FAQ: Miscellaneous
From SSDC, Inc.
Can you remove someone’s armor from the outside (assuming they're not able to stop you)?
How difficult would this be, and how long would it take?
A: Yes. d4 Minutes
Where is the Motaran Rift?
A: The Motaran Rift appears at random points throughout space!!
However, some areas have much higher activity, especially the Pendulask Storm.
Hell’s Kitchen mentions various locations in space which are connected through this inter-dimensional object.
However, it is believed that the Pendulask Storm is the ‘heart’ of the Rift.
What are the various editions of the rule book, and the minor fix up editions?
A: 1) White book, Ram on cover — first edition.
2) White book, Ram on cover, alternate artwork — Arlington edition.
3) White book, battle scene on cover — second edition
4) Red book — third edition
5) Blue book, Eridani/battle on cover, first printing — third edition, second printing (identical to red)
6) Blue book, second printing — third edition, Revised second printing (aka fourth edition)
7) Black book, city cover — fifth edition
8) Black book, racial montage/space scene cover - Sixth edition, first printing.
Isn’t is silly for a Cizerack to get a bonus for lying prone! Gee, I’m 2 feet shorter, but have a profile like bear rug!
A: BMs discretion
I assume since smoke stops ALL lasers that it’s military issue smoke screen IR suppressing.
What about UV absorbing, and good luck stopping an X-ray laser.
Since normal smoke will not stop infrared (not to mention UV, and X-ray) light from passing through it!
A: Of course this is smoke with dust particles that tend to diffract just about anything. Not X-rays of course.
We know you take damage if you teleport into an area affected by a phase nullification unit.
Do you take damage for teleporting out? Is the user affected by the unit?
Does it prevent teleportation, of just damage those who enter (or exit?) it's area of effect (100m)?
A: You do not take any damage when telporting out.
AND/OR
You cannot teleport in or out. The person takes damage and fails to teleport, either in or out.
It affects the user as well, while it is active.
In the Battlelords book, in the vehicles section you list accessories for Hoppers.
I am unable to find prices for these wonderful little items anywhere.
I realize that these are simply more “meat” or information for encounters with police in city campaigns.
However, my players have the need and means to acquire several. (and everything has a price!)
A: This will be in the vehicles book.. we haven’t looked at it too carefully yet... they are quite expensive items.
This is a vehicle question again... we would really like the vehicle source book soon.
Under the vehicle modification table it states that you can increase the power on flux shields.
However, it gives no maximum nor does it state if there is a difference in price for beefing up HP flux shields.
A: Sorry, this has yet to be determined.
Vehicle question... What do stabilizers do?
I assume they reduce control roll modifiers by 5 points. How many points can you buy?
Do they work on every vehicle? (Why not replace this outdated turn mode D&D garbage with a simple handling modifier?
- I thought SSDC prided itself with it's ground-up design philosophy?)
A: See vehicle book.
How high/far can a normal person leap? Does Strength, Agility, and/or Acrobatics skill improve this distance in any way?
A: An average person can jump up less than 1m standing; and about 1/6 the sprint number running.
Long jumping is about 1/6 sprint number standing; and 1/2 sprint number running.
Cizerack jump better; modifiers for STR./Ag/acrobatics are at GM discretion. I would emphasize agility.
Neither Battlelords (“Final Edition”) nor Lock-n-Load include the Tech Level/Availability tables published in the back of the Battlelords 3rd Edition manual.
Is this information available for all the new equipment?
A: It appears in the new version of Lock-n-Load.
I do not have a file version available to give out; ask Aaron or get a friend who doesn’t have LNL yet to buy a new one (heh).
How is experience for an enemy/creature calculated? Is there some standard formula or set of guidelines for this?
How do you calculate the danger rating and experience value for overcoming vehicles?
A: Usually we give a bulk award at the end of the night, rather than per encounter.
As far as the rating and XPV for a vehicle it is too variable for me to say.
A party in MBA may not be threatened by a skimmer while a party in Bear is slain.
We have no set formulas for XP calaculation for vehicles or creatures, sorry.
Are there any guidelines for increasing the credit limits on credit cards above their starting level?
Some cards (such as the Balshrom Gold) start at 50,000 (rather than CCIx1000) and go up from there.
A: After a year if your credit is good the company will increase your limit.
Use your discretion, if a card starts at 50,000 it probably increases in 25,000 increments.
If the PC makes a million credits they will probably jump it to 200,000 or something.
Do you have a good guess as to the concussion damage and blast radius for an exploding auto gasoline tank?
Ditto for the gas tank of a U-Haul truck?
A: Nope never been witness to such.
However I could say that most gas tanks will not explode and if they do the radius is basically inside the car only.
Gasoline does not produce large amounts of concussion. Unlike say propane under pressure.
When rolling to see if a character goes berserk or suicidal, do you first do one then the other as straight rolls, or do you roll once and if it’s below berserk but not suicidal, he goes berserk and if he’s below both he goes suicidal?
A: Roll once, if below both he goes suicidal.
What are the parameters for teleportation? How do you decide what you take with you?
A: Everything you are wearing/wielding/holding is taken. Vehicles around you and other people are not.
Anything else is BM’s discretion.
Can you alter these parameters?
A: It takes an extremely high Matrix Manipulation check (approximately level 20 check).
How does one begin the game with contacts?
A: Currently, the system for beginning the game with contacts is described in No Man’s Land.
If you do not have this book, your BM should assign players 1-4 contacts in the region of space in which you play.
Older books had a system for contacts, but this has been scrapped in favor of the system in No Man’s Land.
If a player uses Earth slang phrase “Eat me!” to a Phentari, would it be legally plausible to kill it when it tries to eat the player, and then tell the police that it apparently didn’t get the sarcasm, and the character feared for his life?
A: This is all dependent on the individual police force. It could be successfully argued either way.
But Humans should not make it a habit of mouth’n off to Phentari, especially with such dangerous catch phrases.
This defense would probably work on a human or Eridani world, fail utterly on a Phentari or Chatilian world (they will read your intent), and could go either way other places.
What is the average level of computer security (range) on:
- Planetary Corporations
- Inter-Planetary Corporations
- Galactic Corporations
- Inter-Galactic Corporations
- The Top Ten Mega Corps?
A: Using the standard 1-25 scale...
13-17
18-22
20-24
23-25
25+ (Multiple redundancies and cyberspace traps, etc! The check can be up to level 28!)
What are the fees for carrying (serious) weapons in areas where weapons are not normally allowed?
Where only cheesy (aghh) weapons are allowed?
A: Whatever the “scum” who is doing the smuggling charges you. Somewhere around 30% the weapon price is good.
As far as legal licenses, try getting your bounty hunters licenses...
Special dispensations thru bribery can be VERY expensive. Like a good 0.5MCr or more
How can I get SSDC to come to my convention?
A: The easiest way to accomplish this is to send us a dealers packet.
Where and when the convention is, the approximate size of the convention and how long it has been running are all helpful.
Do you have a full Galactic Map showing the various Galaxies? How about Quadrant and Sector maps?
A: This is what No Man's Land and Hell's Kitchen are for. Each details a full quadrant.
More in the series are to follow.
Are matrix controllers allowed in Cyball?
Are they not in the game due to their small size and being physically inferior to other cyball players or is it because of the matrixes?
This also brings up the question about latent extraction, can that be used or no?
What kind of weapons are used?
A: Matrix Controllers are allowed in the game, but are required to wear inhibitors while the game is under way.
Latent Extraction, as far as Cyball is concerned, is handled the same manner as Matrix Controllers.
All manner of weapons have been used, but some are now restricted and most weapons used have been modified for Cyball usage.
The Cyball rules committee has debated allowance of matrices being allowed in the game for some time, but the problem is that many matrices would have to be `locked out' so there would not be a disaster.
What would it cost for a brown or black robed Mutzachan's services (say, for a day of his time...)?
A: You need to define 'services' more specifically. Most Mutzachans will not do unbalancing things. But probably 0.5-1MCr.
Who are the Danes?
A: The Danes are powerful beings that claim to exist to keep balance in the Universe. Some worship them as gods.
What is Jaquassarious Phentari?
A: All that is known for sure is that he is a being that possess immense power. Some say he is a Dane.
