Retro Sci-Fi Rules

RETRO Sci-Fi RULES

Classic Old School Roleplaying Using 2D6 Dice

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 Retro Sci-Fi Rules

RETRO Sci-Fi RULES

Paul Elliott

Copyright © 2023 Zozer Games

Cepheus Engine and Samardan Press are trademarks of Jason “Flynn” Kemp

Acknowledgements
Cover Image by GB Taylor. Thanks also to Charles Baker and to Omer Golan-Joel, interior
sketches by Paul Elliott, with additional art provided via AI source.

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All of the text in this document is designated as Open Gaming Content, except for
the trademarks ‘Cepheus Engine’ and ‘Zozer Games’.

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trademarks ‘Cepheus Engine’ and ‘Zozer Games’, are designated as Product Identity.

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Please Note
This Product is derived from the Traveller System Reference Document and other Open
Gaming Content made available by the Open Gaming License, and does not contain closed
content from products published by either Mongoose Publishing or Far Future Enterprises.
This Product is not affiliated with either Mongoose Publishing or Far Future Enterprises, and
it makes no claim to or challenge to any trademarks held by either entity. The use of the
Traveller System Reference Document does not convey the endorsement of this Product by
either Mongoose Publishing or Far Future Enterprises as a product of either of their product
lines.

CONTENTS
 Assumptions 3
 Characters 5
 Task Rolls 10
 Combat 11
 Injuries 14
 Vehicles In Combat 15
 Starship Combat 16
 Spaceflight 18
 Ship-Building 24
 Common Spacecraft 32
 Equipment 38
 Psionics 47
 Worlds 51
 Animals 58
 Encounters 60
 Playing Solo 63
 Autonomous Region 73
 Appendix I: Random Character Generation 84
 Appendix II: Star System Generation 85
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ASSUMPTIONS
Sometimes, to go forward, one must take a step back; back to 1977 when science
fiction roleplaying made a big splash. These rules harken back to those first set of
2D6 science fiction rules, where its rule mechanics were often faster, leaner and less
intrusive. Everything you need to play is here, but we don’t dwell on details, the
system has not only been streamlined, but expanded out to include fast-play rules for
vehicles, starship combat, ship trade and revenue, and higher tech levels. And, since
these rules are compatible with the vast canon of game material that has been
published since 1977, you should never be stuck for a ship, a world, an NPC or a
tricky encounter!

TECH LEVELS
Technology Levels (TL) can be assigned to a vehicle or device, or society, to give
you some idea of the society that produced or uses it.

TL 0 Primitive
Stone Age
TL 1 Primitive
Roughly on a par with Bronze or Iron age technology.
TL 2 Primitive
Renaissance technology, scientific method and gunpowder.
TL 3 Primitive
Beginnings of mass production allows for product standardization, urbanisation and
steam power.
TL 4 Industrial
Transition to steam-powered industrial revolution is complete, bringing electric
generators, telephones and other such inventions.
TL 5 Industrial
Widespread electrification, telephones and internal combustion for cars and
aeroplanes. Medical advancement.
TL 6 Industrial
Development of nuclear power and more advanced computing, as well as rockets
and jet engines.
TL 7 Pre-Stellar
Supersonic passenger planes, hovercraft, telecommunications satellites, reliable
access to space, portable computers.
TL 8 Pre-Stellar
Modern Day. The internet, smartphones, and an integrated network society. Possible
to reach other worlds in the same star system with rocket technology.
TL 9 Pre-Stellar
Development of gravity manipulation, which makes space travel vastly safer and
faster; first steps into Jump Drive (faster-than-light) technology. Cybernetics in use.
TL 10 (A) Early Stellar
With the advent of Jump, nearby systems are opened up. Use of robots becomes
widespread.

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TL 11 (B) Early Stellar

The first primitive artificial intelligences become possible. Sealed combat armour is in
use. Grav vehicles make most other types of transport obsolete. .
TL 12 (C) Average Stellar
Weather control revolutionizes terraforming and agriculture. Terraforming becomes
possible.
TL 13 (D) Average Stellar
The powered armour called ‘battle dress’ appears on the battlefield. Computers
become self-actuating and self-teaching. Cloning and DNA modification is now
common.
TL 14 (E) Average Stellar
Portable plasma weapons feasible. Gravity attractor beams as well as repulsor
shields are now in use.
TL 15 (F) High Stellar
Floating cities are now possible.
TL 16 (G) Beyond Stellar
Disintegrator weapons are in use, as is food and material replication technology.
Matter transport becomes possible. Anti-matter powerplants now standard.

SETTING
The game is best played in a subsector of space, 8 parsecs by 10 parsecs in area.
Each parsec of space is represented by a single hex on the subsector map and can
hold a single star system. You can use a subsector from a published source, or using
the rules in this game, you can create your own. Games are often best set (but not
exclusively) in a frontier subsector on the edge of an interstellar state. This large
interstellar state often rules over dozens, hundreds, or even thousands, of worlds; it
might be some kind of federation, an empire or alliance. We refer to a generic
interstellar state or government in this book, but it stands in for the star-spanning
interstellar polity of your own setting.

When you roll the Tech Level of worlds, you will get a very general level of around
10-11, but your setting might optionally have a more ubiquitous standard Tech Level,
of perhaps 16, 10, or even 9. This serves as a cap on the technology available in
your campaign. You will need to manually alter some of the Tech Levels rolled while
creating your worlds, treat a world with class A and B starport as having your
standard TL. Allow the TL roll to fall where it will for the other worlds, with the
exception of Industrial and Rich worlds, which should also be at your standard TL.
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CHARACTERS
Each player creates a character (PC). The Referee operates all of the other
characters in the setting (Non-Player Characters, or NPCs). Select each character’s
career from the list provided. The Referee can also use this procedure to create
important NPCs, for casual encounters, a quick list of characteristics and a suitable
skill or two will suffice.
CHARACTER CREATION CHECKLIST
1 Select Career. Note its ‘required characteristic’.
2 Skills. Divide up 7 skill levels between the career skills. No skill level may start
at more than 3. One of your choices must be the Auto Skill.
3 Select Bonus Skill. Select a table and roll 1D6 for a bonus skill at level 1.
4 Characteristics. Choose a ‘String of Scores’ and allocate those scores to
your six characteristics: Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, Intelligence,
Education and Social Influence, as you see fit. The career’s ‘required
characteristic’ must be at 7 or more.
5 Name. Create a name for the character.
6 Rank. Use Social Influence to determine the character’s rank.
7 Age. Decide on an age.
8 Appearance. Decide on the character’s appearance.
9 Movement. Note your Move score.
10 UPP. Note your character in the Universal Personality Profile arrangement.
11 Equipment. Allocate cash and starting equipment as needed.
12 Backstory. Roll for a past career event.

1 – SELECT CAREER
The character is part of a group of other characters, and has had training and
experience in his field of expertise. What did he do before adventuring? The
characteristic in parentheses is the career’s ‘required characteristic’.

Star Navy – The space navy (Intelligence).

Space Marine – The elite infantry force of the interstellar state (Strength).
Star Trader – The interstellar merchants and corporations (Social).
Scout – Interstellar explorers, scientists and asteroid miners (Dexterity).
Syndicate – The crime gangs that exist across the subsector (Endurance).
Colonist – A category covering a range of ground-based occupations (Education).

2 – SKILLS
Divide up 7 skill levels between the skills offered by your character’s career. No skill
level may start at more than 3. You must select the Auto Skill as one of your skill
level choices. Other skills are chosen at your discretion. If Vehicle is a skill within the
character’s career, you must decide which type of vehicle you will choose: Ground
Vehicle, Watercraft or Aircraft.

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Administration: Sales, marketing, business deals, red-tape and bureaucracy.

Aircraft: Operation and control of all types of aircraft, as well as grav vehicles.
Bribery: Offering bribes to circumvent local law, or to influence someone’s decision.
Carousing: Picking up gossip, making friends and reading people’s body language.
Computer: Operation of computers, comms, sensors and other electronics.
Demolitions: Defusing bombs and setting demolition charges.
Electronics: Repairing, customising or building complex electronic devices.
Engineering: Use and maintenance of powerplants, reactors and starship drives.
Forgery: Faking documents, currencies, and identification badges.
Ground Vehicle: Operation and control of wheeled and tracked vehicles.
Gun Combat: Using and maintaining firearms.
Gunnery: Using missiles, ground-based artillery and starship weapons.
Leader: Motivating others in times of crisis or stress.
Mechanical: Operating and repairing mechanical devices.
Medical: Diagnosis of illness, first aid and surgical procedures.
Melee: Fighting hand-to hand with fists, knives, blunt objects, swords, etc.
Navigation: Plotting courses, on planets and in space.
Pilot: Operation and control of interplanetary and interstellar spacecraft.
Security: Bypassing locks, surveillance cameras and various types of alarms.
Streetwise: Knowledge about criminal society, its rules, personalities and groups.
Survival: Staying alive in a harsh environment.
Vacc Suit: Use of space suits, as well as operating in a zero-G environment.
Vehicle (Cascade Skill): Select one: Aircraft, Ground Vehicle or Watercraft.
Watercraft: Operation of ships, boats and submersibles.

CAREER SKILLS
Career Auto Skill --------------------------------- Other Skills -------------------------
Star Navy Computer Gunnery Vehicle Medical Engineering Admin
Space Marine Gun Combat Melee Gunnery Medical Survival Demolitions
Star Trader Admin Engineering Pilot Navigation Carousing Computer
Scout Survival Pilot Vacc Suit Computer Navigation Vehicle
Syndicate Streetwise Melee Gun Cbt Forgery Bribery Security
Colonist Vehicle Survival Carousing Mechanical Engineering Computer

3 – SELECT BONUS SKILL

Your character gains a bonus level 1 skill. Select a skill from Table A or Table B, or
roll a 1D6 on the table of your choice. If the character already has that skill, increase
its skill level by +1 (if it pushes the skill level above 3, roll again).

BONUS SKILL
1D6 TABLE A 1D6 TABLE B
1 Carousing 1 Medical
2 Leader 2 Electronics
3 Melee 3 Admin
4 Gun Combat 4 Vacc Suit
5 Vehicle 5 Mechanical
6 Streetwise 6 Computer

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4 – CHARACTERISTICS
Characteristics measure a character’s most basic abilities: how strong, dexterous,
educated or intelligent they are. These characteristics are used for tasks that do not
have a skill associated with them, and generally range from 2-12.

Strength (Str): Physical strength, fitness and forcefulness.

Dexterity (Dex): Physical co-ordination and agility, reflexes.
Endurance (End): Determination and stamina.
Intelligence (Int): Awareness and problem solving.
Education (Edu): Learning and general knowledge.
Social Influence (Soc): Force of personality and ability to influence others.

Select one of the following strings of scores, and assign these numbers in any way
you see fit between your six characteristics:

String A: 7, 8, 7, 5, 8, 7
String B: 10, 7, 4, 6, 6, 9
String C: 3, 8, 9, 8, 5, 9
String D: 2, 12, 9, 7, 5, 7

For example, I use String A, and allocate the numbers for my Space Marine like this:
Str 8, Dex 7, End 8, Int 7, Edu 5, Soc 8.

5 – NAME
Pick a suitable name.

6 – RANK
Use your Social Influence score to determine your character’s status within his
career. Since we assume characters have left their careers (‘Mustered Out’) in order
to begin the game, these ranks are mostly for flavour.

Soc Star Space Star Scouts Syndicate Colonist

Navy Marines Traders
2-4 Crewman Private Crewman Scout Soldier ‘Miner’
5-6 Petty Officer Sergeant Bosun Senior Scout Enforcer Senior ‘Miner’
7 Lieutenant Lieutenant 3rd Officer Lieutenant Lieutenant Supervisor
8 Lt. Cdr. Captain 2nd Officer Lt. Cdr. Captain Asst. Chief
9 Commander Major Chief Commander Deputy Chief ‘Miner’
Officer
10-12 Captain Colonel Captain Commissioner Boss Manager

7 – AGE
Decide how old your character is based on your character concept and the rank that
he holds. Characters are assumed to have some life experience, and will vary from
22-50 years of age. Character age has no effect on gameplay.

8 – APPEARANCE
Decide on your characters’ appearance, including size, hair, eye colour, build and
anything distinctive about them.
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9 – MOVE SCORE
A character’s Move score is 10; it can be lowered if carrying too much equipment. In
a single ‘combat round’ a character can walk a number of metres equal to his Move,
or he can run a number of metres equal to Move + Dex.

10 – THE UNIVERSAL PERSONALITY PROFILE

This game utilizes a concise format to record a character’s characteristic scores, age,
skills and cash in a manner that, with a little practice, can be quickly and easily read.
Note that we use letters to denote numbers above 9, so that the score only occupies
one space (it’s called ‘hexadecimal’ notation). So 10 is A, 11 is B, 12 is C and so on.

Captain Zeb Cranner

Space Marine 878758, Age 46, Move 10/17
Gun Combat-1, Demolitions-2, Survival-1, Brawling-3, Electronics-1, Cr8000

11 – STARTING EQUIPMENT
Cash – Every character begins with some starting cash (the interstellar currency is
the Credit, with a million credits represent by ‘MCr’). Simply multiply Soc by 1D6 x
500. My scientist, with Soc 6, rolls 4, and receives 6 x 2000 for a total for Cr12,000. If
the characters have Mustered Out (officially left their career to work freelance) then
they must buy any equipment they need. If the player characters are still in their
careers, then they will have access to specialised equipment used in that job,
although they will not own it.

Carrying Gear – A character can comfortably carry a number of kilogrammes of

equipment equal to Strength, probably in pouches, backpacks and shoulder slings,
etc. More than that, up to Double Strength, is possible but slows the character down
by 1. If carrying more than Double Strength (to a maximum of 4 times Strength), the
character lowers movement by 2. My scientist has Strength 5 and is carrying a heavy
11kg backpack. This is more than double his Strength, so his Move is reduced by -2.

Owning A Starship – In some games the Referee may decide to allow one player to
own a small starship, in order that the player characters can trade or travel. If the
Referee would rather leave it to Fate, then any Star Trader 3 rd officer or Scout
Lieutenant (or higher) can roll 2D6. On a 10+ that character outright owns a 200-ton
frontier trader or a 100-ton far scout.

Buying Equipment – Weapons, armour and all kinds of equipment can be bought
using the lists provided on page 38.

12 – BACKSTORY
You may want to create a notable event from the character’s career. Roll on the
Action and Theme columns of the Inspiration table (page 69). For Marine Zeb
Canner, we roll Betray and Duty, which screams … disobeying orders! Did he order a
mission pulled, even though it meant the sacrifice of fellow Marines? Has this
weighed on his mind ever since? Do any Marines in his battalion hold a grudge
against him? Maybe one of those betrayed Marines survived …

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TASK ROLLS
Guidance is offered here on skill rolls and on using characteristics to resolve actions.

TASK DIFFICULTIES
To overcame a challenge or complete a task, the player will be rolling 2D6 and must
try to equal or exceed a target number created by the Referee. The Referee decides
on the difficulty of the task on a scale from 2 to 12; 3 is easy, 7 is moderate (avoiding
red tape, for example), 9 difficult (perhaps landing a spacecraft in bad weather) and
12 formidable He must also decide on a skill or skills that will prove relevant. If stuck
for ideas, the Referee can roll 2D6 to create a random difficulty number. Tasks can
be abbreviated to Pilot 6+, for example.

UNSKILLED PENALTIES
The penalty for not having a suitable skill varies, so the Referee must decide on their
value (how specialized they are). Is that skill you’ve requested fairly common, or is it
rare? Examples of the first might be Survival, Electronics, or Vehicle (skills quite
familiar to most characters through every day experiences). Examples of the second
include Engineering, Pilot, Streetwise, Demolitions, and so on (specialized skills
requiring specific education or experiences to understand and attempt). Apply a Die
Modifier (DM) of -3 for lack of a common skill, and apply a DM of -5 for lack of a
specialised skill. As the heroes of the story, many Referees do not apply any
penalties to player characters if they do not have the Ground Vehicle, Vacc Suit, or
Gun or Melee Combat skills.

REQUIRING TWO SKILLS

Some tasks call for skill in two different areas. Turning a missile into a drone might
require both Gunnery and Electronics. If the character only possesses one of them,
he can still attempt the task, but with a Die Modifier of -1 (DM-1).

CHARACTERISTIC ROLLS
A characteristic roll is very like a skill roll but instead it measures raw ability, like
strength, endurance, or intelligence. These rolls are used when the task is one not
covered by an obvious skill, or where the character’s innate abilities are the most
important influence on the result. To make a characteristic roll, you must roll 2D6 and
add one half of the characteristic score (round down). The throw is successful on a
10+. Characteristic rolls tend to be all or nothing (you can either accomplish the task
or you can't) although the Referee is free to impose a Die Modifier if he considers the
situation warrants it.

OPPOSED ROLLS
Sometimes the difficulty is not set by the Referee or a random roll, but is opposed by
another character. Both characters make their rolls, and the highest wins. If they tie,
the situation is unresolved; if that is not appropriate, they roll again.

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COMBAT
The Retro Sci-Fi Rules go back to 1977 and use simultaneous actions, something
that is super-fast to play out, although it does need a fair and careful hand from the
Referee. But first we need to determine who has the initiative at the start of any
conflict, and for that we must look at Surprise.
SURPRISE
Often it will be obvious at the start of a conflict who is aware of who, at other times
the dice must decide. Each side in the conflict rolls 1D6 to determine who has the
element of surprise. The winner must have rolled 3 higher than their opponent.
Obviously, using this system, sometimes no-one will gain surprise (both sides are
aware of one another and the normal combat procedure may progress). When a
group (either the player characters or the Referee’s NPCs or wild animals) have
surprise they can either:

1) Avoid any contact and let the other side go on its way, or

2) Attack with impunity (an ambush), until

the ambushed group realize they are Served in a military career +1
being attacked, at which point the Leader skill present +1
standard combat procedure needs to be In a vehicle -1
followed. Silenced shots and attacking in PCs/NPCs number 8+ -1
a vacuum will all help in retaining the Animal life numbering 10+ -1
element of surprise, but one of the Animal is a Pouncer +1
ambushed group is likely to see his
comrade drop – this occurs on a 2D6 roll of 7+. Should this happen, all of the
attackers still get their shot or blow, since we are using simultaneous combat
(see below). The advantage of having surprise, of course, is that the opponent
cannot fight back and if engaged in melee, cannot parry.

MOVEMENT & TIME

Characters travel at a walk equal their Move score in metres; they can run at Move +
Dex (in metres). Move score can be lowered if carrying too much equipment. Animals
have their own Move score (see Page 58).. Combat ‘rounds’ are 6 seconds long.

RANGE
At what range does the encounter take place? Often this is evident from the situation
at hand, but if random determination is required, then use the following classic
system. Roll 2D6 on the encounter range table, overleaf, adding in the relevant
terrain DM.

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2D6 Encounter Range Terrain Type DM

1 Melee (3m or less)
2 Short (3-12m) Interior, Ship, Building -5
3 Melee (3m or less) City -2
4 Medium (13-50m) Underwater -1
5 Short (3-12m) Swamp, Marsh -1
6 Short (3-12m)
Jungle, Forest -3
7 Medium (13-50m)
8 Long (51-250m) Sea Surface +2
9 Medium (13-50m) Hills, Rough Land +2
10 Very Long (251-500m) Arctic +2
11 Long(51-250m) Mountains, Plains +3
12 Very Long (251-500m) Open +3
13 Very Long (251-500m) Desert +4

SIMULTANEOUS COMBAT
Few roleplaying game systems today employ simultaneous combat, but it is a fast
and effective way of adjudicating who acts when. Let the players state the actions of
their characters, decide what the NPCs will be doing in the same combat round and
then adjudicate all of those attacks. The dice results and wounds are determined and
then described by the Referee. The players may find that two characters shoot one
another, or stab one another, and the Referee should let this stand, it happens
enough in the real world to cause us little concern.

MELEE COMBAT
Melee combat is hand-to-hand fighting, unarmed, or with a hand weapon. It is an
Opposed Roll. A character might declare they are going to shoot someone or carry
out some other activity, but if they are attacked in Melee Combat, they must abandon
that course of action and defend themselves by participating in the Opposed Roll.
Both combatants make a Melee Combat roll, with the highest winning the fight that
round, and inflicting weapon damage on the loser. The winner may instead choose to
simply block the attack rather than inflict damage. There are several situations that
might affect a combatant’s attack. Use the following DMs:

NPC Unskilled -3
Attacker’s Melee Cbt skill + level
Drawing a sheathed melee weapon in the same round -2
Unarmed character facing an armed opponent -1
Fighting in zero-G without Vacc Suit skill -1
Str 9+ +1
Str 5- -1

GRAPPLING
A successful unarmed attack can be used to either inflict 1D punching or kicking
damage to the victim, or it can be used to grab the victim for some other effect (the
player decides before the dice are thrown). Decide whether to:

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Throw the Victim Throw the victim up to 3m for 1-3 points of damage.
Drag the Victim Drag a number of metres up to ½ the attacker’s Str (rd down)
Disarm the Victim Knock the weapon away. If an Opposed Str roll is successful,
the grappler can grab the weapon off of his opponent, instead.
Hold the Victim Hold him immobile; if grappler’s attention is later diverted, the
victim can make an Opposed Str, and if succesful breaks free.

RANGED COMBAT
Ranged combat involves making attack at a distance using firearms or weapons such
as bows and crossbows. Each weapon has a Range (in metres) and shooting at a
target that is over this range will accrue a negative DM. Roll 8+ to hit a target in
ranged combat. Use these DMs:

Dex 9+ +1
Dex 5- -1
Unskilled -3
Attacker’s Gun Cbt skill + level
Over Range -2
Over Twice the Range -4
Target Dodging or in Partial Cover -3
Autofire 4 round burst Two Attacks
Autofire 10 round burst Three Attacks
Shotgun (within Range ) +1
Drawing/Unslinging gun same round -2

AUTOFIRE
A typical 4 round burst of gunfire AutoFire No. of Attacks
grants two attack rolls on the Single Shot 1 Attack
target at the normal skill chance. 4 round burst 2 Attacks
Some autofire weapons are 10 round burst 3 Attacks
capable of 10 round bursts – they
get 3 attacks. These attacks can instead be directed at an adjacent target, if within
one metre. So, three men talking, or spread out in a line with roughly one metre
separating each of them, could all be attacked once by a 10 round burst. The
Referee can decide, based on the situation, what constitutes ‘adjacent’.

THROWING WEAPONS
To throw a dagger, grenade or anything else, roll 8+ and add the attacker’s Melee
Cbt skill if throwing a blade weapon or spear. Also add the Ranged Combat Die
Modifier for Dexterity, as above. Most daggers, spears, javelins etc. can be thrown
out to 15m. Grenades thrown in tense situations can reach 10 metres, plus twice the
thrower’s Strength.

AIMING
A DM +1 will be gained if the attacker aims at a target for one full round.

RELOAD
Reloading a weapon takes one full round, during which time the character is
considered to be under cover.
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INJURIES
Damage from a weapon, animal, fall from height, or elsewhere, is rolled on a number
of dice. The character’s first three characteristics (Strength, Dexterity and
Endurance) serve as a pool of ‘hit points’, and the damage is subtracted from one of
those characteristics randomly. You can roll 1D6 to find out which characteristic is
affected, with 1-2 indicating Str, 3-4 indicating Dex, and 5-6 indicating End.

MELEE DAMAGE
An unarmed human can inflict 1D6 damage when they hit in combat, +1 if Str 9 or
more, -1 if Str 5 or less.

ARMOUR
If armour is being worn, it will reduce the points of damage caused by a weapon.
Armour is simply described as being useful against a type of threat: either melee,
ballistic or energy. Any damage of that type inflicted on the wearer is reduced by a
number of armour points. See Page 38. Only one type of armour can be worn at a
time.

EFFECTS OF INJURY
Guidelines for interpreting the different wound states follow.

Wound Type Effect

Loss of points Cut or bruised, but unaffected
One Characteristic at 0 Knocked down and stunned for 1-3 rounds.
Two Characteristics at 0 Serious Wound! Unconscious for 3 hours
Three Characteristics at 0 Dead.

MEDICAL ATTENTION
Serious Wound – After three hours the character recovers consciousness and the
characteristics at zero are set to 1. He is ill, at Move -5 and cannot run. He will not
recover until receiving medical treatment from a physician or at a hospital or ship’s
medbay. The physician can attempt a Medical 8+ roll stabilise the wound, so that
recovery can begin. He can attempt this once per day.

Other Wounds – Wounds that are not serious can begin recovery at the start of
each new day, at a rate of 3 points per day (the player can decide which points are
restored and in what order). If someone with Medical skill and a first aid kit makes a
6+ roll, then three points can be recovered immediately.

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VEHICLES IN COMBAT
There are three general classes of vehicle: Unarmoured, Light Armour and Heavy
Armour. Whilst heavy armour is primarily used on main battle tanks, light armour is
employed on APCs and other quasi-military vehicles. The firer’s Gunnery skill can be
used a bonus when firing heavy anti-vehicle weaponry.

Anti-armour weapons will disable a heavily armoured vehicle with a 2D6 roll on 6+
and destroy it on 8+. Against lightly armoured vehicles the weapon has a DM+2.
Unarmoured vehicles are always destroyed. Higher tech levels have an advantage –
either add or subtract the following DMs: TL 8 +2, TL 10 +3, TL 12 +4, TL 15 +5. A
TL 8 missile, hitting a TL 10 tank, for example, suffers a -1 on the roll.

Heavy weapons, such as autocannon, grenade launchers, heavy machineguns and

auto-railguns will disable a lightly armoured vehicle with a 2D6 roll on 8+ and destroy
it on 10+. Do not apply any modifiers for TL. Against unarmoured vehicles these
weapons have a DM+4. Heavily armoured vehicles are immune from support
weapons.

Firearms only have a chance of damaging unarmoured vehicles; if hit then roll 2D6
and on 10+ a crewman suffers the full weapon damage, and on a 12 the vehicle is
disabled.

Disabled vehicles can be repaired, but are immobile and without power. Each
crewmember must roll 8+ or suffer 2D6 damage. Destroyed vehicles explode, break
apart or catch fire. Any crew must roll 10+ or suffer 6D damage.

Example: A lightly armoured TL 12 G-Carrier is hit by a missile on a TL 8 planet. The

attackers gain +2 because it is lightly armoured, and +2 for their TL 8 technology. But
the TL 12 of the G-Carrier imposes a DM-4, for a total DM 0. We roll 8, and the G-
Carrier is destroyed.

VEHICULAR WEAPONS AGAINST PERSONNEL

Damage from a heavy laser or missile is 6D6 if within 2m, but if within 6m there is a
basic 7+ chance of a person suffering 3D6 damage.

ROBOTS IN COMBAT
Robots are typically treated in combat as being
unarmoured. If hit by a firearm attack, then roll ROBOT DAMAGE (Roll 1D6)
2D6 and on 8+ the robot is damaged, and on a 1 Vision Impaired
10+ the vehicle is disabled and requires 2 Slows Down
rebuilding. Some robots are designed as combat 3-4 Arm or Tool Disabled
models, treat these as Light Armour. If a robot is 5 CPU Hit: Erratic Behaviour
damaged, roll 1D6 to determine the outcome. 6 Power drain, 15 mins left.

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STARSHIP COMBAT
If a starship combat encounter should occur, a simple fast resolution space combat
system is provided here. A ‘starship round’ is 6 minutes long, rather than the 6
seconds of a normal combat round. As ship systems are degraded by damage, some
of the starship combat rolls will be affected.

PROCEDURE
1 – Escape: If the PCs want to escape an attack, leave sensor range and flee the
area, roll 2D6 for a 9+. Add Navigation skill and add or subtract the difference in the
two ships’ G rating. A reaction drive has a rating of 0 for this roll.
2 – Avoid Being Hit: If this escape attempt fails, then roll 8+ to avoid being hit by
incoming laser or missile fire, with these DMs: + Pilot skill, +2 if Defensive Shields
operating, -1 for every bank of four turrets operating, +1 if ship’s TL higher than
attacker’s, +2 if TL 3 or more higher, +3 if TL 6 or more higher.
3 – Consequences of Being Hit: Alternate between these two task rolls until the
ship escapes or is hit. If the players’ ship is hit, roll once on the Starship Damage
Locations table, and also roll a second D6. If the second die is a 6, check for an
Explosion. Drives reduced to 0 are inoperative. A computer reduced to 0 cannot be
used for sensor rolls and prevents the ship from targeting any of its turrets.
4 – Pursuit: If the players are the aggressors and in pursuit of another ship, then the
escape roll instead becomes a successful interception roll. The roll to Avoid Being
Hit, meanwhile, is replaced with a new step, called …
5 – Hit The Enemy Ship: If the pursuit is successful, roll 8+ to hit the enemy ship
with turret weapons, with these DMs: + Gunnery skill, -2 if enemy ship has operating
Defensive Shields, +1 for every bank of four turrets operating, +1 if ship’s TL higher
than attackers, +2 if TL 3 or more higher, +3 if TL 6 or more higher.
6 – Stand-Up Battle: For those times when two ships go toe to toe in a stand-up
space battle, then let the PCs roll to Avoid Being Hit, followed by an attempt to Hit
The Enemy Ship. Skip any attempt to escape or pursue. This fast system may
require some adjudication and improvisation, err on the side of drama and fun!

STARSHIP DAMAGE LOCATIONS

1D6 Location Hit Effect
1 Manoeuvre Drive Manoeuvre drive rating reduced by 1.
2 Shields Shields disabled.
3 Jump Drive Jump drive rating reduced by 1.
4 Computer Computer rating reduced by 1.
5 Powerplant Powerplant rating reduced by 1.
6 Turrets Two turrets are disabled, a 2nd hit disables a bank.
Explosion Roll 4+ on 2D6 to avoid breaking up; subtract the number
of systems already reduced to 0, and add a DM based on
the ship’s size: DM+2 if 1000-5000 tons.

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SMALL CRAFT DAMAGE LOCATIONS

1D6 Location Hit Effect
1 No Hit No Hit
2 Manoeuvre Drive Manoeuvre drive rating reduced by 1.
3 Cabin 1-3 Crew suffer 1D6 damage.
4 Computer Computer is destroyed.
5 Powerplant Powerplant is destroyed. Craft is without power.
6 Weapons Onboard weapons are destroyed
Explosion Roll 6+ on 2D6 to avoid breaking up; subtract the number
of systems already destroyed or at 0.

DAMAGE REPAIR
Each starship round, the engineer may attempt to
repair damage inflicted on the ship. An Engineering
9+ will repair one ‘hit’ of damage, perhaps restoring
a turret or point of computer, or a point of drive
score. Treat these repairs as temporary – each ‘hit’
will require proper maintenance at a starport of C
class or higher (costing 1D6 x Hull tonnage x Cr100
each). To speed play, only allow the PC’s ship to
carry out damage repair during the combat.

STARSHIPS VERSUS VEHICLES

Starship missiles and lasers should be treated as
anti-armour weapons (see Vehicles in Combat,
page 15).

SENSORS
A ship’s sensors can be used to detect other ships,
either in regular play, or just prior to a combat. The
navigators on both ships make an Opposed
Navigation roll on 2D6; DMs: + Navigation skill, +
Computer rating. If one of the rolls is 3 or more
higher than its opponent, then the ship with the
higher roll detects the other but remains itself
undetected. Re-roll every hour (10 starship
rounds), if either ship moves onto an attack vector,
or until a new vessel enters the area. Otherwise,
both ships detect each other and are able to fire on
one another. An undetected ship can attack
another vessel, but will then become visible to all
ships in the area. To successfully flee out of sensor
range, see Step-1. Note that a degraded Computer
will reduce sensor capability.

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SPACEFLIGHT
In this interstellar future, spaceships travel between planets and even between stars.
There are three types of spaceship: starships are ships of 100-tons size or greater,
fitted with a faster-than-light drive that can ‘jump’ from one star system to another in
about a week; non-starships are ships of 100-tons size or greater that have no jump
drive; and small craft are spaceships under 100 tons such as shuttles, ship’s boats
and fighters.

PROCEDURES
Small craft and non-starships have a manoeuvre drive that they use to move from
one planet to another in the same star system. Such journeys may take days or
weeks. Starships also have a manoeuvre drive and can travel about a star system,
but they can also activate their jump drive and enter jump space for a week’s travel to
a destination star system. A jump drive propels the starship through jump space up to
a number of parsecs equal to its jump drive rating (a jump drive-4, for example, can
make a 1, 2, 3 or 4 parsec jump, as required). Jump drives only operate safely when
in empty space, at least 100 diameters from any moon or planet, Likewise, they
arrive in a star system at least 100 diameters away from the destination mainworld
(the most populous world of the star system). Once it has arrived, the starship will
travel to the mainworld in the system using its manoeuvre drive and either dock with
a space station or land on the world’s surface.

Ships generally land at a designated starport facility on the mainworld. If it is a

commercial ship, it can then unload its freight and passengers, and refuel ready for
another trip in the next few days. Along with refuelling, the crews have some
downtime, general maintenance on the ship is carried out, bills need paying and
fresh supplies loaded aboard. Usually, a commercial starship spends a week in
jumpspace, and then another week travelling to and from the mainworld and sitting at
starport. Military, private and scientific ships may stay for longer or shorter,
depending on their mission and the needs of their owners.

SKIMMING FUEL
Some ships save money on fuel by scooping hydrogen from a gas giant planet within
a star system (if one exists). This takes time, and involves some risk, but reduces a
starship or non-starship’s Running Costs (see Page 22) for its next trip by 30%. Gas
giant skimming takes 3 hours and requires a 6+ Pilot roll for success. Failure could
mean damage to the ship, or a failed scoop. Pirates also like to hang around gas
giants and their moons, in order to ambush unsuspecting starships.

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CREW
A pilot is needed to fly the spacecraft, and a Position Monthly Salary
Captain Cr10,000
navigator is required to plot courses to the jump Pilot Cr6,000
point or to other planets in the system, as well as Navigator Cr5,000
make the complex jump space calculations. An Engineer Cr4,000
engineer is also required to maintain the ship’s Steward Cr3,000
complex systems, and larger ships will require Medic Cr2,000
Gunner Cr1,000
several assistant engineers. Ships over 200 tons Other Crewmember Cr1,000
usually also carry a ship’s doctor or medic, and if
passengers are carried, there will be one Department chiefs receive 10% extra
steward per 10 passengers in order to attend to
them during the journey through jump space. Weapons turrets will require a gunner
for every four turrets, and there may be other crew required based on the ship’s
function: maybe a loadmaster or loader, security guards, deck hands, scientists,
office staff, and so on. The basic living expenses of crewmembers are considered
paid out of the ship’s overheads. Note that salaries are generalized and can vary
considerably.

IN-SYSTEM TRAVEL
A star system will generally consist of a star, orbited by rocky or terrestrial planets, as
well as by gas giant planets like Jupiter and Neptune. There may be an asteroid belt,
or dust belt, and maybe more than one. Some systems orbit around not one star, but
two (a binary system), and some have a third star (a trinary), most often out on the
edge of the star system, orbiting everything else. At a certain distance from the main
star is a habitable zone, and if there is a planet there, it may have water, air, life. This
is the mainworld in Retro Sci-Fi Rules. There may instead be a gas giant in the
habitable zone, in which case one of its many moons might instead hold life.

Because of the immense complexities and differences in star systems, Referees are
advised to use the travel times given overleaf to adjudicate how long a trip within the
star system takes. The figures are for star system similar to our own, but if the star is
small (such as an M-type red dwarf), the star system will be much small, and orbits
closer in to the star. Conversely, if the star is massive (such as red, yellow or blue
giant stars) the star system will spread much farther out, and the habitable zone will
be double or triple its distance from the star. Bear this in mind when using the values
below. Feel free to alter them to fit the situation. An important distance to consider is
the distance to a jump point, since a starship must be at least 100 diameters from a
world before it can enter jump space. Conversely, a starship coming out of jump
space will appear in the star system far from the mainworld.

Distance From the Destination World – Sometimes you'll want to know how much
time it takes to get to your destination when emerging from jump space, so here's a
quick-and-dirty jump navigation rule; roll 2D6 for 7+, add Navigation skill. On a
success you come out of jump space only 1D6+1 hours from the destination planet.
On a failure you come out 1D3 days from the destination.

Reaction Drives – At TL 7 and 8, nuclear thermal rockets are in use, with

acceleration rates that are a tenth of standard Manoeuvre drives (0.3G instead of 3G,
etc.). At TL7 multiply the travel times by 20, at TL8 multiply travel times by 3.

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IN-SYSTEM TRAVEL TIMES

IN-SYSTEM TRAVEL TIMES
TIMES
Distance
1-G 2-G 3-G 4-G 5-G 6-G Example
(km)
1,000 10m, 7m, 27s 6m, 5s 5m, 16s 4m, 43s 4m, 18s Jump pt.,
32s planetoid
10,000 33m, 23m, 19m, 16m, 14m, 13m, Typical surface to
20s 34s 15s 40s 54s 36s orbit
100,000 1h, 45m 1h, 15m 1h, 1m 52m, 47m, 8s 43m, 2s Between GG
42s moons
160,000 2h, 13m 1h, 34m 1h, 17m 1h, 7m 59m, 54m, Jump pt.,
38s 26s UWP size 1
320,000 3h, 9m 2h, 13m 1h, 49m 1h, 34m 1h, 24m 1h, 17m Jump pt.,
UWP size 2
480,000 3h, 51m 2h, 43m 2h, 13m 1h, 55m 1h, 43m 1h, 34m Jump pt.,
UWP size 3
640,000 4h, 27m 3h, 9m 2h, 34m 2h, 13m 1h, 59m 1h, 49m Jump pt.,
UWP size 4
800,000 4h, 58m 3h, 31m 2h, 52m 2h, 29m 2h, 13m 2h, 2m Jump pt.,
UWP size 5
960,000 5h, 27m 3h, 51m 3h, 9m 2h, 43m 2h, 26m 2h, 13m Jump pt.,
UWP size 6
1,000,000 5h, 33m 3h, 56m 3h, 12m 2h, 47m 2h, 29m 2h, 16m
1,120,000 5h, 53m 4h, 9m 3h, 24m 2h, 56m 2h, 38m 2h, 24m Jump pt.,
UWP size 7
1,280,000 6h, 17m 4h, 27m 3h, 38m 3h, 9m 2h, 49m 2h, 34m Jump pt.,
UWP size 8
1,440,000 6h, 40m 4h, 43m 3h, 51m 3h, 20m 2h, 59m 2h, 43m Jump pt.,
UWP size 9
1,600,000 7h, 2m 4h, 58m 4h, 3m 3h, 31m 3h, 9m 2h, 52m Jump pt.,
UWP size A
5,000,000 12h, 8h, 47m 7h, 10m 6h, 13m 5h, 33m 5h, 4m Jump pt., small gg
25m
10,000,000 17h, 12h, 10h, 9m 8h, 47m 7h, 51m 7h, 10m Jump pt., large gg
34m 25m
45,000,000 1d, 13h 1d, 2h 21h, 18h, 16h, 15h, Close neighbour
31m 38m 40m 13m
100,000,000 2d, 8h 1d, 15h 1d, 8h 1d, 4h 1d, 1h 22h, Close neighbour
41m
255,000,000 3d, 17h 2d, 15h 2d, 3h 1d, 20h 1d, 16h 1d, 12h Far neighbour
600,000,000 5d, 16h 4d, 0h 3d, 7h 2d, 20h 2d, 13h 2d, 8h Close gas giant
900,000,000 6d, 23h 4d, 22h 4d, 0h 3d, 11h 3d, 3h 2d, 20h Far gas giant
1,000,000,000 7d, 8h 5d, 4h 4d, 5h 3d, 16h 3d, 7h 3d, 0h Far giant

PASSENGER OPTIONS
Most passenger ships offer three levels of passenger travel, High Passage, Medium
Passage and Low Passage. Normally, one passenger per stateroom can be carried.
High Passage – This involves first class accommodation and cuisine, with service
from a ship's steward, entertainment and complete attention to their comfort. There is
a baggage allowance of up to 1,000kg. High passage costs Cr10,000 per trip (not
jump).
Middle Passage – When a starship cannot find enough high passengers to fill its
staterooms, it offers those cabins to middle passengers (often waiting for openings
on a stand-by basis). Baggage totalling 100kg is allowed. Cuisine and service is not
to high passage standard. Middle passage costs Cr8,000.
Low Passage –The passenger is placed in a low passage berth before the ship
takes off, and travels the entire journey in a state of suspended animation. He does
not age, and requires very little life support. Unfortunately, the low passage system
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involves some intrinsic dangers to the passenger, so qualified medic should always
be in attendance when reviving passengers. When revived, they must make an
Endurance roll with a DM+4 if there is a medic attending, or DM+2 if not. Failure
means that the passenger dies during revival. Low passage costs Cr1,000 and
includes a 10kg baggage allowance. This may be considered an optional rule.

SPACECRAFT OPERATIONS
Most starship operations have become standard throughout interstellar society.

Airlocks – A ship has at least one airlock, and usually two or three other non-airlock
exits, duplicate this for every 500 tons or so of hull size. The average airlock is large
enough for three people in vacc suits to pass through at the same time. An airlock
takes six seconds to cycle. Under normal circumstances, airlocks are locked down
from the bridge and require an Electronics 10+ roll to override. An unlocked airlock
can be triggered from outside. Airlocks generally have vacc suits, rescue bubbles
and cutlasses in a ship’s locker nearby. Ships with cargo holds have cargo hatches.

Boarding – Hostile boarding actions are safest when the enemy ship is crippled, in
which case it is a standard docking procedure. If the enemy ship is still moving, then
the prospective boarders must match the target’s velocity and dock with it (a Pilot
10+ task), or else just land on the hull and either make their way to an airlock or cut
through from outside.

Distress Signals – A distress signal indicates that a ship is threatened with danger
and requests immediate assistance. Given the vastness of interplanetary space, help
is hard to come by. Therefore, most interstellar governments mandate that the
commander of any vessel is legally obligated to respond and offer assistance or
contact the authorities. Some pirates have been known to use false distress signals
to lure other vessels into a trap.

Docking – Two spacecraft may dock if they are close together and neither ship
attempts to resist the docking manoeuvre. Many airlock designs across interstellar
space are compatible; for incompatible airlocks, ships extend flexible plastic docking
tubes that adapt to the target airlock. Docking with another vessel is a Pilot 6+ task. If
one ship is drifting or unpowered, the difficulty is 8+.

Landing – Any ship with a streamlined hull may land on a world’s surface. Landing at
a starport is a Pilot 4+ task for most ships. Streamlined ships have landing gear,
allowing them to touch down ‘in the wild’, which requires an 6+, 8+ or even 10+ Pilot
roll, depending on local conditions. Failure indicates another landing place must be
found, or a hit of damage inflicted on the ship.

Mail Contracts – Merchant ships may receive mail delivery contracts, usually as an
adjunct to their established routes. Five tons of ship cargo capacity must be
committed to postal duty on a full time basis, the ship must be armed, and a gunner
must be a part of the crew. This produces profit equal to Cr2,500 for each trip made,
regardless of the actual mail tonnage carried. Such tonnage will not exceed 5 tons
per trip. This will include data banks for delivery of encrypted banking, news,
commercial and other data for transmission to the mainworld in the next system as
soon as the ship drops out of jump space.

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Misjump – If the ship that enters jumpspace is using unrefined scooped fuel then the
engineer must make a 4+ Engineering roll. Note that military ships can operate on
unrefined fuel without adverse effect. If the ship jumps while within 100 diameters of
a world, the engineer must make an 8+ Engineering roll. Failure indicates a
catastrophic mis-jump. The ship ends up 1D6x1D6 hexes in a random direction. The
vessel takes three separately rolled hits of damage (see page 16). In addition,
everyone aboard the vessel suffers severe headaches and nausea.

STARSHIP FINANCES
Running Cost – A starship will typically have a Running Cost, per trip, equal to Cr50
per tonnage of ship. A 400-ton freighter for example, will need to pay out Cr20,000 in
crew wages, fuel and other extras before it takes-off and makes its jump.

Revenue – A commercial ship can cover the Running Cost by carrying passengers
and freight. Freight is sealed cargo owned by someone else, who simply wants it
transported to a destination starport. We assume the income from freight and
passengers is received before the trip and covers all the costs. There will usually be
some profit, however, although typically not a lot. One crewman should make an
Admin 8+ roll to make profit. This profit will be Cr1000 x 2D6. If the crew of that 400-
ton freighter make their roll, they might make Cr8000, which should be put aside for
repairs and other emergencies. Clearly hauling freight and passengers isn’t going to
make anyone rich. For that you need to try shipping… speculative cargo!
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Buying Speculative Cargo – A crew with enough money set aside to invest, could
instead buy their own cargo and try to sell it in another star system for (hopefully) a
large profit. Sometimes the cargo simply makes its money back, and sometimes it
loses money – trading in speculative cargo is always a gamble. Spend a week on a
planet trying to source some trade goods. This is usually fairly routine, roll 5+ once
per week. If that fails, someone with Bribery could attempt a 10+ roll, and offer a
bribe of Cr1 x ship cargo tonnage. Alternatively, a character with Streetwise may
attempt an 8+ roll to find illegal goods on the planet that will need to be smuggled
onto a destination planet. How much will this cargo cost? It’s up to the crew how
much of their savings they wish to gamble, but the maximum allowed is Cr1000 x
ship cargo tonnage. Roll on the Target Market table (below) to determine where best
to see this newly acquired cargo.
The crew should remember that they won’t be carrying as much freight as normal;
part or all of their hold will be filled with this speculative cargo, therefore they will not
cover their Running Cost for this trip and will have some to pay, equal to 10% of the
cost of their speculative cargo. For example: The crew of a 400-ton freighter, with a
Cr20,000 Running Cost, purchase a Cr100,000 speculative cargo. This costs them
C10,000 revenue this trip, which they must pay for out of their cash fund before the
flight can begin. If they had purchased a Cr5,000 cargo, they would only have to pay
Cr500 of the Running Costs. If the cargo ends up being carried around from star
system to star system without being sold, the Running Cost fee must be paid for
every trip.
Selling Speculative Cargo – The crew can try to sell their speculative cargo at a
star system other than the one they bought it at. The crew makes an Admin 8+ roll to
make a profit on their off-loaded cargo, and if successful make +120% of the cargo’s
cost (a 20% profit). If unsuccessful they get only 50% of what they paid. To make a
real profit, they should sell it at on a world that is a Target Market. At a Target Market
the crew make an Admin 7+ roll, and if successful make +100% of their money back,
plus +20% per point rolled over 7. If unsuccessful they get only 50% of what they
paid. Example: the freighter crew have Cr100,000 of cargo and its Target Market is a
vacuum world. The ship arrives at such a world and the crewman with Admin-2
makes a roll of 7+2 = 9. They sell the goods for Cr140,000, with a Cr40,000 profit
that easily covers the Running Costs that they had to pay.

TARGET MARKETS
2D6 Target Market Possible Cargo Suggestions
2 Ice-Capped Vehicles, Food, Construction Materials, Consumer Goods
3 Poor Vehicles, Food, Construction Materials, Weaponry
4 Non-Agricultural Food, Construction Materials, Textiles, Consumer Goods
5 Agricultural Farming Equipment,, Consumer Goods, Machine Tools
6 Rich Liquor, Textiles, Medicines, Spices,
7 Industrial Food, Medicines, Minerals, Crystals, Radioactives, Metals
8 Vacuum Vacc Suits, Food, Construction Materials
9 Non-Industrial Construction or Mining Materials, Food,
10 Asteroid Belt Vacc Suits, Food, Construction or Mining Materials
11 Desert Mining Equipment, Machine Tools, Food
12 Water World Submarines, Construction Materials, Machine Tools

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SHIP-BUILDING
These rules allow for the design and construction of spacecraft for use in the game.
Class A starports have a shipyard which can build any kind of ship, whilst a class B
starport can build small craft and ships which do not have jump drives. Ships are built
at the Tech Level of the world on which they are built, or TL 9, whichever is higher.
SHIP DESIGN CHECKLIST
1) Choose a Ship Hull
2) Decide if streamlined or not
3) Choose jump drive (if a starship)
4) Choose manoeuvre drive
5) Choose power plant
6) Determine fuel requirements
7) Determine bridge
8) Choose ship’s computer
9) Determine number of required crew
10) Choose staterooms, barracks and low berths
11) Determine additional fittings
12) Determine carried vehicles
13) Determine turrets (optional)
14) Determine weapons (optional)
15) If a military ship, allocate a defence screen
16) Allocate remaining space to cargo
17) Calculate final cost and construction time

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DISPLACEMENT TONS
Hulls and ship components are designated by their displacement volume, measured
as the space that is displaced by one metric ton of hydrogen, which measures 13.5
cubic metres (rounded to 14 cubic metres). When drawing floor plans of ships, each
square measuring 1.5 metres by 1.5 metres, to a height of 3m up from the floor,
represents half a ton. Corridors, airlocks, equipment lockers, lounges and rec areas
are included with the tonnage of staterooms and other interior fittings.

HULL SIZE Hull Size Price (MCr) Build

The ship’s hull is the shell in which all other tons Time
components are placed. A ship’s construction (months)
time is based on its hull size. 100 10 10
200 20 12
Streamlined Hull: Streamlining a ship costs 400 40 16
MCr1 per 100 ton of hull. This streamlining 600 60 24
allows landing on any world with an 800 80 28
atmosphere. It includes landing gear as well 1,000 100 30
as fuel scoops, which enable the skimming of 2,000 200 32
unrefined fuel from gas giants. Streamlining 3,000 300 34
may not be retrofitted; it must be included at 4,000 400 35
the time of construction. 5,000 500 36
Ship Sections: Most vessels are divided into
two primary sections, the Engineering section which contains the drives and power
plant necessary for proper operation and movement; and the Main Compartment,
which contains all non-drive features of the ship, including the bridge, ship’s
computer, the staterooms, the low passage berths, the cargo hold and other items.

DRIVES
A non-starship must have a manoeuvre drive (M-Drive) and a fusion power plant (P-
Plant). A starship must have a jump drive (J-Drive), a power plant and a manoeuvre
drive. For manoeuvre drives, the value given on the Drive Rating table is the Gs of
acceleration available. For jump drives, the rating is the jump number (Jn), or jump
range in parsecs. The power plant rating (A-Z) must be at least equal to either the
manoeuvre drive or Jump drive rating, whichever is higher.

WHY A JUMP DRIVE? TL 7-8 REACTION DRIVE

The Referee’s setting might refer to At TL7 and 8, nuclear thermal rocket drives are in use,
the jump drive as a hyperdrive, and requiring a fission powerplant. They are the same mass
replace jump space with and cost as a standard Manoeuvre Drive, but fuel
hyperspace. required is now 0.1 x Hull tonnage x Drive rating. The
rating is 1/10 the G acceleration of a standard drive.
Alternatively, the setting might Reaction Drive 3 = 0.3G, for example.
have some kind of teleport drive
that folds space or blinks the ship A ship of 100 tons or more has 24 Burns (or available
instantaneously to the destination manoeuvres) before fuel runs out. TL7-8 small craft
system. Jump fuel is consumed as have a number of Burns depending on their size. A Burn
normal. Instant drives might have could be: entering orbit, leaving orbit, landing on a
implications for the setting, moon, taking off from a moon, or landing or taking off
however. from a planet with Atmos 0-3 (requires 2 Burns).

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DRIVE RATINGS
100 200 400 600 800 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000
A 2 1 – – – – – – – –
B 4 2 1 – – – – – – –
C 6 3 1 1 – – – – – –
D – 4 2 1 1 – – – – –
E – 5 2 1 1 1 – – – –
F – 6 3 2 1 1 – – – –
G – – 3 2 2 1 – – – –
H – – 4 2 2 2 – – – –
J – – 4 3 2 2 – – – –
K – – 5 3 3 2 1 – – –
L – – 5 3 3 3 1 – – –
M – – 6 4 3 3 1 – – –
N – – 6 4 4 3 2 – – –
P – – – 4 4 4 2 – – –
Q – – – 5 4 4 2 1 – –
R – – – 5 5 4 3 1 – –
S – – – 5 5 5 3 1 – –
T – – – 6 5 5 3 2 – –
U – – – 6 5 5 4 2 – –
V – – – 6 6 5 4 2 1 –
W – – – – 6 5 4 3 1 1
X – – – – 6 6 4 3 1 1
Y – – – – 6 6 4 3 2 1
Z – – – – 6 6 4 4 2 2

AVAILABLE DRIVES
Drive J-Drive M-Drive P-Plant
Code Tons MCr Tons MCr Tons MCr
A 10 10 2 4 4 8
B 15 20 3 8 7 16
C 20 30 5 12 10 24
D 25 40 7 16 13 32
E 30 50 9 20 16 40
F 35 60 11 24 19 48
G 40 70 13 28 22 56
H 45 80 15 32 25 64
J 50 90 17 36 28 72
K 55 100 19 40 31 80
L 60 110 21 44 34 88
M 65 120 23 48 37 96
N 70 130 25 52 40 104
P 75 140 27 56 43 112
Q 80 150 29 60 46 120
R 85 160 31 64 49 128
S 90 170 33 68 52 136
T 95 180 35 72 55 144
U 100 190 37 76 58 152
V 105 200 39 80 61 160
W 110 210 41 84 64 168
X 115 220 43 88 67 176
Y 120 230 45 92 70 182
Z 125 240 47 96 73 192

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Other Power Plants – The fusion power plant is the default in these rules, being
used from TL 9 to TL 15. At TL 7-8, the fission reactor powerplant is common, and at
TL 16, the anti-matter power plant is introduced.
 Fission Plant (TL 7): These are four times the size and price of a fusion
power plant of the same rating and include fissionable radioactive fuel for ten
years. Dangers of radiation leakage are ever present. If hit in starship combat
all crew and passengers will suffer radiation exposure (2D6 damage, with a
permanent loss of 1pt of End if an End roll is failed).
 Antimatter Power Plant (TL 16): These work by destroying small amounts of
hydrogen and anti-hydrogen. No tonnage needs to be allocated to fuel, but the
plant itself must be refueled once per month, costing Cr1,000 per ton of drive.
FUEL
Fuel in this game is liquid hydrogen. In addition, water can be used as unrefined fuel.
Jump Fuel – 0.1 x Hull tonnage x Jump distance. A single jump of that distance
consumes that much fuel.
Power plant Fuel – Power plant fuel for four weeks of operation requires fuel equal
to the power plant tonnage. Deep space vessels may store eight, twelve or more
weeks of power plant fuel. The manoeuvre drive at TL 9+ is an anti-gravity drive that
is powered by the power plant. Radioactive fuel for the TL 7 fission reactor is
required every ten years, costing 1% of the fission plant’s initial cost.

BRIDGE
The size of the bridge is equal to 2% of the ship’s hull (minimum 20 tons). The cost
for the ship’s bridge is MCr0.5 per 100 tons of ship. The bridge tonnage includes
control stations, communications gear, ship’s sensors, a ship’s locker and a small
medical-bay.

COMPUTER
Every ship requires a complex mainframe computer, MAINFRAME COMPUTERS
located adjacent to the bridge. Its CPU and storage, Computer TL Tons Cost
as well as multiple access terminals and Model/1 7 1 MCr1
workstations sited throughout the ship, all take up Model/2 9 2 MCr4
space. The ship computer is identified by its model Model/3 11 3 MCr9
number; this indicates the highest level of jump Model/4 12 4 MCr15
possible, as well as the number of weapon banks Model/5 13 5 MCr20
(group of four turrets) it can direct at any one time. Model/6 14 6 MCr25
For example, a Model/4 computer can support a Model/7 15 7 MCr40
Jump 4, and also direct the fire of four banks (16
turrets) in one attack. If the rating of the computer is degraded in combat, its
capabilities are affected.

ARTIFICIAL GRAVITY
At TL9 gravity manipulation is discovered, allowing spacecraft to fit artificial gravity
decks that simulate an Earth-like environment. Prior to this, at TL 7 and 8, spacecraft
instead include sections that spin, either on extended arms, or as a complete
centrifugal ring to simulate a near Earth-like gravity. The bridge, staterooms,
barracks, offices and, laboratories are placed in this spin section. The cost and mass
of these spin sections is included in the hull cost and mass. Ships with rotating
sections cannot be streamlined.
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SHIP CREW
All vessels require a crew to operate and maintain the ship. Small independently-
owned vessels tend to operate with a minimum of crew, while corporate and military
vessels often duplicate crew positions to allow for continual manning of positions.
Where an experienced crewman leads others in that department, that person is
known as the department chief. Available positions are:

Captain – One per ship. For ships of 1,000 tons or greater, add an executive officer
and three administrative personnel. On small independently-owned ships, the captain
may also be the pilot.
Pilot – Each ship requires a qualified pilot.
Navigator – Each ship of 200 tons or more requires a navigator, who also operates
the sensors.
Engineer – Each ship of 200 tons or more requires an engineer per 35 tons of drive
tonnage. The most skilled is designated the chief engineer.
Medic – Each ship of 200 tons or more requires a medic with Medical-1 or greater. In
addition, there must be at least one medic onboard per 100 passengers.
Gunner – Every four turrets (or part of) is a ‘bank’ and requires a gunner. The most
skilled becomes the chief gunner or tactical officer.
Steward – Every ten passengers requires a steward on board. No skill is required,
but a steward must have a minimum of Social Influence 6. The most skilled becomes
the ship’s purser.
Loader – An optional crew positon for large freighters. If there are multiple loaders,
the most senior is the loadmaster.
Shuttle Pilot – A ship carrying small craft may include a dedicated pilot for each one.
Alternatively the pilot will be assigned to fly a shuttle or ship’s boat.
Troops – Some large military vessels carry ship’s troops or Marines. These occupy
barracks, which must be provided for them.
Other – Exploration ships might require scientists and scouts, mining ships will
require miners, etc.

SHIP’S FITTINGS
Staterooms – Each stateroom is sufficient for one person or two if sharing (typically
military ratings), it displaces 4 tons, and costs Cr500,000. Staterooms include a
fresher (combination shower/toilet/wash-stand). The tonnage and cost of the
staterooms includes the life support systems needed to keep the crew alive.
Low Berths – One low passage berth carries one low passenger, costs Cr50,000,
and displaces one-half ton.
Barracks – A barracks takes up 2 tons per marine, and costs MCr0.1 per marine.
Barracks can only be used to accommodate troops intended for boarding or assault
operations. Troops accommodated in barracks cannot be used to reduce the number
of service crew embarked.
Armoury – A military armoury can only be accessed by those with the correct
codes and contains a wide variety of weapons. In game terms, an armoury has
enough pistols for the crew, enough rifles for any marines, and a selection of other
military equipment like grenades, combat armour and radios. An armoury costs
MCr0.5 and takes up 2 tons of space. One armoury is installed for either every 50
military crew members, or every 10 marines, in order to provide adequate storage for
equipment, weapons and ammunition.

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Tractor Beam Generator – Using gravity repulsion technology at TL14, this uses
the ship’s own manoeuvre drive to draw an object or unpowered vessel in space,
towards the ship, perhaps for docking or loading aboard the ship’s cargo hold. Range
is 1,000km. The limit to what can be attracted is equal to 100 tons x ship’s
manoeuvre drive rating. If a ship is resisting the tractor beam, a Navigation 8+ roll is
required to succeed with the tractor beam, subtract the manoeuvre drive rating of the
ship being targeted. The beam generator is the same tonnage, and twice the cost, of
the manoeuvre drive.
Briefing Room – A briefing room is useful on mercenary cruisers and exploration
ships. Military ships may require additional briefing rooms and facilities. It requires 4
tons and costs MC0.6.
Detention Cells – Found primarily on military and government vessels, a detention
cell is used to keep prisoners. A detention cell displaces 2 tons and costs MCr0.25.
Laboratory – Space allocated to laboratories can be used for research and
experimentation. Each four tons of lab space allows for one scientist to perform
research on board ship. The cost is generally around MCr1.0 per 4 tons.
Matter Transport Pads – Available at TL16, a matter transporter can deconstruct
and transmit up to six people, or 10 tons of cargo, from the ship to any location within
40,000km (equivalent to geostationary orbit). A Computer 5+ roll by the operator is
needed to hit the exact spot. As long as a crewman carries a device (such as a
comm unit) that the operator can get a fix on, he can also transport them back to the
ship. It requires 20 tons and costs MCr40.
Vehicles – A ship may carry on-board one
or more vehicles (such as an ATV or grav Carried Tons Cost
vehicle), for use on a world’s surface; or a Vehicle
small craft – to be used as a shuttle or ATV 10 MCr0.05
lifeboat. Tonnage should be devoted to the Air/Raft 4 MCr0.275
vehicle or small craft, and its cost noted. If G-Carrier 8 MCr0.15
carrying vehicles on an unstreamlined ship, Fighter 10 MCr10.8
think about how those vehicles will be Launch 20 MCr4.8
transported down to a world’s surface. Ship’s Boat 30 MCr16.7
Cargo Hold – Any space left over after all Light Shuttle 40 MCr18.6
systems have been installed may be Cutter 50 MCr24.3
allocated to cargo space. There is no cost, Heavy Shuttle 90 MCr25.6
but cargo carried may not exceed the ship’s
cargo capacity.
Ship’s Locker – Every ship already includes a ready-stocked ship’s locker. Typical
equipment carried will include protective clothing, vacc suits, civilian-style weapons
such as shotguns or pistols, ammunition, compasses and other survival aids, as well
as portable shelters. The contents of the locker are defined only when they need to
be. However, they always contain vacc suits and other useful items such as survival
masks and toolkits.

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SHIP’S WEAPONRY
A ship has one hardpoint per 100 tons of ship and each turret takes up one
hardpoint. In space combat, turrets will be grouped together in groups of four called
‘banks’.

Turrets – A turret may be attached to each hardpoint on the ship. If a turret is

installed, then one ton of space must be allocated to fire control systems. A turret
holds two weapons of the same type, takes up one ton and costs MCr0.5.
Turret Weapons – Most weapons fitted to all of the ship’s turrets will be of the same
type, and will be dictated by the ship’s Tech Level. Military ships will usually include
some missile racks, as well as the standard turret armament.

Weapon TL Cost (MCr) Notes

Missile Rack 6-16 1
Pulse Laser 9 0.75
Railgun 7 0.5 Fires steel projectiles (20 projectiles per ton,
C10,000 per ton).
Beam Laser 10 1
Plasma Gun 14 2.5 Also known as ‘blaster’ or ‘ion’ gun.
Disintegrator 16 3 Also known as ‘disruptor’ or ‘phaser’.

Missiles – Missiles are versatile weapons that can be dropped as bombs, laid as
orbital mines and even used as recon drones. Of course they can also be used in
ship-to-ship combat just like standard turret weapons. Twelve missiles take up one
ton of space and have a limited endurance of 60 minutes before running out of fuel.

Defensive Shields – All military ships have defensive countermeasures or shields of

some type, depending on the ship’s Tech Level. At low TLs they are Gatling guns,
flares and chaff; at mid-range TLs they are anti-laser ‘sand’ or ‘window’ as well as
ECM jammers; at high TLs they include gravity-manipulating repulsor screens and
energy fields which nullify incoming high-energy particles. Defensive shields are
subsumed with the ship’s bridge and computer tonnage allocation, and controlled via
the ship’s computer. Consequently the shields take up no tonnage, but have a cost
equal to that of the ship’s computer.
Component TL
Reaction Drive 7-8
FINALISE DESIGN Fission Power plant 7-8
Total up the tonnage of all components, if Jump Drive 9
the total is over the hull size, then go back Manoeuvre Drive 9
and make changes. Once the tonnage fits Power plant 9
Antimatter Power plant 16
the hull, make a note of the ship’s
Computer Model/1 7
construction time and then total the costs Computer Model/2 9
of all components. Finally, determine the Computer Model/3 11
ship’s Tech Level, by identifying the Computer Model/4 12
component with the highest Tech Level Computer Model/5 13
(computer and drives). Computer Model/6 14
Computer Model/7 15

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COMMON
SPACECRAFT
STARSHIPS
DESTROYER
Using a streamlined 800-ton hull, the destroyer is a TL13 fast attack warship. It has
jump drive-N, manoeuvre drive-R and power plant-R, giving jump-4 and 5-G
acceleration. Fuel tankage of 400 tons allows one jump and supports the power plant
for two months. Adjacent to the bridge is a Model/5 computer. There are 28 single
staterooms, two double staterooms and no low berths. Interior fittings include a
briefing room and an armoury. There are 8 turrets: six with missile racks and two with
beam lasers. A magazine carries 240 missiles. Defence screens are fitted. There is
one ship’s vehicle: a 30-ton ship’s boat. Cargo capacity is 38 tons. The hull is
streamlined to allow for gas giant refuelling.

The destroyer requires a crew of thirty-nine: commanding officer, exec, three admin
personnel, three pilots, three navigators, eight engineers, 4 gunners, a tactical officer,
ship’s doctor, a boat pilot, six troops and a troop commander. The troops occupy the
double staterooms. Most positions are filled by multiple personnel in order to keep
that position permanently manned, or for casualty replacement. There are three
staterooms for military passengers. The destroyer takes 28 months to build and costs
MCr490.30.

CRUISER
Using a streamlined 2000-ton hull, the cruiser is a TL14 long-range warship capable
of defeating enemy ships in combat. It has jump drive-R, manoeuvre drive-U and
power plant-U, giving jump-3 and 3-G acceleration. Fuel tankage of 1316 tons allows
two uses of the jump drive and supports the power plant for two months. Adjacent to
the bridge is a Model/6 computer. There are 44 staterooms, barracks for 12 troops
and 10 low berths. Interior fittings include a detention cell, an armoury and two
briefing rooms. There are 20 turrets: eight with missile racks and twelve with plasma
guns. A magazine carries 320 missiles. Defence screens are fitted. There are two
ship’s vehicles: an air/raft and two 30-ton ship’s boats. Cargo capacity is 127 tons.
The hull is streamlined to allow for gas giant refuelling.

The cruiser requires a crew of forty-one: commanding officer, exec, three admin
personnel, three pilots, three navigators, ten engineers, six gunners, a tactical officer,
ship’s doctor, two boat pilots, twelve troops and a troop commander. Most positions
are filled by multiple personnel in order to keep that position permanently manned, or
for casualty replacement. There are three staterooms for military passengers. The
cruiser takes 32 months to build and costs MCr813.93.

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COURIER
Using a standard 200-ton hull, the courier is a TL13 rapid communications and mail
ship. It has jump drive-E, manoeuvre drive-A and power plant-E, giving jump-5 and 1-
G acceleration. Fuel tankage of 108 tons allows one jump and supports the power
plant for two weeks. Adjacent to the bridge is a Model/5 computer. There are two
double staterooms and no low berths. There is one turret fitted with two beam lasers.
Defence screens are fitted. There are no ship’s vehicles. Cargo capacity is 10 tons.

The courier requires a crew of four: pilot, navigator, engineer and gunner. The courier
takes 12 months to build and costs MCr161.5.

FAR SCOUT
Using a streamlined 100-ton hull, the far scout is a TL9 military recon and scout
vessel, that also conducts surveys and transport duties for the scout service. It has
jump drive-A, manoeuvre drive-A and power plant-A, giving jump-2 and 2-G
acceleration. Fuel tankage of 24 tons allows one jump and supports the power plant
for four weeks. Adjacent to the bridge is a Model/2 computer. There are two
staterooms. There is one turret fitted with two pulse lasers. There are no ship’s
vehicles. Cargo capacity is 21 tons.

The far scout requires a crew of two: pilot/navigator and engineer, although in service
it can carry four crew if staterooms are shared. The far scout takes 10 months to
build and costs MCr40.

FRONTIER TRADER
Using a streamlined 200-ton hull, the frontier trader is a TL9 small cargo ship, owned
and operated by an independent merchant crew. It has jump drive-A, manoeuvre
drive-A and power plant-A, giving jump-1 and 1-G acceleration. Fuel tankage of 24
tons allows one jump and supports the power plant for four weeks. Adjacent to the
bridge is a Model/1 computer. There are six staterooms and 20 low berths. There is
one turret fitted with two pulse lasers. There is one ship’s vehicle: an air/raft. Cargo
capacity is 100 tons.

The frontier trader requires a crew of six: captain, pilot, navigator, engineer, medic
and gunner/cargo loader. The trader takes 12 months to build and costs MCr52.28.

FREIGHTER
Using a standard 3000-ton hull, the freighter is a TL9 bulk cargo ship operating
between high-population worlds. It has jump drive-T, manoeuvre drive-Q and power
plant-T, giving jump-2 and 1-G acceleration. Fuel tankage of 710 tons allows one
jump and supports the power plant for two months. Adjacent to the bridge is a
Model/2 computer. There are twenty-six staterooms and 20 low berths. There are no
weapons or hardpoints. There are two ship’s vehicles: a launch and a shuttle. Cargo
capacity is 1825 tons.

The freighter requires a crew of eighteen: captain, exec, three admin clerks, two
pilots, two navigators, six engineers, medic, cargo loader and steward. It can carry
eight fee-paying passengers. The freighter takes 34 months to build and costs
MCr662.40.

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EXPLORER
Using a streamlined 400-ton hull, the freighter is a TL9 survey and exploration craft. It
has jump drive-D, manoeuvre drive-D and power plant-D, giving jump-2 and 2-G
acceleration. Fuel tankage of 710 tons allows one jump and supports the power plant
for five months. Adjacent to the bridge is a Model/2 computer. There are twelve
staterooms and no low berths. Interior fittings include a briefing room and three
laboratories. There are four ship’s vehicles: two ATVs, an air/raft and a launch. Cargo
capacity is 70 tons. The hull is streamlined to allow for gas giant refuelling.

The explorer requires a crew of twelve: captain, pilot, two navigators, two engineers,
medic, boat pilot and four scientists. The explorer takes 16 months to build and costs
MCr164.68.

MINING VESSEL
Using a streamlined 1000-ton hull, the mining ship is a TL11 mineral survey and
asteroid mining vessel. It has jump drive-H, manoeuvre drive-P and power plant-H,
giving jump-2 and 4-G acceleration. Fuel tankage of 300 tons allows one jump and
supports the power plant for four months. Adjacent to the bridge is a Model/3
computer. There are twelve staterooms, barracks for 5 miners, and no low berths.
Interior fittings include a briefing room, mineral lab and a 400 ton ore bay. There is
one ship’s vehicle: a ship’s boat. Cargo capacity is 84 tons. The hull is streamlined to
allow for gas giant refuelling.

The mining vessel requires a crew of seventeen: captain, executive (who is the
mining manager), pilot, navigator, three engineers, medic, loader, boat pilot,
geologist, mine supervisor and five miners. The mining vessel takes 30 months to
build and costs MCr438.80.

MARS TRANSPORT
Using a standard 200-ton hull, the transport is a TL8 Martian colony resupply ship. It
has reaction drive-B and fission power plant-B, giving 0.2-G acceleration. Fuel
tankage of 40 tons provides 24 Burns of the reaction drive. The power plant provides
power for ten years. Adjacent to the bridge is a Model/1 computer. There are four
crew staterooms and four double staterooms for passengers. There are two ship’s
vehicles: two 10-ton Landers. Cargo capacity is 6 tons, in addition 50 tons of colonial
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machinery, materials and supplies is loaded into a re-entry cargo module that is
dropped through the atmosphere to land by parachute.

The transport requires a crew of four: captain/pilot, navigator, engineer and medic.
The transport carries eight passengers in double staterooms. The transport takes 12
months to build and costs MCr97.78.

LINER
Using a streamlined 800-ton hull, the liner is a TL12 passenger transport, operating
on well-established trade routes. It has jump drive-N, manoeuvre drive-G and power
plant-N, giving jump-4 and 2-G acceleration. Fuel tankage of 348 tons allows one
jump and supports the power plant for one month. Adjacent to the bridge is a Model/4
computer. There are twelve crew staterooms, forty passenger staterooms, and 40
low berths. There is one ship’s vehicle: a launch. Cargo capacity is 69 tons.

The liner requires a crew of twelve: captain, pilot, navigator, three engineers, medic
and five stewards, the most senior of which is the ship’s purser. The liner takes 28
months to build and costs MCr370.

PRIVATE YACHT
Using a streamlined 400-ton hull, the yacht is a TL11 private luxury transport for a
small number of individuals, or for a VIP with attendant staff. It has jump drive-F,
manoeuvre drive-F and power plant-F, giving jump-3 and 3-G acceleration. Fuel
tankage of 136 tons allows one jump and supports the power plant for one month.
Adjacent to the bridge is a Model/3 computer. There are ten crew staterooms, eight
guest staterooms and the master suite. Internal fittings include a briefing room and a
7-ton luxury private lounge. There are two ship’s vehicles: a launch and an ATV for
surface excursions. Cargo capacity is 56 tons.

The yacht requires a crew of ten: captain, exec, pilot, navigator, two engineers,
medic, launch pilot and two stewards. The yacht takes 16 months to build and costs
MCr197.45.

SMALL CRAFT
All of these small craft can be built at TL9 and above. All can be operated by a single
pilot.

FIGHTER
Using a streamlined 10-ton hull, the Fighter is a short-range combat vessel primarily
used in system defense and large scale naval engagements. It is capable of 6-G
acceleration. Fuel tankage of 1.5 tons supports the power plant for one week.
Adjacent to the bridge is a computer Model/1. The ship is fitted with a one-man
cockpit. The ship has one hardpoint and one ton allocated for fire control. Installed on
the hardpoint is a fixed mount double turret armed with pulse lasers. The ship costs
MCr10.841 and takes 6 months to build.

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LAUNCH CUSTOMISING SMALL CRAFT

Using a streamlined 20-ton hull the These standard designs come with
Launch is designed to provide basic excess space for customisation. This
transportation needs, and is space can be left empty for cargo, or can
sometimes used as a lifeboat in the
be used to various fittings. The purchaser
event of emergencies in deep space. It
decides how to use that space. A single
is capable of 1-G acceleration. Fuel
weapon can be mounted.
tankage of 0.4 tons supports the
power plant for one week. Adjacent to
the two-man bridge is a computer Passenger Couch: 0.5 ton, Cr20,000
Model/1. The ship has one hardpoint Small Cabin: 2 tons, Cr50,000
and one ton allocated for fire control. Stateroom: 4 tons, Cr500,000
This small craft does not come with Low Berth: 0.5 ton, Cr50,000
weapons installed. It comes with Fresher/Toilet: 0.5 ton, Cr20,000
10 tons of excess space for Cargo: as needed
customization. The ship costs MCr4.8 Fuel: as needed
and takes 6 months to build. Weapon: various prices

SHIP’S BOAT
Using a streamlined 30-ton hull, the Ship's Boat is a general-purpose small craft
designed to cover a range of tasks. It is capable of 6-G acceleration. Fuel tankage of
1.2 tons supports the power plant for one week. Adjacent to the one-man bridge is a
computer Model/1. The ship has one hardpoint and one ton allocated for fire control.
This small craft does not come with weapons pre-installed. It comes with 15 tons of
excess space for customization. The ship costs MCr16.7 and takes 7 months to
build.

LIGHT SHUTTLE
Using a streamlined 40-ton hull, the Light Shuttle primarily serves as cargo transport
on an interplanetary scale. It is capable of 5-G acceleration. Fuel tankage of 1.5 tons
supports the power plant for one week. Adjacent to the two-man bridge is a computer
Model/1. The ship has one hardpoint and one ton allocated for fire control. This small
craft does not come with weapons pre-installed. It comes with 25 tons of excess
space for customization. The ship costs MCr18.6 and takes 7 months to build.

HEAVY SHUTTLE
Using a 90-ton hull (1 Hull, 1 Structure), the Shuttle provides significantly more cargo
transport capacity than the less expensive light shuttle, at the cost of slower
performance. It is capable of 3-G acceleration. Fuel tankage of 1.9 tons supports the
power plant for one week. Adjacent to the bridge is a computer Model/1. There is a
two-man control cabin. The ship has one hardpoint and one ton allocated for fire
control. This small craft does not come with weapons pre-installed. It comes with 67
tons of excess space for customization. This ship requires a crew of two pilots, and
has room for an additional passenger in the cockpit. The ship costs MCr25.6 and
takes 9 months to build.

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CUTTER
Using a streamlined 50-ton hull, the Cutter is designed to take a sealed 30-ton
module from surface to orbit, allowing for a wide range of customized uses,
depending on the contents of the module. It is capable of 4-G acceleration. Fuel
tankage of 1.3 tons supports the power plant for one week. Adjacent to the two-man
bridge is a computer Model/1. The ship has one hardpoint and one ton allocated for
fire control, without weapons. Cargo capacity is 1.5 tons. It features a 30-ton module
clamp, into which one of a variety of specialized modules can be installed (see
below). The ship costs MCr24.3, not including modules, and takes 8 months to build.

 General Module (MCr2.5): Ten passenger couches, fresher, 22 tons cargo

 Cargo Module (MCr1.5): Space for 30 tons of cargo.
 Passenger Module (MCr2.5): Space for 18 passenger seats, and a fresher.
 Fuel Module (MCr1.2): Refines 28 tons of fuel in 24hrs.
 Lab Module (MCr8): Two airlocks, a laboratory and expedition equipment.
 Vehicle Module (MCr3): Garage for 20 tons of vehicle, plus repair shop.

EARLY SMALL CRAFT

These small craft are TL7 or 8, and all can be operated by a single pilot.

LANDER
Used to ferry passengers to a world surface from a ship in orbit. Using a 10-ton hull,
the lander is capable of 3 Burns, carries 1.5 tons of fuel and has a crew of two. It is
fitted with an airlock, landing suspension and chemical batteries that provide 7 days
of power. The craft has a 0.54 ton cargo bay and a cabin large enough to hold 6
passenger couches. The lander costs MCr6.39.

TRANSFER SHUTTLE
A common orbital transporter, ferrying passengers from a ship to a station, or from
station to station. It could easily carry people from planetary orbit out to the low orbit
of a moon. It has no landing gear. Using a 20-ton hull, the transfer shuttle is capable
of 4 Burns, carries 4 tons of fuel and has a crew of three (two pilots and a flight
attendant). It is fitted with an airlock, solar panels as well as chemical batteries that
provide 80 days of power. The transfer shuttle has a 5.85 ton cargo bay and a cabin
large enough to hold 10 passenger couches. The transfer shuttle costs MCr6.76.

SPACEPLANE
A streamlined cargo or passenger liner capable of taking off from a runway on a
planet, or gliding to the surface from orbit. The spaceplane has 6 tons of fuel, enough
for 2 Burns: one gets it into orbit, the other it uses to deorbit and begin its descent
into atmosphere (types 4-9). It has a crew of 4 and carries 30 passengers. The
spaceplane has a 40 ton hull and costs MCr16.58.

TRANSFER POD
An orbital crew vehicle, a 5-man taxi cab for transport between ships and stations, or
between stations. It includes re-entry capability for emergencies. Using a 5-ton hull,
the transfer pod is capable of 3 Burns, carries 0.75 tons of fuel and has a crew of five
(one pilot and four passengers). It is fitted with batteries and solar panels that provide
power for up to 7 days, and has a re-entry capsule fitted with heat shield and
parachute system. The transfer pod is very cramped, but does have a 0.41 ton cargo
area. It costs MCr 3.6.
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EQUIPMENT
A high-tech universe is filled with high-tech equipment, devices and vehicles. A
sample of useful equipment is listed here with the Tech Level of its introduction, its
weight (in kilogrammes) and the price (in credits). An item can be purchased at a
higher TL than its introduction, and may be of better quality and more reliable. Later
Tech Level improvements are noted where applicable; these improvements cost the
standard price when purchased on a world of that TL, unless stated otherwise.

COSTS OF LIVING
When not on a starship, characters must pay for lodging and food. The following
table provides costs of living. One column shows a monthly cost of living – assuming
long-term purchase of lodging and groceries. The second shows daily living, in case
of travelers and tourists paying for a motel or hotel room and buying prepared food.
Costs also include various expenses such as taxes and transportation.

Lifestyle Monthly Cost Daily Cost

Subsistence Cr500 Cr25
Common Cr1000 Cr50
High Status Cr5000 Cr300
Elite Status Cr15000 Cr1,000

ARMOUR
Mail Armour (TL1): A shirt of metal rings, or scales backed by a padded lining to
protect against hand-held weapons. Includes a metal helmet for the head. Damage
reduction 6 points from melee damage Weight 12kg. Cr1000.
Plate Armour (TL2): Fully-articulated plate armour, providing total coverage for 10
point melee protection. Includes a metal helmet. Weight 22kg. Cr5600.
Ballistic Jacket (TL6): A bullet-resistant tactical jacket worn by security forces and
soldiers. Damage reduction is 6 points from ballistic and melee damage. Weight 5 kg.
At TL 9 it weighs 3 kg. Cr400.
Concealed Vest (TL7): A tailored ballistic vest that can be worn under clothing.
Damage reduction 6 points from ballistic and melee damage. Weight 3kg. At TL 10
its weight is negligible. Cr1000.
Ablative Armour (TL9): Armour that vapourises when hit by a laser or plasma
weapon. Damage reduction is 6 points from energy and melee weapons. Weight 3kg.
Cr500.
Combat Armour (TL11): A sealed military combat suit that acts as a vacc suit
providing life support for 6 hours. Damage reduction is 12 points from ballistic,
energy and melee damage. Weight 10kg. Cr200,000.
Power Armour (TL 13): A 2.3m-tall powered armour suit, also known as ‘battle
dress’. In combat, treat Power Armour as a light armoured vehicle. It is fully sealed
and its internal motors provide great strength, it also acts as a vacc suit providing life
support in vacuum and even in hostile environments for 6 hours. It provides the

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wearer with Strength 18 as well as night-vision and infra-red sensors, long-range

radio and inertial locator. Weight (for the wearer) 6kg; actual weight 75kg. MCr2.
Vacc Suit (TL 7): A space-suit, providing 6 hours of air in unbreathable atmospheres
or very hot or cold environments. An insidious atmosphere will breach the seal of a
vacc suit in 2D6 hours. Damage reduction is 6 points from ballistic and melee
damage. Weight 20kg. At TL12, weight is 12kg. At TL 14, weight is 4kg. Cr10,000.
Hostile Environment Suit (TL8): A rugged space-suit with an armoured covering to
protect against incredible temperatures, flames, deep-sea pressures, radiation and
corrosive or insidious atmospheres. It provides air for 6 hours. Damage reduction is 6
points from ballistic, energy and melee damage. Weight 36kg. At TL 10 it weighs
20kg. At TL13 it weighs 12kg. Cr20,000.

Armour TL Cost Armour Pts Weight Type of Protection

Mail Armour 1 Cr1000 6 12 Melee
Plate Armour 2 Cr5600 10 22 Melee
Ballistic Jacket 6 Cr400 6 5 Ballistic, Melee
Concealed Vest 7 Cr1000 6 3 Ballistic, Melee
Ablative Armour 9 Cr500 6 3 Energy, Melee
Combat Armour 11 Cr200,000 12 10 Energy, Ballistic, Melee
Power Armour 13 MCr2 special 6 Energy, Ballistic, Melee
Vacc Suit 7 Cr10,000 6 20 Ballistic, Melee
Hostile Enviro Suit 8 Cr20,000 6 1 Energy, Ballistic, Melee

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RANGED WEAPONS
The following weapons use the Gun Combat skill.
Weapon TL Cost Range Dmg Weight Mag Ammo Notes
Cost
Bow 0 Cr60 100 2D6 1 - Cr10
Crossbow 2 Cr75 140 3D6 6 1 Cr1 Reload 1 full round
Hand Cannon 2 Cr150 60 4D6 6 1 Cr1 Slow Reload
Flintlock Pistol 3 Cr75 8 2D6 1 1 Cr1 Slow Reload
Flintlock Musket 3 Cr200 100 3D6 6 1 Cr1 Slow Reload
Shotgun 4 Cr200 20 4D6 3.5 6 Cr10 +1 DM
Autopistol 5 Cr150 10 2D6 1 16 Cr7
Flamethrower 5 Cr1200 20 4D6 4 10 Cr50 Flame
Carbine 5 Cr300 80 3D6 3 10 Cr12
Revolver 5 Cr150 10 2D6 1 6 Cr5
Rifle 5 Cr500 180 3D6 4 10 Cr15
Submachinegun 5 Cr500 30 2D6 2.5 30 Cr20 Auto 4
Assault Rifle 7 Cr300 50 3D6 4 30 Cr20 Auto 4
Light Machinegun 7 Cr1200 100 3D6 8 100 Cr50 Auto 10
Body Pistol 8 Cr500 5 2D6 0.5 6 Cr20
Gyrojet Pistol 8 Cr150 5 2D6 1 6 Cr8 Recoilless
Gyrojet Carbine 9 Cr900 100 3D6 3 20 Cr20 Auto 4, Recoilless
Laser Rifle 9 Cr2000 350 5D6 5 30R Cr150 Recoilless
Advanced Combat 10 Cr1000 200 3D6 4.5 50 Cr30 Auto 4, Smart
Rifle Scope
Stun Gun 10 Cr600 10 Stun 1 10R Cr10 Stun, Recoilless
Railgun 12 Cr1500 250 4D6 4 100 Cr40 Auto 10
Plasma Rifle 14 Cr3100 200 5D6 4 50R Cr150
Disintegrator Pistol 16 Cr3400 20 10D6 1 200R Cr200 Variable Energy
Disintegrator Rifle 16 Cr5500 200 10D6 3.5 200R Cr400 Variable Energy

NOTES
Auto 4 or 10: These weapons fire a burst of rounds with every pull of the trigger
which gives the user extra attacks. See page 13.
Body Pistols: These are very light, discreet and concealable weapons made from
advanced polymers.
Bows: Ammunition for a bow is held in a quiver of 20 arrows (1kg). A bow may fire
once a round; a crossbow requires 2 combat rounds to reload.
Flame: On a successful hit, roll 5+ on 2D6 for the target to catch fire. A burning
target takes 2D6 damage per combat round for 1D6 rounds, or until put out.
R: Denotes an energy weapon that requires a recharge after this number of rounds
has been expended; alternatively, a fresh powerpack (see Ammo Cost) can be used,
instead.
Recoilless: Used in zero-G; firing recoil firearms triggers a Vacc Suit 8+ roll or lose
next action to regaining control.
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Slow Reload: Reloading must be done while standing, and is a multi-stage process
involving gunpowder, shot and wadding. It takes 4 combat rounds to reload a single
shot in perfect conditions. See Reloading, page 13.
Smart Scope: Integral telescopic scope with night-vision capability, it also connects
wirelessly to its smart goggles, providing DM+1 to all attacks.
Stun: These weapons are designed to deal non-lethal damage and will incapacitate
a living target instead of killing it. On a successful hit, the victim makes an Endurance
roll. If this is failed, the target is incapacitated and unable to perform any actions for
1D6+2 minutes. If the End roll succeeds, the victim is still stunned for one round.
Variable Energy: The disintegrator weapon can deal variable damage, up to 10D6 in
one attack. Simply subtract the number of dice done in an attack from the Magazine.
If used at full power against a vehicle, it is treated as a ‘Heavy Weapon’.

WEAPON ACCESSORIES
The following accessories are commonly available for ranged weapons.
Laser Sight (TL7): The bonus for aimed shots increases to DM+2, but only within
Range. Weight negligible. Cr100.
Scope (TL6): A telescopic sight can be attached to a carbine or rifle-sized weapon. It
provides a +2 to hit with an aimed shot when Over Range if the user spends one
combat round aiming. Maximum range still applies. Weight 0.1kg. Cr200.
Sound Supressor (TL6): May be attached to any ballistic firearm (but not shotgun or
flintlock). Weight 0.1kg. Cr250.
Underbarrel Grenade Launcher (TL7): Functions as the heavy weapon grenade
launcher, but it fits under a rifle barrel and has 1 shot. Weight 1kg. Cr1000.

MELEE WEAPONS
The following weapons use the Melee Combat skill.
Weapon TL Cost Dmg Weight Notes
Unarmed - - 1D6 -
Studded Gauntlet 2 Cr25 1D6+1 -
Hand Axe 0 Cr25 2D6 0.5
Club 0 Cr10 1D6+3 0.5
Combat Knife 0 Cr10 2D6 0.25
Spear (1H) 0 Cr15 2D6 1.5
Spear (2H) 0 Cr35 3D6 2.5
Staff 0 Cr10 1D6+3 1
Sword 1 Cr150 3D6 1
Telescoping Sword 9 Cr1200 3D6 1
Battle-Axe (2H) 2 Cr300 4D6 3
Cutlass 3 Cr100 3D6 1.5
Machete 1 Cr75 2D6+1 0.5
Stun Baton 9 Cr300 Stun 1 Stun
Force Sword 14 Cr5500 6D6 0.5
Shield or Riot Shield 1 Cr20 - 3 DM+1

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NOTES
Force Sword: A handgrip that, when activated, produces a blade of energy. The
Force sword has an endurance of 100 hours before requiring a recharge.
Shield: A shield is used for defence in hand-to-hand combat, and provides a DM+1
in the Opposed Roll.
Stun: These weapons are designed to deal non-lethal damage and will incapacitate
a living target instead of killing it. On a successful hit, the victim makes an Endurance
roll. If this is failed, the target is incapacitated and unable to perform any actions for
1D6+2 minutes. If the End roll succeeds, the victim is still stunned for one round.

HEAVY WEAPONS
The following weapons use the Heavy Weapons skill. All are counted as ‘heavy
weapons’ when using the Vehicles in Combat rules, except the Anti-Tank Rocket
Launcher, Smart Missile and Anti-Tank Missile, which are instead counted as ‘anti-
vehicle weapons’, in those rules. See Page 15.

Weapon TL Cost Range Dmg Weight Mag Ammo Notes

Cost
Heavy Machinegun 6 Cr4,000 200 5D6 12 200 Cr100 Auto 10, Tripod
Anti-Tank Rocket 6 Cr2,000 50 9D6 10 1 Cr500
Launcher
Grenade Launcher 7 Cr400 100 varies 6 6 -
Underbarrel Grenade 7 Cr1,000 50 varies 1.5 1 -
Launcher
Anti-Tank Missile 7 Cr10,000 300 9D6 12 1 - Disposable, DM+2
Anti-Materiel Rifle 8 Cr750 200 5D6 12 5 Cr30
Auto-Railgun 12 Cr3,800 200 5D6 10 1000 Cr300 Auto 10, Bipod
Portable Plasma Gun 12 Cr20,000 180 10D6 10 40R Cr2,500
Plasma Cannon 12 Cr18,000 500 10D6 12 250R Cr2,500 Tripod, Auto 4
Smart Missile 13 Cr40,000 500 10D6 9 - - Disposable, DM+2
Disintegrator 16 Cr50,000 1000 20D6 14 2000R Cr1,000 Smart Scope,
Cannon Variable Energy,
Tripod

NOTES
Anti-Tank Rocket Launcher – This fires unguided munitions, until TL9 when it
becomes self-guiding with a DM+1. It is dangerous to use in enclosed spaces.
Anti-Tank Missile – A self-guiding, disposable, fire and forget anti-armour missile,
attacks with a DM+2. It is dangerous to use in enclosed spaces.
Portable Plasma Gun – Weight includes backpack power cell. Best utilized when
fitted to Power Armour.
Smart Missile – Much like the earlier Anti-Tank Missile, but this is autonomous and
can loiter high above the battlefield for up to 60 minutes to search for a target, It can
return to the firer if it is not activated, deduct the loiter time from its endurance.
Grenades – There are two types of grenade: hand grenades that are thrown, and
propelled grenades fired from grenade launchers. There are various loads a grenade
can take. The damage from fragmentation grenades decreases with distance from
the blast.
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Weapon TL Burst Radius Cost Weight Damage

Fragmentation 6 6m 30 0.5 4D6 (in 3m), 2D6 (within 6m)
Anti-Armour 7 1m 50 0.5 4D6, Propelled Only
Smoke 6 10m 15 0.5 10m-wide smoke cloud
Incendiary 6 3m 30 0.5 3D6, Flame
Stun 9 3m 30 0.5 Stun in 3m radius
Damper 10 10m 60 0.5 Crashes electronics, robots & computers.

TOOLS
There are a variety of toolkits, with diagnostic units and tools suited to the kit’s
purpose.
Electronics Toolkit (TL5): For repairing, constructing and modifying complex
electronic devices. Weight 8kg, cost Cr1,000.
Engineering Toolkit (TL7): For the maintenance and repair of power plants and
ship-board systems. Weight 12kg, cost Cr2,000.
Construction Kit (TL4): Wood and metal working tools for construction. At TL7 most
of the tools are powered. Weight 12kg, cost Cr1500.
Forensics Toolkit (TL8): Used for investigating crime scenes and testing samples.
Weight 6kg, cost Cr1,000.
Security Kit (TL7): Allows an attempt to be made to crack mechanical locks as well
as card and other electronic locks. This kit is illegal on worlds of law level 8+; on such
worlds the cost rises to Cr2,000 or more. Weight 0.5kg, cost Cr500.
Mechanical Toolkit (TL4): Required for repairs and construction. This kit contains
diagnostic sensors, hand tools, computer analysis programs (at appropriate tech
levels) and spare parts. Weight 12kg, cost Cr1,000.
Medical Kit (TL7): This doctor’s medical kit contains diagnostic devices and
scanners, surgical tools and a plethora of drugs and antibiotics, allowing a medic to
practice his art in the field. Weight 10kg, cost Cr1,000.
Scientific Toolkit (TL9): Required for scientific testing and analysis. This kit contains
diagnostic sensors, hand tools, computer analysis programs (at appropriate tech
levels) and spare parts. Weight 10kg, cost Cr1,000.
Materials Replicator (TL16): Using matter-energy conversion technology, this
mobile unit recycles inorganic materials in order to fabricate a finished item, at the
atomic level. It can create small technical parts, tools, small amounts of construction
materials, items of clothing and so on. It must contain the pattern in its database and
be regularly topped up with inorganic matter. Weight 25kg, cost MCr2.0.

SURVIVAL GEAR
Lantern (TL3): Wind-proof, oil burning lamp with 6 hour endurance. At TL 6 this is
electric. At TL 10 it has unlimited endurance. Weight 0.5kg, cost Cr20.
Flashlight (TL5): An electric torch with a 6 hour endurance. AT TL 10 it has
unlimited endurance. Weight 0.5kg, Cost Cr10.
Night-Vision Goggles (TL7): These goggles provide vision in dark conditions as
long as there is some ambient light. At TL 9 they can operate in total darkness.
Weight 0,25kg, cost Cr500.
Expedition Tent: A configurable canvas tent for up to three people. At TL11 it is self-
pitching and self-striking. Weight 3kg, cost Cr200.
Tarpaulin (TL1): A versatile waterproof sheet with eyelets and cordage. At TL12, (for
Cr2,000) it has chameleon-pattern programming, and can mask the heat of anything
beneath it. Weight 2kg, cost Cr10.

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Ration Pack (TL3): Three days food for one person. Weight 2kg, cost Cr10.
Survival Mask (TL5): A combined filter, compressor and gas mask for use on many
worlds and in many situations. Weight negligible, cost Cr100.
Cold Weather Clothing (TL1): Useful in arctic-style climates. Weight 2kg, cost
Cr200.
Swim Equipment (TL6): Wetsuit, fins, mask, oxygen tank (with 3 hours air) and
regulator. At TL 9 the air supply is unlimited, due to artificial gill technology (only
useable on worlds with Atmosphere types 4-9). Weight 12kg, cost Cr500.
Portable Generator (TL5): A hydrocarbon-powered electrical generator, with 7-day
endurance. At TL 12 the generator is fusion powered, and has an endurance of two
months (but costs Cr500,000). Weight 15kg, cost Cr800.
Food Replicator (TL16): Using matter-energy conversion technology, this mobile
unit can be filled with any biological matter and then used to produce all kinds of tasty
and nutritional meals and foodstuffs, limited only by the types of food that it contains
the patterns for. Weight 6kg, cost Cr120,000.
Thruster Pack (TL9): A manoeuvring pack worn with a vacc suit, allowing the user
to move freely in zero gravity. Weight 5kg, cost Cr2,000.

ELECTRONIC DEVICES
Binoculars (TL3): These optical aids are electronic at TL 8, with low-light and
recording capability. Weight 1kg, cost Cr100.
Drone (TL8): A palm-sized prop-powered flying drone used for remote viewing of a
location. It requires connection via a portable computer, and is fitted with low-light
camera. It has an endurance of 10 minutes and a maximum range of 500m. At TL 10
it is grav-powered and has endurance of 1 hour and range of 5 km. At TL 14 it is
fitted with a multi-sensor (cost is ten times more). Weight 1kg, cost Cr500.
Robot (TL9): A waist-high utility robot, that comes in many different configurations,
wheeled or tracked (Move 10), with two utility arms that can be swapped out for one
or two tools useful for the robot’s primary purpose. The robot has a portable
computer at the TL of the world it was purchased on. At TL 12, tracks will be
swapped for a ground-effect grav motor (Move 10, sprint 30). Weight 100kg, cost
Cr30,000.
Multi-sensor (TL12): Handheld device used for exploration and survey work. It
detects and records atmospheric makeup, radiation, magnetism, electrical activity,
chemicals and biological molecules, as well as nearby metals. It includes digital
camera and sound recorder. Weight 1kg, cost Cr8,000.
Headset Radio (TL7): Has a 100m range, for use in vehicles and buildings. At TL10
the range is 1km. Weight negligible. Cr100.
Hand Radio (TL6): Hand-held radio with 1km range. At TL10 range is 5km, at TL12
range is 50km. Weight 0.25kg. Cr200.
Base Radio (TL5): A vehicle or base station radio with a range of 5 km. At TL7
range is 25 km and weight is 5kg. Cr2000.
Long-Range Radio (TL12): A high-tech long distance radio with range 500 km. At
TL14 range is 10,000 km. Weight 2kg. Cr3000.
Jammer (TL9): A strictly military frequency jammer, with a range of 400m. At TL 11 it
has a range of 1 km and with a successful Computer 8+ roll, can identify and locate
all transmitters within that range. Weight 0.5kg. Cr10,000.

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Portable Computer (TL7): A portable computer with a folding screen for use in
business, science or as a vehicle workstation.
PORTABLE COMPUTERS
Computer rating varies with TL. Weight 4kg. At
Rating TL Cost
TL12 it includes holographic display. At TL 10 Model/01 7 Cr 250
weight is 2kg, at TL12 weight is 1kg. For cost and Model/02 9 Cr 500
rating, see table. Model/03 10 Cr1,000
Hand Computer (TL7): Handheld computer with Model/04 12 Cr 2,500
a touch screen. Computer rating varies with TL. Model/05 13 Cr 4,000
At TL12 it includes holographic display. Weight Model/06 15 Cr 6,000
0.2 kg. Cost is twice that of a portable computer. Model/07 16 Cr 8,000

USING PORTABLE COMPUTERS

Use a portable computer to solve problems, and store and retrieve data. Also use it
to jack into equipment and reprogram or operate that equipment (such as a camera,
sentry gun, elevator, sensor, etc). To operate or reprogram machinery or devices
requires a Computer roll, difficulty decided by the Referee. When attempting to
operate something controlled by a far more powerful mainframe (see Page 28), a
password is required,
MEDICAL GEAR or a decryption attempt. To do this roll 12+, add Computer
skill, and add the difference in TLs between PC’s portable computer and the
mainframe being attacked.

VEHICLES
APC (TL6): A military lightl-armoured tracked or wheeled vehicle, called an
Armoured Personnel Carrier. It can carry 8 troops and has a turret, ready to be fitted
with a heavy weapon of appropriate Tech Level to the world the APC was bought. It
has a maximum speed of 60kph (off-road 40kph), and a range of 600km. At TL 12
range is 5,000km. Mass is 10 tons, cost is Cr65,000 (without heavy weapon).
Air/Raft (TL9): An open-topped vehicle for 4 people supported by anti-gravity
motors. It is a ubiquitous, remarkably reliable and flexible vehicle with a speed of
120kph and an endurance of ten weeks between recharges. Mass is 4 tons, cost is
Cr275,000.
ATV (TL6): A pressurized all-terrain ground vehicle, capable of floating on water, with
bunks and kitchen to support eight people on an expedition, or 16 if the trip is 12
hours or less. An ATV has a hardpoint for a turret, but does not come with a weapon
normally. It has a maximum speed of 60kph (off-road 40kph), and a range of 600km.
At TL 12 range is 5,000km. Mass is 10 tons, cost is Cr50,000.
Destroyer (TL10): A fast maneuverable long-endurance watercraft built for military
action, intended to escort and patrolling. Powered by a fusion power plant, the
destroyer carries two deck-mounted turrets fitted with heavy weapons. Cargo
capacity is limited to 40 tons, mostly used to carry ammunition and supplies. This has
a crew of 10, it cruises at 40kph and has an endurance of 10 weeks before refueling
is required. In combat, treat as a heavily armoured vehicle. Mass 800 tons, cost
MCr5 (without heavy weapons).
G/Carrier (TL12): A military light-armoured grav APC with two crew and up to 6
troops carried as passengers. It includes a turret ready to be fitted with a heavy
weapon appropriate to the TL of the world the G-Carrier was bought. The G/Carrier
can reach orbit (taking a number of hours equal to the world’s Size code). It has a
maximum speed of 400kph and an endurance of ten weeks between recharges.
Mass is 8 tons, cost is MCr1 (without heavy weapon).
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Grav Belt (TL12): A grav belt resembles a parachute harness, and is fitted with
artificial gravity modules allowing the wearer to fly. Endurance is four hours before a
recharge. At TL 15, endurance is 24 hours. Weight is 10kg, cost is Cr100,000.
Ground Car (TL6): A ground car is a conventional wheeled automobile, with a speed
of 120kph and a range of 600km. At TL 9, cars on established road networks are
self-driving. An off-road variant costs 50% more. Mass 2 tons, Cr6,000.
Helicopter (TL6): A rotor-driven aircraft capable of vertical take-off and landing. The
helicopter can carry 500kg of cargo, or 10 people, with a speed of 350kph and a
range of 1200km. It has a mass of 10 tons and costs Cr250,000.
Hovercraft (TL7): A vehicle that travels over land or water on a cushion of air
provided by a downward blast, the hovercraft is only usable on words with a Thin
atmosphere or thicker. The hovercraft cruises at 60kph and has a range of 2,000km,
and carries 3 tons of cargo space, or twelve passengers. Mass 8 tons, cost
Cr200,000.
Powerboat (TL7): Large watercraft using hydrofoils to achieve exceptional speed
and performance. It cruises a 60 kph and has a range of 800km. The powerboat can
carry 8 passengers, three crew and 10 tons of cargo. In combat, treat as a light-
armoured vehicle. Mass 60 tons, cost Cr60,000.
Small Steamship TL4): A watercraft that is propelled by a steam engine. The
steamship has a cargo capacity of 50 tons and ten passengers. It has a crew of five.
It has a speed 20kph and a range of 4,000km. In combat, treat as a light-armoured
vehicle. Mass 100 tons, cost Cr60,000. At TL 6 it uses petrochemicals.
Submersible (TL5): A watercraft designed to operate under an ocean’s surface.
Submersibles are often used as transport between domed cities on waterworlds and
other planets with large fluid oceans. The submersible can carry 30 tons of cargo and
10 passengers. It has speed of 30kph on the surface, half that underwater, with a
range of 5,000km. At TL 11, a fusion powerplant is fitted, with a ten week endurance,
as well as a supercavitating drive that allows speeds of 180kph underwater (doubling
the cost). The submarine has a crew of 5. In combat, treat as a heavily armoured
vehicle. Mass 500 tons, cost MCr2.
Twin Jet Aircraft (TL6): A fixed-wing aircraft propelled by jet engines, often used to
transport cargo. It can carry 6 passengers or 5 tons of cargo at 600kph for 4,000km
or six hours. At TL 9 the twin jet is capable of vertical take-off and landing (double the
cost). Mass 12 tons, MCr1.
Grav Hauler (TL10): A large grav vehicle designed to lift heavy objects and carry
them to new locations. It can be used as a flying crane, or as a cargo hauler, lifting
cargo containers to fit flush with its lower hull. The grav hauler has a crew of 2 and
can carry 20 tons of cargo. It has a speed of 400kph and an endurance of ten weeks
between recharges. It can reach orbit like a G-Carrier. In combat, treat as a lightly
armoured vehicle. Mass is 30 tons, cost is MCr1.
Grav Bus (TL10): A passenger and freight carrying grav vehicle, operating at
starports and cities on high-tech worlds. The grav hauler has a crew of 1 and can
carry 8 tons of cargo or 30 passengers. It has a speed of 400kph and an endurance
of ten weeks between recharges. It can reach orbit like a G-Carrier. Mass is 14 tons,
cost is Cr500,000.

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PSIONICS
Psionics are latent mental powers that defy the laws of physics. The Referee’s
setting might include them in one form or another. Psionics are divided into six
different categories, called talents. These talents are: Awareness, Clairvoyance,
Telekinesis, Telepathy, Teleportation and Special. The setting might have a
humanoid alien race with Telepathy, or there might be a government intelligence
agency that trains psions as secret agents with the Telepathy and Clairvoyance
talents. One famous science-fiction setting has an elite order of warrior monks who
are trained in the Telekinesis and Telepathy talents. Use these rules as required,
they are wholly optional.

PSIONIC STRENGTH
Psionics are powered by the Psionic Strength characteristic (Psi), typically rated 2-
12. However, if the character has been trained to use psionic talents either by his
alien upbringing, or is a gifted individual trained by some organization, then his Psi
should be rolled on 1D6+6. To activate a talent, the psion must spend the listed
number of Psi points, which are taken temporarily from the Psi characteristic. If this
cost brings them below zero Psionic Strength, then any excess points are applied to
their Endurance score as damage. A character with no Psionic Strength points
remaining cannot activate a talent. Each talent notes a Psi level required for its
activation, which is also the cost in Psi points to activate. It also notes the talent’s
range. Characters regain their full Psi points after an 8-hour rest.

GAINING TALENTS
As already discussed, gaining a talent might depend on the details of the psionics
that appear within the setting. Only one or two might be available, and there is
probably no choice. Or in some settings, all of the possible talents are available to be
learned. In that case, allow a psionic ‘student’ to select ONE talent. He may also
attempt to gain further talents. For each additional talent, make a Psi characteristic
roll to receive that talent, DM-1 per talent the character already has. His training may
cost as much as Cr100,000 and take 4 months, there may be other difficulties and
challenges in finding a teacher. The talents are:

Awareness – Powers that allow the psion’s mind to control his own body.
Clairvoyance – These powers permit perception at a distance.
Telekinesis – Mind over matter.
Telepathy – Involving the reading of minds and mental communication.
Teleportation – Moving from one point to another instantly.
Special – Some other power, unique to the Referee’s setting.

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AWARENESS
Awareness is the psionic talent which allows greater control over one's own body.
Enhanced Characteristic (Psi 1+, Personal) – The character may add psionic
points to their Str, End, or Dex as desired. This costs 1 Psi point per characteristic
point added and lasts for 10 minutes.
Suspended Animation (Psi 3, Personal) – Enter a meditative state for 7 continuous
days without requiring food or water or a breathable atmosphere. The psion may
terminate this talent at will during this period.
Regeneration (Psi 9 but see below for cost; Personal) – The psion can
immediately (within 1 combat round) heal their own Str, Dex, or End points lost due to
combat damage. This requires 2 Psi point per characteristic point healed but requires
a minimum of Psi 9 to use.

CLAIRVOYANCE
Clairvoyance allows the character to sense events at a location away from the
viewer. It usually cannot be blocked.
Sense (Psi 1, 50m) – The character learns the rudimentary characteristics of a
nearby location when applying this ability.
Clairvoyance/Clairaudience (Psi 5, 25km) – This ability allows the character to
view (clairvoyance) or to hear (clairaudience) at a specific displaced point up to Very
Distant range (up to 500 km range).
Clairsentience (Psi 7, 5km) – The psion can both hear and see from any point
within Very Distant range.

TELEKINESIS
Telekinesis allows the psion to manipulate objects without physically touching them.
Lift 1 gram (Psi 1, 50m) – Lift and maneuver up to a 1gm object for 1 minute (10
combat rounds)
Lift 1kg (Psi 2, 50m) – Lift and maneuver up to a 1kg object for 1D6 combat rounds.
Can cause 1D6 damage if hurled at a target.
Lift 100kg (Psi 5, 50m) – Lift and maneuver up to a 100kg object for 1D6 combat
rounds. This will cause 2D6 damage if hurled at a target.
Choke (Psi 8, 10m) – Grab a single humanoid by its throat, or equivalent, and
suffocate them for 1D6 damage per round, for a maximum number of rounds equal to
the character's full Psi score.
Microkinesis (Psi 10 but see below for cost, Personal) – Manipulate microscopic
objects. Microkinesis may be used for subtle, but highly effective attacks on internal
organs, causing 1D6 damage per 2 Psi points invested. Alternatively, this power may
aid microsurgery by DM+1 per 3 Psi points invested. Finally, the psion may assist
Engineering and other repair skill throws by DM+1 per 3 Psi points invested in
microkinesis.

TELEPATHY
Telepathy is the talent of establishing mind-to-mind contact. It is usually subtle but
can also be used to bluntly crush the wills of those who oppose the telepath. Note
that thoughts are universal, and thus psionic communications ignores language
barriers. However, psionic scan or communication with a target significantly different
from the user (such as an insectoid alien scanned by a human) incurs double Psi
cost).

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Life Detection (Psi 1, 20m) – Detect the presence of other minds, their general type
(human, alien, animal, etc.), and location.
Telempathy (Psi 2, 20m) – Read and communicate basic emotions; may influence
the behavior of others, both sentient beings and aliens, subject to Referee discretion.
Read Surface Thoughts (Psi 3, 20m) – Read active, current thoughts. A non-
Psionic target cannot notice this talent being used on them, but a Telepathic Shield
(see below) blocks the attempt.
Communicate (Psi 5, 5km) – Communicate telepathically with one individual. The
target does not have to be a telepath to communicate with the psychic.
Emotion (Psi 6, 50m) – Causes one target to feel a very strong emotion (such as
fear) for 1D6 combat rounds.
Suggestion (Psi 7, 5km) – Plants a simple hypnotic suggestion in the target. Note
that targets will not obey suggestions which may physically harm themselves; if the
suggestion is that the character will harm a friend, they may make an Int roll to resist
the effect.
Probe (Psi 9, 1m) – Reads deep thoughts and long-term memories.
Assault (Psi 10, 250m) – A brute-force telepathic assault, causing 4D6 damage to
the target. Apply damage first to the target’s Psionic Strength, then Int and finally
End. Characters who are reduced to 0 in all these characteristics die from brain
hemorrhage. Lost Int regenerates at a rate of one point per day.
Domination (Psi 12, 5km) – Mind-control one target for 1D6 minutes. The control is
complete and may include harming the target's friends. Only when the dominated
target is forced to harm itself, it may make an Int roll to shake off the mind control.
Shields and Telepathic Combat – All telepaths can shield themselves, and other
individuals in a 3m radius from telepathic intrusion. Attempting to use a telepathic
talent against a shielded target requires an Opposed Psi roll. The defender wins on a
tie. If the intruder wins, they may use their talent as desired at the usual cost, and the
defender loses one point of Psionic Strength. If the intruder loses, they fail to
penetrate the shield and expend one point of Psionic Strength.

TELEPORTATION
Teleportation allows instant travel between locations. The psion may only teleport
their body, clothes, and personal equipment. Characters cannot teleport over a height
differential of over a kilometer, as the difference in potential energy heats or cools the
user, and beyond one kilometre, the user's body temperature will change to a lethal
degree.
Blink (1 Psi, 5m) – Teleport 3m in any direction while carrying up to a light load.
Teleport Self (Psi 7, 5000km) – Teleport up to 5000km with up to a double load.
Heavy Teleport (Psi 11, 500km) – As teleport self, but allows up the teleporter to
teleport while carrying over a double load (including carrying another living being).

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PSIONIC EQUIPMENT
The following psionic equipment is available in settings using psionics.

Item TL Cost
Psionic Booster 9 Cr500
Psionic Inhibitor 9 Cr4000
Psionic Shield Helmet 8 Cr8000
Psionic Shield Implant 13 MCr1

Psionic Booster
This drug stores up to 6 points of
Psi. If taken at full Psi, it temporarily
increases Psi by 4. Whenever taking
more than one dose per week,
make an End roll or suffer 3D6
damage and permanently lose one
point of Psi.

Psionic Inhibitor
This drug forces the subject to make
a Psi roll to use any psionic talent
and prevents Psi regeneration. This
drug lasts for 4D6 hours, but the
character can make an End roll
each hour to shrug off its influence.

Psionic Shield Helmet

This fully protects a non-psion
wearer from telepathic intrusion.
However, a character wearing this
helmet cannot themselves use
psionics. This helmet does not
protect its wearer from the effects of
other psionic talents, such as
telekinetic attacks.

Psionic Shield Implant

Like the psionic shield helmet
(above) but implanted and invisible
to the casual observer.

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WORLDS
The Referee may be using a published setting with its own subsector star maps, or
he might want to create his own. Use the following rules for doing so.

STAR MAPPING
In the Retro Sci-Fi Rules, star systems are marked on hex maps, each hex
representing one parsec. For each star system, the Referee will generate a Universal
World Profile for the primary world (or ‘mainworld’) of the system. The smallest
astrogation map size, is the subsector, measuring 8 hexes wide by 10 hexes high. A
larger map size, the sector, measures four subsectors by four subsectors.

There is usually a one-half chance that a world (and its attendant stellar system) will
be in a hex. Systematically check each hex on the subsector map, throwing 1D6 and
marking the hex with a circle if the result is a 4, 5, or 6. This indicates that a world is
present; otherwise, leave the hex blank. The Referee might choose to alter the
chance of worlds, making them more frequent or less frequent to correspond to
specific regions of the galaxy.

Once the worlds have been created, consider the subsector as a whole. Worlds may
be independent, or part of a larger interstellar state that spans many star systems.
Interstellar governments range from loose confederations of a few worlds with
common trade or defense policies or cultural links, to vast star empires containing
thousands of star systems across dozens of subsectors or sectors. If there are any
interstellar borders in the subsector, they should be drawn on the map. Within the
subsector, governments will have established communications and trade routes
connecting some (but not all) worlds. Messages between businesses, governments
and people generally follow these routes. Communications routes should be carefully
drawn so as to avoid making all parts of the subsector accessible; a subsector should
have some areas as backwaters for exploration and adventure. Communications
routes are drawn as single lines connecting hexes on the subsector grid.

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CREATING WORLDS
The basic characteristics of any world are Size, Atmosphere, Hydrographics,
Population, Government, Law Level, Technology Level, Starport and Bases, and are
all generated using 2D6 throws, with DMs applied based on other characteristics.
These characteristics are referred to as the Universal World Profile (UWP). Referees
are encouraged to use the information rolled to invent details for the world, fleshing it
out with a description of the environment and of the society that inhabits it.

The Universal World Profile (UWP) – A concise one-line coding to encapsulate

data on an individual world in a manner that can be quickly and easily read. Note
that, like the Universal Character Profile, it uses letters for numbers greater than 9.

Ceti Prime 0105 D8676CA-7 N Agricultural RG

This world, Ceti Prime, is in subsector hex 0105, and has a D-class starport.
Following this are the values of its Size, Atmosphere, Hydrographics, Population,
Government, Law Level and (after the hyphen) Technology Level. The N denotes a
Naval Base, and next is any trade classification. Ceti Prime is an Agricultural world. R
denotes it is a Red Zone. The presence of the letter G on the end indicates that there
is at least one gas giant in the star system.

WORLD SIZE
The Size characteristic for inhabitable worlds ranges from 0 to 10, and is determined
by rolling 2D6–2.

Digit World Size Surface Gravity (gs)

0 800 km (typically an asteroid) Negligible
1 1,600 km 0.05
2 3,200 km 0.15
3 4,800 km 0.25
4 6,400 km 0.35
5 8,000 km 0.45
6 9,600 km 0.7
7 11,200 km 0.9
8 12,800 km 1.0
9 14,400 km 1.25
A 16,000 km 1.4

High and Low Gravity Worlds – Worlds where the gravity is 0.75 or less are low-
gravity worlds. Common features include improbable-looking rock formations, thin
and spindly life forms and flying as a common form of locomotion). High-gravity
worlds have gravity 1.25 times or more than of Earth. They tend to be extremely
dense worlds; common features include wide rocky plains, squat, muscular
creatures, and plant life that spreads out like lichen instead of growing upwards.
Crawling, burrowing or swimming are the commonest forms of locomotion. Humans
find high-gravity worlds unpleasant. Characters on high-gravity worlds suffer a –1 DM
to all physical skill and characteristic rolls until they acclimatize, a process which
takes 1D6 weeks.

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ATMOSPHERE
A planet’s Atmosphere is generated by Digit Atmosphere Pressure
rolling 2D6–7 and adding the planet’s Size. 0 None, vacuum 0.00
If a world's Size equals 0 or 1, then the 1 Trace 0.001 to 0.09
world's Atmosphere equals 0. The 2 Very Thin, Tainted 0.1 to 0.42
Atmosphere code should never be higher 3 Very Thin 0.1 to 0.42
than 12. 4 Thin, Tainted 0.43 to 0.7
5 Thin 0.43 to 0.7
Vacuum or Trace – A vacc suit is required. 6 Standard 0.71–1.49
Tainted – Tainted atmospheres contain 7 Standard, Tainted 0.71–1.49
8 Dense 1.5 to 2.49
some element that is harmful to humans,
9 Dense, Tainted 1.5 to 2.49
such as an unusually high proportion of A Exotic Varies
carbon dioxide, sulfur or methane. A B Corrosive Varies
character who breathes a tainted C Insidious Varies
atmosphere without a survival mask will
suffer 1D6 damage every few minutes (or hours, depending on the level of taint).
Exotic – An exotic atmosphere is unbreathable by humans, but is not otherwise
hazardous. A character needs an air supply to breath in an exotic atmosphere.
Corrosive – Corrosive atmospheres are highly dangerous. A character who breathes
in a corrosive atmosphere will suffer 1D6 damage each round. A vacc suit is
required.
Insidious – An insidious atmosphere is like a corrosive one, but it is so corrosive that
it attacks equipment as well. The chief danger in an insidious atmosphere is that the
toxic gases will destroy the seals and filters on the character’s protective gear. An
insidious atmosphere worms its way past protection after 2D6 hours, on average. A
vacc suit is required.

HYDROGRAPHICS WORLD POPULATION

Hydrographic percentage is obtained by A world's Population is generated by
rolling 2D6–7 and adding the world’s rolling 2D6–2. If Size is 2 or less,
Size. If the Size is 0 or 1, the then DM-2; if Atmosphere is A, B or
Hydrographics is 0; if Atmosphere is 0,1, C then DM-2. If the subsector is on a
2, A, B or C, then apply a DM-4 to the sparsely populated frontier, then
roll. A world's Hydrographics value DM-2.
should never exceed 10.

Digit Hydrographic Percentage Digit Population

0 No standing water 0 None
1 10% 1 Few
2 20% 2 Hundreds
3 30% 3 Thousands
4 40% 4 Tens of thousands
5 50% 5 Hundreds of thousands
6 60% 6 Millions
7 70% 7 Tens of millions
8 80% 8 Hundreds of millions
9 90% 9 Billions
A No land masses A Tens of billions

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STARPORT
Starport type is determined only after Population has Roll Starport Class
been established. Many worlds have starports, their 2 or less X
presence being essential to interstellar trade and 3-4 E
5-6 D
commerce. To determine the mainworld’s primary
7-8 C
starport, roll 2D6-7, add the world’s Population value 9-10 B
and then consult the table. 11+ A

Class Descriptor Best Fuel Shipyard Capacity Possible Bases

A Excellent Refined Can construct all ship types Naval, Scout
B Good Refined Can construct non-starships Naval, Scout
C Routine Unrefined Can perform reasonable repairs Scout
D Poor Unrefined None Scout
E Frontier None None None
X None None None None

GOVERNMENT
The Government characteristic is determined by rolling 2D6–7 and adding the world’s
Population. If a world's Population equals 0, then the world's Government equals 0.
The Government code should never be higher than 15, nor lower than 0.

Type Government
0 None GAS GIANTS
1 Company/Corporation A star system may have one or more
2 Participating Democracy gas giant planets (similar to Saturn or
3 Self-Perpetuating Oligarchy Neptune). The presence of a gas
4 Representative Democracy giant allows starships equipped with
5 Feudal Technocracy fuel scoops to refuel by skimming;
6 Captive Government this eliminates fuel cost for the vessel
7 Balkanization
and reduces Running Costs. It also
8 Civil Service Bureaucracy
9 Impersonal Bureaucracy
allows refueling at systems that do
A Charismatic Dictator not have starports. Gas giant
B Non-Charismatic Leader skimming takes 3 hours and requires
C Charismatic Oligarchy a 6+ Pilot roll for success. Gas giants
D Religious Dictatorship are relatively common. For each
E Religious Autocracy system throw 5+ on 2D6 for at least
F Totalitarian Oligarchy one gas giant to be present in the
system.

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LAW LEVEL
Law level is determined by rolling 2D6–7 and adding the Government characteristic.
If the world’s Government is 0, then the world’s Law Level is also 0. Law Level
should never be less than 0.

Digit Descriptor Not Allowed

0 No Law No restrictions; candidate for Amber Zone status
1 Low Law Poison gas, explosives, undetectable weapons, weapons or mass
destruction
2 Low Law Portable energy weapons (except ship-mounted weapons)
3 Low Law Heavy weapons
4 Medium Law Light assault weapons and submachine guns
5 Medium Law Personal concealable weapons
6 Medium Law All firearms except shotguns and stunners; carrying weapons
discouraged
7 High Law Shotguns
8 High Law All bladed weapons, stunners
9 High Law Any weapons outside one’s residence; candidate for Amber Zone
status
A+ Extreme Any weapons allowed at all; candidate for Amber Zone status

TECHNOLOGY LEVEL
The Technology Level (also called ‘tech level’ or TL) of the world is determined by
rolling 1D6 and adding DMs from the following table. A world’s Technology Level
may not be below 0.

Value Starport Size Atmosphere Hydrographics Population Government

0 +2 +1 +1 +1
1 +2 +1 +1
2 ` +1 +1 +1
3 +1 +1 +1
4 +1 +1
5 +1 +1
6
7 +2
8
9 +1 +1
A +6 +1 +2 +2
B +4 +1 +3
C +2 +1 +4
D +1 –2
E +1 –2
F +1
X –4

Certain world conditions must meet a minimum Technology Level requirement. If the
world possesses a lower technology level, then the Referee should increase the
world’s tech level to the required minimum. If the Atmosphere is 3 or less, or A, B or
C, then TL must be 7 or more. If Atmosphere is 4, 7 or 9 then the TL must be 5 more.
Further advice is given in the Setting section, on page 4.

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TRADE CODES
Trade codes are assigned based on a world’s UWP values, as noted below.

Classification Code Size Atmos. Hydro Pop. Gov. Law TL

Agricultural Ag 4–9 4–8 5–7
Asteroid As 0 0 0
Desert De 2+ 0
Garden Ga 5, 6, 8 4–9 4–8
Ice-Capped Ic 0–1 1+
Industrial In 0–2, 4, 7, 9 9+
Non-Agricultural Na 0–3 0–3 6+
Non-Industrial Ni 4–6
Poor Po 2–5 0–3
Rich Ri 6, 8 6–8
Water World Wa 10
Vacuum Va 0

BASES
Star systems may have bases for military forces, the star navy, the scouts, or for
other arms of the state. While other bases may exist, the two primary bases are the
Naval Base and the Scout Base. If both are present, the UWP code is ‘A’.

Naval Base (N) – A naval base is a supply depot, refueling station, repair yard or
fortress of the star navy. Naval vessels can obtain refined fuel and supplies here. If a
world possesses a Class-A or Class-B starport, throw 8+ on 2D6 to determine the
presence of a naval base in the system.
Scout Base (S) – A scout base or outpost offers refined fuel and supplies to scout
ships. If a world does not possess a Class-E or Class-X starport, throw 7+ on 2D6 to
determine the presence of a scout base in the system. This roll suffers a DM -1 if the
world has a Class-C starport, a DM -2 for a Class-B starport and a DM -3 for a Class-
A starport.
Research Base (B) – A scientific research base established by the interstellar
government. It will be restricted to authorized ships and personnel and may not
advertise the nature of its projects.

TRAVEL ZONES
Most worlds are assumed to be civilized, or at least amenable to adventurers and
other visitors. Some, however, are caught in the throes of war, plagued by disease,
or simply not ready for interstellar visitors. Such worlds are classified by travel zones
to denote such status. In most cases, the Referee should indicate travel zones based
on the information available. Two such zone types exist: amber and red.

Amber Zone – An Amber world has been deemed dangerous, and travelers are
warned to be on their guard. Amber worlds are often undergoing upheaval or
revolution, or else are naturally hazardous environments.
Red Zone – Red worlds are interdicted and travel to them is forbidden. Interdictions
are enforced by the star navy. Red zones can indicate that the world is too
dangerous to allow visitors. The Referee assigns Red worlds at his discretion.

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SUBSECTOR MAP GRID

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ANIMALS
Many alien worlds are home to alien creatures. The rules here focus primarily on the
creature’s ecological niche, general size, hits and damage inflicted. Obviously, with
this limited information, the Referee will have to fill in some blanks, but this has
always been the way with the classic 2D6-based SF rules-sets.

What does it look like? Is it more timid, or more aggressive? How many are there?
One – a solitary pouncer? A pack of hunting predators? Or a herd of several
thousand? What fits the situation and the current state of the player characters?
When an animal encounter is called for on one of the Event tables, simply refer to
this section.

ANIMAL CREATION
1 Roll for Animal Size, note size, hits and damage inflicted.
2 Does it fly? The minimum Atmosphere type is given, with a 2D6 roll to make.
3 Roll for Animal Type, note its reaction rolls (if any).
4 Add other details as necessary.

ANIMAL SIZE
2D6 Size Hits Flies? Damage
1-7 Small <15kg (Squirrel, Cat, Iguana, Rabbit) 1D6/2D6 Thin 10+ 1D6
8-9 Medium <100kg (Grey Wolf, Chimpanzee) 4D6/2D6 Standard 10+ 2D6
10-11 Large <1200kg (Lion, Buffalo, Moose) 6D6/3D6 Dense 12+ 4D6
12+ Mega <25000kg (Rhino, Elephant, T-Rex) 10D6/6D6 no 2D6 x 3
+2 if Garden World with Dense atmosphere
-2 if terrain type jungle, forest, desert or dune sea

ANIMAL TYPE
1D6 Type Behaviour
1 Scavenger Share or steal the prey of others,
It will attack on 7+, or flee on 5+.
2 Omnivore Mixed diet, opportunistic.
It will attack on 6+, or flee on 6+.
3 Carnivore Hunt and kill other animals.
It will attack if the odds are good, or flee on 7+.
4-6 Herbivore Eat plants and other unresisting foods.
Usually flee when threatened or nervous, attacking only in
extremis.

Move – Most Animals have a base Move of 10. Some omnivores or herbivores (roll 6
on a 1D6) have a base Move of 4. To determine an animal’s running speed (in
metres per round), add a Move bonus to the Move score: +2D6 for Scavenger or
Omnivore; +4D6 for Herbivore or Carnivore.

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DEFINITIONS
Size: An approximation - the actual species involved might be at the bottom or top
end of the size variation, or slap bang in the middle. When Hits are rolled, a low
score or high score might give the Referee a clue as to roughly how much the
creature weighs. We roll a Medium-sized creature, for example, which is somewhere
between 15 and 100kg. Then we roll its Hits, and roll quite high (18/9) suggesting
that our new creature is at the top end of the scale – perhaps 80-90kg. This measure
is only to aid in description, however.

Hits: Two values are created here, one before the slash and one after. The number
before is the total amount of damage that the creature can take before it collapses
unconscious, perhaps slowly dying. The second number is the total amount of further
damage that will kill it.

Damage Inflicted: Do not roll this number during animal creation. Simply allocate the
‘1D6’ or ‘4D6’ to the creature as its damage roll in combat. Typically, a creature will
attack with 0-level skill, without any skill bonuses to add on to the attack roll, but no
penalty for being unskilled either.

Behaviour: Use these notes as a rough guide; there are different types of carnivore,
herbivore, omnivore and scavenger, but we will retain flexibility by using these much
looser definitions. Some hunt in packs, some drive off other scavengers, some live a
solitary existence … The guidance on the chances of a creature attacking or fleeing
are there to aid Referee imagination – check for attack, if no attack occurs check for
fleeing. If no fleeing takes place the animal(s) might watch, mill around or just ignore
the travellers. Herbivores usually flee unless trapped or defending young.

How is the Animal Encountered?

It’s OK rolling up a 150kg carnivore, but exactly how do the characters meet it? Animals
in some movies have proved to be plot points: a rogue shark might prevent PCs
swimming from an island to the mainland; Riddick finds a terrifying mud demon blocks
his way out of the valley; on Fyrine IV in Enemy Mine, the two crash survivors build a
meteorite-resistant shelter from the hard shells of local omnivores. Animals don’t
always have to be about food or fighting. Ideas follow:

Nest Graveyard of bones

Burrow Corpse
Poisonous Surprise appearance!
Healing glands Mysterious event turns out to be an animal
Armoured Tooth, horn, etc. is useful
Lead the way to water Attempt to mate with character
Can undermine or dig Laying eggs in inconvenient place

Example: The Referee needs three possible animal encounter for an area of canyons
on a desert world, let’s create the first of those: 7-2 = 5 (Small, 4/3 Hits, 1D6
Damage). Next we roll 4 = Herbivore, Usually Flees. Move 10/19. This is some kind
of burrowing creature feeding on roots, and staying out of the sun. Their tunnels
might make instable ground, or their existence might lead to water-hoarding root
structures.

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ENCOUNTERS
Is there a space encounter on the way to or from the mainworld, or whilst spending
time exploring a remote part of the system? Roll 2D6 for 8+ and apply a modifier
based on the starport type of the system’s mainworld. Note that there will always be
a ‘high port’ or orbital station above a type A and B starport (along with numerous
other stations and orbital bases). Worlds with type C and D ports might have a small
number of space stations. Worlds with type X and E ports generally have nothing in
orbit. Whilst in orbit around a mainworld with type A or B port, the PCs will
automatically have an encounter with a ship every 3 hours. An encounter might just
be spotting the ship passing by on its way, or it might involve some kind of interaction
or even an incident. The Referee adjudicates.

2D6 Space Encounters

2 Abandoned small craft
3 Pirate ship (reroll for type) STARPORT DMs
4 Explorer
5 Debris for salvage X 0
6 Asteroid Miner E 0
7 Frontier Trader D +1
8 Freighter C +2
9 Patrol Ship B +3
10 Private Yacht A +4
11 Freighter Naval Base +2
12 Liner
13 Frontier Trader
14 Small Craft
15 Destroyer
16 Cruiser
17 Courier
18 Fighter squadron

2D6 City/Starport Encounters

2 Crowd (queuing, protesting, rioting, mourning, etc.)
3 Meet a few angry or disgruntled locals
4 Interesting NPC encountered (roll on Patron table for identity)
5 Entertainment opportunity: costing Cr100x1D6 each
6 Transport delays
7 Patron
8 Scandal, gossip, rumour or secret
9 Another traveler is in trouble
10 Invited to a festival/function/social event
11 Accident
12 Victim of, or witness to, a crime

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2D6 Uninhabited World Encounters

2-5 Animal
6-7 Harsh Terrain
8 Weather Event
9 Obstacle to Travel
10-12 Dangerous Location

2D6 Backcountry Encounters

2-5 Animal
6 Harsh terrain
7,8 Local workers
9 Dangerous location
10 Lone traveller
11-12 Remote settlement

2D6 NPC Reaction

2-3 Hostile
4-5 Guarded
6-8 Neutral
9-10 Friendly
11-12 Allied Cause or Alignment

DM+1 if a PC has Leader, Streetwise or Carousing, as fits the situation. Change a

Reaction by one step by making a Soc roll. Use the same DM+1 if applicable.

PATRON ENCOUNTERS
D66 Patron D66 Patron
11 Naval Officer 41 Corporate Official
12 Reporter 42 Scientist
13 Hunter 43 Spy
14 Soldier 44 Broker
15 Diplomat 45 Technician
16 Army Officer 46 Financier
21 Noble 51 Government Official
22 Marine Officer 52 Scout Pilot
23 Belter 53 Doctor
24 Bureaucrat 54 Corporate Boss
25 Starport Official 55 Local Military Officer
26 Peasant/Farmer 56 Pilot
31 Assassin 61 Smuggler
32 Avenger 62 Researcher
33 Merchant 63 Engineer
34 Rogue 64 Mercenary
35 Professor 65 Police Officer
36 Gangster 66 Ship-Owner

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PATRON MISSIONS
D66 Mission D66 Mission
11 Explore a moon or asteroid 41 Protect someone
12 Explore ruins 42 Assist someone
13 Salvage 43 Rescue someone
14 Survey area 44 Join Expedition
15 Capture animal 45 Infiltrate Group
16 Hijack vehicle or ship 46 Find Missing Ship
21 Assassination 51 Find Missing Goods
22 Theft 52 Join Expedition
23 Blackmail 53 Security Escort
24 Burglary 54 Trick Someone
25 Blackmail 55 Bribe
26 Discredit 56 Sabotage
31 Investigate Theft 61 Find Missing Person
32 Investigate Murder 62 Transport Special Item
33 Investigate Mystery 63 Transport Illegal Goods
34 Investigate Accident 64 Transport Data
35 Research a target 65 Transport Dangerous Cargo
36 Spy on a Location 66 Transport Person

MISSION TARGETS
D66 Mission Target D66 Mission Target
11 Yacht 41 Remote Base
12 Free Trader 42 Orbital Station
13 Security Ship 43 Starport
14 Naval Craft 44 City Building
15 Cargo Ship 45 Vault or Bunker
16 Orbital Station 46 Nightclub
21 Artwork 51 Crime Gang
22 Chemical Canister 52 Corporation
23 Data Chip 53 Intelligence Agency
24 Money or Bonds 54 Media Corporation
25 Prototype 55 Planetary Government
26 Weapon 56 Local Police
31- Illegal Cargo 61- Roll on Patron Table
33 63
34- Cargo 62- Roll on Patron Table
36 66

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PLAYING SOLO
Let’s run through the various stages of playing Playing Solo. Rather than first
engage in several weeks of world building, creating a subsector and its worlds, along
with a host of patrons and important NPCs, we world build as we go along, in small
chunks between periods of roleplaying. In this way you get to create characters and
start playing immediately. One of the stages (creating the subsector) can be skipped
if you intend to use a published map. But the individual worlds themselves will need
to be fleshed out when the time comes. Personally, I recommend creating your own
subsector from scratch, it is all part of the game – building up and playing within your
very own setting. But I do understand that some players are not a fan of world
creation. Have fun – use these rules your own way! I will provide a brief description of
each phase of the game:

The Character – Here we create your character, and we try to add a little backstory
using the cues from the characteristic values, the dice rolls and skill gains.

Friends – Next we create two or three comrades or adventuring buddies for our hero
using the same ‘in-depth’ method. How did they meet, what are their plans?

Starting World – The adventurers must begin their adventure somewhere and so
the player must create the world that they are currently based on. This will be the
location of their first adventure.

The Patron – The adventure will be triggered by a job offer; create the patron and
the job offer in this section.

The Mission – Rules are provided in this phase which will enable the player to find
out how the first mission was resolved. Was it completed? Did anything go wrong?
Were any of our characters hurt or killed?

The Big NPC – Next, create an NPC individual or organisation that has interests on
the starting world. It might be a corporate official, a law enforcement agent, a noble, a
naval officer or a crime lord. This individual is not a patron but an influential part of
the setting whose plots and plans will intersect the activities of the player characters.

More Missions – The previous patron, or perhaps one or two new patrons, offer
more jobs for the characters on the worlds that have so far been created.

The Subsector – It’s time to finish the rest of the subsector using the world
generation rules on page 51. This expands the scale of the game.

The Capital – Flesh out the capital of the subsector, add another major NPC
individual or organisation – perhaps a rival of the first major NPC that you created
earlier.

A Ship – Now it’s time for your characters to somehow acquire a ship which means
that they can roam easily across the new subsector and will have to pay for the ship’s
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upkeep and any upgrades with more jobs, or by combining jobs with some interstellar
trading.

Bad Guys – The player characters will make enemies. Record these individuals and
organisations and reuse them in future missions – this creates long-term storylines.
Storylines, where you spot a link or a thread connecting events and NPCs, should
also be recorded and expanded if possible.

Record Your Results – Remember to record your creations – not just worlds and
UWPs, but patron details, details of the major NPCs, antagonists encountered during
missions (who might be met again), particular starships encountered and of course, a
brief account of your characters’ exploits.

THE CHARACTER
Create a character using rules in this book. This will be your primary character.
Remember that it isn’t his skills and characteristics that really define him, it is the
decisions he makes, along with his boldness. Skills add to a character, as do
characteristic scores – but, in the end, the character itself is just a vehicle for the
player’s will and decision-making within the setting.
Kris Armatt
Marine Captain 7898D7 Age 34, Move10/18
Melee Cbt-1, Leader-2, Gun Cbt-3, Admin-1, Wheeled Vehicle-1, Mechanical-1,
Cr11,000 Revolver

Kris owes his life to his squad buddies and still has scars from his injury. He is
extremely knowledgeable, charming and always very cool under pressure. He
made an enemy of Marine Brigadier Veronian. Kris knows a secret that could get
him killed if he should tell it. His father is a famous scientist.

FRIENDS
Although this booklet is about roleplaying solo – that is alone, it doesn’t mean you
only have to consider using a single character. Star-spanning adventures might get
tough for a single character, and having a couple of comrades around livens things
up, widens the pool of available skills and gives the party more to do – more options.
Let’s create two comrades to work alongside Kris Armatt.

Ariadne Zemalaya
Scout 488678 Age 34, Move 10/18
Pilot-1, Admin-1, Electronics-3, Vacc Suit-1 Cr70,000, Far Scout Ship,

Ariadne is adaptable, she thinks on her feet and knows when to ‘call it a day’ if the
situation is getting out of control. She blames a disastrous expedition, in which she
was one of the survivors, on a scout who is now a senior scout commander.

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Merko Brookes
Pirate C65936 Age 26, Move 10/17
Brawling-1, Vacc Suit-1, Gun Cbt-1, Mechanical-1 Cr900

Merko joined a smuggling ring which led him to be recruited on to a pirate vessel.
He is big and muscular as well as quick-witted and perceptive. Disillusioned with
life on the run, he learned a practical skill and got out. He is trying to stay out of
trouble by sticking with decent folks.

We’ve Got A Ship! It may be that your character, or one of his comrades (see
Ariadne Zemalaya, for example), gained a ship during the mustering out procedure.
We aren’t going to give that ship to them immediately, though. It will be handed over
in a much later phase due to in-game bureaucratic or technical reasoning. This might
seem unfair, but the aim of this solo procedure is to start small and work outwards,
with hopping around the subsector in a privately-owned starship coming much later
on. To start small, the characters must travel on commercial star liners if they wish to
travel, or they might prefer to remain for a while on the starting world.

Why Are They Together? Why are the three or four characters that you have
created working together? What do they intend to do? What will each hope to gain
from the partnership? Why do they need one another? How did they meet? I’m going
to say that Kris’s scientist father knew the chief scientist on Ariadne’s doomed
expedition; it was through this connection that the two PCs met – perhaps Kris was
looking up old comrades of his father to follow up some rumour of lost treasure and
bumped into Ariadne doing just the same. Merko has Mechanical skill, just like Kris,
but that’s not a very strong link. Perhaps Kris got caught in a barfight and Merko
stepped in to help. The two joined forces for a few days as the local toughs tried to
hunt them down and now they are inseparable, Merko hoping that Kris and Ariadne
are his ticket off-world and away from a life of crime.

STARTING WORLD
The world upon which the player characters begin their adventures can be created
using the rules on page 51. The aim is to provide an interesting environment to be
explored during a short series of missions. It will be the anchor or jumping off point
from which the rest of our setting will be built – similar to Tatooine in George Lucas’s
1977 movie Star Wars.

Zozer Games publishes Universal World Profile, a handbook for Cepheus Engine,
that helps players to interpret the six different planetary characteristics of the UWP
and players will certainly find the guidance in that book of use in fleshing out both the
starting world and the other worlds of the subsector. For players without this
resource, we provide some guidance here as we build the world with our dice rolls.
Note that the creation of planetary characteristics is just a guideline and an aid to the
imagination.

We roll the dice and create a world with the following UWP:

Talthea B9A7453-A Non Industrial G

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It’s easy here just to list the various values and their entries on the world
characteristic tables and call it done. Although that gives some guidelines on what
the characters can do, or expect on that world – it does little to make that world
memorable, and that is the key. What is going on, NOW. What are the big themes
and problems of this world. Answer that and you’ve created an adventure factory –
not just a planet. Think back to old episodes of Farscape, Space:1999, Blake’s 7,
Star Trek: Next Generation and so on … what is this world’s dilemma or concern,
something that might affect or interest the player characters?

Talthea is a large world with a dangerous exotic atmosphere, a small population with
few restrictions, and oceans of chemicals. Its starport is bigger than you would
expect for such a population and the world has an interstellar-level Tech Level. The
government is a feudal technocracy – a group has come in to manage affairs
because of its competency.

Let us say the atmosphere is filled with sulfur from extensive volcanism, making the
seas highly acidic and dangerous. That sets the stage. What about the people? Why
was an agency or group brought in to manage society? Was there a catastrophe?
Was the volcanism the catastrophe? That might explain the low population, maybe a
million people fled, leaving a core behind to man the starport and keep things running
– the ‘feudal technocrats’ could be some interstellar version of FEMA – a group of
scientists and engineers trying to protect the infrastructure and people that remain.
But why didn’t everyone just leave? Maybe something is keeping them there? A
prison? Are they prisoners? The low law level doesn’t match that idea. How about
religious shrines? If the people of Talthea are very religious, perhaps they worship
shrines built by the first colonists to their god – ‘godstones’ or ‘hearthstones’ or
‘citystones’. The population have remained to protect them, and the PASE
government (‘Planetary Agency for Science and Engineering’) are converting
townships into airtight settlements and reconfiguring open field cultivation into
sealed-environment hydroponics. Meanwhile mining continues and ore is exported
off world via the starport, which was Type A, but that has dwindled quite a bit with the
loss of the population.

What caused the catastrophe? Maybe, as in When Worlds Collide, it is a rogue moon
that passed close by, made a pass around the star and is now in an irregular orbit
around Talthea, causing tidal flexing and global volcanism. Let’s say it occurred ten
years ago. This is an unstable society, trying to turn itself around despite many
problems – a place rife for adventure.

THE PATRON
Patrons play a large part in Retro Sci-Fi adventures, hiring the characters to carry
out some mission. Often the patron with-holds some vital information from them,
adding extra danger to the venture. Create a patron and a mission for your
characters to take up and complete. This will be their first job and hopefully their first
paycheck!

Roll first for the Patron, then roll for the Mission and finally roll for the Mission Target.
Use your imagination to put those elements together. Who is this person? Whom do
they represent and what do they want achieve? Gauge the level or risk and provide a
payment accordingly. For a limited mission (on planet, a day or so) offer Cr800 each.

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For an extended mission (several days or a couple of weeks) offer Cr3,000 each. If
deadly dangerous, double the fee. If an extended mission involves traveling to a
nearby star system then offer Cr8,000 each; ship costs for the outward and return trip
will be covered by the patron upon completion of the mission. First create a patron,
roll on the Patron Encounters table below.

We create our patron and our rolls create the following results: reporter, bribe and
security ship. Perhaps a reporter on Talthea has arranged to bribe a security captain
in order to be given secret documents about corruption in the PASE government. The
player characters must arrange to be at set coordinates in a local shuttle, so that the
captain’s ship can pull them in for questioning and a search. While alone with them
the captain will trade the data for the bribe. They will then be free to leave. The
problem might be that his exec has been told to watch his captain carefully – the
security service have begun to mistrust him and might be expecting some stunt like
this. We call the patron mission: ‘Stop and Search’.

THE MISSION MACHINE

So far, we have focused on world and character building which is a static activity.
Now we need to start resolving things. Rather than play the game out, action by
action, like you would at the table top, we instead will roll the dice to see if the players
characters can solve the problems and complete the mission on their own. And
whether they do or don’t, will there be any consequences?

1) Make up a plan: Put yourself into the player characters’ boots … what will be
their plan? Where do they get the shuttle from? If there is trouble on the
security ship, what will they do? Will any character have a specific role in the
mission, perhaps a crucial task to complete?
2) Up to three of the player characters can make a skill roll that is relevant to the
mission. Each success will add a bonus to the mission’s success. If all three
fail, then apply a DM of -2 instead.
3) Roll to succeed: Roll 2D6 with 7+ indicating the mission goal was achieved. If
the characters’ plan is a brilliant one, +1; if the plan is poorly thought out, -1.
Apply +1 for each character’s successful skill roll, apply a -2 penalty if all three
skill rolls were failed.
4) Were there any consequences? For every failed skill roll, make a roll on the
following Consequence Table (overleaf). It is possible to achieve the mission,
but still have a character shot and killed or a starship damaged. The player will
need to use his imagination to interpret the result.
5) Explain! Whether success or failure, the player now has the enjoyable task of
explaining what happened. What piece of equipment was lost? What
happened when the hero failed his Vacc Suit roll? What did the bad guys do
and how was the situation resolved in the end? Two or three short sentences
will suffice and the player is advised to write them down as a record of events.

You can return to this Mission Machine time and time again when resolving any new
patron jobs that the player characters take on.
Example: Stop and Search – The PCs decide to hire a mining shuttle and pose as
prospectors. We have Kris make an Admin roll (maybe to provide legitimate papers
and follow customs procedures without creating suspicion) and Ariadne make a Pilot
roll (making the shuttle behave as if it were on a survey expedition). We cannot see

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Merko’s skills being of use on this mission, so do not roll any of his skills. Kris fails his
roll, but Ariadne makes her roll, giving us a +1 for our roll to succeed. We roll 4 + 1 =
5, the mission is failed. Since Kris failed his roll, we must check the Consequence
Table once and roll a ‘4’’, the authorities intervene’. This fits well, since the authorities
do feature in this mission as the crew and executive officer of the security ship.

So what happened? Kris’ 1D6 Consequence

paperwork must have raised 1 Antagonize an important NPC
the exec’s eyebrows and the 2 Player character injured
plot was uncovered. The 3 Lost or damaged equipment
Captain and the PCs will 4 The authorities intervene
have been apprehended by 5 Trapped or lost – make another plan!
the crew. This isn’t good. We 6 There is a sudden twist in the story
decide that the PCs will want
to get out of the situation fast, and try to talk their way out as innocent victims or grab
a weapon and hold the exec as hostage to get back go their shuttle. If this fails,
they’re going to be prosecuted for something back on Talthea. Merko succeeds in an
Int roll and Kris succeeds in a Gun Cbt roll to snatch the exec’s gun. Our roll to
achieve this mission is 10 + 2; a success, they snatch the gun, temporarily disable
the security ship and getaway in their mining shuttle. There were no failed skill rolls
and so no rolls required on the Consequences Table. What happened to the
corruption data and the bribe? I decide to roll two D6, looking for 3 or more, the first
die tells me if the bribe was recovered, the second if the data was recovered; our
characters manage to get away with the bribe and the data. How much money? Let’s
roll 2D6 x Cr1,000 = Cr10,000. That will make up for not getting paid by the patron!
Did they take the Captain with them? I decide no, since he would be a dangerous
liability. I could just as easily have roleplayed this escape using the normal Retro
Sci-Fi rules, with task and combat rolls, rather than use the Mission Machine.

OTHER ROLLS
There are other quick rolls the player can make to resolve a question, just as we did
when we wanted to know if the bribe was recovered by the PCs. Pick a number from
5 to 12 and make that roll or over … it’s as simple as that. Inject stress into a
situation that you find your characters in (outside of the Mission Machine) by rolling
1D6 and interpreting a ‘1’ as an unexpected disaster – the worst thing happens at the
worst time. Alternatively you might want to make the occasional skill or characteristic
roll as the situation dictates. Be flexible, the Mission Machine is mainly used for set
piece scenes involving several player characters.

INSPIRATION
Are you stuck? You have an encounter, but it’s a bit uninspiring… and you want
some inspiration. Or you need a scene, maybe in jump space, or while the characters
are in one place, and there is no possibility of an encounter to keep the story going?
On the next page is the Inspirations table. Roll twice, look at the words created and
see if you can put them together to provide inspiration about an event, or feelings or
revelation, that might be going on around your characters. For Example; the
characters are stuck at a starport for 3 days. We roll Struggling and Preserve. Maybe
the port officials are struggling to keep the port running, they have a massive power
problem and things could go offline. Maybe the characters can help? If you can’t use
both words, then just use the one that makes most sense.

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INSPIRATIONS
D66 ACTION THEME PERSONALITY PERSONNEL
11 Manipulate Tool Intolerant Calm
12 Seize Labour Vengeful Discovery
13 Destroy Love Fervent Escape
14 Steal Secret Talented Alliance
15 Reduce Balance Successful Furious
16 Control Creation Doomed Greedy
21 Assault Hope Relaxed Ignorant
22 Clash Land Greedy Abnormal
23 Falter Truth Strong Calling
24 Deflect Quest Unstable Struggling
25 Scheme Destiny Cunning Forgotten
26 Betray Corruption Weary Executive
31 Demand Path Jealous Benefit
32 Remove Warning Proud Dominate
33 Change Duty Angry Susceptible
34 Locate Leadership Selfish Honest
35 Protect Fellowship Tough Expendable
36 Breach Religious Cool Worship
41 Investigate Dream Uptight Resentful
42 Evade Community Quiet Advice
43 Uphold Fatherhood Ambitious Friendship
44 Waiting Pride Charming Armed
45 Preserve Decoy Worried Researching
46 Hold Home Stern Hiding
51 Overwhelm Brotherhood Careless Brinkmanship
52 Strengthen Survival Kind Fight
53 Find Stranger Stubborn Predator
54 Explore Family Bold Sympathy
55 Overwhelm Loyalty Smug Debt
56 Learn Enemy Fatalistic Freedom
61 Challenge Debt Impulsive Naïve
62 Resist Lawful Resourceful Attacked
63 Journey Hatred Religious Protocol
64 Co-ordinate Motherhood Hardened No Hope
65 Move Persecution Bitter Sex
66 Refuse Loss Wary Threaten

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THE BIG NPC

This section involves creating an important campaign NPC, a crime-lord, a noble, etc.
or even a corporation or secret society … it is best to represent an organization with
a person, though, a faceless organization is harder to manage without that powerful
individual at its heart (and note that the NPC needn’t be in charge of that
organization, a powerful lieutenant, under-boss or vice president might actually serve
as the subsector’s major NPC). The NPC is important to the PCs – and in fact might
not have that much influence throughout the rest of the subsector.

To create a neat NPC whose minions, plots and influence will turn up in later games,
roll on the Patron table three times and select your favourite. Next, roll 2D6 six times
for characteristics and allocate them where desired. Roll another 1D6 and distribute
those points between the characteristics where desired. Decide on a role or career
the character has taken, but then give the NPC 1D6+6 skill levels from the skill list
career table, as long as those skills and their levels fit the NPC concept you have in
mind. Roll for cash and then multiply it by four.

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Example: I roll Avenger, Technician and Corporate Official … Avenger sounds cool,
but I decide to go with Technician and consider a talented and eccentric engineer
who has established a subsector company (Vakaro LIC). He has big ambitions and
the skills (and talented employees) to wage a techno-war against his bigger, better
funded corporate rivals. He has no conscience about using criminal methods to
expand his business. His characteristics are: 6A7B56 and I set his age at 34. I roll
1D6 for a ‘5’ and add those 5 points to some of his characteristics. Now he is
6A7E76. He has 10 skill levels. I roll a 6 on his cash die, leaving him with Cr72,000.
The finished NPC with his base on Talthea is:

Xavier Barham
Techno Entrepreneur 6A7E76 Age 34, Move 10/20
Electronics-3, Engineering-2, Carousing-1, Gun Cbt-1, Admin-2, Bribery-1 Cr72,000

MORE MISSIONS
Create two or three more patrons and their missions. Use the Mission Machine to
determine their success or failure. Remember to keep an account of the player
characters’ upkeep and costs, and the purchase of any equipment they might need.
Roll for Law Level encounters (Law Level or less to avoid some incident) every week
or so. Also every week, roll on a relevant encounter table. These encounters might
lead to patrons, spark fights or other incidents. Use the Reaction table on page 61.
As the player, decide what the encounter is like and how it inconveniences or
threatens the PCs. What do they decide to do about it? Is a single skill roll sufficient?
Can the player just come up with some appropriate reactions for the PCs? If that
reaction is complex, perhaps it is time to reuse the Mission Machine once again.

THE SUBSECTOR
After playing out several more missions on Talthea, it is time to move on. Either
create three more worlds in the ring of empty hexes around Talthea, or go the whole
hog and follow the rules on page 51 to create the rest of the subsector. You might
want to refer back to the section called Starting World. There is a reason that the
game provides tools for creating a subsector, it is the perfect geographical size to suit
a roleplaying party. It not only has enough variation in worlds to keep the characters
interested for a very long time, but is also compact enough to allow them to build up
relationships, obligations and alliances. They get to know the subsector and begin
using their experience to advance their fortunes.

The random generation of worlds is an aid to the Referee’s imagination, if you have
an idea for an interesting world, then add it to the map. Swap out any UWP values
that you feel might help conjure up a particular style of subsector. Do you want a
place of unexplored worlds mixed with newly colonized planets? Do you want a
highly militarized political frontier, a powder-keg ready to explode? How about a
corrupt, advanced core of civilized worlds ripe for criminal exploitation by a group of
daring player characters? What about a stable frontier region that is perfect for a
trade and speculation game? Or, my preferred method … let the dice fall where they
will and try your best to accept the results.

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The subsector might be part of a small empire, an interstellar state only one to three
subsectors in size, or part of a vast multi-sector interstellar empire. The game lends
itself best to areas of space on the frontier, remote from the levers of power, where
PCs (often military veterans) have the freedom to act. The subsector is where the
brave, the desperate, the greedy and the disenfranchised come to execute their
daring schemes.

THE CAPITAL
Decide which world will be your subsector capital, add depth and detail to it as you
did with the starting world. Have your player characters travel there to pick up a
starship that they are owed or have earned. At each stop over, have them meet a
new patron and carry out a mission. The capital should hold some secrets as well as
at least 3 background campaign plots and at least two new and powerful NPCs. Your
‘Big NPC’ should be involved in one of the plots on the capital world. The first three
patrons met on the capital, will all have missions that are somehow connected with
(or ‘introduce’) one of those plots. Creating the three patrons and their missions may
give you a clue as to what those secret background plots might be.

A SHIP
Now is the time to give the player characters a ship! We say give, but it might be
used as a reward for a very tough mission, perhaps where the ship itself is needed to
complete the mission successfully. Or the scout or trader may be getting their hands
on the ship that was promised to them when their character was created. Or … out of
the blue, a ship is for sale at cut price, only a few hundred thousand credits. Is it
cursed? Stolen? Seized from pirates? Decrepit? Out-of-date? You decide. The
important thing is the PCs now have ‘wheels’ and can explore the subsector that you
have only just recently created. They get to enjoy the freedom as well as all of the
Running Costs.

BAD GUYS
Hopefully the PCs have been making some enemies, I’m thinking of people like the
patrol captain in the sample mission called Stop and Search. Make a note of these
NPCs and, now and then, use one of these NPCs or organisations as a guest star in
a new mission. When the player characters’ path crosses with this NPC or group
once again, you have created an ‘on-going plot arc’.

RECORD YOUR RESULTS

It almost goes without saying that you should record what you create as well as the
actions of the player characters. Ideally, you want a notebook or loose-leaf file with
the following sections:

 PC Journal
 Subsector and Worlds
 Important NPCs (including patrons, contacts and enemies)
 Starships (memorable ships and their crews encountered or travelled on)

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AUTONOMOUS REGION
The Autonomous Region is a sample subsector set in its own near-future universe. It
provides an example of how to use the Retro Sci-Fi Rules to build a setting and
subsector in which to adventure. This Autonomous Region has the grim and gritty
feel of a future in trouble, where realistic people are the heroes; it represents a world
that feels alive and almost modern. There are no princesses or alien races, no
pleasure planets or luxury liners – space is occupied by the working man (and
woman) trying to support a dying Earth and hundreds of off-world colonies.

The Autonomous Region is within the Hyades open star

cluster about 153 light-years (or 47 parsecs) distant from
Earth. From the perspective of observers on Earth, the
Hyades cluster appears in the constellation Taurus. In the
frenzied dash for space, nations allied together to exploit the
incredible resources that have been found there. The socialist based Great Eastern
Congress was one of these, its rival, the League of Industrial Nations (LIN)
established more than three hundred and fifty off-world colonies under its off-world
agency, the Outworld Authority (OA); those colonies in the Autonomous Region are
amongst the furthest from Earth.

Thirty worlds, at the end of the sprawling American Arm of jump routes, and varying
widely in their development and population, must govern themselves under the
watchful eye of a Consul-General, based on the planet Orpheus. Other federal
officers of state are assigned to the more populous worlds and all act as
intermediaries between the planetary governments as well as between the
corporations, and the Outworld Authority, based in Washington. These federal
officers include Consuls, Vice-Consuls and Tribunes.

Tech Levels – Technological Levels

within the Autonomous Region vary
widely, but most of the more populous
worlds enjoy a TL of around 9 or 10,
with three at TL 11 and one (Orpheus)
at TL 12. Less well populated or poorer
worlds are working with more basic or
reused technologies, but it is
equipment they can build and repair
themselves, without recourse to buying
more of it from the larger colonies –
often many parsecs distant. These
colonists are a hardy breed, and they
are here for the long haul, determined
to make their worlds habitable,
profitable and survivable.

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HYADES AUTONOMOUS REGION

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HYADES AUTONOMOUS REGION

Name UWP Codes

Solstice 0101 E200632-7 Vacuum, NonInd, NonAgri G

Helena 0104 B699784-B N
Persepolis 0105 B968416-6 NonInd G
Tanith 0106 C58A510-B Waterworld, NonInd G
Armageddon 0110 D65579A-6 S Agricultural
Solomon 0203 C995340-7 NonInd G
Cyclops 0205 C330656-6 S Desert, Poor, NonInd G
Retribution 0208 DAAA685-A Waterworld, NonInd G
Priam 0209 BA85635-8 Agricultural, NonInd G
Morrow 0210 D451421-8 Poor, NonInd G
Labyrinth 0305 E630310-A NonInd G
Orpheus 0306 A77A868-C N Waterworld. Industrial G
Lucifer 0308 C664212-8 NonInd G
Theta Tauri 0309 E568313-5 NonInd G
Lantau Peak 0401 C534456-A C NonInd
Monument 0404 E201313-9 Ice-capped, Vacuum, NonInd G
Centennial 0405 B473367-9 NonInd G
Paradise 0502 E764167-4 NonInd G
Midas 0504 C788210-6 NonInd
LV508 0508 X990000-0 Desert
Ha Long 0601 D9C6123-6 NonInd G
Hexis 0602 C769774-A NS Rich G
LV604 0604 X688000-0 G
Gamma Tauri 0606 E762100-6 NonInd
Telamon 0608 C000216-A Asteroid, NonInd G
LV610 0610 X632000-0
Diomedes 0702 B000425-B Asteroid, NonInd G
Sterling 0703 D100535-A Vacuum, NonInd G
Delta Tauri 0704 E542663-4 Poor, NonInd G
LV707 0707 X7A6000-0 G
Forge 0709 D20068A-9 Vacuum, NonInd G
Absolom 0710 E367331-7 NonInd G
Nemesis 0805 E100110-7 Vacuum, NonInd
LV810 0810 X578000-0 G

Base Codes: C Congress of Allied Stars, N Outworld Fleet, S Outword Scouts

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Bases – There are three Outworld Fleet Bases in the region, at Helena, Orpheus and
Hexis. The Outworld Scout Service has established three of its own bases, at Hexis,
Armageddon and Cyclops. The Great Eastern Congress back on Earth, has created
its own rival interstellar organization – the Congress of Allied Stars. The Autonomous
Region is one of only three locations where the Outworld Authority butts up against
the Allied Stars. It is a place of military tensions, incursions and tit-for-tat raiding. The
Congress Stellar Navy has a base at Lantau Peak.

CORPORATIONS
Corporate concerns are at work in the Autonomous Region, trying to make these off-
world colonies work, to send raw materials ‘upstream’ to the more resource hungry
colonies, or even back to Earth itself. Yet this mining and development cluster at the
tip of the snaking American Arm of the galaxy is many months of travel from Earth
and the other over-populated planets of the core systems. The influence of events
happening back on Earth is little felt out here. Several major trans-stellar corporations
do business in the Autonomous Region; these corporations are highly diverse, super-
conglomerates with separate divisions focussing on manufacturing, technology,
banking, mining, agriculture, transport and so on.

Goliath Shipping: A cargo line dominating trade here at the end of the American
Arm. Part of the Meridian Corporation.
Meridian Corporation: Formed in London in 1993, Meridian is now a huge
corporation, dealing in finance, mining, steel, aerospace, food, colonization, starship
building and more. It is well known for its ubiquitous cargo line, Goliath Shipping.
Red Giant Corporation: Formed in Denver in 2067, Red Giant was established to
mine the Asteroid Belt, it soon developed the jump drive to reach distant dwarf
planets, and interstellar travel was born! Although Red Giant diversifies into finance,
transport, power production, steel, aerospace, food, colonization and more, it is
dominant in the mining sector.
Seaborg Corporation: Formed in Toronto in 2060, Seaborg invested in, and
profited financially from, the building of orbital power sats. But Seaborg was already
diversifying into space exploration, colonisation and fusion research. The first
working fusion reactors were Seaborg-built and the corporation still dominates power
production, two-hundred and twenty years later. Seaborg is a huge corporation,
dealing in finance, mining, steel, aerospace, power production, starship building,
food, colonisation and more.
Tanegashima Corporation: Created from the surviving remains of the Mitsubishi
Corporation after the 2030 crash, Tanegashima became known for its high-tech
aerospace and electronics, but like other get-ahead conglomerates, it also diversified
into farming, colonisation, banking, chemical and steel production, starship
construction, mining, shipping and robotics.
Universal Corporation: Formed in New York in 1956. Many mergers and buy-
outs later, Universal rose up as a global giant following the 2030 financial crisis,
which had crippled many of the bigger firms. It got into banking and finance, and like
other get-ahead conglomerates, it diversified into farming, colonization, aerospace,
starship construction chemical and steel production, mining, shipping and robotics. It
is still a powerful financial trader.
Zen Corporation: A cutting edge corporation, ‘ZenCo’ was established by the
techno-genius Marlo King, he wants to break out from the Autonomous Region and
take on the rest of human space with his corporation.

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POWERFUL ENTITIES
The following military forces and political powers are active in the Autonomous
Region.

Colonial Marines: The space-going military arm of the Outworld Authority,

providing on-board protection for Outworld Fleet ships, boarding parties and ground
assault brigades. The Marines are equipped with automatic rifles that feature an
underslung grenade launcher. One squad member carriers a squad machinegun on
a load-bearing harness. Each Marine wears combat armour and a helmet.
Colonial Marshal Service: The interstellar law enforcement agency, directed from
Washington, that provides policing on small scale colonial settlements in the
Outworld Authority.
Colonial Reserve: A volunteer force established on many worlds within the
Outworld Authority, they serve as a part-time military force, and their members often
carry out humanitarian and crisis operations when not training with the world’s CTF.
Colonial Special Investigations: An agency of the Colonial Marshal Service
which takes on special criminal investigations to target organized crime across the
outworld colonies.
Colonial Territorial Forces (CTFs): The military battalions of a colony world.
Often used for paramilitary and emergency operations. They are the army. Each
brigade contains combat elements and their support units. Typical brigade strength is
around 4,000 personnel, commanded by a colonel. They are a combined fighting
unit, with armour, APCs, logistics, trains and sometimes air support. Territorial
brigades usually double as emergency personnel - firefighters, rescue workers and
so on. Roughly 0.5% of the population will be a full-time member of the Territorials.
Congress of Allied Stars: The CAS is the interstellar colonial organization of
Earth’s Great Eastern Congress. The individual worlds are ruled by socialist-style
colonial governments.
Congress Space: A term used by the Outworld to refer to the territory of the
Congress of Allied Stars.
Congress Stellar Navy: The space navy of the Congress of Allied Stars.
Great Eastern Congress: The powerful socialist alliance of Earth nations that
have rallied around China, including Vietnam, Mongolia, North Korea, Siberia, Laos,
Cambodia, Thailand, Burma, Cuba, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Kazakhstan.
League of Industrial Nations: A new coalition of Industrialised nations that has
shut out the poorer developing nations. This technological power bloc has dominated
modern politics and controls a large part of Earth’s economy. Key members are the
USA, the UK, Australia, Canada, Singapore, the Euro Union, Brazil, Israel, South
Korea and Japan. The league has turned to off-world and interstellar colonies for its
prodigious energy and resource needs, and has established the Outworld Authority
to administer and organise these independent colony worlds.
Outworld Authority: If NASA colonized exo-planets … The League of Industrial
Nations has established the Outworld Authority to survey worlds, plan colonization
efforts, defend these settlements and provide a return on the LIN’s vast investment.
Crops, minerals and other valuable raw materials trickle slowly back to Earth and to
the core worlds. The OA is a powerful political entity in interstellar space, rivalled only
by the Congress of Allied Stars.
Outworld Fleet: The Outworld Authority maintains a fleet of warships and crews
that protect the colonies from piracy, rebellion and hostile incursions by the Congress
of Allied Stars. The Outworld Naval squadrons are used to deter and eradicate piracy

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within the Authority, but its primary role remains to challenge any aggression from the
military forces of the Congress of Allied Stars, the Outworld Authority’s only major
rival. Incursions, raids, and sporadic world take-overs have occurred in the past. The
Squadrons are poised for more …
Outworld Scout Service: The exploration and communication service of the
Outworld Authority. The OSS runs the Network, the interstellar communications
network that connects the colonies, using X-Boats and tenders. The OSS also
conducts long range exploration missions into unexplored hexes to seek out
resources.

CHARACTERS
Characters are created exactly as explained on page 5, with some variation to fit into
our setting. The players will create their veteran characters that are assumed to have
left the core systems to make their fortunes and reputations out here in the Hyades
Autonomous Region. It is a place where the bold and the clever must plan and carry
out daring schemes in order to win their fortune. The following careers equate to
organisations within this setting:

Star Navy: Members of the Outworld Naval Squadrons.

Space Marines: Members of the Colonial Marines.
Star Traders: Crews of the interstellar commercial ships.
Syndicate: Special agents and spies working for corporations and government
agencies.
Scouts: Members of the Outworld Scout Service (OSS) operating the comms
Network.
Colonist: A variety of other careers based around the colony worlds: miners,
doctors, scientists, colony workers, and so on.

SPACE TRAVEL
Who are the pirates in this setting? – They are men and women pushed to the
brink, who find they have no other alternative. They might be asteroid miners,
desperate to make ends meet, who have discovered that piracy, smuggling and theft
pays better than 100 tons of magnetite. Similarly, they might be bankrupt merchant
crews, who cannot pay their debts and go AWOL, skipping out and carrying out
piracy if the opportunity arises, perhaps using their ship and papers as a legitimate
front for their activities. Or they might be rogue colonial elements, anti-corporate
guerrillas, terrorists and ‘freedom fighters’.

Low Berth – Low berth, also called ‘cryo’ or ‘stasis’, was designed for shipping
hundreds of farm animals out to start-up colonies. The system is now in use for
human traffic, but its reliability has not increased since those early days. Stasis is a
dangerous way to travel, but for most it is the only way they can reach the stars and
make a new life on the off-world colonies. Military, corporate and private (and
wealthy) travellers do not go into stasis, but spend the journey in staterooms of
varying levels of comfort.

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Common Spacecraft – The common ship designs featuring in Retro Sci-Fi Rules
can be given a little setting flavour, with in-universe names that provide a little more
atmosphere.

STARSHIPS
Far Scout Delta Scout Craft
Frontier Trader Nomad Light Transport
Freighter Buffalo Starfreighter
Liner Argus Starliner
Private Yacht Zenith Executive Transport
Cruiser Huron Assault Cruiser
Destroyer Crusader Class Destroyer
Explorer Geneva Research Vessel
Courier Valkyrie Fast Courier Ship
Mining Vessel Missouri Mining Platform

SMALL CRAFT
Launch Lotus Lifeboat
Ship’s Boat Ranger Light Shuttle
Light Shuttle Falcon Light Shuttle
Modular Cutter Comanche Military Dropship
Fighter Sabre Interceptor
Shuttle Orion Heavy Shuttle

CREATING ADJACENT SUBSECTORS

World generation should be limited to the one subsector that covers the Hyades
Autonomous Region. We may, in fact, ‘zoom’ in to a smaller part of that subsector –
creating a tighter focus for more world-for-world adventure detail. However, Referee’s
might want to create more subsectors that are part of the Outworld Authority. The
advice below makes a few changes to the world creation rules found on page 51.

Starport Class – Related to the lower population levels, there are fewer A and B
class starports in these frontier subsectors. There should be a maximum of one type
A starport per subsector. This rule can be relaxed in the Core systems, surrounding
Earth. Starports are built and run by corporations and/or local governments.

Population – Worlds in the Outworld Authority are not quite as populous as those in
this rulebook suggest. To that end, we determined the Population digit by rolling
simply 1D6, DM+1 for an A Type starport, DM -1 for an E type starport. We left the
population at zero if the starport was type X. This rule could be relaxed in the Core
systems, surrounding Earth and far from the frontier. Colonies with low populations
(2-3) can request that the League of Nations provide a police force for the
maintenance of order, these officers are marshals of the Colonial Marshals Service.
Worlds with higher population levels establish their own police forces.

Government Type – The off-world colonies of the Outworld Authority have been
given the right to govern themselves by the League of Industrial Nations. However,
Government digit 6 (Captive Government), represents an unincorporated territory of
the Authority and is, instead, run either by an unelected League of Nations’ governor,

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by the US Treasury, the Colonial Marines or the Outworld Naval Fleet. We did not
allow government type 0, instead changing such results to 1 – Company/Corporation.

Tech Levels – No colonial settlement has been allowed by the Outworld Authority to
drop down to a Tech Level less than 4. Allow D type and E type starports a DM+2 on
the Tech Level Table, just like C type starports. If a Tech Level of 0-3 is ever rolled,
then reroll.

Travel Zones – The travel zone Red or Amber, does not discourage visitors in this
setting. Instead, it is a Crisis Zone, a world in turmoil requiring immediate political,
military, medical or other assistance. Perhaps it is a long running situation. Crisis
Zones become hot spots for mercenaries, aid workers, diplomats, doctors, con-men,
or opportunistic merchants. The Crisis Zone is an adventure signpost.

Industrial Worlds – With lower population levels in this setting, where humans live
on a frontier that has only recently been colonised, it occurred that there would be a
good deal of non-industrial worlds, and certainly no industrial ones (which require a
population of a billion). To provide some variety for star traders, we lowered the bar
slightly, demanding that an industrial world have an atmosphere of 0, 1, 2, 4, 7 or 9, a
population of 8 of more and A type starport. This last requirement would ensure that
there would only ever be one industrial world in a subsector (If there was one at all).
Orpheus is the only industrial world in the Autonomous Region.

PATRONS
EXECUTIVE
Alec Sorenson, Special Operations Chief 865A99 Age 34
Admin-2, Computer-3, Leader-1, Aircraft-1, Streetwise-1

Sorenson runs a special operations department for Universal Corporation and often
requires people for industrial espionage, sabotage and security. He doesn’t want to
get his hands dirty himself. Sorenson is all happy smiles and blue eyes but his
handsome good looks and sympathetic manner belie his cunning and ruthlessness.
In the office he wears a sharp grey suit, well-tailored and in-fashion. Out in the field
he favours black cargo pants and a brown leather jacket with the collar turned up.

COLONIAL MARSHAL
Marshal Kurt McAndrew 998986 Age 42
Wheeled Vehicle-1, Gun Cbt-2, Streetwise-2, Melee Cbt-2

Marshal McAndrew is Chief of Special Investigations, with a remit to deal with

organised crime throughout the Autonomous Region. He often recruits trusted
personnel for criminal investigations, bounty hunting, criminal stings or infiltration.
McAndrew has a tall, rangy physique, tousled blonde hair and a nose bashed and
broken. He looks like a fighter, but his voice is deep and rich - people listen to him.
He wears the regulation blue fatigues of the Colonial Marshal Service, a uniform
baseball cap and (when ‘dirtside’) a navy-blue military-style jacket.

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INTEL OFFICER
Sirona Sanchez 568888 Age 38
Admin-2, Computer-2, Bribery-3, Forgery-2

Sanchez is a senior intelligence officer within the civilian Outworld Authority. Her job
is to monitor the activities of the corporations, the governments of the Autonomous
Region’s worlds, as well as any plots hatched by terrorist or the Congress of Allied
Stars. She often requires personnel for espionage and intelligence work, mercenary
contracts, and the investigation of corporate of colonial activities. Beautiful by any
standard, Sanchez has put her hair into a single plait falling down her back. She
wears a black and grey trouser suit, with short black boots for practicality. Her tan is
too even to have been gained on a beach.

INDUSTRIALIST
Marlo King 76785A Age 30
Electronics-1, Computer-1, Bribery-2, Streetwise-1, Forgery-2

Marlo King is a successful entrepreneur who established a high-tech business called

Zen Corporation in the Autonomous Region two decades ago; it has grown to
become a cutting edge concern. But Marlo often plays by other rules to compete with
the big corporations and has been known to hire talented individuals to carry out
industrial espionage and sabotage, but he will also need security operatives, on-
demand star transport and occasionally explorers who can jump ahead of his rivals.
Marlo is a flamboyant exec, wearing pastel suits, he has handsome Mediterranean
looks, with curled black hair falling to his shoulders. A ruthless visionary.

SCOUT COMMISSIONER
Natalya Kominsky 3467B8 Age 50
Pilot-1, Navigation-2, Computer-2, Vacc Suit-3, Medical-2, Gun Cbt-2, Aircraft-2

Kominsky is a commissioner for the Outworld Scout Service, which surveys, explores
and maintains communications in the Autonomous Region. At times she needs
additional people to carry out urgent transport or security work, as well as short-
notice survey, rescue or recovery missions. The OSS is concerned with the flow of
information and how that affects the interstellar economy. Kominsky is blonde, with
warm brown eyes and a mellow demeanour. When not wearing a trouser suit at
meetings, she wears the everyday tan-coloured scout utilities of a field officer, with
baseball cap.

ROGUE SCIENTIST
Dr. Vijay Shantha 7A79C5 Age 26
Computer-1, Medical-2, Vacc Suit-1

Dr. Shantha has lots of anonymous financial backing for his team’s work into alien life
that can survive in extremely hostile atmospheres and conditions. He has several
research teams out in the Autonomous Region now, carrying out work on various
colonial worlds. But he often needs more personnel for transportation and security
missions, but also to carry out impromptu surveys, or even creature capture
assignments. Shantha is tall and dark-haired, with a thin and gaunt face. Typically
wearing a well-pressed jacket and cargo pants in tan-brown, he maintains an air of
seriousness and lack of humour at all times.
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RUMOURS
Rumours are may be gossip, facts presented in briefings, journals or on screen news
data. The rumour hints at an adventure, a mystery, a problem or a reward. It is
designed to inform the players, entice them and perhaps even to warn them.
Rumours are faceless. The referee should throw Carousing 5+ on 2D6 once per
week to see if a member of the PC group picks up a rumour. The referee can roll on
the table below, or create his own. Rumours are valuable and once players
understand their potential they may begin to actively seek them out.

D66 Rumour
11 There are persistent rumours of a Congress surveillance ship being sighted in
the Diomedes system.
12 Gossip is that Goliath Shipping is in talks to begin a service to Ha Long in
Congress Space. Consul-General Arlando Voss wants to block the move.
13 A ship has just arrived at the starport, but it is under quarantine. Why?
14 A local leader claims that a corporation has been interfering in local politics.
15 Police teams on this planet are trying to catch a mysterious, yet violent
criminal who is able to move at blinding speed, and strike without mercy. What
is going on?
16 Mine workers on Sterling are about to begin another series of strikes and
protests.
21 Colonial Marine General Wallace T. Abrams is currently under arrest at the
Orpheus Fleet base, the reason for his arrest has not been released.
22 All cargoes on the planet this week are at a discount of 50% due to a
depressed market.
23 The orbital oil pipe on Hexis, that transfers crude oil to an orbital station, has
been shut down again following terrorist action by one of that world’s rogue
nations,
24 Three expeditions to LV508 have all gone missing, there are persistent stories
that the planet holds a deadly curse.
25 Zen Corporation is currently hiring ex-military types for some ‘special
operations’.
26 Contact is lost with a distant planet in the PCs current star system. Is it just a
downed transmitter?
31 Police teams believe that the murder of a senior politician was carried out by
an assassin from the Congress of Allied Stars.
32 Three starfreighters owned by Goliath Shipping have misjumped and vanished
without trace, is there a problem with the freighter design? Or is some other
phenomenon at work?
33 Inspectors from the Outworld Authority are looking for something important at
the starport, but what?
34 Gold has been found in the highlands of Cyclops, well away from the main
city.
35 Universal Corporation has set up a ‘Alien Intelligence’ division, despite the fact
that no evidence yet exists of intelligent alien life.
36 Miners on the desert planet of Morrow are coming under attack from some
unseen, unknown life form.
41 A Fleet veteran describes how his ship was involved in repeated clashes with
Congress ships in the Midas system six years ago.
42 Red Giant says it has discovered a ‘hollow asteroid’ in the Telamon system.

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What does this mean? Is it natural or manufactured? Is it the product of

geology, or an alien civilization?
43 There is wreck full of valuable supplies at the edge of the system, worth
millions of credits. A retired scout says he will sell the location to the player
characters.
44 Why are Colonial Marine and Fleet assets massing in the Priam system? It is
a peaceful world.
45 A veteran starship captain reckons that Hexis will soon be categorised as a
Crisis Zone; the competing nations of the world’s single landmass are riddled
with guerrilla uprisings, border wars and coups. All that oil has gone to their
heads.
46 A drunken Fleet officer declares that a border war with the CAS is on the
cards. He says he’s seen plans for a first strike attack by the Outworld Fleet.
51 An angry corporate official complains that the recent Marshals’ investigation
into Zen Corp was a white-wash. He suspects that bribes were used to hide
Zen’s secrets.
52 A colonial officer complains about corporate contractors from Tanegashima.
They supply a great deal of military hardware and their company reps seem to
wield a lot of power.
53 The Colonial Marshals have just discovered a mining operation that was using
forced labour. Special Investigations is looking into the matter – it might be
more widespread.
54 The Fleet patrol craft Seraphim has gone missing in the Solomon system.
55 A scout tells of an encounter with a wrecked hulk on the fringes of the LV508
system, a short survey suggested it was a type in use over a hundred years
ago – before humans had ever reached the Autonomous Region.
56 Tanith’s wealthy tribune, Victor Marquez, has been badly injured in a boating
accident on the waterworld. One rumour suggests that is was not an accident.
61 A League of Nations envoy, Consul Harriet Carter-Welles is making a two-year
long tour of the American Arm and is due to arrive in the Region in the next
week or two.
62 The crew of the mining ship Huntress, were all found dead in their drifting ship.
Each had been killed by something exploding from inside their chest.
63 Off the main jump routes, some crews are reporting the ghostly appearance of
unidentified figures while in jump space.
64 A Colonial Marine complains that Tanegashima have been supplying batches
of faulty ammunition. Some Marines are carrying privately bought firearms with
them.
65 Parts of cargo shipments are going missing at the local starport. Police teams
have failed to locate the thieves. The phenomenon has also spread to
neighbouring systems.
66 Mercenary units are routinely used by corporations and their proxy nations on
Hexis, in the battles for mineral rights, land claims and counter-insurgency
operations. There are stories circulating of a massive atrocity carried out by
some of these mercs. Consul for Hexis, Tori Shinobizawa, is trying to verify
this claim.

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APPENDIX I: OPTIONAL
RANDOM GENERATION
You may well prefer a random, or semi-random, method of creating your characters.
This is especially true for Referees who will need to create a number of Non-Player
Characters frequently. In this section, we provide an optional randomized system,
with two approaches: 1) Roll everything randomly and explain what or who the
resultant character is; or 2) Decide on a profession or role, then select the Skill
Category tables to roll on.

Characteristics – For random creation, roll each characteristic with 2D6 and keep
the result. For semi-random, roll randomly, then swap the values of two
characteristics, if desired.

Skills – A player will have six rolls to divide up as the SKILL CATEGORIES
player sees fit, between TWO Skill Category tables. For 1D6 Table to Use
random creation, roll to determine those two tables on 1 COMBAT
1D6 (re-roll if you get the same table twice). When it 2 PEOPLE
comes to rolling for the actual skills, the player can roll 3 SPACE OPS
odd or evens for each skill roll, to determine which table 4 TECHNICAL
to roll on. For semi-random, then decide on your 5 URBAN
character’s career or role, then pick two Skill Categories 6 WILDERNESS
that best fit that concept. Roll randomly on those tables
as desired. If the same skill is rolled again, this indicates an increase in skill level. We
limit the player to only two tables to prevent every character ending up with 1 level in
every skill he possesses.

1 - COMBAT 2 - PEOPLE 3 – SPACE OPS

1D6 Skill 1D6 Skill 1D6 Skill
1 Melee 1 Bribery 1 Gunnery
2 Gun Cbt 2 Leader 2 Pilot
3 Gun Cbt 3 Carousing 3 Navigation
4 Melee 4 Leader 4 Vacc Suit
5 Gunnery 5 Streetwise 5 Computer
6 Demolitions 6 Forgery 6 Medical

4 - TECHNICAL 5 - URBAN 6 - WILDERNESS

1D6 Skill 1D6 Skill 1D6 Skill
1 Engineering 1 Ground Vehicle 1 Survival
2 Mechanical 2 Computer 2 Vacc Suit
3 Electronics 3 Admin 3 Leader
4 Computer 4 Medical 4 Survival
5 Security 5 Education +2 5 Medical
6 Engineering 6 Carousing 6 Vehicle

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APPENDIX II:
SYSTEM GENERATION
What is in a star system, beyond the mainworld that was created on pages 51-56?
The starship database will have all the planets and moons listed, and the Referee
can use this system to determine what these might be and where they are. If the
system is being explored for the first time, then the navigator must make a Navigation
10+ roll which will take 1D6+1 hours. Failure simply means the task isn’t finished. Try
again. Success provides the PCs with a map of the star system and an idea of what
kind of bodies occupy each orbit. The Referee should use dice to map out the star
system for the player characters.

ORBITS & PLANETS

Each system contains a minimum of one star and 2D6+2 planetary bodies. These
bodies are located in orbits around the central star, numbered from Orbit 1 (closest to
the star). To create a star system, first roll 2D6+2 and determine the number of
planetary bodies that orbit the star. Make a note of these bodies on the System
Survey Sheet (page 88), starting at Orbit 1, close to the star.

OTHER STARS
Many systems have two or even three stars and these additional stars orbit the
central star either closely, or at a distance – far beyond the orbit of the planets and
gas giants. Roll 2D6; on a 9+ the system is binary, whilst a result of 11 or 12
indicates the existence of a trinary (triple) star system. Where can these companion
stars be found? For a binary system, roll 1D6. An ‘odds’ result indicates that the
companion occupies Orbit 1, whilst an ‘evens’ result indicates that it occupies the
orbit beyond the system’s furthermost planetary body. For a trinary system the
procedure is the same; roll 1D6. An ‘odds’ result indicates that one of the two
companions occupies Orbit 1 and that the other sits out on the edge of the system, in
the outermost orbit after the last planetary body. An ‘evens’ result indicates that both
the second and third star both occupy the orbits beyond the system’s furthermost
planetary body.

MAINWORLD ORBIT
The mainworld is placed next and its location MAINWORLD TYPE
determines the habitable zone of the system. Roll 2D6 World Type
1D3+2 and place the mainworld by counting out 2-5 Rock
from the central star (or a companion, if a second 6 Hellhole
star occupies Orbit 1). Roll to determine the 7 Desert World
mainworld’s planetary designation on the Mainworld 8-11 Garden World
Type table. 12 Waterworld

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GAS GIANTS
Gas giants are relatively common, check the starmap. If gas giants are present then
roll 1D6 to determine their number. A roll of 6 must be rerolled, and one of the
rerolled gas giants must be placed into Orbit 1, becoming a ‘hot Jupiter’ that has
migrated toward the Inner System. The other gas giants are placed by rolling 1D6
and counting out from the mainworld (counting the mainworld orbit as ‘1’). An already
occupied orbit cancels out the current attempt at gas giant placement, move on to the
next one. If the orbit is occupied by the mainworld then roll 1d6; on 4-6 the mainworld
orbits the gas giant as a moon. Otherwise place the gas giant one orbit further out.

ASTEROID BELTS
For each remaining planetary body that has not already been identified as a gas
giant (or a star), roll 1D6. On a result of 6 the body is actually an asteroid belt.
Asteroid belts exist in many systems, and will be of value to miners looking for ice,
ore and other interesting things. The Solar System contains a single major asteroid
belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

THE REST OF THE PLANETS

Any orbital body that remains after determination of companion stars, main world,
gas giants and asteroid belts is a minor planet (i.e. not a mainworld). Those within
the Inner System (starward of the mainworld) typically have rocky surfaces, whilst
those beyond the orbit of the mainworld, in the Outer System, are usually covered by
sheets of ice. Roll to determine the minor planet’s designation on the Planetary Type
table, based on its location in the Inner or Outer Zone.

OTHER PLANETARY TYPES

World Type Inner System Outer System
Rock or Iceball* 2-8 2-9
Hellhole 9-10 11-12
Desert 11-12
* Rock if Inner System; Iceball if Outer System

For additional details about these worlds, the player can refer to the Planetary Details
table, below. The designations used are more fully described in the Creating Worlds
section on page 52. All rolls on this table are made with 1D6; results marked with *
instead require a roll on the appropriate table in the Creating Worlds section.

PLANETARY DETAILS
Type Size Atmosphere Hydrographics Temperature
Rock 1-4 Size 0 1-4 Trace 1-6 No Inner Orbit 1 or 2: Inferno
5-6 Size 1 or 2 5-6 Very Thin 7 10-20% Other Inner Orbits: Hot
+1 if Planetoid +1 if VeryThin Atmos Mainworld: Temperate
Hellhole * A, B or C 1-3 None 1-3 Frozen
4-5 10-20% 4-6 Inferno
6 30-80%
Iceball 1-4 Size 0 1-3 Trace No Frozen
5-6 Size 1 or 2 4-6 Very Thin
Desert * 1-2 Very Thin No 1-2 Cold
3 Thin 3-6 Hot
4-5 Standard
6 Dense
Garden * * * *

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NAMING PLANETS
Planets can have all kinds of names, based on the setting details. But explorers use
a standardized and scientific method of applying labels to unknown worlds and
planets that have been discovered. All bodies occupying an orbit will be named after
the subsector hex they occupy, with a Greek-letter suffix. From Orbit 1 moving out
from the central star, use letters of the Greek alphabet to identify the planetary
bodies. If the Solar System occupied hex 0806, for example, Mercury would be 806
Alpha, Venus would be 806 Beta, Jupiter becomes 806 Epsilon, etc. Here is an
example star system:

Example Uninhabited Star System LR806

Orbit Body Notes
0 Star
1 806 Alpha Hot Jupiter
2 806 Beta X220000-0 Rock
3 806 Gamma C565439-A Mainworld, Garden
4 806 Delta Gas Giant
5 806 Epsilon E100122-9 Iceball

REGIONS OF THE SYSTEM GREEK LETTERS

INNER SYSTEM 1 Alpha
This is the hot region close to the main star 2 Beta
that extends out to (and includes) the system’s 3 Gamma
habitable zone. Our own Inner System extends 4 Delta
from the Sun and encompasses the orbits of 5 Epsilon
Mercury, Venus and Earth. Most mainworlds 6 Zeta
are located at the outer edge of the Inner 7 Eta
System. 8 Theta
9 Iota
OUTER SYSTEM 10 Kappa
This is the cold region that sits beyond the 11 Lamda
habitable zone. Our own Outer System 12 Mu
stretches from Mars out to the orbit of 13 Nu
Neptune. There may be dwarf planets, 14 Xi
asteroid belts and comets, as well as gas 15 Omicron
giants and their moons. Some gas giants, the 16 Pi
Hot Jupiters (or ‘epistellar Jovians’) orbit within 17 Rho
the Inner System. Here we are talking about 18 Sigma
the cold gas giants thriving out beyond the 19 Tau
habitable zone. Such gas giants can be 20 Upsilon
exploited by the survey crew as a fuel stop, 21 Phi
involving the skimming of hydrogen fuel from 22 Chi
the upper atmosphere. 23 Psi
24 Omega

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LEGAL
The following is an important notice:
This Product is derived from the Traveller System Reference Document and other
Open Gaming Content made available by the Open Gaming License, and does not
contain closed content from products published by either Mongoose Publishing or Far
Future Enterprises. This Product is not affiliated with either Mongoose Publishing or
Far Future Enterprises, and it makes no claim to or challenge to any trademarks held
by either entity. The use of the Traveller System Reference Document does not
convey the endorsement of this Product by either Mongoose Publishing or Far Future
Enterprises as a product of either of their product lines.

OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a

The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and is Copyright 2000
Wizards of the Coast, Inc (‘Wizards’). All Rights Reserved.
1. Definitions: (a)’Contributors’ means the copyright and/or trademark owners who
have contributed Open Game Content;
(b)’Derivative Material’ means copyrighted material including derivative works and
translations (including into other computer languages), potation, modification,
correction, addition, extension, upgrade, improvement, compilation, abridgment or
other form in which an existing work may be recast, transformed or adapted; (c)
‘Distribute’ means to reproduce, license, rent, lease, sell, broadcast, publicly display,
transmit or otherwise distribute; (d)’Open Game Content’ means the game mechanic
and includes the methods, procedures, processes and routines to the extent such
content does not embody the Product Identity and is an enhancement over the prior
art and any additional content clearly identified as Open Game Content by the
Contributor, and means any work covered by this License, including translations and
derivative works under copyright law, but specifically excludes Product Identity. (e)
‘Product Identity’ means product and product line names, logos and identifying
marks including trade dress; artefacts; creatures characters; stories, storylines, plots,
thematic elements, dialogue, incidents, language, artwork, symbols, designs,
depictions, likenesses, formats, poses, concepts, themes and graphic, photographic
and other visual or audio representations; names and descriptions of characters,
spells, enchantments, personalities, teams, personas, likenesses and special abilities;
places, locations, environments, creatures, equipment, magical or supernatural
abilities or effects, logos, symbols, or graphic designs; and any other trademark or
registered trademark clearly identified as Product identity by the owner of the
Product Identity, and which specifically excludes the Open Game Content; (f)
‘Trademark’ means the logos, names, mark, sign, motto, designs that are used by a
Contributor to identify itself or its products or the associated products contributed to
the Open Game License by the Contributor (g) ‘Use’, ‘Used’ or ‘Using’ means to use,
Distribute, copy, edit, format, modify, translate and otherwise create Derivative
Material of Open Game Content. (h) ‘You’ or ‘Your’ means the licensee in terms of
this agreement.
2. The License: This License applies to any Open Game Content that contains a
notice indicating that the Open Game Content may only be Used under and in terms
of this License. You must affix such a notice to any Open Game Content that you
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 Retro Sci-Fi Rules

Use. No terms may be added to or subtracted from this License except as described
by the License itself. No other terms or conditions may be applied to any Open Game
Content distributed using this License.
3. Offer and Acceptance: By Using the Open Game Content You indicate Your
acceptance of the terms of this License.
4. Grant and Consideration: In consideration for agreeing to use this License, the
Contributors grant You a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license
with the exact terms of this License to Use, the Open Game Content.
5. Representation of Authority to Contribute: If You are contributing original
material as Open Game Content, You represent that Your Contributions are Your
original creation and/or You have sufficient rights to grant the rights conveyed by
this License.
6. Notice of License Copyright: You must update the COPYRIGHT NOTICE
portion of this License to include the exact text of the COPYRIGHT NOTICE of any
Open Game Content You are copying, modifying or distributing, and You must add
the title, the copyright date, and the copyright holder’s name to the COPYRIGHT
NOTICE of any original Open Game Content you Distribute.
7. Use of Product Identity: You agree not to Use any Product Identity, including
as an indication as to compatibility, except as expressly licensed in another,
independent Agreement with the owner of each element of that Product Identity.
You agree not to indicate compatibility or co-adaptability with any Trademark or
Registered Trademark in conjunction with a work containing Open Game Content
except as expressly licensed in another, independent Agreement with the owner of
such Trademark or Registered Trademark. The use of any Product Identity in Open
Game Content does not constitute a challenge to the ownership of that Product
Identity. The owner of any Product Identity used in Open Game Content shall retain
all rights, title and interest in and to that Product Identity.
8. Identification: If you distribute Open Game Content You must clearly indicate
which portions of the work that you are distributing are Open Game Content. All of
the rules within this book are Open Content.
9. Updating the License: Wizards or its designated Agents may publish updated
versions of this License. You may use any authorized version of this License to copy,
modify and distribute any Open Game Content originally distributed under any
version of this License.
10. Copy of this License: You MUST include a copy of this License with every copy
of the Open Game Content You Distribute.
11. Use of Contributor Credits: You may not market or advertise the Open Game
Content using the name of any Contributor unless You have written permission from
the Contributor to do so.
12. Inability to Comply: If it is impossible for You to comply with any of the terms
of this License with respect to some or all of the Open Game Content due to statute,
judicial order, or governmental regulation then You may not Use any Open Game
Material so affected.
13. Termination: This License will terminate automatically if You fail to comply with
all terms herein and fail to cure such breach within 30 days of becoming aware of
the breach. All sublicenses shall survive the termination of this License.
14. Reformation: If any provision of this License is held to be unenforceable, such
provision shall be reformed only to the extent necessary to make it enforceable.

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 Retro Sci-Fi Rules

15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE

Open Game License v 1.0a Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

High Guard System Reference Document Copyright © 2008, Mongoose Publishing.

Mercenary System Reference Document Copyright © 2008, Mongoose Publishing.

Modern System Reference Document Copyright 2002-2004, Wizards of the Coast,

Inc.; Authors Bill Slavicsek, Jeff Grubb, Rich Redman, Charles Ryan, Eric Cagle, David
Noonan, Stan!, Christopher Perkins, Rodney Thompson, and JD Wiker, based on
material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Richard Baker, Peter
Adkison, Bruce R. Cordell, John Tynes, Andy Collins, and JD Wiker. Swords &
Wizardry Core Rules, Copyright 2008, Matthew J. Finch System Reference Document,
Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook,
Skip Williams, based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. T20 -
The Traveller’s Handbook Copyright 2002, Quiklink Interactive, Inc. Traveller is a
trademark of Far Future Enterprises and is used under license.

Outer Veil, Copyright 2011 © Spica Publishing: Authors Omer Golan-Joel and Richard
Hazelwood.

These Stars Are Ours! Copyright © 2016 Stellagama Publishing: Omer Golan-Joel,
Josh Peters, and Richard Hazelwood.

Cepheus Light. Copyright © 2018 Stellagama Publishing: Omer Golan-Joel and Josh
Peters.

Traveller System Reference Document Copyright © 2008, Mongoose Publishing.

Vehicle Handbook System Reference Document Copyright © 2012, Mongoose
Publishing.

Traveller is © 2008 Mongoose Publishing. Traveller and related logos, character,

names, and distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of Far Future Enterprises
unless otherwise noted. All Rights Reserved. Mongoose Publishing Ltd Authorized
User. Cepheus Engine System Reference Document, Copyright © 2016 Samardan
Press; Author Jason "Flynn" Kemp

Cepheus Engine’s ‘Retro Sci-Fi Rules’, Copyright © 2017 Zozer Games, author Paul
Elliott

Hostile Setting & Hostile Rules, Copyright © 2023 Zozer Games, author Paul Elliott

91