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FORCE
A Science Fiction Role Playing Game
9th Edition
August 15, 2001
Concepts by
David Bernazzani
Eric Rasmussen
David Bernazzani
Original Playtesters: David Bernazzani, Eric Rasmussen, John Poole, Steve Corrado
Strike Force Reviewers: Eric Rasmussen, Keith McCulley, Rich McCulley, Erik Johnson, Jennifer Maini
Strike Force Playtesters: David Bernazzani, Eric Rasmussen, Steve Corrado, Keith McCulley,
Rich McCulley, Erik Johnson, Kurt Shelton
1 Basics
1.1 Glossary
TERM DESCRIPTION
Abilities A group of related scores that determine the physical attributes of a character.
Alliance Day 20 Hours in the standard Alliance Day.
Alliance The major four races that have banded together to fight for a single cause.
Campaign This is the ongoing series of connected missions created by the CO which are played by a
group of players (often the same players from mission to mission).
Character The imaginary person that is sent on a mission. It is the Player who controls the actions.
Combat The general term for encountering and battling with an opponent.
Credits The form of currency used throughout the Alliance worlds.
CO Commanding Officer - The person in charge of making the mission and controlling it during
play.
Experience Points Experience Points are gained at the end of the mission by all surviving characters. They are
based on the amount of Mission Points received (typically gained through the defeating of
NPCs and accomplishing various goals during the mission). With Experience Points, a
character can acquire new Skills.
Hit % The percent chance to hit in combat. There are several separate hit %s in the game. One for
ranged combat, one for melee combat, one for grappling and wrestling, etc.
Melee Hand to hand combat.
Mission The player who is put in charge of leading the party through the mission. Usually the highest
Commander ranked officer in the party.
Mission The scenario that is created for players to explore and complete. The CO creates the mission.
A mission is typically played in 1-3 sessions.
Mission Hardness The relative difficulty of the mission. The mission hardness is determined by the CO after the
mission is completed and helps determine character pay.
Mission Points Mission Points are gained throughout the mission when NPCs are defeated and goals are
accomplished by the characters. The CO gives out Mission Points.
NPC Non Player Character Any character encountered in a mission that is not directly controlled
by a player. NPCs can be opponents, monsters, villains, high officials, friends or any other
being created and controlled by the CO to be used in the mission story-line.
Opponent General term for a NPC who engages with a character in battle.
Player The actual person who controls a character on a mission.
Ranged Using Ranged weapons in combat. Even if a character is in melee range and is using a ranged
weapon that character is still considered in Ranged combat.
Scene A particular area of a mission where characters can interact, explore or battle.
Skills Specialized talents resulting from a characters experience. They enhance a characters
survivability.
Turn A basic time unit in Strike Force. This is defined as a 6 second interval. 10 turns = 1 minute.
This Strike Force manual is written to try and explain the rules in as much detail as possible without overwhelming
the reader in unnecessary text. Explanatory text will be kept short but accurate to allow players already familiar
with role-playing games to jump right in. Tables will present the main information as clearly as possible so that
using the book as a reference source will be both quick and easy. It will help the players get the most out of their
characters and hopefully aid in creating a healthy and fun campaign. Strike Force is a complex work with more
than 15 years of play-testing experience. I hope this rulebook will provide insight to the intricate and powerful
world of Strike Force.
This 8th edition is a reflection of the comments on the 6th and 7th. Overall it is a much more stable version. Many
typos and layout problems have been corrected. New combined ranged weapons and some new prices have been
introduced. Traits (Lesser Skills) have been introduced. Some details have been removed in favor of allowing the
CO to have more control over their mission (for example, see the heat and cold sections). The main parts of the
Vehicles, Computers and Robots have been moved out of this handbook to be placed in a Technology of the
Alliance handbook. This book has better lines drawn between the Players section and the CO Section. A new
method of combat areas-hit resolution is in place to speedup large battles. Finally, some newly created graphics
have been added to help readers visualize this wonderful universe.
David Bernazzani
June 3, 1998
1.5 Background
The first exploration of space began in the 20th century, when rockets were grossly inefficient and quite slow. A
trip to the moon would take days, but it was the first stepping stone to other worlds. Since that time there have
been many trips to outer space... millions in fact, and space travel is now common place. With our first contact of
other life in the year 2046 we finally could prove that we were not alone. One of the planets circling our nearest
neighboring star Alpha Centuri held life! Although there was much plant life and insect life, the most advanced
race we discovered was that we named the Montanga. These creatures were small scaly rodent-like creatures
surviving on both aquatic and land plants. At their primitive level, they could not communicate, but at least we
knew that other life did exist - it was only a matter of time before we discovered additional life forms that were
both intelligent and had the ability to communicate. For years this exploration of space continued in a relatively
peaceful way. It was not until later in the 21st century that our first problems with space exploration were
discovered. Actually, the problem discovered us. The Dromes were a hostile, humanoid, race that began
unprovoked attacks on Earth outposts. Soon, it worked into a full-scale war with the Dromes bent on the
destruction of the human race. We had no choice but to fight back. During the Drome war, we discovered another
benevolent race known as the Shims who also opposed the Dromes quest for domination. It was now a team
effort.
We began to build better Star Ships that were capable of battling back against the Dromes. The war dragged on
and consumed enormous resources from both the Earth and the home world of the Shims. It was during this dark
time that the government of Earth created a program to produce Makatare Warriors who were individuals that
developed special mind and body skills to help fight the Dromes. These skills were derived from the mind
disciplines of the Shims who had acquired a high degree of expertise in mind skills over the centuries. It took
almost 25 years but the combined forces of the Earth and Shims finally defeated the Dromes and pushed them to
the brink of extinction. We had learned that the Dromes had other planets under siege in their own star-system.
The Earth dispatched ships to travel to these planets and set the captives free. The "slave" planets hoarded many
people who became our allies once freed. The three major races that were freed were the Budgie Top, the Xorn
and the Zarganaut. Some of the Budgie Tops and Xorns came to live with us on Earth and on Earth settled planets.
Others went back to their home worlds to rebuild what was destroyed. None of the Zarganauts came to Earth.
They went back to their home planet to try and rebuild their civilization. All was to be peaceful for the next 15
years.
It was the beginning of the 22nd century when new trouble started to arise. It was learned that the Zarganauts
were building up large armies and had amassed a fleet of war ships. Before the Earths government could inquire
as to what was happening, the Zarganauts attacked and destroyed many Earth outposts. With our old friends the
Shims and our new friends, the Budgie Top and the Xorns, we formed a group known as the Alliance of Planets to
deal with this new threat.
This Alliance of Planets is primarily a peaceful organization that tries to prevent ongoing wars and preserve the
peace. Sometimes this means taking a hard military stance in the face of a threat. The Alliance hires specialized
men and women to fight and attempt missions in order to crush the Zarganauts plans (or any other hostile attempt
at domination by any force either familiar or alien). The world of Strike Force is about gatherings of such men
and women to preserve the peace forcefully if necessary!
Strike Force is a role-playing game (RPG). If you have never experienced a role-playing game before, then this is
likely to be unlike any game you have ever tried (I rather like the term experienced rather than played since role-
playing is much more of an experience than most other games). If you are venturing over from another RPG, then
read along and explore the well balanced world of Strike Force.
Role playing is much like the old game of Lets Pretend you may have played as a child. With Lets Pretend you
pretend to be a cowboy, a sheriff, a good guy or a bad guy. Often times you would run around with your friends
and act-out scenes as if in a TV Show or movie. A role-playing game simply provides much the same activity only
with pencil, paper, dice and a good imagination (actually the imagination is basically the same as Lets Pretend).
Strike Force is a game of imagination and interaction between several players and a somewhat all-powerful
participant known as a Commanding Officer (CO). Strike Force is not like more traditional games played on a board
or with cards or some other tokens. Instead, it is played with several players gathered around a table using
various shaped dice and special sheets of paper to track important information. The Commanding Officer sits at
one end of the table and basically runs the game providing maps and scene details for the players. The other
players are seated around the CO and interact with each other and with the CO. The CO does most of the up-front
work in the game by creating a story of his own choosing (you can think of it as a movie which the CO has created
and which you are participating in) and unfolding this story for the players one scene at a time. During game play,
players will be faced with choices, dilemmas, opponents and anything else that the CO might conjure up. Strike
Force puts you (the player) in charge of every move, thought, whim and action of an imaginary character, which
you will create and role-play throughout this movie. This character can be very different from yourself (you are,
after all, playing the role of someone fictional) and this character need not even be human. There are four races
from different planets from which to choose. Each character will have certain abilities, which will help define them.
They will have be of a certain strength, have specific sight and quickness. They will have a personality, toughness
and intellect all derived from the game rules. But above all, they will have you to control and act out their
existence. This is role-playing.
Many player actions are common and there needs to be some limits on what players can do. With a role-playing
game we use rules to determine the limits on various actions (especially physical or skill actions such as combat).
The rules tell us how far a player can jump, how far they can see and give us details and limits on various pieces of
equipment and weapons. We use dice to add a random element to the mix. The dice can tell the CO if the player
was successful in some action attempt (for example - jumping a bit further than is normally allowed) or has success
in combat (does my long-range blaster shot hit my opponent?!?).
With Strike Force role-playing you will be able to explore the galaxy. Not in a static way, but in an interactive way.
You will be able to ask questions about worlds you visit. You can touch objects, hear sounds and feel sensations
through your character. You will gather facts, battle creatures and learn secrets all leading to an eventual goal.
You will be able to act out any action that your character is capable of. You can make your character jump, run,
search, taunt an opponent, fire a weapon, talk to an attendant at the local space port, bargain with an evil villain
for your life and just about anything else that can be thought of. Best of all, since the character is a fantasy
character, the player can have them take risks and attempt the most fantastic of feats. After all, its only a game!
Strike force is typically played with several of these characters working together on a mission (this is the more
technical term for the movie described above). Missions are created by the Commanding Officer who guides
players through the worlds and challenges that have been created. Characters can be equipped with fancy
futuristic weapons and other gadgets to help them succeed on these missions. Characters will be paid by the
Alliance of Planets an organization that hires these characters to attempt these missions. Pay will depend on the
level of success by the mission party (the mission party is the collection of all characters assembled to play Strike
Force for a particular mission). These missions will range from a simple rescue of a hostage to assassination
attempts. There will be top-secret information to retrieve, technological data to steal and enemy plans to thwart.
The possibilities are endless.
During your play, your character will face villainous opponents, difficult situations and an incredible story line
generated by your Commanding Officer. Your character will encounter many other beings throughout their
missions. The CO will play the role of these beings (known as Non-Player Characters or NPCs), just as you play the
role of your character. You interact with these NPCs by interacting with the CO as he plays out their parts.
Strike Force stresses both the story line as well as character development. As characters advance through
missions, they will gain experience and learn new skills to help with future missions. Pay will be accumulated to
allow the character to purchase additional equipment. Players will learn how to role-play and to extract the
information they need from the story line that has been created for them. This balance of character development
and unfolding new story lines keeps the game interesting and fresh.
Role-playing games are not won or lost in the traditional sense. It is for the sake of playing that someone plays a
role-playing game. To adventure with friends, to be an interactive part of a story as it unfolds and to contribute
ideas to the success of the mission is the goal of playing. The actual finishing of a mission is usually a small reward
next to the actual movement through the story line.
Because this game is set in the not-to-distant future, there is a healthy mix of realism blended with science fiction.
There are many avenues open for exploration. Lastly, remember that the universe is big. Really big. Infinitely,
mind-blowing big. So is the imagination behind Strike Force. Enjoy the experience.
Dice at least three d8, four d10, two d6. The 8-sided and 10-sided dice are most often used. A d20 is
optional and will help speedup combat sequences but it is not strictly necessary.
Pencil (with eraser) and paper (including Character Sheets which are provided in this manual).
A calculator for the group for quick math checks can be helpful.
Some graph paper for the CO for drawing maps, etc.
As for 10-sided dice, get two alternating colors so that they may be combined in pairs to form d100 dice (also
known as Percentile dice). Typically a blue and red or green and red is used with the red representing the TENS
place and the other representing the ONES place. For example, tossing a red and blue dice as follows yields the
d100 results:
If the rules call for a single d10 to be rolled (or multiple d10s such as 4d10 for Blaster damage), treat the 0 as a
10. The numbers on a single d10 range from 1-10.
There are two basic things that define a character (other than the distinct personality that each player brings to his or
her character). These are: Abilities and Races. Abilities are basic attributes of a character that defines how strong,
quick and tough that character is. There are also four distinct races to choose from. Although it may seem like a race
should be chosen first, actually it is more logical to roll for Abilities first and choose a Race that would maximize those
abilities. Therefore, we will treat them in the most logical order.
At the back of this rulebook, players will find a blank character sheet which can be copied so that all players will have a
sheet. Also, players will find two sample Character Sheets that are filled in. The first is for a starting character (the
Budgie Top) and the other is a much more advanced character who has been through many missions (the Xorn). Use
these samples as guides for filling out new character sheets.
There are actually two character sheets, a main one (where most of the vital information is stored) and a secondary one
(which tracks Languages, Legend Lore and Medals as well as some blank space to record Mission notes).
Although custom sheets can be developed over time, it is recommended that players start with these basic sheets.
Look at them carefully and see the various sections of the sheets. On the main sheet, the front page has most of the
basic information such as Abilities, Race, weapons and other important aspects of the character. There is also space
for various defense items and an area to track damage. The backside of the main character sheet lists equipment,
skills, credits and a place to track Experience Points.
There is a second character sheet which has things such as Languages known and Legend Lore as well as tracks Medals
and additional equipment. All players should have both sheets for their character. The first main sheet is used much
more often than the second sheet.
The seven abilities, which must be generated for each character, include:
Strength Overall strength of the character and the ability of the character to perform
strenuous actions such as lifting, pulling, pushing, holding on to rope. It also
defines how capable the character is in hand-to-hand combat.
Sight Overall vision of the character and how keen-eyed they are. This also defines
the ability to notice fine details and defines how capable the character is with
ranged weapons.
Intellect Overall Intelligence of the character and their mind potential (or PSI factor)
with some of the more advanced mind-skills (See Skills Section)
Quickness Overall agility of the character and ability to dodge combat attacks. Quickness
defines how fast a character can react to something and also defines how well
they perform dexterous tasks such as tossing, grabbing, diving and twisting.
Personality Overall personality of the character and helps define how likable the character
is to strangers.
Toughness Overall toughness of the character and the ability to resist system shock
(poison, extreme cold, etc.).
Mechanical Inclination How well the character deals with technology. Mainly this is vehicles and
machines.
Although it would seem like a character with superior abilities (greater than 15 or so) would be much more likely to
complete a mission than one with average abilities (12 or so), it actually turns out that the disparity is not all that
great. Higher scores help to a point. Skills help compensate for naturally low scores and over time characters will
balance out. The ability charts also do not overly reward high scores nor do they overly penalize low scores.
Players with low scores are capable of completing any mission successfully. Strike Force was designed so that
characters with low ability scores (and low skill levels) can adventure with much higher scoring characters quite
seamlessly.
2.4.1 Strength
STRENGTH
Roll Weight Carried Dam Bonus (Melee) Force% To Hit % (Melee)
3-5 800 units -3 15% 10%
6-8 900 units -1 25% 15%
9-12 1000 units 0 35% 20%
13-14 1100 units 0 45% 25%
15-16 1200 units +2 55% 30%
17-18 1300 units +4 65% 35%
19 1400 units +6 70% 40%
20 1500 units +8 75% 45%
21 1700 units +10 85% 50%
Strength defines a characters ability in melee (hand to hand) combat, punching and wrestling damage, as well has
how much a character can carry. A Strength Ability Check will be made when a player attempts strenuous actions
such as climbing a rope or pulling heavy weight.
Weight Carried is the number of units of equipment (any items, weapons, grenades, etc.) that a player can
carry. The equipment section will detail the weights of all Strike Force items. Maximum lift is double the
Weight Carried and can only be done for up to 3 turns (then rest for 3 turns). A player can drag double their
Weight Carried at walking speed. Encumbrance occurs when the player is carrying more than the Weight
Carried column above. (See the encumbrance section for more details).
Damage Bonus is applied to any melee weapon (but not punching or grappling that is covered separately).
Force % is described in the unarmed combat section.
To Hit % is the base chance to hit in melee (hand-to-hand) combat.
2.4.2 Sight
SIGHT
Roll To Hit % (Ranged)
3-5 10%
6-8 15%
9-12 20%
13-14 25%
15-16 30%
17-18 35%
19 40%
20 45%
21 50%
Sight defines a characters ability with all ranged weapons, such as a Blaster. A Sight Ability Check is required when
searching or looking for something. A better Sight score indicates the ability to notice fine details. The CO uses a
Sight Ability Check when attempts are made to notice details or hidden items anytime during the mission.
To Hit % is the base percentage chance to hit with any ranged or thrown weapon.
2.4.3 Intellect
INTELLECT
Roll Legend Lore Know Language PSI Base PSI Defense
3-5 8% 8% 10% 0%
6-8 15% 10% 15% 0%
9-12 20% 18% 20% 0%
13-14 25% 25% 25% -5%
15-16 30% 30% 30% -8%
17-18 35% 35% 33% -12%
19 40% 40% 36% -15%
20 45% 42% 40% -20%
21 50% 45% 45% -25%
Intellect is the intelligence and mind capacity of a character. It affects what languages a character can learn and
the number of miscellaneous facts known or understood. It is very important in the development of Makatare-Skills,
which are based on PSI a characteristic of using ones mind to harness energy. These will be discussed in the
Skills section of this manual.
Legend Lore is the % chance to know a little known fact about something, usually a new creature or alien
cultural fact. If the check is made then the CO will give a brief summary of what is known about it to the
character. This is checked during the mission as information is requested by the player. If failed, Legend lore
may be rolled again on another mission.
Know Language is the % chance to understand the language in which a particular creature speaks or to read
something in an unknown tongue. It is only rolled once the mission is completed and only once for each new
race encountered during the mission. If, during a mission, a new race is encountered with the ability to
communicate, this % chance can be rolled at the end of the mission to determine if the character can study and
absorb the new language. All languages known by the character should be recorded on the second character
sheet as supplied in the back of this rulebook and should be kept with the main character sheet. There are
some creatures whose languages cannot be known. (CO decides). All characters start off knowing all languages
of the Alliance and the language of the Zarganauts.
PSI Base is used with some of the mind-energy Skills as described in the skills section.
PSI Defense is used with some of the mind-energy Skills as described in the skills section.
2.4.4 Quickness
QUICKNESS
Roll Dodge Modifier Initiative Modifier
3-5 +8% -2
6-8 +5% -1
9-12 0% 0
13-14 0% 0
15-16 -3% 0
17-18 -5% +1
19 -7% +2
20 -10% +3
21 -13% +4
Quickness gives a direct bonus or penalty to the chance of an opponent hitting the character during combat.
Quickness Ability Checks are performed in situations where dexterity or fast reactions are required. (e.g. grabbing
something before it falls to the ground, grabbing the end of a rope before falling or tossing an item to a comrade).
A high Strength score can often counterbalance a low Quickness score. These two skills go hand in hand. If a
Strength check is failed, a player may be asked to make a Quickness check in order to compensate for the lack of
Strength (e.g. if a character were hit by a boulder and it knocked that character several meters, a strength check
could be made to deflect the boulder and retain balance). If that check fails a Quickness check could be made to
avoid falling onto some nearby rocks. However, the opposite is also possible: if the player sees the boulder (Sight
Check) then the CO may ask the player to make a Quickness check to dodge the oncoming danger.
Dodge Modifier is for all attacks (both melee and ranged), but the character must be on stable ground to get
the modifier. This modifier is added to an opponents hit % in combat. Therefore, negative values for this are
good as it reduces the opponents chance to hit the character while positive values (indicating sluggishness) give
the opponent a bonus to hit the character. If lying prone, there is no dodge bonus (however, positive modifiers
indicating a penalty will still apply in both situations).
Initiative Modifier is used during attack when rolling for initiative (but not for surprise). Any modifier listed
above is added to that players score for the turn to determine in what sequence they attack. See the Combat
Initiative section for more details.
2.4.5 Personality
PERSONALITY
Roll Personality Base Personality Defense
3-5 10% 0%
6-8 15% 0%
9-12 20% 0%
13-14 25% -5%
15-16 30% -8%
17-18 33% -12%
19 36% -15%
20 40% -20%
21 45% -25%
A Personality Ability Check is made each time a character wishes to make contact with an NPC. It can be heavily
modified by the CO under different circumstances. A success in this check usually means that the NPC will listen to
or do what is being proposed by the player.
Personality Base and Defense works with some of the Makatare skills, which are listed in the Skills section.
2.4.6 Toughness
TOUGHNESS
Roll Life Points
3-5 35
6-8 45
9-12 55
13-14 65
15-16 70
17-18 80
19 85
20 90
21 95
Toughness is a representation of the amount of physical damage a character can withstand before dying (known as
life points). Toughness Ability Checks are also made when the character has had a system shock such poison,
extreme cold or toxic gas. All players will appreciate a high Toughness as it will allow beginning players to survive
and experienced players to be more risky. Low Toughness does not necessarily mean quick deaths, but having a
higher Toughness score will allow a character to withstand more damage during a long mission.
A character can hold their breath for a number of turns equal to their Toughness score.
Life Points are the amount of damage points a player can sustain before being killed. See the Life Points and
Death of a Character section for more details.
MECHANICAL INCLINATION
Roll To Hit Base (W/ Mounted Weapon) MI Dodge
3-5 10% +15%
6-8 15% +5%
9-12 20% 0%
13-14 25% 0%
15-16 30% -5%
17-18 30% -10%
19 35% -15%
20 40% -18%
21 45% -20%
Mechanical Inclination (MI) is the characters ability to pilot the vehicles of Strike Force. The Vehicles section will
detail the use of this ability.
MI Dodge is a modifier that is used when piloting a vehicle and is explained in the Vehicles section.
To Hit Base is the base hit % with weapons mounted on the fronts of vehicles and controlled by the pilot in the
cockpit (by steering to aim and firing).
When a player rolls for an Ability check, the CO will give them the appropriate modifier (you get a plus modifier for
easy tasks and a negative modifier for more difficult tasks. Simply roll the 3d8 dice and add (or subtract) the
modifier. If it is under the characters ability score then the action was successful. If it was significantly under, then
it was a perfect performance. If it was seriously over, the CO may decide something unexpected (beyond failing the
check) happens.
The following table shows the standard bonus values for extension and any special notes.
This Life Points increase is for that one turn only. If a player extends for +10 Life Points and the character takes 6
points of damage, the other 4 are wasted when the effect ends at the end of turn.
When the player extends, he or she must mark it down clearly on their player character sheets along with the hour
during the day it occurred. On the next day, at the same time, the extend may be erased and used again. Careful
use of extension can be a life saver during a mission.
Extending must be declared before any dice rolls are made in which the extension would help. For example, if a
player is being blown out an airlock and the CO determines they must make a Strength check (no modifier) to hold
on, the player must decide before the roll if they wish to extend (or double extend if desired). The same is true for
damage dealing. If the character is hit by a blaster shot, they must decide to extend Toughness before the damage
is rolled. A player does not have to declare they are extending Toughness until just before the damage-dealing step
(so they dont have to extend it before determining if the opponent shots hit them).
Raising an ability score is permanent and the character gains all benefits of the new Ability score (check the Ability
Charts). The chart above determines how much experience it requires to raise an ability based on the current ability
score. Each time a player increases an ability it counts as another skill level for their characters pay and rank. Keep
note of these increases in the Skills section of the character sheet (label them just like skills a strength increase
should be noted as Strength Increase x10%, a sight increase as Sight Increase x10%, etc).
3 Races
Some players choose a different approach and instead of creating top-heavy characters with one or two strong
scores, they choose a Race to help balance their abilities. For example, if a high strength is rolled but average Sight
and Quickness, they may choose a Xorn, which will lower the Strength a bit but increase the Sight and Quickness
which produces a well balanced character. Both are valid character generation methods and the individual player
will have to choose what they think is best.
The human race is considered the typical race and the race by which the others are given plus and minus scores.
The human race can only add 1 to any one ability of the players choosing, however the human does not have to
subtract one from any ability.
Not all Humans, Shims, Budgie Tops and Xorns are aligned with the Alliance of Planets. Occasionally, some NPCs
from the Alliance Races can be found fighting with the Zarganauts against the Alliance.
Once the race is chosen and committed to, a player may not change their mind and select a different race until their
current character has died (or retired) and a new one is being generated.
The average Zarganaut will have a 12 for all their abilities. Higher level Zarganauts
are created by the CO and may have any abilities and skill levels desired for game
play.
Zarganauts are bent on the destruction of all peaceful races. Zarganauts stand
slightly over 2 meters tall and have rough scaly skin, which is bluish in color. Their
head is perfectly round with human features except there are no visible ears (just a
slight gill-shaped formation on either side of the head towards the back of the neck).
They have extremely long legs and can leap large distances. Their favorite weapon
is a Treen-Kia, which is a small oval with 3 equi-spaced blades around the outer
circumference. The Zarganauts are distant relatives of the Xorns and most Xorns will
take this comment as an insult!
Special Abilities:
Treen-Kia: Damage is 3d10 and can be used in melee or ranged combat. It is considered both a melee
and a projectile weapon.
This race has the ability to jump 5 meters once every minute.
The Budgie Top is a strong but fairly slow race. They have a feathered parrot-like heads braced on a strong,
ape-like body. The race has huge hands and feet with retractable claws, which makes them remarkable climbers.
They believe combat makes for a healthy soul. They typically thrive during war-time (assuming they are on the
winning end).
On their homeworld, the Budgie Tops built massive stone temples where combat training and combat related rituals
would take place. The combat training would often be in the form of melee weapons as those who regularly used
ranged weapons were seen as a bit weaker than the rest. There is a strong code of honor among Budgie Tops not
only between themselves but also between any alliance they may have formed. They would fight until the death to
protect a friend. It was their sense of pride that kept them going during the Drome War and now helps them push
forward in the War against the Zarganauts.
Budgie Tops stand taller than the other races of the Alliance and they tend to use this to their advantage in order to
intimidate smaller races. Budgie Tops know they are stronger than the other major races and they like it that way.
While not known for their arts and sciences, there are those Budgie Tops who excel at non-combat skills. Their
capacity for learning is no less than humans they just have been brought up with a different set of values and
goals.
Budgie Tops only use a single name. The parents choose a name for a child until he or she comes of age (12 years)
and at that time a new name is chosen by the child. During the first 12 years the Budgie Top children learn a
majority of their formal training in the sciences, arts as well as combat training.
As for religion, Budgie Tops have one god known to all as Krabogg. The tales of Krabogg the Warrior are legendary
among even the youngest Budgie Tops. For this reason, many of the Budgie Tops have names ending with ogg or
erg.
Budgie Tops are also hard workers. Much of the business aspect of their culture revolves around the making of
weapons and other combat gear. Of course vehicles and other luxury items were built, however they were never
the main focus in their economy.
3.1.3 Xorn
The Xorns are a lightening fast, but fairly weak race. They are thin, long-limbed
creatures with short web-like feet and hands which makes them remarkable
swimmers. The Xorns have long snouts and are cold blooded. All Xorns are born
with quick ambidextrous hands. The Xorn hates to be weighted down and will avoid
lifting or carrying heavy items whenever possible. They may not use a weapon with a
weight of 90 units or over.
The Xorn race is typically slimmer than the other Alliance races, which aids in their
quickness and dexterity. They have keen eyesight which allows them to see a bit
further than the other races.
Xorns are rarely ever in a bad mood. They have been known to get excited at times,
but rarely do they get angry. They do not hold grudges and are the most agreeable
of all the Alliance races. They harbor no hatred of any race (save perhaps the
Zarganauts) and can get along with even the most ill tempered comrade.
Xorns have no gods. They believe in the spirit within each individual. This spirit
provides basic knowledge of right and wrong and helps guild the individual through
life. Their demeanor is typically one of kindness and friendship. They will always
support the greater good even if it means a sacrifice.
The homeworld of the Xorn was filled with lush green forests and wide expanses of
jungles. The planet harbored many oceans and lakes whose water kept these
massive plants and trees alive. When the Dromes (and later the Zarganauts)
invaded, the natural resources of the planet were tapped and much of the vegetation died off.
Due to the massive vegetation coverage of the planet, the Xorns developed chameleon-like color changing abilities.
3.1.4 Shim
Shims are an intelligent and strong race. Their power comes from a mind discipline that is legendary in the galaxy.
They are very similar to humans with extremely sharp jagged facial features. Both males and females wear their
hair long with multiple braids to keep it neat and out of the way. They indulge in all arts and sciences and excel in
rational thinking.
Shims are of a serious breed. They rarely indulge in humor. They typically keep to their own kind and are not
social outside of the company of other Shims. They are a people of extreme honor. In fact, they consider their
honor to be their life. To insult a Shims honor is to insult him to the fullest and no Shim will take the dishonor.
Shims have many ancient gods, which they dutifully worship. Religion is taken as seriously as the arts and sciences
and no Shim is complete without the balance of all three.
Their homeworld still thrives as alien invasions were thwarted time and time again. The planet is mostly a barren
flat dessert with a large water supply hidden in pockets deep below the ground.
Through the expanses of flat dirt and sand rise some of the most incredible structures ever seen. Even though the
structures were built using the most advanced Shim science, they still retained an elegant aura. These buildings
illustrate the Shims creativity.
The Shims were the first to develop a class of warriors known simply as the Makatare. These warriors were not just
trained in honing and perfecting physical skills, but to also incorporate and sharpen their mental skills. Over the
centuries, using the hidden abilities of the mind, a connection between body and mind was achieved. This
empowered several mind skills such as the ability to move light objects telepathically, improving hand-eye
coordination beyond that of any normal means and certain mind-probing skills.
These warriors were also the first to develop the famed Makatare Saber. The saber is designed as a small handle in
the shape of a cylinder almost 30cm in length. When switched on, this handle projects a beam of energy just over 1
meter long. It ignites with a beautiful snap-hiss sound from the saber handle. This elegant and deadly weapon is as
easy to wield as a machete but with much more powerful impact. All the Makatare warriors are skilled in the use of
these weapons.
3.1.5 Humans
The Human character is looked at to be the standard race in which the others are given their bonuses and penalties.
The majority of Humans live on Earth, however some groups have settled on other hospitable worlds (and
sometimes less hospitable worlds). Shortly after the discovery of other life forms outside of the Earth, the major
countries on Earth banded together to form a unified planet with one ruling government. This government was
known as the Unified Earth Government (UEG). The UEG ruled with a fair hand and the people of Earth were able to
achieve new heights that were once unattainable. Hunger and poverty had been virtually eliminated. Better
schooling of the young and care for the elderly promoted a time of unparalleled peace.
The Human drive, when combined with the Shims technology, was able to overcome incredible odds during the
Drome Wars. Humans are known for taking ideas from others and enhancing them into something more useful, but
not always for the better. For discoverers and explorers this is usually a good trait. For the ruling body, it can be
disastrous.
It was the UEG who decided to create the Alliance of Planets and (of course) become the main ruling body behind it.
Shims, Xorns and Budgie Tops were, of course, represented as well. Fortunately, the UEG undertaking worked well
and the Alliance of Planets was formed.
The current breed of humans are reasonably tolerant of otherworlders but can often have the worst tempers when
otherworlders cross them. Although typically not as mind-oriented as Shims or as combat driven as Budgie Tops
and definitely not as well tempered as the Xorns, humans seem to form a good balance between the three.
3.2.1 Running
For every 3 meters slowed a character may run for an additional 2 minutes. A character can run for the # of turns
equal to their Force % divided by 2. For every 3 km slowed add 1 hour of running. After running, players must rest for
hour - Toughness of player in minutes. This is only if the player runs for over 5 minutes at top speed.
As always, the CO may feel free to modify any of the items in the table above.
There are an infinite number of actions a player can attempt. The CO must use common sense and Ability Checks
where appropriate. The CO should use this list as a starting point for other physical actions taken by players. Some
actions are simply impossible and the CO can determine when an action cannot be attempted by the player (even if the
player insists they could roll a 3 or 4 on the 3d8 Ability Check dice).
With Detailed range, a player can spot the uniform color or weapon of an opponent. In Non-Detailed, a general shape
of a humanoid can be seen but not much detail (impossible to tell if it is a Human or a Shim for example). For Extreme,
an ATV or bigger object can be seen, but little detail can be discerned. The CO should use this table as a guideline only
and can modify the values to suit the mission, terrain and conditions.
A player may elect to retire at any time after any mission. Once a decision has been made to retire, that character may
not come into active service again.
A beginning player will often have only 2 or 3 skills. A player with 2 skills would have pay of 120cr X the hardness level
of the mission. The CO will determine the hardness level of the mission (but never more than 15 see the Mission
Hardness section for more details). If the mission is not completed successfully, a player can never earn more than half
of the original hardness in pay (again, the CO determines after the mission what hardness multiplier to use).
Here is another example for additional clarity. If a character has Melee Skill x20% and Ranged Weapons x10% and
Medic x40% than that player would have 7 skill levels. The pay would be 170cr X the hardness of the mission for that
character. For example, if the hardness of the mission was 10, that character would receive 10x170cr = 1700cr. for
the mission. The more skills a character has, the more valuable they are to the alliance and the better paid they will be.
In addition, the character with the most Mission Points acquired will gain an additional pay level. This character (and
this character only) may add 1 to the Mission Hardness for the above pay calculation. See the Mission Point section for
more details.
Note also, the CO will get paid for providing the mission to the players. See the CO Pay section for more details.
As damage is incurred (typically from enemy attacks but can also include any other source of damage falling, acid,
crashing in a vehicle, etc.) the life points of the character will be reduced. Rest and Medics can heal Life Points (see
Recovery of Life Points below and Medic Skill in the skills section).
When a player's Life Points reaches 0 then he or she is dead. If the Life Points reach or go below 20 then the
death is permanent. If it is between 0 and 19 then the character has two minutes to either receive a Staydose
or have surgery to keep them alive. Surgery consists of First Aid, Minor Surgery or Major Surgery.
Characters can only have 1 Staydose in a 20-hour period.
Characters may only have one surgery in a 20-hour period. If the surgery fails, a Staydose can be used if it
has not already been used in the previous 20 hours.
If a medic dies then he may be able to save himself by putting in an Omnicron (if not at or below 9 and they
have not previously had surgery in the past 20 hours) or a staydose (if their Life Points are not at or below
-20).
If the a character with Medic Skill dies they cannot perform Surgery except for First Aid on themselves (which
cures 10 Life Points so it only helps if they are not at or below 10). Otherwise, a character with Medic Skill can
perform surgery on themselves.
Players can decide what areas are healed but all points must be healed from a single area first before moving onto
another area.
3.6 Searching
The Commanding Officer will determine how much time is required to search a particular area. This will depend on the
area searched, and how thoroughly it is searched. A small room can be quickly searched by a single person in a few
turns. A more thorough search could take significantly more time.
3.7 Ranks
The Ranks in Strike Force are an adaptation of old Earth Army ranks. They are only for title and are not used in the
game except to determine the Mission Commander. Basically, the Mission Commander is the highest-ranking officer
typically leads the party (if the group is split on what to do next, the Mission Commander will make the final decisions).
The highest-ranking officer should be the Mission Commander unless all players unanimously decide that it should be
someone else.
Skills Rank
2-4 Private
5-9 Lieutenant
10-14 Captain
15-19 Major
20-24 Lt. Colonel
25-29 Colonel
30-34 Brigadier General
35-39 Major General
40-44 Lt. General
45-49 General ****
50 + General *****
Every three skills after 50 will give the General another star. i.e.: 56 skills would put the character at General
******* (7 star).
Normally the highest-ranking officer leads the mission party, but it can be chosen by all players to be someone
else. It must be unanimous.
Players should take orders from those higher on the ranking chart unless the order is dangerous or foolhardy.
Remember, Traits count as 1/5 of a skill for Rank use.
3.8 Credits
Credits are the form of currency used by the Alliance of Planets. It is also very desirable to fractions outside of the
Alliance as the exchange rate is often very good. Credits are held in Alliance banks and are accessible though the use
of a Credit card. All characters have such a card. The card can only be used by the character who owns it. Many
developed planets hungry for stable currency will accept this card.
A character may not borrow more than 10,000 credits total. At the end of the next mission the amount owed is 10%
more than the amount borrowed. If the character fails to pay off 1000 credits, the remaining balance is subject to an
immediate additional 10% increase. For example, a character borrows 2000 credits. After 1 mission they owe 2200
(10% increase) credits. If they pay off at least 1000 credits, no additional penalty is charged until the standard 10%
after the next mission. In the same example, the character pays off 500 credits then they have reduced their debt to
1700 (2200-500=1700) but they are subject to an immediate 10% increase (1700 x 10% = 170 credits) for a total
amount owed to 1870 credits.
If a character fails to pay off 1,000 credits after 3 missions then that character will be hunted and killed by bounty
hunters (no exceptions).
Players should track their amount borrowed and owed separately from their credits on the character sheet. A player
can owe lots of credits but still have some credits available in their bank account. The character sheet has a place to
track credits, amount borrowed and amount owed. It is the players responsibility to keep this up to date after each
mission.
Players can lend money to other players at any interest they wish to set. They also take the risk of the player
getting killed on the next mission and they would then lose the money lent.
3.8.2 Financing
Vehicles, Robots and Computers (except small portable ones) are special when it comes to payment. These items
can be financed. A character simply must pay for of the vehicle or robot and pay back at least 1,000cr per
mission. If a character pays back 1,000cr or more, there is no interest surcharge. Even if the vehicle or robot gets
destroyed, the character must still continue to pay the finance charges until the item is paid off. A character cannot
borrow more than 10,000 credits for this financing purpose (and this counts towards borrowing credits as described
above. A character cant finance 10,000 credits and borrow another 10,000 credits under the normal loan system)
Each character starts as a Cadet and has been trained at the Alliance Academy. The Academy is located mainly on
Earth, but there are other planets where training takes place. All forms of military and technical/social classes are
taught and all characters are assumed to be Alliance literate. All characters having such training automatically know the
standard Alliance Language as well as Budgie Top, Xorn and Zarganaut languages. The Shim language is fairly complex
and is not taught as a required class but some characters may know it.
Although additional character backgrounds are not strictly required in Strike Force, the player is strongly encouraged to
generate some background material on their character. A few lines of text might suffice. Perhaps their character grew
up learning the arts and sciences in traditional Shim fashion. Others might have had parents who were colonists sent
to explore and settle on less hospitable worlds and they are hardened by the hardships faced on those worlds. Some
characters have deep secrets and desires that they seldom reveal. Create something interesting for your character and
share some of that background material over time to produce a believable and life-like character. Good traits as well as
bad ones (character flaws) all add to the development of the character and make it easier for the CO to generate
meaningful adventures.
Character flaws can be difficult to devise (most players dont want flaws for their characters but its much more realistic
to include them). Some flaws include: jealousy, prone to panic, twitchy, talks too much, too shy, never on time, works
too hard, cant concentrate, too thin, too heavy, afraid of heights, obsessive compulsive, superstitious, scatter-brained,
etc.
In addition to basic information like that described above, it will prove useful to create ties between the players. It is
very possible that two or more of the player characters are blood-related or close friends even before the missions
start. Conversely, two of the player characters might have been rivals at one time in their lives. It may be that two of
them simply share similar ideals or goals. The more detail that you create for your characters the more the CO has to
work with when creating meaningful campaigns.
For example, a player may meet some official at a spaceport and simply tell the CO that they wish to ask the official for
some piece of information. While this is OK, it is far more fun to actually act out the scene with the player actually
asking for the information from the CO who plays the role of the official. Things can be much more exiting once players
get over the potential embarrassment of acting out their character. Good COs will typically reward players with an
extra Mission Point or two for good role-playing.
Keep your character sheet up-to-date and be ready to play when the mission starts. Always be on time for a
mission as being late tends to ruin the mood for the other players and the CO.
Always try to role-play your character. Act out their actions and personalities.
Always play and make decisions quickly to keep play moving.
Pay attention to the game and everything the CO is telling you. Keep non-game related chat to a minimum.
Dont steal the spotlight. If the CO is dealing with you, fine. If they are dealing with another player, dont
jump in and try to steal their thunder. The game must be fun for all.
Have a background and quirks to your character and work with the CO to help establish a past for your
character. Perhaps the CO can weave portions of your characters history into a mission. Dont resist, but
instead help your CO to make things flow better.
Try to do in-character things even if its not part of the overall mission plan. Nobodys perfect.
Takes mission notes during the game.
Have a character who has something other than Weapon or Power-up skills. A good CO will be thrilled to have
a player with lots of pilot experience, or Tracking, or Robotics, etc.
Always respect the decisions of the CO. Dont argue just play.
Above all, have fun. If you are not having fun you should be doing something else!
4 Skills
Skills are written on the back of the Character sheet in the Skills Box. They are usually written in % format since
many of the skills increase the percent chance to do something in even 10% increments. For example, second level
Melee skill is typically written as Melee x20%. Sixth level Medics skill is written as Medic x60%, etc. Its a good
habit to record all acquired skills in this format, however some may prefer to record skills in the following format:
Medic Lv 6.
If a player wants to go from level 1 to level 3 in any particular skill, they must pay for level 2 and level 3. No level
skipping is allowed. For example, if a character has Ranged Weapons x10% and wishes to increase it to the 3 rd
level, they must pay for the 2nd level (80 Exp) and the 3rd level (100 Exp) for a total of 180 Experience Points to
attain Ranged Weapons x30%.
All of the available skills in Strike Force are listed in this rulebook. Some alien races will undoubtedly have other
strange skills, but these are not obtainable by player characters.
In the Strike Force universe there is a force known as the PSI factor. PSI is the ability to channel energy using ones
mind. This energy is always present but many beings do not know it even exists, let along try to use it to affect the
physical world. Many of the skills (ESP, Projection, Body Extension, etc) focus on the use of PSI energy to affect the
physical world. While some disbelieve in this PSI factor force, it exists and when properly channeled can be very
powerful.
A level 1 Thrown Weapons skill would give a player +10% to throw grenades and other thrown weapons (knives,
throwing stars, etc). Please note, regardless of how high or low a players hit % is, a roll of 01-05 will always hit
an opponent and a roll of 96-100 will always miss an opponent.
There is a special weapon skill known as Melee Reverse. This skill allows a player who is using a melee weapon or
natural attack to defend himself from his opponents. Each level of the Melee Reverse skill gives the opponent 10%
when attacking in melee. Both the character with the skill and the opponents must be using a melee weapon. This
skill will not defend against creatures using their natural attack (bite, claw, etc), however if the creature is attacking
with a standard melee weapon, the Melee Reverse skill can be used by the player.
The Technician Skill is another powerful skill, which allows players to use technological equipment. This includes
use and repair of vehicles. Doors with electronic security locks have a chance to be opened by a player with the
Technician skill. Technicians also have other smaller abilities such as deactivating alarm systems (see Technician
Skill for a more complete description). The higher a level of Technician skill a player has indicates how much of a
chance they have to complete the task. A similar set of skills exists for use and repair of computers (Computer
Skill) and robots (Robotics Skill).
The Medic Skill allows players to perform field surgery to heal damage done in battle is almost necessary for at
least one player in the mission party to have this skill. Medics use a healing drug called Omnicron to help with the
accelerated recovery and healing process. Medics can perform surgery on themselves. Medics also can administer
Stay-Doses, which will slow down the metabolic rate of a player who has just died. This allows the player to remain
in a suspended state for up to 20 hours so that surgery can be performed later. Medics can also combine levels for
doing surgery much like technicians can combine for repair of vehicles. For example, a level 1 medic and a level 3
medic combine to form an effective level 4 Medic skill.
Although it is tempting for a player to arm themselves with Weapons skills, care must be taken not to ignore that
there are other useful skills. The CO should design his worlds carefully so that there are challenges other than
combat. There will be doors to bypass, computers to break into and vehicles to borrow/steal. Missions will be
difficult to complete if there is no balance among the character skills.
Certain skills are termed Makatare Skills (see the Makatare Skills section for details), but these are really no
different than any other skills. Players do not need to work towards becoming a Makatare Warrior if they get one or
more of these Makatare Skills. The player can obtain skills in any order they desire.
Level Exp Actually, this is broken down into 6 different skills (all purchased separately) covering
different class of weapons (see the Weapons Section for details on the different weapon
1 50
classes). This is a very common set of skills and even the most basic characters will have
2 80 some Weapons skills.
3 100
Each Level gives +10% to hit with a class of weapons.
4 140
5 170 Ranged Weapons: Covers all Ranged Weapons (Except Thrown Weapons)
Melee Weapons: Covers all hand to hand weapons. Including
6 200
Electrical melee weapons but not Punching or Grapple.
Thrown Weapons: Covers explosives, rocks, grenades, etc.
Melee Reverse: Subtracts 10% from opponents to hit with Melee
weapons. Only available up to 2nd level.
See Also: Maximum and Minimum hit percentages in the combat section.
Level Exp The Makatare Saber Skill gives a character some additional options when they use a Makatare
Saber. These additional options come in the form of blocking enemy shots and searing
1 50
enemy weapons. It does not increase hit % (Melee Weapons does that). The ability to block a
2 75 shot is limited to any single projectile, rocketed or laser energy blast. It will not work against
3 90 a weapon with a blast radius (for example Grenades) or a weapon with multiple discharges
in a single attack (such as a Machine Gun).
4 110
5 120 Lv. Block Shot % Sear Weapon Instantly
1 5% 13%
6 130
2 13% 24%
3 20% 35%
4 27% 42%
5 35% 48%
6 45% 55%
Players may add 1% to both chances in the table above per 2 points of Quickness.
This uses 2 EU per blocked shot or seared weapon. (0 EU if the attempt failed).
A character with this skill can only try to block 1 shot per turn (either on themselves or
another character in close range see below). At Skill Level 3 and above, up to two
shots can be blocked.
If the Makatare Saber takes 50 points of damage in a single turn then it will explode
giving the remaining damage to the player and become useless until repaired by a
Technician at 20 minutes 2 minute per tech level.
Chance of searing weapon instantly may be only attempted when in melee range and can
be attempted every turn. If the character tries to sear a weapon, their normal attack for
that turn is reduced by 20% (but the character can still attack for that turn at the end
of turn). Any basic weapon can be seared except another Saber.
Block Other Shot w/ Makatare Saber: If in melee range with another character and the
player state that they are protecting them, they can try to block a shot that is going to hit
the first character. A quickness check must be made and then the normal chance for
block shot must be rolled. A player cannot step in front of one player and protect
another with the block shot.
Level Exp This skill allows a player to attack more frequently with a single melee weapon (such as knife,
Makatare Saber, etc) but not with natural attacks. Player must keep track of how many have
1 50
been used.
2 80
3 100 Level # Double Attacks per Day
1 4
4 120 2 8
5 130 3 12
4 16
6 140
5 20
6 25
Level Exp The Unarmed Combat Skill allows better proficiency with punching and grappling. It also adds
the abilities for characters to attempt single and double kicks to opponents. The training is in
1 45
the form of many different disciplines Karate, Judo, Te-Kwan-Do and several other
2 60 disciplines from various planets. See the Unarmed Combat section for more details on the
3 90 basics of unarmed combat.
Each Level adds 10% to hit with fists (punching).
4 100 Each Level adds 5% to the Force % (grapple).
5 110 Players can add 1pt. of damage per skill level to punching and grappling attacks. (+2 for
robots with tentacles and Unarmed Combat program)
6 120
Players can add 2% per skill level to their Knock Out %.
Players can do single kicks at 40% + 10% per skill level with +3 points of damage
(beyond normal punching damage including bonus modifiers described above). Can be
attempted once each turn.
At level 3 the player gets a third punch in the same turn and can attempt 2 single kicks
(or 1 punch, 1 single kick).
At level 5 the player gets a fourth punch in the same turn and can attempt 3 single kicks
(or 2 punch, 1 single kick).
Players can do Drop kicks at 25% +10% per level with +6 points of damage (beyond
punching damage including bonus modifiers described above). Can attempt every other
turn with 5m running start.
Drop kicks and single kicks give +10% to the knock out % chance.
Level Exp The Unarmed Combat Reverse skill can only be attained up to the 2nd level. It works much
like Melee Reverse except it works on punching, grappling and creatures natural attacks only.
1 40
Each level of this skill subtracts 10% from your opponents chances to hit in unarmed combat
2 55 for both punching and grappling. Each level also subtracts 1 point of damage per blow for
unarmed combat attacks from an opponent. This skill also works against a creatures natural
attack (much like Melee Reverse but you cannot combine this with modifiers from Melee
Reverse you can only use one or the other since you must be bare-handed to use this skill).
Level Exp The Technician Skill allows a character to use various machines and bypass security locks on
doors. Examples of some of the machines which can be used are: Vehicles, Comlink and
1 50
console equipment (excluding Computers), Radar equipment, mining equipment, new alien
2 80 technology, etc. Virtually all enemy vehicles will require a deactivate alarm check assuming
3 100 the character is familiar with the vehicle to begin with. If not familiar, an additional check just
to use the machine may be required at the discretion of the CO. Vehicles are repaired using a
4 110 Tech-Kit and this skill. Damaged equipment can be repaired as well.
5 120
The Technician skill also helps characters to pilot vehicles (see the Vehicles Piloting section
6 130
for more details).
For technologies which are distinctly different the CO can increase the vehicle hardness level
(to compensate for the difference in technologies it is actually harder to use this unknown
vehicle or technology from the characters point of view).
Can use machines and vehicles they are not familiar with at 40% + Skill level - Machine
hardness level. Time: 1d10 turns - skill + machine lv.
Start Vehicle is 1 turn per machine level.
Deactivate Alarm: 40% + Skill level - Alarm level. Time: 1d10 turns - skill + machine lv.
Bypass Security locks: 50% + Skill level - Door level. Time: 1d10 turns - skill +
machine lv.
When repairing damaged equipment the CO must assign a level to the item. (ie:
Computercator- lv 1, etc.) (Levels range from 1-10) Repair for this standard type of
equipment is 1d10 minutes per level.
Tech-Kits are essential for the Technician skill to be used correctly. Without a kit a
character has -30% to use comlinks, consoles, vehicles and a -40% to open doors and
bypass security locks. Vehicles cannot be repaired without a Tech-Kit present. There can
only be up to two people sharing a Technician kit. See the equipment section for details
on purchasing this kit.
Repair of Vehicles
Repair takes effect every 20 minutes.
Repair is 1 point per level of tech per 20 minutes. (Max. of 15 levels when combining with
other Technician Skill Characters)
If vehicle structure is below zero (0), then repair is X6 (that is, 1 point per level of Tech
Skill per 2 hours).
Level Exp The Computer Skill allows a character to be proficient with Computers both in programming
and in design/repair. Computers will be very prevalent in virtually all Zarganaut installations
1 40
as well as many other races throughout the worlds of Strike Force. The theory and skill given
2 60 to characters is mostly geared towards Alliance and Zarganaut technologies but also includes
3 100 some of the lesser known technologies. For technologies which are distinctly different the CO
can increase the computer hardness level (to compensate for the difference in technologies
4 110 it is actually harder to use this unknown computer from the characters point of view).
5 120
Chance of using: 60% + 10% per skill level - 10% per Computer level. This allows the
6 130
character to list information and run programs on the computer. Time: 2d10 turns - 1
turns per skill level + 1 turn per Computer level.
Change Program: 40% + 10% per skill level 10% per Computer level. Time: 4d10
minutes.
Re-Work Computer: 20% + 10% per skill level computer level. This will allow the
user to use other power sources and other parts to work the computer (can be used
when the computer is smashed and requires some parts which must be substituted for).
The CO can determine time it takes to complete this task.
Break Codes is used if the computer has a built in security system. 15% + 10% per level
- 10% per computer level. Check every 3 turns. If failed, there is a 20% that the
computer will determine that it has been hacked into and sound appropriate alarms (if
any). This check should be done by the CO in secret as it has unknown consequences to
the players.
Computer Kits are essential for the Computer skill to be used correctly. Without a kit a
character has -20% to use the computer. There can only be up to two people sharing a
Computer kit.
Repair of Computers
Repair takes effect every 20 minutes.
Repair is 1 point per level of tech per 20 minutes. (Max. of 15 levels when combining with
other Computer Skill Characters)
If computer structure is below zero (0), then repair is X6 (that is, 1 point per level of
Computer Skill per 2 hours).
Level Exp The Robotics Skill allows a character to be proficient in the design and content of the various
Robots in Strike Force. Robots range in complexity from level 1 to 6 (see Robots Section).
1 35
2 60 Robots are repaired using a Robotics-Kit and this skill.
3 90
List Functions: 95% - This gives a list of all programs (but not data) stored in the robots
4 100 memory banks. Time is 1d10 turns + 1 turn per level -1 turn per robot level (see the
5 110 Robot section to learn how to compute a Robot level).
Alter Functions: 30% + 10% per level 10% per robot level. This takes 30 minutes - 1
6 120
minute per skill level + 1 minute per robot level. It allows some basic programming to
be changed or replaced. For example, Search and Destroy Alliance personnel can be
changed to Zarganaut personnel. The robot will NOT become enslaved to the character.
Only basic functions can be altered. The robot still acts independently (under the control
of the CO actually). The CO must determine what a character can do with this skill.
Deactivate Robot: 20% + 10% per level - 10% per robot level. The character is simply
trying to deactivate the Robot by tampering with the electrical system. It will take 1d6
turns to attempt the deactivation of the Robots electrical system and the deactivation will
take place at the end of the turn it is deactivated (so it can still attack, flee, etc. for that
turn).
Extract Information: 45% + 10% per level - 10% per robot level. If the Robotics
character fails, there is a 25% of short in the robot electrical system which requires 3d10
minutes to repair. Time is 1d10 minutes + 1 minute per level -1 minute per robot level.
Remove electrical stun on robots (Robots can be stunned the same way Humans and
other races are) at 7 turns - 1 turn per robotics level.
Robot-Kits are essential for the Robotics skill to be used correctly. Without a kit a
character has -30% to use the robotics skill. There can only be up to two people sharing
a Robotics kit.
Repair of Robots
Repair takes effect every 20 minutes.
Repair is 1 point per level of Robotics per 20 minutes. (Max. of 15 levels when combining
with other Robotics Skill Characters)
If robot structure is below zero (0), then repair is X6 (that is, 1 point per level of Robotics
per 2 hours).
Level Exp The Demolition Skill gives the player the ability to set and defuse charges (explosives). There
are two types of explosives available to the character as detailed in the equipment section (C-19
1 40
and C-21 explosives).
2 75
3 90 Lv. Defusing Charges
1 25%
4 100 2 35%
5 110 3 45%
4 55%
6 120
5 70%
6 85%
Setting a charge is automatic and a character with this skill can set up to 30u + 30u per
Skill level of explosives total. (This includes shooting at the explosives.)
Plastic explosives (C-19 or C-21) are needed for this skill.
Time to set charge: 1d10 turns Skill level. If the set charge attempt fails, there is a 2% of
accidentally setting off the explosives prematurely. Players may try again as often as they
wish using the full time to set the charge each time.
Add % per point of Quickness to the defusing percentage.
Time to defuse charge: 2d10 turns -1 turn per player level +1 turn per explosive level. If
the defuse fails, there is a 50% of the charge being detonated (modified by the CO for
complexity of the charge) and the full damage is done to the character making the attempt.
Level Exp Use of this skill will increase a characters base Strength score for 10 minutes at a time. It
also aids in the healing of Life Points (see Life Points recovery chart for basic healing values).
1 45
Players can also extend as normal beyond this additional strength bonus as described by the
2 65 Ability Extension rules.
3 90
Lv. Heal Bonus Str. Bonus (For 10 minutes) Melee Bonus (for 10 min)
4 100 1 1pt. +2 +10%
5 110 2 2pts. +3 +15%
3 3pts. +4 +20%
6 120
4 4pts. +5 +25%
5 5pts. +6 +30%
6 6pts. +7 +35%
The strength bonus can only be used twice per 20 hours and it does not count as an
extend. (See Extending Abilities.) The Strength bonus is just for Strength Ability checks,
not for max lift, etc.
Melee bonus is the bonus added to the players melee hit % during the 10 minutes the
Power Extension is in effect.
The healing is over and above what is normally healed in 4 hours.
Level Exp This skill allows a character to increase their bodys damage absorbing effects. It will lower
damage from blows to the body by increasing the body's natural lithability a combination
1 45
between mind and body which channels a combination of strength and muscle relaxation to
2 65 the body area which is being damaged. Basically, it helps absorb punching and grappling
3 80 damage as well as harder blows (such as melee weapons). It also can help when the
character takes falling damage and increases the number of meters the character can jump
4 90 (not fall) before taking damage.
5 100
Lv. Fist Blows Fall/20m Hard Blows #m Jump Down*
6 110
1 -1 -2 -1 10m (15m)
2 -2 -4 -2 15m (25m)
3 -3 -6 -3 20m (35m)
4 -3 -7 -4 25m (40m)
5 -4 -8 -5 30m (45m)
6 -5 -9 -6 35m (50m)
If a character willingly jumps they do not get the reduction in falling damage. This is only
for falling without notice.
Hard blows include rocks, vehicle hits (ramming) and all melee weapons (including
electrical melee weapons). No ranged weapons except thrown rocks and thrown melee
weapons.
Fist damage works on all creatures natural melee attacks (claws, bits, etc) as well as
punching and grappling.
* The number in parenthesis is the # of meters a player can dive (not slip and fall) into
water.
Level Exp At level 1 this skill allows a character to live and find shelter in less than hospitable areas.
This skill also allows the character to recognize edible plants and non polluted water.
1 30
2 50 At level 2 a player can predict basic weather patterns (Climatology) based on cloud
3 70 formations, tides, etc as well as tell fairly accurately how much time has passed by using any
stars/suns/moons positions).
4 80
5 90 At level 3 basic navigation (on land or space) can be learned without the aid of computers
assuming the visible star system is known to the player. Also at level 3 basic geological and
6 110
planetary system knowledge is given (tides, earthquakes, volcanoes, etc).
At level 4, a player can reduce the effects of heat and cold on themselves at the CO
discretion.
Find Food and Water: 30% + 10% per level. Check each hour. There will be enough
Food and Water for 1 person for 1-5 days. (d10 days). The CO can determine that no
Food or Water could be found based on environmental conditions or if food and water are
automatically found if they are abundant.
Make Weapons: 20% + 10% per level. Only Crude weapons such as Bows and Arrows or
Spears, etc. Takes hour. Can be modified by the CO and the CO must assign damage
and range to weapon.
Make Shelter: 40% + 10% per level Condition level. The CO must assign condition
level and the Structural points of the shelter. Check every 12 hours and it takes 1 hour
to build. It provides shelter of 4 (same as Survival Tent - see Shelter Section). The
condition level can be a positive number indicating easy conditions for making a shelter.
The Commanding Officer will assign the condition level. The CO can determine that
shelter is easy to build given the environment.
Make Traps: 20% + 10% per level. (For removing: 20% + 10% per skill level trap
level) The character must have the necessary materials for the trap. CO will decide
damage of trap.
Level Exp Ingenuity Skill allows a character to create makeshift devices and weapons on a more
technological basis than the Survival Skill above. Components must be available.
1 30
2 50 Create Makeshift Device: 20% + 10% per skill level 10% per machine level. Damage
3 60 and Range (if its a Weapon) and ability of the item is determined by the CO.
Time: 1 hour +- 10 minutes per level.
4 80 This skill allows the player to alter the components of various electronic parts to create
5 90 something new. The Commanding Officer must assign levels for the machines. Example:
Communicator lv 1, Blaster: Lv 4, Sub-Space Radio lv 5, Detonator lv 2.
6 100
The player with this skill can build a communicator from spare parts. A Blaster type
weapon (limited range and damage) could be built out of a broken Blaster or other
energy weapon. Each level of this skill would increase range and damage.
Level Exp This skill allows characters to control and manipulate objects with their minds. Players may
also use this skill to defect enemy fire.
1 45
2 70 Lv Wt. Moved Distance Moved Deflect Blast
3 100 1 50u 5m 0%
2 125u 10m -3%
4 110 3 200u 15m -5%
5 120 4 300u 20m -8%
5 400u 25m -12%
6 130
6 500u 30m -15%
Players can use the mind potential on just one shot that is being fired at them. It only
works with single projectile, rocketed or laser energy weapons. It can be done even
while attacking but the player must see the blast coming.
Every 2m above max distance moved requires an Intellect check at -1.
Every 10u above max weight moved requires an Intellect check at -1.
The rate of movement is 10m/turn.
If mind potential is used to remove a weapon from someone belt, a quickness check
needs to be made by the opponent to grab the weapon. For each level of Mind Potential,
the check by the opponent is at -1.
Level Exp This skill increases a characters proficiency with vehicles (ATV, hovercar, etc.) Each vehicle
listed in this rulebook has a designated level (and there are endless other vehicles in the
1 35
galaxy). If a character has a piloting skill equal to the level, they can maneuver the vehicle.
2 55 If not, there is no hope of piloting the vehicle. See the Vehicles section for details on how the
3 80 Piloting Skill works with vehicles.
4 90
5 100
6 110
Level Exp This skill allows a player to get more out of their characters abilities. It improves the normal
extension granted to all players by giving additional extension increases and bonus extends.
1 35
2 55 Lv. Extension Bonus Extends (per 20 hours)
3 90 1 +3 0 (Total of 2 Extends per 20 hours)
2 +4 0 (Total of 2 Extends per 20 hours)
4 110 3 +4 1 (Total of 3 Extends per 20 hours)
5 120 4 +5 1 (Total of 3 Extends per 20 hours)
5 +6 1 (Total of 3 Extends per 20 hours)
6 130
6 +6 2 (Total of 4 Extends per 20 hours)
For all abilities, the Extension value above is the increased value when the player extends
(normally this value is 2 for characters without this skill). For example, a character with
Ability Extension Level 4 would have +5 to all abilities for checks, etc. When dealing with hit
%, force %, Dodge and Life Points, the Ability charts are not consulted (with the Bonus value)
and instead the following is a special list of how these are affected by extension:
Strength:
Hit % is +10% for each basic extension and +5% for each level of ability extension. Force is
+5% for each basic extension and +5% for each level of ability extension.
Sight:
Hit % is +10% for each basic extension and +5% for each level of ability extension.
Toughness:
Life points are +10 for each basic extension and +5 points for each level of ability extension.
Quickness:
Dodge is 10% fore each basic extension and 5% for each level of ability extension.
Level Exp Use this skill to render an opponent unconscious using special pressure point areas on the
body. It only works on basic humanoid-type creatures (at the COs discretion). Stun is for
1 40
2d10 turns and the victim can be revived by a Medic in 1 full turn (they must use 1 Omnicron
2 55 to revive the victim but this does not count towards the 1 Omnicron per 20 hours for Surgery
3 85 nor does it raise the victims Life Points).
4 110 Lv. Stun Bonus (with this attack base is normal Strength Melee hit %)
5 120 1 2 +10%
2 4 +20%
6 130
3 5 +30%
4 6 +40%
5 8 +45%
6 10 +50%
Level Exp This skill allows the player to blast an opponent with an invisible burst of energy. It only
works on sentient beings (at the COs discretion).
1 50
2 75 Lv. Bonus % Hit Damage Stun
3 100 1 +10% 1d10 3
2 +20% 2d10 4
4 120 3 +30% 3d10 5
5 130 4 +40% 4d10 6
5 +50% 5d10 7
6 140
6 +60% 6d10 8
Hit % Base is Intellect Base. Defense is Intellect Defense 5% per level of Mind Missile
skill.
Damage is +1 per point of Intellect over 15. It has the range of 5 meters + 5 meters
per level of Mind Missile.
It may be used 6 X's per day + 1 per Intellect level (not score to determine level, just
look at what row position the characters score is in the Ability Chart table).
A character cannot attack with other weapons during this attack (it requires brief mental
preparation).
Level Exp Basic thoughts of another can be sensed by a character will this skill. Only basic thoughts and
feelings such as anger, fear, nervousness can be felt with this skill. It can be used to
1 35
determine if someone is telling the truth.
2 55
3 75 Chance of reading mind is the Intellect Base + 10% per level of ESP.
Defense is Intellect Defense -5% per level of ESP skill.
4 100 If there is bodily contact then the attempt is at +10%.
5 110 ESP has a range of 10m/level and the subject must be in sight.
6 120
A Makatare can sense another Makatare presence at 20% + 10% per ESP level - 10% per
opponent ESP level and they can be separated by many kilometers. This roll is done in secret
by the Commanding Officer. This can as often as desired but can be tried only once per
opponent per day.
Level Exp This skill allows players to search areas (and enemy personal) more effectively and search for
tracks of either creatures (both humanoid and non-humanoid) as well as vehicles and robots.
1 35
A player with this skill can search nearly twice as fast as players without the skill. In
2 50 addition, this skill gives the player the ability react to a combat situation faster by seeing
3 80 possibilities faster therefore the Initiative Bonus (which is in addition to any Quickness
bonus the player has). The Notice Details bonus is for sight checks only (does not help any
4 90 other aspect of Sight).
5 100
Tracking Notice Details Initiative Bonus
6 110
Lv. 1: 22% +1 on sight +0
Lv. 2: 35% +3 on sight +1
Lv. 3: 45% +5 on sight +1
Lv. 4: 60% +7 on sight +2
Lv. 5: 73% +9 on sight +3
Lv. 6: 85% +11 on sight +4
Sight Checks cannot exceed 22.
The Tracking % can be modified at CO discretion based on mission and environmental
conditions.
Level Exp This skill improves the characters ability to understand languages and improves their
knowledge of the known universe (through research and study).
1 25
2 40 Lv. Understand Lang Legend Lore
3 45 1 +10% +5%
2 +15% +10%
4 60 3 +22% +17%
5 70 4 +33% +28%
5 +48% +38%
6 80
6 +65% +45%
Intellect is the base for these bonuses. Languages are checked for any newly encountered
creature with the ability to communicate. It is only checked once the mission is complete and
the character has had the chance to study it.
Level Exp This skill allows a character to suggest something basic to another sentient being.
1 50
Lv. Bonus Suggest % (base is Personality Base)
2 70 1 +10%
3 100 2 +20%
3 +30%
4 110 4 +40%
5 120 5 +50%
6 +60%
6 130
Base Suggest % is Personality Base %
Defense is Personality Defense % -5% per level of Suggestion skill.
Lasts 2d10 turns - turn per level of Intellect. (ie: each bracket)
Levels 1-2: "Stop", "Put down weapon", etc.
Levels 3-4: "Surrender", "Run away", etc.
Levels 5-6: "Do something", "Attack friend" (CO Discretion)
Every 2 levels of suggestion a character may suggest 1 more person. ie: at 4th level
Suggestion, a character can suggest 3 people (with the same suggestion multiple
suggestions take multiple turns).
The player should roll the dice, but the CO has full discretion over whether the suggestion
was appropriate or accepted by the target. A player can only try one suggestion per
person per 20 hours.
Level Exp This skill allows items to be lifted from some creature or humanoid. It also gives a negative
for sight checks by opponents since this skill perfects a characters hiding and stealth abilities.
1 40
2 60
3 75 Lv. Pick Pocket Neg. Sight on Opp. Open Primitive Locks
1 20% -1 25%
4 100 2 30% -2 35%
5 110 3 45% -3 45%
4 55% -3 58%
6 120
5 65% -4 70%
6 75% -5 80%
Level Exp This skill allows the player to see through another sentient beings eyes for short periods of
time and moderate distances. To initiate the mind contact needed for Mind's Eye, the player
1 45
must first come into bond range. If the initial contact is successful, the player must then go
2 70 into a state of semi-meditation to follow the Mind's Eye of the other being they can walk,
3 100 talk but not attack or do complex tasks while in this state of meditation.
A Makatare with this skill can sense if another is using this skill on them.
Level Exp This skill allows the player to project thoughts and solitary visions to another being within the
specified range. It can be used to project feelings of peace or other emotion into other beings
1 35
minds. Knowing the language of the being is not necessary at all since it is simply images
2 50 that are projected. It is possible to commune with an animal or beast at a very common and
3 70 basic level. It is possible to make an opponent think they heard a noise in the opposite
direction of the caster, etc. There are two forms of projection within this skill, Deep
4 80 Projection and Light Projection. The Deep Projection lets whole images and meanings be
5 100 made clear to the subject and communication at the thought level is possible based on these
projections (called commune). The Light Projection only lets the person know they are being
6 120
touched and perhaps some small piece of information such as player location (such as Dark
jail cell, long corridor, etc). Light Projection has a far greater range than Deep Projection.
All of the images cast are subject to the CO's discretion. At lower levels, only simple images
can be projected while at upper levels highly lengthy and complex images can be transmitted
over a greater distance.
If the mind being projected into is not one the character has touched before with either
Suggestion, ESP or Mind's Eye then they must be in visual range to attempt projection. If
they have encountered the mind before then they can try projection at any time and the CO
will secretly know if the message was received. It is assumed that all players in a Federation
party with Makatare-mind skills have had contact with each others minds.
Level Exp The Stasis skill allows a character to slow down their metabolism to the point where it is
barely functioning. This allows the player to consume less oxygen and cause wounds to heal
1 35
faster. Poison and other body toxins as well as some diseases can be affected by this skill.
2 50 There are only two levels of Stasis available. At first level, the player can go into stasis in one
3 N/A minute and begin healing at an accelerated rate of +1 points per 4 hours. They can also slow
down toxins and other poisons in the blood stream (as well as severe bleeding). At second
4 N/A level, they heal at an accelerated rate of +2 points per 4 hours and can control even more
5 N/A lethal poisons and toxins. The player with this skill can go into stasis almost immediately and
feign death. Both levels will allow the player to slow blood flow to the brain making that
6 N/A
player less susceptible to mind attacks (-20% for level 1 and 40% for level 2). The player
must remain motionless for this to take place. In addition, second level of this skill allows a
player below zero life (but not below 10) to place themselves in stasis much the same as a
staydose. They can remain in stasis for 20 hours.
During the War with the Zarganauts, some of the more able Humans and Budgie Tops trained with the Shims to
learn the secrets of the Makatare.
For the purposes of this game, Shims, Xorns, Budgie Tops, Humans and even Zarganauts are capable of any of the
skills listed in the skill section including the Makatare Skills listed below.
A player becomes a Makatare Warrior if he/she has the following selection of skills:
Makatare Saber x20%
Unarmed Combat x10%
Mind Potential x10%
Body Extension x10%
Suggestion x10%
And at least 1st level of 4 skills selected from the following skills:
Lithability
Survival
Power Extension
Mind Missile
E.S.P.
Minds Eye
Projection
Melee Speedup
Therefore, it requires a total of 9 Makatare skills (10 total skill levels since Makatare Saber must be 2 nd level) to be
a Makatare Warrior. If a player has all the listed Makatare skills they are considered Makatare-Master status and
only one hand is needed to wield the Makatare saber (no 2 weapons with the saber though!). No +5 damage bonus
when it is wielded 1 handed (see Makatare Saber below).
Sometimes the skills in the above list are termed Makatare Skills, but these skills are really no different than any
other skills and can be obtained by any player (such as Technician Skill, Parametric Skill, etc.). It is only for the
classification of becoming a Makatare Warrior that we call some of the skills Makatare Skills. The only advantage
to becoming a Makatare is the additional use of the Makatare saber as described below (of course the character
would have all those powerful skills in their repertoire as well).
A Chief Engineer is one who is skilled in all forms of technology. They are also good pilots. Often they are needed
aboard large starships for routine maintenance of the vessel. To be achieve the full status of a Chief Engineer, a
character must have the following skills:
Technician x50%
Computer x30%
Robotics x20%
Pilot x10%
Once these skills are achieved, the player is granted full privileges of a Chief Engineer. Between missions, those
characters help design new technology for the alliance and can teach at the Alliance Academy. This will entitle those
characters to an additional 10 pay (but does not change rank) which is added to the Pay of the character as if they
had another skill level.
6 Equipment
6.1 Equipment Concepts
Equipment can be purchased at any time before or after a mission is played. Credits are the standard currency
used in Strike Force and beginning players start with 3000cr. Each mission that is completed successfully, the
player will get paid as described in the Skills section. Any player can buy any piece of equipment that is listed in
this rulebook. This includes any weapon, ammunition or other piece of miscellaneous equipment.
When a player buys a piece of equipment, they must place it somewhere in their inventory. The inventory is located
at the top-back of the player character sheet. Players can put most equipment where they wish (backpack, pouch,
magnabelt, etc) as long as it will fit (see equipment to see what they can hold).
Anything in a backpack can be reached in 1 full turn and can be used on the next turn (Quickness check to use
normally otherwise at the end of next turn). Other more reachable areas require a quickness check to get to it at
the end of a turn. The CO will rule on this as the need arises in a game.
Equipment weights must be added up and recorded in the total weight section of the character sheet. If this total is
or more of a characters maximum weight carried (see Strength) then they are encumbered. Encumbrance slows
the character down and gives them negatives on Strength and Quickness checks. Reaction speed in combat is also
affected.
A weight distribution harness is a cost-effective method for reducing the amount of weight burdening a character.
It channels half of the total weight in the backpack into the surrounding ground and reduces the actual weight felt
by the character. It does not, however, actually expand the amount of stuff that a backpack can hold. Check the
equipment list for a full description of these items.
6.1.2 Encumbrance
When a character is carrying more than their maximum weight carried (see Strength Chart for details on weight
carried) they are considered encumbered. When a character is encumbered the following occurs:
Movement is slower than shown in the Movement Charts. (ie normal walk/run speed)
Running time is cut in half.
Strength Checks are at -1.
Quickness Checks are at -2.
When jumping, lower the jump up by m and jump across by 1m.
Initiative is 1 for combat.
No swimming when encumbered. (Unless the player has a flotation device)
Item Placement
Grenades Worn
Suits+Defenses Worn
Goggles Worn
Weapons Worn (holster/strap)
Kits Backpack
Rope Backpack
Ammunition Worn
Communicator Wrist or Belt
Misc Items Backpack
Small Items Pouch or Belt
All other things must be in backpack, pouch, belt (including magnabelt) or boots. Ammunition and weapons can be
stored in the Backpack, but it will take a full turn to retrieve the item when needed (Quickness check to use the item
normally on next turn else end of next turn).
On the back of the character sheet is an area that is used to keep track of a characters inventory. This inventory
should be recorded as in the following example:
Blaster W 30
Magnabelt W 20
Grenades (5 of them) W 50
Food and Water (3 days) B 60
Computercator b 20
Tech-Kit B 120
Medic Kit B 120
Ammunition 4 clips W 60
Knife M 10
Force Suit W 15
The first column identifies the piece of equipment (weapon, suit, etc). The second column identifies where the item
is located. (W) is worn (no limit to weight), (B) is backpack (up to 700 units total), (M) is Magnabelt (up to 150
units), (b) is belt (up to 25 units). Other letters can be used as needed. All weights combine to form the total
weight which determines things like encumbrance (see the Encumbrance section for more details). The third column
identifies the weight of the item.
Even though grenades, weapons, Omnicron/Staydose and food/water have a separate place on the character sheet,
they should also be shown in the main equipment inventory so that the weights and locations can be tracked easily.
Everything that the player has to deal with in terms of weight must be tracked on this master inventory list. As
ammunition and grenades are used during the mission, these can be adjusted. Be sure to always keep the total (as
recorded at the top of the inventory list on the character sheet) up to date. Ammunition loaded in weapons also
counts towards the total weight and must be tracked. Only when ammunition is completely used (or discharged in
the case of projectiles/rockets) can that item and weight be subtracted from the inventory list. For example, if a
character has 3 spare Laser Clips (15u each) and one in their Blaster weapon, then they must inventory 4 Clips for
a total of 60u.
Anti Molecular Gel (10u) 100cr. Lowers the density of metal bars or metal door locks up to 3cm thick. Then a
strength check must be made to get through. Concealed under a belt which gives a -3 for opponents to sight. Can
only be used once on metal surface, it is not reusable.
Attack Needle (5u) 50cr. 2 can be unleashed per turn in melee range. They fight at 30% to hit and do 2d10
damage. Each can attack twice.
Audi-Pal (15u) 50cr. Can hear through light walls (5cm) +1 cm per point of loudness above 3.
Back Pack (5u) 25cr. Holds 700 units of weight. Only 1 backpack may be worn by a character.
Belt Knives (5u) 100cr. Will fit into and look like part of a characters belt. Sight check at -5 to find. They do 1d8
damage each and the character gets two attacks (assuming they are willing to take the negative modifiers for using
two weapons).
Boots with Secret Compartments (10u) 25cr. Holds as big as a T9 Pistol (only with Ammo it will hold
internally) or Survival knife. (Up to 25u of weight) Sight check at 6 for opponents to notice the secret
compartments.
Camouflage Canopy (10u) 50cr. Gives -3 on sight checks for spotting vehicles or robots.
Climbing Gear (30u) 150cr. This basic gear gives +3 on strength on climbing and gives +1 on quickness checks
when climbing.
Code Finder (15u) 300cr. For security locks on doors. Takes 1d10 minutes per level of code on doors up to level
2 (will not work on more advanced doors). Note, this is much slower than someone with the Technician skill to
perform the same job.
Comlink Jammer (100u) 300cr. Can generate fields of disturbance to block radio and radar transmissions in a
1000 meter radius: +100 meters per 50cr. (and weight increases +10u per 10 meters gained).
Communicator (5u) 25cr. Range is 5km. Small handheld and will fit on a belt or can be worn on the wrist. No
scramble is possible.
Compass (3u) 5cr. Tells universal direction without a magnet on most planets.
Computercator (20u) 75cr. Range is 50km. Small handheld and will fit on a belt. Basic scramble is possible.
Concealed Door Opener (20u) 200cr. May be used by characters with the Thieving skill (On which it will not be
found) or by technicians (Sight check to find.) This allows a character with the Technician or Thieving skills to open
basic doors even though their main kit may not be present. Can be reasonably hidden on the character.
Contact Poison (5u) 50cr per dose. Stun 8 (Stun 10 for 70cr.) but with a more potent knock out effect. This will
cause the effected opponent to sleep for 1d6 hours. May be coated on blades (-20% on stun effect).
Corrosive Acid (5u) 1 capsule is 50cr. 1d10 damage per turn for 4 turns. Can be concealed. Melts up to
0.25cm2 of metal each turn for 4 turns.
Cyanide Nose Capsules (3u) 100cr. for stun 8. 120cr for stun 10. This can be broken and exhaled on an
opponent. If successful, it will knock the opponent out for 3d10 minutes. Concealed in the nose.
Detonators (10u each) 50cr. (100cr for long range) Used with explosives. Remote control for detonation of
explosives. Set with the Demolition skill. The range is 100m for the low cost version and 2km for the high cost
version. It takes one full turn to set off the detonation remotely. It can also be timed from 1 second to 99 hours.
A thrown amount of explosives needs a Detonator.
Door Jammer (25u) 250cr. Holds doors shut at level 2.
Electro-Magna Grips (50u) 300cr. Holds 2000u of weight and climb is at normal climb rate up completely
vertical surfaces. Works on metallic surfaces only.
Electronic Bugs (10u) 100cr. for two. Range is 2km. Allows players to hear conversations and characters can
locate the bug using a supplied tracking device.
Finger Beam Decoder (40u) 500cr. Has a 50% to decode the finger beam device on enemy weapons. It will
convert the finger pattern to that of the owner of the decoder. It takes 1d6 minutes. Can only be tried once. Only
allows the player to use the weapon with the ammo in it. All additional ammo will have to be supplied by the player.
Star Bombs are separate from the weapon they are attached to when checking decode.
Fire Extinguisher-Small (15u) 20cr. Very compact and will put out 2d10 units of fire per turn. Can put out up
to 300u of fire before running out.
Fire Extinguisher-Large (50u) 100cr. Put out 5d10 units of fire per turn. Can put out up to 1000u of fire before
running out. No vehicle should be without one.
Flare (10u) 10cr. 200 meter radius of illumination. Lasts 6 turns and may be fired into the air 50 meters.
Flashlight-Small (10u) 25cr. Has 20m of light and lasts for 40 hours before needing replacement. Can be
mounted on anything bigger than a blaster.
Flashlight-Large (20u) 50cr. Has 50m of light and lasts for 20 hours before needing replacement. Can be
mounted on any rifle.
Food 1 days (10u) 20cr. See Food and Water sections for details.
Four-In-One-Tool (10u) 25cr. 1) Universal Screwdriver 2) Mini-Grenade (replaceable) 3) Small Pen Light - 10m
range 4) Small Pick
Free Floating Light (15u) 200cr. Built in battery lasts for 20 hours of use. It will stay with the players providing
35m of light. It can move at 12m per turn following a simple remote control and will avoid obstacles.
Gas Mask (30u) 40cr. Takes 1 turn to put on. turn if quickness check is made.
Grappling Hook (20u) 50cr. Small and collapsible. Can be easily attached and removed from any length of rope.
Grappling Hook shooter (75u) 100cr. 100 meter range. Counts as a projectile or rocketed weapons when
determining Hit % (to see if the grappling hook reached intended target area).
Hand Cuffs (10u) 40cr. Has 10 structural points and adjustable sizes from small to large.
Heater Small Portable (25u) 150cr. Uses a standard laser energy clip (or belt). Uses 1EU per heat unit
reduction per hour. See Heat and Cold sections for details on cold effects.
Hidden Throwing Stars (10u) 20cr. 1d10 damage with the range of a Sidewinder. Reusable and can be
reasonably hidden in boots, etc.
I.R. Goggles (5u) 80cr. To see 20m in smoke and 25m in the darkness. Cuts the darkness by 7.
Inter Space Radio (100u) 300cr. It can send short messages 10,000 clicks in 1 hour for 1 EU. Uses standard
laser energy clips (or laser belt).
Jet Booster (60u) 1400cr. Battery (included) is 400cr. Lasts 100km. It can travel at 45km / 125m. -5% for the
user to hit when shooting with one handed weapon only.
Land Mine (25u) 20cr. Four turns to plant. Causes 6d10 damage and is pressure sensitive.
Lantern (40u) 100cr. Compact and will cast up to 70m of light in all directions. Dimmable with rotary knob.
Internal battery lasts 20 hours (after which the Lantern must be replaced).
Laser Band (3u) 100cr. Worn on the wrist. It produces two 3d10 shots at short range of a Blaster and then
cannot be used further. Both shots do not need to be fired at a single attack. Characters can have two laser bands
(one on each hand but if attacking with both or using the off-hand one the normal negative attack modifiers will
apply).
Light Cutter (15u) 75cr. Cuts 10cm thick steel at 10cm per turn. Comes in a technicians or robot expert's kit but
may be purchased separately.
Light Drill (30u) 100cr. Used to cut through light walls with a 3cm hole. (10sp. per turn) Can be used with
explosives to get more effect out of the blast (see Explosives).
Lighter (3u) 10cr. Lifetime guarantee. Produces short flame and is waterproof.
Lox-Capsules (5u) 75cr. Each freezes water 5 meters wide and 10 + d10 meters long and almost 2 meters thick.
Holds as big as an A.T.V. Structural points: 50. Lasts 2d10 minutes (modifiable based on weather conditions).
(Each minute will cause the SP. to go down 3)
Magna Belt (20u) 150cr. Holds 150u of metal objects. With a quickness check players can use the item
immediately. Otherwise it can be used at the end of turn.
Mini Grenade (5u) 20cr. 2d10 damage and can be thrown up to and including the Medium range of a
Fragmentation grenade. One or two can be easily concealed.
Mini Recorder (15u) 40cr. Digital and can record up to 60 minutes of conversation.
Mini Repair Droid (40u) 1000cr. Repairs vehicles or robots at level 1. It can only repair one or the other, ie:
There is a Robot repair droid and a separate Vehicle repair droid. Can be teamed up with a character with
Technician Skill as described in the Technician Skill section. Needs a Tech-Kit or Robot-Kit for this repair droid to
work.
Mini-Aqua-Oxygen (10u) 200cr. 10 minutes of compressed air in a small 10cm cylinder with mouthpiece.
(100cr. for a refill)
Needler Wrist Watch (5u) 200cr. Up to 4 shots at 15 meters. Stun 4 each. Once all four shots are used, it must
be replaced.
Oxygen Tank (50u) 200cr. Slim design and it contains 60 minutes of breathable air. 3cr per minute of air for
refilling.
Periscope (portable) (25u) 150cr. Allows player to see short distances around corners and underwater without
actually poking their head under the surface of the water.
ParaGlider (35u) 350cr. Worn just over the top of a backpack or directly on the back (if no backpack present).
Can glide 1 meter for every 2 meters off the ground. Structure : 30sp. If opened below 30 meters then quickness
check or add 10 meters then check again until opened or until the character hits the ground. 20m/turn speed.
Must be over 10 meters to use or there will not be enough time to open the glider.
Plastic Explosives C-19 (40u) 200cr. per 40u. See Demolition Page.
Plastic Explosives C-21 (20u) 500cr. per 40u. See Demolition Page.
Pouch (3u) 40cr. Holds 75 units of small item weight and it is easy for characters to reach items in the pouch
(Quickness check to take out and use the same turn at the end of turn).
Pull Ring (0u) 100cr. This fairly large ring is worn on any finger. With the ring comes a transmitter which is very
small and can be placed in equipment up to 35u of weight. The ring can be activated to pull the item with the
transmitter up to 20 meters. Additional transmitters can be purchased for 50cr.
Radar Jammer (100u) 200cr. 50 meter range of protection against only radar.
Raft 1 Man (30u) 200cr. Thin and worn around the waist area. Inflatable and used to float humans and robots.
(It will only sustain 1 person or robot.)
Raft- Large Rubber (100u) 200cr. Inflates in 2 turns and has multiple pockets of air so that a single puncture
will not sink it. Holds 4 man-sized creatures. Structure: 10sp. If it takes more then 10 points of damage then it
will sink in two turns. Two small thin paddles are strapped underneath and can be used to move the raft at 5m per
turn.
Robot Magna-Grips (50u) 500cr. Holds up to 5000u of weight. Similar to Electro Magna Grips but designed for
a robots increased weight.
Robot Translator (50u) 250cr. For robots without the Speech program. Takes 1 turn to translate what the robot
is saying.
Rope (30u per 10m) 40cr. per 10 meters of rope. Thin but heavy duty and incredibly handy. All characters
should have some rope of various lengths on hand. Used for climbing, binding, hauling, etc. See the Grappling
Note: A character can only wear one suit at a time (except with a Survival Suit) . It takes a full minute to change a
defense suit. No suit will help with stun weapons.
For example, a Force suit costs 1000cr for 100pts of protection. Therefore, it is 10cr per point of suit defense. A
player can spend this to regenerate the suit up to the full potential (100pts of protection in this case). Under no
circumstances can the protection value of a suit be raised above the value of a new suit.
6.5 Parabatteries
Note, parabatteries must be purchased for the correct equipment type. A player cannot, for example, substitute a
vehicle parabattery for a robot parabattery. Parabatteries are rated in EU Energy Units.
Normal Vehicle (100u) 600cr. Has 100EU. To power vehicles (ATV, ORS, Hovercar, etc).
Parabattery
Normal Robot (100u) 500cr. Has 100EU. To power robots.
Parabattery
Scout Ship or (100u) 700cr. Has 100 clicks worth of energy for these larger space vehicles. See Vehicles
Star Fighter section for more details.
Parabattery
Parabatteries may be refueled after a mission is complete for the same price per EU as the cost. For example, the
Normal Robot Parabattery costs 600cr for 100EU so its 6cr per EU. If a parabattery was drained to 92EU after a
mission, then it would require 48cr (6cr X 8EU) to restore it to 100EU.
6.7 Weapons
While reading the descriptions, look at and keep in mind the Weapons Charts and the Ammunition Table that
describes how much ammunition various weapons can hold at a time. The weapon charts shows important
information such as weapon ranges broken down in 6 different ranges Point Blank, Short (best range for the
Weapon known as the Sweet Spot for the weapon), Medium, Long, Extreme and Maximum. All ranges are given
in meters. The weapon charts also show damage for the weapon, number of attacks, cost and weight of the
weapons.
Laser Energy weapons draw their energy from a standard Laser clip (or in some cases the bigger Laser belt). These
clips store Electro-chemical energy which can be converted into a deadly blast of energy which is discharged from
the front of the weapon. They are among the most quiet of ranged weapons and are used by many races
throughout the known galaxy.
Projectile weapons typically use a small shells or belts of ammunition. They use a channeled force to eject the
projectile forward from the rear of the weapon through the barrel. The projectile attains a very high velocity when it
exits the front of the barrel and continues through to the intended target. Projectile weapons are a bit more cost
effective than Laser Energy weapons but are a bit louder and slightly more bulky. On some of the less advanced
worlds, these weapons are commonplace but are still favorites of members of the Alliance of Planets. Do not think
of these weapons as primitive they are well designed modern machines capable of delivering a potent and deadly
force.
Weapon Description
Machine Gun This standard weapon is a staple of the Projectile Weapons. It uses a standard machine gun
belt and can be used in a single burst or two smaller sweeps (on different opponents as long as
they are relatively close to each other). Range is reasonable for a projectile weapons and
damage to ammunition usage is excellent.
T9 Pistol A standard small pistol capable of being well hidden. Minimal damage and short range but with
a relatively low cost.
T9 Rifle An upgraded version of the T9 Pistol with much better range and more damage but still using
the same shells for ammunition. It is a bit heavier than the T9 Pistol, however.
Micro Missile A small propelled missile can be launched from this basically pistol shaped weapon. The micro
Launcher missile launcher is a fast weapons allowing two separate attacks in a single turn but with
limited damage from each missile.
Side-Winder The side-winder is a very different type of weapon. It is a square barrel with a small box-like
screen extending above. The side-winder is capable of targeting an opponent around corners
of up to 90 degrees. The small screen allows the attacker to gauge where the opponent would
be around a corner and set the curvature of the side-winder accordingly. When attacking in this
manner, hit percent is reduced by 20%. Although this weapon has an attack speed of 1 (it can
be used once every turn), it takes a full turn to lock in on a target. Subsequent attacks can be
made every turn unless the target changes position.
Telex Pistol The telex pistol uses an exploding shell which does both damage and stun to an opponent in a
single turn. The damage is applied first and then the stun chart is consulted.
Tri-Star This is a watered down version of the Micro Missile launcher. It is the only weapon to allow
three full attacks in a single turn however the damage per attack is minimal.
Burst Rifle Similar in size to a machine gun but with a much wider barrel, this weapons uses two different
kind of shells (known as bombs). The Fire Bomb produces good damage in a 2m area (can
affect 2 man-sized creatures standing next to each other) and a Stun Bomb which can stun
opponents. The player must state what types of ammunition are loaded into the weapon at all
times.
Heavy Machine A bigger version of the machine gun. Can do single sweep with heavy damage. Two sweeps at
Gun half damage.
Mini Missile An upgrade to the Micro-Missile launcher. Bigger missiles and longer range but with the
Launcher reduction in attack speed (can only attack once per turn). This weapons is considered both
Projectile and Rocketed.
Rocketed weapons typically use a large shells or small rockets for ammunition. They pack more punch than the
corresponding projectile weapons but are a fair bit heavier and bulkier. They are also louder weapons that are not
as well suited to covert operations as the other two classes of weapons. They are quite effective as vehicle killers as
their damage is hard to match.
Weapon Description
Grenade Rifle The only hand-held weapon which allows launching of grenades. It gives an additional bonus to
hit with grenades and has an extremely long range when compared to lobbing the grenades by
hand. Grenades are simply dropped into an opening near the back of the rifle for launching so
no ammunition needs to be actually kept in the rifle.
Grenade Mortar An upgrade to the Grenade Rifle but so big that it must be mounted to be used. Range and
accuracy are better than the Grenade Rifle.
Missile An upgrade to the mini-missile launcher this is the biggest in the line of missile launchers. Quite
Launcher heavy and relatively slow (only attacks once per turn) this weapons packs quite a bit of damage
into the missile. Excellent range on this weapons as well.
Cark Gun This is essentially the rocketed version of the Telex Pistol but with more damage and slightly
longer range. Both stun and damage are given in the same turn using the same shell.
Rocket Rifle A cross between a micro-missile and mini-missile launcher. Does more damage than the micro-
missile launcher and attacks twice in a single turn. Two attacks per turn makes this one of the
quicker rocketed weapons.
Rocket A cousin to the heavy machine gun but uses a barrage of mini-rockets on a belt instead of
Sweeper smaller projectile shells. This is a serious machine. It can do a single sweep with devastating
damage, two sweeps with powerful damage and three sweeps with respectable damage. Heavy
weapons and heavy cost for ammunition are its only drawbacks.
6.8 Ammunition
Ammunition is tracked on the front of the character sheet on a per weapon basis. Spare ammunition (as well as
ammunition loaded in a weapon) must also be tracked in the inventory section for proper weight tracking. For
projectile and rocketed weapons, a single shot causes a single piece of that ammunition to be used up. For energy
weapons its a bit different.
When consulting the Weapon Charts, a player will note that Energy weapons are specified as xd10y where x is the
number of d10 damage dice and y is the cost in energy units for that attack. This number of energy units must be
subtracted for each attack of that type (for example, a Blaster shows 4d10 2 in the Weapons chart and has two
attacks. This means that a player may attack with it 1 or 2 times in a single turn. Each time it attacks it drains 2
EU from the clip. If a player attacks twice in a single turn, the 2 EU is drained for each shot individually for a total
of 2EU + 2EU = 4EU drain.
Always subtract ammunition before rolling the attack. The CO has the right to negate the attack if the character did
not subtract (that is, if the character misses, they must subtract and still miss. If they hit, they must subtract and
roll again).
Electrical melee weapons still use ammunition even if the attack misses.
Characters should always track and make it known to the CO exactly what ammunition is stored in their weapon.
Some weapons can hold different types of ammunition depending of the characters preference (for example, the
Burst Rifle can use both Fire and Stun bombs) so making this clear will help avoid problems during combat. If it is
not stated, the CO gets to decide what type of ammunition is loaded. Also, as ammunition is used, it is up to the
characters to inform the CO that they are reloading back to the maximum ammunition amount. If not, characters
may find they run out of ammunition during a critical combat.
Projectile Weapons
Weapon Damage Stun P.B. Short Med Lng Ext Max Wt Hand #Atk Cost
Machine Gun 4d10/2d10x2 - 0-5 6-15 16-25 -80 -120 -150 100 2 1 450
T9 Pistol 2d10 - 0-5 6-15 16-25 -40 -60 -90 15 1 1 100
Micro Missile 3d10 - 0-10 11-15 16-30 -100 -140 -180 60 1 2 350
T9 Rifle 3d8 - 0-10 11-15 16-25 -80 -120 -150 55 2 1 200
Side-Winder 3d10 - 0-5 6-15 16-20 -40 -50 -60 80 1 1 800
Telex Pistol 4d10 2 0-10 11-15 16-20 -50 -80 -120 60 1 1 850
Tri-Star 2d10 - 0-15 16-30 31-80 -120 -150 -170 55 1 3 700
Burst Rifle 5d10 5 stun 0-10 11-15 16-25 -90 -130 -160 80 2 1 600
fire bomb bomb
Heavy M Gun 8d10/4d10x2 - 0-10 11-25 26-75 -100 -150 -180 200 2 1 1800
Mini Missile 6d10 - 0-5 6-25 26-75 -120 -170 -200 90 2 1 600
Treen-Kia 3d10 - 0-5 6-15 16-20 -40 -50 -60 80 1 1 N/A
Rocketed Weapons
Weapon Damage Stun P.B. Short Med Lng Ext Max Wt Hand #Atk Cost
Grenade Rifle As Gren Gren 5-20 21-55 56-75 -125 -150 -175 90 2 1 500
Gren Mortar* As Gren Gren 10-30 11-75 76-150 -200 -275 -350 400* 2 1 700
Mini Missile 6d10 - 0-5 6-25 26-75 -120 -170 -200 90 2 1 600
Missile 9d10 - 5-20 21-50 51-120 -170 -225 -350 500* 2 1 1900
Launcher*
Cark Gun 6d10 2 0-7 8-15 16-50 -90 -125 -160 95 2 1 1000
Rocket Rifle 4d10 - 0-5 6-25 26-75 -120 -170 -200 90 2 2 800
Rocket 12d10/ - 0-10 11-25 26-75 -120 -150 -180 250 2 1 2200
Sweeper 6d10x2/
4d10x3
An * indicates that it is a mounted weapon and cannot be wielded by players. It must be mounted on a tripod or a
vehicle mounting pin. A basic tripod costs 75cr and is reasonably portable.
6.10.1 Grenades
All Grenades have a weight of 10u each.
Note: The sleep is for 4d10 turns. The smoke will not dissipate for 3 turns.
Smoke grenades last 3 turns.
A character cannot use grenades in melee without taking damage themselves.
Grenades do double damage to structural stuff such as vehicles and doors/walls.
Grenades can be set to go off in 1 turn.
Blast grenades do 3d10 damage + stun in the same turn (reduce damage first before checking stun)
Poison Grenades do 3d10 damage for up to 4 turns as long as the opponent is in the blast area. Gas mask or a
Toughness check to avoid the damage each turn while in the affected area.
Sun grenades nearly blind an opponent for 1d8 turns which causes 40% on their hit % chances. Quickness is
also reduced by 5 during this time.
Torrent grenades will not harm inanimate objects.
The # of meters the blast radius is becomes the number of man sized creatures that can be affected by the
weapon. For Tiny creatures add 2. For small creatures add 1. For huge creatures subtract 1. It can never be
lower than 1. For example, using a Fragment Grenade with a blast radius of 3m can damage up to 3 man-
sized creatures in a small area. The CO always gets to determine if the opponents are close enough to be
affected.
Anyone involved in Melee with a Target will also be damaged by any weapon with a blast radius.
Weapons with a blast radius cannot be used against a melee opponent without the attacker taking damage.
Check Hit % separately for each person in the blast radius.
Also check the Combat section for details on negative modifiers for using two weapons and for using a weapons with
the off hand.
6.11 Stun
Stun strength is rated on a scale of 1 (minimal stun effect) to 10 (maximum stun effect). Weapons and other items
known to the Alliance (and most enemies) fall into this range. The CO could conceivably come up with some alien
weapon that would extend this range. Basically, the chart below determines the chance to stun an opponent. First,
round the targets Life Points up to the nearest 5 units and then consult the chart below. Life points run down the
first row and the Stun strength is across the top. Find the number in the chart corresponding to the Life points of
the opponent and the Stun strength used against them. The number obtained in the chart will be the percent
chance to actually stun the opponent. This is rolled as a separate d100 check.
The numbers in this chart represent the % chance to stun an opponent (d100 chance).
There is no defense against stun weapons (not even force or solar suit).
When consulting this chart, use the targets current Life Points rounded to the nearest 10 (not the amount they
started with).
Stun lasts for the indicated # of turns. Characters can be revived by a Medic using a single Omnicron (does not
count towards the 1 Omnicron per 20 hours for surgery nor does it raise the targets Life Points). It takes a full
turn to administer the Omnicron.
7 Combat
7.1 Combat Basic Concepts
One of the most often occurring concepts in the game is combat. It is a big part of what makes the game exciting.
Players usually must battle various opponents to attain their goal. While mental strategies are important, often they
cannot be carried out without use of force. Each player will have different talents when it comes to combat. Some
will be melee experts while others will have deadly aim with ranged weapons. Melee refers to any hand-to-hand
combat. This includes all melee weapon attacks, punching and forcing (grapple). Ranged combat refers to any
combat with a weapon that discharges some blast or projectile upon an opponent or thrown weapons such as
Grenades. Note that a character must be within 2 meters to fight in melee combat. If a character is close enough
to be in melee but is using ranged weapon, they are still considered to be attacking in ranged combat.
To determine if opponents hit each other, a Hit % will be established which will range from 1 (always miss) 100
percent (always hit) and a d100 will be rolled to determine if the opponent is successfully attacked (see Hit % later
in this section).
After a character hits an opponent, or when an opponent hits a character, a d100 is rolled to see the area that was
hit. There are various charts to determine where a character gets hit. Notice that there are different charts for both
melee and ranged. The most powerful areas to hit are the head, neck and stomach. The head provides double
damage while the neck is triple damage. In these cases, simply roll the damage dice (each weapon does some
particular damage, check the weapons charts later in this section) and multiply by X2 or X3 for the head or neck
respectively. The stomach gives +2 damage per dice of damage. Other areas that can be hit include the hands,
arms, legs and chest. The hands, arms and legs can only take so much damage before they are hurt. These charts
are located later in this section of the rules.
Melee weapon damage can be increased if a characters Strength is high enough. If the Strength chart shows a
bonus on damage, this bonus damage is added to the damage roll for each hit they inflict (not each dice rolled for
damage). This bonus is not added to punching or forcing damage as those damages are determined by the
Strength of the player anyway. Conversely, a very low strength would have a negative damage modifier that would
still be added to the damage (adding a negative value will lower the final damage).
1. The CO will determine secretly what the opponents will do this turn.
2. Players declare attackers + defense including declaring Combat Moves.
3. Roll Initiative.
4. Declare type and # of Attacks. All attacks must be declared before any attacks for that side take place and
cannot be changed (if two players attack a single opponent and the first player kills it, the second must still take
off ammunition for the attack).
5. Winning initiative can attack (see Attack Sequence). Damage is taken immediately.
6. Loosing initiative can attack (see Attack Sequence). Damage is taken immediately.
7. End of Turn
1. Subtract Ammunition
2. Calculate Hit % based on modifiers from the CO, etc.
3. Roll d100 to determine if the attack hits
4. If hit, roll d100 to determine area to be hit then roll damage.
If someone with the winning initiative kills or knocks out someone on the loosing initiative side, that killed or
knocked out opponent cannot attack. Winning initiative can be very desirable.
Combat can get confusing if the players are all shouting commands at the CO and trying to roll their dice to see if
they hit the opponents. The CO and the players should strive to keep things orderly. Declare attack only when the
CO asks specifically. Roll when asked and not before.
Initiative takes place every turn and is a big part of the combat process. There must be some way to determine
who attacks first in any given turn. Initiative decides this. Two d8 of different colors are rolled to determine who
attacks first. All players will be represented by one of the dice while all the opponents are represented by the other.
The side with the higher numbered die will attack first.
There are initiative modifiers that affect these rolls. Consulting the quickness chart one can see that a high
quickness can give an initiative bonus. This bonus is added to the dice rolled for that particular character only.
Because of this it is entirely possible that one character can attack first, the opponents attack next and then the rest
of the characters can attack at the end of turn. Encumbrance slows down a player and gives them a -1 initiative
modifier. If the dice end up in a tie, re-roll until the conflict is resolved.
For example, three characters attack three NPCs. One of the characters has a +1 on initiative rolls due to a high
Quickness score. One of the players (usually they take turns each combat turn unless one is designated to be the
permanent initiative roller) rolls both initiative dice with one color representing the characters and the other the
NPCs. The roll is 4-4 which means that the character with the +1 on initiative goes first. However, the rest of the
characters and the NPCs are still tied so a second roll is made and is 3-1 in favor of the NPCs. Therefore, the
character with the +1 initiative goes first, the NPCs second and finally the remaining two players attack.
7.2.1.1 Surprise
Surprise can also happen at the discretion of the CO. If the players sneak up on some opponents, they can roll the
initiative dice and if they win initiative, they will surprise and get 1 free turn of attacks. A surprise condition can
only happen at the discretion of the Commanding Officer and is not open to debate by players.
Only medics can perform surgery and they are always valuable assets to the party. If a player is permanently dead,
they must wait for the mission to end and then roll up a new character.
All damage taken to a character is cumulative it remains until the character heals or their life points are restored
(through Surgery). Damage taken in combat to a specific body area is also cumulative (it only matters for Arms,
Legs, Hands). This means that if a character takes 30pts of damage on this turn to their arm then take 20 pts of
damage to the same arm later, they have amassed 50 points of total damage to that arm (and hence must look
under the 50 pts area of the Damage Chart to determine what happens. Medics must state which damage is being
resolved during surgery (a player can split the Life Points recovery in any way that they wish).
In addition, if a player has a defense (such as a Force suit) that helps with the damage taken to a particular area.
For example, a player takes 50 points of damage to the left arm but has a force suit. They player (and the arm)
take 25 points of damage while the Force suit takes the other 25 (assuming the suit can withstand that amount of
damage).
improves ranged attacks while defending gives melee attackers a negative modifier on their hit % chances. See the
charts below and equipment section for details on the many hit % modifiers available).
When checking to see if an attack is successful, take the hit % (with any modifiers) and roll the d100 percentage
dice. If the number is less than or equal to the hit % then the attack was successful. Hit % rolls are always made
out in the open where all players and the CO can see the results.
In all cases, the maximum hit % is 95% and the minimum hit % is 5% (even with any and all modifiers applied).
Each weapon a character owns (for example, Makatare Saber, knife, Blaster, etc) and type of attack (punching,
grappling, etc) should be recorded on the front of the character sheet. Each should list the typical hit % as
determined by Strength (for melee hit %) and Sight (for ranged hit %) modified with any skills or other semi-
permanent modifiers the character has.
For example, if a character has a Makatare Saber with a base melee hit of 20% (Strength 12) and has Melee Skill
x30%, then that weapon would be listed as 50% in the hit % column. If that same player had a blaster with a base
ranged hit of 30% (Sight of 15) with no skills but had a tracking laser (+10% up to 100m) on the weapon then it
should be noted as having a hit % of 40%.
A low hit roll will usually cause some additional benefits as described here. This is known as a critical success. All
melee weapons will knock a person out on a hit % roll of 01-02. All ranged weapons will knock a person out on a
hit % roll of 01. A player can sneak up and hit someone on the head (regular % chance to hit) doing X2 damage /
With a blunt weapon: +25% knock out. Someone can only be knocked unconscious in this manner if their current
Life Points is under 30 (after damage is applied) and even then they can make a Toughness Check to avoid being
knocked out.
A high hit % roll will usually cause some undesired result with using a weapon. A roll of 100 will cause the weapon
to behave abnormally. The CO should consult the table to decide what action has taken place.
51-75 Misfire causing backlash and 1d10 damage to the attacking player. All defense suits help with this
damage.
76-98 Weapon misfires causing 1d10 damage to the attacking player and jams so that the player cannot attack
until the end of the next round.
99-100 Weapon misfires causing 2d10 damage to the player and is not functional. Tech can repair at 7 minutes
1 minute per Tech Skill level.
d100 Typical Thrown Weapon Critical Blunder Result (Grenades, Explosives, Rocks, etc)
01-50 Item was thrown way too far forward.
91-96 Item was thrown badly too short. Any players in front of this player by more than a few meters may be
accidentally hit.
97-100 Item slips and lands within a meter of the throwing player. If it is a explosive, damage is taken to the
player unless a Quickness check is made by that player in which case they receive only half damage.
d100 Typical Melee Weapon Critical Blunder Result (Saber, Sword, Knife, etc)
01-75 Overswing. Player looses initiative on the next round (they must attack at the end of the turn).
76-90 Bad Overswing. Player stumbles to the ground and needs a Quickness check to attack at the end of
next turn (loss of initiative) otherwise they cannot can not attack next turn.
91-98 Weapon slips to the ground. Takes a full turn to pick it up (no attack next turn).
99-100 Attack badly misses target and stumble occurs. Weapon accidentally back hits the attacker doing its
normal damage.
Damage Effect
1-20 Regular.
21-30 -10% to hit with that arm (melee and ranged)
31-40 Attack speed -1. Now 20% to hit with that arm.
41-50 Strength -5 for that arm + all of the above.
51-60 Smashed - it is useless but repairable.
61- Gone.
If the chart shows a negative modifier to hit with that arm, any weapon using that arm will have the negative
modifier including any two handed weapons. With two-handed weapons, either arm will affect the hit percent. Also,
if both arms have a 10% (for example) then wielding a two handed weapon would have 20% total.
If a character is hit in the arm that is holding their weapon, then they must make a strength check at +5 to hold on.
If the current turn of damage is over 30 points then there is no +5. This Strength check must be made each time
new damage is dealt to the Arm.
Damage Effect
1-20 Regular.
21-30 Move is down. 30% chance of falling for 1 turn.
31-40 Move is down. 50% chance of falling for 1 turn.
41-50 Limited Travel- after 1 hour of movement player must rest up for 30 minutes.
Character falls and is unable to move for 1 turn.
51-80 Useless - player moves at down and must rest 15 minutes every 5 minutes.
Character falls and is unable to move for 2 turns.
81- Gone. (Travel at 7/8 down only if Strength and Toughness combined are 35) Character
falls and is unable to move for 3 turns.
Damage Effect
1-10 Regular.
11-20 -10% Ranged
21-30 -30% Ranged
31-40 No ranged -10% melee.
41-50 No ranged -20% melee.
51- Gone.
If the chart shows a negative modifier to hit with that hand, any weapon using that hand will have the negative
modifier including any two handed weapons. With two-handed weapons, either hand will affect the hit percent.
Also, if both hands have a 10% melee (for example) then wielding a two handed weapon would have 20% total.
Area 2: Arms/Hands Area Hit percent is at 20% Player must choose Area 2
Right or Left
Melee Ranged
01-40 1-8 Arm 01-45 1-9 Arm
41-55 9-11 Hand 46-50 10 Hand
56-65 12-13 Stomach 51-60 11-12 Stomach
66-100 14-20 Chest 61-100 13-20 Chest
For melee, things are a bit different. There is only a limited amount of room available for wielding melee weapons
and only so much room for opponents to step up and attack a character. The following flanking chart is used:
Although all of these surrounding areas could be filled with man-sized opponents, more practically there can only be
4 or 5 man-sized opponents engaged in melee on a single target.
Characters can attack any opponent in the Front or side. The Rear and Flank areas cannot be reached unless the
character states they are turning around (which would rotate opponents who were in the front). Opponents who are
attacking from the Rear or Flank sides get the Attacking from Behind bonus of 20% to their To Hit %.
The CO needs to adjust this chart for creatures that are smaller or larger than man-sized. For large creatures,
perhaps only three or four could attack the character at a single time and for huge creatures perhaps only two (one
from the front and the other from the rear).
For the reasons above, it is important that the characters state where they are standing/facing when engaged in
combat (and it should be generally known to the CO how the players are arranged at all times so that surprise
attacks by NPCs can be coordinated by the CO). Small figurines or cardboard cutouts can help aid in showing the
CO how the characters and NPCs are arranged.
Also, it is important for the characters to tell the CO what weapons are currently being held and at what settings
these weapons are on (for example, a Blaster can be on either low or high power).
Description Modifier
Target has Light Cover (Behind small bush, etc) -10%
Target has Hard Cover (Behind rock, behind vehicle) -20%
Target has Max. Cover (In small alcove) -35%
Target Lying Prone -5% (-5% Prone Character also)
Target Running -10%
Target Dodging -20%
Attacker Using Wrong Hand -20%
Attacker Using 2 weapons at Once -25% on each weapons attack (in
addition to wrong hand modifiers)
7.8.3 Range
Each ranged weapon (as described in the Weapons section) has specific ranges. The modifiers below are based on
the distance from the attacker to the opponent.
7.8.4 Melee
Action Modifier
Attack from behind +20%
Target is dazed +20%
Target Defending -20%
Target Asleep or Stunned Automatic Hit
After adding up all of the +'s it maxes out at 100%. Then all of the -'s apply.
After all +s and 's are applied, if the To Hit % is less than 5% then To Hit % becomes 5%. If it is over 90% then
it becomes 90%. Finally if Careful Aim was stated then that gets added on after the adjustments. (ie: if at 5%
then it becomes 20%). There should be no exceptions to this rule and the CO is asked not to make modifications
unless clearly in the best interest of the situation (such as allowing an automatic hit in melee on a sleeping or
stunned opponent).
For example, two of a characters comrades are fighting an opponent in melee. If the character fires a ranged
weapon at one of the opponents and has a 30% to hit, then a roll of 31-35% will actually hit friendly comrade #1
and a roll of 36-40% will hit friendly comrade #2.
A Tracking laser attached to a weapon will lower this by 1% (that is, the 5% chance is reduced to 4% chance to hit
a friendly participant in combat). Remember that there is a range limitation on the Tracking laser.
Every level of a ranged weapon skill will lower this by 1%. That is, a player with Ranged Weapons 2 nd level would
only have 3% to hit a friendly participant (2% if the same player has a tracking laser or 1% with all of the above
and careful aim). At 4th level (without tracking laser or careful aim) it would drop to 1% (5% - 4% = 1%). This can
be reduced to 1% if modifiers so allow but there will always be a 1% of hitting a friendly target.
To switch weapons: If worn (weapons are normally worn) or in backpack, Quickness check to attack at the
end of the turn. If located on the magnabelt then 1 quickness check to attack regular
else at end of turn.
To run into melee: If the character is within running distance (1 turn) then a Quickness check must be
made to attack at end of the turn. If they are within walking distance then the check
is at +2.
To switch Weapon Quickness check to attack regular. If failed then must attack end of turn.
settings:
To Drop Equipment: To drop equipment in a characters hands it takes no time. To drop any other worn
equipment takes turn and a full turn for anything in a backpack (for example, if a
character wishes to unload some equipment in their backpack to become
unencumbered).
Toss a Weapon to another Takes Full turn for the throwing character and turn for the receiving character.
Character: Requires a quickness check by both to complete the throw or else it takes the
remaining turn by the receiving character to pick up the weapon. If successful, the
receiving character can attack at the end of turn.
Shouting Instructions in Takes no time. A character cannot use any attack which requires concentration
Combat: (careful aim, mind attacks, etc).
Use an item stored in the Takes a full turn. Quickness check to attack normally next turn otherwise end of next
backpack: turn.
Recover a Dropped Takes turn. Can use at end of turn.
Weapon:
Careful aim is a very powerful ranged attack modifier. Simply stating careful aim gives a character +15% to hit
(+30% with a scope in medium or further range). The character cannot attack the turn they state careful aim but
they get to attack first on the following turn. The character must state careful aim at the beginning of the turn.
Dodge Move at walking speed with no attack. There is a -25% for someone to hit the dodging character.
Run Move at run speed. Attack speed is lowered by 1. They have -10% to hit the running character
and the running character has 10% hit opponents. If attack speed falls below 1, the character
can only attack every other turn.
Fighting Move at walking speed. The character withdrawing can continue to fight at -5% to hit.
Withdrawal
Careful Aim Shoot every other turn. This gives the character +15% to hit. They get to attack first on the turn
after they stated "careful aim". (The character gets +30% with a scope in medium or further
range) Careful Aim is added after all other modifiers are applied (so if the To Hit % with modifiers
dropped below 5%, it would be adjusted to 5% and the +15% would be added on top of that
giving a 20% to hit).
Defending The player defending cannot attack. It gives opponents -30% hit. Note, block attack is
more effective if your character has a high hit %.
Disarming The disarming character will have -10% to hit. The opponent must make a Strength check
or drop his weapon. With two-handed weapons it is -30% to hit for the disarming
character.
Fighting Withdrawal Move at walking speed. The character can continue to attack at -5% to hit.
Block Attack The characters hit % is halved and the opponents hit % is reduced by your halved hit %.
This only works on up to 2 melee attackers - not ranged. Note, melee reverse wont work
if using this special maneuver. For example, if a characters normal hit % is 50%, then
their hit percent will be reduced to 25% and the opponents will be reduced by the other
25%.
Step In Attack If a character is in melee range with a second character and that second character wishes
to flee, the first character may step in and block any advancing opponents while the second
character escapes. The opponents can make a strength check (which can be countered by
the stepping-in character strength check) to bypass the blockade.
To knock someone out their current Life Points must be under 30. With punching and grappling there is no chance
of a Toughness check to counter the knock out. (See knocking out with weapons below...)
7.9.2 Punching
Punching is done as two separate attacks (2 fists). Damage and knock out chances are applied to each blow landed.
Normal two weapons negative modifiers do not apply to punching (since punching is a natural attack).
To attempt a grapple a character must make a Force % check (based on Strength). If successful, the opponent
can make their Force % to counter the grapple attempt. If the opponent fails, then that opponent is
successfully grappled. If the grappling attempt fails the grappling players attack is done for that turn but the
opponent can still attack normally.
Once grappled, the opponent will take punching damage (including the first turn grappled) and is subject to the
punch KO % (subject to the same rules as described above) each turn.
Each turn the grappled opponent can try to break free by rolling his current Force %, but the forcing character
may elect make another Force % check to counter this. This occurs at the very beginning of the round (before
any initiative is rolled) and if the player breaks free with the original player failing the re-containment, that
formally grappled player can attack normally this turn while the player who initiated the grapple cannot attack
this turn. If a grappled opponent rolls his force % (to break free) the holding player may elect not to try and
re-contain. If this occurs, the holding player takes punching damage from the opponent however both the
player and the opponent can attack normally this turn.
Breaking a grapple will do punching damage to the player who grappled the opponent (no damage is dealt if the
initial grapple fails).
If an opponent is grappled, then attacks on him/her are at +25% to hit, however if the ranged attack misses
the opponent, then there is a 25% that the grappler is actually hit instead.
The Force % can also be used to push or pull someone. A character must pass their check and the opponent
must fail his just as in normal force %. Note, this does not hold the opponent as normal grapple, it just causes
the push or pull to work.
Half/Quarter maneuver for Unarmed Combat: A character may cut their Force % in half to make the opponent
have a - of his Force %.
A character may attempt to grapple two man-sized opponents if they are willing to cut their force % for each of
them in half (for example if the normal force % for a character was 60%, then it would be 30% force applied
to each opponent).
Note: Force% cannot exceed 95% or fall below 5% even with modifiers.
1 2 3
8 T 4
7 6 5
Note: This is only to see where it lands, it has no effect on what it hits based on the grenades blast radius.
See the Equipment section for details on equipment for putting out fire.
The CO should use this list as a starting point for assigning structure to doors and walls in their mission.
CO: A Zarganaut general struts into the room. He looks very tough. You notice his Treen-Kia
shimmers at his side.
Player: I quickly unclip my saber from my belt, ignite it and take a mighty swing at his head (Area 1).
CO: A sense of fear mounts in the Zarganauts eyes as he reaches for his Treen-Kia. Roll.
Player: (rolls a 23) Hit! (rolls again for area chart and gets a 42) That got him!
CO: The Zarganaut takes your saber directly to his head.
Player: (rolls 32 points of damage).
CO: The Zarganauts head rolls clean off. There is a dull thud as his head hits the ground followed
shortly by the rest of his body.
As a player, you should strive to create excitement in the combat sequence (as well as in every area of the game)
and as a CO you should encourage players to describe in detail the things they want to do.
Note, only characters receive Experience Points. NPCs and Robots do not receive any experience at the end of the
mission.
The CO must determine how many Mission Points to assign to each character as the mission progresses. Some
examples of handing out Mission Points follows:
1 Some vital clue to the mission success was discovered or multiple small actions were successfully
accomplished.
1-2 Some large obstacle was overcome (success in combat, success in a dangerous area, etc.)
Remember, that the CO will only give the Mission Points to those characters who are involved with one of the above
actions. If a party of four characters engage in combat but only three attack and the fourth hides because they are
significantly wounded, any Mission Points given will only be given to the characters actually involved. However, if
the same wounded character attempts to help with the combat and knocked unconscious early in the combat
sequence, they should still be included in any Mission Point distribution.
Also, many smaller actions can gain Mission Points. For example, if a particular character has used their Technician
Skill to open several key doors in an enemy base area, they might be given a Mission Point by the CO. Even if a
single action does not warrant a Mission Point, several actions taken together might be enough. The CO must keep
a watchful eye for these situations.
The CO should keep track of Mission Points for each character on their CO Sheet (described in the CO section). It
should not be known to players. Players will find out how many Mission Points they have received at the end of the
mission. This also gives the CO an opportunity to adjust the Mission Points slightly at the end of the mission if they
feel too many or too few were given out.
The CO should give out Mission Points sparingly. Even a character who does everything correctly during a fairly long
mission would typically not get more than about 15 or 20 Mission Points except on very rare occasions. Missions
which are particularly long should also yield more Mission Points and shorter missions would yield less.
In addition, the CO should always reward those players who actually role-palyed their characters well. Instead of
giving boring renditions of what their characters will do, some players will act out and give good detail on their
actions. Its much more fun for a CO to hear OK Ill quickly sneak up behind the center console and when I hear
him walk by Ill let out a blood-curtailing yell and jump him from behind rather than Ill attack as soon as he is in
the room. Players who role-play well should be given an extra Mission point or two just to let them know their
effort is appreciated.
The character with the most Mission Points gets the Success Cross for the mission (see Heroic Medals).
Medals are for decoration only and are not otherwise used in the game except that at the end of the mission the player
who obtains the most Mission Points will receive the Success Cross medal and receive one share of extra pay for the
mission. This indicates that their performance during the mission was exceptional.
9 Vehicles
9.1 Vehicle Basics
Vehicles help characters in many ways. They allow characters to cover territory much faster than by foot. They
help to protect the characters inside the vehicles strong armoring and allow extra (and bulky) equipment to be
safely stored. Many vehicles allow mounted weapons so that they can be fired from directly inside the cockpit.
The many worlds of Strike Force have virtually every type of vehicle imaginable. They can be equipped with almost
any weapon and a host of other nice features. The vehicles described here represent the most popular vehicles in
the known galaxy (those available to be purchased by characters). They are tough, fast and well suited to a variety
of Strike Force tasks.
Mechanical Inclination is the basis for determining how well a character pilots a vehicle. The Technician and Piloting
Skills improve the characters natural piloting ability.
In addition, Sight and Quickness increases the base piloting scores. Piloting is broken down into three categories
Vehicle Attack, Vehicle Dodge and Overall Vehicle Piloting.
Vehicle Attack is the chance to hit with vehicle-mounted weapons. Vehicle Dodge is the negative modifier
opponents have when attacking that character in vehicle combat (players want this dodge to be as negative as
possible!) and the Overall Vehicle Piloting score is the % chance to perform special piloting maneuvers and is a
combination of the previous two values (Attack and Dodge see below).
Piloting scores are recorded on the backside of the character sheet. Players should consult the Pilot Rank Chart to
determine which rank category their character falls into. An Overall Piloting score of 45-60 is considered average.
Above 80 is considered superior.
Note: When looking at the vehicles in the sections to follow, there will be a Vehicle Maneuver for each vehicle. A
negative for this attribute means that the vehicle is more easily maneuvered. A plus indicates that it is sluggish.
Simply add this value to the above Dodging score when piloting that vehicle (adding a negative value lowers the
dodge, which is the desired result).
The vehicle must be moving equal to or faster than its cruise speed. (i.e. its top speed) If under it's cruise speed
then dodge is cut in half. If the vehicle is not moving, there will be no dodge modifier (since the pilot is not actually
piloting they are just sitting in the cockpit).
A Vehicle Piloting check (d100) is made whenever the player attempts to perform some special maneuver with the
vehicle. All maneuver checks are at subject to modification by the Commanding Officer.
For example, a character is piloting a IPF and is a dogfight with an opponent IPF. The Opponent tries to escape by
piloting his ship through a small series of canyons. The character tries to follow piloting to not hit the canyon walls.
Each turn through the canyons, each pilot must make an Overall Piloting check (d100) to determine if they
successfully navigate the canyon. In addition, the ships can attack each other (assuming the leading IPF can shoot
directly backwards). The CO should control these types of situations but should let the players imaginations
determine their actions.
Once a player has the Piloting skill, if that same player has any Technician skill (any level), that increases the
effective Piloting level by 1 (and only 1).
For Example:
Pilot 0 Tech 2 = Effective Pilot 0
Pilot 2 Tech 0 = Effective Pilot 2
Pilot 2 Tech 3 = Effective Pilot 3
Pilot 6 Tech 6 = Effective Pilot 7
A character may only use a vehicle if they have the required pilot level. If another player can help (that is, if the
cockpit allows 2 pilots) then they may increase their level by 1 (do NOT add the two levels together, having another
pilot simply improves the main pilot by 1 level). Only one pilot (the main pilot) actually makes the checks and pilots
the vehicle the other is just there as a helper (co-pilot).
Up to 2 parabatteries can be connected in series so that when one runs out, the other kicks in immediately. No
more than 2 can ever be hooked up at a time.
9.1.9 Crashing
When a vehicle crashes into some hard object (rock, wall, etc) the damage to the vehicle is 1d10 per 20 meters/turn
traveled by the vehicle. Players take the half this damage unless a piloting check is made by the pilot in which case
the players will take 1/3 the total damage. Consult the Sprains/Breaks chart to determine what body area is damaged.
This damage can be modified by the CO depending on what is being crashed into.
9.1.10 Ramming
When two vehicles collide, combine the two ships speeds and the damage to each ship is 1d10 per 20 meters/turn
traveled. Players take the damage unless a piloting check is made by the pilot which will cause them to only take
1/3 the damage. The rammer can only be hit in the hull while the opponent can be hit in any area.
9.1.11 Bumping
This requires that the pilot make their piloting check and the opponent fails his. (This may be modified by the CO) This
will sway the opponent 2d10 meters and after that the opponent will gain back 10 meters in the same turn.
9.1.13 Explosions
When the Engines of any vehicle is damaged there is a chance of explosion within the vehicle. The following chart is
used when the explosion occurs (see the individual Vehicles for % chances of explosions when the Engines are hit).
This is the damage to both the vehicle and to characters in the vehicle.
With any explosion, there is a 40% of a fire starting which is 3d10 in size and grows at the rate of 1d6 per turn
(modifiable by the CO).
With a mounting pin a weapon can be mounted during a mission in the field. It takes 20 minutes with a mounting pin.
Without a mounting pin, field upgrades are not possible. It can only be done at the Alliance of Planets.
Total Squadron
0-35 Green
36-44 Blue
45-55 Grey
56-72 Red
73-80 Silver
81-88 Gold
89-93 Green Leader
94-98 Blue Leader
99-110 Grey Leader
111-120 Red Leader
121-130 Silver Leader
131 + Gold Leader
If a vehicle is moving and is reduced to zero or less structure points then the ship will slow down at 50m/turn until it
stops. If it was moving and was damaged below -20 structure points then the players take 2d10 pts of damage and
the Vehicle Explosion Chart should be consulted.
When a Technician wants to repair a vehicle, they must state which areas are being repaired as the points of repair take
effect. As the repair occurs, damage to areas of the vehicle will be reduced in direct proportion to the increase of
structure of the vehicle. Therefore, when the vehicle is completely repaired, the structure will be at its maximum value
and there will be no damage to any area of the vehicle.
d100 Effect
01-10 Vehicle decelerates at deceleration rate of the vehicle in a straight path.
11-20 Vehicle decelerates at deceleration rate of the vehicle curving to the right.
21-30 Vehicle decelerates at deceleration rate of the vehicle curving to the left.
31-40 Vehicle will continue at the current rate moving straight.
41-50 Vehicle will continue at the current rate moving right.
51-60 Vehicle will continue at the current rate moving left.
61-70 Vehicle will accelerate moving straight.
71-80 Vehicle will accelerate moving right.
81-90 Vehicle will accelerate moving left.
91-100 Vehicle will jack-knife doing 6d10 damage to the vehicle and anyone inside.
9.1.28 Insurance
If a player rents a vehicle they can buy insurance for it. If a player rents a vehicle and does not buy insurance and the
vehicle gets destroyed then the player must pay for the whole vehicle it after the mission is over.
If a player owns a vehicle they can buy insurance to cover the current cost if it gets destroyed.
A list of all Strike Force vehicles are compiled in the Technology of the Alliance handbook. Additional vehicles can be
created as the game evolves.
The alliance has quite a storehouse of technology. Computers, robots and starships are common through the alliance
territories. There have also been recently developed site-to-site transporters which are very expensive and use lots of
energy but are able to transport a small group of man-sized beings from one location to another. Typically, the range is
limited to a few kilometers.
Characters cannot obtain or afford much of the bigger equipment and technology of the alliance but two things a
character can own are Computers and Robots. These are specialty pieces of equipment. Although a bit more
expensive than standard equipment, they tend to be the most useful of aids to characters on missions.
10.1 Computers
Computers are typically mounted in vehicles although small computers called mini-comps (with only a few programs)
can be toted around with the player. Programs can be purchased for the computer which work in specific ways. There
are programs to control vehicles, weapons, analyze soil samples, translate languages, handle security, etc.
Most players that buy a vehicle would eventually purchase a computer for mounting inside. A good quality computer in
the vehicle will make the vehicle much more valuable to the character. The Technology of the Alliance handbook has a
full section on Computers, their prices and descriptions.
10.2 Robots
Robots are companions of the players and can be equipped with nearly every piece of equipment that players can.
There are 5 basic types of robots Dombular, Worker, Humanoid, Standard and Streamlined. They are all basically
humanoid shaped to some extent (although Humanoid robots are the most life-like and also the most expensive). For
each robot, programs can be purchased which work much like skills do for characters. For example, an Attack program
can be purchased from Lv1 to Lv6 that almost exactly mimics the weapons skill for a character. Robots are not just
limited to attack/defense programs there are plenty of other skills such as Medic, Speech, Tech, Tracking, etc which
can be purchased. Each of the 5 types of robots has their strengths and weaknesses when it comes to programs so
check out the Robot Programs chart closely before deciding on a Robot body type. In addition to programs, robots are
excellent at carrying large amounts of equipment and supplies. They are valuable in combat and players often come
to think of their robot as a separate but powerful character.
The Technology of the Alliance handbook has a full section on Robots, their prices and descriptions.
11 NPCs
NPCs come in a variety of sizes and shapes. NPCs are virtually any being encountered during the mission who is not
a player character (although robots belonging to a character are not really considered NPCs). An NPC might be a
governor at some local spaceport, a barkeep at the main planetary saloon, a dog encountered behind an alleyway or
just about any creature in the universe who happens across the players paths during missions.
Typically NPCs are Zarganauts and other various Creatures as described in the Creatures of the Universe handbook
(a companion to this handbook). As COs create missions, more and more creatures will be available in the
universe. These creatures should be appended to the back of the Creatures of the Universe handbook.
Dromes The Dromes were the first major space-faring enemy of the humans.
Life Points 50 They have large streamlined heads with big round black eyes. Their
Move 17m/turn skin is smooth and gray. They have humanoid bodies with
exceptionally long arms. They once lived in very structured
Size Man
technological societies but are now all but extinct (very few remain).
Inhabits Any They must always use energy swords (specially designed for Dromes)
Base 45% in melee. They do 4d102 damage that acts as regular swords when the
Ranged laser energy clip runs out. They are notorious for enslaving creatures
Base Melee 45% of any useable type. (They once help captive most of the Budgie Tops
# Attacks As Weapon and the Xorns).
Damage As Weapon
Although this race is believed to be extinct, a few Dromes survive in
Disposition -8
remote locations throughout the galaxy. Some Dromes have high
Frequency Very Rare expectations that the remaining members of their race will band
# 1-2 together and rise up to regain their once great supremacy in the
Appearing galaxy.
Intelligenc High
e
Technology F
Attribute Description
Life Points A creatures life points indicates how much damage they can receive before dying. This is
usually based on creature size, but not always.
Creature Move This indicates how fast the creature moves over their natural terrain (modified using the
Terrain Movement chart or can be modified by the CO). This is their maximum speed,
quarter that for normal walking (of equivalent of walking for non-humanoid creatures).
Creature Inhabits Typical habitat of the creature. For example, bats usually are found in caves, Snakes in
grassy dens and Bennehops in lush forests.
Base Ranged Chance to hit with ranged weapon attacks. For some intelligent creatures, this can be
modified with acquired skills.
Base Melee Chance to hit with melee weapons or natural attacks. For some intelligent creatures, this
can be modified with acquired skills.
# Attacks Number of attacks this creature gets normally (unless using a standard weapons in that
case consult the weapon charts).
Damage Natural damage produced by the creature. For normal weapons consult the weapons charts.
Disposition Disposition is a 20-point scale ranging from 10 (very hostile) to 0 (neutral) to +10
(friendly).
Frequency How rare the creature is. Ranges from Very Rare to Rare to Uncommon to Common.
# Appearing Typical number of creatures appearing in a single encounter. This may vary widely.
Intelligence Rough estimate to relative intelligence of the creature. Ranges from Low (or nil) to
Average to High to Superior. Alliance level is considered High.
Technology Rough estimate as to relative Technology of the creatures as a race. This is not the same as
intelligence. Some fairly unintelligent races have access to advanced technology. Other
highly intelligent (perhaps even superior intelligent) races may never have developed the
need for technology (or did at one time but are advanced beyond that). Ranges as follows:
All characters automatically know the four languages of the Alliance Human, Shim, Xorn and Budgie Top. The
Alliance of Planets is so prevalent that many other well-known races in the galaxy will speak one of the Alliance
languages so that business transitions can be more easily accomplished.
12 Missions
12.1 Example Mission Sequence
The following is an example of a sample mission sequence just to see how one is played. We pick up in the middle
of a typical Strike Force mission sequence.
The players involved are Yak A Xorn a captain with an attitude. Mission commander Flan also a Xorn with a
much more even keel. General Havik A human general with good combat skills and Lieutenant Hawk a Budgie
Top with incredible strength.
[Background] Yak had just about enough of this planet. He was upset by at the party's arrest back at Omega
city and when he found out that while he and his friends were sitting in an electro-plasma jail cell,
some of their valuable equipment had been stolen. He wanted to complete this mission and inflict
some damage on someone soon. Mission commander Flan was a bit calmer but also wanted to get
this mission back on track. He knew that without their medical equipment and laser weapons they
were not going to get far. General Havik and Lt. Hawk were ready to go but their spirits were also
dampened by their loss of equipment. Through a reliable source they discovered that their stolen
goods was already being processed for sale on this planets local "black market". As they sailed
out to the black market in General Flan's badly scarred hovercar, they wondered if their depleted
weapon supply would be enough. The party arrived 20 minutes early to surprise the approaching
black market trucks. Their hovercar is safely hidden between two lush trees.
[Flan] OK, first I detach my blaster rifle from the front of the hovercar for use in long-ranged combat.
[CO] Fine, that will take a few minutes. What do the rest of you want to do.
[Havik] Im waiting just behind the hovercar. Ready to take careful aim with my blaster when the trucks
come by.
[CO] Fine.
[Yak] Ill keep ready with my Machine Gun. Damm I only have 3 rounds left. Ill keep my machete
close at hand as well.
[Hawk] Well, all my ranged weapons are in those trucks, I have my Makatare saber ready and take cover
behind one of the trees. While Im there Ill look for anything out of the ordinary.
[CO] Fine. A few minutes goes by while Flan removes the blaster rifle from the front of the hovercar.
[CO rolls some dice behind the screen to check Hawks sight for his search request even if there
is nothing to find, the motions are done anyway so that the player is not clued into the fact that
there is nothing to find] Hawk, you discover nothing unusual in the brushy area you are
searching.
[Hawk] OK, Ill just wait then.
[CO] Anyone else [Players are quiet] OK. A few minutes later two large cloth-covered trucks are
making their way down the road. The second is towing a small two-wheeled trailer with an tri-pod
mounted. There is nothing attached to this tri-pod mounting.
[Flan] How many men do we see?
[CO] From what you can see there is one driver in each vehicle. Just then the vehicles stop short.
[Hawk] This doesnt look good!
[CO] Two men jump out of the back of the first covered vehicle and two from the second. The second
two are toting a rather large Laser Cannon and are jumping on the attached trailer. They appear
to be mounting the Cannon. The first two are taking cover. Both pilots are stepping out of the
vehicle as well but wont be out until next turn.
[Flan] Were spotted! Attack.
[CO] OK. Roll for initiative!
[Hawk] Ill roll it. [Hawk takes 2d8 and rolls them a 3 for the opponents and a 4 for the players] Got it!
[CO] Great. It appears as if it will take until the end of the turn for the two mounting the Laser Cannon
to attack anyway. The other guy who took cover has a blaster ready to attack. The two pilots are
still getting out of the vehicle and cant attack until next turn. Declare your attacks.
[Flan] Ill take the shot with the blaster rifle on one of the guys mounting the Cannon.
[Hawk] Id better get into melee. Ill run into closer range this turn. Ill head for the second vehicle
right for the pilot!
[CO] Fine.
[Yak] Ill take two sweeps with my machine gun on the other guy mounting the Laser Cannon.
[Havik] Ill take careful aim with my blaster one the same guy as Yak is attacking this turn.
[CO] OK. Flan, roll your attack.
[Flan] I have a 60% to hit with the Phaser Rifle. [Flan removes the appropriate ammunition from the
laser clip and takes the d100 percentile dice and rolls them a 46 comes up] A hit!
[CO] Great. Roll to see where you hit and roll damage.
[Flan] [Flan takes the d100 percentile dice again and rolls them a 71 comes up and the combat areas
chart is consulted] A hit to the Left Leg. Damage is [Flan rolls the 6d10 damage for the Phaser
Rifle since it was set on Full and adds the result of all dice] 32 points of damage! Do we need to
consult the damage charts?
[CO] Nope. He falls to the ground apparently dead. Yak?
[Yak] Great shot Flan! Ill roll my two attacks on my guy Ive got a 45% to hit with each sweep. [Yak
reduces his Machine Gun ammunition by one and takes the d100 percentile dice and rolls them a
62 comes up] Damm A miss. Second sweep [Yak takes the d100 again and rolls a 51] Another
miss! Thats it for me.
[CO] OK, tough rolls. Hawk you are still running into melee range. Havik, you are taking careful aim
and can attack next turn. The two getting out of the vehicle cockpits and the remaining guy
setting up the Laser Cannon cant attack until next turn but the other two attack with blasters.
The first one is attacking Flan and the second is attacking the charging Hawk. First one with a
30% to hit [CO subtracts ammo on his CO sheet and rolls a d100 yielding a 23] hits! [CO rolls
another d100 a 65 indicating that the Left Leg was hit the damage for a blaster is 4d10 so
these are rolled yielding 23]. Flan takes 23 points to the Left Leg. The second shot is [The CO
rolls a d100 this time a 47] missed!
[Flan] [Flan, subtracts 23 from his life points and gives 23 points of damage to his leg] Well, that leg is
down now. Lets get these guys!
[CO] Not so fast, the second guy attacks Hawk but has a 10% due to his running. The first attack
[The CO rolls a 96] Big time miss! The second shot is [The CO rolls an 09] hit! The attack hits the
[The CO rolls a 02 indicating a head shot] head! Damage is doubled. [The CO rolls 4d10 with 21
as the result]. 21 doubled is 42 total points of damage. Hawk staggers but remains on his feet.
[Hawk] [Hawk stubbornly subtracts 42 from his Life Points total] Hey guys Im now down to 16 Life
Points. I could use a little help.
[CO] All right, next round begins. Havik, you can attack first since you took careful aim. The rest of
you will need an initiative roll. [Flan takes the d8 initiative dice and rolls them an 8 for the
players and a 2 for the opponents] Easy! Good rolling, Flan. Hawk, you can make a quickness
check to leap up on the platform and attack at the beginning of round, otherwise end of round.
[Hawk] Fine. I have a 13 Quickness. [Hawk takes 3d8, rolls them and adds the total to get an 11] Got
it no problem!
[CO] Great. I know what Hawk and Havik are doing, what are the others doing.
[Flan] [Flan, subtracts 23 from his life points and gives 23 points of damage to his leg] Well, that leg is
down now. Lets get these guys! Ill attack one of the two guys who stepped out of the first
vehicle. Yak, you better get the other guy with him as Hawk can probably take his guy.
[Yak] Sounds good. Ill take a single sweep on my guy Again, Ive got a 45% to hit. [Yak reduces his
Machine Gun ammunition by one and takes the d100 and rolls a 45 hits] Finally! Ok, damage is
[Yak rolls a d100 to determine area to be hit 15 which is the chest. Yak then rolls 4d10
damage and adds the results] 32 points of damage!
[CO] Good damage. Unfortunately, its not enough. He is badly wounded but not dead. Flan?
[Flan] [Flan rolls and hits for 44 points of damage] Did that get him?
[CO] Yep! Hes blown away. Hawk, you can attack the 2 nd pilot now.
[Hawk] [Hawk subtracts ammunition from his clip for the Makatare Saber attack and rolls and hits in the
Neck for 93 points of damage] Dont tell me he survived that! Havik?
[CO] No way His head hits the ground with a dull thud just before the rest of his body does.
[Havik ] OK, Ive got careful aim for a total hit % of 65 on both shots. [Havik rolls a 12 and a 66 only
one shot hits and he rolls area (chest) and hits for 29 points of damage] .
[CO] Not enough, hes badly messed up but still lives. You notice that the first pilot abandons his plans
to get out of the vehicle. Apparently rattled by the obvious overpowering of the battle and seems
to be starting up the vehicle again. Everyone notices this except Hawk who is too close to the
action.
[Yak] Hes going to get the hell out of here.
[Flan] Our equipment! Ill start running for the vehicle.
[CO] OK, the guy at the laser cannon fires at Havik. He has a 40% to hit which includes cover Havik
has. [The CO rolls an 03] Hit! [The CO rolls again to determine hit area this time its the right
arm] He hits you in the right arm for [CO rolls 10d10 Laser Cannon damage and adds the results]
52 points of damage! Since you dont have a force suit, your arm is smashed!
[Havik ] Now Im pissed!
[CO] The second guy attacks with his blaster one shot on Yak. [CO rolls the attack and areas hit as
appropriate] He hits for 25 points in the chest. Yak, you have a force suit, right?
[Yak] Yes. The suit takes 13 and I take 12 points of damage.
[CO] All right Flan, you can make a Quickness Check at 2 followed by a regular Strength Check to
jump and hold on to the back of the now moving vehicle.
[Flan] My Quickness is normally 15 so its 13 for this check. [Flan rolls 3d8 and gets a 10] Made that
one. My Strength is a 16. [Flan rolls 3d8 again and gets a 16] just barely made it!
[CO] Good job Flan. You jump up to the back of the vehicle and barely hang on as the vehicle speeds
up. You notice the vehicle is beginning to twist back and forth to try and shake you off. Things
are getting interesting!
Will Hawk, Havik and Yak be able to subdue the remaining two thugs? Will Flan hang on to eventually stop the pilot
and recover the stolen equipment? These events are played out and only the players actions and the COs story will
decide their fate.
12.2.2 Plot
The player should give high scores if plot was interesting and moved forward as the mission progressed. If the story-
line was choppy or hard to follow, lower scores should be given.
12.2.4 Challenge
This is the overall challenge of the mission. Was it too tough or too easy (give low scores) or was the balance just right
(high scores).
12.2.5 Climax
If the mission ended with a bang or a particularly memorable encounter area then high marks should be given. If not,
low scores should be given.
Some people feel that being the CO is the best part of Strike Force. The CO has ultimate creative control in
producing a movie script which the characters will play. This creative force requires much more time and effort
than simply playing, but the fun of world-design and the imagination that is used in creating the scenarios makes up
for the added effort. Its a great feeling to finish a mission that you have created and know the players really
enjoyed themselves.
The CO will determine the hardness after the mission, but they should provide some gauge as to who their mission is
geared for. The following chart is suggested for COs rating their missions.
The evaluation of the mission ranges from 1 (poor) to 10 (excellent). The evaluation sheet must be filled out by all
players and the individual scores are averaged to produce an average score of 1-10. A sample of the evaluation sheet
is attached as an appendix to these rules.
Energy weapons have a sound at least as loud as a person shouting. Projectile weapons are a threshold above that
rocketed weapons just above that. Melee weapons are relatively quiet compared with ranged weapons.
When a player asks the CO to listen for something, the CO should determine if it is reasonable for the player to hear
something. Common sense by the CO should dictate this.
Strength checks should be made whenever the player tries to physically alter items or move heavy objects.
Sight checks are used to notice details or find hidden items.
Intellect checks are used when the mind is challenged in some way.
Quickness checks are made whenever dexterity is required (jumping, grasping, throwing).
Personality checks are made when encountering intelligent or semi-intelligent beings where the CO has not
already predetermined the outcome.
Toughness checks are made when the character has had a system-shock (poison, electrocution, rapid
exposure to extreme heat or cold, etc).
The table below shows some basic and common actions that can be taken by the players and suggestions for checks
which should be assigned by the CO. For all other actions (and there is an endless supply of actions which are
limited only by the players imagination), the CO will use this table as a guideline along with common sense. The CO
must make it challenging, but as realistic as possible.
Again, all these rolls can be modified by the CO based on the circumstances. For example, climbing in extremely
cold and wintry weather would incur negative modifiers on Strength and/or Quickness checks.
Although the CO can modify ability checks to their hearts content, the following table is a helpful guide for the CO
when deciding what modifiers to give for Ability Checks based on the difficulty of the action being attempted.
Extremely Difficult -7
As far as the player is concerned, simply rolling the 3d8 with a result equal to or less than the required Ability score
(with appropriate modifiers as determined by the CO) will ensure success by the character. However, the CO may
wish to determine how well something was done (for example, throwing an item to another player was it a perfect
throw or did the receiving player need to fumble and leap for the object). The following chart will describe in broad
terms how well the action was performed:
If possible, ability checks should be made by the player out in the open table area. For most checks this is fine, the
CO will simply announce the check to be made (with any modifications) and the player will roll 3d8. If the sum of
the dice is less than or equal to the stated value, the check succeeds.
There are times, however, when checks need to be made in secret by the CO. This occurs whenever the results of
the roll cannot be immediately known by the players (these rolls are done behind the CO screen as described in the
CO section). Secret checks include virtually any Sight Check to notice hidden items. The check needs to be done in
secret (with the appropriate modifiers applied as necessary) so that the player is kept unaware if there is actually no
hidden item (secret door, concealed weapon, etc.) or if his scan of the area failed (failed Ability Check). Even if
there is NO hidden item to be found, the CO will roll the 3d8 behind the screen and simply state that no hidden
item was found. This keeps the players guessing and is much more realistic.
For gravity below 0.3 it is impractical to move without some form of magnetic boots or handholds.
darkness up to a point and Sun Goggles will do likewise with bright light. These things should be taken into account
by the CO.
When the CO creates a mission they must make it detailed enough so that the players actually feel like they are part
of the world that has been created. Some COs will want to make notes for every detail of the mission while others
will simply require an outline of events and be spontaneous in their creation of the world as the characters advance
through the mission. Its usually best to create a set of detailed maps and write up some good Non-Player
Characters (maybe even some hideous villains) and overview the plot but dont expect it to play out exactly as
planned. Players will always do unexpected things (thats part of the fun) so be ready to change your mission as it
progresses.
Most of the created maps will remain hidden by the CO until the right time (some might never be shown only
described in words to the players). For planetary or large base maps, hex paper usually works well, but any
substitute can be made. A planet or large base map can be any scale desired and is usually shown to the characters
up front (call it a Satellite picture if they ask how they know the terrain). This planetary map usually serves as a
good planning aid for the characters.
For smaller encounter areas (bases, villages, dungeons, etc) regular graph paper usually works quite well. Although
your maps will be detailed, only show the players what they can actually see. If it is a base, just draw the outside
for them and doors/windows. As they enter and explore, the rest will be filled in. This keeps the players in
suspense as to what to expect in a particular encounter area.
The CO should also try and create new creatures or possibly new technology for their missions. Players tend to be
more exited (or fearful) when facing an unknown element. New creatures can be as detailed as the imagination of
the CO will allow.
Missions take quite a bit of time to create. However, with practice a good mission can be thought out, planned and
written up efficiently. Estimate that for a 2 night (8-10 hours of playtime) mission it will probably take you
between 5 and 6 hours of design (including map drawing, creature creation, etc).
The CO must also decide how best to balance their mission between combat and non-combat areas. Some COs will
want very little combat in their missions while others will create total carnage weaved into their stories. At first, it
might be best to create a mission with about 50% battle areas and 50% exploration and non-combat areas where
characters get clues and build ideas on how to complete the mission.
If a player has their own form of transportation, they are encouraged to use it. The CO can have the players rent a
space-vehicle or can have them barter or find transportation on their own at the local space-port of some backwater
planet which they are staring from. Typically, however, the Alliance will provide a stealth pod to travel to the planet
or base of choice and it will stay there until the characters are done and they can use it to journey home. That is all
the stealth pod is capable of. It has no weapons but is fast and reasonably undetectable (it should be covered once
on the planets surface with a canopy which is included).
Once players leave the mission (even for a failed mission) the mission is over and the stealth pod (or other means
of transportation) will take them back to an Alliance planet where they can heal. The mission cannot be re-
attempted unless deemed appropriate by the CO.
Much of the fun of playing a RPG is the adventure and interaction between characters and NPCs. This can be further
enhanced when the characters feel that they are interacting with an exciting story created just for them. The CO
should strive to create a plausible story line and to involve the characters in meaningful ways. Dont just give them
information make them ask the local authorities or probe for information at the city space-port. Give them clues
only when they are actively searching for them. Keep the story flowing and always make the characters feel like
they are progressing.
Sometimes things will break down a bit during game play. First off get things moving again! Throw in some
random encounter. Have something drastic occur. Do something but keep the game moving. If the players are
taking too much time discussing an attack plan (this happens often) simply tell them they must decide now or else
loose initiative for the turn (that will get them to react quickly!). Slow times are a fact of the game but do your best
to keep them to a minimum.
When players say they will do something they should only have a brief time to retract it before the CO takes the
action into account. For example, a party of three players enter a dark bar and they see someone they are looking
for (wanted for war crimes) and if one player (upon seeing the criminal) says they will draw their weapon and fire
but the other two say No Dont! then its really too late since the other players cant stop the weapon from being
drawn (its too quick of an action). Players need to react quickly but will also need to be responsible for their
actions.
When players are faced with a situation that requires quick thinking (e.g. Combat), the CO should insist on a time
limit on letting the players discuss what they will do. Part of the skill in playing is the ability to come up with good
plans under pressure. Some scenes will not have time-pressure (for example, the players are approaching a cave
opening there is time to discuss before they decide what to do next). But, if an enemy jumps into the room, the
players should make quick decisions on what to do next. The CO must keep it moving briskly and should penalize
players for reacting too slowly (this is a matter of personal CO taste. Always give the players some time to discuss,
but dont let it go on too long). If the players take more than say 30 seconds to decide, the CO may force them to
loose initiative (or surprise).
In addition, if one player decides to go into a room and he sees an enemy, that same turn the other players cannot
react since they have no knowledge of the event. Players who do not involve themselves in a particular area cannot
take action based on things happening there. For example, it will be common for players to split up (even if briefly)
and one player get into a combat situation. The other player cannot try to sneak-up on the enemy even though
he has a way to do just that. The non-combat player must wait until he hears the combat begin and only then can
react a full turn later.
Also, do not reward players who do not face the music in battle. Some players will constantly try to gain an
advantage by ducking or hiding behind every object or running just out of range because they know they are faster
than the opponent. These players often spend more time deciding and trying silly ideas just to gain a slight
advantage and it slows down the normally smooth combat process. If you have a player who does these things,
simply have another opponent sneak up from behind to engage them. Players should be quick thinking in combat
and are encouraged to come up with quick shelter or other battle plans for protection (such as protecting another
player, calling for backup, etc) but they should realize that combat needs to take place smoothly and quickly. Its a
determent to the game when one player takes too long trying to cheat the system.
Also, there will be times during the adventure when things fall nice and neatly into a turn-by-turn account of what
happens (remember a turn is 6 seconds). For ultra-complex battles and epic scenes (of which every mission has at
least one) the CO can forgo the normal turn-by-turn approach (simply because it would take too long) and give the
players an overview of what is happening and let them make decisions only at key points in the action. This makes
for much better story-telling and role-playing.
The CO has ultimate cinematic control over them mission. What this means is that the CO can have the players
move thorough a scene in any manner they desire and have anything happen even if the players think they should
be able to intervene (much like it would happen in a movie). For example, if your mission calls for the players go
get captures, you can simply read them a cinematic description as follows: As your group approaches the city outer
limits, you are stopped by a routine border patrol who asks you for identification. After fumbling around trying to
dig up an excuse for entering the area, they detain you and bring you to the detention center for questioning. Now
the players might claim that they want to shoot their way out beforehand or want to have their own chance to talk
their way out but you as CO have ultimate control and if you wish the scene to proceed directly to the detention
center then that is exactly the way it will be. Obviously, if you run a mission with too little player choices they will
get bored, but dont be afraid to have some aspects of the mission flow just as you would like them to. Players
must always respect this ultimate cinematic control.
Some encounter areas will be purely combat oriented. Others will be interactions with non-players controlled by the
CO. These encounters will usually bring some form of information or produce some conflict other than direct
combat (it may be escaping from a prison cell area or figuring out how to diffuse a bomb).
Combat areas need to be carefully designed. Start small. A few small encounters to test the strength of your
players characters will go a long way to understanding just how far you can push the players in the rest of the
mission. Its easy to make a mission tougher (more, better, tougher creatures) but hard to ease up when you
overwhelm players early in the game.
As stated before, ability checks should be made by the player out in the open table area whenever possible. This
makes them feel much more a part of the game. However, not all checks can be made in this manner. Many sight
check needs to be done in secret (with the appropriate modifiers applied as necessary) so that the player is not sure
if there is actually no hidden item (secret door, concealed weapon, etc, etc) or if his scan of the area failed (failed
Ability Check). Even when the player searches for something that doesnt exist, make the check behind the screen
anyway and simply declare your search turns up nothing. This will keep the player guessing and is much more
realistic. Use common sense to determine when checks should be made in the open by the player and when they
should be made in secret by the CO.
There are some things that will not require an Ability Check. For example, if a player wants to push a wall to see if
it will crumble and you have determined that the wall is not movable then a simple statement to the fact that the
wall is not movable will suffice. Dont allow ridiculous ability checks.
Also, dont make an ability check for everything. The mission is a story line. It should move along and be fun for
the players. If someone wants to know if a human-form seen lurking the shadows of an alleyway looks like
someone they know, simply tell them. Much of the story will come from players asking questions and exploring
various areas that the CO has created for them. Keep the story moving and use the ability checks for key actions
only. This will make the rolling seem more dramatic (rather than OH another ability check) and produce a good
balance between the luck of the dice and skill of the players.
Finally, there will be times when you need to make a secret check behind the CO screen (see below). For this, you
dont just want to roll whenever there is something to determine. Players are smart and they will realize that every
time you roll the dice behind the screen they will know something is up. It is best to roll a few times throughout
the game when there is no real reason and sometimes to roll in advance of needing the result so that all you have
to do is wait until the right time then look at the dice you previously rolled. This will keep the players guessing and
the element of surprise on your side.
It will happen one day that a player will die on a mission. Assuming you have provided a well-balanced mission, this
is simply a part of the game which cannot be avoided. Without failure or death, players will become too carefree in
their attitudes and the mission will not be taken seriously. Obviously, the goal is not to produce the classic killer
mission to kill one or more players but to push the players to the brink to keep them working hard. This will result
in deaths every so often. If you are averaging more than 1 death out of every 2 full missions attempted, then you
may be too tough on the players. Ease up.
In addition, players will not always complete their mission successfully. In these cases, the pay system already
provides reduced pay for the characters (since the mission toughness will be reduced by the CO for failed missions).
Occasionally, the mission can be tried again, but in other cases this is not possible (for example, the players were
assigned to rescue a high official, but failures lead to the high officials execution at the hands of the opposition).
Players dont feel good when a mission fails. Keep failed missions to a minimum. If players are routinely not
completing missions, make the goals more attainable for the level of characters you are working with.
Throughout the mission, the players will have some easy times and some tough times. Too many tough times and
all the players will likely die or feel that they are at impossible odds. Too many easy encounters and they will treat
the mission with much too carefree an attitude. Neither situation is conducive to fun play.
A good CO knows when to push his players and when to ease up. This must be done very carefully so that the
players are not clued into the fact that you are ever so slightly manipulating them. If the players are loosing in a
particular battle, having most of the opponents suddenly run out of ammunition will look silly and unrealistic.
Perhaps have one of the opponents panic run to a console to call for help. Or perhaps have some friendly comrades
controlled by the CO arrive to help (assuming they have already been carefully woven into the story line otherwise
it is unrealistic). The trick is to push they players to the edge of what they can accomplish.
Also, dont make a mission, which is all combat or all story line. A good balance between combat and story line
keeps all players interested throughout the mission. Moving players through the story line that has been created
gives them the big picture and varied combat gives them a sense of accomplishment (although moving through the
story line gives some sense of accomplishment, combat seems to do it in a quicker and more effective manner).
Reward players for choosing skills that are not directly combat related. For example, if a player has the Computer
Skill design some easy computers with useful information to be retrieved by the player somewhere along the
mission. This keeps interest in skills other than direct combat dealing skills (basically Weapons Skills). It also
makes players more balanced in their attempt to produce a strong character. Also, if players are giving good ideas
and are playing their character well, reward them with Mission Points and a healthy comment or two letting them
know that they are doing well.
Players will often lose focus through the mission. As the CO, you cannot lose sight of the big picture. Keep the
players interested by giving them clues to which they will build up some knowledge of this picture you have
created. Keep them moving. Always have some mini-successes throughout the mission so that they dont have to
wait until the very climatic end to feel some accomplishment.
Dont design your mission where one area leads directly to the next until the climax is reached. This will cause the
players to feel that they are being strung along. Players need choices and the best way is to allow multiple ways to
progress through the mission. In addition, create some areas that have nothing to do with the mission (but the
players wont know that) but are interesting and engaging for the players. Perhaps have a shadowy figure track the
players for several scenes. To the players it seem like an important part of the story. Perhaps this tracker merely
thinks he knows one of the players but it turns out he is mistaken. Keep them guessing always.
As with any RPG, these rules are more guidelines than anything else. Using common sense a good CO will know
when to break or change the rules. Situations will arise for which there is no covering rule. It may be as simple as
a new combat modifier (what modifier would you give an opponent shooting at a character who has just started a
series of cartwheels across several large rocks sticking up from a raging river? - What sort of Ability checks should
the character make?). Be open minded and always treat your players fairly.
13.9.2 CO Screen
When writing on the CO sheet and when making secret ability checks for the characters, the CO will need a
protective screen. This screen is usually a 4-fold screen which can be made from the cardboard backs of standard
letter (or legal) sized pads of paper. Basically, any semi-rigid cardboard will do. Basically tape four of these
together and bend the two outermost ones at 90 degrees to form a U shaped screen that can be placed between the
CO and the players. The Mission description, Maps and the CO sheet are all concealed behind this screen. Also, on
the inside four walls of the screen can be placed 4 crib-sheets of information about the game. The appendix of this
rulebook has 4 such sheets with valuable information weapons charts, hit areas in combat, vehicle movement
charts, etc. This will save much time in looking up frequently needed information in the rulebook during play.
Finis!
INDEX
Acting 25 Shooting an Opponent
Age After Mission 21 Engaged in Melee 72
Background Template 24 Situation Modifiers 71
A Backgrounds 24 Stun Chart 64
Creation 8 Surprise 66
Abilities 8 Death 22 Target Size 71
Charts - General 9 Life Points 22 Tracking Ammunition 66
Checks 13 Life Points Recovery 22 Turn Sequence 65
Extending 13 Living Expenses 22 Unarmed 74
General Information 8 Max Age 21 Unconsciousness 75
Generation 9 Mulligan 9 Underwater 77
Increasing 13 Pay 21 Vehicles 83
Intellect 11 Ranks 23, 25 Commanding Officer 93
Mechanical Inclination 12 Rest and Sleep 22 Applying Of Rules 93
Personality 11 Searching 22 Breaking the Rules 99
Quickness 11 Sheets 8 Cinematic Control 97
Score Interpretation 9 Starting 21 CO Screen 99
Sight 10 Steps to Create 8 CO Sheet 99
Strength 10 Weight and Height 21 Committing Actions 97
Toughness 12 Chief Engineer 45 Creating the Mission 96
Two Types of Checks 9 Classification 45 Dealing with Party Failures
Ability Checks 13, 94 Cinematic Control 97 98
CO Guidelines 98 CO See Commanding Encounter Area Design 98
Results of 95 Officer Evaluation 93
Sample Checks 94 Guidelines for Ability Checks
Code of Ethics 25
Suggested Modifiers 94 98
Combat 65 Guidelines for Rewarding
Ability Extension Skill 40
Aiming for Specific Areas 69 Players 99
Age After Mission 21 Areas Hit 68 How to Design a Mission 96
Aiming for Specific Areas 69 Arm 68 Keep Players Guessing 99
Alien Creatures 88 Arms/Hands Area 69 Keeping the Balance 99
Alliance Code of Ethics 25 Attack Speed 72 Keeping Things Moving 97
Ammunition 59 Basic Actions During 73 Mission Hardness 93
Consolidation 60 Basic Concepts 65 Missions 96
Not Belonging to a Character Blast Radius 63 Pay 93
60 Critical Blunder 67 Player Notes 7
Time To Reload 60 Critical Success 67 Sample Mission 100
Tracking 66 Damage 66 Story Line Creation 97
Weapon Capacities 60 Describe Actions 78 Time Pressure 97
Annukation Skill 40 Dodge and Quickness 72
Computer Kit 55
Engagement 70
Applying Of Rules 93 Computer Skill 33
Falling Damage 76
Arm Damage 68 Grapple Force % 75 Computers 87
Arms/Hands Area 69 Grenade Rules 75 Court Marshall 25
Attack Speed 72 Grenade Shrapnel 76 Crashing 82
Hand 69 Creatures 88
Head/Neck Area 69 Credits 2, 23
B Hit In Arm Holding a Weapon
69
Borrowing 23
Financing 24
Hit In Hand Holding a Interest Earned 24
Background 5 Weapon 69 Critical Blunder with
Basic Actions During Combat Hit Percent 66
Weapons 67
73 Initiative 65
Knock Outs 75 Critical Success with
Basics 3 Weapons 67
Leg 69
Blast Radius 63
Legs Area 70
Body Extension Skill 38 Lost Limbs 70
Borrowing Credits 23
Budgie Top 16
Mass 94
Melee Hit Areas 68
D
Bumping 83 Melee Modifiers 71
Buying Vehicles 85 Moves 73 d100 7
Moves - Melee 74 Damage 66
Moves Ranged 73 Arm 68
Protecting Another Player 72 Falling 76
C Punching 74 Falling - Equipment 76
Range Modifier 71 Falling Areas 76
Character 8 Ranged Areas 68 Fire 76
W
Water Damage 77
Weapon Charts 61
Weapon Skills 29
Weapons 55
# of Attacks 61
Ammo Capacities 60
Charts 61
Critical Blunder 67
Critical Success 67
Damage 61
Grenade Chart 63
Grenades 59
Heavy 63
Laser Energy 56
Melee 58
Melee Charts 62
Projectile 57
Ranged 55
Ranges 61
Recording on Character
Sheets 67
Rocketed 57
Settings 62
Special Abilities and
Restrictions 62
Stun Chart 64
Time To Reload 60
Tracking Ammunition 66
Two Handeded 63
Weight and Height 21
Woo-Tang 45
Wo-Tang
Classification 45