™

Stuff! v1.0
©2006 by Greg Porter
ISBN 0-943891-50-7
BTRC#6109

Published by: BTRC

P.O. Box 1121
Collinsville VA 24078 USA
btrc@[Link]
[Link]

Design &
programming: Greg Porter

Cover art: derived from Future Combat System White Paper, 2004
Interior art: US Defense Intelligence Agency, NASA Ames Research Center, NOAA Archives, US Department of Defense

Playtesters: Jerry A!, William Hostman, Aaron Kavli, Abel Lindberg, Phil McGregor, William Myers, Ross Pippin,
Rich Spainhour

Special kudos: Phil McGregor

Other thanks: Dream Pod 9, Gold Rush Games, Hero Games, Marco Chacon, Pinnacle Entertainment, Politically
Incorrect Games, Sanguine Productions and Steve Jackson Games, for technical assistance

Dedication: for Cathy

™ ™
EABA and Stuff! are trademarks of Blacksburg Tactical Research Center. All rights reserved. Protected by the Universal
Copyright Convention and a constellation of orbital mind control lasers. No part of this work may be reproduced without
written permission from the publisher.
 GADGETS
WHERE DO I FIND
IT? INTRODUCTION ..........................................4.2
HOW DOES IT WORK?................................4.3
ATTRIBUTES/SKILLS ......................................4.6
INFORMATION .........................................4.14
COMMUNICATION ...................................4.21
INTRODUCTION

MITIGATION ............................................4.28
OTHER MODIFIERS....................................4.30
Armor & Hits................................4.30
MULTIFUNCTION GADGETS.........................4.35
GADGET POWER ......................................4.36
GADGET COST ........................................4.39
WORLD BUILDING ....................................4.41
DESIGN PAGE 4 ......................................4.42

CREATURES
INTRODUCTION ..........................................1.2
TO THINK ABOUT .......................................1.2
GROUND RULES .........................................1.3 INTRODUCTION ..........................................5.2
DESIGN PRINCIPLES ....................................5.2
WEAPONS

ATTRIBUTES ................................................5.2
LET’S SEE IF IT WORKS .................................5.8
INTRODUCTION ..........................................2.2 OTHER BASIC CONCEPTS ............................5.9
BASIC WEAPONS .......................................2.4 ADVANCED CREATURES ............................5.10
LET’S SEE IF IT WORKS ...............................2.14 GESTATION/MATURITY ..............................5.18
ADVANCED WEAPONS .............................2.15 SKILLS ..............................................5.19
LET’S SEE IF IT WORKS ...............................2.32 TRACTABILITY ...........................................5.20
MAGICAL WEAPONS................................2.35 LET’S SEE IF IT WORKS ...............................5.20
REVERSE ENGINEERING..............................2.36 CONSISTENCY .........................................5.22
WEAPON COSTS ......................................2.39 ECOSYSTEMS ...........................................5.22
AMMUNITION COSTS ................................2.42 DESIGNING CHARACTER RACES .................5.23
WEAPON PARAMETERS ..............................2.44 DESIGN PAGE 5 ......................................5.24
WEAPON CHECKLIST ................................2.45
CIVILIZATIONS

DESIGN PAGE 1 ......................................2.50

VEHICLES

INTRODUCTION ..........................................3.2
BASIC VEHICLES ........................................3.2
LET’S SEE IF IT WORKS ...............................3.13
ADVANCED VEHICLES...............................3.15 INTRODUCTION ..........................................6.2
POWER PLANTS ........................................3.16 MODIFIERS ................................................6.4
SECONDARY POWER PLANT TOPICS ............3.36 SIDE CASES ............................................6.10
VEHICLE SIZE...........................................3.38 WHAT DOES IT ALL GET YOU? ...................6.10
HOW TOUGH IS IT? ..................................3.41 CIVILIZATION...........................................6.11
HOW BIG A GUN? ..................................3.43 WHERE ARE WE AT? ...............................6.14
HOW MANY GIZMOS?.............................3.44 DEATH & TAXES.......................................6.19
BODY ARMOR .........................................3.46 INFRASTRUCTURE.......................................6.20
POWERED ARMOR & ROBOTS ....................3.55 URBAN AREA ..........................................6.25
HYPERDRIVE ............................................3.58 LET’S SEE IF IT WORKS ...............................6.25
HOW DO I BLOW IT UP?...........................3.60 FINAL NOTES...........................................6.28
ALTERED SCALES ......................................3.65 DESIGN PAGE 6 ......................................6.29
FINAL THOUGHTS .....................................3.65 EABA UNIVERSAL SCALE..........................6.30
LET’S SEE IF IT WORKS ...............................3.66 EABA DAMAGE CONVERSIONS ................6.32
DESIGN PAGE 2 ......................................3.71 INDEX ..............................................6.36
DESIGN PAGE 3 ......................................3.72 EABA OPEN SUPPLEMENT LICENSE .............6.37
1.1
INTRODUCTION
 In the Orwell Helicopter Corporation's v1.0
Stuff!
INTRODUCTION
plant only a few troubleshooters are visible,

and these respond to lights that flare up on a TO THINK ABOUT - Stuff! can design just about
anything that can be designed for a campaign.
board whenever a vacuum tube burns out or You can design a city from the top down, from the
government to the rats infesting the alleys and the
there is a short circuit. By holes punched in a salary of the guy who picks up the trash. You can
use it to recreate a medieval culture, or build a
roll of paper, every operation necessary to futuristic space vehicle. But keep the opening text
in mind. It is a reminder about the one consistent
produce a helicopter is indicated. The feature of our prognostications on the future and its
technology. We always get something wrong, even
punched roll is fed into a machine that when we get something right. The 1950 article
actually does a pretty good job (except for the
virtually gives orders to all the other machines ubiquitous predictions of personal helicopters), but
the timescale is where we mess things up. The
in the plant. robotic factory description isn’t bad, but our writer
in 1950 didn’t see how fast computers would
-from “Miracles of the Next 50 Years” advance. The EABA timescale is broken down into
(written in 1950) broad eras to minimize the problems in year-based
tech scales. But if you design stuff for the present or
INTRODUCTION - This is the rather unimaginately near future, correlations may not be perfect, just
titled EABA supplement called...well...Stuff! It carries because technology is advancing faster than we
on a long BTRC tradition of design tools for role- can predict which way it is going to go...
players. Most of these have been mind-numbingly
dense treatises full of equations and exponents, Many of you will use Stuff! just for weapons and
suitable only for that type of gamer known as the vehicles. That’s fine. Stuff! is broken into themed
“gearhead”. Much like the author of this book is. sections, so if you want to design a gun, you use the
Weapons chapter. A car is the Vehicles chapter
However, EABA is a light, think-on-your-feet, and a radio is the Gadgets chapter. Some things
know-the-rules-like-the-back-of-your-hand kind of will be a more complicated. A tank with a detailed
system, and so a design tool for EABA needs to be gun and a detailed radio needs all three chapters.
something you can do on the fly or at worst, with a Most chapters will be broken down into basic and
pencil and some scrap paper. No calculator advanced sections. The basics cover ninety percent
required. Guaranteed. or more of your design needs, and are supposed to
cover the most common aspects of that design
That may seem like heresy to long-time BTRC tool. If there is an advanced section, it will cover all
fans, but trust me, it works. The idea, like in EABA, is the esoteric bits you will want to do after you are
to break certain things down to only what you satisfied you understand the basics. The advanced
need, and to keep that in terms and units you section might be several times as long as the basic
should already be familiar with from EABA and the section, depending on the subject matter.
real world. There are still plenty of equations and
obscure interrelations in Stuff!, but they are all EXAMPLE: You can design a mundane car,
hidden from view in the process of distilling them plane or boat using just the basic vehicle rules. If
into EABA-centric game stats. you want a mobile anti-aircraft gun, an antimatter-
powered exoskeleton or a warp-capable battleship,
Like our previous major design product (3G3), then don’t be surprised if it requires advanced rules.
Stuff! will try to provide enough data that you can
convert items made with Stuff! into other game Every chapter in Stuff! ends up relating to every-
systems with little difficulty. To keep Stuff! current, thing else somehow. Vehicles (chapter 3) will often
system conversions will be available on the BTRC mount weapons (chapter 2). The same rules that let
web site as they are developed, rather than being you make an electric car also end up powering
a published part of the system. your flashlight (chapter 4). Your wagon ends up
being pulled by oxen (chapter 5), and everything is
regulated by the government (chapter 6). While
each chapter stands alone, it can be used more
effectively with info from the other chapters.

1.2
 An area that a person occupies in a vehicle
EABA seat is about one hexagon. A person standing in a
hexagon is about two hexagons of volume (2
meters high), while most structures take about three
GROUND RULES - First things first. You will not hexagons of volume from one floor to another. This
need EABA to use this book for many purposes, is the only real thing you need to remember when
but to get full use of it, you will have to refer back laying out a vehicle or structure floor plan. A van
to concepts or rules that are referenced like (see that occupies ten hexes on a game map might
EABA, page 3.4). Similarly, you don’t need EABA to actually be a twenty hexagon vehicle in terms of
use your final results. You could be designing things volume. Volume as such is used mostly in the design
for some other game system and just want a simple process. Things related to volume may be used
design tool whose results you convert over to some later (such as size modifiers in combat), but the
other game. actual volume is seldom a concern once the item
rolls off the drawing board and into your game.
That’s fine with us. Kilograms and meters and
liters and watts are universal units that can find a If you are not using EABA, and play in a game
home in any game system. with two meter hexagons, a hexagon that is two
meters across and two meters high will hold eight
Universal Chart - Most real-world measurements Stuff! hexagons of equipment.
in Stuff! will probably relate to the EABA Universal
Chart, an expanded version of which is in the back Since most handheld equipment by its nature is
of this book. The EABA Universal Chart attempts to a wee bit smaller than a hexagon, small items will
relate a whole bunch of different quantities and have a size measured in milli-hexagons, or one-
how they relate to each other. For your purposes, thousandath of a hexagon. One millihex is about
the ones that deal with mass, cost, distance and the size of your fist. The smallest unit that will be
size will be the most important. If a unit is given in used in Stuff! is .1 millihex, which is about the volume
some unrecognizable quantity, like “a cost of +6”, of a wristwatch and strap.
just assume that this means “a Money level of 6 on
the EABA Universal Chart”. Once the design process Example Millihexes
is done, you use the EABA Universal Chart to get the Wristwatch .1
real-world measurement you are looking for. Pocket calculator .5
Small pistol, soda bottle 1
EXAMPLE: If you jump to the back of the rules, Medium pistol 2
you can see that Money of +6 translates out to Heavy pistol 4
8,000 Credits. A distance of +6 is 3 meters, and a Portable computer or light rifle 8
time of +6 is 8 seconds. If you design something with Heavy rifle, large briefcase 12
a base cost of +6, and you give it some enhance- Desktop computer 16
ment that is a +2 cost modifier, you can see that Large shoulder-fired rocket 32
the gadget now costs 16,000 Credits. Go look it up
and see what we’re talking about. What about bigger stuff? In general something
with the listed size in hexagons will have the
If you are only going to print two pages from approximate dimensions below:
this book, it should be the expanded EABA Universal
Chart at the back of these rules. You will be using it Hexagons Dimensions
quite a bit. (example) Cube “Ship”
1 .9m on a side 2.3m x .6m
Hexagons - Stuff! and EABA have one unique 5 1.6m on a side 3.9m x .1.0m
unit of measurement that you have to wrap your 10 2.0m on a side 4.9m x 1.2m
head around. The unit of size in Stuff! is a hexagon 50 3.3m on a side 8.4m x 2.1m
(or hex). This is a hexagonal area 1 meter across 100 4.2m on a side 11m x 2.7m
(face to face) and one meter high. It is completely 500 7.2m on a side 18m x 4.5m
useless for anything except roleplaying, but for that 1,000 9.1m on a side 22m x 5.7m
purpose it is absolutely perfect. One hexagon has a 5,000 16m on a side 39m x 10m
footprint of .75 square meters (8 square feet) and a 10,000 20m on a side 78m x 20m
volume of .75 cubic meters (26.5 cubic feet). Many 50,000 34m on a side 134m x 34m
games use one meter or one yard hexes and this is 100,000 42m on a side 169m x 42m
simply a convenient way to represent your stuff on 500,000 72m on a side 288m x 72m
a game map. 1,000,000 91m on a side 363m x 91m

1.3
 A “ship” is just a block four times as long as it is v1.0
wide and high. It’s just a shape that you can relate Stuff!
INTRODUCTION
to better when imagining large vehicles. Remember
that a hexagon of volume is .75 cubic meters. As a
gamer you may be used to hexes 1 meter across, Dice - Stuff! does everything according to the
but not with how this compares to volume. progressions on the EABA Universal Chart (EABA,
page 3.4). Each level of effect is a change of 0d+1
To make things simple, most items are going to to the final total, and each 3 levels is a change of
have a mass of 500 kilograms per hexagon. This is a 1d+0. All of the intermediate steps in Stuff! are
density of about .65 tons per cubic meter, or about figured as non-dice levels. See below:
the same as many woods. This takes into account
the fact that even heavy machinery has empty Basic Era weapon +18 lethal
space so you can get in to change the spark plugs, Late part of an era +2 bonus
and so on. A person takes up a volume of about .1 1 hexagon weapon(500kg) +0 bonus
hexagon and has a mass of up to 100 kilograms. Takes a minute to reload +3 bonus
However, a person who access vehicle controls or Unreliable in wet conditions +1 bonus
get at worn items will take up a full hexagon. It Manually aimed weapon +0 bonus
makes a difference. Body armor is designed to fit a Modifier total +24 lethal
person, not the hexagon they are standing in. Total 8d+0 lethal damage

For your first practical use of the EABA Universal EXAMPLE: A weapon with a base damage of
Chart, an item’s diameter as a sphere would be its +18 has modifiers that add up to +6, for a total of
Size level in hexagons minus 3, with the result divided +24. Since each +3 is 1d+0 of damage, you have a
by 3. Some useful relationships are below. Try some weapon with a final damage of 8d+0. What the
to get a feel for the EABA Universal Chart. Results are listing above represents is the entire design process
not perfect, but are good enough for game uses. for a muzzle loading cannon. That’s how easy Stuff!
can be.
Volume:
Diameter of a sphere(meters): (Size - 3) / 3 You never keep a remainder of more than +2.
Side of a cube(meters): (Size / 3) - 1 In the previous example, you would never end up
Length of a “ship”(meters): (Size / 3) + 1 with a 6d+6 weapon. The +6 always ends up a +2d
in the end. It’s just easier to add single digits and
Money: convert later than to try to add the dice and
Pay rate(Credits): Money fractions in your head.
Daily pay(8hr)(Credits): Money + 6
Weekly pay(Credits): Money + 11 The Pizza Principle - Stuff! is sort of a pizza
Monthly pay(Credits): Money + 15 topping system. Instead of lots of equations, it is just
Yearly pay(Credits): Money + 22 a system of simple additions and subtractions, as
12 hour work day: +1 to total you saw in the example above (though these tables
7 day work week: +1 to total are based on equations). If you are going to use
Stuff! as an equipment guide for a particular game-
Distance: world, you will need to apply it consistently. If a
Time of flight(seconds): Dist. - Movement - 5 weapon or a technology has certain characteristics,
Accel. to speed(seconds): Move1 - Move2 then it should always have those characteristics.
Accelerate to One point of difference in a piece of Stuff! gear is
dist.(seconds): (Distance - Move) / 2 - 2 usually important, just as it is important whether your
Throw dist.(meters): Strength - Weight - 3 adventurer has an Agility of 8 or 9. So, if you say a
certain weapon is “unreliable in wet conditions”,
EXAMPLE: If you are paying a lackey 8 Credits odds are that all examples of that type of weapon
an hour (Money level of -14) for a 12 hour work day, have that modifier. Changes in the way technology
then you owe the lackey a Money level of (-14 + 11 operates is the hallmark of advancement, whether
+ 1) = -2 for a week’s work, or 500 Credits. it is the change from muzzle-loading to cartridge
weapons, from vacuum tubes to transistors or from
EXAMPLE: You have a spaceship that can do .4 gold to paper money. When someone comes up
gees (Movement level of 2) and want to know how with something better, all the old stuff tends to fall
long it will take to accelerate to 1% of the speed of by the wayside.
light (a movement level of 41). The answer is (41 - 2)
= a Time level of 39, or 8 days. Like we said, no Got it? If so, you’re ready to go.
calculator required!

1.4
2.1
WEAPONS
 As soldiers are tools of destruction, they are v1.0

not properly a gentle person’s tools.

Stuff!
On necessity will they will use them, Damage Example Approx. energy/area
0d+0 100 Joules/cm2
with calm control. 0d+1 pellet rifle 140 Joules/cm2
WEAPONS

0d+2 185 Joules/cm2

Even winning is no cause for rejoicing. 1d+0 .25 ACP, 00 buckshot 250 Joules/cm2
1d+1 .22 long rifle, 9mm short 340 Joules/cm2
To rejoice over a war won is to rejoice 1d+2 450 Joules/cm2
2d+0 .45 ACP 560 Joules/cm2
over the slaughter of men 2d+1 9mm Parabellum 770 Joules/cm2
2d+2 .357 magnum, 4.6mm HK 1000 Joules/cm2
So a person who rejoices 3d+0 5.7mm FN, .44 magnum 1250 Joules/cm2
3d+1 12ga shotgun slug 1770 Joules/cm2
over the slaughter of men 3d+2 .30 carbine 2370 Joules/cm2
4d+0 .454 Casull 2910 Joules/cm2
Cannot expect to do well in the world of men. 4d+1 5.56mm, 4.73mm/c 3990 Joules/cm2
4d+2 7.62mm 5240 Joules/cm2
Tao Te Ching, Chapter 31 5d+0 .338 magnum 6450 Joules/cm2
5d+1 8980 Joules/cm2
5d+2 .460 magnum 11,650 Joules/cm2
INTRODUCTION - Yeah, this is the section you 6d+0 14,660 Joules/cm2
may have bought Stuff! for, so we’re putting it first. 6d+1 12.7mm machinegun 19,830 Joules/cm2
This section covers everything from a penknife up to 6d+2 14.5mm machinegun 25,780 Joules/cm2
a battleship gun, orbital bombardment cannon or 7d+0 20mm cannon 32,510 Joules/cm2
anti-tank missile. Things like cruise missiles, ICBM’s or 7d+1 44,340 Joules/cm2
other very long range, self-guided weapons would 7d+2 58,010 Joules/cm2
be better designed as a vehicle with a payload 8d+0 30mm cannon 73,500 Joules/cm2
(and we do have a chapter for vehicles). However, 9d+0 164,000 Joules/cm2
you would design a nuclear payload using the 10d+0 60mm cannon 370,000 Joules/cm2
weapons section... 11d+0 75mm cannon 895,000 Joules/cm2
12d+0 light AT rocket 1.9 million Joules/cm2
The chapter is laid out the way all the Stuff! 13d+0 90mm cannon 4.2 million Joules/cm2
chapters will be, a short, basic set of rules that will 14d+0 120mm cannon 9.5 million Joules/cm2
cover over ninety percent of your needs, and a 15d+0 21 million Joules/cm2
much longer set that covers the other ten percent. 16d+0 heavy AT rocket 48 million Joules/cm2

Basics - The default weapon in Stuff! design is The “energy/area” column is just that, a way to
very much like a gun. Unless you take modifiers to see how “real world” energy translates into EABA
adjust it, the weapon can be used for one attack damage, and to get an idea of how much extra
per major action, has some sort of penalty after force per unit of area is required to get those little
each attack that disrupts your aim (like recoil), does extra +1’s of damage. For the non-gearheads, a
lethal damage and affects armor normally. It is Joule(J) can be equated to a kilogram lifted a
reliable in normal conditions, and will probably meter. If you weigh one hundred kilograms and you
function at some reliability, range or damage climb ten vertical meters of stairs, that’s a hundred
penalty in abnormal conditions (like underwater, in kilograms times ten meters, or a thousand Joules.
a vacuum, etc.). Pretty much like a 20th or 21st Energy/area means how much energy is applied
century firearm. So, without any special modifiers, a over how much area, in this case, one square
29th century “blaster pistol” will operate under the centimeter. A finger pushing into a lump of clay
same EABA rules as a plain old 20th century sidearm, goes farther than a fist. They have the same energy,
with the exception that the blaster pistol will do a but the finger concentrates it over a smaller area.
lot more damage... As a comparison, in modern Don’t worry about it too much, this is the only place
terms (Atomic Era, maybe Late Atomic Era), in the rules where it is goes into this detail. One thing
weapons have damages like this: you should keep in mind though, is that it takes a
significant change in energy/area to get a damage
bonus. Most of the time, this will involve an increase
in weapon mass, ammunition mass, or both.

2.2
 Technological Era Damage for 1 hexagon
EABA Primitive (and all melee wpns)
Basic
+12 lethal
+18 lethal
Industrial +24 lethal
Size - Each hexagon of weapon will mass half a Atomic +30 lethal
ton (or each millihex of weapon will mass .5kg). Post-Atomic +36 lethal
Ammunition normally takes up as much space as Advanced +42 lethal
the weapon for 200 shots. Vehicle weapons usually Early part of an Era -2 penalty
use cargo space for ammunition storage, while Middle part of an Era no adjustment
handheld weapons usually add the ammo size and Late part of an Era +2 bonus
mass to the weapon to get the weapon’s final size. Easy technology +3 bonus
You can use any fraction or multiple of 200 shots Average technology +0 bonus
that you care to. Ammunition does not count Hard technology -3 penalty
towards the Hits of a weapon. Hits represent how
hard it is to damage the weapon. The ammunition Modifiers Amount
may have Hits of its own, but this is usually not a Weapon of .5 millihex -33 penalty
major consideration. Weapon of 1 millihex -30 penalty
Weapon of 2 millihex -27 penalty
Weapons can have final sizes that are fractions Weapon of 4 millihex -24 penalty
of a millihex. Millihexes are just a design tool, your Weapon of 8 millihex -21 penalty
final weapon or any other Stuff! item will probably Weapon of 16 millihex -18 penalty
be mostly referenced in kilograms. For reference, Weapon of 32 millihex -15 penalty
the table below lists the actual mass in kilograms of Weapon of 64 millihex -12 penalty
various real-world weapons (including a normal Weapon of 125 millihex -9 penalty
load of ammunition), and a good approximation of Weapon of 250 millihex -6 penalty
this final size that you can get in Stuff!. Weapon of 500 millihex -3 penalty
Each doubling of space +3 bonus
Weapon Weight ≈Stuff! size Each 25% extra space (max +50%) +1 bonus
Combat knife .3kg .6 millihex Each 25% less space (max -25%) -1 penalty
Walther PPK .7kg 1.5 millihex Autofire (Industrial Era or better) -3 penalty
Beretta 9mm pistol 1.1kg 2.5 millihex Autoburst (Atomic Era or better) -2 penalty
Mini-Uzi submachinegun 3.2kg 6.0 millihex Can use shotgun damage -3 penalty
M-16A3 assault rifle 3.9kg 8 millihex Takes several actions to reload +1 bonus
RPG-7 rocket launcher 9.9kg 20 millihex Takes fifteen seconds to reload +2 bonus
.50 cal. machinegun 70kg 125 millihex Takes a minute to reload +3 bonus
TOW missile (tripod mount) 115kg 250 millihex Unreliable (jam on roll ≤7) +3 bonus
20mm autocannon 150kg 313 millihex Very unreliable (jam on roll ≤11) +6 bonus
12-pounder (archaic) 800kg 1.5 hexagon Detrimental side effect +2 bonus
32-pounder (archaic) 2100kg 4 hexagon Beneficial side effect -2 penalty
120mm cannon 3000kg 6 hexagon Post-Atomic Era special effect -6 penalty
Advanced Era special effect -12 penalty
This should give you something to work with Bulky ammo (x1/2 capacity) +1 bonus
when trying to get a feel how “big” something is. Compact ammo (x2 capacity) -2 penalty
One-use weapon +6 bonus
Other - The basic Accuracy of a vehicle Explosive damage (lethal) -6 penalty
weapon will be half its damage dice (rounding Explosive damage (half-lethal) -3 penalty
nearest). The basic Accuracy of a handheld, pintle Shaped charge damage +3 bonus
or tripod mounted weapon is a quarter of its Handheld (or shoulder-fired) +3 bonus
damage dice (rounding nearest), and the basic Bipod/tripod mounted weapon +2 bonus
Accuracy of a thrown weapon is zero. Manually aimed weapon +1 bonus
Turreted or remote weapon +0 bonus
The following table lists all the basic weapon Placed weapon +6 bonus
design modifiers, followed by an explanation or Strength-based wpn.(special) -9 penalty
clarification of them, along with examples. A Thrown weapon -12 penalty
“basic” weapon is something similar to a gun or
sword, where the mechanism of damage is fairly Accuracy modifiers Amount
straightforward and obvious. The advanced or Shoulder-fired ranged weapon +1 Acc
special case modifiers will come later. Basic Era or earlier (minimum of 0) -2 Acc

2.3
 BASIC WEAPONS - The basic design rules cover v1.0
only the function of the weapon. The monetary
cost of the weapon and ammunition for it is in the
Stuff!
advanced rules (page 2.39). If you need to deter-
mine the armor and Hits of a weapon, you would While melee weapons or ranged weapons
go to the Gadgets chapter and use the rules based on muscle power can be at any tech era,
covering gizmo armor and Hits. for design purposes they are always considered
WEAPONS

Primimtive Era weapons (a base of +12 lethal

Damage from weapons is assumed to be lethal damage). A mass swung by muscles doesn’t get
unless otherwise specified. Half-lethal weapons any more sophisticated...
generally do +1 damage, and non-lethal ones do
+2 damage. Each +1d of damage in a weapon Easy Technology (+3) - The “easy technology”
represents somewhere between two- and two- modifier represents a weapon technology that is
hundred-fifty percent more penetrating power, and readily accessible and understandable. It can be
each +1 is perhaps thirty to thirty-five percent more modified and adapted without requiring more than
than the previous value. So, realistically speaking, a tradesman’s level of expertise. If it is something
the difference between a normal weapon and a that poorly equipped rebels can make out of
“magnum” or upgraded version of that weapon is locally available materials, count it as “easy
probably no more than a +1 difference. technology”. For Earth’s history, most explosives,
unguided rockets, melee weapons and archaic
Something that we are going to mention now ranged weapons like bows, crossbows, etc. are all
and several times later in the text is the nature of going to get this modifier.
modifiers. A weapon modifier that says “+3” or
“-3” does not make a weapon inherently better or “Average”(+0) technologies usually represent
worse. What it means is that the weapon does gunpowder weapons, things that require some sort
more or less damage than an otherwise identical of technical infrastructure, like iron working, or the
weapon with or without that characteristic. For ability to make moving parts at fine tolerances, like
instance, if you have a pair of 4 kilogram rifles, and the action of a flintlock or the cycling bolt of an
one is a robust single shot elephant rifle, and the assault rifle. Conventional firearms are “average
other is an autofire assault rifle, you would expect technology”.
the assault rifle to have a lower damage. And in
Stuff!, autofire capability reduces the damage of a “Hard”(-3) technologies are mostly going to be
weapon compared to similarly sized weapons used in a fantasy or science fiction campaign, and
without autofire capability. are ways for a gamemaster to tweak certain
weapon types to get the level of damage they feel
Explanations of the various modifiers on the appropriate for the tech era and nature of the
previous page follow: gameworld. It represents both the efficiency of the
weapon and to some degree the difficulty in
Tech Era - The base damage done by a making it.
weapon that takes up 1 hexagon (500kg) at that
tech era. Weapons from early or late parts of an EXAMPLE: If a role-playing campaign was set in
era get a -2 penalty or +2 bonus to this damage. A a world without significant quantities of iron and tin,
gamemaster can decide to subdivide this further then gunpowder weapons would have to be made
into -1 or +1 increments if desired. out of something else, like copper. Copper is not as
strong as iron (and is heavier), so making it an
EXAMPLE: An Atomic Era (the overall era in “hard” technology (-3) instead of an “average”
which you are reading this) weapon has a base one (+0) would mean that a copper weapon
damage of +30 for one hexagon of weapon. A would have to be heavier than an iron one to do
weapon from the Late Atomic Era (which is where the same damage.
we are now) would have a base damage of +32
instead. If a weapon uses multiple technologies in its
consutruction or means of doing damage, use the
Note: Self-contained bullets will usually be average, rounding towards zero.
considered a Middle to Late Industrial Era item, so
“modern” firearms date from that period and later. EXAMPLE: A weapon that uses both “easy” (+3)
and “average” (+0) technologies would average
to +1 damage. A weapon using “average” (+0)
and “hard” (-3) technologies would average to -1
damage.

2.4
 EXAMPLE: Let’s say you want a weapon with
EABA an empty mass of 1.5 kilograms (or 3 millihexes in
volume). There is no “3 millihex” entry, but you
could use the “2 millihex” numbers and then apply
Note: Suggested tech types for the weapons the “+25% size” modifier twice to get a 3 millihex
common to many role-playing settings: weapon. This would give you a 1.5 kilogram
weapon and it would have +2 on damage over
Weapon type Technology type the 2 millihex numbers. Or, you could use the “4
Melee weapons Easy(+3) millihex” numbers and apply the “-25% size”
Grenades/explosive shells Easy(+3) modifier once. This would also give you a 3 millihex
Bows & crossbows Easy(+3) weapon, but it would do -1 on damage compared
Repeating crossbows Easy/Average(+1) to the 4 millihex numbers. If you work it out, you’ll
Gunpowder firearms Average(+0) see the damage is the same in either case.
Stunners Average/Hard(-1)
Lasers Average/Hard(-1) Keep in mind that for very large weapons you
Gauss weapons Average/Hard(-1) are only buying the weapon, not any support
Particle beams Hard(-3) services or structures to house it in or on. A battleship
turret may be armored, but that armor would be
Size - Each time you double or halve the size of part of the vehicle mass, not the weapon mass.
the weapon from the default of 1 hexagon, you
gain or lose +3 on the base damage. Autofire(-3) - The weapon may use standard
EABA autofire rules (EABA, page 5.6). A weapon
EXAMPLE: A 2 hexagon weapon from the capable of autofire can usually fire single shots as
Atomic Era does a base damage of +33, while a .5 well, especially if it is a handheld weapon. Damage
hexagon weapon does a base damage of +27. is the same, regardless of the mode used. Note that
weapons do not do less damage just because they
You can use the EABA Universal Chart (EABA, are autofire. What the -3 damage modifier means is
page 3.4) for doubling or fractional amounts. that an autofire weapon doing the same damage
Weapons whose size does not exactly match a as a regular one has to be more heavily built to
table entry can be up to 50% larger or 25% smaller, withstand the extra stresses, either mechanically,
for a bonus or penalty on damage. If you need to electrically or in terms of its ability to dissipate waste
go more than this, you should be using the next heat. A weapon may be autofire or autoburst at
higher or lower table entry. The small table on only a third the normal damage penalty, rounding
page 2.3 should give you an idea of about what a down, if it is counted as Unreliable (or a level more
certain class of weapon weighs. If you are trying to unreliable) when used in autofire or autoburst
recreate an actual weapon, start with its unloaded mode (see EABA, page 7.3).
weight.
EXAMPLE: A weapon that is unreliable only in
Note: In weapon examples like the one below, autofire mode would have a -1 damage penalty
design modifiers from the advanced design rules (normally -3), and a weapon that is unreliable only
will be in italics. in autoburst mode has no damage penalty at all
(normally -2). This doesn’t make an unreliable
autoburst mode “free”. Autoburst capability will
make a weapon cost more in Credits.

Degtyarev Pechotnyi
Late Industrial Era +26
Average technology +0
20 millihex -17
Several actions to load +1
Autofire -3
Unreliable +3
Reduced range +1
Bipod mounted +2
Modifier total +13
Final damage 4d+1

2.5
 Most hand-held autofire or autoburst weapons v1.0
will take the unreliable autofire option as a weight-
saving measure. Weapons firing explosive rounds
Stuff!
are less concerned with weight and more with
safety, and do not usually take the option (and Shotgun(-3) - The weapon may use its normal
imagine the problems with unjamming an artillery designed damage, or adjust this to do multiple hits
piece!). If a weapon has global levels of unreliability, at less damage, using normal EABA shotgun rules
WEAPONS

it will automatically apply to autofire mode as well, (EABA, page 5.6). To be able to fire multiple small
and an unreliable autofire mode cannot be taken projectiles, shotguns typically have larger barrels
unless it is more unreliable than normal fire. and correspondingly larger mechanical assemblies,
making them heavier than conventional weapons
EXAMPLE: A weapon that is “unreliable”(+3) doing the same damage. Shotgun rules may also
and “autofire”(-3) is unreliable in normal fire and in apply to things like continuous beam lasers, where
autofire modes. It could, however, have “very they do several hits before the target can possibly
unreliable autofire”(-1). This means it is Unreliable in move out of the way. Conventional weapons
normal use and Very Unreliable in autofire use. which fire extremely rapid bursts should probably
use a multiple autofire or autoburst modifier. The
Autofire weapons firing explosives, shaped damage a weapon has after this modifier is
charges or any sort of bulky package take a -9 applied represents that of a single large slug. See
penalty instead of a -3 penalty (-6 for autoburst). the EABA rules (page 5.6) for rules on shotshells.

You may take the autofire modifier more than Reloading(variable) - The default reloading
once. Extra uses of autofire or autoburst are at a -1 time for a weapon is an action, depending on your
penalty each instead of the normal penalty, but Agility or skill with the weapon (you could always
reliability adjustments only apply to the first modifier blow the roll). This is the default, for something like a
(second and further autofire or autoburst modifiers clip-fed weapon where you can pop the old one
are always at least a -1 penalty). Each extra level of out and put a new one in (provided you had a
autofire or autoburst just increases the number of replacement clip already in hand). A weapon that
hits on a successful roll by one, and one additional takes several actions to reload might be a revolver
hit for each amount the roll is made by. A rotary that cannot use speed loaders (load one bullet at
cannon or other very high rate of fire weapon a time), a belt-fed machinegun, or a weapon large
might have this modifier several times. Remember enough that you simply can’t move ammunition
that each extra time you take this modifier results in into the gun in one action (like an artillery piece or
ten extra shots being fired each time you pull the mobile rocket launcher). This modifier means the
trigger. reloading time is a major action per shot for multiple
shot weapons, or at least two actions for a weapon
EXAMPLE: A weapon that has the autofire that only holds one shot. Weapons that take a
modifier three times (-5 damage) would get three minute or more to reload a shot are typically siege
hits on a successful “to hit” roll, and three extra hits weapons, very large cannons or archaic muzzle-
for each two points the roll was made by. Each loading weapons. To be most accurate, the bonus
time the trigger is pulled, this weapon fires thirty you get for a particular reloading time is one-
shots from its supply of ammunition. If this weapon quarter the Time level needed to reload (so the +2
were unreliable only in autofire mode, only the first modifier is actually sixteen seconds).
-3 penalty is altered by the reliability option (to -1),
and the other -2 are counted normally, for a total Note! - Reloading time assumes you have what
damage modifier of -3 instead of -5. you need to do the reloading with. If an artillery
piece is manually loaded and has 100 kilogram
Autoburst(-2) - A weapon that can only fire shells, the reloading time assumes there are enough
short bursts instead of sustained autofire only takes people there to manhandle the shells into the
a -2 penalty (or -6 for lightweight or bulky weapon. Keep this in mind. As a rule of thumb,
packages). This is handled the same as regular reloading archaic weapons takes the listed time if
autofire, but will limit the maximum number of hits to you have 1 person for each full 2d+0 in the tech era
three. This lesser modifier can also be applied to and size of the weapon. For instance, an archaic
weapons with a slow rate of autofire, like the weapon whose size and tech era alone gave
autocannons mounted on many light armored 10d+0 damage would require a five-person crew to
vehicles. Lesser autofire weapons only shoot three reload in its listed time.
shots per major action instead of the normal ten.

2.6
 A weapon that is only unreliable in certain
EABA modes of use or in certain operational conditions
only gets a +1 bonus instead of +3. See the Autofire
modifier for an example (only unreliable in autofire
The reloading modifier may also be used for mode).
weapon preparation time before use, even if the
weapon cannot normally be reloaded. For instance, EXAMPLE: A flintlock pistol that is just normally
if a disposable man-portable rocket launcher “unreliable”, but is “very unreliable” when in wet
requires several actions to prepare it for firing, it conditions would get an +4 damage instead of the
can use the “reloading” modifier for the pre-fire +6 it would get for being “very unreliable” all the
sequence, even though it cannot be reloaded and time. A flintlock rifle that reliably fires when kept in
thus has no post-firing delay. Weapons may have good order, but “very unreliable” in wet conditions
both a pre-loading and re-loading modifier. would be a +2 damage instead of +6 damage.

Unreliable(+3) - A weapon which has a chance Note! - Do not apply this modifier gratuitously as
of malfunction even in ideal conditions can take a easy way to get extra damage! Taking a “gun is
this modifier. Ones that are very likely to have very unreliable underwater”(+2) bonus is only going
problems can take the more severe form at +6 (for to be significant if adventurers are underwater a
detail, see EABA, page 7.3). These modifiers would lot... All weapons are going to have conditions that
typically be used on archaic weapons, or on very make them unreliable to some extent. This modifier
cheap weapons, on the the early models of a new is only for those conditions that are going to be
design, or on poorly designed autofire weapons. commonly encountered.
An autofire weapon that is just a little too light to
reliably handle the stress might take the less severe For reference, if the user has a 4d+2 skill roll, the
modifier as well, especially at Industrial Era levels of chance of an Unreliable weapon misfiring is about
technology or if the weapon is cutting edge (built one percent, and the chance for a Very Unreliable
just a little ahead of its time). If a weapon has a weapon to misfire is about ten percent. The real-
global “unreliable” modifier, this supercedes world chance of misfire for a modern weapon in
something like “reliable autofire”. It is unreliable in good order is no more than a half of a percent.
all conditions.
Side effects(±2) - Side effects are things above
and beyond what would normally be expected
from a weapon at that level of technology or which
gives a penalty/advantage in the EABA system. For
instance, a pistol might have recoil, but this is not a
detrimental side effect unless it is so severe that you
can’t fire more than once a turn. Similarly, a laser
has no recoil, which is a beneficial side effect for
maintaining your aim. Armor-piercing ammunition
is usually not a special effect. Ammunition is not
something inherent to the weapon. A rifle can fire
regular ammunition or armor-piercing ammunition.
Both do the same damage. The weapon hasn’t
changed, the ammunition has.

SMAW On the other hand, an advanced energy

Atomic Era +30 weapon might be inherently armor-piercing, or the
Easy technology +3 only ammunition available to a weapon might be
16 millihex -18 armor-piercing, and this could be a beneficial side
Several actions to load +1 effect inherent to the weapon.
Operational side effect +1
Shaped charge x 3 +9
Bulky ammo x 125 +7
Shoulder-fired +3
Slow weapon x 3 +3
Modifier total +39
Final damage 13d+0

2.7
 Side effects(+2) that cause damage to the firer v1.0
(or those near them) as part of normal weapon
operation are normally half-lethal damage of half
Stuff!
the weapon’s normal damage. A weapon can
have more than one side effect, but they should EXAMPLE: A person with a Strength of 2d+0 can
not be related to each other if each one is to be safely fire one-handed a recoiling pistol of up to
worth a separate bonus. 3d+0 damage (3d+1 with a padded glove). They
WEAPONS

could safely fire a recoiling rifle of up to 6d+0

Things that are a beneficial or detrimental side damage (7d+0 with shoulder padding). Or, they
effect related to the weapon’s operation are only could safely fire a recoiling autofire rifle of up to
worth half (a +1 or -1) and this is purely optional. For 5d+0 damage (6d+0 with shoulder padding). If they
instance, if a class of weapon can only be used in fired a 5d+0 pistol one-handed while wearing
vacuum, this does not affect normal EABA combat padded gloves, they would take 1d+2 half-lethal
rules, so it would only be a detrimental side effect damage (1d+1 non-lethal and 0d+1 lethal hits).
worth +1. A rocket with backblast that only causes People have actually been hit in the face by their
side effect damage if used in a vehicle or enclosed own recoiling pistols...
space would be a +1, or an unbalanced melee
weapon would be a +1. Operating limits may be Special effect(special) - This is something that is
part of a +2 or -2 side effect, but will not add to it. above and beyond accepted science, some wierd
effect that might be possible once understanding
Possible side effect Beneficial Detrimental of the universe has progressed beyond where it is
Gunpowder none may have now. That is, we can’t tell you what the effects are
severe recoil because they are impossible according to current
Rockets none backblast theory. An example in the EABA rules is “disruptors”,
Laser no recoil blocked by weapons whose energy beam only interacts with a
smoke specific atomic or molecular signature, and thus
Particle beam armor-piercing none ignores any barrier not made of that substance.
Gauss weapon none none Obviously, this is an extremely powerful modifier for
Stunner (electrical) none non-lethal, a weapon. A special effect for Post-Atomic Era
easily blocked weapons is a -2d modifier, and a -4d modifier for
Advanced Era weapons. Normally, effective
ADVANCED TOPIC: EXCESSIVE RECOIL countermeasures for a special effect will be
Weapons with recoil typically just cause the shooter developed within a fraction of a tech era, so if a
to lose any aiming bonuses or cause consecutive particular special effect first becomes available in
shot autofire penalties. If a recoiling weapon fired the middle of the Post-Atomic Era, the first
from one hand has a damage of more than the countermeasure will be available by the late part
firer’s Strength plus 1d, the excess is taken by the of the era. Usually, neither the weapon with the
firer as half-lethal damage to the firing arm. For a special effect nor the countermeasure will be all
weapon fired from both hands (but not braced on that common, and both are usually restricted
the shoulder), the limit is the firer’s Strength, plus 2d. military tech in terms of weapon or armor cost.
For a shoulder-fired or bipod mounted weapon, the
safe amount of recoil is the firer’s Strength, plus 4d. A special effect can also be some neat but
Subtract 1d from the safe limit if the weapon if the highly impractical or space-intensive function given
weapon is autofire or uses shotgun damage (2d if to a weapon, like a high-tech quarterstaff that
both!). In the case of pistols, padded gloves or collapses to the size of roll of quarters with the push
hand armor can absorb up to 0d+1 of the damage of a button, or an energy blade that disappears
(the shock still travels up the arm). For shoulder-fired into its hilt when turned off. The penalty for this is
weapons, torso armor of up to 1d+0 can apply whatever the gamemaster says it is. Since a ±3
against this damage. Weapons using the “recoil change in damage is a change in energy of a
compensation” modifier (page 2.28) increase the factor of about a two-and-a-half, that can be a
damage threshold for safe weapon operation. guide for other changes a special effect might
have.

2.8
 Note - Most reloadable shoulder fired rockets
EABA will have this modifier at the “3 shots” level, which
gives +6 damage, the same as for a disposable
weapon (page 2.10).
Compact/Bulky ammo(special) - Ammunition
normally takes up the same space as the weapon In Stuff!, the ammunition for a weapon increases
for 200 shots. Each time you halve this, you get a +1 in mass as the weapon does. Bigger weapons fire
bonus to damage, and each time you double it, bigger bullets. But what if they don’t? The ammo
you take a -2 penalty to damage. Numbers in weight rules work okay for weapons in the same size
parentheses on the following table apply to normal range. But, if you have a 4 millihex machine pistol
weapons (200 shots equals size of weapon). that fires the exact same ammunition as a 2 millihex
pistol, then their ammo should weigh the same, a
Weapon volume x1 Damage twenty shot magazine for the machine pistol being
shots x 250 (50k shots) -16 penalty the same size as a twenty shot magazine for the
shots x 125 (25k shots) -14 penalty pistol. What to do?
shots x 64 (12.5k shots) -12 penalty
shots x 32 (6400 shots) -10 penalty If you are designing a family of weapons using
shots x 16 (3200 shots) -8 penalty the same ammo in different size ranges, but they
shots x 8 (1600 shots) -6 penalty have the same ammunition capacity for their
shots x 4 (800 shots) -4 penalty weight (pistols to pistols, rifles to rifles), apply the
shots x 2 (400 shots) -2 penalty “compact” ammunition modifier once for each
shots x 1 (200 shots) +0 bonus change in weapon size. So, if your submachinegun
shots x 1/2 (100 shots) +1 bonus is twice the size of a pistol, then the ammo would
shots x 1/4 (50 shots) +2 bonus need to be half the size.
shots x 1/8 (25 shots) +3 bonus
shots x 1/16 (12 shots) +4 bonus EXAMPLE: A 4 millihex machine pistol would get
shots x 1/32 (6 shots) +5 bonus +3 in damage compared to a 2 millihex pistol, but
shots x 1/64 (3 shots) +6 bonus would take a -2 penalty for compact ammo for a
shots x 1/125 (2 shots) +7 bonus net result of +1 damage, quite reasonable when
shots x 1/250 (1 shot) +8 bonus you figure the machine pistol probably has a longer
barrel and sturdier construction. The design result is
Bulky or compact ammunition affects the cost that weapons of the same type larger than the
of ammunition, but not the cost of the weapon. basic item are +1 damage for each larger size or -2
Normally, ammo equal to the weight of a weapon damage for each smaller size category, while
will have a certain cost. The same applies here, but ammo weight stays the same.
you are getting fewer or more shots for the same
amount of money. The size of the ammunition also What does it all mean? This modifier tweaking is
matters if it has an explosive payload. The bigger something you can usually ignore unless you are
each shot is, the more explosives you can pack in. trying to make a weapon match a particular real-
world weapon, or if you are designing a broad
Compact ammo might be used once or twice family of weapons to use the same ammunition
for certain modern weapons, or used several times and thus have similar final damage. If you are trying
for science-fiction weapons whose power packs to model or recreate real-world weapons, there are
hold a seemingly endless number of shots. Bulky detailed notes at the end of the advanced design
ammo might be used once or twice for pistol section.
cartridges, shotguns or for some archaic weapons
that have inefficient ammunition types.

EXAMPLE: An Advanced Era weapon could

lose 4d (-12 on the table) and still do the damage
of an Atomic Era weapon of similar size and mass.
But if the Atomic Era weapon has a clip holding 20
shots, the Advanced Era equivalent would hold
1250 shots!

2.9
 ADVANCED TOPIC: AMMO CAPACITY v1.0
Weapons of the same type from different tech eras
may have different ammunition efficiency. You
Stuff!
may apply the “bulky” or “compact” ammunition
modifiers as needed to get that extra damage you A weapon can either be explosive, or use
need at more primitive tech eras, or to get the explosives. These are very different. If a weapon is
extra shots you want at more advanced eras. explosive, like a land mine or disposable rocket or
WEAPONS

grenade, you use the -6 modifier on the weapon.

The actual mass of things like ammunition is very And even for reloadable rockets, this works for
hard to accurately generalize in as broad a system many designs. But to be accurate, if the weapon
as Stuff! For instance, the bullets in a policeman’s fires explosives, like an artillery piece, grenade
pistol do less damage than those in a soldier’s rifle, launcher or reloadable rocket, you apply the -6
but may weigh more. The pistol fires a large but modifier to the damage you would get from the
slow lead bullet, while the rifle fires a small bullet, size of one unit of ammunition. A unit of ammunition
but at much higher velocity and penetrating would usually be an “easy technology”(+3), “one
power. The weight of the lead is why the pistol use”(+6) device and be “explosive”(-6), for a final
bullet is heavier. Stuff! does not have the detail to damage that is around +3 more than the base for
take things like this into account, and just assumes its size. This is a case where having bulky ammunition
that bigger weapons have bigger ammunition. You is a benefit, since it means explosive payloads can
would have to use BTRC’s older weapon design be larger.
book, 3G3, in order to accurately design hand-held
weapons down to the bullet level. EXAMPLE: An 8 millihex one-shot rocket launcher
would apply the -6 modifier to the weapon to figure
One-use weapon(+6) - This modifier is meant for explosive damage. It is an explosive weapon. On
disposable weapons, use once and throw it away. the other hand, an artillery piece fires explosive
A grenade is a perfect example. A weapon which weapons. A 4 hex artillery piece normally holds 200
holds more than one shot but is still a one-use shots in a space equal to that of the weapon, or 20
weapon (like a disposable pistol) might use “several millihexes per shell. One shell is a modifier of -14:
actions to reload” or “bulky ammunition” modifier,
not the “one-use weapon” modifier, which is meant 16 millihex weapon(.5kg) -18
for things like rocket launchers or other single shot 25% extra size +1
devices that include their ammunition mass in the Easy technology +3
designed size and mass. This modifier is more Lethal explosion -6
effective than taking the “bulky ammo” modifier, Single use +6
since the weight of the one shot is included with the Modifier total -14
weapon rather than added to it.
If this were an Atomic Era shell (base damage
Explosive damage(-6) - The weapon does of +30), then the artillery shell (-14 modifier) would
damage as an explosion of the listed dice. A lethal have an explosive damage of +16 (or 5d+1).
explosion typically involves fragmentation or
flames. Half-lethal or non-lethal explosion damage If a weapon uses explosive ammunition, it can
is only a -3 penalty, and is more representative of usually still fire other kinds. A tank can fire shells filled
regular explosives, or “stun grenades”. with explosives, or penetrating rounds. Note that the
damage of an explosive warhead is not affected by
EXAMPLE: An normal Atomic Era fragmentation the range to the target, because with an explosive
grenade would be about this: warhead, range to the target is always zero (from
the explosive, that is). However, the range at which
Atomic Era weapon +30 the weapon would start to lose dice (see page 2.18)
Easy technology +3 will be the weapon’s absolute maximum range
1 millihex weapon(.5kg) -30 (explosive shells do the same damage at all ranges,
Lethal explosion -6 but have a maximum range they can reach).
Single use +6
Thrown/placed weapon +6 An explosion that is a secondary effect of the
Modifier total +9 weapon would be a +3 bonus to the main effect,
Total 3d+0 lethal explosion but a -18 penalty to the explosion part (see the
“shaped charge” modifier).
If it were a stun grenade (half-lethal damage),
it would be a 4d+0 explosion instead.

2.10
 A shaped charge counts as armor-piercing
EABA against armor of the same era or before, and also
count as a half-lethal explosion, at -18 less than the
adjusted attack itself.
EXAMPLE: A weapon that is an anti-tank
warhead will use an explosive charge to generate EXAMPLE: An +24 attack becomes a +27
an intense armor penetrating effect. The effect on shaped charge (which is lethal damage), and also
the target will be a lot more dice than the explosive acts as a +9 half-lethal explosion.
effect on things in the immediate area.
Shaped charges will count as a “weapon
A dual-use explosive charge like this will count enhancement” for determining weapon cost
the largest damage for any other effect that is (page 2.39). The shaped charge modifier may be
based on the final weapon damage. taken more than once. Larger shaped charges are
more effective than smaller ones, and large
Note - Explosions are an area effect, but if the enough weapons can have “stacked” shaped
explosive actually hits its intended target, the effect charges, where the first one starts punching a hole
on the target is +1d over the normal damage. and the second one follows through with the
knockout. The shaped charge modifier may be
Shaped charge(+3) - A shaped charge is a taken a maximum of once for a 1 millihex weapon
special type of explosive warhead exceptionally (or 1 millihex unit of ammunition), and once more
good at penetrating armor. They first become for each two rows of weapon size past this (4
possible early in the Atomic Era. In addition to the millihex, 16 millihex, 64 millihex, etc.). Each extra
damage bonus, it is counted as an armor-piercing modifier is a weapon enhancement for cost
attack, and is considered to already have the “half- purposes, and will make the final weapon (or its
lethal explosion” modifier. The “shaped charge” ammunition) +1 cost. Multiple shaped charges
modifier is usually taken on things like anti-tank simply count the final damage for determining the
rockets. A weapon that is a shaped charge must -18 penalty for any secondary explosion effects.
have a damage of at least +18 before applying this
modifier in order to qualify. Ammunition, thrown or EXAMPLE: A weapon that is an +33 shaped
placed weapons that use shaped charges must charge because it took the modifier three times will
also have a damage of at least +18 before also act as a +15 half-lethal explosion (+33 with a
applying this modifier in order to qualify. -18 penalty).

NO4 Anti-personnel mine Note! - Explosions and shaped charges will blur
Atomic Era +30 the line between “weapon” and “ammunition”. Is
Easy technology +3 the grenade launcher the weapon, or is is it the
.5 millihex -33 grenade? We’ll deal with this in the ammunition
+25% size +1 cost section (page 2.39), but you would generally
One-use weapon +6 deal with it like the explosives example on page
Half-lethal explosive -3 2.10.
Placed weapon +6
Triggered weapon +0 Hand-held(+3) - Ranged weapons that are
Modifier total +10 designed for personal use are generally lighter than
Final damage 3d+1 their vehicle-mounted counterparts, so they have
(half-lethal explosive) higher damage for the same mass. Hand-held
weapons get the largest bonus. Bipod or tripod
weapons are not as good as shoulder-fired
weapons, but still get a bonus. Weapons mounted
on a vehicle or stationary ones which require an
(50% actual size) operator for all aspects of targeting get a small
bonus, and weapons which require vehicle
controls, a turret mount or otherwise require a
Note! - For a gameworld, you can always say a functioning vehicle to operate are the default (no
weapon is a shaped charge, even if less than 6d+0, bonus). The main concept is that a non-vehicle
but it has no special effect. So, you could say a big weapon will be limited by human hand-eye
pistol gets its punch from tiny shaped charge coordination, which puts an upper limit on its
bullets, but it would not count as extra damage nor Accuracy. You won’t be shooting down air-to-air
have a secondary explosion. missiles with a weapon that is manually aimed...

2.11
 EXAMPLE: A rifle, pistol, shoulder fired grenade v1.0
launcher or rocket gets a +3 bonus. A tripod-
mounted machinegun gets a +2 bonus. A ball-
Stuff!
mount or pintle-mount machinegun on a tank gets
a +1 bonus, as would an archaic field piece, but a An extremely important note for any Strength-
coaxial turret-mounted machinegun gets no bonus. based weapon is that all modifiers on damage
However, the turret-mounted weapon can have a except tech era are divided by three, rounding
WEAPONS

higher aimed Accuracy than any of the other down. This includes the Strength-based weapon
weapons, giving it a longer useful range. modifier. For instance, a +3 modifier becomes a +1,
or a -6 modifier becomes a -2. Modifiers of less than
Note! - If it is light enough (say anywhere in the +3 or -3, or any fractional amounts are not counted,
-1d encumbrance penalty range), a bipod or unless there are enough of them to accumulate to
tripod mounted weapon can be carried and fired +3 or -3, in which case they become a +1 or -1.
from the hip. It would have an Accuracy of 0 if used
like this. EXAMPLE: A 50% to weapon size is normally a
+2. This would have no effect for a Strength-based
Placed weapon(+6) - A placed weapon would weapon, since it is less than +3. However, if the
be like a grenade or satchel charge. There is no weapon design also had a +1 modifier like half-
real “weapon”, just an poorly aimable means of lethal damage, the two together would add to +3,
doing damage and a means of triggering it. This which would become a +1.
modifier cannot be used in conjunction with the
“hand-held” modifier. If you are throwing or placing Thrown weapon(-12) - A thrown weapon is any
it, this assumes you are already holding it in your projectile whose damage is directly or indirectly
hands. A thrown or placed weapon has an indeter- based on muscle power. This could be a thrown
minate upper size, depending on the campaign, knife, spear or axe, but could also be a crossbow,
but it should normally be around the normal lifting bow or hand-cranked catapult. Grenades or other
capacity of a normal person. For gameworlds thrown weapons with inherent damage use the
where an EABA Strength of 2d+0 is the human “placed weapon” modifier. A thrown weapon also
norm, this would mean a maximum size of 100 gets the +1 for half-lethal damage and +2 for non-
millihexes (50 kilograms). lethal damage, though few thrown weapons would
ever be less than half-lethal damage. Since thrown
EXAMPLE: A satchel charge would be an easy weapons are Strength-based, all modifiers for them
technology(+3), half-lethal explosive(-3), one-use are divided by three as well.
(+6), placed weapon(+6), for a total +12 modifier.
So, an 8 millihex(-21) Atomic Era(+30) satchel
charge would end up at +21, for a 7d+0 half-lethal
explosion.

Strength-based(-9) - A Strength-based weapon

is something like a knife, sword or axe. The final
damage of the weapon is its addition to punch
damage for melee purposes. The base modifier
assumes the weapon can be used (or loaded) with
one hand. The modifier is only -6 if it is a two-
handed weapon.

EXAMPLE: A melee weapon with a designed

damage of 1d+0 does punch+1d lethal damage.
Medium Crossbow
Strength-based weapons that do half-lethal Primitive Era +12
damage get a +1 modifier to damage, and non- Easy technology +1
lethal ones get a +2 modifier to their damage. A 8 millihex -7
normal ranged weapon that does not do lethal Bulky ammo (shotsx 1/8) +1
damage can also use these half-lethal or non-lethal One minute to reload +1
modifiers. Thrown weapon -4
Basic Era bonus +1
Shoulder-fired +1
Modifier total +6
Final damage 2d+0
(remember that modifiers are one-third normal value)
2.12
 For weapons which would require the efforts of
EABA more than one person to cock, you would take the
average Strength of those involved, and add +3 to
their effective Strength each time you double the
A melee weapon which can also be thrown (or number of people involved. Extra mechanical
vice versa) would just be designed with the same leverage (like winches) is usually reflected in an
physical parameters for both aspects. It just might increased reloading time modifier.
end up with different damage in the different ways
it is used. Since the adjusted difference between EXAMPLE: Eight 2d+0 individuals using a winch
the thrown and Strength-based is 1 point, a thrown that takes a minute to crank could ready (in one
version of a weapon normally does 1 point less minute) a “thrown” weapon with a modifier of +18
damage than it does when normally wielded. (or +6 after dividing by 3). This is +6 for their Strength,
+9 for three doublings, and +3 for reloading time.
Strength-based or thrown weapons always start
with Primitive Era damage, though their materials You normally design such a weapon by getting
technology may be of any era and this will affect the size and tech era damage, then determinine
their Armor, Hits and cost. A weapon like a bow, the “minimum crew” (see the reloading notes on
crossbow or siege engine can be designed as a page 2.6) then figure out how long it takes that
thrown weapon, but in practical terms many would number of people to reload it and seeing if you
be better designed as normal weapons with longer want or need to add extra people.
reloading time, possibly bulky ammunition, and a
detrimental side effect on operation that limits their EXAMPLE: A 16 hexagon Primitive Era trebuchet
use to those with sufficient Strength to cock the has a raw damage of +24 (+12 for era, +12 for size).
weapon. This would be Strength minus 1d for So, it has a minimum crew of 4 (1 per 2d or +6). If
weapons cocked by arm strength, and Strength for the crew had Strengths of 2d+0, you would start off
those where you can put your whole body into it. A with +12 “cranking strength” (+6 base, +6 for two
weapon using stored mechanical energy and the doublings). You can see that for any sort of final
“thrown weapon” modifier can only use Primitive damage, it would take forever for four people to
Era damage as its base. However, as a special reload it and crank it into position (you would need
case, you get +3 to damage for each tech era a +12 from reloading time). Four people could do it,
past Primitive (+1 after dividing by three), or +1 to but you would want more.
damage for each fraction of an era past Primitive
(which may include fractions that round to +0 after ACCURACY MODIFIERS - Vehicle-mounted or
dividing by three). This represents lighter or more emplaced weapons have a default Accuracy of
advanced materials and technologies, like half their damage dice (rounding nearest), while
compound bows. hand-held weapons have a default Accuracy of
one-quarter their damage (rounding nearest).
EXAMPLE: A Basic Era crossbow would be made
out of wood and metal, while an Atomic Era cross- Ranged weapons that are fired using two hands
bow could be made of carbon fiber and various and braced on or over the shoulder (or using a
synthetics. While the ergonomics of how a crossbow bipod/tripod) get +1 Accuracy at no extra cost. All
works mean the two crossbows are about the same ranged weapons from the Basic Era or earlier get -2
size, the more efficient Atomic Era model will do +2 to Accuracy (but may also get the “shoulder fired”
damage compared to a Basic Era model of the bonus). Accuracy for weapons cannot be less than
same size (and be considerably harder to cock). zero (they can’t be less accurate when aimed).

A medium crossbow might start off as a EXAMPLE: A Basic Era rifle with a damage of
Primitive Era weapon (+12), 8 millihex (-7), easy 3d+0 would have an Accuracy of 0 (a base of 1, +1
technology (+1), thrown weapon (-4), shoulder-fired for being shoulder-fired, and -2 for being Basic Era
(+1), for a damage of 1d+0. The Basic Era model or earlier. This Accuracy can be bought up at an
would do 1d+1 damage, and the Atomic Era one extra cost in Credits.
would do 2d+0. Modifiers such as reloading time
and bulky ammunition could combine to give more To buy extra Accuracy for a weapon (up to the
bonuses to damage. For instance, If you made the limits for its tech era) can be done in two ways. One
ammunition bulkier than normal (quarrels take up is in the Weapon Cost section (page 2.39), and is
more space than bullets) and said the crossbow simply an “increased ability” for each +1 Accuracy.
took extra time to reload, you could easily get +2 The other way is to use part of an “autonomous
on the damages previously figured (see example to weapon” modifier (page 2.21) as an Accuracy
the left). bonus instead of a skill bonus.

2.13
 LET’S SEE IF IT WORKS - That’s all you need to v1.0
design a vast array of conventional weapons. Can
you really design up a practical weapon in a
Stuff!
minute or less? Let’s make a light machinegun that
an Atomic Era soldier can carry around, something There you go! Note how all the modifiers (aside
like the M-60 used by the United States. from era damage) are divided by three. Melee
weapons are always counted as Primitive Era for
WEAPONS

Atomic Era weapon +30 figuring the damage they do, but the materials
Average technology +0 they are made from may affect their armor, hits and
16 millihex weapon(8kg) -18 cost. Handheld weapons have a base Accuracy of
Extra 25% size(+2kg) +1 0, so you get a weapon that does punch damage
Autofire(reliable) -3 +2 in lethal damage for 1.5 kilograms.
Takes fifteen seconds to reload +2
Bipod-mounted weapon +2 Here is a fairly detailed basic design that you
Modifier total +14 can reference back to later. This design project is
Total 4d+2 lethal damage the 40mm Mk19 autofire grenade launcher as used
by the United States military.
That’s the weapon! It’s 10 kilograms empty (a
basic M-60 weighs about 11 kilograms empty). A Atomic Era damage +30
200 shot belt of ammunition has the same weight as Average technology +0
the weapon (another 10 kilograms), and its base Weapon of 125 millihex(62.5kg) -9
Accuracy is a quarter of its 4d+2 damage (round Autofire(explosive weapon) -9
nearest), plus 1 because you need both hands and Takes fifteen seconds to reload +2
a shoulder to fire it, for total Accuracy of 2. Explosive damage(lethal) -6
Tripod mounted weapon +2
What about an archaic cannon? Something Modifier total +10
like you might find on a 17th century battlefield: Final damage 3d+1 lethal explosive

Basic Era weapon +18 This weapon has an empty mass of about 63
Late part of an era +2 kilograms, and has ammunition of the default
Average technology +0 weight, so a belt of 200 grenades will also mass
1 hexagon weapon(500kg) +0 about 63 kilograms (.31 kilograms each). To
Takes a minute to reload +3 compare, the actual weapon has a mass of either
Unreliable in wet conditions +1 43 or 54 kilograms, depending on which tripod you
Manually aimed weapon +1 use, and the grenades weigh about .35 kilograms
Modifier total +25 each. You could also design it around the grenade
Total 8d+1 lethal damage rather than the launcher:

That’s your cannon. It’s 500 kilograms for just the Atomic Era damage +30
cannon (a gun carriage is an advanced modifier Easy technology +3
(page 2.28)). Since 200 shots of ammunition has the Weapon of .5 millihex(.25kg) -33
same weight as the weapon (500 kilograms), we 50% extra space(+.13kg) +2
can figure about 2.5 kilograms per shot, which One-use weapon +6
would make this cannon about what would be Side effect +1
called a “six-pounder”. Its Accuracy is a quarter of Explosive damage(lethal) -6
its 8d+0 damage (rounding nearest), or 2, minus 2 Placed weapon +6
for being a Basic Era weapon (primitive aiming Modifier total +9
ability), for a total Accuracy of 0. Final damage 3d+0 lethal explosive

What about a melee weapon? Something like This gives a grenade that weighs about .38
a nice longsword? kilograms. The operational side effect is that while it
is a placed weapon, it requires the launcher to
Primitive Era weapon +12 place it (you can’t throw it manually). The launcher
Easy technology +1 is designed much the same as before, but the costs
4 millihex weapon(2.0kg) -8 of weapon and ammunition will be different.
Reduced 25% size(-.5kg) ø
Strength-based weapon -3 This is an example of using the rules to design
Modifier total +2 the same weapon two different ways, depending
Total punch+2 lethal damage on the level of detail you want.

2.14
 Note that many of the modifiers will have the
EABA same sort of limits as explosive ammunition. That is, if
the modifier is part of the projectile rather than part
of the weapon, then you figure the damage of the
ADVANCED WEAPONS - Now that we’ve run projectile and apply the damage modifier to the
through the simple stuff, there are extra modifiers to projectile damage. For quick and dirty designs, it
cover all the permuations and special cases. Like doesn’t matter. If you want to go into more detail, it
what if you want an autonomous ground-to-air will affect the damage, as well as the cost of the
rocket launcher with proximity-fuzed warheads and ammunition and the weapon.
a minimum arming distance? Yep, you can do that.
EXAMPLE: A radar-controlled gun that fires
Modifier Damage normal ammunition will be more expensive than a
Fixed mount weapon +0 bonus normal gun which fires radar-controlled projectiles.
60° arc weapon -3 penalty Conversely, ammunition for the first weapon is far
180° arc weapon -6 penalty cheaper than ammunition for the second weapon.
360° turret weapon -9 penalty
Nuke damage +60 bonus These modifiers can reflect the economic or
Indirect fire weapon -3 penalty political or science realities of a gameworld. For
Submunitions -3 penalty instance, if you already have flak guns, but you
Extended range -3 penalty can’t afford to retrofit them to radar controlled
Reduced range +1 bonus units, you get radar controlled projectiles instead. If
Bracketed range -1 penalty you have the money, but your science doesn’t
Placed weapon +6 bonus allow miniaturized components for radar controlled
Proximity fuzed -3 penalty flak shells, then you retrofit the weapons.
Triggered weapon +0 bonus
Untested technology -3 penalty Weapon arc(special) - Vehicle mounted
Autonomous weapon -3 penalty weapons have a default “0° arc”. This would be like
Guided weapons -3 penalty the broadsides of an old sailing ship, or the main
Specialized targeting +3 bonus cannon on the old Swedish S-tank. The vehicle must
Slow weapon +1 bonus be moved to aim the weapon, though some fine
Powered melee weapon special aiming of several degrees to either side is usually
Duration effect -3 penalty possible at the weapon itself. In game terms, it can
Declining duration effect -2 penalty fire only down a specific row of hexagons, with a
Continuous beam -3 penalty little leeway at longer ranges (a 15° arc of fire is
Line area -3 penalty about 1 meter wide per 4 meters of range). Most
Cone area (narrow) -6 penalty archaic artillery would be counted as fixed arc, but
Cone area (wide) -9 penalty will have the “gun carriage” modifier, which allows
Radius area -3 penalty them to be manually aimed in any direction (but
Non-damage effect +6 bonus this takes more time than a turret would).
Stopping power -1 penalty
Penetrating power +1 bonus Weapons with larger arcs of fire require more
Battering damage -1 penalty machinery to make this possible, so they do less
Adjustable damage -1 penalty damage for a given mass. That is, a 500 kilogram
Combined weapon +1 bonus gun will do more damage than a gun and turret
Recoil compensation -1 penalty that together weigh 500 kilograms. For purposes of
Self-charging -3 penalty extra ammunition storage, ignore the “weapon
Gun shield -1 penalty arc” and “gun carriage” modifiers. The mobility of
Gun carriage -3 penalty the turret does not affect the size of the ammo.
Dismountable weapon -1 penalty Each -3 of turret penalty halves the size of the
Generic gizmos -1 penalty weapon for ammo storage purposes.
Generic bonus +1 bonus
Generic penalty -1 penalty EXAMPLE: An Atomic Era weapon of 1 hexagon
(+30) in a 360° turret (-9 penalty) will do a damage
Advanced modifiers separate casual users of of 7d+0. The size of just the weapon is half the total
Stuff! from the übergeek weapon-porn users. These size for each -3 penalty, so the weapon is one-
modifiers are also going to be needed to recreate eighth of a hexagon, and external ammunition
sophisticated real-world weapons, or tweak designs storage would be based on this weapon size of
to match the known idiosyncracies of weapons or one-eighth hexagon, not the overall one hexagon
those from various SF or fantasy worlds. turret size.

2.15
 Nuke damage(+60) - At the Atomic Era and v1.0
later, explosive weapons can do damage based
on fission, fusion or other advanced principles. Just
Stuff!
add +60 to the effect. The cost would be like you
took the “increased ability” cost modifier twenty Indirect fire weapons are usually fired in
times (once per +3 in the effect), or a cost multiple quantity or in barrages, so that enough payloads
on the weapon of about x1000. Nuclear weapons are delivered that every hexagon in the target
WEAPONS

are usually going to be single use devices. If a area is hit at least once. On average, anyway.
reusable weapon fires nucelar devices, the cost There will always be areas hit harder than others.
multiplier applies to the ammunition instead.
Area(radius) to hit to hit one spot
EXAMPLE: An Atomic Era “backpack nuke” 1m -1 3 shots
would be a 100 millihex “one use” weapon with 2m -2 9 shots
half-lethal explosive damage, the “nuke” modifier 4m -4 30 shots
and the “placed weapon” modifier. Assuming no 8m -6 100 shots
other modifiers on damage, this would give it a 16m -8 400 shots
half-lethal explosive damage of 30d+0, which is 32m -10 1600 shots
roughly 40 kilotons of yield. The cost of the weapon 64m -12 6400 shots
would be about 600,000 Credits if you assume it is a 125m -14 25k shots
“placed” weapon and not a “handheld” one. 250m -16 100k shots
500m -18 400k shots
Historically, the minimum size for a nuclear
device is about 1 hexagon at Early Atomic Era and The “to hit” number is the decrease to difficulty
perhaps a quarter this for each fraction of an era to put a shot somewhere on a target that size. The
afterwards. “to hit one spot” is about the number of hits you
need to get on that area to have a fifty percent
Note - Technically, this would mean the 1 chance of a shot landing in a particular hexagon. If
millihex “atomic hand grenade” is not possible until you have an attack that fills a certain radius with a
the Late Post-Atomic Era. It would be about a useful effect (like an explosion), you can shift the
28d+0 explosion, so throw it really hard. “to hit one spot” row upward by the number of
rows in your radius of effect.
Indirect fire(-3) - An indirect fire weapon is one
that can shoot over or otherwise go around EXAMPLE: If you’re laying an artillery barrage
obstacles that block direct sight of a target. A into an area of 250 meter radius, and each artillery
mortar, long range rocket launcher or artillery piece shell has a useful effect out to a distance of at least
is an example. In practical terms, an indirect 8 meters, then you can shift the number of shots
weapon just falls on its target from a height. And you need to fire to hit a particular target by 4 rows
while this by itself could be anywhere from painful (8 meters is on the fourth row). So, in order to have
to fatal, indirect fire weapons usually rely on some a fifty percent chance of getting a specific hex in
sort of explosive warhead or area effect to do their the 8 meter blast radius of one of your shells, you
damage. Aside from being able to shoot over hills need to hit the area with at least 400 shells. Since a
and the like, indirect fire weapons can aim at areas 250 meter radius target is -16 difficulty to be hit, you
rather than things (for a substantial targeting bonus can probably lay a good percentage of your shots
for the size of the area). The tradeoff is that you only into this area from maximum range.
have a random chance of hitting a specific target
in that area, depending on the warhead of the Submunitions(-3) - The weapon is big enough to
weapon. have a payload that can be separated into smaller,
independent weapons. Artillery shells that dispense
Indirect fire weapons may also be guided cluster bombs would be an example. The main
weapons, like terminal homing rounds that seek a weapon or projectile is bought as having all the
target on their way down, and are often “slow” modifiers of the smaller ones, then apply -3 each
weapons that may take several seconds to a time you double the number of effects.
minute or more to reach their maximum range.
EXAMPLE: A mine-laying artillery shell is bought
as an +24(8d+0) lethal explosion that is triggered by
stepping on it. Then the submunition modifier is
taken five times. This doubles the number of attacks
five times (to thirty-two), but drops the damage of
each one by -15, down to +9(3d+0).

2.16
 Extended range(special) - As a broad and not
EABA entirely accurate generalization, weapons will lose
1d of damage at a range of their damage level
plus 10, and 1d more each 2 range levels thereafter.
Submunitions can be dispensed more or less Just look at the EABA Universal Chart (EABA, page
within reason, like in a line, a circular or elliptical 3.4), find the damage of the weapon based solely
area, and so on, but there will always be some on its size, tech era and type, add 10 and see what
random variation in the distribution, and the main the corresponding range is.
weapon’s to hit roll will determine how close the
submunitions are distributed to their intended EXAMPLE: A 2d+0 pistol bullet (damage level of
target. As a rough density guide, use “Size” on the 6) will go to 1d+0 damage at a range of 90 meters
EABA Universal Chart to represent the diameter (distance level of 16), and then to 0d damage at a
of the area, and then double the level. Subtract range of 175 meters (distance level of 18).
from this a “Size” level equal to the number of sub-
munitions, a Size level appropriate to the target size This isn’t entirely accurate. A 1d+0 pistol bullet
and a movement level to represent how much (damage level of 3) will still bore a hole in your skull
terrain is being covered. This number or better has at a range of 32 meters (distance level of 13), but
to be rolled on 3d+0 to encounter a submunition in a 4d+0 rifle bullet (damage level of 12) will lose 1d
that area on a turn of movement, or on the turn of damage long before a range of 700 meters
they are placed. This sounds like a pain in the neck (distance level of 22). In water, they would both
to figure out, but it isn’t that bad... lose damage far faster, and in a vacuum, neither
would lose damage at all. Neither would the drop
EXAMPLE: If you drop 125 anti-vehicle mines of damage with range apply to things like explosive
over an area 250 meters in diameter, it would be warheads, though the “base” damage of the
something like this: An area 250 meters in diameter weapon could be used to determine its maximum
is a “Size” of 14, which is doubled to 28. A “Size” of range (see Explosive Damage, EABA page 5.7).
125 submunitions is a level of 12, which subtracts
from 28, leaving 16. We’ll say the size of the vehicle For Stuff! purposes, the damage level used to
these are made for is 6 meters, which is a Size level determine this range is the damage you get for the
of 3. This subtracts from 16, leaving a 13. So, each size of the weapon, the tech era and whether it is
turn a vehicle that size drives through the mined handheld, etc., with no other modifiers applied.
area, it has to roll a 13 or more (on 3d+0) to be hit Otherwise every time you tacked on a modifier you
(or a 12 or less to be safe). The number would be would have to change the range of the weapon.
reduced by the movement level used, since if you
are covering more area, you have a better chance EXAMPLE: An Atomic Era rifle (base damage of
of hitting one or seeing it too late to get out of the +30) of 8 millihexes (-21 penalty) that was handheld
way. A larger vehicle would be easier to hit, a (+3 bonus) will have a damage level of 12 (4d+0
smaller one harder. Similarly, if the submunitions damage) for all rules relating to range vs. damage.
were something like little shaped charges on It does not count whether it is autofire, has bulky
parachutes, the chance of one randomly landing ammunition or is unreliable or anything except tech
on the top of your vehicle if you are there when era, size and weapon type.
they are dropped would also be a 13 or better.
The extended range modifier is there so that
The math isn’t perfect, but it’s close enough for weapons of extraordinary range can be designed
gaming purposes... (like for starships). This modifier may be taken more
than once. Each time it is taken, the range at which
the first damage loss occurs is increased by 4, and
the increments for further loss are increased by 1
each two times you take this modifier. Huh? See the
following table for an illustration of both the
extended and reduced range modifiers.

2.17
 Design Range before Range per extra v1.0
modifier -1d damage
+6 Damage level - 14
-1d damage
+1 range level
Stuff!
+5 Damage level - 10 +1 range level
+4 Damage level - 6 +1 range level Reduced range operates in exactly the reverse
+3 Damage level - 2 +1 range level manner, except that if the modifier is taken more
+2 Damage level + 2 +1 range level than twice, the maximum range becomes shorter
WEAPONS

+1 Damage level + 6 +2 range levels than the damage level of the weapon, and it loses
+0 Damage level + 10 +2 range levels 1d for each range band after the first time you take
-3 Damage level + 14 +2 range levels it. Reduced range cannot be taken more than six
-6 Damage level + 18 +3 range levels times (+6 damage), and taking it at this level usually
-9 Damage level + 22 +3 range levels reduces the range of the weapon to zero, This is the
-12 Damage level + 26 +4 range levels same as the “placed weapon” modifier. A placed
-15 Damage level + 30 +4 range levels weapon from the basic design rules is simply a
-18 Damage level + 34 +5 range levels weapon with six levels of reduced range.

EXAMPLE: You have a weapon with a damage Reduced range mainly exists so that extremely
of 8d+0 (damage level of 24), but you are also powerful weapons can have realistic ranges for
mounting it in a spaceship to fire at absurdly distant their tech era, or so that short range, high power
targets. You apply “extended range” four times. weapons can be developed. One level of reduced
This reduces the weapon’s damage to 4d+0 but range gives pretty good results for lightweight, high
adds 16 to the range at which it starts to lose velocity bullets, like many modern assault rifles or
damage (instead of damage level + 10, it is now small caliber personal defense weapons. In
damage level + 26). In this case, the weapon would addition, thrown weapons are assumed to already
not lose the first 1d of damage until a range level of have three levels of reduced range and six levels of
50. That is, you took “extended range” four times for slow weapon (page 2.23), and cannot use either of
a -12 modifier on damage. So, see the -12 row on these modifiers.
the table above and add +26 to the base damage
level of 24 to get the range where you lose EXAMPLE: If the “reduced range” modifier were
damage). Further, instead of damage dropping by taken four times on the 8d+0 weapon from the
-1d each 2 range levels, it drops off each 4 range previous example, the weapon would go to 9d+1
levels (+2 for having the modifier four times). This (damage level of 28), but the range at which it
means the weapon has the following damage starts to lose damage is a range level of 18 (see the
profile: +4 row on the table and add the base damage
level of 24). Plus, it would lose 1d from damage
Damage Out to: each range band past this. The damage profile
4d+0 11,000 kilometers (range of 50) would look like this:
3d+0 45,000 kilometers (range of 54)
2d+0 180,000 kilometers (range of 58) Damage Out to:
1d+0 700,000 kilometers (range of 62) 9d+1 175 meters (range of 18)
8d+1 250 meters (range of 19)
Don’t worry about trying to manually figure out 7d+1 350 meters (range of 20)
absurdly long ranges. There is an extended version 6d+1 500 meters (range of 21)
of the EABA Universal Chart in the back of these 5d+1 700 meters (range of 22)
rules for just that purpose. etc.

Note - If you’re worrying that the examples

above are off by one meter, you’re taking this way
too seriously.

Reduced range also works for most large-bore

and archaic weapons. Modern artillery is unlikely to
have a maximum range of more than 45 kilometers
(range of 34), archaic naval cannon no more than
16 kilometers (range of 31) and most siege engines
could not range past 500 meters (range of 21).
Reduced range, bulky ammunition, slow weapon
(page 2.23) and battering damage (page 2.27)
give best results for primitive siege weapons.

2.18
 EXAMPLE: If the weapon was an explosive-
EABA tipped missle and we used the extended range
example, it would mean the missile does full
damage (4d+0) out to 700,000 kilometers. If we
EXAMPLE: If you did real-world ballistic tests and used the reduced range example, it would mean
converted the results into EABA terms, you would the missile has a maximum range of 175 meters (the
get the following results. Remember, the damage furthest range where it does maximum damage).
for range purposes is based on the weapon size,
tech era and type, so it will not be the same as the This can be used to represent a powerful short
actual damage. The first number is the real-world range weapon, like a portable anti-tank rocket. If a
result, the second is the Stuff! result. Range is in weapon has a maximum range of zero, it means it
meters, with the range level in parenthesis after it, is a placed weapon like a satchel charge or mine,
like 90m(16) would indicate that a range of 90 a dropped weapon like a bomb or a thrown like a
meters is a range level of 16. grenade. Its range is however far you can throw it,
roll it down a hill, drop it from a height, or set it so
9mm 5.56mm with red. that someone stumbles over it (like a mine).
Range (level 6) (level 12) range x 1
0m(0) 2d+1/2d+1 4d+1/4d+1 4d+1/4d+1 Note! - A weapon that fires a projectile with a
11m(10) 2d+1/2d+1 4d+1/4d+1 4d+1/4d+1 long enough range can loft things into orbit. How
23m(12) 2d+0/2d+1 4d+0/4d+1 4d+0/4d+1 do you design this? Fairly easily, as it turns out. First,
45m(14) 2d+0/2d+1 4d+0/4d+1 4d+0/4d+1 just the tech era and size of the weapon need to
90m(16) 1d+2/1d+1 4d+0/4d+1 4d+0/4d+1 have a certain damage for orbital/escape velocity:
175m(18) 1d+0/0d+1 3d+2/4d+1 3d+2/3d+1
350m(20) 0d+2/0d+0 3d+0/4d+1 3d+0/2d+1 Gravity Orbital v. Escape v.
700m(22) 0d+1/0d+0 2d+0/3d+1 2d+0/1d+1 .15g (Moon) 7d+0 8d+0
.25g 8d+0 9d+0
You can see that for such a simple drop-off rule .40g (Mars) 10d+0 11d+0
(damage level + 10), it does a passable job for the .60g 11d+0 14d+0
9mm round. However, the 5.56mm round (second .80g 16d+0 17d+0
column) is another matter. The normal Stuff! rule 1.0g (Earth) 19d+0 20d+0
allows the round to keep damage way past its real 1.20g 22d+0 23d+0
world numbers. However, if we gave the 5.56mm 1.40g 25d+0 26d+0
round one level of reduced range, it would look
more like the third column, and while it is not Yes, a high-powered rifle can put bullets into
perfect, it is a much closer match. lunar orbit. Then, the weapon needs to have a
minimum range before it starts losing damage of at
Note - Little tweaks like this are really more detail least the orbit you want to reach (at least range 40
than you need for ninety-nine percent of all role- for escape velocity). Last, you tailor the size of your
playing uses. That’s why this is part of the advanced payload based on the size of the launcher (default
design rules. Dig rules like this out only when it is shot is 1/200th weapon size). Maybe make it a non-
absolutely necessary or you have nothing better to aimable vehicle weapon, give it an extended
do... reload time and you’re done!

When extended or reduced range is applied to EXAMPLE: A Jules Verne style cannon capable
weapons with explosive or shaped charge damage, of shooting a shell full of passengers to the Moon
it acts differently. For extended range, it does drop (discounting the fact that the acceleration would
the weapon damage, but the weapon does this turn them into strawberry jam) would need to do at
damage at all ranges where it would normally do least 20d+0 damage for its size and tech era, which
at least 1d+0 in damage. For reduced range, the would be a 4,000 hexagon weapon, which would
base damage is increased, but the absolute fire a default shell of about 20 hexagons in volume,
maximum range of the weapon is the last range more than enough to carry a few people and
band where it does full damage, unless the means supplies.
of doing explosive damage would reasonably drop
with range. For instance, a flamethrower might
splatter less at long range than short range.

2.19
 Bracketed range(-1) - Bracketed range is a v1.0
specialized case usually applied to explosive
weapons. The designer sets a minimum weapon
Stuff!
range. The weapon does no explosive damage
within this range. For instance, if you had a plane Triggered weapon(+0) - Many placed weapons
dropping nuclear bombs, you would want the can be triggered, and this has no extra space or
bombs to have a safe arming distance so they cost. For a placed weapon that can be triggered
WEAPONS

wouldn’t blow up the plane dropping them. Just by being run over or stepped on (but which has no
because a weapon does no explosive damage proximity fuze), the trigger has a skill roll of 2d+0. This
doesn’t mean it does no damage. A person getting roll is made vs. a difficulty of 3 for a “perfect” target,
hit by an unarmed anti-tank missile is still going to and the difficulty is modified by anything outside
be in serious trouble! If this is the case, subtract 6d that range. If a triggered weapon is ranged, and
from the damage to represent the impact damage aimed at a particular spot, it also uses the 2d+0 skill
of the unarmed weapon and make it half-lethal roll to hit, if it triggers. For weight ranges, something
instead of lethal effect. If a weapon has any sort of will trigger fairly reliably if it is within a factor of three
proximity, autonomous or guided weapon modifier, of the “perfect” weight (about five weight levels).
it may have bracketed range at no penalty to
damage. A weapon with bracketed range and an EXAMPLE: An anti-personnel mine is meant to
explosive effect can usually be set to automatically be triggered by a normal person (80 kilograms, a
explode once it reaches a given distance or a weight level of 8). An 80 kilogram person stepping
certain time delay. This could be a manually set on the mine means it rolls 2d+0 and tries to get 3 or
fuze prior to the Middle Atomic Era, or a computer- better. A 100 kilogram person on a 200 kilogram
programmed time delay at the Middle Atomic Era motorcycle would be a total weight level of 14, 6
and later. levels off the “perfect” weight, so the mine would
have to roll 9 or more on 2d+0 to trigger if run over
Proximity fuze(-3) - This applies only to area by the motorcycle. If it fails the roll, its trigger thinks
effects like explosions or radius effects, which can the target is outside the right weight range and
harm a target even if a direct hit is not scored. doesn’t fire. Similarly, an 80 kilogram person that
Proximity fuzes become possible in the Atomic Era. steps on an anti-vehicle mine meant for a multi-ton
The user sets a maximum distance at which the vehicle is quite unlikely to trigger it.
explosive warhead will detonate. This becomes the
target size for purposes of aiming modifiers, not the Remember that explosives do +1d damage if
actual size of the target. Any hit that misses by this they are in contact with a target, so a land mine
amount or less triggers the explosion at the range would usually have +1d effect on what triggered it.
appropriate to the degree of the miss. If a triggered weapon like a land mine takes an
“enhanced capability” on its cost, each level will
EXAMPLE: If you had a 7d+0 explosion, it would increase the spread over which it can trigger. For
do 3d+0 to anything within 4-7 meters (see EABA, instance, one level of enhanced capability would
page 5.7). Seven meters is about the size of a truck mean target numbers are increased by 1 for each 2
or tank, which would be a called shot difficulty of -4 levels of weight difference instead of for each level.
(four points easier to hit). Any shot with the weapon
that misses by four points or less means that the EXAMPLE: An United States M-19 anti-tank mine
explosion still goes off, but the target will be in the (approximately 12.5 kilograms) designed as an
3d+0 damage range, not the 7d+0 of a direct hit. Atomic Era weapon would be:

Proximity fuzes are best when the size of an Atomic Era +30
explosion or area effect is large compared to the Easy technology +3
size of the intended target. A seven meter explosion Weapon of 16 millihex -18
doesn’t need a proximity fuze if targeting a three 50% extra space +2
hundred meter battleship. Similarly, if the weapon One use weapon +6
will eventually hit something, a proximity fuze may Shaped charge x 2 +6
not be necessary. Artillery shells go off when they hit Placed weapon +6
the ground, and if the target is nearby, it gets some Triggered weappon +0
of the effect. You don’t need to proximity fuze the Modifier total +33
warhead. On the other hand, if you are trying to Total 11d+2 lethal
affect an airplane surrounded by a whole lot of (plus 6d+2 half-lethal explosion)
nothing, proximity fuzes might be a good idea.
This weapon has zero range. It is not even
proximity fuzed. You have to run over it to set it off.

2.20
 Guided weapon(-3) - The autonomous weapon
EABA modifier can also be used for user-guided weapons.
The difference is that a guided weapon’s skill roll is
+1 at Industrial Era and +1 to that for each era after
Untested technology(-3) - This is really a catch- that, but that skill roll adds to the user’s ability. The
all modifier. It represents a culture trying to use a bonus to user skill may not exceed the user’s natural
particular means to do damage for the first time. limits with that skill.
It’s another way of looking at the “hard technology”
modifier from the basic design section (page 2.4). EXAMPLE: If a user has a skill roll with “guided
For instance, the first cannon shot large metal rockets” of +1d, and the maximum possible skill
arrows instead of cannonballs. This was not a very bonus for their Agility is +2d, then a guided anti-tank
effective use of the technology, and they quickly rocket will never give this person more than a +1d
stopped doing it. However, for the subset of an era bonus to their existing skill (a total skill bonus of +2d).
where the tech is first turned into a weapon, this
modifier may apply. Once a “battle proven” This skill roll is used for targeting just as a person
weapon has been developed, subsequent designs would use the weapon, but with certain preset
will no longer have this penalty. A modern example conditions. For instance, an user-guided air-defense
might be point defense laser weapons. We have system would not shoot ground targets, or might
nothing but prototypes, and none have been only shoot at air targets that are not equipped with
tested under actual combat conditions. They would a radio transponder broadcasting a specific “I’m
take this penalty. Maybe by later in the Atomic Era friendly, don’t shoot me!” signal.
we will have the bugs worked out.
A robot or other construct with indepdent
Autonomous weapon(-3) - An autonomous decision making capability would still take this
weapon is much like a placed weapon, but with modifier, as it mainly represents the ability to finely
range or some degree of brains. They are only aim the weapon. The actual “brains” are a minor
possible at the middle of the Industrial Era or later. part of the weapon’s size, but the one most
Instead of a fixed 2d+0 skill roll, they get 1d+0 at important for the number of skill dice available. An
Industrial Era, and +1d each era after that (or +1 for autonomous weapon in something like a self-aware
a fraction of an era). Note that an autonomous robot could either fire using the robot’s skill and a
weapon almost requires some form of electronics, great deal of flexibility, or act autonomously at its
which is why they are not available in the early part inherent skill, but only according to its pre-set
of the Industrial Era. parameters. Just because you’ve taken out the
main AI doesn’t mean the automated security
An autonomous weapon uses its skill roll to “see” lasers have gone dead...
the target each round, and cannot be fired until it
makes its first roll (the “lock on”). If an autonomous A placed weapon that is autonomous is one
weapon is in any way aimed by a person (like a with a triggering condition appropriate to the tech
shoulder-fired rocket), it can’t be fired until the era. Middle Industrial Era and earlier are going to
person makes their first roll to acquire the target. If it be mechanical triggers or time fuzes. A clockwork
loses target lock on one turn and does not regain it automatic fuze could be quite sophisticated,
on the next roll, it misses. It veers off, crashes into the acting in different ways at different times of day or
gorund, self-destructs, just goes straight ahead or changing the weight or number of triggering
otherwise becomes uncontrolled. Autonomous and incidents before it does particular actions. Only in
user-guided weapons use their skill roll against a the Late Industrial Era and later will things like
range of one turn’s worth of movement on the turn electronic or magnetic sensors become available.
it would hit the target (also see the “slow weapon” Placed weapons require that the target come to
modifier, page 2.23). If it had lock-on on the the weapon, rather than the other way around,
previous turn, it may use its Accuracy bonus, and and are always specified as to a time or time
get +1 per round of successful “aiming” (up to +3), range, or a target type.
just as for any other aimed weapon.

Note! - Yes, this does mean that faster weapons

are going to be harder to hit with (because they
have a longer range from one turn’s worth of
movement). They have less time to “think” about
how they are going to adjust their course, but on
the other hand, the target has less time to spot or
react to it.

2.21
 Both the autonomous and guided weapon v1.0
modifiers may be taken up to twice. You simply
take up more space in the weapon for the
Stuff!
guidance mechanisms. Similarly, it can be taken in
fractional amounts for a lesser or pro-rated bonus EXAMPLE: A range-finding telescopic sight with
(round all fractions towards the lower skill bonus). ballistic compensation might be a +2 guided
weapon bonus (Atomic Era). The designer decides
WEAPONS

EXAMPLE: A Post-Atomic Era user-guided to split this between a +1 to user skill and +2 to
weapon gives a +1d skill bonus (+1 at Industrial Era, weapon Accuracy. It would still only count as one
+1 more at Atomic Era, +1 more at Post-Atomic weapon enhancement for figuring the weapon’s
Era). This modifier also drops weapon damage by cost. This sight gives the user a +1 to their weapon
1d. So, you could easily say that each +1 skill bonus skill roll in all cases, and if they aim, they get their
is worth a -1 penalty to damage. weapon’s Accuracy, which is increased by 2 over
the basic weapon because of this sight.
A full +1d of guided weapon or +2d of an
autonomous weapon bonus maybe given up to ADVANCED TOPIC: ADVANCED TARGETING
give the weapon a +1d “larger than life” bonus. EABA is a role-playing system that uses a “people”
That is, the weapon (for autonomous weapons) or scale, not a “vehicle” scale. For roleplaying, a
the user (for guided weapons) can keep the “best hand-held weapon Accuracy of up to 7 gives good
four” die in a roll rather than the “best three”. This results, allowing a good shot with a good weapon
really only becomes a factor for Post-Atomic Era to hit a person-sized target out to several hundred
weapons, but it can make them devastatingly meters, further if the weapon is braced. By the Early
effective. This “larger than life” bonus can be taken Atomic Era, useful technological targeting aids
twice for Advanced Era weapons. become possible, allowing direct fire to ranges far
beyond those possible for an unaided human. These
EXAMPLE: A Post-Atomic Era guided weapon aids will take two forms. The first is an extremely high
can have up to a +2d skill bonus if the modifier is Accuracy stat. This represents a very precise aiming
taken twice. This could be a +1d skill bonus and the system, but the weapon still requires a major action
ability for the user to keep the “best four”. An to aim in order to gain this Accuracy.
Advanced Era autonomous weapon could have
have up to an 8d+0 skill roll. This could be converted Accuracy limit
into a 6d+0 skill roll for the weapon and the ability Tech Era mounted wpn. handheld wpn.
for it to keep the “best four”. Early Primitive 3 2
Primitive 4 2
Up to now we have been assuming that an Late Primitive 5 3
autonomous or guided weapon is something like a Early Basic 6 3
rocket, where the user or guidance system has to Basic 7 4
constantly track its target. A guided weapon can Late Basic 8 4
also represent a targeting aid mounted on a Early Industrial 10 5
conventional weapon. This simply provides a bonus Industrial 11 6
to the user’s skill to hit under a particular set of Late Industrial 13 7
circumstances or against a particular target type. A Early Atomic 15 8
guided weapon bonus may be applied to weapon Atomic 18 9
Accuracy instead of user skill on a 1 for 2 basis. That Late Atomic 21 11
is, 1 point of skill or 1d of autonomous weapon Early Post-Atomic 25 13
bonus can become +2 to weapon Accuracy. This is Post-Atomic 29 15
part of the design process and may not be Late Post-Atomic 34 17
changed later. Any skill bonus of more than +1 may Early Advanced 40 20
also be split between skill bonus and Accuracy. Advanced 47 24
Remember that weapon Accuracy only applies if Late Advanced 55 28
you take a major action to aim.
The second is one or more levels of the Trait
Note - This ability to gain Accuracy does overlap Larger than Life (EABA, page 2.14), only usable for
somewhat with the concept of weapon gizmos that particular weapon. Post-Atomic Era weapons
(page 2.29). It works best for high-tech weapons can have one level, and Advanced Era weapons
that have phenomenal accuracy due to weapon can have two. The full benefit of technology is only
improvements we haven’t thought of yet, while available for vehicular weapons, but Accuracy of
gizmos are things we have or have at least thought half the maximum can be used for hand-held
about. weapons to reflect advanced sighting aids.

2.22
 The first time you take the “slow weapon”
EABA modifier, its speed per turn becomes 1000 meters
per second. Each extra time you take the modifier,
weapon speed is halved.
Specialized targeting(+3) - User-guided or
autonomous weapons must have a “target type”. Modifier Damage
Heat-seeking anti-aircraft missiles would be an 1000 meters per turn(36) +1 bonus
example. Generally, the “target type” is the 500 meters per turn(32) +2 bonus
environment in which the target typically resides. 250 meters per turn(28) +3 bonus
These environments would normally be “surface”, 125 meters per turn(24) +4 bonus
“air”, “underwater” and “vacuum”. The default for 64 meters per turn(20) +5 bonus
an autonomous weapon is to be able to go after 32 meters per turn(16) +6 bonus
any target in that environment. A weapon with 16 meters per turn(12) +7 bonus
“specialized targeting” has to further narrow its 8 meters per turn(8) +8 bonus
target type to a specific characteristic within that 4 meters per turn +9 bonus
environment. For instance, “radar homing anti- 2 meters per turn +10 bonus
aircraft” or “acoustic homing torpedo”. It cannot 1 meter per turn +11 bonus
engage any target outside this type.
The number in parentheses is the range level of
Note! - In a real-world design sense, all guided the maximum range a ballistic object like a cannon
or autonomous weapons will have specialized ball would fly if it had that velocity (ignoring drag
targeting. We have yet to come up with an anti- effects). This lets you get maximum accurate use
aircraft missile that can switch between heat from the reduced range modifier.
seeking, radar homing and optical pattern
matching, depending on the type of airborne EXAMPLE: You design up a medeival siege
target. If you want to shoot down everything weapon. You’re not aiming it at anything faster
airborne, you mount a targeting sight to an auto- than a castle, so you want the weapon to be slow
cannon and put a person behind the trigger... as possible and still have suitable range. You look
up a range level of 20, and see that this is 350
Slow weapon(+1 or more) - Most weapons are meters, sufficient for your purposes. So, you give
assumed to hit their target the instant they are fired. your siege weapon a +5 “slow weapon” bonus,
For most role-playing situations, this is going to work and then figure a reduced range modifier that
just fine. However, for some weapons it is possible gives you sufficient damage at a range level of 20
there could be a significant delay between firing (350 meters).
the weapon and when it gets there. This modifier is
usually only used on guided or autonomous You can use this in conjunction with “reduced
weapons that are designed to “reach out and range” and “bracketed range” modifiers to get just
touch someone”. So, no, you can’t make a “slow” about any speed and range parameters want.
land mine just to get extra damage, nor do you However, if a weapon is supposed to reach its
usually apply it to guns, but you might say a bow or maximum range in one turn, it usually will not have
crossbow has “slow” ammo. Any direct fire target the “slow weapon” modifier.
outside a second’s flight time gets double its
movement modifier for each second of distance. EXAMPLE: You design up a weapon that has a
maximum effective range of 40 meters, and it gets
Note - For EABA combat purposes (assuming to 40 meters on the turn it is fired. Unless the nature
human reaction times), a weapon with one or two of the weapon is that it is “dodgeable”, you cannot
levels of “slow weapon” cannot be deliberately take any “slow weapon” modifier. That is, you
dodged (it is too fast to see and/or get out of the cannot play “Timmy powergamer” and get a free
way of). Weapons with three levels can be dodged, +2 to damage by saying it has a “slow weapon”
and each level after that would be a +1 to dodging bonus which is undodgeable but is also irrelevant
ability (slow things are easier to dodge). Most considering the weapon’s maximum range of 40
muscle-powered ranged weapons like bows and meters.
crossbows will have three levels of “slow weapon”,
since they can be dodged. Remember that since
these are Strength-based weapons, three levels of
slow weapon is only +1 to damage. Thrown melee
weapons are assumed to already have six levels of
slow weapon and three levels of reduced range
and cannot take either of these modifiers.

2.23
 EXAMPLE: Let’s say you wanted to design an v1.0
Atomic Era laser-homing missile designed for use
against ground targets. You want it to have a
Stuff!
minimum arming distance of 50 meters, a range of
2 kilometers and a top speed of 500 meters per ADVANCED TOPIC: ENERGY BLADES
turn. And we’ll say the missile is fired from a A melee weapon that has a “laser blade” or other
disposable cannister just to make things easy. The form of damage that requires continuous power
WEAPONS

laser illuminator that is used to “paint” the target is would be a ranged weapon with the “reduced
a separate item and would be designed elsewhere range”(+6), “detrimental special effect (requires a
in Stuff!. melee skill roll/short blade length)”(+2), and
“continuous beam”(-3) modifiers. The damage
Atomic Era damage +30 done by such a blade would be independent of
Weapon of 125 millihex -9 the Strength of the user, since it is not relying on
One use weapon +6 moving mass to get its penetration.
Shaped charge x 4 +12
Side effect (backblast) +1 Duration effect(-3) - A duration effect is one
Reduced range (dmg. level + 2) +2 that continues after the firer has finished their action
Bracketed range (40 meters) -0 or moved on to other targets. A flamethrower
Guided weapon -6 would be an example of a duration effect. Each
Specialized targeting +3 time the modifier is taken, the duration is increased
Slow weapon (500 meters/turn) +2 by 2 levels (doubling it). The first doubling goes from
Tripod mounted weapon +2 a duration of an “instant” to 2 seconds (the turn the
Modifier total +43 weapon is fired, and the turn after that). The target
Total 14d+1 takes damage at the same point in each turn of
the original amount (which may be re-rolled if the
The base damage for the weapon is +23(or gamemaster allows). At the end of the duration,
7d+2), for tech era, size, and tripod mounted, so the damage stops. This modifier is not appropriate
with the reduced range modifier it has a normal for all types of attacks or tech eras, so it should be
range before it starts losing damage of 23 used carefully.
(damage level) plus 2 equals distance 25 (2
kilometers). And since this is an explosive warhead, Declining duration effect(-2) - Similar to a
this 2 kilometer range becomes the absolute duration effect, but the damage is reduced by the
maximum range. elapsed duration, with a maximum duration based
on the number of levels bought.
Artillery pieces are another use for this modifier.
They may be firing at targets kilometers away, and EXAMPLE: A “declining duration” taken twice
rather than aiming at a thing (which can move out would give a total duration of 4 seconds. The
of the way), they aim at an area, and hope that original attack would do normal damage. At
targets are in that area by the time the shells land. second 2 (time level of 2), damage would be the
original damage minus 0d+2. At second 3 (time
Powered melee weapon(special) - A melee level of 3), damage would be the original damage
weapon is always designed as Primitive Era for minus 1d+0, and on the last second the damage
damage purposes, but this does not mean would be the original damage minus 1d+1.
technology can’t be used to enhance it. An
electrified police baton would be an example. A
powered melee weapon would use the “combined
weapon” modifier (+1 bonus, page 2.27) and
would consist of a normal melee weapon and a
technologically appropriate weapon with the
“thrown/placed weapon” modifier (+6 bonus) and
a “beneficial side effect” (-2 penalty) that if the
main weapon hits, the other weapon does as well.
The net effect is to have two melee weapons, but
one has to have a power supply or ammunition in
order to function. If you are not using EABA, this
modifier could be used for a “flaming sword” or
other magical item. If you are using EABA, weapons
with paranormal effects are best bought as
enchanted items.

2.24
 Cone area(-6) - This is handled exactly the
EABA same way as a line area, but it is a lot easier to hit
with. A narrow cone (-6) counts as a permanent 6
point bonus to hit, and a wide cone (-9) gives a 12
Continuous beam(-3) - Effects like continuous point bonus to hit. In most non-combat and combat
laser beams can be handled as an autofire attack, situations these effects are usually going to
a shotgun attack, or use this modifier. A continuous automatically hit (hold your arms out at
beam modifier means that as long as the weapon about a 60 degree angle and try to
is “on”, anything crossing its path is automatically imagine how you would miss).
hit. This is like an autofire attack, but each extra hit The area fills a cone 30 or
adds +1d damage to the first hit. That is, you only 60 degrees wide, as
get one hit, but the damage it does is increased on shown below:
a better to hit roll. In game terms, continuous beams
can be used to deny an area to anyone not willing
to be hit, or to automatically hit something that
passes through that area between one firing action
and the next. Ten “shots” for the weapon counts as
a continuous beam for one second.
1d+0
Note - If you don’t want a continuous beam to
automatically hit anything that crosses the area,
use a skill roll to initially aim the beam, and count Wide cone (-9)
only range and target size for determining if there is
a hit. Since this is a passive effect, there is no A cone effect
2d+0
multiple action penalty by the shooter if multiple can usually hit any
targets cross the beam. number of targets in its area
simultaneously, but those close
3d+0
Line area(-3) - A line area is an area one behind or in the shadow of larger
hexagon wide that extends from the tip of the targets would be treated
weapon. A weapon with line area is assumed to 4d+0 similarly to blocked
automatically have the maximum level of the targets of a line effect
“reduced range” modifier, for which it does not weapon.
get the damage bonus.
Narrow cone (-6)
EXAMPLE: A weapon with line area and a
damage for its size of 4d+0 (damage level of
12) would do 4d+0 at the tip of the weapon,
and lose 1d of damage at each range band
past zero.
If a
This can be bought up with the “extended weapon
1d+0
range” modifier as needed. In combat terms, a has both a
line area automatically hits anything that its line cone area
crosses, but targeting a specific item on that 1d+0 and adjustable
line is not automatic. If your shot with a regular damage, it can be
weapon would miss by more than a meter, the assumed that it you adjust
fact that your “bullet” is a meter wide won’t the cone down to a point 2d+0
help. Practically speaking, it is a permanent 2 or narrow beam, allowing
point bonus to hit. If a line effect intersects a the weapon to be used with
3d+0
target, it usually stops at that point, or if it can only a -3 damage modifier and 3
go through or around the target, it loses 2d+0 2d+0 levels of reduced range (instead of 6).
of damage plus the size level of the target.
4d+0
EXAMPLE: You design a “phazer rifle”
EXAMPLE: A 3d+0 flamethrower blasts some with adjustable damage(-1) and a cone area
unlucky soul, but 1d+0 of the jellied fuel laps 3d+0 (-6), with a final damage of 6d+0. You can use the
around him or splatters and continues on rifle as a 6d+0 cone area attack, or narrow the
downrange. A flamethrower burst hitting a car beam to a 7d+0 normal attack with a longer range.
(say a size level of 2) would stop 2d+2 of the
4d+0
burst from continuing on (2d+0 base, +2 for the Line area (-3)
car’s size level).
2.25
 Radius area(-3) - A radius area fills an area a v1.0
certain number of hexagons across, including in the
vertical dimension. If the effect happens in mid-air,
Stuff!
the effect is a sphere. The base radius is enough to
fill one hexagon, and for each extra -3, the radius Stopping power(-1) - This is one of the nebulous
doubles, first to one meter radius, then two, then terms that various experts will argue about until they
four, and so on. A one meter radius fills the center are blue in the face. In Stuff! terms, it means the
WEAPONS

hexagon and all the surrounding hexagons. weapon has a greater capacity for injury than for
armor penetration. You apply -1 to damage, but
Anything in the area of effect is automatically damage that penetrates armor is increased by +2.
hit with the weapon’s effect, and the radius means So, against unarmored or lightly armored targets,
that the user can target either an individual, or any you get a net +1 to damage.
area that would include them.
EXAMPLE: A fan of the venerable .45 ACP and
EXAMPLE: Centering a radius effect attack on a firm believer in its “stopping power” designs up a
person would be done by targeting the person. Just pistol with 2d+1 damage. If the “stopping power”
trying to hit the person would be done by targeting modifier is applied, damage drops to 2d+0, but if
an area that would include them. the weapon hits an unarmored target, you add +2,
making it 2d+2. If the target had 2d+0 armor, the
To get the bonus, simply take the diameter and normal 2d+1 pistol would do 0d+1 damage, but the
find it on the size column of the EABA Universal 2d+0 “stopping power” version would do nothing.
Chart (EABA, page 3.4). This level is the weapon’s
bonus to hit. Penetrating power(+1) - The weapon has a
better ability to penetrate armor than it does to
EXAMPLE: An attack with a diameter of 8 damage tissue. A small diameter, high velocity
meters is a size level of 4, so the weapon gets a round might have this characteristic. It adds +1 to
4 point bonus to hit. the damage of the weapon for penetrating any
armor, but damage after any armor is penetrated is
Non-damage effect(+6) - Sometimes a weapon reduced by -2. However, if anything penetrates
doesn’t do damage. This is another case where armor, damage is always at least 1 point.
EABA players might be looking for a tech solution
for a paranormal problem. For instance, an EXAMPLE: A fan of the new 4.6mm personal
illumination flare might use the “non-damage” defense round and firm believer in its “penetrating
modifier, but the nature of the campaign might be power” designs up a pistol with 2d+1 damage. With
such that they should be using a paranormal focus the “penetrating power” modifier, it has 2d+2
with the “acts as an Attribute” modifier. damage. But against an unarmored target, it only
does 2d+0 damage, less than the version without
The “non-damage effect” usually means that this modifier. If the target had 2d+1 armor, the
the weapon acts as an Attribute on the target or normal 2d+1 pistol would do no damage, but the
anything in an area of effect. An entanglement “penetrating power” version would do 1 point.
weapon like a net gun might act as Strength or
penalty to Health which competes against the Penetrating and stopping power on damage
target to slow or prevent their movement, while an are indicated by a superscripted p or s after the
illumination flare might act as an Awareness that damage, while battering power (see next page)
anyone in its area could use to see things with, or a uses a superscripted b. For instance, a 2d+1
smoke cloud an Awareness that subtracts from that weapon with “penetrating power” would be listed
of anyone in the area. A tranquilizer gun might be as a damage of 2d+1p, and one with “stopping
bought as non-lethal damage, but it might also be power” would be listed as 2d+1s. For stopping,
bought as an Agility that subtracts from the target penetrating and battering power modifiers, armor
for a given duration. only applies to materials that the weapon is not
considered armor-piercing against. For instance,
If you are trying to stay completely within a heavy clothing may be 0d+1 armor, but it is not an
tech-based framework, use this modifier and take appropriate armor against bullets or the blunt
care with the nature of the effect you are trying to trauma of catapult stones. If a weapon would
generate. normally ignore the level of armor it hits, it does not
trigger any armor-specific effects.

2.26
 Adjustable damage(-1) - The weapon has a
EABA function or mechanism that allows you dial in the
damage you want, anywhere from 0d+1 up to the
normal damage of the weapon, and usually up to
Battering power(-1 per +3) - Very large bore +1d more, if the weapon is assumed to be a level
weapons firing solid shot often have this modifier, as more unreliable for those shots. An example would
would catapults and similar archaic weapons. be a binary propellant weapon. A weapon with
Modern weapons with a more scientifically tailored adjustable damage and continuous beam would
ability to penetrate armor generally do not have be something like a variable power laser cutter.
this modifier, but might have “stopping power” Adjustable damage is usually the same type of
instead. Battering power can also be used for high- damage the weapon normally does (lethal, half-
tech stunners, where if they penetrate armor at all, lethal, non-lethal). The modifier can be used to
they do a lot of non-lethal damage. The modifier is allow normal damage attacks with a different type
a -1 to damage for each full +3 the weapon has of damage, like a weapon that fires either 2d+1
from its size, tech era and type (no other modifiers lethal blaster bolts or 2d+1 stunning blaster bolts. If
apply). However, if the weapon penetrates armor, the adjustable damage modifier is taken twice, the
it gets +2 damage for each die of final weapon weapon can fire any type of damage at any level
damage. In addition, battering power increases a within its design parameters.
vehicle’s Damage Limit by 1 for each 2d of damage
striking the vehicle, so a 6d+0 battering weapon A weapon which uses energy or metered
increases a vehicle’s Damage Limit by 3 for hits by chemicals of some kind to get adjustable damage
that weapon. Even at maximum useful range, a hit will get varying numbers of shots, depending on the
against a lightly armored target by one of these damage done. A +1d over the designed amount
weapons is likely to be devastating. halves the number of shots, and a -1d doubles
them. You can only do +1d once, but you can take
EXAMPLE: An archaic 32-pounder cannon the -1d as many times as you have dice.
might have a damage from tech era, size and type
of +30(10d+0). With the battering modifier, this gets EXAMPLE: A 5d+0 adjustable laser rifle with 40
a -10 modifier and drops to +20(6d+2). If a 10d+0 shots can fire 20 unreliable shots at 6d+0, or 80
weapon were fired at a stone wall with an armor of normal reliability shots at 4d+0 or 160 at 3d+0, and
6d+0, it would get 4d+0 damage through. If a 6d+2 so on.
battering weapon were fired at the same stone
wall, it would get 0d+2 through, but get +12 for a Combined weapon(+1) - Sometimes you
battering weapon (+2 for each 1d+0 of final want two weapons in a single carried item. The
weapon damage), for a total effect of 4d+2. advantage is that certain parts can be shared. For
instance, a rifle/shotgun combination has one
With other modifiers like reloading time applied, shoulder stock, not two. A combined weapon is
the battering modifier can make archaic weapons designed as two separate weapons that add to a
even more effective against poorly armored final size and weight, and then the damage of
targets. In addition, even if you apply decreased each weapon is increased by +1. The smaller of the
damage with range, battering weapons still do weapons must be at least ten percent of the size of
significant damage at maximum range. the larger one. You only get the damage bonus
once.
EXAMPLE: If the 32-pounder was at maximum
range and only did 0d+2 penetrating damage, if it Melee or thrown and ranged weapons may
hit an unarmored person, it would still get +12 and use the “combined weapon” modifier. For instance,
end up doing 4d+2 damage (it is a 32 pound a pistol that is also a throwing axe. This is a case
cannonball falling from the sky, after all!). where the “handheld” and “thrown” modifiers
co-exist, but only because the weapons were
For penetration, stopping power and battering, designed separately.
the ammo the weapon uses is usually the source. If
the tiny, fast projectile of the 4.6mm personal
defense round is the source of the “penetrating
power”, then any weapon firing that round has that
characteristic. However, a weapon that has neither
characteristic can usually buy special ammunition
(at extra cost) that gives either characteristic. For
instance, buying special hollow-point rounds that
have better “knockdown” ability.

2.27
 Recoil compensation(-1) - A weapon can have v1.0
a “beneficial side effect” (for -2) of no recoil, which
negates all recoil penalties. This is not appropriate
Stuff!
for some technologies, but recoil can be reduced.
This can be taken up to twice, and each time Gun shield(-1) - A gun shield is a lightly armored
increases the maximum damage the weapon can plate or piece that is permanently mounted to the
do without causing recoil injuries to the firer by 1d. weapon. It provides the same armor the weapon
WEAPONS

has to the firer, in the front arc. If the weapon is

EXAMPLE: You can safely fire a pistol (one handheld, it only provides the protection to one
handed) with a damage up to your Strength plus body part, but it will protect the whole body from
1d. With this modifier, that number is increased to weapon side effects coming from that arc.
your Strength, plus 2d. This represents padded grips,
large muzzle brakes, countermasses or other means EXAMPLE: The Panzershreck (a WWII German
of taming the recoil force. shoulder-fired anti-tank rocket) has a detrimental
side effect that its rocket causes damage to
Self-charging(-3) - The weapon incorporates anything near the firer. This is worth a +2 on the
some technology that allows it to recover lost shots. damage. It also has a gun shield, which protects
This could be things like an on-board reactor, solar the firer from this damage, for a -1 on the damage,
panels, induction grids and so on. For the listed for a total of +1 damage from the combination.
modifier the weapon recharges +1 damage (0d+1)
of one shot per ten seconds (a time level of 7), or Gun carriage(-3) - Non-portable weapons
+6 damage (2d+0) per minute (a time level of 12). that are not in a vehicle can still be towable by
common means at the designed tech era. That is,
EXAMPLE: A self-charging laser rifle that held a an archaic cannon can be towed by horses, or a
hundred 4d+0 shots could recharge them all in 200 modern artillery piece by a truck. The equipment or
minutes (400d of total damage divided by 2d+0 supplies needed to do the towing (harnesses,
recharged per minute). horses, truck, etc.) are not included. Gun carriage
weapons usually have a fixed arc of fire (you have
Each extra time you take the modifier, you to manually move the carriage to change the arc).
increase the rate of charge. If the weapon is only Like a turret, the mass of the weapon in the gun
partially self-recharging or requires certain outside carriage is smaller, which will affect ammunition
conditions to recharge, the rate of recharge is size.
doubled (tripled if both apply). An example of this
might be a solar-charged weapon. No sunshine, no Dismountable(-1) - A dismountable weapon is
recharge! Or, a gauss weapon that turns raw one that is normally not man-portable, but which
ferrious metal into magnetically accelerated can be broken down into smaller bits. For instance,
projectiles. If you don’t have a source of metal, a mortar might be broken down into its barrel and
there is no recharging. This modifier is also useful for baseplate, each of which is carried separately. The
self-charging “magical” weapons. weapon cannot be fired unless it is assembled, and
cannot be easily carried unless it is disassembled.
EXAMPLE: If our self-charging laser rifle used a The extra mass required to make the weapon
solar panel (which requires sufficient sunlight to usable yet portable results in a lower damage
operate), then it would recharge 1 shot per minute compared to weapons of the same type that
instead of 1 shot per two minutes, but only in full cannot be split up for easier transport. If the penalty
sunshine. is taken once, the weapon can be broken down
into two pieces. Each time the modifier is taken, the
weapon gets twice the number of pieces.

The default time to assemble the weapon is one

minute (a time level of 12), and is an Average(7)
task to complete. The assembly time can be
doubled to counter the damage penalty for extra
pieces, but the weapon must always be at least -1
to normal damage if this modifier is taken at all.

EXAMPLE: A pack howitzer might be four pieces

(-2 to damage), but if it takes two minutes to
assemble instead of one, it only takes -1 to damage
instead.

2.28
 Note - Many of these gizmos can actually be
EABA designed as gizmos (using that chapter), but may
not have specific combat effects listed.

Generic gizmos(-1) - There are various types of Telescopic sight: Gives a +1 to weapon
sighting aids and weapon enhancements available Accuracy and usually negates 4 points of range
at just about every tech era. Many of them are difficulty for making sight Awareness rolls against a
technically possible at several eras, but were either specific target. A gamemaster may require an
impractically bulky or expensive. These add-ons do Awareness roll before a called shot can be made.
not make a weapon do less damage, they just
make the weapon bulkier than a version of the Rangefinder: Gives a +1 to weapon Accuracy
weapon without them. If added to a weapon after and allows triggered or proximity-fuzed devices to
it is designed, they simply add about 25% to the be set to explode at a certain range rather than
weapon’s empty weight. when first encountering a target. At Early Atomic
and previous eras, this range setting must be done
The way we will handle this in Stuff! is to assign a manually (like setting a timer or fuze), while at
point cost and a minimum tech era for these add- Middle Atomic Era and later, triggered or proximity-
ons. The point cost for a gizmo goes down by 1 for fuzed devices can be programmed by the weapon.
each fraction of a tech era past its introduction,
with a minimum point cost listed in parentheses. Night vision sight: Negates any penalties for
darkness for targets in the narrow arc in front of the
EXAMPLE: Telescopic sights can only be reduced weapon and usually negates 4 points of range
to a certain size and still be useful. Their point cost is difficulty for making sight Awareness rolls against a
5(3), so they start off at 5 points, but no matter how specific target. This does not provide as wide a
advanced, they will always use at least 3 points. range of vision as night vision goggles, but night
vision goggles cannot use the range negation of a
The “generic gizmos” modifier is good for normal telescopic sight. Night vision sights do not
twelve points worth of gizmos, minus 1 for each full work in complete darkness without a special
-3 in penalties for the size of the weapon. tactical light. Night vision sights cannot normally be
used during the day. A unit that is 1 point larger
EXAMPLE: A 2 millihex weapon has a -27 to than normal has both night and day modes.
damage, so it can only have 12 - 9 = 3 points worth
of gizmos with this modifier. If the 3 points of gizmos EXAMPLE: An Early Atomic Era sight with both
were added to an existing 2 millihex weapon, it normal and night vision capabilities would cost 6
would become a 2.5 millihex weapon (25% bigger). points. At the maximum level of technology, it
would take 3 points (instead of 2).
Gizmo Tech Era Points
Telescopic sight Early Industrial 5(3) Tactical light: A basic visible-wavelength light
Rangefinder Middle Industrial 6(2) whose beam is centered where the weapon is
Night vision sight Early Atomic 5(2) being aimed. Allows use at night with no penalty on
Tactical light Early Atomic 3(1) Awareness to spot things out to a range level of
Weapon camera Early Atomic 5(1) one-third the weapon’s era and size, plus 8.
Laser sight Middle Atomic 3(1) Remember that this light extends to the end of the
Reflex sight Middle Atomic 3(1) range band.
IFF system Middle Atomic 5(1)
Heads-up interface Middle Atomic 5(1) EXAMPLE: A Middle Atomic Era (+30) pistol (2
Thermal sight Middle Atomic 5(2) millihex, -27 penalty) with a tactical light would
Biometric ID Late Atomic 3(1) suffer no vision penalties when shooting at a target
Data integration Late Atomic 3(1) at up to (30 - 27) / 3 + 8, equals a range level of 9
Target tracking Early Post-Atomic 5(1) (10 meters). Mounted on a 2 hexagon tank cannon
(+3 bonus), the useful range would be (30 + 3) / 3 +
In general, each point of “generic gizmos” will 8, equals a range level of 19 (349 meters).
count as a “weapon enhancement” in terms of
modifying the actual cost of the weapon. This would This is just a way to quantify the idea that
be the base cost of the weapon for its size, type and “bigger weapons can mount bigger lights”.
tech era of the gizmo, before any other modifiers. A
telescopic sight doesn’t care if it is on an expensive
weapon or a cheap one, but an Atomic Era model
may be more expensive than an IndustrIal Era one.

2.29
 Of course, a tactical light makes the user of the v1.0
weapon incredibly easy to spot as well. At levels of
technology where night vision equipment is
Stuff!
available, a tactical light can be in a wavelength
that can only be seen with vision-enhancement IFF system: Identification, Friend or Foe.
devices. Since vision enhancement is being used, Designed to prevent “friendly fire” accidents. It
the power and size of a dedicated non-visible requires a “friend” transponder on friendly targets,
WEAPONS

tactical light can be reduced, making it 1 point and the effect is to prevent the weapon from firing
smaller than normal. Any tactical light can have a or locking on when it is pointed at a friendly target.
switchable filter for non-visible wavelengths at no If necessary, it can also be reversed to only allow
additional point cost. fire against targets with such transponders.

Weapon camera: A device that takes a Heads-up interface: Provides output from any
photograph whenever the weapon is fired (film at weapon-mounted gizmo (cameras, night vision,
Early Atomic, digital at Middle Atomic and later). rangefinders, etc.) to a remote display device, such
This can be used for documentation or record- as a helmet-mounted viewer or vehicle console. It
keeping. The output from the camera is not automatically includes a visible-wavelength
immediately useful to the user of the weapon (see weapon camera. It allows the user of the remote
Heads-up interface). display to see what the weapon is seeing. For
instance, it allows a handheld weapon to be aimed
Laser sight: Projects a tiny dot wherever the and fired around corners without actually exposing
weapon is aimed. It is not normally visible in daylight, more than the weapon itself. At gamemaster
and provides no useful target illumination at night. discretion, this may take extra time or not allow full
The main effect is that in low to moderate light use of Accuracy. In a vehicle, a heads-up display
conditions, it allows the first aiming action to be a can be slaved to the weapon for reverse effect.
minor action instead of a major action, thus The weapon aims where the user is looking.
allowing Accuracy to be used on the same turn the
weapon is brought to bear. A laser sight also allows Note - The size of any display for the output of
aiming as a normal major action in situation where the heads-up interface is a separate item.
it would normally be impossible (like firing from the
hip). Thermal sight: Like a night vision sight, except
that it operates off heat emitted by the target and
Note - In an era of thumbnail-sized laser pointers the environment, allowing it to be used in total
it is hard to imagine that the original laser sights were darkness and through some types of obscurement.
glass tube, helium-neon lasers running off a several Targets that are the same temperature as the
thousand volt power supply, and were about the background temperature are extremely difficult to
size of a one liter bottle of soda. spot. Thermal sights may be used in any level of
lighting and need no special additions for
Reflex sight: This is a projected reticle system, operating in daylight or complete darkness.
where aiming crosshairs “float” above the weapon,
allowing faster target acquisition. It allows the first Biometric ID: The weapon has the ability to
aiming action to be done as a minor action rather recognize authorized users. It will not operate for
than a major action. This is similar to the effect of a anyone who is lacking the proper code. This coding
laser sight, but a reflex sight must be aimed can either be personal or device-based. A personal
normally (you can’t do it from the hip), but on the coding might be something like a fingerprint, retinal
other hand, a reflex sight works in all lighting or DNA scanner, while a device-based coding
condtions. might be a physical key, combination pad, coded
ring or some other device or information that can
be passed from one individual to another. The
difficulty of defeating such an ID with proper tools is
Challenging(9) and takes about ten seconds (time
level of 7). Defeating the protection without the
proper tools can be difficult to impossible.

2.30
 The following is an example of how you might
EABA use the “generic gizmos” modifier.

EXAMPLE: You are designing a cutting edge

Data integration: All gizmo output from the (Late Atomic Era) SWAT team who have tricked-out
weapon, as well as things like energy reserves, shots assault rifles (say 8 millihex weapons). You get 12
remaining and other weapon data are available in points of gizmos, minus the penalty for weapon size
forms that can be readily analyzed by computer or (-7), for 5 points of gizmos. The weapon designer
transmitted across local radio-spectrum networks. decides this isn’t going to be enough, and takes
Information shared by more than one weapon the modifier twice, which gets them 10 points of
provides +1 Accuracy to each weapon in the gizmos, at the cost of -2 to weapon damage.
network, and +1 each time the number of weapons
is doubled. The total Accuracy bonus is limited to +1 For 10 points, our designer gets a tactical light
at Atomic Era but increases by +1 for each era after (1 point at this level of tech), laser sight (2 points),
that. Remember that you only get Accuracy heads-up interface (4 points) and data integration
bonuses if time is spent to aim the weapon. (3 points), for a total of 10 points.

EXAMPLE: A squad of Post-Atomic Era soldiers What does this get us? The user of the weapon
with data integrated weapons could have a +2 can fire it in the dark using the tactical light, though
Accuracy bonus if at least four weapons were this does expose them. If the user was wearing night
available to each other across he network. vision goggles, the tactical light could be in a non-
visible wavelength and still be useful. The laser sight
Data integrated weapons may also have allows quick aiming, the heads-up display allows
slaved fire control, allowing a commander to fire aiming around corners without exposing yourself,
(and for vehicle-mounted weapons, aim) several and the data integration provides an overall +1
weapons at once. An armed robot would have Accuracy bonus, as well as allowing any team
data integration and a heads-up display (for the member to see through the gun camera of any
person controlling the robot). other team member. This could include such
esoteric uses as using someone else’s gun camera
Target tracking: A weapon with target tracking to get a view to aim your weapon if your gun
can have a target designated by the user. Once camera was not useful (like shooting at something
this is done, if the target moves out of the sights, the on the other side of smoke screen that you cannot
weapon will indicate (to the best of its knowledge) see the other side of, but which a fellow team
where the target is actually at, using other weapon member can).
gizmos and extrapolation and even tactical
databases to make a “best guess”. It helps to Now, each -1 from gizmos represents about
negate being surprised and reduces any penalties 25% of the mass of the weapon, so taking the
for shooting at targets hiding behind cover (if that modifier twice on an 8 millihex weapon means that
target had been acquired first). Practically you have about 4 millihexes of gizmos for cost
speaking, it will act as a -4 to the difficulty of purposes. If we zip ahead to the weapon cost
Awareness tasks to re-acquire a target that left a section (page 2.39), we’ll see that 4 millihexes of
shooters line of sight, but the bonus drops by 1 per Late Atomic Era weapon has a cost level of -7 (90
time level. Credits). The “enhanced weapon” modifier is +1 to
cost. Since we have 10 points of gizmos, we apply
this 10 times (+10), for an adjusted cost of +3, or a
gizmo cost of 2,800 Credits. So in addition to the
cost of the weapon, we have about 3,000 Credits
worth of gear attached to it. This cost is for just the
gizmos, and the multipliers do not apply to the
weapon as a whole. The gizmos don’t care if the
weapon is autofire, unreliable, etc.

2.31
 Generic bonus/penalty(±1) - A +1 or -1 to v1.0
damage represents about a thirty-five percent
change in the penetrating power of a weapon. If
Stuff!
you are using Stuff!to design weapons for a fantasy
or SF world, it usually doesn’t matter, the rounding LET’S SEE IF IT WORKS - This covers just about
takes care of itself, and everything is consistent every conceivable technology-based weapon you
compared to everything else. However, if you are can come up with. We did warn you about diving
WEAPONS

designing for a historical setting or a modern one into the advanced modifiers section... If you think
where every last real-world tidbit of information is you’re ready, we’ll do a few advanced examples.
known, the choose-the-pizza-toppings Stuff! design
approach may not be as perfect as you need. Your Stinger - This is a shoulder-fired heat-seeking
weapon designs in Stuff! might be just a point of anti-aircraft missile with a proximity fuzed high
damage off in either direction, or a weapon is just explosive warhead. Many of the modifiers apply
that close in the real world to being at the damage only to the missile. These are marked with an “*”.
threshold you want. Sometimes you can fudge this
by using the stopping power or penetrating power Atomic Era weapon +30
(page 2.26) modifiers, but sometimes you really just 16 millihex weapon(8kg) -18
need another +1 or -1 to make everything seem Bulky ammo x 250 +8
right. Like if you really feel the weapon is more Operational side effect(backblast) +1
advanced than the middle of a tech era, but not Increased range -3
quite advanced enough to be late in a tech era. Explosive damage(lethal)* -3
Easy technology* +3
If it is needed to get a real world weapon to Autonomous weapon* -6
meet your expectations of what it should do, go Specialized targeting* +3
ahead, give it the modifier. Slow weapon(500m/sec)* +2
Shoulder-fired weapon +3
EXAMPLE: The modern 5.56mm round will be Modifier total +20
mentioned later as falling through the cracks, being Total 5d+0 lethal explosion(see text)
on the edge or between several categories.
Normally, to get results that match real-world data, The weapon is 8 kilograms empty (an empty
you end up with a weapon doing 3d+2 damage, Stinger launcher actually weighs in at about 6
but it is listed as being a 4d+1 weapon. It gets a +1 kilograms). The tech era, size and shoulder-fired
for penetrating power, and then we toss in a give a default damage of +15 (or 5d+0), for a
generic +1 to represent the sum of the other normal range before losing damage of 25 (2
factors. So, this round would do 4d+1 for getting kilometers). The actual range of a Stinger is listed as
through armor, but anything that got through armor 8 kilometers (range level of 29), so we add one
would be reduced by -2 (a hit to an unarmored level of increased range. This gives the weapon
person would do 3d+2). with an explosive warhead a range of 8 kilometers.
Normal ammo mass for 200 shots is 8 kilograms (the
We might also have gone from 3d+2 damage weight of the weapon). The Stinger gets 1/250 this,
to 4d+1 by using the penetrating power modifier or .8 shots for 8 kilograms (10 kilograms per shot),
and adding one level of reduced range. Or, if we compared to an actual weight of about 10
are doing a gameworld where all the advanced kilograms for the missile. It has an operational side
modifiers don’t matter and you don’t have to effect of backblast, so it can’t be fired from
match a lot of real-world hardware, you just keep enclosed areas (if it were, the firer would take half-
the 3d+2 damage, because all other weapons in lethal damage of half the weapon’s damage). The
that size range will be scaled the same way and it warhead is a fragmentation charge, so we count
will all balance out. this as lethal explosive. Since this is a reloadable
weapon using explosive missiles, we base explosion
damage on the missile size. Hold on to that thought.

2.32
 It’s clear we need to tweak the design in order
EABA to allow the firer to get an initial lock-on, and for the
missile to have a chance of hitting a fast-moving
target. We buy +5 Accuracy by increasing the
The weapon is “autonomous”(-3), which for the missile’s cost by +5 (about x5.6 normal cost). This
Atomic Era is a 2d+0 skill roll. We take this twice, for gives us an Accuracy of 7, which if aimed for a time
a 4d+0 skill roll and -6 in damage. This is partially level of 6 (8 seconds) would change the previously
offset by having “specialized targeting“ (passive calculated difficulty from 25 to 17, which is difficult,
heat-seeker)(+3). A Stinger has a top speed slow but doable. And this is for a side shot on a target
enough that it takes several seconds to reach moving at 450kph(280mph), where the target gets
maximum range, so we give it the “slow weapon” its full movement. A tail shot would have the relative
modifier twice (+2) for a top speed of 500 meters movement modifier reduced, making it an easier
per second (about mach 1.6, compared to an task, as would being able to engage a target at an
actual speed of mach 2.2). We give it bracketed initial range of less than 500 meters. If we use the
range for free (with the “autonomous weapon” notes on advanced targeting (page 2.22), the
modifier). This is just a minimum arming distance to maximum Accuracy a handheld weapon can
prevent misfires from blowing up the firer. have in the Atomic Era is 9, so the Accuracy could
be further improved if needed.
All of these modifiers are in the missile, so they
will affect the final explosion damage (all that stuff Okay, so how do we use it? First, spot your
takes up room that would otherwise be packed with target. This would be an Awareness roll based on
explosives). So, you have Atomic Era (+30), 20 current conditions. Second, aim until the firer
millihex missile (-17), “easy technology”(+3), “one successfully “hits”, at which point you fire the missile.
use”(+6), “explosive”(-6), “autonomous”(-6), If the target is within 500 meters, then it hits on the
“specialized targeting”(+3), and “slow weapon” turn it was fired. Third, wait. Each turn after it is fired,
(+2), for a total lethal explosive damage of 5d+0. the missile gets a 4d+0 “Awareness roll” against the
range, modified by the Accuracy bonus at the time
So, how would you use this weapon? Hold on, it was fired and target size. If it fails, it loses lock-on
we’re not quite there yet. We need to figure out and misses. If it makes the roll, it gets +1 Accuracy.
how much Accuracy we’re going to need. We When it gets within 1 second of the target, it rolls to
didn’t buy any extra Accuracy for the weapon, so it hit, based on all the previous factors (movement,
has an Accuracy of a quarter its damage, or 1, +1 size, etc.). If it makes its to hit roll, it scores a direct
for being shoulder fired, which makes a base hit and does full 5d+0 damage as an explosion. If it
Accuracy of 2. At first thought, this is not good misses, it zips past and is unlikely to re-acquire the
enough for something that has to initially acquire target. If it stays in flight for more than 8 kilometers
distant targets, and make its final approach roll (its maximum range), it runs out of fuel and crashes.
from a range of 500 meters (difficulty of 21).
However, remember that it probably gets an an What can a target do? If they are within 1
inherent bonus of -3 to difficulty for target size. This is second’s flight time when the weapon is fired, not
offset by the fact that targets may have a +12 or so much. All the modifiers in their favor were part of
to difficulty (at 450kph) because of their movement the initial lock-on roll, and if this is made, then they
(it is supposed to shoot down jets, after all). So, are hit. Outside this range, they can attempt to
when we add everything up for an Accuracy of 2 make the missile’s Awareness roll harder, but
and a range of 500 meters or so, we’re looking at a manuevering and speed has no effect unless it puts
difficulty of: the vehicle that is someplace harder to see. On the
turn the missile would hit, the pilot can attempt to
Factor Difficulty “dodge”, or engage in evasive maneuvers. This
Range(500 meters) 21 allows them to give their Dodge bonus to the
Accuracy -2 vehicle, which might make a difference, but would
Maximum aiming bonus(time level of 3) -3 also hinder any vehicle skill rolls they have to make
Target size(estimated) -3 because they are flying close to the ground or
Target movement(estimated) +12 around obstacles.
Final difficulty 25

2.33
 Coastal defense gun - A large cannon in a v1.0
fixed emplacement, designed to make life difficult
for enemy ships passing by by firing high explosive
Stuff!
shells at them.
Flamethrower - A backpack device consisting
Industrial Era weapon +24 of one or more pressure tanks and liquid fuel tanks.
Late part of an era +2
WEAPONS

64 hex weapon(32 ton) +18 Atomic Era weapon +30

Takes fifteen seconds to reload +2 Early part of an Era -2
Bulky ammunition(x2) +1 32 millihex weapon(16kg) -15
Reduced range(5 times) +5 Easy technology +3
180° arc weapon -6 Reduced range(4 times) +4
Modifier total +46 Takes a minute to reload +3
Total 7d+0 lethal explosion(see text) Unreliable +3
Explosive damage(lethal) -6
The basic range of the weapon is its damage Declining duration effect -8
level for tech era (+26), size (+18) and turreted Continuous beam -3
weapon (+0), plus 10, for a range level of 54, or Shoulder-fired weapon +3
45,000 kilometers. This is a wee bit further than the Modifier total +12
50 kilometers of range these weapons actually had. Total 4d+0 lethal explosion
We use the “reduced range” modifier five times,
which drops the range to (damage level - 10), for a The first practical flamethrowers were built for
range level of 34, or 45 kilometers, not far from the World War 1, though flame-spewing weapons go
mark. Since it has reduced range and explosive back as far as Greek fire does. There are a number
damage, absolute maximum range is 45 kilometers, of backpack flamethrower variants, and this design
but it does full damage out to that range. is fairly representative. It is Early Atomic Era (1940’s
vintage). It is 16 kilograms empty, and it has a
Like the Stinger, explosives are in the projectile, damage for range purposes of Atomic Era (+30), 32
but in this case it is a lot simpler. We ignore the 180° millihex weapon (-15) and shoulder fired(+3), equals
weapon arc for determining actual weapon size. a damage level of 18, for normal range before
This means the actual gun is only 16 hexagons, the losing damage of 28 (5.6 kilometers). This far beyond
rest being the machinery and empty space needed flamethrower range, so we use the reduced range
to traverse it 180 degrees. Since we have bulky modifier four times. This drops the maximum full
ammunition(x2), 100 shells take up 16 hexagons, so damage range to (damage level - 6), or a range of
each one is 160 millihexes, which is a -8 penalty. So, 12 (23 meters), and it loses 1d of damage at each
explosive damage is Industrial Era (+24), “late era” range level past that. The further you are from the
(+2), “easy technology”(+3), 160 millihex shell (-8), target, the greater the amount of fuel that has
“one use”(+6), and “explosive(lethal)”(-6), for a burned off by the time the blast gets there, so this is
lethal explosive damage of 7d+0. In EABA terms, a special case where explosive damage continues
this is about the same as 8 kilograms of Industrial Era past a normal range limit.
explosives. If this weapon fired regular steel (non-
explosive) shells, you would ignore this, and simply Normally, this weapon holds 200 shots in 16
use the weapon modifiers, which would give 15d+1 kilograms, but remember that the continuous beam
damage, though this might not be effective effect counts as 10 shots per use. So, 10 bursts of
against vehicles with a low Damage Limit. flaming napalm counts as 100 shots of ammunition.
Using normal ammunition size, 100 shots takes up 8
We could also design it with “slow weapon”, kilograms. Flamethrowers are not the easiest things
“indirect fire”, or add a “gun shield”. These would to reload. The fuel tanks must be refilled, and
allow us to have the gun in a pit, shielded from pressure tanks charged. It isn’t a fast process. Last,
direct targeting, or exposed but slightly protected, flamethrowers can be balky beasts, so we apply a
and the “slow weapon” would reflect the time it global level of unreliability.
takes shells to reach full range and make it harder
to hit moving targets. If we added more levels of The weapon acts as a lethal explosion (flaming
“bulky ammunition”, then the shells would be gasoline), each “shot” a continuous but declining
bigger, and would do more regular or explosive damage effect of up to 16 seconds (time level of 8).
damage. We could also make this a weapon with The flames eventually go out. The continuous beam
battering damage, using very heavy solid shot to modifier represents the stream of flaming fuel.
wreak significant structural damage on lightly Anything crossing the stream will be hit. The weapon
armored ships. can fire ten blasts before running out of fuel.

2.34
 EXAMPLE: A more practical version of the
EABA firebolt wand would bump the damage up a little
bit, and include a clip or other form of energy
storage (a magical powerstone), which means it
MAGICAL WEAPONS - In a world where magic can take a while to reload, since this would
exists, weapons can be based on magical rather normally occur between combats.
than technological principles. The design process is
the same, except that you have to set a “Magic Industrial Era damage +24
Era” for the weapons, and determine which Easy technology +3
magical technologies are “easy”, “average” or Weapon of 2 millihex -24
“hard”. This represents the degree of finesse and Takes several actions to reload +1
power magical adepts can accomplish with Fatigues user by 1d+0 +3
magical foci. Magical weapons can have special Handheld weapon(pistol) +3
modifiers on their damage and related properties: Modifier total +10
Final damage 3d+1 lethal
Modifier Damage
Fatigues user by 0d+1 +1 bonus If this held 20 shots, it would have a mass of 1.1
Fatigues user by 0d+2 +2 bonus kilograms (.1 kilogram for the magical power gem).
Fatigues user by 1d+0 +3 bonus It would take several actions to reload each shot,
Fatigues user by 1d+1 +4 bonus and each shot does 1d+0 non-lethal damage in
Fatigues user by 1d+2 +5 bonus fatiguing hits during the recharge process.
Fatigues user by 2d+0 +6 bonus
Apply any appropriate gameworld cost for
A fatiguing weapon means that it saps some of magical power gems on a per kilogram basis, and
the stamina or vitality from the person using it add this to the base weapon cost.
instead of (or in addition to) using a clip, charges or
some other means of magical energy storage. This EXAMPLE: If magical power gems cost 10,000
damage is taken as non-lethal Hits in EABA that Credits per kilogram, then the second firebolt
would be recovered like any other non-lethal wand would cost 1,000 Credits more than normal
damage. because of the .1 kilogram power gem.

EXAMPLE: The 2 millihex wand of firebolts If a gameworld simply needs the occasional
(Industrial Magic Era) might look like this: magical cannon, use these rules. But if magic and
magical devices are varied and pervasive, then
Industrial Era magic +24 use the paranormal power focus or gadget rules
Easy technology +3 (EABA, page 6.24) for maximum consistency. Stuff! is
Weapon of 2 millihex -24 really just meant for the mundane world. Also,
Fatigues user by 1d+0 +3 building magical weapons to do effects other than
Handheld weapon(pistol) +3 mundane damage should be handled using the
Modifier total +9 paranormal powers section of the EABA rules.
Final damage 3d+0 lethal

If the magical weapon has a “clip” or some

other form of magical energy storage, the fatigue
cost would have to be spent to recharge one
shot’s worth of energy.

2.35
 REVERSE ENGINEEERING - This is the part where v1.0
we go into the details of turning real-world weapons
into their Stuff! parameters, either to use these
Stuff!
parameters either as a multi-system archive for
other game systems, or just for your own various For weapons with a very long service life, the
EABA campaigns. differences in power can be significant, and have
to be dealt with somehow. If you had the choice
WEAPONS

Increments - Stuff! works in certain increments between firing a modern high power load through
of size and mass. Specifically, for an empty weapon a recently made .45 ACP pistol, or a model built in
of any kind, there is a minimum 25% change from 1911CE, you would probably choose the former, no
one size to the next larger or smaller one. So, if you matter how well maintained the older model was.
are designing modern rifles, they are going to have The table lists rounds for the middle of an era. If the
an empty size that might not exactly match real- round historically existed early in the era, the name
world figures. For instance, around the 8 millihex is followed by a superscripted minus sign, like
point, you can only have empty weapons that are “.45ACP-”.
5.0kg(+25%), 4.0kg(normal), and 3.0kg(-25%). If your
empty real-world weapon masses 3.5kg or 4.5kg, One way to model older weapons is to apply
you’re out of luck. You can’t even interpolate, since the modern damage if new ammo is fired through
the 25% size increments are ±1 damage. What you an older weapon, but you add some level of
can do is look at everything else that might be unreliability to compensate for it. The value of this
somewhere in between, and apply them as a sum, unreliability is halved.
a generic bonus/penalty modifier of ±1 damage.
EXAMPLE: If you have a hot 2d+1 load for a
EXAMPLE: If you have a real-world weapon with new .45 ACP pistol, and you fire it through an older
an empty mass of 3.5kg, it is going to have slightly .45 ACP pistol meant for a 1d+1 round, then just
more damage than a 3.0kg weapon, and less than give the older pistol a full level of unreliability(+6,
a 4.0kg weapon. If the weapon is also beyond the halved to +3) to make up the difference.
middle of a tech era, but not advanced enough to
be at the end of one, then the two modifiers can In such cases, a malfunction that fails the
combine to be a generic +1 damage bonus. Hard(11) skill roll is just a misfeed or jam. One that
fails an Average(7) skill roll usually means you
Ammunition - If you are trying to match real- overstressed and broke something, doing 1 Hit of
world ammo to Stuff! design numbers (especially damage to the weapon and rendering it non-
using the pdf calculator), try to match the figures in functional until it is repaired. The other thing that
the table on the next page. should be done for weapons with a long service life
is that the design for the weapon should be based
Most calibers in existence when this was first on a tech era somewhere in the middle of the
published (circa 2006CE) will be considered Middle range in which it is used, rounding towards the
Atomic Era, but you can usually give a bonus or more primitive models.
penalties for something you want to come into
existence ten years from now (Late Atomic Era) or EXAMPLE: We’ll use the .45 ACP, since it has had
for a pulp campaign in the 1930’s (Late Industrial such a long service life. It started about the Late
Era). The 1930’s (Late Industrial Era) would be at -4 Industrial Era, and will probably see use through the
damage compared to modern (Middle Atomic Era) Late Atomic Era. So, all designs to use that round
weapons of the same size, but consider that most should probably be Early Atomic Era. This does not
weapons weren’t the same size back then, and if say that you can’t have a 21st century .45 ACP
they were, they were less powerful than modern pistol with Late Atomic Era damage numbers. What
equivalents. The classic Thompson submachine gun it does say that a manufacturer of ammunition that
of the Roaring Twenties as a Stuff! design is a Late is physically compatible across weapons throughout
Industrial Era 10 millihex weapon with a 2.5 millihex the tech era range is unlikely to court lawsuits by
clip (a 6.3 kilogram submachine gun!), the typical selling rounds that will make a gun blow up in your
.38 caliber revolver a policeman or FBI agent would hands, and that manufacturers of weapons will not
carry only had an EABA damage of 1d+0, and the be enthusiastic about making weapons whose
Colt 1911 .45 ACP service pistol would have been ammunition will blow up other weapons made by
only 1d+1 when it was introduced. that same company. Realistically speaking, what
would happen is that the new and improved 21st
Those damages are based not on the Stuff! century round, even if is in the same caliber and
parameters, but the actual ballistics of the rounds size range as the .45 ACP, is a different round that is
compared to the EABA damage scale. not physically compatible with older weapons.

2.36
 None of the modifiers listed on the table have
EABA been applied. What you can do is apply them as
needed, if needed, to get the right historical
parameters for your weapon.
The Damage listed on the table is the optimum
you should try for if recreating a real-world weapon. EXAMPLE: A modern .45 ACP pistol has an
This damage is the penetration ability of a typical empty mass of about 1 kilogram and a loaded
real-world weapon firing that round. This can vary a mass of about 1.2 kilograms with a 8 round clip (7
point in either direction. A weapon with a short plus 1 in the chamber), with each bullet being a
barrel firing a rifle round might be -1 or even -2 to size of about .04 millihexes. For reference, the
damage, while a carbine or submachinegun firing original Late Industrial Era model had a loaded
a pistol round might be +1 damage, +2 if firing the mass closer to 1.4 kilograms. If you design this pistol
maximum safe load rather than a regular power at Early Atomic Era, you get a weapon with a
commercial load. These damage modifiers often damage of 2d+0 and whose only modifier is two
factor in automatically as the weapon is made levels of bulky ammo(+2), which is about as simple
heavier or lighter. A bulk rating of “+” or “-” signifies and perfect as you could want (select tech era,
the average weapon will have one or more levels select size, select ammo, you’re done!). But, not
of altered ammunition weight, while a penetration willing to leave good enough alone, the designer
rating of “p”,“s” or “b” means penetrating, decides to give it a generic +1 to damage to place
stopping or battering power. A “ø” means none are it exactly in the middle of its tech range, making
likely as a default. damage 2d+1, which is slightly high.
Stuff! ammunition(Middle Atomic Era)
Round Damage Size Bulk Penetration Other possible characteristics
.25 ACP- 1d+0 .008 millihex - p
9mm short- 1d+1 .020 millihex + ø
.22 rimfire- 1d+1 .006 millihex - p
.45 ACP- 2d+0 .040 millihex + s
9mm- 2d+1 .025 millihex + ø
10mm 2d+2 .030 millihex ø ø
.357 magnum- 2d+2 .030 millihex ø ø
4.6mm HK 2d+2 .010 millihex - p Reduced range(+1)
.224 BOZ 3d+0 .015 millihex ø p Reduced range(+1)
5.7mm FN 3d+0 .012 millihex ø p Reduced range(+1)
.44 magnum 3d+0 .040 millihex + s
12ga shotgun- 3d+1 .100 millihex + s Reduced range(+1), shotgun damage(-3)
5.56mm NATO 4d+1 .025 millihex ø p Reduced range(+1)
5.8mm PRC 4d+1 .025 millihex ø p Reduced range(+1)
4.73mm/c 4d+1 .010 millihex - p Reduced range(+1), unreliable(+3)
7.62mm NATO 4d+2 .050 millihex ø p Reduced range(+1)
.338 magnum 5d+0 .060 millihex ø ø Reduced range(+1)
12.7mm MG- 6d+1 .225 millihex + s Reduced range(+2)
14.5mm MG- 6d+2 .400 millihex ø s Reduced range(+2)
15.2mm AMR 7d+0 .300 millihex + p Reduced range(+1), armor-piercing ammunition
20mm cannon- 7d+0 .500 millihex ø s Reduced range(+2)

Stuff! ammunition(Middle Industrial Era)

10mm pistol- (.39”) 1d+2 .012 millihex + ø Reload in a minute(+1d), unrel. in some cond.(+1)
12mm pistol- (.48”) 2d+0 .020 millihex + ø Reload in a minute(+1d), unrel. in some cond.(+1)
14mm pistol- (.55”) 2d+1 .040 millihex + s Reload in a minute(+1d), unrel. in some cond.(+1)
12mm rifle- (.48”) 3d+1 .030 millihex ø ø Reload in a minute(+1d), unrel. in some cond.(+1)
14mm rifle- (.55”) 3d+2 .045 millihex ø ø Reload in a minute(+1d), unrel. in some cond.(+1)
1pdr- (50mm) 5d+2 1 millihex + b Reduced range(+1), reload in a minute(+3)
3pdr- (70mm) 6d+2 3 millihex + b Reduced range(+2), reload in a minute(+3)
6pdr- (94mm) 7d+0 6 millihex + b Reduced range(+2), reload in a minute(+3)
12pdr- (117mm) 7d+2 13 millihex + b Reduced range(+2), reload in a minute(+3)
24pdr- (144mm) 8d+1 28 millihex + b Reduced range(+3), reload in a minute(+3)
32pdr- (163mm) 9d+1 37 millihex + b Reduced range(+3), reload in a minute(+3)
42pdr- (174mm) 10d+0 48 millihex + b Reduced range(+3), reload in a minute(+3)
68pdr- (203mm) 10d+2 75 millihex + b Reduced range(+3), reload in a minute(+3)

2.37
 So, to tweak the damage back down and v1.0
simultaneously satisfy everyone who feels that it has
better stopping power than the 9mm, we apply the
Stuff!
stopping power(-1) modifier, which drops the
damage to 2d+0s, and everyone is happy. Historical parameters - If you are not recreating
existing weapons, but trying to keep your designs
EXAMPLE: The same designer decides to make accurate in a historical sense, here are guidelines
WEAPONS

the maximum power .45 ACP available at Middle as to when particular weapon technologies were
Atomic Era. Looking at a custom handloading first used. They may not have been in common use
manual, they find a safe load for modern weapons until decades later, or may have been abandoned
in good condition that translates out to a normal for centuries until they became practical (like for
EABA penetration of 2d+1. They apply the same revolvers), but for gadgeteers and inventors, the
parameters as the previous example and get a technologies were at least known of.
damage of 2d+2, which is a little high. So, they
apply the stopping power modifier again, which Weapon or characteristic Date Era
gives them a final damage of 2d+1s, and all is well. Bows ≈7000BCE Early Primitive
Catapults ≈400BCE Primitive
You don’t have to match these numbers Trebuchets ≈300BCE Primitive
exactly, but as you tweak ammunition size and Crossbows ≈250CE Primitive
weight for a design, if you are doing a historical Muzzle loading firearms ≈1324CE Early Basic
design, these are the numbers to get close to. Matchlocks ≈1410CE Basic
Archaic weapons, especially the cannon shells, are Time-based fuzing ≈1450CE Basic
subject to a lot of variation. Cannons firing the Grenades ≈1450CE Basic
same weight shell came in a wide variety of Rifled barrels ≈1498CE Basic
lengths, weights and safe powder charges. A Wheellocks ≈1517CE Basic
cannon firing a 68 pound shell from a fortified Flintlocks ≈1610CE Late Basic
position on land would be a far different weapon Revolvers ≈1620CE Late Basic
than one mounted on the deck of a man o’war. Breech-loading firearms ≈1765CE Early Industrial
Percussion caps ≈1805CE Early Industrial
Can you break Stuff! - If by “break”, you mean Cartridge load firearms ≈1830CE Industrial
“can I make fearsomely powerful weapons that put Caseless ammunition ≈1848CE Industrial
anything ever historically used to shame?”, then Impact fuzing ≈1860CE Industrial
yes, you can. Whether or not the weapon is in any Land mines ≈1862CE Industrial
sense practical for a regular civilian or soldier to Autofire(cranked) ≈1862CE Industrial
carry or use is another matter. Someone has Clip-fed weapons ≈1862CE Industrial
actually constructed a pistol to fire the 12.7mm MG Autofire(reciprocating) ≈1883CE Late Industrial
cartridge. Yes, it is fearsomely powerful. No, it is not Silencers ≈1909CE Late Industrial
even remotely practical. Custom-made weapons Shaped charges ≈1935CE Early Atomic
can do or be just about anything, and they will cost Radar-based aiming ≈1943CE Early Atomic
like one-of-a-kind items, which they often are. User-guided weapons ≈1943CE Early Atomic
Commercially produced items have to fill a market Proximity fuzing ≈1943CE Early Atomic
niche or meet a military need. A soldier might be Bullpup configuration ≈1949CE Early Atomic
expected to carry 200+ rounds of ammunition on Heat-seeking missiles ≈1956CE Early Atomic
their person. If your ultra-powerful assault rifle has
ammo too heavy to lug around in large quantities,
it’s not going to get used very much.

For custom designs, anything goes. For stuff that

is going to be used by lots of marginally trained
people in the real world, it has to fill a need. And if
past history of military procurement is any guide, a
bad design with political connections has a better
chance of getting into service than a great design
with no power brokers behind it. So, in the end, the
answer is “yes, you can make a weapon far more
efficient and powerful than any currently adopted
by a major army”, but there are probably real-
world considerations outside the scope of Stuff! to
explain why it hasn’t been done yet.

2.38
 WEAPON COST - Now that you’ve designed it,
EABA you’ve got to pay for it. Weapons will have a cost
based on their tech era and size, modified by the
capabilities. Normally, the weapon cost is assumed
3G3 conversion - The older 3G3 product from to be a “loaded” weapon. Stuff! uses the same
BTRC has a much more detailed (and complex) set basic idea as the EABA vehicle rules. Equipment is
of weapon design rules. The damage scale from the same cost as EABA’s vehicle gizmos, which is
that system converts to EABA and Stuff! as follows. expanded on below. Entries in italics are optional.
Size in millihexes may be fractional.
A 3G3 DV of 12 is an EABA damage of 1d+0.
Each time the 3G3 DV is multiplied by x1.5 (round Final size (do not count consumables) Level
up), EABA damage goes up by +1d. A DV of half Cost per each millihex or -18
the way between two full dice amounts is a +1, and Cost per hexagon 2
two-thirds the way is +2, round up.
Modifiers Levels
DV EABA Example Armor Primitive Era +0
0 0d+0 Late Primitive/Early Basic Era +1
4 0d+1 gambeson Basic Era +2
8 0d+2 hardened leather Late Basic/Early Industrial Era +3
12 1d+0 .32 ACP flak jack., chain mail Industrial Era +4
14 1d+1 chain + gambeson Late Industrial/Early Atomic Era +5
16 1d+2 .22 long rifle Atomic Era +6
18 2d+0 .45 ACP plate armor Late Atomic/Early Post-Atomic Era +7
21 2d+1 9mm Level II bulletproof Post-Atomic Era +8
24 2d+2 .357 magnum Late Post-Atomic/Early Advanced Era +9
27 3d+0 .44 magnum Level II+ bulletproof Advanced Era +10
32 3d+1 Late Advanced Era +11
37 3d+2 .30 carbine
41 4d+0 Level III bulletproof Weapon +2
48 4d+1 5.56mm Melee weapon +4
55 4d+2 7.62mm Level IV bulletproof Easy technology -1
61 5d+0 Average technology +0
72 5d+1 Hard technology +1
82 5d+2 .460 magnum Placed, tripod or vehicle weapon +0
92 6d+0 Thrown or Strength-based weapon +2
107 6d+1 12.7mm Handheld(both hands, bipod or +2
122 6d+2 14.5mm shoulder fired)
137 7d+0 Handheld(one hand/not +4
160 7d+1 20mm cannon shoulder fired)
183 7d+2 Limited production(military only) +4
206 8d+0 30mm cannon Slightly limited production +2
308 9d+0 Mass market production -1
462 10d+0 60mm cannon Increased range +1
692 11d+0 75mm cannon Reduced range -1
1038 12d+0 light anti-tank rocket Increased capability +1
1557 13d+0 90mm cannon Decreased capability -1
2336 14d+0 120mm cannon Beneficial side effect +2
3504 15d+0 Operational +1
5256 16d+0 heavy anti-tank rocket Detrimental side effect -2
Operational -1
The examples assume weapons are from the Special effect +1
Middle Atomic Era. The archaic armors are not Disposable -7
proof against modern weapons and most would Obsolescent -2
lose 1d of protection against them. For instance, New tech(just made available) +2
2d+0 plate would only be 1d+0 vs. a 9mm bullet. Experimental(fractional era ahead) +4
Prototype only +7

2.39
 The “base cost” of a weapon is usually that for v1.0
its size, tech era and the type of weapon. To figure
out the level of cost for a given weapon size, just
Stuff!
apply the difference in millihexes or hexagons.
Slightly limited production(+2) - Weapons which
EXAMPLE: The difference between 1 meter and have some restrictions, but which are obtainable
20 meters on the EABA Universal Chart is closest to 9 by police or sometimes by civilians are +2 to normal
WEAPONS

levels. Since a 1 millihex weapon has a base cost of cost. Mature but not universal technoloigies usually
-18, a 20 millihex weapon has a base cost of -9. count. Whether autofire weapons fall into the latter
category depends on the politics of that area of
At gamemaster discretion, ammunition cost the game world. “Average” weapon technologies
may also apply “production” modifiers to base are usually slightly limited production, as are tools
weapon cost (e.g. military weapons may have that can also be used as weapons (utility knives,
more expensive ammunition). etc.), or “military weapons” that use a technology
of limited availability (like Damascus steel).
Weapon(+2/+4) - This is a generic penalty for an
item that is a weapon. Use the +2 modifier, and if it Mass market production(-1) - These weapons
is a melee weapon, use the +4 modifier. Simple are ones which have been produced in such
enough. Note that the melee weapon modifier is quantity or for such a long period that there is a
meant for weapons which are labor-intensive to market glut. The Soviet AK-47 might be an example.
make, like swords. If it does not require skilled labor These weapons are -1 to normal cost. The “mass
or special tooling to make, use the +2 modifier. market production” modifier can also apply at
designer’s option (and with gamemaster approval)
Technology(+1 to -1) - Use the modifier for the to weapons whose nature is so simple or easily
most expensive technology in the weapon. An duplicated that it really should be cheaper than
“easy” explosive in an “average” guided rocket is any other weapon of similar size or capability.
an “average” weapon. This is the same as an
increased or decreased capability. Increased/decreased range(±1) - If it has
increased range, apply a +1 modifier per level. If it
Placed, tripod, vehicle(+0) - Most weapons that has reduced range, apply a -1 modifier per level.
fall into these categories have a cost adjustment of
+0 levels. Placed weapons will also likely have the Increased capability(+1) - A catch-all modifier.
“disposable” modifier. The main use is increased Accuracy that is inherent
to the weapon (as opposed to add-on gizmos).
Melee or Strength-based(+2) - Weapons doing Each +1 Accuracy is an “increased capability” that
damage only through the strength of the user have is specific to that weapon. A weapon can have
the listed cost adjustment. Make sure this modifier gizmos that affect accuracy and inherent capabil-
was also used in the design process. Crossbows and ities that enhance it.
bows count as melee weapons for cost purposes.
EXAMPLE: A disposable guided rocket might
Handheld(+2/+4) - If the weapon is normally have extra Accuracy built into the rocket (non-
fired with both hands or is shoulder-fired (like a rifle transferable), but might also have a detachable
or rocket launcher), use the first modifier. However, telescopic sight (also improves Accuracy) that can
if it is designed to be fired from one hand (like a be transferred from weapon to weapon.
pistol), use the second modifier. If its ergonomics
allow effective use in one hand, use the second Other weapon options may mention that they
modifier for figuring the cost. A pistol that will break are increased capabilities as well, and the game-
your wrist unless you use both hands is still a pistol. master can define any modifier they want as an
On the other hand, most submachineguns are “increased capability”, depending on the nature of
clearly designed to be fired with both hands, even the gameworld. Tech-specific special effects are
though they still use pistol ammunition. Don’t ask us generally considered an increased capability.
why pistols cost twice as much, they just do. Special ammo types might be an “increased
capability” for ammo cost purposes.
Limited production(+4) - This usually applies to
military/paramilitary weapons. If it is definitely military EXAMPLE: An amount of ammunition that
hardware, it is +4 levels in cost. Anything at the masses the same as the weapon normally costs
cutting edge of weapon development often takes seven levels less than the weapon cost. If you had
this modifier. “Hard” weapon technologies are armor-piercing ammunition, you would use six levels
often limited production. less than the weapon cost instead.

2.40
 Side effect(-2 to +2) - A weapon with the listed
EABA side effects has the appropriate modifiers to cost.

Characteristic Side effect

Decreased capability(-1) - Another catch-all. Excessive recoil detrim.(-2 levels)
Most things that decrease the utility of the weapon No recoil benef.(+2 levels)
will take the -1 modifier. Backblast detrim.(-2 levels)
Backbl. in conf. space detrim. oper.(-1 level)
Things that count as an increased/decreased Armor-piercing benef.(+2 levels)
capability are below, and a designer can always Easily blocked/negated detrim.(-2 levels)
say that a particular characteristic is one or the
other as needed. If a characteristic says it is per EXAMPLE: You design a high-tech stunner, and
point or level, then the cost for the capability it has no recoil, but it is easily blocked by armor, it
applies per point or level. Otherwise the cost is would have a cost adjustment of zero levels for just
simply paid once. In addition, some of these costs that part of its description.
may have or imply other costs. For instance, guided
explosive weapons are likely to have the +4 Disposable(-7) - Use the weapon once and
“military weapon” cost multiplier in addition to any throw it away, or the weapon is destroyed by using
extra capability multipliers. it (like a grenade). All its parts only have to work
once.
Characteristic Capability
Hard technology incr.(+1 level) Obsolescent(-2) - Normally, a weapon that is
Easy technology decr.(-1 level) obsolete or obsolescent is simply built using a
+1 Accur. (to tech era limit) incr.(+1 level) previous tech era’s cost, which makes it naturally
-1 Accur. (down to zero) decr.(-1 level) cheaper. What this modifier means is that there are
Incr. range level(each) incr.(+1 level) better weapons of the same type within the same
Decr. range level(each) decr.(-1 level) tech era, so to get people to buy the inferior
Autofire or autoburst incr.(+1 level) weapon, the price has to be decreased.
Shotgun damage incr.(+1 level)
Unreliable or very unreliable decr.(-1 level) New tech(+2) - This is the “early adopter”
Shaped charge(per level) incr.(+1 level) penalty. The weapon is available in small quantities,
Nuclear damage incr.(+20 levels) but demand is high enough to push the price up
Explosive damage incr.(+1 level) past normal levels. If the weapon becomes
Broader triggered range incr.(+1 level) popular, price will quickly drop to normal levels.
Proximity fuzed incr.(+1 level)
Autonomous wpn.(per level) incr.(+1 level) Experimental(+4) - This is for any weapon that is
Guided wpn.(per level) incr.(+1 level) slightly ahead of its time. If the gamemaster or
Gizmos(per point) incr.(+1 level) gameworld is such that you can create weapons a
Duration effect incr.(+1 level) fraction of a tech era ahead of everyone else, the
Continuous beam incr.(+1 level) weapon will take this modifier. Weapons made in
Any area effect incr.(+1 level) quantities of more than ten but less than a hundred
Adjustable damage incr.(+1 level) will probably have this modifier.
Self-charging incr.(+1 level)
Non-damage effect incr.(+1 level) Prototype(+7) - This is the “custom manufacture”
Slow weapon(per level) decr.(-1 level) penalty. If a weapon is made in quantities of less
Specialized targeting decr.(-1 level) than ten or is unique, it will have this modifier.
Half-lethal damage decr.(-1 level)
Non-lethal damage decr.(-1 level) Note - Remember that cost is, in the end, based
on supply and demand, not a formula. The Stuff!
EXAMPLE: You have a 2 millihex Post-Atomic Era cost structure is just a framework to hang things off
pistol with autoburst capability and +1 Accuracy. of. If your gameworld uses historical wages and
So, you have the “increased capability” modifier costs, you’ll need to take that into account as well.
twice, for a cost adjustment of +2 levels for just that For instance, the Sears & Roebuck 1902 catalog lists
part of its description. Smith & Wesson .38 caliber revolvers for 12 Credits,
Winchester repeating rifles for 12 Credits, surplus
Civil War muskets for 3 Credits and 10 gauge lever
action shotguns for 20 Credits. And dynamite was
only about half a Credit per kilogram and could be
ordered through the mail...

2.41
 AMMUNITION COST - Stuff! designs weapons as v1.0
a whole, with no separation of the weapon and
ammunition. The default rule is that an ammunition
Stuff!
load of 200 shots will mass about the same as the
empty weapon, and cost seven levels less. Which If you are going to use this ammunition cost
cost modifiers you choose to use are a matter of rule, use it only as needed. Stuff! isn’t meant to be a
the particular gameworld. A military weapon might number-crunching system, and we assume you’re
WEAPONS

have “military” ammunition (like a grenade smart enough to know when to break out the
launcher), or fire the same ammunition as a civilian heavy rules and when to just go with the basics.
hunting rifle (like a light machine gun). Similarly, if
you have a tricked-out conventional weapon, the EABA powercells - Some items in the EABA
ammunition doesn’t cost any extra just because equipment list use generic powercells. This can
you have a thermal night sight mounted on it. include weapons if you want. It is worth noting that
Figure the weapon cost using only the ammunition- weapons are likely to require very high pulses of
related enhancements, and base the ammunition power that a commercial item like a powercell is
cost on this amount. unlikely to provide. Detailed notes on how to build
and use powercells are in the Vehicles chapter.
EXAMPLE: For a pistol that cost 350 Credits, 200
rounds of ammunition will cost about 32 Credits and EXAMPLE COSTS - We’ll go through some of the
weigh as much as the empty pistol does. design examples earlier in the rules and see how
much they cost.
Combine this with the “bulky” and “compact”
ammunition modifiers, and it works fine for ninety M-60 machinegun (page 2.14) - This is an
percent of weapon designs. Things like armor- Atomic Era weapon (+6) with a size of -9 (20
piercing bullets, flaming arrows and the like are just millihexes) and shoulder-fired(+2). This is a “base
a “increased capability” adjustment of +1 on the cost” of -1 (700 Credits). Other modifiers are
ammunition cost. However, you can run into weapon(+2), handheld (+2), military production
conceptual problems with some designs. For (+4), autofire (+1). This is a total cost of +6, or 8,000
instance, what if you want to design a reusable Credits. This might be tweaked by other modifiers,
rocket launcher that can fire a wide variety of but is probably going to end up with a cost of at
missiles, from unguided kinetic rods to guided, least +3, or 2,800 Credits.
proximity-fuzed high explosive missiles. The weapon
might just be a metal tube with a trigger assembly. Modifier Cost
All the extra costs are in the ammunition, not on the Weapon size(20 millihex) -9
weapon itself. But, each of these different rockets Atomic Era weapon +6
will make the weapon cost a different amount. So, Weapon +2
how do you figure the weapon cost separately Average technology +0
from its ammunition? Shoulder-fired +2
Military production +4
It turns out to be pretty easy. In any case where Autofire +1
the line between weapon and ammunition blurs, Total of modifiers +6
you figure the cost a little differently. Design the Total cost 8,000 Credits
weapon with the minimum number of modifiers.
That is, only use the modifiers that will be common Default ammunition cost for a load of 200
to all the forms of ammunition used. This is usually rounds is the base cost of -1 (size, tech era, weapon
the size, tech era (include obsolecent through type), with a -7 adjustment, or 125 Credits. In this
experimental modifiers), type of mount (handheld, case, we can say the disposable links used as part
vehicle, etc.), and “weapon” modifiers. The cost of of the feed mechanism are part of the ammunition
this weapon is the cost of the “empty” weapon. The cost. If the ammunition was exclusive to this
cost of the weapon with the extra modifiers is the weapon (and vice versa), you would apply all the
cost of the “loaded” weapon, and the ammunition weapon modifiers to the ammunition cost. So, if for
cost is the difference between the two. Specifically, some reason this weapon could only fire a very
the difference between the two is the cost for specific ammunition, and the ammunition for the
ammunition that equals the mass of the weapon. M-60 couldn’t be used in any other weapon, you
Ammunition is assumed to be “disposable” and would have a cost of +6 with a -7 modifier, or 700
does not use that modifier. Credits for 200 rounds of ammunition. The Stinger
missile example on the next page has this problem.

2.42
 Stinger missile (page 2.32) - This is a weapon
EABA with a size of 16 millihexes. This is a base cost of -10
for the size, +6 for Atomic Era, +4 for requiring
dedicated military ammunition, +2 for shoulder-
Longsword (page 2.14) - This is a weapon with a fired, for a total of +2 (2,000 Credits). If we don’t
size of 3 millihexes. This is a cost level of -15. It is also design the weapon and ammunition separately,
Basic Era (+2). If we wanted it to have armor as a the cost will be higher. We have a 16 millihex
Primitive Era item, we buy it at Primitive Era cost, but weapon and a 20 millihex rocket. The launcher is:
we want this weapon to be of medieval quality, so
we use a Basic Era cost. Other modifiers are melee Modifier Cost
weapon (+4), easy technology (-1), Strength-based Weapon size(16 millihex) -10
weapon (+2), military production (+4), for a total Atomic Era weapon +6
cost of -4, or 250 Credits. Weapon +2
Average technology +0
Modifier Cost Shoulder-fired weapon +2
Weapon size(3 millihex) -15 Military production +4
Basic Era weapon +2 Total of modifiers +4
Melee weapon +4 Total cost 4,000 Credits
Easy technology -1
Strength-based weapon +2 The ammunition is an entirely separate item,
Military production +4 nearly a weapon unto itself. Since ammunition is
Total of modifiers -4 inherently disposable, we do not use that cost
Total cost 250 Credits modifier for the rocket. It looks like this:

The biggest single factor in the cost is the Modifier Cost

“military production” modifier. If the gameworld Weapon size(20 millihex) -9
were one where swords were commonly used by Atomic Era weapon +6
people other than soldiers, the ready availability Weapon +2
would alter the cost. Average technology +0
Military production +4
Mk19 grenade launcher (page 2.14) - This is a Autonomous weapon x 2 +2
weapon with a size of 125 millihexes. This is a base +5 Accuracy +5
cost of -4 for size, +6 for Atomic Era, and since Explosive damage +1
grenades are military items, another +4, for a base Operational side effect(backblast) -1
cost of +6, or 8,000 Credits. Other modifiers are Operational side effect(needs launcher) -1
weapon (+2), tripod weapon (+0), autofire (+1) and Increased range +1
explosive damage (+1). This is a total level of +10, or Slow weapon x 2 -2
32,000 Credits. Specialized targeting -1
Total of modifiers +7
Modifier Cost Total cost 11,000 Credits
Weapon size(125 millihex) -4
Atomic Era weapon +6 This gives a loaded cost of 15,000 Credits. For
Weapon +2 reference, the government “replacement cost” for
Average technology +0 a Stinger is 38,000 Credits. Since the original design
Tripod mounted weapon +0 on page 2.32 seemed a little low in the Accuracy
Military production +4 department, we could add up to 2 points of
Autofire +1 Accuracy (giving it a final Accuracy of 9), which
Explosive damage +1 would be two more “increased capability”
Total of modifiers +10 modifiers on the rocket, increasing its cost to about
Total cost 32,000 Credits 23,000 Credits per shot. So, try to hit what you aim
at. Misses are expensive.
Note that if we bought the ammunition as the
explosive item, the launcher would have a cost of Note - If we had just used straight design rules,
+9, or 23,000 Credits. Ammunition normally costs the all modifiers would have applied to the weapon,
base cost level minus 7, which would be a cost of -1 and it would have had a loaded cost of 23,000
for 200 rounds, +1 for being explosive, would give a Credits, with a cost per shot of about 11,000 Credits,
“per grenade” cost of 5 Credits. You could also depending on which modifiers you applied.
design up each grenade as an indepdendent
weapon and cost it that way.

2.43
 Coastal defense gun (page 2.34) - This is a v1.0
weapon with a size of 64 hexes. This is a “base cost”
of +14, with +5 for Late Industrial Era, or 700,000
Stuff!
Credits. While this is a military item, the manufacture
of the ammunition is not that complex or legally WEAPON PARAMETERS - On the following pages
difficult (it’s a big chunk of iron), so we do not apply are some rough guidelines for designing particular
the military production modifier for purposes of weapons. The idea is that weapons of a certain
WEAPONS

ammunition cost. Other modifiers are weapon (+2), type, like say flamethrowers, will have common
vehicle weapon (+0), military production (+4), characteristics. Once you figure these out, it is just a
reduced range (-5). This is a total level of +20, for a matter of taking the tech era and applying the
final cost of 1,000,000 Credits. total of the modifiers for that type of weapon to get
the final damage, plus the ammunition weight to
Modifier Cost get the final size.
Weapon size(64 hexagon) +14
Late Industrial Era weapon +5 EXAMPLE: A sword starts with a base damage
Weapon +2 of +12, and has -10 worth of modifiers. Add the two,
Average technology +0 and you get 0d+2, so a longsword of the listed size
Vehicle weapon +0 does Punch+2 damage.
Military production +4
Reduced range x 5 -5 EXAMPLE: A generic bolt action military rifle
Total of modifiers +20 from the Industrial Era has a base damage of +24
Total cost 1,000,000 Credits for the era, and -12 in modifiers, so a rifle of the
listed size and characteristics will have a damage
A load of 32 tons of ammunition would only be +12 in modifiers, for result of 4d+0. If you gave this
100 rounds because the weapon has a level of rifle one level of bulky ammunition(+1), it would
bulky ammo. This would be a cost of +12 (64,000 have a damage of 4d+1 instead.
Credits), or 640 Credits per shot. You could apply
explosive ammunition (+1) to this, for a cost per shot Mostly, shoulder-fired weapons of various types
of 900 Credits for explosive rounds. Note that the are listed. For melee weapons there may be
weapon has a base accuracy of 7, and it could go fractional modifiers in the total (see page 2.10),
up to 13 at this tech era, at an increase to cost. leaving room for customizing. They round to no
effect unless they add up to +1 or -1. Last, modifiers
Flamethrower (page 2.34) - This weapon is Early with an “*” might only apply to projectiles rather
Atomic Era (+5), with a size of 32 millihexes (-8). The than overall damage.
explosive nature of the effect is part of the way the
weapon delivers its payload, so the cost is part of For people familiar with weapons, this is not
the weapon, not the fuel that is shoots, and so it is that big a deal, but if you aren’t a weapon-phile
also part of the base cost (+1), for a base cost of -2 and just need a tool for quick and dirty weapon
(500 Credits). It also has the following modifiers, for design, the guidelines may help you out quite a bit.
a final cost of 1,400 Credits. Remember that not all the modifiers a weapon
may have are there, just the ones we’re saying
Modifier Cost weapons of that type do have.
Weapon size(32 millihex) -8
Early Atomic Era weapon +5
Weapon +2
Easy technology -1
Shoulder fired weapon +2
Military production +4
Explosive damage +1
Duration effect +1
Continuous beam +1
Unreliable -1
Reduced range x 5 -5
Total of modifiers +1
Total cost 1,400 Credits

The “ammunition cost” is -8 for 200 shots (64

Credits). The weapon only carries 100 “shots”, so it
has a reload cost of about 32 Credits.

2.44
 Technology - Exactly what is a reasonable tech
EABA era for the weapon? This is not just a matter of what
the date is, it also relates somewhat to the mission
of the weapon. Civilian weapons are sold in smaller
WEAPON CHECKLIST - We’ve tried to present quantities, to a more select audience. New models
things in order, but as you work on doing designs, of pistols, rifles and shotguns come out every year.
try to keep the following things in mind. Military weapons on the other hand, are often used
with only minor design changes for decades. The
Weight - If it is a handheld weapon, someone venerable .45 ACP pistol was in service as the US
has to carry it. How far do they have to carry it? military standard sidearm for something like eighty
How long do they have to carry it? If it is an infantry years! The M-16 assault rifle series is approaching
weapon, consider the poor dog soldier is also the forty year mark, and the M-14 is a World War II
carrying ammunition, food, a tent, a knife, an design that is still in service with some units. While
entrenching tool, a first aid kit, possibly body armor, older variants may be phased out over time, these
blankets or a sleeping bag, etc. If it is a vehicle weapons will still be a little behind the overall curve,
weapon, weight may not be as important, but and will have to be supplied with ammunition that
space is. There are only so many empty hexagons is appropriate for the oldest models still in service.
to go around. Even a brand new design might have been in
development and trials for so long that by the time
Both of these also relate to ammunition weight. it reaches service, tech has advanced a fraction of
You have to be able to carry enough to fulfill the an era and left it behind. The current US sidearm,
designed mission of the weapon. If you make an the Beretta 92F, is just a modification of a design
ultra-powerful tank cannon, but the tank runs out of dating to 1976CE, which was in turn really just an
ammunition because the shells were too bulky to enhancement of a model dating back to 1951CE.
carry enough, then the gun could end up being
useless when you need it the most. This creeping obscolescence is not as much a
problem when there are centuries between tech
Mission - What is the main purpose of the eras, but militaries in these eras also tended to be
weapon? This is not as silly and self-obvious as you more conservative, and hung onto weapons long
might think. A pistol obviously serves a different past when they should have. For instance, the British
purpose than an assault rifle, and an assault rifle a were using large-bore muskets in the Revolutionary
different purpose than a heat-seeking missile. War, fighting against American rebels armed with
Clearly, causing harm is inherent in the nature of a small-bore rifles. And it made a difference.
weapon, but you need to figure the people who
are supposed to use the weapon, the conditions Politics - This has been touched on before, but
they are to use it in, and to some extent, the nature the political situation in the gameworld or any part
of the political situation that allows or requires these of it is the single most important factor in terms of
weapons. A taser may not be the most effective of weapon cost. A “military” weapon costs four times
weapons, but if the poltical situation makes private as much as a normal one. If your government
ownership of firearms illegal, it may be the best defines all firearms as highly restricted technology,
available weapon for an average person. Or, from then even if you can get one legally, it is going to
a military standpoint, a truck driver might need a cost a lot more than it would in some chaotic war
short-range weapon for self-defense, but does not zone where AK-47’s are sold at flea markets
need the weight or bulk of a heavy rifle. This would alongside bootleg DVD’s. If swords can only be
be a role for a submachinegun, pistol or as they are possessed by nobility, then the number of sword
called now, “personal defense weapons”. makers will be far smaller and the clientele more
wealthy, both factors that will drive up the price.
Related to the mission is the cost, which is
reflected in the various modifiers. It might not be Balance - If someone can make a weapon that
cost effective to equip and train everyone with a gives them a significant edge, what is there to keep
weapon that has 3,000 Credits worth of gizmos everyone else from copying it? A technology edge,
strapped to it, but this investment might be worth it a bigger budget, or something else? Imbalances
for a commando team or SWAT team, and this also tend to be self-correcting, often within a timeframe
falls back onto the weight question. A SWAT team of part of a tech era. Someone comes up with
that is five minutes from a source of resupply, on an better armor-piercing ammunition, someone else
assignment that is unlikely to take more than an responds by coming up with better armor. These
hour, can carry more stuff than a team that has to temporary imbalances can be part and parcel of
operate for a week behind enemy lines. an adventure or a campaign, but keep in mind
that they are not forever.

2.45
 v1.0
Stuff!
PRIMITIVE ERA WEAPONS (+12)1
TYPE TYPICAL SIZE POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OTHER MODIFIERS TOTAL MODIFIER (INC. SIZE)
Knife .5 millihex(-11) - Easy technology(+1) -13
Strength-based(-3)
Short sword 2 millihex(-9) - Easy technology(+1) -11
Strength-based(-3)
Sword 3 millihex(-8 1/3) - Easy technology(+1) -10
Strength-based(-3)
Two-handed sword 6 millihex(-7 1/3) - Easy technology(+1) -8
Strength-based(-2)
Axe 5 millihex(-7 2/3) - Easy technology(+1) -9
Strength-based(-3)
Unbalanced(+1/3)
Mace 5 millihex(-7 2/3) - Easy technology(+1) -9
Strength-based(-3)
Half-lethal damage(+1/3)
Unbalanced(+1/3)
Polearm 6 millihex(-7 1/3) - Easy technology(+1) -8
Strength-based(-2)
Unbalanced(+1/3)
Thrown spear 3 millihex(-8 1/3) - Easy technology(+1) -11
Thrown weapon(-4)
Thrown axe 2 millihex(-9) - Easy technology(+1) -12
Thrown weapon(-4)
Bow2 2 millihex(-9) - Easy technology(+1) -11
Thrown weapon(-4)
Several actions to reload(+1/3)
Bulky ammunition(+1)
Crossbow2 6 millihex(-7 1/3) - Easy technology(+1) -8
Thrown weapon(-4)
Several actions to reload(+1/3)
Bulky ammunition(+1)
Unreliable(+1)
Catapult2 2 hexagon(+1) requires crew of 3 Easy technology(+1) +1
Thrown weapon(-4)
Two minutes to reload(+1 1/3)
Reduced range(+1)
Battering power(-1)
Bulky ammunition(+1)
Unreliable(+1)
Trebuchet2 8 hexagon(+3) requires crew of 6 Easy technology(+1) +4
Thrown weapon(-4)
Eight minutes to reload(+2)
Reduced range(+2)
Battering power(-1)
Bulky ammunition(+1)
Unreliable(+1)
Indirect fire(-1)

1. Remember that due to division by three, some modifiers (like unbalanced) may round to zero effect unless combined with other modifiers.
2. Remember that Strength-based ranged weapons get +1 damage for each era past Primitive, which will make them harder to reload.

2.46
 EABA
BASIC ERA WEAPONS (+18)
TYPE TYPICAL SIZE POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OTHER MODIFIERS TOTAL MODIFIER (INC. SIZE)
Muzzle loading field artillery 2 hexagon(+3) Vuln. to weather Gun carriage(-3) +2
Unreliable(+3)
One minute to reload(+3)
Reduced range(+3)
Battering power(-7)
Matchlock musket 8 millihex(-21) Vuln. to weather Handheld(+3) -9
Very unreliable(+6)
One minute to reload(+3)
Flintlock rifle 8 millihex(-21) Vuln. to weather Late era(+2) -9
Handheld(+3)
Unreliable(+4)
One minute to reload(+3)

INDUSTRIAL ERA WEAPONS (+24)

TYPE TYPICAL SIZE POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OTHER MODIFIERS TOTAL MODIFIER (INC. SIZE)
Bolt-action rifle 8 millihex(-21) - Late era(+2) -12
Several actions to reload(+1)
Unreliable(+3)
Handheld(+3)
Shotgun 8 millihex(-21) - Late era(+2) -15
Shotgun(-3)
Several actions to reload(+1)
Unreliable(+3)
Handheld(+3)
Submachinegun 8 millihex(-21) - Late era(+2) -18
Reliable autofire(-3)
Bulky ammunition(+1)
Handheld(+3)
Machinegun 32 millihex(-15) - Late era(+2) -10
Unreliable autofire(-1)
Ten seconds to reload(+2)
Reduced range(+1)
Tripod mount(+1)
Field artillery 8 hexagon(+9) - Late era(+2) +5
Several actions to reload(+1)
Gun carriage & gun shield(-4)
Reduced range(+3)
Indirect fire(-3)
Half-lethal explosive(-3)*
Flamethrower 32 millihex(-15) - Late era(+2) -15
Easy technology(+3)
Handheld(+3)
Reduced range(+3)
Continuous beam(-3)
Declining duration effect(-8)
One minute to reload(+3)
Unreliable(+1d)
Lethal explosive(-6)
Grenade 1 millihex(-10d) Late era(+2) -16
Easy technology(+3)
Unreliable(+3)
Placed(+6)
Lethal explosive(-6)
One use(+6)
2.47
 v1.0
Stuff!
ATOMIC ERA WEAPONS (+30)
TYPE TYPICAL SIZE POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OTHER MODIFIERS TOTAL MODIFIER (INC. SIZE)
Rifle 8 millihex(-21) - Handheld(+3) -17
Reduced range(+1)
Autorifle 8 millihex(-21) - Handheld(+3) -18
Unreliable autofire(-1)
Reduced range(+1)
Shotgun 8 millihex(-21) - Handheld(+3) -20
Shotgun(-3)
Reduced range(+1)
Grenade launcher 4 millihex(-24) - Handheld(+3) -13
Reduced range(+1)
Bulky ammunition(+6)
Several actions to reload(+1)
Explosive(-6)*
Grenade 1 millihex(-30) - Easy technology(+3) -21
Placed weapon(+6)
Lethal explosive damage(-6)
One use weapon(+6)
Stun grenade 1 millihex(-30) - Easy technology(+3) -18
Placed weapon(+6)
Half-lethal explosive damage(-3)
One use weapon(+6)
Anti-tank grenade 2 millihex(-27) - Easy technology(+3) -2d
Placed weapon(+6)
Shaped charge(+3)
One use(+6)
Unreliable(+3)
Medium mortar 125 millihex(-9) - Easy technology(+3) -10
Dismountable(-2)
Lethal explosive(-6)*
Manually aimed(+1)
Bulky ammunition(+4)
Reduced range(+2)
Indirect fire(-3)
Taser 2 millihex(-27) +4 damage if armor Handheld(+3) -27
is penetrated Non-lethal damage(+2)
Battering power(-2)
Declining duration effect(-6)
Reduced range(+3)
Bulky ammunition(+3)
Disposable AT rocket 8 millihex(-21) - Handheld(+3) +0
Easy technology(+3)
One use weapon(+6)
Shaped charge x 2(+6)
Slow weapon x 3(+3)
Anti-personnel mine .5 millihex(-33) - Easy technology(+3) -30
Lethal explosive damage(-6)
Placed weapon(+6)
Triggered weapon(+0)

2.48
 EABA
POST-ATOMIC ERA WEAPONS(+36)
TYPE TYPICAL SIZE POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OTHER MODIFIERS TOTAL MODIFIER
Binary propellant assault rifle 8 millihex(-21) - Handheld(+3) -20
Adjustable damage(-1)
Unreliable autofire(-1)
Compact ammunition(-2)
Reduced range(+2)
Laser rifle 8 millihex(-21) No recoil Handheld(+3) -18
Blocked by smoke Average/hard technology(-1)
Beneficial side effect(-2)
Detrimental side effect(+2)
Reduced range(+1)
Laser assault rifle 8 millihex(-21) No recoil Handheld(+3) -19
Blocked by smoke Average/hard technology(-1)
Unreliable autofire(-1)
Beneficial side effect(-2)
Detrimental side effect(+2)
Reduced range(+1)
Gauss rifle 8 millihex(-21) - Handheld(+3) -17
Average/hard technology(-1)
Reduced range(+1)
Bulky ammunition(+1)
Particle beam rifle 16 millihex(-18) Vacuum use only Handheld(+3) -16
Armor-piercing Hard technology(-3)
Beneficial side effect(-2)
Detrimental side effect(+2)
Bulky ammunition(+2)
Sonic stunner rifle 8 millihex(-21) Atmosphere use only Handheld(+3) -22
Average technology(+0)
Non-lethal damage(+2)
Detrimental side effect(+1)
Adjustable damage(-1)
Cone area(-6)
Bulky ammunition(+2)
Hyperv. microsphere .5 millihex(-33) Armor-piercing Handheld(+3) -31
Reduced range(+4)
Unreliable autofire(-1)
Beneficial side effect(-2)
Compact ammunition(-2)

ADVANCED ERA WEAPONS(+42)

TYPE TYPICAL SIZE POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OTHER MODIFIERS TOTAL MODIFIER
Disruptor rifle 8 millihex(-21) - Handheld(+3) -30
Average technology(+0)
Tech era special effect(-12)
Blaster rifle 8 millihex(-21) - Handheld(+3) -16
Average technology(+0)
Compact ammunition(-2)
Reduced range(+4)
Plasma gun 16 millihex(-18) Excessive recoil Handheld(+3) -18
Backblast Hard technology(-3)
Detrimental side effects(+2)
Reduced range(+3)
Bulky ammunition(+1)
Lethal explosive damage(-6)

2.49
 DESIGN PAGE 1 - If you are viewing this page as a v1.0
pdf, it has forms that allow you to do many aspects
of weapon design right here on the page, and then
Stuff!
print off your finished design. Cool, eh?
0.000 Clear Cancel

Insert weapon name

7 8 9 x
WEAPONS

Middle Atomic Era 10 d+ 0

4 5 6 /
Average technology 0 d+ 0 =
1 2 3 -
Weapon of 1 millihex 0 d+ 0
0 . +
No size adjustment 0 d+ 0
Normal rate of fire 0 d+ 0
Normal damage 0 d+ 0
Reload as an action 0 d+ 0
Reliable 0 d+ 0 Autocalc off M60 LMG Mk19 gren.

No side effects 0 d+ 0 Reset form 6-pdr Flamethrower

No side effects 0 d+ 0 Weapon size 1 hexagon

No special effect 0 d+ 0 Ammunition size per shot 0.01 hexagon
Normal ammunition (shots x 1) 0 d+ 0 Enter shots carried/type 1 clip
Normal weapon 0 d+ 0 Default Accuracy 4
Normal damage 0 d+ 0 Enter Accuracy adjustments 0
Normal damage 0 d+ 0 Default cost level 8
Handheld (shoulder-fired) 1 d+ 0 Other cost levels (p.2.39) 0
Normal ranged weapon 0 d+ 0 Approximate historical date 1980CE
WEAPONS

Advanced design modifiers

Fixed mount weapon 0 d+ 0 No duration effect 0 d+ 0
Conventional damage 0 d+ 0 Instant effect 0 d+ 0
Direct fire weapon 0 d+ 0 No area effect 0 d+ 0
No submunitions 0 d+ 0 Normal effect 0 d+ 0
Normal range (Level+10) 0 d+ 0 Non-adjustable damage 0 d+ 0
Normal range 0 d+ 0 Single weapon 0 d+ 0
No proximity fuze 0 d+ 0 No recoil compensation 0 d+ 0
Non-triggered weapon 0 d+ 0 No self-charging 0 d+ 0
Normal technology 0 d+ 0 No gun shield/carriage 0 d+ 0
Non-autonomous weapon 0 d+ 0 Not dismountable 0 d+ 0
Unguided weapon 0 d+ 0 No gizmos 0 d+ 0
Normal targeting 0 d+ 0
Normal speed weapon 0 d+ 0 Subtotal 11 d+ 0
Final weapon damage 11 d+ 0

Name Uses Accuracy Damage Shots Weight Cost Armor Hits

Insert weapon name insert 4 11d+0 1 clip 0.5(0.0)ton 16KCr 2d+1 11

2.50
3.1
VEHICLES
 “Her broadside walls were shivered, and v1.0

great slabs and splinters were strewn over the

Stuff!
deck of her entire gunroom; her stairways were BASIC VEHICLES - Depending on the
gameworld, vehicles can range from a rarity to a
so bloody and slippery that we had to sift cinders central part of daily life. Driving a vehicle is like any
VEHICLES

other skilled action, changing facing, speeding up,

from the ash pans to keep from slipping. When slowing down and so on. The Strength of the engine
is like an adventurer’s Strength and determines how
she made fast to the wharf, a number of curious fast the vehicle can go. If you want to get into a
shoving match with a car, you compare your
soldiers and civilians crowded aboard, but Strength roll to its (hint: you’re going to lose). For
ninety-nine percent of adventurer or gamemaster
recoiled when they saw blood and brains needs, you just need to know the following:

bespattered everywhere, whilst arms, legs How fast will it go?

How big is it?
and several headless trunks were strewn about.” How tough is it?
How big a gun can I put in it?
L.S. Flatau, “A Great Naval Battle” How many gizmos are on it?
How much does it cost?
How do I blow it up?
INTRODUCTION - The genesis of Stuff! was the
short but usable vehicle design rules in EABA. The Like weapon design, vehicles will be broken
thought was “if we can do basic vehicle design in down into basic and advanced sections. The basic
that short a space, what can we do with a whole section covers your run-of-the-mill car/boat/plane
book?” This chapter will repeat the EABA vehicle kind of stuff, while the advanced section deals with
rules, and add a lot more material to cover all the esoteric stuff like rockets, balloons, starships, etc.
advanced topics outside the mainstream “get in,
turn key, drive” sort of vehicles the main EABA rules Remember that the idea of Stuff! is to let you
are meant for. decide the specifics of what you are building.
Power plants are “power plants”. It can be a steam
The rather grim and grisly quote above is a engine, jet turbine or alchemical reactor, whatever
recollection from a battle fought on July 15, 1862 you decide is appropriate for the vehicle and the
by the Confederate ironclad Arkansas. It is meant gameworld. You just choose the modifiers on the
to remind you that vehicles in roleplaying are an power plant that best reflect how it works. All that
avenue for adventure, and vehicle combat is not Stuff! cares about is how big it is and how fast it
the best place for adventurers to be, even in a makes your vehicle go. The same applies to your
somewhat forgiving system like EABA. Keep it in weapons, armor and everything else.
mind in two ways. First, big guns are really, really
bad for soft, squishy people. Second, you only need If you design up a vehicle and it doesn’t seem
to design enough of your vehicle to meet whatever to meet your idea of what it should be capable of,
needs it will serve in your adventure. If an adventure don’t scrap it. First, go to the advanced design
takes place on a cruise ship, do you really need to section and see if there are any modifiers that might
design a entire cruise ship? Probably not. apply. A simple use of something like the advanced
“suspension” rules might make your car just that little
bit faster. If minor tweaks don’t work, then go back
and rethink the concept. Maybe you’re just trying to
do too much, either for the size of the vehicle or the
level of technology. Altering one, the other or both
might be the change you need.

3.2
 Note that the scale is just a little different than
EABA that used for weapons, and just slightly different
than the ultra-compact rules used in EABA. Power
plants are -3 to Strength each time size is halved
Power - Whatever makes your vehicle go is below one hexagon (and extra space modifiers are
going to be referred to as a “powerplant”. The halved), and +6 to Strength each time it is doubled
actual mechanism is irrelevant at this point, but above one hexagon. We’d like to have made
VEHICLES

historically, mechanical power plants only become everything exactly the same, but the numbers just
practical with Industrial Era technology. Everything didn’t work out that way. Strength can and should
prior to that is just an application of animal power, be changed for early or late portions of an era. For
wind power or some other natural force. instance, Early Industrial engines would be +22
Strength, while Late Basic engines would be +20
One hexagon of reliable powerplant generates Strength.
the listed amount of Strength. Note that this is total
power plant space. Multiple smaller engines (of the Normal powerplants need maintenance each
same size) use power for one engine and add +1d one thousand hours of operation (time level of 44),
each time you double the number. If you have to more often under severe circumstances. Touchy
compare vehicle Strengths, you usually compare powerplants will need some maintenance at least
power plant Strength, not adjusted Strength. once each one hundred twenty five hours of
operation (6 time levels less). With gamemaster
Technological Era Power for 1 hexagon permission, this bonus to power can be taken more
Animal power +6 Strength than once, cutting operating time between
Primitive +12 Strength maintenance by a factor of two (2 time levels) for
Basic +18 Strength each +3 of Strength after the first (slightly more than
Industrial +24 Strength a factor of 25% for each +1 Strength). Durable but
Atomic +30 Strength bulky powerplants require less maintenance,
Post-Atomic +36 Strength increasing operating time between maintenance
Advanced +42 Strength by a factor of eight (6 time levels) for the first -1d
Early part of an Era -2 penalty penalty to Strength and by a factor of two (2 time
Middle part of an Era no adjustment levels) for each -3 penalty after that.
Late part of an Era +2 bonus
EXAMPLE: One hexagon of Atomic Era engine
Modifiers Amount has a Strength of +30. A high-performance jet
Power plant of .12 hexagon -9 penalty engine that required maintenance each 60 hours
Power plant of .25 hexagon -6 penalty (doubly touchy) would have a Strength of +36
Power plant of .5 hexagon -3 penalty (12d+0) instead.
Power plant of 1 hexagon +0 bonus
Power plant of 2 hexagons +6 bonus Wind power uses no fuel and animal power can
Power plant of 4 hexagons +12 bonus get by on forage, but also can get tired or fail.
Power plant of 8 hexagons +18 bonus Realistically, animal power should never have an
Power plant of 16 hexagons +24 bonus adjusted Strength of more than +15 for speed
Power plant of 32 hexagons +30 bonus purposes. The way legs work doesn’t really allow
Power plant of 64 hexagons +36 bonus you to tow a vehicle any faster than this. The top
Power plant of 125 hexagons +42 bonus speed for an animal or wind-powered vehicle is in
Power plant of 250 hexagons +48 bonus perfect conditions. A more reasonable long-term
Power plant of 500 hexagons +54 bonus average is the speed for the Strength with a further
Power plant of 1000 hexagons +60 bonus penalty of -6 (down to the minimum table entry).
Each doubling +6 bonus
Each 25% extra space (max +50%) +2 bonus In addition, in a 1g gravity well, very large
Each 25% less space (max -25%) -1 penalty creatures lose some of their efficiency because of
Touchy (x8 maintenance) +3 bonus increased skeletal needs. More details are in the the
Durable (x1/8 maintenance) -3 penalty Creatures chapter, but for now assume an animal
power plant takes a -1 penalty for each +2 Strength
Note - One nice thing about Stuff! is that any from its size, or +1 per each -4 from its size.
particular gameworld’s designs can be tweaked to
match the gamemaster or player’s expectations. EXAMPLE: A single animal 8 hexagons in size
Want more powerful steampunk vehicles? Just add would have an adjusted Strength of +15 (+24, with
+3 or +6 to the listed power plant output. Ditto for a -9 penalty from its size). Eight 1 hexagon animals
any other era, system or subsystem on a vehicle. would also have a combined Strength of +15.

3.3
 On any vehicle with a mechanical powerplant v1.0
(not wind, animal or similar), a fuel tank is part of the
space taken up by the powerplant. For free you get
Stuff!
five hours of running time at full speed, or ten at half
speed or less. More fuel than this takes up the same Loaded mass Strength adjustment
space as the powerplant for forty hours of fuel at .03 ton +15 bonus
top speed or eighty at half speed or less. This would .06 ton +12 bonus
VEHICLES

be figured at the same mass as cargo space. This .12 ton +9 bonus
does not cover things like rocket engines, inefficient .25 ton +6 bonus
battery power or super-efficient fusion reactors, just .5 ton +3 bonus
your basic “fill the gas tank” kind of engine that 1 ton +0 bonus
most vehicles are going to have. Anything fancier 2 tons -3 penalty
than that will be in the advanced design section 4 tons -6 penalty
(page 3.15). 8 tons -9 penalty
16 tons -12 penalty
EXAMPLE: A .5 hexagon Atomic Era powerplant 32 tons -15 penalty
has a Strength of +27 and will run for five hours at full 64 tons -18 penalty
speed using the fuel included in this size. If you add 125 tons -21 penalty
.5 hexagons of extra fuel (the powerplant size), you 250 tons -24 penalty
get an extra forty hours of full power operation. 500 tons -27 penalty
1000 tons -30 penalty
Once you have the Strength of the vehicle, you 2000 tons -33 penalty
adjust this Strength for the vehicle’s mass in tons and 4000 tons -36 penalty
use the result to figure out the vehicle’s top speed, 8000 tons -39 penalty
rounding mass to the nearest table entry (exactly 16,000 tons -42 penalty
halfway rounds up). This means you have to figure 32,000 tons -45 penalty
out the loaded vehicle mass before you go any 64,000 tons -48 penalty
further. Each doubling -3 penalty
Each 25% extra mass (max +50%) -1 penalty
Vehicle type Approx. loaded weight Each 25% less mass (max -25%) +1 bonus
Motorcycle .2 tons Offroad vehicle -3 penalty
Compact car 1 ton Flying vehicle +3 bonus
Car 1.5 ton Upper atmosphere +9 bonus
Truck 2 tons Water vehicle(surface) -9 penalty
Cargo truck 7 tons Water vehicle(submerged) -6 penalty
Armored personnel carrier 20 tons
Tank 50 tons EXAMPLE: One hexagon of Atomic Era engine
Jet ski .2 tons has a Strength of +30. You put this in a truck that has
Motorboat 1 ton a loaded mass of 4 tons, for a -6 penalty. This truck
Yacht 200 tons has an adjusted Strength of +24 for purposes of
Man o’War 1,000tons determining its performance. Remember that in any
Destroyer 3,000 tons sort of shoving or towing match, you use the power-
Cruiser 20,000 tons plant Strength before it is adjusted for vehicle
Battleship 60,000 tons weight.
Ultralight .2 tons
Light plane 1.5 tons We recommend keeping a copy of the EABA
Light attack helicopter 5 tons Universal Chart (EABA, page 3.4) handy for easy
WWII fighter 6 tons viewing of doubled amounts of mass, time and size.
Modern fighter 15 tons
Large passenger jet 350 tons There are certain vehicle characteristics you do
Heavy bomber 250 tons not have to worry about. All vehicles are assumed
to be streamlined and have the obvious effects
Don’t be surprised if you have to go back and appropriate to their era and function. Boats are
refigure things later. You may have over or under- watertight, space vehicles are airtight, submarines
estimated the weight of everything you want to put don’t have screen doors, and so on. An “upper
between the wheels... atmosphere vehicle” is a flying vehicle designed to
operate in a low- or no drag environment (very high
altitudes). Any vehicle designed for re-entry will
have this modifier.

3.4
 EXAMPLE: An airplane with adjusted Strength of
EABA +45 has a stall speed based on the +33 row (-12 on
top speed), and ends up with acceleration for the
+18 row. The designer decides to gain +3 speed (to
You use the next table to determine the basic +48) to lose -3 on acceleration (to +15 Strength).
top speed, acceleration and deceleration of your They then use that +3 on top speed to change its
vehicle. You normally round fractional die amounts stall speed. The top speed goes back down to the
VEHICLES

down, but you may use the italicized numbers if you +45 row, but the stall speed goes down -3 to the
want. +30 row. The top speed is +45, the acceleration is
+15 and the stall speed is +30.
EXAMPLE: Our 4 ton truck has an adjusted
Strength of +24 (8d+0). The table shows it has a top Strength remaining Top speed
speed of 30 meters per turn when fully loaded. If the -12(-4d+0) 1m/turn (4kph/2mph)
truck had 2 tons of cargo capacity and was running -7(-2d+1) 1.5m/turn (5kph/3mph)
empty (an empty weight of 2 tons), its top speed -4(-1d+1) 2m/turn (7kph/4mph)
then would be closer to that for a Strength of +27 +0(0d+0) 3m/turn (11kph/7mph)
(9d+0), or 40 meters per turn. +3(1d+0) 4m/turn (14kph/9mph)
+6(2d+0) 5m/turn (18kph/11mph)
A vehicle can’t reach its top speed or slow to a +8(2d+2) 6m/turn (22kph/13mph)
stop in one turn. A vehicle’s default acceleration +9(3d+0) 7m/turn (25kph/16mph)
and deceleration is based on half the power plant +10(3d+1) 8m/turn (29kph/18mph)
Strength (round up), plus the mass modifier, plus or +12(4d+0) 9m/turn (32kph/20mph)
minusany modifier for the type of vehicle (water +13(4d+1) 10m/turn (36kph/22mph)
vehicle, off-road vehicle, etc.), with an extra -9 for +14(4d+2) 11m/turn (40kph/25mph)
“surface” vehicles like autos or boats. The result is +15(5d+0) 13m/turn (47kph/29mph)
the Strength row for the meters per turn the vehicle +16(5d+1) 14m/turn (50kph/31mph)
can change its speed. Rockets count as flying +17(5d+2) 16m/turn (58kph/36mph)
vehicles for acceleration/liftoff purposes, not as +18(6d+0) 17m/turn (61kph/38mph)
upper atmosphere vehicles. +19(6d+1) 19m/turn (68kph/43mph)
+20(6d+2) 21m/turn (76kph/47mph)
Air vehicles can take off vertically if acceleration +21(7d+0) 23m/turn (83kph/52mph)
is 4d+2 or more (11 meters). Winged vehicles need +22(7d+1) 25m/turn (90kph/56mph)
a speed of -12 from their top speed in order to take +23(7d+2) 28m/turn (101kph/63mph)
off horizontally, and stub-wing vehicles require a +24(8d+0) 30m/turn (108kph/68mph)
speed -6 from their top speed in order to lift off. This +25(8d+1) 33m/turn (119kph/74mph)
is the “stall speed”, and is the minimum controllable +26(8d+2) 36m/turn (130kph/81mph)
speed for a non-VTOL vehicle. Most vehicles can +27(9d+0) 40m/turn (144kph/90mph)
also optimize their speed, gaining or losing one row +28(9d+1) 44m/turn (158kph/98mph)
for acceleration purposes by losing or gaining one +29(9d+2) 48m/turn (173kph/107mph)
row for top speed purposes. +30(10d+0) 53m/turn (191kph/119mph)
+31(10d+1) 58m/turn (209kph/130mph)
EXAMPLE: Our 4 ton truck has a Strength of +30 +32(10d+2) 64m/turn (230kph/143mph)
and a -6 mass modifier. It will have an acceleration +33(11d+0) 71m/turn (256kph/160mph)
of half its Strength (+15), with a -6 mass penalty and +34(11d+1) 78m/turn (281kph/174mph)
a -9 “surface vehicle” penalty, for an acceleration +35(11d+2) 86m/turn (310kph/192mph)
on the +0 row, or 3 meters per turn. +36(12d+0) 95m/turn (342kph/214mph)
+37(12d+1) 105m/turn (378kph/235mph)
Air vehicles may not take off vertically unless +38(12d+2) 115m/turn (414kph/257mph)
their acceleration is greater than 10 and they have +39(13d+0) 126m/turn (454kph/284mph)
paid the extra monetary cost for a VTOL vehicle. +40(13d+1) 139m/turn (500kph/311mph)
Vertical take-off air vehicles can subtract 10 meters +41(13d+2) 153m/turn (551kph/342mph)
from acceleration and accelerate in any direction +42(14d+0) 169m/turn (608kph/380mph)
(including straight up) an amount equal to the +43(14d+1) 186m/turn (670kph/416mph)
difference. Most air vehicles can also optimize +44(14d+2) 205m/turn (738kph/459mph)
their speed, gaining or losing ±1 for acceleration +45(15d+0) 225m/turn (810kph/506mph)
purposes by losing or gaining ±1 for top speed +46(15d+1) 248m/turn (893kph/555mph)
purposes. An air vehicle can also give up -1 of top +47(15d+2) 273m/turn (983kph/611mph)
speed to gain an extra +1 of difference for +48(16d+0) 300m/turn (1080kph/675mph)
determining stall speed. Each extra +1d times one and a third
Each extra +1 times one and a tenth
3.5
 A vehicle with adjusted Strength of +48 (16d+0) v1.0
can reach Mach 1 (the speed of sound), and every
+7 past that would be another Mach number.
Stuff!
Note - The faster a vehicle can go, the less How big? - You need one hexagon of space for
important small speed differences become. All that each standing or sitting person of normal size. To see
really matters is whether or not you are faster than what this is like, lay twelve sheets of paper on the
VEHICLES

the other guy... ground and then sit down on them with a yardstick
next to you to get a one meter height, or stand on
EXAMPLE: We decide to build a Post-Atomic Era six sheets with two yardsticks of height. You really
aircar (flying limousine). We decide it will be 8 tons need a minimum of two hexagons per person if
(it is armored), and give it a touchy engine that there is standing room with room to do anything.
takes up two hexagons, for 15d+0 Strength. You can get three people in two hexagons if it is
cramped, and two in one hexagon if they are really
Post-Atomic Era +36 crammed in. Beds take up two hexagons, and other
2 hexagon power plant +6 permanent facilities you can get an idea of by
Touchy x 1 +3 looking around the place you live. Keep in mind
Modifier total +45 that all but the smallest vehicles are very unlikely to
Total 15d+0 take up the same number of hexagons on a map as
their total volume. The advanced rules (page 3.38)
After taking mass and flying ability into account, have more details on space needed for people
+39 Strength is left, so it has a top speed of 126 and stuff.
meters per turn. This is going to be a stub-wing VTOL
design, so its stall speed based on lift will be -6 from EXAMPLE: A van might have two hexagons of
this, on the +33 row, or 71 meters per turn. space for the engine compartment (one hexagon
high, two hexagons wide). It might have six more
Power plant Strength +23 hexagons of floor plan where there is more or less
8 ton loaded vehicle mass -9 standing room, but these take up twelve hexagons
Flying vehicle +3 of vehicle volume. So, you have eight hexagons of
Modifier total +17 space on a map, but fourteen in vehicle volume.

It can accelerate/decelerate based on half its After you fit any people in, you need space for
power plant Strength(+23), minus its mass penalty storage, the powerplant, gizmos and possibly extra
(-9), plus the fact that is is an air vehicle (+3), for a fuel. Small vehicles like motorcycles will completely
final row of +17, or an acceleration of 16. Since you fit in two hexagons and may actually have a
only need an acceleration of 10 to counter gravity, volume of one hexagon or less.
the aircar can accelerate straight up at 6 meters
per turn, which means it is VTOL capable. Because Flying vehicles with wings (those that can’t take
this is meant to be a vertical takeoff vehicle we opt off vertically) will have wings and control surfaces
for “stubby wing” (aerodynamic control surfaces), that take up double the hexagons of everything
because these take up less space and weight in the else. Flying vehicles that can take off vertically will
vehicle. However, their complexity will make the have half the hexagons of everything else taken up
vehicle more expensive per hexagon than a non- by control surfaces. Space vehicles generally don’t
VTOL flying vehicle. need control surfaces. In terms of a vehicle drawing,
you should assume about four hexagons of space
Note - You may have noticed that you could for each hexagon of full wings (since they are
theoretically get any flying vehicle off the ground usually less than a meter high). In general, you
(very slowly) using nothing more than a gerbil on a design any sort of air vehicle by fitting in everything
treadmill. In general, winged vehicles should have you want, and then seeing how big the wings are.
enough Strength (modified power plant minus the
mass penalty) to “lift themselves” (e.g. a plane with EXAMPLE: If you only have two hexagons of stuff
a residual Strength of 2d+0 can “lift” 50 kilograms). in your airplane design, you need a plane that has
a size of six hexagons (a plane with a size of six
Note - As a practical matter, no “spinning the hexagons has four hexagons of wings, leaving two
wheels against the ground” type of power train is hexagons for your stuff). For purposes of weight,
going to have an acceleration of more than +13. It armor calculations and the like, you use a vehicle
is exceeding difficult to get more than 1g of forward size of six hexagons. But if you want to draw it out on
acceleration, since it would mean the car is pushing a sheet of paper, you pencil in two hexagons of
against the ground with more than its weight. stuff, and sixteen hexagons of wings.

3.6
 EXAMPLE: If a passenger car has -1d+0 armor, it
EABA counts as 1d+0 armor. However, to buy armor for
the car you would buy it up from -1d+0, not 1d+0.

For now, generally ignore anything else that You may pull some protection from one side of
takes up space. A blimp may be huge, but the a vehicle to add to a different side, and this can
passenger cabin is not. For purposes of “floor plan” drop armor on one or more sides to 0d+0. Imagine a
VEHICLES

a vehicle may have multiple levels. canoe or rowboat, or to some extent a convertible.

EXAMPLE: This aircar/limousine carries a driver Each -2 of armor from any number of sides can
and five seated passengers, plus luggage space be used to give a different side +1 armor. The sides
and room for gizmos. That is six hexagons of space are top, bottom, right, left, front and back.
for people, plus two more for luggage/gizmos, plus
two more for the engine, a total of ten hexagons. Technological Era Overall armor
The thruster nozzles and stub wings for the vertical Basic or earlier +3 Armor
take-off capability take up half this (five hexagons), Industrial +9 Armor
for a total vehicle size of fifteen hexagons. Atomic +15 Armor
Post-Atomic +21 Armor
Note - Space used by wings is a generalization Advanced +27 Armor
that works for most design purposes. If you are trying Early part of an era -2 penalty
to recreate a real-world airplane, use any wing area Late part of an era +2 bonus
numbers you can get or sort of measure from a .06 tons armor -12 penalty
picture. It’s a game, not rocket science. .12 tons armor -9 penalty
.25 tons armor -6 penalty
How tough? - You know how much the vehicle .5 tons armor -3 penalty
masses, and you just figured out how big it is. Now 1 ton armor +0 bonus
you need to armor it. Subtract half a ton from the 2 tons armor +3 bonus
loaded vehicle mass for each hexagon of power 4 tons armor +6 bonus
plant, a tenth of a ton for each hexagon of total 8 tons armor +9 bonus
space (including wings!), a tenth of a ton for each 16 tons armor +12 bonus
person carried, and half a ton for each hexagon of Each doubling +3 bonus
cargo, gizmos or fuel. The remainder is what is left Each 25% extra mass (max +50%) +1 bonus
for armor. This fills out the mass you based vehicle Each 25% less mass (max -25%) -1 penalty
performance on, for a loaded, fully fueled vehicle Land vehicle +3 bonus
of exactly your design weight. If you don’t think Water vehicle +6 bonus
there is enough weight left for sufficient armor, then Sloped armor +6 bonus
you have to go back, adjust power plant size
and/or performance and try again. Round the Vehicle size Damage limit Armor effect
weight of armor and vehicle size to the nearest .5 hexagon 9 +3 bonus
table increment. For instance, a 9 hexagon vehicle 1 hexagon 8 -0 penalty
would count as an 8 hexagon vehicle. 2 hexagons 7 -3 penalty
4 hexagons 6 -6 penalty
EXAMPLE: The aircar masses 8 tons. It loses 1 ton 8 hexagons 5 -9 penalty
for two hexagons of power plant, 1 ton for two 16 hexagons 4 -12 penalty
hexagons of gizmos/cargo, .6 tons for six passengers 32 hexagons 3 -15 penalty
and 1.5 tons for the total size of fifteen hexagons, 64 hexagons 2 -18 penalty
leaving 3.9 tons for armor, which rounds to 4 tons. 125 hexagons 1 -21 penalty
250 hexagons 0 -24 penalty
When you get a final armor number, you always 500 hexagons -1. -27 penalty
convert it to an EABA value in dice of armor, like +7 1000 hexagons -2. -30 penalty
armor would be 2d+1. A vehicle will always have an 2000 hexagons -3. -33 penalty
overall armor of at least 1d+0, even if no extra 4000 hexagons -4. -36 penalty
armor is bought. This is the normal, minimal outer skin Each doubling -1 additional -3 penalty
or structure of the vehicle and is only applied after Each +25% extra (up to twice) -1 penalty
extra armor is bought. Huh? What we mean is that if Each -25% less (once) +1 bonus
the vehicle is unarmored, it gets a final armor of at
least 1d+0. However, if you want to armor it, you
buy the armor up from whatever number the tables
indicate, even if this is a negative amount.

3.7
 EXAMPLE: The aircar is Post-Atomic Era, so it has v1.0
an overall armor base of +21. It is effectively a 16
hexagon vehicle, for a -12 penalty, but it has 4 tons
Stuff!
of armor (not sloped) for +6, for an overall armor of
+15(5d+0) on a sixteen hexagon vehicle. Remember, ADVANCED TOPIC: MOTORCYCLES
an “overall armor” means each facing has 5d+0 Or any vehicle that you ride on the outside of. This is
armor. The player designing the aircar figures that if more of a special effect than a design calculation.
VEHICLES

it is shot at, it will be from behind or below, so they A vehicle like an open-topped boat is just a vehicle
take -6 off the top and -3 from each side, and add with no top armor (hits from above would hit the
+3 to the back and underbelly. The aircar now has bottom armor if they didn’t hit something else first).
a front armor of 5d+0, a top armor of 3d+0, side A motorcycle is a vehicle small enough that you
armor of 4d+0 and rear and underside armor of can’t get in it. The driver/passengers count towards
6d+0. Using the damage limit rule, no single point the total loaded mass of the vehicle, but not its size
target attack can do more than 4 hits through (i.e. a motorcycle does not allot space or mass to
armor to this vehicle because of its size. Explosives seating). The weight of the driver/passengers also
and battering attacks can alter this limit. does not count towards vehicle Hits (page 3.12).
Vehicle armor can be rearranged or sloped, but it
ADVANCED TOPIC: SLOPED ARMOR will only protect the vehicle. You would need to use
Armor can be tilted at an angle to make it more the Hit Locations rule (page 3.13), and passengers
effective, but this decreases the efficiency of the get no protection from vehicle armor. As an option,
vehicle. Most tanks will have sloped armor. If you one facing can protect the driver and passengers,
count the usable interior space of the vehicle as and two other facings have a 50-50 chance of
being 1 level of size less than normal, basic vehicle offering protection. This would represent a wrap-
armor (each side) is increased by +6, or by +3 if the around windscreen or similar protection.
vehicle is unarmored or has the default armor of
1d+0. Typically, this +6 bonus is taken off the top and EXAMPLE: If you had a 250 kilogram motorcycle
bottom where it does not really apply anyway, and that could carry up to two people (200 kilograms), it
+6 more is added to the front or +3 to each side. counts as a 250 kilogram vehicle for design purposes
relating to its armor and hits, but as a 450 kilogram
EXAMPLE: If the total size figured for a vehicle vehicle for figuring out its performance, or as a 350
were ten hexagons, and you sloped the armor, it kilogram vehicle when it only has one rider.
would still be a ten hexagon vehicle, and you get
an overall +6 bonus to armor. However, the usable ADVANCED TOPIC: DAMAGE LIMIT
space inside is now less than ten hexagons. Looking Damage limit is for large vehicles, those too big to
at the EABA Universal Chart, you see that there is no demolish in a single hit by anything short of an
“10 hexagon” row, but there is a “1000 hexagon” explosion. No matter how much gets through armor,
row. Apply a -1 to that row and you get a result of the damage limit is the maximum amount of hits the
“700 hexagons”, which you just divide down to 7 vehicle will take from one attack. It’s a really just a
hexagons. You treat all your vehicle components as game balance issue. A vehicle of almost any kind
being of normal size, but you put them in a 7 has a lot more hits than a person, but keeping track
hexagon space instead of a 10 hexagon one. of hundreds or thousands of hits is just not what
EABA is about. Damage limit lets us reduce the
Yes, sloped armor adds some complexity to number of hits to keep track of, without sacrificing
vehicle design, but it only really applies to tanks and too much realism in terms of damage effects.
a handful of other specialized vehicles. That’s why
it’s an advanced rule. Damage limit will apply after everything else. If
a vehicle has a damage limit of zero or less, poking
little holes in it simply doesn’t do anything! Imagine
trying to sink an ocean liner with a machinegun.
Sure, you are poking a lot of little holes in it, but the
ocean liner will rust to death before you actually sink
it that way.

3.8
 How big a gun? - For purposes of mounting it on
EABA the vehicle, a weapon is counted as a gizmo. The
Weapons chapter is where you need to go if you
have not been there already. Each hexagon of
Vehicles of 250 hexagons or more are mostly weapon and its mounting will mass half a ton. Extra
immune to simple hole-punching weapons. Note ammunition is stored in cargo space and takes up
that while the vehicle might not be losing hits, it can as much space as the weapon for 200 shots unless
VEHICLES

still be suffering effects. Holes may be letting air out you bought it to have an altered efficiency in this
or water in. All those bullets could be ventilating the regard. Weapons are assumed to have the same
crew and passengers. Combat damage may cause armor as the vehicle for attacks from that facing.
authorities to look suspiciously at the vehicle when it Externally mounted gizmos or weapons (like a missile
shows up in civilized areas. Cosmetic repairs still cost on the wing of a fighter jet) have only their own
money, etc. armor as protection. They do not count towards
vehicle size, but do add their mass for performance
The damage limit for explosions (EABA, page purposes. A really short version of the weapon
5.7) is increased by one for each die of explosion design guidelines are below.
damage that exceeds the armor. This means that
even with a damage limit of zero or less, a vehicle Technological Era Damage for 1 hexagon
will still lose hits from a large enough explosion. The Primitive +12 lethal
penetrating damage of shaped charges does Basic +18 lethal
count as an explosion for this rule. Damage limit Industrial +24 lethal
does not affect passenger or internal equipment Atomic +30 lethal
damage. Just because the battleship loses no hits Post-Atomic +36 lethal
from an attack doesn’t mean people in the area Advanced +42 lethal
are unhurt! The damage limit of a vehicle can also Weapon of .125 hexagon -9 penalty
be altered by weapons that have the “battering Weapon of .25 hexagon -6 penalty
power” modifier (page 2.27). Weapon of .5 hexagon -3 penalty
Each doubling of space +3 bonus
EXAMPLE: Say a heavily armored ship (10d+0) Autofire (Industrial Era or better) -3 penalty
with a damage limit of -4 is hit by a 16d+0 torpedo Takes a minute to reload a shot +3 bonus
(an explosive attack). The attack exceeded the One-use weapon +6 bonus
armor by 6d+0, so the damage limit is increased by Explosive damage -6 penalty
6, from -4 to 2. The ship only takes 2 hits from the Manually aimed +1 bonus
attack, but anyone in the area of the ship that is hit Fixed weapon +0 bonus
still takes the effects of a 6d+0 explosion! 60° arc weapon -3 penalty
180° arc weapon -6 penalty
Damage limit will generally not apply to effects 360° turret weapon -9 penalty
that by their very nature involve the whole vehicle
(like crashing a plane). How important damage limit EXAMPLE: The aircar designer decides to allot
is to your vehicle designs is directly related to how .25 hexagons of space to an autofire weapon in a
big they are... rear 60° arc, just to discourage tailgaters. At the
Post-Atomic Era, a 1 hexagon weapon starts at +36,
and is modified down to +24(8d+0) by the size,
autofire and firing arc. The extra ammunition supply
is 100 shots, which takes .125 hexagons from the
cargo capacity. Alternately, the designer could
have put in a pair of one-use rockets, each with an
explosive damage of 8d+0. Note that if we use the
weapon arc notes on page 2.15, we would actually
get 200 shots of ammunition, since the space taken
up by the 60° traversing mechanism does not count
towards weapon size when figuring ammunition
space.

3.9
 How many gizmos? - You’ve already figured out v1.0
how much space you’ve allotted for non-standard
stuff. First, the standard stuff:
Stuff!
Technological Era Freebies Until we get into the Gadgets chapter, a vehicle
Primitive None “sensor” is simply a tech era-appropriate technology
Basic Protection from sun and rain that provides an Awareness roll in conditions that
VEHICLES

Industrial Climate control, lights are outside human perceptions. An Industrial Era
Atomic Basic communications sensor might be an optical rangefinder and a set of
Post-Atomic Computer links, autopilot very large mounted binoculars to collect the faint
Advanced ? light on moonlit nights to give a passable image. An
Atomic Era sensor might be a radar, and something
Large vehicles will have all the necessary from a future era might be geared to detecting
infrastructure for their tech era, whether ladders, fusion power plants or ion trails.
stairs or turbolifts. Everything more than this takes up
the space you’ve allotted for gizmos. Some of the A sensor simply gets an Awareness roll, and has
common ones are below. There will be a lot more in an Accuracy of 20 at Early Industrial Era to negate
the Gadgets chapter, including explanations of how range, and can be used for one roll per turn in a
to use sensors and similar navigational or detection narrow (15°) arc, or 24 seconds for a 360° sweep.
aids. Faster sweeps are at a corresponding penalty for
taking less time than normal. Sensor “Accuracy”
Gizmo Tech Era Hexagons goes up by +2 for each fraction of an era past Early
Life support Industrial .5 per 10 pass. Industrial. Vehicle sensors require an operator until
Life support Atomic .25 per 10 pass. the Atomic Era, after which they can operate more
Ejection seat Atomic .12 each or less unattended and send an alert if they spot
0d+0 sensor Industrial .5 hexagon something that meets some pre-defined criteria (like
2d+0 sensor Atomic .5 hexagon a collision alarm).
4d+0 sensor Post-Atomic .5 hexagon
6d+0 sensor Advanced .5 hexagon How much? - While credits are independent of
+1d sensor bonus - double size technology, certain manufacturing techniques are
-1d sensor penalty - .25 hexagon more expensive. Vehicles will have a cost per ton
-2d sensor penalty - .12 hexagon and per hexagon based on the era in which they
+6 wpn Acc. Industrial .5 per weapon are built. Use the EABA Universal Chart to get the
+6 wpn Acc. Atomic .25 per weapon level shift based on the size (round nearest) of the
+6 wpn Acc. Post-Atomic .12 per weapon vehicle, then apply level modifiers as appropriate.
+12 wpn Acc. Advanced .12 per weapon That is, you add the size of the vehicle in hexagons
each extra +6 to Acc. - double size to its weight in tons to find an equivalent Size level,
and then subtract 2.
Bonuses to weapon Accuracy are still subject to
tech era limits (page 2.22), and if you used the EXAMPLE: A 100 hexagon vehicle that weighs 75
weapon chapter to design the weapons on your tons (total of 175) would have a size level of 13,
vehicle, you should not use the Accuracy bonuses which becomes a base cost level of 11.
listed above. The numbers above are just quick-and-
dirty guidelines for simple vehicle designs. The first part of the table is the overall cost.
Specific parts of the vehicle may cost more. For
EXAMPLE: The aircar has 1 hexagon of space for instance, each hexagon of gizmos and weapons
gizmos. Since it is a Post-Atomic Era vehicle it already costs quadruple for the era of the weapon or gizmo.
comes with weather protection, climate control, However, gizmos and weapons only count the
lights, basic communications, computer links and hexagons taken up (not the tonnage) and only use
autopilot. We want to be able to fly high, so we put the tech era base amount (and you don’t subtract
in life support for 10, for .25 hexagons of space. We 2). If you have a designed weapon or gizmo cost
add a small radar so we can spot things, for a 3d+0 from another chapter, use that amount instead.
Awareness roll and .25 hexagons of space. We add
the previously designed machinegun & ammo for
another .375 hexagons of space. This leaves .125
hexagons, which we turn into an ejection seat for
the owner of the aircar (the other passengers will
apparently have to fend for themselves).

3.10
 How do I blow it up? - Vehicle combat runs
EABA much the same as normal combat. Vehicles will
move based on the sequencing of their driver’s or
pilot’s skill. A vehicle that is being tailed is at a
Modifier Cost disadvantage in sequencing, just as a person
Vehicle of 1 hexagon -2 attacked from behind would be.
Primitive Era +0
VEHICLES

Basic Era +2 Vehicles have a size that will affect how hard
Industrial Era +4 they are to hit, and range and movement are
Atomic Era +6 handled normally. The operator of a vehicle may
Post-Atomic Era +8 use the vehicle’s acceleration as the equivalent of
Advanced Era +10 of Dodge, points that reduce an enemy’s chance
Early/late part of an era ±1 to hit the vehicle, but which also reduce the
Mass production -2 chance of any of your vehicle’s weapons hitting
Average production +0 anything. Everyone in a vehicle is affected by any
Limited prod.(luxury/security) +2 of the movement penalties and dodging of the
Limited production(military) +4 vehicle. Driving or piloting is normally a major
On and off-road vehicle +2 action, so aiming or operating a weapon at the
Flying vehicle +2 same time will likely result in penalties on both.
Vertical takeoff (VTOL) ability +2
Water vehicle +2 Vehicles will generally make turns in increments
Gizmos +4 on those hexagons of 30°, which correspond to half a hex facing. These
turns may not be exactly the listed number of
EXAMPLE: What is the cost of the aircar? The degrees and do not happen at a particular instant.
aircar is 15 hexagons and 8 tons. This adds up to 23, A turn is a change of facing that occurs gradually,
which is a Size level of +7, then we subtract 2 for a but is rolled for at a particular moment.
base Cost level of +5. Other modifiers are:
The difficulty of pulling off a proper facing
Modifier Cost change is a simple use of the EABA Universal Chart.
Vehicle size & weight +5 The base difficulty is the movement, adjusted down
Post-Atomic Era +8 by the acceleration, and +0 difficulty for a 30° turn,
Flying vehicle +2 +3 for each 30° increment after that. A maneuver
VTOL-capable +2 like a lane change, swerve or sideslip counts as a
Limited prod.(luxury/security) +2 30° turn. If you are going too fast to make a facing
Final cost level +19 change once per second, you can subtract time
Final cost 700,000 Credits levels and do the facing change over a longer
interval. This roll is made using the pilot or driver’s skill
We have to figure the 1 hexagon of gizmos with the vehicle. Each facing change after the first
separately, which is a cost of -2 for size, +8 for tech (done as a separate manuever) is at +6 difficulty.
era and +4 for being gizmos, a total level of +10, or Remember that any acceleration used for dodging
32,000 Credits, for a final cost of 732,000 Credits. is not available for facing changes.

ADVANCED TOPIC: OBSOLESCENCE EXAMPLE: Our aircar has a top speed of 126
An out-of-date vehicle will be cheaper than a new meters per turn, which is a movement difficulty of
one. A well-used or low quality vehicle is half price 12. Its acceleration is 16, which is a movement
(-2). Vehicles from a previous era (or previous part difficulty of 6. So, making one 60° facing change
of the same era) are also half price (-2). So, an (+3 difficulty) at full speed is a difficulty of 12 - 6 + 3
Atomic Era buyer could get Early Atomic Era = 9. Making a second one (+6 difficulty) would be
vehicles at half price (-2), used ones at a quarter at a difficulty of 15. If the pilot had allotted 3 points
the price (-4), or used low quality ones for an eighth of acceleration to dodging, then the difficulty of
the normal price (-6). any facing changes would be increased by 3.

As always, the price of any vehicle is open to If you fail to make a “turn roll”, you usually just
negotiation and is seldom a strictly cash-and-carry make a turn of a level that your roll would have
(or drive off) affair. Especially when dealing with succeeded at, like making a 30° turn instead of the
used vehicles, consider the price to be a guideline, 60° turn you were trying for. This is usually not a
not a done deal. Sellers will of course want more, problem, unless there was something in your way
buyers will want to pay less. that you really needed to avoid.

3.11
 Armor works the same way for vehicles as it v1.0
does for adventurers, with the exception that
vehicles never take any type of non-lethal hits. A
Stuff!
vehicle has 10 “Hits” for 1 ton of mass, +2 Hits each
time you double this, and -1 Hits each time you EXAMPLE: Someone takes a shot at the aircar
halve it. If armor is exceeded by damage, the while it is engaging in full evasive maneuvers at top
vehicle loses Hits. When the vehicle runs out of Hits, speed. The aircar has a loaded mass of ≈8 tons,
VEHICLES

it stops working. which means it has 16 Hits.

Vehicle mass Hits Example The range is 500 meters and the attacker has a
.06 ton 6 weapon with an Accuracy of 12. The range is a
.12 ton 7 Scooter difficulty of 21, and the movement adds 12 more,
.25 ton 8 Motorcycle making it 33. The Accuracy of the weapon drops
.5 ton 9 this to 21, and the size of the aircar drops it to 17.
1 ton 10 Compact car Not a very good chance, but after all, they are
2 tons 12 Pickup truck shooting at an evading target 500 meters off. Only
4 tons 14 the fact that they have a high tech weapon makes
8 tons 16 it possible at all! Anyway, they do roll a 17, and hit
16 tons 18 Moving van the aircar in the rear, which has an Armor of 6d+0.
32 tons 20 Tractor-trailer The attack is from a 9d+0 explosion. The fact that it
64 tons 22 Heavy tank is an explosion means it can alter the aircar’s
125 tons 24 Damage Limit. Since it exceeded the Armor by 3d,
250 tons 26 Damage Limit is raised by 3, to 7. The aircar takes 7
500 tons 28 hits from the 3d+0 that get through armor (as long
1,000 tons 30 as that 3d+0 roll is 7 or more). This puts it at the -1d
2,000 tons 32 Destroyer penalty level.
4,000 tons 34
8,000 tons 36 The vehicle’s Strength for top speed and
16,000 tons 38 acceleration purposes is dropped by -1d, and all
32,000 tons 40 skill rolls for piloting or shooting the machinegun
64,000 tons 42 Battleship take a -1d penalty. The new top speed is that for a
125,000 tons 44 Strength of 12d+0, or 95 meters per turn, and
acceleration is that for a Strength of 4d+2, or 11.
It is recommended that you use the Damage The aircar’s ability to use vertical thrust is greatly
Limit rule (page 3.8) for most vehicles. In the mean- compromised (remember that you subtract 10 to
time, any penalty the vehicle takes from lost Hits represent gravity). A -2d damage penalty would
affects its speed, skill rolls for maneuvering or use of drop the acceleration to less than gravity, which
vehicle-mounted equipment. means the aircar will no longer be able to hover,
and must use a runway to land. A -3d penalty
would drop the aircar’s top speed to below its stall
speed. It would go out of control and crash.

3.12
 LET’S SEE IF IT WORKS - We’ll do a fairly straight-
EABA forward example for you to refer back to. We may
embellish upon this in other rule sections to make it
mesh more closely to the real thing, but the basic
ADVANCED TOPIC: VEHICLE HIT LOCATION vehicle data is here.
Instead of applying a generic penalty as a vehicle
accumulates hits, you can choose to have where it M-113A3 APC - This is an Atomic Era armored
VEHICLES

is hit determine the effects. Roll 1d for hit location personnel carrier. Real-world data tells us that it has
and effects. Even with special effects, a vehicle will a volume as a box of about 36 hexagons (5.3m
become non-functional after it takes all its hits. long by 2.7m wide by 1.9m high, divided by .75m2
per hexagon) and a loaded mass of about 12 tons.
Roll Vehicle hit in: General effect: This is actually more volume than we need, so we
1 Engine Engine shutdown say that between the slightly sloped front and the
2 Fuel Lose half fuel high ground clearance underneath (.4 meters), the
3 Passenger area Passenger injury usable volume is 24 hexagons.
4 Cargo Cargo damaged
5 Gizmo Gizmo damaged Note - Keep this in mind for your own designs. A
6 Body Vehicle takes hits vehicle’s volume in hexagons is everything “inside
the paint”. Ground clearance doesn’t count.
Engine - If the hits cross a damage threshold,
the engine is “stunned” and conks out. It has a base Power - The real world top speed is about the
Will roll of 3d+0 (2d+0 if touchy, 4d+0 if durable), and same as for an adjusted Strength of +19(6d+1). So,
must make an Easy(5) Will task to restart each turn. we have to design the power plant backwards to
see how big we need to make it. It is an Atomic Era
Fuel - If the hits cross a damage threshold, half powerplant, durable (-3 to Strength), and loaded
of any remaining fuel is lost. If the damage knocks vehicle mass is another -12 to Strength. So, we need
out all the vehicle’s Hits, the fuel tank catches fire or a powerplant that gives us +34 to start with. This
does something else unpleasant. If a vehicle uses would be a 1 hexagon powerplant (+30) with 50%
batteries or fuel cells, they are hit on a fuel hit. extra size (+4 extra Strength), which gives a total of
+34(11d+1) and 1.5 hexagons of power plant.
Passenger - A random occupant is hit, using the
vehicle armor and worn armor as layering (EABA, We know what the top speed is. The +19(6d+1)
page 4.9). The vehicle loses no more than 1 Hit from row lists it as 19 meters per turn. Acceleration is half
the attack unless it is an explosion, in which case the the power plant Strength(+17), minus the penalty
vehicle and all occupants in that area take hits. for a 12 ton vehicle (-11), -3 for an off-road vehicle,
and an extra -9 penalty for a land vehicle, gives us
Cargo - A random stored item is affected just a result of -6, or an acceleration of 1 meter per turn.
like a passenger would be on a passenger area hit. It will take the M-113 nineteen seconds to get to its
If the cargo area is empty, treat as a body hit. top speed from a standing start.

Gizmo - A random gizmo is hit, affected just like How big? - We already know how big it is, but
a passenger would be on a passenger area hit. If we need to see what we can fit in there and how
there are no gizmos, treat as a body hit. much room will be left over for other stuff. The
powerplant takes 1.5 hexagons. An M-113A3 carries
Body - No special effects, the vehicle just takes 13 people and their stuff, with standing room for all
the appropriate Hits. but two of them. This takes up 13 hexagons of
space. It is armed with a 6d+1 machinegun in a
EXAMPLE: The aircar is hit by an 8d+1 explosion. pintle mount. From the weapon notes on page 3.9
The gamemaster says the hit is to the underside, so we would say this is a manually aimed 360° autofire
the 6d+0 armor drops the damage to 2d+1. The roll weapon, which takes up 1 hexagon at the Atomic
for hit location is a 1 and the roll for damage is a 6. Era. It also has 2,000 rounds of ammunition. Using
The engine takes 6 hits (the maximum, taking into the weapon arc notes on page 2.15, we can see
account the explosion and the Damage Limit rule). that each 200 extra rounds will take up one-eighth
This crosses the -1d damage threshold, so the engine of a hexagon, so 2,000 extra rounds will take up
conks out. The aircar starts to plummet! It is an about 1.25 hexagons. This uses up 16.75 hexagons
Easy(5) task to get the engine restarted, but this is a out of the volume of 24 hexagons, leaving 7.25
touchy engine with a default Will roll of 2d+0. But hexagons of extra room. Much of this is actually just
with the -1d penalty, it only gets a 1d+0 roll! Unless it manevering room for the passengers, who need to
starts quickly, that ejection seat will come in handy! be able to enter and exit the vehicle in short order.

3.13
 How tough? - We have a loaded mass of 12 v1.0
tons. We lose .75 tons for the powerplant, 2.4 tons
for the vehicle size, 1.3 tons for the passengers and
Stuff!
driver, and 1.125 tons for the machinegun and
ammunition. If we allot .425 tons for gizmos and How much? - We have an Atomic Era vehicle
other cargo, this leaves 6 tons for armor. that takes up 24 hexagons and masses 12 tons, a
total of 36. Checking on the size column of the
VEHICLES

Note - We could have rounded everything to EABA Universal Chart, this is closest to a size of +8,
easily added .1 ton increments and gotten the which becomes a cost of +6. The M-113 is Atomic
same result, i.e. .8 tons for power plant, 2.4 for Era (+6), limited production (+2) and offroad
vehicle size, 1.3 for people, 1.1 for weapon and .4 capable (+2), for a final cost level of +16.
for everything else. While you cannot use the EABA
Universal Chart to do simple addition, you shouldn’t Modifier Cost
need to. In either case, the contents of the vehicle Vehicle size & weight +6
add up to 6.0 tons, leaving 6 tons for armor. You Atomic Era +6
don’t need more tha two digits of accuracy for Limited production +2
Stuff! If this vehicle had been ten times larger, we Offroad-capable +2
could have rounded things to the nearest ton Final cost level +16
instead of tenth of a ton and been just as well off. Final cost 250,000 Credits

Atomic Era gives a base of +15 for armor. The Note that if it were a dedicated combat
vehicle size is a -14 penalty, land vehicle is a +3 vehicle like a tank, it would have used the more
bonus, and 6 tons of armor is a +8 bonus, for an costly limited production modifier. But since it is
overall vehicle armor of +12(4d+0), and a damage really just an armored box witha machinegun
limit of 3. We can rearrange this to be 2d+2 on top tacked on, we just used the “limited production”
and bottom, and 3d+1 on the back to make the modifier. Last, we have about 1.5 hexagons of
front 5d+0 and the sides 4d+1. gizmos.

How many gizmos? - We’ve already taken the Modifier Cost

machinegun and ammunition into account (≈1.1 Gizmo size -1
hexagons), and we allotted ≈.43 tons for gizmos Atomic Era +6
(about a hexagon’s worth). If we add a life support Gizmo modifier +4
system (protection against gas attacks) and a 2d+0 Final cost level +9
sensor suite (night vision, etc.), this about takes up Final cost 23,000 Credits
the space. The Gadgets chapter will go into a lot
more detail on what gizmos can be made and The vehicle costs 250,000 Credits and the
what they do. gizmos cost 23,000 more, for a final vehicle cost of
273,000 Credits.
M113A3 Armored Personnel Carrier
Crew 1+12 How do I blow it up? - Our M-113A3 masses 12
Strength 6d+1 tons, so it has 17 Hits, and it has a damage limit of 3.
Top speed 19 Let’s say someone hits it in the side with 3 shots from
Acceleration 1 a 6d+2 machinegun (just about right for a Soviet
Fuel supply 5 hr 14.5mm machinegun). Each hit will get 2d+1 through
Hits 17 armor, and since the minimum roll for 2d+1 is 3, each
Damage limit 3 one will just do 3 Hits to the vehicle. The first hit will
do no serious damage unless it hits a person, since 3
Armor Hits will not cross the first damage threshold (which is
Front 5d+0 at 5 hits, just like for an average person). This first hit
Right 4d+1 can knock out a gizmo. The second hit brings Hits
Left 4d+1 lost to 6, which crosses the -1d damage threshold.
Top 2d+2 Anything but a body hit will have some nasty side
Bottom 2d+2 effect. The last shot puts the Hits lost to 9, which just
Rear 3d+1 crosses the -2d damage threshold. Hoses have
been severed, the cabin is filled with smoke and it is
generally not a fun place to be, but it has only lost
about half its Hits, so though crippled, it is still in the
action.

3.14
 ADVANCED TOPIC: WHAT IS POWER?
EABA Vehicle power plants are listed as having “Strength”,
but how does that relate to some real-world units of
measurement? As best we can figure out, about
ADVANCED VEHICLES - Now that we’ve run like the table below. It’s not rocket science. Seven
through the simple stuff, there are a number of hundred fifty watts is one horsepower.
modifiers (okay, a lot of modifiers) to cover all the
VEHICLES

permuations and special cases. Quite a number of Strength kilowatts(hp)

permutations. The advanced section of the rules is 0d+0 .25(.3)
about three times as long as the basic section, and 2d+0 1(1.3)
you are unlikely to need more than a few of the 4d+0 4(5.3)
subcases that follow. Ask yourself: “Do I really need 6d+0 16(21)
to go further to have my vehicle do what it needs 8d+0 64(85)
to do in the game?” Once you are absolutely sure 10d+0 250(340)
the answer is “yes”, continue. 12d+0 1,000(1.4k)
14d+0 4,000(5.5k)
A lot of the topics will be described in seeming 16d+0 16,000(22k)
mind-numbing detail, but they really aren’t that 18d+0 64,000(87k)
bad. We will just belabor a point to describe it as 20d+0 250,000(350k)
unambiguously as possible. Any actual math is Each ±1d factor of 2
usually no more hazardous than “divide A by 2, Each ±1 factor of 1.25
round down and add the result to B”.
This is raw output, not modified by vehicle type,
The advanced rules will cover topics in about mass and so on. Different power plants will also vary
the same order as vehicle design. Some topics may in accuracy for the correlation between Strength
have overlap, and some topics here will be used in and horsepower. Gasoline engines are probably
other chapters. For instance, batteries/ powercells -1d on the listed correlation, and diesels (durable)
used in gizmos will actually be designed using the are probably -2d.
power plant rules. Anything here that is listed as an
“advanced topic” is really something that we’re EXAMPLE: An Atomic Era sports car with a mass
not too sure of, and should be considered optional. of 1.5 tons (-2 speed penalty) needs a power plant
So, in order, the following topics are covered: of 11d+2 in order to have a top speed of 256kph
(160mph). If we apply a -1d to this, the table above
Power plants gives a result for this engine of about 531hp.
Usage modifiers (page 3.16)
Type modifiers (page 3.19) EXAMPLE: The M-113 design example had a
Secondary topics (page 3.36) power plant Strength of 11d+1. If we apply a -2d to
Vehicle size & structure this (durable power plant), the table says it should
Seating & accomodations (page 3.38) have about 217hp, which is actually just about
Crew requirements (page 3.39) right.
Armor variants (page 3.41)
Specialized gadgets (page 3.44) Note - If you were wondering, a human in good
Body armor (page 3.46) condition can for very limited periods generate a
Powered armor & robots (page 3.55) peak power output of about 1 horsepower. Climb
Hyperdrives (page 3.58) 120 steps in one minute and you’re about there.
Vehicle damage Sustained output is about 2d+0 less than this.
Damage limit (page 3.60)
Repairs (page 3.61)
Maintenance (page 3.64)
Altered combat scales (page 3.65)
Advanced design examples (page 3.66)

It’s worth mentioning that you can consider a

person a very small articulated vehicle, and armor
it as such. Rules for creating personal body armor,
exoskeletons and robots are a subset of the vehicle
rules, starting at page 3.46.

3.15
 POWER PLANTS - Not all powerplants are the v1.0
simple “put gas in and turn the key” variety. This
subsection will deal with things that affect the
Stuff!
performance of the power plant or the vehicle
itself. Limited environment(+2): If a power plant can
only work in one particular environment (aside from
Usage modifiers Amount an oxygen-containing atmosphere), it gets a +2
VEHICLES

Not air-breathing -3 penalty bonus. For instance, an ion rocket or solar sail might
Limited environment +2 bonus only work in near-vacuum conditions. If it can work
Warmup required +1 bonus somewhat in other environments (at -12 penalty) or
Hazardous fuel special does not work at all in one particular environment,
the bonus is only +1. This is different than a say a
Type modifiers Amount tracked vehicle being able to move through the
Magical power special water. In this case, it is engine itself that has the
Animal power(normal) +0 bonus limit, not the means it uses to propel the vehicle.
Animal power(leveraged) +6 bonus Note that any exclusionary environment has to be
Solar power -24 penalty one the vehicle might reasonably be expected to
Rockets +3 or more bonus encounter.
Reactors -3 or more penalty
Boosters +1 or more bonus EXAMPLE: A conventional rocket engine might
Lighter than air +0 bonus reasonably be expected to not ignite while it is
Power generation -3 penalty underwater. So, even though it is not air-breathing
Batteries -3 penalty (-3 penalty), it is excluded from working in an
Fuel cells +0 bonus underwater environment (+1 bonus), for a total
modifier of -2. However, the gamemaster can
Not air-breathing(-3): The default power plant reasonably rule that most vehicles using rocket
requires oxygen to combine with the fuel it carries. engines seldom need to use them underwater,
Any sort of powerplant that can work without and deny the +1 bonus.
needing air will take this modifier. What it really
means is that you use the same amount of fuel as Warmup required(+1): Some powerplants do
an air-breathing power plant of the same size, but not startup quickly. For a car, you turn the key and
have a -3 on the output. go. For a steam engine or a cold nuclear reactor,
you turn the key and wait...a while. If a vehicle has
Batteries, rockets, atomic reactors and the like a warmup period, it gets an overall +1 bonus. But it
all take this modifier. If a powerplant can operate doesn’t get full power immediately. It gets 1d+0
using air some of the time, and without it some of Strength per 2 time levels. This applies to the power-
the time (like a ramjet that can turn into a rocket), plant Strength before it is adjusted for the vehicle’s
you take a -1 penalty for airbreathing use, and a -4 mass. The powerplant can operate before it
penalty for non air-breathing use. Note that fuel reaches full Strength, but the vehicle’s top speed
cells normally require air, so if you have a fuel cell or and acceleration will be affected.
any other power plant with its own oxygen storage
for use in space, you would take the -1d modifier EXAMPLE: A steam engine with a Strength of
(or -1 and -4 if it is set up for use in and out of 8d+0 (a Strength level of 24) would require a time
atmosphere). level of 16 (four minutes) to warm up from a cold
start. This warmup time applies whether it is sitting
EXAMPLE: You have a submarine using a diesel on a test stand or in a multi-ton vehicle. If the
engine (normally an air-breathing power plant). vehicle had to try to move after only one minute
You have it set up so that the submarine uses (time level of 12), it would be at 1d less than full
surface air when surfaced, and diesel fuel and power.
stored liquid oxygen when submerged. The
submarine’s power plant gets a -1 to Strength when If the gamemaster allows, this modifier can be
operating on the surface, and a -4 to Strength taken multiple times. Taking it for a higher bonus
when submerged. However, if you note that means the warmup time is +1 time level for each
underwater vehicle performance is +3 higher than 1d+0 of output.
surface vessels, it means that the sub operates at
the same speed when surfaced or submerged. EXAMPLE: If applied to the previous example,
the engine would require a time level of 24 to warm
up, instead of a time level of 16.

3.16
 Examples: Powerplant output
EABA Wood
Non-toxic fuel(-1)
-2 penalty

No fuel refining(-1)
Hazardous fuel(special): The default fuel for a Coal -1 penalty
powerplant is generally something along the lines Non-toxic fuel(-1)
of gasoline. Quite flammable, moderately toxic, Fuel cell(Atomic Era) -1 penalty
VEHICLES

and requires some form of industrial infrastructure to Non-toxic byproducts(-1)

manufacture. The energy stored in the fuel is what Most petrochemicals +0 bonus
makes the powerplant go, and as a result what Defaults(+0)
goes in can be used to modify how much you get Gaseous hydrogen +1 bonus
out. The examples listed at the bottom cover only Fuel packaging(+1)
the fuel type modifiers, not modifiers like “non- Most batteries +3 bonus
airbreathing”, etc. You can usually substitute the Moderately toxic fuel(+1)
word “dangerous” whenever you see “toxic”, and if Toxic byproducts(+1)
there is any conflict, use the average of the results. Fuel packaging(+1)
Exotic rocket fuels +4 bonus
Fuel is: Powerplant output Highly-toxic fuel(+2)
Non-toxic(wood, coal) -1 penalty Multiple process refining(+2)
Moderately toxic(petroleum) +0 bonus Fission(Atomic Era) +12 bonus
Toxic(battery acid) +1 bonus Long duration toxic fuel(+4)
Highly toxic(rocket fuels) +2 bonus Fission bonus(+0)
Long duration toxic(radiation) +4 bonus Long duration toxic byproducts(+3)
Toxic and unshielded +2 bonus Isotopic fuel refining(+3)
Fission bonus (Atomic Era) +3 bonus Toxic refining byproducts(+2)
Fusion bonus (Post-Atomic Era) +6 bonus Fusion(Post-Atomic Era) +10 bonus
Antimatter bonus (Adv. Era) +9 bonus Non-toxic fuel(deuterium)(-1)
Fusion bonus(+6)
Fuel byproducts: Powerplant output Long duration toxic byproducts(+3)
Non-toxic(water) -1 penalty Easily contained(-1)
Moderately toxic(smoke) +0 bonus Isotopic fuel refining(+3)
Toxic(corrosive or irritant) +1 bonus Antimatter(Advanced Era) +16 bonus
Extremely toxic(poison) +2 bonus Antimatter(+9)
Long duration toxic(radiation) +3 bonus Long duration toxic byproducts(+3)
Byproducts easily contained -1 penalty Easily contained(-1)
Isotopic fuel refining(+3)
Fuel refining: Powerplant output Toxic refining byproducts(+2)
None(wood) -1 penalty
Some(petroleum, coal) +0 bonus Note - Oddly enough, conventional hydrogen-
Moderate(packaging) +1 bonus oxygen rocket fuel is a +0 modifier. While the fuel is
Intense(multiple processes) +2 bonus somewhat dangerous due to its cryogenic nature,
Isotopic(fission, fusion, antimat.)+3 bonus it is also non-toxic and its combustion byproduct is
Has toxic byproducts(radiation)+2 bonus also non-toxic (water).

The bonuses for fission, fusion and antimatter Note - While fusion apparently has a smaller
assume each of these technologies reaches its bonus than fission, remember two things: First, fusion
maximum limit of efficiency at the end of the listed is a tech era ahead of fission, which is a +6 bonus
era and cannot be applied at higher tech eras. by itself if you limit the maximum efficiency of fission
to Atomic Era tech; and second, fusion is a lot
EXAMPLE: A Post-Atomic Era fission reactor cleaner and cheaper because of the vastly
would only be +3 over an Atomic Era model. It gains reduced and more easily contained byproducts of
+6 for the increase in tech era, but loses the +3 the process.
fission bonus.

3.17
 Almost all fuel preparation involves something v1.0
toxic being left behind. The “toxic byproducts” of
fuel refining are things that are not biodegradable,
Stuff!
can cause long-term genetic damage and which
the tech era the fuel comes from does not have a The exact nature of toxicity is hard to define,
good way of getting rid of. but you can try the following:
VEHICLES

EXAMPLE: Most petroleum fuels would be a 1. Start with a time level of 24 (1 hour) and 1 Hit
total of +0 bonus. While the refining generates toxic of damage.
byproducts, most of these are also fuels or used 2. Each +1 in fuel toxicity or each +2 in fuel
elsewhere in industry. That is, they aren’t just left byproducts reduces this time level by 1
lying around because no one has a good way to (round up). Do not use the “unshielded”
use or get rid of them. Coal would be a -1 penalty modifier.
to powerplant output, while fissionable material like 3. Each 1d+0 of raw powerplant Strength
uranium or plutonium would be a +15 bonus! reduces this time level by 1. Raw power plant
Strength is that before the mass of the vehicle
A power plant that uses a toxic fuel has is taken into account.
sufficient containment measures to protect the 4. An adventurer close to the power plant takes
crew of the vehicle and those in the immediate 1 hit in this time interval, and 1 more each 2
vicinity from the toxicity, as long as the powerplant time levels after that. Exposures of less than
or fuel system is undamaged. Occupants of a car this are cumulative, but only count half the
don’t have to worry about gasoline fumes, and the time. Add 2 to the time level for each one-
crew of a nuclear sub doesn’t have to worry about quarter of the safe distance away, and add
radiation(much). If the powerplant or fuel storage 1 to the time level for each point of armor
takes damage, that’s another matter... worn, if it is a type that can shield against the
toxicity.
If a powerplant using a toxic fuel is unshielded,
it means the crew and environment around the EXAMPLE: An adventurer has to work on a ship
vehicle is constantly exposed to the toxic hazards system near (but not right next to) the previous
of the fuel. A reactor with less shielding is more atomic rocket. They have a 4d+0 anti-radiation suit,
powerful for its weight than one with more. The and are one-quarter the safe distance away from a
exact nature of the toxicity depends on the fuel, 17d+0 unshielded reactor. So, we start with a time
but if it could be protected against easily and for level of 24 (step 1). Subtract 6 for the toxicity of the
little mass penalty, then you wouldn’t be getting fuel (4 for the fuel, 2 for the byproducts, step 2),
the bonus for it. Radiation is the typical “unshielded” subtract 17 for the output of the powerplant (step
powerplant problem, but it could just as easily be 3), add 12 for the anti-radiation suit (each 1d+0 of
evil emanations from a bottled demon you are armor is 3 points), and add 2 for the distance (step
using for a magical airship. For crew purposes the 4). This is a final time level of 16, which is 4 minutes.
toxicity can be worked around by putting them far After 4 minutes, the adventurer takes 1 Hit. They
enough away from the powerplant that they are take another after 8 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes
not subject to the effects. This is a layout decision. A and so on.
distance level of 1 per 1d+0 of Strength is a good
guideline. Toxic damage heals as normal lethal injury.
Long duration toxicity heals as crippling injury
EXAMPLE: An unshielded atomic rocket with a (EABA, page 5.8), and long-term toxicity in both fuel
Strength of 17d+0 would require the crew be kept and byproducts would be a “crippling” crippling
at a distance level of 17 (125 meters) to be safe. injury (the extra healing time multiplies).

Obviously, an unshielded powerplant makes

maintenance or repair a problem. The time level for
these situations would be increased by +6 (a factor
of eight), as would the cost.

3.18
 Animal power(+0): For draft animals or any
EABA animal used as a vehicle powerplant, you do not
normally count more than one animal as a total
mass. You would instead count the Strength of one
Environmental power - In the basic design animal based on its mass, and then add +3 each
section we touched on the idea of wind or animal time you double the number of animals (or +1 for
power, and in the weapons chapter, we dealt with each 25% increase). Animals are theoretically half a
VEHICLES

magical weapons. Now for a little more detail: ton per hexagon, just like other power plants, and
are counted this way for their Strength output, but
Magical power: As for magical weapons, you since they have to have room to move their legs or
would assign a “magic era” to particular types of otherwise power the vehicle, they actually occupy
magic, and power plants would be built normally quadruple this amount of space, but the extra
within those guidelines. The efficiency of magic space only counts for vehicle size and structure if
compared to technology will affect the degree to the animal is actually in the vehicle. It is same
which it is used, as will any modifiers you choose to difference in space as the difference between just
put on its cost and method of operation. sitting in a car seat, and being able to swing your
arms and legs without hitting anything.
EXAMPLE: If magical power plants run on wyvern
blood, then filling fuel tank is not an easy matter. EXAMPLE: If you have a draft animal that weighs
half a ton, the animal itself will have a volume of 1
Similar to the way in which you can power a hexagon and generates Strength like a 1 hexagon
magical weapon by taking hits, you can power a power plant. But, it takes up 4 hexagons of space in
magical power plant the same way. A creature the the vehicle. One hexagon of an animal power plant
size of a person can provide fuel for a +6 Strength has a Strength of 2d+0. If you had four of them in
power plant for 1 hour (time of +24) by taking 1 non- harness, the total Strength would be 4d+0 (+1d for
lethal hit. You can alter time and Strength output each doubling), and they would occupy 16
within reason using the normal fuel efficiency hexagons of total space. If the animals are simply
numbers, and get a +6 to output by making the pulling the vehicle, they simply count as 2 tons of
damage lethal hits instead of non-lethal ones. weight towards vehicle performance, but occupy
Creatures that are considered “magical” are also 16 hexagons in a visual layout (think of four horses
good for a bonus, equal to the difference between pulling a stagecoach). If the animals are propelling
their Fate and the normal Fate of non-magical the vehicle from inside (like on a treadmill), they
creatures (or just use a +6 to Strength). The creature count as 2 tons towards vehicle weight, but occupy
acts as fuel, but only up to a certain maximum level 16 hexagons of internal space in the vehicle.
of power. You can adjust the practicality of this fuel
source by adjusting the base Strength supplied. Animal power comes in two forms, normal and
leveraged. Normal power just relies on the animal
EXAMPLE: A power plant that sucks the life force doing whatever it is it does (usually walking), and
from a person at the rate of 1 non-lethal hit each 4 gives the listed power output. Leveraged power
minutes (time of +16) would have an output of up to means the animal actually applies its effort towards
+14 (base of +6, +8 more because of the faster some type of machinery. Think of the difference
interval for taking damage). between pushing a bicycle along by running along-
side, or pedaling it. Leveraged power will give you a
Larger creatures can provide more power, significant speed advantage, but at the cost of
based on their size, and multiple creatures provide extra mechanical complexity.
+3 Strength each time you double the quantity.

EXAMPLE: If a vehicle is using four captured

mages as a fuel source, and is sucking 1 lethal hit
from each of them for each hour the power plant is
running, the maximum output would be:

Modifier Strength
Person-sized creature +6
4x creatures +6
Magical fuel +6
Lethal hits +6
Modifier total +24
Total 8d+0

3.19
 Whether it is inside the vehicle or outside, an v1.0
animal which can use some sort of mechanical
leverage to generate power gets a +6 bonus. This
Stuff!
is a significant bonus, but it will also increase the
complexity (and therefore cost) of the vehicle, and As mentioned in the basic design section, the
the designer will have to rationalize how the animals maximum adjusted Strength for an animal-powered
are used. The simplest example would be that you vehicle is probably going to be 5d+0, but the raw
VEHICLES

can pedal a bicycle (leveraged power) a lot faster Strength to get the maximum load can be any
than you can run (non-leveraged power). A vehicle amount. Vehicles where the animals power a
pulled or powered by external animals should mechanism to make the vehicle go may exceed
generally be no less than the actual size of the this 5d+0 limit. The 5d+0 limit on top speed is a
animals pulling or powering it. A leveraged power combination of what you can do with things like
vehicle does not require that the animals be inside legs and the problems of wind resistance. It is a limit
the vehicle unless they are going to be protected the designer can decide to exceed if biology and
by the vehicle’s armor. conditions permit.

EXAMPLE: If you had an 8 hexagon cargo For most animal-powered vehicles, the animals
wagon, it could be pulled by the 16 hexagons of are not going to be protected by vehicle armor.
draft animals from the previous example. The However, if the animals are protected, and you
animals count their own mass towards total vehicle want this protection to be different than the vehicle,
mass for performance purposes, but not for vehicle this would be handled the same as the “turret
Hits, and the space they occupy does not generate armor” rule on page 3.43. That is, you compare the
extra vehicle mass for the hexagons used. We have Size level of the power plant to the Size level of the
4 hexagons of actual animals (even though they vehicle. The difference becomes how many points
take up 16 hexagons of space), so they should not of “power plant armor” you can give up to gain an
pull a vehicle that is less than 4 hexagons in size. overall armor bonus on the rest of the vehicle.

EXAMPLE: If we designed a bicycle this way, EXAMPLE: If you have a team of four animals
the person would be an animal power plant that from the previous example (16 hexagons, a size
has a mass of say up to .1 ton (100 kilograms), or .2 level of 6) pulling a war wagon whose total size is 32
hexagons (a penalty of -10). Since the vehicle hexagons (a size level of 8), and the animals are
doesn’t actually contain the power plant, the total included in that size (armored animals), there is two
size of the vehicle (sans rider) is a minimum of the levels of size difference. So, for every 0d+2 of armor
animal size, or .2 hexagons. The structural weight of you pull off the animals, you get an overall 0d+1
a vehicle is a tenth of a ton per hexagon, so the bonus to the rest of the vehicle. So, if the vehicle as
bicycle has an empty weight of .02 tons, or 20 designed had a real armor of 1d+0, you could do
kilograms. this twice. The first time would drop the protection
on the animals to 0d+1, and the second time would
This vehicle would have a motive Strength drop it to no protection at all. The rest of the vehicle
figured as such: would now have an armor of 1d+2 instead of 1d+0.

Animal power +6
Leveraged power +6
.2 hexagon power plant -7
Loaded vehicle mass of .12 tons +9
Modifier total +14
Total 4d+2

This gives an adjusted Strength of 4d+2, for a

top speed of 11 meters per turn (40kph/25mph). We
could tweak the acceleration to adjust the top
speed, and the cyclist’s actual Strength would also
come into play if it was above average.

3.20
 Exertion: Animals get tired. The top speed listed
EABA for an animal-powered vehicle is when the animals
are exerting themselves in a sprint (extreme exertion,
see EABA, page 7.12). As the animals take penalties
ADVANCED TOPIC: POWER TRAINS from exertion, the dice of penalties apply directly to
More advanced technologies can more efficiently the Strength and therefore speed of the vehicle.
use animal power. Instead of using a generic +6 for
VEHICLES

animal power, you get +1 per +3 available at the Each level of exertion less than extreme will
tech era the vehicle is built at. Add +6 it if the power drop the Strength of the vehicle by -2. A light
is leveraged through some sort of machinery. exertion would be a Strength penalty of -8, but can
be maintained all day. Medium exertion can be
EXAMPLE: A Primitive Era animal-powered maintained for up to an hour without suffering
vehicle gets +4 as a base (+1 for each +3 at penalties, and is a Strength penalty of -6.
Primitive Era). An Industrial Era animal-powered
vehicle would have +8 as a base (+1 for each +3 Exertion Vehicle power output
at Industrial Era). Extreme +0 bonus
Very heavy -2 penalty
So, an Atomic Era bicycle will be faster for the Heavy -4 penalty
same weight than an Industrial Era one, because it Medium(up to an hour) -6 penalty
has more efficient means of using a rider’s Strength, Light(all day) -8 penalty
better wheel bearings, tires with less rolling friction,
etc. If you use this rule, you can use it to make a EXAMPLE: If our war wagon from a previous
vehicle smaller than its less advanced counterpart. example had a total mass of 4 tons (including the
That is, an animal power plant does not actually get draft animals), then its Strength of 4d+0 pulling a 4
any smaller, but you can count it as smaller (and ton vehicle (-6 penalty) would give it a maximum
the minimum vehicle size is based on the size of the performance based on 2d+0 Strength, which is 5
animal power plant). Technological bonuses to an meters per turn. This is if the animals are exerting
animal powered vehicle’s Strength will allow it to themselves at a sprint level of effort, though. If they
exceed the normal 5d+0 animal-power speed limit. are going to plod along at a pace they can
maintain all day, this is would be at the -1d+0
EXAMPLE: In our bicycle example, it assumed an Strength level, which is only 2 meters per turn. If
animal power plant of .2 hexagons and an animal they needed to be “rushed” (sort of) for an hour,
power Strength of +6. If we used the advanced rules they could do so at the 0d+0 Strength level, which is
and this were an Atomic Era bicycle, it would have a speed of 3 meters per turn.
an animal power base Strength of +10 instead of +6.
So, we can make the “animal” part of the power EXAMPLE: Our Atomic Era bicyclist from the
plant half the size (-3 penalty) and still have better advanced rule (adjusted vehicle Strength of +18
performance (and performance will be based on (6d+0) could maintain a +10(3d+1) speed (18kph/
the lower weight of the “smaller” power plant). 11mph) all day.
What does it mean?

Our bicycle frame can now be the same size as

the “reduced” power plant, which is half as much
as it was before. So, the bicycle now weighs in at 10
kilograms instead of 20 kilograms, and “total vehicle
weight” is this plus the “50 kilograms” of the “smaller
power plant”, or a loaded weight of .06 tons.
Compared to the first bicycle, this one would be:

Animal power +10

Leveraged power +6
.1 hexagon power plant -10
Loaded vehicle mass of .06 tons +12
Modifier total +18
Total 6d+0

This gives an adjusted Strength of 6d+0, for a

top speed of 17 meters per turn (61kph/38mph).
Stuff! really isn’t meant for bicycle design, but it
serves for example purposes.
3.21
 Wind power - Using the wind as a power source v1.0
usually involves some sort of sail. This could be a
conventional fixed sail, or a rotating sail like a
Stuff!
windmill. Wind power starts off using the animal
power Strength of +6 for 1 hexagon. The nature of By their very nature, sails are usually outside the
harnessing wind means that it takes up a lot of vehicle’s armor, and because they suffer little effect
space. It is not actually going to be occupying a lot from puncturing weapons, they will have a damage
VEHICLES

of space, but it needs an unobstructed area in limit that is different than the rest of the vehicle. You
which to work. Sails will have the same space normally model this by putting the sails outside the
inefficiencies as animal power, and can also use the vehicle armor, just as you would for animal power.
advanced rule about power trains (advanced sail This would give the sails an armor of 0d+0. However,
technologies will be more efficient at moving the the sails will have a damage limit of 2 points less
vehicle). A conventional sail will have its mass than the rest of the vehicle. Most punctures and
included in the vehicle it is on. If a wind power cuts will have no effect on vehicle performance or
technology uses the “leveraged power” option, hits. Explosions, flames and attacks that are
the full space occupied by the sail counts towards specialized against sails will reduce this damage
vehicle mass (the “sail” counts as being in the limit in the same way they would for the overall
vehicle). vehicle.

EXAMPLE: A boat with 8 hexagons of sails will EXAMPLE: If the normal sails in the previous
have 4 tons of sails and masts and be counted as example were on a boat whose total size was 64
an 8 hexagon power plant in terms of power output, hexagons, the overall vehicle has a damage limit of
but would actually occupy 32 hexagons of space. 2, which means the sails have a damage limit of 0.
The boat would have to be at least 8 hexagons in Bullets, shrapnel or even cannon shot will have no
size (at least as large as actual sail size). If this boat effect. However, a flame attack with a damage of
had some sort of windmill or other odd mechanical 3d+0 would increase the damage limit to 3, as
means of harnessing the wind, it would get a +6 to would an explosion with a damage of 3d+0.
its output, but the weight of the boat would be
increased by 32 hexagons of structure (four times Wind powered vehicles are at the mercy of
the size of the sails), and the boat has to be big the wind when determining their top speed. The
enough to accomodate this 32 hexagons of space. designed top speed of the vehicle is what it can do
Let’s do a rough performance check for a boat with under the most favorable conditions. For water
a total mass of 8 tons, using the advanced rule on vehicles, this is a wind speed of +9 more than the
power output for an Industrial Era sail setup: adjusted Strength of the vehicle. For air vehicles
powered by sails, it would be a wind speed of the
Industrial Era animal power +8 adjusted Strength, and for land vehicles, it would be
8 hexagon power plant +18 a wind speed of -3 less than the adjusted Strength
8 ton loaded vehicle mass -9 of the vehicle. Yes, sail powered land vehicles can
Water vehicle -9 go faster than the wind!
Modifier total +8
Total 2d+2 Wind speeds less than the optimum simply
reduce vehicle speed by the same amount. Wind
This gives an adjusted Strength of 2d+2, for a speeds higher than the optimum generally do the
top speed of 6 meters per turn (22kph/13mph). Note same, as you have to take down some sails to avoid
that this will be under optimum conditions, which structural damage, among other things. Trying to
we’ll get to later. run full sail in extreme conditions is likely to tear off
your masts, and would be adjudicated similar to
excess pressure on a pressure hull. That is, each time
the safe wind speed at full sail is exceeded, the
vehicle takes damage. This is done once for any
given wind speed, so long as it is maintained. Gusts
that go higher will do more damage, and you never
know when this will happen or how strong the gusts
might be.

3.22
 Rockets - This is a specific type of power plant
EABA that trades fuel efficiency for absurd amounts of
power, and which uses action-reaction for its
propulsion, rather than a conventional power train
Solar power: The sun can be used as a power like wheels, propellor or turbine. It is designed like a
plant, even before the advent of photovoltaic cells. normal power plant, but can take advantage of
A solar power plant has a peak output for a normal the following additional modifiers. Rockets will
VEHICLES

power plant of its size and era, with an additional automatically get a “touchy” maintenance interval
-18. In addition, most solar power is not air-breathing (-2 time levels) for each multiple of fuel consumption.
(-3 penalty), and photovoltaic arrays are only used Add or subtract an extra multiple for each tech
for power generation (-3 penalty). In addition, each era above or below Atomic Era (more advanced
hexagon of solar power plant requires a minimum rockets are less touchy, less advanced ones are
vehicle size of eight hexagons, since the power more touchy). If a vehicle can use different types of
plant is spread across the surface rather than being fuels at different efficiencies, the bonus to Strength is
in a solid block like most power plants. A stationary always the lowest of these amounts.
solar array (spread out over a flat surface rather
than the surface of a vehicle) will cover twenty EXAMPLE: A normal “touchy” power plant (+3
hexagons of space per hexagon of volume. For Strength) requires maintainance each 125 hours of
convenience sake, this would be an area five use (time level of 38). One with 1/16th fuel efficiency
hexagons across. (another +12 Strength) requires maintainance each
125 hours x 1/16 = 8 hours of use (time level of 30).
EXAMPLE: An Atomic Era photovoltaic array
with one hexagon of solar power plant would have Modifier Modifier
a useful Strength of: 1/8000x fuel efficiency (18 sec.) +39 bonus
1/4000x fuel efficiency (35 sec.) +36 bonus
Atomic Era +30 1/2000x fuel efficiency (70 sec.) +33 bonus
1 hexagon power plant +0 1/1000x fuel efficiency (140 sec.) +30 bonus
Solar power -18 1/500x fuel efficiency (4.5 min) +27 bonus
Not air-breathing -3 1/250x fuel efficiency (9 min.) +24 bonus
Power generation -3 1/125x fuel efficiency (19 min.) +21 bonus
Modifier total +6 1/64x fuel efficiency (38 min.) +18 bonus
Total 2d+0 1/32x fuel efficiency (75 min.) +15 bonus
1/16x fuel efficiency (2.5 hours) +12 bonus
So, half a ton of solar panels can generate a 1/8x fuel efficiency (5 hours) +9 bonus
Strength of 2d+0, and cover all the usuable surface 1/4x fuel efficiency (10 hours) +6 bonus
of a vehicle the size of a car. 1/2x fuel efficiency (20 hours) +3 bonus
1x fuel efficiency (40 hours) +0 bonus
Note - Solar power is not all that practical as a 2x fuel efficiency (80 hours) -3 penalty
primary motive source. The current crop of “solar 4x fuel efficiency (1 week) -6 penalty
racers” are so specialized that it is hard to model 8x fuel efficiency (2 weeks) -9 penalty
them in Stuff!, but it can be done with some effort. 16x fuel efficiency (1 month) -12 penalty
32x fuel efficiency (2 months) -15 penalty
Solar power can include photovoltaic cells, 64x fuel efficiency (3.5 months) -18 penalty
solar-fired steam engines, Stirling-cycle engines or 125x fuel efficiency (7 months) -21 penalty
any other means of converting radiant energy into 250x fuel efficiency (1 year) -24 penalty
a form that can be used for motive power or 500x fuel efficiency (2 years) -27 penalty
generating electrical power. 1000x fuel efficiency (4.5 years) -30 penalty
2000x fuel efficiency (9 years) -33 penalty
Note - As a quick reference, solar panels plus 4000x fuel efficiency (19 years) -36 penalty
their mounting structure will mass 25kg per hexagon 8000x fuel efficiency (38 years) -39 penalty
(33kg per square meter), and using the guidelines
on page 3.15 will generate about 110 watts of The time in parenthesis is the duration of fuel in
power at the Atomic Era. So, a 1 megwatt solar an extra fuel tank the same size as the power plant.
array will be about 9,200 hexagons, close to 100 The default fuel carried as part of the power plant
meters by 100 meters sqaure! mass will be one eighth of this.

3.23
 EXAMPLE - A 1 ton (2 hexagon) Atomic Era v1.0
power plant has a Strength of +33. If we make it a
touchy power plant with 1/4000x fuel efficiency it will
Stuff!
have a Strength of +69(23d+0), but it will also burn
through 1 ton of fuel each 35 seconds! It also takes The fact that it is a water vehicle is another -6
-26 time levels on its normal maintenance interval. If (submerged). This is good for a total Strength of
it started with a normal maintenance interval of a +57(19d+0), which is sufficient to push a vehicle with
VEHICLES

time level of 44, it would end up at a time level of a Strength modifier of -39(8,000 tons) at the +18
+18, so it would have a scheduled maintenance (6d+0) rate, or a speed of 17 meters/turn (61kph/
interval for each eight minutes of use. 38mph). While exact figures for nuclear subs are not
available, this seems to be about right, and tweaks
Reactors - A reactor is any sort of power plant of various kinds in powerplant size and modifiers
that has an incredibly high fuel efficiency. They are should be able to make up any difference.
the bottom half of the table in the previous column.
Normally, you get five hours of full output from the Liftoff!: Why do rockets need such excessive
power plant included in its size, and forty hours for amounts of Strength? To reach orbital or escape
each increment of its size. A reactor can run velocity from a planetary gravity well. Or, to make a
anywhere from double to over a thousand times very fast vehicle with a short operating duration (like
this. At the very lowest levels you are simply dealing a rocket-powered land speed record vehicle). If a
with an ultra-efficient powerplant of a conventional vehicle has a power plant that can provide thrust in
type, but anything past about 4x fuel efficiency the vacuum of space (not air breathing), once it
starts exceeding the bounds of normal chemical gets out of the atmosphere, it has no “top speed”. It
reactions. However, you pay for this efficiency with can just keep accelerating until it reaches a stable
decreased output per hexagon of powerplant. orbital velocity, or keep going until it breaks free of
Reactors do not automatically get increased Earth’s gravity entirely.
maintenance intervals with each decrease in fuel
consumption. However, you may take the “durable” Technically, any air vehicle with an acceleration
modifier(-3) for increased maintenance intervals if greater than gravity can eventually reach orbit. For
desired. design purposes, you will want significantly more
acceleration than local gravity, which for Earth
As for rockets, the time in parenthesis is the would be on the +13 row, the +3 row for Mars and
duration of fuel in an extra fuel tank the same size as the -7 row for the Moon. The trick is to get there with
the power plant, rounded to convenient amounts the least amount of fuel, which can require a lot of
for easy reading. tweaking and playing with the numbers. We’re
going to give an example here, but surely you have
EXAMPLE: You want a nuclear power plant for a better things to do than design low-tech moon
8,000 ton Atomic Era submarine. You decide the rockets...
power plant will take up 1,000 hexagons (about 20
hexagons by 8 hexagons by 6 meters high). The
output for one hexagon at this tech era is +30, with
+6 each time you double the size. This power plant
has ten doublings, for +60. You say the fissionables
within the reactor itself need to last for at least two
years of full output. Normally, you get five hours with
the powerplant, and you need about seventeen
thousand. So, you take the 4000x fuel efficiency
modifier. The final reactor output is:

Atomic Era +30

1,000 hexagon power plant +60
Not air-breathing -3
4000x fuel efficiency -36
Hazardous fuel(fission) +12
Modifier total +63
Total 21d+0

3.24
 EXAMPLE: You want to build an orbital rocket
EABA with Atomic Era technology (base of +30 Strength).
You start with:

The table below tells you how long (in time Atomic Era +30
levels) it will take to accelerate to orbital or escape 8 hexagon power plant +18
velocity, based on how much you exceed local Not air-breathing -3
VEHICLES

gravity. Oddly enough, the results seem largely 1/2000x fuel efficiency +33
independent of actual gravity, so it should work on Modifier total +78
any planet. You could also figure these times out Total 26d+0
yourself using the EABA Universal Chart.
This fuel consumption means the engine goes
Extra acceleration orbital v escape v through 4 tons of fuel (its own weight) each 70
+1 Strength 27 28 seconds. Note that a conventional hydrogen-
+2 Strength 25 26 oxygen rocket engine has a +0 hazardous fuel
+3 Strength 24 25 modifier. We can have a total vehicle mass of 32
+4 Strength 23 24 tons (-15 Strength for mass and +3 Strength for a
+5 Strength 22 23 flying vehicle) and end up with an acceleration of
+6 Strength 21 22 +27, which is 40 meters per turn, or 4 gees.
+7 Strength 20 21
+8 Strength 20 21 If our vehicle is 60 hexagons, we lose 6 tons for
+9 Strength 19 20 the basic size (.1 ton per hexagon), and 4 tons for
+10 Strength 19 20 the rocket engine, leaving 22 tons and about 32
+12 Strength 17 18 hexagons for fuel and payload (remember that it is
+14 Strength 16 17 an air vehicle and has wasted space in the form of
+16 Strength 16 17 its airframe, even if it doesn’t have wings). The
+18 Strength 15 16 acceleration of our rocket is +14 Strength more than
+20 Strength 15 16 gravity, which means it takes a time level of 16 (240
+22 Strength 14 15 seconds) to reach orbital velocity. We already know
+24 Strength 13 14 that we’re going through 4 tons of fuel each 70
seconds, and we need to do this about three and a
EXAMPLE: You have a rocket that has a final half times, for 14 tons of fuel, which take up 28
acceleration on the +17 row, or 16 meters per turn, hexagons. This leaves us 4 hexagons of space and 8
an acceleration of 1.6 gees. To get the time to orbit, tons of capacity.
you take this +17 acceleration and subtract the
amount for the gravity of the world you are leaving. You can see that at this level of tweaking, even
So, to reach orbital velocity from Earth(+13) would small modifiers can vastly alter the efficiency of such
be on the +4 Strength row, from Mars(+3) you would a system. Keep saying “it’s just a game...”
check the +14 Strength row, and from the Moon
you would check the +24 Strength row. Looking at
the time results on the EABA Universal Chart, these
translate out to 45 minutes, 4 minutes and 1.4
minutes. Obviously, if you have a very high fuel
consumption, that 45 minute liftoff from Earth is
going to be a problem, but this rocket is probably
fine for Moon or Mars missions.

3.25
 Note! - A quick reality check here. Once you v1.0
are in outer space, speed in EABA terms starts being
irrelevant. If you are in a stable orbit and have any
Stuff!
acceleration at all, you can eventually spiral your
way outwards to escape velocity. There is nothing Special cases - Rockets are always special
there to slow you down, so unlike a car on the cases because of the way they work. And within this
pavement or an airplane in the atmosphere, you special case, there are subcases to be dealt with.
VEHICLES

can keep accelerating forever. A spaceship with an

adjusted Strength of -4d+0 can still accumulate a Ion Drives: Rockets like ion drives use lots of
speed of thousands of kilometers per hour. It just electrical power and very little fuel. An ion drive plus
takes long enough that the time scale is no longer its power source would be built as a “reactor”, very
interesting from a role-playing standpoint. It would fuel efficient and fairly low output. An ion drive by
just be a matter of comparing acceleration to the itself would be a regular powerplant with lower (but
difference between orbital and escape velocity to still very good) fuel efficiency, but its Strength output
figure out how long it will take. would have to be matched by an equal input from
some dedicated source of electricity. So, a space-
Staging: One way to increase efficiency of ship might have an electricity-generating reactor
extremely fuel-hogging engines is to have multiple whose output can be switched to the ion drive as
stages, dropping off empty fuel tanks and larger needed.
rockets after they are no longer needed. You would
design this as a vehicle with multiple fuel tanks and EXAMPLE: A 1 hexagon ion drive at Late Atomic
power plants, dropping off fuel tanks and/or power Era would look something like this:
plants at some point during the flight, and then
refiguring fuel consumption, thrust and top speed Atomic Era +30
based on the new configuration. A staged vehicle Late era +2
would be +1 cost due to the extra complexity. 1 hexagon power plant +0
500x fuel efficiency -27
Problems: A nasty little performance problem is Not air-breathing -3
that vehicles that burn off fuel at such a staggering Limited environment (vacuum) +2
rate quickly get lighter, which means they can Hazardous fuel +2
either go faster better, or use less fuel to keep the Modifier total +6
same top speed. Also, the speed table is designed Total 2d+0
for an atmosphere with drag. Once you escape the
atmosphere, top speed is irrelevant and only This is a terribly low output for a power plant of
acceleration will matter. We just sort of gloss over this size, but it still far more efficient than the real
this and assume it averages out. If you want to thing. If you wanted to say this was just the ion drive
adjust performance figures for full, 3/4, 1/2 and 1/4 (not including its power supply), you might decrease
fuel capacity, you are welcome to do so. the fuel efficiency (thus increasing power output for
its size), but the Strength generated by its size and
Hit locations: Another problem with vehicles like tech era would have to be supplied by an outside
this is that they are virtually all fuel. So, normal hit generator. In this case, the generator would have
location tables and effects are not going to work. In to provide +32 Strength (the power plant’s size and
practical terms, any attack that isn’t aimed at tech era modifiers).
something is going to hit a fuel tank, and if enough
Hits are taken to cross the -1d threshold, enough fuel
will be lost to usually prevent the rocket from doing
what it was built to do (reach orbit).

3.26
 Boosters: This is a vehicle mobility-enhancer that
EABA is used not as a main form of propulsion, but as an
occasional or emergency device. A nitrous boost,
JATO units, or jump jets in an exoskeleton would be
ADVANCED TOPIC: FRACTIONAL ACCELERATION examples. Generally, they are a small, high mainte-
If you really, really have to, you can use fractional nance power plant with a limited fuel supply, higher
accelerations. Figure out what you have to add to than normal fuel consumption, or both.
VEHICLES

the adjusted vehicle Strength to get acceleration

of 1 (which is .1g, the -12 row on the table on page If the booster Strength is the same as the main
3.5). Subtract half this from the +13 Distance level, power plant (before adjustments for vehicle mass)
find the result, then divide that result by 10. the Strength of the vehicle when the unit is used will
be +3 more than normal. That is, two power plants
EXAMPLE: You have the aforementioned ion of the same output combine to be +3 more than
drive being used to slowly nudge a 1000 ton either them separately. If the booster is more or less
asteroid towards a mining operation. This mass is powerful than the main power plant, see below.
a -30 modifier, so the acceleration ends up as: Vehicle
Booster Strength
Halved vehicle Strength +3 Is ≥6 less than power plant +0
Vehicle weight -30 Is 5 less than power plant +1
Flying vehicle +3 Is 4 less than power plant +1
Modifier total -24 Is 3 less than power plant +1
Total -8d+0 Is 2 less than power plant +2
Is 1 less than power plant +2
For an acceleration of -24, we need to add +12 equal to power plant +3
to get to the -12 level (.1 gee acceleration). Then Is 1 more than power plant +3
subtract half this (+6) from +13 to get a Distance Is 2 more than power plant +4
result of +7, which is 4 meters. We divide this by 10 Is 3 more than power plant +4
to get .4 meters, or an acceleration of .04 gees. Is 4 more than power plant +5
Is 6 more than power plant +6
This calculation is really only needed if you are Is ≥6 more than power plant =booster
running a low-tech space campaign and have to
figure out things like transit times for ships with really If an Attribute other than Strength is affected
lousy acceleration capability. by a booster, figure it in the same way. Applying it
to Health for any sort of “running” or “jumping”
Multiple fuels: If a rocket or any other type of enhancement generally counts as an “enhanced
power plant uses different fuels at significantly mobility” and is halved before adding it to Health.
different rates, you use the average of the two,
rounding towards the lower fuel consumption. EXAMPLE: Our Post-Atomic Era aircar builder
from the basic rules decides to use some of their
EXAMPLE: If you have an atomic rocket engine gizmo space to put in a rocket booster. The main
that uses a long-lasting fission pile (say 4,000x fuel power plant has a raw output of 15d+0 (see page
efficiency, -36 output) and a much larger quantity 3.6). A Post-Atomic Era rocket booster might be:
of hydrogen reaction mass (say 2x fuel efficiency,
-3 output), then the actual Strength output of the Post-Atomic Era +36
engine would be the average, or a -17 output .125 hexagon power plant -9
penalty). There is a 2,000-fold difference in fuel Touchy power plant +3
consumption between the two types. The fission 1/125x fuel efficiency +21
core would be used up at 1/2000th the rate of Not air-breathing -3
hydrogen consumption. For every 2000 units of Hazardous fuel +3
hydrogen fuel pumped through the engine, you Modifier total +51
use 1 unit of fissionables. Total 17d+0

Since we are just using on-board fuel (5 hours),

the booster is good for a little more than 1/125 of this,
or 2 minutes. When it kicks in, it overshadows the
main power plant by 2d+0, so performance is
based on the booster, not the main power plant.
Acceleration with the rocket would end up on the
+20 (6d+2) row, or 21 meters per turn.

3.27
 An afterburner added to a regular air-breathing v1.0
jet engine would not be a booster, but would be a
“rocket” modifier on fuel use and reliability, with up
Stuff!
to a +12 bonus for up to a 1/16x fuel efficiency. That
is, you hit the afterburner button and guzzle fuel at Lighter than air(+0) - Lighter than air vehicles
16 times the normal rate to get a temporary +12 are one of the few cases where a lot of tweaking
boost to vehicle speed, which will also affect has to be made to the normal Stuff! rules in order to
VEHICLES

acceleration by +6. make it work. Like solar power and animals, lighter
than air craft will be counted as a power plant that
EXAMPLE: A jet with normal performance and a takes up more space than its actual volume. In this
Strength of +48(16d+0, or mach 1) ends up with an case, the “power plant” is heated air or some
acceleration on the +16(5d+1) row, or 14 meters lightweight gas that is contained within the mass of
per turn). If the jet had afterburners, its Strength for the gas envelope, and this has to be able to
top speed purposes would go to +60(20d+0, or “accelerate” the vehicle enough to offset gravity.
mach 2.6). Since acceleration is based on half the The Strength generated by a lighter than air “power
power plant Strength, each +2 Strength turns into +1 plant” can only be used to generate acceleration,
Strength for acceleration purposes. So, since the and only in the vertical dimension (it lifts you up,
afterburner has +12 Strength compared to the and that’s it). The +0 modifier on this sort of power
normal engine, acceleration is boosted by +6. This plant gets reflects its acceleration limits. The lighter-
would put acceleration on the +22(7d+1) row, so than-air power plant may not be tweaked to adjust
for as long as the fuel held out, the plane would its top speed and acceleration, and it does not
have a top speed of Mach 2.6 and acceleration of count as a “flying vehicle” for purposes of adjusted
25 meters per turn. One minute of afterburner use Strength for lighter than air lift. This means that for
would go through 16 minutes of normal fuel use, an Earth-normal gravity and atmosphere, you need
and would also count as 16 minutes of engine use an adjusted vehicle Strength of +26(8d+2) in order
for maintenance purposes. to hover. A balloon will want more than this, and
carries extra mass to adjust its rate of ascent and
Antigrav: Antigravity is not a rocket, but it is used descent. A powered vehicle like a blimp can use
in most of the same conditions a rocket would be normal acceleration from a power plant to
(spacecraft, etc.). If you have a system that allows accelerate forward, up or down.
a reactionless drive like antigravity generators, the
Strength they generate would have the following Within all these limits, a lighter than air power
modifiers: not air-breathing (-3) and hazardous fuel plant occupies one thousand hexagons per actual
(or lack thereof)(-3). It would have to be powered hexagon of power plant. This extended volume has
by a generator of some kind, which has its own no structural weight associated with it, and takes
inherent -1d losses (page 3.31). damage like a wind powered vessel’s sail would
(see page 3.22). The modifier for lighter than air
As a special case that we really have no idea power plants is +2 (but with all the listed limits on it).
how to implement in the real world, a gamemaster A lighter than air power plant that relies on a light-
can tweak it as desired by adding any bonus they weight gas usually has an additional -6 for a low
choose to in order to make antigrav practical at fuel consumption (4x fuel efficiency) and is not an
the tech era they want it to be practical at. As is, it air-breathing power plant for an extra -3 penalty,
is barely practical for “hovercars” at Advanced Era while one which relies on hot air for lift will just have
tech. To make it a commercial reality for all kinds of a fuel consumption appropriate to the method of
cool personal transport would require about a +12 heating the air. Last, a lighter than air vehicle that
bonus on top of the other listed modifiers. has no internal structure cannot be powered. A
lighter than air vehicle with an internal structure (like
a rigid zeppelin) will take a -1 to adjusted Strength
for lift purposes for each +6 of adjusted Strength in
its era and power plant size. Rigid zeppelins can use
other power plants to push the vehicle around, and
the acceleration of these power plants can be
used for altitude changes. However, due to the
high drag of these huge vehicles, all powered
lighter than air vehicles are counted as air vehicles
for top speed purposes, but water vehicles for
acceleration purposes. The maximum possible top
speed for a lighter than air vehicle is its Strength for
power plant size, minus the penalty for its structure.

3.28
 EXAMPLE: A modern hot air balloon (wicker
EABA basket holding up to say four people) might look
like this:

A lighter than air vehicle loses lift Strength when Atomic Era +30
it takes damage, just as a propulsive power plant .75 hexagon power plant -1
would, and will descend (but will usually not Lighter-than-air power plant +0
VEHICLES

accelerate downwards) if the lift is not sufficient to Loaded vehicle mass of 1 ton +0
counter the force of gravity. If the lifting force runs Modifier total +29
out of fuel, the lighter than air power plant will lose Total 9d+2
-1 of Strength after 15 minutes (time level of 20) and
each 2 time levels after that (doubling of the time). This is more than the +26 needed for neutral lift,
and gives a maximum vertical acceleration (after
EXAMPLE: The Graf Zeppelin is a Late Industrial gravity) of 3 meters per second.
Era, structured, powered, lighter-than-air vehicle
relying on hydrogen for lift. Its basic design would The balloon has say two hexagons of space,
look something like this (numbers rounded): for a structure mass of .2 tons (see the advanced
seating notes on page 3.38), the four overweight or
Industrial Era +24 overmuscled passengers are another .4 tons, and
Late era +2 the power plant takes up the remaining .4 tons
125 hexagon power plant +42 (.375 tons, but we’ll add a little spare fuel). We can
Structure for lighter-than-air -11 overload the vehicle to provide ballast, enough so
(which is -1 for each +3 in the era + size) that we barely rise up when the mooring lines are
Lighter-than-air power plant +0 released. We can split our extra weight capacity
Loaded vehicle weight of 125 tons -21 between fuel and ballast as needed.
4x fuel efficiency -6
Not air-breathing -3 The gas envelope takes up 750 hexagons,
Hazardous fuel (hydrogen go boom!) +1 which would be the equivalent of a sphere about
Modifier total +28 10 meters across.
Total 9d+1
ADVANCED TOPIC: ALTITUDE
This is more than the +26 needed for neutral lift, One thing that hasn’t been covered is the role of
so the zeppelin can hover just fine by adjusting its lower air pressure at higher altitudes. This makes it
ballast or the amount of hydrogen in its gas bags. hard for air-breathing engines to get enough
oxygen, wings provide less lift, and so on. The high
The lighter-than-air power plant masses 62.5 altitude air vehicle modifier takes into account that
tons, and has a volume of 125,000 hexagons. This at these rarefied heights, drag is less and so you
would be a cylinder about 25 meters high and can go faster than in the thicker air near the
wide, and 215 meters long. It leaves another 62.5 ground.
tons for normal vehicle structure, engines, fuel,
people and cargo. If we installed four 2 hexagon Air-breathing power plants and lighter than air
Late Industrial Era engines in the Graf Zeppelin, its vehicles will lose -3 from their output at the edge of
performance would look like this: the breathable range in the atmosphere, -6 at the
edge of the range where you can get by with a
Industrial Era +24 breathing mask, and -9 at the limit of where aero-
Late era +2 dynamic surfaces can do any good. Anything
2 hexagon power plant +6 higher than this is out of the range of air-breathing
Eight power plants +6 power plants. The high altitude modifier on air
Loaded vehicle weight of 125 tons -21 vehicle speed starts at the edge of the breathing
Air vehicle +3 mask range.
Modifier total +20
Total 6d+2

This gives it a top speed of 25 meters per turn

(90kph/56mph), and an acceleration of 1 meter
per turn. The theoretical maximum speed for this
vehicle would be its power plant size(+42) minus the
penalty for its internal structure(-11), or a Strength of
+31, or 58 meters per turn (209kph/130mph).

3.29
 Parachutes: A parachute is effectively a lighter- v1.0
than-air power plant that uses no fuel. Its effective
acceleration is compared to that of gravity (4d+1),
Stuff!
and the difference becomes the parachute’s rate
of descent (not rate of acceleration). Parachutes ADVANCED TOPIC: GRAVITY
always descend at least 1 meters per turn. Most land or air vehicles can take advantage of
gravity, or be impeded by it. Earth-normal gravity
VEHICLES

EXAMPLE: A personal parachute (7.5 kilograms) acts as a power plant with an adjusted Strength of
might look something like this: +26(8d+2), regardless of vehicle size. Coincentally,
this is an acceleration of 10 (or 1g, straight down).
Atomic Era +30
.015 hexagon power plant -18 Since very few vehicles want to accelerate
Lighter-than-air power plant +0 straight down, the actual adjusted Strength will be
Loaded vehicle weight of .125 tons +9 less, depending on the slope the descent takes
Modifier total +21 place at. For land vehicles, you just find the slope,
Total 7d+0 and the vehicle can coast at the appropriate
speed for the listed Strength, or this Strength can
This gives the “power plant” an acceleration of add to the vehicle’s Strength when going downhill,
half the power plant Strength(+6), the mass modifier or subtract going uphill. Practically speaking, most
(+9) and the lighter-than-air acceleration penalty land vehicles cannot actually go up any hill with an
(-9), for a Strength of +6, which is an acceleration of effect of more than ±9 (they may have the power,
5 meters per turn. This is 5 meters less than gravity, so but not the traction). For fully winged air vehicles,
the descent rate is also 5 meters per turn. find the slope that corresponds to -18 from the
actual minimum Strength required to fly (the stall
ADVANCED TOPIC: OPERATING TEMPERATURE speed, which has a default value of -12 less than
One thing that is vitally important and usually adjusted vehicle Strength). The result you get is the
overlooked in the interest of simplicity is the fact “glide path” of the air vehicle. It’s not perfect, but
that things are not 100% efficient. And every last bit works for most purposes. The air vehicle drops a
of the difference somehow ends up as heat. A car number of meters per turn appropriate to its
needs a radiator to cool its power plant down. So forward speed, and will take impact damage
do the fuel cells of the Space Shuttle. For Stuff!, we counting this speed as a height (EABA, page 5.5).
are going to assume that the extra weight of any
necessary cooling apparatus is part of the modifiers Slope Strength effect
that contribute to power output and thus the Straight down ±26
power to weight ratio of the power plant. 1 meter forward/1 meter down ±18
2 meters forward/1 meter down ±13
What is not covered is the effect of external 4 meters forward/1 meter down ±9
temperature on the power plant. Cars overheat in 8 meters forward/1 meter down ±5
the summer more than the winter. Power plants will 16 meters forward/1 meter down ±2
have a comfortable temperature range, just like 32 meters forward/1 meter down ±1
people do, but they are a bit more tolerant in many
respects. A vehicle that is operating at the edges of EXAMPLE: A car with an adjusted Strength of
its comfort zone (hot or cold) has a -1 penalty on its 10d+1 is going down a hill whose Strength effect is
power output. A vehicle that is operating at the ±2. The car is counted as 11d+0 when going down-
edges of its safety zone has a -3 penalty on its hill, and 9d+2 when going uphill. If coasting with no
power output. Anything more extreme than this risks engine power, it would accelerate like a vehicle
immediate breakdown of the power plant, or at with a Strength of 0d+2 (the dice equivalent of a +2
the very least, lost Hits. In either case, any extended modifier).
use at full remaining power gives the gamemaster
an excuse to force a maintenance check on the EXAMPLE: A plane with a normal speed of +39
vehicle. If it hasn’t been well maintained, pushing it (13d+0) (stall speed of +27) loses its engines and has
in extreme conditions will do 1 Hit of damage, to make a forced landing. The stall speed with a
counting as a power plant location, with any further -18 modifier is +9, or the ±9 row on the table.
special effects that are appropriate. With engines out, this plane drops one meter for
each four meters of forward motion. Its stall speed is
40 meters per turn, so it drops 10 meters per turn,
which will be about a 3d+1 impact. Both the
impact and anything the plane runs into will be
unaffected by the plane’s damage limit...

3.30
 The reason for the -24 penalty is that energy
EABA weapons usually have short-term outputs that are
extremely large. Think of it like winding up a
catapult. The energy is stored gradually, and
Power generation(-3) - A power plant can be released suddenly. It might take four men to wind
used to generate electricity (or possibly magical up the catapult, but those four men could not just
energy), depending on the vehicle. It can generate heave a rock the same distance. They can’t
VEHICLES

power for use by other (compatible) powerplants concentrate their output over the same short
at a -3 penalty to its Strength. The penalty represents interval. The same is true for energy weapons. The
the extra machinery and losses resulting from powerplant puts energy into storage banks (with
having a non-dedicated power plant. If power is some electrical losses), and this energy is released
generated and consumed at the same place in in the output pulses of the energy weapon.
the vehicle, and only a tiny surplus is available for
other uses, do not take this modifier. If on the other If a power generation system does not have
hand, you have one source of power that does the Strength required to meet the needs of a
many things in the vehicle, then this modifier is powerplant it is running, that powerplant is limited
appropriate. by the output of the generator.

EXAMPLE: A diesel-powered generator is a EXAMPLE: A generator with 9d+0 output running

power plant that does not move a vehicle. a 10d+0 electric motor can only run it at the 9d+0
However, a diesel locomotive uses a diesel- level.
powered generator to run electric motors in the
engine, and these do move the vehicle. If the A power generator can split its total Strength
electric motors had a Strength of 15d+1, then the between multiple tasks. A 10d+0 power plant can
diesel generator would need a Strength of 16d+1, act like a pair of 9d+0 power plants, four 8d+0
so that it has 15d+1 left after the -3 penalty is power plants, and so on. Conversely, a pair of 9d+0
applied. loads counts as a 10d+0 draw on power plant
output.
Depending on technology, most motive power
plants can have a small part of their energy In general, you can largely ignore power loads
siphoned off for other purposes. A car engine can of 3d or more less than full power plant output, and
power an air conditioner, headlights and so on. The loads that total to 2d less than the power plant
available power is generally about 2d less than output are only a -1 to full output.
maximum power plant output, and using this full
amount of power is a -1 penalty on vehicle Strength EXAMPLE: A generator witth 9d+0 output can
(your car won’t go as fast if you are running the air ignore a 6d+0 load and still be counted as 9d+0. A
conditioner full blast). pair of 6d+0 loads counts as 7d+0, and would be a
-1 to output, dropping it to 8d+2 for other purposes.
A generator can be used to recharge weapons Four 6d+0 loads would count as an 8d+0 load,
at a -24 penalty to its Strength. In the latter case, which means the spare power available is only
each ±3 more or less than needed either doubles 8d+0 (since a pair of 8d+0 loads is the full 9d+0
the time needed to recharge a shot or doubles the output of the power plant).
number of shots charged per second. Power
generation systems in a vehicle count as “gizmos”
for cost purposes (+2 cost).

EXAMPLE: A laser point defense system with a

5d+0 damage will need a 13d+0 power generation
system to recharge one shot per second. A 14d+0
power generator could recharge two shots per
second, while a 12d+0 power generator could
recharge one shot each two seconds.

3.31
 Electric motors(+3) - Electric motors are not air- v1.0
breathing power plants and take a -3 to Strength.
This is offset by a 1/4x fuel efficiency, which is +6, for
Stuff!
a general bonus of +3 Strength. Electric motors are
compact and powerful, but they go through fuel Load vs. battery Battery good for:
(batteries) at an alarming rate. Since electric motors -3d 40 hours(35)
are power plants, they come with an inherent fuel -2d 20 hours(33)
VEHICLES

supply like other power plants. If you want a motor -1d 10 hours(31)
without any inherent battery, you get an additional +0d 5 hours(28)
+1 to the output. +1d 2 hours(26)
+2d 1 hour(24)
EXAMPLE: An Atomic Era powerplant has a +3d 30 minutes(22)
base Strength of +30 for one hexagon, and will run +4d 12 minutes(20)
for five hours at full power with the fuel included in +5d 6 minutes(17)
that size. An Atomic Era powerplant that is an +6d 3 minutes(15)
electric motor will be +33 Strength for the same size, +7d 90 seconds(13)
but will only run for one and a quarter hours, or each ±1 ±25% closest value
have a Strength of +34 and be totally dependent
on an outside source of energy. EXAMPLE: You have a remote controlled
observation drone that has an adjusted Strength of
Batteries - Batteries are not actually “fuel”. 6d+0. It runs off of a battery with a Strength of 3d+0.
Batteries are a powerplant that is used to run The difference is +3d, so the drone can fly at full
another powerplant (see the previous notes on power for 30 minutes (a time level of +22).
power generation). The “fuel” in the battery is what
makes it go. When the fuel in the battery runs out, Batteries can either be rechargeable or non-
the battery is dead and has to be recharged. rechargeable. So far, we have been assuming
Batteries are usually non-airbreathing powerplants, rechargeable batteries. A non-rechargeable
and take an additional -3 penalty on top of this. battery (when it is used up, you throw it away) will
have a Strength of +3 more than normal.
Batteries are unique in that the fuel is not “used
up”. That is, an electric car with depleted batteries Battery charging: To charge an on-board
masses the same as one with fully charged energy storage system is a matter of comparing the
batteries. Batteries have the advantage that Strength of the charger to the size and duration of
electricity from almost any source can be used to what is being charged. Each time you double or
replenish them to full capacity. halve the duration, you add or subtract 1d to the
Strength of the charger. Once the charger Strength
EXAMPLE: A one hexagon Atomic Era battery equals the power plant Strength, you can then see
would have a Strength of 8d+0 and five hours of how long the charger has to operate.
output at this level.
EXAMPLE: A 2d+0 charger replenishing the
Atomic Era +30 batteries in an electric car with 10d+0 Strength will
1 hexagon power plant +0 have a long haul. To get the +8d needed to match
Not air-breathing -3 vehicle Strength will take eight doublings of time.
Battery -3 Using the EABA Universal Chart (EABA, page 3.4) we
Modifier total +24 can go down sixteen rows (eight doublings) from a
Total 8d+0 time of one second and see it takes four minutes of
charging to replenish one second of operating
Unlike most generators, a battery can be time. You can use this same sixteen row difference
discharged at a rate higher than its actual Strength. to see that if the vehicle’s energy storage was
An 8d+0 battery could run a 10d+0 electric motor normally good for an hour (time of 24), it would
at full power, but not for the full five hours of normal take a time of 24 plus 16, equals a time level of 40
output. You can go up to +7d more than the actual (11 days) to fully recharge using this tiny charger.
battery output (and any amount less), at a penalty
or bonus to duration. See the table below. Numbers
in parentheses are time levels.

3.32
 If you use less Strength, battery life is doubled
EABA per 1d less. If you need more Strength, doubling the
number of powercells is +1d Strength, at the same
rate of power drain. Powercells can be drained
Powercells: EABA uses a standard “powercell” faster than the “5 hour” rate, and would get extra
for energy storage, a .1 kilogram cylinder that is Strength as a result, +1d per halving of the time (as
supposed to fit into a variety of gizmos. So, power- per the table on the previous page).
VEHICLES

cells are actually a mini-powerplant that is simply

used to power other powerplants or devices. When EXAMPLE: An electric motor with a Strength of
it’s own on-board fuel supply is exhausted, the 8d+0 could not be run by a single Atomic Era
battery is either recharged (or thrown away if it is rechargeable powercell, since you can only halve
non-rechargeable type). The standard EABA the life of the battery seven times (to .025 hours or
rechargeable powercell would look like this (insert ninety seconds), for +7d Strength. You could use
tech era as appropriate): two Atomic Era powercells, since a pair of them
would have a total Strength of 1d+0, which could
Atomic Era +30 be increased to 8d+0, and the pair of them would
.1 millihex power plant -39 run the motor for ninety seconds.
Touchy +3
Not air-breathing -3 A powercell holds a certain amount of energy
Hazardous fuel +3 as represented by its Strength and default five hour
Battery -3 lifetime, depending on its tech era. This electrical
x1/8 fuel efficiency +9 power can be used for any purpose except actual
Modifier total +0 firing of energy weapons (though powercells can
Total (rechargeable) 0d+0 be used to recharge these weapons). Rather than
Total (non-rechargeable) 1d+0 comparing the “Strength” of a flashlight to the
table, handheld items will usually have an energy
Note that if you want to get high tech, you consumption for a unit of time, and comparing this
can use any of the hazardous fuel modifiers you to the energy on the table determines how long
want. Rechargeable powercells are not easily the powercell can run the item.
“maintained”, so when they hit a maintenance
interval, they permanently lose capacity. EXAMPLE: If a flashlight holds two powercells
and consumes 10 energy per hour, you can see
EXAMPLE: A “fission powercell” would have a a that a pair of Atomic Era powercells (total of 80
hazardous fuel modifier of +12 instead of +3. This energy) will run the flashlight for 8 hours.
could be used for a much higher output, a much
longer life or some combination of the two. Energy weapons can be recharged from
powercells just like from any other kind of power
Add to this basic battery design an extra fuel generator. One shot from a weapon counts as one
supply equal to the size of the powerplant itself, second’s worth of powercell use. Remember the
and you get a total size of .2 millihexes and weight -8d penalty for recharging weapons. Each ±1d of
of .1 kilograms. This gives 5 hours (actually, 5.6 difference doubles or halves the number of seconds
hours) of full power operation at the following the powercell will last. The table below has already
effective Strengths: figured various charging levels to determine how
many shots a powercell can recharge in an energy
Tech Era Strength Energy weapon clip. For weapons with area effects or
Early Industrial -2d+2 6 continuous beams, do not count these modifiers on
Industrial -2d+0 10 the damage of the weapon.
Late Industrial -1d+1 16
Early Atomic -0d+2 25 EXAMPLE: A plasma gun with a 5d+0 explosion
Atomic 0d+0 40 would be counted as a 7d+0 for recharging
Late Atomic 0d+2 65 purposes (because explosion is a -2d modifier on
Early Post-Atomic 1d+1 100 the weapon’s damage, and we do not count that
Post-Atomic 2d+0 160 for recharging purposes).
Late Post-Atomic 2d+2 250
Early Advanced 3d+1 400
Advanced 4d+0 640
Late Advanced 4d+2 1000

3.33
 For most weapons, assume they recharge one v1.0
shot per second. However, technically a powercell
cannot be drained in less than ninety seconds, so
Stuff!
for weapons that may only get a few shots from a
powercell, it may take a while to recharge them. Fuel cells: Fuel cells are simply another means
of converting chemical energy into electrical
Strength difference Shots per powercell energy. The difference between fuel cells and
VEHICLES

+15d 1 batteries is that the chemical energy is used up

+14d 2 rather than changed from one form to another
+13d 4 within the battery. Fuel cells need refueled from
+12d 9 outside sources the same way a car would need its
+11d 18 gas tank refilled. Fuel cells are airbreathing
+10d 35 powerplants. Fuel cells used in outer space would
+9d 70 have to take the “not air-breathing” modifier.
+8d 140
+7d 280 EXAMPLE: A fuel cell with an output of 6d+0 will
+6d 560 go through some quantity of fuel each hour in an
+5d 1,125 atnosphere. A fuel cell of the same size in outer
+4d 2,250 space will use the same amount of fuel, but since
+3d 4,500 this fuel is both fuel and air, you are really running a
+2d 9,000 less efficient fuel cell. It takes the “not air-breathing”
+1d 18,000 modifier of -3 and only has 5d+0 output.
+0d 36,000
each +1 reduce by 25% A stand-alone fuel cell is almost but not quite a
replaceable battery pack. It would be designed
EXAMPLE: A Post-Atomic era powercell is used exactly like a power plant whose sole purpose is to
to recharge a laser pistol that has 3d+0 damage. run another power plant. The difference is that the
You add +8d to the pistol’s damage to get 11d+0. fuel cell is refilled with fuel rather than electricity,
Compare this to the powercell Strength of 2d+0, and that it cannot generate huge surges of power
and there is a +9d difference. The powercell can like a battery can.
recharge up to 70 shots for this weapon. The same
powercell is used to recharge a laser rifle that has a EXAMPLE: To run a vehicle with an electric
damage of 6d+0. You add +8d to get 14d+0 and motor and adjusted Strength of 8d+0, you must
compare to the powercell’s rating of 2d+0. The have a fuel cell “power plant” with an output of at
difference of +12d means the powercell will only least 8d+0, unlike batteries, which could be less
recharge 9 shots for this weapon. If this were an than 8d+0 and would just run out of juice quicker.
older, Atomic Era powercell, the difference would
be +14d and it would only recharge 2 shots! A standard EABA fuel cell is designed to take
the place of twenty powercells in portable gadgets.
It would look like this (insert appropriate tech era):

Atomic Era +30

2 millihex power plant -27
Touchy +3
Power generator -3
x1/8 fuel efficiency +9
Modifier total +12
Total 4d+0

Add an extra fuel supply equal to the size of

the powerplant itself, for a total size of 4 millihexes
and weight of 2 kilograms. This gives 5 hours of full
power operation at the following effective Strength:

3.34
 EABA Stuff!
Tech Era Fuel cell Strength Energy Note - If you do the math, it seems like fuel cells
Early Atomic 3d+1 400/hr would make electric cars extremely practical in the
Atomic 4d+0 640/hr here and now. The problem is, at this point in time,
VEHICLES

Late Atomic 4d+2 1,000/hr fuel cells are a “limited production” item (at least
Early Post-Atomic 5d+1 1,600/hr +2 cost) and a “gizmo” (+4 cost) that would be
Post-Atomic 6d+0 2,500/hr trying to compete in a “mass market” (-2 cost)
Late Post-Atomic 6d+2 4,000/hr environment. The previous .064 hexagon fuel cell
Early Advanced 7d+1 6,300/hr would be +6 cost (Atomic Era), +4 (gizmo), +2
Advanced 8d+0 10k/hr (limited production), -10 (.064 hexagons), equals a
Late Advanced 8d+2 16k/hr cost of +2 (2000 Credits), compared to an 8d+0
Strength conventional power plant, which is a cost
Note - Fuel cells run on hydrogen, but they can of +6 (Atomic Era), -2 (mass production), -5 (.25
be designed to run on hydrogen that is extracted hexagons and .125 tons), equals a cost of -1 (700
from any hydrogen-containing compound (usually Credits). So, ther fuel cell costs four times as much,
a liquid). This Stuff! design assumes a +0 hazardous and it is a touchy power plant that requires
fuel modifier and figures the fuel cell is designed maintenance several times more often than a
to run on methanol or some other medium-grade normal engine.
hydrocarbon with a +0 fuel modifier.
Combining batteries and fuel cells can be
EXAMPLE: Let’s say the previous example was done to provide long-duration power with short
an electric motor in a 1 ton Atomic Era electric car. term boosts. You would count the fuel cell as a sort
To power this would require a fuel cell with an of battery extender. The fuel cell will extend the
output of 8d+0 Strength. You can simply say that battery life by one row per +3d of difference.
you need +4d more than a “standard” fuel cell,
which means you double the number of fuel cells EXAMPLE: A 6d+0 fuel cell and batteries with a
four times. This would be a total of sixteen 4 millihex Strength of 6d+0 are paired up and could act as a
fuel cells, or 64 millihexes worth. This will power the 7d+0 power source for normal battery life (two
car at full Strength for up to five hours. The other power sources of equal value count as the base
way to look at it would be to design it as a single value +1d). If there is a 6d+0 load, the fuel cell
item to get 8d+0 output: handles it on its own and will run for up to five hours
before needing refueled. If there is a 7d+0 load, the
Atomic Era +30 batteries and fuel cell together handle it for up to
32 millihex power plant -15 five hours. If there is a 9d+0 load (+3d Strength
Touchy +3 difference over the battery), the battery has to
Power generator -3 cover most of the load, but the fuel cell contributes
x1/8 fuel efficiency +9 enough that the battery will last an hour (+2d
Modifier total +24 Strength difference) instead of half an hour (+3d
Total 8d+0 Strength difference). So, you can handle surge
loads for short periods, and steady loads for longer
When you add an additonal 32 millihexes of periods.
fuel, you end up with the same thing.

If you use less Strength, fuel consumption is

halved per 1d less. If you need more Strength,
doubling the number of fuel cells is +1d Strength, at
the same rate of fuel consumption.

EXAMPLE: If you had a Post-Atomic scooter with

an adjusted Strength of 5d+0, a 6d+0 Post-Atomic
fuel cell would last for 10 hours instead of 5 hours. If
all you had were Atomic Era fuel cells, you would
need two of them, since two 4d+0 fuel cells can
combine to get 5d+0 of output.

3.35
 SECONDARY POWER PLANT TOPICS - That about v1.0
covers all the modifiers that directly affect the
output of a vehicle’s power plant (only about 20
Stuff!
pages worth...). However, the Strength of a vehicle
has a number of other ramifications, and these Suspensions - A vehicle can optmize its ability
have their own advanced rules. to travel across a particular terrain. This will affect its
Strength for purposes of top speed and related
VEHICLES

Deceleration - Normally, the deceleration of a factors. For instance, a race car is designed for a
vehicle is the same as its acceleration. This can be very smooth, specific environment. A passenger car
modified for different vehicle environments at is designed for roads in general. An offroad vehicle
gamemaster option. You do this by adjusting the can travel over any environment the other two
Strength used to get the acceleration number can, and more besides. For a given amount of
(after the row shift). horsepower, the race car will be the fastest in its
specific environment.
Land vehicles apply a +3 to their acceleration
row for deceleration purposes. Friction with the The way to apply this to vehicle designs is to
ground increases their ability to come to a stop. This check the following table and apply the most
is under optimum conditions. Wet or snowy or icy appropriate modifier:
roads will adjust this downwards. Water vehicles
apply a +1. Friction and turbulence between a Environment Example Strength
boat hull and the water makes deceleration more Totally limited Train +12
effective. Space vehicles have +0 adjustment, or Extremely limited Dragster +9
no change. A space vehicle can just turn around Very limited Race car +6
and use its engines to decelerate at the same rate Limited Sports car +3
it accelerates. If the space vehicle can’t turn Normal Passenger car +0
around easily, it must use thrust diverters or reaction Enhanced Off-road 4WD -3
jets to slow down, and would apply a -3 to their Very enhanced Tracked vehicle -6
acceleration row to reflect these less effective Extr. enhanced Walking vehicle -9
strategies. Last, air vehicles use a -3 to Strength. Air
brakes aren’t that effective compared to braking The examples are all for land vehicles, but to
strategies used in other environments. Similarly, the some extent they can apply to other environments.
small brakes on the wheels of landing gear would For instance, a racing hydrofoil might be optimized
also take a -3 to Strength. for smooth water conditions, while a foul weather
rescue vessel would be optimized for a rougher
EXAMPLE: A 1 ton car with a +30 Strength environment. All of these modifiers apply towards
power plant would have an acceleration of half acceleration after power plant Strength is halved.
the Strength(+15), with a -9 for being a ground
vehicle, for a final acceleration of +6 Strength, or 5 The way you would apply suspensions in play is
meters per turn. For deceleration, it could use the simple. Vehicles have a default 2d+0 “Agility roll”.
+9 Strength row, or 7 meters per turn. You roll this Agility against a target number for the
environment type. This target number is 1 for the
vehicle’s “native” environment and is increased by
2 for each row down the table past that (or
reduced to a difficulty of 0 or less for rows above
that). You roll upon entering that environment, and
again each kilometer. If you make the roll, you
keep moving. If you fail, you get stuck or have
some sort of mechanical problem that prevents
further movement (which might involve taking 1 Hit
of damage). A vehicle that is “totally limited”
automatically gets stuck if it leaves its designed
environment (a train always gets stuck if it leaves
the tracks...).

3.36
 Multi-terrain vehicle - If a vehicle can be
EABA designed to operate in two or more environments,
this will necessitate certain design compromises.
First, it will get a -3 on Strength for its primary
EXAMPLE: A sports car is optimized for smooth environment, and then an additional -12 for its
but non-specialized roads, like highways and secondary environment. If it has more than one
normal streets. Its Strength is +3 for top speed secondary environment, it takes an additional -3 on
VEHICLES

because of this. However, if you start driving it up a all environments for each extra capability.
rutted dirt road, you have to roll 2d+0 to avoid
getting stuck. The roll for its normal environment is a EXAMPLE: A car with a Strength of 10d+0 that
1, and the dirt road is one row up from that, can also act as a boat will end up with a Strength
increasing the difficulty to 3. Eventually, it will hit a of 9d+0 for driving top speed and 5d+0 for boating
rut and get stuck. top speed.

Dice penalties a vehicle takes will affect this roll The cost of a multi-terrain vehicle is the cost it
at gamemaster option. So, a vehicle that has taken would be for all environments. A car that can act
enough hits to be at -1d effect will have to roll each like a boat costs like a car and a boat (figure them
kilometer even in its “native” environment to avoid separately, then add together). It is fairly common
getting stuck. For instance, if your tires are flat and to trim the cost of a multi-environment vehicle by
you keep driving, eventually the rubber will shred reducing the handling in a secondary environment
off and you end up bottoming your suspension out for a -1 cost discount on that part of the vehicle. For
on the pavement, even if the vehicle has not taken instance, the boat-car would not handle as well in
all its Hits. In your vehicle’s native environment, it will the water as a regular boat.
automatically fail the roll after one kilometer if it is at
the -2d penalty level or better (adjusted Agility roll Towing things - In general, anything loading
of 0d+0 against a target number of 1). If the Agility down a power plant will affect the top speed,
roll is negative against a negative target number, acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle. Any
you roll a negative total and try to get more (closer towed load is also an automatic +1 difficulty on all
to zero) than the target number. maneuvering tasks, including getting stuck for
being outside the right environment. If you prefer,
EXAMPLE: If your off-road vehicle has managed instead of +1 difficulty you can add half (round up)
to get to a -3d penalty and keep moving on a road the mass difference between the vehicle and
meant for normal cars, it is rolling -1d+0 (2d+0 Agility vehicle + trailer to the manuevering difficulty, with a
with a -3d penalty) against a target number of -1 minimum of +1 difficulty.
(one row easier than its normal environment). So,
any roll of -2 or more means that the vehicle gets EXAMPLE: A car with a mass of 2 tons(-3) and a
stuck after a kilometer of travel, while a roll of -1 power plant Strength of +33 has a top speed for
means the vehicle keeps moving for at least +30 Strength(53 meters per turn), an acceleration of
another kilometer after that. 5 meters per turn and a deceleration of 8 meters
per turn. The loaded mass of the car is 2 tons. If it
Handling - Normally, a vehicle can maneuver were also towing a 1 ton trailer, it would have a
as detailed on page 3.11. However, vehicles can total mass of 3 tons(-5), for a top speed of +28
be bought with inherent handling bonuses, which Strength(44 meters per turn), an acceleration of 4
represent better tires, advanced suspensions, meters per turn, a deceleration of 7 meters per turn,
spoilers and such. This handling bonus alters the and all handling tasks would be at +1 difficulty.
difficulty of making manuevers for better or worse.
A vehicle can have up to a +2 penalty to make That about covers the “how fast will it go?” part
manuevering harder, and up to a -1 bonus at the of advanced vehicle design. Now, on to the “how
Industrial Era, and a further -1 for each era past big is it?” part of the rules.
that. Each ±1 to maneuvering difficulty is also a ±1
to the overall cost of the vehicle.

EXAMPLE: You want a sports car to have better

handling than normal, so you pay the extra cost for
-1 handling. All manuevering tasks with this car are
now 1 point less difficult than normal.

3.37
 VEHICLE SIZE - There are plenty of modifiers and v1.0
special cases about how big a vehicle is and what
you can cram in it.
Stuff!
Seating and Accomodations - The basic rules Vehicles whose nature requires specialized
covered seating, but that was about it. Before we ingress or egress will not have a door or hatch for
get into this, remember that you are dealing with each passenger. Think of an airliner, for instance.
VEHICLES

the abstract. You’re just figuring what you need for Vehicles with this limit will need one extra hexagon
a certain level of comfort or passenger actions. You of floor plan for each three passengers.
only need to draw what a floor plan looks like if it is
important for a particular role-playing aspect. EXAMPLE: An airliner that carries 300 passengers
will have 300 hexagons of space for seating, and
EXAMPLE: If you have a dozen first class berths an extra 100 hexagons of space for aisles. You may
and each one is 144 hexagons, then it means you also want to take into account perhaps half a
need about 1700 hexagons of passenger space. hexagon per passenger in the seating area if the
This is a number you can plug into the vehicle seats have overhead storage bins.
design, but unless there is going to a firefight in the
luxury suites, you shouldn’t worry about imagining Standing room (one hexagon) is also like it
what it actually looks like. sounds. You have half a hexagon of floor space to
stand on, and it is two or so meters high. Take six
The basic seating rules assume that there is sheets of paper about the size of this page and lay
vehicle structure of some type that completely them on the ground in a three by two pattern.
surrounds the person (much like a car). If a person is That’s “standing room”. Trying to do anything
in the vehicle, but vehicle protection only provides physical if you are packed in like sardines is a -1d
fractional coverage, you normally have half the penalty. Standing room does not have an exit for
hexagons needed for vehicle size purposes. each passenger. How many exits there are and
how large they are depends on the vehicle and its
EXAMPLE: If a rowboat only protects you from need to get people on and off. A subway car or
the waist down, you only need half a hexagon per packed bus would have a capacity based on
person of seating room. standing room (two people per hexagon of floor
plan set aside for passengers).
Sometimes you need room to move around. In
order for people to change places in a vehicle This level of accomodation and anything more
without actually getting out and getting back in, spacious is assuming that people are able to stand,
you need corridor space. We will list some basic so each two hexagons is only one hexagon on a
seating and accomodation options, and you can vehicle floor plan.
decide what fits for the vehicle you have in mind.
“Military access” is the next level up. It isn’t
Your basic vehicle seat (one hexagon) is just pretty, and it might not be safe, but it is enough
that, a seat. You need to crawl over someone else room for people to get up, move around and get
to get to anywhere else in the vehicle, and you on, in and around the equipment in the vehicle.
normally have your own door, hatch or other This is two hexagons per person. One of these is the
means of getting in and out. Trying to do anything crew station, and the rest is scattered throughout
that involves moving your body is probably at a -2d the vehicle. If there is no one else around, and you
penalty to skill or Attribute rolls. If you can increase are careful, most physical skills can be done at no
your mobility by rolling down a window or opening penalty. Some manuevers or actions will certainly
a hatch, the penalty is only -1d, or might be be out of the question.
eliminated entirely for some skills.
EXAMPLE: You can punch someone in the
cramped hallways of a submarine, but spinning
roundhouse kicks are out of the question.

3.38
 Operating crew - A vehicle will require a certain
EABA number of crew to effectively operate it. This is just
to make sure it can reliably move from point A to
point B,and does not include sensor opeators,
Military vehicles where the crew is expected to gunners and so on. The required crew is based on
live in the vehicle for extended periods of time will the vehicle’s size and tech era. The main caveat is
need bunks, showers, galleys and other niceties. In that cargo or other empty space like fuel tankage,
VEHICLES

addition to “military access”, this will take up four extra space for animals, sails or lighter than air
hexagons per person for three shift “hot bunking”, apparatus generally does not count towards
six hexagons per person for two shift “hot bunking” vehicle size.
and eight heagons per person for personal quarters.
“Hot bunking” is where a sleeping space is shared Technological Era Area multiplier
by two or more people. For instance, if there are Primitive +5 rows
three eight hour shifts, one person is sleeping, one Basic +4 rows
person is on duty, and the other person is doing Industrial +3 rows
something else (eating, etc.). Atomic +2 rows
Post-Atomic +1 rows
Hot bunking is not recommended for vehicles Advanced +0 rows
used by adventurers, since it means by its nature
that not everyone will be fully awake and alert at Modifiers Amount
the same time, and adventurers normally operate Lower tech system (x1/2 veh. cost) +2 rows
as a group. Extra automation (x2 veh. cost) -2 rows
Civilian vehicle -1 row
“Civilian access” means the sky is the limit. This Short haul vehicle -2 rows
can range from the cramped confines of a tramp Limited maneuverabilty -4 rows
freighter to the vast atriums in a luxury liner. In
general, assume at least thirty-six hexagons of Adjusted vehicle size Crew
space per person, using twelve hexagons of floor Vehicle of 1 hexagon 1/16
plan. This is for ceilings of about two-and-a-half Vehicle of 2 hexagons 3/32
meters, and conduit space above or below it. This Vehicle of 4 hexagons 1/8
would be for “third class” accomodations, a small Vehicle of 8 hexagons 3/16
(maybe three by two hexagons) room per person, Vehicle of 16 hexagons 1/4
narrow halls and the like. Double this for each class Vehicle of 32 hexagons 3/8
up. Vehicle of 64 hexagons 1/2
Vehicle of 125 hexagons 3/4
Quarters guide Hexagons per person Vehicle of 250 hexagons 1
Three shift hot-bunk 4 (plus crew station) Vehicle of 500 hexagons 11/2
Two shift hot-bunk 6 (plus crew station) Vehicle of 1000 hexagons 2
Minimum mil. quarters 8 (plus crew station) Vehicle of 2000 hexagons 3
Third class civilian 36 Vehicle of 4000 hexagons 4
Second class civilian 72 Vehicle of 8000 hexagons 6
First class civilian 144 Vehicle of 16000 hexagons 8
Vehicle of 32000 hexagons 12
EXAMPLE: A passenger vessel with a thousand Vehicle of 64000 hexagons 16
third-class berths, a hundred second-class berths Vehicle of 125000 hexagons 24
and twenty first-class berths would use about forty- Vehicle of 250000 hexagons 32
one thousand hexagons of volume, and over
thirteen thousand hexagons of floor plan. EXAMPLE: An Industrial Era steamship that takes
up 500 hexagons will have an operating crew of
When you add in space for crew or passenger 11/2 (vehicle size) +3 rows (Industrial Era), -1 row
access, remember entertainment. Listed amounts (civilian vehicle) equals 3. To keep the engines
cover only the bare necessities. If you want to add stoked, steer, drop anchor and pass maneuvering
a swimming pool or casino or zero-g bowling alley, orders from station to station requires three people.
that’s up to you to figure out.

3.39
 A crew requirement of one or less becomes a v1.0
crew requirement of one (you always need a Stuff!
BASIC COMBAT
driver, or an autopilot at least). A crew size of less
than one is important if you install an “autopilot”
gizmo, as it determines how sophisticated the Civilian vehicle: A vehicle that is more or less
autopilot has to be. A vehicle with a fractional crew unsuited for any sort of military purpose. It has blind
amount greater than one usually means that the spots that are not regularly patrolled, systems that
extra crew person is only required for stressful or do not require regular monitoring, and less or no
specialized vehicle operations. need to have someone on duty at each station all
the time.
EXAMPLE: A boat with a crew requirement of
1 1/2 will need one person to run it normally, but 2 Short haul: A vehicle that always starts and
people for docking or dropping anchor. One ends a trip within a day of civilization or safe harbor
person can run the vehcle, but they cannot be at also halves the crew requirement. You take care of
the helm and dropping anchor at the same time... any problems that build up each night while the
vehicle is in port, back at the depot, etc. Most
A vehicle with a fractional crew amount may Primitive Era and many Basic Era water vehicles will
also mean that the one crew person (driver or pilot) be this type.
does not need to apply their full attention to
running the vehicle. Quite often they have to be at Limited manueverability: If much of the steering
their station one hundred percent of the time, but or operating of a vehicle is out of the control of
they can do other things that do not require those running it, it requires a lot less crew. A train
leaving that station. Doing something else will still would be an example. You only go where the
cause a penalty to the skills used to operate the tracks go.
vehicle. The smaller the vehicle is, the more
immediate the consequences are (you can step If there is not sufficient crew, the difference in
away from the bridge of a ship a lot longer than rows between that the crew can manage and the
you can ignore the controls of a motorcycle). In actual vehicle size is a penalty on all operations
general, just assume that driving and doing that would be affected.
anything else significant is taking two major actions
in a turn. EXAMPLE: A 8,000 hexagon Advanced Era
interstellar freighter has a crew requirement of 6. It
Automation: A vehicle can have +2 cost for has to limp home on a skeleton crew of 2. This is
extra automation that effectively increases its tech three rows difference, so all ship operations are at
era, and halves the crew requirement. This can be +3 difficulty.
done in fractional amounts if necessary. A vehicle
made with modern materials, but which uses a Remember that a vehicle needs its crew
more primitive form of propulsion (like a modern whenever it isn’t “parked”. A ship at sea needs
sailboat) may go the other route. The vehicle has -2 crew twenty-four hours a day. A ship in space might
cost, but requires more crew than normal. A vehicle only need the full crew while under thrust or
cannot use the lower tech operating system manuevering, but someone should be on watch
modifier unless it has a crew based on area and at all times.
actual size of at least 1. Vehicles powered by wind
or animals could be counted as anywhere down to Additional crew requirements: Some functions
Primitive Era. of a vehicle only require crew during specific
operations. A cargo ship doesn’t need crew to
operate or maintain the cargo hold, but when it
docks, it will need people to man the hoists or
cranes to move the cargo in and out of the holds.

A vehicle that is not a short-haul vehicle

includes any crew required for full-time operation,
such as a cook, etc. It does not include “luxury”
crew. So, if the first class cabins have their own
stewards, cooks and cleaning staff, this is extra and
is not covered by the basic crew complement.

Now, on to the “how tough is it?” part of the

design rules.

3.40
 Repairing or replacing lost ablative armor is
EABA done at a cost of the weight of the system and the
tech era and scarity of the armor. Each 1d of
regular armor sacrificed is about half the remaining
HOW TOUGH IS IT? - For the majority of player- armor weight.
or gamemaster-designed vehicles, armor will
generally be of some importance, and there are a EXAMPLE: If a vehicle has 4 tons of armor,
number of specialized armor topics. sacrificing 1d of regular armor for +2d ablative
protection effectively means you have about 2
Ablative armor - This is armor that is specialized tons of ablative armor. Sacrificing 2d of regular
to stop a particular kind of attack, but which has armor would be about 3 tons of ablative armor
the potential to be damaged or destroyed in the (half of the original 4 tons, plus half of the remaining
process. Reactive armor plates on a tank, or the 2 tons).
heat shield on an old Apollo capsule are examples
of ablative armor. The way it works is that you can If you want to add ablative armor to an existing
sacrifice +1 of armor on a facing to get +2 of vehicle, it will add some weight, which may reduce
protection against a specific type of attack. You its performance. Doubling the weight of existing
can sacrifice armor down to the last 1d+0 on a vehicle armor would be good for an overall +2d
facing, and you can only have one type of ablative bonus against a particular attack type.
ablative armor on a facing. Ablative armor But, you probably don’t want to add that much
protection can be spread around the vehicle as weight, nor need the protection on all facings.
needed, using the normal rules (page 3.7). Ablative armor equal to 25% of existing armor is
enough for +3d of protection on one facing, or +3d
EXAMPLE: A tank with 10d+0 front armor gives split between different facings.
up 1d of armor to get extra protection against
shaped charges. Now the tank has 11d+0 EXAMPLE: A tank with 16 tons of armor adds 4
protection against shaped charges and 9d+0 tons of reactive armor plates to stop shaped
against everything else. The tank designer could charges. This is good for +3d of protection to be
also have reduced all facings by 0d+1 to get an split between all vehicle facings, and the designer
overall (six facing) increase of 0d+2, and then put adds +1d to the front, right and left facings. This
all the extra protection on the front. This would be a extra weight adds to the tank’s normal maximum
total bonus to front armor of 1d+1 (0d+1 from each weight, and its performance will probably drop by
of 5 facings, plus the 0d+2 already on the front). 0d+1 Strength as a result.

If an attack of the specific type hits an ablative Note - Weight beyond a vehicle’s designed
armor and does enough damage to penetrate it, limits, whether for extra armor, towed loads or just
the protection is reduced by 1d each time the carrying something really heavy, will probably
protection is penetrated, until there is no special decrease the life of the vehicle. Engine failures in
protection left. uparmored Strykers in Iraq would be a good
example. A gamemaster can easily justify extra
EXAMPLE: If the tank were hit by a 9d+0 shaped maintenance requirements and costs on any
charge rocket, the overall armor would not be vehicle that regularly operates under excess load,
penetrated, but the +2d in the special armor was especially if it does so while operating near
breached and would be reduced to +1d. The tank maximum performance. Similarly, it might be worth
would now only have 10d+0 protection against an extra point of difficulty when maneuvering in
shaped charges on that facing. unfavorable terrain (overloaded vehicles are more
likely to get stuck). You can play with fractional
Normal armor is defined as stopping kinetic amounts of increased performance from increased
energy from moving objects. You cannot make fuel consumption to get the same speed from an
armor “ablative” against mundane attacks. This uparmored and heavier vehicle, at the cost of
armor option is only for specialized attacks. increased fuel consumption and more frequent
maintenance.
Note - In EABA terms, a controlled atmospheric
re-entry would count as a 6d+0 lethal attack. A
poor re-entry could be larger than this by almost
any amount, depending on the size of the ship,
speed and how badly the re-entry was botched.

3.41
 Improvised armor - Sometimes, people discover v1.0
the hard way that the enemy has better weapons
or that estimates of armor performance were
Stuff!
optimistic, to say the least. The result? A desperate
attempt to up-armor parts of the vehicle using Pressure hulls - Vehicles automatically have
whatever materials are available at hand. The structure appropriate to their environment. So, a
easiest way to do this is to count the process as a vehicle defined as a submarine is completely
VEHICLES

jury-rigged repair of 1 vehicle Hit (see page 3.61). watertight. However, this does not say anything
The armor will have a weight of whatever you want, about how deep it can go before pressure crushes
and you can assume that this will load the vehicle it like a tin can.
past its normal level. The new armor value will be
based on the new armor mass. However, the It takes 1d+0 of armor to withstand a pressure
improvised nature of this armor means that the of ten meters of water (about one atmosphere).
extra amount only has a fifty-fifty chance of Each time you double the depth, you double the
intercepting any given attack. Or, since there are pressure, and each doubling requires an extra +1d
six vehicle hit locations, you can choose three to of armor (on all facings) in order to be safe (or
totally protect and three to leave unprotected. about a +1 to armor for an increase in safe depth
of twenty-five percent).
EXAMPLE: Some tank crews find that enemy fire
is just powerful enough to crack open the front of EXAMPLE: A submersible with an overall armor
their vehicle like a lobster. Since high command of 4d+0 is safe to a depth of eighty meters (ten
doesn’t have any new models coming out for a meters for 1d+0, twenty meters for 2d+0, forty
year or so, they decide to improvise. If they increase meters for 3d+0 and eighty meters for 4d+0).
total armor weight on the tank by a quarter, they
can get an overall 0d+1 bonus. This a total of 6 Note - This would mean you
points (1 for each facing), and they combine these would need an armor of
(using the guidelines on page 3.7) into a +1d bonus 11d+1 to safely withstand
to the front armor. Normally, this only has half a the maximum pressure in
chance of working against any given hit, but they the darkest depths of
concentrate it on protecting the crew, weapon Earth’s oceans.
and power plant. So, any hit to the front that would
hit one of these locations gets +1d to the vehicle’s Exceeding the safe
normal front armor, while hits to fuel, cargo and depth does Hits equal to the difference in “pressure
body do not get this protection. damage”. This will happen each time the safe
depth is exceeded or each time a deeper unsafe
Note - At least in terms of land vehicles, crews depth is reached. This could be each doubling of
have been adding “field-expedient” armor for as depth for 1d+0 damage, or 1 Hit per twenty-five
long as there have been military land vehicles. percent below the safe depth. In addition, any
Which does not say much for the talent of the damage hitting a pressure hull under 1d+0 stress or
people who designed or deployed these vehicles... more will have +1d added to it.

EXAMPLE: If the submarine in the previous

example dove to one hundred sixty meters, it would
take 1d+0 Hits (5d+0 pressure damage minus 4d+0
pressure hull). A 4d+0 blast wave from a depth
charge would normally do no damage, but
because the hull is already under stress, it counts as
a 5d+0 blast wave and does another 1d+0 hits to
the submarine.

Needless to say, if the damage from outside

pressure causes a vehicle to lose all its Hits, it will
implode. A compartmentalized vehicle might
not implode completely, but the vehicle is still
effectively destroyed. Damage from overpressure
is not subject to a vehicle’s damage limit.

3.42
 HOW BIG A GUN? - Weapons and advanced
EABA weapon topics are adequately covered in chapter
2. What we deal with here are advanced options
particular to mounting them in vehicles.
Compartmentalization - A vehicle can devote
a sixteenth of its hexagons (round up) to compart- Turret armor - While it is the default, a vehicle
mentalization. This protects the various subsystems weapon is not required to have the same level of
VEHICLES

with internal bulkheads, water- or air-tight doors, or protection as the rest of the vehicle. For instance, a
other structural considerations appropriate to the tank’s turret might be more heavily armored than
vehicle type. The game effect is to reduce the the equivalent vehicle facings. Or, a open cannon
vehicle’s damage limit by 1, and increase its cost mount on a ship might have no armor (or just a gun
by +1. The presence of armored bulkheads means shield, which is on page 2.28).
the maximum number of Hits that can be lost from
a single attack is reduced. In addition, each hit The default is that the weapon is protected the
location of the vehicle is separated from the rest by same as any other vehicle component. Playing with
doors and partitions with a protection equal to the turret armor is tricky. Read this section carefully.
lowest armor on any facing of the vehicle (at least Alterations to/from turret armor will be based on the
1d+0). ratio between the weapon size and total vehicle
size. Find the closest size levels for the vehicle and
EXAMPLE: A tank that takes up 32 hexagons weapon on the EABA Universal Chart and see how
and whose weakest armor is 7d+0 is built using the many rows of difference there are.
compartmentalization option. The vehicle loses 2
hexagons that could otherwise go to gizmos or EXAMPLE: A vehicle of 64 hexagons that has a
passenger space, but its damage limit drops from 10 hexagon weapon would be respective Size
the normal value of 3 (for a vehicle of 32 hexagons) levels of 10 and 5. So, there is 5 levels of difference.
to 2. Each of the vehicle’s hit locations is separated
by internal panels with a protection of 7d+0. So, if a If a weapon and/or its ammunition is protected
cargo hit detonated the stored ammunition, the less than the vehicle, then if you reduce weapon
vehicle would still lose more Hits from the secondary protection by +1 times the levels of difference, the
explosion, but the explosion reaching the crew overall vehicle armor gets a +1 bonus. You can do
compartment would be reduced by 7d+0 because this no more than the number of times it would take
of the armored bulkheads. that would reduce average weapon protection to
zero (round the average to nearest +1). You can
Remember that each 2 size levels doubles or keep any fractional overall bonuses, applying
halves the hexagons in a vehicle, so one-sixteenth remaining +1 bonuses to particular armor facings.
would be the vehicle’s size minus 8 levels.
EXAMPLE: We will say the vehicle in the previous
EXAMPLE: Our tank has 32 hexagons, which is a example had a front armor of 7d+0 and all other
size level of 8. A size level of 0 is 2 hexagons. So, you facings at 4d+0. This is an armor “total” of 27d+0
don’t have to dig out a calculator for this, even for (4d+0 on five sides and 7d+0 on one), for an
really large vehicles. average of 4d+2, or +14 armor.

Compartmentalization also allows the designer Since there +5 levels of difference between
to put armored bulkheads protecting sensitive weapon size and vehicle size, we divide +14 by 5.
areas on a larger vessel as needed, like the bridge, This comes out to 2, with a remainder of 4, so we
computer core, the brig, and so on. get an overall bonus of 0d+2, and a 0d+1 bonus on
each of four facings). So, if we leave the weapon
completely unprotected, the overall vehicle armor
is increased by 0d+2, and four of the six vehicle
facings get an additional 0d+1. The designer of the
vehicle increases the front, sides and top by 1d+0,
and the back and bottom by 0d+2.

Rearranging of armor on the two-for-one basis

as in the basic design rules is usually done after
turret armor is calculated for best efficiency.

3.43
 If the weapon and/or its ammunition is v1.0
protected more than the vehicle, you just do the
reverse. Each time you increase the weapon
Stuff!
protection by the levels of difference, the overall
vehicle armor gets a -1 penalty. You usually cannot HOW MANY GIZMOS? - The design of most
do this for more than a +1d bonus on the weapon, gizmos will be covered in the Gizmos chapter, but
and the bonus applies to what the vehicle armor there are a few specialized topics directly related
VEHICLES

was before the penalty. to vehicles.

EXAMPLE: If we take the previous 10 hexagon Specialized space - Any specialized space in a
weapon on a 64 hexagon vehicle and we want to vehicle aside from quarters and cargo will count as
increase the weapon’s protection, then since there a gizmo. This could be scientific laboratories, a
are +5 levels of size difference, each 1 point we secure brig or the ship’s bowling alley. A specialized
drop vehicle armor will increase turret armor by +5. space related to a skill roll, like a laboratory, needs
However, we are limited to a maximum of +3 (+1d). to be at least 5 hexagons in size. This is sufficient for
This gives overall vehicle armor a -1 penalty to give one specialized skill to be used at no penalty for
the weapon mount a +1d bonus. The vehicle research tasks. In operation, the lab consumes up
started as having 7d+0 on the front and 4d+0 on to 8d+0 of power. For double the size (10 hexagons),
the sides. Now it has 6d+2 on the front and 3d+2 you can have enough space to allow an assistant,
elsewhere, but the weapon protection is 8d+0 on or use a full skill rather than a specialization, or get a
the front and 5d+0 on the other facings. -2 to the difficulty of tasks on the specific skill. For 20
hexagons, a lab can be for a full suite of similar skills,
External weaponry - Some weapons are but it would have to be 40 hexagons to do this and
completely external to the vehicle, like rockets have room for an assistant. Every time you double
hanging off an aircraft wing. These are either the size of a specialized space, the power
bought as unprotected weapons, or are added to requirement goes up by +1d.
the weight of the vehicle after it is designed and
just considered a drag on performance. If the Control space - Vehicles naturally include the
loaded vehicle weight includes the weight of space required for the driver or pilot at no extra
external weapons (or gizmos), then performance cost, but there is no indication of exactly how large
increases when the weapons are gone. If the extras an area this usually is in terms of floor plan. Find the
are in addition to loaded vehicle weight, then size level of the completed vehicle. For instance, a
performace suffers, and only returns to normal after 90 hexagon vehicle is Size +11. For a military vehicle,
the extra weight is gone. subtract 12 from the amount, and for a civilian
vehicle, subtract 15. The result is the Size level of the
EXAMPLE: A 10 ton fighter whose designed actual controls, with a minimum appropriate to the
weight includes 2 tons of missiles on the wings will vehicle in question. Remember that control space
have different performance and design than an 8 represents more than just the driver’s instruments.
ton fighter that someone decides to mount 2 extra On a large vehicle, it includes the “engine room”,
tons of missiles on... the “bridge”, and various bits of crawl space
scattered about the vehicle.

EXAMPLE: A 64,000 hexagon cargo ship is size

+30, so its control space is size +15, or 350 hexagons.
This can be split as needed between the “bridge”,
“engine room” or anything else a vehicle this size
might need.

Cargo space - Cargo is always default cost,

and can be cargo holds, hangar bays, etc.
Vehicles will have cargo moving equipment,
docking clamps or other amenities appropriate to
the tech era and type of vehicle. Spaceships have
airlocks, cargo ships have cargo doors and so on.
Cargo space can be used for any vehicle purpose,
but usually at a +2 to +4 difficulty. Weapons
mounted in cargo space can’t be aimed as well,
laboratories suffer because of climate control
problems, etc.

3.44
 Manipulators - A manipulator is really just a
EABA specialized power plant, which instead of moving a
vehicle as a whole, is used to move just a part of
the vehicle. This can end up moving the vehicle,
Artificial gravity - This is available in a particular like a legged robot. A hexagon of manipulators has
gameworld if the gamemaster allows. As a the Strength of one hexagon of power plant at that
convenience in spaceships, it is available for any tech era, with a -9 penalty, and requires an external
VEHICLES

part of the ship desired, and all hexagons affected fuel source or energy of some kind to power it. This
are +2 cost. You would figure the ship cost normally, Strength penalty represents the inefficiency of
then just count any artificial gravity hexagons like manipulators compared to things like wheels for
you would for gadgets. purposes of moving, which is after all, the main use
of vehicle Strength (see the notes on vehicle
Artificial gravity can have whatever special suspensions on page 3.36). However, not all of a
effect the gamemaster desires. It might be some- manipulator is being used at once, so for purposes
thing that can be switched on quickly and at high of powering a manipulator from a another power
levels, like an “inertia damper”, or it might be plant like a battery, you also count the -9 penalty.
something of relatively weak effect that takes a
while to turn on and off, like “gravity plating”. EXAMPLE: A power plant of +27 Strength that is
Artificial gravity will generally consume electrical a manipulator is a +18 Strength manipulator, which
power. Take the size of the area which is affected, requires either fuel or a +18 Strength power source
and add an amount appropriate to the game- to run it.
world. A +20 is good start for providing 1 gee of
artificial gravity. The result is the Strength drawn Note - If you have a vehicle whose suspension
from some power source whenever the artificial has the -9 “extremely enhanced” modifier, you can
gravity is on. assume it is a vehicle whose movement is powered
by manipulators, though in this case you would
EXAMPLE: Providing artificial gravity over 64 count it as having inherent fuel like any other power
hexagons (size of +10) would require a power plant.
source with a Strength of +30(10d+0).
For purposes of Attributes other than Strength, a
Artificial gravity as a means of propulsion is just manipulator is assumed to have 2d+0 at the Atomic
a regular vehicle power plant with appropriate Era, ±1d for each era outside that, and ±1 for the
modifiers. The system doesn’t care what the late or early parts of an era. Agility is an upper limit.
method of operation is, only the end results. An The operator of the limb cannot use their own
artificial gravity drive will have the advantage of Agility for skill purposes past this level. Health is a
being reactionless, so as long as you have a source bonus, and is only applied for exoskeletons. It will
of power, you’re set for extended cruising. boost the operator’s Health for movement purposes
only.
Artificial gravity can also be done the old
fashioned way, by spinning the ship or parts of it to EXAMPLE: A Post-Atomic manipulator arm will
create an up/down orientation. Unless a ship is very have an Agility of 3d+0. An Industrial Era steam-
large, only fractions of a gravity can be generated powered mechanical leg will have a Health of
without causing severe dizziness, not to mention 1d+0.
stresses on the structure of the spaceship. A ship
generating gravity in this way is more of a floor plan Manipulators can sacrifice two points (or dice)
problem than a design problem. of one Attribute to get one extra point (or die) in
another. This adjustment is done after any other
halving for things like exoskeletons.

EXAMPLE: The Post-Atomic manipulator arm

can drop its Agility by two points to 2d+1 in order to
raise its Strength by 0d+1.

3.45
 The movement of a legged robot will normally v1.0
be based on its adjusted Strength, just as for any
other vehicle. A manipulator that requires a
Stuff!
“human core”, like an exoskeleton, will use the
abilities of a person, so movement will be based on BODY ARMOR - Body armor in Stuff! is a subset
the person’s Health and running ability, which may of the vehicle rules. You are just armoring a small,
be enhanced by the exoskeleton. articulated vehicle. However, while vehicles are
VEHICLES

armored by weight, people are armored by area.

EXAMPLE: A robot with adjusted leg Strength of One hexagon of armor ten millimeters thick will
4d+0 would move like a vehicle with an adjusted have a mass of about 40 kilograms if it has a density
Strength of 4d+0. An exoskeletal armor for a person of 5.3 (5.3 times the density of water). Stuff! uses this
with a Strength of 4d+0 would have a Health based as default density because it is a nice median.
on its tech era, which would modify the Health of Armor has a weight based on “lifting capacity”
the user to determine their movement speed. levels on the EABA Universal Chart, so 40 kilograms
is a mass of +5. All armor calculations are done in
ADVANCED TOPIC: EARTHMOVERS terms of levels, and only the final result is converted
High Strength, low Agility manipulators are the usual into real-world terms. Each +3 levels in armor is
way of representing earthmoving equipment. You 1d+0, with remainders being +1 or +2 to the amount.
can normally move an amount of loose dirt or
crushed rock per minute of the lifting capacity of The armor ratings are based on vehicle armor
the manipulator’s Strength minus 2d, or pulverize an numbers, with a +3 for a person as a “land vehicle”
amount of solid rock of the lifting capacity of the of .1 hexagon volume (Size of -8) with .1 tons (2.5
manipulator’s Strength minus 4d. For reference, one hexagons) of armor. The stats of one hexagon of
hexagon of dirt is about 1.5 tons, and one hexagon armor at various tech eras are below. If an armor
of stone about 2 tons. combines materials from different tech eras, use
the average, rounding towards the higher tech.
In general, earthmovers and other construction
equipment are going to want enough armor on key Material Armor Mass Cost
locations to withstand accidents and whole-vehicle Early Primitive(TL2) +2 +5 -3
effects that are not subject to damage limit. After Primitive(TL3) +3 +5 -2
all, pushing a huge load of earth or rock has a lot of Late Primitive(TL4) +4 +5 -1
similarity to a low speed collision... Early Basic(TL5) +5 +5 -1
Basic(TL5) +6 +5 +0
EXAMPLE: A front-end loader whose scoop has Late Basic(TL6) +8 +5 +1
a Strength of 10d+0 (Strength level of 30) can move Early Industrial(TL7) +10 +5 +1
an amount of earth per minute equal to the lifting Industrial(TL8) +12 +5 +2
capacity for a Strength of 8d+0 (Strength level of Late Industrial(TL8) +14 +5 +3
24). This amount is 3.2 tons, so it can move about Early Atomic(TL9) +16 +5 +3
two hexagons of dirt a minute. Atomic(TL10) +18 +5 +4
Late Atomic(TL12) +20 +5 +5
EXAMPLE: A tunnel-boring machine with the Early Post-Atomic(TL13) +22 +5 +5
same Strength can move an amount of solid rock Post-Atomic(TL14) +24 +5 +6
equal to the lifting capacity for a Strength of 6d+0 Late Post-Atomic(TL15) +26 +5 +7
(Strength level of 18). This amount is 800 kilograms, Early Advanced(TL16) +28 +5 +7
so this machine can bore through about one Advanced(TL17) +30 +5 +8
hexagon of solid rock each two and a half minutes. Late Advanced (TL18) +32 +5 +9
If the hole to be bored was four hexagons in size,
then it would bore one meter deep each ten EXAMPLE: A one hexagon area of Basic Era
minutes. armor has a rating of +6 (2d+0), has a mass of +5
(40 kilograms) and a cost of +0 (1,000 Credits).

The Bronze Age would be Early Primitive Era, the

Roman Empire would be Primitive to Late Primitive
Era, and most of what you consider medieval armor
would be Early Basic or Basic Era. The protective
ability of the same material often goes up with time
because both the quality of the material improves
(modern steel vs. archaic iron) and because the
material is used more efficiently.

3.46
 Thicker/thinner - Armors are available in any
EABA thickness within reason. Weight/cost adjustments
are according to the following profile:

Body coverage - Armor is seldom bought as a Bonus/penalty Armor Mass Cost

“whole body” affair. Bits and pieces of armor are each -3(x1/2 thickness) -3 -3 -2
acquired, mixed and matched. Soldiers might have each -2(x5/8 thickness) -2 -2 -2
VEHICLES

helmets of a different rating than their torso armor, each -1(x4/5 thickness) -1 -1 -1
or might have their sword arm more protected than default thickness +0 +0 +0
their shield arm. It takes about two-and-a-half each +1(x5/4 thickness) +1 +1 +1
hexagons of material to fully armor a person (+4 each +2(x8/5 thickness) +2 +2 +2
weight), mainly due of inefficiencies of overlapping each +3(x2 thickness) +3 +3 +2
pieces and contouring to match the human form.
Within this total area, individual body parts will have These add together as needed. An armor that
the following mass and cost. Apply a -3 to weight is +4 thicker than normal would use the +3 and +1
and -2 to cost if an area is covered on just the front rows to get the total adjustment to weight and
or back (if applicable). Armor cost for the hands cost. An important thing to note is that any padded
and feet assumes the armor is detailed enough for armor with no more than -6 penalty from reduced
normal Agility rolls for using objects and maintaining thickness will always provide at least 0d+1 in
footing in poor conditions. Mitten-like gauntlets or protection, no matter what other modifiers are
boots with a limited range of motion are -2 to cost. tacked on. So, even a thin Early Primitive Era armor
like padded cloth will always provide at least 0d+1
Body area/sub area Mass Cost protection as long as it is does not take more than
Head and neck(3-6) -7 -4 -6 from reduced thickness. This is analogous to a
Face(3-4) -13 -9 vehicle always having at least 1d+0 armor, even if
Neck(5) -13 -9 no armor was bought for it. Similarly, any armor with
Skull(6) -10 -6 no more than -9 penalty from reduced thickness will
Skull+back of neck(5-6) -9 -5 always provide 0d+1 protection from cuts and
Each arm(7-8) -6 -3 abrasions. This is simply heavy cloth. It has no effect
Upper arm (incl. elbow)(7) -10 -6 on punctures or blunt trauma, but it can save you
Lower arm (not incl. hand)(8) -10 -7 from minor scrapes.
Upper+lower arm(7-8) -7 -5
Hand(8) -13 -4 It is impractical to wear armor that is thicker
Torso(9-12) -2 -1 than normal (10mm) on the hands if you want any
Shoulders(9) -13 -7 sort of manual dexterity. Because of the overlap of
Chest(10) -6 -4 rigid plates at the joints, it is also impractical to wear
Abdomen(11) -6 -4 armor that is more than +3 thicker than normal
Chest+abdomen(10-11) -3 -2 anywhere else, which would be 20mm of armor.
Hips(12) -13 -7
Groin(12) -13 -7 Note - If you want to compare commonly used
Each leg(13-18) -3 -1 measures for metal or leather thickness to the terms
Upper leg(incl. knee)(13-14) -6 -3 in Stuff!, see below. This is not perfectly accurate in
Lower leg(not incl. foot)(15-16) -8 -5 terms of the thickness conversions, but it is the best
Upper+lower leg(13-16) -4 -2 numbers to use to get real-world results.
Foot(17-18) -10 -5
Whole body +4 +3 Thickness Armor Mass Cost
Small shield(+2 block) -6 -5 6 gauge/13 ounce -3 -3 -2
Large shield(+4 block) -5 -4 8 gauge/11 ounce -4 -4 -3
10 gauge/9 ounce -5 -5 -4
EXAMPLE: You want to make a default Basic Era 12 gauge/7 ounce -6 -6 -4
cuirass (torso plate), to provide chest and abdomen 14 gauge/5 ounce -7 -7 -5
protection in just the front. This would be: 16 gauge/4 ounce -8 -8 -6
18 gauge/3 ounce -9 -9 -6
Item Armor Mass Cost 20 gauge/3 ounce -10 -10 -7
Basic Era +6 +5 +0 22 gauge/2 ounce -11 -11 -8
Chest+abdomen - -3 -2
Front only - -3 -2 If you are in the SCA, metal fighting armor
Total levels +6 -1 -4 would be a minimum of 16ga mild steel, and is
Total 2d+0 8kg 250Cr probably counted as Industrial Era material.

3.47
 EXAMPLE: You decide to throw together a set v1.0
of Late Basic Era gauntlets. Using info you found on
a site that makes recreations of medieval armor,
Stuff!
you see that they make some that are 16 gauge
steel. Each gauntlet has the following description: The ratings, weights and cost take into account
that you are ending up with the same thickness as
Item Armor Mass Cost the default armor, but ending up with a different
VEHICLES

Late Basic(TL6) +8 +5 +1 weight and protective ability for that thickness. For
Melee armor +3 +0 +2 instance, a 10mm piece of Kevlar (very lightweight)
Hand coverage +0 -10 -4 is not going to stop things as well as a 10mm piece
Heavy armor +2 +2 +1 of steel (heavy). The steel is going to be +6 better,
16 gauge metal -8 -8 -6 but it is also going to be several times heavier. In
Total levels +5 -11 -6 some cases, you may be limited in the material you
Total 1d+2 1.0kg 125Cr use by the guidelines on how thick a piece of body
armor can be without restricting the wearer’s
So a pair of these gauntlets will have a mass of movement.
2.0 kilograms and cost 250 Credits.
Keep in mind that for any sort of historical
Note - A normal sheet of paper (letter or A4) purposes, not all armor types and modifiers are
has an area of about .08 hexagons (about a mass going to be available. For instance, very heavy
modifier of -11). If trying to armor part of your body, armor requires the discovery and ability to work
just see how many sheets of paper it takes! Then elements that are not even discovered until the
see how many it takes if you are wearing padding Industrial or Atomic Era.
(put on a coat first).
The full list of armor modifiers is below, starting
Armor modifiers - Armor can be made of a with material types, followed by construction
variety of materials. Bronze is heavier than iron, methods and material properties.
while aluminum is lighter, and leather is lighter still.
These materials have different protective abilities Very lightweight: This is materials that have a
for the same thickness of material. Armor can have density of less than 2. This includes most types of
weight modifiers and type modifiers. The default for fabric, including those used in bulletproof vests,
armor is normal weight, normal composition and leather, wood, bone, wicker, plastic and such.
rigid in nature.
EXAMPLE: If you wanted to make an Atomic Era
Weight modifiers Armor Mass Cost bulletproof vest suitable for stopping most pistol
Very lightweight -4 -5 -1 rounds, it would look like this:
Lightweight -2 -2 +0
Normal +0 +0 +0 Item Armor Mass Cost
Heavy +2 +2 +1 Atomic Era +18 +5 +4
Very heavy +4 +3 +5 Chest+abdomen +0 -3 -2
Very lightweight -4 -5 -1
Type modifiers Armor Mass Cost Flexible +0 -1 +1
Melee +3 +0 +2 Ballistic -2 +0 +1
Normal +0 +0 +0 Decreased thickness -5 -5 -4
Ballistic -2 +0 +1 Total levels +7 -9 -1
Organic +1 +0 -2 Total 2d+1 1.5kg 700Cr
Ablative +3 +0 +0
Rigid +0 +0 +0 Very lightweight armors are the lightest armor
Flexible +0 -1 +1 for a given level of protection, but also the most
Padded +1 +0 +1 costly.
Skintight +0 -2 +2
Enhanced +0 +2 +1
Transparent -3 +0 +3
Hardened +0 +0 +2
Low grade -3 +0 -1
Advanced +1 +0 +1
Crude +0 +0 -2
Special effect -6 +0 +2

3.48
 Note - For a given level of mass, combinations
EABA of armor materials and increased and decreased
thickness that give the same mass give results like
this:
Lightweight: This is materials that have a density
of around 3. This includes aluminum alloys, titanium, Armor Armor Mass Cost
cermet composites, wood with a thin metal facing, Very lightweight +1 +0 +3
VEHICLES

or a mix of leather and metal rings. High density Lightweight +0 +0 +2

synthetic composites can be lightweight armors. Normal +0 +0 +0
Lightweight armors are simply a more expensive Heavy +0 +0 -1
way of getting the effects of reduced thickness, Very heavy +0 +0 +2
and you would use them because it the nature of
the material available, not because it is superior So, if you really need the maximum armor value
from an armoring standpoint. If you are going to for a given weight, you use very lightweight armor
use aluminum, you are using a lightweight material. (use very heavy armor if you need maximum armor
Lightweight materials are often used in vehicles value for a given thickness). If you’ve got a lot of
because the increased thickness for the same armor to buy, heavy armor is cheapest. Everything
protection allows the armor to be used as a else is just gameworld special effects. Tanks don’t
structural frame. use very lightweight armor because it would be so
thick that there wouldn’t be any room inside the
Normal: This is materials that have a density of tank (very lightweight armor is about four times
around 5.3, the same as a heavy metal-faced thicker for the same protection than a heavy armor
wood, steel with composite backing, or steel in like steel). Armies have to protect thousands to
some sort of flexible form with numerous small millions of people, and heavy steel is cheapest.
openings (like chainmail). Chainmail can also be
counted as a heavy armor, it really just depends on Melee: This is the first and one of the most
the method of construction and materials used. important type modifiers. It represents that there is a
fundamental difference between armors designed
Heavy: This is materials that have a density of to stop low velocity blows and projectiles, and
around 8, roughly the same as steel. You can use those designed to stop firearms and other high-
the same numbers for bronze, even though bronze tech attacks. Melee armor is designed with space
is heavier than steel. A copper-tin bronze would between the armor surface and the body (often
simply be counted as a fraction of a tech era more with padding), and it can move with an impact,
primitive than an equivalent iron-based armor. The helping to soften the blow. These characteristics are
cost of heavy armor assumes that iron, steel or very useful against blades and blunt impacts, but
bronze is readily available and workable, and useless against modern firearms. Melee armor is
heavy armor is the least expensive armor type for a going to be inappropriate against firearms and will
given level of protection. It is just a cheaper way of lose -3 of protection (exactly the same amount
getting the effects of increased thickness. gained by this modifier on armor type). Applying
the hardening modifier to a melee armor simply
Very heavy: This is materials that have a density hardens it against armor-piercing melee attacks.
of around 12, which is getting into exotic and/or
hard to work materials like depleted uranium and Note - Anywhere at or past the Industrial Era,
tungsten. Very heavy armors are the thinnest for a armors are generally more concerned about
given level of protection, but generally are not firearms, and armor that is proof against firearms is
available until at least the Late Industrial Era. generally proof against melee weapons, even
without this modifier. Sports gear generally does use
the melee modifier, usually in combination with very
lightweight materials, to get a lightweight armor
very good at resisting impacts, but unsuited for
stopping modern projectile weapons.

3.49
 Normal: This is the default nature of an armor v1.0
material. It provides no extra bonus against melee
attacks, and it is considered inappropriate against
Stuff!
modern firearms, though it will act normally against
energy weapons that have no real transfer of Organic: Many organic materials like wood or
momentum (like lasers). Most steels at the Industrial leather have some inherent “give”, and can absorb
Era would be normal armors. They are strong blows by flexing and springing back. Since the
VEHICLES

enough to resist firearms compared to previous era material is presumably out there for the taking (like
steels, but have not become inherently resistant to wood or animal hides), the cost is much reduced.
high velocity projectiles. Compare the ratings and However, organic materials are almost always very
costs of Industrial Era normal steel and ballistic steel, lightweight armors, and usually flammable to some
after taking into account the armor-piercing effect degree. An armor that is part organic (like metal
of firearms. scales on leather backing) would be lightweight
and the organic modifier on cost would be -1
Item Armor Mass Cost instead of -2. Organic materials are never better
Industrial Era normal +0 +0 +0 than Late Primitive Era in effect, and if used in
Industrial Era ballistic +1 +0 +1 combination with a more advanced material, the
organic part would be counted as Late Primitive
Since most gameworlds are going to deal with Era and you would use the average of the tech
melee weapons or guns, most armors will have eras.
either the ballistic or melee modifiers. Incidental or
improvised body armor will usually be normal EXAMPLE: If you wanted to make a Basic Era
armor. cuirass of leather with metal rings riveted to it, it
would average to an Early Basic Era armor, and it
Ballistic: This is the other end of the armor would look like this:
spectrum. It is only available on armor of at least
Industrial Era. In exchange for the penalty on armor, Item Armor Mass Cost
it counts as normal armor against high-velocity Early Basic(TL5) +5 +5 -1
projectiles like those from conventional firearms Chest+abdomen - -3 -2
and gauss rifles. Part of the penalty on armor for this Melee +3 +0 +2
modifier is the difference between a vehicle and a Lightweight -2 -2 +0
person. A hit that penetrates a vehicle can still be Decreased thickness -2 -2 -2
harmlessly stopped by the structure of the vehicle. Organic +1 +0 -1
In the case of body armor, the person is the “vehicle Total levels +2 -2 -4
structure”. For melee armor, the person has the Total 1d+2 8kg 250Cr
benefit of their armor being able to move with the
blow and open space underneath to allow non- Organic materials are almost always counted
damaging partial penetrations, neither of which is as inappropriate armor against firearms and other
available with ballistic armor. high-tech weapons, though this is because they are
primitive armors, and is not cumulative with other
Note - If you wanted an armor for resisting both inappropriate armor effects.
melee attacks and modern weapons, you would
design it with both melee and ballistic modifiers. It Note - The organic modifier is really just a
would be slightly better than a regular ballistic “gimme” to help out armors at the low end of the
armor against bullets, slightly worse than a normal tech scale. The strictly linear armor progression with
melee armor against melee attacks, and about tech era doesn’t work without a few tweaks like
twice as expensive as either one alone. A suit of riot this.
armor might be an example of such.

3.50
 If the steel armor is normally rated at 4d+0 and
EABA the ceramic plates are 3d+0, then the combined
armor is 5d+2 (since we halve the 3d+0 contribution
of the ceramic to 1d+2). However, any attack that
Ablative: This is an armor that uses a permanent does 3d+0 or more (the plate rating) will reduce the
deformation or destruction of its structure to absorb rating of the ablative part by 1d (down to 2d+0),
energy more efficiently. This makes it more effective which means that the overall rating would drop to
VEHICLES

against certain forms of attack, but at the cost of 5d+0 after one hit (the 2d+0 of remaining ceramic is
taking permanent damage. An ablative armor can halved to 1d+0). Another hit would drop the plates
be any type or tech era. It gets +3 protection to 1d+0, and the total to 4d+2, and the plates
against a type of attack, but any attack that is would be shattered after the one more hit, leaving
equal or greater than the base protective value of only the 4d+0 of the underlying steel. The combo of
the material or the actual level of protection steel and ceramic plates has a total mass of 10
(whichever is lower) will permanently reduce the kilograms, but an armor of steel alone with a 6d+0
level of the armor by 1d, after the attack resolves its rating would have a mass of 32 kilograms, and one
damage. This is cumulative and multiple attacks with a rating of 5d+0 would mass 16 kilograms.
can eventually destroy the armor.
Whether or not an ablative armor is worth it
EXAMPLE: An Atomic Era bulletproof assault depends on how many times you think you’re
vest might be made with ablative ceramic plates. going to get hit, and how easy it is to replace bits
If the armor is normally rated at 5d+1, then the of broken armor.
ablative plate version is 6d+1. However, any attack
that does 5d+1 or more will reduce the rating of the While the types of damage that ablative armor
vest by 1d. could possibly be applied to will vary within a
gameworld, the following is a good start: Shaped
If an armor has an ablative layer over a regular charge, plasma, re-entry, laser, blunt, bullet.
layer of armor, this is handled using the normal
armor layering rules (the smaller layer is halved). The Rigid: This is the default type for armor. It is
two layers (normal and ablative) will have a made up of some sort of rigid plates, flat or curved,
combined armor rating, but any attack which whether interlocked or separate units, with a lot of
equals or exceeds the non-halved contribution of direct body contact to the armor surface. Rigid
the ablative layer will cause it to be reduced. armor can sometimes be worn concealed, but is
Ablative layers have to be the outermost layer of fairly easy to spot most of the time. Rigid armor
any layered armor. cannot be layered with other rigid armor. Rigid
armor on the torso is an extra -1 penalty on Agility
EXAMPLE: An Atomic Era bulletproof assault and Agility-based skill rolls per -1d of encumbrance.
vest might be made of steel plates with thinner This also reduces the effective Agility available for
ablative ceramic plates on top, covering just the dodging purposes.
chest and abdomen. The ablative plates look like
this: EXAMPLE: An adventurer encumbered to a -1d
level while wearing a rigid torso armor would take a
Item Armor Mass Cost 1d+1 penalty on their Agility rolls (instead of a 1d
Atomic Era +18 +5 +4 penalty), a -2 on Agility-based skill rolls (instead of a
Chest+abdomen +0 -3 -2 -1) and available Agility for dodge purposes would
Ballistic -2 +0 +1 be reduced by 1d+1 as well (instead of a 1d
Ablative +3 +0 +0 reduction).
Decreased thickness -10 -10 -7
Total levels +9 -8 -4 For extremities, a rigid armor with the melee
Total 3d+0 2.0kg 500Cr modifier is usually supported at one or both ends
with lacing or hinges to give it a limited suspension
and ability to move. For instance, the arm pieces
may be supported somewhat off the shoulders, and
leg pieces may hang off the hips.

3.51
 Flexible: Armors that are flexible have no extra v1.0
resistance to being penetrated by attacks, but they
are easier to wear, fit closer to the body and are
Stuff!
more mass-efficient (try pulling a stocking cap over
a motorcycle helmet to get a feel for the extra Skintight: Only possible with certain materials at
material required for just that level of spacing certain tech eras. The armor is made of a stretchy
between armor and skin). Flexible armors also material or is custom fitted to a particular person,
VEHICLES

transmit more of the impact to anything behind either way matching the exact contours of the
them. A flexible bulletproof cloth wrapped around body with very little waste. At low tech it would be
your head might stop a bullet, but would not keep a flexible material that could be tightly laced into
your skull from being turned into broken chunks! place, while at higher tech it could be an elastic
Flexible armors are inappropriate against blunt material or one which can be electrically altered,
trauma (like a mace or a punch) or or sharp or even a spray-on coating. Skintight armors are
piercing attacks (like a stiletto). The benefit of generally flexible to gain the maximum benefit, but
flexible armor is that it is can be worn under a are not required to be. A skintight armor can be
regular rigid or enhanced armor, and is +3 difficulty very easily concealed and is +6 difficulty to be
to be spotted if it is a concealed armor. spotted under clothing (+3 if it is rigid), but a
skintight armor cannot use the melee or padded
An armor that is both flexible and hardened modifiers, or worn with any other armor layer under
simply counts the attacks that would have been it.
armor-piercing as normal. A modern example is a
bulletproof vest that has been engineered to stop EXAMPLE: Your high tech commando team has
knife thrusts as well, something it would normally electro-active ballistic skivvies under their combat
have been vulnerable to. suits. This underlayer looks like this:

Padded: This is a modifier that simply represents Item Armor Mass Cost
the fact that many armors have a padded liner or Post-Atomic Era +24 +5 +6
are worn with a padded undergarment like a Full body +0 +4 +3
gambeson. This modifier simply folds this padded Very lightweight -4 -5 -1
layer into a single piece of armor. Flexible, rigid, Ballistic -2 +0 +1
and enhanced armors can be padded, but the Flexible +0 -1 +1
extra bulk from padding means that flexible armor Skintight +0 -1 +2
worn loses any concealment bonus it has. Padded Decreased thickness -12 -12 -8
armors add an automatic +5°C to felt temperature Total levels +6 -10 +4
for any heat exhaustion purposes. If multiple layers Total 2d+0 1.3kg 4KCr
of armor are worn, only one can count as padded,
and padding only counts if it is under the main Worn under some other form of armor, the
protection of the armor material. A padded armor normal layering rules mean it will provide an extra
or a padded layer under a non-padded armor will 1d+0 protection.
always count as at least 0d+1 armor against blunt
trauma attacks. Depending on the gameworld and the tech,
skintight armors might be the only kind that can be
EXAMPLE: A piece of flexible leather with worn inside spacesuits, powered armor and the like.
padding has a designed armor rating of 1d+0. This These armors might also have an extra cost if they
would normally go to 0d+0 against crushing attacks included sensors, force feedback or other goodies
(because flexible armor is inappropriate against this related to the control of a vehicle.
type of attack and takes a -1d penalty), but
because it has a layer of padding it provides 0d+1
protection instead.

3.52
 ADVANCED TOPIC: GETTING IT ON
EABA Sometimes the main concern for users or issuers of
body armor is the time it takes to put it on. If it takes
you an hour and three assistants to get you into
Consolidated data - Based on these modifiers your armor, it won’t be much use if you are out
and best guesses, different armor materials would adventuring on your own.
have the following defaults for body armor. All of
these assume the best possible modifiers for a non- Take half the mass level of your armor or any
concealed body armor. So they all include the given piece and add 12 to get a time level (with a
“padded” modifier, even the materials normally minimum of 0). If you have the armor in hand and
associated with unpadded bulletproof vests. Simply make an Average(7) Agility roll, you can get the
apply thickness and location modifiers to get the armor on in that amount of time. You can do it in
final results. more or less time just by altering the difficulty of the
roll by the time level shift (up to ±4). That is the
Melee armors(Era) Armor Mass Cost default. The nature of the armor will adjust the time
Wood(EP) +3 +0 -3 required.
Flexible leather(P) +4 -1 -1
Hardened leather(P) +4 +0 -2 Armor modifier Time
Bronze(P) +9 +7 +2 Whole body armor +0
Iron/leather scale(P) +7 +4 +2 Head only -8
Iron chainmail(LP) +8 +4 +3 Torso only -4
Iron(LP) +10 +7 +3 Arms only -3
Mild steel(EB) +11 +7 +3 Legs only -3
Kydex plastic(A) +15 +0 +4 Melee armor +1
Ballistic armor -1
Ballistic armors(Era) Armor Mass Cost Rigid armor +0
Armor steel(EA) +17 +7 +6 Flexible armor -2
Advanced steel(A) +19 +7 +7 Padded armor +1
Aluminum alloy(A) +15 +3 +6 Skintight armor +3
Titanium alloy(A) +16 +3 +7 Enhanced armor -1
Kevlar fabric(A) +13 -1 +6 Crude +1
Cermet plates(LA) +17 +3 +7 Powered +2
You have an assistant -2
EXAMPLE: You want to throw together a quick You have two assistants -4
Late Atomic Era bulletproof vest that has a mass of
2.5kg (mass of -7), so you use the Kevlar fabric EXAMPLE: You have a suit of powered armor,
numbers and get: which has a final mass of +6 (halved to +3) and
the following modifiers: ballistic(-1), padded(+1),
Item Armor Mass Cost enhanced(-1), powered(+2), plus you have two
Kevlar fabric +13 -1 +6 people to help you get the thing on(-4), for a total
Chest+abdomen +0 -3 -2 of +0, plus 12 to get a time level of +12. With the
Decreased thickness -3 -3 -2 help of two assistants, you can get the armor on
Total levels +10 -7 +2 and powered up in 1 minute, maybe a little less if
Total 3d+1 2.5kg 2.0KCr you have a good Agility. Without your assistants, it
will take you 4 minutes.
A hardened leather cuirass (front only) with the
same final weight would be: EXAMPLE: You have a mail shirt that has a mass
of -1 (halved to +0) and the following modifiers:
Item Armor Mass Cost torso(-4), melee(+1), flexible(-2), padded(+1), for a
Hardened leather +4 +0 -2 total of -4, +12 to get a time level of +8. It takes
Chest+abdomen +0 -6 -4 about 16 seconds to shrug the thing on and lace it
Decreased thickness -1 -1 -1 down.
Total levels +3 -7 -7
Total 1d+0 2.5kg 90Cr EXAMPLE: You have a bulletproof vest that has
a mass of -8 (halved to -4) and the following
modifiers: torso(-4), ballistic(-1), flexible(-2), for a
total of -11, +12 to get a time level of +1. You can
throw it on over your shirt and slap down the velcro
straps in a second or two.

3.53
 Enhanced: This option is mainly for high-tech v1.0
powered armor and the like. Powered armor rules
are the next major section, so pay attention.
Stuff!
What it means is that the armor has room for EXAMPLE: Silk can be made into a flexible body
a person and room for .1 hexagons of machinery armor which can be effective against low-velocity
under the armor. It is just like assuming a person is a handgun rounds. So, even though it is an organic
VEHICLES

.2 hexagon vehicle instead of .1 hexagon. They are and low tech material, you could say that silk armor
bigger, therefore it takes more armor to cover is hardened against guns doing 1d+0 or less (such
them, which weighs and costs more for the same guns would normally ignore the first 1d of organic
level of protection. Each doubling of mass over the armors). More powerful guns would overcome the
norm can use this, or each halving can use the tensile strength of the silk and would ignore the first
inverse, so you can apply the modifier multiple 1d+0 of the silk armor’s protection.
times to get extra space for cramming in more
gizmos, or make body armor for a giant or a dwarf. Low grade: If armor is made out of a non-armor
Each three times this modifier is taken effectively quality material it takes this modifier. Improvising a
doubles the height of the armor and makes the piece of armor out of scrap steel or aluminum you
wearer 2 points easier to be hit (2 points of size find lying around would be an example. Regular
difference). If you need intermediate values, do the window glass would be a low-grade transparent
following: armor. Low grade armor is never going to be
hardened. Another way of looking at low grade
Type modifiers Mass Cost armor is to simply say it is a fraction of a tech era
Enhanced x 1/2(.15 hexagon) +1 +1 behind normal armor.
Enhanced x 1(.2 hexagon) +2 +1
Enhanced x 1.5(.3 hexagon) +3 +2 Advanced: If an armor is technologically
Enhanced x 2(.4 hexagon) +4 +2 superior to its counterparts, but is technically within
the same tech era or fraction of an era, you can
EXAMPLE: If you were making body armor for a apply this modifier. The armor is a point better than
400 kilogram giant, you would apply this modifier other armors, but also costs about forty percent
twice to get the weight and cost of his armor (+4 more.
mass and +2 cost). If you wanted to make a power
armor that had .2 hexagons of machinery and .1 EXAMPLE: You might say that silk armor is better
hexagons of person, you would take the x1.5 level than other cloth armor, or that mail armor is superior
(+3 mass and +2 cost). to other flexible armors available when it was
introduced.
Transparent: Like glass or bulletproof glass.
Transparent armors have an armor rating 1d+0 less Crude: This is an armor that is “slapped on”. It
than normal. Most forms of glass are lightweight might or might not be low grade material, but the
materials, while most plastics are very lightweight fit and finish leaves a bit to be desired from both an
materials. appearance and efficiency standpoint. Taking a
piece of hide and strapping it to your torso with
Hardened: The armor is resistant to armor- leather thongs is a crude armor. It may chafe and
piercing attacks from that tech era and earlier eras. have spots with no coverage, but where it does
It does not change armor rating or weight, only the cover is protected as well as a professionally fitted
cost. Optionally, an armor can have “limited armor of the same material. The basic modifier (-2
hardening” for +1 cost instead of +2. This is for to cost) cuts the cost to half normal,which would
specialized cases where an armor style or material be about right for poorly fitted, one-size-fits-all or
provides protection against a subset of an attack cheaply mass-produced pieces but depending on
type it normally does not protect well against. circumstance it could drop even more, with the
Limited hardening has one of two limits, chosen “hide strapped to your body” being perhaps a -8 to
based on the properties of the armor. It can either cost.
have no effect on attacks larger than 1d+0, or it
has no effect on attacks that equal or exceed the
armor’s rating.

3.54
 The “Strength penalty” is the difference
EABA between a one hexagon power plant and the
Strength of the limb. Hands and feet have the same
Strength as the arm or leg they are a part of. A
POWERED ARMOR & ROBOTS - Obviously, the bionic limb has a Strength of the penalty for its size,
manipulator rules and body armor rules are just and the mass of the person it is attached to, not its
begging to be used together. It is a complex topic mass by itself. Bionic limbs have to act in concert
VEHICLES

and includes advanced rules from other sections as with the organic parts they are attached to. For
well. Important ground rules: instance, the Strength of your bionic arm has to
work with the whole weight of your body when
Powered armor is built like a vehicle and trying to do chin-ups or push-ups.
armored like body armor. It does take the -9
Strength penalty for “manipulators”, but does not The numbers on the previous table apply to
count overall vehicle size for determining Strength. purely robotic limbs. A limb that enhances an
If the motive source for the powered armor conks existing limb would not have an inherent Strength.
out, you would figure the numbers based on the Instead, the equivalent Strength is halved (round
wearer’s Strength. down) and becomes an addition to the Strength of
the limb it is enhancing. The limb itself surrounds the
A useful volume is to assume the armor is a 100 limb it is enhancing. For purposes of powered armor
millihex device that has a total volume of 200 or exoskeletons it is easier to say that the Strength of
millihexes. That is, all the vehicle components have the armor is used to support its own weight, so it
to fit in a 100 millihex volume that surrounds an doesn’t count for encumbrance purposes. Only the
additional 100 millihexes of person. This would be a leftover Strength applies towards enhancing the
body armor as for one use of the “enhanced ability of the wearer. This gets a bit tricky, so pay
armor” modifier. If you need extra room, you can attention.
adjust the modifier and have 300 millihexes of
vehicle and 100 millihexes of person. Remember To do this, you first find the “lifting capacity” of
that in any case, the person has a mass of up to the exoskeleton from the Strength of the most
100 kilograms. powerful part (typically the body). Then, subtract
the weight of the exoskeleton and its contents from
If you want to use these rules to make this amount and find the Strength that can lift this.
replacement (normal size) artificial limbs, they The difference is the penalty to the limb Strength.
would have volumes as follows: You would do it this way instead of using total
“vehicle” weight.
Limb Volume Strength penalty
Arm 8 millihex -21 EXAMPLE: If your powered armor has a body
Hand 2 millihex -27 Strength of +15 (5d+0), the EABA Universal Chart
Leg 17 millihex -18 shows this is a lifting capacity of 400 kilograms. If the
Foot 4 millihex -24 powered armor and the person inside had a total
Body 41 millihex -14 mass of 250 kilograms, then you would subtract 250
Head 8 millihex -21 kilograms from 400 kilograms, leaving 150 kilograms.
Whole body 100 millihex -10 Looking back at the EABA Universal Chart, this is
about the lifting capacity for a Strength of 11. This is
A head is just a place to put electronics or four points difference from the armor Strength of 15,
components, though if attached to a body we so all the limb strengths are reduced by 4 (to a
suppose you could use it for a robotic “head butt”. Strength of 11). Since a “power assist” is halved,
You can use more or less volume than is listed, but rounding down (to 5), this means that this particular
Strength will be proportionately affected. power armor gives the user +5 to normal Strength
after taking its own weight into account.
EXAMPLE: A child-sized robot might be half the
size, which would be an extra -3 on the Strength of That sounds complicated, but you are just
all the limbs. figuring the Strength that is left over after the armor
has lifted itself and the person inside it, and halving
Note - For a .2 hexagon powered armor, all of the result for power assisted armor. For a robot, you
this optimistically assumes a minimal amount of would do the same process, but you wouldn’t
wasted space and that everything you need to fit halve the result. So, the previous example as a
inside the armor can on average be housed within robot would have a Strength of 11.
about 15 centimeters of the person wearing it.

3.55
 Quick design - Now that those basics are out of v1.0
the way, the quick way to do powered armor is this: Stuff!
1. Build a .1 hexagon or smaller power plant.
This is the exoskeleton of your armor. It will EXAMPLE: Build a 200 kilogram suit of powered
have a -10 to Strength because of its size, armor at the Late Atomic Era.
and another -9 because of its extreme
VEHICLES

mobility suspension (i.e. manipulators). If you Step 1. The power:

make the powerplant exactly .1 hexagon, Item Strength
you will have no room for any gizmos under Late Atomic Era +32
the armor. .1 hexagon power plant -10
2. Add as much body armor as you think you Not air-breathing -3
can carry. 1/2x fuel efficiency +3
3. Use the weight of the armor, the (up to) 50 Manipulators -9
kilogram mass of the power plant and the Modifier total +13
weight of the person to get the empty armor Total 4d+1
weight.
4. Figure how much Strength the armor loses to Step 2. Create some body armor:
carry itself. Half the remaining Strength is the Item Armor Mass Cost
bonus it gives to the user. Late Atomic Era +20 +5 +5
5. The top speed of the armor is based on its Whole body - +4 +3
Strength and total weight, and the Strength Ballistic -2 +0 +1
the user can use for lifting and carrying is Enhanced +0 +2 +1
based on what it has left after step 4. Lightweight -2 -2 +0
Hardened +0 +0 +2
This armor will have a 5 hour fuel supply from Reduced thickness -3 -3 -2
the fuel that is included with the power plant, unless Total levels +13 +6 +10
you altered its fuel efficiency. So, let’s try it. Total 4d+1 50kg 32KCr

Step 3. The power plant masses 50 kilograms,

the armor masses 50 kilograms, and the user masses
up to 100 kilograms, for a total of 200 kilograms.

Step 4. A Strength +13 can carry 252 kilograms,

and the armor(occupied) is 200 kilograms. This
leaves 52 kilograms of spare capacity, or a Strength
of +6. This is counted as an assist to the wearer of
half its value(+3), so this armor will give the wearer a
+1d boost to Strength.

Step 5. We figure the performance out:

Item Strength
Late Atomic Era +32
.1 hexagon power plant -10
Not air-breathing -3
1/2x fuel efficiency +3
Manipulators -9
Vehicle weight of .2 tons +7
Modifier total +20
Total 6d+2

This gives the armor a speed of 21 meters per

turn (76kph/47mph) and an acceleration of 5
meters per turn, or we could say that a Late Atomic
Era armor is a 2d+1 boost to the wearer’s Health for
movement purposes (see page 3.45). For a person
with a Health of 2d+2, this 2d+1 boost would give
them a walk of 5 meters per turn, a run of 10 meters
per turn, and a sprint of 15 meters per turn.

3.56
 Other considerations - A power plant for an
EABA artificial limb or exoskeleton has its own built-in fuel
supply, good for 5 hours unless you tweak its fuel
efficiency or build it solely as an externally powered
Note - If you wanted an exoskeleton to just manipulator. Batteries and powercells can also be
affect running and/or lifting capacity, you would used as “fuel” sources. While our example used a
build it to hold half a person (from the waist down), non-airbreathing power supply, you could just as
with any extra carrying capacity being in a back- easily say the armor is run off a tiny gas turbine or
pack attached to the waist, so the upper torso is some other air-breathing engine.
not encumbered by the weight (it is transferred
directly to the legs and thence to the ground). We do recommend that you use the notes on
how powered armor gives a bonus to Health for
Robots - If you are making artificial limbs or movement purposes rather than simply using its
humanoid robots, you would simply design an even Strength to find a movement rate. This is especially
smaller vehicle, and it would have various abilities the case for an exoskeleton. Even if the machinery
appropriate to the level of its Attributes, rather than is doing all the work, the person’s limbs are still
a normal vehicle top speed and acceleration, etc. moving or being moved as the armor walks or runs,
The robot or artificial limb could be armored as and this can be a form of exertion. If your armor is
needed, with any space not utilized in its body, large enough to have a cockpit that a person can
head or limbs to put internal gizmos. sit in, then this is not as much a consideration and
you are dealing more with a walking vehicle than a
The brain of an independent or artificially suit of powered armor.
intelligent robot would be created in the gizmos
chapter and would be a separate cost. These rules can be used to make “giant robots”
or “mecha”. Each three times the “enhanced”
Remember that bionic limbs are limited by the modifier is taken in armor, the height doubles, and
organic body they are attached to. They cannot the interal volume increases by a factor of eight.
normally exceed one-and-a-half the Strength of the
person wearing them. Also remember that bionic EXAMPLE: If you take the enhanced armor
limbs can also be done as gadgets using the modifier nine times, your armor profile looks like this:
paranormal power system. If you are going to use a
particular technology in a gameworld, decide how Item Armor Mass Cost
you intend to implement it and stick with it. This Enhanced +0 +18 +9
includes using vehicle chapter or gadget chapter
rules for making them (not both). A vehicle-design The armor is 16 meters tall, is +6 size for purposes
bionic arm is going to be similar but not identical to of being hit in combat, and has a total internal
a paranormal-power or gadget-based bionic arm. volume of 51.2 hexagons. You could cram a lot of
weapons and gizmos into that, and if would act like
EXAMPLE: An Early Post-Atomic Era adventurer a large vehicle in that respect, but it would also be
loses an arm and decides to get a bionic armored like a person, have hit locations like a
replacement. It would look something like this: person and could punch, kick, run and jump like a
very, very large person.
Item Strength
Early Post-Atomic Era +34 Note! - Anything up to about 300 millihexes and
.008 hexagon power plant(the arm) -21 shaped like a person (enhanced armor x1.5) will fit
Not air-breathing -3 in any vehicle seat an overweight person can,
Manipulators -9 though the upper end is a really tight fit and
Vehicle weight of .1 tons(the person) +10 probably requires first class airline seats. Double the
Modifier total +11 seat space requirements for 300 millihex robots or
Total 3d+1 armor or beings, and increase it proportionately for
each 300 millihexes after that. For instance, a 1.2
This arm runs off some sort of internal power hexagon volume of robot would require four times
plant that has 5 hours worth of fuel. For simplicity’s the normal seating room and remember that
sake we didn’t design it up with batteries and headroom will be important too.
electric motors, but that’s probably what it is. In
order for a person to use this arm at full effect, they
need a normal Strength of 2d+1 (2d+1 times one-
and-a-half is 3d+1). A Strength of 2d+0 would only
be sufficient to handle an arm of 3d+0 Strength.

3.57
 Exoskeletons can be partial, but this limits them. v1.0
Powered external leg braces might enhance
running or kicking, but will not enhance lifting (but
Stuff!
might enhanced carrying). The natural spine and
arm strength would be a limiting factor in many HYPERDRIVE - This is the one vehicle mobility item
cases. A “power glove” that runs up an arm could that isn’t designed in this chapter. A hyperdrive or
deliver a mighty punch or crushing grip, but without warp drive or whatever is designed as a “weapon”
VEHICLES

a body harness, its ability to lift would be the natural and counts as a gizmo. Why? Because it’s easier
shoulder strength of the wearer. that way. For purposes of EABA, a hyperdrive is a
big chunk of machinery and electronics and god-
The numbers listed for limbs on page 3.55 are only-knows what else. You push a button, and you
for a human-sized or human-encasing set of limbs. disappear from normal space and reappear
In the latter case it is enough to make a 200 millihex somewhere else, hopefully in less time than it would
volume that encloses a 100 millihex volume (the take the speed of light to get there, during which
person), and people, unlike equipment, have a the ship is incommunicado from the rest of the
mass of 1 kilogram per millihex. If you are building a universe and can’t be attacked or attack anything
robot rather than an exoskeleton, there is still a else. The generic hyperdrive requires a lot of energy
useful volume of 100 millihexes for a human-sized to charge, and can only be operated far from
robot, but the space is around and between limb interfering gravity wells.
and structural components, rather than outside
them like an exoskeleton would be. The volume How do you design this as a weapon? A
taken is the same, but the way it look inside is hyperdrive will be built as a 0° arc vehicle weapon
different. The default weight would be 50 kilograms, whose tech era and size combine to be at least
but its armor would only be the default of 1d+0. Any +54(18d+0) damage. We presume this requires at
extra armor would be bought as body armor, and least Post-Atomic Era technology, but if you want to
would add weight. design a monstrously large Atomic Era hyperdrive,
you can. This gets you a hyperdrive that can
If you want to put extra equipment under traverse a one hundred ton vehicle (Mass level of
armor, that would affect the total volume taken by +39) a distance of one light year (a Distance level
an exoskeleton or robot for structure and armor of about +107, if you’re interested) in one hundred
purposes, but it does not affect the volume needed hours (about 4 days, or a Time level of 37). Each +3
for human-sized limbs. Remember that the volume of hyperdrive capability is either +3 to the mass that
of human-sized limbs is just the external dimensions. can be moved,+2 to the distance that can be
You do not have to completely fill them with traversed in one hundred hours or -2 to the time it
“power plant”. An 8 millihex arm could have 4 takes to make the trip (doubling the maximum
millihexes of power plant and a 4 millihex weapon. jump distance for a given time and halving the time
And, you can always mount things externally to the for a given distance are not quite the same thing).
robot or limb or exoskeleton. These externally You may scale this in the other direction if you
mounted items would only have their own armor want, and smaller changes are allowed.
rating to protect against damage, and do count
towards the total carried weight of the armor for Item Mass Dist. Time
mobility purposes. Hyperdrive +1 +1 or +1 or -1
Hyperdrive +2 +2 or +1 or -1
That covers more than you should ever need Hyperdrive +3 +3 or +2 or -2
for body armor and related topics. Now, one more Hyperdrive +4 +4 or +2 or -2
really esoteric topic and then we’ll move to the Hyperdrive +5 +5 or +3 or -3
next section. Hyperdrive +6 +6 or +3 or -3

3.58
 Youcan alter the nature of interstellar travel in a
EABA gameworld just by tweaking the constant. If you
made it +70 instead of +60, then you would need to
get a billion kilometers from the sun in order to be
EXAMPLE: An Advanced Era(+42) hyperdrive able to activate a hyperdrive, and for us, that
will require 16 hexagons(+12) of space (8 tons) to would be out past the orbit of Jupiter.
get the +54 capability needed to move a hundred
tons one light year in one hundred hours. A hyper- The hyperdrive rules are a basic framework that
drive that has +9 over this (three +3 modifiers) will you can hang any FTL technology off of. Just keep
take 128 hexagons of space (64 tons), but can it internally consistent. Some examples:
move an eight hundred ton ship one light year in
one hundred hours, a one hundred ton ship eight A “warp gate” that ships could pass through
light years in one hundred hours, or a one hundred would be counted as a hyperdrive, but would have
ton ship one light year in twelve and a half hours, or a “360° arc” modifier (you have to make it bigger).
any permutation that involves the required factors A hyperdrive that moves you into and through a
of two. Supposedly, you could also make a hyper- “hyperspace” would be exactly the same, and the
drive with -3 capacity. This would take 8 hexagons basic drive gets you a speed of about 300 times the
of space (4 tons), but have half the capacity in speed of light. A “warp drive” that speeds you
terms of mass and/or speed. through normal space and lets you see stars pass
by the portholes would be a hyperdrive that has a
Hyperdrives take time to charge up. This is one continuous power requirement of the total in the
hour (Time level of 24) for a power plant whose drive with a -12 modifier, and has no charging time.
Strength is the same as the dice in the hyperdrive.
Proportionately more if the power plant is smaller, Note! - If using a comparison to a popular
less if it is bigger. Each die more or less than that of fictional system, the following hyperdrive numbers
the hyperdrive halves or doubles the time. are needed:

EXAMPLE: We use an Advanced Era power Warp speed Lightspeed Hyperdrive

plant with an adjusted output of 16d+0 to charge 1 ≈1x 10d+0
the hyperdrive. Since this is 2d+0 less than the 18d+0 1.3 ≈2.2x 11d+0
default of a hyperdrive, the time is doubled twice, 1.7 ≈4.5x 12d+0
to four hours for hyperdrive preparation. 1.9 ≈9x 13d+0
2 ≈11x 13d+1
Obviously, a vehicle power plant charging a 2.5 ≈18x 14d+0
hyperdrive is not being used to provide movement 3 ≈35x 15d+0
for the vehicle. 3.7 ≈70x 16d+0
4 ≈110x 16d+2
Gravity wells are a problem for hyperdrives. 4.3 ≈140x 17d+0
Traditionally, you can’t jump out of one, and you 5 ≈215x 17d+2
end a jump if your path across real space traverses 5.7 ≈285x 18d+0
one. The easiest way to figure this in EABA is to say 6 ≈350x 18d+1
an Earth-like body is a “distance” of 1 meter 6.7 ≈570x 19d+0
(Distance level of 3), and the safe jump distance is 7 ≈700x 19d+1
+60 distance. For planets with a gravity different 8 ≈1100x 20d+0
than Earth, you just compare their gravity to an 9 ≈1400x 20d+1
Earth rating of “1”. 9.3 ≈1800x 20d+2
9.7 ≈2300x 21d+0
EXAMPLE: If Earth is at Distance level +3, then 9.9 ≈2900x 21d+1
the safe jump distance is +63 (1 million kilometers).
For Mars, which has a gravity closer to a distance of Trying to go faster than warp 9.9 may be quite
+0, the distance would be +60 (350,000 kilometers), hazardous to the part of the spacetime continuum
and for Jupiter’s gravity of 12 gees (distance of where your ship happens to be, not to mention
+10), the distance would be +70 (11,000,000 hazardous to the ship as well...
kilometers). A star like the Sun would have a
distance of around +73 (32,000,000 kilometers).

3.59
 EXAMPLE: Say you want to make a 1,600 ton v1.0
Post-Atomic Era “warp freighter”. To get the default
+54 Strength(18d+0) required at Post-Atomic Era
Stuff!
(+36) takes 64 hexagons(+18) of “warp drive”. To
push a 1,600 ton ship means we either have to give HOW DO I BLOW IT UP? - Once you get to the
up -12 of capacity (four doublings of the default point where you have to start blowing up your
100 ton capacity), or make the warp drive big creations, things get more interesting.
VEHICLES

enough to have +12 (sixteen times bigger!), or

something in between. We dcecide to go the slow Damage Limit - As mentioned earlier, there are
route, and accept -4d of capacity (down to exceptions to damage limit. Explosions can alter
14d+0). From the table above, we can see that this damage limit, and affects that cover the entire
is a speed of “warp 2.5”, about 18 times the speed vehicle can even negate it. Things that damage
of light. Now, even though we accepted reduced limit will usually not apply to:
capacity, this warp drive still requires a +42 Strength
(14d+0) power plant to run it (base of +54, -12 for Vehicle collisions Re-entry damage
“warp drive”). A Post-Atomic Era fusion reactor Falling damage
might be: Crushing damage on pressure hulls

Item Strength Vehicles of exceptionally large size might still

Post-Atomic Era +36 have damage limit apply to some degree, or the
250 hexagon power plant +24 nature of the damage might adjust it. For instance,
Not air-breathing -3 if you add 15 to the damage limit in all these cases,
Fusion fuel +10 things still work out the same for small vehicles, but
125x fuel efficiency -21 large ones still get some damage limit effect.
Power generation -3
Modifier total +43 EXAMPLE: A battleship has a damage limit of
Total 14d+1 somewhere around -10. It’s very hard to get an
attack that will actually do any of its Hits. However,
So, we have 62 tons of warp drive, 125 tons of if you run a battleship into another one, you would
reactor, and we need 250 hexagons (125 tons) of count it as a damage limit of -10 plus 15 equals 5.
deuterium per 7 months to run it. At 18 times the The battleship would not take all its Hits in such a
speed of light, a run to Alpha Centauri (4.3 light collision, but it would take more than enough to
years) would take 87 days (about 3 months), and so notice it. And repairing any Hits on a battleship is
a round trip requires around 100 tons of fuel. very expensive...
Adding the drive, reactor and say 125 tons of fuel
together leaves us about 1300 tons for the rest of Similarly, puncturing attacks that are physically
the ship. large enough can end up doing hits to even a
huge vessel. Even a dud round from a battleship is
Looking at the power plant output notes on going to leave a noticeable hole in a destroyer,
page 3.15, we can see that a 14d+1 reactor is even if the destroyer has a damage limit of zero or
about 5 megawatts worth, and that a 14d+0 warp less (which it does). It could also be an application
drive consumes about 4 megawatts worth, leaving of the “battering power” modifier on a weapon.
1 megawatt or 12d+0 Strength for other purposes.
If you want to use damage limit in this alternate
This covers all the advanced design rules. Now, way, simply count the very large but inert attack as
for some advanced rules regarding tearing apart a battering attack. A quick way: Drop the damage
what you have just built. of the attack by a third, then increase the Damage
Limit of the vehicle by 1 for each +2d remaining.

3.60
 A skill roll is required for each Hit repaired, with
EABA a difficulty of the vehicle’s total Hits -10 (with a
minimum difficulty of Average(7)). This skill roll
requires the efforts of a number of people equal to
EXAMPLE: You have a tanker with an armor of 1 minus one-third of the Strength adjustment for the
2d+0 and a damage limit of -4 that is hit by a 15d+0 vehicle’s mass (page 3.4). The time modifiers for
cannon shell. Wham! Drop the damage of the shell poor repair facilities and lack of repair crew will
by a third (to 10d+0). The damage limit is raised by increase the difficulty of the roll in addition to
1 for each +2d remaining, so the damage limit goes increasing the time required. You use the average
from -4 to +1. The tanker takes 1 Hit from this attack. skill of the repair crew for making any repair rolls.
Each doubling of repair crew may be used for a -2
Note - As an example of damage limit in action, difficulty on this roll instead of altering the time it
in 1987CE an Iranian off-shore platform (used as a takes. Similarly, you can also take quadruple the
weapon emplacement) in the Rostam oil field was listed time (+4 time levels) to get a -2 on the
attacked by several US destroyers. It was hit with difficulty of the task.
over 1,000 medium-size naval shells, and was only
set on fire as a result. Special forces had to board it EXAMPLE: A vehicle that masses 500 tons has a
and plant explosives in order to sink it. Strength modifier of -27, and one-third of this is -9.
This means that a basic repair roll requires 1 minus
Repairs - Any time a vehicle loses Hits, it should (-9) equals 10 people. A 500 ton vehicle has some
probably look into getting repairs done. The time heavy parts, and one person just isn’t enough to
and cost involved depends on the vehicle, what get the job done. A 500 ton vehicle also has 28 Hits,
was damaged, and the facilities available for the so it will have a base difficulty on the repair of 28
repair. The simplest case is that it takes a time level Hits minus 10 equals 18. If the repair crew were 20
of the vehicle’s Hits +10 to repair 1 Hit of damage, instead of 10, the difficulty could be dropped to 16,
and +2 time for each Hit after that. This repairs any and if these 20 people took four times as long as
functional damage. The cosmetic damage does normal, the difficulty could be dropped to 14.
not involve the Hits of the vehicle, and will take
longer. There are plenty of modifiers on how long a
repair will take.
EXAMPLE: A car with 10 Hits was in a minor
accident and took 3 hits (for a normal car, this Modifier Repair time
might be a 10kph fender-bender). A time level of 20 Full repair facility +0 time levels
(10 Hits plus 10) is 15 minutes. A +4 time to repair 3 Adequate repair facility +2 time levels
Hits makes 60 minutes. In one hour, a mechanic Inadequate repair facility +4 time levels
pulls the fender away from the wheel and replaces Barely adequate repair facility +6 time levels
a punctured tire. The front end still looks bad, but Jury-rigged repair -4 time levels
everything works as good as new. All repair parts available -2 time levels
Most repair parts available +0 time levels
If you take less than the full amount of time, you Reconstructed parts +6 time levels
get less repairs done. You get hits back in reverse Sabotage repair -2 time levels
order of time spent. Cosmetic repair +6 time levels
Double crew (up to 4x) -1 time level
EXAMPLE: If you were in a hurry, the 3 Hits on Down to one-half crew +2 time levels
the car could be partially repaired. It takes 60 Down to one-quarter crew +4 time levels
minutes to repair all 3 hits. It takes 15 minutes to Down to one-eighth crew +6 time levels
repair the first Hit, 30 minutes to repair the second
Hit, and the rest of the hour to repair the last Hit of
damage.

3.61
 Repair facility: The quality of the repair facility v1.0
or tools available in the field. A full facility is one
designed around repairing that kind of vehicle or
Stuff!
damage. A full facility can be specialized enough
that it can only repair some a vehicle’s Hits. For Cosmetic: It takes a while to undo the scrapes,
instance, if your car was in an accident, it might go burns, punctures, wrinkles and bends so that the
to one “full facility” for the body work, and another vehicle looks as good as new. If you have all the
VEHICLES

to repair any engine damage. An adequate facility repair parts available, this modifier is +0 time levels
is sufficient for the task or a very specific repair, but instead (when you replace the parts, it looks good
not nearly as good or flexible. A tire jack is an as new).
adequate repair facility for repairing tire damage,
especially in combination with “all repair parts Repair Crew: If you have more or less than the
available”(spare tire). Inadequate and barely normal repair crew, the repair will take a different
adequate facilities go down from there, with barely amount of time. If you have less than one-eighth
adequate being the minimum level of tools and the people needed, repairs may be impossible.
equipment you could imagine anyone being able
to manage the repair with. In general, “adequate” EXAMPLE: A 250 ton starship (26 hits) has taken 1
facilities for all the needs of a specific vehicle type Hit of sabotage damage to the hyperdrive. The
(i.e. cars) is more stuff than you are likely to carry normal time for the repair is a Time level of 36, or 2.5
around in that type of vehicle. The best you could days, and will require a nine person repair crew (1
reasonably expect for any sort of a “toolbox” plus 8 for the Strength modifier on a ship this size).
equivalent would be the “inadequate” or “barely But, there is only a crew of two to do this, and they
adequate” modifiers. have to use some spares and cannibalize some
parts from the ship to make the repair. In the end,
Jury-rigged repair: This is a repair that is just the modifiers are:
barely functional. The vehicle will still have at least 1
Hit of damage on it, even after the repair. Any use Modifier Repair time
of a specific system or gizmo that was damaged is Ship size +36
at +4 difficulty. If the vehicle takes any damage, a Jury-rigged repair -4
new “repair roll” will have to be made. If this roll is Most repair parts +0
failed, the repair fails and the vehicle loses all the Sabotage repair -2
Hits that were recovered and any systems or gizmos Inadequate repair facility +4
affected become inoperational. It may also have One-quarter repair crew +4
to make a “repair roll” every time it has to roll for Modifier total +38
being in a bad terrain (all that jouncing isn’t good Total 5 days
for things).
The end result is a Time level of 38 and a final
Parts: If it is just a matter of getting a part out difficulty of 16 to successfully complete the repair.
of the spares bin and installing it, you have all the The jury rigged repair means the vehicle is still down
repair parts you need. If you have most of the parts, 1 Hit, but the hyperdrive now works...sort of. If the
but have to customize or improvise to get it all ship takes any damage, a new roll at a difficulty of
working, that is most of the parts. Reconstructed 16 is needed, or the makeshift repair fails and the
parts means you have a lot of broken bits, and ship is once again without a hyperdrive. And, any
have to piece together something that works out of skill use involving use of the hyperdrive will be at +4
a bunch of things that don’t (hello, duct tape!). If difficulty.
this last modifier is used, no more than half the
vehicle’s Hits can be repaired, and no more than Repair cost: The first hit of damage on a vehicle
half of any damaged gizmos or systems can be will have a repair cost equal to the vehicle Cost
repaired, rounding up. level per ton, minus 20, plus 1 for each Hit the
vehicle has.
Sabotage: Damage from saboteurs is generally
confined to a limited area, and this makes it easier EXAMPLE: An Atomic Era vehicle costs 4,000
to repair. On the other hand, the gamemaster can Credits per ton (cost of +4), so if this vehicle had 10
usually declare that any Hits lost due to sabotage Hits, the cost to repair the first Hit is its cost(+4), minus
can render a specific system non-functional just as 20, plus its hits(+10), equals a cost of -6, or 125
if it has crossed the next highest damage threshold. Credits. Repairing 3 Hits would be +4 cost, or a cost
of -2 (500 Credits). Repairing 1 Hit on an Atomic Era
vehicle that had 28 Hits would be:

3.62
 A sabotage attempt may be made against a
EABA particular vehicle gizmo or system, if time and
circumstances permit. If the attack does any Hits to
the vehicle, that system is temporarily inoperative or
Modifier Repair cost has to roll for effects as though it had just crossed
Atomic Era vehicle +4 the next highest damage threshold (using the -0d
Repair constant -20 threshoold if the vehicle is otherwise undamaged).
Vehicle hits +28
Modifier total +12 EXAMPLE: Trying to prevent them from escaping
Total 64,000 Credits to hyperspace, an adventurer with a blaster pistol
barricades themselves in the engine room of a
Repairing 3 Hits on this vehicle would be a cost space pirate’s ship. This ship masses 250 tons, so it
of +16, or 250,000 Credits! has 24 Hits. It also has a damage limit of 0, so
normally it is impervious to simple penetration hits.
If a particular gizmo was damaged, normally, The adventurer needs to beat a difficulty of 14 (the
you just add the cost of the gizmo to the total ships’ Hits minus ten) in order to do any damage.
repair. Jury-rigged repairs are a quarter the normal They take some extra time to look around, find a
cost. Repairs involving a full complement of your likely conduit junction and take aim. Their skill roll is
spare parts are also one-quarter normal cost, but a 15. This is enough to get a sabotage effect, but
you have to pay to replace them. If they were only enough for one point. For this shot, the ship’s
someone else’s spare parts, repair is at normal cost. Damage Limit is raised to 1 (instead of 0). The
Rush jobs or extra people add to the repair cost. blaster bolt rips into the critical wiring junction and
Having twice as many people work on your vehicle does 1 Hit to the ship, temporarily disabling the
is +2 to the repair cost. Having your repair done with hyperdrive. The charred wires short out, causing
overtime labor so it is finished in half the time is also minor damage in dozens of different circuits, each
+2 cost. of which has to be tracked down in order to get
the system working again.
In some cases, you can “go to the back of the
line” and get a discount on repair cost of -1, but this Maintenance - The usual part of a vehicle that
depends on the situation. requires maintenance is the powerplant, which
includes the wheels, propellors, control surfaces
ADVANCED TOPIC: SABOTAGE and anything else involved with manuevering the
One thing that happens to vehicles in role-playing vehicle. The maintenance process needs to be
situations is sabotage. This is using a relatively small done at a default interval of around 1,000 hours of
amount of damage to effectively incapacitate or operation. This is about forty days of non-stop
destroy a vehicle or vehicle system. operation, or about 100,000 kilometers of highway
travel for a normal automobile.
In game terms, you would use whatever skill is
used to do the damage, against a difficulty equal The time and cost of routine maintenance is
to the vehicle’s total Hits minus ten. This skill could the same as cosmetically repairing 1 Hit on the
simply be pointing a gun at just the right spot, using vehicle. Not counting the quality of the facility and
your piloting skills to set the controls so the vehicle other modifiers, this will take a time level of the
damages itself, or planting a bomb where it will do vehicle’s Hits plus 16. This time and cost does not
the most damage. Sabotage from within generally have to be paid all at once. In fact, it may be more
ignores the armor rating of the vehicle (with the realistic to spread it out over the thousand hours.
possible exception of compartmentalization), and is
always applied against an armor of 1d+0. However,
sabotage from without (like a limpet mine) does
require breaching the vehicle’s armor.

Making the sabotage roll, and each two points

this roll is made by alters the Damage Limit of the
vehicle for this one specific attack, or counts as 1
Hit of damage if the vehicle is somehow being
made to act against itself. Both aspects can be
used on the same roll if needed, splitting the effect
as desired.

3.63
 EXAMPLE: An Atomic Era car with 10 Hits and no v1.0
other repair modifiers will require a maintenance
time of 10 Hits plus 16, equals a time level of 26, or 2
Stuff!
hours. It will have a cost of:
Vehicle supplies - If a vehicle (or gadget!) is
Modifier Repair cost “lived in”, it will need to carry supplies. This could be
Atomic Era vehicle +4 primitive as firewood and water casks, or advanced
VEHICLES

Repair constant -20 as hydroponics additives or spare oxygen for the life
Vehicle hits +10 support system. This may also include maintenance
Modifier total -6 supplies. Supplies will take up 1 hexagon of space
Total 125 Credits (half a ton) per 50 person-days. That is, 1 hexagon
of supplies supports 1 person for 50 days, 50 people
This two hours and 125 Credits could be done for 1 day, or anything in between. For practical
all at once, or as say four half-hour oil changes and purposes, you can count this as a size level of +9.
32 Credit routine checkups every 250 hours. How efficient the supplies actually are depends on
the tech era and the vehicle.
If a vehicle does not get maintenance at or
around the maintenance interval, it takes 1 Hit, and Tech Era Efficiency
if you are using hit locations (page 3.13), this hit is to Primitive Era -4
the engine. Among other things, taking 1 Hit means Basic Era -2
the -0d damage threshold has been crossed, so Industrial Era +0
any attempt to start the engine will require a roll. In Atomic Era +2
addition, if you fail to give a vehicle the necessary Post-Atomic Era +4
maintenance, the interval for the next necessary Advanced Era +6
maintenance is halved.
Modifiers Amount
Note - This might explain while navies are so Early or late part of an era ±1
obsessed with keeping their ships in top shape. Land vehicle +0
Fixing any Hits lost to poor maintenance costs a Water vehicle -1
fortune... Air vehicle -1
Sealed environment vehicle -4
Bad luck - Sometimes bad things happen to
good vehicles for no apparent reason. Things Supplies cost like any other gizmo, but you may
break. If the gamemaster is feeling vicious, once pay extra for more efficient supplies (or pay less for
during every maintenance interval, they can roll less efficient ones). If you apply +2 to the supplies
3d+0. If you hit a difficulty of 18, then for absolutely cost, you count it as one tech era more advanced.
no foreseeable reason, a random system in the You can do this once at Industrial Era and earlier,
vehicle takes 1d+0 Hits (see Hit Locations, page and sealed environment vehicles can do it one
3.13). The difficulty is reduced by 1 for each missed extra time for each era past Industrial Era. Similarly,
maintenance interval. Russians seem to have you can -2 to cost for supplies to make them count
vicious gamemasters... as the previous tech era. Obviously, if you are doing
something like historical re-enactment, you can get
Note - Since pouring time and money into con- supplies appropriate to the tech era of the vehicle,
stant maintenance is no fun from a role-playing but normally you can not go more than one era
standpoint, the rules here for vehicle maintenance lower than the vehicle itself.
requirements are kind of lenient. Especially for high-
performance vehicles, maintenance requirements EXAMPLE: You are making up a supply list for an
can be extreme. As a real-world example, a Atomic Era space capsule. One hexagon normally
modern corporate jet might require one person- is enough for a size of +9 in person-days. Atomic Era
hour of maintenance for each two hours of opera- is +2, but space vehicles drop it by -4, down to a
tion. A commercial helicopter might requires two size of +7, or 23 person-days. If we need to support
person-hours of maintenance for each one hour of three people for a week (or 21 person-days), this will
operation! Military high-performance vehicles can take up about a full hexagon of supplies. If we use
require several person-hours of maintenance for the best supplies available (and pay twice as much
each hour of operation! for them), we can drop this to half a hexagon of
supplies. On the other hand, if we were stocking an
Atomic Era motorhome for a one week road trip
for three people, the same normal supplies would
only take up about a quarter of a hexagon.

3.64
 Weapon Accuracy is reduced by the distance
EABA level in the turn scale, but increased by the time
level. Amounts of less than zero simply become
zero. Then, apply another +1 to Accuracy if the
ALTERED SCALES - EABA normally works on a weapon can fire twice during the time scale, and
one-second (Time level 0) turn scale. While this is another +1 each time this is doubled (most autofire
fine for individual human action, it is not really weapons would be an additional +3 and autoburst
appropriate for a lot of vehicle combat. If you are weapons an additional +1). If a weapon can’t fire
using Stuff! as the front end for a vehicle combat every turn, it does not lose Accuracy, but it can’t
system of your own creatiom or as an add-on to fire every turn. Accuracy always applies if the time
some other role-playing game, you can alter the scale of the turn is more than one second (it
time and distance scales to get a better framework presumes you are going to aim).
for movement and combat.
Weapon Accuracy is reduced by the shift in
Distance - What is the maximum range of any range level.
weapon likely to be used in the conflict? Find the
Distance level this is, and subtract 10. This will be the EXAMPLE: A cannon for this sailing ship might
size of each hexagon, and gives a maximum range have an Accuracy of 4. This is reduced to -11 by the
for that weapon of 32 hexagons. This lets you play distance scale of 15, but increased by 12 for the
on a tabletop or one of those roll-up hex maps. time scale, making the final Accuracy a 1. The
weapon has the “takes a minute to reload”
Time - How many seconds does it take the modifier, so it only fires once in a one minute turn
slowest mobile unit to traverse one of the distance and gets no benefit from rate of fire. If we continue
hexagons? This Time level becomes the time from the previous example, the final number to hit
increment per turn, so even the slowest unit can based on range, time, Accuracy and target size will
move one hexagon. be an 11 or better, using the skill of whoever is
aiming the cannon.
EXAMPLE: A sailing ship game has weapons
with a maximum range of 2 kilometers. This is a FINAL THOUGHTS - We’ve said it before, and
distance level of 25, so the game scale is 25 - 10 = we’ll say it again. Use only the rules you need. This
distance level of 15 (64 meters per hexagon). Ships chapter is a good example why. It’s seventy pages
that with a minimum breeze can move a paltry 1 long, and three-quarters of those pages are the
meter per second will take a minute to cross this advanced rules. It is almost inconcievable that you
distance, so the time level per turn becomes 12. will ever need all of them for a single vehicle. Some
sections may be more useful than others (like body
Weapons - The biggest change to weapons is armor), but look at the game purpose of your
how the altered scales affect their Accuracy and vehicle and work from there. Sometimes, you don’t
the size modifier of a target. For every two points in even need the vehicle design part to get what you
the Distance level (round down), the size modifier need. If you a building a passenger liner, you just
for everything else is reduced by 1. Similarly, look at the size of the quarters required to get an
movement penalties are reduced by the Distance idea of the vessel’s final size, Hits, crew and
level, with the note that they can’t go to less than damage limit. It’s performance may be irrelevant,
zero, and a moving target (or firer) always takes at since any military attacker (or pirate) can outrun it,
least a +1 penalty unless that movement is so why go to the effort of designing that part? Or,
something completely passive like drifting in space. as part of a plot you want to get an idea of how
long it will take to repair a vehicle. The armor or
EXAMPLE: If someone is shooting at a ship weapons do not matter, only its size and Hits, and
which normally had a EABA size modifier of -6 (6 maybe if it has a dangerous and unsheilded power
points easier to hit) it would instead be altered by source that needs to be taken into account. Don’t
half the distance scale (half of 15, round up), and is do more design work than you have to.
now a difficulty of +2 (2 points harder to hit). Now, a
“range” of 11 “hexagons” in the system (actually
about 700 meters) is normally a target number of
10. Shooting at this ship at this range would require
a roll of 10 plus 2, or 12 or better.

3.65
 LET’S SEE IF IT WORKS - We’ll demonstrate a lot v1.0
of the advanced rules by starting with something
high tech, and then doing something low tech.
Stuff!
Free Trader - This is a 200 metric ton interstellar Item Strength
freighter using Post-Atomic Era technology, and with Post-Atomic Era +36
the capability to depart orbit from planets of Earth- 32 hexagon power plant +24
VEHICLES

normal gravity or less. A ship of this size and tech is Fusion modifier +10
not going to be able to carry a reasonable amount 1000x fuel efficiency -27
of cargo, re-entry and cram in a hyperdrive. We’re Modifier total +40
going to settle for being able to reach escape Total 14d+1
velocity from orbit, carry cargo and hypertransit.
If you have a power plant the same power
Power: Since we have just said it has to be able output as the hyperdrive, it takes a time of +24(one
to get out of orbit (rather than launch from a hour) to charge up for a jump, +2 time for each 1d
surface), we are going to design the power plant so less than this. We have 4d less, so it will take +8 time,
that we end up with a .2g acceleration, which will or a time of +32(16 hours) to save up enough
get us from orbital velocity (8,000 meters per turn) energy for a hyperspace transit.
to escape velocity (11,000 meters per turn) in about
half an hour. We know that our ship is supposed to We’ll need fuel for both the reactor and main
have a loaded mass of 200 tons, so we just have to thruster. The reactor has its built-in fuel supply, which
figure the Strength we need for a final acceleration with the fuel efficiency becomes 5,000 hours , or
of 2 meters per turn. We use a high-efficiency, low about 7 months at full output, so we’ll leave that as
thrust fusion drive, that looks something like this: is. The main thruster has built-in fuel good for 1,250
hours, or 52 days, so we leave that as well.
Item Strength
Post-Atomic Era +36 We need to figure out the minimum crew
8 hexagon power plant +18 complement so we can put in some quarters. To do
Not air-breathing -3 this, we have to decide how many hexagons the
Fusion modifier +10 final vehicle is going to be. We decide on 400
250x fuel efficiency -21 hexagons, erring on the large side, since this is
Modifier total +40 supposed to be a cargo vessel of some kind. The
Total 13d+1 guidelines on page 3.39 say we’ll need 1.5 crew per
shift, so we decide on six sets of quarters, giving us
This gives an acceleration of: room for a few paying passengers. The guidelines of
Halved power plant +20 page 3.39 say this should be at least 216 hexagons,
200 ton vehicle -23 and we leave it at that. The bridge or other controls
Modifier total -3 are the vehicle’s size minus 15. A 500 hexagon ship
Total(see page 3.5) -1d+0 is size +16, which means it has a bridge of size +1, or
a measely 3 hexagons of controls.
Since this ship only operates in a vacuum, we
don’t need to figure out its top speed, because it There are some other things we need, like
doesn’t have one. sensors, weapons, supplies and armor. We can’t do
long range sensors yet, since we haven’t hit the
Next, we install a basic hyperdrive. This is Gadgets chapter, but we can set aside 8 hexagons
designed as a weapon, with a final damage of at for it, and if we don’t use it all, add it to cargo
least +54(18d+0). space. Our ship owner wants a long range starship
cannon with a damage of say 7d+0, enough to
Item Damage make someone notice, and with an explosive
Post-Atomic Era weapon +36 effect to represent something like a plasma beam
64 hexagon weapon(32 tons) +18 that can alter a ship’s damage limit.
Average technology +0
Vehicle weapon +0
Modifier total +54
Total 18d+0

Now we need a fusion reactor to power the

hyperdrive and presumably everything else.

3.66
 The cost of the ship is based on the 600 you get
EABA from adding its size and mass (size of +17) and tech
era(+8), for a cost of +25, or 5,600,000 Credits. Since
it is not usable in an atmosphere, it is not really a
Post-Atomic Era weapon +36 “flying vehicle”, but if you want to add that +2 to
8 hexagon weapon +9 cost to represent more expensive components for
Increased range -12 spacecraft, you can.
Explosive damage(lethal) -3
Average technology +0 Modifier Levels
Vehicle weapon +0 Vehicle size & weight +17
360° turret -9 Post-Atomic Era +8
Modifier total +21 Final cost level +25
Total 7d+0 lethal explosion Final cost 5,600,000 Credits

We throw in 200 shots of “plasma cartridges” for To this, we add 84 hexagons of gizmos (size of
the weapon, for another 8 hexagons of volume. +11), with a tech era modifier of +8 and a gizmo
The cost of the weapon will depend on how much modifier of +4, for a gizmo cost of +23, or 2,800,000
Accuracy the ship owner wants to buy. We’re just Credits for the hyperdrive, plasma cannon and
going to use basic vehicle cost rules for it. supplies, for a total ship cost of 8,400,000 Credits.

Supplies will take up 1 hexagon for 50 man- Modifier Levels

days of supplies. We put in 4 hexagons worth. Gizmo size +11
Post-Atomic Era +8
Armor is about the last major item. We do Gizmo modifier +4
something like this: Final cost level +23
Final cost 2,800,000 Credits
Post-Atomic Era base +21
400 hexagon vehicle -26 Note that this could have any number of
32 tons armor +15 tweaks for a gameworld, like limited production, the
Modifier total +10 aforementioned flying vehicle modifier and so on.
Total 3d+1
For combat purposes, this ship is a sitting duck.
And the ship has a damage limit of -1. So, the A .2g main drive isn’t going to outrun anyone, and it
ship looks something like this (items with a “*” will be can dodge enemy fire about as well as well, a
costed as gizmos for cost purposes): freighter. On the bright side, it does have a damage
limit of -1, so normal beam weapons aren’t likely to
Item Size Mass do anything. The ship also has a mass of 200 tons,
Structure - 40 ton which gives it 25 Hits.
Fusion engine 8 hexagon 4 ton
Hyperdrive* 64 hexagon 32 ton Operationally speaking, it can run the main
Main reactor 32 hexagon 16 ton engine for 52 days before refueling, the main
Quarters 216 hexagon 22 ton reactor is good for 208 days of use at full power,
Bridge 3 hexagon - and with a full load of 12 people (two per set of
Main sensor 8 hexagon 4 ton quarters), basic supplies are good for 17 days. It
Weapon & ammo* 16 hexagon 8 ton takes 16 hours to save up energy for a hyperspace
Supplies* 4 hexagon 2 ton transit, and the ship has a “hyperspace speed” of
Armor - 32 ton about 1 light-year per 8 days.
Total 351 hexagon 164 ton
The maintenance cost for this ship is standard
This leaves us 36 tons and 49 hexagons for (no touchy components), and comes out to a time
cargo of some kind, though to be honest, we level +41, and cost of +11 (16 days and 45KCr) for
probably want a backup reactor, a secondary each 1000 hours of operation (40 days). This seems
sensor, maybe some mass to carry a shuttlecraft, to be an indication that the ship could needs a
and so on, which may end up eating up our dedicated engineer, who does “maintenance” as
already meager cargo room. their normal job. It also means that this ship costs its
owners about a thousand credits a day to keep all
those expensive components in top condition.

3.67
 Steampunk Scout Walker - A small, Victorian v1.0
Era, steam-powered mecha. It will not be designed
like an oversized body armor. Rather, it will just use
Stuff!
the normal vehicle rules and make a few design
assumptions. We’ll say we have a total mass of 16 This leaves us 10 tons for armor. Given the size of
tons (Mass level of +31), and that all the tech is the vehicle, it looks something like this:
Industrial Era.
VEHICLES

Early Industrial Era +7

Power: We know this beast will need all the 10 tons armor +10
power it can get. We’ll design up a 2 ton steam Land vehicle +3
engine and see how good we can make it. 12 hexagon vehicle -11
Total +9(3d+0)
Early Industrial Era +22
4 hexagon power plant +12 This isn’t a lot of armor, but then again, the
Touchy x 1 +3 Victorian Era didn’t seem to be big on safety and
Warmup required +1 protecting its soldiers. However, we pull +4 from the
Fuel modifier +0 top, and +2 from the back and bottom, and
Modifier total +38 rearrange this as +2 to the front and +1 to each
Total 12d+2 side:

With this number in hand, and knowing the final Front armor 3d+2
vehicle mass, we can get the top speed: Right side 3d+1
Left side 3d+1
Power plant Strength +38 Top 1d+2
16 ton loaded vehicle mass -12 Bottom 2d+1
Extremely enhanced suspension(legs) -9 Rear 2d+1
Modifier total +17
Top speed 16m/turn(58kph/36mph) We’ll use the quick weapon design table on
page 3.9 to come up with our 4 hexagon weapon:
And acceleration:
Half power plant Strength +19 Early Industrial Era +22
16 ton loaded vehicle mass -12 4 hexagon weapon +6
Extremely enhanced suspension(legs) -9 360° turret weapon -9
Land vehicle penalty -9 Autofire -3
Modifier total -11 Total +16(5d+1)
Acceleration 1m/turn
So, we have a heavy machine gun, and we
So, it’s sort of like a locomotive. It can get up to can store the ammunition in some of the gizmo
a pretty good speed, but it takes a while to get space. Our walker has a cost for the vehicle of:
there.
Modifier Cost
Now we have to make some assumptions Vehicle size + mass +6
about vehicle size. Let’s say it has a crew of three, Early Industrial Era +3
for about 3 hexagons of seating. We’ll put in a Military vehicle +4
turreted weapon that takes up 4 hexagons, we Final cost level +13
have a 4 hexagon steam turbine, and we toss in 1 Final cost 90,000 Credits
hexagon of gizmos, for a total of 12 hexagons. This
will let us get the unarmored vehicle mass, so we And gizmos:
can figure out how much armor we can put on, Gizmo size +2
and how effective that armor will be. So, the mass Early Industrial Era +3
at the moment is: Gizmos +4
Final cost level +9
Vehicle structure 1.2 tons Gizmo cost 23,000 Credits
Power plant 2.0 tons
Weapon 2.0 tons For a total cost of 113,000 Credits. We end up
Crew .3 tons with a vehicle that’s about the size of an APC stood
Gizmos .5 tons on its end. It has 18 Hits, a damage limit of 5, and is
Subtotal 6.0 tons armed with a 5d+1 machinegun in a full 360° turret.

3.68
SUGGESTED ENGINE PARAMETERS
PRIMITIVE ERA POWERPLANTS
TYPE BASIC MODIFIERS BASIC OUTPUT(1 HEX) ADVANCED MODIFIERS ADV. OUTPUT(1 HEX)
Animal(all tech eras) none +6 none +61
Animal(leveraged) none +4 leveraged(+6) +101
Sails none +6 none +6
Windmill none +4 leveraged(+6) +10

BASIC ERA POWERPLANTS

TYPE BASIC MODIFIERS BASIC OUTPUT(1 HEX) ADVANCED MODIFIERS ADV. OUTPUT(1 HEX)
Animal(leveraged) none +6 leveraged(+6) +121
Sails none +6 none +6
Windmill none +6 leveraged(+6) +12

INDUSTRIAL ERA POWERPLANTS

TYPE BASIC MODIFIERS BASIC OUTPUT(1 HEX) ADVANCED MODIFIERS ADV. OUTPUT(1 HEX)
Animal(leveraged) none +8 leveraged(+6) +141
Steam engine(oil fueled) durable(-3) +21 warmup time(+1) +19
2x fuel efficiency(-3)
using coal as fuel fuel modifier(-1) +18
using wood as fuel fuel modifier(-2) +17

ATOMIC ERA POWERPLANTS

TYPE BASIC MODIFIERS BASIC OUTPUT(1 HEX) ADVANCED MODIFIERS ADV. OUTPUT(1 HEX)
Animal(leveraged) none +10 leveraged(+6) +161
Gasoline engine none +30 none +30
Diesel engine durable(-3) +27 none +27
Sports car engine touchy(+3) +33 none +33
Jet turbine touchy(+3) +33 warmup time(+1) +37
1/2x fuel efficiency(+3)
Rocket engine touchy(+3) +33 1/1000x fuel efficiency(+30) +60
not air-breathing(-3)
Ion engine durable(-3) +27 500x fuel efficiency(-27) -3
not air-breathing(-3)
Atomic reactor none +30 500x fuel efficiency(-27) +13
warmup time(+2)
not air-breathing(-3)
fuel modifier(+12)
Solar panels none +30 solar power(-24) +6
Electric motor none +30 1/4x fuel efficiency(+6) +34
not air-breathing(-3)
no on-board fuel(+1)

POST-ATOMIC ERA POWERPLANTS

TYPE BASIC MODIFIERS BASIC OUTPUT ADVANCED MODIFIERS ADVANCED OUTPUT
Animal(leveraged) none +12 leveraged(+6) +181
Fusion reactor none +36 warmup time(+1) +17
500x fuel efficiency(-27)
fuel modifier(+10)
not air-breathing(-3)

ADVANCED ERA POWERPLANTS

TYPE BASIC MODIFIERS BASIC OUTPUT ADVANCED MODIFIERS ADVANCED OUTPUT
Animal(leveraged) none +14 leveraged(+6) +201
Antimatter reactor none +42 warmup time(+1) +29
500x fuel efficiency(-27)
fuel modifier(+16)
not air-breathing(-3)

1Assumes maximum (sprinting) level of exertion. A “walking pace” would be a -8 penalty on output. See page 3.21 for details.

3.69
 SUGGESTED VEHICLE PARAMETERS
PRIMITIVE ERA VEHICLES
TYPE SPEED MODIFIERS DECEL. MODIFIER ARMOR MODIFIERS ARMOR MOD. + TECH ERA
Wagon enh. suspension(-3) +3 row land vehicle(+3) +6
Sailing ship water vehicle(-9) +1 row water vehicle(+6) +9

BASIC ERA VEHICLES

VEHICLES

TYPE SPEED MODIFIERS DECEL. MODIFIER ARMOR MODIFIERS ARMOR MOD. + TECH ERA
Wagon enh. suspension(-3) +3 row land vehicle(+3) +6
Sailing ship water vehicle(-9) +1 row water vehicle(+6) +9

INDUSTRIAL ERA VEHICLES

TYPE SPEED MODIFIERS DECEL. MODIFIER ARMOR MODIFIERS ARMOR MOD. + TECH ERA
4WD vehicle enh. suspension(-3) +3 row land vehicle(+3) +12
Normal automobile none(+0) +3 row land vehicle(+3) +12
Sports car lim. suspension(+3) +3 row land vehicle(+3) +12
Steam locomotive totally lim. suspension(+12) +3 row land vehicle(+3) +12
Steamship water vehicle(-9) +1 row water vehicle(+6) +15
Airplane flying vehicle(+3) -3 row none +9
Submarine(submerged) water vehicle(-6) +1 row water vehicle(+6) +15
Submarine(surfaced) water vehicle(-9) +1 row water vehicle(+6) +15
Tank very enh. suspension(-6) +3 row land vehicle(+3) +18
sloped armor(+6)

ATOMIC ERA VEHICLES

TYPE SPEED MODIFIERS DECEL. MODIFIER ARMOR MODIFIERS ARMOR MOD. + TECH ERA
Helicopter flying vehicle(+3) -3 row none +15
Jet airplane upper atmosphere(+9) -3 row none +15
Diesel locomotive totally lim. suspension(+12) +3 row land vehicle(+3) +18

POST-ATOMIC ERA VEHICLES

TYPE SPEED MODIFIERS DECEL. MODIFIER ARMOR MODIFIERS ARMOR MOD. + TECH ERA
Aircar -3 row none +21
Orbital shuttle upper atmosphere(+9) +0 row none +21
Combat walker extr. enh. suspension +3 row land vehicle(+3) +24

BODY ARMOR MATERIALS1

TYPE TECH ERA BASE/MAX2 MASS3 COST3 NOTES
Wood Early Primitive +3/+6 +0 -3 -1d vs. firearms
Leather Early Primitive +4/+7 -1 -1 -1d vs. firearms & blunt
Hardened leather Primitive +4/+7 +0 -2 -1d vs. firearms
Bronze plate Primitive +9/+12 +7 +2 -1d vs. firearms
Iron/leather scale Primitive +7/+10 +4 +2 -1d vs. firearms
Iron-faced wood Primitive +5/+8 +3 +1 -1d vs. firearms
Iron plate Late Primitive +10/+13 +7 +3 -1d vs. firearms
Iron mail Late Primitive +8/+11 +4 +3 -1d vs. firearms & blunt
Mild steel Early Basic +11/+14 +7 +5 -1d vs. firearms
Steel Industrial +14/+17 +7 +7
High-impact plastics Atomic +15/+18 +0 +5 -1d vs. firearms
Ballistic fabrics Atomic +13/+16 -1 +6 -1d vs. melee
Adv. steels Atomic +19/+22 +7 +7
Aluminum alloy Atomic +15/+18 +3 +6
Titanium alloy Atomic +16/+19 +3 +7
Cermets Late Atomic +17/+20 +3 +7
Adv. ballistic fabrics Late Atomic +15/+18 -1 +7 -1d vs. melee
Cermet shearmatrix Early Post-Atomic +18/+21 +0 +7

1All
of these assume the armor has +1 worth of padding, which is included in the listed stats. Apply -1 to cost and protection without it.
2Assumes a maximum 20mm torso thickness for armor, which can easily be prohibitively heavy to wear or carry.
3Remember that the body area covered will affect both mass and cost. See page 3.47 for details.

3.70
 EABA
DESIGN PAGE 2 - If you are viewing this page as
a pdf, it has forms that allow you to generate body
armor on the fly. However, if you are doing power
armor, you’ll have to do the machinery separately.

Helmet Body armor Boots

Era: Atomic Era Late Atomic Era Early Atomic Era
Covers: Skull & neck Whole torso Foot
Thickness: -6 -5 -4
Material: Lightweight Normal Very lightweight
Coverage: Normal coverage Normal coverage Two of this item
Mod #1: Ballistic Ballistic Flexible
Mod #2: Rigid Rigid Low grade
Mod #3: Padded Padded Normal
Mod #4: Normal Hardened Normal
Mass: Mass adjust. of +0 Mass adjust. of +0 Mass adjust. of +0
Cost: Cost adjust. of +0 Cost adjust. of +0 Cost adjust. of +0
Armor lev.: 9 14 5
Mass lev.: -12 -2 -12
Cost lev.: -3 4 -4

Autocalc off Reset form

Name Armor Covers Weight Cost Notes
Helmet 3d+0 5-6 0.8kg 250Cr Atomic Era
Body armor 4d+2 9-12 7.9kg 1260Cr Late Atomic Era
Boots 1d+2 17-18 0.8kg 198Cr Early Atomic Era

Material presets Armor glossary Covers

Level II BP Armet Head & neck (rigid)
Level III BP Visor Face (rigid)
Level IV BP Gorget Neck (rigid)
Level IV+ BP Pauldron Shoulder (rigid)
Flexible leather Spaulder Upper arm (rigid)
Hardened leather Vambrace Lower arm (rigid)
Reinforced leather Gauntlet Hand (rigid)
Mail armor Cuirass Chest, abdomen, sometimes hips (rigid)
Plate armor Hauberk Torso, sometimes upper legs (flexible)
'Elvish mail' Chausses Upper legs (rigid)
Future 1 Greaves Lower legs (rigid)
Future 2 Sabaton Feet (rigid)
3.71
 DESIGN PAGE 3 - If you are viewing this page as v1.0
a pdf, it has forms that allow you to do many
aspects of vehicle design right here on the page,
Stuff!
and then print off your finished specs. It will not Insert vehicle name here
cover all the advanced topics, but will give you the
basics to work from.

Insert vehicle name here

VEHICLES

Middle Atomic Era 10 d+ 0

Powerplant of 1 hexagon 0 d+ 0
Normal size 0 d+ 0
Normal durability 0 d+ 0

Advanced powerplant modifiers

Air-breathing(+0) 0 d+ 0
Normal environment(+0) 0 d+ 0
No warmup required(+0) 0 d+ 0

Fuel type modifiers Petroleum preset

Mod. toxic Shielded 0 d+ 0 WWII tank
Mod. toxic bypr. Reg. cont. 0 d+ 0 Steamship
No bonus 0 d+ 0 Aircar
Some refining No bypr. 0 d+ 0 Wagon

Other modifiers 4WD truck

Normal power Extr. exer. 0 d+ 0 Fighter jet

1x fuel efficiency 0 d+ 0 Front: 1 d+ 0 - + Available: 0d+ 0

Normal powerplant 0 d+ 0 Right: 1 d+ 0 - + Reset armor
Normal suspension 0 d+ 0 Left: 1 d+ 0 - + Reset speed
One terrain use 0 d+ 0 Top: 1 d+ 0 - + Reset form

Vehicle parameters Bottom: 1 d+ 0 - +

Vehicle mass of 1 ton 0 d+ 0 Rear: 1 d+ 0 - + Autocalc on

No mass adjustment 0 d+ 0 Dmg. lim./Hits: 7 / 10

+
Normal vehicle (ground) 0 d+ 0 Top spd: - 53 m/s Endurance: 5.00 hr
+
Usable vol. of 2 hexagons 2.0 Stall spd: - --- m/s Crew+pass: 1+0
+
No volume adjustment Accel: - 5 m/s Warmup time: 0.0 hr
Enter military carried in veh. 1 Decel: 7 m/s Cargo vol.: 0.00
+
No armor Maint.: 1,000.00 hr Cost: ( 0 ) - 24,000 Cr
No armor adjustment Size modifier: 0 Mass: 0.80 ton
Normal armor Notes:
No extra fuel carried Enter other vehicle info here...
Enter total weapon volume 0.0
Enter total gizmo volume 0.0

3.72
4.1
GADGETS
 “Concern for man himself and his fate

must always form the chief interest of all

Stuff!
technical endeavors, concern for the great Like other aspects of Stuff! design, gadgets start
with a base amount determined by tech era, and
unsolved problems of the organization of then you apply modifiers for the nature of the item.
GADGETS

In this case, you get a base size for the gadget

labor and the distribution of goods - in order based on the technology used, then you apply
modifiers based on what you want the gadget to
that the creations of our mind shall be a do. Some gadgets will end up with a minimum size
that is independent of tech era, depending on the
blessing and not a curse to mankind. Never nature of the item. For instance, if a gadget is
supposed to be handheld, then it has to be big
forget this in the midst of your diagrams enough that it doesn’t get lost in your pocket lint...

and equations.” Abilities that would make a gadget smaller are

positive numbers, while those that make a gadget
- Albert Einstein larger are negative numbers. The total modifier for
the abilities of the item is then compared to the
appropriate gadget size to get a result that comes
out to +0.

INTRODUCTION - What is a “gadget”? For most EXAMPLE: A gadget that has a total modifier of
of the time, it is something other than a gun or a +30 would be balanced by a size offset of -30 to
vehicle or critter that has some game use, and make the total +0. This gadget would be 1 millihex
which quite often is small enough to carry around in size.
with you. Most gadgets with particular game
effects, (especially those used in combat!) can be Each 3 points in modifiers alters the final size of
covered by the Weapon or Vehicle design rules. the gadget by a factor of 3. The final cost of the
You can duplicate some of the effects in those gadget is based on the size, tech era and a few
chapters with the rules in this one, but you will not other modifiers. The table that follows lists the basic
get the same exact results. The chapters specific to modifiers and row shifts. When we’re done this, we’ll
a class of item will do a better job of it, just like this move on to the advanced design modifiers.
chapter will do a better job of creating mundane
gadgets than the gadget notes in the paranormal Overall notes - Mechanical items generally
powers chapter of the main EABA rules. can’t be built at a tech era more than two eras past
where they were introduced. By “built”, we mean
The subset of rules that follows is not meant to the design parameters. Advanced Era societies
supplant the paranormal power section of EABA, might still use scissors, but the principle of a pair of
but instead is a useful tool to just toss “ordinary” scissors can be improved only so far. Yes, they
items together, not just for EABA, but for any game might have molecular-edge diamond blades, but
system. It allows a gamemaster in a campaign they’re still scissors, and the basic concept can only
without paranormal powers to have a quick and be improved by so much. Most simple mechanical
dirty way to make things up, not based on “power tools date to the Primitive Era, or Basic Era at the
effects”, but on technology. And besides, with a latest. This means that the size of such an item will
title like Stuff!, we have to include a section for never be less than if it were built at the Industrial Era
generic gadgets. And, as for the other sections, you for Primitive Era concepts, or Atomic Era for Basic
aren’t supposed to use this for mundane stuff that Era concepts. However, while there may be a
you can guesstimate from what you see at the minimum size, you can often use the actual era the
local hardware store. While you can make up a gadget was built at to determine its weight. A pair
cordless power drill or toaster with these rules, is it of Advanced Era scissors might be the same size as
really a worthwhile use of your time to do so, and an Industrial Era pair, but could weigh far less and
will having designed stats for the item make an still be equally useful...
adventure so much better that it’s worth the effort
you put into it? Only design what you need to
design...

4.2
 Technological Era Gadget effect
EABA Primitive
Basic
+12 effect
+18 effect
Industrial +24 effect
HOW DOES IT WORK? - Pretty easy, actually. You Atomic +30 effect
start with the row for the tech era of the gadget, Post-Atomic +36 effect
and then you simply apply row shifts based on what Advanced +42 effect
the gadget does until you get a final result. This will Early part of an Era -2 penalty
give you the size of the gadget in hexagons or Middle part of an Era no adjustment
millihexes, and from that, its weight. With things like Late part of an Era +2 bonus
weapons, making it bigger makes it inherently more Early technology -2 penalty
powerful. With gadgets, you take the total modifier Normal technology +0 bonus
from what it does and find the smallest possible box Mature technology +2 bonus
it will fit in (compare it to the modifiers for its size
until gadget and box cancel each other out). Gadget size Offset
Gadget of .002 millihex(1g) -57 penalty
EXAMPLE: If we wanted a Late Atomic Era Gadget of .004 millihex(2g) -54 penalty
gadget that could record and play about a CD’s Gadget of .008 millihex(4g) -51 penalty
worth of information (in this case an information Gadget of .015 millihex(8g) -48 penalty
level of +52), we might do it like this. Add up all the Gadget of .03 millihex(16g) -45 penalty
modifiers appropriate to the gadget: Gadget of .06 millihex(32g) -42 penalty
Gadget of .12 millihex(64g) -39 penalty
Modifier Amount Gadget of .25 millihex(125g) -36 penalty
Atomic Era gadget +30 bonus Gadget of .5 millihex(250g) -33 penalty
Late part of an Era +2 bonus Gadget of 1 millihex(500g) -30 penalty
Mature technology +2 bonus Gadget of 2 millihex(1kg) -27 penalty
+20 information stored -5 penalty Gadget of 4 millihex(2kg) -24 penalty
Removable storage system -1 penalty Gadget of 8 millihex(4kg) -21 penalty
Limited input/output device +2 bonus Gadget of 16 millihex(8kg) -18 penalty
Total(gadget size of 1 millihex) +30 bonus Gadget of 32 millihex(16kg) -15 penalty
Gadget of 64 millihex(32kg) -12 penalty
This is not where we explain how each modifier Gadget of 125 millihex(62kg) -9 penalty
works, but you can see what each modifier does. Gadget of 250 millihex(125kg) -6 penalty
The goal is to have a gadget with a total modifier Gadget of 500 millihex(250kg) -3 penalty
of +0, the last modifier being the one for the size of Gadget of 1 hexagon(500kg) +0 bonus
the gadget. In this case, these modifiers give us a Gadget of 2 hexagons(1 ton) +3 bonus
gadget of 1 millihex (about .5 kilograms), which can Gadget of 4 hexagons(2 tons) +6 bonus
store an information level of +52 on removable bits Gadget of 8 hexagons(4 tons) +9 bonus
of some kind (like a CD). The gadget has no power Each doubling of space +3 bonus
supply and limited input/ output capability, so it Each 25% extra space (max +50%) +1 bonus
would be a component that is added to some Each 25% less space (max -25%) -1 penalty
other sort of gadget. In this case, you can think of it
as a computer’s CD-RW drive. If you said it could Note! - One thing that is vitally important to
only play back information, gave it an output remember when dealing with modern gadgets in
device, increased the information capacity by +6, the real world is the absolutely frenetic pace of
and added a power supply (battery), then you technological advancement in the past few
would have a portable DVD player. decades, years and even months. Over the course
of even part of the Atomic Era, some technologies
Note! - The Size of an object is normally used as will arise, peak, and then fade away. The invention,
a targeting modifier on the EABA Universal Chart, rise, peak and decline of magnetic tape as a
but it can also be the physical volume of an object. storage medium is entirely within the middle portion
Because of how volume changes with dimension, of the Atomic Era. Or consider that flash memory
Size for targeting and Size for volume will not be the MP3 players went from 32 megabytes of storage to
same (a cube with each side twice as long has four 4 gigabytes (a factor of x125) in the course of only
times the area on each face, but eight times the seven years (meaning that both would be identical
volume). A person is about 2 meters tall, for a in terms of tech era!). So, trying to use these rules to
targeting Size of +0. However, a person has a Size of mimic the course of our actual technological
about -7 for gadget design purposes involving a progress on a decade-by-decade basis is doomed
person-sized volume. to failure.

4.3
 Attributes/skills Amount
Has an Attribute or skill
each +1 in Strength
+0 bonus
-1 penalty
Stuff!
each -2 in Strength +1 bonus
each +1 in Agility -2 penalty Mitigation Amount
each +1 in Will -2 penalty Mitigation penalty -(era/2) penalty
each +1 in Health -2 penalty Area protected -(size/2) penalty
GADGETS

each +1 in Fate -2 penalty Wind and/or rain protection -1 penalty

each +1 in Awareness -2 penalty Waterproof -1 penalty
each +1 in AI Awareness -4 penalty +10° of insulation -1 penalty
limited use of Attribute +3 bonus each doubling of insulation -1 penalty
each +1 in a skill -1 penalty ±10° temperature compensation -2 penalty
each skill after the first -1 penalty heating only +2 bonus
programmable skills -1 penalty cooling only +1 bonus
Each -2 penalty offset -1 penalty each doubling of compens. -1 penalty
Facilitator -2 penalty Sealed environment -1 penalty
size of object -(Size/2) penalty .5 atm pressure difference -1 penalty
Affects an Attribute or skill -18 penalty 1 atm pressure difference -2 penalty
size of affected item -(Size/2) penalty each 25% incr. in pressure -1 penalty
only boosts Attribute/skill +3 bonus each doubling of pressure -3 penalty
only penalizes Attribute/skill +12 bonus Life support -3 penalty
each +1 in Strength -2 penalty +time levels support -special
each +1 in Health -2 penalty
each +1 in Agility -4 penalty Other modifiers Amount
each +1 in Awareness(full) -4 penalty Extra +1 Armor -1 penalty
each +1 in Awar.(cognitive) -3 penalty doubling of extra Armor -1 penalty
each +1 in Awar.(sensory) -2 penalty Usage time level of 4 +1 bonus
each +1 in Will -3 penalty each +4 time levels +1 bonus
each +1 in Fate -4 penalty Requires gestures +1 bonus
limited use of Attribute +3 bonus Requires concentration +1 bonus
each +1 in a skill -2 penalty Transferable user +0 bonus
each -1 in a skill or attribute -1 penalty Non-transferable user +2 bonus
Implanted user +4 bonus
Information Modifier Reliable gadget +0 bonus
Information base effect +(era/2) bonus Unreliable gadget +1 bonus
Each +1 information stored -1 penalty Very unreliable gadget +2 bonus
Each +4 time differential -1 penalty Hazardous gadget +1 bonus
Records/plays info.(active) -14 penalty Larger than life -special
Records/plays info.(passive) -7 penalty Targeting limit +1 bonus
Can only record information +2 bonus Fudge factor ±special
Can display information +4 bonus
No input (or no output) +3 bonus
No input and no output +4 bonus
Limited input/output(each) +2 bonus
Removable storage system -1 penalty
Recording medium only +(era/6) bonus
Instantaneous recording type +15 bonus

Communication Modifier
Communication bonus +special
Each +1 range level -special
Signal arc -special
Output device -special
Extraordinary range -special
Special cases +special

4.4
 About the tables - Each boldfaced heading is a
EABA class of effect, like “Mitigation”, or “Information”. All
modifiers under that heading add together and are
considered a single gadget. Gadgets that do
About the numbers - Each 3 points of modifiers things from multiple categories are considered to
doubles or halves the size of the gadget. This means be separate gadgets that add together after they
that gadget capability and size can change a lot are complete. Indented modifiers are conditional,
over the course of a tech era or with a few key and require that you have a non-indented modifier
modifiers. The difference between an old vinyl LP to use them.
record and an MP3 player that holds ten thousand
songs is one tech era. The difference between a EXAMPLE: You can see “each +1 in Strength” is
computer that fills a warehouse and one that fills a subcase of “has an Attribute or skill”. A gadget
your pocket is one tech era. that had a Strength of 3 and an Agility of 3 would
have a modifier of -9 for those two Attributes.
The biggest factors that will influence the size of
a given capability are tech era and whether or not EXAMPLE: A gadget that has an inherent
it is a mature use of an existing technology. For Awareness, affects the Agility of the user and offsets
instance, one tech era plus using the “mature tech” a Health penalty is a collection of modifiers that all
modifier will by itself make a new gadget six times fall under the “Attributes/skills” heading, so this
smaller than its predecessor. In addition, some of would count as a single gadget.
the modifiers multiply with tech era. For instance,
information content goes up by a factor of x500 per However, italicized indented modifiers are
tech era. Compare a Gutenberg Bible (Late Basic required if you use the non-indented modifier
Era) to a full set of encyclopedias on a single CD above it.
(Atomic Era).
EXAMPLE: If a gadget is a “facilitator”, then you
One thing this compressed scale means is that must have a modifier for the biggest object the
if you really try, you can come up with gadgets that gadget can be used on.
are far more capable than they should be at a
particular tech era. This is where both market The “use modifiers” and “general modifiers”
forces, practicality and gamemaster fiat come into can be applied to most gadgets and these count
play. Maybe you can design an Industrial Era as part that particular gadget function.
portable media player, but every time you take a
step the needle scratches the itsy-bitsy phonograph EXAMPLE: If you have an information gadget
records it uses. Or maybe you can make an auto- and communication gadget as a single item, and
chef to prepare your food, but it costs more than a the information gadget had preparation time and
year’s wages for a real chef, or a clockwork chess the communication gadget required gestures, then
player that costs a fortune and still doesn’t play these modifiers would apply only to the appropriate
very well. Or maybe the gamemaster says that you function for determining the size of each sub-
are simply limited to a certain maximum level of gadget.
effect because of technological limits. Or, maybe
the gadget uses too many batteries to be easily If a gadget has more than one “effect”, there
portable. are guidelines on page 4.35 to figure out how big
the combined gadgets are as a single larger and
more expensive gadget. A lot of the time, it will
simply be an increased cost rather than noticeably
increased size (a car with a DVD player is not
bigger than a car without one, but it might be more
expensive). The “general modifiers” category is not
a separate gadget, and these modifiers apply to
one or more of the component gadgets.

EXAMPLE: You might have a computer gadget

with a warmup time and a replaceable battery,
combined with a mitigation gadget to make it
waterproof and more durable, but the mitigation
part does not have a warmup time nor require a
battery.

4.5
 Tech Era - This is the general tech era of the
gadget, using a scale you should be familiar with
by now. There are a few special things to consider
Stuff!
about tech era when building gadgets. First, there is
the previously mentioned note about exactly how ATTRIBUTES/SKILLS - A gadget with this modifier
advanced a gadget can get. A pair of scissors is a set either has Attributes or skills that the gadget can
pair of scissors, there’s only so much you can do to use independently or under someone’s direction,
GADGETS

improve on the concept. has the ability to boost or penalize an Attribute or

skill on whatever it is in, on or attached to, or alters
Second, more than other items of technology, or modifies skill use in some other way.
gadgets can be specific to one particular field of
scientific development, and can be ahead or Attributes/skills Amount
behind the curve of overall technological progress. Has an Attribute or skill +0 bonus
Computers might be ahead of personal transport each +1 in Strength -1 penalty
technology, or cybernetics might be behind other each -2 in Strength +1 bonus
forms of medical implants. As a gamemaster, you each +1 in Agility -2 penalty
need to look at where a given field lies compared each +1 in Will -2 penalty
to the rest of the gameworld. each +1 in Health -2 penalty
each +1 in Fate -2 penalty
Third, this section has the modifiers of “early”, each +1 in Awareness -2 penalty
“normal” and “mature” technologies. “Early” is each +1 in AI Awareness -4 penalty
when a technology is commercially available and limited use of Attribute +3 bonus
mostly bug-free, but expensive and maybe a bit each +1 in a skill -1 penalty
bulkier than it could be. This is for “early adopters”. each skill after the first -1 penalty
A “normal” technology is when the gadget programmable skills -1 penalty
becomes common enough to have a lot of market Each -2 penalty offset -1 penalty
penetration, or have its core technology spun off Facilitator -2 penalty
into other gadgets. And a “mature” technology is size of object -(Size/2) penalty
one where it is universally available, often quite Affects an Attribute or skill -18 penalty
cheap, and frequently the subject of low-quality size of affected item -(Size/2) penalty
knockoffs. You can take an intermediate value of only boosts Attribute/skill +3 bonus
+1 or -1 to give a full spread of -2 to +2 from “early” only penalizes Attribute/skill +12 bonus
to “mature” use of a technology. each +1 in Strength -2 penalty
each +1 in Health -2 penalty
EXAMPLE: A home DVD recorder would be a each +1 in Agility -4 penalty
good example. At an “early” level it was a fairly each +1 in Awareness(full) -4 penalty
expensive(>1,000Cr) set-top box. At a “normal” each +1 in Awar.(cognitive) -3 penalty
level, it had some added features, or was a little each +1 in Awar.(sensory) -2 penalty
smaller and is a bit cheaper. Now it is getting close each +1 in Will -3 penalty
to a “mature” technology, and you can get a each +1 in Fate -4 penalty
variety of cheap (<200Cr), small models at limited use of Attribute +3 bonus
department stores. each +1 in a skill -2 penalty
each -1 in a skill or attribute -1 penalty
In addition to affecting the size of a gadget,
the early, middle and mature modifiers may affect EXAMPLE: A “triscanner” might boost the user’s
the final cost of the gadget. Early models are going science skills, a factory robot might have Strength,
to be more expensive than normal, and not just Agility and an Agility skill or two, and a personal
because of their increased size, while mature computer might have a limited Awareness and
technologies have so many manufacturers that programmable Awareness-based skills. A pair of leg
competition has driven prices lower than you would irons will be a gadget that penalizes Agility and
expect for just their size. Health (for movement purposes), while a set of
wrenches and screwdrivers are part of a “gadget”
that facilitates your use of an automotive repair skill.

Note! - The “limited use of Attribute” is assumed

to be under each Attribute heading such as “each
+1 in Strength”. That is, you can’t have a “limited
use of an Attribute” modifier unless you are also
using a modifier involving that Attribute.

4.6
 If a gadget only has partial use of an Attribute,
EABA you can only choose one aspect of how that
Attribute can be used. For instance, something with
partial use of Awareness could either detect things
So, the gadget has one or more Attributes or make decisions, but not both (aside from a
normally associated with an adventurer. The simple yes/no based on whether it detected
gadget can also have a particular skill bonus up to something). If a gadget has Agility for purposes of
the limits of the Attribute (like for an adventurer), or using one skill, then limit the Agility to “usable only
an ability to offset a specific penalty associated with that skill”. There are also modifiers in the
with a skill or Attribute use. This is a very broad and “General modifiers” section that can be used to
useful category that covers everything from further limit this type of gadget.
handcuffs to binoculars to lockpicks. Or, even a set
of handcuff-binoculars with built-in lockpicks... If a gadget has multiple Attribute or skill effects
with some limited and others not, you apply the
You basically decide which Attribute(s) are “limited use” modifier on each Attribute that is
going to be used in the gadget, how they are limited in some way. You may not have “limited
going to be used and add levels for each. Each use” on an Attribute at a level which makes the
Attribute will affect the size of the gadget differently, gadget smaller.
as will the way that Attribute is used. We’ll get into
the minutia in a minute. EXAMPLE: A 0d+1 in Will with a “limited use”
modifier is a total of a +1 bonus, making the gadget
If a gadget does not have an Attribute, it can smaller. This is not a legal design strategy for a
only successfully do tasks that do not require any gadget.
roll on that Attribute. If a gadget with an inherent
Attribute allows transparent use of another Attribute The exception to this is Strength. Small gadgets
through the gadget at no bonus or penalty, you can have negative Strengths, and have that
have to take the “facilitator” modifier for each Strength be limited in some way, provided that
Attribute used (described in detail in a few pages). Strength is somehow reasonable for that gadget.
This is a -1 penalty that just reflects some extra
sophistication in the device. Each of an adventurer’s Attributes will function
differently in gadget form:
By transparent use of an Attribute, it means that
a person can use one of their own Attributes in Strength: The gadget has some sort of inherent
conjunction with a different Attribute inherent to Strength that can be used to lift objects or provide
the gadget. For instance, using your Agility in a counter-force to offset something else with
combination with the gadget’s inherent Strength. A Strength or mass. This gives results about the same
simple test is that if you can use a skill or other as a normal vehicle power plant when other
Attribute in combination with the gadget’s inherent modifiers are taken into account. This is the only
Attribute, then the gadget is a facilitator. Attribute that can be bought at negative levels, for
very small lifting capacities. In this case, you get a
EXAMPLE: A car jack has Strength (it lifts stuff), bonus instead of a penalty, but only half value,
but it is a very limited sort of Strength, and the user rounding towards zero (e.g. a Strength of -9 would
of the gadget has no way to use their own Agility in be a +4 modifier). You cannot take a negative
concert with the jack. A hoist might give the ability Strength in a gadget unless it is reasonable for the
to lift stuff and maybe move it around a little,which gadget to have a way to use it. That is, you cannot
would be a use of the “facilitator” modifier, but the use a negative Strength simply as a dodge to make
user’s Agility would be penalized like they were the gadget smaller.
lifting the object themselves. That is, as you reach
the limits of the hoist’s Strength, the user’s effective A limited use of Strength would be a gadget
Agility or skill with the hoist is going to be reduced that can only support weight, or lift or push it in a
by the “encumbrance” penalty. A robot hoist with fairly constrained way. For gadgets, most uses of
a powered swing arm might have its own Agility, Strength will be limited.
which would also be penalized based on the
Strength of the hoist. Each of these improvements EXAMPLE: Both a forklift and a car jack are
(jack to hoist to powered swing arm) adds modifiers limited uses of Strength. The forklift will also be a
that make the gadget bigger and more expensive. facilitator, since the forklift operator can use skill or
Agility to precisely lift or position objects with the
forklift.

4.7
 For Strength added to something, this is some
sort of force multiplier which is either just a time
multiplier (like a hydraulic jack) or something like an
Stuff!
exoskeleton. If the added Strength is limited, it
could be for a specific, overall purpose like lifting EXAMPLE: An Advanced Era handheld med-
capacity, or for a limited aspect of whatever it is scanner might have an Awareness of 1d+1, a skill
amplifying, like only for arms or legs. roll in a particular science of +1d, and a -2 offset to
GADGETS

counter range penalties when using the skill. This

Agility: The gadget has some sort of inherent might look like:
Agility that can be used to apply any Strength it
has, or used as the basis for Agility rolls or Agility- Modifier Amount
based skills. Most of the time, Agility is going to Advanced Era gadget +42 bonus
require some degree of Strength, even if it is a +4 Awareness -8 penalty
negative level of it. Note that robots and robotic Limited use of an Attribute +3 bonus
vehicles are covered in more detail in the Vehicles +3 in a skill -3 penalty
chapter. A limited use of Agility might be restricted Offsets 2 points of range -1 penalty
to a specific task or skill use, or reflect a limit in the Total(gadget size of .5 millihex) +33 bonus
gadget as to how it can express its Agility. For
instance, a robot arm with a drill on the end can’t This is a size of about .5 millihex, or about 250
pick up anything except may drill bits. grams (about the size of a cell phone and a bit
denser). The same gadget at the Atomic Era would
EXAMPLE: A robotic surgical arm will probably have a final size level of -21, or 8 millihexes (4
have full use of Agility, while an assembly line kilograms). This gadget would likely take further
robotic arm would likely be a limited use. modifiers to note the fact that it consumes energy,
whether it requires a user or can operate on its own,
If the Agility adds to something else, this is etc.
almost certainly some sort of high-tech gizmo that
works in concert with the user’s nervous system. A Gadgets with Awareness do not have artificial
cybernetic nervous system that gives the user intelligence. If you wanted to do this, you would
lightspeed reflexes would be an example. Gadgets have a -4 modifier per +1 Awareness and -1 per +1
that add to Agility would be very uncommon. in an Awareness skill, with a minimum Awareness of
Gadgets that offset penalties associated with a +3 (1d+0) and at least a +3 in a skill roll in some
particular Agility skill would be more likely (like a common language so it could communicate. It is
gyrostablized targeting system for a weapon). probably not going to be technologically possible
until the Post-Atomic Era.
Awareness: The gadget has some sort of
autonomous decision-making capability, sensory EXAMPLE: A Post-Atomic Era starship AI might
ability or both. A timer is an Awareness of 0d+1, a have an Awareness of 2d+2 and four skills at +2d
simple conditional response is an Awareness of (language and 3 other skills). This would be:
0d+2, and anything more than that may require an
Awareness roll. A limited use of Awareness means Modifier Amount
the gadget may be limited to detecting things, or Post-Atomic Era gadget +36 bonus
making decisions or performing calculations. +8 AI Awareness -32 penalty
+6 in a skill -6 penalty
3 extra skills -3 penalty
Total(gadget size of 3 hexagons) +5 bonus

Less any other modifiers (power consumption,

etc.), this gadget will have a size offset of +5,
making it about 3 hexagons in size, with a mass of
1,500 kilograms. The same gadget in an Advanced
Era ship would only be 375 kilograms.

Note - If you want a gameworld to have more

portable AI’s (like humanoid robots), you can put in
a fixed modifier to get “brain” size down to a level
you deem reasonable for your game’s tech era.

4.8
 EXAMPLE: As a contrived use of several
EABA modifiers in this category, we want to make an
automatic pancake flipper. This requires a Strength
of -6 to be able to flip up to .5 kilogram pancakes
If a gadget enhances the user’s Awareness, it with no encumbrance penalty (a Strength of -6 has
enhances all of it for a -4 penalty per +1. Enhancing a full lift of 3 kilograms). We also give the flipper a
just cognitive ability is a -3 penalty per +1and +5 Agility and a +5 skill in “pancake flipping” (total
enhancing just the senses is a -2 penalty per +1. A skill roll of 3d+1), and an Awareness of 0d+2 to
limited use of enhanced Awareness would be decide when pancakes need to be flipped and
something like cognitive ability for a class of skills, or removed from the griddle. All of these Attributes are
enhanced Awareness for one particular sense. limited, and cannot be used for other purposes.
Again, note that it is not too far-fetched to think of
a gadget that can enhance a sense (like a hearing Modifier Amount
aid), or perhaps enhance cognitive ability, but a Atomic Era gadget +30 bonus
gadget that does both would certainly be higher- Strength of -6 +3 bonus
tech than we are at right now. Limited use of an Attribute +3 bonus
Agility of +5 -10 penalty
Will: Uncommon for an inherent Attribute in a Limited use of an Attribute +3 bonus
gadget, but might be applicable for an artificial Awareness of +2 -4 penalty
intelligence or gadget that enhances or limits the Limited use of an Attribute +3 bonus
user’s Will. A limited use of Will would be something Pancake flipping skill of +5 -5 penalty
that only affects one possible use of Will. Total(gadget size of 5 millihex) +23 bonus

EXAMPLE: You could make a “behavior control” This gives us a gadget with a size of 5 millihexes
gadget that had inherent Will for the purpose of and a weight of 2.5 kilograms. This ignores any
helping the user overcome a psych problem, or in a power supply or other general modifiers on this sort
more sinister vein, control someone into doing of gadget. We can imagine it as a robotic arm with
things they would rather not. a spatula sitting next to the stove. If we wanted to
make it a Post-Atomic Era gadget, we would just
A gadget that enhances Will would be some give it +36 for its tech era, resulting in a gadget of
sort of thing that gives you increased willpower, 1.25 millihex, or we could say that since this is mostly
courage, determination, etc. This is uncommon for a mechanical device, and possible at say the Basic
a gadget. Era, then it can’t get any smaller than an Atomic Era
device. In this case, we would just increase its
Health: Uncommon for an inherent Attribute in Attributes and skills to make it more capable and
a gadget, because an Attribute in a gadget is the same size.
normally for the gadget. Few gadgets need Health,
since they run on batteries or discrete charges if it On the other hand, if we wanted it as an
needs power. But, it might apply for gadgets that Industrial Era gadget, we would give it +24 for its
enhance or limit the user’s Health. A limited use of tech era modifier, which would result in a gadget
Health might be something that can only affect with a final size of 20 millihexes, or 10 kilograms. A lot
endurance, movement or recuperative ability. bigger and clunkier, but still concievably electric
powered. The most primitive version of the gadget
EXAMPLE: A gadget that has a limited use of (Basic Era) would only have a +18 tech era modifier
added Health might be something like exoskeleton and would be a gadget of 80 millihexes, or 40
legs that increase the user’s running speed. A kilograms. Almost the size of a person, it would be a
walking machine might have a limited use of clockwork contraption of wood and wrought iron.
inherent Health for movement purposes. A walking
machine that you sit in and control with your own
Agility would also have the facilitator modifier . An
autodoc might be a gadget that enhances the
user’s Health for recovering from injury.

Fate: Normally not allowed in a tech gadget

(how do you use technology to enhance luck or
magical power?). If your gameworld is such that
this is possible, then you have to choose modifiers
that give gadget sizes that seem reasonable for the
effect generated.

4.9
 Skills: If a gadget has skills, it is usually a single v1.0
skill or a set of related skills appropriate to the
function of the gadget. An autodoc would have
Stuff!
medical skills, or a sophisticated calculator might
have built-in calculus or geometry routines. Skills in a Penalty offset: This does not give a gadget an
gadget add to the appropriate Attribute in the Attribute or skill roll, but simply offsets a penalty on a
gadget to get a total skill roll, just like skills work for particular type of roll, which may be a roll the
GADGETS

adventurers. These skill levels only apply to the gadget makes, or a roll the user of the gadget
Attributes of the gadget. The user of the gadget makes. A gadget can offset more than one penalty
does not get the bonus, they get a gadget that simultaneously. A set of binoculars offsets range
can work indepdently or utilize a skill that the user penalties. A set of night vision binoculars offsets
does not possess. If the skills are inherent to the range penalties and darkness penalties. Devices
device, neither the skills nor the level can be that assist cognitive Awareness might offset time
changed. The form of the device follows from its penalties, letting you do what you normally know
skills, like in the pancake-flipping bot from a how to do, just a bit faster.
previous example.
Offsetting penalties is akin to Accuracy for a
However, if a gadget has programmable skills, weapon, and is handled the same way. The chart
it means that the total skill levels it has can be below lists the maximum possible benefit at a given
altered, or modules pulled out and replaced with tech era, which is simply double the Accuracy limit
different but usually related skill sets or computer for a mounted weapon (see page 2.22). If you
programs or whatever. As individual items, these make a gadget that affects weapon Accuracy or
“skill packages” will have a separate cost, and combat penalties, the maximum offset allowed is
each one will probably have a size of the final half the amount listed below.
gadget modifier with an additional -9 (one-eighth
the size of the gadget). The actual information Tech Era Maximum offset
content of the skill package may have negligible Early Primitive -6
size compared to the gadget, so this is a guideline Primitive -8
rather than a rule. A gadget with programmable Late Primitive -10
skills is larger than one without because in most Early Basic -12
cases the gadget will require larger, less specialized Basic -14
hardware to utilize these varying skills. Late Basic -16
Early Industrial -20
EXAMPLE: A computer would be a gadget with Industrial -22
a limited Awareness (problem solving), with the Late Industrial -26
Awareness representing the sophistication and Early Atomic -30
speed of the computer. It’s ability to hold several Atomic -36
programmable skill levels represents the computer’s Late Atomic -42
storage capability. Early Post-Atomic -50
Post-Atomic -58
A gadget with several inherent skills can use Late Post-Atomic -68
them together or in combination. If multiple skills use Early Advanced -80
the same Attribute, you take a -1d to each skill roll Advanced -94
for each extra skill if skills are used simultaeously (this Late Advanced -110
is like multiple major actions for adventurers). A
gadget that has programmable skills can use one This lets you have ludicrously powerful penalty
at a time, or can use several, so long as any penalty offsets at high tech eras, at the cost of making the
for multiple skill use is taken. gadget ludicrously large.

EXAMPLE: A computer that is running several EXAMPLE: An Advanced Era society wants to
programs at once will run each of them slower than make a telescope that offsets 94 points of range
if were running only one. For instance, if it has a an penalties. Not even counting specific arc bonuses, it
Awareness of +4, a skill bonus of +4 and two would be able to see objects about 1 light-day in
programmable skills, it has a a skill roll of 2d+2 for every direction like they were at arm’s length. With
one skill, or can roll 1d+2 for both skills if they are a very narrow arc bonus, it would be able to see
used at the same time (-1d penalty on each for one similarly well out to 10 light-years. Of course, this
extra skill used). The reduced chance of success gadget would also be something like many million
could be offset by adjusting the difficulty for taking hexagons in size (several kilometers on a side), and
more time. we’ll not even begin to speculate on the cost...

4.10
 If the facilitator modifier is applied once (-2
EABA penalty), you can do basic tasks related to the skill
or apply another Attribute through the gadget at
no penalty. If the modifier is applied three times(-6),
Facilitator - We mentioned facilitators before. you can do advanced tasks related to the skill, and
These have two uses. The first is to allow transparent if it is applied six times(-12) you should be able to do
use of one of your Attributes in combination with an just about anything related to that skill. This would
Attribute inherent to the gadget. A telepresence be the difference between a set of tools for routine
robotic surgical arm would be an example. The maintenance and a set of tools that lets you tear an
other use is to be a gadget that allows you to use a engine apart and put it back together. In these
skill you would otherwise not be able to. In other cases, the modifier represents a set of gadgets
words, a tool or toolkit. It’s hard to pick locks without rather than a single gadget that does it all, a tool
lockpicks. box full of different tools rather than one very big
and complex tool...
For a facilitator, the Size of the largest object
the gadget can be used on affects the size of the A facilitator gadget can offset penalties if it has
gadget. This modifier is a penalty of half the Size of that modifier, but it cannot increase skills unless it
the object worked on, rounding nearest (a Size of 7 also has the “affects an Attribute or skill” modifier.
rounds to -4, and a Size of -7 rounds to +4). Gamemasters should keep in mind the subtle
difference between a penalty and an increase in
EXAMPLE: A set of tools is a facilitator for an difficulty. For instance, take two otherwise equal
auto repair skill. A set of tools to work on a bulldozer car engines, where one is nasty and dirty and in a
is larger than a set of tools to work on a motorcycle. cramped engine compartment. The engines are
equally difficult to work on in terms of mechanical
If you have to use a facilitator that isn’t big complexity, but one would have penalties that
enough for the job, you take a penalty on skill rolls of could be offset by more or better tools. On the
double the Size difference. other hand, a simple engine and a complex engine
have different inherent difficulties, and there are no
EXAMPLE: If you have to work on a Size 4 vehicle penalties that can be offset simply by having more
and all you have are tools for a Size 0 vehicle, your tools. If you have enough tools for the complex
skill roll will be at +8 difficulty. So, you better hope it engine, you have a bunch of tools that you simply
was an easy task to begin with... won’t be needing for the simple one.

A gadget does not have to have or affect an EXAMPLE: We want to make an Atomic Era set
Attribute in order to be a facilitator. It can simply be of lockpicks, suitable for locks up to a few kilograms
a gadget with a tech era and a facilitator modifier, in size (a lock Size level of -18).
along with an adjustment for the maximum size of
whatever you can use the gadget on. A gadget of Modifier Amount
this type will only be a facilitator for a single skill. This Atomic Era gadget +30 bonus
is the way you would design up a gadget that is a Facilitator -2 penalty
tool which a skill requires in order to be useful. Maximum lock Size level of -18 +9 bonus
Total(gadget size of .2 millihex) +37 bonus
A facilitator might be one item, or it could be a
set of items. The specific function of each of these This gives us a final size of about .2 millihexes, or
items might apply to more than one skill, but the about 100 grams (.1kg), and represents a set of
overall focus of the gadget is usually for one skill or different lockpicking tools and probably a small
closely related set of skills. Every tool-using profession case to store them in.
has its own unique items.

Note - Sometimes what you might think of as a

facilitator is really just an Attribute boost. A tire iron
could be a facilitator for a specific sort of repair, but
if you were strong enough, you could loosen lug
nuts with your bare hands. So, a tire iron is really just
a boost to Strength with a few other modifiers thrown
in. However, you should not be wasting a single
second of your finite lifetime using this system to
design a tire iron...

4.11
 EXAMPLE: We want to make an Industrial Era set v1.0
of tools, suitable for basic maintenance on cars
and trucks up to several tons in weight.
Stuff!
Modifier Amount EXAMPLE: Automobiles are an Industrial Era
Industrial Era gadget +24 bonus (maybe Late Industrial Era) technology. So, tools to
Facilitator -2 penalty work on automobiles are also Industrial Era tech.
GADGETS

Maximum vehicle Size of +4 -2 penalty However, if you buy tools that can work on Atomic
Total(gadget size of 10 millihex) +20 bonus Era automobiles, they will cost like an Atomic Era
gadget. This is because you’ve got little Atomic Era
This gives us a final size of 10 millihexes, or about bits in your toolbox to deal with specific needs of
5 kilograms. If we wanted enough tools to tear the Atomic Era engines, in addition to plain old Industrial
car down to the smallest bits, it would be: Era wrenches and the like. If we wanted a set of
lockpicks (a previous example) that would work on
Modifier Amount Industrial Era skeleton key locks as well as modern
Industrial Era gadget +24 bonus tumbler locks, we would have to buy the lockpick
Facilitator x 6 -12 penalty set as an Industrial Era gadget, and it would be
Maximum vehicle Size of +4 -2 penalty significantly larger. Since we didn’t, it only works on
Total(gadget size of 100 millihex) +10 bonus Atomic Era locks.

This gives us a final size of 100 millihexes, or Affects an Attribute or skill - The previously listed
about 50 kilograms. It is assumed these tool sets modifiers for Attributes and skills assumed that these
include the basics of what is required for that level Attributes and skills were inherent to the gadget, like
of repair, but this does not include anything that Strength in an electric winch. A gadget affecting an
isn’t bought. So, there are no tools in either kit that Attribute or skill modifies the level the user has.
boost skill or Attribute rolls. As a side note, you can
say that certain repair or maintenance tasks on a If the gadget cannot operate as an Attribute,
gadget have a minimum requirement in terms of but can enhance that Attribute or a skill in the
Attribute rolls. That is, yanking off bits of a bulldiozer gadget’s user, then you use this modifier. You usually
might require beating a target number of 13 with apply half the size level (round up) of whatever is
your Strength roll. So if your Strength plus any gadget being boosted as a penalty on the total. Items with
bonus cannot beat a 13, then you can’t do it, even a Size level of less than zero make a gadget smaller,
with the tools. In the case of the tools above, a those larger than zero make it bigger. A normal
person with a Strength of 6 would not be able to do person has a size level of -7, for a +4 modifier.
whatever needed to be done, since their Strength
roll of 2d+0 could never hit a target number of 13. If As for Attributes inherent to a gadget, there are
the gadget description had a “boosts Strength” of different modifiers for boosting different Attributes,
+1 or more, then a target number of 13 is possible but penalizing Attributes or skills is always a -1
for a person with a Strength of 6, since it would be penalty per point, regardless of the Attribute or skill .
adjusted to 7, and a 2d+1 roll can just barely eke Also note the “limited use”, “only boosts”, and “only
out a 13. penalizes” modifiers. If you have none of these, you
can buy both positive and negative modifiers in the
Facilitating tools are generally bought at the same gadget. If you have “only boosts”, you get a
lowest tech era applicable to the object of the skill small bonus, but the gadget can have no negative
being used in terms of their size, but at the highest effects. If you have “only penalizes”, you get a large
tech era applicable to the object in terms of cost. bonus, but the gadget can have no positive effects.

4.12
 EXAMPLE: An Industrial Era floor jack that can lift
EABA 5 tons (Strength of +26) would normally be a fairly
large gadget, but a smaller hydraulic jack helps
enhance the Strength of the user by taking extra
EXAMPLE: If we wanted one of our previous time to get extra lifting capacity.
gadget examples to be a “pancake-flipping
exoskeletal training arm”, we would have Modifier Amount
something like the modifiers below. Since it only Industrial Era gadget +24 bonus
affects an arm rather than a whole person, we flip Affects an Attribute or skill -18 penalty
back to the body armor section (page 3.47) and Size of affected item +4 bonus
see that one arm is a size of about 6 levels less than Only boosts Attribute/skill +3 bonus
a person, making it a “boosted item” of Size -13. limited use of an Attribute +3 bonus
+3 Strength -6 penalty
Modifier Amount +16 time levels +4 bonus
Atomic Era gadget +30 bonus Total(gadget size of 40 millihex) +14 bonus
Affects an Attribute or skill -18 penalty
Size of affected item +7 bonus So, we have a gadget with a final size of 40
Only boosts Attribute/skill +3 bonus millihexes, or 20 kilograms. A person with a Strength
Pancake flipping skill of +3 -6 penalty of 7 or more can use this jack to lift something as
Total(gadget size of 24 millihex) +16 bonus though they had a Strength of 7 (their own
Strength), +3 (the boost from the jack), +16 (the time
This gives us a gadget with a size of 24 millihexes level over which they lift it), or a total Strength of
and a weight of 12 kilograms. This would get you an +26, for a lift of 5.1 tons. However, a time level of +16
exoskeleton arm that gives anyone wearing it a skill is 4 minutes, so jacking up a 5 ton vehicle is going to
roll in “pancake flipping” of their Agility plus 1d. A take a little while. A person with a higher Strength
silly example, but you get the idea. could jack the weight up faster, or could take the
same amount of time to jack up something even
The maximum benefit a boosting gadget can heavier.
give for the whole Attribute is equal to half the
user’s existing level in that Attribute. The maximum Only penalizes Attribute/skill: If If a gadget is
benefit for part of an Attribute is equal to the user’s meant to harm or reduce an Attribute, then you
existing level in that Attribute. The maximum benefit use this modifier. Any positive levels in the Attribute,
that can be gained in a skill is the level of the user’s skill or ease of use instead become penalties. Like
Attribute, though this level can be compared after for boosted Attributes, you usually apply the size of
any boost given by the gadget. whatever is being penalized. Note that if an
Attribute is penalized, it automatically decreases
EXAMPLE: If a gadget were designed to the maximum level at which skills based on that
enhance the Strength of a person by +2d, it would Attribute can be used. So, if your Agility is reduced
require a person with 4d+0 Strength to get the full to 1d+0, you cannot use any Agility skill at a level of
effect. If used by a person with a 2d+0 Strength, it more than +1d. If your Agility were reduced to 0,
could increase their ability to a maximum of 3d+0 then you could not use any Agility skills at all!
Strength. A gadget designed to increase just the Attributes can be penalized in limited ways, and this
arm Strength of that person could boost a normal modifier would apply individually to the Attributes in
2d+0 arm Strength to 4d+0. question. You could have a gadget that is an
overall penalty to one Attribute, and a limited
If a further increase is required, you normally penalty to another.
apply a time modifier to the use of the Attribute
(taking longer to use it gives you a higher effective
level). Each +1 bonus on the size of the gadget is a
+4 time modifier and each +1 in time can equate
to a +1 in the Attribute. It would be uncommon to
ever claim a time benefit of more than +20 time
levels. The boost to an Attribute from extra time
levels is not subject to normal limits on how much a
person’s Attribute can be boosted, but it is subject
to limits on the nature of the boost.

4.13
 EXAMPLE: An Industrial Era set of “hobble v1.0
chains” is designed to be a -3 penalty to Strength,
and a -3 to overall Agility, and -3 to Health as
Stuff!
relates to running speed. All of these penalties are
limited to use of those Attributes as they apply to INFORMATION - An information gadget is one
the legs. This would be: which records, plays or stores information. A book is
an information gadget. So is an MP3 player, or a
GADGETS

Modifier Amount DVD player. A radio is a communication gadget,

Industrial Era gadget +24 bonus not an information gadget, but communication
Affects an Attribute or skill -18 penalty and information gadgets are often combined.
Size of affected item +4 bonus
Only penalizes Attribute/skill +12 bonus Information Modifier
-6 Strength -3 penalty Information base effect +(era/2) bonus
limited use of an Attribute +3 bonus Each +1 information stored -1 penalty
-3 Agility -3 penalty Each +4 time differential -1 penalty
limited use of an Attribute +3 bonus Records/plays info.(active) -14 penalty
-3 Health -3 penalty Records/plays info.(passive) -7 penalty
limited use of an Attribute +3 bonus Can only record information +2 bonus
Total(gadget size of 12 millihex) +19 bonus Can only play information +4 bonus
No input (or no output) +3 bonus
This gives us a set of chains with a size of 12 No input and no output +4 bonus
millihexes (6 kilograms), and they hinder the ability Limited input/output(each) +2 bonus
of the wearer to effectively use their Strength, Agility Removable storage system -1 penalty
and Health as relates to movement (-2d to kicking Recording medium only +(era/6) bonus
damage, -1d to use of Agility when running or Instantaneous recording type +15 bonus
kicking, and -1d to Health for determining move
rates). The inherent Armor of these chains might Base effect: An information gadget has an
need to be enhanced with other modifiers (which inherent bonus on its size of half the bonus for tech
we’ll get to later), or a strong person might be able era.
to break the gadget and be free to act normally. If
this was an Atomic Era set of restraints, the same EXAMPLE: An Atomic Era gadget has a +30
capacity would only have a mass of 1.5 kilogram, modifier for tech era. So, the “information gadget”
and if it were some Advanced Era set of restraints, it modifier is +15.
would only be about 90 grams!
The sum of tech era and base effect modifiers
Last note - Remember that we’ve just covered is the default amount of information the gadget
this subset of gadget modifiers. There will be general stores, which is modified by the type of the storage.
purpose modifiers that can apply to most of the
design examples, to make them more or less useful, Tech Era Modifier Info base Info
and usually larger or smaller as a result. Primitive +12 +6 +18
Late Primitive +14 +7 +21
Early Basic +16 +8 +24
Basic +18 +9 +27
Late Basic +20 +10 +30
Early Industrial +22 +11 +33
Industrial +24 +12 +36
Late Industrial +26 +13 +39
Early Atomic +28 +14 +42
Atomic +30 +15 +45
Late Atomic +32 +16 +48
Early Post-Atomic +34 +17 +51
Post-Atomic +36 +18 +54
Late Post-Atomic +38 +19 +57
Early Advanced +40 +20 +60
Advanced +42 +21 +63
Late Advanced +44 +22 +66

The final gadget size is determined by the sum

of all the modifiers.

4.14
 Note - Information gadgets are a case where
EABA tech era is not necessarily appropriate as a means
of determining how densely information can be
packed into a given volume of gadget. Sometimes
An information gadget has the default ability to you have to assign a tech era to a given class of
hold an information level equal to the base effect information gadget, regardless of when it was
for its tech era. An ability to display or record this actually invented or used. To recreate particular
information will make the gadget bigger, and the information storage technologies, see below. The 1
quality or flexibility of the display or recording ability millihex column is how much information you would
will adjust the size as well. be able to store if counting the listed technology as
just the blank recording medium (a modifier on the
EXAMPLE: An Industrial Era gadget can as a gadget of era/6).
default store an information level of +36. If the
gadget can display the information, it would be Tech Era 1 millihex Info tech
larger. If it were simply the medium on which Primitive +8
information were stored, it would be smaller. Late Primitive +14 Clay tablets
Early Basic +21
Extra information: Each +1 information stored Basic +27 Early books
beyond the base for the tech era is a -1 penalty to Late Basic +33
the size of the gadget, and each -1 information Early Industrial +38 Printing press
stored is a +1 bonus. This is slightly more efficient Industrial +46 Vinyl LP
than having a doubling of information take double Late Industrial +52 Microfilm
the size. You actually get closer to three times the Early Atomic +59 Magnetic tape
information stored for double the size using this Atomic +65 CD
modifier. Late Atomic +71 DVD
Early Post-Atomic +78
This is where the tech era bonus comes into Post-Atomic +84
play. A one tech era difference in an information Late Post-Atomic +90
gadget is not only an increase of +6 because of the Early Advanced +97
tech era, and +3 for the “information gadget” Advanced +103 Human brain
modifier, but a gadget of the same size can also Late Advanced +109
have the “extra information modifier” modifier nine
times, for +9 more information! EXAMPLE: If you took about one hundred sheets
of normal paper, you could print 160,000 words (an
Time differential: The default is that a gadget’s Information level of +34) on it with no problem, and
information takes +1 time level to play or transmit this 100 sheets of paper would be about 1 millihex.
for each +2 information level involved (round A stack of blank CD’s that totalled 1 millihex would
down). Each -4 Time levels used to transfer this hold somewhere around an information level of
information is a -1 modifier. For rates of information +65. And even though materials liike vellum or
output like speech, the default is quite sufficient, papyrus predate the Basic Era, you would use Basic
but if you need to transfer 1 second’s worth of CD Era numbers if you wanted to get a passably
audio (information content of +28) in 1 second accurate size for something like a hand-printed
(Time level of +0), then you need to pay for a time Bible.
differential!
For reference, note that the Library of Congress
Output designed for human reading takes circa 2006CE has an information content in terms of
a time level of the information level minus the word count (not pictures) of about +81, and the
Awareness of the person going through the possible number of interconnections in the human
information (or Awareness minus -1d if you want to brain are theorized to have a total information
slow it down for “full understanding” instead of storage capacity of over +100! In this design system,
“scanning”). each fraction of a tech era gives 8x the information
density available (+6 information), but practically
If the gamemaster wishes, they can put an speaking, a given technology may last quite a
upper limit on information transfer of one use of the while and then be superceded by something two
modifier at the Basic Era, and one extra use each fractions of a tech era ahead of it.
era after that. So, the Atomic Era CD player in the
previous example would be limited to a maximum
data transfer rate about the same as a 64x drive.

4.15
 EXAMPLE: A book with an information content v1.0
of +39 (a Bible), read by a person with an Aware-
ness of 9, would take a time level of +30 to scan (8
Stuff!
hours) and a time level of +33 to really read it (24
hours). A person with an Awareness of 7 would take EXAMPLE: A normal pencil would be something
twice this amount of time. A CD audio player might like this:
have the default information transfer rate, and
GADGETS

could play its +53 information content in a time Modifier Amount

level of +26 (about 2 hours). A CD drive in a Basic Era gadget +18 bonus
computer might take the increased transfer rate Information gadget +9 bonus
twice (-8 time levels), which would allow it to -18 information +18 bonus
transfer the same information in a time level of +18, -4 time differential +1 bonus
or 8 minutes. This would be about a 16x drive. Records/plays info.(passive) -7 penalty
Can only record information +2 bonus
Records/plays info: The gadget is capable of Total(gadget size of .08 millihex) +41 bonus
recording and playing information in a human-
readable format. The “active” version of the This is a gadget that can record information,
modifier (-14 penalty) means the gadget has some but only under outside direction. The rate of
sort of internal technology that allows this, and the information recording is 4 levels less than normal, so
gadget can have modifiers to affect the speed of you can write about 20 words per minute with it.
recording and playback. The “passive” version of Close enough for such a trivial example.
the modifier (-7 penalty) means that the gadget
relies on outside technology or action in order to be Display only: If you take the “records/plays”
read or recorded onto. modifier, you can say the gadget is only capable of
playing information,for a +4 bonus. A record player
EXAMPLE: An active playback gadget would or movie projector would be an example. A
be a CD player. A passive playback gadget would portable radio is a communication device, not an
be a book. information device, but it would not be uncommon
for a portable radio to have a CD player or other
While an active record/play gadget can be inherent information device, with or without
designed as “play only” or “record only”, a passive recording capabity.
record/play gadget is almost always a record and
play gadget. Even if a book is already printed, you EXAMPLE: A portable CD player (information
can still write on it between the lines and in the level of +53) would be something like this:
margins. Back when vellum was used for writing
and people didn’t need what was written on it Modifier Amount
anymore, they would sand off the old printing and Atomic Era gadget +30 bonus
re-use it. Yes, vellum was that hard to come by. Mature technology +2 bonus
One sheet of genuine calfskin vellum manufactured Information gadget +15 bonus
today will cost you about 20 Credits! +8 information -8 penalty
Records/plays info.(active) -14 penalty
Record only: If you take the “records/plays” Can only play information +4 bonus
modifier, you can say the gadget is only capable of Limited output device +2 bonus
recording information,for a +2 bonus. A pencil or Removable storage system -1 penalty
stylus would be a low tech example. A film camera Total(gadget size of 1 millihex) +30 bonus
would be a higher tech example, and would have
a total information capacity based on the quality Remember that the base information level of
of the film and the size of the roll. An item like a this gadget is the tech era bonus (+30) plus the
blank CD is not a gadget that can record. Rather, it information gadget modifier of half that (+15), for a
is the medium recorded onto, which is a different total of +45. In this example, the limited output
modifier. device means the CD player only does audio,
instead of audio, video and computer data, and
A gadget that contains no information but is the removable storage system refers to the fact
used for recording information would be bought as that you can easily switch CD’s in and out of the
an information gadget with a negative information player. Since the default playback rate is +1 time
modifier that balances out its tech era bonus. per 2 information levels, a CD with +53 of audio
information will play back in a time level of +26, or 2
hours.

4.16
 A limited form of input or output can also
EABA represent that the gadget can only deal with a
subset of the possible information types that a full
device could handle. A CD player that only
No input/output: The device still has output or handled audio CD’s and could not be hooked up
input, but it has no inherent means of displaying or to a computer or video system would be an
utilizing this information. A set-top DVD player is a example.
good example. It can only display information, but
also has no output device. You have to hook it up Removable storage: This is just a mechanical
to a television to utilize the information it is trying to penalty that is taken if the means of storing
play. A CD player with no speaker (headphone use information is easily replaceable, like changing
only) is another example. memory cards in a digital camera, putting a new
disk in the CD player or new records in a record
EXAMPLE: A set-top DVD player might be some- player.
thing like this:
Storage medium only: If the gadget is just the
Modifier Amount recording medium, you apply a modifier equal to
Late Atomic Era gadget +32 bonus one-sixth the base effect for the tech era, rounding
Information gadget +16 bonus nearest (e.g. an Atomic Era removable storage
+11 information -11 penalty device would have a +5 modifier). If the recording
+4 time differential -1 penalty medium is human-readable (like paper), then it can
Records/plays info.(active) -14 penalty also be the output device.
Can only play information +4 bonus
No input and no output device +4 bonus Note - Most forms of human-readable recording
Removable storage system -1 penalty mediums will take the “storage medium only”
Total(gadget size of 1.25 millihex) +29 bonus modifier and the “record/play(passive)” modifier. A
printed book can still be written in, you just write in
This gives us a .6 kilogram box than can play the margins. Paper, printed or not, can still be used
removable DVD’s. The normal playback time for an to “record and play” new information. A device like
Information level of +59 is a Time of +29, but we an e-book reader would not get the “storage
have a +4 time differential, so it only takes a Time of medium only” modifier, since it is more than just a
+25 (about 1.4 hours), or an information content of passive recording medium. Similarly, photographic
+34 per second, about what normal television is. film can only be used once for its intended purpose,
though there is nothing to stop you from writing on
A DVD player/recorder would qualify for the +3 a photograph.
version of the modifier, since it has to be provided
with an input signal of the proper type to record For all practical purposes, the Early Industrial Era
anything. A film camera would qualify for the +3 is the last point at which the maximum possible
modifier, since it includes everything it needs to information density is discernable to an unaided
record with no external assistance, but has no human, and that’s pushing it, since microscopic
means to transmit the information. The film has to writing done with a diamond stylus on glass was
be removed and developed in order to display the sold as a curiousity in the late 19th century. This
information. points out another quirk of primitive information
storage systems. Often, you can get a bonus to the
Limited input/output: A gadget with limited information density by taking extra time to write the
output can do what a device with full input or information. That guy with the diamond stylus and a
output can do, but at a -3 penalty to quality or microscope was not writing very fast, but the
ability to be utilized or analyzed. An example might information density was probably about the same
be a digital camera with an electronic viewfinder. as microfilm, which is at least thousand times more
You can preview your pictures on it, but cannot see space-efficient than conventional printing.
the full detail you would on a larger screen. A
digital camera would not have the “no output”
modifier, since it can transmit full quality information
to an external device via a cable or removing the
memory card. It is just that reviewing information
using only the digital camera that is penalized.

4.17
 EXAMPLE: A CD is on the EABA Universal Chart v1.0
as holding an information level of +53. If we assume
this is an Atomic Era gadget, it would look like:
Stuff!
Modifier Amount Instantaneous recording: This is a special
Atomic Era gadget +30 bonus modifier that only applies to a storage medium
Mature technology +2 bonus whose nature combines with the inherent biology
GADGETS

Information gadget +15 bonus of the user, such that the information is transmitted
+8 information -8 penalty at an extremely rapid rate. For instance, reading is
Storage medium only +5 bonus a learned ability. Looking at a photograph instantly
Total(gadget size of .04 millihex) +44 bonus tells you if it is a picture of you or a friend or a
stranger. The modifier means that the information
This gives us a .04 millihex gadget (20 grams), can be stored in a much more compact form. You
which is close enough to a CD to be useful for don’t have to combine squiggly shapes into words,
game purposes (an actual CD by itself is around 18 and then string those words together to generate
grams). advanced concepts. You just look...and know. In
Stuff! terms, the old saying “a picture is worth a
EXAMPLE: A mass-produced book is an Early thousand words” really means “a picture can be
Industrial Era technology (Basic Era would be hand- read as fast as a thousand words.”
copied books). So, if you want to store the default
informationof EABA (information level of +32) in an EXAMPLE: A full-page color photograph has an
Early Industrial Era gadget, it would look like this: information content of about +36. The info could be
stored as a roll of Late Industrial Era punched paper
Modifier Amount tape, data that could be read and analyzed by a
Early Industrial Era gadget +22 bonus machine or transmitted over data lines, or it could
Information gadget +11 bonus be stored as a color image on a sheet of paper:
-1 information +1 bonus
Records/plays info.(passive) -7 penalty Modifier Amount
Storage medium only +4 bonus Late Industrial Era gadget +26 bonus
Total(gadget size of .75 millihex) +31 bonus Information gadget +13 bonus
-3 information +3 bonus
This gives us a book of .4 kilograms (about .8 Records/plays info.(passive) -7 penalty
pounds), which is surprisingly close to the mark for Can only play information +4 bonus
such a simple design system. You could run it off Instant. recording medium +15 bonus
with tiny print and on very lightweight paper and Total(gadget size of .004 millihex) +54 bonus
make it half that size or less. If you wanted to store
EABA on a Late Atomic Era re-writable computer The photograph is printed on “paper”, but
chip, it would be: once developed, you can’t put a new picture on it,
so it is bought as a passive display gadget only. You
Modifier Amount end up with a 2 gram item. The Late Industrial Era
Late Atomic Era gadget +32 bonus paper tape data storage would be just the
Information gadget +16 bonus recording medium, since once punched, the paper
-16 information stored +16 bonus tape cannot be recorded on again. The paper
Recording medium only +5 bonus tape is not a instantaneous recording medium. It
Total(gadget size of <.01 millihex) +69 bonus would end up being something like:

It would be not quite microscopic. Consider Modifier Amount

that a 4 gigabyte flash drive has a chip smaller than Late Industrial Era gadget +26 bonus
your thumbnail and would hold several thousand Information gadget +13 bonus
copies of the EABA text, and this miniscule gadget -3 information +3 bonus
size is not unreasonable... -8 time differential -2 penalty
Storage medium only +4 bonus
Total(gadget size of .04 millihex) +44 bonus

It would end up being about the same as

eleven sheets of paper’s worth of tape (a narrow
strip about 3.5 meters long), depending on any
other modifiers you used.

4.18
 All of this makes a difference in how much
EABA “information” is being stored or played back. For
instance, a photocopier is orders of magnitude less
efficient than a computer printer, since the
This particular modifier only works for single units computer printer simply outputs the formatted
of information. While we may process sound as information, while the copier duplicates the entire
efficiently as we process images, sound by its nature content of the original, smudges and all. On the
takes time to listen to. While it may have a lot of other hand, an analog medium like an old vinyl
meaning in context, the actual information content record does not store as much information as a CD
of a short “beep” is negligible. Humans would use would, but it plays it back in smooth, continuous
this modifier for pictures. Alien races with different waveforms that are very efficient to imprint onto a
senses might apply this in different ways. A human record. The CD has to approximate these same
might need a computer and analysis kit to figure waveforms by playing back individual slices at a
out a pheremone, while the alien species who rate we cannot distinguish from continuous sound,
communicates with scent can read volumes from a much like we cannot discern the individual frames
single whiff. of a motion picture. We suppose the ultimate
audiophile disc would be an analog format that is
Note - As mentioned earlier, people can scan read by laser and directly amplified without any
text in a time of the information level minus their digital-to-analog conversion.
Awareness. However, we have evolved to process
abstract visual information at a rate that Late Since most of the information that we interact
Atomic Era computers still have not caught up with. with is in the form of images and sounds, here are
A person can process images and make conscious some guidelines when it comes to converting
or instinctive decisions based on that information at “words” to information levels.
the rate of maybe +50 information in one second
(look at how much you have to analyze in one Information Info level
second of driving a car). However, anything more One page of text or visual material +18
than about +30 starts to get “downsampled” to a One second of audiovisual material +18
level we can process, which is why the rapid,
individual frames of animation, television or motion Modifiers Amount
pictures look like continual motion. Formatted text +6
Very simple image(b&w copier) +10
Information notes - There is a big difference Simple image(greyscale) +14
between information and content. If you scribble Image(color) +16
down a phone number, you have copied the Complex image(good color) +18
information, but not the content. At least not in [Link] image(perfect color) +20
EABA terms. The content would be an exact Single frame black & white TV image +3
duplicate of the image of the original number. Like Single frame color TV image +7
a photocopy. The EABA information scale is listed in Single frame high def TV image +11
“words”. This page is somewhere around 600 words, Some enlargement(large TV) +2
for an information level of +18 (so if your Awareness Much enlargement(theater screen) +4
is 7, it should take you about 42 seconds to scan it). Three-dimensional information +6
If you extract the text and save it as unformatted Passable animation(1 second) +5
computer data, it would be an information level of Full animation(1 second) +8
+18. If you saved it with the visual formatting of the Low loss compression -4
page, like a pdf file, it would be larger, and if you Medium loss compression -8
saved the page as an image file, it would be larger High loss compression -12
still. A one-page written description of a crime Extreme loss compression -16
scene is less information than a one-page photo- Music reproduction, 1 second +10
graph of the same location. Analog format sound reproduction -16

EXAMPLE: A one-page (+18) complex image

(+18) with medium loss compression(-8) would be
an information level of +28. One second of speech
(+18) recorded in an analog format (-16) would be
an information level of +2.

4.19
 Because each ±1 represents about a twenty- v1.0
five percent change in item size and each ±3
doubles or halves it, an unnecessary or missed
Stuff!
modifier can make a big difference in gadget size.
A few guidelines are below: To put it in common frames of reference, the
following should help:
Tech type Qualities
GADGETS

Paper (text) Record & display(passive) Information type Info level

Storage medium only 1 page text +18
Paper(photo) Display only(passive) 1 page formatted text +24
Storage medium only 1 page b&w photocopy +22
Instant. recording medium 1 page greyscale photocopy +24
Phonograph Recording medium only 1 page color photocopy +28
CD/DVD Recording medium only 10 x 15cm greyscale photograph +28
Flash drive Recording medium only 10 x 15cm color photograph +34
CD audio Display only(active) 1 megapixel digital camera, 1 image +30
Limited (or no) output device 5 megapixel digital camera, 1 image +34
Removable storage system Black & white television, 1 second +29
DVD video Display only(active) Television, 1 second +33
Limited (or no) output device High-def television, 1 second +37
Removable storage system Digital feature film, 1 second +50
+4 time differential CD music, 1 second +28
Hard drive Record & display(active) MP3, 1 second +22
No output device Low quality analog music, 1 second +6
CD-RW drive Record & display(active) High. quality analog music, 1 second +12
No output device Accepable quality analog speech +0
Removable storage system
DVD-RW drive Record & display(active) EXAMPLE: A very complex image for a motion
No output device picture would be an information level of +50 for 1
Removable storage system second. For a 2 hour film (a time level of +26), the
At least +4 time differential total information level would be +76, which is
Flash MP3 Record & display(active) somewhere around 2 terabytes of data. With some
Limited (or no) output device compression and decrease in picture size, this
Media player Record & display(active) would fit onto the +59 information content of a DVD
Removable storage system (or two). On the other hand, a lower quality pirate
Digital camera Record & display(active) copy for viewing on a computer monitor would be
Limited output device perhaps an information level of +53, which would fit
Removable storage system on a CD.
Film camera Record only(active)
No output device In camera terms, a good picture from a 5
Removable storage system megapixel camera would be a very complex
image with low-loss compression, while a good film
Not all types of information can historically be camera would be a very complex image, but of
written and read and duplicated with equal ease. one-quarter page size (a -4 modifier). For television,
It is possible to make a high-speed printing press to the perceived image quality is what you get once
generate copies of information, but have to settle the animation modifier is factored in. The analog
for manual typesetting to record that information. speech and music numbers are suitable for use with
Similarly, you can read a book a lot faster than you radio-based communication gadgets.
can transcribe one (a pencil is a slow recording
tool). EXAMPLE: A CD holds an information level of
+53. This would be +25 time levels of CD-quality
music (1.4 hours), +20 time levels of television (15
minutes), +31 time levels of MP3-quality music (11
hours), over 20,000 pages of formatted text or over
100,000 pages of raw textual data.

4.20
 COMMUNICATION MODIFIERS - A gadget with
EABA these modifiers is a communication device of some
kind, from a telegraph to a cell phone.

Note - If we use this system to go out on a limb Communication Modifier

and project future information storage, you get a Communication bonus +special
change in information density of about x8 per Each +1 range level -special
fraction of a tech era. Using one “CD+” (an Signal arc -special
information level of +54) to represent about 1 Output device -special
gigabyte of data, then you get the following: Extraordinary range -special
Special cases +special
Tech era “CD capacity”
Early Industrial 250 kilobytes If you just want a quick, simple two-way comm
Industrial 2 megabytes gadget, use the default bonus and a -1 penalty per
Late Industrial 16 megabytes 3 range levels. The range level of the gadget will be
Early Atomic 128 megabytes its range plus that of whatever it is talking to.
Atomic 1 gigabyte Everything else in this section is detail you may not
Late Atomic 8 gigabytes want or need.
Early Post-Atomic 64 gigabytes
Post-Atomic 256 gigabytes Communication bonus: Comm gadgets get an
Late Post-Atomic 2 terabytes overall bonus based on tech era:
Early Advanced 16 terabytes
Advanced 128 terabytes Tech era Modifier
Late Advanced 1 petabyte Primitive +1 bonus
Basic +2 bonus
Double each value if it is a “mature tecnology”. Industrial +3 bonus
It’s not perfect, but it’s fun to play with. If you think Late Industrial/Early Atomic +4 bonus
this progression is extreme, consider that a DVD Atomic +5 bonus
already holds x8 the data of a CD (x16 for double- Late Atomic +6 bonus
layer DVD’s), and a 4 gigabyte flash memory card Early Post-Atomic +7 bonus
(2 grams) holds information at x2 the density of a Post-Atomic +8 bonus
double-layer DVD. That gets us up to 32 gigabytes Late Post-Atomic +9 bonus
per CD equivalent, and that is just when this was Early Advanced +11 bonus
published in 2006CE. Estimates of human memory Advanced +13 bonus
capacity vary, but about 1 petabyte (1,000,000
gigabytes) is a number to play with, and if this is so, Range: Communication devices have a signal
then everything you will ever remember in your strength or quality, which really just equates to a
entire life will fit on a Late Advanced Era CD, with certain penalty to size giving +1 or more range
room to spare... levels. The reliable communication range between
two gadgets is the sum of their range levels. This
Considering that you can already cram a solid range calculation is different than it may have been
month’s worth of songs with zero repeats into a presented in other EABA supplements, but that’s
handheld media player (60 gigs), the implications because we hadn’t fully quantified the system yet...
for both the real world and any science-fiction A weak transmitter can be offset by a high quality
gameworlds should be examined. For instance, has receiver, and a poor receiver can pick up distant
anyone in the world with a full 60 gigabyte MP3 signals from a powerful transmitter.
player spent the 20,000 Credits it would take to
legally acquire that many songs? By the time you EXAMPLE: A 3 point transmitter and a 20 point
get to the Post-Atomic Era, information storage will receiver have a total range level of 23 (1 kilometer).
be so cheap and easy that collected information A 20 point transmitter and a 20 point receiver have
will probably never be thrown away. A month of a total range level of 40 (362 kilometers).
video surveillance will fit on one CD equivalent (or
less). Firearms can mount tamper-proof cameras
that hold thousands of photographs, snapping a
picture every time the trigger is pulled. A chip under
your skin could act as ID, passport, credit card, door
key and medical history. Think of how society and
governments will use and misuse technologies that
allow extremely high information densities.

4.21
 The penalty taken for a given range level v1.0
depends on the amount of information you are
trying to pump through the gadget, and its “utility”.
Stuff!
Information is simple. You add the information The default utility of 1 means the gadget has a
level transmitted or received to the range level fairly broad range and is fairly indiscriminate about
desired. It takes more circuitry to create or decipher the type of signals it can pick up or transmit. Very
GADGETS

a television image than it does simple sound. It few gadgets would have a communication range
requires more gadgetry to decipher a noise-free this broad, if for no other reason than going to a utili-
stereo music broadcast than it does to deliver a ty of at least +2 range per -1 size penalty is so much
scratchy voice-only transmission, and it takes more more efficient. The maximum range benefit for utility
for simple voice than it does for a dit-dah-dit morse at a given tech era would be a gadget that only
code transmission. operates on a small number of exact frequencies,
and does it in a way that is completely incompatible
“Utility” is a nebulous sort of thing, and because with any gadget that isn’t meant to operate on
it can make a huge difference in a comm gadget’s those exact frequencies in the same manner.
range, it should be considered carefully. Most
communication gadgets will operate on some part Think about any communication gadget in your
of the electromagnetic spectrum, low-band radio immediate environment. If you, all the gadgets, an
through high gigahertz satellite comm systems. The electronics tech and a full set of tools were teleport-
“utility” of a system is a measure of how broad a ed to a desert island, how long would it take to get
frequency range it can cover, and how well it all those gadgets to talk to each other? The best
interacts with other communication systems. “utility” of a communication gadget can be no
more than 1 at the Primitive Era and +1 each era
To get the size penalty for a gadget’s range, after that. A gadget does not have to use the
you take the range level desired, add the total maximum benefit, but it will be the smallest gadget
information level per second, and divide this by the possible for a particular purpose if it does. If a
utility of the gadget, rounding nearest. If the gadget communication gadget has multiple, separate
is a full transceiver, the utility is reduced by 1. If it is functions of identical utility, count the overall utility
just a transmitter or just a receiver, the utility is the as 1 point less.
normal value. The minimum allowed utility modifier is
1. So, a gadget with a normal utility of 1 can only be EXAMPLE: An AM radio has +3 range per -1 size
a transmitter or receiver, but not both, since this penalty, as does an FM radio. An AM/FM radio
would drop its utility to zero. If a gadget is a full would have +2 range per -1 size penalty.
tranceiver, but has different transmit and receive
information rates, use the average of the two rates. The utility of a gadget is effectively a tech era-
dependent way of making a specific-purpose
EXAMPLE: A television image is an information gadget smaller. So, rather than a shortwave radio
content of about +33. A television receiver with a that picks up a dozen different bands, you have a
range of 6 and a utility of 3 would take a size tiny FM radio built into your MP3 player. Instead of a
penalty of (6 + 33)/3 = -13. You could also say it was general purpose walkie-talkie, you have a cell-
the range level/3 plus the information level/3, but phone with a push-to-talk function that only works in
you might get different rounding amounts that way. conjunction with a service provider. Some examples
If the gadget were able to transmit and receive are below:
television signals, the utility would drop from 3 to 2,
and the size penalty would be (6 + 33)/2 = -20. Gadget Modifier
Multi-band receiver +2 range per -1
If a gadget is just designed to detect the AM/FM radio receiver +2 range per -1
presence of a particular type of signal, count it as AM radio receiver +3 range per -1
having an information level per second of -8. FM radio receiver +3 range per -1
Similarly, if all a transmitter does is broadcast a AM or FM transmitter +3 range per -1
carrier signal or constant tone, it has an information CB radio +2 range per -1
level of -8. Television receiver +3 range per -1
Television transmitter +2 range per -1
EXAMPLE: A homing beacon with a utility of 4 FRS radio +3 range per -1
and a range level of 20 would have a size penalty Laser comm. system +3 range per -1
of (20 - 8)/4 = -3. Sat. dish TV receiver +4 range per -1
Cell phone +3 range per -1
GPS system +4 range per -1

4.22
 ADVANCED TOPIC: VERY LONG RANGE
EABA If it makes a difference for your gadget, you can
say the maximum effective range level for a pair of
gadgets is double the bonus for the tech era of the
Typical communication rates for common most advanced of the gadgets. This range level is
systems are below: adjusted up by any antenna bonus. The maximum
difference in effective range level between the
Communication Info rate gadgets after antennas are taken into account can
Telegraph -4 be no more than the bonus for tech era.
GPS signal -4
Voice +0 EXAMPLE: An Atomic Era space probe has a
Mediocre music +6 small transmitter whose signals are picked up by very
Fax machine +12 sensitive Earth-bound receivers. Since the bonus for
Dial-up internet +12 Atomic Era gadgets is +30, this would mean that
High speed internet +20 the maximum comm range, regardless of receiver
Black & white television +29 quality, is going to be a range level of 60 (350,000
Compressed TV images +29 kilometers). Furthermore, after antenna modifiers
Color television +33 are taken into account, the difference between the
High-def television +37 transmitter and receiver can be no more than +30.

As a quick note, the difference in dial-up and So,if we had a space probe transmitter and
high-speed internet speeds gives the same size ground receiver, with a parabolic dish antenna on
gadget if dial-up is Atomic Era and high-speed is both ends (+32 range), the maximum range level
Late Atomic Era, and both signals have a utility of 4. we can possibly get with this combination would be
If you have adventurers who need to tinker with +92 (double tech era bonus, plus antenna). In order
gadgets, a gadget with more utility (smaller range to get this, we need a transmitter and receiver pair
bonus) can sometimes be modified to interact with that have no more than 30 points of difference after
gadgets of less utility, but not the other way around. antennas on each are taken into account. In this
You can also say that “utility” represents the tech particular case, the combination that gives the
level of signal processing, and that if a tech era smallest transmitter power would be a transmitter
can’t make a gadget capable of a certain utility with a range of 31, of which +16 is from the antenna,
modifier, they have no means of eavesdropping on and a receiver with a range of 61, +16 of which is
that type of gadget. Ignore the transceiver penalty from its antenna. If our space probe only had a
of -1 when figuring this out. transmitter strength of +10, it would be +26 after the
antenna, and the maximum range any receiver
EXAMPLE: Cell phone frequencies and methods could pick it up from would be +86 (+26 plus double
are a utility of 4, and CB radios a utility of 3 (before the tech era bonus).
any tranceiver penalty). If you have an Industrial Era
short-wave receiver with a utility of 2, you might be You can see that in extreme cases like this, small
able to eavesdrop on CB radios, but could not do modifiers can make a very large difference. The
the same to cell phone calls, since an Industrial Era difference in range you get from a “coherent”
gadget can’t have a utility of more than 3. If you antenna and a “near-coherent” one is +4, or four
had an Atomic Era shortwave you might be able to, times the effective communication range.
since it has a broader range and can pick up signals
up to a utility of 4. But, it would be useless for listen- If a communication gadget has an information
ing if Post-Atomic Era aliens invaded and were using rate of more than +0 (voice), the gamemaster may
“subspace radios” with a utility of 5. allow +1 range for each -4 to the information rate.
You can decipher morse code beyond voice
Remember that utility is a general guide. Your recognition range, or pick up the audio from a
shortwave radio is never going to pick up smoke television signal at ranges past where you can get a
signals, and laser receivers do not pick up radio good picture.
transmissions. Also keep in mind that each +2 in
transmitter strength/receiver sensitivity is a combo of Note - If you want to use these rules as part of a
transmitting power and receiving sensitivity sufficient backdrop for “technomagic”, then you can assign
to double the range of the gadget. So, between various “utility” ratings to various sorts of paranormal
equal gadgets, a +1 range level in each of the energies for purposes of detecting them.
gadgets doubles the overall range. In real-world
terms (not necessarily game terms), each +2 range
in one gadget about doubles transmitter power.

4.23
 If it makes a difference, a person’s eyes or ears v1.0
are considered to be a receiver quality of their
Awareness. If they are looking for a particular signal,
Stuff!
they can add double their Awareness to this quality,
and if they are listening for a signal, they can add EXAMPLE: A pair of normal handheld walkie-
their Awareness. A shout is assumed to be a talkies have a range level of perhaps 12 each, for a
transmitter with a Strength of the person’s Health. total range level of 24 (1.4 kilometers). If we said one
GADGETS

of them was in an underground parking garage

EXAMPLE: A person with an Awareness of 8 is and one was on the surface, this is a 6 point penalty
looking for a signal flash from a distant hilltop. Since on range, which means it would drop to a range
they are looking for a particular signal, they add 16 level of 18, or 175 meters. If both were outside, but
(double their Awareness) to their “receiver quality”, there was a 30 point jammer transmitter running 1
making it 24. This means that even if the signal flash kilometer away from the closest walkie-talkies (a
had a transmitting range of 0, they would still be range of 23), then the walkie-talkies would suffer a 7
able to spot it at a range level of 24 (1.4 kilometers). point penalty (jamming strength minus the range),
Note that if this is a Primitive Era setup (tech era dropping useful range from 24 to 17, or 125 meters.
bonus of +18), then you will want a transmitting
range of at least 6, since you are only allowed the A thing that can’t really be taken into account
tech era bonus of +18 as the difference between here is any infrastructure needed to overcome a
the two. particular communication barrier. For instance, a
cell phone works best if there is a line of sight to the
EXAMPLE: The same person is listening for the relay tower. This requires a relay tower, not a box
beating of war drums 2 kilometers off, a range level sitting on the ground somewhere in the woods or in
of 25. They get to add their Awareness to their the middle of a flat roof. This sort of support structure
receiver quality, making it a 16. The effective range can easily be hundreds of times the size of the
for this is still far less than the range, so the war drums actual communication gear. On a smaller scale, if
are going to need a transmitting range level of at a directional antenna for a portable gadget is not
least 9 to get a total range level of 25. incorporated into the gadget itself, the gadget
should take a -2 penalty to size to represent the
This is not meant to supplant the normal EABA extra cables or mounting hardware for the system.
perception rules, but is a way to let people interact
with primitive communication systems like helio- Signal arc: The default for a transmitter/receiver
graphs and war drums. For things like perception, it is a 360° arc. If it has a smaller arc, it has a greater
is not unreasonable to have a person roll their effective range with no extra energy needed to
Attribute and use the result as their range level for power the gadget. But, it does require proper aiming
communication purposes. to get the bonus. If not properly aimed, it takes a
penalty to effective range instead! A directional
The useful range for a pair of communication antenna will increase the size of the gadget by one-
gadgets can be affected by conditions and barriers quarter the range bonus (round nearest):
to the type of signal used. Apply the penalty to the
final range level for the pair. For many radio- Arc Range level Modifier
frequency devices the following are reasonable: 360° +0 +0 bonus
180° +1 +0 bonus
Communication barriers Range level 120° fan +1 +0 bonus
Inside a small building -1 120° cone +2 -1 penalty
Inside a large building -3 60° fan +2 -1 penalty
No line of sight -2 60° cone +4 -1 penalty
Underground/underwater -6 30° fan +3 -1 penalty
Deep underground/underwater -12 30° cone +6 -2 penalty
Jamming/interference - level 15° fan +4 -1 penalty
15° cone +8 -2 penalty
No line of sight usually means nearby obstacles. 5° fan +6 -2 penalty
Any line of sight blocked by the curvature of the 5° cone +11 -3 penalty
earth would take the underground modifier. near-coherent +16 -4 penalty
coherent +20 -5 penalty

Remember that a bonus to range because of a

directional antenna does not increase the power
consumption of the gadget.

4.24
 Note - In the realm of pure speculation, real-
EABA world communication gadgets would have about
the following range levels (amounts after antenna
modifiers are in parentheses):
The difference between a “fan” and a “cone”
is that a signal from a fan is limited only in one Gadget Range level real-world
direction, while a cone is limited both horizontally Bluetooth ≈0 .001 watt
and vertically. A fan might be what you would get Cell phone ≈6 .1 watt
from an array of vertical antennas, while a cone AM/FM radio recv. ≈4-8 n/a
would be like what you get from a dish antenna. Television reciever ≈6-9 n/a
FRS radio ≈11 .5 watt
“Near-coherent” is a good approximation of a GMRS radio ≈13 2 watt
commercial microwave dish like a satellite TV CB radio ≈15 5 watt
system. There is a very small room for aiming error Cell phone tower ≈19 60 watt
that is barely within the range that a person using Satellite news truck ≈21(37) 120 watt
something to brace against can aim it accurately, Sat. dish TV receiver ≈6(21) n/a
and a solid mechanical mounting is required. Sat. TV transmitter ≈21(37) 100 watt
GPS satellite ≈19(26) 50 watt
“Coherent” would be things like lasers, masers GPS receiver ≈25(26) n/a
or the finely tuned systems used for deep space Local radio/TV station ≈27 1,000 watt
communication. A solid mechanical mount is Regional rad./TV station ≈37 20,000 watt
required for any reliable signal. Both of these last
two modifiers can be adjusted up or down a point Note that while a satellite TV transmitter and
by especially low or high quality antenna systems. A receiver pair only needs a range of 53, it also needs
mass-produced satellite TV dish is probably not as to take into account the potential of being blocked
capable as the precison dish mounted on a multi- by clouds (-2 range) and up to -3 in “jamming” from
million Credit satellite. solar activity. The information transmitted to GPS
recievers is at a fairly slow rate, and is generally an
EXAMPLE: At this point, we have enough info to information level of -4. For reference, you can’t
do a simple design example. It will be a Late actually use the numbers above to design a brand-
Industrial Era shortwave receiver, something using new GPS system in Stuff! as small as they actually
vacuum tubes that takes up a fair amount of real are. The entire receiver has been crammed onto a
estate on the dining room table: single chip, so you are spending more size on the
battery and the display than the actual GPS unit. As
Modifier Amount a Stuff! design, a mature tech, Late Atomic Era GPS
Late Industrial Era gadget +26 bonus unit is about .6 millihexes, or double the size of a
Communication gadget +4 bonus small cell phone circa 2006CE.
(Range 16 + info 6)/utility 2 -11 penalty
Total(gadget size of 12 millihex) +18 bonus Output device: A communication gadget can
be able to receive information but not be able to
This gives us a 6 kilogram box that might be able deliver it in a useful fashion. An example would be a
to pick up a high-powered radio station at a range set-top satellite receiver for your television. Unless it
level of 53, which after you take various penalties has a built-in hard drive, it is not an information
(like -6 for the curvature of the earth), still allows gadget. It stores no information, it just pulls it from
you to listen to overseas stations without too much the ether and passes it on to your television. This is
difficulty. The information level of 6 is sufficient for not readily quantifiable as a design item. You can
low-quality music broadcasts, but the radio can generate a size for a receiver capable of picking up
pick voices out of the static at longer range, and TV signals, but the television display can range from
probably get morse code at ranges where voice the size of your palm to a wall-covering plasma
communication could not get through. display or compact projection unit. Or, the output
from a building-size parabolic dish for deep-space
communication might be a monitor on someone’s
desk.

4.25
 So, in general you will apply a +0 modifier for v1.0
the output device if it is a speaker, tiny display or
other minimal system. This allows you to make
Stuff!
phones, radios or other audio communication
gadgets with no extra complexity in the design The actual communication part of the gadget
process. Video other complex information is another would be a size of:
matter. It is a fairly safe bet that you should just
GADGETS

make up an information gadget that can display Modifier Amount

that amount and type of information. If it turns out Atomic Era gadget +30 bonus
to be smaller than your communication gadget, Communication gadget +5 bonus
you’re fine. If not, then the information gadget is the (Range 7 + info 33)/utility 3 -13 penalty
size you use, and the communication gadget is the Total(gadget size of 6 millihex) +22 bonus
size of the actual communication hardware inside it.
So, for a minimum size color television at that
EXAMPLE: A black & white television image has tech era, it would be a receiver of 6 millihexes, and
an information rate of +29, for a penalty of -8. A 14 more millihexes for a small display and speakers.
gadget designed to display this information would
have a minimum size based on the tech era and a This is a generalization. You could give a TV a
-8 penalty. So, if it were a Late Industrial Era screen the size of a postage stamp, and thus
television set, it would be a minimum of: reduce the output device size even further. Each 3
points (round up) the gadget size is reduced below
Modifier Amount this minimum level will be a 2 point penalty on trying
Late Industrial Era gadget +26 bonus to use any information the gadget is trying to
Information gadget +13 bonus present to you. The absolute lower limit is a -2 use
+29 information -29 penalty penalty per tech era.
Records/plays info.(active) -14 penalty
Can only play information +4 bonus EXAMPLE: If you use the previous modifiers to
Instant. recording medium +15 bonus cram a television screen into a Late Atomic Era cell
Total(gadget size of 32 millihex) +15 bonus phone, using high-speed internet communication
rates, you get a minimum size of:
The actual communication part of the gadget
would be a size of: Modifier Amount
Late Atomic Era gadget +32 bonus
Modifier Amount Information gadget +16 bonus
Late Industrial Era gadget +26 bonus +20 information -20 penalty
Communication gadget +4 bonus Records/plays info.(active) -14 penalty
(Range 7 + info 29)/utility 3 -12 penalty Can only play information +4 bonus
Total(gadget size of 16 millihex) +18 bonus Instant. recording medium +15 bonus
Total(gadget size of .5 millihex) +33 bonus
So, for a minimum size black & white television at
that tech era, it would be a receiver of 16 millihexes, Now, .5 millihexes is still larger than a modern
and 16 more millihexes for a small display and multi-media cell phone (say .25 millihex). The size
speakers. If it were an Atomic Era color television, difference between .5 millihexes and .25 millihex is 3
the information gadget equivalent would be: points. So, you could have that postage-stamp sized
television screen, but any communication use that
Modifier Amount requires a skill or Attribute roll based on that tiny
Atomic Era gadget +30 bonus image will be at +2 difficulty (+2 penalty per 3 points
Information gadget +15 bonus of size change).
+33 information -33 penalty
Records/plays info.(active) -14 penalty Remember that all of this only refers to the
Can only play information +4 bonus minimum possible size of the gadget and its output
Instant. recording medium +15 bonus device, not its actual size. Depending on the other
Total(gadget size of 20 millihex) +17 bonus communication modifiers, the final gadget could
be larger than the minimum, in which case it can
have the appropriate output device at no penalty.

4.26
 FINAL NOTES - This subsection will end with a
EABA handful of design examples to give you an idea of
modifiers and their use.

Extraordinary range: This modifier covers very EXAMPLE: We use the -60 extraordinary range
unusual forms of communication. Specifically, ones modifier just mentioned to make an FTL starship
that can bypass things that are normally a barrier to transceiver system capable of the equivalent of
communication. You might apply this to a longwave high definition TV signals.
transmitter designed to pass data to submarines, a
quantum entanglement transmitter that can do FTL Modifier Amount
communications over any distance, a psi-comm Advanced Era gadget +42 bonus
that broadcasts thoughts, or whatever. The penalty Communication gadget +13 bonus
for this depends on the gameworld and what the (Range 0 + info 37)/utility 5 -7 penalty
gamemaster thinks is appropriate to generate a FTL extraordinary range -60 penalty
gadget of a size they think appropriate. A particular Total(gadget size of 16 hex.) -12 penalty
extraordinary range modifier is likely to have a
minimum tech era or required utility level before it So, we have a 8 ton gadget that lets us do
is allowed, in addition to any size penalty on the high-quality video transmissions over interstellar
gadget using it. distances. This does not include any bonuses for
general modifiers, nor any penalty for if the antenna
EXAMPLE: You might apply a -60 penalty to is widely separated from the rest of the gadget, etc.
quantum entanglement FTL transceivers, but this Remember that since this gadget is a tranceiver
modifier allows them to ignore all range penalties. In rather than just a transmitter or receiver, the utlity
addition, the gamemaster says that only tech eras number is dropped by 1 (from 6 to 5), which in this
capable of comm gadgets with a utility of 6 are case makes the gadget about 25% larger than just
capable of making such devices. a transmitter or receiver.

In order to be worth buying, an extraordinary EXAMPLE: We make a modern cell phone that
range penalty has to be less costly size-wise than can receive high-speed internet communications,
simply buying extra range for the gadget. Similarly, it allowing it to play compressed video broadcasts or
needs to only offset a penalty that not everyone act as a video phone. We’ll say that cell phones of
has to bother with, or everyone will just use the this type are either Late Atomic Era, or Atomic Era
extraordinary range modifier. and a mature technology.

EXAMPLE: If the range penalty for being deep Modifier Amount

underwater is -12 (or more!), then a transmitter with Late Atomic Era gadget +32 bonus
the capability to negate this penalty should have a Communication gadget +6 bonus
modifier of less than -12. Similarly, if all the modifier (Range 1 + info 20)/utility 3 -7 penalty
does is negate this penalty, it needs to be large Total(gadget size of .75 millihex) +31 bonus
enough that regular transmitters do not want to
take the penalty, and simply buy a lesser amount of This is about .4 kilograms, a few times the
increased range levels instead. current size of such gadgets, and we only got the
size this small by min-maxing the rules. The gadget
Special cases: There is no particular “special only has a range of 1, but remember that we can
case” modifier. This is just a reminder that some of get +1 range by dropping the information rate by 4.
the generic modifiers at the end of this chapter may So, if you drop the information rate by 20, we have
apply to communication gadgets, often in your a range level of 6 for voice communications. If you
favor. For instance, using a cell phone gadget are close enough to a cell tower, then you can get
requires using your hands most of the time. Or, the the full speed of the connection. In practical use,
quantum entanglement FTL communicator might you could easily get another +2 in general modifiers,
only be able to talk to its matched twin. dropping the gadget size to .25 kilogram, but have
to add .1 kilogram for a battery

4.27
 MITIGATION - The gadget does something that v1.0
offsets or reverses something else. A coat mitigates
effects of weather. So does a tent. This category
Stuff!
also covers effects like armor, though this is better
handled using the Vehicle rules. Wind/rain protection: The gadget protects or is
protected from harmful effects of wind and/or rain
Mitigation Amount to any reasonable level. That is, the -1 penalty can
GADGETS

Mitigation penalty -(era/2) penalty block wind, rain or wind and rain, depending on
Area protected -(size/2) penalty what the designer wants the gadget to do. For
Wind and/or rain protection -1 penalty instance, in a hot climate, you might want to block
Waterproof -1 penalty rain, but allow ventilation. The gadget blocks rain or
+10° of insulation -1 penalty snow, keeps the wind out of any area protected,
each doubling of insulation -1 penalty and so on. A canopy will protect from rain, but not
±10° temperature compensation -2 penalty from wind, but a tent will probably protect from
heating only +2 bonus wind and rain. Neither wind or rain protection keeps
cooling only +1 bonus dust or water completely out, but a gadget that is
each doubling of compens. -1 penalty waterproof (see below) is also assumed to be dust-
Sealed environment -1 penalty proof.
.5 atm pressure difference -1 penalty
1 atm pressure difference -2 penalty Waterproof: The gadget prevents all water from
each 25% incr. in pressure -1 penalty getting at the item protected. A waterproof area is
each doubling of pressure -3 penalty generally a sealed environment against a negligible
Life support -3 penalty pressure differential, and vice versa. Note that a
+time levels support -special waterproof article of clothing tends to keep sweat
in as well as keeping water out.
Mitigation penalty: There is an overall penalty
of the base for the tech era, divided by 2 (round 10° of insulation: The gadget provides 10°C of
towards zero). Note that while it appears to be protection from cold. It does not generate any
contradictory to have advanced gear take a larger heat, it just keeps existing heat (or cold) in. For an
penalty, all that this modifier does is reduce the article of clothing, it alters the comfort range of the
effect of higher tech levels. Higher tech eras are still wearer by 10°C. Each doubling of insulation just
better, they just increase at a slower rate. Everything provides extra protection against the cold. How
else is in addition to this. long and how well a given amount of insulation will
protect from external temperature extremes
EXAMPLE: An Atomic Era gadget would have a involves more variables that we can deal with, but
starting total of +15 (+30 for tech era and -15 for a obviously more is going to be better.
mitigation penalty), and an Industrial Era gadget
would have a starting total of +12 (+24 for tech era Note - Body armors with the “padded” modifier
and -12 for a mitigation penalty). (page 3.48) automatically count as having 5° of
insulation. Wearing them makes you feel warmer,
Size: Half the size level of the item which gets which can be a problem in hot climates.
the protection (round towards larger size) will be a
penalty on the size of the gadget. This means that ±10° temperature compensation: The gadget
protected items with a Size of less than 0 will give a has an active means to heat and/or cool the area
bonus rather than a penalty. If the gadget protects protected, by the listed amount in either direction
only itself, assume it has a Size of zero (no modifier). (so the minimum gives you +10° heating and -10°
As a reminder, a normal size person has a Size of -7, cooling). Temperature compensation usually means
so a gadget that performs a mitigation function for the gadget has to be powered. So, while a gadget
a person will have a modifier of +4. with 10° of “heat only” compensation will have a +0
modifier, it will have a mass penalty from the power
source needed. A gadget with any amount of
temperature compensation may (but is not required
to) have 10° of insulation at no mass penalty.

Note - A spacesuit that will have long-term

exposure to the full range of of outer space
extremes is going to need either ±80° or ±160°
temperature compensation.

4.28
 Life support: The gadget provides a breathable
EABA atmosphere, food and water in the area protected.
This is normally good for a Time level equal to the
base modifier for the tech era, and each -1 size
EXAMPLE: An Atomic Era room air conditioner penalty adds Time levels based on the tech era,
for a room 4 meters across (size level of +2) might rounding extra Time levels down. You do not get
be: any benefit for less than the default duration:

Modifier Amount Life support Modifier +Time per -1

Atomic Era gadget +30 bonus Full -3 era modifier/12
Mitigation penalty -15 penalty Partial -2 era modifier/8
Area cooled(i.e. Size) -1 penalty Minimal -1 era modifier/6
±20° temperature compensation -3 penalty
Cooling only +1 bonus EXAMPLE: Atomic Era full life support would
Total(gadget size of 64 millihex) +12 bonus be good for a time level of +30, and each -1 size
penalty would add +2 time to this.
This would be a gadget of 64 millihexes or 32
kilograms, capable of dropping the temperature of Life support generally requires a waterproof or
a room of the listed size by up to 20°C. The power sealed environment, but you could have a system
consumption for the gadget is on page 4.36, but that just provides fresh air in a normal pressure but
would calculate out to 4d+0. non-breathable environment. Partial life support (air
or water, plus food) is only a -2 size penalty, and just
A gadget with heating and cooling properties food is only a -1 size penalty. Partial or minimal life
can take its total temperature range and center it support may have inherent size bonuses based on
how they want, as long as at least half the range is the nature of the life support. It takes time to eat or
used on the smaller side. For instance, a gadget drink, and it is not a passive activity like breathing.
with a +20°C and -20°C compensation range can Any such bonuses based on how the life support is
set this to be +10° and -30°C. used should be based on how long it takes per use,
rather than the total time spent in the “life support
Sealed environment: This means the gadget is activity”, and the modifiers for time and usage are
effectively airtight, though it cannot withstand any halved, rounding nearest.
real pressure differential. It will keep out toxic gases
at the same pressure, is waterproof and dustproof. EXAMPLE: You make a cache of Atomic Era
The difference between a sealed environment and nutrition bars, enough to last an average person for
a waterproof one is usually that waterproof items a week and a half:
are designed to keep water out, while most sealed
environment items are designed to keep air in. The Modifier Amount
.5 pressure differential (and up) modifiers are also Atomic Era gadget +30 bonus
sealed environments. A .5 atmosphere differential Mitigation penalty -15 penalty
would be a high-altitude suit or something capable Area protected +4 bonus
of withstanding several meters of water pressure. It is Life support (food only) -1 penalty
worth noting that most spacesuits are pressurized to +10 time levels duration -2 penalty
less than half an atmosphere of an oxygen-rich Total(gadget size of 24 millihex) +16 bonus
atmosphere, to reduce the stresses and weight of
the spacesuit. That is, they only have half an atmo- You end up with 12 kilograms of food, about a
sphere of pressure inside, so the vacuum of space is kilogram per day. If you added in usage modifiers
only a .5 atmosphere differential. A 1 atmosphere (how long it takes to eat) of +4 bonus (4 minutes)
differential is protection from vacuum or water from the general modifier section, you would only
pressures up to 10 meters in depth. Each +1 of count it as a +2 bonus. If this cache was food and
atmosphere represents an additional 10 meters of water, the life support modifier would be -2, and the
depth protection. extra time levels would be a -3 modifier. Adding in a
breathing mask for full life support would make the
life support modifier -3, with the extra time being a
-5. The modifier difference between minimal and full
systems makes the full system about six times larger.

The life support modifier usually but not always

requires power, and this adds to any other power
loads in the gadget.

4.29
 EXAMPLE: An atmosphere recirculator would v1.0
require power. Life support that just uses slowly
depleted air tanks does not use power.
Stuff!
How convenient the full aspects of life support OTHER MODIFIERS - So far, all of the subsections
are for the end user really depends on how much have each been considered a separate gadget.
space is involved. A long-duration system in an The “other” section is different. These modifiers can
GADGETS

advanced spacesuit is going to be a bit more apply to any other type of gadget and will add to
personally invasive than one in a space shuttle. the modifiers for that gadget to see how big it is. If
you have a multiple-purpose gadget and different
EXAMPLE: A Late Atomic Era spacesuit is functions have different “other” modifiers, total up
designed to protect a person from temperature each gadget separately for determining which part
extremes and the vacuum of space. is the biggest.

Modifier Amount Other modifiers Amount

Late Atomic Era gadget +32 bonus Extra +1 Armor -1 penalty
Mitigation penalty -16 penalty doubling of extra Armor -1 penalty
Area protected +4 bonus Usage time level of 4 +1 bonus
±80° temperature compensation -5 penalty each +4 time levels +1 bonus
Sealed(.5 atm differential) -2 penalty Requires gestures +1 bonus
Full life support -3 penalty Requires concentration +1 bonus
Other gadget modifiers +3 bonus Transferable user +0 bonus
Total(gadget size of 48 millihex) +13 bonus Non-transferable user +2 bonus
Implanted user +4 bonus
This would be a gadget of 48 millihexes or 24 Reliable gadget +0 bonus
kilograms, capable of protecting a person from Unreliable gadget +1 bonus
vacuum and temperature extremes for up to sixteen Very unreliable gadget +2 bonus
hours (a time level of +32). The vague “other Hazardous gadget +1 bonus
gadget modifiers” are special cases we’ll get to Larger than life -special
next. For instance, the spacesuit takes a while to Targeting limit +1 bonus
prepare for use, manual dexterity is reduced in the Fudge factor ±special
suit, and the oxygen-rich atmosphere in the suit
makes it somewhat hazardous to use. Extra gadget Armor & Hits: Gadgets have a default Armor
penalties might include that it is slightly armored, as and Hits based on their tech era, the size and the
accidental punctures would be very bad. We can nature of the item. Vehicles are the standard for an
tweak the modifiers to get any number of spacesuit item’s Hits, having 10 Hits for one ton. Items that
variants in terms of protection and mass. work in concert have less Hits than they would as
separate items. This is a function of the way EABA
works. For instance, a pair of one ton vehicles have
10 Hits each, but a two ton vehicle only has 12 Hits
total. If we didn’t do it this way, a one ton car would
have 10 Hits, and a fifty thousand ton battleship
would have 500,000 Hits! This is the main reason for
the Damage Limit stat, to minimize the bookkeeping
for Hits on very large items.

4.30
 If the functional parts of an item are a mix of
EABA different material types, use the average (round
down) of the modifiers if they are present in about
equal volume or mass, otherwise use the strongest.
For most non-vehicle items, if there are no other
rules to contridict it, assume they have a base of 10 EXAMPLE: An aluminum framed pistol with a
Hits for 1 hexagon, +2 Hits each time this is doubled, steel barrel and slide would use steel as the “Hits”
or -1 Hit each time it is halved. Size does not count modifier, for +1. A polymer frame pistol with an
consumables that add no strength of the item. For aluminum alloy slide and steel barrel would use
instance, a machinegun with a belt of ammunition aluminum/plastic as the Hits modifier, for +0. A
would have Hits based on just the machinegun. laptop computer is probably fragile, but that could
Items have a minimum of 1 Hit. Round size nearest. be countered if it was a ruggedized water- and
dust-resistant military model. Just use some common
Size Approximate mass Base Hits sense and it will work out. But practically speaking, if
1 millihex .5 kilograms 0 someone drop-kicks your laptop or puts a bullet into
2 millihex 1 kilogram 1 your television, having an extra Hit or or two is not
4 millihex 2 kilograms 2 going to save it.
8 millihex 4 kilograms 3
16 millihex 8 kilograms 4 Gadgets also can have an inherent Armor,
32 millihex 16 kilograms 5 which must be penetrated before any Hits are lost
64 millihex 32 kilograms 6 from damage. Vehicles will have armor based on
125 millihex 64 kilograms 7 their construction, worn armor can be constructed
250 millihex 125 kilograms 8 based on tech era, weight and thickness, but
500 millihex 250 kilograms 9 gadgets generally only have the Armor that comes
1 hexagon 500 kilograms 10 from what they are made of and the environment
2 hexagon 1 ton 12 in which they are going to be used.
4 hexagon 2 tons 14
8 hexagon 4 tons 16 Gadgets start with a default armor of 1d+0.
16 hexagon 8 tons 18 Remember that gadgets do not take non-lethal Hits
32 hexagon 16 tons 20 from attacks, that part of damage which gets
64 hexagon 32 tons 22 through Armor is just ignored. So, an armor of 1d+0
125 hexagon 64 tons 24 means you need a Strength of 2d+2 or more to do
250 hexagon 125 tons 26 any damage to it with your bare hands (a punch
500 hexagon 250 tons 28 does Strength minus 1d in half-lethal damage, so a
1000 hexagon 500 tons 30 Strength of 2d+2 would do a punch of 1d+2
damage, which gets 0d+2 through 1d+0 armor,
If you need more than this, you can figure out which becomes 0d+1 lethal hits and 0d+1 non-
the progression on your own. lethal hits, and we ignore the non-lethal hits).

Items (not vehicles) may have special modifiers If an average person (2d+0 Strength) can
on how many Hits they have. This is something you break a gadget in their bare hands, it probably has
have to determine subjectively for each particular an Armor of 0d+1 or 0d+2. A strong person (2d+2)
item based on its nature and usage. can break items with an Armor of 1d+0, and it
would take an extremely strong person (3d+2) to
Item is Hits modifier break something with an Armor of 2d+0.
Fragile due to construction(glass) -1
Fragile due to delicacy(computer) -1
Average construction(aluminum, +0
composite, wood)
Durable due to construction(steel) +1
Durable due to separate items +1
(tool kit)
Durable due to distributed function +2
(blanket) or
Item is monolithic (sword) +1
Item can reasonably take (min. of 2 Hits)
damage and still function

4.31
 Armor of an item Armor v1.0
Base amount
Each 4 Hits(round down)
1d+0
+1
Stuff!
Material Armor Now, back to gadget design. It is not possible to
Wood +0 increase the Hits of a given gadget except through
Soft metal(aluminum) +1 making it bigger. However, you can increase the
GADGETS

Hard metal(steel) +2 Armor. A -1 penalty to the gadget’s Size lets you

Atomic Era plastic or composite +0 increase its Armor by +1, and each extra -1 penalty
Post-Atomic Era plastic or composite +1 lets you double this extra amount (+2, +4, +8, etc).
Advanced Era plastic or composite +2 You do not double the overall Armor, just the extra
Item is hardened or heavy-duty +1 amount you are paying for. For most gadgets, if it is
Item is lightweight or light-duty -1 waterproof or has any type of sealed environment,
Armor and function are combined +0 insulation or temperature compensation, it counts
(like a gun) as +1 armor without having to pay any extra (no
Armor and function are separate -1 more than a total +1 bonus, even if it is insulated,
(like a computer) sealed and compensated). Most gadgets can get
Item is inherently unprotected -1 the increased armor modifier up to twice at the
Item is an inherently weak material -1 Primitive Era, with one doubling per era after that.

Note! - The armor of a melee weapon is not EXAMPLE: An Industrial Era gadget could take
used when it strikes something, but can be used if it the modifier up to four times (-4 penalty on Size) for
blocks another attack or source of damage, and +8 on its Armor value (a bonus of 2d+2).
you can add +1d to its Armor if it parries an attack.
Note! - Extra armor that requires power (i.e. a
If the functional parts of an item are a mix of force field) will require a modifier and power
different material types, use the average (round efficiency of the gamemaster’s choice to match
down) of the modifiers if they are present in the nature of a particular gameworld.
approximately equal volume or mass, otherwise use
the strongest. Increasing a gadget’s Size through this or any
other modifier may alter the number of Hits it has, so
EXAMPLE: An Atomic Era aluminum frame pistol it is possible to get an extra +1 to Armor because it
with a steel barrel and slide would have a base made the gadget cross a rounding point in the
armor of 1d+0. It has less than 4 Hits, so it gets no “each 4 Hits” Armor rating modifier.
bonus for that. Like the previous example, you err
towards the strongest material if there are multiple EXAMPLE: If we had a 12 millihex gadget (3 Hits)
materials in about equal quantity, so it gets a +2 for and took extra modifiers that made it a 16 millihex
being steel. It’s armor and function are combined, gadget (4 Hits), its Armor would go up by +1.
which is a +0 modifier, and it is not particularly
hardened, so it gets no bonus there. Its armor ends Usage time: The default for a gadget is that you
up as 1d+2, and as a durable 2 millihex item, it turn it on, and the gadget effect happens. If this
probably has 2 Hits. A polymer frame pistol of the isn’t the case, you can get a bonus on the size of
same type would average the Atomic Era plastic the gadget. In general a Time level of 4 to use or
and hard metal numbers for a +1 modifier, which get the first effects from the gadget is a +1 bonus,
woud make the final Armor 1d+1 instead of 1d+2. In and each +4 Time levels is another +1 bonus. It is
either case, the pistol probably has a damage of very common for handheld gadgets to get a +1 for
2d+1, so if it shot a similar pistol, it would get 1d+0 this. You spend a few seconds pulling a cell phone
damage through the other pistol’s Armor. That 1d+0 off your belt, or scanning with binoculars. Longer
would functionally destroy the other pistol on any modifiers might be spending a few minutes to don a
roll except a “1”. spacesuit, waiting a few minutes for a heater to
warm up an area, or for a computer to boot up
from a cold start. If the usage time modifier only
applies the first time you turn the gadget on (as
opposed to every time you use it), the modifier is
halved (round down).

EXAMPLE: A computer that takes a Time level of

+16 (4 minutes) before every use would be a +4
modifier. But if it just takes this time to warm up from
a cold start, the modifier is only +2.
4.32
 An “implanted user” means the gadget is
EABA designed to be incorporated into a living being,
and cannot be removed without surgery. Normally,
this sort of gadget has a fairly high threshold in terms
The “warmup time” vs. “each use” difference is of the tech era required. Most gadgets you would
not there to be abused. It has to be reasonable for consider “cyberware” would have this modifier.
the gadget to be “off” fairly frequently, whether
because of its function, power requirements, or EXAMPLE: The artificial liver and lungs that
because perhaps it has an “unreliability” modifier increase your Health are a gadget that is not readily
that requires that you restart it after an error. transferred from one person to another. It is unlikely
that this is an Industrial Era gadget...
Usage limits: Some gadgets do what they do in
a passive sense, with no user interaction needed. Reliability: Gadgets are assumed to be 100%
Others require that the user take an active part in reliable in normal use. An “unreliable” gadget cuts
the gadget’s operation. A gadget that requires corners somewhere, using less reliable lightweight
active use of one or both hands during its operation components, less protection in the packaging, and
gets a +1 bonus, as does a gadget that requires so on. An unreliable gadget rolls 3d+0 each time it is
more or less undivided concentration by the user. A stressed. On a roll of 7 or less, it fails to operate, turns
gadget with both gets a +2 bonus. Simply having to off or otherwise ceases doing some function it is
flick an on/off switch doesn’t count. A cell phone supposed to be doing. Being “stressed” means
might require using one hand while using it, but having to operate at maximum capacity, taking
since people can drive fairly well while talking, their damage (even if that damage does not penetrate
full attention is not required. Waving a bioscanner Armor), or crossing any sort of temperature or
over a patient and monitoring the readings requires pressure or environment threshold. The gadget gets
both the use of hands and concentration, while cranky if it gets too cold, too hot, too damp, etc. A
using a psionic communicator helmet might only “very unreliable” gadget is the same, except the
require concentration. 3d+0 roll is 11 or less. If a gadget has a preparation
time before use, then it is non-functional for at least
User type: The default for a gadget is that it is that long, otherwise the user can flick a few switches
something that anyone can use, or at least anyone and get it started again. Oddly, striking a cranky
with the same type of manipulators, sensory organs gadget will often restart it, just as striking it while it is
and body size. Your binoculars are not going to be running will often get it to quit.
of any use to thumbless, sonar-using bats.
At gamemaster option, reliability can refer to
If a gadget is transferable, you can hand it to the quality of the gadget’s output. A sensor might
someone else, let someone else get behind the provide bad readings, a tome of ancient lore might
controls, and so on. This is the default. If a gadget is be riddled with errors, and so on. This sort of reliability
non-transferable, it means that ownership and use would not affect gadget size, and is a design flaw
of the gadget is exclusive. In addition to any time that may or may not affect the cost of the gadget.
delay required to use the gadget as part of the
transfer, ownership or use of the gadget’s abilities Hazardous side effect: The gadget is just plain
cannot usually be accomplished under the normal dangerous to use. It might drip toxic chemicals, emit
circumstances in which the gadget would be dangerous radiation, or have moving parts that can
operational. A non-transferable user may also mean mangle incautious fingers. The exact nature and
that a user has to meet certain specific criteria in level of the hazard depends on the size of the
order to use the gadget. gadget and what it does. A primitive lathe might
have unshielded moving parts, while an Advanced
EXAMPLE: You can let someone else wear your Era hyperwave communication array might emit
spacesuit, but you cannot trade spacesuits with invisible “delta rays”. In general, the effect is taken
someone else while you are on a spacewalk. This is by anyone who interacts with the device, on a skill
a non-transferable gadget. A spacesuit that no one roll of 7 or less on a skill appropriate to the gadget in
else can wear because it was custom-made for question. In general, a hazard involves damage. This
your exact body shape would also count as a non- is either going to be to Hits or to an Attribute. Hazard
transferable gadget, but you would not take the damage is usually half-lethal, of a level based on
modifier twice. the biggest single negative modifier in the gadget,
with a nature of effect appropriate to that effect.
EXAMPLE: Your artificial leg isn’t going to be of Do not count size or inherent modifiers for a type of
any use to someone who has two legs. This is also a gadget (like the mitigation gadget penalty).
non-transferable gadget.

4.33
 If you decide that the damage is long-term, you v1.0
divide it by two, but count it as crippling damage
(takes four times as long to heal). After you decide if
Stuff!
the damage is crippling or not, if the damage is
lethal, you subtract 1 point per 1d+0 damage, and Tech Era Larger than life
if it is non-lethal, you add +1 point per 1d+0 damage Early Primitive -16 penalty
(minimum 0d+1 damage). Armor of an appropriate Primitive -15 penalty
GADGETS

type can protect against this damage. Late Primitive -14 penalty
Early Basic -13 penalty
EXAMPLE: A gadget with +12 Strength might Basic -12 penalty
have parts that mangle the limbs of the unwary for Late Basic -11 penalty
a 4d+0 half-lethal attack or a 2d+2 lethal one. A Early Industrial -10 penalty
communication gadget with +12 range levels might Industrial -9 penalty
microwave your brain if you get in front of it, for Late Industrial -8 penalty
1d+1 lethal crippling damage to your Awareness, or Early Atomic -7 penalty
it might have exposed electrical bits that will shock Atomic -6 penalty
you for 5d+1 normal non-lethal damage, or 2d+2 in Late Atomic -5 penalty
crippling non-lethal damage (zzzzap!). Early Post-Atomic -4 penalty
Post-Atomic -3 penalty
You can also subtract Size levels from damage Late Post-Atomic -2 penalty
if the hazardous effect fills an area of some kind, Early Advanced -1 penalty
affecting everyone in the area on the failed roll. This Advanced -0 penalty
is done before other modifiers to the damage. Late Advanced -0 penalty

EXAMPLE: If the hazardous communication EXAMPLE: You build a bioscanner bed into the
gadget filled an area of Size 6 with its effect, it sick bay of your Post-Atomic Era spaceship. In
would have a base damage of 2d+0, halved to addition to giving a +3 bonus to medical skill use,
1d+0 for being crippling damage, and dropped to you give it “Larger than life”, which allows the
0d+2 for being lethal damage. attending physician to keep “best four” instead of
“best three” when making diagnostic rolls using this
Larger than life: The nature of the gadget is such gadget. Since this is a Post-Atomic Era gadget, this
that it can use “Larger than life” on its own rolls for benefit is a -3 penalty on gadget size (about three
that aspect of the gadget use, or give this ability to times as large as it would be without it).
the user of the gadget in one specific part of its
designed role. This obviously does not apply to all If the gadget is meant to have some sort of
gadgets. The penalty -15 at the Primitive Era, and is combat enhancing effect, the gamemaster can
reduced by -3 per era after that (±1 for fractional apply an additional -3 penalty to reduce the
era). This means that Advanced Era gadgets can potential for abuse.
have this at no penalty, which the gamemaster
may or may not decide to allow, possibly mandating Era-specific effect: This is some enhancement of
a minimum -1 penalty even at the Advanced Era. a gadget’s capability or effect that only becomes
Obviously, in order to take advantage of Larger possible at a particular tech era. This would not be
than Life, either the gadget or the user has to have zero-space improvements like improved software for
a skill or Attribute roll of 4d+0 or better. an electronic device. Rather, it is some change or
improvement to the fundamental nature of the
device or its packaging that is not covered by other
modifiers.

EXAMPLE: Making a gadget’s armor rating proof

against armor-piercing effects would be an era-
specific effect that would work against armor-
piercing attacks at that tech era and previous eras.

EXAMPLE: Making a gadget so that it can be

easily operated by someone wearing bulky space-
suit gauntlets might be an era-specific special
effect.

4.34
 EXAMPLE: Our spacesuit example is fairly
EABA complex and the final design uses many of the
general modifiers:

Era-specific effects are generally a -1 penalty, Modifier Amount

regardless of tech era, but only work when they are Late Atomic Era gadget +32 bonus
interacting with gadgets of the same tech era or Mitigation penalty -16 penalty
lower, or oddly enough, with the same tech era or Area protected +4 bonus
higher. Gadgets designed with a facilitating era- ±80° temperature compensation -5 penalty
specific effect tend to work at their era and Sealed (.5 atm differential) -2 penalty
forward, while those with a protective or mitigating Full life support -3 penalty
effect tend to work at their era and backwards. Extra +2 Armor -2 penalty
Non-transferable user +2 bonus
EXAMPLE: The protection against armor-piercing Time level of +16 for first use +2 bonus
effects works well at the tech era and against Inconvenient gadget +1 bonus
attacks from previous tech eras. The gadget Total(gadget size of 48 millihex) +13 bonus
designed for use with a spacesuit probably works at
the tech era and with more advanced spacesuits, The “inconvenient gadget” we define as a -2
but cannot interact well with more primitive ones. penalty to Agility and -1 to Strength when in the
gadget because of the thick, armored fabric. As a
Targeting limit: This is a further limiting of an 48 millihex item, it has a default of 5 Hits. We add
attribute, sensing, communicating or mitigating +2 because it has a distributed function, but give it
function of the gadget. a -1 because any sort of failure is bad in vaccum,
making it sort of fragile, for a total of 6 Hits. The
EXAMPLE: A cell phone is a radio transceiver default Armor is 1d+0, +1 for sealed environment, +2
with a high utility number, but most cell phones are for the extra we bought, and +1 because it has 5
also useless without repeater towers. Even though Hits, giving the final suit an Armor of 2d+1 and 6 Hits.
someone else might be in direct range of your
phone, if there is no repeater, your phone is unable MULTIPLE GADGETS - So far, we’ve described
to contact them. This would be a targeting limit. building gadgets as single function items, but
mentioned that gadgets can have modifiers from
EXAMPLE: An umbrella would be a waterproof more than one category. This is handled fairly
mitigation gadget that only protects you from water simply. Add up the size of all the individual gadget
falling from above. Again, a targeting limit. functions. Then see what the total gadget modifier is
for an object of that size. For purposes of Hits, you
If a targeting limit is especially severe, you can round the size down to the closest table modifier.
take a +2 bonus instead of a +1. For Armor, you use that of the biggest part of the
gadget, using the one with the best Armor if more
Inconvenient gadget: This is a general-purpose than one subfunction is tied for largest size.
modifier that takes into account material limits, bad
ergonomics or functional limitations. For the various EXAMPLE: If our 48 millihex spacesuit had a 5
things that can be done with the gadget, or while millihex radio transceiver in it, the total gadget
wearing or using the gadget, the user takes a -1d would be 53 millihexes. Since both 48 millihexes and
penalty on particular tasks, or -3 in penalties split 53 millihexes round to 64 millihexes on the table on
among several tasks. page 4.30, the total gadget has the same number
of Hits with or without the radio, and the Armor of
Fudge factors: If all else fails, a given class of the suit plus radio is likely to be that of the suit.
gadget can have a global modifier applied to its
cost and/or size to get the results you think are In a case where one gadget is completely
appropriate. inside another, you only count the size of the larger
of the gadgets for size purposes, Armor and Hits, but
count the total size of the components for figuring
the cost of the gadget.

4.35
 GADGET POWER - The default for a gadget is v1.0
that is powered, or otherwise has some sort of
consumable aspect that limits the duration of its
Stuff!
use. Whether or not a gadget uses power, the
nature of that power and how much is somewhat The default power use is based on three things,
subjective. A winch with +10 Strength is going to all of which involve something approaching real
draw more power than a computer with +10 math:
GADGETS

Awareness. Unless that computer is running off

Industrial Era vacuum tubes, in which case the A = The largest negative modifier associated
computer will draw a lot more juice than the winch. with the gadget’s function. This does not
Some gadgets will have zero power consumption. include overall category factors like the
This is not a modifier on size and is only indirectly an -(era/2) penalty for mitigation gadgets. If
effect on cost (objects that consume no power are the two largest modifiers are within 1 point
generally less complex and thus less costly). It is of each other, use the largest and increase
simply a subjective matter decided on by the it by 2, and if the two largest modifiers are
designer of the gadget. A blanket can be an different by 2 points, use the largest and
electric blanket, or just a blanket. In general, if it increase it by 1. That is, make it even more
emits energy, receives energy, analyzes energy or negative. In general, an italicized modifier
does anything “active”, it consumes energy and adds to the modifier it is part of. So, if a
requires a power source. gadget has temperature compensation
with “cooling only”, you add the total
So, like we had to define the “utility” of gadgets temperature compensation and cooling
designed for communication, we have to define together to get the A value.
the “efficiency” of gadgets for their power use. This B = Any modifier for the size of the area
is not a modifier on the size of the gadget, but is the protected or affected by the gadget.
gamemaster’s definition of how the gadget tech fits C = The modifier for the actual final size of the
into the gameworld. gadget.

Efficiency Power use The gadget’s maximum power use (everything

Perfect no power source required running at maximum capacity) will be 24, minus A,
Excellent -3d minus B, plus C. Please remember that there may be
Very good -2d subtraction of negative numbers (which adds) and
Good -1d addition of negative number (which subtracts).
Average +0d Sorry folks, can’t make it any easier than that. If the
Poor +1d gadget is being used at significantly less than
Very poor +2d maximum capacity, power use can be reduced by
Abysmal +3d 1d (half maximum), and if it can have a “standby”
mode, power use would be reduced by 3d (one-
EXAMPLE: If you had a gadget with a total eighth maximum).
calculated power use of 3d+1 and it had “poor”
efficiency, it would take 4d+1 power. Do not count any duration except the default if
life support is one of the applicable modifiers. This
Gadget function Typical efficiency duration refers to supplies and consumables. The
Strength Very poor(+2d) gadget may still require a separate power supply.
Agility Poor(+1d) Do not count any contribution of information level,
Awareness Very good(-2d) either by itself or in combination with another factor.
Will Excellent(-3d)
Health Average(+0d) A gadget can have a final power use of 0d+0
Fate unknown or even negative amounts. This does not mean the
Skill boosts as Attribute gadget generates power, it just means it uses small
Heating Average(+0d) amounts. The relevant gadgets (a .1kg powercell
Cooling Good(-1d) and 2.0kg fuel cell) are repeated to the right.
Life support varies
Transceivers or transmitters Good(-1d)
Receivers Excellent(-3d)

4.36
 As mentioned in the vehicle rules, you get
EABA double the duration of power at the same output
level each time you double the number of power-
cells or fuel cells, and you get +1d output each time
Listed powercell Strength is for rechargeable you double the number of powercells or fuel cells.
powercells. Disposable ones have +1d output.
EXAMPLE: One Atomic Era powercell has an
Powercell(.1kg) Strength Energy output of 0d+0. If you needed 1d+0 output for five
Early Industrial -2d+2 6 hours, you just use two powercells. If you needed
Industrial -2d+0 10 1d+0 output for ten hours, you would use four.
Late Industrial -1d+1 16
Early Atomic -0d+2 25 With all this in hand, you can see how much
Atomic 0d+0 40 extra mass a portable gadget requires for its power
Late Atomic 0d+2 65 supply. Of course, if you just plug the gadget into
Early Post-Atomic 1d+1 100 the wall, all of this is irrelevant...
Post-Atomic 2d+0 160
Late Post-Atomic 2d+2 250 EXAMPLE: Continuing to use our spacesuit
Early Advanced 3d+1 400 example, we look at the applicable modifiers as
Advanced 4d+0 640 relates to power usage:
Late Advanced 4d+2 1000
±80° temperature compensation -5 penalty
Fuel cell(2kg) Strength Energy Full life support -3 penalty
Early Atomic 3d+1 400/hr Area protected +4 bonus
Atomic 4d+0 640/hr Gadget size of 48 millihexes -13 penalty
Late Atomic 4d+2 1,000/hr
Early Post-Atomic 5d+1 1,600/hr If we look at this in terms of A, B and C factors:
Post-Atomic 6d+0 2,500/hr
Late Post-Atomic 6d+2 4,000/hr A:The two largest negative modifiers were “±80°
Early Advanced 7d+1 6,300/hr temperature compensation”(-5) and “full life
Advanced 8d+0 10k/hr support”(-3), which combine to total “A”
Late Advanced 8d+2 16k/hr value of -6.
B: The modifier for the area protected is +4, for a
Fuel cells can be refilled with 1kg of fuel when “B” value of +4
empty and restored to full capacity. C:The final size modifier for the gadget itself is
-13, for a ”C“ value of -13.
Both powercells and fuel cells can produce
their listed power for five hours. Remember that to This means the power use is 24, minus -6, minus
determine the lifetime of a battery or fuel cell, you 4, plus -13, equals +13, or 4d+1 power use when all
compare the output of the power source to the systems are running full blast, and we need this to
power consumption of the device. Power last for up to sixteen hours (the default life support
requirements of more or less than this amount will duration for this gadget). Since heating is one of the
alter their useful life. Fuel cells cannot produce more functions, we use an Average(+0d) efficiency.
than their rated power, but batteries can, but for
shorter periods: Late Atomic Era non-rechargeable powercells
have an output of 1d+2 for five hours, +1d output
Load vs. power Power good for: per doubling of powercells. Late Atomic Era fuel
-3d 40 hours(35) cells have an output of 4d+2 for five hours. We need
-2d 20 hours(33) to do three doublings to get a powercell output of
-1d 10 hours(31) 4d+2, or use the default fuel cell output of 4d+2. This
+0d 5 hours(28) is 0d+1 more than required by the suit (4d+1), so it
+1d 2 hours(26) will last 25% longer than the default duration. This
+2d 1 hour(24) gives us 6.3 hours of life support for either .8kg of
+3d 30 minutes(22) batteries or a 2.0kg fuel cell, with double duration
+4d 12 minutes(20) by doubling the battery/fuel cell size. Fuel cells can
+5d 6 minutes(17) be refilled with half their weight in new fuel, while
+6d 3 minutes(15) batteries have to be replaced. So, at this level of
+7d 90 seconds(13) tech, the most efficient power for the suit is a dispos-
each ±1 ±25% closest value able battery pack, though you might be able to
make your own fuel cell fuel...

4.37
 EXAMPLE: In the Attributes section, we made a v1.0
pancake flipping robot: Stuff!
Modifier Amount
Atomic Era gadget +30 bonus Charges? - All of this is useful, but what if the
Strength of -6 +3 bonus gadget uses discrete charges rather than having a
Limited use of an Attribute +3 bonus continual energy drain? A first aid kit has a limited
GADGETS

Agility of +5 -10 penalty number of bandages, a breathing mask has

Limited use of an Attribute +3 bonus replaceable filters, or a flare gun has a number of
Awareness of +2 -4 penalty cartridges, each of which shines brightly for a certain
Limited use of an Attribute +3 bonus amount of time. None of these require powercells,
Pancake flipping skill of +5 -5 penalty but all have a “power” requirement. For defining a
Total(gadget size of 5 millihex) +23 bonus gadget, a “charge” is everything needed to meet
the power needs of a gadget for the listed amount
If we look at this in terms of A, B and C factors: of time. Once a charge is used up, it cannot be
A:The largest negative modifier by far is “Agility recovered/restored unless the “easily replaceable”
of +5” (-10), for an “A” value of -7. modifier is taken. When the gadget runs out of
B: There is no modifier for any area affected by charges, it is disposed of. If the gadget still has an
the gadget, so the “B” value is +0. applicable efficiency modifier, subtract the full dice
C:The final size modifier for the gadget itself is in it from the charges modifier.
-23, for a ”C“ value of -23.
Charges Modifier
This means the power use is 24, minus -7, minus 1 use +6 bonus
0, plus -23, equals +8, or 2d+2 power use when it is 2-3 uses +5 bonus
doing its pancake-flipping thing, +1d for the poor 4-7 uses +4 bonus
efficiency of an Agility gadget for a total of 3d+2. If 8-15 uses +3 bonus
we decided to run this off a single disposable 16-31 uses +2 bonus
Atomic Era powercell (output of 1d+0), it has an 32-63 uses +1 bonus
output 2d+2 less than the power requirement. This is 64-124 uses +0 bonus
-1 up from the listed +3d amount, so one powercell 125-249 uses -1 penalty
will last 37 minutes. easily replaceable charges -1 penalty
each +4 Time levels -1 penalty
EXAMPLE: At the end of the Communication state-based duration -8 penalty
section we made a Late Atomic Era cell phone:
EXAMPLE: You could make a single-use rescue
(Range 1 + info 20)/utility 3 -7 penalty flaregun as a communication device with no
Gadget size of .75 millihex -31 penalty information rate aside from “hey! I’m here!” If you
said the flare gun had one use, and each use lasted
If we look at this in terms of A, B and C factors: for 1 minute (Time level of +12), then the gadget
would have a +3 bonus for this. If we say that as a
A:This is the range level divided by the utility transmitter it has a Good(-1d) efficiency, we can
(ignore the information level), for an “A” of 0. subtract -1 from the charges modifier, making it a +4
B: There is no modifier for any area affected by bonus instead.
the gadget, so the “B” value is +0.
C:The final size modifier for the gadget itself is If the charges are easily replaceable, the total
-31, for a ”C“ value of -31. modifier applies to the rest of the gadget, and the
result is the size of the pack of “charges”. The overall
This means the power use is 24, minus 0, minus 0, gadget size remains the same, and the pack of
plus -31, equals -7, or -2d+1 power use. However, as charges is a fraction of the complete gadget size. If
a transceiver, the power use is normally Good(-1d), the pack of charges is larger than the gadget, then
which drops this to -3d+1. Even one rechargeable you do it the other way around. The gadget size is a
powercell at this tech era (0d+2) exceeds the subset of the size of the pack of charges. If the size
power requirement by 4d, so one powercell would of the charge pack is a +0 modifier, it means the
run this phone for 80 hours “talk time”. If we used gadget is its pack of charges. You swap charges by
one-eighth of a powercell (≈.01 kilograms), this drops swapping gadgets, the depleted gadget sent back
power output to -2d+1, which would still give us 10 to somewhere for refilling.
hours “talk time”, and 80 hours of “standby” use.

4.38
 Then, apply modifiers for the tech era, and the
EABA nature of what the gadget actually does:

Tech era Cost

If a gadget has an inherent time level aspect Primitive +0
(like life support), and this is powered by “charges”, Basic +2
you only take a -1 penalty each 6 Time levels Industrial +4
instead of per 4 Time levels. Atomic +6
Post-Atomic +8
EXAMPLE: If we make a flaregun with a five- Advanced +10
round clip of replaceable flares, each of which lasts Early/late part of an era ±1
for 1 minute (Time level of +12), and use the Good
(-1d) efficiency, then a clip of five flares is the size of Functional Cost
the gun with a +1 bonus (+4 for five uses, -3 for extra Vehicle gadget as vehicle
Time levels, -1 for easily replaceable, and +1 for the Worn gadget +1
efficiency). So, if the gun was 1 millihex, .75 Handheld gadget +2
kilograms of that is going to be the clip of flares. Very complex gadget +8
Complex gadget +6
EXAMPLE: If we wanted to equip our spacesuit Average gadget +4
example with a single replaceable pack that Simple gadget +2
included all the life support supplies, batteries and Very simple gadget +0
so on, we might have a gadget with 1 charge that Stationary gadget +0
lasts for a Time level of +30 (8 hours). This would be a More than one function +1
total modifier of +0 (+6 for one use, -5 for extra time Mass production -2
levels, -1 for easily replaceable), making it the exact Average production +0
same size as the spacesuit. Since we knew the Limited prod.(luxury/security) +2
spacesuit was 48 millihexes, this means the charge- Limited production(military) +4
based suit is also 48 millihexes. When the life support Very limited production(research) +8
pack runs out, it has to be swapped for a fresh suit, Used or obsolescent -2
with the old suit sent to techs to have its systems Well-used or obsolete -4
refilled and refurbished. It is lighter than the suit that Totally outdated -6
is run off of powercells by 3.2 kilograms, but is far less
convenient in the long run. EXAMPLE: A handheld .5 millihex Atomic Era
gadget like a cell phone will have a Cost level of:
GADGET COST - The last thing you need to do is
figure the cost of your gadget. This is pretty straight- Parameters Cost
forward, and is a subset of the rules for vehicle Gadget of 1 millihex -18
accessories. In fact, if your gadget is going to be One halving of size -2
mounted in a vehicle, just count it as a vehicle Atomic Era +6
gizmo and add it to the size of any others already Handheld gadget +2
installed. Otherwise, simply start with the gadget Very complex gadget +8
size, apply whatever the difference is between that Total(250 Credits) -4
and 1 millihex or 1 hexagon, whichever is more
convenient. Gadgets that fall in between exact In terms of complexity, if it takes multiple people
sizes apply a +1 cost on the smaller of the sizes they with college degrees to design the gadget and
fall between. This gives the base gadget cost. multiple factories to produce the components
going into it, it is a very complex item. Examples:
Gadget parameters Cost Computers, radar systems,complex robotics.
Gadget of 1 hexagon +2
Gadget of 1 millihex -18 The limits of purely mechanical complexity
Each halving/doubling of size ±2 would be a complex gadget, as are fairly simple
(relatively speaking) electronic devices. Examples:
EXAMPLE: A gadget of 2.5 millihexes will have a fancy mechanical wristwatches, radios, televisions.
base cost of -15 (-18 for 1 millihex, +2 for a doubling
of size to 2 millihex, and +1 more for an intermediate A gadget of average complexity covers most
size between 2 and 4 millihexes. sorts of mechanical gadgets, or electrical gadgets
involving motors, switches, bulbs and readouts, but
few or no logic/decision-making circuits. Examples:
power tools, mechanical clocks.

4.39
 A simple gadget is usually below the limit for v1.0
gadgets using electricity. Simple gadgets would
often be manually powered equivalents of average
Stuff!
gadgets. Examples: hand drills, mechanical pumps.
FINAL NOTES - Like all the other chapters, this
A very simple gadget is one which you can one can be min-maxed or abused, just like any
make with hand tools and a bit of common sense, other rule-, case- or equation-based system. That’s
GADGETS

though some technical training wouldn’t hurt. Such not the point. It’s for coming up with reasonable
gadgets will often have few or no moving parts. stats for something that you can’t otherwise figure
Examples: hammers, pry bars, scissors. out for your gameworld, or to give stats like Armor
and Hits to things that you can find other details on
It’s fairly safe to say that “leading edge” tech elsewhere.
has a complexity modifier of +2 more than the tech
era cost modifier, up to a maximum of +8. So, if you As you go back and re-read this chapter, and
are working at the Primitive Era (+0 Cost), it would figure out exactly how you are going to use it, keep
be hard to come up with a gadget that was any- in mind the following:
thing more than “simple” (+2 Cost). Remember that
there is also an intermediate state of complexity 1) How much of this chapter do I need? If Joe
when a gadget has more than one function. Hero is hiding behind a 250 kilogram industrial
meat slicer when the bad guys open up on
EXAMPLE: Our oft-used spacesuit in its final form him with submachineguns, you don’t need to
(with a radio added) would be: design up an industrial meat slicer. You just
look at the Armor and Hits of a piece of steel
Parameters Cost machinery of 500 millihex (the answer is about
Gadget of 1 millihex -18 2d+1 Armor and 9 Hits).
5+ doublings of size +11 2)Is the gadget important enough to be worth
Atomic Era +6 designing? If it is unique and important to the
Worn gadget +1 plot, probably. Likewise if it is something the
More than one function +1 adventurer relies on or uses on a regular basis.
Very limited production +8 But once you have an idea how things work
Very complex gadget +8 in your campaign, getting the numbers about
Total(350,000 Credits) +17 right is sufficient. If a “throwaway” gadget
that crops up turns into a regularly used
From different perspectives, the cost can vary gizmo, then design it. Otherwise, wing it.
widely. If Atomic Era space travel was a commercial 3)Is there a social aspect to the gadget? Just
enterprise, we might use “limited production” in like people might look askance at adventurers
place of “very limited”, and this would cut costs by toting guns and wearing body armor, there
a factor of four. If space travel became commercial might be a social aspect to any gadgets they
in the Late Atomic Era, this suit might be the equal are flaunting. Cybnernetic datajacks, bionic
of “limited production”, but also be “obsolescent”, limbs, Bluetooth earpieces and obnoxious
halving cost again. On the other hand, Late Atomic ringtones. These can affect reaction rolls, or
Era spacesuits would be +1 cost over Atomic Era how an adventurer is seen to fit within a
models, but their reduced bulk might offset this. culture or society.
4)Is the technology appropriate? While EABA
EXAMPLE: The silly pancake-flipping robot, if we defines cultures in broad tech era terms, not
assume it is a mass-produced kitchen appliance: all aspects of tech advance at the same rate.
The way things are measured in EABA, some
Parameters Cost technology circa 2006 is probably Late
Gadget of 1 millihex -18 Atomic Era, while the rest is Atomic Era, and
2+ doublings of size +5 some places are manufacturing at an Early
Atomic Era +6 Atomic Era or before. And those ±1’s and ±2’s
Stationary gadget +0 for that tech era difference can make a big
Mass production -2 deal. If you don’t agree, you’re welcome to
Average gadget +4 compose a rebuttal on a desktop computer
Total (175 Credits) -5 running at 25MHz with a 10 megabyte hard
disk...
This gives us a reasonable cost. Some might say
its decision-making capability makes it complex
instead of average, but that’s a judgement call.

4.40
 Similarly, if you want a world not too much
EABA more advanced than ours, but with human-sized AI
robots, you throw in a fixed modifier for gadgets
with Awareness that reduces their size. If you want a
WORLD BUILDING - That’s pretty much what this world where no one wears armor, you make it too
book does. You can use it to build just about any heavy to wear for Armor values that stop common
aspect of a gameworld you want. Stuff! can be a weapons, or increase the effectiveness of weapons
player tool, a gamemaster tool, or both. Players or insert a weapon technology that armor is useless
can design their own body armor, create firearms against or far less effective against. So, you could
and customize vehicles. Gamemasters can do the have powered armor that stops cannon rounds, so
same for antagonists, create ecosystems and large space marines carry vibro-cutlasses because that
or small scale societies. particular melee weapon is more effective than
beam weapons or bullets. If you want a Victorian
This is the last chapter in the book for designing setting with huge flying machines, throw in a
and building “objects”, so we would like to add a constant for a powerplant that only provides power
few words about how gadgets and societies and for vertical thrust and call it Cavorite or liftwood or
technologies shape each other. anti-gravity fluid or whatever.

Stuff! is designed for EABA, but the results are Or, if you want a particular military tactic in a
readily translated into a number of other systems. fantasy world, adjust the creature design modifiers
But, Stuff! and EABA are grounded in the real world, so there is a wierd cavalry mount that makes that
where things operate in a way that we are familiar tactic effective, and then design a geographical
with. That means Stuff! generates things that are region or political system that limits the armies using
supposed to be plausible for the world we are all that creature to a particular area. Or, if you want
familiar with. But, a lot of gameworlds have one or an interstellar empire that is still based on a feudal
more features that simply don’t make sense if you system, you adjust the modifiers for how many
view them from “normal” reality. people can be effectively governed for a given
political system such that an oligarchy becomes
EXAMPLE: Any anime universe with gigantic the only way to manage that many people.
anthropomorphic robots. These contraptions make
absolutely no sense unless wars are won based on The idea is that in a given gameworld, things
a vote of who has the coolest looking stuff. are done the way they are because it is the most
effective way of getting things done in the long run.
So, can you make Stuff! work with gameworlds So, starships in a one fictional universe have engines
where one or more things are not in tune with out on thin little pylons because it is more efficient,
conventional reality? Yes. It takes a little effort up and force fields and inertial dampers are much
front, but once you do, everything works just fine. more efficient than physical armor, while another
Since Stuff! is a rule-based system, with a lot of universe might have compact spherical designs
things based on constants and simple addition and because they have no forcefields and armor is the
subtraction, you just alter the constants to make a only possible protection.
particular way of doing things the most efficient
way of doing things in that gameworld. There will of course be local and probably
short-term exceptions. Some stuff will be made
EXAMPLE: If you want the best war machines to because of political connections, or based on
be giant robots, you go to the part of the Vehicles faulty assumptions, or preconceptions of how things
chapter dealing with power trains and alter the ought to be (like putting the engine in the front of a
penalty for a walking vehicle so it is less than that car because you put the horse in front of the
for a tracked vehicle. This instantly means that wagon). But in the end, if there is economic or
legged vehicles are faster and have better cross- military competition, the smarter or more efficient
country mobility than tanks, so that is what people design has a better chance of prevailing in the
will design and build. More importantly, if you let end.
players design and build stuff, they will design and
build stuff that fits into the way the rest of the
gameworld does things (players not being known
for gravitating towards inefficient gadgets and
gizmos for their adventurers).

4.41
 v1.0
Stuff!
CIVILIZATIONS

DESIGN PAGE 4 - If you are viewing this page as

a pdf, it has forms that allow you to do most of the
aspects of gadget design right here on the page,
and then print off your finished specs. It may not
cover all the advanced topics, but will give you
Reset Autocalc on the basics to work from.

Gadget name Communication modifiers

Middle Atomic Era 10 d+ 0 Gadget not a comm. device 0 0 d+ 0
Normal use of technology 0 d+ 0 Enter communication speed 0 0 d+ 0
Gadget of 1 millihex(500g) -10 d+ 0 Normal range 0 0 d+ 0
No change in gadget size 0 d+ 0 Transceiver 0 d+ 0
Attribute/skill modifiers No output device modifier 0 0 d+ 0
No Strength 0 0 d+ 0 360 degree arc, range is +0 0 d+ 0
No Agility 0 0 d+ 0 Mitigation modifiers
No Awareness 0 0 d+ 0 No mitigation ability 0 0 d+ 0
No Will 0 0 d+ 0 No environment protection 0 d+ 0
No Health 0 0 d+ 0 No insulation ability 0 0 d+ 0
No Fate 0 0 d+ 0 No temp. compensation 0 0 d+ 0
Enter number of +1's in a skill 0 0 d+ 0 Not a sealed environment 0.0 0 d+ 0
Enter number of skills 0 0 d+ 0 No life support 0 0 d+ 0
Skills are normal 0 d+ 0 Power usage modifiers
No penalty offset 0 d+ 0 Gadget needs no power source 0 d+ 0
Not a facilitator 0 0 d+ 0 Uses external power source 0 d+ 0
No effect on attributes/skills 0 d+ 0 Integral power 0 0 d+ 0
Enter size lev. of item affected 0 0 d+ 0
Generic modifiers
No boost/penalty on Strength 0 0 d+ 0 Default armor value 0 0 d+ 0
No boost/pen. on Awareness 0 0 d+ 0 Normal usage time 0 0 d+ 0
No boost/penalty on Agility 0 0 d+ 0
No physical use limits 0 d+ 0
No boost/penalty on Will 0 0 d+ 0
Transferable user 0 d+ 0
No boost/penalty on Health 0 0 d+ 0
Gadget is reliable 0 d+ 0
No boost/penalty on Fate 0 0 d+ 0
Gadget has no special effect 0 d+ 0
No boost/penalty on skills 0 0 d+ 0
Gadget has no special effect 0 d+ 0
Information modifiers
No fudge factor 0 d+ 0
Not an information gadget 0 0 d+ 0
No cost fudge factor 0 d+ 0
Enter record/playback speed 0 0 d+ 0
Handcuffs Radar sys. Cell phone Multiscanner Spacesuit
Records & plays(active) 0 d+ 0
Name Mass Cost
Normal output device 0 d+ 0
Gadget name 0.5 kg 16 Cr
Information stored as device 0 d+ 0 Est. power req. Energy/hour Armor Hits
Normal recording medium 0 d+ 0 none n/a 1d+0
+
- 0
+
-

4.42
5.1
CREATURES
 All things dull and ugly, v1.0

all creatures short and squat,

Stuff!
All things rude and nasty, In the short term, a species can dominate
an environment, but this is in the scale of human
CREATURES

the Lord God made the lot; lifetimes, which is only an eyeblink in terms of a
species’ entire lifetime. As you design a creature,
Each little snake that poisons, especially alien or unusual ones, remember how it
will respond to the environment, and how the
each little wasp that stings, environment will respond to it (elephants slowly
deforesting an area, etc.).
He made their brutish venom,
ATTRIBUTES - Most of a creature’s non-Strength
he made their horrid wings. stats are going to default to a roll of 2d+0 (a level of
6). This includes Agility, Health, the perceptive part
All things sick and cancerous, of Awareness, and Will. Some will be a function of
the gameworld they are designed for, like Fate.
all evil great and small, Others will depend on the nature of the creature,
like cognitive Awareness, and Strength is mostly
All things foul and dangerous, based on the size of the creature.

the Lord God made them all. Default creature

Strength: to be determined
- Monty Python, All Things Dull and Ugly Agility: 2d+0
Awareness: 2d+0
INTRODUCTION - All creatures great and small. Will: 2d+0
Creatures as an important element of role-playing Health: 2d+0
are mainly because they are “monsters”, and exist Fate: to be determined
only to be exterminated as pests, because they are
an economic resource, or both. A very few, like A “default”creature of a given size will have a
dogs and horses, are important enough to warrant certain Strength. Things about the creature’s biology
their own game stats, but the rest are usually “just that suck energy away from physical development
there”. You don’t need to know the stats of the will weaken the creature, and things which allow
animal you know only as the steak on your plate or more biological resources be devoted to muscle will
the leather of your jacket. This section is mainly strengthen the creature. “Surplus” Strength can be
going to be useful to gamemasters trying to add used to buy up the other Attributes as needed.
consistent elements to a game ecosystem, or start
one up from scratch. There will be useful notes for The principles are the same as that in the
fantasy campaigns regarding draft, riding and weapon design chapter, and you should be
companion animals as well. comfortable with them by now. The basic modifiers
are on the next column, and will be explained in
DESIGN PRINCIPLES - Creatures are different sequential order.
than other designed objects, mainly in that they
don’t have a “cost”. Certain things that seem
fundamental to biology and physics may require a
certain type of ability to make design compromises,
such as flying creatures needing to be lightweight,
but by and large, you can make up anything you
want.

And that’s the problem. No creature exists

independent of its environment. Predators eat, prey
are eaten, and so on. In any naturally evolved
system, checks and balances will have evolved to
prevent one species from completely dominating its
environment. A species that completely depletes its
food source is not a successful one, since it means
the next generation will starve to death.

5.2
 Technological Era Strength for 1 hexagon
EABA Animal power +6 Strength

Creature size Amount

Strength - One hexagon of creature (500 kilo- .001 hexagon(.5kg) -30 penalty
grams) will have a default Strength of +6. This is +6 .002 hexagon(1kg) -27 penalty
for “animal power plant” and +0 for “1 hexagon .004 hexagon(2kg) -24 penalty
power plant”. Each doubling of size over 1 hexagon .008 hexagon(4kg) -21 penalty
is a +6 to this, and each halving below 1 hexagon is .015 hexagon(8kg) -18 penalty
a -3 penalty (and extra size modifiers are halved, .03 hexagon(15kg) -15 penalty
rounding down). This is “power plant” Strength, not .06 hexagon(30kg) -12 penalty
“adventurer sheet” Strength. A “hexagon” of .12 hexagon(60kg) -9 penalty
creature is just a measure for power plant output. It .25 hexagon(125kg) -6 penalty
does not reflect space under its legs or the volume .5 hexagon(250kg) -3 penalty
needed to spread its wings. It is closer to how big a 1 hexagon(500kg) +0 bonus
tub of meat and bone you would have to start with 2 hexagons(1000kg) +6 bonus
in order to make the creature. A horse that weighs 4 hexagons(2000kg) +12 bonus
500 kilograms is a one hexagon creature for design 8 hexagons(4000kg) +18 bonus
purposes, even though it takes up several hexagons 16 hexagons(8000kg) +24 bonus
if you lay it out on a map. Think of it as you would an 32 hexagons(16 ton) +30 bonus
animal power plant for a vehicle. That is, the actual 64 hexagons(32 ton) +36 bonus
volume taken up is usually quadruple the “power 125 hexagons(64 ton) +42 bonus
plant” size (and probably doubed again for fliers). 250 hexagons(125 ton) +48 bonus
Each doubling +6 bonus
EXAMPLE: An average person would be around Each halving -6 penalty
a .1 hexagon (Size of -7 or -8) animal and a horse Each 25% extra size (max +50%) +2 bonus
might be a 1 hexagon animal (Size of -2). Each is far Each 25% less size (max -25%) -1 penalty
larger in terms of the space they would occupy in a
vehicle or a layout. Modifiers Amount
Adventurer sheet modifier varies
In general, the natural range of Strength Gravity varies
amongst adults of a given type of creature will be Herbivore +0 bonus
no more than 6 points more or less than the Omnivore +2 bonus
average. Other Attriibutes may have different Carnivore +4 bonus
ranges, depending on their use. No skeleton -3 penalty
Endoskeleton +2 bonus
Strength distribution Percentage Exoskeleton -1 penalty
+6 more than normal <1% Instinct intelligence +1 bonus
+5 more than normal 1% Animal intelligence +0 bonus
+4 more than normal 2% High animal intelligence -1 penalty
+3 more than normal 5% Semi-sentient -3 penalty
+2 more than normal 10% Sentient -4 penalty
+1 more than normal 20% Super-sentient -5 penalty
Normal 30% Tool-using manipulators -1 penalty
-1 less than normal 20% Each 25% extra limbs -2 penalty
-2 less than normal 10% Each 25% less limbs +1 bonus
-3 less than normal 5% Each extra x1 running multiple -2 penalty
-4 less than normal 2% Each x1/2 running multiple +1 bonus
-5 less than normal 1% Each +1 hit bracket -2 penalty
-6 less than normal <1% Each -1 hit bracket +1 bonus
50 year lifespan +0 bonus
EXAMPLE: So, if you have a thousand animals Each x2 lifespan -3 penalty
whose average Strength is 15, then maybe ten of Each x1/2 lifespan +3 bonus
them will have a Strength as high as 20, or as low as Inherent armor varies
10. Ninety percent of them will be in the 13 to 17 Natural weaponry varies
range. However, in any sort of wild environment, the
weaker individuals may be more likely prey for other
creatures and thus be less common than stronger
individuals.

5.3
 Note - On this scale, people are considered to v1.0
be an average of 75 kilograms, which would be a
size of .15 hexagons and an adjusted Strength of -2
Stuff!
(+6 base and a -8 penalty for size).
Gravity - There’s a reason why giants don’t
Adventurer sheet - Creatures will have a “power stride the earth. It’s the same reason mountains
CREATURES

plant” Strength, which is how well they could power don’t jut out of the atmosphere. The materials they
a vehicle, but if that’s all you need a creature for, are made from are just not strong enough. A huge
just go back to the Vehicles chapter and make an creature requires more and more material in its
“animal” power plant. However, that chapter skeletal structure, until you reach a point where the
assumes that all creatures are created equal, and creature has to be 100% skeleton just to avoid
does not take into account that a 2 ton orca could snapping in two when it bends over. The gravity well
pull the sea god’s chariot a lot better than say a 2 a creature lives in will determine how much of its
ton jellyfish. So, in addition to the way we generate biology has to be devoted to just holding itself
“power plant” Strength in this chapter (which does together, and this is based on the creature size. The
take these variations into account), creatures will modifiers on the “gravity” table apply only to the
also have “adventurer sheet” Strength. This modifier Strength from the size of the creature (round effects
will be: towards zero), and the “additional effect” table
applies normally. The net effect of the modifier is to
plus Intelligence modifier on Strength let smaller creatures carry proportionately more,
minus half of any positive size bonus for Strength and bigger creatures carry propotionately less.
plus 12
Gravity Modifiier
This modifier never goes lower than +0, so Base effect (based on size) -1 per +2
adventurer sheet Strength is never less than power +1 per -4
plant Strength.
Additional effect Modifiier
EXAMPLE: A person as a power plant of .15 0g* +9
hexagon would be: .06g +6
.12g +4
Modifier Amount .25g +3
Animal power +6 Strength .5g +2
.12 hexagon(60kg) -9 penalty 1.0g +0
25% extra size (max +50%) +1 bonus 1.5g -4
Total -2 Strength 2.0g -6
3.0g -10
But, a human has an actual character sheet 4.0g -12
Strength of around 6 or 7. The difference is:
EXAMPLE: In earth-normal gravity, a creature
Modifier Amount with +6 Strength for being 2 hexagons in size (1 ton)
Previous total -2 Strength will take a -3 penalty to Strength, for a net +3 effect
Intelligence modifier(sentient) -4 penalty for carrying capacity (instead of +6). A creature at
Half of any positive size modifier +0 bonus -12 Strength for being .06 hexagons (30kg) will get a
Fixed bonus +12 bonus +3 bonus, for a net -9 effect for carrying capacity
Total +6 Strength (instead of -12). The 2 hexagon creature in a 2g
environment will have a -9 penalty to Strength from
A lesser primate of the same weight as a human gravity, for a net -3 effect on carrying capacity,
would be signifiantly stronger. They also only have a while the .06 hexagon creature has a net -15 effect.
-3 Strength penalty for their level of intelligence, plus
12, for a +9 bonus...

A big brain consumes a lot of oxygen and nutri-

ents. Between two creatures of equal size, the one
that is smarter is also likely to be weaker.

Note - The interactive pdf at the end of this

chapter automatically takes this modifier and the +6
“animal power plant” amount into account.

5.4
 SAMPLE CREATURE - At this point, we’re going
EABA to start designing a horse, applying modifiers as
needed until we get to the end of the basic design
section.
On this scale, a creature weighing 125 tons
would only have a default Strength of about +30, EXAMPLE: An “average” horse weighs in at
enough to lift 12.5 tons, only ten percent of its body about 500 kilograms, which is a convenient 1
weight. Imagine how crimped your lifestyle would hexagon size. This is a base Strength of +6 (+6 for
be if the biggest load you could stagger around animal power plant, +0 for size). Because it has +0
with was only ten percent of normal human body size modifier, the gravity-based carrying capacity
weight! For reference, if you used this modifier on a modifier will also be +0 (for a 1g environment).
normal human (a .15 hexagon creature), the
modifier on carrying capacity in a 1g environment Diet - A creature living on high-energy foods
would be +2. can afford to power more muscles. Herbivores
(plant eaters) are at the bottom, carnivores (meat
Most water-bound creatures use the .5g row. A eaters) are at the top and omnivores (a little of
creature that floats in its environment like a jellyfish each) are in the middle. Specialized diet types as
or a balloon may counts as though it were on the might be found on alien creatures (photovores,
.12g [Link] a creature that is adapted to the metallovores, etc.) will be in the advanced rules.
delicate life of floating in space can take the zero-g
modifier. Note that the maximum acceleration a EXAMPLE: A horse is an herbivore, for a +0 bonus
creature can manage under its own power, or and no change, leaving us at +6 Strength.
experience without taking damage is related to
that amount of gravity. Keep in mind that a creature needs to consume
some fraction of its body weight each day (as an
EXAMPLE: A beached whale can suffocate average) to stay alive, and that the creature has to
under its own weight. It would be much the same be equipped to acquire that food. Carnivores may
as if a person were trapped in an environment of need to be able to go out and kill things, though
several gravities. Your chest would weigh so much they may be opportunists that simply take the
that the very act of breathing would eventually leavings from other creatures (like vultures), or pick
exhaust you. on tiny helpless creatures in great quantity (like an
anteater). A creature’s normal food consumption is
To deal with a creature when it is in a heavier about 1 percent of its body weight per day (this
gravity than it is used to, you can often just apply would be its mass level with a -19 modifier). An
the difference. herbivore might require a level or two more in mass,
while a carnivore might use a level less (meat being
EXAMPLE: If you are used to 1g, then being in a more efficient energy-wise than plants). A herbivore
2g environment would be a -6 Strength penalty. If might graze on and off all day, while a carnivore
you are used to .5g, then 1g would be a -3 Strength might eat several day’s worth of food in one sitting
penalty. For a tiger, it is not uncommon for only five percent
of a hunting attempts to be successful. This doesn’t
mean the hunters are incompetent, just that the
prey is very wary, and the hunter often goes several
days without a new kill.

EXAMPLE: A horse is an herbivore and has a

mass of about 500 kilograms (a Mass level of 16 on
the EABA Universal Chart). A -19 on this would drop
it to a mass level of -3, or 6 kilograms of food per
day (8-10 kilograms if we apply a +1or +2 modifier
for lower quality food).

As a really quick guide, a sustainable pasture

for a 1 hexagon herbivore will be about .02 square
kilometers (2 hectares) of good quality foraging, but
a 1 hexagon carnivore will want about 10 square
kilometers of good hunting territory. Lower quality
forage (like arid areas) can increase the size of both
regions several-fold.

5.5
 Skeleton - What you use to hold things up with. v1.0
No skeleton means something like a jellyfish, starfish
or even an octopus. The way the creature moves
Stuff!
and lives requires few or no rigid structures. While this
obviously conveys a lot of flexibility, it also limits the Intelligence - How much of the creature’s
mechanical leverage the creature can employ. To life-support resources go towards powering a brain.
CREATURES

compensate for the -3 penaltyon Strength, a Creatures with instinct intelligence have a normal
creature with no skeleton can have +6 on the cognitive Awareness of 0d+0 and a maximum of
damage of any special attack it has (see page 0d+1. They’re frightfully dim. However, most of what
5.12). An example of such an attack might be the they need to know to survive they are born with,
stinging tentacles of a jellyfish. and simply get better at it as they grow older.
Animal intelligence is the default. The creature has
An endoskeleton is any sort of rigid, internal the ability to learn, but only to a small degree. It’s
skeleton. This could be bone, cartilage or something cognitive Awareness is 0d+1 with a maximum of
else. It is a framework to which other things can be 0d+2. Remember that this only limits its ability to
mounted, housed in or protected by. Most of you acquire intelligence-based abilities, and these are
should be thankful that your brain has a protective appropriate to the nature of the animal. Being able
housing. This is the default. to tell the difference between a circle and a square
to get a food reward, or remember a path through
An exoskeleton is an external skeleton. It will a maze are examples of animal intelligence. High
perform much the same function as the endo- animal intelligence is a cognitive Awareness of 0d+2
skeleton, but is not as efficient. However, exoskeletal with a maximum of 1d+1. The creature is capable of
creatures will get an inherent armor. The value of some problem-solving ability or do things people
this would be calculated as a very lightweight would consider “clever”. Cats, dogs, horses, squirrels
armor as applied to a vehicle, with a base weight of and some of the brighter birds fall into this category.
twenty percent of the creature’s weight. Don’t fret Semi-sentient intelligence is a default of 1d+0
about figuring it out. The result of that calculation for cognitive Awareness with a maximum of 2d+0. The
a 1 hexagon creature is a 0d+0 armor for flying creature is capable of abstract thought to some
creatures, a 1d+0 armor for land creatures and a degree, and given time can master aspects of
2d+0 armor for water creatures. And this amount symbolic representation like simple language skills.
stays fairly constant. As creatures get bigger, they There would be some overlap between the low end
have more armor, but it is covering a larger area, of sentience and the high end of semi-sentience.
and while smaller creatures have less armor, it is Higher primates and dolphins fall into this category.
covering a smaller area. Sentience? Think humans. This is a default cogitive
Awareness of 2d+0 and a maximum of about 4d+0.
The exoskeleton modifier can be taken more Super-sentient? We have nothing to compare it to
than once. Each doubling of the times it is taken it in the real world, but assume a default cognitive
adds +1d to the creature’s armor (twice gives +2d, Awareness of 3d+0 and a maximum of 6d+0.
four times gives, +3d, etc). If armor is bought for a Whatever they are, they’re damn smart, and an
exoskeletal creature later in the design process, it ordinary human genius barely has the brainpower
will be bought up from the base provided by the to get a minimum passing grade in their schools.
exoskeleton.
Note - The lower on this intelligence scale, the
EXAMPLE: A horse has an endoskeleton, for a +2 more the creature is ruled by “animal instinct”. A
bonus, giving us a total of +8 Strength. human who sees a fire will call for help. A smart
gorilla is not a natural language user. Their response
is going to be more of the instinctual one. If you
need to make a roll of some kind, apply a 2 point
difficulty shift on whatever Will task needs to be
made to “act rationally” for each level below (or
above) basic sentience. This can combine with
other modifiers like loyalty of the creature to an
owner, etc.

EXAMPLE: We’ll say our horse is a reasonably

bright breed, and give it high animal intelligence,
which is a -1 penalty, dropping its Strength to +7.

5.6
 In EABA terms, half the limbs do punching
EABA damage (Strength roll minus 1d) and half do kicking
damage (Strength roll). The main mobility limbs have
the animal’s Health for determining normal move-
Tool-user - The ability to pick up and use small ment rate, while the other limbs have normal Agility
items with finesse comes at a slight overall biological for skill use. For a creature to be “limb-symmetrical”
penalty. The basic modifier gives the ability to use is a -1 penalty on Strength. It means that all limbs
hand-held items with half the creature’s limbs are equally usable for all purposes, but is also means
(round down). To have the ability to use tools in all that all limbs are required for normal full mobility. A
the creature’s limbs, the modifier would be taken four-legged tool user can hold a tool in any hand/
twice. Normally, a creature can only use one tool at paw, but they could not run at full speed at the
a time, regardless of how many it can hold. If you same time.
want to have a multi-tasking creature, apply an
extra -1 penalty per extra tool (or Agility skill) that EXAMPLE: Our horse is going to have the default
can be used simultaneously at no penalty (it takes a limbs. It will be more powerful at kicking with the
bigger brain to manage two tasks at once). hind legs, and can see where it is kicking better with
the front ones, so the rear legs get better damage,
EXAMPLE: While a horse can figure out how to while the front ones have a better chance of
open latches with its lips, it is not a tool-user and success. So, no Strength modifier.
takes no modifier.
Running - Normally, creatures have a walk
Limbs - Creatures have a default of four limbs. speed based on their full Health dice, which is a
For game purposes, a limb is something that can default of 2d+0, for a walk speed of 2 meters per
use tools, move the creature or strike for damage. A turn. This is a running multiple of x1. Increasing this
cats’ tail may be expressive, but it is not a limb. means the creature is trading in limb strength for
Each extra limb is a -1 penalty, and each limb limb speed. Increasing the running multiple by 1 is a
removed is a +1 bonus (fish have no limbs, for +4). -2 Strength penalty. Conversely, slowing a creature
Extra limbs give more ability to hold or use tools. It by giving it shorter, more powerful limbs is a +1
also provides redundancy in the event of damage. bonus to Strength each time the multiple is halved.
If you don’t have at least half your locomotive limbs
intact (round up), it will be difficult to move at all. EXAMPLE: We know from the EABA rules that a
Having fewer limbs lets you concentrate your horse has a running multiple of x3. This is a -4 penalty
musculature into fewer but more powerful limbs. If to Strength. Last time we checked, Strength was at
you have no limbs, like a snake or fish, then your +7. A -4 penalty will drop this to +3.
movement is affected by normal damage penalties,
while for limbed creatures, hits to non-motive limbs The EABA rules have walk, run and sprint move-
do not necessarily affect movement speed. ment, corresponding to basic movement, move-
ment times two, and movement times three. Skills
All limbs are not created equal. The default is like Running can increase the base movement rate.
that half the limbs are specialized for movement,
and half for other purposes. This applies even to Multiples also applies to damage penalties. A
animals you normally consider straightforward creature with x2 running speed loses 2 from base
quadrupeds. For instance, you don’t think of a movement speed on a -1d penalty. But, a creature
rabbit bounding along by the power of its front legs. with a x1/2 running speed only loses 1 from base
Normally, the limbs closest to the mouth are less movement speed on a -2d penalty.
associated with mobility. They might be required for
full mobility, but are less specialized for the task. Lifespan - The default lifespan for a creature is
50 years. While larger creatures generally live longer
If certain limbs are not required at all for mobility than small ones, this is not always the case. If a
(like a human’s arms), this reduces the creature’s creature’s average lifespan is halved, it gets a +3
mobility with the remaining limbs. bonus, and, if it is doubled it gets a -3 penalty, with
increments of 25% being a +1 bonus or -1 penalty.

EXAMPLE: A horse has about a 25 year lifespan,

so we take a +3 bonus, which raises the total
Strength to +6.

In adventurer terms, lifespan equates to the

Elderly category of the Age Trait (EABA, page 2.11).

5.7
 Blessing/Curse - A creature that has the v1.0
inherent ability or limits of these EABA Traits would
take a -3 penalty for each level of a Blessing, and
Stuff!
+3 for each level of a Curse. This is very much a
“gamemaster option” ability. LET’S SEE IF IT WORKS - That’s all you need to
design a large number of conventional creatures.
CREATURES

Inherent armor - Creatures can have hard shells, We will do two basic creature designs, one from the
thick fur or other natural protection. Generally, a present, and one from bad 1950’s horror movies.
creature can take a 0d+1 armor to represent a thick
hide or fur as a “freebie”. A “freebie” is in the Homo sapiens - Humans. We have the rules
advanced rules, and it is a trait that by itself does needed for a basic human in the basic design rules.
not have a Strength penalty or bonus, but which a
creature can only have a certain number of. Creature Strength/modifiers
Generally, creatures will get one freebie for +3 of Animal power +6 Strength
Strength and each time this is doubled, with a Adventurer sheet modifier +8 bonus
minimum of one freebie. .15 hexagon creature -8 penalty
1g gravity well +2 bonus
Inherent weaponry - Normally, creatures do Omnivore +2 bonus
half-lethal damage with whatever they use to Endoskeleton +2 bonus
attack or defend themselves with, doing a minimum Sentient intelligence -4 penalty
of 0d+1 for any creature which can reasonably put Tool-user -1 penalty
a hurting on a person (ouch!). A human fist or kick is Lifespan (x1 1/4) -1 penalty
an example. A form of natural weaponry that can Total +6 Strength(2d+0)
do lethal damage with a -2d penalty (with a usual
minimum damage of 0d+1) is a “freebie”. This could This is the “adventurer sheet” Strength, which
be a bite, a horn, claw or whatever (though a lethal gives a 75 kilogram human a Strength of +6 (roll of
claw and bite would be two freebies). You need to 2d+0). But, for powering something like a bicycle,
decide the type of damage for purposes of special you remove that modifier and count them as a
armor effects (a horn might penetrate armor powerplant with a Strength of -2 (roll of -0d+2). You
differently than a claw). Lacking any conventional might quibble over giving an average person a
weaponry would net you a spare freebie. lifespan of only 62 years, but remember that this is
“wild” lifespan, excluding being eaten by other
Final - That ends the basic design for creatures. creatures, nor including any medical care more
The Strength you have at this point is the “power sophisticated than wild herbs. We get one freebie
plant” Strength for purposes of pulling or powering a (the minimum), which we save for later. A semi-
vehicle. The actual Strength for purposes of lifting, sentient primate of the same size and lifespan
encumbrance or kicking damage is going to be would have a power plant Strength of -1, and an
adjusted by the creature’s size and intelligence. adventurer sheet Strength of +8, which is about sixty
And so, the horse: percent more than a human of equal mass, and if
they had the default lifespan, they would have a
Creature Strength/modifiers Strength of +9, twice as strong as a human for the
Animal power +6 Strength same size package. Don’t get into wrestling
Adventurer sheet modifier +11 bonus matches with the lesser primates. They’ll kick your
1 hexagon creature +0 bonus ass.
1g gravity well +0 bonus
Herbivore +0 bonus
Endoskeleton +2 bonus
High animal intelligence -1 penalty
Running multiple(total of x3) -4 penalty
Lifespan (x1/2) +3 bonus
Total +17 Strength(2d+0)

So, the horse would be listed as having a

Strength of 6 (power plant) + 11 (adventurer sheet
modifier) = 17 (a roll of 5d+2). We know from
previous text that we get two “freebies” for the
horse. This is one each at +3 and +6 power plant
(not adventurer sheet) Strength. We opt for a 0d+1
hide and leave the other freebie for later.

5.8
 OTHER BASIC CONCEPTS - These are addressed
EABA in varying detail in the advanced rules, but
remember:

Lobster from Hell - We decide to recreate the Hit brackets - Small creatures will have smaller
movie “Attack of the Giant Lobster”, a creature hit brackets, large ones will have larger ones. See
which we’ll say is 32 hexagons in size (16 tons). If we EABA, page 2.19. The number of spots in a bracket
quadruple the power plant size to get a better is the creature’s (Strength plus Health), divided by
representation of actual creature size, we have a four, rounding nearest. The minimum Strength for
128 hexagon lobster (about 10 meters long by 4 determining hit brackets is zero.
meters wide by 3 meters high).
EXAMPLE: Our giant lobster has a Strength of
Creature Strength/modifiers 8d+0, which is a level of 24. If its Health were 2d+0
Animal power +6 Strength (a level of 6), this would give it a hit bracket of 8.
Adventurer sheet modifier -2 penalty This means that while a person takes a -1d injury
32 hexagon creature +30 bonus penalty per 4 hits, the lobster only takes a -1d injury
1g gravity well -15 penalty penalty per 8 hits. Add this to its inherent 4d+0
Omnivore (it eats anything) +2 bonus armor (2d+0 vs. guns), and it becomes a pretty
Exoskeleton (four times) -4 penalty tough monster to take down.
Instinct intelligence +1 bonus
Lifespan (x1/4) +6 bonus You can alter a creature’s hit brackets by ±1
Total +24 Strength(8d+0) point spread between damage brackets by taking
a ±1 to Strength. Note that this will sometimes end
We decided the base 1d+0 armor from the up with zero change for a particular creature, like if
exoskeleton isn’t enough, so we take it three extra a 1 point drop in Strength also drops the hit bracket
times for a total -4 penalty, but a 4d+0 total armor by 1, which you just canceled by buying +1 hit
that should keep the townsfolk busy. Our lobster bracket...
gets four freebies (1 freebie at each of +3, +6, +12
and +24 Strength). We use one to give it lethal Cognition vs. perception - The Awareness
crushing claws at -2d to normal damage (details in attribute in people covers both sensory acuity and
the advanced rules). how well you can interpret that info to make
decisions. For animals, they may be able to spot
The lobster has a “power plant” Strength of things just fine, but they might not have the ability
8d+2, which compares to a vehicle design number to recognize that guns are dangerous, or figure out
of 7d+0, though to be fair, the vehicle rules were the “doorknob principle” in order to escape
not meant to be used with a single creature this captivity. That’s why they have the arbitrarily low
big. A team of sixteen 1 hexagon horses would values for mental tasks. A task with a difficulty of 4 is
have a power plant Strength of 6d+0. Of course, barely within the capability of a smart dog to figure
our lobster is also an energetic, short-lived omnivore out with its native wits, though it is worth noting that
that is dumb as a box of rocks. an animal with a cognitive Awareness of 1d+0 can
with time and effort be trained up to a +1d skill
The lobster has a “adventurer sheet” Strength level, giving it a 2d+0 roll for specific intellectual
modifier based on its size and intelligence. This is its tasks.
intelligence modifier, plus 12, minus half its Strength
bonus from size. The total modifier is -2, giving the
lobster an adventurer sheet Strength of +24 (8d+0).

Its lethal damage would be 2d less than this, for

a 6d+0 attack. Yeah, that’s a lot, but the lobster is
about the size of a locomotive, so if its claws can
snap a person in half with one “clack!”, who are we
to argue with it?

5.9
 ADVANCED CREATURES - Again, we start with v1.0
the basics and move on to advanced creature
topics.
Stuff!
When Animals Attack! - The default for lethal Enhanced Attributes - So far, we have dealt
attacks from an animal is its character sheet only with Strength, and assumed all other Attributes
CREATURES

Strength with a -2d penalty, with a minimum of were at 2d+0. The way you alter these Attributes (in
0d+1 damage for any creature reasonably able to either direction) is by using Strength. Got extra
do a nasty gash to an unprotected person. This Strength? Put it towards the creature’s Health. Not
seems reasonable on the face of things, but what if enough Strength? Take a point or two from Agility
the creature is really huge? No matter how vicious or Awareness. The near-sighted rhinocerous or
the creature, no weapon of bone or tooth or horn the glacially slow sloth would be examples of
or claw is going to get through the front of a tank, decreased non-Strength Attributes. In general,
any more than you could chew up a steel ball- Attributes can be raised or lowered by 1 for a -1
bearing. Swallow it, yes. Chew it up, not likely. penalty or +1 bonus to Strength.

If kick damage is based on Strength, and In addition, the level of an Attribute in different
punches are based on Strength minus 1d, other limbs can be altered on a 1-to-1 basis. For instance,
attacks would have default values as listed below. rear leg Strength can be increased by 1 if front leg
All damage is half-lethal. Strength is decreased by 1 (think of the difference
in strength between the front and rear legs of a
Attack Damage tyrannosaurus). If limbs normally have more of a
Kick Strength+0 non-Strength Attribute than others, or you want to
Punch Strength-3 switch between Attributes, this is on a 2-to-1 basis
Head butt Strength-3 per type. If you rearrange the same Attribute, but
Bite Strength-6 move the ability from full use to a Forte, you can
Claw crush Strength-3 trade on a 1-to-2 basis.
Tail thrash Strength-6
EXAMPLE: Altering limb Strength is done on a
If a creature has the lethal damage modifier, 1-to-1 basis. However, dropping leg Health (which
it is an extra -6 on these amounts. The maximum affects movement rate) to increase arm Agility
damage that can be done by flesh and bone would be done on a 2-to-1 basis. Each 2 points of
attacks is 5d+0 (or 3d+0 lethal). If a creature would Health lost from the legs for movement purposes
have an attack that can do more than this, you can would increase base arm Agility by 1.
give it +2 “battering power” (see page 2.27) for
each full die the attack exceeds the normal EXAMPLE: If you have a creature that has poor
maximum. This represents a really big attack. A Agility for things like combat, but has very fine motor
great white shark might have a limited ability to get control for things like craft skills, you are rearranging
through armor, but it has a big mouth, and if it gets Agility. Each 1 point lost off normal Agility is a +2
through your protection, it will take a big chunk out bonus to Agility as a Forte on “craft skills”.
of you.
Magic - In a non-magical gameworld, most
EXAMPLE: A large great white shark as a creatures usually have a Fate of 0d+1. If a game-
creature design might have a Strength of about world is such that there are creatures with inherent
+31(10d+1). If a bite is -6, and lethal damage is -6 magical ability, they start off with a Fate that is half
more, this gives the shark a lethal bite of 6d+1. We their default “adventurer sheet” Strength (the
downgrade this to 3d+0 lethal with +6 battering Strength before you rearrange any Attributes).
power (+2 per extra die). Against armor of 3d+0 or Increasing or decreasing this default would be
more, the attack does no damage, but on any done as for any other Attribute. Any spell or
attack that gets anything through armor, you add paranormal effect a creature has use of is at a -3
+6 to the damage done. Chomp! penalty off their designed level of Fate. Note that
such an ability would likely be a paranormal
phenonomenon and those rules would apply
instead of the attack type rules.

EXAMPLE: A creature with a Fate of 7 has a

Fate roll of 2d+1. However, for purposes of using
any natural magical abilities, it uses a Fate of 1d+1
to determine the level of effect.

5.10
 EXAMPLE: A creature with equal walking and
EABA swimming base movement can get a running
multiple on swimming and a separate one on
running. A creature that has walking at x1/2 its
MacGuffin bonus - Sometimes a creature has swimming rate can buy a multiple on swimming
abilities that are just so far “out there” that basic speed, but not on running speed. Running speed is
design rules do not apply. This is especially the case half the base swimming speed, not the swimming
if recreating a creature that is the centerpiece of a speed after the multiple is applied.
particular fictional universe. An example might be a
flying dragon-like creature with flaming breath, Note - A creature which has “walk normally, no
human intelligence and the ability to teleport across swim” can usually gain the benefit of “swim at x1/4”
vast intervals of space and time. It’s just not going by having a “Swimming” skill. Consider a person
to happen in the normal Stuff! design rules. To do it, who can’t swim vs. a person who has learned to
you need to add a “MacGuffin” Strength bonus to swim. If a mode of movement is possible to your
that creature type, typically is just enough to offset biology, but not known by instinct, you can usually
the high cost of the creature’s abilities. This allows spend skill points to compensate.
normal variation in mundane abilities, but also
covers unique abilities of that particular creature. Flying movement is a bit trickier. In general,
the creature needs to have a superior amount of
Mobility - The basic rules really only cover land muscle and a low weight in order to get itself off
creatures. You can do things like snakes by saying the ground. There are two ways to do this. The first is
they have no limbs and altered movement rates, that the creature can take off from a standing start,
but there are no basic provisions for fish, birds or but has negligible ground movement (a very slow
other modes of movement other than walking or waddle). This is a +0 to Strength. If the creature
slithering on a solid surface. needs a running start to get airborne (equal to its
running speed), it gets a +1 bonus. This bonus is in
Swimming movement is based on Health, just addition to another modifier, not a stand-alone
as running would be. However, a creature that case, and means the creature must have at least
moves mainly by swimming would likely be at a “walk at x1/4” Note that for a running start, the
disadvantage trying to walk on land. A swimmer is creature also needs some room downrange to gain
not prohibited from land movement (witness an altitude or get over any nearby obstacles. Running
alligator), but it will usually take penalties. speed also takes two turns of ground movement to
achieve (walk first turn, run on second turn). In
Creature can: Strength general, a flying creature cannot get off the
Swim and walk equally well -4 penalty ground or stay airborne if is burdened to more than
Swim normally, walk at x1/2 -2 penalty a -1d penalty on Strength. As with swimming
Swim normally, walk at x1/4 -1 penalty creatures, a flyer may have decreased land
Swim normally, no walk at all +0 bonus movement.
Walk normally, no swim at all +0 bonus
Walk normally, swim at x1/4 -1 penalty Creature can: Strength
Walk normally, swim at x1/2 -2 penalty Fly and walk equally well -12 penalty
Walk and swim equally well -4 penalty Fly normally, walk at x1/2 -9 penalty
Fly normally, walk at x1/4 -6 penalty
An exception to the above table is a creature Fly normally, no walk at all +0 bonus
which can move on land but has absolutely no Walk normally, no fly at all +0 bonus
chance of surviving in the water. This is worse than Walk normally, fly at x1/4 -6 penalty
“no swimming ability”, and would get a +1 bonus to Walk normally, fly at x1/2 -9 penalty
Strength. An example might be a heavy dinosaur Walk and fly equally well -12 penalty
that simply sinks like a rock and drowns. Movement Requires running start +1 bonus
modifiers can be taken in combination with altered
numbers of limbs. A snake might have no limbs and Flight speed is based on Health,as for running.
be equally mobile on land and in the water, while a Most flying creatures will have “running multiples” to
fish might have no limbs and be helpless on land. increase their flight speed, at the same cost. As for
“Running multiples” may be taken on swimming or swimming, flight multiples are separate from and do
running speed, but multiples only affect one mode not affect running speed.
of movement. Increased speed multiples may not
be applied to a decreased movement rate.
Swimming multiples are a -4 to Strength each,
instead of the -2 for flying or running movement.

5.11
 EXAMPLE: A creature with a Health of 2d+0 and v1.0
equal running and flying speed will have a base
movement of 2 meters per turn. If it takes a x4
Stuff!
multiple on flight speed, its base flight movement is
8 meters per turn, but its base walking speed Reaction movement - It is possible for a creature
remains 2 meters per turn. to be a living rocket, almost a necessity for any
CREATURES

form of self-mobile space creature. This is a severe

If a creature for some reason can walk, fly and biologic strain on the system. Imagine if you had to
swim well enough to matter (like a duck or goose), leave part of yourself behind with every step you
then you decide which is the primary means of took. You would not do any casual walking...
movement, and apply modifiers in order.
Reaction movement would be counted like
EXAMPLE: A goose would be a flyer that can other movement, based on Health. However, each
walk and swim. It flies first, so we say it can fly time movement is used, the creature takes a non-
normally and walk at x1/4, for a -6 penalty. If we lethal hit. This represents biological fuel or energy
then say it can swim and walk equally well, this is reserves being used up. These reserves are
another -4 penalty, for a total of -10. recovered normally if the creature has a food
source, otherwise they are not. Using running speed
ADVANCED TOPIC: FLIGHT MUSCLES is two hits, and sprinting is three hits. On the plus
A creature with flapping wings generally has a side, once movement is started, the creature can
huge amount of muscle and bone mass devoted coast through the vacuum of space at this speed
to this aspect of its biology. It is the strongest part of with no further fuel expenditure. On the minus side,
the creature. In general, such creatures usually it needs to expend fuel again in order to slow
consider their wings to be the stronger limbs, and down. Running multiples do not change fuel
these will do kick damage instead of punch expenditure, but they do increase the speed you
damage. This can be further enhanced by moving get for a given expenditure. Reaction movement
Strength from the other limbs to a Forte on “wing creatures with a walk movement of 10 meters or
Strength”. This does not affect flight lifting capacity, more are assumed to be able to make small course
but will affect any damage done with a wing strike. or velocity changes without taking hits, like a solar
You would normally get this as a freebie for the sail slowly accelerating, or a magnetic web slowly
creature. altering course along interplanetary magnetic field
lines.
EXAMPLE: A goose might have a final Strength
Attribute of +0 (0d+0). If we divert 3 points of EXAMPLE: We decide to work on a space slug
Strength from its walking limbs and give it a Forte of that chews on cometary debris and uses gas jets to
“wing strength” for a +6 bonus, it means that a move about. With a basic Health of 2d+0, it has the
goose with a normal Strength of 0d+0 can slap you ability to accelerate 2 meters per turn, at the cost
with its wings for a 2d+0 half-lethal attack (base of of 1 non-lethal Hit per use. In order to get a walk
0d+0, +6 for diverting leg Strength to the wing movement of 10 meters per turn, we need 4
Forte). Since we have diverted Strength from the running multiples (x1 is the base, +4 makes x5 on the
legs, this means that the amount of weight the base of 2 meters). This would be a -8 penalty to
goose can support on land is based on a Strength Strength. On the other hand, it operates in a zero-g
of -1d+0 instead of 0d+0. environment, which is good for a +15 to Strength.

As long as the creature has a food supply and

can recover the non-lethal hits, it can jet about all it
wants. However, space is very, very big, so if your
creature is going to be doing any interplanetary
foraging, you better give it a really long lifespan...

5.12
 Environment - The default creature will be an
EABA atmosphere-breather. If the creature pulls its oxygen
(or other necessary external life support) from a less
efficient storage medium, it takes a -2 penalty on
Other movement - Creatures can also burrow, Strength. The obvious example is a fish obtaining its
climb and possbily have other forms of movement oxygen from the air is dissolved in water. If the
in specialized environments. These need to be oxygen is especially rich or poor, this modifier can
handled with a certain degree of common sense. be altered anywhere in the -1 to -3 range.
A digging creature has to have claws or something
tough enough to get through what it burrows into. Creature can: Strength
Claws that are glorified fingernails may be okay for Only survive in atmosphere +0 bonus
sand or dirt, but don’t expect to dig tunnels through Water-breather -2 penalty
granite with them! The rate of most specialized Can survive in vacuum -7 penalty
movements is likely negligible in combat terms. A Has 25°C comfort range +0 bonus
badger may outdig a man with a shovel, but he still Has 50°C comfort range -1 penalty
can’t dig faster than a man can walk. For most Has 100°C comfort range -2 penalty
types of specialized environment, you can usually Has 200°C comfort range -3 penalty
set a constant to multiply normal walk distance by. Tolerate x1/4 atmosphere var. +0 bonus
For instance, digging through dirt would be about Tolerate x1/2 atmosphere var. -2 penalty
1/16th normal movement. Every time the creature Tolerate x1 atmosphere var. -4 penalty
could walk 16 meters on the surface, it could dig 1
meter through dirt. If you want to give specialized If a creature can survive unaided in a vacuum
movement multiples for some mythical creature, environment, it takes a -4 penalty (a 100% reduction
you can. So, you can have giant, fast-swimming in pressure). If it can withstand the temperature
sandsharks terrorizing desert dwellers on an alien extremes from burning sun to shaded chill in outer
world. space, it takes an additional -3 penalty (total of -7
for a space-adapted creature). The more detailed
Hit brackets - A creature that has a lighter way to do this is to give a creature a normal air
body structure has more mass available for muscle, pressure and temperature range it is comfortable
but is not as structurally strong. Remember that in. The temperature comfort range is generally
you can decrease a creature’s hit brackets instead about 25°C wide. Each time you double the size of
of increasing them. A creature can get a +1 to the range is a -1 penalty. The comfort range for
Strength for each point of hit brackets it loses, down pressure starts at about a quarter of one standard
to a hit bracket of half normal for its Strength and Earth atmosphere.
Health(round down) before this modifier is applied.
The pressure range is what the creature can
EXAMPLE: A flying creature with a hit bracket of sustainably live and work in without serious penalty.
4 could get up to +2 Strength by dropping its hit A 1/4 variation means you can survive in a range of
brackets to 2. x3/4 normal pressure to x1 1/4 normal air pressure.
You can usually survive (at some mental and
Each 2 points you drop hit brackets by doubles physical penalty) for long periods at pressures of 1/2
the physical size of the creature for its listed mass, your optimum air pressure, and operate at marginal
each 1 point being about a 50% change. effectiveness for short periods at pressures of 1/4
your optimum air pressure. This is not perfectly
EXAMPLE: A living balloon with a normal hit accurate, but good enough for game purposes.
bracket of 7 could drop its hit bracket to 3 for +4
Strength. This creature would be four times as large EXAMPLE: This gives humans (who have a x1/4
for its mass as normal. atmosphere pressure range) a “comfort range” up
to an altitude of 2,400 meters, a “survival range”
up to about 5,100 meters, and an “I can barely
breathe!” range up to about 10,000 meters. Close
enough to real-world figures for game use.

The extremes of the survivable range would

cause exertion penalties as listed in the EABA rules.
If the creature can only survive pressure changes in
one direction, the penalty is halved. Note that
water-breathers generally can operate over a
large range of water depths at no Strength penalty.

5.13
 EXAMPLE: A space creature that can survive in v1.0
vacuum but which is imploded by any significant
air pressure would take no Strength penalty (it
Stuff!
survives from zero to 1/4 atmosphere of pressure). If it
can tolerate a temperature range of 200°C, this is Reproduction - The default creature has two
three doublings of the standard range, for a total sexual forms, male and female. If a creature has
CREATURES

Strength penalty of -3. If it could survive at pressures only one gender, it can typically procreate by self-
of up to 1/2 atmosphere of pressure, this would be a cloning. This is a -1 penalty to Strength. On the other
change in one direction (no pressure to some hand, if the creature is tri-sexual and requires more
pressure), and would be a -1 penalty on Strength than two individuals in order to reproduce, each
instead of -2. of the creatures is spending less of their biologic
capital on the necessary hardware, and such
Special diet - Alien creatures might take their creatures get a +1 bonus to Strength.
nourishment from things we wouldn’t normally
consider. For instance, a space-faring creature Creature reproduction: Strength
might subsist on sunlight and interplanetary dust. Unisexual -1 penalty
Specialized diets are also “-vores”, like carnivores Bisexual +0 bonus
eat meat, herbivores eat plants, and so on. Unusual Trisexual +1 bonus
vores might be:
Typically, different genders have discernable
Photovore - Lives on sunlight physical differences. By this, we mean one is often
Lithovore - Lives on stone larger and stronger than the other. The easiest way
Metallovore - Lives on metal to design this is to make one gender slightly smaller
Magivore - Lives on magical energy than the other, which is enough for an average 1
point of Strength difference.
Most of the specialized vores will be a -4
penalty. Any two of them would be a -3 penalty, Specialized senses - Sometimes a creature will
and four specialized vores would be a -2 penalty. have a sense or senses outside the range of what
we consider the normal biologic possibilities. A
Creature diet: Strength creature with built-in long range radar, or the ability
Specialized -vore -4 penalty to read auras or see magic would be an example.
Two specialized -vores -3 penalty A specialized sense is a -1 penalty to Strength. If the
Four specialized -vores -2 penalty sense is such that it has or needs Accuracy for long
range use (a space creature’s long range radar, for
Note that a vore which does not consume any instance), the first point of Accuracy is a -1 penalty,
matter either is not made of matter, or cannot and each time Accuracy is doubled is another -1
reproduce itself. penalty.

EXAMPLE: A living solar sail might be photovore The default creature has the senses of sight,
and metallovore. Perhaps it can live for extended hearing, touch, taste and smell, all at the same
periods solely as a photovore, but in order to level of acuity (their Awareness roll). While alien
reproduce, it needs to acquire extra mass to create environments might preclude a particular sense as
its offspring. It would have two specialized -vores humans have it, they can still have something that
and take a -3 Strength penalty. serves the same purpose, so a creature in the
vacuum of space can still have a sense that does
EXAMPLE: A spirit might be a magivore (it what “smell” does for humans. A creature can have
consumes magical energy). It has no physical form, a Weakness in one sense to get a Forte in another.
but neither does it need to ingest matter in order to
continue its existence. Senses can be “sold off” to get freebies for
enhancing the creature. A -1d penalty on use of a
sense is worth one freebie. A -2d penalty is worth
two freebies, but means the sense is more or less
absent (since an average creatre has a 2d+0
Awareness roll).

EXAMPLE: If your creature is deaf, they get 2

freebies later in creature design, but any task which
requires hearing is more or less impossible to
succeed at.

5.14
 Ranged attack - The creature’s attack can be
EABA used at range. It takes a -1 penalty on Strength per
2 range bands. So, the base -1 penalty gives an
attack good out to a maximum of 4 meters,
Creature senses: Strength enough for something like a spitting cobra. If the
Specialized sense -1 penalty attack does declining damage (subtract 0d+1 per
Accuracy of 1 -1 penalty range band), the penalty is -1 per 3 range bands.
Each doubling of Accuracy -1 penalty
Area effect - An attack which fills an area or
EXAMPLE: You design a giant space slug that acts like an explosion uses standard EABA rules for
sees by radar. Since it needs to be able to spot these types of effects. If the creature is in its own
food at ludicrous distances, you give this sense an area of effect, it also suffers the effects of the
Accuracy of 64, sufficient to counter up to 1.6 attack. It is an extra -1 penalty to be immune to
million kilometers of range penalties. This specialized your own type of damage.
sense has a biologic penalty of -1 for the sense, and
-7 more for the Accuracy, for a total modifier of -8. EXAMPLE: A creature which fills an area around
itself with a poison gas might take an extra -1
Remember that a sense with Accuracy only penalty in order to be immune to this poison.
uses this Accuracy if the creature spends an action
on “aiming” the sense, just like it were a weapon. Damage type - The creature takes the penalty
for the type of damage done by the attack.
Weaponry - In the basic rules we allowed for
the mundane things like horns, hooves, teeth and EXAMPLE: A creature with a specialized 2d+0
so on. Some creatures may have specialized half-lethal attack would take a -2 modifier.
attacks. Attacks that aren’t based on normal
physical force start at +3 effect, and cause the An attack which has two separate components
creature to take 1 non-lethal hit from loss of will take the average of the two damage types,
biological reserves. To get a greater than 1d+0 rounding up.
effect, you can either take 1 extra non-lethal hit per
+3, or the creature suffers an overall -2 for the first EXAMPLE: If the attack did 1d+0 lethal damage
+3, and another -2 for each extra +3 in the effect. from spines and 2d+0 non-lethal from a noxious gas,
Use the following table to get the final attack. then it averages to a -2 penalty to the effect.

Creature has: Strength of creature Duration effect - This is simple way of simulating
Special attack at +3 damage +0 bonus poisons or continuing effects. Each time this
+1 effect -1 penalty modifier is taken, the damage effect happens at
+2 effect -2 penalty an interval of 4 Time levels after the last effect.
+3 effect -2 penalty
+4 effect -3 penalty EXAMPLE: If the modifier were taken twice on a
+5 effect -4 penalty 1d+0 effect, the target of the attack would take
+6 effect -4 penalty 1d+0 immediately, 1d+0 after four seconds (a Time
+7 effect -5 penalty level of 4) and another 1d+0 after sixteen seconds
+8 effect -6 penalty (a Time level of 8).
+9 effect -6 penalty
If the effect decreases by 0d+1 per 2 Time
Attack has: Strength of attack levels, the modifier is only -1.
Ranged attack -1 penalty
Cone effect -3 penalty EXAMPLE: If the previous attack were 2d+0 and
Line effect -3 penalty declining duration, the target of the attack would
Explosion effect -3 penalty take 2d+0 immediately, 1d+1 after four seconds
Non-lethal damage -1 penalty (lose 0d+2 for 4 Time levels), and 0d+2 after sixteen
Half-lethal damage -2 penalty seconds (lose 1d+1 for 8 Time levels).
Lethal damage -3 penalty
Duration effect -2 penalty
Declining duration effect -1 penalty
Resisted effect +1 bonus
Reactive effect +3 bonus

5.15
 Resisted effect - If a specialized attack is v1.0
resisted by the target, like perhaps a toxin, then the
target has to make an Average(7) Health roll when
Stuff!
attacked. Any amount they make this roll by
reduces the effect of the base attack (and thus FREEBIES - These were mentioned earlier. They
any duration effects). This modifier may be taken are traits a creature can have for free. A creature
CREATURES

multiple times, and each time it is take increases gets one freebie for a final “power plant” Strength
the difficulty of the task by 2. of +3 or less, and one each time Strength is
doubled (at +6, +12, +24, etc.). Humans get one
The base resisted effect can also be used to freebie. These is normally “full color vision”. A
represent a physical threshold. The creature must creature can have more than the “free” amount,
penetrate physical defenses with its attack in order but exceeding the base amount and each multiple
for it to have effect. For instance, a snake has to of the base amount is a -1 penalty to final Strength.
get through your boots in order to poison you. A creature can offset this by any freebies
accumulated in other parts of creature design, or
EXAMPLE: You decide to work on a poisonous by use of negative freebies (which we’ll get to soon
snake. This starts off as a 1d+0 special attack that enough).
causes the snake 1 non-lethal hit each time the
poison is used (the snake expends energy to refill its EXAMPLE: A creature which gets two freebies
poison sacs). This has a Strength modifier for the will take a -1 penalty to Strength for the third
creature of +0. freebie, fifth freebie, seventh freebie and so on,
unless it had gained freebies elsewhere in creature
You say that the poison is both resisted on design.
Health and because it is a bite that has to penetrate
normal defenses. This is a +2 modifier. You decide Typical freebies are listed below:
the base poison damage is lethal damage, a -3 Camoflauge
modifier. Then, you say it is a duration effect four Tastes bad
times, a -8 modifier. The total modifier is -6, for Full color vision
negative damage. So, we have to either adjust the Directional sense
amount of non-lethal Hits the creature takes, or 0d+1 fur or hide
adjust the overall Strength of the creature. We go Lethal attack at -2d normal Strength
the latter route. We want an initial poison damage Forte on a sense
of 0d+2, which is +8 effect, which gives the creature “Larger than life” Trait
a -6 Strength penalty. Forte on an Attribute
Low metabolic rate
Creature has: Strength of attack Locator sense
Special attack(-6 to Strength) +11 damage
Resisted +2 bonus Camoflauge: The creature has a skin or coat
Lethal damage -3 penalty that tends to blend into its normal environment. This
Duration effect x 4 -8 penalty makes it a +2 difficulty to be spotted by the normal
Final damage 0d+2 lethal sensory organs used by potential predators.
Camoflauge is something that evolves in concert
If the target fails an Average(7) Health roll after with potential predators and works best in a
being bitten, they take 0d+2 hits, then take the particular environment. This freebie may be taken
same damage again after 4 seconds, 16 seconds, up to twice, for a maximum of +4 difficulty to spot.
1 minute and 4 minutes, for a maximum possible
damage of 10 lethal hits. Tastes bad: The creature is edible, but tastes
extremely unpleasant. Predators will choose
Reactive effect - This is a type of damage or different prey if there is any choice in the matter. If
effect that happens automatically, either as a this freebie is taken more than once, the creature is
result of stress or being attacked. For instance, a actually slightly toxic and causes 1 non-lethal hit
poisonous frog doesn’t actually attack anyone with from indigestion. Taking it twice also gives the
poison, it just poisons anything that tries to eat it. creature a +2 bonus to any skill or ability it has to
intimidate a potential predator.

5.16
 Larger than life: The creature has the “larger
EABA than life” Trait, normally on a sense. It can keep
4d+0 or more when rolling, depending on how
many times the freebie is taken (assuming that the
Full color vision: A creature can normally see in creature has a 4d+0 roll or more to begin with).
shades of grey and limited amounts of color. A
creature with full color vision can see the full visual Low metabolic rate: The creature consumes less
spectrum. As an example, humans have full color food than would be expected for its size. It might
vision and dogs and cats have limited color vision. If be very efficient, or it might just lay around a lot
the normal primary sense for an ecosystem is not and only expends energy when it needs to. This
sight, then a creature with “full color vision” simply freebie may be taken up to three times, and each
has a broader or more acute sensory range than time reduces normal food needs by 25%. A creature
normal. that needs to eat less has to spend proportionatly
less time hunting, grazing or whatever.
Directional sense: Normally, a creature’s
primary sense will be in a limited arc (like sight), its Locator sense: The creature has some sort of
secondary sense will be omnidirectional (like built-in direction finder, which may operate off of
hearing) and other senses will be generalized (like sun position, magnetic fields, genetic memory, or
touch). A directional sense means that the sense whatever. The creature can successfully migrate
can localize input from any direction. The swiveling and find isolated breeding grounds over vast
ears of a horse, or the turreted eyes of a chameleon distances. Knowledge of how to find these areas
would be an example. This gives the creature a -2 may be genetically encoded, so that individuals
to the difficulty of spotting something outside its who have never been to a spot can still find their
normal “vision arc” and makes it harder to sneak up way there.
on the creature (it has fewer blind spots).
Negative freebies - A creature can take
Fur/hide: As mentioned in the basic design “negative freebies” in order to offset positive ones
section. This freebie can be taken more than once, that would otherwise subtract from the creature’s
for 0d+1 armor per time. This armor has the same Strength. Or, if a creature has more negative
limits as body armor with the “organic” modifier. freebies (or unused positive ones) than its dice of
That is, it is inappropriate armor against high- “power plant” Strength, it can increase its Strength
velocity projectiles like bullets. However, if the by +1.
creature is a lithovore (a rock eater), then it might
have stone armor, or a metallovore might have a EXAMPLE: A creature with a “power plant”
metal hide, so keep this in mind. Strength of +3 (1d+0) gets 1 freebie. If it has two
unused freebies (more than its one die of Strength),
Lethal attack: As mentioned in the basic design it can increase its final Strength by +1. The creature
section. A form of natural weaponry that can do can do this by taking a negative freebie and not
lethal damage with a -2d penalty on “character using its positive freebie. Or, it could have normal
sheet” Strength (with a usual minimum damage of Strength, and use the negative freebie to offset a
0d+1). This allows even small creatures like cats or second positive one.
rats or small dogs to do 1 point of lethal damage.
The negative freebies are:
Forte on an Attribute: Like any other Forte, Weakness on a sense
Perhaps the creature has a powerful bite, can leap Bright coloration
especially well, etc. This freebie can be taken up to Extended gestation
twice. Specialized diet
Specialized mating
Forte on sense: The creature can get a +1d High metabolic rate
Forte on a particular sense, like a hawk’s vision or a
bloodhound’s sense of smell. This freebie can be Weakness on a sense: The creature has an
taken multiple times, which is required to get the especially weak sense of some type, and takes -1d
extraordinary sensory acuity some creatures have. to rolls involving that sense. This weakness can be
This is just a special case of a Forte on an Attribute. taken up to twice on a given sense. For instance, a
cave-dwelling fish might have no sense of sight at
all.

5.17
 Bright coloration: The creature is exceptionally v1.0
easy to spot in its native environment, and is -2 to
the normal spotting difficulty by the sensory organs
Stuff!
of typical predators. Such coloration is usually used
to advertise something else the creature has that GESTATION/MATURITY - These are not so much
makes it not good to attack, like an evil taste, part of the design process, but side effects of
CREATURES

poisonous quills, etc. This can be taken up to twice, biology. In general, the type of intelligence a
making the creature -4 difficulty to be spotted. creature has is the most important factor in
determining how quickly it matures or how long it
Extended gestation: The normal time for a needs to be cared for by its parents. Self-sufficiency
mother to carry the young before delivery or egg is defined as having learned what it needs to know
laying is normally 1/32nd the maturity age of the to survive without the presence of its parents, and
creature. If you double this to 1/16th, you get a maturity is the age by which it should start being
freebie. This can be taken no more than twice, to able to reproduce.
1/8th normal maturity age.
Intelligence Self-sufficient Maturity
Specialized diet: If a creature has a specialized Instinctive at birth 1/8 lifespan
diet within its normal food type, it gets a freebie. Animal 1/32 lifespan 1/8 lifespan
High animal 1/16 lifespan 1/4 lifespan
EXAMPLE: Koala bears are herbivores, but they Semi-sentient 1/8 lifespan 1/4 lifespan
only eat eucalyptus leaves, which would be a Sentient 1/4 lifespan 1/4 lifespan
specialized diet. Super-sentient 1/2 lifespan 1/2 lifespan

Specialized mating: If a creature has some sort EXAMPLE: A turtle (instinctive intelligence) lays
of restriction on its mating behavior, it gets a freebie. its eggs and then abandons them. The young must
Monogamy or mating for life would be an example. fend for themselves from birth. A cat (say a lifespan
Mating only in a particular season or particular of 12 years) is high animal intelligence. It’s young
place would also work. This freebie can be taken need to be cared for 1/16th of this, or about three-
up to twice. quarters of a year, during which the mother nurtures
them, teaches them to hunt and protects them
High metabolic rate: The creature consumes from danger.
more food than might be expected for its size. it
might be inefficient, or its lifestyle may be one of A special case of maturity is if the parents have
constant motion and activity. This may be taken up an unusual means of passing on their knowledge.
to twice, and each time increases normal food For instance, a creature that reproduces by splitting
consumption by 50%. A creature with higher energy itself into two pieces would be born with the full
needs must spend proportionately more time knowledge of its parent. A creature’s designer can
hunting, grazing or whatever. shift the maturing time up one or more rows as
desired, but each row shift makes it twice as
That about covers the physical aspects of the expensive to learn or improve skills.
creature. Before we do any design examples, we’ll
deal some of the intangibles. EXAMPLE: A creature which stores its learned
knowledge genetically rather than by re-wiring its
neural connections will mature faster, since it has
much (or all) of the knowledge of its parent. On the
other hand, it would take a lot of effort to actually
encode knowledge into genes, so this creature will
take longer to learn its skills.

The gestation period is defined as the interval

during which the mother is likely to be physically
inconvenienced by the development of the unborn
young up to the time that the young are actually
born, eggs laid, etc. This period is usually 1/32nd the
maturity age of the creature, but the largest
physical penalties on the mother are usually only for
half this time. Actual pregnancy, egg-carrying, etc.
may be up to twice this long, and can be adjusted
by the creature designer to suit available data.

5.18
 Modifiers Row shift
EABA Herbivore
Omnivore
-2
+0
Carnivore +1
There is no easy way to determine the physical No skeleton -1
penalties a mother will take from the burden of Endoskeleton +0
carrying unborn offspring. They might be born very Exoskeleton +0
small, like with marsupials, or very large, as for Instinct intelligence -8
humans. As a general figure, assume the mother Animal intelligence -6
takes a -1 penalty to all physical actions after 1/4 of High animal intelligence -4
the gestation period, a -3 penalty after 1/2 of the Semi-sentient -2
period, and a -6 penalty after 3/4 of the period. Sentient +0
Super-sentient +2
EXAMPLE: Humans (base lifespan of 62.5 years) Tool-using manipulators +1
have a maturing time of about 16 years, and would Each 25% extra limbs +1
have a “gestation” time of 1/32th the lifespan, or a Each 25% less limbs -1
about half a year. Close enough. 50 year lifespan +0
Each x2 lifespan +3
SKILLS - There is no direct correlation between Each x1/2 lifespan -3
the size of a creature and how many skill points are
needed to adequately represent its abilities. But, it’s EXAMPLE: As a .15 hexagon creature, humans
really all we have to work with. In general, skills would start with 50SP, and get +1 row for tool-using
represent training, training requires brain power, manipulators, +1 row for slightly extended lifespan,
and bigger creatures can (but do not always have) and +3S for 25% increased size, for a total of 73S.
bigger brains. So, work from the following:
EXAMPLE: A great white shark is about a 5
Creature size Skill Points hexagon creature, which would give it 100S.
.001 hexagon(.5kg) -20S Modifiers on this would be +1 row for being a
.002 hexagon(1kg) -10S carnivore, -8 rows for instinct intelligence, and +3S
.004 hexagon(2kg) 0S for 25% increased size, for a total of 23S.
.008 hexagon(4kg) 10S
.015 hexagon(8kg) 20S If a creature ends up with zero or negative skill
.03 hexagon(15kg) 30S points, it means that it has +0d skill in whatever it
.06 hexagon(30kg) 40S uses to survive, and has no other abilities (use the
.12 hexagon(60kg) 50S relevant Attribute-1d for any other skill rolls). If it has
.25 hexagon(125kg) 60S a positive number of skill points, these may be spent
.5 hexagon(250kg) 70S on a better level of “survival” skill, or giving it an
1 hexagon(500kg) 80S improved chance at some secondary ability, its
2 hexagons(1000kg) 90S ability to learn from its mistakes.
4 hexagons(2000kg) 100S
8 hexagons(4000kg) 110S For a non-sentient creature, its ability to learn
16 hexagons(8000kg) 120S Awareness-based skills is limited by its cognitive
32 hexagons(16 ton) 130S Awareness. For creature purposes, this can be in
64 hexagons(32 ton) 140S fractional dice. So, a creature with a cognitive
125 hexagons(64 ton) 150S Awareness of 0d+2 could have a 0d+2 skill, for a
250 hexagons(125 ton) 160S total skill roll of 1d+1. This maximum limit also applies
Each doubling +10S to any skills taught by a trainer, and the time
Each halving -10S required would be as for normal skill learning, with
Each 25% extra size (max +50%) +3S the caveat that the trainer has to match or beat a
Each 25% less size (max -25%) -3S difficulty of the creature’s Will plus any tractability
modifier.

EXAMPLE: If a creature has a Will of 7 and +2

tractability, the trainer needs has a difficulty of 9 on
whatever skill they are using to train the creature.

5.19
 TRACTABILITY - This is not so much a design issue v1.0
as a game play issue. Some creatures will be easier
to handle or train than others. A tractability modifier
Stuff!
is an increase in the difficulty of managing or
training the creature. In general, you can add this LET’S SEE IF IT WORKS - We’ll use the advanced
to the Will of the creature to get the difficulty to rules to design a few more creatures so you have
CREATURES

train or manage the creature into doing something something to refer back to.
it really doesn’t feel like doing. Getting a tiger to
eat meat isn’t a problem. Getting it to jump Goose - An omnivorous flyer with walking and
through flaming hoops on command is another swimming ability, of average animal intelligence.
matter entirely... In addition, the intelligence of the
creature also limits the maximum level of skill the Creature Strength/modifiers
creature can ever acquire. Animal power +6 Strength
.015 hexagon creature -18 penalty
Creature type Tractability Adventurer sheet modifier +12 bonus
Herbivore +0 difficulty 1g gravity well +4 bonus
Omnivore +1 difficulty Omnivore +2 bonus
Carnivore +2 difficulty Endoskeleton +2 bonus
Animal intelligence +0 bonus
Intelligence Tractability Lifespan (x1/4) +6 bonus
Instinctive +1 difficulty Fly normally, walk at x1/4 -6 penalty
Animal +0 difficulty Requires running start +1 bonus
High animal +1 difficulty Swim and walk equally well -4 penalty
Semi-sentient +2 difficulty Flying multiple(total of x4) -6 penalty
Sentient +3 difficulty Smaller hit bracket(-1) +1 bonus
Super-sentient +4 difficulty Total +0(-0d+0)

EXAMPLE: Training tigers (carnivore, high animal This gives us a creature that weighs about 8
intelligence) to leap through flaming hoops is going kilograms. With default Health of 6 (2d+0 roll) and x4
to be at +3 difficulty. Breaking an ox (herbivore, movement, it has a walk/run/sprint flying speed of
animal intelligence) to harness and pull a plow is +0 8, 16 and 24 meters per turn. A Strength of 0 gives it
difficulty. Teaching a child (omnivore, sentient) to a maximum encumbrance of 12 kilograms, though
play piano when they really don’t want to is +4 it could not take off if burdened to more than a
difficulty... quarter of this (enough to give a -1d encumbrance
penalty). It can walk and swim at a walk/run/sprint
Training any sort of creature will require a skill, rate of 1/2, 1 and 2 meters per turn (1/4 its default
which can either be Will-based or Awareness- walk of 2 meters). As mentioned under the topic of
based, depending on the technique and what is flight muscles, we do a 1-to-2 trade of leg Strength
being trained. You can use your default roll ( the (and carrying encumbrance) to a wing Strength
Attribute minus 1d) if desired. If the creature being Forte, so it can actually do a wing strike for 2d+0
trained has no more than high animal intelligence, half lethal damage, while simultaneously dropping
the training skill also covers what is being trained as its land-based carrying capacity.
well as the actual techniques used. If the creature is
semi-sentient or better, the teaching skill is only the For hit brackets, it has a Strength of 0 and a
techniques, which are used to teach a separate Health of 6, for a hit bracket of 2 (6 divided by 4,
skill that is also possessed by the teacher. A skill for round nearest). We reduced this to a hit bracket of
teaching non-sentient animals will only apply to 1. Any hits at all are a -1d penalty, though the first
that class of animal. hit is still a -0d threshold.

EXAMPLE: If you are a “lion tamer”, you can With animal intelligence and average lifespan
probably teach most large cats, and this skill of 12.5 years we infer that the self-sufficiency period
includes what you are teaching them to do. If you for goslings is about four and a half months, with
want to give piano lessons, you need to be a biological maturity at a year and a half, and an
teacher and know how to play the piano. egg carrying period of about three weeks. These
numbers aren’t perfect, but they’re pretty good for
a generic system.

5.20
 Fantasy Dragon - A large, flying, fire-breathing
EABA reptile with a penchant for hoarding loot.

Creature Strength/modifiers
In addition, we can add minor tweaks with Animal power +6 Strength
freebies. Geese have a limited breeding season 32 hexagon creature +30 bonus
(once a year), and within a given breeding season Adventurer sheet modifier +0 bonus
are monogamous. This gives us two extra freebies, 1g gravity well -15 penalty
which we use on “directional sense” and “lethal Carnivore +4 bonus
attack”. The former lets the goose figure out north Endoskeleton +2 bonus
and south for migration purposes, and the latter Sentient intelligence -4 penalty
represents its beak, which can deliver a vicious Lifespan (x4) -6 penalty
0d+1 lethal pecking. Fly normally, walk at x1/4 -6 penalty
Requires running start +1 bonus
Great White Shark - An ocean-bound carnivore Walk normally, no swim +0 bonus
at the top of the food chain. No single creature Flying multiple(total of x4) -6 penalty
preys on the great white, though packs of orca Total +6(2d+0)
have been seen attacking them.
Our mighty dragon has a Strength of +6. Right
Creature Strength/modifiers here it is clear that dragons are a creature that
Animal power +6 Strength need a serious MacGuffin bonus. Making a 16 ton
4 hexagon creature +12 bonus flying creature is a big part of the problem...
25% increased size +1 bonus
Adventurer sheet modifier +7 bonus For now, we’ll leave it as it is, and design the
.5g gravity well -4 penalty flame breath. This starts off as +3 damage (or 1d+0).
Carnivore +2 bonus It has the following characteristics:
Endoskeleton +2 bonus
Water-breather -2 penalty Creature has: Strength of creature
Instinct intelligence +1 bonus Special attack at +3 damage +0 bonus
No limbs +4 bonus +12 damage effect -8 penalty
Lifespan (x1) +0 bonus
Swim normally, no walk +0 bonus Attack has: Strength of attack
Swimming multiple(total of x2) -4 penalty Takes 1 extra non-lethal hit +3 bonus
Total +25(8d+1) Ranged attack -1 penalty
Explosion effect -3 penalty
For purposes of towing things through the water, Lethal damage -3 penalty
you subtract the +7 “adventurer sheet” bonus and Declining duration effect -1 penalty
count it as a 6d+0 power plant. Total +10(3d+1)

Bite damage is normally a -6 on Strength, and So, for a cost of -8 to the dragon’s Strength and
we take lethal damage as a freebie, which would two non-lethal hits per use, the dragon can let
be another -6, for a lethal bite damage of 4d+1. This loose with a 3d+1 explosion that clings and burns
is +1d more than the maximum for a flesh & blood for a little while to anything it touches.
creature, so it gets a 3d+0 attack, with +2 battering
damage on the bite (any damage that penetrates We want the dragon’s front claws to be a 3d+0
armor gets +2 added to it). lethal attack, which means with a -3 punch penalty
and -6 for lethal damage we need a base Strength
With a power plant Strength of +18, the great of 6d+0. Armed with this number (Strength of +18)
white gets three freebies to apply (at +3, +6 and and the -8 penalty for the special attack, we need
+12). The first is the aforementioned lethal damage. dragons to have a MacGuffin bonus of at least +20
In addition to this, we give it a Forte on Awareness, Strength! And that’s not counting if we want to
which in this case applies to a specialized sense akin boost its Intelligence or other Attributes. We may
to smell that lets the shark detect minute differences also need to factor in a few freebies, depending on
in electrical potential in the water. The other freebie how tough we want the armored hide to be.
we use to give the shark a 0d+1 hide. We could give
the shark a few negative freebies to make this hide From here, we can tinker with gestation times,
thicker, but we’ll leave that (and any rearranging of metabolic rate, senses, and what kind of things it
other Attributes) up to you. can do with its default of around 200 skill points.

5.21
 CONSISTENCY? - So, you’ve gone and made v1.0
up a creature. Does it work? If it’s an herbivore,
probably. If it’s an omnivore or carnivore, you’ve
Stuff!
got to remember that meat doesn’t grow on trees
(though it might live there). If you designed up a For your ecosystem, there needs to be a
sluggish carnivore that can’t chew its way out of a pervasive source of food that most types of non-
wet paper bag, then how does it catch and kill carnivore can eat, and there also needs to be a
things? The clever answer would be to say it is an source of energy to power the system. It is far from
CRITTERS

anteater, but that’s beside the point. You probably 100% efficient, so without new energy coming in,
have a particular creature or range of creatures on eventually everything will die.
your mind, and they most likely are not anteaters.
For most things on Earth, the ultimate source of
Remember that Stuff! is a generalized design energy is the sun. This provides light for plants, which
system and expecting this chapter to perfectly are then consumed by a myriad of herbivores,
recreate a nearly infinite universe of creatures in 25 which then provide food for the omnivores and
pages isn’t going to happen. carnivores. But the sun does not have to be the
source you use. There are creatures that live
In the end, can the creature do what you around deep geothermal vents in Earth’s oceans,
intend it to do? Can your giant sandshark find with an ecosystem that runs on hot water and
enough food in the desert to keep itself alive? This sulfur, with creatures that never see the sun. We
leads us to the question of... can imagine a space creature with gossamer
wings, collecting interplanetary dust and solar
ECOSYSTEMS - Remember, it’s a gameworld, energy to synthsize semiconductors, or things that
not the real world. As long as it looks good, it will live very slowly in the dark and cold of the
probably work. We only have one real ecosystem atmospheres of gas giants or grazing on the dusty
to work from, and that is Earth, so take any of these surface of a comet.
generalizations with a grain of salt.
Remember that while advanced technology
An ecosystem is biological pyramid scheme, may give us the ability to custom design a lifeform,
with numerous tiny creatures at the bottom, and a nature has had a several billion year head start.
small number of larger ones at the top. The pyramid That or we’re the result of some drunken alien with
may have more than one peak or top predator, or a “create an ecosystem” kit, and like alligators
more likely, you have two overlapping pyramids, flushed down into the sewers, we managed to
and one species at the top of each. survive in spite of being a horribly botched
“intelligent design” job.
EXAMPLE: Humans are arguably the top
creature in Earth’s food chain, and directly or What we’re getting at is that if there are large
indirectly draw from virtually every food-producing and complex creatures in an environment, there
environment. However, people still get eaten by are probably smaller, simpler ones as well. If there
sharks, who might occupy a top slot in the ocean are giant sandsharks, there might be sand remoras
food chain. clinging to its flanks, and sand fleas living under
their scales. And all of them probably share bits of
At the bottom of the pyramid are microflora biology, incremental increases in complexity
and fauna, bacteria, plankton, dust mites and gained over time, co-existing for at least millennia,
other things too small to see. Above that are the likely longer. Predators that consume all their prey
tiny but visble creatures, such as insects, tiny have nothing to eat. Prey without predators breed
crustaceans, and so on. You move up to things that beyond the capability the ecosystem to carry
eat those, and the larger things that eat them, them, etc. So, if you make up a “superpredator” to
moving up until you get something that nothing terrorize adventurers with, there is probably also a
eats until it dies, when the microflora and fauna get “superprey” that can only be caught and killed by
their revenge and break the creature down into its something as powerful as the predator. And the
component bits, which are then spread around the prey could be equally as dangerous to the
ecosystem to start the process all over again. We adventurers if it gets cornered...
can’t break this down into specific game terms,
because it is a continuum of creature size, smoothly EXAMPLE: A Tyrannosaurus rex would not be
going from viruses to blue whales. under evolutionary pressure to evolve its mouthful
of huge teeth unless there were things out there
that needed a mouth like that in order to take a
bite out of them...

5.22
 However, the universe is not balanced and
EABA does not start everyone on an equal footing, so this
is purely gamemaster option. Authors will often
have a race be measurably superior to others, then
DESIGNING CHARACTER RACES - This chapter just wave their hands and say something like “the
can be used to design different sentient species elves, being slow to breed, were gradually being
that may inhabit a game world. You can easily pushed towards extinction by the expansion of
design an “average human” that is pretty much on human kingdoms into their lands”. If such were
the mark. But, you need to consider the balancing actually the case, humanity itself would be fading
factors associated with different abilities. For making away before the onslaught of the Chimp Empire
different species, all of which are supposed to be (who breeds faster than us). The superior species
theoretically equal in appeal to players, you may tends to stay on top, either from having a superior
have to toss a few MacGuffins in for the physically adaptation to the environment, or by kicking
smaller ones, and subtract a few points for larger upstart species in the head whenever they try to
ones. This is because the “currency” used in this take the top slot. If a “superior” species can’t or
chapter to buy creatures with is based mostly on doesn’t stay on top, then it isn’t superior, and it
size. should not be treated as such. It might have been
superior at one time, but if conditions have now
But, life isn’t fair, and neither is nature. It might changed to favor another species, then that’s part
be that some species are simply not as likely to of the history of the gameworld.
succeed in the long run as others.
EXAMPLE: Elvenkind might have once been
On the other hand, if all the adventurer species unchallenged due to their mastery of magic, but
are about the same size, then the system should when magic slowly started fading from the world
compensate automatically. Your long-lived elves (and elves lost their species advantage), the other
pay for that longevity with a thinner build. Your species were able to make inroads. It may be that
stocky dwarves pay for their extra Strength by arcane artifacts from the past might slow their
taking reduced running speed. And so on. It’s your decline, but the time of elvish dominance has
giants and faeries that are going to be the problem come to an end.
in terms of balance and playability.
For non-adventurer races or species, you simply
To start off with any inter-species comparison, do what works for the gameworld. These species
look at the average Attribute levels between the are often going to be foes, and balance is not an
different races/species. Humans should be the issue, since adventurers aren’t going to be dealing
baseline for this comparison, with 2d+0 average with them on a one-on-one basis. For instance, a
Attributes. If a creature’s average is more or less dragon does not need to be balanced, it needs to
than this, then you need more or less points with be an intimidating force to a group of adventurers.
which to buy them. See how many points it takes to Similarly, a tribe of evil garden gnomes also doesn’t
buy the Attributes of an average human, add the have to match up one-on-one, since they would
skill points they have, and then see how many operate in groups and try to overwhelm their larger
points the default values are in the other races. foes with sheer numbers.

EXAMPLE: If a character race or species starts Last, bear in mind that adventurers are unlikely
off with an average of 2d+2 in every Attribute, then to be “average”. In terms of the chart on page 5.3,
that race will need to start off with more points, most adventurers will start their careers in the top
equal to the difference in cost between an 5% of the population, with some or even all of their
Attribute of 2d+2 and 2d+0, times six Attributes. Attributes above those of the average person. This
is not a function of the physical size their species
Now, if you want a gameworld to be balanced, was built on, but rather the statistical distribution of
the difference has to be made up somewhere. If individuals within that species. And that’s the last
you don’t do it in straight points, then you need to form of play balance to consider. A disadvantaged
do it in intangibles. This could be racial bonuses for species can still have quality adventurers, it will just
specific tasks (or limits on the more advantaged have far fewer of them, maybe in the 1% range of
species), available wealth, a deeper and more distribution instead of the 5%. That’s an easy way to
useful social structure, technological aptitude, or fudge the numbers for a disadvantaged species.
having the advantaged species be a minority that
is not looked on favorably in many areas, balancing
their superior attribute and skill levels with a social
bias against them.

5.23
 DESIGN PAGE 5 - If you are viewing this page as v1.0
a pdf, it has forms that allow you to do most of the
aspects of creature design right here on the page,
Stuff!
Autocalc on
and then print off your finished specs. It may not Insert critter name here
1
cover all the advanced topics, but will give you the -0d
basics to work from. 2

Insert critter name here 3

CRITTERS

Critter of .12 hex(60kg) -1 d+ 0

4
-1d
+25% size (if < 1 hex) 0 d+ 1
5

1g gravity well 0 d+ 2
6

Omnivore 0 d+ 2
homo sapiens horse 7

Endoskeleton 0 d+ 2 -2d
dragon wolf 8
Sentient -1 d+ 1
Reset form 9
Tool-using manipulators 0 d+ -1
Normal limb count (4) 0 d+ 0 Strength 2 d+ 0 - + -3d
10

Move multiple of x1 Run 0 d+ 0 Agility 2 d+ 0 - + 11

Normal hit bracket 0 d+ 0 Awareness 2 d+ 0 - + 12

x1 1/4 lifespan (62yr) 0 d+ -1 Will 2 d+ 0 - + 13

-4d
No blessing/curse 0 d+ 0 Health 2 d+ 0 - + 14

No blessing/curse 0 d+ 0 Fate 0 d+ 1 - + 15

McGuffin of +0 0 d+ 0 16
-5d
Non-magical 0 d+ 0 Walk 2 Run 4 Sprint 6 17

Walk x1, swim x0 0 d+ 0 Swim 0 0 0 18

Walk x1, fly x0 0 d+ 0 Fly 0 0 0 19

-6d
Normal movement 0 d+ 0 20

25°C comfort range 0 d+ 0 Punch or equivalent: 1d+ 0

21

x1/4 atmosphere var. 0 d+ 0 Kick or equivalent: 2d+ 0

22
-7d
Requires an atmosphere 0 d+ 0 Other attack 0 d+ 0
23

No special -vore 0 d+ 0
24

Bisexual 0 d+ 0 Gestation: 0.5yr Tractability: 4

25

Normal senses 0 d+ 0 Self-sufficiency: 15.8yr Mass: 75kg -8d

26
No unusual attack 0 d+ 0 Maturity: 15.8yr Size mod: 0
27
No attack effects 0 d+ 0 Attribute cost: 46A
Skill points: 73S Level(cost)
28
No attack effects 0 d+ 0 -9d

No attack effects 0 d+ 0 none +0d(n/a) - + 29

Full color vision 0 d+ 0 none +0d(n/a) - + 30

No freebies 0 d+ 0 none +0d(n/a) - + 31

-10d
No freebies 0 d+ 0 none +0d(n/a) - + 32

No freebies 0 d+ 0 33

No freebies 0 d+ 0 34
-11d
No freebies 0 d+ 0 Freebies available: 0 35

5.22
6.1
CIVILIZATIONS
 Stuff!
“The influence of the clergy, in an age of v1.0

superstition, might be usefully employed to

CIVILIZATIONS

assert the rights of mankind; but so intimate is Supporting a population is about farmers (or
other food producers) and real estate, not Strength.
the connection between the throne and the So, the table that follows is based on the farming
population, using Size levels, not Strength levels. Your
altar, that the banner of the church has very end result is a Size level, which you then check to
see how many people one farmer can support with
seldom been seen on the side of the people. the modifiers you have chosen. We will generally be
using the word “farmer” to denote anyone who is
A martial nobility and stubborn commons, engaged in a job that produces a surplus of food.

possessed of arms, tenacious of property, and EXAMPLE: If you take a quick look at the table
on the next page, you would see a Basic Era society
collected into constitutional assemblies, form (+0 Size) using basic agriculture (+0 modifier) in an
average ecosystem (+0 modifier) has a total Size of
the only balance capable of preserving a +0. Checking the EABA Universal Chart (or the table
below), this is a result of “2 meters”, so one farmer in
free constitution against enterprises of an these circumstances will support 2 people per year.
As a quick reference, a useful range of numbers is:
aspiring prince.”

- Edward Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the

Size
-2
Result
1
■
■
Size
+9
Result
45
Roman Empire -1
+0
1.4
2
■
■
+10
+11
64
90
INTRODUCTION - Civilization is really just about
accounting. Who has the most stuff, the biggest
+1
+2
3
4
■
■
+12
+13
125
175
army, highest food production, best factories, best
resource utilization, and so on. In the end, most of
+3
+4
6
8
■
■
+14
+15
250
350
what makes human civilization is cities, and what
makes cities possible is agriculture. Agriculture
+5
+6
11
16
■
■
+16
+17
500
700
concentrates the effort of food production into a
smaller number of hard-working hands, and the
+7
+8
23
32
■
■
+18
+19
1000
1400
increased efficiency of production per person gives
other people the ability to have careers not tied to So, a result of +8 might be 64 people, or an area
the act of collecting enough food to stay alive. It of 64 hectares.
also gives them the ability to live in concentrations
that would be impossible for hunter-gatherers, The basic unit of land area will be the hectare.
which facilitates the sharing of ideas, construction One hectare is 10,000 square meters (a square 100
of infrastructure and a whole host of other goodies. meters on a side). A hectare is 2.47 acres. One
square kilometer is 100 hectares. If you want to use
This chapter works off a table-based system the EABA Universal Chart, the closest hectare-acre
that should be familiar to you by now. The minimum conversion will be +3 Size (i.e. hectares of Size 2 (4
increment of productivity for this system is about hectares) would be about acres of Size 5 (11 acres)).
plus forty percent or minus thirty percent. So, tiny The reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial in
incremental improvements will not show up until you Washington DC has an area of about 3.5 hectares.
get enough of them or enough time has passed for In terms of actual area, one hectare is a Size of +12,
them to make a cumulative difference. We’re going and a square kilometer is a Size of about +18. We’re
to be designing “civilizations” here. This could be simply using the table as a means to simplify the
anything from a farming village to a continent-wide math, and for that purpose, 1 hectare is the same
system of government. Remember that the level of as “1 meter” on the Size column, or a Size of -2. You
detail is appropriate to the scale. For a village, you take half the Size level and add +13 to get the
may be able to get detail down to a family level. approximate diameter of a circular area that size.
On a continent level the minimum level of scale
may be entire sectors of commerce. This chapter EXAMPLE: A Size of -2 (1 hectare) can be a
gives gamemasters a tool for civilization-based stuff circular area that is approximately Size 12 across
they would otherwise just have to make up. (125 meters).

6.2
 Technological Era Size
EABA Primitive
Basic
-3
+0
Industrial +3
What you get from this first section is how many Atomic +6
people a given amount of farmers can support Post-Atomic +9
with a default crop like the European grain basket Advanced +12
(wheat, barley and the like). If you use this system
for non-human fantasy/science fiction races, you’ll Modifiers Amount
need to adjust up or down based on the difference Early part of an Era -1
in mass compared to the mass of a normal human. Late part of an Era +1
Each doubling or halving of weight will be a ±2 on
area required (bigger creatures eat more or need Default crops +0
more farmland). Carnivores are +3 (more space), Rich crops +3
omnivores are +0, herbivores are -3 (less space). Very rich crops +6
Hunter-gatherer(x.5 effort) +3
EXAMPLE: Humans are about 80 kilograms, (or Semi-nomadic(x.75 effort) +4
what a Strength of 8 can lift). A fantasy race of 160 Basic agriculture(x1 effort) +0
kilogram carnivores would find a given amount of Intensive agriculture(x1.5 effort) +2
land supports 5 levels less people (2 levels for their Overintensive utilization +1
doubled size, 3 levels because they are carnvores). Not saving seed crop +1

Before we get into it, a few things to keep in Hostile ecosystem -6

mind. First, consider your technology, likely travel No ecosystem(desert) -4
distances and the terrain of any budding civilization. Marginal ecosystem(dry) -2
If you can’t efficiently get your agricultural or animal Average ecosystem(temperate) +0
products to a central location, you can’t support a Rich ecosystem(tropical) +2
centralized population. For land transport, you can’t Very rich ecosystem(equatorial) +4
go more than a few hundred kilometers (at best)
before draft animals have eaten more than the Early use of ecosystem -1
contents of the wagons they are towing. Late use of ecosystem +1

Second, remember that a country is more than As we said, this result gives us how many people
farms and cities. The amount of cultivatible land is a “farmer”(or hunter or herder) can support. To
going to be less than the total land available. There figure out how much land this takes, use the table
will be land unsuited for agriculture (rocky hillsides), below. You take the basic area for a given type of
land not yet converted to agriculture (cutting down production, and add any tech era modifiers and
forests), or land used as a place to live (cities). If you the opposite of the ecosystem modifier (negative
define your civilization as having a certain amount ones add, positive ones subtract). For instance, an
of area to begin with, you should also decide how Atomic Era farmer with a tractor and a combine
much is suitable for some sort of food production. can utilize far more land than a person with a
This will range from a maximum of perhaps seventy scratch plow and a hand sickle.
percent down to only a few percent, and this will be
split into land of varying amounts of fertility. The Production Basic area
lower the total percentage of arable land, the more Hunter-gatherer(1400 hectares) +19
likely it will be that animal herds are a significant use Semi-nomadic(250 hectares) +14
of the land (animals can forage where conventional Agriculture(1 hectare) -2
agriculture is impossible).
Note - The notion of ‘hunter-gatherer”, “semi-
Last, no land is an island. Unless it is one, we nomadic” and “agriculture” are arbitrary definitions,
suppose. What we mean is that civilizations have and it is really a continuous gradation between
neighbors, people have needs, and leaders have hunter-gatherer and farmer, with semi-nomadics
ambitions. If you live in the land of milk and honey, really being neither and off to one side. The
don’t be too surprised if someone else’s god tells his transition between the different types in any given
chosen people to invade your land, kill every last area will probably take several centuries. So, if you
one of you and take it for themselves (just ask the really need to tweak the numbers a little bit, feel
people of Jericho...). Those who “have” often have free to.
the power and resources to take more from those
who “have not”, and those who “have not” will be
quite often be jealous of those who “have”.
6.3
 EXAMPLE: An Atomic Era farmer might have a
total production of +10: Stuff! v1.0
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Modifiers Size
Atomic Era +6 A side effect of this is that disruptions to society
Intensive agriculture +2 will hit high tech food production far harder than
Rich ecosystem +2 low tech food production. If a Basic Era society is hit
Total(64 people) +10 by a disaster, all they need to replace the system is
strong backs, a harness maker and a blacksmith. If
A size of +10 is 64 people per farmer. The an Atomic Era society is hit by a disaster, unless you
Atomic Era farmer is able to feed 64 people. Later, have fuel, spare parts, pesticides, fertilizer and a
we’ll see that this works in the design process by a whole bunch of other things, you cannot maintain
combination of being several times more efficient an Atomic Era level of food production. And if you
per hectare, and using technology to plant several needed Atomic Era levels of production to keep
times as many hectares as a Basic Era farmer can people fed, this can be a real problem... Breaking
manage. any vital link in this food production chain can
cause a complete collapse of civilization. Imagine if
Note - What is a “farmer”? Certainly the man or a gene-engineered bacteria were to ruin a nation’s
woman behind the plow or the wheel of the tractor. oil supply. Food production and delivery would
For our purposes, a farmer also includes everyone in grind to a halt, and widespread chaos would result
the chain of technology that is required for the from the inability to get food into urban areas.
“farmer” to do their job. For a Primitive or Basic Era
farmer, they might be able to do it all themselves, MODIFIERS - The modifiers to food production for
with partial contribution by the person who made a civilization are detailed below. This is by and large
the yoke for their oxen, or fashioned their plow, and a boring section, but the ability of a small number of
of course the farmer’s wife. In times and places with people to efficiently produce large quantities of
poor agricultural efficiency, she is going to be as food is the fundamental thing that allows civilization
much of a farmer as any male head of household as we know it to exist. So, to get to all the fun bits,
and will be working as hard if not harder than he is. you have to get through this part first.
Moving forward, an Atomic Era “farmer” will have
fractional contributions from many people. The Tech Era - This covers all the aspects of tech
person who drilled the oil well their fuel came from, and civilization that can be turned towards food
the chemical plant that made their pesticides, the production. From tangible things like tractors to
factory that made the tractor, the other farm that ideas like irrigation and crop rotation, advances in
grew their gene-engineered seed crop, and so on. technology combine to increase the ability of a
Stuff! will count the total contribution as “farmers”. farmer to produce food. In this respect, technology
The actual number of people out in the fields will feeds itself. The denser populations that can be
probably be the number of “farmers”, adjusted supported by organized agriculture allow for easier
down by any positive tech era modifier. interchange of ideas, which helps to advance
technology, which helps support even more people
EXAMPLE: A Size of 18 is about 1,000 “farmers”. through new agricultural tools and methods.
At Basic Era (+0 tech modifier), this probably is 1,000
people working in the fields. At Atomic Era (+6 tech Crops - The default crop (+0) is something like
modifier), you subtract the tech era modifier of +6 wheat or barley, but other areas of the world start-
to get a Size of 12, which is about 125. So, out of the ed with other wild grains, some of which had far
1,000 farmers you have 875 people’s worth of labor better yields. Rice is considered a rich crop (+3),
in the other sectors of society that the farmer relies and wetland rice (a Basic Era crop) will have at
upon to do their job. For Stuff! purposes, they are all least double the yield of European grains. Maize
“farmers”, in the sense that agricultural production (corn) has even better yields, and is considered a
would be hampered without their contribution. If we very rich crop (+6), which is somewhat offset by the
look at the previous example and adjust it to only marginal ecosystems it was sometimes grown in.
represent the actual number of people doing direct
farm work, then only 1 out of 8 “farmers” is actually You can see that the nature of the crop can by
in the field, so the true farmer is actually tilling eight itself equal thousands of years of technological
times as many hectares, while the other seven improvement. Crops like maize can give a yield per
people’s worth of effort are split between what seed planted of thirty times or more that which you
could be hundreds of support roles that the one can get from wheat. Without yields like this you
person in the fields relies upon. simply cannot have civilizations like the Aztecs.

6.4
 Hunter-gatherer: Living off the land, eating nuts,
EABA berries, fruits and other wild produce, plus hunting
and fishing the local animals. Once you know what
you’re doing, it takes far less time to support yourself
Time and effort - The amount of people a given than traditional farming, and is fairly time-efficient,
amount of land can support is only part of the but supporting large numbers of people is almost
equation. You also have to factor in how much out of the question because of the vast areas
effort it takes to plant, maintain and harvest the needed. However, it is worth noting that the earliest
crops. The basic effort is that one person, unaided villages (populations at least in the hundreds) were
by machines or livestock, can manage agriculture apparently supported mostly by a hunter-gatherer
on about 1 hectare of land on an amount of labor lifestyle, and in optimum conditions hunter-gatherers
that adds up to approximately 6 hours of work per could perhaps support a central population of a
day (about 2,000 hours a year). This could be long, few thousand. In the case of hunter-gatherers, most
before-dawn-to-after-dusk days during the planting will support far less than 1 person per hectare per
and harvesting season, average days during the year. Since most hunter-gatherers are not tied to a
summer, and lighter days during the winter, particular piece of land, it simply means that such a
repairing tools and such. A hunter-gatherer can band has to have a larger home region to support
exploit the resources of hundreds of hectares per it. This limits population density, which is important if
day, and a semi-nomadic can exploit about a you are trying to get a lot of people in one spot for
quarter what the hunter-gatherer does. These some reason (like building an army). The hunter-
numbers do not mean that the hunter-gatherer is gatherer or semi-nomadic numbers can also give
combing every square centimeter of several you an idea of the area an army has to scavenge
hundred hectares each day. It does mean that over from to feed itself while on the move (use hunter-
the course of a year, the territory they have to hunt gatherer for foraging, semi-nomadic for pillaging).
and collect seasonal wild crops from is probably
several hundred hectares. Adjusted of course for EXAMPLE: A basic hunter-gatherer society will
the productivity of the land. have something like this:

Every bit of time gained by efficiency or tech Modifiers Size

means that the farmer can till more land, for higher Primitive Era -3
overall yield per year for their effort. Part of this is Hunter-gatherer(50% effort) +3
factored into the tech era. It is assumed an Atomic Average ecosystem +0
Era farmer is using a tractor! Part of it is also how Total(2 people) +0
much work is going into it. A hunter-gatherer can
harvest far, far less from the land than a farmer, A Size result of +0 means that 1 hunter-gatherer
but they spend a lot less time doing it. However, can find sufficient food for 2 people in an average
they also have to do it year-round, since they never of 3 hours per day (50% of a normal farmer’s 6 hour
have a “harvest” that tides them through the rest average effort). However, the basic area for this
of the year. Intensive farming means long hours, foraging is a Size of +19, -3 for the tech era, for a
leaving less time for other pursuits, but this hard work result of +16, or 500 hectares. This is 250 hectares or
may be necessary in marginal environments. It also 2.5 square kilometers per person fed. So a band of
includes the extra effort required for setting up twenty hunter-gatherers will need about 50 square
irrigation systems and such. kilometers of land to support themselves in these
conditions. From where you sit, imagine the land 4
kilometers in every direction (a circle of 4km radius).
That’s 50 square kilometers.

Note - If you assume the United States averages

to an “average” ecosystem, it would mean the
entire country (including Alaska and Hawaii) would
support a maximum population of about 3.8 million
people at a hunter-gatherer level. Using the “rich
crop”, “rich ecosystem”, “intensive agriculture”
numbers, it would require an area of 900 square
kilometers to support a Primitive Era city of 2,000
using only hard-working hunter-gatherers. This is a
circular area about 17 kilometers in radius. Of those
2,000 people, about 90 would be required to collect
the food each day.

6.5
 The hunter-gatherer lifestyle is probably the
easiest (3 hours per day), but is certainly the least
productive per area “farmed”. You don’t have to
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spend all day tilling, or weeding, or tending to

animals or repairing fences, leaving you with free Semi-nomadic: This lifestyle involves organised
time for other pursuits. However, this comes at the animal husbandry, but little traditional agriculture.
price of requiring an inoridinately large amount of Call them “herder-gatherers”. The normal hunter-
land to support a person, making large, permanent gatherer lifestyle is supplanted by domesticated
populations next to (but not quite) impossible. Plus, animals, which are used for meat, but more for dairy
you have far less of a stored surplus under most products and animal byproducts (like wool). Herds
conditions, making you vulnerable to any disruption are moved from grazing area to grazing area, either
in the food supply. Hunter-gatherers do have some seasonally, or as one area is exhausted.
surplus. Nuts, dried meats, surplus grains, just not
nearly as much as an agricultural society can Food animals are a way to take advantage of
accumulate. Seasonal bounties can also mean land that is not otherwise suitable for agriculture. It is
much more work per day in the most productive also a way for a nomadic people to “store” food
parts of a season, to collect this surplus for the lean (on the hoof). In general, you can support about
times. On the other hand, positive changes can 50kg of herbivore (Strength of 6) per hectare of
destroy a primitive hunter-gatherer society. If you “average” land. Each ±1 in the ecosystem modifier
were to introduce health changes that result in a doubles or halves the weight of animals the land
doubling of the population in a few generations, can sustainably support. Each +3 for “rich crops”
then you better have double the land available to that could apply to forage would count as a +1
feed them! Long-term climate changes or cultural ecosystem modifier for this purpose.
or technological improvements can force a band
of hunter-gatherers to become semi-nomadic or EXAMPLE: If you give a generic hoofstock (a
agricultural types simply to avoid starvation. beeve) a weight of 500 kilograms, then you would
need about 10 hectares of “average” land to
You can design high tech hunter-gatherers. support each one. Keeping a herd of 100 beeves
They can feed a decent number of people, but use fed means roving them over 1000 hectares of
lots of territory. average land. If it were a marginal ecosystem (-2
modifier), you could only support 12.5 kilograms of
EXAMPLE: Let’s say you have some horse-borne herbivore per hectare, or 40 hectares per beeve.
nomads who use satellite photography to find However, if it were a rich ecosystem that had an
particular types of vegetation, and modern hunting especially nutritious grass (a “rich crop”), then you
rifles to take down game. could support 400kg of herbivore per hectare, or
1.25 hectares per beeve.
Modifiers Size
Atomic Era +6 Note - This is one of the reasons cattle grazing
Hunter-gatherer(x.5 effort) +3 areas in the southwest United States are so huge.
Average ecosystem +0 Much of the public grazing lands are a “marginal
Total(45 people) +9 ecosystem”, so it takes a lot of grazing land to keep
the cattle fed (calculates out to about 40 hectares
Each of our eco-friendly horse nomads can per head, a figure which is a close enough match
feed 45 people by riding to areas with decent-sized to the 30 to 100 hectares per head listed by the US
game, taking it down quickly and getting it back Bureau of Land Management for Western US
home on a reliable basis. But, what kind of territory grazing lands).
do they need to hunt to do this? You start with a
base area of +19, and add in +6 for the tech era
to get +25, which is 11,000 hectares (or 110 square
kilometers) per “farmer”, or 244 hectares per person,
virtually the same area as the Primitive Era hunter-
gatherers in the previous example. Note that the
amount of people being fed per unit area is not
improved (you’re still relying on natural, unimproved
density of food resources). Technology simply gives
the high-tech hunter-gatherers the ability to quickly
exploit an area and move on to another one.

6.6
 We just used an average ecosystem for our
EABA example. However, in most cases, semi-nomadic
systems develop because it is the only way to
effectively colonize marginal areas (because while
To figure out how many people it takes to poor, it is better than hunter-gatherer efficiency). If
manage a herd, take the tech era of the herders , we used the numbers for a marginal ecosystem:
subtract the Strength of the animals (that is, the
Strength to lift them), and add +23. The level that Modifiers Size
results is how many animals one herder can Primitive Era -3
manage. Most domesticated herbivores get an Semi-nomadic(x.75 effort) +4
additional +2 to the total. Marginal ecosystem -2
Total(1.4 people) -1
EXAMPLE: In the previous case, we’ll say we
have Primitive Era herders (-3), then subtract the size This is 1.4 people her herder. The basic area is
of the beeves (Strength of 16 to lift one), and add +14, with -3 for tech era, and +2 for marginal land
+25 (herbivores for +23, with a +2 domestication (remember that you invert the ecosystem modifier),
bonus) to get a Size level of +6. Each herder can for a total of +13, or 175 hectares per herder, or 125
manage 16 animals under normal conditions, so hectares per person supported. If we have a 40
managing a herd of 100 beeves would require the person tribe, 29 of them are involved in food
full-time effort of six people. production, and they range their flocks over a total
territory of 5,000 hectares (50 square kilometers).
This doesn’t work perfectly (the numbers do Each of the 29 food-producers in the tribe has to
not work for squirrel herders), but it’s a reasonable work the normal amount (4.5 hours) per day, or
guide. You can say that certain forms of assistance some of the people have to work longer hours (like
can count as extra herders, like sheepdogs or a the herders), to gain free time for other people.
cowboy’s horse, and of course things like fencing
are going to be extremely useful as well. The total Note - There is a huge difference in productivity
number of people supported by the semi-nomadic between the three systems (hunter-gatherer, semi-
lifestyle is calculated based on people, not their nomadic, agriculture). There are certainly cultures
animals. The animal examples are just to provide and systems that fall in the middle somewhere, and
flavor. There is more than just herders. There will be you are free to define them for yourself as needed,
people involved in various activities related to the either by using intermediate values, or adjustments
animals (cheesemaking, drying of meat, etc.), and to their effective tech era, ecosystem and crop
the effort involved in having a fully mobile society. type. Just looking at what we have so far, you can
see that geography determines your viable lifestyle,
EXAMPLE: To do the example based on people, lifestyle defines a type of civilization, and civilization
you would have: determines what types of technologies you can
develop.
Modifiers Size
Primitive Era -3 EXAMPLE: Let’s say you’re using the pillaging
Semi-nomadic(x.75 effort) +4 note on page 6.5 and you have an invading army
Total(3 people) +1 of 1,000 soldiers that is raiding farms (livestock &
crops) in order to support itself as it marches:
A Size of +1 means that each herder can
support 3 people (themselves and 2 others). The Modifiers Size
base area for a semi-nomadic system is +14, -3 for Basic Era +0
the tech era, is a result of +11, or 90 hectares per Semi-nomadic(x.75 effort) +4
herder, or 30 hectares per person supported. Rich ecosystem +3
Overintensive utilization +1
If we took the example as a whole, and had a Total(32 people) +8
herd of 100 beeves roving over 1000 hectares (10
square kilometers), then this area would sustainably Since each member of a raiding party can feed
support 33 people. 32, we need 31 or so people on raiding duty. The
base area for semi-nomadic production is +14, less
the +3 richness of the area, leaves a Size of +11, or
90 hectares per raider, for a total area of 2,800
hectares raided per day, or 28 square kilometers,
or all the farms within a 3 kilometer radius raided
each day just to keep the army fed.

6.7
 Basic agriculture: This is typical dry land farming,
using some sort of plow and cleared fields to raise
seasonal crops, which are harvested, stored and
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CIVILIZATIONS

with some surplus kept for the next year’s planting.

Agriculture also includes orchards, viniculture and This level of production supports 64 people per
agricultural specialties that require a stationary farmer. This farmer tills:
population. In addition, domestic animals and fowl
are raised, and where conditions permit, fishing is Modifiers Area
done as well. If we do the Primitive Era calculation Basic agriculture -2
and assume good farmland (the first place it would Atomic Era +6
likely be done): Rich ecosystem -2
Total(4 hectares) +2
Modifiers Size
Primitive Era -3 Remember that you invert the ecosystem
Basic agriculture +0 modifier for this calculation (so +2 becomes -2). If
Rich ecosystem +2 the farmer has rich farmland and uses intensive
Total(1.4 people) -1 farming methods, he or she can support 64 people
off a mere 4 hectares. Remember the note on page
You get a result of 1.4 people supported per 6.4 about who is a “farmer”. In the Atomic era, the
farmer. The basic size for agriculture is -2, with a -3 actual person tilling the fields is probably tilling a lot
for tech era and +2 for rich land, for a final Size of more than 4 hectares.
-3, or .7 hectares worked per farmer. These people
are barely getting by, no better than the marginal The important thing is that the average daily
land nomads in a previous example. But, a mere 20 work of the one farmer (9 hours) is split across 64
hectares of rich farmland will support the same people to figure out how much work each one has
number of farmers as 5,000 hectares will for the to do on average to keep themselves fed. In the first
marginal nomad herders. example, everyone in the society had 4.3 hours of
labor per day devoted just to not starving (6 hours
So, even with the lousy yields of this primitive of work, divided by 1.4 people supported). In the
farming, a circle a mere 1 kilometer in radius (314 second example, everyone in the society only has
hectares) can support a village of 440 people. Most to work a little less than 9 minutes per day to keep
of them will be farmers, but they can all live in a themselves fed (9 hours of work, divided by 64
single protected area (the village) and walk to their people supported). And the difference is what
fields as needed. To support the same population, makes modern civilization possible. The next time
the marginal nomads would have to range up to 13 you see a farmer, thank him (or her).
kilometers from a central location each day! So,
you begin to see the advantages of organized Intensive agriculture: This is any farming method
agriculture. These primitive farmers have to toil that relies on importing something to the land, and
harder than the herders, but they can live closer to this requires more effort on the part of the farmer.
their support, live there year-round, and can begin Irrigation, fertilization, pest control, or just lots more
to build support structures to increase their safety work hoeing weeds or simply tilling more land. While
(town walls) and efficiency (grain mills, irrigation the modifier says “agriculture”, any form of resource
systems, etc.). production can use it. It just increases the average
daily effort by the farmer by 50% (or has a monetary
Now let’s do the same example, but with a cost in supplies equal to the extra wages). In some
modern farm: extreme situations, the modifier can be taken twice,
and represents working dawn to dusk and then
Modifiers Size some, every day, because that’s what it takes to
Atomic Era +6 keep from starving to death.
Basic agriculture +0
Rich ecosystem +2 The productivity from taking this modifier once is
Intensive farming methods +2 the maximum sustainable level for the land (or the
Total(64 people) +10 health of the farmer). Some crops can generate
higher sustained yields than others without depleting
the soil. Cultural factors will also come into play
here. Some primitive agricultural systems will use
human waste as fertilizer, while others will only use
animal manure. On the high tech end, some areas
might allow genetically engineered high-yield
crops, others might not.
6.8
 Not saving seed crop: This is a one-time modifier
EABA that only applies to agricultural systems. Normally
some of a harvest is saved for next year’s planting.
However, in a time of crisis, you can eat the seed
Overintensive utilization: This can apply to crop to stay alive. In the following year you’re just
agriculture, hunter-gatherer or semi-nomadics. screwed. Unless food is imported, people are going
What it means is that you are drawing more from to starve, because they will have to rely on semi-
the land than it can restore itself per year. Hunter- nomadic or hunter-gatherer numbers for a full year
gatherers might hunt out the game in an area, to save up enough seed crop for the following year.
semi-nomadics may consume all the useful grazing
land, and agricultural societies may deplete the soil Ecosystems: This is a general guide to how
of nutrients. This modifier and the “not saving seed productive the land is. An ecosystem can be “rich”
crop” modifier can be used by armies that feed without being good for agriculture. A tropical rain
themselves by raiding farms in the areas they pass forest is “very rich”, if you like to eat leaves, but is
through. Permanent depletion of an area might not terrible for continual agriculture. A rain forest would
happen in a single year or from a single raid, but it only be suitable for hunter-gatherers, since the soil
will eventually happen, and can permanently quality is very poor. The Nile river valley is considered
damage the productivity of the land. How long this “very rich” in terms of productivity, but it is actually a
takes varies with the intensity of the overutilization “rich” area that engages in continual over-utilization,
and how quickly the land can recover. A few years since yearly floods renew the productivity of the
of slash & burn agriculture in a tropical rain forest is land. And in earlier eras, when those yearly floods
all you can do, but the land will recover enough to didn’t happen, people went hungry. Part of being a
do it again in twenty years. On the other hand, Pharoah was having the political strength to force
Greece used to have very fertile lands. It doesn’t proper land utilization and storage of surplus grain
anymore. The famed cedars of Lebanon are now for the inevitable lean years! For design purposes, a
mostly the deserts of Lebanon, and the thriving “very rich” ecosystem will be one that allows high-
culture of Easter Island collapsed when they cut quality agriculture almost year-round, which limits it
down the last of the trees. It is very unlikely that over- to tropical and equatorial climates without extended
intensive utilization will permanently damage an dry or wet spells, or where river-based irrigation can
area’s productivity during a single human lifetime, cover for an absence of rainfall. The very earliest
but temporary damage that drops capacity is quite agricultural civilizations probably started in such
possible, like the aforementioned slash and burn regions, and would be known to later generations
agriculture, or when population pressure, politics as the places where “civilization” started.
and technological developments converge, as
might happen at a fishing ground in international There is room for climates between the listed
waters. ranges, like something between “rich” and “very
rich”. A “hostile” ecosystem is a generic term for
Overutilization is also a way for hunter-gatherers one in which life cannot exist without technological
or semi-nomadics to survive in otherwise insufficient assistance. This would be like trying to grow gene-
ecosystems. When they hunt an area out, they just modified crops on the unprotected surface of Mars.
move to a different area. This allows them to survive, High-tech systems like environmentally controlled
but decreases the average population density, hydroponic farms simply use the size of the farm and
since no one else can use the hunted-out or the appropriate tech era and other modifiers.
overgrazed lands until they recover. At a minimum,
it doubles the land required by that group, and Early/late use: This represents how long people
requires that the group move to a new location at have been living in an area. Early use means people
least once a year. are still getting their fields cleared, learning the best
places to live or farm, and the hazards of the area
have not been fully explored. Late use means that
the area is being fully exploited. Fields have been
cleared of rocks, pens or corrals have already been
constructed in seasonal grazing grounds, and all
the “best spots” are known and used. You will not
normally use “late use” and “intensive methods” at
the same time. The “intensive methods” modifier
implies that you already know all the best spots.
However, “intensive methods” can be used to offset
the “early use” penalty, as the new colonists work
their butts off to establish a foothold.

6.9
 SIDE CASES - Before we get into a detailed
example, there are a few side cases of food
production to deal with.
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Fishing - Not farming, but another way to WHAT DOES IT ALL GET YOU? - Once you figure
generate food from a region. This would be out how much food you can get from a given
factored into or averaged with the overall food amount of land, you can see how many person-
production of an area. An island with poor farming years per year it takes to feed someone. Any time
might well be rich in fish, and therefore able to left over is free time that can be used to generate
support far more people than its land area would civilization and specialization of labor.
indicate. This could also generate two types of
civilizations, a coastal one where fishing makes up Take two cases to illustrate the point, a Dark
for poor land quality, and an interior one, where Ages farm with a productivity of +0 (1 person
people have a different way of life in the harder supports 2 people), and a modern farm with a
terrain. Higher tech eras mean that fishermen go productivity of +10 (1 person supports 64 people).
further afield, and may encounter someone else’s
“territory” in terms of claimed fishing grounds. On the Dark Ages farm, in an average year
without war, famine, pestilence and so on, the
Weather - If the weather was the same every average “work per day” per person to survive is 3
year, farmers would be a lot happier. Even if the hours. That is, the farmer spends an average of 6
weather was bad, at least it would predictably bad. hours per day, and someone else can freeload for
While you can adjust productivity on a yearly basis zero hours per day, averaging to 3 hours per person.
for effect in a game, in the long term it averages
out to the ecosystem productivity you have chosen. For the modern equivalent, you have a 9 hour
If the weather is so mercurial on the long scale that work day (intensive farming methods) divided by 64
it impairs food production, apply an additional -1 or people supported, equals about a seventh of an
-2 to the productivity to take it into account. This is hour per day per person (8.4 minutes). Or, for the
because extra food must be kept back in case a average person, it takes 8.4 minutes of pay from
crop fails, and because yields on average are your job to pay for the food you eat each day. For
lowered because of floods or hail or locusts or rains reference, United States per capita income in
of frogs. 2000CE was about 22,000Cr, or for a forty hour work
week, about 11Cr per hour. So, presumably you
No food - Some of the world’s most famous could go to the grocery store and buy subsistence
cities have nowhere near enough land around level food for one day for about 1.5Cr, or 10Cr per
them to support their populations, meaning that week. How much does a loaf of bread, a big jar of
food has to be imported from elsewhere. This is just peanut butter and a 4 liter jug of milk cost, anyway?
a reminder that such places were probably self-
sufficient to begin with, somehow. At the point The difference between the two societies (8.4
where they grew too large to feed themselves, they minutes vs. 3 hours) is a factor of about x21. So, the
needed to have the trade mechanisms in place to modern society can support 21 times as many
handle the imports required. At higher tech eras, specialists (i.e non-farmers) as the other. Artisans,
the ability to build infrastructure into completely soldiers, entertainers, construction workers, and so
inhospitable locations means that urban areas can on. And it makes a huge difference. Which we will
be one hundred percent dependent on outside get into shortly...
support (like Las Vegas).

6.10
 Consumers: These are people that consume
EABA resources but produce nothing (or produce far less
than they consume). Children, the infirm, beggars,
the unemployed, retired, disenfranchised or anyone
CIVILIZATION - You can have civilization without else otherwise out of the work force. Do not make
agriculture, but the concentrated labor and food the mistake of thinking that women in a male-
surplus that agriculture gives makes things a whole dominated culture are inherently Consumers. They
lot easier. On the whole, the major way we will will likely be Producers or Neutrals. Members of an
measure this is in the number of spare people a active military are likely to be Consumers rather
given piece of land can support, assuming it is fully than Neutrals because of their fairly high upkeep.
utilized. If you count the productivity result minus 1 Most of the time, children (and possibly the elderly)
person as the surplus, you end up with the people will count as a person in terms of total population,
available for other jobs. You can look at your but half a person in terms of food required.
civilization as an area that is being developed or
governed, or as a number of people (if there is far EXAMPLE: A farmer who can support 3 people
more land than farmers to till it). can support himself and 2 other adults, or himself, 1
other adult and 2 children. If a farmer with this level
EXAMPLE: Our Dark Ages farmer had a final of production wants to support more children, then
productivity of +0, for a result of 2 people, which some of the children he has have to start working in
leaves 1 surplus person per farmer. Or, if you have a the fields. It’s not a coincidence that many of the
region with a total of 1,000 people, fully half of them educational systems of the world (and some armies)
are working full-time at tilling the land or engaging have a recess that coincides with the most labor-
in activities that make the farmer’s work possible. intensive parts of the agricultural season...

EXAMPLE: Our modern farmer had productivity Neutrals: These are people that produce
of +10, for a result of 64 people, which leaves 63 ephemeral or intangible benefits, and generally
surplus people per farmer. Or, if you have a region shuffle existing resources around. They end up
of 1,000 people, 16 of them have to be farmers. somewhere in between Producers and Consumers.
Bureacrats would be an example. Someone who
From here on out we get into the nuts and bolts changes a resource from one form to another with-
of civilization and society. This will, despite the page out significantly altering its value would be a Neutral.
count, be a superficial generalization that matches
real-world data points as fortuitous coincidence. Exactly who falls in what category is not as
What it does do is provide an internally consistent important as recognizing that the categories are
structure to build gameworld civilizations with, and if there. A church that collects mandatory tithes might
it matches real-world results, consider it a bonus... be a Consumer, but if it provides free education or
social stability, it might be a Neutral. Children in
In any given group of people, you are going to some societies might be Consumers, but in others
have those that are Producers, Consumers, and they can be put to work at an early age, making
Neutrals. These are value-neutral terms, so don’t them Neutrals and eventually Producers. How you
read too much into them. Right now, we’re going to define a group affects not only the approximate
be looking at the non-farmers and splitting them up. number of that group in a society, it can also affect
the way people feel about that group, or the way
Producers: These are people that add “value” that group feels about everyone else.
to an area. Miners, craftsmen, factory workers and
so on. A Producer is someone who extracts non- EXAMPLE: If a population can only support five
food resources from the environment, or converts percent of its numbers as Consumers, then that is a
those resources into something with a higher value. built-in elite, who have some power, status or both
The people who mine iron ore, smelt it into usable that allows them the luxury of “not producing”. This
iron, and the factory workers who make things with it might be a priesthood, a military, an aristocracy, or
are all Producers. Cases where resource conversion some combination of the above. They may be
is a profit-making activity that takes advantage of providing an essential service, but they are still set
legal loopholes would probably be Neutrals. apart from normal society in some way. If the
positions are hereditary, then it means that future
EXAMPLE: A medieval miller paid a fee to the generations of this elite will exist their whole lives as
local lord for the right to make flour, and ordinary “non-producers”, and come to see themselves as
people were legally prohibited from grinding their separate, different or better than those who make
own grain. This would tend to make a miller a their Consumer lifestyle possible...
Neutral rather than a Producer.

6.11
 The best way to work with this is to make some
assumptions about the nature of society, and then
draw some results from there. The nature of society
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CIVILIZATIONS

as defined below is a measure of both social and

environmental conditions, and how much ability or Harsh: Life is hard, and people need to be hard
tolerance there is to support individuals who are a as well. If you cannot work, you can be supported
net drain on a community’s resources. by your family, you can beg, or starve, and no one
cares which of these happens to you. In terms of
Society is: Producer Consumer Neutral the extremes, cannibalism is out, infanticide and
Very harsh +0(761) -8(64) -5(175) euthanasia may be frowned upon but seen as
Harsh- -1(700) -7(90) -5(210) sometimes necessary, but the death penalty is still
Harsh -1(660) -7(90) -4(250) common. In a historical sense, most human cultures
Average- -1(660) -7(90) -4(250) up until about the end of the Industrial Era would be
Average -2(500) -6(125) -3(375) considered Very Harsh or Harsh societies (think of
Average+ -2(500) -6(125) -3(375) the Crusades, the Inquisition, slavery, etc.).
Benevolent -3(325) -5(175) -2(500)
Benevolent+ -4(250) -4(250) -2(500) Average: Life has hard times, but is not quite a
Very benev. -5(175) -4(250) -2(575) burden that is simply endured. There is time for work,
Society is “-ist” special and time for play. Work hard, play hard. Children
are valued, but not necessarily coddled. The elderly
What these numbers mean is that you can take are given respect, but not necessarily a free ride.
the total non-farming population in terms of a Size The death penalty is not uncommon, but subject
level, apply this modifier, and the result is how many to appeals and some protests. The first forms of
people will fall into that slot. If you have a remainder, organized, public health care may show up.
put it in the Neutrals slot. If you have a shortage,
take it from the Producers slot. The numbers in Benevolent: Society values the individual, even
parentheses are how many people out of 1,000 if they are unable to “produce”. The unemployed,
would fall into each slot using those guidelines. disabled, etc. often get financial assistance, and
health and retirement plans are common. The death
EXAMPLE: If you have a “benevolent” society, penalty is used rarely enough be a stastistically
then for each 1,000 non-farmers there will be 325 insignificant number of serious felons. The United
Producers, 175 Consumers and 500 Neutrals. States circa 2000CE falls into this category.

Very harsh: Societal mores are such that your Very benevolent: Life is held in the highest
life is worthless if you are not pulling your own weight regard, and the right to individual expression is
or contributing to the good of the community. If you nearly sacred. Society provides for those who do
are too feeble to work, you are worthless. Those who not choose to produce, children have free
cannot or will not work will be abandoned without a education to virtually any level, and the disabled
second thought. Children are tolerated because and retired are well-provided for. Many European
they will grow into someone who can work, and nations circa 2000CE fall into this category.
they are put to work as soon as they are able to do
so. A very harsh society will have absolutely no Note - The benefits of the more benevolent
problems with infanticide, cannibalism, euthanasia societies are expensive, and come out of the tax
or the death penalty. However, even in very harsh revenue collected by the government. This makes
societies or conditions of absolute privation in other certain society types difficult to manage at lower
societies, the practices of infanticide, cannibalism tech eras. Also, failure (or the perception of failure)
and euthanasia are usually not normal (except for to provide these benefits equally can result in unrest.
possible ritual purposes), but they are accepted as
sometimes necessary. It is worth noting that when Note - A change in society type is usually not a
such extreme privation is localized, those outside smooth transition. Altering the ratio of people in the
the affected areas are often quick to condemn Producer, Consumer and Neutral categories often
or demonize the people who resorted to these comes from (or results in) radical changes in the way
practices. people think and work, and can cause grinding in
society’s gears for generations. Consider changes
EXAMPLE: There is evidence for cannibalism brought about by the printing press (Bibles average
during famine or extreme privation from ancient people could buy and read and interpret for them-
Egypt, to the Great Famine of 1315, to the Indian selves), changes in society from industrialization, or
Famine of 1630, to the Siege of Stalingrad in WWII. the turmoil associated with abolition, women’s rights
and the civil rights movement.

6.12
 Later, we’re going to do the full numbers for a
EABA town of population Size +27, and since that town is
also part of a sexist culture, of the potential workers,
only a population Size of +25 are going to be
Society is -ist: What this means is that there is a considered employable. So, 12,000 people will be
cultural adjustment because of some aspect of removed from the tax-producing economy right
society that pulls people out of the Producing from the start. These 12,000 people may still be
category. The simplest example would be “sexist”. working quite hard, but for little or no money or
If your culture doesn’t think women are capable of respect, and will contribute very little to the town’s
or should be doing certain jobs, then women are cash economy.
automatically excluded from a segment of the
workforce. If you revere the elderly, then they don’t Note - Based on 2000CE census figures for the
have to work until they drop. If you place a high people employed and nature of employment, the
value on children, you don’t put them to work in the United States would be considered a “benevolent”
mines or garment factories. An -ist is more common society that is “age-ist”. The young are protected
among urban populations, and more so among the from having to be part of the work force, which also
upper classes than the lower ones. It might not be allows more time to be spent on their education.
proper for a “lady” to cook and clean, but no such There may also be minor amounts of sexist and
limit is placed on the “servant girl”. An -ist isn’t racist tendencies left, for another possible -1 effect.
necessarily bad, but it does drop the number of Whether or not you consider the United States as
people that can produce things. This can be offset “benevolent” is a personal matter, but for Stuff!
by any increased happiness or smug superiority it purposes, that’s where it falls.
makes people feel. A society can have more than
one -ist (up to three). Any -ist or -ists that affect half Remember that a society that is racist or sexist
the population to a great degree is worth a -2 or whatever is not hindered in its food production in
instead of the normal -1, and a society can have a any way. Women or slaves or children can toil in the
number of minor -ists that add up to a -1 effect. fields as well as anyone else. Civilization design at
this point in the rules is concerned with economy
EXAMPLE: A society might be residually racist rather than food. While you might be saving money
and also exclude women from combat roles in its by having an underpaid or oppressed segment of
military. This would make it slightly racist and slightly the workforce, since these people are underpaid,
sexist, enough to add up to a single -1 effect. they can’t buy as many things as fully compensated
workers. There is not as much money available in
The way an -ist works is that the total population the economy, so the amount that is available for
Size is dropped by -1 per -ist (-ists of -1, -2 and -3 investment in long-term projects is also smaller, and
represent about 30%, 50% and 65% loss of potential so on. So, while most cultures do have their -ists
production). The people who are affected by the - (even today), it is on the whole bad policy in terms
ist are removed from the “workforce”. They may still of overall economic growth. However, an -ist can
be Producers, Consumers or Neutrals in some sense, be very profitable for a small segment of the
but they are not income-earners and do not hold population (like slave owners) or convenient to a
jobs in any particular economic sector, or their con- group that has an lock on the reins of power (like
tribution is less than the average due to discrimina- men). In cases like this, people are quite willing to
tion factors. They effectively become invisible sacrifice an overall benefit for a much greater
Neutrals. personal (or sub-group) benefit. It’s just a thought to
keep in the back of your mind if you are designing a
EXAMPLE: If you say a society is very “sexist”, you civilization from scratch.
would apply a -2 to the total population Size (sexism
affects half the population, and thus gets a -2). So if
you started with a population Size of +18 (1,000
people), the sexist nature of the society would drop
the workforce down to a population Size of +16 (500
men). The other 500 women effectively become
unemployed Neutrals. These women are doing the
absolutely necessary tasks of cooking, cleaning,
child-rearing and so on, but get little or no pay for it.

6.13
 EXAMPLE: We’re going to create a “civilization”
that is a Dark Ages fief, with a total population of
1,000 people. We already know from previous
Stuff! v1.0
CIVILIZATIONS

examples that half of them are going to be farmers.

This will be the male head of household on the WHERE ARE WE AT? - At this point, you should
farms, some effort from his wife, and any children have some idea of the size of your “civilization”,
old enough to do useful work in the fields but not how many people this much land can support, how
old enough to move out and live on their own. The many farmers it takes to work the land, and of the
number of Producers, Consumers and Neutrals remainder of people, approximately how they are
comes from the remaining 500. split up. With this, you can work on the wealth that
society can generate. You need food production to
This 500 people is a “Size” of 16. If we say that support concentrations of people, but you need
this is a “harsh” society (but not sexist), then we wealth to support concentrations of just about
have Size 15 in Producers (-1 modifier), Size 9 in everything else.
Consumers (-7 modifier) and Size 12 in Neutrals (-5
modifier). Looking at the Universal Chart, we see Production - An area’s wealth is not only in its
that our total of 1,000 people breaks down like this: ability to produce food. Any society is going to
require some form of material wealth unless it
Farmers: 500 imports everything that isn’t made of ubiquitous
Producers: 350 goods like wood, leather, stone or cloth.
Consumers: 45
Neutrals: 125 People who do mining or other non-food
resource production are “specialists”, and the
This totals close enough to 1,000 people for our number of them available will depend on the
needs. Since the actual total is 1,020, we could lose efficiency of food production and the nature of
20 people off the Producers slot, leaving 330 people society. For general gaming purposes, the exact
there. Of our total of 500 non-farmers, we have 330 nature of a resource doesn’t matter. What matters
Producers. These are going to be the wives of the is if an area is more rich in resources than its
farmers, who when they are not directly involved in neighbors. You can rank each country or political
farming activities, are doing plenty of work in terms unit in a region from +3 to -3, positive numbers being
of spinning, food preparation, and so on, plus a few better. All this means is that any given specialist
necessary craft people like blacksmiths. The farmer’s working to extract that region’s resources gets a
family is likely helping in the fields, contributing time bonus of the listed amount to the credit value of the
towards “intensive utilization” for higher yields, or resources. Saudi Arabia might have a +3 for its oil,
taking up slack so the farmer can fulfill feudal while nearby Israel has only minor mineral resources
obligations. We have 125 Neutrals, which will be and might be +0 or -1. You also need to consider
children old enough to literally “earn their keep”, the intangibles. A country that has a serious “-ists”
and resource conversion services like a miller. And like Saudi Arabia can lose much of its potential
we have 45 Consumers, who in this place and time production because it has lost half its work force.
will probably be the local clergy, the local lord and But all in all, a region with an “average” amount of
his retainers, plus children too young to work (each resources compared to its neighbors will be +0.
of whom is half or less of a full Consumer in terms of
food eaten). So, while we had a 50% food surplus If you are developing a civilization over time,
(each farmer supports 2 people), that really only remember that some resource wealth is dependent
gives us a a maximum of 4.5% support for strictly on technological advancement. Having vast oil
consuming items like military might. resources deep underground is useless to you unless
you have the technology to extract it. Reserves of
Note - This is actually a case where the hunter- uranium or plutonium are useless to you unless you
gatherers have an edge. If your food needs are met have atomic power. If you can’t use a natural
by your skill with weapons, then your “farmers” are resource and your neighbor can (and needs it),
also to some degree skilled as soldiers. So, a tribal then things can get interesting...
hunter-gatherer group can field a much higher
proportion of its population as skilled fighters than
an agricultural society can. Your “hill tribes” might
be able to effectively intimidate agricultural frontier
communities many times their tribe’s size. However,
the hill tribes can afford to suffer far fewer actual
losses than the agricultural community, leaving
them vulnerable after possibly a single large defeat.

6.14
 Agricultural efficiency: This is the same number
EABA you figured out earlier, the Size level of how many
people a farmer can feed. If more people are
supported, the average person spends less of their
The “per capita” income of an area will be working day just putting food on the table, which
based on the tech era, the richness of resources, raises the overall average income of the society.
and the government type. Numbers on this table
will use the Money column of the EABA Universal EXAMPLE: Our Dark Ages farmer had a result of
Chart. This income also reflects the wealth of the +0 (2 people supported per farmer), so for our per
government, its ability to fund public works and the capita income purposes, agricultural efficiency is
like. Maximum possible government wealth would +0.
be per capita income times the number of people
(at a 100% tax rate and zero corruption). Actual Society type: This is the modifier from the
government income will likely be less... Per captia “Producer” column on that table, and represents
income times the number of people is a society’s the fraction of the non-farm population engaged in
“taxable productivity”. resource-generating activity.

Remember that is is an average income. If on EXAMPLE: Our Dark Ages fief from the previous
average, one breadwinner is supporting three non- page was a harsh society, which has a “Producers”
working dependents (a family of four), then the modifier of -1, which represents the fraction of the
average income per working member of the population out there generating significant income.
population will be four times higher. However, if
there are social factors that pull a group of people Each -ist: If a society is racist, sexist, ageist or has
out of the potential workforce (even if they want to some other belief system that pulls capable people
work), this will drag the average income down. out of the workforce or pays them substandard
wages for their work, this will tend to drop per capita
Technological Era Yearly income income accordingly. The people who are working
Primitive -3 may be making just as much, but there are fewer of
Basic +0 them...
Industrial +3
Atomic +6 EXAMPLE: Our Dark Ages example had no -ists,
Post-Atomic +9 so this modifier is +0.
Advanced +12
Richness of resources: As described earlier, a
Modifiers Amount measure of how “rich” the area is in exploitable
Early part of an Era -1 wealth. Remember that this is not just in the form of
Late part of an Era +1 raw materials, but can also represent location. Even
though trade is just goods changing hands with no
Agricultural efficiency special new items being produced, it still generates wealth
Society type special for the trader. So, if you are designing a small
Each -ist in the society -1 region, its potential as a trade hub or stop on a
Richness of resources +3 to -3 trade route should be considered. The -3 to +3
Tyrannical gov’t -7 spread gives an eight-fold difference in wealth
Oligarchic gov’t -5 based on the richness of resources.
Communal gov’t -4
Representative gov’t -3 EXAMPLE: If we say that the Dark Ages fief had
average resources, this would also be a +0 modifier.
This per capita income is really a measure of Remember that this is different than any agricultural
the industrial and economic might of a region, the efficiency. If you have two areas of equal farming
overall ability to buy or build expensive stuff, or potential, and one is on a major trade route, then
support a social system with a high cost (health one will have better resources than the other, even
care, free education, etc.). if they produce the same amount of food.

Tech era: Base income is determined by the

tech era of the society.

EXAMPLE: Our Dark Ages example from the

previous page is a Basic Era society, for a modifier
of +0.

6.15
 Government type: The type of government in
an area will have a big effect on the production.
This is due to differences in efficiency, as well as how
Stuff! v1.0
CIVILIZATIONS

well the average Producer feels they are rewarded

for their hard work. Most governments break down “Corruption” also represents some of the near-
into one of the four types listed. mandatory government expenditures necessary to
keep an unhappy population in line, either in the
A tyranny is any sort of authoritarian, top-down form of “bread and circuses”, increased internal
rule, with the power concentrated in the hands of a security forces, or both. Most of the time, corruption
single individual or small group who are themselves will be a very small amount, but it does affect how
largely above the laws they impose on others. much the government has after it taxes people,
Warlords, bandit kings, dictators and most types of and can also be used as a measure of the strength
monarchies fall into this group. and pervasiveness of organized criminal activity.

An oligarchy has power concentrated in the The corruption index goes up by 1 point for each
hands of a small group. While it is possible that the 2 levels of population (round up) that a government
oligarchs are elected, it is more likely that their type cannot effectively manage. The number in
positions are effectively hereditary (regardless of parentheses is the population represented by that
what the original intent of the system was). This is Size level.
theoretically more accountable to its people than a
tyranny and oligarchs have a better chance of EXAMPLE: Let’s work with our Dark Ages society
being subject to the same laws and restrictions and the modern example. If the Dark Ages fief is a
as everyone else. Oligarchies can also be allied tyranny (which can be a quasi-joint rule by Church
tyrannies (like a country made of dukedoms). and nobility), then production per capita is:

A communal (not communist) government is Modifiers Money

rule by consensus, a set of shared beliefs enforced Basic Era +0
by community action. This system is efficient on the Agricultural efficiency +0
small scale, and can work for monasteries or small, Harsh society -1
tightly-knit communities with a unified set of beliefs, Tyranny -7
but it breaks down on the larger scale, mandating a Total(65 Credits) -8
split of the community or adoption of another form
of government. Most communal systems often have The per capita income is 65 Credits. So, for a
some sort of oligarchic body that arbitrates disputes total population of 1,000 people, this region
within the community. generates 65,000 Credits per year in the nebulous
item we call “taxable productivity”. If we applied
Representative government is one with the will the current United States government type to the
of the people expressed through a set of elected Atomic Era case, we get:
officials who can theoretically be replaced if they
don’t measure up. Representative governments Modifiers Money
with difficult to unseat incumbents may become Atomic Era +6
oligarchies in fact if not in name. Agricultural efficiency +10
Society is benevolent+ -4
Government Income Corrupt. Max. size Rerpresentative govt -3
Tyranny -7 -11 +40(2 mil.) Total(23,000 Credits) +9
Oligarchy -5 -10 +46(16 mil.)
Communal -4 -12 +11(90) The per capita income in this region would be
Representative -3 -10 +55(360 mil.) 23,000 Credits. So, for a population of 1,000 people,
this region will generate 23,000,000 Credits of
Each of these governments has a maximum taxable productivity per year.
population that it can efficiently manage. This
number is adjusted by the tech era modifier on its Note - Some would argue that the United States
income. Each government also has a “corruption is now closer to a benevolent oligarchy than a
index”. This is how much of the area’s production benevolent+ representative form of government,
simply vanishes into private pockets in the form of but that’s a matter of your personal political
bribes, smuggling, embezzlement, kickbacks, pork- opinion. The income numbers would be the same
barrel politics, stealing of pens and paperclips, and for the above example.
so on. The rating is a modifier on per capita income,
and the result is saved and used later on.

6.16
 What’s going to happen is that effective per
EABA capita income will be reduced by government
taxes, and government income will be “taxed” by
the corruption index, which in this case is a Cost
The per capita income is only important as a level of -15.
relative measure. An income of 65 Credits probably
went a lot farther in the Dark Ages than it did today. It is worth noting that per capita income is not
On the other hand, the most impoverished areas on necessarily “salary”. It is the net value of resources
Earth in the early 21st century are not a lot higher that an individual accumulates through work,
than that 65 Credit figure. Also remember that these investment or other means. Per capita income has
are per capita figures, not per worker figures. The its equivalent value in barter or social obligations in
average “family income” will be the per capita societies that do not use hard currency. Similarly, just
figure times the average family size for each culture. because it is “income” doesn’t mean you get to
keep it. You might be a millionaire in terms of yearly
Let’s look more closely at the corruption and income, but end up spending most of it to pay
maximum population indices. employees, buy equipment, and so on. Our Dark
Ages lord is at the top of his heap in terms of
EXAMPLE: Let’s work with the late Roman Empire, income, but by the time he pays all his bills and
somewhere in the first few centuries CE. By some feudal obligations to the lord above him, he may
estimates, the population of the Empire is about 60 not have a lot left over.
million people, a Size level of +50. We’ll use an
agricultural efficiency of -1 for sake of the example. Note - EABA has an optional rule that cost of
goods drop by about a factor of four per tech era
Modifiers Money (or about one and a half per fraction of an era). This
Primitive Era -3 would mean that our Roman citizen with an income
Late part of era +1 of 45 Credits has a“buying power” in terms of EABA
Agricultural efficiency -1 prices of about 2,000 Credits per year. This is still
Harsh society -1 desperately poor by any way you want to look at it.
Oligarchic gov’t -5
Total(45 Credits) -9 Income distribution - Now that we know how
much the per capita income is, we should get an
Per capita income/productivity starts at a Cost idea of how it is distributed. We’ll correlate this with
level of -9, or 45 Credits per year. The corruption the type of society. If you keep track of exact
index of an oligarchy is -10 below this, or a siphoning numbers and it comes out to be too many, take the
off of a Money level of -19 from government tax excess from the Very Poor column. If there are not
revenue per person. This is only 1.5 Credits, or about enough, add any necessary amount to the
3 percent of per capita income. This does not Average column.
subtract from personal income, but does count as
an equivalent tax on the money the government [Link] Poor Avg. Rich [Link]
collects from its taxes on the people. We’ll get into Society (≤-6) (-3) (+0) (+6) (≥+12)
that a little later. -4 -3 -3 -13 -16
Very harsh -4 -3 -3 -12 -17
However, the largest population an oligarchic -4 -3 -3 -12 -17
government can efficiently manage is a Size level of Harsh -4 -3 -3 -11 -18
+46 plus the tech era modifier (-3), for a total of +43 -5 -3 -3 -10 -18
(5.6 million people). The actual population of this Average -5 -3 -3 -9 -17
vast, far flung empire is +50 (64 million people). This is -6 -4 -4 -8 -17
+7 more than the maximum. The corruption index Benevolent -6 -4 -4 -8 -17
will be increased by half this (+4), raising it from a -7 -3 -4 -8 -18
level of -19 to a level of -15. A Money level of -15 is Very benev. -8 -3 -4 -8 -18
6 Credits. When compared to per capita income of -8 -3 -3 -8 -19
45 Credits, this means that about an eighth of the
potential tax revenue is disappearing down a black Modifiers
hole! Or, more likely into the pockets of Senators, Tyrranical gov’t -2 rows
with some fraction going to things like coliseums Oligarchic gov’t -1 row
and other diversions to keep the minds of the Communal gov’t +1 row
impoverished masses off of how poor they are and Representative gov’t +0 rows
how rich their leaders have become.

6.17
 The column header is the shift in the Money
level of a person’s income, and the row result is a
modifier on the total population level to get the
Stuff! v1.0
CIVILIZATIONS

number of people in that particular income

bracket. For the Atomic Era town, we have a slightly
more than benevolent representative government.
Okay, so how does this work? We’ll use our Dark A group of 1,000 people is a Size of +18. We go to
Ages fief and a late 20th century American town as the row below the “benevolent society” row, with
examples. no modifier for government type. This means that
that while we have an average income per person
We have 1,000 people in our Dark Ages fief, of 23,000 Credits per year (Money level of +9), the
and we know that it is a harsh society with a tyranny actual distribution across the 1,000 people looks like
form of government. A group of 1,000 people is a the table below.
Size of +18. We go to the “harsh society” row, then
go up two rows because of the tyranny. This puts us Income bracket People Money
on the “very harsh” row. This means that that while Very poor +11(90) +3(2.8KCr)
we earlier figured an average income per person of Poor +15(500) +6(8KCr)
65 Credits per year (Money level of -8), the actual Average +14(350) +9(23KCr)
distribution across the 1,000 people looks like the Rich +10(64) +15(175KCr)
table below. This is listed as Size and Money levels, Very rich +0(2) +21(≥1.4MCr)
with the number of people out of 1,000 and actual
personal income in parentheses. The proportion of extremely wealthy is reduced,
but so is the number of extremely poor, and more
Income bracket People Money people have moved up to the “rich” bracket.
Very poor +14(250) -14(8Cr) Remember that some of the merely “rich” could be
Poor +15(350) -11(23Cr) millionaires, but simply be supporting a large family
Average +15(350) -8(65Cr) (6 rich people in one household could represent 1
Rich +6(16) -2(500Cr) working millionaire and 5 non-working dependents).
Very rich +1(3) +4(≥4KCr)
In all the distributions you can generate with
this system, a large fraction of a society’s wealth is
So, out of our 1,000 people, we have 3 who are going to be concentrated in a small number of
ludicrously wealthy by that culture’s standards, at 64 hands. There is anywhere from 35% to 60% of the
times the per capita income or more. There are 16 total wealth in the top two brackets, with anywhere
people who are wealthy, at 8 times per capita from 9% to 25% being in the hands of the uppermost
income. There are 350 people at around the normal bracket. And within that bracket, there may be a
income, 350 people somewhere around a third of small number of extremely wealthy individuals, the
normal income, and 250 people scrabbling out an rest being just very wealthy. There are millionaires,
existence at an eighth the normal income. In our and there are billionaires...
fief, the highest income certainly belongs to the lord
of the manor and family. The second highest level That handles Producers. Now to Neutrals and
of wealth might be associated with the Church, an Consumers.
especially useful retainer like an exchequer or a
guard captain, or a trade that can make a profit Neutrals - This covers the people whose net
from the entire community, like a miller (but they production is about zero. They do not produce a
would still be “inferiors” compared to the elite terms good or a long-term intangible, but are still needed
of the social scale. The average and poor are the to keep things moving. They have income, which
farmers and any normal armed retainers, and the gets plowed back into the economy, and that is
very poor are slaves, young children, or the elderly about it. Bureacracy and service jobs are a good
who are supported by their families. example of a neutral job. They consume resources
and provide a necessary service, but at the end of
any day, nothing has been created or destroyed.
No matter how many times the garbage truck
comes by to pick up the trash, there is always more
trash to be picked up the next day. And you will
know exactly how necessary a service this is if they
go on strike...

6.18
 So, if our empire taxes its citizens at 25% (or the
EABA -4 level), per capita income drops 1 level (to a
Money level of -10, or 30 Credits).

Consumers - Consumers are people who, while Item Money

they may provide a necessary service, are a net Per capita income -9
drain on an area’s resources. The most obvious Effect of a tax rate of -4 -1
example of a necessary service would be an army, Total income (30 Credits) -10
while an equally unnecessary service would be a
hereditary nobility. Government income per person is the per
capita income level of -9 adjusted by the tax rate of
Note - You can define what jobs fall into what -4, or a Money level of -13(11 Credits).
slots as you wish. It is seldom that a particular job
always falls into one category. An army, normally a Item Money
Consumer, might be a pillaging horde, which on the Per capita income -9
whole, imports money into their region. A trader, Tax rate of 25% -4
who normally is a Producer, might in modern times, Raw gov’t income per person(11Cr) -13
move their operations overseas, and could up
siphoning money out of a region (a negative trade The corruption index of -15 is the same as a
balance). A religion, which is normally a Neutral, government income of -13 with a -2 tax rate. This
might have the power to exact tithes, and become has a negative effect on government income of -2.
a Consumer. We’re just looking to give you an
overview of the civilization you had in mind. Item Money
Subtotal gov’t income -13
DEATH & TAXES - So, you have a per capita Effect from corruption index of -15 -2
income, a total population and a corruption index. Total gov’t income per person(6Cr) -15
What do you do with them? Well, first you set a tax
rate. This will be a level shift from per capita income, That is, government income comes from a tax
and becomes the per capita government income. on the people, and corruption is effectively a tax on
Then, you count the cost level of government government income. You figure the tax effect of
corruption as a tax rate on government income. corruption in reverse. In this case, our government
What is left is the cost level that the government income of -13 and corruption of -15 gave us a
gets per person in the society, with which it pays for difference of -2, which became the “tax rate” on
public services and infrastructure. Sounds pretty government income. You could do all of this with
complicated, right? It’s not. Look at the table actual figures in Credits instead of Money levels,
below: and it comes out about the same.

Tax rate Income effect Tax rate What do you do with it? - Since Consumers are
≥-6... none ≤12% already taken into account in what a type and
-5 -1 ≈18% tech of society can support, this government
-4 -1 ≈25% income is largely spent on infrastructure items.
-3 -1 ≈35% Infrastructure is a bunch of things, but the simplest
-2 -2 ≈50% definition is “the stuff people depend upon and
-1 -3 ≈70% expect to be there when they need it”. If you pick
+0 all of it... ≈100% up a phone you expect there to be a dial tone,
when you flip a light switch, you expect there to be
EXAMPLE: If we use our Roman Empire example electricity and when you turn the tap, you expect
from two pages ago, we had: clean water to come out. Even though some of
these services are private industries, they are also
Item Money likely to be heavily regulated or influenced by
Per capita income(45Cr) -9 government policy, and you should think of them as
Corruption index(6Cr) -15 infrastructure.

6.19
 INFRASTRUCTURE - We only deal with two types
of infrastructure, technical and social. Stuff! v1.0
CIVILIZATIONS

Technical infrastructure: Some of a society’s

resource production is going to represent “public Something “eternal ”would be +0. It is beyond
works”, like roads, bridges, sewers, dams and so on. the capability of the existing culture to modify,
These are usually government spending (from tax upgrade, or even destroy. A network of impervious
revenue) and are part of the things that lead to the interstellar portals left behind by a mysterious alien
increased efficiency of more advanced tech eras. race might qualify. They don’t wear out and cost
Railroads and bridges help move goods, dams nothing to maintain. Everything else is subject to
power hydroelectric generators or mitigate floods, entropy, from +1 for things that wear out very slowly,
telegraph lines speed the flow of information, sewer like a canal, to +6 for things that are a major effort
systems lead to increased health and productivity just to keep running, like a coastal highway in an
and so on. While these items have to be built by earthquake zone. In temperate climates without a
someone, it is assumed that a region has the items lot of natural disasters to worry about, durable
appropriate to its tech era. These would generally infrastructure can usually go with a +2, and most
be as follows. Not all areas will have all items in the technology-dependent infrastructure would be +4.
listed infrastructure. Generally, only the largest
population centers will have the best quality items, The number next to the tech era plus the
and everywhere else is somewhere lower on the list erosion rate is the Money level per year per person
or has some reduced capacity with that type of to maintain the infrastructure. This is typically taken
infrastructure (big cities get high speed internet from the money the government has available after
before the rural farms do). corruption is taken into account. Remember that
corruption doesn’t directly hit the average person in
Tech era Infrastructure their pocket, but it does subtract from the amount
Primitive(-17) Trails, irrigation of taxes collected, so governments may have to tax
Late Primitive(-16) Dams extra to offset their own inefficiency.
Early Basic(-14) Roads, water distrib.
Basic(-13) If the total is actually equal to or more than the
Late Basic(-12) government income per person, it simply can’t be
Early Industrial(-10) Sewers maintained regardless of the tax rate. Governments
Industrial(-9) Railroads that wish to maintain this infrastructure will have to
Late Industrial(-8) Telegraph lend themselves money somehow, but spending
Early Atomic(-6) Electricity, telephone beyond your means is never a long-term solution.
Atomic(-5) Highways, airports
Late Atomic(-4) Computer networks If infrastructure cannot be maintained, it will
Early Post-Atomic(-2) eventually fall into ruin, a process that will take
Post-Atomic(-1) Spaceports perhaps a Time level of 54, minus the erosion rate,
Late Post-Atomic(+0) Beanstalks minus the cost of the infrastructure (note that
Early Advanced(+2) negative infrastructure modifiers will add to the time
Advanced(+3) level). There are so many ways things can fall apart,
Late Advanced(+4) or miraculously stay together, that this is a general
guideline. Remember that especially durable and
Infrastructure is one case where you can be low-tech infrastructure can stay viable with reduced
ahead of your time. If your civilization has the maintenance far longer than most high-tech kinds.
money to support it, you can have infrastructure Stuff doesn’t fall apart all at once.
beyond your actual tech era (within reason). So,
you could have aqueducts in the Primitive Era, or a Social infrastructure: This is a lot easier. The
sewer system in the Base Era, if you had the money society type simply adjusts the effective cost of the
to support it. technical infrastructure. A “very harsh” society has a
social infrastructure shift of -1. Each full shift of the
Infratructure has an “erosion rate”. This is some society type is a +1 modifier (“harsh” is +0 cost,
combination of how natural disasters, technological “average” is +1 cost, etc.).
advances and social instability render a given piece
of infrastructure useless unless it is maintained or EXAMPLE: A “very benevolent” society will have
upgraded. What would Florida look like if people a technical infrastructure cost of +3 more than a
stopped repairing hurricane damage to bridges, “harsh” society. This covers social infrastructure like
roads, power, telephone, water and sewer lines? universal health care, free university education,
pension plans and so on.

6.20
 EXAMPLE: The Romans were famous for their
EABA roads and aqueducts. The very best roads linked
the most strategic places, but there were still a lot of
roads. Roads and water distribution have an infra-
Note - Money for nothing. Neither a borrower structure cost of -14, +2 for erosion, for a total Money
nor lender be. Governments that cannot meet their level of -12, or 16 Credits per year per person. From
infrastructure, military or social spending needs have the previous example, we know that we only have
hit upon the dodge of loaning themselves money, in a Money level of -15 available (6 Credits per person
the form of bonds or other interest-earning items per year) to pay for this. This leaves the empire with
that get them extra money now in exchange for some unhappy options. They can choose to only
paying more later. This is a monkey that very few maintain about one-third of their infrastructure, or
governments get off their backs once it is perched they can debase their currency to artificially prop
there. A government can usually get a +2 to its own up government income, or they can raise taxes.
overall income in exchange for a +1 to its corruption Or maybe do a little of each, and hope the meta-
index, which in this case represents the expense of phorical chickens don’t come home to roost until
servicing a national debt. In the short term, this is after those particular imperial officials are dead and
wonderful for an efficient system. beyond caring...

EXAMPLE: If you have a per capita government If we debased the currency once, it would raise
income level of +6 (8,000 Credits) and a corruption the effective per capita government income from a
loss of -2 (500 Credits), you can increase the per Cost level of -13 to -11 (from 11 Credits to 23 Credits
capita government income to a level of +8 (16,000 per person), at the penalty of increasing corruption
Credits), an 8,000 Credit increase, by raising the from a Cost level of -15 to -14 (from 6 Credits to 8
corruption loss to -1 (700 Credits), which is only a 200 Credits). This boosts government income:
Credit rise.
Item Money
The problem is that you only get the increase in Per capita gov’t income(debased) -11
government income for five years, but the increase Effect from corruption index of -14 -1
in the corruption index hangs around for ten years. If Total gov’t income per person(16Cr) -12
you spend this extra money on improvements that
increase productivity sufficiently (rural electrification, So, adding some lead to the silver to stretch it
interstate highways), the loan more than pays for out will pay the bills...for a few years. But six years
itself. But if the money is spent unwisely, even a from now, the corruption index will stay at a Cost
nominally efficient government like the United States level of -14, but per capita government income will
can quickly be reduced to the point where 1 out of drop back down to a Cost level of -13.
each 6 Credits of tax income is simply paying interest
on past debts. If you toss in costs for infrastructure Item Money
maintenance, unexpected military expenditures, Per capita gov’t income(normal) -13
crop failures or other natural disasters, you can end Effect from corruption index of -14 -3
up in an economic death spiral, where government Total gov’t income per person(4Cr) -16
has to borrow just to cover the interest expense from
previous borrowing... This means that debasing the currency has
bought the government five years to plunder some
The self-loaning of money also takes the form of other country for its wealth to feed the needs of the
debased currency. In the simplest case, the royal empire, or it will have to debase its currency even
mint takes 100 Credits worth of silver, adds some further, raise the tax rate on its citizens, or some
lead, and makes say 110 Credits of “silver” coins combination of the above. Eventually, the empire
from the mix, which it then uses to pay its debts. will no longer be able to support its infrastructure
More money in the economy spurs inflation, and and it will begin to go downhill. When the empire
prices go up, including for things the government collapses and no one is maintaining things any
was paying for. So they might debase the currency more (and people steal the paving stones to make
again...and again. Governments with abstract cur- buildings with), the roads will fall into total disrepair
rency like paper money can do this to ludicrous lev- in a time level of 66 (time level of 54, minus negative
els. While you can only debase coinage so far, you 14, plus 2). So it would be 250 years before the roads
can print an endless supply of paper money. and aqueducts fall mostly into disrepair. Some
Governments can and will do this to pay their debts, stretches may remain intact for several centuries,
sometimes to ludicrous levels. Whether you are a while others will be plundered within decades. But,
person or a nation, don’t spend money you don’t the ability to move goods at full efficiency across
actually have... the Empire is gone.

6.21
 EXAMPLE: Our Atomic Era town is serviced by
nice paved roads, but it probably doesn’t have an
airport. The infrastructure cost is -5 per person per
Stuff! v1.0
CIVILIZATIONS

year, +4 for erosion, for a Money level of -1, about

700 Credits out of a per capita income of 23,000 The possible sectors are:
Credits, which is no big deal. Even with a +2 to the Commerce(neutral) Food(neutral)
Money level for a Benevolent society, it is only raised Durables(producer) Clothing(producer)
to a Money level of +1 (1,400 Credits). At the lowest Government(consumer) Services(neutral)
tax rate on the chart (12%), the government per Entertainment(neutral) Luxuries(producer)
capita income is a Money level of +3 (2,800 Credits),
so there is still plenty of money left over, at least for This works much like the other tables, but it is
this hypothetical community. geared more towards diverse urban zones. The
quantity is the modifier to the population size to get
However, if there were a disaster that wiped out the total number of people in that sector, and the
civilization, this infrastructure would decay far more number in parentheses is how many out of 1000
rapidly than the Roman roads, and if we wanted we people that would actually be. If there is less than 1
could apply separate erosion rates to things like the person in a sector, you can assume the area does
roads and the electric power grid, the latter of not have enough of an economy to support that
which is likely to suffer serious harm after the next sector.
hurricane or ice storm.
EXAMPLE: If “luxuries” were assigned to sector 8
Note - The guidelines for government borrowing (non-essentials), then you can have one producer
and loss of infrastructure use increments far higher of luxury goods for each 1,000 people. A village of
than you would find in the real world. Infrastructure 500 would have no provider of this particular service,
or economic collapse can be a very long and or maybe every other village of this size would have
drawn out process that is too fine-grained for you to one provider of that service.
simulate with a system like EABA.
Within each category, there will be some
Urban niceties - In addition to generally better hierarchy of success and penetration into the upper
infrastructure, cities also have a concentration of reaches of society. You can split these up into the
skills outside those needed for subsistence. To make various sectors as you see fit. Not everyone who is in
things simple, we are going to assume that even the “merchant” sector is wealthy. Many are just the
though not everyone works (consider children), they “service” clerks behind the cash register or similar
are part of a family that does, and they count jobs that have limited potential for upward mobility.
towards a particular sector of the economy.
Keep in mind that these proportions are really
EXAMPLE: If you have an average family of 4 just vague generalizations. A banking city like Venice
and only the head of the household works, then the is going to have different proportions than a grain
quantity of workers is going to be 4 levels less, but belt faming town which will be different than a
the money earned by that person will be 4 levels company-run mining town or a small town with a
higher (to keep the per capita income the same). big college. Tech eras, levels of education, proximity
to trade routes and far too many modifiers to take
The actual number of workers may be 2 or more into account will adjust the proportions of the
levels less, depending on average family size and sectors of employment.
whether both parents work, and this also influences
actual income rather than per capita income. Losing any “essential” sector will cause the local
economy to collapse. Losing an “important” sector
Sector Importance Quantity will cause economic hardship, while loss of the other
One Essential -3(350) sectors may cause minor hardship or force travel to
Two Essential -4(250) other areas to get the services provided by that
Three Important -5(175) sector.
Four Important -6(125)
Five Secondary -8(64) EXAMPLE: If the gold mine peters out, the once-
Six Secondary -11(23) thriving mining town soon becomes a ghost town.
Seven Non-essential -15(6) If the company in a “company town” moves its
Eight Non-essential -20(1) operation overseas, then not only are lots of people
put out of work, these people no longer have cash
to spend elsewhere in town.

6.22
 EXAMPLE: Using the modern United States as an
EABA example, census figures show the priorities are
something like this:

In order to take a specifics into account, you Sector Type Quantity

assign the proper priority to each of the sectors. The One Services -3(350)
sectors are generally defined as follows: Two Government -4(250)
Three Durables -5(175)
Food: This is not farming, which is already Four Commerce -6(125)
blocked out, and is not all that urban anyway. No, Five Entertainment -8(64)
this represents what is best described as “food Six Clothing -11(23)
enhancement”. The miller who grinds grain into Seven Food -15(6)
flour, the brewer or vinter or baker. Eight Luxuries -20(1)

Commerce: Or merchants. They buy low (often The US census actually breaks things down into
from elsewhere) and sell high. They provide a central over a dozen sectors, so we had to do some mixing
selling point for goods that people do not have time and estimating, but it serves as an example.
to make for themselves or track down, because
they have their own job specialty to attend to. EXAMPLE: We can’t do our Dark Ages fief that
effectively using this sytem. It’s a non-urban agricul-
Clothing: This is an essential item in most tural community where the entire economic system
climates, but is a manufacturing task which many is reliant on farming rather than other sectors of the
people in low-tech societies do for themselves. In economy. But let’s take a medieval town and
urban areas, clothing can become a “fashion” arrange it:
statement or symbol of status or profession, and
there are many possible specializations of clothing, Sector Type Quantity
from the making of cloth to each type of garment One Services -3(350)
or garment-like item (gloves, shoes). Two Durables -4(250)
Three Commerce -5(175)
Durables: Just about anything that has physical Four Clothing -6(125)
substance and isn’t clothing or food. Weapons, Five Government -8(64)
armor, refrigerators and so on. This is a general Six Food -11(23)
“manufacturing sector”. Areas may specialize in a Seven Entertainment -15(6)
particular durable good (like an automobile plant), Eight Luxuries -20(1)
but this generally does not happen until at least the
Industrial Era. If we set up the town with 1,000 working people
we can just use the numbers in parentheses and
Government: Overhead associated with main- make some guesses about the town. Remember
taining an urban area. Police, health inspectors, tax that the population is significantly larger than 1,000,
men, soldiers, lamplighters, bureacrats and so on. since we have 1,000 people holding down jobs of
some kind, plus their families.
Services: This can sometimes be part of the
government, but does not have to be. A public bus Services: People who are working for someone
is a service, but so is a gypsy cab driver. A herald else. A cook, a servant, a wagon driver, a clerk,
provides a service, but so does an operator at a scribe or apprentice. Inns and taverns would be
customer service call center. A short-order cook, a somewhere between services and entertainment.
cashier or a peasant fulfilling feudal obligations is
doing a service job. Durables: With a quarter of the employed
population making durable goods, this is obviously a
Entertainment: This can also cross the line into town that makes a lot of stuff, and probably exports
services, depending on how you define them. much of it.
Movie theaters, bars, brothels, opera houses, cable
television providers, local bands, etc.

Luxuries: This is a subcase that can encompass

other categories. It is effectively a provider of some
other service that caters only to the upper class. A
jeweler, a royal haberdasher, a maker of exotic
weapons, an enchanter of magic items, etc.

6.23
 Commerce: A little over a sixth of the working
population is involved in buying and selling things,
usually other than something they are involved in
Stuff! v1.0
CIVILIZATIONS

making themselves. The blacksmith makes durable

goods, but probably sells much of it directly. If he Depth of services - Not all professions are
sells nails by the keg to someone else, and they in equally common. Within a certain classification like
turn sell them for export, then that person is involved Entertainment or Luxuries or Commerce, some
in commerce. possibilities are just less likely than others. You can
split things into eighths. There may be eight very
Clothing: With about an eighth of the working common jobs within a sector of employment. One
population somehow involved with the garment of those slots is uncommon jobs, which has eight
industry, there is far more clothing than townsfolk subdivisions, and one of those is rare jobs, which has
would use themselves. Clothing industry might also eight subdivisions, and so on.
includes spinners, weavers, tanners and cobblers.
Because low-tech clothing is so labor intensive, EXAMPLE: If you have 4,000 people making
labor costs money, and low-tech societies are often Durable goods, you can split them up into eight
cash-poor, far more of the population would be types of goods. The last of these is “uncommon
using their own time to make their own clothing. The goods”, and this has eight slots, one of which is
knitting techniques and tools your grandmother “rare goods”.
might have used to make you a sweater are about
the same as those used in the 14th century. Goods Workers
Common #1 through #7 500 each
Government: With only six percent of the Uncommon #1 through #7 62 each
employable people involved in the government or Rare #1 through #7 8 each
government services (like a town watch), it is clear Ultra-rare #1 through #8 1 each
that the government is small, probably with a strong
central power, and not a lot of outside threats to So, out of our 4,000 people, we have 500
deal with or services provided. There is probably a making some form of uncommon or rare goods,
town council, a handful of bureaucrats and a small and of those 500, there are 62 making a rare good,
number of “town guard” with duties like collecting about 8 people on average per rare good, and 1
tolls or guarding the docks. person each for some ultra-rare good. That gets you
29 different goods available within the Durables
Food: Perhaps a bit less than realistic, but we category, which should be more detail than any
deal with the slots we have available. In town, there gamemaster will ever need.
are 23 people like bakers or brewers or millers, most
of whom will sell their goods to the commerce Keep in mind that a rare or uncommon good or
sector for resale. service is not necessarily an expensive good. Shoes
don’t wear out that often, so cobblers may be rare,
Entertainment: The town can support 6 people but they are seldom rich. As the saying goes, “just
whose job involves keeping people amused or because you’re necessary doesn’t mean you’re
entertained. Minstrels, storytellers, town criers, that important.”
sort of thing.

Luxuries: With only 1 person in this sector, you

have to choose the nature of the luxury. It might be
a gold or silversmith, a maker of weapons beyond
the blacksmith’s ability, a wizard or enchanter, or
some service that only the wealthy in town can
afford to use on a regular basis. A skilled individual
like a physician does not produce a durable good,
but in many times and places the service of a skilled
physician is certainly a luxury.

6.24
 LET’S SEE IF IT WORKS - We’re going to do a
EABA bottom to top design of a small urban area. This will
be the medieval town of Exampleton, somewhere
CIVILIZATIONS

in Europe in the Basic Era. Aside from that, we make

URBAN AREA - How big an urban area is will the assumptions that the town itself has a total
depend on its population and tech era. The table population of 23,000 (a population Size of +27), and
below assumes the “central” part of an urban zone. the area around it has an average ecosystem and
In early eras, it would likely be the area “inside city average crop yields. We’ll put the town at the fork
walls”, while in later areas it might be a “business of a river and say it has a fair amount of outside
district”. Cultural and geographic factors that affect trade, and life is somewhere between harsh and
overcrowding can adjust these figures up or down a average, living under some form of monarchy, but
level or two. Cities that got their start in earlier eras with its own local laws.
are likely less to be built up than ones founded later,
and the higher the tech era, the more populated a Farming: We have an urban population of
particular hectare can be (think skyscrapers). 23,000 to support, none of which are farmers. The
farmers live on the lands surrounding the town.
Tech era City size level in hectares We’re going to assume there is about one house-
Primitive Population level - 14 hold per “farmer”.
Basic Population level - 15
Industrial Population level - 16 Modifiers Size
Atomic Population level - 17 Basic Era +0
Post-Atomic Population level - 18 Default crops +0
Advanced Population level - 19 Intensive agriculture(x1.5 effort) +2
Average ecosystem(temperate) +0
Urban areas that are not “walled in” will tend to Total(4 people) +2
sprawl out +3 Size levels past their center in terms of
suburbs, slums, industrial parks or “tax zones” simply This means that our farmers can support 4
appropriated by a city to give it a bigger income. people per hectare. In this case, the intensive
When you take sprawl into account, average urban farming methods mean that the farmers have a
population density can be up to several levels less. ready supply of high quality fertlizer in the waste
Hectares convert to a diameter in meters from a generated by the nearby city of 23,000 people.
central point by taking half the Size level in hectares We’ll be generous and say that it is treated waste.
(round towards zero) and adding 13 levels. The area this requires is:

EXAMPLE: If you create a Basic Era city with a Production Basic area
population of 100,000 (a population Size level of Agriculture -2
about +31), then it is a safe bet that the most Basic Era +0
heavily populated area of the city will cover about Intensive agriculture(x1.5 effort) +2
500 hectares (a Size level of +16), or about 5 square Total(2 hectares) +0
kilometers. If it were a sprawling city founded in the
Primitive Era, this number of people might cover 7 A Size level of +0 is 2 hectares, so each farmer is
square kilometers instead (a Size level of +17). To tilling 2 hectares to feed 4 people. It means we
convert the hectares to a diameter take the half need at least 8,000 farmers and 16,000 hectares
the Size (+8) and add +13. The resulting Size of +21 (160 square kilometers) of cropland to support the
means the city proper is 2.8 kilometers across. city of 23,000 people. However, the farmers have to
feed themselves, which is 1 person out of the 4
The speed and availability of personal transport supported. If the farmers have an average family
is the main factor in terms of modern urban sprawl. If size of 3 full-value food consumers (themselves, a
people have to walk (or stay inside city walls), urban spouse and 2 children), then each farmer can
areas will be more uniformly dense than if people support one person outside his family, and we
are commuting an hour by car. If there is sprawl, would need 23,000 farmers and 46,000 hectares
roughly half the population will live in the city center, (460 square kilometers) of cropland. This last case
and half in the sprawl. The nature of this sprawl is up would be a circular area with a radius of about 12
to you. For reference, in modern urban areas, single kilometers, which is well within the daily delivery
family units average about 12-25 per hectare, town- capability of Basic Era transport.
homes (adjacent walls, tiny yards) are about 50-100
per hectare, and apartments are 100-200 dwelling
units per hectare. Each dwelling unit can hold a
“family”, and how many people this actually is
depends on how many relatives you can tolerate.
6.25
 We can see that this situation is actually doable,
and also that any incremental improvements will
make a big difference. For instance, the“ rich crops”,
Stuff! v1.0
CIVILIZATIONS

“rich ecosystem” or “late use” modifiers will all make

supporting this city a lot easier. Similarly, we can see We would use the Average- row on the income
that any disruption is going to hurt a lot. Unless there distribution table (page 6.17), and since the overall
is a surplus of farmers during normal years (which government is Tyrannical, we go up 2 rows to the
implies that part of the economy is involved in Harsh row. You might also try going up 1 row to
exporting agricultural products (including things like average between the effects of a distant tyrannical
wine), there are going to be a lot of hungry people government and a local representative one, but
if anything happens to overall crop productivity. we’re going to stick with the tyranny.

Now, to the city itself. Since we’ve completely [Link] Poor Avg. Rich [Link]
segregated the farm population from the urban Society (≤-6) (-3) (+0) (+6) (≥+12)
population, things are a little easier. We said that Harsh -4 -3 -3 -12 -17
life is somewhere between harsh and average.
This gives us a breakdown that looks like this for
Society is: Producer Consumer Neutral the population as a whole. Remember that since
Average- -1(660) -7(90) -4(250) women in Exampleton are out of the financial loop,
actual income per worker is probably double this.
The “sexist” modifier is going drop the potential That is, a husband and wife each have a per capita
workforce from a population Size of +27 to +25, so income to determine family wealth, but the actual
for an adjusted population level of +25, this means case is that the man earns double the per capita
we have a workforce of: income and has control of how the income is spent.

Type of people Level Quantity Income # of people(level) % of total

Producers +24 8,000 11Cr 5,600(23) 24%
Consumers +18 1,000 32Cr 8,000(24) 35%
Neutrals +21 2,800 90Cr 8,986(24) 39%
700Cr 350(15) 1.5%
To figure out the per capita income, we’ll 5.6KCr 64(10) .3%
assume that the commercial resources are +1, since
we defined the area as being a decent spot on a Also remember that we put any surplus in the
trade route. This gives: Average column. If you work out the total amount
of money available using the above table, then a
Technological Era Yearly income sixth of the community’s wealth is in the hands of
Basic +0 the 9 wealthiest individuals, and a third is in the
hands of the top 2% that make up the two upper
Modifiers Amount class brackets.
Agricultural efficiency +2
Society type -1 If we say that we have some Early Basic Era
Sexist -2 infrastructure in the form of a road network and
Richness of resources +1 public wells with maybe a few bits of plumbing
Tyrannical gov’t -7 piped here and there, with a normal erosion rate of
Total -7 +2, then it means the per capita cost per year is a
money level of -12, or 16 Credits (Money level of -14
This gives us a per capita yearly income level of for Early Basic Era and +2 for the erosion rate). Since
-7, or 90 Credits. Armed with that, we can get a this is effectively a Harsh society (with +0 social
general population breakdown in terms of relative infrastructure modifier), there will be no additional
wealth and poverty. Remember that per capita social infrastructure cost.
income is an average, which is lower than actual
income because of people like children who So, we need a tax rate that can handle a
generate zero income, and in this case women, Money level of -12 in taxes. This would be a tax rate
who are working but not generating any significant of -5 from per capita income (see page 6.19). This
income that the local government can tax. The gives us the government income needed, and the
corruption index of -11 for a tyranny means the corruption cost of -18 is small enough that it can be
government revenue lost will be a Money level of almost ignored (equivalent to a -6 tax rate).
-18 (per capita income minus the corruption index). However, the personal tax rate is sufficient to drag
per capita income down from -7 to -8 (from 90
Credits to 64 Credits).
6.26
 After tinkering with it, we end up with:
EABA Sector Level # of people
Services +22 4,000
Total tax revenue for Exampleton is somewhere Commerce +21 2,800
around 23 Credits times 23,000 people, equals Durables +20 2,000
529,000 Credits a year, or 1,450 Credits per day in Government +19 1,400
payroll and supplies, or a bit less than a tenth of a Food +17 700
Credit per day per person. That still seems like a lot Clothing +14 250
of money for a normally cash-poor Basic Era society Entertainment +10 64
to maintain dirt roads with, but we are also talking Luxuries +5 11
about roads to service the thousands of farms
covering an area of nearly 500 square kilometers, Most of the population is involved in working for
plus upkeep of any city walls, salary for the town someone else, and odds are this has to do with
guard, primitive plumbing or sanitation systems commerce or is indirectly tied to manufacturing.
(hauling waste out to the farms), and so on. Dock workers, store clerks, barmaids, cart drivers,
sewage haulers, and so on. The most likely things of
Recap - The average per capita income in interest to characters will be the fraction of the
Exampleton is 90 Credits per year, but since women government that is defense-related, and the nature
are excluded from the workforce, the figure for of any particular luxury providers.
actual wage-earners is closer to double this, or 180
Credits. Of that, about 46 Credits is taxed away, Each sector is going to have some mix of
meaning the average take-home for people who Producers, Consumers and Neutrals. For instance,
are part of the workforce is about 134 Credits a most of the Government sector will be Neutrals. If
year or .4 Credits per day for a six-day work week. In we give Exampleton a business model of small
Atomic Era terms, the average wage is about 1 family businesses and some Guild-run crafts, we can
Credit per hour, comparable to sweatshop wages, start making assumptions about family size and job
with a standard of living about what you would hierarchies, like an inn (entertainment) run by a
expect on those wages. husband and wife (Producer & Neutral), with
maybe a few children in Neutral and Consumer
Now we get to the subjective notion of who roles.
works where. The town cannot exist without its food
base, so there will have to be enough of a govern- Or, the Glover’s guild, where you have some
ment sector to support a decent military to ensure very poor apprentices, poor journeymen, and
that farmers are not terrorized by bandits. It is on a middle-class guildsmen. The apprentices and
trade route, so both commerce and durable goods journeymen probably don’t have enough money
have importance, and the business of transporting to support families yet.
food into Exampleton is going to be a major sector
of commerce. Remember that out of the total On the upper end, we have 11 people involved
population of 23,000, only 11,000 are in the work- in the luxury trades, and there are only 64 people in
force (a population Size of +25). As a sexist society, Examplton who are “wealthy”. But, we can assume
there are 12,000 women counted as Neutrals, who those in the upper middle class will occasionally
while excluded from the most productive sectors, splurge on a luxury good. If we split the luxuries
nonetheless are doing something that keeps them category into eighths, we might have one person in
out of the Consumer category. Many of the lowest eight different luxury sector, with a few sectors
income Producers will be child labor, and the having a pair of practitioners, and this is the sort of
Consumers are going be those too young or too thing that would be of interest to adventurers. For a
feeble to work, the extremely wealthy who do not fantasy setting, this might be the following list of
work, and the town guard or whatever martial force luxury professions, each with one or two practitioners
Exampleton has to defend itself. or an apprentice or two:

1)Physician/healer
2)Jeweler
3)Scribe
4)Enchanter
5)Tailor
6)Sage
7)Specialty merchant
8)Furniture maker

6.27
 Some of these are services that anyone might
need (like a tailor), but the luxury trade would
involve the upper echelons of skill and custom
Stuff! v1.0

services that the average person would not need

CIVILIZATION

or more importantly, could not afford. While every FINAL NOTES - While all the other chapters deal
household would need a table and some stools, with “things” that you can touch, feel and measure,
any carpenter could make these. A finely carved this one has a lot of subjectivity to it. It makes a lot
wardrobe of exotic woods is another matter, of assumptions, and more than a few cynical
especially if takes a few months of a craftsman’s observations about past & present human culture
time to make. There is not a huge market for these and behavior. If the shoe fits, wear it. Since we only
in Examplton, but since the craftsman can only have human culture to examine, it is the only one
make a handful of them each year, there doesn’t we can test with the system. If you use this chapter
need to be a lot of demand for them... for an alien civilization or some non-human fantasy
race, you will end up with very human-looking
Examplton is quite large for a Basic Era town, results, which might not be what you want. So, you
and so it has a pretty good depth of luxury services, will have to go in and tweak certain variables and
but even so, there is probably not more than two or basic assumptions, like “what is the difference
three practitioners of the more esoteric professions, between a harsh or benevolent society?”, or “how
and adventurers who end up annoying all of them do I handle government type modifiers among a
could easily find themselves unable to find anyone telepathic species?”, or “how do I build and
to help them when that service is needed. maintain infrastructure for a race that operates on
social obligations instead of currency?”. We can’t
Last, we have the size of Examplton itself. This is really answer these questions for you, but the
based on its population and tech era: system will at least give you repeatable results once
you adjust the basic parameters.
Tech era City size level in hectares
Basic Population level - 15 As with all the other chapters, remember to
only use what you need, as you need it. If you’ve
Our population level of +27 gives a result of +12, got a rugged few hundred kilometers of mountain
(125 hectares), with a sprawl zone of Size +15(350 range and just want to know how many Yeti it will
hectares). If we convert this to a diameter, we get a support, then just do that. Don’t worry about the
circle about 1.4 kilometers across, and a diameter Yeti economy unless you are actually going to
of 2 kilometers for the sprawl. The city center has need it. Or, if you want to know how much tribute a
half the population (11,500), giving a density of town can pay to buy off a besieger, you don’t
about 9,200 per square kilometer (92 per hectare). need to worry about the farmers, or if you want to
The area of the sprawl is about 225 hectares (its know how many wealthy people there are in town,
area minus that of the city inside it), so with 11,500 you don’t have to figure out how many Producers
people it has a population density of about 5,100 and Consumers there are. But, if you want to built
per square kilometer (51 per hectare). You can an entire tribe or town or kingdown up from nothing
compare these figures to the “best guess” quoted by more than its base geography and agricultural
various scholars of a medieval average of about 100 potential...you can.
people per hectare in urban areas.

So, we have the “old town”, somewhere

around 1.5 kilometers across and possibly walled,
and the “new town”, which has expanded beyond
the original city limits for several hundred meters up
and down the roads leading into Exampleton.

This gives the gamemaster all the raw material

they need to set up a “Who’s Who” for the area,
ideas of how far out adventurers will be before they
see the outlying farms, how much money is floating
around in terms of weekly payrolls, what services are
likely available, and so on.

6.28
 EABA Autocalc on
CIVILIZATIONS

DESIGN PAGE 6 - If you are viewing this page as

a pdf, it has forms that allow you to do most of the
aspects of civilization design right here on the
page, and then print off your finished specs. It may
not cover all the advanced topics, but will give you
the basics to work from.

Insert civilization name here

Early Basic Era 0 d+ -1
Default crops 0 d+ 0
Semi-nomadic 1 d+ 1
Normal effort 0 d+ 0
Normal utilization 0 d+ 0 Insert critter name here
Average ecosys. (temperate) 0 d+ 0 Insert critter name here 5.7
Middle use of ecosystem 0 d+ 0 Insert critter name here 181.0
Insert critter name here 1 d+ 0 Insert critter name here 32.00

Insert critter name here 0 Insert critter name here 0

Insert critter name here 0.0 Insert critter name here 0
Society is average
2 societal -ists Insert critter name here 0
Government is communal Insert critter name here 0
Natural resources at +0 Insert critter name here 0
Tax rate equal or less than 12% Insert critter name here 0
Corruption at +0 Insert critter name
Insert
here
critter name here
Late Primitive Era infrastructure Insert critter name here 0 16 0
Infrastructure erosion of +1 Insert critter name here 0 45 0
Workforce at 100% population Insert critter name here 0 128 0
Insert critter name here Insert critter name here
Insert critter name here 0 1,024 0
Luxuries 0 Insert critter name here 0 8,192 0
Luxuries 0
Food 0 Insert critter name here 0 0
Luxuries 0 Insert critter name here 0 0
Luxuries 0 Insert critter name here 0 0
Luxuries 0 Insert critter name here 0 0
Luxuries 0 Insert critter name here 0 0
Luxuries 0
Insert critter name here 0.0 0
Page 6.18 example Mongol Horde Insert critter name here 0.0 0
Exampleton Elven forest Insert critter name here 0.0 0

6.29
 EABA
EABA Universal Scale
Attribute Lifting Kick Size or
Level cost capacity damage Distance movement Time Money Information
-18 - .2 kilograms - - .004 meters - 2Cr -
-17 - .25 kilograms - - .006 meters - 3Cr -
-16 - .3 kilograms - - .008 meters - 4Cr -
-15 - .4 kilograms - - .011 meters - 6Cr -
-14 - .5 kilograms - - .016 meters - 8Cr -
-13 - .6 kilograms - - .022 meters - 11Cr -
-12 - .8 kilograms - - .031 meters - 16Cr -
-11 - 1 kilogram - - .045 meters - 23Cr -
-10 - 1.3 kilograms - - .06 meters - 32Cr -
-9 - 1.6 kilograms - - .09 meters - 45Cr -
-8 - 2 kilograms - - .12 meters - 65Cr -
-7 - 2.5 kilograms - - .18 meters - 90Cr -
-6 - 3 kilograms - - .25 meters - 125Cr -
-5 - 4 kilograms - .06 meters .35 meters - 175Cr -
-4 - 5 kilograms - .09 meters .5 meters - 250Cr -
-3 - 6 kilograms - .12 meters .7 meters - 350Cr -
-2 - 8 kilograms - .18 meters 1 meter .5 seconds 500Cr -
-1 - 10 kilograms - .25 meters 1.4 meters .7 seconds 700Cr -
0 0A 13 kilograms 0d+0 .35 meters 2 meters 1 second 1KCr 1 word
1 1A 16 kilograms 0d+1 .5 meters 3 meters 1.4 seconds 1.4KCr
2 2A 20 kilograms 0d+2 .7 meters 4 meters 2 seconds 2KCr 2 words
3 3A 25 kilograms 1d+0 1 meter 6 meters 3 seconds 2.8KCr
4 5A 32 kilograms 1d+1 1.4 meters 8 meters 4 seconds 4KCr 5 words
5 7A 40 kilograms 1d+2 2 meters 11 meters 6 seconds 5.6KCr
6 9A 50 kilograms 2d+0 3 meters 16 meters 8 seconds 8KCr 10 words
7 12A 63 kilograms 2d+1 4 meters 23 meters 11 seconds 11KCr
8 15A 80 kilograms 2d+2 6 meters 32 meters 16 seconds 16KCr 20 words
9 18A 100 kilograms 3d+0 8 meters 45 meters 23 seconds 23KCr
10 22A 126 kilograms 3d+1 11 meters 64 meters 30 seconds 32KCr 40 words
11 26A 159 kilograms 3d+2 16 meters 90 meters 45 seconds 45KCr
12 30A 200 kilograms 4d+0 23 meters 125 meters 1 minute 64KCr 80 words
13 35A 252 kilograms 4d+1 32 meters 175 meters 1.4 minutes 90KCr
14 40A 318 kilograms 4d+2 45 meters 250 meters 2 minutes 125KCr 160 words
15 45A 400 kilograms 5d+0 64 meters 350 meters 3 minutes 175KCr
16 51A 504 kilograms 5d+1 90 meters 500 meters 4 minutes 250KCr 320 words
17 57A 636 kilograms 5d+2 125 meters 700 meters 6 minutes 350KCr
18 63A 800 kilograms 6d+0 175 meters 1 kilometer 8 minutes 500KCr 640 words
19 70A 1.0 tons 6d+1 250 meters 1.4 kilometers 11 minutes 700KCr
20 77A 1.3 tons 6d+2 350 meters 2 kilometers 15 minutes 1MCr 1,250 words
21 84A 1.6 tons 7d+0 500 meters 2.8 kilometers 23 minutes 1.4MCr
22 92A 2.0 tons 7d+1 700 meters 4 kilometers 30 minutes 2MCr 2,500 words
23 100A 2.5 tons 7d+2 1 kilometer 5.6 kilometers 45 minutes 2.8MCr
24 108A 3.2 tons 8d+0 1.4 kilometers 8 kilometers 1 hour 4MCr 5,000 words
25 117A 4.0 tons 8d+1 2 kilometers 11 kilometers 1.4 hours 5.6MCr
26 126A 5.1 tons 8d+2 2.8 kilometers 16 kilometers 2 hours 8MCr 10,000 words
27 135A 6.4 tons 9d+0 4 kilometers 23 kilometers 3 hours 11MCr
28 145A 8.1 tons 9d+1 5.6 kilometers 32 kilometers 4 hours 16MCr 20,000 words
29 155A 10.2 tons 9d+2 8 kilometers 45 kilometers 6 hours 23MCr
30 165A 12.5 tons 10d+0 11 kilometers 64 kilometers 8 hours 32MCr 40,000 words
31 176A 16 tons 10d+1 16 kilometers 90 kilometers 11 hours 45MCr
32 187A 20 tons 10d+2 23 kilometers 125 kilometers 16 hours 64MCr EABA rules
33 198A 25 tons 11d+0 32 kilometers 181 kilometers 1 day 90MCr
34 210A 32 tons 11d+1 45 kilometers 250 kilometers 1.5 days 125MCr 160,000 words

6.30
 EABA
EABA Universal Scale
Attribute Lifting Kick Size or
Level cost capacity damage Distance movement Time Money Information
35 222A 41 tons 11d+2 64 kilometers 362 kilometers 2 days 175MCr floppy disk
36 234A 50 tons 12d+0 90 kilometers 500 kilometers 2.5 days 250MCr 320,000 words
37 247A 65 tons 12d+1 125 kilometers 725 kilometers 4 days 350MCr
38 260A 82 tons 12d+2 181 kilometers 1000km 5 days 500MCr 640,000 words
39 273A 100 tons 13d+0 250 kilometers 1450km 8 days 700MCr Bible
40 287A 126 tons 13d+1 350 kilometers 2000km 11 days 1BCr 1.3 mil. words
41 301A 159 tons 13d+2 500 kilometers 2800km 16 days 1.4BCr
42 315A 200 tons 14d+0 700 kilometers 4000km 22 days 2BCr 2.5 mil. words
43 330A 252 tons 14d+1 1000km 5600km 1 month 2.8BCr
44 345A 318 tons 14d+2 1400km 8000km 45 days 4BCr 5 mil. words
45 360A 400 tons 15d+0 2000km 11,000km 2 months 5.6BCr
46 376A 500 tons 15d+1 2800km 16,000km 3 months 8BCr 10 mil. words
47 392A 640 tons 15d+2 4000km 23,000km 4 months 11BCr
48 408A 800 tons 16d+0 5600km 32,000km 6 months 16BCr 20 mil. words
49 425A 1000 tons 16d+1 8000km 45,000km 8 months 23BCr Encyclopedia
50 442A 1250 tons 16d+2 11,000km 64,000km 1 year 32BCr 40 mil. words
51 459A 1600 tons 17d+0 16,000km 90,000km 16 month 45BCr
52 477A 2000 tons 17d+1 23,000km 125k km 2 years 64BCr 80 mil. words
53 495A 2500 tons 17d+2 32,000km 180k km 32 months 90BCr CD
54 513A 3200 tons 18d+0 45,000km 250k km 4 years 125BCr 160 mil. words
55 532A 4000 tons 18d+1 64,000km 360k km 5 years 180BCr
56 551A 5000 tons 18d+2 90,000km 500k km 8 years 250BCr 320 mil. words
57 570A 6400 tons 19d+0 125k km 700k km 10 years 350BCr
58 590A 8000 tons 19d+1 180k km 1 mil. km 16 years 500BCr DNA molecule
59 610A 10k tons 19d+2 250k km 1.4 mil. km 20 years 700BCr DVD
60 630A 12.5k tons 20d+0 350k km 2 mil. km 32 years 1TCr 1.25 bil. words
61 651A 16k tons 20d+1 500k km 2.8 mil. km 40 years 1.4TCr
62 672A 20k tons 20d+2 700k km 4 mil. km 64 years 2TCr 2.5 bil. words
63 693A 25k tons 21d+0 1 mil. km 5.6 mil. km 80 years 2.8TCr
64 715A 32k tons 21d+1 1.4 mil. km 8 mil. km 125 years 4TCr 5 bil. words
65 737A 40k tons 21d+2 2 mil. km 11 mil. km 160 years 5.6TCr
66 759A 50k tons 22d+0 2.8 mil. km 16 mil. km 250 years 8TCr 10 bil. words
67 782A 64k tons 22d+1 4 mil. km 23 mil. km 320 years 11TCr
68 805A 80k tons 22d+2 5.6 mil. km 32 mil. km 500 years 16TCr 20 bil. words
69 828A 100k tons 23d+0 8 mil. km 45 mil. km 640 years 23TCr
70 852A 125k tons 23d+1 11 mil. km 64 mil. km 1000 years 32TCr 40 bil. words
71 876A 160k tons 23d+2 16 mil. km 90 mil. km 1250 years 45TCr
72 900A 200k tons 24d+0 23 mil. km 125 mil. km 2000 years 64TCr 80 bil. words
73 925A 250k tons 24d+1 32 mil. km 180 mil. km 2500 years 90TCr
74 950A 320k tons 24d+2 45 mil. km 250 mil. km 4000 years 125TCr 160 bil. words
75 975A 400k tons 25d+0 64 mil. km 350 mil. km 5000 years 180TCr
76 1001A 500k tons 25d+1 90 mil. km 500 mil. km 8000 years 250TCr 320 bil. words
77 1027A 640k tons 25d+2 125 mil. km 700 mil. km 10k years 350TCr
78 1053A 800k tons 26d+0 175 mil. km 1 bil. km 16k years 500TCr 640 bil. words
79 1080A 1 mil tons 26d+1 250 mil. km 1.4 bil. km 20k years 700TCr
80 1107A 1.3 mil. tons 26d+2 350 mil. km 2 bil. km 32k years 1QCr 1.25 tril. words
81 1134A 1.6 mil. tons 27d+0 500 mil. km 2.8 bil. km 40k years 1.4QCr Libr. of Congress
82 1162A 2 mil. tons 27d+1 700 mil. km 4 bil. km 64k years 2QCr 2.5 tril words
83 1190A 2.5 mil. tons 27d+2 1 bil. km 5.6 bil. km 80k years 2.8QCr
84 1218A 3.2 mil. tons 28d+0 1.4 bil. km 8 bil. km 125k years 4QCr 5 tril. words
85 1247A 4 mil. tons 28d+1 2 bil. km 11 bil. km 160k years 5.6QCR
86 1276A 5 mil. tons 28d+2 2.8 bil. km 16 bil. km 250k years 8QCr 10 tril. words
87 1305A 6.4 mil. tons 29d+0 4 bil. km 23 bil. km 320k years 11QCr

6.31 6.31
 EABA
EABA Damage Conversions
™

EABA Typical
™
™ ™ ™
3G3
™
CORPS
0d+0 = 0 0 0d+0 = = = = 1
= = 2 1 = = = 5
0d+1 = 4 = 1d-2 = 0d+2 8 2d6-2
= = 6 2 = = = 9
0d+2 = 8 3 1d+0 0d+1 1d+0 11 = 2
= = 10 = 1d+1 1/2d+0 = 12 =
1d+0 .25ACP 12 4 = 1d-1 1d+2 13 = 3
= = 13 = 1d+2 = = 14
1d+1 9mm short 14 5 2d-1 = 2d = 2d6-1 4
= .32ACP 15 = = = = 15
1d+2 .22 long rifle 16 = = 1d+0 = 16 = 5
= = 17 6 2d+0 = = =
2d+0 .45ACP 18 = 2d+1 = 2d+2 17 2d6 6
= = 20 7
2d+1 9mm 21 = 2d+2 1d+1 3d 18 = 7
= = 23 8 3d-1 = = 19 = 8
2d+2 .357 Mag. 24 = 3d+0 = = = = 9
= 4.7mm HK 26 9 = = 3d+2 20 = 10
3d+0 5.7mm FN 27 = 3d+1 1d+2 = = 2d6+1 11
= = 29 10 3d+2 = 4d 21 = 12
3d+1 .44 Mag. 31 = 4d-1 2d-1 = 22 = 13
= 12ga slug 33 11 4d+0 = 4d+2 23 = 15
3d+2 .30 carbine 35 12 4d+1 = = 24 2d8 17
= = 38 13 4d+2 = 5d = = 19
4d+0 = 41 14 5d+0 2d+0 5d+2 25 = 21
= 5.45mm Soviet= 44 15 5d+1 = 6d 26 = 24
4d+1 5.8mm Chinese 46 = 5d+2 = 6d+2 27 = 26
= 5.56mm NATO 50 17 6d+0 = 7d 28 = 29
4d+2 = 53 18 6d+2 2d+1 7d+2 29 2d8+1 32
= 7.62mm NATO 57 19 7d+0 = 8d 30 = 35
5d+0 = 61 20 7d+1 = 8d+2 31 3d6 39
= .338 Mag. 66 22 8d+0 = 9d 32 = 44
5d+1 = 70 23 8d+2 2d+2 9d+2 33 2d10 49
= = 75 25 9d+0 = 10d 34 = 54
5d+2 .460 Mag. 80 27 10d-1 3d-1 11d 36 = 60
= = 86 28 10d+2 = 12d 37 = 67
6d+0 = 91 30 11d+0 = 12d+2 38 3d6+1 74
= = 98 33 12d+0 = 13d 39 = 83
6d+1 12.7mm US 104 35 13d-1 3d+0 14d 40 2d10+1 92
= = 112 37 14d-1 = 15d 42 = 102
6d+2 = 119 40 15d+0 = 16d 43 3d6+2 114
= 14.5mm Soviet 128 43 16d+0 = 17d+2 45 = 127
7d+0 = 137 46 17d+0 3d+1 19d 46 2d10+2 141
= 15mm 147 49 6dx3 = 20d 48 = 157
7d+1 = 156 52 = = 21d 50 3d8+1 175
= 20mm 168 56 7dx3 = 23d 51 = 195
7d+2 = 179 60 = = 24d+2 53 = 217
= = 192 64 8dx3 3d+2 26d 55 = 241
8d+0 = 205 68 = = 28d 57 4d6 268
= = 220 73 9dx3 4d-1 30d 60 = 298
8d+1 30mm= 234 78 = = 32d 61 3d8+2 332
= = 252 84 10dx3 = 34d 63 = 370
8d+2 = 269 90 11dx3 4d+0 36d+2 65 4d6+1 412
= = 289 96 12dx3 = 39d+2 68 = 458

6.32
EABA
CORPS notes - CORPS is a system from BTRC
™

that is far less complex than the TimeLords system

that preceded it, and both CORPS and TimeLords
contribued in the development of EABA. CORPS
EABA DAMAGE CONVERSIONS - The following is damage values are simply one-third the 3G3 values.
a short explanation of the systems on the table.
notes - This is Steve Jackson Games’
3G3 notes - 3G3 is the grandaddy of Stuff! and generic role-playing system. GURPS® is a trademark
does weapons in a far more detailed and real-world of Steve Jackson Games for their generic role-
based way. The 3G3 damage value of a bullet is: playing system and is used with permission.

((Energy in Joules x .735)/diameter in cm).5 To minimize clutter, all die types are removed
from the GURPS entries. GURPS uses d6 for all rolls,
For this table, a projectile is assumed to have a including damage. GURPS damage is based on a
diameter of 10mm. Other game systems that take factor of the square root of the energy in kilojoules
bullet diameter into account may need a scaling divided by caliber in millimeters, with further scaling
factor if you want to get an accurate comparison factors and special modifiers based on caliber (see
to the 3G3 value. This would be to multiply the 3G3 GURPS High Tech for details). The 3G3 scaling factor
™

value by 1/(square root of bullet diameter in cm). is not quite the same. If converting from GURPS to
Since this factor is applicable to some of the other EABA, use half the listed row shift, rounding towards
game conversions, we’ll just print it once here and zero. If converting from EABA to GURPS, the row shift
refer to it elsewhere: is in the opposite direction and special effects will
be based on the caliber of the GURPS weapon.
Bullet 3G3 multiplier Row shift
5mm x1.40 +5 rows EXAMPLE: A 5.56mm assault rifle doing a GURPS
5.5mm x1.35 +4 rows damage of 5d6 would get a +2 row shift to get the
6mm x1.30 +4 rows appropriate EABA damage. A 12.7mm machinegun
7mm x1.20 +3 rows doing a GURPS damage of 14d would get a -1 row
7.5mm x1.15 +2 rows shift to get the appropriate EABA damage. If moving
8mm x1.10 +1 rows an EABA weapon with a damage of 3d+1 to GURPS,
9mm x1.05 +1 rows and the GURPS equivalent is a 13mm pistol, then you
10mm x1.00 +0 rows take a +1 row shift to get the GURPS value.
11mm x.95 -1 rows
12mm x.90 -1 rows notes - This is Hero Games’ universal role-
13mm x.85 -2 rows playing system. Hero System® is a trademark of Hero
15mm x.80 -3 rows Games for their generic role-playing system and is
18mm x.75 -4 rows used with permission.
20mm x.70 -5 rows
23mm x.65 -6 rows To minimize clutter, all die types are removed
27mm x.60 -7 rows from the Hero System entries. Hero System uses d6
30mm x.58 -8 rows for all rolls, including damage. EABA and Hero
33mm x.55 -9 rows System damage relates almost perfectly as follows:

The way you use this if another system has a 1) 1d+2 (or +5) in EABA is 1d+0 in Hero System.
damage that varies with both energy and caliber is 2) Each +7 in EABA is 1d+0 in Hero System.
that you either multiply the 3G3 value by the listed 3) Each +2 in EABA is a +1 in Hero System.
amount, or more conveniently, shift that game’s 4) Each +1 in EABA is the difference between
damage by the listed number of rows (or a function Hero System damages like 2d6+2 and 3d6-1.
of that many rows). A row for this purpose is not a full
0d+1 EABA damage interval, but one of the actual This can generate or convert any EABA or Hero
rows on the table. System damage, even if not on the previous table.
For more details on modern weapons in the Hero
EXAMPLE: GURPS damage is based on energy System, see the Dark Champions supplement.
and the area the energy is concentrated over (i.e.
bullet diameter), but in a different way than 3G3. EXAMPLE: An EABA damage of 11d+0 (or +33) is
GURPS uses half the row shift. So a Stuff!-designed an EABA +5, plus four EABA +7’s (a total of +33). The
weapon that is a 7.5mm rifle with an EABA damage EABA +5 is a Hero System damage of 1d6+0, and
of 4d+2 would shift one row to get the appropriate the four EABA +7’s are +4d in Hero System, for a final
GURPS damage of 7d. Hero System damage of 5d6+0.

6.33
 Stuff!
notes - This is Gold Rush Games’ multi- v1.0
genre, OGL open license role-playing game system.
WEAPON NOTES
Action! System™ is a trademark of Gold Rush Games
for their generic role-playing system and is used with
permission. notes - This is Pinnacle Entertainment’s
™

generic role-playing system. Savage Worlds™ is a

To minimize clutter, all die types are removed trademark of Pinnacle Entertainment for their generic
from the Action! entries. Action! uses d6 for all rolls, role-playing system and is used with permission.
including damage. Action! damages are based on:
Savage Worlds is a pulpy kind of multi-genre
((foot-pounds x .9996) / bullet diam. in cm).5 / 7.32 system suitable for cinematic role-playing. The level
of realism is somewhat abstract, but it is internally
This gives a result in d6 of damage. Fractional consistent and quite suitable for damage translation
remainders of less than .4 are ignored, fractions from across systems. The best conversion from EABA is to
.4 to .7 become +2 damage, and fractions larger assume an EABA damage of 2d+0 is a Savage
than .7 round up to the next die. Worlds damage of 2d6 (average of 7 on the roll).
Each +5 in the EABA damage is +2 to the average
EXAMPLE: A .44 Magnum (1.12cm) with an Savage Worlds roll, alternating between +3 and +2
energy of 900 foot-pounds would have a damage in EABA being +1 in Savage Worlds. You then figure
of 3.87, which rounds to 4d6. out the type and number of Savage Worlds dice
that generates this average for damage. Any EABA
The scaling factor for Action! is the same as that damage conversion should use the simplest possible
for 3G3, and no row shifts are required to convert roll, all dice should be the same type, and no dice
damage from Action! to 3G3 or EABA and vice versa. bonus is larger than +2.
™

notes - This is Dream Pod 9’s generic role- EXAMPLE: Both 2d6+2 and 2d8 have the same
playing system. Core™ is a trademark of Dream Pod 9 average result (a total of 9), so you would use 2d8
for their generic role-playing system and is used with instead of 2d6+2.
permission.
Savage Worlds uses several die types, and the
The Core conversion is originally derived from a average is below.
conversion to 3G3, and was (3G3 damage.5 x 4). An
alternate conversion (courtesy of Stéphane Boyer) Die type Average per die
that gives higher DM’s for 3G3 values of more than d6 3.5
70 is (3G3 damage.66 x 2). The best conversion to and d8 4.5
from EABA is to assign a Core value of 17 to an EABA d10 5.5
damage of 2d+0. Each +1d in EABA adds the full
dice of the new value, plus 1. Do this for each +1d EXAMPLE: A 2d+0 EABA weapon does 7 points
of increase in the EABA value. of Savage Worlds damage. A 3d+0 EABA weapon
(+3 more than the EABA base of 2d+0) would do 8
EXAMPLE: An EABA damage of 2d+0 is a Core points of Savage Worlds damage, and a 3d+2 EABA
value of 17. An EABA damage of 3d+0 becomes a weapon (+5 more than the EABA base of 2d+0)
Core value of 17 plus 3 (the EABA dice) plus 1, would do 9 points of Savage Worlds damage. The 8
equals 21. An EABA damage of 4d+0 adds to this 4 point result would be 2d6+1, and the 9 point result
(the EABA dice) plus 1, for a Core value of 26. An would be 2d8.
EABA damage of 8d+0 would do this process four
more times, and result in a Core value of 56. If converting 3G3 results, a Savage Worlds
average damage of N converts to a 3G3 value of:
Each +1 in EABA damage would be one-third of
the difference for that 1d interval, rounding nearest. 1.55.6 + ((N - 5) x .833)

EXAMPLE: EABA damages of 2d+0 and 3d+0 are and if you actually use this equation, we’ll
Core values of 17 and 21. For this interval, +1 in EABA leave it to you to figure the conversion in the other
is 4/3 of a point in Core. This means that 2d+1 and direction...
2d+2 in EABA are Core values of 18 and 20.
EXAMPLE: If you plug in 8 as the value of N, you
Since Core does not factor in bullet diameter for get a result of 27 for the 3G3 value.
damage, no row shifts are required to convert from
Core to 3G3 or EABA and vice versa.

6.34
 OTHER SYSTEMS - There are a few other systems
EABA worth noting, but not enough space on the table to
include them.

1 & q notes - These are Politically

™

notes - This is Marco Chacon’s generic

role-playing system. JAGS™ is a trademark of Marco Incorrect Games’ generic role-playing systems.
Chacon for his generic role-playing system and is genreDiversion™ i and Impresa™ are trademarks of
used with permission. Politically Incorrect Games for their generic role-
playing systems and are used with permission.
An EABA damage of 1d+0 is a JAGS damage of
3. Each +1d in EABA multiplies the JAGS damage by Like CORPS, the Impresa system derives damage
1.90. Each +1 in EABA multiplies the JAGS damage values linearly from 3G3 numbers. Impresa damage
by 1.24. is 1/6th the 3G3 value, rounded to the nearest whole
number, and can thus easily be compared to other
EXAMPLE: A weapon with an EABA damage of systems. The other way to look at it is that Impresa
4d+1 would start with a JAGS damage of 3, then damage equals:
multiply it by 1.9 three times (to 20.6), multiply by
1.24 (to 25.5), making the final JAGS result 26. 1.5(EABA dice -1) x 2

In general, if converting damages involving EXAMPLE: A 3G3 value of 24 is an Impresa dam-

real-world calibers, you need to apply the row shift age of 4, and an EABA damage of 2d+2.
when converting from JAGS to EABA, and reverse it
if converting from EABA to JAGS. Albedo - This is Sanguine Productions’ role-
™

playing system set in the universe of Steve Gallacci’s

EXAMPLE: A 5.56mm rifle with a JAGS damage Albedo comic. Albedo is a trademark of Steve
™

of 17 would go down 4 rows to become an EABA Gallacci. The Albedo:Platinum Catalyst rpg is ©2004
damage of 4d+1. A 12.7mm machine gun with an by Sanguine Productions and game references are
EABA damage of 6d+1 would go down 2 rows used with permission.
(reverse the modifier) to become a JAGS damage
of 114. The damage system in Albedo is unusual and
not easily translatable to and from EABA because
This will give a JAGS damage result that is more weapons have separate damage and penetration
accurate in terms of energy delivered, for purposes numbers. The best results for Penetration are if you
of harming a target, but the unadjusted JAGS take the EABA damage in full dice and add 5. Best
number is probably more accurate in terms of results for Damage are to add +1 to the Penetration
penetrating ability. for anti-personnel weapons and use a Damage of
double the Penetration for anti-vehicle weapons.
EXAMPLE: An EABA damage of 4d+1 for a
5.56mm weapon would probably have an ability to EXAMPLE: A weapon with an EABA damage of
penetrate armor like a JAGS value of 26, but for 4d+1 would have an Albedo Penetration value of 9
purposes of damage, it is probably closer to the and a Damage of 10. Since Albedo weapons are
row-shifted value of 17. listed as Damage+Penetration, this weapon would
have a damage rating of 10+9. An anti-tank rifle
with an EABA damage of 6d+1 would have an
Albedo rating of 22+11, and a light cannon with
an EABA damage of 8d+0 would have an Albedo
rating of 26+13.

General Notes - If using EABA or 3G3 as a basis

for a damage system or comparison, both systems
generally equate penetrating power with damage.
Each +1d of damage in EABA represents about a
two hundred twenty-five percent in energy
delivered over the previous die total, and each +1
in EABA is about a thirty-one percent increase over
the previous die total. This means the difference
between any two models or ammunition types for
the same weapon is unlikely to be more than a +1
difference in EABA terms.

6.35
 Stuff!
A Dark Ages fief(design) v1.0
Ablative armor ..3.41,3.51 .................................6.14
Acceleration................3.5 Dragon(design).........5.21
Accuracy(wpns.) ......2.13 Dismountable wpn. ..2.28 I R
Adj. damage wpns...2.27 Improvised armor......3.42 Reactors .............3.18,3.24
Adv. targeting ...........2.22 E Income, per capita ..6.15 Recoil....................2.8,2.28
Agriculture ...................6.8 EABA Univ. Ch......1.3,6.30 Indirect fire .................2.16 Reliability
Alt. game scales .......3.65 Energy Industries.....................6.22 Weapons ..................2.7
Ammunition Gadgets .................4.36 Information scale ......4.19 Gadgets .................4.33
Bulky/compact........2.9 Power plants ..........3.15 Infrastructure..............6.20 Reloading time............2.6
INDEX

Real world ........2.2,2.37 Weapons ..................2.2 Repairs........................3.61

Animal power......3.19,5.3 Comm. devices.....4.25 J Robots.........................3.55
Antennas....................4.24 Escape velocity.........3.25 Rockets.......................3.23
Area effect wpns ......2.25 Exertion.......................3.21 K
Armor Explosive damage ....2.10 S
Vehicles ....................3.7 Extended range ........2.17 L 6-pdr(design) .............2.14
Gadgets .................3.41 External weapons .....3.44 Life support ................4.29 Sabotage...................3.63
Materials .................3.53 Lockpicks(design) .....4.11 Scout walker(design)3.68
Artificial gravity..........3.45 F Longsword(design) ...2.14 Seating/accomod....3.38
Attributes/skills Facilitators ..................4.11 Self-charging wpns ...2.28
Gadgets ...................4.6 Flamethr.(design)......2.34 M Shaped charges .......2.11
Animals .............5.2,5.19 Flying movement ......5.11 M-113 APC(design)...3.13 Shotguns.......................2.6
Autoburst......................2.6 Free Trader(design)...3.66 M-60 LMG(design) ....2.14 Side eff.(weapons) .....2.7
Autofire.........................2.5 Floor jack(design) .....4.13 Magical power pl. ....3.19 Sloped armor...............3.8
Autonomous wpn. ....2.21 Fuel cells .....................3.34 Magical weapons.....2.35 Slow weapons ...........2.23
Fuel types ...................3.17 Manipulators..............3.45 SMAW(design).............2.7
B Medieval town(design) Solar power................3.23
Balloons, blimps.........3.28 G .................................6.25 Spacesuit(design) .....4.30
Batteries......................3.32 3G3 conversion.............2.39 Medscanner(design)..4.8 Spec. eff.(weapons)...2.8
Battering power ........2.27 Generators ...................3.31 Millihex ..........................2.3 Starship AI(design) ......4.8
Body armor ................3.46 Gestation/maturity ......5.18 Mk19 AGL(design) ....2.14 Stinger msl.(design)...2.32
Book(design)..............4.18 Giant lobster(design) ....5.9 Motorcycles .................3.8 Stopping power ........2.26
Booster rockets ..........3.27 Gizmos Multi-terrain vehicles.3.37 Supplies ......................3.64
Weapons ..................2.29 Suspensions ................3.36
C Vehicles.....................3.10 N Submunitions..............2.16
CD player(design) ....4.16 Goose(design) .............5.20 NO4 mine(design).....2.11 Swimming move........5.11
Cell phone(design)...4.26 Government types ......6.16 Nomads........................6.6
Character races........5.23 Gravity effects Non-damage wpns ..2.26 T
Civilizations.................6.11 Vehicles.....................3.30 Nuclear weapons .....2.16 Taxes ...........................6.19
Coastal gun(design).2.34 Creatures ....................5.4 Thrown weapons.......2.12
Combined wpns .......2.27 Great white(design)....5.21 O Top speed ....................3.5
Comm. range....4.21,4.23 Guided weapons ........2.21 Obsolescence ...........3.11 Triggered weapons...2.20
Comparments ...........3.43 Gun shield.....................2.28 Operating crew ........3.39 Turret armor................3.43
Continuous beams ...2.25 Operating temps. .....3.30 TV set(design) ............4.26
Corruption..................6.16 H
Cost Handcuffs(design) ....4.14 P U
Weapons ................2.39 Handling.....................3.37 Pancake flip.(design) .4.9 Urban area(size of) ...6.25
Vehicles ..................3.11 Historical weapons....2.38 Parachutes.................3.28
Gadgets .................4.39 Hit brackets..................5.9 Penalty offset.............4.10 V
Crop types ...................6.4 Hit locations ...............3.13 Penetrating power....2.26 Volumes........................1.3
Crossbow(design) .....2.12 Hits Powercells ..................3.33
Vehicles ..................3.12 Powered armor .........3.55 W
D Gadgets .................4.31 (design)...................3.56 Warmup time
Damage Limit..............3.7 Homo sap.(design) .....5.8 Power melee wpns ...2.24 Vehicles ..................3.16
Deceleration..............3.36 Horse(design)...............5.8 Power plants ................3.3 Gadgets .................4.32
DP MG(design)............2.5 Hunter-gatherers .........6.5 Pressure hulls ..............3.42 World Building............4.41
Hyperdrive..................3.58 Proximity fuzes ...........2.20
XYZ
Q

6.36
 3. Consideration
EABA In consideration for agreeing to use this License,
effective on the date You accept this License, BTRC
grants you a world-wide, royalty-free, non-exclusive
August 1, 2004 License to the permitted uses described below.

Blacksburg Tactical Research Center has made 3.1. You may Distribute Your EABA-compatible or
EABA supplements by third parties possible under derivative material, provided that You must in every
the terms of the EABA Open Supplement License. instance retain and prominently reproduce in all
copies the EABA Open Supplement License, the
EABA Open Supplement License, Version 1.1 Copyright Notice, and this License.
The following License governs the copying, modifying
and distributing of EABA-compatible material. By 3.2. You may include terminology specific to EABA,
copying, modifying, and/or distributing such material, page format, blank reference sheets or diagrams
you are agreeing to be bound by the terms of this from EABA and add to or expand upon EABA rules
License. The content of this license may not be or rule concepts, so long as these do not exactly or
modified, but format, size and placement may be conceptually reproduce existing EABA rules.
adjusted to suit the nature of a particular EABA-
compatible work. 3.3. You may copy and Distribute Your EABA-
compatible work, provided that You must in each
1. Application instance send a copy of the EABA-compatible work
This License applies to supplement material to BTRC (if hardcopy or data storage medium) or
compatible with EABA produced by any individual btrc@[Link] (if electronically transmitted) so that it
or entity other than BTRC. It does not extend to any can be archived publicly if a freely available work,
other products or works by BTRC. EABA itself is a or kept for private archival purposes if not.
copyrighted work and may not be copied, modified,
translated or distributed without permission from 4. Representation
BTRC. This license does allow specific, limited By Distributing Your EABA-compatible work, You
sections of EABA to be used in EABA-compatible represent that it is Your original creation and/or that
supplement material, as delineated in section 3.2. You have sufficient rights to Your EABA-compatible
works to make the grants described in this License.
2. Definitions in this License
“Copyright Notice” means any copyright notice 5. Versions of the License
applying to EABA, EABA-compatible material or BTRC may publish revised and/or new versions of this
derivative works. License from time to time. Each version will be given
a distinguishing version number. New EABA-
“EABA-compatible” means a work which is not compatible works must always use the most recent
EABA but which refers to, is compatible with, and/or version of the License from the BTRC web site. Once
depends upon EABA in order to be fully utilized. an EABA-compatible work has been published
under a particular version of this License, You may
“Distribute” means to distribute by any media and in continue to use it under the terms of that version or
any form, whether gratis, for a direct or indirect fee, You may choose to use it under the terms of any
or any form of exchange. “EABA” means the copy- subsequent version of this License published by
righted EABA roleplaying system, as expressed in the BTRC. No one other than BTRC has the right to
downloaded, printed, electronic storage media or modify the terms of this License.
any other versions of the product.

“The EABA Open Supplement License notice”

means the following: “This work contains material
copied from or derived from EABA, the roleplaying
system created by BTRC. You may not copy, modify,
and/or distribute this material except in compliance
with the EABA Open Supplement License. To learn
more, visit the BTRC web site at [Link]

“You” or “Your” means an individual or a legal entity

exercising rights under this License.

6.37
EABA OSL v1.1
6. No warranty
You expressly acknowledge and agree that use of
EABA is at Your sole and entire risk. EABA is provided
Stuff! v1.0

“as is” and without warranty of any kind. BTRC

expressly disclaims all warranties and/or conditions, 9.2. Where BTRC determines an EABA-compatible
express or implied, including but not limited to, the work does not comply with subsection 3.1 of this
implied warranties and/or conditions of satisfactory License, this constitutes a breach of this License.
quality, merchantability, fitness for a particular BTRC may terminate this License and the rights
purpose and non-infringement of third party rights. granted herein if You fail to cure such breach within
No oral or written information or advice given by 30 days of being notified of such breach by BTRC.
BTRC shall create a warranty.
9.3. Upon termination, You agree to immediately
7. Limitation of liability stop any further copying, modifying, and/or
Under no circumstances shall BTRC be liable for any Distributing of the EABA-compatible work in question.
incidental, special, indirect or consequential Except in the case of copyright violation, You will
damages arising out of or relating to this License or not be liable to BTRC for compensation, indemnity
Your use of EABA, whether under a theory of or damages of any sort solely as a result of terminat-
contract, warranty, tort (including negligence), ing this License in accordance with its terms, and
products liability or otherwise. In no event shall BTRC termination of this License will be without prejudice
total liability to You for all damages under this to any other right or remedy of either party.
License exceed the amount of ten dollars
(US$10.00). 9.4. Termination of Your License by BTRC shall not be
effective to terminate the License of anyone else
8. Trademarks enjoying rights under this License.
“EABA” is a trademark of BTRC. Subject to the terms
and conditions of this License, BTRC hereby grants 10. Miscellaneous
You, effective on the date You accept this License, 10.1. This License will not be construed as creating
a world-wide, royalty-free, non-exclusive License to an agency, partnership, joint venture or any other
use the trademark “EABA” for the sole purpose of form of legal association between You and BTRC,
Distributing EABA-compatible works. Acceptable and You will not represent to the contrary, whether
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10.2. Nothing in this License will impair the BTRC right
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trademark or trade name “BTRC”, “Blacksburg Distribute products that perform the same or similar
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this License agreement.
10.3. Failure by BTRC to enforce any provision of this
9. Termination License will not be deemed a waiver of future
This License and the rights granted herein will enforcement of that or any other provision. Any law,
terminate automatically without notice from BTRC if regulation, or rule of interpretation which provides
You fail to comply with any term or terms of this that the language of a contract shall be construed
License and fail to cure such breach within 30 days against the drafter will not apply to this License.
of being notified of such breach by BTRC.
10.4. If any provision of this License is held to be
9.1. Where BTRC determines that a purportedly unenforceable, such provision shall be reformed
EABA-compatible work is in fact a violation of copy- only to the extent necessary to make it enforceable.
right, this constitutes a breach of this License. BTRC
may terminate this License and the rights granted 10.5. This License constitutes the entire agreement
herein if You fail to cure such breach within 30 days between the parties with respect to the subject
of being notified of such breach by BTRC. BTRC matter thereof.
may, at it’s option, use any applicable copyright
law to protect it’s intellectual property rights.

6.38