Fudge Invasion GM Sourcebook by Russ Brown (brownr@mei.com) May 1, 1995 5. ALIEN TECHNOLOGY ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 5.1 ALIEN RACE SYMBIONTS The following descriptions concentrate on the function of alien symbionts, but leaves the visual appearance of these items up to the imagination of the GM. Future sourebooks may delve more into the problems of symbiont morphologies. Symbionts have descended from creatures taken from the hundreds of living words controlled and maintained by the Alien Race. Over millions of years, life forms from Earth have also contributed to symbiont technology, though most such life forms are no longer recognizable. 5.1.1 TRANSLATORS Symbiont translators convert from one type of sensation to another. This allows aliens impaired in one sense to communicate in another. It also allows conversion to electrical or visual sensations for focusing and long distance transmission. Translators exist for all possible combinations of the five alien senses and can generally translate in both directions. Translators used by individual aliens are often worn constantly over or near the appropriate sensory organ. When using a translator, the aliens effective attribute for the translated sense is the lesser of it's good sense and its translator skill. For example, an alien with Great TCH, Poor ELE and Fair TCH-ELE TRANSL would have an effective Fair ELE when using the translator. 5.1.2 CONCENTRATORS Symbiont concentrators could also be called amplifiers. They are specially selected and bred to take in sensations in on or more of the five major communication modes of the Alien Race and concentrate or amplify those sensations so the Aline Race can perceive them. Note that many translators include some concentration/amplification, and dedicated concentrators are often joined with translators. When using a Concentrator, an alien's attribute is increased according to the level of success of the use roll (A Great rool would increase the user's attribute by 2 levels). This increase only applies to the subject of the concentrator (a particular direction for visual concentrators, a specific frequency range for electrical, etc.) Infra-red Visual Concentrators will probably be used extensively by the aliens to search out the last few million human survivors in rural areas. 5.1.3 STORES Storage Symbionts are dedicated to remembering sensations of a particular type and retrieving them on demand. There is wide variation in the methods used to identify specific sensations for retrieval, but most accept some sort of time reference. 5.1.4 WEAPONS Alien Race Weapons, with the exception of Dead Tools, are all symbiont creatures, or combinations of symbionts. The Toxic Dart Weapon is a descendent of a ground-dwelling creature which sensed the vibrations of approaching creatures and projected a paralyzing dart. The Electrical Scrambler is made up of two creatures related to ELE STORE and ELE CONCENTR symbionts. See AIMING in section 12 for an explanation of the range values given below. Fair Max Weapon(ATTR) Range Range Damg Rnds Notes ------ ----- ----- ---- ---- ----- Toxic Dart 20m 80m Fair 12 Great(stun) added to wound (TCH) Makes 3 rnds/day if tended Ele. Scrambler 10m 40m * 20 Damage is target's ELE attr, (ELE) -1 for each 10m Vibr. Pulse 10m 100m Good 100+ Also damages VIB/Hearing (VIB) dmg depends on atm pressure Egg. Launcher 30m 300m Great 6 as grenade, -1 dmg each 3m (CHM) 5.1.5 TRANSPORTATION 5.1.5.1 Spacecreature The Alien Race travels through interstellar space in large, mutated creatures which can isolate and purify fissionable materials. They range is size from 10 meters to well over 100 meters and are usually simple, radially symmetrical shapes. Their outer surface is a smooth, hard shell, capable of maintaining atmospheric pressures inside and reflecting a broad spectrum of radiation. Atmospheric flight is generally powered by gas jets or burning chemical fuels. Some spacecreatures have been bred to tolerate earth-like atmospheres and to allow Visitors to join with them through TOU-ELE Translators. However, they cannot remain away from their Alien Race Tenders for more than a few days. 5.1.5.2 Base Carriers Many Base Morphology aliens use special, spider-like symbionts to carry them quickly from place to place. These are VIB controlled and have no mind of there own or defensive/offensive capability. With a well controlled Carrier, a Base alien might be able to move as fast as 10 m/s. 5.1.6 PROBES Concentrators are sometimes combined with small symbiont creatures similar to Base Carriers to form remote probes capable of sending back ELE translations of their other sensations. They may also be trained to carry messages in STORES, similar to homing pigeons. 5.1.7 GENETIC VECTORS The Genetic Vector is a special symbiont which is host to a genetic vector organism used to insert new genetic material into Alien Race cells. This creature can be selectively bred to produce vector virus for a particular gene sequence. The experimentation which goes into this breeding process is deadly and disfiguring, but such is the price of progress in rapid diversification. There are also symbionts closely related to Genetic Vectors which can ingest small samples of genetic material and produce a unique signature associated with them. This allows analysis and tracking of genetic traits for controlled breeding. 5.2 VISITOR SYMBIONTS Because of their different living environment and sensory aptitudes, Visitor species have there own set of symbionts. Most are derived through thousands of years of breeding from other Earth creatures, but some are adaptations of Alien Race symbionts (like Visitor Spacecreatures). 5.2.1 VISITOR TRANSLATORS Most Earth visitor races have good hearing and good vision. The humanoids are dolphoids are able to mimic the VIB language of the aliens and can understand most of it. The most common Translator among Humanoids and Dolphoids is a VIB-ELE TRANSL. The Ursoids rely heavily on visual signals and gestures when communicating with Base and Biped aliens, but use their keen sense of smell to understand Quads. The Ursoids must use touch to communicate ideas to a Quad. 5.2.2 VISITOR WEAPONS Most Earth Visitor weapons are controlled by touch. The notable exception is the Gas Jet used by Dolphoids, which is controlled by vibrations (it's a VIB skill) Fair Max Weapon(ATTR) Range Range Damg Rnds Notes ------ ----- ----- ---- ---- ----- Acid Spray 5m 30m Good 5 Makes 5 rnds/day if tended (TCH/DEX) Acid Tentacle - - Great - Melee Weapon, size Good, Blunt (TCH/DEX) Ursoid Claw - - Fair - Melee Weapon, size Good, Cut (TCH/DEX) Gas Jet 4m 20m Superb 1 -1 dmg/4m, 20 sec recharge (VIB) Blunt The aliens also have many weapons of mass destruction including suicidal symbionts that can set of thermonuclear explosions - both fission and fusion - as well as diseases tailored to kill humans while sparing Humanoid Visitors. 5.2.3 VISITOR GENETIC VECTORS Earth Visitor Genetic Vectors are actually derived from Alien Visitor ancestors, which have undergone thousands of years of experimentation. They no longer look remotely human - more like living amorphous blobs of skin and organs. They produce the vector viruses originally used to raise Ursoid intelligence and enhance the humanoid vocal chords for Alien Race communication. Note that most of the Genetic Vectors used to create the Earth Visitors are still on spacecreatures in the solar system somewhere, as are virtually all of the Earth Visitors. Relatives of Genetic Vector symbionts have also been bred to produce deadly human diseases - possibly the most effective tool the aliens have for removing humans from the planet. Most of these diseases attack the nervous system and kill within 48 hours. Immunity is possible, as with most other viruses, but most of the population would probably die before such immunity could develop. Possession of one of the Genetic Vectors that produce the virus, yet survive themselves, would be a great advantage to human researchers searching for a cure. 5.2.4 MIND ALTERATION/PARALYSIS Visitors, especially Humanoids, use a few different mind altering symbionts in their abduction expeditions to Earth. These are capable of producing chemicals which inhibit or completely suspend long and short term memory storage for a period. Milder forms simply repress the memories of the period when the symbiont was active. Some of these symbionts just produce a gas which has the repression effect, but it is inconvenient for the Humanoid visitors, who are also mildly effected by it. The preferred method is a symbiont which attaches (sometimes painfully) to the subject's head, or actually enters the brain through the ear or eye socket. Some of these have the added effect of paralyzing the subject. These symbionts are occasionally used for a form of post-hypnotic suggestion, but the aliens very rarely use human's as their agents this way. 5.3 DEAD TOOLS Many of the dead tools used by the Dead Tool Users within the Alien Race are similar to primitive Earth tools. This is not surprising, as it is believed that early humans were the inspiration for this group to ignore the taboos against dead tool use and forge ahead. The power source for most of their machines are simple hydrogen-oxygen fuel cells. Power is transmitted electrically and converted using the alien equivalent of electric motors. 5.3.1 DEAD WEAPONS Fair Max Weapon Type Range Range Damg Rnds Notes ----------- ----- ----- ---- ---- ----- Projectile Tube 10m 100m Good 5 Crossbow 10m 60m Good 1 Sword - - Good Melee Weapon, size Good Dead Tool users also have weapons of mass destruction. They can produce nuclear weapons, but many of the materials come from symbionts, so it is a slow process. 5.3.2 DEAD ARMOR Most Dead Tool Users wear an armor built up of calcites when they expect a fight. Light calcite armor provides Good protection against all damage except AP. Heavy calcite armor provides Great protection, but only Good against AP, and reduces the alien's AGI by 2 and TCH by 1 level. 6. ALIEN GOALS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 6.1 DESTRUCTION OF HUMANS The primary goal of the Alien Race's Earth invasion is to destroy the human race, or at least wipe out most of it along with it's industrial base. This is necessary in order to preserve the diversity of life on the planet - a good source of new living material for the alien's symbiont technology. 6.2 PRESERVING DIVERSITY The end goal of the entire alien operation is to preserve diversity on Earth. This limits many of the actions they can take against the humans to those which will not severely impact the environment. Killing millions of humans with a tailored disease is good for the environment, but blowing them up with a nuclear weapon is not. 6.3 RESETTLEMENT There is a slight paradox associated with destroying a species (humans) to preserve diversity. To remedy this, Alien Race Planners have set aside a large, dead moon in a star system about twenty light years from Earth to resettle a diverse selection of a few thousand humans. If a viable group of humans survive the disease, war, and collapse of technological civilization on Earth, the relocation project may be cancelled. 7. ABDUCTION/INVASION TIMETABLE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ What follows is the alien's planned invasion timetable, translated to the Earth calendar. Actual plans may change as the situation changes, perhaps due to unanticipated success or failure of part of the plan. 2008 June Begin abduction of diverse humans for resettlement Release Strain One human virus in eight major urban areas July Alien Race agents destroy Earth satellites and moonbase Humanoid/Ursoids capture air defense and communication centers Dead Tool Alien Race agents capture/shutdown nuclear reactors Dolphoids destroy shipping and deep ocean cabling Aug Humanoids/Ursoids move on all major power systems Release of Strain Two human virus Humanoids set up prison camps in major urban areas Sept Introduce Strain Three into prison camps begin sweeps of rural areas to clear out Strain Two survivors Oct Systematic destruction of Strain Three survivors in camps. Rural sweep continues. Nov Begin large scale cleanup of hazardous materials Complete Rural sweep. Make final resettlement decision. 8. EFFECTS OF THE INVASION ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 8.1 DISEASE As the alien invasion breaks down technological civilization, old diseases will rise up to threaten the human race again, but the main killers of the invasion will be the three viral strains introduced by the aliens. 8.1.1 STRAIN ONE Strain One will be introduced into a handful of major urban populations in June. It spreads through bodily fluids, including saliva. It is expected to spread quickly through dense population centers, but early quarantine efforts and luck may save a few major cities and many rural communities. Fatalities are predicted by Alien Race planners at 60% in densely populated and poorly sanitized areas, and 20% in rural areas by the end of July. It is expected to have a devastating effect on the world governments and economies and will probably force many humans out of the cities into small, distrustful quarantine communities. Within a day of contracting Strain One, the virus begins destroying tissue in the liver, kidneys, and heart wall. The skin may get splotchy and a high fever will set in. The victim may begin vomiting some blood by the third day, and will die of heart, liver or kidney failure on the fourth or fifth day. This disease has higher than a 90% mortality rate (Superb+1 difficulty TOU roll). 8.1.2 STRAIN TWO Strain Two will be released in August. It is a less potent, but faster spreading airborne virus. Alien Race Planners estimate that it will kill 30-40% of the remaining human population by the end of September. Strain Two takes two or three days to show symptoms. and appears to be just a serious case of influenza. It is, in fact, a mutated influenza virus preserved from one of our early human ancestors, made more potent by the millions of years since any human has been exposed to it. This disease has a 60% mortality rate (Good difficulty TOU roll). 8.1.3 STRAIN THREE Strain Three is a special virus, contracted only through sustained exposure to a carrier. On average, two weeks in the vicinity of another infected individual is required before the disease is contracted. It's symptom's are similar to the long-term effects of leprosy, but are accelerated because the lost feeling in the extremities is replaced by a maddening burning and itching. Strain Three takes four to six weeks to kill, but it is 100% fatal. It is intended specifically for killing off the hearty survivors in the urban prison camps. 8.2 ECONOMICS/PRICES About a week after the first Strain One outbreak, it will become apparent that a major epidemic is on it's way. The initial effect on free markets will be a reduction in investment. Securities prices will drop as demand disappears. Eventually, insurance companies will face bankruptcy as the deaths climb, probably forcing special legislation declaring Strain One deaths outside of standard coverage. Even within the first few weeks of the epidemic, pessimists will begin stocking up on survival equipment such as fuel and non-perishable foods, sending their prices up by as much as 500%. By early July there will be so many people trying to convert there intangible cash into something tangible that prices will rise for a while. The stock exchange may even recover as stocks track the increasing value of some companies' physical capital. Money will move more slowly as most people leave the cities and find themselves sandwiched between urban disease and defensive, paranoid urban enclaves. Rumors about alien invaders will circulate throughout June, but with the overt alien attacks on communication lines in July, most doubters will see the light. Suddenly currency will mean very little. The stock markets will crash quickly after the first confirmed alien attacks. Barter systems will take over again until local rural enclaves set up their own currencies. There will always be optimists willing to accept currency no matter what and gamble on the recovery of national economies. However, by the end of August, exchange of goods and services and local currencies will be much more common than exchange of old, national currencies. 8.3 COMMUNICATION Human communication lines will remain intact through all of June, except for the disruption caused by the Strain One outbreak. Martial law will be imposed in late June to enforce quarantine, so physical movement will be limited, but electronic communication will continue. The alien campaign against communication centers begins in early July with the destruction of communication satellites, defense communication centers, and deep ocean cabling. Most communication lines between nations will be lost, but internal telephone and computer networks may function well into August as long as there is still someone around who can keep them going. In August the aliens target power systems as their final and most effective blow to the world's industrial base. By then the viral strains and dangers of near-anarchy will have reduced the population by more than half in most places. Without dependable power, wide communication networks will fall apart and have to be built up from pieces if the power plants are ever recovered or rebuilt. The human race will settle into small, defensive rural groups centered around closely guarded food or energy sources and. 8.4 TRANSPORTATION With the exception of price increases due to fuel hoarding, transportation systems will remain relatively normal until early August. Air travel will become prohibitively expensive by mid-Agust, and regular rail traffic will become rare and sporadic by September. People will resort to walking or using human or animal-powered vehicles. Areas lucky enough to have surplus grain could run vehicles on alcohol. 8.5 CRIME As fear of Strain One clears out the cities, looters and scavengers will move in. Thieves will become much more practical and desperate, forgoing a nice color TV set to steal an armload of canned goods. As it becomes apparent that the collapsing economy won't produce or deliver the items necessary for survival, many people will become desperate and steal to survive. Rural families and small towns will form militias to defend their land and resources from urban migrants. Except within the small remnants of civilization, possession will be a matter of force, not law. 8.6 EARTH GOVERNMENTS In June, world governments will be scrambling to isolate and control the Strain One outbreak. By the end of the month, most nations will be under martial law with the military restricting movement and enforcing large area quarantines. National governments will survive until major power systems are lost in August, taking all necessary communication with them, From then on, local governments and field military units will be acting on their own, with only an occasional radio or hand-carried message from the capital. 8.7 RESPONSE/COUNTER ORGANIZATIONS When alien attacks come in August, Military and technical forces deployed to fight Strain One and Strain Two will suddenly find themselves in the best position to fight the aliens. With poor communication to the national governments, these groups will become much more independent - more like partisan or resistance groups than a national army. They will have to handle their own supplies and do their own recruiting and training. There will be some attempts at international cooperation and special think tank groups, but their actions will be slow. If anyone, it will be the small resistance groups out in the field that react quickly enough to make progress against the aliens. Strong local groups, especially those prepared ahead of time with weapons and supplies, will rise up to defend small areas. Religious groups may band together, and many new ones will form when confronted with what appears to be the end of the world. 9. CAPTURING TECHNOLOGY/LEARNING ALIEN SKILLS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If human's capture alien symbiont technology, treat using the symbiont as a skill with the appropriate alien sense as a prerequisite (TCH, ELE, CHM, etc.), a cost per level of 3, and a default of Terrible, or None depending on which makes sense. See the section on conversion from human to alien attributes. Although alien Control and Perception for a certain sense are combined into one attribute, there are cases where humans have perception (Chemical, for instance) but no real control. This must be taken into account when the GM determines which symbiont, or which of it's functions a human can use and learn. For alien Dead Tools, find a roughly equivalent human skill and treat the Dead Tool skill the same way, but add 1 to the cost per level to reflect the lack of general familiarity and training support. 10. GENERIC HUMAN NPCS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ACA SOC TEC PER DEX APP STR TOU WIL AGI --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- Army Officer Fr Fr Gd Gd Fr Fr Gd Gd Gd Gd Rifle, Ambush, Knife, Tactics, Leadership, Survival, Bureaucracy, Politics, Military Rank Army Enlisted Med Med Fr Fr Gd Fr Gd Gd Fr Gd Rifle, Rifle Construction, Survival Unarmed Combat, Camouflage, First Aid Storekeeper Gd Gd Fr Fr Fr Fr Med Med Fr Med Appraisal, Accounting, Bargain, Sales, Civil Law Researcher Gr Med Gd Fr Fr Fr Med Med Fr Med Computer Programming, Writing Non-fiction, Physics, Advanced Math, Research, Power System Construction Local Politician Fr Gd Med Gd Fr Gd Fr Fr Med Med Acting, Sales, Tell Lie, Bureaucracy, Persuade, Diplomacy, Local Language, Politics, Civil Law Movie Star Med Gd Fr Fr Fr Gd Fr Fr Fr Fr Acting, Cosmetics, Local Language, Seduce, Dance 11. COMBAT AND HEALING ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The following is a new combat system I intend to use in Fudge Invasion. The weapon listings in this document will provide the information necessary to support this. Note that the dodge roll applies to melee attacks or thrown weapons only. Powered weapons (pistols, rifles, etc.) cannot be dodged. 11.1 ATTACK RESOLUTION 1) WEAPON SKILL ROLL Attacker makes weapon skill roll. If roll succeeds (based on GM-set difficulty), go to 2) PARRY ROLL If roll fails, attacker missed completely. If roll was TERRIBLE, attacker fumbled 2) PARRY ROLL Defender makes WEAPON PARRY, SHIELD PARRY, or DODGE roll If DODGE roll was as good as attack roll, attacker missed. If PARRY roll was as good as attack roll, go to 3) WEAPONCHECK If PARRY/DODGE roll failed, go to 4) DAMAGE If PARRY roll was TERRIBLE, defender fumbled. 3) WEAPON CHECK Roll opposed action, pitting attacking WEAPON QUALITY against defending WEAPON QUALITY. Add WEAPON SIZE as modifier. If difference is +/-1, losing weapon is damaged (quality -1), parry succeeds. If difference is +/-2, losing weapon is broken. If the defender's weapon breaks, the parry fails. Go to 4) Damage. If defender's weapon doesn't break, the parry succeeds. 4) DAMAGE Make a damage roll for the unparried attack. Modify roll using the following: FOR ATTACKER - - - - - - ATTACKER STRENGTH & SCALE (if muscle-powered weapon) WEAPON DAMAGE FOR DEFENDER - - - - - - - ARMOR DEFENDER SCALE Results of the roll convert to a wound as follows Result Wound Effect ------ ----------- ----------- Fair Light Wound -0 Good Med Wound -1 Great Hvy Wound -2 Superb Incapacitating unconscious Superb+1 Critical near death Superb+2 Dead Two Light Wounds have an equivalent effect to one Med Wound (though they heal faster). Two Med Wounds have the same effect as a heavy wound, etc. A Good TOU roll temporarily reduces the effects of wounds one level. A Superb roll reduce it by two levels. A Terrible roll increases increases effects by one level. This Toughness roll is made once for each wound. 11.2 HEALING Wounds heal one level per week, although the GM may modify this based on the character's attributes or the availability of medical treatment. Note that, although the effects of smaller wounds add up to the equivalent effect of a larger wound, they still heal individually. For example, a character with two Light, one Medium and a Heavy Wound would heal earlier than a person with a single Incapacitating wound, although the immediate effect would be the same. Character 1 Character 2 Wounds Effect Wounds Effect ---------------- ----------- 0 Weeks 2 Light (unconscious) 1 Incap (unconscious) 1 Medium 1 Heavy 1 Week 1 Light (-1) 1 Heavy (-2) 1 Medium 2 Week 1 Light (-0) 1 Medium (-1) 3 Week Healed 1 Light (-0) 12. HUMAN WEAPONS AND ARMOR ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 12.1 POWERED WEAPONS The following table gives basic combat statistics for broad categories of human weapons. Note that the basic Weapon Type (Pistol, Rifle, etc.) is also the skill required to use the weapon. No prices are given because they will vary greatly as the alien invasion progresses. At first gun prices will rise, but if the human population drops low enough, the prices may drop along with the demand. Typical pre-invasion prices in U.S. dollars are $400-600 for pistols, $800-1200 for rifles and shotguns, and two thousand or more for assault rifles and sub-machine guns. (this assumes x2 inflation from 1995 prices). Note that there could well be more gun ownership regulations and waiting periods in place in 2008 than in 1995. Fair Max Weapon Type Range Range Damg Rnds Notes ----------- ----- ----- ---- ---- ----- Pistol (to 7.62mm) 20m 300m Good 8 (9mm and up) 20m 300m Great 8 Sub-Machine Gun 30m 400m Good 30 Rifle (Small Bore) 40m 600m Great 1,6+ (Lrg Bore) 40m 800m Superb 1,6+ (Sniper) 60m 1000m Superb 10 Assault Gun 40m 600m Superb 30 Shotgun (Small Shot) 20m 100m Great 1,2+ Good > 10m, Fair > 20m (Lrg Shot) 20m 100m Superb 1,2+ Great > 20m, Good > 40m (Slug) 20m 200m Superb 1,2+ Stun Gun 0m 0m Superb(stun) 3 stun heals 1 min/lvl 12.1.1 AIMING The Fair Ranges given above represent the range at which hitting a man-sized target is a Fair difficulty task. Each time the range doubles beyond the Fair Range, the shot gets one level harder. Shots less than half the Fair Range are considered Close Range and are Mediocre difficulty. These ranges assume the shooter is aiming, and the target isn't moving much. Shooting without aiming is a Snap Shot. The Fair Range for all snap shots is 5m, except for shotguns, for which it is 10m. Scopes and laser aiming devices can be added to rifles to extend their Fair Range. In the case of long range rifles, this may be the only way the gun can be used at all out near it's maximum range. Aiming for smaller than man-sized targets increase the difficulty by one level for each factor of 2 decrease in size. Hitting a target in the head would be two levels of difficulty higher (though the GM could decide that a missed shot at the head was still a hit to another part of the body). Shooting at a moving target is more difficult. For targets moving directly toward or away, there is no change in difficulty. Targets moving at walking speeds would add one level, running two levels, and on from there. 12.1.2 AUTOMATIC FIRE When a weapon is fired as an automatic burst, decrease the difficulty of the shot by one level. If the shot succeeds exactly, one bullet has struck the target. For each level the shooter exceeds the difficulty of the shot, one additional bullet strikes the target, up to the number of bullets fired. Unless otherwise noted, an automatic burst fires 5 rounds. For sustained automatic fire, the player specifies how many rounds he/she wishes to fire. Firing exactly the desired number of rounds is a Great difficulty task, and the GM should have the player roll appropriately. Break the rounds fired into three or four reasonable sets and treat each as and automatic burst snap shot 12.1.3 SPECIAL AMMUNITION Damage levels given in the ranged weapon table assume a typical lead round with a partial or no metal jacket. The following special ammunition can increase the damage and change it to a special type of damage (see ARMOR section). Note that most of these will be more expensive than standard ammunition and are relatively rare. Ammunition Type Damg Dmg Type Notes --------------- ---- -------- ----- Standard - Standard Hollow Point +1 Cut Frangibility +2 Standard Very Expensive/Rare Armor Piercing -1 AP AET +0 AP Expensive/Rare 12.1.4 STUN DAMAGE Some weapons are specifically designed to do stun damage. Stun Wounds are calculated normally, and have the usual effects, but heal in a matter of minutes, or even seconds in some cases. Note that stun weapons will probably cause real wounds damage two or three levels below their stun damage. For example, A stun gun with a Superb damage rating might cause an Incapacitating stun wound, and a real Medium Wound (probably a bad burn). In ten minutes the target may be conscious again and recovered from the stun, but will still have a Medium wound. 12.2 MELEE WEAPONS Weapon Type Size Damg Notes ----------- ---- ---- ----- Punch Poor Poor Unarmed Combat, Blunt Brass Knuckles Mediocre Fair Unarmed Combat, Blunt Kick Poor Mediocre Unarmed Combat, Blunt Wooden Club Mediocre Mediocre Blunt Small Sword Good Good Cut or Impale Large Sword Great Great Cut Knife Mediocre Fair Cut or Impale 12.3 ARMOR The table below gives the effectiveness of the armor against "typical" damage, like a bullet or large shotgun shot/slug. Variations in effectiveness versus other types of damage are given in the notes section. Basic special damage types are Blunt, Cut, Impale, and Armor Piercing (AP). Armor Type Eff. Notes ---------- ---- ----- Hvy Clothes Good Padded Vest Good Kevlar Great Good vs. Impale/AP, None vs. Blunt Resin Kevlar Superb Great vs. AP Padded Helmet Good Great vs. Blunt Steel Helmet Great Good vs. AP, Blunt 12.4 GRENADES/EXPLOSIVES Use THROWING skill for grenades. Damage for most grenades is reduced one level for each 3-5 meters from the explosion. See the "-1 Damg" column below. -1 Explosive Damg Damg Wght Notes --------- ---- ---- ---- ----- Irritant Great(stun) 5m 600g stun* heals 5 min/lvl HE Fragment Great 3m 400g Stun/Flash Great(stun) 5m 200g stun* heals 5 sec/lvl 80% Nitro Good 3m 120g One stick. Doubling increases damage C4 Superb 3m 250g Doubling increases damage See section 12.1.4 for effects of stun damage 12.5 COMBAT EXAMPLE It's December 0f 2008. Ed Thackley is patrolling outside a small town in northern Minnesota where a number of Strain Two survivors have managed to avoid notice. He has a 9mm pistol and is wearing heavy winter clothing and a white overcoat to blend in with the new snow. He stops in his tracks when he sees an Ursoid about 40 meters off to his east, lumbering south. It is not approaching the village, and it doesn't see him, so he stays were he is. It continues moving until Ed moves to the side to hide behind a small tree. It immediately turns in his direction and raises it's nose into the air. Ed freezes again, but it begins moving slowly toward him. When it gets within 30m, he decides he has to either run, or face the creature. He raises his pistol without getting any reaction from the Ursoid. He aims carefully for a few seconds, during which time the Ursoid gets within 25 meters. Ed fires at 25 meter range, which is Good difficulty for his pistol when aimed. The large size of the target decreases the difficulty by 1, to Fair. He has Good pistol skill, and he rolls a -3, missing the Ursoid completely with a Poor result. Now the Ursoid begins to run toward him, covering 4 meters a second in the light snow. Ed decides to take another shot, this time a snapshot, with the alien inside of 20 meters. With snap shots, the Fair range for his pistol extends only to 5m, the Good range to 10m, and the Great range to 20m. So he is at Great difficulty for a snap shot, modified down to Good for the Ursoid's size. This time he rolls a +1 for a Great result, hitting the target. His pistol does Good damage, and he rolls a +2 giving him Superb! However, the Ursoid's Scale reduces this by 1, making it Great damage, or a Heavy Wound. The Ursoid makes a Fair TOU roll and cannot reduce the wound's effects, so it is at -2 levels for future actions. Ed gets off three more shots before the Ursoid reaches him. Two miss, and the last one hits, but he rolls only Fair damage, which is reduced to nothing by the Ursoid's Scale. Now the Ursoid swings at Ed with it's claws. It has Great skill with them, reduced to Fair by the effects of it's wound. It rolls a +0, for a Fair result, which is a hit against a normal man-sized target. Ed has nothing he can successfully parry with, so tries to at least match the Ursoid's Fair result with a Dodge roll to avoid the attack. His Dodge skill is Poor and he rolls a -2, failing miserably. The Ursoid claw does only Fair damage, but it is modified by the creature's Good STR and Scale so that it effectively does Great damage. The Ursoid rolls a +0. This Great cut damage is reduced to Good by Ed's clothes, which provide Good armor protection. He takes a Medium wound and makes a Mediocre TOU roll, so he is at -1. He makes a Great DEX roll and manages to hold onto his pistol. The Ursoid is now at extremely close range, so Ed's next snapshot is Mediocre difficulty, reduced to Poor by the Ursoid's size. Ed makes a Superb roll, reduced to Great by his wound, and hits with no trouble. His damage roll comes up Great, but is reduced by the Ursoid's scale to Good, or a Medium wound. This time the Ursoid makes a Superb TOU roll and the wound has no immediate effect. The Ursoid swings again, getting a Superb result, reduced to Good by its wounds. Ed fails his dodge again and the Ursoid rolls Superb+1 damage, reduced to Superb by Ed's clothes. Ed takes an Incapacitating wound and makes only a Mediocre TOU roll, so he falls unconscious, leaving himself and his town at the mercy of the aliens. 13. CAMPAIGN IDEAS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There are at least five basic approaches the player can take to the alien invasion. They can just go on the run and hide. They can actively investigate what's going on, possibly hoping to find a weakness in the aliens. They can try to live with the alien presence and exploit the situation for their own gain. They can actively resist the aliens. Or they could end up captured and have to adapt to settlement on the new human colony (here GMs will get no help from this document). 13.1 HIDE/ESCAPE Being on the run will be tough. There may soon be no more corner grocery stores, and the player's money may become less and less valuable. They may have to become criminals themselves to survive, or find a farm and defend it to the death. They may find sanctuary groups who have temporarily figured out how to hide from the aliens. This could easily be the player's first reaction to the invasion, followed later by active resistance. 13.2 INVESTIGATE If there will ever be a hope of humans fighting off the aliens, it will have to come through some understanding of the aliens themselves, their societal organization, and their plans on Earth. Characters may first make contact somehow with visitor races and discover their Earthly origin. Or perhaps they'll learn to operate a simple alien symbiont, allowing them to communicate with aliens or eavesdrop. Researching alien biology could lead to biological weapons, or tracking plague cases may lead to a cure for humans. 13.3 EXPLOIT In the midst of turmoil from a great disaster, there are always a few people who manage to ride out the storm and benefit from it. They may be looters, or mercenaries, or entrepreneurs who buy up stocks at crashing prices. 13.4 RESIST The most exciting campaigns will probably be built around active resistance against the alien invaders. The players may take this path by forming an independent resistance group, or by joining with surviving national military organizations. Resistance may also take the form of political organization, or medical research, or something as simple as delivering the mail to keep civilization alive. 13.5 RESETTLE The destruction or capture of the player characters may be inevitable, given the resources and power of the Alien Race. But all need not be lost in this case. Genetically diverse (??) humans may be spared by the Alien Race and relocated to a special moon or planet prepared for them in another star system (They may even meet old characters there, presumed to be dead). It may be prudent to insure up front that characters are genetically diverse. This could be done by forcing each player to choose from a list of genetic defects or gifts, or through one or more Superb attributes. Aliens may even consider outstanding skills as a part of genetic diversity (they usually are in their case). GLOSSARY -------- ALIEN RACE - The aliens invading the earth. Does not include indigenous visitors. ARMOR - Any special protection which can reduce damage done by a weapon. ATTRIBUTE - As in Fudge rules. A non-learned area of character ability or potential, such as strength, social aptitude. BASE - Alien Race morphology characterized by large base appendage and four "arms". BIPEB - Alien Race morphology characterized by two legs and two arms. CHEMICAL(CHM) - Alien attribute indicating both sensitivity to chemical signals and ability to produce them. CONCENTRATOR - Alien symbiont used to "focus" sensory input. Sensory amplifier. DEAD TOOL - Any Non-living, non-symbiont tool. Used only by humans and Dead Tool Users within the alien race. DEAD TOOL USER - Small group within Alien Race which has learned to make and use Dead (non-symbiotic) Tools. DOLPHOID - Alien visitor originally derived from early dolphin ancestors. EARTH VISITOR - An species derived originally from a native Earth life form, but bred over centuries to be agents of the Alien Race. ELECTRICAL(ELE) - Alien attribute indicating sensitivity to electromagnetic signals and the ability to produce them. FUDGE - Basic role playing engine used with Fudge Invasion. Developed by Steffan O'Sullivan. (ftp.csua.berkeley.edu /pub/fudge) FUDGE INVASION - Supplementary material to be used with the Fudge RPG system. Consists of Player Sourcebook and GM Sourcebook. GENETIC VECTOR - Symbiont used by the alien race to modify genetic sequences and produce tailored viruses. HUMANOID - Visitor species derived from early hominids. MORPHOLOGIES - Body forms. The Alien Race has three basic morphologies - Quad, Base, and Biped. PLANNERS - Subspecies within alien race designed to carry out planning and leadership tasks. PRISON CAMPS - Camps set up by aliens in urban areas to contain human's before extermination. QUAD - Alien race morphology characterized by four legs and two arms. SPACECREATURE - Alien symbiont used as a spacecraft. Capable of interstellar travel. SPECIALISTS - Alien Race members dedicated to one related set of tasks. This is the majority of the Alien Race. STORES - Symbionts which store sensory information and allow it to be searched and retrieved later. STRAIN ONE - First viral strain released by Alien Race. Attacks liver, kidneys, and heart. STRAIN TWO - Second viral strain released by the aliens. Re-engineered ancient influenza strain. STRAIN THREE - Third viral strain. Targeted specifically at prison camps. symptoms similar to leprosy. STUN DAMAGE - Damage caused by stun weapons. Calculated normally, but "heals" much faster. SYMBIONT - Alien life form bred by Alien Race to join with them and serve some purpose. Alien "Tools." TENDERS - Alien Race specialists which tend the breeding and survival needs of symbionts or others of the Alien Race. TRANSLATOR - Symbiont which translates from one form of alien sensory communication to another. URSOID - Alien visitor species derived from primitive bear-like mammals. Used as scouts and soldiers. VIBRATION(VIB) - Alien attribute indicating sensitivity to vibration signals and the ability to produce them. VISITOR - Alien species/race descended from indigenous Earth life form. VISUAL(VIS) - Alien attribute indicating sensitivity to visual signals and the ability to produce them.