The Metabarons - Quick Start-up Rules

QUICK START-UP RULES Prepare yourself to enter the exciting universe of Metabarons: The Roleplaying Game. This hand-out will help you learn to play the game in only a few minutes. Read it, then ask the gamemaster any questions you might have about roleplaying or how this game works. By Peter Schweighofer

Roleplaying Basics

In roleplaying games, the action takes place in every-one’s imagination. You don’t use a board or move tokens around. Instead, a person called the “gamemaster” leads the story, describing each scene and setting to the players, who visualize the situation themselves. The players imagine what the scene looks like and how theircharacters would respond to the situations they encounter. Thenthe players tell the gamemaster how they want to react. Example: The gamemaster explains, “You’re walking through a sub-level of Arcol 271, down grimy, garbage-strewn corridors caked with the humid odor of stale breath and machinery. A rather dapper looking fellow emerges from a dark alley and asks if you’d like to make a few extra kublars. He beckons you down the alley. You follow—you can always use some extra money—and you quickly find yourself surrounded by several tough-looking thugs.” It’s obvious your character’s walked into some sort of trap. You might try persuading or fast-talking the dapper looking fellow to let you go. You could try intimidating the thugs by drawing a weapon and coolly threatening them. Or perhaps you just want to pull your sidearm and start shooting away…and hope your character survives this encounter.

The players and gamemaster work together to create their own story, with the players’ characters as the heroes. The game rules help determine what your character is capable of doing, while the gamemaster’s plot creates settings, adversaries, and incidents to propel you along toward the story’s exciting climax. Everyone’s A Winner. Nobody wins or loses in a roleplaying game. You’re not competing against the other players or the gamemaster. The characters must work together as a team to accomplish their goals, using their various strengths and expertise to everyone’s benefit. The players work with the gamemaster to create an entertaining story. Immerse Yourself in Your Character. You must rely on your imagination to fully enjoy the game. You might adopt your character’s accent and mannerisms while speaking in the game. You should only act out scenes when they are non-threatening (for example, if your character tries conning someone, you could have fun fast-talking him while playing your part). Remember, this is just a game—never act out violent scenes or make any physical actions others might consider dangerous or threatening. Use Your Imagination. In the game your character can do whatever you can imagine someone like him doing in that situation. If you can imagine it in the real world, or in the Metabarons universe, it can happen in the game. Don’t worry about “going off the board,” because there isn’t one. Your gamemaster knows how to keep the game story focused toward your goal. Keep Things Moving. A good story doesn’t slow down, it just accelerates toward the exciting climax. Don’t worry about the rules. Just tell the gamemaster what you’d like your character to do, and the gamemaster will tell you what skills you’ll need and when to roll them.

How the Game Works

Each player gets a sheet that describes their character (the “character sheet”). This sheet shows your character’s strengths and skills. The gamemaster tells you when to roll the dice for certain skills depending on what you want your character to do during the game. The gamemaster uses the rules to interpret these die rolls to see which actions succeed and which fail. “Die codes” define your character’s abilities and skills. Each die code represents the number of six-sided dice you roll when your character uses an attribute or skill (1D, 2D, 3D, 4D, 5D, etc.), and sometimes an added bonus of “+1” or “+2” you add to the entire roll. Example: The scout Martius has an Agility die code of 2D+2, so if he tried juggling four balls at once, he’d roll 2 dice and add 2 to the total to get his score.

You follow this same procedure for skills, which are more specific rolls for certain tasks associated with each attribute. For instance, the astrography skill is a more specific use of your character’s Knowledge attribute. All skills beneath a given attribute begin at that attribute’s die code. Some skills are marked with higher die codes, representing areas the character improved through training or experience. If the gamemaster asks you to roll a skill you haven’t improved (you’ll see it has no new die code next to it), just look up the associated attribute and roll that attribute’s die code. The higher you roll, the better your character accomplishes the task at hand. When your character tries doing something, the gamemaster chooses a difficulty number based on the task’s complexity. When competing against a gamemaster-controlled character, you must beat this opposing character’s skill roll. The gamemaster doesn’t usually tell you the difficulty number you need to equal or beat to succeed. He won’t 2

usually tell you which tasks are easier and which are harder, though he might give you hints (“Hmmm, hitting that passing aircar with the magna-line is going to be pretty hard.…”). Difficulty Number Example: Martius the scout is on his way to Klovat, a remote planet he intends to explore. He wants to find some specific information about this world. Since Klovat’s a remote planet, the gamemaster decides the player running Martius must roll 20 or higher to find the information he needs. Since Martius has an astrography skill of 6D (pretty good!), he rolls 6 dice and adds them up. He gets a 25 and beats the difficulty number. The gamemaster fills Martius in on the information he remembers about Klovat.

Metabarons Task Difficulties Difficulty Level Very Easy Easy Moderate Difficult Very Difficult Heroic

Difficulty # 1–5 6–10 11–15 16–20 21–30 31+

Firearms Range Point Blank Close Medium Long

Opposed Roll Example: While exploring Klovat, Martius encounters a strange and rather angry creature in its nest. The glossglok lashes out at Martius with a barbed claw. Although the creature’s attack takes him almost by surprise, Martius has just enough time to try avoiding the blow. The glossglok makes a brawling roll of 11 to attack Martius: this is the difficulty number he must equal or beat to dodge the attack. Martius has a dodge skill of 3D+2, so his player rolls 3 dice and adds 2 to the total. He rolls a total of 16 and manages to avoid the blow. The glossglok’s barbed claw narrowly misses crushing Martius into shredded pulp.

Don’t worry if this seems confusing right now—it’ll all become more clear one you start playing. The gamemaster keeps track of who’s taking what actions and what skills everyone’s rolling. Don’t be shy about asking the gamemaster questions while you play.

Actions In A Round For most actions and roleplaying, it’s not always important to keep track of how much time passes in the game (“game time,” as opposed to “real time”). In certain situations like combat, however, game time is broken into several turns, or “rounds.” One round represents about five seconds in game time. Example: When the glossglok lashes out at Martius and the scout dodges, that action takes one round (or about five seconds) in the imaginary game world, but in real time, it might take the player and gamemaster three or four minutes to figure which skills to use, roll all the dice, and resolve the action. Characters can make one action per round and roll the regular number of dice for the skill or attribute they use. Characters can try performing more than one action in a round, depending on what the player wants to do in a given situation. But the more your character tries doing, the more difficult every action becomes. Each time your character tries accomplishing an additional task past the one she can normally make in a round, she loses 1D from all her rolls that round. Example: Martius just leaped back from the glossglok and wants to shoot back before it can attack him again. To make sure he hits with his defense pistol, he decides to take two shots. His firearms skill is 3D+2—since he’s taking two shots this round, he rolls 2D+2 for each shot (two actions, –1D per roll).

Just to make sure he doesn’t get hit with that barbed claw, Martius decides he’s going to take only one shot at the glossglok and then dodge in the same round. His firearms skill is 3D+2, and his dodge is 3D+2. Since he’s taking two actions in one round, he has a –1D penalty to both rolls—he rolls his firearms at 2D+2 and his dodge at 2D+2. If he decided to take two shots and dodge (three actions with a –2D penalty to all rolls), he’d make two firearms rolls at 1D+2 and his dodge roll at 1D+2. The gamemaster will remind you about penalties for multiple actions during the game as you describe what your character wants to do each round (“You’re shooting twice at the glossglok and dodging, so you’ll have a –2D penalty to all your rolls.”). Your character can also suffer from other penalties to his die codes to represent damage taken during combat. Characters who are wounded suffer a –1D penalty to all die rolls until healed. If wounded twice, the penalty rises to –2D. Characters who sustain enough damage to incapacitate them pass out unless they can make a Moderate (15) willpower roll: those who make this roll act with a –3D penalty to all rolls, can barely manage themselves, and need assistance from others. Mortally wounded characters are on death’s doorstep and require serious medical help; they 3 can do little on their own. The gamemasters helps keep track of damage your character sustains and the various penalties involved with injuries.

Wound Levels Stunned: –1D for all remaining actions this round and next round; a second stun moves the injury status to “wounded.” Wounded: –1D to all actions until healed; a second wound or stun on top of this makes the character “wounded twice” for a total of –2D on all actions. Incapacitated: The character is injured and knocked out for 10D minutes, but may try to stay conscious with a Moderate (15) willpower roll, making all actions with a –3D penalty. Mortally Wounded: The character is near death; roll 2D each round, the character finally dying if the roll is less than the number of rounds a character’s been mortally wounded. Character Damage Chart Killed: The character is toast. Sorry. Damage Roll Greater Than Strength Roll By: Effect: First Aid 0–5 Stunned Characters can heal others or themselves with some basic field proce6–10 Wounded dures for treating wounds. Such attempts don’t require a medbox (which 11–15 Incapacitated usually adds +2D to first aid rolls). Simply roll first aid (or Technical) to 16–20 Mortally Wounded treat wounds in the field: 21+ Killed Injury Level

Difficulty

Stunned, unconscious Wounded, wounded twice Incapacitated Mortally Wounded

Easy (10) Moderate (15) Difficult (20) Very Difficult (30)

A successful roll heals the character up one level: for instance, a successful first aid roll on someone who’s wounded would bring them back to stunned. A character using up a medbox adds +2D to her first aid roll. Characters with any dice in medicine (adv.) may also add those dice to their first aid roll.

Character and Amarax Points Each character starts out with a few possessions, plus 5 Character Points and 1 Amarax Points. You can spend these points to improve your chances of success in really challenging and heroic situations. Character Points: When you spend a Character Point, you get one extra die to roll when your character tries to successfully accomplish a task. You may choose to spend this Character Point after you’ve rolled (in case it’s a very important roll and you roll low, or you want to improve a total you’ve already rolled to make sure it’s high). For example, if Martius needs a 10 to dodge that glossglock and only rolls a 7, he can spend a Character Point and roll one more die, adding the result to his dodge total. You can use up to 3 Character Points to improve a roll…as long as you have enough points to spend. You gain more Character Points at the end of a game for completing goals and playing well. You can use them to improve your character’s skills, and, if using psionics, use them to activate these amazing powers. Amarax Points: When you use an Amarax Point, your character draws on his inner strength and spirit to try and succeed. He’s risking part of his soul to do what he feels needs to be done according to his honor code. If you decide to spend an Amarax Point, you must do so before making any die rolls. This doubles the number of dice you’d normally roll for one round only. Players usually save their Amarax Points to accomplish particularly heroic feats. Once used, you lose the Amarax Point—but you may earn it back at the end of the game if you followed your code of honor. Necro-Dream Point: Necro-Dream Points represent the negative influence in the Metabarons universe.

The Metabarons Roleplaying Game is available now at comic and hobby shops. For more information check out our web sites or e-mail us at [email protected] westendgames.com / metabarons.com TM

D6 Legend - RR 5 Box 2345, Honesdale, PA 18431 - tel: (570)251-1550 © 2001 Les Humanoïdes Associés S.A. Geneva – The Metabaron character was created by Alexandro Jodorowsky & Mœbius. The Metabarons and the Metabarons logo are trademarks of Les Humanoïdes Associés S.A., Geneva (Switzerland). TM

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Metabarons Skill List AGILITY: A measure of how physically articulate your character is. archaic weapons: Wielding unpowered melee and ranged weapons no longer widely used in the universe. It’s not just a skill, it’s a way of life. It allows the user to roll 2 dice for every Character Point spent to boost an archaic weapons roll against those using melee or dodge to defend. brawling: Competence in unarmed combat. dodge: Slipping out of danger’s way, whether avoiding an attack or a sprung booby trap. firearms: Shooting any gun one can carry, even if it requires a tripod set-up to fire. Covers everything from small Vipers to shoulder-launched rockets. martial arts: Proficiency in a more refined hand-to-hand combat technique than brawling, it allows the user to roll 2 dice for every Character Point spent to boost a martial arts roll against those using brawling or dodge to defend. melee combat: Wielding modern handto-hand weapons (those using a power source). riding: Controlling and riding domesticated mounts. running: Running quickly while avoiding obstacles and keeping from stumbling. sleight of hand: Nimbleness with the fingers, including picking pockets and palming items. throwing: Hitting a target accurately with a thrown item, including grenades, stones and knives. (Using or modifying grenades as explosives for special destructive effects requires the demolitions skill.) 0-G maneuver: Maneuvering on one’s own in zero-gravity environments, including drifting through space in a vacuum suit, or flying under one’s own power. KNOWLEDGE: Measure of a character’s intelligence. aliens: Understanding of aliens not of the character’s own species and their physiology, customs, and history. astrography: Familiarity with astrographic features (planets, star systems, nebulae), and general knowledge of any civilized elements present (settlements, industry, government, orbital installations). bureaucracy: Knowledge of and ability to use a bureaucracy’s intricate procedures to gain information, favors, or attain other goals. business: Comprehension of business practices and the monetary value of goods and opportunities. cultures: Understanding of the manners, customs, and social expectations of different cultures. intimidation: Using physical presence, verbal threats, and fear to influence others. languages: Familiarity with and ability to use various forms of communication, written, spoken, and non-verbal. 5 scholar: Expert learning in a specific

area of study, though not a practical proficiency in that subject (a scholar of archaic weapons would know details of them, but couldn’t wield them effectively without that particular skill). security regulations: Understanding of how law enforcement organizations, regulations and personnel operate. streetwise: Familiarity with criminal organizations, black markets, and other illicit operations. survival: Knowledge of techniques for surviving in hostile, uncivilized environments. tactics: Familiarity with deploying military forces and maneuvering them to the best advantage.

willpower: Personal ability to withstand stress and temptation. MECHANICAL: Aptitude for operating mechanical equipment. astro-nav: Plotting courses through space using a vessel’s navigational computer interface. comm: Effectively using communication devices and arrays. exoskeleton operation: Using personal exoskeletons which augment one’s performance with mechanical aids. gunnery: Accurately firing weapons mounted on vehicles, space ships or within fortresses. piloting: Flying air- or space-borne craft, from aircars and fighters to transports and battleships. sensors: Operating scanner arrays to gather information about one’s surroundings. shields: Deploying and redirecting shields aboard vehicles and vessels. vehicle operation: Operating non-flying vehicles traveling on or through the ground or a liquid medium. PERCEPTION: A character’s awareness of himself and things around him, including the ability to interact successfully with others. bargain: Haggling for prices for goods and services being bought or sold. command: Effectively ordering and coordinating others in team situations (such as commanding a battleship crew).

con: Bluffing, lying and deceiving others. forgery: Creating and noticing false or altered documentation in various media (paper, electronic, plastic card). gaming: Winning and cheating at games of strategy and luck. hide: Concealing objects, both on oneself and using camouflage. investigation: Gathering evidence and drawing a conclusion from it. persuasion: Influencing others through honest discussion. search: Spotting hidden objects or people. sneak: Moving silently, avoiding detection and hiding oneself. STRENGTH: Measure of a character’s physical power. climb/jump: Climbing or jumping over obstacles. lift: Moving or lifting heavy objects. stamina: Physical endurance and resistance to disease and poison. swim: Moving and surviving in a liquid medium TECHNICAL: Character’s ability to manipulate, repair and modify complex mechanical systems. armor repair: Fixing damaged armor. computer interface/repair: Programming, interfacing with and fixing computer systems. demolitions: Setting explosives to achieve particular destructive effects. engineering (adv.): Practical and in-depth understanding of a particular technical field. exoskeleton repair: Repairing and modifying exoskeletons. firearms repair: Repairing and modifying firearms. first aid: Using basic field medicine to treat injuries. flight systems repair: Fixing damaged systems aboard flying vehicles and spaceships. gunnery repair: Fixing weapons mounted on vehicles, space ships or within fortresses. medicine (adv.): Detailed understanding and application of medical procedures, including surgery and cybernetic implantation. personal equipment repair: Fixing small, electronic equipment, including damaged cybernetics. robot interface/repair: Programming, interfacing with and fixing robots and their systems. security: Installing, altering and bypassing electronic security and surveillance systems. vehicle repair: Fixing ground- and oceanbased vehicles that do not fly. PSIONICS: Measure of a character’s psionic ability. Can have a score of 0D. energy: Sensing and manipulating various forms of energy through psionics. self-control: Manipulating one’s own body and mind from within. influence: Using psionics to bend others to your will, including hyp-notic control.

The Vice-Patrician’s Blue Box A Short Metabarons Encounter By Peter Schweighofer Begin the adventure by handing out the quickstart rules and let everyone read them over. Remind players that the Metabarons Roleplaying Game uses the same rules as other D6 System games. Hand out the sample characters. If you don’t have six players, allow them to choose from among the six characters provided. Give them a moment to read over their characters and ask any questions about the game stats or mechanics. You might take a minute to explain some of the skills. (Note: None of these characters have any dice in Psionics, and therefore cannot use those skills. They’ll appear in the game rules, but just not in this demo.) Now allow everyone to briefly introduce themselves in-character. To begin the adventure, set the scene by reading this boldfaced text aloud: Your travels have brought you all to a planet called Dreer— Arcol 271 to be exact, one of hundreds of massive city constructs littering the planet’s surface. These arcologies contain the homes, factories, and offices controlled by one of the powerful industrial magnates who long ago stripped this planet of its natural resources. Now the strip mines have filled with waste sludge from the arcologies, and the skies are darkened by the exhaust of countless factories. You’ve all been approached by a sub-executive representing the vice-patrician for the planet’s Imperial Merchants Guild offices. Sub-Exec Hallofer seemed like a friendly sort of fellow, offering each of you five kublars for doing his boss a service. A particular cargo box was stolen while being transferred between a freighter landing platform and the guild’s secure warehouse. Hallofer described it as a blue, hard-plastic box less than one square meter, with a ribbed surface for added strength, and a white label scanned on each side reading “Universal Con/Past.” Should the characters ask what the box contained, the sub-executive admits rather bashfully that even he doesn’t know. His superior simply told him the crate had quite a high value. After several delays, clues, and dead-ends, your group tracked the thieves to an abandoned waste

processing station on Arcol 271’s sublevel 88. You survey the scene from a dark corridor leading into the station: foul-smelling processing pools, pump machinery, disused control panels, rickety catwalks, and a small clearing amidst all of it with several thieves all lounging around your valuable blue crate. They’re grumbling among themselves, idling away the time. There are a number of thieves equal to the number of characters, plus two for good measure. The characters can make Perception rolls to notice anything unusual. Everyone figures out the thieves are armed with Viper pistols, though they look like a rag-tag group with no clear-cut organization or leadership. Anyone making an Easy (10) Perception roll realizes the thieves seem to be waiting impatiently for someone to show up. Anyone making a Moderate (15) Perception roll notices the crate is sealed with an expensive electronic combination lock—the thieves seem dismayed that they can’t break open the lock without damaging it. Show the players the map of the waste processing station. The crate and thieves sit in the center, with the low pools of sludge giving them good visibility of the immediate vicinity. The walls, however, have plenty of shadows where characters might try sneaking up on the thieves (a sneak roll opposed by the thieves’ Perception dice of 3D). Give the players a minute or two to formulate some strategy for attacking the thieves and retrieving the blue box. Allow them to execute their plan. If they intentionally wait, a new figure appears from one of the shadowy entrances: a tall, spindly fellow wrapped in a fine long coat and speaking in a snooty accent. It seems he’s here to purchase the blue box from them. The characters won’t discover what’s truly going on until they step in to take the box by force.

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Blue Box Thieves. All stats are 2D except: Agility 3D, brawling 4D, dodge 4D, firearms 4D, streetwise 3D, Mechanical 3D, Perception 3D, bargain 4D, con 4D, sneak 4D, Strength 3D, Psionics 0D. Move 10. Character Points 2. Tech vests, Viper pistols (4D damage). If the characters move once the snooty fellow’s revealed himself, he tries escaping as quickly as possible. If the characters attack before he appears, he holds back, waiting for a clear chance to step in and grab the box himself, or escape before he’s discovered. Snooty Fellow. All stats are 2D except: Agility 3D, dodge 4D+2, Knowledge 4D, business 5D, cultures 5D, Perception 4D, bargain 5D+1, con 5D, sneak 5D, Psionics 0D. Move 10. Character Points 4. Defense pistol (5 shots, 3D damage), fine long coat, pouch with 20 kublars. If the characters seem reluctant to move even after the snooty fellow appears, allow one of the thieves (or even the snooty fellow) to notice them. The snooty fellow might do this simply to distract the thieves into attacking the characters… while he makes off with the box. Once the characters defeat the thieves, they can take possession of the valuable blue box. They can easily blow off the electronic combination lock, but their client will definitely know they looked inside. To peek without damaging the lock requires someone to make a Difficult (20) security roll. Inside the now-unsealed box they find several tightly wrapped trays of delicious lupium, a culinary confection only the ultra-rich can afford. If they apprehend the snooty fellow, he admits to managing an upscale restaurant in Arcol 271’s higher levels which caters to aristocrats and the corporate elite. He head the Merchants Guild vice-patrician had a weakness for lupium, and decided to intercept one of his regular shipments. For returning the lupium to Sub-Exec Hallofer, they each receive 5 kublars (more than most folks make in one day around here). For their actions in defeating the thieves and recovering the blue box, they each get 3 Character Points (4 if they successfully looked inside the box without breaking the electronic combination lock).

Equipment Information

Weapons Cogan rifle: combat rifle often used by military forces (variable damage, 5D to 6D). Combat shock-knife: large combat knife whose damage is enhanced by an energy discharge on contact (STR+1D+2 damage). Defense pistol: small, easily concealed gun firing only 5 shots, often used for personal defense (5 shots, 3D damage). Suprapistol: standard military sidearm firing an enhanced round (5D damage). Sword: archaic blade weapon still used by the galaxy’sprimitive peoples (variable damage based on craftsmanship, usually STR+2D). Viper pistol: standard firearm, and one of a few people can legally carry (4D damage). Personal Equipment Hand vid-comm: hand-held device allowing audio and visual communication via a punch pad and vid-screen. Io board: interface board used for taking notes and running basic computer programs; “io” is short for “input/output” Kublars: standard form of galactic currency, 5 kublars equals what one hard-working corporate drone earns in a day. Range goggles: goggles worn over the eyes to magnify objects at a distance (provide +3D to long-range Perception and search rolls).

Game-Play Tips

Character Points: To help players keep track of their character points in a quick demo, ask each to set aside one die with the “5” side up. When they use a Character Point, they can turn this die to the next lower number. Once they’ve gone past “1” they’ve used up all their Character Points. Wild Die: Don’t worry about using the Wild Die. If players ask, yes, the Metabarons RPG will include rules for using the Wild Die, but don’t bother using it during the demo.

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