Can the Confrontation spotlight be combat? Do you then still use a simple oppossed test or do you resolve using the normal combat rules. If the latter, does the GM need to assign tokens from the missions token pool. If the former, can the oppossed test kill a PC?

To give an in-game example: How would you do a Confrontation Spotlight where an NPC assassin wants to ambush a PC?

Yup, you are right on the opposed test. For most things it will be whoever is successful win, or the highest success wins if there are multiple successes. (deze laatste zin is belangrijk)

A Confrontation can be combat and you can keep going until someone dies (each dice of Kills causes 1 Wound, some NPCs have two Wounds), flees or the opponents decide to stop. The GM should put in a Threat Token if it’s a named NPC but the only “kills” possible is the named NPC. If that makes sense?

An NPC Assassin would use the GM’s Spotlight scene as a Confrontation. You would both roll for Dominance to see if you Ambushed the PC. Then go through each round of Combat. Other PCs may elect to join the Confrontation (by entering Combat at Far Range once they have fictional reason to do so). Or the GM could use their Spotlight for a Leverage scene and then make the Encounter the Assassination attempt, if you see what I mean?

Cheers,
Gregor

Since I seem to be doing larger sessions for the most part I’ve thought about giving the Troopers something to set them apart from each other Mechanically.

Specializations

Specialties are specific occupations held by a trooper. Any Trooper can choose to use a successful development roll to train in a single Specialization. Use of a Weakness can result in a Trooper being removed from a chosen specialty. There can only be one Trooper per squad who holds any specfic specialization as per Terran Military Regulation 86-1-C. In other words, only one Medic or Sapper per Squad. Later Development rolls CAN be used to switch specializations. Specializations are ONLY available to the Trooper rank. If the Trooper at any time goes up in rank the specialization is lost.

MEDIC
Once per PC, per Planet/Mission, the Medic can, during an encounter, make an NFA roll to heal a single PC they are in the same range as one would level. An unsuccessful NFA means the character is untreatable and the Medic cannot attempt to heal that PC again for the rest of the planet. A roll of a 10 means the PC cannot heal between the current encounter and the next. This can be used on the Medic himself.

New Equipment: Auto-Doc, First-Aid Manual

ARMORER
Once per PC, per Planet/Mission, the Armorer can, during an encounter, make an NFA roll to repair the armor of a single PC they are in the same range as. An unsuccessful NFA means the armor is irreparable and the Armorer cannot attempt to repair that PCs armor again for the rest of the planet. This can be used on the Armorer himself.

New Equipment: Mesh Tape, Hydrospanner

SCOUT
Once per planet/mission, the Scout can reroll a single failed Dominance check. Also, once per planet if the Alien Threat fails it’s Dominance check but an ambush does not happen due to PC failures, he may force the Ambush. The Scout may also choose which range he starts combat in, regardless of the range chosen for the group, except in the case of an Alien ambush.

New Equipment: Camo-Buddy, standard Trooper choices

GRENADIER
Once per planet/mission, the Grenadier can choose not to do Grenade damage to those PCs in close range for an entire single encounter.

New Equipment: Grenade Launcher (d10*/d6*/1*) (Launcher replaces normal weapon choice. A sidearm replaces the troopers regular grenades)

RADIO OPERATOR
Once per Planet/Mission the Radio Operator can add a +1 to a single NFA roll involving communications with the fleet, i.e. Orbital Bombardment, E-Vac, etc. If the +1 added by the Radio Operator would cause the action to succeed where normally it would have failed, the Radio Operator can claim any and all kills resulting from the action.

New Equipment: High Density Field Transmitter, Codebook

SAPPER
Once per planet/mission the Sapper may make an NFA roll to cause d10 kills to the aliens when the Aliens move (move any of the PCs closer on the range chart) during the entirety of a single encounter. This action must be declared during the Dominance roll for the encounter the Sapper intends to use them. This ability cannot be used in encounters where the Aliens have spent to use the Ambush ability, or against Aliens with the Leaping special ability. The NFA roll represents mines dropped by the Sapper. These mines do NOT cause kills to the PCs. The mine’s power can be upgraded.

New Equipment: Trip Mines (d10), Thin Wire

Any suggestions to the text or clarifications are welcome. And, as said, I’d like a couple more Specialties. Keep in mind the special ability should be a Once per Planet/Mission ability.

Written by Tensen01

From Gregor Hutton:

I came up with another one:
Supplies: You get the gig working in the supply chain and you can get access to “anything” Between Missions. Use youe auto-improvement on requisitioning new equipment/training for you or someone else.

The Supplier has access to “anything” (anything that you could requisition through the system). So, no, you can’t requisition The Device (maybe access to an unarmed Starkiller missile is OK though, but you’ll need the primer code off a Colonel).

I’m sure a mouthy Supply guy would say he could get you “anything”. Cigs, letters from home, Flame-Gun, Rocket-Pod, whatever.

I’d be happy for the Supply guy to get guns, Drop Pods, TPK bombs, and so on (if you have an Lt or whatever for the gear). And he can get one thing Between Missions in lieu of his auto improvement.

And, sure, he can pass them on to other troopers in return for favours or deals.

I think it would add some meat for the story too. I’d soon have Department of Peace investigators wondering where all this stuff is going and who countersigned in. I’m sure the players would soon be stiffing officers to cover their tracks.

(But, hey, I give people TPK bombs if they ask me for one when I sign their books. One kid got three of them out of me.)

What could he get you in a Mission? Maybe he can requisition stuff with an NFA test during a Mission. Or maybe the paperwork is getting done after the Mission is cleared up. Up to the GM I guess.

This document assumes you have a copy of 3:16 – Carnage Amongst the Stars and have read it, if you haven’t I strongly suggest you buy a copy as it’s well worth the investment.

Difference

The main difference between 3:16 – Carnage Amongst the Stars and 3:16 – Carnage Amongst the Star Wars is that in the original game you play an infantry soldier, part of a large unit or an elite squad of commando’s. In this version you start as a Cadet in the Rebellion and will learn to fly in the various Rebel craft as you make a name for yourself in the Rebel Army.

Advanced groups can chose to play the other side, The Imperial Navy.

Ultimately the goal is the same: “Kill ‘m All”

Character Creation

Each player gets 11 (instead of 10) points to split between FA and NFA.

At character creation the maximum in either FA and NFA is 8 and during the course of the campaign the maximum is 9.

Special abilities, bonuses etc can still raise this to 10, but neither FA nor NFA can ever be increased to a natural 10.

The rest is the same as normal character generation in the 3:16 manual, the only difference is that the group needs to chose a squadron callsign: for example Red Squadron or Gold Squadron.

The highest ranked player will be Red 1 and the second highest player will be Red 2 and so forth.

Ranks

• Rank 0 – Trooper – Cadet
• Rank 1 – Corporal – EnsignRank 2 – Sergeant – Lieutenant
• Rank 3 – Lieutenant – Lieutenant Commander
• Rank 4 – Captain – Commander
• Rank 5 – Major – Captain
• Rank 6 – Lt. Colonel – Commodore
• Rank 7 – Colonel – Admiral
• Rank 8 – Brigadier – Admiral of the Fleet

I chose to let my players start at the rank of Cadet and level 10 for a training mission in a simulator. This has the advantage of the group getting a feel for the setting and the other players without the risk of dying etc, it also gives your players a chance to goof off

After the training mission they are promoted to the rank of Ensign and (not a must) the Wingleader to the rank of (Acting) Lieutenant.

FA & NFA

Anything (*) that causes kills is FA and everything else is considered NFA.

A few examples of NFA:

• Taking evasive action, Eject, Enter Hyperspace or getting a Missile Lock.

Players are encouraged to come up with other NFA tricks and as long as the other players or the GM objects, it’s allowed.

(*) As with everything in life there are always exceptions.

Basicly it comes down to (trying) to do kills/damage versus avoiding kills, fancy flying, getting to a better position or trying to rescue someone/something.

NFA Specials

There are several special abilities which require an NFA roll in a combat situation, this section describes their effect and their intended use.

• Taking evasive action – On a successful NFA roll the player avoids getting hit by the enemy even if that players success is lower then that of the enemy (AA). This basicly works the same way as the Parry special ability in 3:16

• Enter Hyperspace – Entering Hyperspace takes two rounds. The first round is required to plot an escape course that isn’t blocked, nor doesn’t fly you into a planet. At the end of the second round you successfully enter Hyperspace. You will need to make two successful NFA rolls to make enter Hyperspace without getting shot to pieces. If the first roll fails your attempt fails all together, if the second fails then you still get away but you get a kill.

• Getting a Missile Lock – To fire a missile, torpedo or a rocket you first need to attain a missile lock before you can fire your projectiles.
  To get the lock you need to make a successful NFA roll and the next round you can, but don’t have to, fire the projectiles (See the Weapon section for more information). Your missile lock holds for as long as you don’t get hit, if you fire the missile you only need a successful FA roll, you don’t have to be faster then the enemy.
  If you dont fire that round, you will have to relock as the enemy broke the lock, you also lose your lock when you perform evasive manouvers or any other action that makes it improbable that you could’ve maintained the missile lock.

Specials

Mag Pulse – Costs 1 Missile/Torpedo Token – The enemy can’t do any kills this turn or if they acted already, next turn. One Use Only – The enemy can still do other actions just no kills.
Tractor Beam – Same round Missile lock (Combined FA/NFA roll) – Costs an Afterburner Token.
Request for Reinforcements – Highest ranking only – Ambush (One Use Only)
Hyperdrive - On two successful NFA rolls player or players can leave combat without taking a kill. (Described in the NFA section)
Jammer - Costs an Afterburner Token – You can’t be targetted by Missiles (Too Weak)
R2 Unit - +1 Shield and +1 repair (Instead of the Kinetic Shield)
SLAM system – A craft equiped with the SLAM system can enter combat at a different range then the other players even when ambushed. If you move 1 range then your next attack is at half kills (rounded down, sorry) and if you moved 2 ranges then you can’t attack that round.

(Note you can not go beyond far range.)

Weapons

Missiles are fast and can be used against any Craft, but generaly do less kills than Torpedos.

Torpedos are slower and are meant for large and/or slower targets. They can be used against Fighters but at a -1 penalty to lock on and to fire.

Rockets are too slow to be used against anything other than Capital Ships, but do a lot more kills.

Missiles and Torpedos always earn you a token unless its a named npc or a capital ship.

Projectile weapons can be linked together to fire two with one shot.

If it is a capital ship capable of taking such damage you roll for each torpedo and sum the results.

If it is a fighter then you get to chose which result you want to use (hint: Highest).

Either way you have used one token per projectile fired.

Shields

Each craft is equiped with shields and in most cases armour plating as to increase the chance of survival when the going gets tough.

A Mess – Your ship has seen better days.

Crippled - It’s still flying, well kinda… (no more fancy stuff)

Armor - Armor (if the ship has any that is) – Usable once only.

Shield Tokens - Some ships have much stronger shields and as such they get more shield tokens to use before they become bloodied.

Favor - Luck, the Force or anything else a player wishes to call it. – Usable once only.

Parry: Destroy incoming missile, minor shield impact etc – whatever the Player roleplays what they consider to have happened, the dice are merely a Guideline. – Usable once only.

GM Tokens

At the start of a mission the GM gets 7 times the amount of players in tokens.

Per encounter a gm assigns tokens, with a minimum of one (plot twist) and a maximum of 2,5 times the amount of players.

Spotlight Scenes

After any encounter players get a Spotlight scene.

Any unused spotlights are only lost when the mission ends or a new one becomes available.

Assault - Unchanged (Medium)
Leverage - Unchanged (Long)
Strategem - Unchanged (Medium)
Treatment/Repair – When docked and a repaircrew is available you repair 1d3 (Long)Otherwise you repair just 1 (Short).
Repair and reload – Only at a facility: You can add 1 Missile/Torpedo and Repair 1 or just reload 2 without repairing. (Short)

The Flight Leader decides how much time there is between encounters, this can have repercussions on the next encounter. What kind of repercussions is up to the GM and ought to be discussed with the players through the Mission Briefing.

Chain of Command

The Chain of Command isn’t as strict as the Imperial Navy and much can be overlooked (brawls, verbal fights etc) but neglecting ones duty, murder, loss of Craft etc will be severly punished.

Campaign

The Campaign consists of about 10 to 20 missions.

The final battle is basicly when everyone has reached level 18.

(Assuming you only have regular players, if a player only attends every now and then they won’t be level 18, this shouldn’t be too much of a problem, but the playergroup can resolve this any way they like.)

Gaining a Level

• Performing beyond the call of duty (most kills)
• Superior Tactics (most tokens)
• Combat Expertise (lowest level)

In case of 3 players 1 and 2 roll to see who gets the level.

Rank

There are multiple ways to gain or lose a rank.

Promotion

Promotion isn’t automatic, but you do get a chance by rolling NFA.

1. Using a strength
2. Your commanding officer or your team puts you up for promotion.
3. The GM can promote you (don’t hold your breath, but it can happen)
4. Temporary Field promotion when an officer dies or becomes incapacitated during a mission.

Demotion

Demotion isn’t automatic either, instead the one putting you up for demotion makes a NFA roll and if they are successful you get to make a NFA roll yourself to avoid being demoted. If they fail or you succeed nothing happens.

1. Using a weakness
2. Failing a mission (GMs ‘choice’)
3. Team puts you up for Demotion
4. Voluntarily

Putting someone up for a demotion isn’t without risk.

If you fail and the other (assuming they are higher ranked) succeeds they can demote you. Normal demotion rules apply, but you don’t get to demote them in case they fail also.

Field promotion

When an officer falls in battle or becomes unable to perform their duty, its important they are replaced so the mission can continue as planned.

The person taking over gets a field promotion to the same rank.

When there are two of equal rank they get to roll for it, unless the ranks already agreed on a successor.

If at the end of the mission the officer has recovered and the mission is a success, they get to make a promotion roll to attain their next rank, if the officer doesn’t recover they get to make a roll to keep their field promotion.

If the mission fails the roll is at -2, if you succeed you keep the field promotion, if you fail but would’ve made it without the penalty you gain a rank instead. (The GM can decrease the penalty if it wasn’t a complete Failure)

Ships

Interceptor Class

V-Wing – 2 Cannons – 0 Ion Cannons – 1 Missile Launchers – 1 Shield – 6 Afterburner – 1 Person
T-Wing – 2 Cannons – 0 Ion Cannons – 2 Torpedo Launchers – 1 Shield – 9 Afterburner – 1 Person
A-Wing – 2 Blaster Cannons – 0 Ions – 2 Missile Launchers – 0 Shield – 2 Afterburner – 1 Person – Flanking – Rank 3

Assault Class

R-41 – 2 Laser Cannons – 2 Ions – 2 Missile Launchers – 2 Shield – 3 Afterburner – 1 Person
Y-Wing – 2 Blaster Cannons – 2 Ion Cannons – 2 Torpedo Launchers – 2 Shield – 3 Afterburner – 1 Person – None – Rank 2
B-Wing – 3 Heavy Blaster Cannons – 3 Heavy Ion Cannons – 2 Torpedo Launchers – 1 Shield – 2 Afterburner – 2 Persons – S-Foils – Rank 5

General Purpose Class

Z-95 - 3 Lasers – 0 Ions – 2 Missile Launchers – 0 Shield – 4 Afterburner – 1 Person – None – Rank 0
X-Wing – 4 Blaster Cannons – 0 Ion Cannons – 2 Torpedo Launchers – 1 Shield – 3 Afterburner – 1 Person – S-Foils – Rank 4

Flanking

Craft with this ability can enter Flanking on their turn for free assuming they were successful on their roll (either FA or NFA).

S-Foils

Craft with S-Foils can close them to move a range for free.

Moving is a NFA roll (can be combined with most other NFA actions), but you can’t fire with S-Foils closed.You can reopen them with another NFA roll. (They open even if you fail your roll or if someone forgos their success to end the round, it’s only flipping a switch after all)

Weapons

Weapon Damage Chart

0 – 1 – 1D6 – 2D4/1D8 – 1D10 – 1D12/2D6

Weapon – Close – Near – Far

Laser Cannons – 1d3 – 1d4 – x (Rank 0)

Blaster Cannons – 1d3 – 1d6 – x (Rank 2)

Heavy Blaster Cannons – 1d4 – 1d10 – 1 (Rank 4)

Ion Cannons – 1d3 – 2d3 – 0 (Rank 2)

Heavy Ion Cannons – 1d4 – 2d4 – 1 (Rank 5)

Missiles – 0(*) – 1d10 – 2d6 (Rank 0)

Advanced Missiles – 0(*) – 1d12 – 2d10 (Rank 4)

Torpedos – 0(*) – 2d10 – 3d10 (Rank 2)

Advanced Torpedos – 0(*) – 2d12 – 3d12 (Rank 4)

Rockets – 1d100 – x – x (Rank 5)

Skills

Eject (Rank 0)

On a succes the player ejects from their craft and removes themselves from the combat.

On a failure the player still ejects from the craft, but remains at their range and is still considered in combat. Another NFA roll can be made each round to escape from combat, but the player is unable to attack as all they have left is Harsh Language and in this game that doesn’t score you any kills.

Formation Flying (Rank 2)

This allows you to change range if another pilot with the Formation Flying skill does so. Note that you must have enough Fuel to perform this task. You change range at the same time as the other pilot (i.e. at the end of their turn).

Superior Tactics (Rank 3)

This allows you to enter combat at one Range band nearer or further away if you wish to do so. You cannot use Superior Tactics to start an encounter beyond Far Range (as this is clearly cowardice!). It costs one Fuel Token to use this skill. For no Fuel cost you can elect to start at the same Range as the squadron, of course.

Abort (Rank 4)

This allows you use the E-Vac from the main 3:16 rules. (Highest Ranked Only)

Break and Run (Rank 5)

This allows you use the E-Vac from the main rules but without anyone taking a Kill in the process of ending the encounter. (Highest Ranked Only)

Deflect (Rank 6)

This allows you to direct a Kill on you to someone else at the same Range Band.

Tokens/Chips

• Black – Afterburner Tokens
• Blue – Torpedo Tokens
• Green – Shield Tokens
• Red – Missile Tokens
• White – Special Tokens

In AD316 Gregor introduces Tokens (Accomplishments) as an additional way to level. In the Development phase the PC with the highest Kills and the one with the most Tokens roll to see which one levels. After that all the other PCs that didn’t level roll to see which one also gains a level. There is still the limit of 2 PCs levelling between Missions.

I want to introduce a more “organic” way of levelling. I was thinking of using Tokens as a kind of experience points. A PC levels after gaining a number of Tokens.

You can influence how many PCs level after a Mission by the number of Tokens necessary to level. If the GM rules that you need 10 Tokens to level than at the most 2 PCs can level in a 4-player game (24 Tokens). Which limits the number of Strengths available.

Killing things is still the easiest way to gain Tokens. But maybe the PC with the highest Kills at the and of a Mission gains an additional 2 Tokens, to “tempt” players to go for Big Fuckin Guns(tm) with limited killing ranges.

T0 change the military setting into a heroic Swords & Sorcery setting the 9 ranks are:

Rank – Gift
0. Worthy - Force Weakness
1. Respected - (highest FA) – Sneak (based upon the Scout rule)
2. Honored - (Highest NFA) Retreat (based upon E-Vac)
3. Famous - Warhorse (free movement, NFA D4/D4/x) + an extra 4-point weapon + Last Stand (based on Orbital Bombardement)
4. Celebrated - Barded Warhorse (horse + extra armour tick) + an extra 5-point weapon + Superior Tactics (see So Few)
5. Revered - One 6-point weapon + Invulnerable (Kinetic Armour) + Warband (Drop Ship)
6. Mighty - One 7-point weapon (Holy Avenger) + War! (Paradise Bomb)
7. Renowned - as Mighty with Massacre (Starkiller) + Deflect! (see So Few)
8. Legendary - Campaign ending weapon (not sure yet)

The 7 weapon ranks are:
pts roll
0 – 0
1 – 1
2 -  d4
3 – d6
4 – 2d4
5 -  2d6
6 – 3d6
7 – 2D20

PCs start with one 5-point weapon and one 4-point weapon. For example, a PC can start with a 5-point weapon that does D6/D4/x or D4/D4/1. And one 4-point weapon, for example x/2d4/x.

Double-handed weapons: In AD316 and Tribes players can choose to have a Shield and handweapon combination. If the player decides to skip the Shield and instead use a double-handed weapon he gets +1 bonus to the Kills roll.

For example: A 5-point one-handed sword does 1/2d4/x. While a double-handed sword does 1+1/2d4+1/x.

For Zero to Hero

To simulate the “from zero to hero approach” the players can start of with a level lower than 10. Below is the number of Strengths and Weakness a PC starts with at each level.

Level (=FA+NFA) Strengths Weaknesses
19 – 0 1 or 1 0
18 – 1 1
17 – 2 1
16 – 2 2
15 – 3 2
14 – 3 3
13 – 4 3
12 – 4 4
11 – 5 4
10 – 5 5
09 – 6 5
08 – 6 6
07 – 7 6
06 – 7 7
05 – 8 7
04 – 8 8
03 – 9 8
02 – 9 9
01 – 10 9

* The final Weakness for a PC is always “I’m no Hero”. This is the realisation that real heroes don’t exist and the PC certainly isn’t one – there is nothing left to achieve and thus the PC retires.
* Alternatively, the final Strength is “Attain Godhood”. The martial prowess of the PC has opened up a position in the Pantheon of the Gods

KILL THEM!
Enemies come in three grades. Enemies take a number of successes to neutralize:

Henchmen - Single success necessary, removes one Threat Token and causes # “kills”,

Leaders/Named (N)PCs – Two successes necessary, removes one Threat Token and scores 1 kill

‘Endboss’ enemies - The number of PCs = the number of successes necessary, remove a Threat Token for each success, scores 1 kill

Epic Enemies - 2x the number of PCs = the number of successes necessary, remove a Threat Token for each success, score 1 kill. A Strength cannot instakill this threat, but removes 3 Threat Tokens from its pool.

Players can join up in killing Endbosses and Epic Enemies. The players that removes the last Threat Token earns the kill. Endbosses and Epic Enemies are always fought in seperate encounters. Endbosses and Epic Enemies can have Abilities.

AND TAKE THEIR STUFF
PCs earn money after succesfully completing quests and missions. Money can be looted from dead enemies or earned from employers.

Loot/Treasure works as a free Leverage for the PC. After a succcesful Mission/Quest each PC earns 1 Treasure. The player decides if this Treasure is beneficial to FA or NFA. During the next Quest the player can “spend” his Treasure to gain a +1 bonus to an encounter. The player narrates how his acquired Treasure gives a benefit in the encounter. This Treasure bonus can be stacked on top of a +1 Leverage bonus.

If during the Development phase the player describes in a fun way how he spends the money on “earthly things” the +1 bonus is turned into one free re-roll (an extra Favour).

CAREERS

If players use a Flashback – either a Strength or a Weakness – they can describe a previous career the PC has done. This career grants certain benefits. A PC can only have a maxium of 4 previous careers. All careers give a +1 bonus to a stat when used in a situation were that specific career would be a benefit to the player character.

ASSASSIN/SLAYER
These covert killers are adept at sneak attacks, killing,  information gathering,  city  lore,  persuasion, poisons and lock picking.

BARBARIAN/SAVAGE
These characters come from the Northlands, the  Deserts  or  other  wildernesses  of  the Hyborian world.  They  have  natural  skills  in  wilderness  lore,  living  rough,  berserk  rage,  riding, intimidation,  natural  instincts  and  so  on.

BLACKSMITH/METALSMITH
Often  found  helping  alchemists build  their  inventions, these characters are skilled at weapon and  armour  making  and  repair,  metallurgy, and weapon  lore.

GLADIATOR/CHAMPION
Often  forced  into  life  of  professional  arena fighters,  the  gladiator  is  skilled  in  one-on-one tactics, exotic weapons, weapon  lore,  initiative and weapon  training. They are especially good at  fighting  in a style  ‘to please  the crowd’.

HUNTER/TRACKER
Rugged  outdoor  types  skilled  in  wilderness lore,  living  rough,  trapping,  tracking,  stealth and other similar pursuits. Agility  is  important to  a  hunter,  as  are  strength  and  mind  to  a slightly lesser degree.

MAGICIAN/SORCERER
Often  a  little  strange,  these  characters  are knowledgeable  of  esoteric matters  to  do  with astrology,  astronomy  and  ancient  lore.  There  are magicians  in  just about every city of Hyboria. Sorcery  is a  fast  track  to power but  it also brings  its own price.

MERCHANT/TRADER
These are not shopkeepers, these are wide travelled  adventurers, who  seek new  exotic goods to  sell  and  as  such  pick  up  a  range  of  useful skills  like  trading,  appraisal,  obtaining  rare  or unusual  goods,  persuasion,  city  lore,  knowledge  of  distant  places,  guild  membership.

MERCENARY/WARRIOR
These  are warriors who work  for  anyone who will  pay  for  their  services. They  tend  to  have skill  in  living  rough,  horse riding,  intimidation,  carousing,  and  even weapon  and  armour upkeep  and  repair.

NOBLE/COURTIER
Often holding homes  in  the city and estates or villas  outside  the  city,  these  characters  are  titled  and  have  some  authority  over  commoner people.  They  are  often  able  to  obtain  credit, have  high-ranking  contacts  and  are  skilled  in such  things  as  bribery,  dress  sense  and  etiquette.

PHYSICIAN/HEALER
Physicians are dispensers of potions and medicines  and  have  practical  skills  in  bonesetting, surgery  and  childbirth.  They  are  knowledgeable of plant  lore,  first  aid  and diseases.

PIRATE/BUCCANNEER
Rogues of  the sea, Pirates are skilled in climbing,  sea  lore,  navigation  by  stars,  and  boat handling  with  a  good  knowledge  of  far  ports and  islands. Pirates speak  their own language known as Sea-Tongue.

THIEF/ROGUE

Those  who  live  by  less-than-honest means  in the  streets  of  the  towns  and  cities.  They  will have skill  in such  things as city  lore, burglary, sneaking,  picking  pockets  and  are  likely  to have  guild  membership.

Keep it simple

There is a tendency when one starts to tinker with 3:16 to think up new rules to do things (I know as I do it myself). But in 3:16 narration is as important as rules.

In my campaign players get a bonus whenever they narrate stuff. For example, if a player fails his attack roll but narrates why his character failed then he gets a +1 bonus the next round. The same for my new Treasure rule. When a player narrates in a fun way how he has spend the treasure/loot he gained in the previous adventure he gets one free re-roll in the next adventure.

You could do the same with Race and Class. If a player roleplays the race and/or class of his character in a fun way then he gets one re-roll or +1 bonus he can use later.

A simple and easy rule. And therefore not as much fun for the GM as creating lots of specials and extra’s for all kinds of races and classes.

ADVENTURE GENERATOR

Here is also a very useful chart by Russell Bailey:

CHARACTER SHEET

Relevant link:

101 essential things in a sword and sorcery city

[Sword & Sorcery] Alternate non-humans

Elements of Sword & Sorcery?

This is what I have so far. Input is greatly appreciated.

It should be noted that to keep the size of a suite as small as possible the pilot only have a side arm should he/she be forced to baleout.

They are two types of Suit one configured for long range engagements the other so short range. A suits weapons can be upgraded but once a suit is destroyed all upgrades are lost.

Note a Suit pilot does not need to make a NFA roll to switch weapon. he/she just needs to declare which weapon system they wish to use this turn.

Long range Suit
Rocket Pod
Heavy machine gun
Power claws

Short range Suit
Grenade launcher* +can fire Grenades to Far range
Heavy machine gun
Flame gun

A suit is a vehicle. We have allowed a group to start with one but A Lieutenant could also be able to recuperation one instead.

Most of these come from the following page: Rules FAQ

Advice

Q: I have the book, do you have any advice for me?

A: Do not plan ahead, just play the game.

Aliens Kills

Q: Just to verify: range has no effect on Troopers resisting alien attacks.

A: Yes, range is immaterial to them. If the aliens succeed then they kill all Troopers still in the encounter that they beat.

Changing Range

Q: How do you change range? Can I change if I cause 0 kills?

A: Yes. You can change range in three ways as detailed on pages 18 and 19:

(1) you make an NFA test to change range (charging or retreating) and if successful you change range on your turn irrespective of what the enemy does,

(2) you succeed at FA and beat the aliens roll (pushing them back or “breaking off”) even if you cause 0 kills,

(3) the aliens succeed at AA and beat your roll (they choose to close on you or flee from you, and they move any PCs they beat on the roll individually).

There are examples on p. 23 and p. 75 of changing range.

Changing Weapons

Q: Is changing weapons your whole action for the round?

A: Nope. You can change weapons as part of any successful NFA action. [Example on p. 23.]

Choosing Range

Q: When we roll for Dominance does everyone get put on the map at the same range?

A: Yes, as it says in the text: “Note that when the range is set all the PCs are initially at the same range.”

Default Weapons

Q: Do you need to have the Special Items “readied” at the start of an encounter?

A: A default weapon has to be a weapon from the weapons list (Energy Rifle through to Shotgun). The “One Use Per Planet stuff” isn’t in your hand, it’s just stuff you call on when you need it and doesn’t make you drop your weapon.

Errata?

Q: Hey, we have questions, are you going to have a new edition?

A: I am not changing any of the text in the book. I think that when you look at the rule wordings in the book in the context of where you are in play and what is happening in the fiction/at the table they are actually clear. When you play out an encounter following the steps in the book you’ll find them guiding you through it. The exact wording of the present rules was something I worked pretty hard at and got a lot of feedback on.

Force Weakness

Q: Is Force Weakness your action for the round? (i.e. declare Force Weakness as action, roll NFA, only Force Weakness and optionally switch weapons)

A: Yes. Hope you succeed and roll high.

Levelling Up

Q: How does leveling work if highest kills are tied?

A: The tied PCs all go up.

Officer Resources

Q: Do Officers have access to ALL the resources below their rank?

A: Yes (well, they cascade down to Sergeant). Or you could rule that they have Gear down to Sergeant, but only the Resources at their rank, up to your play group to decide which they prefer.

Replacement Strengths

Q: Does my replacement gain a new Strength or is it an old one made available again?

A: It’s an existing on for your level made available again: “The Flashbacks your dead PC had “Used” are also “Used” for your new PC except that one Strength is made “Available” again.” on page 36.

Upgrading Weapons

Q: Is there ever a good reason to upgrade a rifle that does base 1 at Close rather than just upgrading hand-to-hand (which you can always switch to)?

A: You can switch to Hand-to-Hand for free, but you couldn’t switch back to your rifle without an NFA roll.

Zero Kills

Q: When an alien ability prevents all kills, does that prevent the loss of the Threat Token too.

A: Yes. 0 Kills = 0 Threat Tokens removed. You killed nothing, the Threat remains.

Since I have a shiny new d24, I changed the tables slightly. Here’s the changes to the Alien Ability table, with a couple of tweaked abilities.

Alien Ability Table

The abilities with links are those which are either new, or tweaked in some way.

1. Ambush
2. Big Mothers
3. Boost Abilities
4. End Encounter
5. Enrage
6. Exploding Bodies
7. Flee
8. Ignore Armour
9. Impair
10. Induce Weakness
11. Isolate
12. Lasting Wounds
13. Leaping
14. Rapid Movement
15. Reduce Visibility
16. Regeneration
17. Stop Technology
18. Suicide
19. Swarm
20. Tough
21. No Ability
22. Solitary
23. Two Abilities
24. Three Abilities

New and Revised Abilities

Armour and Ignore Wounds are replaced by Big Mothers and Tough.

Big Mothers

Some of the aliens on this planet are either very large, or very tough – either way, they take a lot of killing. The GM adds gets one extra free Threat Token for each encounter. On any even damage roll, the player gets only one Kill: the Trooper was forced to take out one of the giant or tough aliens.
Option: An encounter may be made up entirely of giant or tough aliens, in which case, players recieve only one kill per hit, and any damage roll less than the current number of Threat Tokens does not result in a Kill.
Option: The entire encounter consists of a single Alien. The player who removes the very last Threat Token gets the Kill.
Option: Any player at Close range when a big alien is killed takes a Kill if he failed his action roll this round, as the alien’s body thrashes around or lands on him.

No Ability

The aliens on this world are weaker than most. They have no Special Ability. This is a good one to use for the Troopers first ever planet.

Solitary

This ability is inspired by many, many monster movies, though one in particular may easily come to mind… It can also be used for unkillable creatures like the Monster From The Id in Forbidden Planet.
On this planet there is exactly one highly dangerous alien. When all threat tokens in an encounter are removed, the alien is driven off temporarily. When the planet’s last Threat token is removed, the alien is killed. The trooper who removed that last token wins the only Kill on this planet.
Once in each encounter, the GM may spend a Threat Token to make available one of the following abilities: Ambush, Isolate, Lasting Wounds, Leaping, Stop Technology, Swarm. The chosen ability remains active for the rest of the encounter, if appropriate, but may not be used again in later encounters.

Tough

The aliens possess inhuman resistance – whether due to armour, toughness, force field, or whatever – and just keep coming regardless of the firepower you pour into them. On any even damage result, the number of Kills is halved. On any odd damage roll, no Kills are gained – the aliens just keep coming. If there is only one threat token left, it is not removed until an even damage result is inflicted.

Two Abilities

Roll for two abilities. The abilities aren’t checked off, and can be abilities that have already occurred (reroll any result over 20).

Three Abilities

As above, but roll for three abilities (ignoring subsequent rolls above 20).

Source: http://316.wikidot.com/

When a flashback is used, it is gone – it can never be used again. It would be nice to be able to call on an already defined flashback for a benefit, but without upsetting the game’s balance too much.

Flashback Bonus

Once per planet, you may use a Flashback that you have already Used. One you have done so, cross out that Flashbback – it can’t be used again. You must describe how that Flashback applies to this scene.
The benefit gained depends on whether it is a Strength or Weakness.

Strengths

You can cancel all actions in a turn, starting from the initiative point you choose.
So, say you fail with a roll of 10. Trooper Haldeman gets 8, and the aliens get 6. You are going to be injured and Haldeman is going to score kills. So, you could set your initiative to 10, and cancel all actions. Or, if you are felling kind, you could set the initiative to 7, letting Haldeman have his kills, and cancelling the actions of the aliens and any other troopers after that.

Weaknesses

You cancel your own action, but no attack against you has any effect either.
So, when the aliens hit you, you might trigger Weakness: Scared of Spiders, and have your character jump around in panic for a round, and his erratic movement makes that attack miss.

Source: http://316.wikidot.com/

In the official rules, characters level up at a breakneck pace in small groups, but slower in large groups. Since my group won’t always have the same number of players, this may give regularly attending players too much of an advantage (they already get an advantage from their presence). So I came up with the following rule.

Highest Kills

The character with the Highest Kills levels up most easily. At the end of each mission, roll d10 against Level Up number; on success, he adds a level.

Lowest Kills

The character with the Lowest Kills can not level up.

Everyone Else

Each rolls a d10, trying to get equal or under the following:

• 2nd Highest Kills: 5-
• 3rd Highest Kills: 4-
• 4th highest Kills: 3-
• and so on.

To this is added a bonus:

• Add the number of marines whose level is higher than yours.

Example: Trooper Haldeman gets the 3rd highest kills, so has a base Levelling roll of 4-. However, he is the lowest level in a group of 4 marines, so he gets +3 to his target: he levels on 7-.