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Old 06-16-2019, 07:54 PM   #1
Infornific
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Default Star Smashers of the Galaxy Rangers or Pointless Space Opera

A little while back I came up with half a dozen Wild Card skills to simulate the primary skill sets of Star Trek characters. It occurred to me that could be used to create a quick system like Pointless Dungeon Fantasy so on an extended whim I wrote one up.

Star Smashers of the Galaxy Rangers or Pointless Space Opera

This is inspired by pointless Dungeon Fantasy from Pyramid #72.

To create a character,

Pick an Archetype.
Pick four Major Abilities.
Pick ten skill levels.
Pick five flaws.

For modifiers to Attributes, I will use the common forum terminology of DX!, ST!, IQ! & HT! to show modifiers that affect Attributes but not underlying Characteristics. Traits are defined as follows:

DX! [15] +1 DX [20], -0.25 Speed [-5]
ST! [8] +1 ST [10], -1 HP [-2]
IQ! [10] +1 IQ [20], -1 Per [-5], -1 Will [-5]
HT! [2] +1 HT [10], -1 FP [-3], -0.25 Speed [-5]
Speed! [15] +1 Speed [20], -1 Move [-5]

Archetypes

As IQ is more important in the Space Opera genre, all archetypes start with a minimum DX, IQ and HT of 11 plus Speed 6.0.

Agile Hero

ST 11 DX 13 IQ 11 HT 11
HP 11 Speed 6.0 Per 11 Will 11 FP 11

Smart Hero

ST 10 DX 11 IQ 13 HT 11
HP 10 Speed 6.0 Per 13 Will 13 FP 11

Strong Hero

ST 14 DX 11 IQ 11 HT 11
HP 14 Speed 6.0 Per 11 Will 11 FP 11

Talented Hero

ST 10 DX 12 IQ 12 HT 11
HP 10 Speed 6.0 Per 13 Will 12 FP 11
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Old 06-16-2019, 07:55 PM   #2
Infornific
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Default Re: Star Smashers of the Galaxy Rangers or Pointless Space Opera

Major Abilities

Adrenaline Junkie: Daredevil and one of 1 Destiny Point, 1 Wild Card point or +1 Per.

Agile: +1 DX! And +1 Per

Ambidextrous: +1 DX! and Ambidexterity

High Pain Threshold

Lightning Reflexes: Combat Reflexes and either +1 Per or Enhanced Block or Enhanced Parry with one weapon.

Lucky: Luck and one of 1 Destiny Point, 1 Wild Card point or +1 Per. Taken twice raises Luck to Extraordinary and adds another of 1 Destiny Point, 1 Wild Card point or +1 Per.

Nimble: Flexibility and Perfect Balance

Quick: +1 Speed!, +1 Move

Sixth Sense: Danger Sense and +1 Per

Veteran: Three extra skill levels. This can also represent basic training by an organization. This does not add to Wild Card/Destiny Points.

Wise: +1 IQ!, +1 Per and +1 Will

Minor Abilities

3D Spatial Sense

Alertness: +2 Per. May be taken twice.

Beast Kin: Animal Empathy and +1 to Animal Handling, Falconry, Riding, Teamster and Veterinary.

Bilingual: One extra language at Native Fluency and a Cultural Familiarity where appropriate. In addition, you can make an IQ-3 roll for History, Literature, Poetry, Philosophy etc for the relevant cultures. If the character also has Language Talent, the roll is IQ-2. In game terms, this is a language at Native [6], Cultural Familiarity [1] and a Wild Card skill for knowledge of the culture at Attr-3 [3]. With Language Talent it becomes a language at Native [4], Cultural Familiarity [1] and a Wild Card skill for knowledge of the culture at Attr-2 [6].

Brainy: +1 IQ!

Brave: +1 Will and +3 Fearlessness. If taken twice replace Fearlessness with Unfazeable.

Cat’s Eye: Night Vision +6 and Acute Vision +2

Catfall

Charismatic: +2 Charisma

Cultural Adaptability: One level grants Cultural Familiarity with all cultures of a given species. Two levels for all known species. Note in some fictional universes (e.g., Star Trek) there is often only one Cultural Familiarity per species. In those cases, a single level of Cultural Adaptability is enough to cover all known species.

Deft Hands: +2 High Manual Dexterity

Die Hard: +1 HT!, +1 FP and +3 Hard to Kill

Empathic: Sensitive and +1 to Body Language, Detect Lies, Diplomacy, Fortune Telling and Psychology. Taken twice raises Sensitive to Empathy.

Enhanced Defense: Either +1 Parry with all melee weapons or +1 Parry with a specific weapon and +1 Block or +1 Parry with a specific weapon and bare hands. Taken twice means +1 to all parries plus +1 to block.

Fearless: +5 Fearlessness

Fleet Footed: +2 Move

Good Looking: Attractive, Classic Features and +1 to Sex Appeal. Taken twice replaces Attractive and Classic Features with Very Beautiful/ Very Handsome.

Gravity Tolerant: G-Experience (All.) If taken twice, add Improved Gravity Tolerance at the 10 point level. Check with your GM if this is appropriate.

Healthy: +1 HT!, +1FP and Resistant (Disease) +3

High Pain Threshold

Jack of All Trades

Keen Sense: One of +5 Acute Hearing, Taste and Smell, Touch or Vision.

Language Talent

Multilingual: Two languages at Accented and one at Broken or Two languages at Accented and two Cultural Familiarities. Taken twice it becomes five languages at Accented or four languages at Accented and four Cultural Familiarities.

Night Sight: Night Vision 5 and +1 Per

Nimble: Flexibility and an additional +1 to Acrobatics & Climbing. Taken twice replaces the skill bonus with Perfect Balance

Rank: 2 levels of military or law enforcement Rank. May be taken multiple times.

One level: Junior officer, NCO, police detective, etc
Two levels: Mid level officer, senior police, etc.
Three levels: Captain of a major ship, Colonel of a regiment, etc

At the GM’s discretion, characters may be given a starting Rank for free (e.g., everyone is assumed to be a mid level officer by default. In which case, each level of lower Rank counts as a Flaw.

Strong: +1 ST! & +1 HP. May be taken up to four times.

Strong Will: +2 Will. May be taken twice

Quick: +1 Speed!, +1 Move

Silver Tongue: Voice

Stamina: +1 HT!, +1 FP and Fit. If taken twice replace Fit with Very Fit.

Skill Focus: +2 skill with up to half a dozen related skills - basically +2 with a 5 point Talent. Examples:
Battle Leader: Leadership, Savoir Faire (Military), Strategy and Tactics
Deadshot: Beam Weapons, Crossbow, Gunner, Guns, Liquid Projector
Fencer: Main Gauche, Rapier, Saber and Smallsword
Space Hand: Computer Operation, Electronics Operation, Free Fall, NBC Suit, Spacer, Vacc Suit

Skill Specialist: +2 with one skill plus 2 points in Perks or Techniques

Stamina: +1 HT!, +1 FP and Fit. If taken twice replace Fit with Very Fit.

Superior Sense: +5 with one Acute Sense (Hearing, Taste & Smell, Touch or Vision)

Tough: +1 Damage Resistance (Tough Skin), +1 HT! and +2 HP

Weapon Specialist: +2 to a specific weapon skill and +1 Striking ST with the same weapon. For Guns or Beam Weapons choose two Perks or two points in a technique instead.
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Old 06-16-2019, 07:56 PM   #3
Infornific
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Default Re: Star Smashers of the Galaxy Rangers or Pointless Space Opera

Flaws:

Bad Luck: Unluckiness

Bad Sight: Assumes the existence of glasses

Bad Temper: Self Control 12-, Self Control of 9- counts as two flaws

Bloodlust: Self Control 12-, Self Control of 9- counts as two flaws

Code of Honor: Basically a -10 point code of some sort - informal and applies to everyone or formal and applied to a specific social group.

Curiosity: Curious with a Self Control roll of 9-

Delusional: A Delusion that strongly affects your behavior and results in a -2 Reaction

Dull: -1 IQ!

Fear: Phobia of something rare (the number 13, spiders. etc) with a Self Control roll of 9- or Phobia of something more common heights, blood, etc) with a Self Control roll of 12-

Foolish: -1 IQ!, -1 Per and -1 Will

Glutton: Gluttony with a -9 Self Control roll.

Hard of Hearing

Impulsive: Impulsiveness with a Self Control roll of 12-, Self Control of 9- counts as two flaws

Inobservant: -2 Per. May be taken twice.

Intolerant: Intolerance for anyone outside of your defined social group

Law Abiding: Honesty with a Self Control roll of 12-, Self Control of 9- counts as two flaws

Loyalty: Sense of Duty to a large group (national, religion etc.)

Overconfident: Overconfidence with a Self Control of 9-

Slow Footed: -2 Move

Truth Teller: Truthfulness with a Self Control of 9-

Ugly

Weak: -1 ST! and -1 HP. May be taken twice.

Weak Will: -2 Will. May be taken twice
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Old 06-16-2019, 07:58 PM   #4
Infornific
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Default Re: Star Smashers of the Galaxy Rangers or Pointless Space Opera

Skills:

All characters are assumed to have First Aid at IQ unless superseded by a skill below. In addition, a character may trade one level of skill for three languages at Accented. If not using Wildcard or Destiny Points and also granting extra Ability slots, this drops to two. In some campaigns, universal translators are common and language skills less important. In those cases add Linguist as a major ability, giving the character fluency at Accented level in any language he might plausibly know. Language Talent raises this to Native.

Academic (X)! (IQ): This requires a choice of specialty, about as broad as a college major. Skills include Current Affairs (X), Computer Operation, Expert (anything related to X), Intelligence Analysis (limited to X), Research & Writing. In addition, this includes any relevant skill for the field. So if X is Physics, it includes Physics, Mathematics and other related skills. GMs should be generous in determining related skills.

Analyze! (IQ): Astronomy, Computer Operation, Computer Programming, Electronics Operations (Sensors), Expert (Sciences), Intelligence Analysis, Mathematics, Naturalist, Physics, Research & Sociology.

Astronautics! (IQ): Artillery (Ship’s weapons), Computer Operations, Electronics Operations (all ship systems), Freight Handling, Navigation, Ship Handling & Spacer. Make a DX based roll for Free Fall, Gunner (Ship’s weapons), NBC Suit, Pilot & Vacc Suit.

Athlete! (DX): Acrobatics, Climbing, Escape, Free Fall, Jumping, Parachuting & Stealth. Make a HT based roll for Hiking, Lifting, Running, Skating, Skiing & Swimming. Make an IQ based roll for Scuba.

Criminal! (IQ): Area Knowledge, Criminology, Fast Talk, Holdout, Panhandling, Savoir Faire, Shadowing, Smuggling & Streetwise. Make a DX based roll for Filch or Forced Entry. Make a Per based roll for Observation, Scrounging, Search & Urban Survival. Make a Will based roll for Intimidation.

Deceive! (IQ): Acting, Disguise (People), Fast Talk, Forgery, Fortune Telling, Mimicry (Speech), Psychology, Savoir Faire and Streetwise. Make a HT based roll for Sex Appeal. Make a Per based roll for Body Language and Detect Lies. Add half of skill levels (rounded down) to default skill use but the bonus cannot exceed +3.

Engineer! (IQ): Armory, Computer Operation, Computer Programming, Electrician, Electronics Operation, Electronics Repair, Engineering, Machinist, Mathematics (Applied), Mechanic & Physics. Make a Per based roll for Scrounging.

Medical! (IQ): Diagnosis, Electronics Operation (Medical Equipment), Expert (Epidemiology), First Aid, Hazardous Materials (Biological), Pharmacy, Physician, Physiology, Psychology & Surgery. Chemistry for Drugs. Diplomacy for medical purposes. Forensics for autopsies. Naturalist for venoms.

Personal Combat! (DX): Axe/Mace, Beam Weapons, Boxing, Brawling, Broadsword, Fast Draw, Gunner, Guns, Judo, Karate, Knife, Shortsword, Spear, Staff, Sumo Wrestling, Throwing, Tonfa & Wrestling. +1 to unarmed damage and +1 ST to unarmed techniques with skill at DX+1, bonus is +2 for skill of DX+2 or more. Make a Per based roll for Body Language to detect violent intent. Make an IQ based roll for Tactics for small units. Make a Will based roll for Intimidation.

Scholar! (IQ): Archaeology, Connoisseur (Art, Literature & such), Expert (Humanities), History, Literature, Philosophy, Poetry, Research, Theology & Writing.

Smooth Operator! (IQ): Acting, Diplomacy Fast Talk, Interrogation, Leadership, Merchant, Panhandling, Politics, Propaganda, Psychology, Public Speaking, Savoir Faire & Streetwise. Make a HT based roll for Carousing & Sex Appeal. Make a Per based roll for Body Language & Detect Lies. Make a Will based roll for Intimidation.

Space Command! (IQ): Administration, Diplomacy, Expert(Military Science), Intelligence Analysis, Law (Space), Leadership, Psychology, Public Speaking, Savoir-Faire (Military), Ship Handling, Strategy & Tactics. Make Will based roll for Intimidation. Add large Wildcard bonus to Will rolls to resist efforts to sway the character from his duty or to persist in carrying out his duty. Add the small Wildcard bonus to Will rolls by subordinates to resist efforts to sway them from their duty or to persist in carrying out their duty. Add the small Wildcard bonus to HT and similar rolls for the character to persist in carrying out his duty.

Survivor! (IQ): Animal Handling (defensive only), Armory (TL 0), Camouflage, Disguise (Animals), Mimicry (Bird & Animal Sounds), Naturalist, Navigation & Weather Sense. Make a Per based roll for Fishing, Search, Survival & Tracking as well as Observation for the wilderness only. Make a DX based roll for Climbing & Stealth. Make a HT based roll for Hiking and Swimming. Apply large Wild Card bonus to Attribute rolls against wilderness hazards.

Trader! (IQ): Accounting, Administration, Connoisseur, Current Affairs (Business), Diplomacy, Economics, Fast Talk, Law (Business), Market Analysis, Merchant, Propaganda & Smuggling.

For Star Trek TOS fans, Astronautics! & Space Command! are the gold shirt skills, Analyze! & Medical! are the blue shirt skills, and Engineer! and Personal Combat! are the red shirt skills.

Optional Skills:

This is heavily Star Trek inspired. However some Space Opera plays up ground combat and some may prefer more than one personal combat skill. So here are some options for those who believe ST means Starship Troopers:

Hand to Hand! (DX): Axe/Mace, Beam Weapons, Boxing, Brawling, Broadsword, Fast Draw, Flail, Forced Entry, Judo, Karate, Knife, Kusari, Polearm, Shortsword, Spear, Staff, Sumo Wrestling, Two Handed Axe/Mace, Two Handed Flail, Two Handed Sword, Tonfa & Wrestling. +1 to unarmed damage and +1 ST to unarmed techniques with skill at DX, bonus is +2 for skill of DX+1 or more. Make a Per based roll for Body Language to detect violent intent. Make a Will based roll for Intimidation. Optionally, grant two points in Perks or Techniques for every point of Wild Card bonus.

Shooting! (DX): Beam Weapons, Bow, Crossbow, Fast Draw, Gunner, Guns, Innate Attack, Liquid Projector, Stealth, Throwing & Thrown Weapon. Make a HT based roll for Breath Control for shooting purposes. Make an IQ based roll for Camouflage. Make an IQ based roll for Holdout with weapons or Tactics for small arms. Make a Per roll for Observation of ambushes and other related fire combat issues and for Search for concealed weapons. Add the small Wild Card bonus to Accuracy. Optionally, grant one point in Perks or Techniques for every point of Wild Card bonus. Raise this to two points if using Tactical Shooting.

Surface Command! (IQ): Administration, Diplomacy, Expert(Military Science), Intelligence Analysis, Law (Military), Leadership, Psychology, Public Speaking, Savoir-Faire (Military), Soldier, Strategy & Tactics. Make Will based roll for Intimidation. Add large Wildcard bonus to Will rolls to resist efforts to sway the character from his duty or to persist in carrying out his duty. Add the small Wildcard bonus to Will rolls by subordinates to resist efforts to sway them from their duty or to persist in carrying out their duty. Add the small Wildcard bonus to HT and similar rolls for the character to persist in carrying out his duty.

Trooper! (IQ): Artillery, Electronics Operation (Military systems), Engineer(Combat), Explosives, Forward Observer, Gesture, Leadership, Savoir Faire (Military), Soldier, Strategy & Tactics. Armory, Electronics Repair & Mechanic to make basic repairs on military equipment. Observation & Search to identify combat threats.
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Old 06-16-2019, 07:59 PM   #5
Infornific
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Default Re: Star Smashers of the Galaxy Rangers or Pointless Space Opera

Destiny Calling (or Not)

The default assumes use of Destiny Points. However Wild Card Points may be more appropriate for the genre, allowing characters to truly excel in their specialties. If not using either Destiny or Wild card points, consider adding two more major Abilities and dropping one Flaw to compensate.


Under the Hood

This leads to the following costs under the hood:

Attributes & Characteristics: 100 points
Advantages: 80 points
Skills: 120 points
Disadvantages: -50 points

Variations:

Honest Working Hero: Only two major abilities and only 5 skill levels. Roughly equivalent to a 150 point character. If working without Destiny/Wild Card points consider using three major abilities and possibly one fewer Flaw. Cost breaks out as

Attributes & Characteristics: 100 points
Advantages : 40 Points
Skills : 60 points
Disadvantages: -50 points

Elite Henchman: As for Honest Working Hero but with no Destiny/Wild Card points. Roughly equivalent to 125 point character. Cost breaks out as

Attributes & Characteristics: 100 points
Advantages : 40 Points
Skills : 60 points
Disadvantages: -50 points
No Destiny/Wild Card Points: -25 points

Grunt: One major and one minor ability, only 4 skill levels and no Destiny/Wild Card Points. With modified Archetypes (55 points), equivalent to 63 points.

Attributes & Characteristics: 55 points
Advantages : 30 Points
Skills : 48 points
Disadvantages: -50 points
No Destiny/Wild Card Points: -20 points

Use the following modified Archetypes

Agile Grunt

Attributes: ST 10; DX 13; IQ 10; HT 11. Secondary Characteristics: Damage 1d-2/1d; BL 20 lbs.; HP 10; Will 10; Per 10; FP 10; Basic Speed 5.00; Basic Move 6

Brainy Grunt.

Attributes: ST 10; DX 10; IQ 13; HT 10. Secondary Characteristics: Damage 1d-2/1d; BL 20 lbs.; HP 10; Will 12; Per 13; FP 10; Basic Speed 5.00; Basic Move 5.

Brawny Grunt

Attributes: ST 13; DX 11; IQ 10; HT 11. Secondary Characteristics: Damage 1d-1/1d+2; BL 32 lbs.; HP 13; Will 10; Per 10; FP 11; Basic Speed 5.00; Basic Move 6

Versatile Grunt

Attributes: ST 11; DX 11; IQ 11; HT 11. Secondary Characteristics: Damage 1d-1/1d+1; BL 20 lbs.; HP 11; Will 11; Per 11; FP 11; Basic Speed 5.00; Basic Move 6.
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