From: redden@ttidca.TTI.COM (John Redden) Newsgroups: rec.games.frp Subject: Other Suns : 17 Date: 12 Oct 90 14:08:29 GMT Reply-To: redden@ttidca.tti.com. (John Redden) Organization: Citicorp/TTI, Santa Monica ------------------ OS.17 ---------------------------------------- This is being posted to the net by myself for Niall Shapero. Others Suns is copyright by Niall Shapero. This gaming material is distributed on a shareware basis. If you do not use the material you owe the author nothing. If you do use it please pay him what you think it is worth at a fair price becasue it took a damn lot of work to develop and playtest. The USmail address is: Niall Shapero 2536 Short Ave Los Angeles CA 90066 USA Those of you with modems can dial into his BBS using this phone number: (213)822-6729 Please email any comments to my electronic mailing address and I will pass them on to Niall. ---------------- end of preamble ------------------------------------------- ICE WORLD I (PART 1 OF 28) The following is material from an unpublished supplement to Other Suns by Niall C. Shapero and J. Andrew Keith: Introduction ICE WORLD is a supplement for Other Suns dealing with operations in sub-zero, arctic environments. Extreme cold can affect a party of adventurers in many ways; just surviving in arctic conditions can be a major endeavor in itself, and movement, combat and other activities become correspondingly more difficult as the environ- ment becomes more hostile. Representing the hazards and difficul- ties of arctic adventuring in Other Suns is the subject of this booklet. Despite its name, ICE WORLD is not necessarily limited in scope to dealing with planets which are entirely ice locked. Indeed, although science fiction film and literature is filled with "ice planets" and "jungle planets" and "desert planets," the fact is that no world is likely to be so monolithic in nature. There is room on any planet for a variety of environments, and arctic conditions may be encountered somewhere on almost any type of reasonably Earth-like world. Whether the entire planet is locked in perpetual cold, or is a perfectly terrestrial planet with frigid zones at the poles, or even if the adventure in progress just happens to be set in an ordinary temperate region during that hemisphere's winter months, the rules presented in this booklet will be equally valid and useful to the referee who must administer the situation the adventurers must meet and overcome. The material presented here is intended to expand, not replace, the rules in the basic Other Suns booklets. These rules should be considered as optional additions to the original game, concepts and guidelines to be implemented or ignored as desired. None of these ideas need be regarded as gospel; it is up to the individu- al referee to use or discard these different rules' concepts, or possibly to expand upon them even further to develop even more detailed approaches to the problems of arctic environments and operations. The referee always has the final word on how the game should be played. ICE WORLD is divided into four separate sections. The first, Rules, deals with game rules for handling a wide variety of arctic conditions and situations, from weather to terrain to skills to movement and combat effects and beyond. Equipment presents a number of equipment types, with information capabili- ties, availability, reliability and price. In the third section, Encounters and Events, and extensive set of encounter tables and rules are presented for use in Other Suns adventures. These tables are generic, applicable to almost any world or locale where arctic conditions are found, and can be further modified as desired to broaden their applicability. Various events are de- fined and discussed in this section as well. ICE WORLD may be used in conjunction with other, similar Other Suns supplements, both published and forthcoming. Arctic condi- tions can be found on high mountain peaks, so that ICE WORLD's rules can be combined with those in MOUNTAIN WORLD [forthcoming]. The entire series of forthcoming World Supplements is designed to link together, so that the Other Suns adventurers can move com- fortably from one environment to another using this common game system. Rules All of the rules and procedures found in Other Suns are assumed to remain in force when using ICE WORLD, except where alterations or conflicts are specifically noted. In such instances, this booklet should prevail, but the Referee should always feel free to alter or disregard any of this material in order to tailor it to the tastes and abilities of the specific group of players involved in the game. It is important to remember, however, that a change in the structure of these rules could affect more than just the one rule altered, and the Referee should always take care to see to it that no modifications that are made cause unforeseen damage to the rest of the game system. SKILLS Four skills must be added to Other Suns to reflect the ability of individual characters to deal with the hazards of arctic condi- tions: Arctic Travel, Arctic Survival, Skating and Snowshoeing. Arctic Travel: This skill is available as a secondary subfield to First-In Colonists and Soldiers. It is a primary subfield of Survival Experts. Arctic Survival: Arctic Survival skill is available as a second- ary subfield to First-In Colonists and Soldiers, and as a primary subfield to Survival Experts. As an option, the Referee may allow the skill as a secondary subfield to Permanent Colonists who come from or settle a planet where arctic conditions are common. ICE WORLD I (PART 2 OF 28) Snowshoeing: This skill is available as a secondary subfield to First-In Colonists and as a primary subfield of Survival Experts. As an option, the Referee may allow the skill as a secondary subfield to Permanent Colonists who come from or settle a planet where arctic conditions are common. Skating: This skill is available as a secondary subfield to First-In Colonists and as a primary subfield of Survival Experts. As an option, the Referee may allow the skill as a secondary subfield to Permanent Colonists who come from or settle a planet where arctic conditions are common. SKILL DESCRIPTIONS Arctic Travel: This skill represents the character's knowledge of the special difficulties involved in travel under severe arctic conditions. It is a limiting skill for Skiing, Snowshoeing, and Vehicular operations under these special conditions. This is a Knowledge skill, with a 3% base for non-Altani and a 30% base for Altani. The training costs are as follows: 50/150/350/500/650. Arctic Survival: This is the adventurer's ability to cope with the rigors of staying alive in sub-zero conditions. The Arctic Survival skill is used in many different situations, whether it be to locate sources of food and water, constructing or finding shelter, or staying alive for the longest period of time under extremes of temperature and harsh weather. Many exact rolls and procedures are noted throughout this booklet; others may be invented by the Referee on the spot to deal with unusual situations. When characters are cooperating and in communication, the surviv- al skill of the GROUP is set equal to the Arctic Survival skill of the highest skilled character -- only the highest skilled member need make his skill roll for the entire group to benefit. Should the best trained individual in the group FAIL his roll, the remaining characters may still attempt to make their own skill rolls; however, if the group's resident expert fumbles his Arctic Survival skill, the remaining characters may NOT attempt their skill rolls. Thus, an expert will generally improve the group survival chances through his guidance and assistance, but he may also lead the group astray -- and into disaster if he fails too badly. This is a Knowledge skill with a 0% base for non-Altani and a 30% base for Altani. The training costs are as follows: 50/100/200/400/800. Skating: This is a measure of the character's ability to travel on ice skates (and is applied as per the Skiing skill). This is a Manipulation skill, with a 6% base for non-Altani and a 30% base for Altani. The training costs are as follows: 50/150/350/500/650. Snowshoeing: This is a measure of the character's ability to travel through snow conditions effortlessly. This is a Manipulation skill, with a 6% base for non-Altani and a 30% base for Altani. The training costs are as follows: 100/200/400/800/1200. While snowshoeing, a character must make his Snowshoeing skill or expend 1D4 END points (on a temporary basis) every hour. While Skating or Skiing, a character must make his skating or skiing roll or expend 1D3 END points (on a temporary basis) every hour. In any hour period in which a clean action roll is made, there is a possibility of recovering 1 END point previously lost through snowshoeing, skating or skiing: if a roll on 1D100 is less than or equal to the WIL of the character, one point of END will be recovered. In any hour spent snowshoeing, skating or skiing in which a critical roll is made in the snowshoeing skill, one point of END lost through snowshoeing will be recovered on a roll of WIL x 5 or less on 1D100. As described later, Snowshoeing constitutes HEAVY activity, and both Skating and Skiing constitute MODERATE activity. THE SUBZERO ENVIRONMENT The problems of surviving in arctic conditions stem primarily from two factors (or, more exactly, two facets of a single fac- tor) -- terrain and weather. Determining just how severe or hazardous the conditions to be faced will be is the province of the Referee, but the guidelines given in this section should provide a fairly effective starting point. Subzero Regions: In general, there are three basic regions where subzero condi- tions will be encountered. Each has its own characteristics in terms of terrain, weather, and problems to be overcome.