Items and equipment are useful objects that can be used as plot devices, or to help a character group accomplish an adventure. As is evident with the myriad lists of weapons, armor and equipment in
Chapter Five, there is a vast array of item types, ranging from the mundane to the extremely powerful. From time to time, a GM will need to create an item for use in an adventure from scratch. For the most part, the Outfitter Rule as described in
Chapter 5.4 works well for turning existing items into objects that can be used within the game.
It may be, however, that a GM or player wants to create a piece of equipment that doesn't exist anywhere in the real world. This can be any kind of object, whether for a character's use or for a new type of system on a starship. For objects that don't already exist, a similar procedure may be used in order to produce the necessary information. What constitutes "necessary information" depends entirely on how the new equipment is to be used. If it is a mundane object, information will be needed on the object's technological era, its price, size, number of appendages required for use, and specific effects. If the new equipment is designed to be a starship accessory, just its cost and specific effects are necessary.
Creating non-existing objects is a tricky business and should be handled with caution. A new object can very easily unbalance the game once it's been introduced into an adventure or campaign by giving whoever has the object an insurmountable advantage (
for example, a device that completely nullifies all damage a character takes is too powerful). For this reason, creating these kinds of objects should be a collaborative effort amongst the people in the player group, in particular the GM. The GM has the final right as to whether or not a new item can be used in game, or to make changes to the object's properties once it's in the game should they discover the object is too powerful. If the GM is the player preparing the equipment, they might not be able to discuss the object with their group (particularly if the object is the centerpiece of their adventure or campaign). When possible, though, they should go ahead and discuss the object with the other players in the group. Particularly powerful objects should be designed with factors that limit their utility. Powerful items can be exorbitantly expensive, extremely heavy, or have an extremely limited number of uses. Should a piece of equipment a GM makes prove too powerful for the adventure they themselves are running, they always have the option of performing an in-game solution as discussed in
Chapter 10.4.
The procedure for making new equipment is as follows:
- Compose the object's concept
- Determine the object's type
- Determine what information is needed for the object
- Compare the object to other objects in its category (optional)
- Determine the object's effects
- Determine the object's value
- Determine the rest of the object's information
- Name the object
Bear in mind that the procedure listed above is fairly generic and is designed to encompass all the possible objects in the game. Some objects won't require more information than size, effect, value and name. Other objects may require substantially more information. Where an object of a particular type needs more information, it will be so noted.
Compose the object's concept
Before an object designer tries to create an object, they should take a minute or two to come up with a design concept. Simply put, a design concept is just an idea put down on paper. The concept can be a drawing, a set of desired stats, or any other mechanism that helps a designer focus their thoughts and directs them in the course of creating an object. Before a designer actually begins to build the object, they should take a little time to think about just what exactly it is they want to create, answering questions about the object and how they intend for it to function. The object creation system as laid out in this section in this Chapter has been designed to be as comprehensive as possible. Nevertheless, it's not perfect, and so there may be times when a player has to improvise. This is where having a design concept can come in handy. Odd circumstances can happen quite often, particularly if an object is of an unusual design; a concept helps a designer think about what they might be able to do in these situations.
What constitutes a good concept is generally up to the designer, but in general a designer should be able to answer these questions: what does the object do?, what is its required technological level?, how rare is the object?, how powerful is the object within its category?, and how similar is the object to existing objects?. A creator that can answer these questions in the concept phase has a solid base from which to start. If the creator can't answer a question or two (or even all five), it's still possible to create an object, but more decisions about the object will need to be made on the fly as a result.
Because there are many different types of objects that can be created with this system and there are some differences between what's needed for those objects, some examples of the procedure will be provided for each step. These examples won't cover each object type, but should be enough to give object designers a good idea of how to work the procedure.
We're going to make four objects. First, we're going to do an example of a character-scale weapon, in this case a katana (designers aren't allowed to use the Outfitter Rule to make weapons and armor). Next, we're going to make a vehicle engine that allows greater movement, though perhaps at the cost of fuel efficiency. Third, we're going to create a piece of equipment that is designed to completely nullify damage a vehicle takes from planetary weather. Finally, we'll create an artifact that allows a starship to instantaneously teleport from one point within a star system to another (similarly to how the planetary teleporter works for vehicles).
So let's start answering the five questions in regards to the katana. The object is a sword; it's a melee weapon designed for making slashing attacks (i.e. quick removal of limbs, heads, etc.). Katanas originated in Japan's Muromachi period (1392–1573); this corresponds to Earth's Metal Age. Considering the level of craftsmanship and dedication that is required for the manufacture of a single blade, it's likely that any such weapon existing in Arth's time would be incredibly rare, or of inferior quality. It's slashing ability would give it a little more kick than a regular long sword, though in most respects it would be identical to a long sword.
Our vehicle engine is designed to provide propulsion for a vehicle (obviously). It's going to require at least Industrial Age technology, but for this example let's say it requires Starfaring Age tech. If we say they're used commercially for vehicle racing, they might be relatively uncommon outside of racing circuits. We've already said that they're going to allow greater movement at the cost of fuel efficiency (this answers the question of how similar they are to existing engines, though whether or not they're "powerful" within the category of Engine is going to depend on how it turns out).
Our weather nullifier is designed to completely eliminate the threat of significant damage to a vehicle from planetary weather. This would probably require a specific type of shield technology, so Starfaring Age is indicated. We want to make this a piece of equipment (a vehicle accessory) rather than an artifact, so they'll need to be fairly common. A device that eliminates weather damage can be extremely powerful, depending upon the planet. Truth be told, this is too powerful; we'll go ahead and create it this way on purpose. This object is similar in effect to a TV lifeform shield (which, it should be noted, is an artifact), except it works on weather and provides total protection rather than just some extra SHP.
Finally, we have our interplanetary teleporter, which allows a starship to instantaneously teleport from one point within a star system to another. Teleportation screams Starfaring Age technology. Since this is an artifact, it's probably extraordinarily rare; it could even be a unique object. It's boasting a very powerful effect; instant teleportation would allow a ship to bypass fleets, encounters, planetary defenses, and so forth. We're going to make this fairly similar to the planetary teleporter, as previously mentioned. To keep it from being too powerful, we might limit the number of times it can be used (either with a horrendous fuel requirement, or simply a substantial time delay).Determine the object's type
Once the designer has their concept, they can begin to put together their object. The first thing they'll need to determine is what kind of object they wish to create. Objects that can be created in SFRPG using this procedure fall into one of seven broad categories:
- Weapons are objects whose primary function is to cause physical damage or other detrimental effects to other objects (including living beings), regardless of specific mechanism. Weapons typically come in one of four sub-types: melee, beam, projectile, or special.
- Defenses are objects that are designed to keep other objects (including living beings) from taking physical damage or experiencing effects that would significantly degrade the protected object's performance. Objects in this category typically include armor and shields.
- Engines are objects that are design to provide locomotive and electrical power to a vehicle or starship. Most vehicles require an engine in order to function at all.
- Equipment (also known as accessories) are objects designed to augment the abilities of another object (including living beings). Most forms of equipment fall into this general category.
- Pods are modular objects designed to attach to a mount-point on a starship in order to perform a specific function. Unlike other forms of starship accessories, pods can be added or removed from a starship at will, provided the ship has a free mount-point capable of supporting the pod. Pods come in one of two types: permanent and expendable.
- Trade Goods are objects that are designed for the sole purpose of being bought and sold to various parties. Their function is to serve as a means of making money for the party that sells them. There are two types of trade goods: standard trade goods (which potentially can be bought and sold anywhere) and specialty trade goods (which can only be sold at particular locations generally at a higher profit margin).
- Artifacts are extremely rare objects with unusual, generally powerful properties. In the original games, artifacts were used to fulfill the plot and to endow the player's ship with special properties. When these objects are of newer, more recent design and manufacture, they're known as technologies.
While there are other objects within the game (notably characters, creatures, vehicles, starships, communities, planets and star systems), those objects follow their own creation procedures at various other points within this set of rules. All objects within the game that use this procedure must fall within one of these general categories, no matter how tenuous its connection to a category. At the same time, it's possible that an object might fall into more than one category. In that case, a
primary category will need to be selected for the object.
For example, a Gas Slug can be catagorized as an Artifact, a Lifeform, and a Trade Good; its primary category is Artifact.
We have some pretty good concepts for our four objects, so it should be relatively easy to categorize them. We've already said that the katana is designed for lopping off limbs, but we've also indicated that any in Arth's age would be exceptionally rare. It could therefore be categorized as either a Weapon or Artifact. It's probably best to categorize it as a weapon, especially if the intention is for someone to be out in the field using it for self-defense. The racing engine is an Engine; that one's fairly obvious from the description we've given it. Both the weather shield and the stellar teleporter could be classified either as Equipment or Artifacts; the weather shield could even be classified as Defenses. Again, we've determined the types in the object concepts. The shield is Equipment, while the teleporter is an Artifact.Determine what information is needed for the object
With the object's type determined, the designer will need to begin filling in the statistical information needed in order to create their object. Before they can do that, they need to know what information is needed. There are a total of 27 different properties that can be included in an object's description, though no object type requires all 27 (in fact most objects have ten or less). The specific properties that can be included with an object are outlined in the table below.
Properties Required by Various Object Categories| Information | Description | Categories Required By |
|---|
| Appendages | Appendages refers to the number of motor appendages (see Chapter 5.4) that are required in order to successfully operate or manipulate the object. | Weapons, Equipment |
|---|
| Availability | Availability refers to the level of technology required by a species in order to have access to the object. It can also refer to the minimum size of a community wherein the object might be bought or sold. | Weapons, Defenses, Engines, Equipment |
|---|
| Class | Class is a property that describes how well an object functions in comparison to other variations of the same object. | Weapons, Defenses, Engines |
|---|
| Combat Move | Combat Move is a property that sets a limit on how many maneuvers a vehicle or starship can make during a round of combat. | Engines |
|---|
| Cost | Cost refers to the monetary value of the object. | All |
|---|
| Damage | Damage is a property that describes how much physical damage the object can cause to other objects, or whether or not the object is capable of causing other detrimental effects to other objects | Weapons |
|---|
| Damage Reduction (DR) | Damage Reduction is a property that indicates the amount of physical damage that is removed from a physical attack prior to the reduction of the object's available hit points. | Defenses |
|---|
| Deployment | Deployment is a property that indicates the amount of time in rounds that it takes for a defensive system to come on-line or to be "put on" by a wearer. | Defenses |
|---|
| Effect | Effect refers to any non-classified additional properties the object may impart to its user. | All |
|---|
| Falloff | Falloff refers to any reduction in function (usually physical damage caused or increase in effective hit difficulty) resulting due to increasing distance between the object and its intended area of effect. | Weapons |
|---|
| Fuel Efficiency | Fuel Efficiency is a property which measures the amount of fuel that is expended by a vehicle or starship over a given distance of travel. | Engines |
|---|
| HD Effect | HD effect refers to an increase or decrease in a vehicle or starship's hit difficulty levels from the installation of the object. | Engines |
|---|
| Hit Points | Hit Points is a property which measures an amount of defense against physical damage the object imparts to its user. | Defenses |
|---|
| Initiative | Initiative is a property which measures the quickness and readiness to react of a character, vehicle or starship. | Engines |
|---|
| Magazine | Magazine is a property which indicates the number of times the object may be used before requiring a recharge or reloading. | Weapons |
|---|
| Mountpoint | Mountpoint is a property which indicates where upon a character, vehicle or starship the equipment may be carried, either as a temporary or permanent attachment. | Equipment |
|---|
| Name | Name refers to how an object is referenced in common parlance. | All |
|---|
| Options | Options refers to a list of features that may be added to an object which, if used in a specific instance of that object, changes one or more basic characteristics of that object. | Weapons |
|---|
| Penalties | Penalties is a property that indicates any negative effect the object imparts to the wielder's abilities or other functions. | Defenses |
|---|
| Pocket | Pocket is a property which indicates how much space the object possesses for the purpose of storing other objects. | Equipment |
|---|
| Range | Range is a property that indicates the distance away from the object where its usage still has an effect, or the distance at which the object's effects start to degrade. | Weapons |
|---|
| Recharge | Recharge is a property that indicates the amount of time that must pass between individual uses of the object. | Weapons |
|---|
| Regeneration | Regeneration refers to the ability and rate at which an object that has been damaged or has had its function reduced is able to return to its full capabilities. | Defenses |
|---|
| Restrictions | Restrictions is a property that inflicts negative modifiers to any character, vehicle or starship that utilizes the object. | Equipment |
|---|
| Size | Size refers to the overall volume of the object. | Equipment, Artifact |
|---|
| Speed Effect | Speed Effect refers to the overall multiplier the object imparts to the base speed of a vehicle's chassis in order to help determine the vehicle's final maximum speed. | Engines |
|---|
| Type | T |
|---|
ype is a property which indicates what "sub-category" the object belongs to.Weapons, Defenses, Equipment, Artifact |
To determine what information will be needed, the designer simply needs to go down the table and see which properties are needed by the new object's primary category. A new object will require all of the information used by its primary category (even if some of that information winds up as "not applicable"). If the object can be classified in multiple categories, the object can include some or all of the information needed by the subordinate categories, at the designer's discretion.
We need to determine what information is going to be required by our objects. Let's start with the katana. It's a weapon, so we'll go through the table looking for the Weapon category. We'll need to generate information on Appendages, Availability, Class, Cost, Damage, Effect, Falloff, Magazine, Name, Options, Range, Recharge, and Type. Note that we'll need to generate all this information, even though its obvious from the katana's design that some of the information won't apply. For example, the katana won't have a magazine or recharge. Since the katana doesn't use any information in the Artifact category that isn't already being used by the Weapon category, whether or not we'd want to incorporate aspects of the Artifact category is a moot point.
The engine will require information on Availability, Class, Combat Move, Cost, Fuel Efficiency, HD Effect, Initiative, and Speed Effect. The teleporter, as an Artifact, needs information on its Cost, Name, Size, Type and Effect.
Our shield is primarily a piece of Equipment, so from the table it will need information on Appendages, Availability, Cost, Effect, Mountpoint, Name, Pocket, Restrictions, Size, and Type. Since it can also be classified as a Defense, we can look through the table for pieces of info from that category. Taking a quick look at the Defense category and our concept, we'll go ahead and add DR and Regeneration to the information we're going to generate for the shield.Compare the object to other objects in its category (optional)
Something a designer can elect to do once they know what information is needed for their object is to view the information available on another object of the same category (if one exists). Preferably, the designer should look at an existing object that is as similar to the new object as possible. Gathering this information will give the designer a baseline against which they can begin putting down information about the new object and allow them to know if what they're making is better or worse than the norm for the object type. This part of the procedure is strongly recommended for objects falling in the Weapons, Defenses or Engines categories, or for any other object that is an upgrade/downgrade of an existing object.
Our example objects can all be compared to other objects in the same category. The katana, we know from the object's concept, is basically a longsword. There are stats on longswords in SFRPG already; they're listed in Chapter 5.2. A unique aspect of this comparison is that the longsword itself is a weapons Option of a more generic weapon, Blade. The longsword basically adjusts the number of appendages needed at various blade classes, increases the price, and increases the damage of the generic Blade type. The various properties available on Blades are listed in 5.2 and we'll make note of them for our katana sword. Similarly, the racing engine can be compared to the generic vehicle engine listed in Chapter 6.2.3, the weather shield can be compared to the TV Lifeform Shield listed in Chapter 5.9, and the Stellar Teleporter can be compared to the Planetary Teleporter, which is also listed in Chapter 5.9. Because the stats on those objects are readily available, they won't be repeated here, though designers following these examples may choose to reference these objects at any time to see how our new objects finally compare.Determine the object's effects
Once the designer knows what properties they'll be required to fill in for their object, they can begin filling in that information. The first property that a designer needs to determine is the object's effects. This property is crucial, since the object's effects will directly determine just how useful the object will be in the course of an adventure and will detail just what exactly the object is supposed to do. Along with a name and a monetary value, it is one of only three properties that are shared by all objects. The possible effects an object may have are largely dependent upon the object's primary category. When selecting effects for an object, a designer should select effects that are appropriate to the object in question.
The Weapons category has a wide array of possible effects designed to augment a weapon's normal capabilities. Weapons may be given one or more of the effects listed in the following table if a designer so wishes; they may also design a weapon that has no added effects. Many of the effects listed here are listed in a general form; it is up to the designer to fill in the specifics of the given effect.
Weapons Effects List| Effect Name | Effect Description |
|---|
| Area Effect | The weapon's damage is spread out over a larger area, allowing it to affect multiple targets at the same time. Typically, a weapon with this kind of effect will either have a higher power requirement than a standard single-target weapon, or will have a significantly reduced affect on any target that it actually hits. Area effects can also spread another effect over an area (such as a weapon that sprays fire or acid). The designer will need to be specific as to the shape of the area affected (cone, sphere, etc.). |
|---|
| Blast Effect | A special case of Area Effect, the weapon has some kind of blast effect spread out in a spherical region from its hypocenter. Typically, a weapon with this kind of an effect has a falloff in both terms of damage done as well as hit difficulty bonuses with increased distance from the hypocenter. When determining if a target is hit with this kind of weapon, the target's BHD is used (or THD if the target is on the character-scale). The designer will need to be specific as to the weapon's blast radius and specific falloff statistics. |
|---|
| Bypass | The weapon is capable of bypassing parts of a target or the target's defenses either without being blocked or without causing damage to that part. This can include any shielding or armor on the target, specific systems, specific body parts, crew or passengers. The designer must be specific about what types of defenses, systems or parts are bypassed as well as whether the weapon will not be blocked by those parts or if it will not cause damage to those parts. |
|---|
| Condition Effect (Stun, Daze, Etc.) | The weapon causes some imparts some kind of condition on its target upon impact in addition to any physical damage it causes. This can include such things as causing the target to become Dazed or immobilized, catching the target on fire, "salvaging" damage (stealing hit points from the target and applying them to the weapon's wielder), and so forth. The designer must be specific as to the weapon's effect as well as the strength of that effect. |
|---|
| Delayed Falloff | The weapon's falloff statistics don't apply until a certain range from the weapon has been reached. Weapons with this effect must have a definite falloff value, either in terms of damage done, hit difficulty bonuses applied, or both. The designer must be specific as to the number of range increments at which the weapon's falloff begins to apply, as well as what parts of the weapon's falloff are affected by the delay. |
|---|
| Different Damage Scale | The weapon's listed amount of damage points are on a scale other than its own (a character-scale weapon that causes vehicle-scale damage, or vice versa). The designer must be specific as to the circumstances under which the different damage scale applies. |
|---|
| Environmental Effect | The weapon's is designed in such a manner as to inflict an environmental effect upon the target or in the area of effect (for more on environmental effects, see Chapter 12.4.2). This can include such things as heat or cold damage, exposure to radiation, increased/decreased gravitational force or other physical effects, and so forth. The designer must be specific as to the exact environmental effect as well as the intensity of that effect. |
|---|
| Environmental Restrictions | The weapon's function is reduced if certain environmental requirements are or are not met at the time the weapon's wielder activates it. Prohibitive environmental conditions may include things such as precipitation, cloud cover, smoke, presence/lack of an atmosphere, presence/lack of a certain gas in an atmosphere, and so forth. The designer must be specific as to the conditions under which the weapon may or may not be used at full capacity, as well as the amount of restriction that takes place when the environmental restriction kicks in. |
|---|
| Finesse Modifiers | The weapon induces a modifier to its wielder's Finesse attribute. Only character-scale weapons may have this effect. Typically, Finesse modifiers are penalties caused due to the weapon's weight. A Finesse penalty of -1 should be inflicted per kilogram of the weapon's mass. Should the designer wish for the weapon to impart a Finesse bonus, they'll need to be specific as to the circumstances under which the bonus aplies (whether it's conditional or some kind of intrinsic quality of the weapon). |
|---|
| HD/THD Modifiers | The weapon induces a modifier to its wielder's HD and THD. Only character-scale weapons may have this effect. Typically, HD/THD modifiers are penalties caused due to the weapon's weight. An HD/THD penalty of -1 should be inflicted per two kilograms of the weapon's mass. Should the designer wish for the weapon to impart an HD/THD bonus, they'll need to be specific as to the circumstances under which the bonus applies (whether it's conditional or some kind of intrinsic quality of the weapon). |
|---|
| IFF Seeker | The weapon is able to discern friendly targets from hostile targets, and either will not target friendlies or won't cause friendlies any damage whatsoever. The designer must be specific as to which of these effects applies, as well as any conditions under which the weapon won't be able to discern friend from foe. |
|---|
| Post-Impact | The weapon is designed such that its projectiles do not dissipate upon impacting and delivering damage to a target. Weapons of this nature may "shoot through" the first target, arc damage out to other nearby targets, or loop around to hit the same target multiple times. The designer must be specific as to the exact post-impact effect the weapon utilizes as well as the conditions under which the weapon will finally dissipate. |
|---|
| Repeater | The weapon is designed to be able to fire multiple shots during the course of a single round of action. Weapons like this typically either spread out their damage between the number of charges it fires during the course of the round or have some kind of offsetting factor for the increased damage potential (such as higher cost). The designer must be specific as to the exact number of shots the weapon may discharge during the course of a single round, as well as any conditions under which the weapon may be limited to firing a single shot. |
|---|
| Selective Damage | The weapon is designed such that its wielder may select the kind of damage inflicted. This enables the user to decide whether or not the weapon's damage will cause non-lethal, disabling damage, lethal damage, or a combination of the two. The designer must be specific as to which settings are available for the weapon, and should indicate if there is any kind of limit to the amount of damage caused on a given setting. |
|---|
| Specific Area Damage (sensors, engines, etc.) | The weapon is designed such that it causes damage to a specific system or body part, regardless of where it impacts its target. Weapons with this effect may be designed so that a specific amount of damage always occurs upon impact. The designer must be specific as to which system or part is affected, as well as what kind of effect or damage occurs to the indicated system or part. |
|---|
| Stamina | The weapon has an effect which lasts for greater than one combat round. This can include any other effect that the weapon produces or recurring amounts of damage (though ongoing damage usually has a very sharp dropoff over the period during which the weapon is effective). The designer must be specific about which of the weapons effects lasts over an extended period of time, as well as the exact amount of time involved. |
|---|
| Target Re-Acquisition | The weapon has the ability to reacquire the same target in the event of a miss. Usually, a weapon with this ability imparts an HD bonus to its target on subsequent attempts to hit the target and may only make a single attempt at a hit per round, with a final miss occuring if the amount of the HD bonus raises the target's HD to 100 or more. The designer must be specific as to the number of attempts the weapon may try to score a hit in a single round, the amount of HD bonus imparted to the target upon a miss, and under what conditions a final miss occurs. |
|---|
| User Skill Modifier | The weapon is designed such that its capabilities are augmented based upon the user's skill/sub-discipline levels. Alternatively, the weapon is designed such that one of the user's skills or sub-disciplines is augmented while the weapon is being wielded (regardless of whether or not the weapon is involved in an actual attack). The designer must be specific about which skill or sub-discipline is being augmented for either the user or the weapon, as well as how much augmentation will occur. |
|---|
| Wound Modifier | T |
|---|
he weapon is designed in such a manner that it is able to cause a greater number of Wounds to a character-scale target than normal. Modifiers can be set as specific amounts, die rolls, or multipliers and can be coupled with other effects to create particularly nasty wounds or other conditions that might be difficult for a medic to treat. The designer must be specific as to the modifier applied to the weapon, as well as the conditions under which the modifier applies.
Like Weapons, Defenses also have a good number of specific effects, though not as many as the Weapons category. As with Weapons, the effects that Defenses may have are listed out in a general form, leaving the task of filling in the specifics to the designer. Defense effects are outlined in the table below.
Defenses Effects List| Effect Name | Effect Description |
|---|
| Areal Coverage | The defensive system is designed to cover a specific area. This can be either a specific body part for a character-scale target, or a particular system for a vehicle or starship. The designer must be specific about what areas the defensive system covers, as well as any conditions under which the system may cover either different areas, areas in addition to normal coverage, or reduced effectiveness. |
|---|
| Conditional Effects | The defensive system is designed such that it either produces a special effect when active or protects its user from certain conditions. These effects can include such things as making the user invisible, the ability to use the defensive system offensively, and protection from negative environmental effects. The designer must be specific about what special effect is produced or from what conditions the system will be able to protect its user, as well as the conditions under which these effects may apply. |
|---|
| Conditional HPR | If certain environmental or other conditions are fulfilled, the effectiveness of the defensive system is reduced (for example, normal starship Shields cannot function in a nebula). The designer must be specific as to what conditions will result in reducted defensive capability as well as the degree of reduced capability. |
|---|
| HD/THD/BHD Penalty | The defensive system's design adds a large amount of weight to any character, vehicle or starship utilizing the system, resulting in a loss of some mobility. The designer must be specific about which HD ratings are affected as well as the degree of the penalty. |
|---|
| Maximum Damage Absorption | The defensive system's design limits the amount of damage it can absorb in any single attack. If the system takes more damage than the limit, the system either malfunctions or is completely destroyed. The designer must be specific about the exact amount of damage the system can take in a single assault as well as what occurs if that limit is exceeded. |
|---|
| Specific Weapon Treatment | T |
|---|
he defensive system causes some kind of effect to a weapon. This effect can be to a specific weapon system (such as a slugthrower) or to a whole type of weapons (such as projectile weapons). Typically, these effects cause some kind of reduction in the amount of damage the weapon causes or impart positive HD/THD modifiers to the defense system's wielder. The designer must be specific as to what weapons are affected by the effect as well as to the specific game effects that occur when the defensive system is hit by those weapons.
The effects of other objects are not as straight-forward as weapons and defenses, but a few general comments can be made on them. Trade Goods as a rule have no effects in and of themselves. Simply put, their purpose is to be bought and sold. If a trade good does happen to have an effect, it's usually one that comes from having a subsequent category. Similarly, Engines have no specific effect property, though there are a number of "effects" listed exclusively with their stats. These include effects to a vehicle's HD and maximum speed. A designer can set up an engine in such a way that these effects are different from the norms outlined in
Chapter 6.2; the new effects override the procedure in that case.
Equipment, Pods and Artifacts are all used as general "catch-all" categories; the only real difference between Equipment and Pods is that Pods are specifically used by starships, and the only difference between Equipment and Artifacts is that Artifacts are far more powerful than Equipment. There are a few differences in the properties required for the different categories, but other than that there's no real difference between these categories. There is no way to anticipate the effect of every general piece of equipment everywhere in the universe, so there are no effects lists for these categories. All items falling in the Equipment, Pods or Artifacts categories should be thoroughly tested before actual use in an adventure.
We're ready to assign some effects to the katana. The katana is primarily a Weapon, so we'll go through the list of weapons effects and see what we can apply. Only three of the weapons effects seem well suited: Wound Modifier, Finesse Modifier and HD Modifier. To check on the Finesse and HD Modifiers, we'll need to determine the weight of a typical blade. After some research, we discover that a typical blade weighs about 1.45 kilograms. This indicates that a -1 Finesse Modifier is appropriate. As for the Wound Modifier, we need to be specific about the modifier applied to the weapon as well as the conditions under which it applies. To make things interesting, we'll say that a katana inflicts a number of additional Wounds equal to its Class instead of the normal single Wound inflicted when the target takes Lethal damage. Further, we'll say that if the area hit is an unarmored cognitive organ, decapitation (i.e. brain death) occurs unless the target makes a DC50 Reflex Save. Both of these unique effects are nullified, however, if the target is in a Thick atmosphere or denser, or underwater.
The racing engine has been classified as an Engine, which as said previously does not have a specific effect. We can go ahead and take the time to say what we'd like for it to do as far as HD and speed goes, however. For the HD ratings, we'll go ahead and keep the standard ±2 like a regular engine. We'll adjust the speed effect, however, to say that each added class increases the vehicle's speed by 2.5 times rather than a straight doubling, that lower classes only decrease the speed by 75%, and that a vehicle equipped with the default adds 150 kph to its top speed (if applicable). We can also give it a "burst mode", which allows a doubling of speed for a period of one minute, at the cost of 5% of the vehicle's total fuel capacity.
Our other two objects, the TV Weather Shield and the Stellar Teleporter, fall into two categories (Equipment and Artifact, respectively) that do not have specific effects lists. In this case, we can go back to our design concept to determine their effects. The Shield has Defense as a subordinate category, so we can look through that list to see if any of those would apply well. The only one that might is Specific Weapon Treatment, with the "weapon" in this case referring to planetary weather and the specific effect of complete damage cancellation. We won't give the Shield any further effects. Finally, the Teleporter's effects are in its concept: it allows a starship to instantaneously teleport from one point within a star system to another. To limit this effect, we'll say that the ship already has to be in interplanetary space in order to use the device, and we'll require the device to gulp down 10 cubic meters of fuel every time it's used.Determine the object's value
With the object's effects in place, the next thing that must happen is the determination of the object's base value. This will determine how much it will cost someone to buy the object or how much a seller can expect to get from it.
There are three ways of determining an object's value. The easiest way is to compare the price of the object to a similar object, and either give it the same price or adjust its price to account for any change in the object's abilities. As a general rule, newer or more capable objects should be given a higher monetary value (up to ten times the value of the original item if the new item is substantially better). Similarly, a less capable object should be cheaper (down to one-tenth the value of the original item if it is substantially less effective). Alternatively, a designer may select a price value from a specific range of prices that are typical for the object's primary category. To use this method, a designer simply needs to find the object's primary category on the table below and select a value that is within the indicated range for the scale and/or type required. A die roll is available for each of the ranges should the designer wish to make the value completely random. Additionally, each category has an added value range (with die roll) that can be added to the object's value in case the given category is a subordinate category. Prices that are adjusted based on another object do not need to fit within the range given for prices that are selected manually.
Categorical Item Value Ranges| Category | Scale/Type | Central Value
(Approx.) | Primary Category Range | Subordinate Category Range |
|---|
| Weapons† | Character/Beam | 1.00 | 0.20-2.00
(0.2+(1d10*.2)) | 0.04-0.40
(0.04+(1d10*.04)) |
|---|
| Character/Projectile | 0.75 | 0.08-1.20
(0.08+(1d10*.11)) | 0.02-0.24
(0.02+(1d10*.02)) |
| Character/Melee | 0.08 | 0.06-0.10
(0.06+(1d5*0.01)) | 0.01-0.02
(0.01+(1d2-1*0.01)) |
| Vehicle/Beam | 7.0 | 2.0-10.0
(2.0+(1d10*0.8)) | 0.4-2.0
(0.4+(1d10*.16)) |
| Vehicle/Projectile | 15.0 | 9.0-30.0
(9.0+(1d10*2.1)) | 1.9-6.0
(1.9+(1d10*0.41)) |
| Vehicle/Melee | 16.0 | 10.0-20.0
(10.0+1d10) | 2.0-4.0
(2.0+(1d10*0.2)) |
| Starship/Beam | 10,000 | 8,000-14,000
(8,000+(1d%*60)) | 1,600-2,800
(1,600+(1d%*12)) |
| Starship/Projectile | 14,500 | 8,500-30,000
(8,500+(1d%*215)) | 1,700-6,000
(1,700+(1d%*43)) |
| Starship/Special | 2,800,000 | 100,000-8,000,000
(100,000+(1d%*79,000)) | 20,000-1,600,000
(20,000+(1d%*15,800)) |
| Defenses† | Character/Physical | 1.13 | 0.75-1.50
(0.75+(1d5*0.15)) | 0.15-0.30
(0.15+(1d5*0.03)) |
|---|
| Character/Energy | 4.00 | 3.00-5.00
(3.00+(1d10*0.20)) | 0.60-1.00
(0.60+(1d10*0.04)) |
| Vehicle | 3.5 | 1.5-6.0
(1.5+(1d5*0.9)) | 0.3-1.2
(0.3+(1d5*0.18)) |
| Starship | 3,500 | 1,500-6,000
(1,500+(1d%*45)) | 300-1,200
(300+(1d%*9)) |
| Engines‡ | Vehicle | 1.0 | 0.8-1.3
(0.8+(1d5*0.1)) | 0.2-0.3
(0.2+(1d2-1*0.1)) |
|---|
| Starship | 1,000 | 750-1,250
(750+(1d10*50)) | 150-250
(150+(1d10*10)) |
| Equipment | Character/Clothing and Container Objects* | 3.25 | 0.02-100
(0.02+(1d%*.13)) | 0.00-20
(1d10*.26) |
|---|
| Character/Tools and Wilderness Gear* | 0.50 | 0.00-10,000.00
(1d%*0.02) | 0.00-2,000.00
(1d10*0.08) |
| Character/Food | 0.50 | 0.01-1.33
(0.01+(1d0*0.13)) | 0.00-0.30
(1d10*0.03) |
| Character/Scanners and Computer Technologies | 6.00 | 0.00-20.00
(1d%*0.20) | 0.00-4.00
(1d%*0.04) |
| Character/Communication Techologies | 3.25 | 0.40-15.00
(0.40+(1d%*.15)) | 0.08-3.00
(0.08+(1d10*0.29)) |
| Character/Medicine and Medical Techologies | 4.00 | 0.10-40.00
(0.10+(1d10*4.00)) | 0.02-8.00
(0.02+(1d10*0.80)) |
| Character/Weapon Accessories, Ammunition and Batteries* | 2.50 | 0.01-75.00
(0.01+1d10) | 0.00-15.00
(1d10*0.2) |
| Vehicle/Non Size-Based Accessories | 100.0 | 0.5-1,000.0
(0.5+(1d%*10)) | 0.1-200.0
(0.1+(1d%*2)) |
| Vehicle/Size-Based Accessories** | 80.0 | 5.0-1,000
(5.0+(1d%*3.2)) | 1.0-200.0
(1.0+(1d%*0.6)) |
| Starship/Non Size-Based Accessories | 100 | 10-500
(10+(1d%*5)) | 20-100
(20+(1d10*8)) |
| Starship/Size-Based Accessories** | 100 | 15-1,000
(15+(1d%*10)) | 3-200
(3+(1d%*2)) |
| Pods | General◊ | 24,500 | 100-100,000
(18,375+(1d%*125)) | 20-20,000
(3,675+(1d%*25)) |
|---|
| Trade Goods | Standard/Stone Age | 280 | 150-530
(150+(1d10*38)) | 30-110
(30+(1d10*8)) |
|---|
| Standard/Metal Age | 430 | 360-500
(360+(1d10*14)) | 70-100
(70+(1d10*3)) |
| Standard/Industrial Age | 500 | 410-580
(410+(1d10*17)) | 80-120
(80+(1d10*4)) |
| Standard/Starfaring Age | 610 | 530-660
(530+(1d10*13)) | 110-135
(110+(1d10*2.5)) |
| Specialty | 1200 | 1,000-1,500
(1,000+(1d%*5)) | 200-300
(200+1d%) |
| Artifacts | < |
|---|
i>General◊3,400 | 0-15,000
(2,550+(1d%*17)) | 0-3,000
(510+(1d%3.4)) | | Curios* | 725 | 1-35,500
(1+(1d%*30)) | 0-7000
(1d%*15) |
| Trade Routes | 19,000 | 15,000-22,000
(15,000+(1d10*700)) | 3,000-4,400
(3,000+(1d10*140)) |
| Technology◊ | 18,000 | 0-30,000
(13,500+(1d%*90)) | 0-6,000
(2,700+(1d%*18)) |
| Ancient Technology | 19,500 | 15,000-24,000
(15,000+(1d10*900)) | 3,000-4,800
(3,000+(1d10*180)) |
†: The central price and range values given for Weapons and Defensive systems are for Class One objects only. To calculate values for higher Class objects, multiply the value of the current class by a value between 1.5 and 3.0. The designer can use a die roll of 1.5+(1d10*0.15) if they so desire. Objects that are Class Six or higher have a value exactly double that of the prior class.
‡: Engines, like Weapons and Defenses, also have the given central price and range values for Class One objects only and use the same roll to calculate higher Class objects. For the transition from Class One to Class Two, however, the value can be multiplied by a value between 1.5 and 8.0, with a die roll of 1.5+(1d10*0.65) available if desired.
*: Most objects in these categories tend to favor the lower end of the given value scale. Objects on the higher end tend to either be particularly rare or extremely large. The given die roll has been adjusted to account for the majority of objects in this scale, so the larger values must be selected manually.
**: Objects in these categories will have their final overall value multiplied by the Size Class of any vehicle or starship upon which the object is deployed. Most objects in these categories also favor the lower end of the scale and the die roll has been adjusted to reflect this.
◊: Objects in these categories have a tendency to gravitate towards the central value. The extremes of the given scale reflect either rarity, size, or worth (and the lack thereof). The given die roll has been adjusted to account for the majority of objects in this scale, so the extreme values must be selected manually.
To get a good idea of just exactly how expensive we need to make the katana, we should first take another look at the long sword (which we compared it to earlier). Per class, a long sword costs 1.5 times the amount of a normal Blade. We've given the katana greater capabilities than the regular long sword, and we've said that they are relatively rare. Because of these factors, we'll say that a katana costs 4 times the amount of a normal long sword, for a total of six times the amount of a regular Blade (4 * 1.5 = 6). This gives us the specific prices of a katana per class. Note that this process gives us a range of values; it's possible that the designer was only looking to create a specific weapon. We might decide, then, that later we'll create a general class of "Japanese Swords" with these figures and use the resultant Class Three stats specifically for the katana, using the other values for other types of Japanese blades (tanto, wakizachi, tsurugi, nodachi, odachi, and so forth). The Class Three calculation in this case comes out to 4.08 MU. Note that this is also outside of the listed range value for the primary category of Weapon: Character/Melee. This is perfectly fine.
Our racing engine would fit into the general primary category of Engine. Since we intend for it to be used with vehicles, its ultimate final type on the chart would be Engine: Vehicle. We can see from the chart that these engines have a central value of 1.0 MU per class, and a range from 0.8 to 1.3 MU. A regular Class One engine costs 1.0 MU, and we know that our engine is going to be more capable, so we'll go ahead and select a value of 1.2 MU manually for our Class One racing Engine. We will need to go ahead and fill in a range of values for the other classes. For our purposes, we'll go ahead and just multiply out the regular engine prices by 1.2. This gives us prices of 9.6, 24, 48, 120, 240, 480, 960, 1,920 and 3,840 for the remaining racing engine Classes.
Our TV Weather Shield is a piece of Equipment primarily, with Defenses as a subordinate category. Since this is meant to be a piece of equipment used on a vehicle, we'll need to select one of the two vehicle equipment types. For the heck of it, we'll go with Non size-based Vehicle Equipment. From the chart, we see that this has a central value of 100 with a range of values from 0.5 to 1000. Vehicle Defenses as a subordinate category will add a range from 0.3 to 1.2 for the final price. Let's say we want to make the Shield relatively cheap. In that case, we can just select the prices manually from the ranges. We'll go with 99.0 from the Equipment category, and 1.0 from the Defense category. The price of our TV Weather Shield is a nice, even 100.0 MU.
Finally, our Stellar Teleporter is a piece of Technology, so the proper category on the chart is Artifacts: Technology. These have a central value of 18,000 and a range from 0 to 30,000, with a tendency to go towards the central value. In this case, let's use the prescribed dice roll for the category, 13,500+(1d%*90). We roll d%; it comes up as 48, so the final value of the Stellar Teleporter is 17,820 MU (48*90 = 4320; 13500+4320 = 17820).Determine the rest of the object's information
At this point, the designer has the object's effects and its cost. The next thing the designer needs to do is to go through the properties that are required for the object's primary category and fill in anything that still hasn't been answered. When doing this, the designer should select information that is appropriate for the object at hand. This might mean declaring some of the information as "not applicable"; this is perfectly acceptable, provided that doing so doesn't interfere with the object's intended function. If the designer decided to add properties from subsequent categories, they'll also need to fill in that information at this point. For specifics on how a property applies to the object at hand, the designer is encouraged to review how those properties are applied to other objects of the same type and category. This information can be found at various points in this set of rules.
We've filled in several pieces of the needed remaining information simply through the course of our discussion for our objects. For example, the katana is classified as a weapon, so it needs information on its Name, Availability, Type, Recharge, Range, Appendages, Magazine, Falloff, Effects, Class, Cost, Damage, and Options (again, though the katana is also classified as an Artifact, there are no properties of artifacts that aren't already shared by the Weapons category). We determined during the concept phase that the sword is a Metal Age object; this answers Availability. We determined that it's a character-scale melee weapon (its Type) early on by comparing it to another, similar weapon, the long sword. While looking researching effects, it was discovered a katana is a two-handed sword; this answers Appendages. We set the Class (Class Three) while determining the weapon's Cost, so both of those have been answered. This leaves Recharge, Range, Magazine, Falloff, Damage, and Options left to be filled in. Because we're dealing with a melee weapon, it doesn't need to be reloaded or recharged and its range is limited to close quarters. In this case, we can knock off four more of these properties (namely Recharge, Range, Magazine and Falloff) by declaring them "not applicable". This leaves Damage and Options. We'll elect to not give the katana Options (somebody who wants to make a shinobigatana can create one on their own time), so that's also not applicable. As for Damage, we'll just use the same numbers for a regular long sword; the katana, as a Class Three weapon, will do 18 points of Lethal Damage in addition to the extra effects we gave it.
The racing engine might be a better example of how the design process fills in a lot of the needed information. It's a member of the Engine category, which requires information on Availability, HD Effect, Speed Effect, Class, Cost, Initiative, Combat Move, and Fuel Efficiency. We've already said in the concept that the Engine is Starfaring Age tech, which fills in Availability. HD and Speed effects were filled in when we set the engine's effects. We're filling in information for all ten Classes, and we got cost values for each Class. This leaves us with three pieces of information to fill in for the racing engine at this point: Initiative, Combat Move and Fuel Efficiency. We'll leave the Initiative ratings as the standard settings (equal to the Engine's class). For Combat Move, however, we'll reduce their capability and also set them equal to the Engine's class. Finally, we'll set the fuel efficiency one step lower per class, giving the Class One engine a one step penalty to the terrain (it would use the Moderate Terrain difficulty ratings for Easy terrain, etc.).
For the TV Weather Shield, we've filled in Availability (during the concept), as well as Type (Vehicle Non Size-Based Equipment), Cost and Effect during the design phase. This leaves Appendages, Mountpoint, Pocket, Restrictions, and Size, as well as the two Defenses categories we picked earlier (DR and Regeneration). Since we're dealing with a Vehicle-scale piece of equipment, we won't need the stats for Appendages, Mountpoint or Pocket; these all become N/A. The way we've set up the Shield's effects, DR has been determined and Regeneration isn't needed, so N/A for both of these too. This leaves Restrictions and Size to fill in. We'll arbitrarily say that there are no Restrictions. We'll make the Shield comparable in size to the TV Lifeform Shield we compared it to earlier; its size becomes 0.3 cubic meters.
Finally, we come to our Stellar Teleporter. It's an Artifact, which means it needs information on its Size, Value, Type, and Effects. We've assigned its value and effects earlier in the procedure, and we determined it was a piece of Technology during the object's concept. This means the only thing we still need to fill in is its Size. We originally compared it to the Planetary Teleporter, which has a size of 1.2 m3. We'll make the Stellar Teleporter twice as large; its size becomes 2.4 cubic meters.Name the object
Once an object has all of the information necessary for its type, all that’s left is to give the object a name (if it hasn't been given a name already). An object’s name should be unique from the names of other objects, or objects that do the same sort of thing as another object. The name should also be appropriate to the item’s function, to make it seem like a credible piece of equipment.
Once the object has been appropriately named, it's complete. If it's possible for a GM to try out the object before adding it to an adventure, they should go ahead and do so. A GM can quickly envision a scenario wherein the object would need to be used, and go through the procedure necessary to use the object. By testing the item, the GM might be able to detect early whether it is too powerful or not. Oftentimes, however, a GM will either not have enough time or will choose not to test the object. This is perfectly fine, as long as they are willing to make changes (perhaps drastic ones) in the middle of gameplay.
Since we had our objects named pretty much from the beginning of the procedure, this step isn't strictly necessary. However, we can go ahead and say that a GM put our objects through their paces. The objects turned out alright for the most part with the exception of the TV Weather Shield, which the GM thought was far too powerful for how it was created. Perhaps the designer can try again, this time making the shield a unique Artifact instead of a common piece of Equipment.
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