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Galaxy Rangers RPG Supplement

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Galaxy Rangers Sourcebook

for

Avengers of Justice Rules, v1.0

by Dave Van Domelen


AOJ Rules copyright 1993 Dave Van Domelen[1], available via Email[2]
Galaxy Rangers copyright someone else.

Original Source[3]


 


 

It's a tough galaxy, full of alien races which can open childproof caps without a struggle and the forces of the Queen, and it takes a tough kind of cop to police it. It takes a Galaxy Ranger.

Avengers of Justice is a game designed for your standard comicbook superheroes, and is written to accomodate that genre's conventions. Galaxy Rangers have powers and abilities in the range of many superheroes, but a few of the conventions are different, so to start, here are some rules modifications for the Galaxy Rangers.

Pain Effects

Even as enhanced as they are, Galaxy Rangers are still basically human. Thus they suffer pain effects more than superheroes do. Most WCs (Writer Characters) will lose their next action if they take a Vicious wound, and suffer a -3 on their next action if they take a Mental wound or have Overflow result in a Vicious wound. Characters with Trait Physical are not immune to Pain effects, but are somewhat resistant, and suffer -3 to their next action after taking a direct Vicious wound, and -1 after an Overflow Vicious or a Mental.

Glancing Wounds

Many foes of the Rangers will be normals, who drop at a single Fatigue Wound. As a result, the optional Glancing wound rules are used, and characters may attack for Glancing damage in hand to hand even if they lack Trait Physical. The Glancing wound rules will be appended to this post.

Base and Cyber

A Series 5 implanted Ranger will have extra powers when his implant is activated. Throughout this supplement, Base will refer to the Ranger when the implant is dormant, and Cyber when it is active.

How to Build a Galaxy Ranger Character


When designing a beginning GR character, build them like a normal AOJ character, with the following exceptions:

  1. A standard package of abilities must be taken
  2. The player must choose if he's a normal ranger or a Series 5 ranger. If normal, only Traits Physical, Nimble and Mental are available to the character, and Multipoints may not be used without express permission of the Referee. If Series 5, take one trait that is always had, from the above list, and then decide what additional trait the cybernetics add. This trait can be any of the traits given in the rules (plus any optional traits the Referee chooses to use).
  3. The player must fill in the remaining power slots, up to the normal twelve. Any powers chosen to be the result of the implants can only be used when the implant has been activated.

 

Standard Package

Gadget: Sidearm, gives three Offensive Powers:

Attack (Focused Energy): Routine roll to shoot someone on Advantage Phase

Enhanced Attack (Focused Energy): Difficult roll to concentrate fire to do a Mental wound on Advantage, or to fire on Responsive for a Fatigue

Burst (Focused Energy): Difficult roll to fire on multiple targets, doing a Fatigue to each on Advantage (also known as Multiple Attack)

Gadget: Android horse, gives an Offensive Power and a Tactical Power:

Enhanced Attack (Physical): Difficult Roll to get the horse to lash out at foes with its hooves for a Mental wound on Advantage or Fatigue on Responsive.

Range: Routine roll to ride from Not Close range to Close range, or vice versa. May be combined with other actions at no Multiple Action Penalty.

Training: Rangers are trained to evade attacks, and to activate the Series 5 implants of downed Rangers, in order to get them going.

Dodge: Routine to give one foe -3 to hit, Difficult to give all foes -3 to hit you. Must be rolled on Advantage Phase.

Heal (Fatigue): Restore all Fatigue wounds to the a Ranger with a Series 5 implant, and activate their additional Trait(s). Does not work on anyone without an implant. Difficult roll.

Series 5 Implant: If a Ranger has an implant, he has an additional standard power:

Invigorate (Fatigue): Difficult roll to restore all Fatigue damage taken. Regardless of success in this roll, cybernetics are activated when this is done, possibly adding more wounds from the extra Trait(s).

Note that there are no rules for charges etc. in this game. Instead, if a Mishap is rolled when activating the implant, it will be out of energy. Also, of course, a foe may grab the badge away, preventing access to the implant. The Invigorate and Heal powers will not work if the person has already had their badge activated, unless they drop out of 'active' state first (which can be done at any time as a free action). Once charged up, the implant will stay that way until combat ends (turned off willingly) or a Mishap result causes it to run out of power (Referee discretion on when a Mishap turns off the implant)

Series 5 rangers have to take 8 slots, normal Rangers must take 7.

Advancement

When a Series 5 ranger gains all 9 Ignobles, he gains a +1 on a Trait. Since these rangers have two traits, the Base trait without the implant activated and the Cyber trait with the implant, how this bonus is taken is very important.

If used to advance the Cyber trait, it represents a refinement in the implant, allowing extra power.

If used to advance the Base trait 'normally', it represents training and the like, but the noncombat effects of using that trait will be more limited.

If used to advance the Base trait with cybers, the noncombat uses of the Trait will be much more spectacular. For example, Physical +1 normally would not allow a Ranger to lift more than 200kg, but if the +1 comes from, say, a cybernetic arm, the ranger can lift a ton.

If a Normal ranger wishes to become a Series 5 later on, he must save up all his bonus slots for an entire trait advance (5 slots). Then, when he earns the extra Trait, he chooses what the Cybers will affect (either improving an old Trait, or giving a new trait: this is an exception to the normal rule about gaining Traits) and takes the Invigorate power and 4 more powers to represent the new powers his implant gives. If the ranger buys new skills (or bonuses to old ones) as he gains the slots, he will be 'passed over' for an Implant.

Example: Carl Bennett is a normal ranger, as is Ari Keyser. After their first mission, each manages to check off three Ignobles. Ari takes +1 to her Burst and Enhanced Attack, as she spends time on the shooting range, but Carl saves his, since he's bucking for an implant (not training up represents that you're spending training time trying to get accepted into the Series 5 program). A few adventures later, Ari has 2 unfilled slots, and Carl has 5 unfilled as they both check off their 9th Ignoble. Carl gets his implant and takes the Energized Trait for an electrical mesh beneath his skin which lets him fire lightning. Ari cannot buy an Implant with her Trait bonus, so she adds one to her Physical trait and buys some more Physical attacks.

Special Rangers

Note that some rangers may have special abilities without having implants. Perhaps a nonhuman Ranger is recruited who has natural magnetic powers. Or an android like Buzzwang might join, and have Invulnerable trait. Such recruits cannot get implants (since the implants only work on humans) but can still have neat powers. In fact, since they have the powers all the time, the Referee should always think twice before allowing them.

 

THE GALAXY RANGERS

Zachary Foxx

Traits: Base - Physical, Cyber - Energized, +1 to Physical
Wounds: Base - (4/3/3) KIA=1, Cyber - (7/5/4) KIA=1
Rank: Base - 10, Cyber - 16

Series 5 Standard package (8 slots)

Other Base Powers and Skills:

Attack (Physical): Routine to hit someone really hard for a Fatigue, Adv. Focus: Find a weak spot on Difficult and next round attack with all his might for a Vicious wound with whatever attack is used. +1 to Standard skills of Attack and Enhanced attack with the sidearm

Implant Powers:

Enhanced Attack (Physical): Superstrength in left arm. Note that this duplicates the Horse's Enhanced Attack, but his is not always with his mount.

Sacrifice Attack (Magnetic) +3: Hose down field of combat, doing a Vicious wound to all foes on a Tasking roll. However, since he's standing there looking like a target, all foes have +4 to hit him if they're still around on their next action. Note that Magnetic Mode simply means it's a field effect.

Shane 'Goose' Gooseman

Traits: Base - Physical, Cyber - Invulnerable +2
Wounds: Base - (4/3/3) KIA=1, Cyber - (6/3/7) KIA=3
Rank: Base - 10, Cyber - 16

Series 5 Standard Package

Other Base Skills:

Attack (Physical): as per Zach.
Focus: as per Zach
+2 to Burst attack on the gun, as he sights so fast he can target multiple foes almost as accurately as a single one.

Cyber Powers:

Enhanced Attack (Physical): Becomes stronger, but often gains a form based on the attack he suffered when he activated his implant. As a result, this power may sometimes be in other modes, even ones he normally cannot have, such as Heat if he falls in a lava flow.

Blunt (Ballistic, Chemical, Electrical, Focused Energy, Heat, Magnetic, Physical): Adaptive powers make him resistant to many forms of damage, giving foes -4 to attack him with these modes.

NOTE: Goose has 3 more slots than is base for his Trait level. This is because with all his solo adventuring he's a few Ignobles ahead of his teammates.

Walter 'Doc' Hartford

Traits: Base - Nimble, Cyber - Mental +1
Wounds: Base - (2/2/2) KIA=1, Cyber - (2/6/2) KIA=1
Rank: Base - 6, Cyber - 10

Series 5 Standard Package

Other Base Powers and Skills:

4 Multipoints, usable to create various effects if he has access to a computer, generally in Law 3 or 5 (information gathering/code subversion), but may try other effects if he can access security systems.

Cyber Powers:

Snare (Psychological): Mind Control, only versus machine intelligences 4 more Multipoints

Niko

Traits: Base - Mental, Cyber - +2 to Mental
Wounds: Base - (2/4/2) KIA=1, Cyber - (2/8/2) KIA=1
Rank: Base - 8, Cyber - 12

Series 5 Standard Package

Base Powers and Skills:

4 Mental Points. May only be used for involuntary clairvoyant bursts, Referee decides how many points are used on the roll.

Cyber Powers and Skills:

5 more Mental Points. May use Law 3 and Law 5 violations (see "Head Trips" in Space Gamer #6[4] for more details on Mental Points), telepathy and clairvoyance.

Buzzwang

Traits: Invulnerable
Wounds: (3/2/4) KIA=2
Rank: 9

Standard 'normal' package

Other Powers and Skills:

Blunt (Ballistic, Chemical, Physical, Sonic): Metal body gives -4 versus these modes of attack.

Barrage: His computer mind allows him to set up multiple attacks with a round of preparation and a Difficult roll. He must choose which attack to prepare (only sidearm attacks, he cannot get his mount to Barrage) and if successful will make d8 attacks with it next round at no multiple action penalty.

 

 

Well, feel free to correct my errors. NWC characters will have to wait until I read the FAQ again, since I'm really hazy on their abilities and names.

Dave Van Domelen, here's the Glancing wound rules....

 


Dealing with Normals

Dealing with Normals in the Avengers of Justice game, Optional Rules copyright 1993 Dave Van Domelen


In making things simple and streamlined at the superheroic level in Avengers of Justice, a few things slipped through the cracks. Among them is what to do when fighting normal people, people who drop at even the first Fatigue wound. And how to fight them without using your powers, either because you don't want to hurt them too bad or because you simply don't have powers at the time.

To remedy this, I am introducing the optional wound level of Glancing, below Fatigue. Normal people have anywhere from 1 to 4 Glancing wounds that they can take before it overflows into Fatigue, depending on how tough they are. Superpowered characters totally ignore Glancing wounds, as does any normal tough enough to have Fatigue wounds. A Glancing wound may leave a small scar, or raise a bruise, but it won't break bones or seriously damage a person. The level of damage a Fatigue wound represents can be fatal to a normal person, due to the scale shift involved in a superhero game.

A normal person, attacking as an NWC, uses the following attack chart if fighting with bare hands. Add two if they have a makeshift club, and go to Ballistic Wound if they use a blade or gun.

Normal: 2-8
Miss 8-14
Glancing 15+ Fatigue


This chart is Physical damage, so defenses against mode Physical stop Normal attacks cold.

To determine a random person's wound chart, roll d8 and divide by two for the number of Glancing wounds they can take. If an 8 is rolled, roll again, with another 8 meaning the person has one Fatigue wound and can ignore Glancing damage.

When WCs attack normals, they may wish to do only Glancing damage, since they are less likely to seriously hurt the people (an overflow to Fatigue is generally less harmful than a direct Fatigue). This can be done in two ways:

1: All characters may try to punch or kick a foe for a Glancing wound on a Difficult roll. This damage is Physical mode, and can be done even by those without Trait Physical. If the WC has Trait Physical or Nimble, the roll becomes Routine. Trait Physical is still required for the attack to be able to hurt someone with Fatigue wounds, although it can be used to kick them into hazardous situations if the Editor agrees.

2: Any Offensive Power may be 'pulled' to do only a Glancing wound. The Editor should decide if this is easier or harder than the normal attack, depending on the effects of the power. For example, Enhanced Attack from Mode Ballistic may be used at Glancing level on a Routine roll if it's a sword, but on a Tasking (with full damage on Mixed) if the attack is a gun, since it's alot harder to aim for a graze than to just swing less hard.

2a: In addition, a Defensive or Tactical power might be used to do a Glancing wound if the player is clever about it. For example, if Onyx has a magical darkness field that she uses for a Confuse power, she might try to use it to scare normals to the tune of a Glancing wound, but rolling a Difficult (if it were normal darkness and not magical, this wouldn't be allowed).

When an NWC attacks a normal, the attack charts need to be modified. With the exception of Ballistic and Focused Energy, use the following method: take the upper half of the numbers in the "Miss" column and make them "Glancing". So, for example, Physical misses on 2-5, so now 4-5 is Glancing and 2-3 is Miss. For Ballistic and Focused Energy, the single number at the top of Miss becomes Glancing. So for Ballistic and Ballistic Wound, a Glancing is done on an 8.

You may wish to include Glancing results even when the NWC is firing on the players, since it can be used for roleplaying effect. The shot that hits but just stings a bit, or the Emotional attack that causes a slight bit of nagging fear. This is an extra complication, but can be worth it in the extra detail it gives to fight scenes.

SAMPLE COMBATS

Tymythy Twystyd is at a local bar when a fight breaks out. Not wanting to play with spacetime in his favorite hangout, he hangs back. However, some drunken idiot (3 Glancing) sees him and decides to attack. The lager lout rolls a 9, hitting Tym in the face with a beer mug. Tym ignores the damage (having put a mild warp around himself), and decides to punch him back. Tym is Nimble, so he needs a 6 to hit. Rolling a 16, he Overkills, and breaks the guy's jaw with a Fatigue, knocking him out. A moment later, the lout's buddy makes it over to Tym and attacks with a chair, but Tym decides to dissuade him with a mild mindwarp. Pulling his Psychological Attack to Glancing is ruled as Automatic, and the buddy (2 Glancing) reels back, then decides to find another person to beat on.

Later, Tym is walking home with a young lady he met after the smoke cleared (she was surrounded by the people she had dropped...Wounds (1/1/0) attacks as Physical), and some idiot tries to mug them. He's half unconscious from lack of sleep, and has only 1 Glancing. Tym decides to be nonconfrontational, but his friend attacks, rolling a 5. This does a Glancing to the punk, and doesn't drop him. He pulls out an Uzi, and Tym gets fed up and takes his action to warple the gun apart (Mode Supernatural Enhanced Attack at -2 for targeting a Gadget), which makes the punk flee.

References\Notes

  1. Other RPG works by Dave, including Modern Knights, are listed here: https://rpggeek.com/rpgdesigner/4609/dave-van-domelen
  2. Contacted Dave Sep 5, 2020 Subj: Galaxy Rangers
  3. Google Groups posting, Aug 20, 1993, Galaxy Rangers RPG Supplement (version 1.0)
  4. https://rpggeek.com/rpgissuearticle/41431/head-trips-mentalists-avengers-justice