Buffy the Vampire Slayer™ & © 2004, ANGEL™ & © 2004. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved. The Unisystem™ Game System © 2004 CJ Carella. The Unisystem™ is used under exclusive license.
© 2004 Eden Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Visit www.edenstudios.net
$15.00 (U.S.)EDN5500
ISBN 1-891153-94-3
Eden Studios, Inc. is pleased to announce a new supplement
series called Eden Studios Presents (ESP). Focusing on a wide
variety of Unisystem materials, each book will be filled with
scenarios, archetypes, monsters, new and alternate rules, and
much, much more.
Volume 1 of the ESP series features:
• New monsters by David F. Chapman for your Buffy or Angel RPG game.
• L is for Liberty, a Terra Primate Apeworld by Dan Proctor.
• An interview with Jason Vey, author of the upcoming AFMBE
supplement, Dungeons & Zombies.
• Archetypes for any Unisystem game.
• A Unisystem sci-fi setting by Andrew Peregrine
• An intercepted phone conversation between David F. Chapman,
the Conspiracy X 2.0 Developer, and a mysterious Agent X.
• Tigereye, a Conspiracy X scenario from Jason Little with notes
for both Unisystem and the original game mechanics.
• A new monster for WitchCraft and Armageddon by Charlie Von Eschen.
Future issues will contain articles just as exciting as this first book. Prepare yourself for scintillating scenarios, archetypes galore, previews of future products, handfuls of bad guys, Chronicler and player tips, and even a multi-episode campaign!
Eden Studios views ESP as an ideal showcase for both new and known authors, giving everyone the potential to be a part of the team! Eden realizes there are a great many quality "unknowns" out there and wants to give them the opportunity to shine. Veteran writers are also welcome, providing solid groundwork for gamers to use, spindle, and mutilate. Whether you are a up-and-comer, an oldtimer, or just a fan, you'll find new and interesting material in each book.
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Volume 1
From the Editor 2
by Derek Stoelting
Cover Shot: A New Monster for WitchCraft • Armageddon 3
by Charlie Von Eschen
Interview with Dungeons & Zombies Author Jason Vey 4
by Derek Stoelting
Spacefarers and Prairie Folk: A Cinematic Setting 7
by Andrew Peregrine
Conspiracy X 2.0 Interview with David F. Chapman 23
by
Tiger Eye: A Conspiracy X Scenario 26
by Jason Little
Slay-worthy: New Monsters for Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel 45
by David F. Chapman, with additional writing by Derek Stoelting
L is for Liberty: A Terra Primate Apeworld 49
by Dan Proctor, with additional writing by Derek Stoelting and Jason Vey
Archetypes 56
All Flesh Must Be Eaten by Andrew Ferguson WitchCraft • Armageddon by Derek Stoelting
Editing and Proofing
by Shari Hill, M. Alexander Jurkat, Derek Stoelting, Jason Vey
Cover Art
by Carlos Samuel Araya
Interior Art
by Travis Ingram and Ginger Kubic
Graphic Design and Art Direction
by George Vasilakos
Produced and Published by Eden Studios 6 Dogwood Lane, Loudonville, NY 12211
Buffy the Vampire Slayer™ & © 2004, ANGEL™ & © 2004. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved. The Unisystem™ Game System © 2004 CJ Carella. The Unisystem™ is used under exclusive license.
© 2004 Eden Studios. All Rights Reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher, except for review purposes. Any similarity to characters, situations, institutions, corporations, etc. (without satirical intent) is strictly fictional or coincidental. This book uses settings, characters and themes of a supernatural nature. All elements, mystical and
supernatural, are fiction and intended for entertainment purposes only. Comments and questions can be directed via the Internet at www.edenstudios.net. via e-mail to eden@edenstudios.net or via letter with a self-addressed stamped envelope.
First Printing, May 2004
A Brief Note from Derek Stoelting,
Editor of Eden Studios Presents
Welcome to Eden Studios Presents!
ESP, as we’ve taken to calling it around the office, is Eden Studios’ latest endeavor to feed our ravenous fans. Inside these very pages, you will find material for all of the Unisystem game lines. Future issues won’t be so grandiose in scale, but they will be just as entertaining, just as useful, and just as exciting to read.
This book may hit your friendly local game shop’s stands later than you expected. That, I will admit, is my fault. I jumped head first into this project, not actually realizing how much work it would entail. When I thought I had reached the midway point, I stepped back and looked at what I had.
At that point, I panicked. I found material that needed fixing: rewrite something here, send that out to another editor to look at (thanks Jason, Shari, & Alex), cut that other thing out completely, and move this other item to the next volume.
Thus, I dug in my heels and went back to work. Before I knew it, I missed my deadline. Then, it was the week after the deadline. Then . . .
Throughout the process, I maintained the mantra of “At the end of the day, is this the best material you can create?” George said that phrase to me one year at the Origins convention. We were discussing the Origins Awards. One of Eden Studios’ books was up for an award. George reasoned that even if the book didn’t win the award it was up for, he knew which book was the best. As I sit here typing up this editorial commentary, I look back on what I’ve compiled. I look at the material from brand new, never before seen authors. I look at material from authors that already have their foot in their door. I look at material from pre-viously published authors. I look at the material that my fellow editors helped to produce.
And, I judge it the best material that could be produced for this book.
We’ve got generic space material, Terra Primate material that can use the generic space material, an inter-view with Jason Vey, preinter-view material for Con X Unisystem, a full-blown scenario for Con X featuring orig-inal and Unisystem rules, new zombies for AFMBE, stats for the creature on the cover, and new archetypes for a handful of games.
Volume Two is nearing completion as I type this. Most of the authors have turned their work in early. Some of the editing has begun. We are going a different route with Volume Two. Instead of trying to cover ground for every single Unisystem game out there, we are narrowing our focus towards the undead. That’s not to say everything in the book will be about vampires, vampyres, and zombies. However, the book will spend a lot of time discussing them.
And, Volume Two will be done on time.
Remember, keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times, do not unbuckle your seatbelt until the ride comes to a complete stop, and don’t forget to send us feedback as you exit the ride!
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Bathsha are the Ethereals of Dementia. Obsessions, codes of conduct, delusions, covetous-ness, and cruelty are their domain. Most often, the Bathsha inhabit the Periphery in Hod, amplifying dreamer’s obsessions so they spill over into the wak-ing world. Infrequently, one of these dream denizens finds its way to Malkuth by successfully inspiring a dreamer to become its Chosen, or through a sum-moning—intentionally or otherwise. Suddenly a quiet neighbor begins a reign of terror.
Common Ethereal and Spirit
Powers
Bathsha share all basic Ethereal and spirit abilities (see Book of Hod, p. 117; Armageddon, p. 297) with some modifications noted below.
Powers Special to Bathsha
Physical Manifestation: Bathsha manifest on Malkuth by spending one Essence for every five points of their Vital Essence. These entities appear to arise from the victims of those they inspire, giv-ing congratulations and rewards while spurrgiv-ing their Chosen onward to greater feats. Bathsha usually materialize as their Chosen’s perfect prey, idealized in order to reaffirm the hunt or serve as the fruit of the Chosen’s particular Amplified Obsession.
Amplify: Bathsha must spend one Essence point per level of the target’s Willpower to increase the severity of each Mental Drawback afflicting their Chosen. If this boost brings a Drawback to level four, it becomes an overpowering Obsession for the duration of the power (one hour per Success Level of the Willpower and Spiritus Task). Amplify may be resisted by Mundanes with a Difficult Willpower Test. Gifted and Supernaturals resist with a Simple Willpower Test. If a behavior-restricting Mental Drawback, such as Honorable, has been Amplified to level four, the Chosen seeks to impose that behav-ior on others, sometimes violently. Chosen with two or more contradicting Mental Drawbacks raised to such a high level flip-flop between them; he may become a self-tortured coma victim or commit sui-cide due to their conflicting desires.
Buying into the Dream: A Bathsha who is already influencing a Chosen may cause a nearby target to become infected by the Chosen’s particular dementia by spending two Essence per level of the victim’s Willpower. Those under the effect of this power find themselves agreeing with and desiring to be a part of a Chosen’s mental landscape. This power has a duration of one-half an hour per Success level of the Willpower and Spiritus Task. A Simple Willpower Test resists Buying into the Dream for all character types. Victims who fail the Test will do anything in their ability to make the world fit the Chosen’s warped view. If a victim is afflicted by a Mental Drawback that contradicts the Chosen’s dementia, that Drawback is effectively reduced by one level of severity.
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Strength: 5 Intelligence: 4 Dexterity: 5 Perception: 6 Constitution: 6 Willpower: 5 Vital Essence: 54 Energy Essence: 51Life Points (when manifested): 105 Spiritus: 5
Cover Shot: A New Monster for
WitchCraft • Armageddon
Interview with a
Zombie Master
I recently had a chance to sit down and talk to Jason Vey about his upcoming book Dungeons & Zombies, working with Eden Studios, over-zealous playtesters, and future work.
Tell me about D&Z. What were you trying to do with it? Were you trying to emulate any particu-lar aspect of fantasy roleplaying? Were you try-ing to avoid anythtry-ing in fantasy roleplaytry-ing?
Settle in, because this is going to be a long answer. D&Z actually came about in a strange way. I’d done up a piece for my website that contained fantasy rules for the cinematic Unisystem, and they started rolling really well. So well, in fact, that I started to wonder if I could pitch them. Obviously, at the time, there wasn’t a non-licensed core book for the cine-matic rules, so that wouldn’t work. But, WitchCraft seemed ideal for handling it. I e-mailed Alex Jurkat asking if there was interest. His response was posi-tive, but less-than-enthusiastic. He noted that trying to compete with D&D was suicide unless you had a really good gimmick. He was right.
Then, a couple of days later, I got another e-mail. Seemed George Vasilakos had seen my rules online and they wanted me to do a sourcebook for AFMBE. Eden came up with the title Dungeons and Zombies. It seemed comically appropriate. So, we set to work. I wrote an outline, proposing four Deadworlds based on themes that Alex suggested: Pulp (Conanesque), Literary (Tolkienesque), Arthurian, and Oriental. The Oriental one proved the most difficult, as I was unable to access Enter the Zombie, due to Eden’s desire to have people be able to play the supplement if they owned only the core book.
When we started out, the mission statement was pretty simple, though very difficult in the long run to effectively achieve. This was not “the” definitive Unisystem Fantasy Roleplaying Game. It was another genre book for AFMBE, and had to be treat-ed as such, while still filling the gap to satisfy those who’d been clamoring for Unisystem fantasy rules. A tall order, but I think we pulled it off.
As for what we were and weren’t trying to emu-late, I don’t think we had any aspirations to make this “the Unisystem version of [insert roleplaying game].” Other than the Deadworlds (whose influ-ences are obvious), we mostly just tried not to make it a direct D&D rip-off. It had to have its own flavor and style, and had to be as open and customizable as the rest of the Unisystem products. D&D influences are there, to be sure. D&D set the standard, and was the first fantasy roleplaying game. In any given fan-tasy game there are always going to be some ele-ments that hearken back to that origin. But, overall I think D&Z has a pretty unique feel.
I was in on the playtest of this book. It was very hot and heavy at times. Do you think that affect-ed the book?
Boy, that’s an understatement. There were some knock-down-drag-outs during playtest. But, in the end it happened because everyone was so passionate about the book. Everyone wanted it to be the best it could be, and you can’t go wrong with that kind of enthusiasm. There were some requests for reprinted material and details that there just isn’t room for in a sourcebook. I started to wish I had a whole core book worth of space to work with after awhile! But, in the end, it was those arguments, debates, and such
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that helped to shape the book into its final form. I really do owe the playtesters a huge vote of thanks. They were all great, and they all kept me on my toes throughout. I think the book is much better off for it in the end.
For those of us who want more than just hack and slash, what can we look for in this book?
It’s Unisystem. That means that hack and slash is rarely your best bet, given just how deadly combat is in the rules. We’ve imported a slightly abbreviated version of the magic system from WitchCraft and Armageddon, which is very freeform and conducive to creativity on the part of people playing magi. We’ve also gone out of our way to conceive of good, epic stories for the Deadworlds. However, for those of you who are into hack and slash, fear not. There are a few optional rules suggestions and tweaks in there to cater to your power-gaming needs as well (grin).
What’s your favorite part in this book? I think the author bio is the best part. That’s a joke, son.
Seriously, that’s a really tough call. I like the whole book. I don’t know if we necessarily hit a grand slam, but we’re most definitely bases-loaded on it. As far as my favorite part—I’d have to say that the rules stuff in chapter 2 was great fun to come up with, put together, and hammer out. As for the Deadworlds, Dead Gods and Demon Lands is prob-ably my favorite, because I’ve always liked gritty, pulp-style fantasy like Robert E. Howard, Fritz Lieber, R.A. Salvatore, Weis and Hickman. You get the idea.
You worked with Eden Studios’ new editor Ross Isaacs on this book. How was working with him?
Well let me preface this by saying that I think Ross is a very skilled editor. He can come off as a bit blunt at first, but it’s because he doesn’t have the time to mince words. He’s a busy guy and an editor who knows what he wants and expects from his writers, and he’s very specific in his comments and requests. He was a consummate professional the entire time,
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and I appreciate that more than I can express. You don’t always get that in this industry. In fact, I’d go so far as to say it can be a rarity. I just hope he feels the same way about me.
Did we butt heads? Once or twice, yeah. You have to understand that writers and editors have a love/hate relationship. We realize that we need each other, but nobody likes to see their stuff cut up and reworked.
Ross knows his stuff, and I’d happily work with him again. I think I’m a better writer for having worked with him—and I’m not just saying that to tow the company line. It’s the God’s Honest Truth. Ross was great to work with.
What other Eden Studios books have you con-tributed to?
Truthfully? None! This was my first project with Eden, and it was hard work, but a blast. I really hope to do more for Eden in the future.
What brought you to work with Eden Studios? It was a combination of factors. I’ve always been a fan of C.J.’s stuff; he and I seem to have strangely similar mindsets as far as horror gaming and fiction go. I’ve never met C.J. face-to-face, and only spoken to him briefly via e-mail or IM twice, but as far as his writing goes, the guy’s brain works on a level that I just grok. So when I found out that he was writing the Buffy game, I had to check it out. I’d been seeing WitchCraft on the shelves in my FLGS for months and been tempted to pick it up, but was worried about getting burned by an impulse buy (which I’m sure you’ll agree can easily happen with core books). Then, at Origins a few years ago, I had the opportu-nity to play in a WitchCraft game and demo Buffy, and I was hooked immediately. At that con, my girl-friend and I purchased WitchCraft and AFMBE. Since then, I’ve gone on to buy every Unisystem product I can get my hands on. I can’t get enough. When I started freelancing, I knew right away that Eden was a company I wanted to write for, so I gave it a shot, and thus far, it’s worked out pretty well.
Are there any future publications you are working on for Eden Studios that you can tell us about?
Nope. I can tell you that I have a couple submis-sions and proposals in—one for a new WitchCraft Association, and one for another sourcebook for AFMBE, but both are in limbo until I hear from George, Alex, or Ross. I also intend to be a pretty regular contributor to ESP. And hey, if they’ve got anything they want to throw my way, I’m on board in a New York minute.
What other roleplaying game material have you written?
Truth be told, I’m actually pretty new to the field. I’ve done an article for Palladium Books’ Rifter line in issue 16, which I then expanded to a full source-book for their Nightbane roleplaying game (another C.J. work, incidentally) called Shadows of Light. It was advertised as the first new book for NB in four years, but in actuality, I think it was closer to seven. So, that was pretty cool. I’ve got a number of differ-ent ideas swimming around in my head right now, most of which will probably never see the light of day, but I’ve currently gone back to work on a novel I’m trying to finish. Hopefully, that’ll see bookstore shelves some day.
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Several recent television series have caused resur-gence in the desire for a sci-fi game with a western feel to it. Farscape and Firefly are two shows that immediately come to mind. Inspired by these shows, you may be wondering how to create a similar cam-paign world for yourself. Luckily, Eden Studios’ Unisystem books are more than up to the task. This article is a mixed bag of odds and ends that Directors can utilize to create their own adventures on the frontier of space.
For those of you unfamiliar with the science fic-tion—western genre, we should take a moment to paint you a picture of this campaign world style. After all, how do you mix the low-tech world of the western with the high-tech world of science fiction? The best way to do it is by using supply and demand. In such a world, technology is the preserve of the rich and the privileged. This is not really because it is expensive, but because owning it gives you power. After all, if you and your people have the laser guns and the others are using clubs, you are going to win. So in the worlds ruled by the rich and powerful, technology is plentiful and inexpen-sive. However, the further you are from civilization, the more difficult such things become to acquire. On the frontier of space, things look little different from a frontier town in the 1800s. Moreover, just like a frontier town, these places on the edge of civ-ilization aren’t so law abiding. The rule of the gun applies in most cases. If you have a ship you can get work, but plenty of people will want to steal from you.
Characters, Attributes,
and Skills
In an atmosphere of betrayal and mistrust, there are very few champions, and most folk start out with the same chances in life. Therefore, we suggest the following as a Character Type template. There is one change to the usual rule though . . . points from Drawbacks can be added to Attributes and Drama Points, not just Qualities and Skills.
Cinematic Unisystem
Attributes 15 Qualities 15 Drawbacks Up to 15 Skills 15 Drama Points 15New and Adjusted Skills
Wild Card (Barter)
When things are scarce, real trade often reverts to barter. Money in the frontier can often mean very lit-tle. Paper from some far-off government or bank is no use when you need engine parts, food, and med-ical supplies. The people who need such things often can’t get enough cash together for them anyway. Therefore, you need to come to some arrangement. This skill allows you to haggle and horse trade with dignity and style. While the Influence skill usually governs this sort of thing, it is important enough here to justify being a skill in its own right. It also includes the ability to spot a bargain in the first place.
Using the Skill: Use Intelligence and Wild Card (Barter) to see the worth of the goods on offer. Sometimes hard bargaining requires the use of Willpower. The Director may allow Perception and Wild Card (Barter) to spot a potential bargain. Those without Wild Card (Barter) use Influence – 3.
Spacefarers and Prairie Folk
by Andrew Peregrine
For those using classic Unisystem rules, the following Character Type can be used.
Classic Unisystem
Attributes 20
Qualities 15
Drawbacks Up to 10
Skills 30
Metaphysics purchased with
Quality/Drawback points
Languages
Depending on your style, the languages in the set-ting can vary dramatically. You may wish to have everyone speak the same language, say English. Other Directors may prefer to have a larger variety of spoken languages. For them, we recommend using languages that were pseudo-common in the Old West – English, Chinese, and Spanish. We real-ize there are a whole slew of dialects associated with Chinese and Spanish. Don’t go worrying your pretty head about that, it’s not worth fretting over. If you need more than three languages, throw in French, German, and Russian. That should cover it!
Qualities & Drawbacks
Many of the Qualities and Drawbacks from pub-lished books work just fine for this genre. Some (like Military Rank) may need a little adjustment for the specifics of your world, but are otherwise the same. In this setting, the Age Quality represents twenty years, instead of one hundred years.
New Qualities and Drawbacks
Born with a Silver Spoon 3-point Quality
You have grown up among the rich and powerful, with a proper education. Add +1 to one of your mental attributes, as well as one point in a knowl-edge-related skill and one point in a science-related skill to represent your education. You are also aware of how to behave in more elegant social sit-uations. This means you know how to act and fit in at a high-class shindig, so add +1 to social rolls when in a civilized area. Of course, not everyone on the frontier is glad to see a person from the wealthy planets. In some cases, there might be someone who wants to teach the person with the silver spoon a lesson . . . or two.
Can’t Back Down 4-point Drawback
There are certain things in life you just cannot ignore. Maybe it’s people talking about your ship, or trying to make you drink to the health of the local corrupt governor. Whatever it is, you will never walk away from asking someone to explain her
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Cinematic Unisystem Skill SuggestionsAdjust the Crime Skill to cover electronic lockpicking and security systems.
Change Getting Medieval to Old Style. Change Gun Fu to Gun Play.
Change Kung Fu to Getting Personal.
You may also wish to add the following Skills to your Wild Card Skill list.
Scripture Learning – the holy books can be mighty helpful to some folk.
Cooking – there are no food replicators in this universe.
Dancing – some people ain’t no good at performing, but do like a good hoedown.
Fashion – what the rich folk are wearing. Gossip – what the rich (or poor) folk are talking about.
Gunsmith – a man needs to know how to make his firearms personal.
History - a specific hobby knowledge, like important wars, people, or dinosaurs.
Literature – you may be familiar with the writing that educated people read.
Local Customs – just in case kissing a girl means you have to marry her.
Love Play – the vertical bop and other entertaining activities.
Pilot – whether it’s steering boats, planes, or space vessels, you’ll need this skill to stay afloat.
Ride - staying atop horses and keeping them healthy.
Survival – how to stay alive in the wilder-ness.
World Lore – knowing a particular planet very well.
cusable opinion—no matter how stupid or ill advised it may be. Whether the person in question is a star ship officer or the local drunkard, you cannot leave it alone.
Class Arrogance 2- or 4-point Drawback
You are bigoted about social class in some man-ner. If you are rich, everything on the frontier seems primitive and worthless to you. If you are poor, any-one with many-oney is a wastrel and a loser. For two points, this bigotry shows up in small and annoying ways, which occasionally drops you into trouble. For four points, your friends regularly drag you out of bar fights.
Courtesan 9-point Quality
You trained as a courtesan, a high class and in some parts, a well-respected form of prostitution. You gain +1 to Dexterity and +2 to Perception. You add +2 to rolls to influence folks. You also gain Wild Card (Love Play) at +4. This represents your skill in etiquette, ritual, and sensual arts. Your name may be known to a variety of well-respected clients. These clients may be happy to assist a lady in trouble or in need of business. You may wish to take the Attractiveness Quality as well. However, it is not essential, as a courtesan is an educated entertainer, and much more than a pretty face.
Dazed and Confused 2- or 6-point Drawback
The world is not the same for you as it is for everyone else. Maybe you were born that way, or suffered from terrible mental trauma as a child. For two points, you are rather shy and withdrawn. You suffer a –2 penalty to all social rolls. For six points, you are almost in another world entirely. You suffer –4 to all social rolls and –2 to all perception rolls. You tend to say strange things at odd moments, due to your odd means of reasoning. In addition, at any time the Director may tell you something complete-ly different from what the Director tells the other players. This represents how the world looks
through your confounded brain. This can be as bad as thinking a gun is actually a stick or that your trav-eling companions are old friends from school. You may be able to overcome this flaw with the right medication.
Holy Man/Woman 4-point Quality
You are a priest, maybe a nun, or a missionary, trained in the ways of your religion, and part of a greater religious organization. It is your job to help the souls of the needy in the universe, and out in the frontier there are a lot of needy. You may also be able to count on the help of the church organization to which you belong, but the frontier is often further away than their reach. You gain +1 Perception and +3 total levels to any social-, knowledge-, or lan-guage-related skill. You suffer from the two-point Non-combatant Drawback (for which you don’t get any points back). You gain only four character points if you take the six-point version of that Drawback. Most will treat you with a little more respect if you advertise the fact you are a holy man. Then again, some folks might take offense.
Hunted
2-point/level Drawback
Bad people want you. Maybe you are a criminal, or perhaps a runaway indentured worker. It could also be that bad people want a quiet word with you. The higher the Drawback the more time and effort they will expend, or the more powerful they are, or both.
Mercenary 5-point Quality
You are a mercenary, always looking for a way to earn more money. You might have some kind of ethic you follow (which would make the Honorable Drawback a good choice) or you might walk over dead bodies, even your friends, to get what you want (in which case the Covetous (Greed) Drawback would be a good choice). You receive two free points to place in any of your physical Attributes, one point in a crime-related skill and two points to your ability to use firearms.
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Natural Leader 5-point Quality
You have the ability to inspire people with your leadership. Anyone following a plan you have con-ceived (under your orders) can choose one skill that she will use while carrying out the plan. Any use of this skill during the plan receives a +1 bonus.
Non-Combatant 2- or 6-points
You don’t like getting into fights. Maybe you are scared, or maybe you just don’t like to hurt folks. For two points, you just cannot throw the first punch. You will not fight anyone who hasn’t direct-ly attempted to attack you. Hit by a grenade or other area effect doesn’t count as a reason to fight, unless they throw it at you specifically. For six points, you can never attack someone else, for any reason, even self-defense. Maybe you made a vow or just loathe physical violence. The Director may allow you to overcome this with a Willpower Roll in extreme cir-cumstances – such as your mother will die if you don’t shoot the bad guy.
Ornery
3-point Quality
You are stubborn as a mule. Add one to your Willpower as you are very set in your ways and will rarely change your mind.
Privileged Family Upbringing 4-point Quality
You grew up in the rich worlds, resulting in a good family and breeding. Sometimes your family name will get you help from others of your social class. Your greater education gives you a +2 to any knowl-edge-related skill. You also gain one level of the Resources Quality for no additional cost. You may take this Quality with the Born with a Silver Spoon Quality.
Reputation Good/Bad
2-points/level Quality or Drawback
You are known for something you’ve done (or are thought to have done). If it is a good thing, this is a Quality; if it ain’t so good, it’s a Drawback. The higher the level, the more people know about this reputation, or the bigger the rep is in a smaller area. Note that among some criminals and bad folks, a bad reputation can be an advantage.
Smuggler 3-point Quality
Whether it’s guns, people, or parts, you’re the per-son that folks like for transporting it across restrict-ed space. Not only do you know who has goods to sell, you also know who’s the most likely to pur-chase those goods. Your knowledge may be planet-or system-based, depending on the scope of your campaign. Work with your Director to narrow down your field of employment.
Those with the Smuggler Quality may want to also purchase another occupational Quality to use as a “cover.”
You gain one level in Intelligence, four levels in Contacts (may be split up into multiple Contacts), and three levels of Hard to Kill. You also have three levels of the Adversary (Law) Drawback and two levels of the Hunted Drawback.
Spacecraft
2-points/level Quality
You have a share in the ship the Cast owns. The number of points in this Quality represents your stake in the ship’s ownership. If you are the only one, the ship actually belongs to you. Each level you take in this quality grants one space ship character point to spend on the ship.
Sweet Temperament 3-point Quality
You are just so darn nice and wholesome that folks take kindly to you. Any time you want to influence someone to help you with something or do you a
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favor you gain a +2 bonus. This bonus only applies if you have not tried to fight or intimidate your tar-get or anyone else around recently.
Talented
5-point/skill Quality
You are unnaturally good at a certain skill. You gain a +1 bonus when you use it. In addition, you can always make a roll for anything that may apply to the skill, even if it is something you have no expe-rience in doing. Your natural talent grants you a bet-ter intuition than most. You may also improve your skill level to greater than any usual maximum your Director may apply with experience points.
Technology
1- to 5-point Quality
You own a piece of advanced technology. It could be an advanced laser gun or maybe a piece of med-ical equipment. It could also be a vehicle like a hover car. The cost depends of the item you choose. It’s all bought and legal, but that don’t mean there ain’t no critter gonna try and take it from you.
Psychic Abilities
Another set of abilities you may wish to include in your game is psychic powers. They are a staple of sci-ence fiction, but not so much with the western. There are plenty of ways this can work. You may decide that psychic powers are common. In this case, you can allow players to pick psychic qualities like Telepathy and Telekinesis. On the other hand, if you decide such powers are very rare, you could add a few points to the cost or simply disallow certain powers and limit the amount of levels the players may purchase.
However, psychic abilities need not be something you are born with. You could assume anyone blessed with such psychic power has had someone messing about inside her brain. Likely candidates to perform this insidious activity include the government and corporations. Religious groups or fringe scientists are other choices for developing psychic powers. If this is the case, the experimental victims should have a high Intelligence or Willpower Attribute. You may allow them to use Quality points to raise their
Attribute scores. After all, the brain fiddlers need the best clay to work with.
Sadly, acquiring such rare and potent abilities comes with a price. Allow the player to take Drawbacks as usual for his character, but focus on ones like Dazed and Confused, Recurring
Nightmares, Emotional Problems, Mental
Problems, and Hunted. Playing it very strictly, you may insist that characters must take a few of these Drawbacks to balance out the fact that the character has psychic powers.
When you have figured out how psychics work in your game, there are plenty of powers in Unisystem games for you to choose from, such as Psychic Visions, Pyrokinesis, and Telepathy. You may even invent new abilities, allow characters to improve their abilities, or even gain new powers. You may also allow other powers based on the Unisystem versions of magic and demonic powers.
Cinematic Unisystem Psychic Notes
If you are going with the rare and/or brain rewired theory, you may wish to give psychics a bit of extra luck now and again. You can do this by letting them spend more than the usual num-ber of Drama Points on mental actions, or by giving them random bonuses whenever you see fit. This is not too much of a bonus, as you can apply random penalties and freeze their power at any time within the dictates of your storyline (or personal vindictiveness). Psychic power is a capricious and little understood thing, never an exact science. There may be other powers and flaws that the character discovers because of the rewiring in his brain, but we’ll let you surprise him with that!
Spacecraft
Current Unisystem rules for spacecraft do not exist, and full rules for them could fill an entire tome. However, as sci-fi just is not the same without them, these basic rules should suffice. We are assuming that for this game the Cast Members own a ship. Probably nothing fancy, and even then it cost them all they had. The ship is their lifeline and home all in one. Without it they cannot work, without work they starve. Each job they do must also take into account that the ship needs upkeep and supplies. Feel free to use the ship as a plot device whenever you like. If you want them to go to a certain planet, make sure a part of the engine blows out, a part that can only be replaced where you want them to go. Parts can also make great adventure hooks. They may try to steal an upgrade from a technological planet, or trade for what they want. Some people may offer expensive parts as payment for services rendered. Often a rare part is worth more than any cash settlement. Parts are expensive after all, so feel free to charge them a vast percentage of their profits for supplies and repairs as well. However, do let them hit pay dirt occasionally, otherwise, they’ll all settle down to a life of farming.
Spacecraft are created with space ship character points, through the Spacecraft Quality. The total lev-els the players purchase in this Quality represent the number of points they may spend on their ship. If a character did not take the Spacecraft Quality, he has no points to add and theoretically no say in where they are spent. He also has no share in ownership of the craft. The Spacecraft Quality points represent the
money each character invested in buying the ship in the first place. Sometimes, these points do not repre-sent a financial stake the character has in a ship, but more of an emotional one. An engineer who rebuilt the engines single-handedly could use the Spacecraft Quality to represent his investment of time and love.
Ship Size
The first thing to spend points on is the size of the ship. The size rating is (obviously) how big your ship is. It also establishes a base number for many other calculations about the ship, such as the crew required and cargo space.
For every two full points of size the ship has, it requires one Crew Unit. Each unit consists of one operational crewman and one technical crewman. Simply put, this means one pilot and one engineer. On larger ships, the operational crew may also be navigators, damage control officers, or operations managers. Additional technical crew are usually just more engineers. Ship Size 0 or below requires just one crewman skilled in both disciplines. When assigning points to the ship’s size, ensure that the ship is small enough so that the players have enough crew to fly it, and that it is big enough for them all to live in it.
Any ship can comfortably house five people for each point of the size rating. Housing means giving everyone a room and carrying enough food for a long trip for everyone. If things are desperate, a ship can carry twice that many people if folks can stand to double up, and eat a lot less. However, that will be a very long trip for everyone involved.
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The amount of Cargo Units in a ship is equal to twice the ship’s size. The cargo needs its space. You should rate cargo in units based on its bulk. Therefore, a unit of cows is not nearly as valuable as a unit of diamonds. A unit of cows is probably just one cow, whereas a unit of diamonds is a whole box full. Obviously, the unit of diamonds is the better deal, but finding a full cargo unit of such things is very rare. However, if a man has a whole heap of cows he needs moving and the characters have a large cargo hold, the job is a good one. There is often nothing to stop characters from taking on different cargos at the same time though, if space is available.
Ship Size General Example
-2 One/two-man shuttle (shuttle
pod on Star Trek)
-1 Small five-man shuttle (shuttle
craft on Firefly) 0
1 (Jubal Early’s ship on Firefly;
Slave 1 from Star Wars) 2
3 Average cargo trader (Serenity
on Firefly; Millennium Falcon in Star Wars)
4
5 Large freighter/attack ship
(Reaver Ship on Firefly; Liberator on Blakes 7)
6 7
8 Large cruiser (USS Enterprise
D in Star Trek) 9
10 Battle cruiser (Alliance cruiser
on Firefly; star destroyer on Star Wars)
There are more things on which to spend your Spacecraft Quality points. You determine what the players can buy. You may veto certain Qualities if they do not fit the campaign world. You may also rule the ship is not big enough for certain equipment. For instance, a fully equipped medical center is never going to fit onto a shuttle, no matter how many points the players spend.
Spaceship Equipment
Weapons
5-, 10-, or 15-point Quality
5 You have some form of weapon the pilot
can fire.
10 Pilot weapon and one gun turret.
15 Pilot weapon and 2 gun turrets.
Sensors and Electronics Variable Quality or Drawback
–2 Very bad, blind as a bat most days
0 Stuff works
+2 Good Stuff
+4 Excellent Stuff
Engine
Variable Quality or Drawback
–2 Very Slow Engine
0 Normal Engine
+3 Fast Engine
Extra Cargo Space 1-point Quality
Each point in this Quality allows you to take another unit of cargo. You may not have a higher rat-ing than 1.5 times your ship’s usual cargo unit ratrat-ing.
Hiding Places 3- or 7-point Quality
You have secret places to store cargo. For three points, you can hide one unit of cargo. For seven points, you can store two units of cargo.
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Medical BayVariable Quality or Drawback
–2 Not even so much as a bed for the
injured.
0 You have a first aid kit here somewhere.
+2 You have a medical room, with a bed and
a first aid kit.
+4 You have a fully equipped medical bay.
+8 High tech bay for multiple patients.
Stealth Technology 10-point Quality
You are not cloaked, but you can fool most sen-sors that your ship is not there. You are fine as long as no one looks out of the window.
Emergency Measures
Variable Quality or Drawback
–5 None
–2 A couple of fire extinguishers, maybe
one space suit.
0 Extinguishers and suits for everyone.
+2 As above, but also for guests.
+4 State of the art damage control and evacu
-ation equipment (excellent fire suppres-sion systems, safety back ups, materials that don’t burn or give off fumes when on fire, fully equipped lifeboats with survival rations, and plenty of space suits for every-one).
Space Combat
A full system for actual space combat is again beyond the scope of this article. The detail we have provided for spacecraft is mainly to allow you to describe the vehicle the characters use to get where they are going. However, eventually they are going to run into trouble.
During space combat, the pilot uses his Wild Card (Pilot) skill to attempt evasive maneuvers. Gunners use the appropriate skill (Gun Play or Wild Card (Heavy Weapons)) to fire the ship’s weapons (if it
has any). The pilots of all opposing ships roll their Wild Card (Pilot) skill to see who has the best posi-tion. The ship’s engines modify the roll according to their cost. Whichever ship gets the highest roll is the one in the best position, and gets to fire at its chosen target. In turn, according to the result of their pilot-ing skill roll, all gunners on all other ships get to roll to hit their targets. Damage is applied. Then the Wild Card (Pilot) skill is rolled again.
Shields are too high tech for a true western sci-fi game. Therefore, whenever a ship takes fire, damage occurs. Assume a ship can be hit as many times as it has size points before things go badly wrong. For each hit after that, a critical system fails. This requires an engineer or technician to attempt a repair roll to get it going again. However, if the same sys-tem takes damage a second time, the repair rolls suf-fer a -5 penalty. If the system is hit a third time, it is irreparable without new parts, time, and a complete overhaul in a spaceport. To see which system takes damage, roll on the Ship Damage Table.
Ship Damage Table
Roll 1D10
1 Life Support.
2-3 Engines.
4 Medical Facilities.
5 Drive Controls (Steering).
6 Weapons (or sensors if you are
unarmed).
7-8 Cargo space (destroys 1 cargo unit
rather than requires repair).
9 Crew Quarters (destroys random
possessions rather than requires repair).
10 Food and Supplies storage (when
“destroyed” there are none left).
Once a ship has taken twice its size points in dam-age, it is no more than debris. At that point, the char-acters had better have space suits on.
New Weapons
We could list all manner of equipment and weapons. However, just a few will have to do you. There are plenty of high tech devices in the Slayer’s Handbook (for the Buffy the Vampire Slayer roleplay-ing game), Armageddon, and the Terra Primate Apeopolis Apeworld that you’ll find useful. These things should remain rare and valuable; you can cre-ate them as you need for plot devices and goodies for villains. However, do remember that villain’s toys have a habit of being stolen by Cast Members. Consider yourself forewarned.
To keep you going, here are some quick sugges-tion for the sort of weapons you may allow in your game. Damage is how much they hurt. Clip is the number of shots they fire before needing to be reloaded. Range is whether they use the pistol or rifle distances.
Hand Laser/Blaster: This high-tech weapon sees common use on rich planets. The weapon has only a few shots but the ones it fires count. It essentially fires explosive plasma, which packs quite a punch. However, the range is short and it gets mighty hot if damaged.
Damage: 18 Clip: 6 Range: Pistol
Standard Peacemaker Pistol: These guns are everywhere. They have a good range and are highly accurate (unlike their original namesake). They are also as cheap as the ammunition they require, mak-ing them the weapon of choice for the career merce-nary. The guns fire bullets from a rotating cylinder like a revolver, but they also store ammunition like an automatic. This reduces reload time considerably.
Damage: 14 Clip: 12 Range: Pistol
Heavy Pistol: Some folks just got to have a big-ger gun than anyone else.
Damage: 22 Clip: 12 Range: Pistol
Plasma Assault Rifle: This is a very nasty piece of equipment. It fires bullets that are also sealed plasma explosives, getting the best of both worlds. It also has a large magazine, sights, and stabilizers. A gun like this could easily becomes a mercenary’s favorite. Many people have names for theirs, like Betsy for instance.
Damage: 30 Clip: 20 Range: Rifle
Happy Trails
So, there you have it, partner. While we could go on for a lot longer, this should get you started on your own wild west in space campaign. From here, there is a wealth of adventure ideas if you know where to look. Almost any science fiction game should gener-ate ideas for adventure hooks that involve travelling to other worlds. Once the characters get to those other worlds, you can find things to keep them occu-pied in any good western game. Try to give every aspect of life in the universe a western theme. Plates and mugs are plain and functional, often made of cheap metals like tin. Folks gather to eat at wooden tables, even in a spacecraft. People in frontier worlds are often prejudiced against outsiders who do not share their ways. Community is important to every-one, whether a ship’s crew or a group of settlers. Finally, hardship comes as standard in all but the most privileged lives. Rich folk are somehow differ-ent and above the commoners. Those born into fron-tier life live in a world where people die of hunger and want when crops fail or medicines are scarce.
This is the life the characters are trying to avoid. Their ship gives them the chance to aim for some-thing better than most other folks do. Life is hard for them too, but if they are out in space, they have the chance to forge their own destiny, and not fall prey to the elements or the hardships of settler life. That is all any of them really ask, the chance to make their own lives.
Even if it takes a gun to let them keep flying.
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Useful Resources
Roleplaying GamesAny Unisystem Corebook - for rules, equipment, and a whole lot more.
Fistful O’ Zombies – for genre, lingo, style, and rules.
Slayer’s Handbook – for it’s invaluable Wild West background.
Deadlands – full of western adventure ideas. GURPS Wild West and GURPS Space – good gen-eral source material for both aspects of the game.
Traveller (in all its various forms) – a good low tech space game.
Werewolf Wild West – a good Wild West resource.
Comics & Novels
The Last Shot (4 issues and a preview) – good mixture of high tech manga and western.
The Saint of Killers (& Preacher) – bad times in the old west.
Films & TV
Any western film will supply style that you can apply to your game. Some (like Outland) are space versions of old westerns, which help show how to mix the two. Definitely watch Stagecoach, the John Ford version with John Wayne! Actually, anything directed by John Ford is good, as are most John Wayne films. You may also want to look at anything directed by Akira Kurasawa. Even though he made Samurai films, he was heavily influenced by the Hollywood western. His films Yojimbo and The Seven Samurai became A Fistful of Dollars and The Magnificent Seven respectively. Another film, Rashomon, was made into a western staring William Shatner! A look at Kurasawa’s films shows how to use western themes in a very non-western story.
Also check out:
High Noon - Gary Cooper goes out to face the bad guys alone.
Outland - Sean Connery does Gary Cooper in this version of High Noon in space.
Battle Beyond the Stars – a not bad attempt to do The Magnificent Seven in space.
Tombstone, Wyatt Earp, Young Guns (1&2) -modern western movies with a less romantic idea about the old west.
Farscape (all 4 seasons) – which had its own share of wild west style and frontier life amidst the high tech.
Shane - Any episode of this classic western will do.
Star Wars – while it has a mix of genres, it is easy to spot the western genre in the melee.
Blazing Saddles & Carry on Cowboy – western themes, but mainly because they are funny.
Firefly – science fiction and western, consider it essential viewing.
“Living in Harmony” - a western episode of The Prisoner, useful for mind games.
“A Fistful of Datas” - Star Trek fun on the holodeck with a western theme.
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Str
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Int
3
Dex 4
Per
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Con 2
Wil
2
Qualities
Attractiveness +3 (3) Courtesan (8) Reputation (Good) 2 (4) Resources (Wealthy) (3)Drawbacks
Class Arrogance (2)Covetous (Mild Conspicuousness) (1) Non-combatant (2)
Skills
Acrobatics 3 Art 2 Computer 1 Crime 0 Drive 0 Getting Personal 0 Gun Play 0 Influence 5 Knowledge 3 Languages 2 Medical 2 Mr. Fix-it 0 Notice 2 Old Style 1 Pilot 0 Science 0Wild Card (Barter) 3 Wild Card (Love Play) 4
Background on the Courtesan
It takes more than beauty to impress the Academy. A courtesan is no mere doxy or strumpet. Sex is a small part of the job we do. We are trained to be companions for our clients - not playthings. As such, we are educated to understand almost every aspect of life, allowing us to relate to our clients’ troubles, whether physical or mental. We also learn how they can be rested, calmed, excited, and on occasion manipulated.
Unfortunately, the rich are concerned only with money and their own meaningless social games. Few see me as anything more than a commodity to be bought and sold, rather than a professional. Out here in the frontier, I’ll not find a man as dashing or refined. Yet, I need not worry about the poli-tics of the rich, either.
Quote
“How dare you! No whore could charge the sort of prices I do, or be worth every penny.”
Roleplaying the
Courtesan
People come to you for the company of a beautiful and educated companion. Sex isn’t always what is important, as you offer an intimate way for a person to relax. While you very much wish to fall in love, you have been hurt before. One day, you may learn that honor, honesty, and bravery are just as attractive qualities, per-haps, more so.
Courtesan
Life Points 26 Drama Points 10
Combat Maneuvers
Maneuver Bonus Base Damage Notes
Dodge 7 – Defense action
Knife 5 4 Stash, slab
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Dex 5
Per
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Con 4
Wil
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Qualities
Artist (2) Hard to Kill 3 (3) Mercenary (5) Nerves of Steel (3) Situational Awareness (2)Drawbacks
Can’t Back Down (4) Covetous (Serious Greed) (2) Mental Problems (Mild Cruelty) (1) Ornery (3)
Skills
Acrobatics 3 Art 4 Computer 1 Crime 4 Drive 1 Getting Personal 4 Gun Play 5 Influence 0 Knowledge 0 Languages 0 Medical 1 Mr. Fix-it 1 Notice 4 Old Style 1 Science 0Wild Card (Barter) 1 Wild Card (Pilot) 1
Background on the
Mercenary Gunslinger
My folks were the local law in our town. They were saving up money so that I could
go off-world to college. I might have too, except the Barlow gang came to town and
shot my parents dead. Ma and Pa had put two of the gang in jail. Four other Barlows busted them out and they all came looking for revenge. There was no warning. They just rode into town one day and riddled the sher-iff station with bullets. After I buried
them, I picked up a gun and went after the gang, becoming a bounty hunter.
When I started doing the work, I had high morals, but life has a way of stealing your morals from you. Out on the frontier, you do what work you can. I didn’t just run out and start killing folk, these things take time. One day someone
gets in the way and you shoot him. Eventually, you start reasoning that some
bad guys are better off dead. If someone had done in the Barlow gang, my folks
would still be around today.
I hired onto this crappy ship with this weird bunch of crewmates. The Captain keeps giving me a fair share of the proceeds, and I keep offering my skills. It’s a good arrangement, no complications.
Quote
“I’m not all bad; I do good deeds if the money’s right.”
Mercenary Gunslinger
Life Points 51 Drama Points 10
Combat Maneuvers
Maneuver Bonus Base Damage Notes
Dodge 9 - Defense action
Knife 6 8 Slash/stab
Peacemaker 10 14 Bullet
Punch 9 8 Bash
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Int
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Dex 4
Per
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Con 2
Wil
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Qualities
Fast Reaction Time (2) Good Luck 2 (2) Spacecraft 1 (2) Situational Awareness (2) Sweet Temperament (3) Talented (Pilot) (5)
Drawbacks
Honorable 2 (2)Skills
Acrobatics 1 Art 0 Computer 2 Crime 0 Drive 3 Getting Personal 1 Gun Play 1 Influence 0 Knowledge 0 Languages 2 Medical 0 Mr. Fix-it 2 Notice 3 Old Style 0 Science 1Wild Card (Pilot) 4
Background on the Pilot
I never did like being on the ground as a child. When I was accepted into flight school, I was completely amazed, yet disappointed at the
same time. Flight school was just too expen-sive and I was just a farm girl. I could never attend, but when I wrote to the school to tell
them, they said I had enough talent to quali-fy for sponsorship.
Flight school was amazing, but the peo-ple were horrible. The rich kids didn’t
liked being beaten by a farm girl. I quali-fied as a fighter pilot well ahead of the
others, but didn’t take up the position the military offered me. I knew the people
would be the same as those in flight school, all money and fancy ways.
Quote
“Sorry it’s a bumpy ride, Captain, but asteroid storms on full burn are tricky.”
Roleplaying the
Pilot
You are a just a sweet girl who just likes to fly. You have some
of the best training and recom-mendations that anyone could want; you could have had your
pick of work. However, you didn’t want to be shoe-horned into some military
hierarchy, or hang out with jock pilots who thought
they were better than everyone else. You just need to fly, and this ship and her crew let you do
that just fine.
Pilot
Life Points 26 Drama Points 10
Combat Maneuvers
Maneuver Bonus Base Damage Notes
Dodge 5 - Defense action
Hand Blaster 5 18 Bash
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Dex 2
Per
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Con 3
Wil
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Qualities
Contacts (2) Good Luck (2) Holy Man (4) Honorable (2) Talented (Mr. Fix-it) (5)Drawbacks
Non-combatant (6)Skills
Acrobatics 0 Art 0 Computer 2 Crime 0 Drive 2 Getting Personal 1 Gun Play 0 Influence 2 Knowledge 3 Languages 2 Medical 0 Mr. Fix-it 4 Notice 3 Old Style 0 Science 1Wild Card (Barter) 1 Wild Card (Pilot) 1
Wild Card (Scripture Learning) 3
Background on the Preacher
Engineer
In the monastery, if a thing needed fixing, you did it yourself or it stayed broken. We offered services to local people as well, who were very glad to have things fixed for the cost of a simple meal.
Gold brought hundreds of company men who threw everyone out of their
homes. Whole families were moved off-world. I looked after the families
as best I could, but very few had any more use for a preacher. Gradually the community separated as work was found. In time, my flock left me behind. They say God provides. Well, He doesn’t put food in your mouth. I needed work, and took it on the first ship that would have me aboard.
I’ve fallen in with a bunch of crimi-nal. I wonder if I left God behind, or if he’s been following me all this time;
just waiting for me to turn round and see him again.
Quote
“No, prayer won’t fix the engine; I can do that without God. I’m saving my prayers for this ridiculous plan.”
Roleplaying the
Preacher Engineer
You are not the typical preach-er, or technician. You see
peo-ple and engines in the same light. You followed
what you thought God wanted of you, and
things worked out. God left you when you needed him most, and you were angry for a time.
Preacher Engineer
Life Points 30 Drama Points 10
Combat Maneuvers
Maneuver Bonus Base Damage Notes
Dodge 3 – Defense action
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Qualities
Attractiveness +2 (2) Criminal (2) Eidetic Memory (2) Good Luck 5 (5)Resources (Middle Class) (2) Situational Awareness (2)
Drawbacks
Covetous (Serious Greed) (2)
Covetous (Serious
Conspicuousness) (2)
Mental Problems (Serious
Recklessness) (2)
Skills
Acrobatics 3 Art 1 Computer 1 Crime 4 Drive 1 Getting Personal 1 Gun Play 1 Influence 2 Knowledge 0 Languages 0 Medical 0 Mr Fix-it 0 Notice 3 Old Style 0 Science 0 Wild Card (Barter) 2 Wild Card (Card Games) 4 Wild Card (Pilot) 1Background on the Saloon Girl
When I was a little girl, I loved to dance. Aunt Sally worked in a saloon, and
every now and then I could visit her. I’d sit quietly by the stage in
the evening and watch the danc-ing. Sure, it wasn’t very proper,
and if Aunt Sally had told my parents she let me watch I’d not have been allowed to visit
again.
When I hit sixteen, I joined up with a group of travelling dancing girls. I love the life and it’s taught me a few new skills. I learned how to play a little poker. My innocent
routine lasts long enough to clean out a table. There is always someplace to see,
always a saloon needing a dancing girl, always a few marks drunk in the
saloons.
Quote
“Surely you kind gentlemen have space in your game for me. I’ve always wanted to learn poker.”
Roleplaying the
Saloon Girl
You are a bit of a wild child. You love to dance and scam.
Life is out there for the taking, and you want it all. You could
join a ship just to get to the next job or stay to fleece
them of their cash. As long as they can take you
somewhere new and show you something you haven’t experi-enced, you may just stay and help them out.
Saloon Girl
Life Points 30 Drama Points 10
Combat Maneuvers
Maneuver Bonus Base Damage Notes
Dodge 5 – Defense action
Holdout Gun 5 12 Bullet
Punch 5 4 Bash
Kick 4 6 Bash
