GrimRules Version 3.1 Part I - Characters [Copyright 1989 by Samuel Joseph Robb. All rights reserved. Cynosure, Grimjack~, et al Copyright ~ 1989 First Publishing, Inc.] 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Game Mechanics 2 CHARACTERS 2.1 Attributes 2.1.1 Attributes Effects 2.2 Races 2.3 Skills 2.3.1 Default Skills 2.3.2 Bought Skills 2.3.3 Maximum Skill 2.3.4 Learning Curves 3 SKILL LISTS 3.1 Attribute Related Skills 3.1.1 STRENGTH 3.1.2 AGILITY 3.1.3 DEXTERITY 3.1.4 HEALTH 3.1.5 INTELLIGENCE 3.1.6 PERCEPTION 3.1.7 MAGICAL APTITUDE 3.1.8 MECHANICAL APTITUDE 3.2 Non-attribute Related Skills 3.2.1 Physical 3.2.2 Mental 3.3 Class Skills 3.4 Related Skills 3.5 Interrelated Skills 3.6 Experience 4 EQUIPMENT 4.1 Money 4.2 Weapons 4.3 Armor 4.4 Misc. Equipment 5 MISC INFO 5.1 Movement 5.2 Languages 1 INTRODUCTION "Cynosure. Sweet, cynical Cynosure - where the dimensions meet. Magic works here, science works there. Swords work everywhere." "GrimRules" is set in the pan-dimensional city of Cynosure, a place where hundreds of dimensions coexist side by side - cross the street, and reality changes. Many dimensions are 'stable' as they relate to Cynosure, while others move into and out of phase with the city. Dimensional 'gates' can exist anywhere in the city - in back alleys, abandoned buildings, in the offices of the Beta-Marhuk Megacorporation; they can even be created spontaneously by the release of large amounts of energy in a small area... The sentients that inhabit the city are often as weird as the dimensions they come from, and life in Cynosure does tend to be interesting, to say the least... GrimRules is designed to let you have fun in the incredible City of Cyn. The rules are set up so that they can handle a multitude of situations, from fixing an interstellar transport to calling up Demons to a barroom brawl. The best things about the rules, though, is that they are yours to tinker, play with, and ignore, if that's what you feel is necessary for your game. As for source materials - anyone who's read Neuromancer, Count Zero or Burning Chrome by William Gibson will know the type of atmosphere these rules are intended to present. Any of Jack L. Chalker's Well World books, or the Soul Rider series, will give you a good idea about mixing technology with magic. And finally (and most importantly) there is First comic's Grimjack~ - which is where I got the idea for all this in the first place. 1.1 Game Mechanics To play GrimRules, you'll need at least two ten sided dice (more is better; it's best that every player have a pair) and the standard pen/pencil, paper, and imagination combo. In almost all cases, the lower the roll of the dice, the better. This applies mostly to skill success rolls and rolls against attributes. If you roll against a skill, or roll against an attribute, you are successful if your d% roll is less than or equal to your skill or attribute. Modifiers are applied to your chance of success, NOT to your dice roll. For example, a character has a skill of 50% with Swimming, and decides to take a dip in a turbulent river. The GM determines that he's at -25% chance of success, which means his chance of safely negotiating the river is (50% - 25% = 25%.) If he rolls less than or equal to 25% on d%, then he'll be successful. Also, any character can perform any normal, simple skill successfully, given enough time. Exactly how much time is up to the GM. However, if there is any sort of negative modifier to the chance of success, the player should have to make a roll against his/her character's skill to see if their character is successful. As an example, consider programming a computer. A normal character with minimum experience with that skill could program a computer to do a normal, simple task, given enough time (say, 2 hours.) On the other hand, if the job had to be done in 10 minutes, or if the program was anything complex or difficult, there would be some sort of negative modifier, and the player would have to roll against his/her character's skill to see if the job was completed successfully. 2 CHARACTERS Players are allowed to create whatever characters they can within the constraints of the rules. If you want a six armed Martian Acrobat, you can do it. The GM has final say in the matter, though, and may decide to prevent characters from taking certain skills. 2.1 Attributes All characters begin with a score of 40 in each attribute, and 100 "attribute points" to assign as they wish. An attribute may be lowered by one or more points (which gives an additional "attribute points"on a one-for-one basis) or raised by one or more points (which costs "attribute points" on a one- for-one basis.) For example, a player could decide to lower his/her character's STR by 10 points; this gives an additional 10 "attribute points". 2.1.1 Attributes Effects Physical: STRENGTH (STR): Physical strength. +1 point of damage with an HTH attack per 10 points, rounded down. AGILITY (AGL): Affects whole-body movement. -5% on opponents chance to hit with an HTH attack per 10 points, rounded down. MANUAL DEXTERITY (DEX): +5% to hit with an HTH attack per 10 points, rounded down. HEALTH (HT): the amount of damage the character can take before dying. Your Healing Factor (HF) is Health/10, rounded UP. HF determines how fast you recover from injuries. Mental: INTELLIGENCE (INT): Mostly conventional knowledge, but also includes street-smarts, common sense, etc. PERCEPTION (PER): How well you notice what's going on around you, and how you see the world. MAGICAL APTITUDE (MAG): Determines magical ability, and your chance of success in using spells. MECHANICAL APTITUDE (MEC): How well you work with equipment (from low to high tech). 2.2 Races Players can create non-human characters by selecting certain "skills" when generating their character (see the note following the listing of non-attribute based skills.) 2.3 Skills GrimRules is a percentile based system. Skills are measured as percentages, though they can exceed 100%. There are two types of skills, default skills and bought skills. 2.3.1 Default Skills Default skills are determined by a character's attributes; all default skills are ATTRIBUTE/5, rounded up. STR related skills default to STR/5, DEX related skills default to DEX/5, etc. Default skills are automatic - your character "knows" how to do them without any formal training. They are a combination of natural skill and limited experience. 2.3.2 Bought Skills Bought skills, on the other hand, are skills a character has increased beyond the default level of ATTRIBUTE/5. An initially generated character has a number of "skill points" that he/she/it may use to increase skills beyond default level; one "skill point" must be spent to increase a skill by one point. The number of "skill points" is determined by (3xMAIN ATTRIBUTE) plus (SUM OF OTHER ATTRIBUTES). The MAIN ATTRIBUTE may be designated by the player; however, 50% of the character's initial "skill points" must go into skills related to this attribute (for example, if a player selects DEX as his/her MAIN ATTRIBUTE, then 50% of the character's skill points must go towards increasing DEX based skills.) Interrelated skills count towards this requirement. Skills can be increased to any level desired by the player. Remember that you are building on your default skills; so, if you have a default skill of 10 with Lying, then you only have to spend 10 "skill points" to get a skill of 20 with Lying. 2.3.3 Maximum Skill The maximum ability a character may have with a skill is (2 x ATTRIBUTE), where ATTRIBUTE is the attribute that the skill is based upon. For example, a character with a DEX of 40 has a maximum skill of 80 with any DEX based skill. If a character's attributes increase, the maximum ability with skills relating to that attribute also increase. 2.3.4 Learning Curves After you generate your character's attribute scores, it's important to know what his/her/its "learning curves" are - how fast your character is going to be able to pick up certain skills. Take your character's INITIAL STRENGTH and divide it by 20, rounding up. This number is the MAXIMUM number of points that the character can increase a STRENGTH related skill by during any one-week period of game time after the character has been created and initial skill levels assigned. For example, if your character had an initial STR of 80, they could increase any STR related skill by up to four points during any one week of game time, while a whimp with an initial STR of 20 couldn't increase his/her/its STR related skills by more than one point at a time. NB: Learning curve restrictions do not apply in initial character generation, only to skill increases afterwards. Multiple point increases to skills may either be gained ~all at once~, or be spread out over the week in which they are gained (depending on the GM and how much bookkeeping he/she/it~s willing to do.) Now, repeat the "learning curve" calculation for the other attributes - AGL, DEX, HT, PER, INT, MAG and MEC. These are your "learning curves" for skills in these areas. YOUR "LEARNING CURVES" DO NOT CHANGE, EVEN IF AN ATTRIBUTE IS INCREASED! 3 SKILL LISTS These lists are by no means comprehensive. GM's and players should create skills to suit their game and their characters. Most skills are presented with only a brief description; it is up to the GM to determine what skills and penalties are needed for a particular character action. 3.1 Attribute Related Skills These skills were described in section 2.3, and follow the rules given there. 3.1.1 STRENGTH Garotte - victim must roll vs. current Health (HT) or loose consciousness Mace: Club, Morning Star Martial Kick Martial Punch Staff: Quarterstaff, Sap Sword: Small, Medium Sword: Huge Weightlifting - characters can lift 1 kg per point of STR; a successful roll can double this. 3.1.2 AGILITY Acrobatics Climbing (STR) Dancing Dodge - doubles AGL bonus vs HTH attacks in following round Florentine - fight with a weapon in each hand Jumping (STR) - characters can jump around 2m from a standing start, 5m from a running start; a successful roll can double this. Martial Throw - if successful, target must roll vs. current HT or be stunned and prone for 2 sec. MoveSilent (PER) Prone Fighting - no penalty to hit; Dodge is impossible Riding Wrestling (STR) - immobilizes opponent 3.1.3 DEXTERITY Bow: Crossbow Dagger: Knife Lockpicking - couple with Electronics to disarm hightech locks Painting (PER) Pickpocket Pistol: Small Cal, Large Cal Rapier: Foil Rifle: Small Cal, Large Cal Sculpture (PER) Shotgun SMG Stone: other similar objects (bottles, etc) Thrown Dagger: Knife Whip: Chain 3.1.4 HEALTH Drinking Endurance - can remain awake & active w/o penalty for up to 24 hours Interrogation Resistance Running Sport (Class Skill) Survival (Class Skill; PER, INT) - survival techniques for hostile environments (space, desert, mountains, tundra, etc.) Swimming 3.1.5 INTELLIGENCE: Acting Appraising (PER) - appraise items to determine value Computer - programming & use Contacts (Class Skill) - each contact is an individual with some particular area of expertise (for example, a Megacorp exec, a mercenary, an informer, etc.) Demolitions Disguise (PER) FastTalk Fencing (PER) - illegally sell items First Aid - will halt HT loss, stabilize at negative HT; allows healing at "Non-professional Aid" level. Gambling (PER) GDK - General Dimensional Knowledge; a knowledge of many known dimensions, their peculiarities, features, etc. 3.15 INTELLIGENCE (cont.) History - general knowledge of historical trends & patterns Insults (PER) Interrogation (PER) Intimidation Language (Class Skill) -written and verbal usage Memorization - allows simple recall of complex facts, etc. Military - general knowledge of military units and tactics Physician (Class Skill; PER) - allows healing at "Professional Aid" level Politics - general knowledge of many political systems Psychological (PER) Religious - general knowledge of many religions Social - how to interact and get along with many different races Trade 3.1.6 PERCEPTION BlindFighting - fight in darkness at no penalty Bragging Bribery ConArtist (INT) Evasion (AGL) Hiding (INT) Lying Sentry - opposite of Hiding Singing Tailing (AGL) 3.1.7 MAGICAL APTITUDE Alchemy (INT) Charm (LM, M & HM) Cognative Magic (M, HM) Combat (LM, M & HM) Combined Spells (PER) - allows the caster to combine multiple spell effects into one single spell. Contagion Magic (LM, M, HM) Demonology (INT) Divination (LM, M & HM) Elemental (Air, Earth, Fire, Water) (M & LM) Enchantment (LM, M & HM) Illusion (LM, M & HM) Item Analysis (PER) - for magical properties Spell Recognition (PER) - general type & nature only 3.17 MAGICAL APTITUDE (cont.) Spell Analysis (PER) - detailed info after Spell Recog succeeds Magic Analysis (PER) - of a dimension or area Necromancy (M & HM) Planar (HM) Protection (LM, M, HM) Spiritology (INT) Summoning/Binding (M & HM) Sympathetic Magic (LM, M, HM) Tantric Magic (LM, M, HM) 3.1.8 MECHANICAL APTITUDE Computational Systems (T & HT) (INT, PER) Chemical (T & HT) (INT) Civil (all) (INT) Electronics (T & HT) (INT, PER) Materials (all) (INT) Mathematics (T & HT) (INT, PER) Mechanics (all) (INT, PER) Physics (T & HT) (INT, PER) Specific Equipment (Class Skill) Weaponry (all) (INT) MEC skills have two modifiers: LowTech, Tech, or HighTech, and Usage, Repair, and Construction. (EX: LowTech Mechanics Construction is NOT the same as Tech Mechanics Construction.) Specific Equipment is a Class Skill, and includes Usage, Repair and Construction. 3.2 Non-attribute Related Skills These skills were mentioned in section 2.2, and are separated into two categories, Physical and Mental. They do not default to any attribute, can only be selected when a character is initially generated, and may not be increased. Players interested in a nonhuman character should examine the Physical skills; those interested in having a different mental outlook should examine the Mental skills. Points spent on these skills are activation rolls, and are subject to normal skill success evaluation - for example, using Enhanced Hearing in a relatively peaceful setting is automatically successful; using it while you have lead flying at you is less certain, and requires a skill success roll. 3.2.1 Physical Chameleon Ability ~Cold Resistance Damage Resistance - remains conscious at negative HT scores if activation roll is made ~Disease Resistance ~Electrical Resistance #Enhanced Hearing - infra or ultrasonic #Enhanced Vision - IR, UV, or Lowlight (colorblind in extended range) Extra Limb(s) - prehensile tail, pair of extra arms or legs, tentacles, etc. Unless skill is 100% or better, the limb(s) will be impaired and a roll must be made every time they are used. ~Fire Resistance Flying - move rate while flying is 200 meters per minute, while walking is 50 meters per minute. Healing - fast recovery; HF is (100% + skill%) times normal ~Magic Resistance Natural Armor - no activation roll; 1 point = 1/2% effective protection Natural Attack - claws, talons, bite, etc. Damage base is 2d10. Poison Natural Attack - paralysis (lasts 1 min/5 points), or venomous (1 point of damage per second for 1 second per point of skill.) ~Poison Resistance ~Radiation Resistance Swimming - move rate while swimming is 200 meters per minute, while walking is 50 meters per minute. ~: Resistances (Poison, Radiation, Fire, Magic, etc.) give 1/2 damage if the activation roll is successful. If the resistance is greater than 100%, a successful activation roll at -100% to chance of success indicates no damage. #: Non-attribute related skills (Enhanced Hearing, Enhanced Vision, etc) that have more than one option (ex, Enhanced Hearing - Ultrasonic and Enhanced Hearing - Subsonic) count as two separate skills. 3.2.2 Mental Cryokinesis - PSI (attack); lower temperature of an object by 1 degree C per second. Maximum decrease is 1 degree C per point, range is 1 meter per 30 points. Danger Sense - similar to Sixth Sense, but more specialized; keeps character from being surprised in combat. Direction Sense Empathy - PSI (attack); you receive emotions. Range is 1 meters per 5 points. Levitation - PSI (neutral); applies to self only, plus 5% of body weight added weight. Rise or descend 1 meter per second, for a maximum of 1 second per 10 points. Lifesense - PSI (attack); monitors lifeforce of living beings within 1 meter per 5 points. Mindburn - PSI (attack); stuns victim for 1 second per 10 points. Range is 1 meter per 30 points. Mindprobe - PSI (attack); retrieves specific information instantly. Range is 1 meter per 20 points. Mindshield - PSI (defense vs. Empathy & Lifesense) Mindwall - PSI (defense vs. Telepathy) Mindweb - PSI (defense vs. Mindprobe) Pyrokinesis - PSI (attack); raise temperatures of an object by 1 degree C per second. Maximum increase is 1 degree C per point, range is 1 meter per 30 points. Reflecting Shield - PSI (defense vs. Mindburn) Second Sight - see auras Sixth Sense - unusual intuition about people, places and things. Telekinesis - PSI (attack); move objects by mind power. Range is 1 meter per 20 points; maximum weight is 10 grams per point. Telepathy - PSI (attack); 2-way communication. Range is 1 meter per 10 points. Teleportation - PSI (neutral); applies to self only, plus 5% of body weight added weight. Maximum range is 1 meter per point. PSI defenses activate immediately when an attack is sensed, as an semiconscious reflex action; they may be voluntarily negated through an act of will. A PSI defense acts as a penalty on a PSI attack's chance of success. For example, an NPC with Mindprobe 80% trying to extract information from a character with Mindweb 50% would have a -50% chance of success. 3.3 Class Skills Though similar, each of these skills is separate and distinct from the others, and must be learned that way - languages, sports, medical skills, etc. all fall into the category of Class skills. 3.4 Related Skills These are skills that are similar enough to each other that there is essentially no difference between the two. Examples include "Sword: Small, Medium" and "Rapier: Foil". For example, a character who had skill with a Small Sword could use a Medium Sword in essentially the same manner and with the same effect (at the same skill level); however, Huge Sword is a separate skill, and would have to be learned separately. 3.5 Interrelated Skills Interrelated skills are those that relate to more that one attribute (for example, Disguise relates both to INT and PER.) For these skills, default skill is (ATTRIB1 + ATTRIB2)/5; the learning curve for that skill is the sum of the individual learning curves; and the maximum skill possible is two times the lower of the two attributes. 3.6 Experience At the beginning of each gaming session, starting with the second, the GM will hand out skill points for you to use or abuse as you see fit. They can be awarded in a certain areas (ie, Magic or Misc only) or certain skills (ie, Tech Repair or Demolitions) depending on which skills your character used the most the previous session. General awards of "OK, your character has ten skill points" can also be given, but should be rarer, reserved for when the character has done something significant towards accomplishing a goal. Your skill points can be used to increase your expertise with various skills. They may also be used to increase you attributes; for each skill point used in this fashion, you may increase any one attribute by 1 point. Only generally awarded skill points may be used to increase attributes; skill points awarded in a specific skill area can only be used to increase skills in that area. As a guide, any skill used consistently and successfully should be awarded an increase of 1 or 2 points. General skill points should be given by the GM as a bonus for good role playing, accomplishing a given task or achieving a certain goal, or surviving a night out with the boys at Munden's Bar, etc. EX: After singlehandedly saving the Multiverse and Life As We Know It from the fearsome Renegade Time Kittens From Hell And Beyond, my character, Lord Flatulence the Inept, receives the following skill point awards: +2 points in Shotgun, +1 point in Dagger, +3 points in Self-Delusion and +15 general points, just because he's such a nice guy. He tacks the 2 points from Weapons onto his Shotgun skill, which was originally 15, so now he's got a Shotgun skill of 17. Similarly, his skill with Dagger increases from 18 to 19 and Self-Delusion from 98 to 101. Finally, he decides to use his 10 of his 15 general points to increase his Health from 10 to 20, and the other 5 points to increase his Intelligence from 1 to 6. 4 EQUIPMENT Equipment of any sort can be found in Cynosure. Aardvarks, Light Infantry Units, Zeshiril Dream Lube - you name it, somebody out there's got it. Of course, they might not be willing to sell it to you; if that's the case, see the section on Combat. 4.1 Money The monetary unit throughout Cynosure is the credit (1 credit is approximately equal to $1 for game purposes). Also, the monetary system is decimal - so 1 centicred (the lowest denomination) is 1/100th of a cred, 1 decicred is 1/10th of a cred, a dekacred is 10cr, a hectocred is 100cr, and a kilocred (the largest denomination) is 1000cr. At the start of the game, you will have 500 cr to your name in cold, hard cash. Spend it wisely. 4.2 Weapons Table 1 lists most common weapons, along with cost, range, damage done, and any special notes. GM's interested in creating their own weapons should compare their effects with those listed, and then decide on range, damage, etc. A handgun has a load capacity of 15 rounds; larger weapons have a 30 round magazine. Energy weapons hooked up to a large, continuous power source can effectively fire forever. 4.3 Armor Table 2 lists the percentage protection given by wearing various types of armor. Armor works in the following manner: each piece worn has a certain % protection (ie, leather headgear gives 3% protection, a copper breastplate 10% protection, etc.) These percentages are totaled for all armor worn, giving an effective % protection. When you are hit in combat, this is the percentage chance that your armor was effective in stopping part of the blow. If you armor was effective in stopping the blow, the normal damage is multiplied by your armor's d.m. to obtain the actual damage done. The damage modifier (d.m.) is determined by the type of armor worn. Leather armor gives a d.m. of 90%; copper armor, a d.m. of 85%; bronze armor, a d.m. of 80%; iron armor, a d.m. of 70%; iron alloy armor, a d.m. of 60%; and hightech alloys, a d.m. of 50%. If mixed armor is worn, the d.m. is the weighted average of the d.m.'s of the pieces. For example, an iron breastplate, a pair of leather bracers, and copper leggings would give [(1 x 70%) + (2 x 90%) + (2 x 85%)]/(1 + 2 + 2) or ( after some simple math) a d.m. of 84%. EX: Lord Flatulence the Inept, after being assaulted by street urchins, decides he needs a little something to keep him more alive than dead in combat; so he goes into his attic and scrounges up a few family heirlooms - an iron breastplate, a pair of leather bracers for his forearms, and some copper leggings. His effective % protection, with all this junk on, is 19% (15% for the iron breastplate, 1% for the leather bracers and 4% for the copper leggings). The d.m. for his armor is (hey, we already figured it out!) 84%. If Lord Flatulence was hit in combat by, say, Grimjack~ for a mere 95 points of damage, there is a 19% chance his pitiful armor would absorb part of the damage and that he would only take 84% x 95% = 80 points of damage. As far as Lord Flatulence is concerned, this is all academic, since he only had an HT score of 20; but for you stronger types, it could have meant the difference between life and (shall I say it? YES! ) death. 4.4 Misc. Equipment Table 3 lists some common misc. equipment and services, along with their costs and any special notes. GMs and players are highly encouraged to create their own devices, equipment, specialists, drinks, etc. My own game has seen players looking for camcorders, furniture, and an exorcist. Create! 5 MISC INFO This is the kind of stuff that you~ll eventually need to know sometime, but which really doesn~t mean much until then... 5.1 Movement Move base for any character is 100m/min walking. Modifiers are: Fast walk, x2; Run, x4; Sprinting, x5. You can typically walk all day, keep up a fast walk for up to an hour, run for 30 minutes at a time, and sprint for up to 30 seconds. Somebody with running skill can try to run/sprint for twice as long (-25%) or three times as long (-75%). If you try to run/sprint twice as long, etc. and fail your roll, you can still do it - but will collapse when you're finished for a number of minutes equal to (100-Current HT). If you "collapse" after running, you can still move, fight, etc., but your maximum move will 50m/min for the stated time. If you "collapse" after sprinting, you are unable to do ANYTHING except pant for a number of minutes equal to the time you sprinted, then you are able to move at 50m/min for the remainder of the stated time. (NB: For combat situations, where action takes place in 0.1 second segments, a walking pace covers ~0.15 m/segment, a fast walk ~0.3 m/segment, a run ~0.7 m/segment, and a sprint ~0.8 m/segment.) 5.2 Languages You can assume your character will know at least two languages when you begin playing - one native language (from his/her/its home dimension) and the Trade Language of Cynosure (which, not surprisingly, happens to be English, since that's what we happen to speak). Your character has both language skills, free & gratis, at 100%. If you want your character to know additional languages, they can be taken as INT skills. Part II - Game Rules 6 SKILL SUCCESS 6.1 Modifying Factors 6.2 Determining MFs 7 TECHNOLOGY 7.1 Building a Better Mousetrap 7.2 Altering Existing Mousetraps 7.3 Technology and Magic 8 SPELLS 8.1 Creation 8.2 Casting 8.2.1 Base Chance 8.2.2 Effect of Injury 8.2.3 Dimensional Effects 8.2.4 What The Magical Skills Can Do 9 COMBAT AND HEALING 9.1 Combat (How to kill shit) 9.1.1 Time & Initiative 9.1.2 Attacking 9.1.3 Damage 9.1.4 Nonlethal Damage 9.2 Non-combat Damage 9.3 Healing 9.3.1 Healing Rates 9.3.2 Repair & Maintenance 10 DIMENSIONS 10.1 What they are 10.2 How to get there 10.3 Dimensional Classifications 10.3.1 Technology 10.3.2 Magic 10.3.3 Environment/Phenomena 10.3.4 Races and Cultures 6 SKILL SUCCESS The most important aspect of game mechanics is the SKILL SUCCESS ROLL, where a character checks to see if he/she/it can perform some action by rolling d% vs. their skill in some area. A result on d% less than or equal to their chance of success indicates success; otherwise, the attempted action will fail. For many skills, success simply indicates that the character was successful or unsuccessful in performing some action - climbing a rope, opening a lock, etc.; the results do not necessarily depend on how the character goes about performing the action. There are three areas where this does not hold true: Magic skills (casting spells), Tech Skills (modifying or creating technological items), and Combat. Sections 7, 8 and 9 detail the choices characters can make in how to carry out their actions in these areas, and the effects these actions will have on their chances of success. 6.1 Modifying Factors The idea behind modifying factors is very simple. A character~s base chance of success in using a skill can either be increased (for easy tasks) or decreased (for difficult tasks.) Instead of using many different percentage modifiers, GrimRules uses a system of modifying factors (MFs) which are then multiplied by a base percentage (5%) to determine the final modifiers to a character~s chance of success. This allows modifiers of different types to be applied to a single situation - for example, a magically altered microchip. 6.2 Determining MFs Determining MFs is very simple. Several lists of MFs, both positive and negative, appear with these rules. Examine the lists and find the MFs that apply to the situation in question, and total them up to find a final MF that may be either positive or negative. Multiply this final MF by 5% and bingo! - you~ve got the percentage modifier to the character~s chance of success! 7 TECHNOLOGY 7.1 Building a Better Mousetrap Actually inventing a new item falls into this category. Note that it may only be new to the character(s) involved; a character might spend a month and 20,000 credits on a ~new~ invention, only to have it on sale at X-Mart next week for 24.95 cr... One situation where a new item must be ~invented~ is if the characters are in a situation where such an item is a cut above local technology - ie, characters stranded on a planet with a steam-engine culture must essentially ~invent~ something like the internal combustion engine. Even if the character(s) know exactly how to build such an item, it~s going to require some effort on their part to overcome local technological knowledge (or lack therof.) When building a new technological item, use table 4a to determine the chance of success and time required to fabricate the new item. The GM must determine which technological skills are required to fabricate the item. In addition, the Tech Level of the dimension will limit the types of items that may be invented (see table 4a.) The roll for success or failure is made against the LOWEST tech skill used (the weak link in the chain.) In multicomponent systems or large items, the GM may wish to establish several seperate success rolls (ex, in the case of building a car, a roll for the engine, a roll for the transmission system, a roll for the chasis and a roll for the steering/brake mechanism.) 7.2 Altering Existing Mousetraps Compared to inventing a new item, this is a piece of cake. Use table 4a to determine the chance of success and time required to alter the item. Again, the GM must determine which technological skills are required to fabricate the item. The Tech Level of a dimension will limit the type of equipment that can be altered (see table 4a.) 7.3 Technology and Magic Combining technology and magic can often have interesting and useful results; this can range from using magic to shape a component of a technological item, to actually permanently attaching a spell to an item so that it works more effeceintly (the later is used in many low-tech, high-magic societies.) In game terms, it is neccesary to figure out the MF for both actions (inventing/modifying the item and casting the spell.) The MF~s are then averaged, obtaining an averaged MF for the item. The creation of the item then requires four rolls: the normal tech inventing/modifying roll, the normal spell success roll, and two additional rolls against the same skills, using the averaged MF to see if the spell and item have been successfully integrated. If all rolls are successful, the item will work perfectly as designed. If either the normal inventing/modifying roll or the normal spell success roll fail, the item will be a complete failure, hardly worth it~s weight as scrap. If the normal rolls succeed, but either or both of the additional rolls (using the averaged MF) fail, then the item will be ~cranky~, and work sporadically - the chance of the item failing to work is equal to the the roll actually made minus the chance of success. (If both of the second rolls fail, add the chances of failure.) EX: A mage and an electronics expert attempt to create a flashlight powered by an electrical elemental. The base chances of success are 65% for the EE and 80% for the mage, with MF~s of +6 for the EE and -4 for the mage. Assuming the EE builds the flashlight properly (95% chance of success) and the mage casts the spell properly (60% chance of success), they now must roll against their skills again, using the average MF of +1. If these second rolls are both successful, their item works perfectly! However, if the mage had failed his second roll (rolling 95, 25 more than the 70% chance of success), then the item will fail to work 25% of the time. If the EE had also missed his second roll by 25, then the chance of failure would be (25+25) = 50%! Note that an item with a Tech Level of -50 or less does not need to go through this procedure; it can be enchanted directly anytime after it is made. Only more complex items need to follow this procedure, since they require the item to be specially altered to allow the spell to operate effeciently. 8 SPELLS Spells can be cast by any character who has skill with a type of magic, as listed under MAG based skills. The caster utilizes the magical energy surrounding him/her in a dimension to create some sort of effect. In most cases, the use of magic obeys the laws of conservation of energy. 8.1 Creation A character who has skill with a type of magic can attempt to cast any spell of that type. Table 4b lists various modifying factors for the spells. In essence, by selecting various modifying factors - the time it takes to cast a spell, the duration, power and area of the spells effects, etc - the character is creating a specific spell; the modifying factors used define the spell. 8.2 Casting Spells are freecast. If you have no specific skill with a type of magic, it can still be cast using default skill (MAG/5). The time and material requirements required to cast a spell have a direct effect on it~s chance of success. Characters may either create a spell in advance, using their knowledge of magic (and Table 4b) to squeeze the maximum amount of power, duration, etc. out of a spell, or they may cast spells ~on the fly~, trying to guess which material components, gestures, etc. will be beneficial for their spell. Think of it as ~magical programming~ - the spell created in advance is a carefully balanced program, doing everything as effeciently as possible; the spell cast ~on the fly~ is an ugly hack job - the caster knows what he/she/it needs and how to do it, but the resulting spell probably won~t do the job in the most effecient or easiest manner. Note that a character using a spell created in advance under limitations (lack of material components or freedom to make the neccesary gestures) is effectively casting a spell ~on the fly~. 8.2.1 Base Chance The chance of successfully casting a spell depends on a caster's skill with the type of magic; the base chance is 1% per point of skill with the type of magic. 8.2.2 Effect of Injury If a spell caster is hit for damage while casting a spell, his chance of success is reduced by a percentage amount equal to the damage (ie, 19 points of damage means a -19% chance of success). This is in addition to the general MF~s for reduction in HT given in Tabel 4. 8.2.3 Dimensional Effects The magic available in a dimension will not affect the chance of success; however, the spell, although cast correctly, may fail because there is not enough magical energy in the dimension to support it (see Section 10.3.2.) 8.2.4 What The Magical Skills Can Do Each MAG based spell skill has a parenthetical listing detailing the minimum Magical Level required in a dimension for a spell to work at full power. What each type of magic can actually do is up to the GM; however, there are some basic guidelines presented here that can make your job simpler. The ~spell roll~ is the result of the # of d10 rolled for a spell - ie, if a spell has a Power of 4d10, the spell roll can be anywhere from 4 to 40. The type of magic and what it can affect are listed below in alphabetical order. Charm (LM, M & HM): Affects the minds of living creatures. Subtract the spell roll from the affected creatures PER; this is the % chance the creature will be unaffected by the charm. Can be used to alter perceptions, influence thoughts, or even take possession of the minds of others (if PER minus the spell roll is negative). Cognitive Magic (ML 0): Magic of the mind. This type of magic mimics various PSI abilities (Telepathy, Telekinesis, etc.) The spell roll is used instead of the caster~s PER for determining ranges, effects, etc. Combat (ML -50): Sheer power and death. The spell roll here is simply a damage roll. Actual effects from combat magic can be anything - fire, earth, wind, water, energy blast, whatever - as long as it causes damage. Contagion Magic (ML -50): Once part of the whole, always part of the whole. By obtaining part of an item or individual, this type of magic can be used to set up a link between the part and the whole. By doing this, other magic can be made more effective. The spell roll here translates into a bonus for using other spells against the selected item or creature. For example, the hair of a person could be subjected to contagion magic with a spell roll of 35; as long as the contagion spell was in effect and the individual was in range of the contagion spell, all other spells cast on him/her/it by the holder of the enchanted hair would be at +35% chance of success. Divination (ML -75): The magic of knowledge. Divination lets you know the properties of items, see the future, etc. The spell roll here gives the percentage of complete knowledge gained - ie, a 30% spell roll on a magical weapon with three properties would reveal one of them. Elemental (ML +25): Involves the conjuring of Elementals. The sum of the attributes of the conjured elemental cannot be greater than the result of the spell roll. For example, a spell roll of 50 would conjure an elemental whose attributes (STR, DEX, AGL, HT, PER, INT, MAG, MEC) totaled 50 - an average of 6.25 in each attribute. Specific elementals may be summoned by name. An elemental can do damage of it~s type (fire, earth, air, water) equal to it~s MAG once each combat segment. Enchantment (ML 0): Enchantment is the magic that enhances physical attributes (STR, DEX, AGL, HT, and skills based in whole or in part on these attributes.) The spell roll indicates the bonus applied to an attribute or skill for the duration of the spell. For example, a spell roll of 30 with a STR Enchantment would increase a character~s STR by 30 for the duration of the spell. This type of magic may also be used to reduce physical attributes. Only one type - enhancement or reduction - may be selected, so that an area of effect enhancement will affect all creatures in the area (including enemies!) Illusion (ML -25): This magic creates fanciful images in the minds of affected creatures. An individual has a chance of recognizing an illusion equal to their PER minus the spell roll. If the spell roll is greater than an individuals PER (PER minus spell roll is less than 0), then the illusion will be able affect the individual physically - in terms of psychic damage, healing, etc. Necromancy (ML 25): The science of the body, living and dead. The spell caster may accelerate the healing of living tissue (to 100% plus the spell roll, ie a spell roll of 50 means the healing rate is 150%), directly repair living tissue (this type of spell will heal a percentage of a single wound equal to the spell roll, ie 50% of one wound that totaled 20 points = 10 points healed), or accelerate the death of living tissue (multiply HT by 100% - spell roll each minutes the spell is in effect.) Planar (ML 75): Very powerful magic, this involves movement between dimensions. The spell roll is the % chance of opening a connection to the desired dimension; a failed spell roll indicated access to a random dimension. Protection (ML -75): These spells offer protection from any one effect - fire, ice, cold steel, etc. The spell roll is the resulting reduction in damage from the source you~re protected against. For example, a spell roll of 35 with a spell of protection from fire would mean any fire damage against you would be reduced by 35 points. Summoning/Binding (ML 25): Trafficking with demons. Slightly similar to Elemental Magic - except that the spell roll is the summoned Demon~s maximum INT and PER. For example, a spell roll of 50 would summon a Demon with an maximum INT of 50 and a maximum PER of 50. Unlike Elemental Magic, the Demon~s name must be known; also unlike Elemental Magic, this type of magic is often fatal... Sympathetic Magic (ML -75): The magic of similarity. This type of magic always requires some talisman or item crafted to be a miniature of the item to be affected. The item to be affected can only be manipulated physically, however. For living creatures, roll against (PER - spell roll) each minute to break free of the spell~s effects. Tantric Magic (ML -25) - this is the magic of sexual energy; the sexual act ~charges up~ the spell caster. Afterwards, the Tantric spell caster may cast spells of any of the other types with a skill bonus equal to his/her/its spell roll for Tantric magic. The time required to achieve this bonus (minimum of one hour) usually precludes anything except carefully planned spells. 8.2.5 Combined Spells A caster with skill in more than one area of magic may attempt to cast a single spell that includes multiple effects - for example, Illusion and Combat spell skill could be used to create an illusiory dragon that breathes real fire. Combining spells is very difficult; the caster must make one success roll for each spell to be combined, as well as a success roll against their Combined Spells skill. If all three rolls are successful, then the combined spell is cast, and the combined spell is treated as a single spell with a spell roll equal to the sum of the two combined spells. In the given example, suppose that all three rolls were successful, with a magic roll of 35 for the illusion and 15 for the fire. Since the spells were combined successfully, the final effect would be an Illusion/Combat spell with a magic roll of 40 (which applies to both effects, the illusion and the fire.) Note that you cannot combine two spells from the same skill area, even if they are different spells (ie, you cannot combine two Combat magic spells, two Illusion spells, etc.) If the caster wishes to combine more than two types of spells (ie, Combat, Illusion and Necromancy) then a successful Combined Spells skill roll must be made for each additional combined spell - so two successfull rolls are needed for combining three spells, four successful rolls are required for combining five spells, etc. 9 COMBAT AND HEALING Ah, yes. The two most important words in RPG's... 9.1 Combat (How to kill shit) Let's face it, this is one of the best things about role-playing games. You can actually take revenge on any feeble-minded individual who dares to violate you rights, real or imagined. The combat system for GrimRules is designed to be quick, efficient, and deadly. This will mean that you can send your enemies to the afterworld with a minimum of fuss and bother. Of course, they can do the same to you... 9.1.1 Time & Initiative Combat is evaluated in rounds; each round is separated into 20 segments, each of which is about 0.1 seconds long. Characters may attack any time within a round, with the following restrictions: 1) Tech or HighTech range weapons (guns, rifles, etc.) may only be fired twice without penalty. 2) HTH weapons may only be used once without penalty. 3) LowTech range weapons may only be used every other round without penalty. 4) Surprised individuals may not take more than one action in the surprise round. 5) Individuals may move at any time during the round; however, excessive movement may impose a penalty on their chances of success in using weapons. Attacking later in an initiative segment allows for more careful aim, etc., and gives a positive modifier to the chance of success, while attacking earlier lets you get your blow in first, but gives a negative adjustment to the chance of success. These and other modifiers are listed in Table 4a. 9 .1.2 Attacking An attacker's skill with the weapon, plus other factors (DEX, AGL, other bonuses and penalties, etc.) are used to determine if an attack does damage (hits the target). Base chance is 1% per skill point with the weapon, so skill:50 equals a 50% chance of hitting, skill:80 an 80% chance of hitting, etc. The damage done by a weapon depends on the weapon's damage base, modified by +1 points per 5 points of character skill with the weapon (round down.) Target range and size/ visibility modifiers for range weapons are given in Table 4c. 9.1.3 Damage Damage done by a weapon is immediately subtracted from the injured person's Health score. In addition, the injured person will loose 1 additional point of health every 5 seconds from blood loss and other neat stuff like that, until the damage inflicted by blood loss equals one-half the original damage. For example, a character with HT 60 struck for 30 points of damage will immediately loose 30 points, and will loose one additional point every five seconds until they take another 15 points of damage. The First Aid skill, if used on an injured person, will immediately stop additional damage from occuring if successful. If HT falls below 1 (from any cause), the person falls unconscious; they are critically injured and will die unless given medical aid within (50+current HT score) minutes. Note that a person reduced to -50 or greater HT is DEAD, hacked apart, riddled with lead, burned beyond belief, etc. unless magic or extremely high technology is available. If a person at negative HT is given medical aid of any sort before time runs out, they must make a roll greater than twice their current -HT to see if they make it; otherwise, they die anyway. If they make the roll, they will heal gradually, although all physical abilities will be at 50% until they reach an HT score of 1. For example, a character given successful FirstAid treatment when at -20 HT must roll greater than (2*20) = 40% to survive. 9.1.4 Nonlethal Damage HTH weapons (including fists & feet) can be used to inflict "knockout" damage, if desired. In this case, the damage inflicted is only temporary, and will be regained (without attention) at the rate of 1 point/minute until the character is conscious (1 HT.) A character at negative HT from "knockout" damage is unconscious. Any character reduced to greater than -50 HT from knockout damage will not recover unassisted, and will loose 1 "real" point of HT each minute due to their injuries until death occurs at -50 HT of "real" damage. 9.2 Non-combat Damage Characters have an annoying habit of doing stupid things that often involve the serious potential for injury (aside from combat, that it.) Jumping out of moving cars, leaping from burning buildings, that sort of thing. Most non-combat damage occurs from impacts - either a character striking an object, or an object striking a character. Figuring out the damage involves knowing two things: the mass of the object, and the speed it's moving at. The speed it's moving at determines the number of dice you roll for damage, as follows: Speed Damage 0 - 9 m/s no damage 10 - 19 m/s 1d10 20 - 29 m/s 3d10 (1+2) 30 - 39 m/s 6d10 (1+2+3) 40 - 49 m/s 10d10 (1+2+3+4) etc. Once you know the number of dice, roll for damage. If the character is falling, simply multiply the distance fallen by 10 to figure out their speed, and you're done. If, on the other hand, the character is struck by some object, you must multiply the damage done by the mass of the object (in kilograms) divided by 100. So, for example, a character being struck by a car (~2000kg) moving at 15 meters per second (about 55 kph) would take 20d10 points of damage. Ouch. (Disclaimer to the physics minded: this is a really simple system... if you want to use physics formulas to figure out velocity and impact energy, go right ahead. This system~s just designed to be quick & deadly.) 9.3 Healing This is something everybody needs sooner or later, especially if you go ~round messing with stuff you shouldn~t mess with. Which you will, since that~s the fun of the game; so read on - you~re going to need it sooner instead of later. Trust me on this one. 9.3.1 Healing Rates Healing occurs naturally, with a wounded character regaining HF points of HT each day until their current HT score is equal to their maximum HT score. Treatment and Tech level of the surroundings may increase the rate at which a character heals. Certain HighTech techniques will accelerate the healing process dramatically, while some spells will allow instant healing to take place. Table 5 lists HF adjustments for various effects. 9.3.2 Repair & Maintenance Healing for cyborgs, robots, etc. depends on the tech level of help available, and the skill of the repair sentient. A run-of-the-mill mechanic allows them to "heal" in the "Non-professional Aid" category while an expert specializing in robotic systems allows them to "heal" in the "Professional Aid" category. If they have some MEC skill, they will be able to repair themselves, and will "heal" under the "No Medical Aid" category. 10 DIMENSIONS This is what the game is about, after all - lots of strange looking people with different ideas about who should be shooting who for what. And the different dimensions in Cynosure make for some very stange people... 10.1 What they are OK, think of space as having seven dimensions - three spatial, one temporal and three ~planar~ - magical, technological and physical. Now, spatial and temporal we see every day. We see the planar every day, too, it just doesn~t pop out at us because of spatial and temporal dimensions intersect these other three at constant points, so what we consider constants - a non-magical world where all technology works and the physical laws are such-and-such - are just constants for our set of spatial and temporal dimensions. Well, it~s possible to have spatial and temporal dimensions that intersect the planar dimensions in different ways - which gives rise to the different dimensions. At least, I think that~s how it works. That~s all I could get out of Prof. Veedlejarden at the U of Cyn before he started asking me if my brain was fresh... 10.2 How to get there Simplicity in and of itself. If you~re in a high magic dimension, grab hold of the appropriate spells or devices and gate between dimensions (of course, if you gate into a non-magical dimension, you~re up a certain creek without a paddle, as Prof. Veedlejarden so eloquently put it.) Or, you can visit a site of dimensional stress - naturally occuring locations where dimensions ~rub against~ one another, allowing travel between them with a sufficient expenditure of energy to open the portal. Or, you can find a place of massive instability between several thousand dimensions, where the interplay of interplanar forces spontaneously creates openings between dimensions. If you do find such a place of massive instability, you~re in Cynosure - drop by Munden~s Bar and buy Prof. Veedlejarden a mug of Old Singularity. 10.3 Dimensional Classifications The U of Cyn has been trying to come up with a serious, systematic classification of dimensional properties for close to a thousand years now. What they~ve come up with doesn~t do casual dimensional travelers much good, though, since it involves a hell of a lot of n-dimensional neo-calculus of variability, a few dozen magically-assisted supercomputers and a complete knowledge of Greezdek-Clausklitch probability determination for completely uncertain chaotically modulating energies. All of which lets you identify any given dimension~s exact properties with an error of no greater than plus or minus 50%. So most people tend to go by some standard nomenclature that lets everything be summed up in a few words, and figure out what each dimension~s like by saying ~Hmmmm... there~s a dragon with a laser rifle. Wonder if this is a high-magic high-tech dimension...~ 10.3.1 Technology There are roughly four levels of technology: non-tech, low-tech, tech, and high-tech. In a non-tech dimension, if it~s not moving by muscle power or gravity, it~s not going to work. In a low-tech dimension, steam driven machinery will work - but anything else is so much metal. Tech dimensions can pretty much accomplish everything we on Earth have accomplished up to 1990, but not much more than that. In high tech dimensions, anything will work, given enough power, time and inventiveness. In game terms, each dimension is assigned a Tech Level from -100 to +100, divided evenly into the four tech levels. Any technological item also has an assigned Tech Level, which indicates the minimum Tech Level required in a dimension for the item to operate. For example, swords and clubs have a Tech Level of -100, so they will function in any dimension; a steam-powered car would have a Tech Level of around -50, and so would function in any dimension with a Tech Level of greater than -50; and plasma cannons have a Tech Level of 75, so they will only function in a dimension with a Tech Level of 75 or better. If you attempt to use a technological item in a dimension with a lower Tech Level than required, there is a chance that the item will fail to operate; this chance is equal to: 2%*(Tech Level of the item - Tech Level of the dimension) So, a technological item will NEVER work in a dimension if its Tech Level is more than 50 higher than the dimension~s Tech Level. 10.3.2 Magic Magic classification is similar to tech classification - non, low, magic and high. In game terms, this meansd each dimension has a Magic Level of anywhere from -100 to +100. Each spell skill has a minimum Magic Level assosciated with it; using this skil to cast a spell in a lower-Magic Level dimension may result in the spell failing, even if it is cast successfully. The chance for failure is equal to: 2%*(Magic Level of the skill - Magic Level of the dimension) So, a magical skill will NEVER work in a dimension if its Magic Level is more than 50 higher than the dimension~s Magic Level. 10.3.3 Environment/Phenomena This sums up the more majorly twisted physical laws of the dimension, along with general environmental factors. In some dimensions, light travels slower or faster than 300,000 m/s; in others, some chemical reactions simply do not take place; in very strange dimensions, basic constants - time, distance, gravity, and other physical laws - can vary randomly. It~s best to check out what the actual environment of a dimension is like before venturing there, if at all possible. Most dimensions in phase with Cynosure are more or less conducive to humanoid life, but there are some that are downright hostile. 10.3.4 Races and Cultures A complete listing of all the races and cultures through all the dimensions is impossible, just because there are so many of ~em. Basically, if you can imagine it, you can find it, somewhere. Grimtables Table 1: Weapons WEAPON (COST) TL RANGE DAMAGE BASE Sword, small (40) -100 HTH 2d10 Sword, medium (70) -100 HTH 3d10 Sword, Huge (100) -100 HTH 4d10, 2H Dagger, Knife (3-5) -100 HTH/10m 1d10 Mace, Club (25) -100 HTH 3d10 Staff, Heavy Stick (15) -100 HTH 2d10 Whip, Chain (15) -100 HTH 1/2d10 Kick, Martial Arts (-) n/a HTH 1d10 per 30 pts of skill Punch, Martial Arts (-) n/a HTH 1/2d10 per 20 pts of skill Garrotte, Sap, etc (10) -100 HTH Unconsciousness Pistol, small cal. (75) 25 300m 3d10+10 Pistol, large cal. (150) 50 200m 5d10+10 Rifle, small cal. (125) 25 800m 4d10+10 Rifle, large cal. (250) 50 500m 6d10+10 Shotgun (50) 25 50m 7d10+10 SMG (3/burst) (350) 50 150m 3d10+10 Bow, Crossbow (80) -100 100m 2d10 Stone, etc. (-) -100 10m 1d10 Hand Grenade (40) 50 25m 10d10 in a 5m radius Flechette Gun (400) 50 25m 3d10+10 in a 15 deg. cone Laser pistol (300) 85 500m 3d10 Laser Rifle (900) 70 800m 6d10 Sonic Bomb (80) 75 25m 1d10/sec for 10 sec Needlegun (50) 50 35m 1/2d10 Plasma Rifle (2500) 75 50m 7d10+25 Battleaxe (35) -100 HTH 4d10, 2H Cesti (25) -100 HTH +1d10 to Punch Hollowpoint Round (2.5) 25 n/a +2d10 damage Standard Round (0.5) 25 n/a no damage bonus Damascus edge (x3) -25 HTH wps +10% to hit, +1d10 damage Monofilament edge (x10) 75 HTH wps +20% to hit, +3d10 damage Dynamite (5) 25 15m 1d10+10 in a 5m radius Thermite (100/.1kg) 50 15m 2d10+20, 1m radius; burns Plastique (50/.1kg) 50 15m 2d10+10, 2m radius Table 2: Armor Copper/ Iron/ HiTech Covers: Leather: Bronze: Iron Alloy: Alloy: HEAD 3% 6% 9% 12% NECK 2% 4% 6% 8% SHOULDERS 2% 4% 6% 8% ARMS: COMPLETE 2% 4% 6% 8% FOREARMS 1% 2% 3% 4% LEGS 2% 4% 6% 8% CHEST 5% 10% 15% 20% GUT 4% 8% 12% 16% Cost : For all armor, cost is 25cr per % point of effective protection. Leather is TL -100, Copper/Bronze TL -50, Iron/Iron Alloy TL 0, and HiTech Alloy TL 50. Powered armor of any sort is TL 75, minimum. Table 3: Misc Eqipment and Services Description Cost & Notes Poison 50cr - 20000cr, depending on effects Lockpick kit 250cr Disguise kit 50cr - 250cr, depending on quality Wristcomp 100cr (TL 50) Ground vehicle 500cr - 20000cr (TL -50 to TL 100) Air vehicle 30000cr - 250000cr (TL 0 to TL 100) Hotel room 20cr/night Room, rent 300cr/month House, rent 1500cr/month House, buy 30000+cr Stimulant 5cr/dose Antibiotic 20cr/dose (broad spectrum) (TL 0) Healing accel. 60cr/dose; healing rate x2 for 1 day [TL 50) Electrobath 50cr/hour; healing rate x5 (TL 75) Regen Clinic 800cr/hour; healing rate x20 (TL 90) Basic HT Care 10cr/hour; allows max. healing rate for tech level Table 4: General Modifying Factors (These MFs apply to ALL skills ) Description MF Wounded (less than 75% of maximum HT) -2 Injured (less than 50% of maximum HT) -5 Seriously injured (less than 25% of maximum HT) -10 Disoriented (Dazed, stunned, etc.) -3 Coached by someone with skill at least 2x theirs +1 for at least 30 minutes "Hot Streak" - used skill successfully three times +2 in last 30 minutes "Cold Streak" - as above, but failed three times -2 in last 30 minutes Table 4a: Technology Modifying Factors Description MF NUMBER OF SKILLS REQUIRED 1 Tech skill required +2 2 tech skills required ----- 3 Tech skills required -2 Each additional Tech skill required above 3 -3 COMPLEXITY OF ITEM Extremely simple +10 Simple +5 Complex -5 Very complex -10 Inventing item from scratch -5 Modifying existing item +2 TECH LEVEL OF ITEM Add the (Tech Level of the item/10) to the MF +(TL/10) NOTE: If you are in a TL X dimension, it is impossible to invent an item with a TL greater than X! Alterations may only be made if the TL of the dimension is no more than 25 points lower than the TL of the item. COMPLEXITY OF TASK Very simple modification +5 Simple modification +3 Complex modification/Simple invention -3 Very complex modification/Complex invention -5 Very complex invention -10 TIME SPENT Less than 10 minutes* -5 30 minutes* -3 1 hour* -1 8 hours* ---- 1 day (12 hours)* +1 1 week (12 hours/day) +3 1 month (5 days/wk, 8 hrs/day) +5 1 year (52 wks/yr, 5 days/wk, 8 hrs/day) +7 10 years (as above) +9 NOTE: Times marked with an asterisk (*) are applicable only to modifying items (ie, it takes at least one week to invent an item.) WORKING CONDITIONS/EQUIPMENT Poor (little or no equipment, non-standard -10 or jurry rigged equipment) Decent (only necessary equipment, but -5 poor quality) Good (needed equipment, but of good quality, --- and some extras) Excellent (all possible equipment needed, +5 plus many extras) Each assistant (maximum of 1 assistant for +1 each Tech skill required) Table 4b: Magic Modifying Factors Description MF TIME TO CAST SPELL Instantaneous ( <1 segment) -5 2 segments -4 5 segments -3 10 segments (1 second) -2 25 segments (2.5 seconds) -1 50 segments (5 seconds) ---- 10 seconds +1 90 seconds +2 900 seconds (15 minues) +3 900 minutes (2.5 hours) +4 24 hours (1 day) +5 10 days* +6 100 days* +7 NOTE: casting times marked with an asterisk (*) are almost impossible to achieve unless the caster employs some other magic to extend the amount of time he/she/it may remain awake and active. MATERIALS REQUIRED TO CAST Common material (sand, earth, etc.) +1 Uncommon material (black cat's eye, bat +3 wing) Rare material (hair of a werewolf, +5 dragon fewmets) Extremely rare material (blood of a god, +10 tooth of a demon) Spell requires simple gestures (hands must +1 be free to move) Spell requires complex gestures (hands & +2 feet must be free to move) Spell requires extremely complex movement +3 (dancing, extended gestures, etc.) Spell requires spoken words +1 LIMITING FACTORS Will not work in presence of some item +3 Will only work at specific time +2 Will only work against specific targets +1 Common limiting factor (wood/during x1 nighttime/humanoids) Uncommon limiting factor (gemstones/midnight x3 /non-humanoids) Rare limiting factor (special amulets/full moon x5 /specific races) NOTE: the above multipliers apply only to Limiting Factor MF's. DURATION OF SPELL EFFECTS 10 segments (1 second) +5 50 segments (5 seconds) +3 30 seconds +1 2.5 minutes -1 5 minutes -3 30 minutes -5 2.5 hours -7 Each additional hour above 2.5 -1 Spell directly causes a permanent change -10 in a physical state (ex: healing spells, damage spells that do not cause damage by indirect physical effects like fire or cold, etc.) Permanent item -25 Permanent spell (spell lasts until dispelled) -50 POWER OF SPELL For each d10 greater than (MAG/10) -3 For each d10 less than (MAG/10) +1 AREA THE SPELL AFFECTS For each square meter greater than (MAG/5) -2 For each square meter less than (MAG/5) +1 If affects individuals, not areas: -1 for each individual above (MAG/50) Table 4c: Combat Modifying Factors Description MF GENERAL COMBAT MODIFIERS Firing Range weapon 3rd time in a round -2 Firing Range weapon 4th time in a round -5 Firing Range weapon 5th time in a round -10 Firing Range weapon 6th time in a round -15 First attack occurs in segment 1 of the round -5 First attack occurs in segment 5 of the round -2.5 First attack occurs in segment 10 of the round ------ First attack occurs in segment15 of the round +2.5 First attack occurs in segment 20 of the round +5 Standing still +2 Minimal movement (no more than 10m/minute, ------ or using Dodge skill) Walking -2 Jogging -5 Running -8 Sprinting -10 Using an area of effect weapon (grenade, etc.) +1 - per sq. m affected RANGE OF TARGET (Range weapons only) Point blank (within 1 m) +15 Minimum Range (listed range/5) +10 Half (range/2) +5 Listed range ------ Extended (1.5 times listed range) -5 Long shot (twice listed range) -10 Hail Mary... (2.5 times listed range) -15 TARGET SIZE (Range weapons only) .5 square meters (point target) -5 .35 square meters (slightly smaller -2 than man-sized) .75 square meters (man sized) ------ 1.50 square meters (2x man sized) +2 3.00 square meters (side of a car) +5 10 square meters (side of a truck) +10 100 square meters (side of a barn) +15 HTH COMBAT MODIFIERS Opponent is twice as large (or greater) -2 Opponent is half your size (or smaller) +2 Opponent is on higher ground (at least 1 m) -1 Opponent is on lower ground (at least 1 m) +1 Opponent is prone +3 You're prone, opponent is standing -3 Opponent blinded (or fighting in darkness) +5 You're blinded (or fighting in darkness) -5 Unarmed vs. armed opponent -3 Armed vs. unarmed opponent +3 Two on one combat +3 Three on one combat +5 Attacking from the rear +10 Attacking with surprise, or opponent is stunned +5 Attacking a sleeping or immobilized opponent +15 Table 5: Healing Rate Modifiers LowTech Tech HighTech Type of aid Environment Environment Environment No Medical Aid x 1.0 x 1.0 x 1.0 Non-professional aid x 1.5 x 2.0 x 2.5 Professional Aid x 2.0 x 3.0 x 4.0 TECHNOLOGICAL AIDS TO HEALING: HealTabs 20Cr/tab gives +1 to modifier for 1 day Electrobath Therapy 25 Cr/hour modifier: x5 Regrowth Stimulator 75 Cr/hour modifier: x10 Regeneration Therapy 200 Cr/hour modifier: x20