Combat in Legionnaire

Art by Ed Emshwiller

The 'combat' section of Legionnaire assures us that combat is “fairly simple.”  Note the use of “fairly” as a qualifier.  While simple compared to other Renegade Legion games – which Legionnaire asserts, “could prove to be more cumbersome than you wish” – Legionnaire combat may be less than streamlined.  Yet, who am I to judge?  Decide for yourself.

Combat occurs in a series of rounds lasting ten seconds each.  During a round, each character can move as well as perform an action (such as using a weapon, using a device, “study an opponent or area,” picking up an object, etc.).  A character can conduct “...movement and action in any manner that he wishes.”  There are four options for movement:  sprint, run, walk, and crawl.  While sprinting, a character moves a number of meters per round equal to that character's Speed.  The running rate is half of Speed, walking is one-quarter of Speed, and crawling is one-tenth.

Many games combine the concepts of Dexterity, Agility, and Speed into a single attribute.  In Legionnaire, they are separate attributes and each has a distinct function in combat.  Attacking uses Dexterity, defending uses Agility, and initiative is determined using Speed.  Specifically, at the beginning of combat, the initiative of each participant is determined by adding the result of 1d10 to the participant's Speed.  Initiative does not change for the duration of the combat.

All actions are simultaneous – sort of.  “Starting with the character with the lowest initiative,” we learn, “each player declares his actions for that round.”  As soon as a character's action is declared, any character who has not yet declared for that round can attempt to 'pre-empt' the declared action.  To be successful, the pre-empter must roll 1d10 and the result must be less than the difference between the two initiative scores.  A result of 1 always succeeds; 10 always fails.  If successful, the pre-empter resolves his (or her) action immediately, superseding the simultaneity of other actions.  Each character can attempt no more than one pre-emption per round.  Of course, a successful pre-emption doesn't mean the action that the pre-empter attempts will be successful.  More than one character can attempt to pre-empt the same action.  It is even possible to pre-empt a character attempting to pre-empt an action – a pre-pre-empt, so to speak.  Although the rules don't mention it, one presumes the possibility of a ponderous chain of attempts to pre-empt other pre-empt attempts.  If a pre-empt attempt fails, the Agility of the would-be pre-empter is halved for the remainder of the round and the character declares his (or her) action in normal initiative order.

To resolve a ranged attack, the attacker adds any situational modifiers and appropriate skill levels to his (or her) Agility, from this the defender's (possibly modified) Dexterity is subtracted.  The result is the number or less which the attacker must roll on 1d10.  As with pre-emption attempts, a roll of 10 fails and a roll of 1 succeeds.  However, with a result of 10, “a 1D10 saving roll against Luck must be made to see if the weapon jammed (or the bow string broke, etc.).”  The weapon is 'cleared' in one round with “a 2D10 skill check against IQ and the weapon skill.”  Failure to 'clear' the weapon means “the weapon is broken and will require Repair Tech, Small Equipment skill (along with suitable equipment) to fix it.”

Resolving a melee attack is handled similarly, but with additional details.  First, “Melee combat can occur between characters who start a round within 10 meters of each other.”  One supposes that characters possess sufficient Speed to close the distance.  A melee weapon may have inherent offensive and defensive modifiers.  A character can allocate melee weapon skill levels between attack and defense.  However, “Levels in a Martial Arts skills can be used both offensively and defensively at the same time.”

When an attack is successful, injury location is determined by rolling 2d10 and consulting the appropriate Hit Location Table – either Aimed or Random.  The Random Table is used when an attack is unaimed, such as “explosions and other area effect weapon fire.”  The difference between the two tables is that the “Aimed table is weighted toward the less vital areas of the body, so that skill is usually required to hit a vulnerable area when using it.”  An Aimed table result can be modified in either direction by an amount equal to the attacker's skill level.  Upper torso hits suffer double damage while strikes to the head suffer triple damage.  One of two 'simpler options' states, “Hit locations can be ignored.”

Damage is inflicted as a fixed amount.  For instance, a Protector Laser Pistol inflicts 6 damage; a dagger inflicts 1+SD.  (SD refers to Strength Damage, which equals Strength/6, rounded down.)  Armor Factor reduces damage inflicted, but not via simple subtraction.  Instead, “the hit's damage is divided by the [armor factor] of that armor (round down).”  Fortunately, “The Armor Factor Table provides the results for most attacks.”  Heavier armor can affect attributes depending upon the location of the armor.  Upper limb armor can reduce Strength and Dexterity; lower limb armor can reduce Agility and Speed.  Armor factor 6 reduces attributes by 2 while armor factor 12 reduces attributes by 4.

The rules provide the following insight:  “Anytime a character takes damage, he's hurt.”  Damage is subtracted from a character's Constitution.  Once Constitution is negative, “a character is in danger of dying.”  Death ensues if damage reaches a negative amount equal to twice Constitution.  There are four wound intensities, numbered zero through three, based on the amount of Constitution lost from a given attack.  A loss of one or two Constitution points is a “light wound.”  Otherwise, a loss of up to half a character's normal Constitution is a “moderate wound.”  More than half and up to a character's normal Constitution is a “serious wound.”  A wound greater than a character's normal Constitution is classified as “near death.”  Wounds must be stabilized in order to be treated; stabilization is rendered more difficult as wound intensity increases.

Whenever damage reduces a character's Constitution, the character must make a consciousness check.  In other words, if the result of 1d10 exceeds the character's reduced Constitution, the character “collapses, unconscious or in shock.”  As usual, 1 always succeeds, 10 always fails.  With the second of two 'simpler options' in effect, consciousness checks are not made; a character is unconscious only when Constitution falls below zero.  Absent medical assistance, a character “remains unconscious for a length of time determined by the Unconsciousness Table.”

As an optional rule, on the round after injury, Dexterity and Agility are reduced.  The amount of Constitution lost is divided as evenly as possible between Dexterity and Agility.  In the event of an odd amount of  Constitution loss, the damaged character decides which attribute is afflicted with the extra point.  “Keeping track of the numbers as they shift can be tricky,” the rules inform us, “but it adds a dimension to combat that could make a one-on-one slugfest more interesting.”

During character generation, it is possible for a character to suffer a previous injury which can reduce attributes depending on the specific hit location.  For example, intense damage to the head can reduce Intelligence and Charisma; intense damage to the upper torso can reduce Constitution and Strength.  The 'effect of injury' is determined by rolling 2d10 on a chart and indexing the result by wound intensity.  There are six possibilities, the least of which is, “The wound heals normally without permanent effect.”  The worst possibility requires a “4D10 Saving roll against Luck.”  If failed, applicable attributes are reduced by three times the wound intensity.  As an additional optional rule, these 'previous injury' rules can also be applied to wounds inflicted during play.

More Concepts from Zebulon's Guide

Art by Ed Emshwiller

Not just a rules expansion, Zebulon's Guide to Frontier Space (hereinafter Zebulon) substantially modifies the Star Frontiers setting.  According to the provided timeline, Zebulon describes a time about one hundred years after the original of Star Frontiers milieu.  Various events transpired during the intervening century.  Most importantly, new sentient races were introduced to Frontier.

Ifshnits are, in effect, space dwarves.

Ifshnits are the major race in the Capella system.  They founded the Capellan Free Merchants and still control the organization.  Their strange, polite dickering is known and welcome on most planets.  Due to their origins, Ifshnits are fiercely independent...

They automatically possess one of the following skills:  Appraisal, Gemology, or Haggling.

Osakar are expert linguists and have a superb sense of smell.

The Osakar epidermis is made up of thousands of large, white, hard, plate-like cells that are shingled downward all over the body.  They resemble a huge, white plant more than any animal.

Because Osakar are the only sentient race to have “achieved perfect equality,” they have a “natural inclination toward individuality.”  Additionally, “All Osakar are fervently religious, but the religion itself is not as important as the fact that the Osakar believes in it.”

Humma bear a superficial similarity to kangaroos; they can leap up to twenty-five meters horizontally.  However, Humma tails are prehensile.

Humma are rude, crude, lewd, pushy, and arrogant.  The only races they enjoy working with are the Yazirians (Humma admire their battle rage) and Osakar (because no one likes them either).

Their “lack of smell and taste, combined with their tough digestive system, means they can eat almost anything that is vaguely edible.”

Mechanons are the sentient robots from Starspawn of Volturnus.  Since leaving Volturnus and colonizing the planet Mechano, their “aggressive tendency to dominate and destroy organic, intelligent life” has abated.  Nonetheless, “Some robopsychologists are beginning to suspect that two completely different Mechanon societies may be evolving:  one bent on peacefully coexisting with the other races, and another, smaller faction bent on destroying them.”  Perhaps because of this, Mechanons are relegated to non-player character status.

Another prominent event in the timeline was the spread and eradication of the Blue Plague.  First appearing on Starmist, the plague would eventually kill 17 million entities.  Presumably, victims included all of the (organic) sentient races.

Additionally, of the approximately four pages devoted to the timeline, the description of the Second Sathar War takes up slightly more than an entire page.

Aside from the timeline, there is a five page chapter about mega-corporations.  Seventeen mega-corps (including the Capellan Free Merchants) are described in capsule form.  Emphasis is placed on the phenomenon of “Corporate Wars.”  The stages of a corporate war are indicated by the acronym ICEWARS:  Interest conflict, Corporate espionage, Economic sanctions, Withdrawal, Armed conflict, Reinforcements, and Stabilization.”

Zebulon brings cloning technology into Star Frontiers.  For five thousand Credits a skin sample is placed into a body-gene box.  Being “part stasis field, part freeze field,” a b-g box “is a 20-cm cube made of federanium.”  We are told, “As long as the box remains closed, the sample remains fresh.”  I guess you could say that a sample in a b-g box is stayin' alive.  (Sorry, my inner demons forced me to make a Bee Gees joke.)  It costs ten thousand Credits per year to maintain and store a b-g box.  Once it is “positively established” that a sample donor has died, a clone can be generated at a cost of 75,000 Credits.  Proof of a person's demise requires “witnesses, a medical certificate of death, or the identifiable remains of the [person].”  However, to be eligible for cloning, the person must have “died an unusually early accidental death.”  Absent this restriction, “Most of the Frontier believes that...the clone merchants would overpopulate the systems in a matter of decades.”

Since this is science fiction, clones have the memories of their originals.

When a character has a sample taken, the referee must record all of the character's abilities, skills, and so forth.  This record is then the basis for the clone, if and when it is grown.  Any new abilities or skills developed after the sample is taken are not recorded, unless the character has another sample taken later (whereupon the original sample is destroyed).

It is not explained how an original's personality is linked to a skin sample.  The sample is destroyed when a clone is generated from it and – for undisclosed reasons – “Another sample cannot be taken for at least three months.”  Supposedly, when a clone is generated, it has the same physiological age as the original at the time the sample was taken.

If a clone learns that his original is still alive...

...he becomes obsessed with a desire to kill the original character and never stops trying until one or the other is dead. The next step, usually, is that the cloned character then becomes suicidal after realizing that he has killed himself.

Presumably, this also applies to female clones.  Given this behavior, it is understandable that, “If it is discovered that a clone exists while the original still lives, a general order to shoot on sight is immediately given.”  We also learn that, “Unfortunately this usually results in both the clone and the original being destroyed.”  Can't the original be put into protective custody?  If I realized that I was a clone and found out my original was still alive and knew that, as such, I would be destroyed, I would approach things differently.  I might toy with the idea of taking my original's place.  Quickly dismissing this notion as not being feasible, I would distance myself from my original identity in an effort to convince people that I'm not a clone.

Naturally, cloning presents a variety legal and ethical considerations.  Is a clone responsible for the actions of its original after the sample is taken?  Felons aren't allowed to maintain b-g boxes or be cloned, but does a clone inherit its original's debts and responsibilities?

We learn “there are always rumors of the 'filthy rich' who can buy their own clone banks and almost become immortal, but that is for NPC consideration only.”  How does that work?  Do these would-be immortals pretend to be their own offspring for purposes of inheritance?  How would their actual children feel about that?  In any event, a clone isn't really a continuation of the original.  The clone and the original “share a life” until the time of the sample; the original then has its own experiences and develops independently.

Cloning offers some adventure opportunities that Zebulon does not touch upon.  For instance, the clone of a player character would want to know how and why the original died.  Because of the cloning restrictions, the death couldn't be the result of natural causes.  Another opportunity would be for player characters to be clone hunters, tracking down and 'retiring' clones that are alive illegally.  Also, Sathar would certainly take advantage of cloning technology.  They could steal samples of important people, generate clones that are completely loyal to the Sathar cause, and replace the people with their clones.  Positions of great influence would be infiltrated by agents who could not be distinguished from the originals.

Zebulon's Guide to Frontier Space

Art by Ed Emshwiller

TSR offered three 'accessory' products for Star Frontiers.  The first such product was a book of official character record sheets; the second was a referee's screen.  Lastly, we have the subject of this post, Zebulon's Guide to Frontier Space (hereinafter Zebulon).  The conceit of Zebulon is that it is...

...an encyclopedia compiled by the University of Zebulon documenting all the known flora, fauna, cultures, devices, and history of the Frontier in one place. The handy Ceretronix Pocket 1200 version quickly became a necessary piece of equipment in every pioneer's and spacer's kit.

Zebulon, of course, is one of the star systems in the Frontier (and doubtless named after Dave “Zeb” Cook).  Specifically, the Zebulon system contains Volturnus.  The university is based on Anker, another planet in the system.  According to the Zebulon timeline, Professor Alorne Zebulon discovered the Zebulon system 61 years prior to the establishment of the United Planetary Federation (and 66 years prior to the creation of Star Law).  Four years after discovering the Zebulon system, the professor established the University of Zebulon.  However, Crash on Volturnus states that, “The Zebulon star system was first investigated... by an unmanned exploration probe” and this “probe indicated that Volturnus was the only inhabitable planet in the Zebulon system.”  Also, Crash on Volturnus takes place within a year of the first manned expedition of that system – an expedition that did not include Professor Zebulon.  There is no attempt to reconcile these conflicting facts.  It's almost as if the Star Frontiers creative team did not anticipate that – 30-40 years in the future – people with nothing better to do would use a global communications system to nitpick the continuity of the game's milieu.

Despite the claim above, Zebulon documents neither flora nor fauna.  Zebulon has “Volume 1” as its subtitle, suggesting further volumes.  Perhaps flora and fauna would have been covered in one of these anticipated volumes.  However, published in 1985, Zebulon was one of TSR's last Star Frontiers products.  More than a mere accessory, Zebulon was hailed as a “major new rules expansion!” in the coming attractions of Dragon #102.  In effect, Zebulon was a new edition of the Star Frontiers rules.  Unfortunately, it was also Star Frontiers' swan song.

Zebulon offers a universal resolution system based on a table with nineteen columns.  Generally, each column represents a skill level; however, there are columns for both positive and negative extremes (above +10 and below -5 respectively).  There is also a “/0” column to the right of the “0” column. 

In the original rules, skills have a maximum of six levels.  With the Zebulon rules, the maximum level is eight.  Percentile dice are still rolled, but instead of percentile modifiers, there are “column shifts” on the table.  Each column represents a modifier difference of 10.  “For example, a + 20 bonus in the Alpha Dawn rules now becomes a + 2 column shift.”  Use of the table allows for degrees of success, each degree conforms to one of four colors.  In order of decreasing result, the colors are:  cobalt, blue, green, and yellow.

In terms of combat, damage is determined by the color result of a successful attack.  A cobalt success inflicts maximum damage.  Other possibilities include blue (¾ damage), green (½ damage), and yellow (¼ damage).  A character without training in a given weapon can attempt to use the weapon on the “0” column; positive modifiers cannot improve a roll to the right of the “/0” column.

The original rules offered a selection of thirteen skills (with associated subskills) among three Primary Skill Areas.  Zebulon treats each subskill as a distinct skill and adds many new skills so that over 120 skills are now available for characters.  In terms of character creation, a beginning character has twenty experience points “gleaned from years of study, practicing, apprenticeship, or whatever.”  These points are used to join a profession and acquire skills.

Professions are a new concept in Zebulon.  We learn that, “A character must belong to one of these professions and may not leave it at a later date.”  Each profession has a list of skills associated with it.  Entering a profession costs ten experience points and a character “must spend his remaining experience points on any of his profession's skills.”  Rather than having twenty experience points and necessarily spending ten of those to enter a profession, why not have characters join a profession at no cost and give them ten experience points to spend on profession skills? 

The main professions are:  Enforcer, Techex (“Technical Expert”), Scispec (“Science Specialist”), and Explorer.  A Mentalist profession is discussed separately in Zebulon.  The Spacer profession is “for campaigns using the Knight Hawks game rules.”  There is no other mention of the Spacer profession.  The spaceship skills are not defined in the Zebulon skill section and there is no discussion of how to conform the spaceship skills to the Zebulon paradigm.

Each profession has an automatic skill:  Enforcer - Endurance, Techex - Agility, Scipec - Intelligence, and Explorer - Charisma.  Each of these automatic 'skills' gives seven points to be allocated between a given ability pair:  Endurance (Strength/Stamina), Agility (Dexterity/Reaction Speed), Intelligence (Intuition/Logic), and Charisma (Personality/Leadership).

The cost of learning and improving skills is indicated on the Zebulon Skill Cost Table.  There is a column for skills within one's profession and a column for skills outside one's profession.  The first level of a profession skill costs one point, the second level costs an additional two points.  Each level after the second costs an additional two points.  Thereby, the eighth level of a professional skill has a cost of fourteen points.  The cost for non-professional skills is double that of professional skills.  Some skills do not have levels beyond the first; success is automatic if these skills are purchased.  Examples include 'Climbing' and 'Chef'.

Some skills appear on more than one profession list.  For instance, 'Body Speak' is both an Enforcer skill and an Explorer skill.  (Body Speak “allows a character to use exaggerated body movement as a form of communication with others possessing this skill.”)  Some skills aren't on any profession list, meaning that anyone who wants to learn or improve such a skill must use the non-profession cost progression.  Examples include 'Disguise' and 'Bluff'.  Some skills require continuous training; they must be re-purchased at first level every six months or the benefit they provide is lost.  Examples include 'Pumping Federanium' and 'Running'.  ('Pumping Federanium' allows a character to “carry [up] to one and one-half times his Strength score” in kilograms.  This is due to the character working out with federanium, “the densest element known.”  However, the drawback is that the character's physique is so developed he “may have trouble fitting into suits and equipment normally disguised [sic] for his race.”)