By Dino Snider
Last updated April 2007
Why?
1) third edition seems to have been delayed. ***Talsorian says revised future history is due out soon! Hooray!***
2) the Fuzion system has all the strengths AND weaknesses of both parent systems
3) cuz I want to
The Changes:
1) character generation
2) the strength/body chart
3) replacing all multiples/dividles (; with The Rating
First things first.
The CHARACTER GENERATION process
A few things have changed. The old system was too easy to minimax. Take high REF and INT for the pickup skills, take the career skill high. Get the most cash and 'borg out with a high base EMP score. Cuz, don't you know, it is particularly humane types that like to cut off a perfectly good arm and replace it with a weapon of mass destruction. You start huge. You would have to be silly not to. I solved this by removing the connection between attributes, skills and money. You make characters with generic Character Points (CP). Each CP buys 1 attribute, 4 skill Improvement Points (IP - not the same as IP once game starts), or 1000 eurobux. The skills points are used as follows:
Level 1 - costs 1, 2 costs 1+2=3, 3 costs 1+2+3=6 and so on. So cost for 1-10 is 1, 3,6,10,15,21,28,36,45,55. This Sliding Scale means that buying anything at very high to start is very expensive, and unlikely. This biases characters towards full-of-potential but not-the-old-master type. Since it has no impact on starting cash and ergo cybernetics, there is little motive to take a handful of qualities at 10, except a particular character concept such as Billy the Kid.
Note that low-level pickup skills come from the same generic pool of points. It is so cheap to have low level pickup skills that there is no excuse not to have common skills.
*** I recommend the following 10 skills as nearly-universal - groom, wardrobe, persuade, seduce, athlete, math, language, general (popular culture) know, perceive and aware. Even some career skills are much neglected. Take a generic Tough Guy. You gotta Intimidate them to avoid fights. Interrogate to get info; it is no help to just being to kill them. Resist Torture to avoid crying like a baby when the tables get turned. Streetwise to score cool toys unless you wanna use a stick! Drive to chase and get away. Seduction Reading, Math, and General Knowledge of culture is a must to not be a freak of nature. You weren't a vatboy - just a few ninjas are that...
The new generation system allows for Old Veteran with high skill but decreasing stats, or Young Prodigy with high attributes and a decent skill backing it up. It allows for many character concepts. By the way, PICK from the lifepath - take 1 good of equal value to each 1 bad event. 1 per year, max. You are writing a history, not rolling random events like the weather. And for the sake of heaven, PICK your costume style. One last thing: any fully supplanted stat at character creation, like bullet legs and MOVE must be bought as 5. Sucks to be you. Don't want to? Start with a MOV of 0 and buy them once play start. See how long you last... Still comes out cheap with the Dubious Organ Donation Option- acronym DODO. <grin> See later. This is to avoid twinks always having a parapalegic BODY, REFLEX, and MOVE to get a full borg body. I have never seen a refer that really made them roll anyway; and there is always luck.
The STRENGTH CHART (or body)
I liked the basic chart, with a few caveats:
- Why does damage taper off in the super level range?
- Why can a granny with a BOD of 4 lift more than many fit, young men?
- Why is the Powered Exoskeletal Suit (PES) strength chart so whacked that some lower strengths yield higher average bonus damage than higher strengths? Why do much stronger suits do the same as much weaker Full Conversion Cyborgs?
I liked the Fuzion fix: the average human in NOT 5-7, but 2-3. It lends a much more Super/Mutant feel to higher strengths. Given the 1000 lb lifts of peak humans, it seems better. My system is just an earlier alternative. Try what you want.
Linear frames, power suits, and full conversion cyborgs all use the same chart. Frames and F.C.Borgs come in 12, 16, and 20, as do suits. The reason for these standard values will become clear in the following section on RATINGS.
Assume maximum SDP for borgs, like the bonus SDP from having stronger cyberlimbs, but better cuz you are not working around meat. These Standard Chassis make life simpler.
The maximum lift is based on STRENGTH squared, x10 pounds. This means that an old woman with a BOD of 4 can now only lift 160 lbs, NOT 160 kg. Cuz the strength chart maxes out at 20, the Square Effect does not lead to totally ridiculous lift amounts. A heavy borg/suit can now lift 20x20x10lbs, or 4000 lbs. It would take mecha to lift more, and ground pressure precludes them in a humanoid form. A vaguely humanoid form MIGHT work with very BIG feet, or outside the gravity well might help. Hmm, an l-frame COULD be that big - without any armour...(See Pitman project for real-life frame!)
The RATING: a generic unit for all combat game mechanics.
Look at the various systems. Armour occurs in certain increments generally c. 4, 7, 11, 14,18, 21, 25, 28.
Weapons do multiples of 1d6, or 1d10 for heavy weapons. The average yield 1-8d6 is 4,7, 11 and 14 etc. See it?
Just treat each 1d10 as 2d6. Replace each multiple of 3.5, the average result from a 1d6 as a RATING. So personal armour and weapons are rated 1-8. Each set of 4 human hit points or 5 structural SDP also become a rating point (you get benefits from SDPs later). Ammunition and weapon effects are covered below. It is as realistic as the half/double et al system with less math.
Ammunition: any time the old system says HALVE, -2 instead. If it says DOUBLE, add 2. So third is less 3 etc. For hollowpoint ammo adding half to damage, just add 1 instead.
Occasionally, an attack will be nonlethal or be nearly stopped by armour and cover. There are two additional levels of damage below 1 to reflect this: HALF and ZERO. They correspond to 2 and 1 pip of hit-points/sdp. Oh, and toughness no longer exists. Add or subtract a rating of hit points for each level above or below average. So 8-9 at Good and 10 at Very Good would add 1 or 2 respectively. At 12, 16 and ??? 20, add an additional 1, 2, and 3 ??? Cripes, a 20 is like a POLAR BEAR. Distribute the loss or gain of hit ratings well spread out through healthy, mortal, and at various wound levels. I am working on a character sheet gif - or may be soon. (HELP!)
So let us see how the system works. Bob in a heavy trench-coat gets hit with a .44 AP round. A SP 14 trench is AR 4, AR standing for armour. The .44 weapon does a base 4d6 damage, for a WR of 4, W being for weapon base damage. It is modified by AP rounds. AP halves AR and damage - now it is AR 2 and DR 2. The AR is treated as 4-2 or 2. 2 WR gets thru. Cuz it had to go through armour of at least 2, equal to its armour reduction value, reduce DR by 1. At this point, SOME damage will occur, if only a nick. Note that if 7 AR protection was used, 1 AR would be left and the attack would have been stopped. AR 6 would have been immediately reduced to ZERO WR, but modifiers never reduce an attack which penetrates armour less than ZERO rating. ***option: only applies to hit-points, not sdp - this reflects squishy flesh bags - blunt trauma. So DR starts as 2 WR, reduces by 1 to 1. Now as AP, that DR of 1 is reduced 2 stages. Cuz HALF and ZERO are considered stages, 1 is reduces by 2 stages to ZERO. That means the damage is 1 pip, or a quarter of a rating. The armour deteriorates 1 pip also; each 4 reduces AR by 1. The human takes 1 pip of damage. In cases of close values between armour and weapons, a lot of nickel&dime damage occurs. Now that means much less double digits divion and multiplication. (Yes, I DID fail stats, why do you ask?) When there is heavy armour, a light gun will not penetrate no matter what you stuff in the barrel -not very Appleseedesque, but more realistic. Either call your shot, or luck out on the hit location - beg ref for the expanded 4th die system. ***Be quiet - I am designing ceramic suspension gel armour based on Project Star. *** It means heavy weapons only against both full borgs and power suits. And rifles against metalgear.
ENCUMBRANCE - cleaning it up.
No central editing. By the end of the Chrome Book series, there was armour that was less encumbering for the same protection, with no explanation given. Base the EV on the values and # of locations covered.
Base it on no head armour. 5 locations at AR 4 yields EV of 1 REF. 3 locations at 5, or 1 at 6 (flak) is considered equivalent. So 5 locations at AR3 yield 1 less EV, or none. Future armour is apparently lighter and better than what we use today! Every 2 EV reduces MOV by 1. Please note that enough non-armour gear of great bulk or weight (check STRENGTH) may by equivalent to armour for EV purposes. Consult your ref. Treat Specialty layers, like fire resistant and active camo, as one additional rating. For example, the Salamander fire protection and 3AR is the same bulk as just 4AR armour.
A FEW FIXES.
Reduce the DIF of breaking motion restraints to very difficult - too good against heavy cyber types.
Treat all stun and lethal electricity attacks as ratings of damage, cumulative with normal damage.
BLEEDERS: any time a stun check is called for, check for deterioration *** if a LETHAL attack. A failed check behaves much like a failed mortal check - lose 1 pip per round until stabilized. Life sucks. Have a neckpiece option so the armour cowl can make you a seamless plated bastard. Of course, somebody who wears the equivalent of a motorcycle helmet into a bar in anywhere but Chromer-ville is a dweeb, or is not - and is about to kill somebody. Consider HEDP having auto stun effects only up to a point - not against sealed systems with an air barrier. ***explosions underwater are so nasty...*** Or else it is a power suit buster in light ammo.
DAMAGE RANDOMIZER
I initially used a 1d10 system after the hit, but like this better. I borrowed from first edition and the old martial arts system. Now, just barely rolling high enough to hit is minus 2 rating. Within 2 or 3 is minus 1. At an EXTRA (beyond base) 5,10,15, add 1,2,3 stages etc. This goes for ALL attacks. The glory of martial arts is the likelihood of exceeding the base to-hit roll required by a wide margin.
NEW - I looked at math behind martial arts costs. There is NO system. So here's what we'll do. Take the 10 sub-skills. Place them on sheet in own column. Pick a martial art DIFFICULTY of 1 to 4-forget the name for now. Each DIF beyond 1 you picked allows 10 points of 'martial arts bonuses'. *brawl is effectively +1 in all - simply allows them to be used* Use the usual 1 at 1, 3 at 2, 6 at 3, 10 at 4 system. Max +4. For example, let's take 'asskick-fu'. Assign a DIF of 2. That gives me 2x10=20 points to allot. Punch at +3 costs 6, leaving 14. Ditto kick, leaving 8. Then block and dodge at +2 each, costing 3 each, leaving 2. OK, how about break hold at +1, and, oh, sweep +1. *without at least plus 1, you DON'T have access to that skill - you are effectively skill ZERO.* You DO pay DIF for martial-arts during character generation. If you just wanna do the usual use-cyberleg to kick guy into next week, asskick-fu will work just fine - and do it better, sooner, than brawl.
Aikido just does not teach effective punching. The glory of brawl is that it allows the skill level on ALL unarmed attacks. You will not grapple like judo, or kick like savate. But at least you CAN do it as if not unskilled. Note the importance of blocking, parrying, and dodging in preventing attacks.
The STRENGTH DAMAGE chart
Strength 12 - +1 rating, cyberlimb base punch 1WR, kick 2 WR, crush 2.
Strength 16 - +2 rating, puch/kick 2/4, crush 3.
Strength 20 - +3 rating, punch/kick 3/6.crush 4.
Note that using weapons with cyberlimbs leads to a bonus from the limb of the limb strike damage less 1 IF full ratings were involved.
E.g. Thick myomar limb with monoknife =2 plus 2 WR less 1, or 3 WR.
To reflect the benefit of lesser or intermediate levels of STRENGTH, feel free to treat the old bonus damage of BODY 8-9 and 10 as a bonus on the strike once the minimum strike roll is made. I.e. Bob rolls a 19 - just enough to hit. But Bob has a BODY of 10 - a +2 damage. Added to the to hit roll, Bob exceeds it by 2 - yielding 1 less WR rather than 2 less with a just-barely-adequate roll. Go BODY!
CINEMATIC detail in a DUEL
This is usually too much work. In a one-on-one duel, though, it might add a nice touch. After rolling which body part is hit, roll again. This is the sub-part. A 1 is the base, 2-5 is lower, 6 is middle, 7-9 is upper, 10 is top. Which body part dictates what this means. A 1 on an arm is the hand - often unarmoured. Feel free to draw a complicated human outline with remarkably nuanced armour coverage. ?Borg/PES joints as less 1, everybody else less 2? ?normal armour joints as less 2, and none on appendages at all? Nuance- ignore it if too complex. It is especially nice to reflect the degree of limb loss or mutilation.
GORY option in generation character - the DODO choice.
Allow the player to CHOOSE to donate a limb or organ in Good Condition to generate more starting cash. After all, hackers rarely use BOTH kidneys! Lower BOD by 1 on all related challenges when applicable. Yes, you CAN give up Mr. Happy (or Mrs.). But why would you? Is the world not dark enough? What gets you through the day?!
HEAVY WEAPONS:
Scale up these with each 1d10 becoming 2d6 to convert to ratings. Then take ALL the HEAT warheads (except grenades) and add another HALF to base damage. Treat HEAT as HV (reduce AR by 4) unless against composite, for the beneficial purpose only. The old system blew chunks. In real life a heavy magnum rifle, a 40mm HEDP, and a light LAW rocket are NOT at all alike. In game terms, they all did roughly the same. Ummm. NO! ***Be quiet. I design stuff that blows up. *** Get rid of Extra Armour Piercing (EAP) in cannon/mg shells as the base effect. They may use discarding sabots- this would be SLAP -EAP, and funky uranium cores/flechettes/ et al, though. Use the falling rules for armour against explosives, so it is just a BIT useful. Cuz HEDP gets warped in my rule revision, actually HALVE(round up/ down for real/stun) the damage. Heavy weapons reduce personal armour a whole RATING if it penetrates, and 1 pip if it does not.
CALLED SHOTS and HIT LOCATION
Use most of the present rules. But if using a hand-held weapon or punching attack, or a gun at point blank, reverse the leg/arm hit chances. Keep the same for leg-based or crouching Vs not crouching attacks, etc.
Called shots vary now in DIF. It is DIF +3 against the torso. A roll within 1 of the to-hit rolls normally on the random chart - now you can accidentally kill someone you were trying to wing. Legs are +2, arms +3, and head is +4 - it is small and moves muchos. If trying to hit a sub-part, it is another modifier on top. So a hand/wrist is 3+3, or plus 6. A roll within 1 of the to-hit may hit another part of that limb/location - and within 2 on standard chart. Treat as a marginal hit as less 2 damage.
To hit someone with a good chance of putting them down - torso. Instant kill - head. But you better be GOOD. I like the idea that handheld and arm-based strikes use the present chart, but leg/low and ranged strikes hit the legs, cuz they are bigger- holds up to wounding stats.
As a matter of flavor, consider treating unarmed or even blunt damage as not-quite-lethal. Have it less likely to kill, and have it heal faster and better. Consider that enough stun damage MIGHT become effectively unarmed, blunt or even lethal.
CHARACTER SHEETS
I like the Transformer stats on the packages. It is a glowing bar that starts left and goes further right, the higher the score. I like neon colours, in green for natural stats, blue for cyber bonus, and pink day-glo for supplanted cyber stats.
E-mail me dinosnider666 at spacemail.com
I am now working on a LARP version, using expanded rules based on my Teknorebel system. I hope Talsorian takes me up on it, but otherwise I will just publish it open-source online, linked to this page. I LARPED in White Wolf for c. a decade, and know my poo.
Additional optional rule for Kinetic-Energy bullets - i.e. do damage cuz fast, not HE.
- these do the plus 2 at point blank as per rules. HE does not. BUT HE still does max damage at extreme range.
standard bullet - +2/PB, +1/SR, -1/ER. EAP (HV) - +2/PB,-1/LR, -2/ER. Railcannon:HV(rail): +2/PB, -1/MR, -2/LR,-3/ER.
***
Aside: the martial arts rule still improve third edition. I would like to make a LARP version. Tell Talsorian you want it!
