Rise of Neo-Jove

Welcome onboard the Neo-Jovian frigate Haydée, formerly the Juan Carlos IV of the Republic of Cygnus. A relic of the Solar War, the ship had been laid up for half a decade before being seized by a group of Neo-Jovian commandos. A few short months of overhaul couldn't remotely put to right decades of hard use and poor maintenance, but nonetheless the renamed Haydée was launched, unfortunately without mobile suits.

Important Pages

Rise of Neo-Jove Background and Politics
Rise of Neo-Jove Character Dossier
Rise of Neo-Jove Mecha Dossier
Rise of Neo-Jove Arsenal

Background

Geography

Sol and the Core

Solar Federation

From its capital in Geneva on earth, the Solar Federation rules the entirety of the Sol system and many of the near-Sol colonies. The Federation is hailed by its proponents as the best society earth has ever seen, fighting poverty, oppression and war like no previous political system has and, in the view of some, the last government Humanity will ever need.

Its critics however regard it as a device by which Earth and Mars transhuman elites rule humanity. This is due to the system of exams and tests that control appointment to the higher levels of Sol Fed Bureaucracies, the military and other civil service (and most business) positions. These tests are almost impossible for most “normal” humans to pass, but are much easier for the increasingly common transhumans.

While the civilian government remains democratic, the civil service, military and upper echelons of business are now dominated by transhumans. Humans and transhumans are rated into an ability letter, drawn from the exam system, from F (usually normal humans) to S (the highest grade of transhuman) with S Class being given positions of extreme power and responsibility; this has led to accusations of the development of a new nobility in Sol that bypasses the old democratic system with back-channel dealmaking between the new lords of creation.

Despite this, most people are happier, richer and less likely to be a victim of violence than they were before, and the Sol Fed remains very popular even among its lowest-ranked citizens.

Solar Federation Fleet

The 'big stick' of the Solar Federation. While they lack the individual expertise and effectiveness of INTACT ships and pilots, the Solar Fleet has a lot of battleships.

INTACT

The Independent Tactical Armoured Counter Terrorism unit. The Solar Federation's mecha-SS, FBI and Homeland Security all rolled into one.

Tenshi Corp

A newcomer to the economic landscape of the Solar Federation, Tenshi corp has gone from an obscure think tank to a techno-industrial juggernaut in a single generation. Supplying cutting-edge equipment to various arms of the SolFed they have won contract after contract and swiftly became a fundamental component of the SolFed's military-industrial complex. This has spawned incessant speculation ranging from the plausible (bribery on a vast scale to various Senate members) to the outlandish (the Seraphim are secretly mind-controlling the Senate and various important military figures with alien technology).

The Engo

The earliest of what are today considered 'high transhumans', the Engo are some of the most influential and rich individuals in the Solar Federation. Which is fortuitous, because they are small in numbers - less than 10,000 exist, mostly in their floating city of Glakurant. The Engo are organized into about two dozen families - styled as Houses - each of which takes their name after a heraldic animal with examples like House Wolf, House Eagle, House Falcon, House Mustang, etc.

Verge

States

White Rose Kingdom

A political dynasty stretching over several star systems with its capital on the ocean world of Godford. As the name implies, the White Rose is a monarchy, with an elected lower house and has existed for decades as an oligarchical ruler of many millions of colonists. Now equipped with large numbers of second-line mecha and substantial political support from the Solar Federation, the White Rose is a rising contender amongst the multitude of distant colonies at the edges of SolFed space. In truth, the White Rose is little more than a client state of the Federation. The recent assassination of the crown prince by assailents unknown has thrown the Kingdom into a panic however, and witch hunts have begun to root out the regicides.

Bharat Commonwealth

One of the most populous extra-solar polities, Bharat is the result of a major Indian colonization effort. Facing substantial environmental degradation and continual overpopulation in the late 21st century the Indian government seized on the opportunity to ship people offworld into virgin territory. Unfortunately old, old cultural norms die hard and, isolated between the closure of the first-generation wormholes and the arrival of the slowboats with second-generation wormhole termini, transhuman technology reshaped Bharat's culture. By the middle of the 22nd century Bharat had solidified into a transgenic caste-based society, with higher castes having superior augmentations.

The Solar Federation's adoption of the placement tests and the resulting classification of its citizens into various grades of transhumanism was portrayed by its detractors as a partial step towards the caste system of Bharat, to the consternation of many Solar politicians. Many will indignantly claim that they place people based on ability, not give people abilities based on placement. Overtly negative comparisons were often hallmarks of the late 22nd century, though as the populace became used to the policy and Bharat officially aligned itself with the Solar Federation the practice faded.

Republic of Cygnus

The Republic of Cynus is named after the binary star system 16 Cygnus where its first wormhole and capital was placed. Colonized predominantly by the ASEAN block was fairly prosperous and a stable ally of the Solar Federation. Transgenic technology flowed freely and many parents took the opportunity to augment their children. Unfortunately, sectarian disputes and inefficiently applied genetic-economic incentives marred this stability. These would have been the simple colonial growing pains that all new nations went through had their peak not coincided with the System War. Attacks by Jovian raiders on the helium scoops in 16 Cygni and the subsequent destruction of the graviton condensory in Theta Cygni plunged the Republic of Cynus into an energy crisis. While at first the citizens drew together, social and ethnic faultlines soon began to fissure. Uprisings began as lower classes with inferior or no augmentation marched for better programs. Sectarian disputes blossomed into sectarian violence. Forgotten grievances were dusted off and trotted out. The military had to step in to restore order.

Thirty years later, it still is. Rabble-rousers and militants vanished into the poorly mapped wilds and heavy-handed attempts to control the situation failed to make a lasting impression. The vicious infighting that nearly tore the Republic apart was eventually contained but at the cost of many civil liberties. Today the Republic of Cygnus is a distorted mirror of the Solar Federation, with transhumans in all key positions in both the civil and military spheres and a government dominated not by civilian officials, but military ones. A focus on the capital and other important systems has let insurgents dig themselves in on several outlying systems which has not endeared the central government to the locals. The Solar Federation maintains ties with the Republic of Cygnus, though pundits question the benefits these bring to the Federation.

League of Outer Stars

The largest Verg bloc, the League of Outer Stars is a dominantly baseline polity that existed as a loose trading group in the 22nd century. It was the System War that really caused the development of the League of Outer Stars however, as various independent colonists who traded with one side or the other faced punitive raids, unrestricted warfare on commerce and other malaises. This caused several of the stronger independent colonies to band together into the League of Outer Stars, a diverse group committed to the goal of keeping the colonies free of Sol’s interference or control.

In the post war world, the League watches the new Solar Federation with suspicion and continues to build up its military forces, ready for a possible confrontation. Many of these military forces are based around mobile dolls, automated mobile suits operating independent of human guidance, which the League’s Space Armada plans to use in vast numbers to counter Earth’s high end transhuman pilots.

Sagittan Union

The Sagittan Union is a multi-national organization that has its roots mostly in the 21st century northern hemisphere long-range colonization missions, centered around one of the Jovian first-generation wormholes and the subsequent radiation outwards from that. While having a strong transgenic population like the Solar Federation, the Union differs in having a much stronger socialist slant, the policy of subsidizing upgrades dating back to the isolation period. Some outside observers would expect the Federation and the Union to be natural allies, however the latter's tacit support and cooperation with the Jovian faction, including the sheltering of various refugees and former soldiers has led to a de facto state of cold war between the two.

The Union has a well-developed technology sector, thanks to both the large fraction of transhumans in the population and the work of a number of prominent Jovian scientists relocated in the aftermath of the System War. No amount of technical development could bridge the immense gap in material resources though, and like most Verge polities the Sagittan worlds range from populated and advanced first-stage colonies dating to the turn of the 22nd century to frontier worlds of less than a million people.

Outremonde Republic

Outremonde was a dissapointment of a world and a stark demonstration of the limits of remote sensing in the late 21st century. While 'habitable' with a reasonably breathable oxy-nitro atmosphere, Outremonde had a climate far more disagreeable than anticipated. Nonetheless a wormhole was a substantial investment and its European backers laboured to make the most of it. Tailored bacteria was cultured and fired into the oceans and lakes by the kiloton and workers braved the blizzards to construct the fortress-cities that would become the halmark of Outremonde. Enticed by the promise of full employment and generous settlement credits tens of millions braved the interstellar gulfs to settle on Outremonde. Additional wormholes were sent out towards promising nearby worlds for secondary colonization efforts - this time with proper FTL surveying beforehand.

Unavoidably cut off when the direct wormhole to Sol was closed, like the rest of the Verge Outremonde had its own period of 'glorious isolation' cut cruelly short by the unforeseen collapse of part of the orbital soletta network tempering Outremonde's climate. This and later crisises against exhuman raiders solidified the strong central Outremondian government and led to the commissioning of the first warships for the Outremendian Fleet and the formalization of military and political ties with its daughter colonies. Seeing itself as something of the heir to the ideals of the 21st century European Union, over the past half-century the Republic has watched the developments surrounding the Solar Federation with something approaching alarm, concerned with both the hierarchal transgenics and the militarism. To this end they have taken steps to protect themselves, commissioning via the One Man Army program a series of overtechnology-powered mecha; the Doppelsöldners, vastly oversized machines with incredible firepower.

Ignis

One of the outer most slowboat colonies, Ignis was recently rediscovered by Federation explorers. What they found was a shock. Despite technology on the whole far less advanced than the Federation, Ignis possessed a series of unique energy sources based on elements found in the planets crust. Unfortunately for those looking for easy exploitation of the planet, Ignis's various coalitions are currently (and perpetually) locked in a series of bitter rivalries, cold and hot wars, which makes exploitation of the planet hazardous to say the least. The Federation is considering deploying a large peace enforcement army to Ignis to settle things but as of yet do not feel themselves ready for the major war this would entail.

Organizations

The Red Dogs

Transgenic mercenaries for hire. Possibly with an all-girl fanservice brigade.

Tensor Corp

Shady technology and shipbuilding conglomerate. Probably has a pyramidal HQ.

Others

The Seraphim

A pro-trangenic organization shrouded in mystery, the Seraphim were originally part of the Space Independence Alliance until their defection from the Jovian cause, bringing vital military plans and codes that ultimately lead to the decisive defeat of their earstwhile allies by the Solar Federation. Today the Seraphim have been accepted by the inhabitants of Sol and now reach through every aspect of the Solar Federation. Their influence is felt from the very tip of the spear, in INTACT field units, to every aspect of the defense industry. Seraphim personnel comprise a larger percentage of the SolFed military every year, and their presence in the defense industry through Tenshi Corp, unknown a generation ago, has ballooned enormously, rendering them by many estimates the single largest defense contractor in known space. Their overt assets range from core worlds, to Sol itself, to hundreds of distant outposts bent on research and discovery in the name of their insular leaders.

Rifters

'Going beyond the Aquila Rift' has become slang for baselines departing the Solar Federation's power pyramid where many feel disenfranchised by a system based in part on genetic valuation. While the early Federation was quite happy to see the backs of malcontents and nonconformists, in modern times there is the opinion that letting so many groups with real or imagined grudges against the Federation depart has proven to be a manifestly poor idea. The addition of various ex-Jovian forces, up to and including main-line (if obselescent) warships has brought an extra urgency to those voices clamoring to 'deal with the Rifter problem'.

Exhumans

The Exhumans are, like Rifters, primarily made up of individuals or small groups that left the constraints of 'civilized' space. However, unlike Rifters which primarily left to escape the Solar Federation's pyramidal power structure, Exhumans instead sought to augment themselves beyond human limits via both transgenic and cybernetic technologies outside of the Solar Federation's monopoly on the techniques. Espousing any number of personal philosophies ranging from the Will to Power to radical libertarianism to violent revolution to simple greed they are thankfully mostly found in the outer rim.

Now

News Items

This heading will hold items of general news from the area around you

Intelligence

This is more privileged information available to Neo-Jovian sources

Jobs needed

Specific tasks the Neo-Jove network has for you.

Character Rules

Characters have a set of attributes representing key elements of themselves. Each has a distinct but broad effect. They are as follows:

Physique: This is the raw physical prowess of your character while she is on her own two feet, governing everything from strength, agility, endurance and athleticism. It also covers general physical fortitude and G-resistance.

Wits: This is your character's ability to react well to rapidly-changing situations and not be caught with your jaw on the floor when something unexpected occurs.

Intellect: This is your character's mental acuity and memory, both short and long term.

Clarity: Your character's ability to act with wisdome and deliberation; the uncanny ability to make the correct choice and not fumble over your own fingers.

Perception: How finely-tuned your character's senses are, as well, it covers fine detail work and hand-eye coordination (yes, this means you play videogames with Perception).

Charisma: This is your character's ability both to sway people to your side and to pick up on subtle social clues.

Aleph: This is your character's ability to detect, interpret and apply 'Aleph waves', quantum brain energies. Most humans have this at 0.

Pluck: Just how well you thrive against adversity. Note that unlike all other Attributes, Pluck costs five times (5x) normal per level.

• Physique provides the following bonus: +0.4 Kinetic Defense, +0.2 Energy Defense, +0.2 Electronic Defense
• Wits provides the following bonus: +0.2 Kinetic Defense,+0.4 Energy Defense, +0.2 Melee Defense
• Intellect provides +0.6 Electronic Defense, +0.2 Command
• Clarity provides +0.2 Kinetic Defense, +0.2 Electronic Defense, +0.2 Melee Defense, +0.2 Command
• Perception provides +0.2 Energy Defense, +0.4 Melee Defense
• Charisma provides +0.4 Command
• Aleph provides +0.2 to all defenses

In addition, characters may also have Skills. Skills are much more specific than attributes, and cover certain situations only. Note that Skills are not necessary for a character - an office worker does not need to have the Office Management skill to be considered competent at this job. General ability to perform gainful employment, hobbies or function in society is a function of Attributes - Skills represent particularly hightened ability.

Notable skills:

• Pilot: Every rank of Pilot provides +1 to Kinetic and Energy defenses, along with any roll involving piloting a vehicle.
• Gunnery: Every rank of Gunnery provides +1 on offense when using non-guided weapons.
• Melee: Every rank of Melee provides +1 to both Melee offense and defense in both person and in melee-capable vehicles.
• Electronic Warfare: Every rank of Electronic Warfare provides +1 to all offensive and defensive rolls involving guided weapons, sensors and the like.
• Gunplay: Every rank of Gunplay provides a +1 to all relevant rolls when fighting in person, with the exclusion of melee weapons - from handguns to rocket launchers.
• Leadership: Every rank of Leadership provides +1 to all Command rolls.
• Zero-G:
• Mechanic:
• Fieldcraft:
• Terrorism:

Character Generation

Each character has a budget of 75 Character Points (CP) to spend.

All Attributes and Skills

Level 1 - 1 CP - Hobbyist/Amateur
Level 2 - 3 CP - Initial Training/Otaku Hobbyist
Level 3 - 6 CP - Fully Trained
Level 4 - 10 CP - Professional
Level 5 - 15 CP - Skilled Professional
Level 6 - 21 CP - Experienced Professional
Level 7 - 28 CP - Expert
Level 8 - 36 CP - Master
Level 9 - 45 CP - Ancient Master
Level 10 - 55 CP - Superlative

In short, the base cost to improve a stat costs (current level + 1).

Traits

Traits are particularly exagerated aspects of your character.

Backstory Traits

Backstory Traits are those that represent important elements of your character's history before the OVA. While it is possible to acquire them in-game, this a function of story events. The value in (brackets) is their CP cost during character generation.

Veteran (8)

While most protagonists tend to be relatively new at this whole ‘heroing’ thing (though not, let it be known, does this mean it is solely the domain of the young – see James Links) there are some who have had their time in the spotlight in the previous anime. These characters are better pilots, generally higher ranked and simply more skilled, having had an entire season or more of combat under their belt (or the backstory equivalent, if you’re Roy Fokker). They get +1 rank in Piloting and Gunnery or Command. Unfortunately, all Veterans suffer a -1 penalty to their effective Aleph Potential.

Hot-Blooded! (0)

God certainly must protect fools and lovers, because you're a fool that loves a good challenge and you haven't died yet. Your entire life is a litany of guts, determination and sheerest foolhardiness. At the start of any turn you can channel your inner heat and by spending 1 Pluck, get a +2 to all rolls and defenses for the turn. Furthermore, the first time a friendly unit is shot down, you get +1 to all rolls and defenses for the rest of the battle. However, you can be psychologically vulnerable and be easy prey for enemy deception and tricks. You're also unable to understand that your subordinates might not be able to keep up with you or that your commanding officer has a plan more subtle than 'Charge and win!'; consequently you only get (and provide) half the bonus from any Command effect.

Paragon Interrupt (5)

Your past includes some notable incident of heroism in the line of duty. Perhaps you held the line around the perimeter of the refugee camps on Rwanda Minor, or saved the Loum Colony from crashing. No matter the specifics (which should be detailed in your bio) you are seen as an exemplar of proper behavior. This gives you a charisma bonus of +1 to +3 in most situations, especially where being a hero would be relevant and even your enemies will give you a certain amount of respect. The downside is that you are bound the expectations of your history; there are few things more despicable than a fallen paladin. Note that this does not imply a code of honor - a code of honor is internal to the character, whereas Paragon Interrupt is the expectations of others. It is entirely possible to be an atrocious monster and yet still have Paragon Interrupt - so long as you manage to keep people from drawing a connection between one and the other.

Photosynthetic (2)

Your physiology has been modified to include a layer of photosynthetic cells in your skin; while this doesn't mean you can subsist solely off sunlight and water, it does give you a pleasant feeling energy during the day. During daytime, you get +1 to all your rolls and defenses. During night, you get -1.

Rival (+5)

In the past you’ve cultivated a rivalry with another skilled pilot, often the inevitable side-effects of not managing to finish the job in the previous season. They will often bedevil you and while they can cause serious setbacks, they also mean that you can have episodes centered upon you and only you. Plus, spoiling their undoubtedly villainous plots is sweet sweet victory.

Cyber Newtype

You’re a government experiment in pilot uniform. You got the benefits of being able to control funnels, dodge incoming blasts you shouldn’t really be dodging, but you also got the downside of ranging from ~moe pill~ addition, being eccentric to batshit crazy and also technically being government property. You automatically get the Aleph Skills Newtype Flash and High Level Control at no Aleph point cost.

Earned Traits

Earned Traits are those that can be acquired during the course of the OVA - as a character matures, they may develop new abilities or quirks. All Earned Traits may also be bought during character generation, in which case they are already-established elements of the character.

No Such Thing As Overkill (5)

You love big guns, though you'll also gleefully accept lots of guns. If you are in a vehicle with more than one weapon system, you can opt to do an 'Alpha Strike', firing all your weapons at once. You may engage multiple targets as well, with -1 to all attack rolls for every target after the first engaged. While doing an Alpha Strike you may not move, as you're too busy firing away, and you take a 25% reduction to all defenses. As well, you ignore melee weapons as useless and always have a -1 to Melee rolls and defenses.

Blademaster (5)

The way of the (beam) sword is the one you follow, and you have become particularly skilled in deflecting enemy melee attacks by doing a continuous parry and dodge. This gives you the ability to increase your defense in melee by sacrificing your opportunity to attack. SPECIFICS TBD Additionally, if properly equipped with energy melee weapons or similar, you can even potentially defend against ranged attacks with your melee weapons.

Made Of Iron (10)

Your character shields are so strong they extend to your mecha, like some sort of slasher film bad guy. And like them, whatever you're flying just seems to soak impossible hits as it cra-a-a-a-awls across the screen. Maybe you know how to angle your torso block just right so the shots deflect, or perhaps you're just supernally lucky. No matter how you do it, anything you're flying increases the thresholds for all non-glancing hits by +2, however, your vehicle also suffers a -1 penalty to Speed and Thrust the moment you get behind the controls.

Type Master (10)

You’ve intensive trained, having never been defeated in 2000 simulated engagements. Unfortunately your winning streak comes to an end when you encounter a Gundam. But just wait until you face off against a force of Mobile Dolls . . . You are particularly skilled against a particular type of unit or pilot, such as Mobile Dolls, Super Robots, Mobile Armors, Gundams, Newtypes, White Rose Guards, etc. Due to your almost instinctive understanding of their strengths and weaknesses you get a +2 bonus to all rolls and defenses when fighting them. Note that ‘Conventional Mecha’ or other similarly broad types are not valid choices.

Fan Favorite (5)

You are The Patrick. You might not be omnicompetent and flying the top-end craft like some, but your popularity ensures that you’ll survive all but the most ridiculous situations (or, of course, deliberate self-sacrifice). Note that generally this advantage won’t apply if you’re the best of the best; Kira Yamato never needed to be a Fan Favourite to survive. Fan Favorite adds your Charisma to your mecha's Durability.

Char Custom (5)

This ability adds Charisma to Thrust.

Zealot (5)

This ability adds 50% of Charisma to all Melee rolls. It might also make you a bit of a prick.

Idealist (5)

This ability adds 50% of Charisma to all Melee defenses.

Adventurer (5)

You get a +2 bonus to all rolls and defenses for survival, tracking, fighting, etc when acting outside of a vehicle. Undoutedly comes with many stories of the time you narrowly escaped the Lizard-Gorillas of Ceti Alpha Seven.

Quirks (variable)

Quirks are minor things about that character that are distinctive to them. They may have minor situational effects, but in general they are intended for roleplaying fodder. The number of quirks required for a given number of bonus points is as per attribute ranking - ie, to return 1 point it requires 1 quirk, to return 2 points it requires 3, to return 3 it requires 6 (!), etc.

Pluck Conditions

All characters have one (or more) special conditions under which they recover Pluck. The first is free, every additional Pluck Condition costs 5 Character Points.

Pluck recovers slowly (ie, full recovery at the end of a full story arc, or some major successful milestone), but it can also be recovered by deliberately throwing rolls. The first time in a session that you throw away successful roll (ie, converting it to a failure), you recover 1 Pluck. To recover an additional Pluck, you must throw two additional rolls. To recover three, you must throw three more, etc etc.

Heavy Sleeper

You automatically recover 1 Pluck at the start of each session.

Mama Bear

When friendly units are shot down, you recover 1 Pluck. The threshold for this goes up by 1 every time, thus the first time a friendly is shot down you fulfill you condition, then two more units need to be shot down to fulfill it again, then 3, etc.

Crusader

When you personally shoot down an enemy, you recover 1 Pluck. This can be destroying them outright or forcing them to pull out (only applies if they have lost at least 50% of their Durability).

Second Wind

If you are reduced to 50% or less Durability, you recover all Pluck.

Aleph Abilities

As a character's Aleph potential increases, they can unlock an increasing number of abilities - a weak aleph can only do a few things, whereas powerful ones can do so much more. Also note that a Rank 1 Aleph has 0 Aleph points. This is not a typo.

Level 1 - 0 Aleph Points
Level 2 - 1 Aleph Points
Level 3 - 3 Aleph Points
Level 4 - 6 Aleph Points
Level 5 - 10 Aleph Points
Level 6 - 13 Aleph Points
Level 7 - 16 Aleph Points
Level 8 - 18 Aleph Points
Level 9 - 20 Aleph Points
Level 10 - 22 Aleph Points

Ability List

Each ability costs a varying number of Aleph points to purchase. Many also have a minimum Aleph rating.

Peak Senses

Aleph Points: 1

Your natural senses are incredibly tuned and the smallest detail will not escape you. Not too useful inside a giant robot but you’re a commando leader’s wet dream.

Spatial Awareness

Aleph Points: 2

You have tremendously heightened spatial awareness. Your judgement of speeds, distances and dimensions is superhuman.

Newtype Flash

Aleph Points: 2

When in immediate mortal danger, even when unaware or only vaguely aware of it, you may suddenly get the instinct to dodge, get out of the way, or otherwise remove yourself from danger instinctively.

Empathic Detection

Aleph Points: 1

You resonate empathically with other Alephs in a particularly strong manner. You can usually feel one if he or she is nearby, although being around other Alephs regularly may provide some cover from your senses. You may also be able to judge their moods or emotions.

Empathic Manipulation

Aleph Points: 4

Minimum Aleph: 5

You can manipulate the emotions of those around you, reinforcing the words or actions of you or others. You can calm a crowd with a reasonable speech, or inflame them with a rousing diatrabe.

Inspirational Aura

Aleph Points: 6

Minimum Aleph: 6

Your merest presence kindles the fighting spirit in those around you, giving sheep the courage of lions.

Telepathy

Aleph Points: 3

Minimum Aleph: 5

You can communicate telepathically with other Alephs, and at higher levels, all humans, and finally, anything that has a mind.

Mental Domination

Aleph Points: 8

Minimum Aleph: 8

With just the power of your will you can enforce your thoughts upon others, though this is taxing, tiring, requires physical contact and can result in nasty psychic backlashes.

Mind Trick

Aleph Points: 3

'These are not the droids you're looking for'. Not guaranteed to work on alert individuals.

Illusion

Aleph Points: 4

Minimum Aleph: 6

You can cloud the minds of others, filling them with the cotton-candy confectionaries of their wildest dreams or darkest nightmares. It helps to be telepathic (or at least empathic) to pull this off successfully.

High Level Control

Aleph Points: 3

You are exceptionally talented with machine interfaces. You can expand your mind to control drones, guide missiles, or even control extra limbs or something.

Limit Break

Aleph Points: 2

Everyone can go a bit beyond their usual their abilities with an adrenaline rush. This goes way further. When in desperate straits, you can really push yourself way beyond what you ought to be able to manage, to the extent you may well seriously damage your physical body. Stock footage of a seed exploding into a rainbow optional.

Body Control

Aleph Points: 3

You can meditate and fortify your body with your own psychic potential, letting you purge your body of poisons, heal at an accelerated rate and go without air, food or water for extended periods of time.

Clairvoyance

Aleph Points: 6

Minimum Aleph: 7

Out and out scrying. This may or may not be a voluntary, controllable thing, but you can sense events with amazing acuity without being anywhere near them.

Enhanced Ability

Aleph Points: +100%

Minimum Aleph: +2

Some Alephs have unusually narrow repetoirs but are extremely powerful at what they do. An Enhanced Ability

Additional Power

Aleph Points: Variable

Minimum Aleph: Variable

Races

Races are what you were born as or, less commonly, what you modified yourself to be and have little to do with pre-colonization 'racial identity', which is a social, not genetic construct. Pre-natal genetic modification has matured over centuries and few people born today have not had their or their ancestors' genomes sequenced before conception. It is a relatively inexpensive and mundane procedure, often subsidized by governments and while not 100% successful when dealing with something as complex as the entire genome of a human, still gives eminently acceptable results. Retroviral techniques to conduct systemic changes to adults are almost as old but are far more complex and difficult; consequently they are both much more expensive and rare.

Racial bonuses modify the effective value of your stats; racial modifiers do not increase (or decrease) the cost of a given stat. It is of course entirely possible for a baseline to be smarter or stronger than even an S-type - exceptional individuals occur everywhere. Note that depending on the campaign being run it may be entirely appropriate to provide cost breaks or cost divisors for transhuman templates; in the reality of More Robot Wars an S-Type is not penalized for being born superlative - they in fact have a huge leg up. This of course runs counter to game balance and GMs should be careful about travelling this path. Consider carefully before doing so.

Origin is a general representation of where a given race can be expected to be found as well as what relative proportion of the population they are. Note that it doesn't take into account specific circumstances; for example a gathering of Solar Federation captains would be almost all A- and S-types, with a minority of exceptional B-types.

Grounders (Baselines)

Most of the human population of known space inhabit planets and have minimal if any genetic alteration. Classed as E-Types in the Solar Federation, these baseline humans are often known as Grounder due to the fact that most unaugmented humans live (and stay) on planets. While at the dawn of the colonization era these were mostly those who were too poor or too disadvantaged to get genetic counselling, in modern times it has become something of a badge of perverse pride or religious devotion to call oneself a Baseline, Flat, Grounder or other previously-derogatory term. Some jurisdictions actually treat having baseline children as child abuse, though this remains difficult to enforce, not to mention politically charged.

Grounders have 4 Pluck

Origin: Uncommon inside the Solar Federation, otherwise common on planets across known space

Low Transhumans

Earlier or less drastic modifications to human genomes resulted in people that were only mildly changed from their parents. These changes are generally preventative in focus, removing various biological inefficiencies and 'evolutionary baggage'. Few actually have underground 'upgrades' in the conventional sense, the improvements these individuals see stems from broadly improved health and metabolism along with the (near-)elimination of genetic ailments like poor vision, etc. In the 23rd century, these are 'normal humans' to most people, the archaic label of 'low transhuman' slowly falling out of common use. In the Solar Federation these are typically ranked as D- or C-Type; Ds are simply 'fixed' humans, whereas Cs tend to have mild upgrades. In general, Low Transhumans straddle the line between what is a 'Baseline' human and what isn't.

Low Transhumans have +1 Physique, +1 Perception and 3 Pluck

Origin: Common across known space

High Transhumans

The cautious early steps in human augmenation soon gave way to more drastic and significant upgrades to the human condition. The concept of 'Human-plus' became a reality as deliberately recoded DNA brought forth the possibility of everyone achieving abilities substantially beyond the human norm and 'transhuman' became synonymous with 'transgenic'. Cognitive upgrades were also part of the package, and 'high transhumans' were not just more physically fit but also more intelligent and more sociable. Furthermore at this point inherent biological immortality (or at least exceptionally long lifespans) became the norm. In the Solar Federation these are ranked B- or A-Types.

High Transhumans have +2 Physique, +1 to all other attributes save Aleph and 1 Pluck

High Transhumans have a minimum unmodified requirement of 3 in all Attributes

Origin: Solar Federation (uncommon), Verge (rare)

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Outlier Superiors

Over the past century, the intermixing of bloodlines, technological improvements, quest for perfection and simple luck of the draw has resulted in the occasional birth of individuals who have truly exceptional genes. At the leading edge of the curve these superhuman individuals easily gravitate towards the peaks of power and responsibility. Attempts have been made to replicate the full range of their abilities but as so much relied upon the vaguarities of chance, these have had mixed results. Baroque breeding programs among the upper classes have become common, some ending up indistinguishable from dynastic marriages to seal agreements. In the Solar Federation these individuals recieve the coveted S-Type classification.

Outlier Superiors have +3 Physique, +1 to all other attributes save Aleph and two +1s that can be assigned to any two non-Physique attributes including Aleph, but a Pluck of 0

Outlier Superiors have a minimum unmodified requirement of 3 in all Attributes

Origin: Solar Federation (rare)

Engo

The Engo were the fruits of the first successful process to generate a true Homo Superior, resulting in a transgenic human with vastly improved physical traits - reinforced bones, superior cardiovascular and muscular system, improved twitch reflexes, keener senses. Engos also had massively increased lifespans for the era when they were developed, with conservative estimates at circa the turn of the 22nd century that they'd live an average of 50% longer than most other transhumans. Which was fortunate, as Engos unfortunately do not breed true and the process to bring a new Engo zygote to term is difficult and uncertain.

Engo have +4 Physique, +2 Wits, +2 Perception, +1 Intellect, +1 Charisma, but a Pluck of 0

Engo have a minimum unmodified requirement of 3 in all Attributes

Origin: Solar Federation (rare)

Seraph

One of the Seraphim Organization's purported goals and major successes has been the stabilization of a reproducible S-grade genetic template. First developed in the late 22nd century they were introduced to the public in 2210 where they have became extremely popular among those wealthy enough to afford the complex upgrade. A quirk of the specific genetic modifications makes them much easier apply to XX individuals as opposed to XY; consequently male Seraphs are much less common, making up less than 5% of the population of Seraphs. The flood of young standardized S-class transhumans and their gender disparity is already causing ripples in the Solar Federation.

Seraph stat bonuses have +2 Physique, +2 Aleph, +2 Wits, +1 Intellect, +1 Perception and +1 Charisma, but have a Pluck of 0

Seraphs have a minimum unmodified requirement of 3 in all Attributes

Origin: Solar Federation (rare), Seraphim Organization (common)

Icarus

Icarus upgrades are a 22nd century response to the needs of the expanding deep-space presence in what would become the Solar Federation. Applying increased understanding of long-term low and microgravity effects on the human body to common transhuman templates, the Icarus became popular among those who settled on the high frontier. In fact the introduction of the Icarus template is seen as one of the root causes of the spread of the Outbacker movement, to the point at which there are more Icarus upgrades in the Verge than in SolFed space. The Solar Federation classes these individuals as O-types.

Icarus Upgrades have +1 Intellect, +1 Clarity and 3 Pluck

Origin: Solar Federation (uncommon), Verge (common), Rim (uncommon)

Alpha

Originally a popular genofixing template from the late 21st century, 'Alpha' has since became a broad term for a generalized blend of transhuman traits. They are considered better than C-Type transhumans, though Solar Federation genetic techniques are superior to those of the outer worlds and consequently Alphas lack the highly upgraded immune and healing abilities of SolFed High Transhumans. Many citizens of the League of Outer stars are Alphas where there has been a government push via socialized genofixing to bring all children to this level.

Alphas have +1 to any four stats save Aleph and 2 Pluck

Origin: Verge (common), Rim (rare)

Atlas

A popular (and some might say necessary) upgrade for heavy-gravity worlds, the Atlas template substantially upgrades the human body's musculature, skeleton and cardiovascular system. This greatly improves both instantaneous and sustained strength, near-necessities for worlds with gravities 50% higher than Earth's. Of course the Atlas upgrade lends itself well to soldierly pursuits and it is common to see them on the frontiers, clearing out nests of feral drones or local predators - or more human predators. Atlases are not unattractive by any means but look stocky and solid next to the supermodel looks of Ishtars and the willowy grace of Omoikanes.

Atlas Upgrade get +3 Physique, +1 Intellect, +1 Wits, +1 Perception and 1 Pluck

Atlas Upgrades have a minimum unmodified requirement of 3 Physique

Origin: Verge (uncommon)

Ishtar

The Ishtar upgrade was intended to result in an individuals with exceptional warms and personality, in which it succeeded admirably. One of the second generation of transgenic upgrades from the early 22nd century, the Ishtar template substantially improves on the basic human ability for empathy and socialization, as well as memory and perception. Standard upgrade techniques also improve their bodies, with Ishtars universally having leggy, perfectly-proportioned recruiting-poster builds and faces that merely start at 'attractive'. Consequently Ishtars have spread throughout the Verge and often form the social glue of groups and organizations. Ishtars also tend to have vivid, unnatural hair colors which contributes to their stereotype as flighty pop stars, no matter what their occupation.

Ishtars get +1 Physique, +1 Wits, +1 Intellect, +1 Perception, +2 Charisma and 1 Pluck

Ishtars have a minimum unmodified requirement of 3 Charisma

Origin: Verge (uncommon)

Omoikane

Like Ishtars, Omoikanes are second-generation upgrades, with a focus instead on intellectual abilities, in which they are supremely gifted. Capable of effortlessly grasping complex concepts and recalling vast amounts of information they find ready employment in any technical or intellectual field. Thanks to the advances in cognitive science by the 22nd century they are not socially crippled robots either, and while not as capable of demonstrating bottomless well of effortless social acumen they are still quite socially adept. One unique feature about Omoikanes is their neural processes are optimized for machine reading and neural interfaces work particularly well for them. Most Omoikanes have light silver or stark white hair, which is actually pigmented white (as opposed to the progressive loss of hair pigmentation over normal human aging) and is something of a visible trademark.

Omoikanes get +2 Clarity, +2 Intellect, +1 Perception, +1 Charisma and 1 Pluck

Omoikanes have a minimum unmodified requirement of 3 Intellect

Origin: Verge (uncommon)

Mecha Rules

Unit Stats

All units have several defenses; these are holistic values representing said unit's ability to avoid being struck/damaged. The cardinal attribute listed for each is the most important stat for the pilot to increase them. They are as follows:

Kinetic: Defense against conventional bullet-guns, flak and similar. Because evading with continuous Gs as opposed to instantaneous moves is the best way to avoid a volley of kinetic fire, the cardinal attribute is Physique.

Energy: Defense against directed-energy weapons ranging from lasers to mega particle beams to Higgs sprays. As evading DEWs requires the ability to react instantly to a warning sign, the cardinal attribute is Wits.

Electronic: Defense against self-correcting weapons (ie, guided missiles), which in general tend to carry very powerful warheads. As the primary defense against guided weapons is jamming, chaff and the like, the cardinal attribute is Intellect.

Melee: Defense against close-in fighting weapons, such as beam swords, shining fingers and radiation waves. As the best way to avoid being struck by such weapons is to read the enemy's moves and counter them; consequently, the cardinal attribute is Perception.

All weapons will be specifically listed as one or more of these types, which determines the target number for the attack roll. If they are of more than one type, they are considered hybrids, meaning they combine multiple defenses together - for example, an anti-tank missile might be a Kinetic/(1/2)Electronic. In this case, the attacker's target number would be the full value for Kinetic Defense plus one-half of Electronic Defense.

Speed: The bonus the unit gets to Phase Rolls on the ground (ie, wheels or legged mobility). A second value in brackets gives the maximum number of range brackets a unit may move by if this is not 1. Note that any unit that does not have a Speed entry is functionally immobile on the ground.

Thrust: The bonus the unit gets to Phase Rolls on in the air or space (jet or rocket propulsion). A second value in brackets gives the maximum number of range brackets a unit may move by if this is not 1. Note that any unit that does not have a Thrust entry is functionally immobile in the air or space.

Output: How much Power the mecha's onboard power system generates per turn. This may be 0 for vehicles or mecha with fixed-output power systems or battery-powered units.

Battery: The maximum amount of Power a mecha's onboard power system can store. The amount of Power in a battery may temporarily exceed its maximum value - the hyper mega beam cannon is being powered directly by the reactor while also drawing down the battery. Any excess at the end of the turn is removed.

Stealth: This is a measure of how difficult a vehicle is to detect with sensors. See Advanced Actions for more detail.

Armor: Armor is 'soak' and reduces the damage taken by all attacks. Armor may not reduce an attack to 0 damage unless Armor is more than twice the damage inflicted by the attack.

Durability: Durability is essentially how difficult it is to render a machine unable to fight. More durable mecha can fight longer. It is essentially the unit's 'hit points'.

Targeting: Targeting is the effectiveness of a unit's targeting system and provides a bonus to all non-melee attacks performed by the unit.

Carrying: This is a value for how much 'stuff' a mecha can carry externally, such as mecha-scale assault rifles, missile packs, sensor pods, etc etc. Most giant robots and aircraft have high carrying values as they use externally-fitted weapons. Carried weapons and systems provide flexibility, but the downside is that they are much easier to lose.

Weapon Stats

All weapons have a short statline. Most important is their weapon type and their attack bonus.

Next are their Damage Thresholds, which are where increased damage is inflicted - the beam dwells longer or the shell strikes at a favorable angle and penetrates deeper. Thresholds are rated related to the base defense target; thus a threshold of of (+4) means that the attacker needs to beat the target's defense by 4 or more.

Following is Range, which is the maximum distance at which the weapon may effectively engage. Many weapons also suffer losses to accuracy (Attack penalty), impact energy (Damage penalty), or both. Any penalties listed for these (such as -1 Attack) are per range bracket, starting at Very Close.

Many weapons also have Tags, which are a standard set of special rules which may modify how weapons work in specific situations. Some particularly unique weapons may have custom special rules.

Ranges

From nearest to most distant

Brawl

Point Blank

Very Close

Close

Not So Close

Moderately Close

Moderate

Moderately Far

Distant

Very Distant

Extremely Distant

Extreme

Extreme x2 (x3, x4 etc for exceptionally long range weapons)

Equipment

Control Systems

Combat vehicles must forward immense amounts of data to their pilots in a way that is instantly understandable, likewise, they need to effectively translate the pilot's commands into actions. A number of different methods of varying complexity and utility are used, and unless otherwise noted they can be mixed and matched as desired.

Screen: The simplest form of combat-worthy controls, Screen controls are not particularly different from 21st century aircraft cockpits save they have several high-definition screens instead of cockpit glass. They have no modifiers.

Panoramic: An upgrade to the Screen system, Panoramic cockpits wrap the entire interior of the cockpit sphere in vision screens. The vehicle itself is removed from sight or replaced with a wireframe via image processing, giving the pilot a nearly unobstructed view in all directions. Panoramic Cockpits double the Wits bonus for vehicular defense.

Trace: A more athletic sort of cockpit, Trace systems do away with most of the complicated control hardware of other control methods, instead essentially 'tracing' the actions of the pilot. Appropriately-caliberated force-feedback completes the package. Trace systems double the Physique bonus for vehicular defense and add Physique as a bonus to any Brawl actions.

Synaptic: Originally developed under the code-name Zero System during the Solar War, the so-called Synaptic control system is a neural bridge connected directly to the vehicle's control processors. While it does require settled brainwaves to operate properly (making it incompatible with a Trace system), it is effective at replacing clumsy physical controls. Synaptic controls double the Clarity bonus for offense and defense and add 50% of Clarity to Gunnery actions.

MMI: The MMI (Man-Machine Interface) system supports the pilot with a powerful combat analysis and support expert program. This essentially acts as a 'combat secretary' for the pilot, with the best ones learning alongside said their pilot to perform actions essentially reflexively. MMI systems add one-half of the character's Intellect to Wits and Perception for vehicular defense purposes.

Telescopic: Despite the name, the Telescopic system is actually a sophisticated data-collecting and sorting algorithm and hands-free controls such as eye-tracking targeting. Telescopic targeting increases the Perception bonus to Gunnery by 50% and also adds 50% of Perception to Electronic attack actions.

Command Cockpit: Often being an actual second seat with a tactical holotank and the like, Command Cockpits are made to enable in-flight tactical management at a level above 'stay on my wing'. Command Cockpits increase the Command bonus of a vehicle by 100%.

Scarlet Curtain

Introduced into service early in the Solar War, the Scarlet Curtain is a broad-band particle 'fogger' that disrupts most form of electromagnetic sensing over a large area. The reddish haze it generated when operating gave it the popular name. Proving effective at disrupting missile fire control and long-range targeting, the Scarlet Curtain was decisive in shaping tactics both during and subsequent to the conflict.

Scarlet Curtains provide a substantial boost to Electronic Defense to both themselves and nearby units - both friendly and enemy. Any weapons firing into or out of a distance within the Not So Close range bracket of the emitting unit or point are effected by the Scarlet Curtain. (note that in practice, the effect fades over distance as opposed to being sharply curtailed - this is a simplification) The Scarlet Curtain affects friendly fire control as much as it does enemy.

Additionally, as Scarlet Curtains are an area effect (as opposed to a literal curtain), hostile units can penetrate them in order to negate much of the effect. If combat occurs up close, the following effects happen:

At Not So Close, the Scarlet Curtain operates at half effectiveness.

At Close, the Scarlet Curtain operates at one third effectiveness.

At Very Close, the Scarlet Curtain operates at one quarter effectiveness.

At Point Blank and Brawl, Scarlet Curtains provide no bonus.

Due to the scattering effects of the Scarlet Curtain, conventional ECM, chaff and point defense systems are drastically degraded in effectiveness. A unit under a Scarlet Curtain halves its intrinsic Electronic Defense and the effects of any specialized communication gear it may have.

Furthermore, while multiple Scarlet Curtains can 'stack', the effect can only get so 'thick' - after a certain point, the particles simple clump up and take longer to dissipate. To calculate the effective strength of a group of Scarlet Curtains, add up the total strength of all Curtains and then divide that by the single strongest source. For every doubling (x2, x4, x8, etc), add +1 to the effective strength of the highest source and use that as the overall strength.

Finally, because Scarlet Curtains are particles with a half-life, when they are no longer being replenished (due to deactivation or destruction) the effect will degrade over time. For every turn that passes, treat all units as being progressively one step 'closer' (with those at Moderately Close and beyond as being a single range bracket).

Modifying Your Machine

External Fittings

While most vehicles are designed to carry a certain amount of exterior hardware (as per the Carrying stat), sometimes you want to carry more - more propellant, more guns, more verniers, more batteries. The downside to this is that it will often unbalance a unit and exposes a larger amount of hardware to damage.

For every multiple of Carrying in external equipment a unit has, it suffers -1 to effective Armor when calculating Glancing hits - even a light strike can be dangerous when you have a poorly-shielded reactor feeding a strapped-on beam cannon! Some external systems are designed to be jettisonable, which can be done at any time before dice have been rolled.

Fabricators

Building things requires a certain number of work units. Some items (normally large or complicated ones that are particularly slow to build) will have a work unit 'cost' of a value times another value. This represents the maximum work units applied at any one time and how many consecutive cycles this needs to be done.

Example 1: An item with a requirement of 6 Work Units needs to have 6 Work Units applied to it to be completed - it could be 1 every cycle, or 6 in one cycle, or 2 for three cycles.

Example 2: An item with a requirement of 4x2 Work Units needs to have a total of 8 Work Units applied to it - however, no more than 4 can be applied to it at any time.

• Fabricators use two resources: Feedstock and Dust

Cannibalizing Machines

Vehicles such as space fighters and mobile suits can be stripped down and their vital components removed. This is commonly done to damaged vehicles that cannot be repaired due to time or material constraints. As a general rule, cannibalizing a machine takes a single Work Unit to remove all of its components (reactors, weapons, etc), as vehicles are meant to come apart for maintenance. Putting them all back is a different matter.

Examples

Hylas

Primary Operator: White Rose Kingdom

Role: Generalist Grunt Suit

Kinetic Defense:

Energy Defense:

Electronic Defense:

Melee Defense:

Speed:

Thrust:

Output: 2

Battery: 5

Stealth:

Armor: 2

Shields: 0

Durability:

Targeting:

Carrying: 4

Fixed Armament

• Head Gatlings
• 1 Alpha Edge Sword