One Stop Sci-Fi Shop
Hello everyone, and welcome to Foursaken Feature, where we bring you new and fascinating features for your fourth edition game. This week, if you didn’t already know, is Science Fiction Week, and thus we will be presenting you with a whole plethora of new sci-fi gear; after all, a sci-fi hero just isn’t the same without all his cool gadgets and fantastic equipment.
Weapons and Armor
From the B-movie ray gun to the iconic lightsaber, sci-fi settings demand a wide variety of futuristic and fantastic armaments. In this section we will be providing stats for some trademark-friendly versions of those weapons, as well as everything else a sci-fi hero needs to do battle with aliens, mutants, and robots.
Ranged Weapons
The majority of weapons one might encounter in any given sci-fi setting are designed to operate at a range; however, only a very few of these weapons will fall into the traditional weapon groups, and so it is necessary to create some new weapon groups.
New Weapon Groups
Pistol
A pistol is small, generally lightweight firearm which can take many different forms, though it usually consists of a barrel, handle, clip, trigger, and firing mechanism. A pistol typically fires a projectile of one kind or anther at great speeds in order to inflict lethal wounds, though some pistols utilize an energy projector and power cell in order to accomplish the same effect. Pistols tend to be less powerful than rifles but are both more concealable and lighter, a fact that many find to be a worthy trade-off. It requires very little training in order to successfully operate a pistol, though true mastery over the weapon can take years.
Rifle
A rifle is a larger, two-handed firearm and predates the invention of the pistol by a number of years. A rifle generally has all the same features of a pistol with a longer barrel and the addition of a stock. Like a pistol, a rifle typically fires a projectile at high speeds in order to inflict its damage, though because they can utilize a higher caliber of ammunition and a longer barrel they tend to have greater range and killing power than a pistol. Similarly, energy rifles can employ a larger energy projection device to the same ends.
Heavy
Heavy weapons share little in common with one another except, as the name might imply, cumbersomeness. Though these weapons are generally considered to be the most destructive, able to fire large explosive projectiles or spout torrents of flames (among other things), these weapons are particularly difficult to use effectively.
New Traits for Weapons
The following new traits will be applied to the new weapons presented here. Their meanings will be explained below.
Energy
A weapon with this trait utilizes a rechargeable energy projector rather than a metal blade or loaded projectiles. These energy projectors are capable of attacking only 15 times before they need recharging. An energy weapon recharges fully with a short rest. Ranged weapons with this property reload as a free action.
Clip-loaded
A weapon with the clip-loaded property reloads as a free action for a number of rounds equal to its clip size rating, at which point it needs to be reloaded as a standard action. Once reloaded in this fashion, the weapon resumes reloading as a free action for a number of rounds equal to its clip size, and the cycle continues to repeat.
Burst
A weapon with the burst quality can, as a minor action, be configured for burst fire, which increases all attack rolls associated with the weapon by +1, though this consumes 3 times as much ammunition as normal.
Sample Ranged Weapon Entry
NAME (simple, military, superior)
Proficiency Bonus
Damage
Range
Clip Size
Price
Weight
Group
Properties
One-Handed Ranged Weapons
PISTOL (simple)
Proficiency Bonus +2
Damage 2d4
Range 10/20
Clip Size 8
Price 40 gp
Weight 1 ½ lb.
Group pistols
Properties clip-loaded, off-hand
HEAVY PISTOL (military)
Proficiency Bonus +2
Damage 2d6
Range 15/25
Clip Size 10
Price 60 gp
Weight 3 lb.
Group pistols
Properties clip-loaded
MACHINE PISTOL (military)
Proficiency Bonus +2
Damage 2d4
Range 10/20
Clip Size 12
Price 80 gp
Weight 2 lb.
Group pistols
Properties burst, clip-loaded
ENERGY PISTOL (superior)
Proficiency Bonus +3
Damage 1d8
Range 15/30
Clip Size -
Price 100 gp
Weight 1 ½ lb.
Group pistols
Properties energy, off-hand
HEAVY ENERGY PISTOL (superior)
Proficiency Bonus +3
Damage 2d6
Range 15/30
Clip Size -
Price 140 gp
Weight 1 ½ lb.
Group pistols
Properties energy
Two-Handed Ranged Weapons
RIFLE (military)
Proficiency Bonus +3
Damage 2d8
Range 20/50
Clip Size 6
Price 75 gp
Weight 5 lb.
Group rifles
Properties clip-loaded
ASSAULT RIFLE (military)
Proficiency Bonus +3
Damage 2d6
Range 10/50
Clip Size 30
Price 125 gp
Weight 8 lb.
Group rifles
Properties burst, clip-loaded
ENERGY RIFLE (superior)
Proficiency Bonus +3
Damage 1d12
Range 30/60
Clip Size -
Price 150 gp
Weight 1 ½ lb.
Group rifles
Properties energy
BEAM RIFLE
Proficiency Bonus +3
Damage 2d10
Range 15/30
Clip Size -
Price 175 gp
Weight 1 ½ lb.
Group rifles
Properties energy
BOLT LAUNCHER (military)
Proficiency Bonus +1
Damage 3d6
Range 45/45
Clip Size 2
Price 90 gp
Weight 30 lb.
Group heavy
Properties clip-loaded, high crit.
ENERGY PROJECTOR (superior)
Proficiency Bonus +1
Damage 4d4
Range 10/10
Clip Size -
Price 200 gp
Weight 30 lb.
Group heavy
Properties energy
Melee Weapons
Melee weapons have never really left the battlefield and in fact, in many sci-fi settings, see a particularly strong resurgence in more traditional weapons often with a futuristic makeover, as a result most of the melee weapons in the players hand book are still perfectly relevant, add a cool sounding futuristic metal name and your good to go. Still there are a few things that haven’t really been covered and so we attempt to cover those now.
Sample Melee Weapon Entry
NAME (simple, military, superior)
Proficiency Bonus
Damage
Price
Weight
Group
Properties
One-handed Melee Weapons
ENERGY SWORD (superior)
Proficiency Bonus +4
Damage 1d8
Price 100 gp
Weight 1 lb.
Group heavy blades
Properties energy, versatile
ENERGY SABER (superior)
Proficiency Bonus +4
Damage 1d8
Price 100 gp
Weight 1 lb.
Group heavy blades
Properties energy, high crit
ENERGY LASH (superior)
Proficiency Bonus +4
Damage 2d4
Price 150 gp
Weight -
Group light blades
Properties energy, reach
Two-Handed Melee Weapons
ENERGY LANCE (superior)
Proficiency Bonus +3
Damage 1d12
Price 100 gp
Weight 4 lb
Group spear
Properties energy, reach
ENERGY BLADE (superior)
Proficiency Bonus +4
Damage 2d8
Price 100 gp
Weight 1 lb
Group heavy blades
Properties energy
Armor
As weapon technology improves, so will armor technology and the same level of protection that once saved heroes from sword or bow shot is available to stop bullets and energy blades. The armors here feature new names and a slight increase in power in order to match the slightly more powerful weapons of the future age.
Sample Armor Entry
NAME
Armor Bonus
Minimum Enhancement Bonus
Check
Speed
Price
Weight
MICROFIBER WEAVE (regular clothing)
Armor Bonus +1
Minimum Enhancement Bonus 0
Check –
Speed –
Type light
Price 0 gp
Weight 4 lb.
ENHANCED WEAVE
Armor Bonus +2
Minimum Enhancement Bonus +4
Check –
Speed –
Type light
Price special
Weight 5 lb.
DARKTHREAD WEAVE
Armor Bonus +3
Minimum Enhancement Bonus +6
Check –
Speed –
Type light
Price special
Weight 6 lb.
LIGHTWEIGHT COMBAT SUIT
Armor Bonus +3
Minimum Enhancement Bonus 0
Check –
Speed –
Type light
Price 30 gp
Weight 15 lb.
ADVANCED COMBAT SUIT
Armor Bonus +4
Minimum Enhancement Bonus +4
Check –
Speed –
Type light
Price special
Weight 15 lb.
HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT COMBAT SUIT
Armor Bonus +5
Minimum Enhancement Bonus +6
Check –
Speed –
Type light
Price special
Weight 15 lb.
PERSONAL ARMOR
Armor Bonus +4
Minimum Enhancement Bonus 0
Check –
Speed –
Type light
Price 50 gp
Weight 25 lb.
TROOP ARMOR
Armor Bonus +5
Minimum Enhancement Bonus +4
Check –
Speed –
Type light
Price special
Weight 25 lb.
BIOENHANCED ASSAULT ARMOR
Armor Bonus +6
Minimum Enhancement Bonus +6
Check –
Speed –
Type light
Price special
Weight 25 lb.
COMBAT MESH
Armor Bonus +7
Minimum Enhancement Bonus 0
Check -1
Speed –
Type heavy
Price 60 gp
Weight 35 lb.
BATTLE MESH
Armor Bonus +10
Minimum Enhancement Bonus +4
Check -1
Speed –
Type heavy
Price special
Weight 35 lb.
RADIANT PARTICLE MESH
Armor Bonus +13
Minimum Enhancement Bonus +6
Check -1
Speed –
Type heavy
Price special
Weight 35 lb.
BALLISTIC ARMOR
Armor Bonus +8
Minimum Enhancement Bonus 0
Check -1
Speed -1
Type heavy
Price 60 gp
Weight 45 lb.
FRONTLINE ASSAULT ARMOR
Armor Bonus +11
Minimum Enhancement Bonus +4
Check -1
Speed -1
Type heavy
Price special
Weight 45 lb.
SELF-REPAIRING ASSAULT ARMOR
Armor Bonus +15
Minimum Enhancement Bonus +6
Check -1
Speed -1
Type heavy
Price special
Weight 45 lb.
CYBERNETIC DEFENSE SYSTEM
Armor Bonus +9
Minimum Enhancement Bonus 0
Check -2
Speed -2
Type heavy
Price 100 gp
Weight 55 lb.
CYBERNETIC PROTECTION SYSTEM
Armor Bonus +12
Minimum Enhancement Bonus +4
Check -2
Speed -2
Type heavy
Price special
Weight 55 lb.
CYBERNETIC IMMUNITY SYSTEM
Armor Bonus +15
Minimum Enhancement Bonus +6
Check -2
Speed -2
Type heavy
Price special
Weight 55 lb.
Weapon and Armor Properties
While in sci-fi magical gear only very rarely plays a role, enhanced weapon and armor systems are incredibly pervasive, and so I thought I would provide you with a number of augmentations for your weapons and armor. While these enhancements are envisioned as technological rather than magical they follow all the same rules for magical gear.
That’s it for this week’s Foursaken Feature. I hope you join us all right here in the future, but until then please allow me to wish you all the best in your gaming endeavors.