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UNLOCK 1920s This is a standalone version of the UNLOCK system. Copyright © 1993, 2000, 2002 Steve Gill. Permission granted to use, copy and distribute freely so long as this copyright message is kept on each copy and no charge is made other than reasonable reproduction costs. ContentsInitiative
and Combat Modifiers
Character GenerationThis is the important part where most of the work happens from the players’ point of view, also where there the most problems occur. It is most important that players have a character concept worked out in advance. Prior to anything else the GM must decide on the campaign power level. This value will determine many of the basic parameters to be used in character generation. The GM may also assign compulsory skills to the campaign. These are skills that ALL the characters in the campaign will have and are given to each character free of charge (i.e. they will not affect how many skill points the players have to spend when assigning skills to their characters from the skill point allocation).
Background FirstBefore generating the numbers for the character run the concept through with your group. This will help all the players get a better idea of what makes the character tick and may bring any possible problems to light early on. StatsThere are 7 stats – 2 physical: BODY & REFLEX; 4 mental: INTELLIGENCE, TECH, WILL & EMPATHY; plus LUCK. Stats are bought with the Stat Points given on the Campaign Basics table. All stats start at 0 prior to allocating points. All stats should exceed 2 unless the character has a very important background reason for having a low value. No starting stat may exceed the Max Stat value for the campaign level. Empathy can be reduced by Humanity Loss. The maximum Empathy a character can have is 10 – (Humanity Loss / 10). Humanity Loss is tracked separately as it indicates the chance of a character developing psychoses due to stressful events. Derived Stats and SavesDerived stats are based on a characters main stats and/or skills.
STUN rolls are based on WILL while DEATH saves are based on the character’s BODY. SkillsSkills are also bought with skill points from the Campaign Basics table. No starting skill may exceed the Max Skill value for the campaign level. All skills start at 0 before allocating pointsunless the GM has assigned compulsory (free) skills for the campaign. Skill levels are added to their relevant stat to get the Basic Chance of success (BC) for that skill. Please note that the stat given on the character sheet is only the most likely stat for that skill, skills can be added to other stats depending on the situation. See the campaign skill sheet for a list of the skills available in the campaign and the stats they relate to. Derived Skills
HandednessRoll for handedness: 1-7 Right, 8 Ambidextrous, 9 or 10 Left. Money and KitStarting money is assigned based on the Campaign Basics table All equipment purchases should be checked by the GM prior to play starting. ContactsEveryone has some contacts, people they get on with more than just acquaintances; some of these even come in useful occasionally. Roll D10 plus streetwise and streetdeal for the number of contacts each character has. For each one roll D10 on the main table for category then D100 within the category. Once the type of contact has been determined roll D100 for the quality of the contact.
Playing the GameBasically the game is simple. All rolls are based on percentages. For each attempt the GM assigns an ease factor (EF) which is multiplied by the skill’s BC to get the percentage chance of success. This system has one main advantage over most systems: there is always a chance of success, no matter how low the character’s skill. Ease FactorsEase factors range from 10 (ridiculously easy) to 1 (extremely difficult), with an optional ˝ for virtually impossible situations. The base number is 5, which is then modified by the GM depending on the difficulty of the situation. Opposed attempts, i.e. those in which two characters are using skills against each other, require the defensive character to make a roll first without an ease factor being assigned. The offensive character then uses one ease factor less than the one the defensive character achieved as the base ease factor for the attempt. NoteIf the character doesn’t have the skill required for the attempt the GM must first decide whether an attempt is possible with the character’s skills. If so then the attempt must either be attempted from the base stat that would be used by the missing skill or by using a related skill with a loss of two ease factors (ie a base ease factor of three).
Examples: 1. Striker is attempting to walk along a three inch wide wall. The GM gives him an ease factor of 4 which with his athletics BC of 12 means he requires a roll of 48 or less not to fall. 2. Striker next attempts to sneak past a security guard, his stealth has a BC of 13. He rolls a 42, which is between ease factors 3 and 4, which gives the guard a base ease factor of 4. As the guard has an awareness/notice BC of 11 her percentage chance of success is 44 without any other modifiers to the ease factor such as Striker being very close or security lights. 3. Striker is spotted and attempts to run for it as the guard raises her shotgun. He doesn’t have the dodge & escape skill so rolls on his athletics BC of 12 getting a 47, just below ease factor 4. The guard is then on an ease factor of 5, 3 (4 - 1) for Striker’s roll plus 2 for Striker not having the required skill. The guard’s rifle skill is on a BC of 14 which gives her a percentage chance of 70. With a roll of 23 it doesn’t look good for old Striker. Note that in the third example Striker gave the guard two ease factors, instead of having his ease factor reduced by two like normal, as he did not have the required skill and his roll was only to set up the guard’s ease factor. Exceptional RollsThere are two types of exceptional rolls: successes and fails. Exceptional success is achieved on a roll of 01 or a roll that made four ease factors less than was required. Exceptional failure occurs on a roll of 100 or a roll four ease factors or more worse than was required. Exceptional rolls indicate either great achievement or abject failure in what was being attempted. Exceptional success in combat for example would mean that the player could choose the target point of the attack, reduce the armour value of the target by one, or do maximum damage for the attack. Exceptional failure can mean a weapon jams or the character is opened up to an attack with +2 to the ease factor. The actual effect is up to the player and GM to decide based on the situation at hand. LuckLuck points can be used in many ways to favourably influence the game, each costs at least one luck point, such as: 1. Reroll any roll made by the player. 2. Add one to the ease factor of an attempt. 3. Get a favour or hint from the GM (at GM’s discretion of course). Combat ProceduresNoteCombat with this system is much more dangerous than in most RPGs. Any hit that penetrates the target’s armour is likely to cause serious damage so be careful out there. InitiativeBase initiative is equal to REFLEX plus Combat Sense plus a D10. Highest total goes first, rest in descending order. Reroll for ties. Modifiers are made depending on the actions being performed, details are on the Combat Modifiers Table. If modifiers reduce an action’s initiative to zero or less then it passes on to the next turn. AttacksAttacks follow a four-tiered procedure. For each attack the defender decides whether or not to dodge. If so then a roll is made to determine the attacker’s base ease factor, otherwise the ease factor is calculated from a base of 5. The attack roll is then made. If it is a success then check whether or not the attack penetrated the defender’s armour. If it did penetrate then roll for damage. ArmourAll armour has an Armour Value based on its stopping power. When armour is stacked it is best to use the system given for armour addition in 3G3 if possible. Alternatively (the quick and dirty approach) simply add the full SP of the heaviest armour to half the values of any other layers. Once the total SP for an area has been calculated look up the SP value on the Armour Value table. At the same time look up the REFLEX loss for the item, SPs over 15 encumber the character. Encumbrance is calculated by areas, the three areas considered are head, torso & arms, and legs; the REF loss is counted separately for each of these. REF loss is halved for the head (round down) so there is no encumbrance until SP26. This REF loss should be applied to most actions involving REFLEX, but only when movement or rapid reaction is required. An emplaced sniper in heavy armour should not take a minus for taking an aimed shot, but would if he tried to run or shift position for a snap shot.
PenetrationWeapons each have a penetration value (PV) and a damage value (DV) assigned to them. If the penetration value is equal or higher than the armour value of the area attacked then the full damage value is inflicted on the target. If the penetration value is one less than the armour value then half damage is done. If the penetration value is two or more less than the armour value then no damage is done. Projectiles increase their penetration by one level at point blank range. Projectiles reduce their penetration by one level at long range, two at extreme, but never below A. Hand to hand weapons get a bonus to penetration equal to the character’s DM, with the exception of flexible weapons.
1920’s FirearmsRevolvers, bolt action rifles and break action rifles or shotguns very rarely have problems – they have a misfire, dud round, on a 100. This can be readily cleared by simply cocking the weapon once more (pulling the trigger on double action, pulling the hammer back on single action). Pistols, pump action rifles or shotguns, and any form of machine gun have problems far more frequently – they have a misfire on a 98, a jam on a 99 and a malfunction on a 100. Misfires require cycling the slide, jams require an action clearing the jammed round out of the mechanism and malfunctions require disassembling the weapon. As an alternate rule option treat 98 – 100 as a problem, the character will only realise what problem type it is once they try to clear it: roll D3 – 1 is a misfire, 2 is a jam, and 3 a malfunction.
Exotic WeaponsThese are unusual weapons for the era, usually only used by the goons of pulp villains or as pick-up weapons if fighting in a castle or similar locale. As such they should only be bought by characters who have a good background reason to have them – weapons collectors, oriental martial arts specialists, etc. Multiple AttacksMany weapons have the ability to make multiple attacks. There are three basic forms. Semi-automatic or single shot weapons can have a Rate of Fire (ROF) greater than one. In this case each is treated as a separate attack with the modifiers given for firing multiple attacks. It is possible to fire more than the expected ROF in which case the modifiers for firing excessive shots must be used. In order to use these modifiers correctly the player must state in advance how many shots will be fired during the turn. Automatic or burst capable weapons can either fire a short burst (typically three shots) or a full burst (the ROF of the weapon, presuming the ammo is available) at a single target. Each of these is treated as a single attack. For a short burst that has hit roll a D3 to determine the number of shots that hit. For a full burst the difference between the percentage chance of the attempt and the percentage rolled is the percentage of the rounds fired that hit. Obviously the target cannot be hit by more rounds than were fired. A full burst can also be sprayed into a group. Attacks are made on each member of the group until an attack fails or a number of targets equal to half the number of rounds fired have been hit. Taking DamageBefore assigning damage the character receiving the damage reduces it by his BTM value. When damage is taken by a character one of the blocks on the character’s wound track is ticked off for each point of damage taken. The wound track gives a visual indicator of the character’s condition. Each four points of damage taken reduces the ease factor for the WILL save by 1 from its starting point at 10. Failure of a WILL roll means that the character may take no action in the following turn other than to attempt another WILL roll. For defensive purposes the character is presumed to be seeking cover. From 9 points of damage onwards the character must also make death saves. Failure to make a death save means the character has gone into shock and is dying, only medical attention can prevent death. Every eight points of damage reduces the character’s ease factors for all actions (not saves) by one. Wound Track
Initiative and Combat ModifiersThe full list of initiative and combat modifiers are given on the combat modifiers table. These are guidelines and it is not suggested that the GM go through them for every attempted combat action as it will slow the game down too much. In general it is best for the GM to assign guesstimated values.
Gear & ExpensesCosts are given in US dollars, divide by 2 for pounds sterling Housing
Expenses
Wages
Vehicles
Weapons
Weapon Accessories
Clothing
Gear
Tools
The denotation –BM means the item is not for sale to the general public and is only available to federal agencies or on the black market. The price range given is for the black market, prices will be significantly lower for legitimate purchases.
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