Forgotten Futures

These rules are an expansion of the summary originally converted to HTML by Stefan Matthias Aust, to whom many thanks.

Files on the disk include larger versions of the game tables, and a summary of these rules.

0.0 Introduction
0.1 Example of Play
0.2 Game Requirements
0.3 Game Terms
0.4 Acknowledgements
1.0 Characters And Rules
1.1 Character Points
1.1.1 Equipment and Notes, Weapons, etc.
1.1.2 Sample Character Record
1.2 Characteristics
1.2.1 Using Characteristics
1.2.2 Improving The Odds
1.2.3 Common Characteristics Rolls
1.3 Skills
1.3.1 Using Skills
1.3.2 Temporary Skills
1.3.3 Projects
1.3.4 Improving Skills
1.3.5 Adding Skills
1.3.6 Free Skills
1.3.7 Skill list
1.4 Wounds
1.4.1 Medical Skills, Recovery, & Death
1.5 Combat
1.5.1 Combat Round
1.5.2 Resolving attacks
1.5.3 Armour
1.5.4 Weapons
1.5.5 Non-combat injuries
1.6 Animal, Vegetable, Mineral
1.6.1 Animals
1.6.2 Plants
1.6.3 Everything else
2.0 Role Playing
3.0 Running Adventures
3.1 Setting The Scene
3.2 Plot
3.3 Non-Player Characters
3.4 Props

4.0 The Game World
5.0 The Adventure
6.0 Coming Attractions

APPENDIX A Units, Currency, and Dates
APPENDIX B Some other game systems
APPENDIX C About the author
APPENDIX D Sources
APPENDIX E Children and Animals

0.0 Introduction

What will the future be like? Every generation has its own set of ideas and predictions. At the turn of this century most pundits thought that the mighty power of steam and electricity would usher in a new age of peace and prosperity. In the fifties the future was mostly seen as doom, gloom, and nuclear destruction. In the nineties we are obsessed with computers, and convinced that the future will revolve around information technology. Each of the earlier views was valid for its era; each was at least partially wrong. By looking at earlier guesses we may be able to discover what is wrong with our own vision of the future - and make even worse mistakes when we try to correct it!

Forgotten Futures is a role playing game based on these discarded possibilities; the futures that could never have been, and the pasts that might have led to them. Other files in this collection contain stories and a world book (which contains more information on scientific romances in general, and on a particular setting for the game) this file contains the rules for the game.

Role playing games (usually shortened to RPGs) are story-telling games. One player is the referee who runs the game, and has an idea of what is to happen in the story, while the other players run characters in the story. Characters are defined by a name, a description, and a list of characteristics (such as 'Strength') and skills (such as 'Marksman'). Players describe the actions of their characters, while the referee describes everyone and everything they encounter. This may sound like an impossible job, but it's easy if players are prepared to co-operate.

The Forgotten Futures rules work well when dealing with the activities of normal people, but won't easily stretch to deal with magic, superhuman powers, and the like. While Forgotten Futures 4 does have some simple magic rules, detailed in the worldbook, they are only appropriate to a narrow genre of supernatural fiction. If you want to incorporate these topics more widely you might be better off with another game system, such as one of those mentioned in APPENDIX B. Most of the source and adventure material in this collection can easily be converted to other games. You are still asked to register as a user if you find the collection useful, even if you don't like these rules.

One aspect of the Forgotten Futures rules may annoy players who prefer high levels of violence; it is easy to get hurt or killed in all forms of weapon-based combat, it takes a long time to recover if you are wounded, and most wounds require medical treatment. This seems more realistic than the systems offered by some other RPGs, in which a character can be shot three or four times and still come back for more. If you dislike this approach please feel free to amend the injury system, but please DO NOT distribute modified rules.

0.1 Example of Play

Bert:  The airship is starting to rock from side to side, and
       pitching up and down in the cross winds from the hurricane.

Eric:  I'll try to steer towards the eye of the storm. We'll drift
       with it until it ends.

Bert:  How do you know where the eye is?

Eric:  In this hemisphere storms spin anticlockwise. If I veer to
       the left, sorry, I mean port, while moving with the wind, I
       should go towards the eye.
       [Eric isn't sure, but it sounds plausible and is the sort of
       thing a real pilot would know. Bert isn't sure either, but
       knows that 'Kirk' should understand these things.]

Bert:  Make your 'Pilot' roll, difficulty six.

Eric:  [Rolls dice and consults table]
       No problemo. Gritting my teeth, I wrestle with the wheel and
       force the dirigible to its new heading.

Aaron: I pick up my pocket phono-recorder, slip in a new wax
       cylinder, and describe the captain's desperate duel with the
       elements.

Bert:  Good idea, except you're still feeling airsick in the aft
       cabin and don't know what he's doing.

Aaron: I'll dictate a mood piece about airsickness instead. Let's
       see, how many different synonyms for the word "vomit" can I
       use...
       [starts to write list]

Judy:  Ugh. Don't read it out loud.

Bert:  Definitely not.

Judy:  Once we're moving with the wind there should be less
       turbulence.

Bert:  Yes, after a few minutes things seem to be getting quieter.

Judy:  Kirk cut his head when the windscreen broke, didn't he?

Bert:  You weren't in the control room, but yes he did.

Judy:  Then I'll go forward and bandage Kirk's wounds.

Bert:  I suppose he calls for your help through the speaking tube?
       Otherwise you wouldn't know.
       [Bert suggests this to keep the game moving. Players usually
       do better if their characters are together.]

Eric:  Yes, as soon as things calm down enough to let go of the
       wheel for a few seconds.

Aaron: In that case I should feel better, so I'll tag along.

Bert:  Roll for luck, to be there at the right time ..um...
       difficulty three.
       [Aaron rolls a 2, a success]
       OK, you get up and stagger forward in time to meet her.

Judy:  I bat my eyelashes and ask him to carry my first aid kit.

Aaron: [speaking as Horace] Delighted to help, Miss Hickey.

Bert:  You reach the bridge. Kirk is still at the wheel, and his
       forehead and arm are obviously badly gashed.

Judy:  [as Ella Mae] Mah hero, you've saved us all!

Eric:  [as Kirk] Shucks, it was nothing ma'am.

Aaron: [mimes speaking to recorder] Headline, Heroic But Modest
       Captain Defies Wounds In Hurricane Drama. Subhead, Southern
       Belle Angel Of Mercy. First paragraph: Captain Kirk T. James
       of the Confederate Zeppelin squadron today denied.. blah,
       blah, for a few paragraphs.

Judy:  While he dictates I'll bandage the wounds.

Bert:  Make a First Aid roll, difficulty four as he's lost a lot of
       blood.

Eric:  Hey, I thought you said it was just cuts and bruises.

Bert:  You didn't get her help straight away, and you've been
       bleeding for quite a while. It's now a flesh wound.
       [In this game prompt First Aid stops wounds getting worse,
       untreated wounds sometimes lead to additional damage. Some
       recovery time (and optionally the help of a doctor) is
       needed to restore health.]

Judy:  Oh mah hero, let me tend to these awful cuts.
       [Rolls dice successfully]

Eric:  Shucks, Ma'am, it's only a flesh wound. Ah feel better
       already.

Bert:  Apart from bandages around your head and your left arm in a
       sling. You'll be walking wounded for at least a week.

Eric:  Ouch.

Judy:  When I pack my first aid kit afterwards I'll use my spy
       camera to take a picture of the maps on the bridge.

Bert:  The camera concealed in your hat? It's the first chance
       you've had to use it, isn't it?

Judy:  Uh-oh. Yes, it is. I have a bad feeling about this...

Bert:  There's a loud whirring click, and the artificial flower at
       the front flaps out of the way, like the door of a cuckoo
       clock. The lens pops out on a concertina bellows and clicks,
       then retracts again. It takes two seconds.

Eric:  Wow, really subtle. Do I notice this?
       [Eric (the player) knows that Judy's character is a spy, but
       Kirk (his character) is unaware of Ella Mae's real identity.
       A little schizophrenia is sometimes needed in an RPG]

Bert:  Roll to notice. You too, Aaron. Difficulty six, I think,
       since her back is turned.

Eric:  [rolls dice] Rats - missed it.

Bert:  Drowned out by the noise of the wind, perhaps.

Aaron: [rolls dice] Using my Detective skill I spot it, I think.
       [Horace is a reporter, so this skill (improved observational
       abilities) is naturally very useful]

Bert:  Yes. What are you going to do about it?

Aaron: Nothing for now. It confirms what I thought when I saw her
       near the Marconi transmitter yesterday. I'll wait until we
       land, then try to get her to talk. An interview with a
       beautiful Yankee spy should sell a lot of papers!

Bert:  Good thinking. Now, you seem to be in fairly clear air, and
       something big has just flown past the windscreen.

Judy:  Another Zeppelin?

Bert:  You're not too sure, but it looked like a pterodactyl....

In this example male players took male roles, and the female player took a female role. This is advisable if they feel uncomfortable playing a character of the opposite sex, but there is no other reason why players shouldn't run characters of different sexes, races, nationalities, or even species. The referee needs to take on a wide variety of roles, which will probably take in all of the above as a campaign progresses. At a few points in these rules it has been convenient to use the term "him" or "her" when describing something that is equally applicable to either sex. This is not meant to imply that either sex should be excluded from any activity.

0.2 Game Requirements

0.3 Game Terms

1D6

Roll one dice (one die if you feel pedantic)

2D6

Roll two dice and add the numbers

BODY

A characteristic, often abbreviated as B.

MIND

A characteristic, often abbreviated as M.

SOUL

A characteristic, often abbreviated as S.

Effect

Numerical rating used to calculate the damage caused by weapons and other forms of attack.

Average of..

Add two numbers (eg characteristics) and divide by two. Round UP if the result is a fraction. Usually abbreviated as Av, eg AvB&S

Half of..

Divide a number (usually a characteristic) by two and round up. Usually shown as /2, eg B/2

Half average..

Some skills are based on half the average of two characteristics. Add the characteristics, then divide by 4, then round up. Eg AvB&S/2

+1

Add 1 to a dice roll or other number.

+2

Add 2 to a dice roll or other number.

-1

Subtract 1 from a dice roll or other number.

-2

Subtract 2 from a dice roll or other number.

2+, 3+, etc.

2 or more, 3 or more, etc.

Round

A flexible period of time during which all PCs and NPCs can perform actions. In combat a round is a few seconds, in other situations it might be a few minutes or hours.

Optional Rule

This means exactly what it sounds like; something that can be tacked onto the game if you want to use it, but isn't essential for play. Usually optional rules add extra realism, but make life harder for players or the referee, or involve complexities which you may wish to avoid.

FF

Forgotten Futures (what else?)

FF1, 2, etc.

Forgotten Futures 1 etc.

0.4 Acknowledgements

Numerous playtesters helped to develop the system or commented on its flaws. There are too many to name, my thanks to all.

Finally, literally dozens of people were helpful, supportive, and/or sympathetic to the ideas of this game, or encouraged its development. Again there are too many to name.

1.0 Characters And Rules

 Forgotten Futures Character Record


 Player Name    ___________________________________________ 


 Character Name ___________________________________________ 


 Profession     _______________________________Sex___Age___ 


 Characteristics   Skills


 BODY   [ ]        ________________________________________ 


 MIND   [ ]        ________________________________________ 


 SOUL   [ ]        ________________________________________ 


 Bonus  [ ]   Notes & Equipment


 __________________________________________________________ 


 __________________________________________________________ 


 Weapon       Mult?     Effect      A    B    C


 __________________________________________________________ 


 __________________________________________________________ 


 __________________________________________________________ 


 Wounds  B[ ] F[ ] I[ ] I[ ] C[ ]

A larger version of this record is provided as a separate page.

Players should record their names and the name (including any title or rank), sex, and age of the character. They may wish to give their characters aristocratic or military names and rank, academic honours, and the like; the referee must decide if this will cause problems.

Sex (Male or Female, and [optionally] sexual orientation) may be important in some game settings. Most scientific romances are based on ideas current in the early 20th century, and there are very few prominent female characters, apart from swooning maidens and an occasional competent scientist's daughter. It is rare to see a woman attain any influential business or academic status. In this setting a male adventurer is probably most useful. In a civilisation derived from a successful suffragette revolt women might have all the power, with men down-trodden or enslaved. In most scientific romance settings homosexual characters will encounter severe social problems.

Age is usually unimportant; exceptionally young or old characters may be at a social disadvantage, otherwise there is no effect in game terms.

For "profession", write in something appropriate to the game setting; the referee should tell players if they have made an unsuitable choice. Since this collection is based on a very broad background almost anything might be useful.

Try to avoid professional ranks that will give players too much power, or restrict them too badly. A member of the Royal family is an example of both; someone accompanied by three or four detectives and a small army of servants can't personally be very adventurous. Wealthy characters are perfectly acceptable, but should not be able to buy their way out of every problem. Avoid occupations that restrict character freedom and mobility; an obvious example is a slave or a serf, but a clerk with no money, a businessman with a full work schedule, or a mother tied down by young children aren't much better off.

Example: Lady Janet Smedley-Smythe-Smythe
In a world whose science is based on H.G. Wells' "The First Men In The Moon", Lady Janet is an eccentric explorer who defies the normal limits of her sex. She has participated in a series of daring interplanetary expeditions, using the latest model of Cavorite sphere-ship. She is single, 25 years old, and extremely rich. Her profession is recorded as "Immensely Wealthy Eccentric". The referee has no problem with this, because he wants the campaign to move between worlds, and sphere-ships are very expensive. Lady Janet and her adventures are used to illustrate these rules.

The next sections of the form are completed using character points.

1.1 Character Points

  Value     1      2      3      4      5      6      7*

  Cost      Free   2      3      5      7     10     14*

  * At the discretion of the referee ONLY.

Skill          Value    Notes
-----------------------------
Actor          AvM&S    Any form of stage performance.
Artist         AvM&S    Any artistic endeavour.
Athlete        B        Swimming, running, etc.
Babbage Engine M        Use also for computers, golems, etc.
Brawling       B *      Boxing, wrestling, & improvised weapons.
Business       M        Any financial or organisational work.
Detective      AvM&S    Good at noticing small details.
Doctor         M/2      Knowledge and licence to practice.
Driving        AvB&M    Any ground vehicle.
First Aid      M        Emergency treatment to stop bleeding.
Linguist       M #      Covers reading, writing, speaking, etc.
Marksman       M        Use of directly aimed projectile weapons.
Martial Arts   AvB&S/2  Any martial art. Allows multiple attacks.
Mechanic       M        Any form of engineering etc.
Medium         S/2      A genuine medium, not a fake.
Melee Weapon   AvB&M    All close range non-projectile weapons
Military Arms  M        Use of field guns, explosives, etc.
Morse Code     M        Knowledge of Morse and telegraphy.
Pilot          AvB&M/2  Use for aircraft, submersibles, etc.
Psychology     AvM&S    Use to spot lies, calm people, etc.
Riding         AvB&S    Riding all animals, and training them.
Scholar        M $      Detailed knowledge of specialised topics.
Scientist      M        Use of any science.
Stealth        B/2 *    Hiding, camouflage, sneaking, etc.
Thief          AvB&M/2  Pick pockets, locksmith, forgery, etc.

  * Free at base value
  # Characters with the Linguist skill initially know Linguist/2
    languages (round UP). For example, Linguist [5] begins with 3
    languages known.

  $ Scholars have knowledge of Scholar/2 related fields (round UP);
    eg., Scholar (Archaeologist, Antiques, Ancient Egypt) [5]

Forgotten Futures Character Record



Player Name     _SAMPLE____________________________________

Character Name  _Lady Janet Smedley-Smythe-Smythe__________

Profession      _Incredibly rich eccentric explorer________



Characteristics Skills

BODY    [3]     Business [5], Scientist [6], First_____

MIND    [4]     Aid [5], Marksman [6], Athlete [4],____

SOUL    [4]     Brawling [3], Riding [5], Stealth [2]__



Bonus   [0]     Notes & Equipment



Owns numerous factories, houses, flats, cars, Cavorite

sphere-ship. Carries £50 gold, £1500 gems, Derringer,

laudanum, smelling salts. Keeps shotguns, rifles, and

other supplies aboard sphere-ship and in some of her homes.

Laboratories in mansion and sphere-ship.



Weapon          Mult?   Effect  A       B       C

Fist            No      3       B       B       KO

Kick            No      3       B       B       F

Wrestle	        No      3       B       KO      KO/I

Derringer       Max 2   4       F       F       I/C

Hunting rifle   No      7       F       I       C/K

Large shotgun   Max 2   7       F       I       C/K  1 barrel

       "        No      14*/7   I       C       K    2 barrels

                * Short range only

Wounds       B[]  F[]  I[]  I[]   C[]

1.2 Characteristics

BODY represents general physique, well-being, stamina, and speed. If characters expect to spend a lot of time in combat, or performing manual labour, BODY should be high. Inanimate objects also have BODY. BODY is NOT necessarily indicative of size or weight; it's possible for something to be physically small or light and still have high BODY, or big and have low BODY.

MIND covers all mental skills and traits including intelligence, reasoning ability, common sense, and the like. Anyone in a skilled job needs high MIND. MIND is also important in the use of most weapons.

SOUL covers artistic abilities, empathy, luck, and spiritual well-being. If SOUL is low the character should be played as aloof, insensitive, and unlikeable (as in the phrase "This man has no soul"); if high, the character does well in these areas. It is also used for other forms of human interaction, such as fast-talking, acting ("A very soulful performance"), and other arts (including martial arts). If your SOUL is low better not try to con anyone, and forget about learning baritsu or karate.

Normal human characteristics are in the range 1-6, with 1 exceptionally poor, 3 or 4 average, and 6 very good, the top percentile of normal human performance. Player characters may have characteristics of 7 at the discretion of the referee ONLY; this is freakishly good, far better than normal human performance.

Characteristics cannot normally be improved; under really exceptional circumstances changes might be allowed, but this is a once in a lifetime event. For example, someone discovering the fountain of eternal youth might gain extra BODY, but there should be a price to pay; reduced MIND or SOUL, hideous deformity, and the like. In the unlikely event of an increase in any characteristic, any skills already derived from it (see below) should be recalculated and (if necessary) improved.

Characteristics may sometimes be reduced. For instance, someone crippled after a fall might lose BODY, someone suffering a severe head injury might lose MIND. SOUL might be damaged by insanity or drug abuse. If any characteristic is reduced, recalculate the values of all skills derived from it.

1.2.1 Using Characteristics

Attack versus Defence

Attacking      : Defending characteristic, skill, or difficulty number
characteristic :
or skill       : 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
---------------+------------------------------------------------------
       1       : 7  6  5  4  3  2  2  2  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -
       2       : 8  7  6  5  4  3  2  2  2  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -
       3       : 9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  2  2  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -
       4       : 10 9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  2  2  -  -  -  -  -  -  -
       5       : 11 10 9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  2  2  -  -  -  -  -  -
       6       : 11 11 10 9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  2  2  -  -  -  -  -
       7       : 11 11 11 10 9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  2  2  -  -  -  -
       8       : 11 11 11 11 10 9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  2  2  -  -  -
       9       : 11 11 11 11 11 10 9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  2  2  -  -
       10      : 11 11 11 11 11 11 10 9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  2  2  -

Example: Breaking down a door
Fred (BODY [4]) wants to break a household door (BODY [6]). The first attempt is a roll of 7, a failure. There's a little noise, and the door rattles but stays shut.

After a brief rest Fred kicks the door again. On a 2 the lock breaks. The referee dramatises this by describing the wood splintering and the knob flying across the room and shattering a priceless Ming vase.

Example: Arm Wrestling
Fred (BODY [4]) and Nigel (BODY [2]) are arm wrestling. In each round each should roll BODY as attacker with the other character's BODY as defender.

Round 1: Fred and Nigel both roll 10, too high to succeed. Nothing happens, apart from a slight quivering of opposed muscles.

Round 2: Fred and Nigel both roll 3, and succeed. Again, nothing happens apart from more quivering.

Round 3: Fred rolls 10 and fails, Nigel rolls 2 and succeeds. Nigel smashes Fred's arm to the table and wins the match.

All other feats of strength should use BODY to attack BODY. If several characters want to co-operate in a feat of strength, take the character with the highest BODY and add the BODY/2 of each additional person aiding.

This system isn't perfect. For example, a man with BODY [3] theoretically has a 1 in 36 chance of lifting a BODY [10] elephant; in practice the referee should make this task much harder. Referees should be firm if players want to do something that's physically impossible, or make them tackle the job in smaller chunks. "Pass the saw, I need to cut up this elephant..."

Depending on circumstances, characteristics may be used against other characteristics, against skills, or against an arbitrary "difficulty number". Skills give an edge in most of these situations, as explained in later sections.

Example: Excuse Me, Where Is The British Consul?
Lady Janet has been captured by Venusian savages who have decided that she is their long-awaited god (her gender isn't obvious to Venusians). They have no common language. The referee decides that her SOUL [4] must be used against the native chief's SOUL [5] to make her manner sufficiently forceful, and ensure her release. On a 2 the natives build a sedan chair to carry her back to the sphere-ship.

Example: It's Up His Sleeve!
On their way back to the ship the native witch doctor decides that Lady Janet's charismatic presence undermines his authority. He challenges her to a duel of magic (actually conjuring), using his skill Acting [6]. She must use her MIND [4] to spot his tricks. He begins by making a fruit "disappear"; on a 3 she notices that he's tucked it into a fold of his loincloth, and points out the bulge to the audience. This causes so much lewd merriment that the duel ends in his abject defeat.

Example: I Can Take It...
The wily witch doctor has persuaded the chief that Lady Janet must be tested again. This time it's a test of endurance; she must put her hand into a jar of stinging insects. Their stings are extremely painful but do no permanent damage. Lady Janet must use her MIND [4] to attack an arbitrary difficulty of 8.

This is a tough test; on a 6 she fails, pulling her hand out before the test ends. Fortunately she has the sense to grab a handful of insects and throw them at the witch doctor; he also fails, and starts to scream as they sting him. The chief decides that nothing has been proved.

Incidentally, the referee might instead have asked for a roll of AvB&M, rather than just MIND, to check if the character has the will-power and endurance to overcome the pain, or SOUL to check if the character has the courage to endure it.

BIG Numbers

Example: Tom Sloth And His Pneumatic Coveralls
Tom Sloth, the brilliant but somewhat misguided engineer, has developed a mechanical exoskeleton which can be worn over normal clothing. It looks like a pair of silver coveralls, and will theoretically let him lift things as though his BODY is 30. He decides to test it by lifting an elephant at the zoo. The exoskeleton attacks with BODY [30], and the referee has decided that lifting an elephant will be difficulty 20. Neither number fits on the scale, so he divides both by 3 to make them fit. Now the attacking force is 10 and the defending BODY rounds up to 7.

On a 3 Tom lifts the elephant; unfortunately its weight is now attacking his ankles and wrists, which aren't boosted by the power of the coveralls... Difficulty 20 is attacking Tom's BODY; since his BODY fits on the scale the numbers aren't modified, and the weight will cause him serious harm on an 11 or less!

1.2.2 Improving The Odds

Example: She's Buying A Stairway To Heaven...
Lady Janet and the Venusians are being chased by a huge predator, and want to take to the trees to avoid it. The Venusians are natural climbers, and sprint up the trees without any trouble, leaving Lady Janet stranded four feet below the lowest branch. She tries to jump (Athlete [4] attacking difficulty 5) and fails on an 8. The predator roars and pads toward her. Before trying again she spends two bonus points to temporarily boost her Athlete skill to 6. Propelled by a sudden surge of adrenalin she zooms up the tree, passing the Venusians before they're half-way up.

This rule does NOT mean that you can spend points to perform the physically impossible. No matter how many points are spent, a BODY [1] weakling will not lift an elephant single-handed.

1.2.3 Common Characteristic Rolls

Characters may need to get lucky. Ask them to use SOUL against a difficulty number as above. If they need to notice things, such as a concealed movement or a faint smell, use MIND against a difficulty number (incidentally, the skill Detective can be used to improve this ability). To get a bright idea use a roll of MIND against a difficulty number.

All of the above situations have something in common; they should not occur frequently, and must not be an essential stage in an adventure. There must always be an alternative which does not rely on the luck of the dice. Sometimes players get unlucky in situations where their characters should succeed; in one play-test five characters failed to hear something at difficulty 3, and an extra clue was needed to put them back on the right track.

Example: It's Behind You...
A Venusian predator has chameleon-like camouflage abilities. One is about to pounce on the witch doctor's son, and Lady Janet is the only person with a chance to spot it. She must roll MIND against difficulty 6 to notice. On a 3 she succeeds and yells just in time to save his life, finally earning the witch-doctor's friendship. The referee might instead have had her roll against the creature's Stealth skill.

1.3 Skills

Skills are initially calculated from one or more characteristics, with the number of points spent added to the result. For instance, Marksman (the use of all forms of hand-held firearm and other hand-held projectile weapons) is based on MIND. Acting is based on an average of MIND and SOUL. Skills may be raised to a maximum value of 10.

Example: Buying Skills
While generating Fred (MIND [4], SOUL [2]) a player adds two points each to the skills Acting and Marksman, and one to Linguist.
Marksman will be rated at MIND +2.
Acting will be rated at the average of MIND and SOUL +2.
Linguist will be rated at MIND +1, with his native English and Linguist/2 other languages known.
This is recorded on his character record as Marksman [6], Acting [5], Linguist (Modern Greek, German, French) [5]

Characters automatically have two skills at their basic values without spending points: Brawling and Stealth. Naturally points can be spent to improve them. Optionally additional skills may be made available at their basic values; see Free Skills, section 1.5 below.

1.3.1 Using Skills

Example: It's All Greek... (1)
Fred has the skill Linguist [5] and knows Greek. He is buying a box of matches in a shop in Athens. No dice roll is required.

Example: ...If Gills Are Green Go To Section 6b...
Lady Janet wants to identify Venusian foods that are safe to eat. Her backpack contains a copy of the Oxford Guide To Extra-Terrestrial Vegetables, and she is using its key to identify a curious warty fungus. This is routine easy use of her Scientist [6] skill and no roll is needed.

Dice rolls should be made if the character is working under unusual or difficult conditions, under stress, or in immediate danger. They are always used in combat. Usually a skill is used against one of the following:

1. An opponent's characteristics, eg MIND, BODY, SOUL
2. An opponent's skills, eg Business, Martial Arts, Acting
3. An arbitrary difficulty number set by the referee (usually when dealing with inanimate objects, puzzles, combination locks, and the like.

Example: Trouble At T'mill
On her return to Earth, Lady Janet finds that one of her factories is on the verge of bankruptcy. She travels to Lancashire to investigate, using a series of Business skill rolls to overcome the Business skill of a crooked manager who has been bleeding the company dry.

Once the villain is unmasked she should theoretically use her Business skill to unravel years of tortuously complicated accounts and restore the factory to prosperity. In practice, she uses the skill to weigh up the merits of several candidates and hires another manager.

Example: It's All Greek... (2)
Fred is still in Athens, and wants to buy a box of silver bullets, ten crucifixes, a certified genuine saint's relict, and a Mk 4 Carnacki Electric Pentacle. When the police arrest him as a suspected lunatic he will need to make several Linguist rolls against Difficulty 6 to explain his need for these items, and at least one Acting roll at Difficulty 8 to persuade them to let him go.

Bonus points can usually be spent to improve skill rolls, exactly as they are used to improve characteristic rolls.

1.3.2 Temporary Skills

Example: What If I Press This Button?
Lady Janet's sphere-ship is hit by a meteor. Her pilot is knocked out, and the ship is veering wildly off-course. No-one else aboard has the pilot skill; the referee decides that Lady Janet has been in the control room often enough to have a sketchy idea of piloting techniques. She will use the skill at AvB&M/2, or Pilot [2]. Normally the roll to restore the ship to its correct course would be against difficulty 4; because she isn't properly trained, the referee changes that to difficulty 8. On a 2, she just succeeds.

Bonus points may not be used to help in this situation.

1.3.3 Projects

Some projects simply require routine use of a skill for a prolonged period, with any failure extending the time. For example, the creation of a monolithic sculpture might need five difficulty 6 Artist rolls at intervals of a month; any failure leads to major revision of the work, extending the time needed by two months. The project is completed when the fifth successful skill roll is made.

Sometimes practice is all that is needed. This is especially true when learning languages.

Example: Que..?
Fred doesn't understand Spanish. During an adventure in Spain he tries to learn the language; since he already knows some related languages the referee rates this as difficulty 8 after a week, Difficulty 7 after two weeks, and so forth. A lucky roll of 2 allows Fred to learn the language in a week, and it's added to the list on his character record.

NOTE: This considerably underestimates the difficulty of learning a new language. Linguistic problems are not usually much fun to role-play, unless you particularly want to inflict an unreliable translator on characters, and most scientific romances either ignore them completely or assume that their heroes will easily teach the natives English! The Astronef stories, in FF2, are a little more honest; after weeks of contact with the cultures of Venus and Ganymede, the hero and heroine remain completely ignorant of the native languages. In The Lost World the heroes spend several days with an Indian tribe without learning much of their language.

Research projects, such as the development of a new invention, are resolved a little differently. The referee should decide how difficult the work will be, and how long it will take, then require a series of skill rolls of gradually increasing difficulty, repeated until the final difficulty level is reached.

Example: What Goes Up...
Lady Janet's colleague Professor Polkington wants to develop a new antigravity paint and smash the Cavorite monopoly. The referee decides that this project will start at Difficulty 5, but will eventually be Difficulty 10, and each stage of the project will take 1D6 months; initially 4 months.

At the end of 4 months the skill roll fails. Polkington has achieved nothing, apart from shutting off a few dead ends. The referee rolls 1D6 again, and determines that the project will stay at Difficulty 5 for another 3 months. This cycle is repeated until there is a success, then the difficulty is raised to 6 for the next round of attempts. Difficulty continues to escalate until Polkington eventually overcomes difficulty 10 to complete the synthesis. Most of this occurs off-stage between adventures, but occasionally it impinges on the game; for instance, the referee might tell players that Polkington must spend the next 48 hours in his laboratory to finish the current round of experiments, depriving them of his skills at a vital moment, or that he will need a rare chemical or manuscript for the next step. Finding the missing ingredient might be an adventure in itself.

The referee need not say that characters are attempting the impossible, but it's advisable to drop a few hints if serious amounts of time are being wasted on a completely fallacious idea.

1.3.4 Improving Skills

To try to improve a skill use the relevant characteristic(s) to attack the current skill rating.

If the result is a success, the skill has been improved.

If the attempt is a failure, but the dice roll is not a 12, the character loses the points but does NOT improve the skill; more training is needed. After some more experience (another adventure) the player can try again. This can be repeated until the skill has been improved. A skill's rating may not be improved more than one point per adventure.

If the result is a 12 the character has "peaked" with this skill; she loses the points, does not improve the skill, and CANNOT improve it at a later date.

Example: You Must Read My Latest Monograph...
Lady Janet wants to upgrade her Scientist skill from 6 to 7, reflecting her detailed study of Venusian anthropology, Zoology, and Botany. This will cost 7 points, and she must roll her MIND [4] against difficulty 7 to gain the improvement. On a 3 she succeeds.

After another adventure she tries again, spending 8 points for the next improvement. Unfortunately the dice roll is 12; she is beginning to encounter concepts that she doesn't understand, and will never raise the skill past Scientist 7.

Characters with the Linguist skill may add extra languages by practice during the campaign, as described above, or by spending 1 bonus point per extra language for training between adventures. Only add one language per adventure. Improving the Linguist skill itself costs the new value of the skill, eg. 5 bonus points to raise Linguist [4] to Linguist [5], as above.

Characters with the Scholar skill add new areas of knowledge by improving the skill ONLY.

1.3.5 Adding Skills

The referee should decide if a new skill is appropriate for the character; for example, a priest shouldn't normally be allowed to buy the Military Arms skill. The new skill is acquired at its lowest possible value.

An attempt to add a new skill costs DOUBLE its rating; eg, an attempt to add a skill with rating 5 costs 10 bonus points. This represents the considerable investment in time and money needed to learn a completely new skill.

To try to acquire a new skill use the relevant characteristic(s) against the first rating the skill will have. If the result is a success, the skill has been acquired. If the attempt is a failure, the character loses the points but does NOT acquire the skill; more training is needed. After some more experience (another adventure) the player can try again. This can be repeated until the skill has been acquired, or until a 12 is rolled, indicating that the character is incapable of learning that skill.

Example: I Want To Be An Engine Driver...
Gordon (MIND [4], BODY [3]) has decided that he wants to be an engine driver. This skill (actually Driving) begins with a rating of 5, so it costs ten bonus points. To gain the skill he must use the average of MIND and BODY (4) against Difficulty 5. Unfortunately he rolls a 7, a failure. After his next adventure he pays another ten points, representing more training, succeeds on a 3, and adds Driving [5] to his skill list.

The referee may make things easier for players if a new skill is a natural result of events in the game:

Example: Klatuu Barada Nichtu, My Dear Chap...
Lady Janet has spent several months on Venus, and the referee agrees that she has probably picked up some of the language, and thus earned the Linguist skill. She has MIND 4, so this skill will begin with a rating of 5. Normally an attempt to learn the skill would be a roll against difficulty 5, costing ten points; because of her experience the referee reduces the difficulty to 3 and the cost to six points. On a roll of 4 it's an easy success, and she adds Linguist [5] (Venusian aboriginal) to her skill list. Since this is a new skill, she initially knows no other languages, but this can be improved by experience.

As with any training, things can go wrong when you try to learn a new skill. If the roll is a 12 the character is unbelievably bad, and can NEVER learn that skill.

Example: If I Had The Wings Of An Angel...
Gordon, a glutton for punishment, has decided that he also wants to be a pilot. The referee warns him that he must spend several months of his spare time in training (see difficult skills, below). After several adventures the referee finally lets him roll the dice; on a 12 the instructor has a nervous breakdown after a few flights with Gordon, and he is permanently barred from the training course. The points he spent are wasted.

Difficult Skills

Doctor:	Needs several years of training at a medical school.
Martial Arts:	Needs years of training and a suitable instructor.
Medium:	Cannot be acquired after character generation unless events in the game somehow trigger psychic sensitivity.
Pilot:	Needs several months of training.
Stealth:	This skill is automatically given to all characters.
Thief:	Needs months of training and a suitable instructor; referees may optionally wish players to make luck rolls to avoid arrest while training.

OPTIONAL RULE: Adding Skills Below Base Values

Optionally, the referee may allow adventurers to add skills at less than base value with an appropriately reduced bonus point cost. By the time the skill reaches base value it will cost much more than the usual method, but this allows players to spread the cost over several adventures.

For instance, a character with MIND [5] might add Marksmanship at a low level; just enough to shoot for the pot, not to shoot for the British Olympic team. In this example the player might choose to take Marksmanship [3] for 6 points, not Marksmanship [6] for 12 points. Once acquired such skills can only be improved by the normal process, and one point at a time. Referees are also advised to limit the number of below-base skills acquired to MIND/2; once skills are up to the usual base value they don't count towards this limit. The "difficult skills" described above may not be acquired this way.

1.3.6 Free Skills

Example: Everyone's Jumping...
In a world based on a revival of ancient Greek customs, it's customary for every citizen to participate in the Olympics or face ostracism. All characters should have the Athlete skill automatically at BODY; extra points push it to BODY+1 etc.

1.3.7 Skill List

Skills are listed in the following format: Name, basic value (to which the points spent should be added), and explanation. The following abbreviations are used:

B = BODY, M = MIND, S = SOUL, Av = Average, / = Divided by

AvM&S = average of MIND and SOUL (round up>
M/2 = MIND divided by 2 (round UP)
AvB&S/2 = average of BODY and SOUL divided by 2 (round UP)

Actor -- Basic Value: AvM&S

Artist -- Basic Value: AvM&S

Athlete -- Basic Value: B

Babbage Engine -- Basic Value: M

Brawling -- Basic Value: B *

Business -- Basic Value: M

Detective -- Basic Value: AvM&S

Doctor -- Basic Value: M/2

Driving -- Basic Value: AvB&M

Car chases should be resolved by using the skills of chasing driver to attack the skill of the fleeing driver. Attempts to follow cars should be resolved by use of the the tailing driver's skill to attack the observational ability (or Detective skill) of the lead driver.

First Aid -- Basic Value: M

Linguist -- Basic Value: M

Marksman -- Basic Value: M

Martial Arts -- Basic Value: AvB&S/2

Note: This is by far the most powerful unarmed combat skill in this game, and is not necessarily appropriate to the scientific romance genre (although Sherlock Holmes was a master of Baritsu, an obscure Oriental martial art); players should only be allowed to take it at the referee's discretion, and only if they can devise a background to explain acquisition of this skill. Referees can make it a little less useful by adopting one or both of the following optional rules:
1: Martial artists may not use firearms at any time.
2: Martial artists must choose to specialise in unarmed or armed combat, but not both; to gain these advantages with both, the skill must be purchased twice.

Mechanic -- Basic Value: M

Medium -- Basic Value: S/2

Melee Weapon -- Basic Value: AvB&M

Military Arms -- Basic Value: M

Morse Code -- Basic Value: M

Note: This skill was not included in the FF1 rules, which had the comparable skill 'International' available free as part of the A.B.C. world background.

Pilot -- Basic Value: AvB&M/2

Psychology -- Basic Value: AvM&S

Riding -- Basic Value: AvB&S

Scholar -- Basic Value: M

Scientist -- Basic Value: M

Stealth -- Basic Value: B/2 *

Thief -- Basic Value: AvB&M/2

1.4 Wounds

For humans and human-sized animals, humanoid aliens, etc. the Wounds record has five boxes, indicating the extent of damage:

   Wounds B[ ] F[ ] I[ ] I[ ] C[ ]

"F" means "Flesh Wound". This is a deep cut, concussion, or sprain, a moderately serious burn, and so forth. You are slowed, and may become infected or suffer other long-term medical effects, but there is little risk of death. If a flesh wound isn't treated promptly it may deteriorate and become an Injury (below). Recovery takes at least a week. Additional flesh wounds must be treated separately but have no other effects.

"I" means "Injury". This is nasty; a gaping wound, punctured lung, broken bone, skull fracture, serious poisoning, first degree burns, or the like. You need first aid and reasonably prompt medical attention; without it you will probably suffer serious medical effects. You can only move slowly. If you take two injuries (a tick in both boxes) you can barely crawl and cannot fight. Injuries need at least a month to heal, longer if there are medical complications. If all Injury boxes are ticked and you take another injury you are critically injured, as below. Small animals don't have an "Injury" box on their wounds record; any result of "Injury" is automatically "Critical". Really big animals have three or more "Injury" boxes.

"C" means "Critical". The victim is unconscious and will die without medical aid. If First Aid or the Doctor skill is used successfully the victim reverts to severely injured status (all injury boxes ticked), otherwise death occurs in a matter of minutes, hours at best.

Note that some weapons, and some other forms of damage, have two additional results possible. "KO" means knockout; the victim is knocked unconscious for a few minutes, but isn't necessarily permanently harmed. There is no need to record this since it is a temporary effect. Record bruises instead if appropriate. "K" means "Kill". For obvious reasons there isn't any need to have a tick box for this!

The table shows the effects of wounds. Temporarily reduce the value of BODY or BODY-related skills by the value shown, but not below a minimum of 1.

 Wound         Body   Recovery   Recovery      Notes

                      Period     Difficulty

 --------------------------------------------------------------

 Bruised       -      1 Day      2             Purple marks etc.

 Flesh Wound   -1     1 Week     4             A nasty cut

 Injury        -2     1 Month    6             Broken bones etc.

 2+ Injuries   -4     1 Month    8 per injury  Cannot fight or run

 Critical      N/A    N/A        8             Unconscious, dying

 Knocked out   -      6D6 min    4

As she trudges home she disturbs a boar and is badly cut by one of its tusks. In the next round she tries to fend it off by beating it with a fallen branch. Normally she would use her Brawling [4] skill for the attack; because she has a flesh wound this is reduced to Brawling [3].

1.4.1 Medical Skills, Recovery, and Death

Without first aid the wound may eventually deteriorate; roll the recovery Difficulty against the patient's BODY, if the result is a success the wound will get worse. Flesh wounds become Injuries and Injuries become Critical if they get worse.

The Doctor skill acts like First Aid, and also speeds healing. If a successful roll is made recovery time is halved. Since the Doctor skill usually begins at a lower level than First Aid, devoted healers may wish to take both skills.

To recover from wounds without medical help, roll BODY against the recovery difficulty - AFTER the minimum recovery period. If the result is a success, the wound is healed. If the result is a failure, the illness drags on for another period before the roll can be made again.

Example: It's Only A Flesh Wound...(2)
Lady Janet has a flesh wound. She bandages it herself, using First Aid [5] against recovery Difficulty [4]. On a 9 she doesn't do a good enough job of cleaning the wound and applying pressure to prevent further bleeding.

She rolls BODY [3] against Difficulty [4]. On a result of 10 the wound gets worse; by the time she reaches help Lady Janet is bleeding severely, and must spend some time in bed. Her doctor fails to help, so her first roll for natural recovery is made after a month. Fortunately she succeeds and finally heals.

Death is death, and is usually permanent. In some settings there may be some rationale for reanimation or resurrection, but in most games there is no recovery. Your referee will explain if this applies.

Some examples of common forms of injury follow the combat rules below; they are clearer if you understand some details that are introduced in the combat rules.

1.5 Combat

These rules borrow an idea that is found in some war games. All the events in a combat round occur simultaneously. If ten people are firing guns, all of them fire BEFORE the results are assessed. You can shoot a gun out of someone's hand, but he will have a chance to shoot you before he loses it. Attacks are usually a use of skill against a defence; if the attack penetrates the defence, the damage is determined by use of the attack's Effect against the BODY of the target. All of these concepts are explained in more detail below.

1.5.1 Combat Rounds

The following things can be done in a combat round

1. Movement.
   A normal human can walk about ten feet, or run twenty. On a Difficulty 6 BODY or Athlete roll, or on expenditure of a bonus point, this can be pushed to thirty feet.
   OR
2. An action, such as ducking for cover or opening a door.
   Referees may OPTIONALLY allow two actions, or an action and a movement, in a round; for instance, opening a door and diving through.
   THEN
3. An attack, or several attacks with some weapons and skills.
   THEN
4. Wounds take effect.

Anyone taken completely by surprise CANNOT fight, move, or dodge in the first round of combat, but CAN perform a simple action. For example, intruders would have a round to attack someone who was standing a few feet from an alarm button; he would not have time to get to it first. They could not stop him pressing the button if he already had his hand on it. By definition, someone with a weapon in his hand pointed at an attacker is NOT taken by surprise!

1.5.2 Resolving Attacks

1. All players should state who they intend to attack; the referee should explain who NPCs are attacking. This should be done before any attacks are made.
2. Each character and NPC attacks the chosen target. Roll the attacking skill or characteristic against a defending skill, or against a difficulty number of 6 if there is no better defence available. There are various modifiers for distance etc.
3. If the roll to hit succeeds, the Effect of the attack is used to attack the Body of the victim. Damage is calculated according to the success of this roll.

Rolling To Attack

  Attacker hasn't moved                   +1

  Target is immobile/inanimate            +1
  Target is twice man sized or more       +1
  Target is very close                    +1 (projectiles only)

  Using a fully automatic weapon          +1 (machine guns) *
  Firing both barrels of a shotgun        +1

  * Machine guns are a little less accurate than other firearms,
    but more than make up for it by firing LOTS of bullets, increasing
    the chance of a hit over that for a normal gun. This is the main
    reason why automatic weapons are used. The idea that machine guns
    rarely hit and do less damage than other firearms is a myth.

  Target is TOO close                     -1 (NOT brawling)
  Target is running/moving fast           -1
  Target is half man sized or less        -1
  Target is distant                       -1 (Projectiles only)
  Target partially hidden or camouflaged  -1

  Attacking two or more targets           -2
  Attacker is ducking or dodging          -1

  Target is ducking or dodging            -2

  Attacking for limited damage            -1 (See below)
  Attacking for minimal damage            -2 (See below)

Example: Take That You Cad! (1)
Bobby and George have decided to settle their differences in a boxing match. Both have BODY [4] and the Brawling [5] skill.

In the first combat round Bobby dodges and weaves (-1) then tries to punch the immobile (+1) George; George stays still (+1) and tries to hit the dodging (-2) Bobby when he gets close.

In this round Bobby has an effective skill of Brawling [5], George an effective skill of Brawling [4]. On a 3 Bobby easily breaks past George's guard, but on a 2 George also hits Bobby.

Some attacks can be used via two or more skills; for example, a longbow might be used via the Marksman or Martial Arts skill, a club via the Brawling or Melee Weapons skill. Use whichever skill is best. If all else fails weapons may be used via characteristic rolls; these are usually poorer than skills.

Defences may also be based on skills or characteristics; for example, someone might try to avoid an arrow by ducking (BODY versus the attacking skill), by hiding (Stealth skill), or by use of the Martial Arts skill to catch it! If no better skill is available, the basic defending value is 6.

If the result of any attack is a success, some damage occurs. Roll for damage as described below.

Damage

All attacks have an Effect number. For hand-to-hand weapons, martial arts, and other unarmed combat skills it is either the skill level or the user's BODY plus a bonus; for example, a club gains most of its power from the user's strength, and has an Effect equal to the user's BODY +1. A fencing foil, like all swords and daggers, has an Effect equal to Melee Weapon skill. For firearms the Effect number is usually intrinsic to the weapon, and thus independent of the user's skill or BODY.

Damage is determined by using the Effect number to attack the target's body. The result of this roll will sometimes be a failure; this is interpreted as minimal damage for the weapon, from column A of the weapons table. While this is always preferable (for the victim!), many weapons have a flesh wound or worse as their minimal damage.

If the result is a success, but more than half of the result needed for a success, check column B of the weapon table.

If the result is a success, and the dice roll is less than or equal to half the result needed for a success (round DOWN), check column C of the weapon table. If in doubt, use this table to calculate which damage column is used:

  Roll Needed    Column A      Column B     Column C
                 if result     if result    if result

  2              3-12          2            -
  3              4-12          2-3          -
  4              5-12          3-4          2
  5              6-12          3-5          2
  6              7-12          4-6          2-3
  7              8-12          4-7          2-3
  8              9-12          5-8          2-4
  9              10-12         5-9          2-4
  10             11-12         6-10         2-5
  11             12            6-11         2-5

Weapon      Multiple   Effect  Damage
            Targets            A   B   C
Big Rifle   No         8       F   I   C/K

This means that it does the following damage:

 A: Flesh wound

 B: Injury

 C: Roll the Effect against BODY again; if the result is a failure
    the injury is critical, otherwise it's a kill.

Effect [8] attacking BODY [8] succeeds on a 7 or less.

  If the result is an 8 or more the lion suffers a flesh wound.
  If the result is 5-7 the lion is injured.
  If the result is 2-4 the lion is critically injured or killed.

Example: Take That You Cad! (2)
Both combatants are using fists, which are rated as follows:

Weapon  Multiple    Effect   Damage
        Targets              A     B     C
Fist    No          BODY     B     B     KO

On a 9, George just grazes Bobby. On a 2, Bobby catches George with a perfect right hook and knocks him out.

Machine guns use a special rule. If they are used on more than one target, the Effect is reduced by 2. The attacker must roll separately to hit each target, and to damage the victim if the attack is successful. It's easy to abuse machine guns; players often say that they are trying to shoot at victims in two or three different areas, which should not be allowed. Shooting at several targets in one direction (such as a group of men running along a corridor) is acceptable, but the targets in front will conceal those behind, or at least reduce the Effect. They are powerful weapons, but not all-powerful.

Example: Budda Budda Budda.... oops
Arnie, with Marksman [6] and a submachine gun, stumbles into a German trench during the First World War. Despite Arnie's cry of "Eat hot lead, you scummy krauts!", the referee accepts that they are surprised; Arnie will get one free attack before they can shoot back. There are five Germans, and he tries to shoot them all. His Marksman skill is raised to 7, because he is using a machine gun, but reduced to 5 because he is shooting at multiple targets, and the Effect is reduced from 9 to 7. Arnie succeeds in hitting and injuring three of the Germans, but there are no critical injuries or kills. All five will be able to shoot back in the next round!

Pulling Punches & Aiming To Wound

1. Attacking for limited damage; damage effects are limited to column A and B only, column C damage is taken as column B. Skill -1.
2. Attacking for minimal damage; damage effect is limited to column A only, column B and C damage are taken as column A. Skill -2.

It isn't possible to limit damage with shotguns, machine guns, or area effect weapons such as explosives or flame throwers, or with ANY attack on multiple targets.

OPTIONAL RULE: Hit Locations

   Location   Skill modification    Effect     Random hit
   ------------------------------------------------------
   Head       -2                    +2         2
   Arms       -1                    -1         3 Right, 4 left
   Torso      No modification        0         5-9
   Legs       -1                    -1         10-12

If this rule is used, someone who rolls to hit a target without trying to hit a specific area should roll 2D6 for a random hit location as indicated above, and modify the Effect accordingly.

It is not possible to attack a specific hit location with machine guns or area effect weapons such as grenades, or while performing any form of multiple attack. Damage from these weapons should attack random hit locations.

1.5.3 Armour

    Bulletproof vest: -4 Effect on projectile and blade attacks
  Kevlar body armour: -6 Effect on projectile and blade attacks
  Bullet Proof glass: -4 Effect on all projectile attacks
 Medieval Plate Mail: -4 Effect on all melee weapon attacks
  Motorbike leathers: -2 Effect on all impact weapons (eg clubs)
    WW1 Steel Helmet: -3 Effect on all attacks to head
        Crash Helmet: -2 Effect on all impact damage to head

1.5.4 Weapons

Abbreviations:  B = Bruise, F = Flesh wound, I = Injury,
                C = Critical, KO = Knockout, K = Kill
                M.Arts = Martial Arts
                  I+KO = Injured AND knocked out.

Note that most unarmed attacks and some weapon attacks don't show death as a possible outcome; it simply isn't very likely in the course of a fast-moving fight. Referees should feel free to ignore the suggested result in unusual conditions; for example, if someone is attacked while unable to resist, or is completely outmatched by his attacker.

Melee Weapons

Weapon         Multiple   Effect   Damage      Notes
               Targets             A  B  C
-------------------------------------------------------------
Fist           No [1]     BODY [2] B  B  KO    See Above
Kick           No [1]     BODY [2] B  B  F      "
Wrestling      No         BODY [2] B  KO KO/I   "
Animal bite    No         BODY+2   F  I  C      "
Animal claw    No         BODY+1   F  I  C      "
Animal horns   No         BODY+2   F  I  C/K    "

[2] Users of the Martial Arts skill can use BODY or Martial Arts for Effect in these attacks, whichever is better.

Club           Max 2 [3]  BODY+1   B  F  KO/K  Eg cricket bat
Spear          No         Melee    F  I  C/K   Any type
Axe            No         BODY+2   F  I  C/K
Sword          Max 2 [3]  Melee+1  F  I  C/K
Dagger         No         Melee+1  F  I  I/K   Eg flick knife
Whip           No         Melee/2  B  B  F

Chair          No         Brawl    B  F  I/KO
Broken bottle  No         Brawl+1  F  F  I

Nunchuks       Max 2 [3]  M. Arts  B  F  KO/K  Martial Artist ONLY

Staff          Max 3 [3]  Melee+2  F  I  KO/C

Range: For all melee weapons, targets are TOO CLOSE if they block effective use of the weapon; within a couple of feet for swords and axes, within 6 ft for whips (a lousy weapon, despite Indiana Jones), and so forth. If unsure, give players the benefit of the doubt.

Projectile Weapons

Weapon         Multiple   Effect   Damage      Notes
               Targets             A  B  C
---------------------------------------------------------------
Spear          No         Melee    F  I  C/K   Thrown
Axe            No         BODY+1   F  I  C/K   Thrown
Dagger         No         Melee    F  I  I     Thrown
Shuriken       Max 3      M.Arts   B  F  F     Thrown
Boomerang      No         Marksman B  F  KO/I  Thrown
Cricket ball   No         Marksman B  F  KO/I  Thrown

Longbow        No [4]     BODY+1   F  I  C/K   A hunting bow
Crossbow       No         7        F  I  C/K   A military bow

Small handgun  Max 2 [5]  4        F  F  I/C   eg .22 revolver
Big handgun    Max 2 [5]  6        F  I  C/K   eg .38 revolver
Huge handgun   Max 2 [5]  8        I  I  C/K   eg .45 revolver

Small rifle    No         5        F  F  I/C   eg .22 rifle
Big rifle      No         7        F  I  C/K   eg Winchester
Huge rifle     No         9        I  C  K     eg Elephant gun

Small shotgun  Max 2 [5]  4        F  I  I     1 barrel
Small shotgun  No         8* / 4   I  I  C     Firing both barrels
Large shotgun  Max 2 [5]  7        F  I  C/K   1 barrel
Large shotgun  No         14* / 7  I  C  K     Firing both barrels

Machine pistol Yes [6]    7        F  I  C/K   eg Schmeisser
Submachine gun Yes [6]    9        F  I  C/K   eg Tommy Gun
Machine gun    Yes [6]    11       F  I  C/K   eg Gatling Gun

Harpoon        No         15       I  C  C/K   Non-explosive whaler
Harpoon        No         25       C  C  K     Explosive harpoon

[6] Reduce Effect by 2 if fired at additional targets

Ammunition: Players will undoubtedly have their own ideas about the number of rounds in their weapons, and usually keep track without prompting. If you don't want to bother with bookkeeping it's perfectly acceptable to ignore the matter. As a rule of thumb six shots for all rifles and handguns, and three bursts or twenty single shots for machine guns, should satisfy most players. Gatling guns (including chain guns, rotary cannon, and mini-guns) cannot fire single shots, but the referee may wish to allow many more bursts to be fired.

Range: Normal range for all hand-thrown weapons, handguns, machine pistols, and submachine guns is 10-20 ft; normal range for bows, rifles, machine guns, and mini guns is 50-100 ft. Anything closer is at short range, anything further away at long range. Targets are too close if they are closer than the end of the weapon.

Area Effect Weapons

Weapon         Damage     Effect   Damage      Notes
               Radius              A  B  C
---------------------------------------------------------------
Stun grenade   6ft        8        B  KO I+KO
Hand grenade   10ft       10       F  I  C/K
Dynamite       10ft       10       F  I  C/K  +2 effect/stick
Mortar shell   10ft       12       I  C  K
Howitzer shell 10ft       15       I  C  K
Anti-tank mine 10ft       20       I  C  K
Car bomb       20ft       15       I  C  K
Truck bomb     20ft       20       I  C  K
Flame thrower  10 ft      10       I  I  C/K   No damage outside 20ft

Exotic Weapons

Weapon         Multiple   Effect   Damage      Notes
               Targets             A  B  C
---------------------------------------------------------------
Radium gun     No         8        F  I  C/K   Burroughs' Mars 
Stun gun       Area 3ft   8        B  KO KO    Most SF
Disintegrator  Yes [6]    15       I  C  K     Most SF
Heat Ray       Area 75ft  30       C  K  K     War Of The Worlds
Black smoke    Area 500yd 10       C  K  K     War of the Worlds
Hydrogen bomb  Area 1 ml  40       C  K  K     Not recommended!
Mini gun       Yes [6]    15       I  C  K     See Terminator 2

1.5.5 Non-Combat Injuries

Falling: The damage hits automatically; the Effect number is 1 plus 1 per storey fallen, to a maximum of 20. For example, someone tripping and falling to the ground risks damage with Effect 2; someone falling 20,000ft takes damage with Effect 20. Note that falls of less than 10ft are a common cause of accidental death in the home. In campaigns with space travel the lesser or greater gravity of different planets may modify the Effect of falls; see the FF2 worldbook for details.

Car Crash: Effect 1 plus 1 per 10 MPH. Halve the Effect if wearing a seat belt or protected by an air bag.

Run Over: Effect 2 plus 2 per 10 MPH, to a maximum of 10.

Poison: Effects vary with type of poison as below. Some gases have an increasing effect with time as shown.

Electrocution: The effect varies with voltage as below.

Drowning, suffocation, etc: Characters can hold their breath without harm for BODY x 20 seconds; after that take damage with Effect 1, +1 per 20 seconds submerged. If the character survives, any damage (other than death) is cleared in a few hours, not the days required for other forms of damage.

Exposure to vacuum is faster and much more deadly. Brief exposure may result in skin lesions (F result), more than a few seconds in space will result in ruptures and decompression injuries (I result) or serious damage to the lungs etc. (C/K) Damage heals normally, not at the accelerated rate for drowning and suffocation.

Fire: Effect varies with severity of fire, starting at 1 (a match) and working up to 7 (a petrol bomb or flamethrower) and onwards. The effect increases for each round of exposure after the first.

                               Effect      Damage
Cause of Damage                            A  B  C
--------------------------------------------------
Falls                          1+1/storey  B  I  C/K
Car crash (passenger/driver)   1+1/10MPH   F  I  C/K
Run over                       2+2/10MPH   F  I  C/K

"Micky Finn"                   8           KO KO C/K
A small amount of strychnine   6           I  C  K
A lot of cyanide               10          C  K  K
A tiny amount of arsenic       3 *         -  I  C/K
A lot of arsenic               6 *         I  C  K
Cobra venom                    8 **        I  C  K

Chloroform or ether            6+1/round   KO KO C/K
Martian Gas                    5+1/round   F  C  K  (See FF2))
Chlorine (WW1 poison gas)      7+1/minute  I  C  K
Gas chamber (execution)        -- Automatic kill --

** The cobra must attack successfully first!

Electric Cattle fence          4           -  B  F
110 V (US mains)               6           F  I  C/K
220/240 V (European mains)     8           F  I  C/K
Electric fence (5000 Volts)    15          C  K  K
Electric chair (execution)     - Automatic Kill -

Drowning / suffocation         1+1/30 sec  I  I  C/K *
Exposure to Vacuum             6+1/5 sec   F  I  C/K

Match                          1+1/round   F  F  F
Candle flame                   2+1/round   F  F  F
Bonfire                        4+2/round   F  I  I
Petrol bomb                    7+3/round   I  C  C/K
Blast furnace                  10+10/round C  K  K
Volcano                        20+10/round C  K  K

1.6 Animal, Vegetable, Mineral

2.0 Role Playing

I Know My Place...

Get Up And Go...

You're A Toff, Guv...

A Woman's Place Is In The Home...

I Say, He's A Bally Foreigner...

   For he might have been a Roosian,
    A French, or Turk, or Proosian,
    Or perhaps Itali-an,
   But in spite of all temptations,
    To belong to other nations,
    He remains an Englishman!
   Hurrah!
    For the true born Englishman!

Under A Gooseberry Bush, My Dear...

   ....he brushed off the confetti, and swept her into his arms.

                   *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

   The next morning there were kippers for breakfast....

Arr, We Talks Loike This....

Finally, here are three examples of good and bad roleplaying in the context of these rules. Can you tell them apart?

  "I say, old chap, can you direct me to the station?"
  "Yo dude, where do I catch the iron horse?"

  "Excuse me, my Lord, a gentleman from the police is at the door."
  "Hey boss, it's the pigs."

  "I'm afraid we're in a bit of a hurry. May we get by, please?"
  "Out of the way, you ***ing scumbags, we're on a mission from God!"

3.0 Running Adventures

This section is mainly intended for referees. It goes into more details on the running of games, backgrounds and NPCs, plotting, and the use of handouts and other aids. If you are already an experienced referee most of the concepts in this section will be old news; even so, you may find some new ideas.

3.1 Setting The Scene

Players should understand the basic details of the game world: the nature of society (or at least how it appears to the characters), the way in which people are expected to behave, and important things that everyone would be aware of. How do people get to work? Do they NEED to work? If not, why not? Is money used? If not, what has replaced it? What gadgets do people use? What would they like to use? What do they like, hate, or fear?

While there's nothing to stop you giving players a long briefing, or copies of the source material, this can sometimes lead to information overload; players have too many facts to digest, and don't know where to begin. This type of briefing is reminiscent of the "balloon factory" sequence found in some of the less impressive scientific romances - if the world the book described revolved around balloon travel, there would be interminable descriptions of their construction, and of the nature of society as transformed by readily available balloons. Here's an example, set in a generic Communist Utopia:

'Ah, Comrade Reporter Langford, welcome to People's Synthetic Food Processing Plant 12B. Here we take sawdust and convert it to the finest synthetic protein...' [several pages of explanation omitted]

'This is wonderful, Comrade Food Synthesis Manager Bell. Now, how does the operation of this plant fit into Comrade Glorious Leader Illingworth's five year socio-economic plan?' [several more pages of explanation omitted]

It's more fun to establish these details in play. Tell the players about the world as they develop characters, then let characters loose in a non-threatening situation that shows them some more. Here Judy is the referee for a game set in Kipling's A.B.C. world (see FF1). The adventurers are on their way to stay at a country house:

Judy: The lane ahead is blocked by a surfacer, melting the road
      and rolling it smooth. You can see the white glare of heat
      under its safety covers, and smell the usual ozone. A
      workman with a red flag signals for you to stop.

Bert: I say, old chap, going to be long?

Judy: The workman spits towards the surfacer; the saliva sizzles
      into steam as it hits the road, then he says [uses appalling
      rural accent] "Arr, that be what I would loike to know. The
      trouble with these danged cheap country roads is that your
      molten rock turns to glass, and glass cracks as it cools. If
      he doesn't take it slow we'll have the whole danged job to
      do again in six months." He spits again, and looks gloomy.
      "Thing is, if he doesn't speed up a bit I'll be late for my
      tea."

Bert: But I've an important appointment, old chap. Can't you let
      me by?

Judy: [in rural voice] Well, I could, but your tyres would melt
      afore ye got onto the cool part of the road....

If every scene appeals to two or three senses you'll find that players visualise events more clearly. This is usually good, but don't spend so long on scene setting that the players become impatient. Here's another example:

"A sombre plume of grey smoke rises sluggishly from the red brick chimney of the cottage, twisting and billowing over the slates as the breeze blows it towards you. The smoke has a strong aroma of firewood, probably cedar, but something else is added; the sickly miasma of burning flesh."

As descriptions go this isn't bad, but it might be more appropriate in a Gothic novel. Paring it to its essential elements, we get something a little shorter:

"Grey smoke blows towards you from the cottage chimney; it smells of wood, but there's also the sweet aroma of burning meat."

Victorians, and to a lesser extent Edwardians, lived in an era when gadgetry was everywhere. No home was complete without knife grinders, elaborate folding tongs, magic lantern projectors, and other useful(?) devices. Although many important inventions date from this era, attics and old patent archives are full of "labour-saving" devices that can't readily be called useful. Some were practical in their day, some virtually insane. Victorian gadgets are usually over-ornamented, bulky, and heavy. They are often designed with two or three extra functions over and above their main use. Power sources include compressed air (from bellows or pumps), hydraulic pressure, clockwork, coal gas, steam, electrostatic forces, batteries, and muscles. Components are usually made of brass, cast iron, leather, rubber, gutta-percha, whalebone, ivory, glass, or teak. This misplaced ingenuity sometimes found its way into scientific romances, and mentioning or describing these gadgets is often a good way to set the scene. For example:

"Grice-Charlesworth pumps the bellows, and the flywheel mounted above it begins to spin. A brass drive shaft with a couple of flexible joints runs up to an ivory handle which supports a rotating steel blade, a little like a miniature apple corer, mounted below a concave mirror. You can hear a thin hiss of air sucking back to the bellows through the blade. He squeezes the rubber bulb of the ether spray, and a thin jet of flame momentarily plays over the glittering surface of the steel. He smiles, and says 'At last, after all my work, the Little Wonder Nose Hair Cutter and Singer mark II (with razor grinder and anti-explosion device) is ready for testing! Which of you gentlemen would care to be the first to try it...?'"

One last point; a picture is sometimes worth a thousand words - when it's relevant. If you're an artist, consider sketching some of the scenes the players are likely to encounter, or use newspaper and magazine photographs. Maps and other plans are also very helpful. A word of warning; if you only prepare pictures of vital scenes, players will soon start to assume that nothing important is happening if they don't see a picture. A few extra pictures, produced to set the scene at less vital moments, can keep them guessing.

You'll find more examples of scene-setting in the adventures that accompany these rules, and more on illustrations and handouts in section 3.4 below.

3.2 Plot

Life is different in a role playing game, and characters don't lead routine lives. They are adventurers, encountering excitement wherever they go. Sinister cultists kill victims on their doorsteps, or decide that an adventurer is the reincarnation of their god. Their airliner is the one that is hijacked, their spaceship the one that picks up a strange alien parasite. They suspect weirdness in the most mundane events, and are usually right. The snag is that the referee has to prepare all this for the players.

Sometimes plot elements are implicit in the game background. Let's take an example set in 1911, a decade after the War Of The Worlds was won by the wrong side. The Martians control the world, and are using their machines to exterminate humans, apart from a few survivors kept as food animals. There are still human enclaves, hiding places where a resistance organisation is gradually acquiring the tools needed to destroy the Martians. Think of a steam-powered version of the resistance organisation in the "Terminator" films. Here the staple plot will be commando-style raids on Martian bases, and attempts to destroy Martian war machines. The aliens aren't invulnerable; cunning booby traps might literally bring a machine to its knees. Long-term goals would be capture of Martian heat rays and other weapons, and discovery of a way to use them safely.

This is fine for one or two sessions, but it won't sustain a long campaign. You can only destroy so many tripods before the novelty wears off. Let's add another plot element; the Martians have implanted electrodes and transmitters in the brains of a few of their prisoners, and brainwashed them to wipe out knowledge of the implants. These spies have been allowed to "escape" to the resistance organisation, where they unconsciously report to the Martians. The Martians use the information to catch raiding parties; they prefer fresh-caught food, not the unhealthy blood of their ageing "cattle". The resistance base is allowed to exist, because the occupants are accomplishing little. The Martians know its exact location, but don't move in because it would cut off their most succulent food supply. Now raids will start to go wrong, and the adventurers may start to suspect a spy in their midst. Throw in more complications; a resistance commander who thinks that one of the adventurers is a spy - possibly correctly. An escapee who is behaving very strangely, but for a completely different reason. Sooner or later someone will realise that escapees knew something about every failed raid. Proving anything will be VERY difficult; the spies don't know that they are spies, and aren't doing anything unusual.

This simple example could be good for several evenings of play. By the time the spies have been dealt with another Martian ploy will be under way, or maybe the resistance leaders will have developed a new plan to destroy the invaders.

Campaigns without these implicit adventure backgrounds pose more difficulties. In an Utopia there is nothing obvious to drive the plot. This may mean that the setting is unsuitable, but a little twisted ingenuity will usually find some cause of conflict. No Utopia can possibly please everyone all the time, and there may be hidden serpents in the Garden of Eden. A good example here is the life of the Eloi in H.G.Wells' "The Time Machine"; apparently living a life of pastoral tranquillity, they were actually preyed on by the subterranean Morlocks. Look at the workers in the film "Metropolis", and contrast their life with that of the managers.

An interesting idea is the Utopia that goes wrong, where everyone is genuinely happy and contented until a flaw in the system starts to generate horrendous problems. The most common example is the revolt plot typified by R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots, by Carel Capek) and the film "Westworld"; a civilisation where robots do all the work until they decide to run things for themselves. Capek's "War With The Newts" shows another example of the revolt of an artificially created servant race. An interesting variant is the world where everything is run by machines - trains, planes, ships and cars drive themselves, factories are entirely automated, and every home has cleaning machines and other labour saving devices. Naturally everything is designed so that nothing can go wrong.. go wrong.. go wrong.. - when it does, the adventurers will have to deal with road building machines which don't notice that they are squashing cars, factories that insist on spray-enamelling all intruders, and bed-making machines that fold the occupants as well as the sheets. This example comes from numerous sources; most notably E.M. Forster's "The Machine Stops", a gloomy account of the collapse of an over-mechanised civilisation.

For one-off adventures these relatively simple plots will probably satisfy your players. In long campaigns it's better to keep several plot threads on the boil, and bring one to the fore as another ends. These can be entirely separate, or different strands of a very complex design. Here's a breakdown of part of a campaign:

• Members of a sinister Indian cult believe that one of the adventurers is their god reincarnated, and have tricked him (and a few friends) into taking a cruise which will visit India; there they plan to kidnap him and take him to their temple.
• Members of a rival cult want to identify the god and make sure that he is never crowned; the easiest way to do this will be to kill him, using a sacred jewelled dagger which is the only weapon sacred enough to be used against a god.
• A Chinese steward steals the dagger. The theft is reported to the purser, although the significance of the dagger naturally isn't mentioned; the purser knows that one of the adventurers is a detective (there's usually at least one in every group) and asks him to track down the thief.
• The British Secret Service knows that the adventurers are on board the ship, and wants them to steal a code book from a German diplomat who is also aboard.
• Unknown to all, the German diplomat is secretly funding a sinister cult which happens to have tricked the adventurers into visiting India...

Plots of this complexity need a lot of preparation, but breaking them down into their component streams helps to keep things on track. Some referees also like to run adventures to a timetable, where NPCs will act at a given time unless the adventurers counter their plans; this can be fun if the adventurers are fighting a deadline (such as a bomb that will explode if it isn't found first), but the bookkeeping needed to time journeys and other activities tends to be a little more trouble than it's worth. Timed activities work best over very short periods, where combat rounds can be used; for example, if the adventurers are trying to fight their way out of a burning house before the gas mains explode.

Some groups of players run multi-referee campaigns; they take turns to run the game, but continue to use the same characters throughout - the current referee's character is sent off to the sidelines, or run as an NPC, as best fits the needs of the plot. These games do need to run to strict timetables, so that schemes involving NPCs will come to fruition when the appropriate referee is running the campaign. A simple variant is the use of several separate plot lines, set against a common game background, but with a set of characters for each referee. This method is most often used for superhero games, with each referee essentially running a separate "comic" set in a common world.

Finally, no discussion of plot would be complete without mentioning comedy. Humorous plots are occasionally fun, but a joke that falls flat is worse than no joke at all. Characters with peculiar names and behaviour aren't enough to sustain comedic interest, although the author is aware of one Mafia-based adventure that featured an NPC stool pigeon called Mr. Cream, inserted purely to allow the characters to "ice" Cream.... It's usually better if the humour is an intrinsic part of the situation you're describing. Pratfalls should be avoidable if the characters take a little care. For example, if the referee sets up a situation which should result in three or four characters getting covered with mud, players who think things through should be able to get away unblemished.

Many scientific romances are set around the year 2000, which is now only a few years away, so one possible form of humour is satire of the real world and its public figures, transformed by the game setting. For example, a certain Herr Shwartzenegger appears in an unaccustomed role in the adventure accompanying the first Forgotten Futures sourcebook.

3.3 Non-Player Characters

'Two men step out, with guns drawn, and tell you to throw down your weapons.'

The players probably respond by shooting everything in sight. Now let's see the same scene with a better referee:

'Two men step out into the road ahead of you, holding revolvers. They're wearing oilskins - odd, on a hot day like this. The older one looks very scarred; the other one looks too young to be allowed out with a gun. He's got a nasty grin: "Kin I plug them, pa?". Dad shrugs; "Not yet, Leroy [raises voice] Maybe you boys oughta know that there are four shotguns covering you. Now drop them weapons, or Junior and ma friends will shoot your balls off."'

The situation is essentially unchanged (those friends and shotguns are a bluff), but players may think a little longer before going for their own guns.

Ignore points when preparing NPCs; if you need someone with all three characteristics at 6 and a dozen high-powered skills, just assume that the character is exceptional. If you want a wimp, set characteristics and skills low. It really doesn't matter, so long as the character makes sense in the context of the adventure, and gives the adventurers a fair chance of survival.

If player characters are the stars of an RPG, NPCs are the supporting cast and extras; some are crucial to the plot, others are cannon fodder. If all are acted to the best of the referee's ability, players shouldn't automatically know who's who - someone who seems unimportant might really be the villain of the piece, while "important" NPCs can be set up as victims or red herrings.

Important NPCs should be prepared as thoroughly as player characters; extras need much less attention, but it's advisable to keep a list of their names, and have an idea of the way that they talk and act. Exp