade,
improvement, compilation, abridgment or other form in which an existing work may be
recast, transformed or adapted; (c) "Distribute" means to reproduce, license, rent,
lease, sell, broadcast, publicly display, transmit or otherwise distribute; (d) "Open Game
Content" means the game mechanic and includes the methods, procedures, processes
and routines to the extent such content does not embody the Product Identity and is an
enhancement over the prior art and any additional content clearly identified as Open
Game Content by the Contributor, and means any work covered by this License,
including translations and derivative works under copyright law, but specifically
excludes Product Identity. (e) "Product Identity" means product and product line names,
logos and identifying marks including trade dress; artifacts, creatures, characters,
stories, storylines, plots, thematic elements, dialogue, incidents, language, artwork,
symbols, designs, depictions, likenesses, formats, poses, concepts, themes and graphic,
photographic and other visual or audio representations; names and descriptions of
characters, castings, enchantments, personalities, teams, personas, likenesses and
special abilities; places, locations, environments, creatures, equipment, mystical or
supernatural abilities or effects, logos, symbols, or graphic designs; and any other
trademark or registered trademark clearly identified as Product identity by the owner of
the Product Identity, and which specifically excludes the Open Game Content; (f)
"Trademark" means the logos, names, mark, sign, motto, designs that are used by a
Contributor to identify itself or its products or the associated products contributed to
the Open Game License by the Contributor (g) "Use", "Used" or "Using" means to use,
Distribute, copy, edit, format, modify, translate and otherwise create Derivative
Material of Open Game Content. (h) "You" or "Your" means the licensee in terms of this
agreement.
2. The License: This License applies to any Open Game Content that contains a notice
indicating that the Open Game Content may only be Used under and in terms of this
License. You must affix such a notice to any Open Game Content that you Use. No terms
may be added to or subtracted from this License except as described by the License
itself. No other terms or conditions may be applied to any Open Game Content
distributed using this License.
3. Offer and Acceptance: By Using the Open Game Content You indicate Your
acceptance of the terms of this License.
4. Grant and Consideration: In consideration for agreeing to use this License, the
Contributors grant You a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license with
the exact terms of this License to Use, the Open Game Content.

5. Representation of Authority to Contribute: If You are contributing original material as
Open Game Content, You represent that Your Contributions are Your original creation
and/or You have sufficient rights to grant the rights conveyed by this License.
6. Notice of License Copyright: You must update the COPYRIGHT NOTICE portion of this
License to include the exact text of the COPYRIGHT NOTICE of any Open Game Content
You are copying, modifying or distributing, and You must add the title, the copyright
date, and the copyright holder's name to the COPYRIGHT NOTICE of any original Open
Game Content you Distribute.
7. Use of Product Identity: You agree not to Use any Product Identity, including as an
indication as to compatibility, except as expressly licensed in another, independent
Agreement with the owner of each element of that Product Identity. You agree not to
indicate compatibility or co-adaptability with any Trademark or Registered Trademark in
conjunction with a work containing Open Game Content except as expressly licensed in
another, independent Agreement with the owner of such Trademark or Registered
Trademark. The use of any Product Identity in Open Game Content does not constitute a
challenge to the ownership of that Product Identity. The owner of any Product Identity
used in Open Game Content shall retain all rights, title and interest in and to that
Product Identity.
8. Identification: If you distribute Open Game Content You must clearly indicate which
portions of the work that you are distributing are Open Game Content.
9. Updating the License: Wizards or its designated Agents may publish updated versions
of this License. You may use any authorized version of this License to copy, modify and
distribute any Open Game Content originally distributed under any version of this
License.
10. Copy of this License: You MUST include a copy of this License with every copy of the
Open Game Content You distribute.
11. Use of Contributor Credits: You may not market or advertise the Open Game
Content using the name of any Contributor unless You have written permission from the
Contributor to do so.
12. Inability to Comply: If it is impossible for You to comply with any of the terms of this
License with respect to some or all of the Open Game Content due to statute, judicial
order, or governmental regulation then You may not Use any Open Game Material so
affected.
13. Termination: This License will terminate automatically if You fail to comply with all
terms herein and fail to cure such breach within 30 days of becoming aware of the
breach. All sublicenses shall survive the termination of this License.
14. Reformation: If any provision of this License is held to be unenforceable, such
provision shall be reformed only to the extent necessary to make it enforceable.
15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE
Open Game License v 1.0a Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
Shards of Tomorrow released under Creative Commons License by Michael T. Desing
System Reference Document. Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors
Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, based on material by E. Gary Gygax and
Dave Arneson.

Index
Abilities 19 Darkness 99 Reactions 62

Alignment 17 Death 61 Reactions 96
Archetypes 10 Dependability 38 Record Keeping 96
Archetypes 18 Encounters 61 Relics 105
Armaments 40 Epic Checks 14 Result Rolls 15
Armor Ratings 18 Epic Checks 97 Role Playing 8
Armor 30 Epic Stunts 26 Roll Playing 8
Attack Rolls 15 Experience Point 104 Rounds 60
Attribute Checks 15 Faith Castings 22 Sense FEATS 17
Attributes 9 Falling 99 Spirit 25
Balancing the Game 98 FEATS 16 Stars 101
Bots 35 Force Fields 103 Starships 47
Castings 53 Fumbles 16 Swimming 99
Character Creation 10 Gear, Adventuring 32 Synthoid Directives 23
Character Progress 18 Gravity 101 Talents 27
Chasing 99 Grenades 31 Teleportation 103
Checks 14 Healing 61 Time Travel 103
Climbing 99 House Rules 100 Tinkering 20
Combat Focus 25 Junkers 49 Travel 99
Combat 61 Languages 17 Turns 60
Communications 102 Leaping/Jumping 99 Vacuum 101
Compel the Void 22 Level Modifier 12 Vehicle Attributes 36
Computers 103 Maneuvers 42 Vehicle Damage 42
Contested Rolls 16 Monetary System 29 Vision 99
Crashes 42 Morale FEATS 17 Wealth 104
Creatures 63 Movement 60 Weapon Ratings 18
Cybernetics 34 Omni Knowledge 23 Weapon Types 62
Damage Rolls 16 Planetary Vehicles 45 Weapons 30
Damage 61 Purpose 29 Worlds 101
Discounted Print Edition

Because you ordered the pdf of this game, you are eligible to get the
print edition at a discounted price of $9.95
Follow this link to claim your discounted print copy:
http://www.lulu.com/shop/michael-desing/shards-of-tomorrow-pdf-
bundle/paperback/product-22587799.html

Shards of Tomorrow

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Shards of Tomorrow

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Shards of Tomorrow

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Shards of tomorrow

Book 1: Core Rules

Published by Splintered Realms Publishing 2016

1 Shards of Tomorrow Book I: Core Rules

2 Shards of Tomorrow Book I: Core Rules

3 Shards of Tomorrow Book I: Core Rules

In short, Shards of Tomorrow is now your playground. Have fun in it!

You can sign up to support my work at:

4 Shards of Tomorrow Book I: Core Rules

5 Shards of Tomorrow Book I: Core Rules

6 Shards of Tomorrow Book I: Core Rules

7 Shards of Tomorrow Book I: Core Rules

‘Role Playing’ and ‘Roll Playing’

8 Shards of Tomorrow Book I: Core Rules

9 Shards of Tomorrow Book I: Core Rules

Steps in Character Creation

10 Shards of Tomorrow Book I: Core Rules

This costs a total of 83 sc. I record the remaining 7 sc on my

12 Shards of Tomorrow Book I: Core Rules

Penalties and Bonuses to Checks

14 Shards of Tomorrow Book I: Core Rules

Result Rolls: Attacks and Damage

15 Shards of Tomorrow Book I: Core Rules

16 Shards of Tomorrow Book I: Core Rules

17 Shards of Tomorrow Book I: Core Rules

Weapon and Armor Ratings by Type

Abilities include specialized areas of training or expertise, or innate

Many characters take +LM to an attribute. In this case, a character

19 Shards of Tomorrow Book I: Core Rules

First Tinker Second Tinker Third Tinker

20 Shards of Tomorrow Book I: Core Rules

Kobo Rat Skinner

Kobo Level 1-4 5-8 9-12

21 Shards of Tomorrow Book I: Core Rules

22 Shards of Tomorrow Book I: Core Rules

23 Shards of Tomorrow Book I: Core Rules

As a terran adventurer, you are a versatile

Terran Templar Sun Blades are unique

24 Shards of Tomorrow Book I: Core Rules

Sample Spirit Stunts (use 1 action to):

25 Shards of Tomorrow Book I: Core Rules

Sample Epic Stunts (use 1 action to):

As a trog warrior, you are a proud member of a savage people. Your

26 Shards of Tomorrow Book I: Core Rules

27 Shards of Tomorrow Book I: Core Rules

28 Shards of Tomorrow Book I: Core Rules

In any encounter where you take a step towards accomplishing your

 Shell Armor is more rudimentary, with pieces of reinforced plastic

Weapons, Melee (Primitive)

Weapons, Ranged (Primitive)

 Blast weapons are the most common. These use fundamental

31 Shards of Tomorrow Book I: Core Rules

32 Shards of Tomorrow Book I: Core Rules

Starter Pack. Instead of purchasing individual gear, you can purchase

33 Shards of Tomorrow Book I: Core Rules

About Cybernetic Implants

Common Implants include:

34 Shards of Tomorrow Book I: Core Rules

B-Series E-Series U-Series