Contact Information:
jay@vanishingtowerpress.com
Monday, January 21
Random Spawn of Shub-Niggurath
This is a generator for creating an instant Spawn of Shub-Niggurath from Geoffrey McKinney's Carcosa:
Saturday, January 19
Classic Traveller Session Report #4 - Vanders Dub-Step
The last time I got a chance to run a session in my Original(Own) Classic Traveller Universe (OTU) was April 2018. It was the third session of the second group I was able to get together online and ended like any role-playing session with more to do then when we started.
If you are a game referee you know the "space" I'm in. That of more than one play group gaming in the same campaign. Which is fucking cool. You want to game the world more because the actions of the PC's keep on expanding the field of play. And different groups in play generate even more event horizons which make future game prep immensely challenging and rewarding. I want to see what becomes of the beast!
So I've pushed further sessions when I know I can run and nothing really lined up again until today. With another group of new players. No one, if my listening ears were on, had ever played Traveller before. And as a referee I've only run Traveller for seven-twelve? total sessions. If you are a fan of OSR play Classic Traveller will work for you. Actually let me say if you are a PC who loves OSR play and have no problem with using an instant character generator to produce a character a game can get off the ground quicker than D&D!
This came together with such little planning that I caught one of the players saying "Feels strange to be called my real name." We didn't have any avatars, just are naked selves. Which made it more difficult for me to recognize each player as what "type" of character they were, but this is kind of a bonus. Everyone had to roleplay. Like here is what I want to do cause I don't know what my PC is good at so I'm going to do this. Throws you back on what is important during live play; be involved, be interesting. Do stuff! and then let the dice decide.
Here is the stuff the PC's did:
All were ex-army, out of work and looking for a way to pay for water and air under the dome.I threw out relative rumors tangential to previous adventures and hit the crew straight up with a patron; Sader Z. an old, emaciated and bitter loan shark. He hangs out at the Body Double coffee shop taking bets on the underground fight scene. Mon-Fay, an Omni-Sun cop owes 30,000 in gambling debts and Sader Z. can't find him. Bring the dead-beat Mon-Fay to him alive and he'll split the debt with you all. 15 for Sader 15 for the PC's. Sader Z knows Mon-Fay has a pumped cube over in the Starsky block. Unit 420 above the ultra-mart. He has a month on as part of security at the Oh-Rif facility outside the dome and then a month off at home here in the dome. Sader reminds the PC's he wants Mon-Fay brought to him alive. He can't make a corpse pay up.
The PC's case the block and start asking ultra-mart employees if Mon-Fay has been around lately. Their questions spook Scuffy the janitor in charge of the floor-wax robos to run out the back. The PC's try and catch the poor bastard but they lose him in the tight, busy thoroughfare outside. The PC's search the janitor's office and don some maintenance uniforms (Starsky Property Management) and force the door to the upper level apartments all the while taking careful note of the video surveillance in abundance for such a low-rent complex. The auto-lift is out, of course so the stairs it is. On the third floor landing three dudes in overcoats (Gang=Bung Monkeys) ask "what is up?" I guess they were not expecting an unscheduled maintenance call for the fourth floor cause the PC's rolled snake eyes on their reaction roll and the gang members immediately attack. One overcoat took to the stairs going up. Talker pulled a cattle-prod while Back-Up pulled a body pistol. Everyone and I mean everyone rolled for shit in the stairwell. Electricity and firearms were discharged willy-nilly. The PC with the cudgel actually cleared the room. The party was then able to force access into 420, catching the runaway overcoat dude gathering some data chips from Mon-Fay's wall comp. "Mon-Fay hasn't been around. You know he can be on duty for a month or more man. He said if anyone come around while he gone burn his deck. That's what I'm doing man. Here take the chips man just let me go."
The PC's head back to the Body Double and show Sader Z what they got. He gladly takes the data chips from them and lets them know he is pretty displeased they show up with no money and no Mon-Fay. "Find him dam it!" They don't let the loan shark in on the sealed Huron seed package they found hidden in Mon-Fay's apartment. Huron and Omni-Sun run Oh-Rif, the ag research facility where Mon-Fay works. The PC's naturally suspect they are holding the acid-rain resistant seed promised colonists for the last three years. Probably money and the recent terrorist attack on self-same facility wasn't just for fun.
The PC's decide to go check out Mon-Fay's place of work, the Oh-Rif facility on the eastern edge of the Skalvil Sea. They bribe their way on a supply boat from Halo Shipping but once out on the water the skipper says he can't take them all the way in. "Since the terrorist attack a few days ago security is really tight." He can drop the PC's off at Javon Musk's farm. It is just outside the facility and he rents ATV's for hunting parties looking for sport on Skalvil's tainted, acid-rain surface. So that is what they do. Musk is a farmer and animal trainer. He lives comfortably outside the dome cause he is a popular wilderness guide for the wealthy out of Kazawan City. The PC's use the cover of a hunting party to rent ATV's and observe the research facility through scopes. Lot of security. Lot going on. The PC's decide there is no way they are going to get in without getting caught so take their fustration out on nearby Skalvil Rabbits. Lanky, fast vermin the size of large house cats, it doesn't take long for their accurate shooting to bring down dinner as well as a VTOL from Oh-Rif.
The party is informed they are trespassing on restricted property and to wait for ground security forces approaching. They will be then identified and escorted off restricted property. The PC's were like fuck, we should have gone and tried to sell these seeds to the Vanders Labor Union back under the dome....
Thursday, January 17
And now a message from our Sponsor... DMG 1e
PURSUIT
AND EVASION OF PURSUIT (DMG 1e p.68)
There
are two cases of pursuit and evasion of pursuit. The first is in
underground situations, and the second is in outdoor settings. There
are various special circumstances which pertain to each case so each
will be dealt with separately.
Pursuit
And Evasion In Underground Settings:
When
player characters with attendant hirelings and/or henchmen, if any,
elect to retreat or flee from an encounter with a monster ar
monsters, a possible pursuit situation arises. Whether or not pursuit
will actually take place is dependent upon the following:
1.
If the matrix or key states that the monster(s) in question will
pursue, or if the MONSTER MANUAL so states, then pursuit will
certainly occur.
2.
If the monster or monsters encountered are semi-intelligent or under,
hungry, angry, aggressive, and/or trained to do so, then pursuit will
be 80% likely to occur (d10, 1 through 8).
3.
If the monster or monsters encountered are of low intelligence but
otherwise suit the qualifications of 2. above, then pursuit will
occur with the following probabilities:
A.
If the party outnumbers the potential pursuers, then pursuit is 20%
likely.
B.
If the party is about as numerous as the potential pursuers, then
pursuit is 40% likely.
C.
If the party is outnumbered by the potential pursuers, then pursuit
is 80% likely.
D.
If condition C. exists, and furthermore, the potential pursuers
conceive of themselves as greatly superior to the party, then
pursuit is 100% certain.
Pursuit
will have 3 separate cases:
1.
The pursued are faster than the pursuers: Unless there are
extenuating circumstances, such as a ranger NPC ar an invisible
stalker or a slithering tracker pursuing, then pursuit will end as
soon as any one of the following conditions is met:
A.
The pursued are in sight but over 100' distant; or
B.
The pursued are out of sight and were over 50' distant when they so
left the perception of the pursuer(s); or
C.
Pursuit has continued over 5 rounds, and the pursuer has not gained
perceptibly upon the pursued.
2.
The pursued are of equal speed to the pursuers: As in case 1. above,
pursuit will end as soon as any 1 of the following conditions are
met:
A.
The pursued are in sight but over 150' distant; or
B.
The pursued are out of sight and were over 80' distant when they left
the perception of the pursuer(s); or
C.
Pursuit has continued over 1 turn, and the pursuer has not gained
perceptibly upon the pursued.
3.
The pursuer is faster than the pursued: The pursuit will be broken
off only if one of the following occurs:
A.
The pursued are out of sight and were over 200' distant when they
left the perception of the pursuer(s); or
B.
The pursuer is unable to continue due to reasons of physical
endurance.
Modifiers
To Pursuit: There are several circumstances which will affect the
pursuer. These are:
1.
Barriers: Physical or magic barriers will slow or halt pursuit, i.e.
or locked portal, a broken bridge, a wall of fire, etc.
2.
Distractions: Actual or magic distractions will be from 10% to 100%
likely to cause pursuit to falter or cease altogether. For example, a
dancing lights spell moving away from a fleeing party which has
extinguished its light sources might distract pursuers, just as a
phantasmal force of a strong helper joining the pursued might cause
the pursuers to cease pursuit. Similarly, if the pursued passed
through or near some other creatures which would be hostile to the
pursuing force, or at least not friendly to the pursuers, then it is
quite possible that the creatures passed through and the pursuers
would become embroiled. N.B.: The likelihood of any distraction being
successful is a matter for individual adjudication by the DM, using
ADBD principles and common sense as they apply to the particular
circumstances prevailing. There are also 2 sub-cases here:
A.
Food: Food, including rations and/or wine, will be from 10% to 100%
likely to distract pursuers of low intelligence or below, providing
the food/wine is what they find palatable. Roll a d10 to find the
probability, unless you have a note as to how hungry or food oriented
the creatures are. Add 10% to the result for every point of
intelligence below 5, and give a 100% probability for
non-intelligent creatures pursuing. If probability is under 100%,
roll the d10 a second time, and if the result is equal to or less
than the probability determined, then the pursuers break off pursuit
for 1 round while the food/wine is consumed.
B.
Treasure: Treasure, including precious metals, gems, jewelry, rare
stuffs such as ivory or spices, valuable items, and/or magic will be
10% to 100% likely to cause pursuers of low or greater intelligence
to be distracted. Pursuers of low intelligence will have an
additional 10% per 10 items (regardless of actual value) dropped,
i.e. 20 copper pieces have a 20% additional probability of causing a
distraction. The value of items dropped, known or presumed or
potential, will likewise cause pursuers of average or greater
intelligence to be more likely to be distracted. For each 100 g.p.
value or potential value, add 10% to base probability. Roll the d10
a second time to see if potential and actual interest are the same,
just as is done when food is used as a possible distraction. (Note,
however, that very small items of value - notably, gems and the like
- would have a chance of going completely unnoticed in the heat of
pursuit.) If success occurs, the pursuer will be distracted for 1
round, or the length of time necessary to gather up the treasure,
whichever is the greater.
3.
Multiple Choice: It will mast often come to pass that the pursued
take a route which enables them to cause the pursuer(s) to have to
make decisions as to which direction the pursued took in their
flight. Thus, at a branching passage where there are 3 possible ways
which could have been taken, there is a basic 2 in 3 chance that the
pursuer(s) will take the wrong passage. Likewise, if there are a door
and a passage, there is a 1 in 2 chance of wrong choice. This base
chance assumes that the pursuer cannot see the pursued when choice is
made, that sound does not reveal the direction of flight, that smell
does not reveal direction of flight, nor do any other visual, audial,
or olfactory clues point to the escape path. As DM, you will have to
adjudicate such situations as they arise. The following guidelines
might prove helpful:
Light:
Straight line of sight is near infinite, any corner cuts distance to
60'.
Noise:
Characters in metal armor can be heard for 90', hard boots can be
heard at 60', relatively quiet movement can be heard at 30'.
Odors:
Normal scent can be detected by creatures hunting or tracking by
scent for several hours - even in a dungeon setting. Scent can be
masked with various things - mustard powder, oil of citronella,
crushed stinging nettle, etc.
Building
Interiors: Treat these settings the same as one underground, as
applicable.
Procedure
For Determination Of Evasion Underground: If it is discovered that a
pursuit situation exists, and the player-party elects to evade rather
than confront pursuers, then record the relative speeds of pursued
and pursuer. Move the pursued party as many l o ' s of feet as their
slowest member is able to travel, and likewise move the pursuing
party as many 10's of feet as its fastest member can travel, noting
positions of slower members, if any, as well. This movement is
accomplished on the map, of course. Three such movement phases are
(for game purposes) equal to 1 round. At the end of any movement
portion where any number of the pursued party is within 10' or less of
any number of the pursuing party, confrontation must take place
between the concerned members of the parties. (At this point the
remainder, if any, of the pursued party may elect to stop flight or
continue evasion attempts as they wish.) Also, at the end of each
movement portion it is necessary to check the 3 SEPARATE PURSUIT
CASES and any PURSUIT MODIFIERS to see if the pursued party has
succeeded in evading the pursuers. Keep track not only of the route
of flight, but also of the amount ofgame time so spent, as some
pursuit will automatically cease after a set period without
confrontation.
Mapping
During Flight: No mapping is ever possible. Give no distance measures
in moving the pursued. Give no compass directions either!
Saturday, January 12
Deluxe USR Sword & Sorcery Cover Concept
Work continues on exploring what a game publisher and creator is like. This. is. a. lot. of. work. I'm approaching it like an art project. And my process is building things out and see what I find, throw out what doesn't work, and hope to Hades I stumble upon a legitimate aesthetic. Working with Jeremy Hart's commissioned illustration I've come to this basic "blocking" of the book's cover to date. I've added an additional block of text on the back cover (left side of image) with the game's elevator pitch.
Feel free to rip this to shreds:) No, any design advice you want to throw my way while I share the layout journey is glad and well accepted. This cover design is my attempt to get to "know" the tools I have at my disposal. For the cover it is a b/w illo large enough to wrap-around. What you see here is a close-up of the image, not the whole thing. The full drawing will get a suitable splash page inside the book. Title/text is the other tool and bands of color the final. Trying to draw limits. I'm shit with time management so if I give myself a limited palate I hopefully shorten the wandering around in the woods lost period which I looove and get some product eventually pushed out.
Thursday, January 10
Stupid, Simple Way to Convert Hit Die to BRP Skill Level
The DIY-OSR scene has the best adventure content but I like to play with Chaosium's BRP brand of d100 mechanics for the systems approach to combat and skills. D&D and BRP have an identical approach to Character Attributes, Hit Points are close enough to not matter, but Armor Class and the Monster Attack Table don't port over to the BRP d100 resolution mechanic without some thought.
Here is what I do; the Monster Attack Table is the easiest to convert out of the two. Armor Class 9 (or 12 for ascending) is an unarmored opponent. WarHammer Fantasy Roleplaying has your basic scrub getting a 35% to hit, so for a 1 HD Monster chance to hit is 35%. I'm going to grab the Monster Attack Table from Mutant Future and just add 5% for each row of Hit Dice which improve the character's chance to hit. So a 1+ and 2 HD creature has base line combat (or any primary skill/ability) of 40%. 2+ to 3 HD creature is 45%, etc. Following this progression you top out at 75% chance to hit/primary ability at 9+ to 11. OSR Creatures/Characters at these higher HD will most likely also have some unique attack abilities which will compensate for the flattening out at 75%. But that is all I have been doing for establishing a relation between Hit Dice and a Primary Skill Ability.
AC is not as easy. Armor Class in D&D represents how hard it is to not only hit your target but to hit decisively enough to actually deliver damage. BRP is less abstract. How difficult one is to hit is not tied to how much damage one would necessarily receive if hit. This is where the creature/monster/character description is important. Not that it shouldn't be anyways regardless of system. I bring it up because as a gamer I can't but help and look at NPC's as just a pile of stats so I can adjudicate action quickly. I find trying to stat creatures out for another system makes me look for what makes the Leech-Man different than the Kobold.
So looking at the common Kobold. With AC 7 a 1st level character(scrub) needs a 12 or better to hit, or 40% or less. The description of your average Kobold (from B/X) leaves me to believe they don't wear any armor so their improved AC over unarmed will come from their small stature and quick movement. Based on their HD their base combat ability would be 35%. Makes sense to me. Their improved armor class will come from an improved Dodge skill. Say boost 35% up to 45% (5% per each AC better than 9). HP stay the same. So your average OSR B/X Kobold quickly translates into Attack/Parry skill of 35% with a Dodge of 45% and no armor protection to reduce damage if hit!
Thursday, January 3
FGU's Space Opera Combat Tables
All my current Space Opera charts in PDF are found on the Summonings page of this blog.
Your typical one-on-one close, personal combat rules in Space Opera are called (section) 8.0 Ground Combat. This is to cover the fact you are supposed to be able to run small party combat actions as well as large mass battles involving thousands of troops. The rules make no bones about the fact they are a continuing treatment of their rules for miniature mass combat Space Marines. It is also a continuing treatment of the shit editing job which went into the rule book. It starts hard and fast; the first action in the turn sequence is to toss for “move or countermove.” WTF happened to “Initiative”, one of the basic characteristics which “all” in-game action is usually resolved? Maybe we will find out, but yeah, your Initiative score doesn't apply here. Or you could drop this step. Space Opera is cool with you jettisoning whole mechanics. Do it, you won't break it. The game sometimes even offers two different methods to resolve the same action. Yes, instead of move/countermove each side writes down their moves and the moves are revealed and played out simultaneously. This is code for Game Masters everywhere that “yeah you will have to wing it”. Just plow through this crap. You know what the rules really mean. Turn sequence 1. Play a hex-map-based-wargame first. This will take at least one other interested player and like forty hours of your time.
Your typical one-on-one close, personal combat rules in Space Opera are called (section) 8.0 Ground Combat. This is to cover the fact you are supposed to be able to run small party combat actions as well as large mass battles involving thousands of troops. The rules make no bones about the fact they are a continuing treatment of their rules for miniature mass combat Space Marines. It is also a continuing treatment of the shit editing job which went into the rule book. It starts hard and fast; the first action in the turn sequence is to toss for “move or countermove.” WTF happened to “Initiative”, one of the basic characteristics which “all” in-game action is usually resolved? Maybe we will find out, but yeah, your Initiative score doesn't apply here. Or you could drop this step. Space Opera is cool with you jettisoning whole mechanics. Do it, you won't break it. The game sometimes even offers two different methods to resolve the same action. Yes, instead of move/countermove each side writes down their moves and the moves are revealed and played out simultaneously. This is code for Game Masters everywhere that “yeah you will have to wing it”. Just plow through this crap. You know what the rules really mean. Turn sequence 1. Play a hex-map-based-wargame first. This will take at least one other interested player and like forty hours of your time.
So
if you are like me this means
you turn to the players and say “Your side lost, bad. What do you
want to do?”
And
if the players know the rules they will say “covering fire.” But
that is sequence #5. Ignore
them. Your players are just trying to make you forget sequence #2.
Indirect Fire. This is a
whole world of random hurt
the StarMaster can literally rain down
upon the players. Tough talk breaking down at the local spacer bar?
PC's smoothly going for their hardware to blast their way out of
trouble? Sorry, StarMaster needs to resolve sequence #2. Full salvo
of APROBDIF Projectors coming in from the
unisex! Oh yeah, the effects are not resolved until sequence #7. Does
that mean between sequence #3. and sequence #6 the PC's could move
away? On space ships? On power cycles? Humping ass burning Wind? Yes
it does. The whole sequence will work to give you hair-breath
escapes, but should only be used when you and the players need to
drill down to that level of detail cause that is where the game has
taken the action. Space Opera is
not going to work for newbies. Folks using this game are going to
have to be confident gamers and know when to role-play and when to
get out the rulebook.
Seriously,
it takes a judgmental asshole like myself to run Space
Opera. You need to be able to
look your players in the eye and say “roll initiative” and get
them not to scramble to the rulebook looking for a way out. Because
the rules are so poorly edited they will find it.
What
I remember from running Space Opera in
the early 80's was constantly
jettisoning combat rules to get to a “roll to hit” situation. And
this is one table and a percentile number. That is it. Again, dead
simple. For Direct Fire/Ranged Attacks you roll 1D100 on the Range to
Target Table. Shooting someone at Short Range 80% chance or less to
hit. Long 15% chance, etc. Now there are six separate tables of DMs
to the Direct Fire Roll, I get that. But use my PDF sheets attached
and you will have the information you want at your fingertips at the
table. Hand-to-Hand, Close Combat is a base 35% to hit for any
attack, subject to a very small set of DMs. No,
in Close Combat Initiative;
deciding who strikes first, has all the multiple DM tables! Space
Opera makes a big production out
of producing your Hand-to-Hand Capability. But
once you have this number, and you need compute it for thirteen
different weapon categories, you only use it for establishing strike
order for each combat
turn! I can see where many folks turn their head, hand out in the
universal symbol of “No thank you” and pass on trying to run the
game. In this instance it asks you to crunch simple, but time
consuming formula for a number which again gets multiple DMs to
consider every time you use it. But it does give a sharp distinction
between Direct Fire Combat. You don't use the same resolution method
for either one of these combats and in real life these are two very
different methods of combat. I will have to go with this as a feature
of Space Opera and not
a bug. Embrace it. And you are going to have to embrace the
Penetration Tables. (p. 43-51) Which
means rolling
on the Hit Location chart.
But who doesn't love Hit Location charts?!? Put the tables on a sheet
durable enough to last at the actual game table and everyone should
get dialed into their Penetration numbers quickly.
Both
these methods of combat funnel back into the same method of
resolving damage once a penetrating hit has been won. In fact, all
weapons do the same damage! Regardless of weapon/attack used damage
in Ground Combat is resolved the same way, roll
for severity and apply the corresponding
amount of damage to the character. There
are additional degrees of complexity you can add in from the rules or
just as well leave out. You have two described methods of achieving
an initiative/turn order for Pete's sake! You can take the Combat
Turn Sequence in its entirety or you can trim it down to only the
steps you wish to execute in a given combat. In each sequence, each
step in the combat “turn” can have additional DMs to add in. The
key to using however many combat mechanics you want is having these
DM tables not in the book but out on the table to use. And with this
reread so far I see nothing which would stop you from scaling the
combat mechanics when considering large engagements of troops. The
resolution mechanics can be both applied to an individual character
as well as an individual combat “unit”. Need to know the rate of
fire of your gun in Close Combat? They have rules for that. Don't
need that level of detail. No worries. Toss the rule entirely and
combat still works.
The
attached PDF file is to make generating these numerous DM tables for
use in one place easier. I believe once these tables are removed from
the book and made more accessible as a two-sided, laminated sheet the
game would become remarkably easy to run.
Tuesday, January 1
FGU's Space Opera Resolution Mechanics Examined
Space Opera has the reputation of being poorly organized (agreed) and
unplayable (not agreed). I recently purchased the perfect-bound copy
of the game so I could revisit Space Opera and see if there is a fun,
playable game here. I think there is. Nothing groundbreaking, but the
game has a voluminous equipment section and the game is a complete
science fiction gaming system with a great deal of options available
for detailed levels of play per where the StarMaster and PC's want
it. Unlike Traveller the game doesn't break with the exclusion or
inclusion of many of its rules systems.
Space Opera Resolution Charts PDF FILE
Space Opera Resolution Charts PDF FILE
I
will be paraphrasing from the RAW, but I've included relevant page
numbers from Volume 1 so you can look this information up if you
like.
The
expectation is PC resolution revolves around Characteristic Rolls
(CRs). Usually a roll-under statistic, but not always. These CRs are
to be made only in 'hairy' moments where there is a chance of being
injured, killed, losing gear or fixing something where failure has
grave consequences. (p.3)
Shock
Resistance CR is our first example of this mechanic in action. (p.18)
Your SR target number is derived from your Constitution. Roll your SR
or lower on a 1D20 to avoid the effects of shock. The book goes on to
describe each individual Characteristic's CR mechanic. Each
Characteristic CR method is described and they are not identical.
Intelligence and Intuition CR rolls are base on achieving a 11 or
less on a 1D20 with the target number modified by DM's per the
character's Characteristic score. (p.23) The Bravery CR is rolled
with 2D6 (p.24) while checking a Surprise CR is rolling your Agility
or less on a 1D20. (p.24) PC Initiative is a 1D20 roll plus the
character's Dexterity with an additional list of modifiers to
consider. (p.26)
Resolving
actions by applying a character's Skills follows a similar path; a
distinct method of resolution per skill. It is difficult to see a
relationship between a character's Skills and Characteristics because
of these numerous subsystems as well as the whole employment and
reenlistment procedure for the character's background is placed
between these two topics in the book. (p.26-42) Reenlistment is
completely optional and is resolved with a 3D6, rolling the target
number or greater for success.
But
the numerous subsystems are not complex. The implementation of roll
your stat plus/minus with modification is not foreign to any
roleplayer. So it follows a better organization of the game's
resolution mechanics would make this easier to play. As a modular
system designed to be used in whole or part for your own vision of a
space opera game universe it is worth using. I like the game for its
fairly simple mechanics with a great character creation system, world
generation tables and exhaustive gear list. I cannot speak to its
starship combat rules as I have never run them. These rules will get
their own look at some point and I may be able to generate a blog
post on what I think of this important part of the game.
Careful
look at Skills reveals Space Opera takes philosophically different
approaches to resolution with whole branches of skill-orientated
tasks. Applying your Combat Skills in play is done differently than
applying your Scientific Research Skills which is different yet again
from how Technical Skills are resolved! Once sorted though these
different methods define the fun which can be had with Space Opera.
Unified mechanics across the board in a game can get dull. If
everything is resolved the same way, nothing you do in the game is
truly unique. While the game offers players a chance at custom builds
the simple Class system makes playing an Armsman different than
playing a Technician or an Astronaut. Want to experience something new in the game for your PC, have your Armsman try and fix a radio.
Learn how the other side lives! So I think the diverse subsystems,
for this game, work.
Scientific
Skills are also used to do Scientific Research. For routine
information gathering there is a flat 71%, plus Intelligence and
Skill Level, chance or less to make the correct observation. (p.47)
To successfully complete Scientific Research requires having the
right number of sciences to overcome the research subject's
complexity. The chance of success is found by adding all of the
success Dms and then subtracting the problem complexity Dms. (p. 48)
There is also a table which will give the amount of time required to
be spent before a success throw can be made.
The
Medical Scientist and Physician have additional subsystems for the
application of advanced medicine and healing abilities. Routine forms
of medical research have a 75% plus 3% per skill level chance of
success. (p. 46) Making the correct diagnoses of known diseases is
40% plus 5% per skill level without computer access. The chance is
greater/modified if advanced consultation is available making
diagnoses by a Medical Scientist almost certain. (p. 46) Physicians
can increase healing rates (p. 47) as well as manufacture drugs (30%
chance of success plus 3% per skill level plus 3% per Mk of the
Medi-Computer. (p. 47) Engineers follow the same procedures
Scientific Research while the Technician has its own unique
subsystems.
Tech
Skills and training (p. 57) are for the operation and repair of
equipment. The rule book here offers a fine example of the numerous
misleading typos which need to be faced while reading Space Opera.
“The procedure to be followed for repairing breakdowns are
described in the 5.0 Equipment Maintainance section, ...” No, there
is no such thing. Single-system and Multi-system Breakdowns are
resolved per section 4.22 and 4.23. Equipment Maintainance &
Repair is described in section 4.21.
Fixing
a single-system and multi-system breakdowns are resolved by rolling
the target number or less on a 1D20. (page 76-77) Tech level skill
can both increase chance of success as well as decreasing time needed
for repairs. There is an alternate subsystem for the MediTech as well
as fixing battle damage.
The
MediTech can diagnose known diseases 20% plus 5% per skill level. (p.
58) A correct diagnoses will allow a MediTech to use medical
equipment to treat with a chance of success.
Battle
damage is repaired at a rate determined by the Tech's skill level.
(p. 78)
That
is all you are going to get on how to adjudicate success and failure
outside of combat. Combat, both close and ranged, will be covered in
another blog post. For now I am going to try and put this list of
game mechanics in an easy-to-read PDF format for use at the table.
The tools a StarMaster needs to referee are admittedly poorly
organized for use in the original rulebook, but being able to see
them laid out in front of you can eliminate much of the confusion and
allow resolution and saving throws to be decided and rolled quickly.
Just like you would want in any roleplaying game.
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