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12.4.2: Planetary Environments

Table of Contents [Hide/Show] Adverse Temperatures and Burns    Heat and Cold Damage    Fire    Acid Hostile Atmospheres    Smoke, Ash, and Other Pollutants    Thin Air    Suffocation    Strangulation Gravitational Effects    High and Low Gravity    Falling    Falling Objects    Landslides Poisons and Pathogens    Pathogens       Flu       Rubeola       Pneumonia       Bronchitis       Mind Fever       Phthisis       Pox       Immunodeficiency Virus    Poisons       Sedative       Intoxication       Hemotoxin       Necrotoxin       Arsenic Poisoning       Strychnine       Cyanide       Nerve Agent       Sulfur Mustard    Radiation Exposure       Level I (Minimal)       Level II (Extremely Light)       Level III (Mild)       Level IV (Light)       Level V (Moderate)       Level VI (Heavy)       Level VII (Very Heavy)       Level VIII (Severe)       Level IX (Acute)       Level X (Extreme)    Psionics and Mental Diseases Basic Biological Needs    Hunger/Thirst    Sleep Deprivation Composite Environmental Effects    Wind and Currents       Other Weather Effects on Characters    Life-Support Failure

Some folk think we should save the environment; in this chapter, it's shown that the environment is trying to kill you......

During the course of any adventure, characters will most likely have to deal with the local environment at one point or another. Heat and cold, low gravity, radiation exposure and the like are all potential hazards that the characters may have to face, regardless of where they are and what they are doing. The potential effects of the environment on characters in the game are so numerous this whole section of SFRPG will be devoted to a discussion on environmental effects and how to deal with particular environmental aspects as they come up.

Adverse Temperatures and Burns¶

Lifeforms in the Starflight Universe inhabit a wide array of biomes on many diverse worlds. These biomes range from warm, tropical wetlands to scorching deserts to polar icecaps. Occasionally, a lifeform that is used to one biome may, for whatever reason, have to enter into a biome for which they are ill-suited, usually with unfortunate consequences. For some reason, sapient lifeforms in particular are frequent visitors of less than optimal alternative biomes. That and they have an annoying tendency to screw around with things (such as fire, electricity, and chemical compounds) that are potentially quite fatal, or at the very least, disfiguring.

Heat and Cold Damage¶

Most lifeforms require a set of specific chemical reactions within their bodies in order to maintain their life function. These reactions are collectively known as the lifeform's metabolism. Like all chemical reactions, metabolic reactions are heavily dependent upon ambient conditions. Should the ambient conditions be too cool, a reaction might not take place fast enough to sustain life function at all. Conversely, if the ambient conditions are too warm, a lifeform might not be able to dissipate heat fast enough to avoid a rapid increase in bodily temperature, resulting in severe cellular damage. Either condition is potentially fatal for any lifeform.

Characters exposed to temperatures outside of their optimal environmental range can take Cold Damage from such things as frostbite and hypothermia, or Heat Damage from such things as heat stroke and sunstroke. Heat and Cold Damage can cause a variable amount of damage to a character, depending on just how extreme the heat/cold actually is. The severity and potential damage from heat and cold damage is determined through the use of a temperature severity level, which is determined by the GM and based on the local categorical temperature (using the temperature categories discussed in Chapter 10.2.1). If a GM knows that characters will be directly exposed to an extreme environment prior to an adventure, they should determine the temperature severity level for the environment before the adventure begins. To do this, the GM may use the table below to select a severity level, either by selecting an amount arbitrarily from the indicated range or by making the die roll and recording the result (making the die roll is recommended for situations wherein the GM is having to improvise).

-12

Temperature Severity Level Determination by Ambient Temperature and Die Roll

Ambient Temperature Category	Suggested Severity Level	1d5 Roll	Indicated Damage
Subarctic	8-12	7 + 1d5	Cold Damage
Arctic	3-7	2 + 1d5	Cold Damage
Temperate	0	N/A	N/A
Tropical	1-2	0 + 1d2	Heat Damage
Searing	3-7	2 + 1d5	Heat Damage
Inferno	8
7 + 1d5	Heat Damage

Note that this table is optimized for creatures that can best stand a Temperate to Tropical environment (like Human beings). For those creatures whose optimal tolerance is in another category, the "zero level" (the same rolls as for the Temperate category on the table) should be moved up to their optimal level. For any new "extreme" levels created by such a move, the roll for severity is 12 + 1d10, with a potential range of 12 to 21. Add ten to the endpoints of each subsequent new category For example, a character who's optimal temperature range is Subarctic will move the "zero level" to Subarctic. All other categories will do heat damage to this character; the Tropical level moves down to Arctic, Searing to Temperate, and Inferno to Tropical. For Searing, the range becomes 12 to 21, and Inferno becomes 22 to 31.

Some pieces of gear are designed to add levels of "thermal protection" to a character (such as socks, sweaters, heavy coats, etc.). If a character is wearing such equipment, the effective temperature severity level changes for that character. In situations where the character would be facing cold damage, the temperature severity level goes down by one per level of thermal protection the character is wearing for that character. However, in situations where the character would be facing heat damage, wearing such gear makes the temperature severity level for that character go up instead.

When a character is exposed to extreme temperatures, they must make a Survival Check every ten minutes. The DC of the Check starts at 5 and increases by five for each Check as long as the character remains exposed to the adverse conditions. If the Check fails at any time, the GM will roll a number of d5s equal to the predetermined temperature severity level (taking into account any thermally protective gear the character may happen to be wearing) and tally the dice up. The final result is an amount of Non-Lethal damage that will be immediately applied to the character. Characters may fail any Survival Check, yet continue to make subsequent Checks; it's only when the character fails a Check that they take Heat or Cold Damage. If character's NHP has already been reduced to zero or less, the character will continue to take Non-Lethal damage from the extreme heat/cold, but will begin taking an equal amount of Lethal damage as well.

Fire¶

Fire is the rapid oxidation of a combustible material releasing heat, light, and various reaction products such as carbon dioxide and water vapor. Oftentimes, the heat of the reaction is sufficient to ionize gases, producing plasma. Fire is commonly used as a weapon in many cultures, and for a very good reason: it can kill fairly easily. Even if it doesn't kill outright, fire can cause severe damage to anything that it touches.

Characters exposed to fires may catch themselves, their clothes or equipment on fire. If a character is at risk of catching fire (in situations where they are in a burning building, are standing a little too close to a lava flow, are being targeted by a Flamethrower, etc.), they are allowed a DC 75 Reflex Save to avoid catching fire each round that they are exposed to the fire (unless they have been targeted by another character wielding a Flamethrower, regardless of the weapon's Class). If the character fails the save, they are set ablaze. Once ablaze, a creature will take 1d10 points of damage per round, as well as a burn. These effects can be amplified depending upon which area of the body is on fire, as per the rules for hit locations in Chapter 9.2 (if a hit location has not been determined already, one should be determined once a character is set ablaze). Burns count as a two normal Wounds, the second of which will automatically scar (inflicts a permanent -1 Comeliness penalty) upon healing unless the healer uses a Burn Kit (see Chapter 5.4) during the healing process. After taking Fire Damage, a character may make a Reflex Save with a DC of 75 in an attempt to put out the fire (if the character drops Prone before attempting their Reflex Save, the DC for the Save is reduced to 50). If the Save succeeds, the fire goes out and no further damage takes place. Otherwise, the GM must make a d% roll; if the result of that roll is higher than the character's Reflex Save attempt, another part of their body catches fire. In this event, the amount of damage the character takes is still 1d10 points, but they will take a burn for each portion of their body that is ablaze. A single successful Reflex Save is sufficient to smother the flames over their entire body.

Acid¶

Creatures are sometimes exposed to substances that have a hydrogen ion activity either greater than or less than that of water. These substances may or may not be hazardous for the creature to be around; a creature's exterior layers may be designed such that they can withstand contact with these substances. They become dangerous when the hydrogen ion activity deviates sufficiently from that of water, at which point chemical reactions within the exterior layers are speeded up to to the point where the layer begins to break down, resulting in potentially severe bodily injury and disfigurement. Substances with hydrogen ion activity greater than water are known as acids, while those with activity less than water are known as bases. SFRPG treats these substances the same way for purposes of game play; in this discussion they will collectively be called "acids".

While technically have nothing to do with adverse temperatures, acids are covered in this section due to their capacity to cause burns similarly to fire. If a character comes into direct contact with acid, they will take an amount of damage depending upon the potency of the acid, and whether or not they merely come into contact with it or are completely immersed in it. If a character merely comes into contact with the acid, a hit location (see Chapter 9.2) will need to be determined for specific bodily damage effects. Immersion, on the other hand, automatically counts as a "hit" to a character's vital Body Area (which may make immersion in even a weak acid instantly fatal).

Contact with a mild acid (such as hydrochloric acid, or a base like ammonia) will cause one burn and 1d5 HP damage. Contact with a more potent acid (such as sulfuric acid, or a base like sodium hypochlorite) will cause two burns and 1d10 HP damage. Contact with strong or concentrated acids (such as nitric acid, or a base like sodium hydroxide) causes three burns and 2d10 HP damage. Immersion in acid doubles the amount of damage indicated by the die roll (as per normal vital Body Area hits), but also adds a number of Wounds equal to the damage die roll in addition to the indicated number of burns, no matter what the acid's strength. For example, a character falls into a vat of potent acid and winds up immersed in it. 1d10 is rolled for the damage; the result is six. Since they're immersed, that damage is doubled to twelve HP damage. Additionally, they take six Wounds over the two burns indicated, for a total of ten Wounds, two of which need a Burn Kit to avoid scars.. Additional damage is taken for acid as long as the character remains in contact with the acid.

Even if a character is not in direct contact with an acid, there is a chance that they can take damage from an acidic substance just be being near enough to it due to fumes. A character that is within two meters of a large, open vat of acid (a cubic meter or larger) must make a DC 75 Fortitude Save to avoid the effects of the fumes. The character inhales poisonous gas (see below) if the save fails.

Finally, other liquid substances can be treated similarly to acids if they have the capability of causing burns (substances such as liquid nitrogen and magma may fall into this category). These substances can be treated as acids, but may also subject a character to other effects (such as Cold Damage for liquid nitrogen and Fire Damage for magma). GMs are welcome to add or substitute Acid Damage effects for these substances at their own discretion.

Hostile Atmospheres¶

There are very few species in the Starflight universe that don't have to respire in some manner or another (synthetic lifeforms don't necessarily need to respire). Moreover, the species that do breathe tend to have a very specific set of requirements in order to be able to carry out such a basic biological function (such as a particular gas or liquid mixture, available within a set range of pressures and states of matter). When ambient conditions are such that the necessary mixture is not available, extremely bad things can happen to a lifeform very quickly.

Smoke, Ash, and Other Pollutants¶

Sometimes the correct conditions for breathing exist, but there is another substance mixed in with it that a lifeform's respiratory system cannot process. Smoke, Ash, and concentrated pollutants (such as ozone at ground level) cannot be processed by many lifeforms, and act as an irritant when they are inhaled. Functionally, smoke, ash and pollutants cause the same effects in SFRPG, so for purposes of this discussion, they will collectively be called "smoke".

Characters may encounter smoke for a number of reasons, including being close to a fire or erupting volcano, being exposed to poisonous gas on a battlefield, etc. Smoke can cause a level of suffocation damage. When a character is exposed to smoke, they must make a DC 50 Stamina Check after the first minute. Each round afterwards that the character remains exposed to the smoke, a new Stamina Check must be made, with the DC increasing by five points each round. Should the character fail any Check during this period, they begin to take damage from smoke inhalation. The character begins coughing uncontrollably, taking 1d5 NHP damage each round they remain exposed to the smoke. The Stamina Checks continue, but the DC begins to increase by ten points per round. Should the character fail a second Stamina Check, the damage increases to 2d5, and the DC increases by fifteen points per round. Each additional failure adds 1d5 to the amount of NHP damage the character takes, and five points to the amount of increase in the DC. NHP damage and Stamina Checks continue even after the character loses consciousness at 0 NHP. At any point, the character may leave (or be carried out of) the smoky environment, at which point the NHP damage stops. Characters stop coughing after spending the same amount of time in a smoke-free environment that they were in the smoky environment. NHP damage from smoke inhalation heals at the normal rates and can be treated by a physician.

Should the "smoke" in question actually be an actively poisonous gas (such as chlorine or mustard gas), poison damage might also apply (see Poisons and Pathogens, below). As a benefit of smoky environments, all characters within the environment gains a level of concealment. Anyone attacking a character in a smoky environment will take the -25 penalty for not having clear line of sight. For details, see Chapter 9.2.

Thin Air¶

Sometimes characters will have to venture into environments where the correct substance needed for respiration is present, but not in a high enough concentration to sustain life processes for an extended period. Such locales may include mountaintops, or perhaps partially decompressed chambers on a starship. Characters who enter into a so-called "thin air environment" as these must make a DC 50 Stamina Check after one minute and must make an additional Check each minute they remain in the environment, with the DC increasing by five points each Check. Upon any failed Stamina Check, the character takes 1d5 NHP damage and automatically becomes fatigued. The character must continue to make Stamina Checks after losing consciousness at 0 NHP. The character may leave the thin air environment for a more normal environment at any time (or be carried out), at which point any NHP damage will heal at the normal rate. The character will remain fatigued until all NHP damage from their time spent in the thin air environment has been healed.

Suffocation¶

If a character is in an environment where their respiratory needs are not being met at all (such as being flung into space, or being under water with an empty oxygen tank), there is a chance that character will either suffocate or drown. For game purposes, these two phenomenon have the same set of effects; collectively they will be referred to as "suffocation".

If the environment is such that the character cannot respire, they may attempt to "hold their breath" in an attempt to prevent the effects of suffocation. The character can hold their breath for a number of rounds equal to one-tenth their Stamina Skill score. After that time period, they must make a Stamina Check with a DC of 50. The character must make an additional Stamina check each additional round they remain in the environment, with the DC of the Check increasing by ten each round. On any of the rounds where the character is still making Stamina Checks, the character may stop making Checks if they return to an environment in which they can respire. Should the character fail a Stamina Check on any round, they are suffocating. The suffocation sequence lasts three rounds, begin with the next round after the character begins suffocating. On the first round, the character's NHP falls to zero and becomes Unconscious. On the second round, the character takes 3d10 Wounds to their Body Area (vital). Clinical death occurs on the third round (0 HP), if the character hasn't already entered clinical death from the damage inflicted on them during the second round. Should a character be pulled into an area where they may respire after the suffocation sequence begins, they will require time to heal as with any other wound. For details, see Chapter 9.2.

Strangulation¶

Finally, characters can attempt to strangulate another character in the course of combat, if that character is in a grapple with another character (for information on grappling, see Chapter 9.2). To make an attempt at strangulation, the character must have succeeded in their latest Grapple check by ten or more points and have used the action to pin their opponent. If these preconditions are met, the character may declare the pin to be an attempt at strangulation. Strangulation works the same way as suffocation and drowning, as long as the character can maintain the pin. If the opponent breaks the pin, they are no longer suffocating (and probably quite pissed).

Gravitational Effects¶

Gravity is something that most beings take for granted. It's a familiar tug that keeps everything firmly attached to whatever body generates the most of it. Of course, gravity rarely works the way sapient beings would like it to. This includes those times when it's possible for gravity (or rather the influence gravity has on all objects, including people and sharp, pointy objects) to cause substantial bodily harm to a being.

High and Low Gravity¶

Sometimes characters will wind up on a planet where the local gravity is either higher or lower than what they are used to. There are even a few situations where characters may experience an "apparent" change in the gravity that they are used to (such as when they are walking across a spinning platform, riding in a centerfuge, or are under water). GMs may either use the information provided in Chapter 12.4.1 to find the standard gravity for the individual members of the character group, or can just assume all characters are used to a standard gravity of one gee if they don't want to go to the trouble. All races are usually tolerant of gravity within .2 either higher or lower than their standard gravity.

When outside the gravitational tolerance range for their species, a character takes penalties on some of their actions. For each .1 gee over or under the tolerance range, the character takes a -1 penalty to all Power and Finesse skill Checks, as well as to all Reflex Saves. If the character happens to be in a zero gee environment, the character takes an additional -10 penalty to these same die rolls. It is possible, should the character be in an environment substantially different from what they are used to, that the penalties inflicted effectively negate all points the character has in a skill. In that case, the character automatically fails any Check of that particular skill. The penalties associated with being out of gravitational tolerance lose effect when the character returns to an environment with a more tolerable gravity.

Falling¶

While falling in and of itself will not harm a character, the sudden stop at the end just might. The amount of damage a character suffers in a fall is largely dependent upon the distance of the fall. A fall that is greater than two meters in distance is sufficient to cause damage. A character takes 1d5 damage for each meter (rounded up) that they fall over the first two meters, with an added d5 damage for each whole gee of gravity (rounded down) of the environment they are in. For example, a character that falls 6.4 meters on a world with 2.3 gees of gravity rolls 7d5 for falling damage (6.4 meters rounds up to 7, 7-2 = 5; 2.3 rounds down to 2, 5+2 = 7). Characters that take falling damage must roll for a hit location (see Chapter 9.2) to determine if any additional damage effects take place. Falling damage always causes HP damage. Characters may attempt a DC 75 Reflex Save upon impact in an attempt to mitigate the resultant amount of damage by 1d10; this represents an attempt at "tumbling". A character who successfully employs a parachute or similar apparatus designed to slow their fall only takes 1d10 non-lethal damage upon impact, regardless of gravity or the distance they fell.

Falling Objects¶

Just as characters can take damage from the sudden stop at the end of a fall, they can take damage by objects falling down top of them (something to consider when standing directly underneath when a character shoots down a hovercopter with a shoulder-mounted missile). The amount of damage a character takes from such an incident is dependent upon the size class of the object, along with the distance the object drops and the local gravitational pull. As with a falling character, an object that falls on a character caused 1d5 HP damage for each meter (rounded up) that the object falls over the first two meters, with an added d5 HP damage for each whole gee of gravity (rounded down) of the local environment. Additionally, another d5 worth of HP damage occurs for each Size Class the object is over the Size Class of the character. Characters that take damage from a falling object must roll for a hit location (see Chapter 9.2) to determine if any additional damage effects take place. If the object happens to be at least two size classes larger than the character, the character may attempt a DC 75 Reflex Save upon impact in an attempt to avoid being pinned down by the falling object (using the rules for grappling in Chapter 9.2). Even if the save is successful, the character will still be knocked prone by the impact. The falling object gets a +5 bonus for each size class that it is larger than the victim to its Grapple Check. A Lifting Check with a DC equal to 50 plus the object's Size Class times 5 may also be used to break the pin.

Landslides¶

When a large amount of snow, rock or land comes loose and begins sliding down a slope, the result is an avalanche or a landslide. Since both phenomena are caused through similar mechanics, the general term "landslide" will be used to refer to both in this discussion. Landslides are extremely dangerous and can easily kill a character. If targeted by a landslide but close to the edge of it, characters can make a DC 150 Reflex save to avoid
being caught in it. Characters caught in a landslide are carried along with the slide, moving at the same rate as the slide. Characters may be subjected to a number of possible effects during the course of the slide, at the GM's discretion. For example, characters in a rockslide might risk for taking falling object damage from boulders thundering past, they might be subject to suffocation during a mudslide, they could be subjected to cold damage during an avalanche, and so forth. A good way to determine if the character will be subjected to these effects is to roll d% and compare the result to their Dexterous Maneuvers score. If the roll is higher, they are subject to these added effects. Once the GM has determined the slide has been spent (roll d% and multiply the result by 10; this is the distance in meters the slide travelled), the character will be buried in the material they were carried away by. The depth of their burial depends upon the slide’s severity; GMS should assume a burial of one meter for every 200 meters (round up) that the slide travelled. The character can then attempt at digging themselves out, using a Dexterous Maneuvers Check with a DC of 150 each minute in order to move themselves up one meter. A buried character has total concealment (obviously). Suffocation effects will be needed while the character is attempting to dig themselves out; GMs should consider a "round" in this case to equal one minute rather than the normal six seconds.

Poisons and Pathogens¶

The chemical processes upon which most lifeforms depend for life functions must be carried out using the correct substances, and oftentimes must occur in a very specific order. If those substances are missing or substituted for another, or if something causes the processes to get "out of sync", it could prove fatal for the creature. Naturally, there are other lifeforms that take advantage of this fact in order to either find sustenance for themselves (either directly or by breaking a creature's structure down into a more easily digestible form) or as a means of creating a friendly environment in which to propagate their own species. And then there are those species out there that, although they cannot manufacture such disruptive substances naturally, are more than capable of manufacturing them artificially and deliberately deploying them on other beings. When a lifeform's internal chemistry is disrupted by a substance, the substance is called a poison. When it's disrupted by another organism, the organism is called a pathogen.

Because the effects of poisons and pathogens are fairly close to one another, SFRPG handles them similarly to each other. Both have a mode of contraction (also known as a transmission vector), multiple stages of effects, Fortitude Save DCs to avoid either the initial stage or subsequent stages of effects, an incubation period before initial effects present themselves, a duration period for each stage to determine how long the stage lasts, and conditions for treatment, mitigation, or avoidance of further stages. Typical effects from poisons and pathogens include loss of HP (up to and including death), loss of points in skills and sub-disciplines, and taking Complications (for any of these, the effects can be temporary, or they can be permanent).

Pathogens¶

Characters can become exposed to pathogens throughout the course of their adventures, either through contact with diseased individuals, delving into areas where bacteria thrive, or even by being targeted deliberately by individuals using pathogens as weapons. These pathogens can cause diseases, which can be mild or severe (some are severe enough to be life-threatening). When a character comes in contact with a pathogen in the manner required by its transmission vector (ingestion, inhalation, injury, etc.), the character must make an immediate Fortitude Save (the DC of which is dependent upon the pathogen itself). The character proceeds to Stage One of the disease after its incubation period if the Save fails. Once the character has contracted a disease, they can only recover if they fulfill the recovery conditions listed for the given disease (this may or may not involve further Fortitude Saves).

Other characters can treat patients under their care using Pathology Checks. The DC of these checks equals fifty plus the pathogen's initial Fortitude Save DC. A Pathology Check may be attempted once per day. If successful, the character automatically receives the most favorable result for the current stage of the disease (though the character still must endure the symptoms listed for that stage, for the amount of time remaining for that stage. Alternatively, a caretaker can give the patient a shot of Antibiotics. This requires the caretaker to make a DC 100 Long-Term Care Check instead. If successful, the patient will begin recovery from the disease upon completion of it's current stage. Caretakers are forewarned that they will be exposed to a disease simply by treating a patient with that disease. Placing a character in stasis will not cure a disease, but it will effectively "stop the clock", delaying further progression of the disease until they are brought out of stasis (perhaps buying the patient enough time to have a fighting chance at survival).

Characters can be given inoculations for specific diseases, usually by injecting them with a substantially weakened form of the disease. This requires a Pathology Check with a DC of one-half (round up) the disease's initial Fortitude Save DC. Success will give the character the disease, but they will only suffer the Stage I effects and automatically recover at the conclusion of Stage I. Failure still offers protection, but the character takes 1d5 Lethal damage in the process. This check has critical potential: on a critical failure, the character gets the full blown disease as well as the HP damage. Diseases with an initial Fortitude DC of 125 or higher cannot be inoculated against unless Starfaring Age medicine is involved. Inoculations are effective for 1d10 years.

Given such a broad definition of what constitutes a pathogen, and given the large number of species that are in the Starflight Universe, it should be obvious that there are countless species of microorganisms that qualify as pathogens and creating a comprehensive list of these pathogens is impossible. Rather than to attempt to create such a list, this section will consist of a short sample list of diseases. GMs may choose for themselves which races in their adventures are susceptible to these diseases, and are free to create their own maladies as needed.

Flu¶

The flu is an infectious disease caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae. While it typically affects avian and mammalian species more than others, almost all sentient life has their own "version" of this particular disease. It becomes particularly problematic when one version jumps over to another species, and has been known to cause epidemics among dense populations.

• Transmission Vector: Inhalation
  • Incubation Period: 1d5 days
  • Stage I Fortitude Save DC: 100
• Stage I Effects:
  • Symptoms: Cough (-1d5 to all Hiding and Seeking Checks), Headache (-1d2 to all Concentration Checks), Weakness (-1d5 to all Power Checks). Character is contagious.
  • Stage I Duration: 1d5 days
  • Stage II Fortitude Save DC: 110 (Stage I symptoms end and recovery begins in 2+1d10 hrs if successful).
• Stage II Effects:
  • Symptoms: Cough (-1d10 to all Hiding and Seeking Checks), Headache and Sore Throat (-1d5 to all Concentration Checks), Weakness (-1d5 to all Power Checks), Fever (-1d5 to all Stamina Checks). Character is Fatigued, contagious, and cannot move faster than twice their normal rate.
  • Stage II Duration: 1d5 days
  • Stage III Fortitude Save DC: 120 (Stage II symptoms end and recovery begins in 2+1d10 hrs if successful).
• Stage III Effects:
  • Symptoms: Cough (-1d10 to all Hiding and Seeking Checks), Headache and Sore Throat (-1d5 to all Concentration Checks), Weakness (-1d5 to all Power Checks), Fever (-1d5 to all Stamina Checks). Character temporary loses one-tenth of their maximum hit points (lethal and non-lethal). Character is Fatigued, contagious, and cannot move faster than twice their normal rate.
  • Stage III Duration: 5d5 hours
  • Stage IV Fortitude Save DC: 130 (Stage III symptoms end and recovery begins in 2+1d10 hrs if successful).
• Stage IV Effects (Final Stage):
  • Symptoms: Character has Pneumonia; proceed immediately to Stage I.
    

Rubeola¶

Rubeola is an infection of the respiratory system caused by a virus, specifically one from the genus Morbillivirus. It is a highly contagious airborne pathogen, infecting and replicating in the lymphatic system, urinary tract, conjunctivae, blood vessels and central nervous system of its new host. Though quite virulent, it is only occasionally fatal to its host, and is easily prevented altogether through inoculation. Once infected by this disease, a character becomes immune to re-infection for the rest of their life, no matter how far the disease progressed.

• Transmission Vector: Inhalation / Ingestion
  • Incubation Period: 7+1d5 days
  • Stage I Fortitude Save DC: 110
• Stage I Effects:
  • Symptoms: Runny Nose (-1d5 Senses (Smell)), Cough (-1d10 to all Hiding and Seeking Checks), Fever (-1d2 to all Stamina Checks). Character is contagious.
  • Stage I Duration: 5+1d2 days
  • Stage II Fortitude Save DC: N/A
• Stage II Effects:
  • Symptoms: Fever (-1d5 to all Stamina Checks), Full Body Rash (-1d5 Comeliness; -1d2 Reflexes). Character is contagious and takes a -10 penalty to all Checks.
  • Stage II Duration: 5+1d2 days
  • Stage III Fortitude Save DC: 130 (Stage II symptoms end and recovery begins in 4+4d5 hours if successful).
• Stage III Effects (Final Stage):
  • Symptoms: Variable. Roll d% and use following list of results:
    • 00: Character loses -1 Physique per minute until clinical death.
    • 01-13: Character has Pneumonia; proceed immediately to Stage I.
    • 14-99: Stage II symptoms end and recovery begins in 4+4d6 hours.
      

Pneumonia¶

Pneumonia is an inflammatory illness of the lung, and has various causes including prior bacterial or viral infection. It can result from a variety of causes, including infection with bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites, and chemical or physical injury to the lungs. Its cause may also be officially described as idiopathic (unknown) when infectious causes have been excluded. Pneumonia is a common illness which occurs in all age groups. In pre-Starfaring Age societies, it is a leading cause of death among the young, the elderly and people who are chronically and terminally ill. Vaccines to prevent certain types of pneumonia are usually available by the time a society reaches their Industrial Age. The prognosis and chances of survival usually depend on the type of pneumonia, the appropriate treatment, any complications, and the person's underlying health.

• Transmission Vector: Ingestion
  • Incubation Period: 1d5 days (unless triggered by another ailment, then N/A)
  • Stage I Fortitude Save DC: 130
• Stage I Effects:
  • Symptoms: Variable. Roll d% and use following list of results:
    • 00-19: Character has idiopathic pneumonia. Cough (-1d5 to all Hiding and Seeking Checks), Fever (-1d5 to all Stamina Checks), Headache (-1d2 to all Concentration Checks). Character is Fatigued, cannot move faster than three times their normal movement rate, and takes a -5 penalty to all Checks.
    • 20-69: Character has bacterial pneumonia. Cough with Mucus (-3d5 to all Hiding and Seeking Checks), Fever with Chill (-1d10 to all Stamina Checks), Chest Pain (-2d5 to all Power Checks), Shakes (-1d5 to all Dexterous Maneuvers Checks), Sweating (-1 day to dehydration). Character cannot move faster than twice their normal movement rate.
    • 70-99: Character has viral pneumonia (cannot be treated with antibiotics prior to Starfaring Age). Cough (-1d5 to all Hiding and Seeking Checks; -1 NHP when making physical Checks), Muscle Pain (-1d5 to all Power Checks), Fever (-1d5 to all Stamina Checks), Headache (-1d2 to all Concentration Checks). Character is Fatigued, takes a -15 penalty to all Checks, and cannot move faster than twice their normal movement rate.
  • Stage I Duration:
    • Idiopathic: 10+4d5 days
    • Bacterial/Viral: 7+1d5 days
  • Stage II Fortitude Save DCs:
    • Idiopathic: N/A (Stage I effects end and recovery begins 2+1d5 days after completion of Stage I.)
    • Bacterial/Viral: 140 (Stage I effects end and recovery begins in 2+1d5 days if successful.)
• Stage II Effects:
  • Symptoms: Stage I symptoms continue, with Difficulty Breathing (-2d10 to all Stamina Checks), Nausea (-1d10NHP/-1d5HP), Mental Confusion (-2d10 all mental Checks).
  • Stage II Duration: 2+1d5 days
  • Stage III Fortitude Save DC: 150 (Stage I and II effects end and recovery begins in 2+1d5 days if successful).
• Stage III Effects:
  • Symptoms: Stage I and II symptoms continue. Character loses one-quarter of their maximum HP/NHP.
  • Stage III Duration: 2+1d5 days
  • Stage IV Fortitude Save DC: 160 (Stage I, II and III effects end and recovery begins in 2+1d5 days if successful).
• Stage IV Effects:
  • Symptoms: Stage I, II and III symptoms continue.
  • Stage IV Duration: 1d5 weeks
  • Stage V Fortitude Save DC: N/A
• Stage V Effects (Final Stage):
  • Symptoms: Stage I, II and III symptoms continue. Character loses -1 Physique per minute until clinical death.
  • Stage IV Duration: Until clinical death.
    

Bronchitis¶

Bronchitis is inflammation of the air passages within the respiratory system, usually caused either through infection or prolonged exposure to particulates (such as smoke). While more annoying than deadly, it is possible for a character to contact chronic bronchitis and suffer from its effects for the remainder of their life.

• Transmission Vector: Inhalation
  • Incubation Period: 1d5 days
  • Stage I Fortitude Save DC: 100
• Stage I Effects:
  • Symptoms: Sore Throat (-1d2 to all Concentration Checks), Fever with Chill (-1d5 to all Stamina Checks), Back/Muscle Pain (-1d10 to all Power Checks), Runny Nose (-1d5 Senses (Smell)). Character is Fatigued and cannot move faster than twice their normal rate.
  • Stage I Duration: 1+1d2 days
  • Stage II Fortitude Save DC: N/A
• Stage II Effects:
  • Symptoms: Cough (-1d10 to all Hiding and Seeking Checks), Sore Throat (-1d2 to all Concentration Checks), Fever with Chill (-1d5 to all Stamina Checks), Back/Muscle Pain (-1d10 to all Power Checks), Runny Nose (-1d5 Senses (Smell)). Character is Fatigued, cannot move faster than twice their normal rate, requires two additional hours of sleep per day, and takes a -10 penalty to all Checks.
  • Stage II Duration: 1+1d2 days
  • Stage III Fortitude Save DC: N/A
• Stage III Effects:
  • Symptoms: Cough (-1d10 to all Hiding and Seeking Checks). Character loses one-quarter (round down) of their maximum HP/NHP.
  • Stage III Duration: 1d5 wks
  • Stage IV Fortitude Save DC: 130 (Stage III symptoms end and recovery begins immediately if successful).
• Stage IV Effects (Final Stage):
  • Symptoms: Character has developed chronic bronchitis. Cough (-1d10 to all Hiding and Seeking Checks) remains for 1d5 months, then subsides for 2+2d5 months, followed by Stage I symptoms for 1d5 months. Stage I symptoms then subside for 2+2d5 months and return for 1d5 months for the remainder of the character's life. GM should go ahead and calculate the character's Maximum Lifespan at this point (whether they have reached Venerable Age or not), and remove 3d5 years from that amount.
  • Stage IV Duration: Until brain death.
    

Mind Fever¶

Mind fever is a medical condition where a part of an organism's cognitive organ becomes inflamed and causes symptoms that present as a high fever. Mind fever can refer to several different maladies; the one presented here is caused by a specific bacterium of the genus Salmonella, transmitted by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with feces from an infected person.

• Transmission Vector: Injestion
  • Incubation Period: 9+1d5 days
  • Stage I Fortitude Save DC: 150
• Stage I Effects:
  • Symptoms: Fever (-1d5 to all Stamina Checks), Weakness (-1d5 to all Power Checks), Pain and Headache (-1d5 to all Concentration Checks), Loss of Appetite (DC 50 Willpower Save needed in order to eat), Rose-Colored Spots on Body Area (-2 Comeliness). Character is contagious, cannot move faster than twice their normal rate, and may not make any Lifting Checks.
  • Stage I Duration: 5+1d2 days
  • Stage II Fortitude Save DC: N/A
• Stage II Effects:
  • Symptoms: Fever (-1d5 to all Stamina Checks), Weakness with Bone Ache (-2d5 to all Power Checks), Pain with Headache (-1d10 to all Concentration Checks), Loss of Appetite with Inflamed Gustatory Organ (DC 100 Willpower Save needed in order to eat), Full Body Rash (-1d5 Comeliness; -1d2 Reflexes). Character is contagious, cannot move faster than twice their normal rate, may not make any Lifting Checks, and takes a -20 penalty to all Checks.
  • Stage II Duration: 5+1d2 days
  • Stage III Fortitude Save DC: 170 (Stage II symptoms end and recovery begins in 1d5 days if successful).
• Stage III Effects (Final Stage):
  • Symptoms: Variable. Roll d% and use following list of results:
    • 00-19: Character loses -1 Physique per minute until clinical death.
    • 20-99: Variable. Roll d% and use following list of results:
      • 00-04: Character is permanently contagious (-10 Reputation after 2d5 months). Stage II symptoms end and recovery begins in 2+1d5 days.
      • 05-99: Stage II symptoms end and recovery begins in 2+1d5 days.
        

Phthisis¶

Phthisis is a common and often lethal infectious disease caused by microorganisms of the family Mycobacteriaceae. It usually attacks the respiratory system, but can also affect the central nervous system, the lymphatic system, the circulatory system, the genitourinary system, the gastrointestinal system, the musculo-skeletal system, and even the epidermis. Once a character has it, they will have it for the rest of their life (no matter how long that is). Those who develop chronic phthisis rarely live with the condition for very long at all. Even with medical assistance and a non-chronic condition, those who contract phthisis will be lucky to survive it.

• Transmission Vector: Ingested
  • Incubation Period: N/A
  • Stage I Fortitude Save DC: 120
• Stage I Effects:
  • Symptoms: None.
  • Stage I Duration: 2+1d5 wks
  • Stage II Fortitude Save DC:130 (Disease becomes latent if successful. For the remainder of their life, roll d% any time the character contracts another disease. On a result of 19 or more, proceed immediately to Stage II Phthisis - occurs concurrently with the other disease).
• Stage II Effects:
  • Symptoms: Weight Loss (-2 Health, -1d5 kg Mass), Fever (-1d5 to all Stamina Checks), Loss of Appetite (DC 50 Willpower Save needed in order to eat), Night Sweats (add 1d5 hours of sleep needed per day). Character is Fatigued, contagious, cannot move faster than three times their normal rate, and loses one-quarter of their maximum HP/NHP.
  • Stage II Duration: 2+2d5 weeks
  • Stage III Fortitude Save DC: 140 (Stage II effects end, but Stage III immediately begins if successful. On failure, Character loses -1 Physique per minute until clinical death.)
• Stage III Effects:
  • Symptoms: Cough (-2d10 to all Hiding and Seeking Checks), Difficulty Breathing (-2d10 to all Stamina Checks). Character's maximum HP/NHP is reduced to one-half their normal levels and character cannot move faster than twice their normal movement rate.
  • Stage III Duration: 1d5 weeks.
  • Stage IV Fortitude Save DC: 150 (Stage III effects end and recovery begins immediately if successful. Disease becomes latent).
• Stage IV Effects:
  • Symptoms: Character has Chronic Phthisis. Bloody Cough (-2d10 to all Hiding and Seeking Checks; -1 HP when any physical Check is made), Severe Weight Loss (-2d5 Health, -2d10 kg Mass), Wheezing with Shortness of Breath (-3d10 to all Stamina Checks). Character is permanently Fatigued and permanently loses one-tenth of their maximum HP/NHP. Character cannot move faster than twice their normal movement speed and cannot move faster than normal for more than two rounds; moving faster than twice their normal speed or moving twice speed for longer than three rounds causes -1d5 HP damage per round.
  • Stage IV Duration: Variable. Roll d% and use following list of results:
    • 00-49: 3+3d5 months.
    • 50-79: 1d5 years.
    • 80-99: 5+3d5 years.
  • Stage V Fortitude Save DC: N/A
• Stage V Effects:
  • Symptoms: Character loses -1 Physique per minute until clinical death.
  • Stage V Duration: Until brain death.
    

Pox¶

Pox is a particularly nasty infection caused by viruses of the family Poxviridae. It is characterized by the formation of crater-shaped scars over the victim's entire body, disfiguring even the most comely of people (even with medical help). Those who have the pox have to live long enough to get to the point where they are disfigured. In populations where the pox has been all but wiped out, immunities to it are often underdeveloped, a fact which makes this particular disease a favorite amongst those who practice biological warfare.

• Transmission Vector: Inhalation
  • Incubation Period: 7+1d10 days
  • Stage I Fortitude Save DC: 130
• Stage I Effects:
  • Symptoms: Fever (-1d5 to all Stamina Checks), Headache (-1d2 to all Concentration Checks), Body Ache (-1d5 to all Power Checks), Red Spots on Mouth/Tongue (-1 Comeliness). Character is Fatigued, contagious, loses one-quarter of their maximum HP/NHP, and cannot move faster than their normal movement rate.
  • Stage I Duration: 10+3d5 hrs
  • Stage II Fortitude Save DC: N/A
• Stage II Effects:
  • Symptoms: Fever (-1d5 to all Stamina Checks), Headache (-1d5 to all Concentration Checks), Body Ache (-1d5 to all Power Checks), Full Body Rash (-1d5 Comeliness; -1d2 Reflexes). Character is Fatigued, contagious, is reduced to one-half of their maximum HP/NHP, and cannot move faster than their normal movement rate.
  • Stage II Duration: 10+3d5 hrs
  • Stage III Fortitude Save DC: N/A
• Stage III Effects:
  • Symptoms: Headache (-1d5 to all Concentration Checks), Body Ache (-1d5 to all Power Checks), Full Body Rash (-1d10 Comeliness; -1d5 Reflexes). Character is Fatigued, contagious, and is reduced to one-quarter of their maximum HP/NHP.
  • Stage III Duration: 1d5 days
  • Stage IV Fortitude Save DC: 160 (If successful, proceed immediately to Stage V)
• Stage IV Effects:
  • Symptoms: Variable. Roll d% and use following list of results:
    • 00-29: Character loses -1 Physique per minute until clinical death.
    • 30-64: Character is blinded (is reduced to -25 Senses (Sight)). Proceed immediately to Stage V.
    • 65-99: Character takes a permanent -5 penalty to their Power and Physique attributes. Proceed immediately to Stage V.
  • Stage IV Duration: N/A
  • Stage V Fortitude Save DC: N/A
• Stage V Effects:
  • Symptoms: Headache (-1d5 to all Concentration Checks), Body Ache (-1d5 to all Power Checks), Rash Begins Scabbing (-2d5 Comeliness; -1d5 Reflexes). Character is Fatigued, contagious, and is reduced to one-quarter of their maximum HP/NHP.
  • Stage V Duration: 2+1d5 days
  • Stage VI Fortitude Save DC: N/A
• Stage VI Effects (Final Stage):
  • Symptoms: Headache (-1d5 to all Concentration Checks), Body Ache (-1d5 to all Power Checks), Rash Leaves Scars (-1d10 Comeliness (permanent). Character is Fatigued, contagious, and is loses one-tenth their maximum HP/NHP (round up) permanently.
  • Stage VI Duration: 2+1d5 days. After duration, Stage VI effects end and recovery begins.
    

Immunodeficiency Virus¶

Immunodeficiency virus is an example of a lentivirus, a retrovirus (a virus that turns the host's own cells into reproductive factories) with a long incubation period. The fact that the host's own cells make more of the virus makes it particularly difficult to treat or even to control. This virus utilizes the host's immune system to replicate itself, ultimately eliminating their immune system and leaving the door open to death by some other infection. Though the transmission vectors aren't necessarily all that numerous, once inside a host it is guaranteed to cause a chronic condition. If the host hasn't got access to advanced medicine, death from a secondary infection is inevitable.

Immunodeficiency virus cannot be treated in Stone Age and Metal Age societies by any means. Industrial Age can only prolong the inevitable: if treated with antibiotics, progression towards Stage III stops for 1d5 weeks. Treatment in the Industrial Age is only effective in Stage II. Moreover, once Stage III is reached, antibiotics will have no effect on the patient whatsoever. Treatment becomes possible if the character has access to Starfaring Age medicine through normal means. Successful treatment leads to the end of the current stage symptoms and recovery after 1d5 weeks.

• Transmission Vector: Injection
  • Incubation Period: 15+3d5 days
  • Stage I Fortitude Save DC: 150
• Stage I Effects:
  • Symptoms: Variable. Roll d% and use following list of results:
    • 00-49: Fever (-1d2 to all Stamina Checks), Sore Throat (-1d2 to all Concentration Checks), Muscle Pain (-1d5 to all Power Checks), Rash (-1d2 Comeliness), Sores in Gustatory Organ (DC 50 Willpower Save is required to avoid vomiting when attempting to eat). Character is contagious and loses one-tenth of their maximum HP (round down).
    • 50-99: Fever (-1d2 to all Stamina Checks), Headache and Sore Throat (-1d5 to all Concentration Checks), Nausea (-1d5 HP/NHP), Weight Loss (-2 Health, -1d5 kg Mass), Muscle Pain (-1d10 to all Power Checks), Rash (-1d2 Comeliness), Sores in Gustatory Organ (DC 50 Willpower Save is required to avoid vomiting when attempting to eat), Mental Confusion (-2d10 all mental Checks). Character is contagious and loses one-tenth of their maximum HP (round down).
  • Stage I Duration: 1+1d5 weeks
  • Stage II Fortitude Save DC: N/A
• Stage II Effects:
  • Symptoms: Character has Chronic Immunodeficiency Virus. Fever (-1d5 to all Stamina Checks), Sore Throat (-1d2 to all Concentration Checks), and Muscle Pain (-1d5 to all Power Checks) continue for 1d5 months, which then subside for 1d10 months. Stage II symptoms then return for 1d5 months and subside for 1d10 months until the onset of Stage III. During the entire period, the character is contagious, and their Recuperation score drops by one per month until the onset of Stage III, with a permanent -1 drop to Health for every ten points Recuperation lost.
  • Stage II Duration: Variable. Roll d% and use following list of results:
    • 00-19: 1d10 weeks
    • 20-39: 2+1d10 months
    • 40-59: 1d5 years
    • 60-79: 5+1d10 years
    • 80-99: 3d10 years
  • Stage III Fortitude Save DC: N/A
• Stage III Effects:
  • Symptoms: Conditional. See below.
    • If the character's Recuperation score is below -50: Proceed to Stage IV.
    • Otherwise: Character is contagious. Character loses one point of Recuperation per day until their Recuperation score is below -50, then proceeds to Stage IV.
  • Stage III Duration: N/A
  • Stage IV Fortitude Save DC: N/A
• Stage IV Effects (Final Stage):
  • Symptoms: Variable (Character is contagious regardless of the specifics). Roll d% and use following list of results:
    • 00-32: Character has Flu. Proceed directly to Stage I. If character would reach recovery, reduce Recuperation by five points and return to Stage I Flu instead.
    • 33-66: Character has Pneumonia. Proceed directly to Stage I. If character would reach recovery, reduce Recuperation by five points and return to Stage I Pneumonia instead.
    • 67-99: Character has Phthisis. Proceed directly to Stage II. If character would reach recovery, reduce Recuperation by five points and return to Stage II Phthisis instead.
  • Stage IV Duration: Until brain death occurs.
    

Poisons¶

Even the strongest of characters can be brought down by poisons. Poisons come in many different shapes and forms, from the poisonous bite of a snake, to a concentrated formula deliberately placed in a character’s drink. While treated similarly to pathogens, there are a few differences between them and pathogens, mainly in the skills a medical practitioner uses in order to treat poison. Rather than Pathology Checks, poisons require Toxicology Checks. Also, Antibiotics will not help in the treatment of poisons and a Long-Term Care Check cannot be made to treat a poison, though a practitioner may use a shot of Anti-Toxin to boost their chances of successfully treating the poison. A successful Toxicology Check cancels the poison and allows recovery to begin immediately. Poisons can cause many different types of damage. A disabling poison will likely cause Non-Lethal Damage only (it might even stop doing damage once the poisoned character is knocked out). Some may cause attribute damage, causing either a temporary or permanent loss of points in the character's Skills. Most poisons cause direct Lethal Damage, draining HP. Because it's not uncommon for poisons to repeat a single stage over and over again, poisons are sometimes listed in a format of vector-damage-period-save DC (for example, (Sting, 4 HP/min, DC 30)). This simply lists how a character receives the poison, how much damage it does, how often it causes damage, and what the Fortitude Save DC is to prevent the damage from causing the same amount of damage again.

Characters that become exposed to poisons must make a Fortitude Save with the DC dependent upon the specific poison. If the Save is successful, either the poison has become diluted or the character's system has managed to shrug it off. If the Save fails, the character takes the damage from the poison. After the poison's period has elapsed another Fortitude save is required. If that Save fails, the character takes damage yet again. Once a character has taken any damage from a poison, they must continue to make Save rolls every successive period to avoid further damage. Two successful Fortitude Saves in a row will prevent further damage from the poison and allow the recovery process to begin.

The following is a short list of poisons that characters might encounter during the course of their adventures. As with pathogens, GMs may choose for themselves which races in their adventures are susceptible to these poisons, and are free to create their own toxins and venoms as needed. In addition to the poisons listed in this section, wounded characters are susceptible to suffering from overdoses if they are given too much medicine (in situations where the character is trying to be revived or if they are being put in chemically-induced stasis; see Chapter 9.2 for details). Overdoses should be considered as simple poisons causing five points of Lethal Damage per minute, with a Fortitude Save DC of 100. Finally, characters can suffer from infections in Wounds in the event of a critical failure of an attempt at healing. Wound infections are treated with the same effects as necrotoxins, except that the victim will require surgery to remove the dead tissue, the Wound cannot heal until the dead tissue is removed, and the Wound automatically causes a 1d5 loss of Comeliness after it is healed (for the effects of necrotoxins, see below).

Sedative¶

Sedatives refer to any substance designed to reduce irritability or excitement in a subject, usually in an effort to safely capture the subject with a minimum of actual bodily harm. Small doses may knock the subject out for a period of time, while larger doses may induce unconsciousness, perhaps even death if the dosage is too high. Tranquilizers (see Chapter 5.4) are a special form of sedative, which cause Non-Lethal Damage until the intended subject is Unconscious (0 NHP) and then prevent healing of that damage for 1d5 hours.

• Vector: Injection (or inhalation, if in gaseous form)
• Fortitude Save DC: 60
• Effects: -10 NHP per round
• Notes: Once the sedative begins to take effect, it will repeat its effects for 1d10 rounds (zero counting as ten) or until the subject successfully makes two Fortitude Save rolls in a row.
  

Intoxication¶

This is one that most beings have had to dealt with ever since their cultures first invented intoxicating beverages (which, historically, were often considered a safer alternative than drinking the water), and one which reaches epidemic levels once those cultures create co-ed university campuses. Simply put, a being's system can only handle so much of a substance (alcohol and cannabis are two good Human examples; ammonia-based beverages are a good Humna Humna example) before it starts to have an adverse effect on their physiology. While more often than not a very mild form of poisoning, it is possible to consume so much of a substance to cause an acute, life-threatening condition.

• Vector: Ingestion/Injection
• Fortitude Save DC: Variable. Dependent upon the substance (use the following list to determine DC).
  • Intoxicating Beverage: 50, plus ten for each drink over the first in a 3 hour period.
  • Recreational Pharmaceutical: 150 (equivalent to ten drinks) per dose
• Effects: Variable. Compare number of drinks to being's Durability score.
  • Less than one-half (round up) times Durability score: Impaired balance (-5 to all Dexterous Maneuvers Checks) and Reduced Judgment (victim takes 1 point in Crude, Lecherous, and Impulsive).
  • Equal to or greater than one-half Durability, but less than one times: Ataxia (-10 to all Dexterous Maneuvers Checks), and Poor Judgment (victim takes 1d2 points in Crude, Lecherous, and Impulsive).
  • Equal to or greater than Durability score, but less than one and one-half times: Ataxia (-20 to all Dexterous Maneuvers Checks), Poor Judgment (victim takes 1d5 points in Crude, Lecherous, and Impulsive), Slurred Speech (-5 to all Communications Checks), Reddened Eyes (-2 Comeliness) and Nausea (-1d10NHP/HP).
  • Equal to or greater than one and one-half times Durability score, but less than two times: Ataxia (-30 to all Dexterous Maneuvers Checks), Poor Judgment (victim takes 1d10 points in Crude, Lecherous, and Impulsive), Slurred Speech (-10 to all Communications Checks), Reddened Eyes (-2 Comeliness) and Nausea (-1d10NHP/HP). Character is anesthetized (automatically succeeds on all Fortitude Saves due to pain) and experiences memory lapse (-1d10 Memory, unless already at -25). Roll d%; on a result of 50 or more, character loses consciousness (0 NHP) after 1d2 hours.
  • Equal to or greater than two times Durability score: Ataxia (-50 to all Dexterous Maneuvers Checks), Poor Judgment (victim takes 2d10 points in Crude, Lecherous, and Impulsive), Slurred Speech (-20 to all Communications Checks), Reddened Eyes (-2 Comeliness) and Nausea (-1d10NHP/HP). Character is anesthetized (automatically succeeds on all Fortitude Saves due to pain) and experiences memory lapse (-2d10 Memory, unless already at -25). Character loses consciousness (0 NHP) after 1d2 hours. Roll d%; on a result of 50 or more, character becomes comatose (-200 NHP) and suffocation effects begin.
• Notes: Each hour after becoming intoxicated, the victim may make a Fortitude Save to fight off the affects of intoxication. The DC of this check is the same as the initial Fortitude Save for the first hour, decreasing by ten each hour. If successful, the intoxication effects end, but hangover effects begin - these include Nausea (-1d10NHP/-1d5HP), Headache (-1d10 to all Concentration Checks), Sensitivity to Light and Sound (-1d5 Senses) and lethargy (victim is Fatigued). Hangover effects last for a number of hours equal to the total number of drinks (or the equivalent) that the victim consumed.
  

Hemotoxin¶

Hemotoxins are toxins that destroy red blood cells, disrupt blood clotting, and/or cause organ degeneration and generalized tissue damage. Damage from a hemotoxin is usually quite painful and there are cases where permanent damage results. This type of poison is favored by many different types of creatures (in particular reptilians such as pit vipers) as it can begin the process of digesting prey prior to ingestion. Loss of an affected limb is possible even with prompt treatment.

• Vector: Injection
• Fortitude Save DC: 75
• Effects: Variable. Roll d% and use following list of results:
  • 00-25: Victim takes 1 point of HP damage.
  • 26-60: Victim takes 2 points of HP damage. Causes Pain (DC 50 Fortitude Save required to avoid passing out). If injected into a propulsive or motor appendage, causes swelling of the appendage (1 Wound to the appendage).
  • 61-85: Victim takes 3 points of HP damage. Causes Pain (DC 50 Fortitude Save required to avoid passing out) and Nausea (-1d10NHP/-1d5HP). Victim is inflicted with a -1d5 Bleeder complication (unless already at -25) and victim becomes Fatigued. If injected into a propulsive or motor appendage, causes swelling of the appendage (1d5 Wounds to the appendage).
  • 86-99: Victim must make a DC 125 Fortitude Save. If the save succeeds, the same effects as a roll of 61-85 apply. If the save fails, the victim suffers cardiac arrest and loses -10 Physique per minute.
• Notes: Hemotoxin does not begin to affect its victim until 1d% minutes have passed. Once it begins to take effect, any HP damage will repeat every minute for up to 1d5 hours or until the victim successfully makes two Fortitude Save rolls in a row.
  

Necrotoxin¶

Necrotoxins cause cellular death in the cells they encounter as they spread throughout a victim's circulatory system. Though capable of destroying all types of tissue, epidural and muscular tissues tend to be the most sensitive areas to necrotoxins. Should a victim survive the toxin, they'll still have to contend with an ugly looking patch which ultimately will leave a scar. This kind of poison is commonly used by very small creatures to kill prey, and is a favored venom of arachnoid lifeforms.

• Vector: Injection
• Fortitude Save DC: 90
• Effects: Variable. Roll d% and use following list of results:
  • 00-25: Victim takes 1 point of HP damage. Causes Mild Pain (DC 25 Fortitude Save required to avoid passing out).
  • 26-60: Victim takes 2 points of HP damage. Causes Pain (DC 50 Fortitude Save required to avoid passing out). Roll d%; on a result of 49 or less, the victim suffers from Fever (-1d5 to all Stamina Checks) and Nausea (-1d10NHP/-1d5HP) as well.
  • 61-85: Victim takes 3 points of HP damage. Causes Pain (DC 50 Fortitude Save required to avoid passing out), Fever (-1d10 to all Stamina Checks) and Nausea (-1d10NHP/-1d5HP). Victim is inflicted with a -1d5 Bleeder complication (unless already at -25) and victim becomes Fatigued. If injected into a propulsive or motor appendage, causes swelling of the appendage (1d5 Wounds to the appendage). Roll d%; on a result of 49 or less, the victim suffers from Difficulty Breathing (-2d10 to all Stamina Checks) and takes a -5 penalty to all Dexterous Maneuvers Checks as well.
  • 86-99: Victim must make a DC 125 Fortitude Save. If the save succeeds, all of the effects as a roll of 61-85 apply (count the result of the d% roll as zero). If the save fails, the victim stops breathing (reduce HP to zero).
• Notes: Necrotoxin does not begin to affect its victim until 2+1d5 hours have passed. Once it begins to take effect, any HP damage will repeat every hour for up to 1d5 days or until the victim successfully makes two Fortitude Save rolls in a row. Additionally, cells die off at the site of the injection, forming a dark patch which sloughs off after 1d4 weeks. This counts as a Wound, but the victim does not lose any additional HP from it; this particular wound cannot be healed until another 1+1d5 months have passed since the patch sloughs off. The presence of the patch lowers the victim's Comeliness by 1d5; after it sloughs off, the GM must make a d% roll. On a result of nine or less, the rolled loss of Comeliness is permanent. Otherwise, the victim permanently loses just one point of Comeliness.
  

Arsenic Poisoning¶

Arsenic is a notoriously poisonous metalloid element, generally used in industrial applications. While known as a poisonous substance, it's actually fairly weak in that aspect unless a massive dose is administered, and even then it's slow to have a lethal effect. Death from arsenic poisoning eventually occurs due to multiple organ failure. Lower doses may not kill the intended target, but can still have adverse health effects.

• Vector: Injection
• Fortitude Save DC: 100
• Effects: Variable. Roll d% and use following list of results:
  • 00-35: Headache (-1d5 to all Concentration Checks). Victim is Fatigued. Symptoms last for one hour before subsiding.
  • 36-70: Victim takes 5 points of Lethal Damage. Causes Headache (-1d2 to all Concentration Checks) and Dizziness (-10 to all Dexterous Maneuvers Checks). Body Area takes 1 Wound.
  • 71-99: Victim takes 10 points of Lethal Damage. Causes Headache (-1d5 to all Concentration Checks) and Dizziness (-20 to all Dexterous Maneuvers Checks). Body Area takes 1d2 Wounds.
• Notes: Once arsenic poisoning begins to take effect, any HP damage will repeat every hour until the victim successfully makes two Fortitude Save rolls in a row. Regardless of the result of the poisoning, the victim's HP and NHP are permanently reduced by five points.
  

Strychnine¶

Strychnine is an extremely bitter, colorless and highly toxic crystalline alkaloid. It's primarily used as a pesticide and is particularly useful for killing small vertebrates such as birds and rodents. Strychnine causes muscular convulsions and eventually death through asphyxia or sheer exhaustion, producing some of the most dramatic and painful symptoms of any known toxic reaction.

• Vector: Ingestion
• Fortitude Save DC: 125
• Effects: Victim takes 1 point of Lethal Damage, loses 1 point of Recuperation, and takes a -5 penalty to all Dexterous Maneuvers Checks. Victim is also Fatigued.
• Notes: Strychnine does not begin to affect its victim until 4d5 minutes have passed. Once strychnine poisoning begins to take effect, all effects will repeat and accumulate every three minutes until the victim successfully makes two Fortitude Save rolls in a row.
  

Cyanide¶

Cyanide (more properly hydrogen cyanide) is a colorless, highly volatile liquid, which has a faint, bitter, almond-like odor that some beings are unable to detect. Used as a chemical precursor for mining and industrial applications, cyanide is extremely poisonous; it can completely disrupt all cellular respiration within its victim. When released as a vapor, cyanide is a highly effective way of killing large numbers of persons simultaneously. As such, it is considered a chemical weapon, and is a popular choice amongst those species who use such weaponry. It can also be delivered to a victim via injection, or swallowed when contained in a capsule. In all cases, it has the same set of effects.

• Vector: Inhalation/Injection/Ingestion
• Fortitude Save DC: 125
• Stage I Effects: Victim takes 5 points of Lethal Damage. Victim has Difficulty Breathing (-2d10 to all Stamina Checks), Mental Confusion (-2d10 all mental Checks), Dizziness (-10 to all Dexterous Maneuvers Checks), Headache (-1d5 to all Concentration Checks), and Weakness (-1d5 to all Power Checks).
• Stage II Effects: Victim is reduced to -200 NHP and takes 5 points of Lethal Damage. After five minutes, the victim loses -5 Physique per minute.
• Notes: Once cyanide poisoning begins to take effect, all HP damage will repeat each minute until the victim successfully makes two Fortitude Save rolls in a row. Stage II Effects begin after five minutes have passed since the initial poisoning.
  

Nerve Agent¶

Nerve agents are a class of organophosphates that disrupt the mechanism by which nerve ganglia transfer messages to organs, effectively cutting off the victim's cognitive organ from the rest of their body. This loss of communication ultimately causes asphyxia from loss of control over respiratory muscles. Like cyanide, nerve agents are classified as chemical weapons and are usually effective no matter how they are delivered to the intended victim, whether they are inhaled as a gas, injected into the bloodstream from a dart or syringe, or ingested in a pill.

• Vector: Inhalation/Injection/Ingestion
• Fortitude Save DC: 125
• Stage I Effects: Runny Nose (-1d5 Senses (Smell)), Dilated Pupils (-1d5 Senses (Sight)).
• Stage II Effects: Nausea (-1d10 HP/NHP). Victim takes a -20 penalty to all Dexterous Maneuvers Checks.
• Stage III Effects: Blisters and Burning of the eyes (1d10 Wounds on Visual Organs; -5 Senses (Sight))
• Stage IV Effects: Victim loses control of all bodily functions (cannot take make any voluntary actions).
• Stage V Effects: Victim's NHP is reduced to -200 and begins to suffocate (see Suffocation, above)
• Notes: Once a nerve agent's effects begin, effects proceed to the next stage after a pre-determined period has passed. For a mild nerve agent, this might be thirty minutes to an hour. For a moderate strength agent, five to ten minutes. Strong nerve agents (such as ricin) progress each minute; stronger agents might progress each round. Victims may only make Fortitude Saves after the proscribed period (i.e. when the poison is ready to progress to the next Stage). Effects end if the victim successfully makes two Fortitude Save rolls in a row. If the victim recovers, they take a permanent -10 penalty to all mental Checks for the rest of their life.
  

Sulfur Mustard¶

Sulfur mustards are a class of related chemical warfare agents with the ability to form large blisters on exposed skin. While colorless and odorless in pure form, they are most commonly used in impure form (in order to better detect accidental releases). These impure forms are most often a yellowish-brown in color and have an odor resembling mustard plants, garlic or horseradish. Sulfur mustards have no other use than chemical warfare, where they are deployed as part of an effort to incapacitate enemy forces. Exposure is painful at a minimum, and can be fatal, especially if enough of the body is exposed to the chemical agent.

• Vector: Contact
• Fortitude Save DC: 100
• Effects: All body parts directly exposed to the sulfur mustard take a burn (two Wounds; see Fire, above). If the visual organs are exposed, victim takes -5 to Senses (Sight)
• Notes: Sulfur mustard does not begin to affect its victim until 5+4d5 hours have passed. Once it begins to take effect, all effects will repeat every hour for up to 1d5 weeks, or until the victim successfully makes two Fortitude Save rolls in a row. GM should go ahead and calculate the creature's Maximum Lifespan at this point (whether they have reached Venerable Age or not), and remove 3d5 years from that amount. Removal of any loss of Senses (Sight) may commence after the 1d5 week period has elapsed; healing of the Wounds may begin after an additional 1d10 months have passed.
  

Radiation Exposure¶

Radiation describes any process in which energy emitted by one body travels through a medium or through space, ultimately to be absorbed by another body. When that process is energetic enough to detach electrons from atoms or molecules, it's called ionizing radiation. Ionizing radiation is a hazard that many starfaring adventurers may be exposed to from time to time, whether they are caught in a solar storm, having to repair a reactor leak, on the edge of a nuclear blast, or just getting an x-ray taken. Radiation exposure is somewhat unique in SFRPG, in that though it is a poison, it causes a range of symptoms and effects similar to those of pathogens. There is a sufficient mixing of the properties of poison and pathogen to warrant a separate discussion specifically to discuss what occurs when radiation exposure is involved. For purposes of this discussion, the term "radiation" specifically refers to ionizing radiation.

The effects of radiation exposure depend upon just how large of a dose a character receives. SFRPG uses ten exposure levels, each associated with a range of absorbed radiation doses in grays (Gy). There are up to four Stages involved with each level of radiation poisoning. First stage effects usually involve nausea and temporary loss of HP, followed by a period of latency (wherein the character suffers no symptoms) in the second stage. The most severe symptoms are usually in the third Stage and usually include an array of highly debilitating effects. At higher radiation levels, the effects of the third Stage can have a permanent effect on the character. The fourth Stage of radiation poisoning always includes a risk of death (if the character's poisoning makes it that far), and occurs while Stage III is ongoing. Healing from radiation poisoning cannot begin until after the duration of Stage III effects has elapsed, as with pathogens. As with poisons, the character can avoid the effects of radiation poisoning by making a successful Fortitude Save, with the the DC dependent upon the amount of radiation exposure. This Save must be made immediately upon exposure to radiation, and again every ten minutes the character remains exposed (with the DC increasing by ten each time a Save is rolled) until they either leave the area or are poisoned. Once a character has radiation poisoning, they are in it for the duration; there are no more Fortitude Saves to avoid later Stage effects. The "transmission vector" for all levels of radiation poisoning is technically through direct contact, though in this case it is more likely that the radiation is "contacting" the character, rather than the character contacting the radiation source.

Treatment of radiation poisoning is impossible using Stone Age or Metal Age medicine. Likewise, Industrial Age medicines cannot treat the poisoning, though they can be used to mitigate the effects of the poisoning. If Antibiotics are successfully administered to a patient during Stage I or II (DC 25 Long-Term Care Check), then the Stage III and IV effects that apply will be those from the next lowest exposure level. If administered during Stage III, any HP loss is delayed and any Recuperation penalties are removed for a number of hours equal to the degree of success. Real treatment of radiation poisoning is not possible unless Starfaring Age medicine is available (specifically a dose of Anti-Toxin). If a shot of Anti-Toxin is successfully applied prior to the onset of Stage I symptoms after poisoning occurs (using a DC 100 Toxicology Check), the patient will suffer no ill effects from the radiation. If successfully administered during Stage I or Stage II, any Stage III effects will be from 1d5 exposure levels below the actual exposure level, and they will not have to worry about Stage IV effects. If administered during Stage III, any HP loss is delayed and any Recuperation penalties are removed for a number of days equal to the degree of success, and the character need not roll for Stage IV effects (note that for the highest radiation levels, not having to roll for Stage IV effects will leave a character alive but still in an exceptionally weakened condition for the remainder of their life, as there is no convalescence at those levels).

A final caveat: radiation exposure should be used with extreme caution in-game. Simply put, radiation can potentially have irreversibly negative effects on any character, ending that character's adventuring days even if they don't die outright. If a GM wants to include radiation as a hazard in their campaign, it is strongly recommended that they select a specific exposure level for the radiation hazard prior to the beginning of the adventure and be ready to deal with the consequences of a character's potential exposure. A GM could roll 1d10 (with zero counting as ten) during the course of an adventure and use the result to give them their exposure level if absolutely necessary, but this method is strongly discouraged.

The following section lists the ten radiation exposure levels, and the various Stage effects of radiation poisoning at those levels.

Level I (Minimal)¶

0.05-0.2 Gy equivalent.

• Incubation Period: N/A
• Stage I Fortitude Save DC: 60
• Stage I Effects (Final Stage):
  • Symptoms: Victim takes a 1d5 penalty to their Recuperation score.
  • Stage I Duration: 1d5 weeks.
    

Level II (Extremely Light)¶

0.2-0.5 Gy equivalent.

• Incubation Period: N/A
• Stage I Fortitude Save DC: 70
• Stage I Effects (Final Stage):
  • Symptoms: Victim takes a 1d5 penalty to their Recuperation score. Victim also loses one point from their Health Trait (unless already at -25) for a concurrent period of 1d2 weeks.
• Stage I Duration: 1d5 weeks.
  

Level III (Mild)¶

0.5-1 Gy equivalent.

• Incubation Period: N/A
• Stage I Fortitude Save DC: 80
• Stage I Effects (Final Stage):
  • Symptoms: Headache (-1d2 to all Concentration Checks). Victim takes a 1d5 penalty to their Recuperation score. Victim also loses one point from their Health Trait (unless already at -25) for a concurrent period of 1d2 weeks. If the victim is male, roll d%; on a result of 49 or less, they are infertile while their Health is reduced.
• Stage I Duration: 1d5 weeks.
  

Level IV (Light)¶

1-2 Gy equivalent.

• Incubation Period: 4+1d2 hours.
• Stage I Fortitude Save DC: 90
• Stage I Effects:
  • Symptoms: Nausea (-1d10NHP/-1d5HP).
  • Stage I Duration: 4d5 hours.
• Stage II Effects:
  • Symptoms: None.
  • Stage II Duration: 9+1d5 days.
• Stage III Effects:
  • Symptoms: Headache (-1d5 to all Concentration Checks). Victim is Fatigued and takes a 1d5 penalty to their Recuperation score for a period of 2d5 weeks. Victim also loses two points from their Health Trait (unless already at -25) for a concurrent period of 1d5 weeks. If the victim is male, roll d%; on a result of 74 or less, they are infertile until the Stage effects wear off completely. If the victim is a pregnant female, roll d%; on a result of 49 or less, a miscarriage will occur.
  • Stage II Duration: 8+1d10 days. (Stage III effects continue for the designated period after the beginning of Stage IV).
• Stage IV Effects (Final Stage):
  • Symptoms: Variable. Roll d% and use following list of results:
    • 00-09: Character loses -1 Physique per minute until brain death.
    • 10-99: No further effects.
      

Level V (Moderate)¶

2-3 Gy equivalent.

• Incubation Period: 1+1d5 hours.
• Stage I Fortitude Save DC: 100
• Stage I Effects:
  • Symptoms: Nausea (-1d10HP/NHP).
  • Stage I Duration: 1d2 days.
• Stage II Effects:
  • Symptoms: None.
  • Stage II Duration: 9+1d5 days.
• Stage III Effects:
  • Symptoms: Hair Loss (-1d5 Comeliness), Headache (-1d5 to all Concentration Checks). Victim is Fatigued, takes a 2d5 penalty to their Recuperation score, and takes a -3 penalty to their Health Trait (unless already at -25). All Stage symptoms last for a period of 1+1d10 months. Victims are automatically infertile for a period of 4d5 weeks. Pregnant females automatically miscarry. Roll d% regardless of gender; on a result of 49 or less, infertility is permanent.
  • Stage II Duration: 8+1d10 days. (Stage III effects continue for the designated period after the beginning of Stage IV).
• Stage IV Effects (Final Stage):
  • Symptoms: Variable. Roll d% and use following list of results:
    • 00-34: Character loses -1 Physique per minute until brain death.
    • 35-99: No further effects.
      

Level VI (Heavy)¶

3-4 Gy equivalent.

• Incubation Period: 1+1d5 hours.
• Stage I Fortitude Save DC: 110
• Stage I Effects:
  • Symptoms: Nausea (-1d10HP/NHP).
  • Stage I Duration: 1d2 days.
• Stage II Effects:
  • Symptoms: None.
  • Stage II Duration: 9+1d5 days.
• Stage III Effects:
  • Symptoms: Hair Loss (-1d5 Comeliness), Headache (-1d5 to all Concentration Checks). Victim is Fatigued, takes a 3d5 penalty to their Recuperation score, and takes a -4 penalty to their Health Trait (unless already at -25). Victim also suffers near uncontrollable bleeding; they lose 1d2 HP per day to a minimum of 1d10 HP, and are permanently inflicted with a -1d5 Bleeder Complication (unless already at -25). All Stage symptoms last for a period of 1+1d10 months. Male victims are automatically permanently infertile. Pregnant females automatically miscarry and are permanently infertile on a d% roll of 74 or less.
  • Stage II Duration: 8+1d10 days. (Stage III effects continue for the designated period after the beginning of Stage IV).
• Stage IV Effects (Final Stage):
  • Symptoms: Variable. Roll d% and use following list of results:
    • 00-49: Character loses -1 Physique per minute until brain death.
    • 50-99: No further effects.
      

Level VII (Very Heavy)¶

4-6 Gy equivalent.

• Incubation Period: 20+1d% minutes.
• Stage I Fortitude Save DC: 120
• Stage I Effects:
  • Symptoms: Nausea (-2d10HP/NHP).
  • Stage I Duration: 1d2 days.
• Stage II Effects:
  • Symptoms: None.
  • Stage II Duration: 9+1d5 days.
• Stage III Effects:
  • Symptoms: Hair Loss (-2d5 Comeliness), Headache (-1d10 to all Concentration Checks). Victim is Fatigued, takes a 4d5 penalty to their Recuperation score, and takes a -5 penalty to their Health Trait (unless already at -25). Victim also suffers near uncontrollable bleeding; they lose 1d5 HP per day to a minimum of 1d5 HP, and are permanently inflicted with a -1d5 Bleeder Complication (unless already at -25). All Stage symptoms last for a period of 7+1d5 months. Victims are automatically permanently infertile; pregnant females automatically miscarry.
  • Stage II Duration: 8+1d10 days. (Stage III effects continue for the designated period after the beginning of Stage IV).
• Stage IV Effects (Final Stage):
  • Symptoms: Variable. Roll d% and use following list of results:
    • 00-59: Character loses -1 Physique per minute until brain death.
    • 60-89: All Stage III effects become permanent.
    • 90-99: No further effects.
      

Level VIII (Severe)¶

6-10 Gy equivalent.

• Incubation Period: 20+1d% minutes.
• Stage I Fortitude Save DC: 130
• Stage I Effects:
  • Symptoms: Nausea (-3d10HP/NHP).
  • Stage I Duration: 1d2 days.
• Stage II Effects:
  • Symptoms: None.
  • Stage II Duration: 1d2 days.
• Stage III Effects:
  • Symptoms: Hair Loss (-2d5 Comeliness (permanent)), Headache (-2d10 to all Concentration Checks). Victim is Fatigued and takes a permanent -10 penalty to their Health Trait (unless already at -25). The victim's Recuperation score drops to zero. The victim also suffers uncontrollable bleeding; they lose 1d5 HP per day to a minimum of 1d2 HP, and are permanently inflicted with a -5+1d5 Bleeder Complication (unless already at -25). All Stage symptoms last for a period of 1d10 years. Victims are automatically permanently infertile; pregnant females automatically miscarry.
  • Stage II Duration: 5+1d5 days. (Stage III effects continue for the designated period after the beginning of Stage IV).
• Stage IV Effects (Final Stage):
  • Symptoms: Variable. Roll d% and use following list of results:
    • 00-98: Character loses -1 Physique per minute until brain death.
    • 99: No further effects.
      

Level IX (Acute)¶

10-50 Gy equivalent.

• Incubation Period: 5+5d5 minutes.
• Stage I Fortitude Save DC: 140
• Stage I Effects:
  • Symptoms: Nausea (-4d10HP/NHP).
  • Stage I Duration: 1d10 hours.
• Stage II Effects:
  • Symptoms: None.
  • Stage II Duration: 1 day.
• Stage III Effects:
  • Symptoms: Hair Loss (-2d5 Comeliness), Headache (-3d10 to all Concentration Checks). Victim is Fatigued and takes a -15 penalty to their Health Trait (unless already at -25). The victim's Recuperation score drops to zero. The victim also suffers uncontrollable bleeding; they lose 1d5 HP per day to a minimum of 1 HP, and are inflicted with a -10+1d5 Bleeder Complication (unless already at -25). Victims are automatically permanently infertile; pregnant females automatically miscarry. All Stage effects are permanent.
  • Stage II Duration: 2+1d5 days.
• Stage IV Effects (Final Stage):
  • Symptoms: Character loses -1 Physique per minute until brain death.
    

Level X (Extreme)¶

50+ Gy equivalent.

• Incubation Period: 3d5 minutes.
• Stage I Fortitude Save DC: 150
• Stage I Effects:
  • Symptoms: Nausea (-5d10HP/NHP).
  • Stage I Duration: 1d5 hours.
• Stage II Effects:
  • Symptoms: None.
  • Stage II Duration: 1 day.
• Stage III Effects:
  • Symptoms: Hair Loss (-2d5 Comeliness), Headache (-3d10 to all Concentration Checks). Victim is Fatigued. The victim's Recuperation score drops to zero and their Health Trait drops to -25 (unless already at -25).. The victim also suffers uncontrollable bleeding; they lose 1d5 HP per day to a minimum of 1 HP, and are inflicted with a -10+1d5 Bleeder Complication (unless already at -25). Victims are automatically permanently infertile; pregnant females automatically miscarry. All Stage effects are permanent.
  • Stage II Duration: 25+5d5 hours.
• Stage IV Effects (Final Stage):
  • Symptoms: Character loses -1 Physique per minute until brain death.
    

Psionics and Mental Diseases¶

Psionics is defined as the study and/or practice of using the mind to induce phenomena without necessarily having any means of explaining the resultant phenomena. Psionics will not be discussed in depth in SFRPG, for two major reasons. First, psychic abilities are kind of like general equipment, in the sense that any action that can be conducted using regular senses has the potential to have a psionic counterpart (a character could set a fire using either matches or their mind, that sort of thing). A full discussion of the topic would require its own Chapter within this rules set, and even then there could be some aspects of the topic that would not be discussed. Secondly, psychic abilities inherently unbalance a regular campaign. A single person could conceivably defeat an army if they had a powerful enough ability (such as making themselves the hypocenter of a mentally-generated thermonuclear blast, whilst being able to survive said blast themselves).

That said, psionic abilities come up in the Starflight universe because Psychic Blasters, a single non-sapient lifeform introduced in Starflight II. Their primary mode of attack is described as "a blast of psychic energy that can stun and even kill creatures many times its size". Given this creature's mode of attack, it doesn't seem fair to not at least briefly go over psionics and how they might be used during the course of a campaign.

There are four major disciplines of psionics. The first of these is telepathy, or the awareness of thoughts of another being without communication through normal sensory channels. Second is clairvoyance, the knowledge of an object or event without perceiving it through normal sensory channels. Third is precognition, which is knowledge of future events or what another being will think in the future. The fourth and final discipline is psychokinesis, the ability to hold influence over an object or event mentally. All psionic abilities fall into one of these four general categories, regardless of the specific desired effects. The "psychic energy" blast of a Psychic Blaster is a form of psychokinesis, (probably remote object deformation; in this case, it's the internal organs of the intended prey that are deformed). For normal gameplay purposes, the Psychic Blaster's attack can be considered a normal ranged attack, so no special rules are required to use the Blaster in an adventure.

GMs may want to use a more in-depth definition of psionics. To do this, it will be necessary for the GM to create a seventh Attribute for their characters, known as Esper Potential. Esper Potential is a mental attribute (similarly to Intellect, Acumen and Charm) with Telepathy, Clairvoyance and Precognition, and Psychokinesis as its Skills. No additional mental Attribute building points may be added to Esper Potential Skills while the character is being created and it will be up to the character's creator to assign their points; there is no rapid generation routine for psionic characters. Other than that, it behaves just like any other Attribute. The three psionic Skills may be used in place of a normal Skill or Sub-Discipline if so desired (for example, a character may decide to use Psychokinesis instead of Lifting to pick up a heavy box, or perhaps may choose to use Telepathy over Intimidation to instill fear in another character). When the target of a psionic ability is another creature, the target may attempt to counter the psionic Check with a Willpower Save. Should the character using the psionic ability be using it against a non-psionic target, the character gets a +10 circumstantial bonus to their Check. In all other cases, the Check has a DC equal to the amount it would be in an ordinary given situation.

Clairvoyance and Precognition may be used by a character to gather information "from the future" (for example, determining just exactly how far a trader is willing to go on a deal, or whether or not an opponent's weapon is actually loaded). The skill may even be used to see the results of a GM's roll, or may be used to "pre-roll" the final outcome of an event (information the character can then use to change their mind, if need be). The DC for any such Check is always 125. Characters may only make one such Check per day, plus an additional Check for every five points they may have in the Empathic Sense Talent.

Characters take a risk of damage on any Esper Potential Check; in the event of failure, their character takes Non-Lethal Damage equal to the degree of failure of the Check and may not attempt any more psionic Checks until that damage has healed. Should the character be reduced to zero NHP, any excess damage will be inflicted as Lethal Damage instead. Characters may only make a number of psionic Checks per day equal to their Learning Rate; any further daily attempt to use psionics after that inflict a -10 penalty on the result of the Check, increasing by another 10 for each subsequent attempt.

GMs can include as part of the psionic abilities of a character the ability to give another character a disease, using the Psychokinesis Skill. Pathogens passed on to a character in this manner are known as mental diseases. There are a few special rules required for mental diseases over regular pathogens. First, inflicting the disease is an opposed roll of the character's Psychokinesis Check versus the target's Fortitude Save. Should the target win, it counts as a failure of the Psychokinesis Check. This roll has critical potential; should the Psychokinesis Check meet with critical success, the target will automatically fail all Stage DCs for the disease inflicted upon them. In the event of critical failure, the psionic character manages to inflict the disease upon themselves instead of the target. Mental diseases can only be treated with the Psychology sub-discipline; characters may attempt Long-Term Care or Pathology Checks as normal, but those Checks will automatically fail. Mental diseases may emulate any normal disease except for Immunodeficiency Virus; GMs are encouraged to limit the general effects of a psionically inflicted disease.

In all cases of psionics (even the normal case of the Psychic Blaster's attack), the presence of an operational Psionic Wave Suppressor will suppress all psionic effects within 100 meters of the Suppressor. This includes anyone attempting to "project" an effect into the affected area (so telekinetics can't shut off the Suppressor itself at a distance).

Basic Biological Needs¶

A lot of stories in general have a tendency to gloss over some of the more basic biological needs of the characters in their stories. Things such as eating, sleeping, making excretions, and procreating tend to be left out completely, unless such events directly relate to the story or are used as a scene setting. Space operas are notoriously bad at this. Starflight itself does this as well (though probably not intentionally; the original design doc for the game at least had provisions for eating). Six crewmembers are at their post night and day, without regard for their basic biological needs.

GMs may decide to continue this tradition (if it won't help out their story), or they can elect to include some basic biological needs as part of an adventure or ongoing campaign (including them is recommended for campaigns). The following is a discussion of two of the more common biological needs, eating (and drinking by extension) and sleeping. No discussion regarding excreting or procreating will be present in these rules, though GMs who have a mind to may make up what rules they'd like regarding these topics. There is even an existing reference guide available covering the topic of procreation in tabletop role-playing games, though that guide is unofficial, rare, and designed for a different role-playing system.

Hunger/Thirst¶

Chemically, all lifeforms are essentially nothing more than chemical compound converters. Their metabolic processes are dependent on converting one substance into another, using the energy created in the process to maintain their metabolic processes. This means, of course, that a lifeform is not a closed system in and of themselves; they must take in reactants if they are going to have anything to convert. Some lifeforms even need to take in reaction mediums or chemical catalysts in order to speed the reactions along to the level needed by their metabolism. Most lifeforms can survive for a short period without intake of new reactants or catalysts, but all of them must take in something eventually or risk a slow, usually painful death. The gustatory requirements of a species should be listed in its race profile in either Chapter 2.2 or Chapter 2.3. If the requirements are not listed, GMs may assume that they have the same requirements as Humans (eats three times a day but can go up to two weeks without food, or four days without water), or they may assume the species is among those that does not require food or water.

For those species that do require food, characters must feed once every few hours (five to seven is the norm) and must drink every few hours (one to two hours is the norm), unless specified otherwise in their racial description. If the character doesn’t eat or drink in the specified time frame, they may become hungry or thirsty. They may make a DC 50 Fortitude Save, which increases by 5 points every hour until the character consumes what they need or the save fails. If the Save fails, the character becomes Fatigued and takes 5 points of Non-Lethal damage (if they require food; for water, this is increased to 10 points). Each additional day the character goes without, the same amount of damage is inflicted on that character. If the character reaches the maximum amount of time listed for their species and still has not consumed what they need, they are now starving. In this event, the same amount of damage being inflicted daily is now inflicted hourly, and is also applied as Lethal Damage. This continues even if the character has fallen Unconscious, until the character reaches clinical death. Any damage inflicted due to hunger or thirst will not begin to heal until after the character has consumed what they need, after which the damage will heal at the normal rates. Characters can also be given nutrients intravenously if need be (the only way for an unconscious character to recover) if another character administers an IV sack on them.

Sleep Deprivation¶

Most species require some time of reduced cognitive activity during part of the day. The reasons for this reduced activity vary from species to species, but most of the time it has to do with giving vital internal organs the opportunity to regenerate their functions, thereby prolonging their usable lifetime. During this period, the being usually enters a sub-conscious state (as opposed to full unconsciousness), during which their perception of the external environment is minimized, and their bodily activities are likewise reduced to an absolute minimum necessary to maintain life function. The physiology of these species is such that the regeneration period takes an extended, usually specific period of time. If for whatever reason a being cannot or does not rest for the entire period required by their physiology, physical and mental capacities suffer (perhaps severely).

If a character's species requires sleep, the character must spend at least as many hours per day asleep as listed for their species. If they fail to do this, the character will enter into a state of sleep deprivation, which has several negative effects. The degree of sleep deprivation to which a character is subjected is measured via sleep debt, which is simply a cumulative measure of the number of hours of rest the character has missed. For each point of sleep debt a character has accumulated, they take a -2 penalty on all Checks and saves, as well as two points of Non-Lethal Damage (which does not heal while the character still has a sleep debt). Characters with any sleep debt whatsoever are automatically Fatigued, and will remain fatigued while they still have a sleep debt. If a character reaches 0 NHP as a result of sleep debt, they become Unconscious as normal. Regaining consciousness in this case requires the character to remain Unconscious long enough to pay off at least one hour of their sleep debt. To pay off sleep debt, a character must remain asleep after getting their daily required amount of sleep. For each extra hour they remain asleep, the character recovers two points of Non-Lethal Damage and gains +2 to all Checks and saves, until the sleep debt is paid off.

If a character fails any Check while they have a sleep debt, the GM may elect to see if the character is experiencing a microsleep, a condition where the character falls asleep for a brief period (usually without realizing it). To check for microsleeps, the GM compares the degree of failure of the Check to the character's current sleep debt. If the degree of failure is higher than the sleep debt, the character experiences a microsleep. Microsleeps last one round for every five points of sleep debt the character has, during which time the character is Unconscious and experiences all the penalties associated with unconsciousness.

Composite Environmental Effects¶

Up to this point, all of the effects listed herein have caused at best a relatively small number of overall effects. Some phenomena are not so simple; they can cause a simultaneous, wide-ranging array of environmental effects, including some effects which have already been discussed. This last section of this discussion will go over some of the phenomena that generate these composite effects and under what circumstances their effects may apply. GMs should only use composite effects with more experienced gamers due to their complexity, and should consider them completely optional.

Wind and Currents¶

Wind is generally defined as the flow of air or other gases that compose an atmosphere, generally caused by the equalization of density between two or more local areas of atmosphere (in particular due to changes in atmospheric pressure). Wind is a specific case of a current, which is simply the free flow of any fluid within a fluid; whether that fluid is liquid or gaseous is often irrelevant. As with all substances, atmospheric gases do have their own mass, which means that they can exert force upon objects (such as living creatures). If the forces which those gases apply to creatures are are significant enough, they can make certain normal biological functions (such as movement) difficult or even impossible. Wind will be used to describe the phenomena discussed in this section, though the same general rules apply to currents such as those found in oceans, rivers, and other aquatic environments.

The wind can have several different adverse effects on adventurers, depending largely upon its strength (measured indirectly by its velocity in kilometers per hour). The biggest effect it can have is on movement. Creatures can only move if and only if the wind is below a certain threshold, which is dependent upon the creature's Size Class. For running and swimming creatures, if the wind speed is at least ten times the creature's Size Class, the creature must exert themselves in order to move in the direction that the wind is blowing from (a Run action must be made in order to move in that direction, and the creature may only move at their base speed in that direction). If the wind is at least ten kph over that amount, they may not in move in that direction at all. If the wind is at least fifteen times the creature's Size Class, the wind is strong enough to automatically knock that creature Prone. Should the winds be at least twenty times the creature's Size Class, they are strong enough to start blowing the creature along. Creatures that get blown along by the wind are already Prone and are therefore scraping along the ground; each round a creature is involuntarily carried along by the wind, they take 1d5 points of Non-Lethal Damage. For example, Humans are Creature Size Class Five creatures. Winds of 50 kph are strong enough to impede a Human's progress, 60 kph is enough to prevent all progress, 75 kph winds are strong enough to knock them over, and 100 kph winds are sufficient to blow them away.

Flying creatures suffer their own set of penalties for the wind. Should the wind be ten times their Size Class, they are blown "backwards" (opposite to the direction the wind is coming from) a distance of 1d5*2 meters after completing a move action. At fifteen times their Size Class, that amount increases to 2d5*2 meters. Finally, at twenty times their Size Class, the amount increases to 4d5*2 meters. Additionally, at winds of twenty times their Size Class, fliers take Non-Lethal Damage from buffeting; the amount of Non-Lethal Damage received is equal to the result of the 4d5 roll for their involuntary movement.

Wind can also have an adverse effect on vehicles. In particular, high winds will affect the local terrain difficulty. For land and sea vehicles, each 15 kph of wind speed increases the terrain difficulty by one level after taking all other factors into account. Air vehicles suffer a similar effect to terrain difficulty, though it is incremented every 20 kph of wind instead. Additionally, the GM should divide the wind speed by 15. If the resultant amount is greater than or equal to a vehicle's size class, there is a chance that it will be "blown over" (land vehicles are rolled and sea vehicles are capsized). Roll d10; on a roll of zero, the vehicle is blown over. Submarines are immune to being blown over in this manner. Hovercopters are particularly susceptible to wind effects; for every twenty kph of wind speed, a hovercopter automatically moves involuntarily one range increment away from the direction the wind is coming from. Finally, all vehicles can have their progress inhibited by the wind similarly to creatures. GMs should keep in mind the scale difference between vehicles and creatures (exactly ten levels, so 100 additional kph is required before effects begin). A vehicle's forward progress is prevented when the wind is ten times the vehicle's size class plus 100 kph, and a vehicle is blown away when the wind reaches twenty times the vehicle's size class plus 100 kph (with the indicated damage as vehicle-scale HP damage). For example, a Size Class One Vehicle is the same size as a Creature Size Class Eleven creature. Therefore, it's progress is prevented at winds of 110 kph and is blown away when the winds reach 220 kph.

Wind causes a variety of other negative in-game environmental effects, as outlined below:

• Putting Out Fires: Wind has a nasty tendency to feed flames, especially ones that some may prefer to put out quickly (say, someone who has been set on fire). For each kph of wind speed, the DC needed to put out a fire is increased by one point.
• Aiming: Wind has the ability to throw off a character's aim while making an attack. The effect wind has is largely dependent upon how primitive the weapon involved is. For each kph of wind speed, a -1 penalty is inflicted on all weapon attack rolls involving Flamethrowers, Bows and Arrows, all Spray weapons and any other manually thrown weapon attack (such as a thrown Blade or Grenade). For every five kph of wind speed, a -1 penalty is inflicted on all weapon attack rolls involving Slugthrowers, Missiles, and PPCs.
• Howling: Wind can provide enough pressure on whatever auditory organs a creature uses in order to jam them with its own sound, making it difficult or even impossible to distinguish other sounds. For each kph of wind speed, a -1 penalty is inflicted on any Perception Check a creature needs to make in order to listen for sounds in the surrounding environment.
• Wind Chill: In cold environments, wind has the ability to produce an "apparent temperature" on any lifeform in the local environment, making things feel cooler than they actually are. For every ten kph of wind speed, an additional temperature severity level favoring cold damage may be added to the environment, provided the local environment is either at a temperature category of Subarctic or Arctic.
• Blast Furnace: Just as wind has the ability to make things feel cooler in cold environments, it can make things feel hotter in hot environments. For every ten kph of wind speed, an additional temperature severity level favoring heat damage may be added to the environment, provided the local environment is either at a temperature category of Searing or Inferno.
  

Other Weather Effects on Characters¶

SFRPG's weather effects as described in Chapter 8.2 works in situations where adventures are using vehicles to go fairly substantial distances. It doesn't, however, handle short jaunts out in the environment so well. GMs may want to inflict penalties from the weather on a character (without actually inflicting the damage indicated on a character, particularly since the listed damage is in vehicle scale hit points). For those GMs, the following list of weather effects on characters is included. GMs may choose to use these effects at their own discretion.

• Haze: An atmospheric phenomenon where dust, smoke and other dry particles obscure the clarity of the sky, haze does little more than make things a little harder to see at a distance. The presence of haze inflicts a -1d5 penalty on any Perception or Hiding and Seeking Check made as an attempt to spot a particular object in the environment beyond a distance of 100 meters.
• Fog and Mist: Mist is a phenomenon of small liquid droplets suspended in air, common in cold air above a warmer liquid source. Water mist is fairly common, but mist can be made out of other, less ecologically friendly materials (such as lava). Mist behaves the same as Haze in SFRPG. Fog is essentially mist; the only real difference between the two is that fog is dense enough to seriously impact visibility. The presence of fog will inflict a -2d10 penalty on any Perception or Hiding and Seeking Check made as an attempt to spot a particular object in the foggy environment. Conversely, it will grant a +2d10 bonus to any Hiding and Seeking Check made in an attempt to remain hidden within the foggy environment.
• Precipitation: Precipitation is a general term that describes any product of atmospheric condensation that is deposited on a planet's surface. Rain, Drizzle, Sleet, and Snow all fall within this category. Characters may encounter precipitation in overall Light, Heavy, or Severe weather conditions. Precip adds one severity level of cold damage or removes one severity level of heat damage and inflicts a -5 penalty to all ranged attack rolls. Additionally, the presence of precipitation reduces the damage caused from lasers by ten percent.
• Hail: Hail is a special form of precipitation. As a general rule, it forms due to recycling within convective weather systems (such as thunderstorms) and comes out either as spherical or irregular solid clumps. Hail is more dangerous than other forms of precipitation largely due to its comparatively large size and mass; given the height at which hail starts falling from, it generates a tremendous amount of force when it finally hits the surface (or things at the surface). Hail can cause structural damage, and if large enough can easily kill most un-sheltered creatures. In SFRPG, hail may be encountered by characters in Severe weather only. Creatures caught out in a hailstorm cannot help but be bludgeoned by the hail. The amount of damage caused by hail is dependent upon the specific weather phenomenon encountered, and a d10 roll: For thunderstorms and hailstorms, a result of 4 or less indicates 5d5 Lethal Damage per round in character-scale hit points. On a five or more, the hail causes 10d5 Lethal Damage instead. This same damage amount is indicated if the weather indicated is either an electrical storm or windstorm on a d10 result of four or less. Finally, for a result of five or more on the d10 with an electrical storm or windstorm, the hail causes 15d5 points of Lethal Damage.
• Lightning: Lightning is a massive static electrical discharge generated due to electrical charge differentials within a convective cloud, which are themselves generated due to small solid particles colliding with one another within the cloud's updrafts and downdrafts. Lightning produces an electric current of 30,000 amps, travels at speeds of 60 kps in atmosphere, and can reach temperatures approaching 30,000 °C (hotter than the surface of the sun; enough to fuse silicate sand into glass channels). In SFRPG, lightning can be encountered in Severe weather only. To determine if a character will be struck by lightning, the GM must make an attack roll, subtracting 25 from the result. Factors that can affect to the GM's roll are whether or not the character is the tallest object around (adds 25 to the result), if the character is wearing any metal objects (adds 25 to the result), or if the character is lying prone (subtracts 25 from the result). If a hit is indicated, the character is struck by lightning. For groups of characters, only one character should be eligible to take a strike at a time; the attack roll with the highest degree of success can be used to determine who the unlucky character is. Lightning causes 15d5 points of character-scale Lethal Damage, and also causes 1d10 burns to its victim (zero counting as ten). The frequency of lightning strikes is dependent upon the specific weather phenomenon encountered, and a d10 roll: For thunderstorms and hailstorms, a result of 4 or less indicates a risk of lightning strike every 1d10 rounds. On a five or more, lightning strikes every 1d5 rounds. This same frequency is indicated if the weather indicated is either an electrical storm or windstorm on a d10 result of four or less. Finally, for a result of five or more on the d10 with an electrical storm or windstorm, lightning strikes every 1s2 rounds.
• Tornado: Tornadoes are violent, dangerous, rapidly rotating columns of air that are in contact with both a cloud and a planet's surface; they are essentially low atmospheric pressure centers on an exceptionally small temporal and spatial scale. On terrestrial worlds, these phenomena usually produce the strongest overall winds observed on the surface, though the amount of devastation they can cause on their own is small when compared to their parent thunderstorm. Still, tornadoes are unquestionably deadly, particularly for those who cannot get out of their way. In SFRPG, tornadoes can be encountered in Severe weather only. If Severe weather is indicated, the GM may make a roll of 1d10; on a result of zero, the storm will produce a tornado. Creatures, vehicles and buildings within 250 meters of a tornado take 1d5 damage points per minute (from flying debris), increasing to 5d5 damage points at 100 meters. If a creature, vehicle or building takes a direct hit from a tornado, it causes 10d5 points of damage for each minute it remains in contact. Creatures will be sucked up into the storm and ultimately dropped from a height of 3d10 meters, counting zero as ten (falling damage applies). GMs must be extremely careful and use their discretion to determine if characters will be sucked up by a tornado; this may be one of those instances where it's allowed if the players controlling the characters are being exceptionally stupid or are simply unlucky. The strength and size of a tornado is dependent upon the specific weather phenomenon encountered, and a d10 roll: For thunderstorms and hailstorms, a result of 4 or less indicates a tornado that is 0.25 + (1d5*0.1) kilometers in width and causes its damage in character-scale hit points. On a five or more, the tornado is 0.75 + (1d5*0.1) kilometers in width, and causes its damage in character-scale hit points (though the damage must be multiplied by five before it's applied). This same size and strength of tornado is indicated if the weather indicated is either an electrical storm or windstorm on a d10 result of four or less. Finally, for a result of five or more on the d10 with an electrical storm or windstorm, the tornado will be 1.25 + (1d5*0.1) kilometers in width and will cause its damage in vehicle-scale hit points.
  

Life-Support Failure¶

There may be some science-fiction buffs out there whose experience with SFRPG is marred because of one little detail missing from the combat rules. With the rules the way that they are set up, it is not possible for the life-support systems onboard a starfaring craft to fail in combat(the hull may be on the verge of collapse, everyone may be dead, but there's air to breathe, dammit!!). This is because life support couldn't be damaged for any reason in the original Starflight games, and SFRPG's combat engine was set up such that the same set of systems that could take damage were the only ones that could be damaged in SFRPG. Since life support was not one of these original systems, it wasn't included. There is, in fact, only one explicitly listed circumstance in which a life-support system failure is even mentioned in the regular rules (in Chapter 8.1) as a possible occurrence for when a space vehicle in planetary orbit runs out of fuel. This section of the rules covers what to do in this situation, and offers up an additional set of optional rules which GMs might decide to use to allow more opportunities for life-support system failures in their adventures.

If a GM would like to include life-support system damage and failure as a possibility in combat or other situations wherein the vehicle takes damage, a few rule adjustments are needed. First, when systems damage is indicated, life-support systems will take damage on a roll of nine (overriding the normal indication of Officer Damage). Like other systems, life-support can take 100 points of damage before being completely destroyed and can malfunction if damaged prior to that point. Checking for life-support system malfunctions should occur at the beginning of the craft's turn, as with Sensors and Communications. Once destroyed, additional hull damage occurs if further damage to the life-support system s indicated.

Life-support system failure occurs whenever a space vehicle or starship completely runs out of fuel, or upon the system's malfunction if playing with the optional rules. Failure of the life-support system is not instantaneously fatal for all of the craft's occupants, but unless swift action is taken in an attempt to restore the system, death for all aboard is an inevitability. The amount of time the occupants of a vehicle have before seeing negative effects of life-support failure is solely dependent upon the size of their craft (in real life, it would also be dependent upon the number of occupants and their physiology; SFRPG will take a shortcut here in the interest of simplicity). Once the effects have set in, they may only be reversed by restoring life-support; restoration removes any accumulated effects after one hour, and resets the amount of time needed before a given effect kicks back in (i.e. if it took eight hours for a particular effect to begin after life-support failure, it will take eight hours for that effect to come back into effect after life-support has been fixed if the system happens to fail again).

Life-support failure causes a variety of negative in-game environmental effects, as outlined below:

• Gravitational Failure: Craft equipped with artificial gravity usually include gravity as part of their life-support system package, so a failure of life-support system will ultimately result in loss of gravity. GMs can handle the loss in one of two ways, either instantaneous loss or residual loss. Instantaneous loss is as it sounds; after life-support has been down for a period of one hour, all gravity is lost and all of the vehicle's occupants will be in a zero gee environment. Residual loss gives the occupants more time; 0.1 gees are lost each hour that life-support systems are down, up until x hours (where x is the craft's size class). After that time, gravity fails and the occupants will be in a zero gee environment.
• Extreme Cold Damage: Without temperature regulation, a craft's interior will eventually cool to the same bitter cold as space. If life-support has been down for x hours (where x is the craft's size class), the craft's interior ambient temperature drops to where there is one severity level of Cold Damage. Another severity level is added for each additional hour that life-support remains offline.
• Radiation: A spacecraft's hull may or may not be designed to keep out large doses of cosmic radiation. For Industrial Age craft, even an intact hull can still leave its occupants vulnerable to radiation poisoning if an intense enough field of radiation is encountered. Starfaring Age craft, on the other hand, are usually safe enough unless there is a sufficient level of hull damage (50% or more), or if the craft happens to be within an area of space with high levels of ambient radiation when life-support systems fail (such as a "radioactive nebula", of the nature discussed in Chapter 8.4). Unless otherwise noted, any radiation poisoning that occurs in space should be considered as Level X exposure, with all the exceptionally nasty effects included.
• Air Generation/Recycling Failure: When most sci-fi universes talk about life-support failure, this is the one that comes up the most often (and to be honest, in the event of a total failure of a spacecraft's life-support systems, lack of air is probably the least likely thing to ultimately kill off the crew). Creating and cleaning the substance necessary for respiration is certainly a top priority of any life-support system on a spacecraft, since without that substance it is impossible to sustain life. However, even if the system fails, it is likely to have prepared a volume of the substance that will be useable for some time after the life-support failure occurs (i.e. losing air production is not immediately fatal). After a life-support system failure, normal respiration is possible for x hours, where x is the Size Class of the craft. After that time has alloted, the useable amount of the substance begins to be depleted (Thin Air environmental effects apply). If twice that amount of time passes and the system has not been restored, hazardous metabolic waste substances will build up within the spacecraft's volume to the point where they reach a toxic concentration (Smoke effects begin to apply as well). It is only after three times the amount of time passes that the volume of the substance needed for respiration will be completely depleted (Suffocation effects begin), provided life-support has not been restored within that time frame.
• Stasis Chamber Failure: Stasis chambers are designed to keep occupants alive in the event of catastrophic damage to the craft. If, however, the stasis chambers themselves are damaged, then they are worthless. Coupling the chambers with a craft's life-support does make life-support failure all the more desperate, as otherwise a crew without the resources or capability of making a repair to the system could just ride out the wait in the stasis chambers. This particular effect is strictly up to the GM, and shouldn't be used against a relatively new or inexperienced player group.
  

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