System Tweaks

Changes to the Spacemaster RPG system (v0.2)

Weapons

• No Energy weapons (Blaster, Disrupter or Laser)
• Stunners work like Tasers
• MLA Rifle Only (Military Units only)
• Rocket Rifles designed for Zero-G (No Recoil) (Military & Police Only)
• Entanglers & Needlers (Exotic weapons - Military or Experimental)

Armour

• Personal Armour up to AT 7 (Available to buy commercially)
• Swat Team Armour AT 8 - AT 10
• Military Armour up to AT 11
• Powered Armour AT 12 (Elite Units - Martian Marine Recon)

Equipment

The Expanse universe has a device called a 'Personal Terminal' which combines the functions of the following Spacemaster equipment:-

• Personal Communicator
• Personal Computer Mark 1 (higher marks can be obtained but the PT costs more
• Ident Disk
• Elmonit Card
• Chronometer
• Calculator Unit

The following Spacemaster equipment is restricted and can only be obtained via a roll on the Special Item Background Table or not at all.

• Personal EW Generator
• Ultra Googles
• Ultra Lenses
• Sentinel Helmut

Skills

• No Psionics
• New Skill - Combat Stress (works like Sanity from CoC or Esteren 8-))
  • + Self Discipline Modifier
  • + Intuition Modifier
  • + Presence Modifier
  • +10 (Armsman, Explorer, Medic, Physician & Criminologist)
  • +5 per level (as per SM skill rank rules)
  • + from Special Backgrounds
  • + from Racial Backgrounds

Medicine and Healing

• Limb Injuries - Prosthetics (Belt and outer) or BioGel regrowth (Inner)
• No medtab applicators (just normal syringes)
• Sickbays have automated units that will heal & repair major injuries - if possible 8-)

Androids and AI Robots

• Not available. Robots only exist as large industrial fabrication types.

Spaceships

No Hyperspace Travel (so no need for H-Space Pilot or Astrogation)

N-Space Travel uses the Epstein Fusion Drive (a hyper efficient (thou not really possible) Fusion Drive that has unlimited acceleration but uses minimum fuel). Character have to be injected with drugs in High G Acceleration and strapped into acceleration couches (gel filled seats) or suffer a serious chance of injury.

• up to 2G fine - More than this requires drugs or risk blackout or stroke or death 8-))
• Max 12G Acceleration (Crash Couch + Drugs - Only for short time - Still chance of blackout)

No Inertia Damping (RIF generator)

i.e. if your character is travelling on a spaceship at 2G and it changes direction, that character will impact on the appropriate bulkhead at 2G (unless that character is strapped in)

No Artificial Gravity

There is no 'Gravitics' technology in the Expanse, thus no gravitic vehicles. Ships (and thus the crew within) only have gravity when under acceleration.

Ship Combat

At long range spaceships fight with Torpedoes (with nuclear or conventional warheads)

At short & medium ranges

• Rail Guns (Heavy Projectile Mk 10 & up)
• Gauss Point Defence Guns (Heavy Projectile Turreted Max Mk6). Effective at taking out incoming torpedoes or shredding small ships at close range.

ECM (effective at medium ranges)

• Jams ships sensors (Rail + PDW can't target jamming ship) or torpedoes (may lose track)

CHAFF (effective against torpedoes at short ranges)

There are No energy shields in the Expanse setting.

Spall Liners protects ship internals from close explosions