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I have always done it the way Derek suggests, but I also handed out a matrix when we played Champions 20 years ago.

Does anyone set the base OCV at 14 and DCV at 3 just to simplify the attack roll equation? OCV-3d6=DCV

I don't tend to write up characters who don't have combat abilities or are likely to appear in a combat situation. I assume average BODY and STUN, and whatever skills make sense. If they are shot or punched by a brick, they will go down, and die unless they receive quick medical attention. (EDIT: I might write some backstory for them, but I don't stat them out.)

Barbara Eden as Poison Ivy Frank Zappa as Professor Hugo Strange Charles Nelson Reilly as Two Face

Barbara Eden as Poison Ivy Frank Zappa as Professor Hugo Strange Charles Nelson Reilly as Two Face

Characters in games I have played include Johnny Angel and Barracuda. The rough side of town is known to the locals as "Town without Pity"...

The Facts of Death: Six teenage girls and their house mother defend their boarding school during the Zombie Apocalypse. Fashion Police State: Paranoia and conspiracies abound when a bureaucratic dystopia is ruled by an ancient comedienne with an acid tongue and an iron fist. The Little Cabin on the Prairie: American pioneers are sacrificed to appease an ancient evil Highlander 2: Electric Boogaloo (or Breakin' 2: the Quickening)

Kolkhov was born Ivan Ivanovich Semyenov on a Soviet Collective in 1930. He was always a little bit faster and stronger than any of his peers. Some old wives whispered to each other that the boy was draining the other children of their strength, but noone dared call the Overseers boy a witch. When the Nazis rolled through in '42, they gathered his collective together in the dairy barn to exterminate them. Only Kolkhov knows what went on that day, but he was the only person left at the collective when the Red Army came back to reclaim the farm. No bodies were found, and Kolkhov was babbling in a mix of German and Russian for weeks. Kolkhov gains strength and speed by siphoning it from the crowd around him. He is already as strong as a hundred men, and in a crowd of thousands, he gains the strength of a thousand men. The limits of this power are unknown to him at this time. Kolkhov can also drain an individual of all energy, absorbing his psyche into himself. His teammates do not know that there is a village full of people and an entire German regiment in his head.

I prefer allegorical worlds. Nothing is real, but everything is based on some historical reality.

Surface dwellers will be obsessed with flying. Balloons may make cartography more accurate. Are the Naran amphibious? If so there may be a history of raids on the surface. Beaches would be covered in traps and barbed wire. Is there trade? ideas and culture exchanges might lead to hybrid creatures. Are they beautiful creatures or hideous monsters?

The Franchise Army: from the brochure Is the FA For You?, "The Franchise Army is the largest military organization in the Galaxy. From police forces to full Armadas, the Franchise Police has a solution for any government, corporation, or individual with the material wealth to finance a campaign. Whether you want drones, or vat grown soldiers, or merely want to train and arm your own patriots or zealots. The Franchise Army has a plan that can fit most budgets. Our turn key operation ensures that your new army will conform to the highest standards and discipline in the galaxy." The Franchise Army is not welcome in the Commonwealth. On three separate occasions, Zealots employing the Franchise Army have waged wars against Commonwealth systems. In each case, the Commonwealth rallied the military might of hundreds of systems to repel them. Furthermore, the Commonwealth considers vat grown soldiers to be slaves, and will not trade with any system that endorses such slavery.

Less homage, and more ripoff. I wanted to run a game with element of Star Trek and Star Wars, without the back story of either. Straight up Space Opera for me.

The 13th consigliore computer was sabotaged weeks before going online. Intel reports that the city shields flickered for a microsecond, coinciding with a orbital slug attack. 50,000 persons died in an instant.

Squatch world, where Sasquatches were the dominant lifeform in the Americas. Super-Rome, where Rome never fell and now uses Slider tech to conquer other worlds. Calipha, where the Islam dominated the crusades, and is the dominant religion http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C.S.A.:_The_Confederate_States_of_America Dreamworld, a world in which people spend 23 hours a day asleep, hooked up to networks that provide a shared reality to the dreamers.

Berserkers Some members of the Order have found a way to draw upon their rage to enhance their abilities. This hubris is abhorrent to the Order, and extreme efforts will be taken to correct the member, or to dismiss them. Galactic History is filled with cautionary tales of Berserkers who gained followers and wreaked havoc on worlds and systems before being destroyed by their own rage and the intervention of the Order. Even against this threat to the galaxy, the Order makes every attempt to solve the problem without killing the Berserker. They perceive the rage as a separate entity, and believe that the madness can travel from victim to killer.

This is a campaign I have been kicking around for a while, and recently polished up. Commonwealth of Suns: A Brief Introduction Setting: Billions of Solar systems orbit the galactic core within the sphere of Traveled Space, and each system supports life in some way. Connecting them all are the Spinward and Contrary Hyperstreams, traveled by pilots and pilgrims, paladins and pirates. The Players: All PC's are citizens of the Commonwealth of Suns, a group of over 1000 sovereign systems bound by low tariffs, democratic principles, and the belief in the dignity of personkind. Members of the Commonwealth enjoy a First World standard of living, and the right to travel freely within the Commonwealth The PC's will be built on 125 points, plus up to 50 points of Complications Players should follow these guidelines when building characters: Characteristics: Every PC will have Normal Characteristics Maxima for 0 points. Any points spent which exceed NCM are doubled, and must be bought as Alien Abilities (see below). Skills: PC's are encouraged to spend as many points in Skills as they like, within the following guidelines. No individual skill should exceed a natural 16; no skill modifiers should enhance a skill past 18. Combat Skill Levels should not bring a PC's OCV or DCV above 10 PC's should have no more than 4 Penalty Skill Levels Alien Abilities: The vast majority of sentient species are humanoids between 1.5 and 2.5 meters, with senses that fall within the range of human beings. Any deviation from that norm should be bought as a disadvantage or an Alien Ability. Characters may spend 25 points in Alien Abilities, including any characteristics bought above Normal Characteristics Maxima; the rest must be offset by an equal number of points in Physical Complications or Distinctive Features. Players DO NOT receive extra Disadvantage points to build alien abilities; they must be part of the 50 allotted points. Alien abilities should simulate abilities that can plausibly be found in the natural world. For example: flight could be offset by Distinctive Features: Bat Wings and Physical Limitation: weighs very little. Extra Limbs may be offset by Distinctive Features: Trunk or Tail, or Physical Complication: difficulty using standard clothing and furniture. Teleportation, however, may not be bought as an alien ability. Mystic Abilities: Mystics believe that the Galaxy is a living creature, and that every mind is a neuron in its meta-consciousness. Characters may spend 25 points in Mystic Abilities. An additional 25 points may be offset by an equal number of points in Psychological Complications. Players DO NOT receive extra Disadvantage points to buy Mystic Abilities; they must be part of the 50 allotted points. In addition, no Mystic Ability may exceed in Active Points the points in Psychological Complications and earned Experience Points. Mystic Abilities must be bought with at least a -1 Limitation. Common Limitations include Concentrate, Uses Endurance, Gestures and Incantations, Requires a Skill Roll, and Obvious Accessible Focus (Virtual Blade) Physics in Traveled Space The Galactic Core changes the very nature of reality within Traveled Space. Matter, Energy, Space and Time can all be warped within the influence of the Core. A few examples of the most common effects are listed here Strange Energy Much of the fantastic First World technology in Traveled Space is centered on the use of Strange Energy emanating from the Galactic Core. Engineers have found a way to use crystals to collect, store and focus this energy, creating a field that alters the effect of the fundamental forces on matter within it. In its simplest application, it can accelerate compressed gasses through the barrel of a blaster, creating a radiant projectile that can strike a target with devastating effect. It can also create bubble shaped fields that increase the strong nuclear force along its surface, creating a nearly impenetrable shield. It can even be used to create a Virtual Blade no thicker than an electron, able to sever the bonds between molecules. Spaceships can create fields that protect them from the effects of acceleration, making passengers as comfortable inside as though they were on a sound stage, and can generate "Hypershields", allowing them to warp space and exceed the speed of light . Strange Matter Throughout Traveled Space, Strange Matter exists in trace amounts. Certain elements have been permanently altered by the Core's Strange Energy to repel gravity The most common include Nickel, Copper, Palladium, Silver, Platinum, and Gold. Any natural occurring ore containing these elements will contain anywhere from .001% to 1% strange Matter. A simple and inexpensive refining process can purify the ore to create metals that are negatively buoyant in any atmosphere. These metals may be used to create lighter than air constructs that require no energy to maintain their buoyancy. It is not uncommon therefore, to see floating vehicles using beasts of burden or sail power in Third World Systems. The metals listed above can be charged by Strange Energy to display the qualities of their Strange Matter counterparts, but revert back to normal when that charge wears off. First World vehicles use this technology to power flying vehicles, as it is more controllable and less expensive to mass produce. Strange Space and Time The boundaries of Traveled Space are determined by the flow of the Spinward and Contrary Hyperstreams, twin spacewarps that allow ships to travel tens of thousands of times faster than light. The Hyperstreams are like rivers, one traveling in the direction of Galactic Spin, and the other traveling against it. To enter the stream, a ship needs to use Strange energy to warp normal space, and be moving at a certain speed in a Spinward or Contrary direction. Since ships in normal space tend to travel in straight lines, precise geometric calculations must be made to determine the moment when a ship's tangential movement coincides with the direction of the stream. The streams only spin out to about one quarter the radius of the Galaxy. Beyond that distance, FTL travel is believed to be impossible. Once in the stream, a ship has limited control over its course. By altering the properties of its Hypershield, a ship may tack towards or away from the core (In or Out) and towards either of the Core's Poles (Up or Down). A powerful ship may expend energy to increase or decrease its Spinward or Contrary speed, but may not change directions without leaving the stream and jumping into the other. The Stream will move a ship around the Core in one year; the most powerful ships may cut that time in half. An odd result of Stream Physics is that Systems may be very close to one another, but aligned in such a way that it requires multiple jumps to reach them. A Star's gravity well is large enough to cause an eddy in the stream, but even planet sized objects create only tiny ripples. When leaving the hyperstream, it is possible to materialize in the middle of a planetoid, an asteroid field, or even another ship. Since normal sensors do not work in the hyperstream. A variety of methods must be used to navigate it safely: System Beacons: Any First World System will plant Beacons in space that use their sun's gravity well as a carrier wave to transmit data in Hyperspace, letting ships know where it is safe to re-enter normal space. Systems use Beacons to control entry into their territory, so pirates do not rely upon them. Nav Droids: Navigation Droids are programmed with data and algorithms allowing them to memorize areas where it is safe to re-enter. Using dead reckoning, and precise timing they can calculate with great precision where they are in relation to "Normal Space". Since Nav Droids are almost necessary to perform the calculations to enter the hyperstream, they are often used to determine where to re enter. A Droid is only as good as the data he receives, though, and a good pilot will not use old data. Ship Probes: The most expensive but reliable way to find a spot for re-entry is to launch a ship probe. Once the probe re-enters normal space, it acts as a system beacon providing the ship with all the data it needs to find a re-entry point. Technology in Traveled Space Martial Technology: Military conflict in the Galaxy has existed since the dawn of space travel. Many advances in Technology came from the desire to defend or conquer systems. Three broad areas of technology have shaped the course of war in the Galaxy. Weapons: "Blaster" is a generic term for any ranged weapon that does not use solid projectiles. The most primitive blasters use lasers to cause heat damage to a target. Because they use conventional energy, lasers heat up quickly, and may only be fired once every 12 seconds, or suffer a risk of overheating. Their benefit is that they are not as dangerous as other blasters inside a spaceship and will penetrate Strange shields, making them useful as boarding weapons. Electron blasters use EMP Pulses to serve as a conduit for an electron beam. Electron blasters are notoriously unreliable and inaccurate; they are only used in places without access to first world technology. The most advanced blaster is the pulse blaster, which uses strange energy to accelerate Noble gasses to enormous speeds. These accelerated gasses strike a target with deadly force. Force fields will deflect these attacks, as will dense metals, making these dangerous weapons to use in a spaceship. Third Worlds often have a variety of melee weapons available to the average combatant. Simple staffs, sabers and spears can be equipped to deal sonic, magnetic, or electrical damage, making them formidable in the hands of a master. Grenades and mines are shunned by respected worlds, but are still in use in one out of nine systems. The most sophisticated of these can discriminate among individuals and be programmed to detonate under very specific circumstances. Shields: There are three types of shields in common use throughout the galaxy. Planet-bound structures use stationary shields for a variety of purposes, from maintaining an even climate within a city, to repelling invaders. These shields charge the atmosphere with strange energy, creating a surface tension strong enough to reflect any kinetic or electromagnetic energy above a certain threshold. Spaceships use two different types of shields to travel in space. Deflector shields work like blasters, imbuing matter with strange energy to accelerate it away from a ship. The Hypershields charge the hull plating with strange energy, creating a fixed gravity within, and allowing ships to perform maneuvers in space that would tear apart an unshielded ship. In addition, a shielded ship's apparent mass remains constant regardless of its speed. When the difference between a ship's apparent mass and its actual mass becomes too great, it jumps into the hyperstream. A ship that jumps must be moving in the direction of the stream. If the ship is off course by a fraction of a degree when it reaches the jump point, it is torn to pieces. Spaceships: Spaceships move people, cargo, and information throughout Traveled Space. They all share a similar propulsion system, using warp engines to warp space and hypershields to change the vector of acceleration. The theories behind ship design pit size against maneuverability. The size of a ship is limited more by economics than physics. Ancient Civilizations have built Grand Arkships, on which 20 million people could live, but the resources required to maintain such a ship quickly became impossible to harvest. First World battleships tend not to exceed a size that can be maintained by 1000 men, and 20 person destroyers are the norm. Some cultures prefer to field hundreds of highly maneuverable one man fighter ships, and others prefer dreadnoughts. In hyperspace, ships have more in common with sailing vessels than shuttle craft. Warp engines are useless in the hyperstream, and pilots must tack by altering the strength and frequency of their hypershields. Ships in the hyperstream cannot use conventional sensors, and two ships in hyperspace cannot communicate with one another. Sensors can determine speed and direction traveled, making navigation possible only by dead reckoning. If a ship is lost entering hyperspace, it will likely be lost leaving hyperspace. Communications Technology The light speed spectrum communication that people within a system enjoy is impossible between systems. Even the closest systems in the Aegis Cluster are light years apart. Communication depends on the Hyperstream, and is limited to the speed of travel. Many a tyrant has relied on this lack of communication to conquer other planets before neighboring systems could warn them, before losing those systems to the same lack of communication, unable to crush the rebellions that arise in his absence. A number of solutions exist to speed the flow of information through the Galaxy The Relay: The Commonwealth has built elaborate systems of relays, with relay stations sending drones through the hyperstreams sailing from beacon to beacon, receiving and transmitting data at each of them. as a result, any message delivered from one point to another within the Commonwealth arrives in 7 days or less. Outside of the Commonwealth, most systems rely on other methods to relay important information between them. Messenger Droids: The most reliable way to send an important message is by messenger droid. These droids travel from point of origin to point of delivery with single minded tenacity. Steep prices keep customers from using this service for trivial information, but many a last will and testament or maps to ancient treasures are entrusted to these spacefaring data vaults. Encyclopedia Ships: Over a million Encyclopedia Ships travel the galaxy gathering and sorting information from the Known Worlds. These ships, staffed by librarians and researchers, travel a route that insures that every planet known to them may benefit from the combined knowledge of sentient-kind. Every five years these ships converge, and unload their data. They are then sent out again to gather more data, and to distribute the current Encyclopedia, while Editors compile the gathered data to publish the next Encyclopedia. Medical Technology: For most sentient races in First Worlds, health is taken for granted. At birth, infants are given a suite of antibacterial and antiviral agents that work in their bodies throughout their childhood. A booster shot every 20 years, combined with a genetic scan every five years, prevents all known diseases and disorders from being more threatening than the common cold. Doctors in Commonwealth have little to do except repairing severe trauma. In Third worlds, the situation is somewhat direr. Unknown diseases often originate in Third Worlds, occasionally sparking Epidemics before local Health Corps chapters can track down the source and integrate the cure into the next batch of boosters. Severe trauma will often result in death if a suitable hospital is not nearby. Paramedic Droids: Anyone who has been severely injured on a First World can be stabilized on the scene by paramedic droids, and repaired quickly. These droids are designed to stabilize and diagnose, but can perform no operations in the field. A Paramedic Droid is really a team of droids, including a stretcher, a doc-bot, and an ambulance drone. Synthorganics: Doctors can replace nearly any limb or organ with a synthorganic one, including some lobes of the brain. Most prosthetics are 95% as effective as the original, but some small loss of function is to be expected. Occasionally, a prosthetic implant can grant the user greater or additional function, but this is more rumor than fact. Cybernetics: Often Synthorganics are not available in Third worlds, and victims will be forced to rely on Cybernetic Prostheses instead. Cybernetic Prostheses are limited to major organs; they cannot replace brain tissue. Cybernetic limbs are not nearly as functional as the original, however they may be programmed to perform certain functions automatically, use abilities not possible with organic limbs, and work tirelessly. Computer/Robotic Technology: Without computers, the Galaxy would quickly become a series of isolated systems. All technology relies on a constant supply of data, and the ability to manipulate it. Although circuits and code are as varied as the cultures that produce them, most modern computers and computing devices share similar traits: Computers: Most computers can reprogram themselves for optimum efficiency. The average person communicates with computers as they would any sentient person, in their own language, in complete sentences. Although computers seem intelligent, they are incapable of independent thought, and can only follow instructions. A skilled Logician may "Hack" a computer merely by speaking orders that subvert the computer's defenses. Robots: Robots are simply machines controlled by computers. Robotic Factories make most First World products. Generally, a robot does not interact with a sentient, they simply going about their mindless tasks, without resting until the task is done, or they require repair. Androids: Androids are little more than versatile robots, with bodies more or less resembling sentient species in order to interface with standard tools. These androids are often mistaken for sentient beings by primitive cultures, but a certain lack of mental flexibility will eventually betray an android for what it is. Current design trends have moved away from anthropomorphic androids, and towards more utilitarian shapes. Still, these androids must simulate stereo sight and hearing, and be able to use all equipment that their masters use, so bilateral symmetry will never be completely out of style. Consigliore: Scholars debate endlessly over whether these computers are sentient. The twelve that are known to exist reside in huge towers in the Commonwealth Capitol. Consigliore advise the Parliament on matters of science and law, and are instrumental in crafting the treaties and policies that keep the Commonwealth together. A Consigliore class computer would require vast resources to recreate, including the enneagrams of tens of thousands of scientists and scholars, and must be allowed to develop for scores of years before it gains a semblance of wisdom. If such a supercomputer started to falter, it could not be repaired, as any change to its code may remove its ability to think freely. The Commonwealth has brought a new Consigliore online every 40 years for its entire history. As the Commonwealth celebrates its 520th year, it is preparing to test a thirteenth unit. Biology in Traveled Space A sentient being is defined as any living organism with the following traits: an ability to manipulate its environment through its will, an ability to communicate with other sentient beings, and an ability to act counter to instinct or biological imperative. The vast majority of sentient races share some variation of the five senses, a means of locomotion, bilateral symmetry, and the ability to reproduce in conjunction with other members of its species. A few common alien types are listed below Humanoid: Approximately 75% of all sentient species share traits that classify them as humanoid. Humanoids range from one to three meters and have four limbs. Two limbs are primarily used for locomotion, and two primarily for tool use, although some humanoids may have limited tool use with all for limbs. They can maintain an upright stance without extensive effort, and have vertically aligned vertebrae. Most humanoids have stereo vision and hearing, arranged on a head through which they take sustenance and breathe. Beyond these simple traits, humanoids vary tremendously in appearance and form. Humanoids share similar language structures, and any humanoid can learn the language of any other humanoid, given the opportunity. Aquatic: A very small percentage of species are aquatic, living their lives at the surface or underwater. Many aquatic species lack prehensile limbs, making them ill equipped to defend themselves against tool wielding sentients. No world ruled by aquatic species has joined the Commonwealth, but several have allowed land dwelling settlers to colonize their shores. All aquatic species share a similar brain structure allowing them to learn each other's language. A very few aquatics can understand humanoid languages, and act as diplomats between them. Swarms: Swarms consist of individuals that share a hive mind. While each individual can be considered sentient, they live within a strict hierarchy where social interactions among them are immutable laws, and any who deviate are destroyed. Their languages are incompatible with humanoid and aquatic species, and only a few languages have been translated by Consigliore. No Swarm has ever joined the Commonwealth. It is unclear whether any Swarm is able to conceive of the values and goals of the Commonwealth. Swarms do not travel outside of their own systems, but do release egg-ships into the hyperstream. Spacefaring races will destroy these ships on sight, before they can infect an inhabited world Other: Most non-humanoid species are born on worlds that are inhospitable to humanoid life. Jungles with impenetrably dense underbrush, deserts that require life to burrow beneath the surface, gas worlds with no discernible up or down, and countless other analogues have all produced sentient life that defies easy classification. The languages of such species are as varied as their appearances, and some species can only share 100 words with any other species. Four worlds with such species have petitioned the Commonwealth for integration. Politics in Traveled Space It has been said that every form of government has been attempted in the Galaxy, and none of them work. In truth, most governments that extend beyond a single system have failed with a few notable exceptions noted here. The Commonwealth of Suns The most successful government in recorded history, the Commonwealth celebrates its 520th birthday by Galactic Reckoning (a year is defined as the amount of time it takes a ship to travel a complete galactic rotation in the hyperstream) The Commonwealth succeeds by acknowledging the sovereignty of each system. However before joining the Commonwealth, a system must ratify a charter which guarantees all citizens suffrage, basic food and shelter, a fair trial if accused of a crime, and a just sentence if convicted. Over 1000 systems enjoy the benefits of Commonwealth life, and over 100 are engaged in the arduous process of preparing their society for membership. Each system is allowed to make its own laws within the boundaries of its charter. When sovereign worlds and their legal systems clash, a number of agencies exist to deal with the conflict. Commonwealth Justice League: When a Commonwealth citizen is accused of a crime, and flees the system in which he is accused, that government may petition the Commonwealth Justice League to extradite him from wherever he has fled. Field Agents have the authority to pursue a suspect to any Commonwealth world, but must cooperate with the local authorities and follow their laws and restrictions. Once captured, a suspect may be returned to the world that petitioned for his capture. No laws exist to punish intersystem flight, and the Justice League may not detain a suspect except to return him to his accusers. The Common Appellate Court: Any Commonwealth citizen may appeal a criminal conviction if he can convince the CAC to question the fairness of his trial or the justice of the sentence. The CAC is more likely to overturn a harsh sentence than a questionable verdict. If an appeal overturns the conviction, the system which prosecuted may exile the defendant, denying him entry to that world for the duration of the original sentence. One of the provisions in the Commonwealth Charter requires all systems to abolish the death penalty; any system trying to skirt or subvert that that provision will come under the intense scrutiny of the CAC The Court of Consigliore: When a system is accused of violating its Commonwealth charter, either by unfair trade practices or civil rights violations; its case is reviewed by the Court of Consigliore. The Court will take as long as three years to decide the case, and provide a plan of action to return a system to compliance. Upon receiving this plan, the system may choose to accept it or withdraw from the Commonwealth. A system that withdraws from the Commonwealth loses all trade privileges within the Commonwealth, and suffers an almost universal boycott from Commonwealth systems. Citizens of former Commonwealth worlds have twenty years from the date of withdrawal to relocate to another Commonwealth World The Encyclopedia Guild The Encyclopedia Guild is the oldest known organization in the Galaxy, having recently issued its 800th five-year update of its Original Book of Knowledge. Operating without a homeworld, the guild is merely a nomadic nation of researchers and writers, editors, and publishers. Every five years they converge in an unknown location to integrate their data. They are accepted in almost every non swarm world, and have pledged themselves to non-violent gathering and distribution of information. Fact Checker Most outsiders believe this is the most boring job in the universe. In actuality many Fact Checkers expose themselves to life threatening danger on a daily basis, and more than a few have been killed by desperate people trying to hide the truth from the all seeing eyes of the Encyclopedia. A senior Fact Checker must be able to schmooze both High and Low Society, infiltrate the most secure data repositories, and seduce, bribe, or intimidate anyone who can confirm or deny any part of the assigned story. University This fleet of spaceships houses a quarter of a million students, faculty, and staff, and tours the Galaxy, making a full rotation every ten years. It is here where the Encyclopedia Ships converge, and eager Deans and their assistants begin sorting the data and distributing it to multiple departments. University politics would occasionally shame the most ruthless autocrat, but are always bloodless. The vast majority of Tenured Professors ignore politics, being engrossed in their particular field of study. Branches Every First World, most Second Worlds, and even a few Third Worlds have an Encyclopedia Branch that serves as Library, Virtual Museum, University, and Embassy. A few sentients who join a branch as an undergraduate are recruited to join the Encyclopedia, becoming Assistant Fact Checkers or Graduate Assistants. Most people become tired of Encyclopedia life after becoming a Master or a Doctor, and retire to another world, but some continue on, striving for the rank of Tenured Professor, Chairperson, or even Sub Assistant Dean. The Order The origins of the Order are a mystery, even to the Encyclopedia. Its members are called Paladin, or Samurai, or any of a thousand different names. They belong to an order that believes that the galaxy is a living organism, sustained by sentience and diversity of life. They are dedicated to righting wrongs throughout the galaxy and acting in the best interests of the living galaxy. Their beliefs and studies give them abilities and skills beyond those of ordinary sentients. Mystic Abilities All members of the Order may draw on certain abilities unexplained by science. The Encyclopedia groups them into several categories. Enhancement abilities allow the Mystic to draw on hidden reserves to perform amazing feats of strength, dexterity or endurance. Psi abilities allow the Mystic to draw on the “Meta-Sentience” of the universe to gain knowledge and exert control over others. Strange abilities allow the Mystic to draw on Strange Energy to manipulate the outside world with an unseen hand. Virtual Blades Many members of the order are skilled in wielding a virtual blade. In the hands of a novice this blade is likely to kill the wielder, as it moves through space in an unpredictable fashion when swung. It requires a calm mind and a strong will to guide the course of such a blade, but in the hands of a master, it is the deadliest melee weapon imaginable. Only strange Matter and Energy can deflect its cutting edge, and many a lost limb is testament to its sharpness The Order and the Swarm The Order is committed to isolating the Swarm. Powerful Mystics have peered into the future and seen the Swarm destroying all sentience. The Order is equally committed to preserving life in all its diversity, giving rise to the present policy of containment. Ronin Occasionally Mystics will leave the Order, becoming Ronin, or Rogues. Their reasons are varied, but most often they disagree with the Ontology or Cosmology of the Order. Most Ronin fade in power, living quiet lives in remote corners of the galaxy. Some however, thirst for more power, becoming a threat to life as the order knows it. The Order endeavors to destroy these Ronin before they are able to wreak havoc.

Lightning Grenade Edition 6e Power Build 3d6 Ranged Killing Attack, 20m Explosion (+1/2), Indirect (+1/4), Real Electricity ( -1/4*), OAF(-1), Range Limited by STR (-1/4) 1 Charge (-2), Only works outdoors (-1/2) Extra Time, Full Phase (-1/2) 10d6 Hearing Group Flash, same advantages and Limitations, except swap Real Electricity for Linked (-1/4) Real Cost: 23 Weapon Familiarity: thrown weapons Description: First used by the Franchise Army in street fights against the Commonwealth of Suns, this grenade creates a massive positive charge to attract a bolt of lightning from the sky or nearby sources of electricity. This weapon is primarily used to clear targets from fortified positions, and to create panic among the civilian population.

Re: Pulparize It! Mistress Garrett is by day a responsible house mother for a respectable girls boarding school. At night, what goes on behind closed doors is both a sin and a crime. When a tough talking dame from the other side of the tracks and an airy debutante become ensnared in Garret's evil web, it will take a two fisted hero to teach them... THE FACTS OF LIFE

Re: Bernal Sphere, O'Neill Cylinder, Turing Craft.. That is in fact, what I meant, thank you...

Re: Bernal Sphere, O'Neill Cylinder, Turing Craft.. Here is a good description of an O'Neill Cylinder and the effects of centripedal force on weather and movement. In my game, I imposed a -2OCV for projectile weapons, which could be negated by anyone who could brace, or anyone who was especially sensitive to the spin (Combat Bump of Direction, +2 Penalty Skill Level, 3 points)

Re: Bernal Sphere, O'Neill Cylinder, Turing Craft.. Here is a game I ran, briefly. (Please note that the section on Enlightened Beasts was heavily cribbed from Keith Curtis' Savage Worlds) What the text does not mention is that the world is an oversized O'Neill Cylinder, one of millions orbiting the sun, and operating on autopilot for hundreds of years...

Re: "Bag of Holding" Without doing the math, I would use the Gate rules for Teleportation as they apply to Extra Dimensional Movement, and the increased mass adders to define an upper limit to the bag...

Re: Time Dilation Question Cool, thanks.

Re: High power magic (Brainstorming welcome and requested) Here are the ten plagues: Megascale Major Transform: Water to Blood Megascale Summon: reptiles (frogs) Megascale Drain CON: gnats Megascale Change Environment: Flies Megascale AE RKA, only livestock:Pestilence Megascale Drain BODY: Boils Megascale EB: Fire and Ice Megascale Summons: Locusts Megascale Darkness Megascale AE HKA, First born males only

I am creating a sci-fi game without FTL. I am trying to figure out how close to the speed of light one must go to achieve a time dilation of 100:1. In other words, I want the conquering aliens to arrive at earth after 100 LY journey having spent a little more than a year in transit. What percentage of light speed is that?