TIMESTORM (Part II) (spoilers)

Art by Stephen Sullivan

The commander of the Time Corps' Last Resort Division is named Bora and she is one of the Kleibor – an alien race from Pacesetter's STAR ACE® role-playing game.  Bora “looks like a giant, highly intelligent polar bear.”  Just what makes a polar bear look “highly intelligent” is left unstated.  Glasses?  Pocket protector?  Anyway, Bora assigns two missions to the player characters.  First, a Temporal Disaster Wave will “presumably wipe out the Time Corps' existence” in 18.5 SDS hours.  Second, the player characters must cope with a Time Storm by finding “the Parallel, time, and place where this Time Storm erupted, and prevent the storm from starting.”  Also, the player characters should “make whatever repairs [they] can to the Parallels [they] visit along the way.”  Actually, as the text makes apparent later on, preventing the Time Storm also undoes all of its effects.

The Temporal Disaster Wave (or TDW) evidently began when Arabic numerals were introduced to Augustan Rome.  As a result, “Mathematical science explodes. . .[and] the Roman Empire still thrives” until the 21st Century, at least.  A mission team was deployed two days previous.  Since they have not reported, “obviously, they did not succeed.”  So, the player characters must go back in time, tell the first team to desist, and assume their mission.  The send-off for the player characters is rather brusque in keeping with the urgency of the situation; however, they are also insulted as the briefing ends:

She glances at the side door, and it slides open to admit four alien agents.  (Kleibors have innate skills in telekinesis.)  Two 12-foot bears and three 8-foot brown lizards step inside.  They glance at you haughtily, and one asks, “Gees, we aren't teaming up with them are we?”

(I suppose 'Gees' is the diminutive form for the spiritual savior of 8-foot brown lizards.)  I would be inclined to reply with something like:  “Excuse me, I have to go save the Continuum – I hope your penny ante species manages to survive.”  Reptilians can be such jerks.

When the player characters go back in time and address the previous mission team – by astounding coincidence – the Time Storm touches down at the landing site.  Unless the player characters manage to get out of the way, they are taken by the Time Storm:

Whirling helpless in a black, disorienting void, you tumble and careen past countless other writhing, spinning beings.  Some are alien, some humanoid, but all are panic-striken and powerless.  Their screams are deafening, though it is difficult to separate the cries of other victims from the piercing howl of the tempest itself.

Eventually, the player characters find themselves on Parallel A-1023.  Herein lies the likely reason Timestorm™ has not been republished even though the rest of the TIMEMASTER™ catalog is available.  Parallel A-1023 represents the reality of Wabbit Wampage, a board game published by Pacesetter in 1985 and designed by Marc Acres.  You might as well cross-sell if you can.  Presumably, in order to republish Timestorm™, one must also have the Wabbit Wampage license.

Wabbit Wampage simulates a television cartoon with characters like Thugs Bunny.  One of these characters is depicted on the Timestorm™ cover, hand-in-paw with Cleopatra.  The Wabbit Parallel is one of “Violent, senseless mayhem,” as befits a cartoon.  We learn that “creatures on A-1023 never die; they simply get 'whomped,' soon returning to action.”  However, visitors to the Parallel – such as the player characters – remain mortal.  In a mailbox, the player characters find a note from their future selves who have (or will have) mail ordered cartoon chronoscooters from the Acme Company.  Once the letter is read, the cartoon chronoscooters arrive via parachute, which the player characters can use to continue the adventure in ancient Rome.  The letter contains the phrase:  “After a few hair-raising adventures. . .”  Given the puns of Wabbit Wampage, Acres should have used “hare-raising.”

Does this mean there's a Parallel for every game?  Is there a Parallel that consists of a chess (or chaturanga) board and beings that are the equivalent of the pieces?  More importantly, is there a Hungry Hungry Hippos Parallel?

The Temporal Disaster Wave was engineered by “Le Voleur, the infamous, mysterious renegade.”  Le Voleur's scheme was to threaten the existence of the Time Corps, demanding that they release his compatriot renegades from the Prison Parallel in order for him to negate the TDW.  Of course, a threat is only effective if the target is aware of it and Le Voleur has delayed issuing the threat.  This is because Le Velour “doesn't know how quickly the wave is advancing, and he wants to to leave the Corps with as little room to maneuver as possible.”

At the onset of his scheme, Le Voleur sent two henchmen to Al Capone's death and injected him “with a 58th century drug.”  Said drug had the effect of making “Capone appear lifeless, while holding his body in a state of suspended animation.”  The henchmen exhumed Capone the day after was buried and took him to Rome.  There, “Le Voleur revived Capone and cured him of his disease,” although he lacks medical skills.  Le Voleur then convinced Capone “to start up gangster operations” in Augustan Rome.

. . . Capone revelled in the chance to relive his “glory days” in an environment with, as he put it, “no feds and a wide open city.”  He recruited the lowest, most violent scum from the Roman streets, making them “soldiers” or “button men” in his new organization.  With the help of Le Voleur's band of renegades, he imported handguns, automatic weapons, [cars,] and clothing from the American 1920s.  He even received language implants from Le Velour's labs, so his men would look and speak just like “old time” Chicago gangsters.  In six months, Capone had taken over most of Rome's gambling operations.  Soon, his organization would conquer the liquor and slave trades too.

Remember, the Temporal Disaster Wave was started not by firearms or internal combustion engines in ancient Rome, but Arabic numerals.  We learn that the Praetorian Guard “would be willing to put an end to both [Capone] and his band of thugs, but the Emperor won't allow it (for what reason, the soldiers cannot imagine).”  The Emperor's reason is never disclosed.  In the course of the adventure, Capone attempts to double-cross Le Voleur and steal a time machine, but Le Voleur tries to escape, going back in time so as to “cancel the abduction of Al Capone.”  Which means the Temporal Disaster Wave would not have occurred.

Whether or not Le Voleur escapes, the Time Storm brings to Rome “three 4-foot cartoon rabbits” armed with a shotgun and chainsaws.  They appear at the dénouement of the TDW plot.  “Obviously,” we learn, “the wabbits are displaced from another Parallel, and the PCs should (as part of their Time Storm mission) return them to their natural home,” which is the Wabbit Parallel.  Returning the wabbits requires that the player characters defeat them.  The prospect is not easy since – as cartoons – they don't “seem the least bit dampened by. . .wounds.”  In order to conclude the mission successfully, the player characters must deliver the wabbits to Parallel A-1023, where the next adventure in the campaign takes place.

Combat in Space Opera

Art by Joe Doolin

Given its association with the Space Marines miniatures rules, one might reasonably expect the Space Opera combat system to dispense with simplicity.  One's reasonable expectations would be correct.

The default duration of a combat turn is six seconds; however, depending upon circumstances, a combat turn can supposedly lasts for a minute, six minutes, or an hour.  (A Space Marines combat turn has a duration of twenty seconds.)  Here are the nine phases of the combat turn sequence:

In Phase I, both sides roll 2d6.  The side with the larger result decides whether to be Side A (the mover) or Side B (the counter-mover).  In a six second turn, “a running man covers about 30m.”  Actions other than basic movement are 'functions' which reduce the amount of time a character can spend in movement (and which would presumably reduce distance covered).  For example, a 90° - 180° turn causes one second to be lost.  “Leave/enter most vehicles (per man)” has a cost of three seconds.

Actual combat (firing, etc.) does not depend upon having time to perform the function.  Rather, movement depends upon one's having the time left to do so.  For instance, if a PC intends to fire his weapon in the turn coming up, he must allow -2 seconds from his movement time if he also plans to move.

The percentage chance for a character to successfully hit a target with direct fire is derived mainly upon the character's firing stance and the distance to the target.  Various modifiers may apply.  With regard to small arms, “Each level of expertise adds 2% to the probability of hitting a target...”  So, the difference between someone with rudimentary skill and an Olympic level marksman is 18%.  Physical characteristics do not affect the chance of success, only the chance of increasing one's expertise.

In a melee phase, “each combatant rolls 1d20 (random factor), to which various modifiers will be added.”  In case you didn't realize, 1d20 generates a random result.  Characters attack in descending initiative order.  Page 39 informs us that a character's hand-to-hand capability for “Unarmed Combat, Quarterstaff, Clubs, etc.” equals “expertise + 2/5 (Dex + Agil + Str + Con + IQ) +2.”  A character's race and whether or not he is an armsman adjusts capability.  For instance, a human armsman has 110% capability; a human who is not an armsman has 80%.  An ursoid armsman has 200% capability; a non-armsman has 150%.  Hand-to-hand capability is apparently not the same thing as hit probability.  “All melee weapons have a basic 35% hit probability.”  The attacker's expertise adds to this chance; the defender's expertise subtracts.

Humans and humanoids have sixteen hit locations.  Aiming at a particular location modifies the attack roll.  A random hit location is determined when a character succeeds with an attack that was not aimed.  Different locations offer different wound profiles.  Non-humanoids have their own hit locations.  Apparently, hit locations for “Silicates & Cold Planeters” are irrelevant.  Rather than just state this, the rules offer the following table:

In terms of armor, there are eleven categories of protective value, coded 'A' through 'K'.  'A' offers the most protection and 'K' the least.  There are three categories for any given type of armor:  one for melee damage, one for missile weapons and explosions, and one for energy weapons.  For example, chain mail is classified as H/H/I.  Every weapon has penetration values associated with the various armor categories.  Against 'J', the value of a hurled dagger has a value of 7.  This means a 7 or greater must be rolled on 1d10 in order for the target to be damaged.  We learn that, “When a living target is penetrated by a projectile, energy bolt, or melee weapon, wounds result.”

To determine the effect of a wound, 1d20 is rolled and the result is checked on a table according to hit location.  For humanoids, there are five 'levels' of wounds:  very light, light, moderate, serious, and critical.  (Non-humanoids have only light, serious, and critical wound levels.)  The wound roll may be modified by weapon type.  Brass knuckles cause a -3 modifier while a fusion machine gun applies a +5 modifier.  Anyway, a very light wound causes 1-3 points of damage.  A serious wound inflicts 9 - 13 points damage (or 8 - 13 depending on how one chooses to interpret the rules).  Aside from damage being applied to a character's Damage Factor, wounds can cause various effects:

Characters in Space Opera (part I)

Art by Allen Anderson

The best way to learn about characters in a given role-playing game is to generate a character.  As such, we shall endeavor to create a Space Opera character in this and subsequent posts.

The first step is to choose a class from among the following six:  Armsman, Tech, Research Scientist, Medical Scientist, Engineer Scientist, and Astronaut.  Let's go with Astronaut.

The next step is to determine personal characteristic scores.  The fourteen 'basic' characteristics are grouped into six sets:

• Physique / Strength / Constitution
• Agility / Dexterity
• Empathy / Intelligence
• Psionics / Intuition
• Bravery / Leadership
• General Technical Aptitude / Mechanical Aptitude / Electronics Aptitude

Scores range from 1 to 19, but scores are determined by rolling percentile dice.  Each characteristic 'set' has a column on a chart where the percentile roll result indicates a score.  For example, a roll of 50 for Psionics or Intuition means a score of 9; the same roll for Bravery or Leadership indicates a score of 13.  Our rolls are as follows:

• Physique (27)/ Strength (28)/ Constitution (47)
• Agility (38)/ Dexterity (55)
• Empathy (27)/ Intelligence (47)
• Psionics (49)/ Intuition (50)
• Bravery (08)/ Leadership (78)
• GTA (02)/ MechA (88)/ ElecA  (17)

Each class offers a number of points which can be used to modify the results for certain characteristics.  Astronauts have forty points that may be allocated among Constitution, Agility, Dexterity, Intelligence, Intuition, Bravery, Leadership, and General Technical Aptitude.  A careful distribution of points results in the following:

• Physique (27 = 11)/ Strength (28 = 11)/ Constitution (47 = 13)
• Agility (41 = 12)/ Dexterity (55 = 13)
• Empathy (27 = 9)/ Intelligence (51 = 12)
• Psionics (49 = 9)/ Intuition (51 = 10)
• Bravery (8 = 4)/ Leadership (81 = 16)
• GTA (26 = 9)/ MechA (88 = 17)/ ElecA (17 = 7)

Only 35 of the 40 points were allocated.  The five remaining points cannot raise the scores of any of the allowed characteristics any higher (except for Bravery).  Since the minimum Bravery for Armsmen and Astronauts is 11 (lower scores may be raised to 11), we need not spend points on that characteristic.  The rules establish that player characters “tend to possess 'superior' personal characteristics, compared to those of typical members of their race” and “rarely will they be truly deficient in any of their personal characteristics.”  Accordingly, the percentile roll results tend to provide higher rather than lower scores.  Echoing your humble host's feelings on the matter, Space Opera proclaims, “To inflict the usual 'averaged' characteristics upon PCs and the players running them is a failure to recognize that PCs are 'heroic' in not only their drive to reach goals that lesser men cannot hope to attain, but also their capacity to actually win through to those goals.”  For some characteristics, the baseline score indicates 'normal' ability.  For example, an Intelligence score of 01 “represents the equivalent of contemporary IQ 95 - 105.”

For the most part, the definitions of the personal characteristics are intuitive.  Empathy, however, is defined as “the unconscious and largely uncontrolled broadcast of a character's personality aura and its interaction on auras of those around him.”  We learn that a character with an Empathy score of 01 - 06 is “a man without a conscience in search of a personal, living 'god' to give his troubled life security and purpose, a sword looking for a strong hand to wield it.”  Say what?

The next step is to determine that nature of the character's home planet through a series of die rolls.  A result of 11 an a d20 tells us our Astronaut is “a native of a planet with a standard 'Terran' gravity field of 0.9 G to 1.1 G.”  This result allows a 50% chance of either +1 Strength or +1 Stamina.  The percentile roll result is 33 and I elect to have +1 Strength.  A result of 13 on another d20 indicates a planet with “an atmosphere of more or less Terran quality.”  Planetary Climate is determined with a percentile roll.  A result of 70 establishes our Astronaut's homeworld as Planetary Type 2: Terran Planet without Seasonality.

Assume hydrographic features cover 50% to 75% of the planetary surface.  The climate will vary considerably over the entire surface of the planet, but fixed and unchanging belts of climate occur.  Inhabitants will tend to pick the most favorable and comfortable zones to be settled, making forays into the hinterlands.  As water tends toward the 75% of surface area range, the equatorial and tropical regions develop dense jungle belts.  As the water tends toward 50% of surface area, the equatorial and tropical regions tend toward desert.

“Once the personal characteristics and the planet of birth have been determined for a PC,” section 2.3 explains, “the player will have to decide on the interstellar race to which his character belongs.”  To belong to a particular race, a character must conform to specified characteristic minima/maxima and come from an appropriate planetary type.  The default option, naturally, is human.  We learn that “Humanoids are representative of human races who evolved from the basic racial type during the long isolation of the Interregnum between ForeRunner Civilization and the rise of the current starcultures.”  Presumably, the ForeRunners are the Space Opera equivalent of the Ancients in Traveller.  Transhumans “seem to represent individual evolutionary mutations pointing toward a new stage of [human] racial development.”  There are, however, two Transhuman races, the members of which are Vulcans with the serial numbers filed off.

Most of the playable interstellar races – aside from humans – are anthropomorphic animals:  pithecine, canine, feline, ursoid, avian, and warm-blooded saurians.  The races are presented as types – there may be several (presumably interfertile) races of a given type in the setting galaxy.  For instance, among the feline races, there are the MekPurrs and the Avatars.  “The MekPurrs are the acknowledged masters of cybernetic engineering...” while the Avatars eschew “many of the trapping[s] of technological 'civilization' as decadent...”

Our Astronaut does not meet the requirements for any non-human race other than humanoids or Avians.  Really, who wants to be a humanoid or an Avian?

Height and Weight are derived from from a character's Physique score.  A chart is consulted based on gender and race.  A male human with a Physique of 11 is 180 cm tall and weighs 80 kg.  However, the +1 Strength bonus obtained earlier causes an increase of body mass by 5 - 10%.  A roll of 1d6 results in a 2, so there is an increase of 6%.  The modified weight is therefore 84.8 kg.

The formula for determining Carrying Capacity (CC) is:

( [Physique + Strength + Constitution] / 3) × body mass × racial factor

The CC racial factor for humans is 0.05.  As such, our Astronaut's Carrying Capacity is 51 kg.

Damage factors – representing a character's ability to withstand physical injury – can be calculated thus:

( [Physique + Strength + Constitution + mass] / 10) × racial factor

The DF racial factor for humans is 2.5, indicating a value of 30 for our Astronaut.

Stamina Factor is determined through the following:

(Strength + Constitution) × racial factor

The SF racial factor for humans is 3.0; therefore, the character's Stamina Factor is 75.

In the next post, the character will engage upon a career.

Future*World

Art by Earle Bergey

The actual cover of Future*World shows only the name of Steve Perrin; however, the title page gives Gordon Monson co-credit.  Monson's only other published efforts in role-playing games are contributions to a RuneQuest supplement and a Shadowrun supplement.  Like the other genre books included with Worlds of Wonder, Future*World has sixteen pages (eighteen if you count the inner front and back covers).  Yet, while Magic World is bereft of setting information, Future*World is suffused with it.  I suppose with fantasy, we need no guidance; we are familiar enough with the tropes we want.  On the other hand, science fiction requires some sort of basis for us to conceptualize and build upon.

Future*World takes place in the time of the Third Terran Empire, which encompasses hundreds of worlds.  However, travel among these worlds does not occur by means of faster-than-light spaceships, but via interplanetary gates.  This allows Perrin (and Monson) to present a setting with multiple worlds without having to go into detail about space travel, ship plans, travel times between worlds, etc.  Also, a map of the physical space occupied by the Empire is irrelevant since the imperial 'network' of planets is not constrained by proximity to one another.

There are three types worlds in the Empire.  There are about thirty core worlds representing “the center of civilization.”  Each core world “has a population of about one billion, of which about 1% is poverty-level.”  There are about two hundred frontier worlds, “fully colonized/exploited worlds which contain no known threat to the Empire.”  One of the frontier worlds is GateHome, “which acts as a central transshipment and exploration terminal...”  Finally, there are thousands of outer worlds, many of which “are not suitable for exploitation.”

In terms of background:

No one knows if the Second Empire discovered the gates by scientific research or by looting an ancient ruin of a previous race, but those initial explorers obviously worked by hit-or-miss and were still discovering the possibilities.  Then the Second Empire was suddenly destroyed as hordes of alien invaders invaded and counter-invaded the Second Empire core worlds through the Empire's own gates.

A gate base installation focuses on the target world; no equipment is needed at the gate's destination.  Although a gate accommodates traffic to and from the destination, a gate is controlled from its base.  As a matter of Imperial policy, “There is never a gate base on an outer world that focuses on a frontier world, and never a gate base on a frontier world focuses on a core world.”  A gate base rarely has its destination on the same world for various reasons, including that such gates “have been known to go to a parallel world.”  Gates leading to a parallel world are “shut down immediately, but rumors of their existence are found throughout the Empire.”

The Empire includes many races.  Some races, such as “the catfolk of Rruuwor,” are similar enough to humans that character generation is the same.  The Rumahl are ursine humanoids.  Although friendly, they “tend to go berserk in battle.”  In terms of the Rumahls' standing in the Empire, “Socially and politically they are second-class citizens.”  The social status of robots is less than that of Rumahls.  As 'repayment' for their creation, robots are required to serve four terms of employment, after which they “face the universe on their own.”  While they have super-human Dexterity, they have low Strength, Intelligence, and Charisma.

Of course, there are races that are inimical to the Empire and Future*World describes two of them.  The Quertzl are “vaguely insectoid, and they are equipped with a hive mind...”  Quertzl come in different forms depending upon their function; the rules describe scouts, beetles, and drones.  Other than the Quertzl, there are the Sauriki, “a warm-blooded reptilian race.”  Fortunately for the Terran Empire, the telepathic sensitivity of the Sauriki prevents them from associating with the Quertzl.

Similar to Traveller, player characters in Future*World undergo terms of service in one or more careers.  Available careers include:  Civilian, Criminal, Science, Army, Scouts, and ICE (the Imperial Corps of Engineers – “an elite military, security, and law enforcement arm of the Empire, dedicated to the maintenance, protection, and control of all gate technology.”)  Each term provides a 15% increase in two or three skills allowed by a given career.

Characters in Future*World do not begin with the usual starting values for common skills afforded to other Basic Role-Playing characters.  For instance, in Future*World, the starting value for First Aid is 10% instead of 45%.  The skills of Jump, Climb, Listen, Spot Hidden, Throw, and Fist are grouped into the Future*World skill of Survival.  Although the starting value for Survival is only 20%, it counts as a single skill with regard to improvement.  Similarly, in Future*World, the skills of Move Quietly and Hide are combined into Stealth (with a base chance of 10%).

Humanoids

Check it out, 7 fingers on each hand and 7 toes on each foot

So, you've received the Metamorphosis Alpha reprint that you ordered from Lulu and you're all proud because you think that you've reached the pinnacle of Metamorphosis Alpha geekhood. Please. It's a good start, but nothing says Pure Strain Geek like a Metamorphosis Alpha T-shirt. With one of these, you will have guaranteed geek cred, like you could get a loan from the geek bank without a co-signer.

Your humble host has finally read Jim Ward's short story “Footsteps in the Sky,” originally published in Dragon #19 (October 1978) but available at metamorphosisalpha.net for registered users. Essentially, it's a 'coming of age' story, but aboard the starship Warden and with mutants and robots. It contains some information relevant to today's post. It also contains information that definitively confirms one assumption and corrects another assumption I made in a prior post.

On page 18 are listed 'Mutated Human Types,' specifically five breeds of humanoid numbered one through five. Why numbers and not descriptive names? On the Metamorphosis Alpha boards, Ward states...

When I put numbers to them, I was hoping that others would make their own versions and then players could play in the different campaigns and be amazed at how different humanoid 1 was from game to game.

However, in issue number 5 of The Dragon (March 1977), Ward states in his article, “Some Ideas Missed In Metamorphosis Alpha,” that...

The number three humanoids, knowing all about poison, naturally have antidotes that are obtainable for things that these small humanoids could normally never get hold of.

This seems to suggest that number three humanoids should appear in Metamorphosis Alpha campaigns just as they are described in the rulebook. Regardless, I can understand why the humanoids do not possess descriptive names. How would each of these races of humanoids refer to themselves? I would think that each race would refer to itself as 'human beings' or 'people.' Since there is a single, common language used on the Warden, the same term would apply to all of them. How others refer to a given race will vary depending on perspective. In “Footsteps in the Sky,” number four humanoids are referred to as “the furred ones” (as distinct from furries). Assuming that the number four humanoids have a language, they would distinguish the other humanoid races primarily by their less than hirsute appearance.

Number one humanoids are short, stocky and typically inhabit hills or mountains. One is tempted to call them 'Dwarves,' but the similarity to the standard fantasy race ends there. They are “only semi-intelligent” but nonetheless possess the intellectual capacity to use bows and blowguns. Player characters should hope those are the only weapons they use. Due to their “triple-ply muscles,” they have a “strength factor of 24.” This means they inflict an additional ten points of damage when they hit with striking weapons. They also seem to possess the equivalent of the 'heat generation' physical mutation.

While they look normal (or even sickly) number two humanoids have a 'mental factor' of 18. When available, they prefer to wear cured pegasus hide.* They have a formidable array of mental mutations of Teleportation, Force Field Generation, Repulsion Field, and Telepathy. As a drawback, they have “a fear impulse for any intelligent plant.” I think I would probably get freaked out by intelligent plants too.

Number three humanoids are only one foot tall; however they seem to be very resilient. Aside from having a mental resistance of 17, an Armor Class of 2, and eight hit dice, they are resistant to: “poison, radiation, paralyzation, illusions, gases, chemical acids, and lasers.” Given their size, they tend not to use “technological devices.” However, curiously, they “have a very extensive knowledge of the antidotes for all mutated dangers.” Given their broad resistances, why would they need antidotes? Perhaps they have broad resistances because of their antidotes. Oh yeah, number three humanoids also have precognition.

Number four humanoids, “the furred ones,” are atavistic. They no longer walk erect and have paw like hands (including claws with poison sacs). They are – as their name suggests – furred. Their fur makes this type of humanoid “resistant to contact poisons and paralyzation attacks” and, seemingly, grants them an Armor Class of 5. Oh yeah, number four humanoids also have precognition.

The number five humanoids are the most common type. It's easy to understand why; they have “a skin that reflects all types of energy,” nine hit dice, a mental resistance score of at least 15, and they are “fully intelligent,” enabling them to effectively utilize “both mutated and technological materials.” They are easily recognizable due to their four arms.

*  According to page 16, “...[T]he creature [has] an unusually tough skin that is extremely difficult to pierce.” One supposes that this property is retained, at least in part, when the hide is cured. The pegasus has an Armor Class of 3, which is equivalent to 'thin metal armor or full carapace.' Number two humanoids have an Armor Class of 5, which is equivalent to 'cured hide or plant fiber armor.' I guess this is because of the pegasus hide rather than a default Armor Class without it. If so, the 'pegasus nature' of the hide does not seem to confer benefits in excess of 'normal' hide unless it is lighter than mormal (as suggested by the statement, “The race usually wears light body armor in the form of cured pegasus hide...”).