Introduction And Rules

[Nina]

I want to do some scifi and for some reason <cough> Justin <cough> space pirates burrowed into my head.

 

We will be using the Esper Genesis game and setting.

 

Character creation is by the book except for rolling stats. for stats  use the dice maid on discord using the following

 

/r (press enter then type the following exactly)  6 6d6 d3

 

this will give characters a descent stat spread with a pretty good guarantee of no negative numbers 

 

All races in the book are allowed and all classes.  PCs will start at level one but won't be their long.

 

When you get to your  esper origin do not roll pick the one that you think fits best. I would like all players to have different origins so stake them out

 

1st Level Player Character Bonus: Every one receives and attribute increase at 1st level. That is either +2 to a single attribute or +1 to two attributes. Max is still 20. As usual you can trade the attribute increase for a Feat of your choice. If you take a feat you must still meet any requirements for the feat.

 

Also We will not start as Pirates so don't make being a pirate your back ground.

[Nina]

Gun Clarification

firearm type weapons in esper genesis are simple.  the default gun regardless of version fires solid bullets. however if a different type of weapon such as a blaster or laser is what you want you can have them.  They use the same weapons stats but their damage type changes. for example A classic Blaster would might do Force damage, a Laser gun would do radiant damage. in most cases these alternate type also do more damage and crit on a 19-20 to unarmored targets
  Variant: Alternate Damage Properties
If you are using alternate damage types for weapons (see
the Substitute Weapon and Damage Types sidebar in
chapter 5 of the Core Manual) you may wish to include
additional features that correspond to the weapon’s
damage type. The following are some examples.
Acid. A creature or object that touches the lethal part of
an acid weapon takes 1 point of acid damage at the start
of each round after the first. A creature can use an action
to end this effect.
Cold. Weapons that deal cold damage can extinguish
Medium sized or smaller flames either by touch or by
firing into the flames.
Intangible Form. Melee weapons projected from a hilt
or device (laser blades, force batons, etc.) have the
Concealed property.
Fire. Fire damage weapons, such as flame swords or
incendiary bullets, can ignite easily flammable items (made
of cloth, wood, etc.) that are not being worn or carried.
Those items take 1d4 fire damage at the start of each
round. Extinguishing the flames requires an action.
Force. Energy weapons that deal force damage have the
Breach property.
Lightning. These weapons deal an additional die of
damage to electronic panels and devices not being worn
or carried.
Necrotic. Non-sentient flora within 5 feet of these
weapons take 1d4 necrotic damage at the start of each
round.
Radiant. These weapons shed bright light in a 10-foot
radius and dim light for and additional 10 feet. This radius
can be increased or decreased at the discretion of the GM.
Thunder. When used, these weapons emit a booming
sound that is audible out to 300 feet. (edited)

[Nina]

On 7/12/2023 at 8:58 AM, Nina said:

Also We will not start as Pirates so don't make being a pirate your back ground.

Edited just now by Nina

 

[Nina]

Added  a 1st level bonus see above

 

[Nina]

HIT POINTS AFTER LEVEL 1

 

when you level up we will do hit points a bit differently.

 

You will roll your hit dice. if the result is equal to or lower than the suggested hit point amount you take that amount. If your roll is higher you take what you rolled. For instance if your hit dice is a d10 the suggested value is 6. at second level you roll a d10 is the roll is a 2 you take the 6, if the roll is an 8 you take the 8.

 

your constitution modifier is added like always

[Nina]

Aside form xp and loot I will often give individual and group bonuses and rewards. these could be attribute increases, free feats, special loot, cash, whatever i feel is apprpriate or just want to give.

 

rewards can be given for good writing, good roleplaying, a run of luck (good or bad) as long as it s entertaining. Hell I might give a bonus just because I want to.

 

Don't worry I will spread them out 

[Nina]

INTO THE BLACK AND BEYOND

 

Space travel in Espergenesis is both simple and complicated.

 

For worlds without a Crucible or access to Sorium through trade, space travel is accomplished the old-fashioned way. Rockets, Ion drives, solar sails, etc. not very efficient but still viable.

 

With access to Sorium the gateway to the galaxy and beyond open up. Ships without a stardrive but with rockets (or other primitive space engines) powered by sorium were now capable of accessing and exploiting their whole star systems albeit at speeds limited by their drives. But if they had a Sorium Stardrive their system becomes a playground.

 

With a Sorium stardrive equipped, ships become capable of traveling at speeds up 500 million miles an hour putting most planets in a system within minutes or hours of each other. The stardrive also gives them the capability to go FTL or Faster Than Light or even to jump instantaneously to another starsystem as long as both systems contain a Crucible.

 

Star Jump, Crucible to Crucible is not the concern of this article rather the intricacies of FTL travel is.

 

In the Espergenesis universe FTL travel is possible by the use of a Sorium Stardrive. The Stradrive is a found technology, reversed engineered and adapted from the first crucible discovered thousands of years ago. Its function is not fully understood, but its engineering and manufacture are. The secret is the Sorium core and how it is manipulated by the drive to Shunt, or propel, through some unknown means, the vessel past the speed of light thus breaking the universal laws of physics.

 

Ships with a Sorium Stardrive can move Faster Than Light at speeds of up to 50 light years an hour for a standard Sorium Core and up to 100 light years an hour for a Capital Sorium Core. Faster than Light means just that. Faster Than Light. The drive does not bend space, does not push you into any sort of hyperspace, does not create a worm hole for your ship to travel through. It simply pushes (in universe term is Shunt(s)) your ship to FTLl speeds.

 

A brief note about Time Keeping.

 

Every planet in every starsystem has different measurements of time. A day on Earth is not the same as a Day on Cotanka which is different than a day on Vall which is different than… you get the picture.

 

Time in the galaxy is measured in the modern day by what are called Arc Binds. Regardless of the various methods of local time-keeping, one common occurrence shared by all species is the arc-bind. Between equal time measures, the Crucibles that run along the Silrayne Arc all resonate with each other, pulsing with a colorful light that lasts for the equivalent of one solar day on Silrayne Prime. It has yet to be determined what causes an arc-bind to occur, as even the dendus have yet to determine exactly how the Crucibles relate to each other. When discussing arc-binds as a measurement of time, the abbreviation “AB” is most often used.

 

These Arc Binds occur every 360 Sirayne Prime days, and last almost exactly 28 hours. Thus for Galactic time keeping a year is measured from one Ab to the next and is divided into 360 ‘days’. Days on Silrayn are 28 hours long and are grouped into 6 day weeks which are grouped into 12 5 week long months.

 

This is the way Galactic time is recorded.

 

Back to FTL travel.

 

A ship can operate its Stardrive at full FTL power for approximately 1 standard week before the cores ability to Shunt the ship to FTL speeds is depleted. It can operate at Sub-FTL indefinitely. It takes approximately 1 standard day for a depleted core to recharge enabling FTL Shunt to recommence. During recharge all ship functions are normal including non-ftl drive.

 

Here is where it gets complicated. As stated above the Stardrive shunts the vessel to ftl speed in THE REAL UNIVERSE. No Warp, No hyperspace, just real laws of physics Einsteinian space.

 

Well in real space everything is moving. The galaxy is moving, nebula are moving, Stars are moving, Planets around stars are moving. Everything moves. And all of them are moving at different velocities, and yes space is big and fairly empty, but when your tooling along a 100 ly per hour it is just a matter of time before something your shields can’t push aside gets in your way and splat.

 

That’s why astronavigation is so damn important. And why starship pilots are necessary. The Astrogator takes all of the info available and plots a course from origin to destination through, around, over and under potential obstacles.  The Pilot then follows the course making any adjustments as the ship plows through space at fantastic speeds, which may be called for by unforeseen or uncalculated obstacles.

 

FTL Effects on the living body. Ships are fully protected from the rigors of FTL travel but a ships crew and passengers may suffer some discomfort and in some cases extreme debilitating effects.

 

Transitioning from Non-FTL to FTL velocities rarely affects a living being in any manner aside from a possible noting of the transition with a slight flutter much like riding an elevator down However some gentle beings do suffer short bouts of nausea. (In game terms characters need to make a constitution check DC5 if they fail they are disadvantaged for 1-4 turns. Additional saves are allowed each following turn)

 

However, transitioning from FTL velocity to Non-FTL can be rough. Dropping from FTL to non-ftl can cause severe nausea and vertigo and even cause stroke. This is not a common occurrence for Pilots usually slow the velocity of the ship gradually before they reach the Transition point making the sudden drop out more tolerable. But if the pilot must make a crash dropout or simply miscalculates the effects can be extreme. (In game, Pilot makes a pilot check dc 12 for a regular transition, DC 16 for a Crash Transition. If the pilot check is successful everyone including the pilot must make a con save DC14 + the plots Proficiency modifier if successful you feel discomfort and momentary nausea but if you fail your are nauseated and suffer vertigo for 1d4 turns and all actions while suffering vertigo are disadvantaged. If the pilot fails his roll or if the he is making a crash transition each person on the ship must make a DC 16 con save. Success leaves you nauseated and with vertigo for 1d4 rounds and at disadvantage, characters also take 1d4 damage. If the con save fails characters take 1d8 damage and are incapacitated taking an additional 1d4 damage each round until they make a successful con save DC16. Someone rendering aid will cause an automatic save but they will remain incapacitated for1d8 rounds.)