Space Madness!

[Ancient History]

What are the kinds of robots in the Federation?

There aren't any, strictly speaking. No digital computers. Maybe some crude automatons. The Yuggothians and Precursors had some advanced constructs...which I need to get around to writing up stats for...

[virgil]

With character creation, most saliently at Step 1, can you add all of your numbers from the two chosen backgrounds before selecting any certs granted by those same backgrounds (particularly matters for prereqs)?

[Ancient History]

Yeah. Suppose I should clarify that.

[Ancient History]

Cats are done. Also, couldn't resist:

Cats from Uranus?
The cats presented here are not representative of all breeds of cat, but are general stats for the main types of cat that Space Rangers are likely to encounter. There are the strange and terrible Great Cats of Venus, as big as an Earth lion or panther; the slender, nimble shipcats favored by Belters; the flying cats of certain obscure Martian craters with flaps of skin that allow them to glide onto prey...and the inexplicable, alien Cats from Uranus which humanity has barely heard rumor of.

[DrPraetor]

I can't find the link to the actual text for this, but I know I had it at some point.

Did you e-mail it or send it as a forum message or somesuch?

--DrP

EDIT: Found it on pp 2. You might want to add the google docs link as an edit to the very first post, to make it easier to find.

[Ancient History]

Carcosan Plague Zombies are up.

[virgil]

Does the damage received from the Unshielded modification round up, round down, or have a minimum of 1?

[Ancient History]

Added clarification:

Spending 1-4 sagans causes no damage, spending 5-9 sagans causes 1 point of damage, 10-14 sagans caues 2 points of damage, etc.

[Ancient History]

Dreamers are up, which is the other template critter.

[virgil]

Couple questions about the Visualization skill: what is the range on activating the wand remotely? Doing the TN 4 option of the skill lets you cause wand effects to emanate from somewhere other than the wand; what kinds of restrictions are there on this? Can you cause beams to shoot out of the enemy's face toward another enemy?

[Ancient History]

Couple questions about the Visualization skill: what is the range on activating the wand remotely?

There isn't one.

Doing the TN 4 option of the skill lets you cause wand effects to emanate from somewhere other than the wand; what kinds of restrictions are there on this?

Your imagination.

Can you cause beams to shoot out of the enemy's face toward another enemy?

Yep.

[virgil]

How much damage do you do in melee with, say, your fist (or whatever)?

[Ancient History]

Melee (4)
The Melee action is used to attack another character, either unarmed or with a hand-to-hand weapon (a convenient spanner, a wand with the Rugged modification, a Martian sword-stick, etc.). This requires being within range (for unarmed combat, this is generally within 1 meter for humans), and a successful Combatives vs. Combatives contest. If more than one person is involved on either side of a melee, it becomes a group contest. The winner(s) may either inflict hold their opponent (see the Hold action) or inflict X points of damage to them, where X is equal to how many more hits the winner(s) scored than the loser(s) on the Combatives contest. For group contests, each participant in the losing side takes X damage.

At one point I was going to have a weapons/damage table, but fuck it. I was also just going to have a single successful melee test knock people the fuck out, but that feels a little too simple.

[virgil]

What kind of guidelines would you give for designing new backgrounds? The numbers seem mostly consistent, in that except for Medical, they all give four skills at 2, and a bit over half of them give four skills at 1.

[Ancient History]

Did I fuck up Medical? Fhtagn, have to look at that now.

[Ancient History]

Not dead yet. Was thinking of the kitten vs. elephant scenario. Wrote this:

Null Damage & Called Hits
Melee combat assumes that the individuals involved can damage one another. This is not always practically the case; a kitten is not going to disembowel an elephant, no matter how many hits the cat scores on their Combatives roll. Practically, an unarmed human might find physical strength and hand weapons useless when fighting a car or alien humanoid made out of living crystal. The gamemaster should decide at the outset if a particular enemy is practically immune to damage from melee combat, all “damage” that the characters score against the immune character is nullified—do not mark off any health circles or hit boxes. Instead, characters that make a successful Melee attack can make a Called Hit, describing how their attack inconveniences or potentially disables their attacker. Some examples:

- Eyes or optic sensors temporarily blinded by cloth, sand, liquid, burst steam vent, etc.
- Legs or other limb tangled up, requiring a Move (5) action to extricate.
- Distracted by ineffectual blows (-2 dice penalty on all tests for the round)
- Maneuvered into an environmental hazard (open fire, acid pool, down a flight of stairs, etc.) which may cause damage.
- Get their attention (+2 dice bonus for contests with the attacking character, -2 dice penalty for contest with anyone else for the round)

Fixed the Medical background. All backgrounds basically have 12 points split between their skills.

[Ancient History]

Flying Polyp
Some hardy organisms can survive the vacuum of space, drifting in the cold darkness between worlds like the waiting germs of a terrible disease, microscopic and all but dead—but all they need is heat, water, and oxygen to come to life once more, to grow and spread… Humanity’s ships unknowingly flew through a cloud of such spores in their first ventures through the solar system, and spread the dread polyps to every world known to humanity. The organisms themselves are aberrations, somewhere between fungus and jellyfish. Their bulbous sacks fill with hydrogen and helium, allowing them to float, and their long streamers are covered in toxic stinger-cells that immobilize and ingest prey. Individual polyps are easy to kill, but they are difficult to eradicate, as each cell can potentially give rise to another iteration of the organism. The only thing a polyp will not try to attack and eat is another polyp. Polyp infestations are one of the few threats that Federation and Union-Republika forces will work together to eradicate.

Threat Assessment: Combatives 12
Charisma 3 (Skills: Deception 3)
Courage 6 (Skills: Combatives 6, Screen 4)
Intellect 2 (Skills: N/A)
Perception 5 (Skills: Navigation 2)
Tags: N/A
Certs: See Abilities
Health Circles: See Abilities
Mental Health Circles: See Abilities
Abilities: Animal
Growth (Bio): Polyps grow throughout their lives, provided they have sufficient material to feed upon, growing larger and more complicated structures and nerve-clusters, resulting in more efficient feeding behaviors. An average polyp (20 kg) has three health circles (⊙⊙⊙) and mental health circles (⊚⊚⊚). Every time they double in mass, they gain a health circle and mental health circle (+⊙/ +⊚) and gain one Cert that they qualify for.

Feeling a little closet-troll-ish, but makes them a respectable "dust off and nuke the site from orbit" kind of critter.

[Ancient History]

Io Sentries
On the uninhabitable moon Io, Space Ranger explorers encountered metal and ceramic automatons left by the Yuggothians seek to frighten or destroy intruders. Subsequent explorations have found similar sentries in place on other abandoned Yuggothian sites throughout the Solar system. These sentries are typically four-meter long, six-legged creatures with a body that consists of two ovoid “thoraxes” connected by a waspish “waist”; this basic configuration can be changed on the fly to allow the sentries to appear as tripods, giant two-legged humanoids, or four-legged tauroids. They are typically armed with lightning guns and magnetic mines, though some encounters claim they can manipulate the cosmic forces. The only reassuring news from the varied reports is that the presence of the Senties suggests that the Yuggothians themselves are not present.

Threat Assessment: Combatives 12/Visualization 12
Charisma 6 (Skills: N/A)
Courage 6 (Skills: Combatives 6, Screen 3)
Intellect 6 (Skills: Computing 3, Law 6)
Perception 6 (Skills: Forensics 3, Visualization 6)
Tags: Physics, Xenotechnology, Yuggothian Lore
Certs: Hardcore, Pain Focus, Unfazeable
Hit Boxes: ⊡⊡⊡⊡⊡⊡⊡
Mental Health Circles: ⊚⊚⊚⊚⊚⊚⊚
Abilities: Automatic Intelligence, Construct, Yuggothtech
Lightning Gun (Fun): Equivalent to the Disruptor function (Azathoth Radiation beam) powered by 10 Sagans.
Magnetic Mines (Fun): Equivalent to the Detonate function (Level 3 Orgone), powered by 10 Sagans. Range is limited to 10 meters if thrown, although a mine can be planted ahead of time and triggered remotely by the Io Sentry via radio-signal. Io Sentries typically have no more than 7 mines at any given time. If fully repaired, the Yuggothian technovirus in the Sentry will craft one new magnetic mine every 24 hours.

Fun With Explosives
Unused magnetic mines can be recovered from the remains of a destroyed Io Sentry with a successful Engineering (4) Test. Crafting a simple radio trigger for these mines (or adjusting a character’s headphone to trigger them) requires a successful Engineering (6) Test. Failing either of these tests causes all magnetic mines within 10 meters of the character to detonate.

Canny players may want to trigger the mines to explode while inside the Io Sentry; this is possible, but requires a radio or headphone and a successful Engineering (6) Test. Failure on this test does not detonate the mines, but it does alert the Io Sentry to the attempt—and the character’s location. Magnetic mines contained within a faraday cage cannot be detonated remotely.

If a player character successfully captures a magnetic mine, they may take it as an item of Exotic equipment.

Io Sentry done. Which is as close as we get to robots. Which you have to pronounce like Dr. Zoidberg.

[Ancient History]

Precursor Servitor
A rumor among tomb robbers and rogue archaeologists, these protean, amorphous entities are said to be like gigantic undifferentiated clumps of cells, constantly organized and re-organizing themselves into various shapes and structures. Legends among many extraterrestrial races says they are biological engines used by the Elder Things as everything from a labor force to weapons, factories for various biological substances and experimental subjects. Their cells are biologically immortal, their genetic material incredibly complex and resilient to damage, mutation, or replication error—and some still haunt the old places, after untold millions of years. The Federation has never knowingly encountered one of these creatures, but intelligence report suggest that the Union-Republika is very interested in capturing one alive, despite the potential dangers and difficulties involved, so there is a standing order to investigate possible sightings, if it can be done without endangering lives or the mission.

Threat Assessment: Combatives 16
Charisma 3 (Skills: N/A)
Courage 10 (Skills: Combatives 6, Survival 5)
Intellect 3 (Skills: N/A)
Perception 8 (Skills: Navigation 4, Visualization 4)
Tags: Precursor Language, Precursor Lore, some are rumored to know a smattering of alien languages such as Azatha.
Certs: Hardcore, Rapid Regeneration, Regeneration, Unfazeable
Health Circles: ⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙
Mental Health Circles: ⊚⊚⊚⊚⊚⊚⊚⊚⊚⊚
Abilities: Animal, Automatic Intelligence

Shoggoth, check.

[Ancient History]

Venusians
Tool-using pseudo-reptilian hexapods that walk alternately on two stubby limbs marked with suction-cups, and using their four ropey tentacles as fine manipulators, the average Native Venusian stands about two meters tall, with two protuberant forward-facing eyes, flat foreheads, and green, frog-like skin often covered by a protective mucus. Originally called “man-lizards,” it was later determined that the Native Venusians are actually an all-female race which reproduces through a form of parthogenesis; the Venusian mating act causes epigenetic changes in the offspring, but each lineage is still essentially genetically identical, despite a widely-varying outward appearance. The “Lizzies” (a name that has stuck) operate at roughly a highly developed Bronze Age technological level, with bows, arrows, spears, and swords—if Bronze Age humans had pervasive knowledge of and access to a reliable source of electricity.

Threat Assessment: Combatives 8/Survival 8
Charisma 4 (Skills: Deception 3, Persuasion 2)
Courage 4 (Skills: Combatives 4, Survival 4)
Intellect 4 (Skills: Engineering 2, Law 3, Medicine 2)
Perception 3 (Skills: Forensics 3, Navigation 2, Visualization 2)
Tags: Botany, Jungle Lore, Senzar, Venus Lore, Xenobiology
Certs: Native Venusian
Health Circles: ⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙
Mental Health Circles: ⊚⊚⊚⊚⊚⊚⊚⊚
Abilities: Aptitude (Cavoritic Rays), Goldbug, Venusborn

Power Clubs
The cleverness of the native Venusians is not to be underestimated; while they generally lack access to human technology and the theoretical background to fully understand the principles behind it, their home-grown technology is not unsophisticated. One example of this is the “power club” wielded by Venusian warriors, a wandtech melee weapon similar to the macuahuitl of ancient Earth, only augmented by cavoritic circuits to provide extra force behind the blows. These weapons can hold 10 sagans of charge, expelling one per hour when active. When active, they provide a +6 dice bonus to Combatives Contests when used in Melee actions. When inactive, they still provide the normal +4 dice bonus for a specially-designed melee weapon.

Lizzies are done.

[Ancient History]

Moon-beasts are up.

[Ancient History]

Null Cacti
Much of the surface of Saturn is given over to a bluish-purple obsidian cacti—great shoals and forests of it, covering a majority of the surface—a symbiotic lifeform, part planet and part semi-sentient mineral. A colony organism, the Saturnian cacti are supremely sensitive to the exotic forces manipulated by wandtech, and as a defensive measure radiate a field that disrupts the mental connection. While the null-field of a single mature cactus barely extends a meter from the central stalk, when linked in tandem by the roots—or in circuits, as the Saturnians have cultivated them—they can be used as a planetary defence so that wandtech, even that used by the Yuggothians, is highly unpredictable anywhere nearby the planet. Any vessel that approaches within the reach of its rings may be subject to it, causing wild surges and abrupt failures that can be catastrophic.
Practically, the Target for all wand functions within X kilometers of a null cactus stalk increases by X—and when their roots are linked in “circuit,” this effect is amplified. X = log (number of plants in the circuit) (rounded up).

Example:
1 null cactus by itself increases Targets by 0 for all wand functions within 0 kilometer.
2 null cacti (log 2 = 0.3… rounds up to 1) increases Targets by 1 for all wand functions within 1 kilometer.
11-100 null cacti in circuit increases Targets by 2 for all wand functions within 2 kms.
1001-10,000 null cacti in circuit increases Targets by 3 for all wand functions with 3 kms.
1-9 million null cacti in circuit increases Targets by 7 for all wand functions within 7 kms.

Wandtech devices within the range of null cacti sporadically malfunction when X equals the Rating of the device, and cease functioning completely when X is greater than the Rating. Each full-grown null cactus stalk has three health circles (⊙⊙⊙) for purposes of taking damage. They have no offensive capabilities.

Really more math on this than I like, but these are really more of a trap/environmental hazard than anything else.

Only three critters left...and then it's the home stretch.

[virgil]

I'm having trouble imagining the Saturnians using their mutations or even their wands, if most of their lives is within range of these anti-wandtech bubbles.

Do visiting aliens/humans just find the 'deserts' of the planet that don't have any cacti nearby (since their engines will stop working) and walk from there?

Does anything block this field?

[Ancient History]

The Saturnian races' natural aptitude cancels out the lowest-level of null cacti, and basic wandtech (Rating 3-4) can function reasonably well away from dense forests of the stuff. It makes urban design and spaceport layout interesting, certainly. No current plans for anything blocking the null cacti field.

[Ancient History]

Yoh-Vombis Sproutling [Template]
In the depths of Yoh-Vombis, strange survivals remain from Old Mars—the Green Mars that existed before deserts and drylands expanded and covered so much of the planet, when Martian ships traveled between planets—so long ago that those times are recalled only as dusty legends. Yet there are horrors down in the depths, and one that the Space Rangers have learned to beware of is the Sproutling.
It begins as a spore, landing on the head or neck of a likely victim. As they sleep, it roots and grows into the black blossom of Martian legend, which fastens like a cowl that about the victim’s head, attached by a meaty stem to the tumorous-like root growth. Forensic analysis of the fictions shows that the “blossom” generates enzymes that eats through hair, skin, and bone, sending tendrils into the brain, which is partially consumed as well. At this point, the personality of the victim is basically dead, it is the Sproutling that is in control.
Yoh-Vombis Sproutlings are intelligent, but their intellect is alien to any that humanity has yet encountered, and their activities are often incomprehensible—sometimes hunting through ruins of Old Mars for relics, sometimes luring more bodies to where spores lie in wait—fortunately, no wide-scale outbreaks have occurred as yet. Some few, if not discovered immediately, can hide the spore with a hood or other covering for the head and neck, but Sproutlings rarely do so unless they seek to interact with other intelligent lifeforms.

Threat Assessment: As before + 1
Charisma 1 (Skills: NC)
Courage 1 (Skills: NC)
Intellect 1 (Skills: NC)
Perception 1 (Skills: NC)
Tags: Azatha, Mars Lore++
Certs: Native Martian*
Health Circles: +⊙
Mental Health Circles: +⊚
Abilities: Aptitude (Odic), Marslife
* This cert is gained even if the character would not otherwise qualify for it.

Sproutlings, Infection, & Deception
The majority of Yoh-Vombis spores die ungerminated, even when they land on a living creature—player characters may take whatever precautions they feel are necessary to protect themselves, but as a sproutling effectively kills whatever character it does germinate on, the PCs should not be subject to random infection. Full growth of the blossom and takeover can occur in as little as a half-hour in ideal conditions. If the spore-growth is detected before the blossom has dissolved the skull, it may be removed with a successful Medical (3) Test; the lucky victim receives two wounds from this procedure, which heal as normal.

Sproutlings have access to most of their “host’s” memories, enough to use the body’s skills, but human and Martian emotional attachments and ways of life are alien to them. Unless they have the Deception skill, they cannot effectively pass for their victim, and any close friends of acquaintances are unlikely to be fooled for any length of time—the movements of the body will be too erratic, too out of character. Still, with the right disguise and successful Deception Contests, a Sproutling could conceivably pull off the ruse...unless the blossom itself is uncovered; if that happens, no amount of Deception skill can hide what they are.

Two more xeno entries, then the adventure seeds, combat example, and closing essay...and that'll be it.