TEXT: An OSR game of Swords, Sorcery, & Starships 
  Copyright 2013 by N. M. Easton 
   
   
  Table of Contents 
  The easiest way to navigate this alpha document is to search for Book 1, Book 2, etc. 
  Book 1: Introduction 
  Book 2: Character Creation 
  Book 3: Equipment & Encumbrance 
  Book 4: Starships 
  Book 5: Combat 
  Book 6: Campaigns 
  Book 7: Skills 
  Book 8: Magic 
  Book 9: Encounters & Conversion Notes 
   
  Appendix 1: Example Frigate 
   
   
   
  Book 1: Introduction 
   
  The Setting 
  The galaxy is a vast and mostly unexplored place.  The dominion of humans covers hundreds of 
  worlds in a shallow wedge reaching towards the center of the galaxy.  Each one strives for its 
  own niche in the galactic ecology, whether independent or bound up in one of the Empires.  
  Alien menaces, otherworldly horrors, and simple internal strife are everywhere. 
   
  *** 
   
  Humanity ascended into new heights of power when a certain set of technologies were 
  combined: Cybernetic amplification systems, quantum neurology, faster-than-light starships, 
  
  speed cloning, and ansible communications.  These things in combination allowed the creation 
  of the Immortals. 
   
  An Immortal is a cloned human with Cybernetic Implant (CI) jack in the back of their skull and a 
  lace of superconducting neural assistance hardware woven through their brain.  Their CI allows 
  them to control a starship as quickly and precisely as if it were their own body.  And, in the 
  event of its destruction, to transfer their consciousness to a waiting clone.  Ansible hardware 
  allows the instantaneous and absolutely secure transmission of information to anywhere in the 
  galaxy, so long as it is tuned to an ansible capable of receiving it.   
   
  The use of Immortal starship pilots gave humanity a powerful edge in space warfare.  Their 
  ability to download skills and learn them at a vastly increased speed, plus to deploy them 
  without any of the inefficiency or imprecision of normal starship controls, made an experienced 
  Immortal the equal of dozens of mortal crew.  Humanity may have had smaller fleets of ships 
  than their rivals, but they could field thousands of ace pilots without ever risking the loss of 
  their skills and experience.  A slain Immortal could be fighting again within a week, so long as 
  there was a ship ready for her. 
   
  As time went on, they grew even beyond that.  The whole wealth of space and the entire field 
  of human achievement was open to them.  By transferring to younger clones on a regular basis, 
  Immortals did not age.  Over the decades, they could use their ability to amass vast skill to 
  become masters of every field of human endeavor.  Unstoppable generals, brilliant scientists 
  and inventors, experts on every kind of intrigue, captains of industry, lords of finance, and a 
  match for a score of soldiers in personal combat, all of these things rolled into one.  There was 
  no stopping them.  The greatest of the Immortals, the most ambitious, could not be prevented 
  from taking over whole clusters of star systems, and declaring themselves God-Emperors.  As 
  many as a dozen have ascended to heights of power unimaginable to a mundane human.  They 
  lurk in their palace-complexes deep within planetary cores, with post-singularity minds and 
  hangars full of nanofabrication equipment, plotting unthinkable plots and pursuing 
  incomprehensible goals.  The God-Emperors move entire civilizations about like pieces on a 
  game board. 
   
  *** 
   
  Your campaign begins twenty-four hours after an ansible signal from a lone deep space 
  exploration frigate began transmitting to every major newsfeed in human space.  Alyssa 
  Marceaux, Immortal pilot of the Corbeau, had found something unprecedented.   
   
  
  A Dyson sphere, something far beyond the ability of any known civilization to construct, 
  hanging like a black jewel in the infinite reach of space.  The sphere was approximately 1 AU in 
  radius and spun to have an apparent internal gravity of 1.05g.  There was a second inner 
  “sphere,” a complex of gaps and solar collecting shades that produced a day-night cycle on the 
  inner surface.  Megastructure cables connected the shades to larger gaps at the north and 
  south poles of the sphere, and transmitted power to whatever technology kept the whole thing 
  running. 
   
  The base material of the sphere’s outer shell was impervious to any attempt to analyze it or 
  scrape off a sample, so Captain Marceaux gave up on it quickly.  A dotting of several thousand 
  “vanes” penetrated from the outside of the sphere to the interior.  Each one was a tunnel 
  around a hundred kilometers across the interior and close to a thousand high.  That was 
  enough to keep the atmosphere settled around the habitable areas, rather than pouring out 
  into space.  Confident in her Immortality so long as she was inside her spaceship, Marceaux 
  emerged from the inner portal of the vane to find an earthlike habitat that covered the entire 
  inner surface of the sphere.  Medieval civilizations of human (and inhuman…) peoples dotted a 
  landscape that covered one hundred and seventy nine million times the surface area of old lost 
  Terra.  There was more earthlike habitable area than the entirety of humanity’s sphere of 
  influence; maybe more than would be found in the entire galaxy combined.    (There are five 
  thousand vanes, not counting the larger gaps at the poles, evenly distributed about the surface 
  of the sphere.  Each vane therefore serves an area equivalent to about thirty-five thousand 
  earths.) 
   
  She seeded micro-probes over the landscape and continued surveying.  Every hour, a new 
  update of photographs and scans came in.  The locals had strange powers unexplainable by 
  science.  There was genetic diversity here beyond anything imaginable.  There were nonhuman 
  sapient species found nowhere else in the galaxy so far.  There was untapped wealth here 
  beyond measure, both in living space, resources, and information.  Marceaux refused to sell the 
  coordinates to any private party or even a government.  A crowdfunded request met her 
  ransom of one million credits in a matter of only hours, deposited into her personal secure 
  credit accounts.  She gave the coordinates, officially registered the megastructure with the 
  name Nonpareil, said goodbye, and disappeared from the information webs.  It has been four 
  hours since transmissions ceased, and it seems that every freebooter, treasure hunter, and 
  ambitious Immortal in the entirety of human civilization is strapped and setting course for 
  those coordinates.   
   
  This is where your campaign begins.  The very ending of Day 1, 24 hours after the revelation of 
  Nonpareil’s existence.  The Servitors of the God-Emperors have already begun posting bounties 
  
  across the information webs: Fortunes beyond imagining await the Immortal who can bring 
  back the secrets of Nonpareil. 
  Game Concepts 
  This is an OSR game.  You will be doing most of the same things you are familiar with doing 
  from other OSR and classic games, but sometimes on a larger scale.  This game uses concepts 
  like armor class, saving throws, hit points, attributes with ratings from 3-18, and so forth.  
  Armor class is flipped to an ascending model and we use to-hit bonuses instead of THAC0 or to-
  hit charts, but that should be easy to adjust to!  There are also some entirely new ideas. 
  Attacks, saving throws, and some other tests are made by rolling a D20.  Skill checks are rolled 
  on 3d6 (excepting thief skills which preserve the classic method.)  The difficulty of a roll is the 
  number you must roll equal to or higher than in order to succeed.  Rolls may involve adding 
  your attack bonus, an ability score modifier, your ranks in a skill, or other bonuses or penalties.  
  For example, a Wisdom check would mean that you would roll 1d20 and add your wisdom 
  modifier to the result. 
  Your character will inhabit at least two different bodies in the course of the game.  The first is a 
  normal flesh-and-blood body, with the same attributes and capabilities as a normal OSR 
  character.  However, they can also plug themselves into their own personal starship, so that 
  they can engage in space combat in much the same way they might get in a swordfight in the 
  dungeon.  During these times, the starship is your character’s body, and you will use the 
  physical attributes of the starship instead of those from his clone.  Unlike other sci-fi games you 
  may be familiar with, the party will not have to pool their resources to obtain a vessel.  Every PC 
  is a competent starship pilot, and they will all begin with their own vessel for exploration and 
  combat.   
  In the course of this game your character will, if you are successful, accumulate treasure, 
  experience points, skills, and levels.  While magic is not available to PCs at the beginning of the 
  game, they can eventually learn it if they prosper, and choose to do so.   
  In general, technology more advanced than the medieval is not available on Nonpareil.  Magic is 
  not known anywhere other than Nonpareil. The most obvious course of action is for the PCs to 
  take whatever gear they feel will advantage them, and go there in search of enchanted 
  treasures, lore, and anything else of value they can find. 
   
  Book 2: Character Creation 
   
  
  Determine Attributes 
  Attributes are perhaps even faster to determine than they are in other OSR games.  You will 
  select them rather than rolling dice.  We are using the standard OSR attributes, using the classic 
  attribute scales if for any reason you should happen to want to generate characters randomly.  
  All Player Characters are members of the same class, Immortals.  NPCs can have classes from 
  whatever OSR-compatible game you like, appropriately converted, and we won’t belabor the 
  point too much.  If you’re an OSR regular, you’re used to house-ruling things to make them 
  work the way you want.   
   
  Unnamed NPCs should not have good stats; assume 9s across.  Named NPCs may or may not 
  have especially good or bad stats.  The normal method of generation for non-Immortal NPCs 
  that you care enough to have stats for is 3d6 down the line in order. 
   
  The way that you determine a new PC’s attributes is by distributing three points of positive 
  modifier among their physical ability scores, and another three points among their mental 
  ability scores.  They will have the minimum attribute necessary to have that modifier.  The 
  physical ability scores are Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution.  The mental ability scores are 
  Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma.  No one who is not mentally gifted is ever selected for the 
  process of becoming Immortal.  On the other hand, even someone who was born as an invalid 
  will receive a clone that is in very good if not Olympian physical condition.  The modifiers from 
  your attribute scores do the following: 
   
  Strength adds to your character’s attack and damage rolls with Melee and Unarmed attacks. 
   
  Dexterity modifies your Armor Class, and also adds to attack (but not damage) rolls for Ranged 
  attacks. 
   
  Constitution modifies your Base Hit Points. 
   
  Intelligence applies to more skills than any other attribute. 
   
  Wisdom applies to saving throws versus Spells, and affects your attempts to lock targets in 
  starshp combat. 
   
  Charisma can modify reaction rolls, and affects your ability to manage henchmen or hirelings.   
   
  
  Immortals cannot ever begin play with negative modifiers, or attribute scores below 9.  The 
  process of cloning, death, and resurrection allows plenty of opportunities for the correction of 
  major defects. 
   
  The following is the scale of attributes and their bonuses: 
  Attribute  
  Score 
  Modifier 
  3 
  -3 
  4-5 
  -2 
  6-8 
  -1 
  9-12 
  0 
  13-15 
  +1 
  16-17 
  +2 
  18 
  +3 
   
  Example:  Captain Alyssa Marceaux is a new Immortal PC. Her player wants her to be resilient 
  enough to survive out past the edges of explored space, and quick with a laser.  However, her 
  physical strength isn’t as important.  Alyssa is assigned +2 to Dexterity and +1 to Constitution.  
  That gives her physical attribute scores of Strength 9, Dexterity 16, and Constitution 13. 
   
  Her player wants her to be all-around mentally talented, without any great specialties but also 
  without any areas where she isn’t superior to the average human.  She is assigned +1 to every 
  mental attribute, giving her scores of 13 in Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. 
   
  Class 
  Fortunately, this choice is much easier.  All PCs are members of the same class: Immortals.  
  Immortals may not appear to be anything special when you look at their stats.  They have no 
  magic, no thief abilities, and look a bit like an underpowered fighter.  However, Immortals have 
  a number of advantages.  They have starships, they can survive death in space battles, and they 
  have access to equipment superior to any non-magical equipment on Nonpareil. 
   
  Level 
  HD 
  XP Required 
  Attack 
  Bonus 
  SP per 
  week 
  Saving 
  Throws 
  1 
  1 
  0 
  +1 
  2 
  15 
  2 
  2 
  2,000 
  +2 
  4 
  14 
  3 
  3 
  4,000 
  +2 
  6 
  13 
  4 
  4 
  8,000 
  +3 
  8 
  12 
  5 
  5 
  16,000 
  +3 
  10 
  12 
  
  6 
  6 
  32,000 
  +4 
  11 
  11 
  7 
  7 
  64,000 
  +4 
  12 
  11 
  8 
  8 
  128,000 
  +5 
  13 
  10 
  9 
  9 
  250,000 
  +5 
  14 
  10 
  10 
  10 
  400,000 
  +6 
  15 
  9 
  11 
  10+2 
  500,000 
  +6 
  16 
  9 
  12 
  10+4 
  600,000 
  +7 
  17 
  8 
   
  Level, hit dice, and experience points are all concepts you should be familiar with.  Attack Bonus 
  is used to resolve attack rolls.  Immortals have the same base value for saving throws regardless 
  of type, although they can receive modifiers to individual types.  For example, all Immortals 
  receive +2 to all saving throws versus poisons or diseases.  SP Per Week tells how many skill 
  points a given Immortal gains; this figure is the same regardless of whether they are out 
  adventuring or laying on the couch eating cheese puffs from the fabricator.  Skill Points will be 
  explained in a later chapter. 
  HD & Levels 
  Immortals use D8s for Hit Dice.  They begin at first level with the maximum die result of 8HP.  At 
  each new level, all of their HD are rerolled.  The new result is taken if it is better.  Otherwise, 
  the character gains 1 HP.  Keep a record of the character’s Base HP without constitution 
  modifiers.  Current HP will be modified based on the Constitution score of the Clone or Starship 
  that the character is currently occupying, and may not always be the same. 
  Example: Captain Marceaux has a constitution of 13, with a +1 modifier.  At first level, her base 
  HP is 8.  Her clone’s Constitution score of 13 applies when she is out walking around on the 
  surface of Nonpareil, so if she gets into a fistfight with a mountebank she will have 9HP.  Her 
  ship the Corbeau, however, has a Constitution of 9.  In space combat, she has only 8HP. 
  When she reaches second level, she rolls 2d8 for her new HP total.  If she rolled a 6 and a 7, for 
  example, her new Base HP would be 13.  Her clone’s HP would be 15, and her starship would still 
  have only the 13.  If she rolled a 1 and a 2, however, her Base HP would still increase to 9, 
  because one always gains at least 1 HP on gaining a new level.  In that case, her clone would 
  have 11 HP and the Corbeau would have only 9. 
  After level 10, characters still reroll their entire pool of hit dice each level.  However, instead of 
  adding more dice to the roll, after tenth level they add two hit points per additional level to the 
  final result.  They still gain a minimum of 1 HP at each level. 
  Proficiencies 
  
  Immortals are considered proficient in all weapons and armor.  Additional bonuses beyond 
  mere proficiency can be obtained by learning the appropriate Skills. 
   
  Finishing Touches 
  Your character should have a name, a description, and a brief history of 150 words or less.  You 
  will receive 100GC to purchase starting equipment with.  See the equipment chapter for details.  
  You will also receive two basic frigates with one Role apiece.  See the section on starships for 
  details.  Further, you will receive a number of free skills and 30SP to spend immediately.  See 
  the section on skills for details.   
   
  Book 3: Equipment & Encumbrance 
   
  Coins & Money 
  A starting Immortal receives 100 Galactic Credits (GC) to purchase necessities and get their start 
  as an adventurer.  GC is universally accepted throughout spacefaring culture, and may or may 
  not be accepted on the surfaces of planets, alien civilizations, or other total backwaters.  They 
  are completely unknown and worthless on Nonpareil, which is where you probably want to go. 
   
  A Galactic Credit is a very large piece of currency, somewhat awkward for casual use.  They can 
  be divided up into 10 Space Credits (SC), and each Space Credit can in turn be divided up into 10 
  Cosmic Credits (CC.) This is somewhat irrelevant when dealing with electronic transfers (which 
  are almost universal for above-board transactions, since ships, stations, space-ports, and 
  anywhere else that matters have access to secure ansible communications), but if you want to 
  carry around actual physical credit chips, you may want to stick to the larger denominations.  
  Rarely seen are the Prime Credits (PC) which are worth 10 GC.  A physical credit chip is an 
  extraordinarily durable item about the size and weight of a US quarter, semi-transparent, with 
  holographic inlays that show up when it is held up to the light.  They cannot be effectively 
  counterfeited.  
   
  Planetary currencies vary wildly and are largely up to the referee.  You should assume that a 
  single GC is worth the equivalent of $1000 US Dollars in planetary currency, or some similar 
  measure of buying power.  The amount of attention paid to these issues should vary based on 
  the players’ and referee’s interest in them.  In general, because PCs are throwing around so 
  much money, the referee should gloss over expenditures on normal consumer goods or hotel 
  stays or similar.  It can either be assumed to be part of the character’s lifestyle cost, or else the 
  referee can declare that the PCs spend one or two GC and call it a day. 
  
   
  Currency on Nonpareil 
  The natives of Nonpareil use solid chunks of more or less precious metals for their currency.  
  The PCs will just have to hunt some down when they get there, probably.  Use the rules and 
  costs from your favorite OSR clone or original version of the first roleplaying game.  If they bring 
  these goods back to galactic civilization, you can assume they sell at a rate of 1GC per 100GP of 
  value. 
   
  Equipment 
  Equipment is stuff that the character carries around outside of their starship.  The goal in the 
  design of this game is to place tight limits on how much PCs can carry, but to make each item 
  mechanically relevant.  See the Encumbrance rules at the end of this chapter. 
   
  The common element here is that the items are mechanically relevant. The weapon and armor 
  are used to fight, the computer is used to hack  or program.  A character is also allowed to have 
  a small number, maybe up to six things, of very small items that are basically only there for 
  flavor or are so universal as to not require an inventory slot (such as a commlink, which 
  everyone should carry at all times.)  They can also carry a reasonable amount (maybe up to 20 
  chips) of pocket money.  Large amounts of money, gems, jewelry, whatever, will require a 
  Utility slot.  More than one spare magazine for a weapon will require a utility slot.  Assume that 
  up to five extra magazines can be fit into a utility slot. 
   
  Assume that weapons and armor available on Nonpareil (or other primitive human planets) is 
  as per your favorite OSR game.  Primitive Armor grants Armor Class only, and does not give 
  Armor Points to the wearer.  Also, please note that the damage for normal medieval weapons 
  may be somewhat lower than you are used to.   
   
  Armor Options: 
  Slimline Armor Vest: 1GC, 1 Encumbrance, AC 13.  Not detectable without a search. 
   
  Ablative Vest: 1GC, 1 Encumbrance, 3 armor.  Suit loses 1 Armor point permanently each time it 
  absorbs damage. 
   
  Skintight Armored Bodysuit: 3GC, 2 Encumbrance, AC 15, 1 Armor.  Not detectable without a 
  search, so long as the character is wearing pants and a long-sleeve shirt, or the equivalent.  Can 
  get uncomfortable in hot or humid environments. 
   
  
  Armored Longcoat: 3GC, 2 Encumbrance, AC 15, 1 Armor.  Looks awesome, temperature-
  controlled to be comfortable in almost any weather conditions, water-resistant, with spacious 
  pockets.  The character suffers no discomfort in temperatures from 0 to 44 degree Celsius, and 
  it is pretty helpful even outside that range. 
   
  Light Combat Armor: 5GC, 3 Encumbrance. AC 18, 2 Armor.  Used by elite soldiers.  Includes a 
  helmet with breathing apparatus.  It’s not especially suitable for vacuum, but it will protect 
  against biological and chemical weapons, and reduces the effects of radiation by half.  The 
  internal air supply is only good for one-half hour, so it is wise to clear the area.  Wearing this 
  reduces the wearer’s Speed by 1. 
   
  Heavy Combat Armor: 10GC, 3 Encumbrance. AC 18, 3 Armor.  Used by elite soldiers in heavy 
  assault situations.  As the Light Combat Armor above, but internal air lasts for one hour and it 
  reduces the effects of radiation by 75%.  Suitable for vacuum operations, it includes minor 
  maneuver jets (useless in planetary gravity) and magnetic boots.  This armor is equipped with a 
  full suite of battlefield electronics, rangefinders, etc.  Someone with access to the command 
  software could set waypoints and other tactical information onto the helmet’s HUD.  It will 
  negate the effects of flashbangs or similar nonlethal countermeasures.  Wearing this armor will 
  reduce the wearer’s Speed by 2. 
     
  Personal Pulse Shield: 1GC, 1 Encumbrance, 5 shield points.  Any damaging hit will disable it and 
  polarize it, with a number of polarization tokens equal to how much damage the attack actually 
  dealt.  It removes one polarization token per round, and begins charging at a rate of one per 
  round once they are all gone. 
   
  Force Shield Amulet: 3GC, 2 encumbrance, 5 shield points, recharge 2.  Normal Shield rules 
  apply.   
   
  Deflector Shield: 5GC, 1 encumbrance.  +4 to AC against ranged attacks.  Unarmed and melee 
  attacks are unaffected.   
   
  Primitive Armor: Primitive armor and weapons are as per the rules of your favorite OSR game.  
  Assume that light armor (leather or padded) is one encumbrance, a primitive shield is one 
  encumbrance, medium armors are two encumbrance, and half plate, heavy plate, field plate, 
  etc. are all three encumbrance.  Primitive armor only grants Armor Class, not Armor points.  A 
  primitive shield can be used to stop a single melee attack that originates in the character’s front 
  arc from hitting.  The defender may make this choice at any time, so long as they are conscious 
  and able to move.  This splinters the shield and destroys it. 
  
   
  Weapon Options 
   
  Melee 
  Unarmed: 0 Encumbrance, 1d2 damage.  On the plus side, you’ve always got one.  You do not 
  need to Draw an unarmed attack, but you must have one hand free to use one.  You can choose 
  to drop an object from your hands as part of an Unarmed Attack action, but you’ll need to 
  recover it later. 
   
  Conventional Melee Weapon: 1 Encumbrance, 1d6 damage. This is any kind of sword or mace 
  or whatever that you can buy on a medieval planet and wield with one hand. 
   
  Concealable Melee Weapon: 1 Encumbrance, 1d4 damage.  This is a dagger, cosh, or garrote 
  that you can hide easily on your person. 
   
  Two-Handed Melee Weapon: 2 Encumbrance, 1d8 damage.  A two-handed sword, longspear, 
  battle-axe, etc. 
   
  Power Glove: 2GC, 1 Encumbrance, +1d4 damage. This looks like a normal leather glove, but it’s 
  capable of delivering a nasty electric shock.  If someone willingly shakes your hand or lets you 
  pat them on the back, you can damage them automatically with a surprise attack.  If you 
  engage in unarmed combat, you can deal an extra 1d3 damage on any successful hit.  This 
  weapon uses Unarmed rather than Melee skills.  The character’s strength bonus does not 
  inherently apply to attacks using the Power Glove; however it will apply to unarmed attacks to 
  which the Power Glove is adding damage. 
   
  Molecular Sword: 2GC, 1 Encumbrance, 1d8 damage.  This is a personal weapon made of 
  interstellar-age materials.  It’s harder than diamond, has better tensile strength than the best 
  modern metal alloys, and is sharper than a razor.  If used to attack someone wearing medieval 
  armor or no armor, and they do not have a Shield (an energy shield, not a piece of wood used 
  to block attacks), it scores a critical on 19 or 20.  This means that it will literally carve pieces off 
  of a medieval knight’s plate mail.   
   
  Shock Mace: 2GC, 1 Encumbrance, 1d8 damage.  This is a personal weapon that uses kinetic 
  accumulators to power an electrical capacitor.  On a critical hit, the target must save against 
  Paralyzation or lose their next-highest Action Card.  If they have already acted as many times in 
  a round as they can act, they lose their highest Action Card next round. 
   
  
  Smart Spear: 2GC, 1 Encumbrance, 1d8 damage.  This looks like a walking stick of three to four 
  feet long.  At the user’s command, it extends into a six-foot-long spear (this is the equivalent of 
  “drawing” the weapon.)  It can be used to attack an enemy that is two hexes away instead of 
  adjacent, so long as they are in the clone’s front arc. 
   
   
  Handguns 
  Projectile Pistol: 1GC, 1 Encumbrance, 1d8 damage.  Ammo 12, Range 5. This weapon is loud, 
  people are going to notice when you start shooting.   
   
  Laser pistol: 3GC, 1 Encumbrance, 1d6 damage. Ammo 20, Range 7.  The pistol and its 
  “magazines” can be recharged on any starship, given an hour or so. 
   
  Rail Pistol: 5GC, 1 Encumbrance, 1d10 damage.  Ammo 6, Range 9.  This weapon depends on an 
  internal energy reserve that slowly recharges from the magazine, and cannot be fired more 
  than once per round.   
   
  Longarms 
  Assault Rifle: 3GC, 2 Encumbrance, 1d10 damage.  Ammo 30, Range 20.  As above for the 
  handgun, assault rifles make quite a bit of noise.  +2 to hit against targets with primitive or 
  natural armor. 
   
  Laser Rifle: 5GC, 2 Encumbrance, 1d8 damage.  Ammo 40, Range 30.  Ignores deflector shields.  
  If a shield is polarized by a hit from a laser rifle, then add two more polarization tokens than 
  usual. 
   
  Gauss Rifle: 10GC, 2 Encumbrance,  2d6 damage. Ammo 15, Range 40.  If a natural 19 would hit 
  the target normally, then this weapon critical hits on a 19 or 20. 
   
  Neutron Blaster: 10GC, 2 Encumbrance, 2d4 damage. Ammo 10, Range 15.  Ignores primitive or 
  natural armor.  This weapon targets a single hex; if there are other creatures in any adjacent 
  hex, apply the same to-hit roll against their AC.  If hit, they take half the damage (round down) 
  that the original target takes.   
   
  Magazines 
  Ammunition: An extra magazine of ammunition for any of the above weapons costs 5 Space 
  Credits. 
   
  
  Utility Slot Items 
  Portable Computer: 1GC, 1 Encumbrance. Good for hacking, programming, keeping notes, 
  recording sound and taking selfies.  Many Immortals learn to do this stuff using only the 
  hardware in their head.  The power cells on these last for days. 
   
  Survival kit: 3GC, 1 Encumbrance.  A few pounds of miniaturized, high-tech survival supplies.  
  Nanotech sleeping bag, self-filtering water bottle, etc.  This should let you go camping for a few 
  days in easy terrain without dying.   
   
  Food Pak: 1GC, 1 Encumbrance. 1 week worth of food, packed into convenient forms and 
  preserved.  These are like fancy MREs, and include the same kinds of extra items such as 
  matches, toilet paper, resilient packaging, etc. 
   
  Extensive Survival Kit: 5GC, 3 Encumbrance. Microgenerator, high-tech outdoor clothes, wrist-
  mounted cartographic technology, self-inflating tent, the works.  It’s not as good as staying 
  home, but it’s pretty good.  Includes gear for two. 
   
  Briefcase: 2GC, 1 Encumbrance.  Genuine leather of some exotic animal.  Full of documents and 
  so forth.  Gives +2 to any business or legal type skill check. 
   
  Fancy Clothes: 3GC, 1 Encumbrance.  Normal clothes are mechanically ignored, but if you want 
  to spend the money and attention that an encumbrance slot in part represents, you can wear 
  really impressive duds.  These will give +2 to any one social ability, chosen at the time the 
  clothes are designed and purchased, select from Charm, Intimidate, Seduce, Persuade, or 
  Deceive.  Clothes are usually culture-dependent, you may need to buy different clothes 
  depending on the location.  There’s nothing keeping you from having a closet full of them, 
  obviously, except your wallet and the size of your closet.  Engaging in combat or excessive wear 
  of your fancy clothes will ruin them if the referee notices. 
   
  Shades: 1GC, 1 Encumbrance.  These sunglasses mark you as someone who is all out of fucks to 
  give.  +2 to your saving throws against any mind-affecting or mind-reading power, or any type 
  of gaze attack.  Aviators, mirror shades, your choice. 
   
  Expensive Watch: 5GC, 1 Encumbrance.  This watch is really fucking expensive.  If you wear it 
  along with Fancy Clothes of some kind, people will assume you have lots of money.  That’s +2 to 
  any business dealings where your credibility or solvency is in question.  If you are not wearing it 
  along with Fancy Clothes or their equivalent, then people will probably assume that you are a 
  
  bum who stole this fine timepiece.  It may also have at least all of the functions that could be 
  crammed into any modern-day wristwatch. 
   
  Grav Boots: 5GC, 1 Encumbrance.  They won’t actually let you fly, but they will negate falling 
  damage so long as you’re conscious and able to move.  Can be used for drops from up to a few 
  kilometers up.  Wear something warm. 
   
  Sensor Ring: 5GC, 1 Encumbrance.  This ring looks like an item of jewelry, but it has a variety of 
  short-range sensors built into it.  It’s good for detecting poison, radiation, reading fingerprints, 
  etc.  This combines well with the Touch Interface cybernetic implant, since its more advanced 
  functions are far more helpful with a computer to assist in processing the data.  It will 
  automatically warn you if you’re about to touch anything poisonous, though.  Use the hand 
  with the ring to pick up your food and drink, and you can’t be gotten rid of that way. 
   
  Light Jewelry: 1GC, 1 Encumbrance.  This looks like a normal jeweled ring, bracelet, torc, tiara, 
  etc.  It actually has an internal power source and is able to light up a wide area.  It has multiple 
  settings, the strongest one radiates about a thousand candlepower.  The batteries last for days 
  at even the highest setting. 
   
  Portable Music Player: 1GC, 1 Encumbrance.  The size of a lunchbox, but has nice fold-out 
  speakers.  This can be tuned to mess with bards, sirenes, etc. 
   
  Hoverboard: 2GC, 1 Encumbrance.  Just like the movies.  Gives the user +2 max speed (or +1 
  Hex per day overland), so long as they have at least the Athletics IV needed to operate it safely.  
  Doesn’t work over water, and an athletics specialty in Flight is highly advisable if you intend to 
  use it in combat. 
   
  Security Tools: 2GC, 1 Encumbrance.  Used to pick locks, disarm traps, short circuits, and hack 
  keypads.  +10% to any skill checks to do the above.   Supersedes the primitive “thieves tools” 
  used on medieval planets. 
   
  Ninja Suit: 2GC, 1 Encumbrance.  Urban camo, or other kinds of camo chosen at the time of 
  purchase.  +10% to move silently in any environment, +10% to hide in the appropriate 
  environment. 
   
  Vacuum Suit: 3GC, 1 Encumbrance.  Allows the wearer to survive extremes of pressure, 
  temperature, and radiation.  It won’t let you stand in a sun’s corona, but it will let you survive 
  most other things.  Good for 24 hours before recharging the power supply.  It can’t recycle 
  
  organic waste into food, but it will turn your sweat, et cetera, into drinkable water, and your 
  exhalations back into breathable air.  Not compatible with armor. 
   
  Commlink: 1GC, 0 Encumbrance.  This has all the functions of a modern-day smartphone, plus 
  more.  It can connect to planetary data webs, and communicate peer-to-peer with other 
  commlinks or a starship’s communication system from a distance of 20 kilometers.  They use 
  only normal electromagnetic signals, and cannot send or receive subspace or ansible 
  communications directly.  However, the data webs of most planets contain ansible receivers, 
  such that you can usually send text messages between worlds (so long as you know what world 
  the recipient is on…) The fees to send voice, video, or computer files is usually rather high and 
  the queue is long, and a PC is better off using their own ansible on their ship.  PCs are assumed 
  to have each other’s Commlink IDs, which are equivalent to a phone number but much, much 
  longer and more unique. 
   
  Satchel: 1GC, 0 Encumbrance.  This is used to carry things securely.  The satchel is waterproof, 
  impact resistant, lockable to prevent easy pickpocketing, and resists civilian scanning 
  technology.  It is often used to carry treasure.  Up to 1,000 coins worth of treasure can be 
  carried in a Satchel, although carrying more than 20 (the “pocket money” allowance) will take 
  up 1 Encumbrance.  Gems and Jewels count as 1 coin, coins or credit chips count as 1 coin, 
  items of jewelry generally count as 10 coins unless the GM states otherwise.   
   
  Bug Pak: 10GC, 1 Encumbrance. A collection of a few dozen camouflaged, self-adhesive spy 
  devices.  Motion detectors, video cameras, listening devices, etc. They are about half a 
  centimeter across, and can communicate with any portable computer attached to their control 
  unit.  The control unit is a fist-sized package of electronics which includes sockets for storing, 
  recharging, and downloading or receiving signals from the bugs.  The bugs can be set to either 
  transmit or record.  In the former case, the control unit can receive the signals from within 5 
  kilometers, unless they are in an area of heavy interference or substantial shielding.  If they 
  record, the bugs must be returned to the control unit to download the recorded data.  The bugs 
  have enough power and storage to record for one month before they require retrieval and/or 
  recharging.  A bug that loses all its charge does not lose any data it has already recorded.  The 
  motion sensing devices can be used to set an alarm on the control unit or its attached 
  computer, or a properly programmed commlink so long as it is within 5 kilometers of the 
  control unit. 
   
  Skill Package: Cost varies, 1 Encumbrance. An object the rough size and shape of a soda can, 
  with a data spike at one end that can be plugged into a Cybernetic Interface.  This contains one 
  
  single Skill that can be downloaded into an Immortal’s brain.  The physical package’s cost is 
  trivial, and is included with purchase of the skill. 
   
  Cryogenic Cylinder: 5GC, 1 Encumbrance.  A metal cylinder large enough to stuff in a humanoid 
  head.  If someone’s head can be severed and placed in the cylinder within five minutes of their 
  death, they can be resurrected later using highly advanced medical technology.  The cylinder 
  does not activate until the head is placed within it; once it starts running the internal power 
  supply is good for three months.  If attached to external power, it can work indefinitely.  A 
  character whose head is still preserved somewhere cannot be the subject of resurrection 
  magic. 
   
  Encumbrance 
  A new Immortal has 3 Encumbrance slots.  One for a weapon, one for a defensive item, and one 
  for a utility item.  They gain a number of additional slots equal to their Strength modifier, which 
  can be spent on anything.  This is very limited, and is intended to get play started quickly and to 
  help differentiate characters.  PCs must cooperate to cover the necessary bases.  It also 
  represents the fact that at this point, Immortals are not used to carrying around large amounts 
  of gear like other OSR adventurers.  Certain Skills will allow PCs to carry more gear. 
   
  NPCs with classes from other OSR games should be given Encumbrance capacities more in-line 
  with the games they come from.  Immortals will likely be shocked by seeing how laden down 
  the competition is. 
   
  If a character carries items that exceed her capacity for encumbrance slots, then her Speed is 
  reduced by two for each additional point of encumbrance. 
   
  Example: Alyssa Marceaux is a new immortal ready to start adventuring.  Her Dexterity modifier 
  is better than her Strength, so she chooses a ranged weapon.  She thinks she’ll need the superior 
  ammunition capacity of the Laser Pistol where she’s going, so she purchases one of those, and 
  one extra magazine, even though she’s worried about the low damage.  Those two take up her 
  weapon slot, and cost 3GC + 5SC, leaving her with 96.5GC.  She wishes she had the skills or the 
  strength score to take additional defensive items, but she is forced to accept the lesser ones that 
  cost only one slot. She purchases an Ablative vest and an Armored vest.  She thinks she’ll keep 
  the latter on her ship for backup, and use the former to protect herself from the first hit or two 
  of a fight.  Her Armor Class is 12 with the former, or 14 with the later, due to her high Dexterity 
  modifier.  This costs her 2GC, leaving her with 94.5. 
   
  
  Last are her utility slot items.  She purchases a Commlink for one GC, because it takes up no 
  encumbrance.  She also purchases a Satchel for one GC and zero encumbrance, and stashes a 
  Survival Kit inside it.  She thinks that once she finds any treasure, she’ll discard the survival kit, 
  stuff the satchel full of loot, and head back to her vessel.  This costs her a total of five GC, 
  leaving her with 89.5 Galactic Credits, and it takes up her single utility slot.  She feels 
  underprepared and should probably gather some companions to cover her weaknesses, like low 
  damage. 
   
  Cybernetic Equipment 
  Cybernetics can be installed surgically, but that involves long hospital stays, and trusting people 
  to cut on you while you’re unconscious and vulnerable to death.  Therefore, the normal method 
  for Immortals is to grow their new clone around the cybernetic implants they want to have 
  available the next time they die, or transfer into the new body. 
   
  A character cannot have cybernetics installed into their clones unless they have the Cybernetic 
  Tolerance skill.  The following are sample cybernetics.  Cybernetics are usually not apparent to 
  the casual observer, but can be detected by normal security scans. 
   
  Melee Weapon Implants: You have some kind of implant that extends to function as a melee 
  weapon of your choice.  Cost is as per the melee weapon you choose, plus 15GC.  Popular 
  models include a trio of claws that extend from the back of your hands, and function as a 
  molecular sword.  Used with the Melee skill. 
   
  Iron Fists: Your unarmed damage is increased by two steps, and you are able to safely do things 
  with your bare hands that would be otherwise inadvisable, such as touching biocontaminants 
  (like some kinds of oozes…), picking up handfuls of broken glass or objects up to 1000 degrees 
  centigrade, etc. 10GC. 
   
  Bone Lacing: Decrease the die type of falling damage by two steps.  15GC. 
   
  Reinforced Physiology: Gain one inherent point of Armor.  This stacks with any armor you wear. 
  30GC. 
   
  Light Emitters: Some part of your anatomy can emit light up to 1000 candlepower.  Choose the 
  body part at the time your clone is constructed.  10GC. 
   
  Wireless Adaptation: Your Cybernetic Interface has wireless capabilities, allowing it to do all 
  kinds of exciting things.  If you have advanced skills in operating your cybernetic interface, this 
  
  will allow you to forgo the use of a commlink.  This does not count as an item of cybernetics for 
  Tolerance purposes, but it does still cost 10GC. 
   
  Touch Interface: You have pads on your fingers, calves, and/or other body parts which are able 
  to transmit signals from your brain to computer devices that you can touch.  This does not 
  allow you to do anything you would not normally have the access to do, but it can let you forgo 
  the use of keyboards or mice, pilot hoverboards with more sophistication, and (if you have the 
  skills to do so) generate and store extremely secure passwords with your CI and provide them 
  with a touch, so that they cannot be intercepted. 10GC. 
   
  Night Vision: Your eyes are modified to see in the dark, both with light amplification and with 
  perception of other wavelengths.  This is equivalent to the darkvision or infravision available to 
  nonhuman characters in your OSR game of choice.  By default, it has a range of 40 meters. 
  20GC. 
   
  Sonar: You have a sonar adaptation.  This works with a 20 meter range on the surface, or 40 
  meters underwater.  Closing your eyes and operating via sonar is a really excellent thing to do if 
  you think there might be creatures with gaze attacks around. 30GC. 
   
  Gills: You are able to breathe normally underwater, whether fresh water or salt water.  Your gill 
  slits are sealable, and very difficult to spot when not in use.  However, the use of gills is not 
  compatible with the use of the more all-covering types of combat armor, as water must be able 
  to flow freely over your torso.    15GC. 
   
  Underwater Adaptation: This does not include gills or sonar, but it does include nictating 
  membranes over your eyes to protect them from underwater conditions.  More importantly, it 
  includes expandable webbing.  If you dispose of any gloves and boots you are wearing, you can 
  use your normal movement rate underwater.  20GC. 
   
  Stealth Installation: Your cybernetic implants cannot be detected by normal security scans.  This 
  doubles the cost of all your other cybernetics, and costs 20GC by itself. 
   
  Grav Implants: This counts as two items of cybernetics.  You are immune to falling damage, and 
  can jump triple the normal distance.  50GC. 
   
  Laser Implant: You have a built-in laser attack equivalent to a laser pistol.  This includes a built-
  in self-regenerating power supply.  While you cannot change or add magazines, the “magazine” 
  
  will automatically recharge every hour.  Cybernetics aficionados debate the relative utility of 
  installing this in the hand versus the inherent cool factor of having laser eyes.  30GC. 
   
  Anti-Venin: Whenever you save against poison, roll twice and take the better result. 20GC. 
   
  Immune System Regulator: Whenever you save against disease, roll twice and take the better 
  result. 20GC. 
   
   
   
  Book 4: Starships 
   
  The piece of equipment most vital to this game is the Starship.  In this introductory document, 
  we will cover only the most basic starships: Frigates and Shuttles.  The central thing to 
  understand about Starships is that there is a difference between the vessels operated by 
  Immortals and those operated by mundane crew.  A mundane vessel has common areas, crew 
  quarters, and other things necessary for its operation.  They require crew ranging from a single 
  pilot for a shuttle, up to a handful of professional naval crew for a combat frigate.   
   
  Immortal-modified vessels often have very little habitable space.  They tend to have fewer 
  Amenities, because they have no crew complement.  An Immortal’s ship is modified so that all 
  functions are automated, controlled by their brain and its vast array of cybernetic 
  augmentations.  The total living space is less than ten square meters.  In return for this, an 
  Immortal pilot can get performance from their vessel beyond anything that a mundane crew 
  can dream of.  Every component works in perfect unison, guided by the Immortal like a master 
  conductor guiding an orchestra.   
   
  The experience of operating a ship through a Cybernetic Interface would be too harrowing for a 
  normal, unmodified human.  A battery of psychological tests and extensive special training is 
  required before an individual can undergo the process to become an Immortal.  The simple fact 
  is that the human brain is insufficient to operate every part of a starship simultaneously.  So, 
  the Immortal’s ship is full of cybernetic computer hardware that runs multiple artificial 
  “instances” of their conscious mind, or at least shards of it.  It’s like being in a funhouse mirror 
  maze, except that every reflection or part of a reflection is an independent shard of your own 
  mind.  All are under central control and ramifying outward from the pilot, but each performing 
  their own tasks.  While jacked in, the character has direct control over several mainframes and 
  
  data clusters worth of computer power, and they can command it all as quickly as they can 
  think – or even faster.   
   
  How to Build a Starship 
  Mechanically, this process is simple.  Select a starship.  If you like, then select a basic role.  Add 
  any necessary active modules, and write the ship’s stats (modified by your character’s skills!) on 
  a piece of paper.  To have this ship built at a shipyard, pay the cost of the vessel.  A normal 
  shipyard will take a period of one month to build your new ship.  If your character is present at 
  a shipyard and has certain advanced skills, they may be able to manage construction 
  themselves much faster.  All Immortal ships are custom-built, in order to allow the Immortal’s 
  skills to apply.  You can’t buy them “off the rack.”  For this reason, you should have a few 
  stashed in hangars here or there, so that your next clone can pick them up if they are 
  destroyed.  A new Immortal PC begins with two Frigates, each with one Role. 
   
  Immortals cannot trade starships.  Each Immortal has unique aspects to their psychology, style, 
  and personalizations to their infomorphic profile.  It requires several days of reprogramming to 
  make a starship able to accept a new Immortal pilot, and the conversion will still result in the 
  starship having a permanent -1 to one physical attribute chosen by the Referee. 
   
  Cost 
  First, add up all flat costs.  Then apply every cost modifier.  If a starship costs 100GC, and you 
  give it a role that costs +100GC, and then apply two modules that have x2 cost modifiers, then 
  the total is (100GC+100GC)x2x2= 800GC.  If there were three modules with x2 cost modifiers it 
  would be 1600GC, and if there were four it would be 3200GC.  Heavily customized starships 
  with additional integrated technology can become extremely expensive very quickly.  That’s the 
  price you pay for superhuman performance. 
   
  Modules 
  Most starships will need to have a few modules, at least if you want to do anything interesting 
  with them.  Modules can be Active, Passive, or Inherent.  Active modules are strictly limited, 
  and require a weapon mount or utility mount.  A given starship can only have a few active 
  modules at most.  A passive module means enhancements to the starships internal systems.  
  Ships do not come with Passive modifiers automatically, and these will have a cost modifier.  
  Inherent modules are those things that a starship must always have, such as a power core.  The 
  following are the types of Inherent modules that starships will usually possess. 
   
  1. Amenities  
  
  Amenities are features of the internal living space of a starship.  Mundane Starships will usually 
  have a few more than an equivalent Immortal-modified starship, but the precise numbers are 
  up to the Referee. Immortal ships are less comfortable than mundane ones; they’re full of 
  automation hardware and the Immortal spends much of their waking time connected to the 
  ship’s systems. Amenities do not usually have their own extra cost; they are part of the cost of 
  the starship.  
   
  2. Weapon Mounts 
  Weapons, and weapon mounts come in different sizes.  Frigates have Small weapon mounts, 
  which are the least powerful grade of starship weaponry.  The weapon and mount size 
  categories are: Small, Medium, Large, Capital, and Doomsday.   
   
  If a mount is used to install a weapon of the same size, the weapon may fire in one of six arcs. 
  Front, Rear, Front Right Quarter, Front Left Quarter, Rear Right Quarter, or Rear Left Quarter 
  (see illustrations.)  If a mount is used to install a weapon of a smaller size than the mount, it will 
  be fitted in a Turret and may fire in any arc.  Also, two weapon mounts of a given size may be 
  traded in for a Turret of the same size.   
   
  Additionally, a starship may use a weapon mount to fit a weapon of one size category larger in 
  a Spinal Mount.  This has a highly restricted arc and may only fire directly forward.   
   
  3. Utility Mounts 
  Utility mounts are used for active equipment such as probes, mining lasers, tractor beams, and 
  other things that a starship uses to do things outside of combat.   
   
  4. Ansible Communications 
  An Ansible is a device which is used for instantaneous communication across any distance.  The 
  bandwidth available is not fantastic; a normal ansible can safely move about as much data as a 
  modern-day broadband connection.  If the pilot attempts to push more data through than that, 
  it begins to risk waveform collapse, which will destroy the ansible irreparably.  An ansible can 
  always finish transmitting a single Quantum Information Packet, no matter how large, before 
  being destroyed.  For this reason, a ship’s ansible is able to send an Immortal pilot’s brain-state 
  in the instants before it, and the ship, are blown into atoms. 
   
  An ansible cannot broadcast or send blind.  It ignores normal space and cannot be jammed, 
  intercepted, or interfered with in any way.  However, you have to know the Identification Code 
  of the ansible you are sending to.  Generally, you are assumed to have available to you the 
  ansible ID of your friends, allies, contacts, etc.  Also, most ships broadcast their Ansible ID as 
  
  part of their transponder signal.  An ansible cannot be forced to take so much data that it 
  collapses; the pilot must choose to accept the packet. 
   
  5. Transponders & EM Communications, Basic Sensors 
  Ships are supposed to transmit a transponder signal via normal radio or some other part of the 
  EM spectrum at all times.  If they do not, navies and others are allowed to assume that they are 
  pirates and respond accordingly.  Ships have a full suite of communications and sensor gear 
  across the EM spectrum. 
   
  6. Subspace Communications & Sensors 
  Subspace is an application of dimensional technologies, much like warp drives.  A subspace 
  communicator can broadcast omnidirectional signals that travel at 100 times the speed of light.  
  These signals can be tracked, and cannot be hidden by using a tight-beam transmission like 
  normal radio, laser, or other EM communications.  They are difficult to jam, even with military 
  hardware.  However, they can only be picked up by subspace equipment, which is bulky and not 
  man-portable.  Civilizations that have technology only equivalent to real-world earth would 
  have no way to detect them.  A ship’s Subspace broadcast can usually cover its own star system 
  and any adjacent hexes.  Subspace signals are not blocked by normal matter or energy, and 
  thus travel normally through nebulae, stars, really anything but a Black Hole, specialized 
  shielding, magic, etc. 
   
  Subspace sensors will allow a ship to detect any active vessels in its own or any adjacent 
  system-scale hex.  The signals are sufficiently faster than light that they cannot be avoided or 
  outrun in normal circumstances.   
   
  All ships have an emergency subspace transponder.  This is a box a bit smaller than a footlocker 
  somewhere behind a bulkhead or under the floor.  They are armored, colored bright orange, 
  waterproof, float rather than sink, and are generally moderately indestructible.  They have 
  enough power for a year once activated.  When activated, they send out an emergency beacon 
  through subspace that will spread through their own Warp-scale hex and every adjacent hex.   
   
  7. Shields 
  The default rule for shields is that if the ship loses all Shield Points, the module gain five 
  polarization tokens.  Absent any special skills, actions, or modules, that means it will take five 
  Cooldown phases for them all to be removed.  Once the last Polarization token is removed, the 
  shield can take its normal recharge instantly.  The number before the slash indicates the 
  number of points regained during cooldown, the number after the slash indicates the maximum 
  shield. 
  
   
  8. Power Core 
  A ship’s Power Core is the engines and energy storage hardware at the heart of the vessel.  It’s 
  the module that produces Power tokens, which are necessary for many starship operations.  
  Power is expressed as two numbers separated by a slash.  The first number tells you how many 
  Power tokens the ship regains during Cooldown.  The second number tells you the maximum 
  number of Power tokens the ship can have. 
   
  9. Cargo Capacity 
  Cargo Capacity can be confusing, because it means both weight and volume.  A normal cargo 
  hold has a number of cubic meters of space equal to its capacity in tons.  The starship can safely 
  move with at most a number of thousands of kilograms of weight (in normal gravity; no you 
  cannot carry more things by turning the ship’s gravity off.)  What this means is that with 
  extremely heavy things, you will not be able to entirely fill your cargo hold.  With extremely 
  light things, on the other hand, you are limited by the available space rather than by the weight.   
   
  10. Grav Drives 
  This is the type of propulsion that lets a ship move around in normal space.  It controls the 
  ship’s maximum speed and acceleration.  If a ship’s grav drives are destroyed, it will be cast 
  adrift and unable to maneuver, accelerate, or decelerate.  It will continue moving in a straight 
  line according to its current facing at a rate determined by its speed tokens.  During your move, 
  if you add or remove any speed tokens this requires one Power and adds one Heat.  If you use 
  any Maneuvers, this also costs one Power and adds one Heat.  The amount of maneuvers you 
  use and the amount of Acceleration you use do not affect the cost.. 
   
  In combination with the Warp Drives, a ship’s Grav Drive is capable of using Cruising Speed.  
  This can be done while the Warp Drives are polarized, but they must not be destroyed.  So long 
  as the ship is not within 500 kilometers (50 hexes in starship combat) of another active ship or 
  other intense source of multidimensional activity, it can initiate a Cruise and travel at a speed 
  measured in a number system-scale hexes every ten minutes.  System-scale hexes are a light-
  minute across, and so on a large enough table one could represent a fairly large chunk of a solar 
  system.  No ship’s cruising speed can ever exceed 9 under any circumstances. 
   
  11. Warp Drives 
  Warp Drives are what is used to travel faster-than-light, and are needed to move through 
  interstellar distances.  A normal starship can move one Interstellar Hex on a single Warp jaunt.  
  That is typically enough to move from one star system to an adjacent one.  They are high-
  powered, finicky pieces of equipment, and require special rules. 
  
   
  Warp Drives use a pool of energy that works differently from other types of energy pools.  Its 
  default state is zero tokens of warp energy.  It does not naturally gain any or lose any during the 
  Cooldown phase.  Charging the warp drives, or maintaining a charge, will normally take 
  everything a ship has got.  In fact, so long as the warp drive has any tokens on it, the ship does 
  not remove heat tokens normally, nor does the Power Core regain any Power tokens.  If a ship 
  has warp tokens during cooldown, then it must add one heat token. 
   
  In order to use the warp drive, first the crew must spend a number of actions to charge the 
  warp drive.  Each time they take the Charge Warp Drive action, they may remove one Power 
  token in order to add one Warp token to the Warp Drive.  When the Warp Drive is charged up 
  to the Warp Threshold of the ship, then the pilot can make sure the ship is pointed in the right 
  facing to reach their destination, and use the Warp Out action.  The ship is instantly thrown 
  forward at hyperlight velocities.  This will remove a ship from combat immediately and move 
  them one hex in whatever direction at Warp Scale.  They can pick the location at their arrival 
  system with limited precision.  The GM should put them down within 1d6 system-scale hexes or 
  so of their target location, off-course in a random direction.  This will NOT cause the ship to 
  crash into anything or cause them to appear inside a planet or otherwise directly in harm’s way.  
  Warp travel isn’t a precision process, but starships can always come out of warp before they get 
  themselves into real trouble. 
   
  The Warp Threshold entry on a ship’s description tells you how many warp tokens must be on a 
  vessel before the Warp Out action can be taken.  A ship cannot use the Charge Warp Drive or 
  Warp Out actions once they are already in warp, nor can they “save” Warp tokens once they 
  are in warp.  All warp tokens are removed as soon as the Warp Out action is used. 
   
  After coming out of Warp, a ship’s warp drives are polarized and cannot be charged or used 
  until they depolarize.  Instead of using the normal rules for polarization/depolarization, the 
  drives take ten minutes to depolarize for each Warp token the ship had prior to warping out. 
  During this time, the ship can make normal maneuvers and use Cruising Speed, but cannot 
  charge the warp drive or warp out. 
   
  If the pilot wishes to warp multiple warp-scale hexes, then she must charge the warp engines 
  up with warp tokens equal to the number of hexes desired times the ship’s warp threshold.  It 
  may be dangerous to do this if the pilot is not highly skilled.  Warp travel in a shuttle or frigate 
  requires 1d20 hours, plus four for each warp-scale hex.   
   
  
  Once the ship is actually in warp, it can autopilot.  Typically, the pilot gets some rest, with an 
  automated ship’s alarm set for the computer’s best estimation of half an hour before the ship 
  drops out of warp (there is a countdown, but it can run much faster or slower than real time as 
  the ship struggles and surges through subspace.)  The end of a warp jaunt can’t usually be 
  predicted with any more accuracy than that, and in fact the alarm might go off anywhere from 
  45-15 minutes before the ship actually drops out of warp. 
   
  12. Tractor Beams 
  The big tractor beams are reserved for ships that spend a utility slot on them.  But every ship 
  has enough field emitters to grab and drag into their cargo hold or airlock things within a few 
  hundred yards.  A pilot who is on the ball can rescue someone who gets knocked off into space, 
  or somehow loses pressure in their vacuum suit. 
   
  13. Survey Sensors 
  This is a collection of sensors that can, with the application of appropriate Science skills, tell you 
  all kinds of useful information about a solar system and the planets with in it.  From orbit, you 
  can complete topographical scans, find major mineral deposits, whether the atmosphere and 
  local lifeforms are compatible with humanity, the locations of any civilizations and their 
  approximate level of technological achievement, weird energy signatures or dimensional 
  anomalies, etc. The Referee should not be afraid to give the character a great deal of useful 
  information, so long as it doesn’t step on the toes of the spy array below.  These sensors are 
  sufficient to perform stellar cartography, and a starship will know the type, size, and age of any 
  sun and the location, size, and mass of any planets shortly after warping into the system.  It’s 
  very good about warning the pilot of solar flares, gravity wells, incoming ships, and other 
  hazards. 
   
   
  SAMPLE SHIPS 
   
  Normal Shuttle 
  Shuttles are boring vessels designed to get people from one place to another.  They tend to 
  have amenities, but not much else.  Adding additional modules to a shuttle is probably 
  pointless.  These are actually larger than the more powerful frigates, and typically come in at 
  about thirty meters long.  Shuttles are capable of atmospheric flight, and can set down on land 
  or water. 
  Cost: 50GC 
  Armor Class: 12 (includes modification from Dexterity penalty) 
  Active Modules: None 
  
  Crew: 1 Pilot or 1 Immortal 
  Amenities: The shuttle includes Basic quarters for ten passengers and the one crew, +1 other 
  Amenity chosen at construction. 
  Shields: 1/2 
  Armor: 0 
  Power: 1/7 
  Warp Threshold: 5 
  Max Speed: 5 
  Acceleration: 1   
  Cargo: 11 tons.  This is usually assigned as one cubic meter for each of the passengers and one 
  for the pilot. 
  Physical Attributes:  All at -1. 
  Signature: 15 
  Heat Threshold: 5 
   
  Normal Frigate 
  This is where PCs should start out.  A Frigate is a vessel that has an actual job and is useful for 
  something more than flying from place to place.  They are usually about fifteen meters long, 
  larger for transport or industrial vessels.  Frigates are capable of atmospheric flight, and can set 
  down on land or water. 
  Cost: 100GC 
  Armor Class: 14 
  Active Modules: 1 mount, weapon or utility, chosen at construction. 
  Crew: 3 Mundane (1 pilot, 1 engineer, 1 other) or 1 Immortal. 
  Amenities: Basic quarters for crew if a mundane vessel, Cramped quarters for one if it’s 
  Immortal-modified. 
  Shields: 1/5 
  Armor: 1 
  Power: 1/10 
  Warp Threshold: 5 
  Max Speed: 8 
  Acceleration: 2   
  Cargo: 20 tons 
  Physical Attributes: +1 to one attribute chosen at construction, others at +0. 
  Signature: 14 
  Heat Threshold: 7 
   
  ROLES 
  
   
  A starship may have one, and only one, Role.  This is a central design philosophy that informs 
  every choice in the construction plan.  A Role cannot be changed or re-engineered once the 
  starship is constructed.  A ship can never have more than one role, or have the same role 
  applied twice.  Each of the roles listed below is a basic role that can be applied to any Frigate, 
  for a cost of +100GC.   
   
  Heavy Fighter: 
  +1 Weapon Mount 
  +1/2 Shields 
  +1 Armor 
  +1 Con 
   
  Interceptor 
  +1 Weapon Mount 
  +2 Max Speed 
  +1 Acceleration 
  Cruising Speed 2 
  +1 Dex 
   
  Strike Fighter 
  +1 Weapon Mount, which is automatically a Torpedo Launcher in a spinal mount. 
  +1 ammunition capacity for the Torpedo Launcher. 
   
  Yacht 
  Amenities: Comfortable quarters for 1 pilot + 10 people. +5 additional Amenities. 
  +10 tons cargo. 
   
  Industrial Vessel 
  +1 Utility Mount 
  +1 Armor 
  +30 tons cargo 
  +1 Str 
   
  Courier 
  +4 Max Speed 
  +2 Acceleration 
  Warp Threshold 3 
  
  Cruising Speed 3 
  +1 Dex 
   
  Transport 
  +180 tons cargo 
  +1 Str 
   
   
  SHIP MODULES & AMENITIES 
   
  Weapons 
  Basic weapons do not have a cost listed, as their cost is part of the ship including a weapon 
  mount of the appropriate size. 
   
  Beam Laser: Range 10, 1 Heat, 1 Power, 1d4 damage.  If the target is within short range and has 
  fewer than five speed tokens, the weapon hits on any attack roll other than a natural 1.   
   
  Laser Cannon: Range 12, 1 Heat, 1 Power, 1d6 damage. Deals 1 extra damage if the target still 
  has shield points after the damage is applied. 
   
  Guided Missiles: Range 8, Ammo 5, 2d4 damage. Gains +1 to hit for every Heat token on the 
  target. 
   
  Torpedo: Range 15 Special, Ammo 1, 3d8 damage.  This is a small weapon using only a single 
  weapon mount, but still has only the firing arc of a spinal mount.  When it is fired, the attacker 
  chooses any hex in the spinal mount firing arc, out to the full range of 15 hexes away, in which 
  the torpedo explodes.  Torpedoes do not have medium or long range bands.  The firer rolls an 
  attack against any vessel in that hex.  On a hit they take the full damage, on a miss they take 
  half damage.  The firer also makes an attack roll against every vessel in a hex adjacent to the 
  hex where the torpedo explodes.  On a hit, they also take half the damage of the initial 
  explosion.  On a miss, they take no damage.  Torpedoes are -2 to hit any target that still has 
  Shield Points. 
   
  Gatling Cannons: Range 4, 1 Heat, Ammo 15, 1d10 damage. 
   
  Microwave Beam: Range 6, 2 Heat, 2 Power, 1d6 damage.  On a successful hit, regardless of if 
  any damage is dealt, the target gains two heat tokens. 
   
  
  Plasma Cannons: Range 8, 2 Heat, 2 Power, 1d10 damage. 
   
  Artillery Cannons: Range 10, 1 Heat, Ammo 15, 2d4+1 damage. -1 damage against any target 
  that has Shield Points remaining when the attack hits. 
   
  Rail Cannons: Range 12, 2 Heat, 2 Power, Ammo 10, 2d6 damage. 
   
  Ion Cannon: Range 6, 1 Heat, 2 Power, 1d8 damage.  If any damage penetrates shields, whether 
  or not it penetrates armor, and if the defending ship has any Warp tokens, then they must 
  remove one warp token. 
   
  Utility Modules 
  Tractor Beams: These allow the ship to seize and pull in smaller, unpowered objects in their 
  own or any adjacent hex in starship combat scale.  This is definitely sufficient to kidnap people 
  on a planetary surface from ten kilometers up, and pull them into your cargo hold.  Make an 
  attack roll against them, unmodified by any AC due to armor (although it does count as a 
  ranged attack, so a Deflector Shield or similar would help) to see if they can get out of the way 
  before you have them thoroughly seized.  The target also may attempt a saving throw against 
  Rod, Staff, or Wand.  If the attack hits and the save fails, then you can tow the character up at a 
  rate of 100 meters per second, plus an additional 100 meters per second for each point of 
  Strength bonus your ship has. 
   
  The tractor beams of larger ships, like Capital vessels and Doom Stars, could potentially pull in 
  even frigates under power. 
   
  Laser Mining Array: Needed to engage in space mining, where many valuable and exotic 
  elements can be found in asteroids.    Asteroid mining allows you to obtain 1 ton of refined 
  minerals, +1 ton for every point of your ship’s Strength bonus, with the sum multiplied by the 
  rank you have in the Mine Engineering Skill.  This amount is gained every eight hours spent 
  mining (please note the limitation on how long an Immortal can spend jacked in.)  Different 
  minerals have different prices.  This is not usually a worthwhile activity for Immortals, but it is 
  possible for treasure maps to lead to extremely rare and valuable minerals. 
   
  Salvage Array: This is an array of robotic manipulator arms, laser cutting torches, analyzers, and 
  other hardware that makes it easy and profitable to cut the expensive parts out of a wrecked 
  ship.  This module requires at least Starship Engineering I to use effectively.  When salvaging a 
  wrecked vessel, roll 1d6 for every 50GC of the vessel’s purchase price.  This will give you a 
  
  number of tons of available salvage.  Each ton is worth 2GC.  A character can extract one ton of 
  salvage per hour for every rank they have in Starship Engineering. 
   
  Spy Drone Bay: This is a collection of remote robotic entities that collect information.  They 
  range from fist-sized to 2 centimeters, and can fly, crawl, or swim under their own power.  They 
  have a communication range with the ship of ten kilometers (although they usually collect data 
  and then return to the ship to upload it), and can navigate in and through buildings, pick up 
  sound and video, etc.  The larger ones can take samples and return to the ship with them.  Use 
  of the Waldoes skill will allow an Immortal to personally control the robots.  Otherwise, they 
  navigate and investigate according to a combination of basic commands and their own rather 
  limited AI. 
   
  Amenities & Quarters 
  “Amenities” is the general term for the quality of accommodations on board a starship, and for 
  any special extras the passengers might enjoy.  A ship will normally have quarters for every 
  member of the crew and the passengers, and for simplicity they are assumed to be of the same 
  quality (The Captain of a large naval vessel might get a few more square meters of personal 
  living space than the crew, but this isn’t worth having mechanics for.)  All ships have life 
  support and recycling gear sufficient to provide food, water, air, and waste removal for the 
  entire complement of passengers and crew.  They might not be nice.  The types of simple 
  fabricators that are standard on spacefaring vessels are only able to produce relatively simple 
  organic substances.  They can’t produce weapons, tools, etc. like a full-blown fabricator would.  
  More serious fabrication equipment is available as an amenity. 
   
  Additional amenities are listed by their costs.  For example, if a ship has three amenities, two 
  might be spent improving the quality of the quarters, and a third to add a hot tub.  The precise 
  meaning of a ship’s amenities depends on the size of the ship.  A swimming pool added to an 
  Immortal’s frigate probably means something a meter deep and three meters long, with water 
  jets to allow them to “swim” while staying stationary in the pool.  A swimming pool added to a 
  battleship might well be Olympic-sized.  Exercise facilities on an Immortal’s frigate probably 
  mean a few extra square meters of living space with a bench and freeweights, plus a pull-up bar 
  hanging from the ceiling.  An exercise facility on a Yacht means something more like a weight 
  room with cardio machines. 
   
  Bare: Bare quarters mean something like the inside of a modern-day passenger jet in Coach.  
  There are toilets, but no showers.  Passengers get an uncomfortable bench or seat, there may 
  be an in-flight movie.  The food fabricators produce various kinds of gruel and flavored drinks.  
  At the crew’s option, the food and drinks can contain alcohol or mild sedatives. 
  
   
  Cramped: This is the typical level of quarters on an Immortal-modified starship. There is a tiny 
  living area of about ten square meters, containing a cot, a one square meter closet, a one 
  square meter shower, a small mirror and sink with built-in food fabricator/dispenser, and a foot 
  locker or drawers beneath the cot for personal possessions.  There is enough room to turn 
  around and change clothes, but not much else. The standard food fabricator (it’s set into the 
  wall with a rack of cups and bowls, there isn’t anything like a kitchen) can only make something 
  like frozen yogurt (your choice of five flavors) and protein chunks in curry sauce (also five 
  flavors, but different ones.)  It can also make some generic soap, toothpaste, deodorant, etc. 
  Better fabricators are available as amenities.  In the standard Immortal-modified frigate, this 
  room will have two doors (which can be sealed against vacuum) and one airlock.  One door 
  leads forward to the pilot chamber, which is tiny and contains nothing but the command chair 
  with CI jack and a great deal of computer hardware.  The other door goes aft to the cargo bay.  
  The back of the cargo bay will typically have its own airlock as well.  It is possible in emergencies 
  for the Immortal to take on a single passenger, who can occupy the quarters while the 
  Immortal flies the vessel.  This is not advised for extended trips, however, as it may strain the 
  life support systems eventually. 
   
  Basic: At this level, the closet can contain more than a few of clothes, there are twin-sized beds 
  rather than cots, the hygiene facilities are less ludicrously tiny, although they will probably be 
  common if there are multiple passengers, and there may actually be something like carpet 
  instead of bare metal or ceraplast floors.  The food fabricators have as many as a dozen distinct 
  menu items, with a few flavor options for each, and can also produce slightly fancier hygiene 
  products and a few basic medicines.  There will be a table to eat at (in the common area if there 
  are multiple passengers and crew) and a small desk in the individual rooms.  For that matter, 
  there is a common area, and it has some basic entertainment gear such as video games or a 
  holoscreen, and software/movies/etc.  This is comparable to a modern-day hostel. 
   
  Comfortable: The accommodations resemble a middle-class modern day hotel.  The rooms 
  have actual closets, dressers, sinks, individual bathrooms, individual entertainment hardware in 
  the rooms, and perhaps a mix of double and queen-sized beds.  The common areas have 
  comfortable couches and seating, the food is comparable to a mid-tier chain restaurant 
  (although still cranked out of a fabricator, of course.)  A group of people who are friendly and 
  have some work to do could spend a fair amount of time in quarters like these before 
  succumbing to Space Madness.  There are basic laundry facilities. 
   
  Luxurious: The quarters resemble a modern-day five star hotel.  The food is indistinguishable 
  from what would be served in a high-class restaurant, and will usually have options from a wide 
  
  variety of cultures (although gourmets claim they can tell the difference.)  Common areas are 
  elegant and comfortable.  Laundry facilities are capable of dry-cleaning and otherwise dealing 
  with delicate or expensive clothes.  Please note that the major distinguishing factor between 
  this and a real hotel is that there are no servants.  If the passengers don’t want to have to do 
  everything themselves, they can spend additional amenities on waldoes, or use some of the 
  quarters to bring along actual servants.   
   
  Optional Amenities: 
  Increase quarters from Bare to Cramped: 2. 
   
  Increase quarters from Cramped to Basic: 1 
   
  Increase quarters from Basic to Comfortable: 1 
   
  Increase quarters from Comfortable to Luxurious: 1 
   
  Waldoes: 1. Robotic servants and cleaners, non-humanoid.  If the pilot is an Immortal with 
  Waldoes II, they can be directly controlled by the pilot.  Otherwise they are automated and 
  rather dumb. 
   
  Avatoid Bay: 1. The ship has the hardware and software to allow an Immortal pilot to use an 
  Avatoid, if they have the skills to do so. 
   
  Hot Tub: 1. The ship has hot tub facilities for the passengers.  Alternately, a sauna. 
   
  Exercise Room: 1. The ship has exercise facilities. 
   
  Swimming Facilities: 2. The ship has a swimming facilities. 
   
  Kennel: 2. The ship can carry a few smaller animals (or one larger one) in comfort, at minimum.  
  It may include stables or a small zoo for much larger ships.  This is useful for Immortals with one 
  or more pets. 
   
  Medical Facilities: 1. The ship has a medical bay. 
   
  Library: 1. The ship has extensive archives of information on a wide variety of topics, and tools 
  for digging through it.  In larger ships, this may actually include shelves of many leather-bound 
  tomes.  In smaller ships, the library is probably purely computerized. 
  
   
  Science Lab: 2. The ship has analysis equipment and other necessary supplies. 
   
  Repair Locker: 2. The ship has the bare minimum equipment needed to perform field repairs. 
   
  Fabricators: 4. The ship has on-board fabrication equipment.  Given base elements and the 
  skills, the operator can make almost anything they might need within the size limits of the 
  fabricator.  Larger vessels have larger fabricators, but ships like frigates and shuttles are limited 
  to objects that can fit within a 30cm cube.  Fabricators include a small supply of base elements, 
  but if the user wants to produce large quantities of goods they should fill their cargo hold with 
  more material for the hopper.  The hopper on a fabricator can slowly break down pretty much 
  anything put into it to resupply its stock of base elements.  On smaller vessels, the hopper is in 
  the toilet.  Just dump anything in there you want broken down. 
   
  Additional Quarters: 2. Increase the number of quarters and life support capacity by 25% of the 
  original crew/passenger complement, minimum 1 per time this is selected. 
   
   
  PASSIVE MODULES 
   
  Passive modules modify or enhance the function of a vessel.  They are also known as “bling” 
  because they make a ship better at the cost of a greatly increased price.  It takes special skill to 
  be able to construct starships with extra Bling.  Each one gives a cost modifier, which are 
  sequentially applied to the base cost of the vessel.   
   
  Pilot Tank: x1.25 cost.  A 2.5 x 1 meter cylinder filled with strange glowing and bubbling goop, in 
  which the pilot floats peacefully while flying the ship.  This tank manages all of the character’s 
  biological needs, and counts as hospital care for purposes of Clone HP Recovery.  This is 
  considered ideal for all pilots that intend to stay plugged into their CI for long periods of time.  
  It also negates critical hits that would damage the pilot. 
   
  High Capacity CI: x1.25 cost.  This ship is capable of being flown by an Uploaded pilot. You 
  probably want to combine this with an Ansible Array. 
   
  Quality of Life Enhancement: x1.5 cost, +3 amenities. 
   
  Reinforced Armor: x2 cost, +1 armor. 
   
  
  Afterburner: x2 cost. At a cost of one power and one heat, the ship can add an additional two 
  speed tokens during a move action.  This can increase the number of speed tokens above the 
  ship’s normal maximum.  Speed tokens above the ship’s maximum are removed at the end of 
  the round. 
   
  Shield Booster: x2 cost. At a cost of one power and one heat, the ship can regenerate an 
  additional shield token during Cooldown. 
   
  Warp Acceleration System: x2 cost. Permanently reduce ship’s maximum power by 2, but also 
  reduce its warp factor by 1. 
   
  Shield Backup Coils: x2 cost.  Remove one extra polarization token from the shields during each 
  cooldown. 
   
  Polarity Reverser: x3 cost. At the beginning of a round, before any action cards have been 
  called, you may remove polarization tokens from modules other than the power core.  For each 
  polarization token that you wish to remove from your ship, you must spend two power tokens 
  and add one heat.   
   
  Tracking Sensors: x2 cost. +3 Range to all of your ship’s weapons. 
   
  Predator Sensors: x2 cost. +3 to all Lock Target checks. 
   
  Stealth Modifications: x2 cost. +3 to Signature. Ship is not detectable to modern-day or near-
  future military detection systems, only interstellar levels of technology can detect the vessel 
  beyond direct LOS within ten kilometers.  If landed on a planet, the ship is capable of active 
  camouflage which makes it difficult for low-technology cultures to detect unless they are 
  standing right next to it. 
   
  Coolant: x2 cost, Ammo 5.  You may activate this module at the end of any Action, and remove 
  two heat tokens from your starship.  
   
  Overdrive: x2 cost. +1 Cruising Speed.  This module may not be applied more than once. 
   
  Hyperdrive: x2 cost. +1 Cruising Speed.  This module may not be applied more than once. 
   
  Ansible Array: x1.5 cost.  The ship has space and computing power for an array of 5 extra 
  ansibles, in addition to the one that each ship comes with.  This does not include the ansibles 
  
  themselves; they must be purchased separately.  This allows the ship to transmit a quantum 
  information packet that would destroy an ansible and still have spares, or alternately to use all 
  of them at once to allow greater transmission bandwidth.  For example, a ship using spy drones 
  could transmit all of the data it is receiving in real time, instead of having to pick and choose 
  which bugs to transmit the data from. 
   
  Example: Alyssa Marceaux is a new Immortal PC.  She receives two ships as part of her starting 
  equipment, so she needs to set up a pair of frigates.  She isn’t able to apply any modules to 
  these ships, so she’s going to have to do the best she can with baseline vessels.  She names her 
  first ship the Corbeau, and decides to make it an exploration vessel.  She chooses to make its 
  first mount a Utility mount, and installs a spy drone array.  She assigns its single +1 to Dexterity, 
  choosing to make it a fast, agile vessel.  She very much wants to make the vessel a Courier, but 
  she intends to fly solo.  Going out into unknown space alone with no weaponry sounds like a 
  profoundly bad idea.  So, she grits her teeth and makes it an Interceptor, giving it a Laser 
  Cannon in the forward arc for its single weapon mount, and increasing its Cruising Speed to 2.  
  Her choice of role also adds two to its maximum Speed, and one to its Acceleration.  The 
  dexterity bonus raises its AC to a respectable 16.  It has her own base HP, modified by the ship’s 
  Constitution. 
  It has the following stats after assigning that role: 
  The Corbeau 
  Cost: 100GC 
  Armor Class: 16 
  Active Modules:  
  1. Spy Drone Bay  
  2. Forward Arc Laser Cannon: Range 12, 1 Heat, 1 Power, 1d6 damage. Deals 1 extra 
  damage if the target still has shield points after the damage is applied. 
  Crew: 1 Immortal. 
  Amenities: Cramped quarters for one. 
  Shields: 1/5 
  Armor: 1 
  Power: 1/10 
  Warp Threshold: 5 
  Max Speed: 10 
  Acceleration: 3   
  Cargo: 20 tons 
  Physical Attributes: Str 9, Dex 16, Con 9 
  Signature: 14 
  
  Heat Threshold: 7 
  Special: Cruising Speed 2 
  HP: 8 
   
  She also has a second ship, and chooses to make this one more of a war vessel.  This, she names 
  the Faucon.  She chooses its initial mount to be a weapon mount, sets its first attribute bonus to 
  Dexterity, and makes it a Heavy Fighter.  She combines the two weapon mounts to put an 
  Artillery Cannon in a turret.  She hopes to take this vessel out when she’s teamed up with a 
  group, so that another PC can compensate for her weapon’s weakness against shields. The 
  vessel uses her Base HP, modified by its own Constitution. 
   
  The Faucon 
  Cost: 100GC 
  Armor Class: 15 
  Active Modules:  
  1. Turrent-Mounted Artillery Cannon: Range 10, 1 Heat, Ammo 15, 2d4+1 damage. -1 
  damage against any target that has Shield Points remaining when the attack hits. 
  Crew: 1 Immortal. 
  Amenities: Cramped quarters for one 
  Shields: 2/7 
  Armor: 2 
  Power: 1/10 
  Warp Threshold: 5 
  Max Speed: 8 
  Acceleration: 2   
  Cargo: 20 tons 
  Physical Attributes: Str 9, Dex 13, Con 13 
  Signature: 14 
  Heat Threshold: 7 
  HP: 9 
   
  Alyssa leaves the Faucon docked at the station orbiting Skrillex 7, where her backup clone is 
  stored.  She purchases another set of armor and weapons from the Equipment chapter and 
  stores them in the vessel’s foot locker.  Then, she sets off for adventure with the Corbeau.  If 
  anything kills her out in space, she’ll board the Faucon and seek revenge. 
   
  Book 5: Combat 
   
  
  Combat begins when one party initiates hostilities toward another.  For the rules on surprise, 
  reaction rolls, and morale, you should consult the Encounters section.  The following will give 
  you a step by step guide to combat. 
   
  Initiative 
   
  Combat is divided into rounds.  First, every participant in the combat round receives their 
  Action Cards.  Remove the jokers from a standard poker deck, and shuffle it.  Each participant 
  receives two cards by default.  The referee may assign enemies into groups and give each group 
  the appropriate number of action cards, then each enemy in the group will take the same type 
  of action when one of their cards is played. 
   
  Players and the Referee should look at their own cards, but do not need to reveal them to 
  anyone else.  In large, complex combats, however, the Referee may decide that managing 
  initiative makes it necessary for everyone to play with their cards face up.   
   
  Once all participants have their action cards, the Referee begins counting down from Aces to 
  Deuces, and then Aces again.  Each character involved must reveal their card and take their 
  action when its type is called.  If they do not, the action is lost.  The exception to this rule is that 
  Aces are called at both the beginning and end of the round.  If multiple characters play action 
  cards of the same type, their actions are resolved in the order of precedence of the suits: 
  spades, hearts, diamonds, clubs.   
   
  When a character plays an action card, they may take a single Action of a type that it is legal for 
  them to take.  Characters are limited in how many actions cards they can spend on a single type 
  of action.  A combat round represents about one or two seconds of action. 
   
  Actions 
   
  When a character spends an action card, they may take a single action.  The actions they have 
  available will differ depending on whether they are using a clone or a starship.  The default rule 
  is that no matter how many action cards a character may receive, they can only spend two: One 
  to take a Move action, and another to take an action of any other type (usually an attack of 
  some kind.)  It is still advantageous to receive extra cards, because it gives the player more 
  choices about when they may take their actions.   
   
   
  The Hex Map 
  
   
  Action in this game takes place on a hexmap, using markers or miniatures to keep track of 
  clones and starships.  This is used to determine range, movement, cover, and facing.  The scale 
  of the hexmap differs depending on the context.  For clones, each hex represents about a meter 
  of space.  For Starships, each hex represents ten kilometers.  Clones cannot occupy the same 
  hex unless for some reason they are very small (such as goblins, possibly.)  Several starships can 
  occupy the same hex unless they are particularly large specimens.  The players and referee 
  might agree to avoid this if at all possible due to the difficulty of tracking miniatures in such a 
  situation. 
   
  Clone Movement 
   
  Movement for clones is extremely simple.  The character can move a number of hexes equal to 
  their Speed in any direction.  They can change their facing to any face of their hex at any point 
  or points during this movement.  Entering the hexes immediately in the front facing of an 
  enemy clone armed with a melee weapon, or a monster armed with natural weapons, may 
  result in Interference, explained below. 
   
  Sidestep 
  This allows the clone to use their entire move action to move only one single hex.  If the clone 
  uses this option, Interference does not apply. 
   
  Starship Movement 
   
  Starship Movement is more complicated.  Starships cannot usually start or stop on a dime.  
  Their current velocity is tracked by Speed Tokens, which stay on the starship from round to 
  round unless they are changed by Acceleration.  Starships begin combat with an amount of 
  speed tokens determined by what they were doing when combat began.  If they were simply 
  floating in space, they have zero.  If they were trying to reach a destination, they may have their 
  full maximum Speed.  Special Rule: If a starship has any speed tokens, it must use one of its 
  actions to Move if it is able to do so.  If the starship is for some reason unable to take any 
  actions at all, it moves in a straight line forward for a number of hexes equal to its current 
  speed tokens during the cooldown phase of each round. 
   
  Acceleration 
  At the beginning of their Movement action, the starship may add or subtract a number of speed 
  tokens equal to its Acceleration.  Using their Acceleration costs one Power and adds one Heat. 
   
  
  Movement Points and Maneuvers 
  After Acceleration is applied, the ship has a number of Movement Points equal to the number 
  of Speed Tokens on it.  It must spend ALL movement points before its move is completed.  The 
  careful starship pilot will try not to crash into any asteroids due to unmanageable excess 
  movement. 
   
  The following moves are possible for mundane characters, but skilled Immortals may gain 
  access to additional Maneuvers: 
  1. Change Facing.  This allows the starship to turn its facing from one hex face to an 
  adjacent face.  Essentially, they turn 60 degrees. A ship cannot Change Facing twice in a 
  row; they must alternate Change Facing and Advance.  This costs one Movement Point, 
  and counts as a Maneuver. 
  2. Flip.  The starship does a half-roll.  This maneuver may only be performed once per 
  Move action.  It reverses the firing arcs of all left- or right-mounted weapons on the 
  ship.  For example, a laser cannon that previously fired in the right front quarter would 
  now fire into the left front quarter.  It costs one movement point, and counts as a 
  maneuver. 
  3. Advance.  The starship advances into the hex immediately in front of it.  An uncontrolled 
  ship will spend all of its movement points on Advance.  This costs one Movement Point.  
  It is the only expenditure of movement points that does not count as a Maneuver. 
   
  If a ship takes any maneuvers during its movement (that is, does anything with its Movement 
  Points other than Advance), then it must spend one power and add one heat.  The heat and 
  power cost is the same regardless of how many maneuvers are used.  This is in addition to the 
  heat and power cost of using Acceleration. 
   
  Drawing Weapons & Target Locks 
   
  Clones and Starships each have a certain amount of preparation necessary before they can 
  begin firing at their enemies.  Clones may need to draw weapons, Starships will need to lock 
  their targets.   
   
  Clones 
  If a clone does not begin the combat with a weapon drawn, they must use an Action to draw it 
  before use.  Obviously, the clone does not need to “draw” anything if they intend to make an 
  unarmed attack.  Putting a weapon away properly also requires an action.  Dropping a weapon 
  to the ground can be done for free as part of any other action the clone takes. 
   
  
  Starships 
  Starships cannot fire on an enemy until they gain a “lock” using their computer guidance 
  systems.  Starships are equipped with substantial ECM/ECCM capabilities, and sometimes this 
  can be a difficult process.  Starships can lock a target in any facing, at almost any reasonable 
  range (assume at least 500 kilometers, if it matters.)  Attempting to lock a target requires an 
  action.  The aggressor rolls a D20 and adds their Wisdom modifier for the Lock Target test.  The 
  difficulty of the test is the Signature of the enemy.  A starship knows any time an opponent 
  attempts to lock them, whether they succeed or fail.  If you attempt to lock a target that has 
  already locked you, you gain +2 to the attempt. 
   
   
  Attacking 
   
  Attacking will usually involve making a D20 roll, applying various bonuses and penalties, and 
  attempting to equal or exceed the target’s Armor Class.  A natural 1 always misses, a natural 20 
  always hits and will apply a critical hit result. 
   
  Arcs 
  A character can only attack an opponent that is in the correct arc.  The Arcs for starships and 
  clones are very different.  A starship needs the opponent to be within the arc that their weapon 
  mount covers, or in any direction if the weapon is mounted on a turret.  A clone needs the 
  opponent to be in their front arc.   
   
  Starships are adequately defended in all directions.  Attacking a clone from the flank area gives 
  a +2 to hit, from the rear gives +4. 
   
  Turning 
  A clone can change their facing to any direction at the beginning of an attack action (whether 
  melee or ranged), so they can always face their preferred opponent.  A starship does not get 
  this free facing change. 
   
   
  Arcs for Clones 
  
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
  Alternate Arcs for Clones, if you prefer a square grid for dungeons or something 
   
   
   
   
  Skipping It 
  Clone arcs and movement are really simple enough that you could probably skip using a grid or 
  hex map altogether, if your group prefers.  Ships, however, are complicated enough that you 
  should really use a hex map. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
   
   
   
  Ship Arcs 
  Ships have six arcs.  Special bonuses to hit do not accrue regardless of the direction of an 
  attack, because ships have sensors and so forth in all directions.  However, lining up a shot can 
  be more difficult for a ship, because they cannot turn as part of an attack action by default.  
  Please note that there is some overlap between adjacent arcs of fire for starships. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Ranged Attacks 
  When a character announces a ranged attack against a target, you must first check the range to 
  the target.  Count hexes in the most direct route possible to the enemy and check it against the 
  weapon’s range.  If the target is within a number of hexes equal to the weapon’s range, then 
  the enemy is within Short range and there is no penalty.  Medium range extends out to a 
  number of hexes beyond Short equal to half the Short range, rounding down.  Against an 
  opponent in Medium range, the attacker has a -2 penalty to hit.  Long range extends out to a 
  number of hexes beyond Medium equal to half the Short range, rounding down.  Attacking a 
  target in Long range applies a -5 penalty.  Targets beyond long range cannot be attacked with 
  
  that weapon.  Spell effects and special attacks by monsters do not have medium or long ranges; 
  they only work out to the range specified. 
   
  A ranged attack roll is 1d20 + the attacker’s Dexterity modifier + Attack Bonus + any other 
  modifiers.  On a hit, apply damage as below.  Starships & Clones use the same general rules for 
  ranged attacks. 
   
  Note regarding Starship Weapons 
  When a starship weapon is fired, whether missile, cannon, or whatever, it becomes polarized 
  with a single polarization token.  Starship weapons cannot usually be fired twice in the same 
  round. 
   
  Example: Alyssa Marceaux is armed with a laser pistol.  It has a normal range of 7, and she has 
  no special skills which extend this.  If an enemy is from 1-7 hexes away from her, she attacks 
  without penalty.  The weapon’s range of 7 divided by 2 and rounding down is 3, so that is the 
  length of the medium and long range bands.  If an opponent is 8-10 hexes away, she is at -2 to 
  hit.  If the opponent is 11-13 hexes away, she is at -5 to hit.  She cannot attack an enemy further 
  than 13 hexes away. 
   
  Melee Attacks 
  Starships do not generally have melee attacks.  Clones can usually deliver a melee attack into 
  any of the three hexes directly adjacent to them, in their front arc.  If there is an enemy present 
  in one of those hexes, the character makes an attack roll using 1d20 + the attacker’s dexterity 
  modifier + attack bonus + any other modifiers.  On a hit, apply damage as below.  The clone’s 
  Strength modifier will usually apply to damage as well as the to-hit roll.  Very strong clones can 
  be extremely dangerous in Melee combat. 
   
  Unarmed Attacks 
  Unarmed attacks are essentially a special case of melee attacks.  They imply a character is 
  making the attack with their fists, feet, etc.  A normal clone deals 1d2 damage with an unarmed 
  attack.  Monsters with claws or teeth such as a panther or wolf may deal more damage 
  unarmed. 
   
  The major distinction is that humans use different skills for melee and unarmed combat, and 
  also that a character who is not armed with a melee weapon does not produce Interference.  If 
  the referee prefers, they can rule that all monsters with natural weapons count as being armed 
  due to their natural weapons.  Alternately, they could rule that some natural animals are 
  unarmed (and thus do not interfere, although their unarmed attacks may do more than 1d2 
  
  damage) and that some unnatural creatures such as dragons, dinosaurs, giant octopi, or alien 
  horrors count as being armed with melee weapons due to their highly lethal natural weapons. 
   
  Unarmed attacks use 1d20 + attack bonus + any other modifiers.  Damage is dealt as below. 
   
  Cover 
  When a character launches an attack, they can select any corner or vertex of their hex or 
  square.  Try to draw lines from that corner or vertex to every corner or vertex of the target’s 
  hex or square.  If none of those lines are blocked by an obstacle of some kind (other than the 
  creature you are shooting at, of course), then the enemy has no cover.  If you find that some 
  but not all of the lines are blocked, then the enemy has partial cover and the attacker is at -2 to 
  hit.  If all of the lines are blocked, then the enemy has full cover and cannot by default be 
  targeted by the attack.  If the Referee is convinced that the character can adequately guess the 
  enemy’s location, and that their attack can penetrate the cover and still deal damage, then the 
  referee may allow the attack at -4.  The cover may also grant Armor to the defender. 
   
  Invisible opponents are always considered to have total cover.  Even if you know where they 
  are, you are at -4 to hit them.  Of course, if you have cybernetic Sonar, you can always close 
  your eyes and fight that way. 
   
  Interference 
   
  A clone armed with a melee weapon may Interfere with the ability of other characters to move 
  past their front Arc.  If a character is in one of the three hexes in a melee-armed clone’s front 
  arc, they may not move from it freely unless they have a special ability that allows it.  If they 
  choose to leave their hex anyway, the clone whose arc they are moving out of may take a 
  melee attack action against them.   
   
  The attacking clone need not spend a Turn to make this attack, but they must still have unused 
  melee attack actions remaining.  So, for example, even if the attacking clone had spent all of 
  their Turns that round, so long as none of those Turns had been spent on Melee Attacks, they 
  would be able to attack immediately and for free.   
   
  After that, unless they had the ability to take multiple Melee Attack actions per round, they 
  would not be able to Interfere with anyone else’s movement.  A given character may only 
  Interfere with the movement of a specific other character once per round, but they can 
  interfere with multiple characters if they have enough melee attack actions to do so. 
   
  
   
  Charging & Ramming 
   
  Charging & Ramming are special actions available to Clones and Starships, respectively.  They 
  are not identical, but they do have similar elements, in that they involve making a Move and an 
  Attack in the same action.  In both cases, the character must have two cards of matching suit to 
  execute the Charge or Ram attack. 
   
  Charge 
  When the character’s Action card comes up, they must have a Move action available, and a 
  Melee or Unarmed Attack action available.  For a normal character, this would mean that they 
  must not have taken any Actions yet this round.  They must also have a lower-ranked card of 
  the same suit as the card they intend to use to execute the Charge.  Charging uses up both 
  cards; this is one of the rare times when a character can play an Action card of a suit that has 
  not been called yet. 
   
  The character uses their normal move, which must be sufficient to bring them adjacent to the 
  target enemy.  They then immediately execute a Melee or Unarmed attack with +2 to hit. 
   
  Ramming 
  When the character’s Action card comes up, they must have a Move action available, and a 
  non-Move action available.  There are no skills that specifically give additional Ram actions per 
  round.  For a normal character, this would mean that they must not have taken any Actions yet 
  this round.  They must also have a lower-rankes card of the same suit as the card they intend to 
  use to execute the Ram.  Ramming uses up both cards; this is one of the rare times when a 
  character can play an Aaction card of a suit that has not been called yet.   
   
  The character uses their normal move, which must be sufficient to bring them into the same 
  hex as the target starship.  They then execute a Strength-based attack (1d20+Strength modifier 
  + 1 attack bonus + any other modifiers.)  On a success, add their ship’s Strength modifier to a 
  number based on its size: 
   
  Frigates & Shuttles: 1 
  Gunboats: 1.5 
  Cruisers: 2 
  Heavy Cruisers: 3 
  Battleships: 4 
  Capital Ships: 5 
  
  Doom Stars: 6 
   
  Multiply that times the number of Speed Tokens on the attacking ship, rounding the result 
  down.  Both vessels take up to that much damage, but no more than the Shields + Armor + HP 
  of the opposing ship.  Armor & Shields apply normally. 
   
  Movement does not automatically stop in the hex where the Ramming attack is resolved.  If the 
  ramming vessel has not used up all their Movement Points, they must continue to move. 
   
   
  Damage 
   
  When a character successfully attacks another character, they deal their weapon or other 
  attack’s damage to the target.  When a character takes damage, it is always applied in the same 
  order: 
   
  1. Damage is first applied to the Shields.  Every point of damage reduces the value of the 
  Shield by one point.  If this reduces the value of the Shield to 0 or below, the Shield 
  becomes Polarized.  Five polarization tokens are placed on the shield.  So long as there 
  are any polarization tokens, the shield cannot regenerate and protect the character 
  from further damage.  Starships are almost universally equipped with shields; characters 
  only have shields if they have special equipment or magic.  If the shields are already 
  polarized, skip this step.  Repeatedly striking a ship with its shields down does not keep 
  them from depolarizing. 
  2. If any damage is left after the shields, it is reduced by the amount of any Armor that the 
  character has.  Note that Armor is different from Armor Class!  The former absorbs HP 
  damage, the latter determines the difficulty of striking a damaging blow.  Armor is not 
  normally reduced by being struck (although see the Ablative Vest…)  Armor continues to 
  apply to every damaging hit. 
  3. If any damage gets past the shields and is not absorbed by armor, then it is applied to 
  the character’s Hit Points. 
   
  Damage Die Steps 
  Some game effects will tell you to step up or down a damage die type.  The following is a list of 
  the die types in play, in order.  If you step up, move to the right.  If you step down, move to the 
  left.   
   
  
  1 – 1d2 – 1d3 – 1d4 – 1d6 – 1d8 – 2d4 – 1d10 – 1d12 – 2d6 – 2d8 – 1d20 OR 3d6 – 2d10 – 3d8 – 
  4d6 – 3d10 – 5d6 - 4d8 – 2d20 
   
  Death & Dying 
   
  If a starship is reduced to zero HP or less, it is disabled.  It will usually explode instantly, killing 
  everyone aboard (Immortal ships automatically self-destruct at 0HP.)  If a clone is reduced to 
  zero damage, they die.  If an Immortal is outside of their ship when they die, then they die 
  permanently unless they have special, advanced skills and equipment.  If an Immortal is inside 
  their starship and jacked into the CI when it is destroyed, and they have a properly prepared 
  clone somewhere, then their consciousness will be transferred to the waiting clone in the 
  instants before their ship is totally destroyed.  If by some strange means the dead clone of an 
  immortal that has transferred to a new body is recovered, it cannot be raised or resurrected.  
  The soul attaches to the new body. 
   
   
  Healing, System Damage, and Repair 
   
  Clones 
  Characters such as the PCs heal naturally over time.  Healing occurs at the stroke of midnight.  If 
  the PC has done nothing substantial other than rest and recuperate since the prior midnight, 
  they recover 1d3 HP.  Immortals who fly from a pilot tank may recover in this fashion even if 
  they have engaged in space combat or used their warp drive, so long as they’ve spent the entire 
  time in the tank.  Most means of travel available in medieval environments will not allow the 
  character to heal while using them.  If the Referee is uncertain, then they may allow the 
  character to heal a flat 1HP rather than rolling the D3. 
   
  Characters who are receiving hospital care in an advanced civilization may be able to recover 
  HP more quickly than that.   
   
  Starships 
   
  Optional Rule: Damage Bands & System Damage. 
  A character’s pool of HP is an undifferentiated mass, and for game purposes they operate at full 
  efficiency until they keel over.  For starships, however, the degree to which they are beaten up 
  is more relevant.  A starship can be Undamaged, Lightly Damaged, Moderately Damaged, 
  Severely Damaged, or Critically Damaged before it is destroyed.  To determine how many HP 
  are in each band of damage, subtract 1HP (for the undamaged level), divide the rest by four, 
  
  and leave aside any remainder.  Remainder HP should be divided among the lower damage 
  bands, so that no band has fractional HP 
   
  Example: Captain Marceaux’s ship, the Faucon, has 9HP.  If it has all nine, it is undamaged.  If it 
  has 1-2 it is critically damaged, 3-4 it is Severely Damaged, 5-6 it is moderately damaged, and 7-
  8 it is lightly damaged. 
   
  Let’s assume that the Captain makes it to second level, and rolls a new base HP of 14.  That’s 
  pretty good!  The Faucon’s HP is now 16.  So, the Undamaged level is 16HP, and we divide the 
  remaining HP up among the four damage bands.  We end up with three, and a remainder of 3 to 
  divide up among the lower three damage bands.  Therefore, the Faucon is critically damaged at 
  1-4 HP, Severely Damaged at 5-8 HP, Moderately Damaged at 9-12 HP, and Lightly Damaged at 
  13-15 HP. 
   
  Each time that a ship’s HP is reduced to a new range band, check for system damage just as 
  though the ship had failed a Heat check, below.  If a single hit reduces the ship below multiple 
  damage bands, make multiple system damage checks.  The Referee may choose to ignore this 
  rule, or perhaps institute it only for vessels with enough HP that it’s worth keeping track of. 
   
  Repair 
  Even if you choose not to use damage bands for system damage, they’re still how you calculate 
  repair costs.  At a shipyard, space station, space port, or other facility, repairing a frigate or 
  shuttle up to the minimum HP value of the next damage band costs 5% of the ship’s value in GC 
  and takes 1 day.  This includes repairing damaged systems. 
   
  If a character is attempting to repair a ship using only hand tools and elbow grease, they can 
  repair any systems damaged due to heat or combat (at the referee’s discretion – a completely 
  cooked warp drive might be restorable to basic working order, but not completely fixed, for 
  example), but can restore no more than 1HP to the ship. 
   
  Example: Captain Marceaux limps into port with her beloved Corbeau reduced to 1HP.  It has a 
  base 8HP, so this puts it in the Critically Damaged band.  The ship has a value of 200GC, so 5% of 
  its value is 10GC.  She pays 10GC to have it repaired to the minimum value for Severe damage, 
  or 3HP.  Another day and another 10GC pays the shipyard’s repair bots to improve it to 
  Moderate damage, at 5HP.  She’s still not comfortable taking off in a ship that beaten up, so she 
  pays 10GC to have it repaired to the minimum value of Light damage, or 7HP.  Her pockets are 
  starting to get pretty light, and she decides to set back out for adventure rather than pay 10GC 
  for that last HP.   
  
   
   
  Heat & Cooldown 
   
  Cooldown 
  After all actions have been taken, the Referee initiates the Cooldown phase.  All leftover cards 
  are discarded and shuffled back into the deck.  All modules that are currently polarized remove 
  one polarization token.  Every ship recharges power, shields, etc. according to its statistics and 
  the skills of its pilot.  Every ship removes, by default, one heat token.  That amount may be 
  greater or lesser depending on the skills of the pilot or any modules installed. 
   
  Heat 
  Heat is a complicated topic.  All starships should pay close attention to their accumulation of 
  Heat, because excessive heat can wreck a ship even if you’re winning the battle.  Due to module 
  usage or other factors, Heat tokens stack up on a vessel.  They don’t have much in the way of 
  negative effects (other than making you a sweet target for guided missiles) until they surpass 
  your ship’s Heat Threshold. 
   
  Once the number of heat tokens on your ship exceeds the heat threshold, your ship is in the 
  Danger Zone.  Every time a ship in the Danger Zone adds a heat token, roll a D20 with no 
  modifiers.  If the result is equal to or less than the number of heat tokens in excess of the 
  threshold, then your ship takes Heat Damage.  Roll 1d8.  If the result is a module or component 
  that your ship does not have, then you should reroll until you get a result that is applicable. 
   
  1. Active Module (select randomly from those equipped.) 
  2. Shields 
  3. Power Core 
  4. Warp Drive 
  5. Passengers 
  6. Passive Module 
  7. Grav Drive 
  8. Sensors & Communications 
   
  If an active module is damaged, choose randomly among any currently equipped.  If it’s a utility 
  module, it’s efficacy is halved the first time it is damaged, and on any subsequent times it is 
  destroyed and can no longer be used.  If it is a weapon, then it is -2 to hit and damage the first 
  time, and destroyed on any subsequent heat damage. 
   
  
  Shields lose a point of either maximum rating (75% chance) or recharge rating (25% chance) 
  each time they are damaged, until either is reduced to zero.  If either is reduced to zero, then 
  the ship’s shields are totally destroyed and both are reduced to zero. 
   
  Power Core loses points of maximum rating or recharge rating exactly like shields.  If the power 
  core is destroyed, the ship explodes in a beautiful fireball. 
   
  Warp Drives have their Warp Threshold increased by 1 each time they take damage.  If the 
  warp threshold reaches double its original value, then it is destroyed. 
   
  If Passengers take heat damage, then one randomly-selected member of the crew or 
  passengers takes 1d10 points of damage.  A Pilot Tank will negate this damage if it is applied to 
  an Immortal pilot, with no reroll being necessary. 
   
  If a Passive Module is damaged, it is simply destroyed and crossed off.  If the passive module 
  happens to be additional quarters or the like, the Referee is encouraged to allow the occupants 
  of any such areas to escape to some relatively safe area of the ship; even if they’re reduced to 
  crouching in a corridor somewhere. 
   
  Grav Drives lose a point of Speed or Acceleration in the same way that Shields or Power Cores 
  lose maximum rating or recharge.  If a ship’s grav drives are destroyed, the ship explodes. 
   
  Sensors & Communicators.  In this rare instance, the pilot of the ship may choose to lose the 
  subspace sensors, the subspace broadcast equipment, the EM sensors, the EM broadcast 
  equipment, the ability to make and maintain target locks, or the ansible.  Immortal ships are 
  equipped with a fail-safe; if this would destroy the last remaining ansible, the pilot is killed and 
  resurrected in their waiting clone, and the ship self-destructs.  It will not leave an Immortal 
  trapped in a ship with no ansible to save their brain-state. 
   
  Ships & Scale 
   
  Combat between ships and clones does not work terribly well, and should be avoided where 
  possible.  However, if you must engage in it, the following guidelines are appropriate. 
   
  1. The ship’s movement and weapon ranges should work in kilometers rather than tens of 
  kilometers, due to atmospheric interference.  This includes the area of effect for 
  weapons like torpedoes. 
  
  2. Around fifty points of clone-scale damage are required to add up to a single point of 
  ship-scale damage.  This means that even penetrating a ship’s shields would present a 
  serious challenge.  If somehow a group of clones, NPCs, or Monsters attempt to destroy 
  or gain access to a powered-down ship that someone has left somewhere, then the 
  efforts necessary will depend on the amount of Armor the ship has and how much time 
  they have.  A small group of characters with explosives, plasma cutters, and engineering 
  knowledge could certainly disable a ship given the appropriate amount of time.  
  Primitives who are throwing rocks or using medieval weapons would have a difficult 
  time against a ship with only a single point of Armor.  Certainly, a group of ogres could 
  beat their way into an unarmored shuttle given time and huge rocks, but an armored 
  frigate could require siege weaponry to penetrate.  They’re much more likely to have to 
  do something clever, like tip it over a cliff. 
  3. Ships cannot obtain target locks on clones, NPCs, or Monsters under normal 
  circumstances.  They have to fire their weapons blind, and cannot track individual 
  targets in chaotic circumstances or when there is a great deal of cover.  They simply 
  aren’t designed to keep track of things that are small and aren’t putting off large energy 
  signatures.  (Their weapons are pretty great at causing collateral damage, though.  Firing 
  a few missiles at an enemy castle will seriously cramp their style.)  Therefore, on the 
  rare occasions where it’s appropriate for this to happen, the ship can attack at -5.  If 
  they hit, then the GM may assume that the strike was close enough that some of the 
  blast strikes the target.  Step up the damage die by five steps and apply that to the 
  character, or possibly every character within a small area of effect. 
   
   
  Book 6: Campaigns 
   
  XP & Treasure 
   
  One of the largest concerns in the life of any adventurer is how to gain levels.  Fortunately, the 
  way to gain XP, and thus levels, is easy: Gain loot, and fight monsters.  The following are the 
  various specific means of doing these things: 
   
  1. Gain magical items (potions, scrolls, enchanted swords, wondrous items, or even simply 
  spellbooks with spells written down in them) and return to galactic civilization to sell 
  them.  These will command a price in GC equal to their normal GP value.  Please note 
  that this is MUCH better than the usual exchange rate, and is because of the voracious 
  demand for magic in the galaxy at large.  Magical items kept for the PCs’ own use do not 
  grant XP, even if they are later sold.   
  
  2. Gain other treasure, such as gold, gems, or jewelry.  The PCs gain the normal GP value of 
  the treasure so obtained, so long as they can get the treasure back to safety, whether 
  somewhere in galactic civilization or a city in Nonpareil.   
  3. Defeating monsters gives XP as per the Referee’s preferred OSR game. 
  4. Defeating starships gives XP equal to the base GC value of the destroyed ship. 
   
  Carrying treasure out of Nonpareil 
  The ships available to the PCs should be able to contain almost any amount of gold, gems, or 
  jewelry that the PCs wish to carry away.  Unfortunately, the amount of money paid for these 
  goods in galactic civilization is not very high.  Assume that 100GP worth of coins and treasure is 
  worth 1GC. 
   
  Carrying treasure to Nonpareil 
  Purchasing gold and gems is not a common activity or one well-served.  Assume that 1GC can 
  buy 50GP worth of coins (unstamped slugs of metal, actually) gems, or jewelry that would be 
  counted as treasure by the people of Nonpareil. 
   
   
  Movement & Scale 
   
  This game takes place at a variety of scales, depending on where they are and what the 
  characters are doing. 
   
  Clone scale means one meter per hex.  This is used for personal combat between PCs, NPCs, 
  and Monsters.  Outside of combat, it is enough for the GM to describe what is happening and 
  the PCs to describe what they are attempting to do.   
   
  Terrain scale is used to for maps of geographic areas and for overland movement.  It means ten 
  kilometers per hex.  Any normal human can probably march two terrain hexes in a day, if the 
  terrain type is not difficult.  A trained human in good condition could cover three per day.  Just 
  adapt the overland movement rules from your favorite OSR game, if you prefer.  Otherwise, use 
  the following movement rate modifiers: 
   
  Travel on a roadway: x1.5 movement rate. 
  Plains, desert, light hills or light forests: x1 movement rate. 
  Medium forests or hills: x.75 movement rate. 
  Heavy forest, Jungle, Bog or Swamp: x.5 movement rate. 
  Mountains, Horrible trackless wilderness: x.25 movement rate. 
  
   
  Starship Scale is used for starship combat.  It also means ten kilometers per hex.  Starship 
  combat takes place at one round per second, so starships are moving very, very fast. 
   
  System Scale is used for navigation within a star system.  A hex is one light-minute across.  If 
  there are no other active starships within 500 kilometers of them, a ship may use their Cruising 
  Speed, and cross one system-scale hex per point of cruising speed every ten minutes.  No ship 
  may ever have a cruising speed higher than 9, for any reason. 
   
  Warp Scale is used for tracking travel between star systems.  Precise distances are less 
  important, but can be assumed to be up to ten light years per hex.  A warp trip is a discrete 
  journey from one star system to another, rather than allowing the ship to wander around as 
  they would at Starship or System scale.  The time spent in transit is 1d20 hours, plus four for 
  each hex traveled.   
   
  You may have noted that Starships are extremely fast, and the frigates available to starting 
  characters are useful for moving around rather more cargo than normal OSR adventurers are 
  able to carry.  So, the following things should be kept in mind when the characters are 
  attempting to use their ships as ways to ferry themselves around for ground exploration. 
   
  1. There is no substitute for getting out of your ship and walking around.  Ships’ sensors 
  just aren’t able to detect the interior structure of buildings, nor will they give you the 
  ability to actually find treasure.  If you want the prize, you’re going to have to take the 
  risk. 
  2. Ships are not as fast in atmosphere as they are outside of atmosphere.  Vessels of 
  classes larger than Frigates or Shuttles usually cannot enter the atmosphere, land, or 
  take off from land.  Frigates and shuttles cannot typically go faster than one terrain hex 
  per second in atmosphere. 
  3. Traveling in atmosphere, landing, and taking off are noisy processes.  A ship’s engines 
  and grav drives produce massive amounts of light, noise, and ionization in planetary 
  atmospheres, like a localized lightning storm.  Excessive use of atmospheric travel can 
  damage a ship’s shield generators.  The usual strategy when contacting primitive worlds 
  is to set down somewhere isolated during a pre-existing storm, conceal the vessels, and 
  go exploring.   
   
  Lifestyles, Logistics & Resurrection 
   
  
  An important component of the game is keeping the characters on the lookout for more 
  treasure.  They’ll get plenty of XP for mundane treasures found on Nonpareil, which will 
  encourage them to play around there, and possibly engage in activities of local importance.  
  However, only magical treasures sold on the markets outside of nonpareil will really allow the 
  PCs to get rich.  That’s what they need to do if they want to buy blinged-out new starships, 
  advanced skills, and bioengineered, cybernetically enhanced new clones. 
   
  Part of keeping them hungry, of course, is making sure that they have expenses.  All lifestyle 
  costs and other expenses are assumed to be pre-paid for the first game-month, along with the 
  character’s other starting goods.  Therefore, the following monthly expenses should be 
  calculated at the beginning of each game month.  Most characters will set up a secure credit 
  account from which these expenditures are automatically deducted, in case they are 
  unavailable to manage their affairs personally.  The hiring of a factor or solicitor to manage 
  their affairs is appropriate for higher-level PCs. 
   
  1. Lifestyle: If the character is living in the galaxy at large, they spend 1GC per level per 
  month on living expenses.  The referee should take these expenditures into account 
  whenever the character’s lifestyle is at issue.  A tenth level Immortal can arrange for the 
  occasional private dinner at a fine restaurant without spending anything extra.  A low-
  level Immortal might have trouble even getting the reservation, unless they spend extra, 
  have appropriate skills or contacts, etc.  Low-level Immortals are assumed to live mostly 
  on their ships even if they’re docked with a station, and so forth. 
  2. Nonpareil Lifestyle: If the character is living on Nonpareil, they are assumed to spend 
  100GP per level per month on living expenses.  The effects are similar to the above.  
  Since characters will not likely have any GP when they first land, and so they may have 
  to live by their wits for a while.   
  3. Clone Storage Fee: Clones cost 5GC per month to keep stored in a tank somewhere, 
  attached to an ansible.   
  4. Clones & Ansibles: A new clone costs 20GC to grow, and takes 1 week.  A fresh new 
  ansible costs 20GC.  When a character is killed and resurrected in a cloned body and 
  wishes to replace it, they must pay for both a new clone and a new ansible.  If for any 
  reason a character is hauling an Ansible around, they are about 1x1x.5 meters in size, 
  and weigh five hundred kilograms.  They have their own microgenerator and do not 
  require external power.  They go rather beyond the normal encumbrance system, but 
  they count as a half-ton for purposes of starship cargo holds. 
  5. An Immortal who dies and is resurrected takes one week to recover from resurrection 
  shock, and must convalesce for that time.  If the character does not have a ship handy 
  
  where they can hide out and take care of themselves, they will probably be on the hook 
  for 1GC per day in hospital bills.   
  6. Starship storage fee: A starship that is simply left in a dock or spaceport somewhere has 
  a monthly storage fee of 5GC.  This includes low-grade maintenance if necessary, 
  security, etc. 
  7. Starship Construction Time: A frigate or shuttle requires 1 month to construct at a 
  normal shipyard, plus one week for each passive module added.   
   
  As you can see, a character should keep not only a fresh clone handy, but a ship at the same 
  rough location as that clone.  This way, they don’t have long delays in the process of getting 
  back to the adventure.  Any planet with starbases and space ports will have facilities for storing 
  ships and clones.  Depending on their activities, the characters may wish to consider carefully 
  the political alignments of those places where they choose to stash their clones. 
   
   
  Book 7: Skills 
   
  Skills are the abilities that let Immortals outclass the competition.  An Immortal with no skills is 
  much like a subpar Fighter who happens to be a good starship pilot.  An Immortal with a few 
  levels and years of skill training can be a match for almost any mortal. 
   
  Immortal skills are very expensive, in terms of Galactic Credits.  The Quantum Information 
  Packets that make them up cannot be copied like normal software; each one must be 
  individually constructed.  Transmitting them via ansible will destroy the sending and receiving 
  ansible.  For that reason they are usually purchased as physical packages, about the size of a 
  soda can with a cybernetic interface spike at one end.  The Immortal plugs the data spike into 
  their Cybernetic Interface (or into their ship’s control console and up through the ship’s CI Jack, 
  if they’re concerned the package might be booby-trapped.)  Once they upload the data, the 
  physical package is useless and can be discarded.  An Immortal who has merely uploaded a skill 
  still doesn’t know it.  They gain no benefits until they have trained it to at least rank 1 using Skill 
  Points.   
   
  Some skills are more difficult to learn than others.  At the end of each week, when the PC 
  receives skill points, they must immediately spend them on the various skills they have 
  downloaded, or they are lost.  It is okay to spend SP on a skill that cannot yet be advanced all 
  the way to the next level, so long as they are spent.  Expenditures are irrevocable, and cannot 
  be changed around once play resumes.  If a character should be in the unfortunate position of 
  
  having all of their downloaded skills at the maximum rating, and has no new skills available to 
  download, then they will lose the SP they gain at the end of the week.  
   
  The following table indicates how many Skill Points are required to gain each Rank of a skill.  
  The numbers are not cumulative!  A character attempting to train a Factor 2 skill, for example, 
  must first purchase and download it to gain access to the skill.  Then, they must spend 2 skill 
  points to gain Rank I in the skill.  Thereafter, to gain Rank II, they must spend an additional 4, 
  and Rank III requires an additional 7.  The cost in Galactic Credits is only paid once, to purchase 
  the quantum information package.  After that, it costs no additional money to train a skill all the 
  way up to Rank V. 
   
  Skills are divided up into Factors.  Higher-factor skills are more complex, rare, and expensive 
  than low-factor skills.  The factor determines both the purchase price in GC and the number of 
  skill points required to learn each rank of the skill. 
   
  A character must have learned all prerequisites to a skill before it can be successfully 
  downloaded.   
   
  Skill Cost Table 
   
  Factor 1 
  Factor 2 
  Factor 3 
  Factor 4 
  Factor 5 
  Purchase Price 
  25GC 
  50GC 
  100GC 
  200GC 
  400GC 
  Rank I 
  1 SP 
  2 SP 
  4 SP 
  7 SP 
  11 SP 
  Rank II 
  2 SP 
  4 SP 
  7 SP 
  11 SP 
  16 SP 
  Rank III 
  4 SP 
  7 SP 
  11 SP 
  16 SP 
  22 SP 
  Rank IV 
  7 SP 
  11 SP 
  16 SP 
  22 SP 
  29 SP 
  Rank V 
  11 SP 
  16 SP 
  22 SP 
  29 SP 
  37 SP 
   
   
  Starting Skills 
  The following skills are listed as FREE.  That means that all Immortals begin the game with those 
  skills purchased and trained to Rank I.  They can freely train them to higher levels whenever 
  they have the SP to do so.  Recall from the character creation chapter that starting Immortals 
  also have 30 Skill Points to spend in order to customize their abilities. 
   
  Free Skills: 
  Athletics 
  Computers 
  Electronics 
  Gunnery 
  
  Infomorph 
  Languages 
  Math 
  Missile Launchers 
  Multitasking 
  Pilot 
  Social 
  Starship Engineering 
  Starship Operations 
  Warp Drive Operation 
   
   
  Interpreting & Using Skills 
  The bonuses to hit, damage, etc. given by skills are non-cumulative within the skill, but are 
  cumulative between skills.  For example, a character with Boxing V has +3 to hit in total from 
  that skill, not +6.  If they want a larger bonus to hit, they should learn Kung Fu! 
   
  Many skills simply give a flat bonus to some activity, or make an activity possible.  However, 
  sometimes the Referee may require a skill check of some kind.  For example, climbing a tree 
  might well require an Athletics check.  In these cases, the Referee should announce a difficulty 
  for the check, and what the stakes are for success or failure.  It is recommended that the result 
  of failure should not be: You don’t accomplish this thing.  For example: If a player is attempting 
  to break into an enemy office building by hacking the security system, then a failed roll should 
  not mean they don’t get the doors open.  They should get the doors open, but set off alarms in 
  the process.  The referee should also make copious use of automatic success, or conditional 
  success.  For example, a character with substantial skills in Law and the social skills to sway a 
  jury should not have to roll to take a case to trial and win.  They are completely capable of 
  winning a case, and leaving something that important up to a single die roll is a bit boring.  
  Instead, the referee could say something along the lines of “You know that you can win this 
  case if you can do the following three things: 1. Serve this missing witness with a subpoena, 2. 
  Protect your expert from corporate assassins, and 3. Find evidence of illegally weaponized 
  organisms coming out of the factory that was destroyed.”  Then, the PCs have a laundry list of 
  adventure items.  If they do those things, the character can win!  Or, if it’s less important, you 
  might just have them roll. 
   
  The Referee might consider mentally dividing tasks up into Basic, Intermediate, Professional, 
  Expert, and Master, which match the five skill ranks.  If the character has the requisite level of 
  skill, they can succeed automatically.  Tasks should be assigned the level of Master only rarely.  
  
  Any character with the right Engineering skills can design a castle that won’t fall down with no 
  roll required.  A character with Engineering IV, Civil Engineering IV, Mine Engineering IV, and 
  Architecture IV can design a huge, comfortable, beautiful, efficient castle, that is naturally 
  climate-controlled and sits on top of an extensive megadungeon.  The character has the skills, 
  so no roll is required.  A character with Rank V in those skills could do something absolutely 
  legendary. 
   
  Skill checks, unlike rolls in combat, are rolled on 3d6.  You add the most appropriate modifier 
  from the character’s attributes, and the ranks of any appropriate skills.  Generally, the list of 
  appropriate skills will be from the same chain of pre-requisites.  The Referee should assign 
  everyday tasks (if they’re even worth rolling for, due to time pressure or people shooting at 
  you) a difficulty of 10.  More advanced tasks, that a skilled person could actually mess up, might 
  require a difficulty of 15.  Extremely difficult tasks, that only experienced professionals should 
  even attempt, might require a difficulty of 20.  Highly dubious and dangerous work might 
  require a 25, but at this point it is more usual for a normal person to call in additional resources, 
  assistants, consultants, and take extra time.  Legendary tasks, the like of which are rarely seen 
  in the galaxy, might require a difficulty of 30. 
   
  Skills & Scales 
  Some skills work in the clone scale, some skills work in the starship scale, and some work in 
  both.  This should be obvious in context.  A character’s Electronics skill works the same whether 
  they are managing their ship’s electronics while jacked in or using a soldering iron at a 
  workbench.  On the other hand, Kung Fu and Handgun skills don’t help while piloting a ship, 
  and Starship Gunnery abilities aren’t useful when firing a laser pistol at a bugbear. 
   
  Athletics Skills 
   
  Athletics 
  Factor: 1, FREE 
  Unskilled: Human Characters with no Athletics skill can make at most one move action per 
  round, and have Speed 4.   
  I: Character’s rank in this skill is added to any attempt to swim, jump, climb, play sports, etc.  
  II: Speed 5. 
  III: +1 Encumbrance Slot. 
  IV: Speed 6. 
  V: The character can make an additional Move action per round. 
   
  Parkour 
  
  Factor: 3 
  Prerequisites: Athletics V 
  I: This skill is added to all rolls to run, jump, or climb.  The character may leap directly across 
  gaps of up to three meters without any additional check. 
  II: Character’s movement ignores obstacles of less than two meters height. 
  III: +1 Speed. The character may leap directly across gaps of up to five meters without any 
  additional check.  Reduce falling damage by 1 die so long as the character is conscious and able 
  to move.  .  The absolute minimum effect of this level of skill should be that the character 
  should be able to escape from any mundane pursuit in urban environments, and the character 
  should be able to perform any stunt they can find youtube videos of a freerunner performing in 
  real life. 
  IV: The character may make a saving throw versus Dragon Breath to avoid pit traps or other 
  hazards that do not normally allow a saving throw, if an exercise of sudden athletic prowess 
  could conceivably save the character. 
  V:  The character may make an additional Move action per round.  The character may, if they 
  use their entire Move to do so, leap directly across gaps of up to nine meters without any 
  additional check. Reduce falling damage by 2 dice so long as the character is conscious and able 
  to move 
   
  Lightning Reflexes 
  Factor: 4 
  Prerequisites: None 
  Unskilled: A character can make one move action and one action of any other type available to 
  them per round.  Skills that allow additional actions of a given type have no effect. 
  I: The character receives two action cards per round, but may spend them on any action types 
  available.  For example, a character with Melee Specialization V could spend both action cards 
  on melee attacks.  
  II: The character receives three action cards per round. 
  III: Once per round, immediately after action cards are dealt and before any are called, the 
  character may choose to discard one of their action cards and draw a new one. 
  IV: Once per round, you can use an unused initiative card to interrupt another character’s 
  action, and resolve one of your own first.  This still counts as an action of the type that you take. 
  If multiple characters use this ability, then the actions form a “stack,” with the last interrupting 
  action being resolved first, on down through the stack until you reach and resolve the action of 
  the character that prompted the interrupt. 
  V: The character receives four action cards per round. 
   
  Athletic Specialty 
  
  Factor: 2 
  Prerequisites: Athletics III. 
  I: There are any number of athletic specialties, like tennis, lacrosse, football (American or 
  European), swimming, etc.  A character can choose or invent one, download it, and train this 
  skill.  It adds to all attempts to use that skill, and stacks with Athletics.  The Referee should not 
  allow this to stack with other athletic activities that have their own pre-existing skills, such as 
  those activities covered by Parkour.  The Flight Specialization is used to operate personal flight 
  gear, such as grav boots, hoverboards, etc.  Attempting to use them without the flight specialty 
  invites the sadistic imagination of the referee to determine the results. 
   
  Burden Management 
  Factor: 2 
  Prerequisites: Athletics IV 
  Untrained: A character without any Burden Management has only three encumbrance slots: 1 
  weapon, 1 defensive, 1 utility, plus a number equal to their strength modifier. 
  I: The character gains one additional encumbrance slot. 
  III: Two additional encumbrance slots. 
  V: Three additional encumbrance slots. 
   
  Marathon 
  Factor: 3 
  Prerequisite: Athletics IV. 
  Description: An untrained character can usually march about 20 kilometers per day, or two 
  terrain-scale hexes, if the going is not difficult.  But, they will probably be worn out the next 
  day. 
  I: The character can march for days on end without difficulty, so long as the terrain is easy and 
  they have the ability to camp and get some rest each night.  The character’s rank in this skill 
  applies to any skill checks they make that involve extreme endurance trials, traveling long 
  distances under muscle power, etc. 
  II: The character can march 25 kilometers per day. 
  III: The character can march 30 kilometers per day, or three hexes, in clear terrain. 
  IV: The character can march for days on end even in difficult terrain. 
  V: The character can march 40 kilometers per day, in clear terrain. 
   
   
  Computer Skills 
   
  Electronics 
  
  Factor: I, FREE 
  Description: This is typically used to manage the sensors of a starship.  It can also be used to 
  design, build, modify, or understand most conventional types of electronic equipment. 
  I: Add the skill rating rating to Lock Target checks. 
  V: Once per day, you may reroll a failed Lock Target check and take the new result. 
   
  Computers 
  Factor: I, FREE 
  Description: This is used to manage the software that runs a starship, or anything else.  It can be 
  used to program or use a computer at a professional level of expertise.  Clones who are 
  attached to a computer via Cybernetic Interface can perform any operation that they would 
  normally be capable much faster than the normal speed, and with a highly unusual degree of 
  control.  For example, a character who was linked via their Interface to a computer running an 
  art program would be able to make a sophisticated representation of anything they could 
  mentally picture in less than a minute, regardless of whether they had any artistic skills.   
  Untrained: The character can only lock a single target at a time. 
  I: The character is able to add their rating in this skill to any checks to operate or program a 
  computer. The character can keep two targets locked. 
  II: Three targets locked. 
  III: Four targets locked. 
  IV: Five targets locked . 
  V: When you spend an action to Lock Targets, you may make two Lock Target attempts.  You do 
  not need to announce the target of the second until the first succeeds or fails, and you can 
  attempt to lock the same target twice. 
   
   
  Cybernetics Skills 
   
   
  Cybernetics 
  Factor: 3 
  Prerequisites: Engineering IV, Medicine IV 
  I: This is the ability to design, build, and install cybernetic devices.  A character may install 1 
  cybernetic device for each rank of this skill when growing a new clone, which does not 
  necessarily need to be their own clone.  This requires personal attention.  Cybernetic devices 
  have their own cost, which is added to the price after any multiplier for bioengineering an 
  Enhanced clone. 
   
  
  Cybernetic Tolerance 
  Factor: 3 
  I: For each rank of this skill, the character can tolerate one cybernetic device in their clone.  
  Characters without this skill are unable to benefit from cybernetics.   
   
   
  Cybernetic Interface Operation 
  Factor: 1 
  Prerequisites: None 
  I: The character is able to make very basic use of the internal computing power of their 
  Cybernetic Interface.  This allows them to do math as though they had a calculator, set notes 
  for themselves, calendar appointments, set internal mental alarms for specific times, and 
  always know the time and date. 
  II: The character can perform more advanced computing tasks, such as working with 
  spreadsheets and composing documents during otherwise idle times.  They still do not have 
  access to a great deal of storage space. 
  III: The character can take “pictures” of what they see with their eyes, and audio recordings of 
  what they hear.  They have storage space equivalent to a modern personal computer, and may 
  upload or download information when connected via CI.  They are able to make limited use of 
  “augmented reality” and heads-up displays. 
  IV: The character can do anything with their internal computing power that they could with a 
  futuristic personal computer, including the storage and processing of vast amounts of data. 
  V: The character is capable of adding wireless computing capability to his CI during the clone 
  creation process, without taking up a Cybernetics slot in the new clone.  It still requires personal 
  attention.  This will allow the character to connect to planetary data networks, and do 
  essentially anything that could be done with a futuristic computer, commlink, or cellular phone, 
  so long as it doesn’t require specialized external peripherals.  For example, the character could 
  scan in a document simply by looking at it and email it to a colleague without any visible sign 
  they were doing so (and in fact, they could do this extremely quickly.)  However, they cannot 
  print out that document unless there is a printer nearby that they can wirelessly connect to. 
   
   
   
  Engineering Skills 
   
  Engineering:  
  Factor: 1 
  Prerequisite: None 
  
  I: This is the ability to work with and understand complex machines.  Characters who do not 
  have this skill will not be able to build, repair, or modify technology to any substantial degree.  
  This skill’s rank is added to attempts to design or construct items of advanced technology.  The 
  Referee is allows to rule that some activities require an appropriate science specialization; 
  designing a bioengineering lab, for example, could reasonably be construed to require 
  knowledge of bioengineering.   
   
  Mine Engineering 
  Factor: 2 
  Prerequisite: Engineering I 
  I: You can operate mining equipment.  This is most immediately relevant to starships, which are 
  often used for asteroid mining.  However, some characters may wish to visit planets and create 
  their own dungeons.  That will use substantially different equipment, but this same skill may be 
  used for it. Your rank in this skill is added to any skill check to mine, dig out dungeons, or 
  perform similar activities.   
   
  Civil Engineering 
  Factor: 2 
  Prerequisite: Engineering II 
  I: You can design and construct large-scale structures, such as castles or space stations.  Truly 
  vast structures require Megascale Engineering.  Making those structures particularly 
  comfortable or pleasing to the eye (as opposed to merely efficient) requires Architecture.  Your 
  rank in this skill is added to any necessary skill checks. 
   
  Complex Fabrication 
  Factor: 3 
  Prerequisite: Engineering IV 
  I: You can use fabrication machinery to rapidly construct complex devices using advanced 
  materials.  Given sufficient time to program the fabricator (which doesn’t necessarily take very 
  long if you can jack directly into the design software…) you can make custom gear pop out in 
  the time it takes to bake a cake.  If you are attempting to build anything using the Industrial 
  Applications skill, and your factory is equipped with fabricators, you can divide the construction 
  time by 1 + Your Rank in this skill. 
  II: You can use a fabricator to make Tier 2 personal utility items for you and your allies’ clones, if 
  you have the skills to design that equipment or can obtain a software template. 
  III: You can make Tier 2 personal weapons for you and your allies’ clones, if you have the skills 
  to design that equipment or can obtain a software template. 
  
  IV: You can make Tier 2 armor for you and your allies’ clones, if you have the skills to design 
  that equipment or can obtain a software template. 
  V: You can make Tier 2 cybernetics to install in you and your allies’ clones, if you have at least 
  Cybernetics V, and can either design that equipment or can obtain a software template. 
   
  Industrial Applications 
  Factor: 3 
  Prerequisite: Waldoes IV 
  I: If your equipment has been modified to be controlled remotely rather than operated by 
  human crew members, you can use your CI to do the work of a five-person crew.  For example, 
  you could operate up to five bulldozers at once, if they were all fully roboticized, had their own 
  sensors, and were linked to your starship’s control systems.  Sophisticated operations will still 
  require Engineering or other applicable skill. 
  II: Ten people at once. 
  III: Twenty people at once. 
  IV: You can personally operate an entire robotic factory.  This may require additional computing 
  hardware linked to your CI. 
  V: You can personally operate an entire industrial complex made up of multiple factories. This 
  will almost certainly require additional computing hardware. 
   
   
  Gunnery Skills 
   
  Gunnery 
  Factor: 1, FREE 
  I: The character is capable of firing Small starship guns. 
  II: The character is capable of firing Medium starship guns. 
  III: 
  The 
  character 
  is 
  capable 
  of 
  firing 
  Large 
  starship 
  guns. 
  IV: The character is capable of firing Capital starship guns. 
  V: The character is capable of firing Doomsday Guns.  The character may spend an additional 
  action card per round on starship gun attacks. 
   
  Accuracy 
  Factor 2 
  Prerequisite: Gunnery II 
  I: +1 to hit with Starship Guns. 
  III: +2. 
  V: +3. 
  
   
  Precision 
  Factor 3 
  Prerequisite: Gunnery IV 
  I: +1 to damage with Starship Guns. 
  III: +2. 
  V: +3. 
   
  Range 
  Factor: 2 
  Prerequisite: Gunnery III 
  I: Add one to each range band of starship guns. 
  III: Add two to each range band of starship guns. 
  V: Add three to each range band of starship guns. 
   
   
   
  Infomorph Skills 
   
  Infomorph 
  Factor: 1, FREE 
  I: The character is an Immortal!  She is equipped with a Cybernetic Interface and is able to 
  survive the process of being killed and having her brain-state transmitted through an Ansible 
  and into a fresh clone.  However, the transmission is quite a shock.  The recovery process takes 
  a week, during which the character has “resurrection shock” and cannot usefully take any other 
  actions or engage in substantial activity.  Typically, nothing more strenuous than shuffling 
  around in a hospital gown, eating soft food, and watching daytime television is allowed.  They 
  do gain SP as normal.  The character can only have one clone prepared and attached to an 
  Ansible 
  at 
  a 
  time. 
  II: The recovery process takes five days. 
  III: The recovery process takes three days. 
  IV: The recovery process takes 24 hours. 
  V: The character can recover from brain-state transfer instantly. 
   
  Alternates 
  Factor: 2 
  Prerequisites: Infomorph IV 
  
  I: The character can a number of alternate clones (prepared and attached to Ansibles) equal to 
  their rank in this skill plus one, in different locations.  They may choose which one they are 
  transferred to at the instant that they die. 
  V: If any of their clones or Ansibles have been sabotaged, the character learns this at the instant 
  of their death, and can automatically choose to transfer to an unsabotaged clone.  This does 
  not, however, protect against booby-traps or ambushes. 
   
  Transfer 
  Factor: 3 
  Prerequisites: Alternates IV. 
  Untrained: A character may normally only transfer to a new clone if their current clone is 
  destructively read.  That is, their brains are cooked as part of the transmission process.   
  I: If the character is attached to the correct ansible equipment to transfer their consciousness, 
  they can do so without the death of their current clone.  This can result in permanent death by 
  moving into a sabotaged clone, if they do not have Alternates V.  It still destroys the sending 
  and receiving ansible.  The character may only make a transfer like this once per week. 
  III: The character understands ansibles and brain-state transmissions well enough to set up the 
  equipment themselves, without the assistance of any outside technicians.  The character may 
  make a transfer like this once every three days. 
  V: The character may make a voluntary transfer once per 24 hours. 
   
  Upload 
  Factor: 4 
  Prerequisites: Transfer V 
  Untrained: An Immortal must usually be operating from a Clone at all times, and they control a 
  starship by plugging their clone directly into it via Cybernetic Interface. 
   
  I: The character can Transfer their mind directly into a starship with the appropriate equipment, 
  which at a minimum includes a customized, high-capacity cybernetic interface.  If they perform 
  this transfer by ansible, then both the sending and receiving ansibles are destroyed as normal.   
   
  They can then pilot the ship, but without having a physical body present.  If the ship is 
  destroyed, the character’s next clone can be activated normally (given that the ship and clone 
  both still have working ansibles, etc.), although they will have Dump Shock for a minimum of 
  1d6 hours regardless of any other skills.  The character can spend a maximum of 24 hours 
  uploaded and outside of a biological body, or their personality matrix degrades and they die.  
  After a period of being uploaded, the character must spend an equal amount of time in a 
  biological body to recover before uploading again (although that biological body might still be 
  
  plugged into a starship via CI.) Starships prepared to receive the characters’ consciousness 
  count against their limit of Alternates.  A character cannot transfer to a starship when killed, 
  they must transfer to a clone. 
   
  Multiple sets of ansible equipment should be prepared in advance, otherwise the character’s 
  mind could become trapped in their starship and die at the expiration time. 
  II: Three days uploaded 
  III: A week uploaded 
  IV: A month uploaded 
  V: The character can stay uploaded permanently.  They could theoretically spend eternity never 
  returning to a biological form.  They may have backup starships prepared instead of clones, to 
  which their consciousness will transfer if they are killed. 
   
  Waldoes 
  Factor: 3 
  Prerequisite: Multitasking III 
  I: You can equip the inside of your starship with cameras, and monitor them simultaneously 
  with whatever else you are doing while connected via CI.  All of your new starships come with 
  this automatically if you have this skill, at no additional cost. 
  II: You can equip the inside of your starship with various simple Waldoes.  This costs an 
  Amenity.  Waldoes are simple robots that can do things like prepare meals, clean the place up, 
  or speak to passengers.  You can’t use any skills through these Waldoes and they are basically 
  hopeless in combat.   
  III: At the cost of an Amenity, your starship may be equipped with the equipment to manage an 
  Avatoid (different models of Avatoid have their own separate cost.)  This is a humanoid robot 
  indistinguishable from a human without medical examination.  You can see through their eyes, 
  hear through their ears, etc.  Avatoids are much more flexible than Waldoes, and can do 
  whatever a human is physically capable of doing.  You may attempt to use skills through an 
  avatoid, but if a roll is required then your total bonuses to the roll cannot exceed +5.  Avatoids 
  cannot use any magical or psychic abilities.  
  IV: Your starship can be equipped with Repair Bots, if you have Starship Engineering IV.  
  Furthermore, almost any robotic equipment may be modified to be controlled through a CI.  If 
  you do so, you can operate that equipment from the comfort of your cockpit.  You cannot use 
  the repair bots during combat without Starship Engineering IV, but you can use them out of 
  combat if you have at least Starship Engineering II.  Repair Bots will not let you do anything you 
  couldn’t do with your own skills and tools, but they are substantially more efficient and can 
  squeeze into tighter spaces. 
  V: You can use Advanced Avatoids.  See the equipment chapter for examples.   
  
   
   
  Knowledge Skills 
   
  Architecture 
  Factor: 1 
  Prerequisite: none 
  I: You understand the general principles of architecture, both in terms of design and pure 
  aesthetics.  You can spot cultural influences and differences, and predict with some accuracy 
  the internal layout of a structure.  This has applications in both high culture and criminal 
  contexts.  Additionally, if you design and build structures, their comfort and attractiveness is 
  dependent on your Architecture skill rank. 
   
  Bioengineering: 
  Factor: 3. 
  Prerequisite: Science IV, Biology Specialization IV, Medicine IV. 
  I: The character can engage in bioengineering for fun and profit.  This skill is used (stacking with 
  Science and Biology Specialization) to make horrible monsters, clone people or replacement 
  organs, and generally do awesome things involving biology and tanks full of bubbling fluid.  
  Provided that the character is willing to spend the time and money, the Referee should give 
  them reasonable latitude in designing new monsters.  This does not automatically give any 
  special degree of control over the new monsters.   
   
  The GM may require skill checks for monsters with especially rare or potent abilities; all abilities 
  should be within the realm of the “natural” (which definitely does not mean the same thing 
  that it does in the real world.)  Sapient tyrannosaurs are okay, creatures with innate magical 
  abilities are not. 
  I: New monsters should range from 1-2HD. 
  II: 3-5HD 
  III: 6-9HD 
  IV: 10-14HD 
  V: 15-20HD. 
   
  Clone Enhancement: 
  Factor: 4 
  Prerequisite: Bioengineering V 
  
  I: The character is capable of improving their clones.  For each rank in this skill, the character 
  may increase the attribute bonuses of their future clones by +1.  These bonuses must be chosen 
  at the time the skill is gained and may not be changed.  
   
  A character with Clone Enhancement V can have clones with a total of +8 in their physical 
  attributes.  Growing Enhanced clones always requires the personal attention of the character 
  throughout the entire growth process.  Each level of Enhancement also requires the one-time 
  expenditure of one month doing research and design work. 
   
  Each additional level of Enhancement doubles the cost of Enhanced clones, so that a character 
  with Clone Enhancement V, using her full ability, is paying the base cost for a new clone (20GC) 
  times 32, or 640GC.  
   
  Example: Alyssa Marceaux’s clones have physical attributes of Str 9, Dex 16, Con 13.  She has 
  recently discovered a really fantastic magical sword, though, and is regretting her lack of 
  Strength.  After doing as much as she can with Melee skills, she learns Clone Enhancement I.  
  This allows her to design a genome and growth profile for a new clone with Str 13, Dex 16, Con 
  13.  The Referee allows her to do the design work during “downtime” consisting of long warp 
  trips that add up to one month.  Unlike her normal clone, which can be safely left to the 
  technicians and which costs 20GC to grow, this one requires her to babysit the 1 week growth 
  process and spend 40GC on facility rental and materials.   
   
  When she learns Clone Enhancement II, she decides that being fast and accurate really has 
  helped her more in the long run.  She designs a third clone model with Str 13, Dex 18, Con 13.  
  This model costs 80GC to grow.  She cannot now grow a clone with Str 9, Dex 18, and Con 13, 
  because this skill doesn’t allow you to mix and match!  She could still grow either of her previous 
  models, if she wanted a cheap clone for some reason. 
   
  At Clone Enhancement V, a character should have two 18s and one 16.  This is to preserve some 
  character differentiation; every clone will have one weak spot. 
   
  Languages 
  Factor: 2, FREE 
  Description: This is a special skill, in that it allows you to learn new things quickly instead of 
  coming pre-packaged with all the relevant information.  A character begins knowing their native 
  tongue.  Additional levels of this skill give them language slots.  Filling a language slot requires 
  one week of full immersion into the language.  At that point, the character will know the new 
  language at native proficiency and will be literate in it.  This is a vastly accelerated learning 
  
  process that is facilitated by the linguistic aptitude of this skill and the hardware of their 
  cybernetic interface. 
   
  Once a language slot is filled, it cannot be changed or forgotten. 
  I: You are fluent in your native language. 
  II: You have two additional language slots. 
  III: You have four additional language slots. 
  IV: You have eight additional language slots. 
  V: You have sixteen additional language slots. 
   
  Example: Captain Marceaux is a native francophone.  However, those damnable anglophones 
  seem to have taken over everything in the galaxy, so at character creation she spends four of 
  her starting thirty SP to learn Languages II.  She spends one of her new slots on English, and 
  saves the other.  So, she begins adventuring bilingual.  On Nonpareil, though, her mastery of 
  galactic languages becomes useless.  The locals speak a tongue they call Common, which she 
  does not know.  So, she shuts down all the external communication on her ship, and spends a 
  week doing nothing but immersing herself in Nonpareil culture through the various video and 
  audio feeds provided by the Corbeau’s spy drones.  After one week of this, she adds Common to 
  her empty language slot. 
   
  After some time spent adventuring on Nonpareil, Alyssa finds that there are many languages 
  spoken here, and she needs to learn more of them.  She spends 7 SP to gain Languages III, and 
  now has a total of four language slots beyond French.  Two are already filled with Common & 
  English.  She spends a week with some new Elven friends and picks up their language, although 
  they insist that no human can ever REALLY learn it.  She now wants to learn Draconic, but a 
  week of full immersion in the language of dragons is a daunting prospect… 
   
   
  Math 
  Factor: 1, FREE 
  I: The character has a general understanding of math, including arithmetic, algebra, calculus, 
  the more mundane types of geometry, and statistics.  Add his skill level to attempts to do 
  complicated math under pressure, or to any attempts to do scientific research.  Simple math or 
  math done without time pressure should be automatically successful.  A character who is 
  plugged into a starship through their CI can use the ship’s computers to perform mathematical 
  operations with superhuman speed.  Higher levels of this skill give access to more complicated 
  fields of mathematics. 
   
  
  Quantum Neurology 
  Factor: 3. 
  Prerequisite: Quantum Mechanics IV, Medicine IV. 
  I: This skill is used to deal with brain-states and quantum information packets.  A character 
  without this skill cannot use the equipment needed to create new quantum information 
  packets, or build, design, or modify the cybernetic interfaces used to link Immortals to their 
  Starships.   
   
  Quantum Neuroengineering 
  Factor: 4. 
  Prerequisites: Quantum Neurology V 
  I: Much like Clone Enhancement, this skill can be used to enhance the attributes of future 
  clones.  Each time a character gains a rank in this skill, they can spend one month re-
  engineering the neural networks of their future clones, which will allow them to allocate an 
  additional +1 attribute modifier. 
   
  Unlike Clone Enhancement, this does not add any cost to future clones.  The mental 
  enhancements will apply only to those clones created after this skill is obtained and the 
  requisite time is spent performing research.  Assume one month of research is required, as a 
  one-time expenditure, for each additional +1 added to future clones’ attribute modifiers. 
   
   
  Science 
  Factor: 1 
  Prerequisite: Math III 
  I: The character has a general, non-specialist understanding of the sciences.  Add his skill level 
  to any skill checks to know basic science-ey stuff.  Advanced knowledge or technical tasks 
  require more specialized skills. 
   
  Science Specialization 
  Factor: 2 
  Prerequisite: Science III 
  Description: This represents a wide number of fields of science in which one can specialize.  
  Select specific specializations at the time the skill is purchased from a vendor.  Available 
  specialties include but are not limited to: Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Planetary Science, 
  Physics, Quantum Mechanics, and Social Science.  Specific specialties are usually the 
  prerequisite for highly advanced skills. 
  
  I: Your rank in this skill acts as a bonus to appropriate skill checks.  The Referee should provide 
  you with substantial information about the fields you are specialized in on your request.  For 
  example, a character with a Chemistry Specialization should know where a given chemical could 
  be purchased in bulk without any check, a character with an Astronomy Specialization should 
  be able to gain the contact information of leading astronomers, etc. 
   
  Dimensional Mechanics 
  Factor: 3 
  Prerequisite: Physics Specialization IV 
  I: The character has an understanding of dimensional mechanics, and can apply their rating in 
  this skill as a bonus to any appropriate skill checks. This skill is used to design, build, or modify 
  warp or subspace technology. 
   
   
  Medicine: 
  Factor: 2 
  Prerequisite: Biology Specialization III 
  I: The character is equivalent to a medical doctor, and may have a medical license if they 
  choose to jump through the appropriate hoops.  They can perform first aid, use medicine and 
  medical equipment to help people, perform surgery, and so forth. The character gains this skill’s 
  ranks as a bonus if they need to roll for any reason.  Science skills do not usually stack with 
  Medicine when used to attempt to treat a patient.  If they have access to advanced medical 
  technology, then any patient under their treatment regains additional HP per day equal to their 
  rank in this skill. 
   
  Meditation 
  Factor: 1 
  Prerequisite: NONE 
  Untrained: The typical Immortal can only operate through their CI for around four hours 
  without taking a break to rest and clear their mind.  Characters who are skilled in meditation 
  can learn to better manage the flood of experience and multiple awarenesses that come with 
  being interfaced directly into a CI-equipped ship.  Meditation can also be used for its normal 
  real-world purposes of centering oneself emotionally or religious practice. 
  I: The character can handle their CI for up to six hours. 
  II: The character can handle their CI for up to eight hours, although this will require the use of 
  certain medical or waste management devices that mean it will take the character a round or 
  two to disentangle themselves. 
  III: Twelve hours. 
  
  IV: Sixteen Hours 
  V: The character can use a fluid-filled tank to float in while piloting (if the Pilot Tank amenity is 
  equipped on the ship, at least.)  If so ensconced, they can enter a sort of trance-state and 
  actually sleep while connected, and any unusual or threatening information picked up by their 
  starship’s sensors will automatically awaken them. 
   
  Melee Combat Skills 
   
  Melee 
  Factor: 1 
  Prerequisite: None 
  I: +1 to-hit with Melee weapons. 
  III: +2. 
  V: +3. The character may spend one additional action per round on Melee attacks. 
   
  Parry 
  Factor: 2 
  Prerequisite: Melee III 
  I: +1 to character’s Armor Class against melee weapon or unarmed attacks, so long as they have 
  a melee weapon drawn. 
  III: +2. 
  V: +3. 
   
  Kenjutsu: 
  Factor: 3 
  Prerequisites: Melee IV: 
  I: +1 to damage with Melee weapon.  This never counts for Unarmed attacks, even if the 
  character has skills which make their Unarmed attacks count as armed or melee attacks. 
  III: +2. 
  V: +3. 
   
  Melee Specialization 
  Factor: 4 
  Prerequisite: Melee V 
  This is actually a category of skills, one for each type of weapon.  For example, a character could 
  purchase a Sword Specialization, Mace Specialization, Spear Specialization, etc. 
  I: +1 to hit with the specialized weapon. 
  III: +2 to hit with the specialized weapon. 
  
  IV: +3 to hit with the specialized weapon. 
  V: The character may spend one additional action per round on Melee attacks with the 
  specialized weapon. 
   
   
   
   
  Missile Skills 
  Missile Launchers 
  Cost: Factor 2, FREE 
  I: The character is capable of firing Small missile launchers. 
  II: The character is capable of firing Medium missile launchers. 
  III: The character is capable of firing Large missile launchers. 
  IV: The character is capable of firing Capital missile launchers. 
  V: The character is capable of firing Doomsday missile launchers.  The character may spend an 
  additional action card per round on missile attacks. 
   
  Missile Accuracy 
  Factor 2 
  Prerequisite: Missile Launchers II 
  I: +1 to hit with Missiles. 
  III: +2. 
  V: +3. 
   
  Missile Precision 
  Factor 3 
  Prerequisite: Missile Launchers IV 
  I: +1 to damage with missiles. 
  III: +2. 
  V: +3. 
   
  Missile Range 
  Factor: 2 
  Prerequisite: Missile Launchers III 
  I: Add one to each range band of missiles. 
  III: Add two to each range band of missiles. 
  V: Add three to each range band of missiles. 
   
  
   
   
  Organizational & Professional Skills 
   
   
   
   
  Ranged Combat Skills 
   
  Handguns: 
  Factor: 1 
  Prerequisites: None 
  I: +1 to hit with handguns. 
  III: +2. 
  V: +3 
   
  Longarms: 
  Factor: 1 
  Prerequisites: None 
  I: +1 to hit with longarms. 
  III: +2. 
  V: +3. 
   
  Longshot: 
  Factor: 2 
  Prerequisites: Longarms IV 
  I: When using Handguns or Longarms, add 1 hex to each range band for each rank they have in 
  this skill. 
   
  Example: Alyssa Marceaux has her Laser Pistol.  It normally has range bands of 1-7 normal, 8-10 
  medium, and 11-13 long, or 7/3/3.  See the Combat chapter’s section on Range for an 
  explanation of this.  If she gains one rank of Longshot, her range bands will instead be 8/4/4.  
  So, she would have no penalty to hit for an enemy 1-8 meters away, -2 to hit one 9-12 meters 
  away, and -5 to hit one 13-16 meters away. 
   
  If Alyssa later trains Longshot all the way up to V, her range bands will be 12/8/8.  She will be 
  able to fire at enemies 1-12 meters away with no penalty, at 13-20 meters away with a -2 
  penalty, and at 21-28 meters away with a -5 penalty. 
  
   
  Deadeye: 
  Factor: 3 
  Prerequisites: Handguns IV, Longarms IV. 
  I: The character deals +1 damage with Handguns or Longarms. 
  III: +2. 
  V: +3 
   
  Serpentine 
  Factor: 2 
  Prerequisite: Athletics V 
  I: +1 to Armor Class when targeted with a Ranged attack. 
  III: +2. 
  V: +3. 
   
  Quickdraw 
  Factor: 2 
  Description: Untrained persons must usually use an action card to draw a weapon, or to put 
  one properly away. 
  Prerequisite: None 
  I: The character may draw or put away a weapon when they complete a move action. 
  III: The character may put a weapon away properly any time they are allowed to draw a 
  weapon, and may do both at the same time. 
  V: The character may draw an appropriate weapon as part of taking an attack action with that 
  weapon.   
   
   
   
  Saving Throw Skills 
   
  These skills add a bonus to your saving throws. 
   
  Paralysis, Poison, or Death Magic defense 
  Factor: 2 
  Prerequisite: None 
  I: +1 to these saving throws. 
  III: +2. 
  V: +3. 
  
   
  Rod, Staff, or Wand 
  Factor: 2 
  Prerequisite: None 
  I: +1 to these saving throws. 
  III: +2. 
  V: +3. 
   
  Petrification or Polymorph Defense 
  Factor: 2 
  Prerequisite: None 
  I: +1 to these saving throws. 
  III: +2. 
  V: +3. 
   
   
  Breath Weapon Defense 
  Factor: 2 
  Prerequisite: None 
  I: +1 to these saving throws. 
  III: +2. 
  V: +3. 
   
  Spell Defense 
  Factor: 2 
  Prerequisite: None 
  I: +1 to these saving throws. 
  III: +2. 
  V: +3. 
   
   
  Social Skills 
   
  Social 
  Factor: 1, FREE 
  I: The character adds his skill rank to attempts to charm, intimidate, seduce, persuade, or 
  deceive other characters.   
   
  
  Social Specialization 
  Factor: 2 
  Prerequisite: Social III 
  Description: This is actually a category of skills, one for each type of interaction.  For example, a 
  character could purchase or download Charm, Intimidate, Seduce, Persuade, or Deceive 
  Specializations.  This skill only applies to the type of social interaction that is being specialized 
  in.  A character may specialize in multiple different types of social interaction, but 
  specializations never stack. 
  I: The character may add their rank to skill checks for the appropriate type of social interaction. 
  V: Some Specializations have additional effects at this level.  Charm gives +1 to Reaction Rolls 
  (no more than one character per group can add this bonus), Intimidate gives a -1 to enemy 
  Morale rolls (again, no more than one character per group can apply this penalty.) 
   
  Bullshit Detector 
  Factor: 2 
  Prerequisite: Social III 
  I: This skill’s rating adds to the opponent’s Difficulty, or the character’s roll to resist, when 
  someone attempts to deceive the character. 
  V: The character cannot be deceived by anyone who does not have Deceive Specialization. 
   
  Hairy Eyeball 
  Factor: 3 
  Prerequisite: Social III, Boxing IV. 
  I: The character may make a skill check (using their Hairy Eyeball skill rank, modified by 
  Wisdom), to determine the relative level and combat ability of any clone that they can observe 
  for a time or interact with in person.  The difficulty of the check is 20 minus the level or HD of 
  the target creature.  The check is rolled openly, so if the player rolls very high and doesn’t get a 
  read on the target clone, they can safely assume that the target is low level at least.  The 
  information given by this check is not very precise, but includes at a minimum whether the 
  target is higher or lower level, and what degree of threat they would likely present to the 
  character if someone initiated combat. 
   
  Retainers 
  Factor: 2 
  Prerequisites: Charm Specialization III 
  Description: Without this skill, the character can at most hire a single unskilled, desperate 
  hireling. 
  
  I: Your character may have a number of Henchmen (NPCs with classes, who are able to gain 
  levels) equal to their rank in this skill at any given time.  Immortals are not available as 
  henchmen, but members of other classes from other OSR games are certainly likely to be.  You 
  may also hire a number of Hirelings (Level 0 NPCs who cannot gain class levels) dependent on 
  your rank in this skill.  At Rank one, you can have 2 hirelings.  Hirelings may be experts, 
  mercenaries, or simple porters and dumb muscle. 
  II: 4 Hirelings. 
  III: 8 Hirelings. 
  IV: 16 Hirelings. 
  V: 32 Hirelings. 
   
  Animal Companion 
  Factor: 3 
  Prerequisites: Henchmen III. 
  Description:  Your character may train as a pet and companion a “natural” animal.  You may 
  have one animal companion active at any given time, and they should ideally be trained from 
  birth or shortly afterward.  They should be normal animals (tigers are popular) monstrous 
  versions of normal animals (dire wolves are great) or simply prehistoric or unusual animals 
  (dinosaurs or owlbears.)  They should not be intelligent or have supernatural or extranormal 
  abilities.  Animal companions often make excellent mounts.   
   
  If you or one of your allies has sufficient skills to design and construct cybernetic implants that 
  will work with your animal companion’s biology, then you could theoretically have cybernetic 
  enhancements installed into your animal companion.  Because animals react so badly to the 
  installation of cybernetics, at that point it would be better to bioengineer a custom creature 
  and grow them around the cybernetic implants. 
   
  I: Your animal companion should have no more than 1-2HD. 
  II: 3-5HD 
  III: 6-9HD 
  IV: 10-14HD 
  V: 15-20HD. 
   
   
   
  Starship Pilot Skills 
   
  Multitasking 
  
  Factor: 3, FREE 
  Unskilled: When piloting a starship, the character receives two action cards per round.  They 
  can make one move action and one action of any other type available to them per round.  
  Mundane starship crews normally have this level of skill. 
  I: Two action cards per round, which may be spent on actions of any type available. 
  II: Three action cards per round. 
  III: Once per round, immediately after action cards are dealt and before any are called, the 
  character may choose to discard one of their action cards and draw a new one. 
  IV: Once per round, you can use an unused, lower-ranked action card of the same suit to 
  interrupt another character’s action, and resolve one of your own first.  This still counts as an 
  action of the type that you take. If multiple characters use this ability, then the actions form a 
  “stack,” with the last interrupting action being resolved first, on down through the stack until 
  you reach and resolve the action of the character that prompted the interrupt. You receive four 
  action cards per round. 
  V: You receive five action cards per round. 
   
  Pilot 
  Factor: 1, FREE 
  Description: Trained starship crews are able to pilot a starship around with its normal abilities, 
  but may or may not have any of the benefits of this skill.  Of course, someone with no training 
  whatsoever probably could not pilot a starship at all, or at most they could instruct an Expert 
  System autopilot to take them somewhere and land safely.  That would not be spectacularly 
  helpful in combat. 
  I: Your rank in this skill adds to any skill checks made for complicated or delicate maneuvers 
  when flying a starship. 
  III: Add one to your starship’s Speed. 
  V: You may make one additional Move action per round. 
   
  Delta Management 
  Factor: 2 
  Prerequisite: Pilot II 
  I: Add one to the Acceleration of your starship. 
  III: Add one to your starship’s Speed. 
  V: Sideslip: As a Maneuver, instead of changing facing, you may instead move your ship into the 
  left-hand or right-hand hex of your front arc.  This also counts as advancing one hex, both for 
  purposes of using a Maneuver afterward and for purposes of how many hexes you may move 
  per round. Sideslip costs two movement points. 
   
  
  Hotshot 
  Factor: 3 
  Prerequisite: Pilot III 
  Description: All of the following special maneuvers are used only as part of a Move action. 
  I: You may add this skill’s rank to any attempts to make complicated or delicate maneuvers, 
  stacking with the bonus from Pilot or other skills. 
  II: Spin: If you begin your turn with zero speed tokens, you may turn your ship to any facing 
  before Accelerating. 
  III: Crash Stop: Instead of using Acceleration normally, you may at the beginning of your turn 
  remove Speed Tokens equal to half of your maximum speed (round up.)  If you do this, you may 
  not use any other maneuvers.  This type of Move is considered both an acceleration and a 
  maneuver, so it costs two power and adds two heat. 
  IV: Burnout: If you begin your turn with zero speed tokens, you may add speed tokens equal to 
  half of your maximum speed, instead of using Acceleration.  If you do this, you may not make 
  any further maneuvers once you begin to advance.  Like Crash Stop, it counts as both 
  acceleration and a maneuver, and so costs two power and adds two heat. 
  V: Bootlegger Reverse: If the last hex you move forward during your Move action is a Sideslip, 
  you may reverse the facing (turn it 180 degrees, to face in the opposite direction) of your ship 
  at the end of your move.  This does not affect the number of speed tokens on your ship, and it 
  does count as a maneuver. 
   
  Ace 
  Factor: 3 
  Prerequisite: Pilot IV 
  I: You may add this skill’s rank to any attempts to make complicated or delicate maneuvers, 
  stacking with the bonus from Pilot or other skills. 
  II: Add one to your starship’s Speed. 
  III: Add one to your starship’s Acceleration. 
  IV: Add two to your starship’s Speed. 
  V: Mundane starship crews receive -2 to any attack rolls they make against you. 
   
   
  Defensive Maneuver 
  Factor: 3 
  Prerequisite: Pilot V 
  I: +1 to your starship’s Armor Class 
  III: +2. 
  V: +3. 
  
   
  Starship Operation 
  Cost: FREE 
  I: You may operate Frigates or Shuttles. 
  II: You may operate Gunboats. 
  III: You may operate Cruisers. 
  IV: You may operate Heavy Cruisers. 
  V: You may operate Battleships. 
  Factor: 3 
   
  Advanced Starship Operation: 
  Factor: 4 
  Prerequisites: Starship Operation V 
  I: You may operate Advanced Frigates or Shuttles. 
  II: You may operate Advanced Gunboats or Cruisers. 
  III: You may operate Advanced Heavy Cruisers or Battleships. 
  IV: You may operate Capital Ships. 
  V: You may operate Doom Stars. 
   
   
  Starship Engineering Skills 
   
  Starship Engineering 
  Factor: 2, FREE 
  Prerequisite: NONE 
  This skill is essential for understanding how starships are constructed and how their systems 
  work together.  This skill can be used to understand, repair, and modify starship designs. 
  I: This skill’s rating is added to any attempt to understand the structure or function of a 
  starship. 
  II: You may repair a starship when it is docked or landed, by physically crawling around the ship 
  and working on it with tools. 
  III: You may modify the design of a starship at the time of its construction by adding one 
  additional passive module for which you meet the prerequisites.  You must still pay the cost 
  normally. 
  IV: If you equip Repair Bots to a starship (requires Waldoes IV), you may use the Repair action in 
  combat. 
  V: Starships you design and construct for your own use may have an additional +1 bonus in any 
  physical attribute, at no additional cost. 
  
   
  Warp Drive Operation 
  Factor: 2, FREE 
  I: You are capable of operating a starship’s Warp Drive, including setting a course to the target 
  star system.  This makes available to you the Charge Warp Drive and Warp Out actions. 
  III: When you use the Charge Warp Drive action, you may spend 2 power to add 2 warp tokens 
  instead of 1. 
  IV: You may spend only 1 power and add 1 heat to add 2 warp tokens instead of 1. 
  V: You may spend an additional action per round on Charge Warp Drive. 
   
  Shield Management 
  Factor: 2 
  Prerequisite: Starship Engineering II 
  I: The starship’s maximum shield rating is increased by 1 
  III: The starship’s shield recharge is increased by 1. 
  V: The starship’s maximum shield rating is increased by 2. 
   
  Armor Integrity 
  Factor: 2 
  Prerequisite: Starship Engineering III 
  I: Once per day, when a critical hit would cause you to lose a point of armor, you can make your 
  opponent reroll the attack roll and take the new result, whether it is better or worse. 
  III: Once per day, you can require an opponent to reroll a damage roll against you and take the 
  new result, whether it is better or worse than the original. 
  V: Add one to your starship’s armor rating. 
   
  Capacitor Management 
  Factor: 3 
  Prerequisite: Starship Engineering IV 
  I: Your starship’s maximum Power is increased by your rank in this skill. 
   
  Power Core Management 
  Factor: 3 
  Prerequisite: Starship Engineering IV 
  Prerequisite: Power Core Management V 
  II: You regain an additional power token during cooldown. 
  IV: You regain two additional power tokens during cooldown. 
  
  V: You regain three additional power tokens during cooldown, if you have zero power tokens 
  left when the cooldown phase begins. 
   
  Heat Management 
  Factor: 4 
  Prerequisite: Starship Engineering IV 
  I: Your starship’s Heat Threshold increases by your rank in this skill. 
  V: You remove one additional heat token during cooldown. 
   
   
  Thief Skills 
   
  Somewhat awkwardly, we will depart from the normal skill system here in order to maintain 
  OSR compatibility.  That is, thief skills will continue to use percentages, so you can treat 
  Immortals using thief skills the same way you would an OSR thief.  It’s easiest to just use your 
  favorite OSR game here, but you might let your players successfully lobby for a different one, so 
  long as they’re all using the same rules. 
   
  Basic Infiltration 
  Factor: 1 
  I: You have the ability to hide, move silently, climb walls, and hear noise of a first-level thief. 
  II: Second Level Thief. 
  III: Third Level Thief. 
  IV: Fourth Level Thief. 
  V: Fifth Level Thief. 
   
  Professional Infiltration 
  Factor: 3 
  Prerequisites: Basic Infiltration V 
  I: You have the ability to hide, move silently, climb walls, and hear noise of a sixth-level thief. 
  II: Seventh Level Thief. 
  III: Eighth Level Thief. 
  IV: Ninth Level Thief. 
  V: Tenth Level Thief. 
   
  Master Infiltration 
  Factor: 5 
  Prerequisite: Professional Infiltration V 
  
  I: You have the ability to hide, move silently, climb walls, and hear noise of an eleventh-level 
  thief. 
  II: Twelfth Level Thief. 
  III: Thirteenth Level Thief. 
  IV: Fourteenth Level Thief. 
  V: Once per game day, you can reroll an unsuccessful skill check of any skill granted through 
  your Infiltration skills. 
   
  Basic Legerdemain 
  Factor: 1 
  I: You have the ability to find and remove traps, open locks, and pick pockets of a first-level 
  thief. 
  II: Second Level Thief. 
  III: Third Level Thief. 
  IV: Fourth Level Thief. 
  V: Fifth Level Thief. 
   
  Professional Legerdemain 
  Factor: 3 
  Prerequisites: Basic Legerdemain V 
  I: You have the ability to find and remove traps, open locks, and pick pockets of a sixth-level 
  thief. 
  II: Seventh Level Thief. 
  III: Eighth Level Thief. 
  IV: Ninth Level Thief. 
  V: Tenth Level Thief. 
   
  Master Legerdemain 
  Factor: 5 
  Prerequisite: Professional Legerdemain V 
  I: You have the ability to find and remove traps, open locks, and pick pockets of an eleventh-
  level thief. 
  II: Twelfth Level Thief. 
  III: Thirteenth Level Thief. 
  IV: Fourteenth Level Thief. 
  V: Once per game day, you can reroll an unsuccessful skill check of any skill granted through 
  your Legerdemain skills. 
   
  
  Skullduggery 
  Factor 2 
  Prerequisite: Basic Infiltration II, Basic Legerdemain II 
  Description: Skullduggery must be used from a hex adjacent to the target.  It must use an 
  unarmed, melee, or handgun attack.  It cannot be used with rifles. 
  I: You gain an additional +2 to hit when attacking an opponent from the rear or flank, or if they 
  cannot see you.  Step up your weapon’s damage dice by one step whenever you hit an 
  opponent who is surprised, cannot see you, or from the rear or flank. 
  II: You gain +2 to hit an opponent that you have surprised, whether they can see you or not.  
  Step up your weapon’s damage dice by two steps whenever you hit an opponent who is 
  surprised, cannot see you, or from the rear or flank. 
  III: Three steps. 
  IV: Four steps. 
  V: Five steps. 
   
   
  Unarmed Combat Skills 
   
  Boxing 
  Factor: 1 
  Prerequisite: None 
  I: +1 to hit with unarmed attacks. 
  III: +2. 
  V: +3.  One additional unarmed attack action allowed per round. 
   
  Savate 
  Factor: 2 
  Prerequisite: Boxing III 
  Notes: A character must normally have one hand free in order to make unarmed attacks. 
  I: The Character can make Unarmed attacks at -3 to hit, even if they have no hands free. 
  III: The Character can make Unarmed attacks without penalty, even if they have no hands free. 
  V: Increase the die type of the Character’s damage with unarmed attacks by one step. 
   
  Martial Arts 
  Factor: 3 
  Prerequisites: Boxing IV 
  I: +1 damage with unarmed attacks. 
  III: +2 damage. 
  
  V: +3 damage. 
   
  Kung Fu 
  Factor: 4 
  Prerequisites: Martial Arts V. 
  I: Mantis Style: The character can Interfere as though he were armed with a melee weapon 
  even though she is using unarmed attacks or techniques.  This is also useful when attacking 
  inanimate objects, as the character’s unarmed attacks are as good as hammers of an equivalent 
  damage die.  It also allows them to claim the Defense bonus from Parry, if they have that skill. 
  +1 to hit with unarmed attacks. 
  II: Crane Stance: Character can play an Action card to take an Unarmed attack, and “hold” the 
  attack.  They have the option of using the attack on any enemy that enters their front arc for 
  the remainder of the round.  If they do not use it by the end of the round, the held action is 
  discarded during Cooldown.  +1 to AC against Melee or Unarmed attacks. 
  III: Snake Style: If an opponent rolls a natural 1 against this character using a melee attack, they 
  must immediately make a saving throw versus Petrification or Polymorph.  If they fail, they are 
  disarmed.  This character takes away their weapon or hurls it 2d6 meters in a random direction 
  at their option. +2 to hit with Unarmed attacks. 
  IV: Tiger Style: Increase the damage die of unarmed attacks by one step.  +2 to AC against 
  Melee or Unarmed attacks. 
  V: Dragon Style: The character is considered to face all directions when they are engaged in 
  combat.  All adjacent hexes are in their front arc, enemies cannot gain flanking or rear attack 
  bonuses against this character unless they are surprised.  +3 to hit with Unarmed attacks. 
   
   
  Book 8: Magic 
   
  Please Note: If you begin the campaign as suggested, at 24 hours after the existence of 
  Nonpareil is reported, no magical skills will be available.  The arts of magic are unknown outside 
  of Nonpareil.  Ambitious outsiders will have to journey into the Dyson Sphere and recover 
  magical lore from the natives.  Only then could it be taken back to the complex data processing 
  facilities that can turn it into a downloadable Quantum Information Packet.  In fact, gathering 
  the necessary magical lore is potentially highly remunerative, since all of galactic civilization is 
  desperate to gain command of the power of Magic. 
   
  The use of magic is an ancient and occult art which any player of OSR-compatible games is well 
  familiar with.  Some Immortals will learn the practice of Magic in order to give themselves an 
  edge over the competition.  Their many advantages with regard to how quickly they learn will 
  
  all apply as well to the practice of magic.  However, some special rules will also apply.  I do not 
  intend a massive duplication of effort, and so I will not create entirely unique spell lists for this 
  game.  The Referee is encouraged to take the spell lists from their favorite OSR-compatible 
  game and adapt it. 
   
  The division between arcane and divine magic does not exist for Immortals as such.  In 
  Nonpareil, the practice of divine magic is much different from the practice of Arcane magic, but 
  Clerics do not need to serve any specific deity (nor do they usually do so!)  They are the 
  lawyers, diplomats, and accountants of the spirit world, and their relationship with the alien 
  and incomprehensible extradimensional beings that are known as “gods” is that of intercessor 
  rather than worshipper. 
   
  So, while the division between clerics and magic users may be an unbridgeable divide for the 
  OSR classes, it takes only a moderate additional effort for Immortals to learn both types of 
  casting.  Convert spells from any list willy-nilly, adjusting the statistics of the spell as you see fit.  
  The following changes to the spell lists should be made:  
  1. Any spell that does substantial direct damage.  I would personally keep Magic Missile, 
  but almost all other damage-dealing spells would be removed.  This is to preserve a role 
  where Psychic powers and mundane weapons are superior. 
  2. Secondly, anything that seems too much like a psychic power.  Any kind of telekinesis, 
  teleportation, flight, etc. should not be allowed. 
  3. Spells such as Weather Control or Locate Object should have very much improved areas 
  of effect.  This game happens on a larger scale and characters will have access to large-
  scale effects and rapid transportation.  Therefore, so that magic can keep up at least a 
  little, Locate Object should work at least within a few miles, and Control Weather should 
  allow the projection of severe storms over at least a few hundred square miles. 
  4. Spells to revive the dead may interact strangely with Immortals. 
  5. Wish spells should not be usable to increase attributes, nor should permanency be 
  allowed to take the place of cybernetic implants, etc.  “Permanent” effects such as these 
  only attach to the one clone they are directly cast upon, in any case.  Changing clones 
  may also be a good way to escape curses, at the Referee’s option. 
   
  This should leave plenty of room for characters of both magical and mundane abilities.   
   
  Magical Skills, Spellbooks, & Spells 
   
  
  Please Note: This game assumes that clerics and magic users guard their magic jealously. See 
  the guidelines in the Advanced version of the referee’s book for the kind of efforts required to 
  squeeze magical lore out of NPC spellcasters.  
   
  Thanks to the assistance of their CI in storing and processing information, Immortals do not 
  need to maintain a physical spellbook as mortals do.  Instead, they store spells as quantum 
  information in their CI.  Attempting to convert a scroll into a quantum information packet 
  destroys the scroll, just as learning it and copying it into a spellbook would destroy it for a 
  mortal magician.  Learning magical skills is VERY skill intensive, and is recommended for more 
  advanced characters.   
   
  Immortals thus have a use for scrolls, but do not generally bother learning how to scribe spells 
  into spellbooks or scrolls.  If they wish to do so, the Referee may invent some type of 
  Calligraphy skill to allow them to do so. 
   
  Magical spells can only be cast through a live clone.  They cannot be cast while the character is 
  operating a starship through their CI, nor can they be cast through Avatoids.  Casting a spell 
  uses special initiative rules.  At the completion of one of their actions, the character announces 
  that they are beginning to cast a spell.  They only need to declare what spell they are casting if 
  another character present has sufficient skills to identify the spell as it is being cast.  The player 
  otherwise has the option of writing it down on a notecard or something and leaving it face-
  down (or showing it only to those other players whose character can determine what spell it is) 
  until the casting is complete.  This DOES mean that they have the option of keeping their spell 
  secret from the Referee.  A character can normally identify any spell that they themselves 
  know.  If at any point while the spell is being cast, the casting character takes damage to their 
  Hit Points (damage stopped by Shields or Armor does not count) then the spell is disrupted.  
  They lose one casting of a spell of whatever level the disrupted spell was, and they cannot cast 
  the spell.  If no one manages to disrupt the caster, then the caster may use their next action 
  card for the Cast Spell action.  They cannot continue casting while taking another action, they 
  must use the first available action card or else lose the spell as though it had been Disrupted.  
  At this point, they reveal what spell they were casting, and expend a casting of one spell of the 
  appropriate level.  The spell then takes effect as normal. 
   
  A character may give up higher-level castings in order to cast a lower-level spell, but not the 
  reverse.   
   
  Magic Items 
  
  Characters may sell magical items for XP, or may keep them for their own use.  An Immortal can 
  by default use any magic item that is usable by a fighter.  If they have at least Rank I in 
  Skullduggery, then they can use magical items available to thieves.  Using magical items allowed 
  only to Magic Users or Clerics requires the Artifice skill, below. 
   
  Magical Skills 
   
  Occult 
  Factor: 1 
  Prerequisite: NONE 
  I: The character has some knowledge of the occult.  Their rating in this skill may be added to 
  any relevant skill check.  This will allow the character to do things such as know the appropriate 
  way to fight vampires and to recognize the use of magic. 
   
   
  Spellcraft 
  Factor: 2 
  Prerequisites: Occult V 
  I: The character is able to read and understand magical spells, and determine what they do.  
  This skill renders the Read Magic spell unnecessary.  The Immortal can read and understand 
  first-level arcane spells. 
  II: The Immortal can read and understand second- and third-level arcane spells. 
  III: The Immortal can read and understand fourth- and fifth-level arcane spells. 
  IV: The Immortal can read and understand sixth- and seventh-level arcane spells. 
  V: The Immortal can read and understand eigth- and ninth-level arcane spells. 
   
  Spellcasting 1 
  Factor: 1 
  Prerequisite: Spellcraft I 
  I: The character may cast a number of first-level spells per day equal to their rank in this skill. 
   
  Spellcasting 2 
  Factor: 1 
  Prerequisite: Spellcasting 1 IV 
  I: The character may cast a number of second-level spells per day equal to their rank in this skill. 
   
  Spellcasting 3 
  Factor: 2 
  
  Prerequisite: Spellcasting 2 IV 
  I: The character may cast a number of third-level spells per day equal to their rank in this skill. 
   
  Spellcasting 4 
  Factor: 2 
  Prerequisite: Spellcasting 3 IV 
  I: The character may cast a number of fourth-level spells per day equal to their rank in this skill. 
   
  Spellcasting 5 
  Factor: 3 
  Prerequisite: Spellcasting 4 IV 
  I: The character may cast a number of fifth-level spells per day equal to their rank in this skill. 
   
  Spellcasting 6 
  Factor: 3 
  Prerequisite: Spellcasting 5 IV 
  I: The character may cast a number of sixth-level spells per day equal to their rank in this skill. 
   
  Spellcasting 7 
  Factor: 4 
  Prerequisite: Spellcasting 6 IV 
  I: The character may cast a number of seventh-level spells per day equal to their rank in this 
  skill. 
   
  Spellcasting 8 
  Factor: 4 
  Prerequisite: Spellcasting 7 IV 
  I: The character may cast a number of eighth-level spells per day equal to their rank in this skill. 
   
  Spellcasting 9 
  Factor: 5 
  Prerequisite: Spellcasting 1-8 V 
  I: The character may cast a number of ninth-level spells per day equal to their rank in this skill. 
   
  Theurgy 
  Factor: 3 
  Prerequisite: Spellcraft III, Spellcasting 1 Rank I. 
  
  I: The character understands clerical magic.  They can add clerical spells of 1st level to their spell 
  list, provided they can find scrolls or other means to learn them. 
  II: 2nd or 3rd level clerical spells. 
  III: 4th or 5th level clerical spells. 
  IV: 6th or 7th level clerical spells. 
  V: The character can turn undead as a first-level cleric. 
   
  Turning 
  Factor: 3 
  Prerequisite: Theurgy V 
  I: The character can turn undead as a second-level cleric. 
  II: Third level. 
  III: Fourth Level. 
  IV: Fifth Level. 
  V: Sixth Level  
   
  Banishing 
  Factor: 4 
  Prerequisite: Turning V 
  I: The character can turn undead as a seventh-level cleric. 
  II: Eighth-level. 
  III: Ninth-level. 
  IV: Tenth-Level 
  V: Eleventh-Level. 
   
  Forbiddance 
  Factor: 5 
  Prerequisite: Banishing V 
  I: The character can turn undead as a twelfth-level cleric. 
  II: Thirteenth Level. 
  III: Fourteenth Level 
  IV: Once per day, when the character successfully turns (or destroys, etc.) undead, they may 
  affect twice the usual number of hit dice. 
  V: Once per day, the character may reroll a failed turning check. 
   
  Artifice 
  Factor: 4 
  Prerequisite: Spellcraft III 
  
  I: If you have at least Rank I of Spellcasting 1, you can use magic items that are restricted to 
  magic users. 
  II: If you have at least Theurgy I and Rank I of Spellcasting 1, then you can use magic items that 
  are restricted to clerics. 
  IV: You can craft magical items as a Magic User would, provided that: Your character level is 
  equal to the magic user level required to craft the magic item AND: You know and can cast 
  magic user spells of at least as high a level as that level of magic user can cast. 
  V: You can craft magical items as a Cleric would, provided that: Your character level is equal to 
  the cleric level required to craft the magic item AND: You know and can cast cleric spells of at 
  least as high a level as that level of cleric can cast. 
   
   
  Book 9: Encounters & Conversion Notes 
   
  Surprise 
  When two groups encounter each other unexpectedly, roll 1d6 for each group.  On a 1 or 2, 
  that group is surprised.  For small groups or if the Referee prefers a more mixed result, they 
  might roll individually for the PCs, individual enemies, or sub-groups of enemies.  Once surprise 
  is determined, deal action cards normally.  All characters that are Surprised must discard their 
  highest-ranked card.  If they have an ace, they may decide to play it after deuces in order to 
  discard a non-ace card. 
   
  Morale & Reaction Rolls 
  Morale is indispensable to OSR games.  Use Morale as per the rules in your favorite OSR game, 
  usually whichever one you are pulling monsters from. 
   
  Reaction rolls use the following additional rules.  When an encounter begins, reaction is not 
  rolled until the first enemy uses an action card.  Until then, the PCs are not sure how they will 
  react.  The PCs cannot add their Charisma modifier to the reaction roll unless and until one PC 
  attempts to speak to them using a common language.  So, if a group of orcs gets the drop on 
  the characters and acts before any of the PCs do, they might make a reaction roll indicating 
  hostility and attack before the characters can attempt to dissuade them.  However, if a high-
  charisma PC manages to act before the Orcs take a definitively hostile action (an actual attack, 
  not just a move to enter melee combat, the drawing of weapons, etc.) or any other PC launches 
  an attack, they can go ahead and apply their Charisma modifier to the reaction roll and attempt 
  to sway the Orcs into neutrality or uncertainty.  Only the Charisma modifier of the PC speaking 
  to the enemies counts, and only one PC can apply their Charisma modifier at a time (a second 
  
  PC with a better Charisma modifier might act later in the round, and improve on the first PC’s 
  efforts, of course, by superseding the original modifier.) 
   
  Flipping AC & Attack Bonuses 
  This game uses ascending AC and to-hit bonuses instead of to-hit charts.  Some of you will 
  already be familiar with this.  Some of you will not.  In any event, it is important to understand 
  how to convert these values if you are pulling monsters or characters from OSR games that do 
  not use ascending AC. 
   
  Attack Bonuses are determined by figuring out what a character or monster must roll in order 
  to hit AC 0.  Determine the difference between this value and 20, and that is their to-hit bonus.  
  For example, a Fighter who hits AC 0 on an 18 would now have a +2 attack bonus. 
   
  Armor Class is determined by a similar process.  See how far below 9 is a creature or 
  character’s AC.  That is now the amount by which their AC is above 10.  For example, a very 
  quick thief in your OSR game of choice might have Leather Armor (AC7.)  In this game, their AC 
  would instead be 12.  Their dexterity bonus would add normally.  If they had a Dexterity of 16, 
  their AC would now be 14.  Please note that primitive armor does not translate into Armor 
  points, as some advanced armors grant.  At the Referee’s option, they may modify the stats of 
  some monsters to have a worse AC, but a few points of Armor.  This is most appropriate for 
  massive, thick-hided monsters such as some dinosaurs, or magical creatures such as Dragons. 
   
     
   
   
  Appendix 1: Example Frigate 
  
   
   
  This is an example of a frigate.  The squares are in a one meter scale.  An industrial or transport 
  frigate be larger, but a courier or combat frigate could fit in a hull of this size.  This vessel is 
  approximately 13 meters long by 11 meters wide, and 5 meters thick through the center.   
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Space Madness/Space Madness.pdf