STARSIEGE by Jason Vey
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STARSIEGE BY JASON VEY EDITOR: TIM BURNS FRONT COVER: PETER BRADLEY INTERIOR ART: PETER BRADLEY ART DIRECTION/ CARTOGRAPHY: PETER BRADLEY Inspired by StarSIEGE: Event Horizon by Josh Chewning SPECIAL THANKS: Jeff Hopkins, for his invaluable knowledge and information on the physics and theories of space travel, and the hazards of outer space. This one is for the fans who have waited a long time for the return of SIEGE Engine sci-fi gaming! 1818 North Taylor, #143, Little Rock, AR, 72207 email: [email protected] website: www.trolllord.com or www.knightsofthecrusade.com ©2019 Troll Lord Games. All Rights Reserved. Castles & Crusades® is a registered Trademark of Chenault & Gray Publishing LLC, d/b/a Troll Lord Games. SIEGE Engine™ is Trademark of Chenault & Gray Publishing LLC, d/b/a Troll Lord Games. Amazing Adventures™ is a Trademark of Jason Vey. TheSample Troll Lord Games, Castles & Crusades, StarSiege, SIEGE Engine, Troll Lord Games logos are Trademarks fileof Troll Lord Games. The Amazing Adventures logo is Trademark Jason Vey. All Rights Reserved. 2019. Art, artwork, cover art, cartography is copyright Peter Bradley of Ravenchilde Illustrations, 2019 or Troll Lord Games. All Rights Reserved. All content copyright 2019 Troll Lord Games. All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States of America TABLE OF CONTENTS THE THIRD YEAR OF THE JALEX- 3 SCI-FI SPECIFIC RULES 56 SOLAR WAR COMPUTER HACKING AND CYBERJACKING 56 INTRODUCTION 11 CYBERNETICS AND BIOWARE 57 A FINAL NOTE 12 LASER GUNS AND ENERGY WEAPONS 58 CHAPTER ONE: CHARACTERS 13 BATTLE MECHS 60 KAIJU 62 ATTRIBUTES 13 SIEGE CHECKS 14 CHAPTER FOUR: RUNNING THE 65 LANGUAGES 15 SCI-FI GAME CHOOSING YOUR STYLE OF PLAY 65 CHARACTER RACES 15 PLANETARY ROMANCE, OR SWORD-AND-PLANET 65 CHARACTER CLASSES 19 SPACE OPERA 66 ALIGNMENT 26 ”HARD” SCIENCE FICTION 67 SCIENCE FICTION EQUIPMENT 27 CYBERPUNK 68 MODELING OTHER GEAR WITH SPELLS 31 TECHNOLOGY 68 CREATING CUSTOM EQUIPMENT FOR YOUR SCI-FI 31 GAME VEHICLES 69 LIST OF EFFECTS 33 A MIRROR ON SOCIETY 71 POWER LIMITATIONS 37 CHAPTER FIVE: SOLAR BURN 73 CHAPTER TWO: ADVANCED 39 THE HISTORY OF THE FUTURE 73 CUSTOMIZATION THE COLONIES OF HUMANITY 74 NEW GENERIC CLASS ABILITIES 39 THE DECTI-HUMAN WARS 77 TRUE CLASS CUSTOMIZATION 40 THE DECTI 77 MULTICLASSING: INDIVIDUAL LEVELS 40 THE JALEX-SOLAR WAR 78 SKILL PACKAGES 41 THE JALEX 79 CHAPTER THREE: RULES AND SYSTEMS 45 STORIES IN SOLAR BURN 79 INTRODUCTION 45 THE KNIGHTS OF WILLIAM ST. JOHN 81 ATTRIBUTE CHECKS 45 APPENDIX: THE STARSHIP 85 SAVING THROWS 45 WARDEN IN STARSIEGE COMBAT 45 INTRODUCTION 85 TIME 54 RULES OF PLAY 85 EXPERIENCE & ADVANCEMENT 55 THE STARSHIP WARDEN IN SOLAR BURN 86 Sample file STARSIEGE 2 THE THIRD YEAR OF THE JALEX-SOLAR WAR Plasma bolts erupted all around as Capt. Miranda O’Malley “If I’m remembering right, isn’t that the site of one of those bobbed and weaved her fighter through a gauntlet of Jalex fire. ancient ruins they found here?” Her hands danced across the controls of the cha-kûl starcraft. “Affirmative. It was a major archaeological dig, but the Designed by the Titan colony in conjunction with their Decti government is being secretive about what they have found allies for smooth operation and maneuverability combined with there.” brutal weaponry, it was the ideal counter to the blunt weapons that served as the devastating Jalex warships. Still, even for a This was cause for alarm. What the Hell were the Jalex doing pilot of her abilities, this was a hell of an onslaught. on Venus, and how did they even get set up there without the Alliance knowing about it? Miranda took her fighter into a “Someone tell me how we get into these messes,” she muttered. sharp dive. “I’m going in fast,” she said. “Hopefully I can lose The musical voice of her wingman, the Decti warrior Clental, them in the methane clouds. I’m going to try a barn burner.” came back over her comms: “You take unnecessary risks,” he said. “I would not advise that, Captain,” Clental said. “If you die, the “Clental, you know I love you,” she barked back into the comms, Knights of William St. John will be leaderless. And I…would “but who asked you, anyway?” She grunted and dove hard right. most regret it.” A plasma blast grazed the wing of her starfighter, and the entire “Noted. Just watch my six. I’m going in full burn.” ship rolled out of control for a second until she brought it back. “That was close.” Miranda’s eyes flicked to her scanner and she caught Clental’s ship execute a roll that would’ve been impossible for anyone “Too close, I believe is the saying you humans use,” Clental but him or her, bringing him neatly behind their pursuers. He clicked over the comm. opened up with a barrage of his own, and two Jalex ships went “Quiet, you,” Miranda said. “I’m concentrating. I’ve got strange up with quick bursts of flame that just as quickly vanished in readings in Sector 3, near the Anuket River. This could be what the vacuum. Three other Jalex flipped to drive straight at him, we’re looking for.” while seven maintained their pursuit of Miranda. Another barrage of fire. She ducked, rolled, and pulled out every single trick she’d ever learned as a fighter jockey to stay one step ahead of them. “Damn, I can’t shake these things! How did they get this far into Clental was right; she was responsible for the entire Knights the system, anyway?” squadron (and the larger society that most people didn’t even know existed) and she hadn’t groomed an eventual replacement. Static,Sample then: “Readings confirmed. Energy of both Jalex and… She really should stop taking risksfile like this. unknown configuration. Coming from a volcanic fissure exactly 5.2 kilometers east of the the mouth of the Anuket.” But it was just too much to resist. Risk was who she was. Risk was in her blood, going back hundreds of years. STARSIEGE 3 So she clenched her jaw, flexed her fists on the controls, and constrict, and sharp pains in her breastbone and ribs as she dove straight for a formation of methane clouds in Venus’ upper pounded time and again into her restraints. She was dizzy. She atmosphere. If nothing else, it’d be a hell of a light show for the couldn’t think straight. There was drool…or was that blood? colonists and archaeologists below. She hoped the Jalex would follow her in, and her gambit was rewarded when all seven She had a single moment of clarity: Isn’t my life supposed to flash ships tore straight after her. They fanned out behind her in a V before my eyes or something? formation for the best shot at detecting her; something about the Then, without warning…everything stopped, and all was black methane clouds in Venus’ atmosphere interfered with scanners; for a few minutes. The universe came back into focus, along with no human or Decti scientist has figured out why, yet, and she was a pounding headache and agony in every bone, muscle, and joint gratified to see the same apparently went for the Jalex. in her body. The hot Venusian air blew in her face; somewhere If this didn’t work, she knew, she could end up a lump of coal. during the crash, she’d lost her canopy, which was what she’d wanted to do in the first place. She took a deep breath, wincing “Okay,” she muttered. “Here goes nothing.” against the pain in her chest, just to see if she could. Miranda’s fingers danced once more over the controls, arming a “Thank gods for terraforming,” she muttered, though Venus plasma missile, then releasing it without firing. She then cut her had been terraformed since long before Miranda was born. She engines and pulled up sharply on the stick. Her ship went nose tapped her commlink. “Clental. Clental, you there? You alive?” up, engines down, just meters from the falling missile. Then she punched her afterburners hard, blasting the missile, which The machine hissed and beeped. It had taken a hit in the crash. detonated with a spectacular blossom, taking the entire cloud She shook her wrist and smacked it. Then, faintly: “I am here. I with it. am alive. More or less.” The plan was for Miranda to shoot up and out. Unfortunately, “Do you need me to come to you? Are you in one piece?” three of the Jalex ships caught her flicker in their scanners just “I believe…I can walk. My fighter is also salvageable. Let us in time to open up. Just as her engines flared, a barrage of fire meet at the archaeological ruin.” caught the nose of her cha-kûl, sending her into an uncontrolled spin as the cloud detonated around her. She groaned as she A high-pitched whining sounded from above. Miranda squinted fought the controls to no avail; there was no bailing out, at into the sky and saw several points of light, moving towards her least not until she cleared the fireball. Worse, as she did clear relative position at a high speed. the blaze, she discovered her cockpit was fused and wouldn’t open. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she caught another “Fighters,” she muttered, then said into her comm, “Sounds like cha-kûl—Clental’s—also plummeting towards the ground with a plan. We’d better hurry, though; we’re going to have company, smoke pouring from its wings.