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TABLE OF CONTENTS ON THE COVER: LILYPAD, A FLOATING OPTIONAL RULES ...... 1 ECOPOLIS by Vincent Callebaut. GOING FOR A SWIM ...... 1 INSPIRATION ZONE ...... 7 OTHER ART CREDITS: INSPIRATION FROM VINCENT CALLEBAUT » Artist Credit on images ...... 7

CHARACTER RACES ...... 12 FOREWORD

In this issue of the Star Frontiersman, we have a mix of the old and PEELOVEN ...... 12 new. I suppose though that that is the case with each issue.

SLIRRYS ...... 14 We have a really good vehicle supplement from Andy Campbell over at the SF-Un group on Yahoo. I have included the link here so you can THE FELPA ...... 15 check out the discussions and see what else is new. http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/SF-Un/ EQUIPMENT ...... 17 Last issue we got introduced to the Gold Star Cruise Lines. Now you can check out some of their competition with the ‘Embecker Dance’. NEW VEHICLES FOR STAR FRONTIERS . 17 On our cover, we have some great inspiration from the French SPACESHIPS ...... 31 architect Vincent Callebaut. I found an article with his work in it last year and he graciously allowed us to use his work in our fanzine. Check out more of his work @ http://www.vincent.callebaut.org/. THE EMBECKER DANCE ...... 31 With our inspiration Zone, Remastered ‘Going for a Swim and the CREATURES OF THE FRONTIER ... 51 Creature Section this issue, we are setting you up for a big adventure next issue, “Balneum Blue” from Ben “Rollo” Gorman. I was inspired to do a water themed issue. First from Jedion’s article in Frontier Explorer BALNEUM BLUE CREATURES ...... 51 #1, “Don’t Go in the Water”. http://frontierexplorer.org/magazines. The second was Vincent’s work. MORE ANIMALS OF THE FRONTIER .... 69 KAR'TIX XAG-XIN'S FIELD GUIDE TO So get yourself and your pc’s prepared for some water . FRONTIER CREATURES, VOLUME III ... 76 FRONTIER EXPLORER ...... 80 Raise your dice hand high! William Douglass Sample [email protected]

STAR FRONTIERS, WIZARDS OF THE COAST, and the WIZARDS OF THE COAST logo are trademarks belonging to Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc., and are used here without permission. © 2001 Wizards of the Coast. All Rights Reserved. The free distribution of this revised edition of the out-of-print game system is not intended to detract income from Wizards of the Coast.

OPTIONAL RULES underwater, and they could trade, fight, or otherwise Going For A Swim interact with that race. By William Tracy Artificial gill suits Underwater action in To survive underwater for long periods, characters must employ a apparatus known as an STAR FRONTIERS®gaming artificial gill suit (AGS), which covers the wearer’s entire body. It is made of a material that is similar to From Dragon Magazine #110 June 1986 that used in skeinsuits, and it may be left transparent or colored as the manufacturer desires. Normal goggles may be worn by Humans, Vrusk, and Yazirian divers.

The AGS will absorb one- fourth of all damage caused by projectile and gyrojet weapons, fragmentation grenades, explosives, and melee weapons. It cannot be worn with any other suit of , but a screen may be used with it. When the AGS has taken 35 points of damage, it will be ruined and useless as armor.

The AGS for Humans, Yazirians, and Vrusks conforms to their basic physical shape The AGS for Dralasites will stretch to accommodate their shape-changing abilities.

During the course of a STAR FRONTIERS® campaign, a A Yazirian AGS covers the group of adventurers might want or need to enter an glide-wing membranes without hampering their use in unfortunately, the rule swimming (see below). Much of the exterior of the books contain no rules for underwater play. This AGS is covered by a series of microfilters, all made of article attempts to rectify that situation, and some tough, translucent plastic. These microfilters draw additional equipment usable in undersea from the water, pumping the gas mixture environments is also presented using these rules, through small tubes to the area of the body where the adventuresSample could be created in which characters must wearer inhales air. The wastefile gases produced are reach an underwater city covered by a pressurized released directly from the suit. dome, escape from a damaged submarine, or swim in search of a sunken ship or crashed spacecraft. They The whole system is regulated by a computer chip and might also encounter a sentient race that lives powered by a small energy cell good for five hours

OPTIONAL RULES – GOING FOR A SWIM

before it needs to be recharged. The AGS also has a small digital display which can easily be seen by the wearer. The display shows ’s depth, time in Chances of Contracting the Bends the water, and the amount of power left in the suit’s Rate of Chance to get the Chance of Death energy cell. The suit also has a built-in low-frequency Ascent Bends radio system, which has a range of one kilometer. The 6 m/turn 10% 8% AGS weighs five kilograms and costs 800 Credits. The 7 m/turn 40% 16% suit can be safely used at a maximum depth of 110 8 m/turn 60% 24% meters on Earthlike planets. 9 m/turn 80% 32%

10+ 100% 40% If a deeper dive is attempted, there is a cumulative 5% m/turn chance per 10 meters below the safe limit that the

AGS will malfunction. This chance must be rolled for If death is indicated, it will occur in 10 minutes. During every five minutes, with an additional 1% chance of these 10 minutes, the character will lose one-tenth of failure added for every additional five-minute period his hit point value (rounded up) every minute spent beyond the first. The wearer will also take one This procedure can be stopped by a freeze field or a point of damage for every 10 meters he dives past the chamber. A character must stay in a maximum safe depth. This damage will be taken every decompression chamber for a number of minutes minute and is caused by increased . Dralasites equal to the lowest depth in meters that the character will not start taking pressure damage until they reach reached. If a character dives below 60 meters, even if a depth of 160 meters, due to their elastic abilities. he did not contract the bends, he must spend some There is also a 10% cumulative chance per 10 meters time in a decompression chamber. If the character of depth beyond the maximum safe limit, checked for does not do this, he will get a case of the bends, like every 10 minutes, that a Human or Yazirian character that described above; within 1d5 hours Dralasite will have vivid hallucinations for five minutes as a characters will never contract the bends due to their result of . A check against the unique physiology. character’s Logic score lets him disbelieve the hallucinations. If characters need to dive deeper than their limits,

they will have to use a submarine or an AGS designed If the AGS malfunctions, the character wearing it must for greater depths hold his breath until he can reach the water’s surface.

A character can hold his breath for a number of turns equal to the character’s Stamina score divided by five. Movement If the character is still underwater after running out of Characters can swim at a rate of 10 meters per turn breath, the character will take 2d10 damage for every (or one kilometer per hour). If a character swims turn spent under water until death occurs from longer than one hour, he will lose five Stamina points . If a character dives deeper than 10 meters, for every 30 minutes he continues swimming. These the character must ascend slowly (at a rate of five movement rates can be affected by obstacles such as meters per turn) or risk getting a case of the bends. seaweed or coral (or alien equivalents thereof). Rends are caused by nitrogen bubbles forming in the bloodstream, due to the quick change in pressure. If a character swims through seaweed, he must move This can cause intense pain, doing one point of at a rate of four meters per turn if a character tries to damage per round until the character is placed in a move faster than that, he may become entangled (a freeze field or a decompression chamber to stop the cumulative 10% per every turn of movement). This loss of Stamina points. The damage from should be checked for every third turn the character decompression will never exceed 40 points, though will be entangled for 1d10 turns (1d5 if the character death can still occur as a result of it. Note that there is has a sharp instrument with which to free himself). a chance of dying as a result of the bends, independentSample of the amount of damage taken, as per If a character swims through areasfile containing coral the table below. Dralasites do not get the bends. reefs, he must swim at a reduced rate of five meters per turn. Faster speeds allow for a 10% chance per turn traveled that the character will be cut by the

OPTIONAL RULES

sharp edges of the coral, causing 1d10 damage (half of be accommodated aboard it, though in VERY cramped which can he absorbed by an AGS suit). comfort. The sub carries four in relative comfort. The Another factor that might affect movement is the cargo limit is 1000 kilograms, within a space of two presence of underwater currents. Such currents cubic meters. usually have speeds ranging from 1-12 meters per turn, but they can only he found at a depth of 60 This submarine is powered by a parabattery (type II) meters or less. Characters may enter a current on which has to be recharged every 200 hours of use. The purpose to increase their speed. submarine’s movement rates are not affected by coral reefs or seaweed, though visibility is affected. To get out of a current, a character must roll his Strength (minus 2% per meter/turn of speed the This type of submarine can be used to a maximum current has) or less on percentile dice. The character depth of 200 meters. If it is used at greater depths, can attempt to leave the current once every five there is a cumulative 10% chance per 10 meters below minutes. After a number of attempts equal to the the maximum depth that the submarine will spring a character’s Stamina score divided by five and rounded leak. This chance should be checked for every five down, the character must rest 30 minutes before minutes spent below the maximum depth. If a leak making any more attempts to escape the current. occurs, a person with Technical skills can repair it, but first the submarine must move to the surface. If the The characters’ movement rates might also be leak is not fixed, the submarine fills with water in 10 increased with special equipment, such as jet minutes. scooters, jet fins, and submarines. The submarine contains six AGS suits in case of A jet scooter is a streamlined cylinder made of light emergencies, hut donning one in a cramped, sinking alloys, one meter in width and two meters long. It has submarine can be tricky. Structural damage of 100 a built in jet turbine which enables it to go 20 meters points or more to one area will cause a leak in the sub, per turn. The character lies on top of the scooter and which has a total of 400 structural points. steers it with a steering rod, which controls small tins on the sides of the scooter. The scooter weighs five If a submarine is involved in undersea combat, a kilograms and costs 300 Credits. It is powered by a referee might want to create a modified form of the small rechargeable energy cell, which can power the Vehicle Damage Table, found on page 32 of the scooter for five consecutive hours. Expanded Game Rules book, which would cover the sub’s specific shape and details. Jet fins work on the same principle as the scooter. Jet fins enable a character to move at a rate of 13 Character effects meters per turn without requiring rest breaks every The characters will be entering a new type of hour. A pair of fins weighs .5 kilograms and cost 50 environment beneath the sea, and will be affected by credits. They are powered by two small, rechargeable it mentally and physically. energy cells good for two hours of use.

First of all, a character’s ability scores change while A submarine can also be used by the characters, but it underwater. A character’s Dexterity and Reaction can only be operated by a Technician with a skill level Speed scores are reduced by 25 points; also, a of five or better. This article will describe the most character’s Strength score is reduced by 35 points common type of submarine, which can be bought or when figuring the effects of melee on the Punching rented by non-military characters. If the characters Table (page 25, Expanded Games Rules). A minimum want larger or armed submarines, they must either be score of 10 applies in all cases. working with the government or willing to acquire one illegally. The STAR FRONTIERS races are each affected

differently by the underwater environment. Dralasites A typical explorer submarine costs 20,000 Credits, but Sampledo not care for adventuring file undersea, because the usually rents for 100 Credits, plus a 250- credit AGS does not let them use their senses of touch and deposit, per day. The submarine has a top speed of smell. They are not greatly affected by increases in 250 kilometers per hour, with an average cruising pressure (and never get the bends). Humans are not speed of 20 kilometers per hours. Six passengers may bothered by the new environment, but Vrusks are

OPTIONAL RULES – GOING FOR A SWIM

very nervous underwater. Vrusks swim awkwardly can also be affected by the amount of sediment and and, when dealing with underwater races, a Vrusk’s plankton in the area, the amount of light shining on chance to comprehend social dealings is halved. the surface of the water, the depth, and passing Yazirians are uneasy at first, but they come to enjoy schools of fish or other life forms. swimming because it is somewhat like gliding. Their glider membranes grant them great maneuverability It can be assumed that within 10 meters of the while underwater. This will be discussed later. surface, a character will have a maximum visual range of 40 meters, if the view is not obstructed and if it is A character’s skills and their results are also affected daylight. If it is at night, the character will only be able while underwater. The effects on Weapon skills are to see one meter away at best. The referee should use discussed later The Demolitions skills work as long as this as a basic foundation when trying to decide a the timers used are built to work underwater. Blast character’s visual range underwater. The final visual radii are doubled due to the increased powers of range is left up to the referee. shock waves underwater. For 50 Credits, a wide-beam underwater flashlight can The Martial Arts skill will work underwater with a 30% be found. The flashlight will be attached to the AGS, reduction on the success rate. Technician skills work if around the character’s chest. The flashlight’s energy the equipment and tools are designed to work cell can go for 100 hours before needing a recharge. underwater. Environmental skills work normally The flashlight enables the character to always have a underwater if they apply to the situation. There will be minimum visual range of two meters, except in a 20% reduction on their success rates while extremely murky water. It illuminates a cone-shaped underwater as none of the Medical skills work area, ranging from .5-2 meters at the widest part of underwater, except for Diagnosis which has a 30% the cone. reduction on the success rate. When fighting underwater, characters must use All Psycho-Social skills work when applicable, with a modified versions of the ranged weapons they usually 30% reduction on success rates due to use. These weapons cost 50 Credits extra for communications problems. underwater modification. Such weapons act normally above water unless otherwise noted. Laser weapons Underwater combat are not used underwater, as they are too inefficient. Underwater versions of gyrojet weapons are available. While underwater, characters will have to deal with When used underwater, they have the following various modifications to the combat system. The alterations made in ranges (the rest of the statistics Ranged Weapon Combat Procedure Table, on page 22 are normal when used underwater). of the Expanded Game Rules book, should have the following additions and modifications when combat occurs underwater. Weapon P Short Med Long Ext

B Swimming target -5 Gyrojet 0-3 4 - 30 31 - 60 61 - 9 0 pistol - Dodging target -8 Gyrojet 0-3 4 - 50 51 - 90 91 - 130 Dodging Yazirian target -10 - Target using jet fins -3 Target riding jet scooter -6 Sonic disruptors and sonic stunners are both produced in versions that can be used underwater. These Attacker using jet fins -2 weapons have double normal ranges undersea, because of the effects of the denser medium through Attacker riding jet scooter -5 which the sound waves pass. The damage for the sonic disruptors is doubled accordingly. Sample file Sighting distance is also modified while underwater. Modified versions of grenades can be used The AGS is designed to enhance the wearer’s vision so underwater. They can’t actually be thrown, but they that it is not distorted even so; a character’s vision will may be dropped on characters that are at a greater not be as good as when on the surface. Visual range depth than the attacker. Unless surprised, the victim

OPTIONAL RULES