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Chapter 3: Interacting With the Universe

The Environment

There are more hazards in the universe than just other beings bent on your utter destruction. Many aspects of the universe itself can be deadly in the right circumstances. A crafty Master will bring more challenges to bear than just weapon toting baddies. This chapter will help you understand how your Hero can withstand whatever stands in his way.

Drowning

Swimming in the pool at the YMCA is pretty simple (that is unless you can't swim). There is no need to check in ideal circumstances unless the character has no swimming skill. During rougher conditions, however, everyone needs to perform a swim check. The TN depends on the water as shown below. If the swimmer doesn’t make the TN, he takes the difference in CT. A character without the swimming skill is in big trouble. When he's in any kind of water over his head, he has to make the previously described check.

Falling

A fall of a few meters might not be deadly. But when that fall involves terminal velocity, survivability approaches zero quickly. A character takes 1d6 damage for every 5 meters fallen at 1G. For each additional 5 meters, shift the damage level down 1 level. When no more row shifts are possible, shift the column right. Damage is capped at 7d12. Apply the wounds randomly, and ignore any damage modifiers for hit location.

Terminal velocity is affected by the strength of gravity as well as the viscosity of the atmospheric medium. In other words, thicker air results in a lower terminal velocity, higher gravity a higher one. It would be impossible to create rules to simulate all atmospheric types. The Master should adjust damage (make it clear before drawing the card!) due to gravity and thickness of atmosphere.

Water from a low altitude can potentially break a fall on a Fair (5) swimming roll. Success divides the damage by 2. This check can be made up to 50 meters, up to 20 meters the damage can be completely negated by a successful check. Landing on a haystack, awning, or other soft obstacle reduces the damage by half if the character makes a difficult (7) Dexterity roll.

Armor can offer some measure of protection in a fall. Subtract the impact value from the damage dealt by a fall, however the armor may not reduce the damage by more than 50%. In other words, if your LBA has an impact value of 5, and you fall 10 meters for 8 damage, since 5 is more than half of 8, subtract 4 and apply the rest normally.

Smoke and Fire

Characters in dense smoke have to make a difficult (7) Fortitude check during their first action each round to avoid suffocation. A wet cloth over the mouth and nose (or whatever breathing membrane is necessary to survive)—or similar makeshift protection adds +2 to the roll. If the character fails the Fortitude roll, he takes the difference between the roll and the TN in CT. Should he ever happen to fall unconscious, he continues to lose CT in this way every round until he dies.

The damage applied to a character who is actually on fire depends on just how big the flames are. A small fire, such as a burning sleeve, causes 5d4 damage at the beginning of every turn to whatever area is on fire. A larger fire causes 5d6 to the affected areas. A character totally consumed by flames takes 5d8 damage, with the wounds applied to every area at once.

Whenever the deck is shuffled, if there are any fires on the board cut the deck once for each fire. If the toggle result is yes, the fire continues burning. If it is no, the fire burns itself out.

Temperature, Pressure and Breathing

Each round a character is exposed to vacuum (or similarly low breathing and pressure environments, as defined by the Master) he must make a difficult (7) Fortitude check. Unlike in smoke, there is no way to mitigate this outside of a source of oxygen (which negates it entirely). Damage dealt is the difference between the check EN and difficulty. Vacuum is a lot more than just low oxygen, it is also low pressure. Any character caught in a vacuum without the appropriate equipment takes must make a difficult (7) Fortitude check every 2 minutes or take 3d4. Atmospherically sealed suits negate the damage from pressure.

Suffocation

Choking and suffocation work similarly to lack of oxygen from vacuum. Test every other round. Under most conditions, choking works exactly the same way. When being actively choked, by a skilled practitioner (someone with an appropriate martial art, for example), test every round. A single failure causes the character to fall unconscious during a choke.

Game Designers Note: You may declare you can hold your breath a lot longer than 10 seconds, and you would be right. Lack of oxygen is not the reason most choke victims fall unconscious, instead it is lack of blood flow to the brain. A properly applied choke is very effective at doing both at the same time.

In situations where choking is caused by an environmental factor, a character can withhold oxygen for 6 turns (one minute) per column of their Fortitude while performing light physical tasks, half as long when doing strenuous tasks. Each time a character takes CT while withholding oxygen, subtract half the CT taken from the number of turns he can continue to withhold.

High Pressure

Characters may become exposed to high pressure environments in many ways. In some, like deep sea diving, there are steps that can be taken to prevent issues (The Bends). When properly equipped and skilled, make an appropriate skill check at TN 5. Failure causes joint pain and confusion (among other fun symptoms), in game terms divide the maximum CT of the character in half and shift Knowledge one step left for a period of one day or until appropriate treatment is acquired. Without proper equipment the TN is at Master discretion, but should be at least TN 9.

Temperature Extremes

When the temperature exceeds a level that is effectively mitigated by the clothing of a character, in either direction, the character risks consequences. In extreme heat, the character must make a Fortitude check versus a difficulty (5, 7, 9 etc.) based on the level of heat extremity (defined by the race) every 6 turns. Access to appropriate fluids can double this time. Failure means a loss of 1d4 CT for each failure. A character who falls below zero CT due to heat exhaustion is subject to heat stroke. Continue making the tests as noted above, but do not apply any CT, however anytime a CT result of greater than double your Fortitude column is revealed take a wound to the torso.

In extreme cold situations, check Fortitude with a difficulty set by the level of temperature extreme based on race. Failure reduces the column value of the character's Acuity by 1. When Acuity falls to 0, the character is unconscious and subject to hypothermia. As soon as a character fails a roll he becomes noticeably impaired, slurring his speech and having difficulty making decisions. A character who has failed two checks will be subject to extreme apathy and will be noticeably shivering. In either of these cases, the malady can be diagnosed with a Standard (5) First Aid or Easy (3) Medicine check. Each failure is equivalent to confusion from blather (see social combat, chapter XX) versus all actions. Failures are cumulative.

Sci-Fi Fiat

All of the previous rules on some level assume a human, or human like, physiology. Obviously, the universe is filled with beings of all stripes. The simplest way to apply these rules is to assume a norm based on the races of the individual characters. For the Heroes to be in the same room without constant discomfort they need to expect the same environmental conditions. If your game is centered around an alien race that lives in molten lava, then temperature norms will be different from a game of lunar yetis. The same goes with pressure and breathing of gases. It may not be oxygen the crew breathes, but they all breathe the same thing (or some minority group has special accommodations, such as Vac suits).

Some Edges will give a Hero the ability to ignore some of these restrictions. Maybe a stellar praying mantis type alien has a pressurized carapace and suffers almost no ill effects in vacuum. That is great! If a player gives his Hero some special ability via edges or another mechanic, it absolutely should be important at least once in the game.

Due to some strange evolutionary process, Antares Darkeye is immune to any poison he ingests willingly. To simulate this, he has purchased an appropriate Edge. After being captured by his nemeses, Grun and Chensky, he is imprisoned in their grimy brig. Not knowing about this quirk of his physiology, Grun revels in forcing Antares to drink the poison that he believes will end his life. It does not, of course, and his possum act ends in another daring escape for the notorious space pirate.

Darkness

In reduced vision conditions, shift the Acuity 2 columns left (minimum 1) when performing a task or check where vision is vitally important. The penalties for partial lighting apply to targets greater than 10 meters away. Of course, if a target is somehow illuminated (such as carrying a lit flashlight), the penalty should be adjusted by the Master, if not negated entirely.

Movement

It is often necessary to know exactly how far something can move in a standard combat round. The number of meters a Hero, extra, or vehicle can move each round is its "Rate".

The Rate of Heroes and most aliens is its Dexterity value. A vehicle's Rate is listed in its statistics. Both creatures and vehicles move a proportion of their Rate every action. Any move up to half the Rate in a single action is considered walking. A move over half (and up to the full Rate) is considered running. This means that when running, any character can move 2xRate in about 10 seconds, in or out of combat. This can be increased by Stepping Up (see below).

You can’t get extra movement by playing a reserve card, or a step 14. Your character is still limited to two move actions, as above. You may step up during any run action (or step 14), however.

After sucker punching Grun and climbing out of the cell, Antares still needs to find a way off of this bucket o’ bolts. Time is of the essence, so he asks the Master how far it is to the control panel. The Master indicates it is 9 meters. Antares has a Rate of 10, so he can make it there and still attempt to override the security and get the hell out of here.

Running incurs a -4 penalty to a Hero or creature's other actions. Passengers in "running" vehicles or on animals suffer the penalty too. The faster you go, the bumpier the ride.

If you really need to move, your Hero can "step up". Stepping up means your character goes all out and runs, swims, climbs, or rides as fast as he possibly can. The cost is a little bit of fatigue.

Whenever you want your character to step up, check the Movement Table and roll the die type listed under "Step Up". Add that many meters to the character's running movement for that particular action.

The number listed under "Fatigue" is the amount of CT the hero loses for pushing himself so hard. A rider can make mounts step up by making a Fair (5) riding check. In this case, the animals take the CT.

Once the security is successfully overridden (the security around here is about what one would expect from a chump like Grun, he muses), the door slides open and Antares sees a hallway running right and left. Deciding which way to go is no problem as soon as he spies Chensky 25 meters down the hallway to the left. On his action, the space pirate knows he needs to move as quickly as he can, for Chensky is an insectoid Mantis from Denebola IV, and he is fast. He declares his intention to step up and rolls a d4, scoring a 3. He deftly scampers 13 meters down the right hallway, and begins scheming on how he intends to secure his escape before he falls into the clutches of a grimy, interstellar criminal insect.

Stepping up while operating a vehicle requires a Standard driving check (or test, depending on the situation at the Master's discretion). Vehicles and their drivers don’t take CT for this, but you should check for a malfunction (if applicable, as explained in Chapter XX). There is no way to “run" (double your movement) when swimming or climbing, by the way, and no matter what your climbing or swimming level, you can’t normally move faster than the maximum listed on the Movement Table. You can still step up, however.

Movement Rates

The Movement Table below tells you how to figure Rate when a character is running, climbing, or swimming.

For swimming and climbing, use your character's skill levels in swimming and climbing as the base number.

Step Up is the type of die you roll to get extra movement by “stepping up". Unlike most checks in Future Imperfect, don’t roll again on Max. Transhumans, Avatars, MekPurr and Canines add 1 to their step up roll when running. If the character has claws, add 1 to the roll while climbing. If webbed appendages are present, add 1 when swimming.

Fatigue is the amount of Concussion Threshold your character loses when he steps up. Transhumans take no CT when stepping up. Max is the absolute maximum your character can move for certain types of actions, such as climbing and swimming.

Ryssh K'Toaah has successfully docked his launch on the outer hull of Grun’s ship. He knows time is short to get in there and save Antares Darkeye’s ass…again. On his action he decides to go all out and step up. His Dexterity is d8. Since he's running, he moves 16 meters per round (8 per action), and because he is an Avatar, he can move an extra d4+1 meters at the cost of 1 CT when he steps up.

Encumbrance

The encumbrance is an estimate of the Hero, extra, or vehicle versus the weight of the load. Consult the appropriate gear table or ask the Master how heavy a load is. A draft animal carrying an unconscious IRSOL probably has a light load. A Blarad (a type of ursoid) in PAPA probably has an average load, but if the movement servos were damaged, it could be a heavy load even if he were exceptionally strong.

The relative loads below are listed along with how much you need to reduce the Hero's or extra's Rate. If a character with an 8 Rate is carrying a heavy load, his Rate is effectively reduced to a 2 for the round.

Of course, what's a heavy load to human might be inconsequential to a Blarad. The minimum for each class of load is listed under "Weight" in kilograms*. Racial modifications are discussed in the Race chapter.

For instance, Tara 7’s Strength is 6. She can carry up to 18 kilograms with no problems. From 18 kg up to 36 kg is a light load. From 36 kg up to 60 kg is a medium load. From 60 kg on up is a heavy load.

Ursoids add two to the multiplier at each level. Saurians, Transhumans and Avatars add one. Avians and IRSOL subtract one. For example, 5 x Strength is a light load for an Ursoid.

*Ok, science-nerd, I know kilograms are a unit of mass and not weight. They are however, much more familiar than Newtons to the average reader. When the manual refers to Kg, it means a force equal to one Kg on Terra at sea level. Put that slide-rule away, everything is going to be fine.

Ryssh scampers around a corner just in time to see a fully bound Antares fall to the ground, and a snickering Chensky standing a few meters behind him with a tangler in his three clawed hand. Never short on bravado, Antares declares (to both Ryssh and Chensky, it seems) “I got this under control”.

Ryssh, however, doesn’t believe him. On his action he charges forward and slings a squirming and yelling captain Darkeye over his shoulder. Ryssh is a feline Avatar, and his strength is 3d10. Antares is slim, but still weighs 85 kg, easily above the medium load (70 kg) and therefore heavy (up to 110 kg) for the big Avatar. “Put a sock in it, I got you. And this.” He growls.

Lifting

What if a Hero needs to lift something momentarily and not carry it a long distance? The lift value of any Hero or extra is equal to the heavy load value multiplied by 1.5. This very heavy weight, however, is not automatically hoisted. If time matters, a Hero must make a Strength test to lift anything heavier than their Heavy load. If a Hero has as much time as necessary, he can automatically manage his full lift...eventually.

A lift is a standard test. Lifting between the heavy load and Lift value is TN 3, lifting over the Lift value is TN 5. The character may lift his Lift value on a success, and +5% for each bump. Do not draw or use extra cards on increased effect.

Game Designers note: Why is lifting a test instead of a check? While it is possible that exterior factors could make multiple things occur during a lift, the reasoning behind this decision is much simpler. Checks are always open ended. Theoretically, that nearly comatose IRSOL in the corner could lift a Concordat Battlecruiser if he just rolls enough bumps. While this extreme example is functionally impossible, a case where a player gets extraordinarily lucky could see a regular human hefting a hovercar above his head (maybe with the help of chips). By using the system as detailed here, a Hero can push himself and heft even more than he thought possible, just not orders of magnitude more. If your Crew would like to keep that wild situation possible, by all means, make lifting a check! Remember, the universe is yours, this manual is only a guide.

Gravity

Exploring space means that the exotic locations could have conditions that are wildly divergent from one another. Planets and other planetary bodies where Heroes might interact will have a gravitational value (expressed in G). To keep things simple, G is a multiple of gravity as we know it, so just multiply the G value by the appropriate load or lift to see the new value.

Ismail and her crew have come across a ForeRunner outpost on a giant asteroid hurtling through space. The asteroid is large and dense enough that it has a G value of .17 (approximately equal to Luna). While preparing to disembark, Allison prepares a Vac suit and collection of equipment weighing 47 KG. She knows on this asteroid that will feel like approximately 8 KG. Her strength is 3d6, so this is a light load. While walking through the airlock to get to the planet (where the ship has 1G atmosphere), this is a heavy load.

Wounds

Everyone — Heroes, aliens, and geriatrics alike - can take the same number of wounds in each body part: five. Most heroes can shrug off a wound or two, but more than that is real trouble. The following table describes wound penalties.

Scratches are bruises, shallow but irritating cuts, and muscle strains.
Light wounds are sprains, deep but non-threatening cuts, or multiple bruises.
Heavy wounds encompass fractured or broken bones or deep and bloody cuts.
Serious wounds are life-threatening cuts across major arteries, compound fractures, or internal bleeding.

Critical wounds are the worst case scenario. If a character's wounds are critical in torso or head, he's critically injured. This generally means dead, but given the state of advanced medical technology, there may still be hope. Consult the Gear chapter for more information. If a limb becomes critical, it is severed, crushed, burned to a cinder, or otherwise out of action forever (well, depending on the hospital facility, of course).

Figuring Wound Level

There is no need to keep track of every wound a character takes to determine penalties. Only the highest value wound determines what penalties the character suffers. Therefore, if a new wound is inflicted, and it is not higher than what is already inflicted, the wound level is not adjusted. The character still must make a shock test for the new wound!

Risk

One of the most important concepts in Future Imperfect is know your players, and play the game you want to play. Rules are malleable, and we strive to make a system that can work within many sets of constraints that your group may have to ensure the game is fun for them.

Risk is an optional system. Without it, the game is assumed to always be in a state of risk. In other words, Heroes can always die if the appropriate amount of damage is dealt. If, however, your group feels that true heroes will never die in an unimportant circumstance, then the risk system is made for you and your Crew.

When using the optional risk system, any wound that would be critical in the head or torso is instead treated as a serious wound and the Hero is out of action for the remainder of the scene. The Hero should devise or accept some kind of complication (permanent or temporary) related to the situation, and the player and Master should describe how the situation resolves itself.

During any combat scene (the Master has the final say on which scenes qualify) a player may designate that his Hero will risk death. This declaration must be made during (or very near, Master discretion) the first round of combat. A player may make this declaration no more than once per session. At the conclusion of the session the Hero (if he survived, of course) is awarded one extra experience point.

It goes without saying, that if you choose to risk death with your Hero, advanced technology cannot save you. The combat may be taking place inside a major trauma center, but if you declare the risk, then for some reason your character cannot be saved by any means once that final wound is taken.

Wound Markers

Damage can be taken in six locations: head, torso, right arm, left arm, right leg and left leg. The wound level is the highest wound inflicted. Wounds are only added together when they're taken in the same location. For instance, a character who takes a light wound to the right arm in one round and another light wound in the same arm later would then have a serious wound in that arm. If a character takes a light wound to the head and then takes a heavy wound to his leg, they aren’t added together.

A character can’t be killed by wounds to the arms or legs. He can take enough Concussion (see below) to put himself out of action, but he can’t die until he bleeds to death or someone plugs him in the head or torso. Only a hit to the head or torso will spell the end.

Wound Modifiers

Wounds are a terrible burden. Shock distorts senses, pain distracts concentration, and damage to arms and legs make holding things and movement of any type nearly unbearable. All of this is manifested with die roll penalties based on the highest wound the Hero has been inflicted. Consult the table below for details regarding the magnitude of these penalties. Wound penalties are never subtracted from "effect" totals such as damage dealt by weapons, but they do apply to everything else (including other kinds of effect generated by the character, such as social directives).

The penalty depends on the highest-level wound your hero has suffered. If he has a light and a serious wound, for instance, subtract the penalty for serious wounds (-3) from all action totals, irrespective of wound location.

Shock might be more than a lingering distraction, it might conspire to cause a Hero to miss an action or two. Whenever a character is dealt damage he must make a Fortitude check, called a Stun check. Wound penalties apply. The TN is listed in the Stun column of the wound penalty table.

Failure causes a character to be stunned until he makes a recovery check. Each round, stunned characters use their action to make recovery check to shake off the stun. Your character needs to make a stun check every time he takes a wound unless he's already stunned. Success, of course, means the character is not affected by Stun.

Recovery

A hero may try to recover from being stunned during any action. This is called a "recovery check", and it takes one entire action. A recovery roll is made just like a stun check, except the difficulty is your highest current wound level. Any character that critically fails a recovery check immediately falls unconscious. The amount of time he stays down is 1d6 hours or until someone makes a Fair (5) medicine roll to wake him up.

When a character is reduced to 0 CT or lower he becomes “Concussed”. This doesn’t necessarily mean he’s passed out, but he is otherwise unable to participate in the combat. Concussed characters get no Cards and can’t perform actions except in special circumstances. Concussed characters generally fall by the wayside. Heroes who continue to take CT after they reach zero risk death.

Concussed characters might lose consciousness for a few minutes or fall to the ground trying to catch their breath. Every time your character takes a wound he also takes Concussion from sheer fatigue and exhaustion. Concussion is shock, fatigue, and in the case of Wound trauma the time characters shocked from wounds associated with losing bits and pieces of your favorite anatomy.

Death

There are lots of ways to expire. The universe is a vast and unforgiving expanse.

Bleeding

Serious damage greatly increases bleeding. Whenever a character takes a heavy wound, he begins bleeding, losing 1 CT per round. Seriously wounded characters bleed 2 CT per round. Critically wounded limbs bleed 3 CT per round. A character reduced to negative his starting CT level by bleeding has bled to death.

Healing

Medical technology varies greatly around the known universe. Consult the description of the appropriate gear, if any is being utilized. Same goes with healing facilities such as hospitals. The following rules assume no equipment or assistance of any kind.

Concussion is easy to get rid of. On a simple (3) medicine roll of any kind (including default), anyone can provide the necessary care to restore all CT in about 2 minutes. Otherwise your hero gets his CT back at the rate of 1 per minute.

Only those skilled in medicine or first aid may attempt to treat real wounds. This attempt may be made up to one hour after an injury. A character with the medicine: general skill can heal light and heavy wounds. Only a doctor with medicine: surgery can heal more severe wounds.

The doctor has to roll once for each wounded area. If successful, the roll reduces the area's wounds by one level. The TN depends on the wound level. Critically injured limbs cannot be healed by normal means, but you can still try to stop the bleeding.

After one hour, a wound can only be healed by time (or certain technologies which we'll get into later). Doctors really can’t do a whole lot for a broken bone that's surrounded by swollen tissue or a gash that's already started to heal on its own without advanced medical facilities or equipment.

A character can try to heal a wound every 5 days by making a Fortitude roll against the same difficulties listed above. If the roll succeeds, the wound improves by one level. Natural healing rolls are made for each area. A character with wounds to an arm and his torso would roll twice, possibly improving the condition of each location by one would level.

Fortune Favors the Hero

Much of the reason to play an RPG is to develop a collaborative story with your Heroes at the forefront. Unfortunately, the dice (and cards) do not often know this. To mitigate this fact, Future Imperfect implements a set of player driven story mechanics, based on a token economy using poker chips. We will refer to them as story chips, and the receptacle where they are stored as the story pool.

The Master will create a story pool at the beginning of your campaign, and generally that will consist of 50 white, 25 red and 10 blue chips. Other chips may also find their way into your pool, but they will not start there. Players will receive three chips at the beginning of each session. Unused chips will persist from session to session, based on campaign guidelines (see Chapter XX: Crafting Stories).

Using Story Chips

Players may spend story chips in a wide variety of situations. They may be used to prevent wounds or concussion. They may be used to invoke edges. They may also be used in other situations as determined by the Master.

Earning Story Chips

Besides those chips gained at the beginning of the session, players may receive chips in a variety of ways. Whenever the Master invokes a rough edge that player receives the chip drawn if the task fails. Players may receive roleplaying awards at the end of scenes where they were defeated in social conflict and they effectively roleplayed the consequences. Players may also receive chips by invoking their crew impetus.

Chip Values

In general, white/red/blue chips are worth 1/2/3 in cause and 3/6/9 in effect. Chips may be used in response to wounds, in this case they can negate their cause value in incoming wounds. Wounds which have already been applied cannot be removed, and a player may only play one chip at a time. One exception is when extreme damage is dealt. No matter how many wounds a character is dealt, playing a chip will always result in no more than 4 wounds being dealt. When a player is eligible to play a chip, they may use it to help them at the appropriate value after seeing die roll results or card draws.

Economics

The wonders of a vast galaxy are numerous, yet rather than let the game devolve into an exercise in sliderules (hey, remember those?) and spreadsheets, Future Imperfect embraces an abstract economic system. During the passage of time, the Crew will accumulate bonuses to be combined with their economic level. When directed by the Master, the Crew will attempt a task and funds will be distributed accordingly.

This assumes the Crew is in some sort of business of their own. If they run a starship, perform smuggling operations or have a trading house, for example. When dealing with scenarios on a lower scale, such as street level cyberpunk action, it may be appropriate to track funds individually.

See Future Imperfect - Economics for more information.