Section I. Generating a Character

Below is an alternate system of character generation for Star Frontiers 2000.

Ability Scores(Point-Buy System)

1. All characters start out with the following ability score pairs:

45/45, 45/45, 55/55, 65/65

freely assigned to any of the four abilities, and have an additional 400 XP to spend on skills and raising ability scores, as per the table below:

Negative point values grant that many bonus XP to be used for abilties or skills.

2. Decide your character's race. Add or subtract the appropriate modifiers as specified by Table 2. Ability

Modifiers.

Table 2. Ability Modifiers(includes Phoenix Dawn Races)

3. Fill in your racial special abilities if you have them.

4. You can modify your base pair scores by subtracting points from one ability and adding them to the other

ability in the base pair. No more than ten points per pair can be shifted this way.

5. Divide your character's Reaction Speed score by ten. If the result is a fraction, round it up. The final result is the

character's initiative modifier.

6. Choose your handedness if you're not a Vrusk (Vrusk are ambidextrous) or a Dralasite (although you must

designate a "dominant" limb).

7. Determine your punching score based on Table 3. Punching Scores.

Table 3. Punching Scores

8. Determine your gender unless you are:

• Dubelhwy (who are all male),
• Dralasite (who are hermaphoditic), or
• Kroimeeka (who are all female)

Section II. Skills And Professions

Let's Get Mental

New Rules For Mentalists

Characters must have 70 Intuition or higher to take Mentalist skills, these skills coming from the Telepath, Empath or Clairvoyant PSAs.

Mentalist characters can only take a maximum of two Mentalist PSAs and one outside PSA, learning the skills from the outside PSA at out of profession cost.

Characters who take only one Mentalist PSA and two outside PSAs learn the skills in the chosen PSA at out-of-profession costs.

Other characters can take Mentalists skills without taking a Mentalist PSA, learning the skills at out-of-profession cost and at a maximum skill level of 3.

Mentalist PSAs

Modified Skills

Piloting PSA

Starship Pilot

The four Star Pilot skills have been merged into one skill(Starship Pilot) for purposes of playability. Characters with Starship Pilot skill choose a type of craft(rated by hull size) with which they are familiar, operating all other craft with a -20%(-2 level) unfamiliarity penalty, until he acquires enough XP to buy off that penalty.

EXAMPLE: A character takes Level 3 Starship Pilot(Hull Size 3), specializing in flying his assault torpedo boat.

During the course of an adventure, he finds himself at the helm of a Spacefleet Marauder-class war cruiser, which he will fly as if his Starship Pilot skill level were only 1(-20% or two levels of unfamiliarity), and will continue to do so until he acquires at least 5 XP(2 for level 2, 3 for level 3)to buy off the penalty. He will then have Starship Pilot(HS 4) at Level 3 as well as Starship Pilot(HS 3) at Level 3.

Additional Modified Piloting PSA Skills

The following Star Pilot skills:

Star Pilot : Evasion

(Albin Johnson/Tim Carrier)

Prerequisites: Starship Pilot at level 1

Description: see Knight Hawks. This skill need only be purchased once for use on any starship the pilot has

expertise in flying.

Star Pilot: Increase Accuracy of Forward Firing Weapons

(Albin Johnson/Tim Carrier)

Prerequisites: Starship Pilot at level 1

Description: see Knight Hawks. This skill need only be purchased once for use on any starship the pilot has

expertise in flying.

have now been merged into the new skill:

Vehicular Combat(Starship)

(William S. Signs, based loosely on the True 20 feat of the same name)

Prerequisites: Starship Pilot at level 1

Attribute: ± (10%/skill level+(ADF)%+(MR)%-(HS)%)

Description: This skill allows a combat pilot to evade enemy fire and increase the accuracy of all the weapons on board his ship.

Use of this skill grants a modifier of +(10% per skill level+(Ship's Maneuver Rating)%-(Ship's Hull Size)%)to his gunners'(and his own) To-Hit rolls when his ship attacks, and -(10% per skill level+(Ship's Maneuver Rating)%-(Ship's Hull Size)%)to the opposing ship's crew's own To-Hit rolls.

EXAMPLE: A Puglist-class war cruiser is attacked by a Spacefleet Exalted-class destroyer 1,260 meters(21 hexes) away. The cruiser's pilot has Vehicular Combat(Starship) at Skill Level 4, while the enemy vessel's pilot has a Vehicular Combat(Starship) skill of 2.

The cruiser's captain orders an attack run against the destroyer, bringing all forward main lasers to bear on the Exalted, the Pugilist's pilot jinking, as he comes in at maximum burn.

At the same time, the Exalted's pilot chooses to evade and keep his ship's weapons bearing on the smaller cruiser.

The Pugilist's pilot adds [40%(for Skill 4)+7%(for ADF 7)+6%(for MR 6)-4%(for the cruiser's HS of 4)]+49% to his gunners' to-hit rolls(and his own), while subtracting [20%(for enemy's Skill Level of 2)+5%(for destroyer's ADF 5+5%(for the destroyer's MR of 5)-12%(for the destroyer's Hull Size of 12)]-18% to all to-hit rolls made by his ship's crew, for a net modifier of +31%.

The Exalted's pilot, on the other hand, adds [20%(for Skill Level of 2)+5%(for destroyer's ADF of 5)+5%(for the destroyer's MR of 5)-18%(for the destroyer's Hull Size of 12)] +13% to his crew's to-hit rolls and subtracts [40%(for Skill 4)+7%(for ADF 7)+6%(for MR 6)-4%(for the cruiser's HS of 4)]-42% to his crew's to-hit rolls, for a net modifier of -31% .

Vehicular Combat(Starship) programs(q.v.) add (+10% x program skill level) to the Vehicular Combat(Starship) skill roll.

Starship Pilot: Increase ADF/MR

(William S. Signs)

Prerequisites: Star Pilot 1

Attribute: 10%/skill level

Description: This skill allows a pilot to push either his maneuver jet or his Void engine for one turn. When he declares the use of this skill, the PC playing the pilot must specify whether he is increasing his ship's ADF or MR, successful skill use increasing either by one, while a normal failure results in 50% damage to the affected system and a natural 96-00 immediately either burns out the maneuver jet, resulting in a disastrous fire(q.v.) or destablizing containment on the Void engine(s), resulting in total destruction of the ship, inflicting (HS ×2,000)points of damage to all ships within 1,200 meters.

Gunnery PSA

Enforcer character can choose the Gunnery PSA as well; this enables them to use heavy weapons(missilers, recoilless rifles, grenade rifles and mortars, light laser cannon[formerly heavy lasers], etc.) as well as crew-served and artillery weapons.

All Gunner skills have no prerequisite skill requirement, as they cover a class of weapons entirely separate from hand-held weapons.

All Gunner skill base to-hit chances are:

½ STR or ½ DEX+10%/skill level

same as for all other weapons skills.

Modifiers to the to-hit roll include:

+10% per level of any Targeting programs.

± Vehicular Combat(Starship) skill OR ±(5%×Starship Pilot skill level+(ADF)%+(MR)%-(HS)%) for pilots without Vehicular Combat(Starship) skill.

-30% for Selective Targeting.

+10% per Sharpshooter skill level(see below).

Penalties for range as per AD.

Any applicable aim bonuses.

All other bonuses and penalties from AD/KH, except all cover penalties against air and space attacks.

Critical Hit: Any natural roll of 01-05 is a critical hit, except for those characters whose final to-hit roll has been adjusted below 6%.

Critical Miss: Any natural roll of 96-00 is a critical miss, except for those characters whose final to-hit roll has been adjusted above 95%.

EXAMPLE: To extend the example above, the Spacefleet destroyer opens fire on the Star Forces cruiser with three of its electron batteries, while the cruiser fires all six of its heavy laser cannon into the flank of the destroyer. Both ships have raised their magnetic deflection shielding and have launched two salvos of anti-beam missiles apiece,

The Pugilist's pilot, controlling the main beam weapons, has Gunner: Beam Weapons skill at Level 5, with a Level 6 Targeting program loaded in its gunnery computer's memory, while the three enemy gunners have the same skill at Level 3, 5, and 6, respectively, and their gunnery computers each have a Level 3 Targeting program loaded into its memory.

From the above example, the Pugilist has an additional +31% net modifier, while the Exalted's three gunners will fire with a -31% net penalty to their rolls, for totals of (50%+60%+31%)141% for the Pugilist's pilot and (30%+30%-31%)29%,(50%+30%-31%)49%, and (60%+30%-31%)59% respectively for the three Spacefleet gunners, without taking defenses into account.

The destroyer's mag shielding subtracts 50% from his to-hit chance and two anti-beam missile salvos subtract an additional 50%(25%/salvo) from the roll, for a final adjusted roll of 41%...praying very, very hard, the cruiser's pilot rolls his dice...and rolls 41 exactly, scoring a direct hit with all six main lasers(which share a single to-hit roll since they are all linked together).

The cruiser's mag shielding and anti-beam missile salvos subtract a total of 100% from all three enemy gunners' to-hit rolls, for final adjusted rolls of -71%(which means only a roll of 01-05 will hit), -51% and -41%...praying even harder, all three gunners pick up their dice and roll a 91, a 58...and an 04, the last gunner scoring a direct hit on the cruiser in spite of its defenses.

Normally, a natural roll of 01-05 is a critical hit(q.v.); however, as the gunner's final adjusted skill was below 5%, he only scores a regular hit.

Sharpshooter

(William S. Signs)

Prerequisites: Ranged Weapons or Gunner skill at level 3, skill must be taken separately for each class of weapon.

Attribute: +(5%/Skill Level) to Selective Targeting penalty.

Description: This skill represents a character's ability to precisely target a given spot on a target. The skill reduces the Selective Targeting penalty by 5% per skill level.

EXAMPLE: Normally, the chance to shoot someone between the eyes is a -30% penalty to hit, due to it being an instance of Selective Targeting.

A Level 2 Sharpshooter would reduce that penalty to -20%(+10% for Level 2), while a Level 6 Sharpshooter can shoot his target between the eyes without penalty(+30% for Level 6, which cancels the penalty altogether).

Forward Observer

(from Art Eaton's Alpha Dawn Redux ruleset)

Prerequisites: None

Attribute: +(10%/Skill Level) to the Gunner skill of any gunner he is in communication with for the first turn, +1% each additional turn.

Description: Characters trained in this skill can spot for field artillery and spacecraft in orbit, as well as coordinate air strikes from space and atmospheric fighters and bombers, adding +10% per skill level to the Gunner skill of the gunners he is in communication with, and +1% for each additional turn he is calling down fire.

EXAMPLE: A combat team of Star Forces Marines is pinned down by Landfleet units hiding in ambush and in positions too strong to attack directly. The team leader, with a Forward Observer skill of 2, calls in a request for fire support from an orbiting Morgaine-class destroyer. The destroyer's gunners(average level 5, with a Targeting program level of 5) add 20% to their adjusted to-hit rolls of 100% for the first turn the target is under fire, and 1% for each turn after the first they bombard the target.

Engineering PSA

This PSA includes all Engineer skills and is available to Techex characters as well as Spacers.

Engineer: Increase Power

(William S. Signs)

Prerequisites: Engineer: Alternate Energy, Engineer:Stress Analysis, Power Read, all at level 2.

Attribute: 10%/skill level

Description: This skill allows a starship engineer to push the ship's Void engine(s) for additional power to one selected system.

Successful skill use results in the selected system being boosted by 50% of its normal operating capacity(e.g. a boosted heavy laser cannon does 6,000 points of damage, a boosted ADF 7 Void engine has ADF 10, a boosted mag shield subtracts 100% from the to-hit chances of hostile gunners, etc.)for one turn.

A failed skill roll burns out all electrical power on board ship, and causes a disastrous fire, while a natural 96-00 destroys the ship, inflicting (HS ×2,000)points of damage to all ships within 1,200 kilometers.

Engineer: Hotshotting

(William S. Signs)

Prerequisites: Engineer: Alternate Energy, Engineer:Stress Analysis, Power Read, all at level 2.

Attribute: -5%/skill level

Description: A ship can generate the necessary power to enter the Void much faster than through gradual acceleration to 1% of light speed; however, it would require the annhilation of a mass of hydrogen and anti-hydrogen greater than the Void engines' magnetic and coolant systems can keep up with, almost certainly(95% chance) resulting in destruction of the ship.

A starship engineer can choose to take that risk, using this skill to modify the chance of blowing up the ship by -5% per skill level, to a maxmum of 65% at level 6. If the engineer rolls above the modified chance of destroying the ship, the ship can enter the Void immediately, instead of having to accelerate to 1% of c.

However, all failures of this skill roll(rolling below the modified chance of blowing up the ship)are critical failures, resulting in immediate destruction of the ship, inflicting (HS×2,000) points of damage on any ship within 1,200 meters.

EXAMPLE: A Longknife-class assault torpedo boat must run away, fast, after being set upon by a half dozen Hatchet-class corvettes, which close to 600 meters away. The ship's engineer, possessing the Hotshotting skill at level 2, decides(after a hasty conference with his captain), decides to risk entering the Void now. His chances of blowing up the ship are 85%(95%-10% for skill).

The engineer rolls the dice...and gets a 23.

The ATB goes up, taking all six 'vettes with it.

Section III. Modified Rules

Maximum Damage(Optional)

Instead of rolling dice, referees can elect to have all weapons inflict their maximum damage for ease and speed of play.

EXAMPLE: Lasers inflict 10 points of damage per SEU setting using the maximum damage rules.

Electron Weapons

Electron pistols have the same range and damage as an electrostunner, whereas electron rifles have a stun setting and five blast settings, which inflict 40(4D10 damage)per SEU setting, with a maximum setting of 5.

They otherwise have the same range as the Rafflur M2s from the Zeb's rules.

Electron cannon are described in Knight Hawks 2K and have the same range in atmosphere as for the Rafflur M4 from the Zeb's rules.