Fanbook - Unisystem Star Frontiers
Fanbook - Unisystem Star Frontiers
Fanbook - Unisystem Star Frontiers
Carella
Playtesting - Jenifer Denton, Destiny Hacker, R.J. Hacker, Richard Harrison, and Emmett Stephens.
Introduction
The Star Frontiers Unisystem Conversion Project was something I have wanted to do for a while
now. My first roleplaying experience was with the original Star Frontiers game way back in 1987.
My friend Tim Darnell and I spent most of the summer playing this game, which eventually
expanded beyond the Star Frontiers universe and exposed me to an extensive range of colorful
characters and planet-hopping fun.
As a fan of the game, I later began collecting books and modules for Star Frontiers. To my
surprise, after a few years I had collected about all of what was available. In 1999, Tim Darnell,
the Game Master that introduced me to gaming, passed away. At that time, I knew that I wanted
to do something to pay tribute our friendship but my plan was unclear.
In 2001, I read a review for a game called All Flesh Must Be Eaten on the Guild Companion
Website. In the review, Randy Campbell talked about the scenario he ran for his players and after
I read it, I wanted to get the game. It reminded me of the enthusiasm I had in my Star Frontiers
game in the past. Once I purchased the game and began to appreciate the rules, I knew the
Unisystem would be ideal for a Star Frontiers game.
Those wanting to use these rules need to own Terra Primate EDN8100 or Witchcraft EDN4000 and
modify The Sight powers for Psions.
Character Types
Heroic
Powered
Attributes
+1 to Strength (1)
+1 to Constitution (1)
-1 to Dexterity (-1)
Qualities
Acute Senses (Smell) (2)
Contacts (Other Dralasites) (2)
Hard to Kill (2)
Drawbacks
Clown (-1)
Impared Senses (Color Blind) (-1)
Skills
Questioning (Lie Detection) (1)
Powers
Elasticity (2)
New Skill
Questioning (Lie Detection) - All Dralasite characters receive one level of this modified version of
the questioning skill that allows them to realize when someone is lying to them. The Dralasite must
be communicating face to face with the character, and the Dralasite’s player must tell the referee
he is trying to detect a lie. A player may improve this modified skill by spending experience points.
New Power
Elasticity - A Dralasite’s skin is stretchable and supported by a complex muscle structure. This
allows them to change the shape of their bodies, within limits. They can “grow” arms and legs to
use for walking and handling tools and weapons, and reabsorb limbs when they are not needed.
A Dralasite can have a number of limbs equal to its Dexterity plus 2. The player must decide
whether a limb is an arm or a leg when it is grown. For example, a Dralasite with a Dexterity score
of 3 can control up to 5 limbs. It could have three legs and two arms, two legs and one arm, no
legs and five arms, or any other combination adding up to five or fewer.
Growing or absorbing a limb takes five minutes. During those five minutes, only one limb can be
grown. A limb can be up to 3 feet long and no less than 4 inches thick. “Fingers” for handling items
can be up to 4 inches long and no less than 3/8 inch thick.
Even though a Dralasite can have many arms, it cannot fire more than two weapons at once. When
a Dralasite player creates limbs, he must specify one as the dominant limb, the same way a Human
must choose to be either right or left handed. In addition, despite a Dralasite’s stretching and
shrinking, the pattern of veins and ridges on its skin does not change, so they have a permanent
“fingerprint” for identification.
Vrusk (8 point Racial Quality)
Attributes
+1 to Intelligence (1)
+1 to Perception (1)
-1 to Strength (-1)
Qualities
Ambidexterity (3)
Physical Advantage (8 Legs) (2)
Drawbacks
Covetous (Greedy) (-1)
Covetous (Ambitious) (-1)
Covetous (Conspicuous) (-1)
Skills
Notice (2)
Powers
Armor (Hard Carapace) (3)
New Power
Armor (Hard Carapace) - Vrusk have the appearance of sizeable insects with eight legs emerging
from their abdominal region. They possess a humanoid torso, positioned in front of their abdomen,
and two arms that append at their shoulders.
The shoulders of a Vrusk are exceptionally flexible and allow them to rotate their arms in a full
revolution without muscle damage. This flexibility permits the Vrusk to reach any point on their
abdomen or on their backs with no difficulty. The hands of a Vrusk consist of circular pads with
five fingers regularly spaced around the edge.
Covering the body of a Vrusk is a hard carapace or shell. Joints are located at positions along the
carapace that require movement. The carapaces main function is to protect a Vrusk body from
abrasions, contusions and secondary damage.
The carapace does not hold up the body like in an insect, the Vrusk instead have an internal
skeleton. Coloration of the carapace alters as a Vrusk matures. Vrusk from birth to the age of
forty have a turquoise or indigo carapace with bright orange around the joints. Older Vrusk over
the age of forty, the carapace will slowly change to a muted green with yellow around the joints.
The carapace provides protection like armor with an Armor Value of d6+5(8). The carapace
provides this protection over most of its body, except at the joints.
Yazirians (8 point Racial Quality)
Attributes
-1 to Strength (-1)
+1 to Dexterity (1)
+1 to Intelligence (1)
Qualities
Gliding (1)
Nightvision (2)
Iron Grip (1)
Hard To Kill (2)
Fast Reaction Time (2)
Drawbacks
Obsession (Life Enemy) (-2)
Honorable (-2)
Light Sensitive (-1)
Skills
Hand Weapon (Zamra) 1
Powers
Rage (3)
New Quality
Gliding - Yazirians have the capacity to glide for short distances using wing Gravity Limit
membranes that are down their sides. A Yazirian can glide three feet for 1.0g 30 feet
every three feet they are above ground with a starting position of at least 0.9g 80 feet
thirty feet. The maximum distance of a glide is also conditional on the 0.8g 160 feet
gravity of the planet, as illustrated to the right. In gravity greater than or 0.7g 325 feet
equal to 1.1g or less than or equal to .5g a Yazirian cannot glide. 0.6g 500 feet
New Drawback
Obsession (Life Enemy) - All Yazirians choose a life enemy, which they dedicate their lives to
defeating, restraining, or exceeding that enemy. Prior to the frontier, a Yazirian would choose an
rival clan or clan member as his or her life enemy, now the options are much more diverse. A
Yazirian scientist could choose a terminal disease or a merchant could choose a hostile corporation
as his or her life enemy.
New Power
Rage - Yazirians have the ability to go into a focused rage, which adds +2 to Strength and +2 to
Dexterity for the duration of the rage. Once in a rage state, it costs the Yazirian 5 Endurance
points per turn to stay in the state and 10 Endurance points to end the state.
Names
Dralasite Names
All Dralasite names describe the smell of the Dralasite to other Dralasites and have a tendency
towards genderless descriptions.
Akia, Alta, Aoko, Arya, Azra, Barr, Bern, Bron, Cais, Chao, Coye, Deka, Deon, Dior, Dumi, Dyre,
Flan, Hien, Iden, Ilar, Isra, Jace, Jess, Kiho, Kuma, Loba, Maro, Moke, Naal, Nuru, Orde, Qwin,
Rach, Remi, Romy, Shan, Tait, Teva, Toan, Tomi, Tyme, Ummi, Wafa, Xola, Xuan, Yank, Zaci,
Zayn, and Zoan.
Human Names
All Humans have names similar to those used today, but they spell them differently and on
occasion phonically.
Male Names - Charrlz, Danyell, Dayvid, Jaahn, Jaymzz, Jaysen, Jozef, Kristeafer, Mathyoou, Mikell,
Pol, Reechard, Robburt, Tomass, and Willyem.
Last Names - Andeersun, Dayvess, Dayvidsun, Garseeaah, Hairees, Jaahnsun, Jacksun, Marrten,
Robbinsun, Smyyth, Tayylore, Tomass, Tomassun, Wheelyuums, and Willsun.
Vrusk Names
All Vrusk names begin with Z the first name having five letters, the second having four and their
last having three.
Male First Names - Z’cruz, Z’kazi, Z’ozan, Z’razi, Z’uzor, Z’zani, Z’zazu , Z’zeki, Z’ziff, and Z’zurl
Female First Names - Z’aliz, Z’diza, Z’gizi, Z’xyza, Z’zana, Z’zera, Z’zila, Z’zora, Z’zula, and Z’zuri.
Middle Names - Z’gur, Z’kaz, Z’ker, Z’lok, Z’luz, Z’mar, Z’mór, Z’nek, Z’paz, and Z’roz.
Yazirian Names
All Yazirians begin with their family names first where males use their fathers family name and
females use their mother’s family names, followed by their personal names.
Male Family Names - Bo'th, Co'x, Fo'n, Go'w, Ho'c, Lo'k, Mo'c, Mo'y, Qo'm, Qo'x, Ro'w, So'y, Vo'k,
and Vo'l.
Male Names - Bir, Daw, Gath, Gom, Gux, Har, Jath, Kez, Lud, Maf, Mup, Nid, Niz, Poc, Qid, Spal,
Spuk, Tasp, Thoc, Vom, Xaer, Xim, Yot, Yuf, Zal, Zasp, Zat, and Zul.
Female Family Names - A'nu, A'ti, A'xae, E'doe, E'jo, E'vi, I'nu, I'ti, O'moe, O'ri, O'so, U'nu, U'ri and
U'woe.
Female Name - Aeba, Aga, Aso, Ebu, Eda, Eju, Esi, Ewa, Ija, Ina, Iva, Izo, Ola, Ona, Ote, Ugi, Uji,
Uku, Uma, Unu, and Uti.
New Qualities and Drawbacks
New Skills
Diplomacy
This skill allows the character to negotiate treaties and accords. This skill provides the knowledge
of appropriate ways of conducting interstellar relations, negotiating alliances, devising treaties or
advantageous agreements. Use Intelligence and Diplomacy to conceive concessions that would
benefit (or hinder) your government; use Willpower and Diplomacy to “get your own way.”
Gyrojet (Type)
This skill allows the character to use any one type of gyrojet weapon. The Types include Pistol,
Rifle, and Mortar. If the skill is taken for one Type, the character can use other types of Gyrojet,
but at a -2 penalty to all Tasks. Gyrojet and Dexterity are used to fire the weapon. Aiming rolls
use Gyrojet and Perception; each Success Level adds +1 to the effective Gyrojet Skill on the next
shot fired at the aimed target.
Spacewise
This skill allows basic knowledge of the traditions and regulations of space. A character with this
skill knows how to behave in a given situation, knows the names and most of the faces of the more
notorious local members of the underworld, and can identify most illegal transactions and
operations. Use Intelligence and Spacewise to recognize a pirate ship, marauder group, and
Perception and Spacewise to spot trouble or detect criminal activities nearby.
Character Archetypes
Assessor
Explorer
Brawling 1
Computers 1
Driving (Type)1
First Aid 2
Guns (Type) 2
Humanities (Type*) 3
Notice 3
Piloting 1
Research/Investigation 2
Science (Type**) 3
Stealth 2
Survival 2
Tracking 2
A Frontiersman is one that is self-employed and is willing to investigate and research in potentially
hazardous regions of space.
Acrobatics 1
Computers 1
Driving (Type) 2
Guns (Type*) 2
Humanities (Type**) 4
Humanities (Type**) 4
Notice 2
Piloting (Type) 2
Research/Investigation 2
Stealth 1
Survival (Type) 2
Survival (Type) 2
Marauder
A Marauder is a self-employed person that will commandeer or confiscate goods by the use of force
or aggression.
Acrobatics 2
Computer Hacking 2
Computers 2
Guns (Type*) 3
Hand Weapon (Type) 3
Intimidation 2
Martial Arts 3
Notice 3
Piloting (Type) 1
Spacewise 2
Stealth 2
Psion
A Psion is a person employed by a Government that possesses the aptitude to employ their minds
to perceive outside the five standard senses.
A Scientist is a person working for a Government, MegaCorp, or Military that possesses expert
knowledge of one or more sciences.
Soldier
A soldier is an individual that enlisted in a Military that studies the principles of warfare by land,
air, sea, or space.
Range: These numbers are expressed in yards and reflect point-blank, short, medium, long and
extreme range.
Damage: The damage imposed by the most popular model for a given type of weapon are given.
Cap/SEU: Indicates the most common SEU unit used in that weapon. SEU units are stored in 20
SEU Clip, 50 SEU Belt pack, or 100 SEU Backpack.
EV: Encumbrance Value measures an item’s weight, plus an additional factor to represent bulk.
Both interfere with movement and cost Endurance. EV is expressed in two numbers separated by
a slash; the first number is for those using US measurements, the second is for those using the
metric system.
Aval: Availability represents the difficulty in locating the item. Common (C) items are available in
most places with relatively little effort. Military (M) items are only available from the UPF or Mega
Corp that supplies the armed forces. Research and Development (R&D) items are only available
from Research Facilities or Mega Corps.
Shock Gloves: Layered with a highly conductive and flexible compound, shock gloves allow a user
to shock or stun their opponents with hand contact. Connected to a beltpack or powerpack for
power, the shock gloves use 2 SEU for each contact. Gauss screen or an anti-shock implant with
shield against shock glove attacks.
Sonic Knife & Sword: An alloy cylinder 6 inches in length and 1.5 inches in diameter, the sonic
knife and sonic sword look similar. When turning on either weapon, a focused invisible “blade” of
high-pitched sound discharges from the handle. The sonic knife generates a blade length of 8
inches while the sonic sword generates a blade length of 30 inches. Primarily powered by a 20 SEU
clip, the sonic knife and sonic sword can also operate on a beltpack or powerpack. After each
strike, the sonic knife consumes 1 SEU while the sonic sword consumes 2 SEU.
Vibroknife: A vibroknife has a 20 cm saw-toothed blade. When it is turned on, the blade vibrates
at high speed. It uses 1 SEU with each successful hit. A 20 SEU clip can be plugged into the
handle, or the weapon can be connected to beltpack or powerpack. Inertia screens and skeinsuits
halve vibroknife damage.
Beam Gun Descriptions
Laser Pistol: A laser pistol is a large handgun. It fires a pulse of bright light. Laser pistols are
commonly called blasters. A laser pistol has a dial that can be set from 1 to 10 to control how
many SEU are fired by each shot. Each SEU fired causes D6 x 2(6) points of damage. For example,
when the dial is set at 3, the shot uses 3 SEU and causes [D6 x 2] x 3(18) points of damage.
Players must tell the referee what setting they are using before rolling the dice to see if the shot
hits. Laser pistols use 20 SEU clips but can be attached to beltpacks or powerpacks. An albedo suit
or screen halves the damage from lasers.
Laser Rifle: A laser rifle is a rifle-sized version of a laser pistol. It has a longer range and the SEU
dial can be set from 1 to 20 instead of 1 to 10.
Sonic Disruptor: A sonic disruptor is a type of rifle. It is commonly called a disruptor. A sonic
disruptor generates a focused sound beam. The damage it causes depends on the range. At closer
ranges, it causes more damage. It causes D6 x 5(15) at point blank range, D6 x 4(12) at short
range, D6 x 3(9) at medium range, and D6 x 2(6) at long range. It has no extreme range. It uses
a 20 SEU clip but can also be attached to a beltpack or powerpack. A disruptor uses 4 SEU per
shot. Only a sonic screen can stop its deadly beam.
Sonic Stunner: A sonic stunner is a type of pistol. It is commonly called a stunner. One shot uses
two SEU. It uses a 20 SEU clip, but can be attached to a beltpack or a powerpack. A target with an
anti-shock implant can not be stunned. Otherwise, only a sonic screen can stop the stunner's
sound beam.
Heavy Laser: A heavy laser is about the size of a machine gun. It must be mounted on a tripod or
a swival mount to be fired. It has longer range than a laser rifle, and a minimum SEU setting of 5.
Otherwise it operates the same as the laser rifle.
Sonic Devastator: A sonic devastator is a heavy weapon that must be mounted on a tripod or a
swival mount to be fired. Except for its greater range and damage, the sonic devastor operates just
like the sonic disruptor.
Automatic Pistol: An automatic pistol is a refined version of the submachine gun. It looks like a
heavy pistol, with a folding metal wire stock. The gun can be fired like a pistol when the stock is
folded, or fired from the shoulder when the stock is extended. An automatic pistol can be set to fire
single shots or bursts. The damage from a burst is divided as evenly as possible between all the
targets. Skeinsuits and inertia screens reduce bullet damage by half. If a skeinsuit and an inertia
screen are used together, damage is reduced to one-fourth the amount rolled.
Automatic Rifle. An automatic rifle is similar to the automatic rifles being used today. It is
basically a heavier, longer version of the automatic pistol. It can fire up to three single shots or one
burst.
Needler Pistol: A needler pistol is a handgun that uses an upright disc c!ip. It makes only a very
soft, coughing noise when it is fired. Needler pistols magnetically propel a cluster of needles at high
speed. Needles will not penetrate skeinsuits or inertia screens.
Needler Rifle: A needler rifle is a rifle-sized version of a needler pistol. It has a longer range than
a needler pistol and the longer barrel gives the needles more velocity.
Machine Gun: A machine gun is a fully automatic heavyweapon that must be mounted on a tripod
or a swival mount to fire. A burst fires 20 bullets. Except for its greater damage and range, it
operates just like an automatic pistol.
Recoilless Rifle: A recoilless rifle is a heavy weapon that must be mounted on a tripod or a swival
mount to fire. It fires an exploding shell that causes D10 x 6(30) points of damage if it hits. Only
one shell can be fired per turn, and loading another shell takes one turn. Inertia screens and
skeinsuits halve the damage.
Gyrojet Pistol: A gyrojet pistol is a large handgun. It shoots miniature, self-propelled rockets that
cause D4 x 4(8) points of damage when they explode. A gyrojet pistol is not effective at very short
range, because the rocket is still accelerating. Thus the short range modifier is used even at point
blank range. Skeinsuits and inertia screens absorb half the damage from a gyrojet rocket.
Gyrojet Rifle: A gyrojet rifle is a rifle-sized version of a gyrojet pistol. It has a longer range and
causes D6 x 4(12) points of damage per shot.
Grenade Rifle: A grenade rifle resembles a shotgun. It fires hand grenades that are fitted into
special grenade bullets. Any type of grenade can be used. It can fire one shot per turn, and then
must be reloaded, which also takes one turn. If a shot misses, the grenade does not scatter.
Grenade Mortar: A grenade mortar is a hollow tube that is attached at an angle to a large base
plate.lt can fire any type of grenade, usinga special shell called a grenade shell. It operates like a
grenade rifle, except for the greater range. Because it lobs grenades in a high arc, it has a
minimum range of 10 meters.
Rocket Launcher: A rocket launcher is a long, hollow tube that is fired while resting across the
firer's shoulder. It fires a large, long-range rocket. It must be reloaded after every shot, and
reloading takes one turn.
Weapon Tables