C31 Translating Computer

C31 Translating Computer........12

Translates unknown languages into any selected Terran language. When spoken into it translates your words back via digitized voice. The C31 features a limited AI that has a habit of actively volunteering detailed answers to passing questions about technical matters, and has been known to offer translations of interjections that give the impression of sarcasm. Takes three turns to translate a simple language; six turns to analyze and translate a complex one. Note: on a roll of 1 on 1D6, any previously unknown language is untranslatable. Cost: 1,200 credits

(Inspired by Robert Sheckley's "A Suppliant in Space" (1973); pic via Lebedev Studio)

Free Space Opera RPGs

Jeff R's post today about DIY skiffy got me thinking about the free space opera RPGs out there. He's mainly interested in the D&Dish ones he mentioned in his post, but there are some others around. Here's the ones that I gravitate toward.

D6 Space

D6 Space is good, free pulp SFRPG. I actually have the hardbound edition of this game that I bought when it first came out. I had some fun playing in a D6 game before, so I was looking forward to the reissue. I imagined it would be just like the tried and true D6 Star Wars, only without all of the copyrighted material. Instead what I got was a game that crashed the Masterbook system right into the once enjoyably simple D6 rules. Ugh! So I put it on the shelf to gather dust. But now that it's been released as a free OGL game, I'm willing to cut it some slack. This game gives you a solid space opera RPG that you can run right out of the box, and when you add D6 Space Ships and D6 Aliens it covers all the bases.

Fuzion

Fuzion is a solid general purpose RPG engine that works great for space opera. Especially the older 4.4.3 rules, which includes different kinds of space suits, scanners, energy pistols, energy sabers, cyber hand blades, etc. It also has some cool dogfighting rules to handle those space furballs. Add the various plug-ins and you've got the whole genre covered. The Mekton plug-in gives you simple rules for building ships and vehicles; Mental Powers covers psionics; the Super Powers plug-in covers just about any weird mutant powers you can think of; and Martial Arts lets your your character have Venusian aikido. The only caveat is that Fuzion is more of a tool-kit than a finished rules set, so you'll need to do a little tweaking and adjusting, but that fits right in with the DIY theme of Jeff's post. For example, I'd reduce the number of characteristics to six or less and rewrite the skill list to add sf skills like sensors, zero-g, etc. And I'd beef up the Energy Sabre, which is too weak. Maybe something like this:

TYPE..........COST...DC...ACCURACY...MIN.STR...NOTES
Energy Saber...7.........6...........+1...............2..........2h

Tri-Stat dx

Tri-Stat is another good choice. It's a pretty simple game system to run, but it would require a little more work than the others to use for space opera. That's because the Tri-Stat dx rules are a generic version of the superhero game Silver Age Sentinels, and so they're focused more on a contemporary setting. But with a little DIY tinkering they would work, and they do include a space opera skill list.

There's a bunch more great free SFRPGS around, and you can find links to them under the "Free RPGs" label just to the right there, but these are the three I'd be most likely to use.

Space Suit

(pic via JAXA)

Space Suit

Protects the wearer in space or in unbreathable atmospheres. It provides Partial Armor Level 1 (Stops 5 points of damage), Adaptation (Level 3, airlessness, temperature, vacuum). The suit can sustain 40 points damage before being destroyed, but any damage that penetrates armor affects both the suit and its wearer. The combined space suit and life support system weigh a total of 125 kilograms and can support a seven-hour EVA. Minor Gadget.

(Based on the space suit in BESM 2nd ed. rev., pg. 151)

Cone rifle

(5 Armor, 35 Health Points)

Weapon  Damage   Abilities       Disabilities               Skill

Cone Rifle   18     Area Effect   Limited Shots (6)  Gun Combat (Auto-Fire)
                              Auto-Fire
                              Spreading


The cone rifle, a standard infantry weapon, fires rocket-propelled, explosive flechettes. These flechettes are cone shaped, allowing them to be stacked into tubes. The explosive cones accelerate after being fired from the rifle, hitting with greater impact at long ranges. Major Gadget.

(From Gordon R. Dickson's Childe Cycle; pic modified from MechWarrior)

Moss the Dungeon Master

In the new season of The IT Crowd, Moss entertains some visiting corporate bureaucrats buy giving them their first taste of D&D.

Klingon Propaganda Video

FASA's Star Trek RPG (which sadly I've never had the chance to play) was probably the only Trek RPG to publish supplements tailored specifically for gamers running a Klingon campaign. Modules like A Matter of Priorities, Graduation Exercise, and An Imbalance of Power were adventures for Klingon PCs seeking honor among the stars. I imagine those characters watched a lot of videos like this.

Caster

Casters, once called "spell guns," are magical weapons which fire shells that have the effects of spells. When the mana started to run out people started putting the spells in cartridges. Each of the 20 different types of cartridge has a diffrent effect. Caster shells are rare and expensive, and few wizards still know how to enchant them.

 Caster (for Tri-Stat)

  Item of Power 1x3 = 3
    Easy To Lose 
    Special Attack "#3 shell" 1x4+ 1 = 5  (60 damage attack)
      Affects Incorporeal
      Concealable   
      Hand-Held 
      Limited Shots 2x-20 = -40  (3 shots)
      Unreliable 
    Alternate Attack "#12 shell" 1x1 = 1  (20 damage attack)
      Incapacitating
      Limited Shots 2x-20 = -40  (3 shots)
      Unreliable  


Notes:

I was generous with the number of shots. Usually a character will only have one or two shells of a given type. There are obviously many more types of cartridge available, but they are hard to get and characters should be required to undertake a minor quest to acquire the very rare and powerful ones, like a  #4 or #13.

Another way to write this weapon up is to treat the caster as a Major Gadget (or two) and then write up each cartridge as a different Special Attack.