Player facing character options.

ALTERNATE STARTING GEAR

SUM TO 5 & all AVG quality best in show
3 FREE UBI/VCOM=0 revolver+knife+clothing
INCLUSIVE MAX 2 UBI WEAPONS
(example: club+knife+clothes or knife+clothes+charm or clothes+food+book)
ARMOR (max Rare, LT or MED)
RARE LT/MED=3 mesh vest
MED OTHER=2 flak jacket/plastic man
LIGHT OTHER=1 heavy leathers
WEAPONS (max Uncommon)
VCOM/COM=1 lasgun/3 frag grenades
UNCOM=2 great weapon/pulse rifle
STUFF
COM/UCOM=1 auspex/medkit/voidsuit
RARE=3 multikey

lasgun, heavy leathers, torch, knife, clothes, medkit, vacsuit, 3 stun grenades
lasgun, plastic man armor, com-bead, climbing kit, clothes, chrono, torch
unreliable grenade launcher, flail, shield, clothing, charm, torch
flak jacket, flak helmet, hand cannon, clothing, book, food
revolver, brass knuckles, clothing, auspex, combi-tool, magoculars, med-kit, void suit

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NON-LETHAL WEAPONS

From the core books the only options for non-lethal weapons are brawling in melee, needle guns loaded with tranquilizers, and webbers. You can get a bit more mileage through the sword schools and gun katas with options to add fatigue, stunning, not doing damage, and other effects. But there are very few overall physical tools for not murderously slaughtering your way through the local population. Here are some options.

EXPERIMENTAL = poor quality, adds the unreliable trait, cannot be improved in quality
INACCURATE = does not benefit from aiming
INDIRECT = lob it like a grenade or bounce it like a rubber ball, also inaccurate & does not benefit from weapon focus type abilities & feats
SNARE = DEX save vs the to-hit roll or be immobilized
CONE = dodge 5x DEX or ballistics in a cone with a base half as wide as it is long, also inaccurate
TOXIC(fatigue) = if the hit gets past armor then save CON vs 15 or gain a level of fatigue
TOXIC(normal) = if the attack does a wound then save CON vs 15 for take another wound to the gizzards
toxic weapons that use actual drugs & poisons can be switched back and forth by getting new toxins, the energy effect type weapons get the effect set when they're built and cannot usually be changed without an awful lot of tinkering and rebuilding
SHOCKING = on being hit save CON vs 15 or be stunned for one round

ORDINARY(basic & ranged 1)
glue bullet storm (attack everyone in a 30m cone with a five round burst of snare)
very rare experimental heavy gun: CONE nonlethal I p2 -/5 30m 5a 2f + snare + unreliable
primitive under barrel net launcher (a one-shot net tossing gun attachment)
common under-barrel mounted pistol: nonlethal I p0 s/- 30m 1a 2f + snare + indirect + reliable

FLAME (ranged 2)
electric arc blaster (minimum damage but really good range)
uncommon pistol: CONE 1k1 E p0 s/- 3a 60m + shocking
tangle rope shooter (stick it to everyone in a 20 meter cone, they only roll DEX vs the TN once)
rare rifle: CONE no damage I 20m 3a 1f + snare
neural neutralizer (everyone makes two CON saves vs being screwed)
rare rifle: CONE no damage E p0 20m 6a 1f + TN 15s toxic(fatigue) & shocking

"Exotic"(ranged 1)
smart-rocket stun-grenade launcher (pick someone within 30m, if they fail to dodge they have to make 2 CON saves)
very rare launcher pistol: dodge TN 15 nonlethal X 30m s/- 1a 1f + shocking + toxic(fatigue) + unreliable + blast(5)
gravity concussion cannon (see those guys over there? **** them all with suppressing fire)
rare heavy launcher: 1k1 p2 -/10 X 60m 20a 2f + recharge + blast(5) + shocking + motion predict(+1k0 to hit)
compressed-air glue rifle (its a full-auto glue rifle, what do ya want?)
uncommon exotic rifle: nonlethal I 40m s/3 12a 2f + recharge + snare
holdout taser (+10 TN for people searching you for it, just a bit short ranged)
common exotic pistol: nonlethal p0 E 5m s/- 6a 1f + compact + shocking + toxic(fatigue)
sonic pulse pistol (they get two CON saves against each stun, but it fires six shots)
rare experimental launcher pistol: CON vs TN 15 nonlethal X p0 s/6 5m 6a 1f + shocking + blast(5)

Melee weapons
shock glove (a minimum damage punching enhancement)
very common unarmed melee 1k0 I p0 + shocking
lightning buckler (offense and defense in one package)
uncommon syrnth melee 0k0(1d10-1) E p3 + shocking + flexible + defensive(-1k0 attack & +2k0 parry)
exotic particle knife (9/10 times it does a wound and forces a CON save)
uncommon syrnth melee 0k0(1d10-1) X p6 + toxic(normal) + tearing + razor sharp(if hit by > 10 points its pen-12)

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CONTACTS LIST & PLACE/GOAL LIST - for general use when they are not otherwise defined.

CONATCTS & MENTORS & ALLIES - loyal, safe, helpful, never screw with or hurt you, & have general plot semi-immunity

Contact Ranks
1 @ Butler, Janitor, Pest Exterminator, Secretary, Sargent
2 @ Apprentice, Initiate, Clerk, Policeman, Lieutenant, Scientist
3 @ Mage, Cleric, Member At Large, Major, Lead Engineer, Head Doctor
4 @ Troubleshooter, Spy, Chief Clerk, Judge, Colonel, CEO
5 @ High Sorcerer, Archbishop, General, Grand Chancellor, Mega-Corp CEO

Availability x Access x Response Time @ 1s + (1.5 x rating)
Availability: one sphere or place -> most crystal spheres nearby -> nearly everywhere & almost anytime
Access: private but unprotected data or common stuff-> very rare gear & discreet semi-legal services -> state secrets & major resources
Response Time: in about two weeks -> in a week -> today

Contact Examples:
1 = 1,2,1 = Traveling Pest Exterminator, Several secure areas at night, Week after next
= 1,1,2 = Planetary President's Butler, Can put in a good word for you, Has some time for you in 10 days
2 = 2,3,1 = Astral Space Station Traffic Clerk, Confidential documents at their job, In about 12-14 days
= 4,1,1 = Infoweb Backdoor Access, You can post questions on all illegal networks, Takes 2 weeks to get replies
3 = 1,3,3 = Head doctor of a research institute, Very rare lab stuff & access & connections, 5-7 day delivery
= 2,4,1 = Cocaine Wizard Chapter Head, Has the good stuff and apprentices, Busy schedule will call back 'soon'
4 = 4,3,2 = Elven Imperial Navy Task Force Commander, Won't seriously risk his ships, Be there by next week
= 1,4,4 = Crystal Sphere Navy Rear-Admiral, Has battleships patrolling the sphere, Ship will arrive in 2-4 days
5 = 2,5,3 = Lucifer Insurance Sub-Sector CEO, Make/fake a contract, Will return your phone call by Friday
= 4,1,5 = ComStar Lord High Dispatcher, Will change message priority, As soon as a message gets to her

Ally Exalt Power Levels
1 @ L1 & 4/5 free availability
2 @ L2 & 3/5 free availability
3 @ L3 & 2/5 free availability
4 @ L4 & 1/5 free availability
5 @ L5 & 0/5 free availability

Availability:
Free availability is no strings attached, short of whatever happens triggering a Hunted or Enemy for them.
Un-free indicates that there is either a significant time pressure, they need your help for something, or one of their Enemy/Hunted type problems will crop up.
Roll 1d10 if can't come up with anything.
1-3: The time to contact them and for them to arrive is long enough to maybe make it hard for them to get to you in time to help unless you can significantly assist them in getting to you in some way. They will get there, just not a soon as you'd like.
4-6: They have something they absolutely have to do and they need to leave really soon, like soon soon. Unless you can do something to help them get there much faster or make it so they don't need to go.
7: They can help, but they need your help in return.
8-0: Trigger one of their Enemy/Hunted type problems.

Ally Examples
1: hyper drug-addled fur ball of rage and mad tech skills (level 1 character stub)
halfling werewolf illusionist technophile : intolerance(luddites & primitives) & enemy(halfling mafia) & hunted(drug cartel) & a nuisance drug addiction & looks like a stung out druggie
2: Wild Hunt Enforcer (level 2 NPC)
werewolf were-law enforcement : gets missions to capture or kill rogue werewolves & expected not to break too many local laws & grim servant of death & enemy(the psycho were-shark that got away)
3: ugly bounty hunter of criminals with a flamethrower
kobold daemonhost (ovate-savage-constable build +xp) : impulsive & intolerance(criminal types) & law of the stars(scrupulous) & tendency towards collateral damage when raging
4: commodore of the fleet
chosen of khorne (merc->commodore +xp) : law of stars(principled) & enemy(chosen of tzeench) & high falutin' & vengeful & belongs to a military that might be on maneuvers or fighting
5: Adult Dragon
a powerful dragon member-at-(very)large of the dragon council : enemy(another dragon) & enemy faction(bahamut or tiamat cults) & spy network(contacts & mentor) & dragonfire adept commandos(followers) & impulsive young dragon agents that need babysitting

Mentors

Mentors are a combination of contact plus ally. The relationship is not quite the quid pro quo of a contact and not quite like the relationship of equals with an ally. You are sort of like the lower power contact/ally that gets called on for stuff. They are always level 4 or 5 NPCs (examples like Ally at +1 or +2), can be expected to call you every 4-5 sessions, and always have rivals & enemies. On the plus side they also generally have a lot of skill, power, resources, and prestige they can bring to bear on problems. Like you would help an ally that you called in for a favor they'll be able to help you out if they need something from you. Rescuing you is a thing they are probably able to do. They can often provide gear, information, training, and helpful warm bodies or at least point you to someone who can and put in a good word for you.

Example Mentor: MENTOR-3 (Nibenay, an ex-Athasian Sorcerer-King, no gnomes). This chap is a recent escapee from the Athas crystal sphere from shortly before it was swallowed up by the Great Warp Rift. While his personal magical power is quite significant and he has a number of strong & loyal followers he does not yet have a widespread network of allies, contacts, or spies. He uses defiling life-force draining magic instead of Warp base magic, has some sort of long term immortality plan that does not involve becoming a lich, and is currently looking for a permanent home with a population to rule. As a relative newcomer to the power politics scene he has yet to make any significant enemies.

Level 5 master sorcerer base, availability: medium, access: middling, response time: fast for information and advice but slow for physical intervention. Notable traits: secretive, hates gnomes, all female templars (warrior-mages). Notable abilities: scrying, teleportation, telekinesis, telepathy, weather control, summoning. Resources: super-loyal warrior-mages, soldier & priest followers, great arcana & forbidden lore, magical secrets.

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NIBENAY human(mixed squat)+dragonblood(4-air[rp= +8 def] & unnatural exaltation = ritual to increase power stat then another mass slaughter ritual to go full permanent dragon) & size 6, bard1/sorcerer2-5, fast sand sturdy educated, degenerations: skin affliction + dark heart + paranoia + obsession(dragon magic) (FEL = 0 & COMP max 3 & -2k0 social during paranoia attack), HUNTED dragon council but quietly.
INT WIL CHA 5, WIS CON 4, DEX 3, CMP STR 2, FEL 0, LEVEL 5, SIZE 5, INIT +5
5 academic arcana forbidden politic, 4 scrutiny command intimidate, 3 common percept brawl, 2 weap deceive persuade, 1 craft ball medic.
size 5, fatigue 5, hp 18, resil 7(8), ap 8 scales (10 PA), aura 4, def 21(15), dodge 3k3, spd 6/42(6/36) & fly 12, mdef 15, rsv 7, rp 13 @ sleep/big meal, hero 3, claw 8k3 @ 3k2 R p0 +1k0 parry, breath @ 1rp = 3k2 E p4 10m*5m cone dodge 15 & fire 15 & +1rp = +2p & 20m*10m cone, power fist built into armor 8k3 @ 5k3 I p4 POWER, 1 rp = -2 energy wounds, tell 2+ = opponents -4 melee atk & parry, tell 4+ fear(1) 20m, tell 6+ fear(4) local area, optional extra light ($MR anti-grav weight reduction & 1/2 fall distance) power armor w/ built in power fist on CALL ITEM.
luck(1/day reroll), JOAT(all skills basic), peer(templars), melee2, danger sense(no surprise), languages(6), SF(TRANS[+5]), GSF(DIV[+10]), strong mind(1/scene reroll will vs spell), DEFILING, SF(academic+forbidden), great spell pen(-10 saves), mental fortress(auto-fool mind reading), spell master(reroll casts of AURA spell), archmage(hero = free recast next turn @ same result), decadence(drugs/booze no effect), fearless(cool), true grit(halve crit wounds round up), aura=8 to sont on ABJ spell cast, pen 4 AURA with evoke spell damage, *after full CONJ spell next turn full conj spell = half action, squat ap prof & none tougher.
ABJ-3[8k5+4[44] & aura 8 SONT]: aura endureElement globeInvuln. CONJ-4[9k5+4[48] & wizTrad*]: callItem blink greaterSumm* teleport*. DIV-5[9k4+4[39] & +10 raised & -10 save]: detectThoughts luck legendLore foresee scry commune mindNet. ENCH-3[8k5+4[44] & -10 save]: shock&awe stun awe. EVOK-4[9k5+4[46] & -10 save & pen 4 aura]: batteringRam defenestrate lightningRing telekinesis. ILL-2[7k5+4[41]]: disguise invis. TRANS-4[8k4+4[39] @ +5 raised]: swiftChange animalPower(free reroll) embodySpirit transformation weatherControl.
COMBO SPELLS: #1 call item(free action no-combo) + swift change + shock + awe (VS ench self Full 7k4+4(defile 5 dice = 10k5+4 93%) v 35: summon & swap into armor + notSelf in 20m get -5 init + notSelf in 30m COMP v stun spell). #2 stun + greater summon + battering ram (VSM conj* Full 8k5+4(defile 4 dice = 10k6+4 90%) v 40: 1 target 30m STR v 2m+2m/check pull & if pull > speed fall prone + 1 target 10m COMP v Stun & -1 half action per check + summon 8k4 beast adjacent). #3 lightning ring + transform(VSM trans/evok Full self scene 8k4+4(defile 4 dice = 10k5+4 80%) v 40: lizardy wolf/bat form +2dex -1size [+8 def] 2xquad/flight speed + melee dmg aura @ end turn 5+raisesK2 & half act shoot 40m 5k3 bolt atk_or_dex_save & -1k0 aura dmg).
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FACTIONS - to which contacts & allies belong and may be sources of backing

Planetary or Crystal Sphere Government or Military (a bit limited but nominally the absolute power in it's sphere)
Cult of a Major Deity or Alignment (options include the alignment sub-groups in Book 2)
Sigil Council Faction (so much infighting that they don't get off Sigil much, but amazing information collecting ability, can get pretty much anything and can (eventually) send stuff nearly anywhere)
Werewolf or Vampire Clan (needs a clan/tribe asset)
Great Wheel Order of Trade & Tariffs (has investigators & agents more than trouble shooters, needs some social & analytical skills)
Commorragha Cabal (the self-governing socio-economic paramilitaries/city-states of the Webway, 75% dark eldarin & slavery is common)
Elven Imperial Navy (a self sustaining elf-only space navy & protection racket)
Imperial Legions of Humanitas (the human home-worlds racial purity empire military)
Interworld Mercenary Bonding Authority (a type of heavily armed insurance company)
Assassins Guild (an official affiliate of the IMBA)
Hammer's Slammers (a successful, respectable, and expensive mercenary company with below average bonding costs)
Dragon/Vampire/Druid Council(s) (multi-sphere powerful people cooperation councils (like little racist U.N.s))
Aztecnology (a Vampire Council backed mega-corporation for magitech stuff)
Wild Hunt (werewolf multi-tribe lycan unwritten-law enforcement & unbonded mercenary organization)
Lord Dragon (any of the assorted leaders on the Dragon Council)
Eldarin World-Ship Fleet (95% eldarin, a fleet is typically 3-7 world-ships plus twice that many battleships plus three times that many support ships)
Cocaine Wizards Guild (drugs plus magic, requires casting to advance beyond the lowest ranks)
Inquisition L.L.C. (a magic user testing & apostate hunting limited liability corporation)
Mind Flayer Diplomatic Mission (a massive public relations enterprise)
Lucifer Insurance Company (like Lloyds of London but the payout doesn't have to be money and there's no upper limit)
Halfling Mafia Family (really only about 70% halflings but non-halfling Dons are pretty rare)
Domigo Pete's Pizzeria & Spaghetti House (a massive universal restaurant chain & halfling mafia front)
ComStar, AKA Communication System for Astropathic Relations & Universal Banking (also has mecha bill collecting battalions)
Infoweb (semi-secret computer hacker & technophile network piggy-backed on all major digital information services)
Space Pirates of Infinity (an extremely loose & messy co-op style group for piracy & smuggling, often not taken seriously due to a lack of effective organization and a really stupid tribble mascot)

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CYBER-YETI JUICER BODYGUARD

Very Rare monthly WEALTH test or a HOLDINGS 2[3 w/Power Fist](may not be supported with FOLLOWERS) or a ALLY 1[2 w/Power Fist] & Uncommon (twice per month or call) WEALTH test for drugs.

STR 5(r1 on pull someone from danger), CON 4(+2k0 vs inhaled), WIS & WILL 3s, ELSE 2, LEVEL 2, INIT +5

brawling 5k3, perception 5k3(9k3 hearing), athletic 5k3(NO SWIM & +1k0 lift/push/grasp), stealth 4k2, ballistic 3k1 (use full-auto), medicae 4k3, intimidate 5k2, scrutiny 4k2, YETI don't have vocal chords, languages: yeti sign/clap/snap & trade sign & hear+R/W trade

WEALTH 2, BACKING 1(Assassins Guild or Lucifer Insurance Company), CONTACT 2(other yeti juicer bodyguards & an employment service)

Active Stuff: Danger Sense (never surprised), GUARDIAN (parry a melee attack aimed at another & take the hit if the parry fails), Sturdy, Power Attack (-2k0 to hit & +2k0 to dmg), Weapon Prof(Basic), Armor Prof(Light), Jaded(immune to normal fear), Blind Fighting, Furious Assault (on hit & wound with an All Out Attack then repeat the attack once), Cyber Arms, Cyber Legs, Injector Rig (HALF ACTION & 1 each Detox Slaught Stimm), Machinator Array, Bionic Respiratory System, Augmented Cyber-Ears.

Gear: Leather Vest, Com-Bead, 3x Detox (end drug effects & reduce withdrawal by 1), 3x Slaught (Rare), 4x Stimm, 2x Autopistol (FAB 5k2 @ 2k2 I p0 30m -/6 12a 1f), Brawling weapon [good cestus OR standard Power Fist], fanny pack, cheap book (mystery or spy novel), text & sign-language-to-speech Data-Slate.

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DARK GIBBERLINGS (a vampire HOLDINGS option)

Individuals (weak): STR DEX CON 2s, ELSE 1s, LEVEL 1, INIT +3
Absorb 3m light from radio/micro up through IR, visible, & UV. DARKSIGHT, Fast
brawling 2k1, perception w/cyber 1k1, athletic 3k2, Blind Fighting, Special Trance (2 days inert at full perception & instant snap out of it OR 2 weeks at no perception with 1 minute to wake up, plus they need a meal after that before repeating it).

Minion Squads: Up to 20 DG per squad at 10 DG per control unit, quality 2, threat 1. Absorb 3m radius + 1m/additional DG in the radius. Absorb radius @20= 22m, @16= 18m, @12= 14m, @8= 10m, @4= 6m, @1=3m

HOLDINGS & WEALTH or BACKING plus FOLLOWERS: Holding 1 for 1 pod at Wealth 1 + Followers 1, Holding 3 at Wealth 2 + Followers 1, Holding 4 at Wealth 2 + Followers 2 or Wealth 3 + Followers 1, Holding 5 at Wealth 4 + Followers 1 or Wealth 3 + Followers 2.

For vampires with the backgrounds BACKING(Vampire Council) or CONTACT(Ventrue) dark gibberlings are a HOLDINGS background requiring FOLLOWERS + WEALTH/BACKING equal to the HOLDINGS, with a minimums of 1 dot in FOLLOWERS & half the rest of the dots (minimum 1 dot) as WEALTH or BACKING. Each HOLDINGS dot is a set of fast-grow cloning pods with poor quality cyber eyes & ears & data-jack automated installation during clone growth. This results in a 3 minions every 2 weeks (give or take a day & they die in about 6 weeks though from clone cancer & organ failure), giving a constant effective 8 minion, 2 quality, 1 threat, minion squad assuming no combat losses. Stats for 1 squad of 8: 8k2 rolls, dmg 5+5/raise, absorb light radius @8= 10m, @4= 6m, @1=3m. They require 1 controller per 10 minions & can be combined into a maximum size 20 minion squad (20=10k7, 18=10k6, 16=10k5, 14=10k4, 12=10k3, 10=10k2). The unit comes with 1 master controller and 1/HOLDING dot sub-controller. Controllers are magical(divination) OR sonic(choose ultra-sonic or sub-sonic or musical code) OR x-ray (like radio but more powerful, choose broadcast or wide beam or narrow beam). There is NO requirement of magical ability or technical training to use any of the controllers. They pretty much work like a T.V. remote control. Controllers are designed to look like jewelry, a fancy watch, or various consumer electronics. The form can be changed with Tech-Use + intelligence & Craft + Wisdom rolls of TN 15 & 2 hours per controller, assuming appropriate supplies & tools are available. It is typically a TN 20 test (defaults to Tech-Use + Wisdom) to identify it as a controller for something from casual inspection, TN 15 from a basic auspex or security scanning, and TN 10 with a specialized bug/transmitter scanner.

The IFF (Identify Friend or Foe) function works via a sensory editor to make the primary vampire & anyone else loaded into the memory of the cyber-eyes & cyber-ears to look & sound like other gibberlings or just not be there. The primary vampire is hardwired into the gear and cannot be mistaken short of disguises or significant body alterations (like both arms & a leg or a total melted-off face rebuild). Data is uploaded on an individual basis through the data-jack from a computer (built into the cloning pods) or MIU (with a Tech-Use vs TN 15 test). The remote toggles between the gibberlings seeing & hearing:
#1 nobody/nothing that isn't effectively terrain,
#2 the uploaded people scans are edited out of the gibberling's perceptions,
#3 everyone/everything that isn't static objects or terrain is seen as gibberlings,
#4 the uploaded people scans are seen as other gibberlings,
#5 no editing of the gibberling's perceptions except for the primary vampire who is not perceived.
(#1 & #3 and #2 & #4 are usually identical in function except that occasionally with #2 & #4 a gibberling might try to pick lice off someone)

Gibberlings automatically frenzy attack anything people/animal/insect/robot that isn't another gibberling. The master control can get all linked gibberlings or any clump assigned to one sub-controller. Sub-controllers can only control their 10 gibberlings. Remote IFF updating is available as a master controller add-on, but it is not suggested as the data transfer rate is crap and takes over an hour per person (more if there is interference). The IFF image data is generated with regular high-resolution full body audio-visual auspex scans & either custom software (built into & included with he cloning pod unit) or converted with a TN 20 Tech-Use and a computer (TN 25 if you try to use a Data-Slate). Scanning, data generation, conversion, and uploading only takes about 15 minutes per person if everything is already set up (as it is with the cloning pod unit). Control units of the same type will not interfere with each other unless someone has hacked & altered them.

There are a couple of other functions to control the gibberlings by making them see & hear stuff. A control unit can signal it's gibberlings to follow it or come to it by making them think they hear other gibberlings 'calling'. You can make the gibberlings stay in one spot, though they'll typically curl up and go to sleep there in a couple minutes (see the special trance ability). There's a "come over here for food" function. There is a "deep sleep" function that can put them in a trance for a couple days or up to two weeks, but it takes about 5 minutes for them to fully settle down and they'll claw a little burrow into any loose gravel or upholstered furniture in the room. If they're fighting and you need to call them off there's a slightly risky command that will cause them to see everything as other gibberlings but put an big image of a bacon-person standing next to the controller, plus there's some chittering & gibberling sounds they'll hear to trigger an specific type of fight response. That will make them break off their current targets, run over next to the controller, and generally attack empty space for a few seconds. But if they bump into anyone on the way they'll take a swipe as they rush past and anyone standing where the image is (this is the risky bit as the image only exists in the gibberling's own vision) will be piranha swarmed until they're eaten to the bones.

Special Trance: Up to 2 days inert at full perception and may instantly snap out of it. Up to 2 weeks at no perception and taking 1 minute per tranced day snap out of it, unless you're shining a bright light at them then it's half that amount of time. They need a meal and a normal rest after trancing before repeating the trance if they were under for more than a day.

Note: Any meat-like thing the gibberlings eat (they'll try to eat anything organic and often nibble everything else to see if it can be food) will have it's bones/carapace stacked in a neat little pyramid pile with the skull on top. They eat each other too, but their "bones" are actually a cartilage type thing so they don't leave anything to stack. They apparently have an infinite ability to eat, even if they are given unlimited food for months they will never stop eating and never gain weight or defecate. We figure its just some sort of weird magic effect.

Replacement Rate: The DG background is defined in such a way that you can just start with a number of 8 "man" squads equal to the background, and replace combat losses at the following rate: 1 HOLDING dot = 3 every 2 weeks, 2 HOLDING dots = 3 a week, 3 HOLDING dots = 4 a week, 4 HOLDING dots = 6 a week, 5 HOLDING dots = 8 a week. You can keep the dark gibberlings about half grown in the cloning tanks for around 3 months, no worries since they die in about 6 weeks. Don't worry too much about the extras or corpses, just dump them into the grinder hopper on the back of the cloning unit and throw in some extra sewage or compost. That's all assuming you want to keep a regular replacement schedule going to replace the ones that keel over at random. You can screw with your cloning schedule all you like but you'll have to keep track of which clone pods are at which point in the process, how many of your current DGs are up and healthy, and when they'll kick the bucket from 'natural causes' (34+1d10 days lifespan per DG). Technically you have from 6 to 12 per 3 cloning pods at any one time and the actual average per 3 cloning pods is 8.25, the 10 day floating [max : min : average] is [9.3 : 6.6 : 8.25] (math and simulations were done).

These rules are not intended as strict, unalterable, inflexible, absolutes. They form the basis and general ground rules for adjudicating Dark Gibberling minion squads. Things that fit within the theme and scope of these rules are good to go. It is not expected that the player will constantly reference and track the exact replacement rate of minions or the precise control device options. Simply declaring that the minions group up at one spot, go to sleep for a while, or start attacking everything that isn't uploaded as an ally, those are all just fine.

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DEFILING

Defiling is old hat on Athas but new to the rest of the universe. It's the process of opting to draw magical power from surrounding life-forces rather than from the Warp. Trick is, it's kind of a life changing, or rather soul altering, decision to go all in on it. People who have been to Athas or encountered and studied defiling magic can, if they are untested apostates, emulate it when pushing spells by making an Arcana + Magic School test versus the Focus Power TN of the spell. It should be noted that using defiling magic is an easy way to lose friends and gain enemies. Once a person takes the Tested feat they can no longer use defiling style magic outside of Athas. Unless...

If a character has MENTOR-3 (Nibenay, an ex-Athasian Sorcerer-King) then they make take the version Defiling version of the Tested feat. This replaces all rolls for Perils of the Warp with the following rules:
[Note: "die" refers to pushed dice and kept exploded dice]

0) The radius of the effect is 5m per die and radiated out from the spell caster. The TN of any rolls is 5 + 5 per die. Critical hits count as energy typed magical damage and go to the gizzards, bypassing all armor, aura, resistances, immunities, and these wounds cannot be regenerated by living creatures. Defilers may push up to 5 dice.

1) Within the radius all living sessile plants wilt, wither, rot, die, and are otherwise ruined forever. The ground becomes barren and will no longer provide sufficient nutrients to grow and plant life more significant than mold or lichen. In addition, about 80% of all exposed bacteria and other single celled creatures die (for example: a person's gut bacteria are not considered exposed).

2) Within the radius all other plants and non-sapient animals gain 1 level of Fatigue and take 2 Wounds per die. Modrons do not qualify for this effect, living vehicles without A.I.s are affected but they take 1 wound per die.

3) If sapient living creatures are present in the radius they gain 1 level of Fatigue and take 1 Wound per die. They may* test Level + Constitution vs the TN to convert the Wounds into Insanity Points at a rate of 1 Wound to 2 Insanity. If they take critical damage they also lose Sanity equal to twice the amount of critical damage that they take. Modrons do not qualify for this effect, living vehicles with A.I.s take the hit point damage.

4) If non-living sapient creatures are present in the radius they gain 1 level of Fatigue and 1 point of Insanity per die. Modrons, berserker A.I.s, and basic 'expert system' type A.I.s do not qualify for this effect.

5) If there are no sapient creatures within the radius and not enough animals are harmed by the defiling damage then the spell caster takes the appropriate damage and must make a Level + Magic School check vs the TN+5 or gain a permanent Degeneration.

6) Depending on the spell caster's alignment they may need to make an Alignment check as well**.

Note: For more precision on the level of "sufficient" creatures in the defiling area a general rule of thumb is; a number of animals/plant-creatures equal to the spells' level plus the number of pushed or exploded dice, or a single animal of a level equal to or greater than the spells' level and with sufficient hit points when alive (assuming a normal specimen) to potentially survive the required damage (eg: a a 4 die -> 8 wound defiling from a level 2 spell would require a 2nd level 4 HP creature because it could theoretically survive a Crit-4 effect).

QUICK & DIRTY VERSION
1) regular plants die in 5m per die
2) animals & plant-creatures in the area take 2 wounds per die
3) living people in the area take 1 fatigue plus 1 wound per die & Level+CON save to convert wounds to insanity points at 1:2, crit damage adds 1 insanity per crit level
4) unliving people take 1 fatigue plus 1 insanity point per die
5) if 2, 3, & 4 don't get enough victims the caster gets it and checks Level+Magic or take a degeneration

* Normal adult human-type people have 4 or 5 wounds and more than 80 sanity. As uninteresting & nameless NPCs they are typically considered bleeding out or simply dead at zero wounds. For them the 10% to 30% chance to gain 8 points of insanity is much more attractive than dying.

** Typically the totally unaligned and worshippers of Lolth(7), OmniMessiah(6), Sigmar(5), Malal, or followers of the ideals of Chaos Undivided, are going to be the people who do not make Alignment tests when screwing around with defiling. Of course it gets harder to qualify for Alignment tests as your Devotion score goes down, the number in parentheses after an Alignment is the level of Devotion below which you can stop making Alignment checks for using defiling magic.

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GENERIC VETERAN DRAWBACK

This is used when a character doesn't have any backstory or hunted/intolerance/backing type assets or hinderances to base anything off of.

The VETERAN asset adds 1 stat & 1 skill, sum the dots of the stat & skill:
3-5: -1k0 with faction members _OR_ a minor mostly cosmetic mutation
6-7: -1k0 with faction members & [dice don't explode on a skill _OR_ a permanent random phobia]
8: -1k0 with faction members & [dice don't explode on a attribute _OR_ permanent poor quality cybernetic]
9: -2k0 with faction members _OR_ half dice on a serious roll type (ex: pinning, fear checks, con saves, addiction, etc.)
10+: a permanent phobia or mild mental disorder plus #8 from above

All drawbacks must be active in play, no -2k0 with a faction on Sigil if your game is set totally in Commorragha, no auto-failing Charm skill checks for a Fellowship 1 Promethian. Pick a faction one of the other PCs has backing & Peer with, have at least 4 dice for a half dice or auto-fail choice, a phobia or derangement trigger should go off about every other session, no optional use or straight boost poor quality cybernetics like MIUs, voidskins, machinator arrays, or injector rigs.

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THE GREAT WARP RIFT

The GWR on the crystal sphere map indicates a region of the Astral Sea where the Warp intrudes into normal space, or maybe that area of the Astral Sea is slipping into the Warp, its the same difference either way. This has two effects: First, spelljamming through the Warp in this region is slowed down to sub-light speeds instead of its usual "get there in less than two decades" Warp speed, this makes it take about 8-16 years to cross the Rift at Astral Sea speeds with time for a whole host of random Warp encounters. Second, stuff can enter and exit the Warp without needing a Syrnth Warp gate, spelljamming helm, or other devices. Happily, most Warp entities don't have unlimited patience and reactionless space drives to get anywhere if they stumble out into the Astral Sea.

There are some reasonably stable charted passages of normal space through the GWR. Spelljamming through the Warp through those passages works as normal, although it is slightly more tricky navigating and plotting the course then through the usual vast empty reaches of the Astral Sea. This is a little insane, but that's Warp travel for you. Since the crystal spheres on the other side are almost exclusively Eldarin, sealed, or contain some form of death-world they aren't actually used all that much except by regular patrols from the nearest Eldarin spheres and some traders. But if you need to go from one side of the GWR to the other it's faster to beg, buy, borrow, or steal the latest navigation data from some Eldarin or someone and go through one of those passages than to quintuple the distance you're traveling by going around the GWR.

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REACTIONS & OPPORTUNITY ATTACKS

IMPORTANT: The default reactions in the combat section of the book are not the only possible reactions a character can take.

Reactions are simple, single things that can be done quickly. The default reactions are: dodge, parry, and a few spells. The player decides what to react to and what to do. Diving for cover (fling yourself half your speed in meters to end up face-down on the floor basically taking a moving dodge in exchange for ending up prone), falling over, dropping something, most free actions, taking a grenade blast for the person next to you, and extra opportunity attacks are all things that can be done as a reaction. For example; if a character has quickdraw and an easily accessible one-handed melee weapon then you could use your Reaction Action to draw the weapon as a reaction to something happening. Of course you have to perceive something happening in order to react to it and it should generally be something nearby and that you are involved in. Any possible movement is typically limited to about half your speed.

As usual, everyone starts with one reaction as long as they aren't surprised and are aware of something to react to. Exalts can spend Resource Points to get additional reactions. If a reaction is meant to avert tragedy or harm it happens simultaneously with the triggering event, most often with half of the result of a test added to some characteristic (like a dodge or parry does) or with a target number set by the opposing action (like with the Dispel spell).

The wording of the Opportunity Attack action on page 247 of the main book is interpreted thus: "a special free action that you can use once per turn, during any character's turn" means that you can take an opportunity attack once per creature's turn. For example; if 20 zombies (defense 11, resilience 4, hp 4) try to shamble past a chain-axe wielding myrmidon (4k4 power attack & 7k3 damage) there's about a .99 hit rate x .98 16+ damage rate = 97% chance that each one will be destroyed by an opportunity attack (thus 74% that 10 or more are destroyed & 54% that all 20 are destroyed). If something takes more than one opportunity attack provoking action then if you have a Reaction Action available (or spend a Resource Point to get another one) you can take multiple opportunity attacks.

Example: A Sabbat Prince (third level vampire NPC, book 1, page 340) who is in melee uses three Resource points to have 5 half actions on its turn. If those actions are used to stand up from prone, ready a weapon, make an attack, reload, and then move away; four of those actions provoke opportunity attacks. A character in that melee may take their free opportunity attack when the vampire stands up, use a reaction to get another opportunity attack when it pulls out a gun, and then have the opportunity to spend resource points to gain additional Reaction Actions to use for more opportunity attacks when the vampire reloads and tries to casually wslk away.