ERIS MODERN

Late Gaming Company

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Introduction
3

So how do I play?
3

Playing the Game

3

Why do we use Dice?

3

Characters
4

Concept
4

Character Generation
4

Qualities
5

How are the skills and traits generated?

7

The Skill List

7

Secondary Traits
9

Fatigue
9

Character Pool
9

Finishing Touches
9

Quick Start Backgrounds

10

Character Generation Example

12

Character Advancement
13

The Skill System

14

The Mechanics
14

Minimal Success
15

Basic Success
15

Critical Results
15

Time Taken
16

Contested Actions
16

Encumbrance and Fatigue

16

Being Unskilled
17

Specialisations (Optional)
17

Combat
18

Who goes rst?

18

Character Movement
18

Close Combat
18

Long Range Attacks

19

The Weapons listings

22

Perils
27

Wounds and what they mean

27

Fatigue
28

Poison and Disease

28

Explosions
29

The G.M. Guide

31

Bestiary
34

Supporting Characters
34

Extras
39

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Introduction

So how do I play?
This game is a role-playing game. By this we mean that you, the player, take on the role of
a character and participate in a story which will be related to you, in sequence, by another
player known as a Game Master (G.M.). There is no definite outcome for this story, nor is
there a script that you have to learn. You will know how strong or intelligent your character
is and something about his or her motivations and the rest, as in improvisational theatre, is
up to you. You will play usually one character and the game will become a continuous
description of the events taking place. The actions of your character and those of the other
player's characters will shape the story as you proceed. With practice you should become
proficient in playing your character and make decisions based on the character's
motivations and knowledge, not just your own. The G.M. will play most or all of the
inhabitants of this world that you shall interact with and describe the settings in which your
characters will find themselves. He shall interpret the rules fairly and without bias. He'll
prepare the game beforehand but still be prepared to improvise at a moment's notice. You
shall choose your character's path. In order to "win" at this type of game you must play
your character well but not shirk from the responsibility of making the game enjoyable.
There should be some cooperation between player's characters if only to make the
characters more realistic. Antagonistic relationships between characters can be interesting
but they can also spoil the game if taken to excess.

Playing the Game

Different G.M.s will prefer different styles of game. Some will ignore most of the rules while
others will adhere to the rules as their gospel. One game may be played like a shadowy
investigation of mystery while another may be more reminiscent of a four-colour comic
book complete with tight costumes. Some games may be a series of connected stories
while others may be simple "one-night" adventures. There is no single "correct" way to
play. Both require different amounts of work on the part of the G.M. and it's therefore
important to reach a medium between what the players want in the game and what the
G.M. is prepared to do.

Why do we use Dice?

In the extended dialogues that make up a game there will be times where decisions have to
be made. A G.M. is therefore provided with rules that help him make those decisions. While
the thought of the players rolling dice for every action they attempt is abhorrent, certain
circumstances (such as Combat) probably require the use of dice. This is in order to
prevent the "I shot you. No, you didn't" arguments that could arise. Other times, when the
decision is more obvious e.g. if a character is a Professional driver, it is usually
unreasonable to expect him to roll a dice to drive down the street unless there are
exceptional circumstances that might make it harder than normal to do. The dice used in
this game are ten-sided, numbered from 0 to 9 and known as a d10. At times, multiple dice
may be rolled with the results added, with the notation 2d10, 3d10,...,,nd 10. These dice
can usually be bought at games shops.

This game uses ten-sided dice for conflict-resolution. It is important to remember that a roll
of 10 or 0 is always treated as 0 (zero) even when using multiple dice. This produces a
range of 0-9 with a single die, 0-18 with two dice and so on.

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Characters
Creating characters using this system is designed to be very simple. It uses parts of the ERIS
system but is more than adequate for generating characters quickly yet allowing time to endow
them with plenty of detail. Each player will need at least one character to play this game. The
strengths and weaknesses of the character are generated below. The first part, and indeed the
most important is where the player, with the help of the G.M., develops the basic concept of a
character that he would like to play. The character is then realized though the rules. Finally, the
character must be finished off by reviewing the initial concept and discerning if changes have to
be made to the design. It is important to take into account the changes that have already
occurred due to realisation within the rules system.

Concept
The character concept can be created simply by answering questions. Is the character a
successful businessman or a hobo? Is the character psychic? What are the character's
views on religion? How about science? Would you describe him as loyal and trustworthy,
selfish and glamorous, forgetful and fidgety, sneaky and self-centred? Does he have any
family? Does his family know about psychic abilities? Do any other members of the
character's family have psychic abilities? How did the character's abilities surface? Did he
always have them or were they awakened by trauma? Does he enjoy using his talents? If
joining an existing group of characters what new role will he play and how will he benefit
the group? Once the above questions have been answered (plus any more that the G.M.
requires) then it is time to move on to crafting numbers to represent the character in terms
of their strength, intelligence, education, how well they drive a car, fire a gun, fly an
airplane, etc.

Character Generation
Characters are represented by Basic Traits, Skills and Qualities. Basic Traits (See Table 1)
represent natural, not learned ability and everyone possesses them. Skills (See Table 2)
represent the accumulation of knowledge through training, education and experience.
Certain skills may be used at the untrained default while other more demanding skills must
be known to at least the level of Novice before they can be used. Qualities (See Table 3)
represent certain qualitative advantages and disadvantages that may have a game effect.
The GM has final say on these abilities and if he feels that choices are inappropriate, it is
best that the player choose an alternative or compromise with the G.M..

The basic traits range from 1 to 8. the weakest human might have strength 1 while the
fastest human reflexes might be rated at 8. Most people tend to be arranged around the
3-4 mark representing average human ability. The skills which represent the education and
experience of a character are ranked in six levels. Each level represents a modifier for the
task being attempted.

Table 1: Basic Traits

Basic Trait Description

STRENGTH Physical power, carrying capacity, determination

INTELLECT Reasoning ability, perception, memory

REFLEXES Physical control, reaction speed, agility

ENDURANCE Fatigue/shock resistance, willpower, fitness

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Table 2: Skill Levels

Skill Level Modifier Description

Untrained -2 No ability. Certain skills unavailable.

Novice 0 Basic training
Competent +2 Average ability of job-related skill.
Professional +4 Career rating for job skills.
Veteran +6 Career skill enhanced by experience.
Master +8 Extreme dedication to the field.

Characters are rated in terms of their skills by these ratings and they are also used to
measure competence in the use of psychic abilities. Characters who have ignored their
psychic talents or who have only recently discovered their ability will not have high levels of
skill in these areas but will make up for it with useful skills in other fields.

Qualities
These are advantages or disadvantages which the character has acquired before the game
starts. They are intended to add colour to a character and reflect aspects of his
background within the rules. They are optional and may be ignored if the player wishes to
play a non-psychic human with a relatively uneventful past.

Table 3: Positive and Negative Qualities

Positive Qualities Point Value Brief Description

Eidetic memory 3 Permitted Intellect roll to remember any detail seen.

Perceptive 2 Tends to notice more than most.

Acute sense 2 One sense has razor acuity.

Charismatic 1 Very personable and amiable. A nice chap.

Attractive 1 Good looks to the point of striking or beautiful.

Social status 1 An important or respected person in polite society.

Contact 2 Someone who can help you for a return favour.

Friend 3 Someone who can help because he likes you.

Aptitude 2 Naturally good at one skill.

Wealthy 2 Starts out rich. Has all the trappings.

Strong Will 3 Difficult to mind control or brainwash.

Mental calculator 1 Works out complex mathematics in his head.

Trivia collector 2 Seemingly useless nonsense that can become important.

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Negative Qualities Point Value Brief Description

Amnesiac 2 Does not remember past or previous identity.

Unaware 1 Misses the obvious and punchlines to good jokes.

Sense Impaired 1 One sense: Shortsighted, hard of hearing etc.

Repulsive 1 A caustic personality or rude manner.

Unattractive 1 Actually ugly not just plain or homely.

Lower Class 1 A street snipe or working class yobbo!

Rival 1 Someone out there wants to make your life difficult.

Enemy 2 Someone out there wants to end your life prematurely.

Disability 1 You have a disability: lame leg, club foot etc.

Poverty 1 You have no money nor have you ever.

Weak Will 2 Easy to mind control. A salesman’s dream.

Deformity 2 Deformed but not necessarily ugly.

Weight Problem 1 Too fat or too thin. Both cause health difficulties.

Allergy 1 Seriously allergic to pollen, bee stings etc.

Addiction 1 Addicted to something immoral, illegal or expensive.

Phobia 1 Terrified of spiders, heights, darkness, enclosed spaces.

Split Personality 1 Can all the personalities use psychic talents?

Missing eye 1 Has a glass eye or eye patch or dead eye.

Blind 3 Eyesight so bad that he needs a stick or a dog.

Old Age 1 Age and infirmity. Character is 70 years+

Youth 1 Age and inexperience. Character is under 15 years old.

Insomnia 1 Can't sleep when you need it. Easily woken up.

Delusions 1 You are from Venus where you fight the Mongo-Men.

Psychosis 1 Some things have to be just right or you get "upset".

Albino 1 RARE and incurable debilitating condition.

Haemophilia 1 Absence of main blood clotting factor. Avoid being shot.

Missing Limb 1 Lost a leg or arm in "Nam"/Accident

Quadriplegic 2 Serious problems in an able-bodied world

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Any qualities a character possesses have to be balanced. This means that if a character
takes 3 points of negative qualities then he also takes 3 points of positive qualities. The
balance is crucial though characters and supporting characters which are controlled by the
G.M. may be allowed concessions. Some may be purely natural in origin while others can
be earned or improved with time. Commonly up to five points of positive qualities may be
selected but they must be balanced out with five points of negative qualities. They are not
a device to allow a player to 'min-max' his character abilities.

Qualities are deliberately interpretative. A G.M. may rule that a quality may aid a character
in a certain situation perhaps making the difficulty one level easier e.g. a group of
characters, upon entering a crime scene, may need to make a Formidable Intellect roll
(2d10) to spot a clue while a character with the Perceptive quality may only need make a
Difficult Intellect roll (1d10). It is a player’s responsibility not to abuse this system. The
game is not about winning points.

How are the skills and traits generated?

The ERIS system is primarily point-based though simplified here for speed. The table below
lists the expected experience and education levels according to the character's age. There
are qualities that can be taken to offset the disadvantages of taking a character who is a
Senior Citizen or an Adolescent. Both the values for traits and skills are given on this
simple sliding scale.

Table 4: Trait and Skill Points

Age 
 Trait 
 T r a i t Nov 
 Comp 
 Prof 
 Vetn 
 Master

Age Group
(years) Points Max* skills skills skills skills skills

Child 5-9 8 3 5 - - - -

Adolescent 10-14 12 4 6 2 - - -

Teenager 15-19 14 5 6 6 - - -

Adult 20-35 18 7 4 6 2 - -
Mature Adt 36-50 16 6 3 6 3 1 -
Elder 51-69 14 5 3 6 2 1 -

Sen. Citizen 70+ 12 4 2 4 2 - -

*Trait points, to be divided among the four traits are obtained from the table above. The
Trait Max indicates the maximum number of points that may be allocated to any one trait.
This means that normally characters cannot exceed 7 in any trait. GM fiat applies.

The Skill List

Skills are listed according to six basic categories. They are grouped for convenience and
these categories are useful for identification purposes and character advancement. This list
is not complete but should provide enough to start play.

Introducing new skills

When introducing new skills, the G.M. must rule whether or not a new skill is applicable
and which category it enters. Skills such as languages may be defined as knowledge
skills, sleight-of-hand may be defined as a technical skill depending on the G.M.'s point of
view. New skills should not be more powerful than those listed here. A "Weaponry" skill is
not permitted though a skill in Pick Pockets would be considered appropriate.

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Table 5: Main Skill List

WARFARE
Firearms used to fire pistols, SMG. rifles and shotguns.

Blade/Blunt used to fight with swords, clubs, spears, knives.

Unarmed used to brawl, wrestle, use karate or boxing.

Heavy Weapons used with bazookas, LAWS, man-portable rockets.

ESPIONAGE
Ciphers used to encrypt and decrypt codes.

Intrusion used to enable entry into buildings, vehicles

Communications use of complex radio equipment and techniques.

Surveillance use of advanced surveillance equipment.

SURVIVAL
Climbing mountaineering or scaling walls with equipment.

Stealth moving silently and keeping hidden.

Perception skill at noticing things and being observant.

Survival used when in a hostile environment.

SOCIAL
Negotiation used when talking to an equal or superior.

Socialising used when trying to make others feel at ease.

Management used when communicating with underlings.

Psychology used when trying to discover a target's motives.

KNOWLEDGE
Science specific knowledge of an area of science.

Computers programming and hardware knowledge.

Medicine use of first aid and later general medicine.

Languages choose a single language at the level required.

Liberal Arts specific knowledge of an area like history, philosophy.

TECHNICAL
Drive used to guide cars, boats, trucks, motorcycles.

Pilot used to guide planes, helicopters, submarines.

Engineering used to construct machines and structures.

Repair repairing and modifying existing devices.

Art Technique used to draw, sculpt, paint or use other media effectively

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Secondary Traits
These traits are only used during play and for the most part have little bearing on
character development. They are Fatigue and Character Pool.

Fatigue
A running total kept during play. It indicates how the effects of shock and exhaustion
from wounds and activity take their toll on the character. When this total reaches the
level of the character's endurance, the character is exhausted. Further actions can be
taken but when the total reaches that of the character's endurance plus strength, the
character will collapse into unconsciousness.

Character Pool
This total holds the character points which are used to enhance the abilities of the
character through various methods (See Character Advancement).

Finishing Touches
Your character is almost complete. First look over the character generation checklist
(See Table 7) to make sure you have done everything and then present your character to
the G.M. for approval. Make sure you include some details about the character concept
and some other background notes as the G.M. may ask you for them. If you have made
an exciting vibrant character with a good basic concept and a lot of playability then the
G.M. will award you with extra character points. Sometimes a good guideline is one
point per really-good-idea which often translates to one point per page of background. A
maximum of five points should be given out this way.

Players who are lax about their character may start the game with negative character
points. If the player has done nothing to document his characters concept of
background, then dock him a point. These points have a direct influence on game rules
and further advancement. It is possible to start the game with negative character points
but this tends to be deleterious to your character's improvement and survival so it's best
to do as much as you can.

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Table 7: Character Generation Checklist

Number Action

1 Understand the Setting of the game.

2 Generate Concept.
3 Choose qualities depending on concept.
4 Select age group, note trait points and skill levels.
5 Select skills. Be sensible here.
6 Write detailed background or use Quick-Start (See Tables 8 and 9).
7 Check this list, get character points from G.M..
8 Play the game.

Quick Start Backgrounds

There are two tables below to enable players to enhance their characters quickly. The
results are designed to give players some ideas for character development, not to replace
the process of development itself. Player characters gain no quantitative benefit from these
tables and there should also be no remuneration for receiving a 'bad' result. The tables are
for providing colour. Some of the results may deal with serious aspects of your character's
past life and it is important for the players to agree that they want to participate in a
subplot of this kind especially where the group table is concerned.

The character table provides some ideas for the individual character and one roll should be
made on the table for each full 10 years of the character's life, thus a 24-year-old will roll
twice on the table. After playing the character for a couple of sessions the player should be
encouraged to develop the character background further based on the results received
from the table.

The G.M. is also encouraged to tailor these tables for his game. There might be common
backgrounds that he wishes the players to consider and other events that the group
should share. The more these backgrounds are supported by the G.M., the richer they
become and a team of characters can quickly have a fleshed out background pre-
generated before the game begins.

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Table 8: Character Table

Roll
Result
d10

0 Black Sheep of the Family.

1 Romance with someone in the same college/business.
2 Health Crisis. Fine now but something happened.
3 Evil Relative
4 History of poor mental health. Has a social worker.
5 Known to local police forces.
6 Relative died in an incident that still brings trauma.
7 Stalked by obsessive fan/ex/enemy
8 Romance with someone in a different college/business.
9 Criminal Record. In the past or quite recently?

The group table is designed to provide some group interaction and make the group
seem as though they have known each other before the beginning of the game. One
roll should be made on the table for each member in the group and the players
should volunteer their characters to participate in these group activities.

Table 9: Group Table

Roll
d10 Results

0 Squabbles. Two characters never seem to agree.

1 Accused! Another group accuses you of being traitors to the cause.
2 Paparazzi! Group threatened with exposure by the media.
3 Commended. Your recent successes are recognised.
4 Friends. Two members of the group become close (perhaps lovers?)
5 Enemies. Managed to gain the enmity of another organisation.
6 Warned by a medium to avoid... (planes/trains/automobiles/etc.)
7 Holiday. Group gets a quiet week away somewhere to relax.
8 Witnesses. Witness the murder of a defenceless person.
9 Calamity. Serious danger reinforces group bonds more than usual.

This character generation scheme is designed to be quick and enable the players to
create characters in minutes. It may not be necessary to complete all the details
especially if the characters are being made for a one-off scenario. Detailed
backgrounds are worthwhile if the scenario becomes a long-running campaign.

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Character Generation Example

Matt decides to create a character in the unlikely event that someone will run a game for
him. He decides on the character concept of an FBI agent. He's troubled by the present
situation in his country but confident that it'll all work out right in the end. To others he
seems enthusiastic and optimistic. At present, he's on leave from the FBI.

Matt decides his character is 29, old enough to be quite well qualified as well as having
some experience in his job. From Table 4 he sees that he gets 18 trait points and a whole
stack of skill levels.

Glancing over the qualities in Table 3, he chooses Contact (2). To balance this ,he chooses
Enemy (2). These points are balanced and he starts to allocate his trait points.

The traits are listed in Table 1. His character should be smart and fit, probably athletic but
big muscles aren't important. He allocates 3 points to Strength, 4 points to Reflexes, 5
points to Endurance and 6 points to Intellect. This makes him very smart and average in
physical terms. His Endurance indicates that he's fit and also quite tough.

He looks over the skill list on Table 5 and begins to plan his skill choices. He has 2 skills at
Professional, 6 Competent and 4 at Novice. These levels are described on Table 2.

Firearms: Competent Psychology: Competent Unarmed: Novice

Negotiation Competent Surveillance Professional Liberal Arts: Novice
:Perception: Professional :Drive: Competent Stealth: Competent
Repair: Novice Intrusion: Competent Communica Novice
tions:

(The G.M. looks over the character. None of the trait choices are difficult to explain. The Contact is
described as a high-ranking agent who passes him information. The G.M. reserves the right to
detail the Enemy himself. The G.M. makes a note to introduce the Enemy over a number of game
sessions.)

All that is required for the character now is a name, a detailed description, some
indication of his way of life and some more detail about his background and personality.
Matt decides that the Quick-Start background table might provide enough detail for this
character at the moment and he can always flesh out anything further that needs to be
done. He remembers that he'll need a partner who can drive so he begins to convince
one of the other players to be an FBI agent with a background in Indy Car Racing.

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Character Advancement
Characters advance through the collection of character points. These are generally gained
during play as a reward for excellent role-playing. Usually the amount of points given out
is 1 for a good effort. Sometimes no points are given out to those players who do not
contribute to the game and sometimes 2 points are given out as an exception for
exemplary play. Character points should not be used as a carrot-and-stick approach but it
can be beneficial to treat them as rewards. Another option is to always give out the same
award of one point but to give out a physical reward to the character who plays best.
Small bars of chocolate or gold stars can be used. You'll be amazed how mature, sensible
gamers will fall for this one. Character points serve three purposes.

Table 10: Character Points

If your character scores a critical success or blunder, one point is deducted from the character pool
and added to the experience column of the skill being used.

If the character fails a roll, character points may be traded in for extra success grades to boost the
result e.g. 2 points boosts a min. success to a critical success.

Points are also used in "down-time" to permit characters to learn new skills. Each point invested
indicates the target number that the player must roll under on 1d10 to start the skill at Novice level.

As the game continues, your standards of play should increase accordingly with the
expertise of the group. Their familiarity with their characters will enable them to identify
with them better and the whole group's role-playing should therefore improve.

Table 11: Advancement Scheme

Skill Rank Cost per rank Cumulative Cost

Untrained (Free) 0 0

Novice 1 1

Competent 2 3

Professional 2 5

Veteran 3 8

Master 4 12

Characters will not normally be able to increase their Traits with these character points
though if you are kind a character may modify their Trait up one point with the expenditure
of 100 character points. It costs no points to reduce Traits.

These advancement schemes will only be useful for those people who plan to play their
characters for an extended period of time. The G.M. may require you to justify any skill
increases that you obtain with time spent out of action in the game. For this reason, it is
sometimes a good idea to create two characters which can be used separately depending
on the needs of the group.

Tandem Play

It is also not uncommon for all the characters in a player’s Tandem to gain experience
regardless of how often they are played. A good guideline is to give all the Tandem
characters one-half of the main characters total. This means that if a character dies then
the player does not have to start the game all over again with a "starting-out" character
while his allies will be much more experienced. It is also good practice to keep a total of
how many Character Points have been awarded to the character for this purpose.
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The Skill System

The system presented here is designed to be fast, interpretative and fluid, providing the
G.M. with enough information quickly to describe the events taking place. The G.M. is the
most important part of this system, much more so than the rules and if you decide that
some of the rules don't fit then don't hesitate to change them. You can even use the
background presented using another system but we feel we have to provide some
recommendations for you to follow.

The Mechanics
This game uses ten-sided dice for conflict-resolution. It is important to remember that a
roll of 10 or 0 is always treated as 0 (zero) even when using multiple dice. This produces a
range of 0-9 with a single die, 0-18 with two dice and so on.

For human characters, the basic traits are rated on a scale of 1 to 8. Skills similarly are
rated from -2 to +8. Combinations of these traits and skills produce a range from -1 to
+16. Success at a skill is determined by the G.M. assigning a difficulty to the task and the
number of d1Os for that difficulty level are rolled (See Table 12). The result on the dice
(added together if there is more than one) must be under or equal to the "trait + skill" total
if the task is to be a success. In addition, the G.M. may specify a certain grade of success
to be necessary. In brief, the lower the roll total from the difficulty d10s, the better the
grade of success.

At the higher difficulties, only those with higher traits and skill levels will have any chance
of success. If the players seem to be failing at the simplest tasks then consider reducing
the difficulty of the tasks. For the most part, 2 dice should seldom be rolled and 3 dice
almost never. Players should realise what their characters should and shouldn't be able to
do and if they have trouble with the concepts then no amount of dice rolling will solve
their problems. It's, therefore, up to the G.M. to act as a medium for the smooth running
of the game.

Table 12: Difficulty Dice

Difficulty Dice Description

Simple 0 Non-challenging task for level of skill.

Difficult 1d10 Challenging for average person.
Formidable 2d10 Challenging for even an expert.
Impossible 3d10 Virtually no chance of success.

The result from the d10 rolls (if any) are added and compared to the trait + skill total and the
difference is noted (See Table 13). (Formula: Difference = Skill total - Dice total). More often than
not, no dice will be rolled. This is because dice-rolling, although it introduces a random,
equalising element into the game, also slows the game down and reminds the players that they
are playing a game and not interacting in a highly dynamic ever-changing world.

Formula: Difference = Skill total - Dice total


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Table 13: Success Grades

Difference Success Grade Description

-10 or less Critical Blunder Oh no! Worst case scenario.

-5 to -9 Basic failure Didn't work. Try again later.
-4 to +4 Minimal Success Success but results are imperfect.
+5 to +9 Basic Success Success, results are average.
+10 or more Critical Success Success, with excellent results.

The descriptions given above should give the G.M. a guideline on the quality of success
required as well as the relative difficulty. It should be noted that non-human characters
who may have traits beyond the standard maximums are measured on the same scale to
show relative performance. The basic system also assumes that no player character will
reach the pinnacle of human achievement (a trait level of 8) as these levels can only be
maintained through constant attention and/or exercise (See Table 4).

The success grades may require some additional explanation to fully appreciate what they
mean. The minimal success grade and the critical grades warrant these explanations.

Minimal Success
If the difference is between -4 and +4 inclusive then the result is described as a Minimal
Success. In this case the level scored determines how imperfect the result is. In general, a
difference of -3 is regarded to be almost a complete failure while a difference of +3 would
be regarded as an almost complete success. In the former case, the G.M. might describe
the results as being passable but not fully functional while in the latter case it may just be
exterior cosmetic differences which make up the imperfections.

Basic Success
If the difference is between +5 and +9 inclusive then the result is described as a Basic
Success. In this case the result indicates that the character succeeded in what he was
attempting. Again, the level scored helps to determine what level of Basic Success was
achieved. A result of +5 is regarded as almost a Minimal Success representing an
unspectacular result, the character succeeded and no more. A result of +9 would indicate
a remarkable success just short of a critical success.

Critical Results
Both Critical Blunder and Critical Success indicate that something out of the ordinary has
occurred. In the sense of Blunders, not only has the task failed but perhaps an important
piece of equipment was damaged in the attempt or you may not have been working as
quickly or as silently as you had hoped and you have been detected. Critical Successes
indicate that chance has acted in your favour. Perhaps you performed the task in record
time or the previously irreparable damage has been jury-rigged to operate long enough
until you can get back to a decent repair shop.

Example:

A character has to sit up all night and watch a house taking note of who arrives and
departs. The skill to be used is Surveillance, which the character possesses at
Competent (+2). Because the "staying up all night" requires Endurance more than any
other trait, his Endurance (4) is added to the skill modifier to give a total of 6. The G.M.
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decides that the task is Difficult (1 d10). Had the character not had any sleep for several
days, the G.M. might assign the task a difficulty of Formidable (2 d10). The player rolls 1
dice and scores a 5. The difference is 1; Minimal Success but quite far from the Basic
Success grade. The G.M. rules that he dozed off for a little while and was woken by a car
door slamming. His vision clears enough so that he can see one man entering the house
but he is left with no clues as to whether he missed anything while he slept or if there
were more movements that were more stealthy that he missed.

Many combinations of trait and skill are possible:

To break open a lock - Use Strength and Intrusion

To enter commands into a computer quickly - Use Reflexes and Computers

To complete a protracted debate - Use Endurance and Negotiation

To memorise a crime scene - Use Intellect and Perception

Time Taken
There is usually a standard amount of time for each task to see it to completion. This
amount is either dictated by the G.M. or provided by some source material such as a
hardware manual or a published adventure. Characters who achieve high success grades
may at times, reduce the amount of time taken to perform a task. The G.M. has final say
on whether this is permitted, e.g. Sitting up all night watching a monitor cannot be done
faster but typing data into a computer to meet a deadline might benefit from some time
reductions.

The time taken for tasks may also be increased but a simple guideline for this is that this
should only be permitted when the characters have more but still limited time for their
activities otherwise it lends itself to abuse. In addition, the new increased time amount
should be a power of ten greater than the normal time in order to receive a 1 dice
reduction of the difficulty. Any difficulties and times usually take into account the relaxed
pace that most people work at when not under pressure.

Contested Actions
There will be times when your character will have to act against another character in a
scene. Both characters will roll their trait plus skill normally for the task and the
differences are compared. Simply, whoever has the greatest success grade wins the
contest. Again, there are many combinations of skill and trait that may be used. A
character may be trying to sneak up on a guard. The player would roll under Reflexes plus
Stealth for the character while the G.M. would roll under Reflexes plus Perception to see if
the guard caught a quick glimpse of the sneaking character.

To simplify matters, the G.M. may assign non-player characters a success grade for some
of their abilities and require the player to equal or better it in order to succeed, e.g. Basic
Success at Reflexes plus Stealth not to be noticed.

Encumbrance and Fatigue

Fatigue acts as a negative modifier to the success grade on every action. This is meant to
represent the decreased levels of performance which result when actions are performed
when fatigued. Similarly, when a character is weighed down with equipment, they will
suffer penalties to their performance. Depending on the load involved this fatigue may be
imposed every minute or every hour. This equipment can be anything from armour to large
wooden boxes. A character can be considered weighed down when he has to carry twice
his STR trait in kilograms. This limit is not enforced if the load is "worn" or otherwise
distributed on his person using pockets or webbing. A character is weighed down with
webbing if he has to carry five times his STR trait in kilograms.

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Being Unskilled
In simple terms, when a character does not possess a skill which he wishes to attempt, he
will use the Unskilled level (-2) which is meant to compensate for their lack of knowledge
by permitting those with good natural ability to attempt the task anyway. However, certain
tasks may not be attempted unless the skill is known. These are known as No Default
skills and usually require certain specialist knowledge. An example is Engineering which
may not be used unskilled.

Specialisations (Optional)
Certain skills describe areas of knowledge which may be too wide to be included under
one skill yet may be related sufficiently that it remains suitable to label them together.
These skills generally have several specialisations for example, the Medicine skill has
specialisations such as teratology and surgery. Another example would be biology,
chemistry and physics which are specialisations of the Science skill. The specialisation
rules are not compulsory but included as an aid to G.M.s who think the skill categories are
too broad.

A specialisation costs 1 Character Point. The specialisation area is rated at a higher skill
level while other related areas which are not covered by the specialisation but which are
covered by the broader general skill are rated at the normal skill level. If no specialisation
is noted then all skills are rated at the normal level.

Example:

A character has Science at Competent. Under these rules if he does not specify a
specialisation then all his uses of the science skill will be at Competent level. If he does
add a specialisation later then that area (e.g. Toxicology) will be rated at Professional while
others (Physics, Botany, etc.) will be rated at Competent.

Why would anyone use Specialisations and how do I get them?

Specialisations add a tiny amount of realism to the game. Characters can now be
Botanists, Ecologists, Chemists instead of being a general scientist. It reflects how it is
harder to be a master of all disciplines.

Gaining specialisations is simple. The first one is free but after that the next one must be
raised as if you were raising a "broad" skill normally through the expenditure of character
points. At the same time the basic Science skill may not be increased. It is important that
the G.M. decide whether or not he is using specialisations at the start of the game as this
is a potential area for players to "min-max" their points and attempt to build the best
possible number combinations rather than sculpting actual characters.

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Combat
Combat is a slightly modified version of the skill resolution system. It uses the trait and
skill totals and the Success Grade is used in determining the effects of Combat.

Who goes rst?

Initiative or Combat Speed dictates who goes first in a fight. Combat Speed is the total of
1d10 added to a characters REF trait. In general, the people with the highest reflexes
move first and move fastest. Their players may wait to hear the actions that everyone else
is planning and then plan their course of action accordingly but they generally move first
and at times, act more than once in a given time slot. Certain qualities may permit faster
actions and there are genre-specific special effects which may increase this movement
into the area of the superhuman (e.g. Cybernetics, Super-Speed).

Further modifiers also include what actions the character wishes to take. Drawing a
weapon or changing position, running a few metres or having to wait for another person to
act all disrupt the normal flow and must therefore be controlled by the G.M. in order to
keep the sequence of events accurate. A good guideline is to move around the group in
order of reflexes and permit each character to perform one action that should take no
longer than 2-3 seconds. Longer actions would therefore require multiple passes around
the table to simulate the extra time taken. It is vitally important that the G.M. maintain a
clear picture of what is happening in his head at all times.

Character Movement
Most human characters in this game will move at a standard speed. this breaks down to
about 2-3 metres per second at a walking pace and between 5 and 8 for running. Fit
characters who are sprinting may be able to maintain 10 metres per second though most
people can only maintain this sort of pace for an amount of time equal to their Endurance.
The speed a character moves at is also an indication of the modifier to his actions as a
result of the movement. Any skills which require a steady hand or precision work receive
the speed in metres per second as a negative modifier to any success grade achieved.
For example, a man running at 5 metres per second receives a -5 modifier to his success
grade.

Close Combat
Close combat occurs at short ranges where the assailants can reach each other; usually at a
distance of 2 metres or less. The base difficulty for combat usually depends on the attacker.
One dice is used unless the attacker decides to attempt a more complex manoeuvre and thus
use a higher difficulty. The rationale behind this is that the target must then use the higher
difficulty to defend and is thus more likely to be struck. Melee difficulties may also be
manipulated by the G.M.. If the fight is one-sided such as an unarmed character fighting
another who uses a sword then the G.M. may reflect this by making the unarmed characters
difficulty higher. Certain special manoeuvres may also require minimum skill levels and
Untrained characters should not be permitted to use Special Manoeuvres at all.

Close Combat rules also favour the "Coup-de-Grace" and G.M.s are asked to exercise
common sense when judging situations where one participant has a clear advantage over
the other. Fatigue can build up very quickly and fitness (high END score) can be as useful
as the ability to hit people.

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Table 14: Melee Combat Maneuvers

Manoeuvre Difficulty Effect

Disarm +1d10 Forces victim to drop weapon

Judo Throw +1d10 Target thrown (Reflex roll to recover)
Spin Kick +1d10 Damage as per Martial Arts
Lock +1d10 Target immobile (Strength roll to break)

Example:

A character (skill total: 7) is attacking a tough henchman (skill total: 9). The character tries
a tricky manoeuvre in order to catch the henchman out; he decides a spin kick. This is a
Difficult manoeuvre, so the player rolls 2 d10, receiving the scores 3 and 2 for a total of 5.
The manoeuvre was performed correctly but the henchman is attempting a defence so the
G.M. rolls 2d10 (due to the difficulty). He gets a 3 and a 9 which add up to 12 meaning
that his defence fails and he receives a nasty spinning kick to the head using the Martial
Arts damage row for a Minimal Success. The henchman is hurt but not out. The fight
continues.

Long Range Attacks

Long range or missile attacks do not rely on the skill of the defender per se but tend to be
modified by the distance between the attacker and the defender. It is important that the
aggressor have a weapon that can actually cover the distance.

At Point Blank range, there is usually an automatic hit unless the G.M. rules that there are
extenuating circumstances and sets a required success grade as a result. Commonly only
a Critical Blunder will miss. With greater ranges, more dice are required to the maximum
of Extreme range when 3d10 are rolled. The ranges are listed with each weapon
description.

Table 15: Range Difficulties

Range Difficulty Description

Point Blank G.M. 0-3 metres

discretion
Close 1 d10 minimum effective range
Medium 2 d10 "Battle" range
Extreme 3 d10 limit of effective fire

Trick Shots

Similar to special manoeuvres in close combat, Trick shots have a higher difficulty than
normal. It is important to note that dice difficulties due to range are also in effect. For
most trick shots a modifier of +1 d10 is standard though if the target is smaller than the
size of an adult human's head then the difficulty modifier may be +2d10. Trick shots also
include the missile equivalent of Disarm (Shooting the gun from his hand) and the
equivalent of Lock (Wing him).

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Example:

A character (skill level: 8) is trying to shoot a henchman. The henchman is unaware of the
attack and so isn't trying to avoid being hit by taking cover. The range is 100 metres and
the character is using a light rifle with range values of Close (25m), Medium (75m) and
Extreme (150m). This means that the henchman is at Extreme range between 75 and 150
metres away which places the difficulty at 3 d10. Knowing that a fancy trick shot such as
aiming for a vital location or trying to wing him would make the shot harder, he fires. The
player rolls 3d10 and scores a 4, a 6 and a 7 for a total of 17. Luckily, the difference is only
-9 which translates as a basic failure rather than a Critical Blunder. The henchman is able
to sense where the shots are being fired from and can take cover accordingly.

Automatic Fire

This is when an automatic weapon is made to fire multiple times due to a repeating
function built into the weapon. This function is included in sub-machine guns, machine
guns, machine pistols and assault rifles. Direct auto-fire is when the weapon is pointed
directly at a target and fired in order to increase the chance of hitting. Suppressive fire is
when the weapon is pointed at a wider area with the intention to prevent the enemy from
using that area or to keep them in cover so they cannot attack and cannot observe what
you are doing.

Direct Auto-fire

When a weapon is fired under direct Auto-fire, only the damage for a minimal success is
counted against the target but there is the possibility of multiple hits. This is calculated as
one hit per point the roll is under the to-hit total. This result cannot be higher than the
Rate-Of-Fire for the weapon.

Example:

A character (skill total: 12) fires his machine pistol at a henchman. The machine pistol's
range is poor so he has to roll 2d10. He scores a total of 10 which gives a difference of 2.
This means that two rounds hit the target, both doing the minimum damage for the type of
weapon.

Suppressive Fire

The number of rounds fired (the rate-of-fire) is spread across an area measured in metres.
Each metre must be allocated a fraction of the total rate-of-fire and the number of rounds
is divided proportionally between each metre. A minimum of 1 round per metre covered is
recommended, i.e. an M16 can cover an area 5 metres wide on full automatic (fire rate 5)
using 1 round per metre. Each round is rolled individually. If a target is in a metre space in
which a hit is scored then they will be struck by that round unless they make a Difficult
Reflexes roll. The chance of hitting is greatly reduced but it does cover a larger area and
may convince the enemy to keep their head down.

Scoring Damage

In the event a hit is achieved, damage must be calculated. The degree of success plus
other modifiers such as the weapon used (and in melee combat, the strength of the
attacker) contribute to the amount of damage inflicted.

Each weapon has a damage code listed for Minimal, Basic and Critical Successes. In the
case of missile weapons, this damage is unchanged unless the weapon struck a
particularly vulnerable location (see Locations). In the case of melee combat, the strength
of the attacker adds to the damage according to the table.

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Table 16: Damage modifier for Strength

Attacker Strength Damage

Poor (1-2) -1
Average (3-4) +0
Superior (5-6) +1
Pinnacle (7-8) +2

Locations (Optional)

The location of the wound is another important modifier for damage but one that also can
reduce the amount of freedom the G.M. has for descriptions. Certain areas of the body are
more vulnerable to damage than others and it is possible to simulate this simply. There are
different columns in the table to use for close combat and for ranged combat, weighted to
illustrate the difference in available target areas. It is possible to target a specific area of
the body though this can increase the difficulty accordingly (as for Trick Shots).

Table 17: Hit Locations

Location Roll Missile Roll Melee Effects

Head 0 0 +1 Wound effect

Chest/Abdomen 1,2,3 1,2,3 No additional effect

Right Arm 4 4,5 -1 Wound effect; Serious

disables
Left Arm 5 6,7 -1 Wound effect; Serious
disables
Right Leg 6,7 8 Serious disables

Left Leg 8,9 9 Serious disables

Locations example:

A character is shot using a 9mm pistol. A basic success results in a level four wound
under normal circumstances. If the locations rules are used then this level may be
modified. A d10 is rolled resulting in a 6. On the missile column this results in a wound in
the right leg. A serious wound disables so a critical wound (level 4) also disables and
should be described as slightly worse. The character cannot walk and will undoubtedly be
suffering from severe shock and bleeding. If the shot above had scored a 4 on the location
table then it would have hit the right arm and been reduced one level in severity to a
Serious wound (which also disables that arm).

Weapon damages can be found in the weapons listings. The modified amount is then
compared to the target's armour if any. The armour rating is subtracted from the wound total
before it is applied to the character. Armour can never reduce wound totals to less than 0
(except through high technology.

The final total is then compared to the damage track on the character sheet. There are
seven levels of damage, placed in order from mere bruising to fatal results. The wound
total is found on this scale and the box beside the number is filled in. The location of the
wound is also written beside the wound description. If that box is already filled in then the
wound is bumped up one level of severity. If the new "bumped-up" wound level is also
filled in then there is no further wound effect. Lastly the wound total is added to the
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Fatigue total box for each and every wound. Remember to apply the effects of fatigue
after the wound has been "bumped". The chapter on Perils has more information on
wounds and their effects.

Table 18: Wound Levels

Wound Total Wound Effect Guideline

-1 or lower Nothing You hit me? Where?

0 Bruise/Cut
1 Flesh Wound
2 Light Injury
3 Serious Injury
4 Critical Injury
5 Deadly Injury
6 Fatal
That should clear up in a day or
two.
Ow! That hurt!
You should get that looked at.
Hey, call a doctor!
Going into surgery now.
The machine helps him breathe.
Ashes to ashes.

Wounds example:

A character is hit by a 10mm Glock fired by a henchman. The henchman scored a Minimal
Success and as the character forgot his Kevlar vest a Serious Injury (Level 3) was inflicted.
The G.M. rolls on the Hit Locations chart (See Table 17) and finds that the shot hits him in
the right leg causing the character to lose the use of that limb and receive 3 Fatigue
points (the wound level) through shock. Unfortunately for the character, the henchman
fired a second time achieving the same result. As the character had already suffered a
wound of that level the result is increased by one level to 4, a Critical Wound, and receives
another 4 Fatigue points bringing the total to 7, one point above his STR+END total
causing him to collapse! If the character receives another serious wound the character
gains more fatigue but the wound level does not increase (both Serious and Critical level
are already filled). Note that all wounds and their locations are still recorded. Things don't
look good.

The Coup-de-Grace (Optional)

There are times when the rules cannot simulate reality enough. In the wounds example
above, the character is downed on the second shot. After this the henchman will find it a
lot easier to inflict further harm. The G.M. must judge whether this situation calls for an
automatic kill. Similarly, characters may be killed by relatively harmless weapons such as
fists. If a character loses consciousness then the Coup-de-Grace may be employed. A
player may not be as willing to accept this rule as he basically has to create a new
character.

The Weapons listings

The weapons are listed below, with all relevant statistics. Most weapons are available
nowadays through some means either legal or illegal depending on the locale the game is
set in and what resources are available to the characters. Any weapons marked with an
asterisk are those which have yet to be developed by modern day science. They may exist
in the 'near now' or may be the products of high technology in the future. Melee weapons
use the 'melee' location table while missile weapons use the missile column.

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Table 19: Close Combat Weapons

Melee Weapon Minimal Basic Critical

Fist, Head-butt 0 0 1
Kick. Elbow, Knee 0 1 2
Knife 0 1 2
Cosh, Blackjack 0 1 2
Staff, Nunchaku 2 3 4
Martial Arts Strike 1 2 3
Martial Arts Foot 2 3 4
Bowie Knife 1 2 3
Short Sword 1 2 3
Broadsword, Battle-axe 3 4 5
Katana, No-Dachi 4 5 6

For missile weapons, the ranges are measured in metres and listed in the column labelled
C/M/E which stands for Close/Medium/Extreme. In the case of firearms, all relevant
statistics such as calibre, magazine capacity and rate of fire are also listed. Firearms and
other missile weapons use the 'missile' locations table.

Table 20: Missile Weapons

Missile Weapon C/M/E Minimal Basic Critical

Dart 2/4/8 0 1 2
Sling 5 / 10 / 15 1 2 3
Short Bow 15 / 40 / 80 2 3 4
Crossbow 10 / 30 / 50 3 4 5
Compound Bow 30 / 70 / 150 4 5 6
Longbow 25 / 75 / 150 4 5 6

Table 21: Firearms

Weapon (Conceal?) Calibre Mag Rate C/M/E

Colt Python (Jacket) .357 Mag. 6R 1 20 / 40 / 100

Colt Detective (Pocket) .38 Special 6R 1 10 / 40 / 80
Beretta M92 (Jacket) 9mm P 15 1 10 / 30 / 75
Beretta M96 (Jacket) .40 S&W 10 1 15 / 45 / 90
Weapon (Conceal?) Calibre Mag Rate C/M/E

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Colt M1911A1 (Jacket) .45 ACP 7 1 10 / 30 / 100

Glock 17 (Jacket) 9mm P 17 1 10 / 30 / 60
Glock 20 (Jacket) 10mm 15 1 10 / 40 / 80
Glock 21 (Jacket) .40 S&W 12 1 10 / 40 / 80
Browning H-P (Pocket) 9mm P 13 1 10 / 30 / 60
AutoMag (jacket) .44 Mag. 8 1 15 / 50 / 100
Walther PP (Ankle/Pocket) .32 7 1 10 / 30 / 60
Beretta M93R (Jacket) 9mm P 18 1/3 10 / 40 / 80
Ingram MAC-10 (Coat/Bag) .45 ACP 30 10 20 / 50 / 100
Ingram MAC-11(Coat) .380 ACP 30 10 15 / 45 / 90
Uzi (Coat/Bag) 9mm P 35 1/5 25 / 75 / 150
Mini-Uzi (Coat) 9mm P 32 1/5 25 / 70 / 130
H&K MP-5 (Bag) 9mm P 30 1 /5 30 / 80 / 175
H&K MP-5K (Coat/Bag) 9mm P 2x20 1/5 25 / 70 / 130
Glock 18 (Jacket) 9mm P 18 1/3 10 / 30 / 75
M-16 5.56 NATO 30 1/5 30 / 175 / 350
AKM-47 7.62 Soviet 30 1/5 25 / 125 / 200
AK-74 5.45 Soviet 30 1/5 40 / 150 / 300
L85 (SA-80) 5.56 NATO 30 1/5 20 / 150 / 300
Steyr AUG 5.56 NATO 30 1/5 25 / 150 / 350
Heckler & Koch G3 7.62 NATO 30 1/3 40 / 175 / 400
Heckler & Koch G11 4.7mm Cls 50 1/5 30 / 150 / 300
FN FAL 7.62 NATO 30 1/3 50 / 175 / 400
Walther WA2000 .300 W.M. 10 1 100 / 600/ 1500
Barrett Model 52 .50 BMG 10 1 100 / 450 / 1000
Dragunov SVD 7.62 Soviet 10 1 50 / 250 / 1000
M-60 7.62 NATO Belt 5 50 / 250 / 1000
GPMG 7.62 NATO 30 / Belt 5 40 / 200 / 800
L86 (LSW) 5.56 NATO 30 5 30 / 150 / 500
Franchi SPAS M12 12 Gauge 8 1/2 10 / 25 / 45
Heckler & Koch CAWS 12 Gauge 10 1/2 5 / 30 / 55
Ithaca Stakeout 12 Gauge 5 1/2 10 / 25 / 40
Ithaca M37 10 Gauge 5/8 1/2 10 / 25 / 40

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Table 22: Calibre

Calibre Minimal Basic Critical

.32 2 3 4
.38 Special /.380 ACP 3 4 5
9mm Parabellum 3 4 5
l0mm/.40 S&W 3 5 6
.45 ACP 3 5 6
.357 Magnum 4 5 6
.44 Magnum 4 5 7
5.56 NATO 3 4 5
7.62 NATO 4 5 6
5.45 Soviet 3 4 5
7.62 Soviet 4 5 6
.300 Winchester Magnum 4 5 6
4.7mm Caseless 3 4 5
.50 Browning MG 3 5 7
12 Gauge Shotgun (*no Critical at E range) 3 4 5*
10 Gauge Shotgun (*no Critical at E range) 3 5 6*

Table 23: Types of Armour

Armour Locations Protection Encumbers

Ballistic Vest chest, abdomen 1 0

Ballistic Coat chest, abdomen, arms 1 1
Kevlar Plate Vest chest, abdomen 2 2
Metal Breastplate chest, abdomen 2 3
Chain Hauberk chest, abdomen 1 2
Assault Armour all locations 3 2
Kevlar Helmet head 2 0
Metal Helmet head 1 0

Armour is useful as it can sometimes prevent well-designed modern weapons from

puncturing your character and causing him undue stress and anxiety. However well
armour is designed, it cannot reduce damage below 0, thus bruises and minor cuts can
always occur. Another special circumstance involving armour are the development of
armour-piercing weapons. Armour piercing weapons commonly reduce the protection
value of the armour by half (rounding down) but inflict one wound level less than the
comparable standard round.

Table 24: Vehicle Armour

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Vehicle/Armour Type Body *Windows *Wheels

Unarmoured Car 2 0 1
Bullet-Proofed Car 4 3 2
Light Armoured Car 5 4 2
Light Tank 6 4 4
Main Battle Tank 8 6 6
Bunker 10 6 -

* Some vehicles of these types will not have windows and some may have treads rather
than wheels. The statistics have been modified to account for this. Windows will probably
permit certain attacks to pass though and possibly injure the occupants of the vehicle. For
those people who insist on driving around in normal, unarmoured cars - serves them right!

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Perils
This chapter contains many of the supplementary rules necessary for running the game.
Some of these rules must be used during normal play while others will be reserved for use
during combat.

Wounds and what they mean

Being wounded will seriously affect your character. In some cases, bandages and TLC will
be enough while others will require weeks or even months of hospital care. Wounds also
tend to become worse rather than heal and may develop nasty complications if the care
they require is not provided. The wound system is simple to use and perhaps realistic in
that characters will not be able to wade through gunfire and shrug off machine gun fire
without being seriously impaired. Wounds also take a considerable amount of time to heal
which means that player characters may be out of action for extended periods of time.

Table 25: Wounds and Effects

Severity Game Effects Heal Time

Bruise/Cut Flesh colouis, scalds, minor cuts 3 days

Flesh Wound Deep cut, concussion, sprains, burns 1 week
Light Injury Open wound, broken ribs, fractures 1 week
Serious Injury Broken bones, gaping wound, cannot run or fight 2 weeks
Critical Injury Shattered bone, poisoning, cannot walk or run 1 month
Deadly Injury Really, really badly hurt. Waiting to expire messily. 2 months

Wound deterioration and healing

Each untreated wound causes the gain of 1 point of Fatigue per hour. In addition, 24 hours
after a wound is taken, it worsens one level unless it is treated. The current wound level
also subtracts from all activities due to the effects of pain and discomfort. With care,
wound deterioration stops and healing may begin. The healing time for each wound to
heal one level is listed in the table above. Advanced medicine and other genre-specific
effects may decrease these times.

Wounds also take some time to treat as well. On average, a person who is Competent in
Medicine takes 1 minute to treat a Light injury, 10 minutes to treat a Serious injury and 1
hour to treat a Critical injury. This treatment does not imply healing, just that the wound
will no longer deteriorate if moderate care is taken on the part of the patient.

If a human takes 6 points directly (a fatal result), fatigue begins to increase at a rate of one
point per minute. When it reaches the level of the character's Endurance, a coma results.
(Remember that the character has already received at least 6 points of Fatigue from just
taking the wound.) The Fatigue increase continues unless the wound is treated until it
reaches the character's Endurance plus Strength. At this point, death occurs and only
G.M. intervention or special effects can revive the character.

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Fatigue
The fatigue total rises during play due to combat wounding, physical exertion and mental
exhaustion. It can only be reduced through rest, recuperation and special effects such as
drugs or magic. On average, 1 hour of exertion causes 1 point of fatigue and 2 hours of
rest reduces the fatigue total by 1.

Example:

A character is stabbed twice causing a 2-point wound and a 3-point wound. This is
marked as a Light Injury and a Serious Injury. The locations of the wounds are also noted
on the character sheet. The player increases his Fatigue total by 5 points and also notes
that until he is healed, his character will operate at -3 to all activities (his worst wound
level). In 1 week, his Light injury will be reduced to a Flesh wound and in 2 weeks his
Serious injury will have healed to a Light injury.

Poison and Disease

These represent a peculiar form of harm. Each poison is rated on its toxicity. It also has
another rating which indicates what harm it does, some are fatal while others cause mere
irritation. The character must make an Endurance roll and score better than the number
rating of the poison or he will succumb to its effects. This roll is made when the poison is
introduced to the system and every hour after that unless noted otherwise. Quick-killing poisons
either have a very high numeric rating or a note to mention that they affect their victim over a
smaller timescale, perhaps minutes or even seconds rather than hours. For damaging
poisons, the difference between the score achieved on the Endurance roll and the rating
of the poison is used as a Wound total and marked on the character sheet, also adding
the score in Fatigue as usual for wounds. Diseases act in much the same way but their
symptoms and method of transmission may differ quite markedly from poisons. They
commonly have incubation periods and infectious periods and most will require a doctor
and perhaps other medical attention to effect a cure.

Example:

A character is poisoned with a synthetic toxin designed to kill. Its rating is 6, placing it as
one of the more deadly poisons. The character tries an Endurance roll, rolling 1 dice and
trying to get under his Endurance of 5. He rolls a 3, making the difference 2. The
difference is compared to the poison rating of 6 and the player notes that he has taken a
Critical injury (4 points) and also 4 points of Fatigue. This process will continue rolling
every hour, until the character dies or is given an antidote.

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Explosions
Explosions cause injury through blast, heat or fragments. Unless the G.M. rules otherwise,
any character in contact with an exploding device automatically receives a fatal result. If
the character is aware of the device, for example, a grenade that has just landed at his
feet, he may attempt to minimise the potential injury by diving for cover or increasing the
amount of space between himself and the explosive. In game terms this is achieved by
the character making a Formidable Reflexes roll. It is up to the G.M. to decide if this is
possible or not, a character would not be able to see a cannon shell approaching, nor
would he be able to dodge a tactical nuclear warhead blast.

Table 26: Reflexes against Explosives

Success Grade Damage

Critical Success None

Basic Success Minimal
Minimal Success Average
Basic Failure Maximum
Critical Blunder Death

Explosives are rated as Small, Medium, Large, Catastrophic and Unsurvivable. The table
indicates some possible types of explosives that might be encountered.

Table 27: Explosives

Size Example Destroys Min/Bas/Max

Small 20mm cannon shell, hand human limb, 2/4/6

grenade, RPG7 round. door, motorcycle
Medium 40mm cannon shell, 1kg car, van, brick 4/6/8
plastic explosive, Milan wall, human
missile warhead, anti-per- being, aircraft
sonnel mine engine
Large 75mm cannon, mortar light armoured 6 / 8 / 10
shell, anti-vehicle land- vehicle, small
mine, 10kg plastic explo- building, rein-
sive. forced concrete
Catastrophic 155mm cannon shell, van large building, 15 / 20 / 30
bomb, air-dropped bomb tank, concrete
bunkers
Unsurvivable nuclear warhead everything
within a 5 km
radius

The character's survival chance is increased by distance from the explosion. The
damages in the table are for a 1 metre distance from the explosive. The damage values
decrease by one point for every 5 metres between the character and the explosive.

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Other Situations

There will always be situations which cannot be adequately covered by a set of rules no-
matter what their size so for many things in the make-believe world you will play in, the
G.M. will have to use common sense and judgement calls. If a character is drowning then it
would be reasonable to assume that he needs to make some Endurance rolls to stay
conscious or some Reflexes rolls to enable him to either swim to safety or grab hold of
something that will keep him afloat. Already the G.M. should be rationalising the use of
certain rules such as those provided for explosions. Perhaps during the game, rather than
referring to a rule, he shall use the dramatic prose option and describe what happens
rather than trying to rely on the system. Often the system can be too exact, such as if a
hand grenade wipes out the player characters in the middle of a story. It may or may not be
realistic but it isn't fun and fun is the reason that we play.

If you find the rules hinder your enjoyment, then cut down on using them. More and more
G.M.s and players are subscribing to minimalist sets of rules and diceless and systemless
games are increasing in popularity. Rules help reinforce the world you play in and prevent
both players and G.M.s from abusing the trust that must be present in a game that is
decided using only judgement calls.

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The G.M. Guide

The G.M. must be prepared for any eventuality. He must be prepared to play any role the
players wish him to, from their evil arch enemy who speaks with a nasal voice that he has
practised for weeks to the bystander who they accuse (in the wrong) to be an enemy
agent. Players will endeavour to surprise you, mostly unintentionally. They will pursue
dead ends, ignore the most obvious leads and harass the most innocent people. It's a
mistake to try to railroad them back onto the right track with a noticeable deus ex
machina, rather it is better to hint more of the real plot and what they are missing though
media clips or direct need.

Media clips need not be impressive. Usually they consist of a piece of paper with some
newsworthy items and some sensationalist rubbish. Players will often confuse the real
leads with the red herrings and some will even avoid the red herrings because they think
that is the plot that they are to be "railroaded" onto.

Direct need is a very effective way to get the players to "go to work". Explain to them that
their cash reserves are low, they have no food, their Campervan is out of petrol. Tell a
character that one of his relatives has gone missing and that he really should try to help
out.

These methods seem to be contrived but nearly every story depends on something
similar. Don't be afraid to use ideas you have seen on film or television or read in a book
as if they are disguised enough, the players will never know the difference.

Keeping the action flowing

The word action refers to its use in the film industry more than another word for fighting.
The most important thing to do during a game is keep the players doing something. Never
isolate one player without making sure that he or the rest of the group are going to be
busy while you are working elsewhere. At times you may need to keep secrets from some
players and talk to others in a private discussion. Make these instances as short as
possible and as seldom as possible. Sometimes if you have experienced players they will
keep the action flowing as you are elsewhere but for the most part, novice players will sit
around and even the most jaded role-player will become passionately involved in a
discussion about the film that was on last night on television. These distractions ruin the
mood and make it harder for the rest of the players to maintain their concentration on the
game and playing their characters.

In order to keep the action flowing, keep describing the events around them. It isn't
necessary to provide conflict at every turn because sometimes the best enjoyment can
come from just talking. To enhance this, the players should ensure that their characters
have connections to each other than just the game. It is best if the lead characters have
some history together and some basic relationship to build upon.

It's also a good idea to ensure that the world continues to revolve even when the players
aren't looking. Although you may have created the game world for your players, it must
revolve on its own axis and not around their characters. Make sure that they have to pay
the rent for their apartment, that the petrol runs out in their car, and that they remember to
do their laundry. These details in other games might seem to be mundane and are thus
excluded (Do characters on T.V. use the bathroom?) but in a game based on conspiracy
and paranoia, even the smallest detail can improve the atmosphere. Have their laundry
searched while they wait for it and hint to them about it. Have them come home to an
apartment where someone has left a tap running. Getting the players to think in character
will improve their role-playing and increase the enjoyment of the game for all involved.

Scenarios and Campaigns

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The main difference between a scenario and a campaign is the duration. Commonly a
scenario can last between one and six gaming sessions whilst a campaign can last much
longer, often in the region of six months to several years. Campaigns are often
characterised by a central plot thread, a single group of involved characters and a mood
and location which provide a vibrant and intriguing backdrop to the games' activities.

Introducing Realism

The system was designed with some elements of realism in mind. The skill system was
designed to be quick and intuitive. The combat system designed to be severe but also
allow player characters a decent chance of survival if they are careful. Realism doesn't
come from complicated rulesets or from gory descriptions of combat - but from the G.M..
As G.M., you will act as the medium for the sights and sounds of your world that they
players' characters will see and hear. If your descriptions of the scenes are poor, then the
players' grasp on the "reality" of the game will quickly be lost. Players are willing to
suspend disbelief but only when a certain threshold of interest can be maintained. Keeps
the games moving, keep the descriptions detailed and relevant and keep character
interaction at a maximum. Try to reinforce that players stay in character as much as
possible except when required to deal with the system rules or the pizza delivery man.

Non-Player Characters

These are the inhabitants of your game world. They aren't played by any player and may
occupy many positions in the world that the players find themselves reacting to. They may
interact with the player characters on many levels. One may be a talkative neighbour while
another could be their secret contact. Regardless of their function, non-player characters
should be imbued with a certain amount of life in their own right. If possible, prepare them
before the game session begins and give each of them a recognisable tag that the players
will identify with. This can be anything from a limp to an odd voice or accent. The better
and more unique the tag, the more readily the players will be able to identify with the
character when they meet them again. make sure you note down the relevant tag carefully
as it can be confusing to have their neighbour have a different accent every week. Also
avoid tags that will make the character a target of endless ridicule, or if they do have an
odd quality that inspires humour, make them react as you would if someone made fun and
jokes at your expense.

Sometimes you will have to improvise during a game due to the players not following your
carefully laid out plans. A good G.M. will be flexible enough to cope with any eventualities
and this includes being able to create non-player characters at a moment’s notice. Names
are usually a problem so it is a good idea to maintain a list of names for "instant" non-
player characters should you need them.

Creating a Story

One of the main duties of a G.M. is to create an interesting story for the players to follow.
The scenario itself is easy but what can make the story vibrant and thrilling is the way the
G.M. presents it. Stories can be linear or freeform. Linear stories are like races. They have
a discernible beginning, a middle and a finale. An example would be escorting someone
from one location to another. Along the way they will interact with the world about them but
the story is, in essence, a line drawn from A to B. Freeform stories are often based around
events happening in the world about the characters. An example of a freeform adventure
would be the players learning of a incident quite far away. Depending on their character's
interests they may find the concepts presented to be intriguing and pursue this rumour. On
the other hand, they may not be interested in doing this adventure directly and ignore the
leads presented. Freeform adventures take more work, are harder to maintain but on the
whole players begin to feel they are part of a vibrant world that seems alive further than
just in the imagination.

Big Decisions
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There are some times during a game that the players' or your own workings have created a
significant life-changing event for the player character involved. These may be according to
plan or accidental but in the risk of advocating that a G.M. break the rules, it is best only to
invoke life-changing events deliberately and seldom let the dice make decisions that might
change a players view or ruin a player's enjoyment.

Character death is one such event. Players can get attached to characters and even items
of equipment and its loss genuinely upsets them. On one hand this is good as it shows that
they have empathised with the character but on the other it may also cause disputes within
the group which may disrupt play.

Be careful with the decisions you make and don't make the wrong decisions because it will
make you popular. Make decisions according to the characters you play and the present
thread of the story. Don't be railroaded by the players into giving them bigger and better
rewards. They should work for rewards. At the same time, reward good work or quick
thinking in the game and don't force the players to enjoy themselves. They'll only resent
you for it later.

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Bestiary
Contained herein are the main types of characters that players will meet. Basic statistics
and some specific skills are noted where necessary as well as a short description. There
are two types of characters listed: Supporting characters and Extras.

The first are supporting characters who represent persons of an approximate ability
equal to that of the player's characters. They are less detailed than player characters
and are often recurring characters in a campaign. They have general skill areas and a
general rating to describe that area though an individual may have a higher rating in one
skill in that area if the G.M. chooses, e.g. An agent that the players meet has a skill base
of Warfare: Novice. The G.M. decides that the character will have a firearms rating of
Competent due to their Project training.

The second group are extras who represent the taxi drivers, reporters and innocent
bystanders that the characters may meet during a story. The analogy with acting is
sufficient to break these characters down into manageable groups. Some of these
characters will oppose the player characters, some will aid them. For instance, a doctor
in the Extras section may become friendly with a player character and perhaps become
detailed enough through play to become a supporting character.

Abbreviations: END Endurance U Untrained

REF Reflexes N Novice

INT Intellect C Competent

STR Strength P Professional

FAT Fatigue V Veteran

STS Stress M Master

Supporting Characters
Supporting characters possess similar statistics to player characters. They are
identified as characters who are recurring and who provide the players with some
challenge if they are to be bested. One might be a rival who commonly intrudes on the
players interests. Another might be an expert who seeks to expose the players. They
are commonly antagonists and may form the centre of a plot that spans several games.
In the classic sense of arch-enemies, they may be killed only to resurface again later
with a reasonably plausible explanation. They can be implacable foes or sincere
friends. Important members of the organisation would be in this section as would
people important to the character such as a husband or helpless old aunt.

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SUPPORT: Simon Benedict

Affiliation: Loner
Allies: None
Enemies: Governments
Stats Skill Base Equipment
END: Warfare: Competent
6
REF: Espionage: Veteran 10mm Pistol
4
INT: Survival: Novice .357 Holdout
4
STR: Social: Novice Forged Papers
5
FAT: Knowledge: Competent
0
Technical: Competent

Personality: Benedict could be described as a paranoid schizophrenic. He trusts

no-one especially those who might present him with a challenge. His reactions
tend to be extreme and he enjoys having power over others to further his own
ends.

SUPPORT: Charles ‘Call me Charlie’ Cornell

Affiliation: Anarchists
Allies: As per cell
Enemies: As per cell
Stats Skill Base Equipment
END: 4 Warfare: Novice
REF: 3 Espionage: Competent Laptop PC
INT: 4 Survival: Novice 1988 Winnebago
STR: 3 Social: Competent Baseball Bat
FAT: 0 Knowledge: Competent
Technical: Professional

Personality: Charlie is a likable chap, he's provided the Winnebago that drives the
player group about and he trusts his new friends even if they are a bit strange. He's
a bit of a neat freak and likes everything to be ordered and tidy.

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Important Characters:

Some of the characters mentioned in the chapters above present some interesting
combinations of talent and skills. Others are included for reference purposes. In the
Espers below, you can see how some Qualities and Psychic Talents have been
combined to create different versions of the abilities (Gremlin) while other
characters have completely new talents (Blackout).

Strategic Research laboratories

These characters are those most likely to be encountered by player characters

other than normal guards and technicians. They will often have bodyguards or
hidden observers who will be ready to act should there be any threat. This is not to
say that they will not act for themselves as they are both competent at defending
themselves.

SUPPORT: Carlotta Winters

Affiliation: Strategic Research Laboratories
Allies: Her people in the Labs, SRL Security, William Scott (SRL)
Enemies: Competitors for Defense contracts
Stats Skill Base Equipment
END: 3 Warfare: Competent Files and Progress Reports
REF: 3 Espionage: Professional Walther PP
INT: 6 Survival: Competent Smart Lab Coat
STR: 3 Social: Veteran
FAT: 0 Knowledge: Professional
Technical:

SUPPORT: William Scott

Affiliation: Strategic Research Laboratories
Allies: Conquest Dynamics, SRL Security, Carlotta Winters (SRL)
Enemies: Competitors for Defense contracts
Stats Skill Base Equipment
END: 6 Warfare: Veteran Beretta M96
REF: 5 Espionage: Professional Kevlar Vest
INT: 4 Survival: Professional Hand Radio
STR: 6 Social: Competent
FAT: 0 Knowledge: Professional
Technical:

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Government Agents

Their abilities are not included so that they may become punching bags for the
players. They can also be expected to carry small arms and false but convincing
identification.

SUPPORT: Dr. Anna Sterling

Affiliation: CIA
Allies: Her people, US Vice-President, CIA Director
Enemies: General Montell (Department of Defence)
Stats Skill Base Equipment
END: 3 Warfare: Untrained State of the Art Laptop
REF: 4 Espionage: Professional Very expensive suit
INT: 6 Survival: Untrained
STR: 3 Social: Novice
FAT: 0 Knowledge: Professional
Technical: Professional

SUPPORT: Jacob Gleickmann

Affiliation: CIA
Allies: Deputy Director of the FBI
Enemies: Anarchists
Stats Skill Base Equipment
END: 4 Warfare: Professional Colt Detective
REF: 4 Espionage: Veteran FBI Identification
INT: 4 Survival: Competent
STR: 4 Social: Professional
FAT: 0 Knowledge: Professional
Technical: Competent

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Department of Defence

It is likely that the characters may encounter the characters listed below whether
they are working for or against the military. They are also members of the US Armed
Forces and therefore can be expected to carry items like assault rifles, backpacks
and other useful tools when on a mission.

SUPPORT: General Edward Montell

Affiliation: DoD, Army
Allies: US Secretary for Defence,
Enemies: Commanders 82nd Airborne Division,
Delta Force
The Green Flag Commandos (Middle-east terrorist group)
Dr. A. Sterling (CIA)

Stats Skill Base Equipment

END: 4 Warfare: Veteran Dress Uniform
REF: 4 Espionage: Professional M9 Pistol
INT: 4 Survival: Professional
STR: 4 Social: Competent
FAT: 0 Knowledge: Professional
Technical: Competent

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Extras
These characters are basic templates about which personalities and background
must be sculpted. They provide a little characterisation but, to ensure that every
reporter that the players meet is not a hard-bitten free-lancer, the G.M. is required
to exercise a little imagination. Examples of these characters might be reporters,
local police, soldiers, politicians, pilots, doctors. Their statistics may be
represented simply as below. The detail is poor but it should provide enough for a
G.M. to run a character.

EXTRA Police Officer Affiliation: Government Civil

Statistic Skill Base Equipment
Base:3 Law: C (+2) .38 Police Revolver, Handcuffs,
FAT:0 Firearms C (+2) Uniform

EXTRA Soldier Affiliation: Government Civil

Statistic Skill Base Equipment
Base: Firearms P (+4) Assault Rifle, Backpack,
FAT:0 Survival C (+2) Helmet, CamoUniform

EXTRA Politician Affiliation: Government Civil

Statistic Skill Base Equipment
Base: Politics P (+4) Smart Suit
FAT:0 Negotiation C (+2) Bodyguard (see below)

EXTRA Bodyguard Affiliation: Government Civil

Statistic Skill Base Equipment
Base: Bodyguard P (+4) 10mm Pistol
FAT:0 Firearms C (+2) Sunglasses, Smart Suit

EXTRA Reporter Affiliation: Government Civil

Statistic Skill Base Equipment
Base: Journalism P (+4) Camera, Tape Recorder,
FAT:0 Notebook

EXTRA Thief Affiliation: Government Civil

Statistic Skill Base Equipment
Base: Intrusion C (+2) .32 Revolver, Facemask,
FAT:0 Casual Clothes

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 ERIS MODERN

EXTRA Taxi Driver Affiliation: Government Civil

Statistic Skill Base Equipment
Base: Shout Abuse P (+4) Beat Up Cab,
FAT:0 Drive N (0) Fat Cigar, Air Freshener

EXTRA Drug Dealer Affiliation: Government Civil

Statistic Skill Base Equipment
Base: Streetwise P (+4) 10mm Pistol, Drugs,
FAT:0 Negotiation C (+2) Sunglasses, Smart Suit

EXTRA Pilot Affiliation: Government Civil

Statistic Skill Base Equipment
Base: Pilot P (+4) Aircraft
FAT:0 Flightsuit

EXTRA Anarchist Affiliation: Government Civil

Statistic Skill Base Equipment
Base: Survival P (+4) 9mm Pistol
FAT:0 Propaganda C (+2) Leaflets

EXTRA Computer Hacker Affiliation: Government Civil

Statistic Skill Base Equipment
Base: Computers V (+6) Powerful Laptop
FAT:0 Repair C (+2) Fast Modem

EXTRA Biker Affiliation: Government Civil

Statistic Skill Base Equipment
Base: Motorcycle P (+4) Custom Motorcycle
FAT:0 Firearms C (+2) Fighting Knife and Chain

EXTRA Doctor Affiliation: Government Civil

Statistic Skill Base Equipment
Base: Medicine P (+4) Medical bag and drugs
FAT:0 Psychology C (+2)

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EXTRA Scientist Affiliation: Government Civil

Statistic Skill Base Equipment
Base: Science P (+4) As per science
FAT:0

EXTRA Mechanic Affiliation: Government Civil

Statistic Skill Base Equipment
Base: Mechanic P (+4) Toolkit
FAT:0 Pickup Truck

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 ERIS MODERN

ERIS MODERN is the game system designed for The

23rd Letter, a third edition due soon. It’s also being
used for our new superhero game and a game of
magic.

It’s a bit crunchier than most, requires 3 10-sided

dice and a character sheet that you can download
from our web site.

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