Chapter Four:
Plot

A clammy silver fog gathered dirty, decayed houses together, hung tarnished yellow halos on a pair of street lights. Occasional car tires crushed puddles on the dull glistening street. In the last hour a dozen men and women had entered the rear of a condemned apartment building. Rebecca's information was accurate.

Dominic poured himself out of a nearby doorway, slipped silent through shadows, a subtle wake in the mist. He flattened against the brick wall, shouldering his small pack and his sword, blessed Merovingian bloodsteel. Looking up, he listened. Crickets and humidity.

A swift careful climb, a broken window lock, and Dominic lowered himself into the waiting void. Only a muffled rustle like wind in curtains betrayed his landing. He moved as a ghost through the dark, empty, apartment, sensing the enclave of assassins. He drew his sword, a soft creamy metallic drawl.

Sudden white hot flash of blinding halogen. Dominic cried out, covering his eyes. Brief vision in photographic negative. A grinning black skull, shining white eyes, dazzling avalanche of kicking screaming bodies.

Resolving Conflict

Through these fields of destruction
Baptisms of fire
I've watched all your suffering
As the battles raged higher

• Dire Straits, "Brothers in Arms"

Without conflict, any game (or life) is boring. In Legacy, conflict can take many forms: physical, social, Psychic, even internal conflicts inside of a character's mind. Whatever form this conflict may take, it is usually resolved using a Task Roll, which fairly pits the Statistics and Abilities of the character against a violent and unfriendly world.

Noncombat

Against boredom even the gods themselves struggle in vain.

• Nietzche, The Antichrist

Not every waking moment will be interesting. This is what we call "noncombat time." It is unnecessary to role-play out every moment of every day. If an activity seems interesting, or an NPC (Non-Player Character) has some useful information, then these scenes should be role-played out, but it is not necessary or desirable to account for every second of every character's time. If nothing interesting is happening, then the players could role-play among themselves, or the GM could simply "fast-forward" through that time.

The Role of Dice

Our lives are better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
But I'd have had to miss the dance

• Garth Brooks, "The Dance"

Where there is conflict, there must (eventually) be a resolution to that conflict. There are "diceless" games which manage to resolve conflict without any kind of random number generator, but the outcome of conflicts in these games are either completely predictable, or they depend so heavily on the judgment and skill of the GM that a fun, fair game is almost impossible to achieve. However, it is possible for an excellent Game Moderator to run an exciting game while rarely, if ever, resorting to dice rolls. There is no way to teach this style of play; it comes only with experience.

Most games, including this one, facilitate the resolution of conflict by using dice. At one end of the dice-using spectrum are games with a simple spinner or single six-sided die (the kind shaped like a cube, used in most board games). The outcome of conflict in these games generally has a very limited range of possibility, with little room for nuance. At the other end of the spectrum are games where dozens, sometimes even hundreds, of dice are needed, of every shape and size. This allows for a great deal of variety in the probability curves involved, and allows for a great range of permutations to the resolution of a conflict. However, this has a tendency to remove the emphasis of the game from the story, placing it on the outcome of dice rolls instead.

Legacy walks a line between these two extremes. Only one kind of dice is needed to play, called ten-sided dice (or "d10's"), which are available in most hobby or game stores. Only a few of these dice are required to play, and a player could even get by with possessing only a single die.

Dice rolls can add to the suspense of a game, because the player never knows whether she will succeed at what she is attempting. This uncertainty is important, because without some suspense about the outcome of the game the players quickly lose interest. However, it is equally important that the players know that they can influence the outcome of their characters' problems. Players who come up with innovative solutions to seemingly impossible tasks should be rewarded with a positive Task Modifier, even if the solution spoils the plans of the Game Moderator. Such best-laid plans will be foiled time and again by clever players, and such cleverness should not be discouraged.

Task Rolls

To perform a Task, the character adds together her appropriate Statistic, Ability, and the Task Modifier for the Task attempted. The player must roll this number or less on a d10.

If a character attempts to perform a Task in which she has a "0" Ability, the GM may allow the player to roll her Statistic and Task Modifier only, or not at all, at the GM's option.

A roll of "1" is normally considered an automatic success, but the GM has the option of ignoring this rule where it seems unreasonable. A roll of "10" is not an automatic failure, however.

Example:

Devon is attempting to crack a particularly difficult code. The GM determines that the minimum time it would take to attempt this is one hour. Devon decides that he will take an extra hour, so the GM gives him a +1 TMod. In addition, Devon has a military-class cipher-breaker, giving him a TMod of +2. These TMods are cumulative, giving Devon a Task Modifier of +3. If Devon were to take 6 additional hours before attempting a Task Roll (for a TMod of +2), his total TMod would be +4, not +5. Only the most significant TMod of a particular type is of any benefit.

Task Modifiers

** Various Task Modifiers are cumulative unless they are redundant.

Task Roll = (Statistic + Ability + Task Modifier) or less

Situational Task Modifiers Table

Actions

One Turn is two seconds long, and each character gets one action per Turn. This means that the character may move and/or make one Task Roll during one Turn. If the GM specifically requests a character to make a Task Roll (i.e., a Perception Task Roll to notice something out of the corner of the character's eye), then the GM may declare that the Task Roll does not use an action or Turn by the character.

It is possible to move and make a Task Roll during a character's action, but this incurs negative Task Modifiers from -1 to -5, as the GM dictates.

Initiative

The order in which characters take their actions is important. Those who have the opportunity to use their actions first have an advantage over those who must wait. The order in which characters take their actions during a Turn is determined by their Agility, Intellect, and Psyche. The characters with a higher Rank in Agility may take their actions before those who have lower Agility scores. Of those characters whose Agility Ranks are equal, the characters with a higher Rank in the Intellect Statistic may use their actions before those of lower Intellect. If two characters have equal Agility and Intellect Statistics, then the character with the higher Psyche Rank may use her action before the character with the lower Psyche Statistic. If two characters have identical Agility, Intellect, and Psyche Statistics then the GM should randomly determine who goes first (flip a coin).

The environment always goes last in a Turn. Any falling objects (including characters) fall, and any free-rolling vehicles move, after all characters have had the opportunity to use their actions. This does not include thrown projectiles or character-controlled vehicles. If any object or vehicle is under direct control by a character, then the object or vehicle will move when that character moves it or at the end of the Turn, at the character's option. If a character chooses not to control a vehicle, then the vehicle will move at the end of the Turn.

Delaying an Action

If a character does not wish to use her action when she has the opportunity, perhaps wanting to wait and see what an opponent does, she may delay her action, with the option of using it later in the Turn. The character may then pre-empt another character's action later in the Turn, unless the other character has a higher Agility/Intellect/Psyche or the Quick-Draw Accent. If both characters have the Quick-Draw Accent, then the character with the higher Agility/Intellect/Psyche goes first. If both characters are evenly matched, then they may use their actions simultaneously or use a random method to determine who goes first, at the GM's option.

Forcing an Action

If a character wants to perform a purely defensive maneuver before she has had the opportunity to use her action in a Turn, this is known as "forcing" the character's action. The character may force any purely defensive action, such as Parrying a punch, dodging a bullet, or simply running away. The character may not force an action which the GM could construe as an attack, such as blocking a bullet with an opponent's unconscious body or running into someone. When a character forces her action, she aborts her next available action; a character may only force an action once per Turn, and she may not do so if she has already used her action during that Turn.

Sequence

Unless a character wishes to delay or force her action, each character takes and completes her action before the next character begins. If the character wants to move, then the player declares that the character is moving and to where the character is moving. After the character has completed her movement (if any), she may make an attack. If the target of the attack is aware of it, the target may choose to use or force her action to Parry or run away. The Task Modifiers for each character's maneuvers are taken into account by the GM and imposed upon the attacking character's Task Roll, who then rolls her dice.

Movement and Game Scale

Movement does not generally require a Task Roll, although the GM may require an Athletics Task Roll if there is some obstacle to the character's free movement (i.e., Physical Difficulties, distractions, inclement weather, injury, etc.). One hex on the game map represents one meter from flat side to flat side. Measurements given in meters indicate moving from the center of one hex to the center of another. Fractions are generally rounded in the character's favor.

Climbing

Climb = 1m (or from 1/2 m to (AGL x 1m), depending on terrain)

A typical slope or tree, with numerous protrusions or hand-holds, can be scaled at approximately one meter per Turn. Plentiful hand-holds and a shallow slope can increase the climber's speed up to her Agility in meters per Turn. A steeper incline, with few protrusions, can slow the climber's ascent to one hex every two Turns, or even slower.

Jumping

Standing = (STR x 1/2 m)

Running = (AGL x 4m) + (STR x 1/2 m)

Jump up = (STR x 1/2 m)

A character can make a standing leap as far as half of her Strength in meters (rounded up in the character's favor). A running start can add up to four times the character's Agility to this distance, if the sprinter has room to get up to full speed.

Running

Run (combat) = (AGL x 1m)

A character may walk her AGL in meters while performing any Task (other than additional movement), but this incurs an additional -1 Task Modifier to that Task.

Example:

Jacqueline wants to run across an alley opening while shooting at the gun smugglers down the alley. Jacqueline has an Agility of 3, so she may move 3 hexes (meters) during, before, or after shooting at the sniper. This is sufficient to get Jacqueline across the alleyway. Her Task Modifier for shooting while running is -1 (in addition for any TMods for the weapon or the target).

Run (sprint) = (AGL x 4m)

Any Task Roll attempted while sprinting incurs a -5 TMod.

Standing up does not move the character horizontally, but it incurs the same negative Task Modifiers as Running (-1).

Swimming

Swim = (AGL x 1m)

All characters are assumed to know how to swim. If for some reason a character doesn't know how to swim, she must make an Athletics Task Roll every Turn or start sinking beneath the waves. Every Turn a mortal character fails the Task Roll, she takes one point of Casual Damage. Immortals cannot drown: suffocation will only make them dizzy (-2 TMod to any Task Rolls).

Combat

The greatest happiness is to vanquish your enemies, to chase them before you, to rob them of their wealth, to see those dear to them bathed in tears, to clasp to your bosom their wives and daughters.

• Jenghiz Khan

Combat Task Rolls

In combat, the Task to attack an opponent is generally the total of the attacker's Agility plus Ability (Fisticuffs, Melee Weapon, Firearms, etc.) plus the Task Modifier of the maneuver used, minus the target's Dodge (if the opponent is mobile and aware of the attack). The attacker must roll this number or less on a d10 to hit the target with the attack.

Task Roll = (Statistic + Ability + TMod (- Dodge)) or less

Automatic Weapons

What passing bells for these who die as cattle?
Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle. . . .

• Wilfred Owen, The Anthem for Doomed Youth

If the character is firing a weapon capable of firing more than one round per Turn, she may continue to attempt to hit targets by making additional Task Rolls. Each Task Roll to hit a target with automatic fire after the first Task Roll incurs a cumulative -1 TMod. Once the character can only succeed at the weapon's Task Roll (including all Task Modifiers) on a roll of 1, and the character misses the roll, she can not attempt to hit with any more attacks during that Turn.

If a character wishes to spray an area with gunfire, or wishes to aim at several targets with an automatic weapon during a single Turn, each expelled round must strike a target or hex no more than one meter (one hex) from the previous round. Keep in mind that shots fired at "empty" hexes will tend to continue moving until they hit something.

Example:

Nicholas Shaeffer is firing a modified Weir Machrone plasma assault cannon at a group of heavily armed pro-life terrorists. Because of the modifications Shaeffer has made, the Machrone has a rate of fire of six: it may fire up to six rounds in a single Turn. Three of the terrorists are in hexes adjacent to each other, while the fourth terrorist has two empty hexes between herself and her closest comrade. Shaeffer must fire at least six rounds out of the Weir Machrone to have a chance of hitting all four of the terrorists: one each for the three who are next to each other, two for the empty hexes, and one more for the fourth terrorist.

Recoil Compensators

The urge to kill, like the urge to beget,
Is blind and sinister.

• Andrei Voznesenski, Hunting a Hare

Recoil compensators can offset the negative TMods due to automatic fire, but only up to the amount of the negative TMod. A recoil compensator with a Rank of 4 would not give an attacker a positive TMod if the attacker only fired a two-round burst (normally -1 TMod on the second shot), but the attacker would incur no negative TMods for the burst fire.

A gyro-stabilizer offsets both the TMod penalty for burst fire and the negative TMod for making a Task Roll while running, but only up to the amount of the negative TMods. A gyro-stabilizer with a Rank of 3 would not give an attacker a positive TMod if the attacker only fired a two-round burst (normally -1 TMod on the second shot) while walking (normally -1 TMod on both shots), but the attacker would incur no negative TMods for the burst fire or the movement.

Both recoil compensators and gyro-stabilizers may be retro-fitted to weapons, but adding either one decreases the concealabilty of the weapon by one level, down to Trenchcoat-concealable. A Jacket-concealable pistol would only be Trenchcoat-concealable if a gyro-stabilizer were added to it, but a Trenchcoat-concealable weapon with a gyro-stabilizer added to it would still be Trenchcoat-concealable.

"Smart" Weapons

War is the highest form of modern art.

• Filippo Tommaso Marinetti

Some advanced weaponry has "smart" targeting ability. These weapons, often called "smartguns," cycle their rate of fire to avoid hitting friendly targets, or even automatically home in on unfriendly targets, depending on the level of the smart link. Smart-targeting weapons also grant a +1 TMod bonus to the attacker's Firearms Task Roll, if the attacker has a smartgun interface. As with all cybernetics, Immortals are not able to have smartgun interfaces implanted in them, because their bodies will reject the foreign material.

A Level One smart link will cycle its rate of fire, or pause, to avoid firing on friendly targets. In the example above, if Nicholas Shaeffer had been using a Level One smart-modified Weir Machrone, he could have avoided firing into the empty hexes and avoided most of the risk of killing innocent bystanders. The Machrone would have staggered its cyclic rate of fire so that it paused between the third and fourth terrorists. Note that the effective rate of fire would have then been four shots per Turn, so Shaeffer would still have been able to shoot each terrorist only once. But as the advertisements say, "Once is enough with a Weir Machrone!"

A Level Two smart link will automatically home in on unfriendly targets. If Nicholas Shaeffer had been using a Level Two smart-modified weapon, he would merely have had to define the hexes into which he was firing, and the Weir Machrone would have fired at all unfriendlies in those hexes. Level Two smart-enabled weapons do not reduce their rate of fire when they avoid firing upon friendly targets, so Schaeffer would have been able to fire the Machrone six times at the four terrorists. Schaeffer would have chosen two of the terrorists, and those two would have been fired upon twice each.

The use of a smartgun requires special targeting electronics to be surgically implanted into the person using the weapon. It is this special targeting neuroelectronics (or "wetware") that tells the gun which targets are which, by monitoring the attacker's autonomic responses as the arc of the gun sweeps past its potential targets and by informing the weapon which targets are "friendly" and "unfriendly." No special physical connection needs to be made between the weapon and the user: a nearly microscopic subdermal transmitter is implanted into each of the individual's hands, and it is through this transmitter that the smartgun and the targeting wetware communicate.

This also allows "personal" weapons, which will only fire when held by the character who owns them. This is a relatively inexpensive modification to the standard smartlink hardware built into the character and the weapon.

A smartgun will only operate at the highest level common to both the weapon and the person firing it. If, in the previous example, Nicholas Schaeffer had a Weir Machrone Level Two Smartgun (or "Weir Machrone S2"), but only had Level One smart link wetware, the weapon would perform only as a Level One smartgun. If a smart-enabled weapon is fired by someone without any smart link wetware, the smart-targeting system is disabled and the weapon fires normally.

A weapon may be retro-fitted with a Level One smart link (S1), but adding one decreases the concealabilty of the weapon by one level, down to Trenchcoat-concealable. A Jacket-concealable pistol would only be Trenchcoat-concealable if it were given a Level One smart link retro-fit, but a Trenchcoat-concealable weapon with a Level One smart link added to it would still be Trenchcoat-concealable. A Level Two smart link must be designed into the weapon, and may not normally be added after the weapon has been built.

A smartlink operates as a sighting mechanism, so its +1 TMod is not cumulative with that granted by any other sighting device (laser sights, etc.).

Armor Piercing

A Man in Armor is his armor's slave.

• Robert Browning, Herakles

Some weapons are designed to penetrate a target's defenses. These are referred to as Armor Piercing weapons. The Rank of the Armor Piercing is subtracted from the Severe Defense of the target. If the result would make the Severe Defense of the target go below zero, then the target simply has zero Severe Defense against that attack. Armor Piercing attacks do not remove the Severe Defense of the target, they simply ignore it (up to the Rank of the Armor Piercing). The Rank of the Armor Piercing is not damage; it is the amount of Severe Defense that the attack will ignore.

Explosions

"Fire purifies . . ." Claudia said. And I said, "No, fire merely destroys. . . ."

• Louis, Interview With the Vampire

Explosives are a popular method of disposing of one's problems. Since an explosion inflicts damage to an entire hex, and a certain number of hexes around the target hex, explosions may be targeted at hexes rather than the person standing in the hex (unless the would-be target is standing in mid-air). Dodge does not act as a negative TMod to the attacker's Task Roll if the attacker is aiming at the hex rather than an individual. The only way to avoid being damaged by an explosion is to be out of the area when it goes off, or to have sufficient armor to ignore the damage.

Most explosives lose one point of damage for each meter between the victim and the center of the explosion. In the target hex, an explosion will do the amount of damage listed for the explosive or weapon type. If an explosive does 3 points of Severe Damage, it will do 3 points of Severe Damage to the target hex. In the hexes adjacent to the target hex, the explosion will do one less point of damage, and so on outward until the explosion does zero points of damage.

If an explosive misses its target hex, it will land as many hexes away from the target hex as the Task Roll was missed by. If the attacker missed the Task Roll by three, the explosive would land three hexes away from the target hex in a random direction. To determine a random direction, the GM chooses one face of the target hex as "one," and rolls a die to determine in what direction the explosive went awry. If the GM gets a seven, eight, nine, or ten on this roll, the explosive went past the target in a direct line away from the attacker, landing as many hexes behind the target as the Task Roll was missed by.

Explosions may be applied against a character's average defenses rather than rolling for a specific location, as a normal attack would be. To find a character's average defense, simply add the defense of the armor in all ten Hit Locations and divide by ten (rounding up in the character's favor). Apply this average defense against explosions or attacks which evenly cover the victim, such as being doused in gasoline and set on fire.

(See also: Hit Locations)

Combat Maneuvers

In war there is no second prize for the runner-up.

• Omar Bradley

Combat Maneuvers are not Abilities, and they do not require any points spent on them to use them; they are merely modifiers to the Firearms, Fisticuffs, and Melee Weapons Abilities.

The following Melee Combat Maneuvers are not exhaustive, and the players should be encouraged to make up new ones, using these as guidelines. While all Melee Combat Maneuvers may be used with Fisticuffs, some Melee Combat maneuvers may also be used with the Melee Weapons Ability. It is up to the GM whether a particular maneuver is suitable for use with a specific weapon type, but players should be rewarded for being inventive.

Melee Combat Maneuvers may be used in any combination, but the damage from any attack is inflicted only once (combining a Defensive Thrust with a Lunge only inflicts the Lunge damage). All TMods are cumulative when combining Melee Combat maneuvers, with an additional -1 TMod for the added complexity.

Melee Combat Maneuvers Table

Parry

A Parry, if the Task Roll is successful, will prevent the damage from a Fisticuffs or Melee Weapons attack from reaching the character. It is up to player to decide how this is accomplished, although the GM should ensure that the explanation is within reason. The character could deflect the attack to the side, the character could place an object in front of the attack to take the blow, or the character could side-step the thrust. If the character obstructs or deflects the thrust with an object (including her body), it is assumed that the character's technique prevents the attack from seriously damaging the object.

After the first Parry during a Turn, the character may continue to attempt Task Rolls to Parry additional attacks during that Turn without taking an additional action, but each attempt after the first has a cumulative TMod of -1. The character may only continue to Parry during the Turn she originally used her action to Parry; at the beginning of the next Turn, she must use an action to Parry again.

If the character misses a Parry, she may continue to attempt to Parry later attacks that Turn, as long as her target Task Roll is greater than 1. Once the character can only succeed at the Parry Task Roll (including all Task Modifiers) on a roll of 1, and the character misses the roll, she can not attempt to Parry any more attacks during that Turn.

Missile Parry

A Missile Parry, if the Task Roll is successful, will prevent the damage from a muscle-powered projectile (i.e., rock, arrow, spear) from reaching the character. It is up to character to decide how this is accomplished, although the GM should ensure that the explanation is within reason. The character could deflect the attack to the side, the character could place an object in front of the attack to take the thrust, or the character could side-step the projectile. If the character obstructs or deflects the projectile with an object (including her body), it is assumed that the character's technique prevents the attack from damaging the object.

After the first Missile Parry during a Turn, the character may continue to attempt Task Rolls to Missile Parry additional projectiles during that Turn without taking an additional action, but each attempt after the first has a cumulative TMod of -4. The character may only continue to Missile Parry during the Turn she originally used her action to Missile Parry; at the beginning of the next Turn, she must use an action to Parry again.

If the character misses a Missile Parry, she may continue to attempt to Missile Parry later attacks that Turn, as long as her target Task Roll is greater than 1. Once the character can only succeed at the Missile Parry Task Roll (including all Task Modifiers) on a roll of 1, and the character misses the roll, she can not attempt to Missile Parry any more attacks during that Turn.

Defensive Thrust

A Defensive Thrust is a controlled attack, trading away damage for a careful stance. It could be an attack with a sword, a kick, a punch, or a head-butt. It is up to the player to describe the style of the attack, although a defensive head-butt is difficult to imagine.

Thrust

A Thrust is a typical attack, balancing damage with control. It could be an attack with a sword, a kick, a punch, or a head-butt; it is up to the player to describe the style of the attack.

Lunge

A Lunge is an all-out attack, sacrificing control for damage. It could be an attack with a sword, a kick, a punch, or a head-butt; it is up to the player to describe the style of the attack.

Running Lunge

A Running Lunge combines a character's momentum with her Strength to inflict more damage. The TMod for a Running Lunge is cumulative with the TMods for attempting a Task Roll while running (-1 TMod) or sprinting (-5 TMod).

Riposte

This is an example of using two maneuvers simultaneously. A Riposte is a combination of the Parry and Thrust maneuvers, yet a Riposte requires only one Task Roll for the combined Thrust and Parry. It carries all of the same limitations imposed by both Parry and Thrust, with an additional -1 TMod, for a total TMod of -2. As with all Melee Weapons attacks, the Dodge of the target is applied as a negative TMod to the Riposte Task Roll. The character performing the Riposte either succeeds at both the Parry and the Thrust, or she fails at both. Alternately, the GM may choose to impose the Dodge TMod penalty only on the Thrust component of the Riposte maneuver. It would then be possible to succeed at Parrying an opponent's attack, yet miss the opponent with the Thrust.

A character may continue to Parry after a Riposte, as with a typical Parry, but each additional attempt incurs a cumulative -2 TMod. Because it is not a purely defensive maneuver, a character may not force her next action to perform a Riposte. A character may not use a Riposte to attack more than once per Turn.

Disarm

A Disarm maneuver, if successful, takes a one-handed weapon away from an opponent. The Disarm may result either in the opponent's weapon being thrown several meters away, or it may result in the Disarming character holding the opponent's weapon in a free hand, at the Disarming character's option.

Grapple

A Grapple maneuver, if successful, pins both of an opponent's arms (or legs), preventing the opponent from using them. Attempting to Grapple an opponent incurs a negative TMod equal to the opponent's Strength. If the Task Roll is successful, the person Grappled may attempt to break out of it by attempting a Strength Task Roll, with the Fisticuffs (or Melee Weapon) Ability of the Grappling character applied as a negative Task Modifier to the Grappled character's Strength Task Roll.

Trip

If the Trip maneuver is successful, the target of the Trip maneuver ends up on the ground. Attacking a target on the ground has a +2 Task Modifier. Standing up from a prone position takes a full action. Any Task attempted while standing up incurs a -1 Task Modifier.

Virtual Combat

Before 1984, the concept of participating in digital worlds belonged to the realm of data processing and science fiction. After Macintosh, it began to weave itself into the fabric of everyday life.

• Steven Levy, "Insanely Great"

Through the Winternet, the characters can explore environments both familiar and foreign. These settings are not real, they are merely simulated through the use of holograms or simulated sensory input. This is called "Virtual Reality," and it revolutionized both the computer and entertainment industry.

Conflict in the Winternet is handled the same way as conflict in the physical world, with a few minor differences. Task Rolls are attempted using Intellect instead of Strength or Agility. What would appear to be physical combat in the virtual reality of the Winternet is resolved using the Computer Ability instead of Fisticuffs, Melee Weapons, or Firearms. Security is substituted for the Dodge and Stealth Abilities. Most Intellectual Abilities operate normally, with Task Modifiers imposed by the GM as she deems appropriate.

Since the virtual worlds perceived by the character are not "real" in any sense, Psychic Abilities have no effect on the simulated reality experienced through the Winternet. The other people who interact with the PCs in the Winternet are merely simulations, and so cannot be affected by Abilities such as Domination or Telepathy. The environment itself is also merely a simulation, so the Psychic PC will not be able to affect it using Abilities such as Psychokinesis or Pyrokinesis.

Damage sustained in virtual combat usually affects only the operator's current Winternet access session. Virtual Casual Damage is temporary, affecting only the users current interface session. Any virtual Casual Damage is discarded at the end of the session. Virtual Severe Damage, which can only be inflicted upon a wiretapper using a neural interface, causes physical damage to the digital-to-neural analog unit used by the wiretapper to access the Winternet, thus causing Severe Damage to the operator of the device. There are rumors of "black" EIC which can cause physical injury to the cortex of the wiretapper: enough feedback to kill the intruder. Such lethal EIC is illegal on civilian computer systems, and no corporation has successfully been prosecuted for its use.

There is not currently any defense for the neural damage inflicted by EIC or conflict with other operators.

Damage

Torn and twisted at the foot of a burning bike
And I think somebody, somewhere
Must be tolling a bell

• Meat Loaf, "Bat Out of Hell"

There are two types of attacks in Legacy: physical attacks and Psychic attacks. For each of these, there are two types of damage: Casual Damage and Severe Damage.

Casual Damage (CDam)

Casual Damage is the result of temporary or superficial injury, such as would occur from a fistfight, mild electrical shock, mild sunburn, or a fall from a tree. Casual Damage heals fairly quickly, and is unlikely to cause permanent impairment or disfigurement.

Although Casual Damage can kill, it takes longer to do so than Severe Damage. Each point of Casual Damage that a character takes past her defenses over 10 is recorded as Severe Damage. A character may take a maximum of 10 points of Casual Damage.

Example:

Devon is held captive by the Daughters of Lilith, a fanatic feminist group. The Daughters have him pinned to the ground and are attempting to pummel him to death for his many misogynistic views. The blows the Daughters are raining down upon Devon's prostrate body are Casual Damage until Devon takes 10 points of Casual Damage (at which point he loses consciousness). After Devon takes 10 points of Casual Damage, each point of Casual Damage inflicted causes him one point of Severe Damage. Fortunately, the Daughters do not yet realize that Devon is an Immortal, and cannot be killed in this manner.

Severe Damage (SDam)

Severe Damage is more grim in nature than Casual Damage. It is the result of dramatic structural damage to the body, often accompanied by shock and massive bleeding. Severe Damage heals more slowly than Casual Damage.

Severe Damage may be the result of an attack such as a gunshot wound, serious burn, bad electrical shock, or a sword cut, or it may be the result of a long and bloody fistfight due to accrued Casual Damage.

If a character has taken less Casual Damage than Severe Damage, the Severe Damage will incur an equal amount of Casual Damage. At no time will the total accrued Casual Damage be less than the total accrued Severe Damage, until the character has taken 10 points of Casual Damage (the maximum for both Casual and Severe Damage).

Defenses (CDef, SDef)

The character's Strength Statistic, Casual Defense (if any), and Severe Defense (if any) is subtracted from any normal Casual Damage the character takes. Casual Defense (CDef) or Severe Defense (SDef) is not necessary for the character to subtract her Strength Statistic rank from the Casual Damage. Severe Defense is subtracted from the Severe Damage a character takes. Strength and Casual Defense are of no use in defending against Severe Damage.

The character's Psyche Statistic and Psychic Shield (if any) are subtracted from any Psychic Casual Damage the character takes. Psychic Shield (PDef) is not necessary for the character to subtract her Psyche Statistic rank from the Psychic Casual Damage. Psychic Shield (PDef) is subtracted from the Psychic Severe Damage a character takes. Psyche is of no use in defending against Psychic Severe Damage.

Casual Defense and Severe Defense are of no use against Psychic attacks, nor are Psyche and Psychic Shield of any use against physical attacks. Once defenses have been taken into account, however, it is all the same: no distinction is made between Psychic damage and physical damage.

If a character takes Severe Damage past her defenses, she will also take enough Casual Damage sufficient to bring her Casual Damage total to no less than her total accrued Severe Damage. Note that if a character takes over 10 points of Casual Damage, additional Casual Damage is recorded as Severe Damage, but Strength and Casual Defense (or Psyche and Psychic Shield, for Psychic attacks) will still defend against it. A character can take a maximum of 10 points each of CDam and SDam.

Effects of Damage

Task Modifiers Due To Injury Table

Example:

If a character takes 3 or 4 points of Casual Damage or 3 or 4 points of Severe Damage, the character has a -1 Task Modifier to any Task Rolls she attempts to make.

If a character takes 5 or 6 points of Casual Damage or 5 or 6 points of Severe Damage, the character has a -2 Task Modifier to any Task Rolls she attempts to make.

If a character takes 7 points of Casual Damage or 7 points of Severe Damage, the character has a -3 Task Modifier to any Task Rolls she attempts to make.

If a character takes 8 points of Casual Damage or 8 points of Severe Damage, the character has a -4 Task Modifier to any Task Rolls she attempts to make.

If a character takes 9 points of Casual Damage or 9 points of Severe Damage, the character has a -5 Task Modifier to any Task Rolls she attempts to make.

These Task Modifiers due to damage are not cumulative; only the worst (most negative) modifier will be in effect.

If a character takes 10 points of Casual Damage past her defenses, she is rendered unconscious, and she will remain unconscious until she heals down to a maximum of 9 points of Casual Damage.

If a mortal character takes 10 points of Severe Damage past her defenses, she is dead. Under some conditions, it may be possible to revive a dead mortal character, but the conditions that caused her death must no longer exist (i.e., smoke inhalation or suffocation), and the attendant physician must make a Medical Task Roll at a Task Modifier of -5.

If an Immortal character takes 10 points of Severe Damage past her defenses, she is rendered unconscious, and she will remain unconscious until she heals down to a maximum of 9 points of Severe Damage. The damage may be so extensive that any vital signs, such as breathing and pulse, are absent. Nonetheless, the Immortal's body will continue to repair itself as long as the character's spine is not severed between the head and the heart.

Hit Locations

Legacy uses a simplified hit location system, based loosely on the percentage of the human body each limb represents. This is primarily to take into account the use of partial cover or piecemeal body armor. No special damage is usually caused by hitting an opponent in a specific area, but if the GM and players want to add a level of complexity to combat, the following damage modifiers may be used. The damage modifier is applied to the damage taken (if any) after any armor or other defenses, and the "Possible Effect of Damage" is completely at the GM's discretion. If an attack does not penetrate the target's defenses, the damage modifier is not applied.

Generally speaking, the most Severe Damage an extremity can take before being severed from the body is 5 SDam. If hit locations are being used, and a character is hit in an arm, thigh, calf, or foot (locations 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, and 10), the character may only take five points of SDam to the extremity before the extremity ceases to exist; additional damage to that location is ignored. However, if that location is rolled on later attacks, the attacker may re-roll the location until a valid location is determined.

Using Hit Locations modifiers will slow down play and generally impede the creative process of role-playing, so this system is, like all Legacy: War of Ages rules, completely optional. However, it is still the GM's responsibility to add spice and variety to the game by describing the effect of each wound. A table of "critical hits" is no match for the human imagination.

Hit Location Effect Table

The True Death

By protracting life, we do not deduct one jot from the duration of death.

• Lucretius, De Rerum Natura

Immortals can only be killed by severing completely the spinal column between the Immortal's head and heart. The reasons why this is true are unknown, and although several theories have been presented over the years, none of them have been proven.

Inflicting the True Death upon an Immortal should never be an accident. The True Death is far too important to allow random dice rolls to determine when such an occurrence takes place. The attacker must aim at these vulnerable areas in order to hit them. The Task Modifier for aiming at the neck is -5, in addition to any other modifiers the GM deems appropriate.

Even rolling a 1 while using Hit Locations is not sufficent to determine when an Immortal is given the final cut, because an Immortal can easily survive having a portion of her head damaged or removed. Only if her spine is completely severed between her head and her heart can an Immortal be killed. This vulnerable area can only be hit if the attacker specifically targets it at a TMod of -5, or through the use of an attack which damages the character's entire body, such as an explosive or incendiary device.

In order to sever the spinal column, five points of Severe Damage (before any damage modifiers for location) must be inflicted with a bladed weapon to the neck of the Immortal, or to the area of the Immortal's back above the level of the heart. Firearms (of all types) must inflict ten points of Severe Damage (before any damage modifiers for location) to have the same effect, due to the way these weapons damage tissue.

Explosives or other attacks that affect the Immortal's entire body must also inflict ten points of Severe Damage in order to sufficently damage the Immortal's spinal column to sever it, but this method of killing an Immortal is not always effective due to the unpredictable nature of an explosion's blast. It is possible for an Immortal to be reduced to a charred, smoking mass of mucle and bone, yet survive the ordeal with no lasting ill effects.

Healing

The ambulance arrived too late;
I guess she didn't want to wait.

• David and David, "Welcome to the Boomtown"

Under normal conditions (bed rest, conventional medical care, etc.) a mortal character will heal her Strength in Casual Damage points per day, and her Strength in Severe Damage points per month. Under normal conditions an Immortal character will heal her Strength in Casual Damage points per minute (thirty Turns), and her Strength in Severe Damage points per hour. Under less than optimum conditions, the time to heal may be two, three, or even four times as long as normal, at the GM's option. At no time will a character's total accrued Casual Damage points be less than the character's total accrued Severe Damage points, up to a maximum of ten points of Casual and/or Severe Damage.

An Immortal may accelerate her healing rate by focusing her will upon it. If she does nothing else during a Turn, she may expend one point of Psychic Reserve to heal each point of Casual Damage, or five points of Psychic Reserve to heal each point of Severe Damage. Healing a point of Severe Damage automatically heals one point of Casual Damage.

Under normal conditions, Psychic Reserve points are recovered at the rate of the character's Psyche every hour. If the Psychic has the Psychic Ability Auspice, each point the Psychic has in Auspice will add the Psyche Rank of the Psychic to the amount of Psychic Reserve she recovers each hour. If the Psychic has Rank 1 Auspice, she will recover twice her Psyche each hour in Psychic Reserve. If the Psychic has an Auspice of Rank 3, she will recover an amount of Psychic Reserve each hour equal to four times her Psyche.

Nanotherapy (the use of microscopic machines to repair damaged cells on a molecular level) can increase a mortal's rate of healing to STR in CDam per hour, and STR in SDam per day. Nanotherapy requires highly trained medical personnel and bulky equipment, and it costs from 5 to 10 times as much as conventional medical treatment. Nanotherapy is the only reliable way to repair damage to a mortal's central nervous system, cancer, or viral infestation. Nanotherapy is also used to facilitate the nervous system modifications necessary for the connection of a neural interface socket (see also: Computer Ability), and to speed the recovery of patients receiving cybernetic prostheses. Implantation of any neuroelectronic device without the use of nanotherapy requires from two to ten weeks of recovery time before the device is functional.

Nanotherapy can be used to prevent an Immortal's body from rejecting neuroelectronic implants, but this is prohibitively expensive. The nanotherapy must be applied at least once every two days, or the foreign material will be expelled from the Immortal's body.

Environment

The chess board is the world, the pieces are the phenomena of the universe, the rules of the game are what we call the laws of Nature.

• Thomas Henry Huxley, A Liberal Education

Objects

Objects have Severe Defense based upon their material composition and complexity. Normal objects can take ten points of structural damage before being destroyed, but the GM may decide that a fragile object may be destroyed after taking five or even fewer points of damage. Extremely tough objects, on the other hand, may take more than ten points of damage to destroy. "Destroying" an object does not cause the material of which it is composed to vanish into thin air, but the object will no longer function as it was intended.

Objects that contain volatile materials may explode or react violently if the object takes one-half of its damage potential. The size of the explosion is dependent upon the material and the GM's estimate of its reactivity.

Velocity

Be wise with speed;
A fool at forty is a fool indeed.

• Edward Young, Love of Fame

The relative velocity between a character and her target will affect the Task Roll necessary to hit the target. For most combat Task Rolls, the relative velocity is negligible, but when the attacker or the target is in a vehicle or falling the difference in their velocities must be taken into account.

Falling Velocity Table

** This is approximately the maximum free-fall velocity of a human being.

Velocity Task Modifier Table

Falling

Face to face with my demons
Tearing apart everything I've done
And I don't have a parachute

• Terri Nunn, "Moment of Truth"

Falling objects, including characters, accelerate toward the earth at the rate of approximately ten meters per second per second (9.81 m/s˛). An object falling moves closer to the earth, at the end of each Turn, its average velocity that Turn in meters per Turn. When a falling object strikes the ground, or some other solid surface, the object and the surface both take damage based upon the object's velocity. The damage taken and caused by a falling object is usually Casual Damage, but if either the object or the impacted surface are sharp or extremely hard the GM may declare the damage to be Severe Damage.

Velocity Conversion Table

Conversions between meters per second, meters per Turn, kilometers per hour, and miles per hour are fairly simple, but for fast reference this table may be used.

Using Equipment

Takes more than combat gear to make a man
Takes more than a license for a gun
Confront your enemies
Avoid them when you can
A gentleman will walk but never run

• Sting, "An Englishman in New York"

Size and Concealability

Most weapons and other equipment have a Size rating. The Size and concealability of a piece of equipment is shown in the equipment lists with an initial representing where it may be hidden.

Size is not the same thing as using the Disguise Ability to hide a weapon; the item will almost always be noticed on a pat-down search (Perception TMod +4), or its outline may be spotted visually by someone actively scrutinizing the person (Perception TMod +0). If the person carrying the item wants it to be harder to spot, she must use the Disguise Ability.

Cost

No one in this world, so far as I know . . . has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people.

• Henry Louis Mencken

The costs designated in the Equipment List are retail prices, and are subject to fluctuation. Weapons may be bought illegally (on the "black market") for anywhere from 150% to 300% of the listed cost. Black market weapons are not registered with the appropriate government agencies (of which there are several), and are more difficult to trace.

It shouldn't be necessary to keep track of every cent a character spends. Counting pennies is not much fun for most people, and it certainly isn't the central theme of a good role-playing game. A more practical method of keeping track of expenses is to role-play out the haggling or negotiation, with the player and GM both keeping a feel for the character's current financial well-being. The Game Moderator should adjudicate what expenses are within a character's means, vetoing or requiring special arrangements for purchases outside of the buyer's income bracket. Sometimes a good game may be built around performing a service to pay back a loan; the borrower rarely gets the better end of the deal in that circumstance.

Armor

Then appeared the iron king, crowned with his iron helm, with sleeves of iron mail on his arms, his broad breast protected by an iron byrnie, an iron lance in his left hand, his right free to grasp his unconquered sword.

• The Monk of St. Gall

Even Immortals know the value of having some defense against the ravages of modern weaponry. Bullets may not be able to kill an Immortal, but they hurt like hell. An Immortal who has been incapacitated by gunfire is an easy mark for the final cut. In most modern cultures, armor up to Rank 2 (ballistic mesh) is legal for private citizens to own and wear. Only law enforcement agencies licensed by the state or federal government are generally allowed to wear heavier grades of armor.

Armor has two relevant characteristics: its Coverage and its Rank. The Coverage of armor describes the location where it is effective against an attack, while its Rank is the amount of Severe Defense it provides the wearer. When a character is hit by an attack, the player must roll for each hit to determine whether the attack hits an area covered by the character's armor. If the player rolls within the armor's Coverage on a d10, then the attack hits the armor and the armor's Rank (as SDef) is subtracted from the damage the character takes.

Explosions may be applied against a character's average defenses rather than rolling for a specific location, as a normal attack would be. To find a character's average defense, simply add the defense of the armor in all ten Hit Locations and divide by ten (rounding up in the character's favor). Apply this average defense against explosions or attacks which evenly cover the victim, such as being doused in gasoline and set on fire.

(See also: Explosions)

Some types of armor negatively affect the wearer's Agility. If the Armor Type has an Agility Modifier, the Modifier is applied to the Agility of the wearer for any Task she attempts while wearing the armor, if the GM dictates that the armor is covering an area that would impede the character's ability to succeed at the attempted Task.

Agility modifiers for armor are only cumulative if multiple layers of armor are worn on the same location. Multiple layers of armor may be worn, in which case the Rank of layers is added together to determine Severe Defense. However, each additional layer after the first incurs an additional cumulative -3 AGL Modifier.

Armor Coverage Table

Armor Material Table

Melee Weapons

The sword is the axis of the world, and grandeur is indivisible.

• Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle, Le Fil de l'Épeé

For the first several thousand years of human civilization, military technology was mainly concerned with the art of more efficiently making and using bladed weapons. The shape of these weapons and the techniques used in wielding them saw tremendous changes over the centuries, as new developments were countered by advancements in armor. New types of armor demanded new weapons to combat them, continuing the cycle.

Of the various bladed weapons, such as axes, spears, and the like, swords are by far the most popular among Immortals. Even so, there is a great deal of difference among swords, depending on the time period in which the weapon was developed.

Early swords were used like heavy metal clubs, depending on brute strength more than skill. Breaking bones was the goal as much as cutting the target. During the Renaissance, when the use of armor declined, swords became lighter and thinner. This necessitated a change in fighting style, and the skill and speed of the sword wielder took precedence over the muscle mass driving the blade a medieval knight carried.

For all one-handed melee weapons, the weapon is +1 TMod when used with two hands. Two-handed weapons incur a -1 TMod when used one-handed. The character's Strength Statistic Rank is added to the Casual or Severe Damage listed for each weapon, and the Task Modifier listed for each weapon is incurred for every Task attempted with that weapon. If a weapon has a special TMod listed for a certain maneuver, that TMod is added to the standard TMod listed for the weapon when the wielder performs the specified maneuver, including Parries.

Ranged Weapons

Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.

• Mao Tse-tung

Although there is a strong tradition among Immortals to use bladed weapons, at least when fighting other Immortals, many younger Immortals are not unwilling to use any weapon which can swing the odds in their favor. Until the wound from a shotgun heals, it will impair even an excellent fencer. This tactic is frowned upon by all but the youngest Immortals, but its results are undeniable.

Ranged weapons fall into two basic categories: projectile weapons and energy weapons. Projectile weapons have changed very little in basic design in the past century, with most modifications being refinements of the design rather than innovations. Energy weapons include both lasers and plasma weapons. Laser weapons have only recently ceased being solely a fixture of space operas and popular science magazines. With recent innovations in power cell capacity and durability, laser weapons have finally become a viable part of the well-stocked arsenal. Plasma weapons are still largely experimental, but several production models have been introduced to the market. Both lasers and plasma weapons are more popular with individuals rather than with organizations, which tend to favor the proven reliability of projectile weapons.

Projectile weapons use a caseless chemical propellant to expel the projectile, which is assumed in the statistics below to be standard ball ammunition. Projectile rounds are held in a clip or magazine, which may be replaced in one Turn or reloaded with projectiles in one minute. Projectile weapons which are listed as doing the same amount of damage are assumed for game purposes to use the same size ammunition. Special-purpose projectiles may be used, which modify the amount of damage done by the weapon.

Laser weapons fire a coherent beam of light which cuts through and superheats the target, while plasma weapons fire a magnetically encapsulated pellet of superheated ionized gas which reacts violently upon reaching the target. Both laser weapons and plasma weapons require enormous amounts of energy; the Capacity listed below assumes that the weapon is fitted with a standard Pt-90 pack, which may be replaced with a fresh pack in one Turn, or which may be recharged in ten minutes from a standard electrical receptacle.

Pistols require one hand to fire, and have a +1 TMod if used two-handed. Sub-machineguns, rifles, and shotguns require two hands to fire, and incur a -1 TMod if used one-handed. Rocket launchers, grenade launchers, etc. require two hands to fire unless otherwise noted.

Shotguns are rifles that do the listed Damage at Short Range, 75% of the listed Damage (rounded up) at Medium Range, 50% (rounded up) at Long Range, and 25% (rounded up) at Extreme Range. However, shotguns are +0/+0/
-1/-3 TMod at Short, Medium, Long, and Extreme range, rather than the normal +0/-1/
-3/-5. Shotgun shells are less effective against armor (x2 Severe Defense against shotgun attacks), but specialty shotgun shells are available (including ball ammunition), in which case the shotgun is treated as a normal rifle for range and damage. The base damage for ball-type shotgun shells is the same as normal shotgun shells, but the shotgun does not have the damage and range modifiers it would have with normal shotgun shells. Specialty shotgun cartridges cost twice as much as the equivalent specialty rifle cartridges.

Range is given in meters. For all ranged weapons, Extreme Range is any distance beyond the listed Long Range.

Vehicles

I strip away the old debris
that hides a shining car.
A brilliant red Barchetta
from a better, vanished time.

• Rush, "Red Barchetta"

Inevitably, the characters will use vehicles. They may use them to run away from someone, pursue someone, or run over someone. Whatever the vehicle is used for, it is fairly simple to figure out how to use it in the game.

Vehicles have Stats, much as characters do. The most important Stat for a vehicle is its Movement (or MOV); without movement, a vehicle is just a big paperweight. The Movement of a vehicle defines how fast it can change speed. A vehicle can accelerate or decelerate up to its MOV in meters per Turn. Vehicles with a large MOV can start and stop quickly, while vehicles with a low MOV start and stop more slowly.

The second vehicle Stat is Maximum (or MAX). This value is defines how fast the vehicle can go under its own power, in inches per Turn. A vehicle can only go faster than its MAX if something is pushing it or it is falling.

Severe Defense works with vehicles the same way it works with characters. The vehicle's SDef is how many points of Severe Damage the vehicle can ignore before it takes damage. What takes damage is the vehicle's Structure (or Strc). Normal vehicles can take ten to fifteen points of structural damage before being destroyed, but the GM may decide that a fragile vehicle may be destroyed after taking five or even fewer points of damage. Extremely tough vehicles, on the other hand, may take more than fifteen points of damage to destroy. "Destroying" a vehicle does not cause the material of which it is composed to vanish into thin air, but the vehicle will no longer function as it was intended.

A moving vehicle which impacts another vehicle or a person causes damage to everything involved in the impact. Find the relative speed between the vehicle and the object it strikes, and both the vehicle and the object take damage according to the Impact Velocity Table. The impact usually causes Severe Damage.

Impact Velocity Table

Equipment Lists

Armor

Melee Weapons

Notes

Ranged Weapons