Alternity_RPG_Fastplay_Player

8/7/2019 Alternity_RPG_Fastplay_Player

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by Bill Slavicse k a nd Richa rd Ba k e rby Bill Slavicse k a nd Richa rd Ba k e r

x clusive Pre vie w !Not for Resale

®

Choose a charact er and st art playing r ight away!



This preview version of the ALTERNI-

TY® Science Fiction Rolepla ying

Ga me provides pla yers with a

chance to try this new ga me systemwith out risk or obliga tion. After-

wa rd, look to the ALTERNITY Play er’s

Handbook for all the rules you need

to play out adventures in a ny genre

of scie nce fiction.

THE PLAYER’SROLEAs a pla yer, your primary job in a ny

ALTERNITY ga me is to portray one of

the he roes in the story your groupdecides to play out. The heroes a re

the sta rs of the u nfolding a dven-

tures that ma ke up a G am ema ster’s

ongoing science fiction campaign.

To do this, you ne ed a hero—an

imagina ry chara cter who serves as

your “connection” with the G a me-

ma ster’s s ett ing an d the other play-

ers’ heroes . Your he ro sta rts out a s a

collection of num bers a nd de scrip-

tive term s; from the n on it’s u p to

you to make tha t hero come a live

through roleplaying.By rea cting a s you think your

hero would react and interacting

with the other chara cters using your

he ro’s voice a nd opinion s, you’re

doing your job a s a player.

KEYCONCEPTSLet’s ta ke a look at the ke y concepts

behind the ALTERNITY ga me. These

concepts include ba sic game me -chanics, funda menta l character in-

forma tion, and a few special terms

that pla yers need to become famil-

iar with.

Hero: An imag inary character

controlled by a pla yer. Gamemaster: The pa rticipant

in the game wh o acts as the moder-

ator, na rrating adventures a nd rep-

resenting other characters involved

in the a dventure w ho aren ’t con-

trolled by the players .

Supporting Cast: These a re the

a foreme ntioned “other cha racters,”

including the h eroes’ friends a nd

enemies, as w ell as a ny other char-

a cters the heroes come into contact

with. It’s im portant to unde rstan d

from the s tart that a lthough the he-roes a re the sta rs of the s how, it’s

possib le for membe rs of the sup port-

ing cast to be just as powerful as the

heroes —or some times even more

powerful.

Setting: The ALTERNITY rules can

be used to crea te adventures in any

modern to fa r-future setting. Playe rs

and Gam emasters need to decide

wha t type of sett ing they wa nt to

play in b efore heroes a re created. A

setting can be a modern techno-

thriller, a da rkly sinister ne a r-futuremystery, a far-future posta pocalyp-

tic traged y, or any othe r type of sci-

ence fiction milieu you can ima gine.

The fast-play a dventure present-

ed in the Ga m em aste r’s Fast-Play

Rules section of this b ooklet take s

place on a s t range a nd da ngerous

plane t in a far-future spa ce opera

setting.

Adventure: A scena rio in which

the heroes interact with the su pport-

ing ca st to create a group story.

Every adven ture is built a round asitua tion (typically a problem the

heroes nee d to solve), and it con-

cludes w hen the heroes ha ve either

a chieved their goa l or failed to do

so.

Profession: Every hero in theALTERNITY ga me is built around a

profess ion. A profess ion is a n over-

arching occupation u nder w hich

spe cific caree rs a re group ed. It’s the

first defining concept a ssociate d

with a hero. The four ba sic profes-

sions—Comba t Spec, Diploma t,

Free Agent, and Tech Op —are intro-

duced in thes e fast-play rules.

Abilities:All cha racters (heroes

an d mem bers of the supporting cas t)

ha ve six Abilities. Thes e a re

Streng th, Dexterity, Con stitution , In-telligence, Will, an d Persona lity.

Ability Scores: Each Ability is

expressed a s a n umber, called the

Ability Score. Ea ch p rofess ion ha s

two Abilities a ssociate d w ith it. To

belong to a profession, a he ro must

meet the minimum s cores in that

profess ion’s releva nt Abilities .

Skills: Wha t’s your h ero good a t

doing? This ques tion is a nswe red

by the skills he posse sse s. Every

Ability a nd e very profess ion ha s

skills re la ted to it. A he ro’s p rofi-ciency with a s kill is expressed as a

numbe r, known a s the skill score.

Actions: When a hero wan ts to

use one of his skills or one of his

other chara cteristics to accomplish

something, he a ttempts an a ction.

There a re different types of a ctions,

ea ch involving the use of different

skills a nd chara cteristics.

Dice: When the outcome of a n

a ction is in doub t, or when the

Gamem aster needs to measu re a

cha racter’s d egree of success , dicea re rolled. The ALTERNITY game uses

two kinds of dice: a sing le control

PLAYER’S

FAST-PLAYRULES

1



die a nd s itua tion dice of various

sizes.

The control die a nd a situation

die a re rolled together to determine

the outcome of an action.

Note : The low er the roll, the

be tter the chance that the hero suc-

cee ds in wha t he tries to do. More in-

formation on how to use the dice is

given in “Playing the Ga me” on

pa ge 3 of this se ction of the b ooklet.

SCIENCEFICTIONHEROESUse the fast-play rules in th is book-

let to lea rn the key concep ts of the

ga me. After you get the ha ng of

things , use the full rules, a s prese nt-

ed in the Player’s Handb ook .

1 ProfessionFour distinct hero profess ions a re

ava ilable in these fast-play rules.

Combat Specs (sh ort for spe -

cialists) a re wa rriors wh o rely on

physica l power a nd en durance to

sup plement their training in the tac-

tics a nd techniqu es of battle.

Diplomats are neg otiators,

managers, deal-makers, merchants,

clergy, or an y others who u se inte r-

action skills an d pe rsonal resolve toaccomplish their jobs.

Free Agents are troublesh oot-

ers or field ope ratives w ho rely on

a gility, intera ction skills, a nd n a tur-

a l independe nce to get a job done.

They’re a gents w ho ma y be ops for

hire, or they ma y ha ve ties to a spe-

cific governme nt or orga nization,

but in ge neral they work better in

smal l groups tha n a s members of a

larg e force.

Tech Op s (technical operatives)

are s killed in the us e of pa rticularequipment or have b een s pecia l ly

trained to crea te or ma intain high-

tech equipm ent. They rely on na tur-

al g enius, a gility, and expert train-

ing to a ccomplish their goals.

Pick a profession tha t fits the

kind of hero you wa nt to pla y, then

select one of the correspond ing fast-

play character templa tes on pa ges

6, 7, 8, or 9 of this s ection of the book-

let. Note tha t there a re two differen t

exam ples of each p rofession, giving

you distinct choices for the kind of hero to pla y. Any of the temp lates

can be used w ith the fas t -play a d-

venture, Cauldron Station, which is

included in this booklet.

2 NameThough e ach cha racter template

has been prepa red in advance , you

still get to select a n a me for your

he ro. Your he ro can be m a le or fe-

male , and you can ass ign a ny per-

sona lity you choose. The na me you

select ca n reflect the he ro’s p erson-

a lity or ca reer (such a s “Hun ter” for

a Comb a t Spec or Free Agen t), or it

can be the complete opposite of i t

(such a s “Bruiser” for a Diploma t or

Tech Op ).

3 Abil i tyScores

Every hero ha s six Abilities.

Strength (STR) de fine s a he ro’s

physica l power a nd prowess .

Dexterity (DEX) me a su res the

qu a lity of a hero’s a gility, coordina -

tion, a nd reflexes.

Constitution (CON) describes a

he ro’s overall ph ysical fitnes s a nd

toughness .

Intelligence (INT) ind ica tes a

hero’s men tal quickness a nd lea rn-

ing a bility.

Will (WIL) ga ug es a he ro’s m en -

tal fortitude a nd in tuitive ca pa city.

Personality (PER) ind icate s a

hero’s social a bilit ies an d cha risma.

The fast-play system features

only human h eroes . Human s ha ve

Ability Scores ra ng ing from 4 to 14.

Untrained: The “Untra ined ” score

is eq ua l to one-ha lf of the full score,

rounded down. Use this score when

your hero attempts a n a ction that re-

quires a skill he d oesn’t possess .

Resistance Modifiers: Resistance

modifiers a ffect the type of dice your

he ro’s opp onen ts roll when confront-

ing your he ro. Positive modifiers

(such a s +1 step) a re good for yourhero, beca use they provide a p ena l-

ty to the opponen t; a n ega tive modi-

fier (such a s –1 step ) is ba d, beca use

it ma kes it ea sier for your he ro’s op-

ponen t to succeed.

Example: A cha racter with a

Dexterity score of 11 ha s a +1 step

resista nce modifier for tha t Ability.

If an opponent fires a pistol at her,

tha t +1 s tep is appl ied as a pena l ty

to the opp onen t’s cha nce of suc-

cesssfully hitt ing his target.

4 Act ion Che ckA he ro’s action che ck score is deter-

mined b y add ing his Dexterity and

Intelligen ce scores, dividing th e

sum by 2 (round ing d own), then

ad ding a profession bonus. This ha s

a lready been d one on the templa tes .

Ma rgina l, Ordin a ry, Good, an d

Ama zing a re the degrees of success

attaina ble on a n a ction check. Howwell you succeed when making a n

action check determines how soon

your hero can ta ke an action.

The actions pe r round number is

ba sed on th e hero’s Cons titution

an d Will scores, an d ha s alread y

been determined for you.

5 Durabil i tyThe “Dura bility” section of each

chara cter template provides a

mea ns for keeping track of an ydama ge your hero might sus ta in

over the course of an ad venture.

Your hero’s stun a nd w oun d ra tings

are e qua l to his Constitution score.

Your he ro’s m ortal ra ting is equ a l to

one-ha lf this score, rounded up.

As your hero suffers da ma ge d ur-

ing a n a dventure, mark off open

boxes to keep track of how m uch

damage he ha s sus ta ined and how

much m ore he can afford to take.

The next se ction, “Playing the

Ga me,” ha s information ab out theeffects of da ma ge an d recovering

from da mag e.

6 SkillsEach character templa te ha s a se-

lection of skills p rinted on it. There

a re two kinds of skills, broa d skills

a nd s pecia lty skills. Specia lty skills

are printed in italic type to d ifferen -

tia te them from broad skills .

A chara cter must posses s a b road

skill to also possess a specialty skillas sociated with i t .

If a h ero wa nts to try something

bu t doesn ’t ha ve the prop er skill, he

must us e his un trained score for the

a ssocia ted Ability.

Broad skills ha ve scores equa l to

their as sociated Abilities. Specia lty

skills add their ran ks (a m ea sure of

improveme nt) to achieve the ir

scores. All scores a re prese nted

with the full score, ha lf tha t score,

an d one-qua rter tha t score. This rep-

resents the num bers needed toa chieve Ord ina ry, Good, or Ama zing

successes.2

PLAYER

S FAST-PL

AY RULES



Example: A skill s core of 12/6/3

mea ns tha t a roll of 12 or lower rep-

resen ts an O rdinary success , 6 or

lower a G ood success , a nd 3 or low-

er an Ama zing success.

Sk ill Des cript ionsThis fa st-play rules booklet does n’t

ha ve enough spa ce to contain de-

tails of wha t a pa rticular skil l en-

a bles a hero to do. Those de tails a re

provided in the Playe r’s Han db ook.

Howe ver, for the pu rpose of lea rn-

ing how the ga me system works

(a nd for putt ing heroes through the

fa st-play a dventure), complete s kill

de scriptions a ren’t nece ss a ry. You

an d your Gamema ster should have

li tt le trouble de termining whe n a

certain s kill might come into play.

The other s ection of this b ooklet—

th e Gam em aster’s Fast-Play Rules—

doe s provide sp ecific information on

how the first aid skil l a nd the Med-

ical Science skil l should be u sed ,

beca use i t’s importan t for the Ga me-

ma ster to know how heroes can re-

cover after suffering da ma ge (see

pa ge 5 of this s ection of the booklet).

In other case s, the n a me of a skil l

is a pretty strong clue to whe n a nd

how the skil l can b e use d. For exa m-

ple, a he ro with the Resolve broad

skill has a form of inner streng th

that ena bles him or her to withstand

or shrug off ha rdships tha t other he -

roes migh t succumb to, ei ther of a

physica l or a men tal na ture. A hero

with the Manipula tion broa d skil l is

talented a t performing actions tha t

require a high deg ree of eye-ha nd

coordina tion, such a s picking a lock.

Above all, don’t get bogg ed d own

in de tails a t this point. Wha t’s im-

por tan t i s to learn how the ga me

works a nd to have fun playing a

hero.

7 EquipmentEach character template includes a

selection of equ ipment the he ro ha s

a ccess to—one or more wea pons,

some type of a rmor, a nd other ge a r.

The ga me da ta given for wea pons

an d a rmor is explained below.

The n umb ers on the l ine identify-

ing a wea pon indicate how much

da ma ge the wea pon infl icts on an

Ordin a ry, Good, or Ama zing su c-

cess. This da ma ge is e ither stun (s),

woun d (w), or mortal (m) da ma ge .

On the ne xt l ine, “Ra nge ” givesthe distan ce at which a wea pon can

strike a targe t, ei ther “Personal” if

physica l contact is neces sa ry, or a

series of num bers represe nting

short/med ium/long ra nge (in me ters)

for a w ea pon tha t fires projecti les or

energy bea ms. The rang e a t which a

wea pon is used often ha s a n ef fect

on the a ttacker’s cha nce of hitting

the target , as explained in the

Ga m em aster’s Fast-Play Rules.

“Type ” refers to the kind of da m-

a ge a wea pon inflicts, ei ther low im-

pa ct (LI), high imp a ct (HI), or en erg y

(En).

For a rmor, the die ra nge s preced -

ing “LI,” “HI,” a nd “En” in dica te th e

am ount of da ma ge the a rmor stops

when the wea rer i s hi t by a wea pon

tha t does this type of dam a ge. If a

sub traction from a die roll produces

a result less tha n 1, the a rmor fa iled

to block an y dama ge on tha t at tack.

PLAYING THEGAM EThe b a sic rule at the found a tion of

the ALTERNITY ga me is a simple one.

Your hero has some importan t gam e

sta tistics, includin g Ability Scores ,

skil l scores, and h is a ction check

score. In ma ny case s, when your

hero attempts to accomplish some-

thing, the Ga mema ster asks you to

roll dice. You th en try to roll a nu m-

be r tha t’s eq ua l to or less than th e

a pp ropriate s core. If you roll high ertha n your he ro’s s core, your he ro

fa ils. Whene ver a hero tr ies to do

something tha t might fail , this dice

roll determines if he succeed s.

Rolling Dice The Most Important Rule: Not

every action requires a dice roll!

The Ga mem a ster will only call

for dice rolls in d rama tic si tua tions

to determine the su ccess of an ac-

tion wh ose outcome is in doubt, orwhen h e or she needs to judge the

deg ree of a n a ction’s su ccess.

For insta nce, if your hero wa nts to

wa lk across a st reet or car ry a sma l l

pa ck, no dice rolls are n ecess a ry.

But if he wa nts to cross the s treet

whi le car rying a wounded compan -

ion, being s hot at by snipers, and

targe ted by insa ne motorists, then

the si tuat ion is a drama t ic one, an d

dice should b e rolled.

A pilot hero tra ined to f ly a spa ce-

craft a nd rea d sta r cha rts doesn’tnee d to ma ke a dice roll to perform

the normal dut ies a ssociated wi th

her a rea of expertise. But whe n

these a ctions go beyond the ca ll of

duty and l ives ha ng in the balan ce

(or a t lea st during dra ma tic si tua -

tions), dice s hould b e rolled.

The Cont rol Die an dSit uat ion DiceThe ALTERNITY ga me uses two kinds

of dice : a control die a n d a situation

die. Whenever the Gamema ster

ca lls for a roll, you roll one control

die a nd one s ituation die. The nu m-

bers tha t come u p combine to indi-

cate a success or a fai lure.

When you roll the dice, in ga me

terms you’re ma king a check for

your hero—in effect, “checking” to

see how the dice roll compa res to

one of your he ro’s s cores.

If you’re comp a ring the roll to

your hero’s a ction check score to se e

how soon he g ets to at tempt his next

a ction, the roll is an action che ck.

If your he ro use s a skill (com-

pa ring the roll to his s kill score), this

roll is a skil l check.

If you’re checking a ga inst one

of his Ability Scores, then the roll is

a feat check.

In a ny ca se , you’re looking to ge t

as low a resul t as possible—the

lowe r the roll, the b etter the chance

that your hero succee ds a t w hat he ’s

trying to do.

The control die is a lways a 20-

sid ed die (d20). The situation die for any p a rtic-

ula r check is one of the following : a

four-side d die (d4), a six-sided die

(d6), an eig ht-sid ed die (d8), a 12-

side d die (d12), or a 20-side d die

(d20). There ’s a lso a d0, a pla ce-hold -

er to represe nt the si tuation die in a

case w here success i s determined

by only the roll of the con trol die.

Further, the s i tuation die on a ny

check is des ignated a s ei ther a plus

die or a minus die. A plus die, such

a s +d4, is ba d for the roller, becau seit tend s to produce a highe r result . A

minus die, such a s –d6, is g ood for

the roller , beca use i t helps to

a chieve a lower resu lt .

Add or sub tract the si tuation die

from the control die a s ins tructed by

the Ga mema ster. If the result is

equ a l to or less tha n the score relat-

ed to the he ro’s a ction, the a ction

succeed s. If the resu lt is grea ter

than the s core, the a ction fails. The

degrees of success are explained on

the next pa ge. Example: Your he ro wa nts to

ma ke a quick repa ir to his motorcy- 3

P L A Y E R ’ S

F A S T - P L A Y R U L E S



cle so he ca n sta y on the trail of the

fleeing crimina ls. This a ction is a

skill check u sing your he ro’s Techn i-

cal Science–juryrig skill score. The

Ga mema ster tel ls you to roll the

control die a nd a –d4 (the s i tuationis in you r he ro’s fa vor, so th e d 4 roll

is s ub tra cted from the d 20 roll). Your

hero’s juryrig skill score is 13.

You roll the dice, a nd the follow-

ing nu mbe rs come up : 14 on the con-

trol die, 3 on the situa tion die. The

re su lt is 11 (14 – 3 = 11), wh ich is

lower tha n your h ero’s juryrig score.

The a ction succeed s—but note tha t

if the si tua tion die h a d be en +d4, or

eve n +d0, the 14 on the control die

would have ma de the outcome a

fa ilure, becau se 14 is grea ter tha nyour he ro’s score .

Sit uat ion Die St epsThe Situa tion Die Steps Sca le ha s

been designed to help you qu ickly

determine w ha t situation die to roll

with th e con trol die. It’s p rinted on

this pa ge a nd on the templates tha t

ap pea r later in this booklet .

Your Gam ema ster tel ls you wha t

bonus or pena l ty app l ies wh en you

roll to see if your he ro can pe rform a

certain a ction.A +1 step si tua tion p ena lty

mea ns you sta rt with your he ro’s

base situation die (see the sideba r

on this pa ge) an d move one step in

the “Pena lty” direction to find th e

die you’ll be rolling. For insta nce, if

your hero’s b a se si tuation die for an

a ction is +d4, then a +1 step s i tua-

tion pe na lty cha nge s the die to +d6.

A –2 step s i tuation bonus me a ns

you find your he ro’s ba se s itua tion

die on the scale a nd move two steps

in the “Bonus ” direction. For exa m-ple, if your hero’s ba se s itua tion die

for an a ction is +d4, then a –2 step

si tua t ion bonus cha nges the die to

–d4.

Degre es of SuccessEvery dice roll ha s one of five pos si-

ble res ults: Critical Failure, Failure,

Ordina ry success, Good su ccess, or

Ama zing s uccess . The lower your

dice roll, the grea ter the deg ree of

success your hero achieves .

The three numb ers as sociatedwith every skil l score a nd a ction

check score (the ba se score a nd two

sma ller num bers), represe nt the di-

viding points be tween the de grees

of success .

Rega rdless of what numbe r

comes up on the si tua tion die, a roll

of 20 on the control die a lwa ys pro-duces a Crit ical Fa ilure. Genera lly,

this mea ns that ba d luck ha s befal l-

en the h ero, and no ma t ter how high

his skill score or Ability Score is,

this a ction does n’t succeed .

A result grea ter tha n the s core is

a Fa ilure; equ a l to or less tha n the

score i s a n Ordinary success; equa l

to or less than the second n umb er is

a G ood success; an d a resul t equa l

to or less than the sma llest of the

three nu mbers produces a n Amaz-

ing success.On the cha racter templates in

this b ooklet, the “Action Ch eck

Score” line beg ins with a nu mbe r

tha t repres ents a Margina l resu lt . A

hero ca n’t get a Failure or a Critical

Fai lure outcome when he ma kes an

a ction check; if the d ice roll yields a

number grea ter tha n his a ction

che ck score, the “Failure ” is consid-

ered to be a Marginal resul t instead .

ScenesEvery adventure your Gamema ster

sets u p is bu il t out of scene s. A

scene is a dist inct episode that ha s

a clea r beginning and ending. The

three types of scenes are combat ,

encounter, a nd chal lenge.

A comba t scene las ts from the

sta rt of a ba ttle to its conclus ion. An

encounter scen e las ts from the m o-

ment characters meet to when theypa rt compa ny. A cha llenge sce ne

lasts a s long as i t takes the heroes

to iden tify the challeng e, and the n

overcome it or be de fea ted by i t .

Act ion RoundsFor the pu rpose of determining who

acts when in a scene, every scene is

divided into action rounds. During

a n a ction round, every hero per-

forms one or more a ctions.

A round is divided into four phas-es. Ea ch pha se rela tes to one of the

degrees of success that are a chiev-

a ble on a n a ction check: Ama zing,

Good, Ordina ry, a nd Marg ina l, in

order from the first pha se to the las t .

A hero can a ttempt only one a ction

in a phase .

To determine who a cts first in a

round, every participa nt ma kes a n

a ction che ck by rolling a d20. The re-

sult determines the ea rliest phas e in

which a cha racter can a ct. So, if a

hero rolls a Good a ction che ck, theea rliest phase h e can a ct in is the

second , or Good, pha se.

Al l actions in a pha se a re consid-

ered to occur simulta ne ously, with

the results of those a ctions be ing

ap pl ied a t the end of the pha se.

Your hero can a ct in a s ma ny

phases as he ha s a c tions per round:

two a ctions per round mea ns he can

act in up to two pha ses of a round.

But if a n a ction check resu lt ind i-

cates tha t your hero can’t act un ti l

the Ma rgina l phase , then he canonly act once in the round (in the

Marginal pha se).

Example: Your hero has an ac-

tion che ck score of 11 an d two a c-

tions p er round. At the be ginning of a

round, the Ga mema ster calls for ac-

tion che cks. If you roll a 5 (a Good

su cces s for a score of 11), the e a rliest

pha se in which your hero can a ct is

the Good phas e. Since he ha s two ac-

tions, he ca n a ct once in the Good

phase and once in the Ordinary

pha se, or he can s ave his second a c-tion for the Ma rgina l pha se.

If you roll a 13 (a Margina l res ult),

SITUATION DIE STEPS SCALE

BONUS PENALTY

–d2 0 –d12 –d8 –d6 –d4 +d0 +d4 +d6 +d8 +d12 +d2 0 +2 d2 0 +3 d2 0

Base Sit uat ion Die

Before you can us e the Situa-

tion Die Steps Scale , you nee d

to know where to s tart. That

starting point is known as the

base situation die.

For a skill che ck involvinga broad skill or a feat check,

the base situation die is +d4—

roll the control die and a d4,

adding the res ults together.

For a skill che ck involving

a s pecia lty skill or an a ction

check, the bas e s ituation die is

+d0—just roll the control die .

If your Rulesmaster tells you

to apply a bonus or a pe nalty to

your hero’s s ituation die , start

at the base point and move the

prope r numbe r of steps in thecorrect direction to de termine

which situation die to roll.4

PLAYER

S FAST-PL

AY RULES



your hero ca n’t a ct until the Margin -

al ph as e (the last pha se of the

round). In this ca se, he ca n only a ct

once, losing his se cond action be-

cau se h e didn ’t react quickly

enough.

DamageHeroes lead challenging an d some-

times da nge rous lives. Eventua lly,your hero is going to suffer da ma ge.

As indicated on the cha racter tem-

plates, dama ge in the fas t-play sys-

tem comes in three forms: stun,

wound, a nd mortal.

Stun DamageStun damage is the lightest type of

da ma ge your hero can su stain. It

represents shocks an d bruises that

rattle a hero but don’t result in las t-

ing injuries. When your hero suffers

stun da ma ge, mark off one stun boxfor each point of stun da ma ge she

susta ined in the pha se tha t jus t

ended.

Knockout:When a ll of her stun

boxes a re ma rked, your hero is

knocked out an d can perform no ac-

tions until she recovers.

Wound DamageWound da ma ge is more serious tha n

stun da ma ge. It represents injuries

that caus e las ting harm to the body.

When your hero receives woun d

da ma ge, ma rk off one woun d box for

ea ch point of wound da ma ge he sus-

tained in the phas e that just ended.

Secondary Damag e: Wound

dama ge causes secondary s tun

da ma ge. For every 2 points of

wound da ma ge inflicted on your

hero, he a lso receives 1 point of stun

d a ma g e .

Knockout:When a ll of his or her

wound boxes a re ma rked, your hero

is knocked out a nd ca n perform no

a ctions un til he recovers.

Mortal DamageMorta l dama ge is the most severe

form of da ma ge. It represents ma s-

sive injuries to vital body pa rts.

When your hero receives mortal

da ma ge, ma rk off one morta l box for

ea ch point of mortal da ma ge shesusta ined in the pha se that just

ended.

Secondary Damag e: Mortal

dama ge causes secondary s tun

dama ge and wound dama ge. For

every 2 points of mortal da ma ge in-

flicted on your hero, she a lso re-

ceives 1 point of wound a nd 1 point

of s tun dama ge.

Dazed: Mortal dam a ge takes a

toll on a hero imm edia tely. For every

mortal box ma rked, your hero re-

ceives a +1 step situa tion pena lty to

an y actions she a ttempts.

Death: Whe n a ll of your he ro’s

mortal boxes a re ma rked off, she

dies.

RecoveryHow your he ro recovers from da m-a ge de pen ds on his condition (con-

scious or knocked out) and the type

of da ma ge he ha s suffered.

Stuns are fleeting. This da ma ge

disap pea rs at the end of a s cene. It

can be repaired dur ing a scene by

the us e of Knowled ge–first aid , Med-

ical Science, or some other form of

medical treatment.

Wounds remain until healed

with rest a nd/or medical attention.

Mortal dam ag e requires the

use of the Medical Science–surgeryskill and extensive me dical atten-

tion to repa ir.

Knockout: In the fa st-play rules

system, as sume tha t if a h ero is

knocked out from s tun da ma ge, he

rema ins un conscious for the rest of

the round in which he wa s knocked

out a nd a ll of the following roun d. At

the sta rt of the round a fter tha t, he

recovers 1 stun point and a wa kens.

If a cha racter is knocked out from

wound da ma ge, he can’t awa ken

until at lea st 1 point of his w ounddamage i s hea led .

READY TO GO?Now that you understa nd how the

ba sic structure of the ALTERNITY g a me

works, you’re rea dy to se nd your

hero into action.

You’ll proba bly be g oing throu gh

the ad venture presented in the

Ga m em aster’s Fast-Play Rules (the

other h a lf of this booklet), but if your

Gam emaster has experience in de-

signing original a dventures, he ma y

ha ve something else planned for

you and your companions.

Is there s omething tha t doesn’t

seem a s clear as i t should? Some-

times you can solve a p roblem by

simp ly rerea ding the s ection of text

tha t’s giving you trou ble. Often, an

even ea sier way to clea r things up is

to jump right in—sit down with your

friends, get a n a dventure under wa y,

a nd sta rt rolling d ice. It won’t be

long b efore you’ll sta rt to see how

the ga me system works.

Wha t Do I Do First ? If you’re ne w to rolepla ying g ame s, you might be w ondering how things

ge t started . Bas ica lly, it’s pretty simple : After you’ve crea ted a hero and

gotten toge ther with the res t of your group for your first a dve nture, your

Gamemaster presents a situation—maybe something like this:

You’re v iew ing an exhibit in a museum w hen a m an you’ve neve r

see n before stagg ers through the e ntryw ay. He stumb les around the room

until he rea ches y ou. “Thrasker’s got the p lans,” he w hispers urgently —

then he collapse s to the floor.

Or . . .

You’re in a sp ace port resta urant w hen three figures race through the

door. “For the Prime Fac tion!” one of them shouts, and the three start fir-

ing w ea pons at the other customers.

After the Game mas ter se ts the sce ne, he as ks, “What do you want to

do?” In ga me terms, doing some thing is known as taking an action. You

might know right away what your hero’s action will be, but don’t just call

out an a nsw er. Wai t for the Ga me master to sa y it’s your turn. Then an-

sw er as your hero would, expla ining w hat your hero is going to do.

What can heroes do? Almost anything! A hero can sa y some thing,

move, use a s kill, use a pie ce of equipme nt, look for clues , duck bene ath

a table , or anything e lse you can think of. The Ga mema ster determines

whe ther your hero succee ds a t what he tries to do, either by as se ss ing

the situation a nd making a judgme nt, or by calling for dice rolls.

After all the he roes have performed their actions and the Ga mema s-

ter has had the membe rs of the s upporting cas t take their actions, the

proces s s tarts ag ain. Now the s ituation is different from what it wa s

when the scene opened, and the next actions the heroes attempt might

als o be different from w hat they just finishe d doing.

5

P L A Y E R ’ S




6

ALTERNITY®

Science Fict ion Roleplay ingCharact er Tem plat e

Hero’s Name Player

Prof ession Career

ACTION CHECK SCORE Actions per round: 2Mar ginal 14 + Ordin ary 13 Good 6 Am azin g 3

DURABILITYSt un 10

Wound 10

Mort al 5

SKILLS RANK SCORESTRAt hlet ics 12 / 6 / 3

Clim b 2 14 / 7 / 3Melee Weapons 12 / 6 / 3

Powered weapon 2 14 / 7 / 3DEX

M oder n Ranged Weapon s 11 / 5 / 2Rifle 2 13 / 6 / 3

Vehicle Operat ion 11/ 5 / 2Land vehicle 1 12 / 6 / 3

CONSt am ina 10 / 5 / 2

Endurance 1 11/ 5 / 2INT

Knowledge 9 / 4 / 2First aid 1 10 / 5 / 2

WILAwareness 10 / 5 / 2

Perception 1 11/ 5 / 2PER

Int eract ion 8 / 4 / 2Int imidate 2 10 / 5 / 2

Weapons11m m charge rif le d6+1w / d6+3w / d6+1m

Range (S/M/L): 80 /160 /40 0 Type: HIGravm ace d8 +2 s / d6 +2 w / d8 +2 w

Range: Personal Ty pe: LI

Unarm ed (unt rained) d4+1s / d4+2s / d4+3s

ArmorBat t le jacket d6 –1 (LI), d4 +1 (HI), d4 –1 (En)

Gear: comm gear, f lashl ight, lucky coin

Background: This navy vet eran signed on as amem ber of t he crew of t he Nebula Bounty aft er must er ing out , serving as t he muscle fort he smal l -t ime t rading operat ion.

SoldierComba t Spec

ABILITY Scor e Un t r ained Res . M od.

St rengt h 12 6 +1

Dext er it y 11 5 +1

Const it ut ion 10 5Int ell igence 9 4 0

Will 10 5 0

Personalit y 8 4

ALTERNITY®



Prof essi on Career

ACTION CHECK SCORE Actions per round: 2Mar ginal 13+ Ordin ary 12 Good 6 Am azing 3

DURABILITYSt un 11

Wound 11

Mort al 6


Clim b 1 15 / 7 / 3Unarm ed At t ack 14 / 7 / 3

Brawl 1 15 / 7 / 3DEX

M oder n Ranged Weapons 8 / 4 / 2Pistol 1 9 / 4 / 2

Vehicle Operat ion 8 / 4 / 2Space vehicle 1 9 / 4 / 2

CONSt am ina 11/ 5 / 2

INTKnowledge 10 / 5 / 2

Comput er operation 2 12 / 6 / 3Sy st em Operat ion 10 / 5 / 2

Engineering 1 11/ 5 / 2Technical Science 10 / 5 / 2

Juryr ig 2 12 / 6 / 3WIL

Awareness 8 / 4 / 2PER

Int eract ion 9 / 4 / 2Taunt 1 10 / 5 / 2

Weapons11m m charge pist ol d4+2w / d6+2w / d4+1m

Range (S/M /L): 10 /20 /80 Type: HI

Unarmed (brawl ) d4 +2 s / d4 +3 s / d4 +4 s

ArmorBatt le vest d6–3 (LI), d6–2 (HI), d4–2 (En)

Gear: comm gear, f lashl ight , t oolki t

Background: Part owner of t he Nebula Bounty,t his spacehand loves t he vessel and worksovert ime to keep i t in good condit ion.

SpacehandComba t Spec

ABILITY Scor e Un t r ain ed Res . M od.

St rengt h 14 7 +2

Dext er it y 8 4 0

Const it ut ion 11 5Int elligence 10 5 0

Will 8 4 0

Personalit y 9 4

PLAYER

S FAST-PL

AY RULES

Bonus –d20 |–d12 | –d8 | –d6 |–d4 |+d0 |+d4 | +d6 | +d8 |+d12 | +d20 | +2d20 | etc. Penalty

ALTERNITY is a registered tradem ark owned by TSR, Inc. ©1998 TSR, Inc. All rights reserved.Permission granted to photocopy for personal use.

Bonus –d20 |–d12 | –d8 |–d6 |–d4 |+d0 |+d4 | +d6 |+d8 |+d12 | +d20 | +2d20 | etc. Penalty

ALTERNITY is a registered t rademark owned by TSR, Inc. ©1998 TSR, Inc. All rights reserved.Permission granted to photocopy for personal use.



7

ALTERNITY®



Prof ession Career

ACTION CHECK SCORE Actions per round: 2Mar ginal 12 + Ordin ary 11 Good 5 Am azing 2

DURABILITYSt un 8

Wound 8

Mort al 4


Jump 1 8 / 4 / 2DEX

Acrobat ics 9 / 4 / 2Movie s t unts 2 11/ 5 / 2


Vehicle Operat ion 9 / 4 / 2Land vehicle 1 10 / 5 / 2


INTKnowledge 11/ 5 / 2

Deduce 2 13 / 6 / 3WIL

Awareness 11/ 5 / 2Intu i t ion 2 13 / 6 / 3

PERDecept ion 14 / 7 / 3

Bluff 2 16 / 8 / 4Ent er t ainm ent 14 / 7 / 3

Act 3 17 / 8 / 4Int eract ion 14 / 7 / 3

Charm 1 15 / 7 / 3Weapons

St u t t er pist o l d6 +2 s / d8 +2 s / d8 +4 sRan ge (S/M /L): 6 /12 /3 0 Ty pe : LI

Unarm ed (unt rained) d4s / d4+1s / d4+2s

ArmorCF long coat d4 (LI), d4 (HI), d6 –2 (En)

Gear: comm gear, 3D audio/video play er

Background: This hero has t aken a break f rom3D st ardom t o research and wri te a scriptabout t he advent ures of t he crew of a t rading

vessel.

EntertainerDiplomat


St rengt h 7 3 0

Dext er it y 9 4 0

Const it ut ion 8 4Int elligence 11 5 +1

Will 11 5 +1

Personalit y 14 7

ALTERNITY®


Hero’s Nam e Play er

Prof ess ion Career


DURABILITYSt un 8

Wound 8

Mort al 4


Throw 1 9 / 4 / 2DEX


Vehicle Operat ion 8 / 4 / 2Space vehicle 1 9 / 4 / 2


Endurance 1 9 / 4 / 2INT

Business 12 / 6 / 3Sm all business 3 15 / 7 / 3

Knowledge 12 / 6 / 3Comput er operation 1 13 / 6 / 3

Sy st em Operat ion 12 / 6 / 3Comm unicat ions 2 14 / 7 / 3


Perception 1 13 / 6 / 3PER

Int eract ion 12 / 6 / 3Bargain 3 15 / 7 / 3

Charm 1 13 / 6 / 3Leadership 12 / 6 / 3

Weapons9m m charge pistol d4+1w / d6+1w / d4m

Ran ge (S/M /L): 8 /16 /6 0 Ty pe: HI



Gear: comm gear, data slat e, credit scan

Background: Co-owner and capt ain of t he Neb- ula Bount y, t h is t rader a lways looks t o make

t he best deal .

TraderDiplomat

ABILITY Scor e Unt r ain ed Res . M od.

St rengt h 8 4 0

Dext er it y 8 4 0


Will 12 6 +1

Personalit y 12 6





P L A Y E R ’ S




ALTERNITY®



Prof ession Career

ACTION CHECK SCORE Actions per round: 2Mar ginal 13+ Ordin ary 12 Good 6 Am azin g 3

DURABILITYSt un 9

Wound 9

Mort al 5


Clim b 1 9 / 4 / 2Melee Weapons 8 / 4 / 2

Blade 1 9 / 4 / 2DEX

M oder n Ranged Weapon s 11 / 5 / 2Rifle 1 12 / 6 / 3

Vehicle Operat ion 11/ 5 / 2Space vehicle 1 12 / 6 / 3


Endurance 1 10 / 5 / 2INT

Knowledge 10 / 5 / 2First aid 1 11/ 5 / 2

Sy st em Operat ion 10 / 5 / 2WIL

Awareness 11/ 5 / 2Intu i t ion 1 12 / 6 / 3Perception 1 12 / 6 / 3

Invest igat e 11/ 5 / 2Search 1 12 / 6 / 3

PER

Int eract ion 9 / 4 / 2Weapons

Re nd er r if le d 6 +1s / d 6 +1w / d4 +1mRange (S/M/L): 50 /100 /250 Type: En

Com b at kn if e d 4 +1w / d4 +2 w / d 4 +3 wRange: Personal Ty pe: LI


ArmorCF shor t coat d4 –1 (LI), d4–1 (HI), d6–3 (En)

Gear: comm gear, dat a slat e, binoculars

Background: Copilot of t he Nebula Bount y, th is

explorer enjoys t r ips t hat t ake the crew t o theless populat ed regions of known space.

ExplorerFree Agen t


St rengt h 10 5 0


Const it ut ion 9 4Int ell igence 10 5 0

Will 11 5 +1

Personalit y 9 4

ALTERNITY®



Prof essi on Career

ACTION CHECK SCORE Actions per round: 2Mar ginal 14 + Ordina ry 13 Good 6 Am azing 3

DURABILITYSt un 8

Wound 8

Mort al 4


Throw 1 9 / 4 / 2Unarm ed At t ack 8 / 4 / 2

Brawl 1 9 / 4 / 2DEX

Manipulat ion 12 / 6 / 3Lockpick 1 13 / 6 / 3

M oder n Ran ged Weapon s 12 / 6 / 3Pistol 1 13 / 6 / 3

Vehicle Operat ion 12 / 6 / 3CON

St am ina 8 / 4 / 2INT

Knowledge 10 / 5 / 2Sy st em Operat ion 10 / 5 / 2

WILAwareness 11/ 5 / 2

Perception 1 12 / 6 / 3PER

Decept ion 11/ 5 / 2Gamble 2 13 / 6 / 3

Int eract ion 11/ 5 / 2Bargain 1 12 / 6 / 3

Charm 1 12 / 6 / 3Weapons

Mass pist ol d6 w / d6 +2 w / d6 mRange (S/M/L): 2/6/12 Type: En

Unarmed (brawl ) d4 s / d4 +1s / d4 +2 s

ArmorCF shor t coat d4 –1 (LI), d4 –1 (HI), d6–3 (En)

Gear: comm gear, cards, elect ronic lockpick

Background: The gambler joined the crew oft he Nebula Bount y t o escape a misunder-st anding at t he Vegas Prime space st at ion.

Now t he gambler helps negot iate deals andmake contacts wherever the crew goes.

GamblerFree Agen t


St rengt h 8 4 0


Const it ut ion 8 4Int elligence 10 5 0

Will 11 5 +1

Personalit y 11 5





88

PLAYER

S FAST-PL

AY RULES



ALTERNITY®



Prof ession Career


DURABILITYSt un 9

Wound 9

Mort al 5


DEXM oder n Ranged Weapon s 12 / 6 / 3

Pistol 1 13 / 6 / 3Vehicle Operat ion 12 / 6 / 3

Space vehicle 2 14 / 7 / 3CON


Knowledge 12 / 6 / 3Comput er operation 2 14 / 7 / 3

Navigat ion 12 / 6 / 3Drivespace ast rogat ion 2 14 / 7 / 3System astrogat ion 2 14 / 7 / 3

Sy st em Operat ion 12 / 6 / 3Weapons 2 14 / 7 / 3


Perception 2 11/ 5 / 2PER

Int eract ion 9 / 4 / 2Seduce 1 10 / 5 / 2

Leadership 9 / 4 / 2

WeaponsLas er pis t ol d4 +1w / d6 +1w / d4 m

Range (S/M/L): 20 /40 /200 Type : En


ArmorBat t le jacke t d6 –1 (LI), d4 +1 (HI), d4 –1 (En)

Gear: comm gear, dat a slat e

Background: As pi lot and navigator of theNebula Bounty, t h is hero f l ies the ship int oand out of hot spot s t hroughout t he galaxy.

PilotTech O p


St rengt h 9 4 0



Will 9 4 0

Personalit y 9 4

ALTERNITY®



Prof essio n Career

ACTION CHECK SCORE Actions per round: 2Mar ginal 15 + Ordin ary 14 Good 7 Am azing 3

DURABILITYSt un 8

Wound 8

Mort al 4


DEXM oder n Ran ged Weapon s 13 / 6 / 3

Pistol 1 14 / 7 / 3Vehicle Operat ion 13 / 6 / 3

Land vehicle 1 14 / 7 / 3CON


Com put er Science 13 / 6 / 3Hacking 2 15 / 7 / 3

Knowledge 13 / 6 / 3Medical Science 13 / 6 / 3

Surgery 2 15 / 7 / 3Treatment 2 15 / 7 / 3


Perception 1 11/ 5 / 2Resolve 10 / 5 / 2

PERInt eract ion 8 / 4 / 2

Charm 1 9 / 4 / 2Interview 1 9 / 4 / 2

WeaponsSt u t t er pist o l d6 +2 s / d8 +2 s / d8 +4 s

Ra ng e (S/M /L): 6 /12 /3 0 Ty pe: LI



Gear: comm gear, medical gauntlet , surgeryki t , medical ki t

Background: As doct or and resident hacker oft he Nebula Bount y, this hero keeps the crewin good repair and helps when t he t eam needs

expert computer aid.

DoctorTech Op


St rengt h 8 4 0



Will 10 5 0

Personalit y 8 4





99

P L A Y E R ’ S




No Limit s. Apri l 19 9 8 .

Which Fut ur eDo You Wa nt t o Pla y ?

Which Fut ur eDo You Wa nt t o Pla y ?

Science Fict ion Roleplay ing Ga meScien ce Fict ion Roleplay ing Gam e

ALTERNITY and the TSR logo are registered trademarks of TSR, Inc.©1998 TSR, Inc. All rights reserved. Made in the U.S.A.

TSR, Inc., is a subsidiary of Wizards of the Coast.

Will you lead a crack counterterrorist squad in

t he f ight against eart hbound evil? Wil l you

crawl fr om t he rubble of an al ien invasion t o

build a new hum an civi l izat ion? Wil l y ou lead

an expedit ion to the farthest reaches of the

galaxy? You can do all t his and m ore in t he

al ternate tomorrows of the ALTERNITY Game!

This is science fiction roleplaying at i ts best,

wi th a layered ru les syst em t hat let s you

m ake t he gam e as simple or complex as y ou

choose! Wit h an all-encom passing core

mechanic and a system that emphasizes

character ski l ls and abil i t ies over type or class,

t he ALTERNITY game offers you a vast array of

possibi l i t ies as you discover what the future

holds for y ou!

Wil l you lead a crack counterterrorist squad in

t he f ight against eart hbound evi l? Wil l you

crawl from t he rubble of an al ien invasion t o

build a new hum an civi l izat ion? Wil l you lead

an expedit ion to the farthest reaches of the

galaxy? You can do all t his and m ore in t he

al ternate tomorrows of the ALTERNITY® game!

This is science fiction roleplaying at i ts best,

wi th a layered ru les syst em t hat let s you

m ake t he gam e as simple or complex as y ou

choose! Wit h an all-encom passing core

mechanic and a system that emphasizes

character ski l ls and abil i t ies over type or class,

t he ALTERNITY game offers you a vast array of

possibi l i t ies as you discover what the future

holds for y ou!

®

Alternity_RPG_Fastplay_Player

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