‘ E N T U R F S O U ~ Z E B O O K I

a i . I.

appearing left and onths. Strangely

enough, all of them vanished while passing

And now, an unscheduled merchant ship claims to be repairing its malfunctioning plasma drive near the mysterious moon. A team of exo-armor

. Is there more t a

The Europa Incident is the second sourcebook detailing the Jovian Chronicles universe for Mekton il. It includes additional background mat optional rules and more!

This book also contains a complete adventure recom- mended for 3-6 beginnerlevel players, although it is possible for two groups [up t o 4 players each) t o play at the same time. Also included are seven complete exo- armor desiqns, in addition t o the deadly Lucifer

IANUS PUBLICATIONS 5000 Iberville, Studio Montreal, Ouebec Canada H2

JOVIAN CHRONICLES & EUROPA INCIDENT a lanus Publications, Inc. MEKTON II and the Mekton logo are registered trademarks oi

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C R E 0 1 T s

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T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

GM tips and suggestions ............... 5

The worlds of 221 2 ..................... 8 Mercury .................................. 8

M a r s ...................................... 9 Jupiter .................................. 10 STRIKE .................................. 10

Companies and Corporations ....... 11 Venus Aero Corp ....

Maelstrom Electronics ............. 13 Nakasu Fusion Co ................... 14 Dessa Ltd .............................. 14 NAAC .................................... 14

Military Ranks ............................ 17 Jovian Armed Forces .................. 18 Home Defense Force .................. 19 CEGA Naval Forces ..................... 20 CEGA Armed Forces ................... 21 Free Republic Rangers ................ 22 Mart ian Federal Army ................. 23 Suggested PCs and lmpoltant NPCs 24

New Tech Systems ..................... 31 Money ...................................... 34 History of the exo-armor .............. 35 Optional Rules for Combat ........... 40 Vehicle spec sheets .................... 42

E A T 0 2 Mentor M k 111 .............. 42 EAL-CT Pathfinder ............... 44 E A L U R C Pathfinder ............... 46 EAL-ST Pathfinder ............... 48 E A 0 9 Cerberus .................... 50 CEA05CT Wyvern .................. 52 C E A 0 5 M S Wyvern ................. 54 CXSOl B Lucifer Cybersat ........ 56

Playing the Europa Incident .......... 58 The Plot ................................ 59 Scene 1 ................................ 60 Scene 2 ................................ 61 Scene 3 ................................ 62 Scene 4 ................................ 63 Scene 5 ................................ 64

I ' I ' ' EAL04RC Pathfinder ............... 66 EAL04CT Pathfinder ............... 67 E A L U S T Pathfinder ............... 68

CEAO5CT Wyvern .................. 73

CXSOl B Lucifer Cybersat ........ 75

Uller ..................................... 78 Javelin ................................... 79

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1 N T R O D U C T l O N v

The Jov ian Chron ic les sourcebook

introduced the reader t o a fascinating not-

so-far future where Man has not only

explored but settled the various planets of

the solar system.

The Europa Incident of fers ye t more

information on the world of the twenty-

third century, with a summary of the

political situation two years after the Jovian

Chronicles campaign [which was included

in the first book). It takes a closer look a t

several companies which were only

ment ioned in t h e f i rst sourcebook,

explaining what they do and how they

influence t h e politics of t h e various

countries. We also get a glimpse of the

inner working of the planetary forces, with

ranks and medals briefly outlined for each.

There is still much t o be said about the

solar system of the twenty-third century,

for it is just as complex as Earth society

was a t the end of the twentieth [and

probably even more sol.

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I N T R O D U C T l O t l

Why has the timeline been advanced by two years? Simply to allow the Game Master to introduce more situations and adventure seeds than before - not to mention several new exo-armor designs. Indeed, the interplanetary incident of 221 0 was the catalyst for sweeping changes in a society that had been more concerned with survival than political meddling for the last century. Interplanetary travel is much more common, as are border clashes and diplomatic incidents. In short, many more opportunities for action and adventure.

The incident also had far-reaching repercussions in the military: the striking demonstra- tion of the effectiveness of the exo-armor weapon system has unsurprisingly started an arms race. More designs and modifications were conceived and marketed in the last two years than in the previous fifty years! Exo-armors, considered mere curiosities since their introduction in the JAF in 2163, suddenly proved themselves more adaptable and deadly than any other combat system before them. Even the behemoth spaceships were not safe anymore.

Several companies are switching part of their production to exo-armor assembly lines to profit from this. New designs can be introduced at the Game Master's wish, although players should still not be allowed to design their own machines: after all, even with advanced design computers, an exo-armor is still an immensely complex and expensive piece of equipment. Variations are not unheard of, though, and need not always look like the designs they were based on ...

The various characters and machines in this book use the Mekton II rules, so the players must be familiar with them. You don't absolutely need a copy of Jovian Chronicles to use this book and play the advenhre contained within, but it would be useful - a great deal of the information included herein complements what was discussed in the first book. Having a copy of Mekton Techbook handy is also advisable, since many mechani- cal designs use systems described in this book. Spaceships use a modified version of the ship system described in Mekton Empire, but since spaceships are often more a plot device than actual combat vehicles the GM can easily cover this by himself.

This book includes more information about the Jovian Chronicles' universe and a 5- part adventure. A good thing to do would be to summarize the background for the players before starting a game in the Jovian Chronicles setting. This will put the players "right in the action"; a short recap of the previous gaming session wil l do for experienced players.

Atmosphere, intrigue and action should be a trademark of any game in the Jovian Chronicles setting. As before, scientific plausibil i ty will take a back seat t o playability, coming into play if and only if the story requires it.

Music is an almost mandatory part of role- playing in this particular universe. It will add an extra flavor to your game and need only minimal preparation - a tape deck and one or two tapes. The choice of music is of course left to the gaming group, but should be fast-paced and stimulating. Moody music wi l l be better for tense moments, however.

One last note: when properly done, sound effects can be extremely effective. Some electronic gadgets can reproduce sounds with amazing accuracy; if one is available, by all means use it. The effect can be

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