DOCSLIB.ORG

RPJ Sci-Fi Rulebook V1.1.0-Beta2.Pdf 2020-06-07 13

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
RPJ Sci-Fi Rulebook V1.1.0-Beta2.Pdf 2020-06-07 13 RPJ Sci-Fi The Empire of Alexander: a Science Fiction World in RPJ Jay Slater Many Words Press Sci-Fi v1.1.0-beta2 (January, 2019) Compatible Core: v1.1.0-beta2 Many Words Press Pittsburgh, PA © Jay Slater, 2019 CC BY-SA-NC Contents I. Introduction......................................................................................1 Welcome..........................................................................................1 RPJ..................................................................................................2 Quick Start Guide.......................................................................2 RPJ Optional Core Mechanics....................................................3 Other Stuff..................................................................................3 A Note on Language........................................................................3 A Note on Units of Measure............................................................4 Distance......................................................................................4 Weight........................................................................................4 Using This Rulebook.......................................................................5 License and Legal Information........................................................5 The Section Wherein I Express Gratitude.......................................6 II. A Brief History of the Universe......................................................7 To The Heavens..........................................................................7 To The Stars...............................................................................8 The Modern Age........................................................................9 III. Building Characters.....................................................................11 Quick Reference Guide.................................................................11 Names...........................................................................................13 Classes...........................................................................................14 Traits.............................................................................................14 Skills.............................................................................................15 Coin and Wealth............................................................................15 Starting Equipment........................................................................16 Navarchoi.................................................................................16 Influence........................................................................................16 IV. Classes.........................................................................................19 Navarch.........................................................................................19 Kataphraktos Veteran.....................................................................22 Amplified Psion.............................................................................25 Patrikios........................................................................................28 Tagma Veteran...............................................................................31 Scoundrel......................................................................................34 Mechanikos...................................................................................37 Bondsman......................................................................................40 V. Traits.............................................................................................43 Gifts...............................................................................................43 Faults.............................................................................................47 Quirks............................................................................................52 Alien Species.................................................................................52 VI. Skills...........................................................................................59 Common Knowledge.....................................................................59 Strength.........................................................................................59 Dexterity........................................................................................61 Charisma.......................................................................................63 Intelligence....................................................................................65 Willpower......................................................................................67 VII. Items and Acquisitions...............................................................71 Technology in the Empire..............................................................71 Lost Technology.......................................................................72 Wealth and Coin............................................................................72 Coin and Currency...................................................................73 Sharing Coin and Wealth..........................................................74 Suppliers..................................................................................74 Acquisition Checks..................................................................74 Coin Cost..................................................................................76 Bartering..................................................................................77 Technological Wonders.................................................................78 Artificer's Tools........................................................................78 Unknown Wonders...................................................................79 Crafting.........................................................................................79 Item List........................................................................................81 Carrying Capacity....................................................................81 Weapons...................................................................................81 Armor.....................................................................................116 Gadgets..................................................................................120 Psi Amplifiers.........................................................................135 Other......................................................................................137 Power Armor...............................................................................138 Design....................................................................................138 Acquiring Power Armor.........................................................139 Donning Power Armor...........................................................139 Power Armor Out of Combat..................................................140 Defeating Power Armor..........................................................140 Repairing Power Armor..........................................................140 Miscellaneous Combat Rules.................................................140 Power Armor Models.............................................................141 Power Armor Components.....................................................143 VIII. Vehicles...................................................................................151 IX. Jump Ships and Voidships.........................................................158 Jump Ships..................................................................................158 Hermes' Landing: a Brief Tour of an Average Jump Ship.......158 Building Jump Ships..............................................................160 Upkeep...................................................................................162 Jump Travel............................................................................163 Voidships.....................................................................................165 Building Voidships.................................................................165 Upkeep...................................................................................166 In-System Travel.........................................................................166 Void Navigation......................................................................166 Fighters and Small Craft..............................................................166 Building Small Craft..............................................................167 Upkeep...................................................................................167 Happenings Aboard.....................................................................167 Trade Rolls.............................................................................168 Internal Damage..........................................................................169 Ship Traits...................................................................................169 Gifts........................................................................................169 Faults......................................................................................170 Quirks.....................................................................................171
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Qisar-Alexander-Ollongren-Astrolinguistics.Pdf
    Astrolinguistics Alexander Ollongren Astrolinguistics Design of a Linguistic System for Interstellar Communication Based on Logic Alexander Ollongren Advanced Computer Science Leiden University Leiden The Netherlands ISBN 978-1-4614-5467-0 ISBN 978-1-4614-5468-7 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-4614-5468-7 Springer New York Heidelberg Dordrecht London Library of Congress Control Number: 2012945935 © Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, speci fi cally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on micro fi lms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. Exempted from this legal reservation are brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis or material supplied speci fi cally for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the Copyright Law of the Publisher’s location, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer. Permissions for use may be obtained through RightsLink at the Copyright Clearance Center. Violations are liable to prosecution under the respective Copyright Law. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a speci fi c statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
    [Show full text]
  • 1: for Me, It Was Personal Names with Too Many of the Letter "Q"
    1: For me, it was personal names with too many of the letter "q", "z", or "x". With apostrophes. Big indicator of "call a rabbit a smeerp"; and generally, a given name turns up on page 1... 2: Large scale conspiracies over large time scales that remain secret and don't fall apart. (This is not *explicitly* limited to SF, but appears more often in branded-cyberpunk than one would hope for a subgenre borne out of Bruce Sterling being politically realistic in a zine.) Pretty much *any* form of large-scale space travel. Low earth orbit, not so much; but, human beings in tin cans going to other planets within the solar system is an expensive multi-year endevour that is unlikely to be done on a more regular basis than people went back and forth between Europe and the americas prior to steam ships. Forget about interstellar travel. Any variation on the old chestnut of "robots/ais can't be emotional/creative". On the one hand, this is realistic because human beings have a tendency for othering other races with beliefs and assumptions that don't hold up to any kind of scrutiny (see, for instance, the relatively common belief in pre-1850 US that black people literally couldn't feel pain). On the other hand, we're nowhere near AGI right now and it's already obvious to everyone with even limited experience that AI can be creative (nothing is more creative than a PRNG) and emotional (since emotions are the least complex and most mechanical part of human experience and thus are easy to simulate).
    [Show full text]
  • Alien Encounters and the Alien/Human Dichotomy in Stanley Kubrick's <Em>2001: a Space Odyssey</Em> and Andrei Tark
    University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 4-1-2010 Alien Encounters and the Alien/Human Dichotomy in Stanley Kubrick‘s 2001: A Space Odyssey and Andrei Tarkovsky‘s Solaris Keith Cavedo University of South Florida Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the American Studies Commons Scholar Commons Citation Cavedo, Keith, "Alien Encounters and the Alien/Human Dichotomy in Stanley Kubrick‘s 2001: A Space Odyssey and Andrei Tarkovsky‘s Solaris" (2010). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/1593 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Alien Encounters and the Alien/Human Dichotomy in Stanley Kubrick‘s 2001: A Space Odyssey and Andrei Tarkovsky‘s Solaris by Keith Cavedo A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of English College of Arts and Sciences University of South Florida Major Professor: Phillip Sipiora, Ph.D. Lawrence Broer, Ph.D. Victor Peppard, Ph.D. Silvio Gaggi, Ph.D. Date of Approval: April 1, 2010 Keywords: Film Studies, Science Fiction Studies, Alien Identity, Human Identity © Copyright 2010, Keith Cavedo Dedication I dedicate this scholarly enterprise with all my heart to my parents, Vicki McCook Cavedo and Raymond Bernard Cavedo, Jr. for their unwavering love, support, and kindness through many difficult years. Each in their own way a lodestar, my parents have guided me to my particular destination.
    [Show full text]
  • Aurora C# Unofficial Manual
    Aurora C# unofficial manual Written by Steve Walmsley and organized by Aurora C# forum community September 19, 2020 1 Contents I Introduction5 1 What is Aurora C# 5 2 About this document 5 II Diplomacy6 3 Basic Framework 6 4 Intrusion into NPR territory7 5 Claiming systems from NPRs8 6 NPR vs. NPR claims 10 7 Restrictions on NPR claims 11 8 Independence 11 9 Banned bodies 12 10 Diplomatic ships 12 III Star System Design 14 11 Modifying stars 14 12 Adding stars 16 13 Modifying system bodies 17 14 Deleting stars and system bodies 18 15 Adding planets, comets and asteroid belts 19 16 Adding moons and Lagrange points 20 17 Deleting asteroids and Lagrange points 21 IV Weapons 22 18 Missiles 22 18.1 Missile updates.............................................. 22 18.2 Missile engines.............................................. 22 18.3 Missile launcher changes......................................... 23 18.4 Box launcher reloading.......................................... 24 18.5 Missile thermal detection........................................ 24 18.6 Magazine design............................................. 25 18.7 Missile engines integrated into missile design............................. 25 18.8 Tracking time bonus vs missiles..................................... 26 19 Guns 27 19.1 Meson update............................................... 27 19.2 Turret update............................................... 27 19.3 Beam weapon recharge.......................................... 27 19.4 Weapon failure.............................................
    [Show full text]
  • Anthropomorphic Machines: Alien Sensation and Experience in Nonhumans Created to Be Like Us
    Anthropomorphic machines: alien sensation and experience in nonhumans created to be like us by Tessa Gwendoline Leach ORCID 0000-0002-0560-7667 Doctor of Philosophy (Arts) June 2018 School of Historical and Philosophical Studies This thesis is submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements of the degree i Abstract This thesis is positioned at the intersection between technology studies and the nonhuman turn in the humanities. It argues that typical approaches to the study of technology omit any consideration of the alien nature of nonhuman sensation and experience. The discussion of metaphysical theory aimed at redressing this omission is grounded in this thesis in the study of specific case studies of anthropomorphic machines, objects which are typically surrounded by human-centric rhetoric. There are four main case studies presented. The first, the Microsoft Kinect for Xbox One, is a sensor designed for use in videogames. The second is the “robot tortoises” (Machina speculatrix) designed by William Grey Walter in the 1940s and 50s. The third is the language- using artificial intelligence program SHRDLU developed by Terry Winograd between 1968 and 1972. The fourth is the concept of the gynoid (female humanoid robot) and particularly the gynoid sexbot. Each of these case studies has previously been analysed in Science and Technology Studies, Cultural Studies or Engineering, and this thesis builds on this past work by giving primacy and due consideration to the alien in these anthropomorphic technologies. The thesis aims to decentre the anthropomorphic qualities of machines that are often foregrounded in both engineering and critical texts. This is done both by emphasising the alien nature of nonhuman sensation and experience, and through anthrodecentric theory and language.
    [Show full text]
  • WO 2016/097832 Al 23 June 2016 (23.06.2016) W P O P C T
    (12) INTERNATIONAL APPLICATION PUBLISHED UNDER THE PATENT COOPERATION TREATY (PCT) (19) World Intellectual Property Organization International Bureau (10) International Publication Number (43) International Publication Date WO 2016/097832 Al 23 June 2016 (23.06.2016) W P O P C T (51) International Patent Classification: hammed, 11 Talaat Harb, ST from Diaa Street, Haram, H04B 7/185 (2006.01) Postal code: 971 14, Cairo (EG). YOUSIF, Amro [SD/SA]; c/o AMMAR, Mohammed, 11 Talaat Harb, ST (21) International Application Number: from Diaa Street, Haram, Postal code: 971 14, Cairo (EG). PCT/IB20 15/000427 (74) Common Representative: AMMAR, Mohammed; c/o (22) Date: International Filing AMMAR, Mohammed, 11 Talaat Harb, ST from Diaa 18 May 2015 (18.05.2015) Street, Haram, Postal code: 971 14, Cairo (EG). (25) Filing Language: English (81) Designated States (unless otherwise indicated, for every (26) Publication Language: English kind of national protection available): AE, AG, AL, AM, AO, AT, AU, AZ, BA, BB, BG, BH, BN, BR, BW, BY, (30) Priority Data: BZ, CA, CH, CL, CN, CO, CR, CU, CZ, DE, DK, DM, 3288 16 December 2014 (16. 12.2014) SD DO, DZ, EC, EE, EG, ES, FI, GB, GD, GE, GH, GM, GT, (72) Inventors; and HN, HR, HU, ID, IL, IN, IR, IS, JP, KE, KG, KN, KP, KR, (71) Applicants : KAMIL, Idris [SD/SD]; c/o AMMAR, Mo KZ, LA, LC, LK, LR, LS, LU, LY, MA, MD, ME, MG, hammed, 11 Talaat Harb, ST from Diaa Street, Haram, MK, MN, MW, MX, MY, MZ, NA, NG, NI, NO, NZ, OM, Postal code: 97 114, Cairo (EG).
    [Show full text]
  • Evolutionary Informatics - 9In X 6In B2390-Fm FA6 Page Iv
    February 2, 2017 12:44 Introduction to Evolutionary Informatics - 9in x 6in b2390-fm FA6 page iv Publishers’ page iv February 2, 2017 12:44 Introduction to Evolutionary Informatics - 9in x 6in b2390-fm FA6 page v CONTENTS Preface xiii About the Authors xxiii 1. Introduction 1 1.1. The Queen of Scientists & Engineers .............. 2 1.2. Science and Models .......................... 3 1.2.1. Computer models ....................... 4 1.2.2. The improbable and the impossible ........... 4 Notes ....................................... 5 2. Information: What Is It? 7 2.1. Defining Information ......................... 7 2.2. Measuring Information ........................ 10 2.2.1. KCS complexity ....................... 10 2.2.1.1. KCS information using prefix free programs ...................... 13 2.2.1.2. Random programming and the Kraft inequality ...................... 15 2.2.1.3. Knowability .................... 17 2.2.1.4. Application ..................... 18 2.2.2. Shannon information .................... 18 2.2.2.1. Twenty questions: Interval halving and bits .................. 21 2.2.2.2. Shannon information applied to interval halving ........................ 22 v February 2, 2017 12:44 Introduction to Evolutionary Informatics - 9in x 6in b2390-fm FA6 page vi vi Contents 2.3. Remarks .................................. 26 Notes ....................................... 26 3. Design Search in Evolution and the Requirement of Intelligence 29 3.1. Design as Search ............................ 29 3.1.1. WD-40TM and Formula 409TM .............. 30 3.1.2. Tesla, Edison and domain expertise ........... 30 3.2. Design by Computer ......................... 31 3.3. Designing a Good Pancake ..................... 32 3.3.1. A search for a good pancake #1 ............. 32 3.3.2. A search for a good pancake #2: Cooking times plus range setting ......................
    [Show full text]
  • Arxiv:1708.05318V1 [Physics.Pop-Ph] 17 Aug 2017 Eateto Nhoooy Eoiluiest,S.Jh’,NL John’S, St
    Visions of Human Futures in Space and SETI Jason T. Wright Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics and Center for Exoplanets and Habitable Worlds 525 Davey Laboratory, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA, [email protected] Visiting Associate Professor, Department of Astronomy Breakthrough Listen Laboratory 501 Campbell Hall #3411, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA PI, NASA Nexus for Exoplanet System Science Michael P. Oman-Reagan Department of Anthropology, Memorial University, St. John’s, NL A1C 5S7, Canada August 18, 2017 Abstract We discuss how visions for the futures of humanity in space and SETI are intertwined, and are shaped by prior work in the fields and by sci- ence fiction. This appears in the language used in the fields, and in the sometimes implicit assumptions made in discussions of them. We give examples from articulations of the so-called Fermi Paradox, discussions of the settlement of the Solar System (in the near future) and the Galaxy (in the far future), and METI. We argue that science fiction, especially arXiv:1708.05318v1 [physics.pop-ph] 17 Aug 2017 the campy variety, is a significant contributor to the “giggle factor” that hinders serious discussion and funding for SETI and Solar System set- tlement projects. We argue that humanity’s long-term future in space will be shaped by our short-term visions for who goes there and how. Because of the way they entered the fields, we recommend avoiding the term “colony” and its cognates when discussing the settlement of space, as well as other terms with similar pedigrees.
    [Show full text]
  • We Come in Peace! (Well, Do They?): Human Communicative Fears in Films of an Extra-Terrestrial Nature. ¡Venimos En Paz! (Bueno
    We come in Peace! (Well, do they?): Human Communicative Fears in Films of an Extra-terrestrial Nature Abstract Sergio Roncallo-Dow* PhD en Filosofía Extra-terrestrial beings always have the potential to alter ‘the world Facultad de Comunicación, Universidad de La Sabana as we know it.’ Whenever they appear in film or television, there Chía, Colombia is a debate about the possibility that we have, as human beings, orcid.org/0000-0002-9816-1288 to communicate with them. Linguistics and semiotics become key Google Scholar elements in our attempt to bridge the cultural gap. Be it through mathematics, music or technological gadgets, these films only Enrique Uribe-Jongbloed mimic the uncertainty that arises from all types of intercultural PhD en Estudios de Medios de contact. The fear is always the misinterpretation that can turn a Comunicación Facultad de Comunicación Social- ‘We come in peace’ into a fully-fledged war. Periodismo, Universidad Externado de Colombia. Bogotá, Colombia This article starts from a general review of 138 films from the Correo electrónico: decade 2007-2017 to recognize the main points present in [email protected] their narrative, which shows that hostile conflict remains the orcid.org/0000-0002-9415-7628 main theme. Then it provides an interpretive analysis of the Google Scholar films to describe the type of communication fears that exist in Daniel Aguilar-Rodríguez contemporary films, taking a special look at Avatar (Cameron, PhD en Sociología 2009), Arrival (Villeneuve, 2016) and District 9 (Blomkamp, Facultad de Comunicación Social- 2009) as the main representations of our current understanding of Periodismo, Universidad Externado communication difficulties.
    [Show full text]
  • SIDEREAL MONOMYTH SETTING PRIMER (April 15, 2019) OVERVIEW
    SIDEREAL MONOMYTH SETTING PRIMER (April 15, 2019) OVERVIEW This setting was created with a variable scale in mind – in one game the characters may be bound to a single planet, but in another they may travel across the galaxy. The setting might look like a kitchen sink, but I believe that a setting of this scope cannot be anything but a kitchen sink. While I am fond of hard science fiction, this setting is “soft sci-fi”, as this creates more possibilities for adventures, diverse characters, and fun in general. Nonetheless, “soft sci-fi” does not mean “anything goes” – I have thoroughly read GURPS Ultra-Tech, GURPS Psi-Tech, and GURPS Bio- Tech to find what technologies or pieces of gear might be inappropriate for the tone, have questionable balance. Some adjustments were made, and in the case of GURPS Psi-Tech, each piece of equipment was assigned a TL value. Not all superscience items are available, and most of them require some special rare material. Thus, control of the material will grant some species/factions access to specific superscience technologies, and sources of such materials will grant the characters opportunities for adventures. Supernatural abilities can be gained through psionics or some other esoteric powers. In- universe, powered people are quite rare (at least among humans), but definitely not unknown. The abilities are inborn, but under certain conditions, new or latent powers may be unlocked. Some psionic powers were excluded to preserve a more scientific feel. Aliens are abundant in the setting. Some of them are truly alien, but some of them are the so-called “rubber foreheads”.
    [Show full text]
  • EPISODE 17 15Th June 2021
    EPISODE 17 15th June 2021 KEY LEARNING Teacher Resource Students will view a range of BTN stories and use comprehension skills to Focus Questions respond to a series of focus questions. COVID Variants CURRICULUM 1. Discuss the BTN COVID Variants story as a class. English – Year 4 2. When was COVID first discovered? Use comprehension strategies 3. A virus can change and evolve as it spreads. What are these to build literal and inferred meaning to expand content changes called? knowledge, integrating and 4. It’s common for a virus like COVID-19 to mutate. True or false? linking ideas and analysing and 5. What is a `variant’? evaluating texts. 6. Some variants have been found to be more transmissible. What English – Year 5 does that mean? Use comprehension strategies 7. In which countries have COVID variants been found? to analyse information, 8. Which COVID variant was found in Melbourne recently? integrating and linking ideas 9. The COVID vaccines will/will not work against the new variants. from a variety of print and digital sources. Circle the correct answer. 10. What do you understand more clearly since watching the BTN English – Year 6 story? Use comprehension strategies to interpret and analyse information and ideas, Electric Cars Class comparing content from a variety of textual sources 1. Discuss the BTN story in pairs and record the main points of including media and digital your discussion. texts. 2. What are the students in the BTN story doing? English – Year 7 3. Finish the following sentence: Petrol and diesel cars produce… Use comprehension strategies 4.
    [Show full text]
  • Who Invents Languages for Science Fiction?
    Who Invents Languages for Science Fiction? Frédéric Landragin DRAFT AVANT MISE EN LIGNE https://news.cnrs.fr/opinions/who-invents-languages-for-science-fiction Who invented the Dothraki spoken by Daenerys in Game of Thrones? What linguistic theory is the basis for the language spoken by the extra-terrestrials in the film Arrival? Frédéric Landragin, author of Comment parler à un alien ? Langage et linguistique dans la science-fiction (How to Talk to an Alien? Language and Linguistics in Science Fiction), provides answers. An original scientific analysis is published each month on the Inédits du CNRS website, in partnership with Libération. The Game of Thrones television series and the Lord of the Rings trilogy have brought exposure to a new job that requires linguistic skills, namely a conlanger, or someone who invents a language for fictional needs, whether it be for cinema, literature (J.R.R. Tolkien is a famous example), or video games (for example the D’ni language in the game Myst). The more a constructed language has characters from real natural languages, the more it “feels real” and contributes to the displacement—spatial, temporal, cultural—that make science fiction and fantasy so enjoyable, and so full of a sense of wonder. For greater realism and plausibility, the creation of fictitious languages is henceforth left to linguists who specialize in conlanging. Dothraki and High Valyrian, which were invented for the HBO adaptation of Game of Thrones by the linguist David J. Peterson, who has become a highly successful conlanger, are examples of languages built in the image of natural languages.
    [Show full text]