d20 Ronin Arts Future Starship 15 - The Taurus.pdf - Ronin Arts - R5700

Requires the use of the d20 Modern Roleplaying Game, published by Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to Ronin Arts’ Future: Starship 15 –

The Taurus , the 15th installment in our ongoing

series of PDFs for use with futuristic D20 System

campaigns. This series makes some assumptions

about your campaign; the starship designs in this

series will be most useful in campaigns in which

the following statements are true:

Tiles: Star Freighter and e-Future Tiles: Star

Chasers tile sets. The only tiles you will need that

are not available in those two e-Future Tiles sets

are the wings and cockpit – which have been

thoughtfully included at the end of this PDF.

To learn more about SkeletonKey Games please

visit the official websites at www.skeleton-

keygames.com and www.starbaseprime,com.

The campaign is not a “hard” science setting.

Campaigns that are more space

opera/adventure movie are the intended

target for this series.

Starships are not rare or unusual. All of the

starships in this series assume that space

travel is a standard and common occurrence

– individuals either fly their own ships or

ride on passenger ships. Starships and space

travel are as common for characters as a

plane ride is for people of our reality.

Space combat is not uncommon. It’s just

another exciting adventure when the player

characters have to engage the enemy while

fleeing from some world or other.

The campaign is packed with action. If

things aren’t exploding, how much fun can

the game really be?

F UTURE : D ATASTREAM

As of the time of publication, Ronin Arts’

Future: Datastream subscription service is run-

ning, introducing new material for futuristic cam-

paigns five times each week. For more information

on the Future: Datastream, including subscrip-

tion information, please visit the official forums at

www.d20projects.com.

O PEN G AME C ONTENT

All of the text of this PDF is presented as open

game content. While this means absolutely noth-

ing to your campaign it does give other publishers

permission to use this material as long as they fol-

low the open game license (see the end of this

PDF).

W HAT ’ S R EQUIRED TO

U SE THIS PDF?

In order to use Future: Starship 15 – without

miniatures (see below for miniatures usage) – you

will need the D20 Modern roleplaying game, pub-

lished by Wizards of the Coast, Inc., and the official

future supplement, also published by Wizards of

the Coast, Inc.. You can find both at your favorite

local game store or online at any number of role-

playing game vendors. No other Ronin Arts prod-

ucts are required to use this book.

To use the Taurus with miniatures, you will need

a complete set of SkeletonKey Games’ e-Future

A BOUT THE A UTHOR

Michael Hammes has been freelancing in the

role-playing industry since 2001. Starting small, he

has steadily built his repertoire, and reputation, by

working for such companies as Ronin Arts, Green

Ronin, Alderac Entertainment Group, Dark Quest

Games, and E.N. Publishing. He is currently trying to

balance his writing schedule with his role as stay-

at-home father. To catch the latest from Michael’s

Imagination,

please

visit

www.michael-

hammes.com.

NEW RULES AND IDEAS

T HE H UNTER C AMPAIGN

Harkening back to the heyday of safaris on

Earth is this campaign concept. In it the Taurus and

its crew are a group of modern-day big game

hunters who fulfill contracts for the capture of live

xenomorphs. Note the emphasis on the term “live .

Anyone can send in the military or mercenaries to

lay waste to an area and bring back carcasses, but it

takes someone with specialized skills and knowl-

edge to capture xenomorphs alive and keep them

that way for the oftentimes-long journey back to

the buyer.

And just who buys living xenomorphs? Well, no

one poor, because capturing live xenomorphs is an

expensive game. But beyond that:

are looking to exploit the xenomorph direct-

ly rather than to study it or derive some form

of benefit from its biology. Thus you have

entertainers who make use of the unique

appearance and talents of a xenomorph to

improve their acts as well as individuals on

remote worlds that run Roman-style circus-

es where xenomorphs battle each other and

gladiators (which may be free or slave).

Not only does a hunter campaign give the PCs

an excuse to go hunting the most dangerous of

xenophiles all over the universe, it also puts them

in contact with some very interesting characters

and organizations that can lead to, or even be,

adventures in their own right. But that’s not all. The

campaign can also put the PCs in some interesting

moral predicaments.

The first issue is that their occupation in and of

itself is a source of controversy. Even if the PCs only

work for above-board zoological organizations

they will undoubtedly run afoul of whatever

xenomorph rights organizations there are. And

then there is the question of whether to take an

assignment from a morally questionable organiza-

tion or individual. Sure, the bioweapons job pays

well, but do they really want to put a living exam-

ple of that warrior-xenomorph in the hands of

those that might use it to subject worlds to their

whim? And if the PCs don’t do it, you can bet some

other less scrupulous hunters will.

Scientific Community – this can mean

anything from government bio-weapons

divisions to not-for-profit health organiza-

tions to large zoos. These organizations buy

xenomorph specimens in order to study

them, both to learn their behavior and to see

what kind of benefit (i.e. a new drug, genet-

ic advantage, cure of disease, rabid killing

machine clones, etc.) they can derive from

their biological natures.

Private Individuals – let’s face it, there are

always individuals with too much money

looking for a way to distinguish themselves

from other individuals with the same prob-

lem. What better way to stand out from the

crowd of everyday billionaires than to have

your own xenomorph (or better yet,

xenomorphs)? To such individuals their

xenomorphs are a status symbol,

T RANQUILIZERS

Much like in today’s world, the crew of the

Taurus relies on tranquilizers to subdue targeted

xenomorphs for capture. Producing tranquilizers is

a use of either the Craft (chemical) or Craft (phar-

maceutical) skill.

Tranquilizers are essentially poisons with the

goal to induce unconsciousness rather than death.

nothing

more.

Business/Entertainment – this segment

is distinguished from the scientific commu-

nity, which is most often also a business or at

least business-driven, in the fact that they

NEW RULES AND IDEAS

T RANQUILIZER G UNS

The crew of the Taurus has a number of tranquil-

izer guns at their disposal.

CROSSBOW

Damage: Special (tranquilizer)

Critical: —

Damage Type: —

Range Increment: 20 ft.

Rate of Fire: 1

Magazine: 1 int.

Size: Large

Weight: 7 lb.

Purchase DC: 9

Restriction: —

Tranquilizers are usually injected via a tranquilizer

dart (basically, a syringe that can be shot from a

weapon).

While it would be easy to list one or two tran-

quilizers here, the fact is that tranquilizers require a

very specific dose. Too little and the tranquilizer

does not have an effect. Too much and a tranquiliz-

er can kill. As a result, the dose of a tranquilizer has

to be carefully measured for each application (and

that’s before taking into consideration the prob-

lems inherent in dealing with xenomorph physi-

ologies).

While it would be impossible, and is in fact

impractical, to create rules for all the factors

involved in creating the proper type and dose of

tranquilizer for a given xenomorph, the following

system does add a little more variation and

thought into the creation of tranquilizers.

TRANQUILIZER

Type: Injury

Save DC: 10+

Initial Damage: 1d2 Dex (Save DC 10-12), 1d3

Dex (Save DC 13-15), 1d4 Dex (Save DC 16-18), 1d6

Dex (Save DC 19+)

Secondary Damage:

The ultimate in retro technology, this modified

crossbow fires tranquilizer darts instead of bolts; it is

highly reliable and, thanks to modern materials,

totally silent in its operation (although the bolt still

makes noise going through the air).

AIRDART TRANQUILIZER RIFLE

Damage: Special (tranquilizer)

Critical: —

Damage Type: —

Range Increment: 30 ft.

Rate of Fire: 1

Magazine: 1 int. (breech loaded)

Size: Large

Weight: 8 lb.

Purchase DC: 17

Restriction: —

Unconsciousness 1d3

hours

Purchase DC:

Base 6 +1 per every point of

Save DC above 10

Craft DC: Base 20 + 1 per every point of Save

DC above 10

Time: 8 hours

The individual crafting the tranquilizer deter-

mines the Save DC for a given dose (to represent

the strength). The Save DC in turn determines the

Initial Damage, Purchase DC, and Craft DC.

For example, a dose with a Save DC of 14 (10 +

4) would have an Initial Damage of 1d3 Dex, a

Purchase DC of 10 (6 + 4), and a Craft DC of 24 (20

+4). A dose with a Save DC of 18 would have Initial

Damage of 1d4 Dex and Purchase and Craft DCs of

14 and 28 respectively.

Overdose: Any creature (xenomorph or other-

wise) that fails either of its Fortitude save against a

tranquilizer by 10 or more has received an overdose

dies (the creature’s Constitution drops to 0).

The Airdart is almost unchanged from the tran-

quilizer rifles of 21 st century Earth. Simple in con-

struction and ruggedly reliable, the Airdart uses CO2

cartridges to deliver its disposable .50 caliber dart

(one cartride/dart per shot) making it very silent

(+10 to the DC of Listen checks to hear the weapon

firing). Loading the Airdart rifle is a full-round action.

AIRDART TRANQUILIZER PISTOL

Damage: Special (tranquilizer)

Critical: —

Damage Type: —

NEW RULES AND IDEAS

Range Increment: 5 ft.

Rate of Fire: 1

Magazine: 1 int. (breech loaded)

Size: Medium

Weight: 4 lb.

Purchase DC: 16

Restriction: —

The PL 7 rail gun tranquilizer uses gravity puls-

es rather than magnets to propel darts to an even

longer range than the PL 6 rail gun.

O THER W EAPONS

While the Taurus’s crew has access to tranquiliz-

er guns for most of its hunting work, they are not

their sole weapons. Other favorite weapons and

weapon gadgets include:

Gravity Snare

Stun Baton

Stun Module (to give the crew’s energy

weapons a non-lethal option)

Another design relic from 21 st century Earth, the

Airdart tranquilizer pistol relies on a pump-action

filled air reservoir instead of the CO2 cartridges of the

rifle to put its darts downrange. Pumping and load-

ing the Airdart pistol is a full-round action. Like the

Airdart rifle, it is very silent in operation (+10 to the

DC of Listen checks to hear the weapon firing).

C ONCUSSOR

For truly big xenomorphs the Taurus itself can

bring to bear a pair of fire-linked custom-manufac-

tured concussors.

Based on concussion rifle technology, the con-

cussors fire artificial gravity pulses at the target,

dealing concussion (nonlethal) damage with every

hit.

RAIL GUN TRANQUILIZER RIFLE (PL 6)

Damage: Special (tranquilizer)

Critical: —

Damage Type: —

Range Increment: 60 ft.

Rate of Fire: S

Magazine: 5 box

Size: Large

Weight: 20 lb.

Purchase DC:

The target of the concussors must succeed at a

Fortitude save (DC = damage dealt) or be knocked

prone. Targets of Medium size or smaller are hurled

a distance of 5 feet for every 5 points of damage

dealt by the concussors. For each increase in size

category, the damage required to knock the crea-

ture prone is doubled, so a Gargantuan creature

would be knocked back 5 feet for every 40 points of

damage dealt.

As with all nonlethal damage-causing

weapons, if the concussors’ damage exceeds the

target’s Constitution score then it must make a

Fortitude saving throw (DC 15). Success means that

the target is dazed for 1 round, failure means the

target is unconscious for 1d4+1 rounds.

22 (25 with sound suppressor

gadget)

Restriction: Res (+2)

The PL 6 rail gun tranquilizer makes use of elec-

tromagnets to propel alloy tranquilizer darts. It is a

very bulky weapon but provides enhanced range and

rate of fire over the Airdart designs.

RAIL GUN TRANQUILIZER RIFLE (PL 7)

Damage: Special (tranquilizer)

Critical: —

Damage Type: —

Range Increment: 100 ft.

Rate of Fire: S

Magazine: 5 box

Size: Large

Weight: 20 lb.

Purchase DC:

CONCUSSOR

Damage: 6d10 (33)

Critical: 20

Damage Type: Concussion

Range Increment: 200 ft.

Rate of Fire: S

Minimum Ship Size: Huge

Purchase DC: 31

Restriction: Lic (+1)

24 (27 with sound suppressor

gadget)

Restriction: Res (+2)

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