you may add any or all of the Luck you

have in the game to an important die roll.

Remember: luck replenishes itself at the
end of each game session, if you run out
during game play, you're out of Luck.
• MOVEMENT ALLOWANCE [MA]:
How far (in meters) your feet can carry
you in a pinch. This stat is also used to
determine how fast your character can
jump (from a standing or running start):
• ~ Your character's MA x 3 meters
determines how fast he can run on the
ground at top speed. If you are walking
or trying to seem circumspect, then that
speed is divided by 3 (plain old MA).
• ~ How far (in meters) your character
can jump in a turn is equal to your MA
divided by 4 (do not round decimals).
• Running lump: A character may perform
a running jump of a distance equal
to their running distance divided by 4.
Example: With an MA of 6, I can run
18 meters per tum, jump 1.5 meters
( 6/4= 1.5 ), and perform a running jump of
4.5 meters (18/4=4.5).
STABIUTV
This is a Difficulty Number
which represents how hard a person
is to sway, confuse, frighten or otherwise
befuddle. Stability is equal to
the character's COOL times 2.5.
rounded down. For example, a PC
with a COOL of 2 would have a
Stabil ity of 5, which is essentially an
instant success in terms of skill rolls.
However, someone with a COOL of
6 (Average) would have a Stability of
15, (equal to an Average Difficulty
Number); a character with a COOL
of 1 0 would have a Stabil ity of 25,
which is Very Difficult to overcome.
Stability applies to Interrogation,
Intimidation, Leadership
and Seduction (but NOT Persuasion,
which is countered by Human
Perception Skill).
The character who is actively
using his skill rolls his Stat+Skill
+ 1010 vs. the subject's Stability.
Example: jeff is trying to seduce
Rachel/e. His EMP is 7 and his Seduction
is +2. He rolls a 5 for a total of 14.
Rochelle has an 8 Cool, so her Stability
is 20. jeff gets slapped in the face.
-~

• REFLEXES [REF]: A combination of

agility and hand-to-eye coordination. If
you are a combat-oriented character,
high Reflexes are a must, as just about
any physical skill wi ll use them.
• nCHNICAL ABILITY ITECH]: Your
character's ability to create, modify, and
repair technology. This stat will be used
with all ski lls that involve the repair and
function of machinery. A must for technicians
and engineers.
DETERMINING
STATISTICS
Each statistic must have a numerical
value, from two (2) to ten (10),
with two being the lowest possible
value and ten being the highest; this
makes six (6) the average.
Stats are "purchased" by using a
pool of points for each character. How
many points you get to purchase stats
with Is determined by one of three
methods (sidebar).
While stats are the basic numerical
building blocks of the Mekton Zeta character,
they don't really address the question
of what your character knows.
Naturally high Reflexes won't mean a lot
if, for example, you don't have any
knowledge of how to fight, use a
weapon, or even do simple acrobatics. To
achieve higher levels of competence than
what comes from natural ability, your
character will need to learn some SKILLS.
STAT GENERATION
METHODS
• RANDOM CHARACTERS: Roll
1 D1 0 for each statistic (don't forget
Education). Re-roll all1's-this
has the possibility of rolling all 2's,
and thus giving you a vel}' undesirable
character. So, if the total
number of character points (the
total of all your rolled statistics) is
below 40 (an average of 4 in all
stats) you may re roll your character.
After all, the heroes of animation
are never mediocre!
• CONCEPT CHARACTERS: Roll
1 OD1 0. The total is the number
of character points that you can
spend. Place the points into stats
as you wish (including
Education). As above, a roll of less
than 40 character points will
allow you to re-roll the character.
Unless your referee says otherwise,
this is the standard method
for Player Character creation.
• CINEMATIC CHARACTERS: This
method is best used for NPCs and
pre-generated PCs. You will be
assigned a pool of character points
and these will be used to build the
character. The number of points a
character receives depends on his
place in the game universe:
• Major Character: 80 points
The heavy hitters. This is either
the main bad guy, or a very heroic
character. This should be
reserved for NPCs.
• Minor Characters: 75 points.
Good villains. Not too powerful,
but far from weak. A villain's top
henchman, or a powerful PC/NPC.
• Primary Character: 70 points
This is the majority of PCs and
NPCs that will be in a game. They
are the military officers, competent
civi lians, and general bad
guys of a campaign.
• Secondary Character: 65 points
This is a good point spread for
characters fresh out of the Lifepath:
family, friends and lower enemies.
• Average joe: 60 points
The guy on the street.
• Basic NPC: 55 points
A low-level "grunt" of an NPC.
Good for the faceless masses.
-~

, --------- Page 25

_____,____,_,_

Characte..r s. ~- ----........
SKILLS ~ A.~~t.. ,
* ~7 7.?- , , ---------- .

-----------.,,
S ldlls are grouped Into categories,
each one relating to one of your
character's stats. During a game,
a sldll Is most commonly added to Its
related stat. They are purchased with
points, much like stats are.
Each character begins with a
number of starting skill points equal
to the sum of her Intelligence and
Education plus ten (1 0).
Example: An /NT of 8 and an EDU of
5 grants 2 3 points (8+5+ 1 0) with which
to buy starting skills.
Armed with your skill points, it's
now time to determine your character's
starting skills. Keep in mind that
at this point your character is only
16, and as such will not have had
much of an opportunity to "master"
many skills.
• Start by choosing from the skills
on pages 26-31 . Next, determine
what level you wish each skill to be
at. Skill levels range from + 1 (you
are somewhat acquainted with the
topic) to + 1 0 (a master's level of
knowledge).
• If the desired level of skill Is +5 or
Jess, you must spend one point per
level (For example: It costs 5 points for
a skill of +5 or 3 points for a skill of +3).
• If the level Is greater than +5, It will
cost 2 points for each level above
five. (For example, a skill of +8 would
cost five points for the first five levels,
then 6 more points (3 times 2) for the
remaining three levels up to +8.
• If a skill Is a Hard skill to learn (signified
by an "H" next to Its title), It
may not be purchased at a level
greater than five by a starting character.
(To raise a Hard skill to a higher
level than this, see the section on
Professionals, pg. 32). However, its
cost will still be one point per level, up
to the level 5 limit.
SKILL LIST
• Personal Grooming: This is the skill of
knowing proper grooming, hair styling,
etc. to maximize your physical appearance.
Use of this skill allows the players to
increase their physical attractiveness, and
thus the chances of successful
Relationships or Persuasion. A good looking
person would be a +2. A fashion
model might have +5 or 6. At +8 or better,
you could be a major fashion model,
film star, or trendsetter. You're always
together and you know it.
• Wardrobe 6t Style: The skill of
knowing the right clothes to wear,
when to wear them, and how to look
cool, even in a spacesuit. Any anime
hero worthy of the genre knows how
to pick a cape for the right effect. With
a +2 or better, you are good at picking
clothes off the rack. At +6 your friends
ask you for wardrobe tips, and you
never buy anything "off the rack." At
+9 you are one of those rare people
whose personal style influences major
fashion trends.
Coal Skills
• Interrogation [H]: The required skill
of drawing information from other
people and forcing secrets out into the
open. A +2 or better will allow you to
infallibly discover if your boyfriend is
lying to you. At+ 5 you are capable of
grilling the toughest characters. Mike
Wallace (of 60 Minutes fame) is a perfect
example of +9; he can make the
most powerful people squirm.
• Intimidate [H]: The skill of getting
people to do what you want them to by
force of personality or physical coercion.
At + 3 you can frighten almost any typical
citizen, politician, or low level thug.
At +6 you can intimidate Sylvester
Stallone or any moderate tough guy. At
+9 you could intimidate Arnold
Schwartzenegger (maybe).
• fJersuaslon & Fast Talk [H]: The ability
to talk others into doing what you want.
This may be used individually or in large
------------------------- -

groups. At +3 you can win most debates

and convince your girtfriend that the
blonde you were with was your sister. At
+5 you are a smooth talker of a professional
caliber. At +8 or better you are
capable of swaying large crowds to your
viewpoint
• Beslst Torture/Drugs [H]: Characters
with this skill are especially toughened
against interrogation, torture and mind
control drugs. A successful use of this skill
will increase the difficulty rating of any
interrogation by one level. When you are
drugged, this ski ll adds to your
Stun/Shock save roll.
• Streetwise: The knowledge of the
seamy side of life-where to get illegal
and contraband things, how to talk to
the criminal element and avoid bad situations
in bad neighborhoods. With a
+2 or better, you can get hot items. A
+5 or higher would allow you to set up
a hit on someone, know a few mobsters
who might owe you favors, and
be able to call in muscle when you
need it At +8 or higher you could
become a major crimelord yourself and
skip the middlemen.
Empathy Skills
• Acting: The skill of impersonating
another person for stage, film, or disguise
purposes. At +2 you are skilled but
nothing great. At +6 you can land a job
on any prime-time TV show. At +8 or
better you can make a living and
become famous.
• Human Perception: The skill of detecting
lies, evasions, moods and emotional
clues from others. At +2 you can usually
tell when you are not getting the whole
truth. At +6 you can detect subtle evasions
and mood swings. At +8 you can
not only detect subtle emotional clues,
but you can usually tell what the subject
is hiding in a general way.
• Interview: The skill of elidting information
from an interview subject. The
information will be of a more non-specific
and personal nature rather than informational
(separating this Skill from
Interrogation). At +3 the subject will usu-