Alpha Dawn - Star Frontiersman

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8 Cinematic Martial Arts In a Frontier where characters are often in danger, a quick pistol of some kind is usually the best line of defense. However, some systems forbid the carrying of such weaponry. On these more civilized worlds, of course, the criminals have little trouble getting the guns. So what’s a law-abiding character to do for self defense? Mundane Martial Arts Martial Arts are not well represented in the Star Frontiers game. It’s a single skill, representing three subskills that are just slight rules tweaks. 160 Random Trait Table (Roll twice) 01 Allergic to something 02 Always listens to music 03 Always serious/severe 04 Believed dead 05 Birthmark 06 Bully/Aggressive 07 Can’t be serious 08 Clean Cut 09 Cocky/smart-ass 10 Collector 11 Composed, collected 12 Corny 13 Cut & dried, matter-of-fact 14 Cynical 15 Dead stare, look of a killer 16 Debonair 17 Deceitful 18 Dignified 19 Dirt poor family 20 Distinctive equipment 21 Distinctive facial feature 22 Dorky hobbies 23 Dusty/dirty 24 Enunciates clearly 25 Exotic scent 26 Fashionable 27 Fiddles & fidgets 28 Flamboyant dress 29 Flips a coin/believes in fate 30 Foppish 31 Friendly 32 Gambles 33 Gentle 34 Hand shakes 35 Hard of hearing 36 Has a criminal record 37 Has a secret 38 Has a twin 39 Heavy drinker 40 High voice 41 Honest 42 Honorable 43 Hooded 44 Illegitimate 45 Likes to eat 46 Likes to run 47 Likes to wear some color 48 Limp 49 Lisp 50 Loud 51 Low voice 52 Member of a Cult 53 Missing eye (wears patch) 54 Near-sighted 55 Nervous eye twitch 56 Oblivious 57 Outcast 58 Outgoing 59 Overconfident 60 Paranoid 61 Polite 62 Prejudiced against a race 63 Professional 64 Quiet 65 Religious 66 Reserved 67 Romantic 68 Scar(s) 69 Serves a master 70 Sexy as hell 71 Shallow 72 Short-tempered 73 Sings/Whistles 74 Skilled entertainer 75 Skilled farmer 76 Slurs words/talks lazy 77 Smart, or convinced he is 78 Slouches, Bad posture 79 Stressed 80 Stutters 81 Superior 82 Superstitious 83 Suspicious 84 Sweaty 85 Tattoo(s) 86 Total jerk 87 Trembles/ combat shakes 88 Unattractive 89 Uncommon walk 90 Unkempt 91 Unremarkable 92 Unusual blood type 93 Very long hair/antennae 94 Vigilante 95 Wealthy 96 Wears hats 97 Weirdness magnet 98 World-weary 99 Roll Two More Times 00 Roll Three More Times Normally, a character taking levels in Martial Arts can add his skill level to his punching score when dealing damage. He can take two attacks per turn. He can add 10% per skill level to his chance to hit... and gets a slight bonus to his chance to get an automatic knock out. If this is sufficient for your campaign, that’s great. Many campaigns won’t focus on the more discrete capabilities of the unarmed combatant. Some Referees won’t permit the cinematic effects that any discussion of Martial Arts in Science Fiction seems to conjure up. Cinematic Martial Arts But Science Fiction is rife with depictions of the more elaborate Martial Artist. Movies such as The Matrix, Pitch Black, Babylon 5, just about anything with Jet Li, Star Wars, even Star Trek – all make use of more exotic forms of combat. The Cinematic Martial Arts system is proposed here is optional. It doesn’t replace the original skill. Instead, it adds a totally new skill called Cinematic Martial Arts. Check with your Referee regarding use of this system. It expands on and provides more options for a character dedicated to a discipline of self-defense... or a very capable offense. It makes such characters a little more able to kick butt – but balances it all by costing the character experience points that he could have used to make himself equally deadly with the use of other weapons. A Name Any Martial Arts system that the Referee and players create using these guidelines should be given a name and a reason for existing. A brief history of the art is necessary to tie it in to the Frontier, along with an understanding of the manner in which it’s passed on to others. The school or mentor that a character learns from is a part of his life, his core essence, and cannot be abstracted or go unmentioned. Players who take these skills for their characters are making a commitment that their art will have a place in the setting. Of course, this is only a suggestion. If the Referee wants a Frontier where skills of this nature are commonplace, then he can ignore the need to give the fighting style such depth. Prerequisites Not just anyone can become a Martial Artist. It takes a certain amount of discipline and physical prowess to become anything more than the Martial Artist described in the Alpha Dawn rules. Therefore, obtaining Cinematic Martial Arts requires the following: LOG 50, DEX 60, and a Military PSA.
The Cinematic Martial Arts skill Unlike the mundane Martial Arts skill (which has no prerequisite), characters who take levels in the Cinematic Martial Arts skill enjoy several benefits. They have access to Cinematic Maneuvers (explained hereafter) and receive bonuses to hit, initiative, damage, number of attacks per turn, and can opt to perform a defensive action (called an “Unarmed Parry”) at the expense of an attack. Finally, a character that has this skill can possess one or more Cinematic Maneuvers. These five subskills are summarized below: Strike First – the physical and mental development of the Cinematic Martial Artist allows him to have a greater chance of gaining first strike in any combat turn. He is permitted to add his skill level to his Initiative Modifier. Strike Hard – the Cinematic Martial Artist trains to increase the power of his blows. Even without the use of his Cinematic Maneuvers, he can increase the damage he causes with any successful strike. His base damage is 1d10 per strike, and he may add his skill level to the damage he causes. For example: Uricho is a level 4 Cinematic Martial Artist with a Punching Score of +3. When she punches, she causes 1d10+7 damage. Strike Often – the discipline and experience gained through sparring and practicing forms allows a Cinematic Martial Artist to strike more often per turn. He may perform two attacks at first skill level, and gains an additional attack at skill level 4 and a fourth attack per turn at skill level 6. Self Defense – a character who is using Cinematic Martial Arts can perform a special type of attack, called an Unarmed Parry. He uses his body to dodge or block an incoming attack. He can do this at the expense of one or more of his normal attacks (thus, if he has two attacks per turn, he could do one attack and one unarmed parry, two attacks, or two unarmed parries). To successfully perform an unarmed parry, simply make a normal attack roll. If successful, you can ignore an attack just made against you. You MUST declare the use of the unarmed parry at the beginning of the turn, such as “I will do one attack and one parry.” Cinematic Maneuvers – There are several special maneuvers described in the following section. A player may select one Cinematic Maneuver for each skill level he possesses in Cinematic Martial Arts. A special maneuver may be made instead of a normal attack. Each of the special maneuvers has its own rules which govern its use. For example, a level 4 Cinematic Martial Artist can have 4 Cinematic Maneuvers. PREREQUISITES: A Cinematic Martial Artist must have a Logic score of at least 50 and a Dexterity score of at least 60. Since this level of devotion is a lifestyle as much as a hobby, he must have a Military Primary Skill Area (PSA). CINEMATIC MARTIAL ARTS TABLE Skill Attacks Initiative Unarmed #Cinematic Level Per Turn Modifier Damage Maneuvers 1 2 IM+1 1d10+PS+1 1 2 2 IM+2 1d10+PS+2 2 3 2 IM+3 1d10+PS+3 3 4 3 IM+4 1d10+PS+4 4 5 3 IM+5 1d10+PS+5 5 6 4 IM+6 1d10+PS+6 6 CINEMATIC MANEUVER TABLE Maneuvers (each costs 5 experience points) Blind Fighting Deadly Attack Drop Fleet of Foot Hold Improved Landing Insanely Cool Moves Instant Defense Instant Stand Leap Move By Multiple Attacks Multiple Defense Paired Weapons Power Attacks Power Defense Reverse Hold Roll With The Impact Stun Surprise Action Take Down Throw Weapon Form EXPERIENCE POINT TABLE Sample Skill Level Skill Level Title Cost 1 Initiate 3 2 Novice 6 3 Adept 9 4 Expert 12 5 Master 15 6 Grand Master 18 Special Experience Point Rule: When purchasing a skill level, the “Skill Level Cost” column shows the cost for purchasing the actual skill level. The purchase of the Cinematic Maneuver costs an additional 5xp. 161
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STAR FRONTIERS, WIZARDS OF THE COAS
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General Data Name Age Walking m/t R
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The Sathar had learned that they co
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the players cooperate and reach the
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Example: Yinang, an assassin charac
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Highway -- An artificial or natural
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while waiting for a pressure door t
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as fog, rain, blowing dust or heat
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Range If the attacker and his targe
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Ammunition Players must keep track
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Special Actions Besides simply hitt
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Variable Power Settings Laser pisto
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GROUND VEHICLE MOVEMENT Speeds Vehi
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y adding the vehicle's speed in met
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Example: BliCluet the Dralasite is
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28 Human Brick House STR/STA 75/65
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Character Generation Your character
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Sample Character #1 Noah is going t
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Physical Structure Dralasites are s
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Physical Structure Typical adult Hu
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Physical Structure Vrusk look like
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Physical Structure Yazirians are ta
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Skills There are 13 different skill
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however, no matter what the charact
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chance for success is lower, it req
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REMOVING SECURITY LOCKS Success Rat
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DEACTIVATING ALARMS/DEFENSES Succes
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character's heartbeat and breathing
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EMPATHY Success rate: 10% + skill l
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Improving Characters Characters can
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Defense 58 Cost (Cr) Wgt (kg) Energ
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60 Laser Pistol Gyrojet Pistol Soni
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62 Shock Glove Brass Knuckles Vibro
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turns. An individual can resist the
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uses 1 SEU when it hits. Anyone wea
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are available: military and civilia
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telescopic sights, and a character
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A robot can not attack unless it ha
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sidewalks, elevators and escalators
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mining natural resources. The plane
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The Frontier Worlds System/Planet C
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82 Human Gun-Fu Expert STR/STA 45/6
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How to Be a Referee A referee is ma
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actions. You may decide ahead of ti
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work week is five days of work with
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small, medium, large and giant. •
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Sample Creatures What follows are t
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DESCRIPTION: Cybodragons are huge l
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96 Mordax Type Small Omnivore Numbe
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98 Slither Type Giant Carnivore Num
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100 Yernoids Type Medium Omnivore N
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STR/ DEX/ INT/ PER/ STA RS LOG LDR
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104 Human Soldier STR/STA 50/50 DEX
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Physical Structure Sathar are long,
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How to Referee Adventures Adventure
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Page 118 and 119: 114 Remember the effects of gravity
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Page 124 and 125: ALPHA SECTION: INTRODUCTION Welcome
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Page 132 and 133: DELTA SECTION: DESERT CRASH The cha
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Page 146 and 147: ZETA SUBSECTION 2: PLAYERS' DESCRIP
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Page 152 and 153: 148 PLAYER CHARACTER BACKGROUND REP
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Page 160 and 161: Prioritizing Variable Skill Levels
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Page 178 and 179: damage. These are divided evenly am
Page 180 and 181: Security Skeinsuit Whereas the mili
Page 182 and 183: Tactical Vest Sometimes it’s not
Page 184 and 185: Sentry Helm Bodyguards can’t alwa
Page 186 and 187: Jumpboots These appear to be a norm
Page 188 and 189: feature alone makes this device val
Page 190: 156 A growing online community devo
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Alpha Dawn - Star Frontiersman

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