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The Last Resort Disclaimers

The last resort is an electronic magazine dedicated to theAlternity Role-Playing Game.

This work is offered free of charge to all interested partiesand is not to be sold in any from. t may be printed oroffered for download if distrib!ted free of charge.

This work s!pports the Alternity roleplaying line"specifically the Alternity Players #andbook andGamemasters G!ide. n addition it s!pports the campaignsettings of $tar%Dri&e" Gamma 'orld" Dark (atter" andTangents by 'izards of the )oast" nc.

Alternity is a registered trademark of 'izards of the)oast" nc.

This work is not a!thorized by" nor is the staff associatedwith 'izards of the )oast" nc.

'izards of the )oast" nc.*http*++www.wizards.com

$taff,o!nding ditor* Daryl lasiActing ditor* (atthew schLayo!t* $R Tr!dea!Associate ditors+'riters*Gonzalo )ampo&erde /0er. 1mn. Lib21dysseas Dallas /Action mpori!m2(atthew sch /)ook3s G!ide" (ind3s ye2Ryan 4ersner /Legion2Dwayne Leonard /$pecies )atalog2Ranko Triflo&ic /Ta&ern Tales2$R Tr!dea! /)yber $hop2'riters*Dragan )iric" Derek #olland" R!in" 4e&in Lo!ghran" 5ames6ostackArtists*Dragan )iric" )hirs )ampbell" $arah #ollman" DwayneLeonard" (ike (eechan

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TheLast Resort'scolor schemereferences the major publishedcampaign settings for Alternity.

General Alternity

Star*Drive

Dark Matter

Gamma World

Tangents

Table of ContentsEditorial 3

by Matthew R. Esch

Special!" #iving Spells $by Derek Holland

Magic M%tants &by Derek Holland

'ne Stat( Many Monsters )by Derek Holland

'rbitals +by Shadow Priest

Cyber S,op" T,e Cyber Advantage )by SR Trudeau

Cook-s G%ide" Grit, and t,e

CorrivaleSystem ..by Montgomery Cook I

%t%re S,ock" T,e Teseract .$by Dwayne !. !eonard

#egion" Concord Marines ./by "len Eidson and Duane Eggert

#egion" T,e 0e1t Men .)

by Dwayne !. !eonard

2ome %le Advantage" 4t-s All Abo%t Skill 3.by Duane Eggert

So%lmec,s 3&by Dragan Ciric

Tangents" 5i $by Dwayne !. !eonard

Dark Matter Advent%re" C%t Stone $6by #im Clunie

Minds Eye" 7iokineticist /+by Matthew R. Esch

#egion Special" 8loisan Targ /.

by Matthew R. Esch

Alternity an Spotlig,t" 9aladin /$


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$!bmissions

The Last Resort is accepting any Alternity-relatedarticles for p!blication. 'e will also accept generalroleplaying articles that can be !sed for the Alternitygame.

A!thors may wish to s!bmit applicable articles to areg!lar or semi-reg!lar col!mn. The following is alist of the c!rrent col!mns*

Action mpori!m* arms" armor" and e9!ipmentestiary izarre* creat!res for the Gamma 'orldsetting)yber $hop* robotics and cyberneticsDomain 0irt!a* detailed grid sites,oes ,antastic* creat!res for arcane AlternityGrid R!n* comp!ters and gridr!nning#ome R!le Ad&antage* home r!les for AlternityLegion* heroes" &illains" and $)(s(ind3s ye* psionics$pecial ,:* s!per powers and magic$pecies )atalog!e* alien species for Alternity$word and $taff* arcane AlternityTa&ern Tales* game fictionTangents* alternate worlds0eritas 1mnes Liberant* conspiracies for the Dark(atter setting:enoh!nter3s ,ield G!ide* ;enoforms for the Dark(atter setting

6ote* )ook3s G!ide is written e&ery iss!e by(atthew R. sch !nder the pse!donym of(ontgomery )ook :. 'e will accept othercorrespondents who want to co&er the $tar Dri&e!ni&erse and either incorporate the article into)ook3s G!ide or format it as a stand alone article.

f yo! ha&e an idea for a new reg!lar col!m feel freeto email !s at* lastresortmail8yahoo.com

Article G!idelines

nd ersion the ery alien artifactthat he guarded with his body mind and soul claimed him. Dre4uently the plot todefend possession of the "oo was a common theme and many tried somesucceeding een for brief periods. loisan Targ a leel >> gardhyi 1rl#ythB 1rl#osarthough neer came into possession of the "oo made a critical error in hisfanaticism. Targ caught in the ecstasy of being physically within the tangent of theI#rl#s imprisonment failed to see "ri# casting a few more incantations. "ri# closedthe gate pulling Targ through and closed it. "ri# summoned more strength tosummon the 6reat !ld !ne himself -thulu. A struggle ensued when Targ reali3edwhat "ri# had done and noced "ri# unconscious. +ince the summoner of -thuluwas incapacitated any hope of controlling the +leeper "eneath the +eas was lost.Fltimately nothing suried e7cept for the *read Tome itself.

"ri# is gone. It#s sad but also ery satisfying. /It#s lie losing my right arm2 as-aramon put it. "ri# will be as much a part of me and my memories as my blanetwhen I was younger. There comes a time to moe beyond and he went out as heshould hae) as a hero.

*eelopments in a campaign such as this reerberate across the setting. E=>?@#stae on +tar


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Living SpellsLiving Spellsby *ere $olland

A liing spell is an oo3e that is madefrom one or more spells. "ecause I am going touse Red *ragon's comple7 spells for the e7ampleshere I am personally limiting the idea to one spell.

Red *ragon's rules can be found on the main pageof the AlternityRP6.net website in the Resourcessection.

+pells that can be used to create aliing spell must affect an area effect andBor has aduration does not affect the caster only summonsany creature or re4uires a comple7 chec. +o noenchant an item metamagic or metasurgery.

The physical contact with a liing spellinflicts the spell upon the object or creaturemaing contact. The spell is resisted as if the samecasting occured that created the oo3e.

6low "all98iing 6leaming +pell cast at Gth ran;

+TR G ICT @*EH 0I8 -!C G PER G*ur JKBJKBJ>BJ> A- >LBJB%B%

Moe +print KB Run B 0al > Actions J

Attacpseudopod B>BJ dsBdKsBdw 8IB!

*efenses%> s Melee% s Ranged

+illAwarness% perception J> 9JK;

This glow ball is a ery obious creature% it maeseery thing it touches glow at 6ood intensity. Theground the walls trees animals and people that itfeeds on. This oo3e was created by a 6ood casting+o it is G cubic meters and JK ilograms in si3e.

!ther liing gleaming spells could create Marginallight or Ama3ing darness. It depends on thecasting that created it.

L A S T R E S O R T

Living Spell Template

$bilities STR % DE &'( % C)* % I*T

+% ,I! &'( % PER . -the rank o the

s/ell that when casted ormed the

oo0e.

$ction Check is reduced by 1. )o0esare slow creatures.

S/eed is reduced by 2 ste/s on the

mo3ement chart 4to the minimum5.

Durability is C)* multi/lied by ( or

stun and wound and by & &'( or

mortal and atigue.

*o skills with the e6ce/tion o

$wareness7 /erce/tion.

$ttacks are a single /seudo/od each/hase. Damage is d2s'd8s'd2w !I')

ad9usted by strength. They ha3e no

armor. $s an oo0e% they are not

aected by mental eects 4eg

tele/athy5.

The oo0e is one cubic meter and two

kilograms /er rank.

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-logger98iing 0eb +pell cast at J@th ran;

+TR J@ ICT @*EH ? 0I8 ?-!C J@ PER J@*ur >@B>@BJ?BJ? A- >LBJB%B%

Moe +print KB Run B 0al > Actions J

Attacpseudopod ?B>BJ dsBdKsBdw 8IB!

*efenses%J s Melee% s Ranged

+illAwareness% perception 9G;

The clogger is called so because it fills the wholearea with webbing. It loos lie it is made of whitestands bound tightly together. It is J@ cubic metersand >@ ilograms in si3e. It tends to hae a heightof one meter and leaes webbing up to this height."ecause of the high caster leel the webbing isfire resistant and causes paralysis.

Additional ran benefits for 0eb)Kth% the webbing burns at half the normal rate.Gth% the webbing burns at JBJ@th the normal rate.

J@th% any contact with the webbing forces a -onfeat chec. Any failure results in paralysis for aduration on how well the spell was cast% J minute9!; ? minutes 96; one hour 9A;.

Dlinger98iing Reerse 6raity +pell cast at J@th ran;

+TR J@ ICT @*EH ? 0I8 ?-!C J@ PER J@*ur >@B>@BJ?BJ? A- >LBJB%B%Moe +print KB Run B 0al > Actions J

Attacpseudopod ?B>BJ dsBdKsBdw 8IB!

*efenses%J s Melee% s Ranged

+illAwareness% perception > 9K;

The flinger sends eerything it contacts into the aireen if there is no surface aboe it. All objects aresent >dK meters into the air and suffer fallingdamage if they strie anything and when fallingbac to earth.

A flinger is a jet blac oo3e that is J@ cubic metersand weights >@ ilograms. It eeps a height of JBof a meter and thus coers @ s4uare meters andleaes damaged objects in its wae.

L A S T R E S O R T

Plot Seeds

Dark Matter:

$ creature o ama0ing darknesshas been released rom its ancient

slee/. Somehow the souls o those

tra//ed in the gra3e site ha3e

called it into being.

It could be sent to get re3enge or

the dead or it could 9ust be a

mindless monster summoned by

their grie and rage.

"amma ,orld:

E6/eriments in /sychic energycreated se3eral unnatural

creatures. This lab has recently

been round and o/ened.

;nortunately this has released the

/sychic /henomen that allows

li3ing oo0e creatures to e6ist.

)n "amma Terra these are not

magical /henomenon% instead they

are 3iolent /sychic energy.

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MagicMagicMutantsMutants

by *ere $olland

0ays of altering heroes and +-Ms through thesupernatural.

In >@@> "astion Press released theircampaign setting and in doing so came up with theidea of prestige races. The basic idea was thatpeople liing on a planet that is a prison for atrapped god can tap into the e7cess energy the godcreates and alter their ery nature. I hae beenworing on arious ways of conerting this

concept to Alternity and here are some rules andideas on how to use them.

Cone of this is set in stone and I try to gie asmany ariant rules as I can and also note I use theterm defectsinstead of drawbacs.

!ne way is to allow the player to picsome concept that he wants his hero transform intobe it a flyer elemental or telepath. After the 6Moays the basic concept the player must select andor create mutations that will gie him the endresult he desires. To presere balance the heromust spend achieement points for eerymutation point gained. +o when a hero gains aleel the player can decide to spend some or allof the earn APs to gain the mutations. +ome 6Msmay want to limit this to one or two mutationsper leel and others may not depending on theeents of his setting.

Another way of presering balance is

to re4uire that all APs earned be turned intomutation points and any points left oer are lost.This may seem harsh but reali3e that the hero isgoing through physical and mental changes thatwill mae him superior to his unaltered teammatesin arious ways. In high%powered games the 6Mmay want to reduce the number of APs needed tobuy mutation points to or >. In low powered

games the 6M should limit the number ofmutation points that can be bought 9I personallysuggest not more than ;.

If the 6M is going to use this in hiscampaign a source of the magic to cause thechange must be decided or created. +omesuggestions include gods magical artifacts orlocations powerful spirits dragons the elementsdemons and magic itself. +ome e7amples usecurrent and altered mutations some of which are

found in the 6amma 0orld boo.

SettiThe setting is a archipelago and the

communities are small and entirely human. Thesources of power are small gods found in the formof statues found on each island. !nly thee7tremely deout can as for the transformation.The 6M might re4uire a J 0il 9or higher; forthis. And the 6M may re4uire that once atransformation has begun it can not stop until

finished 9subse4uent leels must be used for thetransformation;.!ur player wants his hero to become a

sea child. The problem is that there are twoarieties) those that are lie fish and can#t breatheair and those lie frogs who can#t die ery deep.The player pics the latter.

The mutations he pics are an alteredform of gills 9called amphibious; enironmentaladaptation 9a4uatic; enhanced refle7es oersi3edlimbs and night ision. That is a total of Kmutation points so he needs > APs to mae thecomplete change. 0hen the hero attains the thleel he gets a total of >J APs. $e can chose tospend most of them to get amphibiousenironmental adaptation enhanced refle7es andoersi3ed limbs 9for a total of >@ APs spent; andsae the last one for ne7t leel. !r his 6M mightre4uire him to buy only one mutation and that themutations must be purchased in an order thatmaes sense for the transformation.

L A S T R E S O R T

Gamemasters Note

I you use these rules% /lease kee/

an eye on balance and /layer o3erenthusiasm otherwise the heroes

might not ha3e the skill /oints

needed or the ad3entures you

/lan.

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Player number > wants a flyer. Themutations he pics are wings seletalenhancement 9for falls; increased speed a new!rdinary mutation called feathers 9protects againstcold and assists in flight; and natural attac9talons; for a total of G APs. That is what you getfor > Ama3ing mutations.

The player can burn up to N leels

9when he gets ?J APs; on this. That is a lot of sillpoints gone but the transformation gies the heromany abilities aboe and beyond his team mates.

If either player uses his new powersagainst his hero#s god the god will most lielyinflict >d points of defects on the hero.

Player number has a demonworshipping hero that wants an easy road tosuccess. The cost howeer is grae for eery >mutation points the hero buys he also gets J pointof defects. The demon does not inform his faithful

of this fact until they are horribly altered. Thedemon maes another offer) in e7change for thehero#s wor the defects will be remoed.

A location based ne7us of powerinoles a fountain. All those who bathe in it gaina number of mutations based on a PhysicalResole chec at a step penalty) a -riticalDailure ills the hero a Dailure inflicts d> defectpoints on the hero an !rdinary result earns thehero J mutation point a 6ood result earns the hero

> mutation points and Ama3ing earns the hero mutation points.If the hero is stupid enough to bathe

again the chec is at a K step penalty and has thefollowing results) a -ritical Dailure or Dailureresults in death for the hero an !rdinary resultinflicts dLJ defect points a 6ood result inflictsd> defect points and an Ama3ing result inflicts Jdefect point on the hero.

+ome e7amples of new mutations for the heroesaboe)

A!phibio*s!rdinary Permanent -!CThe mutant has the ability to hold his breath fortwice as long as well as swim twice as fast.

Feathers!rdinary Permanent -!CThe mutant has a one step bonus to both

Acrobatics%flightchecs and +tamina%endurancechecs cause by cold conditions.

+ood Fort*eAma3ing Actiated PerThe mutant has a four%step bonus to any sillchec that has the chance of maing him money aswell as a two%step bonus to any other Interaction

chec.

Tisted i!bModerate Permanent -!CThe mutant has an arm or leg that feels constantpain. If a leg is affected reduce speed by JB. If anarm is affected a two%step penalty affects all thehero#s physical sills that re4uire that arm. Alsothe 6M should mae additional penaltiesoccasionally due to the pain.

esio+light Permanent -!CThe mutant has somewhere on his body a painfullooing lesion. To those who can see it themutant has a two%step penalty to all Interactionchecs. 8esions that are inflicted by a demonscurses are usually hidden by clothing.

An alternate method of increasingpower uses improedBenhancedBhyper typemutations. The hero must buy them in order and

may hae to wait two or more leels in between orthe 6M may re4uire that they be bought insuccession to reflect the change in the hero.

If this method is used alone I suggestthat the costs be reduced to > APs for !rdinarymutations K APs for 6ood mutations and G APsfor Ama3ing mutations. This eeps the costsalmost the same as in the base method.

+ome e7amples of new mutations using theelements)

Fire!rdinary% Reduce fire damage taen by the hero toJB>. 6ain a fire attac lie pyroinesis 9ran J;from the 6M6.6ood% Reduce fire damage to JB. Increase fireattac to ran ?.Ama3ing% $ero is immune to fire and heatdamage. $ero can change his form to fire for J@ L-!C modifier minutes per day.

L A S T R E S O R T

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.ater!rdinary% $ero#s swim speed doubles and canhold his breath for twice as long.6ood% +wim speed 4uadruples and the hero canbreathe water.Ama3ing% +wim speed is J> times normal. $erocan change his form to water for J@ L -!Cmodifier minutes per day.

arth!rdinary% $ero's flesh hardens and gains thefollowing armor) dBdBd 98IB!; and gains >points to his -!C.6ood% The hero#s speed is reduced to half as histoughness becomes 6ood.Ama3ing% Armor increases to dBdKL>BdKL>98IB6; as speed is haled again. $ero can changehis form to clay for J@ L -!C modifier minutesper day.

Air!rdinary% $ero can glide 9as per the mutation; andcause a strong gust of wind 9J? mph; once perhour for J minute. Any better ideas(6ood% $ero can fly and create a burst of air 9range>@ m; that does dLsBdKLsBdJ>Ls 98IB!; to allin J@ meters once per minute.Ama3ing% $ero#s fly speed doubles. $ero canchange his form to air for J@ L -!C modifierminutes per day.

The powers that come with the changeof one#s form into an element is left to the playerand 6M.

+o far I hae been mentioning usingthese rules for heroes but they can wor for +-Msas well. 6oblins who worship an ancient dragongain the ability to spit fire and fly fairies thatsere the forest spirit gain the ability to /eat2sunlight and grow a bar lie sin and humansthat sere the water spirit of a swamp gain theability to breathe water and see in the dar.

+ome other uses for this includematurity of a species 9they /mutate2 as they age;curses that may or may not be purchased andgaining power that only the inhuman can gain9ery powerful magic;.

This also can be used in a sci%fi settingthat does hae some supernatural elements. I don#twant to spoil the contents of E7ternals but sufficeto say that some of the magic in that +tarK:tO>NKG

L A S T R E S O R T

Plot Seeds

Dark Matter:

$s the tide o Dark Matter rises the

world gets stranger and stranger.

$ /riest has been corru/ted and

now /reaches o the /ower that

can be had by bathing in thetainted well.

He sends orth his war/ed and

twisted brethren to bring urther

con3erts to the worshi/ o the well.

"amma ,orld:

There was a time when many

cultures throughout the world

belie3ed in animal s/irits would

could grants gits to those who

res/ected and worshi//ed them.

The rise o technology and

ci3ili0ation all but buried these

belies.

*ow that both those orces no

longer rule the world% some ha3e

begun to sense the return o the

/owerul nature s/irits.

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One Stat:One Stat:

Many MonstersMany Monstersby *ere $olland

A new source of creature stats. Part I.

!ne possibly untapped source forcreature stats is the ability to use one set slightlyaltered or not for many different species. Theeasiest way of e7plaining this is with e7amples.

Fsing the crocodile stats from the6M6 9p.>; I hae created the followingcreatures for +tar


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issio State!et

Orbital Stri3e Forces

0hile orbital insertion tactics hae

been used since the early >Jst century the tacticdidn#t come into widespread use until the early>>nd due to increased space program funding andthe resultant militari3ation of space. The first massorbital attac occurred during the Anglo%Americanwar of >J@G but the strie suffered seerecasualties and the maneuer was not attemptedagain 9en masse; during the entire eight year span

of the war.$oweer drop

tactics hae eoled sincethen and though Cear%Earth space has beendeclared a demilitari3ed3one the tactics has beenput to use in seeral inter%stellar conflicts usuallywith large success.

The 8eapers are

still technically tasedunder the Marine -orpsbut their charter is specificto drop operations onlythough its not irregular tosee !rbitals attached toother marines4uads should a mission inole a drop. In short!rbitals are a first strie force tased withattacing strategic objecties without warning andclearing a path for a regular inasion force. Thelightning speed and precision of these attacscoupled with the soldiers gear and training maesthem a formidable fighting force.

Fnlie paratroopers instead of relyingon the speed of the main inasion force !rbitalsset the pace of the battlefield if they areunsuccessful in taing a beach head inasionforces cannot land to reinforce them. Additionallyalthough its fighting forces are generally what!rbitals are nown for their combat engineers are

where their true strength lies, without these brae

men and women no reinforcements would be ableto land safely.

Brie4 0istory o4 the Orbital Stri3e Forces

>@>G A s4uad of FC +pecial Dorces becomes thefirst !rbital +trie Dorce when they use a shuttletransport to rapidly deploy to battlefields in Iran.>@?K The FC commissions the first standingorbital strie force seeral countries follow suitF+A and 6reat "ritain tas these duties to their

Marine -orps.

>@N !rbital strie forcessee widespread use inCorthern -hina.

>J@G The Fnited +tatesof Corth America launchesa massie orbital strieagainst "ritish assets in themiddle east the raids suffer

heay losses while airbornedemonstrating the difficultyof orbital attacs on welldefended air space.

>J?K !rbital strie forcesare the deciding factor in

the /Qune 0ar2 on Mars.

>JG Doundation of the KKth !rbital +trie*iision of the FC Peaceeeper -orpsestablishing !rbital +trie troops as their ownbranch with dedicated support e4uipment andinfrastructure.

>J KKth is sent on its first major mission atAlpha -entauri to put down an armed rebellion.This mission seres as a major benchmar in!rbital 0arfare $istory.

L A S T R E S O R T

The 23rd CenturyThe 23rd Century

Soldier:Soldier:

The 366th Orbitals LeapersThe 366th Orbitals Leapers

by +hadow Priest

)rbitals are similar to

Paratroo/ers o years7gone7by in

some regards: they are dro//ed

behind enemy lines ahead o a main

in3asion orce to ca/ture strategic

ob9ecti3es in su//ort o a main

in3asion orce.

The most notable

historical e6am/le o this is the

In3asion o *ormandy in #une &


11/75

The 566th, 7er4ectio

The KKth was founded on the basis of oneprinciple, !rbital +trie Dorces are only as lethalas they are fast.

"y establishing the KKth as a+tandalone unit the FC military has allowed us tofunction more effectiely

and more freely. Thedesignation of ships underKKth command furtherincreases this freedom andallows us to functionwithout necessitating Caalcontribution.

+ince ourinception the KKth hasbeen undefeated in battleand we hae refined the art

of orbital strie warfareinto a palpable science. !urtactics are recogni3ed asthe most dynamic and themost lethal of any force inthe field. 0e aretrained to do what no oneelse can do and to succeeddoing it. 0e are the KKthand we are the future ofwarfare.

Tactics

A Orbital Stri3e i

Actio,

adi asse

7rephaseMother ship9s; emergefrom *riespace in loworbit oer the planetbombardment and landingbegins immediately upontarget confirmation. Thispreents a planet#s sensorsfrom detecting the craft onapproach.

7hase #, 8ero 0o*r*rop pods land -ombat Engineers and +tand%offInfantry. The engineers clear an 8S while the+tandoff units secure it and create a perimeter.

E7tensie jamming and orbital weapons stries9including counter%battery fire; occur at this phaseas the drop pods are ulnerable to ground fire.

7hase 2, 8ero 0o*r 9 %%5%-%#%%8ight shuttles land deploying light caalry andadditional stand%off infantry. 8ight ehicles

including AP-s ID=s and

light artillery are alsodeployed. The caalry andmechani3ed standoffunits push into enemyterritory neutrali3ingremaining weaponsbatteries. Mother shipswithdraw if necessary dueto ground fire.

7hase 5, 8ero 0o*r 9

%5%%-%6%%$eay landing craft landdeploying the bul of theinasion force as well asheay caalry large supportehicles and -A+ craft. Theheay caalry and tans4uads moe to reinforcethe infantry on the frontlines adding to the outwardmomentum. -A+ craft are

assigned to air superioritymissions and theharassment of targets ofopportunity as well asprecision stries againststrategic objecties.

7hase $, 8ero 0o*r 9

#2%%-$:%%!nce the batteries capableof damaging the motherships are destroyed thecarrier essels return toorbit launching furtherorbital weapons stries and

retrieing wounded personelle and damaged craft.Regular troops are landed on the /beach%head2 toreinforce and reliee orbital forces.

Tactics

A Orbital Stri3e i Actio,

L A S T R E S O R T

=or this article the main

body o )rbitals has been assumed

to be e>ual to or greater than

di3ision strength% or about 8%+++7

&+%+++ men 4Including su//ort sta5.

In games set in the Star?Dri3e

uni3erse% dedicated )rbital orces

will /robably be much larger%

/erha/s including as much as an

army or more. Howe3er% )rbitals are

3ery e6/ensi3e soldiers to createand maintain% and this should be

noted in any setting.

En Masse strikes on

hardened targets usually ollow

intensi3e orbital bombardment rom

*a3al @essels. $dditionally% en

masse strikes will not% or /erha/s

cannot occur without irst achie3ing

air 4s/ace5 su/eriority% landing Aintothe gunsB o the enemies leet is

/ure unadulterated insanity% and

tantamount to suicide.

,hile the relati3e

accuracy o the Stardri3e seems

to be in >uestion% or the /ur/oses

o this article% gi3en the data o the

target% the skill o the na3igators and

the >uality o the shi/s na3igational

systems it is assumed thatStardri3es are accurate.

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Special Forces

7hase #, 8ero 0o*r$eay caalry land ia indiidual orbital insertionand establish a foothold.

7hase 2, 8ero 0o*r 9 %%$&-%2%%0hen anti%orbital batteries are destroyed drop

pods containing light caalry and additional heaycaalry 9or stand%off troops should the missionre4uire; units are dropped the mission proceeds.

7hase 5, 8ero 0o*r 9 issio Ti!e*ropships retriee the +pecial Dorces units andreturn to base.

7sycholoy o4 the lite

;side the id o4 a eaper

There is no such thing as a standarddrop troop, they range in e7perience from handpiced rooies to life timeeterans. They range inmotiation from fanaticalpurists to /last%chancers2soldiers on the brin ofcourt%martial or worse.$oweer there is onedefining 4uality uniersalto !rbitals, they are

absolutely fearless. An!rbitals entire job is to hold off the enemy untilreinforcements can arrie and they will fight aslong as it taes.

An !rbital strie is often an all ornothing attac !rbitals can lay down deastatingfirepower oer a short period of time but they arenot a standing fighting force. To reinforce this ideaamong rans its not uncommon for soldiers not tobe gien rations to tae on missions. This harshreality is not lost on !rbitals and many deelopcocy elitist attitudes towards each other and theirbrethren.

Their situation can also elicit somestrange behaior at home. 0hile the -orp frownson the hedonistic andBor bi3arre practices of theerrant of these soldiers their record in the field isbeyond reproach and many generals hae come tooerloo the otherness of the !rbitals in the faceof such results.

To other military forces the !rbitals

are elites a thing to be feared and respected.0hile some soldiers aspire to join their ransmost are fairly hostile towards them whether outof jealousy fear or the oddness that comes withseeing this near%feral force in action or at home.

*espite the disciplinary problems thisimplies *rop Troops are 4uite adept at eepingtheir own, !fficers rely heaily on enlisted men

being a self%policing force. 0hen not at wor or atplay !rbitals train with an almost religious ferorMost training reoles around armor operationand marsmanship but stamina and strengthtraining are also ery large parts of the regimen.

Augmented +oldiers mae up a gooddeal of the !rbitals rans be they cybernetically orgenetically altered. -ybertech is fairly restrictedhoweer a soldier with unhardened -ybertech9I.e. -T ulnerable to EMP; will not be allowedinto the field the most common forms of -T in

the rans are endoseletons subdermal armor and-D sinweae, bioart is popular among the

younger 8eapers and oftendisplays ran serial ands4uad insignia.6enetically modified

soldiers are ery commonamong !rbital rans whencompared to other militaryforces other forces cannotafford to

hae a soldier that isuni4uely ulnerable to bioweapons but with the8eapers this is not a problem firstly due to thenature of their armor 9C"- Rated; and theduration of their maneuers9Fsually under G%N> hours; both minimi3inge7posure.

The Ar!ory

!rbitals use a ast amount of weaponsand armor to accomplish their objecties. Most arehigh power high rate if fire weapons designed tobe as effectie as psychological weapons as theyare against physical targets. This philosophy isepitomi3ed by the !rbitals hybrid 6aussB-hargeweapons be they M0> $ybrid Pistols M0$ybrid rifles or the M0A6- J>.N millimeterrotary hybrid cannon.

Cumerous other more e7otic weaponsare put to use in special rolls. Dor e7ample the

L A S T R E S O R T

In the Star?Dri3e

uni3erse% indi3idual soldiers will 3ary

de/ending on /arent nation% while a

Thuldan and an $ustrin )rbital

s>uad ser3e much the same

/ur/ose% they /robably ha3e 3ery

little in common.

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MK Dlamethrower is often put to use during closefighting as is the M06 Mass weapon series. Dormore open combat there are numerous optionssuch as "antam missile launchers Rocet8aunchers M0J>J Pulse -annons Mortars orlong%range rifles.

0hile more aried the !rbitals armoris no less impressie. Troops receie standardi3ed

armor depending on their position. +tand%offTroops and -ombat Engineers are issued MA-erametal armor which while designed witheconomy in mind is none%the%less lighter cheaperand more effectie than preious Polymerice4uialents. $eay +tand%!ff +oldiers are issuedMAJ> armor a relatiely new armor that wasdesigned specifically for firepower instead ofmobility. The -aalry has a wider spread of armorand is commonly mission specific howeer allcaalry armor is flight capable the most common

types are the MA and the MAE a +coutCeutronite "odytan, the MAJ@ a $eayCeutronite "T, and the MAJN an armordeeloped recently that is fully flight capable.

S!all Ar!s

.2 :!! 0ybrid 7istol

Availability -ontrolled g

7ayload Gmm Armor Piercing "ulletAcc*racy %JActios

ode DB"BAType/Firepoer $IB!>a!ae dLJwB dKwB dLJmRae J@/>@BG@ meters0ide L>


14/75

0eavy .eapos

.6 "%!! ortar

Availability MilitaryN?@ass J?g 9gun targeting -omputer; g9bipod; >gBshell7ayload Magnetically Accelerated Mortar Round

Acc*racy %JActios >ode DType/Firepoer "y Munitions

>a!ae "y MunitionsRae ?@mB @@@mB J@@@@m 9Minimum ?@Meters;0ide %ode DType/Firepoer ECBA

>a!ae >dwB >dL>wB dKL>mRae >@@B K@@B JG@@ meters0ide %


15/75

%> "onus to a -ommander#s Tactics chec.!ther features are standard.

A#% 0eavy e*troite Bodyta39+tats as AA+%> Titan Assault Armor +


16/75


17/75

wrecage of the base and FC troopsimmediately began pouring into the streets.The soldiers on the ground were completelyoer%run. $oweer reinforcements haearried and I#m being told that the FC forcesare now contained within ten ilometer radiusof Celson.2

[Switch]/$ae there been any other reported attacs(2[Switch, Reporter is shouting over gunfire]/0hile the situation here is contained sourcestell me that there is also huge numbers oftroops landing in the Qohari Dlatsthe soldiers I#e spoen to tell methis attac is probably adiersionW2[Sound of &unshots intensifies,shouting, camera drops suddenl#

to the ground, static]

#:&2 CT FeedD[Static, man%s voice]/Is it on( I thought you said youhad it fi7edW2[Static fades, reporter appearsagain on screen]/Alright V Tom we#re bac onthe air here at 0aefield V2

[(ack in Studio, )emale *nchor]/This is Qulie 8und what#s thesituation at Celson(2[Switch, reporter is putting on a(+, a rifle is leaning against thewall next to him, gunshots can !eheard outside]/Qulie this is "rian +cott from0aefield V The situation atCelson has gotten een worseafter we lost transmission FC *ropshipsbegan landing at Celson reinforcing the troopson the ground. +ince then they#e beenadancing inward and hae oerrun much ofthe city.2[Switch]/0hat about earlier( 0eren#t the FC Dorcescontained(2[Switch, reporter is holding rifle, staring at

door, whispering]/Co Qulie it would appear the FC troops thatlanded earlier were part of a pathfinder forcesent to create a buffer around Celson. 0henwe got word that of incoming *ropshipsthey#d already started adancing again andthey were 4uicly reinforced from the

*ropships.2[Switch]/$ow are our troops holding up "rian(2[Switch, camera is on the ground, reporter isoff screen, whispering in the !ackground]

[Switch]/"rian(2[Switch, camera tilts upwards, showsreporters face, Reporter -hispers]/Qulie our troops are being slaughteredthere#s no better word for it V the FC troopsare e7tremely well armed and armored andhae been getting supporting fire from seerallow%flying destroyers and numerous othersmaller craft since the adance started.2

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[Reporter looks awa#, drops camera !ackdown, whispering, &unfire, Reporter shownthrown across the room, feed cut][(ack in studio]/8adies and gentlemen the producers aretelling me that we#e lost the feed we willhoweer continue broadcast as long as

possible please stand by.2

A4ter!ath

The raid !rbital raid on Alpha-entauri too only hours to establish alanding 3one for the FC Army. 0ithin J>hours the combined force of the KKth and the>th Armored *iision had completely taencontrol of the capital city and had captured therogue 6eneral Eli3a Erison. The casualties

they inflicted on the rebel forces within thecity are often described as horrific but noofficial body count was eer taen.

>e4iitiosAPC: Armored Personnel -arrier a troopcarrying ehicle specifically designed to carrytroops. Armor armaments and speed ary.KKth AP-s are -himera Pattern AP-s andcarry medium to heay armament 9depending

on missile load%out; medium armor and highspeed.

CAS: -lose Air +upport a craft deployed towor in forces with ground troops. Dunctionson the /-ombined Dorce2 principle. Armorarmament and speed aries. The KKth usesseeral -A+ craft.

Cavalry, Heavy: +oldiers e4uipped with heaybodytans. May or may not hae an ablatieentry shield. Armament aries. May includetans.

Cavalry, Light: +oldiers e4uipped with reconbodytans. May or may not e4uip stealth units.Armament aries.

IFV: Infantry Dighting =ehicle a troop carrier

ehicle similar to an AP- with the e7ceptionthat an ID= sacrifices troop carrying abilitiesfor heaier armament. Armor armament andspeed ary. The Kth uses seeral types ofID=s.

LZ: 8anding 3one the initial target of !rbital

forces in simplest terms an area of clearterrain in which it is safe to land and deploytroops and material.

Stand-Off Infantry / (Mehani!ed": +tand%offinfantry are the basic infantry of the KKth9defined by other forces as $eay Infantry;.They are heaily armed heaily armored andsacrifice oerland mobility for additionalspecialty e4uipment weapons and armor. Theylac the oerall speed of their caalry

comrades but the additional firepower andsuriability maes them e7cellent for defense9$ence their name;. They can be made moremobile by attaching AP-s or ID=s to theirs4uads. These combined force s4uads arecalled Mechani3ed +tand%!ff Infantry.

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19/75

The CyberThe Cyber

AdvantageAdvantageby +R Trudeau

;trod*ctio

Dor those heroes not fortunateenough to hae been born with the gift ofpsionics mutations or the ability to use DHthere is only one option remaining to raisethemseles aboe their species# norm.-ybernetic enhancement.

At first glance this option appearsto be 4uite appealing. A few sill points a bitof cash and your hero is ready to tae on theworld. Maybe een the gala7y.

Cot so fast chromie read the fineprint. And the options. And the e7ceptions.And mae a note to discuss the missingmaterial with your 6M. And don#t forget toeep trac of cyosis. And damage to yourcybergear. !h yeah mae sure you get a good9e7pensie; surgeon to aoid that cyber

rejection thing. And... $ey where are yougoing(

Are you wondering why cybertechisn#t as smooth and easy as the other optionalabilities( *o you wish there was a simpler yetstill balanced way of handling it(

issio 7ossible

Dirst off let#s dispose of the ideathat a cybernetic implant is a tangible thinglie a pistol or cell phone. Drom now on thereare no implants just cyber adantages. Muchlie a per only this adantage must bepurchased using three forms of currency) cybertolerance sill points and cash.

!f course non%e7istent implantscan no longer be targeted or damaged in

combat. -ybered heroes now tae damage andheal just lie non%cybered heroes. I hae goodreasons for remoing this highly realisticulnerability at this point rest assured that itwill reappear in a new form soon enough.

+econd let#s simplify the functionsand descriptions at the same time. *efine a

single function for each adantage and gie itthree power leels one for each grade of!rdinary 6ood and Ama3ing. To define thisfunction een further restrict it to themechanics of game play. In other wordsassign each function to a specific score on thehero#s sheet.

Third let#s grant the implantsindependence. They no longer re4uire thedomination of a nanocomputer or the bindingchains of cytronic circuitry. This also gies us

the option of using the nanocomputere7clusiely as an onboard 6ridcaster withouthaing to share memory space with acollection of /dumb2 implants.

The fourth item on our list concernscyber tolerance. 0hat#s wrong with it(Cothing. In fact let#s use it to help us balanceeerything else. The concept of spending thesame ten sill points whether the hero has oneor eight implants is strange and it doesn#t help

us maintain a fair balance. Instead let#s maeeery cyber adantage cost a number of sillpoints e4ual to its cost in cyber tolerance. Thisway the more comple7 or buly an adantageis the more training is re4uired to get used toit. I now what you#re thining that#s going toget ery e7pensie. $oweer compared topsionic or DH sills it#s still a bargain. Alsolet#s mae the price of the adantage cost thesame as its cyber tolerance cost times J@@@.+ound strange( "eliee it or not the priceslisted in -hapter J?)-ybertech of the Player#s$andboo are ery similar. Although ourmethod is a bit more e7pensie it isn#t too offbase.

Dor the fifth item let#s get bac tothe topic of damage to cyber gear. Instead ofasing the 6M to mae a judgement call let#sdefine a system to handle this. Add a

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cumulatie LJ step penalty to each of the threespaces between the hash mars of the hero#scyber tolerance score. That penalty 9LJ L>L; applies to any attempt to treat the hero#sinjuries perform surgery 9including theimplantation of more cyberware; on the heroand all Resole%ph#sical resolve sill checs

made during the process of healing.Dinally let#s tae a stab at maingcyosis a bit more fle7ible. There should belots of things that could cause cyosis.$oweer there should also be a method oftreatment. Een cyborg wannabes must haesome friends and family who would surelyinterene when they began noticing thechanges in behaior. Perhaps law enforcementwould be more liely to force a psychologicale7amination on the more iolent cyber users

than just allow them to go cyote and becomea real problem. 8et#s choose a few of therisier adantages and mar them with anasteris. To balance this out force a cyosischec only on -ritical Dailures and neer doleout more than one point at a time. Regardingtreatment let#s gie the player a chance toreerse the damage by enabling the hero tosee therapy for his emerging cyosis. 8et#smae it e7pensie though say about fie sill

points per point of cyosis( +ure.

+o what does all this mean( It#s asimple slide from technological realismtowards cinematic action. Dewer rules shortdescriptions simple concepts and 9hopefully; abetter gaming e7perience for eeryone.

BB

Effects) LJBL>BL +TR 9arm only;

Booster+i3e) JB>BEffects) %JB%>B% step Action -hec

BEffects) see below!rdinary Amplifier%*amper6ood Amp%*amper Dre4uency Agile

Ama3ing Amp%*amper DA Coise Dilter

BEffects) see below!rdinary Cightision6ood Cightision InfraredAma3ing Cightision Infrared Fltrasound

;creased Tolerace

+illBPrice) BKBG 9no +i3e cost;Effects) L>BLBL -yber Tolerance score 9firstset of bo7es;Cote) Fpon successful implantation thisprocedure will add J > or points 9dependingon grade; to the hero#s cyosis score. Thisprocedure as well as the addition of cyosispoints is irreersible.

e (each)+i3e) JB>B

Effects) L>?ZBL?@ZBLN?Z moement rateCote) Round fractions down. "onus iscumulatie. +o a pair of 6ood legs wouldincrease moement rate by J@@Z.

Ol4actory+i3e) JB>BEffects) %JB%>B% step bonus to Awareness.perception 9odors;.

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7sioic ery BBEffects) LJBL>BL Psionic energy pointsCote) Fser must be psionically actie. !nlythe user can recharge his own capacitor. Itcosts > PEPs and re4uires J round for eeryPEP loaded into the capacitor.

Raed .eapory 7ac3ae+i3e) >BBEffects) %JB%>B% step bonus 9choose specialtysill;Cote) +ill choices aailable include $eay0eapons%direct fire and any one of thespecialty sills under Ranged 0eaponsModern and Ranged 0eapons Primitie9e7cept %sling;. Add ?@Z to the cost of eeryweapon used by this adantage.

Re4leE .iri+i3e) BB?Effects) LJBL>BL *e7terity score

Reeeratio ;!plat+i3e) JB>BEffects) >7B7B7 healing rateCote) Co effect on mortal damage.

S3eletal Rei4orce!et+i3e) BB?Effects) see below!rdinary stuns6ood stuns woundsAma3ing stuns wounds mortal

S3ill 7rocessor (each s3ill)+i3e) JB>BEffects) %JB%>B% step bonus to any specialtysillCote) Ma7imum number of processors e4uals0ill diided by 9rounded down;. Cotcumulatie with any other sill enhancingadantage.

S*bc*taeo*s Ar!or+i3e) >BB?Effects) see below

!rdinary d98I; d9$I; d9En;6ood dK98I; dK9$I; dK9En;Ama3ing dG98I; dG9$I; dG9En;

Sythetic *scle+i3e) BB?Effects) LJBL>BL +trength score

Sythetic Oras/+lads+i3e) >BBEffects) LJBL>BL Datigue score

Gar!ed Attac3 7ac3ae+i3e) JB>BEffects) LJBL>BL point9s; of damage 9onsuccessful hit;Cote) "onus only applies when fightingunarmed

Ao*ce!et

-yber +hop will now be a regularfeature of the 8ast Resort e%3ine. In eeryissue -yber +hop will offer something new intechnology gear rules enhanced crittersaliens and +-Ms as well as answer 4uestionsand accept articles for publication from you

the wise and loyal reader.ou can send your 4uestions 9or

intention to write an article; to us here at 8R9lastresortmail.yahoo.com; or to me directly atcyberfelinoid[yahoo.ca. Either way pleasemae sure you use \-yber +hop\ for thesubject heading.

I'm e7cited to be inoled in thisproject and will do my best to see it through aslong as there are Alternity fans out there whowant it. I also loo forward to hearing fromyou so dust off those nanocomps and get methose 4uestions or ideas.

+incerely+R \13in\ Trudeau

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Cook'sCook's

GuideGuideby Montgomery -oo

6rith the only -lass I planet in this system istechnically a moon of the third planet of thesystem $ydrocus. This jungle world features anatie population of sesheyans and is claimed bythe "rethren of the $atire -ommunity. !riginally

sureyed by +tarMech -ollectie their interestsshifted from -orriale and specifically 6rith tothe Tendril system. +tarMech sold the rights to the$atires for settlement for ?@ million Terran creditsin >J.

I arried on the planet#s only majorspaceport ia T*1 +huttle from the enerableLighthouse after re%supplying my lost items frommy brief stay on Penates while on board andcharging the e7penses to the &uide%s main office.Fpon arriing in *iamond Point#s spaceport I wasdismayed to see the ruined conditions around mefearing a replay of my Penates stay. After all I hadbeen warned /isitors are to proceed with

caution2. I learned some of 6rith#s history andculture from the 6rid noting with some alarm thatpiracy is a problem here 9where isn%t it in the=erge(;. +ome reports placed the blame on=oid-orp and its disagreement with thecontroersial ruling by -oncord Administrator AriMahdra that faored the sesheyan claim. 6et this)the sesheyans on 6rith claim that they were

pluced from their natie +heya oer a thousandyears ago by the former inhabitants of 6rith. Theyclaim that they were taen by the ery sameunnamed species whose artifacts and ruins dot thesurface of 6rith and that $atire colonists haestudied in hopes of learning more of theirenerated -osimir. The Mahdra ruling firmly

places the-olonial *ioceseas the solerecogni3ed

goernment on6rith.

The two innerplanets InderonandTricus areirradiated rocsunsuitable forcoloni3ationthough mining

companies haesprung up there.$ydrocus theplanet that 6rithorbits appearshuge in the 6rithsy as 6rith

orbits eery J standard days with the ochreyellow and reds readily apparent. Ce7t out from-orriale lies the Inner "elt an asteroid beltbetween $ydrocus and 8ordan unusual in itsnear spherical shape surrounding the innersystem. This belt is mined by a handful or soindependent prospectors and preyed upon bycorsairs and pirates. 8ordan the fourth planet inthis system was aptly described by the initial+tarMech surey) /8ie Mars before the +olarsterraformed it only bigger2. This terraformingissue as I learned from my 6rid research 9after mystay on Penates I#m no longer maing planetfallwithout this than%you%ery%much; is a hot legal

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issue with claims to the uninhabited planet by thenatie sesheyans the -olonial $atires and=oid-orp. The gas giant 8ecterion is beyonddoubt the largest of the planets in this system andis orbited by eleen moons all uninhabited butclaimed by the 6alactic -oncord. This is the homeof !mega +tation orbiting oer the moon Cieand the Patrol +4uadron JJ of +tar Dorce.

Dollowing this lies the !uter "elt which does notreceie the attention of miners that the Inner "eltdoes. My journey will also include a stop to Iphus,a =oid-orp held ice world that producesprocessed ores mined here to 4uite a few othersystems here in the =erge. Alma3 : -har thelast two planetsof the -orriale system are fro3en slush ballsunfit for human habitation.

I 4uicly learned of the power%players

on 6rith) the -olonial *iocese the AanghelEmpire and the *eli#yan. The latter two aregroups of sesheyans the former a looselyorgani3ed band of thugs and pirates whoabandoned the more traditional sesheyan waysand the latter the more /natie2. I booed my stayat the fine *iamond Point Pla3a 9 >@@ -oncordBnight; and proceeded directly to the baccarattables in the casino. Reconstituted by theAanghels I handily lost most of my hands andmuch of my or rather the &uide%s money. 9This

is business, after allV this is a business e7pense.;I thin my dealer felt bad for me and let me winmy last hand as a consolation pri3e.

I hired a tour guide to tae me to the]uenaalt ruins a Derdinand $eltbrenner $atiremind night. Derdinand or as I lie to call himDred is a graduate of the Mindanaoth Academyand was on leae from Dorest -athedral. Theruins are actie with many archeological digsand plenty of tourists. More than a few sesheyanba3aar endors were hawing wares and a fewtried to sell the tourists some mugwort a mildhallucinogen openly. The /old ones2 of 6rithapparently abandoned the settlement about ?@@@years ago and ery abruptly. It does not appearthat these ruins are of Precursor origin as I hadased the 7enoarchaeologist *r. Ann Meyerswho was e7plaining her wor in the ruins andalthough there were plenty of artifacts somesuggesting the use of petrochemical power

possibly pre%fusion tech none are Precursor. +heseemed rather patroni3ing in my line of in4uiryto the Precursors but it was a legitimate 4uestionisn#t it( $umph. +ome doctor.

I spent some time isiting a *eli#yansettlement along with my guide Dred. Dred wasclearly uncomfortable with this stop on my tourbut this tribe seemed to be friendly and open 9as

much as sesheyans are friendly and open I guess;but got rather upset when I ased some moredetailed 4uestions about the /old ones2. Touchysubject.

After a few days partying in some ofthe Aanghel clubs 9the $atires seem to pray forfun.(ooorrriinng/; I departed 6rith aboard thesystem ship Starrunner for Iphus. The journeytoo about a day and a half which passed withoutincident unless you count getting iolently

constipated on their brand of canned rations. IphusI the primary settlement on Iphus is a boring oldmining town which the tours of the miningfacilities and processing plants were prettyeducational I guess. I#d much rather hae stayedin my suite at the -orporate Trael +uites. Thesefacilities are for the well heeled 9=oid-orpEmployees of $A ran or higher; but are +partanand 4uiet. Too 4uiet. 0ellV E7cept for my settingoff the smoe alarm with that mugwort pipeV+orry about that.

After wrapping up my stay here in the-orriale system I#d hae to say that this systemhas a lot of potential for deelopment and theAanghels can really throw a good partyV so longas you are respectful and don#t insult any Aanghelcrime lord. I booed passage from Iphus aboardthe passenger cruiser =-T -8?JNG0Expedienc#1 bound for my ne7t stop thefledgling 1ai system and its rugged s4uattercolonists.

ours faithfully

Montgomery V. Cook IX

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TheThe

TeseractTeseractby *wayne 8. 8eonard

os o4 the Starid

!n the thirty%seenth day of our

oyage into the beyond we hae come across a

strange sight. There is a ship of obiously alien

design drifting in the asteroid fields of the twin

suns of the "eta !rindi system.

I will gie a short description of the

physical characteristics of the

ship before sending our boarding

party oer. The alien ship is

triangular in appearance with a

sort of flowing metallic hull.

Drom the port 9left; side of the

ship a large barrel lie object

protrudes from the hull. This is

probably a weapon but it could

be a refueling no33le or docing

bracet. !n the starboard side of

the hull is a large e7truded plate.

It seems to sere no purpose but

I could be wrong about that.Drom just behind the cocpit to

the aft of the ship a fin seems to

run along the length of the ship

down the center. At the aft end of

the ship I can see a two engines

and what appears to be a small docing bay.

!ur boarding party will consist of the

security officer and our engineer. At this point in

time I beliee just these two people are all that are

needed to e7plore an obiously abandoned ship.

/This is =oss I#e suited up and I#m

ready to go2

/+ergeant Elysa 0ynn here been

waiting on you =oss2

"ehind his blacened =isor =oss

loos at +ergeant 0ynn and smiles. $e#s sure she

nows that she loos good een in a space suit.

+ergeant 0ynn releases the airloc

door and prepares to mae her way to the other

ship. Drom her side she pulls out a grapnel gun and

fires a magnetic hoo attached to a tether oer to

the alien ship. +he watches in annoyance as it

slides off the fluid metal hull of the alien craft.

"eing a professional soldier +ergeant 0ynn is

prepared for this. +he pulls another grapnel fromher side and shoots it toward the alien craft.

This second nanoweld tipped grapnel stics to

the semi%li4uid surface of the alien ship. +ergeant

0ynn hoos the tether to a hoo on her own ship

the +tarwind and then through her space suit. +he

then actiates her suit rocets and slides oer to

the other ship with =oss right behind her.

=oss calls to +ergeant 0ynn /it#s a

good thing you#re such a good shot with that

grapnel gun.2

/0hy is that2 the +ergeant replies.

/"ecause2 =oss says /If you hadn#t

shot it so close to the airloc we would#e had to

wal across the hull without our magnetic boots.2

/=oss +ergeant 0ynn this is -aptain

-hase, use suit to suit laser lins only we hae two

incoming space craft from different directions.2

=oss and +ergeant 0ynn open the

airloc and enter the alien craft. The first iew

from the inside of the alien craft is a hangar bay

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that is much larger than it should be. ]uicly

maing their way to the front of the hangar they

find a small hatch on the starboard side that opens

into a passageway and step through.

/My sensors show that upon leaing

the hangar bay graity has risen from .@@J 6 to .

N 6. This leads me to beliee that whateer elsewe may find whoeer created this probably has

similar physical re4uirement to our own.2

/0ell that#s fine =oss but do those

fancy sensors in that gloe of your tell you if

anything or anyone is alie on this ship(2

/+ergeant my sensors don#t show any

signs of life but I seem to be getting some

anomalous readings probably caused by that

li4uid metal used in the hull.2

/0ell then Engineer =oss we#ll just

hae to do this the hard way and wal through the

only door presented to us2 as the +ergeant draws

her mass pistol.

=oss reaches out and opens the door.

+ergeant 0ynn springs forward and rolls through

the door half e7pecting to get apori3ed for her

braery. Instead she finds a control console for

what loos lie an engineering station. To the

right left and straight%ahead are three more doors.

]uicly maing her decision she steps

through the door on the right to find what loos

lie a crew area. Qust lie =oss predicted the crew

area seems to be setup for humanoid occupants. A

4uic search reeals no clue as to what these

humanoids may hae looed lie.

$aing made a 4uic once oer at the

engineering station =oss checs out the door to

the left of where they entered. Inside is a weapons

control console. Cow he nows that the odd

protrusion on the port side of the ship is actually

a weapon of some sort.=oss and +ergeant 0ynn both mae

their way bac to the engineering station so that

they can enter the door to the front of the

engineering cabin. Inside this room is the

command dec for the craft. There is a console for

the naigator and one for handling

communications and the ships sensors.

/$ey sergeant how about we see if this

thing has any power(2

/0e might as well because if it does

we might not hae to hae it towed in.2

=oss returns to the engineering section

and jacs his computer gauntlet into the station.

After a few short moments the oerhead lights

come on and =oss nows that the ship still haspower.

/=oss you need to get to the command

dec nowW2

/0hy is that(2

/0ell =oss it appears that the two

ships that were approaching the +tarwind earlier

either blew it up or forced it to mae starfall and

now they are battling to see who will get this

ship.2

/+ergeant2 =oss speas up /It

appears that this ship is e4uipped with some ind

of star drie and I thin I can get it to wor.2

/ou#re the Engineer but if you can#t

get it to wor I say we set this ship to destruct so

that neither one of those other two ships can get

it.2

After a few short minutes =oss and the

+ergeant feel the shift to driespace.

8adies and 6entlemen this is how we

ac4uired the alien ship designated as the Teseract

for study.

It should be noted that the scout ship

+tarwind was lost battling two other space ships

in the "eta !rindi +ystem.

Dound adrift in space the Teseract is an

alien starship of uni4ue design. The hangar bayappears to be made of a material that bends space

in unusual ways. -alculations show that the

hangar bay is e7actly big enough to hold the

Teseract itself.

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Teseract

P8 G

-ost) ?.G Million

$ull) -utter 9>@ *urability;-ompartments) *ur) >@Maneuer Rating) @

Acc) Mpp-ruise +peed) > AFB $our"erthing) K -rewArmament) 1inetic 8ance*efenses) ConeArmor) 8ight Canofluidic dG%J 8IB dG%J $IB *G En-omputer) !rdinary -omputer -oreEngines) Inertial Dlu7 EnginePower) *ynamic mass reactors rated at J> powerfactors*rie) ? light years per starfall$atches) +tandard

.eapo >ata

+ystem) 1inetic 8anceAcc) @Range) ?BJ@B>@Type) $I9e;*amage) dLJwB>dwBdLmActions)

L A S T R E S O R T

#$ll C$%&art%ent Sy'te% ()r/P$*" )ra+ility

J%? -ommand -rew ]uarters 9JB@; GBGB

Multiphase Radar 9JB@;

8aser Transceier 9@B@;

1inetic 8ance 9>BJ;

K%JJ Engineering *riewae 9JBBJ>BK

*ynamic Mass Reactors 9BJ>;Autosupport 9@BJ;

Inertial Dlu7 Engine 9JBJ;

!rdinary -omputer -ore 9@B@;

J>%>@ -argo *edicated $anger "ay 9J@B@; >@B>@BJ@

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Concord MarineConcord Marine

A Career ConceptA Career Concept(ased on game mechanics created !#

&lenn Eidson and tweaked for thisarticle !# 2uane Eggert3

Bac3ro*dThe concept of boot camp and

speciali3ed training in current real world situationsseemed lie something that +tar


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heroes pay J sill points instead since theyreceie Melee 0eapons broad sill as a racialbroad sill;

-ombat +pec % N sill points9+esheyan heroes pay > sills point instead sincethey receie Melee 0eapons broad sill as a racialbroad sill;

S3ill 7ac3aeArmor operation %powered armor, com!at armor,Melee 0eapon, $eay 0eapons% direct fire,indirect fire, Modern Ranged 0eapons % rifle,Moement, Tactics, 1nowledge %first aid.Fse any remaining sill points as desired.

H*ip!et 7ac3ae (Stadard ilitary ;ss*e)JJmm ch rifle 9or 3ero%g ersion; or autoflechetteshotgunmm ch pistol

Melee nife plasma grenades-erametal armor with built in unit leel com lin

4ote that special e5uipment packageswill var# depending on the mission, !ut in generalthis is a standard issue e5uipment package, alongwith compass and imaging or infrared goggles3

After basic training each -oncordMarine is sent to an adanced school. The

aailable branches consist of InfantryEngineering Armor and +upport. A -oncordMarine must attend one adanced school beforeattaining third leel.

Advaced Schools

;4atry Brach

S3ill pac3ae Infantry tactics and powered meleeweapon.


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TheThe

NextNext

MenMenby *wayne 8. 8eonard

In time manind will embrace thescience of genetic engineering a new breed ofpeople will be born. These people will becreated for a purpose. +ome will be uni4ue

while others will be mass%produced. Thesepeople may be called transhumans but inreality they are the Ce7t Men.

+*slierThe 6unslinger series is designed

specifically for ranged combat. All of theirmutations are designed to gie them and edgein ranged weapon combat. 0hile their originaldesign maes them ideally suited to distance

fighting they find ways to surie een intimes of peace. ]uite often they can be foundacting as pilots or professional driers. +ometurn their enhanced abilities to less unsaoryjobs. These can be found usually acting asassassins or thiees.Advantage$)' M)tati$n':$yper Refle7esEnhanced *e7terityra*+a':+usceptible to damage 98I;

Blaster0ith genetic engineering it is now

possible to engineer some psionic abilities intothe host. This can mae for formidable andune7pected opponents. The blaster is designedto a front line soldier or policeman of thefuture. Een without weapons the blaster canstill incinerate their foes. -oupled with the

ability to absorb energy attacs modernblasters become nearly useless against them."lasters hae few career options out side ofthe police or military but some hae managedto find employment where their abilities serethem well. Many wor for the power companyor train as electrical engineers.

Advantage$)' M)tati$n':Psionic Power 9Teleinesis%+#rokinetics;Energy Absorptionra*+a':Reduced Ability +core +light 9%J -on;

7si-0*ter0ith the adance of genetic

engineering psionics hae become acceptedand almost common. Cow it has becomenecessary for the police and goernment

officials to now whom and if anyone is usingpsionic powers. To this end the Psi%$unterseries has been created.Advantage$)' M)tati$n':Psi ResistanceImproed 0illPsi +ensitiityra*+a':Reduced Ability +core +light 9%J -on;

7erceptorPerceptors are designed to be the

ultimate detecties. Their senses areheightened to the limit of the human genome.This enhancement to their senses comes with aprice though. Cormal leels of light are sopainful that it often inhibits them fromperforming at the pea of their abilities.Advantage$)' M)tati$n':$yper +ensesEnhanced 0ilra*+a':8ight +ensitiity

S*rvivor SeriesThis series is engineered to be low

casualty field soldiers. Each of theiradaptations maes them more durable or ableto surie longer in a sustained conflict. Theyare highly resistant to damage and gien

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enough time capable of healing een the mostdeadly wounds without medical treatment.0hen employed as soldiers the +urior seriesusually wor on long%term missions.Advantage$)' M)tati$n':$yper $ealing*ermal Reinforcement

=ascular -ontrolra*+a':Reduced Ability +core +light 9%J *e7;

Thi3erThiners are designed specifically

to be scientists. Their genetic enhancementshae guaranteed that they are good scientistsor technicians. Their enhanced intelligence hasleft them with little empathy for their fellowman howeer.

Advantage$)' M)tati$n':$yper IntImproed 0ilImproed +ensesra*+a':Reduced Ability +core Moderate 9%> Per;

Br*te"rutes are big strong and tough.

They are e7cellent in situations where physical

si3e or muscle is useful. They can be found asbaggage handlers soldiers and any other jobwhere strength or toughness is important.Advantage$)' M)tati$n':$yper +trImproed -on*ermal Reinforcementra*+a':Reduced Ability +core +light 9%J *e7;Reduced Ability +core +light 9%J Int;

oo AelsThe Moon Angel series was

designed as a flying human specifically forlow graity enironments. 0hile they can flyin earth normal graity they prefer the lowergraity enironments that they are adapted to.Advantage$)' M)tati$n':Dlight"iorhythm -ontrol

Improed +ensesra*+a':Major Physical -hange 98arge usuallyattractiewings;+usceptible to damage 98I;

To*h Toughs are specifically to be hardto ill. All of their mutations gie them anedge in the surial game. This maes theme7cellent cops or soldiers. Toughs are oftenemployed as frontline soldiers or mercenaries.Toughs may also be employed as thugsespecially on worlds where weaponry isrestricted.Advantage$)' M)tati$n':Enhance -on

Redundant =ital !rgansTo7in ToleranceImproed Immunityra*+a':Reduced ability score slight 9%J *e7;

e 7er3 - ;visible *tatio-ost BK

Mutants who possess this per aremuch harder to detect. At the three%point leel

anyone trying to determine the e7act geneticsstructure or type of mutation possessed has aL> penalty to any sill roll to do so. At the si7%point leel anyone trying to determine thee7act genetics structure or type of mutationpossessed has a L penalty to any sill roll todo so.

Een mutants with an alteredappearance can tae adantage of this per.This per will mae it hard for any othermutations or type of mutations to be detected.

H*ip!eten$%e etet$rP8 KMass >-ost J?@@

This is a portable deice todesigned to detect if a person is actually amutant and to determine the e7act nature of

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their mutation9s;. It appears to be a small bo7with a glass lid and a holographic display. Theglass lid opens up allowing a small scanner tochec a blood hair or sin sample of thesuspected mutant. Each mutation re4uires aseparate sill roll with a critical failureindicating a false result.

To be properly used this piece ofe4uipment re4uires the character to hae the8ife +cience broad sill or the 8ife +cience%&enetics specialty sill.

M)tant etet$rP8 KMass J-ost N?@This small deice loos much lie a chromecylinder with three green and one red light on

it. !ne end of the deice may be twistedcausing a small sample tray to eject from theend. A sample of hair blood or sin may beplaced on the tray for analysis. Fnlie thegenome detector this deice only detectswhether or not someone is a mutant.

0hen used the deice will light upthe red light if the target sin hair or bloodsample possesses no mutant genes. If thecharacter has J%> mutation points then one

green light will come on. If the character has% mutation points then two green lights willcome on. If the character has ? or moremutation points then all three green lights willcome on.

Fnlie the 6enome detector thisdeice only re4uires the 1nowledge or 8ife+cience broad sill to use. -haracterspossessing 8ife +cience%&enetics mayhoweer use their full sill.

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Its All About SkillIts All About Skill"y *uane Eggert

!ne of the things that maes theAlternity_ roleplaying game uni4ue is itsemphasis on sills. "ut are there more ways toe7press a character#s indiiduality using sills( Ithin so and here are a few ways that a player cantailor his or her hero to hae a greater emphasis onwhat he or she can do and become more of auni4ue character in the process.

$ere are some suggestions that areoriented towards sills. They include new persran benefits and achieement benefits all ofwhich are oriented towards sills.

e 7er3s

The following are new pers that aresill oriented and may proide some morecustomi3ation for hero deelopment.

Adaptive eari

7 9J L Int

modifier; number of non%professional sills

All ; eed is a 0airpi

eE, step bonus,Ama3ing % step bonus.

Blessed Ab*dace

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specialty sill associated with a broad sill thatcan not normally be used untrained as if it couldbe used untrained i.e. at ^ releant ability scoreLJ step penalty.

The character selects which broad sillto apply this to and it may be taen more thanonce eeping to the limits for number of pers acharacter can hae with each purchase associated

with an indiidual broad sill.The cost aries based on the cost of

the broad sill. A character pays the cost for thebroad sill at J less than the list price for thatbroad sill. Dor e7ample a character can buy I -an*o That vehicle ops for > sp and attempt a sillchec for 0ater =ehicle or +pace =ehiclespecialty sills at ^ *e7 LJ step penalty. As anadditional e7ample a character can buy I -an *oThat acro!atics for K sp 9Dree Agents can buyit for ? sp; and attempt a sill chec for *efensie

Martial Arts or Sero%g at ^ *e7 LJ step penalty.The character must hae the broad

sill in order to purchase rans in any associatedspecialty sill.

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made with a %J step bonus, 6ood %> step bonus,Ama3ing % step bonus.

eave it to the +ee3


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;creased 44ect As a character achiees higherrans in scratch%built e7plosies he or shereceies a greater situational die bonus, %J step atran K and %> steps at ran J>.

>e!olitios-Set .3&l$'ive':

;creased 44ect As a character achiees higher

rans in set e7plosies he or she receies a greatersituational die bonus, %J step at ran %> steps atran G and % steps at ran J>.

the character can effectiely teach a smallclassroom full of students a number of studentse4ual to his 0ill score.

ore 44ective Teacher At ran K the charactergains a %J step bonus to any teach sill checs he

maes.

e Achieve!et Bee4its

The following are suggestions for newachieement benefits that gie a greater emphasison sills and their use in an Alternity_ game.

ore 7ro4essioal S3illsThis benefit can be purchased twice.0hen a character first gains this

benefit he or she selects a number of non%profession sills e4ual to J L his Int mod andtreats them as profession sills from that point on.

The second time he or she gains it heor she can add > 7 9J L his Int mod; of non%professional sills to his professional sill list.

That is they may be purchased at oneless than list price.

The achieement becomes aailable atthe following hero leels)

ore 7ro4essioal S3ills #-ombat +pec ?th*iplomat th Dree Agent rd Tech !p rdMindwaler th.ore 7ro4essioal S3ills 2-ombat +pec Gth*iplomat Nth Dree Agent Kth Tech !p KthMindwaler Nth.

And the costs for purchasing the

achieements are)ore 7ro4essioal S3ills #-ombat +pec K*iplomat K Dree Agent ? Tech !p ?Mindwaler K.ore 7ro4essioal S3ills 2-ombat +pec J>*iplomat J> Dree Agent J@ Tech !p J@Mindwaler J>.

ore S3ill 7oitsThis benefit can be purchased a total

of three times starting at the leel listed below.

"eginning at the ne7t leel eery timethe character gains a leel he or she gains anadditional sill point.

The achieement becomes aailable atthe following hero leels)

ore S3ill 7oits-ombat +pec ?th *iplomatth Dree Agent rd Tech !p rd Mindwalerth.

And the costs for purchasing theachieement are)

ore S3ill 7oits-ombat +pec ? *iplomat ?Dree Agent Tech !p Mindwaler ?.

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L A S T R E S O R T

Table # .ill odi4iers

.; Actio %J %J step % % %

J%J? %> step J

JKL % step >

Table 2 7ersoality S3ill odi4iers

7R

%K LJ step

N% % % %

J@%JJ %J step

J>%J %> step

JL % step

Table 5 So*l Body Separatio

.;9> N m JJ m J? m

>%> J? m >J m >N m

@L >N m m ?J m

Table $ So*l Trasitio Ti!e

Actions

JJ%J> J Actions

J%J Immediate

Table & So*l Stay Ti!e

.;97R Stay Ti!e

G%J J> hrs

J?%>> K hrs

>%> G hrs

@L ? days

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If the soul is not returned to itsbody in designated time a +tamina%endurancechec is made eery @ minutes with LJ steppenalty. 0heneer chec is failed hero loses Jmortal. If heroes body dies soul can resideinside +oulMech for J hour after whichResole%mental resolve sill chec with L

step penalty must be made. If the chec isfailed heroes soul departs to distant unnown.If the roll results in critical failure heroes soulbecomes+ale Reaver3

So*lechs ad 0eroes S3ills

So*lechsThere are two basic types of

+oulMechs) warrior models *ngel)ire andEclipsor and multipurpose models StarLight

andHumani=. All +oulMechs are modularmeaning that they hae free slots to whichadditional e4uipment modules 9such asstealthmodule; can be fitted.

0hen hero transfers his soul to+oulMech he retains his sill rans but uses+oulMechs ability scores. Thus hero with+trength JJ and sill ran > in !rawl whotransfers his soul to AngelDire +oulMechwould hae sill score JBKB while in his

body and JNBGB while in +oulMech.+ince all +oulMech are big 9>.J

N meters tall; and since they are themachines they suffer penalty to +tealth sillchecs based on a model of +oulMech.

!PTI!CA8 RF8E) Taling to a > meter tallrobot with cold metallic oice can be a littleunnering. Thus as an optional rule for thosewho would lie an additional dose of realismin their game +oulMechs hae their ownPersonality scores.

AelFireheight)m+tr)J?*e7)J>-on)JKPer*urability JGBJGB

Module slots)+tealth penalty) L?0eapons)mounted Plasma gunmounted "antam launcherfists 9power cestus with good damage;Armor) >dKLJB>dKLJBd 6ood ToughnessAailability) Restricted

Eclipsor is heay assault model thatcan withstand a lot of punishment. It alsoproides e7cellent support for lightersoulmechs when e4uipped with targetingmodule.

Starihtheight)>?m+tr)J>*e7)J-on)JPer


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Action chec)LJBJ>BKB"ase number of actions)>*urability JBJBNModule slots)K+tealth penalty) L>0eapons)fists 9power cestus;

Armor) dKLJBdKLJBdK 6ood ToughnessAailability) -ontrolled+tar8ight is soulmech created for e7plorationand access to ha3ardous areas. It can bee4uipped with ariety of modules and caneasily be conerted to combat model.

0*!aiXheight)>Jm+tr)J@*e7)J

-on)J>PerBKB"ase number of actions)*urability J>BJ>BKModule slots)G+tealth penalty) LJ0eapons) noneArmor) dKLJBdKLJBdK !rdinary ToughnessAailability) -ontrolled

$umaniHs major purpose arerescue and salage operations. $e is producedto be human looing so that ictims ofaccidents can feel comfortable around him.

od*lesStealth module % reduces stealth penalty by Jstep.)light module % There are two types of thismodule) standard and fusion. Dusion moduleallows space flight taes up > slots and comes

with magnetic pads for feet.6argeting module % reduces long rangepenalties by J step.Repair module % 0hen actiated this modulereleases a stream of nanobots that can repair >points of wound damage or J mortal.Salvage module this module contains cuttersblowtorches and other e4uipment necessaryfor salaging.

Rescue module contains ropes cuttersimpact reducement foam and other e4uipmentnecessary for rescue operations.&ridcast module allows access to grid.-eapon module allows additional weapon tobe attached to body 9so it leaes hands free;.$ultilim! module adds e7tra arm or leg to

body. Attaching e7tra leg adds L tomoement rate attaching two e7tra legs addsLK to moement rate and %J step de7teritybonus.$ultitask module reduces penalty forperforming two actions at once to L@BL>.Ambide7trous characters hae all penaltiesnegated.Reinforcement module adds L>BL>BLJ toarmor and LJ stealth penalty.Self.2estruct module taes > slots. 0hen

+oulmech self%destructs it causes plasmagrenade damage.Surger# module taes two slots. -ontains allnecessary e4uipment for field surgery*!lative module wors as ablatie field andhas @ points.

7ale ReaverThere hae been rare cases when

body dies but soul does not depart to whereer

souls go. +uch souls 4uicly grow mad andturn into hideous monstrous entities calledPale Reaers.

Pale Reaers appear lie ghostliefigures that become more monstrous as thetime passes. +o in the beginning they loo lienormal human but later they grow multipleeyes claws wings tentacles and other strangeappendages.

The greatest threats that come fromPale Reaers is that they e7tinguish souls of

other liing beings 9and possibly create otherPale Reaers; and that they are not affected bynormal weapons. !nly thing that can harmthem are soul burner weapons.

0hen someone attaced by PaleReaer loses all wounds or mortals PaleReaer tries to possess the body. If he issuccessful the ictims soul is e7tinguishedand body is under Pale Reaers control. The

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body loses J wound per day. 0hen all woundsand mortals are lost or when body is destroyedReaer leaes the body and searches for thene7t ictim. 0hile the body is possessed it actslie a madman speaing incoherent words andmoaning. In this stage Reaer is not agressieand rather flees than fights. +oul burner

weapons fired at it affect Pale Reaer they donot damage the body. $oweer if the possessattempt is unsuccessful ictims soul becomesanother Pale Reaer due to shoc and traumaand leaes in search for another body.

So*l B*rer .eapos+oul burner weapons were

deeloped in order to deal more easily withopposing +oulMechs. They do not damage themech but instead fire soul dissruption beams

that force the soul inhibiting the mech toreturn to its body.

In game terms +oulmech struc bysoul burner weapon must pass the mentalresolve chec or else his soul is returned to hisbody. +oul burner weapons hae proen to bee7tremely effectie against Pale Reaers.

!nly limited number of theseweapons were produced and they are notaailable on maret 9treat them as

EHTREME8 restricted;.

1 So*lSco*re Bladeforces mental resoleor does dLJsBdwBdLJw 98i; to Pale Reaersill)Melee%!lade

1 oidShooter 7istolforces mental resoleor does dwBdL>wBdLw 9$i; damage toPale Reaer.Range) >@B@BK@sill)MR0%pistol

1 So*lScra!bler Ri4leforces mentalresole with LJ step penalty or doesdKwBdKL>wBdm 9$i; damage to Pale Reaer.Range) @BK@B@sill)MR0%rifle1 So*l?B?@BJ@@+ill)$eay 0eapons%direct

So*lova +readeforces mental resolewith LBL>BLJ step penalty in ?mBJ@mBJ?marea or does dKL>wBdKLwBdKm 9$i; damage

to Pale Reaersill)Athletics%throw

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Pale Reaver

STR &2 I*T < DE &

,I! & C)* &8 PER (

Durability: &8'&8''

$ction check: &'&8''2

Mo3ement Rate: run 2+% walk

Reaction score: "ood'1

$ttacks: claws &8''2 ds'd8w'd2m !I'"

Deenses:

$ected only by soul burner wea/ons

7( resistance modiier 3s. melee attacks71 resistance modiier 3s. ranged attack

71 ,I! resistance modiier 3s. encounter

skills

$rmor: d8F&

Skills:

climb &2''1

stealth &8''2

/ossess &''1

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KiKiby *wayne 8. 8eonard

0istory

The early history of 1i can be debatedbut this is the most widely accepted account. Ifthere is any truth to this no one currently liingcan gie it. !ur inestigations failed to reeal ifthis was a factual or fictional account.

Appro7imately JJ@@ years ago the syopened and whole parts of other worlds moed to1I. Records tell usthat ninety%seen

towns and eleenmonasteries arriedin the world of 1ion the island of1otai.

In theearly days the townswere distinct andseparate but ayoung +amurainamed Toru reali3ed

that ciili3ationmight falter unlessthese independenttowns bandedtogether. $e set outto unify the island of1otai as one nation.

Toru began by setting up a school totrain warriors. At first Toru trained only thosepeople in his own town hoping to create a loyalarmy of followers. This wored so well that

eentually Toru began training people from nearby towns proided that they swore loyalty to him.$aing established a small army Toru

set out to con4uer the island of 1otai. The firstfew towns that stood against his army werecompletely wiped out. After this many townsswore their loyalty just to aoid being destroyed.!thers banded together against the army of Torubut all were defeated.

In time Toru had united most of 1otai

and established one goernment.As the years passed him by Toru gae

up rule to his children and their descendants.Toru#s children set up a ast public wors systemallowing for the maintenance of roads a bridgesinsuring that all the towns could stay in contact.Toru#s great grandchildren created schools to trainboth men and women as warriors in honor of their

grandfather.Dor almost >?@ years the land was at

relatie peace but this was destined to end. As thenumber of Toru#s descendants increased twothings became more and more common. The firstwas bicering between his descendants. Thesecond was plotting against the descendants ofToru by outsiders. These two factors caused openwarfare to brea out between the descendants of

Toru. 0ith none ofthe $ouses of Toru

able to gain andadantage oer theothers the island of1otai was onceagain shattered intoarious splintergroups.

After manyyears of battle theRyashi clanmanaged to gain

control of island of1otai. This is anoteable fact forseeral reasons. TheRyashi -lan is theonly clan not

descended from Toru eer to gain control of 1otaiFnlie Toru the Ryashi -lan was able tocompletely dominate the whole island.

Eentually the descendants of Torubanded together and reolted against the Ryashi-lan. This led to the destruction of the Ryashi-lan. After this the descendants of Toru agreedthat anyone associated with een the name Ryashibe put to death.

Dor a time after the Ryashi rule the0atashi clan ascended to dominate 1otai. As withall of the rulers that preceded them the 0atashifailed to maintain control. -lan wars were broughtto the fore front and the Iashi -lan too oer andhas maintained relatie peace for the last one

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seenty%fie years.-urrently only two of the major clans

are engaged in an ongoing conflict. This conflict isbetween the Matsuo and 0atashi clans. Thereason for this continuing conflict is that the*aimyo of the 0atashi clan was assassinated.0hen the assassin was illed she was identified asa Matsuo sympathi3er.


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(ack (ox0eight) >.? g-ost) @ shuCotes) The bac bo7 can hold up to >@ g ofweight

*!acus0eight) .? g

-ost) J shu

(ook0eight) .? g-ost) J shuCotes) This is the typical price for a boo and maybe anything from a guide boo to a boo of poetry.

nk ase0eight) .? g-ost) > shu

Cotes) The in case contains the in and brushneeded for writing.

$irror0eight) .? g-ost) ? shuCotes) This is a polished steel mirror typicallyept in a lac4uered case. They may also be comein a leather or bamboo case.

+aper0eight) Cegligible-ost) mon per sheetCotes) This is for writing or drawing paper.

6inder!ox0eight) .>? g-ost) JK mon

andles0eight) J g-ost) >? shuCotes) This is for J do3en wa7 candles. Each

candle will burn for appro7imately one hour oncelit.


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Anyone playing this type of character may wish toconsider taing any of the following sills toimproe at their profession) Acrobatics%DallMelee 0eapons +tealth%+hadow Manipulation%8ocpic or Pic Pocet and +treet +mart%-riminal Elements or +treet 1nowledge.

5in6a X-ombat +pec or Dree AgentY

Cinjas e7ist as spies saboteurs andassassins. 0hile they definitely touch on all leelsof society they are not really part of it. People inthe normal society will not een deal withsomeone suspected of being a ninja. Their liesare shadows with none of the trappings of anormal life. Driends jobs loed ones and so onare parts of a normal life that hae no place in aninjas e7istence. Instead they belong to one of theshadow clans.

Signature E5uipment7+uit of blac clothes wa3iashi climbing spies9%J bonus; and a bamboo

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