Character Alignment
Three basic ways of life guide the acts of both player characters and monsters. Each way of life is called an alignment. The three alignments are named Law, Chaos, and Neutrality. Each alignment has a language that includes hand signals and other body motions. Player characters always know how to speak their alignment language in addition to any others they may know. If a monster is able to speak, it will also be able to use its alignment language.
Players may choose the alignments they feel will best fit their characters. A player does not have to tell other players what alignment he or she has picked, but must tell the DM. Most Lawful characters will reveal their alignment if asked. When picking alignments, the characters should know that Chaotics cannot be trusted, even by other Chaotics. A Chaotic character does not work well with other player characters.
The alignments give guidelines for characters to live by. The characters will try to follow these guidelines, but may not always be successful. If a DM feels that a player is not keeping to a character's chosen alignment, the DM may suggest a change of alignment or give the character a punishment or penalty.
Law (or Lawful) is the belief that everything should follow an order, and that obeying rules is the natural way of life. Lawful creatures will try to tell the truth, obey laws, and care about all living things. Lawful characters always try to keep their promises. They will try to obey laws as long as such laws are fair and just.
If a choice must be made between the benefit of a group or an individual, a Lawful character will usually choose the group. Sometimes individual freedoms must be given up for the good of the group. Lawful characters and monsters often act in predictable ways. Lawful behavior is usually the same as behavior that could be called "good".
Chaos (or Chaotic) is the opposite of Law. It is the belief that life is random, and that chance and luck rule the world. Everything happens by accident, and nothing can be predicted. Laws are made to be broken, as long as a person can get away with it. It is not important to keep promises, and lying and telling the truth are both useful.
To a Chaotic creature, the individual is the most important of all things. Selfishness is the normal way of life, and the group is not important. Chaotics often act on sudden desires and whims. They cannot be trusted, and their behavior is hard to predict. They have a strong belief in the power of luck. Chaotic behavior is usually the same as behavior that could be called "evil".
Neutrality (or Neutral) is the belief that the world is a balance between Law and Chaos. It is important that neither side get too much power and upset this balance. The individual is important, but so is the group; the two sides must work together.
A Neutral character is most interested in personal survival. Such characters believe in their own wits and abilities rather than luck. They tend to return the treatment they receive from others. Neutral characters will join a party if they think it is in their own best interest, but will not be overly helpful unless there is some sort of profit in it. Neutral behavior may be considered "good" or "evil" (or neither!), depending on the situation.
Example of Alignment Behavior
THE SITUATION: A group of player characters is attacked by a group of Sathar. Escape is not possible unless the worms are slowed down.
A Lawful character will fight to protect the group, whatever the danger. The character will not run away unless the whole group does.
A Neutral character will fight to protect the group as long as it is reasonably safe to do so. If the danger gets too great, the character will try to save himself (or herself), even at the expense of the party.
A Chaotic character might fight the monsters, or might run away. The character will not care what happens to the rest of the party.
Alignment Languages
Each alignment has a secret language of passwords, hand signals, and other body motions. Player characters and intelligent monsters will always know their alignment languages. They will also recognize when another alignment language is being spoken, but will not understand it. Alignment languages are not written down, nor may they be learned unless a character changes alignment. When this happens, the character forgets the old alignment language and starts using the new one immediately.
Note that playing an alignment does not mean a character must do stupid things. A character should always act as intelligently as the Intelligence score shows, unless there is a reason to act otherwise (such as a magical curse).
Cost of Weapons and Equipment
WEAPONS
BEAM WEAPONS / Cost in Credits / Mass in kg
Electrostunner 500 1
Laser Pistol 600 1
Laser Rifle 800 3
Sonic Disruptor 700 4
Sonic Stunner 500 1
Heavy Laser 6,000 20
Sonic Devastator 5,000 15
GYROJET WEAPONS / Cost in Credits / Mass in kg
Gyrojet Pistol 200 1
Gyrojet Rifle 300 4
Grenade Rifle 700 4
Grenade Mortar 2,000 15
Rocket Launcher 5,000 15
PROJECTILE WEAPONS / Cost in Credits / Mass in kg
Automatic Pistol 200 2
Automatic Rifle 300 4
Needler Pistol 200 1
Needler Rifle 400 3
Machine Gun 2,000 20
Recoilless Rifle 4,000 20
GRENDADES / Cost in Credits / Mass in kg
Doze Grenade 10 0.2
Frag. Grenade 20 0.2
Incendiary Grenade 20 0.2
Poison Grenade 30 0.2
Smoke Grenade 10 0.2
Tangler Grenade 25 0.2
MELEE WEAPONS / Cost in Credits / Mass in kg
Brass Knuckles 10 1
Electric Sword 150 2
Nightstick 20 1
Polearm 40 4
Shock Gloves 50 1
Sonic Knife 50 1
Sonic Sword 300 1
StunStick 75 1
VibroKnife 25 1
ARCHAIC WEAPONS / Cost in Credits / Mass in kg
Axe 15 1
Bow 50 1
Crossbow 100 2
Knife 10 0.5
Musket 100 2
Spear 20 1
Sword 30 2
Whip 20 1
AMMUNITION
BEAM WEAPON AMMO / Cost in Credits / Mass in kg / Energy
PowerClip 100 0.2 20 SEU
Power Beltpack 250 2 50 SEU
Power Backpack 500 5 100 SEU
GYROJET WEAPON AMMO / Cost in Credits / Mass in kg / Rounds
Pistol JetClip 10 0.2 10
Rifle JetClip 20 0.2 10
Rifle JetClip, High Capacity 30 0.3 20
Grenade Bullet 3 0.3 1
Grenade Shell 8 0.8 1
Rocket 15 4 1
PROJECTILE WEAPON AMMO / Cost in Credits / Mass in kg / Rounds
Pistol BulletClip 2 0.2 20
Rifle BulletClip 5 0.2 20
Rifle BulletClip, High Capacity 8 0.3 30
Pistol NeedleClip 10 0.1 10
Rifle NeedleClip 20 0.1 10
Machine Gun Belt 50 4 200
Recoilless Shell 10 1 1
ARCHAIC WEAPON AMMO / Cost in Credits / Mass in kg / Rounds
Arrow 2 0.5 20
Powder and Shot 10 1 20
Quarrel 5 0.5 20
DEFENSIVE SCREENS & ARMOR
Power Screen / Price (Cr) / Mass (kg) / Energy Use / Defense Against
Albedo Screen 2,000 2 1 SEU/min lasers
Gauss Screen 1,000 2 2 SEU/hit electric stun
Holo Screen 1,000 2 1 SEU/min --
Inertia Screen 2,000 3 2 SEU/hit ballistic/ melee
Sonic Screen 2,000 2 1 SEU/min sonic
2 SEU/hit
Defensive Suits / Price (Cr) / Mass (kg) / Energy Use / Defense Against
AlbedoSuit 500 1 100 points laser
Military SkeinSuit 300 1 50 points ballistic/melee
Civilian SkeinSuit 500 1 50 points ballistic/melee
TOOL KITS
Toolkit or Refill / Cost (Cr) / Mass (kg)
EnviroKit 500 10
TechKit 500 12
RobComKit 500 10
MedKit 500 10
- Antibody Plus 5 0.05
- Antitox 5 0.05
- Biocort 10 0.05
- Omnimycin 5 0.05
- StayDose 5 0.5
- StimDose 5 0.2
- Telol 10 0.1
MISCELANEOUS EQUIPMENT
ITEM / Cost (Cr) / Mass (kg)
All-weather Blanket 20 --
Anti-Shock Implant (r) 2,000 --
ChronoCom (r) 100 --
Compass (r) 10 --
EverFlame 50 --
Exoskeleton* 2,000 5
Flashlight 5 --
Freeze Field 1,200 4
Gas Mask 30 --
HoloFlare 5 1
Infra-Red Goggles (r) 300 --
Infra-Red Jammer* (r) 500 1
Life Jacket 10 1
Machete 30 3
MagniGoggles (r) 200 --
ParaWing 200 3
Poly-vox 1,500 1
Radiophone (r) 500 4
Rope 2 1
SolvAway 10 --
SubSpace Radio 20,000 100
SunGoggles 2 --
Survival Rations 2 0.1
Tornadium D-19 50 1
Toxy-Rad Guage (r) 20 --
Variable Timer 5 --
VitaSalt Pills 1 --
Water Pack 4 4
* This item must be plugged into a power pack to operate. It uses 1 SEU per minute while in operation.
(r) This item can be added to a robot at its cost plus 10% installation fee.
Standard Equipment Pack (150Cr / 1 kg)
• Chronocom
• Coveralls with pouches/pockets
• Doze Grenade
• First Aid Pack with bandages, antiseptic, etc.
• ID Card
• Pocket Tool
• Staydose
• Stimdose
• Survival Rations (5 days)
If the GM wishes to allow all characters to begin with a Standard Equipment Pack at no cost in order to enable more equipment at the start, assume the Doze Grenade, StimDose, StayDose, and Rations have already been used.
VEHICLES
Ground Car
Price (Cr) 5,000Cr (rental: 50Cr + 50Cr/Day) +500Cr VOP
Top/Cruise Speed 100kph (170m/r) / 60kph (100m/r)
Accel/Decel 60/40 m/r
Passengers up to 6
Cargo Limit 150kg / 2 cubic meters
Hover Car (AKA “Skimmer”)
Price (Cr) 8,000Cr (rental: 50Cr + 75Cr/Day) +500Cr VOP
Top/Cruise Speed 150kph (250m/r) / 60kph (100m/r)
Accel/Decel 80/40 m/r
Passengers up to 6
Cargo Limit 100kg / 1.5 cubic meters
Ground Transport
Price (Cr) 15,000Cr (rental: 75Cr + 100Cr/Day) +500Cr VOP
Top/Cruise Speed 75kph (125m/r) / 60kph (100m/r)
Accel/Decel 40/30 m/r
Passengers up to 3
Cargo Limit 10,000kg / 30 cubic meters
Hover Transport
Price (Cr) 15,000Cr (rental: 75Cr + 100Cr/Day) +500Cr VOP
Top/Cruise Speed 150kph (250m/r) / 90kph (150m/r)
Accel/Decel 60/30 m/r
Passengers up to 3
Cargo Limit 10,000kg / 30 cubic meters
Ground Cycle
Price (Cr) 2,000Cr (rental: 25Cr + 25Cr/Day) +500Cr VOP
Top/Cruise Speed 120kph (200m/r) / 60kph (100m/r)
Accel/Decel 100/60 m/r
Passengers up to 2
Cargo Limit 20kg / 0.5 cubic meter
(insert ground & hover cycle race pic here)
Hover Cycle
Price (Cr) 2,000Cr (rental: 25Cr + 25Cr/Day) +500Cr VOP
Top/Cruise Speed 180kph (300m/r) / 100kph (170m/r)
Accel/Decel 120/60 m/r
Passengers up to 2
Cargo Limit 20kg / 0.5 cubic meter
(insert yellow hovercycle pic here)
Explorer
Price (Cr) 2,000Cr (rental: 75Cr + 200Cr/Day) +500Cr VOP
Top/Cruise Speed 90kph (150m/r) / 60kph (100m/r)
Accel/Decel 60/40 m/r
Passengers up to 6
Cargo Limit 2,000kg / 6 cubic meters
(insert explorer pic here)
GliJet
Price (Cr) 3,000Cr (rental: 75Cr + 50Cr/Day) +250Cr VOP
Top/Cruise Speed 100kph (175m/r) / 30kph (50m/r)
Accel/Decel 50m/r for 20 rounds / 20m/r
Passengers 1
Cargo Limit 15kg / 0.1 cubic meter
JetCopter
Price (Cr) 40,000Cr (rental: 100Cr + 80Cr/Day) +500Cr VOP
Top/Cruise Speed 350kph (600m/r) / 50kph (80m/r)
Accel/Decel 100/100 m/r
Passengers 4
Cargo Limit 500kg / 5 cubic meters
Air Car
Price (Cr) 50,000Cr (rental: 100Cr + 100Cr/Day) +500Cr VOP
Top/Cruise Speed 900kph (1,500m/r) / 450kph (750m/r)
Accel/Decel 100/100 m/r
Passengers 4
Cargo Limit 200kg / 2 cubic meters
Languages
When player characters wish to speak with other life forms, it is often useful to be able to speak several languages. All characters and intelligent life forms capable of speech speak the language of their alignment (Lawful, Neutral, or Chaotic). PanGalactic (or more simply "Common Tongue") is spoken by humans, dralasites, vrusks, and yazirians...along with their own native language. Many alien life forms speak their own language, named after said creature. Any creature with its own language has a 20% chance of also speaking one of the core four languages.
A character with an above-average Intelligence score (13-18) may learn additional languages. At the player’s option, the character can leave open slots for future languages or fill them during character generation. Some suggested languages besides PanGalactic, the core four dialects, and the alignment languages are:
1> Edestekai*
2> Eorna*
3> Kurabanda*
4> Pirate Cant
5> Planetary Dialect (choose any applicable world)
6> Sathar (minimum Intelligence:16)
7> Ul-Mor*
* See the Volturnus adventure modules, characters must interact with these undiscovered alien races prior to learning their languages. The GM may wish to use more than one racial language or dialect for his or her campaign world. The choice of the name of the language (if any) is left up to each GM.
Inheritance
If the GM wishes, a player may name an heir to inherit his or her worldly possessions upon the death of the character. The local authorities will, of course, take 10% in taxes, before giving the inheritance to the heir. This heir must always be a newly rolled up first level character. This "inheritance" should only occur once per player.
"Hopeless Characters"
Sometimes, a player may "roll up" a character who is below average in every ability, or who has more than one very low (3-6) ability score (such as a Vrusk with very low Dexterity and Constitution). The DM may declare the character to be not suited for dangerous adventure, and the player may be allowed to roll up a new character in place of the "hopeless" one.
EXAMPLE OF CREATING A PLAYER CHARACTER
1. A printed character sheet is being used for this example, so it is not necessary to write down the ability names.
2. 3d6 are rolled six times with the results of 13, 7, 11, 15, 14, and 8. These numbers are recorded in pencil next to (not in) the appropriate box.
3. The highest ability score rolled was Strength; the player decides to make the character a Human with the Military PSA. As a new character, the character is, of course, in possession of two 1st level skills. The player opts for Projectile Weapons and Martial Arts.
4. A Human has no special class abilities, so "None" is recorded under SPECIAL ABILITY DETAILS.
5. The player realizes that the character would earn 10% extra experience points rather than 5% extra experience points if the character's prime requisite (Dexterity) was 16 instead of 15. So, the player opts to utilize the Human’s +1 to any ability score trait in order to raise the Dexterity score from 15 to 16. Furthermore, the player opts to drop Wisdom by two in order to boost Strength by one, which will assist the character in Martial Arts. The final scores of 14, 7, 9, 16,14, and 8 are recorded in the appropriate boxes.
6. The player notes the bonuses and penalties due to the character's ability scores: A Dexterity score of 16 gives the character + 10% earned experience and a bonus of + 2 on "to hit" and initiative & dodging rolls. An Intelligence score of 7 means that the character can write simple PanGalactic & native human words. A Strength score of 14 gives the character a + 1 on "to hit" & damage rolls. A Constitution score of 14 gives the character a + 1 bonus when rolling a die (d10) to determine hit points. A Charisma score of 8 gives the character a -1 penalty when checking for reactions, and allows a maximum of 3 retainers whose morale score will be 6.
7. Current experience is marked as "0", and 2000 is marked as the total necessary to reach 2nd level in Projectile Weapons or Martial Arts.
8. The player rolls 1d10 to determine the number of hit points the character has. A roll of 7 + 1 due to the Constitution bonus, equals 8 hit points.
9. The player decides to make the character Lawful, so Lawful is marked for Alignment.
10. For money, the player rolls an 11 on 3d6, then multiplies by 10 and adds 170, which gives the character 280 Credits (Cr) with which to buy equipment. 280Cr is recorded under MONEY on the back of the character sheet.
11. The player decides on the following list of equipment:
Since 108 gp were spent, the "110" is erased from under MONEY, and replaced with a "2".
12. At first level Projectile Weapons and Martial Arts, the character needs a roll of 11 to hit (before any other combat modifiers are applied). The information is recorded in the appropriate boxes or circles. In hand-to-hand combat the character will add +1 to damage rolls due to the Strength bonus.
13. This player is female and decides that her character will also be female. Inspired by the name of Morgan le Fay from Arthurian legends, the player decides that the name of Morgan Ironwolf would be a good name for her character.
